Diffuse hydrothermal methane output and evidence of methanotrophic activity within the soils at Sousaki (Greece)

Methane soil flux measurements have been made in 38 sites at the geothermal system of Sousaki (Greece) with the closed chamber method. Fluxes range from ?47.6 to 29 150 mg m^?2 day^?1, and the diffuse CH₄ output of the system has been estimated at 19 t a^?1. Contemporaneous CO₂ flux measurements showed a moderate positive correlation between CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes. Comparison of the CO₂/CH₄ soil flux ratios with the CO₂/CH₄ ratio of the gases of the main gas manifestations provided evidence for methanotrophic activity within the soil. Laboratory CH₄ consumption experiments confirmed the presence of methanotrophic microorganisms in soil samples collected at Sousaki. Consumption was generally in the range from ?4.9 to ?38.9 pmolCH₄ h^?1 g^?1 but could sometimes reach extremely high values (?33 000 pmolCH₄ h^?1 g^?1). These results are consistent with recent studies on other geothermal systems that revealed the existence of thermoacidophilic bacteria exerting methanotrophic activity in hot, acid soils, thereby reducing methane emissions to the atmosphere.     

CONCEPT AND DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRID SOLUTIONS FOR SEISMIC RESISTANT BRIDGE SYSTEMS

The development of alternative solutions for precast concrete buildings based on jointed ductile connections has introduced innovative concepts in the design of lateral-load resisting frame and wall systems. Particularly efficient is the hybrid system, where precast elements are connected via post-tensioning techniques and self-centring and energy dissipating properties are adequately combined to achieve the target maximum displacement with negligible residual displacements. In this contribution, the concept of hybrid system is extended to bridges as a viable and efficient solution for an improved seismic performance when compared with monolithic counterparts. Critical discussion on the cyclic behaviour of hybrid systems, highlighting the most significant parameters governing the response, is carried out.

The concept of a flexible seismic design (displacement-based) of hybrid bridge piers and systems is proposed and its reliability confirmed by quasi-static cyclic (push-pull) and nonlinear time-history analyses based on lumped plasticity numerical models.     

INDEPENDENT HARMONIC CONTROL FOR STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

In a previous paper [Baratta and Corbi, 1999] one has defined a procedure allowing to identify a closed-ioop control algorithm with feedback based on the whole record of the response time-history rather than on instantaneous response parameters. The control force results from control of each harmonic component of the forcing function, simply integrated over the frequency domain. Every harmonic is controlled, independently of each other, by a classical linear control whose coefficients are calibrated in way to make the relevant response component a minimum compatibly with the control effort one wants to apply at the corresponding frequency. The distribution of this control intensity over the frequency range remains a arbitrary choice; such a choice however lends itself to be effectively assisted by intuition, much more than similar choices in other procedures (e.g.: the coefficients of the quadratic norms in the J-index optimization). The result is that every harmonic remains controlled by a different couple of optimal coefficients (corresponding to the proportional and to the derivative terms in the linear control law), and the overall control force for an arbitrary disturbance, after Fourier inverse transformation, is produced by feedback integration over the whole response time-history.

The procedure, tested with reference to simple and composed harmonic excitations incoming a s.d.o.f. structural system, has proved a good agreement of the numerical results with the theoretical treatment; furthermore it has shown that the main limit of such an approach consists of referring the dynamic equilibrium solution to a particular solution, that, neglecting the initial conditions, may introduce some unstable components in the oscillation. In the paper the effects induced in the controlled structural system response by the adoption of the proposed procedure are deepened and an improved strategy is presented, able to overcome the detrimental transient effects determined by the original algorithm. The final adopted control law is shown to achieve an improved time response, both in the transient and in the steady-state field, in comparison to a control strategy based on classical linear control minimizing the response norm conditioned by a bounded control.     

THE ‘DELLA ROBBIA BLUE’: A CASE STUDY FOR THE USE OF COBALT PIGMENTS IN CERAMICS DURING THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE*

The morphologies and elemental compositions of cobalt blue glazes are studied in 56 dated and undated terracotta sculptures from the Florentine della Robbia school. The data allow tracing of the pigments through correlations amongst elements that are known to be constituents of the cobalt minerals. The supply of such minerals from the Erzgebirge region in Renaissance times is compatible with our data. A substantial change in the materials is marked by the presence of arsenic and bismuth in the glaze, and by reduced amounts of iron and nickel just before 1520. We speculate that this is due to procedures introduced to industrialize the production of the blue pigment. The exploitation of different cobalt minerals in association with different production procedures may explain the variability of compositions that we observe in this unique ensemble.