In the past two decades the work of a growing portion of researchers in robotics focused on a particular group of machines, belonging to the family of parallel manipulators: the cable robots. Although these robots share several theoretical elements with the better known parallel robots, they still present completely (or partly) unsolved issues. In particular, the study of their kinematic, already a difficult subject for conventional parallel manipulators, is further complicated by the non-linear nature of cables, which can exert only efforts of pure traction. The work presented in this thesis therefore focuses on the study of the kinematics of these robots and on the development of numerical techniques able to address some of the problems related to it. Most of the work is focused on the development of an interval-analysis based procedure for the solution of the direct geometric problem of a generic cable manipulator. This technique, as well as allowing for a rapid solution of the problem, also guarantees the results obtained against rounding and elimination errors and can take into account any uncertainties in the model of the problem. The developed code has been tested with the help of a small manipulator whose realization is described in this dissertation together with the auxiliary work done during its design and simulation phases. / Negli ultimi decenni il lavoro di una parte sempre maggiore di ricercatori che si occupano di robotica si è concentrato su un particolare gruppo di robot appartenenti alla famiglia dei manipolatori paralleli: i robot a cavi. Nonostante i numerosi studi al riguardo, questi robot presentano ancora oggi numerose problematiche del tutto (o in parte) irrisolte. Lo studio della loro cinematica nello specifico, già complesso per i manipolatori paralleli tradizionali, è ulteriormente complicato dalla natura non lineare dei cavi, i quali possono esercitare sforzi di sola trazione. Il lavoro presentato in questa tesi si concentra dunque sullo studio della cinematica dei robot a cavi e sulla messa a punto di tecniche numeriche in grado di affrontare parte delle problematiche ad essa legate. La maggior parte del lavoro è incentrata sullo sviluppo di una procedura per la soluzione del problema geometrico diretto di un generico manipolatore a cavi basata sull'analisi per intervalli. Questa tecnica di analisi numeirica, oltre a consentire una rapida soluzione del problema, permette di garantire i risultati ottenuti in caso di errori di cancellazione e arrotondamento e consente di considerare eventuali incertezze presenti nel modello del problema. Il codice sviluppato è stato testato attraverso un piccolo prototipo di manipolatore a cavi la cui realizzazione, avvenuta durante il percorso di dottrato, è descritta all'interno dell'elaborato unitamente al lavoro collaterale svolto durante la fase di progettazione e simulazione. / Pendant les dernières décennies, le travail d'une partie toujours croissante de chercheurs qui s'occupent de robotique s'est focalisé sur un groupe spécifique de robots qui fait partie de la famille des manipulateurs parallèles: les robots à câbles. Malgré les nombreux études que l'on a consacré à ce sujet, ces robots présentent encore aujourd'hui plusieurs problématiques complètement ou partiellement irrésolues. En particulier l'étude de leur cinématique, qui se révèle déjà complexe pour les manipulateurs parallèles traditionnels, est rendu encore plus compliqué par la nature non linéaire des câbles qui peuvent seulement exercer des efforts de traction. Le travail présenté dans ma thèse concentre donc son attention sur l'étude de la cinématique des robots à câbles et sur la mise au point de techniques numériques capables d'aborder une partie des problématiques liées à cela. La plupart du travail se concentre sur l'élaboration d'un algorithme pour la résolution du problème géométrique direct d'un manipulateur à câbles général qui se fonde sur l'analyse par intervalles. Cette technique d'analyse permet non seulement de résoudre rapidement le problème mais également de garantir les résultats obtenus en cas d'erreur de cancellation et d'arrondi et de prendre en considération les incertitudes éventuellement presentes dans le modèle du problème. Le code développé a été testé grâce à un petit prototype de manipulateur à câbles dont la réalisation, qui a eu lieu pendant le parcours de doctorat, est décrite à l'intérieur du devoir en accord avec la phase de conception du projet et de simulation.

With the aim to provide people with sustainable options, engineers are ethically required to hold the safety, health and welfare of the public paramount and to satisfy society's need for sustainable development. The global crisis and related sustainability challenges are calling for a fundamental change in culture, structures and practices. Sustainability Transitions (ST) have been recognized as promising frameworks for radical system innovation towards sustainability. In order to enhance the effectiveness of transformative processes, both the adoption of a transdisciplinary approach and the experimentation of practices are crucial. The evolution of approaches towards ST provides a series of inspiring cases which allow to identify advances in making sustainability transitions happen. In this framework, the thesis has emphasized the role of Transition Engineering (TE). TE adopts a transdisciplinary approach for engineering to face the sustainability challenges and address the risks of un-sustainability. With this purpose, a definition of Transition Technologies is provided as a valid instruments to contribute to ST. In the empirical section, several transition initiatives have been analysed especially at the urban level. As a consequence, the model of living-lab of sustainability has crucially emerged. Living-labs are environments in which innovative technologies and services are co-created with users active participation. In this framework, university can play a key role as learning organization. The core of the thesis has concerned the experimental application of transition approach within the School of Engineering and Architecture of University of Bologna at Terracini Campus. The final vision is to realize a living-lab of sustainability. Particularly, a Transition Team has been established and several transition experiments have been conducted. The final result is not only the improvement of sustainability and resilience of the Terracini Campus, but the demonstration that university can generate solutions and strategies that tackle the complex, dynamic factors fuelling the global crisis.

The aim of this work is focused on the application of electrospinning technology, an innovative manufacturing technique to design nanostructured polymers, for energy storage, energy harvesting and sensor applications. These nanostructures are suitable to increase specific performances of components: from the reduction of internal resistance of Lithium-ion batteries to the increase of specific electrical response of materials for energy harvesting. The increase of specific power of Lithium-ion batteries represents one of the key factors for the development of competitive storage systems for automotive and power grid. Indeed, electrochemical performances at high currents significantly decay, strongly limiting the competitiveness on the market beyond portable applications. Furthermore, recovery of dissipated energy will be one of the most promising challenges for the establishment of green technologies and for the reduction in power consumption. Finally, health monitoring and/or impact sensors could represent suitable technologies for the growth of smart materials. This Ph.D. thesis covers the study of PVdF-based polymers to develop enhanced materials for Lithium-ion batteries and energy harvesters. / Questa tesi verte sull’applicazione della tecnica dell’electrospinning per realizzare polimeri nanostrutturati da impiegare nel campo dell’accumulo energetico, del recupero dell’energia dissipata e della sensoristica. Queste nanostrutture possono incrementare la risposta specifica dei componenti: dalla riduzione della resistenza interna delle batterie Litio-ione all’incremento della risposta elettrica specifica di materiali per il recupero dell’energia. L’incremento della potenza specifica delle batterie Litio-ione rappresenta una delle maggiori sfide per lo sviluppo di sistemi di taglia elevata, per applicazioni nel settore “automotive” e per l’accumulo in rete. Infatti le prestazioni elettrochimiche ad elevate correnti decadono significativamente, limitando fortemente la competitività di tali accumulatori al di fuori delle applicazioni portatili. Inoltre il recupero dell’energia dissipata rappresenta una delle strategie più promettenti per lo sviluppo di tecnologie a basso impatto ambientale e per la riduzione dei consumi energetici. Infine sensori di impatto o sistemi per l’”health monitoring” realizzati mediante tali nanostrutture possono contribuire sensibilmente allo sviluppo di “smart materials”. Questa tesi di Dottorato concerne dunque lo studio di polimeri fluorurati a base PVdF per lo sviluppo di materiali innovativi per batterie Litio-ione e per dispositivi per il recupero dell’energia.

In order to improve the reservoir engineering activities and, in particular, to optimize numerical modelling and simulation of geothermal reservoirs using the TOUGH family of codes, it has been decided to use the software T2Well for the interpretation of well-tests, coupling T2Well with the equation of state module EWASG, which describes the typical thermodynamic condition in high enthalpy geothermal reservoirs. T2Well-EWASG has been coupled and tested through the typical process of verification and validation. The application of T2Well-EWASG for the interpretation of well-tests related to the slim hole WW-01 drilled in the Wotten Waven Field (Commonwealth of Dominica) proves that it can be used as a tool for integrated interpretation of surface and downhole measurements collected during the performance of production tests in geothermal wells. The strength of this tool is that it allows to reduce the different possible solutions (in terms of reservoir characterization) within an acceptable error, by allowing the interpretation of surface and downhole measurements in conjunction, instead of separately. From this point of view T2Well-EWASG can effectively be used as a tool which allows an improvement of reservoir engineering activities. Finally, the huge amount of data managed during these activities has permitted to test and project the improvement of pre- and post- processing tools specific for TOUGH2 created by the geothermal research group of DICAM. In particular, the pre- and post-processing tools have been validated with a case study dealing with the migration of non-condensable gases in deep sedimentary formation.

It is going to be evaluated the availability of the MC process, particularly the Sweeping Gas Membrane Distillation (SGMD), to perform the regeneration of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) from diammonium phosphate (DAP) and the study of the main parameters to perform the scale up of the process to an industrial level. Making focus on the selection and characterization of suitable membranes for the process and the design-development of SGMD pilot plant and test for the evaluation of the operative parameters. The main requirement for the MC technology application is bank on suitable membranes for the process. This must act as a barrier for one of the phases on contact and should enable the mass transport of volatile components. For operative reasons is preferable to hold back the aqueous phase, making the use of hydrophobic membranes imperative. The hydrophobic membrane character of the membranes is a critical argument for the MC process and is one of the main drawback for the massive application of this technology. Many studies to evaluate the hydrophobic character have been performed and continues to be a trend topic on the MC scenario. However few studies have been done to evaluate the variation of the hydrophobicity with the temperature and none of them to evaluate the effect of temperature above the normal water boiling point.

Le motivazioni alla base di questo lavoro di dottorato sono costituite dalla volontà di analizzare e applicare modelli innovativi per il ri-uso e la valorizzazione di risorse e sottoprodotti all’interno di processi industriali, integrando e ottimizzando i processi industriali stessi. L’obiettivo finale è stato quello di contribuire alla diffusione della “Cultura della Sostenibilità” in Emilia-Romagna, portando all’attenzione delle istituzioni l’esistenza di strumenti innovativi. Lo studio si è concentrato sul contesto comunitario e locale in materia di Sviluppo Sostenibile, Green Economy ed Economia Circolare (Capitolo 1), per poi analizzare e classificare i modelli di Economia Circolare e Simbiosi Industriale esistenti (Capitolo 2). In una seconda fase dell’attività di dottorato, questo è stato applicato sperimentalmente sul territorio regionale, nell’ambito di un progetto pilota finanziato da Unioncamere Emilia-Romagna e Aster, realizzato in collaborazione con ENEA UTTAMB e con il coinvolgimento dei laboratori della Rete Alta Tecnologia dell’Emilia-Romagna (Capitolo 3). L’ultima fase è consistita nell’analisi dei risultati dell’esperienza pilota, delle risposte delle imprese e dei centri di ricerca, e nell’analisi delle altre esperienze condotte in Italia in materia di simbiosi, al fine di individuare dei parametri che influiscono sull’applicabilità e sulla replicabilità di questi modelli (Capitolo 4). Tra i risultati principali ottenuti va citato l’inserimento della Simbiosi Industriale all’interno delle Smart Specialization Strategy – S3 dell’Emilia-Romagna e nel Piano Regionale di Gestione dei Rifiuti, oltre alla realizzazione di un progetto europeo in materia. Inoltre l’attività sperimentale pilota ha coinvolto 13 imprese, 7 laboratori e 2 enti, individuando 49 percorsi di simbiosi e 90 sinergie, portando alla redazione di 3 Manuali Operativi. L’attività pilota sul tema della Simbiosi Industriale ha consentito di attivare numerosi contatti con imprese e istituzioni del territorio. A questi risultati vanno aggiunti anche quelli legati alla produzione scientifica: nel complesso sono state realizzate 13 pubblicazioni scientifiche e 1 pubblicazione divulgativa. / The motivations of this PhD work are constituted by the willingness to analyze and implement innovative models for resources re-use and valorization in production processes. The ultimate goal was to help the spreading of the “sustainability culture” in Emilia-Romagna region, bringing to the attention of the institutions the existence of innovative models. The study focused on the EU and local context in matters of Sustainable Development, Green Economy and Circular Economy (Chapter 1), and on Circular Economy and Industrial Symbiosis (IS) models analysis and classification (Chapter 2). In a second phase of the PhD work, one selected model of Industrial Symbiosis was applied in Emilia-Romagna region, within the framework of a pilot project founded by Unioncamere Emilia-Romagna and Aster, realized with the collaboration of ENEA and the participation of laboratories pertaining to Emilia-Romagna High technology Network. In the last phase of the work the results of the pilot project and of other “circular economy experiences” in Emilia-Romagna were analyzed in order to identify the parameters that affect applicability and replicability of these models (Chapter 4). The main results of the work consist in the insertion of Industrial Symbiosis in Emilia-Romagna Region Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) and Waste Management Plan and in the realization of a European project on IS topic participated by Emilia-Romagna Region. The experimental pilot activity, indeed, has successfully involved 13 companies, 7 laboratories and 2 institutions, and has led to the publication of 13 scientific papers and 1 dissemination article.

Widely employed for a steadily increasing number of industrial processes and experimental studies, plasma can be considered as one of the most pervasive and promising technology of our time. Differently from thermal plasmas, the potentialities offered by non-equilibrium plasmas, especially if working at atmospheric pressure, are still far away to be totally understood, since the surprising and sometimes unpredictable results, coming from studies carried out all over the world, bring out the growing versatility of this technology and its suitability for many applications intersecting our daily lives. The present dissertation, organized in two parts, is focused to present and discuss the results obtained from the Ph.D research activities carried out in the wide field of plasma and materials. The first part of the work is mainly aimed at investigating the potentialities of cold atmospheric plasmas (CAP) for the modification of materials, coating deposition and crosslinking of polymers. In the first two chapters, the conventional techniques and the CAP approaches most employed to carry out the processes will be briefly summarized. In the other chapters, organized by topic, the results achieved during the Ph.D research activities in the fields of surface material modification, coating deposition and crosslinking of polymers will be presented and discussed. The second part of the dissertation is linked to the investigation of the potentialities of plasma-induced chemistry in a liquid environment for the synthesis of nanostructures. Similarly to the first one, the second part of the dissertation will present an overview on the conventional and CAP assisted methods for nanostructures synthesis; moreover, in the second part of the last chapter, the Ph.D experimental activities aimed at synthesising CuO quantum dots in a liquid environment will be illustrated.

Using natural phenomena to reach indoor comfort has been known since early time and the oldest heritage architecture‘s and engineering of Middle East region, which has responded with such phenomena as well very good solutions special for hot-dry region (height temperature and radiation at summer and big variation between day and night temperature also between the hot summer and cool winter). This Architecture realized inside its houses optimum comfortable temperatures throughout nearly all the days of the yearlong. That was through equating with the volume adopting and the space taming with the different natural elements forces of the sun, atmosphere and climate as all which is common in these days as passive design strategies and reducing energy consumption . This research investigate the thermal mass and natural ventilation for traditional house (hot-dry region in Damascus) that gives high energy efficiency in providing cool indoor air through ventilation (single sided , cross ventilation) and envelope behavior, with the procedures of measurements combined with simulation program model, to improve Middle East new residential buildings through utilize combination of passive cooling and heating techniques. Natural ventilation in traditional building coupled with effects of massive construction and design assemble, provide thermal comfort (temperature control) over interior condition. This strategies are utilized to conserve energy in a hot-dry climate specially on middle east region as Damascus and other cities which have comfort traditional houses . The modern template applied by simulation program for traditional heating and cooling technique achieves thermal comfort related to occupant behavior and reduces energy consumption for new apartment of about 30-45% reduction of energy needs at Damascus, 20-35% at Cairo and 15-30% also at very hot dry climate as Riyadh.

Recently, a prototype of a hand exoskeleton for post-stroke rehabilitation purpose was proposed by the Group of Robotics, Automation and Articular Biomechanics (GRAB) at the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna. The prototype comprises five planar mechanisms (one per finger) globally actuated by two DC motors. A total of fifteen human-machine connections are needed to fasten the device to the patient hand. The moving link of the thumb mechanism is actuated by a spatial RSSR mechanism whose frame link geometry must be ad hoc regulated every time the device is fitted on the patient hand. With the future goal to build a new version of the hand exoskeleton, in this dissertation three problems arising from this prototype were tackled. The first problem regards the need to lower the number of human-machine connections needed to fasten the exoskeleton to the patient hand. A new finger mechanism that permits to lower the total number of human-machine connections from fifteen to only six was proposed. The second problem regards the synthesis of the RSSR mechanism. A novel synthesis procedure was proposed in order to guarantee the optimal motion and force transmission to the thumb mechanism once the hand exoskeleton is fitted to a new patient, i.e. for different frame link geometries of the RSSR mechanism. The third problem regards the need to approximate the finger phalange motion as a rotation about a revolute axis. In this perspective, two different joint axes identification techniques were proposed. The techniques are based on the Burmester theory (a theory generally used for the synthesis of mechanisms), here used in an original way to identify an axis of rotation. A comparison of this two technique with a more standard technique based on the finite helical axis is reported.

The increase in energy costs and the demands for products with greater nutritional value and of processing procedures less toxic to the environment are attractive factors for transferring membrane processing to food industry and biotechnology applications. Sugar production is one of the most energy-intensive applications in the food industry, therefore membrane separation processes find many applications, nevertheless some limitation exist for application of membrane processes in the sugar industry. This study focused on Food applications of membrane processes. A critical summary of a wide experimental investigation is reported. In this work, separation performances of commercial polyamide NF membranes are investigated in a wide range of compositions in the feed side at temperatures from 30 to 50°C; aqueous solutions containing monosaccharides, disaccharides, and mixtures of them are studied, and the role of the electrolytes on their rejection is investigated. All the results obtained, have been organized in three main sections: (i) Hydraulic permeability, (ii) experimental investigation as it is, and (iii) Intrinsic membrane performances. Differently from literature, where typically aqueous solutions containing monosaccharides and oligosaccharides are used at low concentrations, at room temperature and only experimental data as it is are reported, a key point of this study is the critical evaluation based on intrinsic membrane performances. The data processing discussed allows to introduce a revised Donnan Steric Pore & Dielectric Exclusion model. The revised model provides useful elements to understand which kind of interactions (complex formation or dehydration) can affect sugars rejections in presence of strong electrolytes, however dehydration effects caused by temperature and electrolyte are the most evident. The revised model is able to predict with good confidence both the temperature effect on membrane performances and rejections in multicomponent mixtures, ranging from laboratory to process/industrial scale.