Artículos de revista DIEC - IEKS Aldizkari artikuluak
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Publication Open Access An antibacterial submicron fiber mat with in situ synthesized silver nanoparticles(Wiley, 2012) Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Rodríguez, Yoany; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2This work presents an alternative approachfor fabricating electrospun submicron highly hydrophilicfiber mats loaded with silver nanoparticles. These fiber matsshow a high efficient antibacterial behavior, very attractivefor applications like wound healing and skin regenerationprocesses. The fabrication method is divided in two steps.First, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and b-cyclodextrin (b-CD)submicron fibers were electrospun and further stabilizedusing a thermal treatment, yielding stable hydrogel-likefibers with diameters ranging from 100 nm up to severalmicrons. In the second step, silver ions were loaded into thefibers and then reduced to silver nanoparticles in-situ. Theelectrospinning parameters were adjusted to achieve thedesired properties of the fiber mat (density, size) and after-wards, the characteristics of the silver nanoparticles(amount, size, aggregation) were tuned by controlling thesilver ion loading mechanism. Highly biocide surfaces wereachieved showing more than 99.99% of killing efficiency.The two-step process improves the reproducibility and tun-ability of the fiber mats. To our knowledge, this is the firsttime that stable hydrogel fibers with a highly biocide behav-ior have been fabricated using electrospinning.Publication Open Access An antibacterial surface coating composed of PAH/SiO2 nanostructurated films by layer by layer(Wiley, 2010) Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Ruete Ibarrola, Leyre; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Fernández Valdivielso, Carlos; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Institute of Smart Cities - ISCIn this work we propose a novel antibacterial coating composed of SiO2 and the polymer Poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). The coating was fabricated by the technique Layer-by-Layer (LbL). This technique has already been used in previous works, and it has the advantage that it allows to control the construction of nanosized and well organized multilayer films. Here, the new nanotexturized LbL SiO2 surface acts as antibacterial agent. The fabricated coatings have been tested in bacterial cultures of genus Lactobacillus to observe their antibacterial properties. It has been demonstrated these PAH/SiO2 coating films have a very good antimicrobial behaviour against this type of bacteria.Publication Open Access Cátedra Mujer, Ciencia y Tecnología de la UPNA(Gobierno de Navarra, 2023) Aranguren Garacochea, Patricia; Barrenechea Tartas, Edurne; Catalán Ros, Leyre; Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Jurío Munárriz, Aránzazu; Martínez Ramírez, Alicia; Millor Muruzábal, Nora; Gómez Fernández, Marisol; San Martín Biurrun, Idoia; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2La Cátedra Mujer, Ciencia y Tecnología de la Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA) tiene como objetivo aumentar la participación de las mujeres en campos de ciencia y tecnología. La cultura y la divulgación científicas son el eje principal de la actividad de la Cátedra. Dicha actividad engloba: la representación teatral Yo quiero ser científica, talleres experimentales y conferencias y exposiciones para todos los públicos y edades. Más de 6000 personas han visto la obra de teatro, más de 1500 estudiantes de ESO han participado en los talleres y el material audiovisual ha recibido más de 20000 visitas.Publication Open Access Combining radiative cooling and light trapping strategies for improved performance of PERC bifacial silicon solar cells(Elsevier, 2023) Urdiroz Urricelqui, Unai; Itoiz Goñi, Iñigo; Sevilla Moróder, Joaquín; Andueza Unanua, Ángel María; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio IngeniaritzarenThis work investigates the impact of combining light trapping and radiative cooling on bifacial solar panels. While several techniques have been proposed to enhance the efficiency of solar panels, their combination can lead to suboptimal results. By numerically evaluating the light absorption and thermal balance of different panel configurations, we found that each side of the bifacial solar cell can be textured independently with a cross-effect of less than 4%. However, our results also indicate that improving visible light trapping can increase infrared absorption, leading to a heating effect that may offset the benefits of radiative cooling. These findings highlight the importance of balancing the factors that influence solar panel efficiency and provide quantitative insights that guide the development of more effective solar energy systems.Publication Open Access Comprehensive characterisation of a low-frequency-vibration energy harvester(MDPI, 2024) Plaza Puértolas, Aitor; Iriarte Goñi, Xabier; Castellano Aldave, Jesús Carlos; Carlosena García, Alfonso; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISCIn this paper, we describe a measurement procedure to fully characterise a novel vibration energy harvester operating in the ultra-low-frequency range. The procedure, which is more thorough than those usually found in the literature, comprises three main stages: modelling, experimental characterisation and parameter identification. Modelling is accomplished in two alternative ways, a physical model (white box) and a mixed one (black box), which model the magnetic interaction via Fourier series. The experimental measurements include not only the input (acceleration)–output (energy) response but also the (internal) dynamic behaviour of the system, making use of a synchronised image processing and signal acquisition system. The identification procedure, based on maximum likelihood, estimates all the relevant parameters to characterise the system to simulate its behaviour and helps to optimise its performance. While the method is custom-designed for a particular harvester, the comprehensive approach and most of its procedures can be applied to similar harvesters.Publication Open Access Design of optical fiber Bragg grating-based sensors for flow measurement in pipes(Taylor & Francis, 2023) Diéguez Elizondo, Pedro; Rodríguez Rodríguez, Armando; Urroz Unzueta, José Carlos; López Rodríguez, José Javier; López-Amo Sáinz, Manuel; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio IngeniaritzarenIn this work, optical Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were used to measure water flow in pipes. Several types of coatings were incorporated into the design of the sensors to examine their effects on the elastic strain that the fiber underwent as a result of the water flow. ANSYS-CFX V2020 R2 software was used to model the elastic strain encountered by the fiber under various flow rates in order to assess the performance of the FBG sensors. The calculations and experimental data exhibited good convergence, demonstrating the accuracy of the FBG sensors in determining water flow. These calculations and procedures can be extrapolated to any other fluid.Publication Open Access Electrospun nanofiber mats for evanescent optical fiber sensors(Elsevier, 2013) Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate PublikoaIn this work, a study about the optical response of electrospun nanofiber (ENF) coatings for their use in evanescent optical fiber sensors is presented. Several types of ENF mats composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were developed with different ENF diameters and densities. These ENF mats were deposited onto an optical fiber core in order to fabricate humidity evanescent optical fiber sensors. The devices were exposed to relative humidity (RH) variations from 30% RH to 95%RH. The transfer functions of the devices (transmitted optical power versus relative humidity) presented two well-differenced behaviors depending on the ENF diameter and the ENF mat density. The devices with lower ENF diameters and higher mat density showed an increase in the transmitted optical power when RH increased. On the contrary, the devices with higher ENF diameters and lower mat density showed a decrease in the transmitted optical power when RH increased. In addition to this, sensors with thinner ENF overlays, showed a higher sensitivity. In order to study the response time of these devices, the ENFs sensors were submitted to human breathing cycles and presented a response time around 340 ms (exhalation). In spite of the high RH conditions of this experiment, the devices showed a recovery time around 210 ms and a negligible hysteresis or drift with respect to the initial condition (inhalation).Publication Open Access Experimental development and testing of low-cost scalable radiative cooling materials for building applications(Elsevier, 2021) Carlosena Remírez, Laura; Andueza Unanua, Ángel María; Torres, Luis; Irulegi, Olatz; Hernández-Minguillón, Rufino J.; Sevilla Moróder, Joaquín; Santamouris, Mattheos; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako GobernuaUrban overheating has a serious impact on building energy consumption. Daytime radiative cooling materials are an interesting passive solution for refrigeration. However, their costs and complex manufacturing hinder their current application. In this study, a series of scalable and lowcost daytime radiative cooling (DTRC) materials were designed, fabricated, and tested in a moderate climate (Cfb-Köppen-Geiger classification) and compared to aluminum and Vikuiti. The methodology was: i) material selection and design, (ii) optimization, (iii) fabrication, (iv) characterization, and (v) testing. The materials were fabricated using different substrates, aluminum and Vikuiti, and two kinds of formulations for the emissive layers based on silica-derived polymer polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSQ) with embedded silica nanoparticles. The resulting aluminum DTRC materials had a mean solar reflectivity of 0.7 and 0.34 emissivity in the atmospheric window, the samples with Vikuiti had 0.97 and 0.89, respectively. During the experiment, the samples were exposed to different ambient conditions without a convection barrier and were contained in an extruded polystyrene board to eliminate conduction. The samples reached 7.32 °C and 9.13 °C maximum surface temperature reduction (below ambient) during the day and night, respectively. The samples with the commercial substrate achieved a mean reduction of 3.72 °C below ambient temperature. Although the aluminum samples did not achieve subambient cooling throughout the entire day, the emissive layer reduced the sample's surface temperature by an average of 1.7 °C. The PMSQ radiative cooling materials show great potential for future building applications. Suitability under different climates and experimental settings should be done to test broad applicability.Publication Open Access Humidity sensor based on silver nanopartlcles embedded in a polymeric coating(Sciendo, 2012) Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Institute of Smart Cities - ISCIn this work, it is presented a novel optical fiber humidity sensor based on silver nanoparticle-loaded polymeric coatings built onto an optical fiber core. The polymeric film was fabricated using the Layer-by-Layer assembly technique. The silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM and UV-VIS spectroscopy. A Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) attenuation band is observed when the thickness of the coating increases, and showed a very good sensitivity to Relative Humidity (RH) variations, suitable for high performance applications such as human breathing monitoring.Publication Open Access In situ synthesis of gold nanoparticles in layer-b y-layer polymeric coatings for the fabrication of optical fiber sensors(MDPI, 2022) Martínez Hernández, María Elena; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de ComunicaciónA new method is proposed to tune the interferometric response of wavelength-based optical fiber sensors. Using the nanoparticle in situ synthesis (ISS) technique, it is possible to synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) within a pre-existing polymeric thin film deposited at the end-face of an optical fiber. This post-process technique allows us to adjust the optical response of the device. The effect of the progressive synthesis of AuNPs upon polymeric film contributed to a remarkable optical contrast enhancement and a very high tuning capability of the reflection spectra in the visible and near-infrared region. The spectral response of the sensor to relative humidity (RH) variations was studied as a proof of concept. These results suggest that the ISS technique can be a useful tool for fiber optic sensor manufacturing.Publication Open Access Instantaneous amplitude and phase signal modeling for harmonic removal in wind turbines(Elsevier, 2023) Zivanovic, Miroslav; Plaza Puértolas, Aitor; Iriarte Goñi, Xabier; Carlosena García, Alfonso; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, 0011-1365-2021-000159.We present a novel approach to harmonic disturbance removal in single-channel wind turbine acceleration data by means of time-variant signal modeling. Harmonics are conceived as a set of quasi-stationary sinusoids whose instantaneous amplitude and phase vary slowly and continuously in a short-time analysis frame. These non-stationarities in the harmonics are modeled by low-degree time polynomials whose coefficients capture the instantaneous dynamics of the corresponding waveforms. The model is linear-in-parameters and is straightforwardly estimated by the linear least-squares algorithm. Estimates from contiguous analysis frames are further combined in the overlap-add fashion in order to yield overall harmonic disturbance waveform and its removal from the data. The algorithm performance analysis, in terms of input parameter sensitivity and comparison against three state-of-the-art methods, has been carried out with synthetic signals. Further model validation has been accomplished through real-world signals and stabilization diagrams, which are a standard tool for determining modal parameters in many time-domain modal identification algorithms. The results show that the proposed method exhibits a robust performance particularly when only the average rotational speed is known, as is often the case for stand-alone sensors which typically carry out data pre-processing for structural health monitoring. Moreover, for real-world analysis scenarios, we show that the proposed method delivers consistent vibration mode parameter estimates, which can straightforwardly be used for structural health monitoring.Publication Open Access Layer-by-layer nano-assembly: a powerful tool for optical fiber sensing applications(MDPI, 2019) Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de ComunicaciónThe ability to tune the composition of nanostructured thin films is a hot topic for the design of functional coatings with advanced properties for sensing applications. The control of the structure at the nanoscale level enables an improvement of intrinsic properties (optical, chemical or physical) in comparison with the traditional bulk materials. In this sense, among all the known nanofabrication techniques, the layer-by-layer (LbL) nano-assembly method is a flexible, easily-scalable and versatile approach which makes possible precise control of the coating thickness, composition and structure. The development of sensitive nanocoatings has shown an exceptional growth in optical fiber sensing applications due to their self-assembling ability with oppositely charged components in order to obtain a multilayer structure. This nanoassembly technique is a powerful tool for the incorporation of a wide variety of species (polyelectrolytes, metal/metal oxide nanoparticles, hybrid particles, luminescent materials, dyes or biomolecules) in the resultant multilayer structure for the design of high-performance optical fiber sensors. In this work we present a review of applications related to optical fiber sensors based on advanced LbL coatings in two related research areas of great interest for the scientific community, namely chemical sensing (pH, gases and volatile organic compounds detection) as well as biological/biochemical sensing (proteins, immunoglobulins, antibodies or DNA detection).Publication Open Access Low-frequency electromagnetic harvester for wind turbine vibrations(Elsevier, 2024) Castellano Aldave, Jesús Carlos; Plaza Puértolas, Aitor; Iriarte Goñi, Xabier; Carlosena García, Alfonso; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate PublikoaIn this paper we describe and fully characterize a novel vibration harvester intended to harness energy from the vibration of a wind turbine (WT), to potentially supply power to sensing nodes oriented to structural health monitoring (SHM). The harvester is based on electromagnetic conversion (EM) and can work with vibrations of ultra-low frequencies in any direction of a plane. The harvester bases on a first prototype already disclosed by the authors, but in this paper, we develop an accurate model parameterized by a combination of physical parameters and others related to the geometry of the device. The model allows predicting not only the power generation capabilities, but also the kinematic behaviour of the harvester. Model parameters are estimated by an identification procedure and validated experimentally. Last, the harvester is tested in real conditions on a wind turbine.Publication Open Access Optical fiber sensor for water velocity measurement in rivers and channels(Nature Research, 2024) Rodríguez Rodríguez, Armando; Diéguez Elizondo, Pedro; Urroz Unzueta, José Carlos; Bravo Acha, Mikel; López Rodríguez, José Javier; López-Amo Sáinz, Manuel; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISCIn this work, optical fiber Bragg grating sensors were used to measure water velocity and examine how it was distributed in open channels. Several types of coatings were incorporated into the design of the sensors to examine their effects on the strain that the fibers experienced as a result of the water flow. Due to their low elastic coefficient, which reduced the hysteresis, the results indicated that the aluminum- and acrylate-coated fibers had the best performance. ANSYS-CFX V2020 R2 software was used to model the strain encountered by the fibers under various flow rates to assess the performance of the FBG sensors. The calculations and actual data exhibited good convergence, demonstrating the accuracy of the FBG sensors in determining water velocity. The study illustrated the usability of the proposal in both scenarios by contrasting its application in rivers and channels.Publication Open Access Optical fiber sensors based on gold nanorods embedded in polymeric thin films(Elsevier, 2018) Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Pildain Lería, Ander; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2In this work, we present a study about the generation and analysis of optical resonances caused by gold nanorods (GNRs) embedded in films. GNRs were embedded in polymeric thin films using the Layerby-Layer nanoassembly (LbL) deposition technique. Polymer/GNRs thin films of different thicknesses were deposited on the surface of cladding removed optical fibers for sensing. The spectral responses of the optical fiber sensors were monitored during the build-up of the thin films. The generation of two Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances (LSPRs) associated to the GNRs was observed in thinner coatings. These devices with around 12 polymer/GNRs bilayers were characterized as refractometers, providing an intensity-based sensitivity up to 75.69 dB/RIU. For thicker polymer/GNRs overlays, both LSPRs bands were also generated and, additionally, it was observed a new Lossy Mode Resonance (LMR) band due to modes coupled to the sensitive coating. The dependence of these three resonance bands with the surrounding refractive index was studied. Finally, these sensors were tested in a climatic chamber in the 20-90% relative humidity (RH) range and the LMR showed a good sensitivity to RH changes while the LSPR bands remained very stable in comparison. Results showed an excellent sensitivity of 11.2 nm/%RH for the LMR, confirming the potential of this type of optical fiber sensor based on the combination of LSPRs and LMRs bands.Publication Open Access Self-referenced optical fiber sensor based on LSPR generated by gold and silver nanoparticles embedded in layer-by-layer nanostructured coatings(MDPI, 2022) Martínez Hernández, María Elena; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Sandúa Fernández, Xabier; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de ComunicaciónIn this work, an optical fiber sensor based on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) phenomenon has been designed for the detection of two different chemical species (mercury and hydrogen peroxide) by using Layer-by-Layer Embedding (LbL-E) as a nanofabrication technique. In the first step, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been synthesized by using a chemical protocol as a function of the strict control of three main parameters, which were polyelectrolyte concentration, a loading agent, and a reducing agent. In the second step, their incorporation into nanometric thin films have been demonstrated as a function of the number of bilayers, which shows two well-located absorption peaks associated to their LSPR in the visible region at 420 nm (AgNPs) and 530 nm (AuNPs). Finally, both plasmonic peaks provide a stable real-time reference measurement, which can be extracted from the spectral response of the optical fiber sensor, which shows a specific sensing mechanism as a function of the analyte of study.Publication Open Access Self-referenced optical fiber sensor for hydrogen peroxide detection based on LSPR of metallic nanoparticles in layer-by-layer films(MDPI, 2019) Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Sada Oreja, Samuel; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniería; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate PublikoaIntensity-based optical fiber sensors are one of the most studied sensor approaches thanks to their simplicity and low cost. Nevertheless, their main issue is their lack of robustness since any light source fluctuation, or unexpected optical setup variation is directly transferred to the output signal, which, significantly reduces their reliability. In this work, a simple and robust hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) optical fiber sensor is proposed based on the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) sensitivity of silver and gold metallic nanoparticles. The precise and robust detection of H2O2 concentrations in the ppm range is very interesting for the scientific community, as it is a pathological precursor in a wide variety of damage mechanisms where its presence can be used to diagnose important diseases such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes, asthma, or even Alzheimer's disease). In this work, the sensing principle is based the oxidation of the silver nanoparticles due the action of the hydrogen peroxide, and consequently the reduction of the efficiency of the plasmonic coupling. At the same time, gold nanoparticles show a high chemical stability, and therefore provide a stable LSPR absorption band. This provides a stable real-time reference that can be extracted from the spectral response of the optical fiber sensor, giving a reliable reading of the hydrogen peroxide concentration.Publication Open Access Single-stage in situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles in antibacterial self-assembled overlays(Springerlink, 2012) Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Ruete Ibarrola, Leyre; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2In this work, a novel single-stage process for in situ synthesis of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) using the layer-bylayer (LbL) technique is presented. The Ag NPs were formed into nanotextured coatings based on sequentially adsorbed poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and SiO2 NPs. Such highly porous surfaces have been used in the fabrication of highly efficient ion release films for applications such as antibacterial coatings. In this approach, the amino groups of the PAH acted as reducing agent and made possible the in situ formation of the Ag NPs. This reduction reaction occurred during the LbL process as the coating was assembled, without any further step after the fabrication and stabilization of the multilayer film. Biamminesilver nitrate was used as the Ag+ ion source during the LbL process and it was successfully reduced to Ag NPs. All coatings were tested with gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial cultures of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii showing an excellent antimicrobial behavior against these types of bacteria (more than 99.9% of killing efficiency in all cases).Publication Open Access Solar ultraviolet irradiance characterization under all sky conditions in Burgos, Spain(MDPI, 2022) García-Rodríguez, Sol; García Ruiz, Ignacio; García-Rodríguez, Ana; Díez-Mediavilla, Montserrat; Alonso-Tristán, Cristina; Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; IngenieríaSolar Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR), which is identified as a major environmental health hazard, is responsible for a variety of photochemical reactions with direct effects on urban and aquatic ecosystems, human health, plant growth, and the deterioration of industrial systems. Ground measurements of total solar UVR are scarce, with low spatial and temporal coverage around the world, which is mainly due to measurement equipment maintenance costs and the complexities of equipment calibration routines; however, models designed to estimate ultraviolet rays from global radiation measurements are frequently used alternatives. In an experimental campaign in Burgos, Spain, between September 2020 and June 2022, average values of the ratio between horizontal global ultraviolet irradiance (GHUV) and global horizontal irradiance (GHI) were determined, based on measurements at ten-minute intervals. Sky cloudiness was the most influential factor in the ratio, more so than any daily, monthly, or seasonal pattern. Both the CIE standard sky classification and the clearness index were used to characterize the cloudiness conditions of homogeneous skies. Overcast sky types presented the highest values of the ratio, whereas the clear sky categories presented the lowest and most dispersed values, regardless of the criteria used for sky classification. The main conclusion, for practical purposes, was that the ratio between GHUV and GHI can be used to model GHUV.Publication Open Access A study on the EDM drilling of reaction-bonded silicon carbide using different electrode materials(Springer, 2023) Torres Salcedo, Alexia; Luis Pérez, Carmelo; Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate PublikoaToday, there is a growing demand for efficient hole manufacturing technology in many industries such as aeronautics, automotive and nuclear, among others. Thus, the present study deals with the machining of through holes on SiSiC advanced ceramic by using Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) drilling technology. Since recommendations related to the electrode characteristics and settings parameters are found to be scant for the industrial use of EDM drilling of SiSiC ceramics, this research work comes to cover this gap as it presents a complete study focused on the influence on different electrodes under rough and finish machining conditions. In particular, the influence of four electrodes materials (copper, copper-tungsten, graphite and copper infiltrated graphite) and three different electrode diameters ranging from 2 to 4 mm are investigated. In addition, the rotational speed of the electrode is also analysed. From the experimental results, both electrode material and machining regime, seem to be the most relevant factors of all. In the case of 2 mm diameter electrode, material removal rate (MRR) with Cu electrode was, approximately, 4.5 times higher than that obtained with a C electrode. In fact, it was found that copper electrode rotating at 20 rpm combined with high values of discharge energy (I = 2 A; ti = 70 µs) is the most economical option in terms of production cost and production time, as it gives a high MRR of 0.4754 mm3/min and a minimum electrode wear (EW) value of 7.52%. Moreover, slightly higher values of MRR were achieved for CuC electrode compared to those obtained with C electrode, indicating that the addition of Cu in the electrode contributes to a greater removal of material. However, a value of Ra of 0.37 µm could be obtained by setting low current intensity values (I = 0.5 A; ti = 45 µs) combined with C electrodes and with no rotation.