ABSTRACT. The heavy traffic of machines in no-tillage systems causes problems as soil compaction and loss of crops productivity. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the productivity of soybeans in reference to furrow openers and the levels of soil compaction in two crops. The experiment was conducted on Rhodic Hapludox by tracing random blocks with subdivided parcels. The soil bulk density levels were laid out in the parcels (1.16, 1.20, 1.22, and 1.26 Mg m -3) and the furrowers in the sub-parcels (double disc and shanks). The resistance to penetration, depth of the furrow, mobilized soil area, final plant stands, height of plants, mean number of beans by pod, 1,000 bean mass, number of pods per plant and productivity of the culture were evaluated. The resistance to penetration increased with the levels of soil compaction regardless of the farming year and up to a depth of 0.20 m. In the first crop, higher productivity with the use of the shank was observed. In the second crop, the use of the shank resulted in an increase in depth of the furrow, mobilized soil, height of the plants and final stand of the plants, but this did not indicate an increase in productivity.

The pursuit to reduce manufacturing costs and increase product quality has led industries to use commercial codes and appropriate material models to simulate a wide range of metal forming operations. This scenario has prompted a healthy discussion on the strategies to obtaining constitutive parameters able to yield accurate numerical predictions. Optimization‐based parameter identification techniques have opened completely new routes to determine material parameters for this class of forming problems. Notwithstanding, the most appropriate optimization strategy (or development of new ones) for the trinomial forming operation – constitutive model – constitutive parameters is still open to debate. This work highlights the important role that optimization strategies play to determine parameters of constitutive models. A brief description of gradient‐based, gradient‐free and hybrid optimization approaches is presented within the framework of parameter identification. Comparative studies and applications to classical and damaged material models are also discussed.

No abstract

Different techniques have been used to detect and characterize delaminations between concrete and Fibre-Reinforced Polymers applied as reinforcement of civil structures. The main aim of this work is to develop a reliable and confident nondestructive testing procedure to characterize the location and size of delaminations.Thermal modelling and experiments on concrete bonded with FRP and containing defects properly created at the interface are presented. The influence on the evaluation of defects of the heating, the kind of FRP and the finishing layer of the reinforcement are analysed.Finally, a comparison between thermography and ultrasonic wave measurements will be carried out. The cross evaluation allows to analyse not only artificial defects but natural ones.

Direct seeding systems are characterized by soil disturbance only occurring in the sowing line and the maintenance of the remaining area is achieved by covering with crop residues. Without total area soil mobilization as recommended by the no-tillage system, associated with the increase in the degree of soil compaction caused by the traffic of agricultural machinery, there can be a decrease in crop productivity. This study aimed to evaluate machine parameters, soil mobilization, and corn yield as a function of different furrow opener working depths (0.065, 0.095, 0.125, and 0.150 m) and evaluate the direct seeding of winter ground cover plants (black oat or forage turnip) in compacted Oxisol. The experiment was arranged in strips, in a randomized block design, with eight treatments and four replications. The deepening of the furrow opener shank increased the strength and power required at the drawbar in the seeding operation, as well as increased the soil mobilization in the seeding line. However, it did not prove to be an efficient management practice to increase corn productivity.