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It is shown that a special shovel is a feature of the structure of the drives of the main mechanisms (mechanisms of lifting and pressure) of career excavators with working equipment, the presence in the transfer device of a two-crank-lever mechanism of working equipment that connects the main mechanisms with the working body (bucket). In this case, the transformation of the mechanical energy parameters of the motors into energy-force parameters realized at the cutting edge of the bucket (teeth) takes place depending on the type of the kinematic scheme of the two-link-lever mechanism. The concept of "control function" defining the relationship between the parameters characterizing the position of the bucket in the face (the coordinates of the tip of the cutting edge of the bucket, the digging speed) and the required control level are introduced. These are the values of the lifting and head speeds ensuring the bucket movement along a given trajectory. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Recent research on ancient ferrous artefacts belonging to different historical periods has indicated significant differences in various parameters characterizing the slags entrapped in these artefacts, in cases where they were obtained by using different production methods. Such differences have been observed by comparing “ancient period” artefacts with “subsequent period” artefacts. “Ancient period” products were obtained by direct reduction of iron ore, without carburizing and at temperatures below the melting point of the reduced sponge iron. In the “subsequent period”, the indirect process started to be introduced, with the production, in a first reduction stage, of a liquid cast iron that had to be converted to wrought iron during a second fining operation. The understanding of the characterizing parameters of the slags has in fact progressed to the point where they represent a useful tool not only for inferring the origins of the starting ore but also for distinguishing between direct or indirect production. In the present research work, an accurate study of the entrapped slags has been carried out on an artefact from the Val Gabbia III site, identified in previous studies as a miner’s chisel. This study aims to carry out further metallurgical investigation into the miner’s chisel microstructure and the entrapped slags in order to help ascertain which production method was in use at the Val Gabbia III site; in fact, based on the intrinsic characteristics of the chisel, and the fact that the site where it was found, i.e. layers of the V–VI cent AD in Val Gabbia III site, was characterized by the presence of an almost 3.5 kg cast iron block, previous investigators were led to suppose that it may be a very early site of indirect iron smelting. While the slag characterizing parameters obtained in the present investigation appear to be consistent with published results related to the direct method, the discussion on the relationship between the indirect method production effects on entrapped slag and the experimental findings substantiate, although not definitively, the hypothesis that the production method of the miner’s chisel is indirect.

Analysis shows that the disequilibrium of melts may be used to characterize metal quality and to optimize smelting technology. For the production of pipe steel by means of a superpowerful DSP-135 arc furnace, a ladle-furnace unit, a vacuum-treatment system, and a continuous-casting machine, the sources of melt disequilibrium are studied in relation to the properties of the final steel. That provides the basis for the development of parameters characterizing different stages of the process. The proposed improvements in smelting technology are shown to be very efficient. © 2013 Allerton Press, Inc.

The stability of a gravity-driven film flow on a porous inclined substrate is considered, when the film is contaminated by an insoluble surfactant, in the frame work of Orr-Sommerfeld analysis. The classical long-wave asymptotic expansion for small wave numbers reveals the occurrence of two modes, the Yih mode and the Marangoni mode for a clean/a contaminated film over a porous substrate and this is confirmed by the numerical solution of the Orr-Sommerfeld system using the spectral-Tau collocation method. The results show that the Marangoni mode is always stable and dominates the Yih mode for small Reynolds numbers; as the Reynolds number increases, the growth rate of the Yih mode increases, until, an exchange of stability occurs, and after that the Yih mode dominates. The role of the surfactant is to increase the critical Reynolds number, indicating its stabilizing effect. The growth rate increases with an increase in permeability, in the region where the Yih mode dominates the Marangoni mode. Also, the growth rate is more for a film (both clean and contaminated) over a thicker porous layer than over a thinner one. From the neutral stability maps, it is observed that the critical Reynolds number decreases with an increase in permeability in the case of a thicker porous layer, both for a clean and a contaminated film over it. Further, the range of unstable wave number increases with an increase in the thickness of the porous layer. The film flow system is more unstable for a film over a thicker porous layer than over a thinner one. However, for small wave numbers, it is possible to find the range of values of the parameters characterizing the porous medium for which the film flow can be stabilized for both a clean film/a contaminated film as compared to such a film over an impermeable substrate; further, it is possible to enhance the instability of such a film flow system outside of this stability window, for appropriate choices of the porous substrate characteristics. � 2013 American Institute of Physics.

This paper proposes a new technique for the analysis of renal biopsies stained with Sirius red and digitized under non-polarized light. The renal interstitial space, the cortex area and the tubules should be segmented to allow the estimation of the renal cortical interstitial volume fraction and the parameters characterizing the tubule distribution. In this paper, a totally automatic algorithm is proposed that relies on mathematic morphology tools. The proposed algorithm has been assessed in a large number of biopsies leading to similar results to those obtained by the manual approach.

Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (nZEBs) have received increased attention in recent years as a result of constant concerns for energy supply constraints, decreasing energy resources, increasing energy costs and rising impact of greenhouse gases on world climate. The EPBD recast directive [1] requests all new buildings to meet higher levels of performance than before, by exploring more the alternative energy supply systems available locally on a cost-efficiency basis and without prejudicing the occupants' comfort. To this end, after 2020, all new buildings should become "nearly zero-energy" and after 31 December 2018, the same requirement is applied for new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities. Furthermore, the EPBD recast states that MS must ensure that minimum energy performance requirements for buildings are set with a view to achieving cost-optimal levels according to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 244/2012 of 16 January 2012. In this context, the authors of this paper, who are participants in the recent started European project RePublic-ZEB, are willing to share the initial findings from ongoing research work. Public buildings constitute a specific class of buildings that require a complex analysis from the statistic point of view taking into consideration the definition and typologies and other specific parameters related with. Thus, this paper will focus on the analysis of public building stocks in the countries covered by the project consortium with the view to define relevant parameters characterizing the reference public buildings that will be considered in the further analysis regarding the assessment of cost-effective packages of solutions towards nZEB levels of performance. A review of nZEB holistic approach, definitions and existing implemented policies in the participant countries, will be presented as well. © 2015 The Authors.