Sample records for process monitoring applying

  1. A Big Spatial Data Processing Framework Applying to National Geographic Conditions Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiao, F.

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, a novel framework for spatial data processing is proposed, which apply to National Geographic Conditions Monitoring project of China. It includes 4 layers: spatial data storage, spatial RDDs, spatial operations, and spatial query language. The spatial data storage layer uses HDFS to store large size of spatial vector/raster data in the distributed cluster. The spatial RDDs are the abstract logical dataset of spatial data types, and can be transferred to the spark cluster to conduct spark transformations and actions. The spatial operations layer is a series of processing on spatial RDDs, such as range query, k nearest neighbor and spatial join. The spatial query language is a user-friendly interface which provide people not familiar with Spark with a comfortable way to operation the spatial operation. Compared with other spatial frameworks, it is highlighted that comprehensive technologies are referred for big spatial data processing. Extensive experiments on real datasets show that the framework achieves better performance than traditional process methods.

  2. [Microinjection Monitoring System Design Applied to MRI Scanning].

    PubMed

    Xu, Yongfeng

    2017-09-30

    A microinjection monitoring system applied to the MRI scanning was introduced. The micro camera probe was used to stretch into the main magnet for real-time video injection monitoring of injection tube terminal. The programming based on LabVIEW was created to analysis and process the real-time video information. The feedback signal was used for intelligent controlling of the modified injection pump. The real-time monitoring system can make the best use of injection under the condition that the injection device was away from the sample which inside the magnetic room and unvisible. 9.4 T MRI scanning experiment showed that the system in ultra-high field can work stability and doesn't affect the MRI scans.

  3. Process monitoring and visualization solutions for hot-melt extrusion: a review.

    PubMed

    Saerens, Lien; Vervaet, Chris; Remon, Jean Paul; De Beer, Thomas

    2014-02-01

    Hot-melt extrusion (HME) is applied as a continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing process for the production of a variety of dosage forms and formulations. To ensure the continuity of this process, the quality of the extrudates must be assessed continuously during manufacturing. The objective of this review is to provide an overview and evaluation of the available process analytical techniques which can be applied in hot-melt extrusion. Pharmaceutical extruders are equipped with traditional (univariate) process monitoring tools, observing barrel and die temperatures, throughput, screw speed, torque, drive amperage, melt pressure and melt temperature. The relevance of several spectroscopic process analytical techniques for monitoring and control of pharmaceutical HME has been explored recently. Nevertheless, many other sensors visualizing HME and measuring diverse critical product and process parameters with potential use in pharmaceutical extrusion are available, and were thoroughly studied in polymer extrusion. The implementation of process analytical tools in HME serves two purposes: (1) improving process understanding by monitoring and visualizing the material behaviour and (2) monitoring and analysing critical product and process parameters for process control, allowing to maintain a desired process state and guaranteeing the quality of the end product. This review is the first to provide an evaluation of the process analytical tools applied for pharmaceutical HME monitoring and control, and discusses techniques that have been used in polymer extrusion having potential for monitoring and control of pharmaceutical HME. © 2013 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

  4. Thermal Curing Process Monitoring of the Composite Material Using the FBG sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Youhong; Chang, Xinlong; Zhang, Xiaojun; He, Xiangyong

    2018-03-01

    The raw composite material will suffer complex chemical and morphological changes during the thermal curing process, and it is difficult to monitor the curing process and curing effect. In this paper, the FBG sensor was embedded in the raw composite material to monitor the whole curing process. The experiment results showed that the FBG sensor can monitor the resin transformation and residual deformation of the composite material, and the FBG sensor can be applied to monitor the thermal curing process of the composite structure.

  5. Volcanic monitoring techniques applied to controlled fragmentation experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kueppers, Ulrich; Alatorre-Ibarguengoitia, Miguel; Hort, Matthias; Kremers, Simon; Meier, Kristina; Scharff, Lea; Scheu, Bettina; Taddeucci, Jacopo; Dingwell, Donald B.

    2010-05-01

    A rapidly growing number of people is threatened by natural hazards such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, or storms. Volcanic eruptions not only have an impact on their direct neighbourhood but may also affect aviation, infrastructure and climate, regionally as well as globally. In respect to several other natural threats, volcanoes exhibit the advantage of a usually known location of the pending threat, allowing the deployment of sophisticated monitoring networks. Such networks deliver information about volcanic systems and the correct interpretation of monitoring data is a viable key to a successful hazard mitigation strategy. Today a large number of volcanoes is equipped with a variety of scientific instruments that help elucidate the secrets of volcanic phenomena. However, our mechanistic understanding of the processes behind recorded signals or a solid interpretation of the state of a volcano is poor. Experimental volcanology is a chief source of mechanistic understanding of volcanic systems. Here, we bring volcanic monitoring and experimental volcanology together in a campaign of well-monitored, field-based, experimental volcanology. We present results from a multi-parametric combination of well-controlled experiments and several tools commonly used for monitoring active volcanoes. We performed rapid decompression experiments with natural rock samples from Colima volcano (Mexico) to simulate explosive volcanic eruptions. We used 2 sample varieties of approx. 25 and 35 vol.% open porosity. Sample size was 60 mm height and 25 mm and 60 mm diameter, respectively. Applied pressure ranges from 4 to 18 MPa. The pressurised volume above the samples ranges from 60 - 170 cm³. The experiments have been thoroughly monitored with 1) Doppler-Radar, 2) High-speed and video camera, 3) acoustic and infrasonic sensors, 4) pressure transducers, and 5) electrically conducting wires to shed light on fragmentation, ejection, and ejection speed of volcanic pyroclasts

  6. Situation awareness acquired from monitoring process plants - the Process Overview concept and measure.

    PubMed

    Lau, Nathan; Jamieson, Greg A; Skraaning, Gyrd

    2016-07-01

    We introduce Process Overview, a situation awareness characterisation of the knowledge derived from monitoring process plants. Process Overview is based on observational studies of process control work in the literature. The characterisation is applied to develop a query-based measure called the Process Overview Measure. The goal of the measure is to improve coupling between situation and awareness according to process plant properties and operator cognitive work. A companion article presents the empirical evaluation of the Process Overview Measure in a realistic process control setting. The Process Overview Measure demonstrated sensitivity and validity by revealing significant effects of experimental manipulations that corroborated with other empirical results. The measure also demonstrated adequate inter-rater reliability and practicality for measuring SA based on data collected by process experts. Practitioner Summary: The Process Overview Measure is a query-based measure for assessing operator situation awareness from monitoring process plants in representative settings.

  7. Monitoring Process Effectiveness

    EPA Science Inventory

    Treatment of municipal sludges to produce biosolids which meet federal and/or state requirements for land application requires process monitoring. The goal of process monitoring is to produce biosolids of consistent and reliable quality. In its simplest form, for Class B treatme...

  8. Possibilities in optical monitoring of laser welding process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horník, Petr; Mrňa, Libor; Pavelka, Jan

    2016-11-01

    Laser welding is a modern, widely used but still not really common method of welding. With increasing demands on the quality of the welds, it is usual to apply automated machine welding and with on-line monitoring of the welding process. The resulting quality of the weld is largely affected by the behavior of keyhole. However, its direct observation during the welding process is practically impossible and it is necessary to use indirect methods. At ISI we have developed optical methods of monitoring the process. Most advanced is an analysis of radiation of laser-induced plasma plume forming in the keyhole where changes in the frequency of the plasma bursts are monitored and evaluated using Fourier and autocorrelation analysis. Another solution, robust and suitable for industry, is based on the observation of the keyhole inlet opening through a coaxial camera mounted in the welding head and the subsequent image processing by computer vision methods. A high-speed camera is used to understand the dynamics of the plasma plume. Through optical spectroscopy of the plume, we can study the excitation of elements in a material. It is also beneficial to monitor the gas flow of shielding gas using schlieren method.

  9. Volcanic Monitoring Techniques Applied to Controlled Fragmentation Experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kueppers, U.; Alatorre-Ibarguengoitia, M. A.; Hort, M. K.; Kremers, S.; Meier, K.; Scharff, L.; Scheu, B.; Taddeucci, J.; Dingwell, D. B.

    2010-12-01

    Volcanic eruptions are an inevitable natural threat. The range of eruptive styles is large and short term fluctuations of explosivity or vent position pose a large risk that is not necessarily confined to the immediate vicinity of a volcano. Explosive eruptions rather may also affect aviation, infrastructure and climate, regionally as well as globally. Multiparameter monitoring networks are deployed on many active volcanoes to record signs of magmatic processes and help elucidate the secrets of volcanic phenomena. However, our mechanistic understanding of many processes hiding in recorded signals is still poor. As a direct consequence, a solid interpretation of the state of a volcano is still a challenge. In an attempt to bridge this gap, we combined volcanic monitoring and experimental volcanology. We performed 15 well-monitored, field-based, experiments and fragmented natural rock samples from Colima volcano (Mexico) by rapid decompression. We used cylindrical samples of 60 mm height and 25 mm and 60 mm diameter, respectively, and 25 and 35 vol.% open porosity. The applied pressure range was from 4 to 18 MPa. Using different experimental set-ups, the pressurised volume above the samples ranged from 60 - 170 cm3. The experiments were performed at ambient conditions and at controlled sample porosity and size, confinement geometry, and applied pressure. The experiments have been thoroughly monitored with 1) Doppler Radar (DR), 2) high-speed and high-definition cameras, 3) acoustic and infrasound sensors, 4) pressure transducers, and 5) electrically conducting wires. Our aim was to check for common results achieved by the different approaches and, if so, calibrate state-of-the-art monitoring tools. We present how the velocity of the ejected pyroclasts was measured by and evaluated for the different approaches and how it was affected by the experimental conditions and sample characteristics. We show that all deployed instruments successfully measured the pyroclast

  10. Signal processing methods for in-situ creep specimen monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guers, Manton J.; Tittmann, Bernhard R.

    2018-04-01

    Previous work investigated using guided waves for monitoring creep deformation during accelerated life testing. The basic objective was to relate observed changes in the time-of-flight to changes in the environmental temperature and specimen gage length. The work presented in this paper investigated several signal processing strategies for possible application in the in-situ monitoring system. Signal processing methods for both group velocity (wave-packet envelope) and phase velocity (peak tracking) time-of-flight were considered. Although the Analytic Envelope found via the Hilbert transform is commonly applied for group velocity measurements, erratic behavior in the indicated time-of-flight was observed when this technique was applied to the in-situ data. The peak tracking strategies tested had generally linear trends, and tracking local minima in the raw waveform ultimately showed the most consistent results.

  11. Performance Monitoring Applied to System Supervision

    PubMed Central

    Somon, Bertille; Campagne, Aurélie; Delorme, Arnaud; Berberian, Bruno

    2017-01-01

    Nowadays, automation is present in every aspect of our daily life and has some benefits. Nonetheless, empirical data suggest that traditional automation has many negative performance and safety consequences as it changed task performers into task supervisors. In this context, we propose to use recent insights into the anatomical and neurophysiological substrates of action monitoring in humans, to help further characterize performance monitoring during system supervision. Error monitoring is critical for humans to learn from the consequences of their actions. A wide variety of studies have shown that the error monitoring system is involved not only in our own errors, but also in the errors of others. We hypothesize that the neurobiological correlates of the self-performance monitoring activity can be applied to system supervision. At a larger scale, a better understanding of system supervision may allow its negative effects to be anticipated or even countered. This review is divided into three main parts. First, we assess the neurophysiological correlates of self-performance monitoring and their characteristics during error execution. Then, we extend these results to include performance monitoring and error observation of others or of systems. Finally, we provide further directions in the study of system supervision and assess the limits preventing us from studying a well-known phenomenon: the Out-Of-the-Loop (OOL) performance problem. PMID:28744209

  12. Compliance monitoring in business processes: Functionalities, application, and tool-support.

    PubMed

    Ly, Linh Thao; Maggi, Fabrizio Maria; Montali, Marco; Rinderle-Ma, Stefanie; van der Aalst, Wil M P

    2015-12-01

    In recent years, monitoring the compliance of business processes with relevant regulations, constraints, and rules during runtime has evolved as major concern in literature and practice. Monitoring not only refers to continuously observing possible compliance violations, but also includes the ability to provide fine-grained feedback and to predict possible compliance violations in the future. The body of literature on business process compliance is large and approaches specifically addressing process monitoring are hard to identify. Moreover, proper means for the systematic comparison of these approaches are missing. Hence, it is unclear which approaches are suitable for particular scenarios. The goal of this paper is to define a framework for Compliance Monitoring Functionalities (CMF) that enables the systematic comparison of existing and new approaches for monitoring compliance rules over business processes during runtime. To define the scope of the framework, at first, related areas are identified and discussed. The CMFs are harvested based on a systematic literature review and five selected case studies. The appropriateness of the selection of CMFs is demonstrated in two ways: (a) a systematic comparison with pattern-based compliance approaches and (b) a classification of existing compliance monitoring approaches using the CMFs. Moreover, the application of the CMFs is showcased using three existing tools that are applied to two realistic data sets. Overall, the CMF framework provides powerful means to position existing and future compliance monitoring approaches.

  13. Compliance monitoring in business processes: Functionalities, application, and tool-support

    PubMed Central

    Ly, Linh Thao; Maggi, Fabrizio Maria; Montali, Marco; Rinderle-Ma, Stefanie; van der Aalst, Wil M.P.

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, monitoring the compliance of business processes with relevant regulations, constraints, and rules during runtime has evolved as major concern in literature and practice. Monitoring not only refers to continuously observing possible compliance violations, but also includes the ability to provide fine-grained feedback and to predict possible compliance violations in the future. The body of literature on business process compliance is large and approaches specifically addressing process monitoring are hard to identify. Moreover, proper means for the systematic comparison of these approaches are missing. Hence, it is unclear which approaches are suitable for particular scenarios. The goal of this paper is to define a framework for Compliance Monitoring Functionalities (CMF) that enables the systematic comparison of existing and new approaches for monitoring compliance rules over business processes during runtime. To define the scope of the framework, at first, related areas are identified and discussed. The CMFs are harvested based on a systematic literature review and five selected case studies. The appropriateness of the selection of CMFs is demonstrated in two ways: (a) a systematic comparison with pattern-based compliance approaches and (b) a classification of existing compliance monitoring approaches using the CMFs. Moreover, the application of the CMFs is showcased using three existing tools that are applied to two realistic data sets. Overall, the CMF framework provides powerful means to position existing and future compliance monitoring approaches. PMID:26635430

  14. 40 CFR 63.7747 - How do I apply for alternative monitoring requirements for a continuous emissions monitoring system?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... monitoring requirements for a continuous emissions monitoring system? 63.7747 Section 63.7747 Protection of... apply for alternative monitoring requirements for a continuous emissions monitoring system? (a) You may... prevention technique, a description of the continuous monitoring system or method including appropriate...

  15. 40 CFR 63.7747 - How do I apply for alternative monitoring requirements for a continuous emissions monitoring system?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... monitoring requirements for a continuous emissions monitoring system? 63.7747 Section 63.7747 Protection of... apply for alternative monitoring requirements for a continuous emissions monitoring system? (a) You may... prevention technique, a description of the continuous monitoring system or method including appropriate...

  16. Cider fermentation process monitoring by Vis-NIR sensor system and chemometrics.

    PubMed

    Villar, Alberto; Vadillo, Julen; Santos, Jose I; Gorritxategi, Eneko; Mabe, Jon; Arnaiz, Aitor; Fernández, Luis A

    2017-04-15

    Optimization of a multivariate calibration process has been undertaken for a Visible-Near Infrared (400-1100nm) sensor system, applied in the monitoring of the fermentation process of the cider produced in the Basque Country (Spain). The main parameters that were monitored included alcoholic proof, l-lactic acid content, glucose+fructose and acetic acid content. The multivariate calibration was carried out using a combination of different variable selection techniques and the most suitable pre-processing strategies were selected based on the spectra characteristics obtained by the sensor system. The variable selection techniques studied in this work include Martens Uncertainty test, interval Partial Least Square Regression (iPLS) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). This procedure arises from the need to improve the calibration models prediction ability for cider monitoring. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Bayesian anomaly detection in monitoring data applying relevance vector machine

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saito, Tomoo

    2011-04-01

    A method for automatically classifying the monitoring data into two categories, normal and anomaly, is developed in order to remove anomalous data included in the enormous amount of monitoring data, applying the relevance vector machine (RVM) to a probabilistic discriminative model with basis functions and their weight parameters whose posterior PDF (probabilistic density function) conditional on the learning data set is given by Bayes' theorem. The proposed framework is applied to actual monitoring data sets containing some anomalous data collected at two buildings in Tokyo, Japan, which shows that the trained models discriminate anomalous data from normal data very clearly, giving high probabilities of being normal to normal data and low probabilities of being normal to anomalous data.

  18. Statistical process control for electron beam monitoring.

    PubMed

    López-Tarjuelo, Juan; Luquero-Llopis, Naika; García-Mollá, Rafael; Quirós-Higueras, Juan David; Bouché-Babiloni, Ana; Juan-Senabre, Xavier Jordi; de Marco-Blancas, Noelia; Ferrer-Albiach, Carlos; Santos-Serra, Agustín

    2015-07-01

    To assess the electron beam monitoring statistical process control (SPC) in linear accelerator (linac) daily quality control. We present a long-term record of our measurements and evaluate which SPC-led conditions are feasible for maintaining control. We retrieved our linac beam calibration, symmetry, and flatness daily records for all electron beam energies from January 2008 to December 2013, and retrospectively studied how SPC could have been applied and which of its features could be used in the future. A set of adjustment interventions designed to maintain these parameters under control was also simulated. All phase I data was under control. The dose plots were characterized by rising trends followed by steep drops caused by our attempts to re-center the linac beam calibration. Where flatness and symmetry trends were detected they were less-well defined. The process capability ratios ranged from 1.6 to 9.3 at a 2% specification level. Simulated interventions ranged from 2% to 34% of the total number of measurement sessions. We also noted that if prospective SPC had been applied it would have met quality control specifications. SPC can be used to assess the inherent variability of our electron beam monitoring system. It can also indicate whether a process is capable of maintaining electron parameters under control with respect to established specifications by using a daily checking device, but this is not practical unless a method to establish direct feedback from the device to the linac can be devised. Copyright © 2015 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Statistically Qualified Neuro-Analytic system and Method for Process Monitoring

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

    Vilim, Richard B.; Garcia, Humberto E.; Chen, Frederick W.

    1998-11-04

    An apparatus and method for monitoring a process involves development and application of a statistically qualified neuro-analytic (SQNA) model to accurately and reliably identify process change. The development of the SQNA model is accomplished in two steps: deterministic model adaption and stochastic model adaptation. Deterministic model adaption involves formulating an analytic model of the process representing known process characteristics,augmenting the analytic model with a neural network that captures unknown process characteristics, and training the resulting neuro-analytic model by adjusting the neural network weights according to a unique scaled equation emor minimization technique. Stochastic model adaptation involves qualifying any remaining uncertaintymore » in the trained neuro-analytic model by formulating a likelihood function, given an error propagation equation, for computing the probability that the neuro-analytic model generates measured process output. Preferably, the developed SQNA model is validated using known sequential probability ratio tests and applied to the process as an on-line monitoring system.« less

  20. Method & apparatus for monitoring plasma processing operations

    DOEpatents

    Smith, Jr., Michael Lane; Ward, Pamela Denise; Stevenson, Joel O'Don

    2004-10-19

    The invention generally relates to various aspects of a plasma process and, more specifically, to the monitoring of such plasma processes. One aspect relates to a plasma monitoring module that may be adjusted in at least some manner so as to re-evaluate a previously monitored plasma process. For instance, optical emissions data on a plasma process that was previously monitored by the plasma monitoring module may be replayed through the plasma monitoring module after making at least one adjustment in relation to the plasma monitoring module.

  1. Pattern centric design based sensitive patterns and process monitor in manufacturing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsiang, Chingyun; Cheng, Guojie; Wu, Kechih

    2017-03-01

    When design rule is mitigating to smaller dimension, process variation requirement is tighter than ever and challenges the limits of device yield. Masks, lithography, etching and other processes have to meet very tight specifications in order to keep defect and CD within the margins of the process window. Conventionally, Inspection and metrology equipments are utilized to monitor and control wafer quality in-line. In high throughput optical inspection, nuisance and review-classification become a tedious labor intensive job in manufacturing. Certain high-resolution SEM images are taken to validate defects after optical inspection. These high resolution SEM images catch not only optical inspection highlighted point, also its surrounding patterns. However, this pattern information is not well utilized in conventional quality control method. Using this complementary design based pattern monitor not only monitors and analyzes the variation of patterns sensitivity but also reduce nuisance and highlight defective patterns or killer defects. After grouping in either single or multiple layers, systematic defects can be identified quickly in this flow. In this paper, we applied design based pattern monitor in different layers to monitor process variation impacts on all kinds of patterns. First, the contour of high resolutions SEM image is extracted and aligned to design with offset adjustment and fine alignment [1]. Second, specified pattern rules can be applied on design clip area, the same size as SEM image, and form POI (pattern of interest) areas. Third, the discrepancy of contour and design measurement at different pattern types in measurement blocks. Fourth, defective patterns are reported by discrepancy detection criteria and pattern grouping [4]. Meanwhile, reported pattern defects are ranked by number and severity by discrepancy. In this step, process sensitive high repeatable systematic defects can be identified quickly Through this design based process pattern

  2. Distributed FBG sensors apply in spacecraft health monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Xiujun; Zhang, Cuicui; Shi, Dele; Shen, Jingshi

    2017-10-01

    At present, Spacecraft manufacturing face with high adventure for its complicate structure, serious space environment and not maintained on orbit. When something wrong with spacecraft, monitoring its health state, supply health data in real time would assure quickly locate error and save more time to rescue it. For FBG sensor can distributed test several parameters such as temperature, strain, vibration and easily construct net. At same time, it has more advantages such as ant-radiate, anti-jamming, rodent-resistant and with long lifetime, which more fit for applying in space. In this paper, a spacecraft health monitor system based on FBG sensors is present, Firstly, spacecraft health monitor system and its development are introduced. Then a four channels FBG demodulator is design. At last, Temperature and strain detecting experiment is done. The result shows that the demodulator fully satisfied the need of spacecraft health monitor system.

  3. Image processing developments and applications for water quality monitoring and trophic state determination

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blackwell, R. J.

    1982-01-01

    Remote sensing data analysis of water quality monitoring is evaluated. Data anaysis and image processing techniques are applied to LANDSAT remote sensing data to produce an effective operational tool for lake water quality surveying and monitoring. Digital image processing and analysis techniques were designed, developed, tested, and applied to LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data and conventional surface acquired data. Utilization of these techniques facilitates the surveying and monitoring of large numbers of lakes in an operational manner. Supervised multispectral classification, when used in conjunction with surface acquired water quality indicators, is used to characterize water body trophic status. Unsupervised multispectral classification, when interpreted by lake scientists familiar with a specific water body, yields classifications of equal validity with supervised methods and in a more cost effective manner. Image data base technology is used to great advantage in characterizing other contributing effects to water quality. These effects include drainage basin configuration, terrain slope, soil, precipitation and land cover characteristics.

  4. Coda Wave Interferometry Method Applied in Structural Monitoring to Assess Damage Evolution in Masonry and Concrete Structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Masera, D.; Bocca, P.; Grazzini, A.

    2011-07-01

    In this experimental program the main goal is to monitor the damage evolution in masonry and concrete structures by Acoustic Emission (AE) signal analysis applying a well-know seismic method. For this reason the concept of the coda wave interferometry is applied to AE signal recorded during the tests. Acoustic Emission (AE) are very effective non-destructive techniques applied to identify micro and macro-defects and their temporal evolution in several materials. This technique permits to estimate the velocity of ultrasound waves propagation and the amount of energy released during fracture propagation to obtain information on the criticality of the ongoing process. By means of AE monitoring, an experimental analysis on a set of reinforced masonry walls under variable amplitude loading and strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) beams under monotonic static load has been carried out. In the reinforced masonry wall, cyclic fatigue stress has been applied to accelerate the static creep and to forecast the corresponding creep behaviour of masonry under static long-time loading. During the tests, the evaluation of fracture growth is monitored by coda wave interferometry which represents a novel approach in structural monitoring based on AE relative change velocity of coda signal. In general, the sensitivity of coda waves has been used to estimate velocity changes in fault zones, in volcanoes, in a mining environment, and in ultrasound experiments. This method uses multiple scattered waves, which travelled through the material along numerous paths, to infer tiny temporal changes in the wave velocity. The applied method has the potential to be used as a "damage-gauge" for monitoring velocity changes as a sign of damage evolution into masonry and concrete structures.

  5. Monitoring the diffusion of topically applied drugs through human and pig skin using fiber evanescent wave spectroscopy (FEWS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spielvogel, Juergen; Reuter, Susanne; Hibst, Raimund; Katzir, Abraham

    1999-04-01

    The objective of this study was to examine if the diffusion process of topically applied drugs can reliably be monitored using FEWS in respect to timely distribution of the drug and chemical alterations of the drug during the diffusion process. In order to do this, recently excised human and pig skin was cut into slices of different thickness while also taking into account the different layers skin is composed of (e.g. Dermis, Stratum Corneum). These layers were first characterized spectroscopically and optically using a microscope before the drug itself was applied topically. The diffusion process was monitored by placing the sample on an ATR (attenuated total reflection) element. Time series from 1 - 4 hours were taken and the characteristic absorption bands of the drug were analyzed in the mid-infrared. By using a first order approach on Fick's diffusion equations (skin assumed to be homogeneous) we were able to fit these experimental values and to obtain diffusion constants, e.g. for water at 3376 cm-1 in the order of 10-5 cm2/s, which compare well with previously published values. The results indicate that this technique can be applied to the prediction of transdermal drug delivery.

  6. Applying Standard Interfaces to a Process-Control Language

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Berthold, Richard T.

    2005-01-01

    A method of applying open-operating-system standard interfaces to the NASA User Interface Language (UIL) has been devised. UIL is a computing language that can be used in monitoring and controlling automated processes: for example, the Timeliner computer program, written in UIL, is a general-purpose software system for monitoring and controlling sequences of automated tasks in a target system. In providing the major elements of connectivity between UIL and the target system, the present method offers advantages over the prior method. Most notably, unlike in the prior method, the software description of the target system can be made independent of the applicable compiler software and need not be linked to the applicable executable compiler image. Also unlike in the prior method, it is not necessary to recompile the source code and relink the source code to a new executable compiler image. Abstraction of the description of the target system to a data file can be defined easily, with intuitive syntax, and knowledge of the source-code language is not needed for the definition.

  7. Real-time kinematic PPP GPS for structure monitoring applied on the Severn Suspension Bridge, UK

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Xu; Roberts, Gethin Wyn; Li, Xingxing; Hancock, Craig Matthew

    2017-09-01

    GPS is widely used for monitoring large civil engineering structures in real time or near real time. In this paper the use of PPP GPS for monitoring large structures is investigated. The bridge deformation results estimated using double differenced measurements is used as the truth against which the performance of kinematic PPP in a real-time scenario for bridge monitoring is assessed. The towers' datasets with millimetre level movement and suspension cable dataset with centimetre/decimetre level movement were processed by both PPP and DD data processing methods. The consistency of tower PPP time series indicated that the wet tropospheric delay is the major obstacle for small deflection extraction. The results of suspension cable survey points indicate that an ionospheric-free linear measurement is competent for bridge deformation by PPP kinematic model, the frequency domain analysis yields very similar results using either PPP or DD. This gives evidence that PPP can be used as an alternative method to DD for large structure monitoring when DD is difficult or impossible because of large baseline lengths, power outages or natural disasters. The PPP residual tropospheric wet delays can be applied to improve the capacity of small movement extraction.

  8. An Application of X-Ray Fluorescence as Process Analytical Technology (PAT) to Monitor Particle Coating Processes.

    PubMed

    Nakano, Yoshio; Katakuse, Yoshimitsu; Azechi, Yasutaka

    2018-06-01

    An attempt to apply X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis to evaluate small particle coating process as a Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) was made. The XRF analysis was used to monitor coating level in small particle coating process with at-line manner. The small particle coating process usually consists of multiple coating processes. This study was conducted by a simple coating particles prepared by first coating of a model compound (DL-methionine) and second coating by talc on spherical microcrystalline cellulose cores. The particles with two layered coating are enough to demonstrate the small particle coating process. From the result by the small particle coating process, it was found that the XRF signal played different roles, resulting that XRF signals by first coating (layering) and second coating (mask coating) could demonstrate the extent with different mechanisms for the coating process. Furthermore, the particle coating of the different particle size has also been investigated to evaluate size effect of these coating processes. From these results, it was concluded that the XRF could be used as a PAT in monitoring particle coating processes and become powerful tool in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

  9. Automatically processed alpha-track radon monitor

    DOEpatents

    Langner, Jr., G. Harold

    1993-01-01

    An automatically processed alpha-track radon monitor is provided which includes a housing having an aperture allowing radon entry, and a filter that excludes the entry of radon daughters into the housing. A flexible track registration material is located within the housing that records alpha-particle emissions from the decay of radon and radon daughters inside the housing. The flexible track registration material is capable of being spliced such that the registration material from a plurality of monitors can be spliced into a single strip to facilitate automatic processing of the registration material from the plurality of monitors. A process for the automatic counting of radon registered by a radon monitor is also provided.

  10. Automatically processed alpha-track radon monitor

    DOEpatents

    Langner, G.H. Jr.

    1993-01-12

    An automatically processed alpha-track radon monitor is provided which includes a housing having an aperture allowing radon entry, and a filter that excludes the entry of radon daughters into the housing. A flexible track registration material is located within the housing that records alpha-particle emissions from the decay of radon and radon daughters inside the housing. The flexible track registration material is capable of being spliced such that the registration material from a plurality of monitors can be spliced into a single strip to facilitate automatic processing of the registration material from the plurality of monitors. A process for the automatic counting of radon registered by a radon monitor is also provided.

  11. Batch Statistical Process Monitoring Approach to a Cocrystallization Process.

    PubMed

    Sarraguça, Mafalda C; Ribeiro, Paulo R S; Dos Santos, Adenilson O; Lopes, João A

    2015-12-01

    Cocrystals are defined as crystalline structures composed of two or more compounds that are solid at room temperature held together by noncovalent bonds. Their main advantages are the increase of solubility, bioavailability, permeability, stability, and at the same time retaining active pharmaceutical ingredient bioactivity. The cocrystallization between furosemide and nicotinamide by solvent evaporation was monitored on-line using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a process analytical technology tool. The near-infrared spectra were analyzed using principal component analysis. Batch statistical process monitoring was used to create control charts to perceive the process trajectory and define control limits. Normal and non-normal operating condition batches were performed and monitored with NIRS. The use of NIRS associated with batch statistical process models allowed the detection of abnormal variations in critical process parameters, like the amount of solvent or amount of initial components present in the cocrystallization. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  12. Automated Long-Term Monitoring of Parallel Microfluidic Operations Applying a Machine Vision-Assisted Positioning Method

    PubMed Central

    Yip, Hon Ming; Li, John C. S.; Cui, Xin; Gao, Qiannan; Leung, Chi Chiu

    2014-01-01

    As microfluidics has been applied extensively in many cell and biochemical applications, monitoring the related processes is an important requirement. In this work, we design and fabricate a high-throughput microfluidic device which contains 32 microchambers to perform automated parallel microfluidic operations and monitoring on an automated stage of a microscope. Images are captured at multiple spots on the device during the operations for monitoring samples in microchambers in parallel; yet the device positions may vary at different time points throughout operations as the device moves back and forth on a motorized microscopic stage. Here, we report an image-based positioning strategy to realign the chamber position before every recording of microscopic image. We fabricate alignment marks at defined locations next to the chambers in the microfluidic device as reference positions. We also develop image processing algorithms to recognize the chamber positions in real-time, followed by realigning the chambers to their preset positions in the captured images. We perform experiments to validate and characterize the device functionality and the automated realignment operation. Together, this microfluidic realignment strategy can be a platform technology to achieve precise positioning of multiple chambers for general microfluidic applications requiring long-term parallel monitoring of cell and biochemical activities. PMID:25133248

  13. 10 CFR 74.53 - Process monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Process monitoring. 74.53 Section 74.53 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) MATERIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTING OF SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL Formula Quantities of Strategic Special Nuclear Material § 74.53 Process monitoring. (a) Licensees subject to § 74.51...

  14. 10 CFR 74.53 - Process monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Process monitoring. 74.53 Section 74.53 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) MATERIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTING OF SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL Formula Quantities of Strategic Special Nuclear Material § 74.53 Process monitoring. (a) Licensees subject to § 74.51...

  15. 10 CFR 74.53 - Process monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Process monitoring. 74.53 Section 74.53 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) MATERIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTING OF SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL Formula Quantities of Strategic Special Nuclear Material § 74.53 Process monitoring. (a) Licensees subject to § 74.51...

  16. 10 CFR 74.53 - Process monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Process monitoring. 74.53 Section 74.53 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) MATERIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTING OF SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL Formula Quantities of Strategic Special Nuclear Material § 74.53 Process monitoring. (a) Licensees subject to § 74.51...

  17. Self-Monitors Apply for a Job: Self-Presentation and Affective Consequences.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Larkin, Judith E.; Pines, Harvey A.

    High and low self-monitors were given the task of applying for a position that was or was not a good fit with their personality. Subjects were 97 introductory psychology students who had previously taken the 18-item Self-Monitoring Scale (SMS). They took the SMS again--as if it were being used to decide whether they would be offered a very…

  18. Process Monitoring Evaluation and Implementation for the Wood Abrasive Machining Process

    PubMed Central

    Saloni, Daniel E.; Lemaster, Richard L.; Jackson, Steven D.

    2010-01-01

    Wood processing industries have continuously developed and improved technologies and processes to transform wood to obtain better final product quality and thus increase profits. Abrasive machining is one of the most important of these processes and therefore merits special attention and study. The objective of this work was to evaluate and demonstrate a process monitoring system for use in the abrasive machining of wood and wood based products. The system developed increases the life of the belt by detecting (using process monitoring sensors) and removing (by cleaning) the abrasive loading during the machining process. This study focused on abrasive belt machining processes and included substantial background work, which provided a solid base for understanding the behavior of the abrasive, and the different ways that the abrasive machining process can be monitored. In addition, the background research showed that abrasive belts can effectively be cleaned by the appropriate cleaning technique. The process monitoring system developed included acoustic emission sensors which tended to be sensitive to belt wear, as well as platen vibration, but not loading, and optical sensors which were sensitive to abrasive loading. PMID:22163477

  19. Multivariate statistical monitoring as applied to clean-in-place (CIP) and steam-in-place (SIP) operations in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

    PubMed

    Roy, Kevin; Undey, Cenk; Mistretta, Thomas; Naugle, Gregory; Sodhi, Manbir

    2014-01-01

    Multivariate statistical process monitoring (MSPM) is becoming increasingly utilized to further enhance process monitoring in the biopharmaceutical industry. MSPM can play a critical role when there are many measurements and these measurements are highly correlated, as is typical for many biopharmaceutical operations. Specifically, for processes such as cleaning-in-place (CIP) and steaming-in-place (SIP, also known as sterilization-in-place), control systems typically oversee the execution of the cycles, and verification of the outcome is based on offline assays. These offline assays add to delays and corrective actions may require additional setup times. Moreover, this conventional approach does not take interactive effects of process variables into account and cycle optimization opportunities as well as salient trends in the process may be missed. Therefore, more proactive and holistic online continued verification approaches are desirable. This article demonstrates the application of real-time MSPM to processes such as CIP and SIP with industrial examples. The proposed approach has significant potential for facilitating enhanced continuous verification, improved process understanding, abnormal situation detection, and predictive monitoring, as applied to CIP and SIP operations. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  20. Monitoring Sea Surface Processes Using the High Frequency Ambient Sound Field

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-09-30

    Pacific (ITCZ 10ºN, 95ºW), 3) Bering Sea coastal shelf, 4) Ionian Sea, 5) Carr Inlet, Puget Sound , Washington, and 6) Haro Strait, Washington/BC...Southern Resident Killer Whale ( Puget Sound ). In coastal and inland waterways, anthropogenic noise is often present. These signals are usually...Monitoring Sea Surface Processes Using the High Frequency Ambient Sound Field Jeffrey A. Nystuen Applied Physics Laboratory University of

  1. A KPI-based process monitoring and fault detection framework for large-scale processes.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Kai; Shardt, Yuri A W; Chen, Zhiwen; Yang, Xu; Ding, Steven X; Peng, Kaixiang

    2017-05-01

    Large-scale processes, consisting of multiple interconnected subprocesses, are commonly encountered in industrial systems, whose performance needs to be determined. A common approach to this problem is to use a key performance indicator (KPI)-based approach. However, the different KPI-based approaches are not developed with a coherent and consistent framework. Thus, this paper proposes a framework for KPI-based process monitoring and fault detection (PM-FD) for large-scale industrial processes, which considers the static and dynamic relationships between process and KPI variables. For the static case, a least squares-based approach is developed that provides an explicit link with least-squares regression, which gives better performance than partial least squares. For the dynamic case, using the kernel representation of each subprocess, an instrument variable is used to reduce the dynamic case to the static case. This framework is applied to the TE benchmark process and the hot strip mill rolling process. The results show that the proposed method can detect faults better than previous methods. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. MIR-ATR sensor for process monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Geörg, Daniel; Schalk, Robert; Methner, Frank-Jürgen; Beuermann, Thomas

    2015-06-01

    A mid-infrared attenuated total reflectance (MIR-ATR) sensor has been developed for chemical reaction monitoring. The optical setup of the compact and low-priced sensor consists of an IR emitter as light source, a zinc selenide (ZnSe) ATR prism as boundary to the process, and four thermopile detectors, each equipped with an optical bandpass filter. The practical applicability was tested during esterification of ethanol and formic acid to ethyl formate and water as a model reaction with subsequent distillation. For reference analysis, a Fourier transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) spectrometer with diamond ATR module was applied. On-line measurements using the MIR-ATR sensor and the FT-MIR spectrometer were performed in a bypass loop. The sensor was calibrated by multiple linear regression in order to link the measured absorbance in the four optical channels to the analyte concentrations. The analytical potential of the MIR-ATR sensor was demonstrated by simultaneous real-time monitoring of all four chemical substances involved in the esterification and distillation process. The temporal courses of the sensor signals are in accordance with the concentration values achieved by the commercial FT-MIR spectrometer. The standard error of prediction for ethanol, formic acid, ethyl formate, and water were 0.38 mol L  -  1, 0.48 mol L  -  1, 0.38 mol L  -  1, and 1.12 mol L  -  1, respectively. A procedure based on MIR spectra is presented to simulate the response characteristics of the sensor if the transmission ranges of the filters are varied. Using this tool analyte specific bandpass filters for a particular chemical reaction can be identified. By exchanging the optical filters, the sensor can be adapted to a wide range of processes in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and beverage industries.

  3. Processing Approaches for DAS-Enabled Continuous Seismic Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dou, S.; Wood, T.; Freifeld, B. M.; Robertson, M.; McDonald, S.; Pevzner, R.; Lindsey, N.; Gelvin, A.; Saari, S.; Morales, A.; Ekblaw, I.; Wagner, A. M.; Ulrich, C.; Daley, T. M.; Ajo Franklin, J. B.

    2017-12-01

    Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) is creating a "field as laboratory" capability for seismic monitoring of subsurface changes. By providing unprecedented spatial and temporal sampling at a relatively low cost, DAS enables field-scale seismic monitoring to have durations and temporal resolutions that are comparable to those of laboratory experiments. Here we report on seismic processing approaches developed during data analyses of three case studies all using DAS-enabled seismic monitoring with applications ranging from shallow permafrost to deep reservoirs: (1) 10-hour downhole monitoring of cement curing at Otway, Australia; (2) 2-month surface monitoring of controlled permafrost thaw at Fairbanks, Alaska; (3) multi-month downhole and surface monitoring of carbon sequestration at Decatur, Illinois. We emphasize the data management and processing components relevant to DAS-based seismic monitoring, which include scalable approaches to data management, pre-processing, denoising, filtering, and wavefield decomposition. DAS has dramatically increased the data volume to the extent that terabyte-per-day data loads are now typical, straining conventional approaches to data storage and processing. To achieve more efficient use of disk space and network bandwidth, we explore improved file structures and data compression schemes. Because noise floor of DAS measurements is higher than that of conventional sensors, optimal processing workflow involving advanced denoising, deconvolution (of the source signatures), and stacking approaches are being established to maximize signal content of DAS data. The resulting workflow of data management and processing could accelerate the broader adaption of DAS for continuous monitoring of critical processes.

  4. OCT monitoring of pathophysiological processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gladkova, Natalia D.; Shakhova, Natalia M.; Shakhov, Andrei; Petrova, Galina P.; Zagainova, Elena; Snopova, Ludmila; Kuznetzova, Irina N.; Chumakov, Yuri; Feldchtein, Felix I.; Gelikonov, Valentin M.; Gelikonov, Grigory V.; Kamensky, Vladislav A.; Kuranov, Roman V.; Sergeev, Alexander M.

    1999-04-01

    Based on results of clinical examination of about 200 patients we discuss capabilities of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) in monitoring and diagnosing of various pathophysiological processes. Performed in several clinical areas including dermatology, urology, laryngology, gynecology, and dentistry, our study shows the existence of common optical features in manifestation of a pathophysiological process in different organs. In this paper we focus at such universal tomographic optical signs for processes of inflammation, necrosis and tumor growth. We also present data on dynamical OCT monitoring of evolution of pathophysiological processes, both at the stage of disease development and following-up results of different treatments such as drug application, radiation therapy, cryodestruction, and laser vaporization. The discovered peculiarities of OCT images for structural and functional imaging of biological tissues can be put as a basis for application of this method for diagnosing of pathology, guidance of treatment, estimation of its adequacy and assessing of the healing process.

  5. Corrosion process monitoring by AFM higher harmonic imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Babicz, S.; Zieliński, A.; Smulko, J.; Darowicki, K.

    2017-11-01

    The atomic force microscope (AFM) was invented in 1986 as an alternative to the scanning tunnelling microscope, which cannot be used in studies of non-conductive materials. Today the AFM is a powerful, versatile and fundamental tool for visualizing and studying the morphology of material surfaces. Moreover, additional information for some materials can be recovered by analysing the AFM’s higher cantilever modes when the cantilever motion is inharmonic and generates frequency components above the excitation frequency, usually close to the resonance frequency of the lowest oscillation mode. This method has been applied and developed to monitor corrosion processes. The higher-harmonic imaging is especially helpful for sharpening boundaries between objects in heterogeneous samples, which can be used to identify variations in steel structures (e.g. corrosion products, steel heterogeneity). The corrosion products have different chemical structures because they are composed of chemicals other than the original metal base (mainly iron oxides). Thus, their physicochemical properties are different from the primary basis. These structures have edges at which higher harmonics should be more intense because of stronger interference between the tip and the specimen structure there. This means that the AFM’s higher-harmonic imaging is an excellent tool for monitoring surficial effects of the corrosion process.

  6. 30 CFR 828.12 - In situ processing: Monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false In situ processing: Monitoring. 828.12 Section... INTERIOR PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SPECIAL PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS-IN SITU PROCESSING § 828.12 In situ processing: Monitoring. (a) Each person who conducts in situ processing...

  7. 30 CFR 828.12 - In situ processing: Monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false In situ processing: Monitoring. 828.12 Section... INTERIOR PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SPECIAL PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS-IN SITU PROCESSING § 828.12 In situ processing: Monitoring. (a) Each person who conducts in situ processing...

  8. 30 CFR 828.12 - In situ processing: Monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false In situ processing: Monitoring. 828.12 Section... INTERIOR PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SPECIAL PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS-IN SITU PROCESSING § 828.12 In situ processing: Monitoring. (a) Each person who conducts in situ processing...

  9. 30 CFR 828.12 - In situ processing: Monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false In situ processing: Monitoring. 828.12 Section... INTERIOR PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SPECIAL PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS-IN SITU PROCESSING § 828.12 In situ processing: Monitoring. (a) Each person who conducts in situ processing...

  10. 30 CFR 828.12 - In situ processing: Monitoring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false In situ processing: Monitoring. 828.12 Section... INTERIOR PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SPECIAL PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS-IN SITU PROCESSING § 828.12 In situ processing: Monitoring. (a) Each person who conducts in situ processing...

  11. Approach to in-process tool wear monitoring in drilling: Application of Kalman filter theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Ning; Zhang, Youzhen; Pan, Liangxian

    1993-05-01

    The two parameters often used in adaptive control, tool wear and wear rate, are the important factors affecting machinability. In this paper, it is attempted to use the modern cybernetics to solve the in-process tool wear monitoring problem by applying the Kalman filter theory to monitor drill wear quantitatively. Based on the experimental results, a dynamic model, a measuring model and a measurement conversion model suitable for Kalman filter are established. It is proved that the monitoring system possesses complete observability but does not possess complete controllability. A discriminant for selecting the characteristic parameters is put forward. The thrust force Fz is selected as the characteristic parameter in monitoring the tool wear by this discriminant. The in-process Kalman filter drill wear monitoring system composed of force sensor microphotography and microcomputer is well established. The results obtained by the Kalman filter, the common indirect measuring method and the real drill wear measured by the aid of microphotography are compared. The result shows that the Kalman filter has high precision of measurement and the real time requirement can be satisfied.

  12. Laser displacement sensor to monitor the layup process of composite laminate production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miesen, Nick; Groves, Roger M.; Sinke, Jos; Benedictus, Rinze

    2013-04-01

    Several types of flaw can occur during the layup process of prepreg composite laminates. Quality control after the production process checks the end product by testing the specimens for flaws which are included during the layup process or curing process, however by then these flaws are already irreversibly embedded in the laminate. This paper demonstrates the use of a laser displacement sensor technique applied during the layup process of prepreg laminates for in-situ flaw detection, for typical flaws that can occur during the composite production process. An incorrect number of layers and fibre wrinkling are dominant flaws during the process of layup. These and other dominant flaws have been modeled to determine the requirements for an in-situ monitoring during the layup process of prepreg laminates.

  13. Neural manufacturing: a novel concept for processing modeling, monitoring, and control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fu, Chi Y.; Petrich, Loren; Law, Benjamin

    1995-09-01

    Semiconductor fabrication lines have become extremely costly, and achieving a good return from such a high capital investment requires efficient utilization of these expensive facilities. It is highly desirable to shorten processing development time, increase fabrication yield, enhance flexibility, improve quality, and minimize downtime. We propose that these ends can be achieved by applying recent advances in the areas of artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, machine learning, and genetic algorithms. We use the term neural manufacturing to describe such applications. This paper describes our use of artificial neural networks to improve the monitoring and control of semiconductor process.

  14. Analysis of acoustic emission signals and monitoring of machining processes

    PubMed

    Govekar; Gradisek; Grabec

    2000-03-01

    Monitoring of a machining process on the basis of sensor signals requires a selection of informative inputs in order to reliably characterize and model the process. In this article, a system for selection of informative characteristics from signals of multiple sensors is presented. For signal analysis, methods of spectral analysis and methods of nonlinear time series analysis are used. With the aim of modeling relationships between signal characteristics and the corresponding process state, an adaptive empirical modeler is applied. The application of the system is demonstrated by characterization of different parameters defining the states of a turning machining process, such as: chip form, tool wear, and onset of chatter vibration. The results show that, in spite of the complexity of the turning process, the state of the process can be well characterized by just a few proper characteristics extracted from a representative sensor signal. The process characterization can be further improved by joining characteristics from multiple sensors and by application of chaotic characteristics.

  15. Monitoring activities of satellite data processing services in real-time with SDDS Live Monitor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duc Nguyen, Minh

    2017-10-01

    This work describes Live Monitor, the monitoring subsystem of SDDS - an automated system for space experiment data processing, storage, and distribution created at SINP MSU. Live Monitor allows operators and developers of satellite data centers to identify errors occurred in data processing quickly and to prevent further consequences caused by the errors. All activities of the whole data processing cycle are illustrated via a web interface in real-time. Notification messages are delivered to responsible people via emails and Telegram messenger service. The flexible monitoring mechanism implemented in Live Monitor allows us to dynamically change and control events being shown on the web interface on our demands. Physicists, whose space weather analysis models are functioning upon satellite data provided by SDDS, can use the developed RESTful API to monitor their own events and deliver customized notification messages by their needs.

  16. Lateralization of spatial information processing in response monitoring

    PubMed Central

    Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Beste, Christian

    2014-01-01

    The current study aims at identifying how lateralized multisensory spatial information processing affects response monitoring and action control. In a previous study, we investigated multimodal sensory integration in response monitoring processes using a Simon task. Behavioral and neurophysiologic results suggested that different aspects of response monitoring are asymmetrically and independently allocated to the hemispheres: while efference-copy-based information on the motor execution of the task is further processed in the hemisphere that originally generated the motor command, proprioception-based spatial information is processed in the hemisphere contralateral to the effector. Hence, crossing hands (entering a “foreign” spatial hemifield) yielded an augmented bilateral activation during response monitoring since these two kinds of information were processed in opposing hemispheres. Because the traditional Simon task does not provide the possibility to investigate which aspect of the spatial configuration leads to the observed hemispheric allocation, we introduced a new “double crossed” condition that allows for the dissociation of internal/physiological and external/physical influences on response monitoring processes. Comparing behavioral and neurophysiologic measures of this new condition to those of the traditional Simon task setup, we could demonstrate that the egocentric representation of the physiological effector's spatial location accounts for the observed lateralization of spatial information in action control. The finding that the location of the physical effector had a very small influence on response monitoring measures suggests that this aspect is either less important and/or processed in different brain areas than egocentric physiological information. PMID:24550855

  17. Process tool monitoring and matching using interferometry technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anberg, Doug; Owen, David M.; Mileham, Jeffrey; Lee, Byoung-Ho; Bouche, Eric

    2016-03-01

    The semiconductor industry makes dramatic device technology changes over short time periods. As the semiconductor industry advances towards to the 10 nm device node, more precise management and control of processing tools has become a significant manufacturing challenge. Some processes require multiple tool sets and some tools have multiple chambers for mass production. Tool and chamber matching has become a critical consideration for meeting today's manufacturing requirements. Additionally, process tools and chamber conditions have to be monitored to ensure uniform process performance across the tool and chamber fleet. There are many parameters for managing and monitoring tools and chambers. Particle defect monitoring is a well-known and established example where defect inspection tools can directly detect particles on the wafer surface. However, leading edge processes are driving the need to also monitor invisible defects, i.e. stress, contamination, etc., because some device failures cannot be directly correlated with traditional visualized defect maps or other known sources. Some failure maps show the same signatures as stress or contamination maps, which implies correlation to device performance or yield. In this paper we present process tool monitoring and matching using an interferometry technique. There are many types of interferometry techniques used for various process monitoring applications. We use a Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) interferometer which is self-referencing and enables high throughput measurements. Using this technique, we can quickly measure the topography of an entire wafer surface and obtain stress and displacement data from the topography measurement. For improved tool and chamber matching and reduced device failure, wafer stress measurements can be implemented as a regular tool or chamber monitoring test for either unpatterned or patterned wafers as a good criteria for improved process stability.

  18. Thermographic process monitoring in powderbed based additive manufacturing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krauss, Harald; Zeugner, Thomas; Zaeh, Michael F.

    2015-03-01

    Selective Laser Melting is utilized to build metallic parts directly from CAD-Data by solidification of thin powder layers through application of a fast scanning laser beam. In this study layerwise monitoring of the temperature distribution is used to gather information about the process stability and the resulting part quality. The heat distribution varies with different kinds of parameters including scan vector length, laser power, layer thickness and inter-part distance in the job layout which in turn influence the resulting part quality. By integration of an off-axis mounted uncooled thermal detector the solidification as well as the layer deposition are monitored and evaluated. Errors in the generation of new powder layers usually result in a locally varying layer thickness that may cause poor part quality. For effect quantification, the locally applied layer thickness is determined by evaluating the heat-up of the newly deposited powder. During the solidification process space and time-resolved data is used to characterize the zone of elevated temperatures and to derive locally varying heat dissipation properties. Potential quality indicators are evaluated and correlated to the resulting part quality: Thermal diffusivity is derived from a simplified heat dissipation model and evaluated for every pixel and cool-down phase of a layer. This allows the quantification of expected material homogeneity properties. Maximum temperature and time above certain temperatures are measured in order to detect hot spots or delamination issues that may cause a process breakdown. Furthermore, a method for quantification of sputter activity is presented. Since high sputter activity indicates unstable melt dynamics this can be used to identify parameter drifts, improper atmospheric conditions or material binding errors. The resulting surface structure after solidification complicates temperature determination on the one hand but enables the detection of potential surface defects

  19. Monitoring Freeze-Thaw States in the Pan-Arctic: Application of Microwave Remote Sensing to Monitoring Hydrologic and Ecological Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McDonald, K. C.; Kimball, J. S.

    2004-12-01

    The transition of the landscape between predominantly frozen and non-frozen conditions in seasonally frozen environments impacts climate, hydrological, ecological and biogeochemical processes profoundly. Satellite microwave remote sensing is uniquely capable of detecting and monitoring a range of related biophysical processes associated with the measurement of landscape freeze/thaw status. We present the development, physical basis, current techniques and selected hydrological applications of satellite-borne microwave remote sensing of landscape freeze/thaw states for the terrestrial cryosphere. Major landscape hydrological processes embracing the remotely-sensed freeze/thaw signal include timing and spatial dynamics of seasonal snowmelt and associated soil thaw, runoff generation and flooding, ice breakup in large rivers and lakes, and timing and length of vegetation growing seasons and associated productivity and trace gas exchange. Employing both active and passive microwave sensors, we apply a selection of temporal change classification algorithms to examine a variety of hydrologic processes. We investigate contemporaneous and retrospective applications of the QuikSCAT scatterometer, and the SSM/I and SMMR radiometers to this end. Results illustrate the strong correspondence between regional thawing, seasonal ice break up for rivers, and the springtime pulse in river flow. We present the physical principles of microwave sensitivity to landscape freeze/thaw state, recent progress in applying these principles toward satellite remote sensing of freeze/thaw processes over broad regions, and potential for future global monitoring of this significant phenomenon of the global cryosphere. This work was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, and at the University of Montana, Missoula, under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  20. Lean Six Sigma applied to a process innovation in a mexican health institute's imaging department.

    PubMed

    Garcia-Porres, J; Ortiz-Posadas, M R; Pimentel-Aguilar, A B

    2008-01-01

    Delivery of services to a patient has to be given with an acceptable measure of quality that can be monitored through the patient's satisfaction. The objective of this work was to innovate processes eliminating waste and non value-added work in processes done at the Imaging Department in the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER for its Spanish acronym) in Mexico City, to decrease the time a patient spends in a study and increase satisfaction. This innovation will be done using Lean Six Sigma tools and applied in a pilot program.

  1. Valuation of OSA process and folic acid addition as excess sludge minimization alternatives applied in the activated sludge process.

    PubMed

    Martins, C L; Velho, V F; Ramos, S R A; Pires, A S C D; Duarte, E C N F A; Costa, R H R

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of the oxic-settling-anaerobic (OSA)-process and the folic acid addition applied in the activated sludge process to reduce the excess sludge production. The study was monitored during two distinct periods: activated sludge system with OSA-process, and activated sludge system with folic acid addition. The observed sludge yields (Yobs) were 0.30 and 0.08 kgTSS kg(-1) chemical oxygen demand (COD), control phase and OSA-process (period 1); 0.33 and 0.18 kgTSS kg(-1) COD, control phase and folic acid addition (period 2). The Yobs decreased by 73 and 45% in phases with the OSA-process and folic acid addition, respectively, compared with the control phases. The sludge minimization alternatives result in a decrease in excess sludge production, without negatively affecting the performance of the effluent treatment.

  2. Fuzzy intelligent quality monitoring model for X-ray image processing.

    PubMed

    Khalatbari, Azadeh; Jenab, Kouroush

    2009-01-01

    Today's imaging diagnosis needs to adapt modern techniques of quality engineering to maintain and improve its accuracy and reliability in health care system. One of the main factors that influences diagnostic accuracy of plain film X-ray on detecting pathology is the level of film exposure. If the level of film exposure is not adequate, a normal body structure may be interpretated as pathology and vice versa. This not only influences the patient management but also has an impact on health care cost and patient's quality of life. Therefore, providing an accurate and high quality image is the first step toward an excellent patient management in any health care system. In this paper, we study these techniques and also present a fuzzy intelligent quality monitoring model, which can be used to keep variables from degrading the image quality. The variables derived from chemical activity, cleaning procedures, maintenance, and monitoring may not be sensed, measured, or calculated precisely due to uncertain situations. Therefore, the gamma-level fuzzy Bayesian model for quality monitoring of an image processing is proposed. In order to apply the Bayesian concept, the fuzzy quality characteristics are assumed as fuzzy random variables. Using the fuzzy quality characteristics, the newly developed model calculates the degradation risk for image processing. A numerical example is also presented to demonstrate the application of the model.

  3. Influence of in line monitored fluid bed granulation process parameters on the stability of Ethinylestradiol.

    PubMed

    Roßteuscher-Carl, Katrin; Fricke, Sabine; Hacker, Michael C; Schulz-Siegmund, Michaela

    2015-12-30

    Ethinylestradiol (EE) as a highly active and low dosed compound is prone to oxidative degradation. The stability of the drug substance is therefore a critical parameter that has to be considered during drug formulation. Beside the stability of the drug substance, granule particle size and moisture are critical quality attributes (CQA) of the fluid bed granulation process which influence the tableting ability of the resulting granules. Both CQA should therefore be monitored during the production process by process analytic technology (PAT) according to ICH Q8. This work focusses on the effects of drying conditions on the stability of EE in a fluid-bed granulation process. We quantified EE degradation products 6-alpha-hydroxy-EE, 6-beta-hydroxy-EE, 9(11)-dehydro-EE and 6-oxo-EE during long time storage and accelerated conditions. PAT-tools that monitor granule particle size (Spatial filtering technology) and granule moisture (Microwave resonance technology) were applied and compared with off-line methods. We found a relevant influence of residual granule moisture and thermic stress applied during granulation on the storage stability of EE, whereas no degradation was found immediately after processing. Hence we conclude that drying parameters have a relevant influence on long term EE stability. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Application of process monitoring to anomaly detection in nuclear material processing systems via system-centric event interpretation of data from multiple sensors of varying reliability

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

    Garcia, Humberto E.; Simpson, Michael F.; Lin, Wen-Chiao

    In this paper, we apply an advanced safeguards approach and associated methods for process monitoring to a hypothetical nuclear material processing system. The assessment regarding the state of the processing facility is conducted at a systemcentric level formulated in a hybrid framework. This utilizes architecture for integrating both time- and event-driven data and analysis for decision making. While the time-driven layers of the proposed architecture encompass more traditional process monitoring methods based on time series data and analysis, the event-driven layers encompass operation monitoring methods based on discrete event data and analysis. By integrating process- and operation-related information and methodologiesmore » within a unified framework, the task of anomaly detection is greatly improved. This is because decision-making can benefit from not only known time-series relationships among measured signals but also from known event sequence relationships among generated events. This available knowledge at both time series and discrete event layers can then be effectively used to synthesize observation solutions that optimally balance sensor and data processing requirements. The application of the proposed approach is then implemented on an illustrative monitored system based on pyroprocessing and results are discussed.« less

  5. Multi-parameters monitoring during traditional Chinese medicine concentration process with near infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Ronghua; Sun, Qiaofeng; Hu, Tian; Li, Lian; Nie, Lei; Wang, Jiayue; Zhou, Wanhui; Zang, Hengchang

    2018-03-01

    As a powerful process analytical technology (PAT) tool, near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has been widely used in real-time monitoring. In this study, NIR spectroscopy was applied to monitor multi-parameters of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Shenzhiling oral liquid during the concentration process to guarantee the quality of products. Five lab scale batches were employed to construct quantitative models to determine five chemical ingredients and physical change (samples density) during concentration process. The paeoniflorin, albiflorin, liquiritin and samples density were modeled by partial least square regression (PLSR), while the content of the glycyrrhizic acid and cinnamic acid were modeled by support vector machine regression (SVMR). Standard normal variate (SNV) and/or Savitzkye-Golay (SG) smoothing with derivative methods were adopted for spectra pretreatment. Variable selection methods including correlation coefficient (CC), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) and interval partial least squares regression (iPLS) were performed for optimizing the models. The results indicated that NIR spectroscopy was an effective tool to successfully monitoring the concentration process of Shenzhiling oral liquid.

  6. System for corrosion monitoring in pipeline applying fuzzy logic mathematics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuzyakov, O. N.; Kolosova, A. L.; Andreeva, M. A.

    2018-05-01

    A list of factors influencing corrosion rate on the external side of underground pipeline is determined. Principles of constructing a corrosion monitoring system are described; the system performance algorithm and program are elaborated. A comparative analysis of methods for calculating corrosion rate is undertaken. Fuzzy logic mathematics is applied to reduce calculations while considering a wider range of corrosion factors.

  7. Beer fermentation: monitoring of process parameters by FT-NIR and multivariate data analysis.

    PubMed

    Grassi, Silvia; Amigo, José Manuel; Lyndgaard, Christian Bøge; Foschino, Roberto; Casiraghi, Ernestina

    2014-07-15

    This work investigates the capability of Fourier-Transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy to monitor and assess process parameters in beer fermentation at different operative conditions. For this purpose, the fermentation of wort with two different yeast strains and at different temperatures was monitored for nine days by FT-NIR. To correlate the collected spectra with °Brix, pH and biomass, different multivariate data methodologies were applied. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares (PLS) and locally weighted regression (LWR) were used to assess the relationship between FT-NIR spectra and the abovementioned process parameters that define the beer fermentation. The accuracy and robustness of the obtained results clearly show the suitability of FT-NIR spectroscopy, combined with multivariate data analysis, to be used as a quality control tool in the beer fermentation process. FT-NIR spectroscopy, when combined with LWR, demonstrates to be a perfectly suitable quantitative method to be implemented in the production of beer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Monitoring and Evaluation of Alcoholic Fermentation Processes Using a Chemocapacitor Sensor Array

    PubMed Central

    Oikonomou, Petros; Raptis, Ioannis; Sanopoulou, Merope

    2014-01-01

    The alcoholic fermentation of Savatiano must variety was initiated under laboratory conditions and monitored daily with a gas sensor array without any pre-treatment steps. The sensor array consisted of eight interdigitated chemocapacitors (IDCs) coated with specific polymers. Two batches of fermented must were tested and also subjected daily to standard chemical analysis. The chemical composition of the two fermenting musts differed from day one of laboratory monitoring (due to different storage conditions of the musts) and due to a deliberate increase of the acetic acid content of one of the musts, during the course of the process, in an effort to spoil the fermenting medium. Sensor array responses to the headspace of the fermenting medium were compared with those obtained either for pure or contaminated samples with controlled concentrations of standard ethanol solutions of impurities. Results of data processing with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), demonstrate that this sensing system could discriminate between a normal and a potential spoiled grape must fermentation process, so this gas sensing system could be potentially applied during wine production as an auxiliary qualitative control instrument. PMID:25184490

  9. Geoscientific process monitoring with positron emission tomography (GeoPET)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kulenkampff, Johannes; Gründig, Marion; Zakhnini, Abdelhamid; Lippmann-Pipke, Johanna

    2016-08-01

    Transport processes in geomaterials can be observed with input-output experiments, which yield no direct information on the impact of heterogeneities, or they can be assessed by model simulations based on structural imaging using µ-CT. Positron emission tomography (PET) provides an alternative experimental observation method which directly and quantitatively yields the spatio-temporal distribution of tracer concentration. Process observation with PET benefits from its extremely high sensitivity together with a resolution that is acceptable in relation to standard drill core sizes. We strongly recommend applying high-resolution PET scanners in order to achieve a resolution on the order of 1 mm. We discuss the particularities of PET applications in geoscientific experiments (GeoPET), which essentially are due to high material density. Although PET is rather insensitive to matrix effects, mass attenuation and Compton scattering have to be corrected thoroughly in order to derive quantitative values. Examples of process monitoring of advection and diffusion processes with GeoPET illustrate the procedure and the experimental conditions, as well as the benefits and limits of the method.

  10. Ultrasonic Real-Time Quality Monitoring Of Aluminum Spot Weld Process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perez Regalado, Waldo Josue

    The real-time ultrasonic spot weld monitoring system, introduced by our research group, has been designed for the unsupervised quality characterization of the spot welding process. It comprises the ultrasonic transducer (probe) built into one of the welding electrodes and an electronics hardware unit which gathers information from the transducer, performs real-time weld quality characterization and communicates with the robot programmable logic controller (PLC). The system has been fully developed for the inspection of spot welds manufactured in steel alloys, and has been mainly applied in the automotive industry. In recent years, a variety of materials have been introduced to the automotive industry. These include high strength steels, magnesium alloys, and aluminum alloys. Aluminum alloys have been of particular interest due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. Resistance spot welding requirements for aluminum vary greatly from those of steel. Additionally, the oxide film formed on the aluminum surface increases the heat generation between the copper electrodes and the aluminum plates leading to accelerated electrode deterioration. Preliminary studies showed that the real-time quality inspection system was not able to monitor spot welds manufactured with aluminum. The extensive experimental research, finite element modelling of the aluminum welding process and finite difference modeling of the acoustic wave propagation through the aluminum spot welds presented in this dissertation, revealed that the thermodynamics and hence the acoustic wave propagation through an aluminum and a steel spot weld differ significantly. For this reason, the hardware requirements and the algorithms developed to determine the welds quality from the ultrasonic data used on steel, no longer apply on aluminum spot welds. After updating the system and designing the required algorithms, parameters such as liquid nugget penetration and nugget diameter were available in the ultrasonic data

  11. 40 CFR 63.114 - Process vent provisions-monitoring requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ..., temperature monitoring devices shall be installed in the gas stream immediately before and after the catalyst... but not limited to a thermocouple, ultra-violet beam sensor, or infrared sensor) capable of... monitoring device in the firebox equipped with a continuous recorder. This requirement does not apply to gas...

  12. 40 CFR 63.114 - Process vent provisions-monitoring requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., temperature monitoring devices shall be installed in the gas stream immediately before and after the catalyst... but not limited to a thermocouple, ultra-violet beam sensor, or infrared sensor) capable of... monitoring device in the firebox equipped with a continuous recorder. This requirement does not apply to gas...

  13. A combined electrocoagulation-sorption process applied to mixed industrial wastewater.

    PubMed

    Linares-Hernández, Ivonne; Barrera-Díaz, Carlos; Roa-Morales, Gabriela; Bilyeu, Bryan; Ureña-Núñez, Fernando

    2007-06-01

    The removal of organic pollutants from a highly complex industrial wastewater by a aluminium electrocoagulation process coupled with biosorption was evaluated. Under optimal conditions of pH 8 and 45.45 Am(-2) current density, the electrochemical method yields a very effective reduction of all organic pollutants, this reduction was enhanced when the biosorption treatment was applied as a polishing step. Treatment reduced chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 84%, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD(5)) by 78%, color by 97%, turbidity by 98% and fecal coliforms by 99%. The chemical species formed in aqueous solution were determined. The initial and final pollutant levels in the wastewater were monitored using UV-vis spectrometry and cyclic voltammetry. Finally, the morphology and elemental composition of the biosorbent was characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion spectra (EDS).

  14. Particle monitoring and control in vacuum processing equipment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borden, Peter G., Dr.; Gregg, John

    1989-10-01

    Particle contamination during vacuum processes has emerged as the largest single source of yield loss in VLSI manufacturing. While a number of tools have been available to help understand the sources and nature of this contamination, only recently has it been possible to monitor free particle levels within vacuum equipment in real-time. As a result, a better picture is available of how particle contamination can affect a variety of processes. This paper reviews some of the work that has been done to monitor particles in vacuum loadlocks and in processes such as etching, sputtering and ion implantation. The aim has been to make free particles in vacuum equipment a measurable process parameter. Achieving this allows particles to be controlled using statistical process control. It will be shown that free particle levels in load locks correlate to wafer surface counts, device yield and process conditions, but that these levels are considerable higher during production than when dummy wafers are run to qualify a system. It will also be shown how real-time free particle monitoring can be used to monitor and control cleaning cycles, how major episodic events can be detected, and how data can be gathered in a format suitable for statistical process control.

  15. Processing of the WLCG monitoring data using NoSQL

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Andreeva, J.; Beche, A.; Belov, S.; Dzhunov, I.; Kadochnikov, I.; Karavakis, E.; Saiz, P.; Schovancova, J.; Tuckett, D.

    2014-06-01

    The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) today includes more than 150 computing centres where more than 2 million jobs are being executed daily and petabytes of data are transferred between sites. Monitoring the computing activities of the LHC experiments, over such a huge heterogeneous infrastructure, is extremely demanding in terms of computation, performance and reliability. Furthermore, the generated monitoring flow is constantly increasing, which represents another challenge for the monitoring systems. While existing solutions are traditionally based on Oracle for data storage and processing, recent developments evaluate NoSQL for processing large-scale monitoring datasets. NoSQL databases are getting increasingly popular for processing datasets at the terabyte and petabyte scale using commodity hardware. In this contribution, the integration of NoSQL data processing in the Experiment Dashboard framework is described along with first experiences of using this technology for monitoring the LHC computing activities.

  16. A new approach for structural health monitoring by applying anomaly detection on strain sensor data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trichias, Konstantinos; Pijpers, Richard; Meeuwissen, Erik

    2014-03-01

    Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems help to monitor critical infrastructures (bridges, tunnels, etc.) remotely and provide up-to-date information about their physical condition. In addition, it helps to predict the structure's life and required maintenance in a cost-efficient way. Typically, inspection data gives insight in the structural health. The global structural behavior, and predominantly the structural loading, is generally measured with vibration and strain sensors. Acoustic emission sensors are more and more used for measuring global crack activity near critical locations. In this paper, we present a procedure for local structural health monitoring by applying Anomaly Detection (AD) on strain sensor data for sensors that are applied in expected crack path. Sensor data is analyzed by automatic anomaly detection in order to find crack activity at an early stage. This approach targets the monitoring of critical structural locations, such as welds, near which strain sensors can be applied during construction and/or locations with limited inspection possibilities during structural operation. We investigate several anomaly detection techniques to detect changes in statistical properties, indicating structural degradation. The most effective one is a novel polynomial fitting technique, which tracks slow changes in sensor data. Our approach has been tested on a representative test structure (bridge deck) in a lab environment, under constant and variable amplitude fatigue loading. In both cases, the evolving cracks at the monitored locations were successfully detected, autonomously, by our AD monitoring tool.

  17. Silicon Carbide Temperature Monitor Processing Improvements. Status Report

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

    Unruh, Troy Casey; Daw, Joshua Earl; Ahamad Al Rashdan

    2016-01-29

    Silicon carbide (SiC) temperature monitors are used as temperature sensors in Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) irradiations at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Although thermocouples are typically used to provide real-time temperature indication in instrumented lead tests, other indicators, such as melt wires, are also often included in such tests as an independent technique of detecting peak temperatures incurred during irradiation. In addition, less expensive static capsule tests, which have no leads attached for real-time data transmission, often rely on melt wires as a post-irradiation technique for peak temperature indication. Melt wires are limited in that they can only detect whethermore » a single temperature is or is not exceeded. SiC monitors are advantageous because a single monitor can be used to detect for a range of temperatures that occurred during irradiation. As part of the process initiated to make SiC temperature monitors available at the ATR, post-irradiation evaluations of these monitors have been previously completed at the High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL). INL selected the resistance measurement approach for determining irradiation temperature from SiC temperature monitors because it is considered to be the most accurate measurement. The current process involves the repeated annealing of the SiC monitors at incrementally increasing temperature, with resistivity measurements made between annealing steps. The process is time consuming and requires the nearly constant attention of a trained staff member. In addition to the expensive and lengthy post analysis required, the current process adds many potential sources of error in the measurement, as the sensor must be repeatedly moved from furnace to test fixture. This time-consuming post irradiation analysis is a significant portion of the total cost of using these otherwise inexpensive sensors. An additional consideration of this research is that, if the SiC post processing can be

  18. Wavelet transform processing applied to partial discharge evaluation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Macedo, E. C. T.; Araújo, D. B.; da Costa, E. G.; Freire, R. C. S.; Lopes, W. T. A.; Torres, I. S. M.; de Souza Neto, J. M. R.; Bhatti, S. A.; Glover, I. A.

    2012-05-01

    Partial Discharge (PD) is characterized by high frequency current pulses that occur in high voltage (HV) electrical equipments originated from gas ionization process when damaged insulation is submitted to high values of electric field [1]. PD monitoring is a useful method of assessing the aging degree of the insulation, manufacturing defects or chemical/mechanical damage. Many sources of noise (e.g. radio transmissions, commutator noise from rotating machines, power electronics switching circuits, corona discharge, etc.) can directly affect the PD estimation. Among the many mathematical techniques that can be applied to de-noise PD signals, the wavelet transform is one of the most powerful. It can simultaneously supply information about the pulse occurrence, time and pulse spectrum, and also de-noise in-field measured PD signals. In this paper is described the application of wavelet transform in the suppression of the main types of noise that can affect the observation and analysis of PD signals in high voltage apparatus. In addition, is presented a study that indicates the appropriated mother-wavelet for this application based on the cross-correlation factor.

  19. Artificial intelligence applied to process signal analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Corsberg, Dan

    1988-01-01

    Many space station processes are highly complex systems subject to sudden, major transients. In any complex process control system, a critical aspect of the human/machine interface is the analysis and display of process information. Human operators can be overwhelmed by large clusters of alarms that inhibit their ability to diagnose and respond to a disturbance. Using artificial intelligence techniques and a knowledge base approach to this problem, the power of the computer can be used to filter and analyze plant sensor data. This will provide operators with a better description of the process state. Once a process state is recognized, automatic action could be initiated and proper system response monitored.

  20. Monitoring biodegradation of diesel fuel in bioventing processes using in situ respiration rate.

    PubMed

    Lee, T H; Byun, I G; Kim, Y O; Hwang, I S; Park, T J

    2006-01-01

    An in situ measuring system of respiration rate was applied for monitoring biodegradation of diesel fuel in a bioventing process for bioremediation of diesel contaminated soil. Two laboratory-scale soil columns were packed with 5 kg of soil that was artificially contaminated by diesel fuel as final TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) concentration of 8,000 mg/kg soil. Nutrient was added to make a relative concentration of C:N:P = 100:10:1. One soil column was operated with continuous venting mode, and the other one with intermittent (6 h venting/6 h rest) venting mode. On-line O2 and CO2 gas measuring system was applied to measure O2 utilisation and CO2 production during biodegradation of diesel for 5 months. Biodegradation rate of TPH was calculated from respiration rate measured by the on-line gas measuring system. There were no apparent differences between calculated biodegradation rates from two columns with different venting modes. The variation of biodegradation rates corresponded well with trend of the remaining TPH concentrations comparing other biodegradation indicators, such as C17/pristane and C18/phytane ratio, dehydrogenase activity, and the ratio of hydrocarbon utilising bacteria to total heterotrophic bacteria. These results suggested that the on-line measuring system of respiration rate would be applied to monitoring biodegradation rate and to determine the potential applicability of bioventing process for bioremediation of oil contaminated soil.

  1. Monitoring Biogeochemical Processes in Coral Reef Environments with Remote Sensing: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perez, D.; Phinn, S. R.; Roelfsema, C. M.; Shaw, E. C.; Johnston, L.; Iguel, J.; Camacho, R.

    2017-12-01

    Primary production and calcification are important to measure and monitor over time, because of their fundamental roles in the carbon cycling and accretion of habitat structure for reef ecosystems. However, monitoring biogeochemical processes in coastal environments has been difficult due to complications in resolving differences in water optical properties from biological productivity and other sources (sediment, dissolved organics, etc.). This complicates application of algorithms developed for satellite image data from open ocean conditions, and requires alternative approaches. This project applied a cross-disciplinary approach, using established methods for monitoring productivity in terrestrial environments to coral reef systems. Availability of regularly acquired high spatial (< 5m pixels), multispectral satellite imagery has improved mapping and monitoring capabilities for shallow, marine environments such as seagrass and coral reefs. There is potential to further develop optical models for remote sensing applications to estimate and monitor reef system processes, such as primary productivity and calcification. This project collected field measurements of spectral absorptance and primary productivity and calcification rates for two reef systems: Heron Reef, southern Great Barrier Reef and Saipan Lagoon, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Field data were used to parameterize a light-use efficiency (LUE) model, estimating productivity from absorbed photosynthetically active radiation. The LUE model has been successfully applied in terrestrial environments for the past 40 years, and could potentially be used in shallow, marine environments. The model was used in combination with a map of benthic community composition produced from objective based image analysis of WorldView 2 imagery. Light-use efficiency was measured for functional groups: coral, algae, seagrass, and sediment. However, LUE was overestimated for sediment, which led to overestimation

  2. Geodetic monitoring of subrosion-induced subsidence processes in urban areas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kersten, Tobias; Kobe, Martin; Gabriel, Gerald; Timmen, Ludger; Schön, Steffen; Vogel, Detlef

    2017-03-01

    The research project SIMULTAN applies an advanced combination of geophysical, geodetic, and modelling techniques to gain a better understanding of the evolution and characteristics of sinkholes. Sinkholes are inherently related to surface deformation and, thus, of increasing societal relevance, especially in dense populated urban areas. One work package of SIMULTAN investigates an integrated approach to monitor sinkhole-related mass translations and surface deformations induced by salt dissolution. Datasets from identical and adjacent points are used for a consistent combination of geodetic and geophysical techniques. Monitoring networks are established in Hamburg and Bad Frankenhausen (Thuringia). Levelling surveys indicate subsidence rates of about 4-5 mm per year in the main subsidence areas of Bad Frankenhausen with a local maximum of 10 mm per year around the leaning church tower. Here, the concept of combining geodetic and gravimetric techniques to monitor and characterise geological processes on and below the Earth's surface is exemplary discussed for the focus area Bad Frankenhausen. For the different methods (levelling, GNSS, relative/absolute gravimetry) stable network results at identical points are obtained by the first campaigns, i.e., the results are generally in agreement.

  3. 43 CFR 2804.21 - What other factors will BLM consider in determining processing and monitoring fees?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2000) RIGHTS-OF-WAY UNDER THE FEDERAL LAND POLICY MANAGEMENT ACT Applying for FLPMA Grants § 2804... factors. If you include this information in your application, in arriving at your processing or monitoring...

  4. 43 CFR 2804.21 - What other factors will BLM consider in determining processing and monitoring fees?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2000) RIGHTS-OF-WAY UNDER THE FEDERAL LAND POLICY MANAGEMENT ACT Applying for FLPMA Grants § 2804... factors. If you include this information in your application, in arriving at your processing or monitoring...

  5. 43 CFR 2804.21 - What other factors will BLM consider in determining processing and monitoring fees?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2000) RIGHTS-OF-WAY UNDER THE FEDERAL LAND POLICY MANAGEMENT ACT Applying for FLPMA Grants § 2804... factors. If you include this information in your application, in arriving at your processing or monitoring...

  6. 43 CFR 2804.21 - What other factors will BLM consider in determining processing and monitoring fees?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2000) RIGHTS-OF-WAY UNDER THE FEDERAL LAND POLICY MANAGEMENT ACT Applying for FLPMA Grants § 2804... factors. If you include this information in your application, in arriving at your processing or monitoring...

  7. Process for applying control variables having fractal structures

    DOEpatents

    Bullock, IV, Jonathan S.; Lawson, Roger L.

    1996-01-01

    A process and apparatus for the application of a control variable having a fractal structure to a body or process. The process of the present invention comprises the steps of generating a control variable having a fractal structure and applying the control variable to a body or process reacting in accordance with the control variable. The process is applicable to electroforming where first, second and successive pulsed-currents are applied to cause the deposition of material onto a substrate, such that the first pulsed-current, the second pulsed-current, and successive pulsed currents form a fractal pulsed-current waveform.

  8. Process for applying control variables having fractal structures

    DOEpatents

    Bullock, J.S. IV; Lawson, R.L.

    1996-01-23

    A process and apparatus are disclosed for the application of a control variable having a fractal structure to a body or process. The process of the present invention comprises the steps of generating a control variable having a fractal structure and applying the control variable to a body or process reacting in accordance with the control variable. The process is applicable to electroforming where first, second and successive pulsed-currents are applied to cause the deposition of material onto a substrate, such that the first pulsed-current, the second pulsed-current, and successive pulsed currents form a fractal pulsed-current waveform. 3 figs.

  9. In-situ acoustic signature monitoring in additive manufacturing processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koester, Lucas W.; Taheri, Hossein; Bigelow, Timothy A.; Bond, Leonard J.; Faierson, Eric J.

    2018-04-01

    Additive manufacturing is a rapidly maturing process for the production of complex metallic, ceramic, polymeric, and composite components. The processes used are numerous, and with the complex geometries involved this can make quality control and standardization of the process and inspection difficult. Acoustic emission measurements have been used previously to monitor a number of processes including machining and welding. The authors have identified acoustic signature measurement as a potential means of monitoring metal additive manufacturing processes using process noise characteristics and those discrete acoustic emission events characteristic of defect growth, including cracks and delamination. Results of acoustic monitoring for a metal additive manufacturing process (directed energy deposition) are reported. The work investigated correlations between acoustic emissions and process noise with variations in machine state and deposition parameters, and provided proof of concept data that such correlations do exist.

  10. Real-time monitoring system for improving corona electrostatic separation in the process of recovering waste printed circuit boards.

    PubMed

    Li, Jia; Zhou, Quan; Xu, Zhenming

    2014-12-01

    Although corona electrostatic separation is successfully used in recycling waste printed circuit boards in industrial applications, there are problems that cannot be resolved completely, such as nonmetal particle aggregation and spark discharge. Both of these problems damage the process of separation and are not easy to identify during the process of separation in industrial applications. This paper provides a systematic study on a real-time monitoring system. Weight monitoring systems were established to continuously monitor the separation process. A Virtual Instrumentation program written by LabVIEW was utilized to sample and analyse the mass increment of the middling product. It includes four modules: historical data storage, steady-state analysis, data computing and alarm. Three kinds of operating conditions were used to verify the applicability of the monitoring system. It was found that the system achieved the goal of monitoring during the separation process and realized the function of real-time analysis of the received data. The system also gave comprehensible feedback on the accidents of material blockages in the feed inlet and high-voltage spark discharge. With the warning function of the alarm system, the whole monitoring system could save the human cost and help the new technology to be more easily applied in industry. © The Author(s) 2014.

  11. Induced polarization for characterizing and monitoring soil stabilization processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saneiyan, S.; Ntarlagiannis, D.; Werkema, D. D., Jr.

    2017-12-01

    Soil stabilization is critical in addressing engineering problems related to building foundation support, road construction and soil erosion among others. To increase soil strength, the stiffness of the soil is enhanced through injection/precipitation of a chemical agents or minerals. Methods such as cement injection and microbial induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) are commonly applied. Verification of a successful soil stabilization project is often challenging as treatment areas are spatially extensive and invasive sampling is expensive, time consuming and limited to sporadic points at discrete times. The geophysical method, complex conductivity (CC), is sensitive to mineral surface properties, hence a promising method to monitor soil stabilization projects. Previous laboratory work has established the sensitivity of CC on MICP processes. We performed a MICP soil stabilization projects and collected CC data for the duration of the treatment (15 days). Subsurface images show small, but very clear changes, in the area of MICP treatment; the changes observed fully agree with the bio-geochemical monitoring, and previous laboratory experiments. Our results strongly suggest that CC is sensitive to field MICP treatments. Finally, our results show that good quality data alone are not adequate for the correct interpretation of field CC data, at least when the signals are low. Informed data processing routines and the inverse modeling parameters are required to produce optimal results.

  12. Monitoring of Surface Roughness in Aluminium Turning Process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaijareenont, Atitaya; Tangjitsitcharoen, Somkiat

    2018-01-01

    As the turning process is one of the most necessary process. The surface roughness has been considered for the quality of workpiece. There are many factors which affect the surface roughness. Hence, the objective of this research is to monitor the relation between the surface roughness and the cutting forces in aluminium turning process with a wide range of cutting conditions. The coated carbide tool and aluminium alloy (Al 6063) are used for this experiment. The cutting parameters are investigated to analyze the effects of them on the surface roughness which are the cutting speed, the feed rate, the tool nose radius and the depth of cut. In the case of this research, the dynamometer is installed in the turret of CNC turning machine to generate a signal while turning. The relation between dynamic cutting forces and the surface roughness profile is examined by applying the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The experimentally obtained results showed that the cutting force depends on the cutting condition. The surface roughness can be improved when increasing the cutting speed and the tool nose radius in contrast to the feed rate and the depth of cut. The relation between the cutting parameters and the surface roughness can be explained by the in-process cutting forces. It is understood that the in-process cutting forces are able to predict the surface roughness in the further research.

  13. Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry, a process analytical technology tool for real-time process monitoring in botanical drug manufacturing.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lu; Zeng, Shanshan; Chen, Teng; Qu, Haibin

    2014-03-01

    A promising process analytical technology (PAT) tool has been introduced for batch processes monitoring. Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS), a means of rapid fingerprint analysis, was applied to a percolation process with multi-constituent substances for an anti-cancer botanical preparation. Fifteen batches were carried out, including ten normal operations and five abnormal batches with artificial variations. The obtained multivariate data were analyzed by a multi-way partial least squares (MPLS) model. Control trajectories were derived from eight normal batches, and the qualification was tested by R(2) and Q(2). Accuracy and diagnosis capability of the batch model were then validated by the remaining batches. Assisted with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination, process faults were explained by corresponding variable contributions. Furthermore, a batch level model was developed to compare and assess the model performance. The present study has demonstrated that DART-MS is very promising in process monitoring in botanical manufacturing. Compared with general PAT tools, DART-MS offers a particular account on effective compositions and can be potentially used to improve batch quality and process consistency of samples in complex matrices. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Spectrally encoded optical fibre sensor systems and their application in process control, environmental and structural monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Willsch, Reinhardt; Ecke, Wolfgang; Schwotzer, Gunter

    2005-09-01

    Different types of advanced optical fibre sensor systems using similar spectral interrogation principles and potential low-cost polychromator optoelectronic signal processing instrumentation will be presented, and examples of their industrial application are demonstrated. These are such sensors as multimode fibre based humidity, temperature, and pressure sensors with extrinsic microoptical Fabry-Perot transducers for process control in gas industry, UV absorption evanescent field sensors for organic pollution monitoring in groundwater, and single mode fibre Bragg grating (FBG) multiplexed strain & vibration and temperature sensor networks for structural health monitoring applications in electric power facilities, aerospace, railways, geotechnical and civil engineering. Recent results of current investigations applying FBGs and microstructured fibres for chemical sensing will be discussed.

  15. Monitoring industrial pharmaceutical crystallization processes using acoustic emission in pure and impure media.

    PubMed

    Gherras, Nesrine; Serris, Eric; Fevotte, Gilles

    2012-12-15

    Acoustic emission (AE) which has been successfully applied for monitoring a rather wide variety of solids elaboration processes was almost never evaluated in the field of industrial pharmaceutical crystallization. Few papers reported that solution crystallization processes give rise to acoustic emission signals that could be related to the development of the basic crystallization phenomena. This study is intended to demonstrate new perspectives opened up by the possible use of acoustic emission (AE) as a non-intrusive and non destructive sensor for monitoring solution crystallization with a particular focus being put on the presence of impurities in real industrial processes. The wealth of acquired AE information is highlighted and it is suggested that such information could allow the design of innovative multipurpose sensing strategies. It is shown notably that AE provides a very early detection of nucleation events, much before the onset of the so-called "nucleation burst". It is also shown that AE brings new insight into the effect of impurities on both the development of the crystallization process and the quality of the crystallized product. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Statistical process control charts for monitoring military injuries.

    PubMed

    Schuh, Anna; Canham-Chervak, Michelle; Jones, Bruce H

    2017-12-01

    An essential aspect of an injury prevention process is surveillance, which quantifies and documents injury rates in populations of interest and enables monitoring of injury frequencies, rates and trends. To drive progress towards injury reduction goals, additional tools are needed. Statistical process control charts, a methodology that has not been previously applied to Army injury monitoring, capitalise on existing medical surveillance data to provide information to leadership about injury trends necessary for prevention planning and evaluation. Statistical process control Shewhart u-charts were created for 49 US Army installations using quarterly injury medical encounter rates, 2007-2015, for active duty soldiers obtained from the Defense Medical Surveillance System. Injuries were defined according to established military injury surveillance recommendations. Charts display control limits three standard deviations (SDs) above and below an installation-specific historical average rate determined using 28 data points, 2007-2013. Charts are available in Army strategic management dashboards. From 2007 to 2015, Army injury rates ranged from 1254 to 1494 unique injuries per 1000 person-years. Installation injury rates ranged from 610 to 2312 injuries per 1000 person-years. Control charts identified four installations with injury rates exceeding the upper control limits at least once during 2014-2015, rates at three installations exceeded the lower control limit at least once and 42 installations had rates that fluctuated around the historical mean. Control charts can be used to drive progress towards injury reduction goals by indicating statistically significant increases and decreases in injury rates. Future applications to military subpopulations, other health outcome metrics and chart enhancements are suggested. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  17. An integrated process analytical technology (PAT) approach to monitoring the effect of supercooling on lyophilization product and process parameters of model monoclonal antibody formulations.

    PubMed

    Awotwe Otoo, David; Agarabi, Cyrus; Khan, Mansoor A

    2014-07-01

    The aim of the present study was to apply an integrated process analytical technology (PAT) approach to control and monitor the effect of the degree of supercooling on critical process and product parameters of a lyophilization cycle. Two concentrations of a mAb formulation were used as models for lyophilization. ControLyo™ technology was applied to control the onset of ice nucleation, whereas tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) was utilized as a noninvasive tool for the inline monitoring of the water vapor concentration and vapor flow velocity in the spool during primary drying. The instantaneous measurements were then used to determine the effect of the degree of supercooling on critical process and product parameters. Controlled nucleation resulted in uniform nucleation at lower degrees of supercooling for both formulations, higher sublimation rates, lower mass transfer resistance, lower product temperatures at the sublimation interface, and shorter primary drying times compared with the conventional shelf-ramped freezing. Controlled nucleation also resulted in lyophilized cakes with more elegant and porous structure with no visible collapse or shrinkage, lower specific surface area, and shorter reconstitution times compared with the uncontrolled nucleation. Uncontrolled nucleation however resulted in lyophilized cakes with relatively lower residual moisture contents compared with controlled nucleation. TDLAS proved to be an efficient tool to determine the endpoint of primary drying. There was good agreement between data obtained from TDLAS-based measurements and SMART™ technology. ControLyo™ technology and TDLAS showed great potential as PAT tools to achieve enhanced process monitoring and control during lyophilization cycles. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  18. System for monitoring non-coincident, nonstationary process signals

    DOEpatents

    Gross, Kenneth C.; Wegerich, Stephan W.

    2005-01-04

    An improved system for monitoring non-coincident, non-stationary, process signals. The mean, variance, and length of a reference signal is defined by an automated system, followed by the identification of the leading and falling edges of a monitored signal and the length of the monitored signal. The monitored signal is compared to the reference signal, and the monitored signal is resampled in accordance with the reference signal. The reference signal is then correlated with the resampled monitored signal such that the reference signal and the resampled monitored signal are coincident in time with each other. The resampled monitored signal is then compared to the reference signal to determine whether the resampled monitored signal is within a set of predesignated operating conditions.

  19. Multicenter Study on Incubation Conditions for Environmental Monitoring and Aseptic Process Simulation.

    PubMed

    Guinet, Roland; Berthoumieu, Nicole; Dutot, Philippe; Triquet, Julien; Ratajczak, Medhi; Thibaudon, Michel; Bechaud, Philippe; Arliaud, Christophe; Miclet, Edith; Giordano, Florine; Larcon, Marjorie; Arthaud, Catherine

    simulation confirm that pharmaceutical cleanrooms are in an appropriate hygienic condition for manufacturing of sterile drug products. Guidance documents from different health authorities or expert groups differ regarding recommendation of the applied incubation time and incubation temperature, leading to variable manufacturers practices. Some recent publications have demonstrated that laboratory studies are not relevant to determine the best incubation regime and that in situ manufacturing site studies should be used. To solve any possible bias coming from laboratory studies or single-site in situ studies, we conducted a multicenter study at four manufacturing sites with a significant amount of real environmental monitoring samples collected directly from the environment in pharmaceutical production during manufacturing operations with four solid and liquid nutrient media. These samples were then incubated under four different conditions suggested in the guidance documents. We believe that the results of our multicenter study confirming recent other single-site in situ studies could be the basis of the strategy to determine the best incubation regime for both viable environmental monitoring and aseptic process simulation in any manufacturing facility. © PDA, Inc. 2017.

  20. Applied Behavior Analysis and Statistical Process Control?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hopkins, B. L.

    1995-01-01

    Incorporating statistical process control (SPC) methods into applied behavior analysis is discussed. It is claimed that SPC methods would likely reduce applied behavior analysts' intimate contacts with problems and would likely yield poor treatment and research decisions. Cases and data presented by Pfadt and Wheeler (1995) are cited as examples.…

  1. Monitoring technology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stevenson, William A. (Inventor)

    1989-01-01

    A process for infrared spectroscopic monitoring of insitu compositional changes in a polymeric material comprises the steps of providing an elongated infrared radiation transmitting fiber that has a transmission portion and a sensor portion, embedding the sensor portion in the polymeric material to be monitored, subjecting the polymeric material to a processing sequence, applying a beam of infrared radiation to the fiber for transmission through the transmitting portion to the sensor portion for modification as a function of properties of the polymeric material, monitoring the modified infrared radiation spectra as the polymeric material is being subjected to the processing sequence to obtain kinetic data on changes in the polymeric material during the processing sequence, and adjusting the processing sequence as a function of the kinetic data provided by the modified infrared radiation spectra information.

  2. Monitoring technology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stevenson, William A. (Inventor)

    1992-01-01

    A process for infrared spectroscopic monitoring of insitu compositional changes in a polymeric material comprises the steps of providing an elongated infrared radiation transmitting fiber that has a transmission portion and a sensor portion, embedding the sensor portion in the polymeric material to be monitored, subjecting the polymeric material to a processing sequence, applying a beam of infrared radiation to the fiber for transmission through the transmitting portion to the sensor portion for modification as a function of properties of the polymeric material, monitoring the modified infrared radiation spectra as the polymeric material is being subjected to the processing sequence to obtain kinetic data on changes in the polymeric material during the processing sequence, and adjusting the processing sequence as a function of the kinetic data provided by the modified infrared radiation spectra information.

  3. Satellite Gravimetry Applied to Drought Monitoring

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rodell, Matthew

    2010-01-01

    the theory behind satellite gravimetry. Following that is a summary of the GRACE mission and how hydrological information is gleaned from its gravity products. The fourth section provides examples of hydrological science enabled by GRACE. The fifth and sixth sections list the challenging aspects of GRACE derived hydrology data and how they are being overcome, including the use of data assimilation. The seventh section describes recent progress in applying GRACE for drought monitoring, including the development of new soil moisture and drought indicator products, and that is followed by a discussion of future prospects in satellite gravimetry based drought monitoring.

  4. Spectroscopic Monitoring of the Laser Cleaning Applied to Ancient Marbles from Mediterranean Areas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lazic, V.; Colao, F.; Fantoni, R.; Fiorani, L.; Palucci, A.; Striber, J.; Santagata, A.; Morone, A.; Spizzicchino, V.

    Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis by Nd:YAG laser emitting at 355nm were performed on different clean and dirty surfaces of marble fragments collected from ancient quarries in Greece, Turkey and Italy, in order to determine semi-quantitavely the atomic composition of the bulk material and encrustation. The method here developed for element concentrations retrieval could be applied during laser cleaning process to supply the information about the effective crust composition at different depths and the point where the process should be interrupted. The knowledge of the crust composition along successive layers is also important for determining the restoration procedures. The elements measured in the encrustations, such as Si, Al, Ca, C, Ti, Mn, Mg, Na, Ba, Sr and Cu are also present in the bulk, but at different concentrations whose determination allows for the process monitoring. The only element here observed in the crusts and not detected in the bulk materials is Chromium, whose progressive disappearance from LIBS spectra could be used as another indicator of the laser cleaning effectiveness. On a sample from Turkey also Vanadium was detected in the encrustation. The present LIBS measuring method was validated by SEM-EDX and ICP analyses. The clean marble surface and encrustations were further analysed by Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF), which could be used as an alternative technique for the on-line control of the cleaning effectiveness. Better discrimination between dirty and clean marble surface was obtained when 266nm excitation was applied instead of 355 nm. Characteristic LIF spectral signatures allows for the discrimination between different type of the natural stones, even under the water.

  5. Interrupted monitoring of a stochastic process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Palmer, E.

    1977-01-01

    Normative strategies are developed for tasks where the pilot must interrupt his monitoring of a stochastic process in order to attend to other duties. Results are given as to how characteristics of the stochastic process and the other tasks affect the optimal strategies. The optimum strategy is also compared to the strategies used by subjects in a pilot experiment.

  6. Urban land use monitoring from computer-implemented processing of airborne multispectral data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Todd, W. J.; Mausel, P. W.; Baumgardner, M. F.

    1976-01-01

    Machine processing techniques were applied to multispectral data obtained from airborne scanners at an elevation of 600 meters over central Indianapolis in August, 1972. Computer analysis of these spectral data indicate that roads (two types), roof tops (three types), dense grass (two types), sparse grass (two types), trees, bare soil, and water (two types) can be accurately identified. Using computers, it is possible to determine land uses from analysis of type, size, shape, and spatial associations of earth surface images identified from multispectral data. Land use data developed through machine processing techniques can be programmed to monitor land use changes, simulate land use conditions, and provide impact statistics that are required to analyze stresses placed on spatial systems.

  7. GNSS Active Network of West of Sao Paulo State Applied to Ionosphere Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aguiar, C. R.; Camargo, P. D.

    2008-12-01

    In Brazil, a research project of atmospheric studies from reference stations equipped with dual frequency GNSS receivers is in initial phase. These stations have composed the GNSS Active Network of West Sao Paulo State (Network-GNSS-SP) and have been broadcasting GNSS data in real time. Network-GNSS-SP is in tests phase and it's the first Brazilian network to provide GNSS measurements in real time. In Spatial Geodesy Study Brazilian Group (GEGE) has been researched the ionosphere effects on L band signal, as well as the GPS potential on ionosphere dynamic monitoring and, consequently, the application of this one to spatial geophysics study, besides dynamic ionosphere modeling. An algorithm based on Kalman filter has been developed for ionosphere modeling at low latitude regions and estimation of ionospheric parameters as absolute vertical TEC (VTEC) for the monitoring of ionosphere behavior. The approach used in this study is to apply a model for the ionospheric vertical delay. In the algorithm, the ionospheric vertical delay is modeled and expanded by Fourier series. In this paper has been realized on-line processing of the Network-GNSS-SP data and the initial results reached with the algorithm can already be analyzed. The results show the ionospheric maps created from real time TEC estimates.

  8. Diagnostic monitor for carbon fiber processing

    DOEpatents

    Paulauskas, Felix L.; Bigelow, Timothy S.; Meek, Thomas T.

    2002-01-01

    A method for monitoring characteristics of materials includes placing a material in an application zone, measuring a change in at least one property value of the application zone caused by placing the material in the application zone and relating changes in the property value of the application zone caused by the material to at least one characteristic of the material An apparatus for monitoring characteristics of a material includes a measuring device for measuring a property value resulting from applying a frequency signal to the application zone after placing a material in the application zone and a processor for relating changes in the property value caused by placement of the material in the application zone to at least one desired characteristic of the material. The application zone is preferably a resonant cavity.

  9. A model of human decision making in multiple process monitoring situations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greenstein, J. S.; Rouse, W. B.

    1982-01-01

    Human decision making in multiple process monitoring situations is considered. It is proposed that human decision making in many multiple process monitoring situations can be modeled in terms of the human's detection of process related events and his allocation of attention among processes once he feels event have occurred. A mathematical model of human event detection and attention allocation performance in multiple process monitoring situations is developed. An assumption made in developing the model is that, in attempting to detect events, the human generates estimates of the probabilities that events have occurred. An elementary pattern recognition technique, discriminant analysis, is used to model the human's generation of these probability estimates. The performance of the model is compared to that of four subjects in a multiple process monitoring situation requiring allocation of attention among processes.

  10. Product development using process monitoring and NDE data fusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peterson, Todd; Bossi, Richard H.

    1998-03-01

    Composite process/product development relies on both process monitoring information and nondestructive evaluation measurements for determining application suitability. In the past these activities have been performed and analyzed independently. Our present approach is to present the process monitoring and NDE data together in a data fusion workstation. This methodology leads to final product acceptance based on a combined process monitoring and NDE criteria. The data fusion work station combines process parameter and NDE data in a single workspace enabling all the data to be used in the acceptance/rejection decision process. An example application is the induction welding process, a unique joining method for assembling primary composite structure, that offers significant cost and weight advantages over traditional fasted structure. The determination of the required time, temperature and pressure conditions used in the process to achieve a complete weld is being aided by the use of ultrasonic inspection techniques. Full waveform ultrasonic inspection data is employed to evaluate the quality of spar cap to skin fit, an essential element of the welding process, and is processed to find a parameter that can be used for weld acceptance. Certification of the completed weld incorporates the data fusion methodology.

  11. Thermographic process monitoring in powderbed based additive manufacturing

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

    Krauss, Harald, E-mail: harald.krauss@iwb.tum.de; Zaeh, Michael F.; Zeugner, Thomas

    2015-03-31

    Selective Laser Melting is utilized to build metallic parts directly from CAD-Data by solidification of thin powder layers through application of a fast scanning laser beam. In this study layerwise monitoring of the temperature distribution is used to gather information about the process stability and the resulting part quality. The heat distribution varies with different kinds of parameters including scan vector length, laser power, layer thickness and inter-part distance in the job layout which in turn influence the resulting part quality. By integration of an off-axis mounted uncooled thermal detector the solidification as well as the layer deposition are monitoredmore » and evaluated. Errors in the generation of new powder layers usually result in a locally varying layer thickness that may cause poor part quality. For effect quantification, the locally applied layer thickness is determined by evaluating the heat-up of the newly deposited powder. During the solidification process space and time-resolved data is used to characterize the zone of elevated temperatures and to derive locally varying heat dissipation properties. Potential quality indicators are evaluated and correlated to the resulting part quality: Thermal diffusivity is derived from a simplified heat dissipation model and evaluated for every pixel and cool-down phase of a layer. This allows the quantification of expected material homogeneity properties. Maximum temperature and time above certain temperatures are measured in order to detect hot spots or delamination issues that may cause a process breakdown. Furthermore, a method for quantification of sputter activity is presented. Since high sputter activity indicates unstable melt dynamics this can be used to identify parameter drifts, improper atmospheric conditions or material binding errors. The resulting surface structure after solidification complicates temperature determination on the one hand but enables the detection of potential surface

  12. Applying Online Monitoring for Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hashemian, H. M.

    2010-10-01

    This paper presents a practical review of the state-of-the-art means for applying OLM data acquisition in nuclear power plant instrumentation and control, qualifying or validating the OLM data, and then analyzing it for static and dynamic performance monitoring applications. Whereas data acquisition for static or steady-state OLM applications can require sample rates of anywhere from 1 to 10 seconds to 1 minutes per sample, for dynamic data acquisition, higher sampling frequencies are required (e.g., 100 to 1000 Hz) using a dedicated data acquisition system capable of providing isolation, anti-aliasing and removal of extraneous noise, and analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. Qualifying the data for use with OLM algorithms can involve removing data `dead' spots (for static data) and calculating, examining, and trending amplitude probability density, variance, skewness, and kurtosis. For static OLM applications with redundant signals, trending and averaging qualification techniques are used, and for single or non-redundant signals physical and empirical modeling are used. Dynamic OLM analysis is performed in the frequency domain and/or time domain, and is based on the assumption that sensors' or transmitters' dynamic characteristics are linear and that the input noise signal (i.e., the process fluctuations) has proper spectral characteristics.

  13. Tool path strategy and cutting process monitoring in intelligent machining

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Ming; Wang, Chengdong; An, Qinglong; Ming, Weiwei

    2018-06-01

    Intelligent machining is a current focus in advanced manufacturing technology, and is characterized by high accuracy and efficiency. A central technology of intelligent machining—the cutting process online monitoring and optimization—is urgently needed for mass production. In this research, the cutting process online monitoring and optimization in jet engine impeller machining, cranio-maxillofacial surgery, and hydraulic servo valve deburring are introduced as examples of intelligent machining. Results show that intelligent tool path optimization and cutting process online monitoring are efficient techniques for improving the efficiency, quality, and reliability of machining.

  14. Pattern recognition and image processing for environmental monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siddiqui, Khalid J.; Eastwood, DeLyle

    1999-12-01

    Pattern recognition (PR) and signal/image processing methods are among the most powerful tools currently available for noninvasively examining spectroscopic and other chemical data for environmental monitoring. Using spectral data, these systems have found a variety of applications employing analytical techniques for chemometrics such as gas chromatography, fluorescence spectroscopy, etc. An advantage of PR approaches is that they make no a prior assumption regarding the structure of the patterns. However, a majority of these systems rely on human judgment for parameter selection and classification. A PR problem is considered as a composite of four subproblems: pattern acquisition, feature extraction, feature selection, and pattern classification. One of the basic issues in PR approaches is to determine and measure the features useful for successful classification. Selection of features that contain the most discriminatory information is important because the cost of pattern classification is directly related to the number of features used in the decision rules. The state of the spectral techniques as applied to environmental monitoring is reviewed. A spectral pattern classification system combining the above components and automatic decision-theoretic approaches for classification is developed. It is shown how such a system can be used for analysis of large data sets, warehousing, and interpretation. In a preliminary test, the classifier was used to classify synchronous UV-vis fluorescence spectra of relatively similar petroleum oils with reasonable success.

  15. Determination of the performance of vermicomposting process applied to sewage sludge by monitoring of the compost quality and immune responses in three earthworm species: Eisenia fetida, Eisenia andrei and Dendrobaena veneta.

    PubMed

    Suleiman, Hanine; Rorat, Agnieszka; Grobelak, Anna; Grosser, Anna; Milczarek, Marcin; Płytycz, Barbara; Kacprzak, Małgorzata; Vandenbulcke, Franck

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of vermicomposting process applied on three different sewage sludge (precomposted with grass clippings, sawdust and municipal solid wastes) using three different earthworm species. Selected immune parameters, namely biomarkers of stress and metal body burdens, have been used to biomonitor the vermicomposting process and to assess the impact of contaminants on earthworm's physiology. Biotic and abiotic parameters were also used in order to monitor the process and the quality of the final product. Dendrobaena veneta exhibited much lower resistance in all experimental conditions, as the bodyweight and the total number of circulating immune cells decreased in the most contaminated conditions. All earthworm species accumulated heavy metals as follows Cd>Co>Cu>Zn>Ni>Pb>Cr: Eisenia sp. worms exhibited the highest ability to accumulate several heavy metals. Vermicompost obtained after 45days was acceptable according to agronomic parameters and to compost quality norms in France and Poland. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. TOPICAL REVIEW: Monitoring of polymer melt processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alig, Ingo; Steinhoff, Bernd; Lellinger, Dirk

    2010-06-01

    The paper reviews the state-of-the-art of in-line and on-line monitoring during polymer melt processing by compounding, extrusion and injection moulding. Different spectroscopic and scattering techniques as well as conductivity and viscosity measurements are reviewed and compared concerning their potential for different process applications. In addition to information on chemical composition and state of the process, the in situ detection of morphology, which is of specific interest for multiphase polymer systems such as polymer composites and polymer blends, is described in detail. For these systems, the product properties strongly depend on the phase or filler morphology created during processing. Examples for optical (UV/vis, NIR) and ultrasonic attenuation spectra recorded during extrusion are given, which were found to be sensitive to the chemical composition as well as to size and degree of dispersion of micro or nanofillers in the polymer matrix. By small-angle light scattering experiments, process-induced structures were detected in blends of incompatible polymers during compounding. Using conductivity measurements during extrusion, the influence of processing conditions on the electrical conductivity of polymer melts with conductive fillers (carbon black or carbon nanotubes) was monitored.

  17. Optical in situ monitoring of plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeeshan Arshad, Muhammad; Jo, Kyung Jae; Kim, Hyun Gi; Jeen Hong, Sang

    2018-06-01

    An optical in situ process monitoring method for the early detection of anomalies in plasma process equipment is presented. Cyclic process steps of precursor treatment and plasma reaction for the deposition of an angstrom-scale film increase their complexity to ensure the process quality. However, a small deviation in process parameters, for instance, gas flow rate, process temperature, or RF power, may jeopardize the deposited film quality. As a test vehicle for the process monitoring, we have investigated the aluminum-oxide (Al2O3) encapsulation process in plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) to form a moisture and oxygen diffusion barrier in organic-light emitting diodes (OLEDs). By optical in situ monitoring, we successfully identified the reduction in oxygen flow rates in the reaction steps, which resulted in a 2.67 times increase in the water vapor transmission ratio (WVTR) of the deposited Al2O3 films. Therefore, we are convinced that the suggested in situ monitoring method is useful for the detection of process shifts or drifts that adversely affect PEALD film quality.

  18. Development of a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometric method for rapid process-monitoring of phthalocyanine compounds.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yi-Ting; Wang, Fu-Shing; Li, Zhendong; Li, Liang; Ling, Yong-Chien

    2012-07-29

    Phthalocyanines (PCs), an important class of chemicals widely used in many industrial sectors, are macrocyclic compounds possessing a heteroaromatic π-electron system with optical properties influenced by chemical structures and impurities or by-products introduced during the synthesis process. Analytical tools allowing for rapid monitoring of the synthesis processes are of significance for the development of new PCs with improved performance in many application areas. In this work, we report a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) method for rapid and convenient monitoring of PC synthesis reactions. For this class of compounds, intact molecular ions could be detected by MALDI using retinoic acid as matrix. It was shown that relative quantification results of two PC compounds could be generated by MALDI MS. This method was applied to monitor the bromination reactions of nickel- and copper-containing PCs. It was demonstrated that, compared to the traditional UV-visible method, the MALDI MS method offers the advantage of higher sensitivity while providing chemical species and relative quantification information on the reactants and products, which are crucial to process monitoring. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Comprehensive Seismological Monitoring of Geomorphic Processes in Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chao, W. A.; Chen, C. H.

    2016-12-01

    Geomorphic processes such as hillslope mass wasting and river sediment transport are important for studying landscape dynamics. Mass movements induced from geomorphic events can generate seismic waves and be recorded by seismometers. Recent studies demonstrate that seismic monitoring techniques not only fully map the spatiotemporal patterns of geomorphic activity but also allow for exploration of the dynamic links between hillslope failures and channel processes, which may not be resolved by conventional techniques (e.g., optical remote sensing). We have recently developed a real-time landquake monitoring system (RLMS, here we use the term `landquake' to represent all hillslope failures such as rockfall, rock avalanche and landslide), which has been continuously monitoring landquake activities in Taiwan since June 2015 based on broadband seismic records, yielding source information (e.g., location, occurrence time, magnitude and mechanism) for large-sized events (http://140.112.57.117/main.html). Several seismic arrays have also been deployed over the past few years around the catchments and along the river channels in Taiwan for monitoring erosion processes at catchment scale, improving the spatiotemporal resolution in exploring the interaction between geomorphic events and specific meteorological conditions. Based on a forward model accounting for the impulsive impacts of saltating particles, we can further invert for the sediment load flux, a critical parameter in landscape evolution studies, by fitting the seismic observations only. To test the validity of the seismologically determined sediment load flux, we conduct a series of controlled dam breaking experiments that are advantageous in well constraining the spatiotemporal variations of the sediment transport. Incorporating the seismological constrains on geomorphic processes with the effects of tectonic and/or climate perturbations can provide valuable and quantitative information for more fully

  20. Fulfillment of GMP standard, halal standard, and applying HACCP for production process of beef floss (Case study: Ksatria enterprise)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    A'diat, Arkan Addien Al; Liquiddanu, Eko; Laksono, Pringgo Widyo; Sutopo, Wahyudi; Suletra, I. Wayan

    2018-02-01

    Along with the increasing number of the modern retail business in Indonesia, give an opportunity to small and medium enterprise (SME) to sell its products through the modern retailer. There are some obstacles faced by the SMEs, one of them is about product standard. Product standard that must be owned by SMEs are GMP standard and halal standard. This research was conducted to know the fulfillment by the beef floss enterprise in jagalan in fulfilling the GMP standard and halal. In addition, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system was applied to analyze the process. HACCP which used in this research was based on the seven principles in SNI (Indonesian National Standard) 01-4852-1998. The seven principles included hazard analysis, critical control point (CCP) determination, critical limit establishment, CCP monitor system establishment, corrective action establishment, verification, and also documentation establishment that must be applied in preparing HACCP plan. Based on this case study, it is concluded that there were 5 CCPs : the boiling process, roasting process, frying process, the beef floss draining process, and the packaging process.

  1. Real-time data processing for in-line monitoring of a pharmaceutical coating process by optical coherence tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Markl, Daniel; Ziegler, Jakob; Hannesschläger, Günther; Sacher, Stephan; Buchsbaum, Andreas; Leitner, Michael; Khinast, Johannes G.

    2014-05-01

    Coating of tablets is a widely applied unit operation in the pharmaceutical industry. Thickness and uniformity of the coating layer are crucial for efficacy as well as for compliance. Not only due to different initiatives it is thus essential to monitor and control the coating process in-line. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was already shown in previous works to be a suitable candidate for in-line monitoring of coating processes. However, to utilize the full potential of the OCT technology an automatic evaluation of the OCT measurements is essential. The automatic evaluation is currently implemented in MATLAB and includes several steps: (1) extraction of features of each A-scan, (2) classification of Ascan measurements based on their features, (3) detection of interfaces (air/coating and coating/tablet core), (4) correction of distortions due to the curvature of the bi-convex tablets and the oblique orientation of the tablets, and (5) determining the coating thickness. The algorithm is tested on OCT data acquired by moving the sensor head of the OCT system across a static tablet bed. The coating thickness variations of single tablets (i.e., intra-tablet coating variability) can additionally be analyzed as OCT allows the measurement of the coating thickness on multiple displaced positions on one single tablet. Specifically, the information about those parameters emphasizes the high capability of the OCT technology to improve process understanding and to assure a high product quality.

  2. Monitoring of Soil Remediation Process in the Metal Mining Area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Kyoung-Woong; Ko, Myoung-Soo; Han, Hyeop-jo; Lee, Sang-Ho; Na, So-Young

    2016-04-01

    Stabilization using proper additives is an effective soil remediation technique to reduce As mobility in soil. Several researches have reported that Fe-containing materials such as amorphous Fe-oxides, goethite and hematite were effective in As immobilization and therefore acid mine drainage sludge (AMDS) may be potential material for As immobilization. The AMDS is the by-product from electrochemical treatment of acid mine drainage and mainly contains Fe-oxide. The Chungyang area in Korea is located in the vicinity of the huge abandoned Au-Ag Gubong mine which was closed in the 1970s. Large amounts of mine tailings have been remained without proper treatment and the mobilization of mine tailings can be manly occurred during the summer heavy rainfall season. Soil contamination from this mobilization may become an urgent issue because it can cause the contamination of groundwater and crop plants in sequence. In order to reduce the mobilization of the mine tailings, the pilot scale study of in-situ stabilization using AMDS was applied after the batch and column experiments in the lab. For the monitoring of stabilization process, we used to determine the As concentration in crop plants grown on the field site but it is not easily applicable because of time and cost. Therefore, we may need simple monitoring technique to measure the mobility or leachability which can be comparable with As concentration in crop plants. We compared several extraction methods to suggest the representative single extraction method for the monitoring of soil stabilization efficiency. Several selected extraction methods were examined and Mehlich 3 extraction method using the mixture of NH4F, EDTA, NH4NO3, CH3COOH and HNO3 was selected as the best predictor of the leachability or mobility of As in the soil remediation process.

  3. FT-NIR: A Tool for Process Monitoring and More.

    PubMed

    Martoccia, Domenico; Lutz, Holger; Cohen, Yvan; Jerphagnon, Thomas; Jenelten, Urban

    2018-03-30

    With ever-increasing pressure to optimize product quality, to reduce cost and to safely increase production output from existing assets, all combined with regular changes in terms of feedstock and operational targets, process monitoring with traditional instruments reaches its limits. One promising answer to these challenges is in-line, real time process analysis with spectroscopic instruments, and above all Fourier-Transform Near Infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR). Its potential to afford decreased batch cycle times, higher yields, reduced rework and minimized batch variance is presented and application examples in the field of fine chemicals are given. We demonstrate that FT-NIR can be an efficient tool for improved process monitoring and optimization, effective process design and advanced process control.

  4. Levels-of-processing effect on internal source monitoring in schizophrenia

    PubMed Central

    RAGLAND, J. DANIEL; McCARTHY, ERIN; BILKER, WARREN B.; RENSINGER, COLLEEN M. B; VALDEZ, JEFFREY; KOHLER, CHRISTIAN; GUR, RAQUEL E.; GUR, RUBEN C.

    2015-01-01

    Background Recognition can be normalized in schizophrenia by providing patients with semantic organizational strategies through a levels-of-processing (LOP) framework. However, patients may rely primarily on familiarity effects, making recognition less sensitive than source monitoring to the strength of the episodic memory trace. The current study investigates whether providing semantic organizational strategies can also normalize patients’ internal source-monitoring performance. Method Sixteen clinically stable medicated patients with schizophrenia and 15 demographically matched healthy controls were asked to identify the source of remembered words following an LOP-encoding paradigm in which they alternated between processing words on a ‘shallow’ perceptual versus a ‘deep’ semantic level. A multinomial analysis provided orthogonal measures of item recognition and source discrimination, and bootstrapping generated variance to allow for parametric analyses. LOP and group effects were tested by contrasting recognition and source-monitoring parameters for words that had been encoded during deep versus shallow processing conditions. Results As in a previous study there were no group differences in LOP effects on recognition performance, with patients and controls benefiting equally from deep versus shallow processing. Although there were no group differences in internal source monitoring, only controls had significantly better performance for words processed during the deep encoding condition. Patient performance did not correlate with clinical symptoms or medication dose. Conclusions Providing a deep processing semantic encoding strategy significantly improved patients’ recognition performance only. The lack of a significant LOP effect on internal source monitoring in patients may reffect subtle problems in the relational binding of semantic information that are independent of strategic memory processes. PMID:16608558

  5. Levels-of-processing effect on internal source monitoring in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Ragland, J Daniel; McCarthy, Erin; Bilker, Warren B; Brensinger, Colleen M; Valdez, Jeffrey; Kohler, Christian; Gur, Raquel E; Gur, Ruben C

    2006-05-01

    Recognition can be normalized in schizophrenia by providing patients with semantic organizational strategies through a levels-of-processing (LOP) framework. However, patients may rely primarily on familiarity effects, making recognition less sensitive than source monitoring to the strength of the episodic memory trace. The current study investigates whether providing semantic organizational strategies can also normalize patients' internal source-monitoring performance. Sixteen clinically stable medicated patients with schizophrenia and 15 demographically matched healthy controls were asked to identify the source of remembered words following an LOP-encoding paradigm in which they alternated between processing words on a 'shallow' perceptual versus a 'deep' semantic level. A multinomial analysis provided orthogonal measures of item recognition and source discrimination, and bootstrapping generated variance to allow for parametric analyses. LOP and group effects were tested by contrasting recognition and source-monitoring parameters for words that had been encoded during deep versus shallow processing conditions. As in a previous study there were no group differences in LOP effects on recognition performance, with patients and controls benefiting equally from deep versus shallow processing. Although there were no group differences in internal source monitoring, only controls had significantly better performance for words processed during the deep encoding condition. Patient performance did not correlate with clinical symptoms or medication dose. Providing a deep processing semantic encoding strategy significantly improved patients' recognition performance only. The lack of a significant LOP effect on internal source monitoring in patients may reflect subtle problems in the relational binding of semantic information that are independent of strategic memory processes.

  6. [Monitoring method of extraction process for Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus based on near infrared spectroscopy and multivariate statistical process control].

    PubMed

    Xu, Min; Zhang, Lei; Yue, Hong-Shui; Pang, Hong-Wei; Ye, Zheng-Liang; Ding, Li

    2017-10-01

    To establish an on-line monitoring method for extraction process of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, the formula medicinal material of Yiqi Fumai lyophilized injection by combining near infrared spectroscopy with multi-variable data analysis technology. The multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) model was established based on 5 normal batches in production and 2 test batches were monitored by PC scores, DModX and Hotelling T2 control charts. The results showed that MSPC model had a good monitoring ability for the extraction process. The application of the MSPC model to actual production process could effectively achieve on-line monitoring for extraction process of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, and can reflect the change of material properties in the production process in real time. This established process monitoring method could provide reference for the application of process analysis technology in the process quality control of traditional Chinese medicine injections. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  7. Assessment of ground-based monitoring techniques applied to landslide investigations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uhlemann, S.; Smith, A.; Chambers, J.; Dixon, N.; Dijkstra, T.; Haslam, E.; Meldrum, P.; Merritt, A.; Gunn, D.; Mackay, J.

    2016-01-01

    A landslide complex in the Whitby Mudstone Formation at Hollin Hill, North Yorkshire, UK is periodically re-activated in response to rainfall-induced pore-water pressure fluctuations. This paper compares long-term measurements (i.e., 2009-2014) obtained from a combination of monitoring techniques that have been employed together for the first time on an active landslide. The results highlight the relative performance of the different techniques, and can provide guidance for researchers and practitioners for selecting and installing appropriate monitoring techniques to assess unstable slopes. Particular attention is given to the spatial and temporal resolutions offered by the different approaches that include: Real Time Kinematic-GPS (RTK-GPS) monitoring of a ground surface marker array, conventional inclinometers, Shape Acceleration Arrays (SAA), tilt meters, active waveguides with Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring, and piezometers. High spatial resolution information has allowed locating areas of stability and instability across a large slope. This has enabled identification of areas where further monitoring efforts should be focused. High temporal resolution information allowed the capture of 'S'-shaped slope displacement-time behaviour (i.e. phases of slope acceleration, deceleration and stability) in response to elevations in pore-water pressures. This study shows that a well-balanced suite of monitoring techniques that provides high temporal and spatial resolutions on both measurement and slope scale is necessary to fully understand failure and movement mechanisms of slopes. In the case of the Hollin Hill landslide it enabled detailed interpretation of the geomorphological processes governing landslide activity. It highlights the benefit of regularly surveying a network of GPS markers to determine areas for installation of movement monitoring techniques that offer higher resolution both temporally and spatially. The small sensitivity of tilt meter measurements

  8. Conflict Monitoring in Dual Process Theories of Thinking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Neys, Wim; Glumicic, Tamara

    2008-01-01

    Popular dual process theories have characterized human thinking as an interplay between an intuitive-heuristic and demanding-analytic reasoning process. Although monitoring the output of the two systems for conflict is crucial to avoid decision making errors there are some widely different views on the efficiency of the process. Kahneman…

  9. Localization Strategies in WSNs as applied to Landslide Monitoring (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Massa, A.; Robol, F.; Polo, A.; Giarola, E.; Viani, F.

    2013-12-01

    In the last years, heterogeneous integrated smart systems based on wireless sensor network (WSN) technology have been developed at the ELEDIA Research Center of the University of Trento [1]. One of the key features of WSNs as applied to distributed monitoring is that, while the capabilities of each single sensor node is limited, the implementation of cooperative schemes throughout the whole network enables the solution of even complex tasks, as the landslide monitoring. The capability of localizing targets respect to the position of the sensor nodes turns out to be fundamental in those application fields where relative movements arise. The main properties like the target typology, the movement characteristics, and the required localization resolution are different changing the reference scenario. However, the common key issue is still the localization of moving targets within the area covered by the sensor network. Many experiences were preparatory for the challenging activities in the field of landslide monitoring where the basic idea is mostly that of detecting slight soil movements. Among them, some examples of WSN-based systems experimentally applied to the localization of people [2] and wildlife [3] have been proposed. More recently, the WSN backbone as well as the investigated sensing technologies have been customized for monitoring superficial movements of the soil. The relative positions of wireless sensor nodes deployed where high probability of landslide exists is carefully monitored to forecast dangerous events. Multiple sensors like ultrasound, laser, high precision GPS, for the precise measurement of relative distances between the nodes of the network and the absolute positions respect to reference targets have been integrated in a prototype system. The millimeter accuracy in the position estimation enables the detection of small soil modifications and to infer the superficial evolution profile of the landslide. This information locally acquired also

  10. Models for interrupted monitoring of a stochastic process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Palmer, E.

    1977-01-01

    As computers are added to the cockpit, the pilot's job is changing from of manually flying the aircraft, to one of supervising computers which are doing navigation, guidance and energy management calculations as well as automatically flying the aircraft. In this supervisorial role the pilot must divide his attention between monitoring the aircraft's performance and giving commands to the computer. Normative strategies are developed for tasks where the pilot must interrupt his monitoring of a stochastic process in order to attend to other duties. Results are given as to how characteristics of the stochastic process and the other tasks affect the optimal strategies.

  11. Monitoring Satellite Data Ingest and Processing for the Atmosphere Science Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Witt, J.; Gumley, L.; Braun, J.; Dutcher, S.; Flynn, B.

    2017-12-01

    The Atmosphere SIPS (Science Investigator-led Processing Systems) team at the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC), which is funded through a NASA contract, creates Level 2 cloud and aerosol products from the VIIRS instrument aboard the S-NPP satellite. In order to monitor the ingest and processing of files, we have developed an extensive monitoring system to observe every step in the process. The status grid is used for real time monitoring, and shows the current state of the system, including what files we have and whether or not we are meeting our latency requirements. Our snapshot tool displays the state of the system in the past. It displays which files were available at a given hour and is used for historical and backtracking purposes. In addition to these grid like tools we have created histograms and other statistical graphs for tracking processing and ingest metrics, such as total processing time, job queue time, and latency statistics.

  12. Geophysical methods for monitoring soil stabilization processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saneiyan, Sina; Ntarlagiannis, Dimitrios; Werkema, D. Dale; Ustra, Andréa

    2018-01-01

    Soil stabilization involves methods used to turn unconsolidated and unstable soil into a stiffer, consolidated medium that could support engineered structures, alter permeability, change subsurface flow, or immobilize contamination through mineral precipitation. Among the variety of available methods carbonate precipitation is a very promising one, especially when it is being induced through common soil borne microbes (MICP - microbial induced carbonate precipitation). Such microbial mediated precipitation has the added benefit of not harming the environment as other methods can be environmentally detrimental. Carbonate precipitation, typically in the form of calcite, is a naturally occurring process that can be manipulated to deliver the expected soil strengthening results or permeability changes. This study investigates the ability of spectral induced polarization and shear-wave velocity for monitoring calcite driven soil strengthening processes. The results support the use of these geophysical methods as soil strengthening characterization and long term monitoring tools, which is a requirement for viable soil stabilization projects. Both tested methods are sensitive to calcite precipitation, with SIP offering additional information related to long term stability of precipitated carbonate. Carbonate precipitation has been confirmed with direct methods, such as direct sampling and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This study advances our understanding of soil strengthening processes and permeability alterations, and is a crucial step for the use of geophysical methods as monitoring tools in microbial induced soil alterations through carbonate precipitation.

  13. Sodium monitoring in commercially processed and restaurant foods.

    PubMed

    Ahuja, Jaspreet K C; Pehrsson, Pamela R; Haytowitz, David B; Wasswa-Kintu, Shirley; Nickle, Melissa; Showell, Bethany; Thomas, Robin; Roseland, Janet; Williams, Juhi; Khan, Mona; Nguyen, Quynhanh; Hoy, Kathy; Martin, Carrie; Rhodes, Donna; Moshfegh, Alanna; Gillespie, Cathleen; Gunn, Janelle; Merritt, Robert; Cogswell, Mary

    2015-03-01

    Most sodium in the US diet comes from commercially processed and restaurant foods. Sodium reduction in these foods is key to several recent public health efforts. The objective was to provide an overview of a program led by the USDA, in partnership with other government agencies, to monitor sodium contents in commercially processed and restaurant foods in the United States. We also present comparisons of nutrients generated under the program to older data. We track ∼125 commercially processed and restaurant food items ("sentinel foods") annually using information from food manufacturers and periodically by nationwide sampling and laboratory analyses. In addition, we monitor >1100 other commercially processed and restaurant food items, termed "priority-2 foods" (P2Fs) biennially by using information from food manufacturers. These foods serve as indicators for assessing changes in the sodium content of commercially processed and restaurant foods in the United States. We sampled all sentinel foods nationwide and reviewed all P2Fs in 2010-2013 to determine baseline sodium concentrations. We updated sodium values for 73 sentinel foods and 551 P2Fs in the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (releases 23-26). Sodium values changed by at least 10% for 43 of the sentinel foods, which, for 31 foods, including commonly consumed foods such as bread, tomato catsup, and potato chips, the newer sodium values were lower. Changes in the concentrations of related nutrients (total and saturated fat, total sugar, potassium, or dietary fiber) that were recommended by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans for reduced or increased consumption accompanied sodium reduction. The results of sodium reduction efforts, based on resampling of the sentinel foods or re-review of P2Fs, will become available beginning in 2015. This monitoring program tracks sodium reduction efforts, improves food composition databases, and strengthens national nutrition monitoring. © 2015

  14. Method and apparatus for monitoring plasma processing operations

    DOEpatents

    Smith, Jr., Michael Lane; Ward, Pamela Denise Peardon; Stevenson, Joel O'Don

    2002-01-01

    The invention generally relates to various aspects of a plasma process, and more specifically the monitoring of such plasma processes. One aspect relates in at least some manner to calibrating or initializing a plasma monitoring assembly. This type of calibration may be used to address wavelength shifts, intensity shifts, or both associated with optical emissions data obtained on a plasma process. A calibration light may be directed at a window through which optical emissions data is being obtained to determine the effect, if any, that the inner surface of the window is having on the optical emissions data being obtained therethrough, the operation of the optical emissions data gathering device, or both. Another aspect relates in at least some manner to various types of evaluations which may be undertaken of a plasma process which was run, and more typically one which is currently being run, within the processing chamber. Plasma health evaluations and process identification through optical emissions analysis are included in this aspect. Yet another aspect associated with the present invention relates in at least some manner to the endpoint of a plasma process (e.g., plasma recipe, plasma clean, conditioning wafer operation) or discrete/discernible portion thereof (e.g., a plasma step of a multiple step plasma recipe). Another aspect associated with the present invention relates to how one or more of the above-noted aspects may be implemented into a semiconductor fabrication facility, such as the distribution of wafers to a wafer production system. A final aspect of the present invention relates to a network a plurality of plasma monitoring systems, including with remote capabilities (i.e., outside of the clean room).

  15. 7 CFR 1794.11 - Apply NEPA early in the planning process.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Apply NEPA early in the planning process. 1794.11... National Environmental Policy Act § 1794.11 Apply NEPA early in the planning process. The environmental review process requires early coordination with and involvement of RUS. Applicants should consult with...

  16. 7 CFR 1794.11 - Apply NEPA early in the planning process.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Apply NEPA early in the planning process. 1794.11... National Environmental Policy Act § 1794.11 Apply NEPA early in the planning process. The environmental review process requires early coordination with and involvement of RUS. Applicants should consult with...

  17. 40 CFR 467.03 - Monitoring and reporting requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Monitoring and reporting requirements... Monitoring and reporting requirements. The following special monitoring and reporting requirements apply to... forming process. (b) As an alternative monitoring procedure for pretreatment, the POTW user may measure...

  18. 40 CFR 467.03 - Monitoring and reporting requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Monitoring and reporting requirements... Monitoring and reporting requirements. The following special monitoring and reporting requirements apply to... forming process. (b) As an alternative monitoring procedure for pretreatment, the POTW user may measure...

  19. Monitoring Agents for Assisting NASA Engineers with Shuttle Ground Processing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Semmel, Glenn S.; Davis, Steven R.; Leucht, Kurt W.; Rowe, Danil A.; Smith, Kevin E.; Boeloeni, Ladislau

    2005-01-01

    The Spaceport Processing Systems Branch at NASA Kennedy Space Center has designed, developed, and deployed a rule-based agent to monitor the Space Shuttle's ground processing telemetry stream. The NASA Engineering Shuttle Telemetry Agent increases situational awareness for system and hardware engineers during ground processing of the Shuttle's subsystems. The agent provides autonomous monitoring of the telemetry stream and automatically alerts system engineers when user defined conditions are satisfied. Efficiency and safety are improved through increased automation. Sandia National Labs' Java Expert System Shell is employed as the agent's rule engine. The shell's predicate logic lends itself well to capturing the heuristics and specifying the engineering rules within this domain. The declarative paradigm of the rule-based agent yields a highly modular and scalable design spanning multiple subsystems of the Shuttle. Several hundred monitoring rules have been written thus far with corresponding notifications sent to Shuttle engineers. This chapter discusses the rule-based telemetry agent used for Space Shuttle ground processing. We present the problem domain along with design and development considerations such as information modeling, knowledge capture, and the deployment of the product. We also present ongoing work with other condition monitoring agents.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2010-03-01

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

  1. Sodium monitoring in commercially processed and restaurant foods

    PubMed Central

    Ahuja, Jaspreet KC; Pehrsson, Pamela R; Haytowitz, David B; Wasswa-Kintu, Shirley; Nickle, Melissa; Showell, Bethany; Thomas, Robin; Roseland, Janet; Williams, Juhi; Khan, Mona; Nguyen, Quynhanh; Hoy, Kathy; Martin, Carrie; Rhodes, Donna; Moshfegh, Alanna; Gillespie, Cathleen; Gunn, Janelle; Merritt, Robert; Cogswell, Mary

    2015-01-01

    Background Most sodium in the US diet comes from commercially processed and restaurant foods. Sodium reduction in these foods is key to several recent public health efforts. Objective The objective was to provide an overview of a program led by the USDA, in partnership with other government agencies, to monitor sodium contents in commercially processed and restaurant foods in the United States. We also present comparisons of nutrients generated under the program to older data. Design We track ∼125 commercially processed and restaurant food items (“sentinel foods”) annually using information from food manufacturers and periodically by nationwide sampling and laboratory analyses. In addition, we monitor >1100 other commercially processed and restaurant food items, termed “priority-2 foods” (P2Fs) biennially by using information from food manufacturers. These foods serve as indicators for assessing changes in the sodium content of commercially processed and restaurant foods in the United States. We sampled all sentinel foods nationwide and reviewed all P2Fs in 2010–2013 to determine baseline sodium concentrations. Results We updated sodium values for 73 sentinel foods and 551 P2Fs in the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (releases 23–26). Sodium values changed by at least 10% for 43 of the sentinel foods, which, for 31 foods, including commonly consumed foods such as bread, tomato catsup, and potato chips, the newer sodium values were lower. Changes in the concentrations of related nutrients (total and saturated fat, total sugar, potassium, or dietary fiber) that were recommended by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans for reduced or increased consumption accompanied sodium reduction. The results of sodium reduction efforts, based on resampling of the sentinel foods or re-review of P2Fs, will become available beginning in 2015. Conclusion This monitoring program tracks sodium reduction efforts, improves food composition

  2. Performance Monitoring of Distributed Data Processing Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ojha, Anand K.

    2000-01-01

    Test and checkout systems are essential components in ensuring safety and reliability of aircraft and related systems for space missions. A variety of systems, developed over several years, are in use at the NASA/KSC. Many of these systems are configured as distributed data processing systems with the functionality spread over several multiprocessor nodes interconnected through networks. To be cost-effective, a system should take the least amount of resource and perform a given testing task in the least amount of time. There are two aspects of performance evaluation: monitoring and benchmarking. While monitoring is valuable to system administrators in operating and maintaining, benchmarking is important in designing and upgrading computer-based systems. These two aspects of performance evaluation are the foci of this project. This paper first discusses various issues related to software, hardware, and hybrid performance monitoring as applicable to distributed systems, and specifically to the TCMS (Test Control and Monitoring System). Next, a comparison of several probing instructions are made to show that the hybrid monitoring technique developed by the NIST (National Institutes for Standards and Technology) is the least intrusive and takes only one-fourth of the time taken by software monitoring probes. In the rest of the paper, issues related to benchmarking a distributed system have been discussed and finally a prescription for developing a micro-benchmark for the TCMS has been provided.

  3. Real-time monitoring of clinical processes using complex event processing and transition systems.

    PubMed

    Meinecke, Sebastian

    2014-01-01

    Dependencies between tasks in clinical processes are often complex and error-prone. Our aim is to describe a new approach for the automatic derivation of clinical events identified via the behaviour of IT systems using Complex Event Processing. Furthermore we map these events on transition systems to monitor crucial clinical processes in real-time for preventing and detecting erroneous situations.

  4. Multi-tiered sensing and data processing for monitoring ship structures

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

    Farrar, Charles; Salvino, Liming; Lynch, Jerome

    2009-01-01

    A comprehensive structural health monitoring (SHM) system is a critical mechanism to ensure hull integrity and evaluate structural performance over the life of a ship, especially for lightweight high-speed ships. One of the most important functions of a SHM system is to provide real-time performance guidance and reduce the risk of structural damage during operations at sea. This is done by continuous feedback from onboard sensors providing measurements of seaway loads and structural responses. Applications of SHM should also include diagnostic capabilities such as identifying the presence of damage, assessing the location and extent of damage when it does occurmore » in order to plan for future inspection and maintenance. The development of such SHM systems is extremely challenging because of the physical size of these structures, the widely varying and often extreme operational and environmental conditions associated with the missions of high performance ships, the lack of data from known damage conditions, the limited sensing that was not designed specifically for SHM, the management of the vast amounts of data, and the need for continued, real-time data processing. This paper will discuss some of these challenges and several outstanding issues that need to be addressed in the context of applying various SHM approaches to sea trials data measured on an aluminum high-speed catamaran, the HSV-2 Swift. A multi-tiered approach for sensing and data processing will be discussed as potential SHM architecture for future shipboard application. This approach will involve application of low cost and dense sensor arrays such as wireless communications in selected areas of the ship hull in addition to conventional sensors measuring global structural response of the ship. A recent wireless hull monitoring demo on FSF-I SeaFighter will be discussed as an example to show how this proposed architecture is a viable approach for long-term and real-time hull monitoring.« less

  5. Monitoring fetal heart rate during pregnancy: contributions from advanced signal processing and wearable technology.

    PubMed

    Signorini, Maria G; Fanelli, Andrea; Magenes, Giovanni

    2014-01-01

    Monitoring procedures are the basis to evaluate the clinical state of patients and to assess changes in their conditions, thus providing necessary interventions in time. Both these two objectives can be achieved by integrating technological development with methodological tools, thus allowing accurate classification and extraction of useful diagnostic information. The paper is focused on monitoring procedures applied to fetal heart rate variability (FHRV) signals, collected during pregnancy, in order to assess fetal well-being. The use of linear time and frequency techniques as well as the computation of non linear indices can contribute to enhancing the diagnostic power and reliability of fetal monitoring. The paper shows how advanced signal processing approaches can contribute to developing new diagnostic and classification indices. Their usefulness is evaluated by comparing two selected populations: normal fetuses and intra uterine growth restricted (IUGR) fetuses. Results show that the computation of different indices on FHRV signals, either linear and nonlinear, gives helpful indications to describe pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the cardiovascular and neural system controlling the fetal heart. As a further contribution, the paper briefly describes how the introduction of wearable systems for fetal ECG recording could provide new technological solutions improving the quality and usability of prenatal monitoring.

  6. The Multi-Isotope Process (MIP) Monitor Project: FY13 Final Report

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

    Meier, David E.; Coble, Jamie B.; Jordan, David V.

    The Multi-Isotope Process (MIP) Monitor provides an efficient approach to monitoring the process conditions in reprocessing facilities in support of the goal of “… (minimization of) the risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism.” The MIP Monitor measures the distribution of the radioactive isotopes in product and waste streams of a nuclear reprocessing facility. These isotopes are monitored online by gamma spectrometry and compared, in near-real-time, to spectral patterns representing “normal” process conditions using multivariate analysis and pattern recognition algorithms. The combination of multivariate analysis and gamma spectroscopy allows us to detect small changes in the gamma spectrum, which may indicatemore » changes in process conditions. By targeting multiple gamma-emitting indicator isotopes, the MIP Monitor approach is compatible with the use of small, portable, relatively high-resolution gamma detectors that may be easily deployed throughout an existing facility. The automated multivariate analysis can provide a level of data obscurity, giving a built-in information barrier to protect sensitive or proprietary operational data. Proof-of-concept simulations and experiments have been performed in previous years to demonstrate the validity of this tool in a laboratory setting for systems representing aqueous reprocessing facilities. However, pyroprocessing is emerging as an alternative to aqueous reprocessing techniques.« less

  7. In-Line Monitoring of Fab Processing Using X-Ray Diffraction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gittleman, Bruce; Kozaczek, Kris

    2005-09-01

    As the materials shift that started with Cu continues to advance in the semiconductor industry, new issues related to materials microstructure have arisen. While x-ray diffraction (XRD) has long been used in development applications, in this paper we show that results generated in real time by a unique, high throughput, fully automated XRD metrology tool can be used to develop metrics for qualification and monitoring of critical processes in current and future manufacturing. It will be shown that these metrics provide a unique set of data that correlate to manufacturing issues. For example, ionized-sputtering is the current deposition method of choice for both the Cu seed and TaNx/Ta barrier layers. The alpha phase of Ta is widely used in production for the upper layer of the barrier stack, but complete elimination of the beta phase requires a TaNx layer with sufficient N content, but not so much as to start poisoning the target and generating particle issues. This is a well documented issue, but traditional monitoring by sheet resistance methods cannot guarantee the absence of the beta phase, whereas XRD can determine the presence of even small amounts of beta. Nickel silicide for gate metallization is another example where monitoring of phase is critical. As well being able to qualify an anneal process that gives only the desired NiSi phase everywhere across the wafer, XRD can be used to determine if full silicidation of the Ni has occurred and characterize the crystallographic microstructure of the Ni to determine any effect of that microstructure on the anneal process. The post-anneal nickel silicide phase and uniformity of the silicide microstructure can all be monitored in production. Other examples of the application of XRD to process qualification and production monitoring are derived from the dependence of certain processes, some types of defect generation, and device performance on crystallographic texture. The data presented will show that CMP dishing

  8. Heterogeneous recurrence monitoring and control of nonlinear stochastic processes

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

    Yang, Hui, E-mail: huiyang@usf.edu; Chen, Yun

    Recurrence is one of the most common phenomena in natural and engineering systems. Process monitoring of dynamic transitions in nonlinear and nonstationary systems is more concerned with aperiodic recurrences and recurrence variations. However, little has been done to investigate the heterogeneous recurrence variations and link with the objectives of process monitoring and anomaly detection. Notably, nonlinear recurrence methodologies are based on homogeneous recurrences, which treat all recurrence states in the same way as black dots, and non-recurrence is white in recurrence plots. Heterogeneous recurrences are more concerned about the variations of recurrence states in terms of state properties (e.g., valuesmore » and relative locations) and the evolving dynamics (e.g., sequential state transitions). This paper presents a novel approach of heterogeneous recurrence analysis that utilizes a new fractal representation to delineate heterogeneous recurrence states in multiple scales, including the recurrences of both single states and multi-state sequences. Further, we developed a new set of heterogeneous recurrence quantifiers that are extracted from fractal representation in the transformed space. To that end, we integrated multivariate statistical control charts with heterogeneous recurrence analysis to simultaneously monitor two or more related quantifiers. Experimental results on nonlinear stochastic processes show that the proposed approach not only captures heterogeneous recurrence patterns in the fractal representation but also effectively monitors the changes in the dynamics of a complex system.« less

  9. Studies and research concerning BNFP: process monitoring and process surveillance demonstration program

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

    Kight, H R

    1979-11-01

    Computerized methods of monitoring process functions and alarming off-standard conditions were implemented and demonstrated during the FY 1979 Uranium Run. In addition, prototype applications of instruments for the purpose of tamper indication and surveillance were tested.

  10. Implementation of a process analytical technology system in a freeze-drying process using Raman spectroscopy for in-line process monitoring.

    PubMed

    De Beer, T R M; Allesø, M; Goethals, F; Coppens, A; Heyden, Y Vander; De Diego, H Lopez; Rantanen, J; Verpoort, F; Vervaet, C; Remon, J P; Baeyens, W R G

    2007-11-01

    The aim of the present study was to propose a strategy for the implementation of a Process Analytical Technology system in freeze-drying processes. Mannitol solutions, some of them supplied with NaCl, were used as models to freeze-dry. Noninvasive and in-line Raman measurements were continuously performed during lyophilization of the solutions to monitor real time the mannitol solid state, the end points of the different process steps (freezing, primary drying, secondary drying), and physical phenomena occurring during the process. At-line near-infrared (NIR) and X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD) measurements were done to confirm the Raman conclusions and to find out additional information. The collected spectra during the processes were analyzed using principal component analysis and multivariate curve resolution. A two-level full factorial design was used to study the significant influence of process (freezing rate) and formulation variables (concentration of mannitol, concentration of NaCl, volume of freeze-dried sample) upon freeze-drying. Raman spectroscopy was able to monitor (i) the mannitol solid state (amorphous, alpha, beta, delta, and hemihydrate), (ii) several process step end points (end of mannitol crystallization during freezing, primary drying), and (iii) physical phenomena occurring during freeze-drying (onset of ice nucleation, onset of mannitol crystallization during the freezing step, onset of ice sublimation). NIR proved to be a more sensitive tool to monitor sublimation than Raman spectroscopy, while XRPD helped to unravel the mannitol hemihydrate in the samples. The experimental design results showed that several process and formulation variables significantly influence different aspects of lyophilization and that both are interrelated. Raman spectroscopy (in-line) and NIR spectroscopy and XRPD (at-line) not only allowed the real-time monitoring of mannitol freeze-drying processes but also helped (in combination with experimental design) us

  11. Monitoring real-time navigation processes using the automated reasoning tool (ART)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maletz, M. C.; Culbert, C. J.

    1985-01-01

    An expert system is described for monitoring and controlling navigation processes in real-time. The ART-based system features data-driven computation, accommodation of synchronous and asynchronous data, temporal modeling for individual time intervals and chains of time intervals, and hypothetical reasoning capabilities that consider alternative interpretations of the state of navigation processes. The concept is illustrated in terms of the NAVEX system for monitoring and controlling the high speed ground navigation console for Mission Control at Johnson Space Center. The reasoning processes are outlined, including techniques used to consider alternative data interpretations. Installation of the system has permitted using a single operator, instead of three, to monitor the ascent and entry phases of a Shuttle mission.

  12. Tomographical process monitoring of laser transmission welding with OCT

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ackermann, Philippe; Schmitt, Robert

    2017-06-01

    Process control of laser processes still encounters many obstacles. Although these processes are stable, a narrow process parameter window during the process or process deviations have led to an increase on the requirements for the process itself and on monitoring devices. Laser transmission welding as a contactless and locally limited joining technique is well-established in a variety of demanding production areas. For example, sensitive parts demand a particle-free joining technique which does not affect the inner components. Inline integrated non-destructive optical measurement systems capable of providing non-invasive tomographical images of the transparent material, the weld seam and its surrounding areas with micron resolution would improve the overall process. Obtained measurement data enable qualitative feedback into the system to adapt parameters for a more robust process. Within this paper we present the inline monitoring device based on Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography developed within the European-funded research project "Manunet Weldable". This device, after adaptation to the laser transmission welding process is optically and mechanically integrated into the existing laser system. The main target lies within the inline process control destined to extract tomographical geometrical measurement data from the weld seam forming process. Usage of this technology makes offline destructive testing of produced parts obsolete. 1,2,3,4

  13. Monitoring of the Irradiated Neutron Fluence in the Neutron Transmutation Doping Process of Hanaro

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Myong-Seop; Park, Sang-Jun

    2009-08-01

    Neutron transmutation doping (NTD) for silicon is a process of the creation of phosphorus impurities in intrinsic or extrinsic silicon by neutron irradiation to obtain silicon semiconductors with extremely uniform dopant distribution. HANARO has two vertical holes for the NTD, and the irradiation for 5 and 6 inch silicon ingots has been going on at one hole. In order to achieve the accurate neutron fluence corresponding to the target resistivity, the real time neutron flux is monitored by self-powered neutron detectors. After irradiation, the total irradiation fluence is confirmed by measuring the absolute activity of activation detectors. In this work, a neutron fluence monitoring method using zirconium foils with the mass of 10 ~ 50 mg was applied to the NTD process of HANARO. We determined the proportional constant of the relationship between the resistivity of the irradiated silicon and the neutron fluence determined by using zirconium foils. The determined constant for the initially n-type silicon was 3.126 × 1019 n·Ω/cm. It was confirmed that the difference between this empirical value and the theoretical one was only 0.5%. Conclusively, the practical methodology to perform the neutron transmutation doping of silicon was established.

  14. Digital holographic interferometry applied to the investigation of ignition process.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Huerta, J S; Saucedo-Anaya, Tonatiuh; Moreno, I; Ariza-Flores, D; Saucedo-Orozco, B

    2017-06-12

    We use the digital holographic interferometry (DHI) technique to display the early ignition process for a butane-air mixture flame. Because such an event occurs in a short time (few milliseconds), a fast CCD camera is used to study the event. As more detail is required for monitoring the temporal evolution of the process, less light coming from the combustion is captured by the CCD camera, resulting in a deficient and underexposed image. Therefore, the CCD's direct observation of the combustion process is limited (down to 1000 frames per second). To overcome this drawback, we propose the use of DHI along with a high power laser in order to supply enough light to increase the speed capture, thus improving the visualization of the phenomenon in the initial moments. An experimental optical setup based on DHI is used to obtain a large sequence of phase maps that allows us to observe two transitory stages in the ignition process: a first explosion which slightly emits visible light, and a second stage induced by variations in temperature when the flame is emerging. While the last stage can be directly monitored by the CCD camera, the first stage is hardly detected by direct observation, and DHI clearly evidences this process. Furthermore, our method can be easily adapted for visualizing other types of fast processes.

  15. Laser Welding Process Monitoring Systems: Advanced Signal Analysis for Quality Assurance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    D'Angelo, Giuseppe

    Laser material processing today is widely used in industry. Especially laser welding became one of the key-technologies, e. g., for the automotive sector. This is due to the improvement and development of new laser sources and the increasing knowledge gained at countless scientific research projects. Nevertheless, it is still not possible to use the full potential of this technology. Therefore, the introduction and application of quality-assuring systems is required. For a long time, the statement "the best sensor is no sensor" was often heard. Today, a change of paradigm can be observed. On the one hand, ISO 9000 and other by law enforced regulations have led to the understanding that quality monitoring is an essential tool in modern manufacturing and necessary in order to keep production results in deterministic boundaries. On the other hand, rising quality requirements not only set higher and higher requirements for the process technology but also demand qualityassurance measures which ensure the reliable recognition of process faults. As a result, there is a need for reliable online detection and correction of welding faults by means of an in-process monitoring. The chapter describes an advanced signals analysis technique to extract information from signals detected, during the laser welding process, by optical sensors. The technique is based on the method of reassignment which was first applied to the spectrogram by Kodera, Gendrin and de Villedary22,23 and later generalized to any bilinear time-frequency representation by Auger and Flandrin.24 Key to the method is a nonlinear convolution where the value of the convolution is not placed at the center of the convolution kernel but rather reassigned to the center of mass of the function within the kernel. The resulting reassigned representation yields significantly improved components localization. We compare the proposed time-frequency distributions by analyzing signals detected during the laser welding of

  16. Expert system and process optimization techniques for real-time monitoring and control of plasma processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheng, Jie; Qian, Zhaogang; Irani, Keki B.; Etemad, Hossein; Elta, Michael E.

    1991-03-01

    To meet the ever-increasing demand of the rapidly-growing semiconductor manufacturing industry it is critical to have a comprehensive methodology integrating techniques for process optimization real-time monitoring and adaptive process control. To this end we have accomplished an integrated knowledge-based approach combining latest expert system technology machine learning method and traditional statistical process control (SPC) techniques. This knowledge-based approach is advantageous in that it makes it possible for the task of process optimization and adaptive control to be performed consistently and predictably. Furthermore this approach can be used to construct high-level and qualitative description of processes and thus make the process behavior easy to monitor predict and control. Two software packages RIST (Rule Induction and Statistical Testing) and KARSM (Knowledge Acquisition from Response Surface Methodology) have been developed and incorporated with two commercially available packages G2 (real-time expert system) and ULTRAMAX (a tool for sequential process optimization).

  17. Monitoring operational data production applying Big Data tooling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Som de Cerff, Wim; de Jong, Hotze; van den Berg, Roy; Bos, Jeroen; Oosterhoff, Rijk; Klein Ikkink, Henk Jan; Haga, Femke; Elsten, Tom; Verhoef, Hans; Koutek, Michal; van de Vegte, John

    2015-04-01

    Within the KNMI Deltaplan programme for improving the KNMI operational infrastructure an new fully automated system for monitoring the KNMI operational data production systems is being developed: PRISMA (PRocessflow Infrastructure Surveillance and Monitoring Application). Currently the KNMI operational (24/7) production systems consist of over 60 applications, running on different hardware systems and platforms. They are interlinked for the production of numerous data products, which are delivered to internal and external customers. All applications are individually monitored by different applications, complicating root cause and impact analysis. Also, the underlying hardware and network is monitored separately using Zabbix. Goal of the new system is to enable production chain monitoring, which enables root cause analysis (what is the root cause of the disruption) and impact analysis (what other products will be effected). The PRISMA system will make it possible to dispose all the existing monitoring applications, providing one interface for monitoring the data production. For modeling the production chain, the Neo4j Graph database is used to store and query the model. The model can be edited through the PRISMA web interface, but is mainly automatically provided by the applications and systems which are to be monitored. The graph enables us to do root case and impact analysis. The graph can be visualized in the PRISMA web interface on different levels. Each 'monitored object' in the model will have a status (OK, error, warning, unknown). This status is derived by combing all log information available. For collecting and querying the log information Splunk is used. The system is developed using Scrum, by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of analysts, developers, a tester and interaction designer. In the presentation we will focus on the lessons learned working with the 'Big data' tooling Splunk and Neo4J.

  18. Using nocturnal cold air drainage flow to monitor ecosystem processes in complex terrain

    Treesearch

    Thomas G. Pypker; Michael H. Unsworth; Alan C. Mix; William Rugh; Troy Ocheltree; Karrin Alstad; Barbara J. Bond

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents initial investigations of a new approach to monitor ecosystem processes in complex terrain on large scales. Metabolic processes in mountainous ecosystems are poorly represented in current ecosystem monitoring campaigns because the methods used for monitoring metabolism at the ecosystem scale (e.g., eddy covariance) require flat study sites. Our goal...

  19. Recent advances in electronic nose techniques for monitoring of fermentation process.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Hui; Zhang, Hang; Chen, Quansheng; Mei, Congli; Liu, Guohai

    2015-12-01

    Microbial fermentation process is often sensitive to even slight changes of conditions that may result in unacceptable end-product quality. Thus, the monitoring of the process is critical for discovering unfavorable deviations as early as possible and taking the appropriate measures. However, the use of traditional analytical techniques is often time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this sense, the most effective way of developing rapid, accurate and relatively economical method for quality assurance in microbial fermentation process is the use of novel chemical sensor systems. Electronic nose techniques have particular advantages in non-invasive monitoring of microbial fermentation process. Therefore, in this review, we present an overview of the most important contributions dealing with the quality control in microbial fermentation process using the electronic nose techniques. After a brief description of the fundamentals of the sensor techniques, some examples of potential applications of electronic nose techniques monitoring are provided, including the implementation of control strategies and the combination with other monitoring tools (i.e. sensor fusion). Finally, on the basis of the review, the electronic nose techniques are critically commented, and its strengths and weaknesses being highlighted. In addition, on the basis of the observed trends, we also propose the technical challenges and future outlook for the electronic nose techniques.

  20. Online monitoring of fermentation processes via non-invasive low-field NMR.

    PubMed

    Kreyenschulte, Dirk; Paciok, Eva; Regestein, Lars; Blümich, Bernhard; Büchs, Jochen

    2015-09-01

    For the development of biotechnological processes in academia as well as in industry new techniques are required which enable online monitoring for process characterization and control. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a promising analytical tool, which has already found broad applications in offline process analysis. The use of online monitoring, however, is oftentimes constrained by high complexity of custom-made NMR bioreactors and considerable costs for high-field NMR instruments (>US$200,000). Therefore, low-field (1) H NMR was investigated in this study in a bypass system for real-time observation of fermentation processes. The new technique was validated with two microbial systems. For the yeast Hansenula polymorpha glycerol consumption could accurately be assessed in spite of the presence of high amounts of complex constituents in the medium. During cultivation of the fungal strain Ustilago maydis, which is accompanied by the formation of several by-products, the concentrations of glucose, itaconic acid, and the relative amount of glycolipids could be quantified. While low-field spectra are characterized by reduced spectral resolution compared to high-field NMR, the compact design combined with the high temporal resolution (15 s-8 min) of spectra acquisition allowed online monitoring of the respective processes. Both applications clearly demonstrate that the investigated technique is well suited for reaction monitoring in opaque media while at the same time it is highly robust and chemically specific. It can thus be concluded that low-field NMR spectroscopy has a great potential for non-invasive online monitoring of biotechnological processes at the research and practical industrial scales. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Revised ground-water monitoring compliance plan for the 300 area process trenches

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

    Schalla, R.; Aaberg, R.L.; Bates, D.J.

    1988-09-01

    This document contains ground-water monitoring plans for process-water disposal trenches located on the Hanford Site. These trenches, designated the 300 Area Process Trenches, have been used since 1973 for disposal of water that contains small quantities of both chemicals and radionuclides. The ground-water monitoring plans contained herein represent revision and expansion of an effort initiated in June 1985. At that time, a facility-specific monitoring program was implemented at the 300 Area Process Trenches as part of a regulatory compliance effort for hazardous chemicals being conducted on the Hanford Site. This monitoring program was based on the ground-water monitoring requirements formore » interim-status facilities, which are those facilities that do not yet have final permits, but are authorized to continue interim operations while engaged in the permitting process. The applicable monitoring requirements are described in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 40 CFR 265.90 of the federal regulations, and in WAC 173-303-400 of Washington State's regulations (Washington State Department of Ecology 1986). The program implemented for the process trenches was designed to be an alternate program, which is required instead of the standard detection program when a facility is known or suspected to have contaminated the ground water in the uppermost aquifer. The plans for the program, contained in a document prepared by the US Department of Energy (USDOE) in 1985, called for monthly sampling of 14 of the 37 existing monitoring wells at the 300 Area plus the installation and sampling of 2 new wells. 27 refs., 25 figs., 15 tabs.« less

  2. 17 CFR 37.400 - Core Principle 4-Monitoring of trading and trade processing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... trading and trade processing. 37.400 Section 37.400 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP EXECUTION FACILITIES Monitoring of Trading and Trade Processing § 37.400 Core Principle 4—Monitoring of trading and trade processing. The swap execution facility shall: (a) Establish and...

  3. Applying Statistical Process Control to Clinical Data: An Illustration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pfadt, Al; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Principles of statistical process control are applied to a clinical setting through the use of control charts to detect changes, as part of treatment planning and clinical decision-making processes. The logic of control chart analysis is derived from principles of statistical inference. Sample charts offer examples of evaluating baselines and…

  4. Freeze-drying process monitoring using a cold plasma ionization device.

    PubMed

    Mayeresse, Y; Veillon, R; Sibille, P H; Nomine, C

    2007-01-01

    A cold plasma ionization device has been designed to monitor freeze-drying processes in situ by monitoring lyophilization chamber moisture content. This plasma device, which consists of a probe that can be mounted directly on the lyophilization chamber, depends upon the ionization of nitrogen and water molecules using a radiofrequency generator and spectrometric signal collection. The study performed on this probe shows that it is steam sterilizable, simple to integrate, reproducible, and sensitive. The limitations include suitable positioning in the lyophilization chamber, calibration, and signal integration. Sensitivity was evaluated in relation to the quantity of vials and the probe positioning, and correlation with existing methods, such as microbalance, was established. These tests verified signal reproducibility through three freeze-drying cycles. Scaling-up studies demonstrated a similar product signature for the same product using pilot-scale and larger-scale equipment. On an industrial scale, the method efficiently monitored the freeze-drying cycle, but in a larger industrial freeze-dryer the signal was slightly modified. This was mainly due to the positioning of the plasma device, in relation to the vapor flow pathway, which is not necessarily homogeneous within the freeze-drying chamber. The plasma tool is a relevant method for monitoring freeze-drying processes and may in the future allow the verification of current thermodynamic freeze-drying models. This plasma technique may ultimately represent a process analytical technology (PAT) approach for the freeze-drying process.

  5. Monitoring of an antigen manufacturing process.

    PubMed

    Zavatti, Vanessa; Budman, Hector; Legge, Raymond; Tamer, Melih

    2016-06-01

    Fluorescence spectroscopy in combination with multivariate statistical methods was employed as a tool for monitoring the manufacturing process of pertactin (PRN), one of the virulence factors of Bordetella pertussis utilized in whopping cough vaccines. Fluorophores such as amino acids and co-enzymes were detected throughout the process. The fluorescence data collected at different stages of the fermentation and purification process were treated employing principal component analysis (PCA). Through PCA, it was feasible to identify sources of variability in PRN production. Then, partial least square (PLS) was employed to correlate the fluorescence spectra obtained from pure PRN samples and the final protein content measured by a Kjeldahl test from these samples. In view that a statistically significant correlation was found between fluorescence and PRN levels, this approach could be further used as a method to predict the final protein content.

  6. Monitoring of the Educational Process during the Pedagogical Practical Training in School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saudabaeva, Gylmira; Tymbolova, Altynay; Kolumbaeva, Sholpan; Aitzhanova, Roza; Bodeev, Marat

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the study is to analyze the features of monitoring the educational process during students' practical training at schools. We examined a number of methods and techniques of conducting monitoring of educational process as embodied by future teachers' practical training at secondary schools: continuous observation, method of test…

  7. Maintaining the Health of Software Monitors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Person, Suzette; Rungta, Neha

    2013-01-01

    Software health management (SWHM) techniques complement the rigorous verification and validation processes that are applied to safety-critical systems prior to their deployment. These techniques are used to monitor deployed software in its execution environment, serving as the last line of defense against the effects of a critical fault. SWHM monitors use information from the specification and implementation of the monitored software to detect violations, predict possible failures, and help the system recover from faults. Changes to the monitored software, such as adding new functionality or fixing defects, therefore, have the potential to impact the correctness of both the monitored software and the SWHM monitor. In this work, we describe how the results of a software change impact analysis technique, Directed Incremental Symbolic Execution (DiSE), can be applied to monitored software to identify the potential impact of the changes on the SWHM monitor software. The results of DiSE can then be used by other analysis techniques, e.g., testing, debugging, to help preserve and improve the integrity of the SWHM monitor as the monitored software evolves.

  8. Spectroscopic methods of process monitoring for safeguards of used nuclear fuel separations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Warburton, Jamie Lee

    To support the demonstration of a more proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel processing plant, techniques and instrumentation to allow the real-time, online determination of special nuclear material concentrations in-process must be developed. An ideal materials accountability technique for proliferation resistance should provide nondestructive, realtime, on-line information of metal and ligand concentrations in separations streams without perturbing the process. UV-Visible spectroscopy can be adapted for this precise purpose in solvent extraction-based separations. The primary goal of this project is to understand fundamental URanium EXtraction (UREX) and Plutonium-URanium EXtraction (PUREX) reprocessing chemistry and corresponding UV-Visible spectroscopy for application in process monitoring for safeguards. By evaluating the impact of process conditions, such as acid concentration, metal concentration and flow rate, on the sensitivity of the UV-Visible detection system, the process-monitoring concept is developed from an advanced application of fundamental spectroscopy. Systematic benchtop-scale studies investigated the system relevant to UREX or PUREX type reprocessing systems, encompassing 0.01-1.26 M U and 0.01-8 M HNO3. A laboratory-scale TRansUranic Extraction (TRUEX) demonstration was performed and used both to analyze for potential online monitoring opportunities in the TRUEX process, and to provide the foundation for building and demonstrating a laboratory-scale UREX demonstration. The secondary goal of the project is to simulate a diversion scenario in UREX and successfully detect changes in metal concentration and solution chemistry in a counter current contactor system with a UV-Visible spectroscopic process monitor. UREX uses the same basic solvent extraction flowsheet as PUREX, but has a lower acid concentration throughout and adds acetohydroxamic acid (AHA) as a complexant/reductant to the feed solution to prevent the extraction of Pu. By examining

  9. Real-time local experimental monitoring of the bleaching process.

    PubMed

    Rakic, Mario; Klaric, Eva; Sever, Ivan; Rakic, Iva Srut; Pichler, Goran; Tarle, Zrinka

    2015-04-01

    The purpose of this article was to investigate a new setup for tooth bleaching and monitoring of the same process in real time, so to prevent overbleaching and related sideeffects of the bleaching procedure. So far, known bleaching procedures cannot simultaneously monitor and perform the bleaching process or provide any local control over bleaching. The experimental setup was developed at the Institute of Physics, Zagreb. The setup consists of a camera, a controller, and optical fibers. The bleaching was performed with 25% hydrogen peroxide activated by ultraviolet light diodes, and the light for monitoring was emitted by white light diodes. The collected light was analyzed using a red-green-blue (RGB) index. A K-type thermocouple was used for temperature measurements. Pastilles made from hydroxylapatite powder as well as human teeth served as experimental objects. Optimal bleaching time substantially varied among differently stained specimens. To reach reference color (A1, Chromascop shade guide), measured as an RGB index, bleaching time for pastilles ranged from 8 to >20 min, whereas for teeth it ranged from 3.5 to >20 min. The reflected light intensity of each R, G, and B component at the end of bleaching process (after 20 min) had increased up to 56% of the baseline intensity. The presented experimental setup provides essential information about when to stop the bleaching process to achieve the desired optical results so that the bleaching process can be completely responsive to the characteristics of every individual, leading to more satisfying results.

  10. Transforming Collaborative Process Models into Interface Process Models by Applying an MDA Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lazarte, Ivanna M.; Chiotti, Omar; Villarreal, Pablo D.

    Collaborative business models among enterprises require defining collaborative business processes. Enterprises implement B2B collaborations to execute these processes. In B2B collaborations the integration and interoperability of processes and systems of the enterprises are required to support the execution of collaborative processes. From a collaborative process model, which describes the global view of the enterprise interactions, each enterprise must define the interface process that represents the role it performs in the collaborative process in order to implement the process in a Business Process Management System. Hence, in this work we propose a method for the automatic generation of the interface process model of each enterprise from a collaborative process model. This method is based on a Model-Driven Architecture to transform collaborative process models into interface process models. By applying this method, interface processes are guaranteed to be interoperable and defined according to a collaborative process.

  11. Enhancing DInSAR capabilities for landslide monitoring by applying GIS-based multicriteria filtering analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beyene, F.; Knospe, S.; Busch, W.

    2015-04-01

    Landslide detection and monitoring remain difficult with conventional differential radar interferometry (DInSAR) because most pixels of radar interferograms around landslides are affected by different error sources. These are mainly related to the nature of high radar viewing angles and related spatial distortions (such as overlays and shadows), temporal decorrelations owing to vegetation cover, and speed and direction of target sliding masses. On the other hand, GIS can be used to integrate spatial datasets obtained from many sources (including radar and non-radar sources). In this paper, a GRID data model is proposed to integrate deformation data derived from DInSAR processing with other radar origin data (coherence, layover and shadow, slope and aspect, local incidence angle) and external datasets collected from field study of landslide sites and other sources (geology, geomorphology, hydrology). After coordinate transformation and merging of data, candidate landslide representing pixels of high quality radar signals were filtered out by applying a GIS based multicriteria filtering analysis (GIS-MCFA), which excludes grid points in areas of shadow and overlay, low coherence, non-detectable and non-landslide deformations, and other possible sources of errors from the DInSAR data processing. At the end, the results obtained from GIS-MCFA have been verified by using the external datasets (existing landslide sites collected from fieldworks, geological and geomorphologic maps, rainfall data etc.).

  12. Condition monitoring of turning process using infrared thermography technique - An experimental approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prasad, Balla Srinivasa; Prabha, K. Aruna; Kumar, P. V. S. Ganesh

    2017-03-01

    In metal cutting machining, major factors that affect the cutting tool life are machine tool vibrations, tool tip/chip temperature and surface roughness along with machining parameters like cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut, tool geometry, etc., so it becomes important for the manufacturing industry to find the suitable levels of process parameters for obtaining maintaining tool life. Heat generation in cutting was always a main topic to be studied in machining. Recent advancement in signal processing and information technology has resulted in the use of multiple sensors for development of the effective monitoring of tool condition monitoring systems with improved accuracy. From a process improvement point of view, it is definitely more advantageous to proactively monitor quality directly in the process instead of the product, so that the consequences of a defective part can be minimized or even eliminated. In the present work, a real time process monitoring method is explored using multiple sensors. It focuses on the development of a test bed for monitoring the tool condition in turning of AISI 316L steel by using both coated and uncoated carbide inserts. Proposed tool condition monitoring (TCM) is evaluated in the high speed turning using multiple sensors such as Laser Doppler vibrometer and infrared thermography technique. The results indicate the feasibility of using the dominant frequency of the vibration signals for the monitoring of high speed turning operations along with temperatures gradient. A possible correlation is identified in both regular and irregular cutting tool wear. While cutting speed and feed rate proved to be influential parameter on the depicted temperatures and depth of cut to be less influential. Generally, it is observed that lower heat and temperatures are generated when coated inserts are employed. It is found that cutting temperatures are gradually increased as edge wear and deformation developed.

  13. Applying Parallel Processing Techniques to Tether Dynamics Simulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wells, B. Earl

    1996-01-01

    The focus of this research has been to determine the effectiveness of applying parallel processing techniques to a sizable real-world problem, the simulation of the dynamics associated with a tether which connects two objects in low earth orbit, and to explore the degree to which the parallelization process can be automated through the creation of new software tools. The goal has been to utilize this specific application problem as a base to develop more generally applicable techniques.

  14. Anti-reflection coatings applied by acid leaching process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pastirik, E.

    1980-01-01

    The Magicote C process developed by S.M. Thompsen was evaluated for use in applying an antireflective coating to the cover plates of solar panels. The process uses a fluosilicic acid solution supersaturated with silica at elevated temperature to selectively attack the surface of soda-lime glass cover plates and alter the physical and chemical composition of a thin layer of glass. The altered glass layer constitutes an antireflective coating. The process produces coatings of excellent optical quality which possess outstanding resistance to soiling and staining. The coatings produced are not resistant to mechanical abrasion and are attacked to some extent by glass cleansers. Control of the filming process was found to be difficult.

  15. Real-Time Monitoring of Psychotherapeutic Processes: Concept and Compliance

    PubMed Central

    Schiepek, Günter; Aichhorn, Wolfgang; Gruber, Martin; Strunk, Guido; Bachler, Egon; Aas, Benjamin

    2016-01-01

    Objective: The feasibility of a high-frequency real-time monitoring approach to psychotherapy is outlined and tested for patients' compliance to evaluate its integration to everyday practice. Criteria concern the ecological momentary assessment, the assessment of therapy-related cognitions and emotions, equidistant time sampling, real-time nonlinear time series analysis, continuous participative process control by client and therapist, and the application of idiographic (person-specific) surveys. Methods: The process-outcome monitoring is technically realized by an internet-based device for data collection and data analysis, the Synergetic Navigation System. Its feasibility is documented by a compliance study on 151 clients treated in an inpatient and a day-treatment clinic. Results: We found high compliance rates (mean: 78.3%, median: 89.4%) amongst the respondents, independent of the severity of symptoms or the degree of impairment. Compared to other diagnoses, the compliance rate was lower in the group diagnosed with personality disorders. Conclusion: The results support the feasibility of high-frequency monitoring in routine psychotherapy settings. Daily collection of psychological surveys allows for the assessment of highly resolved, equidistant time series data which gives insight into the nonlinear qualities of therapeutic change processes (e.g., pattern transitions, critical instabilities). PMID:27199837

  16. A novel in-line NIR spectroscopy application for the monitoring of tablet film coating in an industrial scale process.

    PubMed

    Möltgen, C-V; Puchert, T; Menezes, J C; Lochmann, D; Reich, G

    2012-04-15

    Film coating of tablets is a multivariate pharmaceutical unit operation. In this study an innovative in-line Fourier-Transform Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-NIRS) application is described which enables real-time monitoring of a full industrial scale pan coating process of heart-shaped tablets. The tablets were coated with a thin hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) film of up to approx. 28 μm on the tablet face as determined by SEM, corresponding to a weight gain of 2.26%. For a better understanding of the aqueous coating process the NIR probe was positioned inside the rotating tablet bed. Five full scale experimental runs have been performed to evaluate the impact of process variables such as pan rotation, exhaust air temperature, spray rate and pan load and elaborate robust and selective quantitative calibration models for the real-time determination of both coating growth and tablet moisture content. Principal Component (PC) score plots allowed each coating step, namely preheating, spraying and drying to be distinguished and the dominating factors and their spectral effects to be identified (e.g. temperature, moisture, coating growth, change of tablet bed density, and core/coat interactions). The distinct separation of HPMC coating growth and tablet moisture in different PCs enabled a real-time in-line monitoring of both attributes. A PLS calibration model based on Karl Fischer reference values allowed the tablet moisture trajectory to be determined throughout the entire coating process. A 1-latent variable iPLS weight gain calibration model with calibration samples from process stages dominated by the coating growth (i.e. ≥ 30% of the theoretically applied amount of coating) was sufficiently selective and accurate to predict the progress of the thin HPMC coating layer. At-line NIR Chemical Imaging (NIR-CI) in combination with PLS Discriminant Analysis (PLSDA) verified the HPMC coating growth and physical changes at the core/coat interface during the initial

  17. In-line and real-time process monitoring of a freeze drying process using Raman and NIR spectroscopy as complementary process analytical technology (PAT) tools.

    PubMed

    De Beer, T R M; Vercruysse, P; Burggraeve, A; Quinten, T; Ouyang, J; Zhang, X; Vervaet, C; Remon, J P; Baeyens, W R G

    2009-09-01

    The aim of the present study was to examine the complementary properties of Raman and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as PAT tools for the fast, noninvasive, nondestructive and in-line process monitoring of a freeze drying process. Therefore, Raman and NIR probes were built in the freeze dryer chamber, allowing simultaneous process monitoring. A 5% (w/v) mannitol solution was used as model for freeze drying. Raman and NIR spectra were continuously collected during freeze drying (one Raman and NIR spectrum/min) and the spectra were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate curve resolution (MCR). Raman spectroscopy was able to supply information about (i) the mannitol solid state throughout the entire process, (ii) the endpoint of freezing (endpoint of mannitol crystallization), and (iii) several physical and chemical phenomena occurring during the process (onset of ice nucleation, onset of mannitol crystallization). NIR spectroscopy proved to be a more sensitive tool to monitor the critical aspects during drying: (i) endpoint of ice sublimation and (ii) monitoring the release of hydrate water during storage. Furthermore, via NIR spectroscopy some Raman observations were confirmed: start of ice nucleation, end of mannitol crystallization and solid state characteristics of the end product. When Raman and NIR monitoring were performed on the same vial, the Raman signal was saturated during the freezing step caused by reflected NIR light reaching the Raman detector. Therefore, NIR and Raman measurements were done on a different vial. Also the importance of the position of the probes (Raman probe above the vial and NIR probe at the bottom of the sidewall of the vial) in order to obtain all required critical information is outlined. Combining Raman and NIR spectroscopy for the simultaneous monitoring of freeze drying allows monitoring almost all critical freeze drying process aspects. Both techniques do not only complement each other, they also

  18. 40 CFR 80.513 - What provisions apply to transmix processing facilities?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... processing. This section applies to refineries that produce diesel fuel from transmix by distillation or other refining processes but do not produce diesel fuel by processing crude oil. This section only...

  19. OpenLMD, multimodal monitoring and control of LMD processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rodríguez-Araújo, Jorge; García-Díaz, Antón

    2017-02-01

    This paper presents OpenLMD, a novel open-source solution for on-line multimodal monitoring of Laser Metal Deposition (LMD). The solution is also applicable to a wider range of laser-based applications that require on-line control (e.g. laser welding). OpenLMD is a middleware that enables the orchestration and virtualization of a LMD robot cell, using several open-source frameworks (e.g. ROS, OpenCV, PCL). The solution also allows reconfiguration by easy integration of multiple sensors and processing equipment. As a result, OpenLMD delivers significant advantages over existing monitoring and control approaches, such as improved scalability, and multimodal monitoring and data sharing capabilities.

  20. SPECTROSCOPIC ONLINE MONITORING FOR PROCESS CONTROL AND SAFEGUARDING OF RADIOCHEMICAL STREAMS

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

    Bryan, Samuel A.; Levitskaia, Tatiana G.

    2013-09-29

    There is a renewed interest worldwide to promote the use of nuclear power and close the nuclear fuel cycle. The long term successful use of nuclear power is critically dependent upon adequate and safe processing and disposition of the used nuclear fuel. Liquid-liquid extraction is a separation technique commonly employed for the processing of the dissolved used nuclear fuel. The instrumentation used to monitor these processes must be robust, require little or no maintenance, and be able to withstand harsh environments such as high radiation fields and aggressive chemical matrices. This paper summarizes application of the absorption and vibrational spectroscopicmore » techniques supplemented by physicochemical measurements for radiochemical process monitoring. In this context, our team experimentally assessed the potential of Raman and spectrophotometric techniques for online real-time monitoring of the U(VI)/nitrate ion/nitric acid and Pu(IV)/Np(V)/Nd(III), respectively, in solutions relevant to spent fuel reprocessing. These techniques demonstrate robust performance in the repetitive batch measurements of each analyte in a wide concentration range using simulant and commercial dissolved spent fuel solutions. Spectroscopic measurements served as training sets for the multivariate data analysis to obtain partial least squares predictive models, which were validated using on-line centrifugal contactor extraction tests. Satisfactory prediction of the analytes concentrations in these preliminary experiments warrants further development of the spectroscopy-based methods for radiochemical process control and safeguarding. Additionally, the ability to identify material intentionally diverted from a liquid-liquid extraction contactor system was successfully tested using on-line process monitoring as a means to detect the amount of material diverted. A chemical diversion and detection from a liquid-liquid extraction scheme was demonstrated using a centrifugal contactor

  1. Hydrogeophysical monitoring of water infiltration processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bevilacqua, Ivan; Cassiani, Giorgio; Deiana, Rita; Canone, Davide; Previati, Maurizio

    2010-05-01

    Non-invasive subsurface monitoring is growing in the last years. Techniques like ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) can be useful in soil water content monitoring (e.g., Vereecken et al., 2006). Some problems remain (e.g. spatial resolution), but the scale is consistent with many applications and hydrological models. The research has to to provide even more quantitative tools, without remaining in the qualitative realm. This is a very crucial step in the way to provide data useful for hydrological modeling. In this work a controlled field infiltration experiment has been done in August 2009 in the experimental site of Grugliasco, close to the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Torino, Italy. The infiltration has been monitored in time lapse by ERT, GPR, and TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry). The sandy soil characteristics of the site has been already described in another experiment [Cassiani et al. 2009a].The ERT was èperformed in dipole-dipole configuration, while the GPR had 100 MHz and 500 MHz antennas in WARR configuration. The TDR gages had different lengths. The amount of water which was sprinkled was also monitored in time.Irrigation intensity has been always smaller than infiltration capacity, in order not toh ave any surface ponding. Spectral induced polarization has been used to infer constitutive parameters from soil samples [Cassiani et al. 2009b]. 2D Richards equation model (Manzini and Ferraris, 2004) has been then calibrated with the measurements. References. Cassiani, G., S. Ferraris, M. Giustiniani, R. Deiana and C.Strobbia, 2009a, Time-lapse surface-to-surface GPR measurements to monitor a controlled infiltration experiment, in press, Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata, Vol. 50, 2 Marzo 2009, pp. 209-226. Cassiani, G., A. Kemna, A.Villa, and E. Zimmermann, 2009b, Spectral induced polarization for the characterization of free-phase hydrocarbon contamination in sediments with low clay content

  2. Enhanced Cumulative Sum Charts for Monitoring Process Dispersion

    PubMed Central

    Abujiya, Mu’azu Ramat; Riaz, Muhammad; Lee, Muhammad Hisyam

    2015-01-01

    The cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart is widely used in industry for the detection of small and moderate shifts in process location and dispersion. For efficient monitoring of process variability, we present several CUSUM control charts for monitoring changes in standard deviation of a normal process. The newly developed control charts based on well-structured sampling techniques - extreme ranked set sampling, extreme double ranked set sampling and double extreme ranked set sampling, have significantly enhanced CUSUM chart ability to detect a wide range of shifts in process variability. The relative performances of the proposed CUSUM scale charts are evaluated in terms of the average run length (ARL) and standard deviation of run length, for point shift in variability. Moreover, for overall performance, we implore the use of the average ratio ARL and average extra quadratic loss. A comparison of the proposed CUSUM control charts with the classical CUSUM R chart, the classical CUSUM S chart, the fast initial response (FIR) CUSUM R chart, the FIR CUSUM S chart, the ranked set sampling (RSS) based CUSUM R chart and the RSS based CUSUM S chart, among others, are presented. An illustrative example using real dataset is given to demonstrate the practicability of the application of the proposed schemes. PMID:25901356

  3. Method and apparatus for monitoring plasma processing operations

    DOEpatents

    Smith, Jr., Michael Lane; Stevenson, Joel O'Don; Ward, Pamela Peardon Denise

    2001-01-01

    The invention generally relates to various aspects of a plasma process, and more specifically the monitoring of such plasma processes. One aspect relates in at least some manner to calibrating or initializing a plasma monitoring assembly. This type of calibration may be used to address wavelength shifts, intensity shifts, or both associated with optical emissions data obtained on a plasma process. A calibration light may be directed at a window through which optical emissions data is being obtained to determine the effect, if any, that the inner surface of the window is having on the optical emissions data being obtained therethrough, the operation of the optical emissions data gathering device, or both. Another aspect relates in at least some manner to various types of evaluations which may be undertaken of a plasma process which was run, and more typically one which is currently being run, within the processing chamber. Plasma health evaluations and process identification through optical emissions analysis are included in this aspect. Yet another aspect associated with the present invention relates in at least some manner to the endpoint of a plasma process (e.g., plasma recipe, plasma clean, conditioning wafer operation) or discrete/discernible portion thereof (e.g., a plasma step of a multiple step plasma recipe). A final aspect associated with the present invention relates to how one or more of the above-noted aspects may be implemented into a semiconductor fabrication facility, such as the distribution of wafers to a wafer production system.

  4. Method and apparatus for monitoring plasma processing operations

    DOEpatents

    Smith, Jr., Michael Lane; Stevenson, Joel O'Don; Ward, Pamela Peardon Denise

    2001-01-01

    The invention generally relates to various aspects of a plasma process, and more specifically the monitoring of such plasma processes. One aspect relates in at least some manner to calibrating or initializing a plasma monitoring assembly. This type of calibration may be used to address wavelength shifts, intensity shifts, or both associated with optical emissions data obtained on a plasma process. A calibration light may be directed at a window through which optical emissions data is being obtained to determine the effect, if any, that the inner surface of the window is having on the optical emissions data being obtained therethrough, the operation of the optical emissions data gathering device, or both. Another aspect relates in at least some manner to various types of evaluations which may be undertaken of a plasma process which was run, and more typically one which is currently being run, within the processing chamber. Plasma health evaluations and process identification through optical emissions analysis are included in this aspect. Yet another aspect associated with the present invention relates in at least some manner to the endpoint of a plasma process (e.g., plasma recipe, plasma clean, conditioning wafer operation) or discrete/discemible portion thereof (e.g., a plasma step of a multiple step plasma recipe). A final aspect associated with the present invention relates to how one or more of the above-noted aspects may be implemented into a semiconductor fabrication facility, such as the distribution of wafers to a wafer production system.

  5. Method and apparatus for monitoring plasma processing operations

    DOEpatents

    Smith, Jr., Michael Lane; Stevenson, Joel O'Don; Ward, Pamela Peardon Denise

    2000-01-01

    The invention generally relates to various aspects of a plasma process, and more specifically the monitoring of such plasma processes. One aspect relates in at least some manner to calibrating or initializing a plasma monitoring assembly. This type of calibration may be used to address wavelength shifts, intensity shifts, or both associated with optical emissions data obtained on a plasma process. A calibration light may be directed at a window through which optical emissions data is being obtained to determine the effect, if any, that the inner surface of the window is having on the optical emissions data being obtained therethrough, the operation of the optical emissions data gathering device, or both. Another aspect relates in at least some manner to various types of evaluations which may be undertaken of a plasma process which was run, and more typically one which is currently being run, within the processing chamber. Plasma health evaluations and process identification through optical emissions analysis are included in this aspect. Yet another aspect associated with the present invention relates in at least some manner to the endpoint of a plasma process (e.g., plasma recipe, plasma clean, conditioning wafer operation) or discrete/discernible portion thereof (e.g., a plasma step of a multiple step plasma recipe). A final aspect associated with the present invention relates to how one or more of the above-noted aspects may be implemented into a semiconductor fabrication facility, such as the distribution of wafers to a wafer production system.

  6. Method and apparatus for monitoring plasma processing operations

    DOEpatents

    Smith, Jr., Michael Lane; Stevenson, Joel O'Don; Ward, Pamela Peardon Denise

    2002-07-16

    The invention generally relates to various aspects of a plasma process, and more specifically the monitoring of such plasma processes. One aspect relates in at least some manner to calibrating or initializing a plasma monitoring assembly. This type of calibration may be used to address wavelength shifts, intensity shifts, or both associated with optical emissions data obtained on a plasma process. A calibration light may be directed at a window through which optical emissions data is being obtained to determine the effect, if any, that the inner surface of the window is having on the optical emissions data being obtained therethrough, the operation of the optical emissions data gathering device, or both. Another aspect relates in at least some manner to various types of evaluations which may be undertaken of a plasma process which was run, and more typically one which is currently being run, within the processing chamber. Plasma health evaluations and process identification through optical emissions analysis are included in this aspect. Yet another aspect associated with the present invention relates in at least some manner to the endpoint of a plasma process (e.g., plasma recipe, plasma clean, conditioning wafer operation) or discrete/discernible portion thereof (e.g., a plasma step of a multiple step plasma recipe). A final aspect associated with the present invention relates to how one or more of the above-noted aspects may be implemented into a semiconductor fabrication facility, such as the distribution of wafers to a wafer production system.

  7. System for monitoring an industrial or biological process

    DOEpatents

    Gross, Kenneth C.; Wegerich, Stephan W.; Vilim, Rick B.; White, Andrew M.

    1998-01-01

    A method and apparatus for monitoring and responding to conditions of an industrial process. Industrial process signals, such as repetitive manufacturing, testing and operational machine signals, are generated by a system. Sensor signals characteristic of the process are generated over a time length and compared to reference signals over the time length. The industrial signals are adjusted over the time length relative to the reference signals, the phase shift of the industrial signals is optimized to the reference signals and the resulting signals output for analysis by systems such as SPRT.

  8. System for monitoring an industrial or biological process

    DOEpatents

    Gross, K.C.; Wegerich, S.W.; Vilim, R.B.; White, A.M.

    1998-06-30

    A method and apparatus are disclosed for monitoring and responding to conditions of an industrial process. Industrial process signals, such as repetitive manufacturing, testing and operational machine signals, are generated by a system. Sensor signals characteristic of the process are generated over a time length and compared to reference signals over the time length. The industrial signals are adjusted over the time length relative to the reference signals, the phase shift of the industrial signals is optimized to the reference signals and the resulting signals output for analysis by systems such as SPRT. 49 figs.

  9. The Research Doesn't Always Apply: Practical Solutions to Evidence-Based Training-Load Monitoring in Elite Team Sports.

    PubMed

    Burgess, Darren J

    2017-04-01

    Research describing load-monitoring techniques for team sport is plentiful. Much of this research is conducted retrospectively and typically involves recreational or semielite teams. Load-monitoring research conducted on professional team sports is largely observational. Challenges exist for the practitioner in implementing peer-reviewed research into the applied setting. These challenges include match scheduling, player adherence, manager/coach buy-in, sport traditions, and staff availability. External-load monitoring often attracts questions surrounding technology reliability and validity, while internal-load monitoring makes some assumptions about player adherence, as well as having some uncertainty around the impact these measures have on player performance This commentary outlines examples of load-monitoring research, discusses the issues associated with the application of this research in an elite team-sport setting, and suggests practical adjustments to the existing research where necessary.

  10. Applying Business Process Reengineering to the Marine Corps Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-09-01

    the most efficient model is developed and validated by applying it to the current IA C&A process flow at the TSO-KC. Finally... models are explored using the Knowledge Value Added (KVA) methodology, and the most efficient model is developed and validated by applying it to the ... models requires only one available actor from its respective group , rather than all actors in the group , to

  11. Control and monitoring method and system for electromagnetic forming process

    DOEpatents

    Kunerth, Dennis C.; Lassahn, Gordon D.

    1990-01-01

    A process, system, and improvement for a process for electromagnetic forming of a workpiece in which characteristics of the workpiece such as its geometry, electrical conductivity, quality, and magnetic permeability can be determined by monitoring the current and voltage in the workcoil. In an electromagnet forming process in which a power supply provides current to a workcoil and the electromagnetic field produced by the workcoil acts to form the workpiece, the dynamic interaction of the electromagnetic fields produced by the workcoil with the geometry, electrical conductivity, and magnetic permeability of the workpiece, provides information pertinent to the physical condition of the workpiece that is available for determination of quality and process control. This information can be obtained by deriving in real time the first several time derivatives of the current and voltage in the workcoil. In addition, the process can be extended by injecting test signals into the workcoil during the electromagnetic forming and monitoring the response to the test signals in the workcoil.

  12. Weaknesses in Applying a Process Approach in Industry Enterprises

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kučerová, Marta; Mĺkva, Miroslava; Fidlerová, Helena

    2012-12-01

    The paper deals with a process approach as one of the main principles of the quality management. Quality management systems based on process approach currently represents one of a proofed ways how to manage an organization. The volume of sales, costs and profit levels are influenced by quality of processes and efficient process flow. As results of the research project showed, there are some weaknesses in applying of the process approach in the industrial routine and it has been often only a formal change of the functional management to process management in many organizations in Slovakia. For efficient process management it is essential that companies take attention to the way how to organize their processes and seek for their continuous improvement.

  13. Mechanical impedance measurements for improved cost-effective process monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clopet, Caroline R.; Pullen, Deborah A.; Badcock, Rodney A.; Ralph, Brian; Fernando, Gerard F.; Mahon, Steve W.

    1999-06-01

    The aerospace industry has seen a considerably growth in composite usage over the past ten years, especially with the development of cost effective manufacturing techniques such as Resin Transfer Molding and Resin Infusion under Flexible Tooling. The relatively high cost of raw material and conservative processing schedules has limited their growth further in non-aerospace technologies. In-situ process monitoring has been explored for some time as a means to improving the cost efficiency of manufacturing with dielectric spectroscopy and optical fiber sensors being the two primary techniques developed to date. A new emerging technique is discussed here making use of piezoelectric wafers with the ability to sense not only aspects of resin flow but also to detect the change in properties of the resin as it cures. Experimental investigations to date have shown a correlation between mechanical impedance measurements and the mechanical properties of cured epoxy systems with potential for full process monitoring.

  14. Vision-aided Monitoring and Control of Thermal Spray, Spray Forming, and Welding Processes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Agapakis, John E.; Bolstad, Jon

    1993-01-01

    Vision is one of the most powerful forms of non-contact sensing for monitoring and control of manufacturing processes. However, processes involving an arc plasma or flame such as welding or thermal spraying pose particularly challenging problems to conventional vision sensing and processing techniques. The arc or plasma is not typically limited to a single spectral region and thus cannot be easily filtered out optically. This paper presents an innovative vision sensing system that uses intense stroboscopic illumination to overpower the arc light and produce a video image that is free of arc light or glare and dedicated image processing and analysis schemes that can enhance the video images or extract features of interest and produce quantitative process measures which can be used for process monitoring and control. Results of two SBIR programs sponsored by NASA and DOE and focusing on the application of this innovative vision sensing and processing technology to thermal spraying and welding process monitoring and control are discussed.

  15. Neurophysiological correlates of error monitoring and inhibitory processing in juvenile violent offenders.

    PubMed

    Vilà-Balló, Adrià; Hdez-Lafuente, Prado; Rostan, Carles; Cunillera, Toni; Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni

    2014-10-01

    Performance monitoring is crucial for well-adapted behavior. Offenders typically have a pervasive repetition of harmful-impulsive behaviors, despite an awareness of the negative consequences of their actions. However, the link between performance monitoring and aggressive behavior in juvenile offenders has not been closely investigated. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate performance monitoring in juvenile non-psychopathic violent offenders compared with a well-matched control group. Two ERP components associated with error monitoring, error-related negativity (ERN) and error-positivity (Pe), and two components related to inhibitory processing, the stop-N2 and stop-P3 components, were evaluated using a combined flanker-stop-signal task. The results showed that the amplitudes of the ERN, the stop-N2, the stop-P3, and the standard P3 components were clearly reduced in the offenders group. Remarkably, no differences were observed for the Pe. At the behavioral level, slower stop-signal reaction times were identified for offenders, which indicated diminished inhibitory processing. The present results suggest that the monitoring of one's own behavior is affected in juvenile violent offenders. Specifically, we determined that different aspects of executive function were affected in the studied offenders, including error processing (reduced ERN) and response inhibition (reduced N2 and P3). However, error awareness and compensatory post-error adjustment processes (error correction) were unaffected. The current pattern of results highlights the role of performance monitoring in the acquisition and maintenance of externalizing harmful behavior that is frequently observed in juvenile offenders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Pattern-recognition techniques applied to performance monitoring of the DSS 13 34-meter antenna control assembly

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mellstrom, J. A.; Smyth, P.

    1991-01-01

    The results of applying pattern recognition techniques to diagnose fault conditions in the pointing system of one of the Deep Space network's large antennas, the DSS 13 34-meter structure, are discussed. A previous article described an experiment whereby a neural network technique was used to identify fault classes by using data obtained from a simulation model of the Deep Space Network (DSN) 70-meter antenna system. Described here is the extension of these classification techniques to the analysis of real data from the field. The general architecture and philosophy of an autonomous monitoring paradigm is described and classification results are discussed and analyzed in this context. Key features of this approach include a probabilistic time-varying context model, the effective integration of signal processing and system identification techniques with pattern recognition algorithms, and the ability to calibrate the system given limited amounts of training data. Reported here are recognition accuracies in the 97 to 98 percent range for the particular fault classes included in the experiments.

  17. In situ process monitoring in selective laser sintering using optical coherence tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gardner, Michael R.; Lewis, Adam; Park, Jongwan; McElroy, Austin B.; Estrada, Arnold D.; Fish, Scott; Beaman, Joseph J.; Milner, Thomas E.

    2018-04-01

    Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an efficient process in additive manufacturing that enables rapid part production from computer-based designs. However, SLS is limited by its notable lack of in situ process monitoring when compared with other manufacturing processes. We report the incorporation of optical coherence tomography (OCT) into an SLS system in detail and demonstrate access to surface and subsurface features. Video frame rate cross-sectional imaging reveals areas of sintering uniformity and areas of excessive heat error with high temporal resolution. We propose a set of image processing techniques for SLS process monitoring with OCT and report the limitations and obstacles for further OCT integration with SLS systems.

  18. Plasma nitriding monitoring reactor: A model reactor for studying plasma nitriding processes using an active screen

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamann, S.; Börner, K.; Burlacov, I.; Spies, H.-J.; Strämke, M.; Strämke, S.; Röpcke, J.

    2015-12-01

    A laboratory scale plasma nitriding monitoring reactor (PLANIMOR) has been designed to study the basics of active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) processes. PLANIMOR consists of a tube reactor vessel, made of borosilicate glass, enabling optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and infrared absorption spectroscopy. The linear setup of the electrode system of the reactor has the advantages to apply the diagnostic approaches on each part of the plasma process, separately. Furthermore, possible changes of the electrical field and of the heat generation, as they could appear in down-scaled cylindrical ASPN reactors, are avoided. PLANIMOR has been used for the nitriding of steel samples, achieving similar results as in an industrial scale ASPN reactor. A compact spectrometer using an external cavity quantum cascade laser combined with an optical multi-pass cell has been applied for the detection of molecular reaction products. This allowed the determination of the concentrations of four stable molecular species (CH4, C2H2, HCN, and NH3). With the help of OES, the rotational temperature of the screen plasma could be determined.

  19. A framework to monitor activities of satellite data processing in real-time

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nguyen, M. D.; Kryukov, A. P.

    2018-01-01

    Space Monitoring Data Center (SMDC) of SINP MSU is one of the several centers in the world that collects data on the radiational conditions in near-Earth orbit from various Russian (Lomonosov, Electro-L1, Electro-L2, Meteor-M1, Meteor-M2, etc.) and foreign (GOES 13, GOES 15, ACE, SDO, etc.) satellites. The primary purposes of SMDC are: aggregating heterogeneous data from different sources; providing a unified interface for data retrieval, visualization, analysis, as well as development and testing new space weather models; and controlling the correctness and completeness of data. Space weather models rely on data provided by SMDC to produce forecasts. Therefore, monitoring the whole data processing cycle is crucial for further success in the modeling of physical processes in near-Earth orbit based on the collected data. To solve the problem described above, we have developed a framework called Live Monitor at SMDC. Live Monitor allows watching all stages and program components involved in each data processing cycle. All activities of each stage are logged by Live Monitor and shown in real-time on a web interface. When an error occurs, a notification message will be sent to satellite operators via email and the Telegram messenger service so that they could take measures in time. The Live Monitor’s API can be used to create a customized monitoring service with minimum coding.

  20. Conflict monitoring in dual process theories of thinking.

    PubMed

    De Neys, Wim; Glumicic, Tamara

    2008-03-01

    Popular dual process theories have characterized human thinking as an interplay between an intuitive-heuristic and demanding-analytic reasoning process. Although monitoring the output of the two systems for conflict is crucial to avoid decision making errors there are some widely different views on the efficiency of the process. Kahneman [Kahneman, D. (2002). Maps of bounded rationality: A perspective on intuitive judgement and choice. Nobel Prize Lecture. Retrieved January 11, 2006, from: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2002/kahnemann-lecture.pdf] and Evans [Evans, J. St. B. T. (1984). Heuristic and analytic processing in reasoning. British Journal of Psychology, 75, 451-468], for example, claim that the monitoring of the heuristic system is typically quite lax whereas others such as Sloman [Sloman, S. A. (1996). The empirical case for two systems of reasoning. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 3-22] and Epstein [Epstein, S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and psychodynamic unconscious. American Psychologists, 49, 709-724] claim it is flawless and people typically experience a struggle between what they "know" and "feel" in case of a conflict. The present study contrasted these views. Participants solved classic base rate neglect problems while thinking aloud. In these problems a stereotypical description cues a response that conflicts with the response based on the analytic base rate information. Verbal protocols showed no direct evidence for an explicitly experienced conflict. As Kahneman and Evans predicted, participants hardly ever mentioned the base rates and seemed to base their judgment exclusively on heuristic reasoning. However, more implicit measures of conflict detection such as participants' retrieval of the base rate information in an unannounced recall test, decision making latencies, and the tendency to review the base rates indicated that the base rates had been thoroughly processed. On control problems where base rates and

  1. Spatial photosensitizer fluorescence emission predictive analysis for photodynamic therapy monitoring applied to a skin disease

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salas-García, Irene; Fanjul-Vélez, Félix; Arce-Diego, José Luis

    2012-03-01

    The development of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) predictive models has become a valuable tool for an optimal treatment planning, monitoring and dosimetry adjustment. A few attempts have achieved a quite complete characterization of the complex photochemical and photophysical processes involved, even taking into account superficial fluorescence in the target tissue. The present work is devoted to the application of a predictive PDT model to obtain fluorescence tomography information during PDT when applied to a skin disease. The model takes into account the optical radiation distribution, a non-homogeneous topical photosensitizer distribution, the time dependent photochemical interaction and the photosensitizer fluorescence emission. The results show the spatial evolution of the photosensitizer fluorescence emission and the amount of singlet oxygen produced during PDT. The depth dependent photosensitizer fluorescence emission obtained is essential to estimate the spatial photosensitizer concentration and its degradation due to photobleaching. As a consequence the proposed approach could be used to predict the photosensitizer fluorescence tomographic measurements during PDT. The singlet oxygen prediction could also be employed as a valuable tool to predict the short term treatment outcome.

  2. Infrasonic Stethoscope for Monitoring Physiological Processes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zuckerwar, Allan J. (Inventor); Shams, Qamar A. (Inventor); Dimarcantonio, Albert L. (Inventor)

    2018-01-01

    An infrasonic stethoscope for monitoring physiological processes of a patient includes a microphone capable of detecting acoustic signals in the audible frequency bandwidth and in the infrasonic bandwidth (0.03 to 1000 Hertz), a body coupler attached to the body at a first opening in the microphone, a flexible tube attached to the body at a second opening in the microphone, and an earpiece attached to the flexible tube. The body coupler is capable of engagement with a patient to transmit sounds from the person, to the microphone and then to the earpiece.

  3. Infrasonic Stethoscope for Monitoring Physiological Processes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zuckerwar, Allan J. (Inventor); Shams, Qamar A. (Inventor); Dimarcantonio, Albert L. (Inventor)

    2016-01-01

    An infrasonic stethoscope for monitoring physiological processes of a patient includes a microphone capable of detecting acoustic signals in the audible frequency bandwidth and in the infrasonic bandwidth (0.03 to 1000 Hertz), a body coupler attached to the body at a first opening in the microphone, a flexible tube attached to the body at a second opening in the microphone, and an earpiece attached to the flexible tube. The body coupler is capable of engagement with a patient to transmit sounds from the person, to the microphone and then to the earpiece.

  4. Layerwise Monitoring of the Selective Laser Melting Process by Thermography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krauss, Harald; Zeugner, Thomas; Zaeh, Michael F.

    Selective Laser Melting is utilized to build parts directly from CAD data. In this study layerwise monitoring of the temperature distribution is used to gather information about the process stability and the resulting part quality. The heat distribution varies with different kinds of parameters including scan vector length, laser power, layer thickness and inter-part distance in the job layout. By integration of an off-axis mounted uncooled thermal detector, the solidification as well as the layer deposition are monitored and evaluated. This enables the identification of hot spots in an early stage during the solidification process and helps to avoid process interrupts. Potential quality indicators are derived from spatially resolved measurement data and are correlated to the resulting part properties. A model of heat dissipation is presented based on the measurement of the material response for varying heat input. Current results show the feasibility of process surveillance by thermography for a limited section of the building platform in a commercial system.

  5. The future of remote ECG monitoring systems.

    PubMed

    Guo, Shu-Li; Han, Li-Na; Liu, Hong-Wei; Si, Quan-Jin; Kong, De-Feng; Guo, Fu-Su

    2016-09-01

    Remote ECG monitoring systems are becoming commonplace medical devices for remote heart monitoring. In recent years, remote ECG monitoring systems have been applied in the monitoring of various kinds of heart diseases, and the quality of the transmission and reception of the ECG signals during remote process kept advancing. However, there remains accompanying challenges. This report focuses on the three components of the remote ECG monitoring system: patient (the end user), the doctor workstation, and the remote server, reviewing and evaluating the imminent challenges on the wearable systems, packet loss in remote transmission, portable ECG monitoring system, patient ECG data collection system, and ECG signals transmission including real-time processing ST segment, R wave, RR interval and QRS wave, etc. This paper tries to clarify the future developmental strategies of the ECG remote monitoring, which can be helpful in guiding the research and development of remote ECG monitoring.

  6. Why evolutionary biologists should get seriously involved in ecological monitoring and applied biodiversity assessment programs

    PubMed Central

    Brodersen, Jakob; Seehausen, Ole

    2014-01-01

    While ecological monitoring and biodiversity assessment programs are widely implemented and relatively well developed to survey and monitor the structure and dynamics of populations and communities in many ecosystems, quantitative assessment and monitoring of genetic and phenotypic diversity that is important to understand evolutionary dynamics is only rarely integrated. As a consequence, monitoring programs often fail to detect changes in these key components of biodiversity until after major loss of diversity has occurred. The extensive efforts in ecological monitoring have generated large data sets of unique value to macro-scale and long-term ecological research, but the insights gained from such data sets could be multiplied by the inclusion of evolutionary biological approaches. We argue that the lack of process-based evolutionary thinking in ecological monitoring means a significant loss of opportunity for research and conservation. Assessment of genetic and phenotypic variation within and between species needs to be fully integrated to safeguard biodiversity and the ecological and evolutionary dynamics in natural ecosystems. We illustrate our case with examples from fishes and conclude with examples of ongoing monitoring programs and provide suggestions on how to improve future quantitative diversity surveys. PMID:25553061

  7. Real-Time Monitoring of Scada Based Control System for Filling Process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soe, Aung Kyaw; Myint, Aung Naing; Latt, Maung Maung; Theingi

    2008-10-01

    This paper is a design of real-time monitoring for filling system using Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). The monitoring of production process is described in real-time using Visual Basic.Net programming under Visual Studio 2005 software without SCADA software. The software integrators are programmed to get the required information for the configuration screens. Simulation of components is expressed on the computer screen using parallel port between computers and filling devices. The programs of real-time simulation for the filling process from the pure drinking water industry are provided.

  8. Portable spectrometer monitors inert gas shield in welding process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grove, E. L.

    1967-01-01

    Portable spectrometer using photosensitive readouts, monitors the amount of oxygen and hydrogen in the inert gas shield of a tungsten-inert gas welding process. A fiber optic bundle transmits the light from the welding arc to the spectrometer.

  9. Coordinating the Cognitive Processes of Writing: The Role of the Monitor

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Quinlan, Thomas; Loncke, Maaike; Leijten, Marielle; Van Waes, Luuk

    2012-01-01

    Moment to moment, a writer faces a host of potential problems. How does the writer's mind coordinate this problem solving? In the original Hayes and Flower model, the authors posited a distinct process to manage this coordinating--that is, the "monitor." The monitor became responsible for executive function in writing. In two…

  10. Monitoring of laser material processing using machine integrated low-coherence interferometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kunze, Rouwen; König, Niels; Schmitt, Robert

    2017-06-01

    Laser material processing has become an indispensable tool in modern production. With the availability of high power pico- and femtosecond laser sources, laser material processing is advancing into applications, which demand for highest accuracies such as laser micro milling or laser drilling. In order to enable narrow tolerance windows, a closedloop monitoring of the geometrical properties of the processed work piece is essential for achieving a robust manufacturing process. Low coherence interferometry (LCI) is a high-precision measuring principle well-known from surface metrology. In recent years, we demonstrated successful integrations of LCI into several different laser material processing methods. Within this paper, we give an overview about the different machine integration strategies, that always aim at a complete and ideally telecentric integration of the measurement device into the existing beam path of the processing laser. Thus, highly accurate depth measurements within machine coordinates and a subsequent process control and quality assurance are possible. First products using this principle have already found its way to the market, which underlines the potential of this technology for the monitoring of laser material processing.

  11. High-resolution monitoring of nutrients in groundwater and surface waters: process understanding, quantification of loads and concentrations, and management applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Geer, Frans C.; Kronvang, Brian; Broers, Hans Peter

    2016-09-01

    Four sessions on "Monitoring Strategies: temporal trends in groundwater and surface water quality and quantity" at the EGU conferences in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 and a special issue of HESS form the background for this overview of the current state of high-resolution monitoring of nutrients. The overview includes a summary of technologies applied in high-frequency monitoring of nutrients in the special issue. Moreover, we present a new assessment of the objectives behind high-frequency monitoring as classified into three main groups: (i) improved understanding of the underlying hydrological, chemical, and biological processes (PU); (ii) quantification of true nutrient concentrations and loads (Q); and (iii) operational management, including evaluation of the effects of mitigation measures (M). The contributions in the special issue focus on the implementation of high-frequency monitoring within the broader context of policy making and management of water in Europe for support of EU directives such as the Water Framework Directive, the Groundwater Directive, and the Nitrates Directive. The overview presented enabled us to highlight the typical objectives encountered in the application of high-frequency monitoring and to reflect on future developments and research needs in this growing field of expertise.

  12. 40 CFR 63.1429 - Process vent monitoring requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... the presence of a pilot flame. (3) Where a boiler or process heater of less than 44 megawatts design... series are used, a scrubbing liquid flow rate meter, or a pressure monitoring device, equipped with a continuous recorder, is required for each absorber in the series. An owner or operator may submit a request...

  13. 40 CFR 63.1429 - Process vent monitoring requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... the presence of a pilot flame. (3) Where a boiler or process heater of less than 44 megawatts design... series are used, a scrubbing liquid flow rate meter, or a pressure monitoring device, equipped with a continuous recorder, is required for each absorber in the series. An owner or operator may submit a request...

  14. In Situ Acoustic Monitoring of Thermal Spray Process Using High-Frequency Impulse Measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tillmann, Wolfgang; Walther, Frank; Luo, Weifeng; Haack, Matthias; Nellesen, Jens; Knyazeva, Marina

    2018-01-01

    In order to guarantee their protective function, thermal spray coatings must be free from cracks, which expose the substrate surface to, e.g., corrosive media. Cracks in thermal spray coatings are usually formed because of tensile residual stresses. Most commonly, the crack occurrence is determined after the thermal spraying process by examination of metallographic cross sections of the coating. Recent efforts focus on in situ monitoring of crack formation by means of acoustic emission analysis. However, the acoustic signals related to crack propagation can be absorbed by the noise of the thermal spraying process. In this work, a high-frequency impulse measurement technique was applied to separate different acoustic sources by visualizing the characteristic signal of crack formation via quasi-real-time Fourier analysis. The investigations were carried out on a twin wire arc spraying process, utilizing FeCrBSi as a coating material. The impact of the process parameters on the acoustic emission spectrum was studied. Acoustic emission analysis enables to obtain global and integral information on the formed cracks. The coating morphology and coating defects were inspected using light microscopy on metallographic cross sections. Additionally, the resulting crack patterns were imaged in 3D by means of x-ray microtomography.

  15. 40 CFR 63.143 - Process wastewater provisions-inspections and monitoring of operations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ...-inspections and monitoring of operations. 63.143 Section 63.143 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL..., and Wastewater § 63.143 Process wastewater provisions—inspections and monitoring of operations. (a) For each wastewater tank, surface impoundment, container, individual drain system, and oil-water...

  16. 40 CFR 63.143 - Process wastewater provisions-inspections and monitoring of operations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ...-inspections and monitoring of operations. 63.143 Section 63.143 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL..., and Wastewater § 63.143 Process wastewater provisions—inspections and monitoring of operations. (a) For each wastewater tank, surface impoundment, container, individual drain system, and oil-water...

  17. 40 CFR 63.143 - Process wastewater provisions-inspections and monitoring of operations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ...-inspections and monitoring of operations. 63.143 Section 63.143 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL..., and Wastewater § 63.143 Process wastewater provisions—inspections and monitoring of operations. (a) For each wastewater tank, surface impoundment, container, individual drain system, and oil-water...

  18. 40 CFR 63.143 - Process wastewater provisions-inspections and monitoring of operations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ...-inspections and monitoring of operations. 63.143 Section 63.143 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL..., and Wastewater § 63.143 Process wastewater provisions—inspections and monitoring of operations. (a) For each wastewater tank, surface impoundment, container, individual drain system, and oil-water...

  19. Information processing requirements for on-board monitoring of automatic landing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sorensen, J. A.; Karmarkar, J. S.

    1977-01-01

    A systematic procedure is presented for determining the information processing requirements for on-board monitoring of automatic landing systems. The monitoring system detects landing anomalies through use of appropriate statistical tests. The time-to-correct aircraft perturbations is determined from covariance analyses using a sequence of suitable aircraft/autoland/pilot models. The covariance results are used to establish landing safety and a fault recovery operating envelope via an event outcome tree. This procedure is demonstrated with examples using the NASA Terminal Configured Vehicle (B-737 aircraft). The procedure can also be used to define decision height, assess monitoring implementation requirements, and evaluate alternate autoland configurations.

  20. Implications of electric potentials applied on a denitrifying process.

    PubMed

    Cadena Ramírez, Arturo; Texier, Anne-Claire; González, Ignacio; Gómez, Jorge

    2018-03-20

    The effect of three electric potentials (EP) (+104, -187 and -279 mV) applied to the denitrifying process was explored. It was observed that the denitrifying sludge was able to support the oxidation of p-cresol with the application of the EP in the absence of nitrate, but it was unable to drive the denitrification without an organic electron donor. On denitrification, the applied EP uncoupled the oxidative from the reductive process, favoring the p-cresol oxidation over the production of N2. Additionally, biochemical level effects were observed. At +104 and -279 mV potentials, the nitrate and nitrite consumption was affected as well as the p-hydroxybenzoate transformation. However, at -187 mV, effects seemed to occur only on the transport of substrates. This paper presents evidence that denitrification has very characteristic and different physiological behaviors for each EP assayed.

  1. Process simulation during the design process makes the difference: process simulations applied to a traditional design.

    PubMed

    Traversari, Roberto; Goedhart, Rien; Schraagen, Jan Maarten

    2013-01-01

    The objective is evaluation of a traditionally designed operating room using simulation of various surgical workflows. A literature search showed that there is no evidence for an optimal operating room layout regarding the position and size of an ultraclean ventilation (UCV) canopy with a separate preparation room for laying out instruments and in which patients are induced in the operating room itself. Neither was literature found reporting on process simulation being used for this application. Many technical guidelines and designs have mainly evolved over time, and there is no evidence on whether the proposed measures are also effective for the optimization of the layout for workflows. The study was conducted by applying observational techniques to simulated typical surgical procedures. Process simulations which included complete surgical teams and equipment required for the intervention were carried out for four typical interventions. Four observers used a form to record conflicts with the clean area boundaries and the height of the supply bridge. Preferences for particular layouts were discussed with the surgical team after each simulated procedure. We established that a clean area measuring 3 × 3 m and a supply bridge height of 2.05 m was satisfactory for most situations, provided a movable operation table is used. The only cases in which conflicts with the supply bridge were observed were during the use of a surgical robot (Da Vinci) and a surgical microscope. During multiple trauma interventions, bottlenecks regarding the dimensions of the clean area will probably arise. The process simulation of four typical interventions has led to significantly different operating room layouts than were arrived at through the traditional design process. Evidence-based design, human factors, work environment, operating room, traditional design, process simulation, surgical workflowsPreferred Citation: Traversari, R., Goedhart, R., & Schraagen, J. M. (2013). Process

  2. Data-driven monitoring for stochastic systems and its application on batch process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yin, Shen; Ding, Steven X.; Haghani Abandan Sari, Adel; Hao, Haiyang

    2013-07-01

    Batch processes are characterised by a prescribed processing of raw materials into final products for a finite duration and play an important role in many industrial sectors due to the low-volume and high-value products. Process dynamics and stochastic disturbances are inherent characteristics of batch processes, which cause monitoring of batch processes a challenging problem in practice. To solve this problem, a subspace-aided data-driven approach is presented in this article for batch process monitoring. The advantages of the proposed approach lie in its simple form and its abilities to deal with stochastic disturbances and process dynamics existing in the process. The kernel density estimation, which serves as a non-parametric way of estimating the probability density function, is utilised for threshold calculation. An industrial benchmark of fed-batch penicillin production is finally utilised to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  3. A review on remote monitoring technology applied to implantable electronic cardiovascular devices.

    PubMed

    Costa, Paulo Dias; Rodrigues, Pedro Pereira; Reis, António Hipólito; Costa-Pereira, Altamiro

    2010-12-01

    Implantable electronic cardiovascular devices (IECD) include a broad spectrum of devices that have the ability to maintain rhythm, provide cardiac resynchronization therapy, and/or prevent sudden cardiac death. The incidence of bradyarrhythmias and other cardiac problems led to a broader use of IECD, which turned traditional follow-up into an extremely heavy burden for healthcare systems to support. Our aim was to assess the impact of remote monitoring on the follow-up of patients with IECD. We performed a review through PubMed using a specific query. The paper selection process included a three-step approach in which title, abstract, and cross-references were analyzed. Studies were then selected using previously defined inclusion criteria and analyzed according to the country of origin of the study, year, and journal of publication; type of study; and main issues covered. Twenty articles were included in this review. Eighty percent of the selected papers addressed clinical issues, from which 94% referred clinical events identification, clinical stability, time savings, or physician satisfaction as advantages, whereas 38% referred disadvantages that included both legal and technical issues. Forty-five percent of the papers referred patient issues, from which 89% presented advantages, focusing on patient acceptance/satisfaction, and patient time-savings. The main downsides were technical issues but patient privacy was also addressed. All the papers dealing with economic issues (20%) referred both advantages and disadvantages equally. Remote monitoring is presently a safe technology, widely accepted by patients and physicians, for its convenience, reassurance, and diagnostic potential. This review summarizes the principles of remote IECD monitoring presenting the current state-of-the-art. Patient safety and device interaction, applicability of current technology, and limitations of remote IECD monitoring are also addressed. The use of remote monitor should consider

  4. Monitoring of bone regeneration process by means of texture analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kokkinou, E.; Boniatis, I.; Costaridou, L.; Saridis, A.; Panagiotopoulos, E.; Panayiotakis, G.

    2009-09-01

    An image analysis method is proposed for the monitoring of the regeneration of the tibial bone. For this purpose, 130 digitized radiographs of 13 patients, who had undergone tibial lengthening by the Ilizarov method, were studied. For each patient, 10 radiographs, taken at an equal number of postoperative successive time moments, were available. Employing available software, 3 Regions Of Interest (ROIs), corresponding to the: (a) upper, (b) central, and (c) lower aspect of the gap, where bone regeneration was expected to occur, were determined on each radiograph. Employing custom developed algorithms: (i) a number of textural features were generated from each of the ROIs, and (ii) a texture-feature based regression model was designed for the quantitative monitoring of the bone regeneration process. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were derived for the initial and the final textural features values, generated from the first and the last postoperatively obtained radiographs, respectively. A quadratic polynomial regression equation fitted data adequately (r2 = 0.9, p < 0.001). The suggested method may contribute to the monitoring of the tibial bone regeneration process.

  5. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for a real time monitoring of the biogas process.

    PubMed

    Stockl, Andrea; Lichti, Fabian

    2018-01-01

    In this research project Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was applied to monitor the content of specific process parameters in anaerobic digestion. A laboratory scaled biogas digester was constantly fed every four hours with maize- and grass silage to keep a base load with an organic loading rate (OLR) of 2.5 kg oDM/m 3  ∗ d. Daily impact loads with shredded wheat up to an OLR of 8 kg oDM/m 3  ∗ d were added in order to generate peaks at the parameters tested. The developed calibration models are capable to show changes in process parameters like volatile fatty acids (VFA), propionic acid, total inorganic carbon (TIC) and the ratio of the volatile fatty acids to the carbonate buffer (VFA/TIC). Based on the calibration of the models for VFA and TIC, the values could be predicted with an R 2 of 0.94 and 0.97, respectively. Moreover, the residual prediction deviations were 4.0 and 6.0 for VFA and TIC, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Using process monitor wafers to understand directed self-assembly defects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, Yi; Her, YoungJun; Delgadillo, Paulina R.; Vandenbroeck, Nadia; Gronheid, Roel; Chan, Boon Teik; Hashimoto, Yukio; Romo, Ainhoa; Somervell, Mark; Nafus, Kathleen; Nealey, Paul F.

    2013-03-01

    As directed self-assembly (DSA) has gained momentum over the past few years, questions about its application to high volume manufacturing have arisen. One of the major concerns is about the fundamental limits of defectivity that can be attained with the technology. If DSA applications demonstrate defectivity that rivals of traditional lithographic technologies, the pathway to the cost benefits of the technology creates a very compelling case for its large scale implementation. To address this critical question, our team at IMEC has established a process monitor flow to track the defectivity behaviors of an exemplary chemo-epitaxy application for printing line/space patterns. Through establishing this baseline, we have been able to understand both traditional lithographic defect sources in new materials as well as new classes of assembly defects associated with DSA technology. Moreover, we have explored new materials and processing to lower the level of the defectivity baseline. The robustness of the material sets and process is investigated as well. In this paper, we will report the understandings learned from the IMEC DSA process monitor flow.

  7. Interoperability for Space Mission Monitor and Control: Applying Technologies from Manufacturing Automation and Process Control Industries

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Michael K.

    1998-01-01

    Various issues associated with interoperability for space mission monitor and control are presented in viewgraph form. Specific topics include: 1) Space Project Mission Operations Control Architecture (SuperMOCA) goals and methods for achieving them; 2) Specifics on the architecture: open standards ad layering, enhancing interoperability, and promoting commercialization; 3) An advertisement; 4) Status of the task - government/industry cooperation and architecture and technology demonstrations; and 5) Key features of messaging services and virtual devices.

  8. Coating process optimization through in-line monitoring for coating weight gain using Raman spectroscopy and design of experiments.

    PubMed

    Kim, Byungsuk; Woo, Young-Ah

    2018-05-30

    In this study the authors developed a real-time Process Analytical Technology (PAT) of a coating process by applying in-line Raman spectroscopy to evaluate the coating weight gain, which is a quantitative analysis of the film coating layer. The wide area illumination (WAI) Raman probe was connected to the pan coater for real-time monitoring of changes in the weight gain of coating layers. Under the proposed in-line Raman scheme, a non-contact, non-destructive analysis was performed using WAI Raman probes with a spot size of 6 mm. The in-line Raman probe maintained a focal length of 250 mm, and a compressed air line was designed to protect the lens surface from spray droplets. The Design of Experiment (DOE) was applied to identify factors affecting the Raman spectra background of laser irradiation. The factors selected for DOE were the strength of compressed air connected to the probe, and the shielding of light by the transparent door connecting the probe to the pan coater. To develop a quantitative model, partial least squares (PLS) models as multivariate calibration were developed based on the three regions showing the specificity of TiO 2 individually or in combination. For the three single peaks (636 cm -1 , 512 cm -1 , 398 cm -1 ), least squares method (LSM) was applied to develop three univariate quantitative analysis models. One of best multivariate quantitative model having a factor of 1 gave the lowest RMSEP of 0.128, 0.129, and 0.125, respectively for prediction batches. When LSM was applied to the single peak at 636 cm -1 , the univariate quantitative model with an R 2 of 0.9863, slope of 0.5851, and y-intercept of 0.8066 had the lowest RMSEP of 0.138, 0.144, and 0.153, respectively for prediction batches. The in-line Raman spectroscopic method for the analysis of coating weight gain was verified by considering system suitability and parameters such as specificity, range, linearity, accuracy, and precision in accordance with ICH Q2 regarding

  9. Monitoring in the nearshore: A process for making reasoned decisions

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bodkin, James L.; Dean, T.A.

    2003-01-01

    Over the past several years, a conceptual framework for the GEM nearshore monitoring program has been developed through a series of workshops. However, details of the proposed monitoring program, e.g. what to sample, where to sample, when to sample and at how many sites, have yet to be determined. In FY 03 we were funded under Project 03687 to outline a process whereby specific alternatives to monitoring are developed and presented to the EVOS Trustee Council for consideration. As part of this process, two key elements are required before reasoned decisions can be made. These are: 1) a comprehensive historical perspective of locations and types of past studies conducted in the nearshore marine communities within Gulf of Alaska, and 2) estimates of costs for each element of a proposed monitoring program. We have developed a GIS database that details available information from past studies of selected nearshore habitats and species in the Gulf of Alaska and provide a visual means of selecting sites based (in part) on the locations for which historical data of interest are available. We also provide cost estimates for specific monitoring plan alternatives and outline several alternative plans that can be accomplished within reasonable budgetary constraints. The products that we will provide are: 1) A GIS database and maps showing the location and types of information available from the nearshore in the Gulf of Alaska; 2) A list of several specific monitoring alternatives that can be conducted within reasonable budgetary constraints; and 3) Cost estimates for proposed tasks to be conducted as part of the nearshore program. Because data compilation and management will not be completed until late in FY03 we are requesting support for close-out of this project in FY 04.

  10. Plasma nitriding monitoring reactor: A model reactor for studying plasma nitriding processes using an active screen

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

    Hamann, S., E-mail: hamann@inp-greifswald.de; Röpcke, J.; Börner, K.

    2015-12-15

    A laboratory scale plasma nitriding monitoring reactor (PLANIMOR) has been designed to study the basics of active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) processes. PLANIMOR consists of a tube reactor vessel, made of borosilicate glass, enabling optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and infrared absorption spectroscopy. The linear setup of the electrode system of the reactor has the advantages to apply the diagnostic approaches on each part of the plasma process, separately. Furthermore, possible changes of the electrical field and of the heat generation, as they could appear in down-scaled cylindrical ASPN reactors, are avoided. PLANIMOR has been used for the nitriding of steelmore » samples, achieving similar results as in an industrial scale ASPN reactor. A compact spectrometer using an external cavity quantum cascade laser combined with an optical multi-pass cell has been applied for the detection of molecular reaction products. This allowed the determination of the concentrations of four stable molecular species (CH{sub 4}, C{sub 2}H{sub 2}, HCN, and NH{sub 3}). With the help of OES, the rotational temperature of the screen plasma could be determined.« less

  11. Oxidation management of white wines using cyclic voltammetry and multivariate process monitoring.

    PubMed

    Martins, Rui C; Oliveira, Raquel; Bento, Fatima; Geraldo, Dulce; Lopes, Vitor V; Guedes de Pinho, Paula; Oliveira, Carla M; Silva Ferreira, Antonio C

    2008-12-24

    The development of a fingerprinting strategy capable to evaluate the "oxidation status" of white wines based on cyclic voltammetry is proposed here. It is known that the levels of specific antioxidants and redox mechanisms may be evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. This electrochemical technique was applied on two sets of samples. One group was composed of normal aged white wines and a second group obtained from a white wine forced aging protocol with different oxygen, SO(2), pH, and temperature regimens. A study of antioxidant additions, namely ascorbic acid, was also made in order to establish a statistical link between voltammogram fingerprints and chemical antioxidant substances. It was observed that the oxidation curve presented typical features, which enables sample discrimination according to age, oxygen consumption, and antioxidant additions. In fact, it was possible to place the results into four significant orthogonal directions, compressing 99.8% of nonrandom features. Attempts were made to make voltammogram fingerprinting a tool for monitoring oxidation management. For this purpose, a supervised multivariate control chart was developed using a control sample as reference. When white wines are plotted onto the chart, it is possible to monitor the oxidation status and to diagnose the effects of oxygen regimes and antioxidant activity. Finally, quantification of substances implicated in the oxidation process as reagents (antioxidants) and products (off-flavors) was tried using a supervised algorithmic the partial least square regression analysis. Good correlations (r > 0.93) were observed for ascorbic acid, Folin-Ciocalteu index, total SO(2), methional, and phenylacetaldehyde. These results show that cyclic voltammetry fingerprinting can be used to monitor and diagnose the effects of wine oxidation.

  12. Processing inferences derived from event-related potential measures in a monitoring task

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Horst, R. L.; Munson, R. C.; Ruchkin, D. S.

    1985-01-01

    Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from the scalp of subjects as they monitored changing digital readouts for values that went 'out-of-bounds'. Workload was manipulated by varying the number of readouts that were monitored concurrently. The ERPs elicited by changes in the readouts showed long latency positivities that increased in amplitude, not only with the number of readouts monitored, but also with the number of monitored readouts that were 'in danger' of going out-of-bounds. No effects were found due to the number of nonmonitored readouts 'in danger'. This evidence indicates that subjects (1) selectively attended to the monitored readouts and (2) processed the monitored readouts differently as the readouts approached the out-of-bounds levels to which an overt response was required.

  13. Ultrasonic and densimetric titration applied for acid-base reactions.

    PubMed

    Burakowski, Andrzej; Gliński, Jacek

    2014-01-01

    Classical acoustic acid-base titration was monitored using sound speed and density measurements. Plots of these parameters, as well as of the adiabatic compressibility coefficient calculated from them, exhibit changes with the volume of added titrant. Compressibility changes can be explained and quantitatively predicted theoretically in terms of Pasynski theory of non-compressible hydrates combined with that of the additivity of the hydration numbers with the amount and type of ions and molecules present in solution. It also seems that this development could be applied in chemical engineering for monitoring the course of chemical processes, since the applied experimental methods can be carried out almost independently on the medium under test (harmful, aggressive, etc.).

  14. An MFC-Based Online Monitoring and Alert System for Activated Sludge Process

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Gui-Hua; Wang, Yun-Kun; Sheng, Guo-Ping; Mu, Yang; Yu, Han-Qing

    2014-01-01

    In this study, based on a simple, compact and submersible microbial fuel cell (MFC), a novel online monitoring and alert system with self-diagnosis function was established for the activated sludge (AS) process. Such a submersible MFC utilized organic substrates and oxygen in the AS reactor as the electron donor and acceptor respectively, and could provide an evaluation on the status of the AS reactor and thus give a reliable early warning of potential risks. In order to evaluate the reliability and sensitivity of this online monitoring and alert system, a series of tests were conducted to examine the response of this system to various shocks imposed on the AS reactor. The results indicate that this online monitoring and alert system was highly sensitive to the performance variations of the AS reactor. The stability, sensitivity and repeatability of this online system provide feasibility of being incorporated into current control systems of wastewater treatment plants to real-time monitor, diagnose, alert and control the AS process. PMID:25345502

  15. Research on signal processing method for total organic carbon of water quality online monitor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, R.; Xie, Z. X.; Chu, D. Z.; Zhang, S. W.; Cao, X.; Wu, N.

    2017-08-01

    At present, there is no rapid, stable and effective approach of total organic carbon (TOC) measurement in the Marine environmental online monitoring field. Therefore, this paper proposes an online TOC monitor of chemiluminescence signal processing method. The weak optical signal detected by photomultiplier tube can be enhanced and converted by a series of signal processing module: phase-locked amplifier module, fourth-order band pass filter module and AD conversion module. After a long time of comparison test & measurement, compared with the traditional method, on the premise of sufficient accuracy, this chemiluminescence signal processing method can offer greatly improved measuring speed and high practicability for online monitoring.

  16. Geophysical Monitoring of Geodynamic Processes of Central Armenia Earth Crust

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Avetyan, R.; Pashayan, R.

    2016-12-01

    The method of geophysical monitoring of earth crust was introduced. It allows by continuous supervision to track modern geodynamic processes of Armenia. Methodological practices of monitoring come down to allocation of a signal which reflects deformation of rocks. The indicators of deformations are not only deviations of geophysical indicators from certain background values, but also parameters of variations of these indicators. Data on changes of parameters of barometric efficiency and saw tooth oscillations of underground water level before seismic events were received. Low-amplitude periodic fluctuations of water level are the reflection of geodynamic processes taking place in upper levels of earth crust. There were recorded fluctuations of underground water level resulting from luni-solar tides and enabling to control the systems of borehole-bed in changes of voluminous deformations. The slow lowering (raising) of underground water level in the form of trend reflects long-period changes of stress-deformative state of environment. Application of method promotes identification of medium-term precursors on anomalous events of variations of geomagnetic field, change of content of subsoil radon, dynamics of level of underground water, geochemistry and water temperature. Increase of activity of geodynamic processes in Central Armenian tectonic complex is observed to change macro component Na+, Ca2+, Mg2-, CL-, SO42-, HCO3-, H4SiO4, pH and gas - CO2 structure of mineral water. Modern geodynamic movements of earth crust of Armenia are the result of seismic processes and active geodynamics of deep faults of longitudinal and transversal stretching. Key Words: monitoring, hydrogeodynamics, geomagnetic field, seismicity, deformation, earth crust

  17. Processing and Quality Monitoring for the ATLAS Tile Hadronic Calorimeter Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burghgrave, Blake; ATLAS Collaboration

    2017-10-01

    An overview is presented of Data Processing and Data Quality (DQ) Monitoring for the ATLAS Tile Hadronic Calorimeter. Calibration runs are monitored from a data quality perspective and used as a cross-check for physics runs. Data quality in physics runs is monitored extensively and continuously. Any problems are reported and immediately investigated. The DQ efficiency achieved was 99.6% in 2012 and 100% in 2015, after the detector maintenance in 2013-2014. Changes to detector status or calibrations are entered into the conditions database (DB) during a brief calibration loop between the end of a run and the beginning of bulk processing of data collected in it. Bulk processed data are reviewed and certified for the ATLAS Good Run List if no problem is detected. Experts maintain the tools used by DQ shifters and the calibration teams during normal operation, and prepare new conditions for data reprocessing and Monte Carlo (MC) production campaigns. Conditions data are stored in 3 databases: Online DB, Offline DB for data and a special DB for Monte Carlo. Database updates can be performed through a custom-made web interface.

  18. Study on the multi-sensors monitoring and information fusion technology of dangerous cargo container

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Shibo; Zhang, Shuhui; Cao, Wensheng

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, monitoring system of dangerous cargo container based on multi-sensors is presented. In order to improve monitoring accuracy, multi-sensors will be applied inside of dangerous cargo container. Multi-sensors information fusion solution of monitoring dangerous cargo container is put forward, and information pre-processing, the fusion algorithm of homogenous sensors and information fusion based on BP neural network are illustrated, applying multi-sensors in the field of container monitoring has some novelty.

  19. Electrochemical microfluidic chip based on molecular imprinting technique applied for therapeutic drug monitoring.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jiang; Zhang, Yu; Jiang, Min; Tian, Liping; Sun, Shiguo; Zhao, Na; Zhao, Feilang; Li, Yingchun

    2017-05-15

    In this work, a novel electrochemical detection platform was established by integrating molecularly imprinting technique with microfluidic chip and applied for trace measurement of three therapeutic drugs. The chip foundation is acrylic panel with designed grooves. In the detection cell of the chip, a Pt wire is used as the counter electrode and reference electrode, and a Au-Ag alloy microwire (NPAMW) with 3D nanoporous surface modified with electro-polymerized molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film as the working electrode. Detailed characterization of the chip and the working electrode was performed, and the properties were explored by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Two methods, respectively based on electrochemical catalysis and MIP/gate effect were employed for detecting warfarin sodium by using the prepared chip. The linearity of electrochemical catalysis method was in the range of 5×10 -6 -4×10 -4 M, which fails to meet clinical testing demand. By contrast, the linearity of gate effect was 2×10 -11 -4×10 -9 M with remarkably low detection limit of 8×10 -12 M (S/N=3), which is able to satisfy clinical assay. Then the system was applied for 24-h monitoring of drug concentration in plasma after administration of warfarin sodium in rabbit, and the corresponding pharmacokinetic parameters were obtained. In addition, the microfluidic chip was successfully adopted to analyze cyclophosphamide and carbamazepine, implying its good versatile ability. It is expected that this novel electrochemical microfluidic chip can act as a promising format for point-of-care testing via monitoring different analytes sensitively and conveniently. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Signal processing methodologies for an acoustic fetal heart rate monitor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pretlow, Robert A., III; Stoughton, John W.

    1992-01-01

    Research and development is presented of real time signal processing methodologies for the detection of fetal heart tones within a noise-contaminated signal from a passive acoustic sensor. A linear predictor algorithm is utilized for detection of the heart tone event and additional processing derives heart rate. The linear predictor is adaptively 'trained' in a least mean square error sense on generic fetal heart tones recorded from patients. A real time monitor system is described which outputs to a strip chart recorder for plotting the time history of the fetal heart rate. The system is validated in the context of the fetal nonstress test. Comparisons are made with ultrasonic nonstress tests on a series of patients. Comparative data provides favorable indications of the feasibility of the acoustic monitor for clinical use.

  1. A Tutorial Design Process Applied to an Introductory Materials Engineering Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosenblatt, Rebecca; Heckler, Andrew F.; Flores, Katharine

    2013-01-01

    We apply a "tutorial design process", which has proven to be successful for a number of physics topics, to design curricular materials or "tutorials" aimed at improving student understanding of important concepts in a university-level introductory materials science and engineering course. The process involves the identification…

  2. [Monitoring method for macroporous resin column chromatography process of salvianolic acids based on near infrared spectroscopy].

    PubMed

    Hou, Xiang-Mei; Zhang, Lei; Yue, Hong-Shui; Ju, Ai-Chun; Ye, Zheng-Liang

    2016-07-01

    To study and establish a monitoring method for macroporous resin column chromatography process of salvianolic acids by using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) as a process analytical technology (PAT).The multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) model was developed based on 7 normal operation batches, and 2 test batches (including one normal operation batch and one abnormal operation batch) were used to verify the monitoring performance of this model. The results showed that MSPC model had a good monitoring ability for the column chromatography process. Meanwhile, NIR quantitative calibration model was established for three key quality indexes (rosmarinic acid, lithospermic acid and salvianolic acid B) by using partial least squares (PLS) algorithm. The verification results demonstrated that this model had satisfactory prediction performance. The combined application of the above two models could effectively achieve real-time monitoring for macroporous resin column chromatography process of salvianolic acids, and can be used to conduct on-line analysis of key quality indexes. This established process monitoring method could provide reference for the development of process analytical technology for traditional Chinese medicines manufacturing. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  3. A guide to processing bat acoustic data for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Reichert, Brian; Lausen, Cori; Loeb, Susan; Weller, Ted; Allen, Ryan; Britzke, Eric; Hohoff, Tara; Siemers, Jeremy; Burkholder, Braden; Herzog, Carl; Verant, Michelle

    2018-06-14

    The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) aims to improve the state of conservation science for all species of bats shared by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. To accomplish this goal, NABat offers guidance and standardized protocols for acoustic monitoring of bats. In this document, “A Guide to Processing Bat Acoustic Data for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat),” we provide general recommendations and specific workflows for the process of identifying bat species from acoustic files recorded using the NABat stationary point and mobile transect acoustic monitoring protocols.

  4. Process monitoring and control with CHEMIN, a miniaturized CCD-based instrument for simultaneous XRD/XRF analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vaniman, David T.; Bish, D.; Guthrie, G.; Chipera, S.; Blake, David E.; Collins, S. Andy; Elliott, S. T.; Sarrazin, P.

    1999-10-01

    There is a large variety of mining and manufacturing operations where process monitoring and control can benefit from on-site analysis of both chemical and mineralogic constituents. CHEMIN is a CCD-based instrument capable of both X-ray fluorescence (XRF; chemical) and X-ray diffraction (XRD; mineralogic) analysis. Monitoring and control with an instrument like CHEMIN can be applied to feedstocks, intermediate materials, and final products to optimize production. Examples include control of cement feedstock, of ore for smelting, and of minerals that pose inhalation hazards in the workplace. The combined XRD/XRF capability of CHEMIN can be used wherever a desired commodity is associated with unwanted constituents that may be similar in chemistry or structure but not both (e.g., Ca in both gypsum and feldspar, where only the gypsum is desired to make wallboard). In the mining industry, CHEMIN can determine mineral abundances on the spot and enable more economical mining by providing the means to assay when is being mined, quickly and frequently, at minimal cost. In manufacturing, CHEMIN could be used to spot-check the chemical composition and crystalline makeup of a product at any stage of production. Analysis by CHEMIN can be used as feedback in manufacturing processes where rates of heating, process temperature, mixture of feedstocks, and other variables must be adjusted in real time to correct structure and/or chemistry of the product (e.g., prevention of periclase and alkali sulfate coproduction in cement manufacture).

  5. Characterization of Used Nuclear Fuel with Multivariate Analysis for Process Monitoring

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

    Dayman, Kenneth J.; Coble, Jamie B.; Orton, Christopher R.

    2014-01-01

    The Multi-Isotope Process (MIP) Monitor combines gamma spectroscopy and multivariate analysis to detect anomalies in various process streams in a nuclear fuel reprocessing system. Measured spectra are compared to models of nominal behavior at each measurement location to detect unexpected changes in system behavior. In order to improve the accuracy and specificity of process monitoring, fuel characterization may be used to more accurately train subsequent models in a full analysis scheme. This paper presents initial development of a reactor-type classifier that is used to select a reactor-specific partial least squares model to predict fuel burnup. Nuclide activities for prototypic usedmore » fuel samples were generated in ORIGEN-ARP and used to investigate techniques to characterize used nuclear fuel in terms of reactor type (pressurized or boiling water reactor) and burnup. A variety of reactor type classification algorithms, including k-nearest neighbors, linear and quadratic discriminant analyses, and support vector machines, were evaluated to differentiate used fuel from pressurized and boiling water reactors. Then, reactor type-specific partial least squares models were developed to predict the burnup of the fuel. Using these reactor type-specific models instead of a model trained for all light water reactors improved the accuracy of burnup predictions. The developed classification and prediction models were combined and applied to a large dataset that included eight fuel assembly designs, two of which were not used in training the models, and spanned the range of the initial 235U enrichment, cooling time, and burnup values expected of future commercial used fuel for reprocessing. Error rates were consistent across the range of considered enrichment, cooling time, and burnup values. Average absolute relative errors in burnup predictions for validation data both within and outside the training space were 0.0574% and 0.0597%, respectively. The errors seen in

  6. Performance Measurement of Location Enabled e-Government Processes: A Use Case on Traffic Safety Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vandenbroucke, D.; Vancauwenberghe, G.

    2016-12-01

    The European Union Location Framework (EULF), as part of the Interoperable Solutions for European Public Administrations (ISA) Programme of the EU (EC DG DIGIT), aims to enhance the interactions between governments, businesses and citizens by embedding location information into e-Government processes. The challenge remains to find scientific sound and at the same time practicable approaches to estimate or measure the impact of location enablement of e-Government processes on the performance of the processes. A method has been defined to estimate process performance in terms of variables describing the efficiency, effectiveness, as well as the quality of the output of the work processes. A series of use cases have been identified, corresponding to existing e-Government work processes in which location information could bring added value. In a first step, the processes are described by means of BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) to better understand the process steps, the actors involved, the spatial data flows, as well as the required input and the generated output. In a second step the processes are assessed in terms of the (sub-optimal) use of location information and the potential enhancement of the process by better integrating location information and services. The process performance is measured ex ante (before using location enabled e-Government services) and ex-post (after the integration of such services) in order to estimate and measure the impact of location information. The paper describes the method for performance measurement and highlights how the method is applied to one use case, i.e. the process of traffic safety monitoring. The use case is analysed and assessed in terms of location enablement and its potential impact on process performance. The results of applying the methodology on the use case revealed that performance is highly impacted by factors such as the way location information is collected, managed and shared throughout the

  7. Linear friction weld process monitoring of fixture cassette deformations using empirical mode decomposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bakker, O. J.; Gibson, C.; Wilson, P.; Lohse, N.; Popov, A. A.

    2015-10-01

    Due to its inherent advantages, linear friction welding is a solid-state joining process of increasing importance to the aerospace, automotive, medical and power generation equipment industries. Tangential oscillations and forge stroke during the burn-off phase of the joining process introduce essential dynamic forces, which can also be detrimental to the welding process. Since burn-off is a critical phase in the manufacturing stage, process monitoring is fundamental for quality and stability control purposes. This study aims to improve workholding stability through the analysis of fixture cassette deformations. Methods and procedures for process monitoring are developed and implemented in a fail-or-pass assessment system for fixture cassette deformations during the burn-off phase. Additionally, the de-noised signals are compared to results from previous production runs. The observed deformations as a consequence of the forces acting on the fixture cassette are measured directly during the welding process. Data on the linear friction-welding machine are acquired and de-noised using empirical mode decomposition, before the burn-off phase is extracted. This approach enables a direct, objective comparison of the signal features with trends from previous successful welds. The capacity of the whole process monitoring system is validated and demonstrated through the analysis of a large number of signals obtained from welding experiments.

  8. Applying a Qualitative Modeling Shell to Process Diagnosis: The Caster System.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-03-01

    Process Diagnosis: The Caster System by Timothy F. Thompson and William J. Clancey Department of Computer Science Stanford University Stanford, CA 94303...MODELING SHELL TO PROCESS DIAGNOSIS: THE CASTER SYSTEM 12 PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) TIMOTHY F. THOMPSON. WESTINGHOUSE R&D CENTER, WILLIAM CLANCEY, STANFORD...editions are obsolete. Applying a Qualitative Modeling Shell to Process Diagnosis: The Caster System by Timothy F. Thompson, Westinghouse R&D Center

  9. An experimental work on wireless structural health monitoring system applying on a submarine model scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nugroho, W. H.; Purnomo, N. J. H.; Soedarto, T.

    2016-11-01

    This paper presents an experimental work to monitor the health of submarine hull structures using strain sensors and wireless communication technology. The monitored - submarine hull was built in a hydro elastic model scale 1: 30 with a steel bar backbone and tested on water tank of Indonesian Hydrodynamic Laboratory (IHL). Specifically, this health monitoring system for the submarine model was developed using wireless modems, data communication software and conventional strain sensors. This system was used to monitor the loads on a steel bar backbone of the running submarine model from the edge of the water tank. Commands were issued from a notebook to instruct the health monitoring system to acquire data from sensors mounted externally to the steel bar. Data from measurements made on the structure are then transmitted wirelessly back to a notebook computer for processing and analysis. The results of the tank test have been validated and showed no loss of communication signal over an area of the tank. This work also presents a potential use of involving complete automation of this system with an in-service structure coupled with an on-line warning/damage detection capability.

  10. THE APPLICATION OF JET REMPI/TOFMS TO REAL-TIME MONITORING OF DIOXINS

    EPA Science Inventory

    An advanced rapid monitoring technology, Jet Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization, (Jet REMPI) is being applied to the measurement of air toxics, including chlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans (CDD/CDF), for mechanistic understanding, process monitoring, and regulat...

  11. System and process for pulsed multiple reaction monitoring

    DOEpatents

    Belov, Mikhail E

    2013-05-17

    A new pulsed multiple reaction monitoring process and system are disclosed that uses a pulsed ion injection mode for use in conjunction with triple-quadrupole instruments. The pulsed injection mode approach reduces background ion noise at the detector, increases amplitude of the ion signal, and includes a unity duty cycle that provides a significant sensitivity increase for reliable quantitation of proteins/peptides present at attomole levels in highly complex biological mixtures.

  12. Monitoring and control of amygdala neurofeedback involves distributed information processing in the human brain.

    PubMed

    Paret, Christian; Zähringer, Jenny; Ruf, Matthias; Gerchen, Martin Fungisai; Mall, Stephanie; Hendler, Talma; Schmahl, Christian; Ende, Gabriele

    2018-03-30

    Brain-computer interfaces provide conscious access to neural activity by means of brain-derived feedback ("neurofeedback"). An individual's abilities to monitor and control feedback are two necessary processes for effective neurofeedback therapy, yet their underlying functional neuroanatomy is still being debated. In this study, healthy subjects received visual feedback from their amygdala response to negative pictures. Activation and functional connectivity were analyzed to disentangle the role of brain regions in different processes. Feedback monitoring was mapped to the thalamus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), ventral striatum (VS), and rostral PFC. The VS responded to feedback corresponding to instructions while rPFC activity differentiated between conditions and predicted amygdala regulation. Control involved the lateral PFC, anterior cingulate, and insula. Monitoring and control activity overlapped in the VS and thalamus. Extending current neural models of neurofeedback, this study introduces monitoring and control of feedback as anatomically dissociated processes, and suggests their important role in voluntary neuromodulation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. PSP SAR interferometry monitoring of ground and structure deformations applied to archaeological sites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Costantini, Mario; Francioni, Elena; Trillo, Francesco; Minati, Federico; Margottini, Claudio; Spizzichino, Daniele; Trigila, Alessandro; Iadanza, Carla

    2017-04-01

    Archaeological sites and cultural heritage are considered as critical assets for the society, representing not only the history of region or a culture, but also contributing to create a common identity of people living in a certain region. In this view, it is becoming more and more urgent to preserve them from climate changes effect and in general from their degradation. These structures are usually just as precious as fragile: remote sensing technology can be useful to monitor these treasures. In this work, we will focus on ground deformation measurements obtained by satellite SAR interferometry and on the methodology adopted and implemented in order to use the results operatively for conservation policies in a Italian archaeological site. The analysis is based on the processing of COSMO-SkyMed Himage data by the e-GEOS proprietary Persistent Scatterer Pair (PSP) SAR interferometry technology. The PSP technique is a proven SAR interferometry technology characterized by the fact of exploiting in the processing only the relative properties between close points (pairs) in order to overcome atmospheric artefacts (which are one of the main problems of SAR interferometry). Validations analyses [Costantini et al. 2015] settled that this technique applied to COSMO-SkyMed Himage data is able to retrieve very dense (except of course on vegetated or cultivated areas) millimetric deformation measurements with sub-metric localization. Considering the limitations of all the interferometric techniques, in particular the fact that the measurement are along the line of sight (LOS) and the geometric distortions, in order to obtain the maximum information from interferometric analysis, both ascending and descending geometry have been used. The ascending analysis allows selecting measurements points over the top and, approximately, South-West part of the structures, while the descending one over the top and the South-East part of the structures. The interferometric techniques needs

  14. Modular Subsea Monitoring Network (MSM) - Realizing Integrated Environmental Monitoring Solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mosch, Thomas; Fietzek, Peer

    2016-04-01

    In a variety of scientific and industrial application areas, ranging i.e. from the supervision of hydrate fields over the detection and localization of fugitive emissions from subsea oil and gas production to fish farming, fixed point observatories are useful and applied means. They monitor the water column and/or are placed at the sea floor over long periods of time. They are essential oceanographic platforms for providing valuable long-term time series data and multi-parameter measurements. Various mooring and observatory endeavors world-wide contribute valuable data needed for understanding our planet's ocean systems and biogeochemical processes. Continuously powered cabled observatories enable real-time data transmission from spots of interest close to the shore or to ocean infrastructures. Independent of the design of the observatories they all rely on sensors which demands for regular maintenance. This work is in most cases associated with cost-intensive maintenance on a regular time basis for the entire sensor carrying fixed platform. It is mandatory to encounter this asset for long-term monitoring by enhancing hardware efficiency. On the basis of two examples of use from the area of hydrate monitoring (off Norway and Japan) we will present the concept of the Modular Subsea Monitoring Network (MSM). The modular, scalable and networking capabilities of the MSM allow for an easy adaptation to different monitoring tasks. Providing intelligent power management, combining chemical and acoustical sensors, adaptation of the payload according to the monitoring tasks, autonomous powering, modular design for easy transportation, storage and mobilization, Vessel of Opportunity-borne launching and recovery capability with a video-guided launcher system and a rope recovery system are key facts addressed during the development of the MSM. Step by step the MSM concept applied to the observatory hardware will also be extended towards the gathered data to maximize the

  15. [Near infrared spectroscopy based process trajectory technology and its application in monitoring and controlling of traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing process].

    PubMed

    Li, Wen-Long; Qu, Hai-Bin

    2016-10-01

    In this paper, the principle of NIRS (near infrared spectroscopy)-based process trajectory technology was introduced.The main steps of the technique include:① in-line collection of the processes spectra of different technics; ② unfolding of the 3-D process spectra;③ determination of the process trajectories and their normal limits;④ monitoring of the new batches with the established MSPC (multivariate statistical process control) models.Applications of the technology in the chemical and biological medicines were reviewed briefly. By a comprehensive introduction of our feasibility research on the monitoring of traditional Chinese medicine technical process using NIRS-based multivariate process trajectories, several important problems of the practical applications which need urgent solutions are proposed, and also the application prospect of the NIRS-based process trajectory technology is fully discussed and put forward in the end. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  16. Secure VM for Monitoring Industrial Process Controllers

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

    Dasgupta, Dipankar; Ali, Mohammad Hassan; Abercrombie, Robert K

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we examine the biological immune system as an autonomic system for self-protection, which has evolved over millions of years probably through extensive redesigning, testing, tuning and optimization process. The powerful information processing capabilities of the immune system, such as feature extraction, pattern recognition, learning, memory, and its distributive nature provide rich metaphors for its artificial counterpart. Our study focuses on building an autonomic defense system, using some immunological metaphors for information gathering, analyzing, decision making and launching threat and attack responses. In order to detection Stuxnet like malware, we propose to include a secure VM (or dedicatedmore » host) to the SCADA Network to monitor behavior and all software updates. This on-going research effort is not to mimic the nature but to explore and learn valuable lessons useful for self-adaptive cyber defense systems.« less

  17. Monitoring of the data processing and simulated production at CMS with a web-based service: the Production Monitoring Platform (pMp)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Franzoni, G.; Norkus, A.; Pol, A. A.; Srimanobhas, N.; Walker, J.

    2017-10-01

    Physics analysis at the Compact Muon Solenoid requires both the production of simulated events and processing of the data collected by the experiment. Since the end of the LHC Run-I in 2012, CMS has produced over 20 billion simulated events, from 75 thousand processing requests organised in one hundred different campaigns. These campaigns emulate different configurations of collision events, the detector, and LHC running conditions. In the same time span, sixteen data processing campaigns have taken place to reconstruct different portions of the Run-I and Run-II data with ever improving algorithms and calibrations. The scale and complexity of the events simulation and processing, and the requirement that multiple campaigns must proceed in parallel, demand that a comprehensive, frequently updated and easily accessible monitoring be made available. The monitoring must serve both the analysts, who want to know which and when datasets will become available, and the central production teams in charge of submitting, prioritizing, and running the requests across the distributed computing infrastructure. The Production Monitoring Platform (pMp) web-based service, has been developed in 2015 to address those needs. It aggregates information from multiple services used to define, organize, and run the processing requests. Information is updated hourly using a dedicated elastic database and the monitoring provides multiple configurable views to assess the status of single datasets as well as entire production campaigns. This contribution will describe the pMp development, the evolution of its functionalities, and one and half year of operational experience.

  18. Robowell: An automated process for monitoring ground water quality using established sampling protocols

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Granato, G.E.; Smith, K.P.

    1999-01-01

    Robowell is an automated process for monitoring selected ground water quality properties and constituents by pumping a well or multilevel sampler. Robowell was developed and tested to provide a cost-effective monitoring system that meets protocols expected for manual sampling. The process uses commercially available electronics, instrumentation, and hardware, so it can be configured to monitor ground water quality using the equipment, purge protocol, and monitoring well design most appropriate for the monitoring site and the contaminants of interest. A Robowell prototype was installed on a sewage treatment plant infiltration bed that overlies a well-studied unconfined sand and gravel aquifer at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, during a time when two distinct plumes of constituents were released. The prototype was operated from May 10 to November 13, 1996, and quality-assurance/quality-control measurements demonstrated that the data obtained by the automated method was equivalent to data obtained by manual sampling methods using the same sampling protocols. Water level, specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved ammonium were monitored by the prototype as the wells were purged according to U.S Geological Survey (USGS) ground water sampling protocols. Remote access to the data record, via phone modem communications, indicated the arrival of each plume over a few days and the subsequent geochemical reactions over the following weeks. Real-time availability of the monitoring record provided the information needed to initiate manual sampling efforts in response to changes in measured ground water quality, which proved the method and characterized the screened portion of the plume in detail through time. The methods and the case study described are presented to document the process for future use.

  19. Operational Monitoring of GOME-2 and IASI Level 1 Product Processing at EUMETSAT

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Livschitz, Yakov; Munro, Rosemary; Lang, Rüdiger; Fiedler, Lars; Dyer, Richard; Eisinger, Michael

    2010-05-01

    The growing complexity of operational level 1 radiance products from Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) platforms like EUMETSATs Metop series makes near-real-time monitoring of product quality a challenging task. The main challenge is to provide a monitoring system which is flexible and robust enough to identify and to react to anomalies which may be previously unknown to the system, as well as to provide all means and parameters necessary in order to support efficient ad-hoc analysis of the incident. The operational monitoring system developed at EUMETSAT for monitoring of GOME-2 and IASI level 1 data allows to perform near-real-time monitoring of operational products and instrument's health in a robust and flexible fashion. For effective information management, the system is based on a relational database (Oracle). An Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) process transforms products in EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) format into relational data structures. The identification of commonalities between products and instruments allows for a database structure design in such a way that different data can be analyzed using the same business intelligence functionality. An interactive analysis software implementing modern data mining techniques is also provided for a detailed look into the data. The system is effectively used for day-to-day monitoring, long-term reporting, instrument's degradation analysis as well as for ad-hoc queries in case of an unexpected instrument or processing behaviour. Having data from different sources on a single instrument and even from different instruments, platforms or numerical weather prediction within the same database allows effective cross-comparison and looking for correlated parameters. Automatic alarms raised by checking for deviation of certain parameters, for data losses and other events significantly reduce time, necessary to monitor the processing on a day-to-day basis.

  20. Operational Monitoring of GOME-2 and IASI Level 1 Product Processing at EUMETSAT

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Livschitz, Y.; Munro, R.; Lang, R.; Fiedler, L.; Dyer, R.; Eisinger, M.

    2009-12-01

    The growing complexity of operational level 1 radiance products from Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) platforms like EUMETSATs Metop series makes near-real-time monitoring of product quality a challenging task. The main challenge is to provide a monitoring system which is flexible and robust enough to identify and to react to anomalies which may be previously unknown to the system, as well as to provide all means and parameters necessary in order to support efficient ad-hoc analysis of the incident. The operational monitoring system developed at EUMETSAT for monitoring of GOME-2 and IASI level 1 data allows to perform near-real-time monitoring of operational products and instrument’s health in a robust and flexible fashion. For effective information management, the system is based on a relational database (Oracle). An Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) process transforms products in EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) format into relational data structures. The identification of commonalities between products and instruments allows for a database structure design in such a way that different data can be analyzed using the same business intelligence functionality. An interactive analysis software implementing modern data mining techniques is also provided for a detailed look into the data. The system is effectively used for day-to-day monitoring, long-term reporting, instrument’s degradation analysis as well as for ad-hoc queries in case of an unexpected instrument or processing behaviour. Having data from different sources on a single instrument and even from different instruments, platforms or numerical weather prediction within the same database allows effective cross-comparison and looking for correlated parameters. Automatic alarms raised by checking for deviation of certain parameters, for data losses and other events significantly reduce time, necessary to monitor the processing on a day-to-day basis.

  1. Simulating the fate of fall- and spring-applied poultry litter nitrogen in corn production

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Monitoring the fate of N derived from manures applied to fertilize crops is difficult, time consuming, and relatively expensive. But computer simulation models can help understand the interactions among various N processes in the soil-plant system and determine the fate of applied N. The RZWQM2 was ...

  2. Combining HJ CCD, GF-1 WFV and MODIS Data to Generate Daily High Spatial Resolution Synthetic Data for Environmental Process Monitoring.

    PubMed

    Wu, Mingquan; Huang, Wenjiang; Niu, Zheng; Wang, Changyao

    2015-08-20

    The limitations of satellite data acquisition mean that there is a lack of satellite data with high spatial and temporal resolutions for environmental process monitoring. In this study, we address this problem by applying the Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (ESTARFM) and the Spatial and Temporal Data Fusion Approach (STDFA) to combine Huanjing satellite charge coupled device (HJ CCD), Gaofen satellite no. 1 wide field of view camera (GF-1 WFV) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to generate daily high spatial resolution synthetic data for land surface process monitoring. Actual HJ CCD and GF-1 WFV data were used to evaluate the precision of the synthetic images using the correlation analysis method. Our method was tested and validated for two study areas in Xinjiang Province, China. The results show that both the ESTARFM and STDFA can be applied to combine HJ CCD and MODIS reflectance data, and GF-1 WFV and MODIS reflectance data, to generate synthetic HJ CCD data and synthetic GF-1 WFV data that closely match actual data with correlation coefficients (r) greater than 0.8989 and 0.8643, respectively. Synthetic red- and near infrared (NIR)-band data generated by ESTARFM are more suitable for the calculation of Normalized Different Vegetation Index (NDVI) than the data generated by STDFA.

  3. Combining HJ CCD, GF-1 WFV and MODIS Data to Generate Daily High Spatial Resolution Synthetic Data for Environmental Process Monitoring

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Mingquan; Huang, Wenjiang; Niu, Zheng; Wang, Changyao

    2015-01-01

    The limitations of satellite data acquisition mean that there is a lack of satellite data with high spatial and temporal resolutions for environmental process monitoring. In this study, we address this problem by applying the Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (ESTARFM) and the Spatial and Temporal Data Fusion Approach (STDFA) to combine Huanjing satellite charge coupled device (HJ CCD), Gaofen satellite no. 1 wide field of view camera (GF-1 WFV) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to generate daily high spatial resolution synthetic data for land surface process monitoring. Actual HJ CCD and GF-1 WFV data were used to evaluate the precision of the synthetic images using the correlation analysis method. Our method was tested and validated for two study areas in Xinjiang Province, China. The results show that both the ESTARFM and STDFA can be applied to combine HJ CCD and MODIS reflectance data, and GF-1 WFV and MODIS reflectance data, to generate synthetic HJ CCD data and synthetic GF-1 WFV data that closely match actual data with correlation coefficients (r) greater than 0.8989 and 0.8643, respectively. Synthetic red- and near infrared (NIR)-band data generated by ESTARFM are more suitable for the calculation of Normalized Different Vegetation Index (NDVI) than the data generated by STDFA. PMID:26308017

  4. 40 CFR 63.497 - Back-end process provisions-monitoring provisions for control and recovery devices.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Back-end process provisions-monitoring... Polymers and Resins § 63.497 Back-end process provisions—monitoring provisions for control and recovery devices. (a) An owner or operator complying with the residual organic HAP limitations in § 63.494(a) using...

  5. Reverse inference of memory retrieval processes underlying metacognitive monitoring of learning using multivariate pattern analysis.

    PubMed

    Stiers, Peter; Falbo, Luciana; Goulas, Alexandros; van Gog, Tamara; de Bruin, Anique

    2016-05-15

    Monitoring of learning is only accurate at some time after learning. It is thought that immediate monitoring is based on working memory, whereas later monitoring requires re-activation of stored items, yielding accurate judgements. Such interpretations are difficult to test because they require reverse inference, which presupposes specificity of brain activity for the hidden cognitive processes. We investigated whether multivariate pattern classification can provide this specificity. We used a word recall task to create single trial examples of immediate and long term retrieval and trained a learning algorithm to discriminate them. Next, participants performed a similar task involving monitoring instead of recall. The recall-trained classifier recognized the retrieval patterns underlying immediate and long term monitoring and classified delayed monitoring examples as long-term retrieval. This result demonstrates the feasibility of decoding cognitive processes, instead of their content. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Process defects and in situ monitoring methods in metal powder bed fusion: a review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grasso, Marco; Colosimo, Bianca Maria

    2017-04-01

    Despite continuous technological enhancements of metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) systems, the lack of process repeatability and stability still represents a barrier for the industrial breakthrough. The most relevant metal AM applications currently involve industrial sectors (e.g. aerospace and bio-medical) where defects avoidance is fundamental. Because of this, there is the need to develop novel in situ monitoring tools able to keep under control the stability of the process on a layer-by-layer basis, and to detect the onset of defects as soon as possible. On the one hand, AM systems must be equipped with in situ sensing devices able to measure relevant quantities during the process, a.k.a. process signatures. On the other hand, in-process data analytics and statistical monitoring techniques are required to detect and localize the defects in an automated way. This paper reviews the literature and the commercial tools for in situ monitoring of powder bed fusion (PBF) processes. It explores the different categories of defects and their main causes, the most relevant process signatures and the in situ sensing approaches proposed so far. Particular attention is devoted to the development of automated defect detection rules and the study of process control strategies, which represent two critical fields for the development of future smart PBF systems.

  7. Real-time monitoring of the laser hot-wire welding process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Wei; Liu, Shuang; Ma, Junjie; Kovacevic, Radovan

    2014-04-01

    The laser hot-wire welding process was investigated in this work. The dynamics of the molten pool during welding was visualized by using a high-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera assisted by a green laser as an illumination source. It was found that the molten pool is formed by the irradiation of the laser beam on the filler wire. The effect of the hot-wire voltage on the stability of the welding process was monitored by using a spectrometer that captured the emission spectrum of the laser-induced plasma plume. The spectroscopic study showed that when the hot-wire voltage is above 9 V a great deal of spatters occur, resulting in the instability of the plasma plume and the welding process. The effect of spatters on the plasma plume was shown by the identified spectral lines of the element Mn I. The correlation between the Fe I electron temperature and the weld-bead shape was studied. It was noted that the electron temperature of the plasma plume can be used to real-time monitor the variation of the weld-bead features and the formation of the weld defects.

  8. Monitoring sodium in commercially processed foods from stores and restaurants

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Most of the sodium we eat comes from commercially processed foods from stores and restaurants. Sodium reduction in these foods is a key component of several recent public health efforts. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of USDA, CDC and FDA have launched a collaborative program to monitor sodium ...

  9. Process monitoring using automatic physical measurement based on electrical and physical variability analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shauly, Eitan N.; Levi, Shimon; Schwarzband, Ishai; Adan, Ofer; Latinsky, Sergey

    2015-04-01

    A fully automated silicon-based methodology for systematic analysis of electrical features is shown. The system was developed for process monitoring and electrical variability reduction. A mapping step was created by dedicated structures such as static-random-access-memory (SRAM) array or standard cell library, or by using a simple design rule checking run-set. The resulting database was then used as an input for choosing locations for critical dimension scanning electron microscope images and for specific layout parameter extraction then was input to SPICE compact modeling simulation. Based on the experimental data, we identified two items that must be checked and monitored using the method described here: transistor's sensitivity to the distance between the poly end cap and edge of active area (AA) due to AA rounding, and SRAM leakage due to a too close N-well to P-well. Based on this example, for process monitoring and variability analyses, we extensively used this method to analyze transistor gates having different shapes. In addition, analysis for a large area of high density standard cell library was done. Another set of monitoring focused on a high density SRAM array is also presented. These examples provided information on the poly and AA layers, using transistor parameters such as leakage current and drive current. We successfully define "robust" and "less-robust" transistor configurations included in the library and identified unsymmetrical transistors in the SRAM bit-cells. These data were compared to data extracted from the same devices at the end of the line. Another set of analyses was done to samples after Cu M1 etch. Process monitoring information on M1 enclosed contact was extracted based on contact resistance as a feedback. Guidelines for the optimal M1 space for different layout configurations were also extracted. All these data showed the successful in-field implementation of our methodology as a useful process monitoring method.

  10. Submarine seismic monitoring of El Hierro volcanic eruption with a 3C-geophone string: applying new acquisition and data processing techniques to volcano monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jurado, Maria Jose; Ripepe, Maurizio; Lopez, Carmen; Blanco, Maria Jose; Crespo, Jose

    2015-04-01

    A submarine volcanic eruption took place near the southernmost emerged land of the El Hierro Island (Canary Islands, Spain), from October 2011 to February 2012. The Instituto Geografico Nacional (IGN) seismic stations network evidenced seismic unrest since July 2011 and was a reference also to follow the evolution of the seismic activity associated with the volcanic eruption. Right after the eruption onset, in October 2011 a geophone string was deployed by the CSIC-IGN to monitor seismic activity. Monitoring with the seismic array continued till May 2012. The array was installed less than 2 km away from the new vol¬cano, next to La Restinga village shore in the harbor from 6 to 12m deep into the water. Our purpose was to record seismic activity related to the volcanic activity, continuously and with special interest on high frequency events. The seismic array was endowed with 8, high frequency, 3 component, 250 Hz, geophone cable string with a separation of 6 m between them. Each geophone consists on a 3-component module based on 3 orthogonal independent sensors that measures ground velocity. Some of the geophones were placed directly on the seabed, some were buried. Due to different factors, as the irregular characteristics of the seafloor. The data was recorded on the surface with a seismometer and stored on a laptop computer. We show how acoustic data collected underwater show a great correlation with the seismic data recorded on land. Finally we compare our data analysis results with the observed sea surface activity (ash and lava emission and degassing). This evidence is disclosing new and innovative tecniques on monitoring submarine volcanic activity. Reference Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), "Serie El Hierro." Internet: http://www.ign.es/ign/resources /volcanologia/HIERRO.html [May, 17. 2013

  11. RISMA: A Rule-based Interval State Machine Algorithm for Alerts Generation, Performance Analysis and Monitoring Real-Time Data Processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laban, Shaban; El-Desouky, Aly

    2013-04-01

    The monitoring of real-time systems is a challenging and complicated process. So, there is a continuous need to improve the monitoring process through the use of new intelligent techniques and algorithms for detecting exceptions, anomalous behaviours and generating the necessary alerts during the workflow monitoring of such systems. The interval-based or period-based theorems have been discussed, analysed, and used by many researches in Artificial Intelligence (AI), philosophy, and linguistics. As explained by Allen, there are 13 relations between any two intervals. Also, there have also been many studies of interval-based temporal reasoning and logics over the past decades. Interval-based theorems can be used for monitoring real-time interval-based data processing. However, increasing the number of processed intervals makes the implementation of such theorems a complex and time consuming process as the relationships between such intervals are increasing exponentially. To overcome the previous problem, this paper presents a Rule-based Interval State Machine Algorithm (RISMA) for processing, monitoring, and analysing the behaviour of interval-based data, received from real-time sensors. The proposed intelligent algorithm uses the Interval State Machine (ISM) approach to model any number of interval-based data into well-defined states as well as inferring them. An interval-based state transition model and methodology are presented to identify the relationships between the different states of the proposed algorithm. By using such model, the unlimited number of relationships between similar large numbers of intervals can be reduced to only 18 direct relationships using the proposed well-defined states. For testing the proposed algorithm, necessary inference rules and code have been designed and applied to the continuous data received in near real-time from the stations of International Monitoring System (IMS) by the International Data Centre (IDC) of the Preparatory

  12. A quality by design study applied to an industrial pharmaceutical fluid bed granulation.

    PubMed

    Lourenço, Vera; Lochmann, Dirk; Reich, Gabriele; Menezes, José C; Herdling, Thorsten; Schewitz, Jens

    2012-06-01

    The pharmaceutical industry is encouraged within Quality by Design (QbD) to apply science-based manufacturing principles to assure quality not only of new but also of existing processes. This paper presents how QbD principles can be applied to an existing industrial pharmaceutical fluid bed granulation (FBG) process. A three-step approach is presented as follows: (1) implementation of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) monitoring tools at the industrial scale process, combined with multivariate data analysis (MVDA) of process and PAT data to increase the process knowledge; (2) execution of scaled-down designed experiments at a pilot scale, with adequate PAT monitoring tools, to investigate the process response to intended changes in Critical Process Parameters (CPPs); and finally (3) the definition of a process Design Space (DS) linking CPPs to Critical to Quality Attributes (CQAs), within which product quality is ensured by design, and after scale-up enabling its use at the industrial process scale. The proposed approach was developed for an existing industrial process. Through enhanced process knowledge established a significant reduction in product CQAs, variability already within quality specifications ranges was achieved by a better choice of CPPs values. The results of such step-wise development and implementation are described. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. 30 CFR 206.179 - What general requirements regarding processing allowances apply to me?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... for each gas plant product and processing plant relationship. Natural gas liquids are considered as... THE INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Gas Processing Allowances § 206.179 What general requirements regarding processing allowances apply to me? (a) When you value any gas plant...

  14. Data management and processing plan, Department of Applied Geodesy

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

    Not Available

    1992-08-01

    This plan outlines Data Management and Data Processing requirements of the Department of Applied Geodesy (DAG) and presents the plan to meet these requirements (These requirements are derived from the functional needs of the Department to meet the SSCL alignment tolerances and schedules). In addition, this document presents a schedule for the implementation of this plan. This document is an integral part of the Alignment Plan of the SSCL.

  15. Biowaste home composting: experimental process monitoring and quality control.

    PubMed

    Tatàno, Fabio; Pagliaro, Giacomo; Di Giovanni, Paolo; Floriani, Enrico; Mangani, Filippo

    2015-04-01

    Because home composting is a prevention option in managing biowaste at local levels, the objective of the present study was to contribute to the knowledge of the process evolution and compost quality that can be expected and obtained, respectively, in this decentralized option. In this study, organized as the research portion of a provincial project on home composting in the territory of Pesaro-Urbino (Central Italy), four experimental composters were first initiated and temporally monitored. Second, two small sub-sets of selected provincial composters (directly operated by households involved in the project) underwent quality control on their compost products at two different temporal steps. The monitored experimental composters showed overall decreasing profiles versus composting time for moisture, organic carbon, and C/N, as well as overall increasing profiles for electrical conductivity and total nitrogen, which represented qualitative indications of progress in the process. Comparative evaluations of the monitored experimental composters also suggested some interactions in home composting, i.e., high C/N ratios limiting organic matter decomposition rates and final humification levels; high moisture contents restricting the internal temperature regime; nearly horizontal phosphorus and potassium evolutions contributing to limit the rates of increase in electrical conductivity; and prolonged biowaste additions contributing to limit the rate of decrease in moisture. The measures of parametric data variability in the two sub-sets of controlled provincial composters showed decreased variability in moisture, organic carbon, and C/N from the seventh to fifteenth month of home composting, as well as increased variability in electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, and humification rate, which could be considered compatible with the respective nature of decreasing and increasing parameters during composting. The modeled parametric kinetics in the monitored experimental

  16. Monitoring Coastal Processes at Local and Regional Geographic Scales with UAS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Starek, M. J.; Bridges, D.; Prouty, D.; Berryhill, J.; Williams, D.; Jeffress, G.

    2014-12-01

    Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) provide a powerful tool for coastal mapping due to attractive features such as low cost data acquisition, flexibility in data capture and resolution, rapid response, and autonomous flight. We investigate two different scales of UAS platforms for monitoring coastal processes along the central Texas Gulf coast. Firstly, the eBee is a small-scale UAS weighing ~0.7 kg designed for localized mapping. The imaging payload consists of a hand held RGB digital camera and NIR digital camera, both with 16.1 megapixel resolutions. The system can map up to 10 square kilometers on a single flight and is capable of acquiring imagery down to 1.5 cm ground sample distance. The eBee is configured with a GPS receiver, altitude sensor, gyroscope and a radio transmitter enabling autonomous flight. The system has a certificate of authorization (COA) from the FAA to fly over the Ward Island campus of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC). The campus has an engineered beach, called University Beach, located along Corpus Christi Bay. A set of groins and detached breakwaters were built in an effort to protect the beach from erosive wave action. The eBee is being applied to periodically survey the beach (Figure 1A). Through Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques, eBee-derived image sequences are post-processed to extract 3D topography and measure volumetric change. Additionally, when water clarity suffices, this approach enables the extraction of shallow-water bathymetry. Results on the utilization of the eBee to monitor beach morphodynamics will be presented including a comparison of derived estimates to RTK GPS and airborne lidar. Secondly, the RS-16 UAS has a 4 m wingspan and 11 kg sensor payload. The system is remotely piloted and has a flight endurance of 12 to 16 hours making it suitable for regional scale coastal mapping. The imaging payload consists of a multispectral sensor suite measuring in the visible, thermal IR, and ultraviolet ranges of the

  17. Method of noncontacting ultrasonic process monitoring

    DOEpatents

    Garcia, Gabriel V.; Walter, John B.; Telschow, Kenneth L.

    1992-01-01

    A method of monitoring a material during processing comprising the steps of (a) shining a detection light on the surface of a material; (b) generating ultrasonic waves at the surface of the material to cause a change in frequency of the detection light; (c) detecting a change in the frequency of the detection light at the surface of the material; (d) detecting said ultrasonic waves at the surface point of detection of the material; (e) measuring a change in the time elapsed from generating the ultrasonic waves at the surface of the material and return to the surface point of detection of the material, to determine the transit time; and (f) comparing the transit time to predetermined values to determine properties such as, density and the elastic quality of the material.

  18. On-line process control monitoring system

    DOEpatents

    O'Rourke, Patrick E.; Van Hare, David R.; Prather, William S.

    1992-01-01

    An on-line, fiber-optic based apparatus for monitoring the concentration of a chemical substance at a plurality of locations in a chemical processing system comprises a plurality of probes, each of which is at a different location in the system, a light source, optic fibers for carrying light to and from the probes, a multiplexer for switching light from the source from one probe to the next in series, a diode array spectrophotometer for producing a spectrum from the light received from the probes, and a computer programmed to analyze the spectra so produced. The probes allow the light to pass through the chemical substance so that a portion of the light is absorbed before being returned to the multiplexer. A standard and a reference cell are included for data validation and error checking.

  19. Human-centered design for neonatal apnea monitoring: application of the UFuRT process to analyze a monitor display layout.

    PubMed

    Brannon, Timothy S

    2008-11-06

    Resolution of apnea of prematurity is a criterion for hospital discharge of the preterm infant. False alarms recorded as true events can prolong hospitalization and increase cost of care. The UFuRT process was used to analyze neonatal apnea monitoring, using a typical monitor display. The goals were to determine 1) the data needed to recognize true events and reject false alarms, and 2) how the display layout could be modified to better support these tasks.

  20. A DMAIC approach for process capability improvement an engine crankshaft manufacturing process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, G. V. S. S.; Rao, P. Srinivasa

    2014-05-01

    The define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) approach is a five-strata approach, namely DMAIC. This approach is the scientific approach for reducing the deviations and improving the capability levels of the manufacturing processes. The present work elaborates on DMAIC approach applied in reducing the process variations of the stub-end-hole boring operation of the manufacture of crankshaft. This statistical process control study starts with selection of the critical-to-quality (CTQ) characteristic in the define stratum. The next stratum constitutes the collection of dimensional measurement data of the CTQ characteristic identified. This is followed by the analysis and improvement strata where the various quality control tools like Ishikawa diagram, physical mechanism analysis, failure modes effects analysis and analysis of variance are applied. Finally, the process monitoring charts are deployed at the workplace for regular monitoring and control of the concerned CTQ characteristic. By adopting DMAIC approach, standard deviation is reduced from 0.003 to 0.002. The process potential capability index ( C P) values improved from 1.29 to 2.02 and the process performance capability index ( C PK) values improved from 0.32 to 1.45, respectively.

  1. Process monitored spectrophotometric titration coupled with chemometrics for simultaneous determination of mixtures of weak acids.

    PubMed

    Liao, Lifu; Yang, Jing; Yuan, Jintao

    2007-05-15

    A new spectrophotometric titration method coupled with chemometrics for the simultaneous determination of mixtures of weak acids has been developed. In this method, the titrant is a mixture of sodium hydroxide and an acid-base indicator, and the indicator is used to monitor the titration process. In a process of titration, both the added volume of titrant and the solution acidity at each titration point can be obtained simultaneously from an absorption spectrum by least square algorithm, and then the concentration of each component in the mixture can be obtained from the titration curves by principal component regression. The method only needs the information of absorbance spectra to obtain the analytical results, and is free of volumetric measurements. The analyses are independent of titration end point and do not need the accurate values of dissociation constants of the indicator and the acids. The method has been applied to the simultaneous determination of the mixtures of benzoic acid and salicylic acid, and the mixtures of phenol, o-chlorophenol and p-chlorophenol with satisfactory results.

  2. Coma Patient Monitoring System Using Image Processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sankalp, Meenu

    2011-12-01

    COMA PATIENT MONITORING SYSTEM provides high quality healthcare services in the near future. To provide more convenient and comprehensive medical monitoring in big hospitals since it is tough job for medical personnel to monitor each patient for 24 hours.. The latest development in patient monitoring system can be used in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Critical Care Unit (CCU), and Emergency Rooms of hospital. During treatment, the patient monitor is continuously monitoring the coma patient to transmit the important information. Also in the emergency cases, doctor are able to monitor patient condition efficiently to reduce time consumption, thus it provides more effective healthcare system. So due to importance of patient monitoring system, the continuous monitoring of the coma patient can be simplified. This paper investigates about the effects seen in the patient using "Coma Patient Monitoring System" which is a very advanced product related to physical changes in body movement of the patient and gives Warning in form of alarm and display on the LCD in less than one second time. It also passes a sms to a person sitting at the distant place if there exists any movement in any body part of the patient. The model for the system uses Keil software for the software implementation of the developed system.

  3. Image Fusion Applied to Satellite Imagery for the Improved Mapping and Monitoring of Coral Reefs: a Proposal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gholoum, M.; Bruce, D.; Hazeam, S. Al

    2012-07-01

    A coral reef ecosystem, one of the most complex marine environmental systems on the planet, is defined as biologically diverse and immense. It plays an important role in maintaining a vast biological diversity for future generations and functions as an essential spawning, nursery, breeding and feeding ground for many kinds of marine species. In addition, coral reef ecosystems provide valuable benefits such as fisheries, ecological goods and services and recreational activities to many communities. However, this valuable resource is highly threatened by a number of environmental changes and anthropogenic impacts that can lead to reduced coral growth and production, mass coral mortality and loss of coral diversity. With the growth of these threats on coral reef ecosystems, there is a strong management need for mapping and monitoring of coral reef ecosystems. Remote sensing technology can be a valuable tool for mapping and monitoring of these ecosystems. However, the diversity and complexity of coral reef ecosystems, the resolution capabilities of satellite sensors and the low reflectivity of shallow water increases the difficulties to identify and classify its features. This paper reviews the methods used in mapping and monitoring coral reef ecosystems. In addition, this paper proposes improved methods for mapping and monitoring coral reef ecosystems based on image fusion techniques. This image fusion techniques will be applied to satellite images exhibiting high spatial and low to medium spectral resolution with images exhibiting low spatial and high spectral resolution. Furthermore, a new method will be developed to fuse hyperspectral imagery with multispectral imagery. The fused image will have a large number of spectral bands and it will have all pairs of corresponding spatial objects. This will potentially help to accurately classify the image data. Accuracy assessment use ground truth will be performed for the selected methods to determine the quality of the

  4. DynAMo: A Modular Platform for Monitoring Process, Outcome, and Algorithm-Based Treatment Planning in Psychotherapy.

    PubMed

    Kaiser, Tim; Laireiter, Anton Rupert

    2017-07-20

    In recent years, the assessment of mental disorders has become more and more personalized. Modern advancements such as Internet-enabled mobile phones and increased computing capacity make it possible to tap sources of information that have long been unavailable to mental health practitioners. Software packages that combine algorithm-based treatment planning, process monitoring, and outcome monitoring are scarce. The objective of this study was to assess whether the DynAMo Web application can fill this gap by providing a software solution that can be used by both researchers to conduct state-of-the-art psychotherapy process research and clinicians to plan treatments and monitor psychotherapeutic processes. In this paper, we report on the current state of a Web application that can be used for assessing the temporal structure of mental disorders using information on their temporal and synchronous associations. A treatment planning algorithm automatically interprets the data and delivers priority scores of symptoms to practitioners. The application is also capable of monitoring psychotherapeutic processes during therapy and of monitoring treatment outcomes. This application was developed using the R programming language (R Core Team, Vienna) and the Shiny Web application framework (RStudio, Inc, Boston). It is made entirely from open-source software packages and thus is easily extensible. The capabilities of the proposed application are demonstrated. Case illustrations are provided to exemplify its usefulness in clinical practice. With the broad availability of Internet-enabled mobile phones and similar devices, collecting data on psychopathology and psychotherapeutic processes has become easier than ever. The proposed application is a valuable tool for capturing, processing, and visualizing these data. The combination of dynamic assessment and process- and outcome monitoring has the potential to improve the efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy. ©Tim Kaiser

  5. DynAMo: A Modular Platform for Monitoring Process, Outcome, and Algorithm-Based Treatment Planning in Psychotherapy

    PubMed Central

    Laireiter, Anton Rupert

    2017-01-01

    Background In recent years, the assessment of mental disorders has become more and more personalized. Modern advancements such as Internet-enabled mobile phones and increased computing capacity make it possible to tap sources of information that have long been unavailable to mental health practitioners. Objective Software packages that combine algorithm-based treatment planning, process monitoring, and outcome monitoring are scarce. The objective of this study was to assess whether the DynAMo Web application can fill this gap by providing a software solution that can be used by both researchers to conduct state-of-the-art psychotherapy process research and clinicians to plan treatments and monitor psychotherapeutic processes. Methods In this paper, we report on the current state of a Web application that can be used for assessing the temporal structure of mental disorders using information on their temporal and synchronous associations. A treatment planning algorithm automatically interprets the data and delivers priority scores of symptoms to practitioners. The application is also capable of monitoring psychotherapeutic processes during therapy and of monitoring treatment outcomes. This application was developed using the R programming language (R Core Team, Vienna) and the Shiny Web application framework (RStudio, Inc, Boston). It is made entirely from open-source software packages and thus is easily extensible. Results The capabilities of the proposed application are demonstrated. Case illustrations are provided to exemplify its usefulness in clinical practice. Conclusions With the broad availability of Internet-enabled mobile phones and similar devices, collecting data on psychopathology and psychotherapeutic processes has become easier than ever. The proposed application is a valuable tool for capturing, processing, and visualizing these data. The combination of dynamic assessment and process- and outcome monitoring has the potential to improve the efficacy

  6. Insect Biometrics: Optoacoustic Signal Processing and Its Applications to Remote Monitoring of McPhail Type Traps.

    PubMed

    Potamitis, Ilyas; Rigakis, Iraklis; Fysarakis, Konstantinos

    2015-01-01

    Monitoring traps are important components of integrated pest management applied against important fruit fly pests, including Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) and Ceratitis capitata (Widemann), Diptera of the Tephritidae family, which effect a crop-loss/per year calculated in billions of euros worldwide. Pests can be controlled with ground pesticide sprays, the efficiency of which depends on knowing the time, location and extent of infestations as early as possible. Trap inspection is currently carried out manually, using the McPhail trap, and the mass spraying is decided based on a decision protocol. We introduce the term 'insect biometrics' in the context of entomology as a measure of a characteristic of the insect (in our case, the spectrum of its wingbeat) that allows us to identify its species and make devices to help face old enemies with modern means. We modify a McPhail type trap into becoming electronic by installing an array of photoreceptors coupled to an infrared emitter, guarding the entrance of the trap. The beating wings of insects flying in the trap intercept the light and the light fluctuation is turned to a recording. Custom-made electronics are developed that are placed as an external add-on kit, without altering the internal space of the trap. Counts from the trap are transmitted using a mobile communication network. This trap introduces a new automated remote-monitoring method different to audio and vision-based systems. We evaluate our trap in large number of insects in the laboratory by enclosing the electronic trap in insectary cages. Our experiments assess the potential of delivering reliable data that can be used to initialize reliably the spraying process at large scales but to also monitor the impact of the spraying process as it eliminates the time-lag between acquiring and delivering insect counts to a central agency.

  7. Insect Biometrics: Optoacoustic Signal Processing and Its Applications to Remote Monitoring of McPhail Type Traps

    PubMed Central

    Potamitis, Ilyas; Rigakis, Iraklis; Fysarakis, Konstantinos

    2015-01-01

    Monitoring traps are important components of integrated pest management applied against important fruit fly pests, including Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) and Ceratitis capitata (Widemann), Diptera of the Tephritidae family, which effect a crop-loss/per year calculated in billions of euros worldwide. Pests can be controlled with ground pesticide sprays, the efficiency of which depends on knowing the time, location and extent of infestations as early as possible. Trap inspection is currently carried out manually, using the McPhail trap, and the mass spraying is decided based on a decision protocol. We introduce the term ‘insect biometrics’ in the context of entomology as a measure of a characteristic of the insect (in our case, the spectrum of its wingbeat) that allows us to identify its species and make devices to help face old enemies with modern means. We modify a McPhail type trap into becoming electronic by installing an array of photoreceptors coupled to an infrared emitter, guarding the entrance of the trap. The beating wings of insects flying in the trap intercept the light and the light fluctuation is turned to a recording. Custom-made electronics are developed that are placed as an external add-on kit, without altering the internal space of the trap. Counts from the trap are transmitted using a mobile communication network. This trap introduces a new automated remote-monitoring method different to audio and vision-based systems. We evaluate our trap in large number of insects in the laboratory by enclosing the electronic trap in insectary cages. Our experiments assess the potential of delivering reliable data that can be used to initialize reliably the spraying process at large scales but to also monitor the impact of the spraying process as it eliminates the time-lag between acquiring and delivering insect counts to a central agency. PMID:26544845

  8. Evaluating treatment process redesign by applying the EFQM Excellence Model.

    PubMed

    Nabitz, Udo; Schramade, Mark; Schippers, Gerard

    2006-10-01

    To evaluate a treatment process redesign programme implementing evidence-based treatment as part of a total quality management in a Dutch addiction treatment centre. Quality management was monitored over a period of more than 10 years in an addiction treatment centre with 550 professionals. Changes are evaluated, comparing the scores on the nine criteria of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model before and after a major redesign of treatment processes and ISO certification. In the course of 10 years, most intake, care, and cure processes were reorganized, the support processes were restructured and ISO certified, 29 evidence-based treatment protocols were developed and implemented, and patient follow-up measuring was established to make clinical outcomes transparent. Comparing the situation before and after the changes shows that the client satisfaction scores are stable, that the evaluation by personnel and society is inconsistent, and that clinical, production, and financial outcomes are positive. The overall EFQM assessment by external assessors in 2004 shows much higher scores on the nine criteria than the assessment in 1994. Evidence-based treatment can successfully be implemented in addiction treatment centres through treatment process redesign as part of a total quality management strategy, but not all results are positive.

  9. Monitoring non-thermal plasma processes for nanoparticle synthesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mangolini, Lorenzo

    2017-09-01

    Process characterization tools have played a crucial role in the investigation of dusty plasmas. The presence of dust in certain non-thermal plasma processes was first detected by laser light scattering measurements. Techniques like laser induced particle explosive evaporation and ion mass spectrometry have provided the experimental evidence necessary for the development of the theory of particle nucleation in silane-containing non-thermal plasmas. This review provides first a summary of these early efforts, and then discusses recent investigations using in situ characterization techniques to understand the interaction between nanoparticles and plasmas. The advancement of such monitoring techniques is necessary to fully develop the potential of non-thermal plasmas as unique materials synthesis and processing platforms. At the same time, the strong coupling between materials and plasma properties suggest that it is also necessary to advance techniques for the measurement of plasma properties while in presence of dust. Recent progress in this area will be discussed.

  10. Paper spray mass spectrometry applied in the monitoring of a chemical system in dynamic chemical equilibrium: the redox process of methylene blue.

    PubMed

    de Paula, Camila Cristina Almeida; Valadares, Alberto; Jurisch, Marina; Piccin, Evandro; Augusti, Rodinei

    2016-05-15

    The monitoring of chemical systems in dynamic equilibrium is not an easy task. This is due to the high rate at which the system returns to equilibrium after being perturbed, which hampers the possibility of following the aftereffects of the disturbance. In this context, it is necessary to use a fast analytical technique that requires no (or minimal) sample preparation, and which is capable of monitoring the species constituting the system in equilibrium. Paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PS-MS), a recently introduced ambient ionization technique, has such characteristics and hence was chosen for monitoring a model system: the redox process of methylene blue. The model system evaluated herein was composed of three cationic species of methylene blue (MB), which coexist in a dynamic redox system: (1) [MB](+) of m/z 284 (cationic MB); (2) [MB + H + e](+•) of m/z 285 (the protonated form of a transient species resulting from the reduction of [MB](+) ); (3) [MB + 2H + 2e](+) or [leuco-MB + H](+) of m/z 286 (the protonated leuco form of MB). Aliquots of a MB solution were collected before and after the addition of a reducing agent (metallic zinc) and directly analyzed by PS-MS for identification of the predominant cationic species at different conditions. The mass spectra revealed that before the addition of the reducing agent the ion of m/z 284 (cationic MB) is the unique species. Upon the addition of the reducing agent and acid, however, the solution continuously undergo discoloration while reduced species derived directly from cationic MB (m/z 285 and 286) are detected in the mass spectra with increasing intensities. Fragmentation patterns obtained for each ionic species, i.e. [MB](+) , [MB + H + e](+•) and [leuco-MB + H](+) , shown to be consistent with the proposed structures. The PS-MS technique proved to be suitable for an in situ and 'near' real-time analysis of the dynamic equilibrium involving the redox of MB in aqueous medium. The data clearly

  11. Combination of digital signal processing methods towards an improved analysis algorithm for structural health monitoring.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pentaris, Fragkiskos P.; Makris, John P.

    2013-04-01

    In Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is of great importance to reveal valuable information from the recorded SHM data that could be used to predict or indicate structural fault or damage in a building. In this work a combination of digital signal processing methods, namely FFT along with Wavelet Transform is applied, together with a proposed algorithm to study frequency dispersion, in order to depict non-linear characteristics of SHM data collected in two university buildings under natural or anthropogenic excitation. The selected buildings are of great importance from civil protection point of view, as there are the premises of a public higher education institute, undergoing high use, stress, visit from academic staff and students. The SHM data are collected from two neighboring buildings that have different age (4 and 18 years old respectively). Proposed digital signal processing methods are applied to the data, presenting a comparison of the structural behavior of both buildings in response to seismic activity, weather conditions and man-made activity. Acknowledgments This work was supported in part by the Archimedes III Program of the Ministry of Education of Greece, through the Operational Program "Educational and Lifelong Learning", in the framework of the project entitled «Interdisciplinary Multi-Scale Research of Earthquake Physics and Seismotectonics at the front of the Hellenic Arc (IMPACT-ARC) » and is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund) and Greek National Fund.

  12. A model of human event detection in multiple process monitoring situations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greenstein, J. S.; Rouse, W. B.

    1978-01-01

    It is proposed that human decision making in many multi-task situations might be modeled in terms of the manner in which the human detects events related to his tasks and the manner in which he allocates his attention among his tasks once he feels events have occurred. A model of human event detection performance in such a situation is presented. An assumption of the model is that, in attempting to detect events, the human generates the probability that events have occurred. Discriminant analysis is used to model the human's generation of these probabilities. An experimental study of human event detection performance in a multiple process monitoring situation is described and the application of the event detection model to this situation is addressed. The experimental study employed a situation in which subjects simulataneously monitored several dynamic processes for the occurrence of events and made yes/no decisions on the presence of events in each process. Input to the event detection model of the information displayed to the experimental subjects allows comparison of the model's performance with the performance of the subjects.

  13. An Integrated Monitoring System of Pre-earthquake Processes in Peloponnese, Greece

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karastathis, V. K.; Tsinganos, K.; Kafatos, M.; Eleftheriou, G.; Ouzounov, D.; Mouzakiotis, E.; Papadopoulos, G. A.; Voulgaris, N.; Bocchini, G. M.; Liakopoulos, S.; Aspiotis, T.; Gika, F.; Tselentis, A.; Moshou, A.; Psiloglou, B.

    2017-12-01

    One of the controversial issues in the contemporary seismology is the ability of radon accumulation monitoring to provide reliable earthquake forecasting. Although there are many examples in the literature showing radon increase before earthquakes, skepticism arises from instability of the measurements, false alarms, difficulties in interpretation caused by the weather influence (eg. rainfall) and difficulties on the consideration an irrefutable theoretical background of the phenomenon.We have developed and extensively tested a multi parameter network aimed for studying of the pre-earthquake processes and operating as a part of integrated monitoring system in the high seismicity area of the Western Hellenic Arc (SW Peloponnese, Greece). The prototype consists of four components: A real-time monitoring system of Radon accumulation. It consists of three gamma radiation detectors [NaI(Tl) scintillators] A nine-station seismic array to monitor the microseismicity in the offshore area of the Hellenic arc. The processing of the data is based on F-K and beam-forming techniques. Real-time weather monitoring systems for air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and pressure. Thermal radiation emission from AVHRR/NOAA-18 polar orbit satellite observation. The project revolved around the idea of jointly studying the emission of Radon that has been proven in many cases as a reliable indicator of the possible time of an event, with the accurate location of the foreshock activity detected by the seismic array that can be a more reliable indicator of the possible position of an event. In parallel a satellite thermal anomaly detection technique has been used for monitoring of larger magnitude events (possible indicator for strong events M ≥5.0.). The first year of operations revealed a number of pre-seismic radon variation anomalies before several local earthquakes (M>3.6). The Radon increases systematically before the larger events.Details about the overall performance

  14. Information processing for aerospace structural health monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lichtenwalner, Peter F.; White, Edward V.; Baumann, Erwin W.

    1998-06-01

    Structural health monitoring (SHM) technology provides a means to significantly reduce life cycle of aerospace vehicles by eliminating unnecessary inspections, minimizing inspection complexity, and providing accurate diagnostics and prognostics to support vehicle life extension. In order to accomplish this, a comprehensive SHM system will need to acquire data from a wide variety of diverse sensors including strain gages, accelerometers, acoustic emission sensors, crack growth gages, corrosion sensors, and piezoelectric transducers. Significant amounts of computer processing will then be required to convert this raw sensor data into meaningful information which indicates both the diagnostics of the current structural integrity as well as the prognostics necessary for planning and managing the future health of the structure in a cost effective manner. This paper provides a description of the key types of information processing technologies required in an effective SHM system. These include artificial intelligence techniques such as neural networks, expert systems, and fuzzy logic for nonlinear modeling, pattern recognition, and complex decision making; signal processing techniques such as Fourier and wavelet transforms for spectral analysis and feature extraction; statistical algorithms for optimal detection, estimation, prediction, and fusion; and a wide variety of other algorithms for data analysis and visualization. The intent of this paper is to provide an overview of the role of information processing for SHM, discuss various technologies which can contribute to accomplishing this role, and present some example applications of information processing for SHM implemented at the Boeing Company.

  15. Evaluation of mist-netting, nest-searching and other methods for monitoring demographic processes in landbird populations

    Treesearch

    Nadav Nur; Geoffrey R. Geupel

    1993-01-01

    Demographic processes (reproductive success, survival of young and adults, recruitment of young into the breeding population) are critical to monitoring and managing landbird populations. We discuss different techniques that have been used to monitor these demographic processes in landbird populations, focusing on constant-effort mist-netting (CEM). We assess whether...

  16. Characterizing Geohydrologic Linkages using Process Domains for Monitoring Aquatic Ecosystems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weekes, A.; Torgersen, C.; Montgomery, D. R.; Woodward, A.; Bolton, S.

    2009-12-01

    Aquatic habitats in glaciated headwater basins can differ widely within a mountain region and are often more complex than those found in lowland river systems. Current legislative mandates for ecosystem monitoring often require the ability to relate geomorphic and hydrologic stream attributes to ecological response. The capacity to define meaningful references states against which to evaluate current status and trends is particularly challenging in mountain aquatic ecosystems. To aid in the implementation of the National Park Service (NPS) Vital Signs Monitoring Program in the mountainous North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) parks, this project sought a systematic way to characterize both the spatial distribution of geomorphic controls within the stream hierarchy and to integrate hydrologic response. These controls comprise the physical context that supports biotic “vital signs” in park ecosystems and have consequences that directly affect the life history strategies and persistence of biota living in mountain streams and other aquatic habitats. However, there are currently no monitoring protocols that provide a precedent for incorporating the geomorphic spatial characteristics or diverse types of hydrologic response at the spatial and temporal scales unique to these headwater systems. To address this issue, we investigated relationships between valley-scale glacial macroforms and hydrologic indices (e.g. streamflow gauging, stable isotope analysis and water temperature measurements) in small (1 - 20 km2) headwater basins on the east side of Mount Rainier National Park. The linkage between geomorphic and hydrologic response was found to be best expressed in process domains defined as colluvial, alluvial and bedrock systems. Study results show a correlation between the percentage of colluvial process domains within a headwater catchment and the characteristic hydrologic regime of the basin. These relationships offer a framework that can account for the innate

  17. Evaluating Acoustic Emission Signals as an in situ process monitoring technique for Selective Laser Melting (SLM)

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

    Fisher, Karl A.; Candy, Jim V.; Guss, Gabe

    2016-10-14

    In situ real-time monitoring of the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process has significant implications for the AM community. The ability to adjust the SLM process parameters during a build (in real-time) can save time, money and eliminate expensive material waste. Having a feedback loop in the process would allow the system to potentially ‘fix’ problem regions before a next powder layer is added. In this study we have investigated acoustic emission (AE) phenomena generated during the SLM process, and evaluated the results in terms of a single process parameter, of an in situ process monitoring technique.

  18. Fiber optic sensor design for chemical process and environmental monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahendran, R. S.; Harris, D.; Wang, L.; Machavaram, V. R.; Chen, R.; Kukureka, St. N.; Fernando, G. F.

    2007-07-01

    Cure monitoring is a term that is used to describe the cross-linking reactions in a thermosetting resin system. Advanced fiber reinforced composites are being used increasingly in a number of industrial sectors including aerospace, marine, sport, automotive and civil engineering. There is a general realization that the processing conditions that are used to manufacture the composites can have a major influence on its hot-wet mechanical properties. This paper is concerned with the design and demonstration of a number of sensor designs for in-situ cure monitoring of a model thermosetting resin system. Simple fixtures were constructed to enable a pair of cleaved optical fibers with a defined gap between the end-faces to be held in position. The resin system was introduced into this gap and the cure kinetics were followed by transmission infrared spectroscopy. A semi-empirical model was used to describe the cure process using the data obtained at different cure temperatures. The same sensor system was used to detect the ingress of moisture in the cured resin system.

  19. Geophysical monitoring in a hydrocarbon reservoir

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Caffagni, Enrico; Bokelmann, Goetz

    2016-04-01

    Extraction of hydrocarbons from reservoirs demands ever-increasing technological effort, and there is need for geophysical monitoring to better understand phenomena occurring within the reservoir. Significant deformation processes happen when man-made stimulation is performed, in combination with effects deriving from the existing natural conditions such as stress regime in situ or pre-existing fracturing. Keeping track of such changes in the reservoir is important, on one hand for improving recovery of hydrocarbons, and on the other hand to assure a safe and proper mode of operation. Monitoring becomes particularly important when hydraulic-fracturing (HF) is used, especially in the form of the much-discussed "fracking". HF is a sophisticated technique that is widely applied in low-porosity geological formations to enhance the production of natural hydrocarbons. In principle, similar HF techniques have been applied in Europe for a long time in conventional reservoirs, and they will probably be intensified in the near future; this suggests an increasing demand in technological development, also for updating and adapting the existing monitoring techniques in applied geophysics. We review currently available geophysical techniques for reservoir monitoring, which appear in the different fields of analysis in reservoirs. First, the properties of the hydrocarbon reservoir are identified; here we consider geophysical monitoring exclusively. The second step is to define the quantities that can be monitored, associated to the properties. We then describe the geophysical monitoring techniques including the oldest ones, namely those in practical usage from 40-50 years ago, and the most recent developments in technology, within distinct groups, according to the application field of analysis in reservoir. This work is performed as part of the FracRisk consortium (www.fracrisk.eu); this project, funded by the Horizon2020 research programme, aims at helping minimize the

  20. Fiber‐optic distributed temperature sensing: A new tool for assessment and monitoring of hydrologic processes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lane, John W.; Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Johnson, Carole D.; Dawson, Cian B.; Nelms, David L.; Miller, Cheryl; Wheeler, Jerrod D.; Harvey, Charles F.; Karam, Hanan N.

    2008-01-01

    Fiber‐optic distributed temperature sensing (FO DTS) is an emerging technology for characterizing and monitoring a wide range of important earth processes. FO DTS utilizes laser light to measure temperature along the entire length of standard telecommunications optical fibers. The technology can measure temperature every meter over FO cables up to 30 kilometers (km) long. Commercially available systems can measure fiber temperature as often as 4 times per minute, with thermal precision ranging from 0.1 to 0.01 °C depending on measurement integration time. In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a project to demonstrate and evaluate DTS as a technology to support hydrologic studies. This paper demonstrates the potential of the technology to assess and monitor hydrologic processes through case‐study examples of FO DTS monitoring of stream‐aquifer interaction on the Shenandoah River near Locke's Mill, Virginia, and on Fish Creek, near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and estuary‐aquifer interaction on Waquoit Bay, Falmouth, Massachusetts. The ability to continuously observe temperature over large spatial scales with high spatial and temporal resolution provides a new opportunity to observe and monitor a wide range of hydrologic processes with application to other disciplines including hazards, climate‐change, and ecosystem monitoring.

  1. Forest Service National Visitor Use Monitoring Process: Research Method Documentation

    Treesearch

    Donald B.K. English; Susan M. Kocis; Stanley J. Zarnoch; J. Ross Arnold

    2002-01-01

    In response to the need for improved information on recreational use of National Forest System lands, the authors have developed a nationwide, systematic monitoring process. This report documents the methods they used in estimating recreational use on an annual basis. The basic unit of measure is exiting volume of visitors from a recreation site on a given day. Sites...

  2. Field testing of a new flow-through directional passive air sampler applied to monitoring ambient nitrogen dioxide.

    PubMed

    Lin, Chun; McKenna, Paul; Timmis, Roger; Jones, Kevin C

    2010-07-08

    This paper reports the first field deployment and testing of a directional passive air sampler (DPAS) which can be used to cost-effectively identify and quantify air pollutants and their sources. The sampler was used for ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) over ten weeks from twelve directional sectors in an urban setting, and tested alongside an automatic chemiluminescent monitor. The time-integrated passive directional results were compared with the directional analysis of the active monitoring results using wind data recorded at a weather station. The DPAS discriminated air pollutant signals directionally. The attempts to derive quantitative data yielded reasonable results--usually within a factor of two of those obtained by the chemiluminescent analyser. Ultimately, whether DPAS approaches are adopted will depend on their reliability, added value and cost. It is argued that added value was obtained here from the DPAS approach applied in a routine monitoring situation, by identifying source sectors. Both the capital and running costs of DPAS were <5% of those for the automatic monitor. It is envisaged that different sorbents or sampling media will enable this rotatable DPAS design to be used for other airborne pollutants. In summary, there are reasons to be optimistic that directional passive air sampling, together with careful interpretation of results, will be of added value to air quality practitioners in future.

  3. Alignment of process compliance and monitoring requirements in dynamic business collaborations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Comuzzi, Marco

    2017-07-01

    Dynamic business collaborations are intrinsically characterised by change because processes can be distributed or outsourced and partners may be substituted by new ones with enhanced or different capabilities. In this context, compliance requirements management becomes particularly challenging. Partners in a collaboration may join and leave dynamically and tasks over which compliance requirements are specified may be consequently distributed or delegated to new partners. This article considers the issue of aligning compliance requirements in a dynamic business collaboration with the monitoring requirements induced on the collaborating partners when change occurs. We first provide a conceptual model of business collaborations and their compliance requirements, introducing the concept of monitoring capabilities induced by compliance requirements. Then, we present a set of mechanisms to ensure consistency between monitoring and compliance requirements in the presence of change, e.g. when tasks are delegated or backsourced in-house. We also discuss a set of metrics to evaluate the status of a collaboration in respect of compliance monitorability. Finally, we discuss a prototype implementation of our framework.

  4. Process spectroscopy in microemulsions—setup and multi-spectral approach for reaction monitoring of a homogeneous hydroformylation process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meyer, K.; Ruiken, J.-P.; Illner, M.; Paul, A.; Müller, D.; Esche, E.; Wozny, G.; Maiwald, M.

    2017-03-01

    Reaction monitoring in disperse systems, such as emulsions, is of significant technical importance in various disciplines like biotechnological engineering, chemical industry, food science, and a growing number other technical fields. These systems pose several challenges when it comes to process analytics, such as heterogeneity of mixtures, changes in optical behavior, and low optical activity. Concerning this, online nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful technique for process monitoring in complex reaction mixtures due to its unique direct comparison abilities, while at the same time being non-invasive and independent of optical properties of the sample. In this study the applicability of online-spectroscopic methods on the homogeneously catalyzed hydroformylation system of 1-dodecene to tridecanal is investigated, which is operated in a mini-plant scale at Technische Universität Berlin. The design of a laboratory setup for process-like calibration experiments is presented, including a 500 MHz online NMR spectrometer, a benchtop NMR device with 43 MHz proton frequency as well as two Raman probes and a flow cell assembly for an ultraviolet and visible light (UV/VIS) spectrometer. Results of high-resolution online NMR spectroscopy are shown and technical as well as process-specific problems observed during the measurements are discussed.

  5. Implementation of in-line infrared monitor in full-scale anaerobic digestion process.

    PubMed

    Spanjers, H; Bouvier, J C; Steenweg, P; Bisschops, I; van Gils, W; Versprille, B

    2006-01-01

    During start up but also during normal operation, anaerobic reactor systems should be run and monitored carefully to secure trouble-free operation, because the process is vulnerable to disturbances such as temporary overloading, biomass wash out and influent toxicity. The present method of monitoring is usually by manual sampling and subsequent laboratory analysis. Data collection, processing and feedback to system operation is manual and ad hoc, and involves high-level operator skills and attention. As a result, systems tend to be designed at relatively conservative design loading rates resulting in significant over-sizing of reactors and thus increased systems cost. It is therefore desirable to have on-line and continuous access to performance data on influent and effluent quality. Relevant variables to indicate process performance include VFA, COD, alkalinity, sulphate, and, if aerobic post-treatment is considered, total nitrogen, ammonia and nitrate. Recently, mid-IR spectrometry was demonstrated on a pilot scale to be suitable for in-line simultaneous measurement of these variables. This paper describes a full-scale application of the technique to test its ability to monitor continuously and without human intervention the above variables simultaneously in two process streams. For VFA, COD, sulphate, ammonium and TKN good agreement was obtained between in-line and manual measurements. During a period of six months the in-line measurements had to be interrupted several times because of clogging. It appeared that the sample pre-treatment unit was not able to cope with high solids concentrations all the time.

  6. An integrated condition-monitoring method for a milling process using reduced decomposition features

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Jie; Wu, Bo; Wang, Yan; Hu, Youmin

    2017-08-01

    Complex and non-stationary cutting chatter affects productivity and quality in the milling process. Developing an effective condition-monitoring approach is critical to accurately identify cutting chatter. In this paper, an integrated condition-monitoring method is proposed, where reduced features are used to efficiently recognize and classify machine states in the milling process. In the proposed method, vibration signals are decomposed into multiple modes with variational mode decomposition, and Shannon power spectral entropy is calculated to extract features from the decomposed signals. Principal component analysis is adopted to reduce feature size and computational cost. With the extracted feature information, the probabilistic neural network model is used to recognize and classify the machine states, including stable, transition, and chatter states. Experimental studies are conducted, and results show that the proposed method can effectively detect cutting chatter during different milling operation conditions. This monitoring method is also efficient enough to satisfy fast machine state recognition and classification.

  7. Near infrared spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis for monitoring the ethanol precipitation process of fraction I + II + III supernatant in human albumin separation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Can; Wang, Fei; Zang, Lixuan; Zang, Hengchang; Alcalà, Manel; Nie, Lei; Wang, Mingyu; Li, Lian

    2017-03-01

    Nowadays, as a powerful process analytical tool, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been widely applied in process monitoring. In present work, NIRS combined with multivariate analysis was used to monitor the ethanol precipitation process of fraction I + II + III (FI + II + III) supernatant in human albumin (HA) separation to achieve qualitative and quantitative monitoring at the same time and assure the product's quality. First, a qualitative model was established by using principal component analysis (PCA) with 6 of 8 normal batches samples, and evaluated by the remaining 2 normal batches and 3 abnormal batches. The results showed that the first principal component (PC1) score chart could be successfully used for fault detection and diagnosis. Then, two quantitative models were built with 6 of 8 normal batches to determine the content of the total protein (TP) and HA separately by using partial least squares regression (PLS-R) strategy, and the models were validated by 2 remaining normal batches. The determination coefficient of validation (Rp2), root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV), root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) and ratio of performance deviation (RPD) were 0.975, 0.501 g/L, 0.465 g/L and 5.57 for TP, and 0.969, 0.530 g/L, 0.341 g/L and 5.47 for HA, respectively. The results showed that the established models could give a rapid and accurate measurement of the content of TP and HA. The results of this study indicated that NIRS is an effective tool and could be successfully used for qualitative and quantitative monitoring the ethanol precipitation process of FI + II + III supernatant simultaneously. This research has significant reference value for assuring the quality and improving the recovery ratio of HA in industrialization scale by using NIRS.

  8. Near infrared spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis for monitoring the ethanol precipitation process of fraction I+II+III supernatant in human albumin separation.

    PubMed

    Li, Can; Wang, Fei; Zang, Lixuan; Zang, Hengchang; Alcalà, Manel; Nie, Lei; Wang, Mingyu; Li, Lian

    2017-03-15

    Nowadays, as a powerful process analytical tool, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been widely applied in process monitoring. In present work, NIRS combined with multivariate analysis was used to monitor the ethanol precipitation process of fraction I+II+III (FI+II+III) supernatant in human albumin (HA) separation to achieve qualitative and quantitative monitoring at the same time and assure the product's quality. First, a qualitative model was established by using principal component analysis (PCA) with 6 of 8 normal batches samples, and evaluated by the remaining 2 normal batches and 3 abnormal batches. The results showed that the first principal component (PC1) score chart could be successfully used for fault detection and diagnosis. Then, two quantitative models were built with 6 of 8 normal batches to determine the content of the total protein (TP) and HA separately by using partial least squares regression (PLS-R) strategy, and the models were validated by 2 remaining normal batches. The determination coefficient of validation (R p 2 ), root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV), root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) and ratio of performance deviation (RPD) were 0.975, 0.501g/L, 0.465g/L and 5.57 for TP, and 0.969, 0.530g/L, 0.341g/L and 5.47 for HA, respectively. The results showed that the established models could give a rapid and accurate measurement of the content of TP and HA. The results of this study indicated that NIRS is an effective tool and could be successfully used for qualitative and quantitative monitoring the ethanol precipitation process of FI+II+III supernatant simultaneously. This research has significant reference value for assuring the quality and improving the recovery ratio of HA in industrialization scale by using NIRS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Evaluation Of Four Welding Arc Processes Applied To 6061 Aluminium Alloy

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

    Benoit, A.; Laboratoire de Genie des Materiaux et Procedes Associes; Paillard, P.

    At a time when greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced, the use of the aluminium alloys is expanding, in particular in the transportation industry. In order to extend the possibilities of aluminium assembly design, new Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding processes have been conceived. They work at lower temperatures than usual arc processes (classic MIG or Tungsten Inert Gas). This study compares four arc welding processes, applied to the 6061 aluminium alloy. These four weld processes have been studied through the metallurgical analysis of the weld beads. Metallography, micro-hardness testings, X Ray radiography have been carried out on the producedmore » weld beads. The processes are classified according to the quality of the beads like geometry of beads, size of the heat affected zone and presence of defects.« less

  10. MONITORED NATURAL ATTENUATION FOR INORGANIC CONTAMINANT REMEDIATION IN GROUNDWATER

    EPA Science Inventory

    Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) has been applied as a knowledge-based remediation technology for organic contaminants in ground water. Development of a site-specific assessment of biotic and abiotic processes that lead to organic contaminant degradation provides the technica...

  11. Applications of Monitored Natural Attenuation in the USA (Abstract)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) is widely applied in the USA to control the risk associated with ground water contamination from chlorinated solvents such a tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). MNA relies on the natural processes of degradation, sorption an...

  12. Applications of Monitored Natural Attenuation in the USA (Presentation)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) is widely applied in the USA to control the risk associated with ground water contamination from chlorinated solvents such a tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). MNA relies on the natural processes of degradation, sorption an...

  13. 25 CFR 224.183 - What other administrative appeals processes also apply?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false What other administrative appeals processes also apply? 224.183 Section 224.183 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS TRIBAL ENERGY RESOURCE AGREEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF...

  14. 25 CFR 224.183 - What other administrative appeals processes also apply?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What other administrative appeals processes also apply? 224.183 Section 224.183 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS TRIBAL ENERGY RESOURCE AGREEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF...

  15. Prognostics using Engineering and Environmental Parameters as Applied to State of Health (SOH) Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler Analyzer (RASA) Real-Time Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hutchenson, K. D.; Hartley-McBride, S.; Saults, T.; Schmidt, D. P.

    2006-05-01

    The International Monitoring System (IMS) is composed in part of radionuclide particulate and gas monitoring systems. Monitoring the operational status of these systems is an important aspect of nuclear weapon test monitoring. Quality data, process control techniques, and predictive models are necessary to detect and predict system component failures. Predicting failures in advance provides time to mitigate these failures, thus minimizing operational downtime. The Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) requires IMS radionuclide systems be operational 95 percent of the time. The United States National Data Center (US NDC) offers contributing components to the IMS. This effort focuses on the initial research and process development using prognostics for monitoring and predicting failures of the RASA two (2) days into the future. The predictions, using time series methods, are input to an expert decision system, called SHADES (State of Health Airflow and Detection Expert System). The results enable personnel to make informed judgments about the health of the RASA system. Data are read from a relational database, processed, and displayed to the user in a GIS as a prototype GUI. This procedure mimics the real time application process that could be implemented as an operational system, This initial proof-of-concept effort developed predictive models focused on RASA components for a single site (USP79). Future work shall include the incorporation of other RASA systems, as well as their environmental conditions that play a significant role in performance. Similarly, SHADES currently accommodates specific component behaviors at this one site. Future work shall also include important environmental variables that play an important part of the prediction algorithms.

  16. Process control monitoring systems, industrial plants, and process control monitoring methods

    DOEpatents

    Skorpik, James R [Kennewick, WA; Gosselin, Stephen R [Richland, WA; Harris, Joe C [Kennewick, WA

    2010-09-07

    A system comprises a valve; a plurality of RFID sensor assemblies coupled to the valve to monitor a plurality of parameters associated with the valve; a control tag configured to wirelessly communicate with the respective tags that are coupled to the valve, the control tag being further configured to communicate with an RF reader; and an RF reader configured to selectively communicate with the control tag, the reader including an RF receiver. Other systems and methods are also provided.

  17. Evaluation of risk and benefit in thermal effusivity sensor for monitoring lubrication process in pharmaceutical product manufacturing.

    PubMed

    Uchiyama, Jumpei; Kato, Yoshiteru; Uemoto, Yoshifumi

    2014-08-01

    In the process design of tablet manufacturing, understanding and control of the lubrication process is important from various viewpoints. A detailed analysis of thermal effusivity data in the lubrication process was conducted in this study. In addition, we evaluated the risk and benefit in the lubrication process by a detailed investigation. It was found that monitoring of thermal effusivity detected mainly the physical change of bulk density, which was changed by dispersal of the lubricant and the coating powder particle by the lubricant. The monitoring of thermal effusivity was almost the monitoring of bulk density, thermal effusivity could have a high correlation with tablet hardness. Moreover, as thermal effusivity sensor could detect not only the change of the conventional bulk density but also the fractional change of thermal conductivity and thermal capacity, two-phase progress of lubrication process could be revealed. However, each contribution of density, thermal conductivity, or heat capacity to thermal effusivity has the risk of fluctuation by formulation. After carefully considering the change factor with the risk to be changed by formulation, thermal effusivity sensor can be a useful tool for monitoring as process analytical technology, estimating tablet hardness and investigating the detailed mechanism of the lubrication process.

  18. Process Diagnostics and Monitoring Using the Multipole Resonance Probe (MRP)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harhausen, J.; Awakowicz, P.; Brinkmann, R. P.; Foest, R.; Lapke, M.; Musch, T.; Mussenbrock, T.; Oberrath, J.; Ohl, A.; Rolfes, I.; Schulz, Ch.; Storch, R.; Styrnoll, T.

    2011-10-01

    In this contribution we present the application of the MRP in an industrial plasma ion assisted deposition (PIAD) chamber (Leybold optics SYRUS-pro). The MRP is a novel plasma diagnostic which is suitable for an industrial environment - which means that the proposed method is robust, calibration free, and economical, and can be used for ideal and reactive plasmas alike. In order to employ the MRP as process diagnostics we mounted the probe on a manipulator to obtain spatially resolved information on the electron density and temperature. As monitoring tool the MRP is installed at a fixed position. Even during the deposition process it provides stable measurement results while other diagnostic methods, e.g. the Langmuir probe, may suffer from dielectric coatings. In this contribution we present the application of the MRP in an industrial plasma ion assisted deposition (PIAD) chamber (Leybold optics SYRUS-pro). The MRP is a novel plasma diagnostic which is suitable for an industrial environment - which means that the proposed method is robust, calibration free, and economical, and can be used for ideal and reactive plasmas alike. In order to employ the MRP as process diagnostics we mounted the probe on a manipulator to obtain spatially resolved information on the electron density and temperature. As monitoring tool the MRP is installed at a fixed position. Even during the deposition process it provides stable measurement results while other diagnostic methods, e.g. the Langmuir probe, may suffer from dielectric coatings. Funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF, Fkz. 13N10462).

  19. 25 CFR 224.184 - How do other administrative appeals processes apply?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false How do other administrative appeals processes apply? 224.184 Section 224.184 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS TRIBAL ENERGY RESOURCE AGREEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF DETERMINATION ACT...

  20. 25 CFR 224.184 - How do other administrative appeals processes apply?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How do other administrative appeals processes apply? 224.184 Section 224.184 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS TRIBAL ENERGY RESOURCE AGREEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF DETERMINATION ACT...

  1. [Monitoring of water and salt transport in silt and sandy soil during the leaching process].

    PubMed

    Fu, Teng-Fei; Jia, Yong-Gang; Guo, Lei; Liu, Xiao-Lei

    2012-11-01

    Water and salt transport in soil and its mechanism is the key point of the saline soil research. The dynamic rule of water and transport in soil during the leaching process is the theoretical basis of formation, flush, drainage and improvement of saline soil. In this study, a vertical infiltration experiment was conducted to monitor the variation in the resistivity of silt and sandy soil during the leaching process by the self-designed automatic monitoring device. The experimental results showed that the peaks in the resistivity of the two soils went down and faded away in the course of leaching. It took about 30 minutes for sandy soil to reach the water-salt balance, whereas the silt took about 70 minutes. With the increasing leaching times, the desalination depth remained basically the same, being 35 cm for sandy soil and 10 cm for the silt from the top to bottom of soil column. Therefore, 3 and 7 leaching processes were required respectively for the complete desalination of the soil column. The temporal and spatial resolution of this monitoring device can be adjusted according to the practical demand. This device can not only achieve the remote, in situ and dynamic monitoring data of water and salt transport, but also provide an effective method in monitoring, assessment and early warning of salinization.

  2. Autonomous cloud based site monitoring through hydro geophysical data assimilation, processing and result delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Versteeg, R.; Johnson, D. V.; Rodzianko, A.; Zhou, H.; Dafflon, B.; Leger, E.; de Kleine, M.

    2017-12-01

    Understanding of processes in the shallow subsurface requires that geophysical, biogeochemical, hydrological and remote sensing datasets are assimilated, processed and interpreted. Multiple enabling software capabilities for process understanding have been developed by the science community. These include information models (ODM2), reactive transport modeling (PFLOTRAN, Modflow, CLM, Landlab), geophysical inversion (E4D, BERT), parameter estimation (PEST, DAKOTA), visualization (ViSiT, Paraview, D3, QGIS) as well as numerous tools written in python and R for petrophysical mapping, stochastic modeling, data analysis and so on. These capabilities use data collected using sensors and analytical tools developed by multiple manufacturers which produce many different measurements. While scientists obviously leverage tools, capabilities and lessons learned from one site at other sites, the current approach to site characterization and monitoring is very labor intensive and does not scale well. Our objective is to be able to monitor many (hundreds - thousands) of sites. This requires that monitoring can be done in a near time, affordable, auditable and essentially autonomous manner. For this we have developed a modular vertically integrated cloud based software framework which was designed from the ground up for effective site and process monitoring. This software framework (PAF - Predictive Assimilation Framework) is multitenant software and provides automation of data ingestion, processing and visualization of hydrological, geochemical and geophysical (ERT/DTS) data. The core organizational element of PAF is a project/user one in which capabilities available to users are controlled by a combination of available data and access permissions. All PAF capabilities are exposed through APIs, making it easy to quickly add new components. PAF is fully integrated with newly developed autonomous electrical geophysical hardware and thus allows for automation of electrical

  3. Errors in patient specimen collection: application of statistical process control.

    PubMed

    Dzik, Walter Sunny; Beckman, Neil; Selleng, Kathleen; Heddle, Nancy; Szczepiorkowski, Zbigniew; Wendel, Silvano; Murphy, Michael

    2008-10-01

    Errors in the collection and labeling of blood samples for pretransfusion testing increase the risk of transfusion-associated patient morbidity and mortality. Statistical process control (SPC) is a recognized method to monitor the performance of a critical process. An easy-to-use SPC method was tested to determine its feasibility as a tool for monitoring quality in transfusion medicine. SPC control charts were adapted to a spreadsheet presentation. Data tabulating the frequency of mislabeled and miscollected blood samples from 10 hospitals in five countries from 2004 to 2006 were used to demonstrate the method. Control charts were produced to monitor process stability. The participating hospitals found the SPC spreadsheet very suitable to monitor the performance of the sample labeling and collection and applied SPC charts to suit their specific needs. One hospital monitored subcategories of sample error in detail. A large hospital monitored the number of wrong-blood-in-tube (WBIT) events. Four smaller-sized facilities, each following the same policy for sample collection, combined their data on WBIT samples into a single control chart. One hospital used the control chart to monitor the effect of an educational intervention. A simple SPC method is described that can monitor the process of sample collection and labeling in any hospital. SPC could be applied to other critical steps in the transfusion processes as a tool for biovigilance and could be used to develop regional or national performance standards for pretransfusion sample collection. A link is provided to download the spreadsheet for free.

  4. The design of composite monitoring scheme for multilevel information in crop early diseases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yan; Meng, Qinglong; Shang, Jing

    2018-02-01

    It is difficult to monitor and predict the crops early diseases in that the crop disease monitoring is usually monitored by visible light images and the availabilities in early warning are poor at present. The features of common nondestructive testing technology applied to the crop diseases were analyzed in this paper. Based on the changeable characteristics of the virus from the incubation period to the onset period of crop activities, the multilevel composite information monitoring scheme were designed by applying infrared thermal imaging, visible near infrared hyperspectral imaging, micro-imaging technology to the monitoring of multilevel information of crop disease infection comprehensively. The early warning process and key monitoring parameters of compound monitoring scheme are given by taking the temperature, color, structure and texture of crops as the key monitoring characteristics of disease. With overcoming the deficiency that the conventional monitoring scheme is only suitable for the observation of diseases with naked eyes, the monitoring and early warning of the incubation and early onset of the infection crops can be realized by the composite monitoring program as mentioned in this paper.

  5. [Prescribing monitoring in clinical practice: from enlightened empiricism to rational strategies].

    PubMed

    Buclin, Thierry; Herzig, Lilli

    2013-05-15

    Monitoring of a medical condition is the periodic measurement of one or several physiological or biological variables to detect a signal regarding its clinical progression or its response to treatment. We distinguish different medical situations between diagnostic, clinical and therapeutic process to apply monitoring. Many clinical, variables can be used for monitoring, once their intrinsic properties (normal range, critical difference, kinetics, reactivity) and external validity (pathophysiological importance, predictive power for clinical outcomes) are established. A formal conceptualization of monitoring is being developed and should support the rational development of monitoring strategies and their validation through appropriate clinical trials.

  6. Monitoring of waste disposal in deep geological formations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    German, V.; Mansurov, V.

    2003-04-01

    In the paper application of kinetic approach for description of rock failure process and waste disposal microseismic monitoring is advanced. On base of two-stage model of failure process the capability of rock fracture is proved. The requests to monitoring system such as real time mode of data registration and processing and its precision range are formulated. The method of failure nuclei delineation in a rock masses is presented. This method is implemented in a software program for strong seismic events forecasting. It is based on direct use of the fracture concentration criterion. The method is applied to the database of microseismic events of the North Ural Bauxite Mine. The results of this application, such as: efficiency, stability, possibility of forecasting rockburst are discussed.

  7. System and process for detecting and monitoring surface defects

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mueller, Mark K. (Inventor)

    1994-01-01

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

  8. Applying Service-Oriented Architecture to Archiving Data in Control and Monitoring Systems

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

    Nogiec, J. M.; Trombly-Freytag, K.

    Current trends in the architecture of software systems focus our attention on building systems using a set of loosely coupled components, each providing a specific functionality known as service. It is not much different in control and monitoring systems, where a functionally distinct sub-system can be identified and independently designed, implemented, deployed and maintained. One functionality that renders itself perfectly to becoming a service is archiving the history of the system state. The design of such a service and our experience of using it are the topic of this article. The service is built with responsibility segregation in mind, therefore,more » it provides for reducing data processing on the data viewer side and separation of data access and modification operations. The service architecture and the details concerning its data store design are discussed. An implementation of a service client capable of archiving EPICS process variables (PV) and LabVIEW shared variables is presented. Data access tools, including a browser-based data viewer and a mobile viewer, are also presented.« less

  9. Optimization of insect cell based protein production processes - online monitoring, expression systems, scale up.

    PubMed

    Druzinec, Damir; Salzig, Denise; Brix, Alexander; Kraume, Matthias; Vilcinskas, Andreas; Kollewe, Christian; Czermak, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Due to the increasing use of insect cell based expression systems in research and industrial recombinant protein production, the development of efficient and reproducible production processes remains a challenging task. In this context, the application of online monitoring techniques is intended to ensure high and reproducible product qualities already during the early phases of process development. In the following chapter, the most common transient and stable insect cell based expression systems are briefly introduced. Novel applications of insect cell based expression systems for the production of insect derived antimicrobial peptides/proteins (AMPs) are discussed using the example of G. mellonella derived gloverin. Suitable in situ sensor techniques for insect cell culture monitoring in disposable and common bioreactor systems are outlined with respect to optical and capacitive sensor concepts. Since scale up of production processes is one of the most critical steps in process development, a conclusive overview is given about scale up aspects for industrial insect cell culture processes.

  10. Applying the Mixed Methods Instrument Development and Construct Validation Process: the Transformative Experience Questionnaire

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koskey, Kristin L. K.; Sondergeld, Toni A.; Stewart, Victoria C.; Pugh, Kevin J.

    2018-01-01

    Onwuegbuzie and colleagues proposed the Instrument Development and Construct Validation (IDCV) process as a mixed methods framework for creating and validating measures. Examples applying IDCV are lacking. We provide an illustrative case integrating the Rasch model and cognitive interviews applied to the development of the Transformative…

  11. GIS Application System Design Applied to Information Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qun, Zhou; Yujin, Yuan; Yuena, Kang

    Natural environment information management system involves on-line instrument monitoring, data communications, database establishment, information management software development and so on. Its core lies in collecting effective and reliable environmental information, increasing utilization rate and sharing degree of environment information by advanced information technology, and maximizingly providing timely and scientific foundation for environmental monitoring and management. This thesis adopts C# plug-in application development and uses a set of complete embedded GIS component libraries and tools libraries provided by GIS Engine to finish the core of plug-in GIS application framework, namely, the design and implementation of framework host program and each functional plug-in, as well as the design and implementation of plug-in GIS application framework platform. This thesis adopts the advantages of development technique of dynamic plug-in loading configuration, quickly establishes GIS application by visualized component collaborative modeling and realizes GIS application integration. The developed platform is applicable to any application integration related to GIS application (ESRI platform) and can be as basis development platform of GIS application development.

  12. Production of an innovative fertilizer from organic waste: process monitoring by hyperspectral imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Serranti, Silvia; Bonifazi, Giuseppe; Fabbri, Andrea; Dall'Ara, Alice; Garcia Izquierdo, Carlos

    2015-05-01

    The European directive 2008/98/CE establishes a legal framework for the treatment of waste within the Community. It aims at protecting the environment and human health through the prevention of the harmful effects of waste generation and waste management. In order to better protect the environment, the Member States should adopt measures for the treatment of their waste according to a hierarchy as outlined: prevention, preparing for reuse, recycling, energy recovery, disposal. In this context, the European project LIFE12 ENV/IT/000356 "RESAFE" is addressed to produce and utilize a new class of fertilizers characterized by reduced salinity in order to substitute chemical and mineral fertilizers through a technological route based on Urban Organic Waste (UOW), Farm Organic Residues (FOR), Bio-Chars (BC) and Vegetable Active Principles (VAP) processing. Following this approach, it will be possible for farmers and urban waste managers to reduce costs and to obtain environmental and economic incomes. Furthermore, environmental impacts will be also reduced contributing to decrease the greenhouse emissions from landfills and from the production of mineral fertilizers. In this paper, specific innovative sensing architectures, based on Hyper-Spectral Imaging (HSI) devices working in the near infrared (NIR) range, and related detection architectures, is presented and discussed in order to define and apply smart detection engines to follow the transformations of the complex material, resulting from UOW, FOR, BC and VAP based recipes during the different stages of the fertilizer production process. Results show as the fertilizer production process can be monitored adopting the NIR-HSI approach.

  13. Uncertainty quantification in structural health monitoring: Applications on cultural heritage buildings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lorenzoni, Filippo; Casarin, Filippo; Caldon, Mauro; Islami, Kleidi; Modena, Claudio

    2016-01-01

    In the last decades the need for an effective seismic protection and vulnerability reduction of cultural heritage buildings and sites determined a growing interest in structural health monitoring (SHM) as a knowledge-based assessment tool to quantify and reduce uncertainties regarding their structural performance. Monitoring can be successfully implemented in some cases as an alternative to interventions or to control the medium- and long-term effectiveness of already applied strengthening solutions. The research group at the University of Padua, in collaboration with public administrations, has recently installed several SHM systems on heritage structures. The paper reports the application of monitoring strategies implemented to avoid (or at least minimize) the execution of strengthening interventions/repairs and control the response as long as a clear worsening or damaging process is detected. Two emblematic case studies are presented and discussed: the Roman Amphitheatre (Arena) of Verona and the Conegliano Cathedral. Both are excellent examples of on-going monitoring activities, performed through static and dynamic approaches in combination with automated procedures to extract meaningful structural features from collected data. In parallel to the application of innovative monitoring techniques, statistical models and data processing algorithms have been developed and applied in order to reduce uncertainties and exploit monitoring results for an effective assessment and protection of historical constructions. Processing software for SHM was implemented to perform the continuous real time treatment of static data and the identification of modal parameters based on the structural response to ambient vibrations. Statistical models were also developed to filter out the environmental effects and thermal cycles from the extracted features.

  14. In-line monitoring of a pharmaceutical blending process using FT-Raman spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Vergote, G J; De Beer, T R M; Vervaet, C; Remon, J P; Baeyens, W R G; Diericx, N; Verpoort, F

    2004-03-01

    FT-Raman spectroscopy (in combination with a fibre optic probe) was evaluated as an in-line tool to monitor a blending process of diltiazem hydrochloride pellets and paraffinic wax beads. The mean square of differences (MSD) between two consecutive spectra was used to identify the time required to obtain a homogeneous mixture. A traditional end-sampling thief probe was used to collect samples, followed by HPLC analysis to verify the Raman data. Large variations were seen in the FT-Raman spectra logged during the initial minutes of the blending process using a binary mixture (ratio: 50/50, w/w) of diltiazem pellets and paraffinic wax beads (particle size: 800-1200 microm). The MSD-profiles showed that a homogeneous mixture was obtained after about 15 min blending. HPLC analysis confirmed these observations. The Raman data showed that the mixing kinetics depended on the particle size of the material and on the mixing speed. The results of this study proved that FT-Raman spectroscopy can be successfully implemented as an in-line monitoring tool for blending processes.

  15. Flood Detection/Monitoring Using Adjustable Histogram Equalization Technique

    PubMed Central

    Riaz, Muhammad Mohsin; Ghafoor, Abdul

    2014-01-01

    Flood monitoring technique using adjustable histogram equalization is proposed. The technique overcomes the limitations (overenhancement, artifacts, and unnatural look) of existing technique by adjusting the contrast of images. The proposed technique takes pre- and postimages and applies different processing steps for generating flood map without user interaction. The resultant flood maps can be used for flood monitoring and detection. Simulation results show that the proposed technique provides better output quality compared to the state of the art existing technique. PMID:24558332

  16. Process monitoring of additive manufacturing by using optical tomography

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

    Zenzinger, Guenter, E-mail: guenter.zenzinger@mtu.de, E-mail: alexander.ladewig@mtu.de; Bamberg, Joachim, E-mail: guenter.zenzinger@mtu.de, E-mail: alexander.ladewig@mtu.de; Ladewig, Alexander, E-mail: guenter.zenzinger@mtu.de, E-mail: alexander.ladewig@mtu.de

    2015-03-31

    Parts fabricated by means of additive manufacturing are usually of complex shape and owing to the fabrication procedure by using selective laser melting (SLM), potential defects and inaccuracies are often very small in lateral size. Therefore, an adequate quality inspection of such parts is rather challenging, while non-destructive-techniques (NDT) are difficult to realize, but considerable efforts are necessary in order to ensure the quality of SLM-parts especially used for aerospace components. Thus, MTU Aero Engines is currently focusing on the development of an Online Process Control system which monitors and documents the complete welding process during the SLM fabrication procedure.more » A high-resolution camera system is used to obtain images, from which tomographic data for a 3dim analysis of SLM-parts are processed. From the analysis, structural irregularities and structural disorder resulting from any possible erroneous melting process become visible and may be allocated anywhere within the 3dim structure. Results of our optical tomography (OT) method as obtained on real defects are presented.« less

  17. Geosfear? - Overcoming System Boundaries by Open-source Based Monitoring of Spatio-temporal Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brandt, T.; Schima, R.; Goblirsch, T.; Paschen, M.; Francyk, B.; Bumberger, J.; Zacharias, S.; Dietrich, P.; Rubin, Y.; Rinke, K.; Fleckenstein, J. H.; Schmidt, C.; Vieweg, M.

    2016-12-01

    The impact of global change, intensive agriculture and complex interactions between humans and the environment show different effects on different scales. However, the desire to obtain a better understanding of ecosystems and process dynamics in nature accentuates the need for observing these processes at higher temporal and spatial resolutions. Especially with regard to the process dynamics and heterogeneity of rivers and catchment areas, a comprehensive monitoring of the ongoing processes and effects remains to be a challenging issue. What we need are monitoring systems which can collect most diverse data across different environmental compartments and scales. Today, open-source based electronics and innovative sensors and sensor components are offering a promising approach to investigate new possibilities of mobile data acquisition to improve our understanding of the geosphere. To start with, we have designed and implemented a multi-operable, embedded Linux platform for fast integration of different sensors within a single infrastructure. In addition, a GPS module in combination with a GSM transmitter ensures the synchronization and geo-referencing of all data, no matter how old-fashioned the sensors are. To this end, initial field experiments were conducted at a 3rd order stream in the Central German Lowland. Here, we linked in-stream DOC inputs with subsurface metabolism by coupling miniaturized DOC sensor probes with a modified vertical oxygen profiler in situ. Starting from metrological observations to water quality and subsurface conditions, the overarching goal is the detection of interlinked process dynamics across highly reactive biogeochemical interfaces. Overall, the field experiments demonstrated the feasibility of this emerging technology and its potential towards a cutting-edge strategy based on a holistic and integrated process. Now, we are only a few steps away from realizing adaptive and event-triggered observations close to real

  18. VA Health Care: Processes to Evaluate, Implement, and Monitor Organizational Structure Changes Needed

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-09-01

    VA HEALTH CARE Processes to Evaluate , Implement, and Monitor Organizational Structure Changes Needed Report to...Accountability Office Highlights of GAO-16-803, a report to congressional requesters September 2016 VA HEALTH CARE Processes to Evaluate , Implement, and...recommended organizational structure changes are evaluated to determine appropriate actions and implemented. This is inconsistent with federal standards

  19. Correlations of Melt Pool Geometry and Process Parameters During Laser Metal Deposition by Coaxial Process Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ocylok, Sörn; Alexeev, Eugen; Mann, Stefan; Weisheit, Andreas; Wissenbach, Konrad; Kelbassa, Ingomar

    One major demand of today's laser metal deposition (LMD) processes is to achieve a fail-save build-up regarding changing conditions like heat accumulations. Especially for the repair of thin parts like turbine blades is the knowledge about the correlations between melt pool behavior and process parameters like laser power, feed rate and powder mass stream indispensable. The paper will show the process layout with the camera based coaxial monitoring system and the quantitative influence of the process parameters on the melt pool geometry. Therefore the diameter, length and area of the melt pool are measured by a video analytic system at various parameters and compared with the track wide in cross-sections and the laser spot diameter. The influence of changing process conditions on the melt pool is also investigated. On the base of these results an enhanced process of the build-up of a multilayer one track fillet geometry will be presented.

  20. Ultrasonic Signal Processing for Structural Health Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michaels, Jennifer E.; Michaels, Thomas E.

    2004-02-01

    Permanently mounted ultrasonic sensors are a key component of systems under development for structural health monitoring. Signal processing plays a critical role in the viability of such systems due to the difficulty in interpreting signals received from structures of complex geometry. This paper describes a differential feature-based approach to classifying signal changes as either "environmental" or "structural". Data are presented from piezoelectric discs bonded to an aluminum specimen subjected to both environmental changes and introduction of artificial defects. The classifier developed as part of this study was able to correctly identify artificial defects that were not part of the initial training and evaluation data sets. Central to the success of the classifier was the use of the Short Time Cross Correlation to measure coherency between the signal and reference as a function of time.

  1. Advances in industrial biopharmaceutical batch process monitoring: Machine-learning methods for small data problems.

    PubMed

    Tulsyan, Aditya; Garvin, Christopher; Ündey, Cenk

    2018-04-06

    Biopharmaceutical manufacturing comprises of multiple distinct processing steps that require effective and efficient monitoring of many variables simultaneously in real-time. The state-of-the-art real-time multivariate statistical batch process monitoring (BPM) platforms have been in use in recent years to ensure comprehensive monitoring is in place as a complementary tool for continued process verification to detect weak signals. This article addresses a longstanding, industry-wide problem in BPM, referred to as the "Low-N" problem, wherein a product has a limited production history. The current best industrial practice to address the Low-N problem is to switch from a multivariate to a univariate BPM, until sufficient product history is available to build and deploy a multivariate BPM platform. Every batch run without a robust multivariate BPM platform poses risk of not detecting potential weak signals developing in the process that might have an impact on process and product performance. In this article, we propose an approach to solve the Low-N problem by generating an arbitrarily large number of in silico batches through a combination of hardware exploitation and machine-learning methods. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first article to provide a solution to the Low-N problem in biopharmaceutical manufacturing using machine-learning methods. Several industrial case studies from bulk drug substance manufacturing are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach for BPM under various Low-N scenarios. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Monitoring sodium levels in commercially processed and restaurant foods - dataset and webpages.

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL), Agriculture Research Service (ARS) in collaboration with Food Surveys Research Group, ARS, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been monitoring commercially processed and restaurant foods in the United States since 2010. About 125 highly consumed, s...

  3. Data Pre-Processing for Label-Free Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) Experiments

    PubMed Central

    Chung, Lisa M.; Colangelo, Christopher M.; Zhao, Hongyu

    2014-01-01

    Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) conducted on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer allows researchers to quantify the expression levels of a set of target proteins. Each protein is often characterized by several unique peptides that can be detected by monitoring predetermined fragment ions, called transitions, for each peptide. Concatenating large numbers of MRM transitions into a single assay enables simultaneous quantification of hundreds of peptides and proteins. In recognition of the important role that MRM can play in hypothesis-driven research and its increasing impact on clinical proteomics, targeted proteomics such as MRM was recently selected as the Nature Method of the Year. However, there are many challenges in MRM applications, especially data pre‑processing where many steps still rely on manual inspection of each observation in practice. In this paper, we discuss an analysis pipeline to automate MRM data pre‑processing. This pipeline includes data quality assessment across replicated samples, outlier detection, identification of inaccurate transitions, and data normalization. We demonstrate the utility of our pipeline through its applications to several real MRM data sets. PMID:24905083

  4. Data Pre-Processing for Label-Free Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) Experiments.

    PubMed

    Chung, Lisa M; Colangelo, Christopher M; Zhao, Hongyu

    2014-06-05

    Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) conducted on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer allows researchers to quantify the expression levels of a set of target proteins. Each protein is often characterized by several unique peptides that can be detected by monitoring predetermined fragment ions, called transitions, for each peptide. Concatenating large numbers of MRM transitions into a single assay enables simultaneous quantification of hundreds of peptides and proteins. In recognition of the important role that MRM can play in hypothesis-driven research and its increasing impact on clinical proteomics, targeted proteomics such as MRM was recently selected as the Nature Method of the Year. However, there are many challenges in MRM applications, especially data pre‑processing where many steps still rely on manual inspection of each observation in practice. In this paper, we discuss an analysis pipeline to automate MRM data pre‑processing. This pipeline includes data quality assessment across replicated samples, outlier detection, identification of inaccurate transitions, and data normalization. We demonstrate the utility of our pipeline through its applications to several real MRM data sets.

  5. Optimized Enhanced Bioremediation Through 4D Geophysical Monitoring and Autonomous Data Collection, Processing and Analysis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-09-01

    ER-200717) Optimized Enhanced Bioremediation Through 4D Geophysical Monitoring and Autonomous Data Collection, Processing and Analysis...N/A 3. DATES COVERED - 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Optimized Enhanced Bioremediation Through 4D Geophysical Monitoring and Autonomous Data...8 2.1.2 The Geophysical Signatures of Bioremediation ......................................... 8 2.2 PRIOR

  6. Molecular Probes: An Innovative Technology for Monitoring Membrane Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santoro, Sergio

    The ultimate objective of this study is to use molecular probes as an innovative and alternative technology contributing to the advance of membrane science by monitoring membrane processes in-situ, on-line and at sub-micron scale. An optical sensor for oxygen sensing was developed by the immobilization of tris (1,10-phenanthroline) ruthenium (II) (Ru(phen)3) in a dense polymeric membrane made of polystyrene (PS) or Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV). The emission of the probe was quenched by both the temperature and by the oxygen. Moreover, the oxygen sensitivity was affected by the oxygen permeability of the membrane. The evaluation of the oxygen concentration is prone to errors since the emission of a single probe depends on several parameters (i.e. optical path, source intensity). The correction of these artefacts was obtained by the immobilization of a second luminescent molecule non-sensitive to the oxygen, Coumarin. The potential of the luminescent ratiometric sensor for the non-invasive monitoring of oxygen in food packaging using polymeric films with different oxygen permeability was evaluated. Emphasis was given to the efficiency of the optical sensor for the on-line, in-situ and non invasive monitoring of the oxygen by comparing the experimental data with a model which takes into account the oxygen permeability of the packaging materials evaluated independently. A nano-thermometer based on silica nano-particles doped with Ru(phen)3 was developed. A systematic study shows how it is possible to control the properties of the nano-particles as well as their temperature sensitivity. The nano-thermometer was immobilized on a membrane surface by dip-coating providing information about the temperature on the membrane surface. Hydrophobic porous membrane made of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) was prepared via electrospinning and employed in a direct contact membrane distillation process. Using a designed membrane module and a membrane doped with Ru

  7. An Integrated Processing Strategy for Mountain Glacier Motion Monitoring Based on SAR Images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruan, Z.; Yan, S.; Liu, G.; LV, M.

    2017-12-01

    Mountain glacier dynamic variables are important parameters in studies of environment and climate change in High Mountain Asia. Due to the increasing events of abnormal glacier-related hazards, research of monitoring glacier movements has attracted more interest during these years. Glacier velocities are sensitive and changing fast under complex conditions of high mountain regions, which implies that analysis of glacier dynamic changes requires comprehensive and frequent observations with relatively high accuracy. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been successfully exploited to detect glacier motion in a number of previous studies, usually with pixel-tracking and interferometry methods. However, the traditional algorithms applied to mountain glacier regions are constrained by the complex terrain and diverse glacial motion types. Interferometry techniques are prone to fail in mountain glaciers because of their narrow size and the steep terrain, while pixel-tracking algorithm, which is more robust in high mountain areas, is subject to accuracy loss. In order to derive glacier velocities continually and efficiently, we propose a modified strategy to exploit SAR data information for mountain glaciers. In our approach, we integrate a set of algorithms for compensating non-glacial-motion-related signals which exist in the offset values retrieved by sub-pixel cross-correlation of SAR image pairs. We exploit modified elastic deformation model to remove the offsets associated with orbit and sensor attitude, and for the topographic residual offset we utilize a set of operations including DEM-assisted compensation algorithm and wavelet-based algorithm. At the last step of the flow, an integrated algorithm combining phase and intensity information of SAR images will be used to improve regional motion results failed in cross-correlation related processing. The proposed strategy is applied to the West Kunlun Mountain and Muztagh Ata region in western China using ALOS

  8. Near-infrared chemical imaging (NIR-CI) as a process monitoring solution for a production line of roll compaction and tableting.

    PubMed

    Khorasani, Milad; Amigo, José M; Sun, Changquan Calvin; Bertelsen, Poul; Rantanen, Jukka

    2015-06-01

    In the present study the application of near-infrared chemical imaging (NIR-CI) supported by chemometric modeling as non-destructive tool for monitoring and assessing the roller compaction and tableting processes was investigated. Based on preliminary risk-assessment, discussion with experts and current work from the literature the critical process parameter (roll pressure and roll speed) and critical quality attributes (ribbon porosity, granule size, amount of fines, tablet tensile strength) were identified and a design space was established. Five experimental runs with different process settings were carried out which revealed intermediates (ribbons, granules) and final products (tablets) with different properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) based model of NIR images was applied to map the ribbon porosity distribution. The ribbon porosity distribution gained from the PCA based NIR-CI was used to develop predictive models for granule size fractions. Predictive methods with acceptable R(2) values could be used to predict the granule particle size. Partial least squares regression (PLS-R) based model of the NIR-CI was used to map and predict the chemical distribution and content of active compound for both roller compacted ribbons and corresponding tablets. In order to select the optimal process, setting the standard deviation of tablet tensile strength and tablet weight for each tablet batch was considered. Strong linear correlation between tablet tensile strength and amount of fines and granule size was established, respectively. These approaches are considered to have a potentially large impact on quality monitoring and control of continuously operating manufacturing lines, such as roller compaction and tableting processes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. [Statistical process control applied to intensity modulated radiotherapy pretreatment controls with portal dosimetry].

    PubMed

    Villani, N; Gérard, K; Marchesi, V; Huger, S; François, P; Noël, A

    2010-06-01

    The first purpose of this study was to illustrate the contribution of statistical process control for a better security in intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatments. This improvement is possible by controlling the dose delivery process, characterized by pretreatment quality control results. So, it is necessary to put under control portal dosimetry measurements (currently, the ionisation chamber measurements were already monitored by statistical process control thanks to statistical process control tools). The second objective was to state whether it is possible to substitute ionisation chamber with portal dosimetry in order to optimize time devoted to pretreatment quality control. At Alexis-Vautrin center, pretreatment quality controls in IMRT for prostate and head and neck treatments were performed for each beam of each patient. These controls were made with an ionisation chamber, which is the reference detector for the absolute dose measurement, and with portal dosimetry for the verification of dose distribution. Statistical process control is a statistical analysis method, coming from industry, used to control and improve the studied process quality. It uses graphic tools as control maps to follow-up process, warning the operator in case of failure, and quantitative tools to evaluate the process toward its ability to respect guidelines: this is the capability study. The study was performed on 450 head and neck beams and on 100 prostate beams. Control charts, showing drifts, both slow and weak, and also both strong and fast, of mean and standard deviation have been established and have shown special cause introduced (manual shift of the leaf gap of the multileaf collimator). Correlation between dose measured at one point, given with the EPID and the ionisation chamber has been evaluated at more than 97% and disagreement cases between the two measurements were identified. The study allowed to demonstrate the feasibility to reduce the time devoted to

  10. Sensor-model prediction, monitoring and in-situ control of liquid RTM advanced fiber architecture composite processing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kranbuehl, D.; Kingsley, P.; Hart, S.; Loos, A.; Hasko, G.; Dexter, B.

    1992-01-01

    In-situ frequency dependent electromagnetic sensors (FDEMS) and the Loos resin transfer model have been used to select and control the processing properties of an epoxy resin during liquid pressure RTM impregnation and cure. Once correlated with viscosity and degree of cure the FDEMS sensor monitors and the RTM processing model predicts the reaction advancement of the resin, viscosity and the impregnation of the fabric. This provides a direct means for predicting, monitoring, and controlling the liquid RTM process in-situ in the mold throughout the fabrication process and the effects of time, temperature, vacuum and pressure. Most importantly, the FDEMS-sensor model system has been developed to make intelligent decisions, thereby automating the liquid RTM process and removing the need for operator direction.

  11. Contributions to ultrasound monitoring of the process of milk curdling.

    PubMed

    Jiménez, Antonio; Rufo, Montaña; Paniagua, Jesús M; Crespo, Abel T; Guerrero, M Patricia; Riballo, M José

    2017-04-01

    Ultrasound evaluation permits the state of milk being curdled to be determined quickly and cheaply, thus satisfying the demands faced by today's dairy product producers. This paper describes the non-invasive ultrasonic method of in situ monitoring the changing physical properties of milk during the renneting process. The basic objectives of the study were, on the one hand, to confirm the usefulness of conventional non-destructive ultrasonic testing (time-of-flight and attenuation of the ultrasound waves) in monitoring the process in the case of ewe's milk, and, on the other, to include other ultrasound parameters which have not previously been considered in studies on this topic, in particular, parameters provided by the Fast Fourier Transform technique. The experimental study was carried out in a dairy industry environment on four 52-l samples of raw milk in which were immersed 500kHz ultrasound transducers. Other physicochemical parameters of the raw milk (pH, dry matter, protein, Gerber fat test, and lactose) were measured, as also were the pH and temperature of the curdled samples simultaneously with the ultrasound tests. Another contribution of this study is the linear correlation analysis of the aforementioned ultrasound parameters and the physicochemical properties of the curdled milk. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Brain negativity as an indicator of predictive error processing: the contribution of visual action effect monitoring.

    PubMed

    Joch, Michael; Hegele, Mathias; Maurer, Heiko; Müller, Hermann; Maurer, Lisa Katharina

    2017-07-01

    The error (related) negativity (Ne/ERN) is an event-related potential in the electroencephalogram (EEG) correlating with error processing. Its conditions of appearance before terminal external error information suggest that the Ne/ERN is indicative of predictive processes in the evaluation of errors. The aim of the present study was to specifically examine the Ne/ERN in a complex motor task and to particularly rule out other explaining sources of the Ne/ERN aside from error prediction processes. To this end, we focused on the dependency of the Ne/ERN on visual monitoring about the action outcome after movement termination but before result feedback (action effect monitoring). Participants performed a semi-virtual throwing task by using a manipulandum to throw a virtual ball displayed on a computer screen to hit a target object. Visual feedback about the ball flying to the target was masked to prevent action effect monitoring. Participants received a static feedback about the action outcome (850 ms) after each trial. We found a significant negative deflection in the average EEG curves of the error trials peaking at ~250 ms after ball release, i.e., before error feedback. Furthermore, this Ne/ERN signal did not depend on visual ball-flight monitoring after release. We conclude that the Ne/ERN has the potential to indicate error prediction in motor tasks and that it exists even in the absence of action effect monitoring. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In this study, we are separating different kinds of possible contributors to an electroencephalogram (EEG) error correlate (Ne/ERN) in a throwing task. We tested the influence of action effect monitoring on the Ne/ERN amplitude in the EEG. We used a task that allows us to restrict movement correction and action effect monitoring and to control the onset of result feedback. We ascribe the Ne/ERN to predictive error processing where a conscious feeling of failure is not a prerequisite. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological

  13. Thermographic In-Situ Process Monitoring of the Electron Beam Melting Technology used in Additive Manufacturing

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

    Dinwiddie, Ralph Barton; Dehoff, Ryan R; Lloyd, Peter D

    2013-01-01

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been utilizing the ARCAM electron beam melting technology to additively manufacture complex geometric structures directly from powder. Although the technology has demonstrated the ability to decrease costs, decrease manufacturing lead-time and fabricate complex structures that are impossible to fabricate through conventional processing techniques, certification of the component quality can be challenging. Because the process involves the continuous deposition of successive layers of material, each layer can be examined without destructively testing the component. However, in-situ process monitoring is difficult due to metallization on inside surfaces caused by evaporation and condensation of metal from themore » melt pool. This work describes a solution to one of the challenges to continuously imaging inside of the chamber during the EBM process. Here, the utilization of a continuously moving Mylar film canister is described. Results will be presented related to in-situ process monitoring and how this technique results in improved mechanical properties and reliability of the process.« less

  14. Real time monitoring of powder blend bulk density for coupled feed-forward/feed-back control of a continuous direct compaction tablet manufacturing process.

    PubMed

    Singh, Ravendra; Román-Ospino, Andrés D; Romañach, Rodolfo J; Ierapetritou, Marianthi; Ramachandran, Rohit

    2015-11-10

    The pharmaceutical industry is strictly regulated, where precise and accurate control of the end product quality is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the drug products. For such control, the process and raw materials variability ideally need to be fed-forward in real time into an automatic control system so that a proactive action can be taken before it can affect the end product quality. Variations in raw material properties (e.g., particle size), feeder hopper level, amount of lubrication, milling and blending action, applied shear in different processing stages can affect the blend density significantly and thereby tablet weight, hardness and dissolution. Therefore, real time monitoring of powder bulk density variability and its incorporation into the automatic control system so that its effect can be mitigated proactively and efficiently is highly desired. However, real time monitoring of powder bulk density is still a challenging task because of different level of complexities. In this work, powder bulk density which has a significant effect on the critical quality attributes (CQA's) has been monitored in real time in a pilot-plant facility, using a NIR sensor. The sensitivity of the powder bulk density on critical process parameters (CPP's) and CQA's has been analyzed and thereby feed-forward controller has been designed. The measured signal can be used for feed-forward control so that the corrective actions on the density variations can be taken before they can influence the product quality. The coupled feed-forward/feed-back control system demonstrates improved control performance and improvements in the final product quality in the presence of process and raw material variations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Tracking hazardous air pollutants from a refinery fire by applying on-line and off-line air monitoring and back trajectory modeling.

    PubMed

    Shie, Ruei-Hao; Chan, Chang-Chuan

    2013-10-15

    The air monitors used by most regulatory authorities are designed to track the daily emissions of conventional pollutants and are not well suited for measuring hazardous air pollutants that are released from accidents such as refinery fires. By applying a wide variety of air-monitoring systems, including on-line Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector, and off-line gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for measuring hazardous air pollutants during and after a fire at a petrochemical complex in central Taiwan on May 12, 2011, we were able to detect significantly higher levels of combustion-related gaseous and particulate pollutants, refinery-related hydrocarbons, and chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as 1,2-dichloroethane, vinyl chloride monomer, and dichloromethane, inside the complex and 10 km downwind from the fire than those measured during the normal operation periods. Both back trajectories and dispersion models further confirmed that high levels of hazardous air pollutants in the neighboring communities were carried by air mass flown from the 22 plants that were shut down by the fire. This study demonstrates that hazardous air pollutants from industrial accidents can successfully be identified and traced back to their emission sources by applying a timely and comprehensive air-monitoring campaign and back trajectory air flow models. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Selected KSC Applied Physics Lab Responses to Shuttle Processing Measurement Requests

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Youngquist, Robert C.

    2010-01-01

    The KSC Applied Physics Lab has been supporting Shuttle Ground Processing for over 20 years by solving problems brought to us by Shuttle personnel. Roughly half of the requests to our lab have been to find ways to make measurements, or to improve on an existing measurement process. This talk will briefly cover: 1) Centering the aft end of the External Tank between the Solid Rocket Boosters; 2) Positioning the GOX Vent Hood over the External Tank; 3) Remote Measurements of External Tank Damage; 4) Strain Measurement in the Orbiter Sling; and 5) Over-center Distance Measurement in an Over-center Mechanism.

  17. [Indicators monitoring the process of specialized nutritional support. Grupo de Nutrición de la SEFH].

    PubMed

    Sirvent, Mariola; Victoria Calvo, María; Sagalés, María; Rodríguez-Penin, Isaura; Cervera, Mercedes; Piñeiro, Guadalupe; García-Rodicio, Sonsoles; Gomis, Pilar; Caba, Isabel; Vazquez, Amparo; Gomez, María E; Pedraza, Luis

    2013-01-01

    To identify and develop monitoring indicators of the process of specialized nutritional support that will allow measuring the level of adherence to the established practice standards. Those practice standards considered to be key elements of the process were selected to develop performance indicators. The construction of these indicators combined the scientific evidence with expert opinion. Key goals were identified within each standard provided that its consecution would allow increasing the achievement of the standard. Particular improvement initiatives associated to each key goal were generated. Lastly, monitoring indicators were defined allowing undertaking a follow-up of the implementation of the improvement initiatives or either to assess the level of achievement of the key goals identified. Nineteen practice standards were selected representative of the critical points of the process. The strategic map for each standard has been defined, with the identification of 43 key goals. In order to achieve these key goals, a portfolio of improvements has been generated comprising 56 actions. Finally, 44 monitoring indicators have been defined grouped into three categories: 1. Numeric: they assess the level of goal achievement; 2. Dichotomic (yes/no): they inform on the execution of the improvement actions; 3. Results of the practice audits. We have made available monitoring indicators that allow assessing the level of adherence to the practice standards of the process of specialized nutritional support and the impact of the implementation of improvement actions within this process. Copyright © 2013 SEFH. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  18. Monitoring of Lactobacillus fermentation process by using ion chromatography with a series piezoelectric quartz crystal detector.

    PubMed

    Zhang, J; Xie, Y; Dai, X; Wei, W

    2001-03-01

    A new method monitoring Lactobacillus fermentation process, which combines ion chromatography (IC) with a series piezoelectric quartz crystal (SPQC) technique, is presented in this paper. Monitoring of the fermentation process was realized by examining the rate of production of lactic acid. An automatic membrane dialyser was used for the pretreatment of the sample in on-line monitoring. A mixture of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and N,N-diethylethanolamine was adopted as mobile phase and its flow rate was 0.8 ml/min. The effects of some fermentation conditions were also discussed in detail. Accordingly, the optimal fermentation conditions were obtained. This method is simple and convenient while the results obtained are accurate and reliable.

  19. Non-intrusive appliance monitor apparatus

    DOEpatents

    Hart, George W.; Kern, Jr., Edward C.; Schweppe, Fred C.

    1989-08-15

    A non-intrusive monitor of energy consumption of residential appliances is described in which sensors, coupled to the power circuits entering a residence, supply analog voltage and current signals which are converted to digital format and processed to detect changes in certain residential load parameters, i.e., admittance. Cluster analysis techniques are employed to group change measurements into certain categories, and logic is applied to identify individual appliances and the energy consumed by each.

  20. Web Based Seismological Monitoring (wbsm)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giudicepietro, F.; Meglio, V.; Romano, S. P.; de Cesare, W.; Ventre, G.; Martini, M.

    Over the last few decades the seismological monitoring systems have dramatically improved tanks to the technological advancements and to the scientific progresses of the seismological studies. The most modern processing systems use the network tech- nologies to realize high quality performances in data transmission and remote controls. Their architecture is designed to favor the real-time signals analysis. This is, usually, realized by adopting a modular structure that allow to easy integrate any new cal- culation algorithm, without affecting the other system functionalities. A further step in the seismic processing systems evolution is the large use of the web based appli- cations. The web technologies can be an useful support for the monitoring activities allowing to automatically publishing the results of signals processing and favoring the remote access to data, software systems and instrumentation. An application of the web technologies to the seismological monitoring has been developed at the "Os- servatorio Vesuviano" monitoring center (INGV) in collaboration with the "Diparti- mento di Informatica e Sistemistica" of the Naples University. A system named Web Based Seismological Monitoring (WBSM) has been developed. Its main objective is to automatically publish the seismic events processing results and to allow displaying, analyzing and downloading seismic data via Internet. WBSM uses the XML tech- nology for hypocentral and picking parameters representation and creates a seismic events data base containing parametric data and wave-forms. In order to give tools for the evaluation of the quality and reliability of the published locations, WBSM also supplies all the quality parameters calculated by the locating program and allow to interactively display the wave-forms and the related parameters. WBSM is a modular system in which the interface function to the data sources is performed by two spe- cific modules so that to make it working in conjunction with a

  1. Hybrid statistical testing for nuclear material accounting data and/or process monitoring data in nuclear safeguards

    DOE PAGES

    Burr, Tom; Hamada, Michael S.; Ticknor, Larry; ...

    2015-01-01

    The aim of nuclear safeguards is to ensure that special nuclear material is used for peaceful purposes. Historically, nuclear material accounting (NMA) has provided the quantitative basis for monitoring for nuclear material loss or diversion, and process monitoring (PM) data is collected by the operator to monitor the process. PM data typically support NMA in various ways, often by providing a basis to estimate some of the in-process nuclear material inventory. We develop options for combining PM residuals and NMA residuals (residual = measurement - prediction), using a hybrid of period-driven and data-driven hypothesis testing. The modified statistical tests canmore » be used on time series of NMA residuals (the NMA residual is the familiar material balance), or on a combination of PM and NMA residuals. The PM residuals can be generated on a fixed time schedule or as events occur.« less

  2. Determining the locus of a processing zone in an in situ oil shale retort by sound monitoring

    DOEpatents

    Elkington, W. Brice

    1978-01-01

    The locus of a processing zone advancing through a fragmented permeable mass of particles in an in situ oil shale retort in a subterranean formation containing oil shale is determined by monitoring for sound produced in the retort, preferably by monitoring for sound at at least two locations in a plane substantially normal to the direction of advancement of the processing zone. Monitoring can be effected by placing a sound transducer in a well extending through the formation adjacent the retort and/or in the fragmented mass such as in a well extending into the fragmented mass.

  3. Evaluation of Heat Flux Measurement as a New Process Analytical Technology Monitoring Tool in Freeze Drying.

    PubMed

    Vollrath, Ilona; Pauli, Victoria; Friess, Wolfgang; Freitag, Angelika; Hawe, Andrea; Winter, Gerhard

    2017-05-01

    This study investigates the suitability of heat flux measurement as a new technique for monitoring product temperature and critical end points during freeze drying. The heat flux sensor is tightly mounted on the shelf and measures non-invasively (no contact with the product) the heat transferred from shelf to vial. Heat flux data were compared to comparative pressure measurement, thermocouple readings, and Karl Fischer titration as current state of the art monitoring techniques. The whole freeze drying process including freezing (both by ramp freezing and controlled nucleation) and primary and secondary drying was considered. We found that direct measurement of the transferred heat enables more insights into thermodynamics of the freezing process. Furthermore, a vial heat transfer coefficient can be calculated from heat flux data, which ultimately provides a non-invasive method to monitor product temperature throughout primary drying. The end point of primary drying determined by heat flux measurements was in accordance with the one defined by thermocouples. During secondary drying, heat flux measurements could not indicate the progress of drying as monitoring the residual moisture content. In conclusion, heat flux measurements are a promising new non-invasive tool for lyophilization process monitoring and development using energy transfer as a control parameter. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Hybrid RTM process: Monitoring and processing of composites based on reactive thermoplastic systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dkier, Mohamed; Lamnawar, Khalid; Maazouz, Abderrahim

    2017-10-01

    In this work, hybrid process coupling "Reactive Extrusion" and "Resin Transfer Molding" machine (T-ERTM) equipped with an instrumented mold was designed and developed. Polyamides model matrix according to two kinds of polymerizations were studied as well anionic and chain extension reactions. For the former, different ratios of catalyst and activator were investigated. For the latter, various formulations of prepolymer with chain extender (CA) were studied at different stoichiometry ratios and temperatures. Since that both reaction kinetics are very fast to be monitored at short times by usual technics, the chemo-rheological evolutions were firstly studied ex-situ by coupling rheology with FTIR and dielectric spectroscopy (DRS). Secondly, the T-ERTM process with an "instrumented mold" was developed with specific dielectric sensors in order to in-situ track viscosity and reaction evolution. The in-situ results corroborate the ex-situ ones aforementioned. Overall, a processing window was obtained for each reactive system to ensure a good preform impregnation for the manufacturing of complex and continuous glass fiber-reinforced parts. Herein, the Time-Temperature-Transformation-equivalent diagrams were established to obtain Thermoplastic composites with tailored mechanical and physical properties.

  5. Advanced modelling, monitoring, and process control of bioconversion systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmitt, Elliott C.

    Production of fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass is an increasingly important area of research and industrialization throughout the world. In order to be competitive with fossil-based fuels and chemicals, maintaining cost-effectiveness is critical. Advanced process control (APC) and optimization methods could significantly reduce operating costs in the biorefining industry. Two reasons APC has previously proven challenging to implement for bioprocesses include: lack of suitable online sensor technology of key system components, and strongly nonlinear first principal models required to predict bioconversion behavior. To overcome these challenges batch fermentations with the acetogen Moorella thermoacetica were monitored with Raman spectroscopy for the conversion of real lignocellulosic hydrolysates and a kinetic model for the conversion of synthetic sugars was developed. Raman spectroscopy was shown to be effective in monitoring the fermentation of sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane straw hydrolysate, where univariate models predicted acetate concentrations with a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 1.9 and 1.0 g L-1 for bagasse and straw, respectively. Multivariate partial least squares (PLS) models were employed to predict acetate, xylose, glucose, and total sugar concentrations for both hydrolysate fermentations. The PLS models were more robust than univariate models, and yielded a percent error of approximately 5% for both sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane straw. In addition, a screening technique was discussed for improving Raman spectra of hydrolysate samples prior to collecting fermentation data. Furthermore, a mechanistic model was developed to predict batch fermentation of synthetic glucose, xylose, and a mixture of the two sugars to acetate. The models accurately described the bioconversion process with an RMSEP of approximately 1 g L-1 for each model and provided insights into how kinetic parameters changed during dual substrate

  6. Applying Lean Sigma solutions to mistake-proof the chemotherapy preparation process.

    PubMed

    Aboumatar, Hanan J; Winner, Laura; Davis, Richard; Peterson, Aisha; Hill, Richard; Frank, Susan; Almuete, Virna; Leung, T Vivian; Trovitch, Peter; Farmer, Denise

    2010-02-01

    Errors related to high-alert medications, such as chemotherapeutic agents, have resulted in serious adverse events. A fast-paced application of Lean Sigma methodology was used to safeguard the chemotherapy preparation process against errors and increase compliance with United States Pharmacopeia 797 (USP 797) regulations. On Days 1 and 2 of a Lean Sigma workshop, frontline staff studied the chemotherapy preparation process. During Days 2 and 3, interventions were developed and implementation was started. The workshop participants were satisfied with the speed at which improvements were put to place using the structured workshop format. The multiple opportunities for error identified related to the chemotherapy preparation process, workspace layout, distractions, increased movement around ventilated hood areas, and variation in medication processing and labeling procedures. Mistake-proofing interventions were then introduced via workspace redesign, process redesign, and development of standard operating procedures for pharmacy staff. Interventions were easy to implement and sustainable. Reported medication errors reaching patients and requiring monitoring decreased, whereas the number of reported near misses increased, suggesting improvement in identifying errors before reaching the patients. Application of Lean Sigma solutions enabled the development of a series of relatively inexpensive and easy to implement mistake-proofing interventions that reduce the likelihood of chemotherapy preparation errors and increase compliance with USP 797 regulations. The findings and interventions are generalizable and can inform mistake-proofing interventions in all types of pharmacies.

  7. Evaluation and monitoring of UVR in Shield Metal ARC Welding processing.

    PubMed

    Peng, Chiung-yu; Liu, Hung-hsin; Chang, Cheng-ping; Shieh, Jeng-yueh; Lan, Cheng-hang

    2007-08-01

    This study established a comprehensive approach to monitoring UVR magnitude from Shield Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) processing and quantified the effective exposure based on measured data. The irradiances from welding UVR were calculated with biological effective parameter (Slambda) for human exposure assessment. The spectral weighting function for UVR measurement and evaluation followed the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) guidelines. Arc welding processing scatters bright light with UVR emission over the full UV spectrum (UVA, UVB, and UVC). The worst case of effective irradiance from a 50 cm distance arc spot with a 200 A electric current and an electrode E6011 (4 mm) is 311.0 microW cm(-2) and has the maximum allowance time (Tmax) of 9.6 s. Distance is an important factor affecting the irradiance intensity. The worst case of the effective irradiance values from arc welding at 100, 200, and 300 cm distances are 76.2, 16.6, and 12.1 microW cm(-2) with Tmax of 39.4, 180.7, and 247.9 s, respectively. Protective materials (glove and mask) were demonstrated to protect workers from hazardous UVR exposure. From this study, the methodology of UVR monitoring in SMAW processing was developed and established. It is recommended that welders should be fitted with appropriate protective materials for protection from UVR emission hazards.

  8. ATLAS fast physics monitoring: TADA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sabato, G.; Elsing, M.; Gumpert, C.; Kamioka, S.; Moyse, E.; Nairz, A.; Eifert, T.; ATLAS Collaboration

    2017-10-01

    The ATLAS experiment at the LHC has been recording data from proton-proton collisions with 13 TeV center-of-mass energy since spring 2015. The collaboration is using a fast physics monitoring framework (TADA) to automatically perform a broad range of fast searches for early signs of new physics and to monitor the data quality across the year with the full analysis level calibrations applied to the rapidly growing data. TADA is designed to provide fast feedback directly after the collected data has been fully calibrated and processed at the Tier-0. The system can monitor a large range of physics channels, offline data quality and physics performance quantities. TADA output is available on a website accessible by the whole collaboration. It gets updated twice a day with the data from newly processed runs. Hints of potentially interesting physics signals or performance issues identified in this way are reported to be followed up by physics or combined performance groups. The note reports as well about the technical aspects of TADA: the software structure to obtain the input TAG files, the framework workflow and structure, the webpage and its implementation.

  9. Mechatronics in monitoring, simulation, and diagnostics of industrial and biological processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Golnik, Natalia; Dobosz, Marek; Jakubowska, Małgorzata; Kościelny, Jan M.; Kujawińska, Małgorzata; Pałko, Tadeusz; Putz, Barbara; Sitnik, Robert; Wnuk, Paweł; Woźniak, Adam

    2013-10-01

    The paper describes a number of research projects of the Faculty of Mechatronics of Warsaw University of Technology in order to illustrate the use of common mechatronics and optomechatronics approach in solving multidisciplinary technical problems. Projects on sensors development, measurement and industrial control systems, multimodal data capture and advance systems for monitoring and diagnostics of industrial processes are presented and discussed.

  10. Second-order relational face processing is applied to faces of different race and photographic contrast.

    PubMed

    Matheson, H E; Bilsbury, T G; McMullen, P A

    2012-03-01

    A large body of research suggests that faces are processed by a specialized mechanism within the human visual system. This specialized mechanism is made up of subprocesses (Maurer, LeGrand, & Mondloch, 2002). One subprocess, called second- order relational processing, analyzes the metric distances between face parts. Importantly, it is well established that other-race faces and contrast-reversed faces are associated with impaired performance on numerous face processing tasks. Here, we investigated the specificity of second-order relational processing by testing how this process is applied to faces of different race and photographic contrast. Participants completed a feature displacement discrimination task, directly measuring the sensitivity to second-order relations between face parts. Across three experiments we show that, despite absolute differences in sensitivity in some conditions, inversion impaired performance in all conditions. The presence of robust inversion effects for all faces suggests that second-order relational processing can be applied to faces of different race and photographic contrast.

  11. Microalgal process-monitoring based on high-selectivity spectroscopy tools: status and future perspectives.

    PubMed

    Podevin, Michael; Fotidis, Ioannis A; Angelidaki, Irini

    2018-08-01

    Microalgae are well known for their ability to accumulate lipids intracellularly, which can be used for biofuels and mitigate CO 2 emissions. However, due to economic challenges, microalgae bioprocesses have maneuvered towards the simultaneous production of food, feed, fuel, and various high-value chemicals in a biorefinery concept. On-line and in-line monitoring of macromolecules such as lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and high-value pigments will be more critical to maintain product quality and consistency for downstream processing in a biorefinery to maintain and valorize these markets. The main contribution of this review is to present current and prospective advances of on-line and in-line process analytical technology (PAT), with high-selectivity - the capability of monitoring several analytes simultaneously - in the interest of improving product quality, productivity, and process automation of a microalgal biorefinery. The high-selectivity PAT under consideration are mid-infrared (MIR), near-infrared (NIR), and Raman vibrational spectroscopies. The current review contains a critical assessment of these technologies in the context of recent advances in software and hardware in order to move microalgae production towards process automation through multivariate process control (MVPC) and software sensors trained on "big data". The paper will also include a comprehensive overview of off-line implementations of vibrational spectroscopy in microalgal research as it pertains to spectral interpretation and process automation to aid and motivate development.

  12. High-resolution reflectometer for monitoring of biological samples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Men, Liqiu; Lu, Ping; Chen, Qiying

    2008-06-01

    High-resolution optical low-coherence reflectometry is applied to monitor biological samples. It has been found that the reflectivity of aged cow's milk is significantly lower than that of the fresh milk with a difference of 5.35dB. During the process of heating the fresh milk at a constant temperature of 80°C, the reflectivity of the milk gradually decreases with the increase of the heating duration. The technique is proved to be effective in monitoring the change in the refractive index of the sample.

  13. Non-Invasive Acoustic-Based Monitoring of Heavy Water and Uranium Process Solutions

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

    Pantea, Cristian; Sinha, Dipen N.; Lakis, Rollin Evan

    2017-11-02

    The goals of the project are to leverage laboratory scientific strength in physical acoustics for critical international safeguards applications; create hardware demonstration capability for noninvasive, near real time, and low cost process monitor to capture future technology development programs; and measure physical property data to support method applicability.

  14. CE-UV/VIS and CE-MS for monitoring organic impurities during the downstream processing of fermentative-produced lactic acid from second-generation renewable feedstocks.

    PubMed

    Laube, Hendrik; Matysik, Frank-Michael; Schmidberger, Andreas; Mehlmann, Kerstin; Toursel, Andreas; Boden, Jana

    2016-01-01

    During the downstream process of bio-based bulk chemicals, organic impurities, mostly residues from the fermentation process, must be separated to obtain a pure and ready-to-market chemical. In this study, capillary electrophoresis was investigated for the non-targeting downstream process monitoring of organic impurities and simultaneous quantitative detection of lactic acid during the purification process of fermentatively produced lactic acid. The downstream process incorporated 11 separation units, ranging from filtration, adsorption and ion exchange to electrodialysis and distillation, and 15 different second-generation renewable feedstocks were processed into lactic acid. The identification of organic impurities was established through spiking and the utilization of an advanced capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry system. A total of 53 % of the organic impurities were efficiently removed via bipolar electrodialysis; however, one impurity, pyroglutamic acid, was recalcitrant to separation. It was demonstrated that the presence of pyroglutamic acid disrupts the polymerization of lactic acid into poly lactic acid. Pyroglutamic acid was present in all lactic acid solutions, independent of the type of renewable resource or the bacterium applied. Pyroglutamic acid, also known as 5-oxoproline, is a metabolite in the glutathione cycle, which is present in all living microorganisms. pyroglutamic acid is found in many proteins, and during intracellular protein metabolism, N-terminal glutamic acid and glutamine residues can spontaneously cyclize to become pyroglutamic acid. Hence, the concentration of pyroglutamic acid in the lactic acid solution can only be limited to a certain amount. The present study proved the capillary electrophoresis system to be an important tool for downstream process monitoring. The high product concentration encountered in biological production processes did not hinder the capillary electrophoresis from separating and detecting organic

  15. Understanding Parental Monitoring through Analysis of Monitoring Episodes in Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayes, Louise; Hudson, Alan; Matthews, Jan

    2007-01-01

    A model of monitoring interactions was proposed that is based on behavioural principles and places episodic parent-adolescent interactions at the centre of analysis for monitoring. The process-monitoring model contends that monitoring is an interactive process between parents and their adolescents, nested within a social setting. In the model it…

  16. 21 CFR 111.460 - What requirements apply to holding in-process material?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What requirements apply to holding in-process material? 111.460 Section 111.460 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE IN...

  17. Hydrologic Process Regularization for Improved Geoelectrical Monitoring of a Lab-Scale Saline Tracer Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oware, E. K.; Moysey, S. M.

    2016-12-01

    Regularization stabilizes the geophysical imaging problem resulting from sparse and noisy measurements that render solutions unstable and non-unique. Conventional regularization constraints are, however, independent of the physics of the underlying process and often produce smoothed-out tomograms with mass underestimation. Cascaded time-lapse (CTL) is a widely used reconstruction technique for monitoring wherein a tomogram obtained from the background dataset is employed as starting model for the inversion of subsequent time-lapse datasets. In contrast, a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)-constrained inversion framework enforces physics-based regularization based upon prior understanding of the expected evolution of state variables. The physics-based constraints are represented in the form of POD basis vectors. The basis vectors are constructed from numerically generated training images (TIs) that mimic the desired process. The target can be reconstructed from a small number of selected basis vectors, hence, there is a reduction in the number of inversion parameters compared to the full dimensional space. The inversion involves finding the optimal combination of the selected basis vectors conditioned on the geophysical measurements. We apply the algorithm to 2-D lab-scale saline transport experiments with electrical resistivity (ER) monitoring. We consider two transport scenarios with one and two mass injection points evolving into unimodal and bimodal plume morphologies, respectively. The unimodal plume is consistent with the assumptions underlying the generation of the TIs, whereas bimodality in plume morphology was not conceptualized. We compare difference tomograms retrieved from POD with those obtained from CTL. Qualitative comparisons of the difference tomograms with images of their corresponding dye plumes suggest that POD recovered more compact plumes in contrast to those of CTL. While mass recovery generally deteriorated with increasing number of time

  18. Monitoring endemic livestock diseases using laboratory diagnostic data: A simulation study to evaluate the performance of univariate process monitoring control algorithms.

    PubMed

    Lopes Antunes, Ana Carolina; Dórea, Fernanda; Halasa, Tariq; Toft, Nils

    2016-05-01

    Surveillance systems are critical for accurate, timely monitoring and effective disease control. In this study, we investigated the performance of univariate process monitoring control algorithms in detecting changes in seroprevalence for endemic diseases. We also assessed the effect of sample size (number of sentinel herds tested in the surveillance system) on the performance of the algorithms. Three univariate process monitoring control algorithms were compared: Shewart p Chart(1) (PSHEW), Cumulative Sum(2) (CUSUM) and Exponentially Weighted Moving Average(3) (EWMA). Increases in seroprevalence were simulated from 0.10 to 0.15 and 0.20 over 4, 8, 24, 52 and 104 weeks. Each epidemic scenario was run with 2000 iterations. The cumulative sensitivity(4) (CumSe) and timeliness were used to evaluate the algorithms' performance with a 1% false alarm rate. Using these performance evaluation criteria, it was possible to assess the accuracy and timeliness of the surveillance system working in real-time. The results showed that EWMA and PSHEW had higher CumSe (when compared with the CUSUM) from week 1 until the end of the period for all simulated scenarios. Changes in seroprevalence from 0.10 to 0.20 were more easily detected (higher CumSe) than changes from 0.10 to 0.15 for all three algorithms. Similar results were found with EWMA and PSHEW, based on the median time to detection. Changes in the seroprevalence were detected later with CUSUM, compared to EWMA and PSHEW for the different scenarios. Increasing the sample size 10 fold halved the time to detection (CumSe=1), whereas increasing the sample size 100 fold reduced the time to detection by a factor of 6. This study investigated the performance of three univariate process monitoring control algorithms in monitoring endemic diseases. It was shown that automated systems based on these detection methods identified changes in seroprevalence at different times. Increasing the number of tested herds would lead to faster

  19. A direct reading exposure monitor for radiation processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kantz, A. D.; Humpherys, K. C.

    Various plastic films have been utilized to measure radiation fields. In general such films are rugged, easily handled, small enough to cause neligible perturbation on the radiation fields, and relatively inexpensive. The radiachromic materials have been shown to have advantages over other plastic fabrications in stability, reproducibility, equivalent response to electron and gamma ray processing fields, dose rate independence, and ready availability of calibration standards. Using a nylon matrix radiachromic detector, a system of direct read-out of absorbed dose has been developed to facilitate monitoring in the megarad region. When an exposed detector is inserted into the reader, the optical transmission signal is processed through an analog to digital converter. The digitized signal addresses a memory bank where the standard response curve is stored. The corresponding absorbed dose is displayed on a digital panel meter. The variation of relative sensitivity of detectors, the background of unirradiated detectors, environmental parameters, and the capacity of the memory bank are contributing factors to the total precision of the read-out system.

  20. Processing ultrasound backscatter to monitor high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaczkowski, Peter J.; Anand, Ajay; Bailey, Michael R.

    2005-09-01

    The development of new noninvasive surgical methods such as HIFU for the treatment of cancer and internal bleeding requires simultaneous development of new sensing approaches to guide, monitor, and assess the therapy. Ultrasound imaging using echo amplitude has long been used to map tissue morphology for diagnostic interpretation by the clinician. New quantitative ultrasonic methods that rely on amplitude and phase processing for tissue characterization are being developed for monitoring of ablative therapy. We have been developing the use of full wave ultrasound backscattering for real-time temperature estimation, and to image changes in tissue backscatter spectrum as therapy progresses. Both approaches rely on differential processing of the backscatter signal in time, and precise measurement of phase differences. Noise and artifacts from motion and nonstationary speckle statistics are addressed by constraining inversions for tissue parameters with physical models. We present results of HIFU experiments with static point and scanned HIFU exposures in which temperature rise can be accurately mapped using a new heat transfer equation (HTE) model-constrained inverse approach. We also present results of a recently developed spectral imaging method that elucidates microbubble-mediated nonlinearity not visible as a change in backscatter amplitude. [Work supported by Army MRMC.

  1. Development and Validation of a Collocated Exposure Monitoring Methodology using Portable Air Monitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Z.; Che, W.; Frey, H. C.; Lau, A. K. H.

    2016-12-01

    Portable air monitors are currently being developed and used to enable a move towards exposure monitoring as opposed to fixed site monitoring. Reliable methods are needed regarding capturing spatial and temporal variability in exposure concentration to obtain credible data from which to develop efficient exposure mitigation measures. However, there are few studies that quantify the validity and repeatability of the collected data. The objective of this study is to present and evaluate a collocated exposure monitoring (CEM) methodology including the calibration of portable air monitors against stationary reference equipment, side-by-side comparison of portable air monitors, personal or microenvironmental exposure monitoring and the processing and interpretation of the collected data. The CEM methodology was evaluated based on application to portable monitors TSI DustTrak II Aerosol Monitor 8530 for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and TSI Q-Trak model 7575 with probe model 982 for CO, CO2, temperature and relative humidity. Taking a school sampling campaign in Hong Kong in January and June, 2015 as an example, the calibrated side-by-side measured 1 Hz PM2.5 concentrations showed good consistency between two sets of portable air monitors. Confidence in side-by-side comparison, PM2.5 concentrations of which most of the time were within 2 percent, enabled robust inference regarding differences when the monitors measured in classroom and pedestrian during school hour. The proposed CEM methodology can be widely applied in sampling campaigns with the objective of simultaneously characterizing pollutant concentrations in two or more locations or microenvironments. The further application of the CEM methodology to transportation exposure will be presented and discussed.

  2. Non-intrusive appliance monitor apparatus

    DOEpatents

    Hart, G.W.; Kern, E.C. Jr.; Schweppe, F.C.

    1989-08-15

    A non-intrusive monitor of energy consumption of residential appliances is described in which sensors, coupled to the power circuits entering a residence, supply analog voltage and current signals which are converted to digital format and processed to detect changes in certain residential load parameters, i.e., admittance. Cluster analysis techniques are employed to group change measurements into certain categories, and logic is applied to identify individual appliances and the energy consumed by each. 9 figs.

  3. An Attachable Electromagnetic Energy Harvester Driven Wireless Sensing System Demonstrating Milling-Processes and Cutter-Wear/Breakage-Condition Monitoring.

    PubMed

    Chung, Tien-Kan; Yeh, Po-Chen; Lee, Hao; Lin, Cheng-Mao; Tseng, Chia-Yung; Lo, Wen-Tuan; Wang, Chieh-Min; Wang, Wen-Chin; Tu, Chi-Jen; Tasi, Pei-Yuan; Chang, Jui-Wen

    2016-02-23

    An attachable electromagnetic-energy-harvester driven wireless vibration-sensing system for monitoring milling-processes and cutter-wear/breakage-conditions is demonstrated. The system includes an electromagnetic energy harvester, three single-axis Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometers, a wireless chip module, and corresponding circuits. The harvester consisting of magnets with a coil uses electromagnetic induction to harness mechanical energy produced by the rotating spindle in milling processes and consequently convert the harnessed energy to electrical output. The electrical output is rectified by the rectification circuit to power the accelerometers and wireless chip module. The harvester, circuits, accelerometer, and wireless chip are integrated as an energy-harvester driven wireless vibration-sensing system. Therefore, this completes a self-powered wireless vibration sensing system. For system testing, a numerical-controlled machining tool with various milling processes is used. According to the test results, the system is fully self-powered and able to successfully sense vibration in the milling processes. Furthermore, by analyzing the vibration signals (i.e., through analyzing the electrical outputs of the accelerometers), criteria are successfully established for the system for real-time accurate simulations of the milling-processes and cutter-conditions (such as cutter-wear conditions and cutter-breaking occurrence). Due to these results, our approach can be applied to most milling and other machining machines in factories to realize more smart machining technologies.

  4. An Attachable Electromagnetic Energy Harvester Driven Wireless Sensing System Demonstrating Milling-Processes and Cutter-Wear/Breakage-Condition Monitoring

    PubMed Central

    Chung, Tien-Kan; Yeh, Po-Chen; Lee, Hao; Lin, Cheng-Mao; Tseng, Chia-Yung; Lo, Wen-Tuan; Wang, Chieh-Min; Wang, Wen-Chin; Tu, Chi-Jen; Tasi, Pei-Yuan; Chang, Jui-Wen

    2016-01-01

    An attachable electromagnetic-energy-harvester driven wireless vibration-sensing system for monitoring milling-processes and cutter-wear/breakage-conditions is demonstrated. The system includes an electromagnetic energy harvester, three single-axis Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometers, a wireless chip module, and corresponding circuits. The harvester consisting of magnets with a coil uses electromagnetic induction to harness mechanical energy produced by the rotating spindle in milling processes and consequently convert the harnessed energy to electrical output. The electrical output is rectified by the rectification circuit to power the accelerometers and wireless chip module. The harvester, circuits, accelerometer, and wireless chip are integrated as an energy-harvester driven wireless vibration-sensing system. Therefore, this completes a self-powered wireless vibration sensing system. For system testing, a numerical-controlled machining tool with various milling processes is used. According to the test results, the system is fully self-powered and able to successfully sense vibration in the milling processes. Furthermore, by analyzing the vibration signals (i.e., through analyzing the electrical outputs of the accelerometers), criteria are successfully established for the system for real-time accurate simulations of the milling-processes and cutter-conditions (such as cutter-wear conditions and cutter-breaking occurrence). Due to these results, our approach can be applied to most milling and other machining machines in factories to realize more smart machining technologies. PMID:26907297

  5. Selected algorithms for measurement data processing in impulse-radar-based system for monitoring of human movements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miękina, Andrzej; Wagner, Jakub; Mazurek, Paweł; Morawski, Roman Z.

    2016-11-01

    The importance of research on new technologies that could be employed in care services for elderly and disabled persons is highlighted. Advantages of impulse-radar sensors, when applied for non-intrusive monitoring of such persons in their home environment, are indicated. Selected algorithms for the measurement data preprocessing - viz. the algorithms for clutter suppression and echo parameter estimation, as well as for estimation of the twodimensional position of a monitored person - are proposed. The capability of an impulse-radar- based system to provide some application-specific parameters, viz. the parameters characterising the patient's health condition, is also demonstrated.

  6. [Allocation of attentional resource and monitoring processes under rapid serial visual presentation].

    PubMed

    Nishiura, K

    1998-08-01

    With the use of rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), the present study investigated the cause of target intrusion errors and functioning of monitoring processes. Eighteen students participated in Experiment 1, and 24 in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, different target intrusion errors were found depending on different kinds of letters --romaji, hiragana, and kanji. In Experiment 2, stimulus set size and context information were manipulated in an attempt to explore the cause of post-target intrusion errors. Results showed that as stimulus set size increased, the post-target intrusion errors also increased, but contextual information did not affect the errors. Results concerning mean report probability indicated that increased allocation of attentional resource to response-defining dimension was the cause of the errors. In addition, results concerning confidence rating showed that monitoring of temporal and contextual information was extremely accurate, but it was not so for stimulus information. These results suggest that attentional resource is different from monitoring resource.

  7. A real-time spectroscopic sensor for monitoring laser welding processes.

    PubMed

    Sibillano, Teresa; Ancona, Antonio; Berardi, Vincenzo; Lugarà, Pietro Mario

    2009-01-01

    In this paper we report on the development of a sensor for real time monitoring of laser welding processes based on spectroscopic techniques. The system is based on the acquisition of the optical spectra emitted from the laser generated plasma plume and their use to implement an on-line algorithm for both the calculation of the plasma electron temperature and the analysis of the correlations between selected spectral lines. The sensor has been patented and it is currently available on the market.

  8. The SARVIEWS Project: Automated SAR Processing in Support of Operational Near Real-time Volcano Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meyer, F. J.; Webley, P. W.; Dehn, J.; Arko, S. A.; McAlpin, D. B.; Gong, W.

    2016-12-01

    Volcanic eruptions are among the most significant hazards to human society, capable of triggering natural disasters on regional to global scales. In the last decade, remote sensing has become established in operational volcano monitoring. Centers like the Alaska Volcano Observatory rely heavily on remote sensing data from optical and thermal sensors to provide time-critical hazard information. Despite this high use of remote sensing data, the presence of clouds and a dependence on solar illumination often limit their impact on decision making. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems are widely considered superior to optical sensors in operational monitoring situations, due to their weather and illumination independence. Still, the contribution of SAR to operational volcano monitoring has been limited in the past due to high data costs, long processing times, and low temporal sampling rates of most SAR systems. In this study, we introduce the automatic SAR processing system SARVIEWS, whose advanced data analysis and data integration techniques allow, for the first time, a meaningful integration of SAR into operational monitoring systems. We will introduce the SARVIEWS database interface that allows for automatic, rapid, and seamless access to the data holdings of the Alaska Satellite Facility. We will also present a set of processing techniques designed to automatically generate a set of SAR-based hazard products (e.g. change detection maps, interferograms, geocoded images). The techniques take advantage of modern signal processing and radiometric normalization schemes, enabling the combination of data from different geometries. Finally, we will show how SAR-based hazard information is integrated in existing multi-sensor decision support tools to enable joint hazard analysis with data from optical and thermal sensors. We will showcase the SAR processing system using a set of recent natural disasters (both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) to demonstrate its

  9. System for monitoring an industrial process and determining sensor status

    DOEpatents

    Gross, K.C.; Hoyer, K.K.; Humenik, K.E.

    1995-10-17

    A method and system for monitoring an industrial process and a sensor are disclosed. The method and system include generating a first and second signal characteristic of an industrial process variable. One of the signals can be an artificial signal generated by an auto regressive moving average technique. After obtaining two signals associated with one physical variable, a difference function is obtained by determining the arithmetic difference between the two pairs of signals over time. A frequency domain transformation is made of the difference function to obtain Fourier modes describing a composite function. A residual function is obtained by subtracting the composite function from the difference function and the residual function (free of nonwhite noise) is analyzed by a statistical probability ratio test. 17 figs.

  10. System for monitoring an industrial process and determining sensor status

    DOEpatents

    Gross, K.C.; Hoyer, K.K.; Humenik, K.E.

    1997-05-13

    A method and system are disclosed for monitoring an industrial process and a sensor. The method and system include generating a first and second signal characteristic of an industrial process variable. One of the signals can be an artificial signal generated by an auto regressive moving average technique. After obtaining two signals associated with one physical variable, a difference function is obtained by determining the arithmetic difference between the two pairs of signals over time. A frequency domain transformation is made of the difference function to obtain Fourier modes describing a composite function. A residual function is obtained by subtracting the composite function from the difference function and the residual function (free of nonwhite noise) is analyzed by a statistical probability ratio test. 17 figs.

  11. System for monitoring an industrial process and determining sensor status

    DOEpatents

    Gross, Kenneth C.; Hoyer, Kristin K.; Humenik, Keith E.

    1995-01-01

    A method and system for monitoring an industrial process and a sensor. The method and system include generating a first and second signal characteristic of an industrial process variable. One of the signals can be an artificial signal generated by an auto regressive moving average technique. After obtaining two signals associated with one physical variable, a difference function is obtained by determining the arithmetic difference between the two pairs of signals over time. A frequency domain transformation is made of the difference function to obtain Fourier modes describing a composite function. A residual function is obtained by subtracting the composite function from the difference function and the residual function (free of nonwhite noise) is analyzed by a statistical probability ratio test.

  12. System for monitoring an industrial process and determining sensor status

    DOEpatents

    Gross, Kenneth C.; Hoyer, Kristin K.; Humenik, Keith E.

    1997-01-01

    A method and system for monitoring an industrial process and a sensor. The method and system include generating a first and second signal characteristic of an industrial process variable. One of the signals can be an artificial signal generated by an auto regressive moving average technique. After obtaining two signals associated with one physical variable, a difference function is obtained by determining the arithmetic difference between the two pairs of signals over time. A frequency domain transformation is made of the difference function to obtain Fourier modes describing a composite function. A residual function is obtained by subtracting the composite function from the difference function and the residual function (free of nonwhite noise) is analyzed by a statistical probability ratio test.

  13. Processing speed can monitor stimulant-medication effects in adults with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.

    PubMed

    Nielsen, Niels Peter; Wiig, Elisabeth H; Bäck, Svante; Gustafsson, Jan

    2017-05-01

    Treatment responses to methylphenidate by adults with ADHD are generally monitored against DSM-IV/DSM-V symptomatology, rating scales or interviews during reviews. To evaluate the use of single- and dual-dimension processing-speed and efficiency measures to monitor the effects of pharmacological treatment with methylphenidate after a short period off medication. A Quick Test of Cognitive Speed (AQT) monitored the effects of immediate-release methylphenidate in 40 previously diagnosed and medicated adults with ADHD. Processing speed was evaluated with prior prescription medication, without medication after a 2-day period off ADHD medication, and with low-dose (10/20 mg) and high-dose (20/40 mg) methylphenidate hydrochloride (Medikinet IR). Thirty-three participants responded to the experimental treatments. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc analysis (Scheffe) indicated significant main effects for single dimension colour and form and dual-dimension colour-form naming. Post-hoc analysis indicated statistical differences between the no- and high-dose medication conditions for colour and form, measures of perceptual speed. For colour-form naming, a measure of cognitive speed, there was a significant difference between no- and low-dose medication and between no- and high-dose medications, but not between low- and high-dose medications. Results indicated that the AQT tests effectively monitored incremental effects of the methylphenidate dose on processing speed after a 2-day period off medication. Thus, perceptual (colour and form) and cognitive speed (two-dimensional colour-form naming) and processing efficiency (lowered shift costs) increased measurably with high-dose medication. These preliminary findings warrant validation with added measures of associated behavioural and cognitive changes.

  14. Development of software for geodynamic processes monitoring system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kabanov, M. M.; Kapustin, S. N.; Gordeev, V. F.; Botygin, I. A.; Tartakovsky, V. A.

    2017-11-01

    This article justifies the usage of natural pulsed electromagnetic Earth's noises logging method for mapping anomalies of strain-stress state of Earth's crust. The methods and technologies for gathering, processing and systematization of data gathered by ground multi-channel geophysical loggers for monitoring geomagnetic situation have been experimentally tested, and software had been developed. The data was consolidated in a network storage and can be accessed without using any specialized client software. The article proposes ways to distinguish global and regional small-scale time-space variations of Earth's natural electromagnetic field. For research purposes, the software provides a way to export data for any given period of time for any loggers and displays measurement data charts for selected set of stations.

  15. Monitoring of Lactic Fermentation Process by Ultrasonic Technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alouache, B.; Touat, A.; Boutkedjirt, T.; Bennamane, A.

    The non-destructive control by using ultrasound techniques has become of great importance in food industry. In this work, Ultrasound has been used for quality control and monitoring the fermentation stages of yogurt, which is a highly consumed product. On the contrary to the physico-chemical methods, where the measurement instruments are directly introduced in the sample, ultrasound techniques have the advantage of being non-destructive and contactless, thus reducing the risk of contamination. Results obtained in this study by using ultrasound seem to be in good agreement with those obtained by physico-chemical methods such as acidity measurement by using a PH-meter instrument. This lets us to conclude that ultrasound method may be an alternative for a healthy control of yoghurt fermentation process.

  16. Using a Monitoring Process to Effectively Assist Struggling Pre-Service Teacher Candidates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kincaid, Maureen; Keiser, Nancy

    2014-01-01

    A critical issue in teacher preparation today is that some candidates meet the criteria for admission to teacher education programs yet they struggle or fail to develop the levels of knowledge, skills, and/or dispositions required to complete the program. This article offers three different case studies to examine the monitoring process developed…

  17. Patient Monitoring

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1978-01-01

    In photo above, the electrocardiogram of a hospitalized patient is being transmitted by telemetry. Widely employed in space operations, telemetry is a process wherein instrument data is converted to electrical signals and sent to a receiver where the signals are reconverted to usable information. In this instance, heart readings are picked up by the electrode attached to the patient's body and delivered by wire to the small box shown, which is a telemetry transmitter. The signals are relayed wirelessly to the console in the background, which converts them to EKG data. The data is displayed visually and recorded on a printout; at the same time, it is transmitted to a central control station (upper photo) where a nurse can monitor the condition of several patients simultaneously. The Patient Monitoring System was developed by SCI Systems, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, in conjunction with Abbott Medical Electronics, Houston, Texas. In developing the system, SCI drew upon its extensive experience as a NASA contractor. The company applied telemetry technology developed for the Saturn launch vehicle and the Apollo spacecraft; instrumentation technology developed for heart, blood pressure and sleep monitoring of astronauts aboard NASA's Skylab long duration space station; and communications technology developed for the Space Shuttle.

  18. Wearable sensors for human health monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asada, H. Harry; Reisner, Andrew

    2006-03-01

    Wearable sensors for continuous monitoring of vital signs for extended periods of weeks or months are expected to revolutionize healthcare services in the home and workplace as well as in hospitals and nursing homes. This invited paper describes recent research progress in wearable health monitoring technology and its clinical applications, with emphasis on blood pressure and circulatory monitoring. First, a finger ring-type wearable blood pressure sensor based on photo plethysmogram is presented. Technical issues, including motion artifact reduction, power saving, and wearability enhancement, will be addressed. Second, sensor fusion and sensor networking for integrating multiple sensors with diverse modalities will be discussed for comprehensive monitoring and diagnosis of health status. Unlike traditional snap-shot measurements, continuous monitoring with wearable sensors opens up the possibility to treat the physiological system as a dynamical process. This allows us to apply powerful system dynamics and control methodologies, such as adaptive filtering, single- and multi-channel system identification, active noise cancellation, and adaptive control, to the monitoring and treatment of highly complex physiological systems. A few clinical trials illustrate the potentials of the wearable sensor technology for future heath care services.

  19. Trends in optical coherence tomography applied to medical imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Podoleanu, Adrian G.

    2014-01-01

    The number of publications on optical coherence tomography (OCT) continues to double every three years. Traditionally applied to imaging the eye, OCT is now being extended to fields outside ophthalmology and optometry. Widening its applicability, progress in the core engine of the technology, and impact on development of novel optical sources, make OCT a very active and rapidly evolving field. Trends in the developments of different specific devices, such as optical sources, optical configurations and signal processing will be presented. Encompassing studies on both the configurations as well as on signal processing themes, current research in Kent looks at combining spectral domain with time domain imaging for long axial range and simultaneous imaging at several depths. Results of the collaborative work of the Applied Optics Group in Kent with organisers of this conference will be presented, with reference to 3D monitoring of abfraction.

  20. Soft sensor for monitoring biomass subpopulations in mammalian cell culture processes.

    PubMed

    Kroll, Paul; Stelzer, Ines V; Herwig, Christoph

    2017-11-01

    Biomass subpopulations in mammalian cell culture processes cause impurities and influence productivity, which requires this critical process parameter to be monitored in real-time. For this reason, a novel soft sensor concept for estimating viable, dead and lysed cell concentration was developed, based on the robust and cheap in situ measurements of permittivity and turbidity in combination with a simple model. It could be shown that the turbidity measurements contain information about all investigated biomass subpopulations. The novelty of the developed soft sensor is the real-time estimation of lysed cell concentration, which is directly correlated to process-related impurities such as DNA and host cell protein in the supernatant. Based on data generated by two fed-batch processes the developed soft sensor is described and discussed. The presented soft sensor concept provides a tool for viable, dead and lysed cell concentration estimation in real-time with adequate accuracy and enables further applications with respect to process optimization and control.

  1. Process control and recovery in the Link Monitor and Control Operator Assistant

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, Lorrine; Hill, Randall W., Jr.

    1993-01-01

    This paper describes our approach to providing process control and recovery functions in the Link Monitor and Control Operator Assistant (LMCOA). The focus of the LMCOA is to provide semi-automated monitor and control to support station operations in the Deep Space Network. The LMCOA will be demonstrated with precalibration operations for Very Long Baseline Interferometry on a 70-meter antenna. Precalibration, the task of setting up the equipment to support a communications link with a spacecraft, is a manual, time consuming and error-prone process. One problem with the current system is that it does not provide explicit feedback about the effects of control actions. The LMCOA uses a Temporal Dependency Network (TDN) to represent an end-to-end sequence of operational procedures and a Situation Manager (SM) module to provide process control, diagnosis, and recovery functions. The TDN is a directed network representing precedence, parallelism, precondition, and postcondition constraints. The SM maintains an internal model of the expected and actual states of the subsystems in order to determine if each control action executed successfully and to provide feedback to the user. The LMCOA is implemented on a NeXT workstation using Objective C, Interface Builder and the C Language Integrated Production System.

  2. Separating and stabilizing phosphate from high-level radioactive waste: process development and spectroscopic monitoring.

    PubMed

    Lumetta, Gregg J; Braley, Jenifer C; Peterson, James M; Bryan, Samuel A; Levitskaia, Tatiana G

    2012-06-05

    Removing phosphate from alkaline high-level waste sludges at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site in Washington State is necessary to increase the waste loading in the borosilicate glass waste form that will be used to immobilize the highly radioactive fraction of these wastes. We are developing a process which first leaches phosphate from the high-level waste solids with aqueous sodium hydroxide, and then isolates the phosphate by precipitation with calcium oxide. Tests with actual tank waste confirmed that this process is an effective method of phosphate removal from the sludge and offers an additional option for managing the phosphorus in the Hanford tank waste solids. The presence of vibrationally active species, such as nitrate and phosphate ions, in the tank waste processing streams makes the phosphate removal process an ideal candidate for monitoring by Raman or infrared spectroscopic means. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were acquired for all phases during a test of the process with actual tank waste. Quantitative determination of phosphate, nitrate, and sulfate in the liquid phases was achieved by Raman spectroscopy, demonstrating the applicability of Raman spectroscopy for the monitoring of these species in the tank waste process streams.

  3. Monitoring processing properties of high performance thermoplastics using frequency dependent electromagnetic sensing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kranbuehl, D. E.; Delos, S. E.; Hoff, M. S.; Weller, L. W.; Haverty, P. D.

    1987-01-01

    An in situ NDE dielectric impedance measurement method has been developed for ascertaining the cure processing properties of high temperature advanced thermoplastic and thermosetting resins, using continuous frequency-dependent measurements and analyses of complex permittivity over 9 orders of magnitude and 6 decades of frequency at temperatures up to 400 C. Both ionic and Debye-like dipolar relaxation processes are monitored. Attention is given to LARC-TPI, PEEK, and poly(arylene ether) resins' viscosity, glass transition temperature, recrystallization, and residual solvent content and evolution properties.

  4. A Successful Replication of the River Visitor Inventory and Monitoring Process for Capacity Management

    Treesearch

    Kenneth Chilman; James Vogel; Greg Brown; John H. Burde

    2004-01-01

    This paper has 3 purposes: to discuss 1. case study research and its utility for recreation management decisionmaking, 2. the recreation visitor inventory and monitoring process developed from case study research, and 3. a successful replication of the process in a large-scale, multi-year application. Although case study research is discussed in research textbooks as...

  5. Portable system for temperature monitoring in all phases of wine production.

    PubMed

    Boquete, Luciano; Cambralla, Rafael; Rodríguez-Ascariz, J M; Miguel-Jiménez, J M; Cantos-Frontela, J J; Dongil, J

    2010-07-01

    This paper presents a low-cost and highly versatile temperature-monitoring system applicable to all phases of wine production, from grape cultivation through to delivery of bottled wine to the end customer. Monitoring is performed by a purpose-built electronic system comprising a digital memory that stores temperature data and a ZigBee communication system that transmits it to a Control Centre for processing and display. The system has been tested under laboratory conditions and in real-world operational applications. One of the system's advantages is that it can be applied to every phase of wine production. Moreover, with minimum modification, other variables of interest (pH, humidity, etc.) could also be monitored and the system could be applied to other similar sectors, such as olive-oil production. 2010 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Recent developments in smart freezing technology applied to fresh foods.

    PubMed

    Xu, Ji-Cheng; Zhang, Min; Mujumdar, Arun S; Adhikari, Benu

    2017-09-02

    Due to the increased awareness of consumers in sensorial and nutritional quality of frozen foods, the freezing technology has to seek new and innovative technologies for better retaining the fresh like quality of foods. In this article, we review the recent developments in smart freezing technology applied to fresh foods. The application of these intelligent technologies and the associated underpinning concepts have greatly improved the quality of frozen foods and the freezing efficiency. These technologies are able to automatically collect the information in-line during freezing and help control the freezing process better. Smart freezing technology includes new and intelligent technologies and concepts applied to the pretreatment of the frozen product, freezing processes, cold chain logistics as well as warehouse management. These technologies enable real-time monitoring of quality during the freezing process and help improve product quality and freezing efficiency. We also provide a brief overview of several sensing technologies used to achieve automatic control of individual steps of freezing process. These sensing technologies include computer vision, electronic nose, electronic tongue, digital simulation, confocal laser, near infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance technology and ultrasound. Understanding of the mechanism of these new technologies will be helpful for applying them to improve the quality of frozen foods.

  7. Monitoring Processes in Visual Search Enhanced by Professional Experience: The Case of Orange Quality-Control Workers

    PubMed Central

    Visalli, Antonino; Vallesi, Antonino

    2018-01-01

    Visual search tasks have often been used to investigate how cognitive processes change with expertise. Several studies have shown visual experts' advantages in detecting objects related to their expertise. Here, we tried to extend these findings by investigating whether professional search experience could boost top-down monitoring processes involved in visual search, independently of advantages specific to objects of expertise. To this aim, we recruited a group of quality-control workers employed in citrus farms. Given the specific features of this type of job, we expected that the extensive employment of monitoring mechanisms during orange selection could enhance these mechanisms even in search situations in which orange-related expertise is not suitable. To test this hypothesis, we compared performance of our experimental group and of a well-matched control group on a computerized visual search task. In one block the target was an orange (expertise target) while in the other block the target was a Smurfette doll (neutral target). The a priori hypothesis was to find an advantage for quality-controllers in those situations in which monitoring was especially involved, that is, when deciding the presence/absence of the target required a more extensive inspection of the search array. Results were consistent with our hypothesis. Quality-controllers were faster in those conditions that extensively required monitoring processes, specifically, the Smurfette-present and both target-absent conditions. No differences emerged in the orange-present condition, which resulted to mainly rely on bottom-up processes. These results suggest that top-down processes in visual search can be enhanced through immersive real-life experience beyond visual expertise advantages. PMID:29497392

  8. Time-Lapse Motion Picture Technique Applied to the Study of Geological Processes.

    PubMed

    Miller, R D; Crandell, D R

    1959-09-25

    Light-weight, battery-operated timers were built and coupled to 16-mm motion-picture cameras having apertures controlled by photoelectric cells. The cameras were placed adjacent to Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier. The film obtained confirms the view that exterior time-lapse photography can be applied to the study of slow-acting geologic processes.

  9. Monitoring the ripening process of Cheddar cheese based on hydrophilic component profiling using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Ochi, H; Sakai, Y; Koishihara, H; Abe, F; Bamba, T; Fukusaki, E

    2013-01-01

    squares regression analysis. The amino acids proline, leucine, valine, isoleucine, pyroglutamic acid, alanine, glutamic acid, glycine, lysine, tyrosine, serine, phenylalanine, methionine, aspartic acid, and ornithine were extracted as ripening process markers. The present study is not limited to Cheddar cheese and can be applied to various maturation-type natural cheeses. This study provides the technical platform for designing optimal conditions and quality monitoring of the cheese ripening process. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Near infrared spectroscopy based monitoring of extraction processes of raw material with the help of dynamic predictive modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Haixia; Suo, Tongchuan; Wu, Xiaolin; Zhang, Yue; Wang, Chunhua; Yu, Heshui; Li, Zheng

    2018-03-01

    The control of batch-to-batch quality variations remains a challenging task for pharmaceutical industries, e.g., traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) manufacturing. One difficult problem is to produce pharmaceutical products with consistent quality from raw material of large quality variations. In this paper, an integrated methodology combining the near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and dynamic predictive modeling is developed for the monitoring and control of the batch extraction process of licorice. With the spectra data in hand, the initial state of the process is firstly estimated with a state-space model to construct a process monitoring strategy for the early detection of variations induced by the initial process inputs such as raw materials. Secondly, the quality property of the end product is predicted at the mid-course during the extraction process with a partial least squares (PLS) model. The batch-end-time (BET) is then adjusted accordingly to minimize the quality variations. In conclusion, our study shows that with the help of the dynamic predictive modeling, NIRS can offer the past and future information of the process, which enables more accurate monitoring and control of process performance and product quality.

  11. A novel methodology for in-process monitoring of flow forming

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Appleby, Andrew; Conway, Alastair; Ion, William

    2017-10-01

    Flow forming (FF) is an incremental cold working process with near-net-shape forming capability. Failures by fracture due to high deformation can be unexpected and sometimes catastrophic, causing tool damage. If process failures can be identified in real time, an automatic cut-out could prevent costly tool damage. Sound and vibration monitoring is well established and commercially viable in the machining sector to detect current and incipient process failures, but not for FF. A broad-frequency microphone was used to record the sound signature of the manufacturing cycle for a series of FF parts. Parts were flow formed using single and multiple passes, and flaws were introduced into some of the parts to simulate the presence of spontaneously initiated cracks. The results show that this methodology is capable of identifying both introduced defects and spontaneous failures during flow forming. Further investigation is needed to categorise and identify different modes of failure and identify further potential applications in rotary forming.

  12. Nuclear propulsion control and health monitoring

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Walter, P. B.; Edwards, R. M.

    1993-01-01

    An integrated control and health monitoring architecture is being developed for the Pratt & Whitney XNR2000 nuclear rocket. Current work includes further development of the dynamic simulation modeling and the identification and configuration of low level controllers to give desirable performance for the various operating modes and faulted conditions. Artificial intelligence and knowledge processing technologies need to be investigated and applied in the development of an intelligent supervisory controller module for this control architecture.

  13. Nuclear propulsion control and health monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Walter, P. B.; Edwards, R. M.

    1993-11-01

    An integrated control and health monitoring architecture is being developed for the Pratt & Whitney XNR2000 nuclear rocket. Current work includes further development of the dynamic simulation modeling and the identification and configuration of low level controllers to give desirable performance for the various operating modes and faulted conditions. Artificial intelligence and knowledge processing technologies need to be investigated and applied in the development of an intelligent supervisory controller module for this control architecture.

  14. Blowout Monitor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1994-01-01

    C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), a NASA-developed software shell for developing expert systems, has been embedded in a PC-based expert system for training oil rig personnel in monitoring oil drilling. Oil drilling rigs if not properly maintained for possible blowouts pose hazards to human life, property and the environment may be destroyed. CLIPS is designed to permit the delivery of artificial intelligence on computer. A collection of rules is set up and, as facts become known, these rules are applied. In the Well Site Advisor, CLIPS provides the capability to accurately process, predict and interpret well data in a real time mode. CLIPS was provided to INTEQ by COSMIC.

  15. Monitoring the Stimulated Uncapping Process of Gold-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Augspurger, Ashley E; Sun, Xiaoxing; Trewyn, Brian G; Fang, Ning; Stender, Anthony S

    2018-03-06

    To establish a new method for tracking the interaction of nanoparticles with chemical cleaving agents, we exploited the optical effects caused by attaching 5-10 nm gold nanoparticles with molecular linkers to large mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN). At low levels of gold loading onto MSN, the optical spectra resemble colloidal suspensions of gold. As the gold is removed, by cleaving agents, the MSN revert to the optical spectra typical of bare silica. Time-lapse images of gold-capped MSN stationed in microchannels reveal that the rate of gold release is dependent on the concentration of the cleaving agent. The uncapping process was also monitored successfully for MSN endocytosed by A549 cancer cells, which produce the cleaving agent glutathione. These experiments demonstrate that the optical properties of MSN can be used to directly monitor cleaving kinetics, even in complex cellular settings.

  16. [FMEA applied to the radiotherapy patient care process].

    PubMed

    Meyrieux, C; Garcia, R; Pourel, N; Mège, A; Bodez, V

    2012-10-01

    Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), is a risk analysis method used at the Radiotherapy Department of Institute Sainte-Catherine as part of a strategy seeking to continuously improve the quality and security of treatments. The method comprises several steps: definition of main processes; for each of them, description for every step of prescription, treatment preparation, treatment application; identification of the possible risks, their consequences, their origins; research of existing safety elements which may avoid these risks; grading of risks to assign a criticality score resulting in a numerical organisation of the risks. Finally, the impact of proposed corrective actions was then estimated by a new grading round. For each process studied, a detailed map of the risks was obtained, facilitating the identification of priority actions to be undertaken. For example, we obtain five steps in patient treatment planning with an unacceptable level of risk, 62 a level of moderate risk and 31 an acceptable level of risk. The FMEA method, used in the industrial domain and applied here to health care, is an effective tool for the management of risks in patient care. However, the time and training requirements necessary to implement this method should not be underestimated. Copyright © 2012 Société française de radiothérapie oncologique (SFRO). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. [Implementation of Oncomelania hupensis monitoring system based on Baidu Map].

    PubMed

    Zhi-Hua, Chen; Yi-Sheng, Zhu; Zhi-Qiang, Xue; Xue-Bing, Li; Yi-Min, Ding; Li-Jun, Bi; Kai-Min, Gao; You, Zhang

    2017-10-25

    To construct the Oncomelania hupensis snail monitoring system based on the Baidu Map. The environmental basic information about historical snail environment and existing snail environment, etc. was collected with the monitoring data about different kinds of O. hupensis snails, and then the O. hupensis snail monitoring system was built. Geographic Information System (GIS) and the electronic fence technology and Application Program Interface (API) were applied to set up the electronic fence of the snail surveillance environments, and the electronic fence was connected to the database of the snail surveillance. The O. hupensis snail monitoring system based on the Baidu Map were built up, including three modules of O. hupensis Snail Monitoring Environmental Database, Dynamic Monitoring Platform and Electronic Map. The information about monitoring O. hupensis snails could be obtained through the computer and smartphone simultaneously. The O. hupensis snail monitoring system, which is based on Baidu Map, is a visible platform to follow the process of snailsearching and molluscaciding.

  18. Real-time processing of interferograms for monitoring protein crystal growth on the Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Choudry, A.; Dupuis, N.

    1988-01-01

    The possibility of using microscopic interferometric techniques to monitor the growth of protein crystals on the Space Station is studied. Digital image processing techniques are used to develop a system for the real-time analysis of microscopic interferograms of nucleation sites during protein crystal growth. Features of the optical setup and the image processing system are discussed and experimental results are presented.

  19. Using shear wave velocity to monitor the curing process of self-consolidating concrete by bender element.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-08-01

    The evaluation of the curing process of a fresh concrete is critical to its construction process and monitoring. Traditionally stress : sensor and compressive wave sensor were often used to measure concrete properties. Bender element (BE) test, a non...

  20. Adaptive Management and Monitoring as Fundamental Tools to Effective Salt Marsh Restoration

    EPA Science Inventory

    Adaptive management as applied to ecological restoration is a systematic decision-making process in which the results of restoration activities are repeatedly monitored and evaluated to provide guidance that can be used in determining any necessary future restoration actions. In...

  1. Web Monitoring of EOS Front-End Ground Operations, Science Downlinks and Level 0 Processing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cordier, Guy R.; Wilkinson, Chris; McLemore, Bruce

    2008-01-01

    This paper addresses the efforts undertaken and the technology deployed to aggregate and distribute the metadata characterizing the real-time operations associated with NASA Earth Observing Systems (EOS) high-rate front-end systems and the science data collected at multiple ground stations and forwarded to the Goddard Space Flight Center for level 0 processing. Station operators, mission project management personnel, spacecraft flight operations personnel and data end-users for various EOS missions can retrieve the information at any time from any location having access to the internet. The users are distributed and the EOS systems are distributed but the centralized metadata accessed via an external web server provide an effective global and detailed view of the enterprise-wide events as they are happening. The data-driven architecture and the implementation of applied middleware technology, open source database, open source monitoring tools, and external web server converge nicely to fulfill the various needs of the enterprise. The timeliness and content of the information provided are key to making timely and correct decisions which reduce project risk and enhance overall customer satisfaction. The authors discuss security measures employed to limit access of data to authorized users only.

  2. Health monitoring system for a tall building with Fiber Bragg grating sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, D. S.; Li, H. N.; Ren, L.; Guo, D. S.; Song, G. B.

    2009-03-01

    Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors demonstrate great potentials for structural health monitoring of civil structures to ensure their structural integrity, durability and reliability. The advantages of applying fiber optic sensors to a tall building include their immunity of electromagnetic interference and multiplexing ability to transfer optical signals over a long distance. In the work, FBG sensors, including strain and temperature sensors, are applied to the construction monitoring of an 18-floor tall building starting from its construction date. The main purposes of the project are: 1) monitoring the temperature evolution history within the concrete during the pouring process; 2) measuring the variations of the main column strains on the underground floor while upper 18 floors were subsequently added on; and 3) monitoring the relative displacements between two foundation blocks. The FBG sensors have been installed and interrogated continuously for more than five months. Monitoring results of temperature and strains during the period are presented in the paper. Furthermore, the lag behavior between the concrete temperature and its surrounding air temperature is investigated.

  3. Near-infrared spectroscopy monitoring and control of the fluidized bed granulation and coating processes-A review.

    PubMed

    Liu, Ronghua; Li, Lian; Yin, Wenping; Xu, Dongbo; Zang, Hengchang

    2017-09-15

    The fluidized bed granulation and pellets coating technologies are widely used in pharmaceutical industry, because the particles made in a fluidized bed have good flowability, compressibility, and the coating thickness of pellets are homogeneous. With the popularization of process analytical technology (PAT), real-time analysis for critical quality attributes (CQA) was getting more attention. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, as a PAT tool, could realize the real-time monitoring and control during the granulating and coating processes, which could optimize the manufacturing processes. This article reviewed the application of NIR spectroscopy in CQA (moisture content, particle size and tablet/pellet thickness) monitoring during fluidized bed granulation and coating processes. Through this review, we would like to provide references for realizing automated control and intelligent production in fluidized bed granulation and pellets coating of pharmaceutical industry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Combination of process and vibration data for improved condition monitoring of industrial systems working under variable operating conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruiz-Cárcel, C.; Jaramillo, V. H.; Mba, D.; Ottewill, J. R.; Cao, Y.

    2016-01-01

    The detection and diagnosis of faults in industrial processes is a very active field of research due to the reduction in maintenance costs achieved by the implementation of process monitoring algorithms such as Principal Component Analysis, Partial Least Squares or more recently Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA). Typically the condition of rotating machinery is monitored separately using vibration analysis or other specific techniques. Conventional vibration-based condition monitoring techniques are based on the tracking of key features observed in the measured signal. Typically steady-state loading conditions are required to ensure consistency between measurements. In this paper, a technique based on merging process and vibration data is proposed with the objective of improving the detection of mechanical faults in industrial systems working under variable operating conditions. The capabilities of CVA for detection and diagnosis of faults were tested using experimental data acquired from a compressor test rig where different process faults were introduced. Results suggest that the combination of process and vibration data can effectively improve the detectability of mechanical faults in systems working under variable operating conditions.

  5. Quantum cascade laser based monitoring of CF{sub 2} radical concentration as a diagnostic tool of dielectric etching plasma processes

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

    Hübner, M.; Lang, N.; Röpcke, J.

    2015-01-19

    Dielectric etching plasma processes for modern interlevel dielectrics become more and more complex by the introduction of new ultra low-k dielectrics. One challenge is the minimization of sidewall damage, while etching ultra low-k porous SiCOH by fluorocarbon plasmas. The optimization of this process requires a deeper understanding of the concentration of the CF{sub 2} radical, which acts as precursor in the polymerization of the etch sample surfaces. In an industrial dielectric etching plasma reactor, the CF{sub 2} radical was measured in situ using a continuous wave quantum cascade laser (cw-QCL) around 1106.2 cm{sup −1}. We measured Doppler-resolved ro-vibrational absorption lines andmore » determined absolute densities using transitions in the ν{sub 3} fundamental band of CF{sub 2} with the aid of an improved simulation of the line strengths. We found that the CF{sub 2} radical concentration during the etching plasma process directly correlates to the layer structure of the etched wafer. Hence, this correlation can serve as a diagnostic tool of dielectric etching plasma processes. Applying QCL based absorption spectroscopy opens up the way for advanced process monitoring and etching controlling in semiconductor manufacturing.« less

  6. A Low-Cost System Based on Image Analysis for Monitoring the Crystal Growth Process.

    PubMed

    Venâncio, Fabrício; Rosário, Francisca F do; Cajaiba, João

    2017-05-31

    Many techniques are used to monitor one or more of the phenomena involved in the crystallization process. One of the challenges in crystal growth monitoring is finding techniques that allow direct interpretation of the data. The present study used a low-cost system, composed of a commercial webcam and a simple white LED (Light Emitting Diode) illuminator, to follow the calcium carbonate crystal growth process. The experiments were followed with focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM), a common technique for obtaining information about the formation and growth of crystals. The images obtained in real time were treated with the red, blue, and green (RGB) system. The results showed a qualitative response of the system to crystal formation and growth processes, as there was an observed decrease in the signal as the growth process occurred. Control of the crystal growth was managed by increasing the viscosity of the test solution with the addition of monoethylene glycol (MEG) at 30% and 70% in a mass to mass relationship, providing different profiles of the RGB average curves. The decrease in the average RGB value became slower as the concentration of MEG was increased; this reflected a lag in the growth process that was proven by the FBRM.

  7. Development of a Fully Automated Guided Wave System for In-Process Cure Monitoring of CFRP Composite Laminates

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hudson, Tyler B.; Hou, Tan-Hung; Grimsley, Brian W.; Yaun, Fuh-Gwo

    2016-01-01

    A guided wave-based in-process cure monitoring technique for carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites was investigated at NASA Langley Research Center. A key cure transition point (vitrification) was identified and the degree of cure was monitored using metrics such as amplitude and time of arrival (TOA) of guided waves. Using an automated system preliminarily developed in this work, high-temperature piezoelectric transducers were utilized to interrogate a twenty-four ply unidirectional composite panel fabricated from Hexcel (Registered Trademark) IM7/8552 prepreg during cure. It was shown that the amplitude of the guided wave increased sharply around vitrification and the TOA curve possessed an inverse relationship with degree of cure. The work is a first step in demonstrating the feasibility of transitioning the technique to perform in-process cure monitoring in an autoclave, defect detection during cure, and ultimately a closed-loop process control to maximize composite part quality and consistency.

  8. Fracture of Human Femur Tissue Monitored by Acoustic Emission Sensors

    PubMed Central

    Aggelis, Dimitrios. G.; Strantza, Maria; Louis, Olivia; Boulpaep, Frans; Polyzos, Demosthenes; van Hemelrijck, Danny

    2015-01-01

    The study describes the acoustic emission (AE) activity during human femur tissue fracture. The specimens were fractured in a bending-torsion loading pattern with concurrent monitoring by two AE sensors. The number of recorded signals correlates well with the applied load providing the onset of micro-fracture at approximately one sixth of the maximum load. Furthermore, waveform frequency content and rise time are related to the different modes of fracture (bending of femur neck or torsion of diaphysis). The importance of the study lies mainly in two disciplines. One is that, although femurs are typically subjects of surgical repair in humans, detailed monitoring of the fracture with AE will enrich the understanding of the process in ways that cannot be achieved using only the mechanical data. Additionally, from the point of view of monitoring techniques, applying sensors used for engineering materials and interpreting the obtained data pose additional difficulties due to the uniqueness of the bone structure. PMID:25763648

  9. Cumulative sum control charts for monitoring geometrically inflated Poisson processes: An application to infectious disease counts data.

    PubMed

    Rakitzis, Athanasios C; Castagliola, Philippe; Maravelakis, Petros E

    2018-02-01

    In this work, we study upper-sided cumulative sum control charts that are suitable for monitoring geometrically inflated Poisson processes. We assume that a process is properly described by a two-parameter extension of the zero-inflated Poisson distribution, which can be used for modeling count data with an excessive number of zero and non-zero values. Two different upper-sided cumulative sum-type schemes are considered, both suitable for the detection of increasing shifts in the average of the process. Aspects of their statistical design are discussed and their performance is compared under various out-of-control situations. Changes in both parameters of the process are considered. Finally, the monitoring of the monthly cases of poliomyelitis in the USA is given as an illustrative example.

  10. Applying circular economy innovation theory in business process modeling and analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Popa, V.; Popa, L.

    2017-08-01

    The overall aim of this paper is to develop a new conceptual framework for business process modeling and analysis using circular economy innovative theory as a source for business knowledge management. The last part of the paper presents an author’s proposed basic structure for a new business models applying circular economy innovation theories. For people working on new innovative business models in the field of the circular economy this paper provides new ideas for clustering their concepts.

  11. Process analytical technology (PAT) in insect and mammalian cell culture processes: dielectric spectroscopy and focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM).

    PubMed

    Druzinec, Damir; Weiss, Katja; Elseberg, Christiane; Salzig, Denise; Kraume, Matthias; Pörtner, Ralf; Czermak, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Modern bioprocesses demand for a careful definition of the critical process parameters (CPPs) already during the early stages of process development in order to ensure high-quality products and satisfactory yields. In this context, online monitoring tools can be applied to recognize unfavorable changes of CPPs during the production processes and to allow for early interventions in order to prevent losses of production batches due to quality issues. Process analytical technologies such as the dielectric spectroscopy or focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) are possible online monitoring tools, which can be applied to monitor cell growth as well as morphological changes. Since the dielectric spectroscopy only captures cells with intact cell membranes, even information about dead cells with ruptured or leaking cell membranes can be derived. The following chapter describes the application of dielectric spectroscopy on various virus-infected and non-infected cell lines with respect to adherent as well as suspension cultures in common stirred tank reactors. The adherent mammalian cell lines Vero (African green monkey kidney cells) and hMSC-TERT (telomerase-immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells) are thereby cultured on microcarrier, which provide the required growth surface and allow the cultivation of these cells even in dynamic culture systems. In turn, the insect-derived cell lines S2 and Sf21 are used as examples for cells typically cultured in suspension. Moreover, the FBRM technology as a further monitoring tool for cell culture applications has been included in this chapter using the example of Drosophila S2 insect cells.

  12. On-line monitoring of the crystallization process: relationship between crystal size and electrical impedance spectra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Yanlin; Yao, Jun; Wang, Mi

    2016-07-01

    On-line monitoring of crystal size in the crystallization process is crucial to many pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industrial applications. In this paper, a novel method is proposed for the on-line monitoring of the cooling crystallization process of L-glutamic acid (LGA) using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The EIS method can be used to monitor the growth of crystal particles relying on the presence of an electrical double layer on the charged particle surface and the polarization of double layer under the excitation of alternating electrical field. The electrical impedance spectra and crystal size were measured on-line simultaneously by an impedance analyzer and focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM), respectively. The impedance spectra were analyzed using the equivalent circuit model and the equivalent circuit elements in the model can be obtained by fitting the experimental data. Two equivalent circuit elements, including capacitance (C 2) and resistance (R 2) from the dielectric polarization of the LGA solution and crystal particle/solution interface, are in relation with the crystal size. The mathematical relationship between the crystal size and the equivalent circuit elements can be obtained by a non-linear fitting method. The function can be used to predict the change of crystal size during the crystallization process.

  13. Dynamic Computation Offloading for Low-Power Wearable Health Monitoring Systems.

    PubMed

    Kalantarian, Haik; Sideris, Costas; Mortazavi, Bobak; Alshurafa, Nabil; Sarrafzadeh, Majid

    2017-03-01

    The objective of this paper is to describe and evaluate an algorithm to reduce power usage and increase battery lifetime for wearable health-monitoring devices. We describe a novel dynamic computation offloading scheme for real-time wearable health monitoring devices that adjusts the partitioning of data processing between the wearable device and mobile application as a function of desired classification accuracy. By making the correct offloading decision based on current system parameters, we show that we are able to reduce system power by as much as 20%. We demonstrate that computation offloading can be applied to real-time monitoring systems, and yields significant power savings. Making correct offloading decisions for health monitoring devices can extend battery life and improve adherence.

  14. Micro-satellite constellations for monitoring cryospheric processes and related natural hazards

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaeaeb, A.; Altena, B.; Mascaro, J.

    2016-12-01

    Currently, several micro-satellite constellations for earth-observation are planned or under build-up. Here, we assess the potential of the well-advanced Planet satellite constellation for investigating cryospheric processes. In its final stage, the Planet constellation will consist of 150 free-flying micro-satellites in near-polar and ISS orbits. The instruments carry RGB+NIR frame cameras that image the Earth surface in nadir direction with resolutions of 3-5 m, covering 20 x 13 km per image. In its final set-up, the constellation will be able to image the (almost) entire land surface at least once per day, under the limitation of cloud cover. Here, we explore new possibilities for insight into cryospheric processes that this very high repeat cycle combined with high image resolution offer. Based on repeat Planet imagery we derive repeat glacier velocity fields for example glaciers in the northern and southern hemispheres. We find it especially useful to monitor the ice velocities near calving fronts and simultaneously detect changes of the front, pointing to calving events. We also explore deformation fields over creeping mountain permafrost, so-called rockglaciers. As a second, very promising cryospheric application we suggest monitoring of glacier and permafrost related natural hazards. In cases such as temporary lakes, lake outbursts, landslides, rock avalanches, visual information over remote areas and at high frequencies are crucial for hazard assessment, early warning or disaster management. Based on several examples, we demonstrate that massive micro-satellite constellations such Planet's are exactly able to provide this type of information. As a third promising example, we show how such high-repeat optical satellite data are useful to monitor river ice and related jams and flooding. At certain latitudes, the repeat frequency of the data is even high enough to track river ice floes and thus water velocities.

  15. Implementation of Non-Destructive Evaluation and Process Monitoring in DLP-based Additive Manufacturing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kovalenko, Iaroslav; Verron, Sylvain; Garan, Maryna; Šafka, Jiří; Moučka, Michal

    2017-04-01

    This article describes a method of in-situ process monitoring in the digital light processing (DLP) 3D printer. It is based on the continuous measurement of the adhesion force between printing surface and bottom of a liquid resin bath. This method is suitable only for the bottom-up DPL printers. Control system compares the force at the moment of unsticking of printed layer from the bottom of the tank, when it has the largest value in printing cycle, with theoretical value. Implementation of suggested algorithm can make detection of faults during the printing process possible.

  16. Monitoring the Stimulated Uncapping Process of Gold-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

    DOE PAGES

    Augspurger, Ashley E.; Sun, Xiaoxing; Trewyn, Brian G.; ...

    2018-02-05

    To establish a new method for tracking the interaction of nanoparticles with chemical cleaving agents, we exploited the optical effects caused by attaching 5-10 nm gold nanoparticles with molecular linkers to large mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN). At low levels of gold loading onto MSN, the optical spectra resemble colloidal suspensions of gold. As the gold is removed, by cleaving agents, the MSN revert to the optical spectra typical of bare silica. Time-lapse images of gold-capped MSN stationed in microchannels reveal that the rate of gold release is dependent on the concentration of the cleaving agent. Finally, the uncapping process wasmore » also monitored successfully for MSN endocytosed by A549 cancer cells, which produce the cleaving agent glutathione. These experiments demonstrate that the optical properties of MSN can be used to directly monitor cleaving kinetics, even in complex cellular settings.« less

  17. Monitoring the Stimulated Uncapping Process of Gold-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

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

    Augspurger, Ashley E.; Sun, Xiaoxing; Trewyn, Brian G.

    To establish a new method for tracking the interaction of nanoparticles with chemical cleaving agents, we exploited the optical effects caused by attaching 5-10 nm gold nanoparticles with molecular linkers to large mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN). At low levels of gold loading onto MSN, the optical spectra resemble colloidal suspensions of gold. As the gold is removed, by cleaving agents, the MSN revert to the optical spectra typical of bare silica. Time-lapse images of gold-capped MSN stationed in microchannels reveal that the rate of gold release is dependent on the concentration of the cleaving agent. Finally, the uncapping process wasmore » also monitored successfully for MSN endocytosed by A549 cancer cells, which produce the cleaving agent glutathione. These experiments demonstrate that the optical properties of MSN can be used to directly monitor cleaving kinetics, even in complex cellular settings.« less

  18. Field deployable processing methods for stay-in-place ultrasonic transducers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malarich, Nathan; Lissenden, Cliff J.; Tittmann, Bernhard R.

    2018-04-01

    Condition monitoring provides key data for managing the operation and maintenance of mechanical equipment in the power generation, chemical processing, and manufacturing industries. Ultrasonic transducers provide active monitoring capabilities by wall thickness measurements, elastic property determination, crack detection, and other means. In many cases the components operate in harsh environments that may include high temperature, radiation, and hazardous chemicals. Thus, it is desirable to have permanently affixed ultrasonic transducers for condition monitoring in harsh environments. Spray-on transducers provide direct coupling between the active element and the substrate, and can be applied to curved surfaces. We describe a deposition methodology for ultrasonic transducers that can be applied in the field. First, piezoceramic powders mixed into a sol-gel are air-spray deposited onto the substrate. Powder constituents are selected based on the service environment in which the condition monitoring will be performed. Then the deposited coating is pyrolyzed and partially densified using an induction heating system with a custom work coil designed to match the substrate geometry. The next step, applying the electrodes, is more challenging than might be expected because of the porosity of the piezoelectric coating and the potential reactivity of elements in the adjacent layers. After connecting lead wires to the electrodes the transducer is poled and a protective coating can be applied prior to use. Processing of a PZT-bismuth titanate transducer on a large steel substrate is described along with alternate methods.

  19. 40 CFR 761.193 - Maintenance of monitoring records by persons who import, manufacture, process, distribute in...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... persons who import, manufacture, process, distribute in commerce, or use chemicals containing..., DISTRIBUTION IN COMMERCE, AND USE PROHIBITIONS General Records and Reports § 761.193 Maintenance of monitoring records by persons who import, manufacture, process, distribute in commerce, or use chemicals containing...

  20. A real-time multi-channel monitoring system for stem cell culture process.

    PubMed

    Xicai Yue; Drakakis, E M; Lim, M; Radomska, A; Hua Ye; Mantalaris, A; Panoskaltsis, N; Cass, A

    2008-06-01

    A novel, up to 128 channels, multi-parametric physiological measurement system suitable for monitoring hematopoietic stem cell culture processes and cell cultures in general is presented in this paper. The system aims to measure in real-time the most important physical and chemical culture parameters of hematopoietic stem cells, including physicochemical parameters, nutrients, and metabolites, in a long-term culture process. The overarching scope of this research effort is to control and optimize the whole bioprocess by means of the acquisition of real-time quantitative physiological information from the culture. The system is designed in a modular manner. Each hardware module can operate as an independent gain programmable, level shift adjustable, 16 channel data acquisition system specific to a sensor type. Up to eight such data acquisition modules can be combined and connected to the host PC to realize the whole system hardware. The control of data acquisition and the subsequent management of data is performed by the system's software which is coded in LabVIEW. Preliminary experimental results presented here show that the system not only has the ability to interface to various types of sensors allowing the monitoring of different types of culture parameters. Moreover, it can capture dynamic variations of culture parameters by means of real-time multi-channel measurements thus providing additional information on both temporal and spatial profiles of these parameters within a bioreactor. The system is by no means constrained in the hematopoietic stem cell culture field only. It is suitable for cell growth monitoring applications in general.

  1. Wireless device monitoring systems and monitoring devices, and associated methods

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

    McCown, Steven H; Derr, Kurt W; Rohde, Kenneth W

    Wireless device monitoring systems and monitoring devices include a communications module for receiving wireless communications of a wireless device. Processing circuitry is coupled with the communications module and configured to process the wireless communications to determine whether the wireless device is authorized or unauthorized to be present at the monitored area based on identification information of the wireless device. Methods of monitoring for the presence and identity of wireless devices are also provided.

  2. Vegetation Monitoring with Gaussian Processes and Latent Force Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Camps-Valls, Gustau; Svendsen, Daniel; Martino, Luca; Campos, Manuel; Luengo, David

    2017-04-01

    Monitoring vegetation by biophysical parameter retrieval from Earth observation data is a challenging problem, where machine learning is currently a key player. Neural networks, kernel methods, and Gaussian Process (GP) regression have excelled in parameter retrieval tasks at both local and global scales. GP regression is based on solid Bayesian statistics, yield efficient and accurate parameter estimates, and provides interesting advantages over competing machine learning approaches such as confidence intervals. However, GP models are hampered by lack of interpretability, that prevented the widespread adoption by a larger community. In this presentation we will summarize some of our latest developments to address this issue. We will review the main characteristics of GPs and their advantages in vegetation monitoring standard applications. Then, three advanced GP models will be introduced. First, we will derive sensitivity maps for the GP predictive function that allows us to obtain feature ranking from the model and to assess the influence of examples in the solution. Second, we will introduce a Joint GP (JGP) model that combines in situ measurements and simulated radiative transfer data in a single GP model. The JGP regression provides more sensible confidence intervals for the predictions, respects the physics of the underlying processes, and allows for transferability across time and space. Finally, a latent force model (LFM) for GP modeling that encodes ordinary differential equations to blend data-driven modeling and physical models of the system is presented. The LFM performs multi-output regression, adapts to the signal characteristics, is able to cope with missing data in the time series, and provides explicit latent functions that allow system analysis and evaluation. Empirical evidence of the performance of these models will be presented through illustrative examples.

  3. Intelligent monitoring and control of semiconductor manufacturing equipment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murdock, Janet L.; Hayes-Roth, Barbara

    1991-01-01

    The use of AI methods to monitor and control semiconductor fabrication in a state-of-the-art manufacturing environment called the Rapid Thermal Multiprocessor is described. Semiconductor fabrication involves many complex processing steps with limited opportunities to measure process and product properties. By applying additional process and product knowledge to that limited data, AI methods augment classical control methods by detecting abnormalities and trends, predicting failures, diagnosing, planning corrective action sequences, explaining diagnoses or predictions, and reacting to anomalous conditions that classical control systems typically would not correct. Research methodology and issues are discussed, and two diagnosis scenarios are examined.

  4. Conflict monitoring in speech processing: An fMRI study of error detection in speech production and perception.

    PubMed

    Gauvin, Hanna S; De Baene, Wouter; Brass, Marcel; Hartsuiker, Robert J

    2016-02-01

    To minimize the number of errors in speech, and thereby facilitate communication, speech is monitored before articulation. It is, however, unclear at which level during speech production monitoring takes place, and what mechanisms are used to detect and correct errors. The present study investigated whether internal verbal monitoring takes place through the speech perception system, as proposed by perception-based theories of speech monitoring, or whether mechanisms independent of perception are applied, as proposed by production-based theories of speech monitoring. With the use of fMRI during a tongue twister task we observed that error detection in internal speech during noise-masked overt speech production and error detection in speech perception both recruit the same neural network, which includes pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), anterior insula (AI), and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Although production and perception recruit similar areas, as proposed by perception-based accounts, we did not find activation in superior temporal areas (which are typically associated with speech perception) during internal speech monitoring in speech production as hypothesized by these accounts. On the contrary, results are highly compatible with a domain general approach to speech monitoring, by which internal speech monitoring takes place through detection of conflict between response options, which is subsequently resolved by a domain general executive center (e.g., the ACC). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Exploration on practice teaching reform of Photoelectric Image Processing course under applied transformation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, Binfang; Li, Xiaoqin; Liu, Changqing; Li, Jianqi

    2017-08-01

    With the further applied transformation of local colleges, teachers are urgently needed to make corresponding changes in the teaching content and methods from different courses. The article discusses practice teaching reform of the Photoelectric Image Processing course in the Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering major. The Digital Signal Processing (DSP) platform is introduced to the experimental teaching. It will mobilize and inspire students and also enhance their learning motivation and innovation through specific examples. The course via teaching practice process has become the most popular course among students, which will further drive students' enthusiasm and confidence to participate in all kinds of electronic competitions.

  6. REMPI-TOFMS for on-line monitoring and controlling the coffee roasting process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorfner, Ralph; Ferge, Thomas; Yeretzian, Chahan; Zimmermann, Ralf; Kettrup, Antonius

    2001-08-01

    REMPI@266nm-TOFMS is used for on-line analysis of the coffee roasting process. Volatile and flavor active compounds of coffee were ionized by REMPI@266nm and monitored on-line and in real-time by TOFMS during the coffee roasting process. The phenol and 4-vinylguaiacol time-intensity profiles, for example, show typical behavior for different roasting temperatures and provide an indicator to the achieved degree of roasting. The impact of the moisture level of the green coffee beans on the time shift of a typical (commercial) roasting time, correlates with REMPI-TOFMS measurements and literature data.

  7. Attitudes of Austrian Psychotherapists Towards Process and Outcome Monitoring.

    PubMed

    Kaiser, Tim; Schmutzhart, Lisa; Laireiter, Anton-Rupert

    2018-03-08

    While monitoring systems in psychotherapy have become more common, little is known about the attitudes that mental health practitioners have towards these systems. In an online survey among 111 Austrian psychotherapists and trainees, attitudes towards therapy monitoring were measured. A well-validated questionnaire measuring attitudes towards outcome monitoring, the Outcome Measurement Questionnaire, was used. Clinicians' theoretical orientations as well as previous knowledge and experience with monitoring systems were associated with positive attitudes towards monitoring. Possible factors that may have led to these findings, like the views of different theoretical orientations or obstacles in Austrian public health care, are discussed.

  8. Chapter 10. Developing a habitat monitoring program: three examples from national forest planning

    Treesearch

    Michael I. Goldstein; Lowell H. Suring; Christina D. Vojta; Mary M. Rowland; Clinton. McCarthy

    2013-01-01

    This chapter reviews the process steps of wildlife habitat monitoring described in chapters 2 through 9 and provides three case examples that illustrate how the process steps apply to specific situations. It provides the reader an opportunity to synthesize the material while also revealing the potential knowledge gaps and pitfalls that may complicate completion of a...

  9. Fiber-coupled THz spectroscopy for monitoring polymeric compounding processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vieweg, N.; Krumbholz, N.; Hasek, T.; Wilk, R.; Bartels, V.; Keseberg, C.; Pethukhov, V.; Mikulics, M.; Wetenkamp, L.; Koch, M.

    2007-06-01

    We present a compact, robust, and transportable fiber-coupled THz system for inline monitoring of polymeric compounding processes in an industrial environment. The system is built on a 90cm x 90cm large shock absorbing optical bench. A sealed metal box protects the system against dust and mechanical disturbances. A closed loop controller unit is used to ensure optimum coupling of the laser beam into the fiber. In order to build efficient and stable fiber-coupled antennas we glue the fibers directly onto photoconductive switches. Thus, the antenna performance is very stable and it is secured from dust or misalignment by vibrations. We discuss fabrication details and antenna performance. First spectroscopic data obtained with this system is presented.

  10. Systemic Case Formulation, Individualized Process Monitoring, and State Dynamics in a Case of Dissociative Identity Disorder.

    PubMed

    Schiepek, Günter K; Stöger-Schmidinger, Barbara; Aichhorn, Wolfgang; Schöller, Helmut; Aas, Benjamin

    2016-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this case report is to demonstrate the feasibility of a systemic procedure (synergetic process management) including modeling of the idiographic psychological system and continuous high-frequency monitoring of change dynamics in a case of dissociative identity disorder. The psychotherapy was realized in a day treatment center with a female client diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and dissociative identity disorder. Methods: A three hour long co-creative session at the beginning of the treatment period allowed for modeling the systemic network of the client's dynamics of cognitions, emotions, and behavior. The components (variables) of this idiographic system model (ISM) were used to create items for an individualized process questionnaire for the client. The questionnaire was administered daily through an internet-based monitoring tool (Synergetic Navigation System, SNS), to capture the client's individual change process continuously throughout the therapy and after-care period. The resulting time series were reflected by therapist and client in therapeutic feedback sessions. Results: For the client it was important to see how the personality states dominating her daily life were represented by her idiographic system model and how the transitions between each state could be explained and understood by the activating and inhibiting relations between the cognitive-emotional components of that system. Continuous monitoring of her cognitions, emotions, and behavior via SNS allowed for identification of important triggers, dynamic patterns, and psychological mechanisms behind seemingly erratic state fluctuations. These insights enabled a change in management of the dynamics and an intensified trauma-focused therapy. Conclusion: By making use of the systemic case formulation technique and subsequent daily online monitoring, client and therapist continuously refer to detailed visualizations of the mental and behavioral network and

  11. Mechanisms mediating parallel action monitoring in fronto-striatal circuits.

    PubMed

    Beste, Christian; Ness, Vanessa; Lukas, Carsten; Hoffmann, Rainer; Stüwe, Sven; Falkenstein, Michael; Saft, Carsten

    2012-08-01

    Flexible response adaptation and the control of conflicting information play a pivotal role in daily life. Yet, little is known about the neuronal mechanisms mediating parallel control of these processes. We examined these mechanisms using a multi-methodological approach that integrated data from event-related potentials (ERPs) with structural MRI data and source localisation using sLORETA. Moreover, we calculated evoked wavelet oscillations. We applied this multi-methodological approach in healthy subjects and patients in a prodromal phase of a major basal ganglia disorder (i.e., Huntington's disease), to directly focus on fronto-striatal networks. Behavioural data indicated, especially the parallel execution of conflict monitoring and flexible response adaptation was modulated across the examined cohorts. When both processes do not co-incide a high integrity of fronto-striatal loops seems to be dispensable. The neurophysiological data suggests that conflict monitoring (reflected by the N2 ERP) and working memory processes (reflected by the P3 ERP) differentially contribute to this pattern of results. Flexible response adaptation under the constraint of high conflict processing affected the N2 and P3 ERP, as well as their delta frequency band oscillations. Yet, modulatory effects were strongest for the N2 ERP and evoked wavelet oscillations in this time range. The N2 ERPs were localized in the anterior cingulate cortex (BA32, BA24). Modulations of the P3 ERP were localized in parietal areas (BA7). In addition, MRI-determined caudate head volume predicted modulations in conflict monitoring, but not working memory processes. The results show how parallel conflict monitoring and flexible adaptation of action is mediated via fronto-striatal networks. While both, response monitoring and working memory processes seem to play a role, especially response selection processes and ACC-basal ganglia networks seem to be the driving force in mediating parallel conflict

  12. Using adaptive processes and adverse outcome pathways to develop meaningful, robust, and actionable environmental monitoring programs.

    PubMed

    Arciszewski, Tim J; Munkittrick, Kelly R; Scrimgeour, Garry J; Dubé, Monique G; Wrona, Fred J; Hazewinkel, Rod R

    2017-09-01

    The primary goals of environmental monitoring are to indicate whether unexpected changes related to development are occurring in the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of ecosystems and to inform meaningful management intervention. Although achieving these objectives is conceptually simple, varying scientific and social challenges often result in their breakdown. Conceptualizing, designing, and operating programs that better delineate monitoring, management, and risk assessment processes supported by hypothesis-driven approaches, strong inference, and adverse outcome pathways can overcome many of the challenges. Generally, a robust monitoring program is characterized by hypothesis-driven questions associated with potential adverse outcomes and feedback loops informed by data. Specifically, key and basic features are predictions of future observations (triggers) and mechanisms to respond to success or failure of those predictions (tiers). The adaptive processes accelerate or decelerate the effort to highlight and overcome ignorance while preventing the potentially unnecessary escalation of unguided monitoring and management. The deployment of the mutually reinforcing components can allow for more meaningful and actionable monitoring programs that better associate activities with consequences. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:877-891. © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

  13. Monitors.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, David

    1984-01-01

    Provides guidelines for selecting a monitor to suit specific applications, explains the process by which graphics images are produced on a CRT monitor, and describes four types of flat-panel displays being used in the newest lap-sized portable computers. A comparison chart provides prices and specifications for over 80 monitors. (MBR)

  14. Processing deficits in monitoring analog and digital displays: Implications for attentional theory and mental-state estimation research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Payne, David G.; Gunther, Virginia A. L.

    1988-01-01

    Subjects performed short term memory tasks, involving both spatial and verbal components, and a visual monitoring task involving either analog or digital display formats. These two tasks (memory vs. monitoring) were performed both singly and in conjunction. Contrary to expectations derived from multiple resource theories of attentional processes, there was no evidence that when the two tasks involved the same cognitive codes (i.e., either both spatial or both verbal/linguistics) there was more of a dual task performance decrement than when the two tasks employed different cognitive codes/processes. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for theories of attentional processes and also for research in mental state estimation.

  15. Multivariate statistical process control of a continuous pharmaceutical twin-screw granulation and fluid bed drying process.

    PubMed

    Silva, A F; Sarraguça, M C; Fonteyne, M; Vercruysse, J; De Leersnyder, F; Vanhoorne, V; Bostijn, N; Verstraeten, M; Vervaet, C; Remon, J P; De Beer, T; Lopes, J A

    2017-08-07

    A multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) strategy was developed for the monitoring of the ConsiGma™-25 continuous tablet manufacturing line. Thirty-five logged variables encompassing three major units, being a twin screw high shear granulator, a fluid bed dryer and a product control unit, were used to monitor the process. The MSPC strategy was based on principal component analysis of data acquired under normal operating conditions using a series of four process runs. Runs with imposed disturbances in the dryer air flow and temperature, in the granulator barrel temperature, speed and liquid mass flow and in the powder dosing unit mass flow were utilized to evaluate the model's monitoring performance. The impact of the imposed deviations to the process continuity was also evaluated using Hotelling's T 2 and Q residuals statistics control charts. The influence of the individual process variables was assessed by analyzing contribution plots at specific time points. Results show that the imposed disturbances were all detected in both control charts. Overall, the MSPC strategy was successfully developed and applied. Additionally, deviations not associated with the imposed changes were detected, mainly in the granulator barrel temperature control. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. A New Digital Signal Processing Method for Spectrum Interference Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Angrisani, L.; Capriglione, D.; Ferrigno, L.; Miele, G.

    2011-01-01

    Frequency spectrum is a limited shared resource, nowadays interested by an ever growing number of different applications. Generally, the companies providing such services pay to the governments the right of using a limited portion of the spectrum, consequently they would be assured that the licensed radio spectrum resource is not interested by significant external interferences. At the same time, they have to guarantee that their devices make an efficient use of the spectrum and meet the electromagnetic compatibility regulations. Therefore the competent authorities are called to control the access to the spectrum adopting suitable management and monitoring policies, as well as the manufacturers have to periodically verify the correct working of their apparatuses. Several measurement solutions are present on the market. They generally refer to real-time spectrum analyzers and measurement receivers. Both of them are characterized by good metrological accuracies but show costs, dimensions and weights that make no possible a use "on the field". The paper presents a first step in realizing a digital signal processing based measurement instrument able to suitably accomplish for the above mentioned needs. In particular the attention has been given to the DSP based measurement section of the instrument. To these aims an innovative measurement method for spectrum monitoring and management is proposed in this paper. It performs an efficient sequential analysis based on a sample by sample digital processing. Three main issues are in particular pursued: (i) measurement performance comparable to that exhibited by other methods proposed in literature; (ii) fast measurement time, (iii) easy implementation on cost-effective measurement hardware.

  17. Monitoring of staphylococcal starters in two French processing plants manufacturing dry fermented sausages.

    PubMed

    Corbiere Morot-Bizot, S; Leroy, S; Talon, R

    2007-01-01

    The growth and survival of Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus carnosus were monitored during sausage manufacture in two processing plants. The gram-positive, catalase-positive cocci isolated from the processing plants F10 and F11 were identified by Staphylococcus-specific PCR and species-specific oligonucleotide array. In the inoculated products with starter cultures, 90% of staphylococcal strains isolated in F10 were identified as S. xylosus and 10% as S. carnosus. In F11, 77% were identified as S. xylosus and 20% as S. carnosus. Staphylococcus xylosus dominated the staphylococcal microbiota while S. carnosus survived during the process. The pulse-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that all S. xylosus and S. carnosus strains isolated corresponded to the starter strains inoculated. The two starter strains of S. xylosus co-dominated in the isolates from sausages of F11, whereas the strain with pattern A1 was dominant in the isolates from sausages of F10. In the environments, no S. carnosus and S. xylosus were found, whereas Staphylococcus equorum and Staphylococcus saprophyticus were the main species isolated. This work highlighted the domination of S. xylosus starter strains, which showed a strong capacity to grow during sausage process, while S. carnosus survived during the process. Successful implantation of starter cultures is obviously a prerequisite for their contribution to sensorial qualities. Thus, the monitoring of the growth and the survival of S. xylosus and S. carnosus are required to guarantee a well-adapted starter culture. This study revealed that the two Staphylococcus species are suitable for manufacturing sausages in processing plants with very different capacities of production.

  18. Electrophysiological Correlates of Error Monitoring and Feedback Processing in Second Language Learning.

    PubMed

    Bultena, Sybrine; Danielmeier, Claudia; Bekkering, Harold; Lemhöfer, Kristin

    2017-01-01

    Humans monitor their behavior to optimize performance, which presumably relies on stable representations of correct responses. During second language (L2) learning, however, stable representations have yet to be formed while knowledge of the first language (L1) can interfere with learning, which in some cases results in persistent errors. In order to examine how correct L2 representations are stabilized, this study examined performance monitoring in the learning process of second language learners for a feature that conflicts with their first language. Using EEG, we investigated if L2 learners in a feedback-guided word gender assignment task showed signs of error detection in the form of an error-related negativity (ERN) before and after receiving feedback, and how feedback is processed. The results indicated that initially, response-locked negativities for correct (CRN) and incorrect (ERN) responses were of similar size, showing a lack of internal error detection when L2 representations are unstable. As behavioral performance improved following feedback, the ERN became larger than the CRN, pointing to the first signs of successful error detection. Additionally, we observed a second negativity following the ERN/CRN components, the amplitude of which followed a similar pattern as the previous negativities. Feedback-locked data indicated robust FRN and P300 effects in response to negative feedback across different rounds, demonstrating that feedback remained important in order to update memory representations during learning. We thus show that initially, L2 representations may often not be stable enough to warrant successful error monitoring, but can be stabilized through repeated feedback, which means that the brain is able to overcome L1 interference, and can learn to detect errors internally after a short training session. The results contribute a different perspective to the discussion on changes in ERN and FRN components in relation to learning, by extending the

  19. Study on color identification for monitoring and controlling fermentation process of branched chain amino acid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Lei; Wang, Yizhong; Chen, Ning; Liu, Tiegen; Xu, Qingyang; Kong, Fanzhi

    2008-12-01

    In this paper, a new method for monitoring and controlling fermentation process of branched chain amino acid (BCAA) was proposed based on color identification. The color image of fermentation broth of BCAA was firstly taken by a CCD camera. Then, it was changed from RGB color model to HIS color model. Its histograms of hue H and saturation S were calculated, which were used as the input of a designed BP network. The output of the BP network was the description of the color of fermentation broth of BCAA. After training, the color of fermentation broth was identified by the BP network according to the histograms of H and S of a fermentation broth image. Along with other parameters, the fermentation process of BCAA was monitored and controlled to start the stationary phase of fermentation soon. Experiments were conducted with satisfied results to show the feasibility and usefulness of color identification of fermentation broth in fermentation process control of BCAA.

  20. A NOVEL TECHNIQUE APPLYING SPECTRAL ESTIMATION TO JOHNSON NOISE THERMOMETRY

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

    Ezell, N Dianne Bull; Britton Jr, Charles L; Roberts, Michael

    Johnson noise thermometry (JNT) is one of many important measurements used to monitor the safety levels and stability in a nuclear reactor. However, this measurement is very dependent on the electromagnetic environment. Properly removing unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI) is critical for accurate drift free temperature measurements. The two techniques developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to remove transient and periodic EMI are briefly discussed in this document. Spectral estimation is a key component in the signal processing algorithm utilized for EMI removal and temperature calculation. Applying these techniques requires the simple addition of the electronics and signal processing tomore » existing resistive thermometers.« less

  1. Continuous catchment-scale monitoring of geomorphic processes with a 2-D seismological array

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burtin, A.; Hovius, N.; Milodowski, D.; Chen, Y.-G.; Wu, Y.-M.; Lin, C.-W.; Chen, H.

    2012-04-01

    The monitoring of geomorphic processes during extreme climatic events is of a primary interest to estimate their impact on the landscape dynamics. However, available techniques to survey the surface activity do not provide a relevant time and/or space resolution. Furthermore, these methods hardly investigate the dynamics of the events since their detection are made a posteriori. To increase our knowledge of the landscape evolution and the influence of extreme climatic events on a catchment dynamics, we need to develop new tools and procedures. In many past works, it has been shown that seismic signals are relevant to detect and locate surface processes (landslides, debris flows). During the 2010 typhoon season, we deployed a network of 12 seismometers dedicated to monitor the surface processes of the Chenyoulan catchment in Taiwan. We test the ability of a two dimensional array and small inter-stations distances (~ 11 km) to map in continuous and at a catchment-scale the geomorphic activity. The spectral analysis of continuous records shows a high-frequency (> 1 Hz) seismic energy that is coherent with the occurrence of hillslope and river processes. Using a basic detection algorithm and a location approach running on the analysis of seismic amplitudes, we manage to locate the catchment activity. We mainly observe short-time events (> 300 occurrences) associated with debris falls and bank collapses during daily convective storms, where 69% of occurrences are coherent with the time distribution of precipitations. We also identify a couple of debris flows during a large tropical storm. In contrast, the FORMOSAT imagery does not detect any activity, which somehow reflects the lack of extreme climatic conditions during the experiment. However, high resolution pictures confirm the existence of links between most of geomorphic events and existing structures (landslide scars, gullies...). We thus conclude to an activity that is dominated by reactivation processes. It

  2. Electrical Resistance as a NDE Technique to Monitor Processing and Damage Accumulation in SiC/SiC Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, Craig; Morscher, Gregory N.; Xia, Zhenhai

    2008-01-01

    Ceramic matrix composites are suitable for high temperature structural applications such as turbine airfoils and hypersonic thermal protection systems. The employment of these materials in such applications is limited by the ability to process components reliable and to accurately monitor and predict damage evolution that leads to failure under stressed-oxidation conditions. Current nondestructive methods such as ultrasound, x-ray, and thermal imaging are limited in their ability to quantify small scale, transverse, in-plane, matrix cracks developed over long-time creep and fatigue conditions. Electrical resistance of SiC/SiC composites is one technique that shows special promise towards this end. Since both the matrix and the fibers are conductive, changes in matrix or fiber properties should relate to changes in electrical conductivity along the length of a specimen or part. Initial efforts to quantify the electrical resistance of different fiber and different matrix SiC/SiC composites will be presented. Also, the effect of matrix cracking on electrical resistivity for several composite systems will be presented. The implications towards electrical resistance as a technique applied to composite processing, damage detection, and life-modeling will be discussed.

  3. Combination of preservation factors applied to minimal processing of foods.

    PubMed

    Tapia de Daza, M S; Alzamora, S M; Chanes, J W

    1996-07-01

    Innovative technologies for producing minimally processed (MP) foods that apply the concept of combination of preservation factors are addressed in this article with special emphasis on a new combined approach that has been successfully applied in several Latin American countries for MP high-moisture fruit products (HMFP). HMFP can be regarded as a different approach to the commercially available and widely accepted MP concept for fruits and vegetables (even if developed for the same purpose of obtaining freshlike high-quality products with an extended shelf life) that is better adapted to Latin American countries in terms of independence of the chill chain and the use of simple and energy-efficient technologies. The continuous refrigeration hurdle associated with MP refrigerated fruits is not included in the preservation system of HMFP because a different combination of hurdles must be overcome to enhance the shelf stability of nonrespiring vegetable tissues while preserving freshlike character. Guidelines to obtain safe and high-quality MP fruit products are proposed. Other products preserved by combined factors technology are also discussed, as well as some other classical and new preservation factors whose application could enhance the quality of HMFP.

  4. Application of biospeckle phenomenon on monitoring of leavening process in breadmaking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    da Silva, Emerson Rodrigo; da Silva Junior, Elieste; Júnior, Mauro Favoretto; da Silva Lannes, Suzana Caetano; Muramatsu, Mikiya

    2008-04-01

    Since the sixties, dynamic speckles have found a wide number of applications, covering fields from engineering to biomedicine. However, despite of this potential, its utilisation in food manufacture control is still incipient. In this work, our objective was to use the biospeckle phenomenon to monitoring the expansion of the dough during the leavening process. Our experiments consisted in the temporal evolution observation of speckle patterns scattered by samples prepared from two formulations: by yoghurt addition and without it. Every two minutes, it was constructed a 2-D image, recording the Time History Speckle Pattern (THSP). The full monitoring time was 50 minutes. A new estimator of activity index, proposed by some of the authors, was used in data analysis. This estimator is based on contrast of successive correlations of intensities recorded in THSP. It was found a strong correlation between the activities on the samples and the type of fermentative agents. These results reveal an interesting potential of the biospeckle to control in bread manufacture industries.

  5. Smart wireless sensor for physiological monitoring.

    PubMed

    Tomasic, Ivan; Avbelj, Viktor; Trobec, Roman

    2015-01-01

    Presented is a wireless body sensor capable of measuring local potential differences on a body surface. By using on-sensor signal processing capabilities, and developed algorithms for off-line signal processing on a personal computing device, it is possible to record single channel ECG, heart rate, breathing rate, EMG, and when three sensors are applied, even the 12-lead ECG. The sensor is portable, unobtrusive, and suitable for both inpatient and outpatient monitoring. The paper presents the sensor's hardware and results of power consumption analysis. The sensor's capabilities of recording various physiological parameters are also presented and illustrated. The paper concludes with envisioned sensor's future developments and prospects.

  6. CAVIAR: an R package for checking, displaying and processing wood-formation-monitoring data.

    PubMed

    Rathgeber, Cyrille B K; Santenoise, Philippe; Cuny, Henri E

    2018-05-19

    In the last decade, the pervasive question of climate change impacts on forests has revived investigations on intra-annual dynamics of wood formation, involving disciplines such as plant ecology, tree physiology and dendrochronology. This resulted in the creation of many research groups working on this topic worldwide and a rapid increase in the number of studies and publications. Wood-formation-monitoring studies are generally based on a common conceptual model describing xylem cell formation as the succession of four differentiation phases (cell division, cell enlargement, cell wall thickening and mature cells). They generally use the same sampling techniques, sample preparation methods and anatomical criteria to separate between differentiation zones and discriminate and count forming xylem cells, resulting in very similar raw data. However, the way these raw data are then processed, producing the elaborated data on which statistical analyses are performed, still remains quite specific to each individual study. Thereby, despite very similar raw data, wood-formation-monitoring studies yield results that are still quite difficult to compare. CAVIAR-an R package specifically dedicated to the verification, visualization and manipulation of wood-formation-monitoring data-can help to improve this situation. Initially, CAVIAR was built to provide efficient algorithms to compute critical dates of wood formation phenology for conifers growing in temperate and cold environments. Recently, we developed it further to check, display and process wood-formation-monitoring data. Thanks to new and upgraded functions, raw data can now be consistently verified, standardized and modelled (using logistic regressions and Gompertz functions), in order to describe wood phenology and intra-annual dynamics of tree-ring formation. We believe that CAVIAR will help strengthening the science of wood formation dynamics by effectively contributing to the standardization of its concepts and

  7. In situ health monitoring of piezoelectric sensors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Drouant, George J. (Inventor); Jensen, Scott L. (Inventor)

    2013-01-01

    An in situ health monitoring apparatus may include an exciter circuit that applies a pulse to a piezoelectric transducer and a data processing system that determines the piezoelectric transducer's dynamic response to the first pulse. The dynamic response can be used to evaluate the operating range, health, and as-mounted resonance frequency of the transducer, as well as the strength of a coupling between the transducer and a structure and the health of the structure.

  8. Laser absorption spectroscopy applied to monitoring of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Gaoxuan; Shen, Fengjiao; Yi, Hongming; Hubert, Patrice; Deguine, Alexandre; Petitprez, Denis; Maamary, Rabih; Augustin, Patrick; Fourmentin, Marc; Fertein, Eric; Sigrist, Markus W.; Ba, Tong-Nguyen; Chen, Weidong

    2018-06-01

    Enhanced mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) has been recently paid more attention in order to provide more sizeable short-term reductions of global warming effects over the next several decades. We overview in this article our recent progress in the development of spectroscopic instruments for optical monitoring of major SLCPs based on laser absorption spectroscopy. Methane (CH4) and black carbon (BC) are the most important SLCPs contributing to the human enhancement of the global greenhouse effect after CO2. We present optical sensing of these two climate-change related atmospheric species to illustrate how "classical" spectroscopy can help to address today's challenging issues: (1) Photoacoustic measurements of BC optical absorption coefficient in order to determine its radiative-forcing related optical parameters (such as mass absorption coefficient, absorption Ångström coefficient) with higher precision (∼7.4% compared to 12-30% for filter-based methods routinely used nowadays). The 1σ (SNR = 1) minimum measurable volumetric mass density of 21 ng/m3 (in 60 s) for black carbon. (2) Direct absorption spectroscopy-based monitoring of methane (CH4) in field campaign to identify pollution source in conjunction with air mass back-trajectory modeling. Using a White-type multipass cell (an effective path-length of 175 m), a 1σ detection limit of 33.3 ppb in 218 s was achieved with a relative measurement precision of 1.1% and an overall measurement uncertainty of about 5.1%. Performance of the custom, lab-based instruments (in terms of detection limits, measurement precision, temporal response, etc.), spectroscopic measurement aspects, experimental details, spectral data processing, analysis and modeling of the observed environmental episode will be presented and discussed.

  9. A novel processed food classification system applied to Australian food composition databases.

    PubMed

    O'Halloran, S A; Lacy, K E; Grimes, C A; Woods, J; Campbell, K J; Nowson, C A

    2017-08-01

    The extent of food processing can affect the nutritional quality of foodstuffs. Categorising foods by the level of processing emphasises the differences in nutritional quality between foods within the same food group and is likely useful for determining dietary processed food consumption. The present study aimed to categorise foods within Australian food composition databases according to the level of food processing using a processed food classification system, as well as assess the variation in the levels of processing within food groups. A processed foods classification system was applied to food and beverage items contained within Australian Food and Nutrient (AUSNUT) 2007 (n = 3874) and AUSNUT 2011-13 (n = 5740). The proportion of Minimally Processed (MP), Processed Culinary Ingredients (PCI) Processed (P) and Ultra Processed (ULP) by AUSNUT food group and the overall proportion of the four processed food categories across AUSNUT 2007 and AUSNUT 2011-13 were calculated. Across the food composition databases, the overall proportions of foods classified as MP, PCI, P and ULP were 27%, 3%, 26% and 44% for AUSNUT 2007 and 38%, 2%, 24% and 36% for AUSNUT 2011-13. Although there was wide variation in the classifications of food processing within the food groups, approximately one-third of foodstuffs were classified as ULP food items across both the 2007 and 2011-13 AUSNUT databases. This Australian processed food classification system will allow researchers to easily quantify the contribution of processed foods within the Australian food supply to assist in assessing the nutritional quality of the dietary intake of population groups. © 2017 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

  10. Integrated electrochemical-biological process as an alternative mean for ammonia monitoring during anaerobic digestion of organic wastes.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Nannan; Li, Xiaohu; Jin, Xiangdan; Angelidaki, Irini; Zhang, Yifeng

    2018-03-01

    Ammonia monitoring is important to control anaerobic digestion (AD) process due to inhibition effect. Here, an electrolysis cell (EC) was integrated with a complete nitrification reactor as an alternative approach for online monitoring of ammonia during AD processes. The AD effluent was pumped into nitrification reactor to convert ammonia to nitrate, followed by the introduction of nitrate-rich effluent to EC cathode. It was first evaluated with synthetic ammonia-rich digesters and was observed that the current at 5 min were linearly corresponding to the ammonia levels (from 0 to 7.5 mM NH 4 + -N, R 2  = 0.9673). The linear relationship was always observed regardless of different wastewater pH and external voltage. Pre-removal of other electron acceptors from digestate at cathode could eliminate their disturbances to sensor performance. Finally, the accuracy of biosensor was verified with real digestate test. The simple and reliable biosensor showed great promising for online ammonia monitoring of AD processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. New S control chart using skewness correction method for monitoring process dispersion of skewed distributions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Atta, Abdu; Yahaya, Sharipah; Zain, Zakiyah; Ahmed, Zalikha

    2017-11-01

    Control chart is established as one of the most powerful tools in Statistical Process Control (SPC) and is widely used in industries. The conventional control charts rely on normality assumption, which is not always the case for industrial data. This paper proposes a new S control chart for monitoring process dispersion using skewness correction method for skewed distributions, named as SC-S control chart. Its performance in terms of false alarm rate is compared with various existing control charts for monitoring process dispersion, such as scaled weighted variance S chart (SWV-S); skewness correction R chart (SC-R); weighted variance R chart (WV-R); weighted variance S chart (WV-S); and standard S chart (STD-S). Comparison with exact S control chart with regards to the probability of out-of-control detections is also accomplished. The Weibull and gamma distributions adopted in this study are assessed along with the normal distribution. Simulation study shows that the proposed SC-S control chart provides good performance of in-control probabilities (Type I error) in almost all the skewness levels and sample sizes, n. In the case of probability of detection shift the proposed SC-S chart is closer to the exact S control chart than the existing charts for skewed distributions, except for the SC-R control chart. In general, the performance of the proposed SC-S control chart is better than all the existing control charts for monitoring process dispersion in the cases of Type I error and probability of detection shift.

  12. Monitoring-Based Model for Personalizing the Clinical Process of Crohn’s Disease

    PubMed Central

    de Ramón-Fernández, Alberto; Ruiz-Fernández, Daniel; Vives-Boix, Víctor

    2017-01-01

    Crohn’s disease is a chronic pathology belonging to the group of inflammatory bowel diseases. Patients suffering from Crohn’s disease must be supervised by a medical specialist for the rest of their lives; furthermore, each patient has its own characteristics and is affected by the disease in a different way, so health recommendations and treatments cannot be generalized and should be individualized for a specific patient. To achieve this personalization in a cost-effective way using technology, we propose a model based on different information flows: control, personalization, and monitoring. As a result of the model and to perform a functional validation, an architecture based on services and a prototype of the system has been defined. In this prototype, a set of different devices and technologies to monitor variables from patients and their environment has been integrated. Artificial intelligence algorithms are also included to reduce the workload related to the review and analysis of the information gathered. Due to the continuous and automated monitoring of the Crohn’s patient, this proposal can help in the personalization of the Crohn’s disease clinical process. PMID:28678162

  13. An innovative online VFA monitoring system for the anerobic process, based on headspace gas chromatography.

    PubMed

    Boe, Kanokwan; Batstone, Damien John; Angelidaki, Irini

    2007-03-01

    A new method for online measurement of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in anerobic digesters has been developed based on headspace gas chromatography (HSGC). The method applies ex situ VFA stripping with variable headspace volume and gas analysis by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). In each extraction, digester sample was acidified with H(3)PO(4) and NaHSO(4), then heated to strip the VFA into the gas phase. The gas was sampled in a low friction glass syringe before injected into the GC for measurement. The system has been tested for online monitoring of a lab-scale CSTR reactor treating manure for more than 6 months and has shown good agreement with off-line analysis. The system is capable of measuring individual VFA components. This is of advantage since specific VFA components such as propionic and butyric acid can give extra information about the process status. Another important advantage of this sensor is that there is no filtration, which makes possible application in high solids environments. The system can thus be easily applied in a full-scale biogas reactor by connecting the system to the liquid circulation loop to obtain fresh sample from the reactor. Local calibration is needed but automatic calibration is also possible using standard addition method. Sampling duration is 25-40 min, depending on the washing duration, and sensor response is 10 min. This is appropriate for full-scale reactors, since dynamics within most biogas reactors are of the order of several hours.

  14. Limits of application of initiated chemiluminescence in monitoring of oncological process of mucous membrane of mouth and larynx.

    PubMed

    Oliynyk, Iryna

    2016-09-01

    Investigation into the limits of application of chemiluminescence (CL) methods in oncology still attracts the attention of researchers. In the present work we analyze the screening and monitoring of oncological processes (OP) in the mucous membrane of the mouth and larynx by initiated CL (ICL). Chemiluminescence has already been used by stomatologists to define the start of OP, but methods that reflect the metabolic changes in organism under cancer diagnostics still have not found their place. This work presents results of ICL on blood serum (BS) of patients with oncological diseases at different stages of medical treatment compared with those of healthy people. We found an essential metabolic difference only in types of OP that are characterized by two maxima on chemiluminograms. These OP represent only 12.81% of groups of patients with oncological diseases. The possibility to apply ICL methods to monitor operation quality and control medical treatment at different stages when the two ICL maxima are present is established. At present, the chemiluminograms with the two maxima are mostly informative, but this does not exclude the quantitative analysis of other ICL kinetic methods and is encouraging for their investigation. Any OP introduces changes in organism function and these should be reflected in the ICL. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. A Study about the 3S-based Great Ruins Monitoring and Early-warning System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xuefeng, W.; Zhongyuan, H.; Gongli, L.; Li, Z.

    2015-08-01

    Large-scale urbanization construction and new countryside construction, frequent natural disasters, and natural corrosion pose severe threat to the great ruins. It is not uncommon that the cultural relics are damaged and great ruins are occupied. Now the ruins monitoring mainly adopt general monitoring data processing system which can not effectively exert management, display, excavation analysis and data sharing of the relics monitoring data. Meanwhile those general software systems require layout of large number of devices or apparatuses, but they are applied to small-scope relics monitoring only. Therefore, this paper proposes a method to make use of the stereoscopic cartographic satellite technology to improve and supplement the great ruins monitoring index system and combine GIS and GPS to establish a highly automatic, real-time and intelligent great ruins monitoring and early-warning system in order to realize collection, processing, updating, spatial visualization, analysis, distribution and sharing of the monitoring data, and provide scientific and effective data for the relics protection, scientific planning, reasonable development and sustainable utilization.

  16. 40 CFR 63.7892 - What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 14 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents? 63.7892 Section 63.7892 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Site Remediation...

  17. 40 CFR 63.7892 - What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents? 63.7892 Section 63.7892 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Site Remediation...

  18. 40 CFR 63.7892 - What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 14 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents? 63.7892 Section 63.7892 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Site Remediation...

  19. 40 CFR 63.7892 - What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents? 63.7892 Section 63.7892 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Site Remediation...

  20. 40 CFR 63.7892 - What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 14 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false What are my inspection and monitoring requirements for process vents? 63.7892 Section 63.7892 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Site Remediation...

  1. New insights into biogeochemical processing gained from sub-daily river monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halliday, S. J.; Wade, A. J.; Skeffington, R. A.; Bowes, M.; Palmer-Felgate, E.; Loewenthal, M.; Jarvie, H.; Neal, C.; Reynolds, B.; Gozzard, E.; Newman, J.

    2012-12-01

    This talk will focus on the insights obtained from sub-daily hydrochemical monitoring for a sustained time periods (> 1 year), at multiple sites within a catchment and across different catchment types. Sub-daily instream hydrochemical dynamics were investigated, using non-stationary time-series analysis techniques, for two catchments representative of upland and lowland UK. The River Hafren at Plynlimon, mid-Wales drains an upland catchment where half the land cover is unmanaged moorland and the other half is first generation plantation forestry. The Hafren was monitored at two sites on a 7-hourly basis, between March 2007 and January 2009, using a Xian automatic sampler. The River Enborne, Berkshire, southeast England, is a rural lowland catchment, impacted by agricultural runoff, and septic tank and sewage treatment works discharges. The Enborne was monitored on an hourly basis between November 2009 and February 2012, using in situ field deployable analytical equipment to measure: Total Reactive Phosphorus (TRP: Systea Micromac C), Nitrate (Hach-Lange Nitratax), pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and water temperature (YSI 6600 Multi-parameter sonde). The results reveal complex diurnal patterns which exhibit seasonal changes in phase and amplitude, and are influenced by both flow conditions and nutrient sources. The comparison of the upland and lowland nitrate time series highlights how the different nitrogen sources within each system results in marked differences in the seasonal and diurnal dynamics, with a seasonal maximum in winter and a single peak diurnal cycle in the upland system, compared to a summer maximum and a two peak diurnal cycle in the lowland system. The analysis of TRP and nitrate concentrations in the Enborne catchment, in combination with flow, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and water temperature, allowed the main processes controlling the observed sub-daily nutrient dynamics to be investigated. The different monitoring approaches adopted

  2. Lessons Learnt from Applying Action Research to Support Strategy Formation Processes in Long-Term Care Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cramer, Hendrik; Dewulf, Geert; Voordijk, Hans

    2015-01-01

    This study demonstrates how action research (AR) that is aimed at scaling-up experiments can be applied to support a strategy formation process (SFP) in a subsidized long-term care network. Previous research has developed numerous AR frameworks to support experiments in various domains, but has failed to explain how to apply AR and action learning…

  3. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for in-line monitoring of polymer extrusion processes.

    PubMed

    Rohe, T; Becker, W; Kölle, S; Eisenreich, N; Eyerer, P

    1999-09-13

    In recent years, near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has become an analytical tool frequently used in many chemical production processes. In particular, on-line measurements are of interest to increase process stability and to document constant product quality. Application to polymer processing e.g. polymer extrusion, could even increase product quality. Interesting parameters are composition of the processed polymer, moisture, or reaction status in reactive extrusion. For this issue a transmission sensor was developed for application of NIR spectroscopy to extrusion processes. This sensor includes fibre optic probes and a measuring cell to be adapted to various extruders for in-line measurements. In contrast to infrared sensors, it only uses optical quartz components. Extrusion processes at temperatures up to 300 degrees C and pressures up to 37 MPa have been investigated. Application of multivariate data analysis (e.g. partial least squares, PLS) demonstrated the performance of the system with respect to process monitoring: in the case of polymer blending, deviations between predicted and actual polymer composition were quite low (in the range of +/-0.25%). So the complete system is suitable for harsh industrial environments and could lead to improved polymer extrusion processes.

  4. Urbanization Process Monitoring in Northwest China based on DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, K.; Bai, L. Y.; Feng, J. Z.

    2017-02-01

    In recent years, the DMSP/OLS nighttime light data have been widely applied to various fields such as monitoring and evaluation of urbanization, estimation of social economy, economical environment and health effects, hazards analysis, and fisheries research. The general urbanized level in China has rapidly developed since the 1990s, and the cities in northwest China, which were important population centres of the ancient silk road, have also been developed in a high speed thanks to China’s national strategy of Western Development. Given the Xinjiang autonomous region as a core area of One Belt and One Road, it is very necessary to study the urbanization processes and changes of its urban system and the whole northwest region of China. In this paper, we extracted built-up areas of the cities in northwest China in 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012, evaluated urban expansion and spatial pattern through appropriate indexes, and also quantitatively analyzed the urbanized level of each city. The results showed that the cities in northwest China generally presented high strong and rapid expansion, but there were some large differences among cities. Urban expansion forms alternate with exterior expansion and interior filling, in general, the cities externally expandedafter 2002 and internally filledbefore 2002, meanwhile, there were a high positive correlation between urban built-up areas and population growth in Xinjiang autonomous.

  5. 34 CFR 668.156 - Approved State process.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... student's eligibility for Title IV, HEA program funds must apply to the Secretary for approval of that... than a single standardized test; (3) Tutoring in basic verbal and quantitative skills, if appropriate... program completion. (d) A State process must— (1) Monitor on an annual basis each participating...

  6. In-line ATR-UV and Raman Spectroscopy for Monitoring API Dissolution Process During Liquid-Filled Soft-Gelatin Capsule Manufacturing.

    PubMed

    Wan, Boyong; Zordan, Christopher A; Lu, Xujin; McGeorge, Gary

    2016-10-01

    Complete dissolution of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is critical in the manufacturing of liquid-filled soft-gelatin capsules (SGC). Attenuated total reflectance UV spectroscopy (ATR-UV) and Raman spectroscopy have been investigated for in-line monitoring of API dissolution during manufacturing of an SGC product. Calibration models have been developed with both techniques for in-line determination of API potency. Performance of both techniques was evaluated and compared. The ATR-UV methodology was found to be able to monitor the dissolution process and determine the endpoint, but was sensitive to temperature variations. The Raman technique was also capable of effectively monitoring the process and was more robust to the temperature variation and process perturbations by using an excipient peak for internal correction. Different data preprocessing methodologies were explored in an attempt to improve method performance.

  7. 40 CFR 63.1429 - Process vent monitoring requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... thermocouple, ultra-violet beam sensor, or infrared sensor) capable of continuously detecting the presence of a... used, a temperature monitoring device equipped with a continuous recorder is required. (i) Where an incinerator other than a catalytic incinerator is used, a temperature monitoring device shall be installed in...

  8. 40 CFR 63.1429 - Process vent monitoring requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... thermocouple, ultra-violet beam sensor, or infrared sensor) capable of continuously detecting the presence of a... used, a temperature monitoring device equipped with a continuous recorder is required. (i) Where an incinerator other than a catalytic incinerator is used, a temperature monitoring device shall be installed in...

  9. 40 CFR 63.1429 - Process vent monitoring requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... thermocouple, ultra-violet beam sensor, or infrared sensor) capable of continuously detecting the presence of a... used, a temperature monitoring device equipped with a continuous recorder is required. (i) Where an incinerator other than a catalytic incinerator is used, a temperature monitoring device shall be installed in...

  10. Vibration-based monitoring and diagnostics using compressive sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ganesan, Vaahini; Das, Tuhin; Rahnavard, Nazanin; Kauffman, Jeffrey L.

    2017-04-01

    Vibration data from mechanical systems carry important information that is useful for characterization and diagnosis. Standard approaches rely on continually streaming data at a fixed sampling frequency. For applications involving continuous monitoring, such as Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), such approaches result in high volume data and rely on sensors being powered for prolonged durations. Furthermore, for spatial resolution, structures are instrumented with a large array of sensors. This paper shows that both volume of data and number of sensors can be reduced significantly by applying Compressive Sensing (CS) in vibration monitoring applications. The reduction is achieved by using random sampling and capitalizing on the sparsity of vibration signals in the frequency domain. Preliminary experimental results validating CS-based frequency recovery are also provided. By exploiting the sparsity of mode shapes, CS can also enable efficient spatial reconstruction using fewer spatially distributed sensors. CS can thereby reduce the cost and power requirement of sensing as well as streamline data storage and processing in monitoring applications. In well-instrumented structures, CS can enable continued monitoring in case of sensor or computational failures.

  11. Process for metallization of a substrate by curing a catalyst applied thereto

    DOEpatents

    Chen, Ken S.; Morgan, William P.; Zich, John L.

    2002-10-08

    An improved additive process for metallization of substrates is described whereby a catalyst solution is applied to a surface of a substrate. Metallic catalytic clusters can be formed in the catalyst solution on the substrate surface by heating the substrate. Electroless plating can then deposit metal onto the portion of the substrate surface coated with catalyst solution. Additional metallization thickness can be obtained by electrolytically plating the substrate surface after the electroless plating step.

  12. In Situ 3D Monitoring of Geometric Signatures in the Powder-Bed-Fusion Additive Manufacturing Process via Vision Sensing Methods

    PubMed Central

    Li, Zhongwei; Liu, Xingjian; Wen, Shifeng; He, Piyao; Zhong, Kai; Wei, Qingsong; Shi, Yusheng; Liu, Sheng

    2018-01-01

    Lack of monitoring of the in situ process signatures is one of the challenges that has been restricting the improvement of Powder-Bed-Fusion Additive Manufacturing (PBF AM). Among various process signatures, the monitoring of the geometric signatures is of high importance. This paper presents the use of vision sensing methods as a non-destructive in situ 3D measurement technique to monitor two main categories of geometric signatures: 3D surface topography and 3D contour data of the fusion area. To increase the efficiency and accuracy, an enhanced phase measuring profilometry (EPMP) is proposed to monitor the 3D surface topography of the powder bed and the fusion area reliably and rapidly. A slice model assisted contour detection method is developed to extract the contours of fusion area. The performance of the techniques is demonstrated with some selected measurements. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can reveal irregularities caused by various defects and inspect the contour accuracy and surface quality. It holds the potential to be a powerful in situ 3D monitoring tool for manufacturing process optimization, close-loop control, and data visualization. PMID:29649171

  13. Multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) using Raman spectroscopy for in-line culture cell monitoring considering time-varying batches synchronized with correlation optimized warping (COW).

    PubMed

    Liu, Ya-Juan; André, Silvère; Saint Cristau, Lydia; Lagresle, Sylvain; Hannas, Zahia; Calvosa, Éric; Devos, Olivier; Duponchel, Ludovic

    2017-02-01

    Multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) is increasingly popular as the challenge provided by large multivariate datasets from analytical instruments such as Raman spectroscopy for the monitoring of complex cell cultures in the biopharmaceutical industry. However, Raman spectroscopy for in-line monitoring often produces unsynchronized data sets, resulting in time-varying batches. Moreover, unsynchronized data sets are common for cell culture monitoring because spectroscopic measurements are generally recorded in an alternate way, with more than one optical probe parallelly connecting to the same spectrometer. Synchronized batches are prerequisite for the application of multivariate analysis such as multi-way principal component analysis (MPCA) for the MSPC monitoring. Correlation optimized warping (COW) is a popular method for data alignment with satisfactory performance; however, it has never been applied to synchronize acquisition time of spectroscopic datasets in MSPC application before. In this paper we propose, for the first time, to use the method of COW to synchronize batches with varying durations analyzed with Raman spectroscopy. In a second step, we developed MPCA models at different time intervals based on the normal operation condition (NOC) batches synchronized by COW. New batches are finally projected considering the corresponding MPCA model. We monitored the evolution of the batches using two multivariate control charts based on Hotelling's T 2 and Q. As illustrated with results, the MSPC model was able to identify abnormal operation condition including contaminated batches which is of prime importance in cell culture monitoring We proved that Raman-based MSPC monitoring can be used to diagnose batches deviating from the normal condition, with higher efficacy than traditional diagnosis, which would save time and money in the biopharmaceutical industry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Neonatal non-contact respiratory monitoring based on real-time infrared thermography

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Monitoring of vital parameters is an important topic in neonatal daily care. Progress in computational intelligence and medical sensors has facilitated the development of smart bedside monitors that can integrate multiple parameters into a single monitoring system. This paper describes non-contact monitoring of neonatal vital signals based on infrared thermography as a new biomedical engineering application. One signal of clinical interest is the spontaneous respiration rate of the neonate. It will be shown that the respiration rate of neonates can be monitored based on analysis of the anterior naris (nostrils) temperature profile associated with the inspiration and expiration phases successively. Objective The aim of this study is to develop and investigate a new non-contact respiration monitoring modality for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) using infrared thermography imaging. This development includes subsequent image processing (region of interest (ROI) detection) and optimization. Moreover, it includes further optimization of this non-contact respiration monitoring to be considered as physiological measurement inside NICU wards. Results Continuous wavelet transformation based on Debauches wavelet function was applied to detect the breathing signal within an image stream. Respiration was successfully monitored based on a 0.3°C to 0.5°C temperature difference between the inspiration and expiration phases. Conclusions Although this method has been applied to adults before, this is the first time it was used in a newborn infant population inside the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The promising results suggest to include this technology into advanced NICU monitors. PMID:22243660

  15. Applying traditional signal processing techniques to social media exploitation for situational understanding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdelzaher, Tarek; Roy, Heather; Wang, Shiguang; Giridhar, Prasanna; Al Amin, Md. Tanvir; Bowman, Elizabeth K.; Kolodny, Michael A.

    2016-05-01

    Signal processing techniques such as filtering, detection, estimation and frequency domain analysis have long been applied to extract information from noisy sensor data. This paper describes the exploitation of these signal processing techniques to extract information from social networks, such as Twitter and Instagram. Specifically, we view social networks as noisy sensors that report events in the physical world. We then present a data processing stack for detection, localization, tracking, and veracity analysis of reported events using social network data. We show using a controlled experiment that the behavior of social sources as information relays varies dramatically depending on context. In benign contexts, there is general agreement on events, whereas in conflict scenarios, a significant amount of collective filtering is introduced by conflicted groups, creating a large data distortion. We describe signal processing techniques that mitigate such distortion, resulting in meaningful approximations of actual ground truth, given noisy reported observations. Finally, we briefly present an implementation of the aforementioned social network data processing stack in a sensor network analysis toolkit, called Apollo. Experiences with Apollo show that our techniques are successful at identifying and tracking credible events in the physical world.

  16. Open circuit potential monitored digital photocorrosion of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well microstructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aithal, Srivatsa; Dubowski, Jan J.

    2018-04-01

    Nanostructuring of semiconductor wafers with an atomic level depth resolution is a challenging task, primarily due to the limited availability of instruments for in situ monitoring of such processes. Conventional digital etching relies on calibration procedures and cumbersome diagnostics applied between or at the end of etching cycles. We have developed a photoluminescence (PL) based process for monitoring in situ digital photocorrosion (DPC) of GaAs/AlGaAs microstructures at rates below 0.2 nm per cycle. In this communication, we demonstrate that DPC of GaAs/AlGaAs microstructures could be monitored with open circuit potential (OCP) measured between the photocorroding surface of a microstructure and an Ag/AgCl reference electrode installed in the sample chamber. The excellent correlation between the position of both PL and OCP maxima indicates that the DPC process could be monitored in situ for materials that do not necessarily exhibit measurable PL emission.

  17. AE Monitoring of Diamond Turned Rapidly Soldified Aluminium 443

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Onwuka, G.; Abou-El-Hossein, K.; Mkoko, Z.

    2017-05-01

    The fast replacement of conventional aluminium with rapidly solidified aluminium alloys has become a noticeable trend in the current manufacturing industries involved in the production of optics and optical molding inserts. This is as a result of the improved performance and durability of rapidly solidified aluminium alloys when compared to conventional aluminium. Melt spinning process is vital for manufacturing rapidly solidified aluminium alloys like RSA 905, RSA 6061 and RSA 443 which are common in the industries today. RSA 443 is a newly developed alloy with few research findings and huge research potential. There is no available literature focused on monitoring the machining of RSA 443 alloys. In this research, Acoustic Emission sensing technique was applied to monitor the single point diamond turning of RSA 443 on an ultrahigh precision lathe machine. The machining process was carried out after careful selection of feed, speed and depths of cut. The monitoring process was achieved with a high sampling data acquisition system using different tools while concurrent measurement of the surface roughness and tool wear were initiated after covering a total feed distance of 13km. An increasing trend of raw AE spikes and peak to peak signal were observed with an increase in the surface roughness and tool wear values. Hence, acoustic emission sensing technique proves to be an effective monitoring method for the machining of RSA 443 alloy.

  18. Four challenges in selecting and implementing methods to monitor and evaluate participatory processes: Example from the Rwenzori region, Uganda.

    PubMed

    Hassenforder, Emeline; Ducrot, Raphaëlle; Ferrand, Nils; Barreteau, Olivier; Anne Daniell, Katherine; Pittock, Jamie

    2016-09-15

    Participatory approaches are now increasingly recognized and used as an essential element of policies and programs, especially in regards to natural resource management (NRM). Most practitioners, decision-makers and researchers having adopted participatory approaches also acknowledge the need to monitor and evaluate such approaches in order to audit their effectiveness, support decision-making or improve learning. Many manuals and frameworks exist on how to carry out monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for participatory processes. However, few provide guidelines on the selection and implementation of M&E methods, an aspect which is also often obscure in published studies, at the expense of the transparency, reliability and validity of the study. In this paper, we argue that the selection and implementation of M&E methods are particularly strategic when monitoring and evaluating a participatory process. We demonstrate that evaluators of participatory processes have to tackle a quadruple challenge when selecting and implementing methods: using mixed-methods, both qualitative and quantitative; assessing the participatory process, its outcomes, and its context; taking into account both the theory and participants' views; and being both rigorous and adaptive. The M&E of a participatory planning process in the Rwenzori Region, Uganda, is used as an example to show how these challenges unfold on the ground and how they can be tackled. Based on this example, we conclude by providing tools and strategies that can be used by evaluators to ensure that they make utile, feasible, coherent, transparent and adaptive methodological choices when monitoring and evaluating participatory processes for NRM. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Systems Engineering Processes Applied to Ground Vehicle Integration at US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-08-19

    UNCLASSIFIED Systems Engineering Processes Applied To Ground Vehicle Integration at US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering...DATES COVERED - 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Systems Engineering Processes Applied To Ground Vehicle Integration at US Army Tank Automotive Research...release, distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Presented at NDIAs Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS), 17 22

  20. Application of ISO standard 27048: dose assessment for the monitoring of workers for internal radiation exposure.

    PubMed

    Henrichs, K

    2011-03-01

    Besides ongoing developments in the dosimetry of incorporated radionuclides, there are various efforts to improve the monitoring of workers for potential or real intakes of radionuclides. The disillusioning experience with numerous intercomparison projects identified substantial differences between national regulations, concepts, applied programmes and methods, and dose assessment procedures. Measured activities were not directly comparable because of significant differences between measuring frequencies and methods, but also results of case studies for dose assessments revealed differences of orders of magnitude. Besides the general common interest in reliable monitoring results, at least the cross-border activities of workers (e.g. nuclear power plant services) require consistent approaches and comparable results. The International Standardization Organization therefore initiated projects to standardise programmes for the monitoring of workers, the requirements for measuring laboratories and the processes for the quantitative evaluation of monitoring results in terms of internal assessed doses. The strength of the concepts applied by the international working group consists in a unified approach defining the requirements, databases and processes. This paper is intended to give a short introduction into the standardization project followed by a more detailed description of the dose assessment standard, which will be published in the very near future.