Michele Giannuzzi

This study explores attitudes towards urban air mobility (UAM) for e-commerce deliveries. UAM, which utilizes drones, has the potential to revolutionize transport services and logistics, leading to economic benefits and reductions in congestion and pollution. However, public acceptance is crucial for a successful implementation; thus, understanding the people’s perspective is key. Descriptive statistics were employed to evaluate survey results from three different European regions, followed by a cluster analysis to define potential user profiles. This study revealed slightly different perceptions towards UAM between the analyzed regions, but also a generally positive attitude. The most important expected identified benefits from UAM were a decrease in congestion and pollution in city centers. High-acceptance segments are gender-balanced and correspond mostly to active population and frequent online shoppers that perceive value in drone deliveries, especially related to an increased convenience and speed. They support public investment in UAM and are willing to pay more for these services and to have their home flown over. Opposite attitudes were expressed by low-acceptance segments, which are female-dominated and include mostly non-frequent online shoppers. The identified user profiles in this study can support the development of public policy and marketing strategies to increase acceptance and adoption.

The Oil&Gas Industry widely uses Super-Duplex Stainless Steels (S-DSS) since their combination of high mechanical characteristics and corrosion resistance. Among them, the SAF 2507 is one of the renowned. The challenges associated with the machining of these steels are directly related to the high temperature that influences the tool-life and the quality of the finished products. This phenomenon is induced by the low thermal conductivity which leads to a high concentration of heat. In order to properly understand their thermal behavior, the distribution of the temperature varying the cutting parameters should be investigated. During dry finish turning, the evolution of the temperature can be captured through a thermographic test campaign, for instance following a L₁₈ − 2 · 3⁷⁻⁵ fractional factorial design with no replications. The data acquired can be deeply studied with a statistical methodology framework, the relationship between the response of the experiment and the machining parameters can be established, and a surrogate model for predicting the temperature can be built and validated. The results show that, for the SAF 2507 steel, the cutting temperature for dry finishing turning is mostly influenced by the deep of cut, the feed rate and slightly by the cutting speed.

The solar telescope EST is currently in the conceptual design phase. It is planned to be build on the Canary Islands until end of the decade. It is specialized on polarimetric observations and will provide high spatial and spectral observations of the different solar atmospheric layers. The diameter of the primary mirror blank is 4.2m. Different types of mirror shapes were investigated with respect to thermal and mechanical characteristics. To remove the absorbed heat an air cooling system from the back side will be applied. Additional an air flushing system will remove remaining warm air from the front side. A major problem of a large open telescope will be the wind load. Results of the investigations will be shown. To achieve optimal optical performance an active support system is planned. The primary mirror cell needs to be stiff enough to support the primary mirror without deformation at strong wind in case of the open telescope option, but sufficient room for the active support system and cooling system below the backside of the mirror is also required. Preliminary designs and analysis results will be presented.