Research on the nonintrusive measurement of the turbine blade vibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shi hai; Li, Lu-ping; Rao, Hong-de

2008-11-01

It's one of the important ways to monitor the change of dynamic characteristic of turbine blades for ensuring safety operation of turbine unit. Traditional measurement systems for monitoring blade vibration generally use strain gauges attached to the surface of turbine blades, each strain gauge gives out an analogue signal related to blade deformation, it's maximal defect is only a few blades could be monitored which are attached by strain gauge. But the noncontact vibration measurement will be discussed would solve this problem. This paper deals with noncontact vibration measurement on the rotor blades of turbine through experiments. In this paper, the noncontact vibration measurement - Tip Timing Measurement will be presented, and will be improved. The statistics and DFT will be used in the improved measurement. The main advantage of the improved measurement is that only two sensors over the top of blades and one synchronous sensor of the rotor are used to get the exact vibration characteristics of the each blade in a row. In our experiment, we adopt NI Company's DAQ equipment: SCXI1001 and PCI 6221, three optical sensors, base on the graphics program soft LabVIEW to develop the turbine blade monitor system. At the different rotational speed of the rotor (1000r/m and 1200r/m) we do several experiments on the bench of the Turbine characteristic. Its results indicated that the vibration of turbine blade could be real-time monitored and accurately measured by the improved Tip Timing Measurement.

Nonlinear forecasting analysis of inflation-deflation patterns of an active caldera (Campi Flegrei, Italy)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cortini, M.; Barton, C.C.

1993-01-01

The ground level in Pozzuoli, Italy, at the center of the Campi Flegrei caldera, has been monitored by tide gauges. Previous work suggests that the dynamics of the Campi Flegrei system, as reconstructed from the tide gauge record, is chaotic and low dimensional. According to this suggestion, in spite of the complexity of the system, at a time scale of days the ground motion is driven by a deterministic mechanism with few degrees of freedom; however, the interactions of the system may never be describable in full detail. New analysis of the tide gauge record using Nonlinear Forecasting, confirms low-dimensional chaos in the ground elevation record at Campi Flegrei and suggests that Nonlinear Forecasting could be a useful tool in volcanic surveillance. -from Authors

Ten-year monitoring of high-rise building columns using long-gauge fiber optic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glisic, B.; Inaudi, D.; Lau, J. M.; Fong, C. C.

2013-05-01

A large-scale lifetime building monitoring program was implemented in Singapore in 2001. The monitoring aims of this unique program were to increase safety, verify performance, control quality, increase knowledge, optimize maintenance costs, and evaluate the condition of the structures after a hazardous event. The first instrumented building, which has now been monitored for more than ten years, is presented in this paper. The long-gauge fiber optic strain sensors were embedded in fresh concrete of ground-level columns, thus the monitoring started at the birth of both the construction material and the structure. Measurement sessions were performed during construction, upon completion of each new story and the roof, and after the construction, i.e., in-service. Based on results it was possible to follow and evaluate long-term behavior of the building through every stage of its life. The results of monitoring were analyzed at a local (column) and global (building) level. Over-dimensioning of one column was identified. Differential settlement of foundations was detected, localized, and its magnitude estimated. Post-tremor analysis was performed. Real long-term behavior of concrete columns was assessed. Finally, the long-term performance of the monitoring system was evaluated. The researched monitoring method, monitoring system, rich results gathered over approximately ten years, data analysis algorithms, and the conclusions on the structural behavior and health condition of the building based on monitoring are presented in this paper.

Optimization of hydrometric monitoring network in urban drainage systems using information theory.

PubMed

Yazdi, J

2017-10-01

Regular and continuous monitoring of urban runoff in both quality and quantity aspects is of great importance for controlling and managing surface runoff. Due to the considerable costs of establishing new gauges, optimization of the monitoring network is essential. This research proposes an approach for site selection of new discharge stations in urban areas, based on entropy theory in conjunction with multi-objective optimization tools and numerical models. The modeling framework provides an optimal trade-off between the maximum possible information content and the minimum shared information among stations. This approach was applied to the main surface-water collection system in Tehran to determine new optimal monitoring points under the cost considerations. Experimental results on this drainage network show that the obtained cost-effective designs noticeably outperform the consulting engineers' proposal in terms of both information contents and shared information. The research also determined the highly frequent sites at the Pareto front which might be important for decision makers to give a priority for gauge installation on those locations of the network.

Tracer gauge: An automated dye dilution gauging system for ice‐affected streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clow, David W.; Fleming, Andrea C.

2008-01-01

In‐stream flow protection programs require accurate, real‐time streamflow data to aid in the protection of aquatic ecosystems during winter base flow periods. In cold regions, however, winter streamflow often can only be estimated because in‐channel ice causes variable backwater conditions and alters the stage‐discharge relation. In this study, an automated dye dilution gauging system, a tracer gauge, was developed for measuring discharge in ice‐affected streams. Rhodamine WT is injected into the stream at a constant rate, and downstream concentrations are measured with a submersible fluorometer. Data loggers control system operations, monitor key variables, and perform discharge calculations. Comparison of discharge from the tracer gauge and from a Cipoletti weir during periods of extensive ice cover indicated that the root‐mean‐square error of the tracer gauge was 0.029 m3 s−1, or 6.3% of average discharge for the study period. The tracer gauge system can provide much more accurate data than is currently available for streams that are strongly ice affected and, thus, could substantially improve management of in‐stream flow protection programs during winter in cold regions. Care must be taken, however, to test for the validity of key assumptions, including complete mixing and conservative behavior of dye, no changes in storage, and no gains or losses of water to or from the stream along the study reach. These assumptions may be tested by measuring flow‐weighted dye concentrations across the stream, performing dye mass balance analyses, and evaluating breakthrough curve behavior.

Downsizing a long-term precipitation network: Using a quantitative approach to inform difficult decisions.

PubMed

Green, Mark B; Campbell, John L; Yanai, Ruth D; Bailey, Scott W; Bailey, Amey S; Grant, Nicholas; Halm, Ian; Kelsey, Eric P; Rustad, Lindsey E

2018-01-01

The design of a precipitation monitoring network must balance the demand for accurate estimates with the resources needed to build and maintain the network. If there are changes in the objectives of the monitoring or the availability of resources, network designs should be adjusted. At the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA, precipitation has been monitored with a network established in 1955 that has grown to 23 gauges distributed across nine small catchments. This high sampling intensity allowed us to simulate reduced sampling schemes and thereby evaluate the effect of decommissioning gauges on the quality of precipitation estimates. We considered all possible scenarios of sampling intensity for the catchments on the south-facing slope (2047 combinations) and the north-facing slope (4095 combinations), from the current scenario with 11 or 12 gauges to only 1 gauge remaining. Gauge scenarios differed by as much as 6.0% from the best estimate (based on all the gauges), depending on the catchment, but 95% of the scenarios gave estimates within 2% of the long-term average annual precipitation. The insensitivity of precipitation estimates and the catchment fluxes that depend on them under many reduced monitoring scenarios allowed us to base our reduction decision on other factors such as technician safety, the time required for monitoring, and co-location with other hydrometeorological measurements (snow, air temperature). At Hubbard Brook, precipitation gauges could be reduced from 23 to 10 with a change of <2% in the long-term precipitation estimates. The decision-making approach illustrated in this case study is applicable to the redesign of monitoring networks when reduction of effort seems warranted.

Fiber Bragg grating sensors for real-time monitoring of evacuation process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guru Prasad, A. S.; Hegde, Gopalkrishna M.; Asokan, S.

2010-03-01

Fiber bragg grating (FBG) sensors have been widely used for number of sensing applications like temperature, pressure, acousto-ultrasonic, static and dynamic strain, refractive index change measurements and so on. Present work demonstrates the use of FBG sensors in in-situ measurement of vacuum process with simultaneous leak detection capability. Experiments were conducted in a bell jar vacuum chamber facilitated with conventional Pirani gauge for vacuum measurement. Three different experiments have been conducted to validate the performance of FBG sensor in monitoring vacuum creating process and air bleeding. The preliminary results of FBG sensors in vacuum monitoring have been compared with that of commercial Pirani gauge sensor. This novel technique offers a simple alternative to conventional method for real time monitoring of evacuation process. Proposed FBG based vacuum sensor has potential applications in vacuum systems involving hazardous environment such as chemical and gas plants, automobile industries, aeronautical establishments and leak monitoring in process industries, where the electrical or MEMS based sensors are prone to explosion and corrosion.

Feasibility of fatigue crack detection and tracking with a multi-sensor in-situ monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xiaoliang; Qi, Kevin; Qian, Tao; Mei, Gang

2014-02-01

Fatigue crack is a common problem for steel bridges. A cost effective and reliable method for detecting and verifying growth of a crack is desired. In this work, feasibilities of fatigue crack monitoring with acoustic emission sensors and strain gauges were studied on an A36 steel compact-tension coupon under cyclic tensile loading. By examining the ultrasonic signal time-of-arrival and frequency spectrum, acoustic emissions from a crack growth can be distinguished from other structural borne noises such as those from the interaction of loading bolts with the bolt holes on the plate. Strain sensor and clip gauge sensor data were also correlated well with the growth of the crack.

Developing Methods For Linking Surficial Aquifers With Localized Rainfall Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lafrenz, W. B.; van Gaalen, J. F.

2008-12-01

Water level hydrographs of the surficial aquifer can be evaluated to identify both the cause and consequence of water supply development. Rainfall, as a source of direct recharge and as a source of delayed or compounded recharge, is often the largest influence on surficial aquifer water level responses. It is clear that proximity of the rain gauge to the observation well is a factor in the degree of correlation, but in central Florida, USA, rainfall patterns change seasonally, with latitude, and with distance from the coast . Thus, for a location in central Florida, correlation of rain events with observed hydrograph responses depends on both distance and direction from an observation well to a rain gauge. In this study, we examine the use of extreme value analysis as a method of selecting the best rainfall data set for describing a given surficial aquifer monitor well. A surficial aquifer monitor well with a substantial suite of data is compared to a series of rainfall data sets from gauges ranging from meters to tens of kilometers in distance from the monitor well. The gauges vary in a wide range of directions from the monitor well in an attempt to identify both a method for rainfall gauge selection to be associated with the monitor well. Each rainfall gauge is described by a correlation coefficient with respect to the surficial aquifer water level data.

Development of a low-budget, remote, solar powered, and self-operating rain gauge for spatial rainfall real time data monitoring in pristine and urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shafiei Shiva, J.; Chandler, D. G.; Nucera, K. J.; Valinski, N.

2016-12-01

Precipitation is one of the main components of the hydrological cycle and simulations and it is generally stated as an average value for the study area. However, due to high spatial variability of precipitation in some situations, more precise local data is required. In order to acquire the precipitation data, interpolation of neighbor gauged precipitation data is used which is the most affordable technique for a watershed scale study. Moreover, novel spatial rain measurements such as Doppler radars and satellite image processing have been widely used in recent studies. Although, due to impediments in the radar data processing and the effect of the local setting on the accuracy of the interpolated data, the local measurement of the precipitation remains as one of the most reliable approaches in attaining rain data. In this regard, development of a low-budget, remote, solar powered, and self-operating rain gauge for spatial rainfall real time data monitoring for pristine and urban areas has been presented in this research. The proposed rain gauge consists of two main parts: (a) hydraulic instruments and (b) electrical devices. The hydraulic instruments will collect the rain fall and store it in a PVC container which is connected to the high sensitivity pressure transducer systems. These electrical devices will transmit the data via cellphone networks which will be available for further analysis in less than one minute, after processing. The above-mentioned real time rain fall data can be employed in the precipitation measurement and the evaporation estimation. Due to the installed solar panel for battery recharging and designed siphon system for draining cumulative rain, this device is considered as a self-operating rain gauge. At this time, more than ten rain gauges are built and installed in the urban area of Syracuse, NY. Furthermore, these data are also useful for calibration and validation of data obtained by other rain gauging devices and estimation techniques. Moreover, remote data communication challenges in urban area are demonstrated and the solution for these problems have been addressed. Finally, the rainfall data obtained from the presented rain gauge has been compared with other measuring systems.

40 CFR 60.756 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... owner or operator seeking to comply with § 60.752(b)(2)(ii)(A) for an active gas collection system shall... temperature measurements at each wellhead and: (1) Measure the gauge pressure in the gas collection header on... the landfill gas on a monthly basis as provided in § 60.755(a)(5); and (3) Monitor temperature of the...

40 CFR 60.756 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... owner or operator seeking to comply with § 60.752(b)(2)(ii)(A) for an active gas collection system shall... temperature measurements at each wellhead and: (1) Measure the gauge pressure in the gas collection header on... the landfill gas on a monthly basis as provided in § 60.755(a)(5); and (3) Monitor temperature of the...

Assessment of TRMM 3B43 product for drought monitoring in Singapore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Mou Leong; Chua, Vivien P.; Tan, Kok Chooi; Brindha, K.

2017-10-01

Drought is one of the most hazardous natural disasters for human beings and the environment. Using only rain gauge is insufficient to monitor the drought pattern effectively as it impacts large areas. This situation is more critical on small island countries, with limited rain gauges for monitoring drought pattern over the ocean regions. This study aims to assess the capability of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B43 product in monitoring drought in Singapore from 1998 to 2014. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at various time-scales is used for identifying drought patterns. Results show moderate to good correlations between TMPA- 3B43 and rain gauges in the SPI estimations. Besides that, TMPA-3B43 exhibits a similar temporal drought behavior as the rain gauges. These findings indicate the TMPA 3B43 product as a very useful tool to study drought pattern over Singapore.

A Citizen Science Program for Monitoring Lake Stages in Northern Wisconsin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kretschmann, A.; Drum, A.; Rubsam, J.; Watras, C. J.; Cellar-Rossler, A.

2011-12-01

Historical data indicate that surface water levels in northern Wisconsin are fluctuating more now than they did in the recent past. In the northern highland lake district of Vilas County, Wisconsin, concern about record low lake levels in 2008 spurred local citizens and lake associations to form a lake level monitoring network comprising citizen scientists. The network is administered by the North Lakeland Discovery Center (NLDC, a local NGO) and is supported by a grant from the Citizen Science Monitoring Program of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). With technical guidance from limnologists at neighboring UW-Madison Trout Lake Research Station, citizen scientists have installed geographic benchmarks and staff gauges on 26 area lakes. The project engages citizen and student science participants including homeowners, non-profit organization member-participants, and local schools. Each spring, staff gauges are installed and referenced to fixed benchmarks after ice off by NLDC and dedicated volunteers. Volunteers read and record staff gauges on a weekly basis during the ice-free season; and maintain log books recording lake levels to the nearest 0.5 cm. At the end of the season, before ice on, gauges are removed and log books are collected by the NLDC coordinator. Data is compiled and submitted to a database management system, coordinated within the Wisconsin Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System (SWIMS), a statewide information system managed by the WDNR in Madison. Furthermore, NLDC is collaborating with the SWIMS database manager to develop data entry screens based on records collected by citizen scientists. This program is the first of its kind in Wisconsin to utilize citizen scientists to collect lake level data. The retention rate for volunteers has been 100% over the three years since inception, and the program has expanded from four lakes in 2008 to twenty-six lakes in 2011. NLDC stresses the importance of long-term monitoring and the commitment that such monitoring takes. The volunteers recognize this importance and have fulfilled their monitoring commitments on an annual basis. All participating volunteers receive a summary report at the end of the year, and, if requested, a graph that is updated monthly. Recruitment has been through lake associations, town boards, word of mouth, newspaper articles, community events, and the NLDC citizen science webpage. Local interest and participation are high, perhaps due to the value that citizens place on lakes and the concern that they have about declining water levels.

Subsurface material identification and sensor selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

T, H.; Reghunadh, R.; Ramesh, M. V.

2017-12-01

In India, most of the landslides occur during monsoon season and causes huge loss of life and property. Design of an early warning system for highly landslide prone area will reduce losses to a great extent. The in-situ monitoring systems needs deployment of several sensors inside a borehole for monitoring a particular slope. Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications (AmritaWNA), Amrita University has designed, developed and deployed a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for real time landslide monitoring using geotechnical instruments and sensors like rain gauge, moisture sensor, piezometer, strain gauge, tilt meter and geophone inside a Deep Earth Probe (DEP) at different locations. These sensors provide point measurements of the subsurface at a higher accuracy. Every landslide prone terrain is unique with respect to its geology, hydrological conditions, meteorological conditions, velocity of movement etc. The decision of installing different geotechnical instruments in a landslide prone terrain is a crucial step to be considered. Rain gauge, moisture sensor, and piezometer are usually used in clay rich areas to sense the moisture and pore pressure values. Geophone and Crack meter are instruments used in rocky areas to monitor cracks and vibrations associated with a movement. Inclinometer and Strain gauge are usually placed inside a casing and can be used in both rocky and soil areas. In order to place geotechnical instruments and sensors at appropriate places Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) method can be used. Variation in electrical resistivity values indicate the changes in composition, layer thickness, or contaminant levels. The derived true resistivity image can be used for identifying the type of materials present in the subsurface at different depths. We have used this method for identifying the type of materials present in our site at Chandmari (Sikkim). Fig 1 shows the typical resistivity values of a particular area in Chandmari site. The results shows that the area has more clay so the placement of moisture sensor and piezometer are required instead of placing geophone, crack meter etc.

Implementation of CGPS at Estartit, Ibiza and Barcelona harbours for sea level monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Benjamin, J. J.; Ortiz Castellon, M.; Martinez-Garcia, M.; Perez, B.; Bosch, E.; Termens, A.; Martinez de Oses, X.

2009-12-01

The determination of global and regional mean sea level variations with accura-cies better than 1 mm/yr is a critical problem, the resolution of which is central to the current debate on climate change and its impact on the environment. Highly accurate time series from both satellite altimetry and tide gauges are needed. Measuring the sea surface height with in-situ tide gauges and GPS receivers pro-vides an efficient way to control the long term stability of the radar altimeters and other applications as the vertical land motion and studies of sea level change. L’Estartit tide gauge is a classical floating tide gauge set up in l’Estartit harbour (NE Spain) in 1990. Data are taken in graphics registers from which each two hours the mean value is recorded in an electronic support and delivered to the Permanent Service for Mean Sea level (PSMSL). Periodic surveying campaigns along the year are carried out for monitoring possible vertical movement of the geodetic benchmark adjacent to the tide gauge. Puertos del Estado (Spanish Harbours) installed the tide gauge station at Ibiza har-bour in January 2003 and a near GPS reference station. The station belongs to the REDMAR network, composed at this moment by 21 stations distributed along the whole Spanish waters, including also the Canary islands (http://www.puertos.es). The tide gauge also belongs to the ESEAS (European Sea Level) network. A description of the actual infrastructure at Ibiza, Barcelona and l’Estartit har-bours is presented.The main objective is the implementation of these harbours as a precise geodetic areas for sea level monitoring and altimeter calibration. Actually is a CGPS with a radar tide gauge from Puertos del Estado and a GPS belonging to Puerto de Barcelona. A precise levelling has been made by the Cartographic Insti-tute of Catalonia, ICC. The instrumentation of sea level measurements has been improved by providing the Barcelona site with a radar tide gauge Datamar 3000C device and a Thales Navigation Internet-Enabled GPS Continuous Geodetic Ref-erence Station (iCGRS) with a choke ring antenna, located at the EPSEB of the Technical University of Catalonia, UPC. It is intended that the overall system will constitute a CGPS Station of the ESEAS and TIGA networks.

Sea Level, Tectonics, Environmental Monitoring and Altimeter Calibration in Eastern Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlis, E. C.; Mertikas, S. P.; Evans, K.

2003-12-01

The Eastern Mediterranean area is one of great interest for its intense tectonic activity as well as for its regional oceanography. Recent observations convincingly demonstrated the importance of the area for regional meteorological and climatologic changes. Monitoring tide-gauge locations with continuous GPS on the other hand removes the uncertainties introduced by local tectonics that contaminate the observed sea level variations. Such a global tide-gauge network with long historical records is already used to calibrate satellite altimeters (e.g. on TOPEX/POSEIDON, GFO, JASON-1, ENVISAT, etc.), at present, a common IOC-GLOSS-IGS effort --TIGA. Crete hosts two of the oldest tide-gauges in the regional network, at Souda Bay and Heraklion. We recently completed the instrumentation of a third, state-of-the-art mean sea level (MSL) monitoring facility in southwestern Crete, on the isle of Gavdos, the southernmost European parcel of land. Our project (GAVDOS) further expands the regional tide gauge network to the south, and contributes to TIGA and MedGLOSS. The presentation will focus on the altimeter calibration aspect of the facility, in particular, its application to the JASON-1 mission. Another component of the "GAVDOS" project is the repeated occupation of the older tide-gauges at Souda Bay and Heraklion, and their tie to the new facility. We will present results from positioning of these sites and some of the available tidal records. The Gavdos facility is situated under a ground-track crossing point of the original T/P and present JASON-1 orbits, allowing two calibration observations per cycle. It is an ideal site if the tectonic motions are monitored precisely and continuously. The facility hosts in addition to two tide gauges, multiple GPS receivers, a DORIS beacon for positioning and orbit control, a transponder for direct calibration, and is visited periodically by water vapor radiometers and solar spectrometers, GPS-laden buoys, and airborne surveys with gravimeters and laser profiling lidars. The French transportable laser ranging system (FTLRS) completed recently a co-location campaign at Chania, Crete, for improved orbit control over the site, and to ensure the best possible and most reliable results.

Comparison of Hydraulic Conductivity Determinations in Co-located Conventional and Direct-Push Monitoring Wells

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-08

pressure gauge on the pneumatic head and indicate the number of inches the water level was lowered in the well to induce the slug test. ERDC/CRREL...a pneumatic slug-test system and its major components. ERDC/CRREL TR-11-6 10 pressure gauge on the pneumatic head, which is graduated in inches...The water level changes induced by the slug test were measured with a 10-psi pressure transducer installed below the water level. An analog-to

Absolute Sea-level Monitoring and Altimeter Calibration Facility at Gavdos, Crete, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlis, E. C.

2002-12-01

We introduce the recently instrumented mean sea level (MSL) monitoring facility on western Crete and the isle of Gavdos. We will focus on the altimeter calibration aspect of the facility, in particular, its application to the JASON mission. The Eastern Mediterranean area is one of great interest for its intense tectonic activity as well as for its regional oceanography. Recent observations have convincingly demonstrated the importance of that area for the regional meteorological and climatologic changes. Tide-gauge monitoring with continuous GPS has gained importance lately since tectonics contaminate the inferred sea level variations, and a global network of tide-gauges with long historical records can be used as satellite altimeter calibration sites (e.g. TOPEX/POSEIDON, GFO, JASON-1, ENVISAT, etc.). This is at present a common IOC-GLOSS-IGS effort, already underway (TIGA), and our facility is part of it. Crete hosts two of the oldest tide-gauges in the regional network and our project will further expand it to the south with a new site on the isle of Gavdos, the southernmost European parcel of land. One component of our "GAVDOS" project is the repeated occupation of two already in existence tide-gauge sites at Souda Bay and Heraklion, and their tie to the new facility. We show here initial results from positioning of these sites and some of the available tidal records. Gavdos is situated under a ground-track crossing point of the original T/P and present JASON-1 orbits. It is an ideal calibration site if the tectonic motions are monitored precisely and continuously. The facility hosts in addition to the tide gauges: GPS and DORIS beacons for positioning, transponders for direct calibration, water vapor radiometers and solar spectrometers, GPS-loaded buoys, airborne surveys with gravimeters and laser profiling lidars, transportable laser ranging systems, etc., to ensure the best possible and most reliable results.

Technical Note: An operational landslide early warning system at regional scale based on space-time variable rainfall thresholds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segoni, S.; Battistini, A.; Rossi, G.; Rosi, A.; Lagomarsino, D.; Catani, F.; Moretti, S.; Casagli, N.

2014-10-01

We set up an early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides in Tuscany (23 000 km2). The system is based on a set of state-of-the-art intensity-duration rainfall thresholds (Segoni et al., 2014b), makes use of LAMI rainfall forecasts and real-time rainfall data provided by an automated network of more than 300 rain-gauges. The system was implemented in a WebGIS to ease the operational use in civil protection procedures: it is simple and intuitive to consult and it provides different outputs. Switching among different views, the system is able to focus both on monitoring of real time data and on forecasting at different lead times up to 48 h. Moreover, the system can switch between a very straightforward view where a synoptic scenario of the hazard can be shown all over the region and a more in-depth view were the rainfall path of rain-gauges can be displayed and constantly compared with rainfall thresholds. To better account for the high spatial variability of the physical features, which affects the relationship between rainfall and landslides, the region is subdivided into 25 alert zones, each provided with a specific threshold. The warning system reflects this subdivision: using a network of 332 rain gauges, it allows monitoring each alert zone separately and warnings can be issued independently from an alert zone to another. An important feature of the warning system is the use of thresholds that may vary in time adapting at the conditions of the rainfall path recorded by the rain-gauges. Depending on when the starting time of the rainfall event is set, the comparison with the threshold may produce different outcomes. Therefore, a recursive algorithm was developed to check and compare with the thresholds all possible starting times, highlighting the worst scenario and showing in the WebGIS interface at what time and how much the rainfall path has exceeded or will exceed the most critical threshold. Besides forecasting and monitoring the hazard scenario over the whole region with hazard levels differentiated for 25 distinct alert zones, the system can be used to gather, analyze, visualize, explore, interpret and store rainfall data, thus representing a potential support to both decision makers and scientists.

Web-Based Real-Time Emergency Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harvey, Craig A.; Lawhead, Joel

2007-01-01

The Web-based Real-Time Asset Monitoring (RAM) module for emergency operations and facility management enables emergency personnel in federal agencies and local and state governments to monitor and analyze data in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis that threatens a large number of people and property. The software can manage many disparate sources of data within a facility, city, or county. It was developed on industry-standard Geo- Spatial software and is compliant with open GIS standards. RAM View can function as a standalone system, or as an integrated plugin module to Emergency Operations Center (EOC) software suites such as REACT (Real-time Emergency Action Coordination Tool), thus ensuring the widest possible distribution among potential users. RAM has the ability to monitor various data sources, including streaming data. Many disparate systems are included in the initial suite of supported hardware systems, such as mobile GPS units, ambient measurements of temperature, moisture and chemical agents, flow meters, air quality, asset location, and meteorological conditions. RAM View displays real-time data streams such as gauge heights from the U.S. Geological Survey gauging stations, flood crests from the National Weather Service, and meteorological data from numerous sources. Data points are clearly visible on the map interface, and attributes as specified in the user requirements can be viewed and queried.

Dynamic Assembly, Assessment, Assurance, and Adaptation via Heterogeneous Software Connectors

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-10-01

Versioning Connectors (MVC) Representative of runtime monitoring gauges are multiversioning gauges, which monitor and analyze different versions of...multiple versions of the same component must be merged by the connector before they are forwarded to their target components. The multiversioning

The Influence of the Terrestrial Reference Frame on Studies of Sea Level Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nerem, R. S.; Bar-Sever, Y. E.; Haines, B. J.; Desai, S.; Heflin, M. B.

2015-12-01

The terrestrial reference frame (TRF) provides the foundation for the accurate monitoring of sea level using both ground-based (tide gauges) and space-based (satellite altimetry) techniques. For the latter, tide gauges are also used to monitor drifts in the satellite instruments over time. The accuracy of the terrestrial reference frame (TRF) is thus a critical component for both types of sea level measurements. The TRF is central to the formation of geocentric sea-surface height (SSH) measurements from satellite altimeter data. The computed satellite orbits are linked to a particular TRF via the assumed locations of the ground-based tracking systems. The manner in which TRF errors are expressed in the orbit solution (and thus SSH) is not straightforward, and depends on the models of the forces underlying the satellite's motion. We discuss this relationship, and provide examples of the systematic TRF-induced errors in the altimeter derived sea-level record. The TRF is also crucial to the interpretation of tide-gauge measurements, as it enables the separation of vertical land motion from volumetric changes in the water level. TRF errors affect tide gauge measurements through GNSS estimates of the vertical land motion at each tide gauge. This talk will discuss the current accuracy of the TRF and how errors in the TRF impact both satellite altimeter and tide gauge sea level measurements. We will also discuss simulations of how the proposed Geodetic Reference Antenna in SPace (GRASP) satellite mission could reduce these errors and revolutionize how reference frames are computed in general.

Tsunami Forecasting and Monitoring in New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Power, William; Gale, Nora

2011-06-01

New Zealand is exposed to tsunami threats from several sources that vary significantly in their potential impact and travel time. One route for reducing the risk from these tsunami sources is to provide advance warning based on forecasting and monitoring of events in progress. In this paper the National Tsunami Warning System framework, including the responsibilities of key organisations and the procedures that they follow in the event of a tsunami threatening New Zealand, are summarised. A method for forecasting threat-levels based on tsunami models is presented, similar in many respects to that developed for Australia by Allen and Greenslade (Nat Hazards 46:35-52, 2008), and a simple system for easy access to the threat-level forecasts using a clickable pdf file is presented. Once a tsunami enters or initiates within New Zealand waters, its progress and evolution can be monitored in real-time using a newly established network of online tsunami gauge sensors placed at strategic locations around the New Zealand coasts and offshore islands. Information from these gauges can be used to validate and revise forecasts, and assist in making the all-clear decision.

Vacuum system of the cyclotrons in VECC, Kolkata

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roy, Anindya; Bhole, R.B.; Akhtar, J.

2011-07-01

The vacuum system of the K=130 Room Temperature Cyclotron (RTC) (operational since 1978) has been recently modernized and the same of the K{sub bend}=520 Superconducting Cyclotron (SCC), currently under commissioning, is being deployed for remote monitoring and control. The vacuum system of RTC is designed to achieve and maintain vacuum level of 2 X 10{sup -6} mbar inside 23 m{sup 3} volume of Resonator tank and DEE tank. This has been upgraded by replacing several valves, Freon units, gauges and pumps. The relay based manual control system has been replaced by PLC based automated system. The SCC vacuum system alsomore » has an elaborate arrangement comprising of turbo molecular pumping modules with associated isolation valves and characteristic gauges. This paper describes essential elements, typically used to obtain high (1X10{sup -7} mbar) vacuum using rotary pumps, diffusion pumps and cold traps/turbo-molecular pumps and other system components such as valves, gauges and baffles. The supervisory control methodology/scheme of both the vacuum systems, developed in-house using EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System), a standard open-source software tool for designing distributed control system, is also elaborated here. (author)« less

CGPS Implementation and Lidar/Laser Altimeter Experiences at l'Estartit, Ibiza and Barcelona Harbours for Sea Level Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Benjamin, J.; Schutz, B.; Urban, T.; Ortiz Castellon, M.; Martinez-Garcia, M.; Ruiz, A.; Perez, B.; Rodriguez-Velasco, G.

2008-12-01

In the framework of a Spanish Space Project, the instrumentation of sea level measurements has been improved by providing the Barcelona site with a radar tide gauge and with a continuous GPS station nearby. The radar tide gauge is a Datamar 3000C device and a Thales Navigation Internet-Enabled GPS Continuous Geodetic Reference Station (iCGRS) with a choke ring antenna. It is intended that the overall system will constitute a CGPS Station of the ESEAS (European Sea Level) and TIGA (GPS Tide Gauge Benchmark Monitoring) networks. Puertos del Estado (Spanish Harbours) installed the tide gauge station at Ibiza harbour in January 2003. The station belongs to the REDMAR network, composed at this moment by 21 stations distributed along the whole Spanish waters, including also the Canary islands. The tide gauge also belongs to the ESEAS (European Sea Level) network. At the Barcelona harbour they have installed a radar tide gauge near a GPS station belonging to Puerto de Barcelona. L'Estartit floating tide gauge was set up in 1990. Data are taken in graphics registers from each two hours the mean value is recorded in an electronic support. L'Estartit tide gauge series provides good quality information about the changes in the sea heights at centimeter level, that is the magnitude of the common tides in the Mediterranean. Two airborne calibration campaigns carrying an Optech Lidar ALTM-3025 (ICC) were made on June 16, 2007 with a Partenavia P-68 and October 12, 2007, with a Cessna Caravan 208B flying along two ICESat target tracks including crossover near l'Estartit. The validation of this new technology LIDAR may be useful to fill coastal areas where satellite radar altimeters are not measuring due to the large footprint and the resulting gaps of about 15-30 km within the coastline. Measurements with a GPS Buoy at l'Estartit harbour were made during the June experience and a GPS reference station was installed in Aiguablava. On October 12, 2007, another LIDAR campaign was made at night at the same time of the ICESat overflying. A description of the actual geodetic CGPS infrastructures at Ibiza, l'Estartit and Barcelona is presented as their applications to sea level monitoring and altimeter calibration.

Versatile Mobile and Stationary Low-Cost Approaches for Hydrological Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kröhnert, M.; Eltner, A.

2018-05-01

In the last decades, an increase in the number of extreme precipitation events has been observed, which leads to increasing risks for flash floods and landslides. Thereby, conventional gauging stations are indispensable for monitoring and prediction. However, they are expensive in construction, management, and maintenance. Thus, density of observation networks is rather low, leading to insufficient spatio-temporal resolution to capture hydrological extreme events that occur with short response times especially in small-scale catchments. Smaller creeks and rivers require permanent observation, as well, to allow for a better understanding of the underlying processes and to enhance forecasting reliability. Today's smartphones with inbuilt cameras, positioning sensors and powerful processing units may serve as wide-spread measurement devices for event-based water gauging during floods. With the aid of volunteered geographic information (VGI), the hydrological network of water gauges can be highly densified in its spatial and temporal domain even for currently unobserved catchments. Furthermore, stationary low-cost solutions based on Raspberry Pi imaging systems are versatile for permanent monitoring of hydrological parameters. Both complementary systems, i.e. smartphone and Raspberry Pi camera, share the same methodology to extract water levels automatically, which is explained in the paper in detail. The annotation of 3D reference data by 2D image measurements is addressed depending on camera setup and river section to be monitored. Accuracies for water stage measurements are in range of several millimetres up to few centimetres.

Non-linear motions in reprocessed GPS station position time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudenko, Sergei; Gendt, Gerd

2010-05-01

Global Positioning System (GPS) data of about 400 globally distributed stations obtained at time span from 1998 till 2007 were reprocessed using GFZ Potsdam EPOS (Earth Parameter and Orbit System) software within International GNSS Service (IGS) Tide Gauge Benchmark Monitoring (TIGA) Pilot Project and IGS Data Reprocessing Campaign with the purpose to determine weekly precise coordinates of GPS stations located at or near tide gauges. Vertical motions of these stations are used to correct the vertical motions of tide gauges for local motions and to tie tide gauge measurements to the geocentric reference frame. Other estimated parameters include daily values of the Earth rotation parameters and their rates, as well as satellite antenna offsets. The solution GT1 derived is based on using absolute phase center variation model, ITRF2005 as a priori reference frame, and other new models. The solution contributed also to ITRF2008. The time series of station positions are analyzed to identify non-linear motions caused by different effects. The paper presents the time series of GPS station coordinates and investigates apparent non-linear motions and their influence on GPS station height rates.

Comparison of a brain-based adaptive system and a manual adaptable system for invoking automation.

PubMed

Bailey, Nathan R; Scerbo, Mark W; Freeman, Frederick G; Mikulka, Peter J; Scott, Lorissa A

2006-01-01

Two experiments are presented examining adaptive and adaptable methods for invoking automation. Empirical investigations of adaptive automation have focused on methods used to invoke automation or on automation-related performance implications. However, no research has addressed whether performance benefits associated with brain-based systems exceed those in which users have control over task allocations. Participants performed monitoring and resource management tasks as well as a tracking task that shifted between automatic and manual modes. In the first experiment, participants worked with an adaptive system that used their electroencephalographic signals to switch the tracking task between automatic and manual modes. Participants were also divided between high- and low-reliability conditions for the system-monitoring task as well as high- and low-complacency potential. For the second experiment, participants operated an adaptable system that gave them manual control over task allocations. Results indicated increased situation awareness (SA) of gauge instrument settings for individuals high in complacency potential using the adaptive system. In addition, participants who had control over automation performed more poorly on the resource management task and reported higher levels of workload. A comparison between systems also revealed enhanced SA of gauge instrument settings and decreased workload in the adaptive condition. The present results suggest that brain-based adaptive automation systems may enhance perceptual level SA while reducing mental workload relative to systems requiring user-initiated control. Potential applications include automated systems for which operator monitoring performance and high-workload conditions are of concern.

40 CFR 60.274a - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the equipment that is important to the performance of the total capture system (i.e., pressure sensors... this subpart shall check and record on a once-per-shift basis the furnace static pressure (if DEC system is in use, and a furnace static pressure gauge is installed according to paragraph (f) of this...

Balance System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

TherEx Inc.'s AT-1 Computerized Ataxiameter precisely evaluates posture and balance disturbances that commonly accompany neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. Complete system includes two-strain gauged footplates, signal conditioning circuitry, a computer monitor, printer and a stand-alone tiltable balance platform. AT-1 serves as assessment tool, treatment monitor, and rehabilitation training device. It allows clinician to document quantitatively the outcome of treatment and analyze data over time to develop outcome standards for several classifications of patients. It can evaluate specifically the effects of surgery, drug treatment, physical therapy or prosthetic devices.

Novel Principle of Contactless Gauge Block Calibration

PubMed Central

Buchta, Zdeněk; Řeřucha, Šimon; Mikel, Břetislav; Čížek, Martin; Lazar, Josef; Číp, Ondřej

2012-01-01

In this paper, a novel principle of contactless gauge block calibration is presented. The principle of contactless gauge block calibration combines low-coherence interferometry and laser interferometry. An experimental setup combines Dowell interferometer and Michelson interferometer to ensure a gauge block length determination with direct traceability to the primary length standard. By monitoring both gauge block sides with a digital camera gauge block 3D surface measurements are possible too. The principle presented is protected by the Czech national patent No. 302948. PMID:22737012

Novel principle of contactless gauge block calibration.

PubMed

Buchta, Zdeněk; Reřucha, Simon; Mikel, Břetislav; Cížek, Martin; Lazar, Josef; Cíp, Ondřej

2012-01-01

In this paper, a novel principle of contactless gauge block calibration is presented. The principle of contactless gauge block calibration combines low-coherence interferometry and laser interferometry. An experimental setup combines Dowell interferometer and Michelson interferometer to ensure a gauge block length determination with direct traceability to the primary length standard. By monitoring both gauge block sides with a digital camera gauge block 3D surface measurements are possible too. The principle presented is protected by the Czech national patent No. 302948.

Real-time sea-level gauge observations and operational oceanography.

PubMed

Mourre, Baptiste; Crosnier, Laurence; Provost, Christian Le

2006-04-15

The contribution of tide-gauge data, which provide a unique monitoring of sea-level variability along the coasts of the world ocean, to operational oceanography is discussed in this paper. Two distinct applications that both demonstrate tide-gauge data utility when delivered in real-time are illustrated. The first case details basin-scale operational model validation of the French Mercator operational system applied to the North Atlantic. The accuracy of model outputs in the South Atlantic Bight both at coastal and offshore locations is evaluated using tide-gauge observations. These data enable one to assess the model's nowcasts and forecasts reliability which is needed in order for the model boundary conditions to be delivered to other coastal prediction systems. Such real-time validation is possible as long as data are delivered within a delay of a week. In the second application, tide-gauge data are assimilated in a storm surge model of the North Sea and used to control model trajectories in real-time. Using an advanced assimilation scheme that takes into account the swift evolution of model error statistics, these observations are shown to be very efficient to control model error, provided that they can be assimilated very frequently (i.e. available within a few hours).

ENRAF Series 854 Advanced Technology Gauge (ATG) Acceptance Test Procedure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HUBER, J.H.

1999-08-17

This procedure provides acceptance testing for Enraf Series 854 level gauges used to monitor levels in Hanford Waste Storage Tanks. The test will verify that the gauge functions according to the manufacturer's instructions and specifications and is properly setup prior to being delivered to the tank farm area. This ATP does not set up the gauge for any specific tank, but is generalized to permit testing the gauge prior to installation package preparation.

A microcomputer based data acquisition system and experiment controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ganz, M. W.

1981-01-01

A data acquisition system is described. The system monitors and records the signal strength of a radio beacon sent to Earth from a geosynchronous satellite. It acquires data from several devices such as a radar, a radiometer, and a rain gauge which monitor the meteorological conditions along the Earth space propagation path. The acquired data are stored in digital format on magnetic tape for analysis at the computer center. A detailed description of the design and operation of the system's various hardware components is given. Schematic diagrams, the theory of operation, and normal operating procedures are presented.

Geodetic infrastructure at the Barcelona harbour for sea level monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Benjamin, Juan Jose; Gili, Josep; Lopez, Rogelio; Tapia, Ana; Pros, Francesc; Palau, Vicenc; Perez, Begona

2015-04-01

The presentation is directed to the description of the actual geodetic infrastructure of Barcelona harbour with three tide gauges of different technologies for sea level determination and contribution to regional sea level rise and understanding past and present sea level rise in the Barcelona harbour. It is intended that the overall system will constitute a CGPS Station of the ESEAS (European Sea Level) and TIGA (GPS Tide Gauge Benchmark Monitoring) networks. At Barcelona harbour there is a MIROS radar tide gauge belonging to Puertos del Estado (Spanish Harbours).The radar sensor is over the water surface, on a L-shaped structure which elevates it a few meters above the quay shelf. 1-min data are transmitted to the ENAGAS Control Center by cable and then sent each 1 min to Puertos del Estado by e-mail. The information includes wave forescast (mean period, significant wave height, sea level, etc.This sensor also measures agitation and sends wave parameters each 20 min. There is a GPS station Leica Geosystems GRX1200 GG Pro and antenna AX 1202 GG. The Control Tower of the Port of Barcelona is situated in the North dike of the so-called Energy Pier in the Barcelona harbor (Spain). This tower has different kind of antennas for navigation monitoring and a GNSS permanent station. As the tower is founded in reclaimed land, and because its metallic structure, the 50 m building is subjected to diverse movements, including periodic fluctuations due to temperature changes. In this contribution the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 the necessary monitoring campaigns are described. In the framework of a Spanish Space Project, the instrumentation of sea level measurements has been improved by providing the Barcelona site with a radar tide gauge Datamar 2000C from Geonica S.L. in June 2014 near an acoustic tide gauge from the Barcelona Harbour installed in 2013. Precision levelling has been made several times in the last two years because the tower is founded in reclaimed land and a little far away from the geographic location of the pulse and acustic radar location on the Europa bridge. The measured settlement rate is about 1cm/year that may be could mask the values registered by the tide gauge. An intercomparison of the results of the three different tide gauges is presented and discussed. These activities has been received funding of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion under Spanish National Project CGL2009-13435/CLI.

Citizen and Satellite Measurements Used to Estimate Lake Water Storage Variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parkins, G.; Pavelsky, T.; Yelton, S.; Ghafoor, S. K.; Hossain, F.

2017-12-01

Of the roughly 20-40 million lakes in the world larger than 0.01 km2, perhaps a few thousand receive regular water level monitoring, and only approximately a thousand are included in the largest lake level databases. The prospect for on-the-ground, automated monitoring of a significant fraction of the world's lakes is not high given the considerable expense involved. In comparison to many other measurements, however, measuring lake water level is relatively simple under most conditions. A staff gauge installed in a lake, essentially a leveled ruler, can be read relatively simply by both experts and ordinary citizens. Reliable staff gauges cost far less than automated systems, making them an attractive alternative. However, staff gauges are only effective when they are regularly observed and when those observations are communicated to a central database. We have developed and tested a system for citizen scientists to monitor water levels in 15 lakes in Eastern North Carolina, USA and to easily report those measurements to our project team. We combine these citizen measurements with Landsat measurements of inundated area to track variations in lake water storage. Here, we present the resulting lake water level, inundation extent, and lake storage change time series and assess measurement accuracy. Our primary validation method for citizen-measured lake water levels is comparison with heights from pressure transducers also installed in all fifteen lakes. We use the validated results to understand spatial patterns in the lake hydrology of Eastern North Carolina. Finally, we consider the motivations of citizens who participate in the project and discuss the feedback they have provided regarding our measurement and communication systems.

Wireless Zigbee strain gage sensor system for structural health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ide, Hiroshi; Abdi, Frank; Miraj, Rashid; Dang, Chau; Takahashi, Tatsuya; Sauer, Bruce

2009-05-01

A compact cell phone size radio frequency (ZigBee) wireless strain measurement sensor system to measure the structural strain deformation was developed. The developed system provides an accurate strain measurement data stream to the Internet for further Diagnostic and Prognostic (DPS) correlation. Existing methods of structural measurement by strain sensors (gauges) do not completely satisfy problems posed by continuous structural health monitoring. The need for efficient health monitoring methods with real-time requirements to bidirectional data flow from sensors and to a commanding device is becoming critical for keeping our daily life safety. The use of full-field strain measurement techniques could reduce costly experimental programs through better understanding of material behavior. Wireless sensor-network technology is a monitoring method that is estimated to grow rapidly providing potential for cost savings over traditional wired sensors. The many of currently available wireless monitoring methods have: the proactive and constant data rate character of the data streams rather than traditional reactive, event-driven data delivery; mostly static node placement on structures with limited number of nodes. Alpha STAR Electronics' wireless sensor network system, ASWN, addresses some of these deficiencies, making the system easier to operate. The ASWN strain measurement system utilizes off-the-shelf sensors, namely strain gauges, with an analog-to-digital converter/amplifier and ZigBee radio chips to keep cost lower. Strain data is captured by the sensor, converted to digital form and delivered to the ZigBee radio chip, which in turn broadcasts the information using wireless protocols to a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) or Laptop/Desktop computers. From here, data is forwarded to remote computers for higher-level analysis and feedback using traditional cellular and satellite communication or the Ethernet infrastructure. This system offers a compact size, lower cost, and temperature insensitivity for critical structural applications, which require immediate monitoring and feedback.

Laboratory and field performance of FOS sensors in static and dynamic strain monitoring in concrete bridge decks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benmokrane, B.; Debaiky, A.; El-Ragaby, A.; Roy, R.; El-Gamal, S.; El-Salakawy, E.

2006-03-01

There is a growing need for designing and constructing innovative concrete bridges using FRP reinforcing bars as internal reinforcement to avoid the corrosion problems and high costs of maintenance and repair. For efficient use and to increase the lifetime of these bridges, it is important to develop efficient monitoring systems for such innovative structures. Fabry-Perot and Bragg fibre optic sensors (FOS) that can measure the strains and temperature are promising candidates for life-long health monitoring of these structures. This article reports laboratory and field performance of Fabry-Perot and Bragg FOS sensors as well as electrical strain gauges in static and dynamic strain monitoring in concrete bridge decks. The laboratory tests include tensile testing of glass FRP bars and testing of full-scale concrete bridge deck slabs reinforced with glass and carbon FRP bars under static and cyclic concentrated loads. The field tests include static and dynamic testing of two bridges reinforced with steel and glass FRP bars. The obtained strain results showed satisfactory agreement between the different gauges.

40 CFR 49.145 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... gauging or positive displacement metering system, as appropriate, as established by the US Department of... at all times. Methods to measure the volume include, but are not limited to, direct measurement and... standing, working, breathing, and flashing losses from the produced oil and produced water storage tanks...

40 CFR 49.145 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... gauging or positive displacement metering system, as appropriate, as established by the US Department of... at all times. Methods to measure the volume include, but are not limited to, direct measurement and... standing, working, breathing, and flashing losses from the produced oil and produced water storage tanks...

Validation of a global satellite rainfall product for real time monitoring of meteorological extremes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cánovas-García, Fulgencio; García-Galiano, Sandra; Karbalaee, Negar

2017-10-01

The real time monitoring of storms is important for the management and prevention of flood risks. However, in the southeast of Spain, it seems that the density of the rain gauge network may not be sufficient to adequately characterize the rainfall spatial distribution or the high rainfall intensities that are reached during storms. Satellite precipitation products such as PERSIANN-CCS (Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks - Cloud Classification System) could be used to complement the automatic rain gauge networks and so help solve this problem. However, the PERSIANN-CCS product has only recently become available, so its operational validity for areas such as south-eastern Spain is not yet known. In this work, a methodology for the hourly validation of PERSIANN-CCS is presented. We used the rain gauge stations of the SIAM (Sistema de Información Agraria de Murcia) network to study three storms with a very high return period. These storms hit the east and southeast of the Iberian Peninsula and resulted in the loss of human life, major damage to agricultural crops and a strong impact on many different types of infrastructure. The study area is the province of Murcia (Region of Murcia), located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, covering an area of more than 11,000 km2 and with a population of almost 1.5 million. In order to validate the PERSIANN-CCS product for these three storms, contrasts were made with the hyetographs registered by the automatic rain gauges, analyzing statistics such as bias, mean square difference and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Although in some cases the temporal distribution of rainfall was well captured by PERSIANN-CCS, in several rain gauges high intensities were not properly represented. The differences were strongly correlated with the rain gauge precipitation, but not with satellite-obtained rainfall. The main conclusion concerns the need for specific local calibration for the study area if PERSIANN-CCS is to be used as an operational tool for the monitoring of extreme meteorological phenomena.

Improved growth method of (SN) x single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakada, Ichiroh

1981-12-01

The crystal growth of pure and sizable single crystals of polysulfur nitride (SN) x was improved by adopting a monitor system with a quadrapole mass spectrometer and a Pirani gauge. The mass spectrometer helped to find a temperature appropriate for trapping (SN) 2 selectively on a cold finger and removing other unnecessary or harmful materials produced by the thermal decomposition of (SN) 4 as well as out-gassing water vapour from the glass wall. Leakage of gasses in the vessel was monitored with the Pirani gauge. With a heat pipe the crystal tube is cooled locally so that only a small number of nuclei start to grow. (SN) x single crystals with dimensions of 1 to 6 mm in edge size have been obtained. The relation between the crystal habit and the crystallographic axes has also been determined.

Monitoring Sea Level by Tide Gauges and GPS at Estartit and Barcelona Sites for Altimeter Calibration Campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Benjain, Juan Jose; Gili, Josep; Lopez, Rogelio; Tapia, Ana; Bosch, Ernest; Perez, Begona; Pros, Francesc

2013-09-01

The presentation is directed to the description of the actual geodetic infrastructure of Barcelona and l'Estartit sites for sea level monitoring by tide gauges and GPS and complementing Ibiza site for a new altimeter calibration campaign of Jason-2 and Saral/AltiKa satellites to be made in 2013.

Flood monitoring for ungauged rivers: the power of combining space-based monitoring and global forecasting models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Revilla-Romero, Beatriz; Netgeka, Victor; Raynaud, Damien; Thielen, Jutta

2013-04-01

Flood warning systems typically rely on forecasts from national meteorological services and in-situ observations from hydrological gauging stations. This capacity is not equally developed in flood-prone developing countries. Low-cost satellite monitoring systems and global flood forecasting systems can be an alternative source of information for national flood authorities. The Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS) has been develop jointly with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) and the Joint Research Centre, and it is running quasi operational now since June 2011. The system couples state-of-the art weather forecasts with a hydrological model driven at a continental scale. The system provides downstream countries with information on upstream river conditions as well as continental and global overviews. In its test phase, this global forecast system provides probabilities for large transnational river flooding at the global scale up to 30 days in advance. It has shown its real-life potential for the first time during the flood in Southeast Asia in 2011, and more recently during the floods in Australia in March 2012, India (Assam, September-October 2012) and Chad Floods (August-October 2012).The Joint Research Centre is working on further research and development, rigorous testing and adaptations of the system to create an operational tool for decision makers, including national and regional water authorities, water resource managers, hydropower companies, civil protection and first line responders, and international humanitarian aid organizations. Currently efforts are being made to link GloFAS to the Global Flood Detection System (GFDS). GFDS is a Space-based river gauging and flood monitoring system using passive microwave remote sensing which was developed by a collaboration between the JRC and Dartmouth Flood Observatory. GFDS provides flood alerts based on daily water surface change measurements from space. Alerts are shown on a world map, with detailed reports for individual gauging sites. A comparison of discharge estimates from the Global Flood Detection System (GFDS) and the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS) with observations for representative climatic zones is presented. Both systems have demonstrated strong potential in forecasting and detecting recent catastrophic floods. The usefulness of their combined information on global scale for decision makers at different levels is discussed. Combining space-based monitoring and global forecasting models is an innovative approach and has significant benefits for international river commissions as well as international aid organisations. This is in line with the objectives of the Hyogo and the Post-2015 Framework that aim at the development of systems which involve trans-boundary collaboration, space-based earth observation, flood forecasting and early warning.

Microinterferometer transducer

DOEpatents

Corey, III, Harry S.

1979-01-01

An air-bearing microinterferometer transducer is provided for increased accuracy, range and linearity over conventional displacement transducers. A microinterferometer system is housed within a small compartment of an air-bearing displacement transducer housing. A movable cube corner reflector of the interferometer is mounted to move with the displacement gauging probe of the transducer. The probe is disposed for axial displacement by means of an air-bearing. Light from a single frequency laser is directed into an interferometer system within the transducer housing by means of a self-focusing fiber optic cable to maintain light coherency. Separate fringe patterns are monitored by a pair of fiber optic cables which transmit the patterns to a detecting system. The detecting system includes a bidirectional counter which counts the light pattern fringes according to the direction of movement of the probe during a displacement gauging operation.

Design and evaluation of a wireless sensor network based aircraft strength testing system.

PubMed

Wu, Jian; Yuan, Shenfang; Zhou, Genyuan; Ji, Sai; Wang, Zilong; Wang, Yang

2009-01-01

The verification of aerospace structures, including full-scale fatigue and static test programs, is essential for structure strength design and evaluation. However, the current overall ground strength testing systems employ a large number of wires for communication among sensors and data acquisition facilities. The centralized data processing makes test programs lack efficiency and intelligence. Wireless sensor network (WSN) technology might be expected to address the limitations of cable-based aeronautical ground testing systems. This paper presents a wireless sensor network based aircraft strength testing (AST) system design and its evaluation on a real aircraft specimen. In this paper, a miniature, high-precision, and shock-proof wireless sensor node is designed for multi-channel strain gauge signal conditioning and monitoring. A cluster-star network topology protocol and application layer interface are designed in detail. To verify the functionality of the designed wireless sensor network for strength testing capability, a multi-point WSN based AST system is developed for static testing of a real aircraft undercarriage. Based on the designed wireless sensor nodes, the wireless sensor network is deployed to gather, process, and transmit strain gauge signals and monitor results under different static test loads. This paper shows the efficiency of the wireless sensor network based AST system, compared to a conventional AST system.

Design and Evaluation of a Wireless Sensor Network Based Aircraft Strength Testing System

PubMed Central

Wu, Jian; Yuan, Shenfang; Zhou, Genyuan; Ji, Sai; Wang, Zilong; Wang, Yang

2009-01-01

The verification of aerospace structures, including full-scale fatigue and static test programs, is essential for structure strength design and evaluation. However, the current overall ground strength testing systems employ a large number of wires for communication among sensors and data acquisition facilities. The centralized data processing makes test programs lack efficiency and intelligence. Wireless sensor network (WSN) technology might be expected to address the limitations of cable-based aeronautical ground testing systems. This paper presents a wireless sensor network based aircraft strength testing (AST) system design and its evaluation on a real aircraft specimen. In this paper, a miniature, high-precision, and shock-proof wireless sensor node is designed for multi-channel strain gauge signal conditioning and monitoring. A cluster-star network topology protocol and application layer interface are designed in detail. To verify the functionality of the designed wireless sensor network for strength testing capability, a multi-point WSN based AST system is developed for static testing of a real aircraft undercarriage. Based on the designed wireless sensor nodes, the wireless sensor network is deployed to gather, process, and transmit strain gauge signals and monitor results under different static test loads. This paper shows the efficiency of the wireless sensor network based AST system, compared to a conventional AST system. PMID:22408521

Magnetostrictive patch sensor system for battery-less real-time measurement of torsional vibrations of rotating shafts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jun Kyu; Seung, Hong Min; Park, Chung Il; Lee, Joo Kyung; Lim, Do Hyeong; Kim, Yoon Young

2018-02-01

Real-time uninterrupted measurement for torsional vibrations of rotating shafts is crucial for permanent health monitoring. So far, strain gauge systems with telemetry units have been used for real-time monitoring. However, they have a critical disadvantage in that shaft operations must be stopped intermittently to replace telemetry unit batteries. To find an alternative method to carry out battery-less real-time measurement for torsional vibrations of rotating shafts, a magnetostrictive patch sensor system was proposed in the present study. Since the proposed sensor does not use any powered telemetry system, no battery is needed and thus there is no need to stop rotating shafts for battery replacement. The proposed sensor consists of magnetostrictive patches and small magnets tightly bonded onto a shaft. A solenoid coil is placed around the shaft to convert magnetostrictive patch deformation by shaft torsional vibration into electric voltage output. For sensor design and characterization, investigations were performed in a laboratory on relatively small-sized stationary solid shaft. A magnetostrictive patch sensor system was then designed and installed on a large rotating propulsion shaft of an LPG carrier ship in operation. Vibration signals were measured using the proposed sensor system and compared to those measured with a telemetry unit-equipped strain gauge system.

Far-field tsunami of 2017 Mw 8.1 Tehuantepec, Mexico earthquake recorded by Chilean tide gauge network: Implications for tsunami warning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Carrasco, J. F.; Benavente, R. F.; Zelaya, C.; Núñez, C.; Gonzalez, G.

2017-12-01

The 2017 Mw 8.1, Tehuantepec earthquake generated a moderated tsunami, which was registered in near-field tide gauges network activating a tsunami threat state for Mexico issued by PTWC. In the case of Chile, the forecast of tsunami waves indicate amplitudes less than 0.3 meters above the tide level, advising an informative state of threat, without activation of evacuation procedures. Nevertheless, during sea level monitoring of network we detect wave amplitudes (> 0.3 m) indicating a possible change of threat state. Finally, NTWS maintains informative level of threat based on mathematical filtering analysis of sea level records. After 2010 Mw 8.8, Maule earthquake, the Chilean National Tsunami Warning System (NTWS) has increased its observational capabilities to improve early response. Most important operational efforts have focused on strengthening tide gauge network for national area of responsibility. Furthermore, technological initiatives as Integrated Tsunami Prediction and Warning System (SIPAT) has segmented the area of responsibility in blocks to focus early warning and evacuation procedures on most affected coastal areas, while maintaining an informative state for distant areas of near-field earthquake. In the case of far-field events, NTWS follow the recommendations proposed by Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), including a comprehensive monitoring of sea level records, such as tide gauges and DART (Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys, to evaluate the state of tsunami threat in the area of responsibility. The main objective of this work is to analyze the first-order physical processes involved in the far-field propagation and coastal impact of tsunami, including implications for decision-making of NTWS. To explore our main question, we construct a finite-fault model of the 2017, Mw 8.1 Tehuantepec earthquake. We employ the rupture model to simulate a transoceanic tsunami modeled by Neowave2D. We generate synthetic time series at tide gauge stations and compare them with recorded sea level data, to dismiss meteorological processes, such as storms and surges. Resonance analysis is performed by wavelet technique.

Collisional Detachment of Anions using Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-12-01

cross section. which itself may be the object of the measurement. Two pressure gauges are employed to monitor system pressure: a standard nude ion...Transform Ion Cyclotron Res- onance Mass Spectrometry: The Teen Years," Analytical Chemistry, 63:215A-229A (February 1991). 88. Marshall, Alan G., et al

A technique for chronic, extraluminal measurement of uterine activity.

PubMed

Capraro, D L; Lee, J G; Sharp, D C

1977-08-01

The construction, calibration, and surgical placement of a device for monitoring uterine motility are described. The device, a linear stretch gauge, consisted of a length of flexible tubing filled with mercury and connected at both ends to copper wire leads. An increase in the length of the mercury-filled tubing caused a change in resistance. This change was quantitated, using a modified Wheatstone bridge circuit. In in vitro test, the stretch gauges demonstrated linear response in millivolt output to elongation over a range that was comparable to physiologic responses observed with the gauges placed in vivo. If surgically placed around 1 uterine horn, stretch gauges responded to uterine contractile events with specificity and sensitivity. Calibration of the device at time of placement permitted monitoring for possible increases in uterine circumference.

Procedural Guide for International Gauging Stations on Boundary Waters Between Canada and the United States of America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Huberman, S.; Slater, James; Condes, A.

1985-01-01

INTRODUCTION Since 1909, the United States of America (U.S.A.) and Canada have employed a system of monitoring stream-flow and water levels for shared waters based upon professionalism, trust and goodwill. This document has been prepared in considerable detail for use by managers and field officers at all levels of government in Canada and the United States. Its purpose is to serve as a guide in attaining uniform procedures in the designation and operation of International Gauging Stations. For special situations where these procedures do not apply, specific mention is made in appropriate sections of the guide. This guide supersedes that of November 4, 1969, and the guide entitled 'The Procedural Guide for Operation of International Gauging Stations, St. Mary- Milk Rivers,' dated March 12, 1979.

Systems and Sensors for Debris-flow Monitoring and Warning

PubMed Central

Arattano, Massimo; Marchi, Lorenzo

2008-01-01

Debris flows are a type of mass movement that occurs in mountain torrents. They consist of a high concentration of solid material in water that flows as a wave with a steep front. Debris flows can be considered a phenomenon intermediate between landslides and water floods. They are amongst the most hazardous natural processes in mountainous regions and may occur under different climatic conditions. Their destructiveness is due to different factors: their capability of transporting and depositing huge amounts of solid materials, which may also reach large sizes (boulders of several cubic meters are commonly transported by debris flows), their steep fronts, which may reach several meters of height and also their high velocities. The implementation of both structural and non-structural control measures is often required when debris flows endanger routes, urban areas and other infrastructures. Sensor networks for debris-flow monitoring and warning play an important role amongst non-structural measures intended to reduce debris-flow risk. In particular, debris flow warning systems can be subdivided into two main classes: advance warning and event warning systems. These two classes employ different types of sensors. Advance warning systems are based on monitoring causative hydrometeorological processes (typically rainfall) and aim to issue a warning before a possible debris flow is triggered. Event warning systems are based on detecting debris flows when these processes are in progress. They have a much smaller lead time than advance warning ones but are also less prone to false alarms. Advance warning for debris flows employs sensors and techniques typical of meteorology and hydrology, including measuring rainfall by means of rain gauges and weather radar and monitoring water discharge in headwater streams. Event warning systems use different types of sensors, encompassing ultrasonic or radar gauges, ground vibration sensors, videocameras, avalanche pendulums, photocells, trip wires etc. Event warning systems for debris flows have a strong linkage with debris-flow monitoring that is carried out for research purposes: the same sensors are often used for both monitoring and warning, although warning systems have higher requirements of robustness than monitoring systems. The paper presents a description of the sensors employed for debris-flow monitoring and event warning systems, with attention given to advantages and drawbacks of different types of sensors. PMID:27879828

A Combined Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Buried Explosive Charges

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-09-01

technique was not completely suc- cessful. The gauges were connected to a bridge circuit ( Pulsar 251A) to monitor their change in resistance as the...We refer to this "ater as the V (vertical) layout. The gauges used were Pulsar FMSOA gauges. These gauges are mounted between fiberglass and kapton...thick. The gauges were used in a two-Jead arrangement and were powered by a Pulsar Model 251A which also contains 36V m~ r7 2 2. y 61 Ur 2 13 03.0 6.13

Technical Note: An operational landslide early warning system at regional scale based on space-time-variable rainfall thresholds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segoni, S.; Battistini, A.; Rossi, G.; Rosi, A.; Lagomarsino, D.; Catani, F.; Moretti, S.; Casagli, N.

2015-04-01

We set up an early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides in Tuscany (23 000 km2). The system is based on a set of state-of-the-art intensity-duration rainfall thresholds (Segoni et al., 2014b) and makes use of LAMI (Limited Area Model Italy) rainfall forecasts and real-time rainfall data provided by an automated network of more than 300 rain gauges. The system was implemented in a WebGIS to ease the operational use in civil protection procedures: it is simple and intuitive to consult, and it provides different outputs. When switching among different views, the system is able to focus both on monitoring of real-time data and on forecasting at different lead times up to 48 h. Moreover, the system can switch between a basic data view where a synoptic scenario of the hazard can be shown all over the region and a more in-depth view were the rainfall path of rain gauges can be displayed and constantly compared with rainfall thresholds. To better account for the variability of the geomorphological and meteorological settings encountered in Tuscany, the region is subdivided into 25 alert zones, each provided with a specific threshold. The warning system reflects this subdivision: using a network of more than 300 rain gauges, it allows for the monitoring of each alert zone separately so that warnings can be issued independently. An important feature of the warning system is that the visualization of the thresholds in the WebGIS interface may vary in time depending on when the starting time of the rainfall event is set. The starting time of the rainfall event is considered as a variable by the early warning system: whenever new rainfall data are available, a recursive algorithm identifies the starting time for which the rainfall path is closest to or overcomes the threshold. This is considered the most hazardous condition, and it is displayed by the WebGIS interface. The early warning system is used to forecast and monitor the landslide hazard in the whole region, providing specific alert levels for 25 distinct alert zones. In addition, the system can be used to gather, analyze, display, explore, interpret and store rainfall data, thus representing a potential support to both decision makers and scientists.

Financial planning on a comprehensive scale.

PubMed

Mishra, Simita

2013-04-01

Hospitals and health systems that wish to explore the shift to comprehensive care management should: Assess the investments in infrastructure necessary to support comprehensive care management, Gauge the financial implications and set quality and financial goals, Monitor performance using metrics such as patient satisfaction, avoidable admissions, out-of-group referrals, and average length of stay.

Study on dynamic response measurement of the submarine pipeline by full-term FBG sensors.

PubMed

Zhou, Jinghai; Sun, Li; Li, Hongnan

2014-01-01

The field of structural health monitoring is concerned with accurately and reliably assessing the integrity of a given structure to reduce ownership costs, increase operational lifetime, and improve safety. In structural health monitoring systems, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a promising measurement technology for its superior ability of explosion proof, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and high accuracy. This paper is a study on the dynamic characteristics of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors applied to a submarine pipeline, as well as an experimental investigation on a laboratory model of the pipeline. The dynamic response of a submarine pipeline under seismic excitation is a coupled vibration of liquid and solid interaction. FBG sensors and strain gauges are used to monitor the dynamic response of a submarine pipeline model under a variety of dynamic loading conditions and the maximum working frequency of an FBG strain sensor is calculated according to its dynamic strain responses. Based on the theoretical and experimental results, it can be concluded that FBG sensor is superior to strain gauge and satisfies the demand of dynamic strain measurement.

Study on Dynamic Response Measurement of the Submarine Pipeline by Full-Term FBG Sensors

PubMed Central

Zhou, Jinghai; Sun, Li; Li, Hongnan

2014-01-01

The field of structural health monitoring is concerned with accurately and reliably assessing the integrity of a given structure to reduce ownership costs, increase operational lifetime, and improve safety. In structural health monitoring systems, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a promising measurement technology for its superior ability of explosion proof, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and high accuracy. This paper is a study on the dynamic characteristics of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors applied to a submarine pipeline, as well as an experimental investigation on a laboratory model of the pipeline. The dynamic response of a submarine pipeline under seismic excitation is a coupled vibration of liquid and solid interaction. FBG sensors and strain gauges are used to monitor the dynamic response of a submarine pipeline model under a variety of dynamic loading conditions and the maximum working frequency of an FBG strain sensor is calculated according to its dynamic strain responses. Based on the theoretical and experimental results, it can be concluded that FBG sensor is superior to strain gauge and satisfies the demand of dynamic strain measurement. PMID:24971391

Monitoring Sea Level At L'Estartit, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Benjamin, J.; Ortiz Castellon, M.; Martinez-Garcia, M.; Talaya, J.; Rodriguez Velasco, G.; Perez, B.

2007-12-01

Sea level is an environmental variable which is widely recognised as being important in many scientific disciplines as a control parameter for coastal dynamical processes or climate processes in the coupled atmosphere-ocean systems, as well as engineering applications. A major source of sea-level data are the national networks of coastal tide gauges, in Spain belonging to different institutions as the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), Puertos del Estado (PE), Instituto Hidrográfico de la Marina (IHM), Ports de la Generalitat, etc. Three Begur Cape experiences on radar altimeter calibration and marine geoid mapping made on 1999, 2000 and 2002 are overviewed. The marine geoid has been used to relate the coastal tide gauge data from l'Estartit harbour to off-shore altimetric data. The necessity to validate and calibrate the satellite's altimeter due to increasing needs in accuracy and long term integrity implies establishing calibration sites with enhanced ground based methods for sea level monitoring. A technical Spanish contribution to the calibration experience has been the design of GPS buoys and GPS catamaran taking in account the University of Colorado at Boulder and Senetosa/Capraia designs. Altimeter calibration is essential to obtain an absolute measure of sea level, as are knowing the instrument's drifts and bias. Specially designed tidegauges are necessary to improve the quality of altimetric data, preferably near the satellite track. Further, due to systematic differences a month instruments onboard different satellites, several in-situ calibrations are essentials to tie their systematic differences. L'Estartit tide gauge is a classical floating tide gauge set up in l'Estartit harbour (NE Spain) in 1990. It provides good quality information about the changes in the sea heights at centimetre level, that is the magnitude of the common tides in theMediterranean. In the framework of a Spanish Space Project, ref:ESP2001- 4534-PE, the instrumentation of sea level measurements as been improved by providing this site with a radar tide gauge and with a continuous GPS station nearby. This will have a significant incidence in the satellite altimeter calibration activities. The radar tide gauge with data recorder and transmitter is a Datamar 3000C with 26 GHz frequency, 1mm resolution, 8º beam width incorporating a GPS receiver for automatic clock synchronization and a Thales Navigation Internet-Enabled GPS Continuous Geodetic Reference Station (iCGRS) with a choke ring antenna. It is intended that the overall system will constitute a CGPS Station of the ESEAS (European Sea Level) and TIGA (GPS Tide Gauge Benchmark Monitoring) networks. A Partenavia P-68 airborne LIDAR campaign carrying an Optech Lidar ALT-3025 has been made in June 2007 to test the potential of Lidar to connect sea level measurements from tide gauges at the coast with satellite (as Jason-1 or Envisat) altimetry measurements offshore. The calibrated airborne Lidar can then be used over ocean to detect the sea surface height. In consequence, the objective is to check that the coastal sea level can be observed with GPS buoys and may be Lidar campaigns for get detailed regional geoid and sea surface topography models for referencing satellite altimeter measurements.

Monitoring industrial facilities using principles of integration of fiber classifier and local sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korotaev, Valery V.; Denisov, Victor M.; Rodrigues, Joel J. P. C.; Serikova, Mariya G.; Timofeev, Andrey V.

2015-05-01

The paper deals with the creation of integrated monitoring systems. They combine fiber-optic classifiers and local sensor networks. These systems allow for the monitoring of complex industrial objects. Together with adjacent natural objects, they form the so-called geotechnical systems. An integrated monitoring system may include one or more spatially continuous fiber-optic classifiers based on optic fiber and one or more arrays of discrete measurement sensors, which are usually combined in sensor networks. Fiber-optic classifiers are already widely used for the control of hazardous extended objects (oil and gas pipelines, railways, high-rise buildings, etc.). To monitor local objects, discrete measurement sensors are generally used (temperature, pressure, inclinometers, strain gauges, accelerometers, sensors measuring the composition of impurities in the air, and many others). However, monitoring complex geotechnical systems require a simultaneous use of continuous spatially distributed sensors based on fiber-optic cable and connected local discrete sensors networks. In fact, we are talking about integration of the two monitoring methods. This combination provides an additional way to create intelligent monitoring systems. Modes of operation of intelligent systems can automatically adapt to changing environmental conditions. For this purpose, context data received from one sensor (e.g., optical channel) may be used to change modes of work of other sensors within the same monitoring system. This work also presents experimental results of the prototype of the integrated monitoring system.

Feasibility of a nuclear gauge for fuel quantity measurement aboard aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Signh, J. J.; Mall, G. H.; Sprinkle, D. R.; Chegini, H.

1986-01-01

Capacitance fuel gauges have served as the basis for fuel quantity indicating systems in aircraft for several decades. However, there have been persistent reports by the airlines that these gauges often give faulty indications due to microbial growth and other contaminants in the fuel tanks. This report describes the results of a feasibility study of using gamma ray attenuation as the basis for measuring fuel quantity in the tanks. Studies with a weak Am-241 59.5-keV radiation source indicate that it is possible to continuously monitor the fuel quantity in the tanks to an accuracy of better than 1 percent. These measurements also indicate that there are easily measurable differences in the physical properties and resultant attenuation characteristics of JP-4, JP-5, and Jet A fuels. The experimental results, along with a suggested source-detector geometrical configuration are described.

Radiation exposure control from the application of nuclear gauges in the mining industry in Ghana.

PubMed

Faanu, A; Darko, E O; Awudu, A R; Schandorf, C; Emi-Reynolds, G; Yeboah, J; Glover, E T; Kattah, V K

2010-05-01

The use of nuclear gauges for process control and elemental analysis in the mining industry in Ghana, West Africa, is wide spread and on the increase in recent times. The Ghana Radiation Protection Board regulates nuclear gauges through a system of notification and authorization by registration or licensing, inspection, and enforcement. Safety assessments for authorization and enforcement have been established to ensure the safety and security of radiation sources as well as protection of workers and the general public. Appropriate training of mine staff is part of the efforts to develop the necessary awareness about the safety and security of radiation sources. The knowledge and skills acquired will ensure the required protection and safety at the workplaces. Doses received by workers monitored over a period between 1998 and 2007 are well below the annual dose limit of 20 mSv recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.

Towards to Resilience Science -Research on the Nankai trough seismogenic zone-

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneda, Yoshiyuki; Shiraki, Wataru; Fujisawa, Kazuhito; Tokozakura, Eiji

2017-04-01

For the last few decades, many destructive earthquakes and tsunamis occurred in the world. Based on lessons learnt from 2004 Sumatra Earthquake/Tsunamis, 2010 Chilean Earthquake/Tsunami and 2011 East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami, we recognized the importance of real time monitoring on Earthquakes and Tsunamis for disaster mitigation. Recently, Kumamoto Earthquake occurred in 2006. This destructive Earthquake indicated that multi strong motions including pre shock and main shock generated severe earthquake damages buildings. Furthermore, we recognize recovers/ revivals are very important and difficult. In Tohoku area damaged by large tsunamis, recovers/revivals have been under progressing after over 5 years passed after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Therefore, we have to prepare the pre plan before next destructive disasters such as the Nankai trough mega thrust earthquake. As one of disaster countermeasures, we would like to propose that Disaster Mitigation Science. This disaster mitigation science is including engineering, science, medicine and social science such as sociology, informatics, law, literature, art, psychology etc. For Urgent evacuations, there are some kinds of real time monitoring system such as Dart buoy and ocean floor network. Especially, the real time monitoring system using multi kinds of sensors such as the accelerometer, broadband seismometer, pressure gauge, difference pressure gauge, hydrophone and thermometer is indispensable for Earthquakes/ Tsunamis monitoring. Furthermore, using multi kind of sensors, we can analyze and estimate broadband crustal activities around mega thrust earthquake seismogenic zones. Therefore, we deployed DONET1 and DONET2 which are dense ocean floor networks around the Nankai trough Southwestern Japan. We will explain about Resilience Science and real time monitoring systems around the Nankai trough seismogenic zone.

A Fiber Bragg Grating-Based Monitoring System for Roof Safety Control in Underground Coal Mining

PubMed Central

Zhao, Yiming; Zhang, Nong; Si, Guangyao

2016-01-01

Monitoring of roof activity is a primary measure adopted in the prevention of roof collapse accidents and functions to optimize and support the design of roadways in underground coalmines. However, traditional monitoring measures, such as using mechanical extensometers or electronic gauges, either require arduous underground labor or cannot function properly in the harsh underground environment. Therefore, in this paper, in order to break through this technological barrier, a novel monitoring system for roof safety control in underground coal mining, using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) material as a perceived element and transmission medium, has been developed. Compared with traditional monitoring equipment, the developed, novel monitoring system has the advantages of providing accurate, reliable, and continuous online monitoring of roof activities in underground coal mining. This is expected to further enable the prevention of catastrophic roof collapse accidents. The system has been successfully implemented at a deep hazardous roadway in Zhuji Coal Mine, China. Monitoring results from the study site have demonstrated the advantages of FBG-based sensors over traditional monitoring approaches. The dynamic impacts of progressive face advance on roof displacement and stress have been accurately captured by the novel roadway roof activity and safety monitoring system, which provided essential references for roadway support and design of the mine. PMID:27775657

Subsidence at the Fairport Harbor Water Level Gauge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conner, D. A.

2014-12-01

SUBSIDENCE AT THE FAIRPORT HARBOR WATER LEVEL GAUGE I will provide information on methods being used to monitor Lake Erie water levels and earth movement at Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) is responsible for vertical movement throughout the Great Lakes region. Fairport Harbor is also experiencing vertical movement due to salt mining, so the nearby water level gauge operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is affected by both GIA and mining. NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) defines and maintains the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). The NSRS includes a network of permanently marked points; a consistent, accurate, and up-to-date national shoreline; a network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) which supports three-dimensional positioning activities; and a set of accurate models describing dynamic, geophysical processes that affect spatial measurements. The NSRS provides the spatial reference foundation for transportation, mapping, charting and a multitude of scientific and engineering applications. Fundamental elements of geodetic infrastructure include GPS CORS (3-D), water level and tide gauges (height) and a system of vertical bench marks (height). When two or more of these elements converge they may provide an independent determination of position and vertical stability as is the case here at the Fairport Harbor water level gauge. Analysis of GPS, leveling and water level data reveal that this gauge is subsiding at about 2-3 mm/year, independent of the effects of GIA. Analysis of data from the nearby OHLA GPS CORS shows it subsiding at about 4 mm/yr, four times faster than expected due to GIA alone. A long history of salt mine activity in the area is known to geologists but it came as a surprise to other scientists.

46 CFR 154.1300 - Liquid level gauging system: General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: General. 154.1300 Section... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1300 Liquid level gauging system: General. (a) If Table 4 lists a closed gauge for a cargo, the liquid level gauging system under § 154.1305 must be closed gauges that do not...

46 CFR 154.1300 - Liquid level gauging system: General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: General. 154.1300 Section... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1300 Liquid level gauging system: General. (a) If Table 4 lists a closed gauge for a cargo, the liquid level gauging system under § 154.1305 must be closed gauges that do not...

46 CFR 154.1300 - Liquid level gauging system: General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: General. 154.1300 Section... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1300 Liquid level gauging system: General. (a) If Table 4 lists a closed gauge for a cargo, the liquid level gauging system under § 154.1305 must be closed gauges that do not...

46 CFR 154.1300 - Liquid level gauging system: General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: General. 154.1300 Section... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1300 Liquid level gauging system: General. (a) If Table 4 lists a closed gauge for a cargo, the liquid level gauging system under § 154.1305 must be closed gauges that do not...

46 CFR 154.1300 - Liquid level gauging system: General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: General. 154.1300 Section... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1300 Liquid level gauging system: General. (a) If Table 4 lists a closed gauge for a cargo, the liquid level gauging system under § 154.1305 must be closed gauges that do not...

TFTR diagnostic vacuum controller

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Olsen, D.; Persons, R.

1981-01-01

The TFTR diagnostic vacuum controller (DVC) provides in conjunction with the Central Instrumentation Control and Data Acquisition System (CICADA), control and monitoring for the pumps, valves and gauges associated with each individual diagnostic vacuum system. There will be approximately 50 systems on TFTR. Two standard versions of the controller (A and B) wil be provided in order to meet the requirements of two diagnostic manifold arrangements. All pump and valve sequencing, as well as protection features, will be implemented by the controller.

Distributed strain measurement based on long-gauge FBG and delayed transmission/reflection ratiometric reflectometry for dynamic structural deformation monitoring.

PubMed

Nishiyama, Michiko; Igawa, Hirotaka; Kasai, Tokio; Watanabe, Naoyuki

2015-02-10

In this paper, we propose a delayed transmission/reflection ratiometric reflectometry (DTR(3)) scheme using a long-gauge fiber Bragg grating (FBG), which can be used for dynamic structural deformation monitoring of structures of between a few to tens of meters in length, such as airplane wings and helicopter blades. FBG sensors used for multipoint sensing generally employ wavelength division multiplexing techniques utilizing several Bragg central wavelengths; by contrast, the DTR(3) interrogator uses a continuous pulse array based on a pseudorandom number code and a long-gauge FBG utilizing a single Bragg wavelength and composed of simple hardware devices. The DTR(3) scheme can detect distributed strain at a 50 cm spatial resolution using a long-gauge FBG with a 100 Hz sampling rate. We evaluated the strain sensing characteristics of the long-gauge FBG when attached to a 2.5 m aluminum bar and a 5.5 m helicopter blade model, determining these structure natural frequencies in free vibration tests and their distributed strain characteristics in static tests.

Vacuum-Gauge Connection For Shipping Container

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henry, Robert H.

1990-01-01

External connector enables measurement of vacuum in stored part. Remote-readout connector added to shipping container and connected to thermo-couple vacuum gauge in vacuum-insulated cryogenic line packed in container. Enables monitoring of condition of vacuum without opening container.

An integrated monitoring approach using multiple reference sites to assess sustainable restoration in coastal Louisiana

Treesearch

Gregory D. Steyer; Robert R. Twilley; Richard C. Raynie

2006-01-01

Achieving sustainable resource management in coastal Louisiana requires establishing reference conditions that incorporate the goals and objectives of restoration efforts. Since the reference condition is usually considered sustainable, it can be a gauge to assess the present condition of a (degraded) system or to evaluate progress of management actions toward some...

Development of an operational African Drought Monitor prototype

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaney, N.; Sheffield, J.; Wood, E. F.; Lettenmaier, D. P.

2011-12-01

Droughts have severe economic, environmental, and social impacts. However, timely detection and monitoring can minimize these effects. Based on previous drought monitoring over the continental US, a drought monitor has been developed for Africa. Monitoring drought in data sparse regions such as Africa is difficult due to a lack of historical or real-time observational data at a high spatial and temporal resolution. As a result, a land surface model is used to estimate hydrologic variables, which are used as surrogate observations for monitoring drought. The drought monitoring system consists of two stages: the first is to create long-term historical background simulations against which current conditions can be compared. The second is the real-time estimation of current hydrological conditions that results in an estimated drought index value. For the first step, a hybrid meteorological forcing dataset was created that assimilates reanalysis and observational datasets from 1950 up to real-time. Furthermore, the land surface model (currently the VIC land surface model is being used) was recalibrated against spatially disaggregated runoff fields derived from over 500 GRDC stream gauge measurements over Africa. The final result includes a retrospective database from 1950 to real-time of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, river discharge at the GRDC gauged sites (etc.) at a 1/4 degree spatial resolution, and daily temporal resolution. These observation-forced simulations are analyzed to detect and track historical drought events according to a drought index that is calculated from the soil moisture fields and river discharge relative to their seasonal climatology. The real-time monitoring requires the use of remotely sensed and weather-model analysis estimates of hydrological model forcings. For the current system, NOAA's Global Forecast System (GFS) is used along with remotely sensed precipitation from the NASA TMPA system. The historical archive of these data is evaluated against the data set used to create the background simulations. Real-time adjustments are used to preserve consistency between the historical and real-time data. The drought monitor will be presented together with the web-interface that has been developed for the scientific community to access and retrieve the data products. This system will be deployed for operational use at AGRHYMET in Niamey, Niger before the end of 2011.

Laboratory Simulation and Measurement of Instrument Drift in Quartz-Resonant Pressure Gauges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasagawa, G. S.; Zumberge, M. A.

2017-12-01

Marine geodesy uses ocean bottom pressure sensors to measure vertical deformation of the sea floor, including that due to volcanic inflation and subsidence, episodic tremor and slip, plate subduction, and deformation due to hydrocarbon extraction at offshore reservoirs. Instrumental drift is inherent in existing pressure sensors and introduce uncertainties in data interpretation. Different methods have been developed to control drift, using varying techniques and instrumentation. Laboratory measurements of sensor drift, under controlled conditions that simulate seafloor pressures and temperatures, would allow for evaluating pressure gauge drift and the efficacy of new drift control methods. We have constructed and operated a laboratory system to monitor the drift of 15 quartz resonant pressure gauges over a year. The temperature and pressure are maintained and controlled at approximately 5 °C and 1900 dbar. A deadweight tester was used to provide a reference signal at frequent intervals; the time series of reference pressure signals is a direct measure of each gauge's drift. Several other tests were conducted, including a) evaluation of a custom outgassing sensor used as proxy for instrument drift, b) determination of the oscillator drift in the pressure gauge signal conditioning electronics, and c) a test of ambient air pressure calibration, also known as the A-0-A method. First results will be presented.

Variability in the microcanonical cascades parameters among gauges of urban precipitation monitoring network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Licznar, Paweł; Rupp, David; Adamowski, Witold

2013-04-01

In the fall of 2008, Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Company (MWSSC) in Warsaw began operating the first large precipitation monitoring network dedicated to urban hydrology in Poland. The process of establishing the network as well as the preliminary phase of its operation, raised a number of questions concerning optimal gauge location and density and revealed the urgent need for new data processing techniques. When considering the full-field precipitation as input to hydrodynamic models of stormwater and combined sewage systems, standard processing techniques developed previously for single gauges and concentrating mainly on the analysis of maximum rainfall rates and intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves development were found inadequate. We used a multifractal rainfall modeling framework based on microcanonical multiplicative random cascades to analyze properties of Warsaw precipitation. We calculated breakdown coefficients (BDC) for the hierarchy of timescales from λ=1 (5-min) up to λ=128 (1280-min) for all 25 gauges in the network. At small timescales histograms of BDCs were strongly deformed due to the recording precision of rainfall amounts. A randomization procedure statistically removed the artifacts due to precision errors in the original series. At large timescales BDC values were sparse due to relatively short period of observations (2008-2011). An algorithm with a moving window was proposed to increase the number of BDC values at large timescales and to smooth their histograms. The resulting empirical BDC histograms were modeled by a theoretical "2N-B" distribution, which combined 2 separate normal (N) distributions and one beta (B) distribution. A clear evolution of BDC histograms from a 2N-B distribution for small timescales to a N-B distributions for intermediate timescales and finally to a single beta distributions for large timescales was observed for all gauges. Cluster analysis revealed close patterns of BDC distributions among almost all gauges and timescales with exception of two gauges located at the city limits (one gauge was located on the Okęcie airport). We evaluated the performance of the microcanonical cascades at disaggregating 1280-min (quasi daily precipitation totals) into 5-min rainfall data for selected gauges. Synthetic time series were analyzed with respect to their intermittency and variability of rainfall intensities and compared to observational series. We showed that microcanonical cascades models could be used in practice for generating synthetic rainfall time series suitable as input to urban hydrology models in Warsaw.

Embedded Strain Gauges for Condition Monitoring of Silicone Gaskets

PubMed Central

Schotzko, Timo; Lang, Walter

2014-01-01

A miniaturized strain gauge with a thickness of 5 µm is molded into a silicone O-ring. This is a first step toward embedding sensors in gaskets for structural health monitoring. The signal of the integrated sensor exhibits a linear correlation with the contact pressure of the O-ring. This affords the opportunity to monitor the gasket condition during installation. Thus, damages caused by faulty assembly can be detected instantly, and early failures, with their associated consequences, can be prevented. Through the embedded strain gauge, the contact pressure applied to the gasket can be directly measured. Excessive pressure and incorrect positioning of the gasket can cause structural damage to the material of the gasket, which can lead to an early outage. A platinum strain gauge is fabricated on a thin polyimide layer and is contacted through gold connections. The measured resistance pressure response exhibits hysteresis for the first few strain cycles, followed by a linear behavior. The short-term impact of the embedded sensor on the stability of the gasket is investigated. Pull-tests with O-rings and test specimens have indicated that the integration of the miniaturized sensors has no negative impact on the stability in the short term. PMID:25014099

Real-time dynamics of lattice gauge theories with a few-qubit quantum computer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, Esteban A.; Muschik, Christine A.; Schindler, Philipp; Nigg, Daniel; Erhard, Alexander; Heyl, Markus; Hauke, Philipp; Dalmonte, Marcello; Monz, Thomas; Zoller, Peter; Blatt, Rainer

2016-06-01

Gauge theories are fundamental to our understanding of interactions between the elementary constituents of matter as mediated by gauge bosons. However, computing the real-time dynamics in gauge theories is a notorious challenge for classical computational methods. This has recently stimulated theoretical effort, using Feynman’s idea of a quantum simulator, to devise schemes for simulating such theories on engineered quantum-mechanical devices, with the difficulty that gauge invariance and the associated local conservation laws (Gauss laws) need to be implemented. Here we report the experimental demonstration of a digital quantum simulation of a lattice gauge theory, by realizing (1 + 1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (the Schwinger model) on a few-qubit trapped-ion quantum computer. We are interested in the real-time evolution of the Schwinger mechanism, describing the instability of the bare vacuum due to quantum fluctuations, which manifests itself in the spontaneous creation of electron-positron pairs. To make efficient use of our quantum resources, we map the original problem to a spin model by eliminating the gauge fields in favour of exotic long-range interactions, which can be directly and efficiently implemented on an ion trap architecture. We explore the Schwinger mechanism of particle-antiparticle generation by monitoring the mass production and the vacuum persistence amplitude. Moreover, we track the real-time evolution of entanglement in the system, which illustrates how particle creation and entanglement generation are directly related. Our work represents a first step towards quantum simulation of high-energy theories using atomic physics experiments—the long-term intention is to extend this approach to real-time quantum simulations of non-Abelian lattice gauge theories.

Monitoring system of arch bridge for safety network management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Bong Chul; Yoo, Young Jun; Lee, Chin Hyung; Park, Ki Tae; Hwang, Yoon Koog

2010-03-01

Korea has constructed the safety management network monitoring test systems for the civil infrastructure since 2006 which includes airport structure, irrigation structure, railroad structure, road structure, and underground structure. Bridges among the road structure include the various superstructure types which are Steel box girder bridge, suspension bridge, PSC-box-girder bridge, and arch bridge. This paper shows the process of constructing the real-time monitoring system for the arch bridge and the measured result by the system. The arch type among various superstructure types has not only the structural efficiency but the visual beauty, because the arch type superstructure makes full use of the feature of curve. The main measuring points of arch bridges composited by curved members make a difference to compare with the system of girder bridges composited by straight members. This paper also shows the method to construct the monitoring system that considers the characteristic of the arch bridge. The system now includes strain gauges and thermometers, and it will include various sensor types such as CCTV, accelerometers and so on additionally. For the long term and accuracy monitoring, the latest optical sensors and equipments are applied to the system.

Satellite rainfall monitoring over Africa using multi-spectral MSG data in an artificial neural network approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chadwick, Robin; Grimes, David

2010-05-01

Rainfall monitoring over Africa is crucial for a variety of humanitarian and agricultural purposes, and satellites have been used for some time to provide real-time rainfall estimates over the region. Several recent applications of satellite rainfall estimates, such as flash-flood warning systems and crop-yield models, require accurate rainfall totals at daily timescales or below. Multi-spectral Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) data provide information on cloud properties such as optical depth and cloud particle size and phase. These parameters are all relevant to the probability of rainfall occurring from a cloud and the likely intensity of that rainfall, so the use of MSG data should lead to improved satellite rainfall estimates. An artificial neural network (ANN) using multi-spectral inputs from MSG has been trained to provide daily rainfall estimates over Ethiopia, using daily rain-gauge data for calibration. Although ANN methods have previously been applied to the problem of producing rainfall estimates from multi-spectral satellite data, in general precipitation radar data have been used for calibration. The advantage of using rain-gauge data is that gauges are far more widespread over Africa than radar networks, so this method can be easily transferred and if necessary re-calibrated in different climatological regions of the continent. The ANN estimates have been validated against independent Ethiopian gauge data at a variety of time and space scales. The ANN shows an improvement in accuracy at daily timescale when compared to rainfall estimates from the TAMSAT algorithm, which uses only single channel MSG data.

HYDROGRAV - Hydrological model calibration and terrestrial water storage monitoring from GRACE gravimetry and satellite altimetry - First results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersen, O. B.; Krogh, P. E.; Michailovsky, C.; Bauer-Gottwein, P.; Christiansen, L.; Berry, P.; Garlick, J.

2008-12-01

Space-borne and ground-based time-lapse gravity observations provide new data for water balance monitoring and hydrological model calibration in the future. The HYDROGRAV project (www.hydrograv.dk) will explore the utility of time-lapse gravity surveys for hydrological model calibration and terrestrial water storage monitoring. Merging remote sensing data from GRACE with other remote sensing data like satellite altimetry and also ground based observations are important to hydrological model calibration and water balance monitoring of large regions and can serve as either supplement or as vital information in un-gauged regions. A system of GRACE custom designed Mass Concentration blocks (Mascons) have been designed to model time-variable gravity changes for the largest basins in Southern Africa (Zambezi, Okavango, Limpopo and Orange) covering an area of 9 mill km2 with a resolution of 1 by 1.25 degree. Satellite altimetry have been used to derive high resolution point-wise river height in some of the un-gauged rivers in the region by using dedicated retracking to recovers nearly un-interrupted time series over these rivers. First result from the HYDROGRAV project analyzing GRACE derived mass change from 2002 to 2008 along with in-situ gravity time-lapse observations and radar altimetry monitoring of surface water for the southern Africa river basins will be presented.

More than 70 years of continuous sea level records on the Santander Bay.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavín, Alicia; Tel, Elena; Molinero, Joaquin; Rodriguez, Carmen

2017-04-01

The knowledge of sea level height is important for many different sectors as navigation, transport, building infrastructures, tourism, or maritime sports, between others. Tides are mainly composed of an astronomical part and a meteorological one. Sometimes, their joined action is the responsible of extreme behaviors in the sea level. Influence of pressure differences, as well as related winds, is important in the behavior of sea level to analyze. The first system for reading the sea level was a tide board attached at the pier. In Spain the first modern tide gauge was installed in the Port of Alicante, Mediterranean Sea, in 1873 depending of the National Geographic Institute (IGN). Just the following year, a similar tide gauge was installed at the entrance of the Santander Bay. "La Magdalena" tide gauge was working during two periods 1876-1928 and 1963-1975. Together with Cádiz, the IGN tide gauges were used to determinate the national datum for terrestrial cartography. The Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) tide gauge network was initiated in 1943 with the installation of tide gauges along the Spanish coast. One of them was located in Santander and has been working since then. At the beginning it was a float tide gauge connected to a graphical continuous recorder. Nowadays, it also has a digital encoder and a remote connection that allow using the recorded data for operational purposes. Later a Radar system was added. This tide gauge is referred to the Tide Gauge Zero and also calibrated to a benchmark in order to have a unique reference. This high quality sea level information is required for international and regional research activities, as Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS). In particular, long time series are widely used for climate change detection. The sea level long term variability studies require a very good quality data focus in the reference of the data along the whole period and also it will be more precisely if we can remove the crustal movements by monitoring the tide gauge benchmark. Increase in sea level detected in the Santander tide gauge is more than 2 mm/year. Annual and semi-annual cycles are detected in the monthly mean sea level. The amplitude of the annual cycle is 30 mm. and the semiannual 21 mm. Due to the good correlation between the NAO index and the monthly mean sea level we can assume that an important part of these cycles corresponds to the meteorological influence. The historical original records on paper are also digitalized images in order to avoid loses by paper degrading, facilitate the access to them, and in the future, keep a higher frequency record for systematic studies of extreme events.

Using Signal Detection Theory and Time Window-based Human-In-The-Loop simulation as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of different qualitative shapes in continuous monitoring tasks.

PubMed

Kim, Jung Hyup; Rothrock, Ling; Laberge, Jason

2014-05-01

This paper provides a case study of Signal Detection Theory (SDT) as applied to a continuous monitoring dual-task environment. Specifically, SDT was used to evaluate the independent contributions of sensitivity and bias to different qualitative gauges used in process control. To assess detection performance in monitoring the gauges, we developed a Time Window-based Human-In-The-Loop (TWHITL) simulation bed. Through this test bed, we were able to generate a display similar to those monitored by console operators in oil and gas refinery plants. By using SDT and TWHITL, we evaluated the sensitivity, operator bias, and response time of flow, level, pressure, and temperature gauge shapes developed by Abnormal Situation Management(®) (ASM(®)) Consortium (www.asmconsortium.org). Our findings suggest that display density influences the effectiveness of participants in detecting abnormal shapes. Furthermore, results suggest that some shapes elicit better detection performance than others. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Coordinate transformations and gauges in the relativistic astronomical reference systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, J.-H.; Huang, T.-Y.; Han, C.-H.

2000-11-01

This paper applies a fully post-Newtonian theory (Damour et al. 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) to the problem of gauge in relativistic reference systems. Gauge fixing is necessary when the precision of time measurement and application reaches 10-16 or better. We give a general procedure for fixing the gauges of gravitational potentials in both the global and local coordinate systems, and for determining the gauge functions in all the coordinate transformations. We demonstrate that gauge fixing in a gravitational N-body problem can be solved by fixing the gauge of the self-gravitational potential of each body and the gauge function in the coordinate transformation between the global and local coordinate systems. We also show that these gauge functions can be chosen to make all the coordinate systems harmonic or any as required, no matter what gauge is chosen for the self-gravitational potential of each body.

Optical Fiber Distributed Sensing Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) Strain Measurements Taken During Cryotank Y-Joint Test Article Load Cycling at Liquid Helium Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allison, Sidney G.; Prosser, William H.; Hare, David A.; Moore, Thomas C.; Kenner, Winfred S.

2007-01-01

This paper outlines cryogenic Y-joint testing at Langley Research Center (LaRC) to validate the performance of optical fiber Bragg grating strain sensors for measuring strain at liquid helium temperature (-240 C). This testing also verified survivability of fiber sensors after experiencing 10 thermal cool-down, warm-up cycles and 400 limit load cycles. Graphite composite skins bonded to a honeycomb substrate in a sandwich configuration comprised the Y-joint specimens. To enable SHM of composite cryotanks for consideration to future spacecraft, a light-weight, durable monitoring technology is needed. The fiber optic distributed Bragg grating strain sensing system developed at LaRC is a viable substitute for conventional strain gauges which are not practical for SHM. This distributed sensing technology uses an Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometer (OFDR). This measurement approach has the advantage that it can measure hundreds of Bragg grating sensors per fiber and the sensors are all written at one frequency, greatly simplifying fiber manufacturing. Fiber optic strain measurements compared well to conventional strain gauge measurements obtained during these tests. These results demonstrated a high potential for a successful implementation of a SHM system incorporating LaRC's fiber optic sensing system on the composite cryotank and other future cryogenic applications.

Evaluation of the performance of hydrological variables derived from GLDAS-2 and MERRA-2 in Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Real-Rangel, R. A.; Pedrozo-Acuña, A.; Breña-Naranjo, J. A.

2017-12-01

Hydrological studies have found in data assimilation systems and global reanalysis of land surface variables (e.g soil moisture, streamflow) a wide range of applications, from drought monitoring to water balance and hydro-climatology variability assessment. Indeed, these hydrological data sources have led to an improvement in developing and testing monitoring and prediction systems in poorly gauged regions of the world. This work tests the accuracy and error of land surface variables (precipitation, soil moisture, runoff and temperature) derived from the data assimilation reanalysis products GLDAS-2 and MERRA-2. Validate the performance of these data platforms must be thoroughly evaluated in order to consider the error of hydrological variables (i.e., precipitation, soil moisture, runoff and temperature) derived from the reanalysis products. For such purpose, a quantitative assessment was performed at 2,892 climatological stations, 42 stream gauges and 44 soil moisture probes located in Mexico and across different climate regimes (hyper-arid to tropical humid). Results show comparisons between these gridded products against ground-based observational stations for 1979-2014. The results of this analysis display a spatial distribution of errors and accuracy over Mexico discussing differences between climates, enabling the informed use of these products.

Development of Innovative Technology to Expand Precipitation Observations in Satellite Precipitation Validation in Under-developed Data-sparse Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kucera, P. A.; Steinson, M.

2016-12-01

Accurate and reliable real-time monitoring and dissemination of observations of precipitation and surface weather conditions in general is critical for a variety of research studies and applications. Surface precipitation observations provide important reference information for evaluating satellite (e.g., GPM) precipitation estimates. High quality surface observations of precipitation, temperature, moisture, and winds are important for applications such as agriculture, water resource monitoring, health, and hazardous weather early warning systems. In many regions of the World, surface weather station and precipitation gauge networks are sparsely located and/or of poor quality. Existing stations have often been sited incorrectly, not well-maintained, and have limited communications established at the site for real-time monitoring. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), with support from USAID, has started an initiative to develop and deploy low-cost weather instrumentation including tipping bucket and weighing-type precipitation gauges in sparsely observed regions of the world. The goal is to improve the number of observations (temporally and spatially) for the evaluation of satellite precipitation estimates in data-sparse regions and to improve the quality of applications for environmental monitoring and early warning alert systems on a regional to global scale. One important aspect of this initiative is to make the data open to the community. The weather station instrumentation have been developed using innovative new technologies such as 3D printers, Raspberry Pi computing systems, and wireless communications. An initial pilot project have been implemented in the country of Zambia. This effort could be expanded to other data sparse regions around the globe. The presentation will provide an overview and demonstration of 3D printed weather station development and initial evaluation of observed precipitation datasets.

Determination Method of Bridge Rotation Angle Response Using MEMS IMU.

PubMed

Sekiya, Hidehiko; Kinomoto, Takeshi; Miki, Chitoshi

2016-11-09

To implement steel bridge maintenance, especially that related to fatigue damage, it is important to monitor bridge deformations under traffic conditions. Bridges deform and rotate differently under traffic load conditions because their structures differ in terms of length and flexibility. Such monitoring enables the identification of the cause of stress concentrations that cause fatigue damage and the proposal of appropriate countermeasures. However, although bridge deformation monitoring requires observations of bridge angle response as well as the bridge displacement response, measuring the rotation angle response of a bridge subject to traffic loads is difficult. Theoretically, the rotation angle response can be calculated by integrating the angular velocity, but for field measurements of actual in-service bridges, estimating the necessary boundary conditions would be difficult due to traffic-induced vibration. To solve the problem, this paper proposes a method for determining the rotation angle response of an in-service bridge from its angular velocity, as measured by a inertial measurement unit (IMU). To verify our proposed method, field measurements were conducted using nine micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) IMUs and two contact displacement gauges. The results showed that our proposed method provided high accuracy when compared to the reference responses calculated by the contact displacement gauges.

Detectability and Interpretational Uncertainties: Considerations in Gauging the Impacts of Land Disturbance on Streamflow

EPA Science Inventory

Hydrologic impacts of land disturbance and management can be confounded by rainfall variability. As a consequence, attempts to gauge and quantify these effects through streamflow monitoring are typically subject to uncertainties. This paper addresses the quantification and deline...

Research of a real-time overload monitoring and response system of bridges and roads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yan; Shi, Yan; Zhao, Xuefeng; Ou, Jinping

2012-04-01

Due to the general overloading of vehicles, premature failure of bridges and roads are more and more obvious. Structural behaviors of engineering structures need real-time monitoring and diagnosis, timely detection of structural damage, evaluation of their safety, and necessary precautions, in order to prevent major accident such as the collapse of bridges and roads. But the existing monitoring system, which is very expensive, does not apply to the low budget structures. Therefore, a potable, low-cost, low-power structural monitoring system, which consists of electric resistance strain gauge, collection and execution unit, graph collection system and analysis software, is designed in this paper. The system can collect the critical data about the force of pavement to take the certain judge algorithm. The alarm will be given and the overburden data will be transmitted to IDC to make the further analysis when the pavement is overburden. At the same time, the plates of overweight vehicles can be collected and sent to the relevant departments. The system has the features of simple structure, easy realization, and low cost, which fills the application gaps in structural health monitoring of low-budget project.

Gauge-adjusted rainfall estimates from commercial microwave links

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fencl, Martin; Dohnal, Michal; Rieckermann, Jörg; Bareš, Vojtěch

2017-01-01

Increasing urbanization makes it more and more important to have accurate stormwater runoff predictions, especially with potentially severe weather and climatic changes on the horizon. Such stormwater predictions in turn require reliable rainfall information. Especially for urban centres, the problem is that the spatial and temporal resolution of rainfall observations should be substantially higher than commonly provided by weather services with their standard rainfall monitoring networks. Commercial microwave links (CMLs) are non-traditional sensors, which have been proposed about a decade ago as a promising solution. CMLs are line-of-sight radio connections widely used by operators of mobile telecommunication networks. They are typically very dense in urban areas and can provide path-integrated rainfall observations at sub-minute resolution. Unfortunately, quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) from CMLs are often highly biased due to several epistemic uncertainties, which significantly limit their usability. In this manuscript we therefore suggest a novel method to reduce this bias by adjusting QPEs to existing rain gauges. The method has been specifically designed to produce reliable results even with comparably distant rain gauges or cumulative observations. This eliminates the need to install reference gauges and makes it possible to work with existing information. First, the method is tested on data from a dedicated experiment, where a CML has been specifically set up for rainfall monitoring experiments, as well as operational CMLs from an existing cellular network. Second, we assess the performance for several experimental layouts of ground truth from rain gauges (RGs) with different spatial and temporal resolutions. The results suggest that CMLs adjusted by RGs with a temporal aggregation of up to 1 h (i) provide precise high-resolution QPEs (relative error < 7 %, Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient > 0.75) and (ii) that the combination of both sensor types clearly outperforms each individual monitoring system. Unfortunately, adjusting CML observations to RGs with longer aggregation intervals of up to 24 h has drawbacks. Although it substantially reduces bias, it unfavourably smoothes out rainfall peaks of high intensities, which is undesirable for stormwater management. A similar, but less severe, effect occurs due to spatial averaging when CMLs are adjusted to remote RGs. Nevertheless, even here, adjusted CMLs perform better than RGs alone. Furthermore, we provide first evidence that the joint use of multiple CMLs together with RGs also reduces bias in their QPEs. In summary, we believe that our adjustment method has great potential to improve the space-time resolution of current urban rainfall monitoring networks. Nevertheless, future work should aim to better understand the reason for the observed systematic error in QPEs from CMLs.

43 CFR 418.15 - Operations monitoring.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Wadsworth—U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauge number 10351300; (ii) Carson River below Lahontan Dam—USGS gauge number 10312150; (iii) Rock Dam Ditch near the end of the concrete lining; and (2) Subtracting: (i... Tarzyn Road near Fallon (below Sagouspe Dam) for satisfying water rights outside of the Project...

43 CFR 418.15 - Operations monitoring.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Wadsworth—U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauge number 10351300; (ii) Carson River below Lahontan Dam—USGS gauge number 10312150; (iii) Rock Dam Ditch near the end of the concrete lining; and (2) Subtracting: (i... Tarzyn Road near Fallon (below Sagouspe Dam) for satisfying water rights outside of the Project...

Selection and static calibration of the Marsh J1678 pressure gauge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oxendine, Charles R.; Smith, Howard W.

1993-01-01

During the experimental testing of the ultralight, it was determined that a pressure gauge would be required to monitor the simulated flight loads. After analyzing several factors, which are indicated in the discussion section of this report, the Marsh J1678 pressure gauge appeared to be the prominent candidate for the task. However, prior to the final selection, the Marsh pressure gauge was calibrated twice by two different techniques. As a result of the calibration, the Marsh gauge was selected as the appropriate measuring device during the structural testing of the ultralight. Although, there are commerical pressure gauges available on the market that would have proven to be more efficient and accurate. However, in order to obtain these characteristics in a gauge, one has to pay the price on the price tag, and this value is an exponential function of the degree of accuracy efficiency, precision, and many other features that may be designed into the gauge. After analyzing the extent of precision and accuracy that would be required, a more expensive gauge wouldn't have proven to be a financial benefit towards the outcome of the experiment.

Evaluation of cable tension sensors of FAST reflector from the perspective of EMI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Ming; Wang, Qiming; Egan, Dennis; Wu, Mingchang; Sun, Xiao

2016-06-01

The active reflector of FAST (five-hundred-meter aperture spherical radio telescope) is supported by a ring beam and a cable-net structure, in which nodes are actively controlled to form series of real-time paraboloids. To ensure the security and stability of the supporting structure, tension must be monitored for some typical cables. Considering the stringent requirements in accuracy and long-term stability, magnetic flux sensor, vibrating wire strain gauge and fiber bragg grating strain gauge are screened for the cable tension monitoring of the supporting cable-net. Specifically, receivers of radio telescopes have strict restriction on electro magnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI). These three types of sensors are evaluated from the view of EMI/RFI. Firstly, these fundamentals are theoretically analyzed. Secondly, typical sensor signals are collected in the time and analyzed in the frequency domain, which shows the characteristic in the frequency domain. Finally, typical sensors are tested in an anechoic chamber to get the EMI levels. Theoretical analysis shows that Fiber Bragg Grating strain gauge itself will not lead to EMI/RFI. According to GJB151A, frequency domain analysis and test results show that for the vibrating wire strain gauge and magnetic flux sensor themselves, testable EMI/RFI levels are typically below the background noise of the anechoic chamber. FAST finally choses these three sensors as the monitoring sensors of its cable tension. The proposed study is also a reference to the monitoring equipment selection of other radio telescopes and large structures.

Monitoring Sea Level by Tide Gauges and GPS at Barcelona and Estartit Harbours

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez Benjamin, J. J.; Gili, J.; Lopez, R.; Tapia, A.; Bosch, E.; Perez, B.; Pros, F.

2012-04-01

Sea level is an environmental variable which is widely recognised as being important in many scientific disciplines as a control parameter for coastal dynamical processes or climate processes in the coupled atmosphere-ocean systems, as well as engineering applications. A major source of sea-level data are the national networks of coastal tide gauges, in Spain belonging to different institutions as the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), Puertos del Estado (PE), Instituto Hidrográfico de la Marina (IHM), etc. The tide gauge of l'Estartit is a traditional floating gauge placed 21 years ago and has an accuracy of ± 2 mm. Since 1996, l'Estartit tide gauge has been co-located with geodetic techniques (GPS measurements of XU, Utilitary Network, and XdA, Levelling Network,) and it is tied to the SPGIC (Integrated Geodetic Positioning System of Catalonia) project of the Cartographic Institute of Catalunya (ICC). In 2006, due to the work for the expansion of the harbour, the tide gauge had to be moved. Before the work started, appropiate GPS measurements were carried out in order to ensure the connection of the tide gauge data. During October 2006 and May 2008, the tide gauge was inactive and it has been moved on to a new location inside the harbour. In June 2008, new GPS and levelling measures have been done in order to tie the new location into SPGIC project and to co-locate old data respect the new one. Although l'Estartit does not have a GPS permanent station, it is possible to build a virtual one from the service "CATNET web" of the ICC. "CATNET web" is a data distribution system of a virtual GPS permanent station via web. From the coordinates where you want to place the virtual station, the time interval and the measurement rate, the system generates a RINEX file under the requested conditions. At Barcelona harbour there is one MIROS radar tide gauge belonging to Puertos del Estado (Spanish Harbours). It is placed at the dock 140 of the ENAGAS Building.The radar sensor is over the water surface, on a L-shaped structure which elevates it a few meters above the quay shelf. 1-min data are transmitted to the ENAGAS Control Center by cable and then sent each 1 min to Puertos del Estado by e-mail.This sensor also measures agitation and sends wave parameters each 20 min. A provisional tide gauge bench mark has been defined while the levelling has being done. There is a GPS station Leica Geosystems GRX1200 GG Pro and antenna 1202. Bathymetric campaigns inside the harbour have been made. The presentation is directed to the description of the actual situation of the geodetic infrastructure of Barcelona and l'Estartit sites for sea level determination and contribution to regional sea level rise.

Comparing Satellite Rainfall Estimates with Rain-Gauge Data: Optimal Strategies Suggested by a Spectral Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Thomas L.; Kundu, Prasun K.; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Validation of satellite remote-sensing methods for estimating rainfall against rain-gauge data is attractive because of the direct nature of the rain-gauge measurements. Comparisons of satellite estimates to rain-gauge data are difficult, however, because of the extreme variability of rain and the fact that satellites view large areas over a short time while rain gauges monitor small areas continuously. In this paper, a statistical model of rainfall variability developed for studies of sampling error in averages of satellite data is used to examine the impact of spatial and temporal averaging of satellite and gauge data on intercomparison results. The model parameters were derived from radar observations of rain, but the model appears to capture many of the characteristics of rain-gauge data as well. The model predicts that many months of data from areas containing a few gauges are required to validate satellite estimates over the areas, and that the areas should be of the order of several hundred km in diameter. Over gauge arrays of sufficiently high density, the optimal areas and averaging times are reduced. The possibility of using time-weighted averages of gauge data is explored.

From Niche to Necessity: Integrating Nonlethal Weapons into Essential Enabling Capabilities

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

Tasers . Countermateriel systems include spike strips, caltrops (heavy- gauge steel-puncturing spikes), the Vehicle Lightweight Arresting Device, and...MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12 . DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY...U.S. Central Command recently reemphasized predeployment train- ing requirements for nonlethal weapons. Marine demonstrates capabilities of X26E Taser

Africa-Wide Monitoring of Small Surface Water Bodies Using Multisource Satellite Data: A Monitoring System for FEWS NET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velpuri, N. M.; Senay, G. B.; Rowland, J.; Budde, M. E.; Verdin, J. P.

2015-12-01

Continental Africa has the largest volume of water stored in wetlands, large lakes, reservoirs and rivers, yet it suffers with problems such as water availability and access. Furthermore, African countries are amongst the most vulnerable to the impact of natural hazards such as droughts and floods. With climate change intensifying the hydrologic cycle and altering the distribution and frequency of rainfall, the problem of water availability and access is bound to increase. The U.S Geological Survey Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has initiated a large-scale project to monitor small to medium surface water bodies in Africa. Under this project, multi-source satellite data and hydrologic modeling techniques are integrated to monitor these water bodies in Africa. First, small water bodies are mapped using satellite data such as Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), Landsat, and high resolution Google Earth imagery. Stream networks and watersheds for each water body are identified using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation data. Finally, a hydrologic modeling approach that uses satellite-derived precipitation estimates and evapotranspiration data calculated from global data assimilation system climate parameters is applied to model water levels. This approach has been implemented to monitor nearly 300 small water bodies located in 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Validation of modeled scaled depths with field-installed gauge data in East Africa demonstrated the ability of the model to capture both the spatial patterns and seasonal variations. Modeled scaled estimates captured up to 60% of the observed gauge variability with an average RMSE of 22%. Current and historic data (since 2001) on relative water level, precipitation, and evapotranspiration for each water body is made available in near real time. The water point monitoring network will be further expanded to cover other pastoral regions of sub-Saharan Africa. This project provides timely information on water availability that supports FEWS NET monitoring activities in Africa. Information on water availability produced in this study would further increase the resilience of local communities to floods and droughts.

On-orbit figure sensing and figure correction control for 0.5 arc-second adjustable X-ray optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reid, Paul

This investigation seeks to develop the technology to directly monitor on-orbit changes to imaging performance of adjustable X-ray optics so as to be able to efficiently correct adverse changes at a level consistent with 0.5 arc-second X-ray telescope imaging. Adjustable X-ray optics employ thin film piezoelectric material deposited on the back of a thin glass Wolter mirror segment to introduce localized stresses in the mirror. These stresses are used in a deterministic way to improve mirror figure from 10 arc-sec, half power diameter (HPD), to 0.5 arc-sec, HPD, without the need for a heavy reaction structure. This is a realizable technology for potential future X-ray telescope missions with 0.5 arc-second resolution and several square meters effective area, such as SMART-X. We are pursuing such mirror development under an existing APRA grant. Here we propose a new investigation to accomplish the monitoring and control of the mirrors by monitoring the health of the piezoelectric actuators of the adjustable optics to a level consistent with 0.5 arcsec imaging. Such measurements are beyond the capability of conventional, thin metal film strain gauges using DC measurements. Instead, we propose to develop the technology to deposit different types of strain gauges (metal film, semiconductor) directly on the piezoelectric cells; to investigate the use of additional thin layers of piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconate titanate or zinc oxide as strain and temperature gauges; and to use AC measurement of strain gauges for precise measurement of piezoelectric adjuster performance. The intent is to use this information to correct changes in mirror shape by adjusting the voltages on the piezoelectric adjustors. Adjustable X-ray optics are designed to meet the challenge of large collecting area and high angular resolution. The mirrors are called adjustable rather than active as mirror figure error is corrected (adjusted) once or infrequently, as opposed to being changed constantly at several cycles/sec (active). In our approach, the mirror figure is corrected based on ground measurements, accounting for figure errors due to mirror manufacturing, mounting induced deformations, modeled gravity release, and modeled on-orbit thermal effects. The piezoelectric strain monitoring we seek to develop in this program extends adjustable mirror technology development, as it enables efficient adjustment and correction of mirror figure on-orbit, as required. This unprecedented level of system robustness will make telescopes less expensive to build because requirements for the non-optical systems can be looser, and it will also make the system more resistant to degradation, promoting mission success. The largest drivers for changes from ground calibration to on-orbit performance are piezoelectric material aging and an unexpected thermal environment (i.e., larger gradients than modeled or other thermal control system problem). Developing the capability to accurately monitor the health of each piezoelectric cell and the local mirror surface temperature will enable the real time sensing of any of these potential issues, help determine the cause, and enable corrections via updating models of on-orbit conditions and re-optimizing the required piezoelectric cell voltages for mirror figure correction. Our 3 year research program includes the development of the strain monitoring technology, its deposition on the adjustable optics, modeling and performance simulation, accelerated lifetime testing, and optical and electrical metrology of sample adjustable optics that incorporate monitoring sensors. Development of the capability to remotely monitor piezo performance and temperature to necessary precision will vastly improve reliability of the SMART-X mission concept, or the sub-arc-second X-ray Surveyor mission described in the 2013 NASA Astrophysics Roadmap, Enduring Quests Daring Visions.

A computerized system to evaluate volumetric infusion pumps.

PubMed

Kobayashi, S; Ogata, T

1992-01-01

A computerized system was developed to examine the performance characteristics of infusion pumps. This system collects solution delivered by an infusion pump through an intravenous needle into a collection vessel. Using an inductor-type weight sensor and a semiconductor type of strain-gauge pressure sensor, the weight of the collection vessel and the pressure at the needle were monitored over a specific period (the sampling time), and changes in pressure, flow rate, and volume of fluid were calculated. This system was applied to five volumetric infusion pumps with different pumping mechanisms. Test conditions involved two different solutions, two sizes of needle gauge, and seven flow rates, for a total of 28 measurements per pump. Results showed considerable variation in the infusion pumps' performances based on differences in these indices. Use of an inductance weight sensor as a means to evaluate gravimetric performance appears to be an improvement over conventional methods, which use analytical balances for data generation. The results indicate that this system will be useful in evaluating the performances of commercially available infusion pumps as well as those in development.

Chena River Lakes Project, Fairbanks, Alaska. Overview of Tanana River Monitoring Research Studies Near Fairbanks, Alaska.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

concentration-depth profiles for suspended sand sizes at Fairbanks gauge . 5.1 Apparent downstream migration of main channel loops upstream of Goose Island, 1938...at the Fairbanks gauging station is plotted in Figure 3.1. Table 3.1 shows year-by-year and period-of-record statistics for mean, minimum and maximum...Associated Relationships Figure 3.3 shows a plot of stage vs. discharge data for the Fairbanks gauging station.* There has been considerable scatter

Improving the quantification of flash flood hydrographs and reducing their uncertainty using noncontact streamgauging methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Branger, Flora; Dramais, Guillaume; Horner, Ivan; Le Boursicaud, Raphaël; Le Coz, Jérôme; Renard, Benjamin

2015-04-01

Continuous river discharge data are crucial for the study and management of floods. In most river discharge monitoring networks, these data are obtained at gauging stations, where the stage-discharge relation is modelled with a rating curve to derive discharge from the measurement of water level in the river. Rating curves are usually established using individual ratings (or gaugings). However, using traditional gauging methods during flash floods is challenging for many reasons including hazardous flow conditions (for both equipment and people), short duration of the flood events, transient flows during the time needed to perform the gauging, etc. The lack of gaugings implies that the rating curve is often extrapolated well beyond the gauged range for the highest floods, inducing large uncertainties in the computed discharges. We deployed two remote techniques for gauging floods and improving stage-discharge relations for high flow conditions at several hydrometric stations throughout the Ardèche river catchment in France : (1) permanent video-recording stations enabling the implementation of the image analysis LS-PIV technique (Large Scale Particle Image Velocimetry) ; (2) and mobile gaugings using handheld Surface Velocity Radars (SVR). These gaugings were used to estimate the rating curve and its uncertainty using the Bayesian method BaRatin (Le Coz et al., 2014). Importantly, this method explicitly accounts for the uncertainty of individual gaugings, which is especially relevant for remote gaugings since their uncertainty is generally much higher than that of standard intrusive gauging methods. Then, the uncertainty of streamflow records was derived by combining the uncertainty of the rating curve and the uncertainty of stage records. We assessed the impact of these methodological developments for peak flow estimation and for flood descriptors at various time steps. The combination of field measurement innovation and statistical developments allows efficiently quantifying and reducing the uncertainties of flood peak estimates and flood descriptors at gauging stations. The noncontact streamgauging techniques used in our field campaign strategy have complementary interests. Permanent LSPIV stations, once installed and calibrated, can monitor floods automatically and perform many gaugings during a single event, thus documenting the rise, peak and recession of floods. SVR gaugings are more "one shot" gaugings but can be deployed quickly and at minimal cost over a large territory. Both of these noncontact techniques contribute to a significant reduction of uncertainty on peak hydrographs and flood descriptors at different time steps for a given catchment. Le Coz, J.; Renard, B.; Bonnifait, L.; Branger, F. & Le Boursicaud, R. (2014), 'Combining hydraulic knowledge and uncertain gaugings in the estimation of hydrometric rating curves: A Bayesian approach', Journal of Hydrology 509, 573-587.

46 CFR 154.1305 - Liquid level gauging system: Standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1305 Liquid level gauging system: Standards. (a) Each cargo tank must have at least one liquid level gauging system that is operable: (1) At pressures up to, and including, the... 46 Shipping 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: Standards. 154.1305 Section...

46 CFR 154.1305 - Liquid level gauging system: Standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1305 Liquid level gauging system: Standards. (a) Each cargo tank must have at least one liquid level gauging system that is operable: (1) At pressures up to, and including, the... 46 Shipping 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: Standards. 154.1305 Section...

46 CFR 154.1305 - Liquid level gauging system: Standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1305 Liquid level gauging system: Standards. (a) Each cargo tank must have at least one liquid level gauging system that is operable: (1) At pressures up to, and including, the... 46 Shipping 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: Standards. 154.1305 Section...

46 CFR 154.1305 - Liquid level gauging system: Standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1305 Liquid level gauging system: Standards. (a) Each cargo tank must have at least one liquid level gauging system that is operable: (1) At pressures up to, and including, the... 46 Shipping 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: Standards. 154.1305 Section...

46 CFR 154.1305 - Liquid level gauging system: Standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1305 Liquid level gauging system: Standards. (a) Each cargo tank must have at least one liquid level gauging system that is operable: (1) At pressures up to, and including, the... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Liquid level gauging system: Standards. 154.1305 Section...

Eddy current gauge for monitoring displacement using printed circuit coil

DOEpatents

Visioli, Jr., Armando J.

1977-01-01

A proximity detection system for non-contact displacement and proximity measurement of static or dynamic metallic or conductive surfaces is provided wherein the measurement is obtained by monitoring the change in impedance of a flat, generally spiral-wound, printed circuit coil which is excited by a constant current, constant frequency source. The change in impedance, which is detected as a corresponding change in voltage across the coil, is related to the eddy current losses in the distant conductive material target. The arrangement provides for considerable linear displacement range with increased accuracies, stability, and sensitivity over the entire range.

Monte Carlo Uncertainty Quantification for an Unattended Enrichment Monitor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jarman, Kenneth D.; Smith, Leon E.; Wittman, Richard S.

As a case study for uncertainty analysis, we consider a model flow monitor for measuring enrichment in gas centrifuge enrichment plants (GCEPs) that could provide continuous monitoring of all declared gas flow and provide high-accuracy gas enrichment estimates as a function of time. The monitor system could include NaI(Tl) gamma-ray spectrometers, a pressure signal-sharing device to be installed on an operator\\rq{}s pressure gauge or a dedicated inspector pressure sensor, and temperature sensors attached to the outside of the header pipe, to provide pressure, temperature, and gamma-ray spectra measurements of UFmore » $$_6$$ gas flow through unit header pipes. Our study builds on previous modeling and analysis methods development for enrichment monitor concepts and a software tool that was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to generate and analyze synthetic data.« less

40 CFR 63.7741 - What are the installation, operation, and maintenance requirements for my monitors?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Pollutants for Iron and Steel Foundries Continuous Compliance Requirements § 63.7741 What are the... eliminates pulsating pressure, vibration, and internal and external corrosion. (ii) Use a gauge with a... minimizes or eliminates pulsating pressure, vibration, and internal and external corrosion. (ii) Use a gauge...

A wireless fatigue monitoring system utilizing a bio-inspired tree ring data tracking technique.

PubMed

Bai, Shi; Li, Xuan; Xie, Zhaohui; Zhou, Zhi; Ou, Jinping

2014-03-05

Fatigue, a hot scientific research topic for centuries, can trigger sudden failure of critical structures such as aircraft and railway systems, resulting in enormous casualties as well as economic losses. The fatigue life of certain structures is intrinsically random and few monitoring techniques are capable of tracking the full life-cycle fatigue damage. In this paper, a novel in-situ wireless real-time fatigue monitoring system using a bio-inspired tree ring data tracking technique is proposed. The general framework, methodology, and verification of this intelligent system are discussed in details. The rain-flow counting (RFC) method is adopted as the core algorithm which quantifies fatigue damages, and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is introduced as the core module for data collection and analysis. Laboratory test results based on strain gauges and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensors have shown that the developed intelligent system can provide a reliable quick feedback and early warning of fatigue failure. With the merits of low cost, high accuracy and great reliability, the developed wireless fatigue sensing system can be further applied to mechanical engineering, civil infrastructures, transportation systems, aerospace engineering, etc.

Africa-wide monitoring of small surface water bodies using multisource satellite data: a monitoring system for FEWS NET: chapter 5

USGS Publications Warehouse

Velpuri, Naga Manohar; Senay, Gabriel B.; Rowland, James; Verdin, James P.; Alemu, Henok; Melesse, Assefa M.; Abtew, Wossenu; Setegn, Shimelis G.

2014-01-01

Continental Africa has the highest volume of water stored in wetlands, large lakes, reservoirs, and rivers, yet it suffers from problems such as water availability and access. With climate change intensifying the hydrologic cycle and altering the distribution and frequency of rainfall, the problem of water availability and access will increase further. Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has initiated a large-scale project to monitor small to medium surface water points in Africa. Under this project, multisource satellite data and hydrologic modeling techniques are integrated to monitor several hundreds of small to medium surface water points in Africa. This approach has been already tested to operationally monitor 41 water points in East Africa. The validation of modeled scaled depths with field-installed gauge data demonstrated the ability of the model to capture both the spatial patterns and seasonal variations. Modeled scaled estimates captured up to 60 % of the observed gauge variability with a mean root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 22 %. The data on relative water level, precipitation, and evapotranspiration (ETo) for water points in East and West Africa were modeled since 1998 and current information is being made available in near-real time. This chapter presents the approach, results from the East African study, and the first phase of expansion activities in the West Africa region. The water point monitoring network will be further expanded to cover much of sub-Saharan Africa. The goal of this study is to provide timely information on the water availability that would support already established FEWS NET activities in Africa. This chapter also presents the potential improvements in modeling approach to be implemented during future expansion in Africa.

Strain and dynamic measurements using fiber optic sensors embedded into graphite/epoxy tubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dehart, D. W.; Doederlein, T.; Koury, J.; Rogowski, R. S.; Heyman, J. S.; Holben, M. S., Jr.

1989-01-01

Graphite/epoxy tubes were fabricated with embedded optical fibers to evaluate the feasibility of monitoring strains with a fiber optic technique. Resistance strain gauges were attached to the tubes to measure strain at four locations along the tube for comparison with the fiber optic sensors. Both static and dynamic strain measurements were made with excellent agreement between the embedded fiber optic strain sensor and the strain gauges. Strain measurements of 10(exp -7) can be detected with the optical phase locked loop (OPLL) system using optical fiber. Because of their light weight, compatibility with composites, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and based on the static and dynamic results obtained, fiber optic sensors embedded in composites may be useful as the sensing component of smart structures.

Determination Method of Bridge Rotation Angle Response Using MEMS IMU

PubMed Central

Sekiya, Hidehiko; Kinomoto, Takeshi; Miki, Chitoshi

2016-01-01

To implement steel bridge maintenance, especially that related to fatigue damage, it is important to monitor bridge deformations under traffic conditions. Bridges deform and rotate differently under traffic load conditions because their structures differ in terms of length and flexibility. Such monitoring enables the identification of the cause of stress concentrations that cause fatigue damage and the proposal of appropriate countermeasures. However, although bridge deformation monitoring requires observations of bridge angle response as well as the bridge displacement response, measuring the rotation angle response of a bridge subject to traffic loads is difficult. Theoretically, the rotation angle response can be calculated by integrating the angular velocity, but for field measurements of actual in-service bridges, estimating the necessary boundary conditions would be difficult due to traffic-induced vibration. To solve the problem, this paper proposes a method for determining the rotation angle response of an in-service bridge from its angular velocity, as measured by a inertial measurement unit (IMU). To verify our proposed method, field measurements were conducted using nine micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) IMUs and two contact displacement gauges. The results showed that our proposed method provided high accuracy when compared to the reference responses calculated by the contact displacement gauges. PMID:27834871

Review of Hull Structural Monitoring Systems for Navy Ships

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

generally based on the same basic form of S-N curve, different correction methods are used by the various classification societies. ii. Methods for...Likewise there are a number of different methods employed for temperature compensation and these vary depending on the type of gauge, although typically...Analysis, Inc.[30] Figure 8. Examples of different methods of temperature compensation of fibre-optic strain sensors. It is noted in NATO

Performance Characterization of a Three-Axis Hall Effect Thruster

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

mounted to the vacuum tank overhead and were individually connected to CVI CBST 6.0 scroll compressor units via flexible tubing. The pumps were capable...and Support Equipment . . . . . . . . . 23 3.2.1 Vacuum Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.2.2 Pumps and Pump -down Sequence...Sequence. Chamber pressure monitoring and control of vacuum pumps was accomplished using a combination of two gauge systems. The first was used when tank

Shipboard Fluid System Diagnostics Using Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

brute.s(3).data; tDPP = brute.s(3).time; FL = brute.s(4).data; tFL = brute.s(4).time; RM = brute.s(5).data; tRM = brute.s(5).time; DPF = brute.s...s’, max(tP1), files(n).name)); ylabel(’Power’); axis tight grid on; subplot(4,1,2); plot( tDPP , DPP, tDPF, DPF) ylabel(’DP Gauges’); axis

Piezoelectric Pulsed Microjets

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-29

microjets presents new design capabilities [ 9 , 18, 19]. An actuator is developed and tested here that integrates these two subsystems together to produce... actuator during testing. A digital pressure gauge was placed in-line after the accumulator to monitor bias pressure during testing. A check valve is used...bled off from the hydraulic actuator without affecting the pressure maintained in the accumulator. Air is bled from the system via a bleed valve within

Time-Frequency Analyses of Tide-Gauge Sensor Data

PubMed Central

Erol, Serdar

2011-01-01

The real world phenomena being observed by sensors are generally non-stationary in nature. The classical linear techniques for analysis and modeling natural time-series observations are inefficient and should be replaced by non-linear techniques of whose theoretical aspects and performances are varied. In this manner adopting the most appropriate technique and strategy is essential in evaluating sensors’ data. In this study, two different time-series analysis approaches, namely least squares spectral analysis (LSSA) and wavelet analysis (continuous wavelet transform, cross wavelet transform and wavelet coherence algorithms as extensions of wavelet analysis), are applied to sea-level observations recorded by tide-gauge sensors, and the advantages and drawbacks of these methods are reviewed. The analyses were carried out using sea-level observations recorded at the Antalya-II and Erdek tide-gauge stations of the Turkish National Sea-Level Monitoring System. In the analyses, the useful information hidden in the noisy signals was detected, and the common features between the two sea-level time series were clarified. The tide-gauge records have data gaps in time because of issues such as instrumental shortcomings and power outages. Concerning the difficulties of the time-frequency analysis of data with voids, the sea-level observations were preprocessed, and the missing parts were predicted using the neural network method prior to the analysis. In conclusion the merits and limitations of the techniques in evaluating non-stationary observations by means of tide-gauge sensors records were documented and an analysis strategy for the sequential sensors observations was presented. PMID:22163829

Time-frequency analyses of tide-gauge sensor data.

PubMed

Erol, Serdar

2011-01-01

The real world phenomena being observed by sensors are generally non-stationary in nature. The classical linear techniques for analysis and modeling natural time-series observations are inefficient and should be replaced by non-linear techniques of whose theoretical aspects and performances are varied. In this manner adopting the most appropriate technique and strategy is essential in evaluating sensors' data. In this study, two different time-series analysis approaches, namely least squares spectral analysis (LSSA) and wavelet analysis (continuous wavelet transform, cross wavelet transform and wavelet coherence algorithms as extensions of wavelet analysis), are applied to sea-level observations recorded by tide-gauge sensors, and the advantages and drawbacks of these methods are reviewed. The analyses were carried out using sea-level observations recorded at the Antalya-II and Erdek tide-gauge stations of the Turkish National Sea-Level Monitoring System. In the analyses, the useful information hidden in the noisy signals was detected, and the common features between the two sea-level time series were clarified. The tide-gauge records have data gaps in time because of issues such as instrumental shortcomings and power outages. Concerning the difficulties of the time-frequency analysis of data with voids, the sea-level observations were preprocessed, and the missing parts were predicted using the neural network method prior to the analysis. In conclusion the merits and limitations of the techniques in evaluating non-stationary observations by means of tide-gauge sensors records were documented and an analysis strategy for the sequential sensors observations was presented.

Sleep monitoring sensor using flexible metal strain gauge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwak, Yeon Hwa; Kim, Jinyong; Kim, Kunnyun

2018-05-01

This paper presents a sleep monitoring sensor based on a flexible metal strain gauge. As quality of life has improved, interest in sleep quality, and related products, has increased. In this study, unlike a conventional single sensor based on a piezoelectric material, a metal strain gauge-based array sensor based on polyimide and nickel chromium (NiCr) is applied to provide movement direction, respiration, and heartbeat data as well as contact-free use by the user during sleeping. Thin-film-type resistive strain gage sensors are fabricated through the conventional flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) process, which is very useful for commercialization. The measurement of movement direction and respiratory rate during sleep were evaluated, and the heart rate data were compared with concurrent electrocardiogram (ECG) data. An algorithm for analyzing sleep data was developed using MATLAB, and the error rate was 4.2% when compared with ECG for heart rate.

Uncertainties on the definition of critical rainfall patterns for debris-flows triggering. Results from the Rebaixader monitoring site (Central Pyrenees)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hürlimann, Marcel; Abancó, Clàudia; Moya, Jose; Berenguer, Marc

2015-04-01

Empirical rainfall thresholds are a widespread technique in debris-flow hazard assessment and can be established by statistical analysis of historic data. Typically, data from one or several rain gauges located nearby the affected catchment is used to define the triggering conditions. However, this procedure has been demonstrated not to be accurate enough due to the spatial variability of convective rainstorms. In 2009, a monitoring system was installed in the Rebaixader catchment, Central Pyrenees (Spain). Since then, 28 torrential flows (debris flows and debris floods) have occurred and rainfall data of 25 of them are available with a 5-minutes frequency of recording ("event rainfalls"). Other 142 rainfalls that did not trigger events ("no event rainfalls) were also collected and analysed. The goal of this work was threefold: a) characterize rainfall episodes in the Rebaixader catchment and compare rainfall data that triggered torrential events and others that did not; b) define and test Intensity-Duration (ID) thresholds using rainfall data measured inside the catchment; c) estimate the uncertainty derived from the use of rain gauges located outside the catchment based on the spatial correlation depicted by radar rainfall maps. The results of the statistical analysis showed that the parameters that more distinguish between the two populations of rainfalls are the rainfall intensities, the mean rainfall and the total precipitation. On the other side, the storm duration and the antecedent rainfall are not significantly different between "event rainfalls" and "no event rainfalls". Four different ID rainfall thresholds were derived based on the dataset of the first 5 years and tested using the 2014 dataset. The results of the test indicated that the threshold corresponding to the 90% percentile showed the best performance. Weather radar data was used to analyse the spatial variability of the triggering rainfalls. The analysis indicates that rain gauges outside the catchment may be considered useful or not to describe the rainfall depending on the type of rainfall. For widespread rainfalls, further rain gauges can give a reliable measurement, because the spatial correlation decreases slowly with the distance between the rain gauge and the debris-flow initiation area. Contrarily, local storm cells show higher space-time variability and, therefore, representative rainfall measurements are obtained only by the closest rain gauges. In conclusion, the definition of rainfall thresholds is a delicate task. When the rainfall records are coming from gauges that are outside the catchment under consideration, the data should be carefully analysed and crosschecked with radar data (especially for small convective cells).

40 CFR 60.734 - Monitoring of emissions and operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... fuller's earth rotary dryer, a gypsum rotary dryer, a gypsum flash calciner, gypsum kettle calciner, an... water column gauge pressure at the level of operation. The liquid flow rate monitoring device must be...

40 CFR 60.734 - Monitoring of emissions and operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... fuller's earth rotary dryer, a gypsum rotary dryer, a gypsum flash calciner, gypsum kettle calciner, an... water column gauge pressure at the level of operation. The liquid flow rate monitoring device must be...

40 CFR 60.734 - Monitoring of emissions and operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... fuller's earth rotary dryer, a gypsum rotary dryer, a gypsum flash calciner, gypsum kettle calciner, an... water column gauge pressure at the level of operation. The liquid flow rate monitoring device must be...

40 CFR 60.734 - Monitoring of emissions and operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... fuller's earth rotary dryer, a gypsum rotary dryer, a gypsum flash calciner, gypsum kettle calciner, an... water column gauge pressure at the level of operation. The liquid flow rate monitoring device must be...

Research of a smart cutting tool based on MEMS strain gauge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Y.; Zhao, Y. L.; Shao, YW; Hu, T. J.; Zhang, Q.; Ge, X. H.

2018-03-01

Cutting force is an important factor that affects machining accuracy, cutting vibration and tool wear. Machining condition monitoring by cutting force measurement is a key technology for intelligent manufacture. Current cutting force sensors exist problems of large volume, complex structure and poor compatibility in practical application, for these problems, a smart cutting tool is proposed in this paper for cutting force measurement. Commercial MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) strain gauges with high sensitivity and small size are adopted as transducing element of the smart tool, and a structure optimized cutting tool is fabricated for MEMS strain gauge bonding. Static calibration results show that the developed smart cutting tool is able to measure cutting forces in both X and Y directions, and the cross-interference error is within 3%. Its general accuracy is 3.35% and 3.27% in X and Y directions, and sensitivity is 0.1 mV/N, which is very suitable for measuring small cutting forces in high speed and precision machining. The smart cutting tool is portable and reliable for practical application in CNC machine tool.

Detection of Ballast Damage by In-Situ Vibration Measurement of Sleepers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lam, H. F.; Wong, M. T.; Keefe, R. M.

2010-05-01

Ballasted track is one of the most important elements of railway transportation systems worldwide. Owing to its importance in railway safety, many monitoring and evaluation methods have been developed. Current railway track monitoring systems are comprehensive, fast and efficient in testing railway track level and alignment, rail gauge, rail corrugation, etc. However, the monitoring of ballast condition still relies very much on visual inspection and core tests. Although extensive research has been carried out in the development of non-destructive methods for ballast condition evaluation, a commonly accepted and cost-effective method is still in demand. In Hong Kong practice, if abnormal train vibration is reported by the train operator or passengers, permanent way inspectors will locate the problem area by track geometry measurement. It must be pointed out that visual inspection can only identify ballast damage on the track surface, the track geometry deficiencies and rail twists can be detected using a track gauge. Ballast damage under the sleeper loading area and the ballast shoulder, which are the main factors affecting track stability and ride quality, are extremely difficult if not impossible to be detected by visual inspection. Core test is a destructive test, which is expensive, time consuming and may be disruptive to traffic. A fast real-time ballast damage detection method that can be implemented by permanent way inspectors with simple equipment can certainly provide valuable information for engineers in assessing the safety and riding quality of ballasted track systems. The main objective of this paper is to study the feasibility in using the vibration characteristics of sleepers in quantifying the ballast condition under the sleepers, and so as to explore the possibility in developing a handy method for the detection of ballast damage based on the measured vibration of sleepers.

Some recent advances of intelligent health monitoring systems for civil infrastructures in HIT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ou, Jinping

2005-06-01

The intelligent health monitoring systems more and more become a technique for ensuring the health and safety of civil infrastructures and also an important approach for research of the damage accumulation or even disaster evolving characteristics of civil infrastructures, and attracts prodigious research interests and active development interests of scientists and engineers since a great number of civil infrastructures are planning and building each year in mainland China. In this paper, some recent advances on research, development nad implementation of intelligent health monitoring systems for civil infrastructuresin mainland China, especially in Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), P.R.China. The main contents include smart sensors such as optical fiber Bragg grating (OFBG) and polivinyllidene fluoride (PVDF) sensors, fatigue life gauges, self-sensing mortar and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), wireless sensor networks and their implementation in practical infrastructures such as offshore platform structures, hydraulic engineering structures, large span bridges and large space structures. Finally, the relative research projects supported by the national foundation agencies of China are briefly introduced.

Absolute Sea Level Monitoring and Altimeter Calibration At Gavdos, Crete, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlis, E. C.; Gavdos Team

We present the mean sea level (MSL) monitoring aspect of the altimeter calibration fa- cility under deployment on western Crete and the isle of Gavdos. The Eastern Mediter- ranean area is one of great interest for its intense tectonic activity as well as for its regional oceanography. Recent observations have convincingly demonstrated the im- portance of that area for the regional meteorological and climatological changes. Tide- gauge monitoring with GPS has gained importance lately since tectonics contaminate the inferred sea level variations, and a global network of tide-gauges with long his- torical records can be used as satellite altimeter calibration sites for current and fu- ture missions (e.g. TOPEX/POSEIDON, GFO, JASON-1, ENVISAT, etc.). This is at present a common IOC-GLOSS-IGS effort, already underway (TIGA). Crete hosts two of the oldest tide-gauges in the regional network and our project will further ex- pand it to the south of the island with a new site on the isle of Gavdos, the southernmost European parcel of land. One component of our "GAVDOS" project is the repeated occupation of two already in existence tide-gauge sites at Souda Bay and Heraklion, and their tie to the new facility. We show here initial results from positioning of these sites and some of the available tidal records. Gavdos is situated under a ground-track crossing point of the present T/P and JASON-1 orbits. It is an ideal calibration site if the tectonic motions are monitored precisely and continuously. Our plans include the deployment of additional instrumentation at this site: GPS and DORIS beacons for positioning, transponders for direct calibration, water vapor radiometers, GPS-loaded buoys, airborne surveys with gravimeters and laser profiling lidars, etc., to ensure the best possible and most reliable results.

First Vertical Land Movement Estimates on South Georgia Island: An Impact Study on Sea Level Change from Tide Gauge and Satellite Altimetry Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abraha, K. E.; Teferle, F. N.; Hunegnaw, A.; Woodworth, P. L.; Williams, S. D. P.; Hibbert, A.; Smalley, R., Jr.; Dalziel, I.; Lawver, L.

2017-12-01

South Georgia Island in the Southern Atlantic Ocean has been a key location for the seismic, geomagnetic and oceanic global monitoring networks. However, no permanent geodetic monitoring station had been established there despite the lack of observations from this region within, for example, the International GNSS Service (IGS) network of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations. Then, in 2013 the King Edward Point (KEP) Geodetic Observatory was established with a focus on sea level studies and in support of general geoscience applications. Currently, this observatory located roughly half-way along the main island along its northern coastline, consists of two GNSS stations (KEPA and KRSA) with local benchmark networks, allowing the height determinations from the GNSS antennas to be transferred to the KEP tide gauge (GLOSS ID 187) and forming a height reference within the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. In late 2014, three additional GNSS stations (SG01, SG02 and SG03) were established, all located on small islands at the perimeter of the main island. Together the stations provide the best possible geographic distribution to study various geophysical processes in the region. With the GNSS-derived position time series now partly reaching over 4.5 years in length, it has become possible to provide first estimates of vertical land movements for the island and, in particular, KEP with its surrounding area. Together with four precise levelling campaigns of the benchmark network in 2013, 2014 and two in 2017, it has also been possible to investigate the very local character of the vertical motions, ie. the stability of the jetty upon which the tide gauge is mounted. Our measurements show that while South Georgia Island and the area around KEP are rising, the jetty and tide gauge are subsiding. In this study, we will present the preliminary results from the GNSS and levelling measurements and will discuss their impact on the sea level record from the KEP tide gauge which is ideally situated in a mid-ocean location for satellite altimetry calibration over the Southern Atlantic and Southern Oceans.

Prestressing force monitoring method for a box girder through distributed long-gauge FBG sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shi-Zhi; Wu, Gang; Xing, Tuo; Feng, De-Cheng

2018-01-01

Monitoring prestressing forces is essential for prestressed concrete box girder bridges. However, the current monitoring methods used for prestressing force were not applicable for a box girder neither because of the sensor’s setup being constrained or shear lag effect not being properly considered. Through combining with the previous analysis model of shear lag effect in the box girder, this paper proposed an indirect monitoring method for on-site determination of prestressing force in a concrete box girder utilizing the distributed long-gauge fiber Bragg grating sensor. The performance of this method was initially verified using numerical simulation for three different distribution forms of prestressing tendons. Then, an experiment involving two concrete box girders was conducted to study the feasibility of this method under different prestressing levels preliminarily. The results of both numerical simulation and lab experiment validated this method’s practicability in a box girder.

Flow Cytometry and Solid Organ Transplantation: A Perfect Match

PubMed Central

Maguire, Orla; Tario, Joseph D.; Shanahan, Thomas C.; Wallace, Paul K.; Minderman, Hans

2015-01-01

In the field of transplantation, flow cytometry serves a well-established role in pre-transplant crossmatching and monitoring immune reconstitution following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The capabilities of flow cytometers have continuously expanded and this combined with more detailed knowledge of the constituents of the immune system, their function and interaction and newly developed reagents to study these parameters have led to additional utility of flow cytometry-based analyses, particularly in the post-transplant setting. This review discusses the impact of flow cytometry on managing alloantigen reactions, monitoring opportunistic infections and graft rejection and gauging immunosuppression in the context of solid organ transplantation. PMID:25296232

Back-Analyses of Landfill Instability Induced by High Water Level: Case Study of Shenzhen Landfill

PubMed Central

Peng, Ren; Hou, Yujing; Zhan, Liangtong; Yao, Yangping

2016-01-01

In June 2008, the Shenzhen landfill slope failed. This case is used as an example to study the deformation characteristics and failure mode of a slope induced by high water levels. An integrated monitoring system, including water level gauges, electronic total stations, and inclinometers, was used to monitor the slope failure process. The field measurements suggest that the landfill landslide was caused by a deep slip along the weak interface of the composite liner system at the base of the landfill. The high water level is considered to be the main factor that caused this failure. To calculate the relative interface shear displacements in the geosynthetic multilayer liner system, a series of numerical direct shear tests were carried out. Based on the numerical results, the composite lining system simplified and the centrifuge modeling technique was used to quantitatively evaluate the effect of water levels on landfill instability. PMID:26771627

Fiber grating systems used to measure strain in cylindrical structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udd, Eric; Corona-Bittick, Kelli; Slattery, Kerry T.; Dorr, Donald J.; Crowe, C. Robert; Vandiver, Terry L.; Evans, Robert N.

1997-07-01

Fiber optic grating systems are described that have been used to measure strain in cylindrical structures. The applications of these systems to a composite utility pole and to a composite missile body are described. Composite utility poles have significant advantages with respect to wooden utility poles that include superior strength and uniformity; light weight for ease of deployment; the ability to be recycled, reducing hazardous waste associated with chemically treated wooden poles; and compatibility with embedded fiber optic sensors, allowing structural loads to be monitored. Tests conducted of fiber optic grating sensors in combination with an overcoupled coupler demodulation system to support structural testing of a 22-ft composite pole are reported. Monitoring strain in composite missile bodies has the potential to improve the quality of manufactured parts, support performance testing, and enhance safety during long periods of storage. Strain measurements made with fiber optic grating and electrical strain gauges are described.

The Development of a Pirani Vacuum Gauge with a Platinum Wire in the J-PARC 3-GeV Rapid Cycling Synchrotron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogiwara, Norio; Hikichi, Yusuke; Yoshinari, Yoji

The back pressure of Turbo-Molecular Pumps (TMPs) is constantly monitored using Pirani gauges at J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Complex) RCS (3-GeV Rapid Cycling Synchrotron) where they are used not only in rough pumping but also evacuations during beam operations. The gauge head needs to be very resistant to vibration and abrupt air inlet etc. in minimizing exposure to radiation during maintenance and hence a 50 μm in diameter W wire was adopted as the filament. This type of Pirani gauge has worked well in monitoring the back pressure of the TMP but it has become difficult to measure the low pressure of less than several Pa with the gauge, which may have been due to changes in the emissivity of the W surface. An attempt was therefore made to develop a gauge head made of Pt wire in allowing pressures as low as 0.1 Pa to be measured. Platinum is one of the best possible materials to use because it is very stable against oxidization. However, ordinary Pt gauge heads are rather weak when it comes to vibrations and abrupt air inlet due to its low tensile strength. In order to improve its toughness the filament was composed of twelve 100 μm in diameter Pt wires that were 65 mm long, resulting in it being capable of enduring a force of 25 N. All the wires were welded in series on metal poles in two separate glass plates, with the poles being electrically insulated. This resulted in the filament, 78 cm long and about 10 Ω at room temperature, being containable in a 5 cm in diameter and 10 cm long cylindrical envelope. The output from the gauge head was then examined as a function of pressure under constant current as the plan was for it to be controlled using the constant current method. Confirmation then took place that the pressures of 0.1 Pa up to 103 Pa were measurable with the gauge using current control in such way that the set value increased with pressure increases in three stages.

Towards combining GPM and MFG observations to monitor near real time heavy precipitation at fine scale over India and nearby oceanic regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Anoop; Rafiq, Mohammd

2017-12-01

This is the first attempt to merge highly accurate precipitation estimates from Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) with gap free satellite observations from Meteosat to develop a regional rainfall monitoring algorithm to estimate heavy rainfall over India and nearby oceanic regions. Rainfall signature is derived from Meteosat observations and is co-located against rainfall from GPM to establish a relationship between rainfall and signature for various rainy seasons. This relationship can be used to monitor rainfall over India and nearby oceanic regions. Performance of this technique was tested by applying it to monitor heavy precipitation over India. It is reported that our algorithm is able to detect heavy rainfall. It is also reported that present algorithm overestimates rainfall areal spread as compared to rain gauge based rainfall product. This deficiency may arise from various factors including uncertainty caused by use of different sensors from different platforms (difference in viewing geometry from MFG and GPM), poor relationship between warm rain (light rain) and IR brightness temperature, and weak characterization of orographic rain from IR signature. We validated hourly rainfall estimated from the present approach with independent observations from GPM. We also validated daily rainfall from this approach with rain gauge based product from India Meteorological Department (IMD). Present technique shows a Correlation Coefficient (CC) of 0.76, a bias of -2.72 mm, a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 10.82 mm, Probability of Detection (POD) of 0.74, False Alarm Ratio (FAR) of 0.34 and a Skill score of 0.36 with daily rainfall from rain gauge based product of IMD at 0.25° resolution. However, FAR reduces to 0.24 for heavy rainfall events. Validation results with rain gauge observations reveal that present technique outperforms available satellite based rainfall estimates for monitoring heavy rainfall over Indian region.

Monitoring of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Old Timber Beams via Strain and Multiresonant Acoustic Emission Sensors

PubMed Central

Rescalvo, Francisco J.; Valverde-Palacios, Ignacio; Gallego, Antolino

2018-01-01

This paper proposes the monitoring of old timber beams with natural defects (knots, grain deviations, fissures and wanes), reinforced using carbon composite materials (CFRP). Reinforcement consisted of the combination of a CFRP laminate strip and a carbon fabric discontinuously wrapping the timber element. Monitoring considered the use and comparison of two types of sensors: strain gauges and multi-resonant acoustic emission (AE) sensors. Results demonstrate that: (1) the mechanical behavior of the beams can be considerably improved by means of the use of CFRP (160% in bending load capacity and 90% in stiffness); (2) Acoustic emission sensors provide comparable information to strain gauges. This fact points to the great potential of AE techniques for in-service damage assessment in real wood structures. PMID:29673155

Monitoring of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Old Timber Beams via Strain and Multiresonant Acoustic Emission Sensors.

PubMed

Rescalvo, Francisco J; Valverde-Palacios, Ignacio; Suarez, Elisabet; Roldán, Andrés; Gallego, Antolino

2018-04-17

This paper proposes the monitoring of old timber beams with natural defects (knots, grain deviations, fissures and wanes), reinforced using carbon composite materials (CFRP). Reinforcement consisted of the combination of a CFRP laminate strip and a carbon fabric discontinuously wrapping the timber element. Monitoring considered the use and comparison of two types of sensors: strain gauges and multi-resonant acoustic emission (AE) sensors. Results demonstrate that: (1) the mechanical behavior of the beams can be considerably improved by means of the use of CFRP (160% in bending load capacity and 90% in stiffness); (2) Acoustic emission sensors provide comparable information to strain gauges. This fact points to the great potential of AE techniques for in-service damage assessment in real wood structures.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mohaghegh, Shahab D.

apability of underground carbon dioxide storage to confine and sustain injected CO2 for a very long time is the main concern for geologic CO2 sequestration. If a leakage from a geological CO2 sequestration site occurs, it is crucial to find the approximate amount and the location of the leak in order to implement proper remediation activity. An overwhelming majority of research and development for storage site monitoring has been concentrated on atmospheric, surface or near surface monitoring of the sequestered CO2. This study aims to monitor the integrity of CO2 storage at the reservoir level. This work proposes developing in-situmore » CO2 Monitoring and Verification technology based on the implementation of Permanent Down-hole Gauges (PDG) or “Smart Wells” along with Artificial Intelligence and Data Mining (AI&DM). The technology attempts to identify the characteristics of the CO2 leakage by de-convolving the pressure signals collected from Permanent Down-hole Gauges (PDG). Citronelle field, a saline aquifer reservoir, located in the U.S. was considered for this study. A reservoir simulation model for CO2 sequestration in the Citronelle field was developed and history matched. The presence of the PDGs were considered in the reservoir model at the injection well and an observation well. High frequency pressure data from sensors were collected based on different synthetic CO2 leakage scenarios in the model. Due to complexity of the pressure signal behaviors, a Machine Learning-based technology was introduced to build an Intelligent Leakage Detection System (ILDS). The ILDS was able to detect leakage characteristics in a short period of time (less than a day) demonstrating the capability of the system in quantifying leakage characteristics subject to complex rate behaviors. The performance of ILDS was examined under different conditions such as multiple well leakages, cap rock leakage, availability of an additional monitoring well, presence of pressure drift and noise in the pressure sensor and uncertainty in the reservoir model.« less

Noninterference Systems Developed for Measuring and Monitoring Rotor Blade Vibrations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kurkov, Anatole P.

2003-01-01

In the noninterference measurement of blade vibrations, a laser light beam is transmitted to the rotor blade tips through a single optical fiber, and the reflected light from the blade tips is collected by a receiving fiber-optic bundle and conducted to a photodetector. Transmitting and receiving fibers are integrated in an optical probe that is enclosed in a metal tube which also houses a miniature lens that focuses light on the blade tips. Vibratory blade amplitudes can be deduced from the measurement of the instantaneous time of arrival of the blades and the knowledge of the rotor speed. The in-house noninterference blade-vibration measurement system was developed in response to requirements to monitor blade vibrations in several tests where conventional strain gauges could not be installed or where there was a need to back up strain gauges should critical gauges fail during the test. These types of measurements are also performed in the aircraft engine industry using proprietary in-house technology. Two methods of measurement were developed for vibrations that are synchronous with a rotor shaft. One method requires only one sensor; however, it is necessary to continuously record the data while the rotor is being swept through the resonance. In the other method, typically four sensors are employed and the vibratory amplitude is deduced from the data by performing a least square fit to a harmonic function. This method does not require continuous recording of data through the resonance and, therefore, is better suited for monitoring. The single-probe method was tested in the Carl facility at the Wright- Patterson Air Force Base, and the multiple-probe method was tested in NASA Glenn Research Center's Spin Rig facility, which uses permanent magnets to excite synchronous vibrations. Representative results from this test are illustrated in the bar chart. Nonsynchronous vibrations were measured online during testing of the Quiet High Speed Fan in Glenn s 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel. Three sensors were employed, enabling a reconstruction of the vibratory patterns at the leading and trailing edges at the tip span, as well as a determination of vibratory amplitudes for every blade.

Application of NARR-based NLDAS Ensemble Simulations to Continental-Scale Drought Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonge, C. J.; Cosgrove, B. A.

2008-05-01

Government estimates indicate that droughts cause billions of dollars of damage to agricultural interests each year. More effective identification of droughts would directly benefit decision makers, and would allow for the more efficient allocation of resources that might mitigate the event. Land data assimilation systems, with their high quality representations of soil moisture, present an ideal platform for drought monitoring, and offer many advantages over traditional modeling systems. The recently released North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) covers the NLDAS domain and provides all fields necessary to force the NLDAS for 27 years. This presents an ideal opportunity to combine NARR and NLDAS resources into an effective real-time drought monitor. Toward this end, our project seeks to validate and explore the NARR's suitability as a base for drought monitoring applications - both in terms of data set length and accuracy. Along the same lines, the project will examine the impact of the use of different (longer) LDAS model climatologies on drought monitoring, and will explore the advantages of ensemble simulations versus single model simulations in drought monitoring activities. We also plan to produce a NARR- and observation-based high quality 27 year, 1/8th degree, 3-hourly, land surface and meteorological forcing data sets. An investigation of the best way to force an LDAS-type system will also be made, with traditional NLDAS and NLDASE forcing options explored. This presentation will focus on an overview of the drought monitoring project, and will include a summary of recent progress. Developments include the generation of forcing data sets, ensemble LSM output, and production of model-based drought indices over the entire NLDAS domain. Project forcing files use 32km NARR model output as a data backbone, and include observed precipitation (blended CPC gauge, PRISM gauge, Stage II, HPD, and CMORPH) and a GOES-based bias correction of downward solar radiation. Multiple LSM simulations have been conducted using the Noah, Mosaic, CLM3, HYSSiB, and Catchment LSMs. These simulations, along with the NARR-based forcing data form the basis for several drought indices. These include standard measures such as the Palmer-type indices, LDAS-type percentile and anomaly values, and CLM3-based vegetation condition index values.

Unmanned aerial monitoring of fluvial changes in the vicinity of selected gauges of the Local System for Flood Monitoring in Klodzko County, SW Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeziorska, Justyna; Witek, Matylda; Niedzielski, Tomasz

2013-04-01

Only high resolution spatial data enable precise measurements of various morphometric characteristics of river channels and ensure meaningful effects of research into fluvial changes. Using ground-based measurement tools is time-consuming and expensive. Traditional photogrammetry often does not reach a desired resolution, and the technology is cost effective only for the large-area coverage. The present research introduces potentials of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) for monitoring fluvial changes. Observations were carried out with the ultralight UAV swinglet CAM produced by senseFly. This lightweight (0,5 kg), small (wingspan: 80 cm) aircraft allowed frequent (with approximately monthly sampling resolution) and low-cost missions. Three hydrologic gauges, the surroundings of which were the target of series of photos taken by camera placed in airplane frame, belong to the Local System for Flood Monitoring in Kłodzko County (SW Poland). The only way of obtaining reliable results is an appropriate image rectification, in order to measure morphometric characteristics of terrain, free of geometrical deformations induced by the topographical relief, the tilt of the camera axis and the distortion of the optics. Commercially available software for the production of digital orthophotos and digital surface models (DSMs) from a range of uncalibrated oblique and vertical aerial images was successfully used to achieve this aim. As a result of completing the above procedure 9 orthophotos were generated (one for each of 3 study areas during 3 missions). For extraction of terrain parameters, a DSM was produced as a result of bundle block adjustment. Both products reached ultra-high resolution of 4cm/px. Various fluvial forms were classified and recognized, and a few time series of maps from each study area were compared in order to detect potential changes within the fluvial system. We inferred on the origins of the short-term responses of fluvial systems, and such an inference was feasible due to the analysis of metrological and hydrological data recorded by the Local System for Flood Monitoring in Kłodzko County. Orthophotos and DSMs, generated from imagery obtained by UAV, show high accuracy of results and are suitable for measuring fluvial changes. This approach moves beyond current restrictions of traditional data collecting, due to its unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution and low cost of application.

40 CFR 60.403 - Monitoring of emissions and operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... measurement of the pressure loss of the gas stream through the scrubber. The monitoring device must be certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water) gauge pressure. (2) A monitoring device for the continuous measurement of the scrubbing liquid supply pressure to the control...

40 CFR 60.256 - Continuous monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... device is to be certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±1 inch water gauge. (B) A monitoring device for the continuous measurement of the water supply pressure to the control equipment. The monitoring device is to be certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±5 percent of design water...

Landslide and Flood Warning System Prototypes based on Wireless Sensor Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hloupis, George; Stavrakas, Ilias; Triantis, Dimos

2010-05-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are one of the emerging areas that received great attention during the last few years. This is mainly due to the fact that WSNs have provided scientists with the capability of developing real-time monitoring systems equipped with sensors based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). WSNs have great potential for many applications in environmental monitoring since the sensor nodes that comprised from can host several MEMS sensors (such as temperature, humidity, inertial, pressure, strain-gauge) and transducers (such as position, velocity, acceleration, vibration). The resulting devices are small and inexpensive but with limited memory and computing resources. Each sensor node contains a sensing module which along with an RF transceiver. The communication is broadcast-based since the network topology can change rapidly due to node failures [1]. Sensor nodes can transmit their measurements to central servers through gateway nodes without any processing or they make preliminary calculations locally in order to produce results that will be sent to central servers [2]. Based on the above characteristics, two prototypes using WSNs are presented in this paper: A Landslide detection system and a Flood warning system. Both systems sent their data to central processing server where the core of processing routines exists. Transmission is made using Zigbee and IEEE 802.11b protocol but is capable to use VSAT communication also. Landslide detection system uses structured network topology. Each measuring node comprises of a columnar module that is half buried to the area under investigation. Each sensing module contains a geophone, an inclinometer and a set of strain gauges. Data transmitted to central processing server where possible landslide evolution is monitored. Flood detection system uses unstructured network topology since the failure rate of sensor nodes is expected higher. Each sensing module contains a custom water level sensor (based on plastic optical fiber). Data transmitted directly to server where the early warning algorithms monitor the water level variations in real time. Both sensor nodes use power harvesting techniques in order to extend their battery life as much as possible. [1] Yick J.; Mukherjee, B.; Ghosal, D. Wireless sensor network survey. Comput. Netw. 2008, 52, 2292-2330. [2] Garcia, M.; Bri, D.; Boronat, F.; Lloret, J. A new neighbor selection strategy for group-based wireless sensor networks, In The Fourth International Conference on Networking and Services (ICNS 2008), Gosier, Guadalupe, March 16-21, 2008.

Appearance of gauge structure in simple dynamical systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilczek, F.; Zee, A.

1984-01-01

By generalizing a construction of Berry and Simon, it is shown that non-Abelian gauge fields arise in the adiabatic development of simple quantum mechanical systems. Characteristics of the gauge fields are related to energy splittings, which may be observable in real systems. Similar phenomena are found for suitable classical systems.

A Comparison of Multisensor Precipitation Estimation Methods in Complex Terrain for Flash Flood Warning and Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cifelli, R.; Chen, H.; Chandrasekar, C. V.; Willie, D.; Reynolds, D.; Campbell, C.; Zhang, Y.; Sukovich, E.

2012-12-01

Investigating the uncertainties and improving the accuracy of quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) is a critical mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). QPE is extremely challenging in regions of complex terrain like the western U.S. because of the sparse coverage of ground-based radar, complex orographic precipitation processes, and the effects of beam blockages (e.g., Westrick et al. 1999). In addition, the rain gauge density in complex terrain is often inadequate to capture spatial variability in the precipitation patterns. The NOAA Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) conducts research on precipitation and weather conditions that can lead to flooding, and fosters transition of scientific advances and new tools into forecasting operations (see hmt.noaa.gov). The HMT program consists of a series of demonstration projects in different geographical regions to enhance understanding of region specific processes related to precipitation, including QPE. There are a number of QPE systems that are widely used across NOAA for precipitation estimation (e.g., Cifelli et al. 2011; Chandrasekar et al. 2012). Two of these systems have been installed at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory: Multisensor Precipitation Estimator (MPE) and National Mosaic and Multi-sensor QPE (NMQ) developed by NWS and NSSL, respectively. Both provide gridded QPE products that include radar-only, gauge-only and gauge-radar-merged, etc; however, these systems often provide large differences in QPE (in terms of amounts and spatial patterns) due to differences in Z-R selection, vertical profile of reflectivity correction, and gauge interpolation procedures. Determining the appropriate QPE product and quantification of QPE uncertainty is critical for operational applications, including water management decisions and flood warnings. For example, hourly QPE is used to correct radar based rain rates used by the Flash Flood Monitoring and Prediction (FFMP) package in the NWS forecast offices for issuance of flash flood warnings. This study will evaluate the performance of MPE and NMQ QPE products using independent gauges, object identification techniques for spatial verification and impact on surface runoff using a distributed hydrologic model. The effort will consist of baseline evaluations of these QPE systems to determine which combination of algorithm features is appropriate as well as investigate new methods for combining the gage and radar data. The Russian River Basin in California is used to demonstrate the comparison methodology with data collected from several rainfall events in March 2012.

Noninvasive blood-flow meter using a curved cannula with zero compensation for an axial flow blood pump.

PubMed

Kosaka, Ryo; Fukuda, Kyohei; Nishida, Masahiro; Maruyama, Osamu; Yamane, Takashi

2013-01-01

In order to monitor the condition of a patient using a left ventricular assist system (LVAS), blood flow should be measured. However, the reliable determination of blood-flow rate has not been established. The purpose of the present study is to develop a noninvasive blood-flow meter using a curved cannula with zero compensation for an axial flow blood pump. The flow meter uses the centrifugal force generated by the flow rate in the curved cannula. Two strain gauges served as sensors. The first gauges were attached to the curved area to measure static pressure and centrifugal force, and the second gauges were attached to straight area to measure static pressure. The flow rate was determined by the differences in output from the two gauges. The zero compensation was constructed based on the consideration that the flow rate could be estimated during the initial driving condition and the ventricular suction condition without using the flow meter. A mock circulation loop was constructed in order to evaluate the measurement performance of the developed flow meter with zero compensation. As a result, the zero compensation worked effectively for the initial calibration and the zero-drift of the measured flow rate. We confirmed that the developed flow meter using a curved cannula with zero compensation was able to accurately measure the flow rate continuously and noninvasively.

Evaporation from weighing precipitation gauges: impacts on automated gauge measurements and quality assurance methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leeper, R. D.; Kochendorfer, J.

2015-06-01

Evaporation from a precipitation gauge can cause errors in the amount of measured precipitation. For automated weighing-bucket gauges, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests the use of evaporative suppressants and frequent observations to limit these biases. However, the use of evaporation suppressants is not always feasible due to environmental hazards and the added cost of maintenance, transport, and disposal of the gauge additive. In addition, research has suggested that evaporation prior to precipitation may affect precipitation measurements from auto-recording gauges operating at sub-hourly frequencies. For further evaluation, a field campaign was conducted to monitor evaporation and its impacts on the quality of precipitation measurements from gauges used at U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) stations. Two Geonor gauges were collocated, with one gauge using an evaporative suppressant (referred to as Geonor-NonEvap) and the other with no suppressant (referred to as Geonor-Evap) to evaluate evaporative losses and evaporation biases on precipitation measurements. From June to August, evaporative losses from the Geonor-Evap gauge exceeded accumulated precipitation, with an average loss of 0.12 mm h-1. The impact of evaporation on precipitation measurements was sensitive to the choice of calculation method. In general, the pairwise method that utilized a longer time series to smooth out sensor noise was more sensitive to gauge evaporation (-4.6% bias with respect to control) than the weighted-average method that calculated depth change over a smaller window (<+1% bias). These results indicate that while climate and gauge design affect gauge evaporation rates, computational methods also influence the magnitude of evaporation biases on precipitation measurements. This study can be used to advance quality insurance (QA) techniques used in other automated networks to mitigate the impact of evaporation biases on precipitation measurements.

A Wireless Fatigue Monitoring System Utilizing a Bio-Inspired Tree Ring Data Tracking Technique

PubMed Central

Bai, Shi; Li, Xuan; Xie, Zhaohui; Zhou, Zhi; Ou, Jinping

2014-01-01

Fatigue, a hot scientific research topic for centuries, can trigger sudden failure of critical structures such as aircraft and railway systems, resulting in enormous casualties as well as economic losses. The fatigue life of certain structures is intrinsically random and few monitoring techniques are capable of tracking the full life-cycle fatigue damage. In this paper, a novel in-situ wireless real-time fatigue monitoring system using a bio-inspired tree ring data tracking technique is proposed. The general framework, methodology, and verification of this intelligent system are discussed in details. The rain-flow counting (RFC) method is adopted as the core algorithm which quantifies fatigue damages, and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is introduced as the core module for data collection and analysis. Laboratory test results based on strain gauges and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensors have shown that the developed intelligent system can provide a reliable quick feedback and early warning of fatigue failure. With the merits of low cost, high accuracy and great reliability, the developed wireless fatigue sensing system can be further applied to mechanical engineering, civil infrastructures, transportation systems, aerospace engineering, etc. PMID:24603635

TRMM Applications for Rainfall-Induced Landslide Early Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dok, A.; Fukuoka, H.; Hong, Y.

2012-04-01

Early warning system (EWS) is the most effective method in saving lives and reducing property damages resulted from the catastrophic landslides if properly implemented in populated areas of landslide-prone nations. For predicting the occurrence of landslides, it requires examination of empirical relationship between rainfall characteristics and past landslide occurrence. In developed countries like Japan and the US, precipitation is monitored by rain radars and ground-based rain gauge matrix. However, in developing regions like Southeast Asian countries, very limited number of rain gauges is available, and there is no implemented methodology for issuing effective warming of landslides yet. Correspondingly, satellite precipitation monitoring could be therefore a possible and promising solution for launching landslide quasi-real-time early warning system in those countries. It is due to the fact that TMPA (TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis) can provides a globally calibration-based sequential scheme for combining precipitation estimates from multiple satellites, and gauge analyses where feasible, at fine scales (3-hourly with 0.25°x0.25° spatial resolution). It is available both after and in quasi-real time, calibrated by TRMM Combined Instrument and TRMM Microwave Imager precipitation product. However, validation of ground based rain gauge and TRMM satellite data in the vulnerable regions is still not yet operative. Snake-line/Critical-line and Soil Water Index (SWI) are used for issuing warning of landslide occurrence in Japan; whereas, Caine criterion is preferable in Europe and western nations. Herewith, it presents rainfall behavior which took place in Beichuan city (located on the 2008 Chinese Wenchuan earthquake fault), Hofu and Shobara cities in Japan where localized heavy rainfall attacked in 2009 and 2010, respectively, from TRMM 3B42RT correlated with ground based rain gauge data. The 1-day rainfall intensity and 15-day cumulative rainfall (snake line) were independently plotted to investigate the impact of short-term rainfall intensity and accumulated effective rainfall volume respectively for obtaining some probabilistic threshold. Japanese SWI was also tested to distribute threshold regarding to highly nonlinear rainfall patterns in predicting the landslide occurrence through the plot of total water of 3 serial tank models and daily precipitation. As a result, the snake line plots using TMPA work well for landslide warning in the selected cities; while SWI plots shows unusual peak value on the day of the debris flow occurrence. Graph of daily precipitation vs SWI implies possible zone of critical line, and second peak appearance 1 day before, indicating possibility of early warning.

DFOT as tool for landslide monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapeller, G.; Goltz, M.; Perzlmaier, S.; Aufleger, M.

2009-04-01

The increasing number of landslides during the last decade, especially nowadays in combination with the defrosting of permafrost due to climate change, is a growing challenge for engineers. Complex interactions of hydrological, subsoil hydraulic and soil mechanical processes are the reason for the collapse of slopes. An early detection of potential landslides and a reliable assessment of the resulting risk can be considered as a supreme task in alpine engineering. Therefore the closer understanding of hydraulic and geotechnical subsurface processes in hillslopes are eligible. Up to now, the actual condition of endangered hillslopes, e.g. pore water pressure, degree of saturation and deformation, is measured punctually by a single gauge or by a series of single gauges, respectively. The number of required gauges is directly connected with a time and cost consuming installation of the instruments, the measurements as well as analysis of the results. In addition, depending on the number of gauges there is a lack of information considering the entirety of the hillslope. Thus, a more promising approach would be the monitoring of the entirely of the hillslope in a distributed way. During the last decade the technology of Distributed Fibre Optic Temperature (DFOT) measurements was adopted for several engineering applications. By means of the heat-pulse method some of the parameters possible triggering potential landslides, i.e. the local filter velocity as well as degree of saturation can be obtained in a distributed way based on the temperature measurement along a fibre optic cable. For this derivation a calibration curve developed in a pressure tank has to be investigated. The main advantages are the cheap, robust fibre cables and the high information density along the fibre with a high spatial resolution within a range of some kilometres. Because of its features DFOT is serviceable for long time monitoring. Thus, this approach has to be considered as a clear quality step ahead, particular in alpine hillslopes. In the first part of the paper the basics of DFOT as an instrument for long-time-monitoring will be described in more detail. The second part will deal with the project "Distributed Saturation and Flow Velocity Measurement in Alpine Hillslopes" funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences and regards the behaviour of shallow landslides. The primary goal of the project is the introduction and verification of suitability of distributed saturation and velocity measurement for monitoring subsurface flow in hillslopes as well as the optimisation of the specific application in hillslopes. For this purpose the fibre will be installed lamellar in different levels within the natural slope. The installation procedure as well as the refilling of the ditches will be investigated. To take care of water deflection in ditches different types of refill material have to be considered, e.g. trench refilling, artificial surroundings, etc. Short heavy rainfall as well as long time rainfall will be simulated by using a sprinkler irrigation system. The approach of graduated rain intensities along the slopes width will show different, comparable results within a single irrigation. To ensure fibre optic temperature deliverables also some conventional instruments, e.g. TDR-probes, temperature sensor, rain gauge, etc. get installed. Based on the high information density and the knowledge of the main triggering parameters the processes within hillslopes, e.g subsoil hydraulic failure mechanism due to water-flow in soil, will be more understandable. Moreover, the actual condition of hillslopes will be pre-estimated by long-time-monitoring.

Improving Radar QPE's in Complex Terrain for Improved Flash Flood Monitoring and Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cifelli, R.; Streubel, D. P.; Reynolds, D.

2010-12-01

Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE) is extremely challenging in regions of complex terrain due to a combination of issues related to sampling. In particular, radar beams are often blocked or scan above the liquid precipitation zone while rain gauge density is often too low to properly characterize the spatial distribution of precipitation. Due to poor radar coverage, rain gauge networks are used by the National Weather Service (NWS) River Forecast Centers as the principal source for QPE across the western U.S. The California Nevada River Forecast Center (CNRFC) uses point rainfall measurements and historical rainfall runoff relationships to derive river stage forecasts. The point measurements are interpolated to a 4 km grid using Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) data to develop a gridded 6-hour QPE product (hereafter referred to as RFC QPE). Local forecast offices can utilize the Multi-sensor Precipitation Estimator (MPE) software to improve local QPE’s and thus local flash flood monitoring and prediction. MPE uses radar and rain gauge data to develop a combined QPE product at 1-hour intervals. The rain gauge information is used to bias correct the radar precipitation estimates so that, in situations where the rain gauge density and radar coverage are adequate, MPE can take advantage of the spatial coverage of the radar and the “ground truth” of the rain gauges to provide an accurate QPE. The MPE 1-hour QPE analysis should provide better spatial and temporal resolution for short duration hydrologic events as compared to 6-hour analyses. These hourly QPEs are then used to correct radar derived rain rates used by the Flash Flood Monitoring and Prediction (FFMP) software in forecast offices for issuance of flash flood warnings. Although widely used by forecasters across the eastern U.S., MPE is not used extensively by the NWS in the west. Part of the reason for the lack of use of MPE across the west is that there has been little quantitative evaluation of MPE performance in this region compared to simply using a gage only analysis. In this study, an evaluation of MPE and RFC QPE is performed in a portion of the CNRFC (including the Russian and American River basins) using an independent set of rain gauge data from the Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT). Data from a precipitation event in January 2010 are used to establish the comparison methodology and for preliminary evaluation. For this multi-day event, it is shown that the RFC QPE shows generally better agreement with the HMT gauges compared to MPE in terms of storm total precipitation. However, the bias in RFC:MPE is shown to vary as a function of terrain and time. Moreover, for a subset of the HMT gauges in Sonoma county, the 1-hour MPE precipitation totals are found to be generally well correlated to the HMT gauge totals with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.6-0.9. For the Sonoma county gauges, the MPE product generally underestimates rainfall compared to HMT, probably as a consequence of low-level, orographically forced precipitation that was not well captured by the MPE radar analysis.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joe, Paul; Scott, Bill; Doyle, Chris

Abstract—An innovative monitoring network was implemented to support the operational and science programs for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. It consisted of in situ weather stations on custom-designed platforms. The sensors included an HMP45C for temperature, humidity and pressure, a tipping bucket rain gauge, an acoustic snow depth sensor, a Pluvio 1 precipitation gauge and an anemometer placed at gauge height and at 10 m height. Modifications to commercial automated precipitation gauges were necessary for the heavy snowfall conditions. Advanced or emerging technologies were deployed to support scientific and nowcasting studies into precipitation intensity, typing, visibility and wind. The sensorsmore » included an FD12P visibility and precipitation sensor, a precipitation occurrence sensing system (POSS) present weather sensor, a Hotplate precipitation sensor and a Parsivel disdrometer. Data were collected at 1 min sampling intervals. A Doppler weather radar was deployed in a valley location and provided critical detailed low-level data. An X-band dual-polarized radar was deployed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to monitor Vancouver and Cypress Mountain. Three remote sensing stations for vertical profiling were established. At the base of Whistler Mountain, a micro-rain radar, a 22-channel radiometer, a ceilometer, a Parsivel and a POSS were installed. At the base of Cypress Mountain, a micro-rain radar, a ceilometer, a low cost rain sensor (LCR by ATTEX) and a POSS were installed. At Squamish, a wind profiler and a POSS were installed. Weather sensors were mounted on the Whistler Village Gondola and on the Peak to Peak gondola. Sites were established along the Whistler Mountain slope and at other key locations. The combination of sites and instruments formed a comprehensive network to provide observations appropriate for nowcasting in winter complex terrain and investigate precipitation, visibility and wind processes. The contribution provides a detailed description of the network, their sensors, the innovations and some examples.« less

Similarity indices of meteo-climatic gauging stations: definition and comparison.

PubMed

Barca, Emanuele; Bruno, Delia Evelina; Passarella, Giuseppe

2016-07-01

Space-time dependencies among monitoring network stations have been investigated to detect and quantify similarity relationships among gauging stations. In this work, besides the well-known rank correlation index, two new similarity indices have been defined and applied to compute the similarity matrix related to the Apulian meteo-climatic monitoring network. The similarity matrices can be applied to address reliably the issue of missing data in space-time series. In order to establish the effectiveness of the similarity indices, a simulation test was then designed and performed with the aim of estimating missing monthly rainfall rates in a suitably selected gauging station. The results of the simulation allowed us to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed similarity indices. Finally, the multiple imputation by chained equations method was used as a benchmark to have an absolute yardstick for comparing the outcomes of the test. In conclusion, the new proposed multiplicative similarity index resulted at least as reliable as the selected benchmark.

Monitoring Lake and Reservoir Level: Satellite Observations, Modeling and Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ricko, M.; Birkett, C. M.; Adler, R. F.; Carton, J.

2013-12-01

Satellite measurements of lake and reservoir water levels complement in situ observations by providing stage information for un-gauged basins and by filling data gaps in gauge records. However, different satellite radar altimeter-derived continental water level products may differ significantly owing to choice of satellites and data processing methods. To explore the impacts of these differences, a direct comparison between three different altimeter-based surface water level estimates (USDA/NASA GRLM, LEGOS and ESA-DMU) will be presented and products validated with lake level gauge time series for lakes and reservoirs of a variety of sizes and conditions. The availability of satellite-based rainfall (i.e., TRMM and GPCP) and satellite-based lake/reservoir levels offers exciting opportunities to estimate and monitor the hydrologic properties of the lake systems. Here, a simple water balance model is utilized to relate net freshwater flux on a catchment basin to lake/reservoir level. Focused on tropical lakes and reservoirs it allows a comparison of the flux to altimetric lake level estimates. The combined use of model, satellite-based rainfall, evaporation information and reanalysis products, can be used to output water-level hindcasts and seasonal future forecasts. Such a tool is fundamental for understanding present-day and future variations in lake/reservoir levels and enabling a better understand of climatic variations on inter-annual to inter-decadal time-scales. New model-derived water level estimates of lakes and reservoirs, on regional to global scales, would assist communities with interests in climate studies focusing on extreme events, such as floods and droughts, and be important for water resources management.

Evaporation from weighing precipitation gauges: impacts on automated gauge measurements and quality assurance methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leeper, R. D.; Kochendorfer, J.

2014-12-01

The effects of evaporation on precipitation measurements have been understood to bias total precipitation lower. For automated weighing-bucket gauges, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests the use of evaporative suppressants with frequent observations. However, the use of evaporation suppressants is not always feasible due to environmental hazards and the added cost of maintenance, transport, and disposal of the gauge additive. In addition, research has suggested that evaporation prior to precipitation may affect precipitation measurements from auto-recording gauges operating at sub-hourly frequencies. For further evaluation, a field campaign was conducted to monitor evaporation and its impacts on the quality of precipitation measurements from gauges used at US Climate Reference Network (USCRN) stations. Collocated Geonor gauges with (nonEvap) and without (evap) an evaporative suppressant were compared to evaluate evaporative losses and evaporation biases on precipitation measurements. From June to August, evaporative losses from the evap gauge exceeded accumulated precipitation, with an average loss of 0.12 mm h-1. However, the impact of evaporation on precipitation measurements was sensitive to calculation methods. In general, methods that utilized a longer time series to smooth out sensor noise were more sensitive to gauge (-4.6% bias with respect to control) evaporation than methods computing depth change without smoothing (< +1% bias). These results indicate that while climate and gauge design affect gauge evaporation rates computational methods can influence the magnitude of evaporation bias on precipitation measurements. It is hoped this study will advance QA techniques that mitigate the impact of evaporation biases on precipitation measurements from other automated networks.

Analysis of the most recent data of Cascais Tide Gauge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antunes, Carlos; Taborda, Rui; Mendes, Virgílio B.

2010-05-01

In order to meet international standards and to integrate sea level changes and tsunami monitoring networks, Cascais tide gauge, one of the oldest in the world, has been upgraded in 2003 with new acoustic equipment with digital data acquisition, temperature and air-pressure sensors, and internet connection for real time data. The new tide gauge is located very close to the old analogical gauge, which is still working. Datum links between both gauges and the permanent GPS station of Cascais were made and height differences between gauges and the GPS station have been monitored to verify site stability and to estimate the absolute vertical velocity of the site, and therefore, the absolute sea level changes. Tide gauge data from 2000 to 2009 has been analyzed and relative and absolute sea level rise rates have been estimated. The estimation of sea level rise rate with the short baseline of 10 years is made with the daily mean sea level data corrected from the inverse barometric effect. The relative sea level trend is obtained from a 60-day moving average run over the corrected daily mean sea level. The estimated rate has shown greater stability in contrast to the analysis of daily mean sea level raw data, which shows greater variability and uncertainty. Our results show a sea level rise rate of 2.6 mm/year (± 0.3 mm/year), higher than previous rates (2.1 mm/year for 1990 decade and 1.6 mm/year from 1920 to 2000), which is compatible with a sea level rise acceleration scenario. From the analysis of Cascais GPS data, for the period 1990.0 to 2010.0 we obtain an uplift rate of 0.3 mm/year leading to an absolute sea level rise of 2.9 mm/year for Cascais, under the assumption, as predicted by the ICE-5G model, that Cascais has no vertical displacement caused by the post-glacial isostatic adjustment.

Analytical and Experimental Studies of Leak Location and Environment Characterization for the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woronowicz, Michael; Abel, Joshua; Autrey, David; Blackmon, Rebecca; Bond, Tim; Brown, Martin; Buffington, Jesse; Cheng, Edward; DeLatte, Danielle; Garcia, Kelvin;

Analytical and Experimental Studies of Leak Location and Environment Characterization for the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woronowicz, Michael S.; Abel, Joshua C.; Autrey, David; Blackmon, Rebecca; Bond, Tim; Brown, Martin; Buffington, Jesse; Cheng, Edward; DeLatte, Danielle; Garcia, Kelvin;

Telemetric implantable pressure sensor for short- and long-term monitoring of intracranial pressure.

PubMed

Frischholz, M; Sarmento, L; Wenzel, M; Aquilina, K; Edwards, R; Coakham, H B

2007-01-01

Patients with hydrocephalus, idiopathic intracranial hypertension and head injury frequently require monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) and may need repeated episodes of monitoring months or years apart. The gold standard for measurement of ICP remains the external ventricular catheter. This is a fluid-filled catheter transducer system that allows regular recalibration and correction of zero drift by its position relative to a fixed anatomical reference. It also allows drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), providing a means of lowering the ICP. Several catheter tip transducer systems are currently in clinical use, including using strain gauges or fiber-optical pressure sensing techniques. In these devices, zero drift and calibration cannot be checked in vivo. All the ICP monitoring devices in current clinical use require a physical connection between the brain and the external environment. This is a source of infection and limits the duration of monitoring. A number of telemetric monitoring devices, in which data is in some way transmitted transcutaneously, have been developed over the last twenty years, but significant technical problems have precluded their use in routine clinical practice. All current ICP monitors are temporary percutaneous implanted devices. Placement of these devices carries significant morbidity, particularly infection. Patients undergoing repeated monitoring require multiple surgical procedures. Apart from decreasing the risk of infection in patients with severe head injury, the clinical value of an accurate telemetric ICP monitoring system which maintains its reliability over a long period of implantation is high.

Comparison of 20-, 23-, and 25-gauge air infusion forces.

PubMed

Machado, Leonardo Martins; Magalhães, Octaviano; Maia, Mauricio; Rodrigues, Eduardo B; Farah, Michel Eid; Ismail, Kamal A R; Molon, Leandro; Oliveira, Danilo A

2011-11-01

To determine and compare 20-, 23-, and 25-gauge retinal infusion air jet impact pressure (force per unit area) in an experimental setting. Experimental laboratory investigation. Infusion cannulas were connected to a compressed air system. A controlled valve mechanism was used to obtain increasing levels of infusion pressure. Each infusion tube was positioned in front of a manual transducer to measure force. Impact pressure was calculated using known formulas in fluid dynamics. The 20-gauge infusion jet showed similar impact pressure values compared with the 23-gauge infusion jet. Both showed higher levels than the 25-gauge infusion jet. This was because of the smaller jet force for the 25-gauge system. In this experimental study, both the 23- and the 20-gauge air infusion jet showed higher impact pressure values compared with the 25-gauge air infusion jet. This could be of concern regarding air infusion during 23-gauge vitrectomy since retinal damage has been shown in standard-gauge surgeries.

NSLS II Vacuum System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferreira, M.; Doom, L.; Hseuh, H.

2009-09-13

National Synchrotron Light Source II, being constructed at Brookhaven, is a 3-GeV, 500 mA, 3rd generation synchrotron radiation facility with ultra low emittance electron beams. The storage ring vacuum system has a circumference of 792 m and consists of over 250 vacuum chambers with a simulated average operating pressure of less than 1 x 10{sup -9} mbar. A summary of the update design of the vacuum system including girder supports of the chambers, gauges, vacuum pumps, bellows, beam position monitors and simulation of the average pressure will be shown. A brief description of the techniques and procedures for cleaning andmore » mounting the chambers are given.« less

Two-Dimensional Laser-Speckle Surface-Strain Gauge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barranger, John P.; Lant, Christian

1992-01-01

Extension of Yamaguchi's laser-speckle surface-strain-gauge method yields data on two-dimensional surface strains in times as short as fractions of second. Laser beams probe rough spot on surface of specimen before and after processing. Changes in speckle pattern of laser light reflected from spot indicative of changes in surface strains during processing. Used to monitor strains and changes in strains induced by hot-forming and subsequent cooling of steel.

Distributed Long-Gauge Optical Fiber Sensors Based Self-Sensing FRP Bar for Concrete Structure

PubMed Central

Tang, Yongsheng; Wu, Zhishen

2016-01-01

Brillouin scattering-based distributed optical fiber (OF) sensing technique presents advantages for concrete structure monitoring. However, the existence of spatial resolution greatly decreases strain measurement accuracy especially around cracks. Meanwhile, the brittle feature of OF also hinders its further application. In this paper, the distributed OF sensor was firstly proposed as long-gauge sensor to improve strain measurement accuracy. Then, a new type of self-sensing fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bar was developed by embedding the packaged long-gauge OF sensors into FRP bar, followed by experimental studies on strain sensing, temperature sensing and basic mechanical properties. The results confirmed the superior strain sensing properties, namely satisfied accuracy, repeatability and linearity, as well as excellent mechanical performance. At the same time, the temperature sensing property was not influenced by the long-gauge package, making temperature compensation easy. Furthermore, the bonding performance between self-sensing FRP bar and concrete was investigated to study its influence on the sensing. Lastly, the sensing performance was further verified with static experiments of concrete beam reinforced with the proposed self-sensing FRP bar. Therefore, the self-sensing FRP bar has potential applications for long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) as embedded sensors as well as reinforcing materials for concrete structures. PMID:26927110

Behavioral response to contamination risk information in a spatially explicit groundwater environment: Experimental evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jingyuan; Michael, Holly A.; Duke, Joshua M.; Messer, Kent D.; Suter, Jordan F.

2014-08-01

This paper assesses the effectiveness of aquifer monitoring information in achieving more sustainable use of a groundwater resource in the absence of management policy. Groundwater user behavior in the face of an irreversible contamination threat is studied by applying methods of experimental economics to scenarios that combine a physics-based, spatially explicit, numerical groundwater model with different representations of information about an aquifer and its risk of contamination. The results suggest that the threat of catastrophic contamination affects pumping decisions: pumping is significantly reduced in experiments where contamination is possible compared to those where pumping cost is the only factor discouraging groundwater use. The level of information about the state of the aquifer also affects extraction behavior. Pumping rates differ when information that synthesizes data on aquifer conditions (a "risk gauge") is provided, despite invariant underlying economic incentives, and this result does not depend on whether the risk information is location-specific or from a whole aquifer perspective. Interestingly, users increase pumping when the risk gauge signals good aquifer status compared to a no-gauge treatment. When the gauge suggests impending contamination, however, pumping declines significantly, resulting in a lower probability of contamination. The study suggests that providing relatively simple aquifer condition guidance derived from monitoring data can lead to more sustainable use of groundwater resources.

Metrology Optical Power Budgeting in SIM Using Statistical Analysis Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuan, Gary M

2008-01-01

The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) is a space-based stellar interferometry instrument, consisting of up to three interferometers, which will be capable of micro-arc second resolution. Alignment knowledge of the three interferometer baselines requires a three-dimensional, 14-leg truss with each leg being monitored by an external metrology gauge. In addition, each of the three interferometers requires an internal metrology gauge to monitor the optical path length differences between the two sides. Both external and internal metrology gauges are interferometry based, operating at a wavelength of 1319 nanometers. Each gauge has fiber inputs delivering measurement and local oscillator (LO) power, split into probe-LO and reference-LO beam pairs. These beams experience power loss due to a variety of mechanisms including, but not restricted to, design efficiency, material attenuation, element misalignment, diffraction, and coupling efficiency. Since the attenuation due to these sources may degrade over time, an accounting of the range of expected attenuation is needed so an optical power margin can be book kept. A method of statistical optical power analysis and budgeting, based on a technique developed for deep space RF telecommunications, is described in this paper and provides a numerical confidence level for having sufficient optical power relative to mission metrology performance requirements.

Distributed Long-Gauge Optical Fiber Sensors Based Self-Sensing FRP Bar for Concrete Structure.

PubMed

Tang, Yongsheng; Wu, Zhishen

2016-02-25

Brillouin scattering-based distributed optical fiber (OF) sensing technique presents advantages for concrete structure monitoring. However, the existence of spatial resolution greatly decreases strain measurement accuracy especially around cracks. Meanwhile, the brittle feature of OF also hinders its further application. In this paper, the distributed OF sensor was firstly proposed as long-gauge sensor to improve strain measurement accuracy. Then, a new type of self-sensing fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bar was developed by embedding the packaged long-gauge OF sensors into FRP bar, followed by experimental studies on strain sensing, temperature sensing and basic mechanical properties. The results confirmed the superior strain sensing properties, namely satisfied accuracy, repeatability and linearity, as well as excellent mechanical performance. At the same time, the temperature sensing property was not influenced by the long-gauge package, making temperature compensation easy. Furthermore, the bonding performance between self-sensing FRP bar and concrete was investigated to study its influence on the sensing. Lastly, the sensing performance was further verified with static experiments of concrete beam reinforced with the proposed self-sensing FRP bar. Therefore, the self-sensing FRP bar has potential applications for long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) as embedded sensors as well as reinforcing materials for concrete structures.

Long-gauge FBGs interrogated by DTR3 for dynamic distributed strain measurement of helicopter blade model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishiyama, M.; Igawa, H.; Kasai, T.; Watanabe, N.

2014-05-01

In this paper, we describe characteristics of distributed strain sensing based on a Delayed Transmission/Reflection Ratiometric Reflectometry (DTR3) scheme with a long-gauge Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG), which is attractive to dynamic structural deformation monitoring such as a helicopter blade and an airplane wing. The DTR3 interrogator using the longgauge FBG has capability of detecting distributed strain with 50 cm spatial resolution in 100 Hz sampling rate. We evaluated distributed strain sensing characteristics of the long-gauge FBG attached on a 5.5 m helicopter blade model in static tests and free vibration dynamic tests.

High vacuum measurements and calibrations, molecular flow fluid transient effects

DOE PAGES

Leishear, Robert A.; Gavalas, Nickolas A.

2015-04-29

High vacuum pressure measurements and calibrations below 1 × 10 -8 Torr are problematic. Specifically, measurement accuracies change drastically for vacuum gauges when pressures are suddenly lowered in vacuum systems. How can gauges perform like this? A brief system description is first required to answer this question. Calibrations were performed using a vacuum calibration chamber with attached vacuum gauges. To control chamber pressures, vacuum pumps decreased the chamber pressure while nitrogen tanks increased the chamber pressure. By balancing these opposing pressures, equilibrium in the chamber was maintained at selected set point pressures to perform calibrations. When pressures were suddenly decreasedmore » during set point adjustments, a sudden rush of gas from the chamber also caused a surge of gas from the gauges to decrease the pressures in those gauges. Gauge pressures did not return to equilibrium as fast as chamber pressures due to the sparse distribution of gas molecules in the system. This disparity in the rate of pressure changes caused the pressures in different gauges to be different than expected. This discovery was experimentally proven to show that different gauge designs return to equilibrium at different rates, and that gauge accuracies vary for different gauge designs due to fluid transients in molecular flow.« less

Progress toward the development of an implantable sensor for glucose.

PubMed

Wilson, G S; Zhang, Y; Reach, G; Moatti-Sirat, D; Poitout, V; Thévenot, D R; Lemonnier, F; Klein, J C

1992-09-01

The development of an electrochemically based implantable sensor for glucose is described. The sensor is needle-shaped, about the size of a 28-gauge needle. It is flexible and must be implanted subcutaneously by using a 21-gauge catheter, which is then removed. When combined with a monitoring unit, this device, based on the glucose oxidase-catalyzed oxidation of glucose, reliably monitors glucose concentrations for as long as 10 days in rats. Various design considerations, including the decision to monitor the hydrogen peroxide produced in the enzymatic reaction, are discussed. Glucose constitutes the most important future target analyte for continuous monitoring, but the basic methodology developed for glucose could be applied to several other analytes such as lactate or ascorbate. The success in implementation of such a device depends on a reaction of the tissue surrounding the implant so as not to interfere with the proper functioning of the sensor. Histochemical evidence indicates that the tissue response leads to enhanced sensor performance.

Distributed dynamic strain measurement using long-gauge FBG and DTR3 interrogator based on delayed transmission/reflection ratiometric reflectometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishiyama, M.; Igawa, H.; Kasai, T.; Watanabe, N.

2013-09-01

In this paper, we reveal characteristics of static and dynamic distributed strain measurement using a long-gauge fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and a Delayed Transmission/Reflection Ratiometric Reflectometry (DTR3) scheme. The DTR3 scheme has capability of detecting distributed strain using the long-gauge FBG with 50-cm spatial resolution. Additionally, dynamic strain measurement can be achieved using this technique in 100-Hz sampling rate. We evaluated strain sensing characteristics of the long-gauge FBG attached on 2.5-m aluminum bar by a four-point bending equipment. Experimental results showed that the DTR3 using the long-gauge FBG could detect distributed strain in static tests and resonance frequency of structure in free vibration tests. As a result, it is suggested that the DTR3 scheme using the longgauge FBG is attractive to structural health monitoring (SHM) as dynamic deformation detection of a few and tensmeters structure such as the airplane wing and the helicopter blade.

DEMONSTRATION AND TESTING OF AN EER OPTIMIZER SYSTEM FOR DX AIR-CONDITIONERS

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-07

Performance-Based Maintenance PCS Power Current Sensor PLC Programmable Logic Controller ppm Parts Per Million PSIG Pounds per Square Inch Gauge PVS Power...all utilities and facilities at Patrick AFB, Cape Canaveral AFS, Jonathan Dickinson Military Tracking Annex, Malabar Annex, Ramey Solar Observatory...Cost 8,057 0 Annual O&M Cost 453 1191 Annual FD&D Monitoring 880 ‐ BLCC LIFE CYCLE RESULTS Energy Savings $12,317 O&M Net Savings $493 PV  Life Cycle

Ceramic MEMS Designed for Wireless Pressure Monitoring in the Industrial Environment

PubMed Central

Pavlin, Marko; Belavic, Darko; Novak, Franc

2012-01-01

This paper presents the design of a wireless pressure-monitoring system for harsh-environment applications. Two types of ceramic pressure sensors made with a low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) were considered. The first type is a piezoresistive strain gauge pressure sensor. The second type is a capacitive pressure sensor, which is based on changes of the capacitance values between two electrodes: one electrode is fixed and the other is movable under an applied pressure. The design was primarily focused on low power consumption. Reliable operation in the presence of disturbances, like electromagnetic interference, parasitic capacitances, etc., proved to be contradictory constraints. A piezoresistive ceramic pressure sensor with a high bridge impedance was chosen for use in a wireless pressure-monitoring system and an acceptable solution using energy-harvesting techniques has been achieved. The described solution allows for the integration of a sensor element with an energy harvester that has a printed thick-film battery and complete electronics in a single substrate packaged inside a compact housing. PMID:22368471

Cold cathode vacuum gauging system

DOEpatents

Denny, Edward C.

2004-03-09

A vacuum gauging system of the cold cathode type is provided for measuring the pressure of a plurality of separate vacuum systems, such as in a gas centrifuge cascade. Each casing is fitted with a gauge tube assembly which communicates with the vacuum system in the centrifuge casing. Each gauge tube contains an anode which may be in the form of a slender rod or wire hoop and a cathode which may be formed by the wall of the gauge tube. The tube is provided with an insulated high voltage connector to the anode which has a terminal for external connection outside the vacuum casing. The tube extends from the casing so that a portable magnet assembly may be inserted about the tube to provide a magnetic field in the area between the anode and cathode necessary for pressure measurements in a cold cathode-type vacuum gauge arrangement. The portable magnetic assembly is provided with a connector which engages the external high voltage terminal for providing power to the anode within in the gauge tube. Measurement is made in the same manner as the prior cold cathode gauges in that the current through the anode to the cathode is measured as an indication of the pressure. By providing the portable magnetic assembly, a considerable savings in cost, installation, and maintenance of vacuum gauges for pressure measurement in a gas centrifuge cascade is realizable.

Canonical transformation path to gauge theories of gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Struckmeier, J.; Muench, J.; Vasak, D.; Kirsch, J.; Hanauske, M.; Stoecker, H.

2017-06-01

In this paper, the generic part of the gauge theory of gravity is derived, based merely on the action principle and on the general principle of relativity. We apply the canonical transformation framework to formulate geometrodynamics as a gauge theory. The starting point of our paper is constituted by the general De Donder-Weyl Hamiltonian of a system of scalar and vector fields, which is supposed to be form-invariant under (global) Lorentz transformations. Following the reasoning of gauge theories, the corresponding locally form-invariant system is worked out by means of canonical transformations. The canonical transformation approach ensures by construction that the form of the action functional is maintained. We thus encounter amended Hamiltonian systems which are form-invariant under arbitrary spacetime transformations. This amended system complies with the general principle of relativity and describes both, the dynamics of the given physical system's fields and their coupling to those quantities which describe the dynamics of the spacetime geometry. In this way, it is unambiguously determined how spin-0 and spin-1 fields couple to the dynamics of spacetime. A term that describes the dynamics of the "free" gauge fields must finally be added to the amended Hamiltonian, as common to all gauge theories, to allow for a dynamic spacetime geometry. The choice of this "dynamics" Hamiltonian is outside of the scope of gauge theory as presented in this paper. It accounts for the remaining indefiniteness of any gauge theory of gravity and must be chosen "by hand" on the basis of physical reasoning. The final Hamiltonian of the gauge theory of gravity is shown to be at least quadratic in the conjugate momenta of the gauge fields—this is beyond the Einstein-Hilbert theory of general relativity.

Conformal and embedded IDT microsensors for health monitoring of structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varadan, Vijay K.; Varadan, Vasundara V.

2000-06-01

MEMS are currently being applied to the structural health monitoring of critical aircraft components and composites. The approach integrates acoustic emission, strain gauges, MEMS accelerometers and vibration monitoring aircraft components with a known history of catastrophic failure due to fracture. Recently a combination of the need for safety in the air and the desire to control costs is encouraging the use of in-flight monitoring of aircraft components and systems using light-weight, wireless and cost effective microsensors and MEMS. An in-situ aircraft structural health monitoring system, with sensors embedded in the composite structure or surface-mounted on the structure, would permit the timely detection of damage in aircraft. Micromachining offers the potential for fabricating a range of microsensor and MEMS for structural applications including load, vibration and acoustics characterization and monitoring. Such microsensors are extremely small; they can be embedded into structural materials, can be mass-produced and are therefore potentially cheap. The smart sensors are being developed using the standard microelectronics and micromachining in conjunction with novel Penn State wireless communication systems suitable for condition monitoring of aircraft structures in-flight. The main application areas of this investigation include continuos monitoring of a) structural integrity of aging aircraft, b) fatigue cracking, c) corrosion, d) deflection and strain of aircraft structures, wings, and rotorblades, e) impact damage, f) delamination and g) location and propagation of cracks. In this paper we give an overview of wireless programmable microsensors and MEMS and their associated driving electronics for such applications.

State of the practice and art for structural health monitoring of bridge substructures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

In an age of technological advances, the ability to monitor the performance of bridge foundations has evolved such that both short- and long-term data acquisition of embedded gauges is not only available but also cost effective. Case studies were doc...

Monitoring change in Great Salt Lake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Naftz, David L.; Angeroth, Cory E.; Freeman, Michael L.; Rowland, Ryan C.; Carling, Gregory

2013-01-01

Despite the ecological and economic importance of Great Salt Lake, only limited water quality monitoring has occurred historically. To change this, new monitoring stations and networks—gauges of lake level height and rate of inflow, moored buoys, and multiple lake-bottom sensors—will provide important information that can be used to make informed decisions regarding future management of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.

BRST Formalism for Systems with Higher Order Derivatives of Gauge Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nirov, Kh. S.

For a wide class of mechanical systems, invariant under gauge transformations with arbitrary higher order time derivatives of gauge parameters, the equivalence of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian BRST formalisms is proved. It is shown that the Ostrogradsky formalism establishes the natural rules to relate the BFV ghost canonical pairs with the ghosts and antighosts introduced by the Lagrangian approach. Explicit relation between corresponding gauge-fixing terms is obtained.

Analyses of Chinese Hourly Precipitation Using Gauge Observations and Satellite Estimates Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Y.; Yu, J.; Shen, Y.

2010-12-01

Highly spatial-temporal and accurate precipitation analyses are essential for monitoring the catastrophic mesoscale weather systems, examining numerical model outputs, and doing dynamic researches on mesoscale meteorology. In recent years, Chinese government has gradually developed a ground-based observational net of 30000 auto-weather-stations (AWS) all over the country, most of which are in the eastern and southern China. The real-time data of gauged rainfall is transported to National Meteorological Information of China (NMIC) every hour, and its quality has been strictly and effectually controlled. Taking advantage of these resources, an hourly Chinese Precipitation Analyses Products (CPAP) with fine resolution is developed. But on the Tibetan Plateau where the AWS is still sparse, the accuracy of precipitation can not satisfy the operational needs yet. Otherwise, CMORPH has a well performance on the space structure of rainfall over China in warm season, but loses on intensity. Thus, we make a merge test analysis at resolution of 0.1 ×0.1 degree , using Optimum Interpolation (OI) to combine hourly CPAP with CMORPH estimates precipitation products. Before OI,the systematic bias in CMORPH have been partly corrected by gauge data through PDF adjustments. The validation of the merge test from June to August 2009 shows that, the combined products can obviously reduce the bias to the gauge analyses CPAP, and also have highly coefficient with it. It is more important that, the combined products provide a reasonable and full-covered precipitation structure over Tibetan Plateau.

Wireless Integrated Microelectronic Vacuum Sensor System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krug, Eric; Philpot, Brian; Trott, Aaron; Lawrence, Shaun

2013-01-01

NASA Stennis Space Center's (SSC's) large rocket engine test facility requires the use of liquid propellants, including the use of cryogenic fluids like liquid hydrogen as fuel, and liquid oxygen as an oxidizer (gases which have been liquefied at very low temperatures). These fluids require special handling, storage, and transfer technology. The biggest problem associated with transferring cryogenic liquids is product loss due to heat transfer. Vacuum jacketed piping is specifically designed to maintain high thermal efficiency so that cryogenic liquids can be transferred with minimal heat transfer. A vacuum jacketed pipe is essentially two pipes in one. There is an inner carrier pipe, in which the cryogenic liquid is actually transferred, and an outer jacket pipe that supports and seals the vacuum insulation, forming the "vacuum jacket." The integrity of the vacuum jacketed transmission lines that transfer the cryogenic fluid from delivery barges to the test stand must be maintained prior to and during engine testing. To monitor the vacuum in these vacuum jacketed transmission lines, vacuum gauge readings are used. At SSC, vacuum gauge measurements are done on a manual rotation basis with two technicians, each using a handheld instrument. Manual collection of vacuum data is labor intensive and uses valuable personnel time. Additionally, there are times when personnel cannot collect the data in a timely fashion (i.e., when a leak is detected, measurements must be taken more often). Additionally, distribution of this data to all interested parties can be cumbersome. To simplify the vacuum-gauge data collection process, automate the data collection, and decrease the labor costs associated with acquiring these measurements, an automated system that monitors the existing gauges was developed by Invocon, Inc. For this project, Invocon developed a Wireless Integrated Microelectronic Vacuum Sensor System (WIMVSS) that provides the ability to gather vacuum-gauge measurements automatically and wirelessly, in near-real time - using a low-maintenance, lowpower sensor mesh network. The WIMVSS operates by using a self-configuring mesh network of wireless sensor units. Mesh networking is a type of networking where each sensor or node can capture and disseminate its own data, but also serve as a relay to receive and transmit data from other sensors. Each sensor node can synchronize with adjacent sensors, and propagate data from one sensor to the next, until the destination is reached. In this case, the destination is a Network Interface Unit (NIU). The WIMVSS sensors are mounted on the existing vacuum gauges. Information gathered by the sensors is sent to the NIU. Because of the mesh networking, if a sensor cannot directly send the data to the NIU, it can be propagated through the network of sensors. The NIU requires antenna access to the sensor units, AC power, and an Ethernet connection. The NIU bridges the sensor network to a WIMVSS server via an Ethernet connection. The server is configured with a database, a Web server, and proprietary interface software that makes it possible for the vacuum measurements from vacuum jacketed fluid lines to be saved, retrieved, and then displayed from any Web-enabled PC that has access to the Internet. Authorized users can then simply access the data from any PC with Internet connection. Commands can also be sent directly from the Web interface for control and maintenance of the sensor network. The technology enabled by the WIMVSS decreases labor required for gathering vacuum measurements, increases access to vacuum data by making it available on any computer with access to the Internet, increases the frequency with which data points can be acquired for evaluating the system, and decreases the recurring cost of the sensors by using off-the-shelf components and integrating these with heritage vacuum gauges.

40 CFR 60.384 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... wet scrubbing emission control device. The monitoring device must be certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water) gauge pressure and must be calibrated on an annual... continuous measurement of the scrubbing liquid flow rate to a wet scrubber for any affected facility using...

40 CFR 60.384 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... wet scrubbing emission control device. The monitoring device must be certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water) gauge pressure and must be calibrated on an annual... continuous measurement of the scrubbing liquid flow rate to a wet scrubber for any affected facility using...

40 CFR 60.384 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... wet scrubbing emission control device. The monitoring device must be certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water) gauge pressure and must be calibrated on an annual... continuous measurement of the scrubbing liquid flow rate to a wet scrubber for any affected facility using...

40 CFR 60.384 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... wet scrubbing emission control device. The monitoring device must be certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water) gauge pressure and must be calibrated on an annual... continuous measurement of the scrubbing liquid flow rate to a wet scrubber for any affected facility using...

40 CFR 60.384 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... wet scrubbing emission control device. The monitoring device must be certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water) gauge pressure and must be calibrated on an annual... continuous measurement of the scrubbing liquid flow rate to a wet scrubber for any affected facility using...

Installation of seafloor cabled seismic and tsunami observation system developed by using ICT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinohara, M.

2016-12-01

A seafloor cabled system is useful for study of earth science and disaster mitigation, because real-time and long-term observation can be performed. Therefore seafloor cabled systems with seismometers and tsunami-meters have been used over the past 25 years around Japan. Because increase of a number of sensors is needed, a new system with low costs for production, deployment and operation is expected. In addition, the new system should have sufficient for flexibility of measurements after installation. To achieve these demands, we started development of a new system using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for data transmission and system control. The new system can be made compact since software processes various measurements. Reliability of the system is kept by using redundant system which is easily constructed using the ICT. The first system based on this concept was developed as Ocean Bottom Cabled Seismometer (OBCS) system and deployed in Japan Sea. Development of the second system started from 2012. The Ocean Bottom Cabled Seismometer and tsunami-meter (OBCST) system has both seismometers and tsunami-meters. Each observation node has an CPU and FPGAs. The OBCST system uses standard TCP/IP protocol with a speed of 1 Gbps for data transmission, system control and monitoring. IEEE-1588 (PTP) is implemented to synchronize a real-time clock, and accuracy is less than 300 ns. We developed two types of observation node. One equips a pressure gauge as tsunami sensor, and another has an external port for additional observation sensor using PoE. Deployment of the OBCST system was carried out in September 2015 by using a commercial telecommunication cable ship. The noise levels at the OBCST system are comparable to those at the existing cabled system off Sanriku. It is found that the noise levels at the OBCST system are low at frequencies greater than 2 Hz and smaller than 0.1 Hz. This level of ambient seismic noise is close to a typical system noise. From the pressure data, pressure gauge has a resolution of less than 1 hPa, which corresponds to a change of water height of less than 1 cm, and data from all the pressure gauges are consistent.

So, how much of the Earth's surface is covered by rain gauges?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kidd, Chris; Huffman, George; Kirschbaum, Dalia; Skofronick-Jackson, Gail; Joe, Paul; Muller, Catherine

2014-05-01

The measurement of global precipitation, both rainfall and snowfall, is of critical importance to a wide range of users and applications. The fundamental means of measuring precipitation is the rain gauge. Although rain gauges have many drawbacks (including not measuring snowfall well), they remain the de facto source of precipitation information across the Earth surface for hydro-meteorological purposes. While the accuracy and representative of each gauge can be assessed and monitored, a key limitation of rain and snow gauges is in their distribution across the globe. Gauges tend to be limited to the land surface where their distribution and density is very variable, while over the oceans very few gauges are available and measurements available at island locations may not truly represent those of the surrounding oceans. The total numbers of gauges across the Earth, as noted in the literature, varies greatly primarily due to temporal sampling resolutions, periods of operation, the latency of the data and the availability of the data. These numbers range from a few thousand which are available in near real time, to an estimated hundreds of thousands if one includes all available 'official' gauges (this number might swell more if all amateur gauges are included, with crowdsourcing capable of providing even more). Considering those gauges that are routinely used in the generation of global precipitation products (i.e. those available and of reasonable quality), the physical area covered by rain gauges varies by a factor of about 25. Calculations suggest that if all available rain gauges are included, they would cover between 120 and 3,000 m2. For comparison, equivalent areas range from 267 m2 for the centre circle of a football (soccer) pitch, or about 260 m2 for a tennis court to about 3,000 m2 for half a football pitch. Each gauge should represent more than just the orifice of the gauge itself, however, observations and modelling suggest that the correlation distance of gauges varies greatly with precipitation regime and integration period. If one takes the GPCC-available gauges (67,000) and assumes that each gauge is independent, and represents a 5 km radius surrounding region, this represents less than 1% of the Earth's surface. The situation is further confounded for snowfall which tends to have a larger correlation length and greater measurement uncertainty.

Propellant Mass Gauging: Database of Vehicle Applications and Research and Development Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodge, Franklin T.

2008-01-01

Gauging the mass of propellants in a tank in low gravity is not a straightforward task because of the uncertainty of the liquid configuration in the tank and the possibility of there being more than one ullage bubble. Several concepts for such a low-gravity gauging system have been proposed, and breadboard or flight-like versions have been tested in normal gravity or even in low gravity, but at present, a flight-proven reliable gauging system is not available. NASA desired a database of the gauging techniques used in current and past vehicles during ascent or under settled conditions, and during short coasting (unpowered) periods, for both cryogenic and storable propellants. Past and current research and development efforts on gauging systems that are believed to be applicable in low-gravity conditions were also desired. This report documents the results of that survey.

A New Approach to Sap Flow Measurement Using 3D Printed Gauges and Open-source Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ham, J. M.; Miner, G. L.; Kluitenberg, G. J.

2015-12-01

A new type of sap flow gauge was developed to measure transpiration from herbaceous plants using a modified heat pulse technique. Gauges were fabricated using 3D-printing technology and low-cost electronics to keep the materials cost under $20 (U.S.) per sensor. Each gauge consisted of small-diameter needle probes fastened to a 3D-printed frame. One needle contained a resistance heater to provide a 6 to 8 second heat pulse while the other probes measured the resultant temperature increase at two distances from the heat source. The data acquisition system for the gauges was built from a low-cost Arduino microcontroller. The system read the gauges every 10 minutes and stored the results on a SD card. Different numerical techniques were evaluated for estimating sap velocity from the heat pulse data - including analytical solutions and parameter estimation approaches . Prototype gauges were tested in the greenhouse on containerized corn and sunflower. Sap velocities measured by the gauges were compared to independent gravimetric measurements of whole plant transpiration. Results showed the system could measure daily transpiration to within 3% of the gravimetric measurements. Excellent agreement was observed when two gauges were attached the same stem. Accuracy was not affected by rapidly changing transpiration rates observed under partly cloudy conditions. The gauge-based estimates of stem thermal properties suggested the system may also detect the onset of water stress. A field study showed the gauges could run for 1 to 2 weeks on a small battery pack. Sap flow measurements on multiple corn stems were scaled up by population to estimate field-scale transpiration. During full canopy cover, excellent agreement was observed between the scaled-up sap flow measurements and reference crop evapotranspiration calculated from weather data. Data also showed promise as a way to estimate real-time canopy resistance required for model verification and development. Given the low-cost, low-power, and open-source characteristics of the system; the technology is well suited for applications requiring large number of gauges (spatial scaling or treatment comparisons). While early work was done with agricultural crops, the approach is well suited for other species such as riverine shrubs.

Gauge Blocks – A Zombie Technology

PubMed Central

Doiron, Ted

2008-01-01

Gauge blocks have been the primary method for disseminating length traceability for over 100 years. Their longevity was based on two things: the relatively low cost of delivering very high accuracy to users, and the technical limitation that the range of high precision gauging systems was very small. While the first reason is still true, the second factor is being displaced by changes in measurement technology since the 1980s. New long range sensors do not require master gauges that are nearly the same length as the part being inspected, and thus one of the primary attributes of gauge blocks, wringing stacks to match the part, is no longer needed. Relaxing the requirement that gauges wring presents an opportunity to develop new types of end standards that would increase the accuracy and usefulness of gauging systems. PMID:27096119

Electronic-type vacuum gauges with replaceable elements

DOEpatents

Edwards, Jr., David

1984-01-01

In electronic devices for measuring pressures in vacuum systems, the metal elements which undergo thermal deterioration are made readily replaceable by making them parts of a simple plug-in unit. Thus, in ionization gauges, the filament and grid or electron collector are mounted on the novel plug-in unit. In thermocouple pressure gauges, the heater and attached thermocouple are mounted on the plug-in unit. Plug-in units have been designed to function, alternatively, as ionization gauge and as thermocouple gauge, thus providing new gauges capable of measuring broader pressure ranges than is possible with either an ionization gauge or a thermocouple gauge.

An evaluation of the Wyoming Gauge System for snowfall measurement

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yang, Daqing; Kane, Douglas L.; Hinzman, Larry D.; Goodison, Barry E.; Metcalfe, John R.; Louie, Paul Y.T.; Leavesley, George H.; Emerson, Douglas G.; Hanson, Clayton L.

2000-01-01

The Wyoming snow fence (shield) has been widely used with precipitation gauges for snowfall measurement at more than 25 locations in Alaska since the late 1970s. This gauge's measurements have been taken as the reference for correcting wind‐induced gauge undercatch of snowfall in Alaska. Recently, this fence (shield) was tested in the World Meteorological Organization Solid Precipitation Measurement Intercomparison Project at four locations in the United States of America and Canada for six winter seasons. At the Intercomparison sites an octagonal vertical Double Fence with a Russian Tretyakov gauge or a Universal Belfort recording gauge was installed and used as the Intercomparison Reference (DFIR) to provide true snowfall amounts for this Intercomparison experiment. The Intercomparison data collected were compiled at the four sites that represent a variety of climate, terrain, and exposure. On the basis of these data sets the performance of the Wyoming gauge system for snowfall observations was carefully evaluated against the DFIR and snow cover data. The results show that (1) the mean snow catch efficiency of the Wyoming gauge compared with the DFIR is about 80–90%, (2) there exists a close linear relation between the measurements of the two gauge systems and this relation may serve as a transfer function to adjust the Wyoming gauge records to obtain an estimate of the true snowfall amount, (3) catch efficiency of the Wyoming gauge does not change with wind speed and temperature, and (4) Wyoming gauge measurements are generally compatible to the snowpack water equivalent at selected locations in northern Alaska. These results are important to our effort of determining true snowfall amounts in the high latitudes, and they are also useful for regional hydrologic and climatic analyses.

Gauge theory for finite-dimensional dynamical systems.

PubMed

Gurfil, Pini

2007-06-01

Gauge theory is a well-established concept in quantum physics, electrodynamics, and cosmology. This concept has recently proliferated into new areas, such as mechanics and astrodynamics. In this paper, we discuss a few applications of gauge theory in finite-dimensional dynamical systems. We focus on the concept of rescriptive gauge symmetry, which is, in essence, rescaling of an independent variable. We show that a simple gauge transformation of multiple harmonic oscillators driven by chaotic processes can render an apparently "disordered" flow into a regular dynamical process, and that there exists a strong connection between gauge transformations and reduction theory of ordinary differential equations. Throughout the discussion, we demonstrate the main ideas by considering examples from diverse fields, including quantum mechanics, chemistry, rigid-body dynamics, and information theory.

Gauging Through the Crowd: A Crowd-Sourcing Approach to Urban Rainfall Measurement and Storm Water Modeling Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Pan; Ng, Tze Ling

2017-11-01

Accurate rainfall measurement at high spatial and temporal resolutions is critical for the modeling and management of urban storm water. In this study, we conduct computer simulation experiments to test the potential of a crowd-sourcing approach, where smartphones, surveillance cameras, and other devices act as precipitation sensors, as an alternative to the traditional approach of using rain gauges to monitor urban rainfall. The crowd-sourcing approach is promising as it has the potential to provide high-density measurements, albeit with relatively large individual errors. We explore the potential of this approach for urban rainfall monitoring and the subsequent implications for storm water modeling through a series of simulation experiments involving synthetically generated crowd-sourced rainfall data and a storm water model. The results show that even under conservative assumptions, crowd-sourced rainfall data lead to more accurate modeling of storm water flows as compared to rain gauge data. We observe the relative superiority of the crowd-sourcing approach to vary depending on crowd participation rate, measurement accuracy, drainage area, choice of performance statistic, and crowd-sourced observation type. A possible reason for our findings is the differences between the error structures of crowd-sourced and rain gauge rainfall fields resulting from the differences between the errors and densities of the raw measurement data underlying the two field types.

Analytical and experimental studies of leak location and environment characterization for the international space station

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Woronowicz, Michael; Blackmon, Rebecca; Brown, Martin

2014-12-09

The International Space Station program is developing a robotically-operated leak locator tool to be used externally. The tool would consist of a Residual Gas Analyzer for partial pressure measurements and a full range pressure gauge for total pressure measurements. The primary application is to demonstrate the ability to detect NH{sub 3} coolant leaks in the ISS thermal control system. An analytical model of leak plume physics is presented that can account for effusive flow as well as plumes produced by sonic orifices and thruster operations. This model is used along with knowledge of typical RGA and full range gauge performancemore » to analyze the expected instrument sensitivity to ISS leaks of various sizes and relative locations (“directionality”). The paper also presents experimental results of leak simulation testing in a large thermal vacuum chamber at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. This test characterized instrument sensitivity as a function of leak rates ranging from 1 lb{sub m/}/yr. to about 1 lb{sub m}/day. This data may represent the first measurements collected by an RGA or ion gauge system monitoring off-axis point sources as a function of location and orientation. Test results are compared to the analytical model and used to propose strategies for on-orbit leak location and environment characterization using the proposed instrument while taking into account local ISS conditions and the effects of ram/wake flows and structural shadowing within low Earth orbit.« less

Early Damage Detection in Composites during Fabrication and Mechanical Testing.

PubMed

Chandarana, Neha; Sanchez, Daniel Martinez; Soutis, Constantinos; Gresil, Matthieu

2017-06-22

Fully integrated monitoring systems have shown promise in improving confidence in composite materials while reducing lifecycle costs. A distributed optical fibre sensor is embedded in a fibre reinforced composite laminate, to give three sensing regions at different levels through-the-thickness of the plate. This study follows the resin infusion process during fabrication of the composite, monitoring the development of strain in-situ and in real time, and to gain better understanding of the resin rheology during curing. Piezoelectric wafer active sensors and electrical strain gauges are bonded to the plate after fabrication. This is followed by progressive loading/unloading cycles of mechanical four point bending. The strain values obtained from the optical fibre are in good agreement with strain data collected by surface mounted strain gauges, while the sensing regions clearly indicate the development of compressive, neutral, and tensile strain. Acoustic emission event detection suggests the formation of matrix (resin) cracks, with measured damage event amplitudes in agreement with values reported in published literature on the subject. The Felicity ratio for each subsequent loading cycle is calculated to track the progression of damage in the material. The methodology developed here can be used to follow the full life cycle of a composite structure, from manufacture to end-of-life.

Early Damage Detection in Composites during Fabrication and Mechanical Testing

PubMed Central

Chandarana, Neha; Sanchez, Daniel Martinez; Soutis, Constantinos; Gresil, Matthieu

2017-01-01

Fully integrated monitoring systems have shown promise in improving confidence in composite materials while reducing lifecycle costs. A distributed optical fibre sensor is embedded in a fibre reinforced composite laminate, to give three sensing regions at different levels through-the-thickness of the plate. This study follows the resin infusion process during fabrication of the composite, monitoring the development of strain in-situ and in real time, and to gain better understanding of the resin rheology during curing. Piezoelectric wafer active sensors and electrical strain gauges are bonded to the plate after fabrication. This is followed by progressive loading/unloading cycles of mechanical four point bending. The strain values obtained from the optical fibre are in good agreement with strain data collected by surface mounted strain gauges, while the sensing regions clearly indicate the development of compressive, neutral, and tensile strain. Acoustic emission event detection suggests the formation of matrix (resin) cracks, with measured damage event amplitudes in agreement with values reported in published literature on the subject. The Felicity ratio for each subsequent loading cycle is calculated to track the progression of damage in the material. The methodology developed here can be used to follow the full life cycle of a composite structure, from manufacture to end-of-life. PMID:28773048

MMS Observatory TV Results Contamination Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosecrans, Glenn; Brieda, Lubos; Errigo, Therese

2014-01-01

The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a constellation of 4 observatories designed to investigate the fundamental plasma physics of reconnection in the Earth's magnetosphere. The various instrument suites measure electric and magnetic fields, energetic particles, and plasma composition. Each spacecraft has undergone extensive environmental testing to prepare it for its minimum 2 year mission. In this paper, we report on the extensive thermal vacuum testing campaign. The testing was performed at the Naval Research Laboratory utilizing the "Big Blue" vacuum chamber. A total of ten thermal vacuum tests were performed, including two chamber certifications, three dry runs, and five tests of the individual MMS observatories. During the test, the observatories were enclosed in a thermal enclosure known as the "hamster cage". The enclosure allowed for a detailed thermal control of various observatory zone, but at the same time, imposed additional contamination and system performance requirements. The environment inside the enclosure and the vacuum chamber was actively monitored by several QCMs, RGA, and up to 18 ion gauges. Each spacecraft underwent a bakeout phase, which was followed by 4 thermal cycles. Unique aspects of the TV campaign included slow pump downs with a partial represses, thruster firings, Helium identification, and monitoring pressure spikes with ion gauges. Selected data from these TV tests is presented along with lessons learned.

Application of Jason-2/3 Altimetry for Virtual Gauging and Flood Forecasting in Mekong Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, H.; Hossain, F.; Okeowo, M. A.; Nguyen, L. D.; Bui, D. D.; Chang, C. H.

2016-12-01

Vietnam suffers from both flood and drought during the rainy and dry seasons, respectively, due to its highly varying surface water resources. However, the National Center for Water Resources Planning and Investigation (NAWAPI) states that only 7 surface water monitoring stations have been constructed in Central and Highland Central regions with 100 station planned to be constructed by 2030 throughout Vietnam. For the Mekong Delta (MD), the Mekong River Commission (MRC) provides 7-day river level forecasting, but only at the two gauge stations located near the border between Cambodia and Vietnam (http://ffw.mrcmekong.org/south.htm). In order to help stakeholder agencies monitor upstream processes in the rivers and manage their impacts on the agricultural sector and densely populated delta cities, we, first of all, construct the so-called virtual stations throughout the entire Mekong River using the fully automated river level extraction tool with Jason-2/3 Geophysical Research Record (GDR) data. Then, we discuss the potentials and challenges of river level forecasting using Jason-2/3 Interim GDR (IGDR) data, which has 1 - 2 days of latency, over the Mekong River. Finally, based on our analyses, we propose a forecasting system for the Mekong River by drawing from our experience in operationalizing Jason-2 altimetry for Bangladesh flood forecasting.

Measurement and Compensation of BPM Chamber Motion in HLS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J. W.; Sun, B. G.; Cao, Y.; Xu, H. L.; Lu, P.; Li, C.; Xuan, K.; Wang, J. G.

2010-06-01

Significant horizontal drifts in the beam orbit in the storage ring of HLS (Hefei Light Source) have been seen for many years. What leads to the motion of Beam Position Monitor (BPM) chamber is thermal expansion mainly caused by the synchrotron light. To monitor the BPM chamber motions for all BPMs, a BPM chamber motion measurement system is built in real-time. The raster gauges are used to measure the displacements. The results distinctly show the relation between the BPM chamber motion and the beam current. To suppress the effect of BPM chamber motion, a compensation strategy is implemented at HLS. The horizontal drifts of beam orbit have been really suppressed within 20μm without the compensation of BPM chamber motion in the runtime.

A new method for automated dynamic calibration of tipping-bucket rain gauges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Humphrey, M.D.; Istok, J.D.; Lee, J.Y.; Hevesi, J.A.; Flint, A.L.

1997-01-01

Existing methods for dynamic calibration of tipping-bucket rain gauges (TBRs) can be time consuming and labor intensive. A new automated dynamic calibration system has been developed to calibrate TBRs with minimal effort. The system consists of a programmable pump, datalogger, digital balance, and computer. Calibration is performed in two steps: 1) pump calibration and 2) rain gauge calibration. Pump calibration ensures precise control of water flow rates delivered to the rain gauge funnel; rain gauge calibration ensures precise conversion of bucket tip times to actual rainfall rates. Calibration of the pump and one rain gauge for 10 selected pump rates typically requires about 8 h. Data files generated during rain gauge calibration are used to compute rainfall intensities and amounts from a record of bucket tip times collected in the field. The system was tested using 5 types of commercial TBRs (15.2-, 20.3-, and 30.5-cm diameters; 0.1-, 0.2-, and 1.0-mm resolutions) and using 14 TBRs of a single type (20.3-cm diameter; 0.1-mm resolution). Ten pump rates ranging from 3 to 154 mL min-1 were used to calibrate the TBRs and represented rainfall rates between 6 and 254 mm h-1 depending on the rain gauge diameter. All pump calibration results were very linear with R2 values greater than 0.99. All rain gauges exhibited large nonlinear underestimation errors (between 5% and 29%) that decreased with increasing rain gauge resolution and increased with increasing rainfall rate, especially for rates greater than 50 mm h-1. Calibration curves of bucket tip time against the reciprocal of the true pump rate for all rain gauges also were linear with R2 values of 0.99. Calibration data for the 14 rain gauges of the same type were very similar, as indicated by slope values that were within 14% of each other and ranged from about 367 to 417 s mm h-1. The developed system can calibrate TBRs efficiently, accurately, and virtually unattended and could be modified for use with other rain gauge designs. The system is now in routine use to calibrate TBRs in a large rainfall collection network at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Assimilation of GRACE Terrestrial Water Storage Data into a Land Surface Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reichle, Rolf H.; Zaitchik, Benjamin F.; Rodell, Matt

2008-01-01

The NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) system of satellites provides observations of large-scale, monthly terrestrial water storage (TWS) changes. In. this presentation we describe a land data assimilation system that ingests GRACE observations and show that the assimilation improves estimates of water storage and fluxes, as evaluated against independent measurements. The ensemble-based land data assimilation system uses a Kalman smoother approach along with the NASA Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM). We assimilated GRACE-derived TWS anomalies for each of the four major sub-basins of the Mississippi into the Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM). Compared with the open-loop (no assimilation) CLSM simulation, assimilation estimates of groundwater variability exhibited enhanced skill with respect to measured groundwater. Assimilation also significantly increased the correlation between simulated TWS and gauged river flow for all four sub-basins and for the Mississippi River basin itself. In addition, model performance was evaluated for watersheds smaller than the scale of GRACE observations, in the majority of cases, GRACE assimilation led to increased correlation between TWS estimates and gauged river flow, indicating that data assimilation has considerable potential to downscale GRACE data for hydrological applications. We will also describe how the output from the GRACE land data assimilation system is now being prepared for use in the North American Drought Monitor.

Non-invasive dynamic measurement of helicopter blades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serafini, J.; Bernardini, G.; Mattioni, L.; Vezzari, V.; Ficuciello, C.

2017-08-01

This paper presents the development and the application on helicopter blades of a measurement system based on FBG strain gauges. Here, the main goal is the structural characterization of the main rotor blades, with the aim of showing the potentialities of such a system in blades quality check applications, as well as in the development of structural health monitoring and rotor state feedback devices. The device has been used in both non-rotating and rotating tests, and does not require the presence of slip rings or optical joint since it is completely allocated in the rotating system. It has been successfully applied to characterize the frequency response of blades lead-lag, flap and torsion deformations, up to 250 Hz.

An almost trivial gauge theory in the limit of infinite gauge coupling constant.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaptanoglu, S.

A local SU(2) gauge theory with one multiplet of scalars in the adjoint representation is considered. In the limit of infinite gauge coupling constant Yang-Mills fields become auxiliary and the action possesses a larger invariance than the usual gauge invariance; hence, the system develops a richer structure of constraints. The constraint analysis is carried out.

Sensor validation and fusion for gas turbine vibration monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Weizhong; Goebel, Kai F.

2003-08-01

Vibration monitoring is an important practice throughout regular operation of gas turbine power systems and, even more so, during characterization tests. Vibration monitoring relies on accurate and reliable sensor readings. To obtain accurate readings, sensors are placed such that the signal is maximized. In the case of characterization tests, strain gauges are placed at the location of vibration modes on blades inside the gas turbine. Due to the prevailing harsh environment, these sensors have a limited life and decaying accuracy, both of which impair vibration assessment. At the same time bandwidth limitations may restrict data transmission, which in turn limits the number of sensors that can be used for assessment. Knowing the sensor status (normal or faulty), and more importantly, knowing the true vibration level of the system all the time is essential for successful gas turbine vibration monitoring. This paper investigates a dynamic sensor validation and system health reasoning scheme that addresses the issues outlined above by considering only the information required to reliably assess system health status. In particular, if abnormal system health is suspected or if the primary sensor is determined to be faulted, information from available "sibling" sensors is dynamically integrated. A confidence expresses the complex interactions of sensor health and system health, their reliabilities, conflicting information, and what the health assessment is. Effectiveness of the scheme in achieving accurate and reliable vibration evaluation is then demonstrated using a combination of simulated data and a small sample of a real-world application data where the vibration of compressor blades during a real time characterization test of a new gas turbine power system is monitored.

Rescriptive and Descriptive Gauge Symmetry in Finite-Dimensional Dynamical Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gurfil, Pini

2007-02-07

Gauge theories in physics constitute a fundamental tool for modeling interactions among electromagnetic, weak and strong forces. They have been used in a myriad of fields, ranging from sub-atomic physics to cosmology. The basic mathematical tool generating the gauge theories is that of symmetry, i.e. a redundancy in the description of the system. Although symmetries have long been recognized as a fundamental tool for solving ordinary differential equations, they have not been formally categorized as gauge theories. In this paper, we show how simple systems described by ordinary differential equations are prone to exhibit gauge symmetry, and discuss a fewmore » practical applications of this approach. In particular, we utilize the notion of gauge symmetry to question some common engineering misconceptions of chaotic and stochastic phenomena, and show that seemingly 'disordered' (deterministic) or 'random' (stochastic) behaviors can be 'ordered'. This brings into play the notion of observation; we show that temporal observations may be misleading when used for chaos detection. From a practical standpoint, we use gauge symmetry to considerably mitigate the numerical truncation error of numerical integrations.« less

Trial of multidisciplinary observation at an expandable sub-marine cabled station "off-hatsushima island observatory" in sagami bay, Japan.

PubMed

Kasaya, Takafumi; Mitsuzawa, Kyohiko; Goto, Tada-Nori; Iwase, Ryoichi; Sayanagi, Keizo; Araki, Eiichiro; Asakawa, Kenichi; Mikada, Hitoshi; Watanabe, Tomoki; Takahashi, Ichiro; Nagao, Toshiyasu

2009-01-01

Sagami Bay is an active tectonic area in Japan. In 1993, a real-time deep sea floor observatory was deployed at 1,175 m depth about 7 km off Hatsushima Island, Sagami Bay to monitor seismic activities and other geophysical phenomena. Video cameras monitored biological activities associated with tectonic activities. The observation system was renovated completely in 2000. An ocean bottom electromagnetic meter (OBEM), an ocean bottom differential pressure gauge (DPG) system, and an ocean bottom gravity meter (OBG) were installed January 2005; operations began in February of that year. An earthquake (M5.4) in April 2006, generated a submarine landslide that reached the Hatsushima Observatory, moving some sensors. The video camera took movies of mudflows; OBEM and other sensors detected distinctive changes occurring with the mudflow. Although the DPG and OBG were recovered in January 2008, the OBEM continues to obtain data.

An integrated, multisensor system for the continuous monitoring of water dynamics in rice fields under different irrigation regimes.

PubMed

Chiaradia, Enrico Antonio; Facchi, Arianna; Masseroni, Daniele; Ferrari, Daniele; Bischetti, Gian Battista; Gharsallah, Olfa; Cesari de Maria, Sandra; Rienzner, Michele; Naldi, Ezio; Romani, Marco; Gandolfi, Claudio

2015-09-01

The cultivation of rice, one of the most important staple crops worldwide, has very high water requirements. A variety of irrigation practices are applied, whose pros and cons, both in terms of water productivity and of their effects on the environment, are not completely understood yet. The continuous monitoring of irrigation and rainfall inputs, as well as of soil water dynamics, is a very important factor in the analysis of these practices. At the same time, however, it represents a challenging and costly task because of the complexity of the processes involved, of the difference in nature and magnitude of the driving variables and of the high variety of field conditions. In this paper, we present the prototype of an integrated, multisensor system for the continuous monitoring of water dynamics in rice fields under different irrigation regimes. The system consists of the following: (1) flow measurement devices for the monitoring of irrigation supply and tailwater drainage; (2) piezometers for groundwater level monitoring; (3) level gauges for monitoring the flooding depth; (4) multilevel tensiometers and moisture sensor clusters to monitor soil water status; (5) eddy covariance station for the estimation of evapotranspiration fluxes and (6) wireless transmission devices and software interface for data transfer, storage and control from remote computer. The system is modular and it is replicable in different field conditions. It was successfully applied over a 2-year period in three experimental plots in Northern Italy, each one with a different water management strategy. In the paper, we present information concerning the different instruments selected, their interconnections and their integration in a common remote control scheme. We also provide considerations and figures on the material and labour costs of the installation and management of the system.

MCCCD 2016 Monitoring Report: Governing Board Outcomes and Metrics. November 2016

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maricopa Community Colleges, 2016

2016-01-01

This is the fifth annual Governing Board Monitoring Report that utilizes the Board outcome metrics adopted in 2010 to gauge institutional effectiveness. The Executive Summary focuses primarily on the 11 "Key Metrics." Some general highlights of the report include the following: (1) More students are successfully completing college-level…

Test Structures for Rapid Prototyping of Gas and Pressure Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buehler, M.; Cheng, L. J.; Martin, D.

1996-01-01

A multi-project ceramic substrate was used in developing a gas sensor and pressure sensor. The ceramic substrate cantained 36 chips with six variants including sensors, process control monitors, and an interconnect ship. Tha gas sensor is being developed as an air quality monitor and the pressure gauge as a barometer.

[Influence of intermittently monitoring on endotracheal tube cuff pressure using handheld pressure gauge].

PubMed

Huang, Ling; Xie, Chen; Zhang, Lifeng; Meng, Liying; Li, Guizheng; Li, Yang; Huang, Bing; Pan, Linghui; Tang, Zhanhong

2017-01-01

To discuss the influence of intermittently monitoring on endotracheal tube cuff pressure using handheld pressure gauge, and to provide some reference for the clinical work. The experiment was carried out on the model of the glass tube, which was divided into three parts. Each part of the experiment was divided into normal pressure group and high pressure group according to the different inflation pressure target value. The endotracheal tube cuff pressure was determined intermittently by using the transparent tracheal models which had a static diameter of 2 cm. The target press value of normal pressure group was 32 cmH 2 O (1 cmH 2 O = 0.098 kPa) while that of high pressure group was 40 cmH 2 O. The handheld pressure gauge was connected with the indicated cuff through a tee joint, and the pressure in the cuff in both groups was determined. The pressure loss caused by intermittent measurement of the two groups was compared. By switching the tee joint, the pressure loss through the gauge self-structure and the pressure loss when connecting and disconnecting the indicated cuff were determined to analyze the causes of pressure loss caused by intermittent measurement of pressure gauge. The pressure loss caused by intermittent measurement of high pressure group was significantly higher than that of normal pressure group (cmH 2 O: 15.10±0.43 vs. 10.19±0.45) with statistical significance (t = -24.875, P = 0.000). The pressure loss through the gauge self-structure of high pressure group was also significantly higher than that of normal pressure group (cmH 2 O: 13.91±0.48 vs. 8.77±0.53), which showed a statistics significance (t = -22.854, P = 0.000). The pressure loss when connecting and disconnecting the indicated cuff of the normal pressure and high pressure groups were (1.33±0.49) cmH 2 O and (1.23±0.55) cmH 2 O, respectively, without statistics significance (t = 0.445, P = 0.662). It was figured that the total pressure loss caused by intermittent measurement of the endotracheal intubation cuff was approximately equal to the value of the pressure loss caused by the pressure gauge self-structure and the pressure loss when the indicated cuff was connected and disconnected [normal pressure group: (10.19±0.45) cmH 2 O ≍ (8.77±0.53) cmH 2 O + (1.33±0.49) cmH 2 O, high pressure group: (15.10±0.43) cmH 2 O ≍ (13.91±0.48) cmH 2 O + (1.23±0.55) cmH 2 O]. The intermittently monitoring on endotracheal tube cuff pressure is the main cause of the pressure loss. The total pressure loss consists of the pressure leak from the cuff to the gauge and the pressure leak when connecting and disconnecting the gauge and the indicated cuff during each test. When the pressure in the cuff is increased, it will cause more pressure loss.

Electronic-type vacuum gauges with replaceable elements

DOEpatents

Edwards, D. Jr.

1984-09-18

In electronic devices for measuring pressures in vacuum systems, the metal elements which undergo thermal deterioration are made readily replaceable by making them parts of a simple plug-in unit. Thus, in ionization gauges, the filament and grid or electron collector are mounted on the novel plug-in unit. In thermocouple pressure gauges, the heater and attached thermocouple are mounted on the plug-in unit. Plug-in units have been designed to function, alternatively, as ionization gauge and as thermocouple gauge, thus providing new gauges capable of measuring broader pressure ranges than is possible with either an ionization gauge or a thermocouple gauge. 5 figs.

Hybrid graphene/geopolymeric cement as a superionic conductor for structural health monitoring applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saafi, M.; Piukovics, G.; Ye, J.

2016-10-01

In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time a novel hybrid superionic long gauge sensor for structural health monitoring applications. The sensor consists of two graphene electrodes and a superionic conductor film made entirely of fly ash geopolymeric material. The sensor employs ion hopping as a conduction mechanism for high precision temperature and tensile strain sensing in structures. The design, fabrication and characterization of the sensor are presented. The temperature and strain sensing mechanisms of the sensor are also discussed. The experimental results revealed that the crystal structure of the superionic film is a 3D sodium-poly(sialate-siloxo) framework, with a room temperature ionic conductivity between 1.54 × 10-2 and 1.72 × 10-2 S m-1 and, activation energy of 0.156 eV, which supports the notion that ion hopping is the main conduction mechanism for the sensor. The sensor showed high sensitivity to both temperature and tensile strain. The sensor exhibited temperature sensitivity as high as 21.5 kΩ °C-1 and tensile strain sensitivity (i.e., gauge factor) as high as 358. The proposed sensor is relatively inexpensive and can easily be manufactured with long gauges to measure temperature and bulk strains in structures. With further development and characterization, the sensor can be retrofitted onto existing structures such as bridges, buildings, pipelines and wind turbines to monitor their structural integrity.

The 2017 México Tsunami Record, Numerical Modeling and Threat Assessment in Costa Rica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chacón-Barrantes, Silvia

2018-03-01

An M w 8.2 earthquake and tsunami occurred offshore the Pacific coast of México on 2017-09-08, at 04:49 UTC. Costa Rican tide gauges have registered a total of 21 local, regional and far-field tsunamis. The Quepos gauge registered 12 tsunamis between 1960 and 2014 before it was relocated inside a harbor by late 2014, where it registered two more tsunamis. This paper analyzes the 2017 México tsunami as recorded by the Quepos gauge. It took 2 h for the tsunami to arrive to Quepos, with a first peak height of 9.35 cm and a maximum amplitude of 18.8 cm occurring about 6 h later. As a decision support tool, this tsunami was modeled for Quepos in real time using ComMIT (Community Model Interface for Tsunami) with the finer grid having a resolution of 1 arcsec ( 30 m). However, the model did not replicate the tsunami record well, probably due to the lack of a finer and more accurate bathymetry. In 2014, the National Tsunami Monitoring System of Costa Rica (SINAMOT) was created, acting as a national tsunami warning center. The occurrence of the 2017 México tsunami raised concerns about warning dissemination mechanisms for most coastal communities in Costa Rica, due to its short travel time.

Gauge theory for finite-dimensional dynamical systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gurfil, Pini

2007-06-15

Gauge theory is a well-established concept in quantum physics, electrodynamics, and cosmology. This concept has recently proliferated into new areas, such as mechanics and astrodynamics. In this paper, we discuss a few applications of gauge theory in finite-dimensional dynamical systems. We focus on the concept of rescriptive gauge symmetry, which is, in essence, rescaling of an independent variable. We show that a simple gauge transformation of multiple harmonic oscillators driven by chaotic processes can render an apparently ''disordered'' flow into a regular dynamical process, and that there exists a strong connection between gauge transformations and reduction theory of ordinary differentialmore » equations. Throughout the discussion, we demonstrate the main ideas by considering examples from diverse fields, including quantum mechanics, chemistry, rigid-body dynamics, and information theory.« less

An Integrative Structural Health Monitoring System for the Local/Global Responses of a Large-Scale Irregular Building under Construction

PubMed Central

Park, Hyo Seon; Shin, Yunah; Choi, Se Woon; Kim, Yousok

2013-01-01

In this study, a practical and integrative SHM system was developed and applied to a large-scale irregular building under construction, where many challenging issues exist. In the proposed sensor network, customized energy-efficient wireless sensing units (sensor nodes, repeater nodes, and master nodes) were employed and comprehensive communications from the sensor node to the remote monitoring server were conducted through wireless communications. The long-term (13-month) monitoring results recorded from a large number of sensors (75 vibrating wire strain gauges, 10 inclinometers, and three laser displacement sensors) indicated that the construction event exhibiting the largest influence on structural behavior was the removal of bents that were temporarily installed to support the free end of the cantilevered members during their construction. The safety of each member could be confirmed based on the quantitative evaluation of each response. Furthermore, it was also confirmed that the relation between these responses (i.e., deflection, strain, and inclination) can provide information about the global behavior of structures induced from specific events. Analysis of the measurement results demonstrates the proposed sensor network system is capable of automatic and real-time monitoring and can be applied and utilized for both the safety evaluation and precise implementation of buildings under construction. PMID:23860317

Comparison of Envisat ASAR GM, AMSR-E Passive Microwave, and MODIS Optical Remote Sensing for Flood Monitoring in Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ticehurst, C. J.; Bartsch, A.; Doubkova, M.; van Dijk, A. I. J. M.

2009-11-01

Continuous flood monitoring can support emergency response, water management and environmental monitoring. Optical sensors such as MODIS allow inundation mapping with high spatial and temporal resolution (250-1000 m, twice daily) but are affected by cloud cover. Passive microwave sensors also acquire observations at high temporal resolution, but coarser spatial resolution (e.g. ca. 5-70 km for AMSR-E) and smaller footprints are also affected by cloud and/or rain. ScanSAR systems allow all-weather monitoring but require spatial resolution to be traded off against coverage and/or temporal resolution; e.g. the ENVISAT ASAR Global Mode observes at ca. 1 km over large regions about twice a week. The complementary role of the AMSR-E and ASAR GM data to that of MODIS is here introduced for three flood events and locations across Australia. Additional improvements can be made by integrating digital elevation models and stream flow gauging data.

Gravitational wave-Gauge field oscillations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldwell, R. R.; Devulder, C.; Maksimova, N. A.

2016-09-01

Gravitational waves propagating through a stationary gauge field transform into gauge field waves and back again. When multiple families of flavor-space locked gauge fields are present, the gravitational and gauge field waves exhibit novel dynamics. At high frequencies, the system behaves like coupled oscillators in which the gravitational wave is the central pacemaker. Due to energy conservation and exchange among the oscillators, the wave amplitudes lie on a multidimensional sphere, reminiscent of neutrino flavor oscillations. This phenomenon has implications for cosmological scenarios based on flavor-space locked gauge fields.

27 CFR 19.319 - Production gauge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... package gauge record, if any, shall show: (1) The real name (or basic operating name as provided in § 19.... All spirits shall be gauged by determining quantity and proof within a reasonable time after... production gauge. If spirits are drawn from the production system into barrels, drums, or similar portable...

New Approach to Sea Level Monitoring Tested at Shemya, Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urban, G. W.; Medbery, A. H.; Burgy, M. C.

2003-12-01

Due to the prohibitive installation cost to replace a storm damaged stilling well type tide gauge at Earickson Air Force Station on Shemya Island, Alaska, an alternative sea-level gauge was sought by the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC). An Omart-Vega radar system was chosen as the alternative, since it had low power needs, did not require a stilling well and its design included observation of rough surface liquids. The Omart-Vega radar system works by emitting a 5 gHz radar wave which reflects off the water surface and then back to the unit at a specified rate. This information is then telemetered directly to a computer which records the sample. Although the cost of the Vega system (3500USD) was similar to that of the stilling well unit (2500USD), the comparison of the installation costs of the two different units was an issue. To install the stilling well system, two certified under-water welding divers were required at a cost of 40K-USD or more. In comparison, the installation of the Vega system simply required an arm constructed so as to hang and support the Vega unit off the pier at Shemya. This arm assembly would also house the unit to protect it from surf and weather. The arm was designed in-house and built by a local metal contractor for less than 500USD. This portable unit was sent to Shemya via C-130 aircraft. The arm assembly and housed radar tide gauge was installed by one person. The circuitry to run the Vega was developed and tested at the WCATWC. Software was designed and tested there as well, although the software was written by Omart at no cost to the Warning Center. The circuitry allows for direct remote reconfiguration from Palmer to the radar system. The Vega is accessed by software directly from the WCATWC computer to sample the water level at numerous settable sample rates, which include one second, five second, fifteen second, and thirty second. After nearly one year of operation at Earickson, which included many major storms, the radar unit is proving to be a reliable substitute for the previous stilling well type gauge.

Real-Time Tracking of the Extreme Rainfall of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria using UCI CHRS's iRain System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shearer, E. J.; Nguyen, P.; Ombadi, M.; Palacios, T.; Huynh, P.; Furman, D.; Tran, H.; Braithwaite, D.; Hsu, K. L.; Sorooshian, S.; Logan, W. S.

2017-12-01

During the 2017 hurricane season, three major hurricanes-Harvey, Irma, and Maria-devastated the Atlantic coast of the US and the Caribbean Islands. Harvey set the record for the rainiest storm in continental US history, Irma was the longest-lived powerful hurricane ever observed, and Maria was the costliest storm in Puerto Rican history. The recorded maximum precipitation totals for these storms were 65, 16, and 20 inches respectively. These events provided the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS) an opportunity to test its global real-time satellite precipitation observation system, iRain, for extreme storm events. The iRain system has been under development through a collaboration between CHRS at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and UNESCO's International Hydrological Program (IHP). iRain provides near real-time high resolution (0.04°, approx. 4km) global (60°N - 60°S) satellite precipitation data estimated by the PERSIANN-Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS) algorithm developed by the scientists at CHRS. The user-interactive and web-accessible iRain system allows users to visualize and download real-time global satellite precipitation estimates and track the development and path of the current 50 largest storms globally from data generated by the PERSIANN-CCS algorithm. iRain continuously proves to be an effective tool for measuring real-time precipitation amounts of extreme storms-especially in locations that do not have extensive rain gauge or radar coverage. Such areas include large portions of the world's oceans and over continents such as Africa and Asia. CHRS also created a mobile app version of the system named "iRain UCI", available for iOS and Android devices. During these storms, real-time rainfall data generated by PERSIANN-CCS was consistently comparable to radar and rain gauge data. This presentation evaluates iRain's efficiency as a tool for extreme precipitation monitoring and provides an evaluation of the PERSIANN-CCS real-time rainfall estimates during Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in relation to radar and rain gauge data using continuous (correlation, root mean square error, and bias) and categorical (POD and FAR) indices. These results present the relative skill of PERSIANN-CCS real-time data to radar and rain gauge data.

Survey of Industrial, Agricultural, and Medical Applications of Radiometric Gauging and Process Control

PubMed Central

Hubbell, J. H.

1990-01-01

Photon and particle radiations (gamma rays, x rays, brems-strahlung, electrons and other charged particles, and neutrons) from radioactive isotopes, x-ray tubes, and accelerators are now widely used in gauging, production control, and other monitoring and metrology devices where avoidance of mechanical contact is desirable. The general principles of radiation gauges, which rely on detection of radiation transmitted by the sample, or on detection of scattered or other secondary radiations produced in the sample, are discussed. Examples of such devices currently used or at least shown to be feasible in industrial, transportation, building, mining, agricultural, medical, and other metrology situations are presented, drawing from a total of 146 selected technical and review paper reference sources here cited. PMID:28179800

Intelligent Extruder

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

AlperEker; Mark Giammattia; Paul Houpt

''Intelligent Extruder'' described in this report is a software system and associated support services for monitoring and control of compounding extruders to improve material quality, reduce waste and energy use, with minimal addition of new sensors or changes to the factory floor system components. Emphasis is on process improvements to the mixing, melting and de-volatilization of base resins, fillers, pigments, fire retardants and other additives in the :finishing'' stage of high value added engineering polymer materials. While GE Plastics materials were used for experimental studies throughout the program, the concepts and principles are broadly applicable to other manufacturers materials. Themore » project involved a joint collaboration among GE Global Research, GE Industrial Systems and Coperion Werner & Pleiderer, USA, a major manufacturer of compounding equipment. Scope of the program included development of a algorithms for monitoring process material viscosity without rheological sensors or generating waste streams, a novel detection scheme for rapid detection of process upsets and an adaptive feedback control system to compensate for process upsets where at line adjustments are feasible. Software algorithms were implemented and tested on a laboratory scale extruder (50 lb/hr) at GE Global Research and data from a production scale system (2000 lb/hr) at GE Plastics was used to validate the monitoring and detection software. Although not evaluated experimentally, a new concept for extruder process monitoring through estimation of high frequency drive torque without strain gauges is developed and demonstrated in simulation. A plan to commercialize the software system is outlined, but commercialization has not been completed.« less

Prediction of Hydrologic Characteristics for Ungauged Catchments to Support Hydroecological Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bond, Nick R.; Kennard, Mark J.

2017-11-01

Hydrologic variability is a fundamental driver of ecological processes and species distribution patterns within river systems, yet the paucity of gauges in many catchments means that streamflow data are often unavailable for ecological survey sites. Filling this data gap is an important challenge in hydroecological research. To address this gap, we first test the ability to spatially extrapolate hydrologic metrics calculated from gauged streamflow data to ungauged sites as a function of stream distance and catchment area. Second, we examine the ability of statistical models to predict flow regime metrics based on climate and catchment physiographic variables. Our assessment focused on Australia's largest catchment, the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). We found that hydrologic metrics were predictable only between sites within ˜25 km of one another. Beyond this, correlations between sites declined quickly. We found less than 40% of fish survey sites from a recent basin-wide monitoring program (n = 777 sites) to fall within this 25 km range, thereby greatly limiting the ability to utilize gauge data for direct spatial transposition of hydrologic metrics to biological survey sites. In contrast, statistical model-based transposition proved effective in predicting ecologically relevant aspects of the flow regime (including metrics describing central tendency, high- and low-flows intermittency, seasonality, and variability) across the entire gauge network (median R2 ˜ 0.54, range 0.39-0.94). Modeled hydrologic metrics thus offer a useful alternative to empirical data when examining biological survey data from ungauged sites. More widespread use of these statistical tools and modeled metrics could expand our understanding of flow-ecology relationships.

Synthetic gauge flux and Weyl points in acoustic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Meng; Chen, Wen-Jie; He, Wen-Yu; Chan, C. T.

We consider acoustic systems comprising a honeycomb lattice in the xy plane and periodic along the z direction. As kz is a good quantum number here, for each fixed kz, this system can be treated as a reduced two-dimensional system. By engineering the interlayer coupling in the z-direction, we show that we can realize effective inversion symmetry breaking and synthetic staggered gauge flux in the reduced two-dimensional system. The realizations of chiral edge states for fixed values of kz are direct consequences of the staggered gauge flux. And we then show that the synthetic gauge flux is closely related to the Weyl points in the three-dimensional band structure. This work was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (Grant No. AoE/P-02/12).

Runoff measurements and hydrological modelling for the estimation of rainfall volumes in an Alpine basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranzi, R.; Bacchi, B.; Grossi, G.

2003-01-01

Streamflow data and water levels in reservoirs have been collected at 30 recording sites in the Toce river basin and its surroundings, upstream of Lago Maggiore, one of the target areas of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP) experiment. These data have been used for two purposes: firstly, the verification of a hydrological model, forced by rain-gauge data and the output of a mesoscale meteorological model, for flood simulation and forecasting; secondly, to solve an inverse problem--to estimate rainfall volumes from the runoff data in mountain areas where the influence of orography and the limits of actual monitoring systems prevent accurate measurement of precipitation. The methods are illustrated for 19-20 September 1999, MAP Intensive Observing Period 2b, an event with a 4-year return period for the Toce river basin. Uncertainties in the estimates of the areal rainfall volumes based on rain-gauge data and via the inverse solution are assessed.

A new reference tip-timing test bench and simulator for blade synchronous and asynchronous vibrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hajnayeb, Ali; Nikpour, Masood; Moradi, Shapour; Rossi, Gianluca

2018-02-01

The blade tip-timing (BTT) measurement technique is at present the most promising technique for monitoring the blades of axial turbines and aircraft engines in operating conditions. It is generally used as an alternative to strain gauges in turbine testing. By conducting a comparison with the standard methods such as those based on strain gauges, one determines that the technique is not intrusive and does not require a complicated installation process. Despite its superiority to other methods, the experimental performance analysis of a new BTT method needs a test stand that includes a reference measurement system (e.g. strain gauges equipped with telemetry or other complex optical measurement systems, like rotating laser Doppler vibrometers). In this article, a new reliable, low-cost BTT test setup is proposed for simulating and analyzing blade vibrations based on kinematic inversion. In the proposed test bench, instead of the blades vibrating, it is the BTT sensor that vibrates. The vibration of the sensor is generated by a shaker and can therefore be easily controlled in terms of frequency, amplitude and waveform shape. The amplitude of vibration excitation is measured by a simple accelerometer. After introducing the components of the simulator, the proposed test bench is used in practice to simulate both synchronous and asynchronous vibration scenarios. Then two BTT methods are used to evaluate the quality of the acquired data. The results demonstrate that the proposed setup is able to generate simulated pulse sequences which are almost the same as those generated by the conventional BTT systems installed around a bladed disk. Moreover, the test setup enables its users to evaluate BTT methods by using a limited number of sensors. This significantly reduces the total costs of the experiments.

Passive wireless strain monitoring of tyres using capacitance and tuning frequency changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuzaki, Ryosuke; Todoroki, Akira

2005-08-01

In-service strain monitoring of tyres of automobiles is quite effective for improving the reliability of tyres and anti-lock braking systems (ABS). Conventional strain gauges have high stiffness and require lead wires. Therefore, they are cumbersome for tyre strain measurements. In a previous study, the authors proposed a new wireless strain monitoring method that adopts the tyre itself as a sensor, with an oscillating circuit. This method is very simple and useful, but it requires a battery to activate the oscillating circuit. In the present study, the previous method for wireless tyre monitoring is improved to produce a passive wireless sensor. A specimen made from a commercially available tyre is connected to a tuning circuit comprising an inductance and a capacitance as a condenser. The capacitance change of the tyre alters the tuning frequency. This change of the tuned radio wave facilitates wireless measurement of the applied strain of the specimen without any power supply. This passive wireless method is applied to a specimen and the static applied strain is measured. Experiments demonstrate that the method is effective for passive wireless strain monitoring of tyres.

Does it work? Monitoring the effectiveness of stream management practices in Alaska.

Treesearch

Jonathan Thompson

2006-01-01

The condition of aquatic habitat and the health of aquatic species, particularly salmon, are a significant concern in the Pacific Northwest. Land management agencies use fish and riparian guidelines intended to maintain or improve aquatic habitat. Gauging whether or not those guidelines are effectively meeting their objectives requires careful monitoring of stream...

Metacognitive Processes in Emotion Recognition: Are They Different in Adults with Asperger's Disorder?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawyer, Alyssa C. P.; Williamson, Paul; Young, Robyn

2014-01-01

Deficits in emotion recognition and social interaction characterize individuals with Asperger's Disorder (AS). Moreover they also appear to be less able to accurately use confidence to gauge their emotion recognition accuracy (i.e., metacognitive monitoring). The aim of this study was to extend this finding by considering both monitoring and…

Wireless microsensors for health monitoring of aircraft structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varadan, Vijay K.

2003-01-01

The integration of MEMS, IDTs (interdigital transducers) and required microelectronics and conformal antennas to realize programmable, robust and low cost passive microsensors suitable for many military structures and systems including aircraft, missiles and munitions is presented in this paper. The technology is currently being applied to the structural health monitoring of critical aircraft components. The approach integrates acoustic emission, strain gauges, MEMS accelerometers, gyroscopes and vibration monitoring devices with signal processing electronics to provide real-time indicators of incipient failure of aircraft components with a known history of catastrophic failure due to fracture. Recently a combination of the need for safety in the air and the desire to control costs is encouraging the use of in-flight monitoring of aircraft components and systems using light-weight, wireless and cost effective microsensors and MEMS. An in-situ Aircraft structural health monitoring (ASHM) system, with sensors embedded in the composite structure or surface-mounted on the structure, would permit the timely detection of damage in aircraft. Micromachining offers the potential for fabricating a range of microsensors and MEMS for structural applications including load, vibration and acoustics characterization and monitoring. Such microsensors are extremely small; they can be embedded into structural materials, can be mass-produced and are therefore potentially cheap. Additionally a range of sensor types can be integrated onto a single chip with built-in electronics and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), providing a low power Microsystems. The smart sensors are being developed using the standard microelectronics and micromachining in conjunction with novel Penn State smart electronics or wireless communication systems suitable for condition monitoring of aircraft structures in-flight. A hybrid accelerometer and gyroscope in a single chip suitable for inertial navigation system and other microsensors for health monitoring and condition-based maintenance of structures, drag sensing and control of aircraft, strain and deflection of structures and systems, ice sensing on aircraft, remote temperature and humidity measurement of propellant in munitions, chemical sensing, etc. are discussed.

Long-term Monitoring Program Optimization for Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compound Plume, Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calderone, G. M.

2006-12-01

A long-term monitoring program was initiated in 1995 at 6 sites at NAS Brunswick, including 3 National Priorities List (Superfund) sites. Primary contaminants of concern include chlorinated volatile organic compounds, including tetrachloroethane, trichloroethene, and vinyl chloride, in addition to metals. More than 80 submersible pumping systems were installed to facilitate sample collection utilizing the low-flow sampling technique. Long-term monitoring of the groundwater is conducted to assess the effectiveness of remedial measures, and monitor changes in contaminant concentrations in the Eastern Plume Operable Unit. Long-term monitoring program activities include quarterly groundwater sampling and analysis at more than 90 wells across 6 sites; surface water, sediment, seep, and leachate sampling and analysis at 3 sites; landfill gas monitoring; well maintenance; engineering inspections of landfill covers and other sites or evidence of stressed vegetation; water level gauging; and treatment plant sampling and analysis. Significant cost savings were achieved by optimizing the sampling network and reducing sampling frequency from quarterly to semi- annual or annual sampling. As part of an ongoing optimization effort, a geostatistical assessment of the Eastern Plume was conducted at the Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine. The geostatistical assessment used 40 monitoring points and analytical data collected over 3 years. For this geostatistical assessment, EA developed and utilized a database of analytical results generated during 3 years of long-term monitoring which was linked to a Geographic Information System to enhance data visualization capacity. The Geographic Information System included themes for groundwater volatile organic compound concentration, groundwater flow directions, shallow and deep wells, and immediate access to point-specific analytical results. This statistical analysis has been used by the site decision-maker and its conclusions supported a significant reduction in the Long-Term Monitoring Program.

A Prototype Flood Early Warning SensorWeb System for Namibia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sohlberg, R. A.; Mandl, D.; Frye, S. W.; Cappelaere, P. G.; Szarzynski, J.; Policelli, F.; van Langenhove, G.

2010-12-01

During the past two years, there have been extensive floods in the country of Namibia, Africa which have affected up to a quarter of the population. Via a collaboration between a group funded by the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) at NASA that has been performing various SensorWeb prototyping activities for disasters, the Department of Hydrology in Namibia and the United Nations Space-based Information for Disaster and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) , experiments were conducted on how to apply various satellite resources integrated into a SensorWeb architecture along with in-situ sensors such as river gauges and rain gauges into a flood early warning system. The SensorWeb includes a global flood model and a higher resolution basin specific flood model. Furthermore, flood extent and status is monitored by optical and radar types of satellites and integrated via some automation. We have taken a practical approach to find out how to create a working system by selectively using the components that provide good results. The vision for the future is to combine this with the country side dwelling unit data base to create risk maps that provide specific warnings to houses within high risk areas based on near term predictions. This presentation will show some of the highlights of the effort thus far plus our future plans.

Load monitoring of aerospace structures utilizing micro-electro-mechanical systems for static and quasi-static loading conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, M.; Rocha, B.; Li, M.; Shi, G.; Beltempo, A.; Rutledge, R.; Yanishevsky, M.

2012-11-01

The National Research Council Canada (NRC) has worked on the development of structural health monitoring (SHM) test platforms for assessing the performance of sensor systems for load monitoring applications. The first SHM platform consists of a 5.5 m cantilever aluminum beam that provides an optimal scenario for evaluating the ability of a load monitoring system to measure bending, torsion and shear loads. The second SHM platform contains an added level of structural complexity, by consisting of aluminum skins with bonded/riveted stringers, typical of an aircraft lower wing structure. These two load monitoring platforms are well characterized and documented, providing loading conditions similar to those encountered during service. In this study, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) for acquiring data from triads of gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometers is described. The system was used to compute changes in angles at discrete stations along the platforms. The angles obtained from the MEMS were used to compute a second, third or fourth order degree polynomial surface from which displacements at every point could be computed. The use of a new Kalman filter was evaluated for angle estimation, from which displacements in the structure were computed. The outputs of the newly developed algorithms were then compared to the displacements obtained from the linear variable displacement transducers connected to the platforms. The displacement curves were subsequently post-processed either analytically, or with the help of a finite element model of the structure, to estimate strains and loads. The estimated strains were compared with baseline strain gauge instrumentation installed on the platforms. This new approach for load monitoring was able to provide accurate estimates of applied strains and shear loads.

Measurement and Compensation of BPM Chamber Motion in HLS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, J. W.; Sun, B. G.; Cao, Y.

2010-06-23

Significant horizontal drifts in the beam orbit in the storage ring of HLS (Hefei Light Source) have been seen for many years. What leads to the motion of Beam Position Monitor (BPM) chamber is thermal expansion mainly caused by the synchrotron light. To monitor the BPM chamber motions for all BPMs, a BPM chamber motion measurement system is built in real-time. The raster gauges are used to measure the displacements. The results distinctly show the relation between the BPM chamber motion and the beam current. To suppress the effect of BPM chamber motion, a compensation strategy is implemented at HLS.more » The horizontal drifts of beam orbit have been really suppressed within 20{mu}m without the compensation of BPM chamber motion in the runtime.« less

Thermal Properties of Microstrain Gauges Used for Protection of Lithium-Ion Cells of Different Designs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeevarajan, Judith

2011-01-01

The purpose of this innovation is to use microstrain gauges to monitor minute changes in temperature along with material properties of the metal cans and pouches used in the construction of lithium-ion cells. The sensitivity of the microstrain gauges to extremely small changes in temperatures internal to the cells makes them a valuable asset in controlling the hazards in lithium-ion cells. The test program on lithium-ion cells included various cell configurations, including the pouch type configurations. The thermal properties of microstrain gauges have been found to contribute significantly as safety monitors in lithium-ion cells that are designed even with hard metal cases. Although the metal cans do not undergo changes in material property, even under worst-case unsafe conditions, the small changes in thermal properties observed during charge and discharge of the cell provide an observable change in resistance of the strain gauge. Under abusive or unsafe conditions, the change in the resistance is large. This large change is observed as a significant change in slope, and this can be used to prevent cells from going into a thermal runaway condition. For flexible metal cans or pouch-type lithium-ion cells, combinations of changes in material properties along with thermal changes can be used as an indication for the initiation of an unsafe condition. Lithium-ion cells have a very high energy density, no memory effect, and almost 100-percent efficiency of charge and discharge. However, due to the presence of a flammable electrolyte, along with the very high energy density and the capability of releasing oxygen from the cathode, these cells can go into a hazardous condition of venting, fire, and thermal runaway. Commercial lithium-ion cells have current and voltage monitoring devices that are used to control the charge and discharge of the batteries. Some lithium-ion cells have internal protective devices, but when used in multi-cell configurations, these protective devices either do not protect or are themselves a hazard to the cell due to their limitations. These devices do not help in cases where the cells develop high impedance that suddenly causes them to go into a thermal runaway condition. Temperature monitoring typically helps with tracking the performance of a battery. But normal thermistors or thermal sensors do not provide the accuracy needed for this and cannot track a change in internal cell temperatures until it is too late to stop a thermal runaway.

Remote-Reading Safety and Safeguards Surveillance System for 3013 Containers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lechelt, W. M.; Skorpik, J. R.; Silvers, K. L.

2002-02-26

At Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP), plutonium oxide is being loaded into stainless steel containers for long-term storage on the Hanford Site. These containers consist of two weld-sealed stainless steel cylinders nested one within the other. A third container holds the plutonium within the inner cylinder. This design meets the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) storage standard, DOE-STD- 3013-2000, which anticipates a 50-year storage lifetime. The 3013 standard also requires a container surveillance program to continuously monitor pressure and to assure safeguards are adequate. However, the configuration of the container system makes using conventional measurement and monitoring methods difficult. Tomore » better meet the 3013 monitoring requirements, a team from Fluor Hanford (who manages the PFP), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Vista Engineering Technologies, LLC, developed a safer, cost-efficient, remote PFP 3013 container surveillance system. This new surveillance system is a combination of two successfully deployed technologies: (1) a magnetically coupled pressure gauge developed by Vista Engineering and (2) a radio frequency (RF) tagging device developed by PNNL. This system provides continuous, 100% monitoring of critical parameters with the containers in place, as well as inventory controls. The 3013 container surveillance system consists of three main elements: (1) an internal magnetic pressure sensor package, (2) an instrument pod (external electronics package), and (3) a data acquisition storage and display computer. The surveillance system described in this paper has many benefits for PFP and DOE in terms of cost savings and reduced personnel exposure. In addition, continuous safety monitoring (i.e., internal container pressure and temperature) of every container is responsible nuclear material stewardship and fully meets and exceeds DOE's Integrated Surveillance Program requirements.« less

Sea Level Changes: Determination and Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodworth, P. L.; Pugh, D. T.; DeRonde, J. G.; Warrick, R. G.; Hannah, J.

The measurement of sea level is of fundamental importance to a wide range of research in climatology, oceanography, geology and geodesy. This volume attempts to cover many aspects of the field. The volume opens with a description by Bolduc and Murty of one of the products stemming from the development of tide gauge networks in the northern and tropical Atlantic. This work is relevant to the growth of the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS), the main goal of which is to provide the world with an efficient, coherent sea level monitoring system for océanographie and climatological research. The subsequent four papers present results from the analysis of existing tide gauge data, including those datasets available from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level and the TOGA Sea Level Center. Two of the four, by Wroblewski and by Pasaric and Orlic, are concerned with European sea level changes, while Yu Jiye et al. discuss inter-annual changes in the Pacific, and Wang Baocan et al. describe variability in the Changjiang estuary in China. The papers by El- Abd and A wad, on Red Sea levels, are the only contributions to the volume from the large research community of geologists concerned with sea level changes.

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodworth, P. L.; Pugh, D. T.; De Ronde, J. G.; Warrick, R. G.; Hannah, J.

The measurement of sea level is of fundamental importance to a wide range of research in climatology, oceanography, geology and geodesy. This volume attempts to cover many aspects of the field. The volume opens with a description by Bolduc and Murty of one of the products stemming from the development of tide gauge networks in the northern and tropical Atlantic. This work is relevant to the growth of the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS), the main goal of which is to provide the world with an efficient, coherent sea level monitoring system for oceanographic and climatological research. The subsequent four papers present results from the analysis of existing tide gauge data, including those datasets available from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level and the TOGA Sea Level Center. Two of the four, by Wróblewski and by Pasarić and Orlić, are concerned with European sea level changes, while Yu Jiye et al. discuss inter-annual changes in the Pacific, and Wang Baocan et al. describe variability in the Changjiang estuary in China. The papers by El-Abd and A wad, on Red Sea levels, are the only contributions to the volume from the large research community of geologists concerned with sea level changes.

Experimental study of thin film sensor networks for wind turbine blade damage detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Downey, A.; Laflamme, S.; Ubertini, F.; Sauder, H.; Sarkar, P.

2017-02-01

Damage detection of wind turbine blades is difficult due to their complex geometry and large size, for which large deployment of sensing systems is typically not economical. A solution is to develop and deploy dedicated sensor networks fabricated from inexpensive materials and electronics. The authors have recently developed a novel skin-type strain gauge for measuring strain over very large surfaces. The skin, a type of large-area electronics, is constituted from a network of soft elastomeric capacitors. The sensing system is analogous to a biological skin, where local strain can be monitored over a global area. In this paper, we propose the utilization of a dense network of soft elastomeric capacitors to detect, localize, and quantify damage on wind turbine blades. We also leverage mature off-the-shelf technologies, in particular resistive strain gauges, to augment such dense sensor network with high accuracy data at key locations, therefore constituting a hybrid dense sensor network. The proposed hybrid dense sensor network is installed inside a wind turbine blade model, and tested in a wind tunnel to simulate an operational environment. Results demonstrate the ability of the hybrid dense sensor network to detect, localize, and quantify damage.

Comparison of rainfall products over Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Coz, Camille; van de Giesen, Nick

2017-04-01

There are many rainfall products available, some of them are global and others have been developed specifically for Africa or another region. They are based on different methods and use different sources of data. All these products have different advantages and limitations and they are suitable for different purposes, like climate or drought monitoring. They can be divided in three categories: the gauge-only products, the satellite-based products and the reanalyses products. These different types of products are compared through literature study in order to find their strengths and weaknesses. The performance of each product varies from region to region, the behaviour of a product can be very different over two separate regions. The gauge-only products are dependent on the gauge coverage which is poor in many regions of Africa. The performance of the satellite-based products are influenced by several factors such as the orography, the rainfall regime and the gauge density (for the ones using them). The reanalyses products are outperformed by the other products but can be improved through downscaling.

Observing storm surges from space: Hurricane Igor off Newfoundland

PubMed Central

Han, Guoqi; Ma, Zhimin; Chen, Dake; deYoung, Brad; Chen, Nancy

2012-01-01

Coastal communities are becoming increasingly more vulnerable to storm surges under a changing climate. Tide gauges can be used to monitor alongshore variations of a storm surge, but not cross-shelf features. In this study we combine Jason-2 satellite measurements with tide-gauge data to study the storm surge caused by Hurricane Igor off Newfoundland. Satellite observations reveal a storm surge of 1 m in the early morning of September 22, 2010 (UTC) after the passage of the storm, consistent with the tide-gauge measurements. The post-storm sea level variations at St. John's and Argentia are associated with free equatorward-propagating continental shelf waves (with a phase speed of ~10 m/s and a cross-shelf decaying scale of ~100 km). The study clearly shows the utility of satellite altimetry in observing and understanding storm surges, complementing tide-gauge observations for the analysis of storm surge characteristics and for the validation and improvement of storm surge models. PMID:23259048

Is scale-invariance in gauge-Yukawa systems compatible with the graviton?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christiansen, Nicolai; Eichhorn, Astrid; Held, Aaron

2017-10-01

We explore whether perturbative interacting fixed points in matter systems can persist under the impact of quantum gravity. We first focus on semisimple gauge theories and show that the leading order gravity contribution evaluated within the functional Renormalization Group framework preserves the perturbative fixed-point structure in these models discovered in [J. K. Esbensen, T. A. Ryttov, and F. Sannino, Phys. Rev. D 93, 045009 (2016)., 10.1103/PhysRevD.93.045009]. We highlight that the quantum-gravity contribution alters the scaling dimension of the gauge coupling, such that the system exhibits an effective dimensional reduction. We secondly explore the effect of metric fluctuations on asymptotically safe gauge-Yukawa systems which feature an asymptotically safe fixed point [D. F. Litim and F. Sannino, J. High Energy Phys. 12 (2014) 178., 10.1007/JHEP12(2014)178]. The same effective dimensional reduction that takes effect in pure gauge theories also impacts gauge-Yukawa systems. There, it appears to lead to a split of the degenerate free fixed point into an interacting infrared attractive fixed point and a partially ultraviolet attractive free fixed point. The quantum-gravity induced infrared fixed point moves towards the asymptotically safe fixed point of the matter system, and annihilates it at a critical value of the gravity coupling. Even after that fixed-point annihilation, graviton effects leave behind new partially interacting fixed points for the matter sector.

BRST theory without Hamiltonian and Lagrangian

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyakhovich, S. L.; Sharapov, A. A.

2005-03-01

We consider a generic gauge system, whose physical degrees of freedom are obtained by restriction on a constraint surface followed by factorization with respect to the action of gauge transformations; in so doing, no Hamiltonian structure or action principle is supposed to exist. For such a generic gauge system we construct a consistent BRST formulation, which includes the conventional BV Lagrangian and BFV Hamiltonian schemes as particular cases. If the original manifold carries a weak Poisson structure (a bivector field giving rise to a Poisson bracket on the space of physical observables) the generic gauge system is shown to admit deformation quantization by means of the Kontsevich formality theorem. A sigma-model interpretation of this quantization algorithm is briefly discussed.

49 CFR 239.101 - Emergency preparedness plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... gauge roller bandage that is at least two inches wide; (F) Wound cleaning agent, such as sealed...) Station signs or video monitors; (F) Public service announcements; or (G) Seat drops. (b) [Reserved] ...

49 CFR 239.101 - Emergency preparedness plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... gauge roller bandage that is at least two inches wide; (F) Wound cleaning agent, such as sealed...) Station signs or video monitors; (F) Public service announcements; or (G) Seat drops. (b) [Reserved] ...

49 CFR 239.101 - Emergency preparedness plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... gauge roller bandage that is at least two inches wide; (F) Wound cleaning agent, such as sealed...) Station signs or video monitors; (F) Public service announcements; or (G) Seat drops. (8) Procedures...

49 CFR 239.101 - Emergency preparedness plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... gauge roller bandage that is at least two inches wide; (F) Wound cleaning agent, such as sealed...) Station signs or video monitors; (F) Public service announcements; or (G) Seat drops. (b) [Reserved] ...

Investigation clogging dynamic of permeable pavement systems using embedded sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razzaghmanesh, Mostafa; Borst, Michael

2018-02-01

Permeable pavement is a stormwater control measure commonly selected in both new and retrofit applications. However, there is limited information about the clogging mechanism of these systems that effects the infiltration. A permeable pavement site located at the Seitz Elementary School, on Fort Riley, Kansas was selected for this study. An 80-space parking lot was built behind the school as part of an EPA collaboration with the U.S. Army. The parking lot design includes a permeable interlocking concrete pavement section along the downgradient edge. This study monitored the clogging progress of the pavement section using twelve water content reflectometers and three buried tipping bucket rain gauges. This clogging dynamic investigation was divided into three stages namely pre-clogged, transitional, and clogged. Recorded initial relative water content of all three stages were significantly and negatively correlated to antecedent dry weather periods with stronger correlations during clogged conditions. The peak relative water content correlation with peak rainfall 10-min intensity was significant for the water content reflectometers located on the western edge away from the eastern edge; this correlation was strongest during transition stage. Once clogged, rainfall measurements no longer correlated with the buried tipping bucket rain gauges. Both water content reflectometers and buried tipping bucket rain gauges showed the progress of surface clogging. For every 6 mm of rain, clogging advanced 1 mm across the surface. The results generally support the hypothesis that the clogging progresses from the upgradient to the downgradient edge. The magnitude of the contributing drainage area and rainfall characteristics are effective factors on rate and progression of clogging.

Final report on supplementary comparison APMP.M.P-S6 in gas gauge pressure from 10 MPa to 100 MPa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kajikawa, Hiroaki; Olson, Douglas A.; Iizumi, Hideaki; Driver, Robert Greg; Kojima, Momoko

2016-01-01

A supplementary comparison of gas high-pressure standards was conducted between the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ/AIST) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Metrology Programme (APMP), in order to determine their degrees of equivalence in the pressure range from 10 MPa to 100 MPa in gauge mode. The pilot institute was NMIJ/AIST. The measurements were carried out from July 2014 to October 2014. Both participating institutes used pressure balances as their pressure standards. Different gases were used for the pressure medium: NMIJ/AIST used Nitrogen, while NIST used Helium. A set of two pressure monitors was used as the transfer standard. The pressure monitors were found sufficiently stable during the measurements. Characteristics of the pressure monitors were evaluated at the pilot institute, and then used for data corrections and uncertainty estimations. In particular, the effect of the gas medium on the pressure monitors was found to be significant, and then all the measurement data were corrected to those with Nitrogen. The degrees of equivalence between the two institutes were evaluated by the relative differences of the participant's results and their associated expanded (k = 2) uncertainties. The gas pressure standards in the range 10 MPa to 100 MPa for gauge mode of the two participating institutes were found to be equivalent within their claimed uncertainties. Main text To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) Gauging of an Isothermal Cryogenic Propellant Tank Pressurized with Gaseous Helium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanDresar, Neil T.; Zimmerli, Gregory A.

2014-01-01

Results are presented for pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) gauging of a liquid oxygen/liquid nitrogen tank pressurized with gaseous helium that was supplied by a high-pressure cryogenic tank simulating a cold helium supply bottle on a spacecraft. The fluid inside the test tank was kept isothermal by frequent operation of a liquid circulation pump and spray system, and the propellant tank was suspended from load cells to obtain a high-accuracy reference standard for the gauging measurements. Liquid quantity gauging errors of less than 2 percent of the tank volume were obtained when quasi-steady-state conditions existed in the propellant and helium supply tanks. Accurate gauging required careful attention to, and corrections for, second-order effects of helium solubility in the liquid propellant plus differences in the propellant/helium composition and temperature in the various plumbing lines attached to the tanks. On the basis of results from a helium solubility test, a model was developed to predict the amount of helium dissolved in the liquid as a function of cumulative pump operation time. Use of this model allowed correction of the basic PVT gauging calculations and attainment of the reported gauging accuracy. This helium solubility model is system specific, but it may be adaptable to other hardware systems.

Test Review: Mather, N., Hammill, D. D., Allen, E. A., & Roberts, R. (2004). "Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency." Austin, TX: PRO-ED

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Ashley; Bell, Sherry Mee

2005-01-01

With the recently passed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), federal law encourages monitoring student progress and gauging responsiveness to instruction. The Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency (TOSWRF; Mather, Hammill, Allen, & Roberts, 2004) is a group-administered test that holds promise for monitoring student progress.…

Application of the Modular Automated Reconfigurable Assembly System (MARAS) concept to adaptable vision gauging and parts feeding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

By, Andre Bernard; Caron, Ken; Rothenberg, Michael; Sales, Vic

1994-01-01

This paper presents the first phase results of a collaborative effort between university researchers and a flexible assembly systems integrator to implement a comprehensive modular approach to flexible assembly automation. This approach, named MARAS (Modular Automated Reconfigurable Assembly System), has been structured to support multiple levels of modularity in terms of both physical components and system control functions. The initial focus of the MARAS development has been on parts gauging and feeding operations for cylinder lock assembly. This phase is nearing completion and has resulted in the development of a highly configurable system for vision gauging functions on a wide range of small components (2 mm to 100 mm in size). The reconfigurable concepts implemented in this adaptive Vision Gauging Module (VGM) are now being extended to applicable aspects of the singulating, selecting, and orienting functions required for the flexible feeding of similar mechanical components and assemblies.

Inter-comparison of automatic rain gauges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nystuen, Jeffrey A.

1994-01-01

The Ocean Acoustics Division (OAD) of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), in cooperation with NOAA/NESDIS and NASA, has deployed six rain gauges for calibration and intercomparison purposes. These instruments include: (1) a weighing rain gauge, (2) a RM Young Model 50202 capacitance rain gauge, (3) a ScTI ORG-705 (long path) optical rain gauge, (4) a ScTI ORG-105 (mini-ORG) optical rain gauge, (5) a Belfort Model 382 tipping bucket rain gauge, and (6) a Distromet RD-69 disdrometer. The system has been running continuously since July 1993. During this time period, roughly 150 events with maximum rainfall rate over 10 mm/hr and 25 events with maximum rainfall rates over 100 mm/hr have been recorded. All rain gauge types have performed well, with intercorrelations 0.9 or higher. However, limitations for each type of rain gauge have been observed.

Discriminating different type waves from pressure and ground motion observation in the seafloor by DONET cabled observation network.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araki, E.; Kawaguchi, K.; Kaneda, Y.

2011-12-01

We developed and deployed seafloor cabled observatory called "Dense Ocean-floor Network for Earthquake and Tsunamis (DONET)" in the Nankai Trough, south of Japan. The main purpose of the DONET network is to observe large earthquake such as Tonankai earthquake in the deployed seafloor and associate Tsunamis in real-time to help disaster mitigation, and as well to monitor inter-seismic crustal activities such as micro earthquakes, very low frequency earthquakes, and slower crustal deformation. In each DONET seafloor observatory, high-sensitive broadband set of instruments for seismic and seafloor pressure monitoring, consisted from Guralp CMG3T broadband seismometer, Metrozet TSA100S accelerometer, Paroscientific 8B7000-2 pressure gauge, a deep-sea differential pressure gauge, a hydrophone, and a seawater thermometer, are installed. The density of seafloor observatories are 20 observatories distributed in 15-30 km interval which is optimized for monitoring of events in the plate boundary beneath the network. DONET may be regarded as a large-scale, high sensitive high density seismic array for monitoring teleseismic events in the Philippine Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The DONET seafloor observatories are situated in wide range of seafloor depth between 1800m and 4500m, from the seafloor basin about 50 km off Japanese Island through the slope of accerecionary prism to the deep trench axis 150 km off the coast, that may also regarded as a vertical array in the 4.5km thick ocean. This variation of depths helps identify T-phases from the array record. In data analysis, it is necessary to identify propagation mode of each observed wave which may often be mixed together. In our design of DONET observation system, we took care to help identification of seismic phase by obtaining both ground motion and seafloor pressure in the same location. This is simply achieved by combining seafloor pressure gauges and seismometer in a single observatory package, but care was taken to observe both in the similar level of sensitivity and dynamic range in wide frequencies from near DC to over 100 Hz. In the case of DONET, the broadband seismometer and the differential pressure gauge have similar level of sensitivity in 0.005 - 10 Hz, and similarly the accelerometer and the hydrophone cover between 1-100Hz, in total covering most frequencies of our interest, 0.005 Hz to 100 Hz. With both ground motion and seafloor pressure measurement, we may distinguish types of waves relatively easily, and it is also possible to filter particular types of waves from the array dataset to help our data analysis. For example, it has been commonly practiced to distinguish up-going and down-going seismic phases from pressure and ground motion, but this is relatively difficult only with sparse seismometer array. This technique may also be applied to correct teleseismic record with sea surface reflection in receiver function analysis for exploring deep crustal structure.

Probing the holographic principle using dynamical gauge effects from open spin-orbit coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jianshi; Price, Craig; Liu, Qi; Gemelke, Nathan

2016-05-01

Dynamical gauge fields result from locally defined symmetries and an effective over-labeling of quantum states. Coupling atoms weakly to a reservoir of laser modes can create an effective dynamical gauge field purely due to the disregard of information in the optical states. Here we report measurements revealing effects of open spin-orbit coupling in a system where an effective model can be formed from a non-abelian SU(2) × U(1) field theory following the Yang-Mills construct. Forming a close analogy to dynamical gauge effects in quantum chromodynamics, we extract a measure of atomic motion which reveals the analog of a closing mass gap for the relevant gauge boson, shedding insight on long standing open problems in gauge-fixing scale anomalies. Using arguments following the holographic principle, we measure scaling relations which can be understood by quantifying information present in the local potential. New prospects using these techniques for developing fractionalization of multi-particle and macroscopic systems using dissipative and non-abelian gauge fields will also be discussed. We acknowledge support from NSF Award No. 1068570, and the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation.

Twenty-nine-gauge dual-chandelier retroillumination for the non-open-sky continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis in the penetrating keratoplasty triple procedure.

PubMed

Yokokura, Shunji; Hariya, Takehiro; Kobayashi, Wataru; Meguro, Yasuhiko; Nishida, Kohji; Nakazawa, Toru

2017-03-01

We describe a technique for the penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) triple procedure that uses 29-gauge dual-chandelier illumination during creation of a non-open-sky continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis (CCC). The chandeliers are inserted through the pars plana into the vitreous cavity through the bulbar conjunctiva at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions. We compared this approach with that of a core vitrectomy, in which a single 25-gauge port is inserted into the vitreous cavity transconjunctivally through the upper temporal pars plana. The area of halation around the corneal opacity was significantly smaller in the 29-gauge group than in the 25-gauge group. The reduction in halation improved visibility of the anterior capsule and enabled the surgeon to perform CCC with greater safety. The 29-gauge chandelier system was more suitable than the 25-gauge chandelier system for the non-open-sky CCC component of the PKP triple procedure. Copyright © 2017 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design and Application of a Field Sensing System for Ground Anchors in Slopes

PubMed Central

Choi, Se Woon; Lee, Jihoon; Kim, Jong Moon; Park, Hyo Seon

2013-01-01

In a ground anchor system, cables or tendons connected to a bearing plate are used for stabilization of slopes. Then, the stability of a slope is dependent on maintaining the tension levels in the cables. So far, no research on a strain-based field sensing system for ground anchors has been reported. Therefore, in this study, a practical monitoring system for long-term sensing of tension levels in tendons for anchor-reinforced slopes is proposed. The system for anchor-reinforced slopes is composed of: (1) load cells based on vibrating wire strain gauges (VWSGs), (2) wireless sensor nodes which receive and process the signals from load cells and then transmit the result to a master node through local area communication, (3) master nodes which transmit the data sent from sensor nodes to the server through mobile communication, and (4) a server located at the base station. The system was applied to field sensing of ground anchors in the 62 m-long and 26 m-high slope at the side of the highway. Based on the long-term monitoring, the safety of the anchor-reinforced slope can be secured by the timely applications of re-tensioning processes in tendons. PMID:23507820

Optimization of pressure gauge locations for water distribution systems using entropy theory.

PubMed

Yoo, Do Guen; Chang, Dong Eil; Jun, Hwandon; Kim, Joong Hoon

2012-12-01

It is essential to select the optimal pressure gauge location for effective management and maintenance of water distribution systems. This study proposes an objective and quantified standard for selecting the optimal pressure gauge location by defining the pressure change at other nodes as a result of demand change at a specific node using entropy theory. Two cases are considered in terms of demand change: that in which demand at all nodes shows peak load by using a peak factor and that comprising the demand change of the normal distribution whose average is the base demand. The actual pressure change pattern is determined by using the emitter function of EPANET to reflect the pressure that changes practically at each node. The optimal pressure gauge location is determined by prioritizing the node that processes the largest amount of information it gives to (giving entropy) and receives from (receiving entropy) the whole system according to the entropy standard. The suggested model is applied to one virtual and one real pipe network, and the optimal pressure gauge location combination is calculated by implementing the sensitivity analysis based on the study results. These analysis results support the following two conclusions. Firstly, the installation priority of the pressure gauge in water distribution networks can be determined with a more objective standard through the entropy theory. Secondly, the model can be used as an efficient decision-making guide for gauge installation in water distribution systems.

A gauged finite-element potential formulation for accurate inductive and galvanic modelling of 3-D electromagnetic problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ansari, S. M.; Farquharson, C. G.; MacLachlan, S. P.

2017-07-01

In this paper, a new finite-element solution to the potential formulation of the geophysical electromagnetic (EM) problem that explicitly implements the Coulomb gauge, and that accurately computes the potentials and hence inductive and galvanic components, is proposed. The modelling scheme is based on using unstructured tetrahedral meshes for domain subdivision, which enables both realistic Earth models of complex geometries to be considered and efficient spatially variable refinement of the mesh to be done. For the finite-element discretization edge and nodal elements are used for approximating the vector and scalar potentials respectively. The issue of non-unique, incorrect potentials from the numerical solution of the usual incomplete-gauged potential system is demonstrated for a benchmark model from the literature that uses an electric-type EM source, through investigating the interface continuity conditions for both the normal and tangential components of the potential vectors, and by showing inconsistent results obtained from iterative and direct linear equation solvers. By explicitly introducing the Coulomb gauge condition as an extra equation, and by augmenting the Helmholtz equation with the gradient of a Lagrange multiplier, an explicitly gauged system for the potential formulation is formed. The solution to the discretized form of this system is validated for the above-mentioned example and for another classic example that uses a magnetic EM source. In order to stabilize the iterative solution of the gauged system, a block diagonal pre-conditioning scheme that is based upon the Schur complement of the potential system is used. For all examples, both the iterative and direct solvers produce the same responses for the potentials, demonstrating the uniqueness of the numerical solution for the potentials and fixing the problems with the interface conditions between cells observed for the incomplete-gauged system. These solutions of the gauged system also produce the physically anticipated behaviours for the inductive and galvanic components of the electric field. For a realistic geophysical scenario, the gauged scheme is also used to synthesize the magnetic field response of a model of the Ovoid ore deposit at Voisey's Bay, Labrador, Canada. The results are in good agreement with the helicopter-borne EM data from the real survey, and the inductive and galvanic parts of the current density show expected behaviours.

Twenty-five-gauge vitrectomy versus 23-gauge vitrectomy in the management of macular diseases: a comparative analysis through a Health Technology Assessment model.

PubMed

Grosso, Andrea; Charrier, Lorena; Lovato, Emanuela; Panico, Claudio; Mariotti, Cesare; Dapavo, Giancarlo; Chiuminatto, Roberto; Siliquini, Roberta; Gianino, Maria Michela

2014-04-01

Small-gauge vitreoretinal techniques have been shown to be safe and effective in the management of a wide spectrum of vitreoretinal diseases. However, the costs of the new technologies may represent a critical issue for national health systems. The aim of the study is to plan a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) by performing a comparative analysis between the 23- and 25-gauge techniques in the management of macular diseases (epiretinal membranes, macular holes, vitreo-macular traction syndrome). In this prospective study, 45-80-year-old patients undergoing vitrectomy surgery for macular disease were enrolled at the Torino Eye Hospital. In the HTA model we assessed the safety, clinical effectiveness, and cost and financial evaluation of 23-gauge compared with 25-gauge vitrectomies. Fifty patients entered the study; 14 patients underwent 23-gauge vitrectomy and 36 underwent 25-gauge vitrectomy. There was no statistically significant difference in post-operative visual acuity at 1 year between the two groups. No cases of retinal detachment or endophtalmitis were registered at 1-year follow-up. The 23-gauge technique was slightly more expensive than the 25-gauge: the total surgical costs were EUR1217.70 versus EUR1164.84 (p = 0.351). We provide a financial comparison between new vitreoretinal procedures recently introduced in the market and reimbursed by the Italian National Health System and we also stimulate a critical debate about the expensive technocratic model of medicine.

State of the Art of Pavement Response Monitoring Systems for Roads and Airfields Symposium Held March 6-9, 1989 in West Lebanon, New Hampshire,

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-09-01

the extensive fatigue Lood, 84 kn 8011 7 9 8 600 fVAIberto Reseorch Council Strain Gage 0Kyowa H-Beam Strom Gcge [ 400 Figure 2. Location of Alberta 4...2’’ was sI ightv diffherent in) tha the gauge was cemented onto an aluminium plate and protected by a resin (figure 3). Figure 4 Vertical deformation... aluminium plate was not too stiff a measure of the deflection. since it would then have functioned as a The type 2 sensor differs in that it

ARPA LOMBARDIA river gauging network: a great daily effort

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cislaghi, Matteo; Calabrese, Michele; Condemi, Leonardo; Di Priolo, Sara; Parravicini, Paola; Rondanini, Chiara; Russo, Michele; Cazzuli, Orietta; Mussin, Mauro; Serra, Roberto

2017-04-01

ARPA Lombardia is the Environmental Protection Agency of Lombardy, a wide region in northern Italy. ARPA is in charge of river monitoring either for Civil Protection or water balance purposes. Lombardy is characterized by a very complex territory; rivers start from the alpine areas and end in the Po river plain. Each mountain or plain area has specific hydrological features that has to be considered when planning a monitoring network. Moreover, human activities (such as lake regulation, agriculture diversions, hydropower plants with regulation structure etc) add anthropic interferences on the natural river system and can invalidate the collected data. In the last 10 years ARPA performed a major revision of the river gauging network. Each station was analysed using well defined criteria based on the required information (water balance or flood monitoring) and on the suitability of the gauging site (hydraulic characteristic or accessibility for spot measures). In the end more than 30% of the network was revised, many stations were closed and other installed. Particular attention was given to the discharge estimation. Many sites are characterized by backflow effect due to river confluences or to hydropower plants with water regulation structures. In these cases the classic rating curve approach can not be applied. Thus, for the first time in Italy, water velocity side looking doppler sensors were installed on natural rivers and the discharge is estimated with the index velocity method. The Italian Civil Protection Agency requires high transmission standards. No data can be lost for transmission failures and data has to be available every 30 minutes. For these reasons ARPA implemented a double transmission system: the first is based on the existing GPRS network managed by private operators, the second is based on a radio network directly installed by ARPA and totally dedicated to data transmission. This double approach ensures a very robust transmission and it allows ARPA to collect and publish data every 10 minutes. ARPA also decided to freely publish all hydrological data on its web site (http://idro.arpalombardia.it). Since 2010 either real time data or historical long series have been made available to everyone over a webgis platform. Every day ARPA employs check if the network is working correctly and validate the data. The aim is to follow the whole process of data management from its collection on the field to its open publication; this requires a great daily effort from the people in charge of the network maintenance.

The potential of urban rainfall monitoring with crowdsourced automatic weather stations in Amsterdam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Vos, Lotte; Leijnse, Hidde; Overeem, Aart; Uijlenhoet, Remko

2017-02-01

The high density of built-up areas and resulting imperviousness of the land surface makes urban areas vulnerable to extreme rainfall, which can lead to considerable damage. In order to design and manage cities to be able to deal with the growing number of extreme rainfall events, rainfall data are required at higher temporal and spatial resolutions than those needed for rural catchments. However, the density of operational rainfall monitoring networks managed by local or national authorities is typically low in urban areas. A growing number of automatic personal weather stations (PWSs) link rainfall measurements to online platforms. Here, we examine the potential of such crowdsourced datasets for obtaining the desired resolution and quality of rainfall measurements for the capital of the Netherlands. Data from 63 stations in Amsterdam (˜ 575 km2) that measure rainfall over at least 4 months in a 17-month period are evaluated. In addition, a detailed assessment is made of three Netatmo stations, the largest contributor to this dataset, in an experimental setup. The sensor performance in the experimental setup and the density of the PWS network are promising. However, features in the online platforms, like rounding and thresholds, cause changes from the original time series, resulting in considerable errors in the datasets obtained. These errors are especially large during low-intensity rainfall, although they can be reduced by accumulating rainfall over longer intervals. Accumulation improves the correlation coefficient with gauge-adjusted radar data from 0.48 at 5 min intervals to 0.60 at hourly intervals. Spatial rainfall correlation functions derived from PWS data show much more small-scale variability than those based on gauge-adjusted radar data and those found in similar research using dedicated rain gauge networks. This can largely be attributed to the noise in the PWS data resulting from both the measurement setup and the processes occurring in the data transfer to the online PWS platform. A double mass comparison with gauge-adjusted radar data shows that the median of the stations resembles the rainfall reference better than the real-time (unadjusted) radar product. Averaging nearby raw PWS measurements further improves the match with gauge-adjusted radar data in that area. These results confirm that the growing number of internet-connected PWSs could successfully be used for urban rainfall monitoring.

Urban rainfall monitoring with crowdsourced automatic weather stations in Amsterdam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Vos, Lotte; Leijnse, Hidde; Overeem, Aart; Uijlenhoet, Remko

2017-04-01

The high density of built-up areas and resulting imperviousness of the land surface makes urban areas vulnerable to extreme rainfall, which can lead to considerable damage. In order to design and manage cities to be able to deal with the growing number of extreme rainfall events, rainfall data is required at higher temporal and spatial resolutions than those needed for rural catchments. However, the density of operational rainfall monitoring networks managed by local or national authorities is typically low in urban areas. A growing number of automatic personal weather stations (PWSs) link rainfall measurements to online platforms. Here, we examine the potential of such crowdsourced datasets for obtaining the desired resolution and quality of rainfall measurements for the capital of the Netherlands. Data from 63 stations in Amsterdam (˜575 km2}) that measure rainfall over at least 4 months in a 17-month period are evaluated. In addition, a detailed assessment is made of three Netatmo stations, the largest contributor to this dataset, in an experimental set-up. The sensor performance in the experimental set-up and the density of the PWS-network are promising. However, features in the online platforms, like rounding and thresholds, cause changes from the original time series, resulting in considerable errors in the datasets obtained. These errors are especially large during low intensity rainfall, although they can be reduced by accumulating rainfall over longer intervals. Accumulation improves the correlation coefficient with gauge-adjusted radar data from 0.48 at 5 min intervals to 0.60 at hourly intervals. Spatial rainfall correlation functions derived from PWS data show much more small-scale variability than those based on gauge-adjusted radar data and those found in similar research using dedicated rain gauge networks. This can largely be attributed to the noise in the PWS data resulting from both the measurement setup and the processes occurring in the data transfer to the online PWS-platform. A double mass comparison with gauge-adjusted radar data shows that the median of the stations resembles the rainfall reference better than the real-time (unadjusted) radar product. Averaging nearby raw PWS measurements further improves the match with gauge-adjusted radar data in that area. These results confirm that the growing number of internet-connected PWSs could successfully be used for urban rainfall monitoring.

Global Equity Gauge Alliance: reflections on early experiences.

PubMed

McCoy, David; Bambas, Lexi; Acurio, David; Baya, Banza; Bhuiya, Abbas; Chowdhury, A Mushtaque R; Grisurapong, Siriwan; Liu, Yuanli; Ngom, Pierre; Ngulube, Thabale J; Ntuli, Antoinette; Sanders, David; Vega, Jeanette; Shukla, Abhay; Braveman, Paula A

2003-09-01

The paper traces the evolution and working of the Global Equity Gauge Alliance (GEGA) and its efforts to promote health equity. GEGA places health equity squarely within a larger framework of social justice, linking findings on socioeconomic and health inequalities with differentials in power, wealth, and prestige in society. The Alliance's 11 country-level partners, called Equity Gauges, share a common action-based vision and framework called the Equity Gauge Strategy. An Equity Gauge seeks to reduce health inequities through three broad spheres of action, referred to as the 'pillars' of the Equity Gauge Strategy, which define a set of interconnected and overlapping actions. Measuring and tracking the inequalities and interpreting their ethical import are pursued through the Assessment and Monitoring pillar. This information provides an evidence base that can be used in strategic ways for influencing policy-makers through actions in the Advocacy pillar and for supporting grassroots groups and civil society through actions in the Community Empowerment pillar. The paper provides examples of strategies for promoting pro-equity policy and social change and reviews experiences and lessons, both in terms of technical success of interventions and in relation to the conceptual development and refinement of the Equity Gauge Strategy and overall direction of the Alliance. To become most effective in furthering health equity at both national and global levels, the Alliance must now reach out to and involve a wider range of organizations, groups, and actors at both national and international levels. Sustainability of this promising experiment depends, in part, on adequate resources but also on the ability to attract and develop talented leadership.

Resident Fuel Levels: Reframing, Assessing, and Addressing Well-Being.

PubMed

Scielzo, Shannon Amerilda; Weigle, David C; Kazi, Salahuddin Dino

2018-04-01

To optimize resident learning, programs need to readily assess resident well-being. There is a lack of easy-to-use, acceptable instruments for this task. We created a well-being "fuel gauge," and assessed the acceptability and feasibility of this weekly electronic communication pipeline for residents to report and discuss their well-being. A well-being fuel gauge assessment was administered weekly over the course of 1 academic year (July 2016 to June 2017) in a large internal medicine residency program. The well-being gauge asked residents to report their fuel levels using a 1 to 5 Likert-type scale (1, empty ; 3, half tank ; and 5, full tank ). Residents who provided low scores (1 or 2) were contacted by program leadership, and the program director sent weekly e-mail updates that addressed residents' comments on their well-being fuel gauge. Of 163 residents, 149 (91%) provided data on their well-being fuel gauge, with a 53% average weekly response rate. Fifty-four percent of residents (80 of 149) reported a low score over the course of the year, and 4 residents only used the assessment to report a low score. Comments on average consisted of 280 characters (SD = 357) and were lengthier and more prevalent with lower fuel gauge scores. We analyzed the relationship between scores and comments. The well-being fuel gauge was well accepted by most residents and was easy to administer and to oversee by program directors. It facilitated ongoing monitoring of well-being and follow-up to address factors contributing to low well-being.

In-Situ MVA of CO 2 Sequestration Using Smart Field Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mohaghegh, Shahab D.

2014-09-01

Capability of underground carbon dioxide storage to confine and sustain injected CO 2 for a long period of time is the main concern for geologic CO 2 sequestration. If a leakage from a geological CO 2 sequestration site occurs, it is crucial to find the approximate amount and the location of the leak, in a timely manner, in order to implement proper remediation activities. An overwhelming majority of research and development for storage site monitoring has been concentrated on atmospheric, surface or near surface monitoring of the sequestered CO 2 . This study aims to monitor themore » integrity of CO 2 storage at the reservoir level. This work proposes developing in-situ CO 2 Monitoring and Verification technology based on the implementation of Permanent Down-hole Gauges (PDG) or “Smart Wells” along with Artificial Intelligence and Data Mining (AI&DM). The technology attempts to identify the characteristics of the CO 2 leakage by de-convolving the pressure signals collected from Permanent Down-hole Gauges (PDG). Citronelle field, a saline aquifer reservoir, located in the U.S. was considered as the basis for this study. A reservoir simulation model for CO 2 sequestration in the Citronelle field was developed and history matched. PDGs were installed, and therefore were considered in the numerical model, at the injection well and an observation well. Upon completion of the history matching process, high frequency pressure data from PDGs were generated using the history matched numerical model using different CO 2 leakage scenarios. Since pressure signal behaviors were too complicated to de-convolute using any existing mathematical formulations, a Machine Learning-based technology was introduced for this purpose. An Intelligent Leakage Detection System (ILDS) was developed as the result of this effort using the machine learning and pattern recognition technologies. The ILDS is able to detect leakage characteristics in a short period of time (less than a day from its occurrence) demonstrating the capability of the system in quantifying leakage characteristics subject to complex rate behaviors. The performance of ILDS is examined under different conditions such as multiple well leakages, cap rock leakage, availability of an additional monitoring well, presence of pressure drift and noise in the pressure sensor and uncertainty in the reservoir model.« less

Time evolution of linearized gauge field fluctuations on a real-time lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurkela, A.; Lappi, T.; Peuron, J.

2016-12-01

Classical real-time lattice simulations play an important role in understanding non-equilibrium phenomena in gauge theories and are used in particular to model the prethermal evolution of heavy-ion collisions. Due to instabilities, small quantum fluctuations on top of the classical background may significantly affect the dynamics of the system. In this paper we argue for the need for a numerical calculation of a system of classical gauge fields and small linearized fluctuations in a way that keeps the separation between the two manifest. We derive and test an explicit algorithm to solve these equations on the lattice, maintaining gauge invariance and Gauss' law.

Fatigue evaluation for Tsing Ma Bridge using structural health monitoring data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Hung-tin Tommy; Ko, Jan Ming; Li, Zhao-Xia

2001-08-01

Fatigue assessment for the Tsing Ma Bridge (TMB) are presented based on the British standard BS5400 and the real-time structural health monitoring data under railway loading. TMB, as an essential portion of transport network for the Hong Kong airport, is the longest suspension bridge in the world carrying both highway and railway traffic. The bridge design has been mainly based on BS5400. A structural health monitoring system - Wind and Structural Health Monitoring System (WASHMS) for TMB has been operated since the bridge commissioning in May 1997. In order to assess the fatigue behavior of TMB under railway loading, strain gauges were installed on the bridge deck to measure the strain-time histories as soon as the bridge is loaded by a standard railway loading due to the service of an actual train. The strain-time history data at the critical members are then used to determine the stress spectrum, of which the rainflow method recommended for railway bridges by BS5400 is applied to count cycles of stress range. Miner's law is employed to evaluate fatigue damage and remaining service life of the bridge. The evaluated results of fatigue damage and remaining service life would help us to well understand about the fatigue design of the bridge and status in fatigue accumulation.

Interacting Non-Abelian Anti-Symmetric Tensor Field Theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ekambaram, K.; Vytheeswaran, A. S.

2018-04-01

Non-Abelian Anti-symmetric Tensor fields interacting with vector fields have a complicated constraint structure. We enlarge the gauge invariance in this system. Relevant gauge invariant quantities including the Hamiltonian are obtained. We also make introductory remarks on a different but more complicated gauge theory.

46 CFR 39.20-3 - Cargo gauging system-TB/ALL.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cargo gauging system-TB/ALL. 39.20-3 Section 39.20-3 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TANK VESSELS VAPOR CONTROL SYSTEMS Design and... control areas on the tank barge. ...

46 CFR 39.20-3 - Cargo gauging system-TB/ALL.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Cargo gauging system-TB/ALL. 39.20-3 Section 39.20-3 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TANK VESSELS VAPOR CONTROL SYSTEMS Design and... control areas on the tank barge. ...

46 CFR 39.20-3 - Cargo gauging system-TB/ALL.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Cargo gauging system-TB/ALL. 39.20-3 Section 39.20-3 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TANK VESSELS VAPOR CONTROL SYSTEMS Design and... control areas on the tank barge. ...

Dynamical gauge effects in an open quantum network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jianshi; Price, Craig; Liu, Qi; Gemelke, Nathan

2016-05-01

We describe new experimental techniques for simulation of high-energy field theories based on an analogy between open thermodynamic systems and effective dynamical gauge-fields following SU(2) × U(1) Yang-Mills models. By coupling near-resonant laser-modes to atoms moving in a disordered optical environment, we create an open system which exhibits a non-equilibrium phase transition between two steady-state behaviors, exhibiting scale-invariant behavior near the transition. By measuring transport of atoms through the disordered network, we observe two distinct scaling behaviors, corresponding to the classical and quantum limits for the dynamical gauge field. This behavior is loosely analogous to dynamical gauge effects in quantum chromodynamics, and can mapped onto generalized open problems in theoretical understanding of quantized non-Abelian gauge theories. Additional, the scaling behavior can be understood from the geometric structure of the gauge potential and linked to the measure of information in the local disordered potential, reflecting an underlying holographic principle. We acknowledge support from NSF Award No.1068570, and the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation.

Autonomous Multi-sensor Coordination: The Science Goal Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koratkar, Anuradha; Jung, John; Geiger, Jenny; Grosvenor, Sandy

2004-01-01

Next-generation science and exploration systems will employ new observation strategies that will use multiple sensors in a dynamic environment to provide high quality monitoring, self-consistent analyses and informed decision making. The Science Goal Monitor (SGM) is a prototype software tool being developed to explore the nature of automation necessary to enable dynamic observing of earth phenomenon. The tools being developed in SGM improve our ability to autonomously monitor multiple independent sensors and coordinate reactions to better observe the dynamic phenomena. The SGM system enables users to specify events of interest and how to react when an event is detected. The system monitors streams of data to identify occurrences of the key events previously specified by the scientist/user. When an event occurs, the system autonomously coordinates the execution of the users desired reactions between different sensors. The information can be used to rapidly respond to a variety of fast temporal events. Investigators will no longer have to rely on after-the-fact data analysis to determine what happened. Our paper describes a series of prototype demonstrations that we have developed using SGM and NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite and Earth Observing Systems Aqua/Terra spacecrafts MODIS instrument. Our demonstrations show the promise of coordinating data from different sources, analyzing the data for a relevant event, autonomously updating and rapidly obtaining a follow-on relevant image. SGM is being used to investigate forest fires, floods and volcanic eruptions. We are now identifying new earth science scenarios that will have more complex SGM reasoning. By developing and testing a prototype in an operational environment, we are also establishing and gathering metrics to gauge the success of automating science campaigns.

Surface flow observations from a gauge-cam station on the Tiber river

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tauro, Flavia; Porfiri, Maurizio; Petroselli, Andrea; Grimaldi, Salvatore

2016-04-01

Understanding the kinematic organization of natural water bodies is central to hydrology and environmental engineering practice. Reliable and continuous flow observations are essential to comprehend flood generation and propagation mechanisms, erosion dynamics, sediment transport, and drainage network evolution. In engineering practice, flood warning systems largely rely on real-time discharge measurements, and flow velocity monitoring is important for the design and management of hydraulic structures, such as reservoirs and hydropower plants. Traditionally, gauging stations have been equipped with water level meters, and stage-discharge relationships (rating curves) have been established through few direct discharge measurements. Only in rare instances, monitoring stations have integrated radar technology for local measurement of surface flow velocity. Establishing accurate rating curves depends on the availability of a comprehensive range of discharge values, including measurements recorded during extreme events. However, discharge values during high-flow events are often difficult or even impossible to obtain, thereby hampering the reliability of discharge predictions. Fully remote observations have been enabled in the past ten years through optics-based velocimetry techniques. Such methodologies enable the estimation of the surface flow velocity field over extended regions from the motion of naturally occurring debris or floaters dragged by the current. Resting on the potential demonstrated by such approaches, here, we present a novel permanent gauge-cam station for the observation of the flow velocity field in the Tiber river. This new station captures one-minute videos every 10 minutes over an area of up to 20.6 × 15.5m2. In a feasibility study, we demonstrate that experimental images analyzed via particle tracking velocimetry and particle image velocimetry can be used to obtain accurate surface flow velocity estimations in close agreement with radar records. Future efforts will be devoted to the development of a comprehensive testbed infrastructure for investigating the potential of multiple optics-based approaches for surface hydrology.

MMS Observatory Thermal Vacuum Results Contamination Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosecrans, Glenn P.; Errigo, Therese; Brieda, Lubos

2014-01-01

The MMS mission is a constellation of 4 observatories designed to investigate the fundamental plasma physics of reconnection in the Earths magnetosphere. Each spacecraft has undergone extensive environmental testing to prepare it for its minimum 2 year mission. The various instrument suites measure electric and magnetic fields, energetic particles, and plasma composition. Thermal vacuum testing was conducted at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in their Big Blue vacuum chamber. The individual spacecraft were tested and enclosed in a cryopanel enclosure called a Hamster cage. Specific contamination control validations were actively monitored by several QCMs, a facility RGA, and at times, with 16 Ion Gauges. Each spacecraft underwent a bakeout phase, followed by 4 thermal cycles. Unique aspects of the TV environment included slow pump downs with represses, thruster firings, Helium identification, and monitoring pressure spikes with Ion gauges. Various data from these TV tests will be shown along with lessons learned.

Graphite nanoplatelet enabled embeddable fiber sensor for in situ curing monitoring and structural health monitoring of polymeric composites.

PubMed

Luo, Sida; Liu, Tao

2014-06-25

A graphite nanoplatelet (GNP) thin film enabled 1D fiber sensor (GNP-FibSen) was fabricated by a continuous roll-to-roll spray coating process, characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy and evaluated by coupled electrical-mechanical tensile testing. The neat GNP-FibSen sensor shows very high gauge sensitivity with a gauge factor of ∼17. By embedding the sensor in fiberglass prepreg laminate parts, the dual functionalities of the GNP-FibSen sensor were demonstrated. In the manufacturing process, the resistance change of the embedded sensor provides valuable local resin curing information. After the manufacturing process, the same sensor is able to map the strain/stress states and detect the failure of the host composite. The superior durability of the embedded GNP-FibSen sensor has been demonstrated through 10,000 cycles of coupled electromechanical tests.

Wind turbine blade fatigue tests: lessons learned and application to SHM system development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taylor, Stuart G.; Farinholt, Kevin M.; Jeong, Hyomi

2012-06-28

This paper presents experimental results of several structural health monitoring (SHM) methods applied to a 9-meter CX-100 wind turbine blade that underwent fatigue loading. The blade was instrumented with piezoelectric transducers, accelerometers, acoustic emission sensors, and foil strain gauges. It underwent harmonic excitation at its first natural frequency using a hydraulically actuated resonant excitation system. The blade was initially excited at 25% of its design load, and then with steadily increasing loads until it failed. Various data were collected between and during fatigue loading sessions. The data were measured over multiple frequency ranges using a variety of acquisition equipment, includingmore » off-the-shelf systems and specially designed hardware developed by the authors. Modal response, diffuse wave-field transfer functions, and ultrasonic guided wave methods were applied to assess the condition of the wind turbine blade. The piezoelectric sensors themselves were also monitored using a sensor diagnostics procedure. This paper summarizes experimental procedures and results, focusing particularly on fatigue crack detection, and concludes with considerations for implementing such damage identification systems, which will be used as a guideline for future SHM system development for operating wind turbine blades.« less

MOSES Support Platform

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-02-01

drain with collector • Final pressure switch with gauge and automatic shut- off • (2) Hour meter • Oil filled finel pressure gauge 0~400bar/5800psi...Automatic condensate drain system Final pressure switch with gauge and automatic shut-off (2) Hour meter, (2) On/Off Switch Filling Connection Four

A High Performance Torque Sensor for Milling Based on a Piezoresistive MEMS Strain Gauge

PubMed Central

Qin, Yafei; Zhao, Yulong; Li, Yingxue; Zhao, You; Wang, Peng

2016-01-01

In high speed and high precision machining applications, it is important to monitor the machining process in order to ensure high product quality. For this purpose, it is essential to develop a dynamometer with high sensitivity and high natural frequency which is suited to these conditions. This paper describes the design, calibration and performance of a milling torque sensor based on piezoresistive MEMS strain. A detailed design study is carried out to optimize the two mutually-contradictory indicators sensitivity and natural frequency. The developed torque sensor principally consists of a thin-walled cylinder, and a piezoresistive MEMS strain gauge bonded on the surface of the sensing element where the shear strain is maximum. The strain gauge includes eight piezoresistances and four are connected in a full Wheatstone circuit bridge, which is used to measure the applied torque force during machining procedures. Experimental static calibration results show that the sensitivity of torque sensor has been improved to 0.13 mv/Nm. A modal impact test indicates that the natural frequency of torque sensor reaches 1216 Hz, which is suitable for high speed machining processes. The dynamic test results indicate that the developed torque sensor is stable and practical for monitoring the milling process. PMID:27070620

A Low-Cost, Reliable, High-Throughput System for Rodent Behavioral Phenotyping in a Home Cage Environment

PubMed Central

Parkison, Steven A.; Carlson, Jay D.; Chaudoin, Tammy R.; Hoke, Traci A.; Schenk, A. Katrin; Goulding, Evan H.; Pérez, Lance C.; Bonasera, Stephen J.

2016-01-01

Inexpensive, high-throughput, low maintenance systems for precise temporal and spatial measurement of mouse home cage behavior (including movement, feeding, and drinking) are required to evaluate products from large scale pharmaceutical design and genetic lesion programs. These measurements are also required to interpret results from more focused behavioral assays. We describe the design and validation of a highly-scalable, reliable mouse home cage behavioral monitoring system modeled on a previously described, one-of-a-kind system [1]. Mouse position was determined by solving static equilibrium equations describing the force and torques acting on the system strain gauges; feeding events were detected by a photobeam across the food hopper, and drinking events were detected by a capacitive lick sensor. Validation studies show excellent agreement between mouse position and drinking events measured by the system compared with video-based observation – a gold standard in neuroscience. PMID:23366406

Characteristic classes of gauge systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyakhovich, S. L.; Sharapov, A. A.

2004-12-01

We define and study invariants which can be uniformly constructed for any gauge system. By a gauge system we understand an (anti-)Poisson supermanifold provided with an odd Hamiltonian self-commuting vector field called a homological vector field. This definition encompasses all the cases usually included into the notion of a gauge theory in physics as well as some other similar (but different) structures like Lie or Courant algebroids. For Lagrangian gauge theories or Hamiltonian first class constrained systems, the homological vector field is identified with the classical BRST transformation operator. We define characteristic classes of a gauge system as universal cohomology classes of the homological vector field, which are uniformly constructed in terms of this vector field itself. Not striving to exhaustively classify all the characteristic classes in this work, we compute those invariants which are built up in terms of the first derivatives of the homological vector field. We also consider the cohomological operations in the space of all the characteristic classes. In particular, we show that the (anti-)Poisson bracket becomes trivial when applied to the space of all the characteristic classes, instead the latter space can be endowed with another Lie bracket operation. Making use of this Lie bracket one can generate new characteristic classes involving higher derivatives of the homological vector field. The simplest characteristic classes are illustrated by the examples relating them to anomalies in the traditional BV or BFV-BRST theory and to characteristic classes of (singular) foliations.

Visual Sensing for Urban Flood Monitoring

PubMed Central

Lo, Shi-Wei; Wu, Jyh-Horng; Lin, Fang-Pang; Hsu, Ching-Han

2015-01-01

With the increasing climatic extremes, the frequency and severity of urban flood events have intensified worldwide. In this study, image-based automated monitoring of flood formation and analyses of water level fluctuation were proposed as value-added intelligent sensing applications to turn a passive monitoring camera into a visual sensor. Combined with the proposed visual sensing method, traditional hydrological monitoring cameras have the ability to sense and analyze the local situation of flood events. This can solve the current problem that image-based flood monitoring heavily relies on continuous manned monitoring. Conventional sensing networks can only offer one-dimensional physical parameters measured by gauge sensors, whereas visual sensors can acquire dynamic image information of monitored sites and provide disaster prevention agencies with actual field information for decision-making to relieve flood hazards. The visual sensing method established in this study provides spatiotemporal information that can be used for automated remote analysis for monitoring urban floods. This paper focuses on the determination of flood formation based on image-processing techniques. The experimental results suggest that the visual sensing approach may be a reliable way for determining the water fluctuation and measuring its elevation and flood intrusion with respect to real-world coordinates. The performance of the proposed method has been confirmed; it has the capability to monitor and analyze the flood status, and therefore, it can serve as an active flood warning system. PMID:26287201

Application of Multiplexed FBG and PZT Impedance Sensors for Health Monitoring of Rocks.

PubMed

Yang, Yaowen; Annamdas, Venu Gopal Madhav; Wang, Chao; Zhou, Yingxin

2008-01-21

Reliable structural health monitoring (SHM) including nondestructiveevaluation (NDE) is essential for safe operation of infrastructure systems. Effectivemonitoring of the rock components of civil infrastructures such as tunnels and cavernsremains challenging. The feasibility of employing smart optical fibre sensor (OFS) andpiezoelectric impedance sensor made up of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) forcomprehensive health monitoring of rocks, covering load history monitoring/retrieval aswell as damage assessment is presented in this paper. The rock specimens are subjected tocyclic loading and their conditions are continuously monitored using OFS and PZTsensors. OFS based multiplexed fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are surface bonded onthe rock specimens. Their strain sensing performance is compared with the conventionalelectric strain gauges (ESGs). In addition, PZT patches are also bonded on the specimensto study the damage pattern during different loading cycles. Unlike the FBGs or ESGs,PZT patches are used as bi-functional sensors and actuators, enabling them to be efficientdetectors of incipient damages using the principle of electromechanical impedance. Theexperimental study demonstrated superior performance of these smart FBG and PZTimpedance sensors. This work is expected to be useful for SHM based NDE application ofrock structures such as caverns and tunnels.

GEECS (Generalized Equipment and Experiment Control System)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

GONSALVES, ANTHONY; DESHMUKH, AALHAD

2017-01-12

GEECS (Generalized Equipment and Experiment Control System) monitors and controls equipment distributed across a network, performs experiments by scanning input variables, and collects and stores various types of data synchronously from devices. Examples of devices include cameras, motors and pressure gauges. GEEKS is based upon LabView graphical object oriented programming (GOOP), allowing for a modular and scalable framework. Data is published for subscription of an arbitrary number of variables over TCP. A secondary framework allows easy development of graphical user interfaces for a combined control of any available devices on the control system without the need of programming knowledge. Thismore » allows for rapid integration of GEECS into a wide variety of systems. A database interface provides for devise and process configuration while allowing the user to save large quantities of data to local or network drives.« less

46 CFR 154.530 - Valves: Cargo tank MARVS 69 kPa gauge (10 psig) or lower.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Valves: Cargo tank MARVS 69 kPa gauge (10 psig) or lower..., Construction and Equipment Cargo and Process Piping Systems § 154.530 Valves: Cargo tank MARVS 69 kPa gauge (10... a MARVS of 69 kPa gauge (10 psig) or lower must have shut-off valves that— (1) Are located as close...

Design of a Sensor System for On-Line Monitoring of Contact Pressure in Chalcographic Printing.

PubMed

Jiménez, José Antonio; Meca, Francisco Javier; Santiso, Enrique; Martín, Pedro

2017-09-05

Chalcographic printer is the name given to a specific type of press which is used to transfer the printing of a metal-based engraved plate onto paper. The printing system consists of two rollers for pressing and carrying a metal plate onto which an engraved inked plate is placed. When the driving mechanism is operated, the pressure exerted by the rollers, also called contact pressure, allows the engraved image to be transferred into paper, thereby obtaining the final image. With the aim of ensuring the quality of the result, in terms of good and even transfer of ink, the contact pressure must be uniform. Nowadays, the strategies utilized to measure the pressure are implemented off-line, i.e., when the press machines are shut down for maintenance, which poses limitations. This paper proposes a novel sensor system aimed at monitoring the pressure exerted by the rollers on the engraved plate while chalcographic printer is operating, i.e., on-line. The purpose is two-fold: firstly, real-time monitoring reduces the number of breakdown repairs required, reduces machine downtime and reduces the number of low-quality engravings, which increases productivity and revenues; and secondly, the on-line monitoring and register of the process parameters allows the printing process to be reproducible even with changes in the environmental conditions or other factors such as the wear of the parts that constitute the mechanical system and a change in the dimensions of the printing materials. The proposed system consists of a strain gauge-based load cell and conditioning electronics to sense and treat the signals.

Developing a flood monitoring system from remotely sensed data for the Limpopo basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Asante, K.O.; Macuacua, R.D.; Artan, G.A.; Lietzow, R.W.; Verdin, J.P.

2007-01-01

This paper describes the application of remotely sensed precipitation to the monitoring of floods in a region that regularly experiences extreme precipitation and flood events, often associated with cyclonic systems. Precipitation data, which are derived from spaceborne radar aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's infrared-based products, are used to monitor areas experiencing extreme precipitation events that are defined as exceedance of a daily mean areal average value of 50 mm over a catchment. The remotely sensed precipitation data are also ingested into a hydrologic model that is parameterized using spatially distributed elevation, soil, and land cover data sets that are available globally from remote sensing and in situ sources. The resulting stream-flow is classified as an extreme flood event when flow anomalies exceed 1.5 standard deviations above the short-term mean. In an application in the Limpopo basin, it is demonstrated that the use of satellite-derived precipitation allows for the identification of extreme precipitation and flood events, both in terms of relative intensity and spatial extent. The system is used by water authorities in Mozambique to proactively initiate independent flood hazard verification before generating flood warnings. The system also serves as a supplementary information source when in situ gauging systems are disrupted. This paper concludes that remotely sensed precipitation and derived products greatly enhance the ability of water managers in the Limpopo basin to monitor extreme flood events and provide at-risk communities with early warning information. ?? 2007 IEEE.

Design of a Sensor System for On-Line Monitoring of Contact Pressure in Chalcographic Printing

PubMed Central

Jiménez, José Antonio; Meca, Francisco Javier; Santiso, Enrique; Martín, Pedro

2017-01-01

Chalcographic printer is the name given to a specific type of press which is used to transfer the printing of a metal-based engraved plate onto paper. The printing system consists of two rollers for pressing and carrying a metal plate onto which an engraved inked plate is placed. When the driving mechanism is operated, the pressure exerted by the rollers, also called contact pressure, allows the engraved image to be transferred into paper, thereby obtaining the final image. With the aim of ensuring the quality of the result, in terms of good and even transfer of ink, the contact pressure must be uniform. Nowadays, the strategies utilized to measure the pressure are implemented off-line, i.e., when the press machines are shut down for maintenance, which poses limitations. This paper proposes a novel sensor system aimed at monitoring the pressure exerted by the rollers on the engraved plate while chalcographic printer is operating, i.e., on-line. The purpose is two-fold: firstly, real-time monitoring reduces the number of breakdown repairs required, reduces machine downtime and reduces the number of low-quality engravings, which increases productivity and revenues; and secondly, the on-line monitoring and register of the process parameters allows the printing process to be reproducible even with changes in the environmental conditions or other factors such as the wear of the parts that constitute the mechanical system and a change in the dimensions of the printing materials. The proposed system consists of a strain gauge-based load cell and conditioning electronics to sense and treat the signals. PMID:28872583

Field-antifield and BFV formalisms for quadratic systems with open gauge algebras

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nirov, K.S.; Razumov, A.V.

1992-09-20

In this paper the Lagrangian field-antifield (BV) and Hamiltonian (BFV) BRST formalisms for the general quadratic systems with open gauge algebra are considered. The equivalence between the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms is proven.

7. Exterior view, showing instrumentation and gauge panel at the ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

7. Exterior view, showing instrumentation and gauge panel at the walk-in entry level (bottom) of Test Cell 6, Systems Integration Laboratory Building (T-28), looking west. - Air Force Plant PJKS, Systems Integration Laboratory, Systems Integration Laboratory Building, Waterton Canyon Road & Colorado Highway 121, Lakewood, Jefferson County, CO

Real-Time Global Flood Estimation Using Satellite-Based Precipitation and a Coupled Land Surface and Routing Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Huan; Adler, Robert F.; Tian, Yudong; Huffman, George J.; Li, Hongyi; Wang, JianJian

2014-01-01

A widely used land surface model, the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model, is coupled with a newly developed hierarchical dominant river tracing-based runoff-routing model to form the Dominant river tracing-Routing Integrated with VIC Environment (DRIVE) model, which serves as the new core of the real-time Global Flood Monitoring System (GFMS). The GFMS uses real-time satellite-based precipitation to derive flood monitoring parameters for the latitude band 50 deg. N - 50 deg. S at relatively high spatial (approximately 12 km) and temporal (3 hourly) resolution. Examples of model results for recent flood events are computed using the real-time GFMS (http://flood.umd.edu). To evaluate the accuracy of the new GFMS, the DRIVE model is run retrospectively for 15 years using both research-quality and real-time satellite precipitation products. Evaluation results are slightly better for the research-quality input and significantly better for longer duration events (3 day events versus 1 day events). Basins with fewer dams tend to provide lower false alarm ratios. For events longer than three days in areas with few dams, the probability of detection is approximately 0.9 and the false alarm ratio is approximately 0.6. In general, these statistical results are better than those of the previous system. Streamflow was evaluated at 1121 river gauges across the quasi-global domain. Validation using real-time precipitation across the tropics (30 deg. S - 30 deg. N) gives positive daily Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficients for 107 out of 375 (28%) stations with a mean of 0.19 and 51% of the same gauges at monthly scale with a mean of 0.33. There were poorer results in higher latitudes, probably due to larger errors in the satellite precipitation input.

Real-time global flood estimation using satellite-based precipitation and a coupled land surface and routing model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Huan; Adler, Robert F.; Tian, Yudong

2014-03-01

A widely used land surface model, the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model, is coupled with a newly developed hierarchical dominant river tracing-based runoff-routing model to form the Dominant river tracing-Routing Integrated with VIC Environment (DRIVE) model, which serves as the new core of the real-time Global Flood Monitoring System (GFMS). The GFMS uses real-time satellite-based precipitation to derive flood monitoring parameters for the latitude band 50°N–50°S at relatively high spatial (~12 km) and temporal (3 hourly) resolution. Examples of model results for recent flood events are computed using the real-time GFMS (http://flood.umd.edu). To evaluate the accuracy of the new GFMS,more » the DRIVE model is run retrospectively for 15 years using both research-quality and real-time satellite precipitation products. Evaluation results are slightly better for the research-quality input and significantly better for longer duration events (3 day events versus 1 day events). Basins with fewer dams tend to provide lower false alarm ratios. For events longer than three days in areas with few dams, the probability of detection is ~0.9 and the false alarm ratio is ~0.6. In general, these statistical results are better than those of the previous system. Streamflow was evaluated at 1121 river gauges across the quasi-global domain. Validation using real-time precipitation across the tropics (30°S–30°N) gives positive daily Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficients for 107 out of 375 (28%) stations with a mean of 0.19 and 51% of the same gauges at monthly scale with a mean of 0.33. Finally, there were poorer results in higher latitudes, probably due to larger errors in the satellite precipitation input.« less

Azimuth selection for sea level measurements using geodetic GPS receivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaolei; Zhang, Qin; Zhang, Shuangcheng

2018-03-01

Based on analysis of Global Positioning System (GPS) multipath signals recorded by a geodetic GPS receiver, GPS Reflectometry (GPS-R) has demonstrated unique advantages in relation to sea level monitoring. Founded on multipath reflectometry theory, sea level changes can be measured by GPS-R through spectral analysis of recorded signal-to-noise ratio data. However, prior to estimating multipath parameters, it is necessary to define azimuth and elevation angle mask to ensure the reflecting zones are on water. Here, a method is presented to address azimuth selection, a topic currently under active development in the field of GPS-R. Data from three test sites: the Kachemak Bay GPS site PBAY in Alaska (USA), Friday Harbor GPS site SC02 in the San Juan Islands (USA), and Brest Harbor GPS site BRST in Brest (France) are analyzed. These sites are located in different multipath environments, from a rural coastal area to a busy harbor, and they experience different tidal ranges. Estimates by the GPS tide gauges at azimuths selected by the presented method are compared with measurements from physical tide gauges and acceptable correspondence found for all three sites.

Instrumentation, digital image correlation, and modeling to monitor bridge behavior and condition assessment.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-01

Bridge managers have historically relied on visual inspection reports and field observation, including : photographs, to assess bridge health. The inclusion of instrumentation, including strain gauges, along : with a structural model can enhance brid...

Monitoring runoff and nutrient transport in the coastal zone of a Danish lowland river

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ovesen, N. B.; Windolf, J.; Kronvang, B.

2012-04-01

Denmark has a very long coastline compared to its total area, and therefore large parts of the lower river reaches are influenced by tidal and coastal backwater effects. In general the gradients of these lowland rivers are very low, and furthermore thousands of small watercourses are flowing directly to the sea along the coastline. This situation makes it impossible to gauge the runoff to many fjords and marine inland waters utilizing traditional monitoring techniques, and consequently, even though Denmark is covered with several hundreds of gauging stations, only 50 percent of the country is gauged. Models are today used to estimate the total runoff and loads of nutrients to coastal waters. One of the major problems in the calibration of the models is however, the lacking of data from the lower part of rivers influenced by tidal and coastal backwater. In order to investigate the possibilities of improving the Danish gauging network and to test the models used for runoff estimation in the ungauged areas, a new monitoring station was established in the summer of 2011 in the River Skjern very close to the outlet in Ringkobing Fjord at the west coast of Jutland. The hydraulic conditions are here affected by tidal and backwater effects and the nutrient transport may be influenced by stratified flow conditions. The catchment area to the new station is 2455 km2, and the width of the channel is 70-80meters. The velocity distribution is measured in the profile by both horizontal and vertical multi cell Doppler sensors. Conductivity (salinity), turbidity and water temperature are measured by sensors in 2 levels, near bottom and in the upper part of the depth profile. Time integrated water samples are collected also in 2 levels with a 2 hour interval and analyzed for total nitrogen, nitrate, ammonium, total phosphorous, and phosphate. The wind speed and direction is registered at the station. The preliminary results show a strong correlation between the water velocities and the wind especially during the winter storms coming mainly from the vest and northwest. Also the nutrient concentrations and the suspended sediments are changing heavily during and following the storm events, and stratification and intrusion of brackish water from the fjord is registered. Data from the new monitoring station and the model outputs will be compared and evaluated.

Olympus propagation studies in the US: Receiver development and the data acquisition system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckeeman, John C.

1990-01-01

Virginia Tech has developed two types of receivers to monitor the Olympus beacons, as well as a custom data acquisition system to store and display propagation data. Each of the receiver designs uses new hybrid analog/digital techniques. The data acquisition system uses a stand alone processor to collect and format the data for display and subsequent processing. The launch of the Olympus satellite with its coherent beacons offers new opportunities to study propagation effects at 12.5, 20, and 30 GHz. At Virginia Tech, the satellite is at 14 degrees in elevation, which allows us to measure low elevation angle effects. However, to make these measurements, a very accurate and stable measurement system is required. Virginia Tech has constructed a complex receiving system which monitors the Olympus beacons and all parameters associated with propagation research. In the current configuration, researchers have developed a receiver which frequency locks to the less fade susceptible 12.5 GHz beacon. Since all beacons on the satellite are driven from a single master oscillator, drift in the 12.5 GHz beacon implies corresponding drifts in the 20, and 30 GHz beacons. The receivers for the 20 and 30 GHz systems derive their frequency locking information from the 12.5 GHz system. This widens the dynamic range of the receivers and allows the receivers to maintain lock in severe fade conditions. In addition to monitoring the beacons, the sky noise is monitored with radiometers at each frequency. The radiometer output is used to set the clear air level for each beacon measurement. Researchers also measure the rain rate with several tipping bucket rain gauges placed along the propagation path.

Reference Gauging System for a Small-Scale Liquid Hydrogen Tank

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanDresar, Neil T.; Siegwarth, James D.

2003-01-01

A system to accurately weigh the fluid contents of a small-scale liquid hydrogen test tank has been experimentally verified. It is intended for use as a reference or benchmark system when testing lowgravity liquid quantity gauging concepts in the terrestrial environment. The reference gauging system has shown a repeatable measurement accuracy of better than 0.5 percent of the full tank liquid weight. With further refinement, the system accuracy can be improved to within 0.10 percent of full scale. This report describes the weighing system design, calibration, and operational results. Suggestions are given for further refinement of the system. An example is given to illustrate additional sources of uncertainty when mass measurements are converted to volume equivalents. Specifications of the companion test tank and its multi-layer insulation system are provided.

Artificial Gauge Fields for Ultracold Neutral Atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jimenez-Garcia, Karina

2013-05-01

Ultracold atoms are a versatile probe for physics at the core of the most intriguing and fascinating systems in the quantum world. Due to the high degree of experimental control offered by such systems, effective Hamiltonians can be designed and experimentally implemented on them. This unique feature makes ultracold atom systems ideal for quantum simulation of complex phenomena as important as high-temperature superconductivity, and recently of novel artificial gauge fields. Suitably designed artificial gauge fields allow neutral particles to experience synthetic- electric or magnetic fields; furthermore, their generalization to matrix valued gauge fields leads to spin-orbit coupling featuring unprecedented control in contrast to ordinary condensed matter systems, thus allowing the characterization of the underlying mechanism of phenomena such as the spin Hall effect and topological insulators. In this talk, I will present an overview of our experiments on quantum simulation with ultracold atom systems by focusing on the realization of light induced artificial gauge fields. We illuminate our Bose-Einstein condensates with a pair of far detuned ``Raman'' lasers, thus creating dressed states that are spin and momentum superpositions. We adiabatically load the atoms into the lowest energy dressed state, where they acquire an experimentally-tunable effective dispersion relation, i.e. we introduce gauge terms into the Hamiltonian. We control such light-induced gauge terms via the strength of the Raman coupling and the detuning from Raman resonance. Our experimental techniques for ultracold bosons have surpassed the apparent limitations imposed by their neutral charge, bosonic nature, and ultra-low energy and have allowed the observation of these new and exciting phenomena. Future work might allow the realization of the bosonic quantum Hall effect, of topological insulators and of systems supporting Majorana fermions using cold atoms. This work was partially supported by the ONR; the ARO with funds from the DARPA OLE program; the Atomtronics MURI; and the NSF through the PFC at the JQI. I acknowledge the support from CONACYT.

2d affine XY-spin model/4d gauge theory duality and deconfinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anber, Mohamed M.; Poppitz, Erich; Ünsal, Mithat

2012-04-01

We introduce a duality between two-dimensional XY-spin models with symmetry-breaking perturbations and certain four-dimensional SU(2) and SU(2)/ {{Z}_2} gauge theories, compactified on a small spatial circle {{R}^{{^{{{1},{2}}}}}} × {{S}^{{^{{1}}}}} , and considered at temperatures near the deconfinement transition. In a Euclidean set up, the theory is defined on {{R}^{{^{{2}}}}} × {{T}^{{^{{2}}}}} . Similarly, thermal gauge theories of higher rank are dual to new families of "affine" XY-spin models with perturbations. For rank two, these are related to models used to describe the melting of a 2d crystal with a triangular lattice. The connection is made through a multi-component electric-magnetic Coulomb gas representation for both systems. Perturbations in the spin system map to topological defects in the gauge theory, such as monopole-instantons or magnetic bions, and the vortices in the spin system map to the electrically charged W-bosons in field theory (or vice versa, depending on the duality frame). The duality permits one to use the two-dimensional technology of spin systems to study the thermal deconfinement and discrete chiral transitions in four-dimensional SU( N c ) gauge theories with n f ≥1 adjoint Weyl fermions.

Decorated tensor network renormalization for lattice gauge theories and spin foam models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittrich, Bianca; Mizera, Sebastian; Steinhaus, Sebastian

2016-05-01

Tensor network techniques have proved to be powerful tools that can be employed to explore the large scale dynamics of lattice systems. Nonetheless, the redundancy of degrees of freedom in lattice gauge theories (and related models) poses a challenge for standard tensor network algorithms. We accommodate for such systems by introducing an additional structure decorating the tensor network. This allows to explicitly preserve the gauge symmetry of the system under coarse graining and straightforwardly interpret the fixed point tensors. We propose and test (for models with finite Abelian groups) a coarse graining algorithm for lattice gauge theories based on decorated tensor networks. We also point out that decorated tensor networks are applicable to other models as well, where they provide the advantage to give immediate access to certain expectation values and correlation functions.

Gauge Factor and Stretchability of Silicon-on-Polymer Strain Gauges

PubMed Central

Yang, Shixuan; Lu, Nanshu

2013-01-01

Strain gauges are widely applied to measure mechanical deformation of structures and specimens. While metallic foil gauges usually have a gauge factor slightly over 2, single crystalline silicon demonstrates intrinsic gauge factors as high as 200. Although silicon is an intrinsically stiff and brittle material, flexible and even stretchable strain gauges have been achieved by integrating thin silicon strips on soft and deformable polymer substrates. To achieve a fundamental understanding of the large variance in gauge factor and stretchability of reported flexible/stretchable silicon-on-polymer strain gauges, finite element and analytically models are established to reveal the effects of the length of the silicon strip, and the thickness and modulus of the polymer substrate. Analytical results for two limiting cases, i.e., infinitely thick substrate and infinitely long strip, have found good agreement with FEM results. We have discovered that strains in silicon resistor can vary by orders of magnitude with different substrate materials whereas strip length or substrate thickness only affects the strain level mildly. While the average strain in silicon reflects the gauge factor, the maximum strain in silicon governs the stretchability of the system. The tradeoff between gauge factor and stretchability of silicon-on-polymer strain gauges has been proposed and discussed. PMID:23881128

System-wide versus component-specific trust using multiple aids.

PubMed

Keller, David; Rice, Stephen

2010-01-01

Previous research in operator trust toward automated aids has focused primarily on single aids. The current study focuses on how operator trust is affected by the presence of multiple aids. Two competing theories of multiple-trust are presented. A component-specific trust theory predicts that operators will differentially place their trust in automated aids that vary in reliability. A system-wide trust theory predicts that operators will treat multiple imperfect aids as one "system" and merge their trust across aids despite differences in the aids' reliability. A simulated flight task was used to test these theories, whereby operators performed a pursuit tracking task while concurrently monitoring multiple system gauges that were augmented with perfect or imperfect automated aids. The data revealed that a system-wide trust theory best predicted the data; operators merged their trust across both aids, behaving toward a perfectly reliable aid in the same manner as they did towards unreliable aids.

Performance analysis of a new hypersonic vitrector system.

PubMed

Stanga, Paulo Eduardo; Pastor-Idoate, Salvador; Zambrano, Isaac; Carlin, Paul; McLeod, David

2017-01-01

To evaluate porcine vitreous flow and water flow rates in a new prototype hypersonic vitrectomy system compared to currently available pneumatic guillotine vitrectors (GVs) systems. Two vitrectors were tested, a prototype, ultrasound-powered, hypersonic vitrector (HV) and a GV. Porcine vitreous was obtained within 12 to 24 h of sacrifice and kept at 4°C. A vial of vitreous or water was placed on a precision balance and its weight measured before and after the use of each vitrector. Test parameters included changes in aspiration levels, vitrector gauge, cut rates for GVs, % ultrasound (US) power for HVs, and port size for HVs. Data was analysed using linear regression and t-tests. There was no difference in the total average mean water flow between the 25-gauge GV and the 25-gauge HV (t-test: P = 0.363); however, 25-gauge GV was superior (t-test: P < 0.001) in vitreous flow. The 23-gauge GV was only more efficient in water and vitreous removal than 23-gauge HV needle-1 (Port 0.0055) (t-test: P < 0.001). For HV, wall thickness and gauge had no effect on flow rates. Water and vitreous flows showed a direct correlation with increasing aspiration levels and % US power (p<0.05). The HV produced consistent water and vitreous flow rates across the range of US power and aspiration levels tested. Hypersonic vitrectomy may be a promising new alternative to the currently available guillotine-based technologies.

A comprehensive study of the delay vector variance method for quantification of nonlinearity in dynamical systems

PubMed Central

Mandic, D. P.; Ryan, K.; Basu, B.; Pakrashi, V.

2016-01-01

Although vibration monitoring is a popular method to monitor and assess dynamic structures, quantification of linearity or nonlinearity of the dynamic responses remains a challenging problem. We investigate the delay vector variance (DVV) method in this regard in a comprehensive manner to establish the degree to which a change in signal nonlinearity can be related to system nonlinearity and how a change in system parameters affects the nonlinearity in the dynamic response of the system. A wide range of theoretical situations are considered in this regard using a single degree of freedom (SDOF) system to obtain numerical benchmarks. A number of experiments are then carried out using a physical SDOF model in the laboratory. Finally, a composite wind turbine blade is tested for different excitations and the dynamic responses are measured at a number of points to extend the investigation to continuum structures. The dynamic responses were measured using accelerometers, strain gauges and a Laser Doppler vibrometer. This comprehensive study creates a numerical and experimental benchmark for structurally dynamical systems where output-only information is typically available, especially in the context of DVV. The study also allows for comparative analysis between different systems driven by the similar input. PMID:26909175

A real-time automated quality control of rain gauge data based on multiple sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

qi, Y.; Zhang, J.

2013-12-01

Precipitation is one of the most important meteorological and hydrological variables. Automated rain gauge networks provide direct measurements of precipitation and have been used for numerous applications such as generating regional and national precipitation maps, calibrating remote sensing data, and validating hydrological and meteorological model predictions. Automated gauge observations are prone to a variety of error sources (instrument malfunction, transmission errors, format changes), and require careful quality controls (QC). Many previous gauge QC techniques were based on neighborhood checks within the gauge network itself and the effectiveness is dependent on gauge densities and precipitation regimes. The current study takes advantage of the multi-sensor data sources in the National Mosaic and Multi-Sensor QPE (NMQ/Q2) system and developes an automated gauge QC scheme based the consistency of radar hourly QPEs and gauge observations. Error characteristics of radar and gauge as a function of the radar sampling geometry, precipitation regimes, and the freezing level height are considered. The new scheme was evaluated by comparing an NMQ national gauge-based precipitation product with independent manual gauge observations. Twelve heavy rainfall events from different seasons and areas of the United States are selected for the evaluation, and the results show that the new NMQ product with QC'ed gauges has a more physically spatial distribution than the old product. And the new product agrees much better statistically with the independent gauges.

Reaction Buildup of PBX Explosives JOB-9003 under Different Initiation Pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xu; Wang, Yan-fei; Hung, Wen-bin; Gu, Yan; Zhao, Feng; Wu, Qiang; Yu, Xin; Yu, Heng

2017-04-01

Aluminum-based embedded multiple electromagnetic particle velocity gauge technique has been developed in order to measure the shock initiation behavior of JOB-9003 explosives. In addition, another gauge element called a shock tracker has been used to monitor the progress of the shock front as a function of time, thus providing a position-time trajectory of the wave front as it moves through the explosive sample. The data are used to determine the position and time for shock to detonation transition. All the experimental results show that: the rising-up time of Al-based electromagnetic particle velocity gauge was very fast and less than 20 ns; the reaction buildup velocity profiles and the position-time for shock to detonation transition of HMX-based PBX explosive JOB-9003 with 1-8 mm depth from the origin of impact plane under different initiation pressures are obtained with high accuracy.

Application of Multiplexed FBG and PZT Impedance Sensors for Health Monitoring of Rocks

PubMed Central

Yang, Yaowen; Annamdas, Venu Gopal Madhav; Wang, Chao; Zhou, Yingxin

2008-01-01

Reliable structural health monitoring (SHM) including nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is essential for safe operation of infrastructure systems. Effective monitoring of the rock components of civil infrastructures such as tunnels and caverns remains challenging. The feasibility of employing smart optical fibre sensor (OFS) and piezoelectric impedance sensor made up of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) for comprehensive health monitoring of rocks, covering load history monitoring/retrieval as well as damage assessment is presented in this paper. The rock specimens are subjected to cyclic loading and their conditions are continuously monitored using OFS and PZT sensors. OFS based multiplexed fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are surface bonded on the rock specimens. Their strain sensing performance is compared with the conventional electric strain gauges (ESGs). In addition, PZT patches are also bonded on the specimens to study the damage pattern during different loading cycles. Unlike the FBGs or ESGs, PZT patches are used as bi-functional sensors and actuators, enabling them to be efficient detectors of incipient damages using the principle of electromechanical impedance. The experimental study demonstrated superior performance of these smart FBG and PZT impedance sensors. This work is expected to be useful for SHM based NDE application of rock structures such as caverns and tunnels. PMID:27879708

Experimental and analytical study of water pipe's rupture for damage identification purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papakonstantinou, Konstantinos G.; Shinozuka, Masanobu; Beikae, Mohsen

2011-04-01

A malfunction, local damage or sudden pipe break of a pipeline system can trigger significant flow variations. As shown in the paper, pressure variations and pipe vibrations are two strongly correlated parameters. A sudden change in the flow velocity and pressure of a pipeline system can induce pipe vibrations. Thus, based on acceleration data, a rapid detection and localization of a possible damage may be carried out by inexpensive, nonintrusive monitoring techniques. To illustrate this approach, an experiment on a single pipe was conducted in the laboratory. Pressure gauges and accelerometers were installed and their correlation was checked during an artificially created transient flow. The experimental findings validated the correlation between the parameters. The interaction between pressure variations and pipe vibrations was also theoretically justified. The developed analytical model explains the connection among flow pressure, velocity, pressure wave propagation and pipe vibration. The proposed method provides a rapid, efficient and practical way to identify and locate sudden failures of a pipeline system and sets firm foundations for the development and implementation of an advanced, new generation Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for continuous health monitoring of pipe networks.

Wireless measurement of elastic and plastic deformation by a metamaterial-based sensor.

PubMed

Ozbey, Burak; Demir, Hilmi Volkan; Kurc, Ozgur; Erturk, Vakur B; Altintas, Ayhan

2014-10-20

We report remote strain and displacement measurement during elastic and plastic deformation using a metamaterial-based wireless and passive sensor. The sensor is made of a comb-like nested split ring resonator (NSRR) probe operating in the near-field of an antenna, which functions as both the transmitter and the receiver. The NSRR probe is fixed on a standard steel reinforcing bar (rebar), and its frequency response is monitored telemetrically by a network analyzer connected to the antenna across the whole stress-strain curve. This wireless measurement includes both the elastic and plastic region deformation together for the first time, where wired technologies, like strain gauges, typically fail to capture. The experiments are further repeated in the presence of a concrete block between the antenna and the probe, and it is shown that the sensing system is capable of functioning through the concrete. The comparison of the wireless sensor measurement with those undertaken using strain gauges and extensometers reveals that the sensor is able to measure both the average strain and the relative displacement on the rebar as a result of the applied force in a considerably accurate way. The performance of the sensor is tested for different types of misalignments that can possibly occur due to the acting force. These results indicate that the metamaterial-based sensor holds great promise for its accurate, robust and wireless measurement of the elastic and plastic deformation of a rebar, providing beneficial information for remote structural health monitoring and post-earthquake damage assessment.

Installation of seafloor cabled seismic and tsunami observation system developed by using ICT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinohara, Masanao; Yamada, Tomoaki; Sakai, Shin'ichi; Shiobara, Hajime; Kanazawa, Toshihiko

2017-04-01

A seafloor cabled system is useful for study of earth science and disaster mitigation, because real-time and long-term observation can be performed. Therefore seafloor cabled systems with seismometers and tsunami-meters have been used over the past 25 years around Japan. Because increase of a number of sensors is needed, a new system with low costs for production, deployment and operation is expected. In addition, the new system should have sufficient for flexibility of measurements after installation. To achieve these demands, we started development of a new system using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for data transmission and system control. The new system can be made compact since software processes various measurements. Reliability of the system is kept by using redundant system which is easily constructed using the ICT. The first system based on this concept was developed as Ocean Bottom Cabled Seismometer (OBCS) system and deployed in Japan Sea. Development of the second system started from 2012. The Ocean Bottom Cabled Seismometer and Tsunami-meter (OBCST) system has both seismometers and tsunami-meters. Each observation node has a CPU and FPGAs. The OBCST system uses standard TCP/IP protocol with a speed of 1 Gbps for data transmission, system control and monitoring. IEEE-1588 (PTP) is implemented to synchronize a real-time clock, and accuracy is less than 300 ns. We developed two types of observation node. One equips a pressure gauge as tsunami sensor, and another has an external port for additional observation sensor using PoE. Deployment of the OBCST system was carried out in September 2015 by using a commercial telecommunication cable ship. The noise levels at the OBCST system are comparable to those at the existing cabled system off Sanriku. It is found that the noise levels at the OBCST system are low at frequencies greater than 2 Hz and smaller than 0.1 Hz. This level of ambient seismic noise is close to a typical system noise. From the pressure data, pressure gauge has a resolution of less than 1 hPa, which corresponds to a change of water height of less than 1 cm, and data from all the pressure gauges are consistent. From the deployment, the system has been collecting data on seafloor until the present. Tsunami waves on November 22nd, 2016, which were generated by an earthquake with magnitude of 7.4 off Fukushima were clearly observed by all tsunami sensors in the system.

Seafloor Geodetic Monitoring of the Central Andean Subduction Zone: The Geosea Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopp, H.; Lange, D.; Contreras Reyes, E.; Behrmann, J. H.; McGuire, J. J.; Flueh, E. R.

2014-12-01

Seafloor geodesy has been identified as one of the central tools in marine geosciences to monitor seafloor deformation at high resolution. To quantify strain accumulation and assess the resultant hazard potential we urgently need systems to resolve seafloor crustal deformation. The GeoSEA (Geodetic Earthquake Observatory on the Seafloor) array consists of a seafloor transponder network comprising a total of 35 units and a wave glider acting as a surface unit (GeoSURF) to ensure satellite correspondence, data transfer and monitor system health. For horizontal direct path measurements, the system utilizes acoustic ranging techniques with a ranging precision better than 15 mm and long term stability over 2 km distance. Vertical motion is obtained from pressure gauges. Integrated inclinometers monitor station settlement in two horizontal directions. Travel time between instruments and the local water sound velocity will be recorded autonomously subsea without system or human intervention for up to 3.5 years. Data from the autonomous network on the seafloor can be retrieved via the integrated high-speed acoustic telemetry link without recovering the seafloor units. In late 2015 GeoSEA will be installed on the Iquique segment of the South America - Nazca convergent plate boundary to monitor crustal deformation. The Iquique seismic gap experienced the 2014 Mw 8.1 Pisagua earthquake, which apparently occurred within a local locking minimum. It is thus crucial to better resolve resolve strain in the forearc between the mainland and the trench in order to improve our understanding of forearc deformation required for hazard assessment. Mobile autonomous seafloor arrays for continuous measurement of active seafloor deformation in hazard zones have the potential to lead to transformative discoveries of plate boundary/fault zone tectonic processes and address a novel element of marine geophysical research.

Monitoring Effects of Climatic stresses on a Papyrus Wetland System in Eastern Uganda Using Times Series of Remotely Sensed Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kayendeke, Ellen; French, Helen K.; Kansiime, Frank; Bamutaze, Yazidhi

2017-04-01

Papyrus wetlands predominant in southern, central and eastern Africa; are important in supporting community livelihoods since they provide land for agriculture, materials for building and craft making, as well as services of water purification and water storage. Papyrus wetlands are dominated by a sedge Cyperus papyrus, which is rooted at wetland edges but floats in open water with the help of a root mat composed of intermingled roots and rhizomes. The hypothesis is that the papyrus mat structure reduces flow velocity and increases storage volume during storm events, which not only helps to mitigate flood events but aids in storage of excess water that can be utilised during the dry seasons. However, due to sparse gauging there is inadequate meteorological and hydrological data for continuous monitoring of the hydrological functioning of papyrus systems. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of utilising freely available remote sensing data (MODIS, Landsat, and Sentinel-1) for cost effective monitoring of papyrus wetland systems, and their response to climatic stresses. This was done through segmentation of MODIS NDVI and Landsat derived NDWI datasets; as well as classification of Sentinel-1 images taken in wet and dry seasons of 2015 and 2016. The classified maps were used as proxies for changes in hydrological conditions with time. The preliminary results show that it is possible to monitor changes in biomass, wetland inundation extent, flooded areas, as well as changes in moisture content in surrounding agricultural areas in the different seasons. Therefore, we propose that remote sensing data, when complemented with available meteorological data, is a useful resource for monitoring changes in the papyrus wetland systems as a result of climatic and human induced stresses.

Method and apparatus for steady-state magnetic measurement of poloidal magnetic field near a tokamak plasma

DOEpatents

Woolley, R.D.

1998-09-08

A method and apparatus are disclosed for the steady-state measurement of poloidal magnetic field near a tokamak plasma, where the tokamak is configured with respect to a cylindrical coordinate system having z, phi (toroidal), and r axes. The method is based on combining the two magnetic field principles of induction and torque. The apparatus includes a rotor assembly having a pair of inductive magnetic field pickup coils which are concentrically mounted, orthogonally oriented in the r and z directions, and coupled to remotely located electronics which include electronic integrators for determining magnetic field changes. The rotor assembly includes an axle oriented in the toroidal direction, with the axle mounted on pivot support brackets which in turn are mounted on a baseplate. First and second springs are located between the baseplate and the rotor assembly restricting rotation of the rotor assembly about its axle, the second spring providing a constant tensile preload in the first spring. A strain gauge is mounted on the first spring, and electronic means to continually monitor strain gauge resistance variations is provided. Electronic means for providing a known current pulse waveform to be periodically injected into each coil to create a time-varying torque on the rotor assembly in the toroidal direction causes mechanical strain variations proportional to the torque in the mounting means and springs so that strain gauge measurement of the variation provides periodic magnetic field measurements independent of the magnetic field measured by the electronic integrators. 6 figs.

Method and apparatus for steady-state magnetic measurement of poloidal magnetic field near a tokamak plasma

DOEpatents

Woolley, Robert D.

1998-01-01

A method and apparatus for the steady-state measurement of poloidal magnetic field near a tokamak plasma, where the tokamak is configured with respect to a cylindrical coordinate system having z, phi (toroidal), and r axes. The method is based on combining the two magnetic field principles of induction and torque. The apparatus includes a rotor assembly having a pair of inductive magnetic field pickup coils which are concentrically mounted, orthogonally oriented in the r and z directions, and coupled to remotely located electronics which include electronic integrators for determining magnetic field changes. The rotor assembly includes an axle oriented in the toroidal direction, with the axle mounted on pivot support brackets which in turn are mounted on a baseplate. First and second springs are located between the baseplate and the rotor assembly restricting rotation of the rotor assembly about its axle, the second spring providing a constant tensile preload in the first spring. A strain gauge is mounted on the first spring, and electronic means to continually monitor strain gauge resistance variations is provided. Electronic means for providing a known current pulse waveform to be periodically injected into each coil to create a time-varying torque on the rotor assembly in the toroidal direction causes mechanical strain variations proportional to the torque in the mounting means and springs so that strain gauge measurement of the variation provides periodic magnetic field measurements independent of the magnetic field measured by the electronic integrators.

An empirical approach to improving tidal predictions using recent real-time tide gauge data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hibbert, Angela; Royston, Samantha; Horsburgh, Kevin J.; Leach, Harry

2014-05-01

Classical harmonic methods of tidal prediction are often problematic in estuarine environments due to the distortion of tidal fluctuations in shallow water, which results in a disparity between predicted and observed sea levels. This is of particular concern in the Bristol Channel, where the error associated with tidal predictions is potentially greater due to an unusually large tidal range of around 12m. As such predictions are fundamental to the short-term forecasting of High Water (HW) extremes, it is vital that alternative solutions are found. In a pilot study, using a year-long observational sea level record from the Port of Avonmouth in the Bristol Channel, the UK National Tidal and Sea Level Facility (NTSLF) tested the potential for reducing tidal prediction errors, using three alternatives to the Harmonic Method of tidal prediction. The three methods evaluated were (1) the use of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models, (2) the Species Concordance technique and (3) a simple empirical procedure for correcting Harmonic Method High Water predictions based upon a few recent observations (referred to as the Empirical Correction Method). This latter method was then successfully applied to sea level records from an additional 42 of the 45 tide gauges that comprise the UK Tide Gauge Network. Consequently, it is to be incorporated into the operational systems of the UK Coastal Monitoring and Forecasting Partnership in order to improve short-term sea level predictions for the UK and in particular, the accurate estimation of HW extremes.

An Innovative Sensing Approach Using Carbon Nanotube-Based Composites for Structural Health Monitoring of Concrete Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwivedi, Vatsal

This thesis presents some work on two quite disparate kinds of dynamical systems described by Hamiltonian dynamics. The first part describes a computation of gauge anomalies and their macroscopic effects in a semiclassical picture. The geometric (symplectic) formulation of classical mechanics is used to describe the dynamics of Weyl fermions in even spacetime dimensions, the only quantum input to the symplectic form being the Berry curvature that encodes the spin-momentum locking. The (semi-)classical equations of motion are used in a kinetic theory setup to compute the gauge and singlet currents, whose conservation laws reproduce the nonabelian gauge and singlet anomalies. Anomalous contributions to the hydrodynamic currents for a gas of Weyl fermions at a finite temperature and chemical potential are also calculated, and are in agreement with similar results in literature which were obtained using thermodynamic and/or quantum field theoretical arguments. The second part describes a generalized transfer matrix formalism for noninteracting tight-binding models. The formalism is used to study the bulk and edge spectra, both of which are encoded in the spectrum of the transfer matrices, for some of the common tight-binding models for noninteracting electronic topological phases of matter. The topological invariants associated with the boundary states are interpreted as winding numbers for windings around noncontractible loops on a Riemann sheet constructed using the algebraic structure of the transfer matrices, as well as with a Maslov index on a symplectic group manifold, which is the space of transfer matrices.

Field monitoring of static, dynamic, and statnamic pile loading tests using fibre Bragg grating strain sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jin; Correia, Ricardo P.; Chehura, Edmon; Staines, Stephen; James, Stephen W.; Tatam, Ralph; Butcher, Antony P.; Fuentes, Raul

2009-10-01

Pile loading test plays an important role in the field of piling engineering. In order to gain further insight into the load transfer mechanism, strain gauges are often used to measure local strains along the piles. This paper reports a case whereby FBG strain sensors was employed in a field trial conducted on three different types of pile loading tests in a glacial till. The instrumentation systems were configured to suit the specific characteristic of each type of test. Typical test results are presented. The great potential of using FBG sensors for pile testing is shown.

Geovisualization in the HydroProg web map service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spallek, Waldemar; Wieczorek, Malgorzata; Szymanowski, Mariusz; Niedzielski, Tomasz; Swierczynska, Malgorzata

2016-04-01

The HydroProg system, built at the University of Wroclaw (Poland) in frame of the research project no. 2011/01/D/ST10/04171 financed by the National Science Centre of Poland, has been designed for computing predictions of river stages in real time on a basis of multimodelling. This experimental system works on the upper Nysa Klodzka basin (SW Poland) above the gauge in the town of Bardo, with the catchment area of 1744 square kilometres. The system operates in association with the Local System for Flood Monitoring of Klodzko County (LSOP), and produces hydrograph prognoses as well as inundation predictions. For presenting the up-to-date predictions and their statistics in the online mode, the dedicated real-time web map service has been designed. Geovisualisation in the HydroProg map service concerns: interactive maps of study area, interactive spaghetti hydrograms of water level forecasts along with observed river stages, animated images of inundation. The LSOP network offers a high spatial and temporal resolution of observations, as the length of the sampling interval is equal to 15 minutes. The main environmental elements related to hydrological modelling are shown on the main map. This includes elevation data (hillshading and hypsometric tints), rivers and reservoirs as well as catchment boundaries. Furthermore, we added main towns, roads as well as political and administrative boundaries for better map understanding. The web map was designed as a multi-scale representation, with levels of detail and zooming according to scales: 1:100 000, 1:250 000 and 1:500 000. Observations of water level in LSOP are shown on interactive hydrographs for each gauge. Additionally, predictions and some of their statistical characteristics (like prediction errors and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency) are shown for selected gauges. Finally, predictions of inundation are presented on animated maps which have been added for four experimental sites. The HydroProg system is a strictly scientific project, but the web map service has been designed for all web users. The main objective of the paper is to present the design process of the web map service, following the cartographic and graphic principles.

Highly Sensitive and Multifunctional Tactile Sensor Using Free-standing ZnO/PVDF Thin Film with Graphene Electrodes for Pressure and Temperature Monitoring

PubMed Central

Lee, James S.; Shin, Keun-Young; Cheong, Oug Jae; Kim, Jae Hyun; Jang, Jyongsik

2015-01-01

We demonstrate an 80-μm-thick film (which is around 15% of the thickness of the human epidermis), which is a highly sensitive hybrid functional gauge sensor, and was fabricated from poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and ZnO nanostructures with graphene electrodes. Using this film, we were able to simultaneously measure pressure and temperature in real time. The pressure was monitored from the change in the electrical resistance via the piezoresistance of the material, and the temperature was inferred based on the recovery time of the signal. Our thin film system enabled us to detect changes in pressure as small as 10 Pa which is pressure detection limit was 103-fold lower than the minimum level required for artificial skin, and to detect temperatures in the range 20–120°C. PMID:25601479

Highly sensitive and multifunctional tactile sensor using free-standing ZnO/PVDF thin film with graphene electrodes for pressure and temperature monitoring.

PubMed

Lee, James S; Shin, Keun-Young; Cheong, Oug Jae; Kim, Jae Hyun; Jang, Jyongsik

2015-01-20

We demonstrate an 80-μm-thick film (which is around 15% of the thickness of the human epidermis), which is a highly sensitive hybrid functional gauge sensor, and was fabricated from poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and ZnO nanostructures with graphene electrodes. Using this film, we were able to simultaneously measure pressure and temperature in real time. The pressure was monitored from the change in the electrical resistance via the piezoresistance of the material, and the temperature was inferred based on the recovery time of the signal. Our thin film system enabled us to detect changes in pressure as small as 10 Pa which is pressure detection limit was 10(3)-fold lower than the minimum level required for artificial skin, and to detect temperatures in the range 20-120 °C.

2 + 1 dimensional de Sitter universe emerging from the gauge structure of a nonlinear quantum system.

PubMed

Kam, Chon-Fai; Liu, Ren-Bao

2017-08-29

Berry phases and gauge structures are fundamental quantum phenomena. In linear quantum mechanics the gauge field in parameter space presents monopole singularities where the energy levels become degenerate. In nonlinear quantum mechanics, which is an effective theory of interacting quantum systems, there can be phase transitions and hence critical surfaces in the parameter space. We find that these critical surfaces result in a new type of gauge field singularity, namely, a conic singularity that resembles the big bang of a 2 + 1 dimensional de Sitter universe, with the fundamental frequency of Bogoliubov excitations acting as the cosmic scale, and mode softening at the critical surface, where the fundamental frequency vanishes, causing a causal singularity. Such conic singularity may be observed in various systems such as Bose-Einstein condensates and molecular magnets. This finding offers a new approach to quantum simulation of fundamental physics.

Propagators for gauge-invariant observables in cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fröb, Markus B.; Lima, William C. C.

2018-05-01

We make a proposal for gauge-invariant observables in perturbative quantum gravity in cosmological spacetimes, building on the recent work of Brunetti et al (2016 J. High Energy Phys. JHEP08(2016)032). These observables are relational, and are obtained by evaluating the field operator in a field-dependent coordinate system. We show that it is possible to define this coordinate system such that the non-localities inherent in any higher-order observable in quantum gravity are causal, i.e. the value of the gauge-invariant observable at a point x only depends on the metric and inflation perturbations in the past light cone of x. We then construct propagators for the metric and inflaton perturbations in a gauge adapted to that coordinate system, which simplifies the calculation of loop corrections, and give explicit expressions for relevant cases: matter- and radiation-dominated eras and slow-roll inflation.

Atomic quantum simulation of the lattice gauge-Higgs model: Higgs couplings and emergence of exact local gauge symmetry.

PubMed

Kasamatsu, Kenichi; Ichinose, Ikuo; Matsui, Tetsuo

2013-09-13

Recently, the possibility of quantum simulation of dynamical gauge fields was pointed out by using a system of cold atoms trapped on each link in an optical lattice. However, to implement exact local gauge invariance, fine-tuning the interaction parameters among atoms is necessary. In the present Letter, we study the effect of violation of the U(1) local gauge invariance by relaxing the fine-tuning of the parameters and showing that a wide variety of cold atoms is still a faithful quantum simulator for a U(1) gauge-Higgs model containing a Higgs field sitting on sites. The clarification of the dynamics of this gauge-Higgs model sheds some light upon various unsolved problems, including the inflation process of the early Universe. We study the phase structure of this model by Monte Carlo simulation and also discuss the atomic characteristics of the Higgs phase in each simulator.

Improvements In A Laser-Speckle Surface-Strain Gauge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lant, Christian T.

1996-01-01

Compact optical subsystem incorporates several improvements over optical subsystems of previous versions of laser-speckle surface-strain gauge: faster acquisition of data, faster response to transients, reduced size and weight, lower cost, and less complexity. Principle of operation described previously in "Laser System Measures Two-Dimensional Strain" (LEW-15046), and "Two-Dimensional Laser-Speckle Surface-Strain Gauge" (LEW-15337).

Experimental and computational investigation of lateral gauge response in polycarbonate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliot, Jim; Harris, Ernest Joseph; Hazell, Paul; Appleby-Thomas, Gareth James; Winter, Ron; Wood, David Christopher

2012-03-01

The shock behaviour of polycarbonate is of interest due to its extensive use in defence applications. Interestingly, embedded lateral manganin stress gauges in polycarbonate have shown gradients behind incident shocks, suggestive of increasing shear strength. However, such gauges are commonly embedded in a central epoxy interlayer. This is an inherently invasive approach. Recently, research has suggested that in such systems interlayer/target impedance may contribute to observed gradients in lateral stress. Here, experimental T-gauge (Vishay Micro-Measurements® type J2M-SS-580SF-025) traces from polycarbonate targets are compared to computational simulations. The effects of gauge environment are investigated by looking at the response of lateral gauges with both standard "glued-joint" and a "dry joint" encapsulation, where no encapsulating medium is employed.

Gauge-transformation properties of cosmological observables and its application to the light-cone average

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoo, Jaiyul; Durrer, Ruth, E-mail: jyoo@physik.uzh.ch, E-mail: ruth.durrer@unige.ch

Theoretical descriptions of observable quantities in cosmological perturbation theory should be independent of coordinate systems. This statement is often referred to as gauge-invariance of observable quantities, and the sanity of their theoretical description is verified by checking its gauge-invariance. We argue that cosmological observables are invariant scalars under diffeomorphisms and their theoretical description is gauge-invariant, only at linear order in perturbations. Beyond linear order, they are usually not gauge-invariant, and we provide the general law for the gauge-transformation that the perturbation part of an observable does obey. We apply this finding to derive the second-order expression for the observational light-conemore » average in cosmology and demonstrate that our expression is indeed invariant under diffeomorphisms.« less

Scanning Electron Microscope Mapping System Developed for Detecting Surface Defects in Fatigue Specimens

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonacuse, Peter J.; Kantzos, Peter T.

2002-01-01

An automated two-degree-of-freedom specimen positioning stage has been developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center to map and monitor defects in fatigue specimens. This system expedites the examination of the entire gauge section of fatigue specimens so that defects can be found using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Translation and rotation stages are driven by microprocessor-based controllers that are, in turn, interfaced to a computer running custom-designed software. This system is currently being used to find and record the location of ceramic inclusions in powder metallurgy materials. The mapped inclusions are periodically examined during interrupted fatigue experiments. The number of cycles to initiate cracks from these inclusions and the rate of growth of initiated cracks can then be quantified. This information is necessary to quantify the effect of this type of defect on the durability of powder metallurgy materials. This system was developed with support of the Ultra Safe program.

Integrable hierarchies of Heisenberg ferromagnet equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nugmanova, G.; Azimkhanova, A.

2016-08-01

In this paper we consider the coupled Kadomtsev-Petviashvili system. From compatibility conditions we obtain the form of matrix operators. After using a gauge transformation, obtained a new type of Lax representation for the hierarchy of Heisenberg ferromagnet equation, which is equivalent to the gauge coupled Kadomtsev-Petviashvili system.

To what extent does variability of historical rainfall series influence extreme event statistics of sewer system surcharge and overflows?

PubMed

Schaarup-Jensen, K; Rasmussen, M R; Thorndahl, S

2009-01-01

In urban drainage modelling long-term extreme statistics has become an important basis for decision-making e.g. in connection with renovation projects. Therefore it is of great importance to minimize the uncertainties with regards to long-term prediction of maximum water levels and combined sewer overflow (CSO) in drainage systems. These uncertainties originate from large uncertainties regarding rainfall inputs, parameters, and assessment of return periods. This paper investigates how the choice of rainfall time series influences the extreme events statistics of max water levels in manholes and CSO volumes. Traditionally, long-term rainfall series, from a local rain gauge, are unavailable. In the present case study, however, long and local rain series are available. 2 rainfall gauges have recorded events for approximately 9 years at 2 locations within the catchment. Beside these 2 gauges another 7 gauges are located at a distance of max 20 kilometers from the catchment. All gauges are included in the Danish national rain gauge system which was launched in 1976. The paper describes to what extent the extreme events statistics based on these 9 series diverge from each other and how this diversity can be handled, e.g. by introducing an "averaging procedure" based on the variability within the set of statistics. All simulations are performed by means of the MOUSE LTS model.

The Modular Borehole Monitoring Program. A research program to optimize well-based monitoring for geologic carbon sequestration

DOE PAGES

Freifeld, Barry; Daley, Tom; Cook, Paul; ...

2014-12-31

Understanding the impacts caused by injection of large volumes of CO 2 in the deep subsurface necessitates a comprehensive monitoring strategy. While surface-based and other remote geophysical methods can provide information on the general morphology of a CO 2 plume, verification of the geochemical conditions and validation of the remote sensing data requires measurements from boreholes that penetrate the storage formation. Unfortunately, the high cost of drilling deep wellbores and deploying instrumentation systems constrains the number of dedicated monitoring borings as well as limits the technologies that can be incorporated in a borehole completion. The objective of the Modular Boreholemore » Monitoring (MBM) Program was to develop a robust suite of well-based tools optimized for subsurface monitoring of CO 2 that could meet the needs of a comprehensive well-based monitoring program. It should have enough flexibility to be easily reconfigured for various reservoir geometries and geologies. The MBM Program sought to provide storage operators with a turn-key fully engineered design that incorporated key technologies, function over the decades long time-span necessary for post-closure reservoir monitoring, and meet industry acceptable risk profiles for deep-well installations. While still within the conceptual design phase of the MBM program, the SECARB Anthropogenic Test in Citronelle, Alabama, USA was identified as a deployment site for our engineered monitoring systems. The initial step in designing the Citronelle MBM system was to down-select from the various monitoring tools available to include technologies that we considered essential to any program. Monitoring methods selected included U-tube geochemical sampling, discrete quartz pressure and temperature gauges, an integrated fibre-optic bundle consisting of distributed temperature and heat-pulse sensing, and a sparse string of conventional 3C-geophones. While not originally planned within the initial MBM work scope, the fibre-optic cable was able to also be used for the emergent technology of distributed acoustic sensing. The MBM monitoring string was installed in March, 2012. To date, the Citronelle MBM instruments continue to operate reliably. Results and lessons learned from the Citronelle MBM deployment are addressed along with examples of data being collected.« less

Performance Evaluation of Strain Gauge Printed Using Automatic Fluid Dispensing System on Conformal Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khairilhijra Khirotdin, Rd.; Faridzuan Ngadiron, Mohamad; Adzeem Mahadzir, Muhammad; Hassan, Nurhafizzah

2017-08-01

Smart textiles require flexible electronics that can withstand daily stresses like bends and stretches. Printing using conductive inks provides the flexibility required but the current printing techniques suffered from ink incompatibility, limited of substrates to be printed with and incompatible with conformal substrates due to its rigidity and low flexibility. An alternate printing technique via automatic fluid dispensing system is proposed and its performances on printing strain gauge on conformal substrates were evaluated to determine its feasibility. Process parameters studied including printing speed, deposition height, curing time and curing temperature. It was found that the strain gauge is proven functional as expected since different strains were induced when bent on variation of bending angles and curvature radiuses from designated bending fixtures. The average change of resistances were doubled before the strain gauge starts to break. Printed strain gauges also exhibited some excellence elasticity as they were able to resist bending up to 70° angle and 3 mm of curvature radius.

Einstein Equations Under Polarized U (1) Symmetry in an Elliptic Gauge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huneau, Cécile; Luk, Jonathan

2018-06-01

We prove local existence of solutions to the Einstein-null dust system under polarized U (1) symmetry in an elliptic gauge. Using in particular the previous work of the first author on the constraint equations, we show that one can identify freely prescribable data, solve the constraints equations, and construct a unique local in time solution in an elliptic gauge. Our main motivation for this work, in addition to merely constructing solutions in an elliptic gauge, is to provide a setup for our companion paper in which we study high frequency backreaction for the Einstein equations. In that work, the elliptic gauge we consider here plays a crucial role to handle high frequency terms in the equations. The main technical difficulty in the present paper, in view of the application in our companion paper, is that we need to build a framework consistent with the solution being high frequency, and therefore having large higher order norms. This difficulty is handled by exploiting a reductive structure in the system of equations.

Integrating space geodesy and coastal sea level observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löfgren, J. S.; Haas, R.; Larson, K.; Scherneck, H.-G.

2012-04-01

The goal of the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) is to monitor the Earth system, in particular with observations of the three fundamental geodetic observables: the Earth's shape, the Earth's gravity field and the Earth's rotational motion. A central part of GGOS is the network of globally distributed fundamental geodetic stations that allow the combination and integration of the different space geodetic techniques. One of these stations is the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO), on the west coast of Sweden, which operates equipment for geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and superconducting gravimetry measurements, and additionally water vapour radiometers. The newest addition to the OSO fundamental geodetic station is a GNSS-based tide gauge (GNSS-TG). This installation integrates space geodesy with remote sensing of the local sea level. The GNSS-TG uses both direct GNSS-signals and GNSS-signals that are reflected off the sea surface. This is done using a zenith-looking Right Hand Circular Polarized (RHCP) and a nadir-looking Left Hand Circular Polarized (LHCP) antenna, respectively. Each of the two antennas is connected to a standard geodetic-type GNSS-receiver. The analysis of the data received with the RHCP-antenna allows one to determine land motion, while the analysis of the data received with the LHCP-antenna allows one to determine the sea surface height. Analysing both data sets together results in local sea level that is automatically corrected for land motion, meaning that the GNSS-TG can provide reliable sea-level estimates even in tectonically active regions. Previous results from the GNSS-TG, using carrier phase data, show a Root-Mean-Square (RMS) agreement of less than 5.9 cm with stilling well gauges located 18 km and 33 km away from OSO (Löfgren et al., 2011). This is lower than the RMS agreement between the two stilling well gauges (6.1 cm). Furthermore, significant ocean tidal signals have been derived from a several months long time series. Additionally, preliminary results from analysis of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) from the RHCP antenna show an RMS agreement of 4.5 cm with a linear combination of the previously mentioned stilling well gauges (Larson et al., 2011). We present new sea level results from the GNSS-TG data set, assessing several different analysis strategies. For example, we investigate optimal ways to analyse the carrier phase data (using observations from both antennas) and compare the results to those derived from the SNR analysis (using observations from the RHCP antenna only). Furthermore, the processing results are compared to independently derived sea level observations from co-located pressure sensor gauges.

Strain Wave Acquisition by a Fiber Optic Coherent Sensor for Impact Monitoring

PubMed Central

Sbarufatti, Claudio; Beligni, Alessio; Gilioli, Andrea; Ferrario, Maddalena; Mattarei, Marco; Martinelli, Mario; Giglio, Marco

2017-01-01

A novel fiber optic sensing technology for high frequency dynamics detection is proposed in this paper, specifically tailored for structural health monitoring applications based on strain wave analysis, for both passive impact identification and active Lamb wave monitoring. The sensing solution relies on a fiber optic-based interferometric architecture associated to an innovative coherent detection scheme, which retrieves in a completely passive way the high-frequency phase information of the received optical signal. The sensing fiber can be arranged into different layouts, depending on the requirement of the specific application, in order to enhance the sensor sensitivity while still ensuring a limited gauge length if punctual measures are required. For active Lamb wave monitoring, this results in a sensing fiber arranged in multiple loops glued on an aluminum thin panel in order to increase the phase signal only in correspondence to the sensing points of interest. Instead, for passive impact identification, the required sensitivity is guaranteed by simply exploiting a longer gauge length glued to the structure. The fiber optic coherent (FOC) sensor is exploited to detect the strain waves emitted by a piezoelectric transducer placed on the aluminum panel or generated by an impulse hammer, respectively. The FOC sensor measurements have been compared with both a numerical model based on Finite Elements and traditional piezoelectric sensors, confirming a good agreement between experimental and simulated results for both active and passive impact monitoring scenarios. PMID:28773154

Gauge invariance of phenomenological models of the interaction of quantum dissipative systems with electromagnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokman, M. D.

2009-05-01

We discuss specific features of the electrodynamic characteristics of quantum systems within the framework of models that include a phenomenological description of the relaxation processes. As is shown by W. E. Lamb, Jr., R. R. Schlicher, and M. O. Scully [Phys. Rev. A 36, 2763 (1987)], the use of phenomenological relaxation operators, which adequately describe the attenuation of eigenvibrations of a quantum system, may lead to incorrect solutions in the presence of external electromagnetic fields determined by the vector potential for different resonance processes. This incorrectness can be eliminated by giving a gauge-invariant form to the relaxation operator. Lamb, Jr., proposed the corresponding gauge-invariant modification for the Weisskopf-Wigner relaxation operator, which is introduced directly into the Schrödinger equation within the framework of the two-level approximation. In the present paper, this problem is studied for the von Neumann equation supplemented by a relaxation operator. First, we show that the solution of the equation for the density matrix with the relaxation operator correctly obtained “from the first principles” has properties that ensure gauge invariance for the observables. Second, we propose a common recipe for transformation of the phenomenological relaxation operator into the correct (gauge-invariant) form in the density-matrix equations for a multilevel system. Also, we discuss the methods of elimination of other inaccuracies (not related to the gauge-invariance problem) which arise if the electrodynamic response of a dissipative quantum system is calculated within the framework of simplified relaxation models (first of all, the model corresponding to constant relaxation rates of coherences in quantum transitions). Examples illustrating the correctness of the results obtained within the framework of the proposed methods in contrast to inaccuracy of the results of the standard calculation techniques are given.

29 CFR 1926.57 - Ventilation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... into a duct or hood. It is usually expressed in inches of water gauge. (vii) Exhaust system. A system... velocity. It is usually expressed in inches of water gauge. (xviii) Vertical spindle disc grinder. A... operate the booth without the filters in place. (iv) (A) For wet or water-wash spray booths, the water...

29 CFR 1926.57 - Ventilation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... into a duct or hood. It is usually expressed in inches of water gauge. (vii) Exhaust system. A system... velocity. It is usually expressed in inches of water gauge. (xviii) Vertical spindle disc grinder. A... operate the booth without the filters in place. (iv) (A) For wet or water-wash spray booths, the water...

Automatic Monitoring System Design and Failure Probability Analysis for River Dikes on Steep Channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Yin-Lung; Lin, Yi-Jun; Tung, Yeou-Koung

2017-04-01

The purposes of this study includes: (1) design an automatic monitoring system for river dike; and (2) develop a framework which enables the determination of dike failure probabilities for various failure modes during a rainstorm. The historical dike failure data collected in this study indicate that most dikes in Taiwan collapsed under the 20-years return period discharge, which means the probability of dike failure is much higher than that of overtopping. We installed the dike monitoring system on the Chiu-She Dike which located on the middle stream of Dajia River, Taiwan. The system includes: (1) vertical distributed pore water pressure sensors in front of and behind the dike; (2) Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) to measure the displacement of dike; (3) wireless floating device to measure the scouring depth at the toe of dike; and (4) water level gauge. The monitoring system recorded the variation of pore pressure inside the Chiu-She Dike and the scouring depth during Typhoon Megi. The recorded data showed that the highest groundwater level insides the dike occurred 15 hours after the peak discharge. We developed a framework which accounts for the uncertainties from return period discharge, Manning's n, scouring depth, soil cohesion, and friction angle and enables the determination of dike failure probabilities for various failure modes such as overtopping, surface erosion, mass failure, toe sliding and overturning. The framework was applied to Chiu-She, Feng-Chou, and Ke-Chuang Dikes on Dajia River. The results indicate that the toe sliding or overturning has the highest probability than other failure modes. Furthermore, the overall failure probability (integrate different failure modes) reaches 50% under 10-years return period flood which agrees with the historical failure data for the study reaches.

Ultrasonic Wall Thickness Monitoring at High Temperatures (>500 °C)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cegla, F. B.; Allin, J.; Davies, J. O.; Collins, P.; Cawley, P.

2011-06-01

Corrosion and erosion shorten the life of components that are used in the petrochemical industry. In order to mitigate the safety and financial risks posed by the degradation mechanisms, plant operators monitor wall thicknesses at regular inspection intervals. In high temperature locations inspections have to be carried out at plant shut downs because conventional ultrasonic sensors cannot withstand the high operating temperatures. The authors have developed a waveguide based high temperature thickness gauge for monitoring of wall thicknesses in high temperature areas. The waveguide allows the use of conventional transduction systems (max temp. 60 °C) at one end and guides ultrasonic waves into the high temperature region where the inspection is to be carried out. Slender stainless steel waveguides allow a temperature drop of ˜500-600 °C per 200 mm length to be sustained simply by natural convection cooling. This paper describes the technical challenges that had to be overcome (dispersion and source/receiver characteristics) in order to implement this "acoustic cable". A range of experimental results of thickness measurements on components of different thickness, and furnace tests at different temperatures are presented. An accelerated corrosion test that demonstrates the effectiveness of the monitoring for corrosion is also presented.

40 CFR 92.114 - Exhaust gas and particulate sampling and analytical system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... downstream of the analyzer. The gauge tap must be within 2 inches of the analyzer exit port. Gauge... must be used. The gauge tap must be within 2 inches of the analyzer entrance port. (vi) Calibration or.... Equivalent loadings (0.5 mg/1075 mm2 stain area) shall be used as target loadings when other filter sizes are...

40 CFR 92.114 - Exhaust gas and particulate sampling and analytical system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... downstream of the analyzer. The gauge tap must be within 2 inches of the analyzer exit port. Gauge... must be used. The gauge tap must be within 2 inches of the analyzer entrance port. (vi) Calibration or.... Equivalent loadings (0.5 mg/1075 mm2 stain area) shall be used as target loadings when other filter sizes are...

A master equation for strongly interacting dipoles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stokes, Adam; Nazir, Ahsan

2018-04-01

We consider a pair of dipoles such as Rydberg atoms for which direct electrostatic dipole–dipole interactions may be significantly larger than the coupling to transverse radiation. We derive a master equation using the Coulomb gauge, which naturally enables us to include the inter-dipole Coulomb energy within the system Hamiltonian rather than the interaction. In contrast, the standard master equation for a two-dipole system, which depends entirely on well-known gauge-invariant S-matrix elements, is usually derived using the multipolar gauge, wherein there is no explicit inter-dipole Coulomb interaction. We show using a generalised arbitrary-gauge light-matter Hamiltonian that this master equation is obtained in other gauges only if the inter-dipole Coulomb interaction is kept within the interaction Hamiltonian rather than the unperturbed part as in our derivation. Thus, our master equation depends on different S-matrix elements, which give separation-dependent corrections to the standard matrix elements describing resonant energy transfer and collective decay. The two master equations coincide in the large separation limit where static couplings are negligible. We provide an application of our master equation by finding separation-dependent corrections to the natural emission spectrum of the two-dipole system.

Rain Check Application: Mobile tool to monitor rainfall in remote parts of Haiti

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, X.; Baird, J.; Chiu, M. T.; Morelli, R.; de Lanerolle, T. R.; Gourley, J. R.

2011-12-01

Rainfall observations performed uniformly and continuously over a period of time are valuable inputs in developing climate models and predicting events such as floods and droughts. Rain-Check is a mobile application developed in Google App Inventor Platform, for android based smart phones, to allow field researchers to monitor various rain gauges distributed though out remote regions of Haiti and send daily readings via SMS messages for further analysis and long term trending. Rainfall rate and quantity interact with many other factors to influence erosion, vegetative cover, groundwater recharge, stream water chemistry and runoff into streams impacting agriculture and livestock. Rainfall observation from various sites is especially significant in Haiti with over 80% of the country is mountainous terrain. Data sets from global models and limited number of ground stations do not capture the fine-scale rainfall patterns necessary to describe local climate. Placement and reading of rain gauges are critical to accurate measurement of rainfall.

Photonic modes in synthetic photonic lattices localized due to nontrivial gauge field circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pankov, Artem; Vatnik, Ilya; Churkin, Dmitry; Sukhorukov, Andrey A.

2017-10-01

One of concepts giving opportunities for studying of topological insulators in non-magnetic materials, or creating scattering-immune in optical waveguides is creation of synthetic gauge fields in photonic systems. It was shown that gauge fields shift the band-gaps of optical waves, which can be applied to implement one-way nonreciprocal waveguides, even though both the waveguide core and cladding are in a topologically trivial state [1]. In our work we propose a method to create a gauge field in a synthetic photonic mesh lattice - an optical device proved its high versatility for optical experiments [2]. We demonstrate presence of localized modes due to nontrivial gauge field circulation.

Miniature Convection Cooled Plug-type Heat Flux Gauges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liebert, Curt H.

1994-01-01

Tests and analysis of a new miniature plug-type heat flux gauge configuration are described. This gauge can simultaneously measure heat flux on two opposed active surfaces when heat flux levels are equal to or greater than about 0.2 MW/m(sup 2). The performance of this dual active surface gauge was investigated over a wide transient and steady heat flux and temperature range. The tests were performed by radiatively heating the front surface with an argon arc lamp while the back surface was convection cooled with air. Accuracy is about +20 percent. The gauge is responsive to fast heat flux transients and is designed to withstand the high temperature (1300 K), high pressure (15 MPa), erosive and corrosive environments in modern engines. This gauge can be used to measure heat flux on the surfaces of internally cooled apparatus such as turbine blades and combustors used in jet propulsion systems and on the surfaces of hypersonic vehicles. Heat flux measurement accuracy is not compromised when design considerations call for various size gauges to be fabricated into alloys of various shapes and properties. Significant gauge temperature reductions (120 K), which can lead to potential gauge durability improvement, were obtained when the gauges were air-cooled by forced convection.

11. Exterior view, showing instrumentation and gauge panel at walkin ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

11. Exterior view, showing instrumentation and gauge panel at walk-in entry level (bottom) of Test Cell 7, Systems Integration Laboratory Building (T-28), looking west. Metal stair at left leads to working platform levels surrounding test cell. - Air Force Plant PJKS, Systems Integration Laboratory, Systems Integration Laboratory Building, Waterton Canyon Road & Colorado Highway 121, Lakewood, Jefferson County, CO

A Dynamic Optimization Technique for Siting the NASA-Clark Atlanta Urban Rain Gauge Network (NCURN)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, J. Marshall; Taylor, Layi

2003-01-01

NASA satellites and ground instruments have indicated that cities like Atlanta, Georgia may create or alter rainfall. Scientists speculate that the urban heat island caused by man-made surfaces in cities impact the heat and wind patterns that form clouds and rainfall. However, more conclusive evidence is required to substantiate findings from satellites. NASA, along with scientists at Clark Atlanta University, are implementing a dense, urban rain gauge network in the metropolitan Atlanta area to support a satellite validation program called Studies of PRecipitation Anomalies from Widespread Urban Landuse (SPRAWL). SPRAWL will be conducted during the summer of 2003 to further identify and understand the impact of urban Atlanta on precipitation variability. The paper provides an. overview of SPRAWL, which represents one of the more comprehensive efforts in recent years to focus exclusively on urban-impacted rainfall. The paper also introduces a novel technique for deploying rain gauges for SPRAWL. The deployment of the dense Atlanta network is unique because it utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) to optimize deployment of the rain gauges. These computer aided systems consider access to roads, drainage systems, tree cover, and other factors in guiding the deployment of the gauge network. GIS and DSS also provide decision-makers with additional resources and flexibility to make informed decisions while considering numerous factors. Also, the new Atlanta network and SPRAWL provide a unique opportunity to merge the high-resolution, urban rain gauge network with satellite-derived rainfall products to understand how cities are changing rainfall patterns, and possibly climate.

Towards a method to characterize temporary groundwater dynamics during droughts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heudorfer, Benedikt; Stahl, Kerstin

2016-04-01

In order to improve our understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in the development, propagation and termination of drought events, a major challenge is to grasp the role of groundwater systems. Research on how groundwater responds to meteorological drought events (i.e. short-term climate anomalies) is still limited. Part of the problem is that there is as yet no generic method to characterize the response of different groundwater systems to extreme climate anomalies. In order to explore possibilities for such a methodology, we evaluate two statistical approaches to characterize groundwater dynamics on short time scales by applying them on observed groundwater head data from different pre- and peri-mountainous groundwater systems in humid central Europe (Germany). The first method is based on the coefficient of variation in moving windows of various lengths, the second method is based on streamflow recession characteristics applied on groundwater data. With these methods, the gauges behavior during low head events and its response to precipitation was explored. Findings regarding the behavior of the gauges make it possible to distinguish between gauges with a dominance of cyclic patterns, and gauges with a dominance of patterns on seasonal or event scale (commonly referred to as slow/fast responding gauges, respectively). While some clues on what factors that might control these patterns are present, the specific controls are general unclear for the gauges in this study. However as the key conclusion stands the question if the variety of manifestations of groundwater dynamics, as they occur in real systems, is subsumable with one unique method. Further studies on the topic are in progress.

Gauge-origin dependence in electronic g-tensor calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glasbrenner, Michael; Vogler, Sigurd; Ochsenfeld, Christian

2018-06-01

We present a benchmark study on the gauge-origin dependence of the electronic g-tensor using data from unrestricted density functional theory calculations with the spin-orbit mean field ansatz. Our data suggest in accordance with previous studies that g-tensor calculations employing a common gauge-origin are sufficiently accurate for small molecules; however, for extended molecules, the introduced errors can become relevant and significantly exceed the basis set error. Using calculations with the spin-orbit mean field ansatz and gauge-including atomic orbitals as a reference, we furthermore show that the accuracy and reliability of common gauge-origin approaches in larger molecules depends strongly on the locality of the spin density distribution. We propose a new pragmatic ansatz for choosing the gauge-origin which takes the spin density distribution into account and gives reasonably accurate values for molecules with a single localized spin center. For more general cases like molecules with several spatially distant spin centers, common gauge-origin approaches are shown to be insufficient for consistently achieving high accuracy. Therefore the computation of g-tensors using distributed gauge-origin methods like gauge-including atomic orbitals is considered as the ideal approach and is recommended for larger molecular systems.

Observing hydrological processes: recent advancements in surface flow monitoring through image analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tauro, Flavia; Grimaldi, Salvatore

2017-04-01

Recently, several efforts have been devoted to the design and development of innovative, and often unintended, approaches for the acquisition of hydrological data. Among such pioneering techniques, this presentation reports recent advancements towards the establishment of a novel noninvasive and potentially continuous methodology based on the acquisition and analysis of images for spatially distributed observations of the kinematics of surface waters. The approach aims at enabling rapid, affordable, and accurate surface flow monitoring of natural streams. Flow monitoring is an integral part of hydrological sciences and is essential for disaster risk reduction and the comprehension of natural phenomena. However, water processes are inherently complex to observe: they are characterized by multiscale and highly heterogeneous phenomena which have traditionally demanded sophisticated and costly measurement techniques. Challenges in the implementation of such techniques have also resulted in lack of hydrological data during extreme events, in difficult-to-access environments, and at high temporal resolution. By combining low-cost yet high-resolution images and several velocimetry algorithms, noninvasive flow monitoring has been successfully conducted at highly heterogeneous scales, spanning from rills to highly turbulent streams, and medium-scale rivers, with minimal supervision by external users. Noninvasive image data acquisition has also afforded observations in high flow conditions. Latest novelties towards continuous flow monitoring at the catchment scale have entailed the development of a remote gauge-cam station on the Tiber River and integration of flow monitoring through image analysis with unmanned aerial systems (UASs) technology. The gauge-cam station and the UAS platform both afford noninvasive image acquisition and calibration through an innovative laser-based setup. Compared to traditional point-based instrumentation, images allow for generating surface flow velocity maps which fully describe the kinematics of the velocity field in natural streams. Also, continuous observations provide a close picture of the evolving dynamics of natural water bodies. Despite such promising achievements, dealing with images also involves coping with adverse illumination, massive data handling and storage, and data-intensive computing. Most importantly, establishing a novel observational technique requires estimation of the uncertainty associated to measurements and thorough comparison to existing benchmark approaches. In this presentation, we provide answers to some of these issues and perspectives for future research.

Far-field tsunami magnitude determined from ocean-bottom pressure gauge data around Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baba, T.; Hirata, K.; Kaneda, Y.

2003-12-01

\\hspace*{3mm}Tsunami magnitude is the most fundamental parameter to scale tsunamigenic earthquakes. According to Abe (1979), the tsunami magnitude, Mt, is empirically related to the crest to trough amplitude, H, of the far-field tsunami wave in meters (Mt = logH + 9.1). Here we investigate the far-field tsunami magnitude using ocean-bottom pressure gauge data. The recent ocean-bottom pressure measurements provide more precise tsunami data with a high signal-to-noise ratio. \\hspace*{3mm}Japan Marine Science and Technology Center is monitoring ocean bottom pressure fluctuations using two submarine cables of depths of 1500 - 2400 m. These geophysical observatory systems are located off Cape Muroto, Southwest Japan, and off Hokkaido, Northern Japan. The ocean-bottom pressure data recorded with the Muroto and Hokkaido systems have been collected continuously since March, 1997 and October, 1999, respectively. \\hspace*{3mm}Over the period from March 1997 to June 2003, we have observed four far-field tsunami signals, generated by earthquakes, on ocean-bottom pressure records. These far-field tsunamis were generated by the 1998 Papua New Guinea eq. (Mw 7.0), 1999 Vanuatu eq. (Mw 7.2), 2001 Peru eq. (Mw 8.4) and 2002 Papua New Guinea eq. (Mw 7.6). Maximum amplitude of about 30 mm was recorded by the tsunami from the 2001 Peru earthquake. \\hspace*{3mm}Direct application of the Abe's empirical relation to ocean-bottom pressure gauge data underestimates tsunami magnitudes by about an order of magnitude. This is because the Abe's empirical relation was derived only from tsunami amplitudes with coastal tide gauges where tsunami is amplified by the shoaling of topography and the reflection at the coastline. However, these effects do not work for offshore tsunami in deep oceans. In general, amplification due to shoaling near the coastline is governed by the Green's Law, in which the tsunami amplitude is proportional to h-1/4, where h is the water depth. Wave amplitude also is doubled by reflection at the fixed edge (coastline). Hence, we introduce a water-depth term and a reflection coefficient of 2 in the original Abe_fs empirical relation to correct tsunami amplitude for open oceans and obtain Mt = log(2H/h-1/4) + 9.1, where h is the depth of the ocean bottom pressure gage. The modified empirical relation produces tsunami magnitudes close to those determined using tide gauges.

Geodetic Infrastructure in the Ibiza and Barcelona Harbours for Sea Level Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Benjamin, J. J.; Gili, J.; Lopez, R.; Tapia, A.; Perez, B.; Pros, F.

2013-12-01

The presentation is directed to the description of the actual situation and relevant information of the geodetic infrastructure of Ibiza and Barcelona sites for sea level determination and contribution to regional sea level rise. Time series are being analysed for mean sea level variations www.puertos.es. .In the framework of a Spanish Space Project, the instrumentation of sea level measurements has been improved by providing the Barcelona site with a radar tide gauge Datamar 2000C from Geonica s.l. near an acoustic tide gauge. Puertos del Estado installed in 2007 a MIROS radar tide gauge and the Barcelona Harbour Authority a GPS referente station in the roof of the new Control Tower situated in the Energy Pier. The radar sensor is over the water surface, on a L-shaped structure which elevates it a few meters above the quay shelf. 1-min data are transmitted to the ENAGAS Control Center by cable and then sent each 1 min to Puertos del Estado by e-mail. There is a GPS station Leica Geosystems GRX1200 GG Pro and antenna 1202. Precision levelling has been made several times in the last two years because the tower is founded in reclaimed land. The measured settlement rate is about 1cm/year that may be could mask the values registered by the tide gauge. A description of the actual infrastructure at Ibiza harbour at Marina de Botafoch, is presented and its applications to sea level monitoring and altimeter calibration in support of the main CGPS at Ibiza harbour. It is described the geometrical precision levelling made in June 2013 between the radar tide gauge and the GPS station. In particular, the CGPS located at Ibiza harbour is essential for its application to the marine campaign Baleares 2013, near Ibiza island. The main objective is to determine the altimeter bias for Jason-2, about 9:09 UTC September 15, 2013, and Saral/AltiKa, about 05:30 UTC September 16, UTC. These activities has been received funding of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion under Spanish National Project CGL2009-13435/CLI.

Strain gauge validation experiments for the Sandia 34-meter VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine) test bed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutherland, Herbert J.

1988-08-01

Sandia National Laboratories has erected a research oriented, 34- meter diameter, Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine near Bushland, Texas. This machine, designated the Sandia 34-m VAWT Test Bed, is equipped with a large array of strain gauges that have been placed at critical positions about the blades. This manuscript details a series of four-point bend experiments that were conducted to validate the output of the blade strain gauge circuits. The output of a particular gauge circuit is validated by comparing its output to equivalent gauge circuits (in this stress state) and to theoretical predictions. With only a few exceptions, the difference between measured and predicted strain values for a gauge circuit was found to be of the order of the estimated repeatability for the measurement system.

U(1) Wilson lattice gauge theories in digital quantum simulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muschik, Christine; Heyl, Markus; Martinez, Esteban; Monz, Thomas; Schindler, Philipp; Vogell, Berit; Dalmonte, Marcello; Hauke, Philipp; Blatt, Rainer; Zoller, Peter

2017-10-01

Lattice gauge theories describe fundamental phenomena in nature, but calculating their real-time dynamics on classical computers is notoriously difficult. In a recent publication (Martinez et al 2016 Nature 534 516), we proposed and experimentally demonstrated a digital quantum simulation of the paradigmatic Schwinger model, a U(1)-Wilson lattice gauge theory describing the interplay between fermionic matter and gauge bosons. Here, we provide a detailed theoretical analysis of the performance and the potential of this protocol. Our strategy is based on analytically integrating out the gauge bosons, which preserves exact gauge invariance but results in complicated long-range interactions between the matter fields. Trapped-ion platforms are naturally suited to implementing these interactions, allowing for an efficient quantum simulation of the model, with a number of gate operations that scales polynomially with system size. Employing numerical simulations, we illustrate that relevant phenomena can be observed in larger experimental systems, using as an example the production of particle-antiparticle pairs after a quantum quench. We investigate theoretically the robustness of the scheme towards generic error sources, and show that near-future experiments can reach regimes where finite-size effects are insignificant. We also discuss the challenges in quantum simulating the continuum limit of the theory. Using our scheme, fundamental phenomena of lattice gauge theories can be probed using a broad set of experimentally accessible observables, including the entanglement entropy and the vacuum persistence amplitude.

LIST/BMI Turbines Instrumentation and Infrastructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

JONES,PERRY L.; SUTHERLAND,HERBERT J.; NEAL,BYRON A.

2001-06-01

In support of two major SNL programs, the Long-term Inflow and Structural Test (LIST) program and the Blade Manufacturing Initiative (BMI), three Micon 65/13M wind turbines have been erected at the USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS) center in Bushland, Texas. The inflow and structural response of these turbines are being monitored with an array of 60 instruments: 34 to characterize the inflow, 19 to characterize structural response and 7 to characterize the time-varying state of the turbine. The primary characterization of the inflow into the LIST turbine relies upon an array of five sonic anemometers. Primary characterization of the structuralmore » response of the turbine uses several sets of strain gauges to measure bending loads on the blades and the tower and two accelerometers to measure the motion of the nacelle. Data are sampled at a rate of 30 Hz using a newly developed data acquisition system. The system features a time-synchronized continuous data stream and telemetered data from the turbine rotor. This paper documents the instruments and infrastructure that have been developed to monitor these turbines and their inflow.« less

Comparison of Efficacy and Safety between Transconjunctival 23-Gauge and Conventional 20-Gauge Vitrectomy Systems in Macular Surgery

PubMed Central

Gurelik, Gokhan; Hasanreisoglu, Berati

2012-01-01

Purpose To compare the efficacy and safety of 23-gauge transconjunctival vitrectomy with the conventional 20-gauge method in idiopathic epiretinal membrane and macular hole surgery. Methods Sixty-one consecutive patients undergoing vitrectomy for idiopathic epiretinal membrane and macular hole were recruited to either 20- or 23-gauge vitrectomy groups and prospectively evaluated. Surgical success rates, operating time, surgery-related complications, long-term visual outcomes, and postoperative ocular surface problems are compared in the two groups. Results There were 31 eyes in the 20-gauge group and 33 eyes in the 23-gauge group. The macular hole closure rate after the first surgery was 83% and 90.9% in the 20-gauge and 23-gauge groups, respectively, with no significant difference between groups (p = 0.59). The success rate for idiopathic epiretinal membranes cases was 100% in both groups. There was no statistically significant difference between overall surgical times (p = 0.90). None of the patients in either group experienced postoperative complications of severe postoperative hypotony, vitreous hemorrhage or endophthalmitis, except one eye in the 20-gauge group, which was found to have retinal detachment. In both groups, statistically significant improvement in visual acuity was achieved 1-month postoperatively (p = 0.002) and thereafter at all postoperative visits (p < 0.05). The mean ocular surface scores were significantly lower in the 23-gauge group at all postoperative visits compared with the 20-gauge group scores (p = 0.001). Conclusions Transconjunctival 23-gauge vitrectomy appears to be as effective and safe as conventional 20-gauge vitrectomy in idiopathic epiretinal membrane and macular hole surgeries. PMID:23060720

Rainfall estimation for real time flood monitoring using geostationary meteorological satellite data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veerakachen, Watcharee; Raksapatcharawong, Mongkol

2015-09-01

Rainfall estimation by geostationary meteorological satellite data provides good spatial and temporal resolutions. This is advantageous for real time flood monitoring and warning systems. However, a rainfall estimation algorithm developed in one region needs to be adjusted for another climatic region. This work proposes computationally-efficient rainfall estimation algorithms based on an Infrared Threshold Rainfall (ITR) method calibrated with regional ground truth. Hourly rain gauge data collected from 70 stations around the Chao-Phraya river basin were used for calibration and validation of the algorithms. The algorithm inputs were derived from FY-2E satellite observations consisting of infrared and water vapor imagery. The results were compared with the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) near real time product (GSMaP_NRT) using the probability of detection (POD), root mean square error (RMSE) and linear correlation coefficient (CC) as performance indices. Comparison with the GSMaP_NRT product for real time monitoring purpose shows that hourly rain estimates from the proposed algorithm with the error adjustment technique (ITR_EA) offers higher POD and approximately the same RMSE and CC with less data latency.

DSM-flux: A new technology for reliable Combined Sewer Overflow discharge monitoring with low uncertainties.

PubMed

Maté Marín, Ainhoa; Rivière, Nicolas; Lipeme Kouyi, Gislain

2018-06-01

In the past ten years, governments from the European Union have been encouraged to collect volume and quality data for all the effluent overflows from separated stormwater and combined sewer systems that result in a significant environmental impact on receiving water bodies. Methods to monitor and control these flows require improvements, particularly for complex Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) structures. The DSM-flux (Device for Stormwater and combined sewer flows Monitoring and the control of pollutant fluxes) is a new pre-designed and pre-calibrated channel that provides appropriate hydraulic conditions suitable for measurement of overflow rates and volumes by means of one water level gauge. In this paper, a stage-discharge relation for the DSM-flux is obtained experimentally and validated for multiple inflow hydraulic configurations. Uncertainties in CSO discharges and volumes are estimated within the Guide to the expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) framework. Whatever the upstream hydraulic conditions are, relative uncertainties are lower than 15% and 2% for the investigated discharges and volumes, respectively. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predictable and reliable ECG monitoring over IEEE 802.11 WLANs within a hospital.

PubMed

Park, Juyoung; Kang, Kyungtae

2014-09-01

Telecardiology provides mobility for patients who require constant electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. However, its safety is dependent on the predictability and robustness of data delivery, which must overcome errors in the wireless channel through which the ECG data are transmitted. We report here a framework that can be used to gauge the applicability of IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) technology to ECG monitoring systems in terms of delay constraints and transmission reliability. For this purpose, a medical-grade WLAN architecture achieved predictable delay through the combination of a medium access control mechanism based on the point coordination function provided by IEEE 802.11 and an error control scheme based on Reed-Solomon coding and block interleaving. The size of the jitter buffer needed was determined by this architecture to avoid service dropout caused by buffer underrun, through analysis of variations in transmission delay. Finally, we assessed this architecture in terms of service latency and reliability by modeling the transmission of uncompressed two-lead electrocardiogram data from the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database and highlight the applicability of this wireless technology to telecardiology.

NOAA's Role in Sustaining Global Ocean Observations: Future Plans for OAR's Ocean Observing and Monitoring Division

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todd, James; Legler, David; Piotrowicz, Stephen; Raymond, Megan; Smith, Emily; Tedesco, Kathy; Thurston, Sidney

2017-04-01

The Ocean Observing and Monitoring Division (OOMD, formerly the Climate Observation Division) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Program Office provides long-term, high-quality global observations, climate information and products for researchers, forecasters, assessments and other users of environmental information. In this context, OOMD-supported activities serve a foundational role in an enterprise that aims to advance 1) scientific understanding, 2) monitoring and prediction of climate and 3) understanding of potential impacts to enable a climate resilient society. Leveraging approximately 50% of the Global Ocean Observing System, OOMD employs an internationally-coordinated, multi-institution global strategy that brings together data from multiple platforms including surface drifting buoys, Argo profiling floats, flux/transport moorings (RAMA, PIRATA, OceanSITES), GLOSS tide gauges, SOOP-XBT and SOOP-CO2, ocean gliders and repeat hydrographic sections (GO-SHIP). OOMD also engages in outreach, education and capacity development activities to deliver training on the social-economic applications of ocean data. This presentation will highlight recent activities and plans for 2017 and beyond.

A field evaluation of a satellite microwave rainfall sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caridi, Andrea; Caviglia, Daniele D.; Colli, Matteo; Delucchi, Alessandro; Federici, Bianca; Lanza, Luca G.; Pastorino, Matteo; Randazzo, Andrea; Sguerso, Domenico

2017-04-01

An innovative environmental monitoring system - Smart Rainfall System (SRS) - that estimates rainfall in real-time by means of the analysis of the attenuation of satellite signals (DVB-S in the microwave Ku band) is presented. Such a system consists in a set of peripheral microwave sensors placed on the field of interest, and connected to a central processing and analysis node. It has been developed jointly by the University of Genoa, with its departments DITEN and DICCA and the Genoese SME "Darts Engineering Srl". This work discusses the rainfall intensity measurements accuracy and sensitivity performance of SRS, based on preliminary results from a field comparison experiment at the urban scale. The test-bed is composed by a set of preliminary measurement sites established from Autumn 2016 in the Genoa (Italy) municipality and the data collected from the sensors during a selection of rainfall events is studied. The availability of point-scale rainfall intensity measurements made by traditional tipping-bucket rain gauges and radar areal observations allows a comparative analysis of the SRS performance. The calibration of the reference rain gauges has been carried out at the laboratories of DICCA using a rainfall simulator and the measurements have been processed taking advantage of advanced algorithms to reduce counting errors. The experimental set-up allows a fine tuning of the retrieval algorithm and a full characterization of the accuracy of the rainfall intensity estimates from the microwave signal attenuation as a function of different precipitation regimes.

Omni-Purpose Stretchable Strain Sensor Based on a Highly Dense Nanocracking Structure for Whole-Body Motion Monitoring.

PubMed

Jeon, Hyungkook; Hong, Seong Kyung; Kim, Min Seo; Cho, Seong J; Lim, Geunbae

2017-12-06

Here, we report an omni-purpose stretchable strain sensor (OPSS sensor) based on a nanocracking structure for monitoring whole-body motions including both joint-level and skin-level motions. By controlling and optimizing the nanocracking structure, inspired by the spider sensory system, the OPSS sensor is endowed with both high sensitivity (gauge factor ≈ 30) and a wide working range (strain up to 150%) under great linearity (R 2 = 0.9814) and fast response time (<30 ms). Furthermore, the fabrication process of the OPSS sensor has advantages of being extremely simple, patternable, integrated circuit-compatible, and reliable in terms of reproducibility. Using the OPSS sensor, we detected various human body motions including both moving of joints and subtle deforming of skin such as pulsation. As specific medical applications of the sensor, we also successfully developed a glove-type hand motion detector and a real-time Morse code communication system for patients with general paralysis. Therefore, considering the outstanding sensing performances, great advantages of the fabrication process, and successful results from a variety of practical applications, we believe that the OPSS sensor is a highly suitable strain sensor for whole-body motion monitoring and has potential for a wide range of applications, such as medical robotics and wearable healthcare devices.

System and process for detecting and monitoring surface defects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Mark K. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A system and process for detecting and monitoring defects in large surfaces such as the field joints of the container segments of a space shuttle booster motor. Beams of semi-collimated light from three non-parallel fiber optic light panels are directed at a region of the surface at non-normal angles of expected incidence. A video camera gathers some portion of the light that is reflected at an angle other than the angle of expected reflectance, and generates signals which are analyzed to discern defects in the surface. The analysis may be performed by visual inspection of an image on a video monitor, or by inspection of filtered or otherwise processed images. In one alternative embodiment, successive predetermined regions of the surface are aligned with the light source before illumination, thereby permitting efficient detection of defects in a large surface. Such alignment is performed by using a line scan gauge to sense the light which passes through an aperture in the surface. In another embodiment a digital map of the surface is created, thereby permitting the maintenance of records detailing changes in the location or size of defects as the container segment is refurbished and re-used. The defect detection apparatus may also be advantageously mounted on a fixture which engages the edge of a container segment.

Precipitation monitoring to accurately depict drought conditions on your allotment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service has been reading numerous precipitation gauges throughout the Great Basin for more than three decades. State climatologists, land owners and researchers have obtained data from this long-ter...

40 CFR 147.3107 - Mechanical integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Oklahoma Indian Tribes § 147.3107 Mechanical integrity. (a) Monitoring of annulus pressure conducted pursuant to § 146.8(b)(1) shall be preceded by an initial pressure test. A positive gauge pressure on the casing/tubing annulus (filled with liquid) shall be maintained continuously. The pressure shall be...

40 CFR 147.3107 - Mechanical integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Oklahoma Indian Tribes § 147.3107 Mechanical integrity. (a) Monitoring of annulus pressure conducted pursuant to § 146.8(b)(1) shall be preceded by an initial pressure test. A positive gauge pressure on the casing/tubing annulus (filled with liquid) shall be maintained continuously. The pressure shall be...

40 CFR 147.3107 - Mechanical integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Oklahoma Indian Tribes § 147.3107 Mechanical integrity. (a) Monitoring of annulus pressure conducted pursuant to § 146.8(b)(1) shall be preceded by an initial pressure test. A positive gauge pressure on the casing/tubing annulus (filled with liquid) shall be maintained continuously. The pressure shall be...

40 CFR 147.3107 - Mechanical integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Oklahoma Indian Tribes § 147.3107 Mechanical integrity. (a) Monitoring of annulus pressure conducted pursuant to § 146.8(b)(1) shall be preceded by an initial pressure test. A positive gauge pressure on the casing/tubing annulus (filled with liquid) shall be maintained continuously. The pressure shall be...

A Student-Centered Field Project Comparing NEXRAD and Rain Gauge Precipitation Values in Mountainous Terrain.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woltemade, Christopher J.; Stanitski-Martin, Diane

2002-01-01

Undergraduate students compared Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) estimates of storm total precipitation to measurements from a network of 20 rain gauges. Student researchers gained valuable experience in field data collection, global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), Internet data access and downloading,…

Development of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Control System for the Traction Purpose of the Gauge Changing Train

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kondo, Keiichiro; Hata, Hiroshi; Yuki, Kazuaki; Naganuma, Katsunori; Matsuoka, Koichi; Hasebe, Toshio

This paper is aimed at providing the designing method of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) control system for the high-speed and the single-phase AC powered Gauge Changing Train (GCT). The state-of-the-art electrical motive unit is equipped with downsized direct drive type PMSMs for the simplified gauge changeable truck. Due to the feeding the AC single phase power, we propose a beat-less control for PMSMs. We verify the development results of designing procedures by the experimental results of operation on a high-speed test line in Colorado, USA.

Extrapolating regional probability of drying of headwater streams using discrete observations and gauging networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beaufort, Aurélien; Lamouroux, Nicolas; Pella, Hervé; Datry, Thibault; Sauquet, Eric

2018-05-01

Headwater streams represent a substantial proportion of river systems and many of them have intermittent flows due to their upstream position in the network. These intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams have recently seen a marked increase in interest, especially to assess the impact of drying on aquatic ecosystems. The objective of this paper is to quantify how discrete (in space and time) field observations of flow intermittence help to extrapolate over time the daily probability of drying (defined at the regional scale). Two empirical models based on linear or logistic regressions have been developed to predict the daily probability of intermittence at the regional scale across France. Explanatory variables were derived from available daily discharge and groundwater-level data of a dense gauging/piezometer network, and models were calibrated using discrete series of field observations of flow intermittence. The robustness of the models was tested using an independent, dense regional dataset of intermittence observations and observations of the year 2017 excluded from the calibration. The resulting models were used to extrapolate the daily regional probability of drying in France: (i) over the period 2011-2017 to identify the regions most affected by flow intermittence; (ii) over the period 1989-2017, using a reduced input dataset, to analyse temporal variability of flow intermittence at the national level. The two empirical regression models performed equally well between 2011 and 2017. The accuracy of predictions depended on the number of continuous gauging/piezometer stations and intermittence observations available to calibrate the regressions. Regions with the highest performance were located in sedimentary plains, where the monitoring network was dense and where the regional probability of drying was the highest. Conversely, the worst performances were obtained in mountainous regions. Finally, temporal projections (1989-2016) suggested the highest probabilities of intermittence (> 35 %) in 1989-1991, 2003 and 2005. A high density of intermittence observations improved the information provided by gauging stations and piezometers to extrapolate the temporal variability of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams.

Strongly coupled gauge theories: What can lattice calculations teach us?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasenfratz, A.; Brower, R. C.; Rebbi, C.; Weinberg, E.; Witzel, O.

2017-12-01

The dynamical origin of electroweak symmetry breaking is an open question with many possible theoretical explanations. Strongly coupled systems predicting the Higgs boson as a bound state of a new gauge-fermion interaction form one class of candidate models. Due to increased statistics, LHC run II will further constrain the phenomenologically viable models in the near future. In the meanwhile it is important to understand the general properties and specific features of the different competing models. In this work we discuss many-flavor gauge-fermion systems that contain both massless (light) and massive fermions. The former provide Goldstone bosons and trigger electroweak symmetry breaking, while the latter indirectly influence the infrared dynamics. Numerical results reveal that such systems can exhibit a light 0++ isosinglet scalar, well separated from the rest of the spectrum. Further, when we set the scale via the vev of electroweak symmetry breaking, we predict a 2 TeV vector resonance which could be a generic feature of SU(3) gauge theories.

On the existence of topological dyons and dyonic black holes in anti-de Sitter Einstein-Yang-Mills theories with compact semisimple gauge groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baxter, J. Erik

2018-05-01

Here we study the global existence of "hairy" dyonic black hole and dyon solutions to four-dimensional, anti-de Sitter Einstein-Yang-Mills theories for a general simply connected and semisimple gauge group G, for the so-called topologically symmetric systems, concentrating here on the regular case. We generalise here cases in the literature which considered purely magnetic spherically symmetric solutions for a general gauge group and topological dyonic solutions for s u (N ) . We are able to establish the global existence of non-trivial solutions to all such systems, both near existing embedded solutions and as |Λ| → ∞. In particular, we can identify non-trivial solutions where the gauge field functions have no zeroes, which in the s u (N ) case proved important to stability. We believe that these are the most general analytically proven solutions in 4D anti-de Sitter Einstein-Yang-Mills systems to date.

Development of measurement system for gauge block interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chomkokard, S.; Jinuntuya, N.; Wongkokua, W.

2017-09-01

We developed a measurement system for collecting and analyzing the fringe pattern images from a gauge block interferometer. The system was based on Raspberry Pi which is an open source system with python programming and opencv image manipulation library. The images were recorded by the Raspberry Pi camera with five-megapixel capacity. The noise of images was suppressed for the best result in analyses. The low noise images were processed to find the edge of fringe patterns using the contour technique for the phase shift analyses. We tested our system with the phase shift patterns between a gauge block and a reference plate. The phase shift patterns were measured by a Twyman-Green type of interferometer using the He-Ne laser with the temperature controlled at 20.0 °C. The results of the measurement will be presented and discussed.

Dirac potential in the Doebner-Goldin equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Wei; Ma, Yi Rong; Hu, Fang Qi; Zhao, Qing

2018-01-01

We study a dissipative quantum system which is described by the Doebner-Goldin equation (DGE) model. For time-independent states, the new three-dimensional analytical solutions of the DGE are obtained by binding the vertical relation of velocity and the gradient of density in the system, when the form of a central potential such as hard core or harmonic oscillator is suggested. Through the gauge-invariant parameters which characterize the physical nature of the dissipation, we find a novel set of gauge-invariant parameters which show that the Galilean invariance is broken in this system. Moreover, a subfamily of the DGE can be obtained after a gauge transformation, which describes a dissipative quantum system with the conserved Galilean invariance. It is interesting that this dissipative quantum system is completely equivalent to a charge-monopole system, in which the Dirac potential is supplied with the nonlinear terms and two cases of the velocity potential. Especially, the two gauge potentials given by Wu and Yang emerge from solving the DGE as two cases in our approach. The results not only present some new physical comprehension of the dissipative quantum system, but also might shed light on the Dirac monopole potential, in the sense that the partition into south and north hemisphere is avoided in our new solutions.

Dynamic rating curve assessment in hydrometric stations and calculation of the associated uncertainties : Quality and monitoring indicators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morlot, Thomas; Perret, Christian; Favre, Anne-Catherine

2013-04-01

Whether we talk about safety reasons, energy production or regulation, water resources management is one of EDF's (French hydropower company) main concerns. To meet these needs, since the fifties EDF-DTG operates a hydrometric network that includes more than 350 hydrometric stations. The data collected allow real time monitoring of rivers (hydro meteorological forecasts at points of interests), as well as hydrological studies and the sizing of structures. Ensuring the quality of stream flow data is a priority. A rating curve is an indirect method of estimating the discharge in rivers based on water level measurements. The value of discharge obtained thanks to the rating curve is not entirely accurate due to the constant changes of the river bed morphology, to the precision of the gaugings (direct and punctual discharge measurements) and to the quality of the tracing. As time goes on, the uncertainty of the estimated discharge from a rating curve « gets older » and increases: therefore the final level of uncertainty remains particularly difficult to assess. Moreover, the current EDF capacity to produce a rating curve is not suited to the frequency of change of the stage-discharge relationship. The actual method does not take into consideration the variation of the flow conditions and the modifications of the river bed which occur due to natural processes such as erosion, sedimentation and seasonal vegetation growth. In order to get the most accurate stream flow data and to improve their reliability, this study undertakes an original « dynamic» method to compute rating curves based on historical gaugings from a hydrometric station. A curve is computed for each new gauging and a model of uncertainty is adjusted for each of them. The model of uncertainty takes into account the inaccuracies in the measurement of the water height, the quality of the tracing, the uncertainty of the gaugings and the aging of the confidence intervals calculated with a variographic analysis. These rating curves enable to provide values of stream flow taking into account the variability of flow conditions, while providing a model of uncertainties resulting from the aging of the rating curves. By taking into account the variability of the flow conditions and the life of the hydrometric station, this original dynamic method can answer important questions in the field of hydrometry such as « How many gaugings a year have to be made so as to produce stream flow data with an average uncertainty of X% ? » and « When and in which range of water flow do we have to realize those gaugings ? ». KEY WORDS : Uncertainty, Rating curve, Hydrometric station, Gauging, Variogram, Stream Flow

46 CFR 151.20-10 - Cargo system instrumentation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... remote reading temperature sensor located in the liquid phase of the cargo. The temperature gauge shall..., each tank equipped with safety relief valves shall be fitted with a pressure gauge which shall be...

Experimental and computational investigation of lateral gauge response in polycarbonate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliot, Jim; Harris, Ernst; Hazell, Paul; Appleby-Thomas, Gareth; Winter, Ronald; Wood, David; Owen, Gareth

2011-06-01

Polycarbonate's use in personal armour systems means its high strain-rate response has been extensively studied. Interestingly, embedded lateral manganin stress gauges in polycarbonate have shown gradients behind incident shocks, suggestive of increasing shear strength. However, such gauges need to be embedded in a central (typically) epoxy interlayer - an inherently invasive approach. Recently, research has suggested that in such metal systems interlayer/target impedance may contribute to observed gradients in lateral stress. Here, experimental T-gauge (Vishay Micro-Measurements® type J2M-SS-580SF-025) traces from polycarbonate targets are compared to computational simulations. This work extends previous efforts such that similar impedance exists between the interlayer and matrix (target) interface. Further, experiments and simulations are presented investigating the effects of a ``dry joint'' in polycarbonate, in which no encapsulating medium is employed.

IMAPS Device Packaging Conference 2017 - Engineered Micro Systems & Devices Track

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Varnavas, Kosta

2017-01-01

NASA field center Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, AL), has invested in advanced wireless sensor technology development. Developments for a wireless microcontroller back-end were primarily focused on the commercial Synapse Wireless family of devices. These devices have many useful features for NASA applications, good characteristics and the ability to be programmed Over-The-Air (OTA). The effort has focused on two widely used sensor types, mechanical strain gauges and thermal sensors. Mechanical strain gauges are used extensively in NASA structural testing and even on vehicle instrumentation systems. Additionally, thermal monitoring with many types of sensors is extensively used. These thermal sensors include thermocouples of all types, resistive temperature devices (RTDs), diodes and other thermal sensor types. The wireless thermal board will accommodate all of these types of sensor inputs to an analog front end. The analog front end on each of the sensors interfaces to the Synapse wireless microcontroller, based on the Atmel Atmega128 device. Once the analog sensor output data is digitized by the onboard analog to digital converter (A/D), the data is available for analysis, computation or transmission. Various hardware features allow custom embedded software to manage battery power to enhance battery life. This technology development fits nicely into using numerous additional sensor front ends, including some of the low-cost printed circuit board capacitive moisture content sensors currently being developed at Auburn University.

Prediction of strain values in reinforcements and concrete of a RC frame using neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vafaei, Mohammadreza; Alih, Sophia C.; Shad, Hossein; Falah, Ali; Halim, Nur Hajarul Falahi Abdul

2018-03-01

The level of strain in structural elements is an important indicator for the presence of damage and its intensity. Considering this fact, often structural health monitoring systems employ strain gauges to measure strains in critical elements. However, because of their sensitivity to the magnetic fields, inadequate long-term durability especially in harsh environments, difficulties in installation on existing structures, and maintenance cost, installation of strain gauges is not always possible for all structural components. Therefore, a reliable method that can accurately estimate strain values in critical structural elements is necessary for damage identification. In this study, a full-scale test was conducted on a planar RC frame to investigate the capability of neural networks for predicting the strain values. Two neural networks each of which having a single hidden layer was trained to relate the measured rotations and vertical displacements of the frame to the strain values measured at different locations of the frame. Results of trained neural networks indicated that they accurately estimated the strain values both in reinforcements and concrete. In addition, the trained neural networks were capable of predicting strains for the unseen input data set.

Mechanical qualification of the support structure for MQXF, the Nb 3Sn low-β quadrupole for the high luminosity LHC

DOE PAGES

Juchno, M.; Ambrosio, G.; Anerella, M.; ...

2016-01-26

Within the scope of the High Luminosity LHC project, the collaboration between CERN and U.S. LARP is developing new low-β quadrupoles using the Nb 3Sn superconducting technology for the upgrade of the LHC interaction regions. The magnet support structure of the first short model was designed and two units were fabricated and tested at CERN and at LBNL. The structure provides the preload to the collars-coils subassembly by an arrangement of outer aluminum shells pre-tensioned with water-pressurized bladders. For the mechanical qualification of the structure and the assembly procedure, superconducting coils were replaced with solid aluminum “dummy coils”, the structuremore » was preloaded at room temperature, and then cooled-down to 77 K. Mechanical behavior of the magnet structure was monitored with the use of strain gauges installed on the aluminum shells, the dummy coils and the axial preload system. As a result, this paper reports on the outcome of the assembly and the cool-down tests with dummy coils, which were performed at CERN and at LBNL, and presents the strain gauge measurements compared to the 3D finite element model predictions.« less

Grid-cell-based crop water accounting for the famine early warning system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verdin, J.; Klaver, R.

2002-01-01

Rainfall monitoring is a regular activity of food security analysts for sub-Saharan Africa due to the potentially disastrous impact of drought. Crop water accounting schemes are used to track rainfall timing and amounts relative to phenological requirements, to infer water limitation impacts on yield. Unfortunately, many rain gauge reports are available only after significant delays, and the gauge locations leave large gaps in coverage. As an alternative, a grid-cell-based formulation for the water requirement satisfaction index (WRSI) was tested for maize in Southern Africa. Grids of input variables were obtained from remote sensing estimates of rainfall, meteorological models, and digital soil maps. The spatial WRSI was computed for the 1996–97 and 1997–98 growing seasons. Maize yields were estimated by regression and compared with a limited number of reports from the field for the 1996–97 season in Zimbabwe. Agreement at a useful level (r = 0·80) was observed. This is comparable to results from traditional analysis with station data. The findings demonstrate the complementary role that remote sensing, modelling, and geospatial analysis can play in an era when field data collection in sub-Saharan Africa is suffering an unfortunate decline.

Gravitational waves from non-Abelian gauge fields at a tachyonic transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tranberg, Anders; Tähtinen, Sara; Weir, David J.

2018-04-01

We compute the gravitational wave spectrum from a tachyonic preheating transition of a Standard Model-like SU(2)-Higgs system. Tachyonic preheating involves exponentially growing IR modes, at scales as large as the horizon. Such a transition at the electroweak scale could be detectable by LISA, if these non-perturbatively large modes translate into non-linear dynamics sourcing gravitational waves. Through large-scale numerical simulations, we find that the spectrum of gravitational waves does not exhibit such IR features. Instead, we find two peaks corresponding to the Higgs and gauge field mass, respectively. We find that the gravitational wave production is reduced when adding non-Abelian gauge fields to a scalar-only theory, but increases when adding Abelian gauge fields. In particular, gauge fields suppress the gravitational wave spectrum in the IR. A tachyonic transition in the early Universe will therefore not be detectable by LISA, even if it involves non-Abelian gauge fields.

Integration of centrifuge testing in undergraduate geotechnical engineering education at remote campuses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Shamy, Usama; Abdoun, Tarek; McMartin, Flora; Pando, Miguel A.

2013-06-01

We report the results of a pilot study aimed at developing, implementing, and assessing an educational module that integrates remote major research instrumentation into undergraduate classes. Specifically, this study employs Internet Web-based technologies to allow for real-time video monitoring and execution of cutting-edge experiments. The students' activities within the module are centred on building a model of a shallow foundation on a sand deposit utilising a centrifuge facility and using this model for: (1) visual observation of the response of soil-foundation systems, (2) learning the use of instrumentation, (3) interpretation of acquired data, and (4) comparing experimental results to theoretical predictions. Testing a soil-foundation system helped the students identify the lab experiments needed to analyse and design the system. A survey was used to gauge students' perceptions of learning as a result of introducing the module, which were found to be positive.

GGOS Focus Area 3: Understanding and Forecasting Sea-Level Rise and Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schöne, Tilo; Shum, Ck; Tamisiea, Mark; Woodworth, Philip

2017-04-01

Sea level and its change have been measured for more than a century. Especially for coastal nations, deltaic regions, and coastal-oriented industries, observations of tides, tidal extremes, storm surges, and sea level rise at the interannual or longer scales have substantial impacts on coastal vulnerability towards resilience and sustainability of world's coastal regions. To date, the observed global sea level rise is largely associated with climate related changes. To find the patterns and fingerprints of those changes, and to e.g., separate the land motion from sea level signals, different monitoring techniques have been developed. Some of them are local, e.g., tide gauges, while others are global, e.g., satellite altimetry. It is well known that sea level change and land vertical motion varies regionally, and both signals need to be measured in order to quantify relative sea level at the local scale. The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) and its services contribute in many ways to the monitoring of the sea level. These includes tide gauge observations, estimation of gravity changes, satellite altimetry, InSAR/Lidar, GNSS-control of tide gauges, providing ground truth sites for satellite altimetry, and importantly the maintenance of the International Reference Frame. Focus Area 3 (Understanding and Forecasting Sea-Level Rise and Variability) of GGOS establishes a platform and a forum for researchers and authorities dealing with estimating global and local sea level changes in a 10- to 30-year time span, and its project to the next century or beyond. It presents an excellent opportunity to emphasize the global, through to regional and local, importance of GGOS to a wide range of sea-level related science and practical applications. Focus Area 3 works trough demonstration projects to highlight the value of geodetic techniques to sea level science and applications. Contributions under a call for participation (http://www.ggos.org/Applications/theme3_SL.html) are welcome. The present status of GGOS Focus Area 3 will be highlighted. http://www.ggos-portal.org/lang_en/GGOS-Portal/EN/Themes/SeaLevel/seaLevel.html

Strain Gauges Based on CVD Graphene Layers and Exfoliated Graphene Nanoplatelets with Enhanced Reproducibility and Scalability for Large Quantities

PubMed Central

Yokaribas, Volkan; Schneider, Daniel S.; Friebertshäuser, Philipp; Lemme, Max C.; Fritzen, Claus-Peter

2017-01-01

The two-dimensional material graphene promises a broad variety of sensing activities. Based on its low weight and high versatility, the sensor density can significantly be increased on a structure, which can improve reliability and reduce fluctuation in damage detection strategies such as structural health monitoring (SHM). Moreover; it initializes the basis of structure–sensor fusion towards self-sensing structures. Strain gauges are extensively used sensors in scientific and industrial applications. In this work, sensing in small strain fields (from −0.1% up to 0.1%) with regard to structural dynamics of a mechanical structure is presented with sensitivities comparable to bulk materials by measuring the inherent piezoresistive effect of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with a very high aspect ratio of approximately 4.86 × 108. It is demonstrated that the increasing number of graphene layers with CVD graphene plays a key role in reproducible strain gauge application since defects of individual layers may become less important in the current path. This may lead to a more stable response and, thus, resulting in a lower scattering.. Further results demonstrate the piezoresistive effect in a network consisting of liquid exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (GNP), which result in even higher strain sensitivity and reproducibility. A model-assisted approach provides the main parameters to find an optimum of sensitivity and reproducibility of GNP films. The fabricated GNP strain gauges show a minimal deviation in PRE effect with a GF of approximately 5.6 and predict a linear electromechanical behaviour up to 1% strain. Spray deposition is used to develop a low-cost and scalable manufacturing process for GNP strain gauges. In this context, the challenge of reproducible and reliable manufacturing and operating must be overcome. The developed sensors exhibit strain gauges by considering the significant importance of reproducible sensor performances and open the path for graphene strain gauges for potential usages in science and industry. PMID:29258260

40 CFR 60.683 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... provisions of this subpart who uses a wet scrubbing control device to comply with the mass emission standard... be certified by its manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water gauge) over its... uses a wet electrostatic precipitator control device to comply with the mass emission standard shall...

40 CFR 60.683 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... provisions of this subpart who uses a wet scrubbing control device to comply with the mass emission standard... be certified by its manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water gauge) over its... uses a wet electrostatic precipitator control device to comply with the mass emission standard shall...

40 CFR 60.683 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... provisions of this subpart who uses a wet scrubbing control device to comply with the mass emission standard... be certified by its manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals (±1 inch water gauge) over its... uses a wet electrostatic precipitator control device to comply with the mass emission standard shall...

Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (CPST) Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chojnacki, Kent

2013-01-01

Objectives: 1) Store cryogenic propellants in a manner that maximizes their availability for use regardless of mission duration. 2) Efficiently transfer conditioned cryogenic propellant to an engine or tank situated in a microgravity environment. 3) Accurately monitor and gauge cryogenic propellants situated in a microgravity environment.

Evaluation of initial subgrade variability on the Ohio SHRP test road : interim report for continued monitoring of instrumented pavement in Ohio.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) currently uses density and moisture measured with a nuclear density gauge as the principal criteria for approving subgrade construction in Ohio. This procedure is time consuming, thereby restricting the nu...

A MODIS-based automated flood monitoring system for southeast asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahamed, A.; Bolten, J. D.

2017-09-01

Flood disasters in Southeast Asia result in significant loss of life and economic damage. Remote sensing information systems designed to spatially and temporally monitor floods can help governments and international agencies formulate effective disaster response strategies during a flood and ultimately alleviate impacts to population, infrastructure, and agriculture. Recent destructive flood events in the Lower Mekong River Basin occurred in 2000, 2011, 2013, and 2016 (http://ffw.mrcmekong.org/historical_rec.htm, April 24, 2017). The large spatial distribution of flooded areas and lack of proper gauge data in the region makes accurate monitoring and assessment of impacts of floods difficult. Here, we discuss the utility of applying satellite-based Earth observations for improving flood inundation monitoring over the flood-prone Lower Mekong River Basin. We present a methodology for determining near real-time surface water extent associated with current and historic flood events by training surface water classifiers from 8-day, 250-m Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data spanning the length of the MODIS satellite record. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) signature of permanent water bodies (MOD44W; Carroll et al., 2009) is used to train surface water classifiers which are applied to a time period of interest. From this, an operational nowcast flood detection component is produced using twice daily imagery acquired at 3-h latency which performs image compositing routines to minimize cloud cover. Case studies and accuracy assessments against radar-based observations for historic flood events are presented. The customizable system has been transferred to regional organizations and near real-time derived surface water products are made available through a web interface platform. Results highlight the potential of near real-time observation and impact assessment systems to serve as effective decision support tools for governments, international agencies, and disaster responders.

49 CFR 229.53 - Brake gauges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD LOCOMOTIVE SAFETY STANDARDS Safety Requirements Brake System § 229.53 Brake gauges. All... engineer to aid in the control or braking of the train or locomotive shall be located so that they may be...

Development of electric drive for centrifugal mine pumps in Solikamsk Potassium Mine Group Based on Industrial OMRON Controller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostarev, S. N.; Sereda, T. G.; Tatarnikova, N. A.; Kochetova, O. V.

2018-03-01

The electric drive for automation pumping out of filtration waters in the Second Solikamsk Potasssium Mine Group is developed. The emergency situation of flooding of the Mine has been considered in the course of development of the Upper Kama deposits of potash-magnesium salts. The functional scheme of automation of a drive of the pump is developed. The scheme is stipulated with manual and automatic control. To decrease the risk of flooding of mine, it is recommended to establish gauges of both bottom and top level control of a brine and other equipment in the collector of a brine: the gauge of measurementof a level, the gauge of the signal system of a level, the gauge of the pump control, the gauge of the signal system of a level with remote data transmission. For regulation of the charge of sewage, the P-regulator with the executive mechanism is stipulated. The ladder diagram of a pump control is developed to improve the work of centrifugal pumps and to prevent the cases of mines flooding.

On spectroscopy for a whole Abelian model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chauca, J.; Doria, R.

2012-10-01

Postulated on the whole meaning a whole abelian gauge symmetry is being introduced. Various physical areas as complexity, statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics are partially supporting this approach where the whole is at origin. However, the reductionist crisis given by quark confinement definitely sustains this insight. It says that fundamental parts can not be seen isolatedely. Consequently, there is an experimental situation where the parts should be substituted by something more. This makes us to look for writing the wholeness principle under gauge theory. For this, one reinterprets the gauge parameter where instead of compensating fields it is organizing a systemic gauge symmetry. Now, it introduces a fields set {AμI} rotating under a common gauge symmetry. Thus, given a fields collection {AμI} as origin, the effort at this work is to investigate on its spectroscopy. Analyze for the abelian case the correspondent involved quanta. Understand that for a whole model diversity replaces elementarity. Derive the associated quantum numbers as spin, mass, charge, discrete symmetries in terms of such systemic symmetry. Observe how the particles diversity is manifested in terms of wholeness.

Quantum gas microscopy of the interacting Harper-Hofstadter system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tai, M. Eric; Lukin, Alex; Preiss, Philipp; Rispoli, Matthew; Schittko, Robert; Kaufman, Adam; Greiner, Markus

2016-05-01

At the heart of many topological states is the underlying gauge field. One example of a gauge field is the magnetic field which causes the deflection of a moving charged particle. This behavior can be understood through the Aharonov-Bohm phase that a particle acquires upon traversing a closed path. Gauge fields give rise to novel states of matter that cannot be described with symmetry breaking. Instead, these states, e.g. fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states, are characterized by topological invariants, such as the Chern number. In this talk, we report on experimental results upon introducing a gauge field in a system of strongly-interacting ultracold Rb87 atoms confined to a 2D optical lattice. With single-site resolution afforded by a quantum gas microscope, we can prepare a fixed atom number and project hard walls. With an artificial gauge field, this quantum simulator realizes the Harper-Hofstadter Hamiltonian. We can independently control the two tunneling strengths as well as dynamically change the flux. This flexibility enables studies of topological phenomena from many perspectives, e.g. site-resolved images of edge currents. With the strong on-site interactions possible in our system, these experiments will pave the way to observing FQH-like states in a lattice.

Lattice implementation of Abelian gauge theories with Chern-Simons number and an axion field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Figueroa, Daniel G.; Shaposhnikov, Mikhail

2018-01-01

Real time evolution of classical gauge fields is relevant for a number of applications in particle physics and cosmology, ranging from the early Universe to dynamics of quark-gluon plasma. We present an explicit non-compact lattice formulation of the interaction between a shift-symmetric field and some U (1) gauge sector, a (x)FμνF˜μν, reproducing the continuum limit to order O (dxμ2) and obeying the following properties: (i) the system is gauge invariant and (ii) shift symmetry is exact on the lattice. For this end we construct a definition of the topological number density K =FμνF˜μν that admits a lattice total derivative representation K = Δμ+ Kμ, reproducing to order O (dxμ2) the continuum expression K =∂μKμ ∝ E → ṡ B → . If we consider a homogeneous field a (x) = a (t), the system can be mapped into an Abelian gauge theory with Hamiltonian containing a Chern-Simons term for the gauge fields. This allow us to study in an accompanying paper the real time dynamics of fermion number non-conservation (or chirality breaking) in Abelian gauge theories at finite temperature. When a (x) = a (x → , t) is inhomogeneous, the set of lattice equations of motion do not admit however a simple explicit local solution (while preserving an O (dxμ2) accuracy). We discuss an iterative scheme allowing to overcome this difficulty.

Unification of height systems in the frame of GGOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez, Laura

2015-04-01

Most of the existing vertical reference systems do not fulfil the accuracy requirements of modern Geodesy. They refer to local sea surface levels, are stationary (do not consider variations in time), realize different physical height types (orthometric, normal, normal-orthometric, etc.), and their combination in a global frame presents uncertainties at the metre level. To provide a precise geodetic infrastructure for monitoring the Earth system, the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), promotes the standardization of the height systems worldwide. The main purpose is to establish a global gravity field-related vertical reference system that (1) supports a highly-precise (at cm-level) combination of physical and geometric heights worldwide, (2) allows the unification of all existing local height datums, and (3) guarantees vertical coordinates with global consistency (the same accuracy everywhere) and long-term stability (the same order of accuracy at any time). Under this umbrella, the present contribution concentrates on the definition and realization of a conventional global vertical reference system; the standardization of the geodetic data referring to the existing height systems; and the formulation of appropriate strategies for the precise transformation of the local height datums into the global vertical reference system. The proposed vertical reference system is based on two components: a geometric component consisting of ellipsoidal heights as coordinates and a level ellipsoid as the reference surface, and a physical component comprising geopotential numbers as coordinates and an equipotential surface defined by a conventional W0 value as the reference surface. The definition of the physical component is based on potential parameters in order to provide reference to any type of physical heights (normal, orthometric, etc.). The conversion of geopotential numbers into metric heights and the modelling of the reference surface (geoid or quasigeoid determination) are considered as steps of the realization. The vertical datum unification strategy is based on (1) the physical connection of height datums to determine their discrepancies, (2) joint analysis of satellite altimetry and tide gauge records to determine time variations of sea level at reference tide gauges, (3) combination of geometrical and physical heights in a well-distributed and high-precise reference frame to estimate the relationship between the individual vertical levels and the global one, and (4) analysis of GNSS time series at reference tide gauges to separate crustal movements from sea level changes. The final vertical transformation parameters are provided by the common adjustment of the observation equations derived from these methods.

Autonomous Cryogenics Loading Operations Simulation Software: Knowledgebase Autonomous Test Engineer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wehner, Walter S.

2012-01-01

The Simulation Software, KATE (Knowledgebase Autonomous Test Engineer), is used to demonstrate the automatic identification of faults in a system. The ACLO (Autonomous Cryogenics Loading Operation) project uses KATE to monitor and find faults in the loading of the cryogenics int o a vehicle fuel tank. The KATE software interfaces with the IHM (Integrated Health Management) systems bus to communicate with other systems that are part of ACLO. One system that KATE uses the IHM bus to communicate with is AIS (Advanced Inspection System). KATE will send messages to AIS when there is a detected anomaly. These messages include visual inspection of specific valves, pressure gauges and control messages to have AIS open or close manual valves. My goals include implementing the connection to the IHM bus within KATE and for the AIS project. I will also be working on implementing changes to KATE's Ul and implementing the physics objects in KATE that will model portions of the cryogenics loading operation.

Multisensor Network System for Wildfire Detection Using Infrared Image Processing

PubMed Central

Bosch, I.; Serrano, A.; Vergara, L.

2013-01-01

This paper presents the next step in the evolution of multi-sensor wireless network systems in the early automatic detection of forest fires. This network allows remote monitoring of each of the locations as well as communication between each of the sensors and with the control stations. The result is an increased coverage area, with quicker and safer responses. To determine the presence of a forest wildfire, the system employs decision fusion in thermal imaging, which can exploit various expected characteristics of a real fire, including short-term persistence and long-term increases over time. Results from testing in the laboratory and in a real environment are presented to authenticate and verify the accuracy of the operation of the proposed system. The system performance is gauged by the number of alarms and the time to the first alarm (corresponding to a real fire), for different probability of false alarm (PFA). The necessity of including decision fusion is thereby demonstrated. PMID:23843734

Multisensor network system for wildfire detection using infrared image processing.

PubMed

Bosch, I; Serrano, A; Vergara, L

2013-01-01

This paper presents the next step in the evolution of multi-sensor wireless network systems in the early automatic detection of forest fires. This network allows remote monitoring of each of the locations as well as communication between each of the sensors and with the control stations. The result is an increased coverage area, with quicker and safer responses. To determine the presence of a forest wildfire, the system employs decision fusion in thermal imaging, which can exploit various expected characteristics of a real fire, including short-term persistence and long-term increases over time. Results from testing in the laboratory and in a real environment are presented to authenticate and verify the accuracy of the operation of the proposed system. The system performance is gauged by the number of alarms and the time to the first alarm (corresponding to a real fire), for different probability of false alarm (PFA). The necessity of including decision fusion is thereby demonstrated.

Soil moisture behavior in an experimental basin in Northeast of brazil - the case of Guaraira river basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moura Ramos Filho, Geraldo; das Neves Almeida, Cristiano; da Silva Freitas, Emerson

2017-04-01

In 2003, a hydrological network of the semiarid region (REHISA in Portuguese) was created in Brazil. Since then, experimental watersheds in this region have been providing hydro meteorological data collected in automatic gauges. One of these basins is the Guaraíra river basin, which is operated and maintained by the Federal University of Paraíba. This experimental watershed is located in the coastal region of Paraíba state, where the average annual rainfall is 1.700 mm. According to Köppen its climate is tropical with dry summer, and the drainage area is 5,84 km2. At this experimental basin four rainfall and one climate gauges were installed in 2003. In all of these gauges the soil moisture is monitored hourly with a Time Domain Reflectometry probe representing the 30 cm layer. According to previous analysis the spatial distribution of rainfall in the experimental basin is very low and also soil texture, which is sandy. However, the land use is different and the behavior of the soil moisture is also different. Thus, this paper present part of a study that tries to understand the difference between two gauges, in terms of soil moisture. In order to do this, two years data base were used of different gauges, gauges 2 and 4. In the first part of the study, just the descendent part of the soil moisture curve were used. Different data periods were select from a peak to a stabilization point and then the soil moisture Drying Rate (DR) was calculated to show the speed that a peak reaches the stabilization point. The data analysis was carried out considering the whole data together, then the data were shared into dry and wet periods. The results show that for the gauge 2 the DR range from 0.0335 to 2.772x10-3 kg/kg.h, with an average of 0.632x10-3 kg/kg.h. On the other hand, the gauge 4 present values that range from 0.0139 to 3.617x10-3 kg/kg.h, with an average of 0.375x10-3 kg/kg.h. As can be seen, both gauges presented different DR. When the data set is share into dry and wet period, it was found for both gauges that an exponential equation fits the dry period with determination coefficient equal to 0.68 for gauge 2 and 0.91 for gauge 4. However, for wet period it was not found a representative determination coefficient. The conclusions highlighted that in fact the soil moisture behavior is different in these gauges. Further studies will be carried to evaluate if this difference is related to the groundwater table or to the land use.

16. EXCITERS, AND SYNCHROSCOPE GAUGE ON WALL. ACTIVE ELECTRIC EXCITER ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

16. EXCITERS, AND SYNCHROSCOPE GAUGE ON WALL. ACTIVE ELECTRIC EXCITER AT REAR; UNUSED WATER-DRIVEN EXCITER IN FOREGROUND. VIEW TO SOUTH-SOUTHWEST. - Santa Ana River Hydroelectric System, SAR-2 Powerhouse, Redlands, San Bernardino County, CA

Monitoring multiple species: Estimating state variables and exploring the efficacy of a monitoring program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mattfeldt, S.D.; Bailey, L.L.; Grant, E.H.C.

2009-01-01

Monitoring programs have the potential to identify population declines and differentiate among the possible cause(s) of these declines. Recent criticisms regarding the design of monitoring programs have highlighted a failure to clearly state objectives and to address detectability and spatial sampling issues. Here, we incorporate these criticisms to design an efficient monitoring program whose goals are to determine environmental factors which influence the current distribution and measure change in distributions over time for a suite of amphibians. In designing the study we (1) specified a priori factors that may relate to occupancy, extinction, and colonization probabilities and (2) used the data collected (incorporating detectability) to address our scientific questions and adjust our sampling protocols. Our results highlight the role of wetland hydroperiod and other local covariates in the probability of amphibian occupancy. There was a change in overall occupancy probabilities for most species over the first three years of monitoring. Most colonization and extinction estimates were constant over time (years) and space (among wetlands), with one notable exception: local extinction probabilities for Rana clamitans were lower for wetlands with longer hydroperiods. We used information from the target system to generate scenarios of population change and gauge the ability of the current sampling to meet monitoring goals. Our results highlight the limitations of the current sampling design, emphasizing the need for long-term efforts, with periodic re-evaluation of the program in a framework that can inform management decisions.

Magnetic expansion of Nekrasov theory: The SU(2) pure gauge theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

He Wei; Miao Yangang

It is recently claimed by Nekrasov and Shatashvili that the N=2 gauge theories in the {Omega} background with {epsilon}{sub 1}=({h_bar}/2{pi}), {epsilon}{sub 2}=0 are related to the quantization of certain algebraic integrable systems. We study the special case of SU(2) pure gauge theory; the corresponding integrable model is the A{sub 1} Toda model, which reduces to the sine-Gordon quantum mechanics problem. The quantum effects can be expressed as the WKB series written analytically in terms of hypergeometric functions. We obtain the magnetic and dyonic expansions of the Nekrasov theory by studying the property of hypergeometric functions in the magnetic and dyonicmore » regions on the moduli space. We also discuss the relation between the electric-magnetic duality of gauge theory and the action-action duality of the integrable system.« less

Integration of Infrasound, Atmospheric Pressure, and Seismic Observations with the NSF EarthScope USArray Transportable Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vernon, F.; Tytell, J.; Hedlin, M. A. H.; Walker, K.; Busby, R.; Woodward, R.

2012-04-01

Earthscope's USArray Transportable Array (TA) network serves as a real-time monitoring and recording platform for both seismic and weather phenomena. To date, most of the approximately 500 TA stations have been retrofitted with VTI SCP1000 MEMS barometric pressure gauges capable of recording data at 1 sample per second (sps). Additionally, over 300 of the TA stations have also been retrofitted with Setra 278 barometric gauges and NCPA infrasound sensors capable of recording data at 1 and 40 sps. While individual seismic events have been successfully researched via the TA network, observations of powerful weather events by the TA network have yet to be embraced by the scientific community. This presentation will focus on case studies involving severe weather passage across portions of the TA network throughout 2011 in order to highlight its viability as a platform for real-time weather monitoring and research. It will also highlight the coupling of atmospheric signals into the seismic observations. Examples of gust front passages and pressure couplets from severe thunderstorms will be presented, as will observations of multiple tornados occurred in the Spring of 2011. These data will demonstrate the overall viability of the TA network for monitoring severe weather events in real-time.

Application of commercial microwave link (CML) derived precipitation data in a hydrology model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smiatek, Gerhard; Chwala, Christian; Kunstmann, Harald

2017-04-01

In 2016 very local and extremely intensive convective events caused severe flooding in the Alpine space. Despite the large number of monitoring stations most of the rainfall events were not captured accurately by the existing rain gauge network. As the number of traditional precipitation monitoring sites is in general decreasing, novel rain monitoring techniques are gaining attention. One of the new techniques is the rainfall estimation from signal attenuation in commercial microwave link (CML) networks operated by cellular phone companies. In this contribution, we use CML-derived rainfall information to improve the streamflow forecast of the distributed hydrology model WaSiM-ETH in hindcasting and nowcasting modes. Our model domain covers the complex terrain of the Ammer catchment located in the German Alps. The hydrology model is operated with a spatial resolution of 100m and with an hourly time step. We present two alternative methods of rainfall estimation from CMLs and compare the results to data from rain gauges and a weather radar. Finally, we show the impact of the rainfall data sets on the hydrology model initialization and in discharge simulations of the Ammer River for selected episodes in 2015 and 2016. We found that the densification of the observation network by the CML observations leads to a significant improvement of the model performance.

Self-Sensing of Position-Related Loads in Continuous Carbon Fibers-Embedded 3D-Printed Polymer Structures Using Electrical Resistance Measurement

PubMed Central

Luan, Congcong; Shen, Hongyao; Fu, Jianzhong

2018-01-01

Condition monitoring in polymer composites and structures based on continuous carbon fibers show overwhelming advantages over other potentially competitive sensing technologies in long-gauge measurements due to their great electromechanical behavior and excellent reinforcement property. Although carbon fibers have been developed as strain- or stress-sensing agents in composite structures through electrical resistance measurements, the electromechanical behavior under flexural loads in terms of different loading positions still lacks adequate research, which is the most common situation in practical applications. This study establishes the relationship between the fractional change in electrical resistance of carbon fibers and the external loads at different loading positions along the fibers’ longitudinal direction. An approach for real-time monitoring of flexural loads at different loading positions was presented simultaneously based on this relationship. The effectiveness and feasibility of the approach were verified by experiments on carbon fiber-embedded three-dimensional (3D) printed thermoplastic polymer beam. The error in using the provided approach to monitor the external loads at different loading positions was less than 1.28%. The study fully taps the potential of continuous carbon fibers as long-gauge sensory agents and reinforcement in the 3D-printed polymer structures. PMID:29584665

The NASA/USDA Reservoir and Lake Monitor: Present and Future Capabilities and Water Resources Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birkett, C. M.; Beckley, B. D.; Reynolds, C. A.; Brakenridge, G. R.; Ricko, M.

2013-12-01

The USDA/NASA Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor (GRLM) provides satellite-based surface water level products for large reservoirs and lakes around the world. It utilizes a suite of NASA/CNES and ESA radar altimetry data sets and outputs near real time and archival products via a web interface. Several stakeholders utilize the products for applications that focus on water resources management and natural hazards mitigation, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. The satellite data sets prove particularly useful in un-gauged or poorly gauged basins where in situ data is sparse. Here, we present water-level product examples based on data from the NASA/CNES Jason-2/OSTM mission, and the new ISRO/CNES SARAL mission. We also demonstrate product application from the viewpoint of various end users who have interests ranging from crop production and fisheries, to regional security and climate change. In the current phase of the program the team is also looking to the potential of additional lake/reservoir products such as areal extent (NASA/MODIS), lake volume variations (combined altimetry/imagery), and model-derived water levels, that will enhance the GRLM via improved observation and prediction, and provide a more global lake basin monitoring capability. Surface water level variations for Lake Nasser.

Hydrologic Monitoring in the Deep Subsurface to Support Repository Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubbell, J. M.; Heath, G. L.; Scott, C. L.

2007-12-01

The INL has installed and operated several vadose and ground water monitoring systems in arid and humid sites to depths of about 200m. Some of these systems have been in continuous operation for over 12 years. It is important that the systems be physically robust, simple, yet versatile enough that it can operate for extended time periods with little or no maintenance. Monitoring instruments are frequently installed and run to characterize the site, collect data during site operation, and continue to run for long-term stewardship, necessitating sensors that can be maintained or serviced. Sensors are carefully chosen based on the perceived data requirements over the life of the site. An emphasis is given on direct measurements such as tensiometers (portable and advanced), neutron probe, drain gauge, temperature, wells or sampling for fluids and gases. Other complementary data can include using TDR/capacitance, radiation detectors, and larger scale geophysical techniques (3-d resistivity and EM) for volumetric measurements. Commercially available instruments may have to be modified for their use at greater depths, to allow multiple instruments in a single borehole or to perform the intended monitoring function. Access tubes (some open at the bottom) can be placed to allow insertion of multiple sensors (radiation, neutron and portable sensors/samplers), future drilling/sampling and to install new instruments at a later time. The installation techniques and backfill materials must be chosen and the measurement technique tested to ensure representative data collection for the parameters of interest. The data collection system can be linked to climatic data (precipitation, barometric pressure, snow depth, runoff, surface water sources) that may influence the site's subsurface hydrology. The instruments are then connected to a real-time automated data collection system that collect, stores, and provides access to the data. These systems have been developed that allow easy access, automatic data quality checks with notification, processing, and presentation of the data in real time through the web. The systems can be designed to manipulate/test the system remotely. Data from several sites will be presented showing that continuous monitoring is necessary to detect rapid changes in the deep vadose zone and ground water at fractured rock sites.

Irrational Charge from Topological Order

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moessner, R.; Sondhi, S. L.

2010-10-01

Topological or deconfined phases of matter exhibit emergent gauge fields and quasiparticles that carry a corresponding gauge charge. In systems with an intrinsic conserved U(1) charge, such as all electronic systems where the Coulombic charge plays this role, these quasiparticles are also characterized by their intrinsic charge. We show that one can take advantage of the topological order fairly generally to produce periodic Hamiltonians which endow the quasiparticles with continuously variable, generically irrational, intrinsic charges. Examples include various topologically ordered lattice models, the three-dimensional resonating valence bond liquid on bipartite lattices as well as water and spin ice. By contrast, the gauge charges of the quasiparticles retain their quantized values.

Exploring phlebotomy technique as a pre-analytical factor in proteomic analyses by mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Penn, Andrew M; Lu, Linghong; Chambers, Andrew G; Balshaw, Robert F; Morrison, Jaclyn L; Votova, Kristine; Wood, Eileen; Smith, Derek S; Lesperance, Maria; del Zoppo, Gregory J; Borchers, Christoph H

2015-12-01

Multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (MRM-MS) is an emerging technology for blood biomarker verification and validation; however, the results may be influenced by pre-analytical factors. This exploratory study was designed to determine if differences in phlebotomy techniques would significantly affect the abundance of plasma proteins in an upcoming biomarker development study. Blood was drawn from 10 healthy participants using four techniques: (1) a 20-gauge IV with vacutainer, (2) a 21-gauge direct vacutainer, (3) an 18-gauge butterfly with vacutainer, and (4) an 18-gauge butterfly with syringe draw. The abundances of a panel of 122 proteins (117 proteins, plus 5 matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) proteins) were targeted by LC/MRM-MS. In addition, complete blood count (CBC) data were also compared across the four techniques. Phlebotomy technique significantly affected 2 of the 11 CBC parameters (red blood cell count, p = 0.010; hemoglobin concentration, p = 0.035) and only 12 of the targeted 117 proteins (p < 0.05). Of the five MMP proteins, only MMP7 was detectable and its concentration was not significantly affected by different techniques. Overall, most proteins in this exploratory study were not significantly influenced by phlebotomy technique; however, a larger study with additional patients will be required for confirmation.

Elastic Gauge Fields in Weyl Semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortijo, Alberto; Ferreiros, Yago; Landsteiner, Karl; Hernandez Vozmediano, Maria Angeles

We show that, as it happens in graphene, elastic deformations couple to the electronic degrees of freedom as pseudo gauge fields in Weyl semimetals. We derive the form of the elastic gauge fields in a tight-binding model hosting Weyl nodes and see that this vector electron-phonon coupling is chiral, providing an example of axial gauge fields in three dimensions. As an example of the new response functions that arise associated to these elastic gauge fields, we derive a non-zero phonon Hall viscosity for the neutral system at zero temperature. The axial nature of the fields provides a test of the chiral anomaly in high energy with three axial vector couplings. European Union structural funds and the Comunidad de Madrid MAD2D-CM Program (S2013/MIT-3007).

Improvement of the quality of work in a biochemistry laboratory via measurement system analysis.

PubMed

Chen, Ming-Shu; Liao, Chen-Mao; Wu, Ming-Hsun; Lin, Chih-Ming

2016-10-31

An adequate and continuous monitoring of operational variations can effectively reduce the uncertainty and enhance the quality of laboratory reports. This study applied the evaluation rule of the measurement system analysis (MSA) method to estimate the quality of work conducted in a biochemistry laboratory. Using the gauge repeatability & reproducibility (GR&R) approach, variations in quality control (QC) data among medical technicians in conducting measurements of five biochemical items, namely, serum glucose (GLU), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), uric acid (UA), sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl), were evaluated. The measurements of the five biochemical items showed different levels of variance among the different technicians, with the variances in GLU measurements being higher than those for the other four items. The ratios of precision-to-tolerance (P/T) for Na, Cl and GLU were all above 0.5, implying inadequate gauge capability. The product variation contribution of Na was large (75.45% and 31.24% in normal and abnormal QC levels, respectively), which showed that the impact of insufficient usage of reagents could not be excluded. With regard to reproducibility, high contributions (of more than 30%) of variation for the selected items were found. These high operator variation levels implied that the possibility of inadequate gauge capacity could not be excluded. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of GR&R showed that the operator variations in GLU measurements were significant (F=5.296, P=0.001 in the normal level and F=3.399, P=0.015 in the abnormal level, respectively). In addition to operator variations, product variations of Na were also significant for both QC levels. The heterogeneity of variance for the five technicians showed significant differences for the Na and Cl measurements in the normal QC level. The accuracy of QC for five technicians was identified for further operational improvement. This study revealed that MSA can be used to evaluate product and personnel errors and to improve the quality of work in a biochemical laboratory through proper corrective actions.

Aligned Carbon Nanotube Tape for Sensor Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tucker, Dennis S.

2013-01-01

For this effort, will concentrate on three applications: Vibration Gyroscope utilizes piezoelectric properties of the tape and Coriolis effect Accelerometer utilizes the piezoresistive property Strain Gauge utilizes piezoresistive property Accelerometer and Strain Gauge can also utilize piezoelectric effect Test piezoelectric properties using facilities at the Microfabrication Laboratory (AMRDEC) . Enhance piezoelectric effect using polyvinylidine fluoride and P(VDF ]TrFE) which is readily polarizable .Spray matrix solution while winding fiber; Sandwich of CNT tape and PVDF film (DOE .Two Level) . Construct and test prototype vibration gyroscope . Construct and test prototype accelerometer using cantilever design . Test strain sensitivity of CNT tape against industrial strain gauge . Embed CNT tape in composite samples as well as on surface and test to failure (4 ]point bend) A piezoelectric device exhibits an electrical response from a mechanical applied stress. . A piezoelectric device has both capacitance and resistance properties in which by applying an electric field from a waveform will exert a mechanical stress that can be monitored for a response. . The typical waveform applied is a sinusoidal waveform of a defined voltage for a defined period. The defined voltage is driven from 0 volts to the positive defined volts then back to 0 and driven to negative defined volts then back to 0. . Example. Vmax set to 10V and period set to 10 ms. . Voltage will start at zero, go to 10 volts, return to zero, go to ]10 volts and return to zero during 10 ms. . Applying this electrical field to a DUT, the capacitance response and resistance response can be observed. CNT tape is easier to manufacture and cheaper than micromachining silicon or other ceramic piezoelectric used in gyroscopes and accelerometers CNT tape properties can be modified during manufacture for specific application CNT tape has enhanced mechanical and thermal properties in addition to unique electrical properties CNT tape as a strain gauge in Structural Health Monitoring will provide an excellent material to embed within composite structures

Berry phase and Hannay’s angle in the Born–Oppenheimer hybrid systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, H.D.; Yi, X.X.; Fu, L.B., E-mail: lbfu.iapcm@gmail.com

2013-12-15

In this paper, we investigate the Berry phase and Hannay’s angle in the Born–Oppenheimer (BO) hybrid systems and obtain their algebraic expressions in terms of one form connection. The semiclassical relation of Berry phase and Hannay’s angle is discussed. We find that, besides the usual connection term, the Berry phase of quantum BO composite system also contains a novel term brought forth by the coupling induced effective gauge potential. This quantum modification can be viewed as an effective Aharonov–Bohm effect. Moreover, the similar phenomenon is founded in Hannay’s angle of classical BO composite system, which indicates that the Berry phasemore » and Hannay’s angle possess the same relation as the usual one. An example is used to illustrate our theory. This scheme can be used to generate artificial gauge potentials for neutral atoms. Besides, the quantum–classical hybrid BO system is also studied to compare with the results in full quantum and full classical composite systems. -- Highlights: •We have derived the Berry phase and Hannay’s angle in BO hybrid systems. •The Berry phase contains a novel term brought by the effective gauge potential. •This mechanism can be used to generate artificial gauge potentials for neutral atoms. •The relation between Hannay’s angles and Berry phases is established.« less

Strong Coupling Expansion of the Generating Functional for Gauge Systems on a Lattice with Arbitrary Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoek, Jaap

1983-02-01

A set of programs to calculate algebraically the generating functional (free energy) of a gauge system with arbitrary external sources on a lattice has been developed. It makes use of the strong coupling expansion. For theories with the standard Tr(UUU †U †) action results have been obtained up to fourth order.

Corneal approach 20 Guage vitrectomy system for the management of congenital cataract

PubMed Central

Memon, Mariya Nazish; Bukhari, Sadia; Bhutto, Israr Ahmed

2016-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and complications of 20 gauge vitrectomy via corneal approach for the management of congenital cataract. Method: We performed anterior capsular vitreorhexis, lens matter aspiration (LMA), primary posterior vitrectorhexis and anterior vitrectomy via corneal approach using 20 gauge vitrectomy system in children younger than two years of age with congenital cataract between January 2014 to December 2014. The intra and postoperative complications were observed. Results: Twenty nine eyes of 21 children were included in this study. Congenital cataract surgery using 20 gauge vitrectomy system via corneal approach did not reveal any intra operative complication. Post operatively all children were able to freely open their operated eyes. Conjunctival congestion at the incision site in four eyes and mild anterior chamber reaction in 8 eyes were seen on 1st daywhich resolved at one week follow up. Other major post operative complications such as inflammatory membrane, irregular pupil, posterior/anterior syneache and opacification of visual axis were not seen during follow up period. Conclusion: The 20-gauge vitrectomy system via corneal approach is easy to perform, is less time consuming, safe and effective for the management of congenital cataract in younger children. PMID:27182257

Corneal approach 20 Guage vitrectomy system for the management of congenital cataract.

PubMed

Memon, Mariya Nazish; Bukhari, Sadia; Bhutto, Israr Ahmed

2016-01-01

To evaluate the efficacy and complications of 20 gauge vitrectomy via corneal approach for the management of congenital cataract. We performed anterior capsular vitreorhexis, lens matter aspiration (LMA), primary posterior vitrectorhexis and anterior vitrectomy via corneal approach using 20 gauge vitrectomy system in children younger than two years of age with congenital cataract between January 2014 to December 2014. The intra and postoperative complications were observed. Twenty nine eyes of 21 children were included in this study. Congenital cataract surgery using 20 gauge vitrectomy system via corneal approach did not reveal any intra operative complication. Post operatively all children were able to freely open their operated eyes. Conjunctival congestion at the incision site in four eyes and mild anterior chamber reaction in 8 eyes were seen on 1(st) daywhich resolved at one week follow up. Other major post operative complications such as inflammatory membrane, irregular pupil, posterior/anterior syneache and opacification of visual axis were not seen during follow up period. The 20-gauge vitrectomy system via corneal approach is easy to perform, is less time consuming, safe and effective for the management of congenital cataract in younger children.

Quantization of a U(1) gauged chiral boson in the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Subir

1994-03-01

The scheme developed by Batalin, Fradkin, and Vilkovisky (BFV) to convert a second-class constrained system to a first-class one (having gauge invariance) is used in the Floreanini-Jackiw formulation of the chiral boson interacting with a U(1) gauge field. Explicit expressions of the BRST charge, the unitarizing Hamiltonian, and the BRST invariant effective action are provided and the full quantization is carried through. The spectra in both cases have been analyzed to show the presence of the proper chiral components explicitly. In the gauged model, Wess-Zumino terms in terms of the Batalin-Fradkin fields are identified.

Quantization of a U(1) gauged chiral boson in the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky scheme

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghosh, S.

1994-03-15

The scheme developed by Batalin, Fradkin, and Vilkovisky (BFV) to convert a second-class constrained system to a first-class one (having gauge invariance) is used in the Floreanini-Jackiw formulation of the chiral boson interacting with a U(1) gauge field. Explicit expressions of the BRST charge, the unitarizing Hamiltonian, and the BRST invariant effective action are provided and the full quantization is carried through. The spectra in both cases have been analyzed to show the presence of the proper chiral components explicitly. In the gauged model, Wess-Zumino terms in terms of the Batalin-Fradkin fields are identified.

Three-dimensional gauge theories and gravitational instantons from string theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherkis, Sergey Alexander

Various realizations of gauge theories in string theory allow an identification of their spaces of vacua with gravitational instantons. Also, they provide a correspondence of vacua of gauge theories with nonabelian monopole configurations and solutions of a system of integrable equations called Nahm equations. These identifications make it possible to apply powerful techniques of differential and algebraic geometry to solve the gauge theories in question. In other words, it becomes possible to find the exact metrics on their moduli spaces of vacua with all quantum corrections included. As another outcome we obtain for the first time the description of a series of all Dk-type gravitational instantons.

Development of wireless sensor network for landslide monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suryadi; Puranto, Prabowo; Adinanta, Hendra; Tohari, Adrin; Priambodo, Purnomo S.

2017-05-01

A wireless sensor network has been developed to monitor soil movement of some observed areas periodically. The system consists of four nodes and one gateway which installed on a scope area of 0.2 Km2. Each of nodehastwo types of sensor,an inclinometer and an extensometer. An inclinometer sensor is used to measure the tilt of a structure while anextensometer sensor is used to measure the displacement of soil movement. Each of nodeisalso supported by awireless communication device, a solar power supply unit, and a microcontroller unit called sensor module. In this system, there is also gateway module as a main communication system consistinga wireless communication device, power supply unit, and rain gauge to measure the rainfall intensity of the observed area. Each sensor of inclinometer and extensometer isconnected to the sensor module in wiring system but sensor module iscommunicating with gateway in a wireless system. Those four nodes are alsoconnectedeach other in a wireless system collecting the data from inclinometer and extensometer sensors. Module Gateway istransmitting the instruction code to each sensor module one by one and collecting the data from them. Gateway module is an important part to communicate with not only sensor modules but also to the server. This wireless system wasdesigned toreducethe electric consumption powered by 80 WP solar panel and 55Ah battery. This system has been implemented in Pangalengan, Bandung, which has high intensity of rainfall and it can be seen on the website.

An Intelligent Strain Gauge with Debond Detection and Temperature Compensation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, Scott L.

2012-01-01

The harsh rocket propulsion test environment will expose any inadequacies associated with preexisting instrumentation technologies, and the criticality for collecting reliable test data justifies investigating any encountered data anomalies. Novel concepts for improved systems are often conceived during the high scrutiny investigations by individuals with an in-depth knowledge from maintaining critical test operations. The Intelligent Strain Gauge concept was conceived while performing these kinds of activities. However, the novel concepts are often unexplored even if it has the potential for advancing the current state of the art. Maturing these kinds of concepts is often considered to be a tangential development or a research project which are both normally abandoned within the propulsion-oriented environment. It is also difficult to justify these kinds of projects as a facility enhancement because facility developments are only accepted for mature and proven technologies. Fortunately, the CIF program has provided an avenue for bringing the Intelligent Strain Gauge to fruition. Two types of fully functional smart strain gauges capable of performing reliable and sensitive debond detection have been successfully produced. Ordinary gauges are designed to provide test article data and they lack the ability to supply information concerning the gauge itself. A gauge is considered to be a smart gauge when it provides supplementary data relating other relevant attributes for performing diagnostic function or producing enhanced data. The developed strain gauges provide supplementary signals by measuring strain and temperature through embedded Karma and nickel chromium (NiCr) alloy elements. Intelligently interpreting the supplementary data into valuable information can be performed manually, however, integrating this functionality into an automatic system is considered to be an intelligent gauge. This was achieved while maintaining a very low mass. The low mass enables debond detection and temperature compensation to be performed when the gauge is utilized on small test articles. It was also found that the element's mass must be relatively small to avoid overbearing the desired thermal dissipation characteristics. Detecting the degradation of a gauge s bond was reliably achieved by correlating thermal dissipation with the bond s integrity. This was accomplished by precisely coupling a NiCr element with a Karma element for accurately interjecting and quantifying thermal energy. A finite amount of thermal energy is consistently placed in the gauge by electrically powering the NiCr element. The energy will only be temporarily stored before it begins to dissipate into the surrounding structure through the gauge bond. The ability to transmit the energy into the structure becomes greatly inhibited by any discontinuity in the bond s substrate. Therefore, the way the thermal dissipation occurs will reveal even the slightest change in the integrity of the bond.

CAOS: the nested catchment soil-vegetation-atmosphere observation platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiler, Markus; Blume, Theresa

2016-04-01

Most catchment based observations linking hydrometeorology, ecohydrology, soil hydrology and hydrogeology are typically not integrated with each other and lack a consistent and appropriate spatial-temporal resolution. Within the research network CAOS (Catchments As Organized Systems), we have initiated and developed a novel and integrated observation platform in several catchments in Luxembourg. In 20 nested catchments covering three distinct geologies the subscale processes at the bedrock-soil-vegetation-atmosphere interface are being monitored at 46 sensor cluster locations. Each sensor cluster is designed to observe a variety of different fluxes and state variables above and below ground, in the saturated and unsaturated zone. The numbers of sensors are chosen to capture the spatial variability as well the average dynamics. At each of these sensor clusters three soil moisture profiles with sensors at different depths, four soil temperature profiles as well as matric potential, air temperature, relative humidity, global radiation, rainfall/throughfall, sapflow and shallow groundwater and stream water levels are measured continuously. In addition, most sensors also measure temperature (water, soil, atmosphere) and electrical conductivity. This setup allows us to determine the local water and energy balance at each of these sites. The discharge gauging sites in the nested catchments are also equipped with automatic water samplers to monitor water quality and water stable isotopes continuously. Furthermore, water temperature and electrical conductivity observations are extended to over 120 locations distributed across the entire stream network to capture the energy exchange between the groundwater, stream water and atmosphere. The measurements at the sensor clusters are complemented by hydrometeorological observations (rain radar, network of distrometers and dense network of precipitation gauges) and linked with high resolution meteorological models. In this presentation, we will highlight the potential of this integrated observation platform to estimate energy and water exchange between the terrestrial and aquatic systems and the atmosphere, to trace water flow pathways in the unsaturated and saturated zone, and to understand the organization of processes and fluxes and thus runoff generation at different temporal and spatial scales.

Application of Radar Altimetry Methods to Monitoring of Parasitic Disease Transmission: Schistosomiasis in Poyang Lake, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCandless, M.; Ibaraki, M.; Shum, C.; Lee, H.; Liang, S.

2008-12-01

Schistosomiasis is the second-most prevalent tropical disease after malaria affecting two-hundred million people annually world-wide; it shortens lifespan on average by ten years in endemic areas and no vaccine exists. The current control methods of human host chemotherapy and application of molluscicides to the environment do not break the disease transmission cycle. Schistosomiasis transmission in southern China involves an amphibious intermediate host snail for which hydrology is a key factor because the adults need moist vegetation while the juveniles are fully aquatic. Thus, hydrology is a key factor in schistosomiasis transmission and understanding its role can inform control measures. Our objective is to integrate hydrologic, ecologic, and other environmental factors to determine the changes in available snail habitat through space and time. We use radar altimetry measurements to determine water level every 35 days when the Envisat (Environmental Satellite) passes over the lake. The radar altimetry readings have been calibrated to levels from in-situ gauging stations and will support remote analysis of disease transmission potential without the need for gauging station data. A geographic information system was used to combine key factors including water level, topography, and air temperature data to identify areas of available snail habitat. In order to accomplish this, we conducted three steps including: delineating the watershed, specifying potential snail habitat areas through topography and air temperature classification, and calculating the intersection between potential snail habitat and non-flooded areas in the watershed. Statistical analyses of total available habitat area are also conducted. These maps and statistics analyses can be used by public health agencies to monitor snail habitat trends over time. Coupling remote sensing of water levels with a geographic information system model will continue to be important as the hydrology of the lake changes due to the completion of the upstream Three Gorges Dam project.

An ultrasensitive strain sensor with a wide strain range based on graphene armour scales.

PubMed

Yang, Yi-Fan; Tao, Lu-Qi; Pang, Yu; Tian, He; Ju, Zhen-Yi; Wu, Xiao-Ming; Yang, Yi; Ren, Tian-Ling

2018-06-12

An ultrasensitive strain sensor with a wide strain range based on graphene armour scales is demonstrated in this paper. The sensor shows an ultra-high gauge factor (GF, up to 1054) and a wide strain range (ε = 26%), both of which present an advantage compared to most other flexible sensors. Moreover, the sensor is developed by a simple fabrication process. Due to the excellent performance, this strain sensor can meet the demands of subtle, large and complex human motion monitoring, which indicates its tremendous application potential in health monitoring, mechanical control, real-time motion monitoring and so on.

Characterizing Geohydrologic Linkages using Process Domains for Monitoring Aquatic Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weekes, A.; Torgersen, C.; Montgomery, D. R.; Woodward, A.; Bolton, S.

2009-12-01

Aquatic habitats in glaciated headwater basins can differ widely within a mountain region and are often more complex than those found in lowland river systems. Current legislative mandates for ecosystem monitoring often require the ability to relate geomorphic and hydrologic stream attributes to ecological response. The capacity to define meaningful references states against which to evaluate current status and trends is particularly challenging in mountain aquatic ecosystems. To aid in the implementation of the National Park Service (NPS) Vital Signs Monitoring Program in the mountainous North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) parks, this project sought a systematic way to characterize both the spatial distribution of geomorphic controls within the stream hierarchy and to integrate hydrologic response. These controls comprise the physical context that supports biotic “vital signs” in park ecosystems and have consequences that directly affect the life history strategies and persistence of biota living in mountain streams and other aquatic habitats. However, there are currently no monitoring protocols that provide a precedent for incorporating the geomorphic spatial characteristics or diverse types of hydrologic response at the spatial and temporal scales unique to these headwater systems. To address this issue, we investigated relationships between valley-scale glacial macroforms and hydrologic indices (e.g. streamflow gauging, stable isotope analysis and water temperature measurements) in small (1 - 20 km2) headwater basins on the east side of Mount Rainier National Park. The linkage between geomorphic and hydrologic response was found to be best expressed in process domains defined as colluvial, alluvial and bedrock systems. Study results show a correlation between the percentage of colluvial process domains within a headwater catchment and the characteristic hydrologic regime of the basin. These relationships offer a framework that can account for the innate system complexity useful to ecological monitoring programs that aim to compare the physical habitats that control biotic response.

Extremely Elastic Wearable Carbon Nanotube Fiber Strain Sensor for Monitoring of Human Motion.

PubMed

Ryu, Seongwoo; Lee, Phillip; Chou, Jeffrey B; Xu, Ruize; Zhao, Rong; Hart, Anastasios John; Kim, Sang-Gook

2015-06-23

The increasing demand for wearable electronic devices has made the development of highly elastic strain sensors that can monitor various physical parameters an essential factor for realizing next generation electronics. Here, we report an ultrahigh stretchable and wearable device fabricated from dry-spun carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers. Stretching the highly oriented CNT fibers grown on a flexible substrate (Ecoflex) induces a constant decrease in the conductive pathways and contact areas between nanotubes depending on the stretching distance; this enables CNT fibers to behave as highly sensitive strain sensors. Owing to its unique structure and mechanism, this device can be stretched by over 900% while retaining high sensitivity, responsiveness, and durability. Furthermore, the device with biaxially oriented CNT fiber arrays shows independent cross-sensitivity, which facilitates simultaneous measurement of strains along multiple axes. We demonstrated potential applications of the proposed device, such as strain gauge, single and multiaxial detecting motion sensors. These devices can be incorporated into various motion detecting systems where their applications are limited to their strain.

Frequency Based Volcanic Activity Detection through Remotely Sensed Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Worden, A. K.; Dehn, J.; Webley, P. W.

2015-12-01

Satellite remote sensing has proved to offer a useful and relatively inexpensive method for monitoring large areas where field work is logistically unrealistic, and potentially dangerous. Current sensors are able to detect the majority of explosive volcanic activity; those that tend to effect and represent larger scale changes in the volcanic systems, eventually relating to ash producing periods of extended eruptive activity, and effusive activity. As new spaceborne sensors are developed, the ability to detect activity improves so that a system to gauge the frequency of volcanic activity can be used as a useful monitoring tool. Four volcanoes were chosen for development and testing of a method to monitor explosive activity: Stromboli (Italy); Shishaldin and Cleveland (Alaska, USA); and Karymsky (Kamchatka, Russia). Each volcano studied had similar but unique signatures of pre-cursory and eruptive activity. This study has shown that this monitoring tool could be applied to a wide range of volcanoes and still produce useful and robust data. Our method deals specifically with the detection of small scale explosive activity. The method described here could be useful in an operational setting, especially at remote volcanoes that have the potential to impact populations, infrastructure, and the aviation community. A number of important factors will affect the validity of application of this method. They are: (1) the availability of a continuous and continually populated dataset; (2) appropriate and reasonable sensor resolutions; (3) a recorded history of the volcano's previous activity; and, if available, (4) some ground-based monitoring system. We aim to develop the method further to be able to capture and evaluate the frequency of other volcanic processes such as lava flows, phreatomagmatic eruptions and dome growth and collapse. The work shown here has served to illustrate the capability of this method and monitoring tool for use at remote, un-instrumented volcanoes.

40 CFR 60.674 - Monitoring of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... certified by the manufacturer to be accurate within ±250 pascals ±1 inch water gauge pressure and must be... monthly periodic inspections to check that water is flowing to discharge spray nozzles in the wet... corrective action as expediently as practical if the owner or operator finds that water is not flowing...

40 CFR Table 3 to Subpart Ooo of... - Batch Process Vent Monitoring Requirements

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) temperature Continuous records as specified in § 63.1416(d). a Carbon adsorber a Total regeneration steam flow or nitrogen flow, or pressure (gauge or absolute) during carbon bed regeneration cycle(s), and Record the total regeneration steam flow or nitrogen flow, or pressure for each carbon bed regeneration cycle...

40 CFR Table 3 to Subpart Ooo of... - Batch Process Vent Monitoring Requirements

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) temperature Continuous records as specified in § 63.1416(d). a Carbon adsorber a Total regeneration steam flow or nitrogen flow, or pressure (gauge or absolute) during carbon bed regeneration cycle(s), and Record the total regeneration steam flow or nitrogen flow, or pressure for each carbon bed regeneration cycle...

46 CFR 154.1335 - Pressure and vacuum protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Pressure and vacuum protection. 154.1335 Section 154... Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1335 Pressure and vacuum protection. (a) Each cargo tank must have the following: (1) A pressure gauge that: (i) Monitors the vapor space; (ii) Is readable at the tank; and (iii...

Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (CPST) Technology Demonstration For Long Duration In-Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyer, Michael L.; Motil, Susan M.; Kortes, Trudy F.; Taylor, William J.; McRight, Patrick S.

2012-01-01

(1) Store cryogenic propellants in a manner that maximizes their availability for use regardless of mission duration; (2) Efficiently transfer conditioned cryogenic propellant to an engine or tank situated in a microgravity environment; and (3) Accurately monitor and gauge cryogenic propellants situated in a microgravity environment

Portable Dew Point Mass Spectrometry System for Real-Time Gas and Moisture Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arkin, C.; Gillespie, Stacey; Ratzel, Christopher

2010-01-01

A portable instrument incorporates both mass spectrometry and dew point measurement to provide real-time, quantitative gas measurements of helium, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide, along with real-time, quantitative moisture analysis. The Portable Dew Point Mass Spectrometry (PDP-MS) system comprises a single quadrupole mass spectrometer and a high vacuum system consisting of a turbopump and a diaphragm-backing pump. A capacitive membrane dew point sensor was placed upstream of the MS, but still within the pressure-flow control pneumatic region. Pressure-flow control was achieved with an upstream precision metering valve, a capacitance diaphragm gauge, and a downstream mass flow controller. User configurable LabVIEW software was developed to provide real-time concentration data for the MS, dew point monitor, and sample delivery system pressure control, pressure and flow monitoring, and recording. The system has been designed to include in situ, NIST-traceable calibration. Certain sample tubing retains sufficient water that even if the sample is dry, the sample tube will desorb water to an amount resulting in moisture concentration errors up to 500 ppm for as long as 10 minutes. It was determined that Bev-A-Line IV was the best sample line to use. As a result of this issue, it is prudent to add a high-level humidity sensor to PDP-MS so such events can be prevented in the future.

Experimental damage detection of wind turbine blade using thin film sensor array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Downey, Austin; Laflamme, Simon; Ubertini, Filippo; Sarkar, Partha

2017-04-01

Damage detection of wind turbine blades is difficult due to their large sizes and complex geometries. Additionally, economic restraints limit the viability of high-cost monitoring methods. While it is possible to monitor certain global signatures through modal analysis, obtaining useful measurements over a blade's surface using off-the-shelf sensing technologies is difficult and typically not economical. A solution is to deploy dedicated sensor networks fabricated from inexpensive materials and electronics. The authors have recently developed a novel large-area electronic sensor measuring strain over very large surfaces. The sensing system is analogous to a biological skin, where local strain can be monitored over a global area. In this paper, we propose the utilization of a hybrid dense sensor network of soft elastomeric capacitors to detect, localize, and quantify damage, and resistive strain gauges to augment such dense sensor network with high accuracy data at key locations. The proposed hybrid dense sensor network is installed inside a wind turbine blade model and tested in a wind tunnel to simulate an operational environment. Damage in the form of changing boundary conditions is introduced into the monitored section of the blade. Results demonstrate the ability of the hybrid dense sensor network, and associated algorithms, to detect, localize, and quantify damage.

Fiber Optic Rosette Strain Gauge Development and Application on a Large-Scale Composite Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Jason P.; Przekop, Adam; Juarez, Peter D.; Roth, Mark C.

2015-01-01

A detailed description of the construction, application, and measurement of 196 FO rosette strain gauges that measured multi-axis strain across the outside upper surface of the forward bulkhead component of a multibay composite fuselage test article is presented. A background of the FO strain gauge and the FO measurement system as utilized in this application is given and results for the higher load cases of the testing sequence are shown.

Transtech PQI 301 pavement quality indicator device evaluation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-10-01

The PQI 301 Asphalt Density device, developed by Transtech Systems, Inc., was evaluated by MDOT to determine if it could be used in lieu of the currently required nuclear density gauge. Nuclear density gauges require MDOT personnel to have a license,...

Evaluation of the economic viability of narrow-gauge local rail systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-11-01

The purpose of this project is to investigate and determine whether narrow-gauge local rail is a viable transportation alternative in Florida. A number of proposals for transit greenways have been developed for various communities throughout Florida....

Lagrange multiplier and Wess-Zumino variable as extra dimensions in the torus universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nejad, Salman Abarghouei; Dehghani, Mehdi; Monemzadeh, Majid

2018-01-01

We study the effect of the simplest geometry which is imposed via the topology of the universe by gauging non-relativistic particle model on torus and 3-torus with the help of symplectic formalism of constrained systems. Also, we obtain generators of gauge transformations for gauged models. Extracting corresponding Poisson structure of existed constraints, we show the effect of the shape of the universe on canonical structure of phase-spaces of models and suggest some phenomenology to prove the topology of the universe and probable non-commutative structure of the space. In addition, we show that the number of extra dimensions in the phase-spaces of gauged embedded models are exactly two. Moreover, in classical form, we talk over modification of Newton's second law in order to study the origin of the terms appeared in the gauged theory.

Development of an In-Situ Decommissioning Sensor Network Test Bed for Structural Condition Monitoring - 12156

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zeigler, Kristine E.; Ferguson, Blythe A.

2012-07-01

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has established an In Situ Decommissioning (ISD) Sensor Network Test Bed, a unique, small scale, configurable environment, for the assessment of prospective sensors on actual ISD system material, at minimal cost. The Department of Energy (DOE) is presently implementing permanent entombment of contaminated, large nuclear structures via ISD. The ISD end state consists of a grout-filled concrete civil structure within the concrete frame of the original building. Validation of ISD system performance models and verification of actual system conditions can be achieved through the development a system of sensors to monitor the materials andmore » condition of the structure. The ISD Sensor Network Test Bed has been designed and deployed to addresses the DOE-Environmental Management Technology Need to develop a remote monitoring system to determine and verify ISD system performance. Commercial off-the-shelf sensors have been installed on concrete blocks taken from walls of the P Reactor Building at the Savannah River Site. Deployment of this low-cost structural monitoring system provides hands-on experience with sensor networks. The initial sensor system consists of groutable thermistors for temperature and moisture monitoring, strain gauges for crack growth monitoring, tilt-meters for settlement monitoring, and a communication system for data collection. Baseline data and lessons learned from system design and installation and initial field testing will be utilized for future ISD sensor network development and deployment. The Sensor Network Test Bed at SRNL uses COTS sensors on concrete blocks from the outer wall of the P Reactor Building to measure conditions expected to occur in ISD structures. Knowledge and lessons learned gained from installation, testing, and monitoring of the equipment will be applied to sensor installation in a meso-scale test bed at FIU and in future ISD structures. The initial data collected from the sensors installed on the P Reactor Building blocks define the baseline materials condition of the P Reactor ISD external concrete structure. Continued monitoring of the blocks will enable evaluation of the effects of aging on the P Reactor ISD structure. The collected data will support validation of the material degradation model and assessment of the condition of the ISD structure over time. The following are recommendations for continued development of the ISD Sensor Network Test Bed: - Establish a long-term monitoring program using the concrete blocks with existing sensor and/or additional sensors for trending the concrete materials and structural condition; - Continue development of a stand-alone test bed sensor system that is self-powered and provides wireless transmission of data to a user-accessible dashboard; - Develop and implement periodic NDE/DE characterization of the concrete blocks to provide verification and validation for the measurements obtained through the sensor system and concrete degradation model(s). (authors)« less

Ultrasound-guided thermocouple placement for cryosurgery.

PubMed

Abramovits, W; Pruiksma, R; Bose, S

1996-09-01

Although cryosurgical methods have high cure rates, imprecise estimates of both skin lesion depth and destructive temperature front location result in subjective technique in skin malignancy treatments. We evaluated the possibility of newer ultrasound equipment to assist in the precise placement of thermocouples in human skin. DermaScan C ver. 3 ultrasonographic equipment fitted with a sharp focus probe with a frequency of 20 MHz and a scan length of 12.1 mm was used to locate thermocouples with 27- and 30-gauge needles. We successfully and reproducibly located thermocouples and thin needles, and accurately measured their distance from the skin surface. Ultrasound is a useful method for the accurate placement of thermocouples, and needles as thin as 30 gauge for monitoring in cryosurgery.

A Bayesian approach to multivariate measurement system assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamada, Michael Scott

This article considers system assessment for multivariate measurements and presents a Bayesian approach to analyzing gauge R&R study data. The evaluation of variances for univariate measurement becomes the evaluation of covariance matrices for multivariate measurements. The Bayesian approach ensures positive definite estimates of the covariance matrices and easily provides their uncertainty. Furthermore, various measurement system assessment criteria are easily evaluated. The approach is illustrated with data from a real gauge R&R study as well as simulated data.

A Bayesian approach to multivariate measurement system assessment

DOE PAGES

Hamada, Michael Scott

2016-07-01

This article considers system assessment for multivariate measurements and presents a Bayesian approach to analyzing gauge R&R study data. The evaluation of variances for univariate measurement becomes the evaluation of covariance matrices for multivariate measurements. The Bayesian approach ensures positive definite estimates of the covariance matrices and easily provides their uncertainty. Furthermore, various measurement system assessment criteria are easily evaluated. The approach is illustrated with data from a real gauge R&R study as well as simulated data.

Mass Gauging Demonstrator for Any Gravitational Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korman, Valentin (Inventor); Pedersen, Kevin W. (Inventor); Witherow, William K. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

The present invention is a mass gauging interferometry system used to determine the volume contained within a tank. By using an optical interferometric technique to determine gas density and/or pressure a much smaller compression volume or higher fidelity measurement is possible. The mass gauging interferometer system is comprised of an optical source, a component that splits the optical source into a plurality of beams, a component that recombines the split beams, an optical cell operatively coupled to a tank, a detector for detecting fringes, and a means for compression. A portion of the beam travels through the optical cell operatively coupled to the tank, while the other beam(s) is a reference.

2. Exterior view of instrumentation and gauge panels on southeast ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

2. Exterior view of instrumentation and gauge panels on southeast wall of Signal Transfer Building (T-28A). The piping and tubing visibile in the photograph extends from the structure to the Systems Integration Laboratory Building (T-28) and other structures in the complex. - Air Force Plant PJKS, Systems Integration Laboratory, Signal Transfer Building, Waterton Canyon Road & Colorado Highway 121, Lakewood, Jefferson County, CO

Integrated Monitoring of the Soya Warm Current Using HF Ocean Radars, Satellite Altimeters, Coastal Tide Gauges, and a Bottom-Mounted ADCP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebuchi, N.; Fukamachi, Y.; Ohshima, K. I.; Wakatsuchi, M.

2007-12-01

The Soya Warm Current (SWC) is a coastal boundary current, which flows along the coast of Hokkaido in the Sea of Okhotsk. The SWC flows into the Sea of Okhotsk from the Sea of Japan through the Soya/La Perouse Strait, which is located between Hokkaido, Japan, and Sakhalin, Russia. It supplies warm, saline water in the Sea of Japan to the Sea of Okhotsk and largely affects the ocean circulation and water mass formation in the Sea of Okhotsk, and local climate, environment and fishery in the region. However, the SWC has never been continuously monitored due to the difficulties involved in field observations related to, for example, severe weather conditions in the winter, political issues at the border strait, and conflicts with fishing activities in the strait. Detailed features of the SWC and its variations have not yet been clarified. In order to monitor variations in the SWC, three HF ocean radar stations were installed around the strait. The radar covers a range of approximately 70 km from the coast. It is shown that the HF radars clearly capture seasonal and subinertial variations of the SWC. The velocity of the SWC reaches its maximum, approximately 1 m/s, in summer, and weakens in winter. The velocity core is located 20 to 30 km from the coast, and its width is approximately 50 km. The surface transport by the Soya Warm Current shows a significant correlation with the sea level difference along the strait, as derived from coastal tide gauge records. The cross-current sea level difference, which is estimated from the sea level anomalies observed by the Jason-1 altimeter and a coastal tide gauge, also exhibits variation in concert with the surface transport and along-current sea level difference.

Experimental Investigation of Gauge Widening and Rail Restraint Characteristics

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1984-11-01

Gauge widening resulting from a loss of adequate rail restraint is one of the major track failure modes and the cause of a large number of derailments. A recent field and laboratory test program conducted by the Transportation Systems Center aimed at...

Scalable Manufacturing of Solderable and Stretchable Physiologic Sensing Systems.

PubMed

Kim, Yun-Soung; Lu, Jesse; Shih, Benjamin; Gharibans, Armen; Zou, Zhanan; Matsuno, Kristen; Aguilera, Roman; Han, Yoonjae; Meek, Ann; Xiao, Jianliang; Tolley, Michael T; Coleman, Todd P

2017-10-01

Methods for microfabrication of solderable and stretchable sensing systems (S4s) and a scaled production of adhesive-integrated active S4s for health monitoring are presented. S4s' excellent solderability is achieved by the sputter-deposited nickel-vanadium and gold pad metal layers and copper interconnection. The donor substrate, which is modified with "PI islands" to become selectively adhesive for the S4s, allows the heterogeneous devices to be integrated with large-area adhesives for packaging. The feasibility for S4-based health monitoring is demonstrated by developing an S4 integrated with a strain gauge and an onboard optical indication circuit. Owing to S4s' compatibility with the standard printed circuit board assembly processes, a variety of commercially available surface mount chip components, such as the wafer level chip scale packages, chip resistors, and light-emitting diodes, can be reflow-soldered onto S4s without modifications, demonstrating the versatile and modular nature of S4s. Tegaderm-integrated S4 respiration sensors are tested for robustness for cyclic deformation, maximum stretchability, durability, and biocompatibility for multiday wear time. The results of the tests and demonstration of the respiration sensing indicate that the adhesive-integrated S4s can provide end users a way for unobtrusive health monitoring. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Strain-Gauge Measurement of Weight of Fluid in a Tank

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Figueroa, Jorge; St. Cyr, William; Rahman, Shamim; McVay, Gregory; Van Dyke, David; Mitchell, William; Langford, Lester

2004-01-01

A method of determining the amount of fluid in a tank is based on measurement of strains induced in tank supports by the weight of the fluid. Unlike most prior methods, this method is nonintrusive: there is no need to insert instrumentation in the tank and, hence, no need to run wires, cables, or tubes through the tank wall. Also unlike most prior methods, this method is applicable even if the fluid in the tank is at supercritical pressure and temperature, because it does not depend on the presence of a liquid/gas interface (as in liquid-level-measuring methods). The strain gauges used in this method may be of two types: foil and fiber-optic. Four foil gauges (full bridge) are mounted on each of the tank-supporting legs. As the tank is filled or emptied, the deformation in each leg increases or decreases, respectively. Measured deformations of all legs are added to obtain a composite deformation indicative of the change in weight of the tank plus fluid. An initial calibration is performed by recording data at two points (usually, empty and full) for which the mass or weight of fluid is known. It is assumed that the deformations are elastic, so that the line passing through the two points can be used as a calibration curve of mass (or weight) of fluid versus deformation. One or more fiber-optic gauges may be used instead of the foil gauges. The resolution of the fiber-optic and foil gauges is approximately the same, but the fiber-optic gauges are immune to EMI (electromagnetic interference), are linear with respect to temperature over their entire dynamic range (as defined by the behavior of the sample), and measure thermally induced deformations as predictable signals. Conversely, long term testing has demonstrated that the foil gauges exhibit an erratic behavior whenever subjected to direct sun radiation (even if protected with a rubberized cover). Henceforth, for deployment in outdoor conditions, fiber-optic gauges are the only option if one is to rely on the system for an extended period of time when a recalibration procedure may not be acceptable. A set of foil gauges had been tested on the supports of a 500-gallon (1,900-liter) tank. The gauges were found to be capable of measuring the deformations (up to 22 micro-strain) that occurred during filling and emptying of the tank. The fluid masses calculated from the gauge readings were found to be accurate within 4.5 percent. However, the reliability of the foil gauges over a few hours was not acceptable. Therefore, the foil sensor system is acceptable for use only in controlled environments (complete shade, or indoors).

A laboratory evaluation of the influence of weighing gauges performance on extreme events statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colli, Matteo; Lanza, Luca

2014-05-01

The effects of inaccurate ground based rainfall measurements on the information derived from rain records is yet not much documented in the literature. La Barbera et al. (2002) investigated the propagation of the systematic mechanic errors of tipping bucket type rain gauges (TBR) into the most common statistics of rainfall extremes, e.g. in the assessment of the return period T (or the related non-exceedance probability) of short-duration/high intensity events. Colli et al. (2012) and Lanza et al. (2012) extended the analysis to a 22-years long precipitation data set obtained from a virtual weighing type gauge (WG). The artificial WG time series was obtained basing on real precipitation data measured at the meteo-station of the University of Genova and modelling the weighing gauge output as a linear dynamic system. This approximation was previously validated with dedicated laboratory experiments and is based on the evidence that the accuracy of WG measurements under real world/time varying rainfall conditions is mainly affected by the dynamic response of the gauge (as revealed during the last WMO Field Intercomparison of Rainfall Intensity Gauges). The investigation is now completed by analyzing actual measurements performed by two common weighing gauges, the OTT Pluvio2 load-cell gauge and the GEONOR T-200 vibrating-wire gauge, since both these instruments demonstrated very good performance under previous constant flow rate calibration efforts. A laboratory dynamic rainfall generation system has been arranged and validated in order to simulate a number of precipitation events with variable reference intensities. Such artificial events were generated basing on real world rainfall intensity (RI) records obtained from the meteo-station of the University of Genova so that the statistical structure of the time series is preserved. The influence of the WG RI measurements accuracy on the associated extreme events statistics is analyzed by comparing the original intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves with those obtained from the measuring of the simulated rain events. References: Colli, M., L.G. Lanza, and P. La Barbera, (2012). Weighing gauges measurement errors and the design rainfall for urban scale applications, 9th International Workshop On Precipitation In Urban Areas, 6-9 December, 2012, St. Moritz, Switzerland Lanza, L.G., M. Colli, and P. La Barbera (2012). On the influence of rain gauge performance on extreme events statistics: the case of weighing gauges, EGU General Assembly 2012, April 22th, Wien, Austria La Barbera, P., L.G. Lanza, and L. Stagi, (2002). Influence of systematic mechanical errors of tipping-bucket rain gauges on the statistics of rainfall extremes. Water Sci. Techn., 45(2), 1-9.

Micromechanics of Damage Accumulation in Micro- and Nano-Scale Laminates for Microelectromechanical Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-06

samples to gauge their roughness. The study was conducted using a Dimension 3100 atomic force microscope produced by Veeco, and using tips produced...image of the sample, along with a close up of the gage section highlighting the notch. Gauge sections were 2 mm long, having 200, 160 and 100μm widths...and slots with semicircular ends which spanned 33% of the gauge widths and had a 3μm root radius. The thickness of the films was reported to be

Gauge-independent decoherence models for solids in external fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wismer, Michael S.; Yakovlev, Vladislav S.

2018-04-01

We demonstrate gauge-invariant modeling of an open system of electrons in a periodic potential interacting with an optical field. For this purpose, we adapt the covariant derivative to the case of mixed states and put forward a decoherence model that has simple analytical forms in the length and velocity gauges. We demonstrate our methods by calculating harmonic spectra in the strong-field regime and numerically verifying the equivalence of the deterministic master equation to the stochastic Monte Carlo wave-function method.

Gauge invariance of fractionally charged quasiparticles and hidden topological Zn symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yong-Shi; Hatsugai, Yasuhiro; Kohmoto, Mahito

1991-02-01

Using the braid-group formalism we study the consequences of gauge invariance for fractionally charged anyonic quasiparticles in a two-dimensional multiply connected system. It is shown that gauge invariance requires multicomponent wave functions, and leads to the emergence of a hidden topological Zn symmetry with associated quantum number and unavoidable occurrence of level crossings for many-body eigenstates. In certain situations, it relates the fractional charge to anyon statistics. The implications for the fractional quantum Hall effect are also discussed.

Experimental technologies comparison for strain measurement of a composite main landing gear bay specimen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viscardi, Massimo; Arena, Maurizio; Ciminello, Monica; Guida, Michele; Meola, Carosena; Cerreta, Pietro

2018-03-01

The development of advanced monitoring system for strain measurements on aeronautical components remain an important target both when related to the optimization of the lead-time and cost for part validation, allowing earlier entry into service, and when related to the implementation of advanced health monitoring systems dedicated to the in-service parameters verification and early stage detection of structural problems. The paper deals with the experimental testing of a composite samples set of the main landing gear bay for a CS-25 category aircraft, realized through an innovative design and production process. The test have represented a good opportunity for direct comparison of different strain measurement techniques: Strain Gauges (SG) and Fibers Bragg Grating (FBG) have been used as well as non-contact techniques, specifically the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and Infrared (IR) thermography applied where possible in order to highlight possible hot-spot during the tests. The crucial points identification on the specimens has been supported by means of advanced finite element simulations, aimed to assessment of the structural strength and deformation as well as to ensure the best performance and the global safety of the whole experimental campaign.

Monitoring the change of coastal zones from space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cazenave, A. A.; Le Cozannet, G.; Benveniste, J.; Woodworth, P. L.

2017-12-01

The world's coastal zones, where an important fraction of the world population is currently living, are under serious threat because of coastal erosion, cyclones, storms, and salinization of estuaries and coastal aquifers. In the future, these hazards are expected to increase due to the combined effects of sea level rise, climate change, human activities and population increase. The response of coastal environments to natural and anthropogenic forcing factors (including climate change) depends on the characteristics of the forcing agents, as well as on the internal properties of the coastal systems, that remain poorly known and mostly un-surveyed at global scale. To better understand changes affecting coastal zones and to provide useful information to decision makers, various types of observations with global coverage need to be collected and analysed. Observations from space appear as an important complement to existing in situ observing systems (e.g., regional tide gauge networks). In this presentation, we discuss the benefit of systematic coastal monitoring from space, addressing both observations of forcing agents and of the coastal response. We highlight the need for a global coastal sea level data set based on retracked nadir altimetry missions and new SAR technology.

Development and Flight Testing of an Adaptable Vehicle Health-Monitoring Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E.; Coffey, Neil C.; Gonzalez, Guillermo A.; Woodman, Keith L.; Weathered, Brenton W.; Rollins, Courtney H.; Taylor, B. Douglas; Brett, Rube R.

2003-01-01

Development and testing of an adaptable wireless health-monitoring architecture for a vehicle fleet is presented. It has three operational levels: one or more remote data acquisition units located throughout the vehicle; a command and control unit located within the vehicle; and a terminal collection unit to collect analysis results from all vehicles. Each level is capable of performing autonomous analysis with a trained adaptable expert system. The remote data acquisition unit has an eight channel programmable digital interface that allows the user discretion for choosing type of sensors; number of sensors, sensor sampling rate, and sampling duration for each sensor. The architecture provides framework for a tributary analysis. All measurements at the lowest operational level are reduced to provide analysis results necessary to gauge changes from established baselines. These are then collected at the next level to identify any global trends or common features from the prior level. This process is repeated until the results are reduced at the highest operational level. In the framework, only analysis results are forwarded to the next level to reduce telemetry congestion. The system's remote data acquisition hardware and non-analysis software have been flight tested on the NASA Langley B757's main landing gear.

Liquid Hydrogen Sensor Considerations for Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moran, Matthew E.

2006-01-01

The on-orbit management of liquid hydrogen planned for the return to the moon will introduce new considerations not encountered in previous missions. This paper identifies critical liquid hydrogen sensing needs from the perspective of reliable on-orbit cryogenic fluid management, and contrasts the fundamental differences in fluid and thermodynamic behavior for ground-based versus on-orbit conditions. Opportunities for advanced sensor development and implementation are explored in the context of critical Exploration Architecture operations such as on-orbit storage, docking, and trans-lunar injection burn. Key sensing needs relative to these operations are also examined, including: liquid/vapor detection, thermodynamic condition monitoring, mass gauging, and leak detection. Finally, operational aspects of an integrated system health management approach are discussed to highlight the potential impact on mission success.

Instrumental lahar monitoring at Merapi Volcano, Central Java, Indonesia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lavigne, Franck; Thouret, J.-C.; Voight, B.; Young, K.; LaHusen, R.; Marso, J.; Suwa, H.; Sumaryono, A.; Sayudi, D.S.; Dejean, M.

2000-01-01

More than 50 volcanic debris flows or lahars were generated around Mt Merapi during the first rainy season following the nuees ardentes of 22 November 1994. The rainfalls that triggered the lahars were analyzed, using such instruments as weather radar and telemetered rain gauges. Lahar dynamics were also monitored, using new non-contact detection instrumentation installed on the slopes of the volcano. These devices include real-time seismic amplitude measurement (RSAM), seismic spectral amplitude measurement (SSAM) and acoustic flow monitoring (AFM) systems. Calibration of the various systems was accomplished by field measurements of flow velocities and discharge, contemporaneously with instrumental monitoring. The 1994–1995 lahars were relatively short events, their duration in the Boyong river commonly ranging between 30 min and 1 h 30 min. The great majority (90%) of the lahars was recognized at Kaliurang village between 13:00 and 17:30 h, due to the predominance of afternoon rainfalls. The observed mean velocity of lahar fronts ranged between 1.1 and 3.4 m/s, whereas the peak velocity of the flows varied from 11 to 15 m/s, under the Gardu Pandang viewpoint location at Kaliurang, to 8–10 m/s at a section 500 m downstream from this site. River slopes vary from 28 to 22 m/km at the two sites. Peak discharges recorded in various events ranged from 33 to 360 m3/s, with the maximum value of peak discharge 360 m3/s, on 20 May 1995. To improve the lahar warning system along Boyong river, some instrumental thresholds were proposed: large and potentially hazardous lahars may be detected by RSAM units exceeding 400, SSAM units exceeding 80 on the highest frequency band, or AFM values greater than 1500 mV on the low-gain, broad-band setting.

Sensory-based expert monitoring and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, Gary G.

1999-03-01

Field operators use their eyes, ears, and nose to detect process behavior and to trigger corrective control actions. For instance: in daily practice, the experienced operator in sulfuric acid treatment of phosphate rock may observe froth color or bubble character to control process material in-flow. Or, similarly, (s)he may use acoustic sound of cavitation or boiling/flashing to increase or decrease material flow rates in tank levels. By contrast, process control computers continue to be limited to taking action on P, T, F, and A signals. Yet, there is sufficient evidence from the fields that visual and acoustic information can be used for control and identification. Smart in-situ sensors have facilitated potential mechanism for factory automation with promising industry applicability. In respond to these critical needs, a generic, structured health monitoring approach is proposed. The system assumes a given sensor suite will act as an on-line health usage monitor and at best provide the real-time control autonomy. The sensor suite can incorporate various types of sensory devices, from vibration accelerometers, directional microphones, machine vision CCDs, pressure gauges to temperature indicators. The decision can be shown in a visual on-board display or fed to the control block to invoke controller reconfigurration.

Understanding processes that generate flash floods in the arid Judean Desert to the Dead Sea - a measurement network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hennig, Hanna; Rödiger, Tino; Laronne, Jonathan B.; Geyer, Stefan; Merz, Ralf

2016-04-01

Flash floods in (semi-) arid regions are fascinating in their suddenness and can be harmful for humans, infrastructure, industry and tourism. Generated within minutes, an early warning system is essential. A hydrological model is required to quantify flash floods. Current models to predict flash floods are often based on simplified concepts and/or on concepts which were developed for humid regions. To more closely relate such models to local conditions, processes within catchments where flash floods occur require consideration. In this study we present a monitoring approach to decipher different flash flood generating processes in the ephemeral Wadi Arugot on the western side of the Dead Sea. To understand rainfall input a dense rain gauge network was installed. Locations of rain gauges were chosen based on land use, slope and soil cover. The spatiotemporal variation of rain intensity will also be available from radar backscatter. Level pressure sensors located at the outlet of major tributaries have been deployed to analyze in which part of the catchment water is generated. To identify the importance of soil moisture preconditions, two cosmic ray sensors have been deployed. At the outlet of the Arugot water is sampled and level is monitored. To more accurately determine water discharge, water velocity is measured using portable radar velocimetry. A first analysis of flash flood processes will be presented following the FLEX-Topo concept .(Savenije, 2010), where each landscape type is represented using an individual hydrological model according to the processes within the three hydrological response units: plateau, desert and outlet. References: Savenije, H. H. G.: HESS Opinions "Topography driven conceptual modelling (FLEX-Topo)", Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2681-2692, doi:10.5194/hess-14-2681-2010, 2010.

Thin Film Sensors for Surface Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Lisa C.; Wrbanek, John D.; Fralick, Gustave C.

2001-01-01

Advanced thin film sensors that can provide accurate surface temperature, strain, and heat flux measurements have been developed at NASA Glenn Research Center. These sensors provide minimally intrusive characterization of advanced propulsion materials and components in hostile, high-temperature environments as well as validation of propulsion system design codes. The sensors are designed for applications on different material systems and engine components for testing in engine simulation facilities. Thin film thermocouples and strain gauges for the measurement of surface temperature and strain have been demonstrated on metals, ceramics and advanced ceramic-based composites of various component configurations. Test environments have included both air-breathing and space propulsion-based engine and burner rig environments at surface temperatures up to 1100 C and under high gas flow and pressure conditions. The technologies developed for these sensors as well as for a thin film heat flux gauge have been integrated into a single multifunctional gauge for the simultaneous real-time measurement of surface temperature, strain, and heat flux. This is the first step toward the development of smart sensors with integrated signal conditioning and high temperature electronics that would have the capability to provide feedback to the operating system in real-time. A description of the fabrication process for the thin film sensors and multifunctional gauge will be provided. In addition, the material systems on which the sensors have been demonstrated, the test facilities and the results of the tests to-date will be described. Finally, the results will be provided of the current effort to demonstrate the capabilities of the multifunctional gauge.

Korean national QPE technique development: Analysis of current QPE results and future plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cha, Joo Wan

2013-04-01

Korea Meteorological Administration(KMA) has developed a Real-time ADjusted Radar-AWS (Automatic Weather Station) Rainrate (RAD-RAR) system using eleven radars over the South Korea. The procedure of the RAD-RAR system in real time consists of four steps: 1) the quality control of volumetric reflectivity for each radar, 2) the computation of the every 10-min rain gauge rainfall within each radar, 3) the real time (10 min-updated) rainfall estimation by the Z-R relationship minimizing the difference between the 1.5-km constant altitude plan precipitation indicator and rain gauge rainfall based on Window Probability Matching Method(WPMM) and by the real-time bias correction of RAD-RAR conducted at every 10 minutes for each radar by making the bias, and 4) the composition of the 11-radar estimated rainfall data. In addition, a local gauge correction method applies for RAD-RAR system. Therefore, the correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.81 is obtained between the daily accumulated observed and RAD-RAR estimated rainfall in 2012. We like to develop a new QPE system using the multi-sensor(radar, rain gauge, numerical model output, and lightning) data for newly improving Korean national QPE system. We made the prototype QPE system in 2012 and improve the detail techniques now. In the future, the new high performance QPE system will include a dual polarization radar observation technique for providing more accurate and valuable national QPE data

Anisotropic quantum quench in the presence of frustration or background gauge fields: A probe of bulk currents and topological chiral edge modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Killi, Matthew; Trotzky, Stefan; Paramekanti, Arun

2012-12-01

Bosons and fermions, in the presence of frustration or background gauge fields, can form many-body ground states that support equilibrium charge or spin currents. Motivated by the experimental creation of frustration or synthetic gauge fields in ultracold atomic systems, we propose a general scheme by which making a sudden anisotropic quench of the atom tunneling across the lattice and tracking the ensuing density modulations provides a powerful and gauge-invariant route to probing diverse equilibrium current patterns. Using illustrative examples of trapped superfluid Bose and normal Fermi systems in the presence of artificial magnetic fluxes on square lattices, and frustrated bosons in a triangular lattice, we show that this scheme to probe equilibrium bulk current order works independent of particle statistics. We also show that such quenches can detect chiral edge modes in gapped topological states, such as quantum Hall or quantum spin Hall insulators.

Vacuum leak detector and method

DOEpatents

Edwards, Jr., David

1983-01-01

Apparatus and method for detecting leakage in a vacuum system involves a moisture trap chamber connected to the vacuum system and to a pressure gauge. Moisture in the trap chamber is captured by freezing or by a moisture adsorbent to reduce the residual water vapor pressure therein to a negligible amount. The pressure gauge is then read to determine whether the vacuum system is leaky. By directing a stream of carbon dioxide or helium at potentially leaky parts of the vacuum system, the apparatus can be used with supplemental means to locate leaks.

Emergent gauge field for a chiral bound state on curved surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Zhe-Yu; Zhai, Hui

2017-09-01

Emergent physics is one of the most important concepts in modern physics, and one of the most intriguing examples is the emergent gauge field. Here we show that a gauge field emerges for a chiral bound state formed by two attractively interacting particles on a curved surface. We demonstrate explicitly that the center-of-mass wave function of such a deeply bound state is monopole harmonic instead of spherical harmonic, which means that the bound state experiences a magnetic monopole at the center of the sphere. This emergent gauge field is due to the coupling between the center-of-mass and the relative motion on a curved surface, and our results can be generalized to an arbitrary curved surface. This result establishes an intriguing connection between the space curvature and gauge field, and paves an alternative way to engineer a topological state with space curvature, and may be observed in a cold atom system.

Projected Entangled Pair States with non-Abelian gauge symmetries: An SU(2) study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zohar, Erez, E-mail: erez.zohar@mpq.mpg.de; Wahl, Thorsten B.; Burrello, Michele, E-mail: michele.burrello@mpq.mpg.de

Over the last years, Projected Entangled Pair States have demonstrated great power for the study of many body systems, as they naturally describe ground states of gapped many body Hamiltonians, and suggest a constructive way to encode and classify their symmetries. The PEPS study is not only limited to global symmetries, but has also been extended and applied for local symmetries, allowing to use them for the description of states in lattice gauge theories. In this paper we discuss PEPS with a local, SU(2) gauge symmetry, and demonstrate the use of PEPS features and techniques for the study of amore » simple family of many body states with a non-Abelian gauge symmetry. We present, in particular, the construction of fermionic PEPS able to describe both two-color fermionic matter and the degrees of freedom of an SU(2) gauge field with a suitable truncation.« less

Connection dynamics of a gauge theory of gravity coupled with matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jian; Banerjee, Kinjal; Ma, Yongge

2013-10-01

We study the coupling of the gravitational action, which is a linear combination of the Hilbert-Palatini term and the quadratic torsion term, to the action of Dirac fermions. The system possesses local Poincare invariance and hence belongs to Poincare gauge theory (PGT) with matter. The complete Hamiltonian analysis of the theory is carried out without gauge fixing but under certain ansatz on the coupling parameters, which leads to a consistent connection dynamics with second-class constraints and torsion. After performing a partial gauge fixing, all second-class constraints can be solved, and a SU(2)-connection dynamical formalism of the theory can be obtained. Hence, the techniques of loop quantum gravity (LQG) can be employed to quantize this PGT with non-zero torsion. Moreover, the Barbero-Immirzi parameter in LQG acquires its physical meaning as the coupling parameter between the Hilbert-Palatini term and the quadratic torsion term in this gauge theory of gravity.

Unconventional phases in quantum spin and pseudospin systems in two dimensional and three dimensional lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Cenke

Several examples of quantum spin systems and pseudo spin systems have been studied, and unconventional states of matters and phase transitions have been realized in all these systems under consideration. In the p +/- ip superconductor Josephson lattice and the p--band cold atomic system trapped in optical lattices, novel phases which behave similarly to 1+1 dimensional systems are realized, despite the fact that the real physical systems are in two or three dimensional spaces. For instance, by employing a spin-wave analysis together with a new duality transformation, we establish the existence and stability of a novel gapless "critical phase", which we refer to as a "bond algebraic liquid". This novel critical phase is analogous to the 1+1 dimensional algebraic boson liquid phase. The reason for the novel physics is that there is a quasilocal gauge symmetry in the effective low energy Hamiltonian. In a spin-1 system on the kagome lattice, and a hard-core boson system on the honeycomb lattice, the low energy physics is controlled by two components of compact U(1) gauge symmetries that emerge at low energy. Making use of the confinement nature of the 2+1 dimensional compact gauge theories and the powerful duality between gauge theories and height field theories, the crystalline phase diagrams are studied for both systems, and the transitions to other phases are also considered. These phase diagrams might be accessible in strongly correlated materials, or atomic systems in optical lattices. A novel quantum ground state of matter is realized in a bosonic model on three dimensional fcc lattice with emergent low energy excitations. The novel phase obtained is a stable gapless boson liquid phase, with algebraic boson density correlations. The stability of this phase is protected against the instanton effect and superfluidity by self-duality and large gauge symmetries on both sides of the duality. The gapless collective excitations of this phase closely resemble the graviton, although they have a soft w ˜ k2 dispersion relation. The dynamics of this novel phase is described by a new set of Maxwell's equations.