WorldWideScience

Sample records for active microwave sensors

  1. A microwave powered sensor assembly for microwave ovens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    The present invention relates to a microwave powered sensor assembly for micro- wave ovens. The microwave powered sensor assembly comprises a microwave antenna for generating an RF antenna signal in response to microwave radiation at a predetermined excitation frequency. A dc power supply circuit...... of the microwave powered sensor assembly is operatively coupled to the RF antenna signal for extracting energy from the RF antenna signal and produce a power supply voltage. A sensor is connected to the power supply voltage and configured to measure a physical or chemical property of a food item under heating...... in a microwave oven chamber....

  2. Active Sensor for Microwave Tissue Imaging with Bias-Switched Arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foroutan, Farzad; Nikolova, Natalia K

    2018-05-06

    A prototype of a bias-switched active sensor was developed and measured to establish the achievable dynamic range in a new generation of active arrays for microwave tissue imaging. The sensor integrates a printed slot antenna, a low-noise amplifier (LNA) and an active mixer in a single unit, which is sufficiently small to enable inter-sensor separation distance as small as 12 mm. The sensor’s input covers the bandwidth from 3 GHz to 7.5 GHz. Its output intermediate frequency (IF) is 30 MHz. The sensor is controlled by a simple bias-switching circuit, which switches ON and OFF the bias of the LNA and the mixer simultaneously. It was demonstrated experimentally that the dynamic range of the sensor, as determined by its ON and OFF states, is 109 dB and 118 dB at resolution bandwidths of 1 kHz and 100 Hz, respectively.

  3. Microwave Sensors for Breast Cancer Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lulu

    2018-02-23

    Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among females, early diagnostic methods with suitable treatments improve the 5-year survival rates significantly. Microwave breast imaging has been reported as the most potential to become the alternative or additional tool to the current gold standard X-ray mammography for detecting breast cancer. The microwave breast image quality is affected by the microwave sensor, sensor array, the number of sensors in the array and the size of the sensor. In fact, microwave sensor array and sensor play an important role in the microwave breast imaging system. Numerous microwave biosensors have been developed for biomedical applications, with particular focus on breast tumor detection. Compared to the conventional medical imaging and biosensor techniques, these microwave sensors not only enable better cancer detection and improve the image resolution, but also provide attractive features such as label-free detection. This paper aims to provide an overview of recent important achievements in microwave sensors for biomedical imaging applications, with particular focus on breast cancer detection. The electric properties of biological tissues at microwave spectrum, microwave imaging approaches, microwave biosensors, current challenges and future works are also discussed in the manuscript.

  4. Medical preparation container comprising microwave powered sensor assembly

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    The present invention relates to a medical preparation container which comprises a microwave powered sensor assembly. The microwave powered sensor assembly comprises a sensor configured to measure a physical property or chemical property of a medical preparation during its heating in a microwave ...... oven. The microwave powered sensor assembly is configured for harvesting energy from microwave radiation emitted by the microwave oven and energize the sensor by the harvested microwave energy.......The present invention relates to a medical preparation container which comprises a microwave powered sensor assembly. The microwave powered sensor assembly comprises a sensor configured to measure a physical property or chemical property of a medical preparation during its heating in a microwave...

  5. Clip-on wireless wearable microwave sensor for ambulatory cardiac monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Richard R; Kulkarni, Sarang

    2010-01-01

    We present a new type of non-contact sensor for use in ambulatory cardiac monitoring. The sensor operation is based on a microwave Doppler technique; however, instead of detecting the heart activity from a distance, the sensor is placed on the patient's chest over the clothing. The microwave sensor directly measures heart movement rather than electrical activity, and is thus complementary to ECG. The primary advantages of the microwave sensor includes small size, light weight, low power, low-cost, and the ability to operate through clothing. We present a sample sensor design that incorporates a 2.4 GHz Doppler circuit, integrated microstrip patch antenna, and microntroller with 12-bit ADC data sampling. The prototype sensor also includes a wireless data link for sending data to a remote PC or mobile phone. Sample data is shown for several subjects and compared to data from a commercial portable ECG device. Data collected from the microwave sensor exhibits a significant amount of features, indicating possible use as a tool for monitoring heart mechanics and detection of abnormalities such as fibrillation and akinesia.

  6. Active/passive microwave sensor comparison of MIZ-ice concentration estimates. [Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, B. A.; Cavalieri, D. J.; Keller, M. R.

    1986-01-01

    Active and passive microwave data collected during the 1984 summer Marginal Ice Zone Experiment in the Fram Strait (MIZEX 84) are used to compare ice concentration estimates derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to those obtained from passive microwave imagery at several frequencies. The comparison is carried out to evaluate SAR performance against the more established passive microwave technique, and to investigate discrepancies in terms of how ice surface conditions, imaging geometry, and choice of algorithm parameters affect each sensor. Active and passive estimates of ice concentration agree on average to within 12%. Estimates from the multichannel passive microwave data show best agreement with the SAR estimates because the multichannel algorithm effectively accounts for the range in ice floe brightness temperatures observed in the MIZ.

  7. A passive and active microwave-vector radiative transfer (PAM-VRT) model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Jun; Min, Qilong

    2015-01-01

    A passive and active microwave vector radiative transfer (PAM-VRT) package has been developed. This fast and accurate forward microwave model, with flexible and versatile input and output components, self-consistently and realistically simulates measurements/radiation of passive and active microwave sensors. The core PAM-VRT, microwave radiative transfer model, consists of five modules: gas absorption (two line-by-line databases and four fast models); hydrometeor property of water droplets and ice (spherical and nonspherical) particles; surface emissivity (from Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM)); vector radiative transfer of successive order of scattering (VSOS); and passive and active microwave simulation. The PAM-VRT package has been validated against other existing models, demonstrating good accuracy. The PAM-VRT not only can be used to simulate or assimilate measurements of existing microwave sensors, but also can be used to simulate observation results at some new microwave sensors. - Highlights: • A novel microwave vector radiative transfer model is developed. • It can simulate passive and active microwave radiative transfer simultaneously. • It can be applied to simulate measurements for different types of viewing geometry. • The accuracy of this model has been validated against other existing models

  8. Testing of a Microwave Blade Tip Clearance Sensor at the NASA Glenn Research Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woike, Mark R.; Roeder, James W.; Hughes, Christopher E.; Bencic, Timothy J.

    2009-01-01

    The development of new active tip clearance control and structural health monitoring schemes in turbine engines and other types of rotating machinery requires sensors that are highly accurate and can operate in a high-temperature environment. The use of a microwave sensor to acquire blade tip clearance and tip timing measurements is being explored at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The microwave blade tip clearance sensor works on principles that are very similar to a short-range radar system. The sensor sends a continuous microwave signal towards a target and measures the reflected signal. The phase difference of the reflected signal is directly proportional to the distance between the sensor and the target being measured. This type of sensor is beneficial in that it has the ability to operate at extremely high temperatures and is unaffected by contaminants that may be present in turbine engines. The use of microwave sensors for this application is a new concept. Techniques on calibrating the sensors along with installation effects are not well quantified as they are for other sensor technologies. Developing calibration techniques and evaluating installation effects are essential in using these sensors to make tip clearance and tip timing measurements. As a means of better understanding these issues, the microwave sensors were used on a benchtop calibration rig, a large axial vane fan, and a turbofan. Background on the microwave tip clearance sensor, an overview of their calibration, and the results from their use on the axial vane fan and the turbofan will be presented in this paper.

  9. A novel symmetrical microwave power sensor based on GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, De-bo; Liao, Xiao-ping

    2009-01-01

    A novel symmetrical microwave power sensor based on GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology is presented in this paper. In this power sensor, the left section inputs the microwave power, while the right section inputs the dc power. Because of the symmetrical structure, this power sensor is created to provide more accurate microwave power measurement capability without mismatch uncertainty and restrain temperature drift. The loss model is built and the loss voltage is 0.8 mV at 20 GHz when the input power is 100 mW. This power sensor is designed and fabricated using GaAs MMIC technology. And it is measured in the frequency range up to 20 GHz with the input power in the −20 dBm to 19 dBm range. Over the 19 dBm dynamic range, the sensitivity can achieve about 0.2 mV mW −1 . The difference between the input powers in the two sections is below 0.1% for equal output voltages. For an amplitude modulation measurement, the carrier frequency is the main factor to influence the measurement results. In short, the key aspect of this power sensor is that the microwave power measurement can be replaced by a dc power measurement with precise wideband

  10. Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) Sensor Data Record (SDR) in netCDF

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) is a series of passive microwave conically scanning imagers and sounders onboard the DMSP satellites beginning...

  11. Live demonstration: Screen printed, microwave based level sensor for automated drug delivery

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram

    2018-01-02

    Level sensors find numerous applications in many industries to automate the processes involving chemicals. Recently, some commercial ultrasound based level sensors are also being used to automate the drug delivery process [1]. Some of the most desirable features of level sensors to be used for medical use are their non-intrusiveness, low cost and consistent performance. In this demo, we will present a completely new method of sensing the liquid level using microwaves. It is a common stereotype to consider microwaves sensing mechanism as being expensive. Unlike usual expensive, intrusive and bulky microwave methods of level sensing using guided radars, we will present an extremely low cost printed, non-intrusive microwave sensor to reliably sense the liquid level.

  12. A micromachined inline type microwave power sensor with working state transfer switches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Lei

    2011-01-01

    A wideband 8-12 GHz inline type microwave power sensor, which has both working and non-working states, is presented. The power sensor measures the microwave power coupled from a CPW line by a MEMS membrane. In order to reduce microwave losses during the non-working state, a new structure of working state transfer switches is proposed to realize the two working states. The fabrication of the power sensor with two working states is compatible with the GaAs MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) process. The experimental results show that the power sensor has an insertion loss of 0.18 dB during the non-working state and 0.24 dB during the working state at a frequency of 10 GHz. This means that no microwave power has been coupled from the CPW line during the non-working state. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

  13. A Blade Tip Timing Method Based on a Microwave Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jilong Zhang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Blade tip timing is an effective method for blade vibration measurements in turbomachinery. This method is increasing in popularity because it is non-intrusive and has several advantages over the conventional strain gauge method. Different kinds of sensors have been developed for blade tip timing, including optical, eddy current and capacitance sensors. However, these sensors are unsuitable in environments with contaminants or high temperatures. Microwave sensors offer a promising potential solution to overcome these limitations. In this article, a microwave sensor-based blade tip timing measurement system is proposed. A patch antenna probe is used to transmit and receive the microwave signals. The signal model and process method is analyzed. Zero intermediate frequency structure is employed to maintain timing accuracy and dynamic performance, and the received signal can also be used to measure tip clearance. The timing method uses the rising and falling edges of the signal and an auto-gain control circuit to reduce the effect of tip clearance change. To validate the accuracy of the system, it is compared experimentally with a fiber optic tip timing system. The results show that the microwave tip timing system achieves good accuracy.

  14. Extended Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) Sensor Data Record (SDR) in netCDF

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) is a seven-channel linearly polarized passive microwave radiometer that operates at frequencies of 19.36 (vertically and...

  15. Microwave multiplex readout for superconducting sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferri, E., E-mail: elena.ferri@mib.infn.it [Università Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); INFN Sez. di Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); Becker, D.; Bennett, D. [NIST, Boulder, CO (United States); Faverzani, M. [Università Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); INFN Sez. di Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); Fowler, J.; Gard, J. [NIST, Boulder, CO (United States); Giachero, A. [Università Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); INFN Sez. di Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); Hays-Wehle, J.; Hilton, G. [NIST, Boulder, CO (United States); Maino, M. [Università Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); INFN Sez. di Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); Mates, J. [NIST, Boulder, CO (United States); Puiu, A.; Nucciotti, A. [Università Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); INFN Sez. di Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy); Reintsema, C.; Schmidt, D.; Swetz, D.; Ullom, J.; Vale, L. [NIST, Boulder, CO (United States)

    2016-07-11

    The absolute neutrino mass scale is still an outstanding challenge in both particle physics and cosmology. The calorimetric measurement of the energy released in a nuclear beta decay is a powerful tool to determine the effective electron-neutrino mass. In the last years, the progress on low temperature detector technologies has allowed to design large scale experiments aiming at pushing down the sensitivity on the neutrino mass below 1 eV. Even with outstanding performances in both energy (~ eV on keV) and time resolution (~ 1 μs) on the single channel, a large number of detectors working in parallel is required to reach a sub-eV sensitivity. Microwave frequency domain readout is the best available technique to readout large array of low temperature detectors, such as Transition Edge Sensors (TESs) or Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs). In this way a multiplex factor of the order of thousands can be reached, limited only by the bandwidth of the available commercial fast digitizers. This microwave multiplexing system will be used to readout the HOLMES detectors, an array of 1000 microcalorimeters based on TES sensors in which the {sup 163}Ho will be implanted. HOLMES is a new experiment for measuring the electron neutrino mass by means of the electron capture (EC) decay of {sup 163}Ho. We present here the microwave frequency multiplex which will be used in the HOLMES experiment and the microwave frequency multiplex used to readout the MKID detectors developed in Milan as well.

  16. Microwave Readout Techniques for Very Large Arrays of Nuclear Sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ullom, Joel [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Physics

    2017-05-17

    During this project, we transformed the use of microwave readout techniques for nuclear sensors from a speculative idea to reality. The core of the project consisted of the development of a set of microwave electronics able to generate and process large numbers of microwave tones. The tones can be used to probe a circuit containing a series of electrical resonances whose frequency locations and widths depend on the state of a network of sensors, with one sensor per resonance. The amplitude and phase of the tones emerging from the circuit are processed by the same electronics and are reduced to the sensor signals after two demodulation steps. This approach allows a large number of sensors to be interrogated using a single pair of coaxial cables. We successfully developed hardware, firmware, and software to complete a scalable implementation of these microwave control electronics and demonstrated their use in two areas. First, we showed that the electronics can be used at room temperature to read out a network of diverse sensor types relevant to safeguards or process monitoring. Second, we showed that the electronics can be used to measure large numbers of ultrasensitive cryogenic sensors such as gamma-ray microcalorimeters. In particular, we demonstrated the undegraded readout of up to 128 channels and established a path to even higher multiplexing factors. These results have transformed the prospects for gamma-ray spectrometers based on cryogenic microcalorimeter arrays by enabling spectrometers whose collecting areas and count rates can be competitive with high purity germanium but with 10x better spectral resolution.

  17. Bias correction for rainrate retrievals from satellite passive microwave sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Short, David A.

    1990-01-01

    Rainrates retrieved from past and present satellite-borne microwave sensors are affected by a fundamental remote sensing problem. Sensor fields-of-view are typically large enough to encompass substantial rainrate variability, whereas the retrieval algorithms, based on radiative transfer calculations, show a non-linear relationship between rainrate and microwave brightness temperature. Retrieved rainrates are systematically too low. A statistical model of the bias problem shows that bias correction factors depend on the probability distribution of instantaneous rainrate and on the average thickness of the rain layer.

  18. Investigation into the use of microwave sensors to monitor particulate manufacturing processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, John Samuel, III

    Knowledge of a material's properties in-line during manufacture is of critical importance to many industries, including the pharmaceutical industry, and can be used for either process or quality control. Different microwave sensor configurations were tested to determine both the moisture content and the bulk density in pharmaceutical powders during processing on-line. Although these parameters can significantly affect a material's flowability, compressibility, and cohesivity, in the presence of blends, the picture is incomplete. Due to the ease with which particulate blends tend to segregate, blend uniformity and chemical composition are two critical parameters in nearly all solids manufacturing industries. The prevailing wisdom has been that microwave sensors are not capable of or sensitive enough to measure the relative concentrations of components in a blend. Consequently, it is common to turn to near infrared sensing to determine material composition on-line. In this study, a novel microwave sensor was designed and utilized to determine, separately, the concentrations of different components in a blend of pharmaceutical powders. This custom microwave sensor was shown to have comparable accuracy to the state-of-the-art for both chemical composition and moisture content determination.

  19. Design and fabrication of a terminating type MEMS microwave power sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Yinglin; Liao Xiaoping

    2009-01-01

    A terminating type MEMS microwave power sensor based on the Seebeck effect and compatible with the GaAs MMIC process is presented. An electrothermal model is introduced to simulate the heat transfer behavior and temperature distribution. The sensor measured the microwave power from -20 to 20 dBm up to 20 GHz. The sensitivity of the sensor is 0.27 mV/mW at 20 GHz, and the input return loss is less than -26 dB over the entire experiment frequency range. In order to improve the sensitivity, four different types of coplanar waveguide (CPW) were designed and the sensitivity was significantly increased by about a factor of 2.

  20. Evaluation of microwave cavity gas sensor for in-vessel monitoring of dry cask storage systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakhtiari, S.; Gonnot, T.; Elmer, T.; Chien, H.-T.; Engel, D.; Koehl, E.; Heifetz, A.

    2018-04-01

    Results are reported of research activities conducted at Argonne to assess the viability of microwave resonant cavities for extended in-vessel monitoring of dry cask storage system (DCSS) environment. One of the gases of concern to long-term storage in canisters is water vapor, which appears due to evaporation of residual moisture from incompletely dried fuel assembly. Excess moisture could contribute to corrosion and deterioration of components inside the canister, which would in turn compromise maintenance and safe transportation of such systems. Selection of the sensor type in this work was based on a number of factors, including good sensitivity, fast response time, small form factor and ruggedness of the probing element. A critical design constraint was the capability to mount and operate the sensor using the existing canister penetrations-use of existing ports for thermocouple lances. Microwave resonant cavities operating at select resonant frequency matched to the rotational absorption line of the molecule of interest offer the possibility of highly sensitive detection. In this study, two prototype K-band microwave cylindrical cavities operating at TE01n resonant modes around the 22 GHz water absorption line were developed and tested. The sensors employ a single port for excitation and detection and a novel dual-loop inductive coupling for optimized excitation of the resonant modes. Measurement of the loaded and unloaded cavity quality factor was obtained from the S11 parameter. The acquisition and real-time analysis of data was implemented using software based tools developed for this purpose. The results indicate that the microwave humidity sensors developed in this work could be adapted to in-vessel monitoring applications that require few parts-per-million level of sensitivity. The microwave sensing method for detection of water vapor can potentially be extended to detection of radioactive fission gases leaking into the interior of the canister through

  1. Dynamic Characterization of a Low Cost Microwave Water-Cut Sensor in a Flow Loop

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram

    2017-03-31

    Inline precise measurement of water fraction in oil (i.e. water-cut [WC]) finds numerous applications in oil and gas industry. This paper presents the characterization of an extremely low cost, completely non-intrusive and full range microwave water-cut sensor based upon pipe conformable microwave T-resonator. A 10″ microwave stub based T-resonator has been implemented directly on the pipe surface whose resonance frequency changes in the frequency band of 90MHz–190MHz (111%) with changing water fraction in oil. The designed sensor is capable of detecting even small changes in WC with a resolution of 0.07% at low WC and 0.5% WC at high WC. The performance of the microwave WC sensor has been tested in an in-house flow loop. The proposed WC sensor has been characterized over full water-cut range (0%–100%) not only in vertical but also in horizontal orientation. The sensor has shown predictable response in both orientations with huge frequency shift. Moreover, flow rate effect has also been investigated on the proposed WC sensor’s performance and it has been found that the sensor’s repeatability is within 2.5% WC for variable flow rates.

  2. Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) Temperature Data Record (TDR) in netCDF

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) is a series of passive microwave conically scanning imagers and sounders onboard the DMSP satellites beginning...

  3. Impact of Missing Passive Microwave Sensors on Multi-Satellite Precipitation Retrieval Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Yong

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The impact of one or two missing passive microwave (PMW input sensors on the end product of multi-satellite precipitation products is an interesting but obscure issue for both algorithm developers and data users. On 28 January 2013, the Version-7 TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA products were reproduced and re-released by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center because the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-B (AMSU-B and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager-Sounder-F16 (SSMIS-F16 input data were unintentionally disregarded in the prior retrieval. Thus, this study investigates the sensitivity of TMPA algorithm results to missing PMW sensors by intercomparing the “early” and “late” Version-7 TMPA real-time (TMPA-RT precipitation estimates (i.e., without and with AMSU-B, SSMIS-F16 sensors with an independent high-density gauge network of 200 tipping-bucket rain gauges over the Chinese Jinghe river basin (45,421 km2. The retrieval counts and retrieval frequency of various PMW and Infrared (IR sensors incorporated into the TMPA system were also analyzed to identify and diagnose the impacts of sensor availability on the TMPA-RT retrieval accuracy. Results show that the incorporation of AMSU-B and SSMIS-F16 has substantially reduced systematic errors. The improvement exhibits rather strong seasonal and topographic dependencies. Our analyses suggest that one or two single PMW sensors might play a key role in affecting the end product of current combined microwave-infrared precipitation estimates. This finding supports algorithm developers’ current endeavor in spatiotemporally incorporating as many PMW sensors as possible in the multi-satellite precipitation retrieval system called Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement mission (IMERG. This study also recommends users of satellite precipitation products to switch to the newest Version-7 TMPA datasets and

  4. Physical retrieval of precipitation water contents from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) data. Part 1: A cloud ensemble/radiative parameterization for sensor response (report version)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, William S.; Raymond, William H.

    1990-01-01

    The physical retrieval of geophysical parameters based upon remotely sensed data requires a sensor response model which relates the upwelling radiances that the sensor observes to the parameters to be retrieved. In the retrieval of precipitation water contents from satellite passive microwave observations, the sensor response model has two basic components. First, a description of the radiative transfer of microwaves through a precipitating atmosphere must be considered, because it is necessary to establish the physical relationship between precipitation water content and upwelling microwave brightness temperature. Also the spatial response of the satellite microwave sensor (or antenna pattern) must be included in the description of sensor response, since precipitation and the associated brightness temperature field can vary over a typical microwave sensor resolution footprint. A 'population' of convective cells, as well as stratiform clouds, are simulated using a computationally-efficient multi-cylinder cloud model. Ensembles of clouds selected at random from the population, distributed over a 25 km x 25 km model domain, serve as the basis for radiative transfer calculations of upwelling brightness temperatures at the SSM/I frequencies. Sensor spatial response is treated explicitly by convolving the upwelling brightness temperature by the domain-integrated SSM/I antenna patterns. The sensor response model is utilized in precipitation water content retrievals.

  5. Temperature measurements with two different IR sensors in a continuous-flow microwave heated system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonas Rydfjord

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available In a continuous-flow system equipped with a nonresonant microwave applicator we have investigated how to best assess the actual temperature of microwave heated organic solvents with different characteristics. This is non-trivial as the electromagnetic field will influence most traditional methods of temperature measurement. Thus, we used a microwave transparent fiber optic probe, capable of measuring the temperature inside the reactor, and investigated two different IR sensors as non-contact alternatives to the internal probe. IR sensor 1 measures the temperature on the outside of the reactor whilst IR sensor 2 is designed to measure the temperature of the fluid through the borosilicate glass that constitutes the reactor wall. We have also, in addition to the characterization of the before mentioned IR sensors, developed statistical models to correlate the IR sensor reading to a correct value of the inner temperature (as determined by the internal fiber optic probe, thereby providing a non-contact, indirect, temperature assessment of the heated solvent. The accuracy achieved with these models lie well within the range desired for most synthetic chemistry applications.

  6. Extended Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) Temperature Data Record (TDR) in netCDF

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) is a seven-channel linearly polarized passive microwave radiometer that operates at frequencies of 19.36 (vertically and...

  7. AMISS - Active and passive MIcrowaves for Security and Subsurface imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soldovieri, Francesco; Slob, Evert; Turk, Ahmet Serdar; Crocco, Lorenzo; Catapano, Ilaria; Di Matteo, Francesca

    2013-04-01

    The FP7-IRSES project AMISS - Active and passive MIcrowaves for Security and Subsurface imaging is based on a well-combined network among research institutions of EU, Associate and Third Countries (National Research Council of Italy - Italy, Technische Universiteit Delft - The Netherlands, Yildiz Technical University - Turkey, Bauman Moscow State Technical University - Russia, Usikov Institute for Radio-physics and Electronics and State Research Centre of Superconductive Radioelectronics "Iceberg" - Ukraine and University of Sao Paulo - Brazil) with the aims of achieving scientific advances in the framework of microwave and millimeter imaging systems and techniques for security and safety social issues. In particular, the involved partners are leaders in the scientific areas of passive and active imaging and are sharing their complementary knowledge to address two main research lines. The first one regards the design, characterization and performance evaluation of new passive and active microwave devices, sensors and measurement set-ups able to mitigate clutter and increase information content. The second line faces the requirements to make State-of-the-Art processing tools compliant with the instrumentations developed in the first line, suitable to work in electromagnetically complex scenarios and able to exploit the unexplored possibilities offered by new instrumentations. The main goals of the project are: 1) Development/improvement and characterization of new sensors and systems for active and passive microwave imaging; 2) Set up, analysis and validation of state of art/novel data processing approach for GPR in critical infrastructure and subsurface imaging; 3) Integration of state of art and novel imaging hardware and characterization approaches to tackle realistic situations in security, safety and subsurface prospecting applications; 4) Development and feasibility study of bio-radar technology (system and data processing) for vital signs detection and

  8. A capacitive membrane MEMS microwave power sensor in the X-band based on GaAs MMIC technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su Shi; Liao Xiaoping

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents the modeling, fabrication, and measurement of a capacitive membrane MEMS microwave power sensor. The sensor measures microwave power coupled from coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission lines by a MEMS membrane and then converts it into a DC voltage output by using thermopiles. Since the fabrication process is fully compatible with the GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) process, this sensor could be conveniently embedded into MMIC. From the measured DC voltage output and S-parameters, the average sensitivity in the X-band is 225.43 μV/mW, while the reflection loss is below -14 dB. The MEMS microwave power sensor has good linearity with a voltage standing wave ration of less than 1.513 in the whole X-band. In addition, the measurements using amplitude modulation signals prove that the modulation index directly influences the output DC voltage.

  9. Feasibility Study on a Microwave-Based Sensor for Measuring Hydration Level Using Human Skin Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brendtke, Rico; Wiehl, Michael; Groeber, Florian; Schwarz, Thomas; Walles, Heike; Hansmann, Jan

    2016-01-01

    Tissue dehydration results in three major types of exsiccosis--hyper-, hypo-, or isonatraemia. All three types entail alterations of salt concentrations leading to impaired biochemical processes, and can finally cause severe morbidity. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the feasibility of a microwave-based sensor technology for the non-invasive measurement of the hydration status. Electromagnetic waves at high frequencies interact with molecules, especially water. Hence, if a sample contains free water molecules, this can be detected in a reflected microwave signal. To develop the sensor system, human three-dimensional skin equivalents were instituted as a standardized test platform mimicking reproducible exsiccosis scenarios. Therefore, skin equivalents with a specific hydration and density of matrix components were generated and microwave measurements were performed. Hydration-specific spectra allowed deriving the hydration state of the skin models. A further advantage of the skin equivalents was the characterization of the impact of distinct skin components on the measured signals to investigate mechanisms of signal generation. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a non-invasive microwave-based hydration sensor technology. The sensor bears potential to be integrated in a wearable medical device for personal health monitoring.

  10. Feasibility Study on a Microwave-Based Sensor for Measuring Hydration Level Using Human Skin Models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rico Brendtke

    Full Text Available Tissue dehydration results in three major types of exsiccosis--hyper-, hypo-, or isonatraemia. All three types entail alterations of salt concentrations leading to impaired biochemical processes, and can finally cause severe morbidity. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the feasibility of a microwave-based sensor technology for the non-invasive measurement of the hydration status. Electromagnetic waves at high frequencies interact with molecules, especially water. Hence, if a sample contains free water molecules, this can be detected in a reflected microwave signal. To develop the sensor system, human three-dimensional skin equivalents were instituted as a standardized test platform mimicking reproducible exsiccosis scenarios. Therefore, skin equivalents with a specific hydration and density of matrix components were generated and microwave measurements were performed. Hydration-specific spectra allowed deriving the hydration state of the skin models. A further advantage of the skin equivalents was the characterization of the impact of distinct skin components on the measured signals to investigate mechanisms of signal generation. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a non-invasive microwave-based hydration sensor technology. The sensor bears potential to be integrated in a wearable medical device for personal health monitoring.

  11. Wireless microwave acoustic sensor system for condition monitoring in power plant environments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pereira da Cunha, Mauricio [Univ. of Maine, Orno, ME (United States)

    2017-03-30

    This project successfully demonstrated novel wireless microwave acoustic temperature and pressure sensors that can be embedded into equipment and structures located in fossil fuel power plant environments to monitor the condition of components such as steam headers, re-heat lines, water walls, burner tubes, and power turbines. The wireless microwave acoustic sensor technology researched and developed through a collaborative partnership between the University of Maine and Environetix Technologies Corporation can provide a revolutionary impact in the power industry since it is anticipated that the wireless sensors will deliver reliable real-time sensing information in harsh power plant conditions that involve temperatures up to 1100oC and pressures up to 750 psi. The work involved the research and development of novel high temperature harsh environment thin film electrodes, piezoelectric smart microwave acoustic sensing elements, sensor encapsulation materials that were engineered to function over long times up to 1100oC, and a radio-frequency (RF) wireless interrogation electronics unit that are located both inside and outside the high temperature harsh environment. The UMaine / Environetix team have interacted with diverse power plant facilities, and identified as a testbed a local power generation facility, which burns municipal solid waste (MSW), the Penobscot Energy Recovery Company (PERC), Orrington, Maine. In this facility Environetix / UMaine successfully implemented and tested multiple wireless temperature sensor systems within the harsh-environment of the economizer chamber and at the boiler tubes, transferring the developed technology to the power plant environment to perform real-time sensor monitoring experiments under typical operating conditions, as initially targeted in the project. The wireless microwave acoustic sensor technology developed under this project for power plant applications offers several significant advantages including wireless

  12. A Novel Symmetrical Split Ring Resonator Based on Microstrip for Microwave Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alahnomi Rammah A.

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, novel symmetrical split ring resonator (SSRR is proposed as a suitable component for performance enhancement of microwave sensors. SSRR has been employed for enhancing the insertion loss of the microwave sensors. Using the same device area, we can achieve a high Q-factor of 141.54 from the periphery enhancement using Quasi-linear coupling SSRR, whereas loose coupling SSRR can achieve a Q-factor of 33.98 only. Using Quasi-linear coupling SSRR, the Q-factor is enhanced 4.16 times the loose coupling SSRR using the same device area. After the optimization was made, the SSRR sensor with loose coupling scheme has achieved a very high Qfactor value around 407.34 while quasi-linear scheme has achieved high Q-factor value of 278.78 at the same operating frequency with smaller insertion loss. Spurious passbands at 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th harmonics have been completely suppressed well above -20 dB rejection level without visible changes in the passband filter characteristics. The most significant of using SSRR is to be used for various industrial applications such as food industry, quality control, bio-sensing medicine and pharmacy. The simulation result that Quasi-linear coupling SSRR is a viable candidate for the performance enhancement of microwave sensors has been verified.

  13. Low Cost and Pipe Conformable Microwave-Based Water-Cut Sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram; Arsalan, Muhammad; Shamim, Atif

    2016-01-01

    Efficient oil production and refining processes require the precise measurement of water content in oil. This paper presents a novel planar microwave sensor for entirely non-intrusive in situ water cut (WC) sensing over the full range of operation

  14. Metal oxide-based gas sensor and microwave broad-band measurements: an innovative approach to gas sensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jouhannaud, J; Rossignol, J; Stuerga, D

    2007-01-01

    We outline the development of a gas sensor using microwave technology (0.3 MHz to 3 GHz). The sensor is a coaxial structure into which is introduced a sensitive material. An electromagnetic field (microwave), sent out through the sensor by a vectorial network analyzer, solicits the sensitive material exposed to a gas. The observed variation in the sensor response is due to the variation in the adsorption of this gas. SrTiO 3 , demonstrated to be the highly sensitive to water vapour, is exposed to different gases (saturated vapour of water, ethanol and toluene). The response of the sensor is quantitative and typical for each gas. This method of measurement leads to the development of an alternative to the current gas sensor

  15. High-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy with a microwave-multiplexed transition-edge sensor array

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noroozian, Omid [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305 (United States); Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States); Mates, John A. B.; Bennett, Douglas A.; Brevik, Justus A.; Fowler, Joseph W.; Gao, Jiansong; Hilton, Gene C.; Horansky, Robert D.; Irwin, Kent D.; Schmidt, Daniel R.; Vale, Leila R.; Ullom, Joel N. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305 (United States); Kang, Zhao [Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States)

    2013-11-11

    We demonstrate very high resolution photon spectroscopy with a microwave-multiplexed two-pixel transition-edge sensor (TES) array. We measured a {sup 153}Gd photon source and achieved an energy resolution of 63 eV full-width-at-half-maximum at 97 keV and an equivalent readout system noise of 86 pA/√(Hz) at the TES. The readout circuit consists of superconducting microwave resonators coupled to radio-frequency superconducting-quantum-interference-devices and transduces changes in input current to changes in phase of a microwave signal. We use flux-ramp modulation to linearize the response and evade low-frequency noise. This demonstration establishes one path for the readout of cryogenic X-ray and gamma-ray sensor arrays with more than 10{sup 3} elements and spectral resolving powers R=λ/Δλ>10{sup 3}.

  16. High-resolution photon spectroscopy with a microwave-multiplexed 4-pixel transition edge sensor array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guss, Paul; Rabin, Michael; Croce, Mark; Hoteling, Nathan; Schwellenbach, David; Kruschwitz, Craig; Mocko, Veronika; Mukhopadhyay, Sanjoy

    2017-09-01

    We demonstrate very high-resolution photon spectroscopy with a microwave-multiplexed 4-pixel transition edge sensor (TES) array. The readout circuit consists of superconducting microwave resonators coupled to radio frequency superconducting-quantum-interference devices (RF-SQUIDs) and transduces changes in input current to changes in phase of a microwave signal. We used a flux-ramp modulation to linearize the response and avoid low-frequency noise. The result is a very high-resolution photon spectroscopy with a microwave-multiplexed 4-pixel transition edge sensor array. We performed and validated a small-scale demonstration and test of all the components of our concept system, which encompassed microcalorimetry, microwave multiplexing, RF-SQUIDs, and software-defined radio (SDR). We shall display data we acquired in the first simultaneous combination of all key innovations in a 4-pixel demonstration, including microcalorimetry, microwave multiplexing, RF-SQUIDs, and SDR. We present the energy spectrum of a gadolinium-153 (153Gd) source we measured using our 4-pixel TES array and the RF-SQUID multiplexer. For each pixel, one can observe the two 97.4 and 103.2 keV photopeaks. We measured the 153Gd photon source with an achieved energy resolution of 70 eV, full width half maximum (FWHM) at 100 keV, and an equivalent readout system noise of 90 pA/pHz at the TES. This demonstration establishes a path for the readout of cryogenic x-ray and gamma ray sensor arrays with more elements and spectral resolving powers. We believe this project has improved capabilities and substantively advanced the science useful for missions such as nuclear forensics, emergency response, and treaty verification through the explored TES developments.

  17. High speed and high resolution interrogation of a fiber Bragg grating sensor based on microwave photonic filtering and chirped microwave pulse compression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Ou; Zhang, Jiejun; Yao, Jianping

    2016-11-01

    High speed and high resolution interrogation of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor based on microwave photonic filtering and chirped microwave pulse compression is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed sensor, a broadband linearly chirped microwave waveform (LCMW) is applied to a single-passband microwave photonic filter (MPF) which is implemented based on phase modulation and phase modulation to intensity modulation conversion using a phase modulator (PM) and a phase-shifted FBG (PS-FBG). Since the center frequency of the MPF is a function of the central wavelength of the PS-FBG, when the PS-FBG experiences a strain or temperature change, the wavelength is shifted, which leads to the change in the center frequency of the MPF. At the output of the MPF, a filtered chirped waveform with the center frequency corresponding to the applied strain or temperature is obtained. By compressing the filtered LCMW in a digital signal processor, the resolution is improved. The proposed interrogation technique is experimentally demonstrated. The experimental results show that interrogation sensitivity and resolution as high as 1.25 ns/με and 0.8 με are achieved.

  18. Microwave bio-sensor based on symmetrical split ring resonator with spurline filters for therapeutic goods detection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rammah A Alahnomi

    Full Text Available A novel symmetrical split ring resonator (SSRR based microwave sensor with spurline filters for detecting and characterizing the properties of solid materials has been developed. Due to the weak perturbation in the interaction of material under test (MUT and planar microwave sensor, spurline filters were embedded to the SSRR microwave sensor which effectively enhanced Q-factor with suppressing the undesired harmonic frequency. The spurline filter structures force the presented sensor to resonate at a fundamental frequency of 2.2 GHz with the capabilities of suppressing rejected harmonic frequency and miniaturization in circuit size. A wide bandwidth rejection is achieved by using double spurlines filters with high Q-factor achievement (up to 652.94 compared to single spurline filter. The new SSRR sensor with spurline filters displayed desired properties such as high sensitivity, accuracy, and performance with a 1.3% typical percentage error in the measurement results. Furthermore, the sensor has been successfully applied for detecting and characterizing solid materials (such as Roger 5880, Roger 4350, and FR4 and evidently demonstrated that it can suppress the harmonic frequency effectively. This novel design with harmonic suppression is useful for various applications such as food industry (meat, fruit, vegetables, biological medicine (derived from proteins and other substances produced by the body, and Therapeutic goods (antiseptics, vitamins, anti-psychotics, and other medicines.

  19. Non Invasive Microwave Sensor for the Detection of Lactic Acid in Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goh, J H; Mason, A; Al-Shamma'a, A I; Field, M; Shackcloth, M; Browning, P

    2011-01-01

    This research involves the use of a low power microwave sensor for analysis of lactic acid in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), an indicator of neurological impairment during aortic aneurysm surgery which could provide the basis for improved treatment regimes and better quality of care with more efficient use of resources. This paper presents initial work using standard lactate curves in water followed by lactate in s ynthetic CSF . A multi-modal spectral signature has been defined for lactate, forming the basis for subsequent development of microwave sensor platform that is able to detect concentrations of lactic acid in CSF of volumes less than 1ml.

  20. Modeling and design of a capacitive microwave power sensor for X-band applications based on GaAs technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Yan; Liao, Xiaoping

    2012-05-01

    In the work, modeling and design of a capacitive microwave power sensor employing the MEMS plate with clamped-clamped and free-free edges are presented. A novel analytical model of the sensor is established in detail. Through the function of mode shapes presented, the natural frequency can be solved by the Rayleigh-Ritz method. And based on the generalized coordinate introduced, the displacement of the plate with the irradiation of microwave power can be solved. Furthermore, the sensitivity for the power is also derived. Then the detailed consideration of the design and simulation of the microwave characteristic of the sensor are also presented. The linearly graded ground planar in the coplanar waveguide is employed to avoid step discontinuity. The fabrication process is compatible with GaAs MMIC technology completely, also described in detail. The measurement of the proposed sensor indicates a sensitivity of 7.2 fF W-1 and superior return and insertion losses (S11 and S21), less than -22.16 dB and -0.25 dB, respectively, up to 12 GHz, suggesting that it can be available for microwave power detecting in the X-band frequency range.

  1. Modeling and design of a capacitive microwave power sensor for X-band applications based on GaAs technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cui, Yan; Liao, Xiaoping

    2012-01-01

    In the work, modeling and design of a capacitive microwave power sensor employing the MEMS plate with clamped–clamped and free–free edges are presented. A novel analytical model of the sensor is established in detail. Through the function of mode shapes presented, the natural frequency can be solved by the Rayleigh–Ritz method. And based on the generalized coordinate introduced, the displacement of the plate with the irradiation of microwave power can be solved. Furthermore, the sensitivity for the power is also derived. Then the detailed consideration of the design and simulation of the microwave characteristic of the sensor are also presented. The linearly graded ground planar in the coplanar waveguide is employed to avoid step discontinuity. The fabrication process is compatible with GaAs MMIC technology completely, also described in detail. The measurement of the proposed sensor indicates a sensitivity of 7.2 fF W −1 and superior return and insertion losses (S 11 and S 21 ), less than −22.16 dB and −0.25 dB, respectively, up to 12 GHz, suggesting that it can be available for microwave power detecting in the X-band frequency range. (paper)

  2. Use of Hi-resolution data for evaluating accuracy of traffic volume counts collected by microwave sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David K. Chang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Over the past few years, the Utah Department of Transportation has developed the signal performance metrics (SPMs system to evaluate the performance of signalized intersections dynamically. This system currently provides data summaries for several performance measures, one of them being turning movement counts collected by microwave sensors. As this system became public, there was a need to evaluate the accuracy of the data placed on the SPMs. A large-scale data collection was carried out to meet this need. Vehicles in the Hi-resolution data from microwave sensors were matched with the vehicles by ground-truth volume count data. Matching vehicles from the microwave sensor data and the ground-truth data manually collected required significant effort. A spreadsheet-based data analysis procedure was developed to carry out the task. A mixed model analysis of variance was used to analyze the effects of the factors considered on turning volume count accuracy. The analysis found that approach volume level and number of approach lanes would have significant effect on the accuracy of turning volume counts but the location of the sensors did not significantly affect the accuracy of turning volume counts. In addition, it was found that the location of lanes in relation to the sensor did not significantly affect the accuracy of lane-by-lane volume counts. This indicated that accuracy analysis could be performed by using total approach volumes without comparing specific turning counts, that is, left-turn, through and right-turn movements. In general, the accuracy of approach volume counts collected by microwave sensors were within the margin of error that traffic engineers could accept. The procedure taken to perform the analysis and a summary of accuracy of volume counts for the factor combinations considered are presented in this paper.

  3. A multi-sensor data-driven methodology for all-sky passive microwave inundation retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takbiri, Zeinab; Ebtehaj, Ardeshir M.; Foufoula-Georgiou, Efi

    2017-06-01

    We present a multi-sensor Bayesian passive microwave retrieval algorithm for flood inundation mapping at high spatial and temporal resolutions. The algorithm takes advantage of observations from multiple sensors in optical, short-infrared, and microwave bands, thereby allowing for detection and mapping of the sub-pixel fraction of inundated areas under almost all-sky conditions. The method relies on a nearest-neighbor search and a modern sparsity-promoting inversion method that make use of an a priori dataset in the form of two joint dictionaries. These dictionaries contain almost overlapping observations by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager and Sounder (SSMIS) on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F17 satellite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua and Terra satellites. Evaluation of the retrieval algorithm over the Mekong Delta shows that it is capable of capturing to a good degree the inundation diurnal variability due to localized convective precipitation. At longer timescales, the results demonstrate consistency with the ground-based water level observations, denoting that the method is properly capturing inundation seasonal patterns in response to regional monsoonal rain. The calculated Euclidean distance, rank-correlation, and also copula quantile analysis demonstrate a good agreement between the outputs of the algorithm and the observed water levels at monthly and daily timescales. The current inundation products are at a resolution of 12.5 km and taken twice per day, but a higher resolution (order of 5 km and every 3 h) can be achieved using the same algorithm with the dictionary populated by the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) products.

  4. A multi-sensor data-driven methodology for all-sky passive microwave inundation retrieval

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Takbiri

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available We present a multi-sensor Bayesian passive microwave retrieval algorithm for flood inundation mapping at high spatial and temporal resolutions. The algorithm takes advantage of observations from multiple sensors in optical, short-infrared, and microwave bands, thereby allowing for detection and mapping of the sub-pixel fraction of inundated areas under almost all-sky conditions. The method relies on a nearest-neighbor search and a modern sparsity-promoting inversion method that make use of an a priori dataset in the form of two joint dictionaries. These dictionaries contain almost overlapping observations by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager and Sounder (SSMIS on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP F17 satellite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS on board the Aqua and Terra satellites. Evaluation of the retrieval algorithm over the Mekong Delta shows that it is capable of capturing to a good degree the inundation diurnal variability due to localized convective precipitation. At longer timescales, the results demonstrate consistency with the ground-based water level observations, denoting that the method is properly capturing inundation seasonal patterns in response to regional monsoonal rain. The calculated Euclidean distance, rank-correlation, and also copula quantile analysis demonstrate a good agreement between the outputs of the algorithm and the observed water levels at monthly and daily timescales. The current inundation products are at a resolution of 12.5 km and taken twice per day, but a higher resolution (order of 5 km and every 3 h can be achieved using the same algorithm with the dictionary populated by the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM Microwave Imager (GMI products.

  5. Low Cost and Pipe Conformable Microwave-Based Water-Cut Sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram

    2016-08-11

    Efficient oil production and refining processes require the precise measurement of water content in oil. This paper presents a novel planar microwave sensor for entirely non-intrusive in situ water cut (WC) sensing over the full range of operation, i.e., 0%-100%. A planar configuration has enabled the direct implementation of WC sensor on the pipe surface using low cost method, i.e., screen printing using 3D printed mask. Modified ground plane-based T-resonator design makes this WC sensor usable for the wide range of pipe sizes present in the oil industry. The viability of this sensor has been confirmed through electromagnetic simulations as well as through a prototype characterization. Two cases of oil and water mixtures, namely, separate phases and homogeneous mix, have been studied. Measurements performed over two independently built prototypes show the root mean square variation in results of only 0.1%.

  6. A low cost, printed microwave based level sensor with integrated oscillator readout circuitry

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram; Arsalan, Muhammad; Shamim, Atif

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents an extremely low cost, tube conformable, printed T-resonator based microwave level sensor, whose resonance frequency shifts by changing the level of fluids inside the tube. Printed T-resonator forms the frequency selective

  7. A 3D Model of the Thermoelectric Microwave Power Sensor by MEMS Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhenxiang Yi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a novel 3D model is proposed to describe the temperature distribution of the thermoelectric microwave power sensor. In this 3D model, the heat flux density decreases from the upper surface to the lower surface of the GaAs substrate while it was supposed to be a constant in the 2D model. The power sensor is fabricated by a GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC process and micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS technology. The microwave performance experiment shows that the S11 is less than −26 dB over the frequency band of 1–10 GHz. The power response experiment demonstrates that the output voltage increases from 0 mV to 27 mV, while the incident power varies from 1 mW to 100 mW. The measured sensitivity is about 0.27 mV/mW, and the calculated result from the 3D model is 0.28 mV/mW. The relative error has been reduced from 7.5% of the 2D model to 3.7% of the 3D model.

  8. Microwave Activation of Drug Release

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jónasson, Sævar Þór

    Due to current limitations in control of pharmaceutical drug release in the body along with increasing medicine use, methods of externally-controlled drug release are of high interest. In this thesis, the use of microwaves is proposed as a technique with the purpose of externally activating...... setup, called the microwave activation system has been developed and tested on a body phantom that emulates the human torso. The system presented in this thesis, operates unobtrusively, i.e. without physically interfering with the target (patient). The torso phantom is a simple dual-layered cylindrical...... the phantom is of interest for disclosing essential information about the limitations of the concept, the phantom and the system. For these purposes, a twofold operation of the microwave activation system was performed, which are reciprocal of each other. In the first operation phase, named mapping...

  9. Ultra-Fast Microwave Synthesis of ZnO Nanorods on Cellulose Substrates for UV Sensor Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Pimentel

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In the present work, tracing and Whatman papers were used as substrates to grow zinc oxide (ZnO nanostructures. Cellulose-based substrates are cost-efficient, highly sensitive and environmentally friendly. ZnO nanostructures with hexagonal structure were synthesized by hydrothermal under microwave irradiation using an ultrafast approach, that is, a fixed synthesis time of 10 min. The effect of synthesis temperature on ZnO nanostructures was investigated from 70 to 130 °C. An Ultra Violet (UV/Ozone treatment directly to the ZnO seed layer prior to microwave assisted synthesis revealed expressive differences regarding formation of the ZnO nanostructures. Structural characterization of the microwave synthesized materials was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM and X-ray diffraction (XRD. The optical characterization has also been performed. The time resolved photocurrent of the devices in response to the UV turn on/off was investigated and it has been observed that the ZnO nanorod arrays grown on Whatman paper substrate present a responsivity 3 times superior than the ones grown on tracing paper. By using ZnO nanorods, the surface area-to-volume ratio will increase and will improve the sensor sensibility, making these types of materials good candidates for low cost and disposable UV sensors. The sensors were exposed to bending tests, proving their high stability, flexibility and adaptability to different surfaces.

  10. Selective microwave sensors exploiting the interaction of analytes with trap states in TiO2 nanotube arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarifi, M. H.; Farsinezhad, S.; Abdolrazzaghi, M.; Daneshmand, M.; Shankar, K.

    2016-03-01

    Sensing of molecular analytes by probing the effects of their interaction with microwaves is emerging as a cheap, compact, label-free and highly sensitive detection and quantification technique. Microstrip ring-type resonators are particularly favored for this purpose due to their planar sensing geometry, electromagnetic field enhancements in the coupling gap and compatibility with established printed circuit board manufacturing. However, the lack of selectivity in what is essentially a permittivity-sensing method is an impediment to wider adoption and implementation of this sensing platform. By placing a polycrystalline anatase-phase TiO2 nanotube membrane in the coupling gap of a microwave resonator, we engineer selectivity for the detection and differentiation of methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol. The scavenging of reactive trapped holes by aliphatic alcohols adsorbed on TiO2 is responsible for the alcohol-specific detection while the different short chain alcohols are distinguished on the basis of differences in their microwave response. Electrodeless microwave sensors which allow spectral and time-dependent monitoring of the resonance frequency and quality factor provide a wealth of information in comparison with electrode-based resistive sensors for the detection of volatile organic compounds. A high dynamic range (400 ppm-10 000 ppm) is demonstrated for methanol detection.Sensing of molecular analytes by probing the effects of their interaction with microwaves is emerging as a cheap, compact, label-free and highly sensitive detection and quantification technique. Microstrip ring-type resonators are particularly favored for this purpose due to their planar sensing geometry, electromagnetic field enhancements in the coupling gap and compatibility with established printed circuit board manufacturing. However, the lack of selectivity in what is essentially a permittivity-sensing method is an impediment to wider adoption and implementation of this sensing platform

  11. Efficient and rapid microwave-assisted route to synthesize Pt–MnOx hydrogen peroxide sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kivrak, Hilal; Alal, Orhan; Atbas, Dilan

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Carbon supported Pt-MnOx catalyst could be synthesized succesfully by microwave irradiation method. • Carbon supported Pt-MnOx non-enzymatic H 2 O 2 sensor exhibits excellent selectivity, stability, and reproducibility • Carbon supported Pt-MnOx sensor can effectively resist the effect of interferents such as uric acid and ascorbic acid. - Abstract: A novel electrochemical sensor for the detection of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is proposed based on carbon supported Pt-MnO x and Pt nanoparticles, successfully synthesized via microwave irradiation polyol method. The physicochemical properties of the Pt-MnO x and Pt nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical properties of the nanoparticles were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). Electrochemical measurements indicate that the oxidation current of H 2 O 2 is linear (R 2 =0.998) to its concentration from 2 μM to 4.0 mM with a detection limit of 0.7 μM (signal/noise = 3). In addition, Pt-MnO x is not affected by ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) which are common interfering species. Meanwhile, this Pt-MnO x non-enzymatic H 2 O 2 sensor exhibits excellent selectivity, stability and reproducibility. Thus, this novel non-enzymatic sensor can be found practical applications in H 2 O 2 detection

  12. Impact of sensor metal thickness on microwave spectroscopy sensitivity for individual particles and biological cells analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Chen , Wenli; Dubuc , David; Grenier , Katia

    2016-01-01

    International audience; This paper focuses on evaluating the impact of metal thickness of a microwave coplanar based sensor dedicated to the microwave dielectric spectroscopy of single particles and individual biological cells. A sensitivity study has therefore been achieved for metal thicknesses comprised between 0.3 and 20 µm. After the validation of electromagnetic simulations with measurements of 10 μm-diameter polystyrene bead, both capacitive and conductive contrasts have been defined f...

  13. New Approach for Monitoring Seismic and Volcanic Activities Using Microwave Radiometer Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeda, Takashi; Takano, Tadashi

    Interferograms formed from the data of satellite-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) enable us to detect slight land-surface deformations related to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Currently, however, we cannot determine when land-surface deformations occurred with high time resolution since the time lag between two scenes of SAR used to form interferograms is longer than the recurrent period of the satellite carrying it (several tens of days). In order to solve this problem, we are investigating new approach to monitor seismic and vol-canic activities with higher time resolution from satellite-borne sensor data, and now focusing on a satellite-borne microwave radiometer. It is less subject to clouds and rainfalls over the ground than an infrared spectrometer, so more suitable to observe an emission from land sur-faces. With this advantage, we can expect that thermal microwave energy by increasing land surface temperatures is detected before a volcanic eruption. Additionally, laboratory experi-ments recently confirmed that rocks emit microwave energy when fractured. This microwave energy may result from micro discharges in the destruction of materials, or fragment motions with charged surfaces of materials. We first extrapolated the microwave signal power gener-ated by rock failures in an earthquake from the experimental results and concluded that the microwave signals generated by rock failures near the land surface are strong enough to be detected by a satellite-borne radiometer. Accordingly, microwave energy generated by rock failures associated with a seismic activity is likely to be detected as well. However, a satellite-borne microwave radiometer has a serious problem that its spatial res-olution is too coarse compared to SAR or an infrared spectrometer. In order to raise the possibility of detection, a new methodology to compensate the coarse spatial resolution is es-sential. Therefore, we investigated and developed an analysis method to detect local

  14. Abnormal Winter Melting of the Arctic Sea Ice Cap Observed by the Spaceborne Passive Microwave Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seongsuk Lee

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The spatial size and variation of Arctic sea ice play an important role in Earth’s climate system. These are affected by conditions in the polar atmosphere and Arctic sea temperatures. The Arctic sea ice concentration is calculated from brightness temperature data derived from the Defense Meteorological Satellite program (DMSP F13 Special Sensor Microwave/Imagers (SSMI and the DMSP F17 Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS sensors. Many previous studies point to significant reductions in sea ice and their causes. We investigated the variability of Arctic sea ice using the daily and monthly sea ice concentration data from passive microwave observations to identify the sea ice melting regions near the Arctic polar ice cap. We discovered the abnormal melting of the Arctic sea ice near the North Pole even during the summer and the winter. This phenomenon is hard to explain only surface air temperature or solar heating as suggested by recent studies. We propose a hypothesis explaining this phenomenon. The heat from the deep sea in Arctic Ocean ridges and/or the hydrothermal vents might be contributing to the melting of Arctic sea ice. This hypothesis could be verified by the observation of warm water column structure below the melting or thinning arctic sea ice through the project such as Coriolis dataset for reanalysis (CORA.

  15. Developing methods and means to improve the sensitivity and stability characteristics of microwave sensors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Vasyukov

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers the issues of designing the two-zone digital microwave sensors for the car alarm systems with high stability characteristics and capable of adaptation to external noise.The existing analog circuit-based microwave sensors for car alarm systems have a number of essential drawbacks:-- high level of intrinsic noise to cause the "false" alarm of response sensors;-- non-stable characteristics caused by the application of analog components at the environmental temperatures from -30 tо +60 С. This requires sensor readjustment during the transition from the summer season to the winter one, that is, essentially, hard to implement;-- uneasy adjustment of a mounted sensor with variable resistors;-- adjustment characterstic nonlinearity and high power consumption;-- impossible to implement the auto-compensation and adjustment algorithms to the repetitive external actions.To overcome abovementioned drawbacks the paper offers a circuit of digital microprocessor-based (PIC12F683 processor sensor with HF oscillator running in pulse operation mode (pulse ratio 20. It allows 6-8 times decrease of power consumption up to 2.1 mA and twice reduction of noise amplitude. Filters with useful output signal are of digital implementation. This enables us to reduce the number of electric components of sensor in half and to increase characteristics stability.For remote adjustment of sensor (with the key fob of car alarm or by GSM link 16 gradations of sensitivity are entered for zones of warning and alarm. The reference levels of digital comparators at each gradation of sensitivity are so generated that the sensor has a linear adjustment characteristic (distance of movable object detection versus gradation number.An application of digital signal processing and sensor capability of data exchange with the main alarm module through the bus allows us to implement the original algorithm of automatic correction of sensitivity across the warning zone of

  16. Traffic Flow Condition Classification for Short Sections Using Single Microwave Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Memiş Kemal

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Daily observed traffic flow can show different characteristics varying with the times of the day. They are caused by traffic incidents such as accidents, disabled cars, construction activities and other unusual events. Three different major traffic conditions can be occurred: "Flow," "Dense" and "Congested". Objective of this research is to identify the current traffic condition by examining the traffic measurement parameters. The earlier researches have dealt only with speed and volume by ignoring occupancy. In our study, the occupancy is another important parameter of classification. The previous works have used multiple sensors to classify traffic condition whereas our work uses only single microwave sensor. We have extended Multiple Linear Regression classification with our new approach of Estimating with Error Prediction. We present novel algorithms of Multiclassification with One-Against-All Method and Multiclassification with Binary Comparison for multiple SVM architecture. Finaly, a non-linear model of backpropagation neural network is introduced for classification. This combination has not been reported on previous studies. Training data are obtained from the Corsim based microscopic traffic simulator TSIS 5.1. All performances are compared using this data set. Our methods are currently installed and running at traffic management center of 2.Ring Road in Istanbul.

  17. Application of microwave sensor technology in cardiovascular disease for plaque detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wagner David

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Arteriosclerosis and associated cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality. Improved methods for vascular plaque detection allow early diagnose and better therapeutic options. Present diagnostic tools require intense technical expenditure and diminish value of modern screening methods. Our group developed an microwave sensor for on-site detection of plaque formation in arterial vessels. The sensor is an oscillator working around 27 GHz which is coupled to a microstrip stub line. The final flexible polyimid interposer has a length of 38 cm, a width of 1.2 mm and a thickness of 200 μm. Because of its minimal size the interposer completed a catheter with a diameter of 8F ready for further clinical use in cardiology and heart surgery.

  18. A model for atmospheric brightness temperatures observed by the special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petty, Grant W.; Katsaros, Kristina B.

    1989-01-01

    A closed-form mathematical model for the atmospheric contribution to microwave the absorption and emission at the SSM/I frequencies is developed in order to improve quantitative interpretation of microwave imagery from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I). The model is intended to accurately predict upwelling and downwelling atmospheric brightness temperatures at SSM/I frequencies, as functions of eight input parameters: the zenith (nadir) angle, the integrated water vapor and vapor scale height, the integrated cloud water and cloud height, the effective surface temperature, atmospheric lapse rate, and surface pressure. It is shown that the model accurately reproduces clear-sky brightness temperatures computed by explicit integration of a large number of radiosonde soundings representing all maritime climate zones and seasons.

  19. Long fiber Bragg grating sensor interrogation using discrete-time microwave photonic filtering techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricchiuti, Amelia Lavinia; Barrera, David; Sales, Salvador; Thevenaz, Luc; Capmany, José

    2013-11-18

    A novel technique for interrogating photonic sensors based on long fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) is presented and experimentally demonstrated, dedicated to detect the presence and the precise location of several spot events. The principle of operation is based on a technique used to analyze microwave photonics (MWP) filters. The long FBGs are used as quasi-distributed sensors. Several hot-spots can be detected along the FBG with a spatial accuracy under 0.5 mm using a modulator and a photo-detector (PD) with a modest bandwidth of less than 1 GHz. The proposed interrogation system is intrinsically robust against environmental changes.

  20. In-line moisture monitoring in fluidized bed granulation using a novel multi-resonance microwave sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Johanna; Bartscher, Kathrin; Döscher, Claas; Taute, Wolfgang; Höft, Michael; Knöchel, Reinhard; Breitkreutz, Jörg

    2017-08-01

    Microwave resonance technology (MRT) is known as a process analytical technology (PAT) tool for moisture measurements in fluid-bed granulation. It offers a great potential for wet granulation processes even where the suitability of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is limited, e.g. colored granules, large variations in bulk density. However, previous sensor systems operating around a single resonance frequency showed limitations above approx. 7.5% granule moisture. This paper describes the application of a novel sensor working with four resonance frequencies. In-line data of all four resonance frequencies were collected and further processed. Based on calculation of density-independent microwave moisture values multiple linear regression (MLR) models using Karl-Fischer titration (KF) as well as loss on drying (LOD) as reference methods were build. Rapid, reliable in-process moisture control (RMSEP≤0.5%) even at higher moisture contents was achieved. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Microwave bonding of MWNTs and fabrication of a low-cost, high-performance polymer pressure sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gau, C; Chen, H T; Ko, H S

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes the fabrication of a simple, low-cost pressure sensor that can be readily mass produced. Microwave-induced heating is used to bond a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) network to a poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate that serves as a pressure diaphragm. The MWNT network can be patterned with a damascene process and used as the sensor material. The pressure diaphragm with the MWNT network can be bonded with any flexible substrate pre-drilled with a cavity that allows a deflection of the diaphragm. Design and fabrication considerations for the sensor are discussed and its performance is demonstrated and evaluated. The sensor is thermally stable and has a much higher sensitivity and gauge factor than polysilicon sensors. In addition to the simple fabrication process, the sensor can be widely applied and integrated into microfluidic systems or biochips where pressure information is required.

  2. Temporal observations of surface soil moisture using a passive microwave sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jackson, T.J.; O'Neill, P.

    1987-01-01

    A series of 10 aircraft flights was conducted over agricultural fields to evaluate relationships between observed surface soil moisture and soil moisture predicted using passive microwave sensor observations. An a priori approach was used to predict values of surface soil moisture for three types of fields: tilled corn, no-till corn with soybean stubble, and idle fields with corn stubble. Acceptable predictions were obtained for the tilled corn fields, while poor results were obtained for the others. The source of error is suspected to be the density and orientation of the surface stubble layer; however, further research is needed to verify this explanation. Temporal comparisons between observed, microwave predicted, and soil water-simulated moisture values showed similar patterns for tilled well-drained fields. Divergences between the observed and simulated measurements were apparent on poorly drained fields. This result may be of value in locating and mapping hydrologic contributing areas

  3. A low cost and pipe conformable microwave-based water-cut sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram

    2016-08-15

    Efficient oil production and refining processes require the precise measurement of water content in oil (i.e., water-cut [WC]) which is extracted during oil production as a by-product. Traditional laboratory water fraction measurements are precise but incapable of providing real-time information, while recently reported inline WC measurements are either incapable of sensing the full WC range (0-100%), restricted to a limited selection of pipe sizes, bulky, intrusive or extremely expensive. This work presents a novel planar microwave sensor for entirely non-intrusive in situ WC sensing over the full range of operation. Its planar configuration has enabled the direct implementation of this sensor on the pipe surface using two low cost methods i.e. copper tape and 3D printed mask. The innovative ground plane design makes this WC sensor usable for the wide range of pipe sizes present in the oil industry. The viability of this sensor has been confirmed through EM simulations as well as through characterization of two types of prototype. The proposed design offers very fine resolution due to its wide sensing range (>110%) in the frequency band of 90-190MHz and repeatability of 0.1%.

  4. Source analysis of spaceborne microwave radiometer interference over land

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, Li; Zhang, Sibo

    2016-03-01

    Satellite microwave thermal emissions mixed with signals from active sensors are referred to as radiofrequency interference (RFI). Based on Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) observations from June 1 to 16, 2011, RFI over Europe was identified and analyzed using the modified principal component analysis algorithm in this paper. The X band AMSR-E measurements in England and Italy are mostly affected by the stable, persistent, active microwave transmitters on the surface, while the RFI source of other European countries is the interference of the reflected geostationary TV satellite downlink signals to the measurements of spaceborne microwave radiometers. The locations and intensities of the RFI induced by the geostationary TV and communication satellites changed with time within the observed period. The observations of spaceborne microwave radiometers in ascending portions of orbits are usually interfered with over European land, while no RFI was detected in descending passes. The RFI locations and intensities from the reflection of downlink radiation are highly dependent upon the relative geometry between the geostationary satellite and the measuring passive sensor. Only these fields of view of a spaceborne instrument whose scan azimuths are close to the azimuth relative to the geostationary satellite are likely to be affected by RFI.

  5. Microwave Backscatter-Based Wireless Temperature Sensor Fabricated by an Alumina-Backed Au Slot Radiation Patch.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Fei; Wang, Haixing; Guo, Yanjie; Tan, Qiulin; Zhang, Wendong; Xiong, Jijun

    2018-01-16

    A wireless and passive temperature sensor operating up to 800 °C is proposed. The sensor is based on microwave backscatter RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. A thin-film planar structure and simple working principle make the sensor easy to operate under high temperature. In this paper, the proposed high temperature sensor was designed, fabricated, and characterized. Here the 99% alumina ceramic with a dimension of 40 mm × 40 mm × 1 mm was prepared in micromechanics for fabrication of the sensor substrate. The metallization of the Au slot patch was realized in magnetron sputtering with a slot width of 2 mm and a slot length of 32 mm. The measured resonant frequency of the sensor at 25 °C is 2.31 GHz. It was concluded that the resonant frequency decreases with the increase in the temperature in range of 25-800 °C. It was shown that the average sensor sensitivity is 101.94 kHz/°C.

  6. Urban rainfall estimation employing commercial microwave links

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overeem, Aart; Leijnse, Hidde; Uijlenhoet, Remko; ten Veldhuis, Marie-claire

    2015-04-01

    Urban areas often lack rainfall information. To increase the number of rainfall observations in cities, microwave links from operational cellular telecommunication networks may be employed. Although this new potential source of rainfall information has been shown to be promising, its quality needs to be demonstrated more extensively. In the Rain Sense kickstart project of the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS), sensors and citizens are preparing Amsterdam for future weather. Part of this project is rainfall estimation using new measurement techniques. Innovative sensing techniques will be utilized such as rainfall estimation from microwave links, umbrellas for weather sensing, low-cost sensors at lamp posts and in drainage pipes for water level observation. These will be combined with information provided by citizens in an active way through smartphone apps and in a passive way through social media posts (Twitter, Flickr etc.). Sensor information will be integrated, visualized and made accessible to citizens to help raise citizen awareness of urban water management challenges and promote resilience by providing information on how citizens can contribute in addressing these. Moreover, citizens and businesses can benefit from reliable weather information in planning their social and commercial activities. In the end city-wide high-resolution rainfall maps will be derived, blending rainfall information from microwave links and weather radars. This information will be used for urban water management. This presentation focuses on rainfall estimation from commercial microwave links. Received signal levels from tens of microwave links within the Amsterdam region (roughly 1 million inhabitants) in the Netherlands are utilized to estimate rainfall with high spatial and temporal resolution. Rainfall maps will be presented and compared to a gauge-adjusted radar rainfall data set. Rainfall time series from gauge(s), radars and links will be compared.

  7. Automated electronic intruder simulator for evaluation of odd frequency microwave detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    A microwave intruder simulator for testing motion detection sensors is described. This simulator can be used to evaluate a variety of microwave sensors regardless of the value of the center frequency of the signal utilized. Representative curves from the evaluation of one microwave sensor are also presented

  8. Experiment of Power Supply Method for WLAN Sensor Using Both Energy Harvesting and Microwave Power Transmission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakaguchi, K; Yamashita, S; Yamamoto, K; Nishio, T; Morikura, M; Huang, Y; Shinohara, N

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes to improve effectiveness of supplying a sensor with energy using microwave power transmission (MPT) and energy harvesting (EH). The MPT duration should be as short as possible to avoid serious interference between the MPT and wireless local area network data transmission when co-channel operation of both microwave power transmission (MPT) and wireless data transmissions is performed. To shorten the MPT duration, we use multiple power sources such as an MPT source and an EH source to supply a sensor with power. Here, an overcharge or an energy shortage could occur at the sensor if the power supplied by both the MPT and EH sources is not adjusted appropriately. To solve this problem, the power supplied by multiple sources should be estimated precisely. In this paper, we propose a scheme for estimating the power supplied by multiple sources on the basis of an existing MPT scheduling system and then conducted an experiment using the scheme. From the experimental results, it is confirmed to estimate the power supplied by multiple sources successfully. In addition, the required MPT duration when the EH source is used is reduced compared to that when it is not used. Moreover, it is confirmed that the sensor station successfully estimates the power supplied by an MPT source and that by an EH source and adequately configures the MPT duration

  9. Progress report of FY 1997 activities: The application of Kalman filtering to derive water vapor profiles from combined ground-based sensors: Raman lidar, microwave radiometers, GPS, and radiosondes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edgeworth R. Westwater; Yong Han

    1997-01-01

    Previously, the proposers have delivered to ARM a documented algorithm, that is now applied operationally, and which derives water vapor profiles from combined remote sensor measurements of water vapor radiometers, cloud-base ceilometers, and radio acoustic sounding systems (RASS). With the expanded deployment of a Raman lidar at the CART Central Facility, high quality, high vertical-resolution, water vapor profiles will be provided during nighttime clear conditions, and during clear daytime conditions, to somewhat lower altitudes. The object of this proposal was to use Kalman Filtering, previously applied to the combination of nighttime Raman lidar and microwave radiometer data, to derive high-quality water vapor profiles, during non-precipitating conditions, from data routinely available at the CART site. Input data to the algorithm would include: Raman lidar data, highly quality-controlled data of integrated moisture from microwave radiometers and GPS, RASS, and radiosondes. The algorithm will include recently-developed quality control procedures for radiometers. The focus of this years activities has been on the intercomparison of data obtained during an intensive operating period at the SGP CART site in central Oklahoma

  10. An Assessment of the Capabilities of the ERS Satellites' Active Microwave Instruments for Monitoring Soil Moisture Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Blyth

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available The launch of the European Remote sensing Satellite (ERS-1 in July 1991 represented an important turning point in the development of Earth observation as it was the first of a series of satellites which would carry high resolution active microwave (radar sensors which could operate through the thickest cloudeover and provide continuity of data for at least a decade. This was of particular relevance to hydrological applications, such as soil moisture monitoring, which generally require frequent satellite observations to monitor changes in state. ERS-1 and its successor ERS-2 carry the active microwave instrument (AMI which operates in 3 modes (synthetic aperture radar, wind scatterometer and wave seatterometer together with the radar altimeter which may all be useful for the observation of soil moisture. This paper assesses the utility of these sensors through a comprehensive review of work in this field. Two approaches to soil moisture retrieval are identified: 1 inversion modelling, where the physical effects of vegetation and soil roughness on radar backscatter are quantified through the use of multi-frequency and/or multi-polarization sensors and 2 change detection where these effects are normalized through frequent satellite observation, the residual effects being attributed to short-term changes in soil moisture. Both approaches will be better supported by the future European Envisat-l satellite which will provide both multi-polarization SAR and low resolution products which should facilitate more frequent temporal observation.

  11. Roles of acid sphingomyelinase activation in neuronal cells apoptosis induced by microwave irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Lei; Xu Shangcheng; Zhang Guangbin; Yu Zhengping

    2009-01-01

    The present study is to examine the effect of microwave on acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) activity and expression, and to explore the role of ASM activation in neuronal cells apoptosis induced by microwave irradiation. Primary cultured hippocampal neurons were irradiated by 30 W/cm 2 microwave for 10 min, and ASM activity assay was used to investigate ASM activity alteration. RT-PCR and western blot were used to detect ASM mRNA and protein expression respectively. Apoptosis was observed by Hoechst 33342 fluorescence staining. ASM specific inhibitor imipramine was applied to inhibit ASM activation. It has been found that apoptosis rate of primary cultured hippocampal neurons increased significantly after microwave irradiation. ASM was activated while ASM mRNA and protein expression were upregulated in neurons after microwave irradiation. Pretreatment with imipramine could reverse neuronal apoptosis induced by microwave irradiation. Results show that microwave irradiation causes increment of ASM activation and expression and ASM activation is involved in microwave induced neuronal apoptosis. (authors)

  12. Key role of temperature monitoring in interpretation of microwave effect on transesterification and esterification reactions for biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazubert, Alex; Taylor, Cameron; Aubin, Joelle; Poux, Martine

    2014-06-01

    Microwave effects have been quantified, comparing activation energies and pre-exponential factors to those obtained in a conventionally-heated reactor for biodiesel production from waste cooking oils via transesterification and esterification reactions. Several publications report an enhancement of biodiesel production using microwaves, however recent reviews highlight poor temperature measurements in microwave reactors give misleading reaction performances. Operating conditions have therefore been carefully chosen to investigate non-thermal microwave effects alone. Temperature is monitored by an optical fiber sensor, which is more accurate than infrared sensors. For the transesterification reaction, the activation energy is 37.1kJ/mol (20.1-54.2kJ/mol) in the microwave-heated reactor compared with 31.6kJ/mol (14.6-48.7kJ/mol) in the conventionally-heated reactor. For the esterification reaction, the activation energy is 45.4kJ/mol (31.8-58.9kJ/mol) for the microwave-heated reactor compared with 56.1kJ/mol (55.7-56.4kJ/mol) for conventionally-heated reactor. The results confirm the absence of non-thermal microwave effects for homogenous-catalyzed reactions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. A Microwave Method for Dielectric Characterization Measurement of Small Liquids Using a Metamaterial-Based Sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Weina; Sun, Haoran; Xu, Lei

    2018-05-05

    We present a microwave method for the dielectric characterization of small liquids based on a metamaterial-based sensor The proposed sensor consists of a micro-strip line and a double split-ring resonator (SRR). A large electric field is observed on the two splits of the double SRRs at the resonance frequency (1.9 GHz). The dielectric property data of the samples under test (SUTs) were obtained with two measurements. One is with the sensor loaded with the reference liquid (REF) and the other is with the sensor loaded with the SUTs. Additionally, the principle of extracting permittivity from measured changes of resonance characteristics changes of the sensor loaded with REF and SUTs is given. Some measurements were carried out at 1.9 GHz, and the calculated results of methanol⁻water mixtures with different molar fractions agree well with the time-domain reflectometry method. Moreover, the proposed sensor is compact and highly sensitive for use of sub-wavelength resonance. In comparison with literature data, relative errors are less than 3% for the real parts and 2% for the imaginary parts of complex permittivity.

  14. Microwave assisted rapid growth of Mg(OH){sub 2} nanosheet networks for ethanol chemical sensor application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Hazmi, Faten [Department of Physics, College of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21569 (Saudi Arabia); Umar, Ahmad, E-mail: ahmadumar786@gmail.com [Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED) and Centre for Advanced Materials and Nano-Research (CAMNR), Najran University, P.O. Box 1988, Najran 11001 (Saudi Arabia); Dar, G.N. [Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED) and Centre for Advanced Materials and Nano-Research (CAMNR), Najran University, P.O. Box 1988, Najran 11001 (Saudi Arabia); Al-Ghamdi, A.A.; Al-Sayari, S.A. [Department of Physics, College of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21569 (Saudi Arabia); Al-Hajry, A. [Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED) and Centre for Advanced Materials and Nano-Research (CAMNR), Najran University, P.O. Box 1988, Najran 11001 (Saudi Arabia); Department of Physics, College of Science and Arts, Najran University, P.O. Box 1988, Najran 11001 (Saudi Arabia); Kim, S.H. [Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED) and Centre for Advanced Materials and Nano-Research (CAMNR), Najran University, P.O. Box 1988, Najran 11001 (Saudi Arabia); Al-Tuwirqi, Reem M. [Department of Physics, College of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21569 (Saudi Arabia); Alnowaiserb, Fowzia [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); El-Tantawy, Farid [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia (Egypt)

    2012-04-05

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A facile microwave-assisted synthesis and characterizations of magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH){sub 2}) nanosheet networks. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Fabrication of ethanol sensor based on (Mg(OH){sub 2}) nanosheet networks. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Good sensitivity ({approx}3.991 {mu}A cm{sup -2} mM{sup -1}) and lower detection limit (5 {mu}M). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This research opens a way to utilize Mg(OH){sub 2} nanostructures for chemical sensors applications. - Abstract: This paper reports a facile microwave-assisted synthesis of magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH){sub 2}) nanosheet networks and their utilization for the fabrication of efficient ethanol chemical sensor. The synthesized nanosheets networks were characterized in terms of their morphological, structural and optical properties using various analysis techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The detailed morphological and structural investigations reveal that the synthesized (Mg(OH){sub 2}) products are nanosheet networks, grown in high density, and possessing hexagonal crystal structure. The optical band gap of as-synthesized Mg(OH){sub 2} nanosheet networks was examined by UV-Vis absorption spectrum, and found to be 5.76 eV. The synthesized nanosheet networks were used as supporting matrices for the fabrication of I-V technique based efficient ethanol chemical sensor. The fabricated ethanol sensor based on nanosheet networks exhibits good sensitivity ({approx}3.991 {mu}A cm{sup -2} mM{sup -1}) and lower detection limit (5 {mu}M), with linearity (R = 0.9925) in short response time (10.0 s). This work demonstrate that the simply synthesized Mg(OH){sub 2} nanosheet networks can effectively be used for the fabrication of efficient ethanol chemical sensors.

  15. Influence of 2. 45 GHz microwave radiation on enzyme activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galvin, M J; Parks, D L; McRee, D I

    1981-05-01

    The in vitro activity of acetylcholinesterase and creatine phosphokinase was determined during in vitro exposure to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation. The enzyme activities were examined during exposure to microwave radiation at specific absorption rates (SAR) of 1, 10, 50, and 100 mW/g. These specific absorption rates had no effect on the activity of either enzyme when the temperature of the control and exposed samples were similar. These data demonstrate that the activity of these two enzymes is not affected by microwave radiation at the SARs and frequency employed in this study.

  16. Experimental Demonstration of Coexistence of Microwave Wireless Communication and Power Transfer Technologies for Battery-Free Sensor Network Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoshi Yoshida

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes experimental demonstrations of a wireless power transfer system equipped with a microwave band communication function. Battery charging using the system is described to evaluate the possibility of the coexistence of both wireless power transfer and communication functions in the C-band. A battery-free wireless sensor network system is demonstrated, and a high-power rectifier for the system is also designed and evaluated in the S-band. We have confirmed that microwave wireless power transfer can coexist with communication function.

  17. Incineration of alpha-active solid waste by microwaves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mallik, G K; Bhargava, V K; Kamath, H S; Purushotham, D S.C. [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Tarapur (India). Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility

    1996-12-31

    The conventional techniques for treatment of alpha-active compressible solid waste involve incineration using electrically heated incinerators and subsequent recovery of special nuclear materials (SNM) from the ash by acid leaching. A microwave incineration followed by microwave digestion and SNM recovery from ash has specific advantages from maintenance and productivity consideration. The paper describes a preliminary work carried out with simulated uranium containing compressible solid waste using microwave heating technique. (author). 3 refs., 1 tab.

  18. Microwave sensors for detection of wild animals during pasture mowing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Patrovsky

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available More than 400000 wild animals are killed or severely injured every year during spring time pasture mowing. Conventional methods for detection and removal or expulsion of animals before mowing are either inefficient or very time-consuming. The first really working method is based on a pyro-detector which senses the temperature contrast between the animals body and the surrounding pasture. Unfortunately, the detection reliability of this sensor decreases with increasing ambient temperature and strong sunlight, i.e. for typical weather conditions, when pasture is mowed, especially around noon. In this paper, a detector is presented that exhibits complementary behaviour. It works best during dry conditions (i.e. around noon, but has a tendency to false alarms when dew is present (i.e. morning and evening. The sensor is based on a commercial, low-cost Doppler module at 24GHz. It senses the difference of radar cross section between the animals body (high water content, specular reflection and the pasture (low water content, diffuse reflection. The signal is analysed by means of a non-linear Wigner time-frequency transformation. Experimental results are presented for a laboratory setup as well as for measurement in actual spring-time pasture. The results prove that a microwave sensor is capable of reliably detecting animals of the size of a fawn even if it is covered by a layer of pasture.

  19. Production of activated carbon from peanut hill using phosphoric acid and microwave activation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weerawat Clowutimon

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The optimum conditions for preparing activated carbon from peanut hulls by phosphoric acid and microwave activation were studied. Factors investigated in this study were temperature of carbonization at 300, 350, 400 and 450๐ C, and time of carbonization at 30, 60 and 90 minutes. The optimum yield was observed that carbonization temperature of 400๐ C and time at 60 minutes, respectively. The yield of charcoal was 39% and the f ix carbon was 69%. Then the charcoal was activated by phosphoric acid and microwave irradiation, respectively. The effect of the weight per volume ratios of charcoal to activating acid (1:1, 1:2 and 2:1(W/V, microwave power at (activated 300, 500 and 700 watts, and activated time (30, 60 and 90 seconds were studied. The results showed that the optimum conditions for activating peanut charcoal were 1:2 (W/V charcoal per activating acid, microwave power 700 watts for 90 seconds. The results yielding maximum surface area by BET method was 303.1 m2 /g and pore volume was 0.140 cm3 /g. An efficiency of maximum iodine adsorption was 418 mg iodine/g activated carbon. Comparing the adsorption efficiency of non- irradiated and irradiated activated carbon, the efficiency of irradiated activated carbon improved up to 31%, due to its larger surface area and pore volume.

  20. Microwave-assisted activation for electroless nickel plating on PMMA microspheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Yen-Chung [Graduate School of Defense Science, Chung Cheng Institute of Technology, National Defense University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan 335 (China); Materials and Electro-optics Research Division, Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan 325 (China); Liu, Robert Lian-Huey [Graduate School of Defense Science, Chung Cheng Institute of Technology, National Defense University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan 335 (China); Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Minghsin University of Science and Technology, Hsinchu Taiwan 304 (China); Chen, Xin-Liang [Graduate School of Defense Science, Chung Cheng Institute of Technology, National Defense University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan 335 (China); Shu, Hsiou-Jeng [Materials and Electro-optics Research Division, Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan 325 (China); Ger, Ming-Der, E-mail: mingderger@gmail.com [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chung Cheng Institute of Technology, National Defense University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan 335 (China)

    2011-05-15

    A novel microwave-assisted activation method for electroless plating on PMMA microspheres is presented in this study. When the microwave irradiation was applied during the activation step, the amount of the Pd species adsorbed on PMMA surfaces was much higher than that of sample pretreated with a conventional activation process without microwave irradiation. With this activation method, it was also shown that the adsorbed Pd species with a size of 4-6 nm were uniformly distributed on the surfaces of the PMMA microspheres, thus a smooth and uniform nickel-phosphorus coating on the PMMA microspheres was obtained by subsequent electroless plating. The samples after each step were characterized by XPS, TEM, ICP and SEM.

  1. Microwave non-contact imaging of subcutaneous human body tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kletsov, Andrey; Chernokalov, Alexander; Khripkov, Alexander; Cho, Jaegeol; Druchinin, Sergey

    2015-10-01

    A small-size microwave sensor is developed for non-contact imaging of a human body structure in 2D, enabling fitness and health monitoring using mobile devices. A method for human body tissue structure imaging is developed and experimentally validated. Subcutaneous fat tissue reconstruction depth of up to 70 mm and maximum fat thickness measurement error below 2 mm are demonstrated by measurements with a human body phantom and human subjects. Electrically small antennas are developed for integration of the microwave sensor into a mobile device. Usability of the developed microwave sensor for fitness applications, healthcare, and body weight management is demonstrated.

  2. Densification of LSGM electrolytes using activated microwave sintering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesapragada, S. V.; Bhaduri, S. B.; Bhaduri, S.; Singh, P.

    Lanthanum gallate doped with alkaline rare earths (LSGM) powders were densified using an activated microwave sintering process for developing a dense stable electrolyte layer for applications in intermediate temperature-solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). Due to heat generation in situ, the process of sintering gets activated with faster kinetics compared to a conventional sintering process. The effect of various microwave process parameters on the microstructure and phase formation was studied. The sintered pellets were characterized using scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive analysis (SEM-EDAX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The density of LSGM pellets microwave sintered at 1350 °C for 20 min is greater than 95% theoretical density with a fine grained microstructure (˜2-3 μm) and without the presence of other phase(s).

  3. Review of Microwave Photonics Technique to Generate the Microwave Signal by Using Photonics Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raghuwanshi, Sanjeev Kumar; Srivastav, Akash

    2017-12-01

    Microwave photonics system provides high bandwidth capabilities of fiber optic systems and also contains the ability to provide interconnect transmission properties, which are virtually independent of length. The low-loss wide bandwidth capability of optoelectronic systems makes them attractive for the transmission and processing of microwave signals, while the development of high-capacity optical communication systems has required the use of microwave techniques in optical transmitters and receivers. These two strands have led to the development of the research area of microwave photonics. So, we can considered microwave photonics as the field that studies the interaction between microwave and optical waves for applications such as communications, radars, sensors and instrumentations. In this paper we have thoroughly reviewed the microwave generation techniques by using photonics technology.

  4. Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from pistachio nut shells via microwave-induced chemical activation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foo, K. Y. [School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang (Malaysia); Hameed, B.H., E-mail: chbassim@eng.usm.my [School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang (Malaysia)

    2011-07-15

    In this work, pistachio nut shell, a biomass residue abundantly available from the pistachio nut processing industries, was utilized as a feedstock for the preparation of activated carbon (PSAC) via microwave assisted KOH activation. The activation step was performed at the microwave input power of 600 W and irradiation time of 7 min. The porosity, functional and surface chemistry were featured by means of low temperature nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Result showed that the BET surface area, Langmuir surface area, and total pore volume of PSAC were 700.53 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}, 1038.78 m{sup 2} g{sup -1} and 0.375 m{sup 3} g{sup -1}, respectively. The adsorptive property of PSAC was tested using methylene blue dye as the targeted adsorbate. Equilibrium data was best fitted by the Langmuir isotherm model, showing a monolayer adsorption capacity of 296.57 mg g{sup -1}. The study revealed the potentiality of microwave-induced activation as a viable activation method. -- Highlights: {yields} Pistachio nut shell activated carbon (PSAC) was prepared via microwave assisted KOH activation. {yields} The activation step was performed at the microwave input power of 600 W and irradiation time of 7 min. {yields} BET surface area of PSAC was 700.53 m{sup 2}/g. {yields} Monolayer adsorption capacity of PSAC for MB was 296.57 mg/g.

  5. Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from pistachio nut shells via microwave-induced chemical activation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foo, K.Y.; Hameed, B.H.

    2011-01-01

    In this work, pistachio nut shell, a biomass residue abundantly available from the pistachio nut processing industries, was utilized as a feedstock for the preparation of activated carbon (PSAC) via microwave assisted KOH activation. The activation step was performed at the microwave input power of 600 W and irradiation time of 7 min. The porosity, functional and surface chemistry were featured by means of low temperature nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Result showed that the BET surface area, Langmuir surface area, and total pore volume of PSAC were 700.53 m 2 g -1 , 1038.78 m 2 g -1 and 0.375 m 3 g -1 , respectively. The adsorptive property of PSAC was tested using methylene blue dye as the targeted adsorbate. Equilibrium data was best fitted by the Langmuir isotherm model, showing a monolayer adsorption capacity of 296.57 mg g -1 . The study revealed the potentiality of microwave-induced activation as a viable activation method. -- Highlights: → Pistachio nut shell activated carbon (PSAC) was prepared via microwave assisted KOH activation. → The activation step was performed at the microwave input power of 600 W and irradiation time of 7 min. → BET surface area of PSAC was 700.53 m 2 /g. → Monolayer adsorption capacity of PSAC for MB was 296.57 mg/g.

  6. Microwave Atmospheric-Pressure Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flower, D. A.; Peckham, G. E.; Bradford, W. J.

    1986-01-01

    Report describes tests of microwave pressure sounder (MPS) for use in satellite measurements of atmospheric pressure. MPS is multifrequency radar operating between 25 and 80 GHz. Determines signal absorption over vertical path through atmosphere by measuring strength of echoes from ocean surface. MPS operates with cloud cover, and suitable for use on current meteorological satellites.

  7. Feasibility study on a microwave-based sensor for measuring hydration level using human skin models

    OpenAIRE

    Brendtke, R.; Wiehl, M.; Groeber, F.; Schwarz, T.; Walles, H.; Hansmann, J.

    2016-01-01

    Tissue dehydration results in three major types of exsiccosis--hyper-, hypo-, or isonatraemia. All three types entail alterations of salt concentrations leading to impaired biochemical processes, and can finally cause severe morbidity. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the feasibility of a microwave-based sensor technology for the non-invasive measurement of the hydration status. Electromagnetic waves at high frequencies interact with molecules, especially water. Hence, if a sample cont...

  8. Response surface optimisation for activation of bentonite with microwave irradiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rožić Ljiljana S.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the statistical design of the experimental method was applied on the acid activation process of bentonite with microwave irradiation. The influence of activation parameters (time, acid normality and microwave heating power on the selected process response of the activated bentonite samples was studied. The specific surface area was chosen for the process response, because the chemical, surface and structural properties of the activated clay determine and limit its potential applications. The relationship of various process parameters with the specific surface area of bentonite was examined. A mathematical model was developed using a second-order response surface model (RSM with a central composite design incorporating the above mentioned process parameters. The mathematical model developed helped in predicting the variation in specific surface area of activated bentonite with time (5-21 min, acid normality (2-7 N and microwave heating power (63-172 W. The calculated regression models were found to be statistically significant at the required range and presented little variability. Furthermore, high values of R2 (0.957 and R2 (adjusted (0.914 indicate a high dependence and correlation between the observed and the predicted values of the response. These high values also indicate that about 96% of the result of the total variation can be explained by this model. In addition, the model shows that increasing the time and acid normality improves the textural properties of bentonites, resulting in increased specific surface area. This model also can be useful for setting an optimum value of the activation parameters for achieving the maximum specific surface area. An optimum specific surface area of 142 m2g-1 was achieved with an acid normality of 5.2 N, activation time of 7.38 min and microwave power of 117 W. Acid activation of bentonite was found to occur faster with microwave irradiation than with conventional heating. Microwave

  9. Rapid preparation of α-FeOOH and α-Fe2O3 nanostructures by microwave heating and their application in electrochemical sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marinho, J.Z.; Montes, R.H.O.; Moura, A.P. de; Longo, E.; Varela, J.A.; Munoz, R.A.A.; Lima, R.C.

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Simple microwave method leads to the rapid formation of the goethite and hematite. • Homogenous nucleation and growth of particles are controlled by synthesis time. • Modified electrode with α-FeOOH nanoplates improved the electrochemical response. • The sample is directly heated by microwaves and its crystallization is accelerated. • Fe 3+ nanostructures are promising for development of electrochemical sensors. - Abstract: α-FeOOH (goethite) and α-Fe 2 O 3 (hematite) nanostructures have been successfully synthesized using the microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) method and by the rapid burning in a microwave oven of the as-prepared goethite, respectively. The orthorhombic α-FeOOH to rhombohedralα-Fe 2 O 3 structural transformation was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy results. Plates-like α-FeOOH prepared in 2 min and rounded and quasi-octahedral shaped α-Fe 2 O 3 particles obtained in 10 min were observed using field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The use of microwave heating allowed iron oxides to be prepared with shorter reaction times when compared to other synthesis methods. α-FeOOH nanoplates were incorporated into graphite-composite electrodes, which presented electrocatalytic properties towards the electrochemical oxidation of ascorbic acid in comparison with unmodified electrodes. This result demonstrates that such α-FeOOH nanostructures are very promising chemical modifiers for the development of improved electrochemical sensors

  10. Stepped-frequency radar sensors theory, analysis and design

    CERN Document Server

    Nguyen, Cam

    2016-01-01

    This book presents the theory, analysis and design of microwave stepped-frequency radar sensors. Stepped-frequency radar sensors are attractive for various sensing applications that require fine resolution. The book consists of five chapters. The first chapter describes the fundamentals of radar sensors including applications followed by a review of ultra-wideband pulsed, frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW), and stepped-frequency radar sensors. The second chapter discusses a general analysis of radar sensors including wave propagation in media and scattering on targets, as well as the radar equation. The third chapter addresses the analysis of stepped-frequency radar sensors including their principles and design parameters. Chapter 4 presents the development of two stepped-frequency radar sensors at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies based on microwave integrated circuits (MICs), microwave monolithic integrated circuits (MMICs) and printed-circuit antennas, and discusses their signal processing....

  11. A Review on Passive and Integrated Near-Field Microwave Biosensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guha, Subhajit; Jamal, Farabi Ibne

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we review the advancement of passive and integrated microwave biosensors. The interaction of microwave with biological material is discussed in this paper. Passive microwave biosensors are microwave structures, which are fabricated on a substrate and are used for sensing biological materials. On the other hand, integrated biosensors are microwave structures fabricated in standard semiconductor technology platform (CMOS or BiCMOS). The CMOS or BiCMOS sensor technology offers a more compact sensing approach which has the potential in the future for point of care testing systems. Various applications of the passive and the integrated sensors have been discussed in this review paper. PMID:28946617

  12. Active Microwave Metamaterials Incorporating Ideal Gain Devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao Xin

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Incorporation of active devices/media such as transistors for microwave and gain media for optics may be very attractive for enabling desired low loss and broadband metamaterials. Such metamaterials can even have gain which may very well lead to new and exciting physical phenomena. We investigate microwave composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH-TL incorporating ideal gain devices such as constant negative resistance. With realistic lumped element values, we have shown that the negative phase constant of this kind of transmission lines is maintained (i.e., left-handedness kept while gain can be obtained (negative attenuation constant of transmission line simultaneously. Possible implementation and challenging issues of the proposed active CRLH-TL are also discussed.

  13. Microwave and millimeter-wave remote sensing for security applications

    CERN Document Server

    Nanzer, Jeffrey

    2012-01-01

    Microwave and millimeter-wave remote sensing techniques are fast becoming a necessity in many aspects of security as detection and classification of objects or intruders becomes more difficult. This groundbreaking resource offers you expert guidance in this burgeoning area. It provides you with a thorough treatment of the principles of microwave and millimeter-wave remote sensing for security applications, as well as practical coverage of the design of radiometer, radar, and imaging systems. You learn how to design active and passive sensors for intruder detection, concealed object detection,

  14. Microwave SQUID Multiplexer Demonstration for Cosmic Microwave Background Imagers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dober, B; Becker, D T; Bennett, D A; Bryan, S A; Duff, S M; Gard, J D; Hays-Wehle, J P; Hilton, G C; Hubmayr, J; Mates, J A B; Reintsema, C D; Vale, L R; Ullom, J N

    2017-12-01

    Key performance characteristics are demonstrated for the microwave SQUID multiplexer (µmux) coupled to transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers that have been optimized for cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations. In a 64-channel demonstration, we show that the µmux produces a white, input referred current noise level of [Formula: see text] at -77 dB microwave probe tone power, which is well below expected fundamental detector and photon noise sources for a ground-based CMB-optimized bolometer. Operated with negligible photon loading, we measure [Formula: see text] in the TES-coupled channels biased at 65% of the sensor normal resistance. This noise level is consistent with that predicted from bolometer thermal fluctuation (i.e. phonon) noise. Furthermore, the power spectral density is white over a range of frequencies down to ~ 100 mHz, which enables CMB mapping on large angular scales that constrain the physics of inflation. Additionally, we report cross-talk measurements that indicate a level below 0.3%, which is less than the level of cross-talk from multiplexed readout systems in deployed CMB imagers. These measurements demonstrate the µmux as a viable readout technique for future CMB imaging instruments.

  15. Computerized portable microwave hyperthermia quality assurance kit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheung, A.Y.; Neyzari, A.

    1985-01-01

    A computerized quality assurance kit to provide precise measurement and calibration of microwave power and temperature, as well as capabilities to map SAR (Specific absorption rate) distribution in phantoms; and survey of hazardous microwave leakage has been designed. The kit is also capable of performing corelation studies on the relationship between SAR and net microwave power delivered at various anatomical sites. The kit consists of a portable microcomputer, a time-multiplexed A/D converter, a 4-channel dual directional microwave power monitor, a 4-channel thin-wire thermocouple thermometry system, an electronic thermal calibrator, a microwave leakage hazard survey meter, and a dynamic phantom tank for dosimetric analysis. Comparative performance studies were made against NBS-traceable power and temperature standards, non-perturbing optical temperature sensors, and established power and temperature measurement devices. The test results indicate that this instrument is providing its user with measurement accuracy of 0.1 0 C in temperature, 10% accuracy in power. The thin-wire thermocouple, with computer assisted error compensation, performs equally well in a strong microwave field in comparison with non-perturbing optical temperature sensors

  16. Activity Recognition Invariant to Sensor Orientation with Wearable Motion Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yurtman, Aras; Barshan, Billur

    2017-08-09

    Most activity recognition studies that employ wearable sensors assume that the sensors are attached at pre-determined positions and orientations that do not change over time. Since this is not the case in practice, it is of interest to develop wearable systems that operate invariantly to sensor position and orientation. We focus on invariance to sensor orientation and develop two alternative transformations to remove the effect of absolute sensor orientation from the raw sensor data. We test the proposed methodology in activity recognition with four state-of-the-art classifiers using five publicly available datasets containing various types of human activities acquired by different sensor configurations. While the ordinary activity recognition system cannot handle incorrectly oriented sensors, the proposed transformations allow the sensors to be worn at any orientation at a given position on the body, and achieve nearly the same activity recognition performance as the ordinary system for which the sensor units are not rotatable. The proposed techniques can be applied to existing wearable systems without much effort, by simply transforming the time-domain sensor data at the pre-processing stage.

  17. A Microwave Ring-Resonator Sensor for Non-Invasive Assessment of Meat Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Taha Jilnai

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The assessment of moisture loss from meat during the aging period is a critical issue for the meat industry. In this article, a non-invasive microwave ring-resonator sensor is presented to evaluate the moisture content, or more precisely water holding capacity (WHC of broiler meat over a four-week period. The developed sensor has shown significant changes in its resonance frequency and return loss due to reduction in WHC in the studied duration. The obtained results are also confirmed by physical measurements. Further, these results are evaluated using the Fricke model, which provides a good fit for electric circuit components in biological tissue. Significant changes were observed in membrane integrity, where the corresponding capacitance decreases 30% in the early aging (0D-7D period. Similarly, the losses associated with intracellular and extracellular fluids exhibit changed up to 42% and 53%, respectively. Ultimately, empirical polynomial models are developed to predict the electrical component values for a better understanding of aging effects. The measured and calculated values are found to be in good agreement.

  18. A Microwave Ring-Resonator Sensor for Non-Invasive Assessment of Meat Aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jilani, Muhammad Taha; Wen, Wong Peng; Cheong, Lee Yen; ur Rehman, Muhammad Zaka

    2016-01-01

    The assessment of moisture loss from meat during the aging period is a critical issue for the meat industry. In this article, a non-invasive microwave ring-resonator sensor is presented to evaluate the moisture content, or more precisely water holding capacity (WHC) of broiler meat over a four-week period. The developed sensor has shown significant changes in its resonance frequency and return loss due to reduction in WHC in the studied duration. The obtained results are also confirmed by physical measurements. Further, these results are evaluated using the Fricke model, which provides a good fit for electric circuit components in biological tissue. Significant changes were observed in membrane integrity, where the corresponding capacitance decreases 30% in the early aging (0D-7D) period. Similarly, the losses associated with intracellular and extracellular fluids exhibit changed up to 42% and 53%, respectively. Ultimately, empirical polynomial models are developed to predict the electrical component values for a better understanding of aging effects. The measured and calculated values are found to be in good agreement. PMID:26805828

  19. A low cost, printed microwave based level sensor with integrated oscillator readout circuitry

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram

    2017-10-24

    This paper presents an extremely low cost, tube conformable, printed T-resonator based microwave level sensor, whose resonance frequency shifts by changing the level of fluids inside the tube. Printed T-resonator forms the frequency selective element of the tunable oscillator. Unlike typical band-pass resonators, T-resonator has a band-notch characteristics because of which it has been integrated with an unstable amplifying unit having negative resistance in the desired frequency range. Magnitude and phase of input reflection coefficient of the transistor has been optimized over the desired frequency range. Phase flattening technique has been introduced to maximize the frequency shift of the oscillator. With the help of this technique, we were able to enhance the percentage tuning of the oscillator manifolds which resulted into a level sensor with higher sensitivity. The interface level of fluids (oil and water in our case) causes a relative change in oscillation frequency by more than 50% compared to maximum frequency shift of 8% reported earlier with dielectric tunable oscillators.

  20. Microwave Wire Interrogation Method Mapping Pressure under High Temperatures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoyong Chen

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available It is widely accepted that wireless reading for in-situ mapping of pressure under high-temperature environments is the most feasible method, because it is not subject to frequent heterogeneous jointing failures and electrical conduction deteriorating, or even disappearing, under heat load. However, in this article, we successfully demonstrate an in-situ pressure sensor with wire interrogation for high-temperature applications. In this proof-of-concept study of the pressure sensor, we used a microwave resonator as a pressure-sensing component and a microwave transmission line as a pressure characteristic interrogation tunnel. In the sensor, the line and resonator are processed into a monolith, avoiding a heterogeneous jointing failure; further, microwave signal transmission does not depend on electrical conduction, and consequently, the sensor does not suffer from the heat load. We achieve pressure monitoring under 400 °C when employing the sensor simultaneously. Our sensor avoids restrictions that exist in wireless pressure interrogations, such as environmental noise and interference, signal leakage and security, low transfer efficiency, and so on.

  1. SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP). Volume 8: Aerothermodynamics Automation and Robotics (A/R) systems sensors, high-temperature superconductivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-01-01

    Viewgraphs of briefings presented at the SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP) on aerothermodynamics, automation and robotics systems, sensors, and high-temperature superconductivity are included. Topics covered include: aerothermodynamics; aerobraking; aeroassist flight experiment; entry technology for probes and penetrators; automation and robotics; artificial intelligence; NASA telerobotics program; planetary rover program; science sensor technology; direct detector; submillimeter sensors; laser sensors; passive microwave sensing; active microwave sensing; sensor electronics; sensor optics; coolers and cryogenics; and high temperature superconductivity.

  2. SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP). Volume 8: Aerothermodynamics Automation and Robotics (A/R) systems sensors, high-temperature superconductivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-06-01

    Viewgraphs of briefings presented at the SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP) on aerothermodynamics, automation and robotics systems, sensors, and high-temperature superconductivity are included. Topics covered include: aerothermodynamics; aerobraking; aeroassist flight experiment; entry technology for probes and penetrators; automation and robotics; artificial intelligence; NASA telerobotics program; planetary rover program; science sensor technology; direct detector; submillimeter sensors; laser sensors; passive microwave sensing; active microwave sensing; sensor electronics; sensor optics; coolers and cryogenics; and high temperature superconductivity

  3. Novel sensors to enable closed-loop active clearance control in gas turbine engines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geisheimer, Jonathan; Holst, Tom

    2014-06-01

    Active clearance control within the turbine section of gas turbine engines presents and opportunity within aerospace and industrial applications to improve operating efficiencies and the life of downstream components. Open loop clearance control is currently employed during the development of all new large core aerospace engines; however, the ability to measure the gap between the blades and the case and close down the clearance further presents as opportunity to gain even greater efficiencies. The turbine area is one of the harshest environments for long term placement of a sensor in addition to the extreme accuracy requirements required to enable closed loop clearance control. This paper gives an overview of the challenges of clearance measurements within the turbine as well as discusses the latest developments of a microwave sensor designed for this application.

  4. Microwave bale moisture sensing: Field trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    A microwave moisture measurement technique was developed for moisture sensing of cotton bales after the bale press. The technique measures the propagation delay of a microwave signal that is transmitted through the cotton bale. This research conducted a field trial to test the sensor in a commercial...

  5. Microwave Radiometer Systems, Design and Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skou, Niels; Vine, David Le

    Two important microwave remote sensors are the radar and the radiometer. There have been a number of books written on various aspects of radar, but there have been only a few written on microwave radiometers, especially on subjects of how to design and build radiometer systems. This book, which...

  6. Preparation of High Surface Area Activated Carbon from Spent Phenolic Resin by Microwave Heating and KOH Activation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Song; Zhang, Libo; Zhang, Shengzhou; Xia, Hongying; Peng, Jinhui

    2018-01-01

    The spent phenolic resin is as raw material for preparing high surface area activated carbon (HSAAC) by microwave-assisted KOH activation. The effects of microwave power, activation duration and impregnation ratio (IR) on the iodine adsorption capability and yield of HSAAC were investigated. The surface characteristics of HSAAC were characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms, FTIR, SEM and TEM. The operating variables were optimized utilizing the response surface methodology (RSM) and were identified to be microwave power of 700 W, activation duration of 15 min and IR of 4, corresponding to a yield of 51.25 % and an iodine number of 2,384 mg/g. The pore structure parameters of the HSAAC, i. e., Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, total pore volume, and average pore diameter were estimated to be 4,269 m2/g, 2.396 ml/g and 2.25 nm, respectively, under optimum conditions. The findings strongly support the feasibility of microwave-assisted KOH activation for preparation of HSAAC from spent phenolic resin.

  7. Microwave SQUID multiplexer demonstration for cosmic microwave background imagers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dober, B.; Becker, D. T.; Bennett, D. A.; Bryan, S. A.; Duff, S. M.; Gard, J. D.; Hays-Wehle, J. P.; Hilton, G. C.; Hubmayr, J.; Mates, J. A. B.; Reintsema, C. D.; Vale, L. R.; Ullom, J. N.

    2017-12-01

    Key performance characteristics are demonstrated for the microwave superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) multiplexer (μmux) coupled to transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers that have been optimized for cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations. In a 64-channel demonstration, we show that the μmux produces a white, input referred current noise level of 29 pA/ √{H z } at a microwave probe tone power of -77 dB, which is well below the expected fundamental detector and photon noise sources for a ground-based CMB-optimized bolometer. Operated with negligible photon loading, we measure 98 pA/ √{H z } in the TES-coupled channels biased at 65% of the sensor normal resistance. This noise level is consistent with that predicted from bolometer thermal fluctuation (i.e., phonon) noise. Furthermore, the power spectral density is white over a range of frequencies down to ˜100 mHz, which enables CMB mapping on large angular scales that constrain the physics of inflation. Additionally, we report cross-talk measurements that indicate a level below 0.3%, which is less than the level of cross-talk from multiplexed readout systems in deployed CMB imagers. These measurements demonstrate the μmux as a viable readout technique for future CMB imaging instruments.

  8. Rapid preparation of α-FeOOH and α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanostructures by microwave heating and their application in electrochemical sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marinho, J.Z.; Montes, R.H.O. [Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Instituto de Química, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG (Brazil); Moura, A.P. de; Longo, E.; Varela, J.A. [Universidade Estadual Paulista, Instituto de Química, 14800-900 Araraquara, SP (Brazil); Munoz, R.A.A. [Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Instituto de Química, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG (Brazil); Lima, R.C., E-mail: rclima@iqufu.ufu.br [Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Instituto de Química, 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG (Brazil)

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Simple microwave method leads to the rapid formation of the goethite and hematite. • Homogenous nucleation and growth of particles are controlled by synthesis time. • Modified electrode with α-FeOOH nanoplates improved the electrochemical response. • The sample is directly heated by microwaves and its crystallization is accelerated. • Fe{sup 3+} nanostructures are promising for development of electrochemical sensors. - Abstract: α-FeOOH (goethite) and α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} (hematite) nanostructures have been successfully synthesized using the microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) method and by the rapid burning in a microwave oven of the as-prepared goethite, respectively. The orthorhombic α-FeOOH to rhombohedralα-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} structural transformation was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy results. Plates-like α-FeOOH prepared in 2 min and rounded and quasi-octahedral shaped α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} particles obtained in 10 min were observed using field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The use of microwave heating allowed iron oxides to be prepared with shorter reaction times when compared to other synthesis methods. α-FeOOH nanoplates were incorporated into graphite-composite electrodes, which presented electrocatalytic properties towards the electrochemical oxidation of ascorbic acid in comparison with unmodified electrodes. This result demonstrates that such α-FeOOH nanostructures are very promising chemical modifiers for the development of improved electrochemical sensors.

  9. Microwave Synthesized ZnO Nanorod Arrays for UV Sensors: A Seed Layer Annealing Temperature Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pimentel, Ana; Ferreira, Sofia Henriques; Nunes, Daniela; Calmeiro, Tomas; Martins, Rodrigo; Fortunato, Elvira

    2016-04-20

    The present work reports the influence of zinc oxide (ZnO) seed layer annealing temperature on structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO nanorod arrays, synthesized by hydrothermal method assisted by microwave radiation, to be used as UV sensors. The ZnO seed layer was produced using the spin-coating method and several annealing temperatures, ranging from 100 to 500 °C, have been tested. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and spectrophotometry measurements have been used to investigate the structure, morphology, and optical properties variations of the produced ZnO nanorod arrays regarding the seed layer annealing temperatures employed. After the growth of ZnO nanorod arrays, the whole structure was tested as UV sensors, showing an increase in the sensitivity with the increase of seed layer annealing temperature. The UV sensor response of ZnO nanorod arrays produced with the seed layer annealed temperature of 500 °C was 50 times superior to the ones produced with a seed layer annealed at 100 °C.

  10. Feasibility Study on S-Band Microwave Radiation and 3D-Thermal Infrared Imaging Sensor-Aided Recognition of Polymer Materials from End-of-Life Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiu Huang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available With the increase the worldwide consumption of vehicles, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs have kept rapidly increasing in the last two decades. Metallic parts and materials of ELVs can be easily reused and recycled, but the automobile shredder residues (ASRs, of which elastomer and plastic materials make up the vast majority, are difficult to recycle. ASRs are classified as hazardous materials in the main industrial countries, and are required to be materially recycled up to 85–95% by mass until 2020. However, there is neither sufficient theoretical nor practical experience for sorting ASR polymers. In this research, we provide a novel method by using S-Band microwave irradiation together with 3D scanning as well as infrared thermal imaging sensors for the recognition and sorting of typical plastics and elastomers from the ASR mixture. In this study, an industrial magnetron array with 2.45 GHz irradiation was utilized as the microwave source. Seven kinds of ELV polymer (PVC, ABS, PP, EPDM, NBR, CR, and SBR crushed scrap residues were tested. After specific power microwave irradiation for a certain time, the tested polymer materials were heated up to different extents corresponding to their respective sensitivities to microwave irradiation. Due to the variations in polymer chemical structure and additive agents, polymers have different sensitivities to microwave radiation, which leads to differences in temperature rises. The differences of temperature increase were obtained by a thermal infrared sensor, and the position and geometrical features of the tested scraps were acquired by a 3D imaging sensor. With this information, the scrap material could be recognized and then sorted. The results showed that this method was effective when the tested polymer materials were heated up to more than 30 °C. For full recognition of the tested polymer scraps, the minimum temperature variations of 5 °C and 10.5 °C for plastics and elastomers were needed

  11. Use of active and passive microwave remote sensing for soil moisture estimation through corn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Neill, P.E.; Chauhan, N.S.; Jackson, T.J.

    1996-01-01

    Over the past several years NASA, USDA, and Princeton University have collaborated to conduct hydrology field experiments in instrumented research watersheds in Pennsylvania and Oklahoma with a goal of characterizing the spatial and temporal variability of soil moisture using microwave sensors. As part of these experiments, L-band radar data from both truck and aircraft sensors were used to validate the performance of a vegetation scattering model in which discrete scatter random media techniques were employed to calculate vegetation transmissivity and scattering. These parameters were then used in a soil moisture prediction algorithm based on a radiative transfer approach utilizing aircraft passive microwave data from the L-band PBMR and ESTAR radiometers. Soil moisture was predicted in both experiments for several large corn fields which represented the densest vegetation canopies of all the test fields. Over the 20 per cent change in soil moisture encountered in the experiments, the match of predicted to measured soil moisture was excellent, with an average absolute error of about 0 · 02 cm 3 cm −3 . (author)

  12. Retrieval of Effective Correlation Length and Snow Water Equivalent from Radar and Passive Microwave Measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juha Lemmetyinen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Current methods for retrieving SWE (snow water equivalent from space rely on passive microwave sensors. Observations are limited by poor spatial resolution, ambiguities related to separation of snow microstructural properties from the total snow mass, and signal saturation when snow is deep (~>80 cm. The use of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar at suitable frequencies has been suggested as a potential observation method to overcome the coarse resolution of passive microwave sensors. Nevertheless, suitable sensors operating from space are, up to now, unavailable. Active microwave retrievals suffer, however, from the same difficulties as the passive case in separating impacts of scattering efficiency from those of snow mass. In this study, we explore the potential of applying active (radar and passive (radiometer microwave observations in tandem, by using a dataset of co-incident tower-based active and passive microwave observations and detailed in situ data from a test site in Northern Finland. The dataset spans four winter seasons with daily coverage. In order to quantify the temporal variability of snow microstructure, we derive an effective correlation length for the snowpack (treated as a single layer, which matches the simulated microwave response of a semi-empirical radiative transfer model to observations. This effective parameter is derived from radiometer and radar observations at different frequencies and frequency combinations (10.2, 13.3 and 16.7 GHz for radar; 10.65, 18.7 and 37 GHz for radiometer. Under dry snow conditions, correlations are found between the effective correlation length retrieved from active and passive measurements. Consequently, the derived effective correlation length from passive microwave observations is applied to parameterize the retrieval of SWE using radar, improving retrieval skill compared to a case with no prior knowledge of snow-scattering efficiency. The same concept can be applied to future radar

  13. Predicting Near Real-Time Inundation Occurrence from Complimentary Satellite Microwave Brightness Temperature Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, C. K.; Pan, M.; Wood, E. F.

    2017-12-01

    Throughout the world, there is an increasing need for new methods and data that can aid decision makers, emergency responders and scientists in the monitoring of flood events as they happen. In many regions, it is possible to examine the extent of historical and real-time inundation occurrence from visible and infrared imagery provided by sensors such as MODIS or the Landsat TM; however, this is not possible in regions that are densely vegetated or are under persistent cloud cover. In addition, there is often a temporal mismatch between the sampling of a particular sensor and a given flood event, leading to limited observations in near real-time. As a result, there is a need for alternative methods that take full advantage of complimentary remotely sensed data sources, such as available microwave brightness temperature observations (e.g., SMAP, SMOS, AMSR2, AMSR-E, and GMI), to aid in the estimation of global flooding. The objective of this work was to develop a high-resolution mapping of inundated areas derived from multiple satellite microwave sensor observations with a daily temporal resolution. This system consists of first retrieving water fractions from complimentary microwave sensors (AMSR-2 and SMAP) which may spatially and temporally overlap in the region of interest. Using additional information in a Random Forest classifier, including high resolution topography and multiple datasets of inundated area (both historical and empirical), the resulting retrievals are spatially downscaled to derive estimates of the extent of inundation at a scale relevant to management and flood response activities ( 90m or better) instead of the relatively coarse resolution water fractions, which are limited by the microwave sensor footprints ( 5-50km). Here we present the training and validation of this method for the 2015 floods that occurred in Houston, Texas. Comparing the predicted inundation against historical occurrence maps derived from the Landsat TM record and MODIS

  14. Microwave-assisted green synthesis and antimicrobial activity of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Microwave-assisted green synthesis and antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles derived from a ... Journal Home > Vol 16, No 12 (2017) > ... has been prepared by a simple, eco-friendly, cost-effective, rapid green chemistry methodology.

  15. Microwave remote sensing of sea ice in the AIDJEX Main Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, W.J.; Wayenberg, J.; Ramseyer, J.B.; Ramseier, R.O.; Vant, M.R.; Weaver, R.; Redmond, A.; Arsenaul, L.; Gloersen, P.; Zwally, H.J.; Wilheit, T.T.; Chang, T.C.; Hall, D.; Gray, L.; Meeks, D.C.; Bryan, M.L.; Barath, F.T.; Elachi, C.; Leberl, F.; Farr, Tom

    1978-01-01

    During the AIDJEX Main Experiment, April 1975 through May 1976, a comprehensive microwave sensing program was performed on the sea ice of the Beaufort Sea. Surface and aircraft measurements were obtained during all seasons using a wide variety of active and passive microwave sensors. The surface program obtained passive microwave measurements of various ice types using four antennas mounted on a tracked vehicle. In three test regions, each with an area of approximately 1.5 ?? 104 m2, detailed ice crystallographic, dielectric properties, and brightness temperatures of first-year, multiyear, and first-year/multiyear mixtures were measured. A NASA aircraft obtained passive microwave measurements of the entire area of the AIDJEX manned station array (triangle) during each of 18 flights. This verified the earlier reported ability to distinguish first-year and multiyear ice types and concentration and gave new information on ways to observe ice mixtures and thin ice types. The active microwave measurements from aircraft included those from an X- and L-band radar and from a scatterometer. The former is used to study a wide variety of ice features and to estimate deformations, while both are equally usable to observe ice types. With the present data, only the scatterometer can be used to distinguish positively multiyear from first-year and various types of thin ice. This is best done using coupled active and passive microwave sensing. ?? 1978 D. Reidel Publishing Company.

  16. Using Sensors to Study Home Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Jiang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Understanding home activities is important in social research to study aspects of home life, e.g., energy-related practices and assisted living arrangements. Common approaches to identifying which activities are being carried out in the home rely on self-reporting, either retrospectively (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, and surveys or at the time of the activity (e.g., time use diaries. The use of digital sensors may provide an alternative means of observing activities in the home. For example, temperature, humidity and light sensors can report on the physical environment where activities occur, while energy monitors can report information on the electrical devices that are used to assist the activities. One may then be able to infer from the sensor data which activities are taking place. However, it is first necessary to calibrate the sensor data by matching it to activities identified from self-reports. The calibration involves identifying the features in the sensor data that correlate best with the self-reported activities. This in turn requires a good measure of the agreement between the activities detected from sensor-generated data and those recorded in self-reported data. To illustrate how this can be done, we conducted a trial in three single-occupancy households from which we collected data from a suite of sensors and from time use diaries completed by the occupants. For sensor-based activity recognition, we demonstrate the application of Hidden Markov Models with features extracted from mean-shift clustering and change points analysis. A correlation-based feature selection is also applied to reduce the computational cost. A method based on Levenshtein distance for measuring the agreement between the activities detected in the sensor data and that reported by the participants is demonstrated. We then discuss how the features derived from sensor data can be used in activity recognition and how they relate to activities recorded in time

  17. Error Characterisation and Merging of Active and Passive Microwave Soil Moisture Data Sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Wolfgang; Gruber, Alexander; de Jeu, Richard; Parinussa, Robert; Chung, Daniel; Dorigo, Wouter; Reimer, Christoph; Kidd, Richard

    2015-04-01

    As part of the Climate Change Initiative (CCI) programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) a data fusion system has been developed which is capable of ingesting surface soil moisture data derived from active and passive microwave sensors (ASCAT, AMSR-E, etc.) flown on different satellite platforms and merging them to create long and consistent time series of soil moisture suitable for use in climate change studies. The so-created soil moisture data records (latest version: ESA CCI SM v02.1 released on 5/12/2014) are freely available and can be obtained from http://www.esa-soilmoisture-cci.org/. As described by Wagner et al. (2012) the principle steps of the data fusion process are: 1) error characterisation, 2) matching to account for data set specific biases, and 3) merging. In this presentation we present the current data fusion process and discuss how new error characterisation methods, such as the increasingly popular triple collocation method as discussed for example by Zwieback et al. (2012) may be used to improve it. The main benefit of an improved error characterisation would be a more reliable identification of the best performing microwave soil moisture retrieval(s) for each grid point and each point in time. In case that two or more satellite data sets provides useful information, the estimated errors can be used to define the weights with which each satellite data set are merged, i.e. the lower its error the higher its weight. This is expected to bring a significant improvement over the current data fusion scheme which is not yet based on quantitative estimates of the retrieval errors but on a proxy measure, namely the vegetation optical depth (Dorigo et al., 2015): over areas with low vegetation passive soil moisture retrievals are used, while over areas with moderate vegetation density active retrievals are used. In transition areas, where both products correlate well, both products are being used in a synergistic way: on time steps where only one of

  18. Physical properties of activated carbon from fibers of oil palm empty fruit bunches by microwave assisted potassium hydroxide activation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farma, Rakhmawati; Fatjrin, Delika; Awitdrus, Deraman, Mohamad

    2017-01-01

    The activated carbon adsorption was influenced by the quality of activated carbon. The activated carbon quality can be improved by chemical activation and microwave irradiation. In this study, activated carbon has been made using biomass from fibers of oil palm empty fruit bunches. The microwave irradiation was applied at various irradiation times of 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes, and at output power of 630 Watt. The physical properties of activated carbon were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, and methylene blue adsorption. Analysis of microstructure showed that the activated carbon was semicrystalline with two peaks of 002 and 100 at 2θ around of 22° and 44°, respectively. The values of stack height (Lc) before and after irradiation increased from 2,799 nm to 3,860 nm, which indicated increasing surface area. Characteristics of surface morphology of activated carbon showed the pores number increased after microwave irradiation. Microwave irradiation time of 15 minutes resulted the highest pores number justified in the activated carbon with their surface area of 319,60 m2/g and adsorption of methylene blue of 86,07 mg/g.

  19. Microwave activation of palladium nanoparticles for enhanced ethanol electrocatalytic oxidation reaction in alkaline medium

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Rohwer, MB

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available in alkaline medium (in terms of high mass activity stability and fast reaction kinetics). The remarkable microwave-induced properties on the Pd catalyst promise to revolutionize the use of microwave for catalyst activation for enhanced heterogeneous catalysis...

  20. Microwave corrosion detection using open ended rectangular waveguide sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qaddoumi, N.; Handjojo, L.; Bigelow, T.; Easter, J.; Bray, A.; Zoughi, R.

    2000-02-01

    The use of microwave and millimeter wave nondestructive testing methods utilizing open ended rectangular waveguide sensors has shown great potential for detecting minute thickness variations in laminate structures, in particular those backed by a conducting plate. Slight variations in the dielectric properties of materials may also be detected using a set of optimal parameters which include the standoff distance and the frequency of operation. In a recent investigation, on detecting rust under paint, the dielectric properties of rust were assumed to be similar to those of Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} powder. These values were used in an electromagnetic model that simulates the interaction of fields radiated by a rectangular waveguide aperture with layered structures to obtain optimal parameters. The dielectric properties of Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} were measured to be very similar to the properties of paint. Nevertheless, the presence of a simulated Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer under a paint layer was detected. In this paper the dielectric properties of several different rust samples from different environments are measured. The measurements indicate that the nature of real rust is quite diverse and is different from Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and paint, indicating that the presence of rust under paint can be easily detected. The same electromagnetic model is also used (with the newly measured dielectric properties of real rust) to obtain an optimal standoff distance at a frequency of 24 GHz. The results indicate that variations in the magnitude as well as the phase of the reflection coefficient can be used to obtain information about the presence of rust. An experimental investigation on detecting the presence of very thin rust layers (2.5--5 x 10{sup {minus}2} mm [09--2.0 x 10{sup {minus}3} in.]) using an open ended rectangular waveguide probe is also conducted. Microwave images of rusted specimens, obtained at 24 GHz, are also presented.

  1. Microwave absorbing properties of activated carbon fibre polymer ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    cations in the field of radar and electromagnetic compatibility. (Singh et al ... fibres have irregular-shaped cross sections (shown in fig- ure 1) ... Microwave absorbing properties of activated carbon fibre polymer composites. 77. 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. 12.

  2. Design of microwave active devices

    CERN Document Server

    Gautier , Jean-Luc

    2014-01-01

    This book presents methods for the design of the main microwave active devices. The first chapter focuses on amplifiers working in the linear mode. The authors present the problems surrounding narrowband and wideband impedance matching, stability, polarization and the noise factor, as well as specific topologies such as the distributed amplifier and the differential amplifier. Chapter 2 concerns the power amplifier operation. Specific aspects on efficiency, impedance matching and class of operation are presented, as well as the main methods of linearization and efficiency improvement. Freq

  3. Improvement in the Sensitivity of PbO Doped Tin Oxide Thick Film Gas Sensor by RF and Microwave Oxygen Plasma Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. K. SRIVASTAVA

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available In the present work efforts have been made to analyze the effect of oxygen plasma and PbO doping on the sensitivity of SnO2-based thick film gas sensor for methanol, propanol and acetone. The effect of substrate temperature on the response of dual frequency (RF and microwave plasma treated thick film sensor array has also been studied. To achieve this, three sensor arrays (each with four tin oxide sensors doped with different (1 %, 2 %, 3 % and 4 % PbO concentrations were fabricated by thick film technology and then treated with oxygen plasma for various durations (5 min, 10 min. and 15 min.. The plasma treated sensors were found to possess appreciably high sensitivity at room temperature in comparison to untreated sensor. The sensitivity showed the increasing trend with plasma exposure time and 15 minutes exposure time was found to be most suitable as the sensitivity of the plasma treated sensors for this duration were high towards all the chosen vapors with maximum (97 % value for propanol. The sensitivity of the sensors were found to be increasing gradually as PbO concentration was varied from 1- 4%.

  4. NOAA JPSS Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MIRS) Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) Sounding Products from NDE

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains temperature and humidity profiles from the NOAA Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MIRS) using sensor data from the Advanced Technology...

  5. Progress report of FY 1999 activities: The application of Kalman filtering to derive water vapor profiles from combined ground-based sensors: Raman lidar, microwave radiometers, GPS, and radiosondes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edgeworth R. Westwater; Yong Han

    1999-01-01

    Previously, the proposers have delivered to ARM a documented algorithm, that is now applied operationally, and which derives water vapor profiles from combined remote sensor measurements of water vapor radiometers, cloud-base ceilometers, and radio acoustic sounding systems (RASS). With the expanded deployment of a Raman lidar at the CART Central Facility, high quality, high vertical-resolution, water vapor profiles will be provided during nighttime clear conditions, and during clear daytime conditions, to somewhat lower altitudes. The object of this effort is to use Kalman Filtering, previously applied to the combination of nighttime Raman lidar and microwave radiometer data, to derive high-quality water vapor profiles, during non-precipitating conditions, from data routinely available at the CART site. Input data to the algorithm would include: Raman lidar data, highly quality-controlled data of integrated moisture from microwave radiometers and GPS, RASS, and radiosondes. While analyzing data obtained during the Water Vapor Intensive Operating Period'97 at the SGP CART site in central Oklahoma, several questions arose about the calibration of the ARM microwave radiometers (MWR). A large portion of this years effort was a thorough analysis of the many factors that are important for the calibration of this instrument through the tip calibration method and the development of algorithms to correct this procedure. An open literature publication describing this analysis has been accepted

  6. Recent Improvements in Retrieving Near-Surface Air Temperature and Humidity Using Microwave Remote Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, J. Brent

    2010-01-01

    Detailed studies of the energy and water cycles require accurate estimation of the turbulent fluxes of moisture and heat across the atmosphere-ocean interface at regional to basin scale. Providing estimates of these latent and sensible heat fluxes over the global ocean necessitates the use of satellite or reanalysis-based estimates of near surface variables. Recent studies have shown that errors in the surface (10 meter)estimates of humidity and temperature are currently the largest sources of uncertainty in the production of turbulent fluxes from satellite observations. Therefore, emphasis has been placed on reducing the systematic errors in the retrieval of these parameters from microwave radiometers. This study discusses recent improvements in the retrieval of air temperature and humidity through improvements in the choice of algorithms (linear vs. nonlinear) and the choice of microwave sensors. Particular focus is placed on improvements using a neural network approach with a single sensor (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) and the use of combined sensors from the NASA AQUA satellite platform. The latter algorithm utilizes the unique sampling available on AQUA from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A). Current estimates of uncertainty in the near-surface humidity and temperature from single and multi-sensor approaches are discussed and used to estimate errors in the turbulent fluxes.

  7. Advances on simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification using activated carbon irradiated by microwaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Shuang-Chen; Gao, Li; Ma, Jing-Xiang; Jin, Xin; Yao, Juan-Juan; Zhao, Yi

    2012-06-01

    This paper describes the research background and chemistry of desulfurization and denitrification technology using microwave irradiation. Microwave-induced catalysis combined with activated carbon adsorption and reduction can reduce nitric oxide to nitrogen and sulfur dioxide to sulfur from flue gas effectively. This paper also highlights the main drawbacks of this technology and discusses future development trends. It is reported that the removal of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide using microwave irradiation has broad prospects for development in the field of air pollution control.

  8. Efficient sensor selection for active information fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yongmian; Ji, Qiang

    2010-06-01

    In our previous paper, we formalized an active information fusion framework based on dynamic Bayesian networks to provide active information fusion. This paper focuses on a central issue of active information fusion, i.e., the efficient identification of a subset of sensors that are most decision relevant and cost effective. Determining the most informative and cost-effective sensors requires an evaluation of all the possible subsets of sensors, which is computationally intractable, particularly when information-theoretic criterion such as mutual information is used. To overcome this challenge, we propose a new quantitative measure for sensor synergy based on which a sensor synergy graph is constructed. Using the sensor synergy graph, we first introduce an alternative measure to multisensor mutual information for characterizing the sensor information gain. We then propose an approximated nonmyopic sensor selection method that can efficiently and near-optimally select a subset of sensors for active fusion. The simulation study demonstrates both the performance and the efficiency of the proposed sensor selection method.

  9. Microwave frequency detector at X-band using GaAs MMIC technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jun; Liao Xiaoping; Jiao Yongchang

    2009-01-01

    The design, fabrication, and experimental results of an MEMS microwave frequency detector are presented for the first time. The structure consists of a microwave power divider, two CPW transmission lines, a microwave power combiner, an MEMS capacitive power sensor and a thermopile. The detector has been designed and fabricated on GaAs substrate using the MMIC process at the X-band successfully. The MEMS capacitive power sensor is used for detecting the high power signal, while the thermopile is used for detecting the low power signal. Signals of 17 and 10 dBm are measured over the X-band. The sensitivity is 0.56 MHz/fF under 17 dBm by the capacitive power sensor, and 6.67 MHz/μV under 10 dBm by the thermopile, respectively. The validity of the presented design has been confirmed by the experiment.

  10. Microwave sintering of ZnO nanopowders and characterization for gas sensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bai Zikui; Xie Changsheng; Zhang Shunping; Xu Weilin; Xu Jie

    2011-01-01

    Thick film gas sensors based on ZnO nanopowders were fabricated by using microwave sintering. The surface and cross section morphologies were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The stability of the microstructure was studied by impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the shape of the nanoparticles was not changed through microwave sintering, and the thick films had the more dense microstructures than that by muffle oven sintering. The resistance-temperature characteristic and the responses to toluene, methanol and formaldehyde revealed that the microwave sintering technique could effectively control the growth of ZnO nanoparticles, realize the uniform sintering of thick film, gain the stable microstructure and improve the response of sensor. In addition, the formative mechanism of the thick film microstructure was proposed according to microwave sintering mechanism.

  11. Predicting moisture content and density distribution of Scots pine by microwave scanning of sawn timber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johansson, J.; Hagman, O.; Fjellner, B.A.

    2003-01-01

    This study was carried out to investigate the possibility of calibrating a prediction model for the moisture content and density distribution of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) using microwave sensors. The material was initially of green moisture content and was thereafter dried in several steps to zero moisture content. At each step, all the pieces were weighed, scanned with a microwave sensor (Satimo 9,4GHz), and computed tomography (CT)-scanned with a medical CT scanner (Siemens Somatom AR.T.). The output variables from the microwave sensor were used as predictors, and CT images that correlated with known moisture content were used as response variables. Multivariate models to predict average moisture content and density were calibrated using the partial least squares (PLS) regression. The models for average moisture content and density were applied at the pixel level, and the distribution was visualized. The results show that it is possible to predict both moisture content distribution and density distribution with high accuracy using microwave sensors. (author)

  12. Active microwave remote sensing research program plan. Recommendations of the Earth Resources Synthetic Aperture Radar Task Force. [application areas: vegetation canopies, surface water, surface morphology, rocks and soils, and man-made structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    1980-01-01

    A research program plan developed by the Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications to provide guidelines for a concentrated effort to improve the understanding of the measurement capabilities of active microwave imaging sensors, and to define the role of such sensors in future Earth observations programs is outlined. The focus of the planned activities is on renewable and non-renewable resources. Five general application areas are addressed: (1) vegetation canopies, (2) surface water, (3) surface morphology, (4) rocks and soils, and (5) man-made structures. Research tasks are described which, when accomplished, will clearly establish the measurement capabilities in each area, and provide the theoretical and empirical results needed to specify and justify satellite systems using imaging radar sensors for global observations.

  13. Resource Discovery in Activity-Based Sensor Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bucur, Doina; Bardram, Jakob

    This paper proposes a service discovery protocol for sensor networks that is specifically tailored for use in humancentered pervasive environments. It uses the high-level concept of computational activities (as logical bundles of data and resources) to give sensors in Activity-Based Sensor Networ....... ABSN enhances the generic Extended Zone Routing Protocol with logical sensor grouping and greatly lowers network overhead during the process of discovery, while keeping discovery latency close to optimal.......This paper proposes a service discovery protocol for sensor networks that is specifically tailored for use in humancentered pervasive environments. It uses the high-level concept of computational activities (as logical bundles of data and resources) to give sensors in Activity-Based Sensor Networks...... (ABSNs) knowledge about their usage even at the network layer. ABSN redesigns classical network-level service discovery protocols to include and use this logical structuring of the network for a more practically applicable service discovery scheme. Noting that in practical settings activity-based sensor...

  14. Use of microwave remote sensing in salinity estimation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, R.P.; Kumar, V.; Srivastav, S.K.

    1990-01-01

    Soil-moisture interaction and the consequent liberation of ions causes the salinity of waters. The salinity of river, lake, ocean and ground water changes due to seepage and surface runoff. We have studied the feasibility of using microwave remote sensing for the estimation of salinity by carrying out numerical calculations to study the microwave remote sensing responses of various models representative of river, lake and ocean water. The results show the dependence of microwave remote sensing responses on the salinity and surface temperature of water. The results presented in this paper will be useful in the selection of microwave sensor parameters and in the accurate estimation of salinity from microwave remote sensing data

  15. Wireless interrogation of passive antenna sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deshmukh, S; Huang, H

    2010-01-01

    Recently, we discovered that the resonant frequency of a microstrip patch antenna is sensitive to mechanical strains or crack presence in the ground plane. Based on this principle, antenna sensors have been demonstrated to measure strain and detect crack in metallic structures. This paper presents a wireless method to remotely interrogate a dual-frequency antenna sensor. An interrogation horn antenna was used to irradiate the antenna sensor with a linear chirp microwave signal. By implementing a light-activated switch at the sensor node and performing signal processing of the backscattered signals, the resonant frequencies of the antenna sensor along both polarizations can be measured remotely. Since the antenna sensor does not need a local power source and can be interrogated wirelessly, electric wiring can be eliminated. The sensor implementation, the signal processing and the experimental setup that validate the remote interrogation of the antenna sensor are presented. A power budget model has also been established to estimate the maximum interrogation range

  16. Passive microwave remote sensing of soil moisture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jackson, T.J.; Schmugge, T.J.

    1986-01-01

    Microwave remote sensing provides a unique capability for direct observation of soil moisture. Remote measurements from space afford the possibility of obtaining frequent, global sampling of soil moisture over a large fraction of the Earth's land surface. Microwave measurements have the benefit of being largely unaffected by cloud cover and variable surface solar illumination, but accurate soil moisture estimates are limited to regions that have either bare soil or low to moderate amounts of vegetation cover. A particular advantage of passive microwave sensors is that in the absence of significant vegetation cover soil moisture is the dominant effect on the received signal. The spatial resolutions of passive microwave soil moisture sensors currently considered for space operation are in the range 10–20 km. The most useful frequency range for soil moisture sensing is 1–5 GHz. System design considerations include optimum choice of frequencies, polarizations, and scanning configurations, based on trade-offs between requirements for high vegetation penetration capability, freedom from electromagnetic interference, manageable antenna size and complexity, and the requirement that a sufficient number of information channels be available to correct for perturbing geophysical effects. This paper outlines the basic principles of the passive microwave technique for soil moisture sensing, and reviews briefly the status of current retrieval methods. Particularly promising are methods for optimally assimilating passive microwave data into hydrologic models. Further studies are needed to investigate the effects on microwave observations of within-footprint spatial heterogeneity of vegetation cover and subsurface soil characteristics, and to assess the limitations imposed by heterogeneity on the retrievability of large-scale soil moisture information from remote observations

  17. Rapid synthesis of tin oxide nanostructures by microwave-assisted thermal oxidation for sensor applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phadungdhitidhada, S.; Ruankham, P.; Gardchareon, A.; Wongratanaphisan, D.; Choopun, S.

    2017-09-01

    In the present work nanostructures of tin oxides were synthesized by a microwave-assisted thermal oxidation. Tin precursor powder was loaded into a cylindrical quartz tube and further radiated in a microwave oven. The as-synthesized products were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and x-ray diffractometer. The results showed that two different morphologies of SnO2 microwires (MWs) and nanoparticles (NPs) were obtained in one minute of microwave radiation under atmospheric ambient. A few tens of the SnO2 MWs with the length of 10-50 µm were found. Some parts of the MWs were decorated with the SnO2 NPs. However, most of the products were SnO2 NPs with the diameter ranging from 30-200 nm. Preparation under loosely closed system lead to mixed phase SnO-SnO2 NPs with diameter of 30-200 nm. The single-phase of SnO2 could be obtained by mixing the Sn precursor powders with CuO2. The products were mostly found to be SnO2 nanowires (NWs) and MWs. The diameter of SnO2 NWs was less than 50 nm. The SnO2 NPs, MWs, and NWs were in the cassiterite rutile structure phase. The SnO NPs was in the tetragonal structure phase. The growth direction of the SnO2 NWs was observed in (1 1 0) and (2 2 1) direction. The ethanol sensor performance of these tin oxide nanostructures showed that the SnO-SnO2 NPs exhibited extremely high sensitivity. Invited talk at 5th Thailand International Nanotechnology Conference (Nano Thailand-2016), 27-29 November 2016, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

  18. Assessing the relationship between microwave vegetation optical depth and gross primary production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teubner, Irene E.; Forkel, Matthias; Jung, Martin; Liu, Yi Y.; Miralles, Diego G.; Parinussa, Robert; van der Schalie, Robin; Vreugdenhil, Mariette; Schwalm, Christopher R.; Tramontana, Gianluca; Camps-Valls, Gustau; Dorigo, Wouter A.

    2018-03-01

    At the global scale, the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide by terrestrial ecosystems through photosynthesis is commonly estimated through vegetation indices or biophysical properties derived from optical remote sensing data. Microwave observations of vegetated areas are sensitive to different components of the vegetation layer than observations in the optical domain and may therefore provide complementary information on the vegetation state, which may be used in the estimation of Gross Primary Production (GPP). However, the relation between GPP and Vegetation Optical Depth (VOD), a biophysical quantity derived from microwave observations, is not yet known. This study aims to explore the relationship between VOD and GPP. VOD data were taken from different frequencies (L-, C-, and X-band) and from both active and passive microwave sensors, including the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT), the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observation System (AMSR-E) and a merged VOD data set from various passive microwave sensors. VOD data were compared against FLUXCOM GPP and Solar-Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2). FLUXCOM GPP estimates are based on the upscaling of flux tower GPP observations using optical satellite data, while SIF observations present a measure of photosynthetic activity and are often used as a proxy for GPP. For relating VOD to GPP, three variables were analyzed: original VOD time series, temporal changes in VOD (ΔVOD), and positive changes in VOD (ΔVOD≥0). Results show widespread positive correlations between VOD and GPP with some negative correlations mainly occurring in dry and wet regions for active and passive VOD, respectively. Correlations between VOD and GPP were similar or higher than between VOD and SIF. When comparing the three variables for relating VOD to GPP, correlations with GPP were higher for the original VOD time

  19. Optimization of Transition Edge Sensor Arrays for Cosmic Microwave Background Observations With the South Pole Telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding, Junjia; Ade, P. A. R.; Anderson, A. J.; Avva, J.; Ahmed, Z.; Arnold, K.; Austermann, J. E.; Bender, A. N.; Benson, B. A.; Bleem, L. E.; Byrum, K.; Carlstrom, J. E.; Carter, F. W.; Chang, C. L.; Cho, H. M.; Cliche, J. F.; Cukierman, A.; Czaplewski, D.; Divan, R.; de Haan, T.; Dobbs, M. A.; Dutcher, D.; Everett, W.; Gilbert, A.; Gannon, R.; Guyser, R.; Halverson, N. W.; Harrington, N. L.; Hattori, K.; Henning, J. W.; Hilton, G. C.; Holzapfel, W. L.; Hubmayr, J.; Huang, N.; Irwin, K. D.; Jeong, O.; Khaire, T.; Kubik, D.; Kuo, C. L.; Lee, A. T.; Leitch, E. M.; Meyer, S. S.; Miller, C. S.; Montgomery, J.; Nadolski, A.; Natoli, T.; Nguyen, H.; Novosad, V.; Padin, S.; Pan, Z.; Pearson, J.; Posada, C. M.; Rahlin, A.; Reichardt, C. L.; Ruhl, J. E.; Saliwanchik, B. R.; Sayre, J. T.; Shariff, J. A.; Shirley, I.; Shirokoff, E.; Smecher, G.; Sobrin, J.; Stan, L.; Stark, A. A.; Story, K.; Suzuki, A.; Tang, Q. Y.; Thakur, R. B.; Thompson, K. L.; Tucker, C.; Vanderlinde, K.; Vieira, J. D.; Wang, G.; Whitehorn, N.; Wu, W. L. K.; Yefremenko, V.; Yoon, K. W.

    2017-06-01

    In this paper, we describe the optimization of transition-edge-sensor (TES) detector arrays for the third-generation camera for the South PoleTelescope. The camera, which contains similar to 16 000 detectors, will make high-angular-resolution maps of the temperature and polarization of the cosmic microwave background. Our key results are scatter in the transition temperature of Ti/Au TESs is reduced by fabricating the TESs on a thin Ti(5 nm)/Au(5 nm) buffer layer and the thermal conductivity of the legs that support our detector islands is dominated by the SiOx dielectric in the microstrip transmission lines that run along the legs.

  20. NOAA JPSS Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MIRS) Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) Precipitation and Surface Products from NDE

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains two-dimensional precipitation and surface products from the JPSS Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MIRS) using sensor data from the...

  1. Combined effect of microwave and activated carbon on the remediation of polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xitao; Yu, Gang

    2006-04-01

    The application of microwave and activated carbon for the treatment of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated soil was explored in this study with a model compound of 2,4,5-trichlorobiphenyl (PCB29). PCB-contaminated soil was treated in a quartz reactor by microwave irradiation at 2450MHz with the addition of granular activated carbon (GAC). In this procedure, GAC acted as microwave absorbent for reaching high temperature and reductant for dechlorination. A sheltered type-K thermocouple was applied to record the temperature rising courses. It was shown that the addition of GAC could effectively promote the temperature rising courses. The determination of PCB residues in soil by gas chromatography (GC) revealed that rates of PCB removal were highly dependent on microwave power, soil moisture content, and the amount of GAC added. GC with mass spectrum (MS) detector and ion chromatography were employed for the analysis of degradation intermediates and chlorine ions, respectively. It was suggested that microwave irradiation with the assistance of activated carbon might be a potential technology for the remediation of PCB-contaminated soil.

  2. Microwave Inspection Nondestructive Imaging Array, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — To address the NASA need for advanced NDE sensor technologies for structural materials, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Microwave...

  3. Application of metamaterial concepts to sensors and chipless RFID

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martín, F.; Herrojo, C.; Vélez, P.; Su, L.; Mata-Contreras, J.; Paredes, F.

    2018-02-01

    Several strategies for the implementation of microwave sensors based on the use of metamaterial-inspired resonators are pointed out, and examples of applications, including sensors for dielectric characterization and sensors for the measurement of spatial variables, are provided. It will be also shown that novel microwave encoders for chipless RFID systems with very high data capacity can be implemented. The fields of applications of the devices discussed in this talk include dielectric characterization of solids and liquids, angular velocity sensors for space applications, and near-field chipless RFID systems for secure paper applications, among others.

  4. Ramifications of a potential gap in passive microwave data for the long-term sea ice climate record

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, W.; Stewart, J. S.

    2017-12-01

    The time series of sea ice concentration and extent from passive microwave sensors is one of the longest satellite-derived climate records and the significant decline in Arctic sea ice extent is one of the most iconic indicators of climate change. However, this continuous and consistent record is under threat due to the looming gap in passive microwave sensor coverage. The record started in late 1978 with the launch of the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and has continued with a series of Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager and Sounder (SSMIS) instruments on U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. The data from the different sensors are intercalibrated at the algorithm level by adjusting algorithm coefficients so that the output sea ice data is as consistent as possible between the older and the newer sensor. A key aspect in constructing the time series is to have at least two sensors operating simultaneously so that data from the older and newer sensor can be obtained from the same locations. However, with recent losses of the DMSP F19 and F20, the remaining SSMIS sensors are all well beyond their planned mission lifetime. This means that risk of failure is not small and is increasing with each day of operation. The newest passive microwave sensor, the JAXA Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2 (AMSR2), is a potential contributor to the time series (though it too is now beyond it's planned 5-year mission lifetime). However, AMSR2's larger antenna and higher spatial resolution presents a challenge in integrating its data with the rest of the sea ice record because the ice edge is quite sensitive to the sensor resolution, which substantially affects the total sea ice extent and area estimates. This will need to be adjusted for if AMSR2 is used to continue the time series. Here we will discuss efforts at NSIDC to integrate AMSR2 estimates into the sea ice climate record if needed. We

  5. Microwave, EUV, and X-ray observations of active region loops and filaments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmahl, E.

    1980-01-01

    Until the advent of X-ray and EUV observations of coronal structures, radio observers were forced to rely on eclipse and coronagraph observations in white light and forbidden coronal lines for additional diagnostics of the high temperature microwave sources. While these data provided enough material for theoretical insight into the physics of active regions, there was no way to make direct, simultaneous comparison of coronal structures on the disk as seen at microwave and optical wavelengths. This is now possible, and therefore the author summarizes the EUV and X-ray observations indicating at each point the relevance to microwaves. (Auth.)

  6. Error characterisation of global active and passive microwave soil moisture datasets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. A. Dorigo

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the error structures of remotely sensed soil moisture observations is essential for correctly interpreting observed variations and trends in the data or assimilating them in hydrological or numerical weather prediction models. Nevertheless, a spatially coherent assessment of the quality of the various globally available datasets is often hampered by the limited availability over space and time of reliable in-situ measurements. As an alternative, this study explores the triple collocation error estimation technique for assessing the relative quality of several globally available soil moisture products from active (ASCAT and passive (AMSR-E and SSM/I microwave sensors. The triple collocation is a powerful statistical tool to estimate the root mean square error while simultaneously solving for systematic differences in the climatologies of a set of three linearly related data sources with independent error structures. Prerequisite for this technique is the availability of a sufficiently large number of timely corresponding observations. In addition to the active and passive satellite-based datasets, we used the ERA-Interim and GLDAS-NOAH reanalysis soil moisture datasets as a third, independent reference. The prime objective is to reveal trends in uncertainty related to different observation principles (passive versus active, the use of different frequencies (C-, X-, and Ku-band for passive microwave observations, and the choice of the independent reference dataset (ERA-Interim versus GLDAS-NOAH. The results suggest that the triple collocation method provides realistic error estimates. Observed spatial trends agree well with the existing theory and studies on the performance of different observation principles and frequencies with respect to land cover and vegetation density. In addition, if all theoretical prerequisites are fulfilled (e.g. a sufficiently large number of common observations is available and errors of the different

  7. Low cost and conformal microwave water-cut sensor for optimizing oil production process

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram

    2015-08-01

    Efficient oil production and refining processes require the precise measurement of water content in oil (i.e., water-cut) which is extracted out of a production well as a byproduct. Traditional water-cut (WC) laboratory measurements are precise, but are incapable of providing real-time information, while recently reported in-line WC sensors (both in research and industry) are usually incapable of sensing the full WC range (0 – 100 %), are bulky, expensive and non-scalable for the variety of pipe sizes used in the oil industry. This work presents a novel implementation of a planar microwave T-resonator for fully non-intrusive in situ WC sensing over the full range of operation, i.e., 0 – 100 %. As opposed to non-planar resonators, the choice of a planar resonator has enabled its direct implementation on the pipe surface using low cost fabrication methods. WC sensors make use of series resonance introduced by a λ/4 open shunt stub placed in the middle of a microstrip line. The detection mechanism is based on the measurement of the T-resonator’s resonance frequency, which varies with the relative percentage of oil and water (due to the difference in their dielectric properties). In order to implement the planar T-resonator based sensor on the curved surface of the pipe, a novel approach of utilizing two ground planes is proposed in this work. The innovative use of dual ground planes makes this sensor scalable to a wide range of pipe sizes present in the oil industry. The design and optimization of this sensor was performed in an electromagnetic Finite Element Method (FEM) solver, i.e., High Frequency Structural Simulator (HFSS) and the dielectric properties of oil, water and their emulsions of different WCs used in the simulation model were measured using a SPEAG-dielectric assessment kit (DAK-12). The simulation results were validated through characterization of fabricated prototypes. Initial rapid prototyping was completed using copper tape, after which a

  8. Report from the Passive Microwave Data Set Management Workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, Ed; Conover, Helen; Goodman, Michael; Krupp, Brian; Liu, Zhong; Moses, John; Ramapriyan, H. K.; Scott, Donna; Smith, Deborah; Weaver, Ronald

    2011-01-01

    Passive microwave data sets are some of the most important data sets in the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), providing data as far back as the early 1970s. The widespread use of passive microwave (PM) radiometer data has led to their collection and distribution over the years at several different Earth science data centers. The user community is often confused by this proliferation and the uneven spread of information about the data sets. In response to this situation, a Passive Microwave Data Set Management Workshop was held 17 ]19 May 2011 at the Global Hydrology Resource Center, sponsored by the NASA Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project. The workshop attendees reviewed all primary (Level 1 ]3) PM data sets from NASA and non ]NASA sensors held by NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), as well as high ]value data sets from other NASA ]funded organizations. This report provides the key findings and recommendations from the workshop as well as detailed tabluations of the datasets considered.

  9. Thermo-Chemical Conversion of Microwave Activated Biomass Mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barmina, I.; Kolmickovs, A.; Valdmanis, R.; Vostrikovs, S.; Zake, M.

    2018-05-01

    Thermo-chemical conversion of microwave activated wheat straw mixtures with wood or peat pellets is studied experimentally with the aim to provide more effective application of wheat straw for heat energy production. Microwave pre-processing of straw pellets is used to provide a partial decomposition of the main constituents of straw and to activate the thermo-chemical conversion of wheat straw mixtures with wood or peat pellets. The experimental study includes complex measurements of the elemental composition of biomass pellets (wheat straw, wood, peat), DTG analysis of their thermal degradation, FTIR analysis of the composition of combustible volatiles entering the combustor, the flame temperature, the heat output of the device and composition of the products by comparing these characteristics for mixtures with unprocessed and mw pre-treated straw pellets. The results of experimental study confirm that mw pre-processing of straw activates the thermal decomposition of mixtures providing enhanced formation of combustible volatiles. This leads to improvement of the combustion conditions in the flame reaction zone, completing thus the combustion of volatiles, increasing the flame temperature, the heat output from the device, the produced heat energy per mass of burned mixture and decreasing at the same time the mass fraction of unburned volatiles in the products.

  10. Resource Discovery in Activity-Based Sensor Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bucur, Doina; Bardram, Jakob

    This paper proposes a service discovery protocol for sensor networks that is specifically tailored for use in humancentered pervasive environments. It uses the high-level concept of computational activities (as logical bundles of data and resources) to give sensors in Activity-Based Sensor Networks...... (ABSNs) knowledge about their usage even at the network layer. ABSN redesigns classical network-level service discovery protocols to include and use this logical structuring of the network for a more practically applicable service discovery scheme. Noting that in practical settings activity-based sensor...

  11. Microwave generation and complex microwave responsivity measurements on small Dayem bridges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Niels Falsig; Sørensen, O; Mygind, Jesper

    1977-01-01

    Measurements of the active properties of a Dayem micro-bridge at X-band frequencies is described. The bridge was mounted in a microwave cavity designed to match the bridge properly and the microwave output from the cavity was detected using a sensitive X-band spectrometer. Microwave power...

  12. Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Estimates Derived from SSMI Microwave Remote Sensing and NLDN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winesett, Thomas; Magi, Brian; Cecil, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    Lightning observations are collected using ground-based and satellite-based sensors. The National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) in the United States uses multiple ground sensors to triangulate the electromagnetic signals created when lightning strikes the Earth's surface. Satellite-based lightning observations have been made from 1998 to present using the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, and from 1995 to 2000 using the Optical Transient Detector (OTD) on the Microlab-1 satellite. Both LIS and OTD are staring imagers that detect lightning as momentary changes in an optical scene. Passive microwave remote sensing (85 and 37 GHz brightness temperatures) from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) has also been used to quantify characteristics of thunderstorms related to lightning. Each lightning detection system has fundamental limitations. TRMM satellite coverage is limited to the tropics and subtropics between 38 deg N and 38 deg S, so lightning at the higher latitudes of the northern and southern hemispheres is not observed. The detection efficiency of NLDN sensors exceeds 95%, but the sensors are only located in the USA. Even if data from other ground-based lightning sensors (World Wide Lightning Location Network, the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection, and Canadian Lightning Detection Network) were combined with TRMM and NLDN, there would be enormous spatial gaps in present-day coverage of lightning. In addition, a globally-complete time history of observed lightning activity is currently not available either, with network coverage and detection efficiencies varying through the years. Previous research using the TRMM LIS and Microwave Imager (TMI) showed that there is a statistically significant correlation between lightning flash rates and passive microwave brightness temperatures. The physical basis for this correlation emerges because lightning in a thunderstorm occurs where ice is first

  13. Electromagnetic Design of Feedhorn-Coupled Transition-Edge Sensors for Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimetery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuss, David T.

    2011-01-01

    Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) provide a powerful tool for probing the evolution of the early universe. Specifically, precision measurement of the polarization of the CMB enables a direct test for cosmic inflation. A key technological element on the path to the measurement of this faint signal is the capability to produce large format arrays of background-limited detectors. We describe the electromagnetic design of feedhorn-coupled, TES-based sensors. Each linear orthogonal polarization from the feed horn is coupled to a superconducting microstrip line via a symmetric planar orthomode transducer (OMT). The symmetric OMT design allows for highly-symmetric beams with low cross-polarization over a wide bandwidth. In addition, this architecture enables a single microstrip filter to define the passband for each polarization. Care has been taken in the design to eliminate stray coupling paths to the absorbers. These detectors will be fielded in the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS).

  14. Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Graphene-SnO2 Nanocomposites and Their Applications in Gas Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyoun Woo; Na, Han Gil; Kwon, Yong Jung; Kang, Sung Yong; Choi, Myung Sik; Bang, Jae Hoon; Wu, Ping; Kim, Sang Sub

    2017-09-20

    We obtained extremely high and selective sensitivity to NO 2 gas by fabricating graphene-SnO 2 nanocomposites using a commercial microwave oven. Structural characterization revealed that the products corresponded to agglomerated structures of graphene and SnO 2 particles, with small secondary SnO x (x ≤ 2) nanoparticles deposited on the surfaces. The overall oxygen atomic ratio was decreased with the appearance of an SnO x (x graphene-SnO 2 nanocomposites, with the graphene promoting efficient transport of the microwave energy, evaporation and redeposition of SnO x nanoparticles were facilitated. The graphene-SnO 2 nanocomposites exhibited a high sensor response of 24.7 for 1 ppm of NO 2 gas, at an optimized temperature of 150 °C. The graphene-SnO 2 nanocomposites were selectively sensitive to NO 2 gas, in comparison with SO 2 , NH 3 , and ethanol gases. We suggest that the generation of SnO x nanoparticles and the SnO x phase in the matrix results in the formation of SnO 2 /SnO 2 homojunctions, SnO 2 /SnO x (x graphene heterojunctions, which are responsible for the excellent sensitivity of the graphene-SnO 2 nanocomposites to NO 2 gas. In addition, the generation of surface Sn interstitial defects is also partly responsible for the excellent NO 2 sensing performance observed in this study.

  15. Synergistic estimation of surface parameters from jointly using optical and microwave observations in EOLDAS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmermans, Joris; Gomez-Dans, Jose; Lewis, Philip; Loew, Alexander; Schlenz, Florian

    2017-04-01

    The large amount of remote sensing data nowadays available provides a huge potential for monitoring crop development, drought conditions and water efficiency. This potential however not been realized yet because algorithms for land surface parameter retrieval mostly use data from only a single sensor. Consequently products that combine different low-level observations from different sensors are hard to find. The lack of synergistic retrieval is caused because it is easier to focus on single sensor types/footprints and temporal observation times, than to find a way to compensate for differences. Different sensor types (microwave/optical) require different radiative transfer (RT) models and also require consistency between the models to have any impact on the retrieval of soil moisture by a microwave instrument. Varying spatial footprints require first proper collocation of the data before one can scale between different resolutions. Considering these problems, merging optical and microwave observations have not been performed yet. The goal of this research was to investigate the potential of integrating optical and microwave RT models within the Earth Observation Land Data Assimilation System (EOLDAS) synergistically to derive biophysical parameters. This system uses a Bayesian data assimilation approach together with observation operators such as the PROSAIL model to estimate land surface parameters. For the purpose of enabling the system to integrate passive microwave radiation (from an ELBARRA II passive microwave radiometer), the Community Microwave Emission Model (CMEM) RT-model, was integrated within the EOLDAS system. In order to quantify the potential, a variety of land surface parameters was chosen to be retrieved from the system, in particular variables that a) impact only optical RT (such as leaf water content and leaf dry matter), b) only impact the microwave RT (such as soil moisture and soil temperature), and c) Leaf Area Index (LAI) that impacts both

  16. Microwave synthesized nanostructured TiO2-activated carbon composite electrodes for supercapacitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Selvakumar, M.; Bhat, D. Krishna

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Nanostructure TiO 2 has been prepared by a microwave assisted synthesis method. ► Microwave irradiation was varied with time duration on the formation of nanoparticles. ► TiO 2 -activate carbon show very good specific capacitance for supercapacitor. ► Electrochemical properties were studied on electroanalytical techniques. - Abstract: Electrochemical properties of a supercapacitor based on nanocomposite electrodes of activated carbon with TiO 2 nano particles synthesized by a microwave method have been determined. The TiO 2 /activated carbon nanocomposite electrode with a composition of 1:3 showed a specific capacitance 92 Fg −1 . The specific capacitance of the electrode decreased with increase in titanium dioxide content. The p/p symmetrical supercapacitor fabricated with TiO 2 /activated carbon composite electrodes showed a specific capacitance of 122 Fg −1 . The electrochemical behavior of the neat TiO 2 nanoparticles has also been studied for comparison purpose. The galvanostatic charge–discharge test of the fabricated supercapacitor showed that the device has good coulombic efficiency and cycle life. The specific capacitance of the supercapacitor was stable up to 5000 cycles at current densities of 2, 4, 6 and 7 mA cm −2 .

  17. Practical microwave electron devices

    CERN Document Server

    Meurant, Gerard

    2013-01-01

    Practical Microwave Electron Devices provides an understanding of microwave electron devices and their applications. All areas of microwave electron devices are covered. These include microwave solid-state devices, including popular microwave transistors and both passive and active diodes; quantum electron devices; thermionic devices (including relativistic thermionic devices); and ferrimagnetic electron devices. The design of each of these devices is discussed as well as their applications, including oscillation, amplification, switching, modulation, demodulation, and parametric interactions.

  18. Solar activity associated with an unusual series of microwave flux decreases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sawyer, C.

    1976-01-01

    East-limb passage of an activity complex in the spring of 1974 was accompanied by a remarkable series of microwave flux decreases. Within an interval of four days, two post-burst decreases and five 'absorption' events occurred, along with two oscillations. Hα patrol films and a spectrogram show a surge and flare sprays with an unusually large velocity of approach at the time of the first post-burst decrease. Two other 'absorption' events were loosely associated with prominence activations, but no outstanding Hα activity was seen at the time of the oscillations. These observations, along with published data, show that the flux decreases followed only flares that lay westward of the major microwave source; ejections from this location would likely have overlain the source while the region was near the east limb. Absorption by flare-ejected material is a plausible, though not exclusive, explanation of these events. (author)

  19. Peroxide-assisted microwave activation of pyrolysis char for adsorption of dyes from wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Vaishakh; Vinu, R

    2016-09-01

    In this study, mesoporous activated biochar with high surface area and controlled pore size was prepared from char obtained as a by-product of pyrolysis of Prosopis juliflora biomass. The activation was carried out by a simple process that involved H2O2 treatment followed by microwave pyrolysis. H2O2 impregnation time and microwave power were optimized to obtain biochar with high specific surface area and high adsorption capacity for commercial dyes such as Remazol Brilliant Blue and Methylene Blue. Adsorption parameters such as initial pH of the dye solution and adsorbent dosage were also optimized. Pore size distribution, surface morphology and elemental composition of activated biochar were thoroughly characterized. H2O2 impregnation time of 24h and microwave power of 600W produced nanostructured biochar with narrow and deep pores of 357m(2)g(-1) specific surface area. Langmuir and Langmuir-Freundlich isotherms described the adsorption equilibrium, while pseudo second order model described the kinetics of adsorption. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Microwave discharge electrodeless lamps (MDEL). Part IV. Novel self-ignition system incorporating metallic microwave condensing cones to activate MDELs in photochemical reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horikoshi, Satoshi; Tsuchida, Akihiro; Sakai, Hideki; Abe, Masahiko; Sato, Susumu; Serpone, Nick

    2009-11-01

    A metallic condensing cone that concentrates microwave radiation (equivalent to an optical lens) has been developed and used as part of a system to activate a microwave discharge electrodeless lamp (MDEL) in the oxidative treatment of wastewaters by aiding the novel self-ignition of the lamp on irradiation at low microwave power levels. This approach to self-ignition can potentially lead to considerable energy savings in such treatments. System performance was examined for the ignition power of microwaves of such MDEL devices in water, whose usefulness was assessed by investigating the photolytic transformation of aqueous solutions of representatives of three classes of contaminants: chlorinated phenols, herbicides and endocrine disruptors, specifically 4-chlorophenol (4-CP), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol (bisphenol-A; BPA), respectively, taken as model wastewaters in air-equilibrated, in oxygen-saturated and in TiO2-containing aqueous media. The results are discussed in terms of the dynamics of the photo-induced degradation processes.

  1. A triboelectric motion sensor in wearable body sensor network for human activity recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hui Huang; Xian Li; Ye Sun

    2016-08-01

    The goal of this study is to design a novel triboelectric motion sensor in wearable body sensor network for human activity recognition. Physical activity recognition is widely used in well-being management, medical diagnosis and rehabilitation. Other than traditional accelerometers, we design a novel wearable sensor system based on triboelectrification. The triboelectric motion sensor can be easily attached to human body and collect motion signals caused by physical activities. The experiments are conducted to collect five common activity data: sitting and standing, walking, climbing upstairs, downstairs, and running. The k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) clustering algorithm is adopted to recognize these activities and validate the feasibility of this new approach. The results show that our system can perform physical activity recognition with a successful rate over 80% for walking, sitting and standing. The triboelectric structure can also be used as an energy harvester for motion harvesting due to its high output voltage in random low-frequency motion.

  2. Effect of microwave heat-treatment time on the properties of activated carbons as electrode materials for supercapacitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, X.; Wang, T.; Long, S.; Zhang, X.; Zheng, M. [Anhui Univ. of Technology, Ma' aushan (China). School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui Key Lab of Coal Clean Conversion and Utilization

    2010-07-01

    A microwave-assisted heating technique was used to prepare activated carbons (ACs) from petroleum coke with potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an activating agent. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of heat treatment time on AC properties at 3, 5, and 7 minutes with a microwave power rate of 700 W. The structure and electrochemical performance of the microwave ACs were then compared with commercially prepared ACs. The study showed that the specific capacitance, equivalent series resistance and energy density of the AC electrodes decreased, while the cycle performance of the AC electrodes was improved. The specific capacitance and energy density of the ACs treated with microwave heat at 3 and 7 minutes was higher than rates observed in commercially-prepared ACs. Results showed that the microwave heat treatment method is an efficient means of obtaining stable ACs for use in supercapacitors. 3 refs., 1 tab., 1 fig.

  3. Near-Field Resonance Microwave Tomography and Holography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaikovich, K. P.; Smirnov, A. I.; Yanin, D. V.

    2018-02-01

    We develop the methods of electromagnetic computer near-field microwave tomography of distributed subsurface inhomogeneities of complex dielectric permittivity and of holography (shape retrieval) of internally homogeneous subsurface objects. The methods are based on the solution of the near-field inverse scattering problem from measurements of the resonance-parameter variations of microwave probes above the medium surface. The capabilities of the proposed diagnostic technique are demonstrated in the numerical simulation for sensors with a cylindrical capacitor as a probe element, the edge capacitance of which is sensitive to subsurface inhomogeneities.

  4. Development of SERS active fibre sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polwart, Ewan

    2002-01-01

    Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is sensitive and selective and when coupled with fibre-optics could potentially produce an effective chemical sensing system. This thesis concerns the development of a single-fibre-based sensor, with an integral SERS-active substrate. A number of different methods for the manufacture of SERS-active surfaces on glass substrates were investigated and compared. The immobilisation of metal nanoparticles on glass functionalised with (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane emerged as a suitable approach for the production of sensors. Substrates prepared by this approach were characterised using UV-visible spectroscopy, electron microscopy and Raman mapping. It was found that exposure of substrates to laser radiation led to a decrease in the signal recorded from adsorbed analytes. This speed of the decrease was shown to depend on the analyte, and the exciting wavelength and power. SERS-active fibre sensors were produced by immobilisation of silver nanoparticles at the distal end of a (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane-derivatised optical fibre. These sensors were used to obtain spectra with good signal to noise ratios from 4-(benzotriazol-5-ylazo)-3,5-dimethoxyphenylamine and crystal violet. Sensing of dyes in effluent was also investigated. The development of sensors for the measurement of pH, by treating the SERS-active fibre tip with pH sensitive dyes is also described. Spectral changes were observed with these sensors as a response to the pH. Partial least squares regression was used to produce linear calibration models for the pH range 5-11 from which it was possible to predict the pH with an accuracy of ∼0.2 pH units. Some of the limitations of these sensors were explored. The feasibility of using these sensors for measurement of oxygen and thiols, was investigated. The measurement of oxygen using methylene blue as a transducer was demonstrated. Two transduction methodologies--reactions with iron porphyrins and pyrrole-2,5-diones

  5. Microwave-induced activation of additional active edge sites on the MoS2 surface for enhanced Hg0 capture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Haitao; Mu, Xueliang; Yang, Gang; Zheng, Chengheng; Sun, Chenggong; Gao, Xiang; Wu, Tao

    2017-10-01

    In recent years, significant effort has been made in the development of novel materials for the removal of mercury from coal-derived flue gas. In this research, microwave irradiation was adopted to induce the creation of additional active sites on the MoS2 surface. The results showed that Hg0 capture efficiency of the adsorbent containing MoS2 nanosheets being microwave treated was as high as 97%, while the sample prepared via conventional method only showed an efficiency of 94% in its first 180 min testing. After the adsorbent was treated by microwave irradiation for 3 more times, its mercury removal efficiency was still noticeably higher than that of the sample prepared via conventional method. Characterization of surface structure of the MoS2 containing material together with DFT study further revealed that the (001) basal planes of MoS2 crystal structure were cracked into (100) edge planes (with an angle of approximately 75°) under microwave treatment, which subsequently resulted in the formation of additional active edge sites on the MoS2 surface and led to the improved performance on Hg0 capture.

  6. Microwave interrogated large core fused silica fiber Michelson interferometer for strain sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua, Liwei; Song, Yang; Huang, Jie; Lan, Xinwei; Li, Yanjun; Xiao, Hai

    2015-08-20

    A Michelson-type large core optical fiber sensor has been developed, which is designed based on the optical carrier-based microwave interferometry technique, and fabricated by using two pieces of 200-μm diameter fused silica core fiber as two arms of the Michelson interferometer. The interference fringe pattern caused by the optical path difference of the two arms is interrogated in the microwave domain, where the fringe visibility of 40 dB has easily been obtained. The strain sensing at both room temperature and high temperatures has been demonstrated by using such a sensor. Experimental results show that this sensor has a linear response to the applied strain, and also has relatively low temperature-strain cross talk. The dopant-free quality of the fused silica fiber provides high possibility for the sensor to have promising strain sensing performance in a high temperature environment.

  7. Study of photocatalytic activities of Bi2WO6 nanoparticles synthesized by fast microwave-assisted method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phu, Nguyen Dang; Hoang, Luc Huy; Chen, Xiang-Bai; Kong, Meng-Hong; Wen, Hua-Chiang; Chou, Wu Ching

    2015-01-01

    We present a study of photocatalytic activities of Bi 2 WO 6 nanoparticles synthesized by fast microwave-assisted method. The photocatalytic activities of the nanoparticles were evaluated by the decolorization of methylene-blue under visible-light-irradiation. Our results show that the surface area of Bi 2 WO 6 nanoparticles plays a major role for improving photocatalytic activity, while visible-light absorption has only a weak effect on photocatalytic activity. This suggests efficient transportation of photo-generated electrons and holes to the oxidation active sites on the surface of nanoparticles, indicating Bi 2 WO 6 nanoparticles synthesized by fast microwave-assisted method are promising for achieving high photocatalytic activity under visible-light-irradiation. - Highlights: • The Bi 2 WO 6 nanoparticles were synthesized via fast microwave-assisted method. • The obtained Bi 2 WO 6 nanoparticles exhibited visible-light absorbance. • The surface area of Bi 2 WO 6 nanoparticles plays major role for improving photocatalytic activity. • The Bi 2 WO 6 nanoparticles are promising for achieving high photocatalytic activity under visible-light-irradiation

  8. Global Modeling of Microwave Three Terminal Active Devices Using the FDTD Method

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Mrabet, O. E; Essaaidi, M; Drissi, M'hamed

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents a new approach for the global electromagnetic analysis of the three-Terminal active linear and nonlinear microwave circuits using the Finite-Difference Time Domain (FDTD) Method...

  9. Detection of napropamide by microwave resonator sensor using carbon nanotube – polypyrrole- chitosan layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Mohammadi

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the design and fabrication of proximity coupled feed disk resonator coated with Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs and Polypyrrole-Chitosan (PPy-CHI layers as a napropamide sensor. Computer Simulation Technology (CST microwave studio was used to obtain the best design of disk resonator and feed line position in 5 GHz resonant frequency. Also, MWCNTs - PPy-CHI layers were coated on the disk resonator using electric field deposition and chemical interaction between sensing layer and napropamide was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR. The evaluation of the system was performed using different concentrations of commercial napropamide and pure napropamide at room temperature (25 0C. Experimental results prove that proximity coupled feed disk resonator coated with MWCNTs-PPy-CHI layers is a simple, fast (Measurement- time=5 seconds, accurate (as low as 0.1 ppm, low cost and it has the potential of fabrication as a portable instrumentation system for detecting pesticides in water and soil.

  10. Analyzing the inundation pattern of the Poyang Lake floodplain by passive microwave data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shang, H.; Li, J.; Menenti, M.

    2015-01-01

    The soil wetness condition is a useful indicator of inundation hazard in floodplains, such as the Poyang Lake floodplain. Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) passive microwave data were used to monitor water-saturated soil and open water areas of the Poyang Lake floodplain from 2001 to 2008,

  11. Consideration on the Mechanism of Microwave Emission Due to Rock Fracture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takano, Tadashi; Sugita, Seiji; Yoshida, Shingo; Maeda, Takashi

    2010-05-01

    Microwave emission due to rock fracture was found at 300 MHz, 2 GHz, and 22 GHz, and its power was calibrated in laboratory for the first time in the world. The observed waveform is impulsive, and contains correspondent frequency component inside the envelope at each frequency band. At such high frequencies, the electro-magnetic signal power can be calibrated as a radiating wave with high accuracy. Accordingly, it was verified that a substantial power is emitted. The microwave emission phenomena were also observed on occasions of hypervelocity impact, and esteemed as phenomena generally associated with material destruction. Earthquakes and volcanic activities are association with rock fractures so that the microwave is expected to be emitted. Actually, the e emission was confirmed by the data analysis of the brightness temperature obtained by a remote sensing satellite, which flew over great earthquakes of Wuenchan and Sumatra, and great volcanic eruptions of Reventador and Chanten. It is important to show the microwave emission during rock fracture in natural phenomena. Therefore, the field test to detect the microwave due to the collapse of a crater cliff was planned and persecuted at the volcano of Miyake-jima about 100 km south of Tokyo. Volcanic activity may be more convenient than an earthquake because of the known location and time. As a result, they observed the microwave emission which was strongly correlated with the cliff collapses. Despite of the above-mentioned phenomenological fruits, the reason of the microwave emission is not fixed yet. We have investigated the mechanism of the emission in consideration of the obtained data in rock fracture experiments so far and the study results on material destruction by hypervelocity impact. This paper presents the proposal of the hypothesis and resultant discussions. The microwave sensors may be useful to monitor natural hazards such as an earthquake or a volcanic eruption, because the microwave due to rock

  12. Microwave amplifier and active circuit design using the real frequency technique

    CERN Document Server

    Jarry, Pierre

    2016-01-01

    This book focuses on the authors' Real Frequency Technique (RFT) and its application to a wide variety of multi-stage microwave amplifiers and active filters, and passive equalizers for radar pulse shaping and antenna return loss applications. The first two chapters review the fundamentals of microwave amplifier design and provide a description of the RFT. Each subsequent chapter introduces a new type of amplifier or circuit design, reviews its design problems, and explains how the RFT can be adapted to solve these problems. The authors take a practical approach by summarizing the design steps and giving numerous examples of amplifier realizations and measured responses. Provides a complete description of the RFT as it is first used to design multistage lumped amplifiers using a progressive optimization of the equalizers, leading to a small umber of parameters to optimize simultaneously Presents modifications to the RFT to design trans-impedance microwave amplifiers that are used for photodiodes acti...

  13. Influence of deflocculation on microwave disintegration and anaerobic biodegradability of waste activated sludge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebenezer, A Vimala; Kaliappan, S; Adish Kumar, S; Yeom, Ick-Tae; Banu, J Rajesh

    2015-06-01

    In the present study, the potential benefits of deflocculation on microwave pretreatment of waste activated sludge were investigated. Deflocculation in the absence of cell lysis was achieved through the removal of extra polymeric substances (EPS) by sodium citrate (0.1g sodium citrate/g suspended solids), and DNA was used as a marker for monitoring cell lysis. Subsequent microwave pretreatment yielded a chemical oxygen demand (COD) solubilisation of 31% and 21%, suspended solids (SS) reduction of 37% and 22%, for deflocculated and flocculated sludge, respectively, with energy input of 14,000kJ/kg TS. When microwave pretreated sludge was subjected to anaerobic fermentation, greater accumulation of volatile fatty acid (860mg/L) was noticed in deflocculated sludge, indicating better hydrolysis. Among the samples subjected to BMP (Biochemical methane potential test), deflocculated microwave pretreated sludge showed better amenability towards anaerobic digestion with high methane production potential of 0.615L (gVS)(-1). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Simple method for highlighting the temperature distribution into a liquid sample heated by microwave power field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Surducan, V.; Surducan, E.; Dadarlat, D.

    2013-01-01

    Microwave induced heating is widely used in medical treatments, scientific and industrial applications. The temperature field inside a microwave heated sample is often inhomogenous, therefore multiple temperature sensors are required for an accurate result. Nowadays, non-contact (Infra Red thermography or microwave radiometry) or direct contact temperature measurement methods (expensive and sophisticated fiber optic temperature sensors transparent to microwave radiation) are mainly used. IR thermography gives only the surface temperature and can not be used for measuring temperature distributions in cross sections of a sample. In this paper we present a very simple experimental method for temperature distribution highlighting inside a cross section of a liquid sample, heated by a microwave radiation through a coaxial applicator. The method proposed is able to offer qualitative information about the heating distribution, using a temperature sensitive liquid crystal sheet. Inhomogeneities as smaller as 1°-2°C produced by the symmetry irregularities of the microwave applicator can be easily detected by visual inspection or by computer assisted color to temperature conversion. Therefore, the microwave applicator is tuned and verified with described method until the temperature inhomogeneities are solved

  15. All-sky radiance simulation of Megha-Tropiques SAPHIR microwave ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    used as input to the RTTOV model to simulate cloud-affected SAPHIR radiances. ... All-sky radiance simulation; Megha tropiques; microwave SAPHIR sensor; radiative transfer; data ... versions of these non-linear processes (Ohring and.

  16. Sensor Development for Active Flow Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahng, Seun K.; Gorton, Susan A.; Mau, Johnney C.; Soto, Hector L.; Hernandez, Corey D.

    2001-01-01

    Presented are the developmental efforts for MEMS sensors for a closed-loop active flow control in a low-speed wind tunnel evaluation. The MEMS sensors are designed in-house and fabricated out of house, and the shear sensors are a thermal type that are collocated with temperature and pressure sensors on a flexible polyimide sheet, which conforms to surfaces of a simple curvature. A total of 6 sensors are located within a 1.5 by 3 mm area as a cluster with each sensor being 300 pm square. The thickness of this sensor cluster is 75 pm. Outputs from the shear sensors have been compared with respect to those of the Preston tube for evaluation of the sensors on a flat plate. Pressure sensors are the absolute type and have recorded pressure measurements within 0.05 percent of the tunnel ESP pressure sensor readings. The sensors and signal conditioning electronics have been tested on both a flat plate and a ramp in Langley s 15-Inch Low-Turbulence Tunnel. The system configuration and control PC is configured with LabView, where calibration constants are stored for desired compensation and correction. The preliminary test results are presented within.

  17. Synergistic use of active and passive microwave in soil moisture estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, P.; Chauhan, N.; Jackson, T.; Saatchi, S.

    1992-01-01

    Data gathered during the MACHYDRO experiment in central Pennsylvania in July 1990 have been utilized to study the synergistic use of active and passive microwave systems for estimating soil moisture. These data sets were obtained during an eleven-day period with NASA's Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR) and Push-Broom Microwave Radiometer (PBMR) over an instrumented watershed which included agricultural fields with a number of different crop covers. Simultaneous ground truth measurements were also made in order to characterize the state of vegetation and soil moisture under a variety of meteorological conditions. A combination algorithm is presented as applied to a representative corn field in the MACHYDRO watershed.

  18. Photoinduced spin polarization and microwave technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antipov, Sergey; Poluektov, Oleg; Schoessow, Paul; Kanareykin, Alexei; Jing, Chunguang

    2013-01-01

    We report here on studies of optically pumped active microwave media based on various fullerene derivatives, with an emphasis on the use of these materials in microwave electronics. We have investigated a class of optically excited paramagnetic materials that demonstrate activity in the X-band as candidate materials. We found that a particular fullerene derivative, Phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), produced the largest electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) emission signal compared to other organic compounds that have been suggested for use as microwave active materials. We also studied the effects of concentration, temperature, solvent etc. on the activity of the material. In these experiments, EPR studies using a commercial spectrometer were followed up by measurements of an RF signal reflected from a resonator loaded with the PCBM-based material. The activity was directly demonstrated through the change in the quality factor and RF coupling between the resonator and waveguide feed. At the inception of these experiments the primary interest was the development of a microwave PASER. The PASER (particle acceleration by stimulated emission of radiation [1]) is a novel acceleration concept that is based on the direct energy transfer from an active medium to a charged particle beam. While the previous work on the PASER has emphasized operations at infrared or visible wavelengths, operating in the microwave regime has significant advantages in terms of the less stringent quality requirements placed on the electron beam provided an appropriate microwave active medium can be found. This paper is focused on our investigation of the possibility of a PASER operating in the microwave frequency regime [2] using active paramagnetic materials. While a high level of gain for PCBM was demonstrated compared to other candidate materials, dielectric losses and quenching effects were found to negatively impact its performance for PASER applications. We present results on

  19. Assessment of space sensors for ocean pollution monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarado, U. R.; Tomiyasu, K.; Gulatsi, R. L.

    1980-01-01

    Several passive and active microwave, as well as passive optical remote sensors, applicable to the monitoring of oil spills and waste discharges at sea, are considered. The discussed types of measurements relate to: (1) spatial distribution and properties of the pollutant, and (2) oceanic parameters needed to predict the movement of the pollutants and their impact upon land. The sensors, operating from satellite platforms at 700-900 km altitudes, are found to be useful in mapping the spread of oil in major oil spills and in addition, can be effective in producing wind and ocean parameters as inputs to oil trajectory and dispersion models. These capabilities can be used in countermeasures.

  20. The Expected Impacts of NPOESS Microwave and Infrared Sounder Radiances on Operational Numerical Weather Prediction and Data Assimilation Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swadley, S. D.; Baker, N.; Derber, J.; Collard, A.; Hilton, F.; Ruston, B.; Bell, W.; Candy, B.; Kleespies, T. J.

    2009-12-01

    The NPOESS atmospheric sounding functionality will be accomplished using two separate sensor suites, the combined infrared (IR) and microwave (MW) sensor suite (CrIMSS), and the Microwave Imager/Sounder (MIS) instrument. CrIMSS consists of the Cross Track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and the cross track Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS), and is scheduled to fly on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), and NPOESS operational flight units C1 and C3. The MIS is a conical scanning polarimetric imager and sounder patterned after the heritage WindSat, and DMSP Special Sensor Microwave Imagers and Sounders (SSMI and SSMIS), and is scheduled for flight units C2, C3 and C4. ATMS combines the current operational Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) and the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS), but with an additional channel in the 51.76 GHz oxygen absorption region and 3 additional channels in the 165.5 and 183 GHz water vapor absorption band. CrIS is a Fourier Transform Spectrometer and will provide 159 shortwave IR channels, 433 mid-range IR channels, and 713 longwave IR channels. The heritage sensors for CrIS are the NASA Advanced Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the MetOp-A Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). Both AIRS and IASI are high quality, high spectral resolution sounders which represent a significant improvement in the effective vertical resolution over previous IR sounders. This presentation will give an overview of preparations underway for day-1 monitoring of NPP/NPOESS radiances, and subsequent operational radiance assimilation. These preparations capitalize on experience gained during the pre-launch preparations, sensor calibration/validation and operational assimilation for the heritage sensors. One important step is to use pre-flight sensor channel specifications, noise estimates and knowledge of the antenna patterns, to generate and test proxy NPP/NPOESS sensor observations in existing assimilation systems. Other critical factors for

  1. Pushbroom microwave radiometer results from HAPEX-MOBILHY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichols, W.E.; Cuenca, R.H.; Schmugge, T.J.; Wang, J.R.

    1993-01-01

    The NASA C-130 remote sensing aircraft was in Toulouse, France from 25 May through 4 July 1986, for participation in the HAPEX-MOBILHY program. Spectral and radiometric data were collected by C-130 borne sensors in the visible, infrared, and microwave wavelengths. These data provided information on the spatial and temporal variations of surface parameters such as vegetation indices, surface temperature, and surface soil moisture. The Pushbroom Microwave Radiometer (PBMR) was used to collect passive microwave brightness temperature data. This four-beam sensor operates at the 21-cm wavelength, providing cross-track coverage approximately 1.2 times the aircraft altitude. Observed brightness temperatures for the period were high, ranging from above 240 K about 290 K. Brightness temperature images appeared to correspond well to spatial and temporal soil moisture variation. Previous research has demonstrated that an approximately linear relationship exists between the surface emissivity and surface soil moisture. For these data, however, regression analysis did not indicate a strong linear relationship (r 2 = 0.32 and r 2 = 0.42 respectively) because of the limited range of soil moisture conditions encountered and the small number of ground measurements. When results from wetter soil conditions encountered in another experiment were included, the regression improved dramatically. Based on similar research with the PBMR and an understanding of the ground data collection program, this result was examined to produce recommendations for improvements to future passive microwave research and data collection programs. Examples of surface soil moisture maps generated with PBMR data are presented which appear to be representative of the actual soil moisture conditions

  2. Investigation on the rapid degradation of congo red catalyzed by activated carbon powder under microwave irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Zhaohong; Shan Yabo; Wang Jun; Ling Hongjie; Zang Shuliang; Gao Wei; Zhao Zhe; Zhang Huachun

    2007-01-01

    Azo dyestuff-congo red in aqueous solution can be degraded rapidly under microwave irradiation in the presence of activated carbon powder. The results showed that the degradation ratio could reach 87.79% for 25 mL total volume with 50 mg/L congo red and 2.0 g/L activated carbon powder under 1.5 min microwave irradiation. Furthermore, within the same irradiation time, congo red could be degraded fully by increasing addition amount (e.g. 3.6 g/L) of activated carbon powder and the degradation ratio was up to 96.49%. Otherwise, with the same addition amount, congo red also could be degraded completely by prolonging irradiation time (e.g. 2.5 min) and the degradation ratio was up to 97.88%. In addition, the influences of microwave irradiation time, initial concentration of congo red, addition amount and used times of activated carbon powder as well as solution acidity on the degradation were discussed in details adopting UV-vis spectra, FT-IR spectra, ion chromatography, high phase liquid chromatography (HPLC) and TOC analysis technologies. Here, the method using activated carbon powder as catalyst under microwave irradiation shows many advantages including high degradation ratios, short reaction time, low costs, no intermediates and no secondary pollution. Therefore, it may be fit for dealing with various azo dyestuff wastewaters on a large scale

  3. Development of smart active layer sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Young Sup; Lee, Sang Il; Yoon, Dong Jin; Kwon, Jae Hwa

    2004-01-01

    Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a new technology that will be increasingly applied at the industrial field as a potential approach to improve cost and convenience of structural inspection. Recently, the development of smart sensor is very active for real application. This study has focused on preparation and application study of SAL sensor. In order to detect elastic wave, smart piezoelectric sensor, SAL, is fabricated by using a piezoelectric element, shielding layer and protection layer. This protection layer plays an important role in a patched network of distributed piezoelectric sensor and shielding treatment. Four types of SAL sensor are designed/prepared/tested, and these details will be discussed in the paper. In this study, SAL sensor can be feasibly applied to perform structural health monitoring and to detect damage sources which result in elastic waves.

  4. Synergistic pretreatment of waste activated sludge using CaO_2 in combination with microwave irradiation to enhance methane production during anaerobic digestion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Jie; Li, Yongmei

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • CaO_2/MW pretreatment synergistically enhanced WAS solubilization and CH_4 production. • MW irradiation facilitated more "·OH generation from CaO_2. • The optimal pretreatment condition for methane production was determined. • The growths of both hydrogenotrophic and acetate-utilizing methanogens were promoted. • The dewaterability of WAS was improved considerably by CaO_2/MW treatment. - Abstract: To investigate the effects of combined calcium peroxide (CaO_2) and microwave pretreatment on anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge, lab-scale experiments were conducted to measure the solubilization, biodegradation, and dewaterability of the waste activated sludge. Additionally, the synergistic effects between CaO_2 and microwave were studied, and the microbial activity and methanogenic archaea community structure were analyzed. Combined pretreatment considerably facilitated the solubilization and subsequent anaerobic digestion of the waste activated sludge. The optimal pretreatment condition was CaO_2 (0.1 g/gVSS)/microwave (480 W, 2 min) for methane production during the subsequent anaerobic digestion process. Under this condition, 80.2% higher CH_4 accumulation yield was achieved after 16 d of anaerobic digestion when compared with the control. The synergistic effects of CaO_2/microwave pretreatment resulted from the different mechanisms of CaO_2 and microwave treatments. Further, microwave irradiation increased "·OH generation from CaO_2 and significantly alleviated the inhibitory effect of CaO_2 on methanogens. The activities of hydrolytic enzymes and acid-forming enzymes in the waste activated sludge were improved after CaO_2 (0.1 g/gVSS)/microwave (480 W, 2 min) pretreatment. Methanogenesis enzyme activity was also higher after CaO_2 treatment (0.1 g/gVSS)/microwave (480 W, 2 min) following a lag period. Illumina MiSeq sequencing analysis indicated that acetate-utilizing methanogen (Methanosaeta sp.) and H_2/CO_2-utilizing

  5. Microwave-assisted synthesis of bio-active heterocycles in aqueous media

    KAUST Repository

    Polshettiwar, Vivek

    2010-01-01

    Synthesis of bio-active heterocycles and fine chemicals in aqueous media are one of the best solutions for the development of green and sustainable protocols. To illustrate the advantages of aqueous MW chemistry in heterocycle synthesis, in this chapter, various synthetic pathways developed in recent years in aqueous reaction media using microwave irradiation are described.

  6. Results From the First 118 GHz Passive Microwave Observations Over Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAllister, R.; Gallaher, D. W.; Gasiewski, A. J.; Periasamy, L.; Belter, R.; Hurowitz, M.; Hosack, W.; Sanders, B. T.

    2017-12-01

    Cooperation between the University of Colorado (Center for Environmental Technology, National Snow and Ice Data Center, and Colorado Space Grant Consortium) and the private corporation Orbital Micro Systems (OMS) has resulted in a highly miniturized passive microwave sensor. This sensor was successfully flown over Antarctica in onboard NASA's DC-8 in Operation Ice Bridge (OIB) in October / November of 2016. Data was collected from the "MiniRad" 8 channel miniaturized microwave sensor, which operated as both a sounder and an imager. The non-calibrated observation included both high and low altitude observations over clouds, sea, ice, ice sheets, and mountains as well as terrain around Tierra del Fuego. Sample results and their significance will be discussed. The instrument is in a form factor suitable for deployment in cubesats and will be launched into orbit next year. Commercial deployments by OMS in a constellation configuration will shortly follow.

  7. Integrated active sensor system for real time vibration monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Qijie; Yan, Xiaoqin; Liao, Xinqin; Cao, Shiyao; Lu, Shengnan; Zheng, Xin; Zhang, Yue

    2015-11-05

    We report a self-powered, lightweight and cost-effective active sensor system for vibration monitoring with multiplexed operation based on contact electrification between sensor and detected objects. The as-fabricated sensor matrix is capable of monitoring and mapping the vibration state of large amounts of units. The monitoring contents include: on-off state, vibration frequency and vibration amplitude of each unit. The active sensor system delivers a detection range of 0-60 Hz, high accuracy (relative error below 0.42%), long-term stability (10000 cycles). On the time dimension, the sensor can provide the vibration process memory by recording the outputs of the sensor system in an extend period of time. Besides, the developed sensor system can realize detection under contact mode and non-contact mode. Its high performance is not sensitive to the shape or the conductivity of the detected object. With these features, the active sensor system has great potential in automatic control, remote operation, surveillance and security systems.

  8. Active and Passive Microwave Determination of the Circulation and Characteristics of Weddell and Ross Sea Ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drinkwater, Mark R.; Liu, Xiang

    2000-01-01

    A combination of satellite microwave data sets are used in conjunction with ECMWF (Medium Range Weather Forecasts) and NCEP (National Center for Environment Prediction) meteorological analysis fields to investigate seasonal variability in the circulation and sea-ice dynamics of the Weddell and Ross Seas. Results of sea-ice tracking using SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave Imager), Scatterometer and SAR images are combined with in-situ data derived from Argos buoys and GPS drifters to validate observed drift patterns. Seasonal 3-month climatologies of ice motion and drift speed variance illustrate the response of the sea-ice system to seasonal forcing. A melt-detection algorithm is used to track the onset of seasonal melt, and to determine the extent and duration of atmospherically-led surface melting during austral summer. Results show that wind-driven drift regulates the seasonal distribution and characteristics of sea-ice and the intensity of the cyclonic Gyre circulation in these two regions.

  9. New calibration algorithms for dielectric-based microwave moisture sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    New calibration algorithms for determining moisture content in granular and particulate materials from measurement of the dielectric properties at a single microwave frequency are proposed. The algorithms are based on identifying empirically correlations between the dielectric properties and the par...

  10. Polymer coated fiber Bragg grating thermometry for microwave hyperthermia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Indu Fiesler; Hui, Kaleo; Astrahan, Melvin

    2010-09-01

    Measuring tissue temperature distribution during electromagnetically induced hyperthermia (HT) is challenging. High resistance thermistors with nonmetallic leads have been used successfully in commercial HT systems for about three decades. The single 1 mm thick temperature sensing element is mechanically moved to measure tissue temperature distributions. By employing a single thermometry probe containing a fixed linear sensor array temperature, distributions during therapy can be measured with greater ease. While the first attempts to use fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technology to obtain multiple temperature points along a single fiber have been reported, improvement in the detection system's stability were needed for clinical applications. The FBG temperature sensing system described here has a very high temporal stability detection system and an order of magnitude faster readout than commercial systems. It is shown to be suitable for multiple point fiber thermometry during microwave hyperthermia when compared to conventional mechanically scanning probe HT thermometry. A polymer coated fiber Bragg grating (PFBG) technology is described that provides a number of FBG thermometry locations along the length of a single optical fiber. The PFBG probe developed is tested under simulated microwave hyperthermia treatment to a tissue equivalent phantom. Two temperature probes, the multiple PFBG sensor and the Bowman probe, placed symmetrically with respect to a microwave antenna in a tissue phantom are subjected to microwave hyperthermia. Measurements are made at start of HT and 85 min later, when a 6 degrees C increase in temperature is registered by both probes, as is typical in clinical HT therapy. The optical fiber multipoint thermometry probe performs highly stable, real-time thermometry updating each multipoint thermometry scan over a 5 cm length every 2 s. Bowman probe measurements are acquired simultaneously for comparison. In addition, the PFBG sensor's detection

  11. Optimization of enzymes-microwave-ultrasound assisted extraction of Lentinus edodes polysaccharides and determination of its antioxidant activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Chaomin; Fan, Xiuzhi; Fan, Zhe; Shi, Defang; Gao, Hong

    2018-05-01

    Enzymes-microwave-ultrasound assisted extraction (EMUE) method had been used to extract Lentinus edodes polysaccharides (LEPs). The enzymatic temperature, enzymatic pH, microwave power and microwave time were optimized by response surface methodology. The yields, properties and antioxidant activities of LEPs from EMUE and other extraction methods including hot-water extraction, enzymes-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction were evaluated. The results showed that the highest LEPs yield of 9.38% was achieved with enzymatic temperature of 48°C, enzymatic pH of 5.0, microwave power of 440W and microwave time of 10min, which correlated well with the predicted value of 9.79%. Additionally, LEPs from different extraction methods possessed typical absorption peak of polysaccharides, which meant different extraction methods had no significant effects on type of glycosidic bonds and sugar ring of LEPs. However, SEM images of LEPs from different extraction methods were significantly different. Moreover, the different LEPs all showed antioxidant activities, but LEPs from EMUE showed the highest reducing power when compared to other LEPs. The results indicated LEPs from EMUE can be used as natural antioxidant component in the pharmaceutical and functional food industries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Using microwave heating to improve the desorption efficiency of high molecular weight VOC from beaded activated carbon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fayaz, Mohammadreza; Shariaty, Pooya; Atkinson, John D; Hashisho, Zaher; Phillips, John H; Anderson, James E; Nichols, Mark

    2015-04-07

    Incomplete regeneration of activated carbon loaded with organic compounds results in heel build-up that reduces the useful life of the adsorbent. In this study, microwave heating was tested as a regeneration method for beaded activated carbon (BAC) loaded with n-dodecane, a high molecular weight volatile organic compound. Energy consumption and desorption efficiency for microwave-heating regeneration were compared with conductive-heating regeneration. The minimum energy needed to completely regenerate the adsorbent (100% desorption efficiency) using microwave regeneration was 6% of that needed with conductive heating regeneration, owing to more rapid heating rates and lower heat loss. Analyses of adsorbent pore size distribution and surface chemistry confirmed that neither heating method altered the physical/chemical properties of the BAC. Additionally, gas chromatography (with flame ionization detector) confirmed that neither regeneration method detectably altered the adsorbate composition during desorption. By demonstrating improvements in energy consumption and desorption efficiency and showing stable adsorbate and adsorbent properties, this paper suggests that microwave heating is an attractive method for activated carbon regeneration particularly when high-affinity VOC adsorbates are present.

  13. Experimental and Numerical Studies of Particle Acceleration by an Active Microwave Medium

    CERN Document Server

    Schoessow, Paul

    2005-01-01

    There has been considerable theoretical work on the so-called PASER concept, in which a particle beam is accelerated directly by absorbing energy from an active medium, analogous to the amplification of an optical signal in a laser. Use of an active microwave (maser) medium would have the advantage of requiring relaxed beam quality (mm vs. nm characteristic beam dimensions). Recent work using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques has demonstrated activity in the microwave regime (i.e. negative imaginary part of the magnetic susceptibility) for a class of organic compounds. A solution of fullerene (C60) in a liquid crystal solvent has been reported in the literature to possess a maser transition in the X-band region. An external DC magnetic field is required to obtain the effect; the frequency of the maser transition is adjustable by varying the magnetic field strength. We will report on the development of numerical and laboratory tools to evaluate the use of this material for accelerator applicatio...

  14. Challenges in application of Active Cold Loads for microwave radiometer calibration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søbjærg, Sten Schmidl; Balling, Jan E.; Skou, Niels

    2012-01-01

    Two Active Cold Loads (ACLs) for microwave radiometer calibration, operating at X-band, are evaluated with respect to important stability parameters. Using a stable radiometer system as test bed, absolute levels of 77 K and 55 K are found. This paper identifies and summarizes potential challenges...

  15. Pulse-driven magnetoimpedance sensor detection of cardiac magnetic activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shinsuke Nakayama

    Full Text Available This study sought to establish a convenient method for detecting biomagnetic activity in the heart. Electrical activity of the heart simultaneously induces a magnetic field. Detection of this magnetic activity will enable non-contact, noninvasive evaluation to be made. We improved the sensitivity of a pulse-driven magnetoimpedance (PMI sensor, which is used as an electric compass in mobile phones and as a motion sensor of the operation handle in computer games, toward a pico-Tesla (pT level, and measured magnetic fields on the surface of the thoracic wall in humans. The changes in magnetic field detected by this sensor synchronized with the electric activity of the electrocardiogram (ECG. The shape of the magnetic wave was largely altered by shifting the sensor position within 20 mm in parallel and/or perpendicular to the thoracic wall. The magnetic activity was maximal in the 4th intercostals near the center of the sterna. Furthermore, averaging the magnetic activity at 15 mm in the distance between the thoracic wall and the sensor demonstrated magnetic waves mimicking the P wave and QRS complex. The present study shows the application of PMI sensor in detecting cardiac magnetic activity in several healthy subjects, and suggests future applications of this technology in medicine and biology.

  16. Exploring The Limits Of Variational Passive Microwave Retrievals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, David Ian

    Passive microwave observations from satellite platforms constitute one of the most important data records of the global observing system. Operational since the late 1970s, passive microwave data underpin climate records of precipitation, sea ice extent, water vapor, and more, and contribute significantly to numerical weather prediction via data assimilation. Detailed understanding of the observation errors in these data is key to maximizing their utility for research and operational applications alike. However, the treatment of observation errors in this data record has been lacking and somewhat divergent when considering the retrieval and data assimilation communities. In this study, some limits of passive microwave imager data are considered in light of more holistic treatment of observation errors. A variational retrieval, named the CSU 1DVAR, was developed for microwave imagers and applied to the GMI and AMSR2 sensors for ocean scenes. Via an innovative method to determine forward model error, this retrieval accounts for error covariances across all channels used in the iteration. This improves validation in more complex scenes such as high wind speed and persistently cloudy regimes. In addition, it validates on par with a benchmark dataset without any tuning to in-situ observations. The algorithm yields full posterior error diagnostics and its physical forward model is applicable to other sensors, pending intercalibration. This retrieval is used to explore the viability of retrieving parameters at the limits of the available information content from a typical microwave imager. Retrieval of warm rain, marginal sea ice, and falling snow are explored with the variational retrieval. Warm rain retrieval shows some promise, with greater sensitivity than operational GPM algorithms due to leveraging CloudSat data and accounting for drop size distribution variability. Marginal sea ice is also detected with greater sensitivity than a standard operational retrieval

  17. Monitoring and control system for tuneable high frequency microwave assisted chemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, G P; Wylie, S R; Shaw, A; Al-Shamma'a, A I; Phipps, D; Alkhaddar, R; Bond, G

    2007-01-01

    Microwave chemistry is an established technique in the synthesis of organic compounds at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. This is considered to be a result of the development of microwave ovens, rather than an objective solution, which maximises efficiency through careful selection of the operating frequency. To obtain a frequency for a dielectric, the complex permittivity should be determined as a function of frequency. If the correct heating frequency is found, superheating can occur when a liquid solvent reaches its boiling point and exceeds it. This paper presents sensor diodes and temperature sensors used in a mono-mode reactor, with computer control of an E-H tuner, frequency and incident power to control temperature and power, experimental results showing heating and reactions using ethanol are reported

  18. Pyrolysis of polystyrene waste in the presence of activated carbon in conventional and microwave heating using modified thermocouple.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prathiba, R; Shruthi, M; Miranda, Lima Rose

    2018-06-01

    Pyrolysis process was experimented using two types of heating source, namely conventional and microwave. Polystyrene (PS) plastic waste was used as feedstock in a batch reactor for both the conventional (slow pyrolysis) and microwave pyrolysis. The effect of activated carbon to polystyrene ratio on (i) yield of oil, gas and residues (ii) reaction temperature (iii) reaction time were studied. Quality of oil from pyrolysis of polystyrene were assessed for the possible applicability in fuel production. Microwave power of 450 W and polymer to activated carbon ratio of 10:1, resulted in the highest oil yield of 93.04 wt.% with a higher heating value of 45 MJ kg -1 and a kinematic viscosity of 2.7 cSt. Microwave heating when compared to conventional heating method, exhibits a reaction temperature and time of 330 °C in 5.5 min, whereas in conventional heating system it was 418 °C in 60 min. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of liquid oil from microwave pyrolysis predominantly yields alkenes of 8.44 wt.%, α-methyl styrene 0.96 wt.%, condensed ring aromatics 23.21 wt.% and benzene derivatives 26.77 wt.% when the polystyrene to activated carbon ratio was 10:1. Significant factor of using microwave heating is the amount of energy converted (kWh) is lesser than conventional heating. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Microwave engineering concepts and fundamentals

    CERN Document Server

    Khan, Ahmad Shahid

    2014-01-01

    Detailing the active and passive aspects of microwaves, Microwave Engineering: Concepts and Fundamentals covers everything from wave propagation to reflection and refraction, guided waves, and transmission lines, providing a comprehensive understanding of the underlying principles at the core of microwave engineering. This encyclopedic text not only encompasses nearly all facets of microwave engineering, but also gives all topics—including microwave generation, measurement, and processing—equal emphasis. Packed with illustrations to aid in comprehension, the book: •Describes the mathematical theory of waveguides and ferrite devices, devoting an entire chapter to the Smith chart and its applications •Discusses different types of microwave components, antennas, tubes, transistors, diodes, and parametric devices •Examines various attributes of cavity resonators, semiconductor and RF/microwave devices, and microwave integrated circuits •Addresses scattering parameters and their properties, as well a...

  20. Dealing with the Effects of Sensor Displacement in Wearable Activity Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oresti Banos

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Most wearable activity recognition systems assume a predefined sensor deployment that remains unchanged during runtime. However, this assumption does not reflect real-life conditions. During the normal use of such systems, users may place the sensors in a position different from the predefined sensor placement. Also, sensors may move from their original location to a different one, due to a loose attachment. Activity recognition systems trained on activity patterns characteristic of a given sensor deployment may likely fail due to sensor displacements. In this work, we innovatively explore the effects of sensor displacement induced by both the intentional misplacement of sensors and self-placement by the user. The effects of sensor displacement are analyzed for standard activity recognition techniques, as well as for an alternate robust sensor fusion method proposed in a previous work. While classical recognition models show little tolerance to sensor displacement, the proposed method is proven to have notable capabilities to assimilate the changes introduced in the sensor position due to self-placement and provides considerable improvements for large misplacements.

  1. Measure of enzymatic activity coincident with 2450 MHz microwave exposure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, T R; Allis, J W; Elder, J A

    1975-09-01

    Enzyme preparations were exposed to microwave radiation at 2450 MHz and enzymatic activity was simultaneously monitored spectrophotometrically with a crossed-beam exposure detection system. Enzymes studied were glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase from human red blood cells and yeast, adenylate kinase from rat liver mitochondria and rabbit muscle, and rat liver microsomal NADPH cytochrome c reductase. No difference was found between the specific activity at 25/sup 0/C of unirradiated controls and enzyme preparations irradiated at an absorbed dose rate of 42 W/kg.

  2. The Effect of Three Different Data Fusion Approaches on the Quality of Soil Moisture Retrievals from Multiple Passive Microwave Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin van der Schalie

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Long-term climate records of soil moisture are of increased importance to climate researchers. In this study, we aim to evaluate the quality of three different fusion approaches that combine soil moisture retrieval from multiple satellite sensors. The arrival of L-band missions has led to an increased focus on the integration of L-band-based soil moisture retrievals in climate records, emphasizing the need to improve our understanding based on its added value within a multi-sensor framework. The three evaluated approaches were developed on 10-year passive microwave data (2003–2013 from two different satellite sensors, i.e., SMOS (2010–2013 and AMSR-E (2003–2011, and are based on a neural network (NN, regressions (REG, and the Land Parameter Retrieval Model (LPRM. The ability of the different approaches to best match AMSR-E and SMOS in their overlapping period was tested using an inter-comparison exercise between the SMOS and AMSR-E datasets, while the skill of the individual soil moisture products, based on anomalies, was evaluated using two verification techniques; first, a data assimilation technique that links precipitation information to the quality of soil moisture (expressed as the Rvalue, and secondly the triple collocation analysis (TCA. ASCAT soil moisture was included in the skill evaluation, representing the active microwave-based counterpart of soil moisture retrievals. Besides a semi-global analysis, explicit focus was placed on two regions that have strong land–atmosphere coupling, the Sahel (SA and the central Great Plains (CGP of North America. The NN approach gives the highest correlation coefficient between SMOS and AMSR-E, closely followed by LPRM and REG, while the absolute error is approximately the same for all three approaches. The Rvalue and TCA show the strength of using different satellite sources and the impact of different merging approaches on the skill to correctly capture soil moisture anomalies. The

  3. Physical Activity Recognition from Smartphone Embedded Sensors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prudêncio, João; Aguiar, Ana; Roetter, Daniel Enrique Lucani

    2013-01-01

    The ubiquity of smartphones has motivated efforts to use the embedded sensors to detect various aspects of user context to transparently provide personalized and contextualized services to the user. One relevant piece of context is the physical activity of the smartphone user. In this paper, we...... propose a novel set of features for distinguishing five physical activities using only sensors embedded in the smartphone. Specifically, we introduce features that are normalized using the orientation sensor such that horizontal and vertical movements are explicitly computed. We evaluate a neural network...... classifier in experiments in the wild with multiple users and hardware, we achieve accuracies above 90% for a single user and phone, and above 65% for multiple users, which is higher that similar works on the same set of activities, demonstrating the potential of our approach....

  4. Microwave measurement of electrical fields in different media – principles, methods and instrumentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    St. Kliment Ohridski, Faculty of Physics, James Bourchier blvd., Sofia 1164 (Bulgaria))" data-affiliation=" (Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Faculty of Physics, James Bourchier blvd., Sofia 1164 (Bulgaria))" >Dankov, Plamen I

    2014-01-01

    This paper, presented in the frame of 4th International Workshop and Summer School on Plasma Physics (IWSSPP'2010, Kiten, Bulgaria), is a brief review of the principles, methods and instrumentation of the microwave measurements of electrical fields in different media. The main part of the paper is connected with the description of the basic features of many field sensors and antennas – narrow-, broadband and ultra-wide band, miniaturized, reconfigurable and active sensors, etc. The main features and applicability of these sensors for determination of electric fields in different media is discussed. The last part of the paper presents the basic principles for utilization of electromagnetic 3-D simulators for E-field measurement purposes. Two illustrative examples have been given – the determination of the dielectric anisotropy of multi-layer materials and discussion of the selectivity of hairpin-probe for determination of the electron density in dense gaseous plasmas.

  5. Detection Thresholds of Falling Snow From Satellite-Borne Active and Passive Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skofronick-Jackson, Gail M.; Johnson, Benjamin T.; Munchak, S. Joseph

    2013-01-01

    There is an increased interest in detecting and estimating the amount of falling snow reaching the Earths surface in order to fully capture the global atmospheric water cycle. An initial step toward global spaceborne falling snow algorithms for current and future missions includes determining the thresholds of detection for various active and passive sensor channel configurations and falling snow events over land surfaces and lakes. In this paper, cloud resolving model simulations of lake effect and synoptic snow events were used to determine the minimum amount of snow (threshold) that could be detected by the following instruments: the W-band radar of CloudSat, Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR)Ku- and Ka-bands, and the GPM Microwave Imager. Eleven different nonspherical snowflake shapes were used in the analysis. Notable results include the following: 1) The W-band radar has detection thresholds more than an order of magnitude lower than the future GPM radars; 2) the cloud structure macrophysics influences the thresholds of detection for passive channels (e.g., snow events with larger ice water paths and thicker clouds are easier to detect); 3) the snowflake microphysics (mainly shape and density)plays a large role in the detection threshold for active and passive instruments; 4) with reasonable assumptions, the passive 166-GHz channel has detection threshold values comparable to those of the GPM DPR Ku- and Ka-band radars with approximately 0.05 g *m(exp -3) detected at the surface, or an approximately 0.5-1.0-mm * h(exp -1) melted snow rate. This paper provides information on the light snowfall events missed by the sensors and not captured in global estimates.

  6. Embedded Triboelectric Active Sensors for Real-Time Pneumatic Monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Xian Peng; Bu, Tian Zhao; Xi, Feng Ben; Cheng, Ting Hai; Zhang, Chi; Wang, Zhong Lin

    2017-09-20

    Pneumatic monitoring sensors have great demands for power supply in cylinder systems. Here, we present an embedded sliding triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) in air cylinder as active sensors for position and velocity monitoring. The embedded TENG is composed of a circular poly(tetrafluoroethylene) polymer and a triangular copper electrode. The working mechanism as triboelectric active sensors and electric output performance are systematically investigated. By integrating into the pneumatic system, the embedded triboelectric active sensors have been used for real-time air pressure/flow monitoring and energy storage. Air pressures are measured from 0.04 to 0.12 MPa at a step of 0.02 MPa with a sensitivity of 49.235 V/MPa, as well as airflow from 50 to 250 L/min at a step of 50 L/min with a sensitivity of 0.002 μA·min/L. This work has first demonstrated triboelectric active sensors for pneumatic monitoring and may promote the development of TENG in intelligent pneumatic system.

  7. Determination of mean rainfall from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) using a mixed lognormal distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, Wesley; Chase, Robert

    1992-01-01

    Global estimates of monthly, seasonal, and annual oceanic rainfall are computed for a period of one year using data from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I). Instantaneous rainfall estimates are derived from brightness temperature values obtained from the satellite data using the Hughes D-matrix algorithm. The instantaneous rainfall estimates are stored in 1 deg square bins over the global oceans for each month. A mixed probability distribution combining a lognormal distribution describing the positive rainfall values and a spike at zero describing the observations indicating no rainfall is used to compute mean values. The resulting data for the period of interest are fitted to a lognormal distribution by using a maximum-likelihood. Mean values are computed for the mixed distribution and qualitative comparisons with published historical results as well as quantitative comparisons with corresponding in situ raingage data are performed.

  8. Microwave Metamaterial-Based Sensor for Dielectric Characterization of Liquids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soffiatti, André; Max, Yuri; G Silva, Sandro; M de Mendonça, Laércio

    2018-05-11

    This article proposed to build a system founded on metamaterial sensor antennas, which can be used to evaluate impurities in aqueous substances according to the quality of transmission between the sensor antennas. In order to do this, a dedicated setup with tests in several frequencies was deployed so as to monitor the behavior of transmission variation between sensors. These sensors are microstrip antennas with a ground plane of resonant cleaved metallic rings; the substrate functions as a metamaterial for the irradiating element. In this study, an analysis was made of transmission between the sensors, looking for variation in angles of incidence of signal and of distance between the antennas. The sensor was tested at various operating frequencies, as such 1.8 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 3.4 GHz and 4.1 GHz, resulting in different values of sensitivity. The prototypes were constructed and tested so as to analyze the dielectric effects of the impurities on NaCl and C₂H₄O₂ substances. The research aims to use these control systems of impurities in industrial premises.

  9. Regional rainfall climatologies derived from Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negri, Andrew J.; Adler, Robert F.; Nelkin, Eric J.; Huffman, George J.

    1994-01-01

    Climatologies of convective precipitation were derived from passive microwave observations from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager using a scattering-based algorithm of Adler et al. Data were aggregated over periods of 3-5 months using data from 4 to 5 years. Data were also stratified by satellite overpass times (primarily 06 00 and 18 00 local time). Four regions (Mexico, Amazonia, western Africa, and the western equatorial Pacific Ocean (TOGA COARE area) were chosen for their meteorological interest and relative paucity of conventional observations. The strong diurnal variation over Mexico and the southern United States was the most striking aspect of the climatologies. Pronounced morning maxima occured offshore, often in concativities in the coastline, the result of the increased convergence caused by the coastline shape. The major feature of the evening rain field was a linear-shaped maximum along the western slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental. Topography exerted a strong control on the rainfall in other areas, particularly near the Nicaragua/Honduras border and in Guatemala, where maxima in excess of 700 mm/month were located adjacent to local maxima in terrain. The correlation between the estimates and monthly gage data over the southern United States was low (0.45), due mainly to poor temporal sampling in any month and an inadequate sampling of the diurnal cycle. Over the Amazon Basin the differences in morning versus evening rainfall were complex, with an alternating series of morning/evening maxima aligned southwest to northeast from the Andes to the northeast Brazilian coast. A real extent of rainfall in Amazonia was slightly higher in the evening, but a maximum in morning precipitation was found on the Amazon River just east of Manaus. Precipitation over the water in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) north of Brazil was more pronounced in the morning, and a pronounced land-/sea-breeze circulation was found along the northeast coast of Brazil

  10. Examining Dense Data Usage near the Regions with Severe Storms in All-Sky Microwave Radiance Data Assimilation and Impacts on GEOS Hurricane Analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min-Jeong; Jin, Jianjun; McCarty, Will; El Akkraoui, Amal; Todling, Ricardo; Gelaro, Ron

    2018-01-01

    Many numerical weather prediction (NWP) centers assimilate radiances affected by clouds and precipitation from microwave sensors, with the expectation that these data can provide critical constraints on meteorological parameters in dynamically sensitive regions to make significant impacts on forecast accuracy for precipitation. The Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center assimilates all-sky microwave radiance data from various microwave sensors such as all-sky GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) radiance in the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) atmospheric data assimilation system (ADAS), which includes the GEOS atmospheric model, the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) atmospheric analysis system, and the Goddard Aerosol Assimilation System (GAAS). So far, most of NWP centers apply same large data thinning distances, that are used in clear-sky radiance data to avoid correlated observation errors, to all-sky microwave radiance data. For example, NASA GMAO is applying 145 km thinning distances for most of satellite radiance data including microwave radiance data in which all-sky approach is implemented. Even with these coarse observation data usage in all-sky assimilation approach, noticeable positive impacts from all-sky microwave data on hurricane track forecasts were identified in GEOS-5 system. The motivation of this study is based on the dynamic thinning distance method developed in our all-sky framework to use of denser data in cloudy and precipitating regions due to relatively small spatial correlations of observation errors. To investigate the benefits of all-sky microwave radiance on hurricane forecasts, several hurricane cases selected between 2016-2017 are examined. The dynamic thinning distance method is utilized in our all-sky approach to understand the sources and mechanisms to explain the benefits of all-sky microwave radiance data from various microwave radiance sensors like Advanced Microwave Sounder Unit

  11. Multiband Rectenna for Microwave Applications Rectenna

    OpenAIRE

    Okba , Abderrahim; Takacs , Alexandru; Aubert , Hervé; Charlot , Samuel; Calmon , Pierre-François

    2016-01-01

    International audience; This paper reports a multiband rectenna (rectifier + antenna) suitable for the electromagnetic energy harvesting of the spill-over loss of microwave antennas placed on board of geostationary satellites. Such rectenna is used for powering autonomous wireless sensors for satellite health monitoring. The topology of the rectenna is presented. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed compact rectenna can harvest efficiently the incident electromagnetic energy...

  12. Active Sensor Configuration Validation for Refrigeration Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hovgaard, Tobias Gybel; Blanke, Mogens; Niemann, Hans Henrik

    2010-01-01

    -diagnosis methods falling short on this problem, this paper suggests an active diagnosis procedure to isolate sensor faults at the commissioning stage, before normal operation has started. Using statistical methods, residuals are evaluated versus multiple hypothesis models in a minimization process to uniquely......Major faults in the commissioning phase of refrigeration systems are caused by defects related to sensors. With a number of similar sensors available that do not differ by type but only by spatial location in the plant, interchange of sensors is a common defect. With sensors being used quite...... differently by the control system, fault-finding is difficult in practice and defects are regularly causing commissioning delays at considerable expense. Validation and handling of faults in the sensor configuration are therefore essential to cut costs during commissioning. With passive fault...

  13. Synthesis of novel chalcone derivatives by conventional and microwave irradiation methods and their pharmacological activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Rayees Ahmad

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Chalcones are abundant in edible plants and are considered to be the precursors of flavonoids and isoflavonoids. Chalcones belong to an important class of flavonoids, which may be prepared by Claisen–Schmidt condensation. They possess a wide range of biological activities and industrial applications. The cytotoxicity against tumour cell lines may be the result of disruption of the cell cycle, inhibition of angiogenesis, interference with p53-MDM2 interaction, mitochondrial uncoupling or induction of apoptosis. Chalcones are synthesized by conventional and microwave assisted synthesis methods. By microwave assisted synthesis, a considerable increase in the reaction rate has been observed and that too, with better yields. The compounds have been screened for cytotoxic activity and antioxidant activity.

  14. MAPSM: A Spatio-Temporal Algorithm for Merging Soil Moisture from Active and Passive Microwave Remote Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sat Kumar Tomer

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Availability of soil moisture observations at a high spatial and temporal resolution is a prerequisite for various hydrological, agricultural and meteorological applications. In the current study, a novel algorithm for merging soil moisture from active microwave (SAR and passive microwave is presented. The MAPSM algorithm—Merge Active and Passive microwave Soil Moisture—uses a spatio-temporal approach based on the concept of the Water Change Capacity (WCC which represents the amplitude and direction of change in the soil moisture at the fine spatial resolution. The algorithm is applied and validated during a period of 3 years spanning from 2010 to 2013 over the Berambadi watershed which is located in a semi-arid tropical region in the Karnataka state of south India. Passive microwave products are provided from ESA Level 2 soil moisture products derived from Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS satellite (3 days temporal resolution and 40 km nominal spatial resolution. Active microwave are based on soil moisture retrievals from 30 images of RADARSAT-2 data (24 days temporal resolution and 20 m spatial resolution. The results show that MAPSM is able to provide a good estimate of soil moisture at a spatial resolution of 500 m with an RMSE of 0.025 m3/m3 and 0.069 m3/m3 when comparing it to soil moisture from RADARSAT-2 and in-situ measurements, respectively. The use of Sentinel-1 and RISAT products in MAPSM algorithm is envisioned over other areas where high number of revisits is available. This will need an update of the algorithm to take into account the angle sampling and resolution of Sentinel-1 and RISAT data.

  15. Active self-testing noise measurement sensors for large-scale environmental sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domínguez, Federico; Cuong, Nguyen The; Reinoso, Felipe; Touhafi, Abdellah; Steenhaut, Kris

    2013-12-13

    Large-scale noise pollution sensor networks consist of hundreds of spatially distributed microphones that measure environmental noise. These networks provide historical and real-time environmental data to citizens and decision makers and are therefore a key technology to steer environmental policy. However, the high cost of certified environmental microphone sensors render large-scale environmental networks prohibitively expensive. Several environmental network projects have started using off-the-shelf low-cost microphone sensors to reduce their costs, but these sensors have higher failure rates and produce lower quality data. To offset this disadvantage, we developed a low-cost noise sensor that actively checks its condition and indirectly the integrity of the data it produces. The main design concept is to embed a 13 mm speaker in the noise sensor casing and, by regularly scheduling a frequency sweep, estimate the evolution of the microphone's frequency response over time. This paper presents our noise sensor's hardware and software design together with the results of a test deployment in a large-scale environmental network in Belgium. Our middle-range-value sensor (around €50) effectively detected all experienced malfunctions, in laboratory tests and outdoor deployments, with a few false positives. Future improvements could further lower the cost of our sensor below €10.

  16. Characterization of active CMOS sensors for capacitively coupled pixel detectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirono, Toko; Gonella, Laura; Janssen, Jens; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Wermes, Norbert [Institute of Physics, University of Bonn (Germany); Peric, Ivan [Institut fuer Prozessdatenverarbeitung und Elektronik, Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie, Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2015-07-01

    Active CMOS pixel sensor is one of the most attractive candidates for detectors of upcoming particle physics experiments. In contrast to conventional sensors of hybrid detectors, signal processing circuit can be integrated in the active CMOS sensor. The characterization and optimization of the pixel circuit are indispensable to obtain a good performance from the sensors. The prototype chips of the active CMOS sensor were fabricated in the AMS 180nm and L-Foundry 150 nm CMOS processes, respectively a high voltage and high resistivity technology. Both chips have a charge sensitive amplifier and a comparator in each pixel. The chips are designed to be glued to the FEI4 pixel readout chip. The signals from 3 pixels of the prototype chips are capacitively coupled to the FEI4 input pads. We have performed lab tests and test beams to characterize the prototypes. In this presentation, the measurement results of the active CMOS prototype sensors are shown.

  17. Characterising Dynamic Instability in High Water-Cut Oil-Water Flows Using High-Resolution Microwave Sensor Signals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Weixin; Jin, Ningde; Han, Yunfeng; Ma, Jing

    2018-06-01

    In the present study, multi-scale entropy algorithm was used to characterise the complex flow phenomena of turbulent droplets in high water-cut oil-water two-phase flow. First, we compared multi-scale weighted permutation entropy (MWPE), multi-scale approximate entropy (MAE), multi-scale sample entropy (MSE) and multi-scale complexity measure (MCM) for typical nonlinear systems. The results show that MWPE presents satisfied variability with scale and anti-noise ability. Accordingly, we conducted an experiment of vertical upward oil-water two-phase flow with high water-cut and collected the signals of a high-resolution microwave resonant sensor, based on which two indexes, the entropy rate and mean value of MWPE, were extracted. Besides, the effects of total flow rate and water-cut on these two indexes were analysed. Our researches show that MWPE is an effective method to uncover the dynamic instability of oil-water two-phase flow with high water-cut.

  18. Coupled microwave/photoassisted methods for environmental remediation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horikoshi, Satoshi; Serpone, Nick

    2014-11-05

    The microwave-induced acceleration of photocatalytic reactions was discovered serendipitously in the late 1990s. The activity of photocatalysts is enhanced significantly by both microwave radiation and UV light. Particularly relevant, other than as a heat source, was the enigmatic phenomenon of the non-thermal effect(s) of the microwave radiation that facilitated photocatalyzed reactions, as evidenced when examining various model contaminants in aqueous media. Results led to an examination of the possible mechanism(s) of the microwave effect(s). In the present article we contend that the microwaves' non-thermal effect(s) is an important factor in the enhancement of TiO2-photoassisted reactions involving the decomposition of organic pollutants in model wastewaters by an integrated (coupled) microwave-/UV-illumination method (UV/MW). Moreover, such coupling of no less than two irradiation methods led to the fabrication and ultimate investigation of microwave discharged electrodeless lamps (MDELs) as optimal light sources; their use is also described. The review focuses on the enhanced activity of photocatalytic reactions when subjected to microwave radiation and concentrates on the authors' research of the past few years.

  19. Human Activity Recognition from Body Sensor Data using Deep Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Mohammad Mehedi; Huda, Shamsul; Uddin, Md Zia; Almogren, Ahmad; Alrubaian, Majed

    2018-04-16

    In recent years, human activity recognition from body sensor data or wearable sensor data has become a considerable research attention from academia and health industry. This research can be useful for various e-health applications such as monitoring elderly and physical impaired people at Smart home to improve their rehabilitation processes. However, it is not easy to accurately and automatically recognize physical human activity through wearable sensors due to the complexity and variety of body activities. In this paper, we address the human activity recognition problem as a classification problem using wearable body sensor data. In particular, we propose to utilize a Deep Belief Network (DBN) model for successful human activity recognition. First, we extract the important initial features from the raw body sensor data. Then, a kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) are performed to further process the features and make them more robust to be useful for fast activity recognition. Finally, the DBN is trained by these features. Various experiments were performed on a real-world wearable sensor dataset to verify the effectiveness of the deep learning algorithm. The results show that the proposed DBN outperformed other algorithms and achieves satisfactory activity recognition performance.

  20. Study of photocatalytic activities of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanoparticles synthesized by fast microwave-assisted method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phu, Nguyen Dang [Faculty of Physics, Hanoi National University of Education, 136 Xuanthuy, Cau Giay, Hanoi (Viet Nam); Hoang, Luc Huy, E-mail: hoanglhsp@hnue.edu.vn [Faculty of Physics, Hanoi National University of Education, 136 Xuanthuy, Cau Giay, Hanoi (Viet Nam); Chen, Xiang-Bai, E-mail: xchen@wit.edu.cn [School of Science and Laboratory of Optical Information Technology, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205 (China); Kong, Meng-Hong [School of Science and Laboratory of Optical Information Technology, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205 (China); Wen, Hua-Chiang; Chou, Wu Ching [Department of Electrophysics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsin-Chu 30010, Taiwan (China)

    2015-10-25

    We present a study of photocatalytic activities of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanoparticles synthesized by fast microwave-assisted method. The photocatalytic activities of the nanoparticles were evaluated by the decolorization of methylene-blue under visible-light-irradiation. Our results show that the surface area of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanoparticles plays a major role for improving photocatalytic activity, while visible-light absorption has only a weak effect on photocatalytic activity. This suggests efficient transportation of photo-generated electrons and holes to the oxidation active sites on the surface of nanoparticles, indicating Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanoparticles synthesized by fast microwave-assisted method are promising for achieving high photocatalytic activity under visible-light-irradiation. - Highlights: • The Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanoparticles were synthesized via fast microwave-assisted method. • The obtained Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanoparticles exhibited visible-light absorbance. • The surface area of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanoparticles plays major role for improving photocatalytic activity. • The Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} nanoparticles are promising for achieving high photocatalytic activity under visible-light-irradiation.

  1. Synthesis of ZnMn2O4 Nanoparticles by a Microwave-Assisted Colloidal Method and their Evaluation as a Gas Sensor of Propane and Carbon Monoxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Pablo Morán-Lázaro

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Spinel-type ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized via a simple and inexpensive microwave-assisted colloidal route. Structural studies by X-ray diffraction showed that a spinel crystal phase of ZnMn2O4 was obtained at a calcination temperature of 500 °C, which was confirmed by Raman and UV-vis characterizations. Spinel-type ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles with a size of 41 nm were identified by transmission electron microscopy. Pellet-type sensors were fabricated using ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles as sensing material. Sensing measurements were performed by exposing the sensor to different concentrations of propane or carbon monoxide at temperatures in the range from 100 to 300 °C. Measurements performed at an operating temperature of 300 °C revealed a good response to 500 ppm of propane and 300 ppm of carbon monoxide. Hence, ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles possess a promising potential in the gas sensors field.

  2. Performance of active edge pixel sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bomben, M.; Ducourthial, A.; Bagolini, A.; Boscardin, M.; Bosisio, L.; Calderini, G.; D'Eramo, L.; Giacomini, G.; Marchiori, G.; Zorzi, N.; Rummler, A.; Weingarten, J.

    2017-05-01

    To cope with the High Luminosity LHC harsh conditions, the ATLAS inner tracker has to be upgraded to meet requirements in terms of radiation hardness, pile up and geometrical acceptance. The active edge technology allows to reduce the insensitive area at the border of the sensor thanks to an ion etched trench which avoids the crystal damage produced by the standard mechanical dicing process. Thin planar n-on-p pixel sensors with active edge have been designed and produced by LPNHE and FBK foundry. Two detector module prototypes, consisting of pixel sensors connected to FE-I4B readout chips, have been tested with beams at CERN and DESY. In this paper the performance of these modules are reported. In particular the lateral extension of the detection volume, beyond the pixel region, is investigated and the results show high hit efficiency also at the detector edge, even in presence of guard rings.

  3. Simultaneous microwave-assisted synthesis, characterization, thermal stability, and antimicrobial activity of cellulose/AgCl nanocomposites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Shu-Ming; Fu, Lian-Hua; Ma, Ming-Guo; Zhu, Jie-Fang; Sun, Run-Cang; Xu, Feng

    2012-01-01

    By means of a simultaneous microwave-assisted method and a simple chemical reaction, cellulose/AgCl nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized using cellulose solution and AgNO 3 in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solvent. The cellulose solution was firstly prepared by the dissolution of the microcrystalline cellulose and lithium chloride (LiCl) in DMAc. DMAc acts as both a solvent and a microwave absorber. LiCl was used as the reactant to fabricate AgCl crystals. The effects of the heating time and heating temperature on the products were studied. This method is based on the simultaneous formation of AgCl nanoparticles and precipitation of the cellulose, leading to a homogeneous distribution of AgCl nanoparticles in the cellulose matrix. The experimental results confirmed the formation of cellulose/AgCl nanocomposites with high-purity, good thermal stability and antimicrobial activity. This rapid, green and environmentally friendly microwave-assisted method opens a new window to the high value-added applications of biomass. -- Highlights: ► Cellulose/AgCl nanocomposites have been synthesized by microwave method. ► Effect of heating temperature on the nanocomposites was researched. ► Thermal stability of the nanocomposites was investigated. ► Cellulose/AgCl nanocomposites had good antimicrobial activity. ► This method is based on the simultaneous formation of AgCl and cellulose.

  4. Bio-Inspired Carbon Monoxide Sensors with Voltage-Activated Sensitivity

    KAUST Repository

    Savagatrup, Suchol

    2017-09-27

    Carbon monoxide (CO) outcompetes oxygen when binding to the iron center of hemeproteins, leading to a reduction in blood oxygen level and acute poisoning. Harvesting the strong specific interaction between CO and the iron porphyrin provides a highly selective and customizable sensor. We report the development of chemiresistive sensors with voltage-activated sensitivity for the detection of CO comprising iron porphyrin and functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (F-SWCNTs). Modulation of the gate voltage offers a predicted extra dimension for sensing. Specifically, the sensors show a significant increase in sensitivity toward CO when negative gate voltage is applied. The dosimetric sensors are selective to ppm levels of CO and functional in air. UV/Vis spectroscopy, differential pulse voltammetry, and density functional theory reveal that the in situ reduction of FeIII to FeII enhances the interaction between the F-SWCNTs and CO. Our results illustrate a new mode of sensors wherein redox active recognition units are voltage-activated to give enhanced and highly specific responses.

  5. Active Magnetic Shielding with magneto-impedance sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okazaki, Yasuo; Yanase, Shunji; Sugimoto, Noriko

    2002-01-01

    Active shielding effect was examined in a negative feedback circuit system consisting of a magneto-impedance effective sensor, an amplifier and a canceling coil to compensate external magnetic field noise. The phase difference between the input and output sensor signals in a loop was less than 90 degree up to 20,000 Hz. An excellent frequency characteristic of active shielding effectiveness, 48 dB was obtained for the external magnetic field at the frequency of 0 - 2,000 Hz. (Author)

  6. Human speech articulator measurements using low power, 2GHz Homodyne sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnes, T; Burnett, G C; Holzrichter, J F

    1999-01-01

    Very low power, short-range microwave ''radar-like'' sensors can measure the motions and vibrations of internal human speech articulators as speech is produced. In these animate (and also in inanimate acoustic systems) microwave sensors can measure vibration information associated with excitation sources and other interfaces. These data, together with the corresponding acoustic data, enable the calculation of system transfer functions. This information appears to be useful for a surprisingly wide range of applications such as speech coding and recognition, speaker or object identification, speech and musical instrument synthesis, noise cancellation, and other applications

  7. On the Use of a 77 GHz Automotive Radar as a Microwave Rain Gauge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Bertoldo

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI defines the frequency band of 77 GHz (W-band as the one dedicated to automatic cruise control long-range radars. A car can be thought as a moving integrated weather sensor since it can provide meteorological information exploiting the sensors installed on board. This work presents the preliminary analysis of how a 77 GHz mini radar can be used as a short range microwave rain gauge. After the discussion of the Mie scattering formulation applied to a microwave rain gauge working in the W-band, the proposal of a new Z-R equation to be used for correct rain estimation is given. Atmospheric attenuation and absorption are estimated taking into account the ITU-T recommendations. Functional requirements in adapting automatic cruise control long-range radar to a microwave rain gauge are analyzed. The technical specifications are determined in order to meet the functional requirements.

  8. Active node determination for correlated data gathering in wireless sensor networks

    OpenAIRE

    Karasabun, Efe

    2009-01-01

    Ankara : The Department of Computer Engineering and the Institute of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2009. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2009. Includes bibliographical references leaves 53-55. In wireless sensor network applications where data gathered by different sensor nodes is correlated, not all sensor nodes need to be active for the wireless sensor network to be functional. However, the sensor nodes that are selected as active should form a co...

  9. Optimization of microwave-assisted rubberwood sawdust based activated carbon preparation conditions for methylene blue removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khasri, Azduwin; Ahmad, Mohd Azmier

    2017-10-01

    Optimum preparation conditions of rubberwood sawdust based activated carbon (RSAC) for methylene blue (MB) dye removal was studied. RSAC was produced by applying physiochemical activation method by using potassium hydroxide as a chemical agent which accompanied by carbon dioxide gasification under microwave heating. The effects of microwave power, irradiation time and impregnation ratio on two types of responses namely MB removal and RSAC yield using the center composite design (CCD) were also included in this study. The preparation variables correlation for responses was developed by two quadratic models. Optimum preparation conditions of RSAC were obtained at microwave power, irradiation time and IR of 354 W, 4.5 minutes and 0.98, respectively, which resulted MB removal and yield of 83.79% and 28%, respectively. The average pore diameter, surface area and total pore volume of optimized RSAC were 4.12 nm, 796.33 m2/g and 0.4219 cm3/g, respectively. This sample was found to has well-developed pores on its surface and can be a promising adsorbent for MB removal from aqueous solution.

  10. On the Response of the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager to the Marine Environment: Implications for Atmospheric Parameter Retrievals. Ph.D. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petty, Grant W.

    1990-01-01

    A reasonably rigorous basis for understanding and extracting the physical information content of Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) satellite images of the marine environment is provided. To this end, a comprehensive algebraic parameterization is developed for the response of the SSM/I to a set of nine atmospheric and ocean surface parameters. The brightness temperature model includes a closed-form approximation to microwave radiative transfer in a non-scattering atmosphere and fitted models for surface emission and scattering based on geometric optics calculations for the roughened sea surface. The combined model is empirically tuned using suitable sets of SSM/I data and coincident surface observations. The brightness temperature model is then used to examine the sensitivity of the SSM/I to realistic variations in the scene being observed and to evaluate the theoretical maximum precision of global SSM/I retrievals of integrated water vapor, integrated cloud liquid water, and surface wind speed. A general minimum-variance method for optimally retrieving geophysical parameters from multichannel brightness temperature measurements is outlined, and several global statistical constraints of the type required by this method are computed. Finally, a unified set of efficient statistical and semi-physical algorithms is presented for obtaining fields of surface wind speed, integrated water vapor, cloud liquid water, and precipitation from SSM/I brightness temperature data. Features include: a semi-physical method for retrieving integrated cloud liquid water at 15 km resolution and with rms errors as small as approximately 0.02 kg/sq m; a 3-channel statistical algorithm for integrated water vapor which was constructed so as to have improved linear response to water vapor and reduced sensitivity to precipitation; and two complementary indices of precipitation activity (based on 37 GHz attenuation and 85 GHz scattering, respectively), each of which are relatively

  11. Design and development of ITER high-frequency magnetic sensor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma, Y., E-mail: Yunxing.Ma@iter.org [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Fircroft Engineering, Lingley House, 120 Birchwood Point, Birchwood Boulevard, Warrington, WA3 7QH (United Kingdom); Vayakis, G. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Begrambekov, L.B. [National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI), 115409, Moscow, Kashirskoe shosse 31 (Russian Federation); Cooper, J.-J. [Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Duran, I. [IPP Prague, Za Slovankou 1782/3, 182 00 Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Hirsch, M.; Laqua, H.P. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Teilinstitut Greifswald, Wendelsteinstraße 1, D-17491 Greifswald (Germany); Moreau, Ph. [CEA Cadarache, 13108 Saint Paul lez Durance Cedex (France); Oosterbeek, J.W. [Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven (Netherlands); Spuig, P. [CEA Cadarache, 13108 Saint Paul lez Durance Cedex (France); Stange, T. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Teilinstitut Greifswald, Wendelsteinstraße 1, D-17491 Greifswald (Germany); Walsh, M. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France)

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • ITER high-frequency magnetic sensor system has been designed. • Prototypes have been successfully manufactured. • Manufactured prototypes have been tested in various labs. • Test results experimentally validated the design. - Abstract: High-frequency (HF) inductive magnetic sensors are the primary ITER diagnostic set for Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmodes (TAE) detection, while they also supplement low-frequency MHD and plasma equilibrium measurements. These sensors will be installed on the inner surface of ITER vacuum vessel, operated in a harsh environment with considerable neutron/nuclear radiation and high thermal load. Essential components of the HF sensor system, including inductive coil, electron cyclotron heating (ECH) shield, electrical cabling and termination load, have been designed to meet ITER measurement requirements. System performance (e.g. frequency response, thermal conduction) has been assessed. A prototyping campaign was initiated to demonstrate the manufacturability of the designed components. Prototypes have been produced according to the specifications. A series of lab tests have been performed to examine assembly issues and validate electrical and thermo-mechanical aspects of the design. In-situ microwave radiation test has been conducted in the MISTRAL test facility at IPP-Greifswald to experimentally examine the microwave shielding efficiency and structural integrity of the ECH shield. Low-power microwave attenuation measurement and scanning electron microscopic inspection were conducted to probe and examine the quality of the metal coating on the ECH shield.

  12. Degradation of Active Brilliant Red X-3B by a microwave discharge electrodeless lamp in the presence of activated carbon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Jie; Wen, Teng; Wang, Qing; Zhang, Xue-Wei; Zeng, Qing-Fu; An, Shu-Qing; Zhu, Hai-Liang

    2010-06-01

    Degradation of Active Brilliant Red X-3B (X-3B) in aqueous solution by a microwave discharge electrodeless lamp (MDEL) in the presence of activated carbon was investigated. The preliminary results proved this method could effectively degrade X-3B in aqueous solution. The removal percentages of colour and chemical oxygen demand were up to approximately 99% and 66%, respectively, at the conditions of 0.8 g/L dye concentration, 20 g/L activated carbon, pH 7.0 and 8 min microwave irradiation time. The degradation basically belonged to first-order reaction kinetics and its rate constant was 0.42 min(-1). No aromatic organics were detected in the final treated solution, indicating that the mineralization was relatively complete. By studying the change in solution properties, it could be concluded that MDEL-assisted oxidation was the dominant reaction mechanism. In addition, the influence of operational parameters and reuse of activated carbon were also discussed.

  13. Enhanced decomposition of dimethyl phthalate via molecular oxygen activated by Fe-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/AC under microwave irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Yiling [Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079 (China); Ai, Zhihui, E-mail: jennifer.ai@mail.ccnu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079 (China); Zhang, Lizhi [Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079 (China)

    2012-10-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Microwave irradiation induces the electrons transferring from AC to Fe-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and reacts with molecular oxygen. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Microwave heating accelerates the electron transferring from AC to Fe-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} to generate reactive oxygen species. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This environmental remediation method is feasible for aqueous organic pollutants treatment. - Abstract: In this study, we demonstrate that the decomposition of dimethyl phthalate under microwave irradiation could be greatly enhanced over Fe-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanowires supported on activated carbon (Fe-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/AC). The great enhanced decomposition of dimethyl phthalate could be attributed to a unique microwave induced molecular oxygen activation process. Upon microwave irradiation, electrons could be transferred from activated carbon to zero-valent iron, and then react with molecular oxygen to form O{sub 2}{center_dot}{sup -} and {center_dot}OH radicals for the decomposition of dimethyl phthalate. The deactivation and the regeneration of Fe-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/AC catalyst were systematically studied. We also found that microwave heating could accelerate the electron transferring from AC to Fe-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} to generate more reactive oxygen species for the decomposition of DMP than conventional oil bath heating. This novel molecular oxygen activation approach may find applications for wastewater treatment and drinking water purification.

  14. A novel bicistronic sensor vector for detecting caspase-3 activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vagner, Tatyana; Mouravlev, Alexandre; Young, Deborah

    2015-01-01

    Apoptosis is involved in pathological cell death of a wide range of human diseases. One of the most important biochemical markers of apoptosis is activation of caspase-3. Ability to detect caspase-3 activation early in the pathological process is important for determining the timing for interfering with apoptosis initiation and prevention of cell damage. Techniques allowing detection of caspase-3 activity at a single cell level show increased sensitivity, compared to biochemical assays; therefore, we developed a novel bicistronic caspase-3 sensor vector enabling detection of caspase-3 activity in individual cells. We employed green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter for caspase-3 activation in our constructs and assessed the functionality of the generated constructs in transiently transfected Neuro2A and HEK293 cells under basal conditions and following application of okadaic acid (OA) or staurosporine (STS) to induce apoptosis. To ensure responsiveness of the new sensor vector to active caspase-3, we co-transfected the sensor with plasmid(s) overexpressing active caspase-3 and quantified GFP fluorescence using a plate reader. We observed an increase in GFP expression in cells transfected with the new bicistronic caspase-3 sensor in response to both OA and STS. We also showed a significant increase in GFP fluorescence intensity in cells co-expressing the sensor with the plasmid(s) encoding active caspase-3. We generated a novel bicistronic caspase-3 sensor vector which relies on a transcription factor/response element system. The obtained sensor combines high sensitivity of the single cell level detection with the possibility of automated quantification. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Validation of multi-channel scanning microwave radiometer on-board Oceansat-1

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Muraleedharan, P.M.; Pankajakshan, T.; Harikrishnan, M.

    Sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface wind speed (WS) and columnar water vapour (WV) derived from Multi-frequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR) sensor on-board IRS-P4 (Oceansat-1) were validated against the in situ measurements from ship...

  16. X-ray imaging characterization of active edge silicon pixel sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ponchut, C; Ruat, M; Kalliopuska, J

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this work was the experimental characterization of edge effects in active-edge silicon pixel sensors, in the frame of X-ray pixel detectors developments for synchrotron experiments. We produced a set of active edge pixel sensors with 300 to 500 μm thickness, edge widths ranging from 100 μm to 150 μm, and n or p pixel contact types. The sensors with 256 × 256 pixels and 55 × 55 μm 2 pixel pitch were then bump-bonded to Timepix readout chips for X-ray imaging measurements. The reduced edge widths makes the edge pixels more sensitive to the electrical field distribution at the sensor boundaries. We characterized this effect by mapping the spatial response of the sensor edges with a finely focused X-ray synchrotron beam. One of the samples showed a distortion-free response on all four edges, whereas others showed variable degrees of distortions extending at maximum to 300 micron from the sensor edge. An application of active edge pixel sensors to coherent diffraction imaging with synchrotron beams is described

  17. A general framework for sensor-based human activity recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köping, Lukas; Shirahama, Kimiaki; Grzegorzek, Marcin

    2018-04-01

    Today's wearable devices like smartphones, smartwatches and intelligent glasses collect a large amount of data from their built-in sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes. These data can be used to identify a person's current activity and in turn can be utilised for applications in the field of personal fitness assistants or elderly care. However, developing such systems is subject to certain restrictions: (i) since more and more new sensors will be available in the future, activity recognition systems should be able to integrate these new sensors with a small amount of manual effort and (ii) such systems should avoid high acquisition costs for computational power. We propose a general framework that achieves an effective data integration based on the following two characteristics: Firstly, a smartphone is used to gather and temporally store data from different sensors and transfer these data to a central server. Thus, various sensors can be integrated into the system as long as they have programming interfaces to communicate with the smartphone. The second characteristic is a codebook-based feature learning approach that can encode data from each sensor into an effective feature vector only by tuning a few intuitive parameters. In the experiments, the framework is realised as a real-time activity recognition system that integrates eight sensors from a smartphone, smartwatch and smartglasses, and its effectiveness is validated from different perspectives such as accuracies, sensor combinations and sampling rates. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Annotating smart environment sensor data for activity learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szewcyzk, S; Dwan, K; Minor, B; Swedlove, B; Cook, D

    2009-01-01

    The pervasive sensing technologies found in smart homes offer unprecedented opportunities for providing health monitoring and assistance to individuals experiencing difficulties living independently at home. In order to monitor the functional health of smart home residents, we need to design technologies that recognize and track the activities that people perform at home. Machine learning techniques can perform this task, but the software algorithms rely upon large amounts of sample data that is correctly labeled with the corresponding activity. Labeling, or annotating, sensor data with the corresponding activity can be time consuming, may require input from the smart home resident, and is often inaccurate. Therefore, in this paper we investigate four alternative mechanisms for annotating sensor data with a corresponding activity label. We evaluate the alternative methods along the dimensions of annotation time, resident burden, and accuracy using sensor data collected in a real smart apartment.

  19. Low-temperature preparation and microwave photocatalytic activity study of TiO2-mounted activated carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yazi; Yang Shaogui; Hong Jun; Sun Cheng

    2007-01-01

    TiO 2 thin films were deposited on granular activated carbon by a dip-coating method at low temperature (373 K), using microwave radiation to enhance the crystallization of titania nanoparticles. Uniform and continuous anatase titania films were deposited on the surface of activated carbon. BET surface area of TiO 2 -mounted activated carbon (TiO 2 /AC) decreased a little in comparison with activated carbon. TiO 2 /AC possessed strong optical absorption capacity with a band gap absorption edge around 360 nm. The photocatalytic activity did not increase when the as-synthesized TiO 2 /AC was thermally treated, but was much higher than commercial P-25 in degradation of phenol by irradiation of electrodeless discharge lamps (EDLs)

  20. Development of microwave superconducting microresonators for neutrino mass measurement in the HOLMES framework

    OpenAIRE

    Giachero, A.; Day, P. K.; Falferi, P.; Faverzani, M.; Ferri, E.; Giordano, C.; Maino, M.; Margesin, B.; Mezzena, R.; Nizzolo, R.; Nucciotti, A.; Puiu, A.; Zanetti, L.

    2015-01-01

    The European Research Council has recently funded HOLMES, a project with the aim of performing a calorimetric measurement of the electron neutrino mass measuring the energy released in the electron capture decay of 163Ho. The baseline for HOLMES are microcalorimeters coupled to Transition Edge Sensors (TESs) read out with rf-SQUIDs, for microwave multiplexing purposes. A promising alternative solution is based on superconducting microwave resonators, that have undergone rapid development in t...

  1. Recognizing Multi-user Activities using Body Sensor Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gu, Tao; Wang, Liang; Chen, Hanhua

    2011-01-01

    The advances of wireless networking and sensor technology open up an interesting opportunity to infer human activities in a smart home environment. Existing work in this paradigm focuses mainly on recognizing activities of a single user. In this work, we address the fundamental problem...... activity classes of data—for building activity models and design a scalable, noise-resistant, Emerging Pattern based Multi-user Activity Recognizer (epMAR) to recognize both single- and multi-user activities. We develop a multi-modal, wireless body sensor network for collecting real-world traces in a smart...... home environment, and conduct comprehensive empirical studies to evaluate our system. Results show that epMAR outperforms existing schemes in terms of accuracy, scalability and robustness....

  2. Performance Characteristics and Temperature Compensation Method of Fluid Property Sensor Based on Tuning-Fork Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Chen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Fluid property sensor (FPS based on tuning-fork technology is applied to the measurement of the contaminant level of lubricant oil. The measuring principle of FPS sensor is derived and proved together with its resolution. The performance characteristics of the FPS sensor, such as sensitivity coefficient, resolution, and quality factor, are analyzed. A temperature compensation method is proposed to eliminate the temperature-dependence of the measuring parameters, and its validity is investigated by numerical simulation of sensitivity, oscillating frequency, and dielectric constant. The values of purification efficiency obtained using microwave and without microwave are compared experimentally.

  3. Effect of microwave irradiation on alfalfa seeds germination and nitrogenase activity of endophytic diazotrophs in seeds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Shuqing; Li Jianfeng; Shi Shangli; Huo Pinghui; Zhu Xinqiang; Zhao Wenhan; Tao Rong

    2011-01-01

    Various microwave powers were used to irradiate alfalfa seeds with various time to study the effect of microwave irradiation on nitrogenase activity of endogenous azotobacter and germination of seeds. Germination rate, germination speed and nitrogenase activity of pure cultures that derived from seed-carried azotobacter were tested. The results indicate that : 800 W, 20 s and 500 W, 40 s are found with highest germination rate on the 1 st day, which is 122% and 88.9% times higher than the control group (P th day is 29.8% and 41.9% times longer than the control group, and more sensitive nitrogenase activity is found on condition of various time than various powers. Short time treatments on condition of the two irradiation powers can increase nitrogenase activity conspicuously, and the treatments that treated more than 32 s make nitrogenase activity lower than the control group, conspicuously. Nitrogenase activity is found 104.9% times higher than the control group on condition of 24 s. (authors)

  4. EDITORIAL: Microwave Moisture Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaatze, Udo; Kupfer, Klaus; Hübner, Christof

    2007-04-01

    Microwave moisture measurements refer to a methodology by which the water content of materials is non-invasively determined using electromagnetic fields of radio and microwave frequencies. Being the omnipresent liquid on our planet, water occurs as a component in most materials and often exercises a significant influence on their properties. Precise measurements of the water content are thus extremely useful in pure sciences, particularly in biochemistry and biophysics. They are likewise important in many agricultural, technical and industrial fields. Applications are broad and diverse, and include the quality assessment of foodstuffs, the determination of water content in paper, cardboard and textile production, the monitoring of moisture in sands, gravels, soils and constructions, as well as the measurement of water admixtures to coal and crude oil in reservoirs and in pipelines. Microwave moisture measurements and evaluations require insights in various disciplines, such as materials science, dielectrics, the physical chemistry of water, electrodynamics and microwave techniques. The cooperation of experts from the different fields of science is thus necessary for the efficient development of this complex discipline. In order to advance cooperation the Workshop on Electromagnetic Wave Interaction with Water and Moist Substances was held in 1993 in Atlanta. It initiated a series of international conferences, of which the last one was held in 2005 in Weimar. The meeting brought together 130 scientists and engineers from all over the world. This special issue presents a collection of some selected papers that were given at the event. The papers cover most topics of the conference, featuring dielectric properties of aqueous materials, electromagnetic wave interactions, measurement methods and sensors, and various applications. The special issue is dedicated to Dr Andrzej W Kraszewski, who died in July 2006 after a distinguished career of 48 years in the research of

  5. Hybrid Active-Passive Microwave Photonic Filter with High Quality Factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    En-Ming, Xu; Xin-Liang, Zhang; Li-Na, Zhou; Yu, Zhang; De-Xiu, Huang

    2009-01-01

    A hybrid high quality factor (Q-factor) microwave photonic filter with a cascaded active filter and a passive filter is presented and experimentally demonstrated. The active infinite impulse response filter is realized by a recirculating delay line loop with a semiconductor optical amplifier, and a much narrower 3 dB bandwidth of response peaks can be achieved. A passive finite impulse response filter is realized by an unbalance Mach–Zehnder interferometer, and it is cascaded to select the desired filter frequencies and to suppress the intermediate peaks. Compared with the purely active filter scheme, the free spectrum range and the Q-factor of the hybrid structure can be doubled. Stable operation and a high Q-factor of 362 are experimentally demonstrated

  6. Microwave-activated Ni/carbon catalysts for highly selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to cyclohexylamine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Xinhuan; He, Jie; Jing, Run; Tao, Peipei; Nie, Renfeng; Zhou, Dan; Xia, Qinghua

    2017-06-01

    Biocarbon supported Ni catalysts have been prepared by facile impregnation of Ni species by microwave-heating and used for selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to cyclohexylamine. These catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, N2 sorption measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, temperature programmed reduction of H2 and H2 temperature-programmed desorption. The morphology and particle size of catalysts were imaged by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. For the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to cyclohexylamine, 10%Ni/CSC-II(b) exhibits the best catalytic activity to achieve 100 mol% conversion of nitrobenzene and 96.7% selectivity of cyclohexylamine under reaction conditions of 2.0 MPa H2 and 200 °C, ascribed to high dispersion of Ni species and formation of nanosized Ni particles on the support aided by microwave-heating. Thus-prepared Ni/CSC catalyst is greatly activated, in which the addition of precious metal like Rh is totally avoided.

  7. A finite element method based microwave heat transfer modeling of frozen multi-component foods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitchai, Krishnamoorthy

    Microwave heating is fast and convenient, but is highly non-uniform. Non-uniform heating in microwave cooking affects not only food quality but also food safety. Most food industries develop microwavable food products based on "cook-and-look" approach. This approach is time-consuming, labor intensive and expensive and may not result in optimal food product design that assures food safety and quality. Design of microwavable food can be realized through a simulation model which describes the physical mechanisms of microwave heating in mathematical expressions. The objective of this study was to develop a microwave heat transfer model to predict spatial and temporal profiles of various heterogeneous foods such as multi-component meal (chicken nuggets and mashed potato), multi-component and multi-layered meal (lasagna), and multi-layered food with active packages (pizza) during microwave heating. A microwave heat transfer model was developed by solving electromagnetic and heat transfer equations using finite element method in commercially available COMSOL Multiphysics v4.4 software. The microwave heat transfer model included detailed geometry of the cavity, phase change, and rotation of the food on the turntable. The predicted spatial surface temperature patterns and temporal profiles were validated against the experimental temperature profiles obtained using a thermal imaging camera and fiber-optic sensors. The predicted spatial surface temperature profile of different multi-component foods was in good agreement with the corresponding experimental profiles in terms of hot and cold spot patterns. The root mean square error values of temporal profiles ranged from 5.8 °C to 26.2 °C in chicken nuggets as compared 4.3 °C to 4.7 °C in mashed potatoes. In frozen lasagna, root mean square error values at six locations ranged from 6.6 °C to 20.0 °C for 6 min of heating. A microwave heat transfer model was developed to include susceptor assisted microwave heating of a

  8. Human speech articulator measurements using low power, 2GHz Homodyne sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barnes, T; Burnett, G C; Holzrichter, J F

    1999-06-29

    Very low power, short-range microwave ''radar-like'' sensors can measure the motions and vibrations of internal human speech articulators as speech is produced. In these animate (and also in inanimate acoustic systems) microwave sensors can measure vibration information associated with excitation sources and other interfaces. These data, together with the corresponding acoustic data, enable the calculation of system transfer functions. This information appears to be useful for a surprisingly wide range of applications such as speech coding and recognition, speaker or object identification, speech and musical instrument synthesis, noise cancellation, and other applications.

  9. Absence of genotoxic activity from milk and water boiled in microwave oven in somatic cells from Drosophila melanogaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dias, Cristina das Dores.

    2003-01-01

    This paper reports an experiment for evaluation of the possible genotoxic effects of food prepared in a microwave oven, through the mutation test and somatic recombination, in wings of Drosophila melanogaster. Two crossing have been performed: a standard cross-ST and a high bioactivation cross - HB resulting in marked trans -heterozygote descendents (MH) and balanced heterozygotes (BH). The 72 hours larvas were fed with water and milk boiled both in the microwave oven and in the traditional way. The MH individual wings were analyzed, where the spots can be induced either by mutation or mitotic recombination. The experiment presented negative results related to the genotoxic effects of the water and milk boiled using the microwave oven, in MH descendents of both crossing. Therefore, under these experimental conditions, genotoxic activity were not presented by milk and water boiled in the microwave oven. However, an extensive study using different techniques is necessary to investigate the action of the food prepared in the microwave oven on the genetic material

  10. Utilization of oil palm biodiesel solid residue as renewable sources for preparation of granular activated carbon by microwave induced KOH activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foo, K Y; Hameed, B H

    2013-02-01

    In this work, preparation of granular activated carbon from oil palm biodiesel solid residue, oil palm shell (PSAC) by microwave assisted KOH activation has been attempted. The physical and chemical properties of PSAC were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, volumetric adsorption analyzer and elemental analysis. The adsorption behavior was examined by performing batch adsorption experiments using methylene blue as dye model compound. Equilibrium data were simulated using the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. Kinetic modeling was fitted to the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and Elovich kinetic models, while the adsorption mechanism was determined using the intraparticle diffusion and Boyd equations. The result was satisfactory fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model with a monolayer adsorption capacity of 343.94mg/g at 30°C. The findings support the potential of oil palm shell for preparation of high surface area activated carbon by microwave assisted KOH activation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Microwave Assisted Drug Delivery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jónasson, Sævar Þór; Zhurbenko, Vitaliy; Johansen, Tom Keinicke

    2014-01-01

    In this work, the microwave radiation is adopted for remote activation of pharmaceutical drug capsules inside the human body in order to release drugs at a pre-determined time and location. An array of controllable transmitting sources is used to produce a constructive interference at a certain...... focus point inside the body, where the drugs are then released from the specially designed capsules. An experimental setup for microwave activation has been developed and tested on a body phantom that emulates the human torso. A design of sensitive receiving structures for integration with a drug...

  12. Coupled Microwave/Photoassisted Methods for Environmental Remediation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoshi Horikoshi

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The microwave-induced acceleration of photocatalytic reactions was discovered serendipitously in the late 1990s. The activity of photocatalysts is enhanced significantly by both microwave radiation and UV light. Particularly relevant, other than as a heat source, was the enigmatic phenomenon of the non-thermal effect(s of the microwave radiation that facilitated photocatalyzed reactions, as evidenced when examining various model contaminants in aqueous media. Results led to an examination of the possible mechanism(s of the microwave effect(s. In the present article we contend that the microwaves’ non-thermal effect(s is an important factor in the enhancement of TiO2-photoassisted reactions involving the decomposition of organic pollutants in model wastewaters by an integrated (coupled microwave-/UV-illumination method (UV/MW. Moreover, such coupling of no less than two irradiation methods led to the fabrication and ultimate investigation of microwave discharged electrodeless lamps (MDELs as optimal light sources; their use is also described. The review focuses on the enhanced activity of photocatalytic reactions when subjected to microwave radiation and concentrates on the authors’ research of the past few years.

  13. Multiband rectenna for microwave applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okba, Abderrahim; Takacs, Alexandru; Aubert, Hervé; Charlot, Samuel; Calmon, Pierre-François

    2017-02-01

    This paper reports a multiband rectenna (rectifier + antenna) suitable for the electromagnetic energy harvesting of the spill-over loss of microwave antennas placed on board of geostationary satellites. Such rectenna is used for powering autonomous wireless sensors for satellite health monitoring. The topology of the rectenna is presented. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed compact rectenna can harvest efficiently the incident electromagnetic energy at three different frequencies that are close to the resonant frequencies of the cross-dipoles implemented in the antenna array. xml:lang="fr"

  14. Microwave heating application in calcination and SYNROC formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambashta, R.D.; Wattal, P.K.; Malav, R.K.; Mallik, G.K.

    2006-01-01

    Microwave for calcination of titanate based ceramic wasteform (SYNROC) is being reported for the first time in this paper. Although major constituents in SYNROC were non microwave active, the combination with microwave active constituents rendered the mixture calcinable. Calcine was sintered at 1150 degC under hot uniaxial conditions at an applied pressure of ∼30 MPa. XRD shows presence of major phases of SYNROC in the compacted sample. (author)

  15. A theoretical approach to photosynthetically active radiation silicon sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamasi, M.J.L.; Martínez Bogado, M.G.

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a theoretical approach for the development of low cost radiometers to measure photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Two alternatives are considered: a) glass optical filters attached to a silicon sensor, and b) dielectric coating on a silicon sensor. The devices proposed are based on radiometers previously developed by the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission. The objective of this work is to adapt these low cost radiometers to construct reliable instruments for measuring PAR. The transmittance of optical filters and sensor response have been analyzed for different dielectric materials, number of layers deposited, and incidence angles. Uncertainties in thickness of layer deposition were evaluated. - Highlights: • Design of radiometers to measure photosynthetically active radiation • The study has used a filter and a Si sensor to modify spectral response. • Dielectric multilayers on glass and silicon sensor • Spectral response related to different incidence angles, materials and spectra

  16. Microwave Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Activity of Some Novel Isatin Derivatives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayman El-Faham

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Three series of isatin derivatives [3-hydrazino, 3-thiosemicarbazino, and 3-imino carboxylic acid derivatives] were synthesized employing microwave irradiation. The prepared compounds were characterized by FT-IR, NMR, elemental analysis, and X-ray crystallography for derivatives 5b. The synthesized compounds were screened for antimicrobial activity against selected bacteria and fungi. The results revealed that the N-alkyl isatin derivatives were biologically active with different spectrums activity. Most of the 3-hydrazino and 3-thiosemicarbazino isatin derivatives were biologically inactive and generally the active derivatives showed weak to moderate activity mainly against Gram-positive bacteria. The imino isatin carboxylic acid derivatives (2-[4-(1-benzyl-5-bromo-2-oxoindolin-3-ylideneamino phenyl]acetic acid, 5d showed promising activity against all tested Gram-positive bacteria and against fungal pathogens.

  17. CMOS Active-Pixel Image Sensor With Simple Floating Gates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fossum, Eric R.; Nakamura, Junichi; Kemeny, Sabrina E.

    1996-01-01

    Experimental complementary metal-oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) active-pixel image sensor integrated circuit features simple floating-gate structure, with metal-oxide/semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) as active circuit element in each pixel. Provides flexibility of readout modes, no kTC noise, and relatively simple structure suitable for high-density arrays. Features desirable for "smart sensor" applications.

  18. Trapped Ion Oscillation Frequencies as Sensors for Spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilfried Nörtershäuser

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available The oscillation frequencies of charged particles in a Penning trap can serve as sensors for spectroscopy when additional field components are introduced to the magnetic and electric fields used for confinement. The presence of so-called “magnetic bottles” and specific electric anharmonicities creates calculable energy-dependences of the oscillation frequencies in the radiofrequency domain which may be used to detect the absorption or emission of photons both in the microwave and optical frequency domains. The precise electronic measurement of these oscillation frequencies therefore represents an optical sensor for spectroscopy. We discuss possible applications for precision laser and microwave spectroscopy and their role in the determination of magnetic moments and excited state lifetimes. Also, the trap-assisted measurement of radiative nuclear de-excitations in the X-ray domain is discussed. This way, the different applications range over more than 12 orders of magnitude in the detectable photon energies, from below μeV in the microwave domain to beyond MeV in the X-ray domain.

  19. Microwave frequency sensor for detection of biological cells in microfluidic channels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolic-Jaric, M; Romanuik, S F; Ferrier, G A; Bridges, G E; Butler, M; Sunley, K; Thomson, D J; Freeman, M R

    2009-08-12

    We present details of an apparatus for capacitive detection of biomaterials in microfluidic channels operating at microwave frequencies where dielectric effects due to interfacial polarization are minimal. A circuit model is presented, which can be used to adapt this detection system for use in other microfluidic applications and to identify ones where it would not be suitable. The detection system is based on a microwave coupled transmission line resonator integrated into an interferometer. At 1.5 GHz the system is capable of detecting changes in capacitance of 650 zF with a 50 Hz bandwidth. This system is well suited to the detection of biomaterials in a variety of suspending fluids, including phosphate-buffered saline. Applications involving both model particles (polystyrene microspheres) and living cells-baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and Chinese hamster ovary cells-are presented.

  20. Sensitivity Analysis of b-factor in Microwave Emission Model for Soil Moisture Retrieval: A Case Study for SMAP Mission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dugwon Seo

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Sensitivity analysis is critically needed to better understand the microwave emission model for soil moisture retrieval using passive microwave remote sensing data. The vegetation b-factor along with vegetation water content and surface characteristics has significant impact in model prediction. This study evaluates the sensitivity of the b-factor, which is function of vegetation type. The analysis is carried out using Passive and Active L and S-band airborne sensor (PALS and measured field soil moisture from Southern Great Plains experiment (SGP99. The results show that the relative sensitivity of the b-factor is 86% in wet soil condition and 88% in high vegetated condition compared to the sensitivity of the soil moisture. Apparently, the b-factor is found to be more sensitive than the vegetation water content, surface roughness and surface temperature; therefore, the effect of the b-factor is fairly large to the microwave emission in certain conditions. Understanding the dependence of the b-factor on the soil and vegetation is important in studying the soil moisture retrieval algorithm, which can lead to potential improvements in model development for the Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP mission.

  1. Development of Smart Active Layer Sensor (II): Manufacturing and Application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Young Sup; Lee, Sang Il; Kwon, Jae Hwa; Yoon, Dong Jin

    2004-01-01

    This paper is the second part of the study on the development of a smart active layer (SAL) sensor, which consists of two parts. As mentioned in the first paper, structural health monitoring (SHM) is a new technology that is being increasingly applied at the industrial field as a potential approach to improve cost and convenience of structural inspection. Recently, the development of smart sensor is very active for real application. This study has focused on preparation and application study of SAL sensor which is described with regard to the theory and concept of the SAL sensor in the first paper. In order to detect elastic wave, smart piezoelectric sensor, SAL, is fabricated by using a piezoelectric element, shielding layer and protection layer. This protection layer plays an important role in a patched network of distributed piezoelectric sensor and shielding treatment. Four types of SAL sensor are designed/prepared/tested, and these details will be discussed in the paper In this study, SAL sensor ran be feasibly applied to perform structural health monitoring and to detect damage sources which result in elastic waves

  2. Continuous microwave pasteurization of a vegetable smoothie improves its physical quality and hinders detrimental enzyme activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arjmandi, Mitra; Otón, Mariano; Artés, Francisco; Artés-Hernández, Francisco; Gómez, Perla A; Aguayo, Encarna

    2017-01-01

    The effect of a pasteurization treatment at 90 ± 2 ℃ for 35 s provided by continuous microwave under different doses (low power/long time and high power/short time) or conventional pasteurization on the quality of orange-colored smoothies and their changes throughout 45 days of storage at 5 ℃ was investigated. A better color retention of the microwave pasteurization- treated smoothie using high power/short time than in conventionally processed sample was evidenced by the stability of the hue angle. The continuous microwave heating increased the viscosity of the smoothie more than the conventional pasteurization in comparison with non-treated samples. Lower residual enzyme activities from peroxidase, pectin methylesterase and polygalacturonase were obtained under microwave heating, specifically due to the use of higher power/shorter time. For this kind of smoothie, polygalacturonase was the more thermo-resistant enzyme and could be used as an indicator of pasteurization efficiency. The use of a continuous semi-industrial microwave using higher power and shorter time, such as 1600 W/206 s and 3600 W/93 s, resulted in better quality smoothies and greater enzyme reduction than conventional thermal treatment. © The Author(s) 2016.

  3. 14 GHz longitudinally detected electron spin resonance using microHall sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouterfas, M.; Mouaziz, S.; Popovic, R. S.

    2017-09-01

    In this work we developed a home-made LOngitudinally Detected Electron Spin Resonance (LODESR) spectrometer based on a microsize Hall sensor. A coplanar waveguide (CPW)-resonator is used to induce microwave-excitation on the sample at 14 GHz. We used InSb cross-shaped Hall devices with active areas of (10 μm × 10 μm) and (5 μm × 5 μm) . Signal intensities of the longitudinal magnetization component of DPPH and YIG samples of volumes about (10 μm) 3 and (5 μm) 3 , are measured under amplitude and frequency modulated microwave magnetic field generated by the CPW-resonator. At room temperature, 109spins /G √Hz sensitivity is achieved for 0.2mT linewidth, a result which is still better than most of inductive detected LODESR sensitivities.

  4. Towards a climatology of tropical cyclone morphometric structures using a newly standardized passive microwave satellite dataset

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cossuth, J.; Hart, R. E.

    2013-12-01

    The structure of a tropical cyclone (TC) is a spatial representation of its organizational pattern and distribution of energy acquisition and release. Physical processes that react to both the external environment and its own internal dynamics manifest themselves in the TC shape. This structure depicts a specific phase in the TC's meteorological lifecycle, reflecting its past and potentially constraining its future development. For a number of reasons, a thorough objective definition of TC structures and an intercomparison of their varieties have been neglected. This lack of knowledge may be a key reason why TC intensity forecasts, despite numerical model improvements and theoretical advances, have been stagnant in recent years relative to track forecasts. Satellite microwave imagers provide multiple benefits in discerning TC structure, but compiling a research quality data set has been problematic due to several inherent technical and logistical issues. While there are multiple satellite sensors that incorporate microwave frequencies, inter-comparison between such sensors is limited by the different available channels, spatial resolutions, and calibration metrics between satellites, all of which provide inconsistencies in resolving TC structural features. To remedy these difficulties, a global archive of TCs as measured by all available US satellite microwave sensors is compiled and standardized. Using global historical best track data, TC microwave data is retrieved from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) series (including all SSM/I and SSMIS), TMI, AMSR-E, and WindSat sensors. Standardization between sensors for each TC overpass are performed, including: 1) Recalibration of data from the 'ice scattering' channels to a common frequency (89GHz); 2) Resampling the DMSP series to a higher resolution using the Backus-Gilbert technique; and 3) Re-centering the TC center more precisely using the ARCHER technique (Wimmers and Velden 2010) to analyze the

  5. Microwave ablation devices for interventional oncology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Robert C; Healey, Terrance T; Dupuy, Damian E

    2013-03-01

    Microwave ablation is one of the several options in the ablation armamentarium for the treatment of malignancy, offering several potential benefits when compared with other ablation, radiation, surgical and medical treatment modalities. The basic microwave system consists of the generator, power distribution system and antennas. Often under image (computed tomography or ultrasound) guidance, a needle-like antenna is inserted percutaneously into the tumor, where local microwave electromagnetic radiation is emitted from the probe's active tip, producing frictional tissue heating, capable of causing cell death by coagulation necrosis. Half of the microwave ablation systems use a 915 MHz generator and the other half use a 2450 MHz generator. To date, there are no completed clinical trials comparing microwave devices head-to-head. Prospective comparisons of microwave technology with other treatment alternatives, as well as head-to-head comparison with each microwave device, is needed if this promising field will garner more widespread support and use in the oncology community.

  6. Active Sensing System with In Situ Adjustable Sensor Morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurzaman, Surya G.; Culha, Utku; Brodbeck, Luzius; Wang, Liyu; Iida, Fumiya

    2013-01-01

    Background Despite the widespread use of sensors in engineering systems like robots and automation systems, the common paradigm is to have fixed sensor morphology tailored to fulfill a specific application. On the other hand, robotic systems are expected to operate in ever more uncertain environments. In order to cope with the challenge, it is worthy of note that biological systems show the importance of suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability to handle different kinds of sensing tasks with particular requirements. Methodology This paper presents a robotics active sensing system which is able to adjust its sensor morphology in situ in order to sense different physical quantities with desirable sensing characteristics. The approach taken is to use thermoplastic adhesive material, i.e. Hot Melt Adhesive (HMA). It will be shown that the thermoplastic and thermoadhesive nature of HMA enables the system to repeatedly fabricate, attach and detach mechanical structures with a variety of shape and size to the robot end effector for sensing purposes. Via active sensing capability, the robotic system utilizes the structure to physically probe an unknown target object with suitable motion and transduce the arising physical stimuli into information usable by a camera as its only built-in sensor. Conclusions/Significance The efficacy of the proposed system is verified based on two results. Firstly, it is confirmed that suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability enables the system to sense different physical quantities, i.e. softness and temperature, with desirable sensing characteristics. Secondly, given tasks of discriminating two visually indistinguishable objects with respect to softness and temperature, it is confirmed that the proposed robotic system is able to autonomously accomplish them. The way the results motivate new research directions which focus on in situ adjustment of sensor morphology will also be discussed. PMID:24416094

  7. Active sensing system with in situ adjustable sensor morphology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurzaman, Surya G; Culha, Utku; Brodbeck, Luzius; Wang, Liyu; Iida, Fumiya

    2013-01-01

    Despite the widespread use of sensors in engineering systems like robots and automation systems, the common paradigm is to have fixed sensor morphology tailored to fulfill a specific application. On the other hand, robotic systems are expected to operate in ever more uncertain environments. In order to cope with the challenge, it is worthy of note that biological systems show the importance of suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability to handle different kinds of sensing tasks with particular requirements. This paper presents a robotics active sensing system which is able to adjust its sensor morphology in situ in order to sense different physical quantities with desirable sensing characteristics. The approach taken is to use thermoplastic adhesive material, i.e. Hot Melt Adhesive (HMA). It will be shown that the thermoplastic and thermoadhesive nature of HMA enables the system to repeatedly fabricate, attach and detach mechanical structures with a variety of shape and size to the robot end effector for sensing purposes. Via active sensing capability, the robotic system utilizes the structure to physically probe an unknown target object with suitable motion and transduce the arising physical stimuli into information usable by a camera as its only built-in sensor. The efficacy of the proposed system is verified based on two results. Firstly, it is confirmed that suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability enables the system to sense different physical quantities, i.e. softness and temperature, with desirable sensing characteristics. Secondly, given tasks of discriminating two visually indistinguishable objects with respect to softness and temperature, it is confirmed that the proposed robotic system is able to autonomously accomplish them. The way the results motivate new research directions which focus on in situ adjustment of sensor morphology will also be discussed.

  8. Convective climatology over the southwest U.S. and Mexico from passive microwave and infrared data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negri, Andrew J.; Howard, Kenneth W.; Keehn, Peter R.; Maddox, Robert A.; Adler, Robert F.

    1992-01-01

    Passive microwave data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) were used to estimate the amount of rainfall in the June-August season for the regions of the southwest U.S. and Mexico, and the results are compared to rain-gauge observations and to IR climatologies of Maddox et al. (1992), using both the hourly IR data and IR data sampled at the time of the overpass of the SSM/I. A comparison of the microwave climatology with monthly rainfall measured by the climatological gage network over several states of western Mexico resulted in a 0.63 correlation and a large (482 mm) bias, due to sampling and the incongruity of rain gages and satellite estimates. A comparison between the IR and microwave data showed that the IR tended toward higher percentages along the coast compared to the microwave.

  9. Effect of prenatal and postnatal microwave exposures on relative activity of SDH of brain and liver in newborn mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Huai; Yao Gengdong; Zhou Shiyun

    1987-01-01

    Pregnant mice were irradiated with 3 GHz pulse microwave at 8 mW/cm 2 (SAR 3.0-3.5 mW/g) and part of their offspring were irradiated at 1 mW/cm 2 . The effects on the mitochondria marker enzyme SDH of brain and liver in the newborn mice were observed. SDH was quanlitatively determined by microspectrophotometry. The results show that a decrease in the relative activity of SDH in brain was induced by either prenatal or postnatal microwave exposure (p < 0.01). The greatest decrease in the relative activity of SDH occurred in the offspring exposed both prenatally and postnatally. The similar but less changes in the activity of SDH occurred in liver of these mice. The results indicate that the brain SDH is a sensitive index to observe the subtle metabolic alterations which can not be detected using conventional morphologic teratologic procedures. It is suggested that pregnant women should be protected from high power density microwave exposure

  10. Mathematical modeling of microwave dried celery leaves and determination of the effective moisture diffusivities and activation energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilknur Alibas

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Celery (Apium graveolens L. var. secalinum Alef leaves with 50±0.07 g weight and 91.75±0.15% humidity (~11.21 db were dried using 8 different microwave power densities ranging between 1.8-20 W g-1, until the humidity fell down to 8.95±0.23% (~0.1 db. Microwave drying processes were completed between 5.5 and 77 min depending on the microwave power densities. In this study, measured values were compared with predicted values obtained from twenty thin layer drying theoretical, semi-empirical and empirical equations with a new thin layer drying equation. Within applied microwave power density; models whose coefficient and correlation (R² values are highest were chosen as the best models. Weibull distribution model gave the most suitable predictions at all power density. At increasing microwave power densities, the effective moisture diffusivity values ranged from 1.595 10-10 to 6.377 10-12 m2 s-1. The activation energy was calculated using an exponential expression based on Arrhenius equation. The linear relationship between the drying rate constant and effective moisture diffusivity gave the best fit.

  11. Calibrating a novel multi-sensor physical activity measurement system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    John, D; Sasaki, J E; Howe, C A; Freedson, P S; Liu, S; Gao, R X; Staudenmayer, J

    2011-01-01

    Advancing the field of physical activity (PA) monitoring requires the development of innovative multi-sensor measurement systems that are feasible in the free-living environment. The use of novel analytical techniques to combine and process these multiple sensor signals is equally important. This paper describes a novel multi-sensor 'integrated PA measurement system' (IMS), the lab-based methodology used to calibrate the IMS, techniques used to predict multiple variables from the sensor signals, and proposes design changes to improve the feasibility of deploying the IMS in the free-living environment. The IMS consists of hip and wrist acceleration sensors, two piezoelectric respiration sensors on the torso, and an ultraviolet radiation sensor to obtain contextual information (indoors versus outdoors) of PA. During lab-based calibration of the IMS, data were collected on participants performing a PA routine consisting of seven different ambulatory and free-living activities while wearing a portable metabolic unit (criterion measure) and the IMS. Data analyses on the first 50 adult participants are presented. These analyses were used to determine if the IMS can be used to predict the variables of interest. Finally, physical modifications for the IMS that could enhance the feasibility of free-living use are proposed and refinement of the prediction techniques is discussed

  12. Electro-active sensor, method for constructing the same; apparatus and circuitry for detection of electro-active species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buehler, Martin (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    An electro-active sensor includes a nonconductive platform with a first electrode set attached with a first side of a nonconductive platform. The first electrode set serves as an electrochemical cell that may be utilized to detect electro-active species in solution. A plurality of electrode sets and a variety of additional electrochemical cells and sensors may be attached with the nonconductive platform. The present invention also includes a method for constructing the aforementioned electro-active sensor. Additionally, an apparatus for detection and observation is disclosed, where the apparatus includes a sealable chamber for insertion of a portion of an electro-active sensor. The apparatus allows for monitoring and detection activities. Allowing for control of attached cells and sensors, a dual-mode circuitry is also disclosed. The dual-mode circuitry includes a switch, allowing the circuitry to be switched from a potentiostat to a galvanostat mode.

  13. 3-D periodic mesoporous nickel oxide for nonenzymatic uric acid sensors with improved sensitivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wei; Cao, Yang; Chen, Yong; Zhou, Yang; Huang, Qingyou

    2015-12-01

    3-D periodic mesoporous nickel oxide (NiO) particles with crystalline walls have been synthesized through the microwave-assisted hard template route toward the KIT-6 silica. It was investigated as a nonenzymatic amperometric sensor for the detection of uric acid. 3-D periodic nickel oxide matrix has been obtained by the hard template route from the KIT-6 silica template. The crystalline nickel oxide belonged to the Ia3d space group, and its structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The analysis results showed that the microwave-assisted mesoporous NiO materials were more appropriate to be electrochemical sensors than the traditional mesoporous NiO. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) revealed that 3-D periodic NiO exhibited a direct electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of uric acid in sodium hydroxide solution. The enzyme-less amperometric sensor used in the detection of uric acid with detection limit of 0.005 μM (S/N = 3) over wide linear detection ranges up to 0.374 mM and with a high sensitivity of 756.26 μA mM-1 cm-2, and a possible mechanism was also given in the paper.

  14. Complex Human Activity Recognition Using Smartphone and Wrist-Worn Motion Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoaib, Muhammad; Bosch, Stephan; Incel, Ozlem Durmaz; Scholten, Hans; Havinga, Paul J M

    2016-03-24

    The position of on-body motion sensors plays an important role in human activity recognition. Most often, mobile phone sensors at the trouser pocket or an equivalent position are used for this purpose. However, this position is not suitable for recognizing activities that involve hand gestures, such as smoking, eating, drinking coffee and giving a talk. To recognize such activities, wrist-worn motion sensors are used. However, these two positions are mainly used in isolation. To use richer context information, we evaluate three motion sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope and linear acceleration sensor) at both wrist and pocket positions. Using three classifiers, we show that the combination of these two positions outperforms the wrist position alone, mainly at smaller segmentation windows. Another problem is that less-repetitive activities, such as smoking, eating, giving a talk and drinking coffee, cannot be recognized easily at smaller segmentation windows unlike repetitive activities, like walking, jogging and biking. For this purpose, we evaluate the effect of seven window sizes (2-30 s) on thirteen activities and show how increasing window size affects these various activities in different ways. We also propose various optimizations to further improve the recognition of these activities. For reproducibility, we make our dataset publicly available.

  15. Real-time Human Activity Recognition using a Body Sensor Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Liang; Gu, Tao; Chen, Hanhua

    2010-01-01

    Real-time activity recognition using body sensor networks is an important and challenging task and it has many potential applications. In this paper, we propose a realtime, hierarchical model to recognize both simple gestures and complex activities using a wireless body sensor network. In this mo...

  16. Study of federal microwave standards

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David, L.

    1980-08-01

    Present and future federal regulatory processes which may impact the permissible levels of microwave radiation emitted by the SPS Microwave Power Transmission (MPTS) were studied. An historical development of US occupational and public microwave standards includes an overview of Western and East European philosophies of environmental protection and neurophysiology which have led to the current widely differing maximum permissible exposure limits to microwaves. The possible convergence of microwave standards is characterized by a lowering of Western exposure levels while Eastern countries consider standard relaxation. A trend toward stricter controls on activities perceived as harmful to public health is under way as is interest in improving the federal regulatory process. Particularly relevant to SPS is the initiation of long-term, low-level microwave exposure programs. Coupled with new developments in instrumentation and dosimetry, the results from chronic exposure program and population exposure studies could be expected within the next five to ten years. Also discussed is the increasing public concern that rf energy is yet another hazardous environmental agent.

  17. Athermal alterations in the structure in the canalicular membrane and ATPase activity induced by thermal levels of microwave radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phelan, A.M.; Neubauer, C.F.; Timm, R.; Neirenberg, J.; Lange, D.G.

    1994-01-01

    Sprague-Dawley rats (200-250 g) were exposed 30 min/day for 4 days to thermogenic levels (rectal temperature increase of 2.2 degrees C) of microwave radiation [2.45 GHz, 80 mW/cm 2 , continuous-wave mode (CW)] or to a radiant heat source resulting in an equivalent increase in body temperature of 2.2 degrees C. On the fifth day the animals were sacrificed and their livers removed. The canalicular membranes were isolated and evaluated for adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity, total fatty acid composition and membrane fluidity characteristics. Mg ++ -ATPase activity (V max ) decreased by 48.5% in the group exposed to microwave radiation, with no significant change in the group exposed to radiant heat. The decrease in Mg ++ -ATPase was partially compensated by a concomitant increase in Na + /K + -ATPase activity (170% increase in V max over control) in animals exposed to microwave radiation, while no change occurred in the group exposed to radiant heat. This alteration in ATPase activity in the group exposed to microwave radiation is associated with a large decrease in the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids. Conversely, the group exposed to radiant heat had an increase in the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids. The most dramatic changes were found in the levels of arachidonic acid. Finally, the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin label technique used to measure the fluidity of the canalicular membranes of the animals in the three groups (sham, microwave radiation and radiant heat) indicated that the results were different in the three groups, reflecting the changes found in their fatty acid composition. The physiological response to open-quotes equivalentclose quotes thermal loads in rats is expressed differently for different types of energy sources. Possible mechanisms producing these divergent thermogenic responses are discussed. 34 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

  18. Active hydrothermal and non-active massive sulfide mound investigation using a new multiparameter chemical sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, C.; Wu, G.; Qin, H.; Wang, Z.

    2012-12-01

    Investigation of active hydrothermal mound as well as non-active massive sulfide mound are studied recently. However, there is still lack of in-situ detection method for the non-active massive sulfide mound. Even though Transient ElectroMagnetic (TEM) and Electric Self-potential (SP) methods are good, they both are labour, time and money cost work. We proposed a new multiparameter chemical sensor method to study the seafloor active hydrothermal mound as well as non-active massive sulfide mound. This sensor integrates Eh, S2- ions concentration and pH electrochemical electrodes together, and could found chemical change caused by the active hydrothermal vent, even weak chemical abnormalities by non-active massive sulfide hydrothermal mound which MARP and CTD sometimes cannot detect. In 2012, the 1st Leg of the Chinese 26th cruise, the multiparameter chemical sensor was carried out with the deepsea camera system over the Carlsberg Ridge in Indian Ocean by R/V DAYANGYIHAO. It was shown small Eh and S2- ions concentration abnormal around a site at Northwest Indian ridge. This site was also evidenced by the TV grab. In the 2nd Leg of the same cruise in June, this chemical sensor was carried out with TEM and SP survey system. The chemical abnormalities are matched very well with both TEM and SP survey results. The results show that the multiparameter chemical sensor method not only can detect active hydrothermal mound, but also can find the non-active massive sulfide hydrothermal mound.

  19. Real-time dry matter content of corn silage by a microwave sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Perricone

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Daily dry matter (DM intake in dairy cow is a central point to meet nutritional requirements and optimal performance, reducing the incidence of metabolic diseases. DM content of some forages, such as silages, can undergo huge variations during storing, affecting the total daily DM consumed. Reference laboratory method is time consuming and cannot be applied to daily changes in diet composition. Currently, new promising real-time technologies are available to monitor the DM content of feeds. The aim of the study was to test and calibrate a portable microwave sensor (MS for DM content in corn silage samples. Twenty-two samples were collected from a corn silage front; sampling procedure was optimized to collect as much as DM content variability as possible within the samples. MS readings were performed with 3 different methods for each samples: 1 directly on the silage front, 2 with the MS over the collected sample and 3 with MS placed under the sample. After the first MS reading, a correspondent silage sample was obtained by a silage corer for readings 2 and 3 and the laboratory DM content assay. A simple regression analysis was performed (JMP, SAS Institute, Cary, NC, 2015 over obtained data. Results evidences as the best MS reading method is represented by the probe burdening on the sample (R2=0.75 with respect to the other methods. The obtained results outlined as, with a correct reading method, MS can be valuable tool to determine DM content of corn silage directly at farm level.

  20. Manufacturing of Porous Al-Cr Preforms for Composite Reinforcing Using Microwave Activated Combustion Synthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naplocha K.

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The combustion synthesis of porous skeletons (preforms of intermetallic Al–Cr compounds intended for metal matrix composite MMC reinforcing was developed. Mixture of Al and Cr powders with granularity of −10, −44, −74mm were cold isostatic pressed and next ignited and synthetized in a microwave reactor under argon atmosphere (microwave-activated combustion synthesis MACS. In order to ignite the synthesis, microwave energy was focused by a tuner on the specimen. The analysis of reaction temperature diagrams revealed that the synthesis proceeded through the following peritectic transformations: L(liquidus+Al7Cr→L+Al11Cr2→L+Al4Cr. Moreover, EDS and XRD examinations showed that the reaction proceeded between a solid Cr and a liquid Al to create a distinct envelope of Al9Cr4 on Cr particle which next extended and spreaded over the entire structure. The produced preforms with uniform structure and interconnected porosity were infiltrated with liquid Cu and Al alloy. The obtained composite materials exhibited high hardness, wear and distinct temperature oxidation resistance.

  1. Wireless Power Transfer to a Microaerial Vehicle with a Microwave Active Phased Array

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shotaro Nako

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A wireless power transfer system using a microwave active phased array was developed. In the system, power is transferred to a circling microaerial vehicle (MAV by a microwave beam of 5.8 GHz, which is formed and directed to the MAV using an active phased array antenna. The MAV is expected to support observation of areas that humans cannot reach. The power beam is formed by the phased array with eight antenna elements. Input power is about 5.6 W. The peak power density at 1,500 mm altitude was 2.63 mW/cm2. The power is sent to a circling MAV. Therefore, the transfer beam should be polarized circularly to achieve a constant power supply independent of its yaw angle. To minimize the polarization loss, a sequentially routed antenna (SRA was applied to the transmitter antenna. Results show that the axial ratio of 0.440 dB was accomplished and that power fluctuation was kept below 1%.

  2. Active Multimodal Sensor System for Target Recognition and Tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Yufu; Zhang, Guirong; Zou, Zhaofan; Liu, Ziyue; Mao, Jiansen

    2017-06-28

    High accuracy target recognition and tracking systems using a single sensor or a passive multisensor set are susceptible to external interferences and exhibit environmental dependencies. These difficulties stem mainly from limitations to the available imaging frequency bands, and a general lack of coherent diversity of the available target-related data. This paper proposes an active multimodal sensor system for target recognition and tracking, consisting of a visible, an infrared, and a hyperspectral sensor. The system makes full use of its multisensor information collection abilities; furthermore, it can actively control different sensors to collect additional data, according to the needs of the real-time target recognition and tracking processes. This level of integration between hardware collection control and data processing is experimentally shown to effectively improve the accuracy and robustness of the target recognition and tracking system.

  3. New Potentially Active Pyrazinamide Derivatives Synthesized Under Microwave Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ondrej Jandourek

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available A series of 18 N-alkyl substituted 3-aminopyrazine-2-carboxamides was prepared in this work according to previously experimentally set and proven conditions using microwave assisted synthesis methodology. This approach for the aminodehalogenation reaction was chosen due to higher yields and shorter reaction times compared to organic reactions with conventional heating. Antimycobacterial, antibacterial, antifungal and photosynthetic electron transport (PET inhibiting in vitro activities of these compounds were investigated. Experiments for the determination of lipophilicity were also performed. Only a small number of substances with alicyclic side chain showed activity against fungi which was the same or higher than standards and the biological efficacy of the compounds increased with rising lipophilicity. Nine pyrazinamide derivatives also inhibited PET in spinach chloroplasts and the IC50 values of these compounds varied in the range from 14.3 to 1590.0 μmol/L. The inhibitory activity was connected not only with the lipophilicity, but also with the presence of secondary amine fragment bounded to the pyrazine ring. Structure-activity relationships are discussed as well.

  4. Validation of mercury tip-switch and accelerometer activity sensors for identifying resting and active behavior in bears

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jasmine Ware,; Rode, Karyn D.; Pagano, Anthony M.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Robbins, Charles T.; Joy Erlenbach,; Shannon Jensen,; Amy Cutting,; Nicole Nicassio-Hiskey,; Amy Hash,; Owen, Megan A.; Heiko Jansen,

    2015-01-01

    Activity sensors are often included in wildlife transmitters and can provide information on the behavior and activity patterns of animals remotely. However, interpreting activity-sensor data relative to animal behavior can be difficult if animals cannot be continuously observed. In this study, we examined the performance of a mercury tip-switch and a tri-axial accelerometer housed in collars to determine whether sensor data can be accurately classified as resting and active behaviors and whether data are comparable for the 2 sensor types. Five captive bears (3 polar [Ursus maritimus] and 2 brown [U. arctos horribilis]) were fitted with a collar specially designed to internally house the sensors. The bears’ behaviors were recorded, classified, and then compared with sensor readings. A separate tri-axial accelerometer that sampled continuously at a higher frequency and provided raw acceleration values from 3 axes was also mounted on the collar to compare with the lower resolution sensors. Both accelerometers more accurately identified resting and active behaviors at time intervals ranging from 1 minute to 1 hour (≥91.1% accuracy) compared with the mercury tip-switch (range = 75.5–86.3%). However, mercury tip-switch accuracy improved when sampled at longer intervals (e.g., 30–60 min). Data from the lower resolution accelerometer, but not the mercury tip-switch, accurately predicted the percentage of time spent resting during an hour. Although the number of bears available for this study was small, our results suggest that these activity sensors can remotely identify resting versus active behaviors across most time intervals. We recommend that investigators consider both study objectives and the variation in accuracy of classifying resting and active behaviors reported here when determining sampling interval.

  5. GHRSST Level 2P Global Subskin Sea Surface Temperature from TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) onboard Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) satellite (GDS versions 1 and 2)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — GDS2 Version -The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) is a well calibrated passive microwave radiometer, similar to the Special Sensor...

  6. Microwave processing in MOX fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mallik, G.K.; Malav, R.K.; Panakkal, J.P.; Kamath, H.S.

    2005-01-01

    The prominent aspect of the microwave heating technique applications in nuclear material processing is its eco-friendly status. It is envisaged that no active liquid waste will be generated from microwave processing. AFFF has fabricated the (U, Pu) 2 O mixed oxide fuels for PHWRs, BWRs and PFBR. AFFF is also working for the AHWR fuel cycle. The present paper summarises about the process experiments, instrumental development, results, and future applications of microwave heating technique. (author)

  7. A sensor and video based ontology for activity recognition in smart environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, D; Morrow, Philip J; Nugent, Chris D

    2014-01-01

    Activity recognition is used in a wide range of applications including healthcare and security. In a smart environment activity recognition can be used to monitor and support the activities of a user. There have been a range of methods used in activity recognition including sensor-based approaches, vision-based approaches and ontological approaches. This paper presents a novel approach to activity recognition in a smart home environment which combines sensor and video data through an ontological framework. The ontology describes the relationships and interactions between activities, the user, objects, sensors and video data.

  8. The Sandia MEMS passive shock sensor : FY07 maturation activities.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Houston, Jack E.; Blecke, Jill; Mitchell, John Anthony; Wittwer, Jonathan W.; Crowson, Douglas A.; Clemens, Rebecca C.; Walraven, Jeremy Allen; Epp, David S.; Baker, Michael Sean

    2008-08-01

    This report describes activities conducted in FY07 to mature the MEMS passive shock sensor. The first chapter of the report provides motivation and background on activities that are described in detail in later chapters. The second chapter discusses concepts that are important for integrating the MEMS passive shock sensor into a system. Following these two introductory chapters, the report details modeling and design efforts, packaging, failure analysis and testing and validation. At the end of FY07, the MEMS passive shock sensor was at TRL 4.

  9. Microfabricated Microwave-Integrated Surface Ion Trap

    Science.gov (United States)

    Revelle, Melissa C.; Blain, Matthew G.; Haltli, Raymond A.; Hollowell, Andrew E.; Nordquist, Christopher D.; Maunz, Peter

    2017-04-01

    Quantum information processing holds the key to solving computational problems that are intractable with classical computers. Trapped ions are a physical realization of a quantum information system in which qubits are encoded in hyperfine energy states. Coupling the qubit states to ion motion, as needed for two-qubit gates, is typically accomplished using Raman laser beams. Alternatively, this coupling can be achieved with strong microwave gradient fields. While microwave radiation is easier to control than a laser, it is challenging to precisely engineer the radiated microwave field. Taking advantage of Sandia's microfabrication techniques, we created a surface ion trap with integrated microwave electrodes with sub-wavelength dimensions. This multi-layered device permits co-location of the microwave antennae and the ion trap electrodes to create localized microwave gradient fields and necessary trapping fields. Here, we characterize the trap design and present simulated microwave performance with progress towards experimental results. This research was funded, in part, by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA).

  10. Passive and active RF-microwave circuits course and exercises with solutions

    CERN Document Server

    Jarry, Pierre

    2015-01-01

    Microwave and radiofrequency (RF) circuits play an important role in communication systems. Due to the proliferation of radar, satellite, and mobile wireless systems, there is a need for design methods that can satisfy the ever increasing demand for accuracy, reliability, and fast development times. This book explores the principal elements for receiving and emitting signals between Earth stations, satellites, and RF (mobile phones) in four parts; the theory and realization of couplers, computation and realization of microwave and RF filters, amplifiers and microwave and RF oscillators. Pas

  11. Current Operational Use of and Future Needs for Microwave Imagery at NOAA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, M.; McWilliams, G.; Chang, P.

    2017-12-01

    There are many applications of microwave imagery served by NOAA's operational products and services. They include the use of microwave imagery and derived products for monitoring precipitation, tropical cyclones, sea surface temperature under all weather conditions, wind speed, snow and ice cover, and even soil moisture. All of NOAA's line offices including the National Weather Service, National Ocean Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research rely on microwave imagery. Currently microwave imagery products used by NOAA come from a constellation of satellites that includes Air Force's Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS), the Japanese Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR), the Navy's WindSat, and NASA's Global Precipitation Monitoring (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI). Follow-on missions for SSMIS are very uncertain, JAXA approval for a follow-on to AMSR2 is still pending, and GMI is a research satellite (lacking high-latitude coverage) with no commitment for operational continuity. Operational continuity refers to a series of satellites, so when one satellite reaches its design life a new satellite is launched. EUMETSAT has made a commitment to fly a microwave imager in the mid-morning orbit. China and Russia have demonstrated on-orbit microwave imagers. Of utmost importance to NOAA, however, is the quality, access, and latency of the data This presentation will focus on NOAA's current requirements for microwave imagery data which, for the most part, are being fulfilled by AMSR2, SSMIS, and WindSat. It will include examples of products and applications of microwave imagery at NOAA. We will also discuss future needs, especially for improved temporal resolution which hopefully can be met by an international constellation of microwave imagers. Finally, we will discuss what we are doing to address the potential gap in imagery.

  12. Effect of drying methods with the application of vacuum microwaves on the bioactive compounds, color, and antioxidant activity of strawberry fruits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojdyło, Aneta; Figiel, Adam; Oszmiański, Jan

    2009-02-25

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the application of vacuum-microwave drying (240, 360, and 480 W) in the production process of dehydrated strawberry and to compare and contrast the quality of these dehydrated strawberries in terms of their polyphenol compounds, concentration of some heat liable components, and color to that of freeze-dried, convective, and vacuum-dried strawberry. Thus, the effect of vacuum-microwave drying and other drying methods on the antioxidant activity of berries was evaluated. Whole fresh and dried fruits were assessed for phenolics (anthocyanins, flavanols, hydroxycinnamic acids, and flavonols), ascorbic acid, and antioxidant activity (all parameters were calculated on a dry matter basis). Analysis of data shows that ellagic acid and flavanol changes were affected by drying techniques and cultivar. Drying destroyed anthocyanins, flavanols, and ascorbic acid, and there was a significant decrease in antioxidant activity. The most striking result was that conventional and vacuum drying decreased antioxidant activity in both cultivars, whereas contradictory results were found for vacuum-microwave processed strawberry. This study has demonstrated that vacuum-microwave drying, especially at 240 W, can produce high-quality products, with the additional advantage of reduced processing times, compared to other processes such as freeze-drying.

  13. Radiation effects on active pixel sensors (APS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen, M.; David, J.P.

    1999-01-01

    Active pixel sensor (APS) is a new generation of image sensors which presents several advantages relatively to charge coupled devices (CCDs) particularly for space applications (APS requires only 1 voltage to operate which reduces considerably current consumption). Irradiation was performed using 60 Co gamma radiation at room temperature and at a dose rate of 150 Gy(Si)/h. 2 types of APS have been tested: photodiode-APS and photoMOS-APS. The results show that photoMOS-APS is more sensitive to radiation effects than photodiode-APS. Important parameters of image sensors like dark currents increase sharply with dose levels. Nevertheless photodiode-APS sensitivity is one hundred time lower than photoMOS-APS sensitivity

  14. 1800MHz Microwave Induces p53 and p53-Mediated Caspase-3 Activation Leading to Cell Apoptosis In Vitro.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fuqiang Xing

    Full Text Available Recent studies have reported that exposure of mammalian cells to microwave radiation may have adverse effects such as induction of cell apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying microwave induced mammalian cell apoptosis are not fully understood. Here, we report a novel mechanism: exposure to 1800MHz microwave radiation induces p53-dependent cell apoptosis through cytochrome c-mediated caspase-3 activation pathway. We first measured intensity of microwave radiation from several electronic devices with an irradiation detector. Mouse NIH/3T3 and human U-87 MG cells were then used as receivers of 1800MHz electromagnetic radiation (EMR at a power density of 1209 mW/m2. Following EMR exposure, cells were analyzed for viability, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS generation, DNA damage, p53 expression, and caspase-3 activity. Our analysis revealed that EMR exposure significantly decreased viability of NIH/3T3 and U-87 MG cells, and increased caspase-3 activity. ROS burst was observed at 6 h and 48 h in NIH/3T3 cells, while at 3 h in U-87 MG cells. Hoechst 33258 staining and in situ TUNEL assay detected that EMR exposure increased DNA damage, which was significantly restrained in the presence of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, an antioxidant. Moreover, EMR exposure increased the levels of p53 protein and p53 target gene expression, promoted cytochrome c release from mitochondrion, and increased caspase-3 activity. These events were inhibited by pretreatment with NAC, pifithrin-α (a p53 inhibitor and caspase inhibitor. Collectively, our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that 1800MHz EMR induces apoptosis-related events such as ROS burst and more oxidative DNA damage, which in turn promote p53-dependent caspase-3 activation through release of cytochrome c from mitochondrion. These findings thus provide new insights into physiological mechanisms underlying microwave-induced cell apoptosis.

  15. Microwave life detector for buried victims using neutrodyning loop based system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahar J., Bel Hadj

    2009-07-01

    This paper describes a new design of an electromagnetic life detector for the detection of buried victims. The principle of the microwave life sensor is based on the detection of the modulated part of a scattered wave which is generated by the breathing activity of the victim. Those movements generate a spectral component located in the low frequency range, which for most of the cases, is located in a spectrum extending from 0.18 Hz to 0.34 Hz. The detection process requires high sensitivity with respect to breathing movements and, simultaneously, a relative insensitivity for other non-modulated or modulated parasitic signals. Developed microwave system, generating a frequency adjustable between 500 MHz and 1 GHz, is based on a neutrodyning loop required to cancel any non-modulated background and reflected signals in order to get better receiver sensitivity without introducing supplementary distortions on the received signal. Life signal is considered practically periodic that facilitates the extraction of this spectral component using several processing techniques, such as adaptive filtering and correlation permitting to ameliorate the detection range to be more than 15 m in low-loss medium. Detection range is a fundamental parameter for a microwave life detector. A range around 1 m doesn't have a large interest for this application. To attain a range more than 15 m, while guaranteeing professional performances, the technology has to optimize the system parameters as well as the involved signal processing for the purpose of overcoming the presence of obstacles, attenuation, and noise perturbation. This constitutes the main contribution of the present work. Experimental measurements have confirmed the potentiality of this microwave technique for life detector with best space covering detection.

  16. Characterization of active CMOS pixel sensors on high resistive substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirono, Toko; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Rymaszewski, Piotr; Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bonn, Bonn (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    Active CMOS pixel sensors are very attractive as radiation imaging pixel detector because they do not need cost-intensive fine pitch bump bonding. High radiation tolerance and time resolution are required to apply those sensors to upcoming particle physics experiments. To achieve these requirements, the active CMOS pixel sensors were developed on high resistive substrates. Signal charges are collected faster by drift in high resistive substrates than in standard low resistive substrates yielding also a higher radiation tolerance. A prototype of the active CMOS pixel sensor has been fabricated in the LFoundry 150 nm CMOS process on 2 kΩcm substrate. This prototype chip was thinned down to 300 μm and the backside has been processed and can contacted by an aluminum contact. The breakdown voltage is around -115 V, and the depletion width has been measured to be as large as 180 μm at a bias voltage of -110 V. Gain and noise of the readout circuitry agree with the designed values. Performance tests in the lab and test beam have been done before and after irradiation with X-rays and neutrons. In this presentation, the measurement results of the active CMOS prototype sensors are shown.

  17. Modeling and prediction of extraction profile for microwave-assisted extraction based on absorbed microwave energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Chung-Hung; Yusoff, Rozita; Ngoh, Gek-Cheng

    2013-09-01

    A modeling technique based on absorbed microwave energy was proposed to model microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of antioxidant compounds from cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) leaves. By adapting suitable extraction model at the basis of microwave energy absorbed during extraction, the model can be developed to predict extraction profile of MAE at various microwave irradiation power (100-600 W) and solvent loading (100-300 ml). Verification with experimental data confirmed that the prediction was accurate in capturing the extraction profile of MAE (R-square value greater than 0.87). Besides, the predicted yields from the model showed good agreement with the experimental results with less than 10% deviation observed. Furthermore, suitable extraction times to ensure high extraction yield at various MAE conditions can be estimated based on absorbed microwave energy. The estimation is feasible as more than 85% of active compounds can be extracted when compared with the conventional extraction technique. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Phosphatase activity tunes two-component system sensor detection threshold.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landry, Brian P; Palanki, Rohan; Dyulgyarov, Nikola; Hartsough, Lucas A; Tabor, Jeffrey J

    2018-04-12

    Two-component systems (TCSs) are the largest family of multi-step signal transduction pathways in biology, and a major source of sensors for biotechnology. However, the input concentrations to which biosensors respond are often mismatched with application requirements. Here, we utilize a mathematical model to show that TCS detection thresholds increase with the phosphatase activity of the sensor histidine kinase. We experimentally validate this result in engineered Bacillus subtilis nitrate and E. coli aspartate TCS sensors by tuning their detection threshold up to two orders of magnitude. We go on to apply our TCS tuning method to recently described tetrathionate and thiosulfate sensors by mutating a widely conserved residue previously shown to impact phosphatase activity. Finally, we apply TCS tuning to engineer B. subtilis to sense and report a wide range of fertilizer concentrations in soil. This work will enable the engineering of tailor-made biosensors for diverse synthetic biology applications.

  19. Examination of a microwave sensing system using superconducting devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekiya, N.; Mukaida, M.; Saito, A.; Hirano, S.; Oshima, S.

    2005-01-01

    We have designed and fabricated a microwave sensing system integrated with superconducting devices which can detect motion for crime prevention and security purposes. The system consists of a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna, a power divider as a directional coupler, and a mixer. The antennas and the directional coupler were fabricated using 50-nm thick YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (YBCO) thin films. A superconducting antenna with a resonant frequency of 10.525 GHz and a superconducting directional coupler were designed and fabricated for the system. A Schottky barrier diode was used as a mixer. These devices were integrated and their operation as a sensor was examined. Comparisons of the output voltage of the IF signal amplifier showed that the superconducting integrated sensor system was superior to the normal conductor sensor

  20. Microwave engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Pozar, David M

    2012-01-01

    The 4th edition of this classic text provides a thorough coverage of RF and microwave engineering concepts, starting from fundamental principles of electrical engineering, with applications to microwave circuits and devices of practical importance.  Coverage includes microwave network analysis, impedance matching, directional couplers and hybrids, microwave filters, ferrite devices, noise, nonlinear effects, and the design of microwave oscillators, amplifiers, and mixers. Material on microwave and RF systems includes wireless communications, radar, radiometry, and radiation hazards. A large

  1. On-chip integration of a superconducting microwave circulator and a Josephson parametric amplifier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenthal, Eric I.; Chapman, Benjamin J.; Moores, Bradley A.; Kerckhoff, Joseph; Malnou, Maxime; Palken, D. A.; Mates, J. A. B.; Hilton, G. C.; Vale, L. R.; Ullom, J. N.; Lehnert, K. W.

    Recent progress in microwave amplification based on parametric processes in superconducting circuits has revolutionized the measurement of feeble microwave signals. These devices, which operate near the quantum limit, are routinely used in ultralow temperature cryostats to: readout superconducting qubits, search for axionic dark matter, and characterize astrophysical sensors. However, these amplifiers often require ferrite circulators to separate incoming and outgoing traveling waves. For this reason, measurement efficiency and scalability are limited. In order to facilitate the routing of quantum signals we have created a superconducting, on-chip microwave circulator without permanent magnets. We integrate our circulator on-chip with a Josephson parametric amplifier for the purpose of near quantum-limited directional amplification. In this talk I will present a design overview and preliminary measurements.

  2. Low-cost metal oxide activated carbon prepared and modified by microwave heating method for hydrogen storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moradi, S. E. [Islamic Azad University, Sari (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2014-09-15

    Novel microporous activated carbon (MAC) with high surface area and pore volume has been synthesized by microwave heating. Iron oxide nanoparticles were loaded into MAC by using Fe(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·9H{sub 2}O followed by microwave irradiation for up to five minutes. The surface modified microporous activated carbon was characterized by BET, XRD, SEM and thermogravimetric examinations. Adsorption data of H{sub 2} on the unmodified and modified MACs were collected with PCT method for a pressure range up to 120 bar at 303 K. Greater hydrogen adsorption was observed on the carbon adsorbents doped with 1.45 wt% of iron oxide nanoparticle loaded due to the joint properties of hydrogen adsorption on the carbon surface and the spill-over of hydrogen molecules into carbon structures.

  3. Multimode Adaptable Microwave Radar Sensor Based on Leaky-Wave Antennas

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hudec, P.; Pánek, Petr; Jeník, V.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 65, č. 9 (2017), s. 3464-3473 ISSN 0018-9480 Institutional support: RVO:67985882 Keywords : adaptable sensor * low-range radar * multimode sensor Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering OBOR OECD: Electrical and electronic engineering Impact factor: 2.897, year: 2016

  4. Microwave synthesis and photocatalytic activities of ZnO bipods with different aspect ratios

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Fazhe; Zhao, Zengdian [Analysis and Testing Center, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255100 (China); Qiao, Xueliang, E-mail: xuelqiao@163.com [State Key Laboratory of Plastic Forming Simulation and Die and Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei (China); Tan, Fatang; Wang, Wei [State Key Laboratory of Plastic Forming Simulation and Die and Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei (China)

    2016-02-15

    Highlights: • We synthesized linked ZnO nanorods by a facile microwave method. • The effect of reaction parameters on ZnO was investigated. • ZnO bipods with different aspect ratios were prepared. • The photocatalytic performance of ZnO bipods was evaluated. - Abstract: Linked ZnO nanorods have been successfully prepared via a facile microwave method without any post-synthesis treatment. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicated the precursor had completely transformed into the pure ZnO crystal. The images of field emitting scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that linked ZnO nanorods consisted predominantly of ZnO bipods. The formation process of the ZnO bipods was clearly discussed. ZnO bipods with different aspect ratios have been obtained by tuning the concentrations of reagents and microwave power. Moreover, the photocatalytic performance of ZnO bipods with different aspect ratios for degradation of methylene blue was systematically evaluated. The results of photocatalytic experiments showed that the photocatalytic activity increased with the aspect ratios of ZnO bipods increased. The reason is that ZnO bipods with larger aspect ratio have higher surface area, which can absorb more MB molecules to react with ·OH radicals.

  5. A method to determine validity and reliability of activity sensors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boerema, Simone Theresa; Hermens, Hermanus J.

    2013-01-01

    METHOD Four sensors were securely fastened to a mechanical oscillator (Vibration Exciter, type 4809, Brüel & Kjær) and moved at various frequencies (6.67Hz; 13.45Hz; 19.88Hz) within the range of human physical activity. For each of the three sensor axes, the sensors were simultaneously moved for

  6. Microwave-induced facile synthesis of water-soluble fluorogenic alginic acid derivatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chhatbar, Mahesh U; Meena, Ramavatar; Prasad, Kamalesh; Chejara, Dharmesh R; Siddhanta, A K

    2011-04-01

    A facile microwave-induced method was developed for synthesizing water-soluble fluorescent derivatives of alginic acid (ALG) with four different diamines, hydrazine (HY), ethylenediamine (EDA), 1,6-hexanediamine (HDA), and 1,4-cyclohexanediamine (CHDA), followed by a cross-linking reaction with a natural cross linker genipin. The ethylenediamine derivative of alginic acid (ALG-EDA) exhibited good fluorescent activity, which upon cross linking was enhanced threefold. The other amide derivatives, for example, ALG-HY, ALG-HDA, and ALG-CHDA, were not fluorescent, but their respective crosslinked products exhibited excellent fluorescent activity. The fluorescence intensity had an inverse correlation with the number of carbon atoms present in the amine, which in turn was a function of degree of substitution (DS). These fluorescent polysaccharide derivatives are of potential utility in the domain of sensor applications. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Functionalized active-nucleus complex sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pines, Alexander; Wemmer, David E.; Spence, Megan; Rubin, Seth

    2003-11-25

    A functionalized active-nucleus complex sensor that selectively associates with one or more target species, and a method for assaying and screening for one or a plurality of target species utilizing one or a plurality of functionalized active-nucleus complexes with at least two of the functionalized active-nucleus complexes having an attraction affinity to different corresponding target species. The functionalized active-nucleus complex has an active-nucleus and a targeting carrier. The method involves functionalizing an active-nucleus, for each functionalized active-nucleus complex, by incorporating the active-nucleus into a macromolucular or molecular complex that is capable of binding one of the target species and then bringing the macromolecular or molecular complexes into contact with the target species and detecting the occurrence of or change in a nuclear magnetic resonance signal from each of the active-nuclei in each of the functionalized active-nucleus complexes.

  8. Microwave Metamaterial Absorber for Non-Destructive Sensing Applications of Grain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yin Zhang

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available In this work, we propose a metamaterial absorber at microwave frequencies with significant sensitivity and non-destructive sensing capability for grain samples. This absorber is composed of cross-resonators periodically arranged on an ultrathin substrate, a sensing layer filled with grain samples, and a metal ground. The cross-resonator array is fabricated using the printed circuit board process on an FR-4 board. The performance of the proposed metamaterial is demonstrated with both full-wave simulation and measurement results, and the working mechanism is revealed through multi-reflection interference theory. It can serve as a non-contact sensor for food quality control such as adulteration, variety, etc. by detecting shifts in the resonant frequencies. As a direct application, it is shown that the resonant frequency displays a significant blue shift from 7.11 GHz to 7.52 GHz when the mass fraction of stale rice in the mixture of fresh and stale rice is changed from 0% to 100%. In addition, the absorber shows a distinct difference in the resonant absorption frequency for different varieties of grain, which also makes it a candidate for a grain classification sensor. The presented scheme could open up opportunities for microwave metamaterial absorbers to be applied as efficient sensors in the non-destructive evaluation of agricultural and food product quality.

  9. All-fiber, long-active-length Fabry-Perot strain sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pevec, Simon; Donlagic, Denis

    2011-08-01

    This paper presents a high-sensitivity, all-silica, all-fiber Fabry-Perot strain-sensor. The proposed sensor provides a long active length, arbitrary length of Fabry-Perot cavity, and low intrinsic temperature sensitivity. The sensor was micro-machined from purposely-developed sensor-forming fiber that is etched and directly spliced to the lead-in fiber. This manufacturing process has good potential for cost-effective, high-volume production. Its measurement range of over 3000 µε, and strain-resolution better than 1 µε were demonstrated by the application of a commercial, multimode fiber-based signal processor.

  10. [Experimental study on spectra of compressed air microwave plasma].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yong-Xi; Zhang, Gui-Xin; Wang, Qiang; Hou, Ling-Yun

    2013-03-01

    Using a microwave plasma generator, compressed air microwave plasma was excited under 1 - 5 atm pressures. Under different pressures and different incident microwave power, the emission spectra of compressed air microwave plasma were studied with a spectra measuring system. The results show that continuum is significant at atmospheric pressure and the characteristic will be weakened as the pressure increases. The band spectra intensity will be reduced with the falling of the incident microwave power and the band spectra were still significant. The experimental results are valuable to studying the characteristics of compressed air microwave plasma and the generating conditions of NO active groups.

  11. Improved Passive Microwave Algorithms for North America and Eurasia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, James; Chang, Alfred; Hall, Dorothy

    1997-01-01

    Microwave algorithms simplify complex physical processes in order to estimate geophysical parameters such as snow cover and snow depth. The microwave radiances received at the satellite sensor and expressed as brightness temperatures are a composite of contributions from the Earth's surface, the Earth's atmosphere and from space. Owing to the coarse resolution inherent to passive microwave sensors, each pixel value represents a mixture of contributions from different surface types including deep snow, shallow snow, forests and open areas. Algorithms are generated in order to resolve these mixtures. The accuracy of the retrieved information is affected by uncertainties in the assumptions used in the radiative transfer equation (Steffen et al., 1992). One such uncertainty in the Chang et al., (1987) snow algorithm is that the snow grain radius is 0.3 mm for all layers of the snowpack and for all physiographic regions. However, this is not usually the case. The influence of larger grain sizes appears to be of more importance for deeper snowpacks in the interior of Eurasia. Based on this consideration and the effects of forests, a revised SMMR snow algorithm produces more realistic snow mass values. The purpose of this study is to present results of the revised algorithm (referred to for the remainder of this paper as the GSFC 94 snow algorithm) which incorporates differences in both fractional forest cover and snow grain size. Results from the GSFC 94 algorithm will be compared to the original Chang et al. (1987) algorithm and to climatological snow depth data as well.

  12. [Active crop canopy sensor-based nitrogen diagnosis for potato].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jing; Li, Fei; Qin, Yong-Lin; Fan, Ming-Shou

    2013-11-01

    In the present study, two potato experiments involving different N rates in 2011 were conducted in Wuchuan County and Linxi County, Inner Mongolia. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was collected by an active GreenSeeker crop canopy sensor to estimate N status of potato. The results show that the NDVI readings were poorly correlated with N nutrient indicators of potato at vegetative Growth stage due to the influence of soil background. With the advance of growth stages, NDVI values were exponentially related to plant N uptake (R2 = 0.665) before tuber bulking stage and were linearly related to plant N concentration (R2 = 0.699) when plant fully covered soil. In conclusion, GreenSeeker active crop sensor is a promising tool to estimate N status for potato plants. The findings from this study may be useful for developing N recommendation method based on active crop canopy sensor.

  13. Intelligent detection of cracks in metallic surfaces using a waveguide sensor loaded with metamaterial elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Abdulbaset; Hu, Bing; Ramahi, Omar

    2015-05-15

    This work presents a real life experiment of implementing an artificial intelligence model for detecting sub-millimeter cracks in metallic surfaces on a dataset obtained from a waveguide sensor loaded with metamaterial elements. Crack detection using microwave sensors is typically based on human observation of change in the sensor's signal (pattern) depicted on a high-resolution screen of the test equipment. However, as demonstrated in this work, implementing artificial intelligence to classify cracked from non-cracked surfaces has appreciable impact in terms of sensing sensitivity, cost, and automation. Furthermore, applying artificial intelligence for post-processing data collected from microwave sensors is a cornerstone for handheld test equipment that can outperform rack equipment with large screens and sophisticated plotting features. The proposed method was tested on a metallic plate with different cracks and the obtained experimental results showed good crack classification accuracy rates.

  14. Monolithic microwave integrated circuit devices for active array antennas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mittra, R.

    1984-01-01

    Two different aspects of active antenna array design were investigated. The transition between monolithic microwave integrated circuits and rectangular waveguides was studied along with crosstalk in multiconductor transmission lines. The boundary value problem associated with a discontinuity in a microstrip line is formulated. This entailed, as a first step, the derivation of the propagating as well as evanescent modes of a microstrip line. The solution is derived to a simple discontinuity problem: change in width of the center strip. As for the multiconductor transmission line problem. A computer algorithm was developed for computing the crosstalk noise from the signal to the sense lines. The computation is based on the assumption that these lines are terminated in passive loads.

  15. Microfluidic electrochemical sensor for on-line monitoring of aerosol oxidative activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sameenoi, Yupaporn; Koehler, Kirsten; Shapiro, Jeff; Boonsong, Kanokporn; Sun, Yele; Collett, Jeffrey; Volckens, John; Henry, Charles S

    2012-06-27

    Particulate matter (PM) air pollution has a significant impact on human morbidity and mortality; however, the mechanisms of PM-induced toxicity are poorly defined. A leading hypothesis states that airborne PM induces harm by generating reactive oxygen species in and around human tissues, leading to oxidative stress. We report here a system employing a microfluidic electrochemical sensor coupled directly to a particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) system to measure aerosol oxidative activity in an on-line format. The oxidative activity measurement is based on the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay, where, after being oxidized by PM, the remaining reduced DTT is analyzed by the microfluidic sensor. The sensor consists of an array of working, reference, and auxiliary electrodes fabricated in a poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based microfluidic device. Cobalt(II) phthalocyanine-modified carbon paste was used as the working electrode material, allowing selective detection of reduced DTT. The electrochemical sensor was validated off-line against the traditional DTT assay using filter samples taken from urban environments and biomass burning events. After off-line characterization, the sensor was coupled to a PILS to enable on-line sampling/analysis of aerosol oxidative activity. Urban dust and industrial incinerator ash samples were aerosolized in an aerosol chamber and analyzed for their oxidative activity. The on-line sensor reported DTT consumption rates (oxidative activity) in good correlation with aerosol concentration (R(2) from 0.86 to 0.97) with a time resolution of approximately 3 min.

  16. Recognizing Multi-user Activities using Wearable Sensors in a Smart Home

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Liang; Gu, Tao; Tao, Xianping

    2010-01-01

    The advances of wearable sensors and wireless networks oer many opportunities to recognize human activities from sensor readings in pervasive computing. Existing work so far focuses mainly on recognizing activities of a single user in a home environment. However, there are typically multiple inha...

  17. CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Star Tracker with Regional Electronic Shutter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadid-Pecht, Orly; Pain, Bedabrata; Staller, Craig; Clark, Christopher; Fossum, Eric

    1996-01-01

    The guidance system in a spacecraft determines spacecraft attitude by matching an observed star field to a star catalog....An APS(active pixel sensor)-based system can reduce mass and power consumption and radiation effects compared to a CCD(charge-coupled device)-based system...This paper reports an APS (active pixel sensor) with locally variable times, achieved through individual pixel reset (IPR).

  18. Effect of Solvent, Catalyst Type and Catalyst Activation on the Microwave Transformation of 2-Tert-butylphenol

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Radoiu, M.; Hájek, Milan

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 186, 1-2 (2002), s. 121-126 ISSN 1381-1169 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4072921 Keywords : microwaves * tert-butylphenols * catalyst activation Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 1.729, year: 2002

  19. Photoluminescence enhancement of porous silicon particles by microwave-assisted activation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xia, Bing [Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology (Ministry of Education of China), Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037 (China); Advanced Analysis and Testing Center, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037 (China); Zhang, Wenyi; Dong, Chen; Shi, Jisen [Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology (Ministry of Education of China), Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037 (China); Bao, Weiyi [Advanced Analysis and Testing Center, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037 (China); Zhang, Junfeng [State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)

    2012-11-15

    Photoluminescence (PL) of porous silicon (PSi) particles can be significantly enhanced in some organic solvents (i.e., ethanol or dimethyl sulfoxide) under microwave irradiation. Fourier transform infrared spectra, dynamic-light-scattering measurements, and scanning electron microscopy had been adopted to explore the mechanism of PL enhancement of PSi particles under microwave irradiation, which is attributed to the formation of higher porosity and the growth of silicon oxide by microwave-assisted wet etching. Compared with that fabricated by ultrasonication, smaller luminescent PSi nanoparticles (average size {proportional_to}60 nm) with stronger orange-red fluorescence (PL quantum yield {proportional_to}14.8%) and higher dispersibility can be large-scale prepared for cellular imaging and drug delivery in biomedical applications. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  20. A Radiosonde Using a Humidity Sensor Array with a Platinum Resistance Heater and Multi-Sensor Data Fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yunbo; Luo, Yi; Zhao, Wenjie; Shang, Chunxue; Wang, Yadong; Chen, Yinsheng

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes the design and implementation of a radiosonde which can measure the meteorological temperature, humidity, pressure, and other atmospheric data. The system is composed of a CPU, microwave module, temperature sensor, pressure sensor and humidity sensor array. In order to effectively solve the humidity sensor condensation problem due to the low temperatures in the high altitude environment, a capacitive humidity sensor including four humidity sensors to collect meteorological humidity and a platinum resistance heater was developed using micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) technology. A platinum resistance wire with 99.999% purity and 0.023 mm in diameter was used to obtain the meteorological temperature. A multi-sensor data fusion technique was applied to process the atmospheric data. Static and dynamic experimental results show that the designed humidity sensor with platinum resistance heater can effectively tackle the sensor condensation problem, shorten response times and enhance sensitivity. The humidity sensor array can improve measurement accuracy and obtain a reliable initial meteorological humidity data, while the multi-sensor data fusion technique eliminates the uncertainty in the measurement. The radiosonde can accurately reflect the meteorological changes. PMID:23857263

  1. White noise of Nb-based microwave superconducting quantum interference device multiplexers with NbN coplanar resonators for readout of transition edge sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohjiro, Satoshi; Hirayama, Fuminori; Yamamori, Hirotake; Nagasawa, Shuichi; Fukuda, Daiji; Hidaka, Mutsuo

    2014-06-01

    White noise of dissipationless microwave radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device (RF-SQUID) multiplexers has been experimentally studied to evaluate their readout performance for transition edge sensor (TES) photon counters ranging from near infrared to gamma ray. The characterization has been carried out at 4 K, first to avoid the low-frequency fluctuations present at around 0.1 K, and second, for a feasibility study of readout operation at 4 K for extended applications. To increase the resonant Q at 4 K and maintain low noise SQUID operation, multiplexer chips consisting of niobium nitride (NbN)-based coplanar-waveguide resonators and niobium (Nb)-based RF-SQUIDs have been developed. This hybrid multiplexer exhibited 1 × 104 ≤ Q ≤ 2 × 104 and the square root of spectral density of current noise referred to the SQUID input √SI = 31 pA/√Hz. The former and the latter are factor-of-five and seven improvements from our previous results on Nb-based resonators, respectively. Two-directional readout on the complex plane of the transmission component of scattering matrix S21 enables us to distinguish the flux noise from noise originating from other sources, such as the cryogenic high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) amplifier. Systematic noise measurements with various microwave readout powers PMR make it possible to distinguish the contribution of noise sources within the system as follows: (1) The achieved √SI is dominated by the Nyquist noise from a resistor at 4 K in parallel to the SQUID input coil which is present to prevent microwave leakage to the TES. (2) The next dominant source is either the HEMT-amplifier noise (for small values of PMR) or the quantization noise due to the resolution of 300-K electronics (for large values of PMR). By a decrease of these noise levels to a degree that is achievable by current technology, we predict that the microwave RF-SQUID multiplexer can exhibit √SI ≤ 5 pA/√Hz, i.e., close to √SI of

  2. White noise of Nb-based microwave superconducting quantum interference device multiplexers with NbN coplanar resonators for readout of transition edge sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kohjiro, Satoshi; Hirayama, Fuminori; Yamamori, Hirotake; Nagasawa, Shuichi; Fukuda, Daiji; Hidaka, Mutsuo

    2014-01-01

    White noise of dissipationless microwave radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device (RF-SQUID) multiplexers has been experimentally studied to evaluate their readout performance for transition edge sensor (TES) photon counters ranging from near infrared to gamma ray. The characterization has been carried out at 4 K, first to avoid the low-frequency fluctuations present at around 0.1 K, and second, for a feasibility study of readout operation at 4 K for extended applications. To increase the resonant Q at 4 K and maintain low noise SQUID operation, multiplexer chips consisting of niobium nitride (NbN)-based coplanar-waveguide resonators and niobium (Nb)-based RF-SQUIDs have been developed. This hybrid multiplexer exhibited 1 × 10 4  ≤ Q ≤ 2 × 10 4 and the square root of spectral density of current noise referred to the SQUID input √S I  = 31 pA/√Hz. The former and the latter are factor-of-five and seven improvements from our previous results on Nb-based resonators, respectively. Two-directional readout on the complex plane of the transmission component of scattering matrix S 21 enables us to distinguish the flux noise from noise originating from other sources, such as the cryogenic high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) amplifier. Systematic noise measurements with various microwave readout powers P MR make it possible to distinguish the contribution of noise sources within the system as follows: (1) The achieved √S I is dominated by the Nyquist noise from a resistor at 4 K in parallel to the SQUID input coil which is present to prevent microwave leakage to the TES. (2) The next dominant source is either the HEMT-amplifier noise (for small values of P MR ) or the quantization noise due to the resolution of 300-K electronics (for large values of P MR ). By a decrease of these noise levels to a degree that is achievable by current technology, we predict that the microwave RF-SQUID multiplexer can exhibit

  3. A Synthesizable Multicore Platform for Microwave Imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schleuniger, Pascal; Karlsson, Sven

    2014-01-01

    Active microwave imaging techniques such as radar and tomography are used in a wide range of medical, industrial, scientific, and military applications. Microwave imaging devices emit radio waves and process their reflections to reconstruct an image. However, data processing remains a challenge...

  4. Complex Human Activity Recognition Using Smartphone and Wrist-Worn Motion Sensors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shoaib, M.; Bosch, S.; Durmaz, O.; Scholten, Johan; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    2016-01-01

    The position of on-body motion sensors plays an important role in human activity recognition. Most often, mobile phone sensors at the trouser pocket or an equivalent position are used for this purpose. However, this position is not suitable for recognizing activities that involve hand gestures, such

  5. Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition in a Multi-user Scenario

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Liang; Gu, Tao; Tao, Xianping; Lu, Jian

    Existing work on sensor-based activity recognition focuses mainly on single-user activities. However, in real life, activities are often performed by multiple users involving interactions between them. In this paper, we propose Coupled Hidden Markov Models (CHMMs) to recognize multi-user activities from sensor readings in a smart home environment. We develop a multimodal sensing platform and present a theoretical framework to recognize both single-user and multi-user activities. We conduct our trace collection done in a smart home, and evaluate our framework through experimental studies. Our experimental result shows that we achieve an average accuracy of 85.46% with CHMMs.

  6. Application of activity sensors for estimating behavioral patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Caleb P.; Cain, James W.; Cox, Robert D.

    2016-01-01

    The increasing use of Global Positioning System (GPS) collars in habitat selection studies provides large numbers of precise location data points with reduced field effort. However, inclusion of activity sensors in many GPS collars also grants the potential to remotely estimate behavioral state. Thus, only using GPS collars to collect location data belies their full capabilities. Coupling behavioral state with location data would allow researchers and managers to refine habitat selection models by using diel behavioral state changes to partition fine-scale temporal shifts in habitat selection. We tested the capability of relatively unsophisticated GPS-collar activity sensors to estimate behavior throughout diel periods using free-ranging female elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico, USA, 2013–2014. Collars recorded cumulative number of movements (hits) per 15-min recording period immediately preceding GPS fixes at 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 hr. We measured diel behavioral patterns of focal elk, categorizing active (i.e., foraging, traveling, vigilant, grooming) and inactive (i.e., resting) states. Active behaviors (foraging, traveling) produced more average hits (0.87 ± 0.69 hits/min, 4.0 ± 2.2 hits/min, respectively; 95% CI) and inactive (resting) behavior fewer hits (−1.1 ± 0.61 95% CI). We differentiated active and inactive behavioral states with a bootstrapped threshold of 5.9 ± 3.9 hits/15-min recording period. Mean cumulative activity-sensor hits corresponded with observed diel behavioral patterns: hits increased during crepuscular (0600, 1800 hr) observations when elk were most active (0000–0600 hr: d = 0.19; 1200–1800 hr: d = 0.64) and decreased during midday and night (0000 hr, 1200 hr) when elk were least active (1800–0000 hr: d = −0.39; 0600–1200 hr: d = −0.43). Even using relatively unsophisticated GPS-collar activity sensors, managers can

  7. Active and Passive Hybrid Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carswell, James R.

    2010-01-01

    A hybrid ocean wind sensor (HOWS) can map ocean vector wind in low to hurricane-level winds, and non-precipitating and precipitating conditions. It can acquire active and passive measurements through a single aperture at two wavelengths, two polarizations, and multiple incidence angles. Its low profile, compact geometry, and low power consumption permits installation on air craft platforms, including high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

  8. Solid electrolyte gas sensors based on cyclic voltammetry with one active electrode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jasinski, G; Jasinski, P, E-mail: gregor@biomed.eti.pg.gda.pl [Gdansk University of Technology, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunication and Informatics, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk (Poland)

    2011-10-29

    Solid state gas sensors are cost effective, small, rugged and reliable. Typically electrochemical solid state sensors operate in either potentiometric or amperometric mode. However, a lack of selectivity is sometimes a shortcoming of such sensors. It seems that improvements of selectivity can be obtained in case of the electrocatalytic sensors, which operate in cyclic voltammetry mode. Their working principle is based on acquisition of an electric current, while voltage ramp is applied to the sensor. The current-voltage response depends in a unique way on the type and concentration of ambient gas. Most electrocatalytic sensors have symmetrical structure. They are in a form of pellets with two electrodes placed on their opposite sides. Electrochemical reactions occur simultaneously on both electrodes. In this paper results for sensors with only one active electrode exposed to ambient gas are presented. The other electrode was isolated from ambient gas with dielectric sealing. This sensor construction allows application of advanced measuring procedures, which permit sensor regeneration acceleration. Experiments were conducted on Nasicon sensors. Properties of two sensors, one with one active electrode and second with symmetrical structure, used for the detection of mixtures of NO{sub 2} and synthetic air are compared.

  9. Microwave emission from lead zirconate titanate induced by impulsive mechanical load

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aman, A., E-mail: alexander.aman@ovgu.de [Department of Engineering, Brandenburg University of Applied Science, 14470 Brandenburg an derHavel (Germany); Packaging Group, Institute of Micro- and Sensorsytems, Otto-von-Guericke University, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg (Germany); Majcherek, S. [Packaging Group, Institute of Micro- and Sensorsytems, Otto-von-Guericke University, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg (Germany); Hirsch, S. [Department of Engineering, Brandenburg University of Applied Science, 14470 Brandenburg an derHavel (Germany); Schmidt, B. [Chair of Micorsystem Technology, Institute of Micro- and Sensorsytems, Otto-von-Guericke University, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg (Germany)

    2015-10-28

    This paper focuses on microwave emission from Lead zirconate titanate Pb [Zr{sub x}Ti{sub 1−x}] O{sub 3} (PZT) induced by mechanical stressing. The mechanical stress was initiated by impact of a sharp tungsten indenter on the upper surface of PZT ceramic. The sequences of microwave and current impulses, which flew from indenter to electric ground, were detected simultaneously. The voltage between the upper and lower surface of ceramic was measured to obtain the behavior of mechanical force acting on ceramic during the impact. It was found that the amplitude, form, and frequency of measured microwave impulses were different by compression and restitution phase of impact. Two different mechanisms of electron emission, responsible for microwave impulse generation, were proposed based on the dissimilar impulse behavior. The field emission from tungsten indenter is dominant during compression, whereas ferroemission dominates during restitution phase. Indeed, it was observed that the direction of the current flow, i.e., sign of current impulses is changed by transitions from compression to restitution phase of impact. The observed dissimilar behavior of microwave impulses, caused by increasing and decreasing applied force, can be used to calculate the contact time and behavior of mechanical force during mechanical impact on ceramic surface. It is shown that the generation of microwave impulses exhibits high reproducibility, impulse intensity, a low damping factor, and high mechanical failure resistance. Based on these microwave emission properties of PZT, the development of new type of stress sensor with spatial resolution of few microns becomes possible.

  10. 3-D periodic mesoporous nickel oxide for nonenzymatic uric acid sensors with improved sensitivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Wei; Cao, Yang; Chen, Yong; Zhou, Yang; Huang, Qingyou

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: The enzyme-less amperometric sensor based on 3-D periodic mesoporous NiO nanomaterials used in the detection of uric acid with detection limit of 0.005 μM (S/N = 3) over wide linear detection ranges up to 0.374 mM and with a high sensitivity of 756.26 μA mM"−"1 cm"−"2. - Highlights: • Microwave-assisted method was used to fabricate the 3-D periodic mesoporous NiO particles. • The mesoporous nickel oxide was applied to nonenzymatic uric acid biosensor. • The detection limit is 0.005 μM over wide linear detection ranges up to 0.374 mM. • The sensitivity is 756.26 μA mM"−"1 cm"−"2. - Abstract: 3-D periodic mesoporous nickel oxide (NiO) particles with crystalline walls have been synthesized through the microwave-assisted hard template route toward the KIT-6 silica. It was investigated as a nonenzymatic amperometric sensor for the detection of uric acid. 3-D periodic nickel oxide matrix has been obtained by the hard template route from the KIT-6 silica template. The crystalline nickel oxide belonged to the Ia3d space group, and its structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N_2 adsorption–desorption, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The analysis results showed that the microwave-assisted mesoporous NiO materials were more appropriate to be electrochemical sensors than the traditional mesoporous NiO. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) revealed that 3-D periodic NiO exhibited a direct electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of uric acid in sodium hydroxide solution. The enzyme-less amperometric sensor used in the detection of uric acid with detection limit of 0.005 μM (S/N = 3) over wide linear detection ranges up to 0.374 mM and with a high sensitivity of 756.26 μA mM"−"1 cm"−"2, and a possible mechanism was also given in the paper.

  11. 3-D periodic mesoporous nickel oxide for nonenzymatic uric acid sensors with improved sensitivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Wei; Cao, Yang, E-mail: caowang507@163.com; Chen, Yong; Zhou, Yang; Huang, Qingyou

    2015-12-30

    Graphical abstract: The enzyme-less amperometric sensor based on 3-D periodic mesoporous NiO nanomaterials used in the detection of uric acid with detection limit of 0.005 μM (S/N = 3) over wide linear detection ranges up to 0.374 mM and with a high sensitivity of 756.26 μA mM{sup −1} cm{sup −2}. - Highlights: • Microwave-assisted method was used to fabricate the 3-D periodic mesoporous NiO particles. • The mesoporous nickel oxide was applied to nonenzymatic uric acid biosensor. • The detection limit is 0.005 μM over wide linear detection ranges up to 0.374 mM. • The sensitivity is 756.26 μA mM{sup −1} cm{sup −2}. - Abstract: 3-D periodic mesoporous nickel oxide (NiO) particles with crystalline walls have been synthesized through the microwave-assisted hard template route toward the KIT-6 silica. It was investigated as a nonenzymatic amperometric sensor for the detection of uric acid. 3-D periodic nickel oxide matrix has been obtained by the hard template route from the KIT-6 silica template. The crystalline nickel oxide belonged to the Ia3d space group, and its structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N{sub 2} adsorption–desorption, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The analysis results showed that the microwave-assisted mesoporous NiO materials were more appropriate to be electrochemical sensors than the traditional mesoporous NiO. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) revealed that 3-D periodic NiO exhibited a direct electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of uric acid in sodium hydroxide solution. The enzyme-less amperometric sensor used in the detection of uric acid with detection limit of 0.005 μM (S/N = 3) over wide linear detection ranges up to 0.374 mM and with a high sensitivity of 756.26 μA mM{sup −1} cm{sup −2}, and a possible mechanism was also given in the paper.

  12. Photon small-field measurements with a CMOS active pixel sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spang, F Jiménez; Rosenberg, I; Hedin, E; Royle, G

    2015-06-07

    In this work the dosimetric performance of CMOS active pixel sensors for the measurement of small photon beams is presented. The detector used consisted of an array of 520  × 520 pixels on a 25 µm pitch. Dosimetric parameters measured with this sensor were compared with data collected with an ionization chamber, a film detector and GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulations. The sensor performance for beam profiles measurements was evaluated for field sizes of 0.5  × 0.5 cm(2). The high spatial resolution achieved with this sensor allowed the accurate measurement of profiles, beam penumbrae and field size under lateral electronic disequilibrium. Field size and penumbrae agreed within 5.4% and 2.2% respectively with film measurements. Agreements with ionization chambers better than 1.0% were obtained when measuring tissue-phantom ratios. Output factor measurements were in good agreement with ionization chamber and Monte Carlo simulation. The data obtained from this imaging sensor can be easily analyzed to extract dosimetric information. The results presented in this work are promising for the development and implementation of CMOS active pixel sensors for dosimetry applications.

  13. Estimating Soil and Vegetation Parameters using Synergies between Optical and Microwave Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmermans, J.; Gomez-Dans, J. L.; Lewis, P.; Loew, A.; Schlenz, F.; Mathieu, P. P.; Pounder, N. L.; Styles, J.

    2017-12-01

    The large amount of remote sensing data available provides a huge potential for various applications, such as crop monitoring. This potential has not been realized yet because inversion-algorithms mostly use a single sensor approach. Consequently, products that combine different low-level observations from different sensors are hard to find. The difficulty in a multi-sensor approach is that 1) different sensor types (microwave/ optical) require different radiative transfer (RT) models and 2) it require consistency between the models. The goal of this research was to investigate the synergistic potential of integrating optical (Opt) and passive microwave (PM) RT models within the Earth Observation Land Data Assimilation System (EOLDAS). EOLDAS uses a Bayesian data assimilation approach together with observation operators such as PROSAIL to estimate state variables. In order to use PM observations, the Community Microwave Emission Model was integrated into the system. Results show a high potential when both Opt and PM observations are used independently. Using only RapidEye only with SAIL RT model, LAI was estimated with R=0.68, with leaf water content and dry matter having lower correlations |R|<0.4. Results for retrieving soil temperature and leaf area index retrievals using only Elbarra observations were good with respectively R=[0.85, 0.79], and for soil moisture also very good with R=0.73 (focusing on dry-spells of at least 9 days only), and with R=0.89 and R=0.77 for respectively the trend and anomalies. Synergistically using Opt and MW observations also shows good potential. Results show that absolute errors decreased (with RMSE=1.22 and S=0.89), but with lower R=0.59; sparse optical observations only improved part of the temporal domain. This shows that PM observations provide good information for the overall trend of the retrieved LAI due to the regular acquisitions, while Opt observations provides better information of the absolute values of the LAI.

  14. Design and Dynamic Characterization of an Orientation Insensitive Microwave Water-Cut Sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram

    2017-06-12

    Modern reservoir management in oil and gas industry relies on accurate water fraction measurement which is produced as a by-product with oil. This paper presents a novel and contactless water fraction (also known as water-cut) measurement technique which is independent of geometric distribution of oil and water inside the pipe. The sensor is based on a modified T-resonator implemented directly on the pipe\\'s outer surface and whose resonance frequency decreases by increasing the water content in oil. The E-fields have been made to rotate and distribute well inside the pipe, despite having narrow and curved ground plane. It makes the sensor\\'s reading dependent only on the water fraction and not on the mixture distribution inside the pipe. That is why, the presented design does not require any flow conditioner to homogenize the oil/water mixture unlike many commercial water-cut (WC) sensors. The presented sensor has been realized by using extremely low-cost methods of screen printing and reusable 3-D printed mask. Complete characterization of the proposed WC sensor, both in horizontal and vertical orientations, has been carried out in an industrial flow loop. Excellent repeatability of the sensor\\'s response has been observed in \\'dispersed bubble\\' as well as in \\'stratified wavy\\' flow regimes. The performance test of the sensor confirms that the water fraction measurement is independent of the flow pattern, flow rate or orientation. The measured performance results of the sensor show full range accuracy of $± $2%-3% while tested under random orientations and wide range of flow rates.

  15. Microwave assisted synthesis of some new coumarin-pyrazoline hybrids and their antimicrobial activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashok Dongamanti

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A series of pyrazolines 4a-g have been synthesized by Michael addition of chalcones 3a-g with hydrazine hydrate in presence of sodium acetate under conventional heating and microwave irradiation. Structures of the newly synthesized chalcones 3a-g and pyrazolines 4a-g have been established on the basis of IR, 1H & 13C NMR and mass spectral data. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activity. Some of the compounds shown very good activity compared to standard drugs against all pathogenic bacteria and fungi.

  16. Implementation of a perfect metamaterial absorber into multi-functional sensor applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akgol, O.; Karaaslan, M.; Unal, E.; Sabah, C.

    2017-05-01

    Perfect metamaterial absorber (MA)-based sensor applications are presented and investigated in the microwave frequency range. It is also experimentally analyzed and tested to verify the behavior of the MA. Suggested perfect MA-based sensor has a simple configuration which introduces flexibility to sense the dielectric properties of a material and the pressure of the medium. The investigated applications include pressure and density sensing. Besides, numerical simulations verify that the suggested sensor achieves good sensing capabilities for both applications. The proposed perfect MA-based sensor variations enable many potential applications in medical or food technologies.

  17. Microwave imaging

    CERN Document Server

    Pastorino, Matteo

    2010-01-01

    An introduction to the most relevant theoretical and algorithmic aspects of modern microwave imaging approaches Microwave imaging-a technique used in sensing a given scene by means of interrogating microwaves-has recently proven its usefulness in providing excellent diagnostic capabilities in several areas, including civil and industrial engineering, nondestructive testing and evaluation, geophysical prospecting, and biomedical engineering. Microwave Imaging offers comprehensive descriptions of the most important techniques so far proposed for short-range microwave imaging-in

  18. ESAM: Endocrine inspired Sensor Activation Mechanism for multi-target tracking in WSNs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adil Mahdi, Omar; Wahab, Ainuddin Wahid Abdul; Idris, Mohd Yamani Idna; Znaid, Ammar Abu; Khan, Suleman; Al-Mayouf, Yusor Rafid Bahar

    2016-10-01

    Target tracking is a significant application of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in which deployment of self-organizing and energy efficient algorithms is required. The tracking accuracy increases as more sensor nodes are activated around the target but more energy is consumed. Thus, in this study, we focus on limiting the number of sensors by forming an ad-hoc network that operates autonomously. This will reduce the energy consumption and prolong the sensor network lifetime. In this paper, we propose a fully distributed algorithm, an Endocrine inspired Sensor Activation Mechanism for multi target-tracking (ESAM) which reflecting the properties of real life sensor activation system based on the information circulating principle in the endocrine system of the human body. Sensor nodes in our network are secreting different hormones according to certain rules. The hormone level enables the nodes to regulate an efficient sleep and wake up cycle of nodes to reduce the energy consumption. It is evident from the simulation results that the proposed ESAM in autonomous sensor network exhibits a stable performance without the need of commands from a central controller. Moreover, the proposed ESAM generates more efficient and persistent results as compared to other algorithms for tracking an invading object.

  19. Merging thermal and microwave satellite observations for a high-resolution soil moisture data product

    Science.gov (United States)

    Many societal applications of soil moisture data products require high spatial resolution and numerical accuracy. Current thermal geostationary satellite sensors (GOES Imager and GOES-R ABI) could produce 2-16km resolution soil moisture proxy data. Passive microwave satellite radiometers (e.g. AMSR...

  20. Human movement activity classification approaches that use wearable sensors and mobile devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaghyan, Sahak; Sarukhanyan, Hakob; Akopian, David

    2013-03-01

    Cell phones and other mobile devices become part of human culture and change activity and lifestyle patterns. Mobile phone technology continuously evolves and incorporates more and more sensors for enabling advanced applications. Latest generations of smart phones incorporate GPS and WLAN location finding modules, vision cameras, microphones, accelerometers, temperature sensors etc. The availability of these sensors in mass-market communication devices creates exciting new opportunities for data mining applications. Particularly healthcare applications exploiting build-in sensors are very promising. This paper reviews different approaches of human activity recognition.

  1. Submersible microbial fuel cell sensor for monitoring microbial activity and BOD in groundwater: Focusing on impact of anodic biofilm on sensor applicability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Yifeng; Angelidaki, Irini

    2011-01-01

    was required for application of the sensor for microbial activity measurement, while biofilm‐colonized anode was needed for utilizing the sensor for BOD content measurement. The current density of SUMFC sensor equipped with a biofilm‐colonized anode showed linear relationship with BOD content, to up to 250 mg......A sensor, based on a submersible microbial fuel cell (SUMFC), was developed for in situ monitoring of microbial activity and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in groundwater. Presence or absence of a biofilm on the anode was a decisive factor for the applicability of the sensor. Fresh anode...

  2. Low-Cost Sensor System Design for In-Home Physical Activity Tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nambiar, Siddhartha; Nikolaev, Alexander; Greene, Melissa; Cavuoto, Lora; Bisantz, Ann

    2016-01-01

    An aging and more sedentary population requires interventions aimed at monitoring physical activity, particularly within the home. This research uses simulation, optimization, and regression analyses to assess the feasibility of using a small number of sensors to track movement and infer physical activity levels of older adults. Based on activity data from the American Time Use Survey and assisted living apartment layouts, we determined that using three to four doorway sensors can be used to effectively capture a sufficient amount of movements in order to estimate activity. The research also identified preferred approaches for assigning sensor locations, evaluated the error magnitude inherent in the approach, and developed a methodology to identify which apartment layouts would be best suited for these technologies.

  3. Fundamental Properties and Practical Application of Active Microwave Metamaterials Incorporating Gain Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-02-22

    person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information   if it does not display a currently valid OMB control... transmission line and an active volumetric metamaterial. These designs have been extended to THz frequency range. In addition, we have investigated the non...circuits,” IEEE International Microwave Symposium, Phoenix, Arizona, May 17-22, 2015. [7] Q. Tang, and H. Xin, “Stability of Tunnel Diode based Negative

  4. Use of microwaves to improve nutritional value of soybeans for future space inhabitants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, G.

    1983-01-01

    Whole soybeans from four different varieties at different moisture contents were microwaved for varying times to determine the conditions for maximum destruction of trypsin inhibitor and lipoxygenase activities, and optimal growth of chicks. Microwaving 150 gm samples of soybeans (at 14 to 28% moisture) for 1.5 min was found optimal for reduction of trypsin inhibitor and lipoxygenase activities. Microwaving 1 kgm samples of soybeans for 9 minutes destroyed 82% of the trypsin inhibitor activity and gave optimal chick growth. It should be pointed out that the microwaving time would vary according to the weight of the sample and the power of the microwave oven. The microwave oven used in the above experiments was rated at 650 watts 2450 MHz.

  5. Sensor-Based Activity Recognition with Dynamically Added Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiahui Wen

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available An activity recognition system essentially processes raw sensor data and maps them into latent activity classes. Most of the previous systems are built with supervised learning techniques and pre-defined data sources, and result in static models. However, in realistic and dynamic environments, original data sources may fail and new data sources become available, a robust activity recognition system should be able to perform evolution automatically with dynamic sensor availability in dynamic environments. In this paper, we propose methods that automatically incorporate dynamically available data sources to adapt and refine the recognition system at run-time. The system is built upon ensemble classifiers which can automatically choose the features with the most discriminative power. Extensive experimental results with publicly available datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our methods.

  6. Microwave-Driven Multifunctional Capability of Membrane Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Sang H.; Chu, Sang-Hyong; Song, Kyo D.; King, Glen C.

    2002-01-01

    A large, ultra lightweight space structure, such as solar sails and Gossamer spacecrafts, requires a distributed power source to alleviate wire networks, unlike the localized on-board power infrastructures typically found in most small spacecrafts. The concept of microwave-driven multifunctional capability for membrane structures is envisioned as the best option to alleviate the complexity associated with hard-wired control circuitry and on-board power infrastructures. A rectenna array based on a patch configuration for high voltage output was developed to drive membrane actuators, sensors, probes, or other devices. Networked patch rectenna array receives and converts microwave power into a DC power for an array of smart actuators. To use microwave power effectively, the concept of a power allocation and distribution (PAD) circuit is adopted for networking a rectenna/actuator patch array. The use of patch rectennas adds a significant amount of rigidity to membrane flexibility and they are relatively heavy. A dipole rectenna array (DRA) appears to be ideal for thin-film membrane structures, since DRA is flexible and light. Preliminary design and fabrication of PAD circuitry that consists of a few nodal elements were made for laboratory testing. The networked actuators were tested to correlate the network coupling effect, power allocation and distribution, and response time.

  7. A non-contact high resolution piezoelectric film based sensor for monitoring breathing during sleep

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Robert; Nakano, Katsuya; Fujita, Kento; Misaki, Shinya; Fujii, Hiroyuki; Misaki, Yukinori

    2017-07-01

    Currently, research for measuring human breathing during sleep is actively being conducted into using technologies that include piezoelectric, ultrasonic, microwave and infrared rays. But various problems have led to not many practical applications. As such, it was decided to develop a PVDF (PolyVinylidene DiFluoride) based non-contact high resolution sensor for monitoring a subject's breathing as they sleep. Development of the high resolution respiration sensor was possible through the use of PVDF piezoelectric film and the development of a new sensor configuration. Although there was already an existing respiration sensor research resulting product available, is weak signal strength made it very sensitive to noise and difficult to measure respiration accurately. As such, complicated circuits and signal processing were needed. A new high resolution breathing sensor was developed with greater signal strength and with just the use of some simple circuits and signal processing, was able to accurately measure subject breathing. Also due to the greater signal strength, it became possible to measure both heart rate and respiration rate simultaneously.

  8. Active Low Intrusion Hybrid Monitor for Wireless Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navia, Marlon; Campelo, Jose C; Bonastre, Alberto; Ors, Rafael; Capella, Juan V; Serrano, Juan J

    2015-09-18

    Several systems have been proposed to monitor wireless sensor networks (WSN). These systems may be active (causing a high degree of intrusion) or passive (low observability inside the nodes). This paper presents the implementation of an active hybrid (hardware and software) monitor with low intrusion. It is based on the addition to the sensor node of a monitor node (hardware part) which, through a standard interface, is able to receive the monitoring information sent by a piece of software executed in the sensor node. The intrusion on time, code, and energy caused in the sensor nodes by the monitor is evaluated as a function of data size and the interface used. Then different interfaces, commonly available in sensor nodes, are evaluated: serial transmission (USART), serial peripheral interface (SPI), and parallel. The proposed hybrid monitor provides highly detailed information, barely disturbed by the measurement tool (interference), about the behavior of the WSN that may be used to evaluate many properties such as performance, dependability, security, etc. Monitor nodes are self-powered and may be removed after the monitoring campaign to be reused in other campaigns and/or WSNs. No other hardware-independent monitoring platforms with such low interference have been found in the literature.

  9. Microwave-assisted extraction of silkworm pupal oil and evaluation of its fatty acid composition, physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Bin; Li, Cheng; Zhang, Zhiqing; Zhao, Qing; Zhu, Yadong; Su, Zhao; Chen, Yizi

    2017-09-15

    Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of oil from silkworm pupae was firstly performed in the present research. The response surface methodology was applied to optimize the parameters for MAE. The yield of oil by MAE was 30.16% under optimal conditions of a mixed solvent consisting of ethanol and n-hexane (1:1, v/v), microwave power (360W), liquid to solid ratio (7.5/1mL/g), microwave time (29min). Moreover, oil extracted by MAE was quantitatively (yield) and qualitatively (fatty acid profile) similar to those obtained using Soxhlet extraction (SE), but oil extracted by MAE exhibited favourable physicochemical properties and oxidation stability. Additionally, oil extracted by MAE had a higher content of total phenolic, and it showed stronger antioxidant activities. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that microwave technique efficiently promoted the release of oil by breaking down the cell structure of silkworm pupae. Therefore, MAE can be an effective method for the silkworm pupal oil extraction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Development of isoform-specific sensors of polypeptide GalNAc-transferase activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Song, Lina; Bachert, Collin; Schjoldager, Katrine T

    2014-01-01

    sequence influenced their activity and required modification, which we carried out based on previous in vitro work. Significantly, the modified T2 and T3 sensors were activated only in cells lacking their corresponding isozymes. Thus, we have developed T2- and T3-specific sensors that will be valuable......Humans express up to 20 isoforms of GalNAc-transferase (herein T1-T20) that localize to the Golgi apparatus and initiate O-glycosylation. Regulation of this enzyme family affects a vast array of proteins transiting the secretory pathway and diseases arise upon misregulation of specific isoforms....... Surprisingly, molecular probes to monitor GalNAc-transferase activity are lacking and there exist no effective global or isoform-specific inhibitors. Here we describe the development of T2- and T3-isoform specific fluorescence sensors that traffic in the secretory pathway. Each sensor yielded little signal...

  11. Snow Cover Mapping at the Continental to Global Scale Using Combined Visible and Passive Microwave Satellite Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, R. L.; Brodzik, M.; Savoie, M. H.

    2007-12-01

    Over the past several decades both visible and passive microwave satellite data have been utilized for snow mapping at the continental to global scale. Snow mapping using visible data has been based primarily on the magnitude of the surface reflectance, and in more recent cases on specific spectral signatures, while microwave data can be used to identify snow cover because the microwave energy emitted by the underlying soil is scattered by the snow grains resulting in a sharp decrease in brightness temperature and a characteristic negative spectral gradient. Both passive microwave and visible data sets indicate a similar pattern of inter-annual variability, although the maximum snow extents derived from the microwave data are consistently less than those provided by the visible satellite data and the visible data typically show higher monthly variability. We describe the respective problems as well as the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of satellite data for snow cover mapping and demonstrate how a multi-sensor approach is optimal. For the period 1978 to present we combine data from the NOAA weekly snow charts with snow cover derived from the SMMR and SSM/I brightness temperature data. For the period since 2002 we blend NASA EOS MODIS and AMSR-E data sets. Our current product incorporates MODIS data from the Climate Modelers Grid (CMG) at approximately 5 km (0.05 deg.) with microwave-derived snow water equivalent (SWE) at 25 km, resulting in a blended product that includes percent snow cover in the larger grid cell whenever the microwave SWE signal is absent. Validation of AMSR-E at the brightness temperature level is provided through the comparison with data from the well-calibrated heritage SSM/I sensor over large homogeneous snow-covered surfaces (e.g. Dome C region, Antarctica). We also describe how the application of the higher frequency microwave channels (85 and 89 GHz)enhances accurate mapping of shallow and intermittent snow cover.

  12. Compact Microwave Fourier Spectrum Analyzer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savchenkov, Anatoliy; Matsko, Andrey; Strekalov, Dmitry

    2009-01-01

    A compact photonic microwave Fourier spectrum analyzer [a Fourier-transform microwave spectrometer, (FTMWS)] with no moving parts has been proposed for use in remote sensing of weak, natural microwave emissions from the surfaces and atmospheres of planets to enable remote analysis and determination of chemical composition and abundances of critical molecular constituents in space. The instrument is based on a Bessel beam (light modes with non-zero angular momenta) fiber-optic elements. It features low power consumption, low mass, and high resolution, without a need for any cryogenics, beyond what is achievable by the current state-of-the-art in space instruments. The instrument can also be used in a wide-band scatterometer mode in active radar systems.

  13. Lower limit of intensity for the solar activity in microwaves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaufmann, P; Iacomo, P Jr; Koppe, E H; dos Santos, P M; Schaal, R E [Universidade Mackenzie, Sao Paulo (Brazil). Centro de Radio-Astronomia e Astrofisica; Blakey, J R [Surrey Univ., Guildford (UK). Dept. of Physics

    1976-01-01

    The active region McMath 10433 has produced various flares and bursts in radio frequency in the beginning of july 1974. This region was scanned countinously in 22.2 GHz with a radio telescope showing a 4 min. arc beam, in various periods of the month. In comparison with the results simultaneously obtained with a normal solar radio telescope, in 7 GHz, it was verified that there is an important explosive activity in lower levels in the limit of detection of an usual patrolling instrument. The morphology of these events, in its progress in the time, is similar to that normaly known, and allowed, the re-interpretation of simple events. A completly new type of event was defined: the fast absorptions. The correlation of events in microwaves with 'SPA' recorded in 'VLF' propagation is also discussed.

  14. Raman Lidar Calibration for the DMSP SSM/T-2 Microwave Water Vapor Sensor

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Wessel, J

    2000-01-01

    Campaigns were conducted at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, investigating Raman lidar as a method to improve calibration of the DMSP SSM/T-2 microwave water vapor profiling instrument...

  15. Multiobjective Optimization Method for Multichannel Microwave Components of Active Phased Array Antenna

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Wang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Multichannel microwave components are widely used and the active phased array antenna is a typical representative. The high power generated from T/R modules in active phased array antenna (APAA leads to the degradation of its electrical performances, which seriously restricts the development of high-performance APAA. Therefore, to meet the demand of thermal design for APAA, a multiobjective optimization design model of cold plate is proposed. Furthermore, in order to achieve temperature uniformity and case temperature restrictions of APAA simultaneously, optimization model of channel structure is developed. Besides, an airborne active phased array antenna was tested as an example to verify the validity of the optimization model. The valuable results provide important reference for engineers to enhance thermal design technology of antennas.

  16. Thin n-in-p planar pixel sensors and active edge sensors for the ATLAS upgrade at HL-LHC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terzo, S; Macchiolo, A; Nisius, R; Paschen, B

    2014-01-01

    Silicon pixel modules employing n-in-p planar sensors with an active thickness of 200 μm, produced at CiS, and 100-200 μm thin active/slim edge sensor devices, produced at VTT in Finland have been interconnected to ATLAS FE-I3 and FE-I4 read-out chips. The thin sensors are designed for high energy physics collider experiments to ensure radiation hardness at high fluences. Moreover, the active edge technology of the VTT production maximizes the sensitive region of the assembly, allowing for a reduced overlap of the modules in the pixel layer close to the beam pipe. The CiS production includes also four chip sensors according to the module geometry planned for the outer layers of the upgraded ATLAS pixel detector to be operated at the HL-LHC. The modules have been characterized using radioactive sources in the laboratory and with high precision measurements at beam tests to investigate the hit efficiency and charge collection properties at different bias voltages and particle incidence angles. The performance of the different sensor thicknesses and edge designs are compared before and after irradiation up to a fluence of 1.4 × 10 16 n eq /cm 2

  17. Planar Microstrip Ring Resonators for Microwave-Based Gas Sensing: Design Aspects and Initial Transducers for Humidity and Ammonia Sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogner, Andreas; Steiner, Carsten; Walter, Stefanie; Kita, Jaroslaw; Hagen, Gunter; Moos, Ralf

    2017-10-24

    A planar microstrip ring resonator structure on alumina was developed using the commercial FEM software COMSOL. Design parameters were evaluated, eventually leading to an optimized design of a miniaturized microwave gas sensor. The sensor was covered with a zeolite film. The device was successfully operated at around 8.5 GHz at room temperature as a humidity sensor. In the next step, an additional planar heater will be included on the reverse side of the resonator structure to allow for testing of gas-sensitive materials under sensor conditions.

  18. Effects of low power microwave radiation on biological activity of Collagenase enzyme and growth rate of S. Cerevisiae yeast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsuhaim, Hamad S.; Vojisavljevic, Vuk; Pirogova, E.

    2013-12-01

    Recently, microwave radiation, a type/subset of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) has been widely used in industry, medicine, as well as food technology and mobile communication. Use of mobile phones is rapidly growing. Four years from now, 5.1 billion people will be mobile phone users around the globe - almost 1 billion more mobile users than the 4.3 billion people worldwide using them now. Consequently, exposure to weak radiofrequency/microwave radiation generated by these devices is markedly increasing. Accordingly, public concern about potential hazards on human health is mounting [1]. Thermal effects of radiofrequency/microwave radiation are very well-known and extensively studied. Of particular interest are non-thermal effects of microwave exposures on biological systems. Nonthermal effects are described as changes in cellular metabolism caused by both resonance absorption and induced EMR and are often accompanied by a specific biological response. Non-thermal biological effects are measurable changes in biological systems that may or may not be associated with adverse health effects. In this study we studied non-thermal effects of low power microwave exposures on kinetics of L-lactate dehydrogenase enzyme and growth rate of yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae strains type II. The selected model systems were continuously exposed to microwave radiation at the frequency of 968MHz and power of 10dBm using the designed and constructed (custom made) Transverse Electro-Magnetic (TEM) cell [2]. The findings reveal that microwave radiation at 968MHz and power of 10dBm inhibits L-lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activity by 26% and increases significantly (15%) the proliferation rate of yeast cells.

  19. Physical Human Activity Recognition Using Wearable Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attal, Ferhat; Mohammed, Samer; Dedabrishvili, Mariam; Chamroukhi, Faicel; Oukhellou, Latifa; Amirat, Yacine

    2015-12-11

    This paper presents a review of different classification techniques used to recognize human activities from wearable inertial sensor data. Three inertial sensor units were used in this study and were worn by healthy subjects at key points of upper/lower body limbs (chest, right thigh and left ankle). Three main steps describe the activity recognition process: sensors' placement, data pre-processing and data classification. Four supervised classification techniques namely, k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM), and Random Forest (RF) as well as three unsupervised classification techniques namely, k-Means, Gaussian mixture models (GMM) and Hidden Markov Model (HMM), are compared in terms of correct classification rate, F-measure, recall, precision, and specificity. Raw data and extracted features are used separately as inputs of each classifier. The feature selection is performed using a wrapper approach based on the RF algorithm. Based on our experiments, the results obtained show that the k-NN classifier provides the best performance compared to other supervised classification algorithms, whereas the HMM classifier is the one that gives the best results among unsupervised classification algorithms. This comparison highlights which approach gives better performance in both supervised and unsupervised contexts. It should be noted that the obtained results are limited to the context of this study, which concerns the classification of the main daily living human activities using three wearable accelerometers placed at the chest, right shank and left ankle of the subject.

  20. A comparative study on the effect of conventional thermal pasteurisation, microwave and ultrasound treatments on the antioxidant activity of five fruit juices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saikia, Sangeeta; Mahnot, Nikhil Kumar; Mahanta, Charu Lata

    2016-06-01

    A comparative study on the effect of conventional thermal pasteurisation, microwave and ultrasound treatments on the phytochemical and antioxidant activities of juices from carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.), black jamun (Syzygium cumuni L.Skeels.), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var lanatus), pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr) and litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) was carried out. Depending on the type of fruit sample and treatment, increase or decrease in phytochemical values was observed. Overall, sonication had a positive effect on the total flavonoid content in all the juice samples followed by microwave treatment with exceptions in some cases. High-performance liquid chromatography study showed the presence of different phenolic acids depending on the sample type. The phenolic acids in some processed carambola juice samples showed decrease or complete destruction, while in some cases, an increase or appearance of newer phenolic acid originally not detected in the fresh juice was observed as seen in conventional thermal pasteurisation, microwaved at 600 W and sonicated juices. Both microwaved and sonicated samples were found to have positive effect on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity with exceptions in some cases. Therefore, microwave and sonication treatment could be used in place of thermal pasteurisation depending on the sample requirements. © The Author(s) 2015.

  1. Dynamic Inversion of Global Surface Microwave Emissivity Using a 1DVAR Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sid-Ahmed Boukabara

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available A variational inversion scheme is used to extract microwave emissivity spectra from brightness temperatures over a multitude of surface types. The scheme is called the Microwave Integrated Retrieval System and has been implemented operationally since 2007 at NOAA. This study focuses on the Advance Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU/MHS pair onboard the NOAA-18 platform, but the algorithm is applied routinely to multiple microwave sensors, including the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS on Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP, Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMI/S on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP flight units, as well as to the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM Microwave Imager (GMI, to name a few. The emissivity spectrum retrieval is entirely based on a physical approach. To optimize the use of information content from the measurements, the emissivity is extracted simultaneously with other parameters impacting the measurements, namely, the vertical profiles of temperature, moisture and cloud, as well as the skin temperature and hydrometeor parameters when rain or ice are present. The final solution is therefore a consistent set of parameters that fit the measured brightness temperatures within the instrument noise level. No ancillary data are needed to perform this dynamic emissivity inversion. By allowing the emissivity to be part of the retrieved state vector, it becomes easy to handle the pixel-to-pixel variation in the emissivity over non-oceanic surfaces. This is particularly important in highly variable surface backgrounds. The retrieved emissivity spectrum by itself is of value (as a wetness index for instance, but it is also post-processed to determine surface geophysical parameters. Among the parameters retrieved from the emissivity using this approach are snow cover, snow water equivalent and effective grain size over snow-covered surfaces, sea-ice concentration and age from ice

  2. Virtual sensors for active noise control in acoustic-structural coupled enclosures using structural sensing: robust virtual sensor design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halim, Dunant; Cheng, Li; Su, Zhongqing

    2011-03-01

    The work was aimed to develop a robust virtual sensing design methodology for sensing and active control applications of vibro-acoustic systems. The proposed virtual sensor was designed to estimate a broadband acoustic interior sound pressure using structural sensors, with robustness against certain dynamic uncertainties occurring in an acoustic-structural coupled enclosure. A convex combination of Kalman sub-filters was used during the design, accommodating different sets of perturbed dynamic model of the vibro-acoustic enclosure. A minimax optimization problem was set up to determine an optimal convex combination of Kalman sub-filters, ensuring an optimal worst-case virtual sensing performance. The virtual sensing and active noise control performance was numerically investigated on a rectangular panel-cavity system. It was demonstrated that the proposed virtual sensor could accurately estimate the interior sound pressure, particularly the one dominated by cavity-controlled modes, by using a structural sensor. With such a virtual sensing technique, effective active noise control performance was also obtained even for the worst-case dynamics. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

  3. Biopolymers Regulate Silver Nanoparticle under Microwave Irradiation for Effective Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Palaniyandi Velusamy

    Full Text Available In the current study, facile synthesis of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC and sodium alginate capped silver nanoparticles (AgNPs was examined using microwave radiation and aniline as a reducing agent. The biopolymer matrix embedded nanoparticles were synthesized under various experimental conditions using different concentrations of biopolymer (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2%, volumes of reducing agent (50, 100, 150 μL, and duration of heat treatment (30 s to 240 s. The synthesized nanoparticles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for identification of AgNPs synthesis, crystal nature, shape, size, and type of capping action. In addition, the significant antibacterial efficacy and antibiofilm activity of biopolymer capped AgNPs were demonstrated against different bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 740 and Escherichia coli MTCC 9492. These results confirmed the potential for production of biopolymer capped AgNPs grown under microwave irradiation, which can be used for industrial and biomedical applications.

  4. Pioneer Venus Star Sensor. [active despin control application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutshall, R. L.; Thomas, G.

    1979-01-01

    The design predictions and orbital performance verification of the solid state star scanner used in the Onboard Attitude Control of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and Multiprobe are presented. The star sensor extended the scanner use to active despin control, and it differs from previous sensors in solid state detection, redundant electronics for reliability, larger field of view, and large dynamic spin range. The star scanner hardware and design performance based on the ability to predict all noise sources, signal magnitudes, and expected detection probability are discussed. In-flight data collected to verify sensor ground calibration are tabulated and plotted in predicted accuracy curves. It is concluded that the Pioneer Venus Star Sensor has demonstrated predictable star calibration in the range of .1 magnitude uncertainties and usable star catalogs of 100 stars with very high probabilities of detection, which were much better than expected and well within the mission requirements.

  5. Device Simulation of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors: Radiation Damage Effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fourches, N.T.

    2009-01-01

    Vertexing for the future International Linear Collider represents a challenging goal because of the high spatial resolution required with low material budget and high ionizing radiation tolerance. CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) represent a good potential solution for this purpose. Up to now many MAPS sensors have been developed. They are based on various architectures and manufactured in different processes. However, up so far, the sensor diode has not been the subject of extensive modelization and simulation. Published simulation studies of sensor-signal formation have been less numerous than measurements on real sensors. This is a cause for concern because such sensor is physically based on the partially depleted diode, in the vicinity of which the electric field collects the minority carriers generated by an incident MIP (minimum ionizing particle). Although the microscopic mechanisms are well known and modelled, the global physical mechanisms for signal formation are not very rigorously established. This is partly due to the presence of a predominant diffusion component in the charge transport. We present here simulations mainly based on the S-PISCES code, in which physical mechanisms affecting transport are taken into account. Diffusion, influence of residual carrier concentration due to the doping level in the sensitive volume, and more importantly charge trapping due to deep levels in the active (detecting) layer are studied together with geometric aspects. The effect of neutron irradiation is studied to assess the effects of deep traps. A comparison with available experimental data, obtained on processed MAPS before or after neutron irradiation will be introduced. Simulated reconstruction of the Minimum Ionizing Particle (MIP) point of impact in two dimensions is also investigated. For further steps, guidelines for process choices of next Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors are introduced. (authors)

  6. Optimized Fast-FISH with a-satellite probes: acceleration by microwave activation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Durm M.

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available It has been shown for several DNA probes that the recently introduced Fast-FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization technique is well suited for quantitative microscopy. For highly repetitive DNA probes the hybridization (renaturation time and the number of subsequent washing steps were reduced considerably by omitting denaturing chemical agents (e.g., formamide. The appropriate hybridization temperature and time allow a clear discrimination between major and minor binding sites by quantitative fluorescence microscopy. The well-defined physical conditions for hybridization permit automatization of the procedure, e.g., by a programmable thermal cycler. Here, we present optimized conditions for a commercially available X-specific a-satellite probe. Highly fluorescent major binding sites were obtained for 74oC hybridization temperature and 60 min hybridization time. They were clearly discriminated from some low fluorescent minor binding sites on metaphase chromosomes as well as in interphase cell nuclei. On average, a total of 3.43 ± 1.59 binding sites were measured in metaphase spreads, and 2.69 ± 1.00 in interphase nuclei. Microwave activation for denaturation and hybridization was tested to accelerate the procedure. The slides with the target material and the hybridization buffer were placed in a standard microwave oven. After denaturation for 20 s at 900 W, hybridization was performed for 4 min at 90 W. The suitability of a microwave oven for Fast-FISH was confirmed by the application to a chromosome 1-specific a-satellite probe. In this case, denaturation was performed at 630 W for 60 s and hybridization at 90 W for 5 min. In all cases, the results were analyzed quantitatively and compared to the results obtained by Fast-FISH. The major binding sites were clearly discriminated by their brightness

  7. Pyrolysis of methane by microwaves. Pt. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avni, R.; Winefordner, J.D.; Nickel, H.

    1975-04-01

    The pyrolysis of methane and mixtures of argon-methane by microwaves (2,450 MHz) was investigated. The microwave plasma diagnostic study was performed using electrical probes, namely, the double floating probe technique. Parameters such as electric field strength and current densities were measured and from their relationship the electron temperature, electric conductivity, electron and ion densities were evaluated as function of gas pressure, microwave power input and distance of the probe from the microwave cavity. Various spectroscopic techniques were used for the measurement of temperatures in the microwave plasma; the 'reversal temperature' by measuring the intensities of the electronic vibrational bands of CN and OH molecules and 'rotational temperature' from the measured intensities of rotational OH lines. The 'rotational' as well as the 'reversal temperature' were found to be identical and this temperature was assumed to be the temperature of the gas in the microwave plasma. Energy balance calculation, based upon the electrical energy input and thermal losses, were performed in order to determine if steady state conditions existed in the microwave plasma. Emission and absorption spectroscopy were used for determining the active species formed in the pyrolysis of methane and also of mixtures of CH 4 -Ar, by the microwave plasma. (orig.) [de

  8. An absorbing microwave micro-solid-phase extraction device used in non-polar solvent microwave-assisted extraction for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Ziming; Zhao Xin; Xu Xu; Wu Lijie; Su Rui; Zhao Yajing; Jiang Chengfei; Zhang Hanqi; Ma Qiang; Lu Chunmei; Dong Deming

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► An absorbing microwave μ-SPE device packed with activated carbon was used. ► Absorbing microwave μ-SPE device was made and used to enrich the analytes. ► Absorbing microwave μ-SPE device was made and used to heat samples directly. ► MAE-μ-SPE was applied to the extraction of OPPs with non-polar solvent only. - Abstract: A single-step extraction-cleanup method, including microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and micro-solid-phase extraction (μ-SPE), was developed for the extraction of ten organophosphorus pesticides in vegetable and fruit samples. Without adding any polar solvent, only one kind of non-polar solvent (hexane) was used as extraction solvent in the whole extraction step. Absorbing microwave μ-SPE device, was prepared by packing activated carbon with microporous polypropylene membrane envelope, and used as not only the sorbent in μ-SPE, but also the microwave absorption medium. Some experimental parameters effecting on extraction efficiency was investigated and optimized. 1.0 g of sample, 8 mL of hexane and three absorbing microwave μ-SPE devices were added in the microwave extraction vessel, the extraction was carried out under 400 W irradiation power at 60 °C for 10 min. The extracts obtained by MAE-μ-SPE were directly analyzed by GC–MS without any clean-up process. The recoveries were in the range of 93.5–104.6%, and the relative standard deviations were lower than 8.7%.

  9. Chemical Sensor Platform for Non-Invasive Monitoring of Activity and Dehydration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dmitry Solovei

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A non-invasive solution for monitoring of the activity and dehydration of organisms is proposed in the work. For this purpose, a wireless standalone chemical sensor platform using two separate measurement techniques has been developed. The first approach for activity monitoring is based on humidity measurement. Our solution uses new humidity sensor based on a nanostructured TiO2 surface for sweat rate monitoring. The second technique is based on monitoring of potassium concentration in urine. High level of potassium concentration denotes clear occurrence of dehydration. Furthermore, a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN was developed for this sensor platform to manage data transfer among devices and the internet. The WBAN coordinator controls the sensor devices and collects and stores the measured data. The collected data is particular to individuals and can be shared with physicians, emergency systems or athletes’ coaches. Long-time monitoring of activity and potassium concentration in urine can help maintain the appropriate water intake of elderly people or athletes and to send warning signals in the case of near dehydration. The created sensor system was calibrated and tested in laboratory and real conditions as well. The measurement results are discussed.

  10. Implementation of Optical Meanders in the Temperature Measurement of the Extermination of Basidiomycete Serpula Lacrymans Using Microwave Heating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrej Liner

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The dry rot basidiomycete Serpula lacrymans is the most common and destructive wood decay fungus, which attacks and damages houses and other wooden construction worldwide [1], [2]. Effective chemicals have been developed for remediation and treatment of dry rot outbreaks and for wood preservation against dry rot, but in most cases, control is most economically achieved by environmental management to avoid creating favourable growth conditions for the fungus [3]. Thermal treatment using microwaves represents one of possible approaches in fungal growth control and refurbishment of damaged wooden constructions. One of the possibilities, how to monitor this whole process seems to be the use of Optical fiber DTS (Distribution Temperature Systems. The Optical fiber DTS are unique distributed temperature systems using optical fiber as a sensor. Due to the electromagnetic resistance is this system suitable for the monitoring of these processes. This article deals with application of optical meanders in the temperature measurement during the extermination of basidiomycete Serpula lacrymans using microwave heating. Because of the adverse effect of microwave radiation on all other types of temperature sensors.

  11. Effect of ultrasonic and microwave disintegration on physico-chemical and biodegradation characteristics of waste-activated sludge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doğruel, Serdar; Özgen, Aslı Sedem

    2017-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ultrasonic and microwave disintegration on physico-chemical and biodegradability properties of waste-activated sludge (WAS) from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Another aim was to carry out particle size distribution (PSD) analysis as an integral component of sludge characterization to highlight the transformation mechanisms involved in pretreatment processes and better understand the biodegradation patterns of sonicated and irradiated WAS liquids examined by means of respirometric measurements. Various combinations of sonication and microwave irradiation parameters were applied to optimize operating conditions. The optimum ultrasonic density was determined as 1.5 W/mL, and energy dosages lower than 30,000 kJ/kg TS resulted in a fairly linear increase in the soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) release. An irradiation time of 10 min and a temperature of 175°C were selected as the optimum microwave pretreatment conditions for sludge liquefaction. The most apparent impact of ultrasonication on the PSD of COD was the shifting of the peak at the particulate fraction (>1600 nm) toward the lowest size range (<2 nm). Microwave heating at the selected experimental conditions and ultrasonic pretreatment at 30,000 kJ/kg TS exhibited comparable size distribution and biodegradation characteristics to those of domestic sewage.

  12. Microwave Ovens

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Products and Procedures Home, Business, and Entertainment Products Microwave Ovens Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing ... 1030.10 - Microwave Ovens Required Reports for the Microwave Oven Manufacturers or Industry Exemption from Certain Reporting ...

  13. Active sensors for health monitoring of aging aerospace structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giurgiutiu, Victor; Redmond, James M.; Roach, Dennis P.; Rackow, Kirk

    2000-06-01

    A project to develop non-intrusive active sensors that can be applied on existing aging aerospace structures for monitoring the onset and progress of structural damage (fatigue cracks and corrosion) is presented. The state of the art in active sensors structural health monitoring and damage detection is reviewed. Methods based on (a) elastic wave propagation and (b) electro-mechanical (E/M) impedance technique are cited and briefly discussed. The instrumentation of these specimens with piezoelectric active sensors is illustrated. The main detection strategies (E/M impedance for local area detection and wave propagation for wide area interrogation) are discussed. The signal processing and damage interpretation algorithms are tuned to the specific structural interrogation method used. In the high frequency E/M impedance approach, pattern recognition methods are used to compare impedance signatures taken at various time intervals and to identify damage presence and progression from the change in these signatures. In the wave propagation approach, the acousto- ultrasonic methods identifying additional reflection generated from the damage site and changes in transmission velocity and phase are used. Both approaches benefit from the use of artificial intelligence neural networks algorithms that can extract damage features based on a learning process. Design and fabrication of a set of structural specimens representative of aging aerospace structures is presented. Three built-up specimens, (pristine, with cracks, and with corrosion damage) are used. The specimen instrumentation with active sensors fabricated at the University of South Carolina is illustrated. Preliminary results obtained with the E/M impedance method on pristine and cracked specimens are presented.

  14. JPL CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fossum, E. R.

    1995-01-01

    This paper will present the JPL-developed complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor (APS) technology. The CMOS APS has achieved performance comparable to charge coupled devices, yet features ultra low power operation, random access readout, on-chip timing and control, and on-chip analog to digital conversion. Previously published open literature will be reviewed.

  15. The use of design of experiments for the evaluation of the production of surface rich activated carbon from sewage sludge via microwave and conventional pyrolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simões dos Reis, Glaydson; Wilhelm, Michaela; Silva, Thamires Canuto de Almeida; Rezwan, Kurosch; Sampaio, Carlos Hoffmann; Lima, Eder Claudio; Guelli Ulson de Souza, Selene M.A.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Using of DOE for preparation of AC by conventional and microwave pyrolysis. • The significant parameters in producing activated carbon were investigated. • Conventional pyrolysis AC had better textural development than microwave AC. • Temperature and holding time had significant influence on the S_B_E_T. • Reduction of production cost of activated carbon. - Abstract: Experimental design and response surface methodology were used for the preparation and comparison of activated carbon produced from sewage sludge by two types of pyrolysis: conventional furnace and microwave. The preparation method was performed following a full fractional factorial design (2"3), including pyrolysis temperature or power radiation, holding time and chemical activation agent, and specific surface area (S_B_E_T) of prepared activated carbon. The influence of these factors on the S_B_E_T of obtained carbon was investigated using an analysis of variance. Samples made by conventional pyrolysis showed overall higher S_B_E_T values than samples synthesised by the microwave method. The optimum parameters for the preparation of activated carbon using the conventional pyrolysis have been identified as: pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C, holding time of 15 min, and a ratio of ZnCl_2:sludge of 0.5. Microwave pyrolysis is found to be optimal when operating at 980 W for 12 min. Under these conditions, S_B_E_T values of 679 and 501 m"2g"−"1, respectively, have been obtained. The analysis of nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms revealed the presence of micro and mesopores in the activated carbon. The most important significant factor, according statistical analysis, in the variance in S_B_E_T for the conventional pyrolysis samples were the pyrolysis temperature and interaction between pyrolysis temperature, holding time and ratio of ZnCl_2:sludge were the most important factors. The highest impact parameters for the microwave method were found for the interaction

  16. Spectroscopic study of microwave induced plasmas : exploration of active and passive methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, de N.

    2008-01-01

    Microwave induced plasmas (MIPs) are used for a number of high-tech applications like material processing, light generation, gas cleaning and spectrochemical analysis. Especially the feature that MIPs can be operated remotely and that the propagation of the microwaves can be manipulated with slits,

  17. Learning Activity Predictors from Sensor Data: Algorithms, Evaluation, and Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minor, Bryan; Doppa, Janardhan Rao; Cook, Diane J

    2017-12-01

    Recent progress in Internet of Things (IoT) platforms has allowed us to collect large amounts of sensing data. However, there are significant challenges in converting this large-scale sensing data into decisions for real-world applications. Motivated by applications like health monitoring and intervention and home automation we consider a novel problem called Activity Prediction , where the goal is to predict future activity occurrence times from sensor data. In this paper, we make three main contributions. First, we formulate and solve the activity prediction problem in the framework of imitation learning and reduce it to a simple regression learning problem. This approach allows us to leverage powerful regression learners that can reason about the relational structure of the problem with negligible computational overhead. Second, we present several metrics to evaluate activity predictors in the context of real-world applications. Third, we evaluate our approach using real sensor data collected from 24 smart home testbeds. We also embed the learned predictor into a mobile-device-based activity prompter and evaluate the app for 9 participants living in smart homes. Our results indicate that our activity predictor performs better than the baseline methods, and offers a simple approach for predicting activities from sensor data.

  18. Changes on antioxidant activity of microwave-treated protein hydrolysates after simulated gastrointestinal digestion: Purification and identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ketnawa, Sunantha; Wickramathilaka, Malithi; Liceaga, Andrea M

    2018-07-15

    Two samples of trout frame protein hydrolysates were prepared by Microwave Pretreatment followed by Conventional Enzymatic hydrolysis (MPCE) and Non-Pretreated followed by Microwave-assisted Enzymatic hydrolysis (NPME), respectively, were subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Changes on degree of hydrolysis, antioxidant activity, molecular weight, and amino acid composition between undigested and after gastrointestinal digestion of peptides were investigated. Comparing to undigested peptides, a breakdown of MPCE and NPME into smaller molecules was observed. Degree of hydrolysis, ABTS + radical scavenging activity and reducing power increased (P digestion. A purified peptide from GI-MPCE had two possible sequences, NGRLGYSEGVM or GNRLGYSWDD (1182.65 Da). Whereas GI-NPME had two peptides IRGPEEHMHR or RVAPEEHMHR (1261.77 Da) and SAGVPRHK or SARPRHK (962.63 Da). These results indicate that digested hydrolysates can be a rich source of antioxidants. Isolated peptides extracted from trout frame by-products could be new food ingredients used as natural antioxidants. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. A Prototype Hail Detection Algorithm and Hail Climatology Developed with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferraro, Ralph; Beauchamp, James; Cecil, Dan; Heymsfeld, Gerald

    2015-01-01

    In previous studies published in the open literature, a strong relationship between the occurrence of hail and the microwave brightness temperatures (primarily at 37 and 85 GHz) was documented. These studies were performed with the Nimbus-7 SMMR, the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and most recently, the Aqua AMSR-E sensor. This lead to climatologies of hail frequency from TMI and AMSR-E, however, limitations include geographical domain of the TMI sensor (35 S to 35 N) and the overpass time of the Aqua satellite (130 am/pm local time), both of which reduce an accurate mapping of hail events over the global domain and the full diurnal cycle. Nonetheless, these studies presented exciting, new applications for passive microwave sensors. Since 1998, NOAA and EUMETSAT have been operating the AMSU-A/B and the MHS on several operational satellites: NOAA-15 through NOAA-19; MetOp-A and -B. With multiple satellites in operation since 2000, the AMSU/MHS sensors provide near global coverage every 4 hours, thus, offering a much larger time and temporal sampling than TRMM or AMSR-E. With similar observation frequencies near 30 and 85 GHz and additionally three at the 183 GHz water vapor band, the potential to detect strong convection associated with severe storms on a more comprehensive time and space scale exists. In this study, we develop a prototype AMSU-based hail detection algorithm through the use of collocated satellite and surface hail reports over the continental U.S. for a 12-year period (2000-2011). Compared with the surface observations, the algorithm detects approximately 40 percent of hail occurrences. The simple threshold algorithm is then used to generate a hail climatology that is based on all available AMSU observations during 2000-11 that is stratified in several ways, including total hail occurrence by month (March through September), total annual, and over the diurnal cycle. Independent comparisons are made compared to similar data sets derived from other

  20. Effects of accelerated electrons and microwaves on frozen enzyme lactate dehydrogenase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hategan, A.; Martin, D.; Popescu, L.M.; Butan, C.

    2000-01-01

    Results on the influence of 6 MeV electron beam irradiation and 2.45 GHz 565 W microwaves as well as the effects of the combined electron and microwave irradiation, at - 21 deg. C, on enzyme lactate dehydrogenase are presented. The microwave irradiated macromolecules exhibited a non-linear behaviour (successive activation and inactivation of the enzyme molecules) suggesting the major influence of the nonthermal component of microwave radiation. The combined electron and microwave irradiation lead to a similar decrease of the activity as the electron beam irradiation, the microwave influence being apparently insignificant in the dose, power and time ranges used. Radiation target analysis of the enzymatic decrease due to electron irradiation indicated very large aggregation of the enzyme molecules. Our data suggest that radiation target analysis is not suitable to measure the molecular mass of lactate dehydrogenase, when irradiating frozen enzyme suspensions. (authors)

  1. Mechanism for microwave heating of 1-(4'-cyanophenyl)-4-propylcyclohexane characterized by in situ microwave irradiation NMR spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tasei, Yugo; Yamakami, Takuya; Kawamura, Izuru; Fujito, Teruaki; Ushida, Kiminori; Sato, Motoyasu; Naito, Akira

    2015-05-01

    Microwave heating is widely used to accelerate organic reactions and enhance the activity of enzymes. However, the detailed molecular mechanism for the effect of microwave on chemical reactions is not yet fully understood. To investigate the effects of microwave heating on organic compounds, we have developed an in situ microwave irradiation NMR spectroscopy. (1)H NMR spectra of 1-(4'-cyanophenyl)-4-propylcyclohexane (PCH3) in the liquid crystalline and isotropic phases were observed under microwave irradiation. When the temperature was regulated at slightly higher than the phase transition temperature (Tc=45 °C) under a gas flow temperature control system, liquid crystalline phase mostly changed to the isotropic phase. Under microwave irradiation and with the gas flow temperature maintained at 20 °C, which is 25 °C below the Tc, the isotropic phase appeared stationary as an approximately 2% fraction in the liquid crystalline phase. The temperature of the liquid crystalline state was estimated to be 38 °C according to the line width, which is at least 7 °C lower than the Tc. The temperature of this isotropic phase should be higher than 45 °C, which is considered to be a non-equilibrium local heating state induced by microwave irradiation. Microwaves at a power of 195 W were irradiated to the isotropic phase of PCH3 at 50 °C and after 2 min, the temperature reached 220 °C. The temperature of PCH3 under microwave irradiation was estimated by measurement of the chemical shift changes of individual protons in the molecule. These results demonstrate that microwave heating generates very high temperature within a short time using an in situ microwave irradiation NMR spectrometer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Characterization and re-activation of oxygen sensors for use in liquid lead-bismuth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurata, Yuji; Abe, Yuji; Futakawa, Masatoshi; Oigawa, Hiroyuki

    2010-01-01

    Control of oxygen concentration in liquid lead-bismuth is one of the most important tasks to develop accelerator driven systems. In order to improve the reliability of oxygen sensors, re-activation treatments were investigated as well as characterization of oxygen sensors for use in liquid lead-bismuth. The oxygen sensor with a solid electrolyte of yttria-stabilized zirconia and a Pt/gas reference electrode showed almost the same electromotive force values in gas and liquid lead-bismuth, respectively, as the theoretical ones at temperatures above 400 deg. C or 450 deg. C. After long-term use of 6500 h, the outputs of the sensor became incorrect in liquid lead-bismuth. The state of the sensor that indicated incorrect outputs could not be recovered by cleaning with a nitric acid. However, it was found that the oxygen sensor became a correct sensor indicating theoretical values in liquid lead-bismuth after re-activation by the Pt-treatment of the outer surface of the sensor.

  3. A Hierarchical Approach to Real-time Activity Recognition in Body Sensor Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Liang; Gu, Tao; Tao, Xianping

    2012-01-01

    Real-time activity recognition in body sensor networks is an important and challenging task. In this paper, we propose a real-time, hierarchical model to recognize both simple gestures and complex activities using a wireless body sensor network. In this model, we rst use a fast and lightweight al...

  4. July 1974 solar events: a possible lower limit for microwave activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaufmann, P; Iacomo, P Jr; Koppe, E H; Marques dos Santos, P; Schaal, R E [Universidade Mackenzie, Sao Paulo (Brazil). Centro de Radio-Astronomia e Astrofisica; Blakey, J R [Surrey Univ., Guildford (UK). Dept. of Physics

    1975-11-01

    The active region McMath 10433 was the source of several flares and radio outbursts during the early part of July 1974. This region was tracked continuously, for several periods during the month at 22.2 GHz using a telescope with a 4 minutes of arc beam. Comparison with the results obtained simultaneously with a normal 7 GHz solar instrument indicate that there is important burst activity occurring at levels below the detection limit of normal solar patrol instruments. The time-development morphology of these bursts is similar to those normally observed and has enabled the simple events to be re-interpreted. A completely new type of event-the fast absorption-has also been recognized. The correlation of the microwave events with SPA events observed on VLF propagation is also discussed.

  5. Microwave Imaging Sensor Using Compact Metamaterial UWB Antenna with a High Correlation Factor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Moinul Islam

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The design of a compact metamaterial ultra-wideband (UWB antenna with a goal towards application in microwave imaging systems for detecting unwanted cells in human tissue, such as in cases of breast cancer, heart failure and brain stroke detection is proposed. This proposed UWB antenna is made of four metamaterial unit cells, where each cell is an integration of a modified split ring resonator (SRR, capacitive loaded strip (CLS and wire, to attain a design layout that simultaneously exhibits both a negative magnetic permeability and a negative electrical permittivity. This design results in an astonishing negative refractive index that enables amplification of the radiated power of this reported antenna, and therefore, high antenna performance. A low-cost FR4 substrate material is used to design and print this reported antenna, and has the following characteristics: thickness of 1.6 mm, relative permeability of one, relative permittivity of 4.60 and loss tangent of 0.02. The overall antenna size is 19.36 mm × 27.72 mm × 1.6 mm where the electrical dimension is 0.20 λ × 0.28 λ × 0.016 λ at the 3.05 GHz lower frequency band. Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR measurements have illustrated that this antenna exhibits an impedance bandwidth from 3.05 GHz to more than 15 GHz for VSWR < 2 with an average gain of 4.38 dBi throughout the operating frequency band. The simulations (both HFSS and computer simulation technology (CST and the measurements are in high agreement. A high correlation factor and the capability of detecting tumour simulants confirm that this reported UWB antenna can be used as an imaging sensor.

  6. Microwave-assisted green synthesis and antimicrobial activity of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Available online at http://www.tjpr.org ... Methods: The synthesis of AgNPs of a P. niruri extract was carried out in a microwave oven. The extraction .... Characterization of silver nanoparticles ... and current were 36 kV and 20 mA, respectively.

  7. An absorbing microwave micro-solid-phase extraction device used in non-polar solvent microwave-assisted extraction for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Ziming, E-mail: wangziming@jlu.edu.cn [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012 (China); College of Environment and Resources, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012 (China); Zhao Xin; Xu Xu; Wu Lijie; Su Rui; Zhao Yajing; Jiang Chengfei; Zhang Hanqi [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012 (China); Ma Qiang [Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing 100123 (China); Lu Chunmei [College of Technology Center, Jilin Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Changchun 130062 (China); Dong Deming [College of Environment and Resources, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012 (China)

    2013-01-14

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer An absorbing microwave {mu}-SPE device packed with activated carbon was used. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Absorbing microwave {mu}-SPE device was made and used to enrich the analytes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Absorbing microwave {mu}-SPE device was made and used to heat samples directly. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer MAE-{mu}-SPE was applied to the extraction of OPPs with non-polar solvent only. - Abstract: A single-step extraction-cleanup method, including microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and micro-solid-phase extraction ({mu}-SPE), was developed for the extraction of ten organophosphorus pesticides in vegetable and fruit samples. Without adding any polar solvent, only one kind of non-polar solvent (hexane) was used as extraction solvent in the whole extraction step. Absorbing microwave {mu}-SPE device, was prepared by packing activated carbon with microporous polypropylene membrane envelope, and used as not only the sorbent in {mu}-SPE, but also the microwave absorption medium. Some experimental parameters effecting on extraction efficiency was investigated and optimized. 1.0 g of sample, 8 mL of hexane and three absorbing microwave {mu}-SPE devices were added in the microwave extraction vessel, the extraction was carried out under 400 W irradiation power at 60 Degree-Sign C for 10 min. The extracts obtained by MAE-{mu}-SPE were directly analyzed by GC-MS without any clean-up process. The recoveries were in the range of 93.5-104.6%, and the relative standard deviations were lower than 8.7%.

  8. Noise Parameters of CW Radar Sensors Used in Active Defense Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Jenik

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Active defense represents an innovative way of protecting military vehicles. It is based on the employment of a set of radar sensors which detect an approaching threat missile and activate a suitable counter-measure. Since the radar sensors are supposed to detect flying missiles very fast and, at the same time, distinguish them from stationary or slow-moving objects, CW Doppler radar sensors can be employed with a benefit. The submitted article deals with a complex noise analysis of this type of sensors. The analysis considers the noise of linear and quasi-linear RF components, phase-noise of the local oscillator as well as the noise of low-frequency circuits. Since the incidence of the phase-noise depends strongly upon the time delay between the reference and the cross-talked signals, a new method of measuring noise parameters utilizing a reflecting wall has been developed and verified. The achieved results confirm potentially high influence of the phase-noise on the noise parameters of the mentioned type of radar sensors. Obtained results can be used for the analysis of noise parameters of the similar but even more complex sensors.

  9. Multifrequency passive microwave remote sensing of soil moisture and roughness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paloscia, S.; Pampaloni, P.; Chiarantini, L.; Coppo, P.; Gagliani, S.; Luzi, G.

    1993-01-01

    The accuracy achievable in the surface soil moisture measurement of rough bare and vegetated soils, typical of the Italian landscape, has been investigated by using microwave experimental data collected by means of a multi-band sensor package (L, X, Ka and infrared bands). The thickness of soil that mainly affects the emission at the three microwave frequencies has been assessed. The sensitivity of L band emission to the moisture content of a soil layer about 5 cm thick has been confirmed, as well as the attenuation effect due to the surface roughness and presence of vegetation. A correction criterion based on the sensitivity to roughness and crop parameters of the highest frequencies (X and Ka bands) is proposed in order to increase the precision in soil moisture measurements

  10. Experimental study on removals of SO2 and NO(x) using adsorption of activated carbon/microwave desorption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Shuang-Chen; Yao, Juan-Juan; Gao, Li; Ma, Xiao-Ying; Zhao, Yi

    2012-09-01

    Experimental studies on desulfurization and denitrification were carried out using activated carbon irradiated by microwave. The influences of the concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), the flue gas coexisting compositions, on adsorption properties of activated carbon and efficiencies of desulfurization and denitrification were investigated. The results show that adsorption capacity and removal efficiency of NO decrease with the increasing of SO2 concentrations in flue gas; adsorption capacity of NO increases slightly first and drops to 12.79 mg/g, and desulfurization efficiency descends with the increasing SO2 concentrations. Adsorption capacity of SO2 declines with the increasing of O2 content in flue gas, but adsorption capacity of NO increases, and removal efficiencies of NO and SO2 could be larger than 99%. Adsorption capacity of NO declines with the increase of moisture in the flue gas, but adsorption capacity of SO2 increases and removal efficiencies of NO and SO2 would be relatively stable. Adsorption capacities of both NO and SO2 decrease with the increasing of CO2 content; efficiencies of desulfurization and denitrification augment at the beginning stage, then start to fall when CO2 content exceeds 12.4%. The mechanisms of this process are also discussed. The prominent SO2 and NOx treatment techniques in power plants are wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and the catalytic decomposition method like selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or nonselective catalytic reduction (NSCR). However, these processes would have some difficulties in commercial application due to their high investment, requirement of expensive catalysts and large-scale equipment, and so on. A simple SO2 and NOx reduction utilizing decomposition by microwave energy method can be used. The pollutants control of flue gas in the power plants by the method of microwave-induced decomposition using adsorption of activated carbon/microwave desorption can meet the

  11. A Comprehensive Analysis on Wearable Acceleration Sensors in Human Activity Recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janidarmian, Majid; Roshan Fekr, Atena; Radecka, Katarzyna; Zilic, Zeljko

    2017-03-07

    Sensor-based motion recognition integrates the emerging area of wearable sensors with novel machine learning techniques to make sense of low-level sensor data and provide rich contextual information in a real-life application. Although Human Activity Recognition (HAR) problem has been drawing the attention of researchers, it is still a subject of much debate due to the diverse nature of human activities and their tracking methods. Finding the best predictive model in this problem while considering different sources of heterogeneities can be very difficult to analyze theoretically, which stresses the need of an experimental study. Therefore, in this paper, we first create the most complete dataset, focusing on accelerometer sensors, with various sources of heterogeneities. We then conduct an extensive analysis on feature representations and classification techniques (the most comprehensive comparison yet with 293 classifiers) for activity recognition. Principal component analysis is applied to reduce the feature vector dimension while keeping essential information. The average classification accuracy of eight sensor positions is reported to be 96.44% ± 1.62% with 10-fold evaluation, whereas accuracy of 79.92% ± 9.68% is reached in the subject-independent evaluation. This study presents significant evidence that we can build predictive models for HAR problem under more realistic conditions, and still achieve highly accurate results.

  12. Precise shape reconstruction by active pattern in total-internal-reflection-based tactile sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saga, Satoshi; Taira, Ryosuke; Deguchi, Koichiro

    2014-03-01

    We are developing a total-internal-reflection-based tactile sensor in which the shape is reconstructed using an optical reflection. This sensor consists of silicone rubber, an image pattern, and a camera. It reconstructs the shape of the sensor surface from an image of a pattern reflected at the inner sensor surface by total internal reflection. In this study, we propose precise real-time reconstruction by employing an optimization method. Furthermore, we propose to use active patterns. Deformation of the reflection image causes reconstruction errors. By controlling the image pattern, the sensor reconstructs the surface deformation more precisely. We implement the proposed optimization and active-pattern-based reconstruction methods in a reflection-based tactile sensor, and perform reconstruction experiments using the system. A precise deformation experiment confirms the linearity and precision of the reconstruction.

  13. Development of a modified two-scale electromagnetic model simulating both active and passive microwave measurements: Comparison to data remotely sensed over the ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boukabara, S. A.; Eymard, L.; Guillou, C.; Lemaire, D.; Sobieski, P.; Guissard, A.

    2002-08-01

    Spaceborne microwave remote sensing allows the determination of oceanic and atmospheric parameters. Operational payloads such as ERS-1 and ERS-2 and TOPEX/Poseidon as well as missions such as Jason (from NASA-Centre National d'Etudes) or Envisat (from the European Space Agency), have contained or contain paired microwave instruments looking at the nadir direction. This combination consists of microwave radiometers and a radar-altimeter. For the frequencies chosen in oceanographic satellite payloads, the active mode signal is mostly dependent on the surface state through its reflectivity and thus used for the near-surface wind speed retrieval. The active mode can also be attenuated by the atmosphere. On the other hand, the passive mode is related to the surface emissivity and the atmospheric radiation through the radiative transfer equation. Until now, the oceanic and atmospheric parameters have been retrieved separately, the latter being used to correct radar measurements. However, the reflectivity and the emissivity of a target are not independent quantities; hence the synergistic use of these two kinds of microwave measurements should allow one to improve the retrieval quality of the sea and atmosphere parameters. For this purpose, a unified model has been developed for the simulation of both the microwave backscattering coefficient σ° (active measurement) and the microwave emissivity, an important factor for the brightness temperature TB simulation, for every configuration (incidence angles, frequency, polarizations), taking into account the fact that the reflectivity and the emissivity are complementary to unity. The atmospheric absorption is computed following a widely used model from the literature. This paper gives a description and a first attempt of validation of this approach through a comparison with real data. The performance of the model is assessed by comparing the simulations to both brightness temperatures and backscattering coefficients from ERS

  14. DNA-Based Sensor for Real-Time Measurement of the Enzymatic Activity of Human Topoisomerase I

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marcussen, Lærke Bay; Jepsen, Morten Leth; Kristoffersen, Emil Laust

    2013-01-01

    Sensors capable of quantitative real-time measurements may present the easiest and most accurate way to study enzyme activities. Here we present a novel DNA-based sensor for specific and quantitative real-time measurement of the enzymatic activity of the essential human enzyme, topoisomerase I....... The basic design of the sensor relies on two DNA strands that hybridize to form a hairpin structure with a fluorophore-quencher pair. The quencher moiety is released from the sensor upon reaction with human topoisomerase I thus enabling real-time optical measurement of enzymatic activity. The sensor....... The cytotoxic effect of camptothecins correlates directly with the intracellular topoisomerase I activity. We therefore envision that the presented sensor may find use for the prediction of cellular drug response. Moreover, inhibition of topoisomerase I by camptothecin is readily detectable using the presented...

  15. A Compact Microwave Microfluidic Sensor Using a Re-Entrant Cavity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamzah, Hayder; Abduljabar, Ali; Lees, Jonathan; Porch, Adrian

    2018-03-19

    A miniaturized 2.4 GHz re-entrant cavity has been designed, manufactured and tested as a sensor for microfluidic compositional analysis. It has been fully evaluated experimentally with water and common solvents, namely methanol, ethanol, and chloroform, with excellent agreement with the expected behaviour predicted by the Debye model. The sensor's performance has also been assessed for analysis of segmented flow using water and oil. The samples' interaction with the electric field in the gap region has been maximized by aligning the sample tube parallel to the electric field in this region, and the small width of the gap (typically 1 mm) result in a highly localised complex permittivity measurement. The re-entrant cavity has simple mechanical geometry, small size, high quality factor, and due to the high concentration of electric field in the gap region, a very small mode volume. These factors combine to result in a highly sensitive, compact sensor for both pure liquids and liquid mixtures in capillary or microfluidic environments.

  16. Sensor-based Human Activity Recognition in a Multi-user Scenario

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Liang; Gu, Tao; Tao, Xianping

    2009-01-01

    Existing work on sensor-based activity recognition focuses mainly on single-user activities. However, in real life, activities are often performed by multiple users involving interactions between them. In this paper, we propose Coupled Hidden Markov Models (CHMMs) to recognize multi-user activiti...

  17. Microwaves integrated circuits: hybrids and monolithics - fabrication technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cunha Pinto, J.K. da

    1983-01-01

    Several types of microwave integrated circuits are presented together with comments about technologies and fabrication processes; advantages and disadvantages in their utilization are analysed. Basic structures, propagation modes, materials used and major steps in the construction of hybrid thin film and monolithic microwave integrated circuits are described. Important technological applications are revised and main activities of the microelectronics lab. of the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) in the field of hybrid and monolithic microwave integrated circuits are summarized. (C.L.B.) [pt

  18. Advanced Microwave Circuits and Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    This book is based on recent research work conducted by the authors dealing with the design and development of active and passive microwave components, integrated circuits and systems. It is divided into seven parts. In the first part comprising the first two chapters, alternative concepts...... amplifier architectures. In addition, distortion analysis and power combining techniques are considered. Another key element in most microwave systems is a signal generator. It forms the heart of all kinds of communication and radar systems. The fourth part of this book is dedicated to signal generators...... push currently available technologies to the limits. Some considerations to meet the growing requirements are provided in the fifth part of this book. The following part deals with circuits based on LTCC and MEMS technologies. The book concludes with chapters considering application of microwaves...

  19. Application of Microwave Moisture Sensor for Determination of Oil Palm Fruit Ripeness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeow, You Kok; Abbas, Zulkifly; Khalid, Kaida

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes the development of a low cost coaxial moisture sensor for the determination of moisture content (30 % to 80 % wet-weight basis) of the oil palm fruits of various degree of fruit ripeness. The sensor operating between 1 GHz and 5 GHz was fabricated from an inexpensive 4.1 mm outer diameter SMA coaxial stub contact panel which is suitable for single fruit measurement. The measurement system consists of the sensor and a PC-controlled vector network analyzer (VNA). The actual moisture content was determined by standard oven drying method and compared with predicted value of fruit moisture content obtained using the studied sensor. The sensor was used to monitor fruit ripeness based on the measurement of the phase or magnitude of reflection coefficient and the dielectric measurement software was developed to control and acquire data from the VNA using Agilent VEE. This software was used to calculate the complex relative permittivity from the measured reflection coefficient between 1GHz and 5 GHz.

  20. The construction and application of the AMSR-E global microwave emissivity database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lijuan, Shi; Wenbo, Wu; Yubao, Qiu; Jingjing, Niu

    2014-01-01

    Land surface microwave emissivity is an important parameter to describe the characteristics of terrestrial microwave radiation, and is the necessary input amount for inversion various geophysical parameters. We use brightness temperature of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and synchronous land surface temperature and atmospheric temperature-humidity profile data obtained from the MODIS which aboard on satellite AQUA the same as AMSR-E, to retrieved microwave emissivity under clear sky conditions. After quality control, evaluation and design, the global microwave emissivity database of AMSR-E under clear sky conditions is established. This database include 2002–2011 years, different regions, different surface coverage, dual-polarized, 6.9,10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5 and 89GHz, ascending and descending orbit, spatial resolution 25km, global 0.05 degrees, instantaneous and half-month averaged emissivity data. The database can provide the underlying surface information for precipitation algorithm, water-vapor algorithm, and long-resolution mode model (General Circulation Model (GCM) etc.). It also provides underlying surface information for the satellite simulator, and provides basic prior knowledge of land surface radiation for future satellite sensors design. The emissivity database or the fast emissivity obtained can get ready for climate model, energy balance, data assimilation, geophysical model simulation, inversion and estimates of the physical parameters under the cloud cover conditions

  1. Removal of Hexavalent Chromium by Adsorption on Microwave Assisted Activated Carbon Prepared from Stems of Leucas Aspera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanmugalingam, A.; Murugesan, A.

    2018-05-01

    This study reports adsorption of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solution using activated carbon that was prepared from stems of Leucas aspera. Eight hundred and fifty watts power of microwave radiation, 12 min of radiation time, 60% of ZnCl2 solution and 24 h of impregnation time are the optimal parameters to prepare efficient carbon effective activated carbon. It was designated as MWLAC (Microwave assisted Zinc chloride activated Leucas aspera carbon). Various adsorption characteristics such as dose of the adsorbent, agitation time, initial Cr(VI) ion concentration, pH of the solution and temperature on adsorption were studied for removal of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solution by batch mode. Also the equilibrium adsorption was analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin and D-R isotherm models. The order of best describing isotherms was given based on R2 value. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model best fitted with the Cr(VI) adsorption data. Thermodynamic parameters were also determined and results suggest that the adsorption process is a spontaneous, endothermic and proceeded with increased randomness.

  2. Active damage localization for plate-like structures using wireless sensors and a distributed algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, L; Yuan, F G

    2008-01-01

    Wireless structural health monitoring (SHM) systems have emerged as a promising technology for robust and cost-effective structural monitoring. However, the applications of wireless sensors on active diagnosis for structural health monitoring (SHM) have not been extensively investigated. Due to limited energy sources, battery-powered wireless sensors can only perform limited functions and are expected to operate at a low duty cycle. Conventional designs are not suitable for sensing high frequency signals, e.g. in the ultrasonic frequency range. More importantly, algorithms to detect structural damage with a vast amount of data usually require considerable processing and communication time and result in unaffordable power consumption for wireless sensors. In this study, an energy-efficient wireless sensor for supporting high frequency signals and a distributed damage localization algorithm for plate-like structures are proposed, discussed and validated to supplement recent advances made for active sensing-based SHM. First, the power consumption of a wireless sensor is discussed and identified. Then the design of a wireless sensor for active diagnosis using piezoelectric sensors is introduced. The newly developed wireless sensor utilizes an optimized combination of field programmable gate array (FPGA) and conventional microcontroller to address the tradeoff between power consumption and speed requirement. The proposed damage localization algorithm, based on an energy decay model, enables wireless sensors to be practically used in active diagnosis. The power consumption for data communication can be minimized while the power budget for data processing can still be affordable for a battery-powered wireless sensor. The Levenberg–Marquardt method is employed in a mains-powered sensor node or PC to locate damage. Experimental results and discussion on the improvement of power efficiency are given

  3. Probing active-edge silicon sensors using a high precision telescope

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Akiba, K.; Artuso, M.; van Beveren, V.; van Beuzekom, M.; Boterenbrood, H.; Buytaert, J.; Collins, P.; Dumps, R.; van der Heijden, B.; Hombach, C.; Hynds, D.; Hsu, D.; John, M.; Koffeman, E.; Leflat, A.; Li, Y.; Longstaff, I.; Morton, A.; PérezTrigo, E.; Plackett, R.; Reid, M.M.; Rodríguez Perez, P.; Schindler, H.; Tsopelas, P.; Vázquez Sierra, C.; Wysokiński, M.

    2015-01-01

    The performance of prototype active-edge VTT sensors bump-bonded to the Timepix ASIC is presented. Non-irradiated sensors of thicknesses 100-200 μm and pixel-to-edge distances of 50 μm and 100 μm were probed with a beam of charged hadrons with sub-pixel precision using the Timepix telescope

  4. Microwave energy transmission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsumoto, Hiroshi [Kyoto Univ. (Japan)

    1989-03-05

    Laying stress on the technological problems and effect on the environment of microwave energy transmission, recent scientific and engineering problems and related subjects are described. Because no fuel is required for the solar power generation, the power generation system can not be considered as an expensive one when the unit cost of energy is taken into consideration. Some of the important technological problems in the microwave energy transmission are accurate microwave beam control technology to receiving stations and improvement in the efficiency of transmission system. Microwave energy beam has effects on living bodies, communication, and plasma atmosphere of the earth. Microwave energy transmission using a space flyer unit is scheduled. Its objective is the development of microwave wireless transmission technology and the study of the correlation between high power microwave and ionosphere plasma. Experiments on such a small scale application as a microwave driven space ship to bring results seem also important. 12 refs., 13 figs.

  5. Monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) in a VLSI CMOS technology

    CERN Document Server

    Turchetta, R; Manolopoulos, S; Tyndel, M; Allport, P P; Bates, R; O'Shea, V; Hall, G; Raymond, M

    2003-01-01

    Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) designed in a standard VLSI CMOS technology have recently been proposed as a compact pixel detector for the detection of high-energy charged particle in vertex/tracking applications. MAPS, also named CMOS sensors, are already extensively used in visible light applications. With respect to other competing imaging technologies, CMOS sensors have several potential advantages in terms of low cost, low power, lower noise at higher speed, random access of pixels which allows windowing of region of interest, ability to integrate several functions on the same chip. This brings altogether to the concept of 'camera-on-a-chip'. In this paper, we review the use of CMOS sensors for particle physics and we analyse their performances in term of the efficiency (fill factor), signal generation, noise, readout speed and sensor area. In most of high-energy physics applications, data reduction is needed in the sensor at an early stage of the data processing before transfer of the data to ta...

  6. Treatment of Reactive Black 5 by combined electrocoagulation-granular activated carbon adsorption-microwave regeneration process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Shih-Hsien, E-mail: shchang@csmu.edu.tw [Department of Public Health, Chung-Shan Medical University, 110 Chen-Kuo N. Road, Taichung 402, Taiwan (China); Wang, Kai-Sung; Liang, Hsiu-Hao; Chen, Hsueh-Yu; Li, Heng-Ching; Peng, Tzu-Huan [Department of Public Health, Chung-Shan Medical University, 110 Chen-Kuo N. Road, Taichung 402, Taiwan (China); Su, Yu-Chun; Chang, Chih-Yuan [Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan (China)

    2010-03-15

    Treatment of an azo dye, Reactive Black 5 (RB5) by combined electrocoagulation-activated carbon adsorption-microwave regeneration process was evaluated. The toxicity was also monitored by the Vibrio fischeri light inhibition test. GAC of 100 g L{sup -1} sorbed 82% of RB5 (100 mg L{sup -1}) within 4 h. RB5-loaded GAC was not effectively regenerated by microwave irradiation (800 W, 30 s). Electrocoagulation showed high decolorization of RB5 within 8 min at pH{sub 0} of 7, current density of 277 A m{sup -2}, and NaCl of 1 g L{sup -1}. However, 61% COD residue remained after treatment and toxicity was high (100% light inhibition). GAC of 20 g L{sup -1} effectively removed COD and toxicity of electrocoagulation-treated solution within 4 h. Microwave irradiation effectively regenerated intermediate-loaded GAC within 30 s at power of 800 W, GAC/water ratio of 20 g L{sup -1}, and pH of 7.8. The adsorption capacity of GAC for COD removal from the electrocoagulation-treated solution did not significantly decrease at the first 7 cycles of adsorption/regeneration. The adsorption capacity of GAC for removal of both A{sub 265} (benzene-related groups) and toxicity slightly decreased after the 6th cycle.

  7. Treatment of Reactive Black 5 by combined electrocoagulation-granular activated carbon adsorption-microwave regeneration process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Shih-Hsien; Wang, Kai-Sung; Liang, Hsiu-Hao; Chen, Hsueh-Yu; Li, Heng-Ching; Peng, Tzu-Huan; Su, Yu-Chun; Chang, Chih-Yuan

    2010-01-01

    Treatment of an azo dye, Reactive Black 5 (RB5) by combined electrocoagulation-activated carbon adsorption-microwave regeneration process was evaluated. The toxicity was also monitored by the Vibrio fischeri light inhibition test. GAC of 100 g L -1 sorbed 82% of RB5 (100 mg L -1 ) within 4 h. RB5-loaded GAC was not effectively regenerated by microwave irradiation (800 W, 30 s). Electrocoagulation showed high decolorization of RB5 within 8 min at pH 0 of 7, current density of 277 A m -2 , and NaCl of 1 g L -1 . However, 61% COD residue remained after treatment and toxicity was high (100% light inhibition). GAC of 20 g L -1 effectively removed COD and toxicity of electrocoagulation-treated solution within 4 h. Microwave irradiation effectively regenerated intermediate-loaded GAC within 30 s at power of 800 W, GAC/water ratio of 20 g L -1 , and pH of 7.8. The adsorption capacity of GAC for COD removal from the electrocoagulation-treated solution did not significantly decrease at the first 7 cycles of adsorption/regeneration. The adsorption capacity of GAC for removal of both A 265 (benzene-related groups) and toxicity slightly decreased after the 6th cycle.

  8. Activity classification based on inertial and barometric pressure sensors at different anatomical locations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moncada-Torres, A; Leuenberger, K; Gonzenbach, R; Luft, A; Gassert, R

    2014-07-01

    Miniature, wearable sensor modules are a promising technology to monitor activities of daily living (ADL) over extended periods of time. To assure both user compliance and meaningful results, the selection and placement site of sensors requires careful consideration. We investigated these aspects for the classification of 16 ADL in 6 healthy subjects under laboratory conditions using ReSense, our custom-made inertial measurement unit enhanced with a barometric pressure sensor used to capture activity-related altitude changes. Subjects wore a module on each wrist and ankle, and one on the trunk. Activities comprised whole body movements as well as gross and dextrous upper-limb activities. Wrist-module data outperformed the other locations for the three activity groups. Specifically, overall classification accuracy rates of almost 93% and more than 95% were achieved for the repeated holdout and user-specific validation methods, respectively, for all 16 activities. Including the altitude profile resulted in a considerable improvement of up to 20% in the classification accuracy for stair ascent and descent. The gyroscopes provided no useful information for activity classification under this scheme. The proposed sensor setting could allow for robust long-term activity monitoring with high compliance in different patient populations.

  9. Activity classification based on inertial and barometric pressure sensors at different anatomical locations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moncada-Torres, A; Leuenberger, K; Gassert, R; Gonzenbach, R; Luft, A

    2014-01-01

    Miniature, wearable sensor modules are a promising technology to monitor activities of daily living (ADL) over extended periods of time. To assure both user compliance and meaningful results, the selection and placement site of sensors requires careful consideration. We investigated these aspects for the classification of 16 ADL in 6 healthy subjects under laboratory conditions using ReSense, our custom-made inertial measurement unit enhanced with a barometric pressure sensor used to capture activity-related altitude changes. Subjects wore a module on each wrist and ankle, and one on the trunk. Activities comprised whole body movements as well as gross and dextrous upper-limb activities. Wrist-module data outperformed the other locations for the three activity groups. Specifically, overall classification accuracy rates of almost 93% and more than 95% were achieved for the repeated holdout and user-specific validation methods, respectively, for all 16 activities. Including the altitude profile resulted in a considerable improvement of up to 20% in the classification accuracy for stair ascent and descent. The gyroscopes provided no useful information for activity classification under this scheme. The proposed sensor setting could allow for robust long-term activity monitoring with high compliance in different patient populations. (paper)

  10. Development of Smart Active Layer Sensor (I) : Theory and Concept Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, Dong Jin; Lee, Young Sup; Kwon, Jae Hwa; Lee, Sang Il

    2004-01-01

    This paper is the first part of the study on the development of a smart active layer (SAL) sensor, which consists of two parts. In this first part, the theory and concept of the SAL sensor is investigated, which is designed for the detection of elastic waves caused by internal cracks and damages in structures. For the development SAL sensor, (i) the basic theory of elastic waves was studied, (ii) the feasible study of the SAL as an elastic waves detection sensor using the finite element analysis (FEA) with respect to a piezoceramic disc was performed. (iii) the comparison of performances between some piezoceramic sensors and a commercial acoustic emission (AE) sensor was accomplished to ensure the applicability by the experimental means, such as a pencil lead break test. Also, the conceptional study for the SAL sensor, which can be utilized for the effective detection and locating of defects by the arrangement of regularly distributed sensors, was discussed

  11. Review on Microwave-Matter Interaction Fundamentals and Efficient Microwave-Associated Heating Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jing; Wang, Wenlong; Yue, Qinyan

    2016-01-01

    Microwave heating is rapidly emerging as an effective and efficient tool in various technological and scientific fields. A comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of microwave–matter interactions is the precondition for better utilization of microwave technology. However, microwave heating is usually only known as dielectric heating, and the contribution of the magnetic field component of microwaves is often ignored, which, in fact, contributes greatly to microwave heating of some aqueous electrolyte solutions, magnetic dielectric materials and certain conductive powder materials, etc. This paper focuses on this point and presents a careful review of microwave heating mechanisms in a comprehensive manner. Moreover, in addition to the acknowledged conventional microwave heating mechanisms, the special interaction mechanisms between microwave and metal-based materials are attracting increasing interest for a variety of metallurgical, plasma and discharge applications, and therefore are reviewed particularly regarding the aspects of the reflection, heating and discharge effects. Finally, several distinct strategies to improve microwave energy utilization efficiencies are proposed and discussed with the aim of tackling the energy-efficiency-related issues arising from the application of microwave heating. This work can present a strategic guideline for the developed understanding and utilization of the microwave heating technology. PMID:28773355

  12. Sensitivity-Enhanced Wearable Active Voiceprint Sensor Based on Cellular Polypropylene Piezoelectret.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenbo; Zhao, Sheng; Wu, Nan; Zhong, Junwen; Wang, Bo; Lin, Shizhe; Chen, Shuwen; Yuan, Fang; Jiang, Hulin; Xiao, Yongjun; Hu, Bin; Zhou, Jun

    2017-07-19

    Wearable active sensors have extensive applications in mobile biosensing and human-machine interaction but require good flexibility, high sensitivity, excellent stability, and self-powered feature. In this work, cellular polypropylene (PP) piezoelectret was chosen as the core material of a sensitivity-enhanced wearable active voiceprint sensor (SWAVS) to realize voiceprint recognition. By virtue of the dipole orientation control method, the air layers in the piezoelectret were efficiently utilized, and the current sensitivity was enhanced (from 1.98 pA/Hz to 5.81 pA/Hz at 115 dB). The SWAVS exhibited the superiorities of high sensitivity, accurate frequency response, and excellent stability. The voiceprint recognition system could make correct reactions to human voices by judging both the password and speaker. This study presented a voiceprint sensor with potential applications in noncontact biometric recognition and safety guarantee systems, promoting the progress of wearable sensor networks.

  13. Probing active-edge silicon sensors using a high precision telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akiba, K. [Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Artuso, M. [Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY (United States); Beveren, V. van; Beuzekom, M. van; Boterenbrood, H. [Nikhef, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Buytaert, J.; Collins, P.; Dumps, R. [CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Geneva (Switzerland); Heijden, B. van der [Nikhef, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Hombach, C. [University of Manchester, Manchester, Lancashire (United Kingdom); Hynds, D. [Glasgow University, Glasgow, Lanarkshire (United Kingdom); Hsu, D. [Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY (United States); John, M. [University of Oxford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Koffeman, E. [Nikhef, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Leflat, A. [Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Li, Y. [Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Longstaff, I.; Morton, A. [Glasgow University, Glasgow, Lanarkshire (United Kingdom); Pérez Trigo, E. [Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Plackett, R. [Diamond Light Source Ltd., Didcot, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); and others

    2015-03-21

    The performance of prototype active-edge VTT sensors bump-bonded to the Timepix ASIC is presented. Non-irradiated sensors of thicknesses 100–200 μm and pixel-to-edge distances of 50 μm and 100 μm were probed with a beam of charged hadrons with sub-pixel precision using the Timepix telescope assembled at the SPS at CERN. The sensors are shown to be highly efficient up to a few micrometers from the physical edge of the sensor. The distortion of the electric field lines at the edge of the sensors is studied by reconstructing the streamlines of the electric field using two-pixel clusters. These results are supported by TCAD simulations. The reconstructed streamlines are used to study the field distortion as a function of the bias voltage and to apply corrections to the cluster positions at the edge.

  14. Microwave assisted synthesis of some new coumarin-pyrazoline hybrids and their antimicrobial activity

    OpenAIRE

    Ashok Dongamanti; Lakshmi Bommidi Vijaya; Ravi Sidda; Ganesh Arram

    2015-01-01

    A series of pyrazolines 4a-g have been synthesized by Michael addition of chalcones 3a-g with hydrazine hydrate in presence of sodium acetate under conventional heating and microwave irradiation. Structures of the newly synthesized chalcones 3a-g and pyrazolines 4a-g have been established on the basis of IR, 1H & 13C NMR and mass spectral data. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activity. Some of the compounds shown very goo...

  15. Radiation-activated sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nirschl, J.C.

    1976-01-01

    A sensing system is described for use in a remote location which detects electromagnetic radiation energy, the system being self-activating, turning itself automatically on and off, as a function of radiation intensity across the detector. In essence, when no radiation is present across the detector, the system will consume no power, the switches and MOSFET discriminator being essentially in an ''off'' position. Radiation across the detector provides a current to an input capacitance which when charged turns on the switch and the MOSFET discriminator. A switch driver produces an output pulse showing the presence of radiation; the system then shuts off awaiting the next radiation input. Since the sensor system uses virtually no power unless radiation is present, it is ideally suited for use in remote environments where battery power and size is a predominant consideration. 2 claims, 3 drawing figures

  16. A Comprehensive Analysis on Wearable Acceleration Sensors in Human Activity Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Janidarmian

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Sensor-based motion recognition integrates the emerging area of wearable sensors with novel machine learning techniques to make sense of low-level sensor data and provide rich contextual information in a real-life application. Although Human Activity Recognition (HAR problem has been drawing the attention of researchers, it is still a subject of much debate due to the diverse nature of human activities and their tracking methods. Finding the best predictive model in this problem while considering different sources of heterogeneities can be very difficult to analyze theoretically, which stresses the need of an experimental study. Therefore, in this paper, we first create the most complete dataset, focusing on accelerometer sensors, with various sources of heterogeneities. We then conduct an extensive analysis on feature representations and classification techniques (the most comprehensive comparison yet with 293 classifiers for activity recognition. Principal component analysis is applied to reduce the feature vector dimension while keeping essential information. The average classification accuracy of eight sensor positions is reported to be 96.44% ± 1.62% with 10-fold evaluation, whereas accuracy of 79.92% ± 9.68% is reached in the subject-independent evaluation. This study presents significant evidence that we can build predictive models for HAR problem under more realistic conditions, and still achieve highly accurate results.

  17. A monolithic integrated photonic microwave filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fandiño, Javier S.; Muñoz, Pascual; Doménech, David; Capmany, José

    2017-02-01

    Meeting the increasing demand for capacity in wireless networks requires the harnessing of higher regions in the radiofrequency spectrum, reducing cell size, as well as more compact, agile and power-efficient base stations that are capable of smoothly interfacing the radio and fibre segments. Fully functional microwave photonic chips are promising candidates in attempts to meet these goals. In recent years, many integrated microwave photonic chips have been reported in different technologies. To the best of our knowledge, none has monolithically integrated all the main active and passive optoelectronic components. Here, we report the first demonstration of a tunable microwave photonics filter that is monolithically integrated into an indium phosphide chip. The reconfigurable radiofrequency photonic filter includes all the necessary elements (for example, lasers, modulators and photodetectors), and its response can be tuned by means of control electric currents. This is an important step in demonstrating the feasibility of integrated and programmable microwave photonic processors.

  18. Generating three-parameter sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Filinyuk M. A.

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Generating sensors provide the possibility of getting remote information and its easy conversion into digital form. Typically, these are one-parameter sensors formed by combination of a primary transmitter (PT and a sine wave generator. Two-parameter sensors are not widely used as their implementation causes a problem with ambiguity output when measuring the PT. Nevertheless, the problem of creating miniature, thrifty multi-parameter RF sensors for different branches of science and industry remains relevant. Considering ways of designing RF sensors, we study the possibility of constructing a three-parameter microwave radio frequency range sensor, which is based on a two-stage three-parameter generalized immitance convertor (GIC. Resistive, inductive and capacitive PT are used as sensing elements. A mathematical model of the sensor, which describes the relation of the sensor parameters to the parameters of GIC and PT was developed. The basic parameters of the sensor, its transfer function and sensitivity were studied. It is shown that the maximum value of the power generated signal will be observed at a frequency of 175 MHz, and the frequency ranges depending on the parameters of the PT will be different. Research results and adequacy of the mathematical model were verified by the experiment. Error of the calculated dependences of the lasing frequency on PT parameters change, compared with the experimental data does not exceed 2 %. The relative sensitivity of the sensor based on two-stage GIC showed that for the resistive channel it is about 1.88, for the capacitive channel –1,54 and for the inductive channel –11,5. Thus, it becomes possible to increase the sensor sensitivity compared with the sensitivity of the PT almost 1,2—2 times, and by using the two stage GIC a multifunctional sensor is provided.

  19. Microwave remote sensing measurements of oil pollution on the ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croswell, W. F.; Blume, H.-J. C.; Johnson, J. W.

    1981-01-01

    Microwave and optical remote sensors were flown over fresh and weathered crude oil released from a surface research vessel and also over a slick formed on the sea by frozen oleyl alcohol cubes released from a helicopter. For the crude oil experiments, microwave radiometric measurements at 1.43, 2.65, 22, and 31 GHz are reported, along with the variable incidence angle scattering measurements at 13.9 GHz. For these experiments, unusual depressions in the L-band brightness temperature were observed, possibly related to dispersants applied to the crude oil. Similar depressions, but with much larger values, were observed over the oleyl alcohol monomolecular slicks. Images obtained at 31 and 22 GHz were used to infer oil volume, yielding values which bound the known amounts spilled. Ku band measurements obtained in repeated passes over crude oil slicks are also discussed.

  20. Automotive Catalyst State Diagnosis Using Microwaves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moos Ralf

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The state of catalysts plays a key role in automotive exhaust gas aftertreatment. The soot or ash loading of Diesel particulate filters, the oxygen loading degree in three-way catalysts, the amount of stored ammonia in SCR catalysts, or the NOx loading degree in NOx storage catalysts are important parameters that are today determined indirectly and in a model-based manner with gas sensors installed upstream and/or downstream of the catalysts. This contribution gives an overview on a novel approach to determine the catalyst state directly by a microwave-based technique. The method exploits the fact that the catalyst housing acts as a microwave cavity resonator. As “sensing” elements, one or two simple antennas are mounted inside the catalyst canning. The electrical properties of the catalyst device (ceramic honeycomb plus coating and storage material can be measured. Preferably, the resonance characteristics, e.g., the resonance frequencies, of selected cavity modes are observed. The information on the catalyst interior obtained in such a contactless manner is very well correlated with the catalyst state as will be demonstrated for different exhaust gas aftertreatment systems.

  1. Assessment of complex microwaves occupational exposure in radar maintenance activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Danulescu, R.

    1996-01-01

    The modern of the society teas determined the increase of thousand times greater than the natural fond of the humankind exposure to a complex combination of electromagnetic man-made fields and radiations of extremely various strength and frequencies. A special contribution to this environmental change has had in the last decade the appearance and the explosive development of the microwaves generating appliances such as radars used in a great variety of military and civilian applications and which essentially contributes to the electromagnetic pollution. In the above mentioned content which firstly interests the occupational environment, it is necessary to improve the exposure limits, as well as, the emission standards, in order to better protect the human health and well-being. From this point of view, the estimation of the microwave occupational exposure risk constitutes, alongside the health status assessment, one of the priorities of the Occupational Health because the theoretical and practical problems related to the bioeffects of this kind of radiations are far to be clarified. Our study has been carried out in a factory where one performs research, production and especially maintenance of microwaves generating devices. (author)

  2. Sensitive Metamaterial Sensor for Distinction of Authentic and Inauthentic Fuel Samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tümkaya, Mehmet Ali; Dinçer, Furkan; Karaaslan, Muharrem; Sabah, Cumali

    2017-08-01

    A metamaterial-based sensor has been realized to distinguish authentic and inauthentic fuel samples in the microwave frequency regime. Unlike the many studies in literature on metamaterial-based sensor applications, this study focuses on a compact metamaterial-based sensor operating in the X-band frequency range. Firstly, electromagnetic properties of authentic and inauthentic fuel samples were obtained experimentally in a laboratory environment. Secondly, these experimental results were used to design and create a highly efficient metamaterial-based sensor with easy fabrication characteristics and simple design structure. The experimental results for the sensor were in good agreement with the numerical ones. The proposed sensor offers a more efficient design and can be used to detect fuel and multiple other liquids in various application fields from medical to military areas in several frequency regimes.

  3. Metal-Organic Frameworks as Active Materials in Electronic Sensor Devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Michael G; Dincă, Mircea

    2017-05-12

    In the past decade, advances in electrically conductive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and MOF-based electronic devices have created new opportunities for the development of next-generation sensors. Here we review this rapidly-growing field, with a focus on the different types of device configurations that have allowed for the use of MOFs as active components of electronic sensor devices.

  4. Inductive displacement sensors with a notch filter for an active magnetic bearing system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Seng-Chi; Le, Dinh-Kha; Nguyen, Van-Sum

    2014-07-15

    Active magnetic bearing (AMB) systems support rotating shafts without any physical contact, using electromagnetic forces. Each radial AMB uses two pairs of electromagnets at opposite sides of the rotor. This allows the rotor to float in the air gap, and the machine to operate without frictional losses. In active magnetic suspension, displacement sensors are necessary to detect the radial and axial movement of the suspended object. In a high-speed rotating machine equipped with an AMB, the rotor bending modes may be limited to the operating range. The natural frequencies of the rotor can cause instability. Thus, notch filters are a useful circuit for stabilizing the system. In addition, commercial displacement sensors are sometimes not suitable for AMB design, and cannot filter the noise caused by the natural frequencies of rotor. Hence, implementing displacement sensors based on the AMB structure is necessary to eliminate noises caused by natural frequency disturbances. The displacement sensor must be highly sensitive in the desired working range, and also exhibit a low interference noise, high stability, and low cost. In this study, we used the differential inductive sensor head and lock-in amplifier for synchronous demodulation. In addition, an active low-pass filter and a notch filter were used to eliminate disturbances, which caused by natural frequencies. As a consequence, the inductive displacement sensor achieved satisfactory linearity, high sensitivity, and disturbance elimination. This sensor can be easily produced for AMB applications. A prototype of these displacement sensors was built and tested.

  5. Rocket experiment METS - Microwave Energy Transmission in Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, N.; Matsumoto, H.; Akiba, R.

    A Microwave Energy Transmission in Space (METS) rocket experiment is being planned by the Solar Power Satellite Working Group at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan for the forthcoming International Space Year, 1992. The METS experiment is an advanced version of the previous MINIX rocket experiment (Matsumoto et al., 1990). This paper describes a conceptual design of the METS rocket experiment. It aims at verifying a newly developed microwave energy transmission system for space use and to study nonlinear effects of the microwave energy beam in the space plasma environment. A high power microwave of 936 W will be transmitted by the new phased-array antenna from a mother rocket to a separated target (daughter rocket) through the ionospheric plasma. The active phased-array system has a capability of focusing the microwave energy around any spatial point by controlling the digital phase shifters individually.

  6. Rocket experiment METS Microwave Energy Transmission in Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, N.; Matsumoto, H.; Akiba, R.

    A METS (Microwave Energy Transmission in Space) rocket experiment is being planned by the SPS (Solar Power Satellite) Working Group at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) in Japan for the forthcoming International Space Year (ISY), 1992. The METS experiment is an advanced version of our MINIX rocket experiment. This paper describes the conceptual design for the METS rocket experiment. Aims are to verify the feasibility of a newly developed microwave energy transmission system designed for use in space and to study nonlinear effects of the microwave energy beam on space plasma. A high power microwave (936 W) will be transmitted by a new phase-array antenna from a mother rocket to a separate target (daughter rocket) through the Earth's ionospheric plasma. The active phased-array system has the capability of being able to focus the microwave energy at any spatial point by individually controlling the digital phase shifters.

  7. A Novel Wearable Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition Approach Using Artificial Hydrocarbon Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponce, Hiram; Martínez-Villaseñor, María de Lourdes; Miralles-Pechuán, Luis

    2016-07-05

    Human activity recognition has gained more interest in several research communities given that understanding user activities and behavior helps to deliver proactive and personalized services. There are many examples of health systems improved by human activity recognition. Nevertheless, the human activity recognition classification process is not an easy task. Different types of noise in wearable sensors data frequently hamper the human activity recognition classification process. In order to develop a successful activity recognition system, it is necessary to use stable and robust machine learning techniques capable of dealing with noisy data. In this paper, we presented the artificial hydrocarbon networks (AHN) technique to the human activity recognition community. Our artificial hydrocarbon networks novel approach is suitable for physical activity recognition, noise tolerance of corrupted data sensors and robust in terms of different issues on data sensors. We proved that the AHN classifier is very competitive for physical activity recognition and is very robust in comparison with other well-known machine learning methods.

  8. Live demonstration: Screen printed, microwave based level sensor for automated drug delivery

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram; Arsalan, Muhammad; Shamim, Atif

    2018-01-01

    Level sensors find numerous applications in many industries to automate the processes involving chemicals. Recently, some commercial ultrasound based level sensors are also being used to automate the drug delivery process [1]. Some of the most

  9. Fast microwave assisted pyrolysis of biomass using microwave absorbent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges, Fernanda Cabral; Du, Zhenyi; Xie, Qinglong; Trierweiler, Jorge Otávio; Cheng, Yanling; Wan, Yiqin; Liu, Yuhuan; Zhu, Rongbi; Lin, Xiangyang; Chen, Paul; Ruan, Roger

    2014-03-01

    A novel concept of fast microwave assisted pyrolysis (fMAP) in the presence of microwave absorbents was presented and examined. Wood sawdust and corn stover were pyrolyzed by means of microwave heating and silicon carbide (SiC) as microwave absorbent. The bio-oil was characterized, and the effects of temperature, feedstock loading, particle sizes, and vacuum degree were analyzed. For wood sawdust, a temperature of 480°C, 50 grit SiC, with 2g/min of biomass feeding, were the optimal conditions, with a maximum bio-oil yield of 65 wt.%. For corn stover, temperatures ranging from 490°C to 560°C, biomass particle sizes from 0.9mm to 1.9mm, and vacuum degree lower than 100mmHg obtained a maximum bio-oil yield of 64 wt.%. This study shows that the use of microwave absorbents for fMAP is feasible and a promising technology to improve the practical values and commercial application outlook of microwave based pyrolysis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. First Results from Cherwell, a Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor for Particle Physics

    CERN Document Server

    Nooney, Tamsin; Borri, Marcello; Crooks, Jamie; Headspith, Jon; Inguglia, Gianluca; Kolya, Scott; Lazarus, Ian; Lemmon, Roy; Mylroie-Smith, James; Turchetta, Renato; Velthuis, Jaap; Wilson, Fergus

    2014-01-01

    Cherwell is a CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS) developed for digital calorimetry and charged particle tracking applications. Here, we outline the initial tests carried out to charac- terise the performance of Cherwell, give details of the test beam carried out at CERN and include the first results from this analysis. Three variations of the chip were tested; Type A, a high re- sistivity, low noise sensor, Type B, a standard resisivity, low noise sensor and Type C, a standard resistivity, standard noise sensor. The sensors yield an average RMS noise value per pixel of 9.6 e

  11. Two-sensor control in active vibration isolation using hard mounts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beijen, M.A.; Tjepkema, D.; van Dijk, J.

    To isolate precision machines from floor vibrations, active vibration isolators are often applied. In this paper, a two-sensor control strategy, based on acceleration feedback and force feedback, is proposed for an active vibration isolator using a single-axis active hard mount. The hard mount

  12. Two-sensor control in active vibration isolation using hard mounts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beijen, M.A.; Tjepkema, D.; van Dijk, Johannes

    2014-01-01

    To isolate precision machines from floor vibrations, active vibration isolators are often applied. In this paper, a two-sensor control strategy, based on acceleration feedback and force feedback, is proposed for an active vibration isolator using a single-axis active hard mount. The hard mount

  13. Development of a Smartphone Application to Measure Physical Activity Using Sensor-Assisted Self-Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Genevieve Fridlund Dunton

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Despite the known advantages of objective physical activity monitors (e.g., accelerometers, these devices have high rates of non-wear, which leads to missing data. Objective activity monitors are also unable to capture valuable contextual information about behavior. Adolescents recruited into physical activity surveillance and intervention studies will increasingly have smartphones, which are miniature computers with built-in motion sensors. Methods: This paper describes the design and development of a smartphone application (app called Mobile Teen that combines objective and self-report assessment strategies through (1 sensor-informed context-sensitive ecological momentary assessment (CS-EMA and (2 sensor-assisted end-of-day recall.Results: The Mobile Teen app uses the mobile phone’s built-in motion sensor to automatically detect likely bouts of phone non-wear, sedentary behavior, and physical activity. The app then uses transitions between these inferred states to trigger CS-EMA self-report surveys measuring the type, purpose, and context of activity in real time. The end of the day recall component of the Mobile Teen app allows users to interactively review and label their own physical activity data each evening using visual cues from automatically-detected major activity transitions from the phone’s built-in motions sensors. Major activity transitions are identified by the app, which cues the user to label that chunk, or period, of time using activity categories.Conclusions: Sensor-driven CS-EMA and end-of-day recall smartphone apps can be used to augment physical activity data collected by objective activity monitors, filling in gaps during non-wear bouts and providing additional real-time data on environmental, social, and emotional correlates of behavior. Smartphone apps such as these have potential for affordable deployment in large scale epidemiological and intervention studies.

  14. Design of a microwave calorimeter for the microwave tokamak experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marinak, M.

    1988-01-01

    The initial design of a microwave calorimeter for the Microwave Tokamak Experiment is presented. The design is optimized to measure the refraction and absorption of millimeter rf microwaves as they traverse the toroidal plasma of the Alcator C tokamak. Techniques utilized can be adapted for use in measuring high intensity pulsed output from a microwave device in an environment of ultra high vacuum, intense fields of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation and intense magnetic fields. 16 refs

  15. Wearable Wide-Range Strain Sensors Based on Ionic Liquids and Monitoring of Human Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shao-Hui Zhang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Wearable sensors for detection of human activities have encouraged the development of highly elastic sensors. In particular, to capture subtle and large-scale body motion, stretchable and wide-range strain sensors are highly desired, but still a challenge. Herein, a highly stretchable and transparent stain sensor based on ionic liquids and elastic polymer has been developed. The as-obtained sensor exhibits impressive stretchability with wide-range strain (from 0.1% to 400%, good bending properties and high sensitivity, whose gauge factor can reach 7.9. Importantly, the sensors show excellent biological compatibility and succeed in monitoring the diverse human activities ranging from the complex large-scale multidimensional motions to subtle signals, including wrist, finger and elbow joint bending, finger touch, breath, speech, swallow behavior and pulse wave.

  16. CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Technology and Reliability Characterization Methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yuan; Guertin, Steven M.; Pain, Bedabrata; Kayaii, Sammy

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes the technology, design features and reliability characterization methodology of a CMOS Active Pixel Sensor. Both overall chip reliability and pixel reliability are projected for the imagers.

  17. Microwave power engineering applications

    CERN Document Server

    Okress, Ernest C

    2013-01-01

    Microwave Power Engineering, Volume 2: Applications introduces the electronics technology of microwave power and its applications. This technology emphasizes microwave electronics for direct power utilization and transmission purposes. This volume presents the accomplishments with respect to components, systems, and applications and their prevailing limitations in the light of knowledge of the microwave power technology. The applications discussed include the microwave heating and other processes of materials, which utilize the magnetron predominantly. Other applications include microwave ioni

  18. Active microwave measurements of sea ice under fall conditions: The RADARSAT/FIREX fall experiment. [in the Canadian Arctic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onstott, R. G.; Kim, Y. S.; Moore, R. K.

    1984-01-01

    A series of measurements of the active microwave properties of sea ice under fall growing conditions was conducted. Ice in the inland waters of Mould Bay, Crozier Channel, and intrepid inlet and ice in the Arctic Ocean near Hardinge Bay was investigated. Active microwave data were acquired using a helicopter borne scatterometer. Results show that multiyear ice frozen in grey or first year ice is easily detected under cold fall conditions. Multiyear ice returns were dynamic due to response to two of its scene constituents. Floe boundaries between thick and thin ice are well defined. Multiyear pressure ridge returns are similar in level to background ice returns. Backscatter from homogeneous first year ice is seen to be primarily due to surface scattering. Operation at 9.6 GHz is more sensitive to the detailed changes in scene roughness, while operation at 5.6 GHz seems to track roughness changes less ably.

  19. A Human Activity Recognition System Using Skeleton Data from RGBD Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cippitelli, Enea; Gasparrini, Samuele; Gambi, Ennio; Spinsante, Susanna

    2016-01-01

    The aim of Active and Assisted Living is to develop tools to promote the ageing in place of elderly people, and human activity recognition algorithms can help to monitor aged people in home environments. Different types of sensors can be used to address this task and the RGBD sensors, especially the ones used for gaming, are cost-effective and provide much information about the environment. This work aims to propose an activity recognition algorithm exploiting skeleton data extracted by RGBD sensors. The system is based on the extraction of key poses to compose a feature vector, and a multiclass Support Vector Machine to perform classification. Computation and association of key poses are carried out using a clustering algorithm, without the need of a learning algorithm. The proposed approach is evaluated on five publicly available datasets for activity recognition, showing promising results especially when applied for the recognition of AAL related actions. Finally, the current applicability of this solution in AAL scenarios and the future improvements needed are discussed.

  20. A Human Activity Recognition System Using Skeleton Data from RGBD Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enea Cippitelli

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of Active and Assisted Living is to develop tools to promote the ageing in place of elderly people, and human activity recognition algorithms can help to monitor aged people in home environments. Different types of sensors can be used to address this task and the RGBD sensors, especially the ones used for gaming, are cost-effective and provide much information about the environment. This work aims to propose an activity recognition algorithm exploiting skeleton data extracted by RGBD sensors. The system is based on the extraction of key poses to compose a feature vector, and a multiclass Support Vector Machine to perform classification. Computation and association of key poses are carried out using a clustering algorithm, without the need of a learning algorithm. The proposed approach is evaluated on five publicly available datasets for activity recognition, showing promising results especially when applied for the recognition of AAL related actions. Finally, the current applicability of this solution in AAL scenarios and the future improvements needed are discussed.

  1. Optimisation of microwave-assisted processing in production of pineapple jam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail, Nur Aisyah Mohd; Abdullah, Norazlin; Muhammad, Norhayati

    2017-10-01

    Pineapples are available all year round since they are unseasonal fruits. Due to the continuous harvesting of the fruit, the retailers and farmers had to find a solution such as the processing of pineapple into jam, to treat the unsuccessfully sold pineapples. The direct heating of pineapple puree during the production of pineapple jam can cause over degradation of quality of the fresh pineapple. Thus, this study aims to optimise the microwave-assisted processing conditions for producing pineapple jam which could reduce water activity and meets minimum requirement for pH and total soluble solids contents of fruit jam. The power and time of the microwave processing were chosen as the factors, while the water activity, pH and total soluble solids (TSS) content of the pineapple jam were determined as responses to be optimised. The microwave treatment on the pineapple jam was able to give significant effect on the water activity and TSS content of the pineapple jam. The optimum power and time for the microwave processing of pineapple jam is 800 Watt and 8 minutes, respectively. The use of domestic microwave oven for the pineapple jam production results in acceptable pineapple jam same as conventional fruit jam sold in the marketplace.

  2. Advances in microwaves 8

    CERN Document Server

    Young, Leo

    2013-01-01

    Advances in Microwaves, Volume 8 covers the developments in the study of microwaves. The book discusses the circuit forms for microwave integrated circuits; the analysis of microstrip transmission lines; and the use of lumped elements in microwave integrated circuits. The text also describes the microwave properties of ferrimagnetic materials, as well as their interaction with electromagnetic waves propagating in bounded waveguiding structures. The integration techniques useful at high frequencies; material technology for microwave integrated circuits; specific requirements on technology for d

  3. Behavioural changes in mice exposed to low level microwave fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goiceanu, C.; Gradinaru, F.; Danulescu, R.; Balaceanu, G.; Sandu, D. D.; Avadanei, O. G.

    2001-01-01

    The aim of our study is to point out some changes in mice behaviour due possibly to exposure to low-level microwave fields. Animals spontaneous behaviour were monitored and the exploring behaviour and motor activity were assessed. Ten selected Swiss male mice were exposed to low-level microwave fields of about 1 mW/cm 2 power density for a relatively long period of time (13 weeks), comparing to their lifetime. The exposure system consists in a transverse electromagnetic (TEM) Cell. A control lot of ten Swiss male mice was used. All twenty mice were selected to be of same age and of 202 g initial body weight. Each animal was placed in his own holder. The behaviour of the animals, from both exposed and control lots, was assessed by using a battery of three behavioural tests. The test sessions were performed every two weeks. During exposure period it was recorded a progressive but moderate loss of motor activity for both exposed and controls, probably due to weight gain and aging. Concerning exploratory activity there is a significant difference between control and exposed animals. Control mice had approximately constant performances in time. On the other hand exposed mice showed a progressive decrease in time of their exploratory ability. Motor activity of exposed animals does not seem to be affected by microwave exposure, in spite of moderate loss in time of motor activity in both lots, as long as it was recorded a quite similar evolution. The difference in performances of exposed and controls concerning exploratory activity seem to emphasise an effect of long-term low-level microwave exposure. The progressive loss in time of exploratory activity of exposed mice, in contrast with controls, could be due to the interference of microwaves with central nervous activity. (authors)

  4. Paper-Based Active Tactile Sensor Array.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Qize; Zhong, Junwen; Cheng, Xiaofeng; Yao, Xu; Wang, Bo; Li, Wenbo; Wu, Nan; Liu, Kang; Hu, Bin; Zhou, Jun

    2015-11-25

    A paper-based active tactile sensor -array (PATSA) with a dynamic sensitivity of 0.35 V N(-1) is demonstrated. The pixel position of the PATSA can be routed by analyzing the real-time recording voltages in the pressing process. The PATSA performance, which remains functional when removing partial areas, reveals that the device has a potential application to customized electronic skins. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Mesh parameters influence on transparent and active antennas performance at microwaves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexis Martin

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Optically transparent and active square loop coplanar antennas operating in X-band are investigated in this letter. The frequency tunability is provided by a surface mounted beam-lead varactor with micrometric size, thereby no-visible to the naked eye. The influence of the metal mesh parameters on the sheet resistance (from 0.05 Ω/sq to 0.54 Ω/sq, the optical transparency (from 66% to 89% and the microwave performance (return loss, resonance frequency, radiation pattern and gain of such antennas is evaluated, compared with those of an opaque counterpart, and finally discussed. This study paves the way of their promising implementation on new surfaces, namely building and car windows for future wireless communications systems.

  6. Virtual sensors for active noise control in acoustic-structural coupled enclosures using structural sensing: part II--Optimization of structural sensor placement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halim, Dunant; Cheng, Li; Su, Zhongqing

    2011-04-01

    The work proposed an optimization approach for structural sensor placement to improve the performance of vibro-acoustic virtual sensor for active noise control applications. The vibro-acoustic virtual sensor was designed to estimate the interior sound pressure of an acoustic-structural coupled enclosure using structural sensors. A spectral-spatial performance metric was proposed, which was used to quantify the averaged structural sensor output energy of a vibro-acoustic system excited by a spatially varying point source. It was shown that (i) the overall virtual sensing error energy was contributed additively by the modal virtual sensing error and the measurement noise energy; (ii) each of the modal virtual sensing error system was contributed by both the modal observability levels for the structural sensing and the target acoustic virtual sensing; and further (iii) the strength of each modal observability level was influenced by the modal coupling and resonance frequencies of the associated uncoupled structural/cavity modes. An optimal design of structural sensor placement was proposed to achieve sufficiently high modal observability levels for certain important panel- and cavity-controlled modes. Numerical analysis on a panel-cavity system demonstrated the importance of structural sensor placement on virtual sensing and active noise control performance, particularly for cavity-controlled modes.

  7. Wireless sensor networks for active vibration control in automobile structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mieyeville, Fabien; Navarro, David; Du, Wan; Ichchou, Mohamed; Scorletti, Gérard

    2012-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are nowadays widely used in monitoring and tracking applications. This paper presents the feasibility of using WSNs in active vibration control strategies. The method employed here involves active-structural acoustic control using piezoelectric sensors distributed on a car structure. This system aims at being merged with a WSN whose head node collects data and processes control laws so as to command piezoelectric actuators wisely placed on the structure. We will study the feasibility of implementing WSNs in active vibration control and introduce a complete design methodology to optimize hardware/software and control law synergy in mechatronic systems. A design space exploration will be conducted so as to identify the best WSN platform and the resulting impact on control. (paper)

  8. Wearable sensor glove based on conducting fabric using electrodermal activity and pulse-wave sensors for e-health application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Youngbum; Lee, Byungwoo; Lee, Myoungho

    2010-03-01

    Improvement of the quality and efficiency of health in medicine, both at home and the hospital, calls for improved sensors that might be included in a common carrier such as a wearable sensor device to measure various biosignals and provide healthcare services that use e-health technology. Designed to be user-friendly, smart clothes and gloves respond well to the end users for health monitoring. This study describes a wearable sensor glove that is equipped with an electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor, pulse-wave sensor, conducting fabric, and an embedded system. The EDA sensor utilizes the relationship between drowsiness and the EDA signal. The EDA sensors were made using a conducting fabric instead of silver chloride electrodes, as a more practical and practically wearable device. The pulse-wave sensor measurement system, which is widely applied in oriental medicinal practices, is also a strong element in e-health monitoring systems. The EDA and pulse-wave signal acquisition module was constructed by connecting the sensor to the glove via a conductive fabric. The signal acquisition module is then connected to a personal computer that displays the results of the EDA and pulse-wave signal processing analysis and gives accurate feedback to the user. This system is designed for a number of applications for the e-health services, including drowsiness detection and oriental medicine.

  9. Dynamic Characterization of a Low Cost Microwave Water-Cut Sensor in a Flow Loop

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram; Arsalan, Muhammad; Shamim, Atif

    2017-01-01

    Inline precise measurement of water fraction in oil (i.e. water-cut [WC]) finds numerous applications in oil and gas industry. This paper presents the characterization of an extremely low cost, completely non-intrusive and full range microwave water

  10. Inductive Displacement Sensors with a Notch Filter for an Active Magnetic Bearing System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seng-Chi Chen

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Active magnetic bearing (AMB systems support rotating shafts without any physical contact, using electromagnetic forces. Each radial AMB uses two pairs of electromagnets at opposite sides of the rotor. This allows the rotor to float in the air gap, and the machine to operate without frictional losses. In active magnetic suspension, displacement sensors are necessary to detect the radial and axial movement of the suspended object. In a high-speed rotating machine equipped with an AMB, the rotor bending modes may be limited to the operating range. The natural frequencies of the rotor can cause instability. Thus, notch filters are a useful circuit for stabilizing the system. In addition, commercial displacement sensors are sometimes not suitable for AMB design, and cannot filter the noise caused by the natural frequencies of rotor. Hence, implementing displacement sensors based on the AMB structure is necessary to eliminate noises caused by natural frequency disturbances. The displacement sensor must be highly sensitive in the desired working range, and also exhibit a low interference noise, high stability, and low cost. In this study, we used the differential inductive sensor head and lock-in amplifier for synchronous demodulation. In addition, an active low-pass filter and a notch filter were used to eliminate disturbances, which caused by natural frequencies. As a consequence, the inductive displacement sensor achieved satisfactory linearity, high sensitivity, and disturbance elimination. This sensor can be easily produced for AMB applications. A prototype of these displacement sensors was built and tested.

  11. Portable reconfigurable line sensor (PRLS) and technology transfer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacKenzie, D.P.; Buckle, T.H.; Blattman, D.A.

    1993-01-01

    The Portable Reconfigurable Line Sensor (PRLS) is a bistatic, pulsed-Doppler, microwave intrusion detection system developed at Sandia National Laboratories for the US Air Force. The PRLS is rapidly and easily deployed, and can detect intruders ranging from a slow creeping intruder to a high speed vehicle. The system has a sharply defined detection zone and will not falsely alarm on nearby traffic. Unlike most microwave sensors, the PRLS requires no alignment or calibration. Its portability, battery operation, ease of setup, and RF alarm reporting capability make it an excellent choice for perimeter, portal, and gap-filler applications in the important new field of rapidly-deployable sensor systems. In October 1992, the US Air Force and Racon, Inc., entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to commercialize the PRLS, jointly sharing government and industry resources. The Air Force brings the user's perspective and requirements to the cooperative effort. Sandia, serving as the technical arm of the Air Force, adds the actual PRLS technology to the joint effort, and provides security systems and radar development expertise. Racon puts the Air Force requirements and Sandia technology together into a commercial product, making the system meet important commercial manufacturing constraints. The result is a true ''win-win'' situation, with reduced government investment during the commercial development of the PRLS, and industry access to technology not otherwise available

  12. A low-cost, orientation-insensitive microwave water-cut sensor printed on a pipe surface

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram

    2017-10-24

    This paper presents a novel and contactless water fraction (also known as water cut) measurement technique, which is independent of geometric distribution of oil and water inside the pipe. The sensor is based upon a modified dual helical stub resonators implemented directly on the pipe\\'s outer surface and whose resonance frequency decreases by increasing the water content in oil. The E-fields have been made to rotate and distribute well inside the pipe, despite having narrow and curved ground plane. It makes the sensor\\'s reading dependent only on the water fraction and not on the mixture distribution inside the pipe. That is why, the presented design does not require any flow conditioner to homogenize the oil/water mixture unlike many commercial WC sensors. The presented sensor has been realized by using extremely low cost methods of screen-printing and reusable 3D printed mask. Complete characterization of the proposed WC sensor, both in horizontal and vertical orientations, has been carried out in an industrial flow loop. Excellent repeatability of the sensor\\'s response has been observed under different flow conditions. The measured performance results of the sensor show full range accuracy of ±2-3% while tested under random orientations and wide range of flow rates.

  13. Evolutionary Design of Convolutional Neural Networks for Human Activity Recognition in Sensor-Rich Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldominos, Alejandro; Saez, Yago; Isasi, Pedro

    2018-04-23

    Human activity recognition is a challenging problem for context-aware systems and applications. It is gaining interest due to the ubiquity of different sensor sources, wearable smart objects, ambient sensors, etc. This task is usually approached as a supervised machine learning problem, where a label is to be predicted given some input data, such as the signals retrieved from different sensors. For tackling the human activity recognition problem in sensor network environments, in this paper we propose the use of deep learning (convolutional neural networks) to perform activity recognition using the publicly available OPPORTUNITY dataset. Instead of manually choosing a suitable topology, we will let an evolutionary algorithm design the optimal topology in order to maximize the classification F1 score. After that, we will also explore the performance of committees of the models resulting from the evolutionary process. Results analysis indicates that the proposed model was able to perform activity recognition within a heterogeneous sensor network environment, achieving very high accuracies when tested with new sensor data. Based on all conducted experiments, the proposed neuroevolutionary system has proved to be able to systematically find a classification model which is capable of outperforming previous results reported in the state-of-the-art, showing that this approach is useful and improves upon previously manually-designed architectures.

  14. Modular Bayesian Networks with Low-Power Wearable Sensors for Recognizing Eating Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kee-Hoon Kim

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Recently, recognizing a user’s daily activity using a smartphone and wearable sensors has become a popular issue. However, in contrast with the ideal definition of an experiment, there could be numerous complex activities in real life with respect to its various background and contexts: time, space, age, culture, and so on. Recognizing these complex activities with limited low-power sensors, considering the power and memory constraints of the wearable environment and the user’s obtrusiveness at once is not an easy problem, although it is very crucial for the activity recognizer to be practically useful. In this paper, we recognize activity of eating, which is one of the most typical examples of a complex activity, using only daily low-power mobile and wearable sensors. To organize the related contexts systemically, we have constructed the context model based on activity theory and the “Five W’s”, and propose a Bayesian network with 88 nodes to predict uncertain contexts probabilistically. The structure of the proposed Bayesian network is designed by a modular and tree-structured approach to reduce the time complexity and increase the scalability. To evaluate the proposed method, we collected the data with 10 different activities from 25 volunteers of various ages, occupations, and jobs, and have obtained 79.71% accuracy, which outperforms other conventional classifiers by 7.54–14.4%. Analyses of the results showed that our probabilistic approach could also give approximate results even when one of contexts or sensor values has a very heterogeneous pattern or is missing.

  15. Modular Bayesian Networks with Low-Power Wearable Sensors for Recognizing Eating Activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kee-Hoon; Cho, Sung-Bae

    2017-12-11

    Recently, recognizing a user's daily activity using a smartphone and wearable sensors has become a popular issue. However, in contrast with the ideal definition of an experiment, there could be numerous complex activities in real life with respect to its various background and contexts: time, space, age, culture, and so on. Recognizing these complex activities with limited low-power sensors, considering the power and memory constraints of the wearable environment and the user's obtrusiveness at once is not an easy problem, although it is very crucial for the activity recognizer to be practically useful. In this paper, we recognize activity of eating, which is one of the most typical examples of a complex activity, using only daily low-power mobile and wearable sensors. To organize the related contexts systemically, we have constructed the context model based on activity theory and the "Five W's", and propose a Bayesian network with 88 nodes to predict uncertain contexts probabilistically. The structure of the proposed Bayesian network is designed by a modular and tree-structured approach to reduce the time complexity and increase the scalability. To evaluate the proposed method, we collected the data with 10 different activities from 25 volunteers of various ages, occupations, and jobs, and have obtained 79.71% accuracy, which outperforms other conventional classifiers by 7.54-14.4%. Analyses of the results showed that our probabilistic approach could also give approximate results even when one of contexts or sensor values has a very heterogeneous pattern or is missing.

  16. Modular Bayesian Networks with Low-Power Wearable Sensors for Recognizing Eating Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kee-Hoon

    2017-01-01

    Recently, recognizing a user’s daily activity using a smartphone and wearable sensors has become a popular issue. However, in contrast with the ideal definition of an experiment, there could be numerous complex activities in real life with respect to its various background and contexts: time, space, age, culture, and so on. Recognizing these complex activities with limited low-power sensors, considering the power and memory constraints of the wearable environment and the user’s obtrusiveness at once is not an easy problem, although it is very crucial for the activity recognizer to be practically useful. In this paper, we recognize activity of eating, which is one of the most typical examples of a complex activity, using only daily low-power mobile and wearable sensors. To organize the related contexts systemically, we have constructed the context model based on activity theory and the “Five W’s”, and propose a Bayesian network with 88 nodes to predict uncertain contexts probabilistically. The structure of the proposed Bayesian network is designed by a modular and tree-structured approach to reduce the time complexity and increase the scalability. To evaluate the proposed method, we collected the data with 10 different activities from 25 volunteers of various ages, occupations, and jobs, and have obtained 79.71% accuracy, which outperforms other conventional classifiers by 7.54–14.4%. Analyses of the results showed that our probabilistic approach could also give approximate results even when one of contexts or sensor values has a very heterogeneous pattern or is missing. PMID:29232937

  17. Development of High Frequency Transition-Edge-Sensor Polarimeters for Next Generation Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments and Galactic Foreground Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Samantha; Sierra, Carlos E.; Austermann, Jason Edward; Beall, James; Becker, Dan; Dober, Bradley; Duff, Shannon; Hilton, Gene; Hubmayr, Johannes; Van Lanen, Jeffrey L.; McMahon, Jeff; Simon, Sara M.; Ullom, Joel; Vissers, Michael R.; NIST Quantum Sensors Group

    2018-06-01

    Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) provide a powerful tool for probing the earliest moments of the universe and therefore have the potential to transform our understanding of cosmology. In particular, precision measurements of its polarization can reveal the existence of gravitational waves produced during cosmic inflation. However, these observations are complicated by the presence of astrophysical foregrounds, which may be separated by using broad frequency coverage, as the spectral energy distribution between foregrounds and the CMB is distinct. For this purpose, we are developing large-bandwidth, feedhorn-coupled transition-edge-sensor (TES) arrays that couple polarized light from waveguide to superconducting microstrip by use of a symmetric, planar orthomode transducer (OMT). In this work, we describe two types of pixels, an ultra-high frequency (UHF) design, which operates from 195 GHz-315 GHz, and an extended ultra-high frequency (UHF++) design, which operates from 195 GHz-420 GHz, being developed for next generation CMB experiments that will come online in the next decade, such as CCAT-prime and the Simons Observatory. We present the designs, simulation results, fabrication, and preliminary measurements of these prototype pixels.

  18. Antarctic Iceberg Tracking Based on Time Series of Aqua AMSRE Microwave Brightness Temperature Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blonski, Slawomir; Peterson, Craig

    2006-01-01

    Observations of icebergs are identified as one of the requirements for the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) in the area of reducing loss of life and property from natural and human-induced disasters. However, iceberg observations are not included among targets in the GEOSS 10-Year Implementation Plan, and thus there is an unfulfilled need for iceberg detection and tracking in the near future. Large Antarctic icebergs have been tracked by the National Ice Center and by the academic community using a variety of satellite sensors including both passive and active microwave imagers, such as SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) deployed on the DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) spacecraft. Improvements provided in recent years by NASA and non-NASA satellite radars, scatterometers, and radiometers resulted in an increased number of observed icebergs and even prompted a question: Is The Number of Antarctic Icebergs Really Increasing? [D.G. Long, J. Ballantyne, and C. Bertoia, Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 83 (42): 469 & 474, 15 October 2002]. AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System) represents an improvement over SSM/I, its predecessor. AMSR-E has more measurement channels and higher spatial resolution than SSM/I. For example, the instantaneous field of view of the AMSR-E s 89-GHz channels is 6 km by 4 km versus 16 km by 14 km for SSM/I s comparable 85-GHz channels. AMSR-E, deployed on the Aqua satellite, scans across a 1450-km swath and provides brightness temperature measurements with nearglobal coverage every one or two days. In polar regions, overlapping swaths generate coverage up to multiple times per day and allow for creation of image time series with high temporal resolution. Despite these advantages, only incidental usage of AMSR-E data for iceberg tracking has been reported so far, none in an operational environment. Therefore, an experiment was undertaken in the RPC

  19. Microwave undulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batchelor, K.

    1986-03-01

    The theory of a microwave undulator utilizing a plane rectangular waveguide operating in the TE/sub 10n/ mode and other higher order modes is presented. Based on this, a possible undulator configuration is analyzed, leading to the conclusion that the microwave undulator represents a viable option for undulator wavelength down to about 1 cm where peak voltage and available microwave power considerations limit effectiveness. 4 refs., 4 figs

  20. Dual Microwave Radiometer Experiment Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marchand, Roger [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)

    2017-09-01

    Passive microwave radiometers (MWRs) are the most commonly used and accurate instruments the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Research Facility has to retrieve cloud liquid water path (LWP). The MWR measurements (microwave radiances or brightness temperatures) are often used to derive LWP using climatological constraints, but are frequently also combined with measurements from radar and other instruments for cloud microphysical retrievals. Nominally this latter approach improves the retrieval of LWP and other cloud microphysical quantities (such as effective radius or number concentration), but this also means that when MWR data are poor, other cloud microphysical quantities are also negatively affected. Unfortunately, current MWR data is often contaminated by water on the MWR radome. This water makes a substantial contribution to the measured radiance and typically results in retrievals of cloud liquid water and column water vapor that are biased high. While it is obvious when the contamination by standing water is large (and retrieval biases are large), much of the time it is difficult to know with confidence that there is no contamination. At present there is no attempt to estimate or correct for this source of error, and identification of problems is largely left to users. Typically users are advised to simply throw out all data when the MWR “wet-window” resistance-based sensor indicates water is present, but this sensor is adjusted by hand and is known to be temperamental. In order to address this problem, a pair of ARM microwave radiometers was deployed to the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, Washington, USA. The radiometers were operated such that one radiometer was scanned under a cover that (nominally) prevents this radiometer radome from gathering water and permits measurements away from zenith; while the other radiometer is operated normally – open or uncovered - with the radome exposed to the sky

  1. A Review of Microwave-Assisted Reactions for Biodiesel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saifuddin Nomanbhay

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The conversion of biomass into chemicals and biofuels is an active research area as trends move to replace fossil fuels with renewable resources due to society’s increased concern towards sustainability. In this context, microwave processing has emerged as a tool in organic synthesis and plays an important role in developing a more sustainable world. Integration of processing methods with microwave irradiation has resulted in a great reduction in the time required for many processes, while the reaction efficiencies have been increased markedly. Microwave processing produces a higher yield with a cleaner profile in comparison to other methods. The microwave processing is reported to be a better heating method than the conventional methods due to its unique thermal and non-thermal effects. This paper provides an insight into the theoretical aspects of microwave irradiation practices and highlights the importance of microwave processing. The potential of the microwave technology to accomplish superior outcomes over the conventional methods in biodiesel production is presented. A green process for biodiesel production using a non-catalytic method is still new and very costly because of the supercritical condition requirement. Hence, non-catalytic biodiesel conversion under ambient pressure using microwave technology must be developed, as the energy utilization for microwave-based biodiesel synthesis is reported to be lower and cost-effective.

  2. Low-level microwave irradiation and central cholinergic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai, H.; Carino, M.A.; Horita, A.; Guy, A.W.

    1989-01-01

    Our previous research showed that 45 min of exposure to low-level, pulsed microwaves (2450-MHz, 2-microseconds pulses, 500 pps, whole-body average specific absorption rate 0.6 W/kg) decreased sodium-dependent high-affinity choline uptake in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of the rat. The effects of microwaves on central cholinergic systems were further investigated in this study. Increases in choline uptake activity in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus were observed after 20 min of acute microwave exposure, and tolerance to the effect of microwaves developed in the hypothalamus, but not in the frontal cortex and hippocampus, of rats subjected to ten daily 20-min exposure sessions. Furthermore, the effects of acute microwave irradiation on central choline uptake could be blocked by pretreating the animals before exposure with the narcotic antagonist naltrexone. In another series of experiments, rats were exposed to microwaves in ten daily sessions of either 20 or 45 min, and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in different regions of the brain were studied by 3H-QNB binding assay. Decreases in concentration of receptors occurred in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of rats subjected to ten 20-min microwave exposure sessions, whereas increase in receptor concentration occurred in the hippocampus of animals exposed to ten 45-min sessions. This study also investigated the effects of microwave exposure on learning in the radial-arm maze. Rats were trained in the maze to obtain food reinforcements immediately after 20 or 45 min of microwave exposure

  3. Variable frequency microwave heating apparatus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bible, D.W.; Lauf, R.J.; Johnson, A.C.; Thigpen, L.T.

    1999-10-05

    A variable frequency microwave heating apparatus (10) designed to allow modulation of the frequency of the microwaves introduced into a multi-mode microwave cavity (34) for testing or other selected applications. The variable frequency microwave heating apparatus (10) includes a microwave signal generator (12) and a high-power microwave amplifier (20) or a high-power microwave oscillator (14). A power supply (22) is provided for operation of the high-power microwave oscillator (14) or microwave amplifier (20). A directional coupler (24) is provided for detecting the direction and amplitude of signals incident upon and reflected from the microwave cavity (34). A first power meter (30) is provided for measuring the power delivered to the microwave furnace (32). A second power meter (26) detects the magnitude of reflected power. Reflected power is dissipated in the reflected power load (28).

  4. Fault Diagnosis Based on Chemical Sensor Data with an Active Deep Neural Network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Peng; Hu, Zhixin; Liu, Jun; Yu, Shanen; Wu, Feng

    2016-10-13

    Big sensor data provide significant potential for chemical fault diagnosis, which involves the baseline values of security, stability and reliability in chemical processes. A deep neural network (DNN) with novel active learning for inducing chemical fault diagnosis is presented in this study. It is a method using large amount of chemical sensor data, which is a combination of deep learning and active learning criterion to target the difficulty of consecutive fault diagnosis. DNN with deep architectures, instead of shallow ones, could be developed through deep learning to learn a suitable feature representation from raw sensor data in an unsupervised manner using stacked denoising auto-encoder (SDAE) and work through a layer-by-layer successive learning process. The features are added to the top Softmax regression layer to construct the discriminative fault characteristics for diagnosis in a supervised manner. Considering the expensive and time consuming labeling of sensor data in chemical applications, in contrast to the available methods, we employ a novel active learning criterion for the particularity of chemical processes, which is a combination of Best vs. Second Best criterion (BvSB) and a Lowest False Positive criterion (LFP), for further fine-tuning of diagnosis model in an active manner rather than passive manner. That is, we allow models to rank the most informative sensor data to be labeled for updating the DNN parameters during the interaction phase. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated in two well-known industrial datasets. Results indicate that the proposed method can obtain superior diagnosis accuracy and provide significant performance improvement in accuracy and false positive rate with less labeled chemical sensor data by further active learning compared with existing methods.

  5. A near-field scanning microwave microscope based on a superconducting resonator for low power measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Graaf, S E; Danilov, A V; Adamyan, A; Kubatkin, S E

    2013-02-01

    We report on the design and performance of a cryogenic (300 mK) near-field scanning microwave microscope. It uses a microwave resonator as the near-field sensor, operating at a frequency of 6 GHz and microwave probing amplitudes down to 100 μV, approaching low enough photon population (N ∼ 1000) of the resonator such that coherent quantum manipulation becomes feasible. The resonator is made out of a miniaturized distributed fractal superconducting circuit that is integrated with the probing tip, micromachined to be compact enough such that it can be mounted directly on a quartz tuning-fork, and used for parallel operation as an atomic force microscope (AFM). The resonator is magnetically coupled to a transmission line for readout, and to achieve enhanced sensitivity we employ a Pound-Drever-Hall measurement scheme to lock to the resonance frequency. We achieve a well localized near-field around the tip such that the microwave resolution is comparable to the AFM resolution, and a capacitive sensitivity down to 6.4 × 10(-20) F/Hz, limited by mechanical noise. We believe that the results presented here are a significant step towards probing quantum systems at the nanoscale using near-field scanning microwave microscopy.

  6. Advanced microwave processing concepts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lauf, R.J.; McMillan, A.D.; Paulauskas, F.L. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN (United States)

    1995-05-01

    The purpose of this work is to explore the feasibility of several advanced microwave processing concepts to develop new energy-efficient materials and processes. The project includes two tasks: (1) commercialization of the variable-frequency microwave furnace; and (2) microwave curing of polymer composites. The variable frequency microwave furnace, whose initial conception and design was funded by the AIC Materials Program, will allow us, for the first time, to conduct microwave processing studies over a wide frequency range. This novel design uses a high-power traveling wave tube (TWT) originally developed for electronic warfare. By using this microwave source, one can not only select individual microwave frequencies for particular experiments, but also achieve uniform power densities over a large area by the superposition of many different frequencies. Microwave curing of thermoset resins will be studied because it hold the potential of in-situ curing of continuous-fiber composites for strong, lightweight components. Microwave heating can shorten curing times, provided issues of scaleup, uniformity, and thermal management can be adequately addressed.

  7. Use of AMSR-E microwave satellite data for land surface characteristics and snow cover variation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mukesh Singh Boori

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This data article contains data related to the research article entitled “Global land cover classification based on microwave polarization and gradient ratio (MPGR” [1] and “Microwave polarization and gradient ratio (MPGR for global land surface phenology” [2]. This data article presents land surface characteristics and snow cover variation information from sensors like EOS Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E. This data article use the HDF Explorer, Matlab, and ArcGIS software to process the pixel latitude, longitude, snow water equivalent (SWE, digital elevation model (DEM and Brightness Temperature (BT information from AMSR-E satellite data to provide land surface characteristics and snow cover variation data in all-weather condition at any time. This data information is useful to discriminate different land surface cover types and snow cover variation, which is turn, will help to improve monitoring of weather, climate and natural disasters.

  8. Active pixel sensors: The sensor of choice for future space applications

    OpenAIRE

    Leijtens, J.; Theuwissen, A.; Rao, P.R.; Wang, X.; Xie, N.

    2007-01-01

    It is generally known that active pixel sensors (APS) have a number of advantages over CCD detectors if it comes to cost for mass production, power consumption and ease of integration. Nevertheless, most space applications still use CCD detectors because they tend to give better performance and have a successful heritage. To this respect a change may be at hand with the advent of deep sub-micron processed APS imagers (< 0.25-micron feature size). Measurements performed on test structures at t...

  9. A Low Power, Parallel Wearable Multi-Sensor System for Human Activity Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuecheng; Jia, Wenyan; Yu, Tianjian; Luan, Bo; Mao, Zhi-Hong; Zhang, Hong; Sun, Mingui

    2015-04-01

    In this paper, the design of a low power heterogeneous wearable multi-sensor system, built with Zynq System-on-Chip (SoC), for human activity evaluation is presented. The powerful data processing capability and flexibility of this SoC represent significant improvements over our previous ARM based system designs. The new system captures and compresses multiple color images and sensor data simultaneously. Several strategies are adopted to minimize power consumption. Our wearable system provides a new tool for the evaluation of human activity, including diet, physical activity and lifestyle.

  10. Improving the biogas production performance of municipal waste activated sludge via disperser induced microwave disintegration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kavitha, S; Rajesh Banu, J; Vinoth Kumar, J; Rajkumar, M

    2016-10-01

    In this study, the influence of disperser induced microwave pretreatment was investigated to analyze the proficiency of floc disruption on subsequent disintegration and biodegradability process. Initially, the flocs in the sludge was disrupted through disperser at a specific energy input of 25.3kJ/kgTS. The upshot of the microwave disintegration presents that the solids reduction and solubilization of floc disrupted (disperser induced microwave pretreated) sludge was found to be 17.33% and 22% relatively greater than that achieved in microwave pretreated (9.3% and 16%) sludge alone. The biodegradability analysis, affords an evaluation of parameter confidence and correlation determination. The eventual biodegradability of microwave pretreated, and floc disrupted sludges were computed to be 0.15(gCOD/gCOD) and 0.28(gCOD/gCOD), respectively. An economic assessment of this study offers a positive net profit of about 104.8USD/ton of sludge in floc disrupted sample. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. A Pattern Mining Approach to Sensor-based Human Activity Recognition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gu, Tao; Wang, Liang; Wu, Zhanqing

    2011-01-01

    Recognizing human activities from sensor readings has recently attracted much research interest in pervasive computing due to its potential in many applications such as assistive living and healthcare. This task is particularly challenging because human activities are often performed in not only...

  12. Review of Recent Metamaterial Microfluidic Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salim, Ahmed; Lim, Sungjoon

    2018-01-15

    Metamaterial elements/arrays exhibit a sensitive response to fluids yet with a small footprint, therefore, they have been an attractive choice to realize various sensing devices when integrated with microfluidic technology. Micro-channels made from inexpensive biocompatible materials avoid any contamination from environment and require only microliter-nanoliter sample for sensing. Simple design, easy fabrication process, light weight prototype, and instant measurements are advantages as compared to conventional (optical, electrochemical and biological) sensing systems. Inkjet-printed flexible sensors find their utilization in rapidly growing wearable electronics and health-monitoring flexible devices. Adequate sensitivity and repeatability of these low profile microfluidic sensors make them a potential candidate for point-of-care testing which novice patients can use reliably. Aside from degraded sensitivity and lack of selectivity in all practical microwave chemical sensors, they require an instrument, such as vector network analyzer for measurements and not readily available as a self-sustained portable sensor. This review article presents state-of-the-art metamaterial inspired microfluidic bio/chemical sensors (passive devices ranging from gigahertz to terahertz range) with an emphasis on metamaterial sensing circuit and microfluidic detection. We also highlight challenges and strategies to cope these issues which set future directions.

  13. Hybrid Microwave Technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wicks, G.G.

    2001-01-01

    A team associated with a Federal Laboratory, academia, and industry has been actively developing new microwave technology for treatment and remediation of a variety of potentially hazardous materials for almost a decade. This collaboration has resulted in unique equipment and processes with potential applicability to many fields, including disposition of electronic circuitry and components, medical wastes, radioactive materials and recycling of used tires

  14. Training Classifiers with Shadow Features for Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, Simon; Song, Wei; Cho, Kyungeun; Wong, Raymond; Wong, Kelvin K L

    2017-02-27

    In this paper, a novel training/testing process for building/using a classification model based on human activity recognition (HAR) is proposed. Traditionally, HAR has been accomplished by a classifier that learns the activities of a person by training with skeletal data obtained from a motion sensor, such as Microsoft Kinect. These skeletal data are the spatial coordinates (x, y, z) of different parts of the human body. The numeric information forms time series, temporal records of movement sequences that can be used for training a classifier. In addition to the spatial features that describe current positions in the skeletal data, new features called 'shadow features' are used to improve the supervised learning efficacy of the classifier. Shadow features are inferred from the dynamics of body movements, and thereby modelling the underlying momentum of the performed activities. They provide extra dimensions of information for characterising activities in the classification process, and thereby significantly improve the classification accuracy. Two cases of HAR are tested using a classification model trained with shadow features: one is by using wearable sensor and the other is by a Kinect-based remote sensor. Our experiments can demonstrate the advantages of the new method, which will have an impact on human activity detection research.

  15. Training Classifiers with Shadow Features for Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Fong

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a novel training/testing process for building/using a classification model based on human activity recognition (HAR is proposed. Traditionally, HAR has been accomplished by a classifier that learns the activities of a person by training with skeletal data obtained from a motion sensor, such as Microsoft Kinect. These skeletal data are the spatial coordinates (x, y, z of different parts of the human body. The numeric information forms time series, temporal records of movement sequences that can be used for training a classifier. In addition to the spatial features that describe current positions in the skeletal data, new features called ‘shadow features’ are used to improve the supervised learning efficacy of the classifier. Shadow features are inferred from the dynamics of body movements, and thereby modelling the underlying momentum of the performed activities. They provide extra dimensions of information for characterising activities in the classification process, and thereby significantly improve the classification accuracy. Two cases of HAR are tested using a classification model trained with shadow features: one is by using wearable sensor and the other is by a Kinect-based remote sensor. Our experiments can demonstrate the advantages of the new method, which will have an impact on human activity detection research.

  16. Microwave-Hydrothermal Synthesis of SnO2-CNTs Hybrid Nanocomposites with Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shuisheng; Dai, Weili

    2017-03-03

    SnO2 nanoparticles coated on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared via a simple microwave-hydrothermal route. The as-obtained SnO2-CNTs composites were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of as-prepared SnO2-CNTs for degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation was investigated. The results show that SnO2-CNTs nanocomposites have a higher photocatalytic activity than pure SnO2 due to the rapid transferring of electrons and the effective separation of holes and electrons on SnO2-CNTs.

  17. Evolutionary Design of Convolutional Neural Networks for Human Activity Recognition in Sensor-Rich Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro Baldominos

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Human activity recognition is a challenging problem for context-aware systems and applications. It is gaining interest due to the ubiquity of different sensor sources, wearable smart objects, ambient sensors, etc. This task is usually approached as a supervised machine learning problem, where a label is to be predicted given some input data, such as the signals retrieved from different sensors. For tackling the human activity recognition problem in sensor network environments, in this paper we propose the use of deep learning (convolutional neural networks to perform activity recognition using the publicly available OPPORTUNITY dataset. Instead of manually choosing a suitable topology, we will let an evolutionary algorithm design the optimal topology in order to maximize the classification F1 score. After that, we will also explore the performance of committees of the models resulting from the evolutionary process. Results analysis indicates that the proposed model was able to perform activity recognition within a heterogeneous sensor network environment, achieving very high accuracies when tested with new sensor data. Based on all conducted experiments, the proposed neuroevolutionary system has proved to be able to systematically find a classification model which is capable of outperforming previous results reported in the state-of-the-art, showing that this approach is useful and improves upon previously manually-designed architectures.

  18. Evolutionary Design of Convolutional Neural Networks for Human Activity Recognition in Sensor-Rich Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    Human activity recognition is a challenging problem for context-aware systems and applications. It is gaining interest due to the ubiquity of different sensor sources, wearable smart objects, ambient sensors, etc. This task is usually approached as a supervised machine learning problem, where a label is to be predicted given some input data, such as the signals retrieved from different sensors. For tackling the human activity recognition problem in sensor network environments, in this paper we propose the use of deep learning (convolutional neural networks) to perform activity recognition using the publicly available OPPORTUNITY dataset. Instead of manually choosing a suitable topology, we will let an evolutionary algorithm design the optimal topology in order to maximize the classification F1 score. After that, we will also explore the performance of committees of the models resulting from the evolutionary process. Results analysis indicates that the proposed model was able to perform activity recognition within a heterogeneous sensor network environment, achieving very high accuracies when tested with new sensor data. Based on all conducted experiments, the proposed neuroevolutionary system has proved to be able to systematically find a classification model which is capable of outperforming previous results reported in the state-of-the-art, showing that this approach is useful and improves upon previously manually-designed architectures. PMID:29690587

  19. A low-cost, orientation-insensitive microwave water-cut sensor printed on a pipe surface

    KAUST Repository

    Karimi, Muhammad Akram; Arsalan, Muhammad; Shamim, Atif

    2017-01-01

    commercial WC sensors. The presented sensor has been realized by using extremely low cost methods of screen-printing and reusable 3D printed mask. Complete characterization of the proposed WC sensor, both in horizontal and vertical orientations, has been

  20. Variable Power, Short Microwave Pulses Generation using a CW Magnetron

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CIUPA, R.

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Fine control of microwave power radiation in medical and scientific applications is a challenging task. Since a commercial Continuous Wave (CW magnetron is the most inexpensive microwave device available today on the market, it becomes the best candidate for a microwave power generator used in medical diathermy and hyperthermia treatments or high efficiency chemical reactions using microwave reactors as well. This article presents a new method for driving a CW magnetron with short pulses, using a modified commercial Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS inverter, software driven by a custom embedded system. The microwave power generator designed with this method can be programmed for output microwave pulses down to 1% of the magnetron's power and allows microwave low frequency pulse modulation in the range of human brain electrical activity, intended for medical applications. Microwave output power continuous control is also possible with the magnetron running in the oscillating area, using a dual frequency Pulse Width Modulation (PWM, where the low frequency PWM pulse is modulating a higher resonant frequency required by the ZVS inverter's transformer. The method presented allows a continuous control of both power and energy (duty-cycle at the inverter's output.

  1. Precipitable water and surface humidity over global oceans from special sensor microwave imager and European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, W. T.; Tang, Wenqing; Wentz, Frank J.

    1992-01-01

    Global fields of precipitable water W from the special sensor microwave imager were compared with those from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model. They agree over most ocean areas; both data sets capture the two annual cycles examined and the interannual anomalies during an ENSO episode. They show significant differences in the dry air masses over the eastern tropical-subtropical oceans, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. In these regions, comparisons with radiosonde data indicate that overestimation by the ECMWF model accounts for a large part of the differences. As a check on the W differences, surface-level specific humidity Q derived from W, using a statistical relation, was compared with Q from the ECMWF model. The differences in Q were found to be consistent with the differences in W, indirectly validating the Q-W relation. In both W and Q, SSMI was able to discern clearly the equatorial extension of the tongues of dry air in the eastern tropical ocean, while both ECMWF and climatological fields have reduced spatial gradients and weaker intensity.

  2. Microwave pyrolysis using self-generated pyrolysis gas as activating agent: An innovative single-step approach to convert waste palm shell into activated carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yek, Peter Nai Yuh; Keey Liew, Rock; Shahril Osman, Mohammad; Chung Wong, Chee; Lam, Su Shiung

    2017-11-01

    Waste palm shell (WPS) is a biomass residue largely available from palm oil industries. An innovative microwave pyrolysis method was developed to produce biochar from WPS while the pyrolysis gas generated as another product is simultaneously used as activating agent to transform the biochar into waste palm shell activated carbon (WPSAC), thus allowing carbonization and activation to be performed simultaneously in a single-step approach. The pyrolysis method was investigated over a range of process temperature and feedstock amount with emphasis on the yield and composition of the WPSAC obtained. The WPSAC was tested as dye adsorbent in removing methylene blue. This pyrolysis approach provided a fast heating rate (37.5°/min) and short process time (20 min) in transforming WPS into WPSAC, recording a product yield of 40 wt%. The WPSAC was detected with high BET surface area (≥ 1200 m2/g), low ash content (< 5 wt%), and high pore volume (≥ 0.54 cm3/g), thus recording high adsorption efficiency of 440 mg of dye/g. The desirable process features (fast heating rate, short process time) and the recovery of WPSAC suggest the exceptional promise of the single-step microwave pyrolysis approach to produce high-grade WPSAC from WPS.

  3. Microwave-enhanced pyrolysis of natural algae from water blooms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Rui; Li, Linling; Tong, Dongmei; Hu, Changwei

    2016-07-01

    Microwave-enhanced pyrolysis (MEP) of natural algae under different reaction conditions was carried out. The optimal conditions for bio-oil production were the following: algae particle size of 20-5 mesh, microwave power of 600W, and 10% of activated carbon as microwave absorber and catalyst. The maximum liquid yield obtained under N2, 10% H2/Ar, and CO2 atmosphere was 49.1%, 51.7%, and 54.3% respectively. The energy yield of bio-products was 216.7%, 236.9% and 208.7% respectively. More long chain fatty acids were converted into hydrocarbons by hydrodeoxygenation under 10% H2/Ar atmosphere assisted by microwave over activated carbon containing small amounts of metals. Under CO2 atmosphere, carboxylic acids (66.6%) were the main products in bio-oil because the existence of CO2 vastly inhibited the decarboxylation. The MEP of algae was quick and efficient for bio-oil production, which provided a way to not only ameliorate the environment but also obtain fuel or chemicals at the same time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Monoclinic BiVO4 micro-/nanostructures: Microwave and ultrasonic wave combined synthesis and their visible-light photocatalytic activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Yafang; Li, Guangfang; Yang, Xiaohui; Yang, Hao; Lu, Zhong; Chen, Rong

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Monoclinic BiVO 4 with different sizes and morphologies were synthesized by a facile microwave and ultrasonic wave combined technique for the first time and exhibited different optical properties and visible-light-driven photocatalytic efficiency. Highlights: ► BiVO 4 nanostructures were prepared by microwave and ultrasonic wave combined method. ► BiVO 4 nanostructures could be modulated by varying the solvent and pH value. ► Different BiVO 4 nanostructures exhibited different photocatalytic activities. ► The photocatalytic performance was influenced by the band gap, phase and size. - Abstract: Monoclinic bismuth vanadate (m-BiVO 4 ) micro-/nanostructures with different sizes and morphologies were successfully prepared via a facile and rapid microwave and ultrasonic wave combined technique. The obtained BiVO 4 products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS). It was found that the solvent and pH value had a significant influence on morphology, size and crystalline structure of the product. Nut-like, potato-like and broccoli-like monoclinic BiVO 4 were fabricated in different solvents. The crystal phase could be modulated by varying the pH value of reaction system. The photocatalytic activities of the products were also evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The result revealed that the photocatalytic activities of BiVO 4 nanostructures were closely related to the crystalline phase, band gap and particle size. Monoclinic BiVO 4 nanoparticles with small crystal size and large band gap exhibited remarkable photocatalytic performance.

  5. A 128 x 128 CMOS Active Pixel Image Sensor for Highly Integrated Imaging Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendis, Sunetra K.; Kemeny, Sabrina E.; Fossum, Eric R.

    1993-01-01

    A new CMOS-based image sensor that is intrinsically compatible with on-chip CMOS circuitry is reported. The new CMOS active pixel image sensor achieves low noise, high sensitivity, X-Y addressability, and has simple timing requirements. The image sensor was fabricated using a 2 micrometer p-well CMOS process, and consists of a 128 x 128 array of 40 micrometer x 40 micrometer pixels. The CMOS image sensor technology enables highly integrated smart image sensors, and makes the design, incorporation and fabrication of such sensors widely accessible to the integrated circuit community.

  6. Microwave heating type evaporator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taura, Masazumi; Nishi, Akio; Morimoto, Takashi; Izumi, Jun; Tamura, Kazuo; Morooka, Akihiko.

    1987-01-01

    Purpose: To prevent evaporization stills against corrosion due to radioactive liquid wastes. Constitution: Microwaves are supplied from a microwave generator by way of a wave guide tube and through a microwave permeation window to the inside of an evaporatization still. A matching device is attached to the wave guide tube for transmitting the microwaves in order to match the impedance. When the microwaves are supplied to the inside of the evaporization still, radioactive liquid wastes supplied from a liquid feed port by way of a spray tower to the inside of the evaporization still is heated and evaporated by the induction heating of the microwaves. (Seki, T.)

  7. The microwave market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bybokas, J.

    1989-01-01

    As superconductors move from the laboratory to the marketplace, it becomes more important for researchers and manufacturers to understand the markets for this technology. The large market for microwave systems represents a major opportunity for high-T c superconductors. Conductor losses are a primary design limitation in conventional microwave systems. The low losses of superconductors at microwave frequencies will allow component designers and system designers to improve their products in many ways. The most important market segments for microwave systems are outlined in this discussion

  8. HERMA-Heartbeat Microwave Authentication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lux, James Paul (Inventor); Chow, Edward (Inventor); McKee, Michael Ray (Inventor); Haque, Salman-ul Mohammed (Inventor); Tkacenko, Andre (Inventor)

    2018-01-01

    Systems and methods for identifying and/or authenticating individuals utilizing microwave sensing modules are disclosed. A HEaRtbeat Microwave Authentication (HERMA) system can enable the active identification and/or authentication of a user by analyzing reflected RF signals that contain a person's unique characteristics related to their heartbeats. An illumination signal is transmitted towards a person where a reflected signal captures the motion of the skin and tissue (i.e. displacement) due to the person's heartbeats. The HERMA system can utilize existing transmitters in a mobile device (e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Cellphone signals) as the illumination source with at least one external receive antenna. The received reflected signals can be pre-processed and analyzed to identify and/or authenticate a user.

  9. Fault Diagnosis Based on Chemical Sensor Data with an Active Deep Neural Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Peng; Hu, Zhixin; Liu, Jun; Yu, Shanen; Wu, Feng

    2016-01-01

    Big sensor data provide significant potential for chemical fault diagnosis, which involves the baseline values of security, stability and reliability in chemical processes. A deep neural network (DNN) with novel active learning for inducing chemical fault diagnosis is presented in this study. It is a method using large amount of chemical sensor data, which is a combination of deep learning and active learning criterion to target the difficulty of consecutive fault diagnosis. DNN with deep architectures, instead of shallow ones, could be developed through deep learning to learn a suitable feature representation from raw sensor data in an unsupervised manner using stacked denoising auto-encoder (SDAE) and work through a layer-by-layer successive learning process. The features are added to the top Softmax regression layer to construct the discriminative fault characteristics for diagnosis in a supervised manner. Considering the expensive and time consuming labeling of sensor data in chemical applications, in contrast to the available methods, we employ a novel active learning criterion for the particularity of chemical processes, which is a combination of Best vs. Second Best criterion (BvSB) and a Lowest False Positive criterion (LFP), for further fine-tuning of diagnosis model in an active manner rather than passive manner. That is, we allow models to rank the most informative sensor data to be labeled for updating the DNN parameters during the interaction phase. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated in two well-known industrial datasets. Results indicate that the proposed method can obtain superior diagnosis accuracy and provide significant performance improvement in accuracy and false positive rate with less labeled chemical sensor data by further active learning compared with existing methods. PMID:27754386

  10. Fault Diagnosis Based on Chemical Sensor Data with an Active Deep Neural Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Jiang

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Big sensor data provide significant potential for chemical fault diagnosis, which involves the baseline values of security, stability and reliability in chemical processes. A deep neural network (DNN with novel active learning for inducing chemical fault diagnosis is presented in this study. It is a method using large amount of chemical sensor data, which is a combination of deep learning and active learning criterion to target the difficulty of consecutive fault diagnosis. DNN with deep architectures, instead of shallow ones, could be developed through deep learning to learn a suitable feature representation from raw sensor data in an unsupervised manner using stacked denoising auto-encoder (SDAE and work through a layer-by-layer successive learning process. The features are added to the top Softmax regression layer to construct the discriminative fault characteristics for diagnosis in a supervised manner. Considering the expensive and time consuming labeling of sensor data in chemical applications, in contrast to the available methods, we employ a novel active learning criterion for the particularity of chemical processes, which is a combination of Best vs. Second Best criterion (BvSB and a Lowest False Positive criterion (LFP, for further fine-tuning of diagnosis model in an active manner rather than passive manner. That is, we allow models to rank the most informative sensor data to be labeled for updating the DNN parameters during the interaction phase. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated in two well-known industrial datasets. Results indicate that the proposed method can obtain superior diagnosis accuracy and provide significant performance improvement in accuracy and false positive rate with less labeled chemical sensor data by further active learning compared with existing methods.

  11. Estimation of areal soil water content through microwave remote sensing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oevelen, van P.J.

    2000-01-01

    In this thesis the use of microwave remote sensing to estimate soil water content is investigated. A general framework is described which is applicable to both passive and active microwave remote sensing of soil water content. The various steps necessary to estimate areal soil water content

  12. Observational Constraints on Cloud Feedbacks: The Role of Active Satellite Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winker, David; Chepfer, Helene; Noel, Vincent; Cai, Xia

    2017-11-01

    Cloud profiling from active lidar and radar in the A-train satellite constellation has significantly advanced our understanding of clouds and their role in the climate system. Nevertheless, the response of clouds to a warming climate remains one of the largest uncertainties in predicting climate change and for the development of adaptions to change. Both observation of long-term changes and observational constraints on the processes responsible for those changes are necessary. We review recent progress in our understanding of the cloud feedback problem. Capabilities and advantages of active sensors for observing clouds are discussed, along with the importance of active sensors for deriving constraints on cloud feedbacks as an essential component of a global climate observing system.

  13. Microwave photonics

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, Chi H

    2006-01-01

    Wireless, optical, and electronic networks continue to converge, prompting heavy research into the interface between microwave electronics, ultrafast optics, and photonic technologies. New developments arrive nearly as fast as the photons under investigation, and their commercial impact depends on the ability to stay abreast of new findings, techniques, and technologies. Presenting a broad yet in-depth survey, Microwave Photonics examines the major advances that are affecting new applications in this rapidly expanding field.This book reviews important achievements made in microwave photonics o

  14. Oil spill remote sensing sensors and aircraft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fingas, M.; Fruhwirth, M.; Gamble, L.

    1992-01-01

    The most common form of remote sensing as applied to oil spills is aerial remote sensing. The technology of aerial remote sensing, mainly from aircraft, is reviewed along with aircraft-mounted remote sensors and aircraft modifications. The characteristics, advantages, and limitations of optical techniques, infrared and ultraviolet sensors, fluorosensors, microwave and radar sensors, and slick thickness sensors are discussed. Special attention is paid to remote sensing of oil under difficult circumstances, such as oil in water or oil on ice. An infrared camera is the first sensor recommended for oil spill work, as it is the cheapest and most applicable device, and is the only type of equipment that can be bought off-the-shelf. The second sensor recommended is an ultraviolet and visible-spectrum device. The laser fluorosensor offers the only potential for discriminating between oiled and un-oiled weeds or shoreline, and for positively identifying oil pollution on ice and in a variety of other situations. However, such an instrument is large and expensive. Radar, although low in priority for purchase, offers the only potential for large-area searches and foul-weather remote sensing. Most other sensors are experimental or do not offer good potential for oil detection or mapping. 48 refs., 8 tabs

  15. Development of radiation hard CMOS active pixel sensors for HL-LHC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pernegger, Heinz

    2016-01-01

    New pixel detectors, based on commercial high voltage and/or high resistivity full CMOS processes, hold promise as next-generation active pixel sensors for inner and intermediate layers of the upgraded ATLAS tracker. The use of commercial CMOS processes allow cost-effective detector construction and simpler hybridisation techniques. The paper gives an overview of the results obtained on AMS-produced CMOS sensors coupled to the ATLAS Pixel FE-I4 readout chips. The SOI (silicon-on-insulator) produced sensors by XFAB hold great promise as radiation hard SOI-CMOS sensors due to their combination of partially depleted SOI transistors reducing back-gate effects. The test results include pre-/post-irradiation comparison, measurements of charge collection regions as well as test beam results.

  16. Scavenging remazol brilliant blue R dye using microwave-assisted activated carbon from acacia sawdust: Equilibrium and kinetics studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yusop, M. F. M.; Aziz, H. A.; Ahmad, M. A.

    2017-10-01

    This work explores the feasibility of microwave-assisted acacia wood based activated carbon (AWAC) for remazol brilliant blue R (RBBR) dye removal from synthetic wastewater. Acacia wood (AW) was impregnated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and heated using microwave, resulting tremendously high fixed carbon content, surface area, total pore volume and adsorption capacity of 81.14%, 1045.56m2/g, 0.535cm3/g and 263.16mg/g respectively. Batch study conducted divulged an increasing trend in RBBR uptake when initial RBBR concentration and contact time were increased. pH study revealed that RBBR adsorption was best at acidic condition. Langmuir isotherm model fitted well the adsorption equilibrium data while the adsorption kinetic was found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

  17. Microwave assisted facile synthesis of reduced graphene oxide-silver (RGO-Ag) nanocomposite and their application as active SERS substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wadhwa, Heena; Kumar, Devender; Mahendia, Suman; Kumar, Shyam

    2017-01-01

    The present paper represents the facile and rapid synthesis of reduced graphene oxide-silver (RGO-Ag) nanocomposite with the help of microwave irradiation. The graphene oxide (GO) solution has been prepared in bulk using Hummer's method followed by microwave assisted in-situ reduction of GO and silver nitrate (AgNO_3) by hydrazine hydrate in a short spam of 5 min. The prepared nanocomposite has been characterized using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and UV–Visible spectroscopy. TEM analysis shows that Ag nanoparticles with average size 32 nm are uniformly entangled with in RGO layers. The UV–Visible absorption spectrum of nanocomposite depicts the reduction of GO to RGO along with the formation of Ag nanoparticles with the presence of characteristic surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) peak of Ag nanoparticles at 422 nm. The performance of prepared nanocomposite has been tested as the active Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrate for Rhodamine 6G with detection limit 0.1 μM. - Highlights: • The RGO and RGO-Ag nanocomposite were synthesized with microwave irradiation. • Ag nanoparticles of average size 32 nm are uniformly entangled within RGO layers. • RGO itself is a florescence quencher with SERS detection limit 1 μM for R6G. • RGO-Ag nanocomposite show good SERS activity for R6G with detection limit 0.1 μM.

  18. Microwave Irradiation

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Way to Eco-friendly, Green Chemistry. Rashmi ... The rapid heating of food in the kitchen using microwave ovens ... analysis; application to waste treatment; polymer technology; ... of microwave heating in organic synthesis since the first contri-.

  19. Wearable motion sensors to continuously measure real-world physical activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobkin, Bruce H

    2013-12-01

    Rehabilitation for sensorimotor impairments aims to improve daily activities, walking, exercise, and motor skills. Monitoring of practice and measuring outcomes, however, is usually restricted to laboratory-based procedures and self-reports. Mobile health devices may reverse these confounders of daily care and research trials. Wearable, wireless motion sensor data, analyzed by activity pattern-recognition algorithms, can describe the type, quantity, and quality of mobility-related activities in the community. Data transmission from the sensors to a cell phone and the Internet enable continuous monitoring. Remote access to laboratory quality data about walking speed, duration and distance, gait asymmetry and smoothness of movements, as well as cycling, exercise, and skills practice, opens new opportunities to engage patients in progressive, personalized therapies with feedback about the performance. Clinical trial designs will be able to include remote verification of the integrity of complex physical interventions and compliance with practice, as well as capture repeated, ecologically sound, ratio scale outcome measures. Given the progressively falling cost of miniaturized wearable gyroscopes, accelerometers, and other physiologic sensors, as well as inexpensive data transmission, sensing systems may become as ubiquitous as cell phones for healthcare. Neurorehabilitation can develop these mobile health platforms for daily care and clinical trials to improve exercise and fitness, skills learning, and physical functioning.

  20. [Study on the Emission Spectrum of Hydrogen Production with Microwave Discharge Plasma in Ethanol Solution].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Bing; Wang, Bo; Zhu, Xiao-mei; Yan, Zhi-yu; Liu, Yong-jun; Liu, Hui

    2016-03-01

    Hydrogen is regarded as a kind of clean energy with high caloricity and non-pollution, which has been studied by many experts and scholars home and abroad. Microwave discharge plasma shows light future in the area of hydrogen production from ethanol solution, providing a new way to produce hydrogen. In order to further improve the technology and analyze the mechanism of hydrogen production with microwave discharge in liquid, emission spectrum of hydrogen production by microwave discharge plasma in ethanol solution was being studied. In this paper, plasma was generated on the top of electrode by 2.45 GHz microwave, and the spectral characteristics of hydrogen production from ethanol by microwave discharge in liquid were being studied using emission spectrometer. The results showed that a large number of H, O, OH, CH, C2 and other active particles could be produced in the process of hydrogen production from ethanol by microwave discharge in liquid. The emission spectrum intensity of OH, H, O radicals generated from ethanol is far more than that generated from pure water. Bond of O-H split by more high-energy particles from water molecule was more difficult than that from ethanol molecule, so in the process of hydrogen production by microwave discharge plasma in ethanol solution; the main source of hydrogen was the dehydrogenation and restructuring of ethanol molecules instead of water decomposition. Under the definite external pressure and temperature, the emission spectrum intensity of OH, H, O radicals increased with the increase of microwave power markedly, but the emission spectrum intensity of CH, C2 active particles had the tendency to decrease with the increase of microwave power. It indicated that the number of high energy electrons and active particles high energy electron energy increased as the increase of microwave power, so more CH, C2 active particles were split more thoroughly.