Between Cuvier and Darwin

The chapter presents a reflection on the evolution of cultural heritage concept, from the second half of the 20th century until now, moving the attention from the distinction between natural and anthropic heritage to tangible and intangible matters. According to the line from postmodernism to new materialism, the idea of heritage reflects an evolving and inclusive cultural approach, where the notions of place and landscape combine tangible/intangible issues and participative involvement in heritage definition, keeping in mind problems of memory, integrity and authenticity

Neutron diffraction measurement of residual stresses in CFC/Cu/CuCrZr joints for nuclear fusion technology

Residual stresses were experimentally determined in specimens of carbon-fibre composite (CFC) brazed to CuCrZr alloy, using neutron diffraction at the E3 instrument of HMI-BENSC (Berlin). The brazing was obtained by means of a Cu interlayer, one side of which was brazed to the CuCrZr alloy, after the other side was joined to CFC by a proprietary technique. Two different samples were investigated, the first one in the ‘as-brazed’ condition and the second one after thermal fatigue cycling [heating of samples up to 450 ◦C followed by a fast cooling (>1 ◦C s−1) to room temperature in air with water quench; the cycles were repeated 50 times for each sample]. Residual stresses were determined in the three principal directions, in the CFC and in the CuCrZr alloy, as a function of the distance from the interface with the Cu interlayer. The experimental results for the as-brazed specimen are in agreement with the results of FEM calculations available in the literature, while a relaxation of residual stresses in the thermally fatigued specimen is found to be probably ascribed to the formation of microcracks at the CFC/Cu interface

New Perspectives on Pragmatism and Analytic Philosophy

This book clarifies the most recent events of the developments of contemporary philosophy focusing on key theoretical issues common both to American classic philosophical tradition and analytical thought. Their common attention to scientific method, to the problems of language and communicatio are emphasized, showing the possible integration of these two forms of speculation that, for too long time, mutually disregarded one another

On Visual Computing for Architectural Heritage

Aim of the chapter is to present a critical discourse on the use of visual computing for the study of historic architecture. From the analysis of the experiences of other scientific fields and of current researches in the architectural one, the paper highlights how visual computing has become an important approach in built heritage study and how it could favor new lines, in particular according to the non-linear spatial narratives of the 3D models. They are useful to analyze and describe the buildings and provide an aggregative core for the heterogeneous bulk of information related to historic buildings (drawings, texts, images, data, metadata, etc.). In this way visual architectural modeling and database modeling correlate together, and the whole system gives rise to complex informative models – manipulable, navigable and interactive –, helpful for the understanding, knowledge, preservation, communication and enhancement of architectural heritage