Modelling tidal current energy extraction in large area using a three-dimensional estuary model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yaling; Lin, Binliang; Lin, Jie

2014-11-01

This paper presents a three-dimensional modelling study for simulating tidal current energy extraction in large areas, with a momentum sink term being added into the momentum equations. Due to the limits of computational capacity, the grid size of the numerical model is generally much larger than the turbine rotor diameter. Two models, i.e. a local grid refinement model and a coarse grid model, are employed and an idealized estuary is set up. The local grid refinement model is constructed to simulate the power generation of an isolated turbine and its impacts on hydrodynamics. The model is then used to determine the deployment of turbine farm and quantify a combined thrust coefficient for multiple turbines located in a grid element of coarse grid model. The model results indicate that the performance of power extraction is affected by array deployment, with more power generation from outer rows than inner rows due to velocity deficit influence of upstream turbines. Model results also demonstrate that the large-scale turbine farm has significant effects on the hydrodynamics. The tidal currents are attenuated within the turbine swept area, and both upstream and downstream of the array. While the currents are accelerated above and below turbines, which is contributed to speeding up the wake mixing process behind the arrays. The water levels are heightened in both low and high water levels as the turbine array spanning the full width of estuary. The magnitude of water level change is found to increase with the array expansion, especially at the low water level.

Dynamically reconfigurable photovoltaic system

DOEpatents

Okandan, Murat; Nielson, Gregory N.

2016-05-31

A PV system composed of sub-arrays, each having a group of PV cells that are electrically connected to each other. A power management circuit for each sub-array has a communications interface and serves to connect or disconnect the sub-array to a programmable power grid. The power grid has bus rows and bus columns. A bus management circuit is positioned at a respective junction of a bus column and a bus row and is programmable through its communication interface to connect or disconnect a power path in the grid. As a result, selected sub-arrays are connected by selected power paths to be in parallel so as to produce a low system voltage, and, alternately in series so as to produce a high system voltage that is greater than the low voltage by at least a factor of ten.

Dynamically reconfigurable photovoltaic system

DOEpatents

Okandan, Murat; Nielson, Gregory N.

2016-12-27

A PV system composed of sub-arrays, each having a group of PV cells that are electrically connected to each other. A power management circuit for each sub-array has a communications interface and serves to connect or disconnect the sub-array to a programmable power grid. The power grid has bus rows and bus columns. A bus management circuit is positioned at a respective junction of a bus column and a bus row and is programmable through its communication interface to connect or disconnect a power path in the grid. As a result, selected sub-arrays are connected by selected power paths to be in parallel so as to produce a low system voltage, and, alternately in series so as to produce a high system voltage that is greater than the low voltage by at least a factor of ten.

Microlens array for focusing airborne ultrasound using heated wire grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Liang-Wu; Sánchez-Dehesa, José

2007-10-01

This letter reports on the focusing of airborne ultrasound by a simple grid of heated wires. The focusing is analogous to that of an array of optical microlenses. The focusing pattern is determined by the spacing between wires, and the focusing areas are tightly confined with a great "depth of field." Such acoustical microlens arrays have great potentials for shaping beams produced by ultrasonic transducers, in applications such as ultrasonic cleaning and nondestructive testing.

Axially shaped channel and integral flow trippers

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

Crowther, R.L.; Johansson, E.B.; Matzner, B.

1988-06-07

A fuel assembly is described comprising fuel rods positioned in spaced array by upper and lower tie-plates, an open ended flow channel surrounding the array for conducting coolant upward between a lower support plate having coolant communicated thereto to an upper support grid having a steam/water outlet communicated thereto. The flow channel surrounds the array for conducting coolant about the fuel rods. The open ended channel has a polygon shaped cross section with the channel constituting a closed conduit with flat side sections connected at corners to form the enclosed conduit; means separate from the channel for connecting the uppermore » and lower tie-plates together and maintaining the fuel rods in spaced array independent of the flow channel. The improvement in the flow channel comprises tapered side walls. The tapered side walls extend from an average thick cross section adjacent the lower support plate to an average thin cross section adjacent the upper core grid whereby the channel is reduced in thickness adjacent the upper core grid to correspond with the reduced pressure adjacent the upper core grid.« less

Axially shaped channel and integral flow trippers

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

Crowther, R.L. Jr.; Johansson, E.B.; Matzner, B.

1992-02-11

This patent describes a fuel assembly. It comprises: fuel rods positioned in spaced array by upper and lower tie-plates, and open ended flow channel surrounding the array for conducting coolant upward between a lower support plate having coolant communicated thereto to an upper support grid having a steam/water outlet communicated thereto. The flow channel surrounding the array for conducting coolant about the fuel rods; the open ended channel having a polygon shaped cross section with the channel constituting a closed conduit with flat side sections connected at corners to form the enclosed conduit; means separate from the channel for connectingmore » the upper and lower tie-plates together and maintaining the fuel rods in spaced array independent of the flow channel, the improvement in the flow channel comprising tapered side walls, the tapered side walls extending from an average thick cross section adjacent the lower support plate to an average thin cross section adjacent the upper core grid whereby the channel is reduced in thickness adjacent the upper core grid to correspond with the reduced pressure adjacent the upper core grid.« less

Deconvolution Methods and Systems for the Mapping of Acoustic Sources from Phased Microphone Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Humphreys, Jr., William M. (Inventor); Brooks, Thomas F. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

Mapping coherent/incoherent acoustic sources as determined from a phased microphone array. A linear configuration of equations and unknowns are formed by accounting for a reciprocal influence of one or more cross-beamforming characteristics thereof at varying grid locations among the plurality of grid locations. An equation derived from the linear configuration of equations and unknowns can then be iteratively determined. The equation can be attained by the solution requirement of a constraint equivalent to the physical assumption that the coherent sources have only in phase coherence. The size of the problem may then be reduced using zoning methods. An optimized noise source distribution is then generated over an identified aeroacoustic source region associated with a phased microphone array (microphones arranged in an optimized grid pattern including a plurality of grid locations) in order to compile an output presentation thereof, thereby removing beamforming characteristics from the resulting output presentation.

Deconvolution methods and systems for the mapping of acoustic sources from phased microphone arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, Thomas F. (Inventor); Humphreys, Jr., William M. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A method and system for mapping acoustic sources determined from a phased microphone array. A plurality of microphones are arranged in an optimized grid pattern including a plurality of grid locations thereof. A linear configuration of N equations and N unknowns can be formed by accounting for a reciprocal influence of one or more beamforming characteristics thereof at varying grid locations among the plurality of grid locations. A full-rank equation derived from the linear configuration of N equations and N unknowns can then be iteratively determined. A full-rank can be attained by the solution requirement of the positivity constraint equivalent to the physical assumption of statically independent noise sources at each N location. An optimized noise source distribution is then generated over an identified aeroacoustic source region associated with the phased microphone array in order to compile an output presentation thereof, thereby removing the beamforming characteristics from the resulting output presentation.

Single-Phase Single-Stage Grid Tied Solar PV System with Active Power Filtering Using Power Balance Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Yashi; Hussain, Ikhlaq; Singh, Bhim; Mishra, Sukumar

2018-06-01

In this paper, power quality features such as harmonics mitigation, power factor correction with active power filtering are addressed in a single-stage, single-phase solar photovoltaic (PV) grid tied system. The Power Balance Theory (PBT) with perturb and observe based maximum power point tracking algorithm is proposed for the mitigation of power quality problems in a solar PV grid tied system. The solar PV array is interfaced to a single phase AC grid through a Voltage Source Converter (VSC), which provides active power flow from a solar PV array to the grid as well as to the load and it performs harmonics mitigation using PBT based control. The solar PV array power varies with sunlight and due to this, the solar PV grid tied VSC works only 8-10 h per day. At night, when PV power is zero, the VSC works as an active power filter for power quality improvement, and the load active power is delivered by the grid to the load connected at the point of common coupling. This increases the effective utilization of a VSC. The system is modelled and simulated using MATLAB and simulated responses of the system at nonlinear loads and varying environmental conditions are also validated experimentally on a prototype developed in the laboratory.

Single-Phase Single-Stage Grid Tied Solar PV System with Active Power Filtering Using Power Balance Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Yashi; Hussain, Ikhlaq; Singh, Bhim; Mishra, Sukumar

2018-03-01

In this paper, power quality features such as harmonics mitigation, power factor correction with active power filtering are addressed in a single-stage, single-phase solar photovoltaic (PV) grid tied system. The Power Balance Theory (PBT) with perturb and observe based maximum power point tracking algorithm is proposed for the mitigation of power quality problems in a solar PV grid tied system. The solar PV array is interfaced to a single phase AC grid through a Voltage Source Converter (VSC), which provides active power flow from a solar PV array to the grid as well as to the load and it performs harmonics mitigation using PBT based control. The solar PV array power varies with sunlight and due to this, the solar PV grid tied VSC works only 8-10 h per day. At night, when PV power is zero, the VSC works as an active power filter for power quality improvement, and the load active power is delivered by the grid to the load connected at the point of common coupling. This increases the effective utilization of a VSC. The system is modelled and simulated using MATLAB and simulated responses of the system at nonlinear loads and varying environmental conditions are also validated experimentally on a prototype developed in the laboratory.

FDD Massive MIMO Channel Estimation With Arbitrary 2D-Array Geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Jisheng; Liu, An; Lau, Vincent K. N.

2018-05-01

This paper addresses the problem of downlink channel estimation in frequency-division duplexing (FDD) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The existing methods usually exploit hidden sparsity under a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) basis to estimate the cdownlink channel. However, there are at least two shortcomings of these DFT-based methods: 1) they are applicable to uniform linear arrays (ULAs) only, since the DFT basis requires a special structure of ULAs, and 2) they always suffer from a performance loss due to the leakage of energy over some DFT bins. To deal with the above shortcomings, we introduce an off-grid model for downlink channel sparse representation with arbitrary 2D-array antenna geometry, and propose an efficient sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) approach for the sparse channel recovery and off-grid refinement. The main idea of the proposed off-grid method is to consider the sampled grid points as adjustable parameters. Utilizing an in-exact block majorization-minimization (MM) algorithm, the grid points are refined iteratively to minimize the off-grid gap. Finally, we further extend the solution to uplink-aided channel estimation by exploiting the angular reciprocity between downlink and uplink channels, which brings enhanced recovery performance.

Laser-induced superhydrophobic grid patterns on PDMS for droplet arrays formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farshchian, Bahador; Gatabi, Javad R.; Bernick, Steven M.; Park, Sooyeon; Lee, Gwan-Hyoung; Droopad, Ravindranath; Kim, Namwon

2017-02-01

We demonstrate a facile single step laser treatment process to render a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface superhydrophobic. By synchronizing a pulsed nanosecond laser source with a motorized stage, superhydrophobic grid patterns were written on the surface of PDMS. Hierarchical micro and nanostructures were formed in the irradiated areas while non-irradiated areas were covered by nanostructures due to deposition of ablated particles. Arrays of droplets form spontaneously on the laser-patterned PDMS with superhydrophobic grid pattern when the PDMS sample is simply immersed in and withdrawn from water due to different wetting properties of the irradiated and non-irradiated areas. The effects of withdrawal speed and pitch size of superhydrophobic grid on the size of formed droplets were investigated experimentally. The droplet size increases initially with increasing the withdrawal speed and then does not change significantly beyond certain points. Moreover, larger droplets are formed by increasing the pitch size of the superhydrophobic grid. The droplet arrays formed on the laser-patterned PDMS with wettability contrast can be used potentially for patterning of particles, chemicals, and bio-molecules and also for cell screening applications.

Parallel-wire grid assembly with method and apparatus for construction thereof

DOEpatents

Lewandowski, E.F.; Vrabec, J.

1981-10-26

Disclosed is a parallel wire grid and an apparatus and method for making the same. The grid consists of a generally coplanar array of parallel spaced-apart wires secured between metallic frame members by an electrically conductive epoxy. The method consists of continuously winding a wire about a novel winding apparatus comprising a plurality of spaced-apart generally parallel spindles. Each spindle is threaded with a number of predeterminedly spaced-apart grooves which receive and accurately position the wire at predetermined positions along the spindle. Overlying frame members coated with electrically conductive epoxy are then placed on either side of the wire array and are drawn together. After the epoxy hardens, portions of the wire array lying outside the frame members are trimmed away.

Parallel-wire grid assembly with method and apparatus for construction thereof

DOEpatents

Lewandowski, Edward F.; Vrabec, John

1984-01-01

Disclosed is a parallel wire grid and an apparatus and method for making the same. The grid consists of a generally coplanar array of parallel spaced-apart wires secured between metallic frame members by an electrically conductive epoxy. The method consists of continuously winding a wire about a novel winding apparatus comprising a plurality of spaced-apart generally parallel spindles. Each spindle is threaded with a number of predeterminedly spaced-apart grooves which receive and accurately position the wire at predetermined positions along the spindle. Overlying frame members coated with electrically conductive epoxy are then placed on either side of the wire array and are drawn together. After the epoxy hardens, portions of the wire array lying outside the frame members are trimmed away.

Junction-side illuminated silicon detector arrays

DOEpatents

Iwanczyk, Jan S.; Patt, Bradley E.; Tull, Carolyn

2004-03-30

A junction-side illuminated detector array of pixelated detectors is constructed on a silicon wafer. A junction contact on the front-side may cover the whole detector array, and may be used as an entrance window for light, x-ray, gamma ray and/or other particles. The back-side has an array of individual ohmic contact pixels. Each of the ohmic contact pixels on the back-side may be surrounded by a grid or a ring of junction separation implants. Effective pixel size may be changed by separately biasing different sections of the grid. A scintillator may be coupled directly to the entrance window while readout electronics may be coupled directly to the ohmic contact pixels. The detector array may be used as a radiation hardened detector for high-energy physics research or as avalanche imaging arrays.

An array of virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe detectors and a front-end application-specific integrated circuit for large-area position-sensitive gamma-ray cameras.

PubMed

Bolotnikov, A E; Ackley, K; Camarda, G S; Cherches, C; Cui, Y; De Geronimo, G; Fried, J; Hodges, D; Hossain, A; Lee, W; Mahler, G; Maritato, M; Petryk, M; Roy, U; Salwen, C; Vernon, E; Yang, G; James, R B

2015-07-01

We developed a robust and low-cost array of virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe detectors coupled to a front-end readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for spectroscopy and imaging of gamma rays. The array operates as a self-reliant detector module. It is comprised of 36 close-packed 6 × 6 × 15 mm(3) detectors grouped into 3 × 3 sub-arrays of 2 × 2 detectors with the common cathodes. The front-end analog ASIC accommodates up to 36 anode and 9 cathode inputs. Several detector modules can be integrated into a single- or multi-layer unit operating as a Compton or a coded-aperture camera. We present the results from testing two fully assembled modules and readout electronics. The further enhancement of the arrays' performance and reduction of their cost are possible by using position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid detectors, which allow for accurate corrections of the response of material non-uniformities caused by crystal defects.

Simple Analytic Model for Nanowire Array Polarizers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelletier, Vincent; Asakawa, Koji; Wu, Mingshaw; Register, Richard; Chaikin, Paul

2006-03-01

Cylinder-forming diblock copolymers can be used to pattern nanowire arrays on a transparent substrate to be used as a polarizer, as described by Koji Asakawa in a complementary talk at this meeting. With a 33nm period, these wire arrays can polarize UV radiation, which is of great interest in lithography, astronomy and other areas. One can gain an analytical understanding of such an array made of non-perfectly conducting material of finite thickness using a model with an appropriately averaged complex dielectric function in an infinite wavelength approximation. This analysis predicts that the grid can go from an E-polarizer to an H-polarizer as the wavelength decreases below a cross-over wavelength, and experimental data confirm this cross-over. The overall response of the polarizing grid depends primarily on the plasma frequency of the metal used and the volume fraction of the nanowires, as well as the grid thickness. A numerical approach is also used to confirm the analytical model and assess departure from infinite wavelength effects. For our array dimensions, the polarization is only slightly different from this approximation for wavelengths down to 150nm.

Method of constructing dished ion thruster grids to provide hole array spacing compensation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banks, B. A. (Inventor)

1976-01-01

The center-to-center spacings of a photoresist pattern for an array of holes applied to a thin metal sheet are increased by uniformly stretching the thin metal sheet in all directions along the plane of the sheet. The uniform stretching is provided by securely clamping the periphery of the sheet and applying an annular force against the face of the sheet, within the periphery of the sheet and around the photoresist pattern. The technique is used in the construction of ion thruster grid units where the outer or downstream grid is subjected to uniform stretching prior to convex molding. The technique provides alignment of the holes of grid pairs so as to direct the ion beamlets in a direction parallel to the axis of the grid unit and thereby provide optimization of the available thrust.

An Off-Grid Turbo Channel Estimation Algorithm for Millimeter Wave Communications.

PubMed

Han, Lingyi; Peng, Yuexing; Wang, Peng; Li, Yonghui

2016-09-22

The bandwidth shortage has motivated the exploration of the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency spectrum for future communication networks. To compensate for the severe propagation attenuation in the mmWave band, massive antenna arrays can be adopted at both the transmitter and receiver to provide large array gains via directional beamforming. To achieve such array gains, channel estimation (CE) with high resolution and low latency is of great importance for mmWave communications. However, classic super-resolution subspace CE methods such as multiple signal classification (MUSIC) and estimation of signal parameters via rotation invariant technique (ESPRIT) cannot be applied here due to RF chain constraints. In this paper, an enhanced CE algorithm is developed for the off-grid problem when quantizing the angles of mmWave channel in the spatial domain where off-grid problem refers to the scenario that angles do not lie on the quantization grids with high probability, and it results in power leakage and severe reduction of the CE performance. A new model is first proposed to formulate the off-grid problem. The new model divides the continuously-distributed angle into a quantized discrete grid part, referred to as the integral grid angle, and an offset part, termed fractional off-grid angle. Accordingly, an iterative off-grid turbo CE (IOTCE) algorithm is proposed to renew and upgrade the CE between the integral grid part and the fractional off-grid part under the Turbo principle. By fully exploiting the sparse structure of mmWave channels, the integral grid part is estimated by a soft-decoding based compressed sensing (CS) method called improved turbo compressed channel sensing (ITCCS). It iteratively updates the soft information between the linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) estimator and the sparsity combiner. Monte Carlo simulations are presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, and the results show that it enhances the angle detection resolution greatly.

Simulation fidelity of a virtual environment display

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nemire, Kenneth; Jacoby, Richard H.; Ellis, Stephen R.

1994-01-01

We assessed the degree to which a virtual environment system produced a faithful simulation of three-dimensional space by investigating the influence of a pitched optic array on the perception of gravity-referenced eye level (GREL). We compared the results with those obtained in a physical environment. In a within-subjects factorial design, 12 subjects indicated GREL while viewing virtual three-dimensional arrays at different static orientations. A physical array biased GREL more than did a geometrically identical virtual pitched array. However, addition of two sets of orthogonal parallel lines (a grid) to the virtual pitched array resulted in as large a bias as that obtained with the physical pitched array. The increased bias was caused by longitudinal, but not the transverse, components of the grid. We discuss implications of our results for spatial orientation models and for designs of virtual displays.

Sub-grid drag models for horizontal cylinder arrays immersed in gas-particle multiphase flows

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

Sarkar, Avik; Sun, Xin; Sundaresan, Sankaran

2013-09-08

Immersed cylindrical tube arrays often are used as heat exchangers in gas-particle fluidized beds. In multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of large fluidized beds, explicit resolution of small cylinders is computationally infeasible. Instead, the cylinder array may be viewed as an effective porous medium in coarse-grid simulations. The cylinders' influence on the suspension as a whole, manifested as an effective drag force, and on the relative motion between gas and particles, manifested as a correction to the gas-particle drag, must be modeled via suitable sub-grid constitutive relationships. In this work, highly resolved unit-cell simulations of flow around an arraymore » of horizontal cylinders, arranged in a staggered configuration, are filtered to construct sub-grid, or `filtered', drag models, which can be implemented in coarse-grid simulations. The force on the suspension exerted by the cylinders is comprised of, as expected, a buoyancy contribution, and a kinetic component analogous to fluid drag on a single cylinder. Furthermore, the introduction of tubes also is found to enhance segregation at the scale of the cylinder size, which, in turn, leads to a reduction in the filtered gas-particle drag.« less

Verification of sub-grid filtered drag models for gas-particle fluidized beds with immersed cylinder arrays

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

Sarkar, Avik; Sun, Xin; Sundaresan, Sankaran

2014-04-23

The accuracy of coarse-grid multiphase CFD simulations of fluidized beds may be improved via the inclusion of filtered constitutive models. In our previous study (Sarkar et al., Chem. Eng. Sci., 104, 399-412), we developed such a set of filtered drag relationships for beds with immersed arrays of cooling tubes. Verification of these filtered drag models is addressed in this work. Predictions from coarse-grid simulations with the sub-grid filtered corrections are compared against accurate, highly-resolved simulations of full-scale turbulent and bubbling fluidized beds. The filtered drag models offer a computationally efficient yet accurate alternative for obtaining macroscopic predictions, but the spatialmore » resolution of meso-scale clustering heterogeneities is sacrificed.« less

Design and operation of grid-interactive thin-film silicon PV systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marion, Bill; Atmaram, Gobind; Lashway, Clin; Strachan, John W.

Results are described from the operation of 11 thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic systems at three test facilities: the Florida Solar Energy Center, the New Mexico Solar Energy Institute, and Sandia National Laboratories. Commercially available modules from four US manufacturers are used in these systems, with array sizes from 133 to 750 W peak. Measured array efficiencies are from 3.1 to 4.8 percent. Except for one manufacturer, array peak power is in agreement with the calculated design ratings. For certain grid-connected systems, nonoptimal operation exists because the array peak power voltage is below the lower voltage limit of the power conditioning system. Reliability problems are found in two manufacturers' modules when shorts to ground and terminal corrosion occur. Array leakage current data are presented.

Taguchi Experimental Design for Cleaning PWAs with Ball Grid Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonner, J. K.; Mehta, A.; Walton, S.

1997-01-01

Ball grid arrays (BGAs), and other area array packages, are becoming more prominent as a way to increase component pin count while avoiding the manufacturing difficulties inherent in processing quad flat packs (QFPs)...Cleaning printed wiring assemblies (PWAs) with BGA components mounted on the surface is problematic...Currently, a low flash point semi-aqueous material, in conjunction with a batch cleaning unit, is being used to clean PWAs. The approach taken at JPL was to investigate the use of (1) semi-aqueous materials having a high flash point and (2) aqueous cleaning involving a saponifier.

Operation of Grid-tied 5 kWDC solar array to develop Laboratory Experiments for Solar PV Energy System courses

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

Ramos, Jaime

2012-12-14

To unlock the potential of micro grids we plan to build, commission and operate a 5 kWDC PV array and integrate it to the UTPA Engineering building low voltage network, as a micro grid; and promote community awareness. Assisted by a solar radiation tracker providing on-line information of its measurements and performing analysis for the use by the scientific and engineering community, we will write, perform and operate a set of Laboratory experiments and computer simulations supporting Electrical Engineering (graduate and undergraduate) courses on Renewable Energy, as well as Senior Design projects.

Visualization of Underfill Flow in Ball Grid Array (BGA) using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, Fei Chong; Abas, Aizat; Abustan, Ismail; Remy Rozainy, Z. Mohd; Abdullah, MZ; Jamaludin, Ali b.; Kon, Sharon Melissa

2018-05-01

This paper presents the experimental methodology using particle image velocimetry (PIV) to study the underfill process of ball grid array (BGA) chip package. PIV is a non-intrusive approach to visualize the flow behavior of underfill across the solder ball array. The BGA model of three different configurations – perimeter, middle empty and full array – were studied in current research. Through PIV experimental works, the underfill velocity distribution and vector fields for each BGA models were successfully obtained. It is found that perimeter has the shortest filling time resulting to a higher underfill velocity. Therefore, it is concluded that the flow behavior of underfill in BGA can be justified thoroughly with the aid of PIV.

Dimpled ball grid array process development for space flight applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barr, S. L.; Mehta, A.

2000-01-01

A 472 dimpled ball grid array (D-BGA) package has not been used in past space flight environments, therefore it was necessary to develop a process that would yield robust and reliable solder joints. The process developing assembly, inspection and rework techniques, were verified by conducting environmental tests. Since the 472 D-BGA packages passed the above environmental tests within the specifications, the process was successfully developed for space flight electronics.

An array of virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe detectors and a front-end application-specific integrated circuit for large-area position-sensitive gamma-ray cameras

DOE PAGES

Bolotnikov, A. E.; Ackley, K.; Camarda, G. S.; ...

2015-07-28

We developed a robust and low-cost array of virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe (CZT) detectors coupled to a front-end readout ASIC for spectroscopy and imaging of gamma rays. The array operates as a self-reliant detector module. It is comprised of 36 close-packed 6x6x15 mm 3 detectors grouped into 3x3 sub-arrays of 2x2 detectors with the common cathodes. The front-end analog ASIC accommodates up to 36 anode and 9 cathode inputs. Several detector modules can be integrated into a single- or multi-layer unit operating as a Compton or a coded-aperture camera. We present the results from testing two fully assembled modules and readoutmore » electronics. The further enhancement of the arrays’ performance and reduction of their cost are made possible by using position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid detectors, which allow for accurate corrections of the response of material non-uniformities caused by crystal defects.« less

Production of single-walled carbon nanotube grids

DOEpatents

Hauge, Robert H; Xu, Ya-Qiong; Pheasant, Sean

2013-12-03

A method of forming a nanotube grid includes placing a plurality of catalyst nanoparticles on a grid framework, contacting the catalyst nanoparticles with a gas mixture that includes hydrogen and a carbon source in a reaction chamber, forming an activated gas from the gas mixture, heating the grid framework and activated gas, and controlling a growth time to generate a single-wall carbon nanotube array radially about the grid framework. A filter membrane may be produced by this method.

ATMAD: robust image analysis for Automatic Tissue MicroArray De-arraying.

PubMed

Nguyen, Hoai Nam; Paveau, Vincent; Cauchois, Cyril; Kervrann, Charles

2018-04-19

Over the last two decades, an innovative technology called Tissue Microarray (TMA), which combines multi-tissue and DNA microarray concepts, has been widely used in the field of histology. It consists of a collection of several (up to 1000 or more) tissue samples that are assembled onto a single support - typically a glass slide - according to a design grid (array) layout, in order to allow multiplex analysis by treating numerous samples under identical and standardized conditions. However, during the TMA manufacturing process, the sample positions can be highly distorted from the design grid due to the imprecision when assembling tissue samples and the deformation of the embedding waxes. Consequently, these distortions may lead to severe errors of (histological) assay results when the sample identities are mismatched between the design and its manufactured output. The development of a robust method for de-arraying TMA, which localizes and matches TMA samples with their design grid, is therefore crucial to overcome the bottleneck of this prominent technology. In this paper, we propose an Automatic, fast and robust TMA De-arraying (ATMAD) approach dedicated to images acquired with brightfield and fluorescence microscopes (or scanners). First, tissue samples are localized in the large image by applying a locally adaptive thresholding on the isotropic wavelet transform of the input TMA image. To reduce false detections, a parametric shape model is considered for segmenting ellipse-shaped objects at each detected position. Segmented objects that do not meet the size and the roundness criteria are discarded from the list of tissue samples before being matched with the design grid. Sample matching is performed by estimating the TMA grid deformation under the thin-plate model. Finally, thanks to the estimated deformation, the true tissue samples that were preliminary rejected in the early image processing step are recognized by running a second segmentation step. We developed a novel de-arraying approach for TMA analysis. By combining wavelet-based detection, active contour segmentation, and thin-plate spline interpolation, our approach is able to handle TMA images with high dynamic, poor signal-to-noise ratio, complex background and non-linear deformation of TMA grid. In addition, the deformation estimation produces quantitative information to asset the manufacturing quality of TMAs.

Multistatic Array Sampling Scheme for Fast Near-Field Image Reconstruction

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

reconstruction. The array topology samples the scene on a regular grid of phase centers, using a tiling of Boundary Arrays (BAs). Following a simple correction...hardware. Fig. 1 depicts the multistatic array topology. As seen, the topology is a tiled arrangement of Boundary Arrays (BAs). The BA is a well-known...sparse array layout comprised of two linear transmit arrays, and two linear receive arrays [6]. A slightly different tiled arrangement of BAs was used

Optical beam forming techniques for phased array antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Te-Kao; Chandler, C.

1993-01-01

Conventional phased array antennas using waveguide or coax for signal distribution are impractical for large scale implementation on satellites or spacecraft because they exhibit prohibitively large system size, heavy weight, high attenuation loss, limited bandwidth, sensitivity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) temperature drifts and phase instability. However, optical beam forming systems are smaller, lighter, and more flexible. Three optical beam forming techniques are identified as applicable to large spaceborne phased array antennas. They are (1) the optical fiber replacement of conventional RF phased array distribution and control components, (2) spatial beam forming, and (3) optical beam splitting with integrated quasi-optical components. The optical fiber replacement and the spatial beam forming approaches were pursued by many organizations. Two new optical beam forming architectures are presented. Both architectures involve monolithic integration of the antenna radiating elements with quasi-optical grid detector arrays. The advantages of the grid detector array in the optical process are the higher power handling capability and the dynamic range. One architecture involves a modified version of the original spatial beam forming approach. The basic difference is the spatial light modulator (SLM) device for controlling the aperture field distribution. The original liquid crystal light valve SLM is replaced by an optical shuffling SLM, which was demonstrated for the 'smart pixel' technology. The advantages are the capability of generating the agile beams of a phased array antenna and to provide simultaneous transmit and receive functions. The second architecture considered is the optical beam splitting approach. This architecture involves an alternative amplitude control for each antenna element with an optical beam power divider comprised of mirrors and beam splitters. It also implements the quasi-optical grid phase shifter for phase control and grid amplifier for RF power. The advantages are no SLM is required for this approach, and the complete antenna system is capable of full monolithic integration.

Numerical simulation of terahertz transmission of bilayer metallic meshes with different thickness of substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Gaohui; Zhao, Guozhong; Zhang, Shengbo

2012-12-01

The terahertz transmission characteristics of bilayer metallic meshes are studied based on the finite difference time domain method. The bilayer well-shaped grid, the array of complementary square metallic pill and the cross wire-hole array were investigated. The results show that the bilayer well-shaped grid achieves a high-pass of filter function, while the bilayer array of complementary square metallic pill achieves a low-pass of filter function, the bilayer cross wire-hole array achieves a band-pass of filter function. Between two metallic microstructures, the medium need to be deposited. Obviously, medium thicknesses have an influence on the terahertz transmission characteristics of metallic microstructures. Simulation results show that with increasing the thicknesses of the medium the cut-off frequency of high-pass filter and low-pass filter move to low frequency. But the bilayer cross wire-hole array possesses two transmission peaks which display competition effect.

Development of a low cost integrated 15 kW A.C. solar tracking sub-array for grid connected PV power system applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, M.; West, R.; Fourer, G.; Whalen, W.; Van Loo, M.; Duran, G.

1997-02-01

Utility Power Group has achieved a significant reduction in the installed cost of grid-connected PV systems. The two part technical approach focused on 1) The utilization of a large area factory assembled PV panel, and 2) The integration and packaging of all sub-array power conversion and control functions within a single factory produced enclosure. Eight engineering prototype 15kW ac single axis solar tracking sub-arrays were designed, fabricated, and installed at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's Hedge Substation site in 1996 and are being evaluated for performance and reliability. A number of design enhancements will be implemented in 1997 and demonstrated by the field deployment and operation of over twenty advanced sub-array PV power systems.

Microwave Frequency Polarizers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ha, Vien The; Mirel, Paul; Kogut, Alan J.

2013-01-01

This article describes the fabrication and analysis of microwave frequency polarizing grids. The grids are designed to measure polarization from the cosmic microwave background. It is effective in the range of 500 to 1500 micron wavelength. It is cryogenic compatible and highly robust to high load impacts. Each grid is fabricated using an array of different assembly processes which vary in the types of tension mechanisms to the shape and size of the grids. We provide a comprehensive study on the analysis of the grids' wire heights, diameters, and spacing.

Charon Message-Passing Toolkit for Scientific Computations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanderWijngaart, Rob F.; Yan, Jerry (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Charon is a library, callable from C and Fortran, that aids the conversion of structured-grid legacy codes-such as those used in the numerical computation of fluid flows-into parallel, high- performance codes. Key are functions that define distributed arrays, that map between distributed and non-distributed arrays, and that allow easy specification of common communications on structured grids. The library is based on the widely accepted MPI message passing standard. We present an overview of the functionality of Charon, and some representative results.

Shape calibration of a conformal ultrasound therapy array.

PubMed

McGough, R J; Cindric, D; Samulski, T V

2001-03-01

A conformal ultrasound phased array prototype with 96 elements was recently calibrated for electronic steering and focusing in a water tank. The procedure for calibrating the shape of this 2D therapy array consists of two steps. First, a least squares triangulation algorithm determines the element coordinates from a 21 x 21 grid of time delays. The triangulation algorithm also requires temperature measurements to compensate for variations in the speed of sound. Second, a Rayleigh-Sommerfeld formulation of the acoustic radiation integral is aligned to a second grid of measured pressure amplitudes in a least squares sense. This shape calibration procedure, which is applicable to a wide variety of ultrasound phased arrays, was tested on a square array panel consisting of 7- x 7-mm elements operating at 617 kHz. The simulated fields generated by an array of 96 equivalent elements are consistent with the measured data, even in the fine structure away from the primary focus and sidelobes. These two calibration steps are sufficient for the simulation model to predict successfully the pressure field generated by this conformal ultrasound phased array prototype.

Implementation of fuzzy-sliding mode based control of a grid connected photovoltaic system.

PubMed

Menadi, Abdelkrim; Abdeddaim, Sabrina; Ghamri, Ahmed; Betka, Achour

2015-09-01

The present work describes an optimal operation of a small scale photovoltaic system connected to a micro-grid, based on both sliding mode and fuzzy logic control. Real time implementation is done through a dSPACE 1104 single board, controlling a boost chopper on the PV array side and a voltage source inverter (VSI) on the grid side. The sliding mode controller tracks permanently the maximum power of the PV array regardless of atmospheric condition variations, while The fuzzy logic controller (FLC) regulates the DC-link voltage, and ensures via current control of the VSI a quasi-total transit of the extracted PV power to the grid under a unity power factor operation. Simulation results, carried out via Matlab-Simulink package were approved through experiment, showing the effectiveness of the proposed control techniques. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Design, testing, and economics of a 430 W sub p photovoltaic concentrator array for non grid-connected applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maish, A. B.; Rios, M., Jr.; Togami, H.

A stand-alone 430 W/sub p/ photovoltaic (PV) concentrating system for low power, non grid-connected applications has been designed, fabricated, and tested at Sandia National Laboratories. The array consists of four passively cooled Fresnel lens concentrating modules on a newly developed polar axis tracking structure. Two axis tracking is provided using a self powered clock drive unit mounted on a single post foundation. Test results of tracking accuracy, array output power, parasitic power, performance in winds and array reliability are discussed. using a range of estimated production costs for small production volumes, the life-cycle energy costs have been calculated and compared to the equivalent energy costs of a 3 kW diesel electric generator set and of an equivalent flat panel PV system.

Standardized UXO Technology Demonstration Site Blind Grid Scoring Record No. 806 (U.S. Geological Survey, TMGS Magnetometer/Towed Array)

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-01

BOX 25046, FEDERAL CENTER, M.S. 964 DENVER, CO 80225-0046 TECHNOLOGY TYPE/PLATFORM: TMGS MAGNETOMETER/TOWED ARRAY PREPARED BY: U.S. ARMY...GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, TMGS MAGNETOMETER/TOWED ARRAY) 8-CO-160-UXO-021 Karwatka, Michael... TMGS Magnetometer/Towed Array, MEC Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified SAR (Page ii Blank) i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Digital overlaying of the Universal Transverse Mercator Grid with LANDSAT-data derived products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pendleton, T. W.

1976-01-01

Software has been written in FORTRAN IV for a Varian 73 computer which reformats LANDSAT-data-derived surface classifications and pictorial representations into a digital array which corresponds to the Universal Transverse Mercator Grid.

Ceramic ball grid array package stress analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badri, S. H. B. S.; Aziz, M. H. A.; Ong, N. R.; Sauli, Z.; Alcain, J. B.; Retnasamy, V.

2017-09-01

The ball grid array (BGA), a form of chip scale package (CSP), was developed as one of the most advanced surface mount devices, which may be assembled by an ordinary surface ball bumps are used instead of plated nickel and gold (Ni/Au) bumps. Assembly and reliability of the BGA's printed circuit board (PCB), which is soldered by conventional surface mount technology is considered in this study. The Ceramic Ball Grid Array (CBGA) is a rectangular ceramic package or square-shaped that will use the solder ball for external electrical connections instead of leads or wire for connections. The solder balls will be arranged in an array or grid at the bottom of the ceramic package body. In this study, ANSYS software is used to investigate the stress on the package for 2 balls and 4 balls of the CBGA package with the various force range of 1-3 Newton applied to the top of the die, top of the substrate and side of the substrate. The highest maximum stress was analyzed and the maximum equivalent stress was observed on the solder ball and the die. From the simulation result, the CBGA package with less solder balls experience higher stress compared to the package with many solder balls. Therefore, less number of solder ball on the CBGA package results higher stress and critically affect the reliability of the solder balls itself, substrate and die which can lead to the solder crack and also die crack.

High-resolution two-dimensional and three-dimensional modeling of wire grid polarizers and micropolarizer arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorobiev, Dmitry; Ninkov, Zoran

2017-11-01

Recent advances in photolithography allowed the fabrication of high-quality wire grid polarizers for the visible and near-infrared regimes. In turn, micropolarizer arrays (MPAs) based on wire grid polarizers have been developed and used to construct compact, versatile imaging polarimeters. However, the contrast and throughput of these polarimeters are significantly worse than one might expect based on the performance of large area wire grid polarizers or MPAs, alone. We investigate the parameters that affect the performance of wire grid polarizers and MPAs, using high-resolution two-dimensional and three-dimensional (3-D) finite-difference time-domain simulations. We pay special attention to numerical errors and other challenges that arise in models of these and other subwavelength optical devices. Our tests show that simulations of these structures in the visible and near-IR begin to converge numerically when the mesh size is smaller than ˜4 nm. The performance of wire grid polarizers is very sensitive to the shape, spacing, and conductivity of the metal wires. Using 3-D simulations of micropolarizer "superpixels," we directly study the cross talk due to diffraction at the edges of each micropolarizer, which decreases the contrast of MPAs to ˜200∶1.

Support grid for fuel elements in a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Finch, Lester M.

1977-01-01

A support grid is provided for holding nuclear fuel rods in a rectangular array. Intersecting sheet metal strips are interconnected using opposing slots in the strips to form a rectangular cellular grid structure for engaging the sides of a multiplicity of fuel rods. Spring and dimple supports for engaging fuel and guide rods extending through each cell in the support grid are formed in the metal strips with the springs thus formed being characterized by nonlinear spring rates.

Adaptive EAGLE dynamic solution adaptation and grid quality enhancement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luong, Phu Vinh; Thompson, J. F.; Gatlin, B.; Mastin, C. W.; Kim, H. J.

1992-01-01

In the effort described here, the elliptic grid generation procedure in the EAGLE grid code was separated from the main code into a subroutine, and a new subroutine which evaluates several grid quality measures at each grid point was added. The elliptic grid routine can now be called, either by a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code to generate a new adaptive grid based on flow variables and quality measures through multiple adaptation, or by the EAGLE main code to generate a grid based on quality measure variables through static adaptation. Arrays of flow variables can be read into the EAGLE grid code for use in static adaptation as well. These major changes in the EAGLE adaptive grid system make it easier to convert any CFD code that operates on a block-structured grid (or single-block grid) into a multiple adaptive code.

Off-Grid Direction of Arrival Estimation Based on Joint Spatial Sparsity for Distributed Sparse Linear Arrays

PubMed Central

Liang, Yujie; Ying, Rendong; Lu, Zhenqi; Liu, Peilin

2014-01-01

In the design phase of sensor arrays during array signal processing, the estimation performance and system cost are largely determined by array aperture size. In this article, we address the problem of joint direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation with distributed sparse linear arrays (SLAs) and propose an off-grid synchronous approach based on distributed compressed sensing to obtain larger array aperture. We focus on the complex source distribution in the practical applications and classify the sources into common and innovation parts according to whether a signal of source can impinge on all the SLAs or a specific one. For each SLA, we construct a corresponding virtual uniform linear array (ULA) to create the relationship of random linear map between the signals respectively observed by these two arrays. The signal ensembles including the common/innovation sources for different SLAs are abstracted as a joint spatial sparsity model. And we use the minimization of concatenated atomic norm via semidefinite programming to solve the problem of joint DOA estimation. Joint calculation of the signals observed by all the SLAs exploits their redundancy caused by the common sources and decreases the requirement of array size. The numerical results illustrate the advantages of the proposed approach. PMID:25420150

Quantitative Analysis Method of Output Loss due to Restriction for Grid-connected PV Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueda, Yuzuru; Oozeki, Takashi; Kurokawa, Kosuke; Itou, Takamitsu; Kitamura, Kiyoyuki; Miyamoto, Yusuke; Yokota, Masaharu; Sugihara, Hiroyuki

Voltage of power distribution line will be increased due to reverse power flow from grid-connected PV systems. In the case of high density grid connection, amount of voltage increasing will be higher than the stand-alone grid connection system. To prevent the over voltage of power distribution line, PV system's output will be restricted if the voltage of power distribution line is close to the upper limit of the control range. Because of this interaction, amount of output loss will be larger in high density case. This research developed a quantitative analysis method for PV systems output and losses to clarify the behavior of grid connected PV systems. All the measured data are classified into the loss factors using 1 minute average of 1 second data instead of typical 1 hour average. Operation point on the I-V curve is estimated to quantify the loss due to the output restriction using module temperature, array output voltage, array output current and solar irradiance. As a result, loss due to output restriction is successfully quantified and behavior of output restriction is clarified.

Optical sectioning microscopes with no moving parts using a micro-stripe array light emitting diode.

PubMed

Poher, V; Zhang, H X; Kennedy, G T; Griffin, C; Oddos, S; Gu, E; Elson, D S; Girkin, M; French, P M W; Dawson, M D; Neil, M A

2007-09-03

We describe an optical sectioning microscopy system with no moving parts based on a micro-structured stripe-array light emitting diode (LED). By projecting arbitrary line or grid patterns onto the object, we are able to implement a variety of optical sectioning microscopy techniques such as grid-projection structured illumination and line scanning confocal microscopy, switching from one imaging technique to another without modifying the microscope setup. The micro-structured LED and driver are detailed and depth discrimination capabilities are measured and calculated.

Modeling and Implementing a Digitally Embedded Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithm and a Series-Loaded Resonant DC-DC Converter to Integrate a Photovoltaic Array with a Micro-Grid

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

These renewable energy sources can include solar, wind, geothermal , biomass, hydroelectric, and nuclear. Of these sources, photovoltaic (PV) arrays...renewable energy source [1]. These renewable energy sources can include solar, wind, geothermal , biomass, hydroelectric, and nuclear. Of these sources...26, May 2011. [6] H. G. Xu, J. P. He, Y. Qin, and Y. H. Li, “Energy management and control strategy for DC micro-grid in data center,” China

Development of an Electrostatically Clean Solar Array Panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, Theodore G.; Krumweide, Duane; Gaddy, Edward; Katz, Ira

2000-01-01

The results of design, analysis, and qualification of an Electrostatically Clean Solar Array (ECSA) panel are described. The objective of the ECSA design is to provide an electrostatic environment that does not interfere with sensitive instruments on scientific spacecraft. The ECSA design uses large, ITO-coated coverglasses that cover multiple solar cells, an aperture grid that covers the intercell areas, stress-relieved interconnects for connecting the aperture grid to the coverglasses, and edge clips to provides an electromagnetically shielded enclosure for the solar array active circuitry. Qualification coupons were fabricated and tested for photovoltaic response, conductivity, and survivability to launch acoustic and thermal cycling environments simulating LEO and GEO missions. The benefits of reducing solar panel interaction with the space environment are also discussed.

Materials Analysis and Modeling of Underfill Materials.

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

Wyatt, Nicholas B; Chambers, Robert S.

2015-08-01

The thermal-mechanical properties of three potential underfill candidate materials for PBGA applications are characterized and reported. Two of the materials are a formulations developed at Sandia for underfill applications while the third is a commercial product that utilizes a snap-cure chemistry to drastically reduce cure time. Viscoelastic models were calibrated and fit using the property data collected for one of the Sandia formulated materials. Along with the thermal-mechanical analyses performed, a series of simple bi-material strip tests were conducted to comparatively analyze the relative effects of cure and thermal shrinkage amongst the materials under consideration. Finally, current knowledge gaps asmore » well as questions arising from the present study are identified and a path forward presented.« less

AE (Acoustic Emission) for Flip-Chip CGA/FCBGA Defect Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2014-01-01

C-mode scanning acoustic microscopy (C-SAM) is a nondestructive inspection technique that uses ultrasound to show the internal feature of a specimen. A very high or ultra-high-frequency ultrasound passes through a specimen to produce a visible acoustic microimage (AMI) of its inner features. As ultrasound travels into a specimen, the wave is absorbed, scattered or reflected. The response is highly sensitive to the elastic properties of the materials and is especially sensitive to air gaps. This specific characteristic makes AMI the preferred method for finding "air gaps" such as delamination, cracks, voids, and porosity. C-SAM analysis, which is a type of AMI, was widely used in the past for evaluation of plastic microelectronic circuits, especially for detecting delamination of direct die bonding. With the introduction of the flip-chip die attachment in a package; its use has been expanded to nondestructive characterization of the flip-chip solder bumps and underfill. Figure 1.1 compares visual and C-SAM inspection approaches for defect detection, especially for solder joint interconnections and hidden defects. C-SAM is specifically useful for package features like internal cracks and delamination. C-SAM not only allows for the visualization of the interior features, it has the ability to produce images on layer-by-layer basis. Visual inspection; however, is only superior to C-SAM for the exposed features including solder dewetting, microcracks, and contamination. Ideally, a combination of various inspection techniques - visual, optical and SEM microscopy, C-SAM, and X-ray - need to be performed in order to assure quality at part, package, and system levels. This reports presents evaluations performed on various advanced packages/assemblies, especially the flip-chip die version of ball grid array/column grid array (BGA/CGA) using C-SAM equipment. Both external and internal equipment was used for evaluation. The outside facility provided images of the key features that could be detected using the most advanced C-SAM equipment with a skilled operator. Investigation continued using in-house equipment with its limitations. For comparison, representative X-rays of the assemblies were also gathered to show key defect detection features of these non-destructive techniques. Key images gathered and compared are: Compared the images of 2D X-ray and C-SAM for a plastic LGA assembly showing features that could be detected by either NDE technique. For this specific case, X-ray was a clear winner. Evaluated flip-chip CGA and FCBGA assemblies with and without heat sink by C-SAM. Only the FCCGA package that had no heat sink could be fully analyzed for underfill and bump quality. Cross-sectional microscopy did not revealed peripheral delamination features detected by C-SAM. Analyzed a number of fine pitch PBGA assemblies by C-SAM. Even though the internal features of the package assemblies could be detected, C-SAM was unable to detect solder joint failure at either the package or board level. Twenty times touch ups by solder iron with 700degF tip temperature, each with about 5 second duration, did not induce defects to be detected by C-SAM images. Other techniques need to be considered to induce known defects for characterization. Given NASA's emphasis on the use of microelectronic packages and assemblies and quality assurance on workmanship defect detection, understanding key features of various inspection systems that detect defects in the early stages of package and assembly is critical to developing approaches that will minimize future failures. Additional specific, tailored non-destructive inspection approaches could enable low-risk insertion of these advanced electronic packages having hidden and fine features.

Integrating Residential Photovoltaics With Power Lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borden, C. S.

1985-01-01

Report finds rooftop solar-cell arrays feed excess power to electric-utility grid for fee are potentially attractive large-scale application of photovoltaic technology. Presents assessment of breakeven costs of these arrays under variety of technological and economic assumptions.

Mini Compton Camera Based on an Array of Virtual Frisch-Grid CdZnTe Detectors

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

Lee, Wonho; Bolotnikov, Aleksey; Lee, Taewoong

In this study, we constructed a mini Compton camera based on an array of CdZnTe detectors and assessed its spectral and imaging properties. The entire array consisted of 6×6 Frisch-grid CdZnTe detectors, each with a size of 6×6 ×15 mm 3. Since it is easier and more practical to grow small CdZnTe crystals rather than large monolithic ones, constructing a mosaic array of parallelepiped crystals can be an effective way to build a more efficient, large-volume detector. With the fully operational CdZnTe array, we measured the energy spectra for 133Ba -, 137Cs -, 60Co-radiation sources; we also located these sourcesmore » using a Compton imaging approach. Although the Compton camera was small enough to hand-carry, its intrinsic efficiency was several orders higher than those generated in previous researches using spatially separated arrays, because our camera measured the interactions inside the CZT detector array, wherein the detector elements were positioned very close to each other. Lastly, the performance of our camera was compared with that based on a pixelated detector.« less

Mini Compton Camera Based on an Array of Virtual Frisch-Grid CdZnTe Detectors

DOE PAGES

Lee, Wonho; Bolotnikov, Aleksey; Lee, Taewoong; ...

2016-02-15

In this study, we constructed a mini Compton camera based on an array of CdZnTe detectors and assessed its spectral and imaging properties. The entire array consisted of 6×6 Frisch-grid CdZnTe detectors, each with a size of 6×6 ×15 mm 3. Since it is easier and more practical to grow small CdZnTe crystals rather than large monolithic ones, constructing a mosaic array of parallelepiped crystals can be an effective way to build a more efficient, large-volume detector. With the fully operational CdZnTe array, we measured the energy spectra for 133Ba -, 137Cs -, 60Co-radiation sources; we also located these sourcesmore » using a Compton imaging approach. Although the Compton camera was small enough to hand-carry, its intrinsic efficiency was several orders higher than those generated in previous researches using spatially separated arrays, because our camera measured the interactions inside the CZT detector array, wherein the detector elements were positioned very close to each other. Lastly, the performance of our camera was compared with that based on a pixelated detector.« less

A modified S-DIMM+: applying additional height grids for characterizing daytime seeing profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhiyong; Zhang, Lanqiang; Kong, Lin; Bao, Hua; Guo, Youming; Rao, Xuejun; Zhong, Libo; Zhu, Lei; Rao, Changhui

2018-07-01

Characterization of daytime atmospheric turbulence profiles is needed for the design of a multi-conjugate adaptive optical system. S-DIMM+ (solar differential image motion monitor+) is a technique to measure vertical seeing profiles. However, the number of height grids will be limited by the lenslet array of the wide-field Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWFS). A small number of subaperture lenslet arrays will lead to a coarse height grid over the atmosphere, which can result in difficulty in finding the location of strong-turbulence layers and overestimates of the turbulence strength for the measured layers. To address this problem, we propose a modified S-DIMM+ method to measure seeing profiles iteratively with decreasing altitude range for a given number of height grids; finally they will be combined as a new seeing profile, with a denser and more uniform distribution of height grids. This method is tested with simulations and recovers the input height and contribution perfectly. Furthermore, this method is applied to the 102 data-sequences recorded from the 1-m New Vacuum Solar Telescope at Fuxian Solar Observatory, 55 of which were recorded at local time between 13:40 and 14:35 on 2016 October 6, and the other 47 between 12:50 and 13:40 on 2017 October 5. A 7x7 lenslet array of SHWFS is used to generate a 16-layer height grid to 15 km, each with 1 km height separation. The experimental results show that the turbulence has three origins in the lower (0-2 km) layers, the higher (3-6 km) layers and the uppermost (≥7 km) layers.

A Cosmic Dust Sensor Based on an Array of Grid Electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y. W.; Bugiel, S.; Strack, H.; Srama, R.

2014-04-01

We described a low mass and high sensitivity cosmic dust trajectory sensor using a array of grid segments[1]. the sensor determines the particle velocity vector and the particle mass. An impact target is used for the detection of the impact plasma of high speed particles like interplanetary dust grains or high speed ejecta. Slower particles are measured by three planes of grid electrodes using charge induction. In contrast to conventional Dust Trajectory Sensor based on wire electrodes, grid electrodes a robust and sensitive design with a trajectory resolution of a few degree. Coulomb simulation and laboratory tests were performed in order to verify the instrument design. The signal shapes are used to derive the particle plane intersection points and to derive the exact particle trajectory. The accuracy of the instrument for the incident angle depends on the particle charge, the position of the intersection point and the signal-to-noise of the charge sensitive amplifier (CSA). There are some advantages of this grid-electrodes based design with respect to conventional trajectory sensor using individual wire electrodes: the grid segment electrodes show higher amplitudes (close to 100%induced charge) and the overall number of measurement channels can be reduced. This allows a compact instrument with low power and mass requirements.

Vertically oriented metamaterial broadband linear polariser

DOE PAGES

Campione, Salvatore; Burckel, David Bruce

2018-03-14

Control and manipulation of polarization is an important topic for imaging and light matter interactions. In the infrared regime, the large wavelengths make wire grid polarizers a viable option, as it is possible to create periodic arrays of metallic wires at that scale. The recent advent of metamaterials has spurred an increase in non-traditional polarizer motifs centred around more complicated repeat units, which potentially provide more functionality. In this paper we explore the use of two-dimensional (2D) arrays of single and back-to-back vertically oriented cross dipoles arranged in a cubic in-plane silicon matrix. Here, we show that both single andmore » back-to-back versions have higher rejection ratios and larger bandwidths than either wire grid polarizers or 2D arrays of linear dipoles.« less

Hydrogeologic unit flow characterization using transition probability geostatistics.

PubMed

Jones, Norman L; Walker, Justin R; Carle, Steven F

2005-01-01

This paper describes a technique for applying the transition probability geostatistics method for stochastic simulation to a MODFLOW model. Transition probability geostatistics has some advantages over traditional indicator kriging methods including a simpler and more intuitive framework for interpreting geologic relationships and the ability to simulate juxtapositional tendencies such as fining upward sequences. The indicator arrays generated by the transition probability simulation are converted to layer elevation and thickness arrays for use with the new Hydrogeologic Unit Flow package in MODFLOW 2000. This makes it possible to preserve complex heterogeneity while using reasonably sized grids and/or grids with nonuniform cell thicknesses.

High energy collimating fine grids for HESP program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eberhard, Carol D.; Frazier, Edward

1993-01-01

There is a need to develop fine pitch x-ray collimator grids as an enabling technology for planned future missions. The grids consist of an array of thin parallel strips of x-ray absorbing material, such as tungsten, with pitches ranging from 34 microns to 2.036 millimeters. The grids are the key components of a new class of spaceborne instruments known as 'x-ray modulation collimators.' These instruments are the first to produce images of celestial sources in the hard x-ray and gamma-ray spectral regions.

Technology for Elevated Temperature Tests of Structural Panels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thornton, E. A.

1999-01-01

A technique for full-field measurement of surface temperature and in-plane strain using a single grid imaging technique was demonstrated on a sample subjected to thermally-induced strain. The technique is based on digital imaging of a sample marked by an alternating line array of La2O2S:Eu(+3) thermographic phosphor and chromium illuminated by a UV lamp. Digital images of this array in unstrained and strained states were processed using a modified spin filter. Normal strain distribution was determined by combining unstrained and strained grid images using a single grid digital moire technique. Temperature distribution was determined by ratioing images of phosphor intensity at two wavelengths. Combined strain and temperature measurements demonstrated on the thermally heated sample were DELTA-epsilon = +/- 250 microepsilon and DELTA-T = +/- 5 K respectively with a spatial resolution of 0.8 mm.

Infrared-Bolometer Arrays with Reflective Backshorts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Timothy M.; Abrahams, John; Allen, Christine A.

2011-01-01

Integrated circuits that incorporate square arrays of superconducting-transition- edge bolometers with optically reflective backshorts are being developed for use in image sensors in the spectral range from far infrared to millimeter wavelengths. To maximize the optical efficiency (and, thus, sensitivity) of such a sensor at a specific wavelength, resonant optical structures are created by placing the backshorts at a quarter wavelength behind the bolometer plane. The bolometer and backshort arrays are fabricated separately, then integrated to form a single unit denoted a backshort-under-grid (BUG) bolometer array. In a subsequent fabrication step, the BUG bolometer array is connected, by use of single-sided indium bump bonding, to a readout device that comprises mostly a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) multiplexer circuit. The resulting sensor unit comprising the BUG bolometer array and the readout device is operated at a temperature below 1 K. The concept of increasing optical efficiency by use of backshorts at a quarter wavelength behind the bolometers is not new. Instead, the novelty of the present development lies mainly in several features of the design of the BUG bolometer array and the fabrication sequence used to implement the design. Prior to joining with the backshort array, the bolometer array comprises, more specifically, a square grid of free-standing molybdenum/gold superconducting-transition-edge bolometer elements on a 1.4- m-thick top layer of silicon that is part of a silicon support frame made from a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The backshort array is fabricated separately as a frame structure that includes support beams and contains a correspond - ing grid of optically reflective patches on a single-crystal silicon substrate. The process used to fabricate the bolometer array includes standard patterning and etching steps that result in the formation of deep notches in the silicon support frame. These notches are designed to interlock with the support beams on the backshort-array structure to provide structural support and precise relative positioning. The backshort-array structure is inserted in the silicon support frame behind the bolometer array, and the notches in the frame serve to receive the support beams of the backshort-array structure and thus determine the distance between the backshort and bolometer planes. The depth of the notches and, thus, the distance between the backshort and bolometer planes, can be tailored to a value between 25 to 300 m adjusting only a few process steps. The backshort array is designed so as not to interfere with the placement of indium bumps for subsequent indium bump-bonding to the multiplexing readout circuitry

Multi-terabyte EIDE disk arrays running Linux RAID5

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

Sanders, D.A.; Cremaldi, L.M.; Eschenburg, V.

2004-11-01

High-energy physics experiments are currently recording large amounts of data and in a few years will be recording prodigious quantities of data. New methods must be developed to handle this data and make analysis at universities possible. Grid Computing is one method; however, the data must be cached at the various Grid nodes. We examine some storage techniques that exploit recent developments in commodity hardware. Disk arrays using RAID level 5 (RAID-5) include both parity and striping. The striping improves access speed. The parity protects data in the event of a single disk failure, but not in the case ofmore » multiple disk failures. We report on tests of dual-processor Linux Software RAID-5 arrays and Hardware RAID-5 arrays using a 12-disk 3ware controller, in conjunction with 250 and 300 GB disks, for use in offline high-energy physics data analysis. The price of IDE disks is now less than $1/GB. These RAID-5 disk arrays can be scaled to sizes affordable to small institutions and used when fast random access at low cost is important.« less

Implementation of control point form of algebraic grid-generation technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choo, Yung K.; Miller, David P.; Reno, Charles J.

1991-01-01

The control point form (CPF) provides explicit control of physical grid shape and grid spacing through the movement of the control points. The control point array, called a control net, is a space grid type arrangement of locations in physical space with an index for each direction. As an algebraic method CPF is efficient and works well with interactive computer graphics. A family of menu-driven, interactive grid-generation computer codes (TURBO) is being developed by using CPF. Key features of TurboI (a TURBO member) are discussed and typical results are presented. TurboI runs on any IRIS 4D series workstation.

Design and Fabrication Highlights Enabling a 2 mm, 128 Element Bolometer Array for GISMO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Christine; Benford, Dominic; Miller, Timothy; Staguhn, Johannes; Wollack, Edward; Moseley, Harvey

2007-01-01

The Backshort-Under-Grid (BUG) superconducting bolometer array architecture is intended to be highly versatile, operating in a large range of wavelengths and background conditions. We have undertaken a three-year program to develop key technologies and processes required to build kilopixel arrays. To validate the basic array design and to demonstrate its applicability for future kilopixel arrays, we have chosen to demonstrate a 128 element bolometer array optimized for 2 mm wavelength using a newly built Goddard instrument, GISMO (Goddard /RAM Superconducting 2-millimeter Observer). The arrays are fabricated using batch wafer processing developed and optimized for high pixel yield, low noise, and high uniformity. The molybdenum-gold superconducting transition edge sensors are fabricated using batch sputter deposition and are patterned using dry etch techniques developed at Goddard. With a detector pitch of 2 mm 8x16 array for GISMO occupies nearly one half of the processing area of a 100 mm silicon-on-insulator starting wafer. Two such arrays are produced from a single wafer along with witness samples for process characterization. To provide thermal isolation for the detector elements, at the end of the process over 90% of the silicon must be removed using deep reactive ion etching techniques. The electrical connections for each bolometer element are patterned on the top edge of the square grid supporting the array. The design considerations unique to GISMO, key fabrication challenges, and laboratory experimental results will be presented.

High-Speed Monitoring of Multiple Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Array Configurations and Supplementary Weather Station.

PubMed

Boyd, Matthew T

2017-06-01

Three grid-connected monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic arrays have been instrumented with research-grade sensors on the Gaithersburg, MD campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These arrays range from 73 kW to 271 kW and have different tilts, orientations, and configurations. Irradiance, temperature, wind, and electrical measurements at the arrays are recorded, and images are taken of the arrays to monitor shading and capture any anomalies. A weather station has also been constructed that includes research-grade instrumentation to measure all standard meteorological quantities plus additional solar irradiance spectral bands, full spectrum curves, and directional components using multiple irradiance sensor technologies. Reference photovoltaic (PV) modules are also monitored to provide comprehensive baseline measurements for the PV arrays. Images of the whole sky are captured, along with images of the instrumentation and reference modules to document any obstructions or anomalies. Nearly, all measurements at the arrays and weather station are sampled and saved every 1s, with monitoring having started on Aug. 1, 2014. This report describes the instrumentation approach used to monitor the performance of these photovoltaic systems, measure the meteorological quantities, and acquire the images for use in PV performance and weather monitoring and computer model validation.

High-Speed Monitoring of Multiple Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Array Configurations and Supplementary Weather Station

PubMed Central

Boyd, Matthew T.

2017-01-01

Three grid-connected monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic arrays have been instrumented with research-grade sensors on the Gaithersburg, MD campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These arrays range from 73 kW to 271 kW and have different tilts, orientations, and configurations. Irradiance, temperature, wind, and electrical measurements at the arrays are recorded, and images are taken of the arrays to monitor shading and capture any anomalies. A weather station has also been constructed that includes research-grade instrumentation to measure all standard meteorological quantities plus additional solar irradiance spectral bands, full spectrum curves, and directional components using multiple irradiance sensor technologies. Reference photovoltaic (PV) modules are also monitored to provide comprehensive baseline measurements for the PV arrays. Images of the whole sky are captured, along with images of the instrumentation and reference modules to document any obstructions or anomalies. Nearly, all measurements at the arrays and weather station are sampled and saved every 1s, with monitoring having started on Aug. 1, 2014. This report describes the instrumentation approach used to monitor the performance of these photovoltaic systems, measure the meteorological quantities, and acquire the images for use in PV performance and weather monitoring and computer model validation. PMID:28670044

Solar-Assisted Hemodialysis

PubMed Central

Agar, John W. M.; Perkins, Anthony; Tjipto, Alwie

2012-01-01

Summary Background and objectives Hemodialysis resource use—especially water and power, smarter processing and reuse of postdialysis waste, and improved ecosensitive building design, insulation, and space use—all need much closer attention. Regarding power, as supply diminishes and costs rise, alternative power augmentation for dialysis services becomes attractive. The first 12 months of a solar-assisted dialysis program in southeastern Australia is reported. Design, setting, participants, & measurements A 24-m2, 3-kWh rated solar array and inverter—total cost of A$16,219—has solar-assisted the dialysis-related power needs of a four-chair home hemodialysis training service. All array-created, grid-donated power and all grid-drawn power to the four hemodialysis machines and minireverse osmosis plant pairings are separately metered. After the grid-drawn and array-generated kilowatt hours have been billed and reimbursed at their respective commercial rates, financial viability, including capital repayment, can be assessed. Results From July of 2010 to July of 2011, the four combined equipment pairings used 4166.5 kWh, 9% more than the array-generated 3811.0 kWh. Power consumption at 26.7 c/kWh cost A$1145.79. Array-generated power reimbursements at 23.5 c/kWh were A$895.59. Power costs were, thus, reduced by 76.5%. As new reimbursement rates (60 c/kWh) take effect, system reimbursements will more than double, allowing both free power and potential capital pay down over 7.7 years. With expected array life of ∼30 years, free power and an income stream should accrue in the second and third operative decades. Conclusions Solar-assisted power is feasible and cost-effective. Dialysis services should assess their local solar conditions and determine whether this ecosensitive power option might suit their circumstance. PMID:22223614

User Guide and Documentation for Five MODFLOW Ground-Water Modeling Utility Programs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Banta, Edward R.; Paschke, Suzanne S.; Litke, David W.

2008-01-01

This report documents five utility programs designed for use in conjunction with ground-water flow models developed with the U.S. Geological Survey's MODFLOW ground-water modeling program. One program extracts calculated flow values from one model for use as input to another model. The other four programs extract model input or output arrays from one model and make them available in a form that can be used to generate an ArcGIS raster data set. The resulting raster data sets may be useful for visual display of the data or for further geographic data processing. The utility program GRID2GRIDFLOW reads a MODFLOW binary output file of cell-by-cell flow terms for one (source) model grid and converts the flow values to input flow values for a different (target) model grid. The spatial and temporal discretization of the two models may differ. The four other utilities extract selected 2-dimensional data arrays in MODFLOW input and output files and write them to text files that can be imported into an ArcGIS geographic information system raster format. These four utilities require that the model cells be square and aligned with the projected coordinate system in which the model grid is defined. The four raster-conversion utilities are * CBC2RASTER, which extracts selected stress-package flow data from a MODFLOW binary output file of cell-by-cell flows; * DIS2RASTER, which extracts cell-elevation data from a MODFLOW Discretization file; * MFBIN2RASTER, which extracts array data from a MODFLOW binary output file of head or drawdown; and * MULT2RASTER, which extracts array data from a MODFLOW Multiplier file.

Performance of Backshort-Under-Grid Kilopixel TES Arrays for HAWC+

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Staguhn, J. G.; Benford, D. J.; Dowell, C. D.; Fixsen, D. J.; Hilton, G. C.; Irwin, K. D.; Jhabvala, C. A.; Maher, S. F.; Miller, T. M.; Moseley, S. H.;

SimArray: a user-friendly and user-configurable microarray design tool

PubMed Central

Auburn, Richard P; Russell, Roslin R; Fischer, Bettina; Meadows, Lisa A; Sevillano Matilla, Santiago; Russell, Steven

2006-01-01

Background Microarrays were first developed to assess gene expression but are now also used to map protein-binding sites and to assess allelic variation between individuals. Regardless of the intended application, efficient production and appropriate array design are key determinants of experimental success. Inefficient production can make larger-scale studies prohibitively expensive, whereas poor array design makes normalisation and data analysis problematic. Results We have developed a user-friendly tool, SimArray, which generates a randomised spot layout, computes a maximum meta-grid area, and estimates the print time, in response to user-specified design decisions. Selected parameters include: the number of probes to be printed; the microtitre plate format; the printing pin configuration, and the achievable spot density. SimArray is compatible with all current robotic spotters that employ 96-, 384- or 1536-well microtitre plates, and can be configured to reflect most production environments. Print time and maximum meta-grid area estimates facilitate evaluation of each array design for its suitability. Randomisation of the spot layout facilitates correction of systematic biases by normalisation. Conclusion SimArray is intended to help both established researchers and those new to the microarray field to develop microarray designs with randomised spot layouts that are compatible with their specific production environment. SimArray is an open-source program and is available from . PMID:16509966

Interlocking egg-crate type grid assembly

DOEpatents

Kast, Steven J.

1987-01-01

Disclosed is an interlocking egg-crate hexagonal grid for supporting a nuclear fuel pin in a hexagonal array. The grid is formed from strips bent at an angle of about 120.degree. at each vertex. Over some faces of each hexagonal cell the strips are coplanar but are arranged, by stacking and interlocking, to avoid any double thickness of metal in that plane. Springs and dimples are formed in the faces of each cell to hold the fuel pin substantially centered.

Interlocking egg-crate type grid assembly

DOEpatents

Kast, S.J.

1985-03-15

Disclosed is an interlocking egg-crate hexagonal grid for supporting a nuclear fuel pin in a hexagonal array. The grid is formed from strips bent at an angle of about 120/sup 0/ at each vertex. Over some faces of each hexagonal cell the strips are coplanar but are arranged, by stacking interlocking, to avoid any double thickness of metal in that plane. Springs and dimples are formed in the faces of each cell to hold the fuel pin substantially centered.

Systems and methods that generate height map models for efficient three dimensional reconstruction from depth information

DOEpatents

Frahm, Jan-Michael; Pollefeys, Marc Andre Leon; Gallup, David Robert

2015-12-08

Methods of generating a three dimensional representation of an object in a reference plane from a depth map including distances from a reference point to pixels in an image of the object taken from a reference point. Weights are assigned to respective voxels in a three dimensional grid along rays extending from the reference point through the pixels in the image based on the distances in the depth map from the reference point to the respective pixels, and a height map including an array of height values in the reference plane is formed based on the assigned weights. An n-layer height map may be constructed by generating a probabilistic occupancy grid for the voxels and forming an n-dimensional height map comprising an array of layer height values in the reference plane based on the probabilistic occupancy grid.

Silicon-fiber blanket solar-cell array concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eliason, J. T.

1973-01-01

Proposed economical manufacture of solar-cell arrays involves parallel, planar weaving of filaments made of doped silicon fibers with diffused radial junction. Each filament is a solar cell connected either in series or parallel with others to form a blanket of deposited grids or attached electrode wire mesh screens.

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

Bolotnikov, A. E., E-mail: bolotnik@bnl.gov; Ackley, K.; Camarda, G. S.

We developed a robust and low-cost array of virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe detectors coupled to a front-end readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for spectroscopy and imaging of gamma rays. The array operates as a self-reliant detector module. It is comprised of 36 close-packed 6 × 6 × 15 mm{sup 3} detectors grouped into 3 × 3 sub-arrays of 2 × 2 detectors with the common cathodes. The front-end analog ASIC accommodates up to 36 anode and 9 cathode inputs. Several detector modules can be integrated into a single- or multi-layer unit operating as a Compton or a coded-aperture camera. We presentmore » the results from testing two fully assembled modules and readout electronics. The further enhancement of the arrays’ performance and reduction of their cost are possible by using position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid detectors, which allow for accurate corrections of the response of material non-uniformities caused by crystal defects.« less

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

Bolotnikov, A. E.; Ackley, K.; Camarda, G. S.

We developed a robust and low-cost array of virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe (CZT) detectors coupled to a front-end readout ASIC for spectroscopy and imaging of gamma rays. The array operates as a self-reliant detector module. It is comprised of 36 close-packed 6x6x15 mm 3 detectors grouped into 3x3 sub-arrays of 2x2 detectors with the common cathodes. The front-end analog ASIC accommodates up to 36 anode and 9 cathode inputs. Several detector modules can be integrated into a single- or multi-layer unit operating as a Compton or a coded-aperture camera. We present the results from testing two fully assembled modules and readoutmore » electronics. The further enhancement of the arrays’ performance and reduction of their cost are made possible by using position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid detectors, which allow for accurate corrections of the response of material non-uniformities caused by crystal defects.« less

Unstructured Adaptive Grid Computations on an Array of SMPs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biswas, Rupak; Pramanick, Ira; Sohn, Andrew; Simon, Horst D.

1996-01-01

Dynamic load balancing is necessary for parallel adaptive methods to solve unsteady CFD problems on unstructured grids. We have presented such a dynamic load balancing framework called JOVE, in this paper. Results on a four-POWERnode POWER CHALLENGEarray demonstrated that load balancing gives significant performance improvements over no load balancing for such adaptive computations. The parallel speedup of JOVE, implemented using MPI on the POWER CHALLENCEarray, was significant, being as high as 31 for 32 processors. An implementation of JOVE that exploits 'an array of SMPS' architecture was also studied; this hybrid JOVE outperformed flat JOVE by up to 28% on the meshes and adaption models tested. With large, realistic meshes and actual flow-solver and adaption phases incorporated into JOVE, hybrid JOVE can be expected to yield significant advantage over flat JOVE, especially as the number of processors is increased, thus demonstrating the scalability of an array of SMPs architecture.

Obstacle-avoiding navigation system

DOEpatents

Borenstein, Johann; Koren, Yoram; Levine, Simon P.

1991-01-01

A system for guiding an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle through a field of operation having obstacles thereon to be avoided employs a memory for containing data which defines an array of grid cells which correspond to respective subfields in the field of operation of the vehicle. Each grid cell in the memory contains a value which is indicative of the likelihood, or probability, that an obstacle is present in the respectively associated subfield. The values in the grid cells are incremented individually in response to each scan of the subfields, and precomputation and use of a look-up table avoids complex trigonometric functions. A further array of grid cells is fixed with respect to the vehicle form a conceptual active window which overlies the incremented grid cells. Thus, when the cells in the active window overly grid cell having values which are indicative of the presence of obstacles, the value therein is used as a multiplier of the precomputed vectorial values. The resulting plurality of vectorial values are summed vectorially in one embodiment of the invention to produce a virtual composite repulsive vector which is then summed vectorially with a target-directed vector for producing a resultant vector for guiding the vehicle. In an alternative embodiment, a plurality of vectors surrounding the vehicle are computed, each having a value corresponding to obstacle density. In such an embodiment, target location information is used to select between alternative directions of travel having low associated obstacle densities.

Transparent, conformable, active multielectrode array using organic electrochemical transistors.

PubMed

Lee, Wonryung; Kim, Dongmin; Matsuhisa, Naoji; Nagase, Masae; Sekino, Masaki; Malliaras, George G; Yokota, Tomoyuki; Someya, Takao

2017-10-03

Mechanically flexible active multielectrode arrays (MEA) have been developed for local signal amplification and high spatial resolution. However, their opaqueness limited optical observation and light stimulation during use. Here, we show a transparent, ultraflexible, and active MEA, which consists of transparent organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) and transparent Au grid wirings. The transparent OECT is made of Au grid electrodes and has shown comparable performance with OECTs with nontransparent electrodes/wirings. The transparent active MEA realizes the spatial mapping of electrocorticogram electrical signals from an optogenetic rat with 1-mm spacing and shows lower light artifacts than noise level. Our active MEA would open up the possibility of precise investigation of a neural network system with direct light stimulation.

Statistical variability and confidence intervals for planar dose QA pass rates

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

Bailey, Daniel W.; Nelms, Benjamin E.; Attwood, Kristopher

Purpose: The most common metric for comparing measured to calculated dose, such as for pretreatment quality assurance of intensity-modulated photon fields, is a pass rate (%) generated using percent difference (%Diff), distance-to-agreement (DTA), or some combination of the two (e.g., gamma evaluation). For many dosimeters, the grid of analyzed points corresponds to an array with a low areal density of point detectors. In these cases, the pass rates for any given comparison criteria are not absolute but exhibit statistical variability that is a function, in part, on the detector sampling geometry. In this work, the authors analyze the statistics ofmore » various methods commonly used to calculate pass rates and propose methods for establishing confidence intervals for pass rates obtained with low-density arrays. Methods: Dose planes were acquired for 25 prostate and 79 head and neck intensity-modulated fields via diode array and electronic portal imaging device (EPID), and matching calculated dose planes were created via a commercial treatment planning system. Pass rates for each dose plane pair (both centered to the beam central axis) were calculated with several common comparison methods: %Diff/DTA composite analysis and gamma evaluation, using absolute dose comparison with both local and global normalization. Specialized software was designed to selectively sample the measured EPID response (very high data density) down to discrete points to simulate low-density measurements. The software was used to realign the simulated detector grid at many simulated positions with respect to the beam central axis, thereby altering the low-density sampled grid. Simulations were repeated with 100 positional iterations using a 1 detector/cm{sup 2} uniform grid, a 2 detector/cm{sup 2} uniform grid, and similar random detector grids. For each simulation, %/DTA composite pass rates were calculated with various %Diff/DTA criteria and for both local and global %Diff normalization techniques. Results: For the prostate and head/neck cases studied, the pass rates obtained with gamma analysis of high density dose planes were 2%-5% higher than respective %/DTA composite analysis on average (ranging as high as 11%), depending on tolerances and normalization. Meanwhile, the pass rates obtained via local normalization were 2%-12% lower than with global maximum normalization on average (ranging as high as 27%), depending on tolerances and calculation method. Repositioning of simulated low-density sampled grids leads to a distribution of possible pass rates for each measured/calculated dose plane pair. These distributions can be predicted using a binomial distribution in order to establish confidence intervals that depend largely on the sampling density and the observed pass rate (i.e., the degree of difference between measured and calculated dose). These results can be extended to apply to 3D arrays of detectors, as well. Conclusions: Dose plane QA analysis can be greatly affected by choice of calculation metric and user-defined parameters, and so all pass rates should be reported with a complete description of calculation method. Pass rates for low-density arrays are subject to statistical uncertainty (vs. the high-density pass rate), but these sampling errors can be modeled using statistical confidence intervals derived from the sampled pass rate and detector density. Thus, pass rates for low-density array measurements should be accompanied by a confidence interval indicating the uncertainty of each pass rate.« less

Two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Chu, Zhigang; Xu, Zhongming; Ping, Guoli

2017-08-01

Compressive beamforming realizes the direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation and strength quantification of acoustic sources by solving an underdetermined system of equations relating microphone pressures to a source distribution via compressive sensing. The conventional method assumes DOAs of sources to lie on a grid. Its performance degrades due to basis mismatch when the assumption is not satisfied. To overcome this limitation for the measurement with plane microphone arrays, a two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming is developed. First, a continuum based atomic norm minimization is defined to denoise the measured pressure and thus obtain the pressure from sources. Next, a positive semidefinite programming is formulated to approximate the atomic norm minimization. Subsequently, a reasonably fast algorithm based on alternating direction method of multipliers is presented to solve the positive semidefinite programming. Finally, the matrix enhancement and matrix pencil method is introduced to process the obtained pressure and reconstruct the source distribution. Both simulations and experiments demonstrate that under certain conditions, the grid-free compressive beamforming can provide high-resolution and low-contamination imaging, allowing accurate and fast estimation of two-dimensional DOAs and quantification of source strengths, even with non-uniform arrays and noisy measurements.

The 3-dimensional grid: a novel approach to stereoelectroencephalography.

PubMed

Munyon, Charles; Sweet, Jennifer; Luders, Hans; Lhatoo, Samden; Miller, Jonathan

2015-03-01

Successful surgical treatment of epilepsy requires accurate definition of areas of ictal onset and eloquent brain. Although invasive monitoring can help, subdural grids cannot sample sulci or subcortical tissue; traditional stereoelectroencephalography depth electrodes are usually placed too far apart to provide sufficient resolution for mapping. To report a strategy of depth electrode placement in a dense array to allow precise anatomic localization of epileptic and eloquent cortex. Twenty patients with medically intractable epilepsy either poorly localized or found to arise adjacent to eloquent areas underwent placement of arrays of depth electrodes into and around the putative area of seizure onset with the use of framed stereotaxy. Each array consisted of a "grid" of parallel electrodes in a rectangular pattern with 1 cm between entry sites. In a subset of patients, a few electrodes were placed initially, with additional electrodes placed in a second stage. Trajectories were modified to avoid cortical vessels defined on magnetic resonance imaging. Patients were monitored for 4 to 21 days to establish the precise location of seizure onset. Stimulation was performed to map cortical and subcortical eloquent regions. Electrode locations were coregistered for frameless stereotaxy during subsequent resection of seizure focus. Two hundred fifty-four electrodes were implanted. Discrete regions of seizure onset and functional cortex were identified, which were used during resection to remove epileptogenic tissue while preserving eloquent areas. There were no hemorrhagic or infectious complications; no patient suffered permanent neurological deficit. The 3-dimensional intraparenchymal grid is useful for identifying the location and extent of epileptic and eloquent brain.

Design and economics of a photovoltaic concentrator array for off-grid applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maish, A. B.; Rios, M., Jr.

1982-09-01

The array design and expected operation of a photovoltaic concentrator are discussed. A second generation stand alone 680 W/sub p/ photovoltaic (PV) concentrating array for low power, nongrid connected applications was designed. The array consists of six passive cooled point focus Fresnel lens concentrating modules on a two axis polar mount tracking structure. The new array design incorporates several major improvements to the first generation design. These include 50% more array area and a control system which allows unattended, fully automatic operation. The life cycle energy costs are calculated and compared to the equivalent energy costs of a 3 kW diesel electric generator set and an equivalent flat panel PV system.

Preconditioned MoM Solutions for Complex Planar Arrays

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

Fasenfest, B J; Jackson, D; Champagne, N

2004-01-23

The numerical analysis of large arrays is a complex problem. There are several techniques currently under development in this area. One such technique is the FAIM (Faster Adaptive Integral Method). This method uses a modification of the standard AIM approach which takes into account the reusability properties of matrices that arise from identical array elements. If the array consists of planar conducting bodies, the array elements are meshed using standard subdomain basis functions, such as the RWG basis. These bases are then projected onto a regular grid of interpolating polynomials. This grid can then be used in a 2D ormore » 3D FFT to accelerate the matrix-vector product used in an iterative solver. The method has been proven to greatly reduce solve time by speeding the matrix-vector product computation. The FAIM approach also reduces fill time and memory requirements, since only the near element interactions need to be calculated exactly. The present work extends FAIM by modifying it to allow for layered material Green's Functions and dielectrics. In addition, a preconditioner is implemented to greatly reduce the number of iterations required for a solution. The general scheme of the FAIM method is reported in; this contribution is limited to presenting new results.« less

Three-Dimensional Application of DAMAS Methodology for Aeroacoustic Noise Source Definition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, Thomas F.; Humphreys, William M., Jr.

2005-01-01

At the 2004 AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustic Conference, a breakthrough in acoustic microphone array technology was reported by the authors. A Deconvolution Approach for the Mapping of Acoustic Sources (DAMAS) was developed which decouples the array design and processing influence from the noise being measured, using a simple and robust algorithm. For several prior airframe noise studies, it was shown to permit an unambiguous and accurate determination of acoustic source position and strength. As a follow-on effort, this paper examines the technique for three-dimensional (3D) applications. First, the beamforming ability for arrays, of different size and design, to focus longitudinally and laterally is examined for a range of source positions and frequency. Advantage is found for larger array designs with higher density microphone distributions towards the center. After defining a 3D grid generalized with respect to the array s beamforming characteristics, DAMAS is employed in simulated and experimental noise test cases. It is found that spatial resolution is much less sharp in the longitudinal direction in front of the array compared to side-to-side lateral resolution. 3D DAMAS becomes useful for sufficiently large arrays at sufficiently high frequency. But, such can be a challenge to computational capabilities, with regard to the required expanse and number of grid points. Also, larger arrays can strain basic physical modeling assumptions that DAMAS and all traditional array methodologies use. An important experimental result is that turbulent shear layers can negatively impact attainable beamforming resolution. Still, the usefulness of 3D DAMAS is demonstrated by the measurement of landing gear noise source distributions in a difficult hard-wall wind tunnel environment.

Energy Systems Integration Newsletter - January 2017 | Energy Systems

Science.gov Websites

) project with PV manufacturer First Solar and NREL, First Solar designed an advanced plant-level controller relatively long history of interconnecting solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to its electric grid, with state Photo of a solar array. Tests Show Large Solar Plants Can Balance a Low-Carbon Grid In recent years

Transparent, conformable, active multielectrode array using organic electrochemical transistors

PubMed Central

Lee, Wonryung; Kim, Dongmin; Matsuhisa, Naoji; Nagase, Masae; Sekino, Masaki; Malliaras, George G.; Yokota, Tomoyuki; Someya, Takao

2017-01-01

Mechanically flexible active multielectrode arrays (MEA) have been developed for local signal amplification and high spatial resolution. However, their opaqueness limited optical observation and light stimulation during use. Here, we show a transparent, ultraflexible, and active MEA, which consists of transparent organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) and transparent Au grid wirings. The transparent OECT is made of Au grid electrodes and has shown comparable performance with OECTs with nontransparent electrodes/wirings. The transparent active MEA realizes the spatial mapping of electrocorticogram electrical signals from an optogenetic rat with 1-mm spacing and shows lower light artifacts than noise level. Our active MEA would open up the possibility of precise investigation of a neural network system with direct light stimulation. PMID:28923928

Design of Energy Storage Management System Based on FPGA in Micro-Grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Yafeng; Wang, Yanping; Han, Dexiao

2018-01-01

Energy storage system is the core to maintain the stable operation of smart micro-grid. Aiming at the existing problems of the energy storage management system in the micro-grid such as Low fault tolerance, easy to cause fluctuations in micro-grid, a new intelligent battery management system based on field programmable gate array is proposed : taking advantage of FPGA to combine the battery management system with the intelligent micro-grid control strategy. Finally, aiming at the problem that during estimation of battery charge State by neural network, initialization of weights and thresholds are not accurate leading to large errors in prediction results, the genetic algorithm is proposed to optimize the neural network method, and the experimental simulation is carried out. The experimental results show that the algorithm has high precision and provides guarantee for the stable operation of micro-grid.

A Concept for the One Degree Imager (ODI) Data Reduction Pipeline and Archiving System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knezek, Patricia; Stobie, B.; Michael, S.; Valdes, F.; Marru, S.; Henschel, R.; Pierce, M.

2010-05-01

The One Degree Imager (ODI), currently being built by the WIYN Observatory, will provide tremendous possibilities for conducting diverse scientific programs. ODI will be a complex instrument, using non-conventional Orthogonal Transfer Array (OTA) detectors. Due to its large field of view, small pixel size, use of OTA technology, and expected frequent use, ODI will produce vast amounts of astronomical data. If ODI is to achieve its full potential, a data reduction pipeline must be developed. Long-term archiving must also be incorporated into the pipeline system to ensure the continued value of ODI data. This paper presents a concept for an ODI data reduction pipeline and archiving system. To limit costs and development time, our plan leverages existing software and hardware, including existing pipeline software, Science Gateways, Computational Grid & Cloud Technology, Indiana University's Data Capacitor and Massive Data Storage System, and TeraGrid compute resources. Existing pipeline software will be augmented to add functionality required to meet challenges specific to ODI, enhance end-user control, and enable the execution of the pipeline on grid resources including national grid resources such as the TeraGrid and Open Science Grid. The planned system offers consistent standard reductions and end-user flexibility when working with images beyond the initial instrument signature removal. It also gives end-users access to computational and storage resources far beyond what are typically available at most institutions. Overall, the proposed system provides a wide array of software tools and the necessary hardware resources to use them effectively.

The graphics and data acquisition software package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crosier, W. G.

1981-01-01

A software package was developed for use with micro and minicomputers, particularly the LSI-11/DPD-11 series. The package has a number of Fortran-callable subroutines which perform a variety of frequently needed tasks for biomedical applications. All routines are well documented, flexible, easy to use and modify, and require minimal programmer knowledge of peripheral hardware. The package is also economical of memory and CPU time. A single subroutine call can perform any one of the following functions: (1) plot an array of integer values from sampled A/D data, (2) plot an array of Y values versus an array of X values; (3) draw horizontal and/or vertical grid lines of selectable type; (4) annotate grid lines with user units; (5) get coordinates of user controlled crosshairs from the terminal for interactive graphics; (6) sample any analog channel with program selectable gain; (7) wait a specified time interval, and (8) perform random access I/O of one or more blocks of a sequential disk file. Several miscellaneous functions are also provided.

Array Detector Modules for Spent Fuel Verification

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

Bolotnikov, Aleksey

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) proposes to evaluate the arrays of position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid (VFG) detectors for passive gamma-ray emission tomography (ET) to verify the spent fuel in storage casks before storing them in geo-repositories. Our primary objective is to conduct a preliminary analysis of the arrays capabilities and to perform field measurements to validate the effectiveness of the proposed array modules. The outcome of this proposal will consist of baseline designs for the future ET system which can ultimately be used together with neutrons detectors. This will demonstrate the usage of this technology in spent fuel storage casks.

Getting the current out

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burger, D. R.

1983-11-01

Progress of a photovoltaic (PV) device from a research concept to a competitive power-generation source requires an increasing concern with current collection. The initial metallization focus is usually on contact resistance, since a good ohmic contact is desirable for accurate device characterization measurements. As the device grows in size, sheet resistance losses become important and a metal grid is usually added to reduce the effective sheet resistance. Later, as size and conversion efficiency continue to increase, grid-line resistance and cell shadowing must be considered simultaneously, because grid-line resistance is inversely related to total grid-line area and cell shadowing is directly related. A PV cell grid design must consider the five power-loss phenomena mentioned above: sheet resistance, contact resistance, grid resistance, bus-bar resistance and cell shadowing. Although cost, reliability and usage are important factors in deciding upon the best metallization system, this paper will focus only upon grid-line design and substrate material problems for flat-plate solar arrays.

Scalability and performance of data-parallel pressure-based multigrid methods for viscous flows

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

Blosch, E.L.; Shyy, W.

1996-05-01

A full-approximation storage multigrid method for solving the steady-state 2-d incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on staggered grids has been implemented in Fortran on the CM-5, using the array aliasing feature in CM-Fortran to avoid declaring fine-grid-sized arrays on all levels while still allowing a variable number of grid levels. Thus, the storage cost scales with the number of unknowns, allowing us to consider significantly larger problems than would otherwise be possible. Timings over a range of problem sizes and numbers of processors, up to 4096 x 4096 on 512 nodes, show that the smoothing procedure, a pressure-correction technique, is scalable andmore » that the restriction and prolongation steps are nearly so. The performance obtained for the multigrid method is 333 Mflops out of the theoretical peak 4 Gflops on a 32-node CM-5. In comparison, a single-grid computation obtained 420 Mflops. The decrease is due to the inefficiency of the smoothing iterations on the coarse grid levels. W cycles cost much more and are much less efficient than V cycles, due to the increased contribution from the coarse grids. The convergence rate characteristics of the pressure-correction multigrid method are investigated in a Re = 5000 lid-driven cavity flow and a Re = 300 symmetric backward-facing step flow, using either a defect-correction scheme or a second-order upwind scheme. A heuristic technique relating the convergence tolerances for the course grids to the truncation error of the discretization has been found effective and robust. With second-order upwinding on all grid levels, a 5-level 320 x 80 step flow solution was obtained in 20 V cycles, which corresponds to a smoothing rate of 0.7, and required 25 s on a 32-node CM-5. Overall, the convergence rates obtained in the present work are comparable to the most competitive findings reported in the literature. 62 refs., 13 figs.« less

Scalability and Performance of Data-Parallel Pressure-Based Multigrid Methods for Viscous Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blosch, Edwin L.; Shyy, Wei

1996-05-01

A full-approximation storage multigrid method for solving the steady-state 2-dincompressible Navier-Stokes equations on staggered grids has been implemented in Fortran on the CM-5,using the array aliasing feature in CM-Fortran to avoid declaring fine-grid-sized arrays on all levels while still allowing a variable number of grid levels. Thus, the storage cost scales with the number of unknowns,allowing us to consider significantly larger problems than would otherwise be possible. Timings over a range of problem sizes and numbers of processors, up to 4096 × 4096 on 512 nodes, show that the smoothing procedure, a pressure-correction technique, is scalable and that the restriction and prolongation steps are nearly so. The performance obtained for the multigrid method is 333 Mflops out of the theoretical peak 4 Gflops on a 32-node CM-5. In comparison, a single-grid computation obtained 420 Mflops. The decrease is due to the inefficiency of the smoothing iterations on the coarse grid levels. W cycles cost much more and are much less efficient than V cycles, due to the increased contribution from the coarse grids. The convergence rate characteristics of the pressure-correction multigrid method are investigated in a Re = 5000 lid-driven cavity flow and a Re = 300 symmetric backward-facing step flow, using either a defect-correction scheme or a second-order upwind scheme. A heuristic technique relating the convergence tolerances for the coarse grids to the truncation error of the discretization has been found effective and robust. With second-order upwinding on all grid levels, a 5-level 320× 80 step flow solution was obtained in 20 V cycles, which corresponds to a smoothing rate of 0.7, and required 25 s on a 32-node CM-5. Overall, the convergence rates obtained in the present work are comparable to the most competitive findings reported in the literature.

Phased array antenna matching: Simulation and optimization of a planar phased array of circular waveguide elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dudgeon, J. E.

1972-01-01

A computerized simulation of a planar phased array of circular waveguide elements is reported using mutual coupling and wide angle impedance matching in phased arrays. Special emphasis is given to circular polarization. The aforementioned computer program has as variable inputs: frequency, polarization, grid geometry, element size, dielectric waveguide fill, dielectric plugs in the waveguide for impedance matching, and dielectric sheets covering the array surface for the purpose of wide angle impedance matching. Parameter combinations are found which produce reflection peaks interior to grating lobes, while dielectric cover sheets are successfully employed to extend the usable scan range of a phased array. The most exciting results came from the application of computer aided optimization techniques to the design of this type of array.

Visual and x-ray inspection characteristics of eutectic and lead free assemblies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, R.

2003-01-01

For high reliability applications, visual inspection has been the key technique for most conventional electronic package assemblies. Now, the use of x-ray technique has become an additional inspection requirement for quality control and detection of unique defects due to manufacturing of advanced electronic array packages such as ball grid array (BGAs) and chip scale packages (CSPs).

Coordinated Research Program in Pulsed Power Physics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-20

heated array of Inductive energy storage is attractive in pulsed power 375-/am-diameter thoriated tungsten filaments. At a flia- applications because of...control system electrostatical- ly. It is positioned 0.6 cm above the control grid. The grids and cathode are connected to external power supplies through...energy storage density becomes even larger (by a factor of - 10). One should note that these comparisons do not account for power supplies , cooling

Arrays of Position-Sensitive Virtual Frisch-Grid CdZnTe Detectors: Results From a $$4\\times 4$$ Array Prototype

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

Ocampo Giraldo, L. A.; Bolotnikov, A. E.; Camarda, G. S.

Position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid (VFG) CdZnTe (CZT) detectors offer a unique capability for correcting the response nonuniformities caused by crystal defects. This allowed us to achieve high energy resolution, while using typical-grade commercial CZT crystals with relaxed requirements to their quality, thus reducing the overall cost of detectors. Another advantage of the VFG detectors is that they can be integrated into arrays and used in small compact hand-held instruments or large-area gamma cameras that will enhance detection capability for many practical applications, including nonproliferation, medical imaging, and gamma-ray astronomy. Here in this paper, we present the results from testing small arraymore » prototypes coupled with front-end application-specified integrated circuit. Each detector in the array is furnished with 5-mm-wide charge-sensing pads placed near the anode. The pads signals are converted into XY coordinates, which combined with the cathode signals (for Z coordinates) provide 3-D position information of all interaction points. The basic array consists of a number of detectors grouped into 2×2 subarrays, each having a common cathode made by connecting together the cathodes of the individual detectors. Lastly, these features can significantly improve the performance of detectors while using typical-grade low-cost CZT crystals to reduce the overall cost of the proposed instrument.« less

Arrays of Position-Sensitive Virtual Frisch-Grid CdZnTe Detectors: Results From a $$4\\times 4$$ Array Prototype

DOE PAGES

Ocampo Giraldo, L. A.; Bolotnikov, A. E.; Camarda, G. S.; ...

2017-08-22

Position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid (VFG) CdZnTe (CZT) detectors offer a unique capability for correcting the response nonuniformities caused by crystal defects. This allowed us to achieve high energy resolution, while using typical-grade commercial CZT crystals with relaxed requirements to their quality, thus reducing the overall cost of detectors. Another advantage of the VFG detectors is that they can be integrated into arrays and used in small compact hand-held instruments or large-area gamma cameras that will enhance detection capability for many practical applications, including nonproliferation, medical imaging, and gamma-ray astronomy. Here in this paper, we present the results from testing small arraymore » prototypes coupled with front-end application-specified integrated circuit. Each detector in the array is furnished with 5-mm-wide charge-sensing pads placed near the anode. The pads signals are converted into XY coordinates, which combined with the cathode signals (for Z coordinates) provide 3-D position information of all interaction points. The basic array consists of a number of detectors grouped into 2×2 subarrays, each having a common cathode made by connecting together the cathodes of the individual detectors. Lastly, these features can significantly improve the performance of detectors while using typical-grade low-cost CZT crystals to reduce the overall cost of the proposed instrument.« less

Measurements of the Influence of Integral Length Scale on Stagnation Region Heat Transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanfossen, G. James; Ching, Chang Y.

1994-01-01

The purpose was twofold: first, to determine if a length scale existed that would cause the greatest augmentation in stagnation region heat transfer for a given turbulence intensity and second, to develop a prediction tool for stagnation heat transfer in the presence of free stream turbulence. Toward this end, a model with a circular leading edge was fabricated with heat transfer gages in the stagnation region. The model was qualified in a low turbulence wind tunnel by comparing measurements with Frossling's solution for stagnation region heat transfer in a laminar free stream. Five turbulence generating grids were fabricated; four were square mesh, biplane grids made from square bars. Each had identical mesh to bar width ratio but different bar widths. The fifth grid was an array of fine parallel wires that were perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical leading edge. Turbulence intensity and integral length scale were measured as a function of distance from the grids. Stagnation region heat transfer was measured at various distances downstream of each grid. Data were taken at cylinder Reynolds numbers ranging from 42,000 to 193,000. Turbulence intensities were in the range 1.1 to 15.9 percent while the ratio of integral length scale to cylinder diameter ranged from 0.05 to 0.30. Stagnation region heat transfer augmentation increased with decreasing length scale. An optimum scale was not found. A correlation was developed that fit heat transfer data for the square bar grids to within +4 percent. The data from the array of wires were not predicted by the correlation; augmentation was higher for this case indicating that the degree of isotropy in the turbulent flow field has a large effect on stagnation heat transfer. The data of other researchers are also compared with the correlation.

Column Grid Array Rework for High Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehta, Atul C.; Bodie, Charles C.

2008-01-01

Due to requirements for reduced size and weight, use of grid array packages in space applications has become common place. To meet the requirement of high reliability and high number of I/Os, ceramic column grid array packages (CCGA) were selected for major electronic components used in next MARS Rover mission (specifically high density Field Programmable Gate Arrays). ABSTRACT The probability of removal and replacement of these devices on the actual flight printed wiring board assemblies is deemed to be very high because of last minute discoveries in final test which will dictate changes in the firmware. The questions and challenges presented to the manufacturing organizations engaged in the production of high reliability electronic assemblies are, Is the reliability of the PWBA adversely affected by rework (removal and replacement) of the CGA package? and How many times can we rework the same board without destroying a pad or degrading the lifetime of the assembly? To answer these questions, the most complex printed wiring board assembly used by the project was chosen to be used as the test vehicle, the PWB was modified to provide a daisy chain pattern, and a number of bare PWB s were acquired to this modified design. Non-functional 624 pin CGA packages with internal daisy chained matching the pattern on the PWB were procured. The combination of the modified PWB and the daisy chained packages enables continuity measurements of every soldered contact during subsequent testing and thermal cycling. Several test vehicles boards were assembled, reworked and then thermal cycled to assess the reliability of the solder joints and board material including pads and traces near the CGA. The details of rework process and results of thermal cycling are presented in this paper.

Results from a Prototype Multi-Element CdZnTe Gamma-Ray Detector for Planetary Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moss, C. E.; Browne, M. C.; Ianakiev, K. D.; Prettyman, T. H.; Reedy, R. C.

2001-01-01

We present high energy results for a 2 x 2 x 2 array of eight 10 mm x 10 mm x 5 mm coplanar grid CdZnTe detectors. We conclude that such an array can provide a room-temperature detector with good resolution and efficiency for planetary missions. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Filters for Submillimeter Electromagnetic Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berdahl, C. M.

1986-01-01

New manufacturing process produces filters strong, yet have small, precise dimensions and smooth surface finish essential for dichroic filtering at submillimeter wavelengths. Many filters, each one essentially wafer containing fine metal grid made at same time. Stacked square wires plated, fused, and etched to form arrays of holes. Grid of nickel and tin held in brass ring. Wall thickness, thickness of filter (hole depth) and lateral hole dimensions all depend upon operating frequency and filter characteristics.

Patterning nanowire and micro-nanoparticle array on micropillar-structured surface: Experiment and modeling.

PubMed

Lin, Chung Hsun; Guan, Jingjiao; Chau, Shiu Wu; Chen, Shia Chung; Lee, L James

2010-08-04

DNA molecules in a solution can be immobilized and stretched into a highly ordered array on a solid surface containing micropillars by molecular combing technique. However, the mechanism of this process is not well understood. In this study, we demonstrated the generation of DNA nanostrand array with linear, zigzag, and fork-zigzag patterns and the microfluidic processes are modeled based on a deforming body-fitted grid approach. The simulation results provide insights for explaining the stretching, immobilizing, and patterning of DNA molecules observed in the experiments.

Demonstration of transparent solar array module design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pack, G. J.

1984-01-01

This report discusses the design, development, fabrication and testing of IR transparent solar array modules. Three modules, consisting of a baseline design using back surface reflector cells, and two modules using gridded back contact, IR transparent cells, were subjected to vacuum thermal balance testing to verify analytical predictions of lower operating emperature and increased efficiency. As a result of this test program, LMSC has verified that a significant degree of IR transparency can be designed into a flexible solar array. Test data correlates with both steady state and transient thermal analysis.

OPTIMIZATION OF VIRTUAL FRISCH-GRID CdZnTe DETECTOR DESIGNS FOR IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY OF GAMMA RAYS.

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

BOLOTNIKOV,A.E.; ABDUL-JABBAR, N.M.; BABALOLA, S.

2007-08-21

In the past, various virtual Frisch-grid designs have been proposed for cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) and other compound semiconductor detectors. These include three-terminal, semi-spherical, CAPture, Frisch-ring, capacitive Frisch-grid and pixel devices (along with their modifications). Among them, the Frisch-grid design employing a non-contacting ring extended over the entire side surfaces of parallelepiped-shaped CZT crystals is the most promising. The defect-free parallelepiped-shaped crystals with typical dimensions of 5x5{approx}12 mm3 are easy to produce and can be arranged into large arrays used for imaging and gamma-ray spectroscopy. In this paper, we report on further advances of the virtual Frisch-grid detector design formore » the parallelepiped-shaped CZT crystals. Both the experimental testing and modeling results are described.« less

Purely Translational Realignment in Grid Cell Firing Patterns Following Nonmetric Context Change

PubMed Central

Marozzi, Elizabeth; Ginzberg, Lin Lin; Alenda, Andrea; Jeffery, Kate J.

2015-01-01

Grid cells in entorhinal and parahippocampal cortices contribute to a network, centered on the hippocampal place cell system, that constructs a representation of spatial context for use in navigation and memory. In doing so, they use metric cues such as the distance and direction of nearby boundaries to position and orient their firing field arrays (grids). The present study investigated whether they also use purely nonmetric “context” information such as color and odor of the environment. We found that, indeed, purely nonmetric cues—sufficiently salient to cause changes in place cell firing patterns—can regulate grid positioning; they do so independently of orientation, and thus interact with linear but not directional spatial inputs. Grid cells responded homogeneously to context changes. We suggest that the grid and place cell networks receive context information directly and also from each other; the information is used by place cells to compute the final decision of the spatial system about which context the animal is in, and by grid cells to help inform the system about where the animal is within it. PMID:26048956

Semantic web data warehousing for caGrid.

PubMed

McCusker, James P; Phillips, Joshua A; González Beltrán, Alejandra; Finkelstein, Anthony; Krauthammer, Michael

2009-10-01

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is developing caGrid as a means for sharing cancer-related data and services. As more data sets become available on caGrid, we need effective ways of accessing and integrating this information. Although the data models exposed on caGrid are semantically well annotated, it is currently up to the caGrid client to infer relationships between the different models and their classes. In this paper, we present a Semantic Web-based data warehouse (Corvus) for creating relationships among caGrid models. This is accomplished through the transformation of semantically-annotated caBIG Unified Modeling Language (UML) information models into Web Ontology Language (OWL) ontologies that preserve those semantics. We demonstrate the validity of the approach by Semantic Extraction, Transformation and Loading (SETL) of data from two caGrid data sources, caTissue and caArray, as well as alignment and query of those sources in Corvus. We argue that semantic integration is necessary for integration of data from distributed web services and that Corvus is a useful way of accomplishing this. Our approach is generalizable and of broad utility to researchers facing similar integration challenges.

Micro-Slit Collimators for X-Ray/Gamma-Ray Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Appleby, Michael; Fraser, Iain; Klinger, Jill

2011-01-01

A hybrid photochemical-machining process is coupled with precision stack lamination to allow for the fabrication of multiple ultra-high-resolution grids on a single array substrate. In addition, special fixturing and etching techniques have been developed that allow higher-resolution multi-grid collimators to be fabricated. Building on past work of developing a manufacturing technique for fabricating multi-grid, high-resolution coating modulation collimators for arcsecond and subarcsecond x-ray and gamma-ray imaging, the current work reduces the grid pitch by almost a factor of two, down to 22 microns. Additionally, a process was developed for reducing thin, high-Z (tungsten or molybdenum) from the thinnest commercially available foil (25 microns thick) down to approximately equal to 10 microns thick using precisely controlled chemical etching

Monte Carlo simulation of ion-neutral charge exchange collisions and grid erosion in an ion thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peng, Xiaohang; Ruyten, Wilhelmus M.; Keefer, Dennis

1991-01-01

A combined particle-in-cell (PIC)/Monte Carlo simulation model has been developed in which the PIC method is used to simulate the charge exchange collisions. It is noted that a number of features were reproduced correctly by this code, but that its assumption of two-dimensional axisymmetry for a single set of grid apertures precluded the reproduction of the most characteristic feature of actual test data; namely, the concentrated grid erosion at the geometric center of the hexagonal aperture array. The first results of a three-dimensional code, which takes into account the hexagonal symmetry of the grid, are presented. It is shown that, with this code, the experimentally observed erosion patterns are reproduced correctly, demonstrating explicitly the concentration of sputtering between apertures.

Theory and applications for optimization of every part of a photovoltaic system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Redfield, D.

1978-01-01

A general method is presented for quantitatively optimizing the design of every part and fabrication step of an entire photovoltaic system, based on the criterion of minimum cost/Watt for the system output power. It is shown that no element or process step can be optimized properly by considering only its own cost and performance. Moreover, a fractional performance loss at any fabrication step within the cell or array produces the same fractional increase in the cost/Watt of the entire array, but not of the full system. One general equation is found to be capable of optimizing all parts of a system, although the cell and array steps are basically different from the power-handling elements. Applications of this analysis are given to show (1) when Si wafers should be cut to increase their packing fraction; and (2) what the optimum dimensions for solar cell metallizations are. The optimum shadow fraction of the fine grid is shown to be independent of metal cost and resistivity as well as cell size. The optimum thicknesses of both the fine grid and the bus bar are substantially greater than the values in general use, and the total array cost has a major effect on these values. By analogy, this analysis is adaptable to other solar energy systems.

A Fast MoM Solver (GIFFT) for Large Arrays of Microstrip and Cavity-Backed Antennas

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

Fasenfest, B J; Capolino, F; Wilton, D

2005-02-02

A straightforward numerical analysis of large arrays of arbitrary contour (and possibly missing elements) requires large memory storage and long computation times. Several techniques are currently under development to reduce this cost. One such technique is the GIFFT (Green's function interpolation and FFT) method discussed here that belongs to the class of fast solvers for large structures. This method uses a modification of the standard AIM approach [1] that takes into account the reusability properties of matrices that arise from identical array elements. If the array consists of planar conducting bodies, the array elements are meshed using standard subdomain basismore » functions, such as the RWG basis. The Green's function is then projected onto a sparse regular grid of separable interpolating polynomials. This grid can then be used in a 2D or 3D FFT to accelerate the matrix-vector product used in an iterative solver [2]. The method has been proven to greatly reduce solve time by speeding up the matrix-vector product computation. The GIFFT approach also reduces fill time and memory requirements, since only the near element interactions need to be calculated exactly. The present work extends GIFFT to layered material Green's functions and multiregion interactions via slots in ground planes. In addition, a preconditioner is implemented to greatly reduce the number of iterations required for a solution. The general scheme of the GIFFT method is reported in [2]; this contribution is limited to presenting new results for array antennas made of slot-excited patches and cavity-backed patch antennas.« less

Fracture Behaviors of Sn-Cu Intermetallic Compound Layer in Ball Grid Array Induced by Thermal Shock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Jun; Zhai, Dajun; Cao, Zhongming; Zhao, Mali; Pu, Yayun

2014-02-01

In this work, thermal shock reliability testing and finite-element analysis (FEA) of solder joints between ball grid array components and printed circuit boards with Cu pads were used to investigate the failure mechanism of solder interconnections. The morphologies, composition, and thickness of Sn-Cu intermetallic compounds (IMC) at the interface of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu lead-free solder alloy and Cu substrates were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Based on the experimental observations and FEA results, it can be recognized that the origin and propagation of cracks are caused primarily by the difference between the coefficient of thermal expansion of different parts of the packaged products, the growth behaviors and roughness of the IMC layer, and the grain size of the solder balls.

The research on multi-projection correction based on color coding grid array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Fan; Han, Cheng; Bai, Baoxing; Zhang, Chao; Zhao, Yunxiu

2017-10-01

There are many disadvantages such as lower timeliness, greater manual intervention in multi-channel projection system, in order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a multi-projector correction technology based on color coding grid array. Firstly, a color structured light stripe is generated by using the De Bruijn sequences, then meshing the feature information of the color structured light stripe image. We put the meshing colored grid intersection as the center of the circle, and build a white solid circle as the feature sample set of projected images. It makes the constructed feature sample set not only has the perceptual localization, but also has good noise immunity. Secondly, we establish the subpixel geometric mapping relationship between the projection screen and the individual projectors by using the structure of light encoding and decoding based on the color array, and the geometrical mapping relation is used to solve the homography matrix of each projector. Lastly the brightness inconsistency of the multi-channel projection overlap area is seriously interfered, it leads to the corrected image doesn't fit well with the observer's visual needs, and we obtain the projection display image of visual consistency by using the luminance fusion correction algorithm. The experimental results show that this method not only effectively solved the problem of distortion of multi-projection screen and the issue of luminance interference in overlapping region, but also improved the calibration efficient of multi-channel projective system and reduced the maintenance cost of intelligent multi-projection system.

Polar microwave brightness temperatures from Nimbus-7 SMMR: Time series of daily and monthly maps from 1978 to 1987

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comiso, Josefino C.; Zwally, H. Jay

1989-01-01

A time series of daily brightness temperature gridded maps (October 25, 1978 through August 15, 1987) were generated from all ten channels of the Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer orbital data. This unique data set can be utilized in a wide range of applications including heat flux, ocean circulation, ice edge productivity, and climate studies. Two sets of data in polar stereographic format are created for the Arctic region: one with a grid size of about 30 km on a 293 by 293 array similar to that previously utilized for the Nimbus-5 Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer, while the other has a grid size of about 25 km on a 448 by 304 array identical to what is now being used for the DMSP Scanning Multichannel Microwave Imager. Data generated for the Antaractic region are mapped using the 293 by 293 grid only. The general technique for mapping, and a quality assessment of the data set are presented. Monthly and yearly averages are also generated from the daily data and sample geophysical ice images and products derived from the data are given. Contour plots of monthly ice concentrations derived from the data for October 1978 through August 1987 are presented to demonstrate spatial and temporal detail which this data set can offer, and to show potential research applications.

An investigation of the RCS (radar cross section) computation of grid cavities

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

Sabihi, Ahmad

2014-12-10

In this paper, the aperture of a cavity is covered by a metallic grid net. This metallic grid is to reduce RCS deduced by impinging radar ray on the aperture. A radar ray incident on a grid net installed on a cavity may create six types of propagation. 1-Incident rays entering inside the cavity and backscattered from it.2-Incidebnt rays on the grid net and created reection rays as an array of scatterers. These rays may create a wave with phase difference of 180 degree with respect to the exiting rays from the cavity.3-Incident rays on the grid net create surfacemore » currents owing on the net and make travelling waves, which regenerate the magnetic and electric fields. These fields make again propagated waves against incident ones.4-Creeping waves.5-Diffracted rays due to leading edges of net’s elements.6-Mutual impedance among elements of the net could be effective on the resultant RCS. Therefore, the author compares the effects of three out of six properties to a cavity without grid net. This comparison shows that RCS prediction of cavity having a grid net is much more reduced than that of without one.« less

Field ionization characteristics of an ion source array for neutron generators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bargsten Johnson, B.; Schwoebel, P. R.; Resnick, P. J.; Holland, C. E.; Hertz, K. L.; Chichester, D. L.

2013-11-01

A new deuterium ion source is being developed to improve the performance of existing compact neutron generators. The ion source is a microfabricated array of metal tips with an integrated gate (i.e., grid) and produces deuterium ions by field ionizing (or field desorbing) a supply of deuterium gas. Deuterium field ion currents from arrays at source temperatures of 77 K and 293 K are studied. Ion currents from single etched-wire tips operating under the same conditions are used to help understand array results. I-F characteristics of the arrays were found to follow trends similar to those of the better understood single etched-wire tip results; however, the fields achieved by the arrays are limited by electrical breakdown of the structure. Neutron production by field ionization at 293 K was demonstrated for the first time from microfabricated array structures with integrated gates.

Planar waveguide integrated spatial filter array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ai, Jun; Dimov, Fedor; Lyon, Richard; Rakuljic, Neven; Griffo, Chris; Xia, Xiaowei; Arik, Engin

2013-09-01

An innovative integrated spatial filter array (iSFA) was developed for the nulling interferometer for the detection of earth-like planets and life beyond our solar system. The coherent iSFA comprised a 2D planar lightwave circuit (PLC) array coupled with a pair of 2D lenslet arrays in a hexagonal grid to achieve the optimum fill factor and throughput. The silica-on-silicon waveguide mode field diameter and numerical aperture (NA) were designed to match with the Airy disc and NA of the microlens for optimum coupling. The lenslet array was coated with a chromium pinhole array at the focal plane to pass the single-mode waveguide but attenuate the higher modes. We assembled a 32 by 30 array by stacking 32 chips that were produced by photolithography from a 6-in. silicon wafer. Each chip has 30 planar waveguides. The PLC array is inherently polarization-maintaining (PM) and requires much less alignment in contrast to a fiber array, where each PM fiber must be placed individually and oriented correctly. The PLC array offers better scalability than the fiber bundle array for large arrays of over 1,000 waveguides.

CdZnTe Image Detectors for Hard-X-Ray Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, C. M. Hubert; Cook, Walter R.; Harrison, Fiona A.; Lin, Jiao Y. Y.; Mao, Peter H.; Schindler, Stephen M.

2005-01-01

Arrays of CdZnTe photodetectors and associated electronic circuitry have been built and tested in a continuing effort to develop focal-plane image sensor systems for hard-x-ray telescopes. Each array contains 24 by 44 pixels at a pitch of 498 m. The detector designs are optimized to obtain low power demand with high spectral resolution in the photon- energy range of 5 to 100 keV. More precisely, each detector array is a hybrid of a CdZnTe photodetector array and an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) containing an array of amplifiers in the same pixel pattern as that of the detectors. The array is fabricated on a single crystal of CdZnTe having dimensions of 23.6 by 12.9 by 2 mm. The detector-array cathode is a monolithic platinum contact. On the anode plane, the contact metal is patterned into the aforementioned pixel array, surrounded by a guard ring that is 1 mm wide on three sides and is 0.1 mm wide on the fourth side so that two such detector arrays can be placed side-by-side to form a roughly square sensor area with minimal dead area between them. Figure 1 shows two anode patterns. One pattern features larger pixel anode contacts, with a 30-m gap between them. The other pattern features smaller pixel anode contacts plus a contact for a shaping electrode in the form of a grid that separates all the pixels. In operation, the grid is held at a potential intermediate between the cathode and anode potentials to steer electric charges toward the anode in order to reduce the loss of charges in the inter-anode gaps. The CdZnTe photodetector array is mechanically and electrically connected to the ASIC (see Figure 2), either by use of indium bump bonds or by use of conductive epoxy bumps on the CdZnTe array joined to gold bumps on the ASIC. Hence, the output of each pixel detector is fed to its own amplifier chain.

Small Scale Biodiversity of an Alkaline Hot Spring in Yellowstone National Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walther, K.; Oiler, J.; Meyer-Dombard, D. R.

2012-12-01

To date, many phylogenetic diversity studies have been conducted in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) [1-7] focusing on the amplification of the 16S rRNA gene and "metagenomic" datasets. However, few reports focus on diversity at small scales. Here, we report on a small scale biodiversity study of sediment and biofilm communities within a confined area of a YNP hot spring, compare and contrast these communities to other sediment and biofilm communities from previous studies [1-7], and with other sediment and biofilm communities in the same system. Sediment and biofilm samples were collected, using a 30 x 50 cm sampling grid divided in 5 x 5 cm squares, which was placed in the outflow channel of "Bat Pool", an alkaline (pH 7.9) hot spring in YNP. Accompanying geochemical data included a full range of spectrophotometry measurements along with major ions, trace elements, and DIC/DOC. In addition, in situ temperature and conductivity arrays were placed within the grid location. The temperature array closest to the source varied between 83-88°C, while the temperature array 40 cm downstream varied between ~83.5-86.5°C. The two conductivity arrays yielded measurements of 5632 μS and 5710 μS showing little variation within the sampling area. Within the grid space, DO ranged from 0.5-1.33 mg/L, with relatively similar, but slightly lower values down the outflow channel. Sulfide values within the grid ranged from 1020-1671 μg/L, while sulfide values outside of the grid region fluctuated, but generally followed the trend of decreasing from source down the outflow. Despite the relative heterogeneity of chemical and physical parameters in the grid space, there was biological diversity in sediments and biofilms at the 5 cm scale. Small scale biodiversity was analyzed by selecting a representative number of samples from within the grid. DNA was extracted and variable regions V3 and V6 (Archaea and Bacteria, respectively) were sequenced with 454 pyrosequencing. The datasets from each of the samples were randomly subsampled and the same number of sequences was taken from each dataset so that the samples could be directly compared. Using the Ribosomal Database Project Pyrosequencing Pipeline (http://rdp.cme.msu.edu/), the sequences were aligned, complete linkage clustering was performed, Shannon and Chao1 indices were calculated, and rarefaction curves were made. The RDP Classifier tool afforded classification in a taxonomical hierarchy and the samples were compared on the order level to determine the variation of the microbial communities within the sampling grid. Additional alpha and beta diversity indices were also established. Through comparing the samples on the order level, it was determined that there is variation within a small sampling area despite similar geochemical and temperature conditions at the time of sampling. This variation is seen in both the sediment and biofilm communities, primarily seen among Bacteria. [1] Barns, S.M. et al. (1994) PNAS. 91: 1609-1613. [2] Barns, S.M. et al. (1996) PNAS. 93: 9188-9193. [3] Hall, J.R. et al. (2008) AEM. 74(15): 4910-4922. [4] Hugenholtz, P. et al. (1998) JofBac. 180(2): 366-376. [5] Meyer-Dombard, D. R. et al. (2005) Geobio. 3: 211-227. [6] Meyer-Dombard, D.R. et al. (2011) EM. 13(8): 2216-2231. [7] Reysenbach, A.L. et al. (1994) AEM. 60 (6): 2113-2119.

Grid cells form a global representation of connected environments.

PubMed

Carpenter, Francis; Manson, Daniel; Jeffery, Kate; Burgess, Neil; Barry, Caswell

2015-05-04

The firing patterns of grid cells in medial entorhinal cortex (mEC) and associated brain areas form triangular arrays that tessellate the environment [1, 2] and maintain constant spatial offsets to each other between environments [3, 4]. These cells are thought to provide an efficient metric for navigation in large-scale space [5-8]. However, an accurate and universal metric requires grid cell firing patterns to uniformly cover the space to be navigated, in contrast to recent demonstrations that environmental features such as boundaries can distort [9-11] and fragment [12] grid patterns. To establish whether grid firing is determined by local environmental cues, or provides a coherent global representation, we recorded mEC grid cells in rats foraging in an environment containing two perceptually identical compartments connected via a corridor. During initial exposures to the multicompartment environment, grid firing patterns were dominated by local environmental cues, replicating between the two compartments. However, with prolonged experience, grid cell firing patterns formed a single, continuous representation that spanned both compartments. Thus, we provide the first evidence that in a complex environment, grid cell firing can form the coherent global pattern necessary for them to act as a metric capable of supporting large-scale spatial navigation. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Grid Cells Form a Global Representation of Connected Environments

PubMed Central

Carpenter, Francis; Manson, Daniel; Jeffery, Kate; Burgess, Neil; Barry, Caswell

2015-01-01

Summary The firing patterns of grid cells in medial entorhinal cortex (mEC) and associated brain areas form triangular arrays that tessellate the environment [1, 2] and maintain constant spatial offsets to each other between environments [3, 4]. These cells are thought to provide an efficient metric for navigation in large-scale space [5–8]. However, an accurate and universal metric requires grid cell firing patterns to uniformly cover the space to be navigated, in contrast to recent demonstrations that environmental features such as boundaries can distort [9–11] and fragment [12] grid patterns. To establish whether grid firing is determined by local environmental cues, or provides a coherent global representation, we recorded mEC grid cells in rats foraging in an environment containing two perceptually identical compartments connected via a corridor. During initial exposures to the multicompartment environment, grid firing patterns were dominated by local environmental cues, replicating between the two compartments. However, with prolonged experience, grid cell firing patterns formed a single, continuous representation that spanned both compartments. Thus, we provide the first evidence that in a complex environment, grid cell firing can form the coherent global pattern necessary for them to act as a metric capable of supporting large-scale spatial navigation. PMID:25913404

TA×4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagawa, Hiroyuki

How cosmic rays obtain energies of about 1020 eV and where they come from are big mysteries in physics. The Telescope Array (TA) is comprised of Surface Detectors (SDs) and Fluorescence Detectors (FDs) located in Utah, U.S.A., and aims to explore the origin of highest-energy cosmic rays. The SD array consists of 507 scintillation detectors arranged on a square grid of 1.2-km spacing, covering approximately 700 km2. The FD telescopes, located at three sites, look over the surface array. Using the first five years of data collected by the surface detectors, we found a cluster of cosmic rays with energies greater than 5.7 × 1019 eV that we call the hot spot. With enhanced statistics, we expect to observe the structure of that hot spot along with other possible excesses, and point sources along with the correlations with extreme phenomena in the nearby universe. We plan to make the area of the TA SD array four times larger to approximately 3,000 km2, by adding 500 SDs on a square grid of 2.08-km spacing. Two FD stations will be built viewing the new SD array. This TA extension that we call TA×4 will greatly accelerate the speed at which we will reach the goals mentioned above, and will enhance cosmic-ray energy spectrum measurement and composition study at the highest energies by TA. At this conference, we present our plan for TA×4.

Accelerated Thermal Cycling and Failure Mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, R.

1999-01-01

This paper reviews the accelerated thermal cycling test methods that are currently used by industry to characterize the interconnect reliability of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) ball grid array (BGA) and chip scale package (CSP) assemblies.

Superaligned carbon nanotube arrays, films, and yarns: a road to applications.

PubMed

Jiang, Kaili; Wang, Jiaping; Li, Qunqing; Liu, Liang; Li, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan

2011-03-04

A superaligned carbon nanotube (CNT) array is a special kind of vertically aligned CNT array with the capability of being converted into continuous fi lms and yarns. The as-produced CNT fi lms are transparent and highly conductive, with aligned CNTs parallel to the direction of drawing. After passing through volatile solutions or being twisted, CNT fi lms can be further condensed into shrunk yarns. These shrunk yarns possess high tensile strengths and Young’s moduli, and are good conductors. Many applications of CNT fi lms and shrunk yarns have been demonstrated, such as TEM grids, loudspeakers, touch screens, etc.

Method and structure for skewed block-cyclic distribution of lower-dimensional data arrays in higher-dimensional processor grids

DOEpatents

Chatterjee, Siddhartha [Yorktown Heights, NY; Gunnels, John A [Brewster, NY

2011-11-08

A method and structure of distributing elements of an array of data in a computer memory to a specific processor of a multi-dimensional mesh of parallel processors includes designating a distribution of elements of at least a portion of the array to be executed by specific processors in the multi-dimensional mesh of parallel processors. The pattern of the designating includes a cyclical repetitive pattern of the parallel processor mesh, as modified to have a skew in at least one dimension so that both a row of data in the array and a column of data in the array map to respective contiguous groupings of the processors such that a dimension of the contiguous groupings is greater than one.

Structures and Techniques For Implementing and Packaging Complex, Large Scale Microelectromechanical Systems Using Foundry Fabrication Processes.

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-06-01

switches 5-43 Figure 5-27. Mechanical interference between ’Pull Spring’ devices 5-45 Figure 5-28. Array of LIGA mechanical relay switches 5-49...like coating DM Direct metal interconnect technique DMD ™ Digital Micromirror Device EDP Ethylene, diamine, pyrocatechol and water; silicon anisotropic...mechanical systems MOSIS MOS Implementation Service PGA Pin grid array, an electronic die package PZT Lead-zirconate-titanate LIGA Lithographie

Rectangle Surface Coil Array in a Grid Arrangement for Resonance Imaging

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-13

switchable array, RF magnetic field, NQR , MRI, NMR, tuning, decoupling I. INTRODUCTION ESONANCE imaging can be accomplished using Nuclear Magnetic...Resonance (NMR) or Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance ( NQR ) techniques. REF [1] and [6] explain the differences between NMR and NQR . What NMR and NQR ...of resonance NQR frequency of 28.1MHz. The matching and tuning is explain in detail in the next section of this paper. Rectangle Surface Coil

Testability Design Rating System: Testability Handbook. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-02-01

4-10 4.7.5 Summary of False BIT Alarms (FBA) ............................. 4-10 4.7.6 Smart BIT Technique...Circuit Board PGA Pin Grid Array PLA Programmable Logic Array PLD Programmable Logic Device PN Pseudo-Random Number PREDICT Probabilistic Estimation of...11 4.7.6 Smart BIT ( reference: RADC-TR-85-198). " Smart " BIT is a term given to BIT circuitry in a system LRU which includes dedicated processor/memory

Optimal system sizing in grid-connected photovoltaic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simoens, H. M.; Baert, D. H.; de Mey, G.

A costs/benefits analysis for optimizing the combination of photovoltaic (PV) panels, batteries and an inverter for grid interconnected systems at a 500 W/day Belgian residence is presented. It is assumed that some power purchases from the grid will always be necessary, and that excess PV power can be fed into the grid. A minimal value for the cost divided by the performance is defined for economic optimization. Shortages and excesses are calculated for PV panels of 0.5-10 kWp output, with consideration given to the advantages of a battery back-up. The minimal economic value is found to increase with the magnitude of PV output, and an inverter should never be rated at more than half the array maximum output. A maximum panel size for the Belgian residence is projected to be 6 kWp.

Research on Experiment of Islanding Protection Device of Grid-connected Photovoltaic System Based on RTDS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ning; Yang, Jia; Cheng, Zheng; Chen, Bo; Su, Yong Chun; Shu, Zhan; Zou, Jin

2017-06-01

Solar photovoltaic power generation is the power generation using solar cell module converting sunlight into DC electric energy. In the paper an equivalent model of solar photovoltaic power generation system is built in RTDS. The main circuit structure of the two-stage PV grid-connected system consists of the DC-DC, DC-AC circuit. The MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) control of the PV array is controlled by adjusting the duty ratio of the DC-DC circuit. The proposed control strategy of constant voltage/constant reactive power (V/Q) control is successfully implemented grid-connected control of the inverter when grid-connected operation. The closed-loop experiment of islanding protection device of photovoltaic power plant on RTDS, verifies the correctness of the simulation model, and the experimental verification can be applied to this type of device.

Ultra-sparse dielectric nanowire grids as wideband reflectors and polarizers.

PubMed

Yoon, Jae Woong; Lee, Kyu Jin; Magnusson, Robert

2015-11-02

Engaging both theory and experiment, we investigate resonant photonic lattices in which the duty cycle tends to zero. Corresponding dielectric nanowire grids are mostly empty space if operated as membranes in vacuum or air. These grids are shown to be effective wideband reflectors with impressive polarizing properties. We provide computed results predicting nearly complete reflection and attendant polarization extinction in multiple spectral regions. Experimental results with Si nanowire arrays with 10% duty cycle show ~200-nm-wide band of high reflection for one polarization state and free transmission for the orthogonal state. These results agree quantitatively with theoretical predictions. It is fundamentally extremely significant that the wideband spectral expressions presented can be generated in these minimal systems.

Beamforming synthesis of binaural responses from computer simulations of acoustic spaces.

PubMed

Poletti, Mark A; Svensson, U Peter

2008-07-01

Auditorium designs can be evaluated prior to construction by numerical modeling of the design. High-accuracy numerical modeling produces the sound pressure on a rectangular grid, and subjective assessment of the design requires auralization of the sampled sound field at a desired listener position. This paper investigates the production of binaural outputs from the sound pressure at a selected number of grid points by using a least squares beam forming approach. Low-frequency axisymmetric emulations are derived by assuming a solid sphere model of the head, and a spherical array of 640 microphones is used to emulate ten measured head-related transfer function (HRTF) data sets from the CIPIC database for half the audio bandwidth. The spherical array can produce high-accuracy band-limited emulation of any human subject's measured HRTFs for a fixed listener position by using individual sets of beam forming impulse responses.

Intermediate photovoltaic system application experiment operational performance report: Volume 5, for Beverly High School, Beverly, Mass.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-02-01

Performance data for the month of January, 1982 for a grid connected photovoltaic power supply in Massachusetts are presented. Data include: monthly and daily electrical energy produced; monthly and daily solar energy incident on the array; monthly and daily array efficiency; plots of energy produced as a function of power level, voltage, cell temperature and time of day; power conditioner input, output and efficiency for each of two individual units and for the total power conditioning system; photovoltaic system efficiency; capacity factor; PV system to load and grid to load energies and corresponding dollar values; daily energy supplies to the load by the PV system; daily PV system availability; monthly and hourly insolation; monthly and hourly temperature average; monthly and hourly wind speed; wind direction distribution; average heating and cooling degree days; number of freeze/thaw cycles; and the data acquisition mode and recording interval plot.

Power conditioning unit for photovoltaic power systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beghin, G.; Nguyen Phuoc, V. T.

Operational features and components of a power conditioning unit for interconnecting solar cell module powers with a utility grid are outlined. The two-stage unit first modifies the voltage to desired levels on an internal dc link, then inverts the current in 2 power transformers connected to a vector summation control to neutralize harmonic distortion up to the 11th harmonic. The system operates in parallel with the grid with extra inductors to absorb line-to-line voltage and phase differences, and permits peak power use from the PV array. Reactive power is gained internally, and a power system controller monitors voltages, frequencies, and currents. A booster preregulator adjusts the input voltage from the array to provide voltage regulation for the inverter, and can commutate 450 amps. A total harmonic distortion of less than 5 percent is claimed, with a rating of 5 kVA, 50/60 Hz, 3-phase, and 4-wire.

Semantic web data warehousing for caGrid

PubMed Central

McCusker, James P; Phillips, Joshua A; Beltrán, Alejandra González; Finkelstein, Anthony; Krauthammer, Michael

2009-01-01

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is developing caGrid as a means for sharing cancer-related data and services. As more data sets become available on caGrid, we need effective ways of accessing and integrating this information. Although the data models exposed on caGrid are semantically well annotated, it is currently up to the caGrid client to infer relationships between the different models and their classes. In this paper, we present a Semantic Web-based data warehouse (Corvus) for creating relationships among caGrid models. This is accomplished through the transformation of semantically-annotated caBIG® Unified Modeling Language (UML) information models into Web Ontology Language (OWL) ontologies that preserve those semantics. We demonstrate the validity of the approach by Semantic Extraction, Transformation and Loading (SETL) of data from two caGrid data sources, caTissue and caArray, as well as alignment and query of those sources in Corvus. We argue that semantic integration is necessary for integration of data from distributed web services and that Corvus is a useful way of accomplishing this. Our approach is generalizable and of broad utility to researchers facing similar integration challenges. PMID:19796399

Wire-chamber radiation detector with discharge control

DOEpatents

Perez-Mendez, V.; Mulera, T.A.

1982-03-29

A wire chamber; radiation detector has spaced apart parallel electrodes and grids defining an ignition region in which charged particles or other ionizing radiations initiate brief localized avalanche discharges and defining an adjacent memory region in which sustained glow discharges are initiated by the primary discharges. Conductors of the grids at each side of the memory section extend in orthogonal directions enabling readout of the X-Y coordinates of locations at which charged particles were detected by sequentially transmitting pulses to the conductors of one grid while detecting transmissions of the pulses to the orthogonal conductors of the other grid through glow discharges. One of the grids bounding the memory region is defined by an array of conductive elements each of which is connected to the associated readout conductor through a separate resistance. The wire chamber avoids ambiguities and imprecisions in the readout of coordinates when large numbers of simultaneous or; near simultaneous charged particles have been detected. Down time between detection periods and the generation of radio frequency noise are also reduced.

Making MUSIC: A multiple sampling ionization chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shumard, B.; Henderson, D. J.; Rehm, K. E.; Tang, X. D.

2007-08-01

A multiple sampling ionization chamber (MUSIC) was developed for use in conjunction with the Atlas scattering chamber (ATSCAT). This chamber was developed to study the (α, p) reaction in stable and radioactive beams. The gas filled ionization chamber is used as a target and detector for both particles in the outgoing channel (p + beam particles for elastic scattering or p + residual nucleus for (α, p) reactions). The MUSIC detector is followed by a Si array to provide a trigger for anode events. The anode events are gated by a gating grid so that only (α, p) reactions where the proton reaches the Si detector result in an anode event. The MUSIC detector is a segmented ionization chamber. The active length of the chamber is 11.95 in. and is divided into 16 equal anode segments (3.5 in. × 0.70 in. with 0.3 in. spacing between pads). The dead area of the chamber was reduced by the addition of a Delrin snout that extends 0.875 in. into the chamber from the front face, to which a mylar window is affixed. 0.5 in. above the anode is a Frisch grid that is held at ground potential. 0.5 in. above the Frisch grid is a gating grid. The gating grid functions as a drift electron barrier, effectively halting the gathering of signals. Setting two sets of alternating wires at differing potentials creates a lateral electric field which traps the drift electrons, stopping the collection of anode signals. The chamber also has a reinforced mylar exit window separating the Si array from the target gas. This allows protons from the (α, p) reaction to be detected. The detection of these protons opens the gating grid to allow the drift electrons released from the ionizing gas during the (α, p) reaction to reach the anode segment below the reaction.

Fully transparent conformal organic thin-film transistor array and its application as LED front driving.

PubMed

Cui, Nan; Ren, Hang; Tang, Qingxin; Zhao, Xiaoli; Tong, Yanhong; Hu, Wenping; Liu, Yichun

2018-02-22

A fully transparent conformal organic thin-film field-effect transistor array is demonstrated based on a photolithography-compatible ultrathin metallic grid gate electrode and a solution-processed C 8 -BTBT film. The resulting organic field-effect transistor array exhibits a high optical transparency of >80% over the visible spectrum, mobility up to 2 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , on/off ratio of 10 5 -10 6 , switching current of >0.1 mA, and excellent light stability. The transparent conformal transistor array is demonstrated to adhere well to flat and curved LEDs as front driving. These results present promising applications of the solution-processed wide-bandgap organic semiconductor thin films in future large-scale transparent conformal active-matrix displays.

Highlights from the Telescope Array Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagawa, H.

2014-10-01

The Telescope Array (TA) is the largest experiment in the Northern Hemisphere currently studying the origin and nature of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays above ˜1018 eV by measuring their energy spectrum, mass composition, and arrival directions. It is located in the western desert of central Utah, USA. The TA detector consists of a surface array of 507 scintillation counters, deployed on a square grid of 1.2-km spacing that covers approximately 700 km2, and 38 fluorescence telescopes located at three sites looking over the surface array. The TA commenced hybrid observation with both sets of detectors in 2008. Here, we present recent results from these 5 years of data and outline our ongoing and near future plans.

Experimental grid connected PV system power analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semaoui, Smail; Abdeladim, Kamel; Arab, Amar Hadj; Boulahchich, Saliha; Amrouche, Said Ould; Yassaa, Noureddine

2018-05-01

Almost 80 % of Algerian territory is appropriate for the exploitation of solar energy. The Algerian energetic strategy provides a substantial injection of PV electricity to the national grid. Currently, about 344 MWp of PV arrays which corresponds approximately to 2,34 km2 of module surfaces, are connected on electricity grid over the national territory. The Algerian Northern regions are characterized by strong pollution and high humidity. These phenomena affect the energetic productivity of PV generator. The objective of our study is to analyze experimental grid connected PV system power in coastal locations. Hence, experiments have been conducted on three identical PV systems to determine the electrical performances. Transformer-less inverters are the most attractive for the ground-based photovoltaic (PV) system due to their efficiencies, reduced cost and weight. Besides, the absence of the galvanic isolation generates problems of capacitive leakage current on the AC side and the degradation of the insulation resistance on the DC side of the inverter. In this work, experimental study of the behavior of single-phase inverters without transformers is presented. The main objective of this work is to study the degradation of the insulation resistance at the input of the inverter, and the capacitive leakage current at the output of the inverter. This study was achieved at the CDER on a rainy day of 15/03/2017, on the first PV plant connected to the low voltage network in Algeria. This investigation can help forecasting the PV array energetic production by taking into account natural conditions.

Frequency domain and full waveform time domain inversion of ground based magnetometer, electrometer and incoherent scattering radar arrays to image strongly heterogenous 3-D Earth structure, ionospheric structure, and to predict the intensity of GICs in the power grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, A.; Imamura, N.; Bonner, L. R., IV; Cosgrove, R. B.

2016-12-01

Ground-based magnetometer and electrometer arrays provide the means to probe the structure of the Earth's interior, the interactions of space weather with the ionosphere, and to anticipate the intensity of geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) in power grids. We present a local-to-continental scale view of a heterogeneous 3-D crust and mantle as determined from magnetotelluric (MT) observations across arrays of ground-based electric and magnetic field sensors. MT impedance tensors describe the relationship between electric and magnetic fields at a given site, thus implicitly they contain all known information on the 3-D electrical resistivity structure beneath and surrounding that site. By using multivariate transfer functions to project real-time magnetic observatory network data to areas surrounding electric power grids, and by projecting those magnetic fields through MT impedance tensors, the projected magnetic field can be transformed into predictions of electric fields along the path of the transmission lines, an essential element of predicting the intensity of GICs in the grid. Finally, we explore GICs, i.e. Earth-ionosphere coupling directly in the time-domain. We consider the fully coupled EM system, where we allow for a non-stationary ionospheric source field of arbitrary complexity above a 3-D Earth. We solve the simultaneous inverse problem for 3-D Earth conductivity and source field structure directly in the time domain. In the present work, we apply this method to magnetotelluric data obtained from a synchronously operating array of 25 MT stations that collected continuous MT waveform data in the interior of Alaska during the autumn and winter of 2015 under the footprint of the Poker Flat (Alaska) Incoherent Scattering Radar (PFISR). PFISR data yield functionals of the ionospheric electric field and ionospheric conductivity that constrain the MT source field. We show that in this region conventional robust MT processing methods struggle to produce reliable MT response functions at periods much greater than about 2,000 s, a consequence, we believe, of the complexity of the ionospheric source fields in this high latitude setting. This provides impetus for direct waveform inversion methods that dispense with typical parametric assumptions made about the MT source fields.

Computer Drawing Method for Operating Characteristic Curve of PV Power Plant Array Unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Jianbin

2018-02-01

According to the engineering design of large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power stations and the research and development of many simulation and analysis systems, it is necessary to draw a good computer graphics of the operating characteristic curves of photovoltaic array elements and to propose a good segmentation non-linear interpolation algorithm. In the calculation method, Component performance parameters as the main design basis, the computer can get 5 PV module performances. At the same time, combined with the PV array series and parallel connection, the computer drawing of the performance curve of the PV array unit can be realized. At the same time, the specific data onto the module of PV development software can be calculated, and the good operation of PV array unit can be improved on practical application.

Performance degradation of grid-tied photovoltaic modules in a hot-dry climatic condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suleske, Adam; Singh, Jaspreet; Kuitche, Joseph; Tamizh-Mani, Govindasamy

2011-09-01

The crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules under open circuit conditions typically degrade at a rate of about 0.5% per year. However, it is suspected that the modules in an array level may degrade, depending on equipment/frame grounding and array grounding, at higher rates because of higher string voltage and increased module mismatch over the years of operation in the field. This paper compares and analyzes the degradation rates of grid-tied photovoltaic modules operating over 10-17 years in a desert climatic condition of Arizona. The nameplate open-circuit voltages of the arrays ranged between 400 and 450 V. Six different types/models of crystalline silicon modules with glass/glass and glass/polymer constructions were evaluated. About 1865 modules were inspected using an extended visual inspection checklist and infrared (IR) scanning. The visual inspection checklist included encapsulant discoloration, cell/interconnect cracks, delamination and corrosion. Based on the visual inspection and IR studies, a large fraction of these modules were identified as allegedly healthy and unhealthy modules and they were electrically isolated from the system for currentvoltage (I-V) measurements of individual modules. The annual degradation rate for each module type is determined based on the I-V measurements.

Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator.

PubMed

Blackmore, T; Batten, W M J; Bahaj, A S

2014-10-08

Marine current turbine commercial prototypes have now been deployed and arrays of multiple turbines under design. The tidal flows in which they operate are highly turbulent, but the characteristics of the inflow turbulence have not being considered in present design methods. This work considers the effects of inflow turbulence on the wake behind an actuator disc representation of a marine current turbine. Different turbulence intensities and integral length scales were generated in a large eddy simulation using a gridInlet, which produces turbulence from a grid pattern on the inlet boundary. The results highlight the significance of turbulence on the wake profile, with a different flow regime occurring for the zero turbulence case. Increasing the turbulence intensity reduced the velocity deficit and shifted the maximum deficit closer to the turbine. Increasing the integral length scale increased the velocity deficit close to the turbine due to an increased production of turbulent energy. However, the wake recovery was increased due to the higher rate of turbulent mixing causing the wake to expand. The implication of this work is that marine current turbine arrays could be further optimized, increasing the energy yield of the array when the site-specific turbulence characteristics are considered.

Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator

PubMed Central

Blackmore, T.; Batten, W. M. J.; Bahaj, A. S.

2014-01-01

Marine current turbine commercial prototypes have now been deployed and arrays of multiple turbines under design. The tidal flows in which they operate are highly turbulent, but the characteristics of the inflow turbulence have not being considered in present design methods. This work considers the effects of inflow turbulence on the wake behind an actuator disc representation of a marine current turbine. Different turbulence intensities and integral length scales were generated in a large eddy simulation using a gridInlet, which produces turbulence from a grid pattern on the inlet boundary. The results highlight the significance of turbulence on the wake profile, with a different flow regime occurring for the zero turbulence case. Increasing the turbulence intensity reduced the velocity deficit and shifted the maximum deficit closer to the turbine. Increasing the integral length scale increased the velocity deficit close to the turbine due to an increased production of turbulent energy. However, the wake recovery was increased due to the higher rate of turbulent mixing causing the wake to expand. The implication of this work is that marine current turbine arrays could be further optimized, increasing the energy yield of the array when the site-specific turbulence characteristics are considered. PMID:25294966

High-resolution ionization detector and array of such detectors

DOEpatents

McGregor, Douglas S [Ypsilanti, MI; Rojeski, Ronald A [Pleasanton, CA

2001-01-16

A high-resolution ionization detector and an array of such detectors are described which utilize a reference pattern of conductive or semiconductive material to form interaction, pervious and measurement regions in an ionization substrate of, for example, CdZnTe material. The ionization detector is a room temperature semiconductor radiation detector. Various geometries of such a detector and an array of such detectors produce room temperature operated gamma ray spectrometers with relatively high resolution. For example, a 1 cm.sup.3 detector is capable of measuring .sup.137 Cs 662 keV gamma rays with room temperature energy resolution approaching 2% at FWHM. Two major types of such detectors include a parallel strip semiconductor Frisch grid detector and the geometrically weighted trapezoid prism semiconductor Frisch grid detector. The geometrically weighted detector records room temperature (24.degree. C.) energy resolutions of 2.68% FWHM for .sup.137 Cs 662 keV gamma rays and 2.45% FWHM for .sup.60 Co 1.332 MeV gamma rays. The detectors perform well without any electronic pulse rejection, correction or compensation techniques. The devices operate at room temperature with simple commercially available NIM bin electronics and do not require special preamplifiers or cooling stages for good spectroscopic results.

A New Family of Multilevel Grid Connected Inverters Based on Packed U Cell Topology.

PubMed

Pakdel, Majid; Jalilzadeh, Saeid

2017-09-29

In this paper a novel packed U cell (PUC) based multilevel grid connected inverter is proposed. Unlike the U cell arrangement which consists of two power switches and one capacitor, in the proposed converter topology a lower DC power supply from renewable energy resources such as photovoltaic arrays (PV) is used as a base power source. The proposed topology offers higher efficiency and lower cost using a small number of power switches and a lower DC power source which is supplied from renewable energy resources. Other capacitor voltages are extracted from the base lower DC power source using isolated DC-DC power converters. The operation principle of proposed transformerless multilevel grid connected inverter is analyzed theoretically. Operation of the proposed multilevel grid connected inverter is verified through simulation studies. An experimental prototype using STM32F407 discovery controller board is performed to verify the simulation results.

On-sky performance evaluation and calibration of a polarization-sensitive focal plane array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorobiev, Dmitry; Ninkov, Zoran; Brock, Neal; West, Ray

2016-07-01

The advent of pixelated micropolarizer arrays (MPAs) has facilitated the development of polarization-sensitive focal plane arrays (FPAs) based on charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and active pixel sensors (APSs), which are otherwise only able to measure the intensity of light. Polarization sensors based on MPAs are extremely compact, light-weight, mechanically robust devices with no moving parts, capable of measuring the degree and angle of polarization of light in a single snapshot. Furthermore, micropolarizer arrays based on wire grid polarizers (so called micro-grid polarizers) offer extremely broadband performance, across the optical and infrared regimes. These devices have potential for a wide array of commercial and research applications, where measurements of polarization can provide critical information, but where conventional polarimeters could be practically implemented. To date, the most successful commercial applications of these devices are 4D Technology's PhaseCam laser interferometers and PolarCam imaging polarimeters. Recently, MPA-based polarimeters have been identified as a potential solution for space-based telescopes, where the small size, snapshot capability and low power consumption (offered by these devices) are extremely desirable. In this work, we investigated the performance of MPA-based polarimeters designed for astronomical polarimetry using the Rochester Institute of Technology Polarization Imaging Camera (RITPIC). We deployed RITPIC on the 0.9 meter SMARTS telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory and observed a variety of astronomical objects (calibration stars, variable stars, reflection nebulae and planetary nebulae). We use our observations to develop calibration procedures that are unique to these devices and provide an estimate for polarimetric precision that is achievable.

Grid Integration of Single Stage Solar PV System using Three-level Voltage Source Converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, Ikhlaq; Kandpal, Maulik; Singh, Bhim

2016-08-01

This paper presents a single stage solar PV (photovoltaic) grid integrated power generating system using a three level voltage source converter (VSC) operating at low switching frequency of 900 Hz with robust synchronizing phase locked loop (RS-PLL) based control algorithm. To track the maximum power from solar PV array, an incremental conductance algorithm is used and this maximum power is fed to the grid via three-level VSC. The use of single stage system with three level VSC offers the advantage of low switching losses and the operation at high voltages and high power which results in enhancement of power quality in the proposed system. Simulated results validate the design and control algorithm under steady state and dynamic conditions.

Implementation of a Virtual Microphone Array to Obtain High Resolution Acoustic Images

PubMed Central

Izquierdo, Alberto; Suárez, Luis; Suárez, David

2017-01-01

Using arrays with digital MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) microphones and FPGA-based (Field Programmable Gate Array) acquisition/processing systems allows building systems with hundreds of sensors at a reduced cost. The problem arises when systems with thousands of sensors are needed. This work analyzes the implementation and performance of a virtual array with 6400 (80 × 80) MEMS microphones. This virtual array is implemented by changing the position of a physical array of 64 (8 × 8) microphones in a grid with 10 × 10 positions, using a 2D positioning system. This virtual array obtains an array spatial aperture of 1 × 1 m2. Based on the SODAR (SOund Detection And Ranging) principle, the measured beampattern and the focusing capacity of the virtual array have been analyzed, since beamforming algorithms assume to be working with spherical waves, due to the large dimensions of the array in comparison with the distance between the target (a mannequin) and the array. Finally, the acoustic images of the mannequin, obtained for different frequency and range values, have been obtained, showing high angular resolutions and the possibility to identify different parts of the body of the mannequin. PMID:29295485

Sub-100nm, Maskless Deep-UV Zone-Plate Array Lithography

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-05-07

The basic idea is to use fiducial grids, fabricated using interference lithography (or a derivative thereof) to determine the placement of features...sensed, and corrections are fed back to the beam-control electronics to cancel errors in the beam’s position. The virtue of interference lithography ...Sub-100nm, Maskless Deep-UV Zone-Plate Array Lithography Project Period: March 1, 2001 – February 28, 2004 F i n a l R e p o r t Army Research

NASA Capabilities That Could Impact Terrestrial Smart Grids of the Future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beach, Raymond F.

2015-01-01

Incremental steps to steadily build, test, refine, and qualify capabilities that lead to affordable flight elements and a deep space capability. Potential Deep Space Vehicle Power system characteristics: power 10 kilowatts average; two independent power channels with multi-level cross-strapping; solar array power 24 plus kilowatts; multi-junction arrays; lithium Ion battery storage 200 plus ampere-hours; sized for deep space or low lunar orbit operation; distribution120 volts secondary (SAE AS 5698); 2 kilowatt power transfer between vehicles.

Observations and Modelling of Winds and Waves during the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment. Report 1. Intensive Observation Period IOP-1, 20-31 October 1990

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

wave buoy provided by SEATEX, Norway (Figure 3). The modified Mills-cross array was designed to provide spatial estimates of the variation in wave, wind... designed for SWADE to examine the wave physics at different spatial and temporal scales, and the usefulness of a nested system. Each grid is supposed to...field specification. SWADE Model This high-resolution grid was designed to simulate the small scale wave physics and to improve and verify the source

Wafer-scale aluminum nano-plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, Matthew C.; Nielson, Stew; Petrova, Rumyana; Frasier, James; Gardner, Eric

2014-09-01

The design, characterization, and optical modeling of aluminum nano-hole arrays are discussed for potential applications in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and surface-enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy (SEFS). In addition, recently-commercialized work on narrow-band, cloaked wire grid polarizers composed of nano-stacked metal and dielectric layers patterned over 200 mm diameter wafers for projection display applications is reviewed. The stacked sub-wavelength nanowire grid results in a narrow-band reduction in reflectance by 1-2 orders of magnitude, which can be tuned throughout the visible spectrum for stray light control.

Evaluation of microfabricated deformable mirror systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cowan, William D.; Lee, Max K.; Bright, Victor M.; Welsh, Byron M.

1998-09-01

This paper presents recent result for aberration correction and beam steering experiments using polysilicon surface micromachined piston micromirror arrays. Microfabricated deformable mirrors offer a substantial cost reduction for adaptive optic systems. In addition to the reduced mirror cost, microfabricated mirrors typically require low control voltages, thus eliminating high voltage amplifiers. The greatly reduced cost per channel of adaptive optic systems employing microfabricated deformable mirrors promise high order aberration correction at low cost. Arrays of piston micromirrors with 128 active elements were tested. Mirror elements are on a 203 micrometers 12 by 12 square grid. The overall array size is 2.4 mm square. The arrays were fabricated in the commercially available DARPA supported MUMPs surface micromachining foundry process. The cost per mirror array in this prototyping process is less than 200 dollars. Experimental results are presented for a hybrid correcting element comprised of a lenslet array and piston micromirror array, and for a piston micromirror array only. Also presented is a novel digital deflection micromirror which requires no digital to analog converters, further reducing the cost of adaptive optics system.

Microchannel cross load array with dense parallel input

DOEpatents

Swierkowski, Stefan P.

2004-04-06

An architecture or layout for microchannel arrays using T or Cross (+) loading for electrophoresis or other injection and separation chemistry that are performed in microfluidic configurations. This architecture enables a very dense layout of arrays of functionally identical shaped channels and it also solves the problem of simultaneously enabling efficient parallel shapes and biasing of the input wells, waste wells, and bias wells at the input end of the separation columns. One T load architecture uses circular holes with common rows, but not columns, which allows the flow paths for each channel to be identical in shape, using multiple mirror image pieces. Another T load architecture enables the access hole array to be formed on a biaxial, collinear grid suitable for EDM micromachining (square holes), with common rows and columns.

Fast beampattern evaluation by polynomial rooting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Häcker, P.; Uhlich, S.; Yang, B.

2011-07-01

Current automotive radar systems measure the distance, the relative velocity and the direction of objects in their environment. This information enables the car to support the driver. The direction estimation capabilities of a sensor array depend on its beampattern. To find the array configuration leading to the best angle estimation by a global optimization algorithm, a huge amount of beampatterns have to be calculated to detect their maxima. In this paper, a novel algorithm is proposed to find all maxima of an array's beampattern fast and reliably, leading to accelerated array optimizations. The algorithm works for arrays having the sensors on a uniformly spaced grid. We use a general version of the gcd (greatest common divisor) function in order to write the problem as a polynomial. We differentiate and root the polynomial to get the extrema of the beampattern. In addition, we show a method to reduce the computational burden even more by decreasing the order of the polynomial.

Modeling Neutral Densities Downstream of a Gridded Ion Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soulas, George C.

2010-01-01

The details of a model for determining the neutral density downstream of a gridded ion thruster are presented. An investigation of the possible sources of neutrals emanating from and surrounding a NEXT ion thruster determined that the most significant contributors to the downstream neutral density include discharge chamber neutrals escaping through the perforated grids, neutrals escaping from the neutralizer, and vacuum facility background neutrals. For the neutral flux through the grids, near- and far-field equations are presented for rigorously determining the neutral density downstream of a cylindrical aperture. These equations are integrated into a spherically-domed convex grid geometry with a hexagonal array of apertures for determining neutral densities downstream of the ion thruster grids. The neutrals escaping from an off-center neutralizer are also modeled assuming diffuse neutral emission from the neutralizer keeper orifice. Finally, the effect of the surrounding vacuum facility neutrals is included and assumed to be constant. The model is used to predict the neutral density downstream of a NEXT ion thruster with and without neutralizer flow and a vacuum facility background pressure. The impacts of past simplifying assumptions for predicting downstream neutral densities are also examined for a NEXT ion thruster.

Reliability of CGA/LGA/HDI Package Board/Assembly (Final Report)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffaroam. Reza

2014-01-01

Package manufacturers are now offering commercial-off-the-shelf column grid array (COTS CGA) packaging technologies in high-reliability versions. Understanding the process and quality assurance (QA) indicators for reliability are important for low-risk insertion of these advanced electronics packages. The previous reports, released in January of 2012 and January of 2013, presented package test data, assembly information, and reliability evaluation by thermal cycling for CGA packages with 1752, 1517, 1509, and 1272 inputs/outputs (I/Os) and 1-mm pitch. It presented the thermal cycling (-55C either 100C or 125C) test results for up to 200 cycles. This report presents up to 500 thermal cycles with quality assurance and failure analysis evaluation represented by optical photomicrographs, 2D real time X-ray images, dye-and-pry photomicrographs, and optical/scanning electron Microscopy (SEM) cross-sectional images. The report also presents assembly challenge using reflowing by either vapor phase or rework station of CGA and land grid array (LGA) versions of three high I/O packages both ceramic and plastic configuration. A new test vehicle was designed having high density interconnect (HDI) printed circuit board (PCB) with microvia-in-pad to accommodate both LGA packages as well as a large number of fine pitch ball grid arrays (BGAs). The LGAs either were assembled onto HDI PCB as an LGA or were solder paste print and reflow first to form solder dome on pads before assembly. Both plastic BGAs with 1156 I/O and ceramic LGAs were assembled. It also presented the X-ray inspection results as well as failures due to 200 thermal cycles. Lessons learned on assembly of ceramic LGAs are also presented.

Some analysis on the diurnal variation of rainfall over the Atlantic Ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gill, T.; Perng, S.; Hughes, A.

1981-01-01

Data collected from the GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE) was examined. The data were collected from 10,000 grid points arranged as a 100 x 100 array; each grid covered a 4 square km area. The amount of rainfall was measured every 15 minutes during the experiment periods using c-band radars. Two types of analyses were performed on the data: analysis of diurnal variation was done on each of grid points based on the rainfall averages at noon and at midnight, and time series analysis on selected grid points based on the hourly averages of rainfall. Since there are no known distribution model which best describes the rainfall amount, nonparametric methods were used to examine the diurnal variation. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to test if the rainfalls at noon and at midnight have the same statistical distribution. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to test if the noon rainfall is heavier than, equal to, or lighter than the midnight rainfall. These tests were done on each of the 10,000 grid points at which the data are available.

Minimization of Impact from Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment to the Electric Grid Using a Dynamically Controlled Battery Bank for Peak Load Shaving

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

Castello, Charles C

This research presents a comparison of two control systems for peak load shaving using local solar power generation (i.e., photovoltaic array) and local energy storage (i.e., battery bank). The purpose is to minimize load demand of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) on the electric grid. A static and dynamic control system is compared to decrease demand from EVSE. Static control of the battery bank is based on charging and discharging to the electric grid at fixed times. Dynamic control, with 15-minute resolution, forecasts EVSE load based on data analysis of collected data. In the proposed dynamic control system, the sigmoidmore » function is used to shave peak loads while limiting scenarios that can quickly drain the battery bank. These control systems are applied to Oak Ridge National Laboratory s (ORNL) solar-assisted electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. This installation is composed of three independently grid-tied sub-systems: (1) 25 EVSE; (2) 47 kW photovoltaic (PV) array; and (3) 60 kWh battery bank. The dynamic control system achieved the greatest peak load shaving, up to 34% on a cloudy day and 38% on a sunny day. The static control system was not ideal; peak load shaving was 14.6% on a cloudy day and 12.7% on a sunny day. Simulations based on ORNL data shows solar-assisted EV charging stations combined with the proposed dynamic battery control system can negate up to 89% of EVSE load demand on sunny days.« less

Inverse current source density method in two dimensions: inferring neural activation from multielectrode recordings.

PubMed

Łęski, Szymon; Pettersen, Klas H; Tunstall, Beth; Einevoll, Gaute T; Gigg, John; Wójcik, Daniel K

2011-12-01

The recent development of large multielectrode recording arrays has made it affordable for an increasing number of laboratories to record from multiple brain regions simultaneously. The development of analytical tools for array data, however, lags behind these technological advances in hardware. In this paper, we present a method based on forward modeling for estimating current source density from electrophysiological signals recorded on a two-dimensional grid using multi-electrode rectangular arrays. This new method, which we call two-dimensional inverse Current Source Density (iCSD 2D), is based upon and extends our previous one- and three-dimensional techniques. We test several variants of our method, both on surrogate data generated from a collection of Gaussian sources, and on model data from a population of layer 5 neocortical pyramidal neurons. We also apply the method to experimental data from the rat subiculum. The main advantages of the proposed method are the explicit specification of its assumptions, the possibility to include system-specific information as it becomes available, the ability to estimate CSD at the grid boundaries, and lower reconstruction errors when compared to the traditional approach. These features make iCSD 2D a substantial improvement over the approaches used so far and a powerful new tool for the analysis of multielectrode array data. We also provide a free GUI-based MATLAB toolbox to analyze and visualize our test data as well as user datasets.

Design and simulation of a novel method for determining depth-of-interaction in a PET scintillation crystal array using a single-ended readout by a multi-anode PMT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, Mikiko; Lee, Jae Sung; Park, Min-Jae; Sim, Kwang-Souk; Jong Hong, Seong

2010-07-01

PET detectors with depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding capability allow high spatial resolution and high sensitivity to be achieved simultaneously. To obtain DOI information from a mono-layer array of scintillation crystals using a single-ended readout, the authors devised a method based on light spreading within a crystal array and performed Monte Carlo simulations with individual scintillation photon tracking to prove the concept. A scintillation crystal array model was constructed using a grid method. Conventional grids are constructed using comb-shaped reflector strips with rectangular teeth to isolate scintillation crystals optically. However, the authors propose the use of triangularly shaped teeth, such that scintillation photons spread only in the x-direction in the upper halves of crystals and in the y-direction in lower halves. DOI positions can be estimated by considering the extent of two-dimensional light dispersion, which can be determined from the multiple anode outputs of a position-sensitive PMT placed under the crystal array. In the main simulation, a crystal block consisting of a 29 × 29 array of 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm × 20 mm crystals and a multi-anode PMT with 16 × 16 pixels were used. The effects of crystal size and non-uniform PMT output gain were also explored by simulation. The DOI resolution estimated for 1.5 × 1.5 × 20 mm3 crystals was 2.16 mm on average. Although the flood map was depth dependent, each crystal was well identified at all depths when a corner of the crystal array was irradiated with 511 keV gamma rays (peak-to-valley ratio ~9:1). DOI resolution was better than 3 mm up to a crystal length of 28 mm with a 1.5 × 1.5 mm2 or 2.0 × 2.0 mm2 crystal surface area. The devised light-sharing method allowed excellent DOI resolutions to be obtained without the use of dual-ended readout or multiple crystal arrays.

Nitride micro-LEDs and beyond--a decade progress review.

PubMed

Jiang, H X; Lin, J Y

2013-05-06

Since their inception, micro-size light emitting diode (µLED) arrays based on III-nitride semiconductors have emerged as a promising technology for a range of applications. This paper provides an overview on a decade progresses on realizing III-nitride µLED based high voltage single-chip AC/DC-LEDs without power converters to address the key compatibility issue between LEDs and AC power grid infrastructure; and high-resolution solid-state self-emissive microdisplays operating in an active driving scheme to address the need of high brightness, efficiency and robustness of microdisplays. These devices utilize the photonic integration approach by integrating µLED arrays on-chip. Other applications of nitride µLED arrays are also discussed.

A visual LISP program for voxelizing AutoCAD solid models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marschallinger, Robert; Jandrisevits, Carmen; Zobl, Fritz

2015-01-01

AutoCAD solid models are increasingly recognized in geological and geotechnical 3D modeling. In order to bridge the currently existing gap between AutoCAD solid models and the grid modeling realm, a Visual LISP program is presented that converts AutoCAD solid models into voxel arrays. Acad2Vox voxelizer works on a 3D-model that is made up of arbitrary non-overlapping 3D-solids. After definition of the target voxel array geometry, 3D-solids are scanned at grid positions and properties are streamed to an ASCII output file. Acad2Vox has a novel voxelization strategy that combines a hierarchical reduction of sampling dimensionality with an innovative use of AutoCAD-specific methods for a fast and memory-saving operation. Acad2Vox provides georeferenced, voxelized analogs of 3D design data that can act as regions-of-interest in later geostatistical modeling and simulation. The Supplement includes sample geological solid models with instructions for practical work with Acad2Vox.

A logarithmic detection system suitable for a 4π array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westfall, G. D.; Yurkon, J. E.; van der Plicht, J.; Koenig, Z. M.; Jacak, B. V.; Fox, R.; Crawley, G. M.; Maier, M. R.; Hasselquist, B. E.; Tickle, R. S.; Horn, D.

1985-08-01

A low pressure multiwire proportional counter, a Bragg curve counter, and an array of CaF2/plastic scintillator telescopes have been developed in a geometry suitable for close packing into a 4π detector designed to study nucleus-nucleus reactions at 100-200 MeV/nucleon. The multiwire counter is hexagonal in shape and gives X-Y position information using resistive charge division from nichrome-coated stretched polypropylene foils. The Bragg curve counter is a hexagonal pyramid with the charge taken from a Frisch gridded anode. A field shaping grid gives the Bragg curve counter a radial field. The scintillator telescopes are shaped as truncated triangular pyramids such that when stacked together they form a truncated hexagonal pyramid. The light signal of the CaF2-plastic combination is read with one phototube using a phoswich technique to separate the ΔE signal from the E signal. The entire system has been tested so far for particles with 1 <= Z <= 18 and gives good position, charge, and time resolution.

Performance and Health Test Procedure for Grid Energy Storage Systems: Preprint

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

Baggu, Murali M; Smith, Kandler A; Friedl, Andrew

A test procedure to evaluate the performance and health of field installations of grid-connected battery energy storage systems (BESS) is described. Performance and health metrics captured in the procedures are: Round-trip efficiency, Standby losses, Response time/accuracy, and Useable Energy/ State of Charge at different discharge/charge rates over the system's lifetime. The procedures are divided into Reference Performance Tests, which require the system to be put in a test mode and are to be conducted in intervals, and Real-time Monitoring tests, which collect data during normal operation without interruption. The procedures can be applied on a wide array of BESS withmore » little modifications and can thus support BESS operators in the management of BESS field installations with minimal interruption and expenditures.can be applied on a wide array of BESS with little modifications and can thus support BESS operators in the management of BESS field installations with minimal interruption and expenditures.« less

Comparative Performance and Model Agreement of Three Common Photovoltaic Array Configurations.

PubMed

Boyd, Matthew T

2018-02-01

Three grid-connected monocrystalline silicon arrays on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Gaithersburg, MD have been instrumented and monitored for 1 yr, with only minimal gaps in the data sets. These arrays range from 73 kW to 271 kW, and all use the same module, but have different tilts, orientations, and configurations. One array is installed facing east and west over a parking lot, one in an open field, and one on a flat roof. Various measured relationships and calculated standard metrics have been used to compare the relative performance of these arrays in their different configurations. Comprehensive performance models have also been created in the modeling software pvsyst for each array, and its predictions using measured on-site weather data are compared to the arrays' measured outputs. The comparisons show that all three arrays typically have monthly performance ratios (PRs) above 0.75, but differ significantly in their relative output, strongly correlating to their operating temperature and to a lesser extent their orientation. The model predictions are within 5% of the monthly delivered energy values except during the winter months, when there was intermittent snow on the arrays, and during maintenance and other outages.

Science Enabling Applications of Gridded Radiances and Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldberg, M.; Wolf, W.; Zhou, L.

2005-12-01

New generations of hyperspectral sounders and imagers are not only providing vastly improved information to monitor, assess and predict the Earth's environment, they also provide tremendous volumes of data to manage. Key management challenges must include data processing, distribution, archive and utilization. At the NOAA/NESDIS Office of Research and Applications, we have started to address the challenge of utilizing high volume satellite by thinning observations and developing gridded datasets from the observations made from the NASA AIRS, AMSU and MODIS instrument. We have developed techniques for intelligent thinning of AIRS data for numerical weather prediction, by selecting the clearest AIRS 14 km field of view within a 3 x 3 array. The selection uses high spatial resolution 1 km MODIS data which are spatially convolved to the AIRS field of view. The MODIS cloud masks and AIRS cloud tests are used to select the clearest. During the real-time processing the data are thinned and gridded to support monitoring, validation and scientific studies. Products from AIRS, which includes profiles of temperature, water vapor and ozone and cloud-corrected infrared radiances for more than 2000 channels, are derived from a single AIRS/AMSU field of regard, which is a 3 x 3 array of AIRS footprints (each with a 14 km spatial resolution) collocated with a single AMSU footprint (42 km). One of our key gridded dataset is a daily 3 x 3 latitude/longitude projection which contains the nearest AIRS/AMSU field of regard with respect to the center of the 3 x 3 lat/lon grid. This particular gridded dataset is 1/40 the size of the full resolution data. This gridded dataset is the type of product request that can be used to support algorithm validation and improvements. It also provides for a very economical approach for reprocessing, testing and improving algorithms for climate studies without having to reprocess the full resolution data stored at the DAAC. For example, on a single CPU workstation, all the AIRS derived products can be derived from a single year of gridded data in 5 days. This relatively short turnaround time, which can be reduced considerably to 3 hours by using a cluster of 40 pc G5processors, allows for repeated reprocessing at the PIs home institution before substantial investments are made to reprocess the full resolution data sets archived at the DAAC. In other words, do not reprocess the full resolution data until the science community have tested and selected the optimal algorithm on the gridded data. Development and applications of gridded radiances and products will be discussed. The applications can be provided as part of a web-based service.

Fabricating interlocking support walls, with an adjustable backshort, in a TES bolometer array for far-infrared astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Timothy M.; Abrahams, John H.; Allen, Christine A.

2006-04-01

We report a fabrication process for deep etching silicon to different depths with a single masking layer, using standard masking and exposure techniques. Using this technique, we have incorporated a deep notch in the support walls of a transition-edge-sensor (TES) bolometer array during the detector back-etch, while simultaneously creating a cavity behind the detector. The notches serve to receive the support beams of a separate component, the Backshort-Under-Grid (BUG), an array of adjustable height quarter-wave backshorts that fill the cavities behind each pixel in the detector array. The backshort spacing, set prior to securing to the detector array, can be controlled from 25 to 300 μm by adjusting only a few process steps. In addition to backshort spacing, the interlocking beams and notches provide positioning and structural support for the ˜1 mm pitch, 8×8 array. This process is being incorporated into developing a TES bolometer array with an adjustable backshort for use in far-infrared astronomy. The masking technique and machining process used to fabricate the interlocking walls will be discussed.

Instrument Performance of GISMO, a 2 Millimeter TES Bolometer Camera used at the IRAM 30 m Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Staguhn, Johannes

2008-01-01

In November of 2007 we demonstrated a monolithic Backshort-Under-Grid (BUG) 8x16 array in the field using our 2 mm wavelength imager GISMO (Goddard IRAM Superconducting 2 Millimeter Observer) at the IRAM 30 m telescope in Spain for astronomical observations. The 2 mm spectral range provides a unique terrestrial window enabling ground-based observations of the earliest active dusty galaxies in the universe and thereby allowing a better constraint on the star formation rate in these objects. The optical design incorporates a 100 mm diameter silicon lens cooled to 4 K, which provides the required fast beam yielding 0.9 lambda/D pixels. With this spatial sampling, GISMO will be very efficient at detecting sources serendipitously in large sky surveys, while the capability for diffraction limited imaging is preserved. The camera provides significantly greater detection sensitivity and mapping speed at this wavelength than has previously been possible. The instrument will fill in the spectral energy distribution of high redshift galaxies at the Rayleigh-Jeans part of the dust emission spectrum, even at the highest redshifts. Here1 will we present early results from our observing run with the first fielded BUG bolometer array. We have developed key technologies to enable highly versatile, kilopixel, infrared through millimeter wavelength bolometer arrays. The Backshort-Under-Grid (BUG) array consists of three components: 1) a transition-edge-sensor (TES) based bolometer array with background-limited sensitivity and high filling factor, 2) a quarter-wave reflective backshort grid providing high optical efficiency, and 3) a superconducting bump-bonded large format Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) multiplexer readout. The array is described in more detail elsewhere (Allen et al., this conference). In November of 2007 we demonstrated a monolithic 8x 16 array with 2 mm-pitch detectors in the field using our 2 mm wavelength imager GISMO (Goddard IRAM Superconducting 2 Millimeter Observer) at the IRAM 30 m telescope in Spain for astronomical observations. The 2 mm spectral range provides a unique terrestrial window enabling ground-based observations of the earliest active dusty galaxies in the universe and thereby allowing a better constraint on the star formation rate in these objects. The optical design incorporates a 100 mm diameter silicon lens cooled to 4 K, which provides the required fast beam yielding 0.9 lambda1D pixels. With this spatial sampling, GISMO will be very efficient at detecting sources serendipitously in large sky surveys, while the capability for diffraction limited imaging is preserved. The camera provides significantly greater detection sensitivity and mapping speed at this wavelength than has previously been possible. The instrument will fill in the spectral energy distribution of high redshift galaxies at the Rayleigh-Jeans part of the dust emission spectrum, even at the highest redshifts. Here I will we present early results from our observing run with the first fielded BUG bolometer array.

TVA's photovoltaic activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chinery, G. T.; Wood, J. M.

1985-08-01

This paper describes the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) current photovoltaic (PV) activities. These include four roof-mounted 4 kWp residential arrays (which are also Southeast Residential Station field sites) and two 5-6 kWp commercial sites, all grid connected with no battery storage. Also included are approximately 30 kWp of non-grid-connected remote sites with storage (remote lighting, weather stations, etc.). Monitoring results from the two 'online' residential systems are presented. Finally, TVA's future PV plans are discussed, both with respect to interfacing with a multitude of residential and commercial cogenerators and with regard to possible TVA PV central station plans.

MOD silver metallization for photovoltaics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vest, G. M.; Vest, R. W.

1984-01-01

The development of flat plate solar arrays is reported. Photovoltaic cells require back side metallization and a collector grid system on the front surface. Metallo-organic decomposition (MOD) silver films can eliminate most of the present problems with silver conductors. The objectives are to: (1) identify and characterize suitable MO compounds; (2) develop generic synthesis procedures for the MO compounds; (3) develop generic fabrication procedures to screen printable MOD silver inks; (4) optimize processing conditions to produce grid patterns and photovoltaic cells; and (5) develop a model which describes the adhesion between the fired silver film and the silicon surface.

Solar-blind deep-UV band-pass filter (250 - 350 nm) consisting of a metal nano-grid fabricated by nanoimprint lithography.

PubMed

Li, Wen-Di; Chou, Stephen Y

2010-01-18

We designed, fabricated and demonstrated a solar-blind deep-UV pass filter, that has a measured optical performance of a 27% transmission peak at 290 nm, a pass-band width of 100 nm (from 250 to 350 nm), and a 20dB rejection ratio between deep-UV wavelength and visible wavelength. The filter consists of an aluminum nano-grid, which was made by coating 20 nm Al on a SiO(2) square grid with 190 nm pitch, 30 nm linewidth and 250 nm depth. The performances agree with a rigorous coupled wave analysis. The wavelength for the peak transmission and the pass-bandwidth can be tuned through adjusting the metal nano-grid dimensions. The filter was fabricated by nanoimprint lithography, hence is large area and low cost. Combining with Si photodetectors, the filter offers simple yet effective and low cost solar-blind deep-UV detection at either a single device or large-area complex integrated imaging array level.

NeuroGrid: recording action potentials from the surface of the brain.

PubMed

Khodagholy, Dion; Gelinas, Jennifer N; Thesen, Thomas; Doyle, Werner; Devinsky, Orrin; Malliaras, George G; Buzsáki, György

2015-02-01

Recording from neural networks at the resolution of action potentials is critical for understanding how information is processed in the brain. Here, we address this challenge by developing an organic material-based, ultraconformable, biocompatible and scalable neural interface array (the 'NeuroGrid') that can record both local field potentials(LFPs) and action potentials from superficial cortical neurons without penetrating the brain surface. Spikes with features of interneurons and pyramidal cells were simultaneously acquired by multiple neighboring electrodes of the NeuroGrid, allowing for the isolation of putative single neurons in rats. Spiking activity demonstrated consistent phase modulation by ongoing brain oscillations and was stable in recordings exceeding 1 week's duration. We also recorded LFP-modulated spiking activity intraoperatively in patients undergoing epilepsy surgery. The NeuroGrid constitutes an effective method for large-scale, stable recording of neuronal spikes in concert with local population synaptic activity, enhancing comprehension of neural processes across spatiotemporal scales and potentially facilitating diagnosis and therapy for brain disorders.

A decametric wavelength radio telescope for interplanetary scintillation observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cronyn, W. M.; Shawhan, S. D.

1975-01-01

A phased array, electrically steerable radio telescope (with a total collecting area of 18 acres), constructed for the purpose of remotely sensing electron density irregularity structure in the solar wind, is presented. The radio telescope is able to locate, map, and track large scale features of the solar wind, such as streams and blast waves, by monitoring a large grid of natural radio sources subject to rapid intensity fluctuation (interplanetary scintillation) caused by the irregularity structure. Observations verify the performance of the array, the receiver, and the scintillation signal processing circuitry of the telescope.

Sub-grid drag model for immersed vertical cylinders in fluidized beds

DOE PAGES

Verma, Vikrant; Li, Tingwen; Dietiker, Jean -Francois; ...

2017-01-03

Immersed vertical cylinders are often used as heat exchanger in gas-solid fluidized beds. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are computationally expensive for large scale systems with bundles of cylinders. Therefore sub-grid models are required to facilitate simulations on a coarse grid, where internal cylinders are treated as a porous medium. The influence of cylinders on the gas-solid flow tends to enhance segregation and affect the gas-solid drag. A correction to gas-solid drag must be modeled using a suitable sub-grid constitutive relationship. In the past, Sarkar et al. have developed a sub-grid drag model for horizontal cylinder arrays based on 2Dmore » simulations. However, the effect of a vertical cylinder arrangement was not considered due to computational complexities. In this study, highly resolved 3D simulations with vertical cylinders were performed in small periodic domains. These simulations were filtered to construct a sub-grid drag model which can then be implemented in coarse-grid simulations. Gas-solid drag was filtered for different solids fractions and a significant reduction in drag was identified when compared with simulation without cylinders and simulation with horizontal cylinders. Slip velocities significantly increase when vertical cylinders are present. Lastly, vertical suspension drag due to vertical cylinders is insignificant however substantial horizontal suspension drag is observed which is consistent to the finding for horizontal cylinders.« less

The Art of Grid Fields: Geometry of Neuronal Time

PubMed Central

Shilnikov, Andrey L.; Maurer, Andrew Porter

2016-01-01

The discovery of grid cells in the entorhinal cortex has both elucidated our understanding of spatial representations in the brain, and germinated a large number of theoretical models regarding the mechanisms of these cells’ striking spatial firing characteristics. These models cross multiple neurobiological levels that include intrinsic membrane resonance, dendritic integration, after hyperpolarization characteristics and attractor dynamics. Despite the breadth of the models, to our knowledge, parallels can be drawn between grid fields and other temporal dynamics observed in nature, much of which was described by Art Winfree and colleagues long before the initial description of grid fields. Using theoretical and mathematical investigations of oscillators, in a wide array of mediums far from the neurobiology of grid cells, Art Winfree has provided a substantial amount of research with significant and profound similarities. These theories provide specific inferences into the biological mechanisms and extraordinary resemblances across phenomenon. Therefore, this manuscript provides a novel interpretation on the phenomenon of grid fields, from the perspective of coupled oscillators, postulating that grid fields are the spatial representation of phase resetting curves in the brain. In contrast to prior models of gird cells, the current manuscript provides a sketch by which a small network of neurons, each with oscillatory components can operate to form grid cells, perhaps providing a unique hybrid between the competing attractor neural network and oscillatory interference models. The intention of this new interpretation of the data is to encourage novel testable hypotheses. PMID:27013981

Image compression technique

DOEpatents

Fu, Chi-Yung; Petrich, Loren I.

1997-01-01

An image is compressed by identifying edge pixels of the image; creating a filled edge array of pixels each of the pixels in the filled edge array which corresponds to an edge pixel having a value equal to the value of a pixel of the image array selected in response to the edge pixel, and each of the pixels in the filled edge array which does not correspond to an edge pixel having a value which is a weighted average of the values of surrounding pixels in the filled edge array which do correspond to edge pixels; and subtracting the filled edge array from the image array to create a difference array. The edge file and the difference array are then separately compressed and transmitted or stored. The original image is later reconstructed by creating a preliminary array in response to the received edge file, and adding the preliminary array to the received difference array. Filling is accomplished by solving Laplace's equation using a multi-grid technique. Contour and difference file coding techniques also are described. The techniques can be used in a method for processing a plurality of images by selecting a respective compression approach for each image, compressing each of the images according to the compression approach selected, and transmitting each of the images as compressed, in correspondence with an indication of the approach selected for the image.

Image compression technique

DOEpatents

Fu, C.Y.; Petrich, L.I.

1997-03-25

An image is compressed by identifying edge pixels of the image; creating a filled edge array of pixels each of the pixels in the filled edge array which corresponds to an edge pixel having a value equal to the value of a pixel of the image array selected in response to the edge pixel, and each of the pixels in the filled edge array which does not correspond to an edge pixel having a value which is a weighted average of the values of surrounding pixels in the filled edge array which do correspond to edge pixels; and subtracting the filled edge array from the image array to create a difference array. The edge file and the difference array are then separately compressed and transmitted or stored. The original image is later reconstructed by creating a preliminary array in response to the received edge file, and adding the preliminary array to the received difference array. Filling is accomplished by solving Laplace`s equation using a multi-grid technique. Contour and difference file coding techniques also are described. The techniques can be used in a method for processing a plurality of images by selecting a respective compression approach for each image, compressing each of the images according to the compression approach selected, and transmitting each of the images as compressed, in correspondence with an indication of the approach selected for the image. 16 figs.

Standardized UXO Technology Demonstration Site Blind Grid Record No. 904 (Sky Research, Inc.). EM61 MKII/Towed Array

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

DEMONSTRATOR’S FIELD PERSONNEL Geophysicist: Craig Hyslop Geophysicist: John Jacobsen Geophysicist: Rob Mehl 3.7 DEMONSTRATOR’S FIELD SURVEYING...Yuma Proving Ground Soil Survey Report, May 2003. 5. Practical Nonparametric Statistics, W.J. Conover, John Wiley & Sons, 1980 , pages 144 through

SURFACE WATER FLOW IN LANDSCAPE MODELS: 1. EVERGLADES CASE STUDY. (R824766)

EPA Science Inventory

Many landscape models require extensive computational effort using a large array of grid cells that represent the landscape. The number of spatial cells may be in the thousands and millions, while the ecological component run in each of the cells to account for landscape dynamics...

Smart signal processing for an evolving electric grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, Leandro Rodrigues Manso; Duque, Calos Augusto; Ribeiro, Paulo F.

2015-12-01

Electric grids are interconnected complex systems consisting of generation, transmission, distribution, and active loads, recently called prosumers as they produce and consume electric energy. Additionally, these encompass a vast array of equipment such as machines, power transformers, capacitor banks, power electronic devices, motors, etc. that are continuously evolving in their demand characteristics. Given these conditions, signal processing is becoming an essential assessment tool to enable the engineer and researcher to understand, plan, design, and operate the complex and smart electronic grid of the future. This paper focuses on recent developments associated with signal processing applied to power system analysis in terms of characterization and diagnostics. The following techniques are reviewed and their characteristics and applications discussed: active power system monitoring, sparse representation of power system signal, real-time resampling, and time-frequency (i.e., wavelets) applied to power fluctuations.

Mathematical model of the current density for the 30-cm engineering model thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cuffel, R. F.

1975-01-01

Mathematical models are presented for both the singly and doubly charged ion current densities downstream of the 30-cm engineering model thruster with 0.5% compensated dished grids. These models are based on the experimental measurements of Vahrenkamp at a 2-amp ion beam operating condition. The cylindrically symmetric beam of constant velocity ions is modeled with continuous radial source and focusing functions across 'plane' grids with similar angular distribution functions. A computer program is used to evaluate the double integral for current densities in the near field and to obtain a far field approximation beyond 10 grid radii. The utility of the model is demonstrated for (1) calculating the directed thrust and (2) determining the impingement levels on various spacecraft surfaces from a two-axis gimballed, 2 x 3 thruster array.

Design and Performance Testing of a Linear Array of Position-Sensitive Virtual Frisch-Grid CdZnTe Detectors for Uranium Enrichment Measurements

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

Ocampo, Luis

Abstract— Arrays of position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe (CZT) detectors with enhanced energy resolution have been proposed for spectroscopy and imaging of gamma-ray sources in different applications. The flexibility of the array design, which can employ CZT crystals with thicknesses up to several centimeters in the direction of electron drift, allows for integration into different kinds of field-portable instruments. These can include small hand-held devices, compact gamma cameras and large field-of-view imaging systems. In this work, we present results for a small linear array of such detectors optimized for the low-energy region, 50-400 keV gamma-rays, which is principally intended for incorporationmore » into hand-held instruments. There are many potential application areas for such instruments, including uranium enrichment measurements, storage monitoring, dosimetry and other safeguards-related tasks that can benefit from compactness and isotope-identification capability. The array described here provides a relatively large area with a minimum number of readout channels, which potentially allows the developers to avoid using an ASIC-based electronic readout by substituting it with hybrid preamplifiers followed by digitizers. The array prototype consists of six (5x5.7x25 mm3) CZT detectors positioned in a line facing the source to achieve a maximum exposure area (~10 cm2). Each detector is furnished with 5 mm-wide charge-sensing pads placed near the anode. The pad signals are converted into X-Y coordinates for each interaction event, which are combined with the cathode signals (for determining the Z coordinates) to give 3D positional information for all interaction points. This information is used to correct the response non-uniformity caused by material inhomogeneity, which therefore allows the usage of standard-grade (unselected) CZT crystals, while achieving high-resolution spectroscopic performance for the instrument. In this presentation we describe the design of the array, the results from detailed laboratory tests, and preliminary results from measurements taken during a field test.« less

Integrated Electrode Arrays for Neuro-Prosthetic Implants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brandon, Erik; Mojarradi, Mohammede

2003-01-01

Arrays of electrodes integrated with chip-scale packages and silicon-based integrated circuits have been proposed for use as medical electronic implants, including neuro-prosthetic devices that might be implanted in brains of patients who suffer from strokes, spinal-cord injuries, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The electrodes of such a device would pick up signals from neurons in the cerebral cortex, and the integrated circuit would perform acquisition and preprocessing of signal data. The output of the integrated circuit could be used to generate, for example, commands for a robotic arm. Electrode arrays capable of acquiring electrical signals from neurons already exist, but heretofore, there has been no convenient means to integrate these arrays with integrated-circuit chips. Such integration is needed in order to eliminate the need for the extensive cabling now used to pass neural signals to data-acquisition and -processing equipment outside the body. The proposed integration would enable progress toward neuro-prostheses that would be less restrictive of patients mobility. An array of electrodes would comprise a set of thin wires of suitable length and composition protruding from and supported by a fine-pitch micro-ball grid array or chip-scale package (see figure). The associated integrated circuit would be mounted on the package face opposite the probe face, using the solder bumps (the balls of the ball grid array) to make the electrical connections between the probes and the input terminals of the integrated circuit. The key innovation is the insertion of probe wires of the appropriate length and material into the solder bumps through a reflow process, thereby fixing the probes in place and electrically connecting them with the integrated circuit. The probes could be tailored to any distribution of lengths and made of any suitable metal that could be drawn into fine wires. Furthermore, the wires could be coated with an insulating layer using anodization or other processes, to achieve the correct electrical impedance. The probe wires and the packaging materials must be biocompatible using such materials as lead-free solders. For protection, the chip and package can be coated with parylene.

The Applicability of Incoherent Array Processing to IMS Seismic Array Stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibbons, S. J.

2012-04-01

The seismic arrays of the International Monitoring System for the CTBT differ greatly in size and geometry, with apertures ranging from below 1 km to over 60 km. Large and medium aperture arrays with large inter-site spacings complicate the detection and estimation of high frequency phases since signals are often incoherent between sensors. Many such phases, typically from events at regional distances, remain undetected since pipeline algorithms often consider only frequencies low enough to allow coherent array processing. High frequency phases that are detected are frequently attributed qualitatively incorrect backazimuth and slowness estimates and are consequently not associated with the correct event hypotheses. This can lead to missed events both due to a lack of contributing phase detections and by corruption of event hypotheses by spurious detections. Continuous spectral estimation can be used for phase detection and parameter estimation on the largest aperture arrays, with phase arrivals identified as local maxima on beams of transformed spectrograms. The estimation procedure in effect measures group velocity rather than phase velocity and the ability to estimate backazimuth and slowness requires that the spatial extent of the array is large enough to resolve time-delays between envelopes with a period of approximately 4 or 5 seconds. The NOA, AKASG, YKA, WRA, and KURK arrays have apertures in excess of 20 km and spectrogram beamforming on these stations provides high quality slowness estimates for regional phases without additional post-processing. Seven arrays with aperture between 10 and 20 km (MJAR, ESDC, ILAR, KSRS, CMAR, ASAR, and EKA) can provide robust parameter estimates subject to a smoothing of the resulting slowness grids, most effectively achieved by convolving the measured slowness grids with the array response function for a 4 or 5 second period signal. The MJAR array in Japan recorded high SNR Pn signals for both the 2006 and 2009 North Korea nuclear tests but, due to signal incoherence, failed to contribute to the automatic event detections. It is demonstrated that the smoothed incoherent slowness estimates for the MJAR Pn phases for both tests indicate unambiguously the correct type of phase and a backazimuth estimate within 5 degrees of the great-circle backazimuth. The detection part of the algorithm is applicable to all IMS arrays, and spectrogram-based processing may offer a reduction in the false alarm rate for high frequency signals. Significantly, the local maxima of the scalar functions derived from the transformed spectrogram beams provide good estimates of the signal onset time. High frequency energy is of greater significance for lower event magnitudes and in, for example, the cavity decoupling detection evasion scenario. There is a need to characterize propagation paths with low attenuation of high frequency energy and situations in which parameter estimation on array stations fails.

Dysprosium-doped PbGa2S4 laser generating at 4.3 μm directly pumped by 1.7 μm laser diode.

PubMed

Jelínková, Helena; Doroshenko, Maxim E; Jelínek, Michal; Sulc, Jan; Osiko, Vyacheslav V; Badikov, Valerii V; Badikov, Dmitrii V

2013-08-15

In this Letter, we demonstrate the pulsed and CW operation of the Dy:PbGa(2)S(4) laser directly pumped by the 1.7 μm laser diode. In the pulsed regime (pulse duration 5 ms; repetition rate 20 Hz), the maximum mean output power of 9.5 mW was obtained with the slope efficiency of 9.3% with respect to the absorbed pump power. The generated wavelength was 4.32 μm, and the laser beam cross section was approximately Gaussian on both axes. Stable CW laser generation was also successfully obtained with the maximum output power of 67 mW and the slope efficiency of 8%. Depopulation of the lower laser level by 1.7 μm pump radiation absorption followed by 1.3 μm upconversion fluorescence was demonstrated. These results show the possibility of construction of the compact diode-pumped solid-state pulsed or CW laser generating at 4.3 μm in the power level of tens mW operating at room temperature.

Colorimetric Assay for Determination of Lead (II) Based on Its Incorporation into Gold Nanoparticles during Their Synthesis

PubMed Central

Ding, Nan; Cao, Qian; Zhao, Hong; Yang, Yimin; Zeng, Lixi; He, Yujian; Xiang, Kaixiang; Wang, Guangwei

2010-01-01

In this report, we present a new method for visual detection of Pb2+. Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were synthesized in one step at room temperature, using gallic acid (GA) as reducer and stabilizer. Pb2+ is added during the gold nanoparticle formation. Analysis of Pb2+ is conducted by a dual strategy, namely, colorimetry and spectrometry. During Au-NPs synthesis, addition of Pb2+ would lead to formation of Pb-GA complex, which can induce the aggregation of newly-formed small unstable gold nanoclusters. Consequently, colorimetric detection of trace Pb2+ can be realized. As the Pb2+ concentration increases, the color turns from red-wine to purple, and finally blue. This method offers a sensitive linear correlation between the shift of the absorption band (Δλ) and logarithm of Pb2+ concentration ranging from 5.0 × 10−8 to 1.0 × 10−6 M with a linear fit coefficient of 0.998, and a high selectivity for Pb2+ detection with a low detection limit down to 2.5 × 10−8 M. PMID:22163517

Wire chamber radiation detector with discharge control

DOEpatents

Perez-Mendez, Victor; Mulera, Terrence A.

1984-01-01

A wire chamber radiation detector (11) has spaced apart parallel electrodes (16) and grids (17, 18, 19) defining an ignition region (21) in which charged particles (12) or other ionizing radiations initiate brief localized avalanche discharges (93) and defining an adjacent memory region (22) in which sustained glow discharges (94) are initiated by the primary discharges (93). Conductors (29, 32) of the grids (18, 19) at each side of the memory section (22) extend in orthogonal directions enabling readout of the X-Y coordinates of locations at which charged particles (12) were detected by sequentially transmitting pulses to the conductors (29) of one grid (18) while detecting transmissions of the pulses to the orthogonal conductors (36) of the other grid (19) through glow discharges (94). One of the grids (19) bounding the memory region (22) is defined by an array of conductive elements (32) each of which is connected to the associated readout conductor (36) through a separate resistance (37). The wire chamber (11) avoids ambiguities and imprecisions in the readout of coordinates when large numbers of simultaneous or near simultaneous charged particles (12) have been detected. Down time between detection periods and the generation of radio frequency noise are also reduced.

Ranging bowhead whale calls in a shallow-water dispersive waveguide.

PubMed

Abadi, Shima H; Thode, Aaron M; Blackwell, Susanna B; Dowling, David R

2014-07-01

This paper presents the performance of three methods for estimating the range of broadband (50-500 Hz) bowhead whale calls in a nominally 55-m-deep waveguide: Conventional mode filtering (CMF), synthetic time reversal (STR), and triangulation. The first two methods use a linear vertical array to exploit dispersive propagation effects in the underwater sound channel. The triangulation technique used here, while requiring no knowledge about the propagation environment, relies on a distributed array of directional autonomous seafloor acoustics recorders (DASARs) arranged in triangular grid with 7 km spacing. This study uses simulations and acoustic data collected in 2010 from coastal waters near Kaktovik, Alaska. At that time, a 12-element vertical array, spanning the bottom 63% of the water column, was deployed alongside a distributed array of seven DASARs. The estimated call location-to-array ranges determined from CMF and STR are compared with DASAR triangulation results for 19 whale calls. The vertical-array ranging results are generally within ±10% of the DASAR results with the STR results providing slightly better agreement. The results also indicate that the vertical array can range calls over larger ranges and with greater precision than the particular distributed array discussed here, whenever the call locations are beyond the distributed array boundaries.

Design of a photovoltaic system for a southwest all-electric residence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehalick, E. M.; Obrien, G.; Tully, G. F.; Johnson, J.; Parker, J.

1980-04-01

The grid connected residential photovoltaic system for the Southwest is designed to meet both space conditioning requirements and all conventional electrical load requirements for an all-electric residence. The system is comprised of two major subsystems, the solar array and the power conditioning subsystem (PCS). An 8 kW peak photovoltaic array been designed for the house. The 93 square meters solar array uses a shingle solar cell module in a highly redundant series/parallel matrix. The photovoltaic generated power is supplied to a 10kVA power conversion subsystem which is controlled to track the solar array maximum power operating point and feed the 240 Vac output power directly to the house loads or back to the utility when excess power is generated. The photovoltaic power is isolated from the utility by a 15 kVA transformer. The house design and subsystem specifications are given in detail.

Real-time continuous-wave terahertz line scanner based on a compact 1 × 240 InGaAs Schottky barrier diode array detector.

PubMed

Han, Sang-Pil; Ko, Hyunsung; Kim, Namje; Lee, Won-Hui; Moon, Kiwon; Lee, Il-Min; Lee, Eui Su; Lee, Dong Hun; Lee, Wangjoo; Han, Seong-Tae; Choi, Sung-Wook; Park, Kyung Hyun

2014-11-17

We demonstrate real-time continuous-wave terahertz (THz) line-scanned imaging based on a 1 × 240 InGaAs Schottky barrier diode (SBD) array detector with a scan velocity of 25 cm/s, a scan line length of 12 cm, and a pixel size of 0.5 × 0.5 mm². Foreign substances, such as a paper clip with a spatial resolution of approximately 1 mm that is hidden under a cracker, are clearly detected by this THz line-scanning system. The system consists of the SBD array detector, a 200-GHz gyrotron source, a conveyor system, and several optical components such as a high-density polyethylene cylindrical lens, metal cylindrical mirror, and THz wire-grid polarizer. Using the THz polarizer, the signal-to-noise ratio of the SBD array detector improves because the quality of the source beam is enhanced.

IOTA: the array controller for a gigapixel OTCCD camera for Pan-STARRS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onaka, Peter; Tonry, John; Luppino, Gerard; Lockhart, Charles; Lee, Aaron; Ching, Gregory; Isani, Sidik; Uyeshiro, Robin

2004-09-01

The PanSTARRS project has undertaken an ambitious effort to develop a completely new array controller architecture that is fundamentally driven by the large 1gigapixel, low noise, high speed OTCCD mosaic requirements as well as the size, power and weight restrictions of the PanSTARRS telescope. The result is a very small form factor next generation controller scalar building block with 1 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces that will be assembled into a system that will readout 512 outputs at ~1 Megapixel sample rates on each output. The paper will also discuss critical technology and fabrication techniques such as greater than 1MHz analog to digital converters (ADCs), multiple fast sampling and digital calculation of multiple correlated samples (DMCS), ball grid array (BGA) packaged circuits, LINUX running on embedded field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) with hard core microprocessors for the prototype currently being developed.

High-channel-count, high-density microelectrode array for closed-loop investigation of neuronal networks.

PubMed

Tsai, David; John, Esha; Chari, Tarun; Yuste, Rafael; Shepard, Kenneth

2015-01-01

We present a system for large-scale electrophysiological recording and stimulation of neural tissue with a planar topology. The recording system has 65,536 electrodes arranged in a 256 × 256 grid, with 25.5 μm pitch, and covering an area approximately 42.6 mm(2). The recording chain has 8.66 μV rms input-referred noise over a 100 ~ 10k Hz bandwidth while providing up to 66 dB of voltage gain. When recording from all electrodes in the array, it is capable of 10-kHz sampling per electrode. All electrodes can also perform patterned electrical microstimulation. The system produces ~ 1 GB/s of data when recording from the full array. To handle, store, and perform nearly real-time analyses of this large data stream, we developed a framework based around Xilinx FPGAs, Intel x86 CPUs and the NVIDIA Streaming Multiprocessors to interface with the electrode array.

ON THE FREEZING AND IDENTIFICATION OF LIPID MONOLAYER 2-D ARRAYS FOR CRYOELECTRON MICROSCOPY

PubMed Central

Taylor, Dianne W.; Kelly, Deborah F.; Cheng, Anchi; Taylor, Kenneth A.

2008-01-01

Lipid monolayers provide a convenient vehicle for the crystallization of biological macromolecules for 3-D electron microscopy. Although numerous examples of 3-D images from 2-D protein arrays have been described from negatively stained specimens, only six structures have been done from frozen hydrated specimens. We describe here a method that makes high quality frozen-hydrated specimens of lipid monolayer arrays for cryoelectron microscopy. The method uses holey carbon films with patterned holes for monolayer recovery, blotting and plunge freezing to produce thin aqueous films which cover >90% of the available grid area. With this method, even specimens with relatively infrequent crystals can be screened using automated data collection techniques. Though developed for microscopic examination of 2-D arrays, the method may have wider application to the preparation of single particle specimens for 3-D image reconstruction. PMID:17561414

Fabricating High-Resolution X-Ray Collimators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Appleby, Michael; Atkinson, James E.; Fraser, Iain; Klinger, Jill

2008-01-01

A process and method for fabricating multi-grid, high-resolution rotating modulation collimators for arcsecond and sub-arcsecond x-ray and gamma-ray imaging involves photochemical machining and precision stack lamination. The special fixturing and etching techniques that have been developed are used for the fabrication of multiple high-resolution grids on a single array substrate. This technology has application in solar and astrophysics and in a number of medical imaging applications including mammography, computed tomography (CT), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and gamma cameras used in nuclear medicine. This collimator improvement can also be used in non-destructive testing, hydrodynamic weapons testing, and microbeam radiation therapy.

Enhanced R200 with Frisch-Grid CZT

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

Bolotnikov, A.

2017-12-01

The goal of this project is to demonstrate an engineering prototype of a gamma ray spectrometer that uses Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) in a configuration comprised of an array of position-sensitive virtual Frisch grid (PSVFG) detectors and show its capability to perform functions that would be useful to the IAEA. The detectors should achieve energy resolution of ~2% at 200 keV and <1% at > 662 keV, thereby outperforming all hand-held instruments currently in use other than cryogenically cooled germanium. BNL will make every effort to transfer the technology to an industrial partner so that robust, fieldable instruments can bemore » manufactured.« less

Enhanced R200 with Frisch-Grid CZT

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

Bolotnikov, Aleksey

The goal of this project is to demonstrate an engineering prototype of a gamma ray spectrometer that uses Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) in a configuration comprised of an array of position-sensitive virtual Frisch grid (PSVFG) detectors and show its capability to perform functions that would be useful to the IAEA. The detectors should achieve energy resolution of ~2% at 200 keV and <1% at > 662 keV, thereby outperforming all hand-held instruments currently in use other than cryogenically cooled germanium. BNL will make every effort to transfer the technology to an industrial partner so that robust, fieldable instruments can bemore » manufactured.« less

Fuel assembly for nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Creagan, Robert J.; Frisch, Erling

1977-01-01

A new and improved fuel assembly is formed to minimize the amount of parasitic structural material wherein a plurality of hollow tubular members are juxtaposed to the fuel elements of the assembly. The tubular members may serve as guide tubes for control elements and are secured to a number of longitudinally spaced grid members along the fuel assembly. The grid members include means thereon engaging each of the fuel elements to laterally position the fuel elements in a predetermined array. Openings in the bottom of each hollow member serve as a shock absorber to cushion shock transmitted to the structure when the control elements are rapidly inserted in their corresponding tubular members.

Modeling and measurement of a micro-optic beam deflector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milster, Tom D.; Wong, J. Nan

1992-01-01

The use is studied of a unity-magnification micro-optic beam deflector. The defelector consists of two arrays of positively powered lenslets. The lenslets on each array are arranged in a square grid. Design criteria are based on usefulness in optical data storage devices. The deflector is designed to operate over a + or - 1.6 range of deflection angles. Modeling results are compared with interferometric analysis of the wavefront from a single lenslet pair. The results indicate that the device is nearly diffraction limited, but there are substantial wavefront errors at the edges and corners of the lenslets.

Photovoltaic applications of Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winston, R.

1975-01-01

The use of a compound parabolic concentrator as field collector, in conjunction with a primary focusing concentrator for photovoltaic applications is studied. The primary focusing concentrator can be a parabolic reflector, an array of Fresnel mirrors, a Fresnel lens or some other lens. Silicon solar cell grid structures are proposed that increase efficiency with concentration up to 10 suns. A ray tracing program has been developed to determine energy distribution at the exit of a compound parabolic concentrator. Projected total cost of a CPC/solar cell system will be between 4 and 5 times lower than for flat plate silicon cell arrays.

DESIGN OF A PATTERN RECOGNITION DIGITAL COMPUTER WITH APPLICATION TO THE AUTOMATIC SCANNING OF BUBBLE CHAMBER NEGATIVES

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

McCormick, B.H.; Narasimhan, R.

1963-01-01

The overall computer system contains three main parts: an input device, a pattern recognition unit (PRU), and a control computer. The bubble chamber picture is divided into a grid of st run. Concent 1-mm squares on the film. It is then processed in parallel in a two-dimensional array of 1024 identical processing modules (stalactites) of the PRU. The array can function as a two- dimensional shift register in which results of successive shifting operations can be accumulated. The pattern recognition process is generally controlled by a conventional arithmetic computer. (A.G.W.)

The Interplay of Surface Mount Solder Joint Quality and Reliability of Low Volume SMAs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, R.

1997-01-01

Spacecraft electronics including those used at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), demand production of highly reliable assemblies. JPL has recently completed an extensive study, funded by NASA's code Q, of the interplay between manufacturing defects and reliability of ball grid array (BGA) and surface mount electronic components.

Solar and Wind Forecasting | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

and Wind Forecasting Solar and Wind Forecasting As solar and wind power become more common system operators. An aerial photo of the National Wind Technology Center's PV arrays. Capabilities value of accurate forecasting Wind power visualization to direct questions and feedback during industry

Fast, Massively Parallel Data Processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heaton, Robert A.; Blevins, Donald W.; Davis, ED

1994-01-01

Proposed fast, massively parallel data processor contains 8x16 array of processing elements with efficient interconnection scheme and options for flexible local control. Processing elements communicate with each other on "X" interconnection grid with external memory via high-capacity input/output bus. This approach to conditional operation nearly doubles speed of various arithmetic operations.

LSST camera grid structure made out of ceramic composite material, HB-Cesic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroedel, Matthias R.; Langton, J. Bryan

2016-08-01

In this paper we are presenting the ceramic design and the fabrication of the camera structure which is using the unique manufacturing features of the HB-Cesic technology and associated with a dedicated metrology device in order to ensure the challenging flatness requirement of 4 micron over the full array.

The Array Automated Assembly Task for the Low Cost Solar Array Project, Phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, R. B. (Editor); Farukhi, S. (Editor)

1978-01-01

During the program a process sequence was proposed and tested for the fabrication of dendritic welb silicon into solar modules. This sequence was analyzed as to yield and cost and these data suggest that the price goals of 1986 are attainable. Specifically, it was shown that a low cost POCL3 is a suitable replacement for the semiconductor grade, and that a suitable CVD oxide can be deposited from a silane/air mixture using a Silox reactor. A dip coating method was developed for depositing an antireflection coating from a metalorganic precursor. Application of photoresist to define contact grids was made cost effective through use of a dip coating technique. Electroplating of both Ag and Cu was shown feasible and cost effective for producing the conductive metal grids on the solar cells. Laser scribing was used to separate the cells from the dendrites without degradation. Ultrasonic welding methods were shown to be feasible for interconnecting the cells. A study of suitable low cost materials for encapsulation suggest that soda lime glass and phenolic filled board are preferred.

Laser polymerization-based novel lift-off technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhuian, B.; Winfield, R. J.; Crean, G. M.

2009-03-01

The fabrication of microstructures by two-photon polymerization has been widely reported as a means of directly writing three-dimensional nanoscale structures. In the majority of cases a single point serial writing technique is used to form a polymer model. Single layer writing can also be used to fabricate two-dimensional patterns and we report an extension of this capability by using two-photon polymerization to form a template that can be used as a sacrificial layer for a novel lift-off process. A Ti:sapphire laser, with wavelength 795 nm, 80 MHz repetition rate, 100 fs pulse duration and an average power of 700 mW, was used to write 2D grid patterns with pitches of 0.8 and 1.0 μm in a urethane acrylate resin that was spun on to a lift-off base layer. This was overcoated with gold and the grid lifted away to leave an array of gold islands. The optical transmission properties of the gold arrays were measured and found to be in agreement with a rigorous coupled-wave analysis simulation.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Spectropolarimetric survey of radio sources (Anderson+, 2015)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, C. S.; Gaensler, B. M.; Feain, I. J.; Franzen, T. M. O.

2017-10-01

We obtained mosaicked observations of a 30 deg2 region of sky the CABB correlator on the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA; Wilson et al. 2011MNRAS.416..832W). Our observations were performed using the "CFB 1M" mode, which generates all polarization products from 1.1 to 3.1 GHz with 1 MHz channel widths. The mosaic consisted of 342 pointings laid out in a hexagonal grid. This grid spanned 7.5° in RA and 5.5° in DE and was centered on RA=03h29m40s and DE=-36°16'30" (J2000) in Fornax. The angular separation of the mosaic pointings was 0.323° and therefore spatially Nyquist-sampled at 1.4 GHz. To obtain adequate uv coverage, we broke the full mosaic up into seven submosaics and observed each submosaic on consecutive days. We completed the full seven-day observing run twice-once in each of the 1.5B and 750B array configurations, from 2011 May 5-11 and 2011 June 10-16, respectively. (1 data file).

PLL Based Energy Efficient PV System with Fuzzy Logic Based Power Tracker for Smart Grid Applications.

PubMed

Rohini, G; Jamuna, V

This work aims at improving the dynamic performance of the available photovoltaic (PV) system and maximizing the power obtained from it by the use of cascaded converters with intelligent control techniques. Fuzzy logic based maximum power point technique is embedded on the first conversion stage to obtain the maximum power from the available PV array. The cascading of second converter is needed to maintain the terminal voltage at grid potential. The soft-switching region of three-stage converter is increased with the proposed phase-locked loop based control strategy. The proposed strategy leads to reduction in the ripple content, rating of components, and switching losses. The PV array is mathematically modeled and the system is simulated and the results are analyzed. The performance of the system is compared with the existing maximum power point tracking algorithms. The authors have endeavored to accomplish maximum power and improved reliability for the same insolation of the PV system. Hardware results of the system are also discussed to prove the validity of the simulation results.

PLL Based Energy Efficient PV System with Fuzzy Logic Based Power Tracker for Smart Grid Applications

PubMed Central

Rohini, G.; Jamuna, V.

2016-01-01

This work aims at improving the dynamic performance of the available photovoltaic (PV) system and maximizing the power obtained from it by the use of cascaded converters with intelligent control techniques. Fuzzy logic based maximum power point technique is embedded on the first conversion stage to obtain the maximum power from the available PV array. The cascading of second converter is needed to maintain the terminal voltage at grid potential. The soft-switching region of three-stage converter is increased with the proposed phase-locked loop based control strategy. The proposed strategy leads to reduction in the ripple content, rating of components, and switching losses. The PV array is mathematically modeled and the system is simulated and the results are analyzed. The performance of the system is compared with the existing maximum power point tracking algorithms. The authors have endeavored to accomplish maximum power and improved reliability for the same insolation of the PV system. Hardware results of the system are also discussed to prove the validity of the simulation results. PMID:27294189

Home Area Networks and the Smart Grid

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

Clements, Samuel L.; Carroll, Thomas E.; Hadley, Mark D.

2011-04-01

With the wide array of home area network (HAN) options being presented as solutions to smart grid challenges for the home, it is time to compare and contrast their strengths and weaknesses. This white paper examines leading and emerging HAN technologies. The emergence of the smart grid is bringing more networking players into the field. The need for low consistent bandwidth usage differs enough from the traditional information technology world to open the door to new technologies. The predominant players currently consist of a blend of the old and new. Within the wired world Ethernet and HomePlug Green PHY aremore » leading the way with an advantage to HomePlug because it doesn't require installing new wires. In the wireless the realm there are many more competitors but WiFi and ZigBee seem to have the most momentum.« less

An Empirical Model for Vane-Type Vortex Generators in a Navier-Stokes Code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dudek, Julianne C.

2005-01-01

An empirical model which simulates the effects of vane-type vortex generators in ducts was incorporated into the Wind-US Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics code. The model enables the effects of the vortex generators to be simulated without defining the details of the geometry within the grid, and makes it practical for researchers to evaluate multiple combinations of vortex generator arrangements. The model determines the strength of each vortex based on the generator geometry and the local flow conditions. Validation results are presented for flow in a straight pipe with a counter-rotating vortex generator arrangement, and the results are compared with experimental data and computational simulations using a gridded vane generator. Results are also presented for vortex generator arrays in two S-duct diffusers, along with accompanying experimental data. The effects of grid resolution and turbulence model are also examined.

Andreev reflection, a tool to investigate vortex dynamics and quantum turbulence in 3He-B.

PubMed

Fisher, Shaun Neil; Jackson, Martin James; Sergeev, Yuri A; Tsepelin, Viktor

2014-03-25

Andreev reflection of quasiparticle excitations provides a sensitive and passive probe of flow in superfluid (3)He-B. It is particularly useful for studying complex flows generated by vortex rings and vortex tangles (quantum turbulence). We describe the reflection process and discuss the results of numerical simulations of Andreev reflection from vortex rings and from quantum turbulence. We present measurements of vortices generated by a vibrating grid resonator at very low temperatures. The Andreev reflection is measured using an array of vibrating wire sensors. At low grid velocities, ballistic vortex rings are produced. At higher grid velocities, the rings collide and reconnect to produce quantum turbulence. We discuss spatial correlations of the fluctuating vortex signals measured by the different sensor wires. These reveal detailed information about the formation of quantum turbulence and about the underlying vortex dynamics.

Unweighted least squares phase unwrapping by means of multigrid techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pritt, Mark D.

1995-11-01

We present a multigrid algorithm for unweighted least squares phase unwrapping. This algorithm applies Gauss-Seidel relaxation schemes to solve the Poisson equation on smaller, coarser grids and transfers the intermediate results to the finer grids. This approach forms the basis of our multigrid algorithm for weighted least squares phase unwrapping, which is described in a separate paper. The key idea of our multigrid approach is to maintain the partial derivatives of the phase data in separate arrays and to correct these derivatives at the boundaries of the coarser grids. This maintains the boundary conditions necessary for rapid convergence to the correct solution. Although the multigrid algorithm is an iterative algorithm, we demonstrate that it is nearly as fast as the direct Fourier-based method. We also describe how to parallelize the algorithm for execution on a distributed-memory parallel processor computer or a network-cluster of workstations.

Thin films of aluminum nitride and aluminum gallium nitride for cold cathode applications

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

Sowers, A.T.; Christman, J.A.; Bremser, M.D.

1997-10-01

Cold cathode structures have been fabricated using AlN and graded AlGaN structures (deposited on n-type 6H-SiC) as the thin film emitting layer. The cathodes consist of an aluminum grid layer separated from the nitride layer by a SiO{sub 2} layer and etched to form arrays of either 1, 3, or 5 {mu}m holes through which the emitting nitride surface is exposed. After fabrication, a hydrogen plasma exposure was employed to activate the cathodes. Cathode devices with 5 {mu}m holes displayed emission for up to 30 min before failing. Maximum emission currents ranged from 10{endash}100 nA and required grid voltages rangingmore » from 20{endash}110 V. The grid currents were typically 1 to 10{sup 4} times the collector currents. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Andreev reflection, a tool to investigate vortex dynamics and quantum turbulence in 3He-B

PubMed Central

Fisher, Shaun Neil; Jackson, Martin James; Sergeev, Yuri A.; Tsepelin, Viktor

2014-01-01

Andreev reflection of quasiparticle excitations provides a sensitive and passive probe of flow in superfluid 3He-B. It is particularly useful for studying complex flows generated by vortex rings and vortex tangles (quantum turbulence). We describe the reflection process and discuss the results of numerical simulations of Andreev reflection from vortex rings and from quantum turbulence. We present measurements of vortices generated by a vibrating grid resonator at very low temperatures. The Andreev reflection is measured using an array of vibrating wire sensors. At low grid velocities, ballistic vortex rings are produced. At higher grid velocities, the rings collide and reconnect to produce quantum turbulence. We discuss spatial correlations of the fluctuating vortex signals measured by the different sensor wires. These reveal detailed information about the formation of quantum turbulence and about the underlying vortex dynamics. PMID:24704872

A Bayesian framework for infrasound location

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Modrak, Ryan T.; Arrowsmith, Stephen J.; Anderson, Dale N.

2010-04-01

We develop a framework for location of infrasound events using backazimuth and infrasonic arrival times from multiple arrays. Bayesian infrasonic source location (BISL) developed here estimates event location and associated credibility regions. BISL accounts for unknown source-to-array path or phase by formulating infrasonic group velocity as random. Differences between observed and predicted source-to-array traveltimes are partitioned into two additive Gaussian sources, measurement error and model error, the second of which accounts for the unknown influence of wind and temperature on path. By applying the technique to both synthetic tests and ground-truth events, we highlight the complementary nature of back azimuths and arrival times for estimating well-constrained event locations. BISL is an extension to methods developed earlier by Arrowsmith et al. that provided simple bounds on location using a grid-search technique.

Observations of solar-cell metallization corrosion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mon, G. R.

1983-01-01

The Engineering Sciences Area of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Flat-Plate Solar Array Project is performing long term environmental tests on photovoltaic modules at Wyle Laboratories in Huntsville, Alabama. Some modules have been exposed to 85 C/85% RH and 40 C/93% RH for up to 280 days. Other modules undergoing temperature-only exposures ( 3% RH) at 85 C and 100 C have been tested for more than 180 days. At least two modules of each design type are exposed to each environment - one with, and the other without a 100-mA forward bias. Degradation is both visually observed and electrically monitored. Visual observations of changes in appearance are recorded at each inspection time. Significant visual observations relating to metallization corrosion (and/or metallization-induced corrosion) include discoloration (yellowing and browning) of grid lines, migration of grid line material into the encapsulation (blossoming), the appearance of rainbow-like diffraction patterns on the grid lines, and brown spots on collectors and grid lines. All of these observations were recorded for electrically biased modules in the 280-day tests with humidity.

Modified Perfect Harmonics Cancellation Control of a Grid Interfaced SPV Power Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, B.; Shahani, D. T.; Verma, A. K.

2015-03-01

This paper deals with a grid interfaced solar photo voltaic (SPV) power generating system with modified perfect harmonic cancellation (MPHC) control for power quality improvement in terms of mitigation of the current harmonics, power factor correction, control of point of common coupling (PCC) voltage with reactive power compensation and load balancing in a three phase distribution system. The proposed grid interfaced SPV system consists of a SPV array, a dc-dc boost converter and a voltage source converter (VSC) used for the compensation of other connected linear and nonlinear loads at PCC. The reference grid currents are estimated using MPHC method and control signals are derived by using pulse width modulation (PWM) current controller of VSC. The SPV power is fed to the common dc bus of VSC and dc-dc boost converter using maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The dc link voltage of VSC is regulated by using dc voltage proportional integral (PI) controller. The analysis of the proposed SPV power generating system is carried out under dc/ac short circuit and severe SPV-SX and SPV-TX intrusion.

Damage mapping in structural health monitoring using a multi-grid architecture

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

Mathews, V. John

2015-03-31

This paper presents a multi-grid architecture for tomography-based damage mapping of composite aerospace structures. The system employs an array of piezo-electric transducers bonded on the structure. Each transducer may be used as an actuator as well as a sensor. The structure is excited sequentially using the actuators and the guided waves arriving at the sensors in response to the excitations are recorded for further analysis. The sensor signals are compared to their baseline counterparts and a damage index is computed for each actuator-sensor pair. These damage indices are then used as inputs to the tomographic reconstruction system. Preliminary damage mapsmore » are reconstructed on multiple coordinate grids defined on the structure. These grids are shifted versions of each other where the shift is a fraction of the spatial sampling interval associated with each grid. These preliminary damage maps are then combined to provide a reconstruction that is more robust to measurement noise in the sensor signals and the ill-conditioned problem formulation for single-grid algorithms. Experimental results on a composite structure with complexity that is representative of aerospace structures included in the paper demonstrate that for sufficiently high sensor densities, the algorithm of this paper is capable of providing damage detection and characterization with accuracy comparable to traditional C-scan and A-scan-based ultrasound non-destructive inspection systems quickly and without human supervision.« less

Repeat Mapping in Upper Monterey Canyon Captures the Effect of Sediment Transport Events of Known Magnitude and Duration on the Seafloor Morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundsten, E. M.; Anderson, K.; Caress, D. W.; Thomas, H. J.; Paull, C. K.; Maier, K. L.; Gwiazda, R.; Gales, J. A.; Talling, P.; Xu, J.; Parsons, D. R.

2017-12-01

As part of a multi-institution submarine canyon study, the Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE), high-resolution multibeam bathymetric surveys of the floor of Monterey Canyon, offshore California, were conducted to capture the changes in seafloor morphology directly related to the passage of sediment density flows documented during the study. The goals of this study were to monitor the passage of sediment density flows as they move through the axis of a submarine canyon in order to understand the velocity structure of these flows and to document the associated changes in seafloor morphology and the resultant deposits. The CCE consisted of an array of moorings and sensors deployed on the canyon floor during the 18-month period between October 2015 and April 2017. In addition, a mapping AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) repeatedly surveyed two sites along the canyon during the study. Differencing the repeat grids quantified the morphological changes directly related to specifically documented, individual flow events. The AUV carried a Reson 7125 multibeam echosounder (vertical precision of 0.15 m and horizontal resolution of 1.0 m). An inertial navigation system combined with a Doppler velocity logger allowed the AUV to fly pre-programmed grids at 3 knots while maintaining an altitude of 50 m above the seafloor and obtain a nominal line spacing of 130 m. The axial channel between 200 and 540 m water depth was surveyed six times. At least fifteen density flow events were captured by the array of CCE instruments within this AUV survey area. These events caused moorings as well as several large and small instruments to move down canyon significant distances at least 30 times. Difference grids show the canyon experienced erosion and deposition of up to +/- 3 m between surveys. The pair of surveys that straddle a sediment transport event on December 1, 2015 show the seafloor was altered only down to 420 m water depth, consistent with the observations on the CCE instrument array which showed the event dissipated at 400 m water depth. All difference grids show bathymetric changes are restricted to a very clearly defined 200 m wide swath along the axis of the canyon. This study highlights these changes in seafloor morphology in response to several sediment transport events of known extent, magnitude, and duration.

Performance Evaluation of Dsm Extraction from ZY-3 Three-Line Arrays Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Y.; Xie, W.; Du, Q.; Sang, H.

2015-08-01

ZiYuan-3 (ZY-3), launched in January 09, 2012, is China's first civilian high-resolution stereo mapping satellite. ZY-3 is equipped with three-line scanners (nadir, backward and forward) for stereo mapping, the resolutions of the panchromatic (PAN) stereo mapping images are 2.1-m at nadir looking and 3.6-m at tilt angles of ±22° forward and backward looking, respectively. The stereo base-height ratio is 0.85-0.95. Compared with stereo mapping from two views images, three-line arrays images of ZY-3 can be used for DSM generation taking advantage of one more view than conventional photogrammetric methods. It would enrich the information for image matching and enhance the accuracy of DSM generated. The primary result of positioning accuracy of ZY-3 images has been reported, while before the massive mapping applications of utilizing ZY-3 images for DSM generation, the performance evaluation of DSM extraction from three-line arrays imagery of ZY-3 has significant meaning for the routine mapping applications. The goal of this research is to clarify the mapping performance of ZY-3 three-line arrays scanners on china's first civilian high-resolution stereo mapping satellite of ZY-3 through the accuracy evaluation of DSM generation. The comparison of DSM product in different topographic areas generated with three views images with different two views combination images of ZY-3 would be presented. Besides the comparison within different topographic study area, the accuracy deviation of the DSM products with different grid size including 25-m, 10-m and 5-m is delineated in order to clarify the impact of grid size on accuracy evaluation.

Exploring New Methods of Displaying Bit-Level Quality and Other Flags for MODIS Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khalsa, Siri Jodha Singh; Weaver, Ron

2003-01-01

The NASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) archives and distributes snow and sea ice products derived from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. All MODIS standard products are in the Earth Observing System version of the Hierarchal Data Format (HDF-EOS). The MODIS science team has packed a wealth of information into each HDF-EOS file. In addition to the science data arrays containing the geophysical product, there are often pixel-level Quality Assurance arrays which are important for understanding and interpreting the science data. Currently, researchers are limited in their ability to access and decode information stored as individual bits in many of the MODIS science products. Commercial and public domain utilities give users access, in varying degrees, to the elements inside MODIS HDF-EOS files. However, when attempting to visualize the data, users are confronted with the fact that many of the elements actually represent eight different 1-bit arrays packed into a single byte array. This project addressed the need for researchers to access bit-level information inside MODIS data files. In an previous NASA-funded project (ESDIS Prototype ID 50.0) we developed a visualization tool tailored to polar gridded HDF-EOS data set. This tool,called the Polar researchers to access, geolocate, visualize, and subset data that originate from different sources and have different spatial resolutions but which are placed on a common polar grid. The bit-level visualization function developed under this project was added to PHDIS, resulting in a versatile tool that serves a variety of needs. We call this the EOS Imaging Tool.

Advanced Photovoltaic Inverter Control Development and Validation in a Controller-Hardware-in-the-Loop Test Bed

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

Prabakar, Kumaraguru; Shirazi, Mariko; Singh, Akanksha

Penetration levels of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation on the electric grid have increased in recent years. In the past, most PV installations have not included grid-support functionalities. But today, standards such as the upcoming revisions to IEEE 1547 recommend grid support and anti-islanding functions-including volt-var, frequency-watt, volt-watt, frequency/voltage ride-through, and other inverter functions. These functions allow for the standardized interconnection of distributed energy resources into the grid. This paper develops and tests low-level inverter current control and high-level grid support functions. The controller was developed to integrate advanced inverter functions in a systematic approach, thus avoiding conflict among the differentmore » control objectives. The algorithms were then programmed on an off-the-shelf, embedded controller with a dual-core computer processing unit and field-programmable gate array (FPGA). This programmed controller was tested using a controller-hardware-in-the-loop (CHIL) test bed setup using an FPGA-based real-time simulator. The CHIL was run at a time step of 500 ns to accommodate the 20-kHz switching frequency of the developed controller. The details of the advanced control function and CHIL test bed provided here will aide future researchers when designing, implementing, and testing advanced functions of PV inverters.« less

Parallel architectures for iterative methods on adaptive, block structured grids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gannon, D.; Vanrosendale, J.

1983-01-01

A parallel computer architecture well suited to the solution of partial differential equations in complicated geometries is proposed. Algorithms for partial differential equations contain a great deal of parallelism. But this parallelism can be difficult to exploit, particularly on complex problems. One approach to extraction of this parallelism is the use of special purpose architectures tuned to a given problem class. The architecture proposed here is tuned to boundary value problems on complex domains. An adaptive elliptic algorithm which maps effectively onto the proposed architecture is considered in detail. Two levels of parallelism are exploited by the proposed architecture. First, by making use of the freedom one has in grid generation, one can construct grids which are locally regular, permitting a one to one mapping of grids to systolic style processor arrays, at least over small regions. All local parallelism can be extracted by this approach. Second, though there may be a regular global structure to the grids constructed, there will be parallelism at this level. One approach to finding and exploiting this parallelism is to use an architecture having a number of processor clusters connected by a switching network. The use of such a network creates a highly flexible architecture which automatically configures to the problem being solved.

Start It up: Flywheel Energy Storage Efficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Michelle

2011-01-01

The purpose of this project was to construct and test an off-grid photovoltaic (PV) system in which the power from a solar array could be stored in a rechargeable battery and a flywheel motor generator assembly. The mechanical flywheel energy storage system would in turn effectively power a 12-volt DC appliance. The voltage and current of…

Monolithic millimeter-wave diode array beam controllers: Theory and experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sjogren, L. B.; Liu, H.-X. L.; Wang, F.; Liu, T.; Wu, W.; Qin, X.-H.; Chung, E.; Domier, C. W.; Luhmann, N. C., Jr.; Maserjian, J.

1992-01-01

In the current work, multi-function beam control arrays have been fabricated and have successfully demonstrated amplitude control of transmitted beams in the W and D bands (75-170 GHz). While these arrays are designed to provide beam control under DC bias operation, new designs for high-speed electronic and optical control are under development. These arrays will fill a need for high-speed watt-level beam switches in pulsed reflectometer systems under development for magnetic fusion plasma diagnostics. A second experimental accomplishment of the current work is the demonstration in the 100-170 GHz (D band) frequency range of a new technique for the measurement of the transmission phase as well as amplitude. Transmission data can serve as a means to extract ('de-embed') the grid parameters; phase information provides more complete data to assist in this process. Additional functions of the array beam controller yet to be tested include electronically controlled steering and focusing of a reflected beam. These have application in the areas of millimeter-wave electronic scanning radar and reflectometry, respectively.

Recent results from the Telescope Array Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, Rasha; Telescope Array Collaboration

2016-03-01

The Telescope Array (TA) is the largest ultrahigh energy cosmic rays detector in the northern hemisphere. TA is a hybrid detector comprised of three air fluorescence stations and a large surface array consisting of 507 scintillator counters. Each of the three fluorescence stations, located at the periphery of the ground array, views 108 degrees in azimuth and up to 30 degrees in elevation. The surface detectors are arranged in a square grid of 1.2 km spacing, covering over 700 square kilometers. TA has collected more than seven years of data. In this talk, we will present some of the main results on the cosmic rays composition and energy spectrum obtained by TA and its low energy extension (TALE). Finally, we will present our results from the search for arrival direction anisotropy, including the observed large excess of events at the highest energies, seen in the region of the northern sky centered on Ursa Major. Based on the current results, the ``hot spot'' in particular, TA is pursuing the expansion of the surface array to four times its current size.

Automated analysis of siRNA screens of cells infected by hepatitis C and dengue viruses based on immunofluorescence microscopy images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matula, Petr; Kumar, Anil; Wörz, Ilka; Harder, Nathalie; Erfle, Holger; Bartenschlager, Ralf; Eils, Roland; Rohr, Karl

2008-03-01

We present an image analysis approach as part of a high-throughput microscopy siRNA-based screening system using cell arrays for the identification of cellular genes involved in hepatitis C and dengue virus replication. Our approach comprises: cell nucleus segmentation, quantification of virus replication level in the neighborhood of segmented cell nuclei, localization of regions with transfected cells, cell classification by infection status, and quality assessment of an experiment and single images. In particular, we propose a novel approach for the localization of regions of transfected cells within cell array images, which combines model-based circle fitting and grid fitting. By this scheme we integrate information from single cell array images and knowledge from the complete cell arrays. The approach is fully automatic and has been successfully applied to a large number of cell array images from screening experiments. The experimental results show a good agreement with the expected behaviour of positive as well as negative controls and encourage the application to screens from further high-throughput experiments.

Unlocking Sensitivity for Visibility-based Estimators of the 21 cm Reionization Power Spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yunfan Gerry; Liu, Adrian; Parsons, Aaron R.

2018-01-01

Radio interferometers designed to measure the cosmological 21 cm power spectrum require high sensitivity. Several modern low-frequency interferometers feature drift-scan antennas placed on a regular grid to maximize the number of instantaneously coherent (redundant) measurements. However, even for such maximum-redundancy arrays, significant sensitivity comes through partial coherence between baselines. Current visibility-based power-spectrum pipelines, though shown to ease control of systematics, lack the ability to make use of this partial redundancy. We introduce a method to leverage partial redundancy in such power-spectrum pipelines for drift-scan arrays. Our method cross-multiplies baseline pairs at a time lag and quantifies the sensitivity contributions of each pair of baselines. Using the configurations and beams of the 128-element Donald C. Backer Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization (PAPER-128) and staged deployments of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array, we illustrate how our method applies to different arrays and predict the sensitivity improvements associated with pairing partially coherent baselines. As the number of antennas increases, we find partial redundancy to be of increasing importance in unlocking the full sensitivity of upcoming arrays.

Design and Flood Control Assessment of 5MWp Fishing and Photovoltaic Power Project in Xinghua City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Liuchao; Hu, Xiaodong; Su, Yuyan; Wu, Peipei; Weng, Songgan

2017-12-01

In order to reduce coal consumption in Jiangsu Province and develop new energy sources, considering on the distribution of geology, solar energy resources, traffic and grid connection in Xinghua City, the aim is to determine the configuration of photovoltaic modules and photovoltaic array tracking mode, design photovoltaic array and layout scheme. But the project is a wading project, it is built in Dong Tan Lake polder I115, it needs scientific and reasonable evaluation to the effect of Dong Tan Lake’s flood storage and discharge. The results can provide guidance for similar engineering’s design.

MR thermometry characterization of a hyperthermia ultrasound array designed using the k-space computational method

PubMed Central

Al-Bataineh, Osama M; Collins, Christopher M; Park, Eun-Joo; Lee, Hotaik; Smith, Nadine Barrie

2006-01-01

Background Ultrasound induced hyperthermia is a useful adjuvant to radiation therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer. A uniform thermal dose (43°C for 30 minutes) is required within the targeted cancerous volume for effective therapy. This requires specific ultrasound phased array design and appropriate thermometry method. Inhomogeneous, acoustical, three-dimensional (3D) prostate models and economical computational methods provide necessary tools to predict the appropriate shape of hyperthermia phased arrays for better focusing. This research utilizes the k-space computational method and a 3D human prostate model to design an intracavitary ultrasound probe for hyperthermia treatment of prostate cancer. Evaluation of the probe includes ex vivo and in vivo controlled hyperthermia experiments using the noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thermometry. Methods A 3D acoustical prostate model was created using photographic data from the Visible Human Project®. The k-space computational method was used on this coarse grid and inhomogeneous tissue model to simulate the steady state pressure wavefield of the designed phased array using the linear acoustic wave equation. To ensure the uniformity and spread of the pressure in the length of the array, and the focusing capability in the width of the array, the equally-sized elements of the 4 × 20 elements phased array were 1 × 14 mm. A probe was constructed according to the design in simulation using lead zerconate titanate (PZT-8) ceramic and a Delrin® plastic housing. Noninvasive MRI thermometry and a switching feedback controller were used to accomplish ex vivo and in vivo hyperthermia evaluations of the probe. Results Both exposimetry and k-space simulation results demonstrated acceptable agreement within 9%. With a desired temperature plateau of 43.0°C, ex vivo and in vivo controlled hyperthermia experiments showed that the MRI temperature at the steady state was 42.9 ± 0.38°C and 43.1 ± 0.80°C, respectively, for 20 minutes of heating. Conclusion Unlike conventional computational methods, the k-space method provides a powerful tool to predict pressure wavefield in large scale, 3D, inhomogeneous and coarse grid tissue models. Noninvasive MRI thermometry supports the efficacy of this probe and the feedback controller in an in vivo hyperthermia treatment of canine prostate. PMID:17064421

MR thermometry characterization of a hyperthermia ultrasound array designed using the k-space computational method.

PubMed

Al-Bataineh, Osama M; Collins, Christopher M; Park, Eun-Joo; Lee, Hotaik; Smith, Nadine Barrie

2006-10-25

Ultrasound induced hyperthermia is a useful adjuvant to radiation therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer. A uniform thermal dose (43 degrees C for 30 minutes) is required within the targeted cancerous volume for effective therapy. This requires specific ultrasound phased array design and appropriate thermometry method. Inhomogeneous, acoustical, three-dimensional (3D) prostate models and economical computational methods provide necessary tools to predict the appropriate shape of hyperthermia phased arrays for better focusing. This research utilizes the k-space computational method and a 3D human prostate model to design an intracavitary ultrasound probe for hyperthermia treatment of prostate cancer. Evaluation of the probe includes ex vivo and in vivo controlled hyperthermia experiments using the noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thermometry. A 3D acoustical prostate model was created using photographic data from the Visible Human Project. The k-space computational method was used on this coarse grid and inhomogeneous tissue model to simulate the steady state pressure wavefield of the designed phased array using the linear acoustic wave equation. To ensure the uniformity and spread of the pressure in the length of the array, and the focusing capability in the width of the array, the equally-sized elements of the 4 x 20 elements phased array were 1 x 14 mm. A probe was constructed according to the design in simulation using lead zerconate titanate (PZT-8) ceramic and a Delrin plastic housing. Noninvasive MRI thermometry and a switching feedback controller were used to accomplish ex vivo and in vivo hyperthermia evaluations of the probe. Both exposimetry and k-space simulation results demonstrated acceptable agreement within 9%. With a desired temperature plateau of 43.0 degrees C, ex vivo and in vivo controlled hyperthermia experiments showed that the MRI temperature at the steady state was 42.9 +/- 0.38 degrees C and 43.1 +/- 0.80 degrees C, respectively, for 20 minutes of heating. Unlike conventional computational methods, the k-space method provides a powerful tool to predict pressure wavefield in large scale, 3D, inhomogeneous and coarse grid tissue models. Noninvasive MRI thermometry supports the efficacy of this probe and the feedback controller in an in vivo hyperthermia treatment of canine prostate.

Grid cells on steeply sloping terrain: evidence for planar rather than volumetric encoding

PubMed Central

Hayman, Robin M. A.; Casali, Giulio; Wilson, Jonathan J.; Jeffery, Kate J.

2015-01-01

Neural encoding of navigable space involves a network of structures centered on the hippocampus, whose neurons –place cells – encode current location. Input to the place cells includes afferents from the entorhinal cortex, which contains grid cells. These are neurons expressing spatially localized activity patches, or firing fields, that are evenly spaced across the floor in a hexagonal close-packed array called a grid. It is thought that grids function to enable the calculation of distances. The question arises as to whether this odometry process operates in three dimensions, and so we queried whether grids permeate three-dimensional (3D) space – that is, form a lattice – or whether they simply follow the environment surface. If grids form a 3D lattice then this lattice would ordinarily be aligned horizontally (to explain the usual hexagonal pattern observed). A tilted floor would transect several layers of this putative lattice, resulting in interruption of the hexagonal pattern. We model this prediction with simulated grid lattices, and show that the firing of a grid cell on a 40°-tilted surface should cover proportionally less of the surface, with smaller field size, fewer fields, and reduced hexagonal symmetry. However, recording of real grid cells as animals foraged on a 40°-tilted surface found that firing of grid cells was almost indistinguishable, in pattern or rate, from that on the horizontal surface, with if anything increased coverage and field number, and preserved field size. It thus appears unlikely that the sloping surface transected a lattice. However, grid cells on the slope displayed slightly degraded firing patterns, with reduced coherence and slightly reduced symmetry. These findings collectively suggest that the grid cell component of the metric representation of space is not fixed in absolute 3D space but is influenced both by the surface the animal is on and by the relationship of this surface to the horizontal, supporting the hypothesis that the neural map of space is “multi-planar” rather than fully volumetric. PMID:26236245

Status and performance of the AS array of the Tibet AS sub. gamma. experiment

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

Amenomori, M.; Bai, Z.W.; Cao, Z.

1991-04-05

The Tibet AS{gamma} experiment, which has started since January, 1990, is located at an altitude of 4,300m at Yangbaging in Tibet, China (90.5{degree} E, 301{degree} N). The air-shower array is composed of 49 scintillation counters for fast timing (FT), each counter having an area of 0.5 m{sup 2}, in a grid pattern with a spacing of 15 m and 16 density detectors. The density detectors surrounding the FT detectors are planned to select the showers of which core are inside the FT array. For the constant and continuous opeation, the system for laser calibration, the ADC,TDC module calibration and themore » power check system were installed. A Rb clock is used for the phase analysis of {gamma}-rays.« less

Implementation of total focusing method for phased array ultrasonic imaging on FPGA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, JianQiang; Li, Xi; Gao, Xiaorong; Wang, Zeyong; Zhao, Quanke

2015-02-01

This paper describes a multi-FPGA imaging system dedicated for the real-time imaging using the Total Focusing Method (TFM) and Full Matrix Capture (FMC). The system was entirely described using Verilog HDL language and implemented on Altera Stratix IV GX FPGA development board. The whole algorithm process is to: establish a coordinate system of image and divide it into grids; calculate the complete acoustic distance of array element between transmitting array element and receiving array element, and transform it into index value; then index the sound pressure values from ROM and superimpose sound pressure values to get pixel value of one focus point; and calculate the pixel values of all focus points to get the final imaging. The imaging result shows that this algorithm has high SNR of defect imaging. And FPGA with parallel processing capability can provide high speed performance, so this system can provide the imaging interface, with complete function and good performance.

Diversity of chimera-like patterns from a model of 2D arrays of neurons with nonlocal coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Chang-Hai; Zhang, Xi-Yun; Wang, Zhen-Hua; Liu, Zong-Hua

2017-06-01

Chimera states have been studied in 1D arrays, and a variety of different chimera states have been found using different models. Research has recently been extended to 2D arrays but only to phase models of them. Here, we extend it to a nonphase model of 2D arrays of neurons and focus on the influence of nonlocal coupling. Using extensive numerical simulations, we find, surprisingly, that this system can show most types of previously observed chimera states, in contrast to previous models, where only one or a few types of chimera states can be observed in each model. We also find that this model can show some special chimera-like patterns such as gridding and multicolumn patterns, which were previously observed only in phase models. Further, we present an effective approach, i.e., removing some of the coupling links, to generate heterogeneous coupling, which results in diverse chimera-like patterns and even induces transformations from one chimera-like pattern to another.

The compression–error trade-off for large gridded data sets

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

Silver, Jeremy D.; Zender, Charles S.

The netCDF-4 format is widely used for large gridded scientific data sets and includes several compression methods: lossy linear scaling and the non-lossy deflate and shuffle algorithms. Many multidimensional geoscientific data sets exhibit considerable variation over one or several spatial dimensions (e.g., vertically) with less variation in the remaining dimensions (e.g., horizontally). On such data sets, linear scaling with a single pair of scale and offset parameters often entails considerable loss of precision. We introduce an alternative compression method called "layer-packing" that simultaneously exploits lossy linear scaling and lossless compression. Layer-packing stores arrays (instead of a scalar pair) of scalemore » and offset parameters. An implementation of this method is compared with lossless compression, storing data at fixed relative precision (bit-grooming) and scalar linear packing in terms of compression ratio, accuracy and speed. When viewed as a trade-off between compression and error, layer-packing yields similar results to bit-grooming (storing between 3 and 4 significant figures). Bit-grooming and layer-packing offer significantly better control of precision than scalar linear packing. Relative performance, in terms of compression and errors, of bit-groomed and layer-packed data were strongly predicted by the entropy of the exponent array, and lossless compression was well predicted by entropy of the original data array. Layer-packed data files must be "unpacked" to be readily usable. The compression and precision characteristics make layer-packing a competitive archive format for many scientific data sets.« less

The compression–error trade-off for large gridded data sets

DOE PAGES

Silver, Jeremy D.; Zender, Charles S.

2017-01-27

The netCDF-4 format is widely used for large gridded scientific data sets and includes several compression methods: lossy linear scaling and the non-lossy deflate and shuffle algorithms. Many multidimensional geoscientific data sets exhibit considerable variation over one or several spatial dimensions (e.g., vertically) with less variation in the remaining dimensions (e.g., horizontally). On such data sets, linear scaling with a single pair of scale and offset parameters often entails considerable loss of precision. We introduce an alternative compression method called "layer-packing" that simultaneously exploits lossy linear scaling and lossless compression. Layer-packing stores arrays (instead of a scalar pair) of scalemore » and offset parameters. An implementation of this method is compared with lossless compression, storing data at fixed relative precision (bit-grooming) and scalar linear packing in terms of compression ratio, accuracy and speed. When viewed as a trade-off between compression and error, layer-packing yields similar results to bit-grooming (storing between 3 and 4 significant figures). Bit-grooming and layer-packing offer significantly better control of precision than scalar linear packing. Relative performance, in terms of compression and errors, of bit-groomed and layer-packed data were strongly predicted by the entropy of the exponent array, and lossless compression was well predicted by entropy of the original data array. Layer-packed data files must be "unpacked" to be readily usable. The compression and precision characteristics make layer-packing a competitive archive format for many scientific data sets.« less

Spatial and temporal variability of canopy microclimate in a Sierra Nevada riparian forest

Treesearch

T. Rambo; M. North

2008-01-01

Past riparian microclimate studies have measured changes horizontally from streams, but not vertically through the forest canopy. We recorded temperature and relative humidity for a year along a two-dimensional grid of 24 data-loggers arrayed up to 40 m height in four trees 2 - 30 m slope distance from a perennial second order stream in...

Polarization Sensitive QWIP Thermal Imager

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-03-01

array (FPA) with peak responsivity in the long-wave infrared ( LWIR ) spectral band near 9 µm. Polarization-dependent responsivity is achieved by...demonstrated in various combinations: MWIR/ LWIR (using rectangular grid gratings), MWIR/MWIR, and LWIR / LWIR . The FPA described here was fabricated with a...CCA supports the nonuniformity correction, global gain and level control, failed pixel substitution, dynamic range reduction, BIT status and serial

[Detection of transgenic crop with gene chip].

PubMed

Huang, Ying-Chun; Sun, Chun-Yun; Feng, Hong; Hu, Xiao-Dong; Yin, Hai-Bin

2003-05-01

Some selected available sequences of reporter genes,resistant genes, promoters and terminators are amplified by PCR for the probes of transgenic crop detection gene chip. These probes are arrayed at definite density and printed on the surface of amino-slides by bioRobot MicroGrid II. Results showed that gene chip worked quickly and correctly, when transgenic rice, pawpaw,maize and soybean were applied.

Reliability Assessment of Critical Electronic Components

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-07-01

Failures FLHP - Full Horse Power FSN - Federal Stock Number I Current IC - Integrated Circuit IPB - Illustrated Parts Breakdown K - Boltzmans Constant L...Classified P - Power PC - Printed Circuit PCB - Printed Circuit Board PGA - Pin Grid Array PPM - Parts Per Million PWB - Printed Wiring Board 0...4-59 4.4.3.2.3 Circuit Brcakers ......................................................... 4-59 4.4.3.2.4 Thermal

NASA DOD Lead Free Electronics Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kessel, Kurt R.

2008-01-01

The primary'technical objective of this project is to undertake comprehensive testing to generate information on failure modes/criteria to better understand the reliability of: Packages (e.g., Thin Small Outline Package [TSOP], Ball Grid Array [BGA], Plastic Dual In-line Package [PDIPD assembled and reworked with lead-free alloys Packages (e.g., TSOP, BGA, PDIP) assembled and reworked with mixed (lead/lead-free) alloys.

MEMS Micropropulsion Activities at JPL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Juergen; Chakraborty, Indrani; Vargo, Stephen; Bame, David; Marrese, Colleen; Tang, William C.

1999-01-01

A status of MEMS-based micropropulsion activities conducted at JPL will be given. These activities include work conducted on the so called Vaporizing Liquid Micro-Thruster (VLM) which recently underwent proof-of-concept testing, demonstrating the ability to vaporize water propellant at 2 W and 2 V. Micro-ion engine technologies, such m field emitter arrays and micro-grids are being studied. Focus in the field emitter area is on arrays able to survive in thruster plumes and micro-ion engine plasmas to serve as neutralizers aW engine cathodes. Integrated, batch-fabricated Ion repeller grid structures are being studied as well as different emitter tip materials are being investigated to meet these goals. A micro-isolation valve is being studied to isolate microspacecraft feed system during long interplanetary cruises, avoiding leakage and prolonging lifetime and reliability of such systems. This concept relies on the melting of a thin silicon barrier. Burst pressure values as high as 2,900 psig were obtained for these valves and power requirements to melt barriers ranging between 10 - 50 microns in thickness, as determined through thermal finite element calculations, varied between 10 - 30 W to be applied over a duration of merely 0.5 ms.

Assessing Multiple Methods for Determining Active Source Travel Times in a Dense Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, L.; Zeng, X.; Thurber, C. H.; Team, P.

2016-12-01

238 three-component nodal seismometers were deployed at the Brady Hot Springs geothermal field in Nevada to characterize changes in the subsurface as a result of changes in pumping conditions. The array consisted of a 500 meter by 1600 meter irregular grid with 50 meter spacing centered in an approximately rectangular 1200 meter by 1600 meter grid with 200 meter spacing. A large vibroseis truck (T-Rex) was deployed as an active seismic source at 216 locations. Over the course of 15 days, the truck occupied each location up to four times. At each location a swept-frequency source between 5 and 80 Hz over 20 seconds was produced using three vibration modes: longitudinal S-wave, transverse S-wave, and P-wave. Seismic wave arrivals were identified using three methods: cross-correlation, deconvolution, and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) plus the Hough Transform (HT). Surface wave arrivals were clear for all three modes of vibration using all three methods. Preliminary tomographic models will be presented, using the arrivals of the identified phases. This analysis is part of the PoroTomo project: Poroelastic Tomography by Adjoint Inverse Modeling of Data from Seismology, Geodesy, and Hydrology; http://geoscience.wisc.edu/feigl/porotomo.

Thermal Cycling Life Prediction of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu Solder Joint Using Type-I Censored Data

PubMed Central

Mi, Jinhua; Yang, Yuan-Jian; Huang, Hong-Zhong

2014-01-01

Because solder joint interconnections are the weaknesses of microelectronic packaging, their reliability has great influence on the reliability of the entire packaging structure. Based on an accelerated life test the reliability assessment and life prediction of lead-free solder joints using Weibull distribution are investigated. The type-I interval censored lifetime data were collected from a thermal cycling test, which was implemented on microelectronic packaging with lead-free ball grid array (BGA) and fine-pitch ball grid array (FBGA) interconnection structures. The number of cycles to failure of lead-free solder joints is predicted by using a modified Engelmaier fatigue life model and a type-I censored data processing method. Then, the Pan model is employed to calculate the acceleration factor of this test. A comparison of life predictions between the proposed method and the ones calculated directly by Matlab and Minitab is conducted to demonstrate the practicability and effectiveness of the proposed method. At last, failure analysis and microstructure evolution of lead-free solders are carried out to provide useful guidance for the regular maintenance, replacement of substructure, and subsequent processing of electronic products. PMID:25121138

Mechanically modulated dewetting by atomic force microscope for micro- and nano- droplet array fabrication.

PubMed

Wang, Feifei; Li, Pan; Wang, Dong; Li, Longhai; Xie, Shuangxi; Liu, Lianqing; Wang, Yuechao; Li, Wen Jung

2014-10-06

Organizing a material into well-defined patterns during the dewetting process provides an attractive micro-/nano-fabrication method without using a conventional lithographic process, and hence, offers potential applications in organic electronics, optics systems, and memory devices. We report here how the mechanical modification of polymer surface by an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) can be used to guide thin film dewetting evolution and break the intrinsic spatial correlation of spontaneous instability. An AFM is used to implement the mechanical modification of progressively narrow grids to investigate the influence of pattern size on the modulation of ultrathin polystyrene films dewetting evolution. For films with different initial thicknesses, when grid size is close to or below the characteristic wavelength of instability, the spinodal dewetting is suppressed, and film rupture is restricted to the cutting trench. We will show in this paper it is possible to generate only one droplet per gridded area on a thin film subsequent to nucleation dominated dewetting on a non-patterned substrate. Furthermore, when the grid periodicity exceeds the spinodal length, the number of droplets in predefined areas gradually approaches that associated with unconfined dewetting.

Mechanically Modulated Dewetting by Atomic Force Microscope for Micro- and Nano- Droplet Array Fabrication

PubMed Central

Wang, Feifei; Li, Pan; Wang, Dong; Li, Longhai; Xie, Shuangxi; Liu, Lianqing; Wang, Yuechao; Li, Wen Jung

2014-01-01

Organizing a material into well-defined patterns during the dewetting process provides an attractive micro-/nano-fabrication method without using a conventional lithographic process, and hence, offers potential applications in organic electronics, optics systems, and memory devices. We report here how the mechanical modification of polymer surface by an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) can be used to guide thin film dewetting evolution and break the intrinsic spatial correlation of spontaneous instability. An AFM is used to implement the mechanical modification of progressively narrow grids to investigate the influence of pattern size on the modulation of ultrathin polystyrene films dewetting evolution. For films with different initial thicknesses, when grid size is close to or below the characteristic wavelength of instability, the spinodal dewetting is suppressed, and film rupture is restricted to the cutting trench. We will show in this paper it is possible to generate only one droplet per gridded area on a thin film subsequent to nucleation dominated dewetting on a non-patterned substrate. Furthermore, when the grid periodicity exceeds the spinodal length, the number of droplets in predefined areas gradually approaches that associated with unconfined dewetting. PMID:25283744

Adaptive mesh refinement for characteristic grids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thornburg, Jonathan

2011-05-01

I consider techniques for Berger-Oliger adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) when numerically solving partial differential equations with wave-like solutions, using characteristic (double-null) grids. Such AMR algorithms are naturally recursive, and the best-known past Berger-Oliger characteristic AMR algorithm, that of Pretorius and Lehner (J Comp Phys 198:10, 2004), recurses on individual "diamond" characteristic grid cells. This leads to the use of fine-grained memory management, with individual grid cells kept in two-dimensional linked lists at each refinement level. This complicates the implementation and adds overhead in both space and time. Here I describe a Berger-Oliger characteristic AMR algorithm which instead recurses on null slices. This algorithm is very similar to the usual Cauchy Berger-Oliger algorithm, and uses relatively coarse-grained memory management, allowing entire null slices to be stored in contiguous arrays in memory. The algorithm is very efficient in both space and time. I describe discretizations yielding both second and fourth order global accuracy. My code implementing the algorithm described here is included in the electronic supplementary materials accompanying this paper, and is freely available to other researchers under the terms of the GNU general public license.

An efficient basis set representation for calculating electrons in molecules

DOE PAGES

Jones, Jeremiah R.; Rouet, Francois -Henry; Lawler, Keith V.; ...

2016-04-27

The method of McCurdy, Baertschy, and Rescigno, is generalised to obtain a straightforward, surprisingly accurate, and scalable numerical representation for calculating the electronic wave functions of molecules. It uses a basis set of product sinc functions arrayed on a Cartesian grid, and yields 1 kcal/mol precision for valence transition energies with a grid resolution of approximately 0.1 bohr. The Coulomb matrix elements are replaced with matrix elements obtained from the kinetic energy operator. A resolution-of-the-identity approximation renders the primitive one- and two-electron matrix elements diagonal; in other words, the Coulomb operator is local with respect to the grid indices. Themore » calculation of contracted two-electron matrix elements among orbitals requires only O( Nlog (N)) multiplication operations, not O( N 4), where N is the number of basis functions; N = n 3 on cubic grids. The representation not only is numerically expedient, but also produces energies and properties superior to those calculated variationally. Absolute energies, absorption cross sections, transition energies, and ionisation potentials are reported for 1- (He +, H + 2), 2- (H 2, He), 10- (CH 4), and 56-electron (C 8H 8) systems.« less

A Green Prison: The Santa Rita Jail Campus Microgrid

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

Marnay, Chris; DeForest, Nicholas; Lai, Judy

2012-01-22

A large microgrid project is nearing completion at Alameda County’s twenty-two-year-old 45 ha 4,000-inmate Santa Rita Jail, about 70 km east of San Francisco. Often described as a green prison, it has a considerable installed base of distributed energy resources (DER) including an eight-year old 1.2 MW PV array, a five-year old 1 MW fuel cell with heat recovery, and considerable efficiency investments. A current US$14 M expansion adds a 2 MW-4 MWh Li-ion battery, a static disconnect switch, and various controls upgrades. During grid blackouts, or when conditions favor it, the Jail can now disconnect from the grid andmore » operate as an island, using the on-site resources described together with its back-up diesel generators. In other words, the Santa Rita Jail is a true microgrid, or μgrid, because it fills both requirements, i.e. it is a locally controlled system, and it can operate both grid connected and islanded. The battery’s electronics includes Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology (CERTS) Microgrid technology. This enables the battery to maintain energy balance using droops without need for a fast control system.« less

NOTE: MCDE: a new Monte Carlo dose engine for IMRT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynaert, N.; DeSmedt, B.; Coghe, M.; Paelinck, L.; Van Duyse, B.; DeGersem, W.; DeWagter, C.; DeNeve, W.; Thierens, H.

2004-07-01

A new accurate Monte Carlo code for IMRT dose computations, MCDE (Monte Carlo dose engine), is introduced. MCDE is based on BEAMnrc/DOSXYZnrc and consequently the accurate EGSnrc electron transport. DOSXYZnrc is reprogrammed as a component module for BEAMnrc. In this way both codes are interconnected elegantly, while maintaining the BEAM structure and only minimal changes to BEAMnrc.mortran are necessary. The treatment head of the Elekta SLiplus linear accelerator is modelled in detail. CT grids consisting of up to 200 slices of 512 × 512 voxels can be introduced and up to 100 beams can be handled simultaneously. The beams and CT data are imported from the treatment planning system GRATIS via a DICOM interface. To enable the handling of up to 50 × 106 voxels the system was programmed in Fortran95 to enable dynamic memory management. All region-dependent arrays (dose, statistics, transport arrays) were redefined. A scoring grid was introduced and superimposed on the geometry grid, to be able to limit the number of scoring voxels. The whole system uses approximately 200 MB of RAM and runs on a PC cluster consisting of 38 1.0 GHz processors. A set of in-house made scripts handle the parallellization and the centralization of the Monte Carlo calculations on a server. As an illustration of MCDE, a clinical example is discussed and compared with collapsed cone convolution calculations. At present, the system is still rather slow and is intended to be a tool for reliable verification of IMRT treatment planning in the case of the presence of tissue inhomogeneities such as air cavities.

Feasibility of a simple method of hybrid collimation for megavoltage grid therapy

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

Almendral, Pedro; Mancha, Pedro J.; Roberto, Daniel

2013-05-15

Purpose: Megavoltage grid therapy is currently delivered with step-and-shoot multisegment techniques or using a high attenuation block with divergent holes. However, the commercial availability of grid blocks is limited, their construction is difficult, and step-and-shoot techniques require longer treatment times and are not practical with some multileaf collimators. This work studies the feasibility of a hybrid collimation system for grid therapy that does not require multiple segments and can be easily implemented with widely available technical means. Methods: The authors have developed a system to generate a grid of beamlets by the simultaneous use of two perpendicular sets of equallymore » spaced leaves that project stripe patterns in orthogonal directions. One of them is generated with the multileaf collimator integrated in the accelerator and the other with an in-house made collimator constructed with a low melting point alloy commonly available at radiation oncology departments. The characteristics of the grid fields for 6 and 18 MV have been studied with a shielded diode, an unshielded diode, and radiochromic film. Results: The grid obtained with the hybrid collimation is similar to some of the grids used clinically with respect to the beamlet size (about 1 cm) and the percentage of open beam (1/4 of the total field). The grid fields are less penetrating than the open fields of the same energy. Depending on the depth and the direction of the profiles (diagonal or along the principal axes), the measured valley-to-peak dose ratios range from 5% to 16% for 6 MV and from 9% to 20% for 18 MV. All the detectors yield similar results in the measurement of profiles and percent depth dose, but the shielded diode seems to overestimate the output factors. Conclusions: The combination of two stripe pattern collimators in orthogonal directions is a feasible method to obtain two-dimensional arrays of beamlets and has potential usefulness as an efficient way to deliver grid therapy. The implementation of this method is technically simpler than the construction of a conventional grid block.« less

Feasibility of a simple method of hybrid collimation for megavoltage grid therapy.

PubMed

Almendral, Pedro; Mancha, Pedro J; Roberto, Daniel

2013-05-01

Megavoltage grid therapy is currently delivered with step-and-shoot multisegment techniques or using a high attenuation block with divergent holes. However, the commercial availability of grid blocks is limited, their construction is difficult, and step-and-shoot techniques require longer treatment times and are not practical with some multileaf collimators. This work studies the feasibility of a hybrid collimation system for grid therapy that does not require multiple segments and can be easily implemented with widely available technical means. The authors have developed a system to generate a grid of beamlets by the simultaneous use of two perpendicular sets of equally spaced leaves that project stripe patterns in orthogonal directions. One of them is generated with the multileaf collimator integrated in the accelerator and the other with an in-house made collimator constructed with a low melting point alloy commonly available at radiation oncology departments. The characteristics of the grid fields for 6 and 18 MV have been studied with a shielded diode, an unshielded diode, and radiochromic film. The grid obtained with the hybrid collimation is similar to some of the grids used clinically with respect to the beamlet size (about 1 cm) and the percentage of open beam (1/4 of the total field). The grid fields are less penetrating than the open fields of the same energy. Depending on the depth and the direction of the profiles (diagonal or along the principal axes), the measured valley-to-peak dose ratios range from 5% to 16% for 6 MV and from 9% to 20% for 18 MV. All the detectors yield similar results in the measurement of profiles and percent depth dose, but the shielded diode seems to overestimate the output factors. The combination of two stripe pattern collimators in orthogonal directions is a feasible method to obtain two-dimensional arrays of beamlets and has potential usefulness as an efficient way to deliver grid therapy. The implementation of this method is technically simpler than the construction of a conventional grid block.

Grid indentation analysis of mechanical properties of composite electrodes in Li-ion batteries

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

Vasconcelos, Luize Scalco de; Xu, Rong; Li, Jianlin

We report that electrodes in commercial rechargeable batteries are microscopically heterogeneous materials. The constituent components, including active materials, polymeric binders, and porous conductive matrix, often have large variation in their mechanical properties, making the mechanical characterization of composite electrodes a challenging task. In a model system of LiNi 0.5Mn 0.3Co 0.2O 2 cathode, we employ the instrumented grid indentation to determine the elastic modulus and hardness of the constituent phases. The approach relies on a large array of nanoindentation experiments and statistical analysis of the resulting data provided that the maximum indentation depth is carefully chosen. The statistically extracted propertiesmore » of the active particles and the surrounding medium are in good agreement with the tests of targeted indentation at selected sites. Lastly, the combinatory technique of grid indentation and statistical deconvolution represents a fast and reliable route to quantify the mechanical properties of composite electrodes that feed the parametric input for the mechanics models.« less

PSO-Based Smart Grid Application for Sizing and Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

PubMed Central

Mohamed, Mohamed A.; Eltamaly, Ali M.; Alolah, Abdulrahman I.

2016-01-01

This paper introduces an optimal sizing algorithm for a hybrid renewable energy system using smart grid load management application based on the available generation. This algorithm aims to maximize the system energy production and meet the load demand with minimum cost and highest reliability. This system is formed by photovoltaic array, wind turbines, storage batteries, and diesel generator as a backup source of energy. Demand profile shaping as one of the smart grid applications is introduced in this paper using load shifting-based load priority. Particle swarm optimization is used in this algorithm to determine the optimum size of the system components. The results obtained from this algorithm are compared with those from the iterative optimization technique to assess the adequacy of the proposed algorithm. The study in this paper is performed in some of the remote areas in Saudi Arabia and can be expanded to any similar regions around the world. Numerous valuable results are extracted from this study that could help researchers and decision makers. PMID:27513000

PSO-Based Smart Grid Application for Sizing and Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems.

PubMed

Mohamed, Mohamed A; Eltamaly, Ali M; Alolah, Abdulrahman I

2016-01-01

This paper introduces an optimal sizing algorithm for a hybrid renewable energy system using smart grid load management application based on the available generation. This algorithm aims to maximize the system energy production and meet the load demand with minimum cost and highest reliability. This system is formed by photovoltaic array, wind turbines, storage batteries, and diesel generator as a backup source of energy. Demand profile shaping as one of the smart grid applications is introduced in this paper using load shifting-based load priority. Particle swarm optimization is used in this algorithm to determine the optimum size of the system components. The results obtained from this algorithm are compared with those from the iterative optimization technique to assess the adequacy of the proposed algorithm. The study in this paper is performed in some of the remote areas in Saudi Arabia and can be expanded to any similar regions around the world. Numerous valuable results are extracted from this study that could help researchers and decision makers.

Grid indentation analysis of mechanical properties of composite electrodes in Li-ion batteries

DOE PAGES

Vasconcelos, Luize Scalco de; Xu, Rong; Li, Jianlin; ...

2016-03-09

We report that electrodes in commercial rechargeable batteries are microscopically heterogeneous materials. The constituent components, including active materials, polymeric binders, and porous conductive matrix, often have large variation in their mechanical properties, making the mechanical characterization of composite electrodes a challenging task. In a model system of LiNi 0.5Mn 0.3Co 0.2O 2 cathode, we employ the instrumented grid indentation to determine the elastic modulus and hardness of the constituent phases. The approach relies on a large array of nanoindentation experiments and statistical analysis of the resulting data provided that the maximum indentation depth is carefully chosen. The statistically extracted propertiesmore » of the active particles and the surrounding medium are in good agreement with the tests of targeted indentation at selected sites. Lastly, the combinatory technique of grid indentation and statistical deconvolution represents a fast and reliable route to quantify the mechanical properties of composite electrodes that feed the parametric input for the mechanics models.« less

Realisation Of Polarisation Sensitive And Frequency Selective Surfaces On Microwave Reflectors By Laser Evaporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halm, R.; Kupper, Th.; Fischer, A.

1987-01-01

Gridded reflectors are used on communication satellites antennas to provide frequency reuse in dual linear polarisation mode of operation. The polarisation sensitive surface consists of metallic strips, forming a grid with width and spacings of the order of 0.1 mm. The use of frequency-selective surface (FSS) subreflectors allows the simultaneous generation of different microwave beams with the same main reflector. Such a reflector will require a structure of conductive arrays of either dipoles, rings, squares or square loops with typical dimensions of the order of 3-6 mm. Optimisation of the electrical design leads to critical dimensioning of these structures. By direct ablation of an aluminium surface coating by means of laser evaporation, high accuracies can be achieved. The major requirements were to minimize thermal damage of the substrate material and to produce dimensionally accurate grids. Experiments were carried out using a pulsed TEA-CO2 laser and a Q-switched Alexandrite laser. Details of the experimental set-up and conditions are described.

Energy Management Challenges and Opportunities with Increased Intermittent Renewable Generation on the California Electrical Grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichman, Joshua David

Renewable resources including wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, hydroelectric, wave and tidal, represent an opportunity for environmentally preferred generation of electricity that also increases energy security and independence. California is very proactive in encouraging the implementation of renewable energy in part through legislation like Assembly Bill 32 and the development and execution of Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS); however renewable technologies are not without challenges. All renewable resources have some resource limitations, be that from location, capacity, cost or availability. Technologies like wind and solar are intermittent in nature but represent one of the most abundant resources for generating renewable electricity. If RPS goals are to be achieved high levels of intermittent renewables must be considered. This work explores the effects of high penetration of renewables on a grid system, with respect to resource availability and identifies the key challenges from the perspective of the grid to introducing these resources. The HiGRID tool was developed for this analysis because no other tool could explore grid operation, while maintaining system reliability, with a diverse set of renewable resources and a wide array of complementary technologies including: energy efficiency, demand response, energy storage technologies and electric transportation. This tool resolves the hourly operation of conventional generation resources (nuclear, coal, geothermal, natural gas and hydro). The resulting behavior from introducing additional renewable resources and the lifetime costs for each technology is analyzed.

Fast two-dimensional grid and transmission X-ray microscopy scanning methods for visualizing and characterizing protein crystals

PubMed Central

Wojdyla, Justyna Aleksandra; Panepucci, Ezequiel; Martiel, Isabelle; Ebner, Simon; Huang, Chia-Ying; Caffrey, Martin; Bunk, Oliver; Wang, Meitian

2016-01-01

A fast continuous grid scan protocol has been incorporated into the Swiss Light Source (SLS) data acquisition and analysis software suite on the macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamlines. Its combination with fast readout single-photon counting hybrid pixel array detectors (PILATUS and EIGER) allows for diffraction-based identification of crystal diffraction hotspots and the location and centering of membrane protein microcrystals in the lipid cubic phase (LCP) in in meso in situ serial crystallography plates and silicon nitride supports. Diffraction-based continuous grid scans with both still and oscillation images are supported. Examples that include a grid scan of a large (50 nl) LCP bolus and analysis of the resulting diffraction images are presented. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) complements and benefits from fast grid scanning. STXM has been demonstrated at the SLS beamline X06SA for near-zero-dose detection of protein crystals mounted on different types of sample supports at room and cryogenic temperatures. Flash-cooled crystals in nylon loops were successfully identified in differential and integrated phase images. Crystals of just 10 µm thickness were visible in integrated phase images using data collected with the EIGER detector. STXM offers a truly low-dose method for locating crystals on solid supports prior to diffraction data collection at both synchrotron microfocusing and free-electron laser X-ray facilities. PMID:27275141

Harmonic analysis and suppression in hybrid wind & PV solar system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Tripti; Namekar, Swapnil

2018-04-01

The growing demand of electricity has led to produce power through non-conventional source of energy such as solar energy, wind energy, hydro power, energy through biogas and biomass etc. Hybrid system is taken to complement the shortcoming of either sources of energy. The proposed system is grid connected hybrid wind and solar system. A 2.1 MW Doubly fed Induction Generator (DFIG) has been taken for analysis of wind farm whose rotor part is connected to two back-to-back converters. A 250 KW Photovoltaic (PV) array taken to analyze solar farm where inverter is required to convert power from DC to AC since electricity generated through solar PV is in the form of DC. Stability and reliability of the system is very important when the system is grid connected. Harmonics is the major Power quality issue which degrades the quality of power at load side. Harmonics in hybrid system arise through the use of power conversion unit. The other causes of harmonics are fluctuation in wind speed and solar irradiance. The power delivered to grid must be free from harmonics and within the limits specified by Indian grid codes. In proposed work, harmonic analysis of the hybrid system is performed in Electrical Transient Analysis program (ETAP) and single tuned harmonic filter is designed to maintain the utility grid harmonics within limits.

Dip and anisotropy effects on flow using a vertically skewed model grid.

PubMed

Hoaglund, John R; Pollard, David

2003-01-01

Darcy flow equations relating vertical and bedding-parallel flow to vertical and bedding-parallel gradient components are derived for a skewed Cartesian grid in a vertical plane, correcting for structural dip given the principal hydraulic conductivities in bedding-parallel and bedding-orthogonal directions. Incorrect-minus-correct flow error results are presented for ranges of structural dip (0 < or = theta < or = 90) and gradient directions (0 < or = phi < or = 360). The equations can be coded into ground water models (e.g., MODFLOW) that can use a skewed Cartesian coordinate system to simulate flow in structural terrain with deformed bedding planes. Models modified with these equations will require input arrays of strike and dip, and a solver that can handle off-diagonal hydraulic conductivity terms.

Time domain simulation of harmonic ultrasound images and beam patterns in 3D using the k-space pseudospectral method.

PubMed

Treeby, Bradley E; Tumen, Mustafa; Cox, B T

2011-01-01

A k-space pseudospectral model is developed for the fast full-wave simulation of nonlinear ultrasound propagation through heterogeneous media. The model uses a novel equation of state to account for nonlinearity in addition to power law absorption. The spectral calculation of the spatial gradients enables a significant reduction in the number of required grid nodes compared to finite difference methods. The model is parallelized using a graphical processing unit (GPU) which allows the simulation of individual ultrasound scan lines using a 256 x 256 x 128 voxel grid in less than five minutes. Several numerical examples are given, including the simulation of harmonic ultrasound images and beam patterns using a linear phased array transducer.

Design of a photovoltaic system for a temperate climate all-electric residence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehalick, E. M.; Tully, G. F.; Johnson, J.; Truncellito, N.; Schaeffer, R.

1982-01-01

A photovoltaic system was developed and integrated into a single story residence having low space conditioning loads typical of a temperate climate similar to Santa Maria, CA. The design addresses the residential market segment of low energy consuming houses with limited roof area availability; in fact the garage roof is used for the array. The array size to meet the requirements of this type of house covers 40 square m with a rated power output of 4.3 kW at NOCT conditions. A flexible array installation is presented which can be implemented as an integral mount or a stand-off mount depending on the homeowner preference. A 4 kW utility-tied inverter is used in the power conversion subsystem, representative of currently available hardware. The system provides feedback of excess energy to the utility which is the most promising approach for grid-connected residential systems in the mid 1980's.

A Simple and Reliable Method of Design for Standalone Photovoltaic Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivasarao, Mantri; Sudha, K. Rama; Bhanu, C. V. K.

2017-06-01

Standalone photovoltaic (SAPV) systems are seen as a promoting method of electrifying areas of developing world that lack power grid infrastructure. Proliferations of these systems require a design procedure that is simple, reliable and exhibit good performance over its life time. The proposed methodology uses simple empirical formulae and easily available parameters to design SAPV systems, that is, array size with energy storage. After arriving at the different array size (area), performance curves are obtained for optimal design of SAPV system with high amount of reliability in terms of autonomy at a specified value of loss of load probability (LOLP). Based on the array to load ratio (ALR) and levelized energy cost (LEC) through life cycle cost (LCC) analysis, it is shown that the proposed methodology gives better performance, requires simple data and is more reliable when compared with conventional design using monthly average daily load and insolation.

Electron lithography STAR design guidelines. Part 3: The mosaic transistor array applied to custom microprocessors. Part 4: Stores logic arrays, SLAs implemented with clocked CMOS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trotter, J. D.

1982-01-01

The Mosaic Transistor Array is an extension of the STAR system developed by NASA which has dedicated field cells designed to be specifically used in semicustom microprocessor applications. The Sandia radiation hard bulk CMOS process is utilized in order to satisfy the requirements of space flights. A design philosophy is developed which utilizes the strengths and recognizes the weaknesses of the Sandia process. A style of circuitry is developed which incorporates the low power and high drive capability of CMOS. In addition the density achieved is better than that for classic CMOS, although not as good as for NMOS. The basic logic functions for a data path are designed with compatible interface to the STAR grid system. In this manner either random logic or PLA type structures can be utilized for the control logic.

Characterization of Kilopixel TES detector arrays for PIPER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Datta, Rahul; Ade, Peter; Benford, Dominic; Bennett, Charles; Chuss, David; Costen, Nicholas; Coughlin, Kevin; Dotson, Jessie; Eimer, Joseph; Fixsen, Dale; Gandilo, Natalie; Halpern, Mark; Essinger-Hileman, Thomas; Hilton, Gene; Hinshaw, Gary; Irwin, Kent; Jhabvala, Christine; Kimball, Mark; Kogut, Al; Lazear, Justin; Lowe, Luke; Manos, George; McMahon, Jeff; Miller, Timothy; Mirel, Paul; Moseley, Samuel Harvey; Pawlyk, Samuel; Rodriguez, Samelys; Sharp, Elmer; Shirron, Peter; Staguhn, Johannes G.; Sullivan, Dan; Switzer, Eric; Taraschi, Peter; Tucker, Carole; Walts, Alexander; Wollack, Edward

2018-01-01

The Primordial Inflation Polarization ExploreR (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument optimized to measure the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at large angular scales. It will map 85% of the sky in four frequency bands centered at 200, 270, 350, and 600 GHz to characterize dust foregrounds and constrain the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r. The sky is imaged on to 32x40 pixel arrays of time-domain multiplexed Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers operating at a bath temperature of 100 mK to achieve background-limited sensitivity. Each kilopixel array is indium-bump-bonded to a 2D superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) time-domain multiplexer (MUX) chip and read out by warm electronics. Each pixel measures total incident power over a frequency band defined by bandpass filters in front of the array, while polarization sensitivity is provided by the upstream Variable-delay Polarization Modulators (VPMs) and analyzer grids. We present measurements of the detector parameters from the laboratory characterization of the first kilopixel science array for PIPER including transition temperature, saturation power, thermal conductivity, time constant, and noise performance. We also describe the testing of the 2D MUX chips, optimization of the integrated readout parameters, and the overall pixel yield of the array. The first PIPER science flight is planned for June 2018 from Palestine, Texas.

Distributed strain measurement in a rectangular plate using an array of optical fiber sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Claus, R. O.; Wade, J. C.

1984-01-01

Single mode optical fiber waveguide has been used to determine the two-dimensional strain distribution on a simply supported rectangular plate. Each of the fifty individual fibers in the rectangular grid array attached to one surface of the plate yields a measurement of the strain integrated along the length of that fiber on the specimen. By using similar sensor information from all of the fibers, both the functional form and the amplitude of the distribution may be determined. Limits on the dynamic range and spatial resolution are indicated. Applications in the measurement of internal strain and the monitoring of physically small critical-structural components are suggested.

Micro-electro-fluidic grids for nematodes: a lens-less, image-sensor-less approach for on-chip tracking of nematode locomotion.

PubMed

Liu, Peng; Martin, Richard J; Dong, Liang

2013-02-21

This paper reports on the development of a lens-less and image-sensor-less micro-electro-fluidic (MEF) approach for real-time monitoring of the locomotion of microscopic nematodes. The technology showed promise for overcoming the constraint of the limited field of view of conventional optical microscopy, with relatively low cost, good spatial resolution, and high portability. The core of the device was microelectrode grids formed by orthogonally arranging two identical arrays of microelectrode lines. The two microelectrode arrays were spaced by a microfluidic chamber containing a liquid medium of interest. As a nematode (e.g., Caenorhabditis elegans) moved inside the chamber, the invasion of part of its body into some intersection regions between the microelectrodes caused changes in the electrical resistance of these intersection regions. The worm's presence at, or absence from, a detection unit was determined by a comparison between the measured resistance variation of this unit and a pre-defined threshold resistance variation. An electronic readout circuit was designed to address all the detection units and read out their individual electrical resistances. By this means, it was possible to obtain the electrical resistance profile of the whole MEF grid, and thus, the physical pattern of the swimming nematode. We studied the influence of a worm's body on the resistance of an addressed unit. We also investigated how the full-frame scanning and readout rates of the electronic circuit and the dimensions of a detection unit posed an impact on the spatial resolution of the reconstructed images of the nematode. Other important issues, such as the manufacturing-induced initial non-uniformity of the grids and the electrotaxic behaviour of nematodes, were also studied. A drug resistance screening experiment was conducted by using the grids with a good resolution of 30 × 30 μm(2). The phenotypic differences in the locomotion behaviours (e.g., moving speed and oscillation frequency extracted from the reconstructed images with the help of software) between the wild-type (N2) and mutant (lev-8) C. elegans worms in response to different doses of the anthelmintic drug, levamisole, were investigated. The locomotive parameters obtained by the MEF grids agreed well with those obtained by optical microscopy. Therefore, this technology will benefit whole-animal assays by providing a structurally simple, potentially cost-effective device capable of tracking the movement and phenotypes of important nematodes in various microenvironments.

Analysis and synthesis of (SAR) waveguide phased array antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Visser, H. J.

1994-02-01

This report describes work performed due to ESA contract No. 101 34/93/NL/PB. Started is with a literature study on dual polarized waveguide radiators, resulting in the choice for the open ended square waveguide. After a thorough description of the mode matching infinite waveguide array analysis method - including finiteness effects - that forms the basis for all further described analysis and synthesis methods, the accuracy of the analysis software is validated by comparison with measurements on two realized antennas. These antennas have centered irises in the waveguide apertures and a dielectric wide angle impedance matching sheet in front of the antenna. A synthesis method, using simulated annealing and downhill simplex, is described next and different antenna designs, based on the analysis of a single element in an infinite array environment, are presented. Next, designs of subarrays are presented. Shown is the paramount importance of including the array environment in the design of a subarray. A microstrip patch waveguide exciter and subarray feeding network are discussed and the depth of the waveguide radiator is estimated. Chosen is a rectangular grid array with waveguides of 2.5 cm depth without irises and without dielectric sheet, grouped in linear 8 elements subarrays.

Computationally Efficient Radio Frequency Source Localization for Radio Interferometric Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steeb, J.-W.; Davidson, David B.; Wijnholds, Stefan J.

2018-03-01

Radio frequency interference (RFI) is an ever-increasing problem for remote sensing and radio astronomy, with radio telescope arrays especially vulnerable to RFI. Localizing the RFI source is the first step to dealing with the culprit system. In this paper, a new localization algorithm for interferometric arrays with low array beam sidelobes is presented. The algorithm has been adapted to work both in the near field and far field (only the direction of arrival can be recovered when the source is in the far field). In the near field the computational complexity of the algorithm is linear with search grid size compared to cubic scaling of the state-of-the-art 3-D MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) method. The new method is as accurate as 3-D MUSIC. The trade-off is that the proposed algorithm requires a once-off a priori calculation and storing of weighting matrices. The accuracy of the algorithm is validated using data generated by low-frequency array while a hexacopter was flying around it and broadcasting a continuous-wave signal. For the flight, the mean distance between the differential GPS positions and the corresponding estimated positions of the hexacopter is 2 m at a wavelength of 6.7 m.

Laser direct-write and crystallization of FeSi II micro-dot array for NIR light-emitting device application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narazaki, Aiko; Kurosaki, Ryozo; Sato, Tadatake; Kawaguchi, Yoshizo; Niino, Hiroyuki

2007-02-01

We printed FeSi II micro-dot array on various kinds of substrates utilizing laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT). An amorphous FeSi II was deposited by sputtering on a transparent plate as a source film. A single KrF excimer laser pulse through a mask-projection system was imaged with a small micrometer-sized grid pattern onto a film/plate interface, resulting in the deposition of FeSi II micro-dot array on a facing substrate with a high number density of 10 4 mm -2. FeSi II in the β crystalline phase is a promising eco-friendly semiconductor because of NIR electroluminescence used for optical networking as well as abundant components reserve on the earth and non-toxicity. However, the β-FeSi II film fabrication generally required high-temperature multi-processes which hamper its integration and performance reproducibility. Using the LIFT of micro-dot array, we succeeded in room-temperature preparation of β-FeSi II. Micro-Raman spectroscopy confirmed the β crystalline phase in the micro-dots deposited on an unheated silica glass substrate. Thus, the LIFT is useful for integrating functional micro-dot array accompanied by the crystallization at lower temperatures.

A Conductometric Indium Oxide Semiconducting Nanoparticle Enzymatic Biosensor Array

PubMed Central

Lee, Dongjin; Ondrake, Janet; Cui, Tianhong

2011-01-01

We report a conductometric nanoparticle biosensor array to address the significant variation of electrical property in nanomaterial biosensors due to the random network nature of nanoparticle thin-film. Indium oxide and silica nanoparticles (SNP) are assembled selectively on the multi-site channel area of the resistors using layer-by-layer self-assembly. To demonstrate enzymatic biosensing capability, glucose oxidase is immobilized on the SNP layer for glucose detection. The packaged sensor chip onto a ceramic pin grid array is tested using syringe pump driven feed and multi-channel I–V measurement system. It is successfully demonstrated that glucose is detected in many different sensing sites within a chip, leading to concentration dependent currents. The sensitivity has been found to be dependent on the channel length of the resistor, 4–12 nA/mM for channel lengths of 5–20 μm, while the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant is 20 mM. By using sensor array, analytical data could be obtained with a single step of sample solution feeding. This work sheds light on the applicability of the developed nanoparticle microsensor array to multi-analyte sensors, novel bioassay platforms, and sensing components in a lab-on-a-chip. PMID:22163696

VizieR Online Data Catalog: List of Telescope Array events with E > 57EeV (Abbasi+, 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abe, M.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Allen, M.; Anderson, R.; Azuma, R.; Barcikowski, E.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Cady, R.; Chae, M. J.; Cheon, B. G.; Chiba, J.; Chikawa, M.; Cho, W. R.; Fujii, T.; Fukushima, M.; Goto, T.; Hanlon, W.; Hayashi, Y.; Hayashida, N.; Hibino, K.; Honda, K.; Ikeda, D.; Inoue, N.; Ishii, T.; Ishimori, R.; Ito, H.; Ivanov, D.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kadota, K.; Kakimoto, F.; Kalashev, O.; Kasahara, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawakami, S.; Kawana, S.; Kawata, K.; Kido, E.; Kim, H. B.; Kim, J. H.; Kitamura, S.; Kitamura, Y.; Kuzmin, V.; Kwon, Y. J.; Lan, J.; Lim, S. I.; Lundquist, J. P.; Machida, K.; Martens, K.; Matsuda, T.; Matsuyama, T.; Matthews, J. N.; Minamino, M.; Mukai, K.; Myers, I.; Nagasawa, K.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, T.; Nonaka, T.; Nozato, A.; Ogio, S.; Ogura, J.; Ohnishi, M.; Ohoka, H.; Oki, K.; Okuda, T.; Ono, M.; Oshima, A.; Ozawa, S.; Park, I. H.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Rodriguez, D. C.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryu, D.; Sagawa, H.; Sakurai, N.; Sampson, A. L.; Scott, L. M.; Shah, P. D.; Shibata, F.; Shibata, T.; Shimodaira, H.; Shin, B. K.; Smith, J. D.!; Sokolsk, Y. P.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Stroman, T. A.; Suzawa, T.; Takamura, M.; Takeda, M.; Takeishi, R.; Taketa, A.; Takita, M.; Tameda, Y.; Tanaka, H.; Tanaka, K.; Tanaka, M.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tkachev, I.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Troitsky, S.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsutsumi, K.; Uchihori, Y.; Udo, S.; Urban, F.; Vasiloff, G.; Wong, T.; Yamane, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamazaki, K.; Yang, J.; Yashiro, K.; Yoneda, Y.; Yoshida, S.; Yoshii, H.; Zollinger, R.; Zundel, Z.

2017-03-01

The TA is the largest cosmic-ray detector in the northern hemisphere. It consists of a scintillator SD array (Abu-Zayyad et al. 2012NIMPA.689...87A) and three fluorescence detector (FD) stations (Tokuno et al. 2012NIMPA.676...54T). The observatory has been in full operation in Millard Country, Utah, USA (39fdg30N, 112fdg91W; about 1400 m above sea level) since 2008. The TA SD array consists of 507 plastic scintillation detectors each 3 m2 in area and located on a 1.2 km square grid. The array has an area of ~700 km2. The TA SD array observes cosmic-ray-induced extensive air showers with E > ~1 EeV, regardless of weather conditions with a duty cycle near 100% and a wide field of view (FoV). These capabilities ensure a very stable and large geometrical exposure over the northern sky survey in comparison with FD observations that have a duty cycle of ~10%. In this analysis, we used SD data recorded between 2008 May 11 and 2013 May 4. (1 data file).

Plotting Lightning-Stroke Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tatom, F. B.; Garst, R. A.

1986-01-01

Data on lightning-stroke locations become easier to correlate with cloudcover maps with aid of new graphical treatment. Geographic region divided by grid into array of cells. Number of lightning strokes in each cell tabulated, and value representing density of lightning strokes assigned to each cell. With contour-plotting routine, computer draws contours of lightning-stroke density for region. Shapes of contours compared directly with shapes of storm cells.

Optical Phased Array Using Guided Resonance with Backside Reflectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horie, Yu (Inventor); Arbabi, Amir (Inventor); Faraon, Andrei (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Methods and systems for controlling the phase of electromagnetic waves are disclosed. A device can consist of a guided resonance grating layer, a spacer, and a reflector. A plurality of devices, arranged in a grid pattern, can control the phase of reflected electromagnetic phase, through refractive index control. Carrier injection, temperature control, and optical beams can be applied to control the refractive index.

Optical phased array using guided resonance with backside reflectors

DOEpatents

Horie, Yu; Arbabi, Amir; Faraon, Andrei

2016-11-01

Methods and systems for controlling the phase of electromagnetic waves are disclosed. A device can consist of a guided resonance grating layer, a spacer, and a reflector. A plurality of devices, arranged in a grid pattern, can control the phase of reflected electromagnetic phase, through refractive index control. Carrier injection, temperature control, and optical beams can be applied to control the refractive index.

Optical phased array using guided resonance with backside reflectors

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

Horie, Yu; Arbabi, Amir; Faraon, Andrei

2018-03-13

Methods and systems for controlling the phase of electromagnetic waves are disclosed. A device can consist of a guided resonance grating layer, a spacer, and a reflector. A plurality of devices, arranged in a grid pattern, can control the phase of reflected electromagnetic phase, through refractive index control. Carrier injection, temperature control, and optical beams can be applied to control the refractive index.

NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kessel, Kurt R.

2009-01-01

The primary technical objective of this project is to undertake comprehensive testing to generate information on failure modes/criteria to better understand the reliability of: (1) Packages (e.g., Thin Small Outline Package [TSOP], Ball Grid Array [BGA], Plastic Dual In-line Package [PDIP]) assembled and reworked with lead-free alloys, (2) Packages (e.g., TSOP, BGA, PDIP) assembled and reworked with mixed (lead/lead-free) alloys.

Push plate, mounting assembly, circuit board, and method of assembling thereof for ball grid array packages

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

Vaughn, Mark R.; Montague, Stephen

A push plate that includes springs in the form of cantilever flexures and an inspection window is disclosed. The push plate provides a known, uniform, down force and minimal torque to a package to be tested. The cantilevers have a known, calculable down force producing stiffness. The window provides for viewing of the package during testing.

Optical Phased Array Using Guided Resonance with Backside Reflectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horie, Yu (Inventor); Arbabi, Amir (Inventor); Faraon, Andrei (Inventor)

2018-01-01

Methods and systems for controlling the phase of electromagnetic waves are disclosed. A device can consist of a guided resonance grating layer, a spacer, and a reflector. A plurality of devices, arranged in a grid pattern, can control the phase of reflected electromagnetic phase, through refractive index control. Carrier injection, temperature control, and optical beams can be applied to control the refractive index.

Reliability of Ceramic Column Grid Array Interconnect Packages Under Extreme Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni

2011-01-01

A paper describes advanced ceramic column grid array (CCGA) packaging interconnects technology test objects that were subjected to extreme temperature thermal cycles. CCGA interconnect electronic package printed wiring boards (PWBs) of polyimide were assembled, inspected nondestructively, and, subsequently, subjected to ex - treme-temperature thermal cycling to assess reliability for future deep-space, short- and long-term, extreme-temperature missions. The test hardware consisted of two CCGA717 packages with each package divided into four daisy-chained sections, for a total of eight daisy chains to be monitored. The package is 33 33 mm with a 27 27 array of 80%/20% Pb/Sn columns on a 1.27-mm pitch. The change in resistance of the daisy-chained CCGA interconnects was measured as a function of the increasing number of thermal cycles. Several catastrophic failures were observed after 137 extreme-temperature thermal cycles, as per electrical resistance measurements, and then the tests were continued through 1,058 thermal cycles to corroborate and understand the test results. X-ray and optical inspection have been made after thermal cycling. Optical inspections were also conducted on the CCGA vs. thermal cycles. The optical inspections were conclusive; the x-ray images were not. Process qualification and assembly is required to optimize the CCGA assembly, which is very clear from the x-rays. Six daisy chains were open out of seven daisy chains, as per experimental test data reported. The daisy chains are open during the cold cycle, and then recover during the hot cycle, though some of them also opened during the hot thermal cycle..

5,120 Superconducting Bolometers for the PIPER Balloon-Borne CMB Polarization Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benford, Dominic J.; Chuss, David T.; Hilton, Gene C.; Irwin, Kent D.; Jethava, Nikhil; Jhabvala, Christine A.; Kogut, Alan J.; Miller, Timothy M.; Moseley, S. Harvey; Rostem, Karwan;

5,120 Superconducting Bolometers for the PIPER Balloon-Borne CMB Polarization Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benford, Dominic J.; Chuss, David T.; Hilton, Gene C.; Irwin, Kent D.; Jethava, Nikhil S.; Jhabvala, Christine A.; Kogut, Alan J.; Miller, Timothy M.; Mirel, Paul; Moseley, S. Harvey;

Recent Results of the Telescope Array Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, Dmitri

2015-04-01

The Telescope Array (TA) is the largest cosmic ray experiment in the northern hemisphere and covers 10 PeV to 100 EeV range. TA is a hybrid detector that uses air fluorescence detectors combined with a ground array. TA consists of 507 plastic scintillation counters on a 1.2km square grid, overlooked by 3 fluorescence detector stations, and measures cosmic rays above 1 EeV. TA has collected 6.5 years of data. Results from the TA low energy extension (TALE), which sees cosmic rays down to 10 PeV, will also be shown. This contribution will consist of three parts. First, we will present the cosmic ray energy spectrum measured over 4 decades in energy. Next, we will discuss the latest results of the measurements of cosmic ray mass composition by the TA fluorescence detectors. Finally, we will show the latest results of the TA anisotropy measurements at the highest energies, where we have seen a concentration of events, called the ``hotspot,'' centered in the Ursa Major. For the Telescope Array Collaboration. Done...processed 1261 records...10:46:59 Beginning APS data extraction...10:47:48

Ultrasonic simulation—Imagine3D and SimScan: Tools to solve the inverse problem for complex turbine components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mair, H. D.; Ciorau, P.; Owen, D.; Hazelton, T.; Dunning, G.

2000-05-01

Two ultrasonic simulation packages: Imagine 3D and SIMSCAN have specifically been developed to solve the inverse problem for blade root and rotor steeple of low-pressure turbine. The software was integrated with the 3D drawing of the inspected parts, and with the dimensions of linear phased-array probes. SIMSCAN simulates the inspection scenario in both optional conditions: defect location and probe movement/refracted angle range. The results are displayed into Imagine 3-D, with a variety of options: rendering, display 1:1, grid, generated UT beam. The results are very useful for procedure developer, training and to optimize the phased-array probe inspection sequence. A spreadsheet is generated to correlate the defect coordinates with UT data (probe position, skew and refracted angle, UT path, and probe movement). The simulation models were validated during experimental work with phased-array systems. The accuracy in probe position is ±1 mm, and the refracted/skew angle is within ±0.5°. Representative examples of phased array focal laws/probe movement for a specific defect location, are also included.

Method and source for producing a high concentration of positively charged molecular hydrogen or deuterium ions

DOEpatents

Ehlers, Kenneth W.; Leung, Ka-Ngo

1988-01-01

A high concentration of positive molecular ions of hydrogen or deuterium gas is extracted from a positive ion source having a short path length of extracted ions, relative to the mean free path of the gas molecules, to minimize the production of other ion species by collision between the positive ions and gas molecules. The ion source has arrays of permanent magnets to produce a multi-cusp magnetic field in regions remote from the plasma grid and the electron emitters, for largely confining the plasma to the space therebetween. The ion source has a chamber which is short in length, relative to its transverse dimensions, and the electron emitters are at an even shorter distance from the plasma grid, which contains one or more extraction apertures.

Integrated structure vacuum tube

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dimeff, J.; Kerwin, W. J. (Inventor)

1976-01-01

High efficiency, multi-dimensional thin film vacuum tubes suitable for use in high temperature, high radiation environments are described. The tubes are fabricated by placing thin film electrode members in selected arrays on facing interior wall surfaces of an alumina substrate envelope. Cathode members are formed using thin films of triple carbonate. The photoresist used in photolithography aids in activation of the cathodes by carbonizing and reacting with the reduced carbonates when heated in vacuum during forming. The finely powdered triple carbonate is mixed with the photoresist used to delineate the cathode locations in the conventional solid state photolithographic manner. Anode and grid members are formed using thin films of refractory metal. Electron flow in the tubes is between grid elements from cathode to anode as in a conventional three-dimensional tube.

Using an object-based grid system to evaluate a newly developed EP approach to formulate SVMs as applied to the classification of organophosphate nerve agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Land, Walker H., Jr.; Lewis, Michael; Sadik, Omowunmi; Wong, Lut; Wanekaya, Adam; Gonzalez, Richard J.; Balan, Arun

2004-04-01

This paper extends the classification approaches described in reference [1] in the following way: (1.) developing and evaluating a new method for evolving organophosphate nerve agent Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers using Evolutionary Programming, (2.) conducting research experiments using a larger database of organophosphate nerve agents, and (3.) upgrading the architecture to an object-based grid system for evaluating the classification of EP derived SVMs. Due to the increased threats of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by international terrorist organizations, a significant effort is underway to develop tools that can be used to detect and effectively combat biochemical warfare. This paper reports the integration of multi-array sensors with Support Vector Machines (SVMs) for the detection of organophosphates nerve agents using a grid computing system called Legion. Grid computing is the use of large collections of heterogeneous, distributed resources (including machines, databases, devices, and users) to support large-scale computations and wide-area data access. Finally, preliminary results using EP derived support vector machines designed to operate on distributed systems have provided accurate classification results. In addition, distributed training time architectures are 50 times faster when compared to standard iterative training time methods.

Method and apparatus for jetting, manufacturing and attaching uniform solder balls

DOEpatents

Yost, F.G.; Frear, D.R.; Schmale, D.T.

1999-01-05

An apparatus and process are disclosed for jetting molten solder in the form of balls directly onto all the metallized interconnects lands for a ball grid array package in one step with no solder paste required. Molten solder is jetted out of a grid of holes using a piston attached to a piezoelectric crystal. When voltage is applied to the crystal it expands forcing the piston to extrude a desired volume of solder through holes in the aperture plate. When the voltage is decreased the piston reverses motion creating an instability in the molten solder at the aperture plate surface and thereby forming spherical solder balls that fall onto a metallized substrate. The molten solder balls land on the substrate and form a metallurgical bond with the metallized lands. The size of the solder balls is determined by a combination of the size of the holes in the aperture plate, the duration of the piston pulse, and the displacement of the piston. The layout of the balls is dictated by the location of the hooks in the grid. Changes in ball size and layout can be easily accomplished by changing the grid plate. This invention also allows simple preparation of uniform balls for subsequent supply to BGA users. 7 figs.

Method and apparatus for jetting, manufacturing and attaching uniform solder balls

DOEpatents

Yost, Frederick G.; Frear, Darrel R.; Schmale, David T.

1999-01-01

An apparatus and process for jetting molten solder in the form of balls directly onto all the metallized interconnects lands for a ball grid array package in one step with no solder paste required. Molten solder is jetted out of a grid of holes using a piston attached to a piezoelectric crystal. When voltage is applied to the crystal it expands forcing the piston to extrude a desired volume of solder through holes in the aperture plate. When the voltage is decreased the piston reverses motion creating an instability in the molten solder at the aperture plate surface and thereby forming spherical solder balls that fall onto a metallized substrate. The molten solder balls land on the substrate and form a metallurgical bond with the metallized lands. The size of the solder balls is determined by a combination of the size of the holes in the aperture plate, the duration of the piston pulse, and the displacement of the piston. The layout of the balls is dictated by the location of the hooks in the grid. Changes in ball size and layout can be easily accomplished by changing the grid plate. This invention also allows simple preparation of uniform balls for subsequent supply to BGA users.

A technological review on electric vehicle DC charging stations using photovoltaic sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youssef, Cheddadi; Fatima, Errahimi; najia, Es-sbai; Chakib, Alaoui

2018-05-01

Within the next few years, Electrified vehicles are destined to become the essential component of the transport field. Consequently, the charging infrastructure should be developed in the same time. Among this substructure, Charging stations photovoltaic-assisted are attracting a substantial interest due to increased environmental awareness, cost reduction and rise in efficiency of the PV modules. The intention of this paper is to review the technological status of Photovoltaic–Electric vehicle (PV-EV) charging stations during the last decade. The PV-EV charging station is divided into two categories, which are PV-grid and PV-standalone charging systems. From a practical point view, the distinction between the two architectures is the bidirectional inverter, which is added to link the station to the smart grid. The technological infrastructure includes the common hardware components of every station, namely: PV array, dc-dc converter provided with MPPT control, energy storage unit, bidirectional dc charger and inverter. We investigate, compare and evaluate many valuable researches that contain the design and control of PV-EV charging system. Additionally, this concise overview reports the studies that include charging standards, the power converters topologies that focus on the adoption of Vehicle-to grid technology and the control for both PV–grid and PV standalone DC charging systems.

Demonstration and Validation of a Composite Grid Reinforcement System for Bridge Decks

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

Abstract The Department of Defense (DoD) maintains a large array of road net- works that include vehicular bridges. Moving people, materials, and equip...tion. The application of corrosion-resistant technology can extend the ser- vice life of bridges and reduce maintenance costs. This DoD Corrosion... maintenance and capital costs for steel reinforcement. Maintaining serviceable bridges is essential to providing access to the facilities on the

Scalable Multiplexed Ion Trap Fabrication Using Ball Grid Arrays

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-31

mounting micromirrors on the interposer surface to allow for improved ion addressing and distinct Doppler laser cooling and qubit operation zones...Having micromirrors so close to the ion position will allow for tighter beam focusing and individual ion addressing. Other possibilities could include...to build a unit cell that would take advantage of the micromirrors on the chip surface. Currently it only takes into account Doppler cooling and

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

Jonathan Helmus, Scott Collis

The Python-ARM Radar Toolkit (Py-ART) is a collection of radar quality control and retrieval codes which all work on two unifying Python objects: the PyRadar and PyGrid objects. By building ingests to several popular radar formats and then abstracting the interface Py-ART greatly simplifies data processing over several other available utilities. In addition Py-ART makes use of Numpy arrays as its primary storage mechanism enabling use of existing and extensive community software tools.

Impact of Isothermal Aging on Long-Term Reliability of Fine-Pitch Ball Grid Array Packages with Sn-Ag-Cu Solder Interconnects: Surface Finish Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Tae-Kyu; Ma, Hongtao; Liu, Kuo-Chuan; Xue, Jie

2010-12-01

The interaction between isothermal aging and the long-term reliability of fine-pitch ball grid array (BGA) packages with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt.%) solder ball interconnects was investigated. In this study, 0.4-mm fine-pitch packages with 300- μm-diameter Sn-Ag-Cu solder balls were used. Two different package substrate surface finishes were selected to compare their effects on the final solder composition, especially the effect of Ni, during thermal cycling. To study the impact on thermal performance and long-term reliability, samples were isothermally aged and thermally cycled from 0°C to 100°C with 10 min dwell time. Based on Weibull plots for each aging condition, package lifetime was reduced by approximately 44% by aging at 150°C. Aging at 100°C showed a smaller impact but similar trend. The microstructure evolution was observed during thermal aging and thermal cycling with different phase microstructure transformations between electrolytic Ni/Au and organic solderability preservative (OSP) surface finishes, focusing on the microstructure evolution near the package-side interface. Different mechanisms after aging at various conditions were observed, and their impacts on the fatigue lifetime of solder joints are discussed.

Ball-grid array architecture for microfabricated ion traps

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

Guise, Nicholas D., E-mail: nicholas.guise@gtri.gatech.edu; Fallek, Spencer D.; Stevens, Kelly E.

2015-05-07

State-of-the-art microfabricated ion traps for quantum information research are approaching nearly one hundred control electrodes. We report here on the development and testing of a new architecture for microfabricated ion traps, built around ball-grid array (BGA) connections, that is suitable for increasingly complex trap designs. In the BGA trap, through-substrate vias bring electrical signals from the back side of the trap die to the surface trap structure on the top side. Gold-ball bump bonds connect the back side of the trap die to an interposer for signal routing from the carrier. Trench capacitors fabricated into the trap die replace area-intensivemore » surface or edge capacitors. Wirebonds in the BGA architecture are moved to the interposer. These last two features allow the trap die to be reduced to only the area required to produce trapping fields. The smaller trap dimensions allow tight focusing of an addressing laser beam for fast single-qubit rotations. Performance of the BGA trap as characterized with {sup 40}Ca{sup +} ions is comparable to previous surface-electrode traps in terms of ion heating rate, mode frequency stability, and storage lifetime. We demonstrate two-qubit entanglement operations with {sup 171}Yb{sup +} ions in a second BGA trap.« less

Integration and management of massive remote-sensing data based on GeoSOT subdivision model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shuang; Cheng, Chengqi; Chen, Bo; Meng, Li

2016-07-01

Owing to the rapid development of earth observation technology, the volume of spatial information is growing rapidly; therefore, improving query retrieval speed from large, rich data sources for remote-sensing data management systems is quite urgent. A global subdivision model, geographic coordinate subdivision grid with one-dimension integer coding on 2n-tree, which we propose as a solution, has been used in data management organizations. However, because a spatial object may cover several grids, ample data redundancy will occur when data are stored in relational databases. To solve this redundancy problem, we first combined the subdivision model with the spatial array database containing the inverted index. We proposed an improved approach for integrating and managing massive remote-sensing data. By adding a spatial code column in an array format in a database, spatial information in remote-sensing metadata can be stored and logically subdivided. We implemented our method in a Kingbase Enterprise Server database system and compared the results with the Oracle platform by simulating worldwide image data. Experimental results showed that our approach performed better than Oracle in terms of data integration and time and space efficiency. Our approach also offers an efficient storage management system for existing storage centers and management systems.

Big Geo Data Services: From More Bytes to More Barrels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misev, Dimitar; Baumann, Peter

2016-04-01

The data deluge is affecting the oil and gas industry just as much as many other industries. However, aside from the sheer volume there is the challenge of data variety, such as regular and irregular grids, multi-dimensional space/time grids, point clouds, and TINs and other meshes. A uniform conceptualization for modelling and serving them could save substantial effort, such as the proverbial "department of reformatting". The notion of a coverage actually can accomplish this. Its abstract model in ISO 19123 together with the concrete, interoperable OGC Coverage Implementation Schema (CIS), which is currently under adoption as ISO 19123-2, provieds a common platform for representing any n-D grid type, point clouds, and general meshes. This is paired by the OGC Web Coverage Service (WCS) together with its datacube analytics language, the OGC Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS). The OGC WCS Core Reference Implementation, rasdaman, relies on Array Database technology, i.e. a NewSQL/NoSQL approach. It supports the grid part of coverages, with installations of 100+ TB known and single queries parallelized across 1,000+ cloud nodes. Recent research attempts to address the point cloud and mesh part through a unified query model. The Holy Grail envisioned is that these approaches can be merged into a single service interface at some time. We present both grid amd point cloud / mesh approaches and discuss status, implementation, standardization, and research perspectives, including a live demo.

The GISMO-2 Bolometer Camera

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Staguhn, Johannes G.; Benford, Dominic J.; Fixsen, Dale J.; Hilton, Gene; Irwin, Kent D.; Jhabvala, Christine A.; Kovacs, Attila; Leclercq, Samuel; Maher, Stephen F.; Miller, Timothy M.;

Transition from a spectrum filter to a polarizer in a metallic nano-slit array

PubMed Central

Zhou, Jing; Guo, L. Jay

2014-01-01

The transition from a spectrum filter (resonant transmission) to a polarizer (broadband transmission) for TM polarized light is observed in a metallic nano-slit array as period is decreased. A theoretical model is developed and shows that the spectrum filter behavior is caused by the coupled slit/grating resonance. With decreasing period, the slit resonance is decoupled from the grating resonance, which then dominates the transmission spectrum and broadens the transmission peak. With further reducing period, the slit resonance diminishes and the peak spectrum transforms to a broadband transmission. This effect is the basis for the operation of wire grid polarizers. The transition is explained by the change of the impedance to the incoming wave. PMID:24402443

Transition from a spectrum filter to a polarizer in a metallic nano-slit array.

PubMed

Zhou, Jing; Guo, L Jay

2014-01-09

The transition from a spectrum filter (resonant transmission) to a polarizer (broadband transmission) for TM polarized light is observed in a metallic nano-slit array as period is decreased. A theoretical model is developed and shows that the spectrum filter behavior is caused by the coupled slit/grating resonance. With decreasing period, the slit resonance is decoupled from the grating resonance, which then dominates the transmission spectrum and broadens the transmission peak. With further reducing period, the slit resonance diminishes and the peak spectrum transforms to a broadband transmission. This effect is the basis for the operation of wire grid polarizers. The transition is explained by the change of the impedance to the incoming wave.

Transition from a spectrum filter to a polarizer in a metallic nano-slit array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Jing; Guo, L. Jay

2014-01-01

The transition from a spectrum filter (resonant transmission) to a polarizer (broadband transmission) for TM polarized light is observed in a metallic nano-slit array as period is decreased. A theoretical model is developed and shows that the spectrum filter behavior is caused by the coupled slit/grating resonance. With decreasing period, the slit resonance is decoupled from the grating resonance, which then dominates the transmission spectrum and broadens the transmission peak. With further reducing period, the slit resonance diminishes and the peak spectrum transforms to a broadband transmission. This effect is the basis for the operation of wire grid polarizers. The transition is explained by the change of the impedance to the incoming wave.

Hydrogeologic Unit Flow Characterization Using Transition Probability Geostatistics

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

Jones, N L; Walker, J R; Carle, S F

2003-11-21

This paper describes a technique for applying the transition probability geostatistics method for stochastic simulation to a MODFLOW model. Transition probability geostatistics has several advantages over traditional indicator kriging methods including a simpler and more intuitive framework for interpreting geologic relationships and the ability to simulate juxtapositional tendencies such as fining upwards sequences. The indicator arrays generated by the transition probability simulation are converted to layer elevation and thickness arrays for use with the new Hydrogeologic Unit Flow (HUF) package in MODFLOW 2000. This makes it possible to preserve complex heterogeneity while using reasonably sized grids. An application of themore » technique involving probabilistic capture zone delineation for the Aberjona Aquifer in Woburn, Ma. is included.« less

Radiation pattern synthesis of planar antennas using the iterative sampling method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stutzman, W. L.; Coffey, E. L.

1975-01-01

A synthesis method is presented for determining an excitation of an arbitrary (but fixed) planar source configuration. The desired radiation pattern is specified over all or part of the visible region. It may have multiple and/or shaped main beams with low sidelobes. The iterative sampling method is used to find an excitation of the source which yields a radiation pattern that approximates the desired pattern to within a specified tolerance. In this paper the method is used to calculate excitations for line sources, linear arrays (equally and unequally spaced), rectangular apertures, rectangular arrays (arbitrary spacing grid), and circular apertures. Examples using these sources to form patterns with shaped main beams, multiple main beams, shaped sidelobe levels, and combinations thereof are given.

Photovoltaic module mounting system

DOEpatents

Miros, Robert H. J.; Mittan, Margaret Birmingham; Seery, Martin N; Holland, Rodney H

2012-09-18

A solar array mounting system having unique installation, load distribution, and grounding features, and which is adaptable for mounting solar panels having no external frame. The solar array mounting system includes flexible, pedestal-style feet and structural links connected in a grid formation on the mounting surface. The photovoltaic modules are secured in place via the use of attachment clamps that grip the edge of the typically glass substrate. The panel mounting clamps are then held in place by tilt brackets and/or mid-link brackets that provide fixation for the clamps and align the solar panels at a tilt to the horizontal mounting surface. The tilt brackets are held in place atop the flexible feet and connected link members thus creating a complete mounting structure.

Photovoltaic module mounting system

DOEpatents

Miros, Robert H. J. [Fairfax, CA; Mittan, Margaret Birmingham [Oakland, CA; Seery, Martin N [San Rafael, CA; Holland, Rodney H [Novato, CA

2012-04-17

A solar array mounting system having unique installation, load distribution, and grounding features, and which is adaptable for mounting solar panels having no external frame. The solar array mounting system includes flexible, pedestal-style feet and structural links connected in a grid formation on the mounting surface. The photovoltaic modules are secured in place via the use of attachment clamps that grip the edge of the typically glass substrate. The panel mounting clamps are then held in place by tilt brackets and/or mid-link brackets that provide fixation for the clamps and align the solar panels at a tilt to the horizontal mounting surface. The tilt brackets are held in place atop the flexible feet and connected link members thus creating a complete mounting structure.

A site oriented supercomputer for theoretical physics: The Fermilab Advanced Computer Program Multi Array Processor System (ACMAPS)

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

Nash, T.; Atac, R.; Cook, A.

1989-03-06

The ACPMAPS multipocessor is a highly cost effective, local memory parallel computer with a hypercube or compound hypercube architecture. Communication requires the attention of only the two communicating nodes. The design is aimed at floating point intensive, grid like problems, particularly those with extreme computing requirements. The processing nodes of the system are single board array processors, each with a peak power of 20 Mflops, supported by 8 Mbytes of data and 2 Mbytes of instruction memory. The system currently being assembled has a peak power of 5 Gflops. The nodes are based on the Weitek XL Chip set. Themore » system delivers performance at approximately $300/Mflop. 8 refs., 4 figs.« less

Parallelization Issues and Particle-In Codes.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elster, Anne Cathrine

1994-01-01

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein. The field of parallel scientific computing has concentrated on parallelization of individual modules such as matrix solvers and factorizers. However, many applications involve several interacting modules. Our analyses of a particle-in-cell code modeling charged particles in an electric field, show that these accompanying dependencies affect data partitioning and lead to new parallelization strategies concerning processor, memory and cache utilization. Our test-bed, a KSR1, is a distributed memory machine with a globally shared addressing space. However, most of the new methods presented hold generally for hierarchical and/or distributed memory systems. We introduce a novel approach that uses dual pointers on the local particle arrays to keep the particle locations automatically partially sorted. Complexity and performance analyses with accompanying KSR benchmarks, have been included for both this scheme and for the traditional replicated grids approach. The latter approach maintains load-balance with respect to particles. However, our results demonstrate it fails to scale properly for problems with large grids (say, greater than 128-by-128) running on as few as 15 KSR nodes, since the extra storage and computation time associated with adding the grid copies, becomes significant. Our grid partitioning scheme, although harder to implement, does not need to replicate the whole grid. Consequently, it scales well for large problems on highly parallel systems. It may, however, require load balancing schemes for non-uniform particle distributions. Our dual pointer approach may facilitate this through dynamically partitioned grids. We also introduce hierarchical data structures that store neighboring grid-points within the same cache -line by reordering the grid indexing. This alignment produces a 25% savings in cache-hits for a 4-by-4 cache. A consideration of the input data's effect on the simulation may lead to further improvements. For example, in the case of mean particle drift, it is often advantageous to partition the grid primarily along the direction of the drift. The particle-in-cell codes for this study were tested using physical parameters, which lead to predictable phenomena including plasma oscillations and two-stream instabilities. An overview of the most central references related to parallel particle codes is also given.

Localization of dense intracranial electrode arrays using magnetic resonance imaging

PubMed Central

Doyle, Werner K.; Halgren, Eric; Carlson, Chad; Belcher, Thomas L.; Cash, Sydney S.; Devinsky, Orrin; Thesen, Thomas

2013-01-01

Intracranial electrode arrays are routinely used in the pre-surgical evaluation of patients with medically refractory epilepsy, and recordings from these electrodes have been increasingly employed in human cognitive neurophysiology due to their high spatial and temporal resolution. For both researchers and clinicians, it is critical to localize electrode positions relative to the subject-specific neuroanatomy. In many centers, a post-implantation MRI is utilized for electrode detection because of its higher sensitivity for surgical complications and the absence of radiation. However, magnetic susceptibility artifacts surrounding each electrode prohibit unambiguous detection of individual electrodes, especially those that are embedded within dense grid arrays. Here, we present an efficient method to accurately localize intracranial electrode arrays based on pre- and post-implantation MR images that incorporates array geometry and the individual's cortical surface. Electrodes are directly visualized relative to the underlying gyral anatomy of the reconstructed cortical surface of individual patients. Validation of this approach shows high spatial accuracy of the localized electrode positions (mean of 0.96 mm±0.81 mm for 271 electrodes across 8 patients). Minimal user input, short processing time, and utilization of radiation-free imaging are strong incentives to incorporate quantitatively accurate localization of intracranial electrode arrays with MRI for research and clinical purposes. Co-registration to a standard brain atlas further allows inter-subject comparisons and relation of intracranial EEG findings to the larger body of neuroimaging literature. PMID:22759995

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

Hoke, Anderson; Shirazi, Mariko; Chakraborty, Sudipta

As deployment of power electronic coupled generation such as photovoltaic (PV) systems increases, grid operators have shown increasing interest in calling on inverter-coupled generation to help mitigate frequency contingency events by rapidly surging active power into the grid. When responding to contingency events, the faster the active power is provided, the more effective it may be for arresting the frequency event. This paper proposes a predictive PV inverter control method for very fast and accurate control of active power. This rapid active power control method will increase the effectiveness of various higher-level controls designed to mitigate grid frequency contingency events,more » including fast power-frequency droop, inertia emulation, and fast frequency response, without the need for energy storage. The rapid active power control method, coupled with a maximum power point estimation method, is implemented in a prototype PV inverter connected to a PV array. The prototype inverter's response to various frequency events is experimentally confirmed to be fast (beginning within 2 line cycles and completing within 4.5 line cycles of a severe test event) and accurate (below 2% steady-state error).« less

Film growth kinetics and electric field patterning during electrospray deposition of block copolymer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toth, Kristof; Hu, Hanqiong; Choo, Youngwoo; Loewenberg, Michael; Osuji, Chinedum

The delivery of sub-micron droplets of dilute polymer solutions to a heated substrate by electrospray deposition (ESD) enables precisely controlled and continuous growth of block copolymer (BCP) thin films. Here we explore patterned deposition of BCP films by spatially varying the electric field at the substrate using an underlying charged grid, as well as film growth kinetics. Numerical analysis was performed to examine pattern fidelity by considering the trajectories of charged droplets during flight through imposed periodic field variations in the vicinity of the substrate. Our work uncovered an unexpected modality for improving the resolution of the patterning process via stronger field focusing through the use of a second oppositely charged grid beneath a primary focusing array, with an increase in highly localized droplet deposition on the intersecting nodes of the grid. Substrate coverage kinetics are considered for homopolymer deposition in the context of simple kinetic models incorporating temperature and molecular weight dependence of diffusivity. By contrast, film coverage kinetics for block copolymer depositions are additionally convoluted with preferential wetting and thickness-periodicity commensurability effects. NSF GRFP.

Artificial intelligence approach to planning the robotic assembly of large tetrahedral truss structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homemdemello, Luiz S.

1992-01-01

An assembly planner for tetrahedral truss structures is presented. To overcome the difficulties due to the large number of parts, the planner exploits the simplicity and uniformity of the shapes of the parts and the regularity of their interconnection. The planning automation is based on the computational formalism known as production system. The global data base consists of a hexagonal grid representation of the truss structure. This representation captures the regularity of tetrahedral truss structures and their multiple hierarchies. It maps into quadratic grids and can be implemented in a computer by using a two-dimensional array data structure. By maintaining the multiple hierarchies explicitly in the model, the choice of a particular hierarchy is only made when needed, thus allowing a more informed decision. Furthermore, testing the preconditions of the production rules is simple because the patterned way in which the struts are interconnected is incorporated into the topology of the hexagonal grid. A directed graph representation of assembly sequences allows the use of both graph search and backtracking control strategies.

General MoM Solutions for Large Arrays

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

Fasenfest, B; Capolino, F; Wilton, D R

2003-07-22

This paper focuses on a numerical procedure that addresses the difficulties of dealing with large, finite arrays while preserving the generality and robustness of full-wave methods. We present a fast method based on approximating interactions between sufficiently separated array elements via a relatively coarse interpolation of the Green's function on a uniform grid commensurate with the array's periodicity. The interaction between the basis and testing functions is reduced to a three-stage process. The first stage is a projection of standard (e.g., RWG) subdomain bases onto a set of interpolation functions that interpolate the Green's function on the array face. Thismore » projection, which is used in a matrix/vector product for each array cell in an iterative solution process, need only be carried out once for a single cell and results in a low-rank matrix. An intermediate stage matrix/vector product computation involving the uniformly sampled Green's function is of convolutional form in the lateral (transverse) directions so that a 2D FFT may be used. The final stage is a third matrix/vector product computation involving a matrix resulting from projecting testing functions onto the Green's function interpolation functions; the low-rank matrix is either identical to (using Galerkin's method) or similar to that for the bases projection. An effective MoM solution scheme is developed for large arrays using a modification of the AIM (Adaptive Integral Method) method. The method permits the analysis of arrays with arbitrary contours and nonplanar elements. Both fill and solve times within the MoM method are improved with respect to more standard MoM solvers.« less

Planning low-carbon electricity systems under uncertainty considering operational flexibility and smart grid technologies.

PubMed

Moreno, Rodrigo; Street, Alexandre; Arroyo, José M; Mancarella, Pierluigi

2017-08-13

Electricity grid operators and planners need to deal with both the rapidly increasing integration of renewables and an unprecedented level of uncertainty that originates from unknown generation outputs, changing commercial and regulatory frameworks aimed to foster low-carbon technologies, the evolving availability of market information on feasibility and costs of various technologies, etc. In this context, there is a significant risk of locking-in to inefficient investment planning solutions determined by current deterministic engineering practices that neither capture uncertainty nor represent the actual operation of the planned infrastructure under high penetration of renewables. We therefore present an alternative optimization framework to plan electricity grids that deals with uncertain scenarios and represents increased operational details. The presented framework is able to model the effects of an array of flexible, smart grid technologies that can efficiently displace the need for conventional solutions. We then argue, and demonstrate via the proposed framework and an illustrative example, that proper modelling of uncertainty and operational constraints in planning is key to valuing operationally flexible solutions leading to optimal investment in a smart grid context. Finally, we review the most used practices in power system planning under uncertainty, highlight the challenges of incorporating operational aspects and advocate the need for new and computationally effective optimization tools to properly value the benefits of flexible, smart grid solutions in planning. Such tools are essential to accelerate the development of a low-carbon energy system and investment in the most appropriate portfolio of renewable energy sources and complementary enabling smart technologies.This article is part of the themed issue 'Energy management: flexibility, risk and optimization'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Optimization and validation of accelerated golden-angle radial sparse MRI reconstruction with self-calibrating GRAPPA operator gridding.

PubMed

Benkert, Thomas; Tian, Ye; Huang, Chenchan; DiBella, Edward V R; Chandarana, Hersh; Feng, Li

2018-07-01

Golden-angle radial sparse parallel (GRASP) MRI reconstruction requires gridding and regridding to transform data between radial and Cartesian k-space. These operations are repeatedly performed in each iteration, which makes the reconstruction computationally demanding. This work aimed to accelerate GRASP reconstruction using self-calibrating GRAPPA operator gridding (GROG) and to validate its performance in clinical imaging. GROG is an alternative gridding approach based on parallel imaging, in which k-space data acquired on a non-Cartesian grid are shifted onto a Cartesian k-space grid using information from multicoil arrays. For iterative non-Cartesian image reconstruction, GROG is performed only once as a preprocessing step. Therefore, the subsequent iterative reconstruction can be performed directly in Cartesian space, which significantly reduces computational burden. Here, a framework combining GROG with GRASP (GROG-GRASP) is first optimized and then compared with standard GRASP reconstruction in 22 prostate patients. GROG-GRASP achieved approximately 4.2-fold reduction in reconstruction time compared with GRASP (∼333 min versus ∼78 min) while maintaining image quality (structural similarity index ≈ 0.97 and root mean square error ≈ 0.007). Visual image quality assessment by two experienced radiologists did not show significant differences between the two reconstruction schemes. With a graphics processing unit implementation, image reconstruction time can be further reduced to approximately 14 min. The GRASP reconstruction can be substantially accelerated using GROG. This framework is promising toward broader clinical application of GRASP and other iterative non-Cartesian reconstruction methods. Magn Reson Med 80:286-293, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Spatial structure of kinetic energy spectra in LES simulations of flow in an offshore wind farm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fruh, Wolf-Gerrit; Creech, Angus

2017-04-01

The evolution of wind turbine and wind farm wakes was investigated numerically for the case of Lillgrund wind farm consisting of a tightly packed array of 48 turbines. The simulations for a number of wind directions at a free wind speed of just under the rated wind speed in a neutrally stable atmosphere were carried out using Large-Eddy Simulations with the adaptive Finite-Element CFD solver Fluidity. The results were interpolated from the irregularly spaced mesh nodes onto a regular grid with comparable spatial resolution at horizontal slices at various heights. To investigate the development of the wake as the flow evolves through the array, spectra of the kinetic energy in sections perpendicular to the wind directions within the wake and to the sides of the array were calculated. This paper will present the key features and spectral slopes of the flow as a function of downstream distance from the front turbine through and beyond the array. The main focus will be on the modification of the spectra as the flow crosses a row of turbines followed by its decay in the run-up to the next row, but we will also present to wake decay of the wind farm wake downstream of the array.

A 32 x 32 capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer array manufactured in standard CMOS.

PubMed

Lemmerhirt, David F; Cheng, Xiaoyang; White, Robert; Rich, Collin A; Zhang, Man; Fowlkes, J Brian; Kripfgans, Oliver D

2012-07-01

As ultrasound imagers become increasingly portable and lower cost, breakthroughs in transducer technology will be needed to provide high-resolution, real-time 3-D imaging while maintaining the affordability needed for portable systems. This paper presents a 32 x 32 ultrasound array prototype, manufactured using a CMUT-in-CMOS approach whereby ultrasonic transducer elements and readout circuits are integrated on a single chip using a standard integrated circuit manufacturing process in a commercial CMOS foundry. Only blanket wet-etch and sealing steps are added to complete the MEMS devices after the CMOS process. This process typically yields better than 99% working elements per array, with less than ±1.5 dB variation in receive sensitivity among the 1024 individually addressable elements. The CMUT pulseecho frequency response is typically centered at 2.1 MHz with a -6 dB fractional bandwidth of 60%, and elements are arranged on a 250 μm hexagonal grid (less than half-wavelength pitch). Multiplexers and CMOS buffers within the array are used to make on-chip routing manageable, reduce the number of physical output leads, and drive the transducer cable. The array has been interfaced to a commercial imager as well as a set of custom transmit and receive electronics, and volumetric images of nylon fishing line targets have been produced.

Detection of Old Mine Tunnels in Mexico City Highlands by Electric Resistivity Image Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chavez, R. E.; Tejero, A.; Cifuentes-Nava, G.; HernaNdez-Quintero, J.

2013-12-01

Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) methods have been applied to study cavities or subsurface subsidence threatening urbanized areas. Unfortunately, ERT-3D techniques carried out on heavily urbanized areas become a difficult task, since parallel ERT arrays cannot be deployed. Then, a conventional regular grid cannot be carried out. We present a subsidence problem located in a densely populated portion of Mexico City highlands. Since the damaged houses are in the middle of a highly populated low-class neighborhood, an unconventional ERT array had to be applied. At first, a ';T'-array formed by two perpendicular transects was applied, deployed within a small alley, that stretched from the house entrance. This study determined a tubular structure beneath the houses following an irregular path at depth. Finally, houses were demolished due to the extensive damaged in their foundations. This made possible to carry out a second ERT-3D study, which included a dipolar array called ';L' and ';Corner' arrays. Such a new work defined a similar tubular structure. The cavity entrance was discovered, when excavations were made, although its precise shape could not be defined. The ERT-3D interpretation contributed to locate and accurately determine the geometrical characteristics of the geological feature that caused the collapse of dwellings.

BASIMO - Borehole Heat Exchanger Array Simulation and Optimization Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulte, Daniel O.; Bastian, Welsch; Wolfram, Rühaak; Kristian, Bär; Ingo, Sass

2017-04-01

Arrays of borehole heat exchangers are an increasingly popular source for renewable energy. Furthermore, they can serve as borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) systems for seasonally fluctuating heat sources like solar thermal energy or district heating grids. The high temperature level of these heat sources prohibits the use of the shallow subsurface for environmental reasons. Therefore, deeper reservoirs have to be accessed instead. The increased depth of the systems results in high investment costs and has hindered the implementation of this technology until now. Therefore, research of medium deep BTES systems relies on numerical simulation models. Current simulation tools cannot - or only to some extent - describe key features like partly insulated boreholes unless they run fully discretized models of the borehole heat exchangers. However, fully discretized models often come at a high computational cost, especially for large arrays of borehole heat exchangers. We give an update on the development of BASIMO: a tool, which uses one dimensional thermal resistance and capacity models for the borehole heat exchangers coupled with a numerical finite element model for the subsurface heat transport in a dual-continuum approach. An unstructured tetrahedral mesh bypasses the limitations of structured grids for borehole path geometries, while the thermal resistance and capacity model is improved to account for borehole heat exchanger properties changing with depth. Thereby, partly insulated boreholes can be considered in the model. Furthermore, BASIMO can be used to improve the design of BTES systems: the tool allows for automated parameter variations and is readily coupled to other code like mathematical optimization algorithms. Optimization can be used to determine the required minimum system size or to increase the system performance.

Performance of Gas Scintillation Proportional Counter Array for High-Energy X-Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gubarev, Mikhail; Ramsey, Brian; Apple, Jeffery

2004-01-01

A focal plane array of high-pressure gas scintillation proportional counters (GSPC) for a High Energy X-Ray Observatory (HERO) is developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The array is consisted from eight GSPCs and is a part of balloon born payload scheduled to flight in May 2004. These detectors have an active area of approximately 20 square centimeters, and are filled with a high pressure (10(exp 6) Pa) xenon-helium mixture. Imaging is via crossed-grid position-sensitive phototubes sensitive in the UV region. The performance of the GSPC is well matched to that of the telescopes x-ray optics which have response to 75 keV and a focal spot size of approximately 500 microns. The detector's energy resolution, 4% FWHM at 60 keV, is adequate for resolving the broad spectral lines of astrophysical importance and for accurate continuum measurements. Results of the on-earth detector calibration will be presented and in-flight detector performance will be provided, as available.

ESTCP UXO Discrimination Study. MTADS Demonstration at Camp Sibert Magnetometer / EM61 MkII / GEM-3 Arrays, Gadsden, AL, April 2007

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-08-21

Yuma Proving Ground Open Field ............................................................................... 76 B.3.1 Response Stage... Yuma Proving Ground ZIP (250) Iomega ZIP disk (250 MB version) xv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Glenn Harbaugh and Daniel Steinhurst (P.I.) of Nova Research...sites at Aberdeen Proving Ground and Yuma Proving Ground in 2003 and 2004 [6]. At each of the sites, the Calibration Lanes, the Blind Test Grid

Boston Community Energy Study - Zonal Analysis for Urban Microgrids

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-05

macrogrid. Fully autonomous micro- grids are ordinarily rural systems that have generation assets such as wind turbines (WTs) [14] or photovoltaic (PV...or wind turbines ; they also could include direct current devices such as fuel cells or photovoltaic arrays [6,17]. Traditional storage systems include...economic and human impact that severe weather can have on urban areas such as New York City. While flooding and wind damaged or destroyed some of the

Standardized UXO Technology Demonstration Site, Blind Grid Scoring Record No. 919

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-01

provided by demonstrator) a. The core component of the electromagnetic (EM) AMOS metal detector is a linear multichannel sensor array consisting of a...Attainable accuracy of depth (z) +0.3 m h. Detection performance for ferrous and nonferrous metals : Will detect ammunition components 20-mm caliber...2-meter-wide transmitter coil and 16 receiver coils, mounted on a robust, all-terrain trailer (fig. 1). b. The AMOS detector unit consists of the

The Airborne Optical Systems Testbed (AOSTB)

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-31

appropriate color to each pixel in and displayed in a two -dimensional array. Another method is to render a 3D model from the data and display the model as if...USA Distribution A: Public Release ALBOTA@LL.MIT.EDU ABSTRACT Over the last two decades MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MITLL) has pioneered the development... two -dimensional (2D) grid of detectors. Rather than measuring intensity, as in a conventional camera, these detectors measure the photon time-of

Development of a mercuric iodide detector array for in-vivo x-ray imaging

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

Patt, B.E.; Iwanczyk, J.S.; Tornai, M.P.

A nineteen element mercuric iodide (HgI{sub 2}) detector array has been developed in order to investigate the potential of using this technology for in-vivo x-ray and gamma-ray imaging. A prototype cross-grid detector array was constructed with hexagonal pixels of 1.9 mm diameter (active area = 3.28 mm{sup 2}) and 0.2 mm thick septa. The overall detector active area is roughly 65 mm{sup 2}. A detector thickness of 1.2 mm was used to achieve about 100% efficiency at 60 keV and 67% efficiency at 140 keV The detector fabrication, geometry and structure were optimized for charge collection and to minimize crosstalkmore » between elements. A section of a standard high resolution cast-lead gamma-camera collimator was incorporated into the detector to provide collimation matching the discrete pixel geometry. Measurements of spectral and spatial performance of the array were made using 241-Am and 99m-Tc sources. These measurements were compared with similar measurements made using an optimized single HgI{sub 2} x-ray detector with active area of about 3 mm{sup 2} and thickness of 500 {mu}m.« less

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

Herman, R.; O’Brien, S.

Using our own prototype sensor arrays that were deployed to collect microclimate data, we were able to visualize distinct differences in temperature, wind speed, and humidity over very small ranges of distance. We collected data across four polygons within the Barrow Environmental Observatory site. Our prototype microclimate arrays were based on an Arduino microcontroller, DS18B20 temperature sensors, DHT11 relative humidity/temperature sensors, and Vernier anemometers. Data were obtained in a small grid pattern with four sensors spaced 60 cm apart along the x-axis, and moved at 60 cm increments along a y-line across a polygon. Overlaying bird nest location with suchmore » data has allowed us to better answer our research question, “How do Arctic birds choose where to nest to maximize fitness in harsh Arctic environments?”« less

16-channel arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) demultiplexer design on SOI wafer for application in CWDM-PON

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juhari, Nurjuliana; Menon, P. Susthitha; Ehsan, Abang Annuar; Shaari, Sahbudin

2015-01-01

Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) functioning as a demultiplexer is designed on SOI platform with rib waveguide structure to be utilized in coarse wavelength division multiplexing-passive optical network (CWDM-PON) systems. Two design approaches; conventional and tapered configuration of AWG was developed with channel spacing of 20 nm that covers the standard transmission spectrum of CWDM ranging from 1311 nm to 1611 nm. The performance of insertion loss for tapered configuration offered the lowest insertion loss of 0.77 dB but the adjacent crosstalk gave non-significant relation for both designs. With average channel spacing of 20.4 nm, the nominal central wavelength of this design is close to the standard CWDM wavelength grid over 484 nm free spectrum range (FSR).

A MISO UCA Beamforming Dimmable LED System for Indoor Positioning

PubMed Central

Taparugssanagorn, Attaphongse; Siwamogsatham, Siwaruk; Pomalaza-Ráez, Carlos

2014-01-01

The use of a multiple input single output (MISO) transmit beamforming system using dimmable light emitting arrays (LEAs) in the form of a uniform circular array (UCA) of transmitters is proposed in this paper. With this technique, visible light communications between a transmitter and a receiver (LED reader) can be achieved with excellent performance and the receiver's position can be estimated. A hexagonal lattice alignment of LED transmitters is deployed to reduce the coverage holes and the areas of overlapping radiation. As a result, the accuracy of the position estimation is better than when using a typical rectangular grid alignment. The dimming control is done with pulse width modulation (PWM) to obtain an optimal closed loop beamforming and minimum energy consumption with acceptable lighting. PMID:24481234

2-Dimensional beamsteering using dispersive deflectors and wavelength tuning.

PubMed

Chan, Trevor; Myslivets, Evgeny; Ford, Joseph E

2008-09-15

We introduce a 2D beamscanner which is controlled by wavelength tuning. Two passive dispersive devices are aligned orthogonally to deflect the optical beam in two dimensions. We provide a proof of principle demonstration by combining an arrayed waveguide grating with a free space optical grating and using various input sources to characterize the beamscanner. This achieved a discrete 10.3 degrees by 11 degrees output field of view with attainable angles existing on an 8 by 6 grid of directions. The entire range was reached by scanning over a 40 nm wavelength range. We also analyze an improved system combining a virtually imaged phased array with a diffraction grating. This device is much more compact and produces a continuous output scan in one direction while being discrete in the other.

An object-oriented approach for parallel self adaptive mesh refinement on block structured grids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lemke, Max; Witsch, Kristian; Quinlan, Daniel

1993-01-01

Self-adaptive mesh refinement dynamically matches the computational demands of a solver for partial differential equations to the activity in the application's domain. In this paper we present two C++ class libraries, P++ and AMR++, which significantly simplify the development of sophisticated adaptive mesh refinement codes on (massively) parallel distributed memory architectures. The development is based on our previous research in this area. The C++ class libraries provide abstractions to separate the issues of developing parallel adaptive mesh refinement applications into those of parallelism, abstracted by P++, and adaptive mesh refinement, abstracted by AMR++. P++ is a parallel array class library to permit efficient development of architecture independent codes for structured grid applications, and AMR++ provides support for self-adaptive mesh refinement on block-structured grids of rectangular non-overlapping blocks. Using these libraries, the application programmers' work is greatly simplified to primarily specifying the serial single grid application and obtaining the parallel and self-adaptive mesh refinement code with minimal effort. Initial results for simple singular perturbation problems solved by self-adaptive multilevel techniques (FAC, AFAC), being implemented on the basis of prototypes of the P++/AMR++ environment, are presented. Singular perturbation problems frequently arise in large applications, e.g. in the area of computational fluid dynamics. They usually have solutions with layers which require adaptive mesh refinement and fast basic solvers in order to be resolved efficiently.

The Monotonic Lagrangian Grid for Rapid Air-Traffic Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, Carolyn; Dahm, Johann; Oran, Elaine; Alexandrov, Natalia; Boris, Jay

2010-01-01

The Air Traffic Monotonic Lagrangian Grid (ATMLG) is presented as a tool to evaluate new air traffic system concepts. The model, based on an algorithm called the Monotonic Lagrangian Grid (MLG), can quickly sort, track, and update positions of many aircraft, both on the ground (at airports) and in the air. The underlying data structure is based on the MLG, which is used for sorting and ordering positions and other data needed to describe N moving bodies and their interactions. Aircraft that are close to each other in physical space are always near neighbors in the MLG data arrays, resulting in a fast nearest-neighbor interaction algorithm that scales as N. Recent upgrades to ATMLG include adding blank place-holders within the MLG data structure, which makes it possible to dynamically change the MLG size and also improves the quality of the MLG grid. Additional upgrades include adding FAA flight plan data, such as way-points and arrival and departure times from the Enhanced Traffic Management System (ETMS), and combining the MLG with the state-of-the-art strategic and tactical conflict detection and resolution algorithms from the NASA-developed Stratway software. In this paper, we present results from our early efforts to couple ATMLG with the Stratway software, and we demonstrate that it can be used to quickly simulate air traffic flow for a very large ETMS dataset.

A Generic and Efficient E-field Parallel Imaging Correlator for Next-Generation Radio Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thyagarajan, Nithyanandan; Beardsley, Adam P.; Bowman, Judd D.; Morales, Miguel F.

2017-05-01

Modern radio telescopes are favouring densely packed array layouts with large numbers of antennas (NA ≳ 1000). Since the complexity of traditional correlators scales as O(N_A^2), there will be a steep cost for realizing the full imaging potential of these powerful instruments. Through our generic and efficient E-field Parallel Imaging Correlator (epic), we present the first software demonstration of a generalized direct imaging algorithm, namely the Modular Optimal Frequency Fourier imager. Not only does it bring down the cost for dense layouts to O(N_A log _2N_A) but can also image from irregular layouts and heterogeneous arrays of antennas. epic is highly modular, parallelizable, implemented in object-oriented python, and publicly available. We have verified the images produced to be equivalent to those from traditional techniques to within a precision set by gridding coarseness. We have also validated our implementation on data observed with the Long Wavelength Array (LWA1). We provide a detailed framework for imaging with heterogeneous arrays and show that epic robustly estimates the input sky model for such arrays. Antenna layouts with dense filling factors consisting of a large number of antennas such as LWA, the Square Kilometre Array, Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array, and Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment will gain significant computational advantage by deploying an optimized version of epic. The algorithm is a strong candidate for instruments targeting transient searches of fast radio bursts as well as planetary and exoplanetary phenomena due to the availability of high-speed calibrated time-domain images and low output bandwidth relative to visibility-based systems.

Agile Datacube Analytics (not just) for the Earth Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misev, Dimitar; Merticariu, Vlad; Baumann, Peter

2017-04-01

Metadata are considered small, smart, and queryable; data, on the other hand, are known as big, clumsy, hard to analyze. Consequently, gridded data - such as images, image timeseries, and climate datacubes - are managed separately from the metadata, and with different, restricted retrieval capabilities. One reason for this silo approach is that databases, while good at tables, XML hierarchies, RDF graphs, etc., traditionally do not support multi-dimensional arrays well. This gap is being closed by Array Databases which extend the SQL paradigm of "any query, anytime" to NoSQL arrays. They introduce semantically rich modelling combined with declarative, high-level query languages on n-D arrays. On Server side, such queries can be optimized, parallelized, and distributed based on partitioned array storage. This way, they offer new vistas in flexibility, scalability, performance, and data integration. In this respect, the forthcoming ISO SQL extension MDA ("Multi-dimensional Arrays") will be a game changer in Big Data Analytics. We introduce concepts and opportunities through the example of rasdaman ("raster data manager") which in fact has pioneered the field of Array Databases and forms the blueprint for ISO SQL/MDA and further Big Data standards, such as OGC WCPS for querying spatio-temporal Earth datacubes. With operational installations exceeding 140 TB queries have been split across more than one thousand cloud nodes, using CPUs as well as GPUs. Installations can easily be mashed up securely, enabling large-scale location-transparent query processing in federations. Federation queries have been demonstrated live at EGU 2016 spanning Europe and Australia in the context of the intercontinental EarthServer initiative, visualized through NASA WorldWind.

Agile Datacube Analytics (not just) for the Earth Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumann, P.

2016-12-01

Metadata are considered small, smart, and queryable; data, on the other hand, are known as big, clumsy, hard to analyze. Consequently, gridded data - such as images, image timeseries, and climate datacubes - are managed separately from the metadata, and with different, restricted retrieval capabilities. One reason for this silo approach is that databases, while good at tables, XML hierarchies, RDF graphs, etc., traditionally do not support multi-dimensional arrays well.This gap is being closed by Array Databases which extend the SQL paradigm of "any query, anytime" to NoSQL arrays. They introduce semantically rich modelling combined with declarative, high-level query languages on n-D arrays. On Server side, such queries can be optimized, parallelized, and distributed based on partitioned array storage. This way, they offer new vistas in flexibility, scalability, performance, and data integration. In this respect, the forthcoming ISO SQL extension MDA ("Multi-dimensional Arrays") will be a game changer in Big Data Analytics.We introduce concepts and opportunities through the example of rasdaman ("raster data manager") which in fact has pioneered the field of Array Databases and forms the blueprint for ISO SQL/MDA and further Big Data standards, such as OGC WCPS for querying spatio-temporal Earth datacubes. With operational installations exceeding 140 TB queries have been split across more than one thousand cloud nodes, using CPUs as well as GPUs. Installations can easily be mashed up securely, enabling large-scale location-transparent query processing in federations. Federation queries have been demonstrated live at EGU 2016 spanning Europe and Australia in the context of the intercontinental EarthServer initiative, visualized through NASA WorldWind.

Fabrication of a Kilopixel Array of Superconducting Microcalorimeters with Microstripline Wiring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chervenak, James

2012-01-01

A document describes the fabrication of a two-dimensional microcalorimeter array that uses microstrip wiring and integrated heat sinking to enable use of high-performance pixel designs at kilopixel scales (32 X 32). Each pixel is the high-resolution design employed in small-array test devices, which consist of a Mo/Au TES (transition edge sensor) on a silicon nitride membrane and an electroplated Bi/Au absorber. The pixel pitch within the array is 300 microns, where absorbers 290 microns on a side are cantilevered over a silicon support grid with 100-micron-wide beams. The high-density wiring and heat sinking are both carried by the silicon beams to the edge of the array. All pixels are wired out to the array edge. ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) oxide underlayer is deposited underneath the sensor layer. The sensor (TES) layer consists of a superconducting underlayer and a normal metal top layer. If the sensor is deposited at high temperature, the ECR oxide can be vacuum annealed to improve film smoothness and etch characteristics. This process is designed to recover high-resolution, single-pixel x-ray microcalorimeter performance within arrays of arbitrarily large format. The critical current limiting parts of the circuit are designed to have simple interfaces that can be independently verified. The lead-to-TES interface is entirely determined in a single layer that has multiple points of interface to maximize critical current. The lead rails that overlap the TES sensor element contact both the superconducting underlayer and the TES normal metal

Proportional Counter Calibration and Analysis for 12C + p Resonance Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Austin; Rogachev, Grigory; Uberseder, Ethan; Hooker, Josh; Koshchiy, Yevgen

2014-09-01

Light exotic nuclei provide a unique opportunity to test the predictions of modern ab initio theoretical calculations near the drip line. In ab initio approaches, nuclear structure is described starting from bare nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions. Calculations are very heavy and can only be performed for the lightest nuclei (A < 16). Experimental information on the structure of light exotic nuclei is crucial to determine the validity of these calculations and to fix the parameters for the three-nucleon forces. Resonance scattering with rare isotope beams is a very effective tool to study spectroscopy of nuclei near the drip line. A new setup was developed at the Cyclotron Institute for effective resonance scattering measurements. The setup includes ionization chamber, silicon array, and an array of proportional counters. The proportional counter array, consisting of 8 anode wires arranged in a parallel cellular grid, is used for particle identification and to track the positioning of light recoils. The main objective of this project was to test the performance and perform position calibration of this proportional counter array. The test was done using 12C beam. The excitation function for 12C + p elastic scattering was measured and calibration of the proportional counter was performed using known resonances in 13N. The method of calibration, including solid angle calculations, normalization corrections, and position calibration will be presented. Light exotic nuclei provide a unique opportunity to test the predictions of modern ab initio theoretical calculations near the drip line. In ab initio approaches, nuclear structure is described starting from bare nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions. Calculations are very heavy and can only be performed for the lightest nuclei (A < 16). Experimental information on the structure of light exotic nuclei is crucial to determine the validity of these calculations and to fix the parameters for the three-nucleon forces. Resonance scattering with rare isotope beams is a very effective tool to study spectroscopy of nuclei near the drip line. A new setup was developed at the Cyclotron Institute for effective resonance scattering measurements. The setup includes ionization chamber, silicon array, and an array of proportional counters. The proportional counter array, consisting of 8 anode wires arranged in a parallel cellular grid, is used for particle identification and to track the positioning of light recoils. The main objective of this project was to test the performance and perform position calibration of this proportional counter array. The test was done using 12C beam. The excitation function for 12C + p elastic scattering was measured and calibration of the proportional counter was performed using known resonances in 13N. The method of calibration, including solid angle calculations, normalization corrections, and position calibration will be presented. Funded by DOE and NSF-REU Program; Grant No. PHY-1263281.

Flip Chip on Organic Substrates: A Feasibility Study for Space Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

scheme, a 1752 I/O land grid array (LGA) package with decoupling capacitors, heat sink and optional column attach [1] as shown in Figure 1...investigated the effect of moisture and current loading on the Class Y flip chip on ceramic reliability [ 2 ]. The UT1752FC Class Y technology has...chip assembly to ceramic test substrates, the FA10 die are assembled to build-up organic test substrates as shown in Figure 2 . These assemblies

Inverter for interfacing advanced energy sources to a utility grid

DOEpatents

Steigerwald, Robert L.

1984-01-01

A transistor is operated in the PWM mode such that a hlaf sine wave of current is delivered first to one-half of a distribution transformer and then the other as determined by steering thyristors operated at the fundamental sinusoidal frequency. Power to the transistor is supplied by a dc source such as a solar array and the power is converted such that a sinusoidal current is injected into a utility at near unity power factor.

Two-dimensional heat flow apparatus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDougall, Patrick; Ayars, Eric

2014-06-01

We have created an apparatus to quantitatively measure two-dimensional heat flow in a metal plate using a grid of temperature sensors read by a microcontroller. Real-time temperature data are collected from the microcontroller by a computer for comparison with a computational model of the heat equation. The microcontroller-based sensor array allows previously unavailable levels of precision at very low cost, and the combination of measurement and modeling makes for an excellent apparatus for the advanced undergraduate laboratory course.

Fabrication and Testing of a Modular Micro-Pocket Fission Detector Instrumentation System for Test Nuclear Reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichenberger, Michael A.; Nichols, Daniel M.; Stevenson, Sarah R.; Swope, Tanner M.; Hilger, Caden W.; Roberts, Jeremy A.; Unruh, Troy C.; McGregor, Douglas S.

2018-01-01

Advancements in nuclear reactor core modeling and computational capability have encouraged further development of in-core neutron sensors. Measurement of the neutron-flux distribution within the reactor core provides a more complete understanding of the operating conditions in the reactor than typical ex-core sensors. Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors have been developed and tested previously but have been limited to single-node operation and have utilized highly specialized designs. The development of a widely deployable, multi-node Micro-Pocket Fission Detector assembly will enhance nuclear research capabilities. A modular, four-node Micro-Pocket Fission Detector array was designed, fabricated, and tested at Kansas State University. The array was constructed from materials that do not significantly perturb the neutron flux in the reactor core. All four sensor nodes were equally spaced axially in the array to span the fuel-region of the reactor core. The array was filled with neon gas, serving as an ionization medium in the small cavities of the Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors. The modular design of the instrument facilitates the testing and deployment of numerous sensor arrays. The unified design drastically improved device ruggedness and simplified construction from previous designs. Five 8-mm penetrations in the upper grid plate of the Kansas State University TRIGA Mk. II research nuclear reactor were utilized to deploy the array between fuel elements in the core. The Micro-Pocket Fission Detector array was coupled to an electronic support system which has been specially developed to support pulse-mode operation. The Micro-Pocket Fission Detector array composed of four sensors was used to monitor local neutron flux at a constant reactor power of 100 kWth at different axial locations simultaneously. The array was positioned at five different radial locations within the core to emulate the deployment of multiple arrays and develop a 2-dimensional measurement of neutron flux in the reactor core.

Technologies for Protein Analysis and Tissue Engineering, with Applications in Cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vermesh, Udi Benjamin

The first part of this thesis describes electrolyte transport through an array of 20 nm wide, 20 mum long SiO2 nanofluidic transistors. At sufficiently low ionic strength, the Debye screening length exceeds the channel width, and ion transport is limited by the negatively charged channel surfaces. At source-drain biases > 5 V, the current exhibits a sharp, nonlinear increase, with a 20 - 50-fold conductance enhancement. This behavior is attributed to a breakdown of the zero-slip condition. Implications for peptide sequencing as well as energy conversion devices are discussed. The next part describes a technology for the detection of the highly aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In this study, we used an antibody-based microarray to compare plasma samples from glioblastoma patients and healthy controls with respect to the plasma levels of 35 different proteins known to be generally associated with tumor growth, survival, invasion, migration, and immune regulation. Average-linkage hierarchical clustering of the patient data stratified the two groups effectively, permitting accurate assignment of test samples into either GBM or healthy control groups with a sensitivity and specificity as high as 90 % and 94 %, respectively. Using the same 35-protein panel, we then analyzed plasma samples from GBM patients who were treated with the chemotherapeutic drug Avastin (Bevacizumab) and were able to effectively stratify patients based on treatment-responsiveness. Finally, single-cell resolution patterning of tissue engineered structures is demonstrated. The proper functioning of engineered constructs for tissue and organ transplantation requires positioning different cell types in anatomically precise arrangements that mimic their configurations in native tissues. Toward this end, we have developed a technique that involves two microfluidic-patterning steps run perpendicularly to each other using "anchor" and "bridge" DNA oligomers to create dense arrays of DNA grids which can then be converted into cell arrays. As a proof-of-concept, both a neuron-astrocyte construct and a pancreatic islet construct containing 2 distinct islet cell types were patterned separately as a dense array of cell grids. Once fixed in a hydrogel matrix, layers of patterned cells were then stacked to form 3-D tissue engineered constructs.

The value of residential photovoltaic systems: A comprehensive assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borden, C. S.

1983-01-01

Utility-interactive photovoltaic (PV) arrays on residential rooftops appear to be a potentially attractive, large-scale application of PV technology. Results of a comprehensive assessment of the value (i.e., break-even cost) of utility-grid connected residential photovoltaic power systems under a variety of technological and economic assumptions are presented. A wide range of allowable PV system costs are calculated for small (4.34 kW (p) sub ac) residential PV systems in various locales across the United States. Primary factor in this variation are differences in local weather conditions, utility-specific electric generation capacity, fuel types, and customer-load profiles that effect purchase and sell-back rates, and non-uniform state tax considerations. Additional results from this analysis are: locations having the highest insolation values are not necessary the most economically attractive sites; residential PV systems connected in parallel to the utility demonstrate high percentages of energy sold back to the grid, and owner financial and tax assumptions cause large variations in break-even costs. Significant cost reduction and aggressive resolution of potential institutional impediments (e.g., liability, standards, metering, and technical integration) are required for a residential PV marker to become a major electric-grid-connected energy-generation source.

Histological Evaluation of a Chronically-implanted Electrocorticographic Electrode Grid in a Non-human Primate

PubMed Central

Degenhart, Alan D.; Eles, James; Dum, Richard; Mischel, Jessica L.; Smalianchuk, Ivan; Endler, Bridget; Ashmore, Robin C.; Tyler-Kabara, Elizabeth C.; Hatsopoulos, Nicholas G.; Wang, Wei; Batista, Aaron P.; Cui, X. Tracy

2016-01-01

Electrocorticography (ECoG), used as a neural recording modality for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), potentially allows for field potentials to be recorded from the surface of the cerebral cortex for long durations without suffering the host-tissue reaction to the extent that it is common with intracortical microelectrodes. Though the stability of signals obtained from chronically-implanted ECoG electrodes has begun receiving attention, to date little work has characterized the effects of long-term implantation of ECoG electrodes on underlying cortical tissue. We implanted a high-density ECoG electrode grid subdurally over cortical motor areas of a Rhesus macaque for 666 days. Histological analysis revealed minimal damage to the cortex underneath the implant, though the grid itself was encapsulated in collagenous tissue. We observed macrophages and foreign body giant cells at the tissue-array interface, indicative of a stereotypical foreign body response. Despite this encapsulation, cortical modulation during reaching movements was observed more than 18 months post-implantation. These results suggest that ECoG may provide a means by which stable chronic cortical recordings can be obtained with comparatively little tissue damage, facilitating the development of clinically-viable brain-machine interface systems. PMID:27351722

Histological evaluation of a chronically-implanted electrocorticographic electrode grid in a non-human primate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Degenhart, Alan D.; Eles, James; Dum, Richard; Mischel, Jessica L.; Smalianchuk, Ivan; Endler, Bridget; Ashmore, Robin C.; Tyler-Kabara, Elizabeth C.; Hatsopoulos, Nicholas G.; Wang, Wei; Batista, Aaron P.; Cui, X. Tracy

2016-08-01

Objective. Electrocorticography (ECoG), used as a neural recording modality for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), potentially allows for field potentials to be recorded from the surface of the cerebral cortex for long durations without suffering the host-tissue reaction to the extent that it is common with intracortical microelectrodes. Though the stability of signals obtained from chronically implanted ECoG electrodes has begun receiving attention, to date little work has characterized the effects of long-term implantation of ECoG electrodes on underlying cortical tissue. Approach. We implanted and recorded from a high-density ECoG electrode grid subdurally over cortical motor areas of a Rhesus macaque for 666 d. Main results. Histological analysis revealed minimal damage to the cortex underneath the implant, though the grid itself was encapsulated in collagenous tissue. We observed macrophages and foreign body giant cells at the tissue-array interface, indicative of a stereotypical foreign body response. Despite this encapsulation, cortical modulation during reaching movements was observed more than 18 months post-implantation. Significance. These results suggest that ECoG may provide a means by which stable chronic cortical recordings can be obtained with comparatively little tissue damage, facilitating the development of clinically viable BMI systems.

The value of residential photovoltaic systems: A comprehensive assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borden, C. S.

1983-09-01

Utility-interactive photovoltaic (PV) arrays on residential rooftops appear to be a potentially attractive, large-scale application of PV technology. Results of a comprehensive assessment of the value (i.e., break-even cost) of utility-grid connected residential photovoltaic power systems under a variety of technological and economic assumptions are presented. A wide range of allowable PV system costs are calculated for small (4.34 kW (p) sub ac) residential PV systems in various locales across the United States. Primary factor in this variation are differences in local weather conditions, utility-specific electric generation capacity, fuel types, and customer-load profiles that effect purchase and sell-back rates, and non-uniform state tax considerations. Additional results from this analysis are: locations having the highest insolation values are not necessary the most economically attractive sites; residential PV systems connected in parallel to the utility demonstrate high percentages of energy sold back to the grid, and owner financial and tax assumptions cause large variations in break-even costs. Significant cost reduction and aggressive resolution of potential institutional impediments (e.g., liability, standards, metering, and technical integration) are required for a residential PV marker to become a major electric-grid-connected energy-generation source.

Multi-scale recordings for neuroprosthetic control of finger movements.

PubMed

Baker, Justin; Bishop, William; Kellis, Spencer; Levy, Todd; House, Paul; Greger, Bradley

2009-01-01

We trained a rhesus monkey to perform individuated and combined finger flexions and extensions of the thumb, index, and middle finger. A Utah Electrode Array (UEA) was implanted into the hand region of the motor cortex contralateral to the monkey's trained hand. We also implanted a microwire electrocorticography grid (microECoG) epidurally so that it covered the UEA. The microECoG grid spanned the arm and hand regions of both the primary motor and somatosensory cortices. Previously this monkey had Implantable MyoElectric Sensors (IMES) surgically implanted into the finger muscles of the monkey's forearm. Action potentials (APs), local field potentials (LFPs), and microECoG signals were recorded from wired head-stage connectors for the UEA and microECoG grids, while EMG was recorded wirelessly. The monkey performed a finger flexion/extension task while neural and EMG data were acquired. We wrote an algorithm that uses the spike data from the UEA to perform a real-time decode of the monkey's finger movements. Also, analyses of the LFP and microECoG data indicate that these data show trial-averaged differences between different finger movements, indicating the data are potentially decodeable.

Power Distribution at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Illumination through Affordable and Sustainable Solution of Gram Power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Nisha; Sarswat, Prashant

2016-03-01

Energy plays a vital role in the socio -economic development, mainly due to the dependency of indispensable amenities on electricity. However, a matter of concern is developing country domestic power needs and inadequate supply. One of the cases is Indian subcontinent, where more than 50,000 villages still not have access to uninterrupted electric power. `Power theft' is a major challenge due to the lack of adequate energy supply and the financial constraints. Long distances, inaccurate and inflated electricity bills are the other issues lead to default on payments. Gram Power, a social enterprise, is providing a smart metering and affordable solution in areas where the extension of existing grid supply is economically not viable. India's first solar powered micro-grid (centralized array of solar panels) in Rajasthan was established by this initiative. The core innovation is a smart distribution technology that consists of smart meters with recharging facility and grid monitoring, to provide on-demand, theft-proof power through centralized servers with a pay-as-you-use schedule. The details of the changes, socio-economic transformation, and operational sustainability of such a community engagement model will be discussed in this study.

Thermal detection of single e-h pairs in a biased silicon crystal detector

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

Romani, R. K.; Brink, P. L.; Cabrera, B.

We demonstrate that individual electron-hole pairs are resolved in a 1 cm 2 by 4 mm thick silicon crystal (0.93 g) operated at ~35 mK. One side of the detector is patterned with two quasiparticle-trap-assisted electro-thermal-feedback transition edge sensor arrays held near ground potential. The other side contains a bias grid with 20% coverage. Bias potentials up to ±160 V were used in the work reported here. A fiber optic provides 650 nm (1.9 eV) photons that each produce an electron-hole (e –h +) pair in the crystal near the grid. The energy of the drifting charges is measured withmore » a phonon sensor noise σ ~0.09 e – h + pair. In conclusion, the observed charge quantization is nearly identical for h +s or e –s transported across the crystal.« less

Thermal detection of single e-h pairs in a biased silicon crystal detector

DOE PAGES

Romani, R. K.; Brink, P. L.; Cabrera, B.; ...

2018-01-23

We demonstrate that individual electron-hole pairs are resolved in a 1 cm 2 by 4 mm thick silicon crystal (0.93 g) operated at ~35 mK. One side of the detector is patterned with two quasiparticle-trap-assisted electro-thermal-feedback transition edge sensor arrays held near ground potential. The other side contains a bias grid with 20% coverage. Bias potentials up to ±160 V were used in the work reported here. A fiber optic provides 650 nm (1.9 eV) photons that each produce an electron-hole (e –h +) pair in the crystal near the grid. The energy of the drifting charges is measured withmore » a phonon sensor noise σ ~0.09 e – h + pair. In conclusion, the observed charge quantization is nearly identical for h +s or e –s transported across the crystal.« less

Performance and Health Test Procedure for Grid Energy Storage Systems

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

Baggu, Murali M; Smith, Kandler A; Friedl, Andrew

A test procedure to evaluate the performance and health of field installations of grid-connected battery energy storage systems (BESS) is described. Performance and health metrics captured in the procedures are: round-trip efficiency, standby losses, response time/accuracy, and useable energy/state of charge at different discharge/charge rates over the system's lifetime. The procedures are divided into reference performance tests, which require the system to be put in a test mode and are to be conducted in intervals, and real-time monitoring tests, which collect data during normal operation without interruption. The procedures can be applied on a wide array of BESS with littlemore » modification and can thus support BESS operators in the management of BESS field installations with minimal interruption and expenditure. Simulated results based on a detailed system simulation of a prototype system are provided as guideline.« less

Dispersed solar thermal generation employing parabolic dish-electric transport with field modulated generator systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramakumar, R.; Bahrami, K.

1981-01-01

This paper discusses the application of field modulated generator systems (FMGS) to dispersed solar-thermal-electric generation from a parabolic dish field with electric transport. Each solar generation unit is rated at 15 kWe and the power generated by an array of such units is electrically collected for insertion into an existing utility grid. Such an approach appears to be most suitable when the heat engine rotational speeds are high (greater than 6000 r/min) and, in particular, if they are operated in the variable speed mode and if utility-grade a.c. is required for direct insertion into the grid without an intermediate electric energy storage and reconversion system. Predictions of overall efficiencies based on conservative efficiency figures for the FMGS are in the range of 25 per cent and should be encouraging to those involved in the development of cost-effective dispersed solar thermal power systems.

STEPS: a grid search methodology for optimized peptide identification filtering of MS/MS database search results.

PubMed

Piehowski, Paul D; Petyuk, Vladislav A; Sandoval, John D; Burnum, Kristin E; Kiebel, Gary R; Monroe, Matthew E; Anderson, Gordon A; Camp, David G; Smith, Richard D

2013-03-01

For bottom-up proteomics, there are wide variety of database-searching algorithms in use for matching peptide sequences to tandem MS spectra. Likewise, there are numerous strategies being employed to produce a confident list of peptide identifications from the different search algorithm outputs. Here we introduce a grid-search approach for determining optimal database filtering criteria in shotgun proteomics data analyses that is easily adaptable to any search. Systematic Trial and Error Parameter Selection--referred to as STEPS--utilizes user-defined parameter ranges to test a wide array of parameter combinations to arrive at an optimal "parameter set" for data filtering, thus maximizing confident identifications. The benefits of this approach in terms of numbers of true-positive identifications are demonstrated using datasets derived from immunoaffinity-depleted blood serum and a bacterial cell lysate, two common proteomics sample types. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Compressed Sensing in On-Grid MIMO Radar.

PubMed

Minner, Michael F

2015-01-01

The accurate detection of targets is a significant problem in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar. Recent advances of Compressive Sensing offer a means of efficiently accomplishing this task. The sparsity constraints needed to apply the techniques of Compressive Sensing to problems in radar systems have led to discretizations of the target scene in various domains, such as azimuth, time delay, and Doppler. Building upon recent work, we investigate the feasibility of on-grid Compressive Sensing-based MIMO radar via a threefold azimuth-delay-Doppler discretization for target detection and parameter estimation. We utilize a colocated random sensor array and transmit distinct linear chirps to a small scene with few, slowly moving targets. Relying upon standard far-field and narrowband assumptions, we analyze the efficacy of various recovery algorithms in determining the parameters of the scene through numerical simulations, with particular focus on the ℓ 1-squared Nonnegative Regularization method.

Thermal detection of single e-h pairs in a biased silicon crystal detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romani, R. K.; Brink, P. L.; Cabrera, B.; Cherry, M.; Howarth, T.; Kurinsky, N.; Moffatt, R. A.; Partridge, R.; Ponce, F.; Pyle, M.; Tomada, A.; Yellin, S.; Yen, J. J.; Young, B. A.

2018-01-01

We demonstrate that individual electron-hole pairs are resolved in a 1 cm2 by 4 mm thick silicon crystal (0.93 g) operated at ˜35 mK. One side of the detector is patterned with two quasiparticle-trap-assisted electro-thermal-feedback transition edge sensor arrays held near ground potential. The other side contains a bias grid with 20% coverage. Bias potentials up to ±160 V were used in the work reported here. A fiber optic provides 650 nm (1.9 eV) photons that each produce an electron-hole (e- h+) pair in the crystal near the grid. The energy of the drifting charges is measured with a phonon sensor noise σ ˜0.09 e- h+ pair. The observed charge quantization is nearly identical for h+s or e-s transported across the crystal.

SU-F-T-365: Clinical Commissioning of the Monaco Treatment Planning System for the Novalis Tx to Deliver VMAT, SRS and SBRT Treatments

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

Adnani, N

Purpose: To commission the Monaco Treatment Planning System for the Novalis Tx machine. Methods: The commissioning of Monte-Carlo (MC), Collapsed Cone (CC) and electron Monte-Carlo (eMC) beam models was performed through a series of measurements and calculations in medium and in water. In medium measurements relied Octavius 4D QA system with the 1000 SRS detector array for field sizes less than 4 cm × 4 cm and the 1500 detector array for larger field sizes. Heterogeneity corrections were validated using a custom built phantom. Prior to clinical implementation, an end to end testing of a Prostate and H&N VMAT plansmore » was performed. Results: Using a 0.5% uncertainty and 2 mm grid sizes, Tables I and II summarize the MC validation at 6 MV and 18 MV in both medium and water. Tables III and IV show similar comparisons for CC. Using the custom heterogeneity phantom setup of Figure 1 and IGRT guidance summarized in Figure 2, Table V lists the percent pass rate for a 2%, 2 mm gamma criteria at 6 and 18 MV for both MC and CC. The relationship between MC calculations settings of uncertainty and grid size and the gamma passing rate for a prostate and H&N case is shown in Table VI. Table VII lists the results of the eMC calculations compared to measured data for clinically available applicators and Table VIII for small field cutouts. Conclusion: MU calculations using MC are highly sensitive to uncertainty and grid size settings. The difference can be of the order of several per cents. MC is superior to CC for small fields and when using heterogeneity corrections, regardless of field size, making it more suitable for SRS, SBRT and VMAT deliveries. eMC showed good agreement with measurements down to 2 cm − 2 cm field size.« less

Application of a Geographic Information System for regridding a ground-water flow model of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Walla Walla River basin, Oregon-Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Darling, M.E.; Hubbard, L.E.

1994-01-01

Computerized Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become viable and valuable tools for managing,analyzing, creating, and displaying data for three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water flow models. Three GIS applications demonstrated in this study are: (1) regridding of data arrays from an existing large-area, low resolution ground-water model to a smaller, high resolution grid; (2) use of GIS techniques for assembly of data-input arrays for a ground-water model; and (3) use of GIS for rapid display of data for verification, for checking of ground-water model output, and for the cre.ation of customized maps for use in reports. The Walla Walla River Basin was selected as the location for the demonstration because (1) data from a low resolution ground-water model (Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System Analysis [RASA]) were available and (2) concern for long-term use of water resources for irrigation in the basin. The principal advantage of regridding is that it may provide the ability to more precisely calibrate a model, assuming chat a more detailed coverage of data is available, and to evaluate the numerical errors associated with a particular grid design.Regridding gave about an 8-fold increase in grid-node density.Several FORTRAN programs were developed to load the regridded ground-water data into a finite-difference modular model as model-compatible input files for use in a steady-state model run.To facilitate the checking and validating of the GIS regridding process, maps and tabular reports were produced for each of eight ground-water parameters by model layer. Also, an automated subroutine that was developed to view the model-calculated water levels in cross-section will aid in the synthesis and interpretation of model results.

Using the Landlab toolkit to evaluate and compare alternative geomorphic and hydrologic model formulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tucker, G. E.; Adams, J. M.; Doty, S. G.; Gasparini, N. M.; Hill, M. C.; Hobley, D. E. J.; Hutton, E.; Istanbulluoglu, E.; Nudurupati, S. S.

2016-12-01

Developing a better understanding of catchment hydrology and geomorphology ideally involves quantitative hypothesis testing. Often one seeks to identify the simplest mathematical and/or computational model that accounts for the essential dynamics in the system of interest. Development of alternative hypotheses involves testing and comparing alternative formulations, but the process of comparison and evaluation is made challenging by the rigid nature of many computational models, which are often built around a single assumed set of equations. Here we review a software framework for two-dimensional computational modeling that facilitates the creation, testing, and comparison of surface-dynamics models. Landlab is essentially a Python-language software library. Its gridding module allows for easy generation of a structured (raster, hex) or unstructured (Voronoi-Delaunay) mesh, with the capability to attach data arrays to particular types of element. Landlab includes functions that implement common numerical operations, such as gradient calculation and summation of fluxes within grid cells. Landlab also includes a collection of process components, which are encapsulated pieces of software that implement a numerical calculation of a particular process. Examples include downslope flow routing over topography, shallow-water hydrodynamics, stream erosion, and sediment transport on hillslopes. Individual components share a common grid and data arrays, and they can be coupled through the use of a simple Python script. We illustrate Landlab's capabilities with a case study of Holocene landscape development in the northeastern US, in which we seek to identify a collection of model components that can account for the formation of a series of incised canyons that have that developed since the Laurentide ice sheet last retreated. We compare sets of model ingredients related to (1) catchment hydrologic response, (2) hillslope evolution, and (3) stream channel and gully incision. The case-study example demonstrates the value of exploring multiple working hypotheses, in the form of multiple alternative model components.

Imaging radiation detector with gain

DOEpatents

Morris, C.L.; Idzorek, G.C.; Atencio, L.G.

1982-07-21

A radiation imaging device which has application in x-ray imaging. The device can be utilized in CAT scanners and other devices which require high sensitivity and low x-ray fluxes. The device utilizes cumulative multiplication of charge carriers on the anode plane and the collection of positive ion charges to image the radiation intensity on the cathode plane. Parallel and orthogonal cathode wire arrays are disclosed as well as a two-dimensional grid pattern for collecting the positive ions on the cathode.

Imaging radiation detector with gain

DOEpatents

Morris, Christopher L.; Idzorek, George C.; Atencio, Leroy G.

1984-01-01

A radiation imaging device which has application in x-ray imaging. The device can be utilized in CAT scanners and other devices which require high sensitivity and low x-ray fluxes. The device utilizes cumulative multiplication of charge carriers on the anode plane and the collection of positive ion charges to image the radiation intensity on the cathode plane. Parallel and orthogonal cathode wire arrays are disclosed as well as a two-dimensional grid pattern for collecting the positive ions on the cathode.

Investigation of Conformal Coatings for Electronic Circuits

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-01

dcvice with at least 3 mils of dielectric and assuring that there are no voids around any of the pins. Sev’en products were evaluated for their...ability to uniformly coat (void-free) the pins of a 244-pin grid array. Four products , Conap EN-I 11, Dow Coming 93-5W,) McGhan Nusil CU-2500, and Solithane...procedure, pricing information, and technical data sheets which list specific information on those product -s that were found to be acceptable. 14. SUBJECT

Optical components of adaptive systems for improving laser beam quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malakhov, Yuri I.; Atuchin, Victor V.; Kudryashov, Aleksis V.; Starikov, Fedor A.

2008-10-01

The short overview is given of optical equipment developed within the ISTC activity for adaptive systems of new generation allowing for correction of high-power laser beams carrying optical vortices onto the phase surface. They are the kinoform many-level optical elements of new generation, namely, special spiral phase plates and ordered rasters of microlenses, i.e. lenslet arrays, as well as the wide-aperture Hartmann-Shack sensors and bimorph deformable piezoceramics- based mirrors with various grids of control elements.

Design of a photovoltaic system for a southeast all-electric residence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehalick, E. M.; Tully, G. F.; Johnson, J.; Truncellito, N.; Schaeffer, R.; Parker, J.

1982-01-01

A photovoltaic system was developed and integrated into a single-story residence suitable for the Southeast region of the country. The design addresses an integral mounted array which displaces conventional roof sheathing, roofing felt and shingles. The array has a rated power output of 5.6 kW and covers 86 sq.m. of roof area. A 6 kW utility-tied inverter is used in the power conversion subsystem, representative of a lower cost version, currently available hardware. The system provides feedback of excess energy to the utility, which is the most promising approach for grid-connected systems in the mid-1980's. The complete system and house design are described, including all the pertinent installation and construction drawings. Specific performance results are presented for the Miami, Florida, and Charleston, SC, regions.

Analysis of an infinite array of rectangular microstrip patches with idealized probe feeds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pozar, D. M.; Schaubert, D. H.

1984-01-01

A solution is presented to the problem of an infinite array of microstrip patches fed by idealized current probes. The input reflection coefficient is calculated versus scan angle in an arbitrary scan plane, and the effects of substrate parameters and grid spacing are considered. It is pointed out that even when a Galerkin method is used the impedance matrix is not symmetric due to phasing through a unit cell, as required for scanning. The mechanism by which scan blindness can occur is discussed. Measurement results are presented for the reflection coefficient magnitude variation with angle for E-plane, H-plane, and D-plane scans, for various substrate parameters. Measured results from waveguide simulators are also presented, and the scan blindness phenomenon is observed and discussed in terms of forced surface waves and a modified grating lobe diagram.

Design and Expected Performance of GISMO-2, a Two Color Millimeter Camera for the IRAM 30 m Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Staguhn, Johannes G.; Benford, Dominic J.; Dwek, Eli; Hilton, Gene; Fixsen, Dale J.; Irwin, Kent; Jhabvala, Christine; Kovacs, Attila; Leclercq, Samuel; Maher, Stephen F.;

The effects of additives to SnAgCu alloys on microstructure and drop impact reliability of solder joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Weiping; Lee, Ning-Cheng

2007-07-01

The impact reliability of solder joints in electronic packages is critical to the lifetime of electronic products, especially those portable devices using area array packages such as ball-grid array (BGA) and chip-scale packages (CSP). Currently, SnAgCu (SAC) solders are most widely used for lead-free applications. However, BGA and CSP solder joints using SAC alloys are fragile and prone to premature interfacial failure, especially under shock loading. To further enhance impact reliability, a family of SAC alloys doped with a small amount of additives such as Mn, Ce, Ti, Bi, and Y was developed. The effects of doping elements on drop test performance, creep resistance, and microstructure of the solder joints were investigated, and the solder joints made with the modified alloys exhibited significantly higher impact reliability.

Effect of Component Failures on Economics of Distributed Photovoltaic Systems

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

Lubin, Barry T.

2012-02-02

This report describes an applied research program to assess the realistic costs of grid connected photovoltaic (PV) installations. A Board of Advisors was assembled that included management from the regional electric power utilities, as well as other participants from companies that work in the electric power industry. Although the program started with the intention of addressing effective load carrying capacity (ELCC) for utility-owned photovoltaic installations, results from the literature study and recommendations from the Board of Advisors led investigators to the conclusion that obtaining effective data for this analysis would be difficult, if not impossible. The effort was then re-focusedmore » on assessing the realistic costs and economic valuations of grid-connected PV installations. The 17 kW PV installation on the University of Hartford's Lincoln Theater was used as one source of actual data. The change in objective required a more technically oriented group. The re-organized working group (changes made due to the need for more technically oriented participants) made site visits to medium-sized PV installations in Connecticut with the objective of developing sources of operating histories. An extensive literature review helped to focus efforts in several technical and economic subjects. The objective of determining the consequences of component failures on both generation and economic returns required three analyses. The first was a Monte-Carlo-based simulation model for failure occurrences and the resulting downtime. Published failure data, though limited, was used to verify the results. A second model was developed to predict the reduction in or loss of electrical generation related to the downtime due to these failures. Finally, a comprehensive economic analysis, including these failures, was developed to determine realistic net present values of installed PV arrays. Two types of societal benefits were explored, with quantitative valuations developed for both. Some societal benefits associated with financial benefits to the utility of having a distributed generation capacity that is not fossil-fuel based have been included into the economic models. Also included and quantified in the models are several benefits to society more generally: job creation and some estimates of benefits from avoiding greenhouse emissions. PV system failures result in a lowering of the economic values of a grid-connected system, but this turned out to be a surprisingly small effect on the overall economics. The most significant benefit noted resulted from including the societal benefits accrued to the utility. This provided a marked increase in the valuations of the array and made the overall value proposition a financially attractive one, in that net present values exceeded installation costs. These results indicate that the Department of Energy and state regulatory bodies should consider focusing on societal benefits that create economic value for the utility, confirm these quantitative values, and work to have them accepted by the utilities and reflected in the rate structures for power obtained from grid-connected arrays. Understanding and applying the economic benefits evident in this work can significantly improve the business case for grid-connected PV installations. This work also indicates that the societal benefits to the population are real and defensible, but not nearly as easy to justify in a business case as are the benefits that accrue directly to the utility.« less

Hydro and morphodynamic simulations for probabilistic estimates of munitions mobility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmsten, M.; Penko, A.

2017-12-01

Probabilistic estimates of waves, currents, and sediment transport at underwater munitions remediation sites are necessary to constrain probabilistic predictions of munitions exposure, burial, and migration. To address this need, we produced ensemble simulations of hydrodynamic flow and morphologic change with Delft3D, a coupled system of wave, circulation, and sediment transport models. We have set up the Delft3D model simulations at the Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility (FRF) in Duck, NC, USA. The FRF is the prototype site for the near-field munitions mobility model, which integrates far-field and near-field field munitions mobility simulations. An extensive array of in-situ and remotely sensed oceanographic, bathymetric, and meteorological data are available at the FRF, as well as existing observations of munitions mobility for model testing. Here, we present results of ensemble Delft3D hydro- and morphodynamic simulations at Duck. A nested Delft3D simulation runs an outer grid that extends 12-km in the along-shore and 3.7-km in the cross-shore with 50-m resolution and a maximum depth of approximately 17-m. The inner nested grid extends 3.2-km in the along-shore and 1.2-km in the cross-shore with 5-m resolution and a maximum depth of approximately 11-m. The inner nested grid initial model bathymetry is defined as the most recent survey or remotely sensed estimate of water depth. Delft3D-WAVE and FLOW is driven with spectral wave measurements from a Waverider buoy in 17-m depth located on the offshore boundary of the outer grid. The spectral wave output and the water levels from the outer grid are used to define the boundary conditions for the inner nested high-resolution grid, in which the coupled Delft3D WAVE-FLOW-MORPHOLOGY model is run. The ensemble results are compared to the wave, current, and bathymetry observations collected at the FRF.

Evaluation of the PV energy production after 12-years of operating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouchakour, Salim; Arab, Amar Hadj; Abdeladim, Kamel; Boulahchiche, Saliha; Amrouche, Said Ould; Razagui, Abdelhak

2018-05-01

This paper presents a simple way to approximately evaluate the photovoltaic (PV) array performance degradation, the studied PV arrays are connected to the local electric grid at the Centre de Developpement des Energies Renouvelables (CDER) in Algiers, Algeria, since June 2004. The used PV module model takes in consideration the module temperature and the effective solar radiance, the electrical characteristics provided by the manufacturer data sheet and the evaluation of the performance coefficient. For the dynamic behavior we use the Linear Reoriented Coordinates Method (LRCM) to estimate the maximum power point (MPP). The performance coefficient is evaluated on the one hand under STC conditions to estimate the dc energy according to the manufacturer data. On the other hand, under real conditions using both the monitored data and the LM optimization algorithm, allowing a good degree of accuracy of estimated dc energy. The application of the developed modeling procedure to the analysis of the monitored data is expected to improve understanding and assessment of the PV performance degradation of the PV arrays after 12 years of operation.

Evaluation of Orientation Performance of Attention Patterns for Blind Person.

PubMed

Fujisawa, Shoichiro; Ishibashi, Tatsuki; Sato, Katsuya; Ito, Sin-Ichi; Sueda, Osamu

2017-01-01

Tactile walking surface indicators (TWSIs) are installed on footpath to support independent travel for the blind. There are two types of TWSIs, attention patterns and guiding patterns. The attention pattern is usually installed at the crosswalk entrances. The direction of the crossing can be acquired by the row of the projection of the attention pattern through the soles of the shoes. In addition, truncated domes or cones of the attention pattern were arranged in a square grid, parallel or diagonal at 45 degrees to the principal direction of travel. However, the international standard organization (ISO) allows a wide-ranging size. In this research, the direction indicating performance was compared at the same intervals for the five diameters specified by the international standard. As a result of the experiment, the diagonal array does not indicate the direction of travel, but the projection row does indicate the direction of travel in the parallel array. When the attention pattern is installed at a crosswalk entrance, a parallel array should be installed in the direction of the crossing.

The application of Fresnel zone plate based projection in optofluidic microscopy.

PubMed

Wu, Jigang; Cui, Xiquan; Lee, Lap Man; Yang, Changhuei

2008-09-29

Optofluidic microscopy (OFM) is a novel technique for low-cost, high-resolution on-chip microscopy imaging. In this paper we report the use of the Fresnel zone plate (FZP) based projection in OFM as a cost-effective and compact means for projecting the transmission through an OFM's aperture array onto a sensor grid. We demonstrate this approach by employing a FZP (diameter = 255 microm, focal length = 800 microm) that has been patterned onto a glass slide to project the transmission from an array of apertures (diameter = 1 microm, separation = 10 microm) onto a CMOS sensor. We are able to resolve the contributions from 44 apertures on the sensor under the illumination from a HeNe laser (wavelength = 633 nm). The imaging quality of the FZP determines the effective field-of-view (related to the number of resolvable transmissions from apertures) but not the image resolution of such an OFM system--a key distinction from conventional microscope systems. We demonstrate the capability of the integrated system by flowing the protist Euglena gracilis across the aperture array microfluidically and performing OFM imaging of the samples.

Vortex Generators in a Streamline-Traced, External-Compression Supersonic Inlet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baydar, Ezgihan; Lu, Frank K.; Slater, John W.; Trefny, Charles J.

2017-01-01

Vortex generators within a streamline-traced, external-compression supersonic inlet for Mach 1.66 were investigated to determine their ability to increase total pressure recovery and reduce total pressure distortion. The vortex generators studied were rectangular vanes arranged in counter-rotating and co-rotating arrays. The vane geometric factors of interest included height, length, spacing, angle-of-incidence, and positions upstream and downstream of the inlet terminal shock. The flow through the inlet was simulated numerically through the solution of the steady-state, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations on multi-block, structured grids using the Wind-US flow solver. The vanes were simulated using a vortex generator model. The inlet performance was characterized by the inlet total pressure recovery and the radial and circumferential total pressure distortion indices at the engine face. Design of experiments and statistical analysis methods were applied to quantify the effect of the geometric factors of the vanes and search for optimal vane arrays. Co-rotating vane arrays with negative angles-of-incidence positioned on the supersonic diffuser were effective in sweeping low-momentum flow from the top toward the sides of the subsonic diffuser. This distributed the low-momentum flow more evenly about the circumference of the subsonic diffuser and reduced distortion. Co-rotating vane arrays with negative angles-of-incidence or counter-rotating vane arrays positioned downstream of the terminal shock were effective in mixing higher-momentum flow with lower-momentum flow to increase recovery and decrease distortion. A strategy of combining a co-rotating vane array on the supersonic diffuser with a counter-rotating vane array on the subsonic diffuser was effective in increasing recovery and reducing distortion.

Improving slowness estimate stability and visualization using limited sensor pair correlation on seismic arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibbons, Steven J.; Näsholm, S. P.; Ruigrok, E.; Kværna, T.

2018-04-01

Seismic arrays enhance signal detection and parameter estimation by exploiting the time-delays between arriving signals on sensors at nearby locations. Parameter estimates can suffer due to both signal incoherence, with diminished waveform similarity between sensors, and aberration, with time-delays between coherent waveforms poorly represented by the wave-front model. Sensor-to-sensor correlation approaches to parameter estimation have an advantage over direct beamforming approaches in that individual sensor-pairs can be omitted without necessarily omitting entirely the data from each of the sensors involved. Specifically, we can omit correlations between sensors for which signal coherence in an optimal frequency band is anticipated to be poor or for which anomalous time-delays are anticipated. In practice, this usually means omitting correlations between more distant sensors. We present examples from International Monitoring System seismic arrays with poor parameter estimates resulting when classical f-k analysis is performed over the full array aperture. We demonstrate improved estimates and slowness grid displays using correlation beamforming restricted to correlations between sufficiently closely spaced sensors. This limited sensor-pair correlation (LSPC) approach has lower slowness resolution than would ideally be obtained by considering all sensor-pairs. However, this ideal estimate may be unattainable due to incoherence and/or aberration and the LSPC estimate can often exploit all channels, with the associated noise-suppression, while mitigating the complications arising from correlations between very distant sensors. The greatest need for the method is for short-period signals on large aperture arrays although we also demonstrate significant improvement for secondary regional phases on a small aperture array. LSPC can also provide a robust and flexible approach to parameter estimation on three-component seismic arrays.

Array Databases: Agile Analytics (not just) for the Earth Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumann, P.; Misev, D.

2015-12-01

Gridded data, such as images, image timeseries, and climate datacubes, today are managed separately from the metadata, and with different, restricted retrieval capabilities. While databases are good at metadata modelled in tables, XML hierarchies, or RDF graphs, they traditionally do not support multi-dimensional arrays.This gap is being closed by Array Databases, pioneered by the scalable rasdaman ("raster data manager") array engine. Its declarative query language, rasql, extends SQL with array operators which are optimized and parallelized on server side. Installations can easily be mashed up securely, thereby enabling large-scale location-transparent query processing in federations. Domain experts value the integration with their commonly used tools leading to a quick learning curve.Earth, Space, and Life sciences, but also Social sciences as well as business have massive amounts of data and complex analysis challenges that are answered by rasdaman. As of today, rasdaman is mature and in operational use on hundreds of Terabytes of timeseries datacubes, with transparent query distribution across more than 1,000 nodes. Additionally, its concepts have shaped international Big Data standards in the field, including the forthcoming array extension to ISO SQL, many of which are supported by both open-source and commercial systems meantime. In the geo field, rasdaman is reference implementation for the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Big Data standard, WCS, now also under adoption by ISO. Further, rasdaman is in the final stage of OSGeo incubation.In this contribution we present array queries a la rasdaman, describe the architecture and novel optimization and parallelization techniques introduced in 2015, and put this in context of the intercontinental EarthServer initiative which utilizes rasdaman for enabling agile analytics on Petascale datacubes.

Optical Characteristics of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers and Two Dimensional Coherently Coupled Arrays.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catchmark, Jeffrey Michael

1995-01-01

The following describes extensive experimental and theoretical research concerning the optical, electrical and thermal characteristics of GaAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and coherently coupled two dimensional VCSEL arrays grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The temperature and wavelength performance of VCSELs containing various epitaxial designs is discussed in detail. By employing a high barrier confinement spacer region and by blue shifting the optical gain with respect to the Fabry Perot transmission wavelength, greater than 150^circ rm C continuous wave operation was obtained. This is accomplished while maintaining a variation in the threshold current of only +/-0.93mA over a temperature range of 150^circrm C. This exceptional performance is achieved while attaining a minimum threshold current of approximately 4.3mA at 75^circrm C. In addition, the optical characteristics of multi-transverse mode VCSEL arrays are examined experimentally. A total of nine transverse modes have been identified and are found to couple coherently into distinct array modes. While operating in higher order transverse modes, a record 1.4W (pulsed) of optical power is obtained from a 15 x 15 VCSEL array. Array mode formation in coherently coupled VCSEL arrays is also examined theoretically. A numerical model is developed to describe the formation of supermodes in reflectivity modulated VCSEL arrays. Using this model, the effects of depth of reflectivity modulation, cavity length, window size and grid size on mode formation are explored. The array modes predicted by this model are in agreement with those observed experimentally. Analytic models will also be presented describing the effects of thermally induced waveguiding on the optical characteristics of VCSELs operating in the fundamental transverse mode. A thermal waveguide is found to have a significant effect on the spot size and radius of curvature of the phase of the fundamental optical mode. In addition, an analytic model is developed to predict the higher order transverse modes of a VCSEL exhibiting a cruciform type geometry.

Three-dimensional micro-electrode array for recording dissociated neuronal cultures.

PubMed

Musick, Katherine; Khatami, David; Wheeler, Bruce C

2009-07-21

This work demonstrates the design, fabrication, packaging, characterization, and functionality of an electrically and fluidically active three-dimensional micro-electrode array (3D MEA) for use with neuronal cell cultures. The successful function of the device implies that this basic concept-construction of a 3D array with a layered approach-can be utilized as the basis for a new family of neural electrode arrays. The 3D MEA prototype consists of a stack of individually patterned thin films that form a cell chamber conducive to maintaining and recording the electrical activity of a long-term three-dimensional network of rat cortical neurons. Silicon electrode layers contain a polymer grid for neural branching, growth, and network formation. Along the walls of these electrode layers lie exposed gold electrodes which permit recording and stimulation of the neuronal electrical activity. Silicone elastomer micro-fluidic layers provide a means for loading dissociated neurons into the structure and serve as the artificial vasculature for nutrient supply and aeration. The fluidic layers also serve as insulation for the micro-electrodes. Cells have been shown to survive in the 3D MEA for up to 28 days, with spontaneous and evoked electrical recordings performed in that time. The micro-fluidic capability was demonstrated by flowing in the drug tetrotodoxin to influence the activity of the culture.

Vertical Gravimeter Array Observations and Their Performance in Groundwater-Level Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, T.; Honda, R.

2018-03-01

The gravitational effects of the atmosphere and subsurface water are significant obstacles to observing gravity variations on the sub-μGal (1 μGal = 10 nm/s2) scale. The goal of this study is to detect changes in gravity that are caused by mass redistributions deep underground related to seismological phenomena by reducing environmental gravity effects using multiple gravimeters belowground and aboveground, which we term a "vertical gravimeter array." Based on an evaluation of the responses to atmospheric effects and rainfall events identified in observations made with individual relative gravimeters, the vertical gravimeter array succeeds in stacking the target signals from deep underground and in reducing errors due to rainfall or free groundwater and atmospheric effects. To enable accurate interpretation, we introduce a physical approach that is based on attraction and loading deformation effects for atmospheric reduction using state-of-the-art gridded weather data products. Changes in the water levels of confined groundwater can be regarded as a signal from deep underground, and a response coefficient of approximately -15 μGal/m was obtained. In addition, the response coefficient of the free groundwater level was determined to be approximately 5 μGal/m. Such array observations are expected to contribute to monitoring crustal activity and hydrological studies.

Automated coregistration of MTI spectral bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Theiler, James P.; Galbraith, Amy E.; Pope, Paul A.; Ramsey, Keri A.; Szymanski, John J.

2002-08-01

In the focal plane of a pushbroom imager, a linear array of pixels is scanned across the scene, building up the image one row at a time. For the Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI), each of fifteen different spectral bands has its own linear array. These arrays are pushed across the scene together, but since each band's array is at a different position on the focal plane, a separate image is produced for each band. The standard MTI data products (LEVEL1B_R_COREG and LEVEL1B_R_GEO) resample these separate images to a common grid and produce coregistered multispectral image cubes. The coregistration software employs a direct ``dead reckoning' approach. Every pixel in the calibrated image is mapped to an absolute position on the surface of the earth, and these are resampled to produce an undistorted coregistered image of the scene. To do this requires extensive information regarding the satellite position and pointing as a function of time, the precise configuration of the focal plane, and the distortion due to the optics. These must be combined with knowledge about the position and altitude of the target on the rotating ellipsoidal earth. We will discuss the direct approach to MTI coregistration, as well as more recent attempts to tweak the precision of the band-to-band registration using correlations in the imagery itself.

Programmable 2-D Addressable Cryogenic Aperture Masks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kutyrev, A. S.; Moseley, S. H.; Jhabvala, M.; Li, M.; Schwinger, D. S.; Silverberg, R. F.; Wesenberg, R. P.

2004-01-01

We are developing a two-dimensional array of square microshutters (programmable aperture mask) for a multi-object spectrometer for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This device will provide random access selection of the areas in the field to be studied. The device is in essence a close packed array of square slits, each of which can be opened independently to select areas of the sky for detailed study.The device is produced using a 100-micron thick silicon wafer as a substrate with 0.5-micron thick silicon nitride shutters on top of it. Silicon nitride has been selected as the blade and flexure material because its stiffness allows thinner and lighter structures than single crystal Si, the chief alternative, and because of its ease of manufacture. The 100 micron silicon wafer is backetched in a high aspect ratio Deep Reactive Ion Etching (Deep RIE) to leave only a support grid for the shutters and the address electronics. The shutter actuation is done magnetically whereas addressing is electrostatic. 128x128 format microshutter arrays have been produced. Their operation has been demostarted on 32x32 subarrays. Good reliability of the fabrication process and good quality of the microshutters has been achieved. The mechanical behavior and optical performance of the fabricated arrays at cryogenic temperature are being studied.

The Use of the Time Average Visibility for Analyzing HERA-19 Commissioning Data: Effects of Non-Redundancy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benefo, Roshan; Gallardo, Samavarti; Aguirre, James; La Plante, Paul; HERA Collaboration

2018-01-01

The Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) is a radio telescope situated in South Africa designed to observe the universe from redshifts 13 through 6, in order to detect the emission of the 21 cm line from the hydrogen spin-flip transition. We perform 21 cm cosmology due to its relation with reionization; by detecting this emission line, we can identify the timing of reionization, and understand more about the nature of the universe during the birth of the first stars and galaxies. With that, we can understand the heating conditions of the initial universe, providing us a larger picture of the conditions that created the large-scale structure of the universe we observe today. The HERA array currently consists of 19 antennas, spaced in a hexagonal grid pattern. We consider a robust observable, the time-averaged visibility (TAV), which is in principle sensitive to variations in the beam pattern between antenna elements and is easier to measure than the beam pattern itself. We use this TAV to explore the non-redundancy of baselines in the HERA array due either to cross-coupling between antennas (probed by antenna location in the array) or non-uniformity in their manufacture. The TAV may provide a simple way of verifying improvements in antenna element redundancy.

Implementation of a direct-imaging and FX correlator for the BEST-2 array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, G.; Hickish, J.; Magro, A.; Price, D.; Zarb Adami, K.

2014-04-01

A new digital backend has been developed for the Basic Element for SKA Training II (BEST-2) array at Radiotelescopi di Medicina, INAF-IRA, Italy, which allows concurrent operation of an FX correlator, and a direct-imaging correlator and beamformer. This backend serves as a platform for testing some of the spatial Fourier transform concepts which have been proposed for use in computing correlations on regularly gridded arrays. While spatial Fourier transform-based beamformers have been implemented previously, this is, to our knowledge, the first time a direct-imaging correlator has been deployed on a radio astronomy array. Concurrent observations with the FX and direct-imaging correlator allow for direct comparison between the two architectures. Additionally, we show the potential of the direct-imaging correlator for time-domain astronomy, by passing a subset of beams though a pulsar and transient detection pipeline. These results provide a timely verification for spatial Fourier transform-based instruments that are currently in commissioning. These instruments aim to detect highly redshifted hydrogen from the epoch of reionization and/or to perform wide-field surveys for time-domain studies of the radio sky. We experimentally show the direct-imaging correlator architecture to be a viable solution for correlation and beamforming.

Feasibility of employing thick microbeams from superficial and orthovoltage kVp x-ray tubes for radiotherapy of superficial cancers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamali-Zonouzi, P.; Shutt, A.; Nisbet, A.; Bradley, D. A.

2017-11-01

Preclinical investigations of thick microbeams show these to be feasible for use in radiotherapeutic dose delivery. To create the beams we access a radiotherapy x-ray tube that is familiarly used within a conventional clinical environment, coupling this with beam-defining grids. Beam characterisation, both single and in the form of arrays, has been by use of both MCNP simulation and direct Gafchromic EBT film dosimetry. As a first step in defining optimal exit-beam profiles over a range of beam energies, simulation has been made of the x-ray tube and numbers of beam-defining parallel geometry grids, the latter being made to vary in thickness, slit separation and material composition. For a grid positioned after the treatment applicator, and of similar design to those used in the first part of the study, MCNP simulation and Gafchromic EBT film were then applied in examining the resultant radiation profiles. MCNP simulations and direct dosimetry both show useful thick microbeams to be produced from the x-ray tube, with peak-to-valley dose ratios (PVDRs) in the approximate range 8.8-13.9. Although the potential to create thick microbeams using radiotherapy x-ray tubes and a grid has been demonstrated, Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT) would still need to be approved outside of the preclinical setting, a viable treatment technique of clinical interest needing to benefit for instance from substantially improved x-ray tube dose rates.

Influence of Turbulence Parameters, Reynolds Number, and Body Shape on Stagnation-Region Heat Transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanfossen, G. James; Simoneau, Robert J.; Ching, Chan Y.

1994-01-01

The purpose of the present work was threefold: (1) to determine if a free-stream turbulence length scale existed that would cause the greatest augmentation in stagnation-region heat transfer over laminar levels; (2) to investigate the effect of velocity gradient on stagnation-region heat transfer augmentation by free-stream turbulence; and (3) to develop a prediction tool for stagnation heat transfer in the presence of free-stream turbulence. Heat transfer was measured in the stagnation region of four models with elliptical leading edges that had ratios of major to minor axes of 1:1, 1.5:1, 2.25:1, and 3:1. Five turbulence-generating grids were fabricated; four were square mesh, biplane grids made from square bars. The fifth grid was an array of fine parallel wires that were perpendicular to the model spanwise direction. Heat transfer data were taken at Reynolds numbers ranging from 37 000 to 228 000. Turbulence intensities were in the range of 1.1 to 15.9% while the ratio of integral length scale to leading-edge diameter ranged from 0.05 to 0.30. Stagnation-point velocity gradient was varied by nearly 50%. Stagnation-region heat transfer augmentation was found to increase with decreasing length scale but no optimum length scale was found. Heat transfer augmentation due to turbulence was found to be unaffected by the velocity gradient near the leading edge. A correlation was developed that fit heat transfer data for the square-bar grids to within +/- 4%.

Fabrication and testing of a 4-node micro-pocket fission detector array for the Kansas State University TRIGA Mk. II research nuclear reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichenberger, Michael A.; Nichols, Daniel M.; Stevenson, Sarah R.; Swope, Tanner M.; Hilger, Caden W.; Unruh, Troy C.; McGregor, Douglas S.; Roberts, Jeremy A.

2017-08-01

Advancements in nuclear reactor core modeling and computational capability have encouraged further development of in-core neutron sensors. Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors (MPFDs) have been fabricated and tested previously, but successful testing of these prior detectors was limited to single-node operation with specialized designs. Described in this work is a modular, four-node MPFD array fabricated and tested at Kansas State University (KSU). The four sensor nodes were equally spaced to span the length of the fuel-region of the KSU TRIGA Mk. II research nuclear reactor core. The encapsulated array was filled with argon gas, serving as an ionization medium in the small cavities of the MPFDs. The unified design improved device ruggedness and simplified construction over previous designs. A 0.315-in. (8-mm) penetration in the upper grid plate of the KSU TRIGA Mk. II research nuclear reactor was used to deploy the array between fuel elements in the core. The MPFD array was coupled to an electronic support system which has been developed to support pulse-mode operation. Neutron-induced pulses were observed on all four sensor channels. Stable device operation was confirmed by testing under steady-state reactor conditions. Each of the four sensors in the array responded to changes in reactor power between 10 kWth and full power (750 kWth). Reactor power transients were observed in real-time including positive transients with periods of 5, 15, and 30 s. Finally, manual reactor power oscillations were observed in real-time.

Heterogeneous Structure and Seismicity beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakagawa, S.; Kato, A.; Sakai, S.; Nanjo, K.; Panayotopoulos, Y.; Kurashimo, E.; Obara, K.; Kasahara, K.; Aketagawa, T.; Kimura, H.; Hirata, N.

2010-12-01

Beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area, the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) subducts and causes damaged mega-thrust earthquakes. Sato et al. (2005) revealed the geometry of upper surface of PSP, and Hagiwara et al. (2006) estimated the velocity structure beneath Boso peninsula. However, these results are not sufficient for the assessment of the entire picture of the seismic hazards beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area including those due to an intra-slab M7+ earthquake. So, we launched the Special Project for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation in the Tokyo Metropolitan area (Hirata et al., 2009). Proving the more detailed geometry and physical properties (e.g. velocities, densities, attenuation) and stress field within PSP is very important to attain this issue. The core item of this project is a dense seismic array called Metropolitan Seismic Observation network (MeSO-net) for making observations in the metropolitan area (Sakai and Hirata, 2009; Kasahara et al., 2009). We deployed the 249 seismic stations with a spacing of 5 km. Some parts of stations construct 5 linear arrays at interval of 2 km such as Tsukuba-Fujisawa (TF) array, etc. The TF array runs from northeast to southwest through the center of Tokyo. In this study, we applied the tomography method to image the heterogeneous structure under the Tokyo metropolitan area. We selected events from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) unified earthquake list. All data of MeSO-net were edited into event data by the selected JMA unified earthquake list. We picked the P and S wave arrival times. The total number of stations and events are 421 and 1,256, respectively. Then, we applied the double-difference tomography method (Zhang and Thurber, 2003) to this dataset and estimated the fine-scale velocity structure. The grid nodes locate 10 km interval in parallel with the array, 20 km interval in perpendicular to the array; and on depth direction, 5 km interval to a depth of less than 50 km and 10 km interval at a depth of more. We used 158,930 (P wave) and 149,308 (S wave) absolute arrival times, and 374,072 (P wave) and 354,912 (S wave) differential travel times. The initial velocity structure is the JMA2001 (Ueno et al., 2001), and the Vp/Vs ratio is set to 1.73 for all grid nodes. We imaged the subducting PSP and Pacific Plate clearly. The depth section of P-wave velocity structure along the TF array clearly shows that thin low-velocity layer which overlies high-velocity layer subducts towards northeast. This low-velocity layer corresponds to the oceanic crust of the subducting PSP. The obtained tomograms combined with seismicity and focal mechanisms indicate that the interior of the subducting PSP is characterized by heterogeneous structures, which could exert a profound influence on the genesis of intra-slab earthquakes. Acknowledgement: This study was supported by the Earthquake Research Institute cooperative research program.

Apparatus And Method Of Using Flexible Printed Circuit Board In Optical Transceiver Device

DOEpatents

Anderson, Gene R.; Armendariz, Marcelino G.; Bryan, Robert P.; Carson, Richard F.; Duckett, III, Edwin B.; McCormick, Frederick B.; Peterson, David W.; Peterson, Gary D.; Reysen, Bill H.

2005-03-15

This invention relates to a flexible printed circuit board that is used in connection with an optical transmitter, receiver or transceiver module. In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board has flexible metal layers in between flexible insulating layers, and the circuit board comprises: (1) a main body region orientated in a first direction having at least one electrical or optoelectronic device; (2) a plurality of electrical contact pads integrated into the main body region, where the electrical contact pads function to connect the flexible printed circuit board to an external environment; (3) a buckle region extending from one end of the main body region; and (4) a head region extending from one end of the buckle region, and where the head region is orientated so that it is at an angle relative to the direction of the main body region. The electrical contact pads may be ball grid arrays, solder balls or land-grid arrays, and they function to connect the circuit board to an external environment. A driver or amplifier chip may be adapted to the head region of the flexible printed circuit board. In another embodiment, a heat spreader passes along a surface of the head region of the flexible printed circuit board, and a window is formed in the head region of the flexible printed circuit board. Optoelectronic devices are adapted to the head spreader in such a manner that they are accessible through the window in the flexible printed circuit board.

HOMER Economic Models - US Navy

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

Bush, Jason William; Myers, Kurt Steven

This LETTER REPORT has been prepared by Idaho National Laboratory for US Navy NAVFAC EXWC to support in testing pre-commercial SIREN (Simulated Integration of Renewable Energy Networks) computer software models. In the logistics mode SIREN software simulates the combination of renewable power sources (solar arrays, wind turbines, and energy storage systems) in supplying an electrical demand. NAVFAC EXWC will create SIREN software logistics models of existing or planned renewable energy projects at five Navy locations (San Nicolas Island, AUTEC, New London, & China Lake), and INL will deliver additional HOMER computer models for comparative analysis. In the transient mode SIRENmore » simulates the short time-scale variation of electrical parameters when a power outage or other destabilizing event occurs. In the HOMER model, a variety of inputs are entered such as location coordinates, Generators, PV arrays, Wind Turbines, Batteries, Converters, Grid costs/usage, Solar resources, Wind resources, Temperatures, Fuels, and Electric Loads. HOMER's optimization and sensitivity analysis algorithms then evaluate the economic and technical feasibility of these technology options and account for variations in technology costs, electric load, and energy resource availability. The Navy can then use HOMER’s optimization and sensitivity results to compare to those of the SIREN model. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) possesses unique expertise and experience in the software, hardware, and systems design for the integration of renewable energy into the electrical grid. NAVFAC EXWC will draw upon this expertise to complete mission requirements.« less

Electric Propulsion Upper-Stage for Launch Vehicle Capability Enhancement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kemp, Gregory E.; Dankanich, John W.; Woodcock, Gordon R.; Wingo, Dennis R.

2007-01-01

The NASA In-Space Propulsion Technology Project Office initiated a preliminary study to evaluate the performance benefits of a solar electric propulsion (SEP) upper-stage with existing and near-term small launch vehicles. The analysis included circular and elliptical Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) transfers, and LEO to Low Lunar Orbit (LLO) applications. SEP subsystem options included state-of-the-art and near-term solar arrays and electric thrusters. In-depth evaluations of the Aerojet BPT-4000 Hall thruster and NEXT gridded ion engine were conducted to compare performance, cost and revenue potential. Preliminary results indicate that Hall thruster technology is favored for low-cost, low power SEP stages, while gridded-ion engines are favored for higher power SEP systems unfettered by transfer time constraints. A low-cost point design is presented that details one possible stage configuration and outlines system limitations, in particular fairing volume constraints. The results demonstrate mission enhancements to large and medium class launch vehicles, and mission enabling performance when SEP system upper stages are mounted to low-cost launchers such as the Minotaur and Falcon 1. Study results indicate the potential use of SEP upper stages to double GEO payload mass capability and to possibly enable launch on demand capability for GEO assets. Transition from government to commercial applications, with associated cost/benefit analysis, has also been assessed. The sensitivity of system performance to specific impulse, array power, thruster size, and component costs are also discussed.

Straight-line drift fences and pitfall traps

USGS Publications Warehouse

Corn, Paul Stephen

1994-01-01

Straight-line drift fences typically are short barriers (5-15 m) that direct animals traveling on the substrate surface into traps places at the ends of or beside the barriers. Traps (described below) can be pitfalls, funnel traps, or a combination of the two. Drift fences with pitfall or funnel traps and pitfall traps without fences are used commonly to inventory and monitor populations of amphibians and reptiles. For example, 9 of 17 field studies reported for management of terrestrial vertebrates (Sarzo et al. 1988) used these techniques to sample amphibians. Drift fences with pitfall traps can be used to determine species richness at a site and to detect the presence of rare species. They also can yield data on relative abundances and habitat use of selected species. Pitfall traps arrayed in a grid without fences can also be used to study the population ecology and habitat use of selected species. Population density can be estimated with this latter technique if used in conjunction with mark-recapture techniques (see Chapter 8). Drift fence arrays or pitfall grids can be left in place for long-term monitoring. In this section, I discuss the use of this technique to obtain data on amphibians away from breeding ponds. Use of drift fences and traps to monitory amphibian activity at breeding ponds is discussed in the section "Drift Fences Encircling Breeding Sits", below (technique 9). Some materials and procedures are common to both techniques. Investigators contemplating the use of drift fences and traps in any context should read both accounts.

3D Printing of Ball Grid Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinha, Shayandev; Hines, Daniel; Dasgupta, Abhijit; Das, Siddhartha

Ball grid arrays (BGA) are interconnects between an integrated circuit (IC) and a printed circuit board (PCB), that are used for surface mounting electronic components. Typically, lead free alloys are used to make solder balls which, after a reflow process, establish a mechanical and electrical connection between the IC and the PCB. High temperature processing is required for most of these alloys leading to thermal shock causing damage to ICs. For producing flexible circuits on a polymer substrate, there is a requirement for low temperature processing capabilities (around 150 C) and for reducing strain from mechanical stresses. Additive manufacturing techniques can provide an alternative methodology for fabricating BGAs as a direct replacement for standard solder bumped BGAs. We have developed aerosol jet (AJ) printing methods to fabricate a polymer bumped BGA. As a demonstration of the process developed, a daisy chain test chip was polymer bumped using an AJ printed ultra violet (UV) curable polymer ink that was then coated with an AJ printed silver nanoparticle laden ink as a conducting layer printed over the polymer bump. The structure for the balls were achieved by printing the polymer ink using a specific toolpath coupled with in-situ UV curing of the polymer which provided good control over the shape, resulting in well-formed spherical bumps on the order of 200 um wide by 200 um tall for this initial demonstration. A detailed discussion of the AJ printing method and results from accelerated life-time testing will be presented

A Grid of Fine Wire Thermocouples to Study the Spatial Coherence of Turbulence within Katabatic Flow through a Vineyard Canopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Everard, K.; Christen, A.; Sturman, A.; Skaloud, P.

2016-12-01

Knowledge of the dynamics and thermodynamics of katabatic flow is relevant in vineyards, where grapevines are sensitive to temperature changes (frost protection and cooling). Basic understanding of the occurrence and evolution of, and turbulence within, katabatic flow is well known over bare slopes. However, little work has been completed to extend this understanding to mid-sized canopies and how the presence of a canopy affects the turbulent exchange of momentum and heat within the flow. Measurements were carried out over a 6° vineyard slope near Oliver, BC, Canada in the Okanagan Valley between July 5 and July 22, 2016. The set-up consisted of an array of five vertically arranged CSAT 3D (Campbell Scientific, Inc.) ultrasonic anemometers at z = 0.45 m, 0.90 m, 1.49 m, 2.34 m, and 4.73 m above ground level (AGL), and a 2-D grid of 40 Type-E (copper-constantan) fine-wire thermocouples (FWTC) arranged at the same heights as the CSAT 3D array on 8 masts extending in the upslope (flow) direction at locations x = 0.0 m (CSAT 3D tower), 0.5 m, 1.0 m, 2.0 m, 4.0 m, 8.0 m, 16.0 m, and 32.0 m. The FWTC array formed a sheet of 40 sampling points in the upslope-vertical plane. The height of the grapevine canopy (h) was approximately 2 m AGL, and rows were aligned along the local slope direction with a row spacing of 2.45 m. CSAT-3s were sampled at 60 Hz with 20 Hz data recording, the FWTCs were sampled at 2 Hz, all synchronized by a data logger. Katabatic flow was observed on several nights during the campaign, with a wind speed maximum located within the canopy. This contribution will focus on the measurement techniques, combining ultrasonic anemometer data with the spatially synchronized FWTC array using image process techniques. We identify the dynamics and structure of the katabatic flow, relevant for heat exchange, using the spatial coherence of the temperature field given by the FWTC array. Improved knowledge of the vertical structure and the dynamics of katabatic flow within canopies allows better understanding of how it influences mass transport and cold-air pooling within the immediate grapevine canopy. Such understanding allows for better vineyard planning and management, as well as parameterizing model approaches to assist in forecasting the effect of such events on the thermal environment.

West Texas array experiment: Noise and source characterization of short-range infrasound and acoustic signals, along with lab and field evaluation of Intermountain Laboratories infrasound microphones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisher, Aileen

The term infrasound describes atmospheric sound waves with frequencies below 20 Hz, while acoustics are classified within the audible range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Infrasound and acoustic monitoring in the scientific community is hampered by low signal-to-noise ratios and a limited number of studies on regional and short-range noise and source characterization. The JASON Report (2005) suggests the infrasound community focus on more broad-frequency, observational studies within a tactical distance of 10 km. In keeping with that recommendation, this paper presents a study of regional and short-range atmospheric acoustic and infrasonic noise characterization, at a desert site in West Texas, covering a broad frequency range of 0.2 to 100 Hz. To spatially sample the band, a large number of infrasound gauges was needed. A laboratory instrument analysis is presented of the set of low-cost infrasound sensors used in this study, manufactured by Inter-Mountain Laboratories (IML). Analysis includes spectra, transfer functions and coherences to assess the stability and range of the gauges, and complements additional instrument testing by Sandia National Laboratories. The IMLs documented here have been found reliably coherent from 0.1 to 7 Hz without instrument correction. Corrections were built using corresponding time series from the commercially available and more expensive Chaparral infrasound gauge, so that the corrected IML outputs were able to closely mimic the Chaparral output. Arrays of gauges are needed for atmospheric sound signal processing. Our West Texas experiment consisted of a 1.5 km aperture, 23-gauge infrasound/acoustic array of IMLs, with a compact, 12 m diameter grid-array of rented IMLs at the center. To optimize signal recording, signal-to-noise ratio needs to be quantified with respect to both frequency band and coherence length. The higher-frequency grid array consisted of 25 microphones arranged in a five by five pattern with 3 meter spacing, without spatial wind noise filtering hoses or pipes. The grid was within the distance limits of a single gauge's normal hose array, and data were used to perform a spatial noise correlation study. The highest correlation values were not found in the lower frequencies as anticipated, owing to a lack of sources in the lower range and the uncorrelated nature of wind noise. The highest values, with cross-correlation averages between 0.4 and 0.7 from 3 to 17 m between gauges, were found at night from 10 and 20 Hz due to a continuous local noise source and low wind. Data from the larger array were used to identify continuous and impulsive signals in the area that comprise the ambient noise field. Ground truth infrasound and acoustic, time and location data were taken for a highway site, a wind farm, and a natural gas compressor. Close-range sound data were taken with a single IML "traveler" gauge. Spectrograms and spectrum peaks were used to identify their source signatures. Two regional location techniques were also tested with data from the large array by using a propane cannon as a controlled, impulsive source. A comparison is presented of the Multiple Signal Classification Algorithm (MUSIC) to a simple, quadratic, circular wavefront algorithm. MUSIC was unable to effectively separate noise and source eignenvalues and eigenvectors due to spatial aliasing of the propane cannon signal and a lack of incoherent noise. Only 33 out of 80 usable shots were located by MUSIC within 100 m. Future work with the algorithm should focus on location of impulsive and continuous signals with development of methods for accurate separation of signal and noise eigenvectors in the presence of coherent noise and possible spatial aliasing. The circular wavefront algorithm performed better with our specific dataset and successfully located 70 out of 80 propane cannon shots within 100 m of the original location, 66 of which were within 20 m. This method has low computation requirements, making it well suited for real-time automated processing and smaller computers. Future research could focus on development of the method for an automated system and statistical impulsive noise filtering for higher accuracy.

NREL Integrate: RCS-4-42326

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

Hudgins, Andrew P.; Waight, Jim; Grover, Shailendra

OMNETRIC Corp., Duke Energy, CPS Energy, and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) created a project team to execute the project 'OpenFMB Reference Architecture Demonstration.' The project included development and demonstration of concepts that will enable the electric utility grid to host larger penetrations of renewable resources. The project concept calls for the aggregation of renewable resources and loads into microgrids and the control of these microgrids with an implementation of the OpenFMB Reference Architecture. The production of power from the renewable resources that are appearing on the grid today is very closely linked to the weather. Themore » difficulty of forecasting the weather, which is well understood, leads to difficulty in forecasting the production of renewable resources. The current state of the art in forecasting the power production from renewables (solar PV and wind) are accuracies in the range of 12-25 percent NMAE. In contrast the demand for electricity aggregated to the system level, is easier to predict. The state of the art of demand forecasting done, 24 hours ahead, is about 2-3% MAPE. Forecasting the load to be supplied from conventional resources (demand minus generation from renewable resources) is thus very hard to forecast. This means that even a few hours before the time of consumption, there can be considerable uncertainty over what must be done to balance supply and demand. Adding to the problem of difficulty of forecasting, is the reality of the variability of the actual production of power from renewables. Due to the variability of wind speeds and solar insolation, the actual output of power from renewable resources can vary significantly over a short period of time. Gusts of winds result is variation of power output of wind turbines. The shadows of clouds moving over solar PV arrays result in the variation of power production of the array. This compounds the problem of balancing supply and demand in real time. Establishing a control system that can manage distribution systems with large penetrations of renewable resources is difficult due to two major issues: (1) the lack of standardization and interoperability between the vast array of equipment in operation and on the market, most of which use different and proprietary means of communication and (2) the magnitude of the network and the information it generates and consumes. The objective of this project is to provide the industry with a design concept and tools that will enable the electric power grid to overcome these barriers and support a larger penetration of clean energy from renewable resources.« less

Nonlinear spline wavefront reconstruction through moment-based Shack-Hartmann sensor measurements.

PubMed

Viegers, M; Brunner, E; Soloviev, O; de Visser, C C; Verhaegen, M

2017-05-15

We propose a spline-based aberration reconstruction method through moment measurements (SABRE-M). The method uses first and second moment information from the focal spots of the SH sensor to reconstruct the wavefront with bivariate simplex B-spline basis functions. The proposed method, since it provides higher order local wavefront estimates with quadratic and cubic basis functions can provide the same accuracy for SH arrays with a reduced number of subapertures and, correspondingly, larger lenses which can be beneficial for application in low light conditions. In numerical experiments the performance of SABRE-M is compared to that of the first moment method SABRE for aberrations of different spatial orders and for different sizes of the SH array. The results show that SABRE-M is superior to SABRE, in particular for the higher order aberrations and that SABRE-M can give equal performance as SABRE on a SH grid of halved sampling.

Photovoltaic power converter system with a controller configured to actively compensate load harmonics

DOEpatents

de Rooij, Michael Andrew; Steigerwald, Robert Louis; Delgado, Eladio Clemente

2008-12-16

Photovoltaic power converter system including a controller configured to reduce load harmonics is provided. The system comprises a photovoltaic array and an inverter electrically coupled to the array to generate an output current for energizing a load connected to the inverter and to a mains grid supply voltage. The system further comprises a controller including a first circuit coupled to receive a load current to measure a harmonic current in the load current. The controller includes a second circuit to generate a fundamental reference drawn by the load. The controller further includes a third circuit for combining the measured harmonic current and the fundamental reference to generate a command output signal for generating the output current for energizing the load connected to the inverter. The photovoltaic system may be configured to compensate harmonic currents that may be drawn by the load.

Users' Manual and Installation Guide for the EverVIEW Slice and Dice Tool (Version 1.0 Beta)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roszell, Dustin; Conzelmann, Craig; Chimmula, Sumani; Chandrasekaran, Anuradha; Hunnicut, Christina

2009-01-01

Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) is a self-describing, machine-independent file format for storing array-oriented scientific data. Over the past few years, there has been a growing movement within the community of natural resource managers in The Everglades, Fla., to use NetCDF as the standard data container for datasets based on multidimensional arrays. As a consequence, a need arose for additional tools to view and manipulate NetCDF datasets, specifically to create subsets of large NetCDF files. To address this need, we created the EverVIEW Slice and Dice Tool to allow users to create subsets of grid-based NetCDF files. The major functions of this tool are (1) to subset NetCDF files both spatially and temporally; (2) to view the NetCDF data in table form; and (3) to export filtered data to a comma-separated value file format.

Operational experience with a 35-kWp concentrating photovoltaic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, R. M.

Design, installation, and performance features of a 35 kWp concentrator photovoltaic (PV) array on Kauai, Hawaii are described. The actively-cooled arrays feed 80 C water to a storage vessel in a hospital and also supply 480 Vac to the island grid. A 12-step bridge has been incorporated into the power conditioning unit to eliminate all harmonics below the 19th. The island environment permits accelerated testing of the thermal cycling and salt spray environments and the reliability of the cooling system. Two ground faults have been experienced, together with module glass cracking, a factor which was determined to occur at a 0.5 pct annual rate. Heat conductive grease was needed in the encapsulant, and the high humidity environment produced 11 failures in the data acquisition system in 6 mos. Galvanized metal resists the salt air and a sacrificial Zn anode and anticorrosive additive protected the fluid loop.

Systematic cloning of human minisatellites from ordered array charomid libraries.

PubMed

Armour, J A; Povey, S; Jeremiah, S; Jeffreys, A J

1990-11-01

We present a rapid and efficient method for the isolation of minisatellite loci from human DNA. The method combines cloning a size-selected fraction of human MboI DNA fragments in a charomid vector with hybridization screening of the library in ordered array. Size-selection of large MboI fragments enriches for the longer, more variable minisatellites and reduces the size of the library required. The library was screened with a series of multi-locus probes known to detect a large number of hypervariable loci in human DNA. The gridded library allowed both the rapid processing of positive clones and the comparative evaluation of the different multi-locus probes used, in terms of both the relative success in detecting hypervariable loci and the degree of overlap between the sets of loci detected. We report 23 new human minisatellite loci isolated by this method, which map to 14 autosomes and the sex chromosomes.

Modeling the Rate-Dependent Durability of Reduced-Ag SAC Interconnects for Area Array Packages Under Torsion Loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivas, Vikram; Menon, Sandeep; Osterman, Michael; Pecht, Michael G.

2013-08-01

Solder durability models frequently focus on the applied strain range; however, the rate of applied loading, or strain rate, is also important. In this study, an approach to incorporate strain rate dependency into durability estimation for solder interconnects is examined. Failure data were collected for SAC105 solder ball grid arrays assembled with SAC305 solder that were subjected to displacement-controlled torsion loads. Strain-rate-dependent (Johnson-Cook model) and strain-rate-independent elastic-plastic properties were used to model the solders in finite-element simulation. Test data were then used to extract damage model constants for the reduced-Ag SAC solder. A generalized Coffin-Manson damage model was used to estimate the durability. The mechanical fatigue durability curve for reduced-silver SAC solder was generated and compared with durability curves for SAC305 and Sn-Pb from the literature.

Data report for the Northeast Residential Experiment Station, January 1982

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, M. C.; Raghuraman, P.; Mahoney, P. C.

1982-06-01

Physical performance data obtained from photovoltaic energy systems under test at the Northeast Residential Experiment Station(NE RES) in Concord, Massachusetts are tabulated. Five prototype residential photovoltaic systems are under test at the NE RES. Each consists of a roof mounted PV array sized to meet at least 50% of the annual electrical demand of an energy conserving house and an enclosed structure to house the remainder of the PV equipment, test instrumentation and work space. The arrays provide DC power which is converted to AC by power conditioning equipment to service all the usual loads of a residence. Each prototype system is grid connected. Another house in Carlisle, Massachusetts provided with a PV system is also being monitored. The computational basis for the data reported is given. A monthly summary tabulates the monthly performance of the PV systems and monitored houses as well as meteorological data.

Seasonal Variations in Resistivity at a Police Forensic Site and the Effectiveness of Unconventional Array Types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, S.; Bank, C. G.

2016-12-01

Geophysical studies involving the detection of buried organic material can be affected by the passage of time and environmental changes such as temperature and, in more importantly, water content in the ground. These effects can be of particular concern for police forensic investigations. This study involved conducting multiple resistivity surveys across 4 months to determine how time and environmental variations affected the detection of porcine carcasses buried four years previous at a provincial police training and research site. Our research also explored survey results of non-conventional grid and square arrays versus traditional linear arrays. The study site is located in Bolton, Ontario, and measures 16 m by 30 m. It contains 18 graves plus other buried objects. Studies were conducted approximately every other week. The resistivity lines used Wenner arrays of 24 m (0.5 m electrode spacing) and 48 m (1 m spacing) in length. Environmental data was obtained from Environment Canada and through simple observations. Preliminary findings indicated that time and environmental changes affected the detection of the porcine bodies by either being too dry and having too high a resistivity to survey effectively, or too wet and having the site flushed with water making the surrounding ground similar in resistivity to the bodies. Future research is needed to further explore how best to minimize environmental changes from resistivity results to enable reliable detection of buried organic material such as human remains In regard to array configurations, the square array in particular shows promise in that it can be set up and executed in less time than running several linear arrays over the same area. The application of such unconventional arrays to police forensic work may prove valuable if the area of interest is off-limits for resistivity surveys due to physical obstructions.

Grid-enhanced X-ray coded aperture microscopy with polycapillary optics

PubMed Central

Sowa, Katarzyna M.; Last, Arndt; Korecki, Paweł

2017-01-01

Polycapillary devices focus X-rays by means of multiple reflections of X-rays in arrays of bent glass capillaries. The size of the focal spot (typically 10–100 μm) limits the resolution of scanning, absorption and phase-contrast X-ray imaging using these devices. At the expense of a moderate resolution, polycapillary elements provide high intensity and are frequently used for X-ray micro-imaging with both synchrotrons and X-ray tubes. Recent studies have shown that the internal microstructure of such an optics can be used as a coded aperture that encodes high-resolution information about objects located inside the focal spot. However, further improvements to this variant of X-ray microscopy will require the challenging fabrication of tailored devices with a well-defined capillary microstructure. Here, we show that submicron coded aperture microscopy can be realized using a periodic grid that is placed at the output surface of a polycapillary optics. Grid-enhanced X-ray coded aperture microscopy with polycapillary optics does not rely on the specific microstructure of the optics but rather takes advantage only of its focusing properties. Hence, submicron X-ray imaging can be realized with standard polycapillary devices and existing set-ups for micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. PMID:28322316

Grid-enhanced X-ray coded aperture microscopy with polycapillary optics.

PubMed

Sowa, Katarzyna M; Last, Arndt; Korecki, Paweł

2017-03-21

Polycapillary devices focus X-rays by means of multiple reflections of X-rays in arrays of bent glass capillaries. The size of the focal spot (typically 10-100 μm) limits the resolution of scanning, absorption and phase-contrast X-ray imaging using these devices. At the expense of a moderate resolution, polycapillary elements provide high intensity and are frequently used for X-ray micro-imaging with both synchrotrons and X-ray tubes. Recent studies have shown that the internal microstructure of such an optics can be used as a coded aperture that encodes high-resolution information about objects located inside the focal spot. However, further improvements to this variant of X-ray microscopy will require the challenging fabrication of tailored devices with a well-defined capillary microstructure. Here, we show that submicron coded aperture microscopy can be realized using a periodic grid that is placed at the output surface of a polycapillary optics. Grid-enhanced X-ray coded aperture microscopy with polycapillary optics does not rely on the specific microstructure of the optics but rather takes advantage only of its focusing properties. Hence, submicron X-ray imaging can be realized with standard polycapillary devices and existing set-ups for micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: L204 - Cloud 3 polarimetry and photometry (Cashman+, 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cashman, L. R.; Clemens, D. P.

2017-04-01

Linear polarimetry measurements were obtained in the NIR H band (1.6 um) using the Mimir instrument (Clemens et al. 2007PASP..119.1385C) on the 1.8 m Perkins telescope outside of Flagstaff, AZ. Mimir used a 10242 Aladdin III InSb detector array, operated at 33.5 K. The instrument had a field of view (FOV) of 10'x10' and pixel scale of 0.58''. Polarimetric analysis was performed with a cold, stepping, H-band, compound half-wave plate (HWP) plus a fixed, cold wire-grid analyzer. Sky observations were planned for a grid of 54 abutting fields (a 6x9 field grid) covering a 1°x1.5° region of L204 centered on Cloud 3. They were conducted over several nights between 2010 May and 2012 May. To obtain polarimetry measurements, exposures of five second durations were obtained for 16 unique HWP position angles at six sky-dither positions, yielding a total of 96 images per field. The total on-sky integration time of the entire map (eight minutes per FOV) was 7.2 hr. Polarization flat-fields for each HWP position were taken using a lights-on/lights-off method against a uniformly illuminated flat-field screen inside the closed telescope dome. (1 data file).

Comparison of Accuracy and Performance for Lattice Boltzmann and Finite Difference Simulations of Steady Viscous Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noble, David R.; Georgiadis, John G.; Buckius, Richard O.

1996-07-01

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is used to simulate flow in an infinite periodic array of octagonal cylinders. Results are compared with those obtained by a finite difference (FD) simulation solved in terms of streamfunction and vorticity using an alternating direction implicit scheme. Computed velocity profiles are compared along lines common to both the lattice Boltzmann and finite difference grids. Along all such slices, both streamwise and transverse velocity predictions agree to within 05% of the average streamwise velocity. The local shear on the surface of the cylinders also compares well, with the only deviations occurring in the vicinity of the corners of the cylinders, where the slope of the shear is discontinuous. When a constant dimensionless relaxation time is maintained, LBM exhibits the same convergence behaviour as the FD algorithm, with the time step increasing as the square of the grid size. By adjusting the relaxation time such that a constant Mach number is achieved, the time step of LBM varies linearly with the grid size. The efficiency of LBM on the CM-5 parallel computer at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) is evaluated by examining each part of the algorithm. Overall, a speed of 139 GFLOPS is obtained using 512 processors for a domain size of 2176×2176.

Third International Kharkov Symposium "Physics and Engineering of Millimeter and Submillimeter Waves" MSMW󈨦 Symposium Proceedings, Volume 1,

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-09-01

potential of the surface wave electromagnetic field; ea is the unit of the polarization vectors : ex = ela. = e2x= (qx/\\q\\)\\/L\\q\\/(ei + e0), ely... polarization basis of the incident wave: EB°=eB^(/kr), (1) where e„ is the cyclic unit vector , n = ±1, k is the wave vector . The equation describing...rectangular grid. From the direction determined by wave vector k0, the plane electromagnetic wave of linear polarization incidents onto the array. It

A micro-CL system and its applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Zenghui; Yuan, Lulu; Liu, Baodong; Wei, Cunfeng; Sun, Cuili; Yin, Pengfei; Wei, Long

2017-11-01

The computed laminography (CL) method is preferable to computed tomography for the non-destructive testing of plate-like objects. A micro-CL system is developed for three-dimensional imaging of plate-like objects. The details of the micro-CL system are described, including the system architecture, scanning modes, and reconstruction algorithm. The experiment results of plate-like fossils, insulated gate bipolar translator module, ball grid array packaging, and printed circuit board are also presented to demonstrate micro-CL's ability for 3D imaging of flat specimens and universal applicability in various fields.

A micro-CL system and its applications.

PubMed

Wei, Zenghui; Yuan, Lulu; Liu, Baodong; Wei, Cunfeng; Sun, Cuili; Yin, Pengfei; Wei, Long

2017-11-01

The computed laminography (CL) method is preferable to computed tomography for the non-destructive testing of plate-like objects. A micro-CL system is developed for three-dimensional imaging of plate-like objects. The details of the micro-CL system are described, including the system architecture, scanning modes, and reconstruction algorithm. The experiment results of plate-like fossils, insulated gate bipolar translator module, ball grid array packaging, and printed circuit board are also presented to demonstrate micro-CL's ability for 3D imaging of flat specimens and universal applicability in various fields.

Photovoltaics and solar thermal conversion to electricity - Status and prospects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alper, M. E.

1979-01-01

Photovoltaic power system technology development includes flat-plate silicon solar arrays and concentrating solar cell systems, which use silicon and other cell materials such as gallium arsenide. System designs and applications include small remote power systems ranging in size from tens of watts to tens of kilowatts, intermediate load-center applications ranging in size from tens to hundreds of kilowatts, and large central plant installations, as well as grid-connected rooftop applications. The thermal conversion program is concerned with large central power systems and small power applications.

Integrated thin film cadmium sulfide solar cell module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mickelsen, R. A.; Abbott, D. D.

1971-01-01

The design, development, fabrication and tests of flexible integrated thin-film cadmium sulfide solar cells and modules are discussed. The development of low cost and high production rate methods for interconnecting cells into large solar arrays is described. Chromium thin films were applied extensively in the deposited cell structures as a means to: (1) achieve high adherence between the cadmium sulfide films and the vacuum-metallized copper substrates, (2) obtain an ohmic contact to the cadmium sulfide films, and (3) improve the adherence of gold films as grids or contact areas.

SPS microwave subsystem potential impacts and benefits. [environmental and societal effects of Solar Power System construction and operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dickinson, R. M.

1978-01-01

The paper examines the possible environmental and societal effects of the construction, installation, and operation of the space end and earth end of the microwave power transmission subsystem that delivers satellite power system (SPS) energy (at about 5 GW per beam) to the power grid on earth. The intervening propagation medium near the earth is also considered. Separate consideration is given to the spacecraft transmitting array, propagation in the ionosphere, and the ground-based rectenna. Radio frequency interference aspects are also discussed.

An independently addressable microbiosensor array: what are the limits of sensing element density?

PubMed

Yu, P; Wilson, G S

2000-01-01

A microdisc sensor array, prepared by thin film technology, has been used as a model for miniaturized multi-functional biosensors. It consists of a series of wells, 20 microns in diameter, possessing a 1000 A Pt layer at the bottom that serves as the indicating electrode. The depth of the wells ranged from 2.3-24 microns, depending on the photoresist employed and the spinning speed used to coat the electrode interconnect grid. Ten such wells were arranged in a circular array within an area of radius 130 microns. The center to center distance between any two of the discs ranged from 30 to 155 microns. Each disc is connected by a conductive film line to corresponding pads on the side of the sensor chip. A cylinder placed on top of the chip array formed the electrochemical cell into which a common reference and counter electrode were placed. The reference electrode was operated at ground potential. Prior to the evaluation of enzyme sensors, an assessment of "chemical cross-talk", the perturbation of sensor response resulting from the overlap of proximal diffusion layers, was made using Fe(CN)6(4-). The preliminary conclusion is that the sensing elements probably must be separated by about 100 microns in order to avoid interference from adjacent sensors. A technique was developed for the precision delivery of enzyme and cross-linking agent to the 2.3 microns cavity, having a capacity of 4 pL. This procedure makes possible the preparation of sensor arrays capable of detecting different analytes by employing different enzymes. The sensors gave reasonably rapid (2-4 s) response with linearity (up to about 10 mM. However, the sensors in the center of the array clearly showed the effects of depletion of substrates by the surrounding sensors.

VP Structure of Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA, imaged with local earthquake tomography

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waite, G.P.; Moran, S.C.

2009-01-01

We present a new P-wave velocity model for Mount St. Helens using local earthquake data recorded by the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Stations and Cascades Volcano Observatory since the 18 May 1980 eruption. These data were augmented with records from a dense array of 19 temporary stations deployed during the second half of 2005. Because the distribution of earthquakes in the study area is concentrated beneath the volcano and within two nearly linear trends, we used a graded inversion scheme to compute a coarse-grid model that focused on the regional structure, followed by a fine-grid inversion to improve spatial resolution directly beneath the volcanic edifice. The coarse-grid model results are largely consistent with earlier geophysical studies of the area; we find high-velocity anomalies NW and NE of the edifice that correspond with igneous intrusions and a prominent low-velocity zone NNW of the edifice that corresponds with the linear zone of high seismicity known as the St. Helens Seismic Zone. This low-velocity zone may continue past Mount St. Helens to the south at depths below 5??km. Directly beneath the edifice, the fine-grid model images a low-velocity zone between about 2 and 3.5??km below sea level that may correspond to a shallow magma storage zone. And although the model resolution is poor below about 6??km, we found low velocities that correspond with the aseismic zone between about 5.5 and 8??km that has previously been modeled as the location of a large magma storage volume. ?? 2009 Elsevier B.V.

SciSpark: Highly Interactive and Scalable Model Evaluation and Climate Metrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, B. D.; Palamuttam, R. S.; Mogrovejo, R. M.; Whitehall, K. D.; Mattmann, C. A.; Verma, R.; Waliser, D. E.; Lee, H.

2015-12-01

Remote sensing data and climate model output are multi-dimensional arrays of massive sizes locked away in heterogeneous file formats (HDF5/4, NetCDF 3/4) and metadata models (HDF-EOS, CF) making it difficult to perform multi-stage, iterative science processing since each stage requires writing and reading data to and from disk. We are developing a lightning fast Big Data technology called SciSpark based on ApacheTM Spark under a NASA AIST grant (PI Mattmann). Spark implements the map-reduce paradigm for parallel computing on a cluster, but emphasizes in-memory computation, "spilling" to disk only as needed, and so outperforms the disk-based ApacheTM Hadoop by 100x in memory and by 10x on disk. SciSpark will enable scalable model evaluation by executing large-scale comparisons of A-Train satellite observations to model grids on a cluster of 10 to 1000 compute nodes. This 2nd generation capability for NASA's Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES) will compute simple climate metrics at interactive speeds, and extend to quite sophisticated iterative algorithms such as machine-learning based clustering of temperature PDFs, and even graph-based algorithms for searching for Mesocale Convective Complexes. We have implemented a parallel data ingest capability in which the user specifies desired variables (arrays) as several time-sorted lists of URL's (i.e. using OPeNDAP model.nc?varname, or local files). The specified variables are partitioned by time/space and then each Spark node pulls its bundle of arrays into memory to begin a computation pipeline. We also investigated the performance of several N-dim. array libraries (scala breeze, java jblas & netlib-java, and ND4J). We are currently developing science codes using ND4J and studying memory behavior on the JVM. On the pyspark side, many of our science codes already use the numpy and SciPy ecosystems. The talk will cover: the architecture of SciSpark, the design of the scientific RDD (sRDD) data structure, our efforts to integrate climate science algorithms in Python and Scala, parallel ingest and partitioning of A-Train satellite observations from HDF files and model grids from netCDF files, first parallel runs to compute comparison statistics and PDF's, and first metrics quantifying parallel speedups and memory & disk usage.

Multimode power processor

DOEpatents

O'Sullivan, G.A.; O'Sullivan, J.A.

1999-07-27

In one embodiment, a power processor which operates in three modes: an inverter mode wherein power is delivered from a battery to an AC power grid or load; a battery charger mode wherein the battery is charged by a generator; and a parallel mode wherein the generator supplies power to the AC power grid or load in parallel with the battery. In the parallel mode, the system adapts to arbitrary non-linear loads. The power processor may operate on a per-phase basis wherein the load may be synthetically transferred from one phase to another by way of a bumpless transfer which causes no interruption of power to the load when transferring energy sources. Voltage transients and frequency transients delivered to the load when switching between the generator and battery sources are minimized, thereby providing an uninterruptible power supply. The power processor may be used as part of a hybrid electrical power source system which may contain, in one embodiment, a photovoltaic array, diesel engine, and battery power sources. 31 figs.

Multimode power processor

DOEpatents

O'Sullivan, George A.; O'Sullivan, Joseph A.

1999-01-01

In one embodiment, a power processor which operates in three modes: an inverter mode wherein power is delivered from a battery to an AC power grid or load; a battery charger mode wherein the battery is charged by a generator; and a parallel mode wherein the generator supplies power to the AC power grid or load in parallel with the battery. In the parallel mode, the system adapts to arbitrary non-linear loads. The power processor may operate on a per-phase basis wherein the load may be synthetically transferred from one phase to another by way of a bumpless transfer which causes no interruption of power to the load when transferring energy sources. Voltage transients and frequency transients delivered to the load when switching between the generator and battery sources are minimized, thereby providing an uninterruptible power supply. The power processor may be used as part of a hybrid electrical power source system which may contain, in one embodiment, a photovoltaic array, diesel engine, and battery power sources.

Quadrant CFD Analysis of a Mixer-Ejector Nozzle for HSCT Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yoder, Dennis A.; Georgiadis, Nicholas J.; Wolter, John D.

2005-01-01

This study investigates the sidewall effect on flow within the mixing duct downstream of a lobed mixer-ejector nozzle. Simulations which model only one half-chute width of the ejector array are compared with those which model one complete quadrant of the nozzle geometry and with available experimental data. These solutions demonstrate the applicability of the half-chute technique to model the flowfield far away from the sidewall and the necessity of a full-quadrant simulation to predict the formation of a low-energy flow region near the sidewall. The quadrant solutions are further examined to determine the cause of this low-energy region, which reduces the amount of mixing and lowers the thrust of the nozzle. Grid resolution and different grid topologies are also examined. Finally, an assessment of the half-chute and quadrant approaches is made to determine the ability of these simulations to provide qualitative and/or quantitative predictions for this type of complex flowfield.

Control strategy of grid-connected photovoltaic generation system based on GMPPT method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhongfeng; Zhang, Xuyang; Hu, Bo; Liu, Jun; Li, Ligang; Gu, Yongqiang; Zhou, Bowen

2018-02-01

There are multiple local maximum power points when photovoltaic (PV) array runs under partial shading condition (PSC).However, the traditional maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm might be easily trapped in local maximum power points (MPPs) and cannot find the global maximum power point (GMPP). To solve such problem, a global maximum power point tracking method (GMPPT) is improved, combined with traditional MPPT method and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Under different operating conditions of PV cells, different tracking algorithms are used. When the environment changes, the improved PSO algorithm is adopted to realize the global optimal search, and the variable step incremental conductance (INC) method is adopted to achieve MPPT in optimal local location. Based on the simulation model of the PV grid system built in Matlab/Simulink, comparative analysis of the tracking effect of MPPT by the proposed control algorithm and the traditional MPPT method under the uniform solar condition and PSC, validate the correctness, feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Fine Collimator Grids Using Silicon Metering Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eberhard, Carol

1998-01-01

The project Fine Collimator Grids Using Silicon Metering Structure was managed by Dr. Carol Eberhard of the Electromagnetic Systems & Technology Department (Space & Technology Division) of TRW who also wrote this final report. The KOH chemical etching of the silicon wafers was primarily done by Dr. Simon Prussin of the Electrical Engineering Department of UCLA at the laboratory on campus. Moshe Sergant of the Superconductor Electronics Technology Department (Electronics Systems & Technology Division) of TRW and Dr. Prussin were instrumental in developing the low temperature silicon etching processes. Moshe Sergant and George G. Pinneo of the Microelectronics Production Department (Electronics Systems & Technology Division) of TRW were instrumental in developing the processes for filling the slots etched in the silicon wafers with metal-filled materials. Their work was carried out in the laboratories at the Space Park facility. Moshe Sergant is also responsible for the impressive array of Scanning Electron Microscope images with which the various processes were monitored. Many others also contributed their time and expertise to the project. I wish to thank them all.

Navier-Stokes calculations for 3D gaseous fuel injection with data comparisons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuller, E. J.; Walters, R. W.

1991-01-01

Results from a computational study and experiments designed to further expand the knowledge of gaseous injection into supersonic cross-flows are presented. Experiments performed at Mach 6 included several cases of gaseous helium injection with low transverse angles and injection with low transverse angles coupled with a low yaw angle. Both experimental and computational data confirm that injector yaw has an adverse effect on the helium core decay rate. An array of injectors is found to give higher penetration into the freestream without loss of core injectant decay as compared to a single injector. Lateral diffusion plays a major role in lateral plume spreading, eddy viscosity, injectant plume, and injectant-freestream mixing. Grid refinement makes it possible to capture the gradients in the streamwise direction accurately and to vastly improve the data comparisons. Computational results for a refined grid are found to compare favorably with experimental data on injectant overall and core penetration provided laminar lateral diffusion was taken into account using the modified Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model.

Millimeter-wave monolithic diode-grid frequency multiplier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maserjian, Joseph (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A semiconductor diode structure useful for harmonic generation of millimeter or submillimeter wave radiation from a fundamental input wave is fabricated on a GaAs substrate. A heavily doped layer of n(sup ++) GaAs is produced on the substrate and then a layer of intrinsic GaAs on said heavily doped layer on top of which a sheet of heavy doping (++) is produced. A thin layer of intrinsic GaAs grown over the sheet is capped with two metal contacts separated by a gap to produce two diodes connected back to back through the n(sup ++) layer for multiplication of frequency by an odd multiple. If only one metal contact caps the thin layer of intrinsic GaAs, the second diode contact is produced to connect to the n(sup ++) layer for multiplication of frequency by an even number. The odd or even frequency multiple is selected by a filter. A phased array of diodes in a grid will increase the power of the higher frequency generated.

Distributed photovoltaic systems - Addressing the utility interface issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Firstman, S. I.; Vachtsevanos, G. J.

This paper reviews work conducted in the United States on the impact of dispersed photovoltaic sources upon utility operations. The photovoltaic (PV) arrays are roof-mounted on residential houses and connected, via appropriate power conditioning equipment, to the utility grid. The presence of such small (4-6 Kw) dispersed generators on the distribution network raises questions of a technical, economic and institutional nature. After a brief identification of utility interface issues, the paper addresses such technical concerns as protection of equipment and personnel safety, power quality and utility operational stability. A combination of experimental and analytical approaches has been adopted to arrive at solutions to these problems. Problem areas, under various PV system penetration scenarios, are identified and conceptual designs of protection and control equipment and operating policies are developed so that system reliability is maintained while minimizing capital costs. It is hoped that the resolution of balance-of-system and grid interface questions will ascertain the economic viability of photovoltaic systems and assist in their widespread utilization in the future.

Alignment of sensor arrays in optical instruments using a geometric approach.

PubMed

Sawyer, Travis W

2018-02-01

Alignment of sensor arrays in optical instruments is critical to maximize the instrument's performance. While many commercial systems use standardized mounting threads for alignment, custom systems require specialized equipment and alignment procedures. These alignment procedures can be time-consuming, dependent on operator experience, and have low repeatability. Furthermore, each alignment solution must be considered on a case-by-case basis, leading to additional time and resource cost. Here I present a method to align a sensor array using geometric analysis. By imaging a grid pattern of dots, I show that it is possible to calculate the misalignment for a sensor in five degrees of freedom simultaneously. I first test the approach by simulating different cases of misalignment using Zemax before applying the method to experimentally acquired data of sensor misalignment for an echelle spectrograph. The results show that the algorithm effectively quantifies misalignment in five degrees of freedom for an F/5 imaging system, accurate to within ±0.87  deg in rotation and ±0.86  μm in translation. Furthermore, the results suggest that the method can also be applied to non-imaging systems with a small penalty to precision. This general approach can potentially improve the alignment of sensor arrays in custom instruments by offering an accurate, quantitative approach to calculating misalignment in five degrees of freedom simultaneously.

Simulation-Based Approach for Site-Specific Optimization of Hydrokinetic Turbine Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sotiropoulos, F.; Chawdhary, S.; Yang, X.; Khosronejad, A.; Angelidis, D.

2014-12-01

A simulation-based approach has been developed to enable site-specific optimization of tidal and current turbine arrays in real-life waterways. The computational code is based on the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory Virtual StreamLab (VSL3D), which is able to carry out high-fidelity simulations of turbulent flow and sediment transport processes in rivers and streams taking into account the arbitrary geometrical complexity characterizing natural waterways. The computational framework can be used either in turbine-resolving mode, to take into account all geometrical details of the turbine, or with the turbines parameterized as actuator disks or actuator lines. Locally refined grids are employed to dramatically increase the resolution of the simulation and enable efficient simulations of multi-turbine arrays. Turbine/sediment interactions are simulated using the coupled hydro-morphodynamic module of VSL3D. The predictive capabilities of the resulting computational framework will be demonstrated by applying it to simulate turbulent flow past a tri-frame configuration of hydrokinetic turbines in a rigid-bed turbulent open channel flow as well as turbines mounted on mobile bed open channels to investigate turbine/sediment interactions. The utility of the simulation-based approach for guiding the optimal development of turbine arrays in real-life waterways will also be discussed and demonstrated. This work was supported by NSF grant IIP-1318201. Simulations were carried out at the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute.

CCAM: A novel millimeter-wave instrument using a close-packed TES bolometer array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, Judy M.

This thesis describes CCAM, an instrument designed to map the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), and also presents some of the initial measurements made with CCAM on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). CCAM uses a CCD-like camera of millimeter-wave TES bolometers. It employs new detector technology, read-out electronics, cold re-imaging optics, and cryogenics to obtain high sensitivity CMB anisotropy measurements. The free-standing 8×32 close-packed array of pop- up TES detectors is the first of its kind to observe the sky at 145 GHz. We present the design of the receiver including the antireflection coated silicon lens re-imaging system, construction and optimization of the pulse tube/ sorption refrigerator cryogenic system, as well as the technology developed to integrate eight 1×32 TES columns and accompanying read-out electronics in to an array of 256 millimeter-wave detectors into a focal plane area of 3.5 cm 2. The performance of the detectors and optics prior to deployment at the ACT site in Chile are reported as well as preliminary performance results of the instrument when optically paired with the ACT telescope in the summer of 2007. Here, we also report on the feasibility of the TES detector array to measure polarization when coupled to a rotating birefringent sapphire half wave plate and wire-grid polarizer.

Opportunity to Plug Your Car Into the Electric Grid is Arriving

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

Griego, G.

2010-06-01

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are hitting the U.S. market for the first time this year. Similar to hybrid electric vehicles, they feature a larger battery and plug-in charger that allows consumers to replace a portion of their fossil fuel by simply plugging their cars into standard 110-volt outlets at home or wherever outlets are available. If these vehicles become widely accepted, consumers and the environment will benefit, according to a computer modeling study by Xcel Energy and the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Researchers found that each PHEV would cut carbon dioxide emissions in half and save ownersmore » up to $450 in annual fuel costs and up to 240 gallons of gasoline. The study also looked at the impact of PHEVs on the electric grid in Colorado if used on a large scale. Integrating large numbers of these vehicles will depend on the adoption of smart-grid technology - adding digital elements to the electric power system to improve efficiency and enable more dynamic communication between consumers and producers of electricity. Using an intelligent monitoring system that keeps track of all electricity flowing in the system, a smart grid could enable optimal PHEV battery-charging much the same way it would enable users to manage their energy use in household appliances and factory processes to reduce energy costs. When a smart grid is implemented, consumers will have many low-cost opportunities to charge PHEVs at different times of the day. Plug-in vehicles could contribute electricity at peak times, such as summer evenings, while taking electricity from the grid at low-use times such as the middle of the night. Electricity rates could offer incentives for drivers to 'give back' electricity when it is most needed and to 'take' it when it is plentiful. The integration of PHEVs, solar arrays and wind turbines into the grid at larger scales will require a more modern electricity system. Technology already exists to allow customers to feed excess power from their own renewable energy systems back to the grid. As more homes and businesses find opportunities to plan power flows to and from the grid for economic gain using their renewable energy systems and PHEVs, more sophisticated systems will be needed. A smart grid will improve the efficiency of energy consumption, manage real-time power flows and provide two-way metering needed to compensate small power producers. Many states are working toward the smart-grid concept, particularly to incorporate renewable sources into their utility grids. According to the Department of Energy, 30 states have developed and adopted renewable portfolio standards, which require up to 20 percent of a state's energy portfolio to come exclusively from renewable sources by this year, and up to 30 percent in the future. NREL has been laying the foundation for both PHEVs and the smart grid for many years with work including modifying hybrid electric cars with plug-in technology; studying fuel economy, batteries and power electronics; exploring options for recharging batteries with solar and wind technologies; and measuring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The laboratory participated in development of smart-grid implementation standards with industry, utilities, government and others to guide the integration of renewable and other small electricity generation and storage sources. Dick DeBlasio, principal program manager for electricity programs, is now leading the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards efforts to connect the dots regarding power generation, communication and information technologies.« less

Extended arrays for nonlinear susceptibility magnitude imaging

PubMed Central

Ficko, Bradley W.; Giacometti, Paolo; Diamond, Solomon G.

2016-01-01

This study implements nonlinear susceptibility magnitude imaging (SMI) with multifrequency intermodulation and phase encoding. An imaging grid was constructed of cylindrical wells of 3.5-mm diameter and 4.2-mm height on a hexagonal two-dimensional 61-voxel pattern with 5-mm spacing. Patterns of sample wells were filled with 40-μl volumes of Fe3O4 starch-coated magnetic nanoparticles (mNPs) with a hydrodynamic diameter of 100 nm and a concentration of 25 mg/ml. The imaging hardware was configured with three excitation coils and three detection coils in anticipation that a larger imaging system will have arrays of excitation and detection coils. Hexagonal and bar patterns of mNP were successfully imaged (R2 > 0.9) at several orientations. This SMI demonstration extends our prior work to feature a larger coil array, enlarged field-of-view, effective phase encoding scheme, reduced mNP sample size, and more complex imaging patterns to test the feasibility of extending the method beyond the pilot scale. The results presented in this study show that nonlinear SMI holds promise for further development into a practical imaging system for medical applications. PMID:26124044

Magnetocardiogram measured by fundamental mode orthogonal fluxgate array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karo, Hikaru; Sasada, Ichiro

2015-05-01

Magnetocardiography (MCG) of healthy volunteers has been measured by using a fundamental mode orthogonal fluxgate magnetometer array of 32 channels in a magnetic shielded room (MSR). Sensor heads, which are employed, consist of a 45 mm long U-shaped amorphous wire core and a 1000-turn solenoid pick-up coil of 30 mm in length and 3 mm in outer diameter. The excitation current of 100 kHz with large dc bias current is fed directly into wire cores, which are connected in series, whereas the signal detection circuit is provided to each of the sensor heads. A special technique to avoid mutual interaction between sensor heads is implemented, where all the sensor heads are excited synchronously by using a single ac source. A 2-D array having 32 sensors with 4 cm grid spacing was used to measure MCG signals inside an MSR. Measured data from each channel were first filtered (0.16-100 Hz pass band), then averaged for 2 min synchronously with electrocardiogram's peaks taken from both hands. Noise remaining after the average is about 1.8 pTrms for the band-width of 0.16-100 Hz. The QRS complex and the T-wave are clearly detected.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Distributed Generation Systems - Control and Protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Zhehan

This dissertation proposes a comprehensive control, power management, and fault detection strategy for solar photovoltaic (PV) distribution generations. Battery storages are typically employed in PV systems to mitigate the power fluctuation caused by unstable solar irradiance. With AC and DC loads, a PV-battery system can be treated as a hybrid microgrid which contains both DC and AC power resources and buses. In this thesis, a control power and management system (CAPMS) for PV-battery hybrid microgrid is proposed, which provides 1) the DC and AC bus voltage and AC frequency regulating scheme and controllers designed to track set points; 2) a power flow management strategy in the hybrid microgrid to achieve system generation and demand balance in both grid-connected and islanded modes; 3) smooth transition control during grid reconnection by frequency and phase synchronization control between the main grid and microgrid. Due to the increasing demands for PV power, scales of PV systems are getting larger and fault detection in PV arrays becomes challenging. High-impedance faults, low-mismatch faults, and faults occurred in low irradiance conditions tend to be hidden due to low fault currents, particularly, when a PV maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is in-service. If remain undetected, these faults can considerably lower the output energy of solar systems, damage the panels, and potentially cause fire hazards. In this dissertation, fault detection challenges in PV arrays are analyzed in depth, considering the crossing relations among the characteristics of PV, interactions with MPPT algorithms, and the nature of solar irradiance. Two fault detection schemes are then designed as attempts to address these technical issues, which detect faults inside PV arrays accurately even under challenging circumstances, e.g., faults in low irradiance conditions or high-impedance faults. Taking advantage of multi-resolution signal decomposition (MSD), a powerful signal processing technique based on discrete wavelet transformation (DWT), the first attempt is devised, which extracts the features of both line-to-line (L-L) and line-to-ground (L-G) faults and employs a fuzzy inference system (FIS) for the decision-making stage of fault detection. This scheme is then improved as the second attempt by further studying the system's behaviors during L-L faults, extracting more efficient fault features, and devising a more advanced decision-making stage: the two-stage support vector machine (SVM). For the first time, the two-stage SVM method is proposed in this dissertation to detect L-L faults in PV system with satisfactory accuracies. Numerous simulation and experimental case studies are carried out to verify the proposed control and protection strategies. Simulation environment is set up using the PSCAD/EMTDC and Matlab/Simulink software packages. Experimental case studies are conducted in a PV-battery hybrid microgrid using the dSPACE real-time controller to demonstrate the ease of hardware implementation and the controller performance. Another small-scale grid-connected PV system is set up to verify both fault detection algorithms which demonstrate promising performances and fault detecting accuracies.

Evaluation of acoustic telemetry grids for determining aquatic animal movement and survival

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kraus, Richard T.; Holbrook, Christopher; Vandergoot, Christopher; Stewart, Taylor R.; Faust, Matthew D.; Watkinson, Douglas A.; Charles, Colin; Pegg, Mark; Enders, Eva C.; Krueger, Charles C.

2018-01-01

Acoustic telemetry studies have frequently prioritized linear configurations of hydrophone receivers, such as perpendicular from shorelines or across rivers, to detect the presence of tagged aquatic animals. This approach introduces unknown bias when receivers are stationed for convenience at geographic bottlenecks (e.g., at the mouth of an embayment or between islands) as opposed to deployments following a statistical sampling design.We evaluated two-dimensional acoustic receiver arrays (grids: receivers spread uniformly across space) as an alternative approach to provide estimates of survival, movement, and habitat use. Performance of variably-spaced receiver grids (5–25 km spacing) was evaluated by simulating (1) animal tracks as correlated random walks (speed: 0.1–0.9 m/s; turning angle standard deviation: 5–30 degrees); (2) variable tag transmission intervals along each track (nominal delay: 15–300 seconds); and (3) probability of detection of each transmission based on logistic detection range curves (midpoint: 200–1500 m). From simulations, we quantified i) time between successive detections on any receiver (detection time), ii) time between successive detections on different receivers (transit time), and iii) distance between successive detections on different receivers (transit distance).In the most restrictive detection range scenario (200 m), the 95th percentile of transit time was 3.2 days at 5 km grid spacing, 5.7 days at 7 km, and 15.2 days at 25 km; for the 1500 m detection range scenario, it was 0.1 days at 5 km, 0.5 days at 7 km, and 10.8 days at 25 km. These values represented upper bounds on the expected maximum time that an animal could go undetected. Comparison of the simulations with pilot studies on three fishes (walleye Sander vitreus, common carp Cyprinus carpio, and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus) from two independent large lake ecosystems (lakes Erie and Winnipeg) revealed shorter detection and transit times than what simulations predicted.By spreading effort uniformly across space, grids can improve understanding of fish migration over the commonly employed receiver line approach, but at increased time cost for maintaining grids.

Grid therapy using high definition multileaf collimators: realizing benefits of the bystander effect.

PubMed

Peng, Valery; Suchowerska, Natalka; Rogers, Linda; Claridge Mackonis, Elizabeth; Oakes, Samantha; McKenzie, David R

2017-08-01

In microbeam radiotherapy (MRT), parallel arrays of high-intensity synchrotron x-ray beams achieve normal tissue sparing without compromising tumor control. Grid-therapy using clinical linacs has spatial modulation on a larger scale and achieves promising results for palliative treatments of bulky tumors. The availability of high definition multileaf collimators (HDMLCs) with 2.5 mm leaves provides an opportunity for grid-therapy to more closely approach MRT. However, challenges to the wider implementation of grid-therapy remain because spatial modulation of the target volume runs counter to current radiotherapy practice and mechanisms for the beneficial effects of MRT are not fully understood. Without more knowledge of cell dose responses, a quantitative basis for planning treatments is difficult. The aim of this study is to determine if therapeutic benefits of MRT can be achieved using a linac with HDMLCs and if so, to develop a predictive model to support treatment planning. HD120-MLCs of a Varian Novalis TX TM were used to generate grid patterns of 2.5 and 5.0 mm spacing, which were characterized dosimetrically using Gafchromic TM EBT3 film. Clonogenic survival of normal (HUVEC) and cancer (NCI-H460, HCC-1954) cell lines following irradiation under the grid and open fields using a 6 MV photon beam were compared in-vitro for the same average dose. Relative to an open field, survival of normal cells in a 2.5 mm striped field was the same, while the survival of both cancer cell lines was significantly lower. A mathematical model was developed to incorporate dose gradients of the spatial modulation into the standard linear quadratic model. Our new bystander extended LQ model assumes spatial gradients drive the diffusion of soluble factors that influence survival through bystander effects, successfully predicting the experimental results that show an increased therapeutic ratio. Our results challenge conventional radiotherapy practice and propose that additional gain can be realized by prescribing spatially modulated treatments to harness the bystander effect.

Design and implementation of a 3D-MR/CT geometric image distortion phantom/analysis system for stereotactic radiosurgery.

PubMed

Damyanovich, A Z; Rieker, M; Zhang, B; Bissonnette, J-P; Jaffray, D A

2018-03-27

The design, construction and application of a multimodality, 3D magnetic resonance/computed tomography (MR/CT) image distortion phantom and analysis system for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is presented. The phantom is characterized by (1) a 1 × 1 × 1 (cm) 3 MRI/CT-visible 3D-Cartesian grid; (2) 2002 grid vertices that are 3D-intersections of MR-/CT-visible 'lines' in all three orthogonal planes; (3) a 3D-grid that is MR-signal positive/CT-signal negative; (4) a vertex distribution sufficiently 'dense' to characterize geometrical parameters properly, and (5) a grid/vertex resolution consistent with SRS localization accuracy. When positioned correctly, successive 3D-vertex planes along any orthogonal axis of the phantom appear as 1 × 1 (cm) 2 -2D grids, whereas between vertex planes, images are defined by 1 × 1 (cm) 2 -2D arrays of signal points. Image distortion is evaluated using a centroid algorithm that automatically identifies the center of each 3D-intersection and then calculates the deviations dx, dy, dz and dr for each vertex point; the results are presented as a color-coded 2D or 3D distribution of deviations. The phantom components and 3D-grid are machined to sub-millimeter accuracy, making the device uniquely suited to SRS applications; as such, we present it here in a form adapted for use with a Leksell stereotactic frame. Imaging reproducibility was assessed via repeated phantom imaging across ten back-to-back scans; 80%-90% of the differences in vertex deviations dx, dy, dz and dr between successive 3 T MRI scans were found to be  ⩽0.05 mm for both axial and coronal acquisitions, and over  >95% of the differences were observed to be  ⩽0.05 mm for repeated CT scans, clearly demonstrating excellent reproducibility. Applications of the 3D-phantom/analysis system are presented, using a 32-month time-course assessment of image distortion/gradient stability and statistical control chart for 1.5 T and 3 T GE TwinSpeed MRI systems.

Design and implementation of a 3D-MR/CT geometric image distortion phantom/analysis system for stereotactic radiosurgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damyanovich, A. Z.; Rieker, M.; Zhang, B.; Bissonnette, J.-P.; Jaffray, D. A.

2018-04-01

The design, construction and application of a multimodality, 3D magnetic resonance/computed tomography (MR/CT) image distortion phantom and analysis system for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is presented. The phantom is characterized by (1) a 1 × 1 × 1 (cm)3 MRI/CT-visible 3D-Cartesian grid; (2) 2002 grid vertices that are 3D-intersections of MR-/CT-visible ‘lines’ in all three orthogonal planes; (3) a 3D-grid that is MR-signal positive/CT-signal negative; (4) a vertex distribution sufficiently ‘dense’ to characterize geometrical parameters properly, and (5) a grid/vertex resolution consistent with SRS localization accuracy. When positioned correctly, successive 3D-vertex planes along any orthogonal axis of the phantom appear as 1 × 1 (cm)2-2D grids, whereas between vertex planes, images are defined by 1 × 1 (cm)2-2D arrays of signal points. Image distortion is evaluated using a centroid algorithm that automatically identifies the center of each 3D-intersection and then calculates the deviations dx, dy, dz and dr for each vertex point; the results are presented as a color-coded 2D or 3D distribution of deviations. The phantom components and 3D-grid are machined to sub-millimeter accuracy, making the device uniquely suited to SRS applications; as such, we present it here in a form adapted for use with a Leksell stereotactic frame. Imaging reproducibility was assessed via repeated phantom imaging across ten back-to-back scans; 80%–90% of the differences in vertex deviations dx, dy, dz and dr between successive 3 T MRI scans were found to be  ⩽0.05 mm for both axial and coronal acquisitions, and over  >95% of the differences were observed to be  ⩽0.05 mm for repeated CT scans, clearly demonstrating excellent reproducibility. Applications of the 3D-phantom/analysis system are presented, using a 32-month time-course assessment of image distortion/gradient stability and statistical control chart for 1.5 T and 3 T GE TwinSpeed MRI systems.

Repeated surveys by acoustic Doppler current profiler for flow and sediment dynamics in a tidal river

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dinehart, R.L.; Burau, J.R.

2005-01-01

A strategy of repeated surveys by acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) was applied in a tidal river to map velocity vectors and suspended-sediment indicators. The Sacramento River at the junction with the Delta Cross Channel at Walnut Grove, California, was surveyed over several tidal cycles in the Fall of 2000 and 2001 with a vessel-mounted ADCP. Velocity profiles were recorded along flow-defining survey paths, with surveys repeated every 27 min through a diurnal tidal cycle. Velocity vectors along each survey path were interpolated to a three-dimensional Cartesian grid that conformed to local bathymetry. A separate array of vectors was interpolated onto a grid from each survey. By displaying interpolated vector grids sequentially with computer animation, flow dynamics of the reach could be studied in three-dimensions as flow responded to the tidal cycle. Velocity streamtraces in the grid showed the upwelling of flow from the bottom of the Sacramento River channel into the Delta Cross Channel. The sequential display of vector grids showed that water in the canal briefly returned into the Sacramento River after peak flood tides, which had not been known previously. In addition to velocity vectors, ADCP data were processed to derive channel bathymetry and a spatial indicator for suspended-sediment concentration. Individual beam distances to bed, recorded by the ADCP, were transformed to yield bathymetry accurate enough to resolve small bedforms within the study reach. While recording velocity, ADCPs also record the intensity of acoustic backscatter from particles suspended in the flow. Sequential surveys of backscatter intensity were interpolated to grids and animated to indicate the spatial movement of suspended sediment through the study reach. Calculation of backscatter flux through cross-sectional grids provided a first step for computation of suspended-sediment discharge, the second step being a calibrated relation between backscatter intensity and sediment concentration. Spatial analyses of ADCP data showed that a strategy of repeated surveys and flow-field interpolation has the potential to simplify computation of flow and sediment discharge through complex waterways. The use of trade, product, industry, or firm names in this report is for descriptive purposes only and does not constitute endorsement of products by the US Government. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wave Energy Research, Testing and Demonstration Center

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

Batten, Belinda

2014-09-30

The purpose of this project was to build upon the research, development and testing experience of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) to establish a non-grid connected open-ocean testing facility for wave energy converters (WECs) off the coast of Newport, Oregon. The test facility would serve as the first facility of its kind in the continental US with a fully energetic wave resource where WEC technologies could be proven for west coast US markets. The test facility would provide the opportunity for self-contained WEC testing or WEC testing connected via an umbilical cable to a mobile ocean testmore » berth (MOTB). The MOTB would act as a “grid surrogate” measuring energy produced by the WEC and the environmental conditions under which the energy was produced. In order to realize this vision, the ocean site would need to be identified through outreach to community stakeholders, and then regulatory and permitting processes would be undertaken. Part of those processes would require environmental baseline studies and site analysis, including benthic, acoustic and wave resource characterization. The MOTB and its myriad systems would need to be designed and constructed.The first WEC test at the facility with the MOTB was completed within this project with the WET-NZ device in summer 2012. In summer 2013, the MOTB was deployed with load cells on its mooring lines to characterize forces on mooring systems in a variety of sea states. Throughout both testing seasons, studies were done to analyze environmental effects during testing operations. Test protocols and best management practices for open ocean operations were developed. As a result of this project, the non-grid connected fully energetic WEC test facility is operational, and the MOTB system developed provides a portable concept for WEC testing. The permitting process used provides a model for other wave energy projects, especially those in the Pacific Northwest that have similar environmental considerations. While the non-grid connected testing facility provides an option for WEC developers to prove their technology in a fully-energetic wave environment, the absence of grid connection is somewhat of a limitation. To prove that their technology is commercially viable, developers seek a multi-year grid connected testing option. To address this need, NNMREC is developing a companion grid connected test facility in Newport, Oregon, where small arrays of WECs can be tested as well.« less

Virtual and Experimental Visualization of Flows in Packed Beds of Spheres Simulating Porous Media Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hendricks, R. C.; Athavale, M. M.; Lattime, S. B.; Braun, M. J.

1998-01-01

A videotape presentation of flow in a packed bed of spheres is provided. The flow experiment consisted of three principal elements: (1) an oil tunnel 76.2 mm by 76.2 mm in cross section, (2) a packed bed of spheres in regular and irregular arrays, and (3) a flow characterization methodology, either (a) full flow field tracking (FFFT) or (b) computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. The refraction indices of the oil and the test array of spheres were closely matched, and the flow was seeded with aluminum oxide particles. Planar laser light provided a two-dimensional projection of the flow field, and a traverse simulated a three-dimensional image of the entire flow field. Light focusing and reflection rendered the spheres black, permitting visualization of the planar circular interfaces in both the axial and transverse directions. Flows were observed near the wall-sphere interface and within the set of spheres. The CFD model required that a representative section of a packed bed be formed and gridded, enclosing and cutting six spheres so that symmetry conditions could be imposed at all cross-boundaries. Simulations had to be made with the flow direction at right angles to that used in the experiments, however, to take advantage of flow symmetry. Careful attention to detail was required for proper gridding. The flow field was three-dimensional and complex to describe, yet the most prominent finding was flow threads, as computed in the representative 'cube' of spheres with face symmetry and conclusively demonstrated experimentally herein. Random packing and bed voids tended to disrupt the laminar flow, creating vortices.

A DUAL-BAND MILLIMETER-WAVE KINETIC INDUCTANCE CAMERA FOR THE IRAM 30 m TELESCOPE

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

Monfardini, A.; Benoit, A.; Bideaud, A.

The Neel IRAM KIDs Array (NIKA) is a fully integrated measurement system based on kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) currently being developed for millimeter wave astronomy. The instrument includes dual-band optics allowing simultaneous imaging at 150 GHz and 220 GHz. The imaging sensors consist of two spatially separated arrays of KIDs. The first array, mounted on the 150 GHz branch, is composed of 144 lumped-element KIDs. The second array (220 GHz) consists of 256 antenna-coupled KIDs. Each of the arrays is sensitive to a single polarization; the band splitting is achieved by using a grid polarizer. The optics and sensors aremore » mounted in a custom dilution cryostat, with an operating temperature of {approx}70 mK. Electronic readout is realized using frequency multiplexing and a transmission line geometry consisting of a coaxial cable connected in series with the sensor array and a low-noise 4 K amplifier. The dual-band NIKA was successfully tested in 2010 October at the Institute for Millimetric Radio Astronomy (IRAM) 30 m telescope at Pico Veleta, Spain, performing in-line with laboratory predictions. An optical NEP was then calculated to be around 2 x 10{sup -16} W Hz{sup -1/2} (at 1 Hz) while under a background loading of approximately 4 pW pixel{sup -1}. This improvement in comparison with a preliminary run (2009) verifies that NIKA is approaching the target sensitivity for photon-noise limited ground-based detectors. Taking advantage of the larger arrays and increased sensitivity, a number of scientifically relevant faint and extended objects were then imaged including the Galactic Center SgrB2 (FIR1), the radio galaxy Cygnus A, and the NGC1068 Seyfert galaxy. These targets were all observed simultaneously in the 150 GHz and 220 GHz atmospheric windows.« less

Integrated Miniature Arrays of Optical Biomolecule Detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iltchenko, Vladimir; Maleki, Lute; Lin, Ying; Le, Thanh

2009-01-01

Integrated miniature planar arrays of optical sensors for detecting specific biochemicals in extremely small quantities have been proposed. An array of this type would have an area of about 1 cm2. Each element of the array would include an optical microresonator that would have a high value of the resonance quality factor (Q . 107). The surface of each microresonator would be derivatized to make it bind molecules of a species of interest, and such binding would introduce a measurable change in the optical properties of the microresonator. Because each microresonator could be derivatized for detection of a specific biochemical different from those of the other microresonators, it would be possible to detect multiple specific biochemicals by simultaneous or sequential interrogation of all the elements in the array. Moreover, the derivatization would make it unnecessary to prepare samples by chemical tagging. Such interrogation would be effected by means of a grid of row and column polymer-based optical waveguides that would be integral parts of a chip on which the array would be fabricated. The row and column polymer-based optical waveguides would intersect at the elements of the array (see figure). At each intersection, the row and column waveguides would be optically coupled to one of the microresonators. The polymer-based waveguides would be connected via optical fibers to external light sources and photodetectors. One set of waveguides and fibers (e.g., the row waveguides and fibers) would couple light from the sources to the resonators; the other set of waveguides and fibers (e.g., the column waveguides and fibers) would couple light from the microresonators to the photodetectors. Each microresonator could be addressed individually by row and column for measurement of its optical transmission. Optionally, the chip could be fabricated so that each microresonator would lie inside a microwell, into which a microscopic liquid sample could be dispensed.

Using EarthScope magnetotelluric data to improve the resilience of the US power grid: rapid predictions of geomagnetically induced currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, A.; Bonner, L. R., IV

2016-12-01

Existing methods to predict Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs) in power grids, such as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation standard adopted by the power industry, require explicit knowledge of the electrical resistivity structure of the crust and mantle to solve for ground level electric fields along transmission lines. The current standard is to apply regional 1-D resistivity models to this problem, which facilitates rapid solution of the governing equations. The systematic mapping of continental resistivity structure from projects such as EarthScope reveals several orders of magnitude of lateral variations in resistivity on local, regional and continental scales, resulting in electric field intensifications relative to existing 1-D solutions that can impact GICs to first order. The computational burden on the ground resistivity/GIC problem of coupled 3-D solutions inhibits the prediction of GICs in a timeframe useful to protecting power grids. In this work we reduce the problem to applying a set of filters, recognizing that the magnetotelluric impedance tensors implicitly contain all known information about the resistivity structure beneath a given site, and thus provides the required relationship between electric and magnetic fields at each site. We project real-time magnetic field data from distant magnetic observatories through a robustly calculated multivariate transfer function to locations where magnetotelluric impedance tensors had previously been obtained. This provides a real-time prediction of the magnetic field at each of those points. We then project the predicted magnetic fields through the impedance tensors to obtain predictions of electric fields induced at ground level. Thus, electric field predictions can be generated in real-time for an entire array from real-time observatory data, then interpolated onto points representing a power transmission line contained within the array to produce a combined electric field prediction necessary for GIC prediction along that line. This method produces more accurate predictions of ground electric fields in conductively heterogeneous areas that are not limited by distance from the nearest observatory, while still retaining comparable computational speeds as existing methods.

dc Arc Fault Effect on Hybrid ac/dc Microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatima, Zahra

The advent of distributed energy resources (DER) and reliability and stability problems of the conventional grid system has given rise to the wide spread deployment of microgrids. Microgrids provide many advantages by incorporating renewable energy sources and increasing the reliability of the grid by isolating from the main grid in case of an outage. AC microgrids have been installed all over the world, but dc microgrids have been gaining interest due to the advantages they provide over ac microgrids. However the entire power network backbone is still ac and dc microgrids require expensive converters to connect to the ac power network. As a result hybrid ac/dc microgrids are gaining more attention as it combines the advantages of both ac and dc microgrids such as direct integration of ac and dc systems with minimum number of conversions which increases the efficiency by reducing energy losses. Although dc electric systems offer many advantages such as no synchronization and no reactive power, successful implementation of dc systems requires appropriate protection strategies. One unique protection challenge brought by the dc systems is dc arc faults. A dc arc fault is generated when there is a gap in the conductor due to insulation degradation and current is used to bridge the gap, resulting in an arc with very high temperature. Such a fault if it goes undetected and is not extinguished can cause damage to the entire system and cause fires. The purpose of the research is to study the effect of the dc arc fault at different locations in the hybrid ac/dc microgrid and provide insight on the reliability of the grid components when it is impacted by arc faults at various locations in the grid. The impact of dc arc fault at different locations on the performance of the PV array, wind generation, and constant power loads (CPL) interfaced with dc/dc converters is studied. MATLAB/Simulink is used to model the hybrid ac/dc microgrid and arc fault.

Comparison of scatter rejection and low-contrast performance of scan equalization digital radiography (SEDR), slot-scan digital radiography, and full-field digital radiography systems for chest phantom imaging

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

Liu Xinming; Shaw, Chris C.; Lai, Chao-Jen

Purpose: To investigate and compare the scatter rejection properties and low-contrast performance of the scan equalization digital radiography (SEDR) technique to the slot-scan and conventional full-field digital radiography techniques for chest imaging. Methods: A prototype SEDR system was designed and constructed with an a-Se flat-panel (FP) detector to improve image quality in heavily attenuating regions of an anthropomorphic chest phantom. Slot-scanning geometry was used to reject scattered radiation without attenuating primary x rays. The readout scheme of the FP was modified to erase accumulated scatter signals prior to image readout. A 24-segment beam width modulator was developed to regulate x-raymore » exposures regionally and compensate for the low x-ray flux in heavily attenuating regions. To measure the scatter-to-primary ratios (SPRs), a 2 mm thick lead plate with a 2-D array of aperture holes was used to measure the primary signals, which were then subtracted from those obtained without the lead plate to determine scatter components. A 2-D array of aluminum beads (3 mm in diameter) was used as the low-contrast objects to measure the contrast ratios (CRs) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) for evaluating the low-contrast performance in chest phantom images. A set of two images acquired with the same techniques were subtracted from each other to measure the noise levels. SPRs, CRs, and CNRs of the SEDR images were measured in four anatomical regions of chest phantom images and compared to those of slot-scan images and full-field images acquired with and without antiscatter grid. Results: The percentage reduction of SPR (percentage of SPRs reduced with scatter removal/rejection methods relative to that for nongrid full-field imaging) averaged over four anatomical regions was measured to be 80%, 83%, and 71% for SEDR, slot-scan, and full-field with grid, respectively. The average CR over four regions was found to improve over that for nongrid full-field imaging by 259%, 279%, and 145% for SEDR, slot-scan, and full-field with grid, respectively. The average CNR over four regions was found to improve over that for nongrid full-field imaging by 201% for SEDR as compared to 133% for the slot-scan technique and 14% for the antiscatter grid method. Conclusions: Both SEDR and slot-scan techniques outperformed the antiscatter grid method used in standard full-field radiography. For imaging with the same effective exposure, the SEDR technique offers no advantage over the slot-scan method in terms of SPRs and CRs. However, it improves CNRs significantly, especially in heavily attenuating regions. The improvement of low-contrast performance may help improve the detection of the lung nodules or other abnormalities and may offer SEDR the potential for dose reduction in chest radiography.« less

Unstable bidimensional grids of liquid filaments: Drop pattern after breakups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diez, Javier; Cuellar, Ingrith; Ravazzoli, Pablo; Gonzalez, Alejandro

2017-11-01

A rectangular grid formed by liquid filaments on a partially wetting substrate evolves in a series of breakups leading to arrays of drops with different shapes distributed in a rather regular bidimensional pattern. Our study is focused on the configuration produced when two long parallel filaments of silicone oil, which are placed upon a glass substrate previously coated with a fluorinated solution, are crossed perpendicularly by another pair of long parallel filaments. A remarkable feature of this kind of grids is that there are two qualitatively different types of drops. While one set is formed at the crossing points, the rest are consequence of the breakup of shorter filaments formed between the crossings. Here, we analyze the main geometric features of all types of drops, such as shape of the footprint and contact angle distribution along the drop periphery. The formation of a series of short filaments with similar geometric and physical properties allows us to have simultaneously quasi identical experiments to study the subsequent breakups. We develop a simple hydrodynamic model to predict the number of drops that results from a filament of given initial length and width. This model is able to yield the length intervals corresponding to a small number of drops. We acknowledge support from CONICET-Argentina (Grant PIP 844/2012) and ANPCyT-Argentina (Grant PICT 931/2012).

FLUXCOM - Overview and First Synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, M.; Ichii, K.; Tramontana, G.; Camps-Valls, G.; Schwalm, C. R.; Papale, D.; Reichstein, M.; Gans, F.; Weber, U.

2015-12-01

We present a community effort aiming at generating an ensemble of global gridded flux products by upscaling FLUXNET data using an array of different machine learning methods including regression/model tree ensembles, neural networks, and kernel machines. We produced products for gross primary production, terrestrial ecosystem respiration, net ecosystem exchange, latent heat, sensible heat, and net radiation for two experimental protocols: 1) at a high spatial and 8-daily temporal resolution (5 arc-minute) using only remote sensing based inputs for the MODIS era; 2) 30 year records of daily, 0.5 degree spatial resolution by incorporating meteorological driver data. Within each set-up, all machine learning methods were trained with the same input data for carbon and energy fluxes respectively. Sets of input driver variables were derived using an extensive formal variable selection exercise. The performance of the extrapolation capacities of the approaches is assessed with a fully internally consistent cross-validation. We perform cross-consistency checks of the gridded flux products with independent data streams from atmospheric inversions (NEE), sun-induced fluorescence (GPP), catchment water balances (LE, H), satellite products (Rn), and process-models. We analyze the uncertainties of the gridded flux products and for example provide a breakdown of the uncertainty of mean annual GPP originating from different machine learning methods, different climate input data sets, and different flux partitioning methods. The FLUXCOM archive will provide an unprecedented source of information for water, energy, and carbon cycle studies.

Visually Imperceptible Liquid-Metal Circuits for Transparent, Stretchable Electronics with Direct Laser Writing.

PubMed

Pan, Chengfeng; Kumar, Kitty; Li, Jianzhao; Markvicka, Eric J; Herman, Peter R; Majidi, Carmel

2018-03-01

A material architecture and laser-based microfabrication technique is introduced to produce electrically conductive films (sheet resistance = 2.95 Ω sq -1 ; resistivity = 1.77 × 10 -6 Ω m) that are soft, elastic (strain limit >100%), and optically transparent. The films are composed of a grid-like array of visually imperceptible liquid-metal (LM) lines on a clear elastomer. Unlike previous efforts in transparent LM circuitry, the current approach enables fully imperceptible electronics that have not only high optical transmittance (>85% at 550 nm) but are also invisible under typical lighting conditions and reading distances. This unique combination of properties is enabled with a laser writing technique that results in LM grid patterns with a line width and pitch as small as 4.5 and 100 µm, respectively-yielding grid-like wiring that has adequate conductivity for digital functionality but is also well below the threshold for visual perception. The electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, and optomechanical properties of the films are characterized and it is found that high conductivity and transparency are preserved at tensile strains of ≈100%. To demonstrate their effectiveness for emerging applications in transparent displays and sensing electronics, the material architecture is incorporated into a couple of illustrative use cases related to chemical hazard warning. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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

Hull, L.C.

The Prickett and Lonnquist two-dimensional groundwater model has been programmed for the Apple II minicomputer. Both leaky and nonleaky confined aquifers can be simulated. The model was adapted from the FORTRAN version of Prickett and Lonnquist. In the configuration presented here, the program requires 64 K bits of memory. Because of the large number of arrays used in the program, and memory limitations of the Apple II, the maximum grid size that can be used is 20 rows by 20 columns. Input to the program is interactive, with prompting by the computer. Output consists of predicted lead values at themore » row-column intersections (nodes).« less

Cosmology on a Mesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gill, Stuart P. D.; Knebe, Alexander; Gibson, Brad K.; Flynn, Chris; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Lewis, Geraint F.

2003-04-01

An adaptive multi grid approach to simulating the formation of structure from collisionless dark matter is described. MLAPM (Multi-Level Adaptive Particle Mesh) is one of the most efficient serial codes available on the cosmological "market" today. As part of Swinburne University's role in the development of the Square Kilometer Array, we are implementing hydrodynamics, feedback, and radiative transfer within the MLAPM adaptive mesh, in order to simulate baryonic processes relevant to the interstellar and intergalactic media at high redshift. We will outline our progress to date in applying the existing MLAPM to a study of the decay of satellite galaxies within massive host potentials.

Imposed-Solution Boundaries for Three-Dimensional Hull.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-03-01

STATE ARRAY DIMENSIONS. DATA IBNDNBND,@JMXKMXFNMXi31,6l,200,200,4000/ C NMX IS ADDED TO 1CM IN HULLIN (HULL9250). C SET TF1 TO -1.0 FOR INITIAL VALUES...DATA TF1 /-1.O1 C C SHIFT DATA FROM HULL COORDINATES TO BOUNDARY COORDINATES* T a TH + TSHIFT X a XH +XSHIFT Y m YH + YSHIFT Z a ZH + ZSHIFT C IS THIS...AFTER THE INITIAL ENTRY? IF( TF1 .GT. -0.9)GOTO 30 TF1 - 1.0 C READ FIRST HEADING, GRID, AND r4YDRO SET. CHECK. REWIND IBND READ( IBND)HEAD1,OLPROB,TIl1

Cost estimates for flat plate and concentrator collector arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shimada, K.

1982-01-01

The current module and installation costs for the U.S. National Photovoltaic Program's grid-connected systems are significantly higher than required for economic viability of this alternative. Attention is accordingly given to the prospects for installed module cost reductions in flat plate, linear focus Fresnel concentrator, and point focus Fresnel concentrator candidate systems. Cost projections indicate that all three systems would meet near-term and midterm goals, provided that module costs of $2.80/W(p) and $0.70/W(p), respectively, are met. The point focus Fresnel system emerges as the most viable for the near term.

Broadband Noise Predictions for an Airfoil in a Turbulent Stream

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casper, J.; Farassat, F.; Mish, P. F.; Devenport, W. J.

2003-01-01

Loading noise is predicted from unsteady surface pressure measurements on a NACA 0015 airfoil immersed in grid-generated turbulence. The time-dependent pressure is obtained from an array of synchronized transducers on the airfoil surface. Far field noise is predicted by using the time-dependent surface pressure as input to Formulation 1A of Farassat, a solution of the Ffowcs Williams - Hawkings equation. Acoustic predictions are performed with and without the effects of airfoil surface curvature. Scaling rules are developed to compare the present far field predictions with acoustic measurements that are available in the literature.

Special purpose computer system with highly parallel pipelines for flow visualization using holography technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masuda, Nobuyuki; Sugie, Takashige; Ito, Tomoyoshi; Tanaka, Shinjiro; Hamada, Yu; Satake, Shin-ichi; Kunugi, Tomoaki; Sato, Kazuho

2010-12-01

We have designed a PC cluster system with special purpose computer boards for visualization of fluid flow using digital holographic particle tracking velocimetry (DHPTV). In this board, there is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chip in which is installed a pipeline for calculating the intensity of an object from a hologram by fast Fourier transform (FFT). This cluster system can create 1024 reconstructed images from a 1024×1024-grid hologram in 0.77 s. It is expected that this system will contribute to the analysis of fluid flow using DHPTV.

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

Minami, R., E-mail: minami@prc.tsukuba.ac.jp; Imai, T.; Kariya, T.

Temporally and spatially resolved soft x-ray and end-loss-electron analyses of the electron cyclotron heated plasmas are carried out by using a semiconductor detector array and an electrostatic energy analyzer in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. The flux and the energy spectrum of the end loss electrons are measured by a multi-grid energy analyzer. Recently, the electron cyclotron heating power modulation experiments have been started in order to generate and control the high heat flux and to make the edge localized mode-like intermittent heat load pattern for the divertor simulation studies by the use of these detectors for electron properties.

Review of Kaufman thruster development at the Lewis Research Center, 1973

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerslake, W. R.

1973-01-01

Two thruster sizes are studied. One, a small 5-cm or 8-cm size is for spacecraft station keeping. The other, 30-cm (130 mN thrust), is for a thruster array to do primary solar electric propulsion. A 5-cm thruster (1.8 mN) has recently completed 9715 hr of life testing. Use of dished grids in the 30-cm thruster has increased beam current from 2 to 5 A. The total thrust system mass is compared for present small thrusters at different operating conditions for station keeping of synchronous satellites.

Accurately determining direction of arrival by seismic array based on compressive sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, J.; Zhang, H.; Yu, H.

2016-12-01

Seismic array analysis method plays an important role in detecting weak signals and determining their locations and rupturing process. In these applications, reliably estimating direction of arrival (DOA) for the seismic wave is very important. DOA is generally determined by the conventional beamforming method (CBM) [Rost et al, 2000]. However, for a fixed seismic array generally the resolution of CBM is poor in the case of low-frequency seismic signals, and in the case of high frequency seismic signals the CBM may produce many local peaks, making it difficult to pick the one corresponding to true DOA. In this study, we develop a new seismic array method based on compressive sensing (CS) to determine the DOA with high resolution for both low- and high-frequency seismic signals. The new method takes advantage of the space sparsity of the incoming wavefronts. The CS method has been successfully used to determine spatial and temporal earthquake rupturing distributions with seismic array [Yao et al, 2011;Yao et al, 2013;Yin 2016]. In this method, we first form the problem of solving the DOA as a L1-norm minimization problem. The measurement matrix for CS is constructed by dividing the slowness-angle domain into many grid nodes, which needs to satisfy restricted isometry property (RIP) for optimized reconstruction of the image. The L1-norm minimization is solved by the interior point method. We first test the CS-based DOA array determination method on synthetic data constructed based on Shanghai seismic array. Compared to the CBM, synthetic test for data without noise shows that the new method can determine the true DOA with a super-high resolution. In the case of multiple sources, the new method can easily separate multiple DOAs. When data are contaminated by noise at various levels, the CS method is stable when the noise amplitude is lower than the signal amplitude. We also test the CS method for the Wenchuan earthquake. For different arrays with different apertures, we are able to obtain reliable DOAs with uncertainties lower than 10 degrees.

Utilization of the k-space Computational Method to Design an Intracavitary Transrectal Ultrasound Phased Array Applicator for Hyperthermia Treatment of Prostate Cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Bataineh, Osama M.; Collins, Christopher M.; Sparrow, Victor W.; Keolian, Robert M.; Smith, Nadine Barrie

2006-05-01

This research utilizes the k-space computational method to design an intracavitary probe for hyperthermia treatment of prostate cancer. A three-dimensional (3D) photographical prostate model, utilizing imaging data from the Visible Human Project®, was the basis for inhomogeneous acoustical model development. The acoustical model accounted for sound speed, density, and absorption variations. The k-space computational method was used to simulate ultrasound wave propagation of the designed phased array through the acoustical model. To insure the uniformity and spread of the pressure in the length of the array, and the steering and focusing capability in the width of the array, the equal-sized elements of the phased array were 1 × 14 mm. The anatomical measurements of the prostate were used to predict the final phased array specifications (4 × 20 planar array, 1.2 MHz, element size = 1 × 14 mm, array size = 56 × 20 mm). Good agreement between the exposimetry and the k-space results was achieved. As an example, the -3 dB distances of the focal volume were differing by 9.1% in the propagation direction for k-space prostate simulation and exposimetry results. Temperature simulations indicated that the rectal wall temperature was elevated less than 2°C during hyperthermia treatment. Steering and focusing ability of the designed probe, in both azimuth and propagation directions, were found to span the entire prostate volume with minimal grating lobes (-10 dB reduction from the main lobe) and least heat damage to the rectal wall. Evaluations of the probe included ex vivo and in vivo controlled experiments to deliver the required thermal dose to the targeted tissue. With a desired temperature plateau of 43.0°C, the MRI temperature results at the steady state were 42.9 ± 0.38°C and 43.1 ± 0.80°C for ex vivo and in vivo experiments, respectively. Unlike conventional computational methods, the k-space method provides a powerful tool to predict pressure wavefield and temperature rise in sophisticated, large scale, 3D, inhomogeneous and coarse grid models.

Bend, stretch, and touch: Locating a finger on an actively deformed transparent sensor array

PubMed Central

Sarwar, Mirza Saquib; Dobashi, Yuta; Preston, Claire; Wyss, Justin K. M.; Mirabbasi, Shahriar; Madden, John David Wyndham

2017-01-01

The development of bendable, stretchable, and transparent touch sensors is an emerging technological goal in a variety of fields, including electronic skin, wearables, and flexible handheld devices. Although transparent tactile sensors based on metal mesh, carbon nanotubes, and silver nanowires demonstrate operation in bent configurations, we present a technology that extends the operation modes to the sensing of finger proximity including light touch during active bending and even stretching. This is accomplished using stretchable and ionically conductive hydrogel electrodes, which project electric field above the sensor to couple with and sense a finger. The polyacrylamide electrodes are embedded in silicone. These two widely available, low-cost, transparent materials are combined in a three-step manufacturing technique that is amenable to large-area fabrication. The approach is demonstrated using a proof-of-concept 4 × 4 cross-grid sensor array with a 5-mm pitch. The approach of a finger hovering a few centimeters above the array is readily detectable. Light touch produces a localized decrease in capacitance of 15%. The movement of a finger can be followed across the array, and the location of multiple fingers can be detected. Touch is detectable during bending and stretch, an important feature of any wearable device. The capacitive sensor design can be made more or less sensitive to bending by shifting it relative to the neutral axis. Ultimately, the approach is adaptable to the detection of proximity, touch, pressure, and even the conformation of the sensor surface. PMID:28345045

Bend, stretch, and touch: Locating a finger on an actively deformed transparent sensor array.

PubMed

Sarwar, Mirza Saquib; Dobashi, Yuta; Preston, Claire; Wyss, Justin K M; Mirabbasi, Shahriar; Madden, John David Wyndham

2017-03-01

The development of bendable, stretchable, and transparent touch sensors is an emerging technological goal in a variety of fields, including electronic skin, wearables, and flexible handheld devices. Although transparent tactile sensors based on metal mesh, carbon nanotubes, and silver nanowires demonstrate operation in bent configurations, we present a technology that extends the operation modes to the sensing of finger proximity including light touch during active bending and even stretching. This is accomplished using stretchable and ionically conductive hydrogel electrodes, which project electric field above the sensor to couple with and sense a finger. The polyacrylamide electrodes are embedded in silicone. These two widely available, low-cost, transparent materials are combined in a three-step manufacturing technique that is amenable to large-area fabrication. The approach is demonstrated using a proof-of-concept 4 × 4 cross-grid sensor array with a 5-mm pitch. The approach of a finger hovering a few centimeters above the array is readily detectable. Light touch produces a localized decrease in capacitance of 15%. The movement of a finger can be followed across the array, and the location of multiple fingers can be detected. Touch is detectable during bending and stretch, an important feature of any wearable device. The capacitive sensor design can be made more or less sensitive to bending by shifting it relative to the neutral axis. Ultimately, the approach is adaptable to the detection of proximity, touch, pressure, and even the conformation of the sensor surface.

Transfer and alignment of random single-walled carbon nanotube films by contact printing.

PubMed

Liu, Huaping; Takagi, Daisuke; Chiashi, Shohei; Homma, Yoshikazu

2010-02-23

We present a simple method to transfer large-area random single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) films grown on SiO(2) substrates onto another surface through a simple contact printing process. The transferred random SWCNT films can be assembled into highly ordered, dense regular arrays with high uniformity and reproducibility by sliding the growth substrate during the transfer process. The position of the transferred SWCNT film can be controlled by predefined patterns on the receiver substrates. The process is compatible with a variety of substrates, and even metal meshes for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used as receiver substrates. Thus, suspended web-like SWCNT networks and aligned SWCNT arrays can be formed over the grids of TEM meshes, so that the structures of the transferred SWCNTs can be directly observed by TEM. This simple technique can be used to controllably transfer SWCNTs for property studies, for the fabrication of devices, or even as support films for TEM meshes.

Fiber-Optic Micrometeoroid/Orbital Debris Impact Detector System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christiansen, Eric L.; Tennyson, R. C.; Morison, W. D.

2012-01-01

A document describes a reliable, lightweight micrometeoroid/orbital debris (MMOD) detection system that can be located at strategic positions of "high consequence" to provide real-time warning of a penetration, its location, and the extent of the damage to a spacecraft. The concept is to employ fiber-optic sensors to detect impact damage and penetration of spacecraft structures. The fibers are non-electrical, employ light waves, and are immune to electromagnetic interference. The fiber-optic sensor array can be made as a stand-alone product, being bonded to a flexible membrane material or a structure that is employed as a MMOD shield material. The optical sensors can also be woven into hybrid MMOD shielding fabrics. The glass fibers of the fiber-optic sensor provide a dual purpose in contributing to the breakup of MMOD projectiles. The grid arrays can be made in a modular configuration to provide coverage over any area desired. Each module can be connected to a central scanner instrument and be interrogated in a continuous or periodic mode.

Optimal Solar PV Arrays Integration for Distributed Generation

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

Omitaomu, Olufemi A; Li, Xueping

2012-01-01

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems hold great potential for distributed energy generation by installing PV panels on rooftops of residential and commercial buildings. Yet challenges arise along with the variability and non-dispatchability of the PV systems that affect the stability of the grid and the economics of the PV system. This paper investigates the integration of PV arrays for distributed generation applications by identifying a combination of buildings that will maximize solar energy output and minimize system variability. Particularly, we propose mean-variance optimization models to choose suitable rooftops for PV integration based on Markowitz mean-variance portfolio selection model. We further introducemore » quantity and cardinality constraints to result in a mixed integer quadratic programming problem. Case studies based on real data are presented. An efficient frontier is obtained for sample data that allows decision makers to choose a desired solar energy generation level with a comfortable variability tolerance level. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to show the tradeoffs between solar PV energy generation potential and variability.« less

Open-path spectroscopic methane detection using a broadband monolithic distributed feedback-quantum cascade laser array.

PubMed

Michel, Anna P M; Kapit, Jason; Witinski, Mark F; Blanchard, Romain

2017-04-10

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that has both natural and anthropogenic sources. The ability to measure methane using an integrated path length approach such as an open/long-path length sensor would be beneficial in several environments for examining anthropogenic and natural sources, including tundra landscapes, rivers, lakes, landfills, estuaries, fracking sites, pipelines, and agricultural sites. Here a broadband monolithic distributed feedback-quantum cascade laser array was utilized as the source for an open-path methane sensor. Two telescopes were utilized for the launch (laser source) and receiver (detector) in a bistatic configuration for methane sensing across a 50 m path length. Direct-absorption spectroscopy was utilized with intrapulse tuning. Ambient methane levels were detectable, and an instrument precision of 70 ppb with 100 s averaging and 90 ppb with 10 s averaging was achieved. The sensor system was designed to work "off the grid" and utilizes batteries that are rechargeable with solar panels and wind turbines.

Image Geometric Corrections for a New EMCCD-based Dual Modular X-ray Imager

PubMed Central

Qu, Bin; Huang, Ying; Wang, Weiyuan; Cartwright, Alexander N.; Titus, Albert H.; Bednarek, Daniel R.; Rudin, Stephen

2012-01-01

An EMCCD-based dual modular x-ray imager was recently designed and developed from the component level, providing a high dynamic range of 53 dB and an effective pixel size of 26 μm for angiography and fluoroscopy. The unique 2×1 array design efficiently increased the clinical field of view, and also can be readily expanded to an M×N array implementation. Due to the alignment mismatches between the EMCCD sensors and the fiber optic tapers in each module, the output images or video sequences result in a misaligned 2048×1024 digital display if uncorrected. In this paper, we present a method for correcting display registration using a custom-designed two layer printed circuit board. This board was designed with grid lines to serve as the calibration pattern, and provides an accurate reference and sufficient contrast to enable proper display registration. Results show an accurate and fine stitching of the two outputs from the two modules. PMID:22254882

Infrared emission of a freestanding plasmonic membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monshat, Hosein; Liu, Longju; McClelland, John; Biswas, Rana; Lu, Meng

2018-01-01

This paper reports a free-standing plasmonic membrane as a thermal emitter in the near- and mid-infrared regions. The plasmonic membrane consists of an ultrathin gold film perforated with a two-dimensional array of holes. The device was fabricated using an imprint and transfer process and fixed on a low-emissivity metal grid. The thermal radiation characteristics of the plasmonic membrane can be engineered by controlling the array period and the thickness of the gold membrane. Plasmonic membranes with two different periods were designed using electromagnetic simulation and then characterized for their transmission and infrared radiation properties. The free-standing membranes exhibit extraordinary optical transmissions with the resonant transmission coefficient as high as 76.8%. After integration with a customized heater, the membranes demonstrate narrowband thermal emission in the wavelength range of 2.5 μm to 5.5 μm. The emission signatures, including peak emission wavelength and bandwidth, are associated with the membrane geometry. The ultrathin membrane infrared emitter can be adopted in applications, such as chemical analysis and thermal imaging.

The EarthScope USArray Observatories: Status and Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodward, R.; Busby, R.; Alvarez, M.; Schultz, A.; Simpson, D.

2009-05-01

The EarthScope USArray program includes three seismic and two magnetotelluric components. The USArray seismic components consist of the Transportable Array (TA), the Flexible Array (FA), and the Reference Network. The TA component of USArray has now occupied over 700 sites in the western United States, from the Pacific coast through the Rocky Mountains. The three component broadband TA stations are deployed in a grid-like arrangement, with 70 km separation between stations. At any given time there are approximately 400 station sites, occupying a ~2000 km by 800 km "footprint." Each station is operated for two years. The FA component of USArray provides a pool of instruments, ranging from high frequency geophones to three- component broadband sensors, and these instruments are typically deployed for focused geological targets for time periods ranging from days to years. Finally, the Reference Network provides a fixed, permanent reference frame for the TA and FA, with approximately 100 broadband stations deployed across the contiguous US, at roughly 300 km spacing. The magnetotelluric (MT) component of USArray consists of both a fixed reference network as well as a transportable array of instruments that are deployed campaign style, using a 70 km by 70 km grid. The geographical extent of USArray allows unprecedented observation of geophysical targets. Instruments have been deployed across the west and mid-west of the US, with TA stations presently moving into the states spanning a north-south line from North Dakota to Texas. MT observations in Cascadia have been augmented by corresponding observations in Canada. Similarly, as the seismic TA moves east, plans are being developed to collaborate on TA seismic observations on both sides of the US-Canada border in the region of the Great Lakes. We will present the current status of USArray activities and progress to-date, with a special emphasis on standardized data products that are produced from USArray data, including phase picks, wave-field animations, observations of the ambient noise field, and MT transfer functions. We will also provide an overview of USArray deployment plans, to facilitate collaborative experiments and investigations, and discuss opportunities for the seismological education and research communities to participate in and leverage the FA and TA efforts.

Cloud Forecasting and 3-D Radiative Transfer Model Validation using Citizen-Sourced Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasiewski, A. J.; Heymsfield, A.; Newman Frey, K.; Davis, R.; Rapp, J.; Bansemer, A.; Coon, T.; Folsom, R.; Pfeufer, N.; Kalloor, J.

2017-12-01

Cloud radiative feedback mechanisms are one of the largest sources of uncertainty in global climate models. Variations in local 3D cloud structure impact the interpretation of NASA CERES and MODIS data for top-of-atmosphere radiation studies over clouds. Much of this uncertainty results from lack of knowledge of cloud vertical and horizontal structure. Surface-based data on 3-D cloud structure from a multi-sensor array of low-latency ground-based cameras can be used to intercompare radiative transfer models based on MODIS and other satellite data with CERES data to improve the 3-D cloud parameterizations. Closely related, forecasting of solar insolation and associated cloud cover on time scales out to 1 hour and with spatial resolution of 100 meters is valuable for stabilizing power grids with high solar photovoltaic penetrations. Data for cloud-advection based solar insolation forecasting with requisite spatial resolution and latency needed to predict high ramp rate events obtained from a bottom-up perspective is strongly correlated with cloud-induced fluctuations. The development of grid management practices for improved integration of renewable solar energy thus also benefits from a multi-sensor camera array. The data needs for both 3D cloud radiation modelling and solar forecasting are being addressed using a network of low-cost upward-looking visible light CCD sky cameras positioned at 2 km spacing over an area of 30-60 km in size acquiring imagery on 30 second intervals. Such cameras can be manufactured in quantity and deployed by citizen volunteers at a marginal cost of 200-400 and operated unattended using existing communications infrastructure. A trial phase to understand the potential utility of up-looking multi-sensor visible imagery is underway within this NASA Citizen Science project. To develop the initial data sets necessary to optimally design a multi-sensor cloud camera array a team of 100 citizen scientists using self-owned PDA cameras is being organized to collect distributed cloud data sets suitable for MODIS-CERES cloud radiation science and solar forecasting algorithm development. A low-cost and robust sensor design suitable for large scale fabrication and long term deployment has been developed during the project prototyping phase.

EMAAS: An extensible grid-based Rich Internet Application for microarray data analysis and management

PubMed Central

Barton, G; Abbott, J; Chiba, N; Huang, DW; Huang, Y; Krznaric, M; Mack-Smith, J; Saleem, A; Sherman, BT; Tiwari, B; Tomlinson, C; Aitman, T; Darlington, J; Game, L; Sternberg, MJE; Butcher, SA

2008-01-01

Background Microarray experimentation requires the application of complex analysis methods as well as the use of non-trivial computer technologies to manage the resultant large data sets. This, together with the proliferation of tools and techniques for microarray data analysis, makes it very challenging for a laboratory scientist to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in this field. Our aim was to develop a distributed e-support system for microarray data analysis and management. Results EMAAS (Extensible MicroArray Analysis System) is a multi-user rich internet application (RIA) providing simple, robust access to up-to-date resources for microarray data storage and analysis, combined with integrated tools to optimise real time user support and training. The system leverages the power of distributed computing to perform microarray analyses, and provides seamless access to resources located at various remote facilities. The EMAAS framework allows users to import microarray data from several sources to an underlying database, to pre-process, quality assess and analyse the data, to perform functional analyses, and to track data analysis steps, all through a single easy to use web portal. This interface offers distance support to users both in the form of video tutorials and via live screen feeds using the web conferencing tool EVO. A number of analysis packages, including R-Bioconductor and Affymetrix Power Tools have been integrated on the server side and are available programmatically through the Postgres-PLR library or on grid compute clusters. Integrated distributed resources include the functional annotation tool DAVID, GeneCards and the microarray data repositories GEO, CELSIUS and MiMiR. EMAAS currently supports analysis of Affymetrix 3' and Exon expression arrays, and the system is extensible to cater for other microarray and transcriptomic platforms. Conclusion EMAAS enables users to track and perform microarray data management and analysis tasks through a single easy-to-use web application. The system architecture is flexible and scalable to allow new array types, analysis algorithms and tools to be added with relative ease and to cope with large increases in data volume. PMID:19032776

Development of an intraoperative gamma camera based on a 256-pixel mercuric iodide detector array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patt, B. E.; Tornai, M. P.; Iwanczyk, J. S.; Levin, C. S.; Hoffman, E. J.

1997-06-01

A 256-element mercuric iodide (HgI/sub 2/) detector array has been developed which is intended for use as an intraoperative gamma camera (IOGC). The camera is specifically designed for use in imaging gamma-emitting radiopharmaceuticals (such as 99m-Tc labeled Sestamibi) incorporated into brain tumors in the intraoperative surgical environment. The system is intended to improve the success of tumor removal surgeries by allowing more complete removal of subclinical tumor cells without removal of excessive normal tissue. The use of HgI/sub 2/ detector arrays in this application facilitates construction of an imaging head that is very compact and has a high SNR. The detector is configured as a cross-grid array. Pixel dimensions are 1.25 mm squares separated by 0.25 mm. The overall dimension of the detector is 23.75 mm on a side. The detector thickness is 1 mm which corresponds to over 60% stopping at 140 keV. The array has good uniformity with average energy resolution of 5.2/spl plusmn/2.9% FWHM at 140 keV (best resolution was 1.9% FWHM). Response uniformity (/spl plusmn//spl sigma/) was 7.9%. A study utilizing realistic tumor phantoms (uptake ratio varied from 2:1 to 100:1) in background (1 mCi/l) was conducted. SNRs for the reasonably achievable uptake ratio of 50:1 were 5.61 /spl sigma/ with 1 cm of background depth ("normal tissue") and 2.74 /spl sigma/ with 4 cm of background for a 6.3 /spl mu/l tumor phantom (/spl sim/270 nCi at the time of the measurement).

Generating and controlling homogeneous air turbulence using random jet arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Douglas; Petersen, Alec; Amili, Omid; Coletti, Filippo

2016-12-01

The use of random jet arrays, already employed in water tank facilities to generate zero-mean-flow homogeneous turbulence, is extended to air as a working fluid. A novel facility is introduced that uses two facing arrays of individually controlled jets (256 in total) to force steady homogeneous turbulence with negligible mean flow, shear, and strain. Quasi-synthetic jet pumps are created by expanding pressurized air through small straight nozzles and are actuated by fast-response low-voltage solenoid valves. Velocity fields, two-point correlations, energy spectra, and second-order structure functions are obtained from 2D PIV and are used to characterize the turbulence from the integral-to-the Kolmogorov scales. Several metrics are defined to quantify how well zero-mean-flow homogeneous turbulence is approximated for a wide range of forcing and geometric parameters. With increasing jet firing time duration, both the velocity fluctuations and the integral length scales are augmented and therefore the Reynolds number is increased. We reach a Taylor-microscale Reynolds number of 470, a large-scale Reynolds number of 74,000, and an integral-to-Kolmogorov length scale ratio of 680. The volume of the present homogeneous turbulence, the largest reported to date in a zero-mean-flow facility, is much larger than the integral length scale, allowing for the natural development of the energy cascade. The turbulence is found to be anisotropic irrespective of the distance between the jet arrays. Fine grids placed in front of the jets are effective at modulating the turbulence, reducing both velocity fluctuations and integral scales. Varying the jet-to-jet spacing within each array has no effect on the integral length scale, suggesting that this is dictated by the length scale of the jets.

The measurement of the cosmic ray primary energy spectrum at 1016-1018 eV with the KASCADE-Grande experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cantoni, Elena; Apel, W. D.; Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.; Bekk, K.; Bertaina, M.; Blümer, J.; Bozdog, H.; Brancus, I. M.; Buchholz, P.; Chiavassa, A.; Cossavella, F.; Daumiller, K.; de Souza, V.; di Pierro, F.; Doll, P.; Engel, R.; Engler, J.; Finger, M.; Fuhrmann, D.; Ghia, P. L.; Gils, H. J.; Glasstetter, R.; Grupen, C.; Haungs, A.; Heck, D.; Hörandel, J. R.; Huege, T.; Isar, P. G.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kang, D.; Kickelbick, D.; Klages, H. O.; Link, K.; Łuczak, P.; Ludwig, M.; Mathes, H. J.; Mayer, H. J.; Melissas, M.; Milke, J.; Mitrica, B.; Morello, C.; Navarra, G.; Nehls, S.; Oehlschläger, J.; Ostapchenko, S.; Over, S.; Palmieri, N.; Petcu, M.; Pierog, T.; Rebel, H.; Roth, M.; Schieler, H.; Schröder, F. G.; Sima, O.; Toma, G.; Trinchero, G. C.; Ulrich, H.; Weindl, A.; Wochele, J.; Wommer, M.; Zabierowski, J.

2011-03-01

The KASCADE-Grande experiment operates at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. It's aim is the study of the primary cosmic radiation, through Extensive Air Shower detection, in the range 1016-1018 eV. Here, measurements are of main interest to understand the high energy evolution of cosmic radiation: a change in the slope of the heavy primary spectrum is expected (as measured at lower energies for lighter primaries) as a possible confirmation of the predicted astrophysical mechanisms; moreover, in this range the transition from galactic to extragalactic radiation is supposed to take place and the observations could clarify the features of this transition, putting the basis for the interpretation of the data at the highest energies. For these tasks KASCADE-Grande fulfills very well the requirements, both concerning the acceptance and the experimental performances. The experiment is constituted by two co-operating arrays of detectors: the KASCADE array, with its 252 detectors in a dense grid of 200×200 m2 and the Grande array, made of 37 detectors arranged on a wider area of 700×700 m2. The Grande array samples the total charged particles size of the air shower, while the KASCADE array provides the muon size In this contribution, KASCADE-Grande measurement of the cosmic ray primary energy spectrum is presented. The exploited technique, calibrated with simulations, combines the charged particles component and muon component on a shower by shower basis, performing the energy estimation of each primary event. Other techniques are also performed, for a better evaluation of systematics and a check of consistency of the hadronic interaction model used in simulations.

Sparse Method for Direction of Arrival Estimation Using Denoised Fourth-Order Cumulants Vector.

PubMed

Fan, Yangyu; Wang, Jianshu; Du, Rui; Lv, Guoyun

2018-06-04

Fourth-order cumulants (FOCs) vector-based direction of arrival (DOA) estimation methods of non-Gaussian sources may suffer from poor performance for limited snapshots or difficulty in setting parameters. In this paper, a novel FOCs vector-based sparse DOA estimation method is proposed. Firstly, by utilizing the concept of a fourth-order difference co-array (FODCA), an advanced FOCs vector denoising or dimension reduction procedure is presented for arbitrary array geometries. Then, a novel single measurement vector (SMV) model is established by the denoised FOCs vector, and efficiently solved by an off-grid sparse Bayesian inference (OGSBI) method. The estimation errors of FOCs are integrated in the SMV model, and are approximately estimated in a simple way. A necessary condition regarding the number of identifiable sources of our method is presented that, in order to uniquely identify all sources, the number of sources K must fulfill K ≤ ( M 4 - 2 M 3 + 7 M 2 - 6 M ) / 8 . The proposed method suits any geometry, does not need prior knowledge of the number of sources, is insensitive to associated parameters, and has maximum identifiability O ( M 4 ) , where M is the number of sensors in the array. Numerical simulations illustrate the superior performance of the proposed method.

Room-temperature synthesis of two-dimensional ultrathin gold nanowire parallel array with tunable spacing.

PubMed

Morita, Clara; Tanuma, Hiromitsu; Kawai, Chika; Ito, Yuki; Imura, Yoshiro; Kawai, Takeshi

2013-02-05

A series of long-chain amidoamine derivatives with different alkyl chain lengths (CnAA where n is 12, 14, 16, or 18) were synthesized and studied with regard to their ability to form organogels and to act as soft templates for the production of Au nanomaterials. These compounds were found to self-assemble into lamellar structures and exhibited gelation ability in some apolar solvents. The gelation concentration, gel-sol phase transition temperature, and lattice spacing of the lamellar structures in organic solvent all varied on the basis of the alkyl chain length of the particular CnAA compound employed. The potential for these molecules to function as templates was evaluated through the synthesis of Au nanowires (NWs) in their organogels. Ultrathin Au NWs were obtained from all CnAA/toluene gel systems, each within an optimal temperature range. Interestingly, in the case of C12AA and C14AA, it was possible to fabricate ultrathin Au NWs at room temperature. In addition, two-dimensional parallel arrays of ultrathin Au NWs were self-assembled onto TEM copper grids as a result of the drying of dispersion solutions of these NWs. The use of CnAA compounds with differing alkyl chain lengths enabled precise tuning of the distance between the Au NWs in these arrays.

Analytical modeling of conformal mantle cloaks for cylindrical objects using sub-wavelength printed and slotted arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Padooru, Yashwanth R.; Yakovlev, Alexander B.; Chen, Pai-Yen; Alù, Andrea

2012-08-01

Following the idea of "cloaking by a surface" [A. Alù, Phys. Rev. B 80, 245115 (2009); P. Y. Chen and A. Alù, Phys. Rev. B 84, 205110 (2011)], we present a rigorous analytical model applicable to mantle cloaking of cylindrical objects using 1D and 2D sub-wavelength conformal frequency selective surface (FSS) elements. The model is based on Lorenz-Mie scattering theory which utilizes the two-sided impedance boundary conditions at the interface of the sub-wavelength elements. The FSS arrays considered in this work are composed of 1D horizontal and vertical metallic strips and 2D printed (patches, Jerusalem crosses, and cross dipoles) and slotted structures (meshes, slot-Jerusalem crosses, and slot-cross dipoles). It is shown that the analytical grid-impedance expressions derived for the planar arrays of sub-wavelength elements may be successfully used to model and tailor the surface reactance of cylindrical conformal mantle cloaks. By properly tailoring the surface reactance of the cloak, the total scattering from the cylinder can be significantly reduced, thus rendering the object invisible over the range of frequencies of interest (i.e., at microwaves and far-infrared). The results obtained using our analytical model for mantle cloaks are validated against full-wave numerical simulations.

Design of DSP-based high-power digital solar array simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yang; Liu, Zhilong; Tong, Weichao; Feng, Jian; Ji, Yibo

2013-12-01

To satisfy rigid performance specifications, a feedback control was presented for zoom optical lens plants. With the increasing of global energy consumption, research of the photovoltaic(PV) systems get more and more attention. Research of the digital high-power solar array simulator provides technical support for high-power grid-connected PV systems research.This paper introduces a design scheme of the high-power digital solar array simulator based on TMS320F28335. A DC-DC full-bridge topology was used in the system's main circuit. The switching frequency of IGBT is 25kHz.Maximum output voltage is 900V. Maximum output current is 20A. Simulator can be pre-stored solar panel IV curves.The curve is composed of 128 discrete points .When the system was running, the main circuit voltage and current values was feedback to the DSP by the voltage and current sensors in real-time. Through incremental PI,DSP control the simulator in the closed-loop control system. Experimental data show that Simulator output voltage and current follow a preset solar panels IV curve. In connection with the formation of high-power inverter, the system becomes gridconnected PV system. The inverter can find the simulator's maximum power point and the output power can be stabilized at the maximum power point (MPP).

Impact study of the Argo array definition in the Mediterranean Sea based on satellite altimetry gridded data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez-Roman, Antonio; Ruiz, Simón; Pascual, Ananda; Guinehut, Stéphanie; Mourre, Baptiste

2016-04-01

The existing Argo network provides essential data in near real time to constrain monitoring and forecasting centers and strongly complements the observations of the ocean surface from space. The comparison of Sea Level Anomalies (SLA) provided by satellite altimeters with in-situ Dynamic Heights Anomalies (DHA) derived from the temperature and salinity profiles of Argo floats contribute to better characterize the error budget associated with the altimeter observations. In this work, performed in the frame of the E-AIMS FP7 European Project, we focus on the Argo observing system in the Mediterranean Sea and its impact on SLA fields provided by satellite altimetry measurements in the basin. Namely, we focus on the sensitivity of specific SLA gridded merged products provided by AVISO in the Mediterranean to the reference depth (400 or 900 dbar) selected in the computation of the Argo Dynamic Height (DH) as an integration of the Argo T/S profiles through the water column. This reference depth will have impact on the number of valid Argo profiles and therefore on their temporal sampling and the coverage by the network used to compare with altimeter data. To compare both datasets, altimeter grids and synthetic climatologies used to compute DHA were spatially and temporally interpolated at the position and time of each in-situ Argo profile by a mapping method based on an optimal interpolation scheme. The analysis was conducted in the entire Mediterranean Sea and different sub-regions of the basin. The second part of this work is devoted to investigate which configuration in terms of spatial sampling of the Argo array in the Mediterranean will properly reproduce the mesoscale dynamics in this basin, which is comprehensively captured by new standards of specific altimeter products for this region. To do that, several Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) were conducted assuming that altimetry data computed from AVISO specific reanalysis gridded merged product for the Mediterranean as the "true" field. The choice of the reference depth of Argo profiles impacts the number of valid profiles used to compute DHA and therefore the spatial coverage by the network. Results show that the impact of the reference level in the computation of Argo DH is statistically significant since the standard deviation of the differences between DH computed from Altimetry and Argo data referred to reference depth of 400 dbar and 900 dbar are quite different (4.85 and 5.11 cm, respectively). Therefore, 400 dbar should be taken as reference depth to compute DHA from Argo data in the Mediterranean. On the contrary, similar scores are obtained when shallow floats are not included in the computation (4.85 cm against 4.87 cm). In any case, we must highlight that all the studies show significant correlations (95 %) higher than 0.70 between Altimetry and Argo data with a STD for the differences between both datasets of around 4.90 cm. Furthermore, the sub-basin study shows improved statistics for the eastern sub-basin for DHA referred to 400 dbar while minimum values are obtained for the western sub-basin when computing DHA referred to 900 dbar. On the other hand, results about the OSSEs suggest that maintaining an array of Argo floats of 100×100 km, the variance of the large-scale signal and most of the mesoscale features of SLA fields are recovered. Therefore, the network coverage should be enlarged in the Mediterranean in order to achieve at least this spatial resolution.

Incremental Parallelization of Non-Data-Parallel Programs Using the Charon Message-Passing Library

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanderWijngaart, Rob F.

2000-01-01

Message passing is among the most popular techniques for parallelizing scientific programs on distributed-memory architectures. The reasons for its success are wide availability (MPI), efficiency, and full tuning control provided to the programmer. A major drawback, however, is that incremental parallelization, as offered by compiler directives, is not generally possible, because all data structures have to be changed throughout the program simultaneously. Charon remedies this situation through mappings between distributed and non-distributed data. It allows breaking up the parallelization into small steps, guaranteeing correctness at every stage. Several tools are available to help convert legacy codes into high-performance message-passing programs. They usually target data-parallel applications, whose loops carrying most of the work can be distributed among all processors without much dependency analysis. Others do a full dependency analysis and then convert the code virtually automatically. Even more toolkits are available that aid construction from scratch of message passing programs. None, however, allows piecemeal translation of codes with complex data dependencies (i.e. non-data-parallel programs) into message passing codes. The Charon library (available in both C and Fortran) provides incremental parallelization capabilities by linking legacy code arrays with distributed arrays. During the conversion process, non-distributed and distributed arrays exist side by side, and simple mapping functions allow the programmer to switch between the two in any location in the program. Charon also provides wrapper functions that leave the structure of the legacy code intact, but that allow execution on truly distributed data. Finally, the library provides a rich set of communication functions that support virtually all patterns of remote data demands in realistic structured grid scientific programs, including transposition, nearest-neighbor communication, pipelining, gather/scatter, and redistribution. At the end of the conversion process most intermediate Charon function calls will have been removed, the non-distributed arrays will have been deleted, and virtually the only remaining Charon functions calls are the high-level, highly optimized communications. Distribution of the data is under complete control of the programmer, although a wide range of useful distributions is easily available through predefined functions. A crucial aspect of the library is that it does not allocate space for distributed arrays, but accepts programmer-specified memory. This has two major consequences. First, codes parallelized using Charon do not suffer from encapsulation; user data is always directly accessible. This provides high efficiency, and also retains the possibility of using message passing directly for highly irregular communications. Second, non-distributed arrays can be interpreted as (trivial) distributions in the Charon sense, which allows them to be mapped to truly distributed arrays, and vice versa. This is the mechanism that enables incremental parallelization. In this paper we provide a brief introduction of the library and then focus on the actual steps in the parallelization process, using some representative examples from, among others, the NAS Parallel Benchmarks. We show how a complicated two-dimensional pipeline-the prototypical non-data-parallel algorithm- can be constructed with ease. To demonstrate the flexibility of the library, we give examples of the stepwise, efficient parallel implementation of nonlocal boundary conditions common in aircraft simulations, as well as the construction of the sequence of grids required for multigrid.