Worst-case residual clipping noise power model for bit loading in LACO-OFDM

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Zhenyu

2018-03-19

Layered ACO-OFDM enjoys better spectral efficiency than ACO-OFDM, but its performance is challenged by residual clipping noise (RCN). In this paper, the power of RCN of LACO-OFDM is analyzed and modeled. As RCN is data-dependent, the worst-case situation is considered. A worst-case indicator is defined for relating the power of RCN and the power of noise at the receiver, wherein a linear relation is shown to be a practical approximation. An LACO-OFDM bit-loading experiment is performed to examine the proposed RCN power model for data rates of 6 to 7 Gbps. The experiment\\'s results show that accounting for RCN has two advantages. First, it leads to better bit loading and achieves up to 59% lower overall bit-error rate (BER) than when the RCN is ignored. Second, it balances the BER across layers, which is a desired property from a channel coding perspective.

In vitro comparison of noise levels produced by different CPAP generators.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirchner, Lieselotte; Wald, Martin; Jeitler, Valerie; Pollak, Arnold

2012-01-01

Minimization of noise exposure is an important aim of modern neonatal intensive care medicine. Binasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) generators are among the most important sources of continuous noise in neonatal wards. The aim of this study was to find out which CPAP generator creates the least noise. In an experimental setup, two jet CPAP generators (Infant Flow® generator and MediJet®) and two conventional CPAP generators (Bubble CPAP® and Baby Flow®) were compared. Noise production was measured in decibels in an A-weighted scale [dB(A)] in a closed incubator at 2 mm lateral distance from the end of the nasal prongs. Reproduction of constant airway pressure and air leak was achieved by closure of the nasal prongs with a type of adhesive tape that is semipermeable to air. The noise levels produced by the four generators were significantly different (p CPAP® and 55 dB(A) for the Baby Flow®. Conventional CPAP generators work more quietly than the currently available jet CPAP generators. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Evidence of "hidden hearing loss" following noise exposures that produce robust TTS and ABR wave-I amplitude reductions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lobarinas, Edward; Spankovich, Christopher; Le Prell, Colleen G

2017-06-01

In animals, noise exposures that produce robust temporary threshold shifts (TTS) can produce immediate damage to afferent synapses and long-term degeneration of low spontaneous rate auditory nerve fibers. This synaptopathic damage has been shown to correlate with reduced auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave-I amplitudes at suprathreshold levels. The perceptual consequences of this "synaptopathy" remain unknown but have been suggested to include compromised hearing performance in competing background noise. Here, we used a modified startle inhibition paradigm to evaluate whether noise exposures that produce robust TTS and ABR wave-I reduction but not permanent threshold shift (PTS) reduced hearing-in-noise performance. Animals exposed to 109 dB SPL octave band noise showed TTS >30 dB 24-h post noise and modest but persistent ABR wave-I reduction 2 weeks post noise despite full recovery of ABR thresholds. Hearing-in-noise performance was negatively affected by the noise exposure. However, the effect was observed only at the poorest signal to noise ratio and was frequency specific. Although TTS >30 dB 24-h post noise was a predictor of functional deficits, there was no relationship between the degree of ABR wave-I reduction and degree of functional impairment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Loud Noise Exposure Produces DNA, Neurotransmitter and Morphological Damage within Specific Brain Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giada Frenzilli

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Exposure to loud noise is a major environmental threat to public health. Loud noise exposure, apart from affecting the inner ear, is deleterious for cardiovascular, endocrine and nervous systems and it is associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. In this study we investigated DNA, neurotransmitters and immune-histochemical alterations induced by exposure to loud noise in three major brain areas (cerebellum, hippocampus, striatum of Wistar rats. Rats were exposed to loud noise (100 dBA for 12 h. The effects of noise on DNA integrity in all three brain areas were evaluated by using Comet assay. In parallel studies, brain monoamine levels and morphology of nigrostriatal pathways, hippocampus and cerebellum were analyzed at different time intervals (24 h and 7 days after noise exposure. Loud noise produced a sudden increase in DNA damage in all the brain areas under investigation. Monoamine levels detected at 7 days following exposure were differently affected depending on the specific brain area. Namely, striatal but not hippocampal dopamine (DA significantly decreased, whereas hippocampal and cerebellar noradrenaline (NA was significantly reduced. This is in line with pathological findings within striatum and hippocampus consisting of a decrease in striatal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH combined with increased Bax and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP. Loud noise exposure lasting 12 h causes immediate DNA, and long-lasting neurotransmitter and immune-histochemical alterations within specific brain areas of the rat. These alterations may suggest an anatomical and functional link to explain the neurobiology of diseases which prevail in human subjects exposed to environmental noise.

Noise in attractor networks in the brain produced by graded firing rate representations

OpenAIRE

Webb, Tristan J.; Rolls, Edmund T; Deco, Gustavo; Feng, Jianfeng

2011-01-01

Representations in the cortex are often distributed with graded firing rates in the neuronal populations. The firing rate\\ud probability distribution of each neuron to a set of stimuli is often exponential or gamma. In processes in the brain, such as\\ud decision-making, that are influenced by the noise produced by the close to random spike timings of each neuron for a given\\ud mean rate, the noise with this graded type of representation may be larger than with the binary firing rate distribut...

Chemical composition and microbial load of cheese produced using ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Aframomum sceptrum) on the chemical composition and microbial load of cheese was evaluated in a Completely Randomized Design. Cheese produced with 1% bear berry (Aframomum sceptrum) had the highest (P < 0.05) crude protein content ...

An investigation of noise produced by unsteady gas flow through silencer elements

Science.gov (United States)

Mawhinney, Graeme Hugh

This thesis presents an investigation of the noise produced by unsteady gas flow through silencer elements. The central aim of the research project was to produce a tool for assistance in the design of the exhaust systems of diesel powered electrical generator sets, with the modelling techniques developed having a much wider application in reciprocating internal combustion engine exhaust systems. An automotive cylinder head was incorporated in a purpose built test rig to supply exhaust pulses, typical of those found in the exhaust system of four stroke diesel engines, to various experimental exhaust systems. Exhaust silencer elements evaluated included expansion, re- entrant, concentric tube resonator and absorptive elements. Measurements taken on the test rig included, unsteady superposition pressure in the exhaust ducting, cyclically averaged mass flow rate through the system and exhaust noise levels radiated into a semi-anechoic measurement chamber. The entire test rig was modelled using the 1D finite volume method developed previously developed at Queen's University Belfast. Various boundary conditions, developed over the years, were used to model the various silencer elements being evaluated. The 1D gas dynamic simulation thus estimated the mass flux history at the open end of the exhaust system. The mass flux history was then broken into its harmonic components and an acoustic radiation model was developed to model the sound pressure level produced by an acoustic monopole over a reflecting plane. The accuracy of the simulation technique was evaluated by correlation of measured and simulated superposition pressure and noise data. In general correlation of superposition pressure was excellent for all of the silencer elements tested. Predicted sound pressure level radiated from the open end of the exhaust tailpipe was seen to be accurate in the 100 Hz to 1 kHz frequency range for all of the silencer elements tested.

Noise in attractor networks in the brain produced by graded firing rate representations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tristan J Webb

Full Text Available Representations in the cortex are often distributed with graded firing rates in the neuronal populations. The firing rate probability distribution of each neuron to a set of stimuli is often exponential or gamma. In processes in the brain, such as decision-making, that are influenced by the noise produced by the close to random spike timings of each neuron for a given mean rate, the noise with this graded type of representation may be larger than with the binary firing rate distribution that is usually investigated. In integrate-and-fire simulations of an attractor decision-making network, we show that the noise is indeed greater for a given sparseness of the representation for graded, exponential, than for binary firing rate distributions. The greater noise was measured by faster escaping times from the spontaneous firing rate state when the decision cues are applied, and this corresponds to faster decision or reaction times. The greater noise was also evident as less stability of the spontaneous firing state before the decision cues are applied. The implication is that spiking-related noise will continue to be a factor that influences processes such as decision-making, signal detection, short-term memory, and memory recall even with the quite large networks found in the cerebral cortex. In these networks there are several thousand recurrent collateral synapses onto each neuron. The greater noise with graded firing rate distributions has the advantage that it can increase the speed of operation of cortical circuitry.

Superconducting low-noise oscillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riebman, L.

1992-01-01

This patent describes a cryogenic oscillator having low phase noise and low noise. It comprises resonant circuit means formed of superconducting material for generating a signal at a desired frequency; linear amplifier means electrically connected to the resonant circuit means at first and second locations thereon; limiter means electrically connected to the resonant circuit means at a third location thereon; and buffer amplifier means for applying the signal generated by the resonant circuit means to a load and electrically connected to the resonant circuit means at a fourth location thereon. This patent also describes a method of minimizing phase noise and 1/f noise in an oscillator circuit of the type having a resonant circuit driving a load and at least a linear amplifier connected to the resonant circuit defining a closed loop having a loop gain greater than unity, and having a limiter for stabilizing the oscillator. It comprises connecting between the resonant circuit and the load a buffer amplifier and connecting the linear amplifier and the buffer amplifier to the resonant circuit

Complaints about noise from windmills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-10-01

With the aim of examining the subject of noise made by windmills and discovering the characteristics that are commonly found with regard to complaints in this respect, 10 cases were selected from a total of 40 in order to carry out a critical examination of the matter. The chosen cases were concerned with both small and medium-sized wind turbines located in groups or standing alone. The authors of the complaints lived within a distance of 160-166 meters from the cited windmills which could be described as producing an average amount of noise in relation to their size. It was clear from available material (including telephone interviews) that noise was experienced as being the most disturbing, although light-flashing from turbine blades, shadowing and aesthetic considerations related to scenic location were also named. In most cases the noise was so distressing that it influenced people's decisions on whether, or where, to go outside their homes and whether or not to open their windows. Most complaints were about machine noise and other audible tones, and about half of them concerned the swish of turning blades. Most people were especially bothered when the wind did not blow so hard (so that the wind in the trees etc. was not so loud). The persistancy of the noise generated was considered to contribute most to the depreciation of life quality. It was found that the amount of irritation coincided with noise loads of L r at a wind velocity of 5 or 8 m/s. A table is presented to illustrate registered noise conditions. (AB)

Optimization of Nanowire-Resistance Load Logic Inverter.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Yasir; Sidek, Othman

2015-09-01

This study is the first to demonstrate characteristics optimization of nanowire resistance load inverter. Noise margins and inflection voltage of transfer characteristics are used as limiting factors in this optimization. Results indicate that optimization depends on resistance value. Increasing of load resistor tends to increasing in noise margins until saturation point, increasing load resistor after this point will not improve noise margins significantly.

Low noise constant current source for bias dependent noise measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talukdar, D.; Bose, Suvendu; Bardhan, K. K.; Chakraborty, R. K.

2011-01-01

A low noise constant current source used for measuring the 1/f noise in disordered systems in ohmic as well as nonohmic regime is described. The source can supply low noise constant current starting from as low as 1 μA to a few tens of milliampere with a high voltage compliance limit of around 20 V. The constant current source has several stages, which can work in a standalone manner or together to supply the desired value of load current. The noise contributed by the current source is very low in the entire current range. The fabrication of a low noise voltage preamplifier modified for bias dependent noise measurements and based on the existing design available in the MAT04 data sheet is also described.

Cognitive load during speech perception in noise: the influence of age, hearing loss, and cognition on the pupil response.

Science.gov (United States)

Zekveld, Adriana A; Kramer, Sophia E; Festen, Joost M

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of age, hearing loss, and cognitive ability on the cognitive processing load during listening to speech presented in noise. Cognitive load was assessed by means of pupillometry (i.e., examination of pupil dilation), supplemented with subjective ratings. Two groups of subjects participated: 38 middle-aged participants (mean age = 55 yrs) with normal hearing and 36 middle-aged participants (mean age = 61 yrs) with hearing loss. Using three Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) in stationary noise tests, we estimated the speech-to-noise ratios (SNRs) required for the correct repetition of 50%, 71%, or 84% of the sentences (SRT50%, SRT71%, and SRT84%, respectively). We examined the pupil response during listening: the peak amplitude, the peak latency, the mean dilation, and the pupil response duration. For each condition, participants rated the experienced listening effort and estimated their performance level. Participants also performed the Text Reception Threshold (TRT) test, a test of processing speed, and a word vocabulary test. Data were compared with previously published data from young participants with normal hearing. Hearing loss was related to relatively poor SRTs, and higher speech intelligibility was associated with lower effort and higher performance ratings. For listeners with normal hearing, increasing age was associated with poorer TRTs and slower processing speed but with larger word vocabulary. A multivariate repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated main effects of group and SNR and an interaction effect between these factors on the pupil response. The peak latency was relatively short and the mean dilation was relatively small at low intelligibility levels for the middle-aged groups, whereas the reverse was observed for high intelligibility levels. The decrease in the pupil response as a function of increasing SNR was relatively small for the listeners with hearing loss. Spearman

Cytokine-producing microglia have an altered beta-amyloid load in aged APP/PS1 Tg mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Babcock, Alicia A; Ilkjær, Laura; Clausen, Bettina H

2015-01-01

of CD11b, TNF, and IL-1Ra. Cytokine production and Aβ load were assessed in neocortical CD11b(+)(CD45(+)) microglia by flow cytometry. Whereas most microglia in aged mice produced IL-1Ra, relatively low proportions of microglia produced TNF, IL-1α, and IL-1β. However, microglial production......, however the inter-relationship between these processes is poorly understood. Here we show that % Aβ plaque load followed a sigmoidal trajectory with age in the neocortex of APPswe/PS1ΔE9 Tg mice, and correlated positively with soluble Aβ40 and Aβ42. Aβ measures were moderately correlated with mRNA levels...... of these latter cytokines was generally increased in APP/PS1 Tg mice. Microglia that phagocytosed endogenously-produced Aβ were only observed in APP/PS1 Tg mice. Differences in phagocytic index and total Aβ load were observed in microglia with specific cytokine profiles. Both phagocytic index and total Aβ load...

Signal-to-noise contribution of principal component loads in reconstructed near-infrared Raman tissue spectra.

Science.gov (United States)

Grimbergen, M C M; van Swol, C F P; Kendall, C; Verdaasdonk, R M; Stone, N; Bosch, J L H R

2010-01-01

The overall quality of Raman spectra in the near-infrared region, where biological samples are often studied, has benefited from various improvements to optical instrumentation over the past decade. However, obtaining ample spectral quality for analysis is still challenging due to device requirements and short integration times required for (in vivo) clinical applications of Raman spectroscopy. Multivariate analytical methods, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), are routinely applied to Raman spectral datasets to develop classification models. Data compression is necessary prior to discriminant analysis to prevent or decrease the degree of over-fitting. The logical threshold for the selection of principal components (PCs) to be used in discriminant analysis is likely to be at a point before the PCs begin to introduce equivalent signal and noise and, hence, include no additional value. Assessment of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a certain peak or over a specific spectral region will depend on the sample measured. Therefore, the mean SNR over the whole spectral region (SNR(msr)) is determined in the original spectrum as well as for spectra reconstructed from an increasing number of principal components. This paper introduces a method of assessing the influence of signal and noise from individual PC loads and indicates a method of selection of PCs for LDA. To evaluate this method, two data sets with different SNRs were used. The sets were obtained with the same Raman system and the same measurement parameters on bladder tissue collected during white light cystoscopy (set A) and fluorescence-guided cystoscopy (set B). This method shows that the mean SNR over the spectral range in the original Raman spectra of these two data sets is related to the signal and noise contribution of principal component loads. The difference in mean SNR over the spectral range can also be appreciated since fewer principal components can

Daily Peak Load Forecasting Based on Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise and Support Vector Machine Optimized by Modified Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuyu Dai

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Daily peak load forecasting is an important part of power load forecasting. The accuracy of its prediction has great influence on the formulation of power generation plan, power grid dispatching, power grid operation and power supply reliability of power system. Therefore, it is of great significance to construct a suitable model to realize the accurate prediction of the daily peak load. A novel daily peak load forecasting model, CEEMDAN-MGWO-SVM (Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise and Support Vector Machine Optimized by Modified Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm, is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the model uses the complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN algorithm to decompose the daily peak load sequence into multiple sub sequences. Then, the model of modified grey wolf optimization and support vector machine (MGWO-SVM is adopted to forecast the sub sequences. Finally, the forecasting sequence is reconstructed and the forecasting result is obtained. Using CEEMDAN can realize noise reduction for non-stationary daily peak load sequence, which makes the daily peak load sequence more regular. The model adopts the grey wolf optimization algorithm improved by introducing the population dynamic evolution operator and the nonlinear convergence factor to enhance the global search ability and avoid falling into the local optimum, which can better optimize the parameters of the SVM algorithm for improving the forecasting accuracy of daily peak load. In this paper, three cases are used to test the forecasting accuracy of the CEEMDAN-MGWO-SVM model. We choose the models EEMD-MGWO-SVM (Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition and Support Vector Machine Optimized by Modified Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm, MGWO-SVM (Support Vector Machine Optimized by Modified Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm, GWO-SVM (Support Vector Machine Optimized by Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm, SVM (Support Vector

Electricity demand loads modeling using AutoRegressive Moving Average (ARMA) models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pappas, S.S. [Department of Information and Communication Systems Engineering, University of the Aegean, Karlovassi, 83 200 Samos (Greece); Ekonomou, L.; Chatzarakis, G.E. [Department of Electrical Engineering Educators, ASPETE - School of Pedagogical and Technological Education, N. Heraklion, 141 21 Athens (Greece); Karamousantas, D.C. [Technological Educational Institute of Kalamata, Antikalamos, 24100 Kalamata (Greece); Katsikas, S.K. [Department of Technology Education and Digital Systems, University of Piraeus, 150 Androutsou Srt., 18 532 Piraeus (Greece); Liatsis, P. [Division of Electrical Electronic and Information Engineering, School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Information and Biomedical Engineering Centre, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB (United Kingdom)

2008-09-15

This study addresses the problem of modeling the electricity demand loads in Greece. The provided actual load data is deseasonilized and an AutoRegressive Moving Average (ARMA) model is fitted on the data off-line, using the Akaike Corrected Information Criterion (AICC). The developed model fits the data in a successful manner. Difficulties occur when the provided data includes noise or errors and also when an on-line/adaptive modeling is required. In both cases and under the assumption that the provided data can be represented by an ARMA model, simultaneous order and parameter estimation of ARMA models under the presence of noise are performed. The produced results indicate that the proposed method, which is based on the multi-model partitioning theory, tackles successfully the studied problem. For validation purposes the produced results are compared with three other established order selection criteria, namely AICC, Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) and Schwarz's Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The developed model could be useful in the studies that concern electricity consumption and electricity prices forecasts. (author)

Noise frame duration, masking potency and whiteness of temporal noise

OpenAIRE

Kukkonen, Helja; Rovamo, Jyrki; Donner, Kristian; Tammikallio, Marja; Raninen, Antii

2002-01-01

PURPOSE. Because of the limited contrast range, increasing the duration of the noise frame is often the only option for increasing the masking potency of external, white temporal noise. This, however, reduces the high-frequency cutoff beyond which noise is no longer white. This study was conducted to determine the longest noise frame duration that produces the strongest masking effect and still mimics white noise on the detection of sinusoidal flicker. \\ud \\ud METHODS. Contrast energy thresho...

Indirect Combustion Noise: Noise Generation by Accelerated Vorticity in a Nozzle Flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nancy Kings

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The noise generation by accelerated vorticity waves in a nozzle flow was investigated in a model experiment. This noise generation mechanism belongs, besides entropy noise, to the indirect combustion noise phenomena. Vorticity as well as entropy fluctuations, originating from the highly turbulent combustion zone, are convected with the flow and produce noise during their acceleration in the outlet nozzle of the combustion chamber. In the model experiment, noise generation of accelerated vorticity fluctuations was achieved. The vorticity fluctuations in the tube flow were produced by injecting temporally additional air into the mean flow. As the next step, a parametric study was conducted to determine the major dependencies of the so called vortex noise. A quadratic dependency of the vortex noise on the injected air amount was found. In order to visualise and classify the artificially generated vorticity structures, planar velocity measurements have been conducted applying Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV.

Noise Pollution and Health Effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geravandi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background Noise pollution is of particular importance due to the physical and psychological effects on humans. Noise is a stressor that affects the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system. Noise is also a threat to marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Health risks from noise are correlated with road traffic. In other words, noise health effects are the health consequences of elevated sound levels. Objectives This study aims to determine the effect of noise pollution (near roadways on health issues in Ahvaz, Iran. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional study, equivalent sound pressure level were measured by sound level meters TES-1353 in 75 locations around 4 roadways, which had a high load of traffic in Ahvaz City during day time. During the study, 820 measurements were recorded at measuring stations, for 7 days per week with 1-hour interval between each measurement. Statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS software. Results According to the research findings, the equivalent sound pressure levels in all stations were 76.28 ± 3.12 dB (Mean ± SD. According to sound measurements and the survey questionnaire, noise pollution is higher than EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency and Iran standard level. Based on result of this study the worst noise health effects were the nervousness and sleep quality during 2012. Conclusions According to the results of this study, with increasing load of traffic, there is an increasing need for proper consideration plans to control noise pollution and prevent its effects.

A methodology for assessment of wind turbine noise generation

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, N. D.; Hemphill, R. R.; McKenna, H. E.

1982-05-01

An investigation of the sources of impulsive noise generated by the operation of the Mod 1 2 MW wind turbine was performed to establish criteria for assessing the noise-producing potential of other large wind turbines. Unsteady loading of the rotors was determined to be the cause of the sound pressure, which was generally below 100 Hz. Complaints originated from people in dwellings with a room with a window facing the machine. Indoor monitoring revealed pressure traces in the 31.5 Hz band with energy densities exceeding background by about 30 dB. It was concluded that the sound pressure was conveyed by the walls acting as a diaphragm. The induced vibration coupled with human body fundamental modes to produce a feeling of whole-body vibration. Spectral analyses were made of the vibration fields of the Mod 2, a 17 m Darrieus, and a Mod OA to allow comparison with the nuisance points of the Mod 1. Sound pressure levels were found at certain frequencies which would eliminate the occurrence of acoustic pollution.

Noise-aware dictionary-learning-based sparse representation framework for detection and removal of single and combined noises from ECG signal.

Science.gov (United States)

Satija, Udit; Ramkumar, Barathram; Sabarimalai Manikandan, M

2017-02-01

Automatic electrocardiogram (ECG) signal enhancement has become a crucial pre-processing step in most ECG signal analysis applications. In this Letter, the authors propose an automated noise-aware dictionary learning-based generalised ECG signal enhancement framework which can automatically learn the dictionaries based on the ECG noise type for effective representation of ECG signal and noises, and can reduce the computational load of sparse representation-based ECG enhancement system. The proposed framework consists of noise detection and identification, noise-aware dictionary learning, sparse signal decomposition and reconstruction. The noise detection and identification is performed based on the moving average filter, first-order difference, and temporal features such as number of turning points, maximum absolute amplitude, zerocrossings, and autocorrelation features. The representation dictionary is learned based on the type of noise identified in the previous stage. The proposed framework is evaluated using noise-free and noisy ECG signals. Results demonstrate that the proposed method can significantly reduce computational load as compared with conventional dictionary learning-based ECG denoising approaches. Further, comparative results show that the method outperforms existing methods in automatically removing noises such as baseline wanders, power-line interference, muscle artefacts and their combinations without distorting the morphological content of local waves of ECG signal.

On load resistor noise in preamplifiers for semiconductor detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldin, S.A.; Bajramashvili, I.A.; Gubin, S.F.

1975-01-01

The main causes resulting in the deterioration of energy resolution in preamplifiers for semiconductor detectors (scd) with a resistor in the feedback circuit are discussed. A comparison of noise characteristics has been carried out of a number of high-resistance commercial and experimental resistors. The resistor noise dependence on the nature of drop of the resistor impedance active part in the region up to 100 Kc, as well as on the resistor spurious capacitance in shown

Electrical properties of conducting loads produced from polyaniline deposited in natural fibers and nanoclays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosenhoski, Dirlaine; Saade, Wesley; Pinto, Camila P.; Becker, Daniela; Dalmolin, Carla; Pachekoski, Wagner M.

2015-01-01

Conducting polymers are known for their excellent magnetic and electrical properties, but they still are an expensive and limited choice to their use as a conducting load for composite materials. An alternative to optimize the electrical conductivity of polymeric composites is the deposition of a conducting polymer on materials already used as loads, as the deposition on natural fibers or the encapsulation of polymeric chains in the voids of host structures. In this work, bananastem fiber and montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) were used as host structures for polyaniline synthesis in order to produce conducting loads. Samples were characterized by FT-IR and X-Rays Diffraction in order to confirm the formation of polyanilina / bananastem fibers or polyanilina / nanoclays loads. Influence on the electrical properties of the composites were evaluated by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), showing the maintenance of the electric conductivity of polyaniline and its potential use as a load for the formation of conducting composites. (author)

[Evaluation of the usefulness of laryngeal vocal efficiency tests during noise load for diagnosing occupational diseases of the larynx in teachers].

Science.gov (United States)

Loś-Spychalska, T

1997-01-01

A growing incidence of the voice organ occupational diseases has recently become one of major health problems. There is a need to objective diagnostic examinations performed in teachers who apply for occupational disease certification. The aim of our study was to assess the feasibility of larynx vocal efficiency test during noise load in diagnosis of the voice organ occupational diseases in teachers.

A comparative study of noise pollution levels in some selected areas in Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Oyedepo, Olayinka S; Saadu, Abdullahi A

2009-11-01

The noise pollution is a major problem for the quality of life in urban areas. This study was conducted to compare the noise pollution levels at busy roads/road junctions, passengers loading parks, commercial, industrial and residential areas in Ilorin metropolis. A total number of 47-locations were selected within the metropolis. Statistical analysis shows significant difference (P noise pollution levels between industrial areas and low density residential areas, industrial areas and high density areas, industrial areas and passengers loading parks, industrial areas and commercial areas, busy roads/road junctions and low density areas, passengers loading parks and commercial areas and commercial areas and low density areas. There is no significant difference (P > 0.05) in noise pollution levels between industrial areas and busy roads/road junctions, busy roads/road junctions and high density areas, busy roads/road junctions and passengers loading parks, busy roads/road junctions and commercial areas, passengers loading parks and high density areas, passengers loading parks and commercial areas and commercial areas and high density areas. The results show that Industrial areas have the highest noise pollution levels (110.2 dB(A)) followed by busy roads/Road junctions (91.5 dB(A)), Passengers loading parks (87.8 dB(A)) and Commercial areas (84.4 dB(A)). The noise pollution levels in Ilorin metropolis exceeded the recommended level by WHO at 34 of 47 measuring points. It can be concluded that the city is environmentally noise polluted and road traffic and industrial machineries are the major sources of it. Noting the noise emission standards, technical control measures, planning and promoting the citizens awareness about the high noise risk may help to relieve the noise problem in the metropolis.

Perceived Annoyance to Noise Produced by a Distributed Electric Propulsion High Lift System

Science.gov (United States)

Palumbo, Dan; Rathsam, Jonathan; Christian, Andrew; Rafaelof, Menachem

2016-01-01

Results of a psychoacoustic test performed to understand the relative annoyance to noise produced by several configurations of a distributed electric propulsion high lift system are given. It is found that the number of propellers in the system is a major factor in annoyance perception. This is an intuitive result as annoyance increases, in general, with frequency, and, the blade passage frequency of the propellers increases with the number of propellers. Additionally, the data indicate that having some variation in the blade passage frequency from propeller-to-propeller is beneficial as it reduces the high tonality generated when all the propellers are spinning in synchrony at the same speed. The propellers can be set to spin at different speeds, but it was found that allowing the motor controllers to drift within 1% of nominal settings produced the best results (lowest overall annoyance). The methodology employed has been demonstrated to be effective in providing timely feedback to designers in the early stages of design development.

Existing Noise Level at Railway Stations in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahidan Shahiron

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Railway transportation known as one of the most environmental friendly transportation mode. However, the significance problems of railway transportation are noise pollution and negatively impact the wellbeing of the whole community. Unfortunately, there has been lack of public awareness about the noise level produce by the railway transportation in Malaysia. This study investigates the noise level produced by railway transportation in Malaysia specifically by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB. Methods of collecting existing noise level at railway stations in Malaysia are briefly discussed in this study. The finding indicates that the noise level produced by the railway transportation in Malaysia which is by KTMB is considered as dangerous to human being and also exceed the noise limit that has been assigned by Department of Environment Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Malaysia. A better noise barrier and improved material should be developed to mitigate the existing noise level produced by railway transportations in Malaysia.

Noise, impulse noise, and other physical factors: combined effects on hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Pekkarinen, J

1995-01-01

In most of the epidemiologic studies conducted during the last 20 years, impulse noise caused increased risk of hearing loss in comparison to continuous noise with the same acoustical energy. The interaction between noise exposure (broadband at 100 dB(A)) and hand-arm vibration (125 Hz at 2 ms-2 acceleration level) has been proven for people having vibration-induced white finger symptoms. This interaction is evidenced as a permanent hearing loss. However, why the interaction is seen only in people with VWF is not known. The mechanisms may be related to individual susceptibility, and hypotheses are given on the role of the autonomous nervous system regulating the peripheral vascular reaction. Whole-body vibration (2-10 Hz, at 10 ms-2 level) seems to increase the TTS when noise (broadband at 90 dB(A)) is present. This effect is more pronounced at higher temperatures. The hypothermia protects hearing against the effects of noise in animal studies. The interaction between noise and temperature decrease seems obvious in animal studies. Exercise has both increased and decreased the TTS during noise exposure. The effects have been successfully explained as the depression of the stapedius reflex. Thus, less protection against noise is provided for the inner ear in exercise conditions. The increase of the blood temperature also has been suggested to increase noise-induced TTS during exercise. Electromagnetic fields have been found to cause acoustical interactions in the inner ear. Animal studies and human studies have given contradictory results on the effects of magnetic coil devices on hearing. The MR imaging devices produce noise levels of 82-93 dB, which is not sufficient to produce the risk of permanent hearing loss when short exposure durations are taken into consideration. More systematic research is needed with accurately defined electromagnetic characteristics to reveal the potential interactions. The interactions seem to exist, but relatively high levels and

High-Tc Superconducting Bolometer Noise Measurement Using Low Noise Transformers - Theory and Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Aslam, Shahid; Jones, Hollis H.

2011-01-01

Care must always be taken when performing noise measurements on high-Tc superconducting materials to ensure that the results are not from the measurement system itself. One situation likely to occur is with low noise transformers. One of the least understood devices, it provides voltage gain for low impedance inputs (< 100 ), e.g., YBaCuO and GdBaCuO thin films, with comparatively lower noise levels than other devices for instance field effect and bipolar junction transistors. An essential point made in this paper is that because of the complex relationships between the transformer ports, input impedance variance alters the transformer s transfer function in particular, the low frequency cutoff shift. The transfer of external and intrinsic transformer noise to the output along with optimization and precautions are treated; all the while, we will cohesively connect the transfer function shift, the load impedance, and the actual noise at the transformer output.

On Noise Generation and Dynamic Transmission Error of Gears

OpenAIRE

Henriksson, Mats

2009-01-01

Noise from heavy trucks is an important environmental issue. Several sources contribute to the total noise level of a vehicle, such as the engine, gearbox, tires, etc. The tonal noise from the gearbox can be very disturbing for the driver, even if the noise level from the gearbox is lower than the total noise level. The human ear has a remarkable way of detecting pure tones of which the noise from loaded gears consists of. To be allowed to sell a heavy truck within the European Union, the so ...

Noise in CdZnTe detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luke, P. N.; Amman, M.; Lee, J. S.; Manfredi, P. F.

2000-01-01

Noise in CdZnTe devices with different electrode configurations was investigated. Measurements on devices with guard-ring electrode structures showed that surface leakage current does not produce any significant noise. The parallel white noise component of the devices appeared to be generated by the bulk current alone, even though the surface current was substantially higher. This implies that reducing the surface leakage current of a CdZnTe detector may not necessarily result in a significant improvement in noise performance. The noise generated by the bulk current is also observed to be below full shot noise. This partial suppression of shot noise may be the result of Coulomb interaction between carriers or carrier trapping. Devices with coplanar strip electrodes were observed to produce a 1/f noise term at the preamplifier output. Higher levels of this 1/f noise were observed with decreasing gap widths between electrodes. The level of this 1/f noise appeared to be independent of bias voltage and leakage current but was substantially reduced after certain surface treatments

Combined effect of noise and vibration produced by high-speed trains on annoyance in buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Pyoung Jik; Griffin, Michael J

2013-04-01

The effects of noise and vibration on annoyance in buildings during the passage of a nearby high-speed train have been investigated in a laboratory experiment with recorded train noise and 20 Hz vibration. The noises included the effects of two types of façade: windows-open and windows-closed. Subjects were exposed to six levels of noise and six magnitudes of vibration, and asked to rate annoyance using an 11-point numerical scale. The experiment consisted of four sessions: (1) evaluation of noise annoyance in the absence of vibration, (2) evaluation of total annoyance from simultaneous noise and vibration, (3) evaluation of noise annoyance in the presence of vibration, and (4) evaluation of vibration annoyance in the absence of noise. The results show that vibration did not influence ratings of noise annoyance, but that total annoyance caused by combined noise and vibration was considerably greater than the annoyance caused by noise alone. The noise annoyance and the total annoyance caused by combined noise and vibration were associated with subject self-ratings of noise sensitivity. Two classical models of total annoyance due to combined noise sources (maximum of the single source annoyance or the integration of individual annoyance ratings) provided useful predictions of the total annoyance caused by simultaneous noise and vibration.

Application of Classification Methods for Forecasting Mid-Term Power Load Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Piao, Minghao; Lee, Heon Gyu; Park, Jin Hyoung; Ryu, Keun Ho

Currently an automated methodology based on data mining techniques is presented for the prediction of customer load patterns in long duration load profiles. The proposed approach in this paper consists of three stages: (i) data preprocessing: noise or outlier is removed and the continuous attribute-valued features are transformed to discrete values, (ii) cluster analysis: k-means clustering is used to create load pattern classes and the representative load profiles for each class and (iii) classification: we evaluated several supervised learning methods in order to select a suitable prediction method. According to the proposed methodology, power load measured from AMR (automatic meter reading) system, as well as customer indexes, were used as inputs for clustering. The output of clustering was the classification of representative load profiles (or classes). In order to evaluate the result of forecasting load patterns, the several classification methods were applied on a set of high voltage customers of the Korea power system and derived class labels from clustering and other features are used as input to produce classifiers. Lastly, the result of our experiments was presented.

Modeling Noise Sources and Propagation in External Gear Pumps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sangbeom Woo

2017-07-01

Full Text Available As a key component in power transfer, positive displacement machines often represent the major source of noise in hydraulic systems. Thus, investigation into the sources of noise and discovering strategies to reduce noise is a key part of improving the performance of current hydraulic systems, as well as applying fluid power systems to a wider range of applications. The present work aims at developing modeling techniques on the topic of noise generation caused by external gear pumps for high pressure applications, which can be useful and effective in investigating the interaction between noise sources and radiated noise and establishing the design guide for a quiet pump. In particular, this study classifies the internal noise sources into four types of effective load functions and, in the proposed model, these load functions are applied to the corresponding areas of the pump case in a realistic way. Vibration and sound radiation can then be predicted using a combined finite element and boundary element vibro-acoustic model. The radiated sound power and sound pressure for the different operating conditions are presented as the main outcomes of the acoustic model. The noise prediction was validated through comparison with the experimentally measured sound power levels.

Highway renewable energy : photovoltaic noise barriers

Science.gov (United States)

2017-07-01

Highway photovoltaic noise barriers (PVNBs) represent the combination of noise barrier systems and photovoltaic systems in order to mitigate traffic noise while simultaneously producing renewable energy. First deployed in Switzerland in 1989, PVNBs a...

The Analysis of Low Noise Protection Barriers Influence on Tram Traffic Noise Levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahac Maja

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The paper describes the analysis of tram traffic noise situation in residential areas in the vicinity of Drzic Avenue, one of the major routes between the northern and southern part of the Croatian capital city Zagreb, and the effect of low barriers placed by the tracks on tram noise mitigation. In order to evaluate the effect of planned protection measure, noise models were produced and verified with short-term field measurements. Calculations were conducted by means of noise prediction software, using European interim noise prediction method and 3D model of analyzed area. Finally, the results of noise calculations for existing tram traffic situation and planned measure of protection are presented on noise maps.

Noise frame duration, masking potency and whiteness of temporal noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Kukkonen, Heljä; Rovamo, Jyrki; Donner, Kristian; Tammikallio, Marja; Raninen, Antti

2002-09-01

Because of the limited contrast range, increasing the duration of the noise frame is often the only option for increasing the masking potency of external, white temporal noise. This, however, reduces the high-frequency cutoff beyond which noise is no longer white. This study was conducted to determine the longest noise frame duration that produces the strongest masking effect and still mimics white noise on the detection of sinusoidal flicker. Contrast energy thresholds (E(th)) were measured for flicker at 1.25 to 20 Hz in strong, purely temporal (spatially uniform), additive, external noise. The masking power of white external noise, characterized by its spectral density at zero frequency N0, increases with the duration of the noise frame. For short noise frame durations, E(th) increased in direct proportion to N0, keeping the nominal signal-to-noise ratio [SNR = (E(th)/N0)(0.5)] constant at threshold. The masking effect thus increased with the duration of the noise frame and the noise mimicked white noise. When noise frame duration and N0 increased further, the nominal SNR at threshold started to decrease, indicating that noise no longer mimicked white noise. The minimum number of noise frames per flicker cycle needed to mimic white noise decreased with increasing flicker frequency from 8.3 at 1.25 Hz to 1.6 at 20 Hz. The critical high-frequency cutoff of detection-limiting temporal noise in terms of noise frames per signal cycle depends on the temporal frequency of the signal. This is opposite to the situation in the spatial domain and must be taken into consideration when temporal signals are masked with temporal noise.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL DESIGNATED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL LOAD PRODUCED BY A BUILDING PROJECT

OpenAIRE

Lapidus Azariy Abramovich; Berezhnyy Aleksandr Yurevich

2012-01-01

In the paper, the author proposes a mathematical model designated for the assessment of the ecological impact produced on the environment within the territory of the construction site. Integrated index EI (Environmental Index) is introduced as a vehicle designated for the evaluation of the ecological load. EI represents the intensity of the ecological load, or a generalized and optimized parameter reflecting the intensity of the anthropogenic impact of the construction site onto the natural e...

Tests on conducted electrical noise on a storage ring dc-dc converter cabinet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carwardine, J.J.

1994-01-01

Electrical noise is produced by switching transients in the power supply converters which excite resonances formed by stray capacitance and cable inductance. This noise is present not only on the load cables, but also on ground cables of the magnet and of the converter cabinet. Since there will eventually be a large number of cabinets running at one time, tests were carried out to characterize the noise and to investigate possible techniques for reducing the levels. The tests were carried out on the test girder and converter cabinet set up in 412 area. There were four magnets installed on the girder -- two 0.5m quadrupoles, a 0.8m quadrupole, and a sextupole. These tests were carried out on one of the 0.5m quadrupoles. It should be noted that with this setup, the raw dc power was supplied at around 70V. In the final configuration, a 0.5m quad will be fed from a 40V raw supply. Consequently, the switching transients observed during the tests are likely to be higher than will occur in reality. Noise currents contain two main components: a low frequency component at around 50kHz, and a higher frequency component at around lMHz. It is the latter component which is of primary concern. Currents measured on the dc load cables typically were around one ampere, while currents into the building ground system were only a few tens of milliamps. Several methods were used to try reducing the noise currents, but only the addition of a series impedance was successful -- other methods either had no effect or increased the ground currents

Speech production in amplitude-modulated noise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Macdonald, Ewen N; Raufer, Stefan

2013-01-01

The Lombard effect refers to the phenomenon where talkers automatically increase their level of speech in a noisy environment. While many studies have characterized how the Lombard effect influences different measures of speech production (e.g., F0, spectral tilt, etc.), few have investigated...... the consequences of temporally fluctuating noise. In the present study, 20 talkers produced speech in a variety of noise conditions, including both steady-state and amplitude-modulated white noise. While listening to noise over headphones, talkers produced randomly generated five word sentences. Similar...... of noisy environments and will alter their speech accordingly....

Open rotor noise impact on airport communities.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-01

The highly tonal noise spectra produced by Open Rotor (OR) engines differ greatly from the relatively : smooth, atonal noise spectra produced by typical Turbofan (TF) engines. Understanding the effects of : these spectral differences on received nois...

Pharmaceutical load in sewage sludge and biochar produced by hydrothermal carbonization.

Science.gov (United States)

vom Eyser, C; Palmu, K; Schmidt, T C; Tuerk, J

2015-12-15

We investigated the removal of twelve pharmaceuticals in sewage sludge by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), which has emerged as a technology for improving the quality of organic waste materials producing a valuable biochar material. In this study, the HTC converted sewage sludge samples to a biochar product within 4h at a temperature of 210 °C and a resulting pressure of about 15 bar. Initial pharmaceutical load of the sewage sludge was investigated as well as the residual concentrations in biochar produced from spiked and eight native sewage sludge samples from three waste water treatment plants. Additionally, the solid contents of source material and product were compared, which showed a considerable increase of the solid content after filtration by HTC. All pharmaceuticals except sulfamethoxazole, which remained below the limit of quantification, frequently occurred in the investigated sewage sludges in the μg/kg dry matter (DM) range. Diclofenac, carbamazepine, metoprolol and propranolol were detected in all sludge samples with a maximum concentration of 800 μg/kgDM for metoprolol. HTC was investigated regarding its contaminant removal efficiency using spiked sewage sludge. Pharmaceutical concentrations were reduced for seven compounds by 39% (metoprolol) to≥97% (carbamazepine). In native biochar samples the four compounds phenazone, carbamazepine, metoprolol and propranolol were detected, which confirmed that the HTC process can reduce the load of micropollutants. In contrast to the other investigated compounds phenazone concentration increased, which was further addressed in thermal behaviour studies including three structurally similar potential precursors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Masking potency and whiteness of noise at various noise check sizes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kukkonen, H; Rovamo, J; Näsänen, R

1995-02-01

The masking effect of spatial noise can be increased by increasing either the rms contrast or check size of noise. In this study, the authors investigated the largest noise check size that still mimics the effect of white noise in grating detection and how it depends on the bandwidth and spatial frequency of a grating. The authors measured contrast energy thresholds, E, for vertical cosine gratings at various spatial frequencies and bandwidths. Gratings were embedded in two-dimensional spatial noise. The side length of the square noise checks was varied in the experiments. The spectral density, N(0,0), of white spatial noise at zero frequency was calculated by multiplying the noise check area by the rms contrast of noise squared. The physical signal-to-noise ratio at threshold [E/N(0,0)]0.5 was initially constant but then started to decrease. The largest noise check that still produced a constant physical signal-to-noise ratio at threshold was directly proportional to the spatial frequency. When expressed as a fraction of grating cycle, the largest noise check size depended only on stimulus bandwidth. The smallest number of noise checks per grating cycle needed to mimic the effect of white noise decreased from 4.2 to 2.6 when the number of grating cycles increased from 1 to 64. Spatial noise can be regarded as white in grating detection if there are at least four square noise checks per grating cycle at all spatial frequencies.

Sample-based engine noise synthesis using an enhanced pitch-synchronous overlap-and-add method.

Science.gov (United States)

Jagla, Jan; Maillard, Julien; Martin, Nadine

2012-11-01

An algorithm for the real time synthesis of internal combustion engine noise is presented. Through the analysis of a recorded engine noise signal of continuously varying engine speed, a dataset of sound samples is extracted allowing the real time synthesis of the noise induced by arbitrary evolutions of engine speed. The sound samples are extracted from a recording spanning the entire engine speed range. Each sample is delimitated such as to contain the sound emitted during one cycle of the engine plus the necessary overlap to ensure smooth transitions during the synthesis. The proposed approach, an extension of the PSOLA method introduced for speech processing, takes advantage of the specific periodicity of engine noise signals to locate the extraction instants of the sound samples. During the synthesis stage, the sound samples corresponding to the target engine speed evolution are concatenated with an overlap and add algorithm. It is shown that this method produces high quality audio restitution with a low computational load. It is therefore well suited for real time applications.

Minimizing noise in fiberglass aquaculture tanks: Noise reduction potential of various retrofits

Science.gov (United States)

Equipment used in intensive aquaculture systems, such as pumps and blowers can produce underwater sound levels and frequencies within the range of fish hearing. The impacts of underwater noise on fish are not well known, but limited research suggests that subjecting fish to noise could result in imp...

Vibration and noise analysis in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1974-12-01

Results of the investigations on noise and vibration analysis are presented as a follow-up study of the work published in ''On-load Surveillance of Nuclear Power Plant Components by Noise and Vibration Analysis'' EUR 5036 e. The state of the art in on-load surveillance techniques of light water reactors is given by extending the preceding studies to investigations of boiling water reactors and by summarizing the latest results of pressurized water reactors, the basis being experimental and theoretical work performed by the different organizations involved in preparing this report. Finally, some developments with respect to measurement and identification methods are discussed

Modeling road-tyre noise

OpenAIRE

Martins, Mário M. Abreu; Santos, Luís Picado; Freitas, Elisabete F.

2008-01-01

The growing awareness by the broader public of the consequences to health and wellbeing due to road noise has led to a growing number of legal requirements being produced to deal with this matter, both in the design of new or assessment of existing infrastructure. In this article the purpose is to make an up-to-date review of existing studies being carried out to deliver models for predicting noise produced from tyre-road contact, taking account of different methodological appr...

Mobility and Noise Pollution. Noise-reduction Traditional Strategies and Green Mobility Ones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmela Gargiulo

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The urbanized territories are quite complex environments in many ways, whose management requires, on the one hand, adequate skills to mediate among the different needs, often conflicting, and on the other hand a clear idea of the target to hit.One of these aspects is the need to ensure mobility in urban areas and, simultaneously, reduce noise levels below the values   that are compatible with the well-being of citizens.There are several sources of noise in an urban context  such as vehicle and rail traffic, the fixed sound sources due to craft and trade activities, as well as to equipment for buildings, to human activities related to recreation and tourism.It must be emphasized, however, that not all noise content has a negative value but there are noise sources such as the noise produced by the local markets and/or that produced by craft activities with historical value, the noise, or rather, the sounds perceived in public parks, town centres and/or areas on the sea which, on the contrary, have a positive value.They represent, in fact, the set of sounds that contribute to the perception of the “soundscape” of an area, which are to be preserved as they are not only appreciated but also sought after by citizens.The noise generated by vehicle traffic, however, while not disregarding the contribution to noise pollution produced by other infrastructure for mobility in urban area, represents one of the major contributor to the noise levels recorded in urban areas, disturbing, firstly, people exposed to it and, secondly, masking the perception of pleasant sounds by altering the “soundscape” of the area.In this context, strategies and interventions to reduce noise caused by road traffic, both the traditional ones (regulations on vehicles, circulation, road, city planning and the new ones related to green mobility, have a twofold purpose as they not only reduce the amount of noise generated by road traffic, but at the same time, help to bring

Noise effects on the health status in a dynamic failure model for living organisms

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, H.; Jo, J.; Choi, M. Y.; Choi, J.; Yoon, B.-G.

2007-03-01

We study internal and external noise effects on the healthy-unhealthy transition and related phenomena in a dynamic failure model for living organisms. It is found that internal noise makes the system weaker, leading to breakdown under smaller stress. The discontinuous healthy-unhealthy transition in a system with global load sharing below a critical point is naturally explained in terms of the bistability for the health status. External noise present in constant stress gives similar results; further, it induces resonance in response to periodic stress, regardless of load transfer. In the case of local load sharing, such periodic stress is revealed more hazardous than the constant stress.

Preschool Personnel Exposure to Occupational Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaļužnaja Darja

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Increased noise, which is also below the occupational exposure values and is “hearing safe” noise, affects the exposed person’s health as a non-specific stressor. Increased noise level also creates an environment for additional vocal apparatus load. The objective of this study was to determine preschool personnel occupational noise and its relationship with subjective health complaints. Data were obtained with survey assistance through subjective answers of respondents about health complaints and noise exposure among Rīga preschool personnel. Objective noise measurements were made to assess real noise levels in the preschool environment. Data from 155 respondents and objective measurements of 37 preschool classrooms were obtained. The results showed that the average 8-h noise exposure among Rīga preschool educational institutions was 70 dB(A, which did not exceed the Latvian work environment noise limits, but exceeded the 35–40 dB(A noise limit in the educational environment guidelines recommended by the WHO. The survey results showed that loud noise is one of the most important workplace environmental factors (~70% of respondents feel a necessity to increase voice because of noise. A constant feeling of fatigue, headache, irritable feeling, and a desire to isolate oneself from others more often occurred in respondents exposed to increased noise, compared with those who noted that they were not exposed to increased noise. In general, loud noise was associated with increased subjective health complaints in preschool education institution personnel.

Adaptive noise reduction circuit for a sound reproduction system

Science.gov (United States)

Engebretson, A. Maynard (Inventor); O'Connell, Michael P. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A noise reduction circuit for a hearing aid having an adaptive filter for producing a signal which estimates the noise components present in an input signal. The circuit includes a second filter for receiving the noise-estimating signal and modifying it as a function of a user's preference or as a function of an expected noise environment. The circuit also includes a gain control for adjusting the magnitude of the modified noise-estimating signal, thereby allowing for the adjustment of the magnitude of the circuit response. The circuit also includes a signal combiner for combining the input signal with the adjusted noise-estimating signal to produce a noise reduced output signal.

Chitosan microspheres loaded with holmium-165 produced by spray dryer for liver cancer therapy: preliminary experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyamoto, Douglas Massao; Pires, Geovanna; Lira, Raphael A. de; Melo, Vitor H.S.; Nascimento, Nanci; Azevedo, Mariangela de Burgos M. de; Osso Junior, Joao Alberto

2011-01-01

Chitosan is a biopolymer of 2-deoxy-2-amino-D-glucose that is obtained by deacetylation of chitin. It's biocompatible, biodegradable, non toxic and has antitumor activity. Chitosan has many applications, such as their microparticles that can be used to treat prostate cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and for liver tumor brachytherapy treatment. Our group is developing different biodegradable polymer-based microspheres loaded with holmium-165 for this purpose. The Chitosan microspheres were produced loaded with holmium (III) chloride, and not loaded with it, by Mini Spray Dryer procedure. The microspheres were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), confocal laser scanning microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, particle size, and X-ray diffraction. The EDS analysis confirmed the holmium chloride presence into the prepared chitosan microparticles. (author)

Chitosan microspheres loaded with holmium-165 produced by spray dryer for liver cancer therapy: preliminary experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyamoto, Douglas Massao; Pires, Geovanna; Lira, Raphael A. de; Melo, Vitor H.S.; Nascimento, Nanci; Azevedo, Mariangela de Burgos M. de, E-mail: douglas.miyamoto@usp.b [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Osso Junior, Joao Alberto [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Centro de Radiofarmacia

2011-07-01

Chitosan is a biopolymer of 2-deoxy-2-amino-D-glucose that is obtained by deacetylation of chitin. It's biocompatible, biodegradable, non toxic and has antitumor activity. Chitosan has many applications, such as their microparticles that can be used to treat prostate cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and for liver tumor brachytherapy treatment. Our group is developing different biodegradable polymer-based microspheres loaded with holmium-165 for this purpose. The Chitosan microspheres were produced loaded with holmium (III) chloride, and not loaded with it, by Mini Spray Dryer procedure. The microspheres were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), confocal laser scanning microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, particle size, and X-ray diffraction. The EDS analysis confirmed the holmium chloride presence into the prepared chitosan microparticles. (author)

A programmable ultra-low noise X-band exciter.

Science.gov (United States)

MacMullen, A; Hoover, L R; Justice, R D; Callahan, B S

2001-07-01

A programmable ultra-low noise X-band exciter has been developed using commercial off-the-shelf components. Its phase noise is more than 10 dB below the best available microwave synthesizers. It covers a 7% frequency band with 0.1-Hz resolution. The X-band output at +23 dBm is a combination of signals from an X-band sapphire-loaded cavity oscillator (SLCO), a low noise UHF frequency synthesizer, and special-purpose frequency translation and up-conversion circuitry.

A statistical background noise correction sensitive to the steadiness of background noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Oppenheimer, Charles H

2016-10-01

A statistical background noise correction is developed for removing background noise contributions from measured source levels, producing a background noise-corrected source level. Like the standard background noise corrections of ISO 3741, ISO 3744, ISO 3745, and ISO 11201, the statistical background correction increases as the background level approaches the measured source level, decreasing the background noise-corrected source level. Unlike the standard corrections, the statistical background correction increases with steadiness of the background and is excluded from use when background fluctuation could be responsible for measured differences between the source and background noise levels. The statistical background noise correction has several advantages over the standard correction: (1) enveloping the true source with known confidence, (2) assuring physical source descriptions when measuring sources in fluctuating backgrounds, (3) reducing background corrected source descriptions by 1 to 8 dB for sources in steady backgrounds, and (4) providing a means to replace standardized background correction caps that incentivize against high precision grade methods.

The normalized interaural correlation : accounting for NoSp thresholds obtained with Gaussian and 'low-noise' masking noise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bernstein, L.R.; Par, van de S.L.J.D.E.; Trahiotis, C.T.

1999-01-01

Recently, [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, 2578–2589 (1998)] and [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, 2573–2577 (1998)] independently reported that greater masking of interaurally phase-reversed (Sp) tones was produced by diotic low-noise noise than by diotic Gaussian noise. Based on quantitative analyses, Eddins and

Analysis of axial compressive loaded beam under random support excitations

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Wensheng; Wang, Fengde; Liu, Jian

2017-12-01

An analytical procedure to investigate the response spectrum of a uniform Bernoulli-Euler beam with axial compressive load subjected to random support excitations is implemented based on the Mindlin-Goodman method and the mode superposition method in the frequency domain. The random response spectrum of the simply supported beam subjected to white noise excitation and to Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum excitation is investigated, and the characteristics of the response spectrum are further explored. Moreover, the effect of axial compressive load is studied and a method to determine the axial load is proposed. The research results show that the response spectrum mainly consists of the beam's additional displacement response spectrum when the excitation is white noise; however, the quasi-static displacement response spectrum is the main component when the excitation is the Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum. Under white noise excitation, the amplitude of the power spectral density function decreased as the axial compressive load increased, while the frequency band of the vibration response spectrum increased with the increase of axial compressive load.

Noise Measurements of High Aspect Ratio Distributed Exhaust Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bridges, James E.

2015-01-01

This paper covers far-field acoustic measurements of a family of rectangular nozzles with aspect ratio 8, in the high subsonic flow regime. Several variations of nozzle geometry, commonly found in embedded exhaust systems, are explored, including bevels, slants, single broad chevrons and notches, and internal septae. Far-field acoustic results, presented previously for the simple rectangular nozzle, showed that increasing aspect ratio increases the high frequency noise, especially directed in the plane containing the minor axis of the nozzle. Detailed changes to the nozzle geometry generally made little difference in the noise, and the differences were greatest at low speed. Having an extended lip on one broad side (bevel) did produce up to 3 decibels more noise in all directions, while extending the lip on the narrow side (slant) produced up to 2 decibels more noise, primarily on the side with the extension. Adding a single, non-intrusive chevron, made no significant change to the noise, while inverting the chevron (notch) produced up to 2decibels increase in the noise. Having internal walls (septae) within the nozzle, such as would be required for structural support or when multiple fan ducts are aggregated, reduced the noise of the rectangular jet, but could produce a highly directional shedding tone from the septae trailing edges. Finally, a nozzle with both septae and a beveled nozzle, representative of the exhaust system envisioned for a distributed electric propulsion aircraft with a common rectangular duct, produced almost as much noise as the beveled nozzle, with the septae not contributing much reduction in noise.

Numerical simulation of thermal loading produced by shaped high power laser onto engine parts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Hongwei; Li Shaoxia; Zhang Ling; Yu Gang; Zhou Liang; Tan Jiansong

2010-01-01

Recently a new method for simulating the thermal loading on pistons of diesel engines was reported. The spatially shaped high power laser is employed as the heat source, and some preliminary experimental and numerical work was carried out. In this paper, a further effort was made to extend this simulation method to some other important engine parts such as cylinder heads. The incident Gaussian beam was transformed into concentric multi-circular patterns of specific intensity distributions, with the aid of diffractive optical elements (DOEs). By incorporating the appropriate repetitive laser pulses, the designed transient temperature fields and thermal loadings in the engine parts could be simulated. Thermal-structural numerical models for pistons and cylinder heads were built to predict the transient temperature and thermal stress. The models were also employed to find the optimal intensity distributions of the transformed laser beam that could produce the target transient temperature fields. Comparison of experimental and numerical results demonstrated that this systematic approach is effective in simulating the thermal loading on the engine parts.

Stability of a nonlinear second order equation under parametric bounded noise excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiebe, Richard; Xie, Wei-Chau

2016-01-01

The motivation for the following work is a structural column under dynamic axial loads with both deterministic (harmonic transmitted forces from the surrounding structure) and random (wind and/or earthquake) loading components. The bounded noise used herein is a sinusoid with an argument composed of a random (Wiener) process deviation about a mean frequency. By this approach, a noise parameter may be used to investigate the behavior through the spectrum from simple harmonic forcing, to a bounded random process with very little harmonic content. The stability of both the trivial and non-trivial stationary solutions of an axially-loaded column (which is modeled as a second order nonlinear equation) under parametric bounded noise excitation is investigated by use of Lyapunov exponents. Specifically the effect of noise magnitude, amplitude of the forcing, and damping on stability of a column is investigated. First order averaging is employed to obtain analytical approximations of the Lyapunov exponents of the trivial solution. For the non-trivial stationary solution however, the Lyapunov exponents are obtained via Monte Carlo simulation as the stability equations become analytically intractable. (paper)

Noise pollution from wind turbine gears loudness of structural noise sources related to gears

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crone, A.

1995-04-01

The purpose of the project has been to develop a method for determination of the structure-borne noise source strength of the gearbox in a typical modern Danish wind turbine construction, with special reference to the tonal noise emission form the turbines. Through study and evaluation of eight potential methods, a simple method has ben formulated. The method is based on measurements of the free vibration velocity level on the gearbox in a load test bed. The relation between this source strength measure and the gearbox related noise from wind turbines has been documented by measurements made during the project together with earlier measurements. The method is intended as a tool for the wind turbine manufacturer, for control of the gearbox related noise from the wind turbines, due to structure-borne noise from the gearbox. It may be used for preparation of specifications to the gearbox manufacturer on test procedure and acceptable source strength levels. Also, it may be used for evaluation of the transmission and radiation of gearbox related noise, for example in order to uncover weaknesses in a prototype turbine. Suggestions for adaptation and evolution of the method has been given, thereby improving the strength of the method for the individual wind turbine manufacturer. (au) 19 refs

Study on a method for loading a Li compound to produce tritium using high-temperature gas-cooled reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakaya, Hiroyuki, E-mail: nakaya@nucl.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Applied Quantum Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Fukuoka 8190395 (Japan); Matsuura, Hideaki [Department of Applied Quantum Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Fukuoka 8190395 (Japan); Katayama, Kazunari [Department of Advanced Energy Engineering Science, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-koen, Kasuga 8168580 (Japan); Goto, Minoru; Nakagawa, Shigeaki [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4002 Oarai, Ibaraki (Japan)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Tritium production by a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor was studied. • The loading method considering tritium outflow suppression was estimated. • A reactor with 600 MWt produced 400–600 g of tritium for 180 days. • A possibility that tritium outflow can be sufficiently suppressed was shown. - Abstract: Tritium production using high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and its outflow from the region loading Li compound into the helium coolant are estimated when considering the suppression of tritium outflow. A Li rod containing a cylindrical Li compound placed in an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} cladding tube is assumed as a method for loading Li compound. A gas turbine high-temperature reactor of 300 MW electrical nominal capacity (GTHTR300) with 600 MW thermal output power is considered and modeled using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo transport code MVP-BURN, where burn-up simulations are carried out. Tritium outflow is estimated from equilibrium solution for the tritium diffusion equation in the cladding tube. A GTHTR300 can produce 400–600 g of tritium over a 180-day operation using the chosen method of loading the Li compound while minimizing tritium outflow from the cladding tube. Optimizing tritium production while suppressing tritium outflow is discussed.

Noise elimination algorithm for modal analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bao, X. X., E-mail: baoxingxian@upc.edu.cn [Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580 (China); Li, C. L. [Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071 (China); Xiong, C. B. [The First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao 266061 (China)

2015-07-27

Modal analysis is an ongoing interdisciplinary physical issue. Modal parameters estimation is applied to determine the dynamic characteristics of structures under vibration excitation. Modal analysis is more challenging for the measured vibration response signals are contaminated with noise. This study develops a mathematical algorithm of structured low rank approximation combined with the complex exponential method to estimate the modal parameters. Physical experiments using a steel cantilever beam with ten accelerometers mounted, excited by an impulse load, demonstrate that this method can significantly eliminate noise from measured signals and accurately identify the modal frequencies and damping ratios. This study provides a fundamental mechanism of noise elimination using structured low rank approximation in physical fields.

Albumin/gentamicin microspheres produced by supercritical assisted atomization: optimization of size, drug loading and release.

Science.gov (United States)

Della Porta, G; Adami, R; Del Gaudio, P; Prota, L; Aquino, R; Reverchon, E

2010-11-01

In this work, the supercritical assisted atomization (SAA) is proposed, for the first time, not only as a micronization technology but also as a thermal coagulation process for the production of bovine serum albumin (BSA) microspheres charged with Gentamicin sulfate (GS). Particularly, different water solutions of BSA/GS were processed by SAA to produce protein microspheres with different size and antibiotic content. SAA precipitation temperature was selected in the range 100-130 °C to generate protein coagulation and to recover micronized BSA in form of hydrophobic aggregates; GS loading was varied between 10% and 50% (w/w) with an encapsulation efficiency which often reached 100%. In all cases, spherical and noncoalescing particles were successfully produced with a mean particle size of 2 µm and with a standard deviation of about ±1 µm. The microspheres also showed a good stability and constant water content after 60 days of storage. The release profiles of the entrapped drug were monitored using Franz cells to evaluate the possible application of the produced microspheres in wound dressing formulations. Particularly, the microspheres with a BSA/GS ratio of 4:1 after the first burst effect (of 40% of GS loaded) were able to release the GS continuously over 10 days. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association

Noise pollution in Lahore and the solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, K.

1999-01-01

The main objective of the study is to know the current status of noise levels in Lahore as compared to NEQS . Sound Level Meter model 211 FS Quest Electronics with a 50-120 dBA selectable range was used in the current investigation. Study relates to road traffic noise, aircraft noise at city airports, rail traffic noise, noise levels in urban centers and occupational noise. Investigation revealed that nine main commercial centers, six public hospital and ten educational institution of Lahore had values higher than NEQS (85 dBA). Maximum noise producing vehicles on Lahore roads are scooter producing a noise of 90, 86 and 87 dBA. There are forty airports in operation in the country and the aircraft being used has higher noise level varying from 16 to 120 dBA. Based on age and length of service permanent hearing damage has been observed in skilled industrial workers. Risk from hearing damage of industrial workers can be reduced by the use of some form of ear protection. Ear plugs can reduce noise levels by 15 to 35 dBA according to their design and fit. Industrial noise from heavy machinery can be reduced by anti-vibration mountings. Noisy work area in industry should be either isolated or surrounded by baffles. The most appealing approach to reduce noise problems in communities due to aircraft operation is reduction of the noise generated by the aircraft and land use planning. (author)

TIPS bilateral noise reduction in 4D CT perfusion scans produces high-quality cerebral blood flow maps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendrik, Adrienne M; Van Ginneken, Bram; Viergever, Max A [Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht (Netherlands); Vonken, Evert-jan; De Jong, Hugo W; Riordan, Alan; Van Seeters, Tom; Smit, Ewoud J; Prokop, Mathias, E-mail: a.m.mendrik@gmail.com [Radiology Department, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht (Netherlands)

2011-07-07

patient data showed that the TIPS bilateral filter resulted in realistic mean values with a smaller standard deviation than the other evaluated filters and higher contrast-to-noise ratios. Therefore, applying the proposed TIPS bilateral filtering method to 4D CTP data produces higher quality CBF maps than applying the standard Gaussian, 3D bilateral or 4D bilateral filter. Furthermore, the TIPS bilateral filter is computationally faster than both the 3D and 4D bilateral filters.

Noise power spectrum of the fixed pattern noise in digital radiography detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Dong Sik, E-mail: dskim@hufs.ac.kr [Department of Electronics Engineering, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Gyeonggi-do 449-791 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Eun [R& D Center, DRTECH Co., Gyeonggi-do 13558 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-06-15

Purpose: The fixed pattern noise in radiography image detectors is caused by various sources. Multiple readout circuits with gate drivers and charge amplifiers are used to efficiently acquire the pixel voltage signals. However, the multiple circuits are not identical and thus yield nonuniform system gains. Nonuniform sensitivities are also produced from local variations in the charge collection elements. Furthermore, in phosphor-based detectors, the optical scattering at the top surface of the columnar CsI growth, the grain boundaries, and the disorder structure causes spatial sensitivity variations. These nonuniform gains or sensitivities cause fixed pattern noise and degrade the detector performance, even though the noise problem can be partially alleviated by using gain correction techniques. Hence, in order to develop good detectors, comparative analysis of the energy spectrum of the fixed pattern noise is important. Methods: In order to observe the energy spectrum of the fixed pattern noise, a normalized noise power spectrum (NNPS) of the fixed pattern noise is considered in this paper. Since the fixed pattern noise is mainly caused by the nonuniform gains, we call the spectrum the gain NNPS. We first asymptotically observe the gain NNPS and then formulate two relationships to calculate the gain NNPS based on a nonuniform-gain model. Since the gain NNPS values are quite low compared to the usual NNPS, measuring such a low NNPS value is difficult. By using the average of the uniform exposure images, a robust measuring method for the gain NNPS is proposed in this paper. Results: By using the proposed measuring method, the gain NNPS curves of several prototypes of general radiography and mammography detectors were measured to analyze their fixed pattern noise properties. We notice that a direct detector, which is based on the a-Se photoconductor, showed lower gain NNPS than the indirect-detector case, which is based on the CsI scintillator. By comparing the gain

Influence of background noise on the performance in the odor sensitivity task: effects of noise type and extraversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Han-Seok; Hähner, Antje; Gudziol, Volker; Scheibe, Mandy; Hummel, Thomas

2012-10-01

Recent research demonstrated that background noise relative to silence impaired subjects' performance in a cognitively driven odor discrimination test. The current study aimed to investigate whether the background noise can also modulate performance in an odor sensitivity task that is less cognitively loaded. Previous studies have shown that the effect of background noise on task performance can be different in relation to degree of extraversion and/or type of noise. Accordingly, we wanted to examine whether the influence of background noise on the odor sensitivity task can be altered as a function of the type of background noise (i.e., nonverbal vs. verbal noise) and the degree of extraversion (i.e., introvert vs. extrovert group). Subjects were asked to conduct an odor sensitivity task in the presence of either nonverbal noise (e.g., party sound) or verbal noise (e.g., audio book), or silence. Overall, the subjects' mean performance in the odor sensitivity task was not significantly different across three auditory conditions. However, with regard to the odor sensitivity task, a significant interaction emerged between the type of background noise and the degree of extraversion. Specifically, verbal noise relative to silence significantly impaired or improved the performance of the odor sensitivity task in the introvert or extrovert group, respectively; the differential effect of introversion/extraversion was not observed in the nonverbal noise-induced task performance. In conclusion, our findings provide new empirical evidence that type of background noise and degree of extraversion play an important role in modulating the effect of background noise on subjects' performance in an odor sensitivity task.

Detection of Anomalous Noise Events on Low-Capacity Acoustic Nodes for Dynamic Road Traffic Noise Mapping within an Hybrid WASN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Ma Alsina-Pagès

2018-04-01

Full Text Available One of the main aspects affecting the quality of life of people living in urban and suburban areas is the continuous exposure to high road traffic noise (RTN levels. Nowadays, thanks to Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks (WASN noise in Smart Cities has started to be automatically mapped. To obtain a reliable picture of the RTN, those anomalous noise events (ANE unrelated to road traffic (sirens, horns, people, etc. should be removed from the noise map computation by means of an Anomalous Noise Event Detector (ANED. In Hybrid WASNs, with master-slave architecture, ANED should be implemented in both high-capacity (Hi-Cap and low-capacity (Lo-Cap sensors, following the same principle to obtain consistent results. This work presents an ANED version to run in real-time on μ Controller-based Lo-Cap sensors of a hybrid WASN, discriminating RTN from ANE through their Mel-based spectral energy differences. The experiments, considering 9 h and 8 min of real-life acoustic data from both urban and suburban environments, show the feasibility of the proposal both in terms of computational load and in classification accuracy. Specifically, the ANED Lo-Cap requires around 1 6 of the computational load of the ANED Hi-Cap, while classification accuracies are slightly lower (around 10%. However, preliminary analyses show that these results could be improved in around 4% in the future by means of considering optimal frequency selection.

Detection of Anomalous Noise Events on Low-Capacity Acoustic Nodes for Dynamic Road Traffic Noise Mapping within an Hybrid WASN.

Science.gov (United States)

Alsina-Pagès, Rosa Ma; Alías, Francesc; Socoró, Joan Claudi; Orga, Ferran

2018-04-20

One of the main aspects affecting the quality of life of people living in urban and suburban areas is the continuous exposure to high road traffic noise (RTN) levels. Nowadays, thanks to Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks (WASN) noise in Smart Cities has started to be automatically mapped. To obtain a reliable picture of the RTN, those anomalous noise events (ANE) unrelated to road traffic (sirens, horns, people, etc.) should be removed from the noise map computation by means of an Anomalous Noise Event Detector (ANED). In Hybrid WASNs, with master-slave architecture, ANED should be implemented in both high-capacity (Hi-Cap) and low-capacity (Lo-Cap) sensors, following the same principle to obtain consistent results. This work presents an ANED version to run in real-time on μ Controller-based Lo-Cap sensors of a hybrid WASN, discriminating RTN from ANE through their Mel-based spectral energy differences. The experiments, considering 9 h and 8 min of real-life acoustic data from both urban and suburban environments, show the feasibility of the proposal both in terms of computational load and in classification accuracy. Specifically, the ANED Lo-Cap requires around 1 6 of the computational load of the ANED Hi-Cap, while classification accuracies are slightly lower (around 10%). However, preliminary analyses show that these results could be improved in around 4% in the future by means of considering optimal frequency selection.

Gearbox Fatigue Load Estimation for Condition Monitoring of Wind Turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perisic, Nevena; Pedersen, Bo Juul; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

2012-01-01

control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. Estimated loads can be further used for prediction of remaining operating lifetime of turbine components, detection of high stress level or fault detection. An augmented Kalman filter is chosen as the fatigue load estimator because its characteristics well suit......The focus of the paper is on a design of a fatigue load estimator for predictive condition monitoring systems (CMS) of wind turbines. In order to avoid high-price measurement equipment required for direct load measuring, an indirect approach is suggested using only measurements from supervisory...... for the real time application. This paper presents results of the estimation of the gearbox fatigue load, often called shaft torque, using simulated data of wind turbine. Noise sensitivity of the algorithm is investigated by assuming different levels of measurement noise. Shaft torque estimations are compared...

Digital Generation of Noise-Signals with Arbitrary Constant or Time-Varying Spectra (A noise generation software package and its application)

CERN Document Server

Tückmantel, Joachim

2008-01-01

Artificial creation of arbitrary noise signals is used in accelerator physics to reproduce a measured perturbation spectrum for simulations but also to generate real-time shaped noise spectra for controlled emittance blow-up giving tailored properties to the final bunch shape. It is demonstrated here how one can produce numerically what is, for all practical purposes, an unlimited quantity of non-periodic noise data having any predefined spectral density. This spectral density may be constant or varying with time. The noise output never repeats and has excellent statistical properties, important for very long-term applications. It is difficult to obtain such flexibility and spectral cleanliness using analogue techniques. This algorithm was applied both in computer simulations of bunch behaviour in the presence of RF noise in the PS, SPS and LHC and also to generate real-time noise, tracking the synchrotron frequency change during the energy ramp of the SPS and producing controlled longitudinal emittance blow-...

Speed response of brushless DC motor using fuzzy PID controller under varying load condition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akash Varshney

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The increasing trend towards usage of precisely controlled, high torque, efficient and low noise motors for dedicated applications has attracted the attention of researcher in Brushless DC (BLDC motors. BLDC motors can act as an acceptable alternative to the conventional motors like Induction Motors, Switched Reluctance Motors etc. This paper presents a detailed study on the performance of a BLDC motor supplying different types of loads, and at the same time, deploying different control techniques. An advance Fuzzy PID controller is compared with the commonly used PID controller. The load variations considered are of the most common types, generally encountered in practice. A comparison has been carried out in this paper by observing the dynamic speed response of motor at the time of application as well as at the time of removal of the load. The BLDC motors suffer from a major drawback of having jerky behaviour at the time of load removal. The study reveals that irrespective of the type of controller used, the gradual load variation produces better results as against sudden load variations. It is further observed that in addition to other dynamic features, the jerks produced at the time of load removal also get improved to a large extent with Fuzzy PID controller.The speed torque characteristics unraveled the fact that the jerks are minimum at the time of gradual load removal with Fuzzy PID controller in place. An attempt has been made to define these jerks by ‘Perturbation Window’.

Background noise of acoustic emission signals in sodium piping loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Y.; Aoki, K.; Kuribayashi, K.; Kishi, T.; Sakakibara, Y.

1985-01-01

Background noise measurement in the frequency range of acoustic emission (AE) signals was made on the sodium piping loops of a 50 MW steam generator test facility in the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC). During the dynamic characteristics test of the steam generator over a wide range of operating conditions, the background noise generated on the pipe surface was measured using wideband AE sensor externally mounted with waveguide. Data were obtained for the effect of power loads of steam generator on both amplitude and frequency spectra of background noise signals. Source and nature of background noise were established

The Effects of Ambient Conditions on Helicopter Harmonic Noise Radiation: Theory and Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, Eric; Sim, Ben W.; Boyd, D. Douglas, Jr.

2016-01-01

The effects of ambient atmospheric conditions, air temperature and density, on rotor harmonic noise radiation are characterized using theoretical models and experimental measurements of helicopter noise collected at three different test sites at elevations ranging from sea level to 7000 ft above sea level. Significant changes in the thickness, loading, and blade-vortex interaction noise levels and radiation directions are observed across the different test sites for an AS350 helicopter flying at the same indicated airspeed and gross weight. However, the radiated noise is shown to scale with ambient pressure when the flight condition of the helicopter is defined in nondimensional terms. Although the effective tip Mach number is identified as the primary governing parameter for thickness noise, the nondimensional weight coefficient also impacts lower harmonic loading noise levels, which contribute strongly to low frequency harmonic noise radiation both in and out of the plane of the horizon. Strategies for maintaining the same nondimensional rotor operating condition under different ambient conditions are developed using an analytical model of single main rotor helicopter trim and confirmed using a CAMRAD II model of the AS350 helicopter. The ability of the Fundamental Rotorcraft Acoustics Modeling from Experiments (FRAME) technique to generalize noise measurements made under one set of ambient conditions to make accurate noise predictions under other ambient conditions is also validated.

Application of flexi-wall in noise barriers renewal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Daee

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental study on structural performance of an innovative noise barrier consisting of poly-block, light polyurethane foam (LPF and polyurea. This wall system (flexi-wall is intended to be employed as a vertical extension to existing noise barriers (sound walls in an accelerated construction method. To aid in the wall design, several mechanical tests were conducted on LPF specimens and two full-scale walls were then fabricated employing the same LPF material. The full-scale walls were subjected to lateral loading in order to establish their lateral resistance. A cyclic fatigue test was also performed on a full-scale flexi-wall in order to evaluate the performance of the wall under a repetitive loading condition. The results of the experiments indicated the suitability of flexi-wall in accelerated construction and confirmed that the structural performance of the wall system under lateral loading is satisfactory for the sound wall application. The experimental results were discussed and a preliminary design procedure for application of flexi-wall in sound wall applications was also developed.

Dependence of loading time on control parameters in a standard vapour—loaded magneto—optical trap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yi-Chi; Wu Ji-Zhou; Li Yu-Qing; Ma Jie; Wang Li-Rong; Zhao Yan-Ting; Xiao Lian-Tuan; Jia Suo-Tang

2011-01-01

Loading time is one of the most important dynamic characteristics of a magneto—optical trap. In this paper, we primarily report on a detailed experimental study of the effects of some magneto—optical trap control parameters on loading time, including the background vacuum pressure, the magnetic field gradient, and the intensities of trapping and repumping lasers. We compare the results with previous theoretical and experimental results, and give qualitative analysis. These experimental investigations offer some useful guidelines to control the loading time of magneto—optical traps. The controllable loading time achieved is helpful to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of photoassociation spectroscopy, which is remarkably improved from 7 to 28.6. (atomic and molecular physics)

Load bearing and stiffness tailored NiTi implants produced by additive manufacturing: a simulation study

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmanian, Rasool; Shayesteh Moghaddam, Narges; Haberland, Christoph; Dean, David; Miller, Michael; Elahinia, Mohammad

2014-03-01

Common metals for stable long-term implants (e.g. stainless steel, Titanium and Titanium alloys) are much stiffer than spongy cancellous and even stiffer than cortical bone. When bone and implant are loaded this stiffness mismatch results in stress shielding and as a consequence, degradation of surrounding bony structure can lead to disassociation of the implant. Due to its lower stiffness and high reversible deformability, which is associated with the superelastic behavior, NiTi is an attractive biomaterial for load bearing implants. However, the stiffness of austenitic Nitinol is closer to that of bone but still too high. Additive manufacturing provides, in addition to the fabrication of patient specific implants, the ability to solve the stiffness mismatch by adding engineered porosity to the implant. This in turn allows for the design of different stiffness profiles in one implant tailored to the physiological load conditions. This work covers a fundamental approach to bring this vision to reality. At first modeling of the mechanical behavior of different scaffold designs are presented as a proof of concept of stiffness tailoring. Based on these results different Nitinol scaffolds can be produced by additive manufacturing.

Spreadsheet tool for estimating noise reduction costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, L.; Senden, V.; Leszczynski, Y.

2009-01-01

The Northeast Capital Industrial Association (NCIA) represents industry in Alberta's industrial heartland. The organization is in the process of developing a regional noise management plan (RNMP) for their member companies. The RNMP includes the development of a noise reduction cost spreadsheet tool to conduct reviews of practical noise control treatments available for individual plant equipment, inclusive of ranges of noise attenuation achievable, which produces a budgetary prediction of the installed cost of practical noise control treatments. This paper discussed the noise reduction cost spreadsheet tool, with particular reference to noise control best practices approaches and spreadsheet tool development such as prerequisite, assembling data required, approach, and unit pricing database. Use and optimization of the noise reduction cost spreadsheet tool was also discussed. It was concluded that the noise reduction cost spreadsheet tool is an easy interactive tool to estimate implementation costs related to different strategies and options of noise control mitigating measures and was very helpful in gaining insight for noise control planning purposes. 2 tabs.

Facilitation of Retention by White Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Baumeister, Alfred A.; Kistler, Doris

1975-01-01

This study attempted to determine if white noise (an arousing stimulus), when presented at the time of recall, facilitates performance of second and fifth grade students, and if this effect generalizes across different kinds of learning tasks. Findings indicate that white noise produces improvements in performance in both age groups. (GO)

Application of Circulation Control Technology to Airframe Noise Reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Ahuja, K. K.; Sankar, L. N.; Englar, R. J.; Munro, Scott E.; Li, Yi; Gaeta, R. J.

2003-01-01

frequencies. However, these advantages are somewhat offset by the unsteadiness in the loads, which will cause structural vibrations and fatigue. Additional studies must be done, perhaps with multiple jets on the upper and lower surfaces, to smooth out the fluctuations in lift while retaining the benefits. The rest of the effort was devoted to examining ways of reducing flap edge noise by blowing air through a Coanda nozzle over a rounded tip of the flap. In this case, we were successful in moving the tip vortex away from the tip, but the device producing the blowing was noisy and we were unable to examine the noise benefits, although we believe that the movement of the tip vortex far from the tip should provide noise benefits. It should be noted that in an effort to understand the fluid dynamics and the aeroacoustics of a jet blowing over a Coanda surface, we also carried out a very extensive study of the high aspect ratio slot jets. A first-ever set of far-field noise spectra were measured for jets exhausting from slots with aspect ratios in the range 100 to 3000. Parallel measurements of velocity profiles, length scales and convection velocities were measured to understand the noise generation of high aspect ratio jets. Attempts were also made to develop jet noise prediction schemes for such jets. Much of the work done under this effort has been described in five conference papers and two doctoral theses. The first year s work on the use of steady blowing was described in two AIAA papers presented at the 2001 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Reno. Subsequent work was presented at the 9th AIMCEAS Aeroacoustics Conference and Exhibit held at Hilton Head May 12-13. Another paper is to be presented at the 2004 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Reno in January 2004. All six papers are included with this report as Appendices. The bulk of the experimental work done in an effort to produce a pulsed flow that is free of upstream noise is also attached as an Appendix.

Cavitation noise from butterfly valves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahmeyer, W.J.

1982-01-01

Cavitation in valves can produce levels of intense noise. It is possible to mathematically express a limit for a design level of cavitation noise in terms of the cavitation parameter sigma. Using the cavitation parameter or limit, it is then possible to calculate the flow conditions at which a design level of cavitation noise will occur. However, the intensity of cavitation increases with the upstream pressure and valve size at a constant sigma. Therefore, it is necessary to derive equations to correct or scale the cavitation limit for the effects of different upstream pressures and valve sizes. The following paper discusses and presents experimental data for the caviation noise limit as well as the cavitation limits of incipient, critical, incipient damage, and choking cavitation for butterfly valves. The main emphasis is on the design limit of caviation noise, and a noise level of 85 decibels was selected as the noise limit. Tables of data and scaling exponents are included for applying the design limits for the effects of upstream pressure and valve size. (orig.)

Analysis of power tiller noise using diesel-biodiesel fuel blends

OpenAIRE

N Keramat Siavash; Gh Najafi; S. R Hassan Beigi Bidgoli; B Ghobadian

2015-01-01

Introduction: There are several sources of noise in an industrial and agriculture environment. Machines with rotating or reciprocating engines are sound-producing sources. Also, the audio signal can be analyzed to discover how well a machine operates. Diesel engines complex noise SPL and sound frequency content both strongly depend on fuel combustion, which produces the so-called combustion noise. Actually, the unpleasant sound signature of diesel engines is due to the harsh and irregular sel...

Chaos and thermal noise in the rf-biased Josephson junction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kautz, R.L.

1985-01-01

The effect of thermal noise on chaotic behavior in the rf-biased Josephson junction is studied through digital simulations. In instances for which chaotic behavior occurs in the noise-free system, it is found that the dynamics of the system are almost unchanged by the addition of thermal noise unless the level of thermal noise exceeds that of the chaotic state. In instances for which the only stable states of the noise-free system are periodic solutions, small amounts of thermal noise can induce the junction to hop between two different dynamical states, producing a low-frequency noise level much higher than that of the thermal noise. Such noise-induced hopping can occur either between two periodic solutions or between a periodic solution and a metastable chaotic solution. When a metastable chaotic state is involved, temperatures somewhat higher than those which produce hopping can destablize the periodic solution to the point where the system spends virtually all of its time in the metastable chaotic state, creating noise-induced chaos. The similarities between chaotic behavior at zero temperature and noise-induced chaos are sufficiently strong that it may be difficult to distinguish the two cases experimentally

Data Quality Assurance for Supersonic Jet Noise Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Clifford A.; Henderson, Brenda S.; Bridges, James E.

2010-01-01

The noise created by a supersonic aircraft is a primary concern in the design of future high-speed planes. The jet noise reduction technologies required on these aircraft will be developed using scale-models mounted to experimental jet rigs designed to simulate the exhaust gases from a full-scale jet engine. The jet noise data collected in these experiments must accurately predict the noise levels produced by the full-scale hardware in order to be a useful development tool. A methodology has been adopted at the NASA Glenn Research Center s Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory to insure the quality of the supersonic jet noise data acquired from the facility s High Flow Jet Exit Rig so that it can be used to develop future nozzle technologies that reduce supersonic jet noise. The methodology relies on mitigating extraneous noise sources, examining the impact of measurement location on the acoustic results, and investigating the facility independence of the measurements. The methodology is documented here as a basis for validating future improvements and its limitations are noted so that they do not affect the data analysis. Maintaining a high quality jet noise laboratory is an ongoing process. By carefully examining the data produced and continually following this methodology, data quality can be maintained and improved over time.

Noise Optimization in Diesel Engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Narayan

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Euro 6 norms emphasize on reduction of emissions from the engines. New injection methods are being adopted for homogenous mixture formation in diesel engines. During steady state conditions homogenous combustion gave noise levels in lower frequencies. In this work noise produced in a 440 cc diesel engine has been investigated. The engine was run under various operating conditions varying various injection parameters.

Tumbleweeds and airborne gravitational noise sources for LIGO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Creighton, Teviet

2008-01-01

The relative positions of the test masses in gravitational-wave detectors will be influenced not only by astrophysical gravitational waves, but also by the fluctuating Newtonian gravitational forces of moving masses in the ground and air around the detector. These effects are often referred to as gravity gradient noise. This paper considers the effects of gravity gradients from density perturbations in the atmosphere, and from massive airborne objects near the detector. These have been discussed previously by Saulson (1984 Phys. Rev. D 30 732), who considered the effects of background acoustic pressure waves and of massive objects moving smoothly past the interferometer; the gravity gradients he predicted would be too small to be of serious concern even for advanced interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. In this paper, I revisit these phenomena, considering transient atmospheric shocks, and estimating the effects of sound waves or objects colliding with the ground or buildings around the test masses. I also consider another source of atmospheric density fluctuations: temperature perturbations that are advected past the detector by the wind. I find that background acoustic noise and temperature fluctuations still produce gravity gradient noise that is below the noise floor even of advanced interferometric detectors, although temperature perturbations carried along non-laminar streamlines could produce noise that is within an order of magnitude of the projected noise floor at 10 Hz. A definitive study of this effect may require better models of the wind flow past a given instrument. I also find that transient shockwaves in the atmosphere could potentially produce large spurious signals, with signal-to-noise ratios in the hundreds in an advanced interferometric detector. These signals could be vetoed by means of acoustic sensors outside of the buildings. Massive wind-borne objects such as tumbleweeds could also produce gravity gradient signals with signal-to-noise

Flap Side Edge Liners for Airframe Noise Reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Michael G. (Inventor); Khorrami, Mehdi R. (Inventor); Choudhari, Meelan M. (Inventor); Howerton, Brian M. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

One or more acoustic liners comprising internal chambers or passageways that absorb energy from a noise source on the aircraft are disclosed. The acoustic liners may be positioned at the ends of flaps of an aircraft wing to provide broadband noise absorption and/or dampen the noise producing unsteady flow features, and to reduce the amount of noise generated due to unsteady flow at the inboard and/or outboard end edges of a flap.

Research of biofuels on performance, emission and noise of diesel engine under high-altitude area

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Kai; Huang, Hua

2018-05-01

At high altitudes and with no any adjustment for diesel engine, comparative experiments on a diesel engine about the engine's performance, emission and exhaust noise, are carried out by combusting different biofuels (pure diesel (D100), biodiesel (B100), and ethanol-biodiesel (E20)). The test results show that: compared with D100, the power performance of combusting B100 and E20 decreases, and the average drop of the torque at full-load are 4.5% and 5.7%. The equivalent fuel consumption is lower than that of diesel fuel, The decline of oil consumption rate 3˜10g/ (kW • h); At low load the emission of NOx decreases, Hat high loads, equal and higher than D100; the soot emissions decreases heavier, among them, E20 carbon dioxide emissions improved considerably; An full-load exhaust noise of B100 decreases average 3.6dB(A), E20 decreases average 4.8dB(A); In road simulation experiments exhaust noise max decreases 8.5dB(A).

Numerical Loading of a Maxwellian Probability Distribution Function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewandowski, J.L.V.

2003-01-01

A renormalization procedure for the numerical loading of a Maxwellian probability distribution function (PDF) is formulated. The procedure, which involves the solution of three coupled nonlinear equations, yields a numerically loaded PDF with improved properties for higher velocity moments. This method is particularly useful for low-noise particle-in-cell simulations with electron dynamics

Helicopter internal noise control: Three case histories

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, B. D.; Cox, C. R.

1978-01-01

Case histories are described in which measurable improvements in the cabin noise environments of the Bell 214B, 206B, and 222 were realized. These case histories trace the noise control efforts followed in each vehicle. Among the design approaches considered, the addition of a fluid pulsation damper in a hydraulic system and the installation of elastomeric engine mounts are highlighted. It is concluded that substantial weight savings result when the major interior noise sources are controlled by design, both in altering the noise producing mechanism and interrupting the sound transmission paths.

Performance assessment of an LNA used as active cold load

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2015-01-01

in various campaigns in very different environments. Primary calibration sources are a traditional hot load along with a noise diode, and the calibration quality is verified prior to almost each flight using a liquid Nitrogen cooled target. EMIRAD-2 also features a commercial-off-the-shelf (Miteq) low noise...

Anthropogenic noise alters bat activity levels and echolocation calls

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessie P. Bunkley

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Negative impacts from anthropogenic noise are well documented for many wildlife taxa. Investigations of the effects of noise on bats however, have not been conducted outside of the laboratory. Bats that hunt arthropods rely on auditory information to forage. Part of this acoustic information can fall within the spectrum of anthropogenic noise, which can potentially interfere with signal reception and processing. Compressor stations associated with natural gas extraction produce broadband noise 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With over half a million producing gas wells in the U.S. this infrastructure is a major source of noise pollution across the landscape. We conducted a ‘natural experiment’ in the second largest gas extraction field in the U.S. to investigate the potential effects of gas compressor station noise on the activity levels of the local bat assemblage. We used acoustic monitoring to compare the activity level (number of minutes in a night with a bat call of the bat assemblage at sites with compressor stations to sites lacking this infrastructure. We found that activity levels for the Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis were 40% lower at loud compressor sites compared to quieter well pads, whereas the activity levels of four other species (Myotis californicus, M. cillolabrum, M. lucifugus, Parastrellus hesperus were not affected by noise. Furthermore, our results reveal that the assemblage of bat species emitting low frequency (35 kHz echolocation did not exhibit altered activity levels in noise. Lower activity levels of Brazilian free-tailed bats at loud sites indicate a potential reduction in habitat for this species. Additionally, a comparison of echolocation search calls produced by free-tailed bats at sites with and without compressor stations reveal that this species modifies its echolocation search calls in noise—producing longer calls with a narrower bandwidth. Call alterations might affect prey

Aerodynamic Noise An Introduction for Physicists and Engineers

CERN Document Server

Bose, Tarit

2013-01-01

Aerodynamic Noise extensively covers the theoretical basis and mathematical modeling of sound, especially the undesirable sounds produced by aircraft. This noise could come from an aircraft’s engine—propellers, fans, combustion chamber, jets—or the vehicle itself—external surfaces—or from sonic booms. The majority of the sound produced is due to the motion of air and its interaction with solid boundaries, and this is the main discussion of the book. With problem sets at the end of each chapter, Aerodynamic Noise is ideal for graduate students of mechanical and aerospace engineering. It may also be useful for designers of cars, trains, and wind turbines.

The roles of sensory function and cognitive load in age differences in inhibition: Evidence from the Stroop task.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Huamao; Gao, Yue; Mao, Xiaofei

2017-02-01

To explore the roles of visual function and cognitive load in aging of inhibition, the present study adopted a 2 (visual perceptual stress: noise, nonnoise) × 2 (cognitive load: low, high) × 2 (age: young, old) mixed design. The Stroop task was adopted to measure inhibition. The task presentation was masked with Gaussian noise according to the visual function of each individual in order to match visual perceptual stress between age groups. The results indicated that age differences in the Stroop effect were influenced by visual function and cognitive load. When the cognitive load was low, older adults exhibited a larger Stroop effect than did younger adults in the nonnoise condition, and this age difference disappeared when the visual noise of the 2 age groups was matched. Conversely, in the high cognitive load condition, we observed significant age differences in the Stroop effect in both the nonnoise and noise conditions. The additional cognitive load made the age differences in the Stroop task reappear even when visual perceptual stress was equivalent. These results demonstrate that visual function plays an important role in the aging of inhibition and its role is moderated by cognitive load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Prevalence and awareness of noise induced hearing loss in two ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Noise above a certain acceptable level or sustained noise may cause damage to the ears. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and level of awareness of noise induced hearing loss in Calabar. Seventy-five workers from two noise producing companies, in Calabar- Flour mill and Wartsilla were chosen for this ...

Investigations of the influence of feedback and coupling effects on neutron noise in a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vath, W.

1975-01-01

Investigations are described of the influence of a known feedback, i.e., a control loop with known transfer function, on the spectra of neutron chamber signals. Theoretical formulas for the spectra are derived using the point reactor model. These formulas were verified by noise measurements in a zero power reactor. Special attention is given to the noise generated by the control loop, the influence of this feedback noise on the spectra being verified experimentally. In large reactors space dependent transfer functions must be taken into account. As a first approximation to handle the spatial dependence, the afore-mentioned investigations were extended to the two-point reactor model. Corresponding experimental work was done for the Argonaut Reactor Karlsruhe (ARK) with a symmetrical two-slab core loading. Coolant boiling in a BWR was investigated. The boiling must be considered as a feedback mechanism as well as an extrnal reactivity perturbation. In order to simulate the steam bubble content, nitrogen gas was injected into the water moderator of the ARK. By modulating the total gas flow according to the instantaneous reactor power the feedback effect was simulated. The gas flow produced a band-limited, white reactivity noise. The upper break frequency could be used to determine the travelling time of the bubbles through the core. (author)

Assessment of noise level and noise propagation generated by light-lift helicopters in mountain natural environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Grigolato, Stefano; Mologni, Omar; Proto, Andrea Rosario; Zimbalatti, Giuseppe; Cavalli, Raffaele

2018-01-20

The use of helicopter rises discussion about environmental noise propagation especially when it operates in proximity of environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) for an extended period because of its potential implications in wildlife behaviours. In order to support decisions on helicopter logging operation management in proximity of ESAs, this study focused on (i) analysing the noise spectrum of a light-lift helicopter during logging operations and on (ii) assessing the noise propagation in the surrounding environments. This study investigated a helicopter logging operation for wood fuel extraction in the eastern part of the Italian Alps. The potential disturbance area covered for the entire helicopter logging operation was evaluated by a specific GIS application according to hearing sensitivity of the most sensitive wildlife species in the study area (different strigiform species). The noise level at the ground appeared to be affected by the location regardless both the use of equivalent continuous sound pressures level dB(A) (LAeq) and the single-event level (SEL) noise metrics. The lowest values were recorded when the helicopter was flown over the sound meter level located under the forest canopy, while the highest was recorded when the helicopter was unhooking the loads at the landing. The GIS application highlighted the consistent of the exceeded noise area (weighted to strigiform hearing range and sensitivity) for the lower frequency bands (0.016-0.250 kHz). A more restricted exceeded noise area concerned instead the most sensitive frequency bands" for the strigiform (1-2 kHz). Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Noise and vibration analysis system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnsen, J.R.; Williams, R.L.

1985-01-01

The analysis of noise and vibration data from an operating nuclear plant can provide valuable information that can identify and characterize abnormal conditions. Existing plant monitoring equipment, such as loose parts monitoring systems (LPMS) and neutron flux detectors, may be capable of gathering noise data, but may lack the analytical capability to extract useful meanings hidden in the noise. By analyzing neutron noise signals, the structural motion and integrity of core components can be assessed. Computer analysis makes trending of frequency spectra within a fuel cycle and from one cycle to another a practical means of core internals monitoring. The Babcock and Wilcox Noise and Vibration Analysis System (NVAS) is a powerful, compact system that can automatically perform complex data analysis. The system can acquire, process, and store data, then produce report-quality plots of the important parameter. Software to perform neutron noise analysis and loose parts analysis operates on the same hardware package. Since the system is compact, inexpensive, and easy to operate, it allows utilities to perform more frequency analyses without incurring high costs and provides immediate results

Experimental study of combustion noise radiation during transient turbocharged diesel engine operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giakoumis, Evangelos G.; Dimaratos, Athanasios M.; Rakopoulos, Constantine D.

2011-01-01

Diesel engine noise radiation has drawn increased attention in recent years since it is associated with the passengers' and pedestrians' discomfort, a fact that has been acknowledged by the manufacturers and the legislation in many countries. In the current study, experimental tests were conducted on a truck, turbocharged diesel engine in order to investigate the mechanism of combustion noise emission under various transient schedules experienced during daily driving conditions, namely acceleration and load increase. To this aim, a fully instrumented test bed was set up in order to capture the development of key engine and turbocharger variables during the transient events. Analytical diagrams are provided to explain the behavior of combustion noise radiation in conjunction with cylinder pressure (spectrum), turbocharger and governor/fuel pump response. Turbocharger lag was found to be the main cause for the noise spikes during all test cases examined, with the engine injection timing calibration and the slow adjustment of cylinder wall temperature to the new fueling conditions playing a vital role. The analysis was extended with a quasi-steady approximation of transient combustion noise using steady-state maps, in order to better highlight the effect of dynamic engine operation on combustion noise emissions. -- Highlights: → Studying the effects of acceleration and load increase on the combustion noise radiation from a turbocharged diesel engine. → Turbocharger lag was the most notable contributor for the behavior of combustion noise radiation. → Turbocharged diesel engine behaves noisier at acceleration compared with the steady-state operation. → Fuel limiter, governing and engine injection timing calibration play a decisive role on the emission of combustion noise. → Transient noise radiation was smoothed the slower the acceleration and the smaller the demanded speed increase.

Part-load pumping operation, control and behaviour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

Twenty one papers are printed. Their main concern is with pump performance under abnormal operating conditions or when operating at part-load. The effect of part-load operation on pump performance, pump internal flow and pump cavitation and noise were considered. The pumps considered are used in a variety of situations and some case studies were discussed. One paper about part-load operation of the boiler pumps for French pressurized water reactors and one paper on pressure pulsations of centrifugal pumps at very low flowrate, are indexed separately. (U.K.)

When cognition kicks in: Working memory and speech understanding in noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerker Ronnberg

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Perceptual load and cognitive load can be separately manipulated and dissociated in their effects on speech understanding in noise. The Ease of Language Understanding model assumes a theoretical position where perceptual task characteristics interact with the individual′s implicit capacities to extract the phonological elements of speech. Phonological precision and speed of lexical access are important determinants for listening in adverse conditions. If there are mismatches between the phonological elements perceived and phonological representations in long-term memory, explicit working memory (WM-related capacities will be continually invoked to reconstruct and infer the contents of the ongoing discourse. Whether this induces a high cognitive load or not will in turn depend on the individual′s storage and processing capacities in WM. Data suggest that modulated noise maskers may serve as triggers for speech maskers and therefore induce a WM, explicit mode of processing. Individuals with high WM capacity benefit more than low WM-capacity individuals from fast amplitude compression at low or negative input speech-to-noise ratios. The general conclusion is that there is an overarching interaction between the focal purpose of processing in the primary listening task and the extent to which a secondary, distracting task taps into these processes.

Analysis of noise emitted from diesel engines

Science.gov (United States)

Narayan, S.

2015-12-01

In this work combustion noise produced in diesel engines has been investigated. In order to reduce the exhaust emissions various injection parameters need to be studied and optimized. The noise has been investigated by mean of data obtained from cylinder pressure measurements using piezo electric transducers and microphones on a dual cylinder diesel engine test rig. The engine was run under various operating conditions varying various injection parameters to investigate the effects of noise emissions under various testing conditions.

Qualitative criteria and thresholds for low noise asphalt mixture design

Science.gov (United States)

Vaitkus, A.; Andriejauskas, T.; Gražulytė, J.; Šernas, O.; Vorobjovas, V.; Kleizienė, R.

2018-05-01

Low noise asphalt pavements are cost efficient and cost effective alternative for road traffic noise mitigation comparing with noise barriers, façade insulation and other known noise mitigation measures. However, design of low noise asphalt mixtures strongly depends on climate and traffic peculiarities of different regions. Severe climate regions face problems related with short durability of low noise asphalt mixtures in terms of considerable negative impact of harsh climate conditions (frost-thaw, large temperature fluctuations, hydrological behaviour, etc.) and traffic (traffic loads, traffic volumes, studded tyres, etc.). Thus there is a need to find balance between mechanical and acoustical durability as well as to ensure adequate pavement skid resistance for road safety purposes. Paper presents analysis of the qualitative criteria and design parameters thresholds of low noise asphalt mixtures. Different asphalt mixture composition materials (grading, aggregate, binder, additives, etc.) and relevant asphalt layer properties (air void content, texture, evenness, degree of compaction, etc.) were investigated and assessed according their suitability for durable and effective low noise pavements. Paper concluded with the overview of requirements, qualitative criteria and thresholds for low noise asphalt mixture design for severe climate regions.

Removing Background Noise with Phased Array Signal Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Podboy, Gary; Stephens, David

2015-01-01

Preliminary results are presented from a test conducted to determine how well microphone phased array processing software could pull an acoustic signal out of background noise. The array consisted of 24 microphones in an aerodynamic fairing designed to be mounted in-flow. The processing was conducted using Functional Beam forming software developed by Optinav combined with cross spectral matrix subtraction. The test was conducted in the free-jet of the Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig at NASA GRC. The background noise was produced by the interaction of the free-jet flow with the solid surfaces in the flow. The acoustic signals were produced by acoustic drivers. The results show that the phased array processing was able to pull the acoustic signal out of the background noise provided the signal was no more than 20 dB below the background noise level measured using a conventional single microphone equipped with an aerodynamic forebody.

Evolution of tyre/road noise research in India: Investigations using statistical pass-by method and noise trailer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vivek Khan

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research study was to investigate and analyze the acoustical characteristics of asphalt concrete and cement concrete surface types by two noise measurement techniques: statistical pass-by (SPB and Close Proximity (CPX methods. A noise trailer was devised and manufactured as part of the CPX methodology to evaluate tyre/pavement noise interaction at source. Two national highway test sections covering over 11 km of asphalt and cement concrete surfaces were selected to carry out the noise measurements, and the effects of vehicle speeds and/or sizes on the overall noise profiles were investigated. The major contribution of this first of its kind study in India was the utilization of sophisticated tools and techniques to measure the tyre/pavement interaction noise at source through CPX, which helped correlate the influence of road surfaces on the generation of overall road traffic noise using SPB technique. The SPB method noise profiles revealed that the noise pressure levels increased with increasing vehicle speeds and weights. The noise trailer CPX findings corroborated the results obtained from the SPB method in that cement concrete surface produced a higher noise at source than that of the asphalt concrete surface by about 5 dBA. Further, there was about 5 dBA differential in noise between SPB and CPX methods for cement concrete pavement sections; also, there was about 10 dBA differential in noise between the two methods for asphalt concrete pavement stretches. Keywords: Tyre/road noise, Statistical pass-by, Close proximity, Noise trailer, Asphalt concrete, Cement concrete

Gaussian white noise as a resource for work extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Dechant, Andreas; Baule, Adrian; Sasa, Shin-Ichi

2017-03-01

We show that uncorrelated Gaussian noise can drive a system out of equilibrium and can serve as a resource from which work can be extracted. We consider an overdamped particle in a periodic potential with an internal degree of freedom and a state-dependent friction, coupled to an equilibrium bath. Applying additional Gaussian white noise drives the system into a nonequilibrium steady state and causes a finite current if the potential is spatially asymmetric. The model thus operates as a Brownian ratchet, whose current we calculate explicitly in three complementary limits. Since the particle current is driven solely by additive Gaussian white noise, this shows that the latter can potentially perform work against an external load. By comparing the extracted power to the energy injection due to the noise, we discuss the efficiency of such a ratchet.

Estimation of a noise level using coarse-grained entropy of experimental time series of internal pressure in a combustion engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Litak, Grzegorz; Taccani, Rodolfo; Radu, Robert; Urbanowicz, Krzysztof; HoIyst, Janusz A.; Wendeker, MirosIaw; Giadrossi, Alessandro

2005-01-01

We report our results on non-periodic experimental time series of pressure in a single cylinder spark ignition engine. The experiments were performed for different levels of loading. We estimate the noise level in internal pressure calculating the coarse-grained entropy from variations of maximal pressures in successive cycles. The results show that the dynamics of the combustion is a non-linear multidimensional process mediated by noise. Our results show that so defined level of noise in internal pressure is not monotonous function of loading

An ultra low noise AC beam transformer for deceleration and diagnostics of low intensity beams

CERN Document Server

González, C

1999-01-01

The design of a broad band ultra-low noise ferrite loaded AC beam transformer is presented. It is designed for use in the CERN Antiproton Decelerator (AD), where beams of a few 107 charges must be decelerated from 3.5 GeV/c to 100 MeV/c. It is used in the RF beam-phase loop, and for intensity and bunch shape measurements during deceleration. When the beam is debunched for cooling on magnetic flat tops, the pick-up is used for measurements of intensity and momentum distribution by means of longitudinal Schottky scans. When used as Schottky pick-up, the signal to noise ratio should be better by about 40 dB than the existing stripline based longitudinal Schottky pick-up. The integrated design of pick-up and associated low-noise amplifier is presented. The achieved noise performance of a few from 1 to 3 MHz is obtained by attaching a low-noise, high-impedance silicon JFET (junction field effect transistor) amplifier to a high-Q resonant ferrite loaded cavity, and then eliminating the resonant response by low-nois...

Noise, Worker Perception, and Worker Concentration in Timber Harvesting Activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Efi Yuliati Yovi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Timber harvesting activities are unquestionably related with high risk of work accidents and health disorders.Such activities were not only burdened the workers with heavy physical workloads due to uneasy workingenvironment, and massive work materials and tools, but also physiopsychologically burdened workers as theywere imposed with both mechanical and acoustic vibrations (noise produced by the chainsaw. However,  it is acommon practice that most of the workers still ignored the importance of the use of noise reduction devices suchas earmuff or ear plug.  This study was aimed to reveal the factual effects of noise on work concentration of theworkers to provide a scientific basis in supporting efforts in improving workers’ attitude.  The results confirmedthat chainsaw might produce noise during operation.  Noise intensities received by both right and left ears werenot significantly different, indicating that left-handed and normal workers received similar degree of noise inboth side of ears. Further, results also showed that there was a significant difference on the perception and workconcentration of chainsaw operators versus sedentary people to the noise.  These findings proved that hearingability of chainsaw operators had declined due to frequent noise exposure.Keywords: timber harvesting, physio-psychological disorder, noise, chainsaw

The Sunet System for Monitoring Noise Pollution in Cluj-Napoca

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beca Ilinca Mirela

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In Europe the need for local authorities to provide a high standard of living for their communities led to the establishment of the European noise mapping directive 2002/49/EC. Whilst Noise mapping itself doesn’t need continuous noise monitoring, states must produce a noise action plan which highlights actions they intend to take to reduce the number of people affected.

Noise measurements in 4 wind turbine farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Zuylen, E.J.; Koerts, M.

1993-02-01

The title wind turbine arrays are situated in Herbayum (Newinco 23PI250), Callantsoog (Bouma 160/20), Noordoostpolder (Windmaster WM300), and Ulketocht (Newinco 500 kW). Measurements were carried out by means of the so-called Ecofys Correlating Noise Meter to determine the source level of the wind turbines. The resulting source level as a function of the wind speed is interpolated to a source level for a wind speed of 8 m/s at 10 m height, on the basis of which the noise contours can be calculated. The noise contours are determined to analyze the noise load for people living in the neighbourhood of the wind parks. The source levels are compared with values as indicated in certificates, which are granted on the basis of a so-called Restricted Quality Certificate (BKC, abbreviated in Dutch) or the new standard NNI 6096/2 for the above-mentioned wind turbines. In general the results of this study agree quite well with the certified values. 12 figs., 7 tabs., 6 refs

Noise suppression by noise

OpenAIRE

Vilar, J. M. G. (José M. G.), 1972-; Rubí Capaceti, José Miguel

2001-01-01

We have analyzed the interplay between an externally added noise and the intrinsic noise of systems that relax fast towards a stationary state, and found that increasing the intensity of the external noise can reduce the total noise of the system. We have established a general criterion for the appearance of this phenomenon and discussed two examples in detail.

A method of background noise cancellation for SQUID applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, D F; Yoshizawa, M

2003-01-01

When superconducting quantum inference devices (SQUIDs) operate in low-cost shielding or unshielded environments, the environmental background noise should be reduced to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper we present a background noise cancellation method based on a spectral subtraction algorithm. We first measure the background noise and estimate the noise spectrum using fast Fourier transform (FFT), then we subtract the spectrum of background noise from that of the observed noisy signal and the signal can be reconstructed by inverse FFT of the subtracted spectrum. With this method, the background noise, especially stationary inferences, can be suppressed well and the signal-to-noise ratio can be increased. Using high-T C radio-frequency SQUID gradiometer and magnetometer, we have measured the magnetic field produced by a watch, which was placed 35 cm under a SQUID. After noise cancellation, the signal-to-noise ratio could be greatly increased. We also used this method to eliminate the vibration noise of a cryocooler SQUID

[Noise level in a care and teaching hospital institution].

Science.gov (United States)

Mendoza-Sánchez, R S; Roque-Sánchez, R H; Moncada-González, B

1996-01-01

Noise in the environment is increasing over the years. Disturbances produced by noise are varied, some lead to serious health consequences. Noise level was registered in a teaching hospital. Levels in the wards were between 50 and 59 dB. In the Intensive Care Unit, main hallways and outpatients department levels were higher than 59 dB. Isolated peaks up to 90.0 dB (Pediatrics) were detected. The noise level recommended for a hospital is under 50.0 dB. We found that the principal source of noise came from the medical and nursing staff.

Load Identification of Offshore Platform for Fatigue Life Estimation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perisic, Nevena; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Tygesen, Ulf T.

2014-01-01

of the structure and the discrete Kalman filter which recursively estimates unknown states of the system in real time. As a test-case, the algorithm is designed to estimate the equivalent total loading forces of the structure. The loads are estimated from noised displacement measurements of a single location...... on the topside of the offshore structure. The method is validated using simulated data for two wave loading cases: regular and irregular wave loadings.......The lifetime of an offshore platform is typically governed by accumulated fatigue damage. Thus, the load time history is an essential parameter for prediction of the lifetime of the structure and its components. Consequently, monitoring of structural loads is of special importance in relation to re...

A systematic study of supersonic jet noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Louis, J. F.; Letty, R. P.; Patel, J. R.

1972-01-01

The acoustic fields for a rectangular and for an axisymmetric nozzle configuration are studied. Both nozzles are designed for identical flow parameters. It is tried to identify the dominant noise mechanisms. The other objective of the study is to establish scaling laws of supersonic jet noise. A shock tunnel is used in the investigations. Measured sound directivity, propagation direction of Mach waves obtained by shadowgraphs, and the slight dependence of the acoustic efficiency on the level of expansion indicate that Mach waves contribute significantly to the noise produced by a rectangular jet.

Noise level in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Werther B; Pedreira, Mavilde L G; de Aguiar, Maria Augusta L

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to verify the noise level at a PICU. This prospective observational study was performed in a 10 bed PICU at a teaching hospital located in a densely populated district within the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Sound pressure levels (dBA) were measured 24 hours during a 6-day period. Noise recording equipment was placed in the PICU access corridor, nursing station, two open wards with three and five beds, and in isolation rooms. The resulting curves were analyzed. A basal noise level variation between 60 and 70 dBA was identified, with a maximum level of 120 dBA. The most significant noise levels were recorded during the day and were produced by the staff. The basal noise level identified exceeds International Noise Council recommendations. Education regarding the effects of noise on human hearing and its relation to stress is the essential basis for the development of a noise reduction program.

Investigation of noise in gear transmissions by the method of mathematical smoothing of experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Sheftel, B. T.; Lipskiy, G. K.; Ananov, P. P.; Chernenko, I. K.

1973-01-01

A rotatable central component smoothing method is used to analyze rotating gear noise spectra. A matrix is formulated in which the randomized rows correspond to various tests and the columns to factor values. Canonical analysis of the obtained regression equation permits the calculation of optimal speed and load at a previous assigned noise level.

Critical assessment of day time traffic noise level at curbside open-air microenvironment of Kolkata City, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Kundu Chowdhury, Anirban; Debsarkar, Anupam; Chakrabarty, Shibnath

2015-01-01

The objective of the research work is to assess day time traffic noise level at curbside open-air microenvironment of Kolkata city, India under heterogeneous environmental conditions. Prevailing traffic noise level in terms of A-weighted equivalent noise level (Leq) at the microenvironment was in excess of 12.6 ± 2.1 dB(A) from the day time standard of 65 dB(A) for commercial area recommended by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. Noise Climate and Traffic Noise Index of the microenvironment were accounted for 13 ± 1.8 dB(A) and 88.8 ± 6.1 dB(A) respectively. A correlation analysis explored that prevailing traffic noise level of the microenvironment had weak negative (-0.21; p air temperature and relative humidity. A Varimax rotated principal component analysis explored that motorized traffic volume had moderate positive loading with background noise component (L90, L95, L99) and prevailing traffic noise level had very strong positive loading with peak noise component (L1, L5, L10). Background and peak noise component cumulatively explained 80.98 % of variance in the data set. Traffic noise level at curbside open-air microenvironment of Kolkata City was higher than the standard recommended by CPCB of India. It was highly annoying also. Air temperature and relative humidity had little influence and the peak noise component had the most significant influence on the prevailing traffic noise level at curbside open-air microenvironment. Therefore, traffic noise level at the microenvironment of the city can be reduced with careful honking and driving.

Environmental Noise, Genetic Diversity and the Evolution of Evolvability and Robustness in Model Gene Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Steiner, Christopher F.

2012-01-01

The ability of organisms to adapt and persist in the face of environmental change is accepted as a fundamental feature of natural systems. More contentious is whether the capacity of organisms to adapt (or “evolvability”) can itself evolve and the mechanisms underlying such responses. Using model gene networks, I provide evidence that evolvability emerges more readily when populations experience positively autocorrelated environmental noise (red noise) compared to populations in stable or randomly varying (white noise) environments. Evolvability was correlated with increasing genetic robustness to effects on network viability and decreasing robustness to effects on phenotypic expression; populations whose networks displayed greater viability robustness and lower phenotypic robustness produced more additive genetic variation and adapted more rapidly in novel environments. Patterns of selection for robustness varied antagonistically with epistatic effects of mutations on viability and phenotypic expression, suggesting that trade-offs between these properties may constrain their evolutionary responses. Evolution of evolvability and robustness was stronger in sexual populations compared to asexual populations indicating that enhanced genetic variation under fluctuating selection combined with recombination load is a primary driver of the emergence of evolvability. These results provide insight into the mechanisms potentially underlying rapid adaptation as well as the environmental conditions that drive the evolution of genetic interactions. PMID:23284934

Conducted noise analysis and protection of 45 kJ/s, ±50 kV capacitor charging power supply when interfaced with repetitive Marx based pulse power system

Science.gov (United States)

Naresh, P.; Patel, Ankur; Sharma, Archana

2015-09-01

Pulse power systems with highly dynamic loads like klystron, backward wave oscillator (BWO), and magnetron generate highly dynamic noise. This noise leads to frequent failure of controlled switches in the inverter stage of charging power supply. Designing a reliable and compatible power supply for pulse power applications is always a tricky job when charging rate is in multiples of 10 kJ/s. A ±50 kV and 45 kJ/s capacitor charging power supply based on 4th order LCLC resonant topology has been developed for a 10 Hz repetitive Marx based system. Conditions for load independent constant current and zero current switching (ZCS) are derived mathematically. Noise generated at load end due to dynamic load is tackled effectively and reduction in magnitude noise voltage is achieved by providing shielding between primary and secondary of high voltage high frequency transformer and with LCLC low pass filter. Shielding scales down the ratio between coupling capacitance (Cc) and the collector-emitter capacitance of insulated gate bi-polar transistor switch, which in turn reduces the common mode noise voltage magnitude. The proposed 4th order LCLC resonant network acts as a low pass filter for differential mode noise in the reverse direction (from load to source). Power supply has been tested repeatedly with 5 Hz repetition rate with repetitive Marx based system connected with BWO load working fine without failure of single switch in the inverter stage.

A combined aeroelastic-aeroacoustic model for wind turbine noise: Verification and analysis of field measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bertagnolio, Franck; Aagaard Madsen, Helge; Fischer, Andreas

2017-01-01

In this paper, semi-empirical engineering models for the three main wind turbine aerodynamic noise sources, namely, turbulent inflow, trailing edge and stall noise, are introduced. They are implemented into the in-house aeroelastic code HAWC2 commonly used for wind turbine load calculations...... and design. The results of the combined aeroelastic and aeroacoustic model are compared with field noise measurements of a 500kW wind turbine. Model and experimental data are in fairly good agreement in terms of noise levels and directivity. The combined model allows separating the various noise sources...... and highlights a number of mechanisms that are difficult to differentiate when only the overall noise from a wind turbine is measured....

Locating noise sources with a microphone array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bale, A.; Johnson, D.

2010-01-01

Noise pollution is one of the contributors to the public opposition of wind farms. Most of the noise produced by turbines is caused by the aerodynamic interactions between the turbine blades and the surrounding air. This poster presentation discussed a series of aeroacoustic tests conducted to account for the different in vortical structures caused by the rotation of the blades. Microphone arrays were used measure and locate the source of noise. A beam forming technique was used to measure the noise using an algorithm that identified a scanning grid on a plane where the source was thought to be located. It delayed each microphone's signal by the length of time required for the sound to travel from the scan position to each microphone, and accounted for the amplitudes according to the distance from the scan position to each microphone. Demonstration test cases were conducted using piezo buzzers attached to aluminum bars and mounted to the shaft of a DC motor that produced a rotational diameter of 0.95 meter. The buzzers were placed 1 meter from the array. Multiple sound sources at the same frequency were identified, and the moving sources were accurately measured and located. tabs., figs.

Anthropogenic noise alters bat activity levels and echolocation calls

OpenAIRE

Bunkley, Jessie P.; McClure, Christopher J.W.; Kleist, Nathan J.; Francis, Clinton D.; Barber, Jesse R.

2015-01-01

Negative impacts from anthropogenic noise are well documented for many wildlife taxa. Investigations of the effects of noise on bats however, have not been conducted outside of the laboratory. Bats that hunt arthropods rely on auditory information to forage. Part of this acoustic information can fall within the spectrum of anthropogenic noise, which can potentially interfere with signal reception and processing. Compressor stations associated with natural gas extraction produce broadband nois...

NB-PLC channel modelling with cyclostationary noise addition & OFDM implementation for smart grid

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Togis; Gupta, K. K.

2016-03-01

Power line communication (PLC) technology can be a viable solution for the future ubiquitous networks because it provides a cheaper alternative to other wired technology currently being used for communication. In smart grid Power Line Communication (PLC) is used to support communication with low rate on low voltage (LV) distribution network. In this paper, we propose the channel modelling of narrowband (NB) PLC in the frequency range 5 KHz to 500 KHz by using ABCD parameter with cyclostationary noise addition. Behaviour of the channel was studied by the addition of 11KV/230V transformer, by varying load location and load. Bit error rate (BER) Vs signal to noise ratio SNR) was plotted for the proposed model by employing OFDM. Our simulation results based on the proposed channel model show an acceptable performance in terms of bit error rate versus signal to noise ratio, which enables communication required for smart grid applications.

Reconstructing latent dynamical noise for better forecasting observables

Science.gov (United States)

Hirata, Yoshito

2018-03-01

I propose a method for reconstructing multi-dimensional dynamical noise inspired by the embedding theorem of Muldoon et al. [Dyn. Stab. Syst. 13, 175 (1998)] by regarding multiple predictions as different observables. Then, applying the embedding theorem by Stark et al. [J. Nonlinear Sci. 13, 519 (2003)] for a forced system, I produce time series forecast by supplying the reconstructed past dynamical noise as auxiliary information. I demonstrate the proposed method on toy models driven by auto-regressive models or independent Gaussian noise.

Noise exposure in marching bands

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, Joseph

2005-09-01

Previous studies involving orchestras have shown that music ensembles can produce hazardous noise levels. There are no similar data for marching bands and pep bands. In order to evaluate the noise levels produced by marching and pep bands, 1/3-octave-band sound-pressure levels were measured while these groups rehearsed and performed. Data were collected while marching with the bands to ensure a realistic environment. Comparing these data to OSHA and NIOSH criteria, marching and pep band exposures often exceed safe values. For typical exposures, OSHA doses range from 11% to 295%, while NIOSH doses range from 35% to 3055%. Exposures that would be considered hazardous in the workplace are common in marching and pep bands; students and band directors should take steps to recognize the risk posed by various instruments and various locations, and should implement hearing conservation efforts.

Numerical methods for analysis of structure and ground vibration from moving loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, L.; Nielsen, S.R.K.; Krenk, Steen

2007-01-01

An overview of the main theoretical aspects of finite-element and boundary-element modelling of the response to moving loads is given. The moving loads represent sources of noise and vibration generated by moving vehicles, and the analysis describes the propagation of the disturbances generated i...

External noise when using biofuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotaleski, J.

1994-08-01

The aim of this study has been to cover sources of noise dealing with all steps in a biofuel chain; producing, transporting, storing and firing the biofuel. When the availability of relevant test results from noise surveys is not so good and mostly badly documented, the study has been concentrated on estimation of external noise for planning and design purposes, from a prospective biofuel-fired plant. A synoptic tabulation of estimated acoustic power levels from different noise sources, has been done. The results from measurements of external noise from different existing combined power and heating plants are tabulated. The Nordic model for simulation of external noise has been used for a prospective plant - VEGA - designed by Vattenfall. The aim has been to estimate its noise pollutions at critical points at the nearest residential area (250 m from the fenced industry area). The software - ILYD - is easy to handle, but knowledge about the model is necessary. A requisite for the reliability is the access to measurements or estimations of different sources of noise, at different levels of octaves from 63 to 8000 Hz. The degree of accuracy increases with the number of broad band sources, that are integrated. Using ILYD with available data, a night limit of 40 dB(A) should be possible to fulfill with good degree of accuracy at VEGA, between 10 pm and 7 am, with good planning and under normal operation conditions. A demand for 35 dB(A) as a limit can be harder to fulfill, especially at mornings from 6 to 7. Noise from heavy vehicles within the plant area is classified as industrial noise and not as road traffic noise. This type of noise depends very much on the way of driving and assumed acceleration. Concerning wheel-mounted loaders, they may then only be used during daytime. The simulations show, that even at daytime from 7 to 6 pm, it would be possible to use an acoustically damped chipping machine, inside the power industry area. 31 refs, 13 figs, tabs, 8

Ambient Noise in an Urbanized Tidal Channel

Science.gov (United States)

Bassett, Christopher

levels that shows good agreement with 85% of the temporal data. Bed stresses associated with currents can produce propagating ambient noise by mobilizing sediments. The strength of the tidal currents in northern Admiralty Inlet produces bed stresses in excess of 20 Pa. Significant increases in noise levels at frequencies from 4-30 kHz, with more modest increases noted from 1-4 kHz, are attributed to mobilized sediments. Sediment-generated noise during strong currents masks background noise from other sources, including vessel traffic. Inversions of the acoustic spectra for equivalent grain sizes are consistent with qualitative observations of the seabed composition. Bed stress calculations using log layer, Reynolds stress, and inertial dissipation techniques generally agree well and are used to estimate the shear stresses at which noise levels increase for different grain sizes. Ambient noise levels in one-third octave bands with center frequencies from 1 kHz to 25 kHz are dominated by sediment-generated noise and can be accurately predicted using the near-bed current velocity above a critical threshold. When turbulence is advected over a pressure sensitive transducer, the turbulent pressure fluctuations can be measured as noise, though these pressure fluctuations are not propagating sound and should not be interpreted as ambient noise. Based on measurements in both Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound and the Chacao Channel, Chile, two models are developed for flow-noise. The first model combined measurements of mean current velocities and turbulence and agrees well with data from both sites. The second model uses scaling arguments to model the flow-noise based solely on the mean current velocity. This model agrees well with the data from the Chacao Channel but performs poorly in Admiralty Inlet, a difference attributed to differences turbulence production mechanisms. At both sites, the spectral slope of flow noise follows a f-3.2 dependence, suggesting partial cancellation of

Seeing the talker's face supports executive processing of speech in steady state noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Sushmit; Lunner, Thomas; Stenfelt, Stefan; Rönnberg, Jerker; Rudner, Mary

2013-01-01

Listening to speech in noise depletes cognitive resources, affecting speech processing. The present study investigated how remaining resources or cognitive spare capacity (CSC) can be deployed by young adults with normal hearing. We administered a test of CSC (CSCT; Mishra et al., 2013) along with a battery of established cognitive tests to 20 participants with normal hearing. In the CSCT, lists of two-digit numbers were presented with and without visual cues in quiet, as well as in steady-state and speech-like noise at a high intelligibility level. In low load conditions, two numbers were recalled according to instructions inducing executive processing (updating, inhibition) and in high load conditions the participants were additionally instructed to recall one extra number, which was the always the first item in the list. In line with previous findings, results showed that CSC was sensitive to memory load and executive function but generally not related to working memory capacity (WMC). Furthermore, CSCT scores in quiet were lowered by visual cues, probably due to distraction. In steady-state noise, the presence of visual cues improved CSCT scores, probably by enabling better encoding. Contrary to our expectation, CSCT performance was disrupted more in steady-state than speech-like noise, although only without visual cues, possibly because selective attention could be used to ignore the speech-like background and provide an enriched representation of target items in working memory similar to that obtained in quiet. This interpretation is supported by a consistent association between CSCT scores and updating skills.

Environmental noise levels affect the activity budget of the Florida manatee

Science.gov (United States)

Miksis-Olds, Jennifer L.; Donaghay, Percy L.; Miller, James H.; Tyack, Peter L.

2005-09-01

Manatees inhabit coastal bays, lagoons, and estuaries because they are dependent on the aquatic vegetation that grows in shallow waters. Food requirements force manatees to occupy the same areas in which human activities are the greatest. Noise produced from human activities has the potential to affect these animals by eliciting responses ranging from mild behavioral changes to extreme aversion. This study quantifies the behavioral responses of manatees to both changing levels of ambient noise and transient noise sources. Results indicate that elevated environmental noise levels do affect the overall activity budget of this species. The proportion of time manatees spend feeding, milling, and traveling in critical habitats changed as a function of noise level. More time was spent in the directed, goal-oriented behaviors of feeding and traveling, while less time was spent milling when noise levels were highest. The animals also responded to the transient noise of approaching vessels with changes in behavioral state and movements out of the geographical area. This suggests that manatees detect and respond to changes in environmental noise levels. Whether these changes legally constitute harassment and produce biologically significant effects need to be addressed with hypothesis-driven experiments and long-term monitoring. [For Animal Bioacoustics Best Student Paper Award.

Distribution load estimation - DLE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seppaelae, A. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

1996-12-31

The load research project has produced statistical information in the form of load models to convert the figures of annual energy consumption to hourly load values. The reliability of load models is limited to a certain network because many local circumstances are different from utility to utility and time to time. Therefore there is a need to make improvements in the load models. Distribution load estimation (DLE) is the method developed here to improve load estimates from the load models. The method is also quite cheap to apply as it utilises information that is already available in SCADA systems

Distribution load estimation - DLE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seppaelae, A [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

1997-12-31

The load research project has produced statistical information in the form of load models to convert the figures of annual energy consumption to hourly load values. The reliability of load models is limited to a certain network because many local circumstances are different from utility to utility and time to time. Therefore there is a need to make improvements in the load models. Distribution load estimation (DLE) is the method developed here to improve load estimates from the load models. The method is also quite cheap to apply as it utilises information that is already available in SCADA systems

Effects of background noise on total noise annoyance

Science.gov (United States)

Willshire, K. F.

1987-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of combined community noise sources on annoyance. The first experiment baseline relationships between annoyance and noise level for three community noise sources (jet aircraft flyovers, traffic and air conditioners) presented individually. Forty eight subjects evaluated the annoyance of each noise source presented at four different noise levels. Results indicated the slope of the linear relationship between annoyance and noise level for the traffic noise was significantly different from that of aircraft and of air conditioner noise, which had equal slopes. The second experiment investigated annoyance response to combined noise sources, with aircraft noise defined as the major noise source and traffic and air conditioner noise as background noise sources. Effects on annoyance of noise level differences between aircraft and background noise for three total noise levels and for both background noise sources were determined. A total of 216 subjects were required to make either total or source specific annoyance judgements, or a combination of the two, for a wide range of combined noise conditions.

Noise adaptation in integrate-and fire neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudd, M E; Brown, L G

1997-07-01

The statistical spiking response of an ensemble of identically prepared stochastic integrate-and-fire neurons to a rectangular input current plus gaussian white noise is analyzed. It is shown that, on average, integrate-and-fire neurons adapt to the root-mean-square noise level of their input. This phenomenon is referred to as noise adaptation. Noise adaptation is characterized by a decrease in the average neural firing rate and an accompanying decrease in the average value of the generator potential, both of which can be attributed to noise-induced resets of the generator potential mediated by the integrate-and-fire mechanism. A quantitative theory of noise adaptation in stochastic integrate-and-fire neurons is developed. It is shown that integrate-and-fire neurons, on average, produce transient spiking activity whenever there is an increase in the level of their input noise. This transient noise response is either reduced or eliminated over time, depending on the parameters of the model neuron. Analytical methods are used to prove that nonleaky integrate-and-fire neurons totally adapt to any constant input noise level, in the sense that their asymptotic spiking rates are independent of the magnitude of their input noise. For leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, the long-run noise adaptation is not total, but the response to noise is partially eliminated. Expressions for the probability density function of the generator potential and the first two moments of the potential distribution are derived for the particular case of a nonleaky neuron driven by gaussian white noise of mean zero and constant variance. The functional significance of noise adaptation for the performance of networks comprising integrate-and-fire neurons is discussed.

Maximizing noise energy for noise-masking studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Jules Étienne, Cédric; Arleo, Angelo; Allard, Rémy

2017-08-01

Noise-masking experiments are widely used to investigate visual functions. To be useful, noise generally needs to be strong enough to noticeably impair performance, but under some conditions, noise does not impair performance even when its contrast approaches the maximal displayable limit of 100 %. To extend the usefulness of noise-masking paradigms over a wider range of conditions, the present study developed a noise with great masking strength. There are two typical ways of increasing masking strength without exceeding the limited contrast range: use binary noise instead of Gaussian noise or filter out frequencies that are not relevant to the task (i.e., which can be removed without affecting performance). The present study combined these two approaches to further increase masking strength. We show that binarizing the noise after the filtering process substantially increases the energy at frequencies within the pass-band of the filter given equated total contrast ranges. A validation experiment showed that similar performances were obtained using binarized-filtered noise and filtered noise (given equated noise energy at the frequencies within the pass-band) suggesting that the binarization operation, which substantially reduced the contrast range, had no significant impact on performance. We conclude that binarized-filtered noise (and more generally, truncated-filtered noise) can substantially increase the energy of the noise at frequencies within the pass-band. Thus, given a limited contrast range, binarized-filtered noise can display higher energy levels than Gaussian noise and thereby widen the range of conditions over which noise-masking paradigms can be useful.

Optical linear algebra processors - Noise and error-source modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Casasent, D.; Ghosh, A.

1985-01-01

The modeling of system and component noise and error sources in optical linear algebra processors (OLAPs) are considered, with attention to the frequency-multiplexed OLAP. General expressions are obtained for the output produced as a function of various component errors and noise. A digital simulator for this model is discussed.

Optical linear algebra processors: noise and error-source modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Casasent, D; Ghosh, A

1985-06-01

The modeling of system and component noise and error sources in optical linear algebra processors (OLAP's) are considered, with attention to the frequency-multiplexed OLAP. General expressions are obtained for the output produced as a function of various component errors and noise. A digital simulator for this model is discussed.

Musical noise reduction using an adaptive filter

Science.gov (United States)

Hanada, Takeshi; Murakami, Takahiro; Ishida, Yoshihisa; Hoya, Tetsuya

2003-10-01

This paper presents a method for reducing a particular noise (musical noise). The musical noise is artificially produced by Spectral Subtraction (SS), which is one of the most conventional methods for speech enhancement. The musical noise is the tin-like sound and annoying in human auditory. We know that the duration of the musical noise is considerably short in comparison with that of speech, and that the frequency components of the musical noise are random and isolated. In the ordinary SS-based methods, the musical noise is removed by the post-processing. However, the output of the ordinary post-processing is delayed since the post-processing uses the succeeding frames. In order to improve this problem, we propose a novel method using an adaptive filter. In the proposed system, the observed noisy signal is used as the input signal to the adaptive filter and the output of SS is used as the reference signal. In this paper we exploit the normalized LMS (Least Mean Square) algorithm for the adaptive filter. Simulation results show that the proposed method has improved the intelligibility of the enhanced speech in comparison with the conventional method.

Active Noise Control for Dishwasher noise

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Nokhaeng; Park, Youngjin

2016-09-01

The dishwasher is a useful home appliance and continually used for automatically washing dishes. It's commonly placed in the kitchen with built-in style for practicality and better use of space. In this environment, people are easily exposed to dishwasher noise, so it is an important issue for the consumers, especially for the people living in open and narrow space. Recently, the sound power levels of the noise are about 40 - 50 dBA. It could be achieved by removal of noise sources and passive means of insulating acoustical path. For more reduction, such a quiet mode with the lower speed of cycle has been introduced, but this deteriorates the washing capacity. Under this background, we propose active noise control for dishwasher noise. It is observed that the noise is propagating mainly from the lower part of the front side. Control speakers are placed in the part for the collocation. Observation part of estimating sound field distribution and control part of generating the anti-noise are designed for active noise control. Simulation result shows proposed active noise control scheme could have a potential application for dishwasher noise reduction.

A methodology for Electric Power Load Forecasting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eisa Almeshaiei

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Electricity demand forecasting is a central and integral process for planning periodical operations and facility expansion in the electricity sector. Demand pattern is almost very complex due to the deregulation of energy markets. Therefore, finding an appropriate forecasting model for a specific electricity network is not an easy task. Although many forecasting methods were developed, none can be generalized for all demand patterns. Therefore, this paper presents a pragmatic methodology that can be used as a guide to construct Electric Power Load Forecasting models. This methodology is mainly based on decomposition and segmentation of the load time series. Several statistical analyses are involved to study the load features and forecasting precision such as moving average and probability plots of load noise. Real daily load data from Kuwaiti electric network are used as a case study. Some results are reported to guide forecasting future needs of this network.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL DESIGNATED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL LOAD PRODUCED BY A BUILDING PROJECT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lapidus Azariy Abramovich

2012-10-01

The theoretical background of the proposed approach consists in an integrated methodology implemented in the system engineering of construction projects. A building system may be represented as the aggregate of all stages of construction works and participants involved in them. The building system is object-oriented, and it is implemented under the impact of pre-determined environmental factors. The core constituent of the building system represents a Production Technology Module (PTM, or summarized groups of processes. The model formula designated for the assessment of the intensity of the ecological load produced by the construction project onto the environment may be represented as follows:

Effect of noise on fractal structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serletis, Demitre [Division of Neurosurgery, Hospital for Sick Children, 1504-555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ont., M5G 1X8 (Canada)], E-mail: demitre.serletis@utoronto.ca

2008-11-15

In this paper, I investigate the effect of dynamical noise on the estimation of the Hurst exponent and the fractal dimension of time series. Recently, Serletis et al. [Serletis, Apostolos, Asghar Shahmoradi, Demitre Serletis. Effect of noise on estimation of Lyapunov exponents from a time series. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, forthcoming] have shown that dynamical noise can make the detection of chaotic dynamics very difficult, and Serletis et al. [Serletis, Apostolos, Asghar Shahmoradi, Demitre Serletis. Effect of noise on the bifurcation behavior of dynamical systems. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, forthcoming] have shown that dynamical noise can also shift bifurcation points and produce noise-induced transitions, making the determination of bifurcation boundaries difficult. Here I apply the detrending moving average (DMA) method, recently developed by Alessio et al. [Alessio E, Carbone A, Castelli G, Frappietro V. Second-order moving average and scaling of stochastic time series. The Eur Phys J B 2002;27:197-200] and Carbone et al. [Carbone A, Castelli G, Stanley HE. Time-dependent Hurst exponent in financial time series. Physica A 2004;344:267-71; Carbone A, Castelli G, Stanley HE. Analysis of clusters formed by the moving average of a long-range correlated time series. Phys Rev E 2004;69:026105], to estimate the Hurst exponent of a Brownian walk with a Hurst exponent of 0.5, coupled with low and high intensity noise, and show that dynamical noise has no effect on fractal structure.

Noise characterization of oil and gas operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Radtke, Cameron; Autenrieth, Daniel A; Lipsey, Tiffany; Brazile, William J

2017-08-01

In cooperation with The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, researchers at Colorado State University performed area noise monitoring at 23 oil and gas sites throughout Northern Colorado. The goals of this study were to: (1) measure and compare the noise levels for the different phases of oil and gas development sites; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of noise barriers; and (3) determine if noise levels exceeded the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission noise limits. The four phases of oil and gas development include drilling, hydraulic fracturing, completion and production. Noise measurements were collected using the A- and C-weighted sound scales. Octave band analysis was also performed to characterize the frequency spectra of the noise measurements.  Noise measurements were collected using noise dosimeters and a hand-held sound-level meter at specified distances from the development sites in each cardinal direction. At 350 ft (107 m), drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and completion sites without noise barriers exceeded the maximum permissible noise levels for residential and commercial zones (55 dBA and 60 dBA, respectively). In addition, drilling and hydraulic fracturing sites with noise barriers exceeded the maximum permissible noise level for residential zones (55 dBA). However, during drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and completion operations, oil producers are allowed an exception to the noise permissible limits in that they only must comply with the industrial noise limit (80 dBA). It is stated in Rule 604.c.(2)A. that: "Operations involving pipeline or gas facility installation or maintenance, the use of a drilling rig, completion rig, workover rig, or stimulation is subject to the maximum permissible noise levels for industrial zones (80dBA)." [8] Production sites were within the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission permissible noise level criteria for all zones. At 350 ft (107 m) from the noise source, all drilling

Neutron noise analysis for malfunction diagnosis at sodium cooled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoppe, P.

1978-09-01

For the investigation of the potential use of neutron noise analysis at sodium cooled power reactors, measurements have been performed at the KNK I reactor over a period of 18 month under different operational conditions. The signal fluctuations of the following tranducers have been recorded: In-core and Ex-core neutron detectors, temperature-, flow-, pressure-, vibration- and acoustic sensors. These extensive measurements have been analyzed in the frequency range from 0,001 Hz to 1000 Hz with all currently known methods for the identification of noise sources. The following results have been found: - Neutron noise for f 20 Hz the white detection noise prevails. In the region from 1 Hz to 20 Hz the vibrations of core components contribute to neutron noise. - Neutron noise is influenced by the state of the plant. - The contributions to neutron noise due to the fluctuations of coolant flow and inlet temperature are small compared to those produced by the movements of the control rod initiated by the reactor control system. The quantitatively unidentifiable amount of reactivity fluctuations (0,6 time-dependent thermal bowing of the core. With respect to these results and by calculation of the neutron noise patterns to be expected for the SNR 300, the following possible applications for neutron noise analysis have been found: By means of neutron noise analysis only reactivity fluctuations can be identified and supervised which are produced by time dependent changes of the core geometry. Furthermore neutron noise analysis is well suited for a sensitive detection of control rod vibrations and of local sodium boiling. Finally it can be used for the surveillance of the proper functioning of the reactor control system and of the control rod drive mechanism. (orig./HP) 891 HP [de

Near noise field characteristics of Nike rocket motors for application to space vehicle payload acoustic qualification

Science.gov (United States)

Hilton, D. A.; Bruton, D.

1977-01-01

Results of a series of noise measurements that were made under controlled conditions during the static firing of two Nike solid propellant rocket motors are presented. The usefulness of these motors as sources for general spacecraft noise testing was assessed, and the noise expected in the cargo bay of the orbiter was reproduced. Brief descriptions of the Nike motor, the general procedures utilized for the noise tests, and representative noise data including overall sound pressure levels, one third octave band spectra, and octave band spectra were reviewed. Data are presented on two motors of different ages in order to show the similarity between noise measurements made on motors having different loading dates. The measured noise from these tests is then compared to that estimated for the space shuttle orbiter cargo bay.

Estimation of images degraded by film-grain noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Naderi, F; Sawchuk, A A

1978-04-15

Film-grain noise describes the intrinsic noise produced by a photographic emulsion during the process of image recording and reproduction. In this paper we consider the restoration of images degraded by film-grain noise. First a detailed model for the over-all photographic imaging system is presented. The model includes linear blurring effects and the signal-dependent effect of film-grain noise. The accuracy of this model is tested by simulating images according to it and comparing the results to images of similar targets that were actually recorded on film. The restoration of images degraded by film-grain noise is then considered in the context of estimation theory. A discrete Wiener filer is developed which explicitly allows for the signal dependence of the noise. The filter adaptively alters its characteristics based on the nonstationary first order statistics of an image and is shown to have advantages over the conventional Wiener filter. Experimental results for modeling and the adaptive estimation filter are presented.

Do We Perceive Others Better than Ourselves? A Perceptual Benefit for Noise-Vocoded Speech Produced by an Average Speaker.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William L Schuerman

Full Text Available In different tasks involving action perception, performance has been found to be facilitated when the presented stimuli were produced by the participants themselves rather than by another participant. These results suggest that the same mental representations are accessed during both production and perception. However, with regard to spoken word perception, evidence also suggests that listeners' representations for speech reflect the input from their surrounding linguistic community rather than their own idiosyncratic productions. Furthermore, speech perception is heavily influenced by indexical cues that may lead listeners to frame their interpretations of incoming speech signals with regard to speaker identity. In order to determine whether word recognition evinces similar self-advantages as found in action perception, it was necessary to eliminate indexical cues from the speech signal. We therefore asked participants to identify noise-vocoded versions of Dutch words that were based on either their own recordings or those of a statistically average speaker. The majority of participants were more accurate for the average speaker than for themselves, even after taking into account differences in intelligibility. These results suggest that the speech representations accessed during perception of noise-vocoded speech are more reflective of the input of the speech community, and hence that speech perception is not necessarily based on representations of one's own speech.

Passerine birds breeding under chronic noise experience reduced fitness.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Schroeder

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Fitness in birds has been shown to be negatively associated with anthropogenic noise, but the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. It is however crucial to understand the mechanisms of how urban noise impinges on fitness to obtain a better understanding of the role of chronic noise in urban ecology. Here, we examine three hypotheses on how noise might reduce reproductive output in passerine birds: (H1 by impairing mate choice, (H2 by reducing territory quality and (H3 by impeding chick development. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used long-term data from an island population of house sparrows, Passer domesticus, in which we can precisely estimate fitness. We found that nests in an area affected by the noise from large generators produced fewer young, of lower body mass, and fewer recruits, even when we corrected statistically for parental genetic quality using a cross-fostering set-up, supporting H3. Also, individual females provided their young with food less often when they bred in the noisy area compared to breeding attempts by the same females elsewhere. Furthermore, we show that females reacted flexibly to increased noise levels by adjusting their provisioning rate in the short term, which suggests that noise may be a causal factor that reduces reproductive output. We rejected H1 and H2 because nestbox occupancy, parental body mass, age and reproductive investment did not differ significantly between noisy and quiet areas. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: OUR RESULTS SUGGEST A PREVIOUSLY UNDESCRIBED MECHANISM TO EXPLAIN HOW ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE CAN REDUCE FITNESS IN PASSERINE BIRDS: by acoustically masking parent-offspring communication. More importantly, using a cross-fostering set-up, our results demonstrate that birds breeding in a noisy environment experience significant fitness costs. Chronic noise is omnipresent around human habitation and may produces similar fitness consequences in a wide range of urban bird species.

Newtonian noise cancellation in tensor gravitational wave detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paik, Ho Jung; Harms, Jan

2016-01-01

Terrestrial gravity noise produced by ambient seismic and infrasound fields poses one of the main sensitivity limitations in low-frequency ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. This noise needs to be suppressed by 3-5 orders of magnitude in the frequency band 10 mHz to 1 Hz, which is extremely challenging. We present a new approach that greatly facilitates cancellation of gravity noise in full-tensor GW detectors. It makes explicit use of the direction of propagation of a GW, and can therefore either be implemented in directional searches for GWs or in observations of known sources. We show that suppression of the Newtonian-noise foreground is greatly facilitated using the extra strain channels in full-tensor GW detectors. Only a modest number of auxiliary, high-sensitivity environmental sensors is required to achieve noise suppression by a few orders of magnitude. (paper)

Recovery of Myocardial Kinematic Function without the Time History of External Loads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Heye

2010-01-01

Full Text Available A time-domain filtering algorithm is proposed to recover myocardial kinematic function using output-only measurements without the time history of external loads. The main contribution of this work is that the overall effect of all the external loads on the myocardium is treated as a random variable disturbed by the Gaussian white noise because the external loads of the myocardium are usually unknown in practical exercises. The kernel of our proposed algorithm is an iterative, multiframe, and sequential filtering procedure consisting of a Kalman filter and a least-squares filter. In our proposed implementation, the initial guess of myocardial kinematic function and residual innovation of all the state variables are first computed using a Kalman filter via state space equations only driven by the Gaussian white noise, and then the residual innovation is fed into a least-squares filter to estimate the total external loads of the myocardium. In the end, the initial guess of myocardial kinematic function is corrected using external loads provided by the least-squares filter. After the introduction of the whole structure of our algorithm, we demonstrate the ability of the framework on synthetic data and MR image sequences.

Underwater noise reduction of marine pile driving using a double pile.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

Impact pile driving of steel piles in marine environments produces extremely high sound levels in the water. : It has been shown that current pile driving noise attenuation techniques, such as bubble curtains and : cofferdams, provide limited noise r...

Noise control of radiological monitoring equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubick, R.D.; Stevens, W.W.; Burke, L.L.

1998-01-01

Although vacuum pumps on continuous air monitors (CAMs) do not produce noise levels above regulatory limits, engineering controls were used to establish a safer work environment. Operations performed in areas where CAMs are located are highly specialized and require precision work when handling nuclear materials, heavy metals, and inert gases. Traditional methods for controlling noise such as enclosing or isolating the source and the use of personal protection equipment were evaluated. An innovative solution was found by retrofitting CAMs with air powered multistage ejectors pumps. By allowing the air to expand in several chambers to create a vacuum, one can eliminate the noise hazard altogether. In facilities with adequate pressurized air, use of these improved ejector pumps may be a cost-effective replacement for noisy vacuum pumps. A workplace designed or engineered with noise levels as low as possible or as close to background adds to increased concentration, attention to detail, and increased production

Distribution load estimation (DLE)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seppaelae, A; Lehtonen, M [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

1998-08-01

The load research has produced customer class load models to convert the customers` annual energy consumption to hourly load values. The reliability of load models applied from a nation-wide sample is limited in any specific network because many local circumstances are different from utility to utility and time to time. Therefore there is a need to find improvements to the load models or, in general, improvements to the load estimates. In Distribution Load Estimation (DLE) the measurements from the network are utilized to improve the customer class load models. The results of DLE will be new load models that better correspond to the loading of the distribution network but are still close to the original load models obtained by load research. The principal data flow of DLE is presented

Development and Validation of a Multidisciplinary Tool for Accurate and Efficient Rotorcraft Noise Prediction (MUTE)

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yi; Anusonti-Inthra, Phuriwat; Diskin, Boris

2011-01-01

A physics-based, systematically coupled, multidisciplinary prediction tool (MUTE) for rotorcraft noise was developed and validated with a wide range of flight configurations and conditions. MUTE is an aggregation of multidisciplinary computational tools that accurately and efficiently model the physics of the source of rotorcraft noise, and predict the noise at far-field observer locations. It uses systematic coupling approaches among multiple disciplines including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Computational Structural Dynamics (CSD), and high fidelity acoustics. Within MUTE, advanced high-order CFD tools are used around the rotor blade to predict the transonic flow (shock wave) effects, which generate the high-speed impulsive noise. Predictions of the blade-vortex interaction noise in low speed flight are also improved by using the Particle Vortex Transport Method (PVTM), which preserves the wake flow details required for blade/wake and fuselage/wake interactions. The accuracy of the source noise prediction is further improved by utilizing a coupling approach between CFD and CSD, so that the effects of key structural dynamics, elastic blade deformations, and trim solutions are correctly represented in the analysis. The blade loading information and/or the flow field parameters around the rotor blade predicted by the CFD/CSD coupling approach are used to predict the acoustic signatures at far-field observer locations with a high-fidelity noise propagation code (WOPWOP3). The predicted results from the MUTE tool for rotor blade aerodynamic loading and far-field acoustic signatures are compared and validated with a variation of experimental data sets, such as UH60-A data, DNW test data and HART II test data.

Seeing the talker’s face supports executive processing of speech in steady state noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sushmit eMishra

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Listening to speech in noise depletes cognitive resources, affecting speech processing. The present study investigated how remaining resources or cognitive spare capacity (CSC can be deployed by young adults with normal hearing. We administered a test of CSC (CSCT, Mishra et al., 2013 along with a battery of established cognitive tests to 20 participants with normal hearing. In the CSCT, lists of two-digit numbers were presented with and without visual cues in quiet, as well as in steady-state and speech-like noise at a high intelligibility level. In low load conditions, two numbers were recalled according to instructions inducing executive processing (updating, inhibition and in high load conditions the participants were additionally instructed to recall one extra number, which was the always the first item in the list. In line with previous findings, results showed that CSC was sensitive to memory load and executive function but generally not related to working memory capacity. Furthermore, CSCT scores in quiet were lowered by visual cues, probably due to distraction. In steady-state noise, the presence of visual cues improved CSCT scores, probably by enabling better encoding. Contrary to our expectation, CSCT performance was disrupted more in steady-state than speech-like noise, although only without visual cues, possibly because selective attention could be used to ignore the speech-like background and provide an enriched representation of target items in working memory similar to that obtained in quiet. This interpretation is supported by a consistent association between CSCT scores and updating skills.

Seeing the talker’s face supports executive processing of speech in steady state noise

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Sushmit; Lunner, Thomas; Stenfelt, Stefan; Rönnberg, Jerker; Rudner, Mary

2013-01-01

Listening to speech in noise depletes cognitive resources, affecting speech processing. The present study investigated how remaining resources or cognitive spare capacity (CSC) can be deployed by young adults with normal hearing. We administered a test of CSC (CSCT; Mishra et al., 2013) along with a battery of established cognitive tests to 20 participants with normal hearing. In the CSCT, lists of two-digit numbers were presented with and without visual cues in quiet, as well as in steady-state and speech-like noise at a high intelligibility level. In low load conditions, two numbers were recalled according to instructions inducing executive processing (updating, inhibition) and in high load conditions the participants were additionally instructed to recall one extra number, which was the always the first item in the list. In line with previous findings, results showed that CSC was sensitive to memory load and executive function but generally not related to working memory capacity (WMC). Furthermore, CSCT scores in quiet were lowered by visual cues, probably due to distraction. In steady-state noise, the presence of visual cues improved CSCT scores, probably by enabling better encoding. Contrary to our expectation, CSCT performance was disrupted more in steady-state than speech-like noise, although only without visual cues, possibly because selective attention could be used to ignore the speech-like background and provide an enriched representation of target items in working memory similar to that obtained in quiet. This interpretation is supported by a consistent association between CSCT scores and updating skills. PMID:24324411

The novel phenomenon of noise-catalyzed chaos-order transitions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gassmann, F. [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

1997-06-01

Numerical simulations of the Lorenzian water wheel have been used to investigate the influence of stochastic noise on the lifetime of chaotic transients. Whereas in one region of parameter space no noise dependency could be detected, a shortening of the lifetimes by more than four decades was found in another region. This large effect was produced by a significant modification of the attraction basin of a quasistable stationary state rather than by affecting the chaotic orbits before the chaos-order transition occurred. This novel phenomenon of noise-induced chaos-order transitions is not related to stochastic resonance or other noise-induced effects. (author) 2 figs., 5 refs.

Jet noise reduction via dispersed phase injection

Science.gov (United States)

Greska, Brent; Krothapalli, Anjaneyulu; Arakeri, Vijay

2001-11-01

A recently developed hot jet aeroacoustics facility at FMRL,FAMU-FSU College of Engineering has been used to study the far field noise characteristics of hot supersonic jets as influenced by the injection of a dispersed phase with low mass loading.The measured SPL from a fully expanded Mach 1.36 hot jet shows a peak value of about 139 dB at 40 deg from the jet axis.By injecting atomized water,the SPL are reduced in the angular region of about 30 deg to 50 deg with the maximum reduction being about 2 dB at 40 deg.However,with the use of non atomized aqueous polymer solution as a dispersed phase the noise levels are reduced over all angular positions by at least 1 dB with the maximum reduction being about 3 dB at 40 deg.The injection of a dispersed phase readily kills the screech; the initial results show promise and optimization studies are underway to find methods of further noise reduction.

Optimal Load Control via Frequency Measurement and Neighborhood Area Communication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, CH; Topcu, U; Low, SH

2013-11-01

We propose a decentralized optimal load control scheme that provides contingency reserve in the presence of sudden generation drop. The scheme takes advantage of flexibility of frequency responsive loads and neighborhood area communication to solve an optimal load control problem that balances load and generation while minimizing end-use disutility of participating in load control. Local frequency measurements enable individual loads to estimate the total mismatch between load and generation. Neighborhood area communication helps mitigate effects of inconsistencies in the local estimates due to frequency measurement noise. Case studies show that the proposed scheme can balance load with generation and restore the frequency within seconds of time after a generation drop, even when the loads use a highly simplified power system model in their algorithms. We also investigate tradeoffs between the amount of communication and the performance of the proposed scheme through simulation-based experiments.

Recognition of the noise sources and measurement in educational hospital s General Intensive Care Unit (GICU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vahideh Abolhasannejad

2014-11-01

Results: Mean sound pressure level for GICU was 60.9±1/6 dBA that is more than the standard level. The mean of maximum noise level was obtained 82.5±2 dBA and the highest noise level was measured at nursing station. There was significant difference in Noise Pollution level based on different months, level of patient's conciseness and number of ventilator using (P < 0.05. Conclusion: Being more noise pollution in the ICU and stations on all shifts may cause to diminish health and well-being of the staff in long-term and produce some problems for the patient. According to the highest level of noise produced in nursing stations and the different activities doing by the staff as a main noise pollution factor, it's necessary to perform required training in relationship with doing the works in right manner so that we can produce quiet and silence environment for patience.

Traffic Noise Assessment at Residential Areas in Skudai, Johor

Science.gov (United States)

Sulaiman, F. S.; Darus, N.; Mashros, N.; Haron, Z.; Yahya, K.

2018-03-01

Vehicles passing by on roadways in residential areas may produce unpleasant traffic noise that affects the residents. This paper presents the traffic noise assessment of three selected residential areas located in Skudai, Johor. The objectives of this study are to evaluate traffic characteristics at selected residential areas, determine related noise indices, and assess impact of traffic noise. Traffic characteristics such as daily traffic volume and vehicle speed were evaluated using automatic traffic counter (ATC). Meanwhile, noise indices like equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq), noise level exceeded 10% (L10) and 90% (L90) of measurement time were determined using sound level meter (SLM). Besides that, traffic noise index (TNI) and noise pollution level (LNP) were calculated based on the measured noise indices. The results showed an increase in noise level of 60 to 70 dBA maximum due to increase in traffic volume. There was also a significant change in noise level of more than 70 dBA even though average vehicle speed did not vary significantly. Nevertheless, LAeq, TNI, and LNP values for all sites during daytime were lower than the maximum recommended levels. Thus, residents in the three studied areas were not affected in terms of quality of life and health.

Advances in noise analysis for nuclear plant surveillance and diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fry, N.; Clapp, N.E. Jr.; Sides, W.H. Jr.; Mihalczo, J.T.; King, W.T.

1980-01-01

An automated surveillance and baseline noise signature acquisition system is being demonstrated at Sequoyah-1. A nonperturbing method is also being developed for monitoring the subcritical reactivity during initial core loading in LWRs, in fuel storage and processing facilities, and during postaccident recovery operations such as Three Mile Island-2

Practical Ranges of Loudness Levels of Various Types of Environmental Noise, Including Traffic Noise, Aircraft Noise, and Industrial Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabine A. Janssen

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In environmental noise control one commonly employs the A-weighted sound level as an approximate measure of the effect of noise on people. A measure that is more closely related to direct human perception of noise is the loudness level. At constant A-weighted sound level, the loudness level of a noise signal varies considerably with the shape of the frequency spectrum of the noise signal. In particular the bandwidth of the spectrum has a large effect on the loudness level, due to the effect of critical bands in the human hearing system. The low-frequency content of the spectrum also has an effect on the loudness level. In this note the relation between loudness level and A-weighted sound level is analyzed for various environmental noise spectra, including spectra of traffic noise, aircraft noise, and industrial noise. From loudness levels calculated for these environmental noise spectra, diagrams are constructed that show the relation between loudness level, A‑weighted sound level, and shape of the spectrum. The diagrams show that the upper limits of the loudness level for broadband environmental noise spectra are about 20 to 40 phon higher than the lower limits for narrowband spectra, which correspond to the loudness levels of pure tones. The diagrams are useful for assessing limitations and potential improvements of environmental noise control methods and policy based on A-weighted sound levels.

A Shearlet-based algorithm for quantum noise removal in low-dose CT images

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Aguan; Jiang, Huiqin; Ma, Ling; Liu, Yumin; Yang, Xiaopeng

2016-03-01

Low-dose CT (LDCT) scanning is a potential way to reduce the radiation exposure of X-ray in the population. It is necessary to improve the quality of low-dose CT images. In this paper, we propose an effective algorithm for quantum noise removal in LDCT images using shearlet transform. Because the quantum noise can be simulated by Poisson process, we first transform the quantum noise by using anscombe variance stabilizing transform (VST), producing an approximately Gaussian noise with unitary variance. Second, the non-noise shearlet coefficients are obtained by adaptive hard-threshold processing in shearlet domain. Third, we reconstruct the de-noised image using the inverse shearlet transform. Finally, an anscombe inverse transform is applied to the de-noised image, which can produce the improved image. The main contribution is to combine the anscombe VST with the shearlet transform. By this way, edge coefficients and noise coefficients can be separated from high frequency sub-bands effectively. A number of experiments are performed over some LDCT images by using the proposed method. Both quantitative and visual results show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the quantum noise while enhancing the subtle details. It has certain value in clinical application.

"Ladder" structure in tonal noise generated by laminar flow around an airfoil.

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Tze Pei; Joseph, Phillip

2012-06-01

The presence of a "ladder" structure in the airfoil tonal noise was discovered in the 1970s, but its mechanism hitherto remains a subject of continual investigation in the research community. Based on the measured noise results and some numerical analysis presented in this letter, the variations of four types of airfoil tonal noise frequencies with the flow velocity were analyzed individually. The ladder structure is proposed to be caused by the acoustic/hydrodynamic frequency lag between the scattering of the boundary layer instability noise and the discrete noise produced by an aeroacoustic feedback loop.

The Role that Natural Environment Plays in Reducing Noise Pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nasim Saber Maash

1999-03-01

Full Text Available Noise pollution is one of the major problems for the present time and it can affect the life of human being. Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life. Researchers have mentioned a lot of devastating effects of noise that can disrupt the physical and psychological health of human beings. Noise pollution has also been considered as an important issue which needs to be solved in industrial countries and also as a main factor that is required to be minimized in factory construction and also in producing machinery. In the current article we are aimed at discussing some solutions that natural environment can bring to mankind regarding the reduction of noise pollution.

Structure-borne noise of railway composite bridge: Numerical simulation and experimental validation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaozhen; Liu, Quanmin; Pei, Shiling; Song, Lizhong; Zhang, Xun

2015-09-01

In order to investigate the characteristics of the noise from steel-concrete composite bridges under high-speed train loading, a model used to predict the bridge-borne noise is established and validated through a field experiment. The numerical model for noise prediction is developed based on the combination of spatial train-track-bridge coupled vibration theory and Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA). Firstly, train-track-bridge coupled vibration is adopted to obtain the velocity time history of the bridge deck vibration. Then, the velocity time history is transferred into frequency domain through FFT to serve as the vibratory energy of SEA deck subsystems. Finally, the transmission of the vibratory energy is obtained by solving the energy balance equations of SEA, and the sound radiation is computed using the vibro-acoustic theory. The numerically computed noise level is verified by a field measurement. It is determined that the dominant frequency of steel-concrete composite bridge-borne noise is 20-1000 Hz. The noise from the bottom flange of steel longitudinal girder is less than other components in the whole frequency bands, while the noise from web of steel longitudinal girder is dominant in high frequency range above 315 Hz. The noise from concrete deck dominates in low-frequency domain ranges from 80 Hz to 160 Hz.

Selective Vulnerability of the Cochlear Basal Turn to Acrylonitrile and Noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pouyatos, B.; Gearhart, C.A.; Miller, A.N.; Fulton, S.; Fechter, L.D.; Pouyatos, B.

2009-01-01

Exposure to acrylonitrile, a high-production industrial chemical, can promote noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in the rat even though this agent does not itself produce permanent hearing loss. The mechanism by which acrylonitrile promotes NIHL includes oxidative stress as antioxidant drugs can partially protect the cochlea from acrylonitrile + noise. Acrylonitrile depletes glutathione levels while noise can increase the formation of reactive oxygen species. It was previously noted that the high-frequency or basal turn of the cochlea was particularly vulnerable to the combined effects of acrylonitrile and noise when the octave band noise (OBN) was centered at 8 k Hz. Normally, such a noise would be expected to yield damage at a more apical region of the cochlea. The present study was designed to determine whether the basal cochlea is selectively sensitive to acrylonitrile or whether, by adjusting the frequency of the noise band, it would be possible to control the region of the auditory impairment. Rats were exposed to one of three different OBNs centered at different frequencies (4 k Hz, 110 dB and 8 or 16 k Hz at 97 dB) for 5 days, with and without administration of acrylonitrile (50 mg/kg/day). The noise was set to cause limited NIHL by itself. Auditory function was monitored by recording distortion products, by compound action potentials, and by performing cochlear histology. While the ACN-only and noise-only exposures induced no or little permanent auditory loss, the three exposures to acrylonitrile + noise produced similar auditory and cochlear impairments above 16 k Hz, despite the fact that the noise exposures covered 2 octaves. These observations show that the basal cochlea is much more sensitive to acrylonitrile + noise than the apical partition. They provide an initial basis for distinguishing the pattern of cochlear injury that results from noise exposure from that which occurs due to the combined effects of noise and a chemical contaminant.

Noise pollution in opencast mines - its impact on human environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tripathy, D.P.; Patnaik, N.K.

1994-01-01

Noise could be defined as sound without agreeable musical quality or as unwanted sound. The problem of noise has been accentuated in the mining industry due to increased mechanisation. In opencast mines, noise is generated in almost all the mining operations, becoming thereby an integral part of the mining environment. Prolonged exposure to high levels of noise (>90dBA) proves harmful and may culminate in NIHL. Noise may also bring about other physiological disorders which could lead to irritability and lowering of efficiency. Before initiating any administrative, engineering and medical measures against the noise hazards, noise surveys are essential. They help in identifying the noise pollution sources and quantifying the risk exposures of workers. Effective antinoise measures can accordingly be formulated and implemented. The present paper discusses the results of noise studies in a limestone and dolomite quarry and analyses the SPL (dBA) produced by different machinery in this mine. Further, it focuses on the adverse effects of noise and lists the instruments available for noise monitoring. It also presents the noise standards recommended in India and abroad and suggests the noise abatement strategies to be adopted for protecting the workers against NHL. 7 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs., 1 app

Road traffic noise: self-reported noise annoyance versus GIS modelled road traffic noise exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Birk, Matthias; Ivina, Olga; von Klot, Stephanie; Babisch, Wolfgang; Heinrich, Joachim

2011-11-01

self-reported road traffic noise annoyance is commonly used in epidemiological studies for assessment of potential health effects. Alternatively, some studies have used geographic information system (GIS) modelled exposure to road traffic noise as an objective parameter. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between noise exposure due to neighbouring road traffic and the noise annoyance of adults, taking other determinants into consideration. parents of 951 Munich children from the two German birth cohorts GINIplus and LISAplus reported their annoyance due to road traffic noise at home. GIS modelled road traffic noise exposure (L(den), maximum within a 50 m buffer) from the noise map of the city of Munich was available for all families. GIS-based calculated distance to the closest major road (≥10,000 vehicles per day) and questionnaire based-information about family income, parental education and the type of the street of residence were explored for their potential influence. An ordered logit regression model was applied. The noise levels (L(den)) and the reported noise annoyance were compared with an established exposure-response function. the correlation between noise annoyance and noise exposure (L(den)) was fair (Spearman correlation r(s) = 0.37). The distance to a major road and the type of street were strong predictors for the noise annoyance. The annoyance modelled by the established exposure-response function and that estimated by the ordered logit model were moderately associated (Pearson's correlation r(p) = 0.50). road traffic noise annoyance was associated with GIS modelled neighbouring road traffic noise exposure (L(den)). The distance to a major road and the type of street were additional explanatory factors of the noise annoyance appraisal.

Modulation of high frequency noise by engine tones of small boats.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollara, Alexander; Sutin, Alexander; Salloum, Hady

2017-07-01

The effect of modulation of high frequency ship noise by propeller rotation frequencies is well known. This modulation is observed with the Detection of Envelope Modulation on Noise (DEMON) algorithm. Analysis of the DEMON spectrum allows the revolutions per minute and number of blades of the propeller to be determined. This work shows that the high frequency noise of a small boat can also be modulated by engine frequencies. Prior studies have not reported high frequency noise amplitude modulated at engine frequencies. This modulation is likely produced by bubbles from the engine exhaust system.

Judgments of aircraft noise in a traffic noise background

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, C. A.; Rice, C. G.

1975-01-01

An investigation was conducted to determine subjective response to aircraft noise in different road traffic backgrounds. In addition, two laboratory techniques for presenting the aircraft noise with the background noise were evaluated. For one technique, the background noise was continuous over an entire test session; for the other, the background noise level was changed with each aircraft noise during a session. Subjective response to aircraft noise was found to decrease with increasing background noise level, for a range of typical indoor noise levels. Subjective response was found to be highly correlated with the Noise Pollution Level (NPL) measurement scale.

Modal and Wave Load Identification by ARMA Calibration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jens Kristian Jehrbo; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Brincker, Rune

In this paper modal parameter as well as wave load identification by calibration of ARMA models is considered for a simple offshore structure. The theory of identification by ARMA calibration is presented as an identification technique in the time domain which can be applied for white noise excited...... systems. The technique is generalized also to include the case of ambient excitation processes such as wave excitation which are non-white processes. Due to those results a simple but effective approach for identification of the load process is proposed. Finally the theoretical presentation is illustrated...

Load forecasting of supermarket refrigeration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Lisa Buth; Bacher, Peder; Madsen, Henrik

2016-01-01

methods for predicting the regimes are tested. The dynamic relation between the weather and the load is modeled by simple transfer functions and the non-linearities are described using spline functions. The results are thoroughly evaluated and it is shown that the spline functions are suitable...... for handling the non-linear relations and that after applying an auto-regressive noise model the one-step ahead residuals do not contain further significant information....... in Denmark. Every hour the hourly electrical load for refrigeration is forecasted for the following 42 h. The forecast models are adaptive linear time series models. The model has two regimes; one for opening hours and one for closing hours, this is modeled by a regime switching model and two different...

Performance Study of Dual Fuel Engine Using Producer Gas as Secondary Fuel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deepika Shaw

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the present paper, development of producer gas fuelled 4 stroke diesel engine has been investigated. Producer gas from biomass has been examined and successfully operated with 4 stroke diesel engine. The effects of higher and lower loads were investigated on the dual fuel mode. The experimental investigations revealed that at lower loads dual fuel operation with producer gas shows lower efficiency due to lower combustion rate cause by low calorific value of the producer gas. Beyond 40% load the brake thermal efficiency of dual fuel operation improved due to faster combustion rate of producer gas and higher level of premixing. It can be observed that at lower load and 20% opening of producer gas the gaseous fuel substitution found to be 56% whereas at 100% opening of producer gas it reaches 78% substitution. The CO2 emission increased at high producer gas opening and high load because at 100% producer gas maximum atoms of carbons were there and at high load condition the diesel use increased. At 80% load and producer gas varying from 20% to 100. Power output was almost comparable to diesel power with marginal higher efficiency. Producer gas is one such technology which is environmentally benign and holds large promise for future.

Blue whales respond to anthropogenic noise.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana L Melcón

Full Text Available Anthropogenic noise may significantly impact exposed marine mammals. This work studied the vocalization response of endangered blue whales to anthropogenic noise sources in the mid-frequency range using passive acoustic monitoring in the Southern California Bight. Blue whales were less likely to produce calls when mid-frequency active sonar was present. This reduction was more pronounced when the sonar source was closer to the animal, at higher sound levels. The animals were equally likely to stop calling at any time of day, showing no diel pattern in their sensitivity to sonar. Conversely, the likelihood of whales emitting calls increased when ship sounds were nearby. Whales did not show a differential response to ship noise as a function of the time of the day either. These results demonstrate that anthropogenic noise, even at frequencies well above the blue whales' sound production range, has a strong probability of eliciting changes in vocal behavior. The long-term implications of disruption in call production to blue whale foraging and other behaviors are currently not well understood.

Wind turbines - generating noise or electricity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russell, Eric

1999-01-01

Wind turbine technology has made great strides in the past few years. Annual energy output is up by two orders of magnitude and nacelle weight and noise has been halved. Computational fluid dynamics has paid a part in advancing knowledge of air flow and turbulence around wind generators. Current research is focused on how to increase turbine size and improve efficiency. A problem is that while larger wind turbines will produce cheaper electricity, the noise problem will mean that the number of acceptable sites will decrease. The biggest wind generators will need about 800 m clearance from the nearest house. (UK)

First Test of Fan Active Noise Control (ANC) Completed

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

With the advent of ultrahigh-bypass engines, the space available for passive acoustic treatment is becoming more limited, whereas noise regulations are becoming more stringent. Active noise control (ANC) holds promise as a solution to this problem. It uses secondary (added) noise sources to reduce or eliminate the offending noise radiation. The first active noise control test on the low-speed fan test bed was a General Electric Company system designed to control either the exhaust or inlet fan tone. This system consists of a "ring source," an induct array of error microphones, and a control computer. Fan tone noise propagates in a duct in the form of spinning waves. These waves are detected by the microphone array, and the computer identifies their spinning structure. The computer then controls the "ring source" to generate waves that have the same spinning structure and amplitude, but 180 out of phase with the fan noise. This computer generated tone cancels the fan tone before it radiates from the duct and is heard in the far field. The "ring source" used in these tests is a cylindrical array of 16 flat-plate acoustic radiators that are driven by thin piezoceramic sheets bonded to their back surfaces. The resulting source can produce spinning waves up to mode 7 at levels high enough to cancel the fan tone. The control software is flexible enough to work on spinning mode orders from -6 to 6. In this test, the fan was configured to produce a tone of order 6. The complete modal (spinning and radial) structure of the tones was measured with two builtin sets of rotating microphone rakes. These rakes provide a measurement of the system performance independent from the control system error microphones. In addition, the far-field noise was measured with a semicircular array of 28 microphones. This test represents the first in a series of tests that demonstrate different active noise control concepts, each on a progressively more complicated modal structure. The tests are

Spatio-temporal chaos and thermal noise in Josephson junction series arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dominguez, D.; Cerdeira, H.A.

1995-01-01

We study underdamped Josephson junction series arrays that are globally coupled through a resistive shunting load and driven by an rf bias current. We find that they can be an experimental realization of many phenomena currently studied in globally coupled logistic map. Depending on the bias current the array can show Shapiro steps but also spatio-temporal chaos or ''turbulence'' in the IV characteristics. In the turbulent phase there is a saturation of the broad band noise for a large number of junctions. This corresponds to a break down of the law of large numbers as seen in globally coupled maps. We study this phenomenon as a function of thermal noise. We find that when increasing the temperature the broad band noise decreases. (author). 8 refs, 1 fig

Comparison of Langevin and Markov channel noise models for neuronal signal generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sengupta, B; Laughlin, S B; Niven, J E

2010-01-01

The stochastic opening and closing of voltage-gated ion channels produce noise in neurons. The effect of this noise on the neuronal performance has been modeled using either an approximate or Langevin model based on stochastic differential equations or an exact model based on a Markov process model of channel gating. Yet whether the Langevin model accurately reproduces the channel noise produced by the Markov model remains unclear. Here we present a comparison between Langevin and Markov models of channel noise in neurons using single compartment Hodgkin-Huxley models containing either Na+ and K+, or only K+ voltage-gated ion channels. The performance of the Langevin and Markov models was quantified over a range of stimulus statistics, membrane areas, and channel numbers. We find that in comparison to the Markov model, the Langevin model underestimates the noise contributed by voltage-gated ion channels, overestimating information rates for both spiking and nonspiking membranes. Even with increasing numbers of channels, the difference between the two models persists. This suggests that the Langevin model may not be suitable for accurately simulating channel noise in neurons, even in simulations with large numbers of ion channels.

Low noise omnidirectional optical receiver for the mobile FSO networks

Science.gov (United States)

Witas, Karel; Hejduk, Stanislav; Vasinek, Vladimir; Vitasek, Jan; Latal, Jan

2013-05-01

A high sensitive optical receiver design for the mobile free space optical (FSO) networks is presented. There is an array of photo-detectors and preamplifiers working into same load. It is the second stage sum amplifier getting all signals together. This topology creates a parallel amplifier with an excellent signal to noise ratio (SNR). An automatic gain control (AGC) feature is included also. As a result, the effective noise suppression at the receiver side increases optical signal coverage even with the transmitter power being constant. The design has been verified on the model car which was able to respond beyond the line of sight (LOS).

Noise-induced temporal dynamics in Turing systems

KAUST Repository

Schumacher, Linus J.; Woolley, Thomas E.; Baker, Ruth E.

2013-01-01

We examine the ability of intrinsic noise to produce complex temporal dynamics in Turing pattern formation systems, with particular emphasis on the Schnakenberg kinetics. Using power spectral methods, we characterize the behavior of the system using

Helicopter Non-Unique Trim Strategies for Blade-Vortex Interaction (BVI) Noise Reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Malpica, Carlos; Greenwood, Eric; Sim, Ben W.

2016-01-01

An acoustics parametric analysis of the effect of fuselage drag and pitching moment on the Blade-Vortex Interaction (BVI) noise radiated by a medium lift helicopter (S-70UH-60) in a descending flight condition was conducted. The comprehensive analysis CAMRAD II was used for the calculation of vehicle trim, wake geometry and integrated air loads on the blade. The acoustics prediction code PSU-WOPWOP was used for calculating acoustic pressure signatures for a hemispherical grid centered at the hub. This paper revisits the concept of the X-force controller for BVI noise reduction, and investigates its effectiveness on an S-70 helicopter. The analysis showed that further BVI noise reductions were achievable by controlling the fuselage pitching moment. Reductions in excess of 6 dB of the peak BVI noise radiated towards the ground were demonstrated by compounding the effect of airframe drag and pitching moment simultaneously.

Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pultznerova, Alzbeta; Eva, Panulinova; Kucharova, Daniela; Argalasova, Lubica

2018-01-01

This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large high-loaded railway track in Northwest Slovakia. The measurements of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods were taken. Noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. In addition, the annoyance level and sleep disturbance of residents affected by railway noise were evaluated by a validated questionnaire on a pilot sample of 107 respondents living near the important railway track. The measurements indicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train were extremely high especially at night, clearly exceeding the nighttime limits of equivalent sound pressure level established by the Decree of the Slovak Ministry of Health (No.549/2007) (L Aeq  = 55 dB). Measurements at one point during the night exceeded the limit values of up to 17.4 dB. The residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which caused irritability, headache, poor concentration, and insomnia. In addition, 19.64% of the residents claimed that nocturnal noise pollution was the most distressing. The results of bivariate analysis showed a higher risk of annoyance especially for railway noise [OR MH  = 7.80 (4.02-15.14)] and the noise from industry [OR MH  = 3.08 (1.72-5.50)] in the exposed location. The effects of railway traffic on annoyance/sleep and psychosocial well-being were evaluated in a few studies. In accordance with our results the railway noise mostly disturbs sleep and rest of the respondents. The pilot survey showed the importance of sleep and rest disturbance by railway noise and the possibilities of getting worse health condition in the future. Noise abatement measures and strategies should, therefore, be implemented in an effective and manageable way increasing the environmental advantages of rail transport.

Comparison between hybrid feedforward-feedback, feedforward, and feedback structures for active noise control of fMRI noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Rajiv M; Panahi, Issa M S

2008-01-01

The performance of FIR feedforward, IIR feedforward, FIR feedback, hybrid FIR feedforward--FIR feedback, and hybrid IIR feedforward - FIR feedback structures for active noise control (ANC) are compared for an fMRI noise application. The filtered-input normalized least squares (FxNLMS) algorithm is used to update the coefficients of the adaptive filters in all these structures. Realistic primary and secondary paths of an fMRI bore are used by estimating them on a half cylindrical acrylic bore of 0.76 m (D)x1.52 m (L). Detailed results of the performance of the ANC system are presented in the paper for each of these structures. We find that the IIR feedforward structure produces most of the performance improvement in the hybrid IIR feedforward - FIR feedback structure and adding the feedback structure becomes almost redundant in the case of fMRI noise.

Characteristics of computed tomographic reconstruction noise and their effect on detectability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, K.M.; Boyd, D.P.

1977-01-01

The EMI 5005 scanner produces images with noise characteristics similar to those in simulated CT reconstructions. A detectability phantom is described which will provide a means of investigation of the effect on human detection capability of the peculiar correlations present in the noise present in CT scanner images

Effects of directional microphone and adaptive multichannel noise reduction algorithm on cochlear implant performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, King; Zeng, Fan-Gang; Acker, Kyle N

2006-10-01

Although cochlear implant (CI) users have enjoyed good speech recognition in quiet, they still have difficulties understanding speech in noise. We conducted three experiments to determine whether a directional microphone and an adaptive multichannel noise reduction algorithm could enhance CI performance in noise and whether Speech Transmission Index (STI) can be used to predict CI performance in various acoustic and signal processing conditions. In Experiment I, CI users listened to speech in noise processed by 4 hearing aid settings: omni-directional microphone, omni-directional microphone plus noise reduction, directional microphone, and directional microphone plus noise reduction. The directional microphone significantly improved speech recognition in noise. Both directional microphone and noise reduction algorithm improved overall preference. In Experiment II, normal hearing individuals listened to the recorded speech produced by 4- or 8-channel CI simulations. The 8-channel simulation yielded similar speech recognition results as in Experiment I, whereas the 4-channel simulation produced no significant difference among the 4 settings. In Experiment III, we examined the relationship between STIs and speech recognition. The results suggested that STI could predict actual and simulated CI speech intelligibility with acoustic degradation and the directional microphone, but not the noise reduction algorithm. Implications for intelligibility enhancement are discussed.

Veering re-visited: noise and posture cues in walking without sight.

Science.gov (United States)

Millar, S

1999-01-01

Effects of sound and posture cues on veering from the straight-ahead were tested with young blind children in an unfamiliar space that lacked orienting cues. In a pre-test with a previously heard target sound, all subjects walked straight to the target. A recording device, which sampled the locomotor trajectories automatically, showed that, without prior cues from target locations, subjects tended to veer more to the side from which they heard a brief, irrelevant noise. Carrying a load on one side produced more veering to the opposite side. The detailed samples showed that, underlying the main trajectories, were alternating concave and convex (left and right) movements, suggesting stepwise changes in body position. It is argued that the same external and body-centred cues that contribute to reference-frame orientation for locomotion when they converge and concur, influence the direction of veering when the cues occur in isolation in environments that lack converging reference information.

Modal and Wave Load Identification by ARMA Calibration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jens Kristian Jehrbo; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Brincker, Rune

1992-01-01

In this note, modal parameter and wave load identification by calibration of ARMA models are considered for a simple offshore structure. The theory of identification by ARMA calibration is introduced as an identification technique in the time domain, which can be applied for white noise–excited s......In this note, modal parameter and wave load identification by calibration of ARMA models are considered for a simple offshore structure. The theory of identification by ARMA calibration is introduced as an identification technique in the time domain, which can be applied for white noise...... by an experimental example of a monopile model excited by random waves. The identification results show that the approach is able to give very reliable estimates of the modal parameters. Furthermore, a comparison of the identified wave load process and the calculated load process based on the Morison equation shows...

METHODS OF NOISE LEVEL REDUCTION OF DRIVE IN LATHES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janusz ROGULA

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is method presentation to noise level reduction of fixed headstock of the lathe. It is connected with the causes finding of non-uniform work of lathe headstock, description of recent design and its analysis. Problem of the excessive noise level concern to near 35% of the lathes have been produced. In spite of lack of noise reduction possibility there were no system solution of problem. Design optimisation weren’t done after application the electric motor with inverter. New solution of electric motor control let to reduce number of gear wheels in lathe drive system. For this drive solution there weren’t made the analysis of drive particular parts influence on the noise generation.

Reduced In-Plane, Low Frequency Helicopter Noise of an Active Flap Rotor

Science.gov (United States)

Sim, Ben W.; Janakiram, Ram D.; Barbely, Natasha L.; Solis, Eduardo

2009-01-01

Results from a recent joint DARPA/Boeing/NASA/Army wind tunnel test demonstrated the ability to reduce in-plane, low frequency noise of the full-scale Boeing-SMART rotor using active flaps. Test data reported in this paper illustrated that acoustic energy in the first six blade-passing harmonics could be reduced by up to 6 decibels at a moderate airspeed, level flight condition corresponding to advance ratio of 0.30. Reduced noise levels were attributed to selective active flap schedules that modified in-plane blade airloads on the advancing side of the rotor, in a manner, which generated counteracting acoustic pulses that partially offset the negative pressure peaks associated with in-plane, steady thickness noise. These favorable reduced-noise operating states are a strong function of the active flap actuation amplitude, frequency and phase. The associated noise reductions resulted in reduced aural detection distance by up to 18%, but incurred significant vibratory load penalties due to increased hub shear forces. Small reductions in rotor lift-to-drag ratios, of no more than 3%, were also measured

Noise and pile-up in liquid sampling calorimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franzini, P.

1988-01-01

The design and construction of detectors for the SSC presents new challenges and requires electronics of priorly unavailable performance. Most detector elements produce minute signals which can be lost in the ever present noise from thermal fluctuation and the finite charge of the electron. The author presents in these notes a pedagogical introduction to noise and pile-up, as applicable to liquid sampling calorimeters, beginning with a brief, only descriptive, introduction to amplifiers and the physical origins of noise. He then studies the particular case of noise in charge measurements, in particular for calorimeters, where parallel noise is usually negligible. By a physical example he discusses optimal filtering, proving that gaussian filters are not optimal. The scaling laws of noise versus source capacitance and filter bandwidth or shaping time, are emphasized. An explicit example for pulse shapes peaking at 1 μs is computed and extrapolated to 0.1 μs, more appropriate for an SSC detector. Solutions for the several problems arising at short shaping times are discussed and the conditions for optimal preamp-detector matching (for minimum noise) are derived. He also briefly discusses pile-up and its scaling laws. Correlations between signal samples at different times are considered and computed for an example. Correlations are necessary to compute the noise in signals reconstructed from sampling

Noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Science.gov (United States)

Valero, M D; Burton, J A; Hauser, S N; Hackett, T A; Ramachandran, R; Liberman, M C

2017-09-01

Cochlear synaptopathy can result from various insults, including acoustic trauma, aging, ototoxicity, or chronic conductive hearing loss. For example, moderate noise exposure in mice can destroy up to ∼50% of synapses between auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) and inner hair cells (IHCs) without affecting outer hair cells (OHCs) or thresholds, because the synaptopathy occurs first in high-threshold ANFs. However, the fiber loss likely impairs temporal processing and hearing-in-noise, a classic complaint of those with sensorineural hearing loss. Non-human primates appear to be less vulnerable to noise-induced hair-cell loss than rodents, but their susceptibility to synaptopathy has not been studied. Because establishing a non-human primate model may be important in the development of diagnostics and therapeutics, we examined cochlear innervation and the damaging effects of acoustic overexposure in young adult rhesus macaques. Anesthetized animals were exposed bilaterally to narrow-band noise centered at 2 kHz at various sound-pressure levels for 4 h. Cochlear function was assayed for up to 8 weeks following exposure via auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). A moderate loss of synaptic connections (mean of 12-27% in the basal half of the cochlea) followed temporary threshold shifts (TTS), despite minimal hair-cell loss. A dramatic loss of synapses (mean of 50-75% in the basal half of the cochlea) was seen on IHCs surviving noise exposures that produced permanent threshold shifts (PTS) and widespread hair-cell loss. Higher noise levels were required to produce PTS in macaques compared to rodents, suggesting that primates are less vulnerable to hair-cell loss. However, the phenomenon of noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy in primates is similar to that seen in rodents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Correlated and uncorrelated invisible temporal white noise alters mesopic rod signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Hathibelagal, Amithavikram R; Feigl, Beatrix; Kremers, Jan; Zele, Andrew J

2016-03-01

We determined how rod signaling at mesopic light levels is altered by extrinsic temporal white noise that is correlated or uncorrelated with the activity of one (magnocellular, parvocellular, or koniocellular) postreceptoral pathway. Rod and cone photoreceptor excitations were independently controlled using a four-primary photostimulator. Psychometric (Weibull) functions were measured for incremental rod pulses (50 to 250 ms) in the presence (or absence; control) of perceptually invisible subthreshold extrinsic noise. Uncorrelated (rod) noise facilitates rod detection. Correlated postreceptoral pathway noise produces differential changes in rod detection thresholds and decreases the slope of the psychometric functions. We demonstrate that invisible extrinsic noise changes rod-signaling characteristics within the three retinogeniculate pathways at mesopic illumination depending on the temporal profile of the rod stimulus and the extrinsic noise type.

A Recording-Based Method for Auralization of Rotorcraft Flyover Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Pera, Nicholas M.; Rizzi, Stephen A.; Krishnamurthy, Siddhartha; Fuller, Christopher R.; Christian, Andrew

2018-01-01

Rotorcraft noise is an active field of study as the sound produced by these vehicles is often found to be annoying. A means to auralize rotorcraft flyover noise is sought to help understand the factors leading to annoyance. Previous work by the authors focused on auralization of rotorcraft fly-in noise, in which a simplification was made that enabled the source noise synthesis to be based on a single emission angle. Here, the goal is to auralize a complete flyover event, so the source noise synthesis must be capable of traversing a range of emission angles. The synthesis uses a source noise definition process that yields periodic and aperiodic (modulation) components at a set of discrete emission angles. In this work, only the periodic components are used for the source noise synthesis for the flyover; the inclusion of modulation components is the subject of ongoing research. Propagation of the synthesized source noise to a ground observer is performed using the NASA Auralization Framework. The method is demonstrated using ground recordings from a flight test of the AS350 helicopter for the source noise definition.

Excess quantum noise in optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification

OpenAIRE

Manzoni, C.; Moses, J.; Kärtner, F. X.; Cerullo, G.

2011-01-01

Noise evolution in an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier (OPCPA) differs essentially from that of an optical parametric or a conventional laser amplifier, in that an incoherent pedestal is produced by superfluorescence that can overwhelm the signal under strong saturation. Using a model for the nonlinear dynamics consistent with quantum mechanics, we numerically study the evolution of excess noise in an OPCPA. The observed dynamics explain the macroscopic characteristics seen previous...

Location of aerodynamic noise sources from a 200 kW vertical-axis wind turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Ottermo, Fredric; Möllerström, Erik; Nordborg, Anders; Hylander, Jonny; Bernhoff, Hans

2017-07-01

Noise levels emitted from a 200 kW H-rotor vertical-axis wind turbine have been measured using a microphone array at four different positions, each at a hub-height distance from the tower. The microphone array, comprising 48 microphones in a spiral pattern, allows for directional mapping of the noise sources in the range of 500 Hz to 4 kHz. The produced images indicate that most of the noise is generated in a narrow azimuth-angle range, compatible with the location where increased turbulence is known to be present in the flow, as a result of the previous passage of a blade and its support arms. It is also shown that a semi-empirical model for inflow-turbulence noise seems to produce noise levels of the correct order of magnitude, based on the amount of turbulence that could be expected from power extraction considerations.

Direct-reading dial for noise temperature and noise resistance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Diamond, J.M.

1967-01-01

An attenuator arrangement for a noise generator is described. The scheme permits direct reading of both noise resistance and noise temperature¿the latter with a choice of source resistance.......An attenuator arrangement for a noise generator is described. The scheme permits direct reading of both noise resistance and noise temperature¿the latter with a choice of source resistance....

STUDY ON NOISE LEVEL GENERATED BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES IN SIBIU CITY, ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina STANCA-MOISE

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper I have proposed an analysis and monitoring of the noise sources in the open spaces of air traffic, rail and car in Sibiu. From centralizing data obtained from the analysis of the measurements performed with equipment noise levels, we concluded that the noise and vibration produced by means of Transportation (air, road, rail can affect human health if they exceed limits. Noise is present and part of our lives and always a source of pollution as any of modern man is not conscious.

Electrochemical corrosion potential and noise measurement in high temperature water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fong, Clinton; Chen, Yaw-Ming; Chu, Fang; Huang, Chia-Shen

2000-01-01

Hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) is one of the most important methods in boiling water reactor(BWR) system to mitigate and prevent stress corrosion cracking (SCC) problems of stainless steel components. Currently, the effectiveness of HWC in each BWR is mainly evaluated by the measurement of electrochemical corrosion potentials (ECP) and on-line monitoring of SCC behaviors of stainless steels. The objective of this work was to evaluate the characteristics and performance of commercially available high temperature reference electrodes. In addition, SCC monitoring technique based on electrochemical noise analysis (ECN) was also tested to examine its crack detection capability. The experimental work on electrochemical corrosion potential (ECP) measurements reveals that high temperature external Ag/AgCl reference electrode of highly dilute KCl electrolyte can adequately function in both NWC and HWC environments. The high dilution external Ag/AgCl electrode can work in conjunction with internal Ag/AgCl reference electrode, and Pt electrode to ensure the ECP measurement reliability. In simulated BWR environment, the electrochemical noise tests of SCC were carried out with both actively and passively loaded specimens of type 304 stainless steel with various electrode arrangements. From the coupling current and corrosion potential behaviors of the passive loading tests during immersion test, it is difficult to interpret the general state of stress corrosion cracking based on the analytical results of overall current and potential variations, local pulse patterns, statistical characteristics, or power spectral density of electrochemical noise signals. However, more positive SCC indication was observed in the power spectral density analysis. For aqueous environments of high solution impedance, successful application of electrochemical noise technique for SCC monitoring may require further improvement in specimen designs and analytical methods to enhance detection sensitivity

Seismic Linear Noise Attenuation with Use of Radial Transform

Science.gov (United States)

Szymańska-Małysa, Żaneta

2018-03-01

One of the goals of seismic data processing is to attenuate the recorded noise in order to enable correct interpretation of the image. Radial transform has been used as a very effective tool in the attenuation of various types of linear noise, both numerical and real (such as ground roll, direct waves, head waves, guided waves etc). The result of transformation from offset - time (X - T) domain into apparent velocity - time (R - T) domain is frequency separation between reflections and linear events. In this article synthetic and real seismic shot gathers were examined. One example was targeted at far offset area of dataset where reflections and noise had similar apparent velocities and frequency bands. Another example was a result of elastic modelling where linear artefacts were produced. Bandpass filtering and scaling operation executed in radial domain attenuated all discussed types of linear noise very effectively. After noise reduction all further processing steps reveal better results, especially velocity analysis, migration and stacking. In all presented cases signal-to-noise ratio was significantly increased and reflections covered previously by noise were revealed. Power spectra of filtered seismic records preserved real dynamics of reflections.

Active noise control in a duct to cancel broadband noise

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kuan-Chun; Chang, Cheng-Yuan; Kuo, Sen M.

2017-09-01

The paper presents cancelling duct noises by using the active noise control (ANC) techniques. We use the single channel feed forward algorithm with feedback neutralization to realize ANC. Several kinds of ducts noises including tonal noises, sweep tonal signals, and white noise had investigated. Experimental results show that the proposed ANC system can cancel these noises in a PVC duct very well. The noise reduction of white noise can be up to 20 dB.

Integrated Fractional Load and Packet Scheduling for OFDMA Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Monghal, Guillaume Damien; Kumar, S.; Pedersen, Klaus I.

2009-01-01

This paper study the performance of an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system under fractional load based in long term evolution (LTE) downlink. Fractional load is defined by a situation where only a fraction of the bandwidth is used for transmission due to lack of traffic....... This type of situation should result in a global increase of signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) conditions in the network. We propose different methods integrating the transmission pattern selection to the packet scheduling functionality of the enode-B depending only on the channel quality...

Finite element analysis using NASTRAN applied to helicopter transmission vibration/noise reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Howells, R. W.; Sciarra, J. J.

1975-01-01

A finite element NASTRAN model of the complete forward rotor transmission housing for the Boeing Vertol CH-47 helicopter was developed and applied to reduce transmission vibration/noise at its source. In addition to a description of the model, a technique for vibration/noise prediction and reduction is outlined. Also included are the dynamic response as predicted by NASTRAN, test data, the use of strain energy methods to optimize the housing for minimum vibration/noise, and determination of design modifications which will be manufactured and tested. The techniques presented are not restricted to helicopters but are applicable to any power transmission system. The transmission housing model developed can be used further to evaluate static and dynamic stresses, thermal distortions, deflections and load paths, fail-safety/vulnerability, and composite materials.

Selective modulation of nociceptive processing due to noise distraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, Yvonne; El-Deredy, Wael; Martínez Montes, Eduardo; Bentley, Deborah E; Jones, Anthony K P

2008-09-15

This study investigates the effects of noise distraction on the different components and sources of laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) whilst attending to either the spatial component (localisation performance task) or the affective component (unpleasantness rating task) of pain. LEPs elicited by CO2 laser stimulation of the right forearm were recorded from 64 electrodes in 18 consenting healthy volunteers. Subjects reported either pain location or unpleasantness, in the presence and absence of distraction by continuous 85 dBa white noise. Distributed sources of the LEP peaks were identified using Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA). Pain unpleasantness ratings and P2 (430 ms) peak amplitude were significantly reduced by distraction during the unpleasantness task, whereas the localisation ability and the corresponding N1/N2 (310 ms) peak amplitude remained unchanged. Noise distraction (at 310 ms) reduced activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and precuneus during attention to localisation and unpleasantness, respectively. This suggests a complimentary role for these two areas in the control of attention to pain. In contrast, activation of the occipital pole and SII were enhanced by noise during the localisation and unpleasantness task, respectively, suggesting that the presence of noise was associated with increased spatial attentional load. This study has shown selective modulation of affective pain processing by noise distraction, indicated by a reduction in the unpleasantness ratings and P2 peak amplitude and associated activity within the medial pain system. These results show that processing of the affective component of pain can be differentially modulated by top-down processes, providing a potential mechanism for therapeutic intervention.

Noise level in neonatal incubators: A comparative study of three models.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández Zacarías, F; Beira Jiménez, J L; Bustillo Velázquez-Gaztelu, P J; Hernández Molina, R; Lubián López, Simón

2018-04-01

Preterm infants usually have to spend a long time in an incubator, excessive noise in which can have adverse physiological and psychological effects on neonates. In fact, incubator noise levels typically range from 45 to 70 dB but differences in this respect depend largely on the noise measuring method used. The primary aim of this work was to assess the extent to which noise in an incubator comes from its own fan and how efficiently the incubator can isolate external noise. Three different incubator models were characterized for acoustic performance by measuring their internal noise levels in an anechoic chamber, and also for noise isolation efficiency by using a pink noise source in combination with an internal and an external microphone that were connected to an SVAN958 noise analyzer. The incubators studied produced continuous equivalent noise levels of 53.5-58 dB and reduced external noise by 5.2-10.4 dB. A preterm infant in an incubator is exposed to noise levels clearly exceeding international recommendations even though such levels usually comply with the limit set in the standard IEC60601-2-19: 2009 (60 dBA) under normal conditions of use. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Dental Environmental Noise Evaluation and Health Risk Model Construction to Dental Professionals

OpenAIRE

Ma, Kuen Wai; Wong, Hai Ming; Mak, Cheuk Ming

2017-01-01

Occupational noise is unavoidably produced from dental equipment, building facilities, and human voices in the dental environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of occupational noise exposure on the dental professionals’ health condition. The psychoacoustics approach noise exposure assessment followed by the health risk assessment was carried on at the paediatric dentistry clinic and the dental laboratory in the Prince Philip Dental Hospital of Hong Kong. The A-weigh...

Noise Pollution Aspects of Barge, Railroad, and Truck Transportation,

Science.gov (United States)

1975-04-01

dBA Trolley 88 dBA 82 dBA 78 dBA 72 dBA Truck 87 dBA 81 dBA 76 dBA 74 dBA Bus 81 dBA 76 dBA 72 dBA 68 dBA Automobile 78 dBA 74 dBA 65 dBA 63 dBA I NO...Environmlent~al Prot~ect~ion Agency, Background Document/linvironment~al Explanat~ion f~or Proposed Int~erstate Rail Carriler Noise Emission Regulat~ions (1974...2). By way of comparison only 0.1 percent automobiles produced this noise level at 70 miles per hour (Figure E-1). Bus and motorcycle noise levels (at

Jet Noise Reduction by Microjets - A Parametric Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zaman, K. B. M. Q.

2010-01-01

The effect of injecting tiny secondary jets (microjets ) on the radiated noise from a subsonic primary jet is studied experimentally. The microjets are injected on to the primary jet near the nozzle exit with variable port geometry, working fluid and driving pressure. A clear noise reduction is observed that improves with increasing jet pressure. It is found that smaller diameter ports with higher driving pressure, but involving less thrust and mass fraction, can produce better noise reduction. A collection of data from the present as well as past experiments is examined in an attempt to correlate the noise reduction with the operating parameters. The results indicate that turbulent mixing noise reduction, as monitored by OASPL at a shallow angle, correlates with the ratio of jet to primary jet driving pressures normalized by the ratio of corresponding diameters (p d /pjD). With gaseous injection, the spectral amplitudes decrease at lower frequencies while an increase is noted at higher frequencies. It is apparent that this amplitude crossover is at least partly due to shock-associated noise from the underexpanded jets themselves. Such crossover is not seen with water injection since the flow in that case is incompressible and there is no shock-associated noise. Centerline velocity data show that larger noise reduction is accompanied by faster jet decay as well as significant reduction in turbulence intensities. While a physical understanding of the dependence of noise reduction on p d /pjD remains unclear, given this correlation, an analysis explains the observed dependence of the effect on various other parameters.

EEG activity as an objective measure of cognitive load during effortful listening: A study on pediatric subjects with bilateral, asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsella, Pasquale; Scorpecci, Alessandro; Cartocci, Giulia; Giannantonio, Sara; Maglione, Anton Giulio; Venuti, Isotta; Brizi, Ambra; Babiloni, Fabio

2017-08-01

Deaf subjects with hearing aids or cochlear implants generally find it challenging to understand speech in noisy environments where a great deal of listening effort and cognitive load are invested. In prelingually deaf children, such difficulties may have detrimental consequences on the learning process and, later in life, on academic performance. Despite the importance of such a topic, currently, there is no validated test for the assessment of cognitive load during audiological tasks. Recently, alpha and theta EEG rhythm variations in the parietal and frontal areas, respectively, have been used as indicators of cognitive load in adult subjects. The aim of the present study was to investigate, by means of EEG, the cognitive load of pediatric subjects affected by asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss as they were engaged in a speech-in-noise identification task. Seven children (4F and 3M, age range = 8-16 years) affected by asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss (i.e. profound degree on one side, mild-to-severe degree on the other side) and using a hearing aid only in their better ear, were included in the study. All of them underwent EEG recording during a speech-in-noise identification task: the experimental conditions were quiet, binaural noise, noise to the better hearing ear and noise to the poorer hearing ear. The subjects' Speech Recognition Thresholds (SRT) were also measured in each test condition. The primary outcome measures were: frontal EEG Power Spectral Density (PSD) in the theta band and parietal EEG PSD in the alpha band, as assessed before stimulus (word) onset. No statistically significant differences were noted among frontal theta power levels in the four test conditions. However, parietal alpha power levels were significantly higher in the "binaural noise" and in the "noise to worse hearing ear" conditions than in the "quiet" and "noise to better hearing ear" conditions (p cognitive load during effortful listening. Significantly higher

Sounds and Noises. A Position Paper on Noise Pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Thomas L.

This position paper focuses on noise pollution and the problems and solutions associated with this form of pollution. The paper is divided into the following five sections: Noise and the Ear, Noise Measurement, III Effects of Noise, Acoustics and Action, and Programs and Activities. The first section identifies noise and sound, the beginnings of…

A guinea pig strain with recessive heredity of deafness, producing normal-hearing heterozygotes with resistance to noise trauma.

Science.gov (United States)

Skjönsberg, Asa; Herrlin, Petra; Duan, Maoli; Johnson, Ann-Christin; Ulfendahl, Mats

2005-01-01

A new strain of waltzing guinea pigs arose spontaneously in a guinea pig breeding facility in Germany in 1996. In addition to obvious vestibular dysfunction, the waltzing animals appear deaf already at birth. Histological analysis revealed that the waltzers lack an open scala media due to the collapse of Reissner's membrane onto the surface of the hearing organ. Subsequent breeding has shown that this strain has a recessive mode of inheritance. The homozygotes are deaf and display a waltzing behaviour throughout their lives while the heterozygotes show no significant signs of inner ear injury despite being carriers of this specific mutated gene of hearing impairment. However, the heterozygous animals offer the opportunity to study how hereditary factors interact with auditory stress. In the present study, the susceptibility of the carriers to noise was investigated. Auditory brainstem responses were obtained prior to and after noise exposure (4 kHz, 110 dB, 6 h). The carriers were significantly less affected by the noise as compared to control animals. This difference was still significant at 4 weeks following noise exposure. It is suggested that the heterozygous animals have an endogenous resistance to auditory stress. Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Noise exposure during ambulance flights and repatriation operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Küpper, Thomas E; Zimmer, Bernd; Conrad, Gerson; Jansing, Paul; Hardt, Aline

2010-01-01

Although ambulance flights are routine work and thousands of employees work in repatriation organizations, there is no data on noise exposure which may be used for preventive advice. We investigated the noise exposure of crews working in ambulance flight organizations for international patient repatriation to get the data for specific guidelines concerning noise protection. Noise levels inside Learjet 35A, the aircraft type which is most often used for repatriation operations, were collected from locations where flight crews typically spend their time. A sound level meter class 1 meeting the DIN IEC 651 requirements was used for noise measurements, but several factors during the real flight situations caused a measurement error of ~3%. Therefore, the results fulfill the specifications for class 2. The data was collected during several real repatriation operations and was combined with the flight data (hours per day) regarding the personnel to evaluate the occupationally encountered equivalent noise level according to DIN 45645-2. The measured noise levels were safely just below the 85 dB(A) threshold and should not induce permanent threshold shifts, provided that additional high noise exposure by non-occupational or private activities was avoided. As the levels of the noise produced by the engines outside the cabin are significantly above the 85 dB(A) threshold, the doors of the aircraft must be kept closed while the engines are running, and any activity performed outside the aircraft - or with the doors opened while the engines are running - must be done with adequate noise protection. The new EU noise directive (2003/10/EG) states that protective equipment must be made available to the aircrew to protect their hearing, though its use is not mandatory.

P3a from white noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, David W; Yee, Ryan B; Polich, John

2012-08-01

P3a and P3b event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were elicited with an auditory three-stimulus (target, distracter, and standard) discrimination task in which subjects responded only to the target. Distracter stimuli consisted of white noise or novel sounds with stimulus characteristics perceptually matched. Target/standard discrimination difficulty was manipulated by varying target/standard pitch differences to produce relatively easy, medium, and hard tasks. Error rate and response time increased with increases in task difficulty. P3a was larger for the white noise compared to novel sounds, maximum over the central/parietal recording sites, and did not differ in size across difficulty levels. P3b was unaffected by distracter type, decreased as task difficulty increased, and maximum over the parietal recording sites. The findings indicate that P3a from white noise is robust and should be useful for applied studies as it removes stimulus novelty variability. Theoretical perspectives are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structureborne noise investigations of a twin engine aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Garrelick, J. M.; Cole, J. E., III; Martini, K.

1986-01-01

The interior noise of aircraft powered by advanced turbo-prop concepts is likely to have nonnegligible contributions from structureborne paths, these paths being those involving propeller loads transmitted to the structures of the lifting surfaces. As a means of examining these paths, structural measurements have been performed on a small twin-engine aircraft, and in addition analytical models of the structure have been developed. In this paper results from both portions of this study are presented.

Calculation of noise maps around electrical energy substations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diniz, Fabiano B.; Zannin, Paulo H.T.

2005-01-01

This work is aimed at studying the noise caused by the transformers found in electrical substations located in calm areas in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Although the level itself reaching the nearby buildings is not high if compared to other noise sources commonly found in a large city, they produce an annoying noise due to its low frequency tonal components. Two substations and their surroundings have been analyzed and acoustically mapped. The results have shown that some houses receive up to 35 dB(A) near one of the substations, which may led to some discomfort. It has also been noticed that a good planning of a substation, mainly of the firewalls, may help putting the houses under acoustical shadows. (Author)

Simulation on a car interior aerodynamic noise control based on statistical energy analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xin; Wang, Dengfeng; Ma, Zhengdong

2012-09-01

How to simulate interior aerodynamic noise accurately is an important question of a car interior noise reduction. The unsteady aerodynamic pressure on body surfaces is proved to be the key effect factor of car interior aerodynamic noise control in high frequency on high speed. In this paper, a detail statistical energy analysis (SEA) model is built. And the vibra-acoustic power inputs are loaded on the model for the valid result of car interior noise analysis. The model is the solid foundation for further optimization on car interior noise control. After the most sensitive subsystems for the power contribution to car interior noise are pointed by SEA comprehensive analysis, the sound pressure level of car interior aerodynamic noise can be reduced by improving their sound and damping characteristics. The further vehicle testing results show that it is available to improve the interior acoustic performance by using detailed SEA model, which comprised by more than 80 subsystems, with the unsteady aerodynamic pressure calculation on body surfaces and the materials improvement of sound/damping properties. It is able to acquire more than 2 dB reduction on the central frequency in the spectrum over 800 Hz. The proposed optimization method can be looked as a reference of car interior aerodynamic noise control by the detail SEA model integrated unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and sensitivity analysis of acoustic contribution.

Noise sources in the LTP heterodyne interferometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wand, V; Bogenstahl, J; Braxmaier, C; Danzmann, K; GarcIa, A; Guzman, F; Heinzel, G; Hough, J; Jennrich, O; Killow, C; Robertson, D; Sodnik, Z; Steier, F; Ward, H

2006-01-01

The LISA Technology Package uses a heterodyne Mach-Zehnder interferometer to monitor the relative motion of the test masses with picometer accuracy. This paper discusses two classes of noise sources that were identified and investigated during the prototype experiments. Most troublesome are electrically induced sidebands on the light, which give rise to nonlinearities in the interferometer output. Even worse, if the differential pathlength between two optical fibres fluctuates, a noise term of milliradian amplitude appears and completely spoils the performance. We discuss the origin and mitigation of this process. Dissimilar beam shapes of the interfering beams produce another type of noise in conjunction with beam jitter and spatially inhomogeneous photodetectors. To study and minimize this effect, we have built a real-time high-resolution phasefront imaging system that will be used for the production of the flight model

Noise amplification of plant gravisensing

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Zhong; Hasenstein, Karl H.

A common problem in sensory physiology is the detection of weak signals, such as that produced by the repositioning of statoliths (amyloplasts) in gravisensing cells, from a noisy background. As in other studied biological mechanosensory systems, it is conceivable that the gravisensing process may be amplified by stochastic resonance and nonlinear noise-assisted effects. We therefore investigated the possible dependency of gravisensing on vibrational or thermodynamic noise by examining the effect of external oscillation and temperature on the rate of gravitropic curvature in flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) roots. Roots were oscillated for 15 min prior to or during gravistimulation, either parallel or perpendicular to the root axis. The effect of oscillation was dependent on its direction as well as frequency and amplitude. Initial curvature was most effectively enhanced by vertical oscillations of 5 Hz and 0.5 mm amplitude prior to reorientation. Vertically oscillated roots reached half-maximal curvature 32 min after reorientation, about 18 min earlier than non-oscillated roots. The enhancing effect of vibration on curvature subsided with a half-time of about 20 min. The temperature dependency of the graviresponse indicated that thermodynamic noise also impacted gravity perception. For vibrations and temperature studies, the presentation times decreased almost 6-fold. Our data indicate that gravisensing may depend on or be enhanced by thermodynamic or mechanical noise.

Chatter, reverberation, and the static in the system: Noise in American cinema culture

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Meredith C.

Noise is unwelcome in film culture; it has long been associated with disruption, counter-productivity, and discord. Yet taking a historical approach to noise and connecting its various manifestations to American auditory culture at large reveals noise to be a historiographically productive category for study. Approaching noise through its effects on four areas of American cinema culture---the social, technological, acoustical, and aesthetic---in four key historical moments, this dissertation demonstrates that listening to noise can explain conflicts in the history of film sound and audiences. Examples include silencing the social noise of rowdy spectators during the nickelodeon period; the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's attempt to compete with Bell Laboratories with technological, noise-based research during film's transition to sound; the rise of acoustical design in film theaters to quash noise and produce contemplative listening in film spectators; and the user's current navigation of her attention between the sounds of media and urban life while viewing films on smartphones. In each case, the presence of noise has produced tensions that reveal the power structure of film culture. Terming sound "noise" is an act of judgment that has social ramifications, and the struggle against noise is also a struggle between groups vying for power within cinema culture: conflict over who may determine whose sound is "noise"; competition between industries regarding who owns sound knowledge; debates about which sounds are "noise" and which are legitimate components of the cinema experience; and tensions between our established expectations of noisy public space and the ways in which we create quiet spheres via mobile listening. Looking to the aural historical dialogues in which cinema culture partook, this project outlines the conditions of possibility within which listening to the cinema emerged in these periods. Understanding these historical contexts, we can

Optimum Parameters of a Tuned Liquid Column Damper in a Wind Turbine Subject to Stochastic Load

Science.gov (United States)

Alkmim, M. H.; de Morais, M. V. G.; Fabro, A. T.

2017-12-01

Parameter optimization for tuned liquid column dampers (TLCD), a class of passive structural control, have been previously proposed in the literature for reducing vibration in wind turbines, and several other applications. However, most of the available work consider the wind excitation as either a deterministic harmonic load or random load with white noise spectra. In this paper, a global direct search optimization algorithm to reduce vibration of a tuned liquid column damper (TLCD), a class of passive structural control device, is presented. The objective is to find optimized parameters for the TLCD under stochastic load from different wind power spectral density. A verification is made considering the analytical solution of undamped primary system under white noise excitation by comparing with result from the literature. Finally, it is shown that different wind profiles can significantly affect the optimum TLCD parameters.

Advanced Intelligent System Application to Load Forecasting and Control for Hybrid Electric Bus

Science.gov (United States)

Momoh, James; Chattopadhyay, Deb; Elfayoumy, Mahmoud

1996-01-01

The primary motivation for this research emanates from providing a decision support system to the electric bus operators in the municipal and urban localities which will guide the operators to maintain an optimal compromise among the noise level, pollution level, fuel usage etc. This study is backed up by our previous studies on study of battery characteristics, permanent magnet DC motor studies and electric traction motor size studies completed in the first year. The operator of the Hybrid Electric Car must determine optimal power management schedule to meet a given load demand for different weather and road conditions. The decision support system for the bus operator comprises three sub-tasks viz. forecast of the electrical load for the route to be traversed divided into specified time periods (few minutes); deriving an optimal 'plan' or 'preschedule' based on the load forecast for the entire time-horizon (i.e., for all time periods) ahead of time; and finally employing corrective control action to monitor and modify the optimal plan in real-time. A fully connected artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed for forecasting the kW requirement for hybrid electric bus based on inputs like climatic conditions, passenger load, road inclination, etc. The ANN model is trained using back-propagation algorithm employing improved optimization techniques like projected Lagrangian technique. The pre-scheduler is based on a Goal-Programming (GP) optimization model with noise, pollution and fuel usage as the three objectives. GP has the capability of analyzing the trade-off among the conflicting objectives and arriving at the optimal activity levels, e.g., throttle settings. The corrective control action or the third sub-task is formulated as an optimal control model with inputs from the real-time data base as well as the GP model to minimize the error (or deviation) from the optimal plan. These three activities linked with the ANN forecaster proving the output to the

Noise-induced hearing loss: a recreational noise perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivory, Robert; Kane, Rebecca; Diaz, Rodney C

2014-10-01

This review will discuss the real-world risk factors involved in noise-induced hearing loss as a result of common and popular recreational activities prone to mid and high levels of noise exposure. Although there are currently no interventional measures available to reverse or mitigate preexisting hearing loss from noise, we discuss the vital importance of hearing loss prevention from noise exposure avoidance and reduction. Despite a seeming understanding of the effects of noise exposure from various recreational activities and devices, a large percentage of the general public who is at risk of such noise-induced hearing loss still chooses to refrain from using hearing protection instruments. While occupational exposures pose the greatest traditional risk to hearing conservation in selected workers, recreational risk factors for noise-induced hearing loss may be more insidious in overall effect given the indifferent attitude of much of the general public and particularly our youths toward hearing protection during recreational activities. Active counseling regarding the consequences of excessive noise exposure and the potential benefits to hearing from usage of hearing protection instruments is critical to providing best possible care in the hearing health professions.

Low noise signal-to-noise ratio enhancing readout circuit for current-mediated active pixel sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ottaviani, Tony; Karim, Karim S.; Nathan, Arokia; Rowlands, John A.

2006-01-01

Diagnostic digital fluoroscopic applications continuously expose patients to low doses of x-ray radiation, posing a challenge to both the digital imaging pixel and readout electronics when amplifying small signal x-ray inputs. Traditional switch-based amorphous silicon imaging solutions, for instance, have produced poor signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) at low exposure levels owing to noise sources from the pixel readout circuitry. Current-mediated amorphous silicon pixels are an improvement over conventional pixel amplifiers with an enhanced SNR across the same low-exposure range, but whose output also becomes nonlinear with increasing dosage. A low-noise SNR enhancing readout circuit has been developed that enhances the charge gain of the current-mediated active pixel sensor (C-APS). The solution takes advantage of the current-mediated approach, primarily integrating the signal input at the desired frequency necessary for large-area imaging, while adding minimal noise to the signal readout. Experimental data indicates that the readout circuit can detect pixel outputs over a large bandwidth suitable for real-time digital diagnostic x-ray fluoroscopy. Results from hardware testing indicate that the minimum achievable C-APS output current that can be discerned at the digital fluoroscopic output from the enhanced SNR readout circuit is 0.341 nA. The results serve to highlight the applicability of amorphous silicon current-mediated pixel amplifiers for large-area flat panel x-ray imagers

Background Noise Contributes to Organic Solvent Induced Brain Dysfunction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O’neil W. Guthrie

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Occupational exposure to complex blends of organic solvents is believed to alter brain functions among workers. However, work environments that contain organic solvents are also polluted with background noise which raises the issue of whether or not the noise contributed to brain alterations. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not repeated exposure to low intensity noise with and without exposure to a complex blend of organic solvents would alter brain activity. Female Fischer344 rats served as subjects in these experiments. Asynchronous volume conductance between the midbrain and cortex was evaluated with a slow vertex recording technique. Subtoxic solvent exposure, by itself, had no statistically significant effects. However, background noise significantly suppressed brain activity and this suppression was exacerbated with solvent exposure. Furthermore, combined exposure produced significantly slow neurotransmission. These abnormal neurophysiologic findings occurred in the absence of hearing loss and detectable damage to sensory cells. The observations from the current experiment raise concern for all occupations where workers are repeatedly exposed to background noise or noise combined with organic solvents. Noise levels and solvent concentrations that are currently considered safe may not actually be safe and existing safety regulations have failed to recognize the neurotoxic potential of combined exposures.

Background Noise Contributes to Organic Solvent Induced Brain Dysfunction

Science.gov (United States)

Guthrie, O'neil W.; Wong, Brian A.; McInturf, Shawn M.; Reboulet, James E.; Ortiz, Pedro A.; Mattie, David R.

2016-01-01

Occupational exposure to complex blends of organic solvents is believed to alter brain functions among workers. However, work environments that contain organic solvents are also polluted with background noise which raises the issue of whether or not the noise contributed to brain alterations. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not repeated exposure to low intensity noise with and without exposure to a complex blend of organic solvents would alter brain activity. Female Fischer344 rats served as subjects in these experiments. Asynchronous volume conductance between the midbrain and cortex was evaluated with a slow vertex recording technique. Subtoxic solvent exposure, by itself, had no statistically significant effects. However, background noise significantly suppressed brain activity and this suppression was exacerbated with solvent exposure. Furthermore, combined exposure produced significantly slow neurotransmission. These abnormal neurophysiologic findings occurred in the absence of hearing loss and detectable damage to sensory cells. The observations from the current experiment raise concern for all occupations where workers are repeatedly exposed to background noise or noise combined with organic solvents. Noise levels and solvent concentrations that are currently considered safe may not actually be safe and existing safety regulations have failed to recognize the neurotoxic potential of combined exposures. PMID:26885406

Background Noise Contributes to Organic Solvent Induced Brain Dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Guthrie, O'neil W; Wong, Brian A; McInturf, Shawn M; Reboulet, James E; Ortiz, Pedro A; Mattie, David R

2016-01-01

Occupational exposure to complex blends of organic solvents is believed to alter brain functions among workers. However, work environments that contain organic solvents are also polluted with background noise which raises the issue of whether or not the noise contributed to brain alterations. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not repeated exposure to low intensity noise with and without exposure to a complex blend of organic solvents would alter brain activity. Female Fischer344 rats served as subjects in these experiments. Asynchronous volume conductance between the midbrain and cortex was evaluated with a slow vertex recording technique. Subtoxic solvent exposure, by itself, had no statistically significant effects. However, background noise significantly suppressed brain activity and this suppression was exacerbated with solvent exposure. Furthermore, combined exposure produced significantly slow neurotransmission. These abnormal neurophysiologic findings occurred in the absence of hearing loss and detectable damage to sensory cells. The observations from the current experiment raise concern for all occupations where workers are repeatedly exposed to background noise or noise combined with organic solvents. Noise levels and solvent concentrations that are currently considered safe may not actually be safe and existing safety regulations have failed to recognize the neurotoxic potential of combined exposures.

Effects of acoustic noise on the auditory nerve compound action potentials evoked by electric pulse trains.

Science.gov (United States)

Nourski, Kirill V; Abbas, Paul J; Miller, Charles A; Robinson, Barbara K; Jeng, Fuh-Cherng

2005-04-01

This study investigated the effects of acoustic noise on the auditory nerve compound action potentials in response to electric pulse trains. Subjects were adult guinea pigs, implanted with a minimally invasive electrode to preserve acoustic sensitivity. Electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAP) were recorded from the auditory nerve trunk in response to electric pulse trains both during and after the presentation of acoustic white noise. Simultaneously presented acoustic noise produced a decrease in ECAP amplitude. The effect of the acoustic masker on the electric probe was greatest at the onset of the acoustic stimulus and it was followed by a partial recovery of the ECAP amplitude. Following cessation of the acoustic noise, ECAP amplitude recovered over a period of approximately 100-200 ms. The effects of the acoustic noise were more prominent at lower electric pulse rates (interpulse intervals of 3 ms and higher). At higher pulse rates, the ECAP adaptation to the electric pulse train alone was larger and the acoustic noise, when presented, produced little additional effect. The observed effects of noise on ECAP were the greatest at high electric stimulus levels and, for a particular electric stimulus level, at high acoustic noise levels.

Acoustic signal propagation and measurement in natural stream channels for application to surrogate bed load measurements: Halfmoon Creek, Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Monitoring sediment-generated noise using submerged hydrophones is a surrogate method for measuring bed load transport in streams with the potential for improving estimates of bed load transport through widespread, inexpensive monitoring. Understanding acoustic signal propagation in natural stream e...

Noise Reduction Potential of Cellular Metals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Björn Hinze

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Rising numbers of flights and aircrafts cause increasing aircraft noise, resulting in the development of various approaches to change this trend. One approach is the application of metallic liners in the hot gas path of aero-engines. At temperatures of up to 600 °C only metallic or ceramic structures can be used. Due to fatigue loading and the notch effect of the pores, mechanical properties of porous metals are superior to the ones of ceramic structures. Consequently, cellular metals like metallic foams, sintered metals, or sintered metal felts are most promising materials. However, acoustic absorption depends highly on pore morphology and porosity. Therefore, both parameters must be characterized precisely to analyze the correlation between morphology and noise reduction performance. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between pore morphology and acoustic absorption performance. The absorber materials are characterized using image processing based on two dimensional microscopy images. The sound absorption properties are measured using an impedance tube. Finally, the correlation of acoustic behavior, pore morphology, and porosity is outlined.

Practical ranges of loudness levels of various types of environmental noise, including traffic noise, aircraft noise, and industrial noise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salomons, E.M.; Janssen, S.A.

2011-01-01

In environmental noise control one commonly employs the A-weighted sound level as an approximate measure of the effect of noise on people. A measure that is more closely related to direct human perception of noise is the loudness level. At constant A-weighted sound level, the loudness level of a

The Feasibility of Noise Control in a Soft Drink Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fouladi Dehaghi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background “Noise” can be defined as any unwanted sound. Soft drink plants, which produce the raw materials used in most carbonated beverage factories, are sources of noise. Objectives This study investigated the noise pollution present in a soft drink CO2 gas injection plant, in order to present noise control measures. Materials and Methods The instructions specified by the canadian center for occupational health and safety (CCOHS were followed during the noise study, and a sound level meter, CEL.450 calibrated with CEL-110.2 based on ISO-9612 methods, was used to record the sound pressure level (SPL at each grid point. SPL was determined in weighting scales A and C. and a noise survey map of equivalent SPLs was drawn for each part. Each part of the floor area of the soft drink factory where SPL exceeded 85 dBA was identified from the noise survey map to determine the causes of high levels of noise. In order to reduce noise level in each part, the absorption coefficient, transmission loss, and noise reduction rate were calculated in the proposed control area. Results According to the study results, noise levels in a CO2 plant’s house and control room ranged from 88 to 102 dB and 79 to 82 dB (A, respectively. In order to reduce the amount of emitted noise in the CO2 plant house and control room, a noise control plan was implemented in each part of the facility; it was met with effective results. Conclusions The findings of this investigation have clearly revealed that plant workers are at risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss. However, after the implementation of a noise control plan in each part of the facility, the noise dose received by workers has significantly decreased. The need to implement a noise conservation program was established.

Objective and subjective rating of tonal noise radiated from UK wind farms: Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

This final report provides data on the assessment of tonal noise radiation from wind turbines in the United Kingdom. Both objective and subjective assessments of the noise pollution from various wind farms are incorporated in the study. Previous subjective tests are verified here using a larger subject and sample size compared to the initial study. The study also aims to produce an objective automatic tonal assessment procedure which identifies tones and broad band masking noise in wind farm radiated noise spectra. (UK)

Measurement of signal-to-noise ratio performance of TV fluoroscopy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geluk, R.J.

1985-01-01

A method has been developed for direct measurement of Signal-to-Noise ratio performance on X-ray TV systems. To this end the TV signal resulting from a calibrated test object, is compared with the noise level in the image. The method is objective and produces instantaneous readout, which makes it very suitable for system evaluation under dynamic conditions. (author)

Theory of the Auger effect in an intense acoustic noise field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doan Nhat Quang.

1995-10-01

A study is given of the effect on Auger processes produced by an intense acoustic noise flux affecting charge carriers via deformation-potential interaction. The calculation of Auger coefficients is carried out within a semiclassical approach to the acoustic noise field and non-degenerate carrier statistics. Simple analytic expressions are then obtained, which expose an exponential dependence of the Auger coefficients on flux intensity. The Auger recombination is found, in analogy with the case of piezoelectric noise field, to be strongly enhanced as compared to that in no-noise conditions by up to several orders of magnitude at high flux intensity, short acoustic wavelength, small carrier concentration and low temperature. (author). 29 refs, 4 figs, 1 tab

Testing the intrinsic noise of a coil-magnet actuator for cryogenic gravitational wave interferometers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falferi, Paolo, E-mail: falferi@science.unitn.it [Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, CNR-Fondazione Bruno Kessler, 38123 Povo, Trento (Italy); INFN, Gruppo Collegato di Trento, Sezione di Padova, 38123 Povo, Trento (Italy)

2011-07-21

The third generation gravitational wave interferometers that will operate underground and at cryogenic temperatures will need a complex and sophisticated control system to satisfy the requirements on the alignment and position of its optics and keep the detector at its working point. The force actuators of the control systems of the present interferometers are for the most part coil-magnet actuators. To check the possibility of using these actuators also at low temperature we have tested the magnetization and the magnetization noise of an SmCo magnet at 4.2 K. The magnetization loss, measured with a fluxgate magnetometer, is 7%. The magnetization noise has been measured with a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The application of dc and ac (0.1 Hz) magnetic fields of an amplitude comparable to that needed to produce on the magnet a force large enough for the control system does not change the measured noise. The equivalent maximum force noise produced by the actuator as a result of the magnetization noise of the magnet has been evaluated. Its effect on the sensitivity of a third generation interferometer (Einstein Telescope) is negligible with respect to the most relevant fundamental noise contributions.

Testing the intrinsic noise of a coil-magnet actuator for cryogenic gravitational wave interferometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falferi, Paolo

2011-01-01

The third generation gravitational wave interferometers that will operate underground and at cryogenic temperatures will need a complex and sophisticated control system to satisfy the requirements on the alignment and position of its optics and keep the detector at its working point. The force actuators of the control systems of the present interferometers are for the most part coil-magnet actuators. To check the possibility of using these actuators also at low temperature we have tested the magnetization and the magnetization noise of an SmCo magnet at 4.2 K. The magnetization loss, measured with a fluxgate magnetometer, is 7%. The magnetization noise has been measured with a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The application of dc and ac (0.1 Hz) magnetic fields of an amplitude comparable to that needed to produce on the magnet a force large enough for the control system does not change the measured noise. The equivalent maximum force noise produced by the actuator as a result of the magnetization noise of the magnet has been evaluated. Its effect on the sensitivity of a third generation interferometer (Einstein Telescope) is negligible with respect to the most relevant fundamental noise contributions.

Effects of a traffic noise background on judgements of aircraft noise

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, C. A.; Rice, C. G.

1974-01-01

A study was conducted in which subjects judged aircraft noises in the presence of road traffic background noise. Two different techniques for presenting the background noises were evaluated. For one technique, the background noise was continuous over the whole of a test session. For the other, the background noise was changed with each aircraft noise. A range of aircraft noise levels and traffic noise levels were presented to simulate typical indoor levels.

Evaluation of noise pollution in oil extracting region of Lavan and the effect of noise enclosure on noise abatement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Golbabaei

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Background and aims   Overexposure to industrial noise pollution induce hearing loss workers. Occupational hearing loss may cause interference whit oral communication, so it may  increase the risk of occupational accidents in workplace as well as affects whit social activities.  This study was conducted on Lavan Island, are of oil extracting regions in the south of Iran. The  object of this study was to evaluate noise pollution and determining the effect of noise enclosure  on noise abatement.   Methods   The noise sources were recognized and noise pressure level was measured by CEL- 440. Noise dose of the exposed workers in high level noise area were measured by CEL 272.   Results   Major noise sources were gas turbines, diesel generators, compressors, fans and gas containing pips, noise contour map revealers that noise level were higher than the recommended national exposure limit. The results of workers noise dose show that their noise exposure were  higher than the recommended value, (p<0.001. Finally, by using the results of noise frequency  analysis of different noise sources, the noise pressure level of each sources was determined in   terms of enclosing them.   Conclusion   By enclosing the noise sources, noise pressure levels can be lowered douse to  acceptable levels but limitation of applying enclosure should be regarded.  

Noise cancellation properties of displacement noise free interferometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Shuichi; Kawamura, Seiji; Nishizawa, Atsushi; Chen Yanbei

2010-01-01

We have demonstrated the practical feasibility of a displacement- and frequency-noise-free laser interferometer (DFI) by partially implementing a recently proposed optical configuration using bi-directional Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs). The noise cancellation efficiency was evaluated by comparing the displacement noise spectrum of the MZIs and the DFI, demonstrating up to 50 dB of noise cancellation. In addition, the possible extension of DFI as QND device is explored.

Noise levels in neonatal intensive care unit and use of sound absorbing panel in the isolette.

Science.gov (United States)

Altuncu, E; Akman, I; Kulekci, S; Akdas, F; Bilgen, H; Ozek, E

2009-07-01

The purposes of this study were to measure the noise level of a busy neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to determine the effect of sound absorbing panel (SAP) on the level of noise inside the isolette. The sound pressure levels (SPL) of background noise, baby crying, alarms and closing of isolette's door/portholes were measured by a 2235-Brüel&Kjaer Sound Level Meter. Readings were repeated after applying SAP (3D pyramidal shaped open cell polyurethane foam) to the three lateral walls and ceiling of the isolette. The median SPL of background noise inside the NICU was 56dBA and it decreased to 47dBA inside the isolette. The median SPL of monitor alarms and baby crying inside the isolette were not different than SPL measured under radiant warmer (p>0.05). With SAP, the median SPL of temperature alarm inside the isolette decreased significantly from 82 to 72dBA, monitor alarm from 64 to 56dBA, porthole closing from 81 to 74dBA, and isolette door closing from 80 to 68dBA (pnoise produced by baby crying when SAP was used in the isolette (79dBA vs 69dBA, respectively) (pnoise. The noise level in our NICU is significantly above the universally recommended levels. Being inside the isolette protects infants from noise sources produced outside the isolette. However, very high noises are produced inside the isolette as well. Sound absorbing panel can be a simple solution and it attenuated the noise levels inside the isolette.

Applicability of models to estimate traffic noise for urban roads.

Science.gov (United States)

Melo, Ricardo A; Pimentel, Roberto L; Lacerda, Diego M; Silva, Wekisley M

2015-01-01

Traffic noise is a highly relevant environmental impact in cities. Models to estimate traffic noise, in turn, can be useful tools to guide mitigation measures. In this paper, the applicability of models to estimate noise levels produced by a continuous flow of vehicles on urban roads is investigated. The aim is to identify which models are more appropriate to estimate traffic noise in urban areas since several models available were conceived to estimate noise from highway traffic. First, measurements of traffic noise, vehicle count and speed were carried out in five arterial urban roads of a brazilian city. Together with geometric measurements of width of lanes and distance from noise meter to lanes, these data were input in several models to estimate traffic noise. The predicted noise levels were then compared to the respective measured counterparts for each road investigated. In addition, a chart showing mean differences in noise between estimations and measurements is presented, to evaluate the overall performance of the models. Measured Leq values varied from 69 to 79 dB(A) for traffic flows varying from 1618 to 5220 vehicles/h. Mean noise level differences between estimations and measurements for all urban roads investigated ranged from -3.5 to 5.5 dB(A). According to the results, deficiencies of some models are discussed while other models are identified as applicable to noise estimations on urban roads in a condition of continuous flow. Key issues to apply such models to urban roads are highlighted.

Analysis of Traffic Noise along Oyemekun - Oba-Adesida Road Akure Ondo State Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. J Oyedepo

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The primary aim of the research is to quantify and analyze the traffic noise emissions along Oba-Adesida –Oyemekun Road. Measurements of noise were recorded in decibel (dBA using digital sound level meters (IEC651 Type 2. While, the traffic volume and spot speed were obtained using cine –camera at six selected locations namely Alagbaka(L1, Biological Garden(L2, Adegbola(L3, Ondo Bye Pass(L4, Ilesha Garage(L5 and FUTA junction(L6 along ObaAdesida- Oyemekun road during the peak period(7:30am -8:30 am & 4:00pm-5:00pm and off peak period(11:30pm- 12:30pm, repeated 3-5 times to account for time-fluctuation of these variables. All measurements were taken on a weighting frequency network, at a height of about 1.5m from the ground level. The vehicles were divided into five categories namely Cars, buses, motorcycles,2-axle load, and 3-axle loads; and were converted into “Passenger Car Units” (PCU by multiplying with recommended factors in accordance with Nigerian Federal Highway Capacity Manual 2006.The average L10(dBA are 72.8, 73.8, 73.4, 74.4, 73.9, and 75.0dBA ; while average combine sound pressure level(SPL in dBA are 76, 77, 78, 78, 77, and 78dBA for L1, L2, L3, L4, L5,and L6 respectively. Findings indicated that traffic generated noise pollution is at or above, the standard outdoor limits in most locations and area can adversely affect the welfare activities. The present study revealed that the study area is getting noisier due to high traffic density and lack of traffic management, practical action to limit and control the exposure to environmental noise are essential. However, road traffic noise by treatments at source (such as to reduce engine noise, exhaust pipe noise etc. is to be encouraged as the principal method of control. The techniques include road design, the management of traffic flow and the use of screens and barriers.

Reactor noise in critical and accelerator driven sub-critical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degweker, S.B.; Rana, Y.S.

2007-01-01

Noise methods have long been used for reactor kinetics parameters measurement and as diagnostic tools for monitoring the health of a nuclear power plant. It is conceivable that noise techniques would find similar applications in ADS. Measurement/monitoring the degree of sub-criticality of an ADS is one such application for which noise based methods are being considered, among others such as the pulsed source method. For this reason, theoretical studies on ADS noise have appeared since the late nineties. The principal difference between critical reactor noise and ADS noise is due to the statistical properties of the source. Unlike the source due to radioactive decay present in ordinary reactors, the machine produced ADS source cannot be assumed to be a Poisson process. In addition the source is pulsed. All this requires a new theoretical approach to the subject. In a number of papers (beginning in 2000) such a theoretical approach has been developed in BARC. Over the years, our approach has received general acceptance. The paper gives a description of the subject of reactor noise and its applications in critical reactors. The theory of noise in ADS is then outlined, highlighting the differences in approach and results from that of critical reactors. (author)

Calculations of B1 Distribution, Specific Energy Absorption Rate, and Intrinsic Signal-to-Noise Ratio for a Body-Size Birdcage Coil Loaded with Different Human Subjects at 64 and 128 MHz.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, W; Collins, C M; Smith, M B

2005-03-01

A numerical model of a female body is developed to study the effects of different body types with different coil drive methods on radio-frequency magnetic ( B 1 ) field distribution, specific energy absorption rate (SAR), and intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio (ISNR) for a body-size birdcage coil at 64 and 128 MHz. The coil is loaded with either a larger, more muscular male body model (subject 1) or a newly developed female body model (subject 2), and driven with two-port (quadrature), four-port, or many (ideal) sources. Loading the coil with subject 1 results in significantly less homogeneous B 1 field, higher SAR, and lower ISNR than those for subject 2 at both frequencies. This dependence of MR performance and safety measures on body type indicates a need for a variety of numerical models representative of a diverse population for future calculations. The different drive methods result in similar B 1 field patterns, SAR, and ISNR in all cases.

Embedded Acoustic Sensor Array for Engine Fan Noise Source Diagnostic Test: Feasibility of Noise Telemetry via Wireless Smart Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Zaman, Afroz; Bauch, Matthew; Raible, Daniel

2011-01-01

Aircraft engines have evolved into a highly complex system to meet ever-increasing demands. The evolution of engine technologies has primarily been driven by fuel efficiency, reliability, as well as engine noise concerns. One of the sources of engine noise is pressure fluctuations that are induced on the stator vanes. These local pressure fluctuations, once produced, propagate and coalesce with the pressure waves originating elsewhere on the stator to form a spinning pressure pattern. Depending on the duct geometry, air flow, and frequency of fluctuations, these spinning pressure patterns are self-sustaining and result in noise which eventually radiate to the far-field from engine. To investigate the nature of vane pressure fluctuations and the resulting engine noise, unsteady pressure signatures from an array of embedded acoustic sensors are recorded as a part of vane noise source diagnostics. Output time signatures from these sensors are routed to a control and data processing station adding complexity to the system and cable loss to the measured signal. "Smart" wireless sensors have data processing capability at the sensor locations which further increases the potential of wireless sensors. Smart sensors can process measured data locally and transmit only the important information through wireless communication. The aim of this wireless noise telemetry task was to demonstrate a single acoustic sensor wireless link for unsteady pressure measurement, and thus, establish the feasibility of distributed smart sensors scheme for aircraft engine vane surface unsteady pressure data transmission and characterization.

Limiting hazardous noise exposure from noisy toys: simple, sticky solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinreich, Heather M; Jabbour, Noel; Levine, Samuel; Yueh, Bevan

2013-09-01

To assess noise levels of toys from the Sight & Hearing Association (SHA) 2010 Noisy Toys List and evaluate the change in noise of these toys after covering the speakers with tape or glue. One Group Pretest-Posttest Design. SHA 2010 Toys List (n = 18) toys were tested at distances of 0 and 25 cm from sound source in a soundproof booth using a digital sound-level meter. The dBA level of sound produced by toy was obtained. Toys with speakers (n = 16) were tested before and after altering speakers with plastic packing tape or nontoxic glue. Mean noise level for non-taped toys at 0 and 25 cm was 107.6 dBA (SD ± 8.5) and 82.5 dBA (SD ± 8.8), respectively. With tape, there was a statistically significant decrease in noise level at 0 and 25 cm: 84.2 dBA and 68.2 dBA (P toys. However, there was no significant difference between tape or glue. Overall, altering the toy can significantly decrease the sound a child may experience when playing with toys. However, some toys, even after altering, still produce sound levels that may be considered dangerous. Copyright © 2013 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Vessel generator noise as a settlement cue for marine biofouling species.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, J I; Wilkens, S L; Stanley, J A; Jeffs, A G

2014-01-01

Underwater noise is increasing globally, largely due to increased vessel numbers and international ocean trade. Vessels are also a major vector for translocation of non-indigenous marine species which can have serious implications for biosecurity. The possibility that underwater noise from fishing vessels may promote settlement of biofouling on hulls was investigated for the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Spatial differences in biofouling appear to be correlated with spatial differences in the intensity and frequency of the noise emitted by the vessel's generator. This correlation was confirmed in laboratory experiments where C. intestinalis larvae showed significantly faster settlement and metamorphosis when exposed to the underwater noise produced by the vessel generator. Larval survival rates were also significantly higher in treatments exposed to vessel generator noise. Enhanced settlement attributable to vessel generator noise may indicate that vessels not only provide a suitable fouling substratum, but vessels running generators may be attracting larvae and enhancing their survival and growth.

Non-Markovian noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fulinski, A.

1994-01-01

The properties of non-Markovian noises with exponentially correlated memory are discussed. Considered are dichotomic noise, white shot noise, Gaussian white noise, and Gaussian colored noise. The stationary correlation functions of the non-Markovian versions of these noises are given by linear combinations of two or three exponential functions (colored noises) or of the δ function and exponential function (white noises). The non-Markovian white noises are well defined only when the kernel of the non-Markovian master equation contains a nonzero admixture of a Markovian term. Approximate equations governing the probability densities for processes driven by such non-Markovian noises are derived, including non-Markovian versions of the Fokker-Planck equation and the telegrapher's equation. As an example, it is shown how the non-Markovian nature changes the behavior of the driven linear process

Limitations of Phased Array Beamforming in Open Rotor Noise Source Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Horvath, Csaba; Envia, Edmane; Podboy, Gary G.

2013-01-01

Phased array beamforming results of the F31/A31 historical baseline counter-rotating open rotor blade set were investigated for measurement data taken on the NASA Counter-Rotating Open Rotor Propulsion Rig in the 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel of NASA Glenn Research Center as well as data produced using the LINPROP open rotor tone noise code. The planar microphone array was positioned broadside and parallel to the axis of the open rotor, roughly 2.3 rotor diameters away. The results provide insight as to why the apparent noise sources of the blade passing frequency tones and interaction tones appear at their nominal Mach radii instead of at the actual noise sources, even if those locations are not on the blades. Contour maps corresponding to the sound fields produced by the radiating sound waves, taken from the simulations, are used to illustrate how the interaction patterns of circumferential spinning modes of rotating coherent noise sources interact with the phased array, often giving misleading results, as the apparent sources do not always show where the actual noise sources are located. This suggests that a more sophisticated source model would be required to accurately locate the sources of each tone. The results of this study also have implications with regard to the shielding of open rotor sources by airframe empennages.

Hydrodynamic interactions induce movement against an external load in a ratchet dimer Brownian motor.

Science.gov (United States)

Fornés, José A

2010-01-15

We use the Brownian dynamics with hydrodynamic interactions simulation in order to describe the movement of a elastically coupled dimer Brownian motor in a ratchet potential. The only external forces considered in our system were the load, the random thermal noise and an unbiased thermal fluctuation. For a given set of parameters we observe direct movement against the load force if hydrodynamic interactions were considered.

Review of noise in neonatal intensive care units - regional analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez Abril, A [National Technological University, Regional Bioengineering Institute, Mendoza (Argentina); Terron, A; Boschi, C [National Technological University, Regional Bioengineering Institute, Mendoza (Argentina); Gomez, M [National Technological University, La Rioja (Argentina)

2007-11-15

This work is about the problem of noise in neonatal incubators and in the environment in the neonatal intensive care units. Its main objective is to analyse the impact of noise in hospitals of Mendoza and La Rioja. Methodology: The measures were taken in different moments in front of higher or lower severity level in the working environment. It is shown that noise produces severe damages and changes in the behaviour and the psychological status of the new born babies. Results: The noise recorded inside the incubators and the neonatal intensive care units together have many components but the noise of motors, opening and closing of access gates have been considered the most important ones. Values above 60 db and and up to 120 db in some cases were recorded, so the need to train the health staff in order to manage the new born babies, the equipment and the instruments associated with them very carefully is revealed.

Review of noise in neonatal intensive care units - regional analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez Abril, A; Terron, A; Boschi, C; Gomez, M

2007-01-01

This work is about the problem of noise in neonatal incubators and in the environment in the neonatal intensive care units. Its main objective is to analyse the impact of noise in hospitals of Mendoza and La Rioja. Methodology: The measures were taken in different moments in front of higher or lower severity level in the working environment. It is shown that noise produces severe damages and changes in the behaviour and the psychological status of the new born babies. Results: The noise recorded inside the incubators and the neonatal intensive care units together have many components but the noise of motors, opening and closing of access gates have been considered the most important ones. Values above 60 db and and up to 120 db in some cases were recorded, so the need to train the health staff in order to manage the new born babies, the equipment and the instruments associated with them very carefully is revealed

Muon Signals at a Low Signal-to-Noise Ratio Environment

CERN Document Server

Zakareishvili, Tamar; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

Calorimeters provide high-resolution energy measurements for particle detection. Muon signals are important for evaluating electronics performance, since they produce a signal that is close to electronic noise values. This work provides a noise RMS analysis for the Demonstrator drawer of the 2016 Tile Calorimeter (TileCal) Test Beam in order to help reconstruct events in a low signal-to-noise environment. Muon signals were then found for a beam penetrating through all three layers of the drawer. The Demonstrator drawer is an electronic candidate for TileCal, part of the ATLAS experiment for the Large Hadron Collider that operates at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

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.

Model-based temperature noise monitoring methods for LMFBR core anomaly detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamaoki, Tetsuo; Sonoda, Yukio; Sato, Masuo; Takahashi, Ryoichi.

1994-01-01

Temperature noise, measured by thermocouples mounted at each core fuel subassembly, is considered to be the most useful signal for detecting and locating local cooling anomalies in an LMFBR core. However, the core outlet temperature noise contains background noise due to fluctuations in the operating parameters including reactor power. It is therefore necessary to reduce this background noise for highly sensitive anomaly detection by subtracting predictable components from the measured signal. In the present study, both a physical model and an autoregressive model were applied to noise data measured in the experimental fast reactor JOYO. The results indicate that the autoregressive model has a higher precision than the physical model in background noise prediction. Based on these results, an 'autoregressive model modification method' is proposed, in which a temporary autoregressive model is generated by interpolation or extrapolation of reference models identified under a small number of different operating conditions. The generated autoregressive model has shown sufficient precision over a wide range of reactor power in applications to artificial noise data produced by an LMFBR noise simulator even when the coolant flow rate was changed to keep a constant power-to-flow ratio. (author)

Concurrent Codes: A Holographic-Type Encoding Robust against Noise and Loss.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David M Benton

Full Text Available Concurrent coding is an encoding scheme with 'holographic' type properties that are shown here to be robust against a significant amount of noise and signal loss. This single encoding scheme is able to correct for random errors and burst errors simultaneously, but does not rely on cyclic codes. A simple and practical scheme has been tested that displays perfect decoding when the signal to noise ratio is of order -18dB. The same scheme also displays perfect reconstruction when a contiguous block of 40% of the transmission is missing. In addition this scheme is 50% more efficient in terms of transmitted power requirements than equivalent cyclic codes. A simple model is presented that describes the process of decoding and can determine the computational load that would be expected, as well as describing the critical levels of noise and missing data at which false messages begin to be generated.

Noise-induced annoyance from transportation noise: short-term responses to a single noise source in a laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jaehwan; Lim, Changwoo; Hong, Jiyoung; Lee, Soogab

2010-02-01

An experimental study was performed to compare the annoyances from civil-aircraft noise, military-aircraft noise, railway noise, and road-traffic noise. Two-way within-subjects designs were applied in this research. Fifty-two subjects, who were naive listeners, were given various stimuli with varying levels through a headphone in an anechoic chamber. Regardless of the frequency weighting network, even under the same average energy level, civil-aircraft noise was the most annoying, followed by military-aircraft noise, railway noise, and road-traffic noise. In particular, penalties in the time-averaged, A-weighted sound level (TAL) of about 8, 5, and 5 dB, respectively, were found in the civil-aircraft, military-aircraft, and railway noises. The reason could be clarified through the high-frequency component and the variability in the level. When people were exposed to sounds with the same maximum A-weighted level, a railway bonus of about 3 dB was found. However, transportation noise has been evaluated by the time-averaged A-weighted level in most countries. Therefore, in the present situation, the railway bonus is not acceptable for railway vehicles with diesel-electric engines.

Measurements and Predictions of the Noise from Three-Stream Jets

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Brenda S.; Leib, Stewart J.; Wernet, Mark P.

2015-01-01

An experimental and numerical investigation of the noise produced by high-subsonic and supersonic three-stream jets was conducted. The exhaust system consisted of externally-mixed-convergent nozzles and an external plug. Bypass- and tertiary-to-core area ratios between 1.0 and 2.5, and 0.4 and 1.0, respectively, were studied. Axisymmetric and offset tertiary nozzles were investigated for heated and unheated conditions. For axisymmetric configurations, the addition of the third stream was found to reduce peak- and high-frequency acoustic levels in the peak-jet-noise direction, with greater reductions at the lower bypass-to-core area ratios. For the offset configurations, an offset duct was found to decrease acoustic levels on the thick side of the tertiary nozzle relative to those produced by the simulated two-stream jet with up to 8 dB mid-frequency noise reduction at large angles to the jet inlet axis. Noise reduction in the peak-jet-noise direction was greater for supersonic core speeds than for subsonic core speeds. The addition of a tertiary nozzle insert used to divert the third-stream jet to one side of the nozzle system provided no noise reduction. Noise predictions are presented for selected cases using a method based on an acoustic analogy with mean flow interaction effects accounted for using a Green's function, computed in terms of its coupled azimuthal modes for the offset cases, and a source model previously used for round and rectangular jets. Comparisons of the prediction results with data show that the noise model predicts the observed increase in low-frequency noise with the introduction of a third, axisymmetric stream, but not the high-frequency reduction. For an offset third stream, the model predicts the observed trend of decreased sound levels on the thick side of the jet compared with the thin side, but the predicted azimuthal variations are much less than those seen in the data. Also, the shift of the spectral peak to lower frequencies with

Mode-hopping mechanism generating colored noise in a magnetic tunnel junction based spin torque oscillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Raghav; Dürrenfeld, P.; Iacocca, E.; Heinonen, O. G.; Åkerman, J.; Muduli, P. K.

2014-01-01

The frequency noise spectrum of a magnetic tunnel junction based spin torque oscillator is examined where multiple modes and mode-hopping events are observed. The frequency noise spectrum is found to consist of both white noise and 1/f frequency noise. We find a systematic and similar dependence of both white noise and 1/f frequency noise on bias current and the relative angle between the reference and free layers, which changes the effective damping and hence the mode-hopping behavior in this system. The frequency at which the 1/f frequency noise changes to white noise increases as the free layer is aligned away from the anti-parallel orientation w.r.t the reference layer. These results indicate that the origin of 1/f frequency noise is related to mode-hopping, which produces both white noise as well as 1/f frequency noise similar to the case of ring lasers.

Environmental noise and noise modelling-some aspects in Malaysian development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leong, Mohd Salman; Mohd Shafiek bin Hj Yaacob

1994-01-01

Environmental noise is of growing concern in Malaysia with the increasing awareness of the need for an environmental quality consistent with improved quality of life. While noise is one of the several elements in an Environmental Impact Assessment report, the degree of emphasis in the assessment is not as thorough as other aspects in the EIA study. The measurements, prediction (if at all any), and evaluation tended to be superficial. The paper presents a summary of correct noise descriptors and annoyance assessment parameters appropriate for the evaluation of environmental noise. The paper further highlights current inadequacies in the Environmental Quality Act for noise pollution, and annoyance assessment. Some examples of local noise pollution are presented. A discussion on environmental noise modelling is presented. Examples illustrating environmental noise modelling for a mining operation and a power station are given. It is the authors' recommendation that environmental noise modelling be made mandatory in all EIA studies such that a more definitive assessment could be realised

Annoyance of low frequency noise and traffic noise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, F.R.; Poulsen, Torben

2001-01-01

The annoyance of different low frequency noise sources was determined and compared to the annoyance from traffic noise. Twenty-two subjects participated in laboratory listening tests. The sounds were presented by loudspeakers in a listening room and the spectra of the low frequency noises were...

Identification and reduction of vibration and noise of a glass tempering system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashhab, M S

2015-01-01

The vibration and noise of a glass tempering machine at a factory are studied. Experiments were conducted to identify the sources of vibration and noise. It was found that main sources for vibration and noise are two air barrels, the air pipes from the fans to the glass tempering machine and the fans location. Solutions were suggested to reduce vibration and noise from these three main sources. One of the solutions that were implemented is placing rubber dampers beneath the air barrels and pipes which almost cancelled the horizontal vibrations in the building structure and reduced the vertical vibrations to a low value most likely coming from noise. There are two types of noise, namely, radiation noise from the fans through the fans room walls and transmitted noise through the pipes caused by turbulence. A glass wool noise insulating layer was installed on the wall between the fans room and factory to reduce radiation noise through this wall. Part of the air pipe system in the factory is made of a light material which produced the highest levels of noise above 110 dBA. These air pipes were wrapped by glass wool rolls and the noise level near them was reduced to below 100 dBA which comes from other machine parts. In addition, noise levels were reduced between 2 and 15 dBA at different points in the factory. (paper)

Analysis of Dynamic Properties of Piezoelectric Structure under Impact Load

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taotao Zhang

2015-10-01

Full Text Available An analytical model of the dynamic properties is established for a piezoelectric structure under impact load, without considering noise and perturbations in this paper. Based on the general theory of piezo-elasticity and impact mechanics, the theoretical solutions of the mechanical and electrical fields of the smart structure are obtained with the standing and traveling wave methods, respectively. The comparisons between the two methods have shown that the standing wave method is better for studying long-time response after an impact load. In addition, good agreements are found between the theoretical and the numerical results. To simulate the impact load, both triangle and step pulse loads are used and comparisons are given. Furthermore, the influence of several parameters is discussed so as to provide some advices for practical use. It can be seen that the proposed analytical model would benefit, to some extent, the design and application (especially the airport runway of the related smart devices by taking into account their impact load performance.

Evaluating noise abatement measures using strategic noise maps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borst, H.C.; Miedema, H.M.E.; Laan, W.P.N. van der; Lohman, W.J.A.

2006-01-01

Noise annoyance due to transportation is widespread in industrialized countries and in urban areas in the developing countries. The European Noise Directive (END) requires an assessment of the noise situation as well as the formulation of action plans for the reduction of the number of people

Hand dryer noise in public restrooms exceeds 80 dBA at 10 ft (3 m

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shari Salzhauer Berkowitz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available High airflow hand dryers are found in many public restrooms today. These dryers offer quick and clean hand drying, and are seen as being an environment-friendly alternative to paper towels. However, many new hand dryers are loud, exposing individuals using the facilities as well as those employees who clean the facilities to potentially dangerous noise. Prolonged exposure to high levels of occupational noise can cause damage to hair cells in the cochlea, resulting in varying degrees of noise-induced hearing loss. This study examined the intensity (in dBA of the noise produced by the air dryers in campus restrooms. Hand dryer peak and average noise was measured with a sound level meter at 2.5 ft, 5 ft, and 10 ft from the dryer. Noise measurements did not decrease as predicted by the inverse-square law, probably because of the reverberative surfaces found in the restrooms. The small sample of hand dryers tested was mostly found to be producing more noise than the manufacturer claimed they would; indeed, none of the dryers would be safe for an 8-h workday exposure. While hand dryers do reduce paper trash, they pose as a different sort of hazard to our environment and population.

Noise annoys: effects of noise on breeding great tits depend on personality but not on noise characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Naguib, M.; Van Oers, K.; Braakhuis, A.; Griffioen, M.; De Goede, P.; Waas, J.R.

2013-01-01

Anthropogenic noise can have serious implications for animals, especially when they communicate acoustically. Yet, the impacts of noise may depend not only on noise characteristics but also on an individual's coping style or personality. We tested whether noise is more disturbing if it masks

The Usability of Noise Level from Rock Cutting for the Prediction of Physico-Mechanical Properties of Rocks

Science.gov (United States)

Delibalta, M. S.; Kahraman, S.; Comakli, R.

2015-11-01

Because the indirect tests are easier and cheaper than the direct tests, the prediction of rock properties from the indirect testing methods is important especially for the preliminary investigations. In this study, the predictability of the physico-mechanical rock properties from the noise level measured during cutting rock with diamond saw was investigated. Noise measurement test, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) test, Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) test, point load strength (Is) test, density test, and porosity test were carried out on 54 different rock types in the laboratory. The results were statistically analyzed to derive estimation equations. Strong correlations between the noise level and the mechanical rock properties were found. The relations follow power functions. Increasing rock strength increases the noise level. Density and porosity also correlated strongly with the noise level. The relations follow linear functions. Increasing density increases the noise level while increasing porosity decreases the noise level. The developed equations are valid for the rocks with a compressive strength below 150 MPa. Concluding remark is that the physico-mechanical rock properties can reliably be estimated from the noise level measured during cutting the rock with diamond saw.

Adaptive algorithm for predicting increases in central loads of electrical energy systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arbachyauskene, N A; Pushinaytis, K V

1982-01-01

An adaptive algorithm for predicting increases in central loads of the electrical energy system is suggested for the task of evaluating the condition. The algorithm is based on the Kalman filter. In order to calculate the coefficient of intensification, the a priori assigned noise characteristics with low accuracy are used only in the beginning of the calculation. Further, the coefficient of intensification is calculated from the innovation sequence. This approach makes it possible to correct errors in the assignment of the statistical noise characteristics and to follow their changes. The algorithm is experimentally verified.

Annoyance to Noise Produced by a Distributed Electric Propulsion High-Lift System

Science.gov (United States)

Rizzi, Stephen A.; Palumbo, Daniel L.; Rathsam, Jonathan; Christian, Andrew; Rafaelof, Menachem

2017-01-01

A psychoacoustic test was performed using simulated sounds from a distributed electric propulsion aircraft concept to help understand factors associated with human annoyance. A design space spanning the number of high-lift leading edge propellers and their relative operating speeds, inclusive of time varying effects associated with motor controller error and atmospheric turbulence, was considered. It was found that the mean annoyance response varies in a statistically significant manner with the number of propellers and with the inclusion of time varying effects, but does not differ significantly with the relative RPM between propellers. An annoyance model was developed, inclusive of confidence intervals, using the noise metrics of loudness, roughness, and tonality as predictors.

Optimization of actuator arrays for aircraft interior noise control

Science.gov (United States)

Cabell, R. H.; Lester, H. C.; Mathur, G. P.; Tran, B. N.

1993-01-01

A numerical procedure for grouping actuators in order to reduce the number of degrees of freedom in an active noise control system is evaluated using experimental data. Piezoceramic actuators for reducing aircraft interior noise are arranged into groups using a nonlinear optimization routine and clustering algorithm. An actuator group is created when two or more actuators are driven with the same control input. This procedure is suitable for active control applications where actuators are already mounted on a structure. The feasibility of this technique is demonstrated using measured data from the aft cabin of a Douglas DC-9 fuselage. The measured data include transfer functions between 34 piezoceramic actuators and 29 interior microphones and microphone responses due to the primary noise produced by external speakers. Control inputs for the grouped actuators were calculated so that a cost function, defined as a quadratic pressure term and a penalty term, was a minimum. The measured transfer functions and microphone responses are checked by comparing calculated noise reductions with measured noise reductions for four frequencies. The grouping procedure is then used to determine actuator groups that improve overall interior noise reductions by 5.3 to 15 dB, compared to the baseline experimental configuration.

Sleep disturbance due to noise: Current issues and future research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ken Hume

2010-01-01

Full Text Available There is growing interest in carrying out further research to understand and reduce the impact of aircraft noise on airport neighborhood in anticipation of the projected substantial increase in global aviation. Soundscapes provide new analytical methods and a broader, more comprehensive appreciation of the aural environment, which may have a useful role in understanding noise-induced sleep disturbance and annoyance. Current noise metrics like Leq do not provide a common language to report noise environment to residents, which is a key obstacle to effective noise management and acceptance. Non-auditory effects complicate the production of consistent dose-response functions for aircraft noise affecting sleep and annoyance. There are various end-points that can be chosen to assess the degree of sleep disturbance, which has detracted from the clarity of results that has been communicated to wider audiences. The World Health Organization (WHO-Europe has produced Night Noise Guidelines for Europe, which act as a clear guide for airports and planners to work towards. Methodological inadequacies and the need for simpler techniques to record sleep will be considered with the exciting potential to greatly increase cost-effective field data acquisition, which is needed for large scale epidemiological studies

The effects of noise reduction technologies on the acceptance of background noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowery, Kristy Jones; Plyler, Patrick N

2013-09-01

Directional microphones (D-Mics) and digital noise reduction (DNR) algorithms are used in hearing aids to reduce the negative effects of background noise on performance. Directional microphones attenuate sounds arriving from anywhere other than the front of the listener while DNR attenuates sounds with physical characteristics of noise. Although both noise reduction technologies are currently available in hearing aids, it is unclear if the use of these technologies in isolation or together affects acceptance of noise and/or preference for the end user when used in various types of background noise. The purpose of the research was to determine the effects of D-Mic, DNR, or the combination of D-Mic and DNR on acceptance of noise and preference when listening in various types of background noise. An experimental study in which subjects were exposed to a repeated measures design was utilized. Thirty adult listeners with mild sloping to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss participated (mean age 67 yr). Acceptable noise levels (ANLs) were obtained using no noise reduction technologies, D-Mic only, DNR only, and the combination of the two technologies (Combo) for three different background noises (single-talker speech, speech-shaped noise, and multitalker babble) for each listener. In addition, preference rankings of the noise reduction technologies were obtained within each background noise (1 = best, 3 = worst). ANL values were significantly better for each noise reduction technology than baseline; and benefit increased significantly from DNR to D-Mic to Combo. Listeners with higher (worse) baseline ANLs received more benefit from noise reduction technologies than listeners with lower (better) baseline ANLs. Neither ANL values nor ANL benefit values were significantly affected by background noise type; however, ANL benefit with D-Mic and Combo was similar when speech-like noise was present while ANL benefit was greatest for Combo when speech spectrum noise was

Comparisons of spectral characteristics of wind noise between omnidirectional and directional microphones.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, King

2012-06-01

Wind noise reduction is a topic of ongoing research and development for hearing aids and cochlear implants. The purposes of this study were to examine spectral characteristics of wind noise generated by directional (DIR) and omnidirectional (OMNI) microphones on different styles of hearing aids and to derive wind noise reduction strategies. Three digital hearing aids (BTE, ITE, and ITC) were fitted to Knowles Electronic Manikin for Acoustic Research. They were programmed to have linear amplification and matching frequency responses between the DIR and OMNI modes. Flow noise recordings were made from 0° to 360° azimuths at flow velocities of 4.5, 9.0, and 13.5 m/s in a quiet wind tunnel. Noise levels were analyzed in one-third octave bands from 100 to 8000 Hz. Comparison of wind noise revealed that DIR generally produced higher noise levels than OMNI for all hearing aids, but it could result in lower levels than OMNI at some frequencies and head angles. Wind noise reduction algorithms can be designed to detect noise levels of DIR and OMNI outputs in each frequency channel, remove the constraint to switch to OMNI in low-frequency channel(s) only, and adopt the microphone mode with lower noise levels to take advantage of the microphone differences.

Community noise

Science.gov (United States)

Bragdon, C. R.

Airport and community land use planning as they relate to airport noise reduction are discussed. Legislation, community relations, and the physiological effect of airport noise are considered. Noise at the Logan, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis/St. Paul airports is discussed.

Energetics of small electron acceleration episodes in the solar corona from radio noise storm observations

Science.gov (United States)

James, Tomin; Subramanian, Prasad

2018-05-01

Observations of radio noise storms can act as sensitive probes of nonthermal electrons produced in small acceleration events in the solar corona. We use data from noise storm episodes observed jointly by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and the Nancay Radioheliograph (NRH) to study characteristics of the nonthermal electrons involved in the emission. We find that the electrons carry 1021 to 1024 erg/s, and that the energy contained in the electrons producing a representative noise storm burst ranges from 1020 to 1023 ergs. These results are a direct probe of the energetics involved in ubiquitous, small-scale electron acceleration episodes in the corona, and could be relevant to a nanoflare-like scenario for coronal heating.

Acoustic performance of low pressure axial fan rotors with different blade chord length and radial load distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Carolus, Thomas

The paper examines the acoustic and aerodynamic performance of low-pressure axial fan rotors with a hub/tip ratio of 0.45. Six rotors were designed for the same working point by means of the well-known airfoil theory. The condition of an equilibrium between the static pressure gradient and the centrifugal forces is maintained. All rotors have unequally spaced blades to diminish tonal noise. The rotors are tested in a short cylindrical housing without guide vanes. All rotors show very similar flux-pressure difference characteristics. The peak efficiency and the noise performance is considerably influenced by the chosen blade design. The aerodynamically and acoustically optimal rotor is the one with the reduced load at the hub and increased load in the tip region under satisfied equilibrium conditions. It runs at the highest aerodynamic efficiency, and its noise spectrum is fairly smooth. The overall sound pressure level of this rotor is up to 8 dB (A) lower compared to the other rotors under consideration.

Low-Level RF Control of Microphonics in Superconducting Spoke-Loaded Cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conway, Z.A.; Kelly, M.P.; Sharamentov, S.I.; Shepard, K.W.; Davis, G.; Delayen, Jean; Doolittle, Lawrence

2007-01-01

This paper presents the results of cw RF frequency control and RF phase-stabilization experiments performed with a piezoelectric fast tuner mechanically coupled to a superconducting, 345 MHz, < = 0.5 triple-spoke-loaded cavity operating at 4.2K. The piezoelectric fast tuner damped low-frequency microphonic-noise by an order of magnitude. Two methods of RF phase-stabilization were characterized: overcoupling with negative phase feedback, and also fast mechanical tuner feedback. The = 0.5 triple-spoke-loaded cavity RF field amplitude and phase errors were controlled to ±0.5% and ±30 respectively.

Noise Levels in Dental Offices and Laboratories in Hamedan, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Mojarad

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: Noise pollution is one of the most important situations requiring a solution by the contemporary world. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has identified noise as one of the ten leading causes of work-related diseases and injuries.Dentists and dental auxiliaries are exposed to different noise levels while working in dental offices or laboratories. The purpose of this study was to measure the noise level made by different dental instruments in dental offices and laboratories.Materials and Methods: Measurement of the noise level was performed in 89 dental offices and nine dental laboratories. The noise levels were determined using a sound level meter; type SL-4011(Lutron ,which was placed at the operator’s ear level in dental offices and laboratories and also at two-meter distance from the technician’s ear in laboratories.Results: The maximum sound level was 85.8 dB in dental offices and 92.0 dB in laboratories.In dental clinics, the highest noise was produced by the ultrasonic-scaler (85.8 dB and the lowest noise (49.7 dB by the high-volume aspirator, whereas in the laboratory,the highest noise was caused during grinding by the stonecutter (92.0 dB and the lowest by the denture-polishing unit (41.0 dB.Conclusion: After close evaluation, we believe that the maximum noise level in dental offices, although often beneath the damaging noise level for the human ear, is very close to the limit of hearing loss (85.0 dB. However, laboratory technicians may be at risk ifthey choose not to wear ear protection (earplugs or earmuffs.

Noise Estimation and Quality Assessment of Gaussian Noise Corrupted Images

Science.gov (United States)

Kamble, V. M.; Bhurchandi, K.

2018-03-01

Evaluating the exact quantity of noise present in an image and quality of an image in the absence of reference image is a challenging task. We propose a near perfect noise estimation method and a no reference image quality assessment method for images corrupted by Gaussian noise. The proposed methods obtain initial estimate of noise standard deviation present in an image using the median of wavelet transform coefficients and then obtains a near to exact estimate using curve fitting. The proposed noise estimation method provides the estimate of noise within average error of +/-4%. For quality assessment, this noise estimate is mapped to fit the Differential Mean Opinion Score (DMOS) using a nonlinear function. The proposed methods require minimum training and yields the noise estimate and image quality score. Images from Laboratory for image and Video Processing (LIVE) database and Computational Perception and Image Quality (CSIQ) database are used for validation of the proposed quality assessment method. Experimental results show that the performance of proposed quality assessment method is at par with the existing no reference image quality assessment metric for Gaussian noise corrupted images.

Report on inter-noise 99; Inter-noise 99 sanka hokok

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koike, H. [Japan Automobile Research Institute Inc., Tsukuba (Japan)

2000-04-01

Inter-Noise (International Congress on Noise Control Engineering) is a society on noise/vibration and the control technology. Inter-Noise 99 was held on December 6, 7 and 8, 1999, at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the U.S. The theme was Noise Control in the New Millennium. The number of the participants registered was 555 (151 from the U.S., 89 from Japan, 248 from European countries, and 69 from Asian/other countries). Dr. Harold Marshall gave a keynote lecture titled Noise Control by Design in the 21st Century - An Architectural Acoustic Perspective. From a standpoint of architectural acoustics, he stated the perspective, subjects, and course of the technical development pertaining to technologies needed in the 21st century. The papers read are mostly from the following fields: measuring technology, military exercise noise, modeling, forecast and simulation, aerodynamic/underwater sound, etc. In the session on the tire noise where the author read a paper, 14 papers were read. The number of the papers read was more than that in 1998, probably influenced by the tire noise regulation in Europe and Japan. (translated by NEDO)

Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Noise is all around you, from televisions and radios to lawn mowers and washing machines. Normally, you ... sensitive structures of the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing loss. More than 30 million Americans ...

Ensemble empirical mode decomposition based fluorescence spectral noise reduction for low concentration PAHs

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shu-tao; Yang, Xue-ying; Kong, De-ming; Wang, Yu-tian

2017-11-01

A new noise reduction method based on ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) is proposed to improve the detection effect for fluorescence spectra. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollutants, as a kind of important current environmental pollution source, are highly oncogenic. Using the fluorescence spectroscopy method, the PAHs pollutants can be detected. However, instrument will produce noise in the experiment. Weak fluorescent signals can be affected by noise, so we propose a way to denoise and improve the detection effect. Firstly, we use fluorescence spectrometer to detect PAHs to obtain fluorescence spectra. Subsequently, noises are reduced by EEMD algorithm. Finally, the experiment results show the proposed method is feasible.

Biopharmaceutical characterisation of insulin and recombinant human growth hormone loaded lipid submicron particles produced by supercritical gas micro-atomisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmaso, Stefano; Bersani, Sara; Elvassore, Nicola; Bertucco, Alberto; Caliceti, Paolo

2009-09-08

Homogeneous dispersions of insulin and recombinant human growth hormone (rh-GH) in tristearin/phosphatidylcholine/PEG mixtures (1.3:1.3:0.25:0.15 w/w ratio) were processed by supercritical carbon dioxide gas micro-atomisation to produce protein-loaded lipid particles. The process yielded spherical particles, with a 197+/-94 nm mean diameter, and the insulin and rh-GH recovery in the final product was 57+/-8% and 48+/-5%, respectively. In vitro, the proteins were slowly released for about 70-80 h according to a diffusive mechanism. In vivo, the insulin and glucose profiles in plasma obtained by subcutaneous administration of a dose of particles containing 2 microg insulin to diabetic mice overlapped that obtained with 2 microg of insulin in solution. Administration of a dose of particles containing 5 microg insulin resulted in faster and longer glycaemia reduction. Oral administration of 20 and 50 microg insulin equivalent particles produced a significant hypoglycaemic effect. The glucose levels decreased since 2h after administration, reaching about 50% and 70% glucose reduction in 1-2h with the lower and higher dose, respectively. As compared to subcutaneous administration, the relative pharmacological bioavailability obtained with 20 and 50 microg equivalent insulin particles was 7.7% and 6.7%, respectively. Daily subcutaneous administration of 40 microg of rh-GH-loaded particles to hypophysectomised rats induced similar body weight increase as 40 microg rh-GH in solution. The daily oral administration of 400 microg rh-GH equivalent particles elicited a slight body weight increase, which corresponded to a relative pharmacological bioavailability of 3.4% compared to subcutaneous administration.

Noise emission from wind turbines in wake. Project report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dam Madsen, K.; Plovsing, B. (DELTA, Hoersholm (Denmark)); Soerensen, Thomas (EMD International A/S, Aalborg (Denmark)); Aagaard Madsen, H.; Bertagnolio, F. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy, Roskilde (Denmark))

2011-03-15

When installing wind turbines in clusters or wind farms the inflow conditions to the wind turbines can be disturbed due to wake effects from other wind turbines. The effect of wake on noise generation from wind turbines are described in this report. The work is based on measurements carried out on a M80 2 MW wind turbine. To investigate the relationship between the far field noise levels and the surface pressure and inflow angles measured by sensors on an instrumented wind turbine blade, a parabolic measurement system (PMMS) was designed and tested as part of this project. Based on the measurement results obtained with surface pressure sensors and results from the far field measurements using the PMMS it is concluded that: The variance of surface pressure at the trailing edge (TE) agrees with the theory with regard to variation of pressure spectra with varying inflow angle (AoA) to the blade. Low frequency TE surface pressure increases with increased AoA and high frequency surface pressure decreases with increased AoA. It seems that the TE surface pressure remains almost unaltered during wake operation. Results from the surface transducers at the leading edge (LE) and the inflow angles determined from the pitot tube indicates that the inflow at LE is more turbulent in wake for the same AoA and with a low frequency characteristic, thereby giving rise to more low frequency noise generated during wake operation. The far field measurements supports that on one hand there will be produced relative more low frequency noise due to a turbulent inflow to the blade and on the other hand there will be produced less noise in the broader frequency range/high frequency range due to a lower inflow angle caused by the wind deficit in the wake. The net effect of wake on the total noise level is unresolved. As a secondary result it is seen that noise observed from a position on the ground is related to directional effects of the noise radiated from the wind turbine blade. For an

System Noise Prediction of the DGEN 380 Turbofan Engine

Science.gov (United States)

Berton, Jeffrey J.

2015-01-01

The DGEN 380 is a small, separate-flow, geared turbofan. Its manufacturer, Price Induction, is promoting it for a small twinjet application in the emerging personal light jet market. Smaller, and producing less thrust than other entries in the industry, Price Induction is seeking to apply the engine to a 4- to 5-place twinjet designed to compete in an area currently dominated by propeller-driven airplanes. NASA is considering purchasing a DGEN 380 turbofan to test new propulsion noise reduction technologies in a relevant engine environment. To explore this possibility, NASA and Price Induction have signed a Space Act Agreement and have agreed to cooperate on engine acoustic testing. Static acoustic measurements of the engine were made by NASA researchers during July, 2014 at the Glenn Research Center. In the event that a DGEN turbofan becomes a NASA noise technology research testbed, it is in the interest of NASA to develop procedures to evaluate engine system noise metrics. This report documents the procedures used to project the DGEN static noise measurements to flight conditions and the prediction of system noise of a notional airplane powered by twin DGEN engines.

The role of Urbis' noise and noise effects maps in local policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borst, H.C.

2001-01-01

An important aspect of the EU noise policy is mapping of noise and noise effects and the formulation of noise action plans. In the Netherlands, due to the new policy on noise (MIG), the municipalities will be responsible for the formulation of a local noise policy. An instrument for the assessment

Research Plans for Improving Understanding of Effects of Very Low-Frequency Noise of Heavy Lift Rotorcraft

Science.gov (United States)

Fidell, Sanford; Horonieff, Richard D.; Schmitz, Fredric H.

2010-01-01

This report reviews the English-language technical literature on infrasonic and low-frequency noise effects; identifies the most salient effects of noise produced by a future large civil tiltrotor aircraft on crew, passengers, and communities near landing areas; and recommends research needed to improve understanding of the effects of such noise on passengers, crew, and residents of areas near landing pads.

NEIGHBOURHOOD ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT CAUSED BY THE NOISE IN A WEIGHT TRAINING ACADEMY OF A HAIR SALON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diani Fernanda Silva

2011-08-01

Full Text Available The analysis of neighborhood impact associated to noise is very important to the living and working environments independently of our activity. The legislative Brazilian norm NBR 10151 imposes limits of noise produced by business establishments. The maximum values of acoustic comfort on the surrounding community are 60 dB at daytime and 55 dB at nighttime. Environments as gym, perform music at high intensity as an incentive to practice physical exercises, however, excessive continuous noise produced by sound equipment may cause annoyance for adjacent environments, as a hairdresser analyzed in this study. Among the complaints of the professionals are digestive disorders, headaches, increase disturbances of concentration, dizziness, sleeping disturbs, anxiety, fatigue and stress. Inevitably, noise is a result of almost all our activities. We could improve our quality of life by avoiding the hazardous noise.

Noise in Optical Amplifiers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeppesen, Palle

1997-01-01

Noise in optical amplifiers is discussed on the basis of photons and electromagntic fields. Formulas for quantum noise from spontaneous emission, signal-spontaneous beat noise and spontaneous-spontaneous beat noise are derived.......Noise in optical amplifiers is discussed on the basis of photons and electromagntic fields. Formulas for quantum noise from spontaneous emission, signal-spontaneous beat noise and spontaneous-spontaneous beat noise are derived....

AUDITORY NUCLEI: DISTINCTIVE RESPONSE PATTERNS TO WHITE NOISE AND TONES IN UNANESTHETIZED CATS.

Science.gov (United States)

GALIN, D

1964-10-09

Electrical responses to "white" noise and tonal stimuli were recorded from unanesthetized cats with permanently implanted bipolar electrodes. The cochlear nucleus, inferior colliculus, and medial geniculate each showed distinctive patterns of evoked activity. White noise and tones produced qualitatively different types of response. A decrease in activity characterized the response of the inferior colliculus to tonal stimuli.

Numerical study of time domain analogy applied to noise prediction from rotating blades

Science.gov (United States)

Fedala, D.; Kouidri, S.; Rey, R.

2009-04-01

Aeroacoustic formulations in time domain are frequently used to model the aerodynamic sound of airfoils, the time data being more accessible. The formulation 1A developed by Farassat, an integral solution of the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings equation, holds great interest because of its ability to handle surfaces in arbitrary motion. The aim of this work is to study the numerical sensitivity of this model to specified parameters used in the calculation. The numerical algorithms, spatial and time discretizations, and approximations used for far-field acoustic simulation are presented. An approach of quantifying of the numerical errors resulting from implementation of formulation 1A is carried out based on Isom's and Tam's test cases. A helicopter blade airfoil, as defined by Farassat to investigate Isom's case, is used in this work. According to Isom, the acoustic response of a dipole source with a constant aerodynamic load, ρ0c02, is equal to the thickness noise contribution. Discrepancies are observed when the two contributions are computed numerically. In this work, variations of these errors, which depend on the temporal resolution, Mach number, source-observer distance, and interpolation algorithm type, are investigated. The results show that the spline interpolating algorithm gives the minimum error. The analysis is then extended to Tam's test case. Tam's test case has the advantage of providing an analytical solution for the first harmonic of the noise produced by a specific force distribution.

Hearing loss in the elderly: History of occupational noise exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Meneses-Barriviera, Caroline Luiz; Melo, Juliana Jandre; Marchiori, Luciana Lozza de Moraes

2013-04-01

 Noise exposure is one of the most common health risk factors, and workers are exposed to sound pressure levels capable of producing hearing loss.  To assess the prevalence of hearing loss in the elderly and its possible association with a history of occupational noise exposure and with sex.  A prospective study in subjects aged over 60 years. The subjects underwent anamnesis and audiological assessment. The Mann-Whitney test and multiple logistic regression, with 95% confidence interval and p hearing I (500, 1000, and 2000 Hz p = 0.8318) and the mean hearing II (3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz; p occupational noise exposure, we obtained the medium hearing I (p = 0.9542) and the mean hearing II (p = 0.0007).  There was a statistically significant association between hearing loss at high frequencies and the risk factors being male and occupational noise exposure.

Evaluation of noise pollution in urban traffic hubs—Noise maps and measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiedler, Paulo Eduardo Kirrian; Zannin, Paulo Henrique Trombetta

2015-01-01

A study was made of some of the main traffic hubs in a Latin American metropolis, in order to determine the presence or absence of noise by means of noise measurements and acoustic mapping. To characterize noise in the evaluated road stretches, 232 measurements were taken at different points. The Predictor software package was used for the noise mapping calculations. Noise sensitive areas, e.g., hospitals, were identified in the evaluated road stretches. Noise maps were calculated for two hospitals, showing the current levels of noise that reach their facades. Hypothetical scenarios were simulated by making changes in the composition of traffic and total number of vehicles, and an assessment was made of the potential influence of these modifications in reducing the noise levels reaching the facades of the buildings in question. The simulations indicated that a 50% reduction in total traffic flow, or a 50% reduction in heavy vehicle traffic flow, would reduce the noise levels by about 3 dB(A). - Highlights: • Evaluation of noise pollution in urban traffic hubs • Street systems • Environmental noise impacts • Noise mapping

Evaluation of noise pollution in urban traffic hubs—Noise maps and measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fiedler, Paulo Eduardo Kirrian; Zannin, Paulo Henrique Trombetta, E-mail: paulo.zannin@pesquisador.cnpq.br

2015-02-15

A study was made of some of the main traffic hubs in a Latin American metropolis, in order to determine the presence or absence of noise by means of noise measurements and acoustic mapping. To characterize noise in the evaluated road stretches, 232 measurements were taken at different points. The Predictor software package was used for the noise mapping calculations. Noise sensitive areas, e.g., hospitals, were identified in the evaluated road stretches. Noise maps were calculated for two hospitals, showing the current levels of noise that reach their facades. Hypothetical scenarios were simulated by making changes in the composition of traffic and total number of vehicles, and an assessment was made of the potential influence of these modifications in reducing the noise levels reaching the facades of the buildings in question. The simulations indicated that a 50% reduction in total traffic flow, or a 50% reduction in heavy vehicle traffic flow, would reduce the noise levels by about 3 dB(A). - Highlights: • Evaluation of noise pollution in urban traffic hubs • Street systems • Environmental noise impacts • Noise mapping.

Quantifying Chaos by Various Computational Methods. Part 2: Vibrations of the Bernoulli–Euler Beam Subjected to Periodic and Colored Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Awrejcewicz

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this part of the paper, the theory of nonlinear dynamics of flexible Euler–Bernoulli beams (the kinematic model of the first-order approximation under transverse harmonic load and colored noise has been proposed. It has been shown that the introduced concept of phase transition allows for further generalization of the problem. The concept has been extended to a so-called noise-induced transition, which is a novel transition type exhibited by nonequilibrium systems embedded in a stochastic fluctuated medium, the properties of which depend on time and are influenced by external noise. Colored noise excitation of a structural system treated as a system with an infinite number of degrees of freedom has been studied.

Short-term heat load forecasting for single family houses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bacher, Peder; Madsen, Henrik; Nielsen, Henrik Aalborg

2013-01-01

This paper presents a method for forecasting the load for space heating in a single-family house. The forecasting model is built using data from sixteen houses located in Sønderborg, Denmark, combined with local climate measurements and weather forecasts. Every hour the hourly heat load for each...... house the following two days is forecasted. The forecast models are adaptive linear time-series models and the climate inputs used are: ambient temperature, global radiation and wind speed. A computationally efficient recursive least squares scheme is used. The models are optimized to fit the individual...... noise and that practically all correlation to the climate variables are removed. Furthermore, the results show that the forecasting errors mainly are related to: unpredictable high frequency variations in the heat load signal (predominant only for some houses), shifts in resident behavior patterns...

Adaptive EMG noise reduction in ECG signals using noise level approximation

Science.gov (United States)

Marouf, Mohamed; Saranovac, Lazar

2017-12-01

In this paper the usage of noise level approximation for adaptive Electromyogram (EMG) noise reduction in the Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals is introduced. To achieve the adequate adaptiveness, a translation-invariant noise level approximation is employed. The approximation is done in the form of a guiding signal extracted as an estimation of the signal quality vs. EMG noise. The noise reduction framework is based on a bank of low pass filters. So, the adaptive noise reduction is achieved by selecting the appropriate filter with respect to the guiding signal aiming to obtain the best trade-off between the signal distortion caused by filtering and the signal readability. For the evaluation purposes; both real EMG and artificial noises are used. The tested ECG signals are from the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database Directory, while both real and artificial records of EMG noise are added and used in the evaluation process. Firstly, comparison with state of the art methods is conducted to verify the performance of the proposed approach in terms of noise cancellation while preserving the QRS complex waves. Additionally, the signal to noise ratio improvement after the adaptive noise reduction is computed and presented for the proposed method. Finally, the impact of adaptive noise reduction method on QRS complexes detection was studied. The tested signals are delineated using a state of the art method, and the QRS detection improvement for different SNR is presented.

The Assessment of Noise Exposure and Noise Annoyance at a Petrochemical Company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Farhang Dehghan

2013-12-01

.Conclusion: Based on the obtained results of investigating the noise level (objective exposure as well as the noise annoyance (subjective exposure at the studied company, it is necessary to adopt the management –technical noise reduction measures at manufacturing sectors as the personal noise exposure and environmental noise exposure and also noise personal exposure of administrative staff can be decreased.

Noise pollution resources compendium

Science.gov (United States)

1973-01-01

Abstracts of reports concerning noise pollution are presented. The abstracts are grouped in the following areas of activity: (1) sources of noise, (2) noise detection and measurement, (3) noise abatement and control, (4) physical effects of noise and (5) social effects of noise.

Solar noise storms

CERN Document Server

Elgaroy, E O

2013-01-01

Solar Noise Storms examines the properties and features of solar noise storm phenomenon. The book also presents some theories that can be used to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon. The coverage of the text includes topics that cover the features and behavior of noise storms, such as the observable features of noise storms; the relationship between noise storms and the observable features on the sun; and ordered behavior of storm bursts in the time-frequency plane. The book also covers the spectrum, polarization, and directivity of noise storms. The text will be of great use to astr

Noise simulation in cone beam CT imaging with parallel computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tu, S.-J.; Shaw, Chris C; Chen, Lingyun

2006-01-01

We developed a computer noise simulation model for cone beam computed tomography imaging using a general purpose PC cluster. This model uses a mono-energetic x-ray approximation and allows us to investigate three primary performance components, specifically quantum noise, detector blurring and additive system noise. A parallel random number generator based on the Weyl sequence was implemented in the noise simulation and a visualization technique was accordingly developed to validate the quality of the parallel random number generator. In our computer simulation model, three-dimensional (3D) phantoms were mathematically modelled and used to create 450 analytical projections, which were then sampled into digital image data. Quantum noise was simulated and added to the analytical projection image data, which were then filtered to incorporate flat panel detector blurring. Additive system noise was generated and added to form the final projection images. The Feldkamp algorithm was implemented and used to reconstruct the 3D images of the phantoms. A 24 dual-Xeon PC cluster was used to compute the projections and reconstructed images in parallel with each CPU processing 10 projection views for a total of 450 views. Based on this computer simulation system, simulated cone beam CT images were generated for various phantoms and technique settings. Noise power spectra for the flat panel x-ray detector and reconstructed images were then computed to characterize the noise properties. As an example among the potential applications of our noise simulation model, we showed that images of low contrast objects can be produced and used for image quality evaluation

Proceedings of the 2009 spring noise conference : noise awareness : supporting sound partnerships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This conference provided a forum for industry, government, public, academics and acoustical professionals to discuss innovations in environmental and occupational noise identification, measurement, regulation and control. In addition to raising awareness about expanding noise issues, the conference objectives were to promote responsible industrial development and to identify strategies for reducing workplace noise exposure. The papers focused on research, developments and case studies and highlighted current issues and advancements in technology and software. Speakers from around the world discussed topics ranging from occupational noise issues to low frequency. The 8 sessions were entitled: (1) plenary session, (2) architecture, community planning and public health: effects of noise and noise control, (3) modeling, measurement and technology; (4) noise awareness and education: public, occupational and industrial, (5) regulations and economics: bylaws, legislation and the economics of noise control; (6) student papers, (7) vibration, industrial noise, transportation noise and occupational noise control, and (8) lunch speakers. The conference featured 46 presentations, of which 19 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs.

Noise in strong laser-atom interactions: Phase telegraph noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eberly, J.H.; Wodkiewicz, K.; Shore, B.W.

1984-01-01

We discuss strong laser-atom interactions that are subjected to jump-type (random telegraph) random-phase noise. Physically, the jumps may arise from laser fluctuations, from collisions of various kinds, or from other external forces. Our discussion is carried out in two stages. First, direct and partially heuristic calculations determine the laser spectrum and also give a third-order differential equation for the average inversion of a two-level atom on resonance. At this stage a number of general features of the interaction are able to be studied easily. The optical analog of motional narrowing, for example, is clearly predicted. Second, we show that the theory of generalized Poisson processes allows laser-atom interactions in the presence of random telegraph noise of all kinds (not only phase noise) to be treated systematically, by means of a master equation first used in the context of quantum optics by Burshtein. We use the Burshtein equation to obtain an exact expression for the two-level atom's steady-state resonance fluorescence spectrum, when the exciting laser exhibits phase telegraph noise. Some comparisons are made with results obtained from other noise models. Detailed treatments of the effects ofmly jumps, or as a model of finite laser bandwidth effects, in which the laser frequency exhibits random jumps. We show that these two types of frequency noise can be distinguished in light-scattering spectra. We also discuss examples which demonstrate both temporal and spectral motional narrowing, nonexponential correlations, and non-Lorentzian spectra. Its exact solubility in finite terms makes the frequency-telegraph noise model an attractive alternative to the white-noise Ornstein-Uhlenbeck frequency noise model which has been previously applied to laser-atom interactions

Noise-enhanced coding in phasic neuron spike trains.

Science.gov (United States)

Ly, Cheng; Doiron, Brent

2017-01-01

The stochastic nature of neuronal response has lead to conjectures about the impact of input fluctuations on the neural coding. For the most part, low pass membrane integration and spike threshold dynamics have been the primary features assumed in the transfer from synaptic input to output spiking. Phasic neurons are a common, but understudied, neuron class that are characterized by a subthreshold negative feedback that suppresses spike train responses to low frequency signals. Past work has shown that when a low frequency signal is accompanied by moderate intensity broadband noise, phasic neurons spike trains are well locked to the signal. We extend these results with a simple, reduced model of phasic activity that demonstrates that a non-Markovian spike train structure caused by the negative feedback produces a noise-enhanced coding. Further, this enhancement is sensitive to the timescales, as opposed to the intensity, of a driving signal. Reduced hazard function models show that noise-enhanced phasic codes are both novel and separate from classical stochastic resonance reported in non-phasic neurons. The general features of our theory suggest that noise-enhanced codes in excitable systems with subthreshold negative feedback are a particularly rich framework to study.

Road traffic noise prediction model for heterogeneous traffic based on ASJ-RTN Model 2008 with consideration of horn

Science.gov (United States)

Hustim, M.; Arifin, Z.; Aly, S. H.; Ramli, M. I.; Zakaria, R.; Liputo, A.

2018-04-01

This research aimed to predict the noise produced by the traffic in the road network in Makassar City using ASJ-RTN Model 2008 by calculating the horn sound. Observations were taken at 37 survey points on road side. The observations were conducted at 06.00 - 18.00 and 06.00 - 21.00 which research objects were motorcycle (MC), light vehicle (LV) and heavy vehicle (HV). The observed data were traffic volume, vehicle speed, number of horn and traffic noise using Sound Level Meter Tenmars TM-103. The research result indicates that prediction noise model by calculating the horn sound produces the average noise level value of 78.5 dB having the Pearson’s correlation and RMSE of 0.95 and 0.87. Therefore, ASJ-RTN Model 2008 prediction model by calculating the horn sound is said to be sufficiently good for predicting noise level.

Background Noise Reduction Using Adaptive Noise Cancellation Determined by the Cross-Correlation

Science.gov (United States)

Spalt, Taylor B.; Brooks, Thomas F.; Fuller, Christopher R.

2012-01-01

Background noise due to flow in wind tunnels contaminates desired data by decreasing the Signal-to-Noise Ratio. The use of Adaptive Noise Cancellation to remove background noise at measurement microphones is compromised when the reference sensor measures both background and desired noise. The technique proposed modifies the classical processing configuration based on the cross-correlation between the reference and primary microphone. Background noise attenuation is achieved using a cross-correlation sample width that encompasses only the background noise and a matched delay for the adaptive processing. A present limitation of the method is that a minimum time delay between the background noise and desired signal must exist in order for the correlated parts of the desired signal to be separated from the background noise in the crosscorrelation. A simulation yields primary signal recovery which can be predicted from the coherence of the background noise between the channels. Results are compared with two existing methods.

Classical noise, quantum noise and secure communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tannous, C; Langlois, J

2016-01-01

Secure communication based on message encryption might be performed by combining the message with controlled noise (called pseudo-noise) as performed in spread-spectrum communication used presently in Wi-Fi and smartphone telecommunication systems. Quantum communication based on entanglement is another route for securing communications as demonstrated by several important experiments described in this work. The central role played by the photon in unifying the description of classical and quantum noise as major ingredients of secure communication systems is highlighted and described on the basis of the classical and quantum fluctuation dissipation theorems. (review)

Exploring crosstalk noise generated in the N-port router used in the WDM-based ONoC

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhendong; Xie, Yiyuan; Song, Tingting; He, Chao; Li, Jiachao; Liu, Yong

2017-07-01

Compared with optical network-on-chip (ONoC) with single wavelength, ONoC adopting wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology possesses a very prominent advantage-higher bandwidth. Therefore, WDM-based ONoC has been considered one of the most promising ways to relieve the rapidly increasing traffic load in communication systems. A WDM-based router, as the core equipment of WDM-based ONoC, is influenced by crosstalk noise, especially the nonlinear crosstalk noise generated by the four-wave mixing effect. Thus, to explore the performance of the N-port nonblocking optical router using WDM, we propose a universal analytic model to analyze the transmission loss, crosstalk noise, optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), and bit error ratio (BER). The research results show that crosstalk noise varies along with signals at different wavelengths in the same channel. For signals with the same wavelength, the noises generated in the different transmission paths are obviously different from each other. For research of transmission loss, OSNR, and BER, similar results can be obtained. Based on the eye diagrams, we can learn that crosstalk noise will cause signal distortion to a certain extent. With this model, capability of this kind of multiport optical router using WDM can be understood conveniently.

34. Meeting of Experts. Noise immission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

In quiet areas there is a risk that wind turbine noise will exceed the background level even if it is lower than the immission limit. It will however be quite unpractical to take special notice to such areas and since the immission limit is respected the noise level will still be acceptable. Complaints from neighbours can unfortunately be expected no matter where the wind power plants are built. A small study in Denmark shows that about 10% of the population will feel disturbed by the immission limits that they have. Some of the participants pointed out that it would be simpler if wind power noise was included in other noise immission regulations. Within the European Union the Commission has made a proposal for common noise immission level descriptions and evaluation methods. It is primarily intended for traffic noise but can be expanded to include other areas, such as wind power noise. It suggests an equivalent annual average sound level (Lden) where the night level has a penalty of 10 dB(A) and the evening level of 5 dB(A). It should be emphasised that the proposal is not concerned with the specific values of the noise level limits, only with how they are defined. In some countries the limit varies with the time of the day. The night limit is the lowest and therefore the determining value in most cases. Wind turbines with variable RPM can however alter their speed to fit the limits and hence increase the energy output during the day and lower it at night. The result will be that a turbine with variable RPM can produce more energy than a similar one with fixed RPM but still fulfil the noise regulations. Though there are not many of these wind turbines installed today the number is likely to increase in the near future. As said when different day and night limits were discussed, having different immission limits at different hours will increase the possible energy output of a wind power plant with variable RPM. The new regulation in Holland uses a wind speed

Selection of a Suitable Wall Pressure Spectrum Model for Estimating Flow-Induced Noise in Sonar Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Bhujanga Rao

1995-01-01

Full Text Available Flow-induced structural noise of a sonar dome in which the sonar transducer is housed, constitutes a major source of self-noise above a certain speed of the vessel. Excitation of the sonar dome structure by random pressure fluctuations in turbulent boundary layer flow leads to acoustic radiation into the interior of the dome. This acoustic radiation is termed flow-induced structural noise. Such noise contributes significantly to sonar self-noise of submerged vessels cruising at high speed and plays an important role in surface ships, torpedos, and towed sonars as well. Various turbulent boundary layer wall pressure models published were analyzed and the most suitable analytical model for the sonar dome application selected while taking into account high frequency, fluid loading, low wave number contribution, and pressure gradient effects. These investigations included type of coupling that exists between turbulent boundary layer pressure fluctuations and dome wall structure of a typical sonar dome. Comparison of theoretical data with measured data onboard a ship are also reported.

Load Identification for a Cantilever Beam Based on Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuegang Song

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Load identification plays an important role in structural health monitoring, which aims at preventing structural failures. In order to identify load for linear systems and nonlinear systems, this paper presents methods to identify load for a cantilever beam based on dynamic strain measurement by Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG sensors. For linear systems, the proposed inverse method consists of Kalman filter with no load terms and a linear estimator. For nonlinear systems, the proposed inverse method consists of cubature Kalman filter (CKF with no load terms and a nonlinear estimator. In the process of load identification, the state equations of the beam structures are constructed by using the finite element method (FEM. Kalman filter or CKF is used to suppress noise. The residual innovation sequences, gain matrix, and innovation covariance generated by Kalman filter or CKF are used to identify a load. To prove the effectiveness of the proposed method, numerical simulations and experiments of the beam structures are employed and the results show that the method has an excellent performance.

Noise-induced temporal dynamics in Turing systems

KAUST Repository

Schumacher, Linus J.

2013-04-25

We examine the ability of intrinsic noise to produce complex temporal dynamics in Turing pattern formation systems, with particular emphasis on the Schnakenberg kinetics. Using power spectral methods, we characterize the behavior of the system using stochastic simulations at a wide range of points in parameter space and compare with analytical approximations. Specifically, we investigate whether polarity switching of stochastic patterns occurs at a defined frequency. We find that it can do so in individual realizations of a stochastic simulation, but that the frequency is not defined consistently across realizations in our samples of parameter space. Further, we examine the effect of noise on deterministically predicted traveling waves and find them increased in amplitude and decreased in speed. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Database of air and noise pollution in Lebanon. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaaban, Farid; Ayoub, George

1996-01-01

The growing global public concern over deteriorating air quality and greenhouse gases emissions released from various combustion processes, and particularly power plants and transportation system, led governments and local authorities, especially in industrialised countries into taking these issues seriously and establishing standards to reduce air pollution down to acceptable levels, (clean air act, earth summit,...). The transportation sector has another unwanted product, noise pollution caused by different segments of this sector including the noise produced by the engine, tires noise and exhaust noise, in addition to the noise product by private standby generals operating during electricity cut-off periods. To be able to estimate the environmental impacts of the national power plants and the transportation sector, it is necessary to collect enough data (samples of lead emissions, SO 2 concentration, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, ozone and carbon monoxide) using specified planning procedures. These samples will then be analyzed and the results will be compared to international standards to assess the implication of these pollutants. For this purpose, the proposed project is aimed at developing data base, over a period of two or more years, for air and noise pollution based on results to be obtained from extensive sampling procedure and under different atmospheric conditions (author)

Production of enhanced beam halos via collective modes and colored noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioannis V. Sideris

2004-10-01

Full Text Available We investigate how collective modes and colored noise conspire to produce a beam halo with much larger amplitude than could be generated by either phenomenon separately. The collective modes are lowest-order radial eigenmodes calculated self-consistently for a configuration corresponding to a direct-current, cylindrically symmetric, warm-fluid Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij equilibrium. The colored noise arises from unavoidable machine errors and influences the internal space-charge force. Its presence quickly launches statistically rare particles to ever-growing amplitudes by continually kicking them back into phase with the collective-mode oscillations. The halo amplitude is essentially the same for purely radial orbits as for orbits that are initially purely azimuthal; orbital angular momentum has no statistically significant impact. Factors that do have an impact include the amplitudes of the collective modes and the strength and autocorrelation time of the colored noise. The underlying dynamics ensues because the noise breaks the Kolmogorov-Arnol’d-Moser tori that otherwise would confine the beam. These tori are fragile; even very weak noise will eventually break them, though the time scale for their disintegration depends on the noise strength. Both collective modes and noise are therefore centrally important to the dynamics of halo formation in real beams.

Cardiovascular responses to railway noise during sleep in young and middle-aged adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Tassi, Patricia; Saremi, Mahnaz; Schimchowitsch, Sarah; Eschenlauer, Arnaud; Rohmer, Odile; Muzet, Alain

2010-03-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of nocturnal railway noise on cardiovascular reactivity in young (25.8 +/- 2.6 years) and middle-aged (52.2 +/- 2.5 years) adults during sleep. Thirty-eight subjects slept three nights in the laboratory at 1-week interval. They were exposed to 48 randomized pass-bys of Freight, Passenger and Automotive trains either at an 8-h equivalent sound level of 40 dBA (Moderate) and 50 dBA (High) or at a silent Control night. Heart rate response (HRR), heart response amplitude (HRA), heart response latency (HRL) and finger pulse response (FPR), finger pulse amplitude (FPA) and finger pulse latency (FPL) were recorded to measure cardiovascular reactivity after each noise onset and for time-matched pseudo-noises in the control condition. Results show that Freight trains produced the highest cardiac response (increased HRR, HRA and HRL) compared to Passenger and Automotive. But the vascular response was similar whatever the type of train. Juniors exhibited an increased HRR and HRA as compared to seniors, but there was no age difference on vasoconstriction, except a shorter FPL in seniors. Noise level produced dose-dependent effects on all the cardiovascular indices. Sleep stage at noise occurrence was ineffective for cardiac response, but FPA was reduced when noise occurred during REM sleep. In conclusion, our study is in favor of an important impact of nocturnal railway noise on the cardiovascular system of sleeping subjects. In the limit of the samples studied, Freight trains are the most harmful, probably more because of their special length (duration) than because of their speed (rise time).

Load-induced modulation of signal transduction networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Peng; Ventura, Alejandra C; Sontag, Eduardo D; Merajver, Sofia D; Ninfa, Alexander J; Del Vecchio, Domitilla

2011-10-11

Biological signal transduction networks are commonly viewed as circuits that pass along information--in the process amplifying signals, enhancing sensitivity, or performing other signal-processing tasks--to transcriptional and other components. Here, we report on a "reverse-causality" phenomenon, which we call load-induced modulation. Through a combination of analytical and experimental tools, we discovered that signaling was modulated, in a surprising way, by downstream targets that receive the signal and, in doing so, apply what in physics is called a load. Specifically, we found that non-intuitive changes in response dynamics occurred for a covalent modification cycle when load was present. Loading altered the response time of a system, depending on whether the activity of one of the enzymes was maximal and the other was operating at its minimal rate or whether both enzymes were operating at submaximal rates. These two conditions, which we call "limit regime" and "intermediate regime," were associated with increased or decreased response times, respectively. The bandwidth, the range of frequency in which the system can process information, decreased in the presence of load, suggesting that downstream targets participate in establishing a balance between noise-filtering capabilities and a circuit's ability to process high-frequency stimulation. Nodes in a signaling network are not independent relay devices, but rather are modulated by their downstream targets.

High power s-band vacuum load

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neubauer, Michael [Muons, Inc., Batavia, IL (United States); Dudas, Alan [Muons, Inc., Batavia, IL (United States); Krasnykh, Anatoly [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)

2016-12-29

Through a combination of experimentation and calculation the components of a novel room temperature dry load were successfully fabricated. These components included lossy ceramic cylinders of various lengths, thicknesses, and percent of silicon carbide (SiC). The cylinders were then assembled into stainless steel compression rings by differential heating of the parts and a special fixture. Post machining of this assembly provided a means for a final weld. The ring assemblies were then measured for S-parameters, individually and in pairs using a low-cost TE10 rectangular to TE01 circular waveguide adapter specially designed to be part of the final load assembly. Matched pairs of rings were measured for assembly into the final load, and a sliding short designed and fabricated to assist in determining the desired short location in the final assembly. The plan for the project was for Muons, Inc. to produce prototype loads for long-term testing at SLAC. The STTR funds for SLAC were to upgrade and operate their test station to ensure that the loads would satisfy their requirements. Phase III was to be the sale to SLAC of loads that Muons, Inc. would manufacture. However, an alternate solution that involved a rebuild of the old loads, reduced SLAC budget projections, and a relaxed time for the replacement of all loads meant that in-house labor will be used to do the upgrade without the need for the loads developed in this project. Consequently, the project was terminated before the long term testing was initiated. However, SLAC can use the upgraded test stand to compare the long-term performance of the ones produced in this project with their rebuilt loads when they are available.

High power s-band vacuum load

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neubauer, Michael; Dudas, Alan; Krasnykh, Anatoly

2016-01-01

Through a combination of experimentation and calculation the components of a novel room temperature dry load were successfully fabricated. These components included lossy ceramic cylinders of various lengths, thicknesses, and percent of silicon carbide (SiC). The cylinders were then assembled into stainless steel compression rings by differential heating of the parts and a special fixture. Post machining of this assembly provided a means for a final weld. The ring assemblies were then measured for S-parameters, individually and in pairs using a low-cost TE10 rectangular to TE01 circular waveguide adapter specially designed to be part of the final load assembly. Matched pairs of rings were measured for assembly into the final load, and a sliding short designed and fabricated to assist in determining the desired short location in the final assembly. The plan for the project was for Muons, Inc. to produce prototype loads for long-term testing at SLAC. The STTR funds for SLAC were to upgrade and operate their test station to ensure that the loads would satisfy their requirements. Phase III was to be the sale to SLAC of loads that Muons, Inc. would manufacture. However, an alternate solution that involved a rebuild of the old loads, reduced SLAC budget projections, and a relaxed time for the replacement of all loads meant that in-house labor will be used to do the upgrade without the need for the loads developed in this project. Consequently, the project was terminated before the long term testing was initiated. However, SLAC can use the upgraded test stand to compare the long-term performance of the ones produced in this project with their rebuilt loads when they are available.

Definition of 1992 Technology Aircraft Noise Levels and the Methodology for Assessing Airplane Noise Impact of Component Noise Reduction Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Kumasaka, Henry A.; Martinez, Michael M.; Weir, Donald S.

1996-01-01

This report describes the methodology for assessing the impact of component noise reduction on total airplane system noise. The methodology is intended to be applied to the results of individual study elements of the NASA-Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) Noise Reduction Program, which will address the development of noise reduction concepts for specific components. Program progress will be assessed in terms of noise reduction achieved, relative to baseline levels representative of 1992 technology airplane/engine design and performance. In this report, the 1992 technology reference levels are defined for assessment models based on four airplane sizes - an average business jet and three commercial transports: a small twin, a medium sized twin, and a large quad. Study results indicate that component changes defined as program final goals for nacelle treatment and engine/airframe source noise reduction would achieve from 6-7 EPNdB reduction of total airplane noise at FAR 36 Stage 3 noise certification conditions for all of the airplane noise assessment models.

Rating environmental noise on the basis of noise maps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miedema, H.M.E.; Borst, H.C.

2006-01-01

A system that rates noise on the basis of noise maps has been developed which is based on empirical exposure-response relationships, so that effects in the community will be lower if the system gives a better rating. It is consistent with noise metrics and effect endpoint chosen in the EU, i.e., it

Yesterday's noise - today's signal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serdula, K.J.

1978-01-01

Plant performance can be improved by noise analysis. This paper describes noise characteristics, imposed noise and response functions, a case history of cost benefits derived from application of noise analysis techniques, areas for application of noise analysis techniques with special reference to the Gentilly-1 nuclear generating station, and the validity of noise measurement results. (E.C.B.)

Noise suppression in duct

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, A.; Barfeh, M.A.G.

2001-01-01

In air-conditioning system the noise generated by supply fan is carried by conditioned air through the ductwork. The noise created in ductwork run may be transmission, regenerative and ductborne. Transmission noise is fan noise, regenerative noise is due to turbulence in flow and ductborne noise is the noise radiating from duct to surroundings. Some noise is attenuated in ducts also but if noise level is high then it needs to be attenuated. A simple mitre bend can attenuate-noise. This principle is extended to V and M-shape ducts with inside lining of fibreglass, which gave maximum attenuation of 77 dB and 62 dB respectively corresponding to 8 kHz frequency as compared to mitre, bend giving maximum 18 dB attenuation. Sound level meter measured sound levels with octave band filter and tests were conducted in anechoic room. A V-shape attenuator can be used at fan outlet and high frequency noise can be minimized greatly. (author)

REDISTRIBUTION OF BASE STATIONS LOAD IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor Ruban

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The subject matter of the article is the processes of load distribution in mobile communication networks. The object of research is the handover. The goal is to develop a method for redistributing the load between neighboring areas for mobile nodes. The considered base stations are supposed to have the signal-to-noise ratios that are equal or close. The methods that are used: methods of system analysis, methods of digital signal processing. The following results are obtained. The method that allows mobile nodes, whose signal-to-noise ratios are equal or close, to switch to a less loaded base station. This method allows the base station to launch the handover process enabling more even distribution of the load from mobile nodes among neighboring base stations in wireless and mobile networks. In the suggested modification of the method, the function assessing the bandwidth of the uplink channel is added to the base stations, as well a threshold value for using its bandwidth. Thus, when the current value of bandwidth reaches the threshold, the base station starts sending out a message to all mobile nodes and verifies free neighboring areas for switching over mobile nodes. If there are adjacent areas with a lower load, the base station notifies all potential candidates about the necessity of their switching over. The handover process is launched when the available bandwidth of the base station decreases below a certain threshold. Therefore, it is possible to optimize the operation of the WiMAX network with respect to the criterion of the total bandwidth capacity of the base stations. Besides, the results of the comparative analysis of the handover process in networks based on the WiMAX technology that are obtained using the OpNet simulation environment are presented. Conclusions.The suggested approach can be used to improve the basic software of mobile communication networks. When moving a node from one area to another one in access servers, the

A study on the noise characteristics of polymer ball bearings under various lubrication conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Dinç, S. K.; Temiz, V.; Kamburoǧlu, E.

2013-12-01

Polymer bearings are generally praised by the manufacturers for running silently. However such statements never go beyond qualitative assumptions. Therefore, studying polymer ball bearing noise would have been meaningful solely on the perspective of silent running machinery. On the other hand, the service life of a polymer ball bearing is unpredictable and there's no preventive maintenance practice that provides data regarding the condition of a polymer ball bearing. In this study, we assume that an investigation of their noise characteristics could also reveal clues concerning their performances. The main objective of this study is to determine the noise characteristics of polymer ball bearings lubricated with different lubricant greases of varying viscosity grades through experimental means. Sound pressure level measurements of SKF brand polymer bearings with polypropylene rings, polypropylene cage and glass balls were made with a 1/2 inch microphone in 1/3-octave bands, at frequencies up to 12.5 kHz, under various radial loads and rotational speeds. The bearings were mounted on a shaft driven by an AC motor with stepless speed control, adjustable between 0 - 1400 rpm. The ball bearings were running inside an acoustic chamber designed for the insulation of environmental noise and the noise of the motor at target frequencies. The resulting sound pressure level spectra were evaluated and the effects of the lubrication conditions on the noise of the ball bearing and possible diagnostic insight that could be gained through studying bearing noise characteristics were discussed.

High-ohmic low-noise resistor for spectrometers with cooled semiconductor detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldin, S.A.; Zhargal, Ch.; Zorin, G.N.; Laskus, T.; Osipenko, B.P.; Revenko, A.V.; Ryakhovskaya, T.I.

1985-01-01

BackgroUnd noise and energy resolution of a new type of resistors, designed to be used as a resistance in a feedback circuit of an X-ray spectrometer preamplifier are studied. The resistors are manufactured using the method of photolithography from high-resistance films, formed on the surface of lead-silicate glasses, as a result of redox processes during heat treatment in hydrogen atmosphere. Energy resolution of the spectrometer is measured on the line 55 FeKX(Mn) with the energy 5.8 keV. The conclusion is made, that the level of background noises in the resistors studied is approximately 4 times lower the level of noises in the KVM type resistors, which are commercially produced in industry

Noise characteristics and flow field of an impinging jet on a conical obstacle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Xin; Xie, Junlong; Shu, Shuiming; Zhang, Yi, E-mail: hustxjl@163.com [School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074 (China)

2017-12-15

The noise characteristics and flow field of a low-speed impinging jet on a conical obstacle have been numerically simulated using the kinetic energy transport subgrid-scale model of the large-eddy simulation method. Noise measurement is carried out to validate the proposed simulation method. The effects of the impinging distance on the development, separation and diffusion of vortices on the back of the conical obstacle are investigated. The jet structure is better preserved and the vorticity value becomes larger as the impinging distance increases. Simulation results of the noise spectrums and overall sound pressure level (OASPL) agree well with the experimental data. The noise spectrums are analyzed and combined with simulation results for the flow field. When the impinging distance is small, the main acoustic sources with the broadband characteristic consist of the dipole source produced by pressure fluctuation on the surface of the obstacle, and the quadrupole source produced by vortices. As the impinging distance increases, the quadrupole source becomes the major acoustic source with low-frequency characteristics. In addition, the OASPL of the impinging jet is obtained at different impinging distances. (paper)

Aerodynamic noise prediction of a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine using Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation and acoustic analogy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghasemian, Masoud; Nejat, Amir

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The noise predictions are performed by Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings method. • There is a direct relation between the radiated noise and the wind speed. • The tonal peaks in the sound spectra match with the blade passing frequency. • The quadrupole noises have negligible effect on the low frequency noises. - Abstract: This paper presents the results of the aerodynamic and aero-acoustic prediction of the flow field around the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Phase VI wind turbine. The Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation turbulence model is applied to obtain the instantaneous turbulent flow field. The noise prediction is carried out using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings acoustic analogy. Simulations are performed for three different inflow conditions, U = 7, 10, 15 m/s. The capability of the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation turbulence model in massive separation is verified with available experimental data for pressure coefficient. The broadband noises of the turbulent boundary layers and the tonal noises due to the blade passing frequency are predicted via flow field noise simulation. The contribution of the thickness, loading and quadrupole noises are investigated, separately. The results indicated that there is a direct relation between the strength of the radiated noise and the wind speed. Furthermore, the effect of the receiver location on the Overall Sound Pressure Level is investigated

Wide-band CMOS low-noise amplifier exploiting thermal noise canceling

OpenAIRE

Bruccoleri, F.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Nauta, Bram

2004-01-01

Known elementary wide-band amplifiers suffer from a fundamental tradeoff between noise figure (NF) and source impedance matching, which limits the NF to values typically above 3 dB. Global negative feedback can be used to break this tradeoff, however, at the price of potential instability. In contrast, this paper presents a feedforward noise-canceling technique, which allows for simultaneous noise and impedance matching, while canceling the noise and distortion contributions of the matching d...

Acoustic noise in functional magnetic resonance imaging reduces pain unpleasantness ratings.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, Y; Bentley, D E; Watson, A; Jones, A K P

2006-07-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is increasingly used in cognitive studies. Unfortunately, the scanner produces acoustic noise during the image acquisition process. Interference from acoustic noise is known to affect auditory, visual and motor processing, raising the possibility that acoustic interference may also modulate processing of other sensory modalities such as pain. With the increasing use of fMRI in the investigation of the mechanisms of pain perception, particularly in relation to attention, this issue has become highly relevant. Pain is a complex experience, composed of sensory-discriminative, affective-motivational and cognitive-evaluative components. The aim of this experiment was to assess the effect of MRI scanner noise, compared to white noise, on the affective (unpleasantness) and the sensory-discriminative (localisation) components of pain. Painful radiant heat from a CO(2) laser was delivered to the skin of the right forearm in 24 healthy volunteers. The volunteers attended to either pain location or pain unpleasantness during three conditions: i) no noise, ii) exposure to MRI scanner noise (85 dB) or iii) exposure to white noise (85 dB). Both MRI scanner noise and white noise significantly reduced unpleasantness ratings (from 5.1 +/- 1.6 in the control condition to 4.7 +/- 1.5 (P = 0.002) and 4.6 +/- 1.6 (P white noise respectively), whereas the ability to localise pain was not significantly affected (from 85.4 +/- 9.2% correct in the control condition to 83.1 +/- 10.3% (P = 0.06) and 83.9 +/- 9.5% (P = 0.27) with MRI scanner and white noise respectively). This phenomenon should be taken into account in the design of fMRI studies into human pain perception.

Combat aircraft noise

Science.gov (United States)

Sgarbozza, M.; Depitre, A.

1992-04-01

A discussion of the characteristics and the noise levels of combat aircraft and of a transport aircraft in taking off and landing are presented. Some methods of noise reduction are discussed, including the following: operational anti-noise procedures; and concepts of future engines (silent post-combustion and variable cycle). Some measurement results concerning the noise generated in flight at great speeds and low altitude will also be examined. Finally, the protection of the environment of French air bases against noise will be described and the possibilities of regulation examined.

Spatial learning and memory deficits in young adult mice exposed to a brief intense noise at postnatal age

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Shan Tao; Lijie Liu; Lijuan Shi; Xiaowei Li; Pei Shen; Qingying Xun; Xiaojing Guo; Zhiping Yu; Jian Wang

2015-01-01

Noise pollution is a major hazardous factor to human health and is likely harmful for vulnerable groups such as pre-term infants under life-support system in an intensive care unit. Previous studies have suggested that noise exposure impairs children's learning ability and cognitive performance and cognitive functions in animal models in which the effect is mainly attributed to the oxidant stress of noise on the cognitive brain. The potential role of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL), rather than the oxidant stress, has also been indicated by a depression of neurogenesis in the hippocampus long after a brief noise exposure, which produces only a tentative oxidant stress. It is not clear if noise exposure and NIHL during early development exerts a long term impact on cognitive function and neurogenesis towards adulthood. In the present study, a brief noise exposure at high sound level was performed in neonatal C57BL/6J mice (15 days after birth) to produce a significant amount of permanent hearing loss as proved 2 months after the noise. At this age, the noise-exposed animals showed deteriorated spatial learning and memory abilities and a reduction of hippocampal neurogenesis as compared with the control. The averaged hearing threshold was found to be strongly correlated with the scores for spatial learning and memory. We consider the effects observed are largely due to the loss of hearing sensitivity, rather than the oxidant stress, due to the long interval between noise exposure and the observations.

Quantifying the Effects of Noise on Diffuse Interface Models: Cahn-Hilliard-Cook equations

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeifer, Spencer; Ganapathysubramanian, Baskar

2015-03-01

We present an investigation into the dynamics of phase separation through numerical simulations of the Cahn-Hilliard-Cook (CHC) equation. This model is an extension of the well-known Cahn- Hilliard equation, perturbed by an additive white noise. Studies have shown that random fluctuations are critical for proper resolution of physical phenomena. This is especially true for phase critical systems. We explore the transient behavior of the solution space for varying levels of noise. This is enabled by our massively scalable finite element-based numerical framework. We briefly examine the interplay between noise level and discretization (spatial and temporal) in obtaining statistically consistent solutions. We show that the added noise accelerates progress towards phase separation, but retards dynamics throughout subsequent coarsening. We identify a scaling exponent relating morphology metrics with the level of noise. We observe a very clear scaling effect of finite domain size, which is observed to be offset by increasing levels of noise. Domain scaling reveals a clear microstructural asymmetry at various stages of the evolution for lower noise levels. In contrast, higher noise levels tend to produce more uniform morphologies.

Analyzing and Forecasting Electrical Load Consumption in Healthcare Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodolfo Gordillo-Orquera

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Healthcare buildings exhibit a different electrical load predictability depending on their size and nature. Large hospitals behave similarly to small cities, whereas primary care centers are expected to have different consumption dynamics. In this work, we jointly analyze the electrical load predictability of a large hospital and that of its associated primary care center. An unsupervised load forecasting scheme using combined classic methods of principal component analysis (PCA and autoregressive (AR modeling, as well as a supervised scheme using orthonormal partial least squares (OPLS, are proposed. Both methods reduce the dimensionality of the data to create an efficient and low-complexity data representation and eliminate noise subspaces. Because the former method tended to underestimate the load and the latter tended to overestimate it in the large hospital, we also propose a convex combination of both to further reduce the forecasting error. The analysis of data from 7 years in the hospital and 3 years in the primary care center shows that the proposed low-complexity dynamic models are flexible enough to predict both types of consumption at practical accuracy levels.

Quantum Noise Reduction with Pulsed Light in Optical Fibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergman, Keren

Optical fibers offer considerable advantages over bulk nonlinear media for the generation of squeezed states. This thesis reports on experimental investigations of reducing quantum noise by means of squeezing in nonlinear fiber optic interferometers. Fibers have low insertion loss which allows for long interaction lengths. High field intensities are easily achieved in the small cores of single mode fibers. Additionally, the nonlinear process employed is self phase modulation or the Kerr effect, whose broad band nature requires no phase matching and can be exploited with ultra-short pulses of high peak intensity. All these advantageous features of fibers result in easily obtained large nonlinear phase shifts and subsequently large squeezing parameters. By the self phase modulation process a correlation is produced between the phase and amplitude fluctuations of the optical field. The attenuated or squeezed quadrature has a lower noise level than the initial level associated with the coherent state field before propagation. The resulting reduced quantum noise quadrature can be utilized to improve the sensitivity of a phase measuring instrument such as an interferometer. Because the Kerr nonlinearity is a degenerate self pumping process, the squeezed noise is at the same frequency as the pump field. Classical pump noise can therefore interfere with the desired measurement of the quantum noise reduction. The most severe noise process is the phase noise caused by thermally induced index modulation of the fiber. This noise termed Guided Acoustic Wave Brillouin Scattering, or GAWBS, by previous researchers is studied and analyzed. Experiments performed to overcome GAWBS successfully with several schemes are described. An experimental demonstration of an interferometric measurement with better sensitivity than the standard quantum limit is described. The results lead to new understandings into the limitations of quantum noise reduction that can be achieved in the

Listen to the noise: noise is beneficial for cognitive performance in ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Söderlund, Göran; Sikström, Sverker; Smart, Andrew

2007-08-01

Noise is typically conceived of as being detrimental to cognitive performance. However, given the mechanism of stochastic resonance, a certain amount of noise can benefit performance. We investigate cognitive performance in noisy environments in relation to a neurocomputational model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dopamine. The Moderate Brain Arousal model (MBA; Sikström & Söderlund, 2007) suggests that dopamine levels modulate how much noise is required for optimal cognitive performance. We experimentally examine how ADHD and control children respond to different encoding conditions, providing different levels of environmental stimulation. Participants carried out self-performed mini tasks (SPT), as a high memory performance task, and a verbal task (VT), as a low memory task. These tasks were performed in the presence, or absence, of auditory white noise. Noise exerted a positive effect on cognitive performance for the ADHD group and deteriorated performance for the control group, indicating that ADHD subjects need more noise than controls for optimal cognitive performance. The positive effect of white noise is explained by the phenomenon of stochastic resonance (SR), i.e., the phenomenon that moderate noise facilitates cognitive performance. The MBA model suggests that noise in the environment, introduces internal noise into the neural system through the perceptual system. This noise induces SR in the neurotransmitter systems and makes this noise beneficial for cognitive performance. In particular, the peak of the SR curve depends on the dopamine level, so that participants with low dopamine levels (ADHD) require more noise for optimal cognitive performance compared to controls.

Load control strategies in 2G mobile network for W-CDMA radio ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Network planning requires a faithful analysis of each individual cell's capacity. In this paper, we examine load control equations as a resource allocation tool to analyse cell capacity for the uplink and downlink of Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) networks. In the uplink, the noise rise is a parameter of ...

Renexin as a rescue regimen for noise-induced hearing loss

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

So Young Park

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Renexin, a compound of cilostazol and ginkgo biloba extract, has been reported to produce neuroprotective effects through antioxidant, antiplatelet, and vasodilatory mechanisms. This study was designed to investigate the protective effects of renexin on hearing, the organ of Corti (OC, and medial olivocochlear efferents against noise-induced damage. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 110 dB SPL white noise for 60 min and then randomly divided into three groups: high- and low-dose renexin-treated groups and noise only group. Renexin were administered for 7 days: 90 mg/kg to the low-dose, and 180 mg/kg to the high-dose groups. All mice, including the controls underwent hearing tests on postnoise day 8 and were killed for cochlear harvest. We compared the hearing thresholds and morphology of the OC and cochlear efferents across the groups. The renexin-treated groups recovered from the immediate threshold shifts in a dose-dependent manner, while the noise group showed a permanent hearing loss. The renexin-treated ears demonstrated less degeneration of the OC. The diameters of the efferent terminals labeled with α-synuclein were preserved in the high-dose renexin-treated group. In the western blot assay of the cochlear homogenates, the treated groups displayed stronger expressions of α-synuclein than the noise and control groups, which may indicate that noise-induced enhanced activity of the cochlear efferent system was protected by renexin. Our results suggest that pharmacologic treatment with renexin is hopeful to reduce or prevent noise-induced hearing loss as a rescue regimen after noise exposure.

Prewhitening for Rank-Deficient Noise in Subspace Methods for Noise Reduction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Per Christian; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2005-01-01

A fundamental issue in connection with subspace methods for noise reduction is that the covariance matrix for the noise is required to have full rank, in order for the prewhitening step to be defined. However, there are important cases where this requirement is not fulfilled, e.g., when the noise...... has narrow-band characteristics, or in the case of tonal noise. We extend the concept of prewhitening to include the case when the noise covariance matrix is rank deficient, using a weighted pseudoinverse and the quotient SVD, and we show how to formulate a general rank-reduction algorithm that works...... also for rank deficient noise. We also demonstrate how to formulate this algorithm by means of a quotient ULV decomposition, which allows for faster computation and updating. Finally we apply our algorithm to a problem involving a speech signal contaminated by narrow-band noise....

BWR noise spectra and application of noise analysis to FBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomura, T.

1975-01-01

Work related to noise analysis, in Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co. Ltd. (Toshiba) and Nippon Atomic Industry Group Co. Ltd. (NAIG) for the past several years is reviewed. After considering the Japan-United States Seminar on Reactor Noise Analysis in 1968, other subjects discussed were boiling water reactor noise analysis and work in relation to FBR. Parts of these are related to each other. For example, boiling detection and temperature fluctuations are problems pertinent to both fields. As the main problems in zero-power-reactor noise are now basically understood, only a brief description of the experiments involving the advanced two detector method is made. Focus is rather placed on the area of power plant noise. (author)

Noise Gating Solar Images

Science.gov (United States)

DeForest, Craig; Seaton, Daniel B.; Darnell, John A.

2017-08-01

I present and demonstrate a new, general purpose post-processing technique, "3D noise gating", that can reduce image noise by an order of magnitude or more without effective loss of spatial or temporal resolution in typical solar applications.Nearly all scientific images are, ultimately, limited by noise. Noise can be direct Poisson "shot noise" from photon counting effects, or introduced by other means such as detector read noise. Noise is typically represented as a random variable (perhaps with location- or image-dependent characteristics) that is sampled once per pixel or once per resolution element of an image sequence. Noise limits many aspects of image analysis, including photometry, spatiotemporal resolution, feature identification, morphology extraction, and background modeling and separation.Identifying and separating noise from image signal is difficult. The common practice of blurring in space and/or time works because most image "signal" is concentrated in the low Fourier components of an image, while noise is evenly distributed. Blurring in space and/or time attenuates the high spatial and temporal frequencies, reducing noise at the expense of also attenuating image detail. Noise-gating exploits the same property -- "coherence" -- that we use to identify features in images, to separate image features from noise.Processing image sequences through 3-D noise gating results in spectacular (more than 10x) improvements in signal-to-noise ratio, while not blurring bright, resolved features in either space or time. This improves most types of image analysis, including feature identification, time sequence extraction, absolute and relative photometry (including differential emission measure analysis), feature tracking, computer vision, correlation tracking, background modeling, cross-scale analysis, visual display/presentation, and image compression.I will introduce noise gating, describe the method, and show examples from several instruments (including SDO

Evaluation of stress-induced martensite phase in ferromagnetic shape memory alloy Fe-30.2at%Pd by non-destructive Barkhausen noise

Science.gov (United States)

Furuya, Yasubumi; Okazaki, Teiko; Ueno, Takasi; Spearing, Mark; Wutting, Manfred

2005-05-01

Barkhausen noise (BHN) method seems a useful tecnique to non-destructive evaluation of martensite phase transformation of ferromagnetic shape memory alloy, which is used as the filler of our proposing "Smart Composite Board". The concept of design for "Smart Composite Board" which can combine the non-destructive magnetic inspection and shape recovery function in the material itself was formerly proposed. In the present study, we survey the possibility of Barkhausen noise (BHN) method to detect the transformation of microscopic martensite phase caused by stress-loading in Fe-30.2at%Pd thin foil, which has a stable austenite phase (fcc structure) at room temperature. The BHN voltage was measured at loading stress up to 100 MPa in temperature range of 300K to 373K. Stress-induced martensite twin was observed by laser microscope above loading stress of 25 MPa. A phase transformation caused by loading stress were analyzed also by X-ray diffraction. The signals of BHN are analyzed by the time of magnetization and the noise frequency. BHN caused by grain boundaries appears in the lower frequency range (1kHz-3kHz) and BHN by martensite twin in the higher frequency range (8kHz-10kHz). The envelope of the BHN voltage as a function of time of magnetization shows a peak due to austenite phase at weak magnetic field. The BHN envelope due to martensite twins creates additional two peaks at intermediate magnetic field. BHN method turns out to be a powerful technique for non-destructive evaluation of the phase transformation of ferromagnetic shape memory alloy.

Significance of shock structure on supersonic jet mixing noise of axisymmetric nozzles

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Chan M.; Krejsa, Eugene A.; Khavaran, Abbas

1994-09-01

One of the key technical elements in NASA's high speed research program is reducing the noise level to meet the federal noise regulation. The dominant noise source is associated with the supersonic jet discharged from the engine exhaust system. Whereas the turbulence mixing is largely responsible for the generation of the jet noise, a broadband shock-associated noise is also generated when the nozzle operates at conditions other than its design. For both mixing and shock noise components, because the source of the noise is embedded in the jet plume, one can expect that jet noise can be predicted from the jet flowfield computation. Mani et al. developed a unified aerodynamic/acoustic prediction scheme by applying an extension of Reichardt's aerodynamic model to compute turbulent shear stresses which are utilized in estimating the strength of the noise source. Although this method produces a fast and practical estimate of the jet noise, a modification by Khavaran et al. has led to an improvement in aerodynamic solution. The most notable feature in this work is that Reichardt's model is replaced with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The major advantage of this work is that the essential, noise-related flow quantities such as turbulence intensity and shock strength can be better predicted. The predictions were limited to a shock-free design condition and the effect of shock structure on the jet mixing noise was not addressed. The present work is aimed at investigating this issue. Under imperfectly expanded conditions the existence of the shock cell structure and its interaction with the convecting turbulence structure may not only generate a broadband shock-associated noise but also change the turbulence structure, and thus the strength of the mixing noise source. Failure in capturing shock structures properly could lead to incorrect aeroacoustic predictions.

Noise sensitivity and reactions to noise and other environmental conditions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miedema, H.M.E.; Vos, H.

2003-01-01

This article integrates findings from the literature and new results regarding noise sensitivity. The new results are based on analyses of 28 combined datasets (N=23 038), and separate analyses of a large aircraft noise study (N=10939). Three topics regarding noise sensitivity are discussed, namely,

Adaptive noise cancellation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akram, N.

1999-01-01

In this report we describe the concept of adaptive noise canceling, an alternative method of estimating signals corrupted by additive noise of interference. The method uses 'primary' input containing the corrupted signal and a 'reference' input containing noise correlated in some unknown way with the primary noise, the reference input is adaptively filtered and subtracted from the primary input to obtain the signal estimate. Adaptive filtering before subtraction allows the treatment of inputs that are deterministic or stochastic, stationary or time variable. When the reference input is free of signal and certain other conditions are met then noise in the primary input can be essentially eliminated without signal distortion. It is further shown that the adaptive filter also acts as notch filter. Simulated results illustrate the usefulness of the adaptive noise canceling technique. (author)

Critical Low-Noise Technologies Being Developed for Engine Noise Reduction Systems Subproject

Science.gov (United States)

Grady, Joseph E.; Civinskas, Kestutis C.

2004-01-01

NASA's previous Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) Noise Reduction Program delivered the initial technologies for meeting a 10-year goal of a 10-dB reduction in total aircraft system noise. Technology Readiness Levels achieved for the engine-noise-reduction technologies ranged from 4 (rig scale) to 6 (engine demonstration). The current Quiet Aircraft Technology (QAT) project is building on those AST accomplishments to achieve the additional noise reduction needed to meet the Aerospace Technology Enterprise's 10-year goal, again validated through a combination of laboratory rig and engine demonstration tests. In order to meet the Aerospace Technology Enterprise goal for future aircraft of a 50- reduction in the perceived noise level, reductions of 4 dB are needed in both fan and jet noise. The primary objectives of the Engine Noise Reduction Systems (ENRS) subproject are, therefore, to develop technologies to reduce both fan and jet noise by 4 dB, to demonstrate these technologies in engine tests, and to develop and experimentally validate Computational Aero Acoustics (CAA) computer codes that will improve our ability to predict engine noise.

Phenomenon of entropic stochastic resonance with asymmetric dichotomous noise and white noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Feng; Li, Shao-Fu; Cheng, Xiao-Feng

2012-01-01

The entropic stochastic resonance (ESR) in a confined system subject to asymmetric dichotomous noise, white noise, and a periodic square-wave signal is investigated. Under the adiabatic approximation condition, by use of the properties of the dichotomous noise, we obtain the expression of the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) based on two-state theory. The SNR is shown to be a nonmonotonic function of the strength and asymmetry of the dichotomous noise, the intensity of the white noise, and the amplitude of the square-wave signal. The SNR varies non-monotonically with increases in the parameters of the confined structure. The influence of the correlation rate of the dichotomous noise and the frequency of the external constant force on the SNR is also discussed.

Adaptive mean filtering for noise reduction in CT polymer gel dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilts, Michelle; Jirasek, Andrew

2008-01-01

X-ray computed tomography (CT) as a method of extracting 3D dose information from irradiated polymer gel dosimeters is showing potential as a practical means to implement gel dosimetry in a radiation therapy clinic. However, the response of CT contrast to dose is weak and noise reduction is critical in order to achieve adequate dose resolutions with this method. Phantom design and CT imaging technique have both been shown to decrease image noise. In addition, image postprocessing using noise reduction filtering techniques have been proposed. This work evaluates in detail the use of the adaptive mean filter for reducing noise in CT gel dosimetry. Filter performance is systematically tested using both synthetic patterns mimicking a range of clinical dose distribution features as well as actual clinical dose distributions. Both low and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) situations are examined. For all cases, the effects of filter kernel size and the number of iterations are investigated. Results indicate that adaptive mean filtering is a highly effective tool for noise reduction CT gel dosimetry. The optimum filtering strategy depends on characteristics of the dose distributions and image noise level. For low noise images (SNR ∼20), the filtered results are excellent and use of adaptive mean filtering is recommended as a standard processing tool. For high noise images (SNR ∼5) adaptive mean filtering can also produce excellent results, but filtering must be approached with more caution as spatial and dose distortions of the original dose distribution can occur

When noise is beneficial for sensory encoding: Noise adaptation can improve face processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Menzel, Claudia; Hayn-Leichsenring, Gregor U; Redies, Christoph; Németh, Kornél; Kovács, Gyula

2017-10-01

The presence of noise usually impairs the processing of a stimulus. Here, we studied the effects of noise on face processing and show, for the first time, that adaptation to noise patterns has beneficial effects on face perception. We used noiseless faces that were either surrounded by random noise or presented on a uniform background as stimuli. In addition, the faces were either preceded by noise adaptors or not. Moreover, we varied the statistics of the noise so that its spectral slope either matched that of the faces or it was steeper or shallower. Results of parallel ERP recordings showed that the background noise reduces the amplitude of the face-evoked N170, indicating less intensive face processing. Adaptation to a noise pattern, however, led to reduced P1 and enhanced N170 amplitudes as well as to a better behavioral performance in two of the three noise conditions. This effect was also augmented by the presence of background noise around the target stimuli. Additionally, the spectral slope of the noise pattern affected the size of the P1, N170 and P2 amplitudes. We reason that the observed effects are due to the selective adaptation of noise-sensitive neurons present in the face-processing cortical areas, which may enhance the signal-to-noise-ratio. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Croatian Experience in Road Traffic Noise Management - Concrete Noise Barriers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahac Saša

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The paper gives an overview of concrete noise barrier application in several EU countries and in Croatia. It describes a process of introducing different noise protection solutions on Croatian market in the phase of intensive motorway construction in recent years. Namely, an extensive motorway network has been constructed in Croatia in the last 10 years. Following the process of motorway construction, noise protection walls have also been erected. Usage of different building materials and installation processes as well as variations in building expenditures has led to a comparative analysis of several types of noise protection solutions (expanded clay, wood fibre including a new eco-innovative product RUCONBAR, which incorporates rubber granules from recycled waste tyres to form a porous noise absorptive layer.

Elimination of noise peak for signal processing in Johnson noise thermometry development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, I. G.; Moon, B. S.; Jeong, J. E.; Jeo, Y. H.; Kisner, Roger A.

2003-01-01

The internal and external noise is the most considering obstacle in development of Johnson Noise Thermometry system. This paper addresses an external noise elimination issue of the Johnson Noise Thermometry system which is underway of development in collaboration between KAERI and ORNL. Although internal random noise is canceled by Cross Power Spectral Density function, a continuous wave penetrating into the electronic circuit is eliminated by the difference of peaks between Johnson signal and external noise. The elimination logic using standard deviation of CPSD and energy leakage problem in discrete CPSD function are discussed in this paper

Skalabilitas Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR pada Pengkodean Video dengan Derau Gaussian

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agus Purwadi

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In video transmission, there is a possibility of packet lost an d a large load variation on the bandwidth. These are the source of network congestion, which can interfere the communication data rate. This study discusses a system to overcome the congestion with Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR scalability-based approach, for the video sequence encoding method into two layers, which is a solution to decrease encoding mode for each packet and channel coding rate. The goal is to minimize any distortion from the source to the destination. The coding system used is a video coding standards that is MPEG-2 or H.263 with SNR scalability. The algorithm used for motion compensation, temporal redundancy and spatial redundancy is the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT and quantization. The transmission error is simulated by adding Gaussian noise (error on motion vectors. From the simulation results, the SNR and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR in the noisy video frames decline with averages of 3dB and 4dB respectively.

Dynamics and noise emission of laser induced cavitation bubbles in a vortical flow field

Science.gov (United States)

Oweis, Ghanem F.; Choi, Jaehyug; Ceccio, Steven L.

2004-03-01

The sound produced by the collapse of discrete cavitation bubbles was examined. Laser-generated cavitation bubbles were produced in both a quiescent and a vortical flow. The sound produced by the collapse of the cavitation bubbles was recorded, and its spectral content was determined. It was found that the risetime of the sound pulse produced by the collapse of single, spherical cavitation bubbles in quiescent fluid exceeded that of the slew rate of the hydrophone, which is consistent with previously published results. It was found that, as collapsing bubbles were deformed by the vortical flow, the acoustic impulse of the bubbles was reduced. Collapsing nonspherical bubbles often created a sound pulse with a risetime that exceeded that of the hydrophone slew rate, although the acoustic impulse created by the bubbles was influenced largely by the degree to which the bubbles became nonspherical before collapse. The noise produced by the slow growth of cavitation bubbles in the vortex core was not detectable. These results have implications for the interpretation of hydrodynamic cavitation noise produced by vortex cavitation.

Effects of road traffic background noise on judgments of individual airplane noises. Ph.D. Thesis

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, C. A.

1979-01-01

Two laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of road-traffic background noise on judgments of individual airplane flyover noises. In the first experiment, 27 subjects judged a set of 16 airplane flyover noises in the presence of traffic-noise sessions of 30-min duration consisting of the combinations of 3 traffic-noise types and 3 noise levels. In the second experiment, 24 subjects judged the same airplane flyover noises in the presence of traffic-noise sessions of 10-min duration consisting of the combinations of 2 traffic-noise types and 4 noise levels. In both experiments the airplane noises were judged less annoying in the presence of high traffic-noise levels than in the presence of low traffic-noise levels.

Low voltage excess noise and shot noise in YBCO bicrystal junctions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Constantinian, K.Y.; Ovsyannikov, G.A.; Borisenko, I.V.

2002-01-01

The spectral density of background noise emitted by symmetric bicrystal YBaCuO Josephson junctions on sapphire substrates have been measured by a low noise cooled HEMT amplifier for bias voltages up to V approximate to 50 mV. At relatively low voltages V noise rise has been...... registered. At large bias voltages V > 30 mV a clear dependence of noise power. exactly coinciding to the asymptote of the Schottky shot noise function, has been observed for the first time. Experimental results are discussed in terms of multiple Andreev reflections which may take place in d...

DALY-Based Health Risk Assessment of Construction Noise in Beijing, China

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Jun; Li, Xiaodong; Zhang, Zhihui

2016-01-01

Noise produced by construction activities has become the second most serious acoustic polluting element in China. To provide industry practitioners with a better understanding of the health risks of construction noise and to aid in creating environmentally friendly construction plans during early construction stages, we developed a quantitative model to assess the health impairment risks (HIA) associated with construction noise for individuals living adjacent to construction sites. This model classifies noise-induced health impairments into four categories: cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance, and annoyance, and uses disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) as an indicator of damage. Furthermore, the value of a statistical life (VSL) is used to transform DALYs into a monetary value based on the affected demographic characteristics, thereby offering policy makers a reliable theoretical foundation for establishing reasonable standards to compensate residents suffering from construction noise. A practical earthwork project in Beijing is used as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model. The results indicate that construction noise could bring significant health risks to the neighboring resident community, with an estimated 34.51 DALYs of health damage and 20.47 million yuan in social costs. In particular, people aged 45–54 are most vulnerable to construction noise, with the greatest health risks being caused by sleep disturbance. PMID:27792207

BVI induced vibration and noise alleviation by active and passive approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Li

This dissertation describes the development of a comprehensive aeroelastic/aeroacoustic simulation capability for the modeling of vibration and noise in rotorcraft induced by blade-vortex interaction (BVI). Subsequently this capability is applied to study vibration and noise reduction, using active and passive control approaches. The active approach employed is the actively controlled partial span trailing edge flaps (ACF), implemented in single and dual, servo and plain flap configurations. The passive approach is based on varying the sweep and anhedral on the tip of the rotor. Two different modern helicopters are chosen as the baseline for the implementation of ACF approach, one resembling a four-bladed MBB BO-105 hingeless rotor and the other similar to a five-bladed MD-900 bearingless rotor. The structural model is based on a finite element approach capable of simulating composite helicopter blades with swept tips, and representing multiple load paths at the blade root which is a characteristic of bearingless rotors. An unsteady compressible aerodynamic model based on a rational function approximation (RFA) approach is combined with a free wake analysis which has been enhanced by improving the wake analysis resolution and modeling a dual vortex structure. These enhancements are important for capturing BVI effects. A method for predicting compressible unsteady blade surface pressure distribution on rotor blades has been developed, which is required by the acoustic analysis. A modified version of helicopter noise code WOPWOP with provisions for blade flexibility has been combined with the aeroelastic analysis to predict the BVI noise. Several variants of the higher harmonic control (HHC) algorithm have been applied for the active noise control, as well as the simultaneous vibration and noise control. Active control of BVI noise is accomplished using feedback from an onboard microphone. The simulation has been extensively validated against experimental data and

Detection of Noise in Composite Step Signal Pattern by Visualizing Signal Waveforms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaman Verma

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The Step Composite Signals is the combination of vital informative signals that are compressed and coded to produce a predefined test image on a display device. It carries the desired sequence of information from source to destination. This information may be transmitted as digital signal, video information or data signal required as an input for the destination module. For testing of display panels, Composite Test Signals are the most important attribute of test signal transmission system. In the current research paper we present an approach for the noise detection in Composite Step Signal by analysing Composite Step Signal waveforms. The analysis of the signal waveforms reveals that the noise affected components of the signal and subsequently noise reduction process is initiated which targets noisy signal component only. Thus the quality of signal is not compromised during noise reduction process.

Investigation of the correlation between noise and vibration characteristics and unsteady flow in a circulator pump

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Denghao; Ren, Yun; Mou, Jiegang; Gu, Yunqing [Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou (China)

2017-05-15

Circulator pumps have wide engineering applications but the acoustics, vibration and unsteady flow structures of the circulator pump are still not fully understood. We investigated the noise and vibration characteristics and unsteady flow structures in a circulator pump at different flow rates. Three-dimensional, unsteady RANS equations were solved on high-quality structured meshes with SST k-ω turbulence model numerically. Measurements were made in a semi-anechoic chamber to get an overview of noise and vibration level of a pump at different flow rates. The 1/3 octave-band filter technique was applied to obtain the explicit frequency spectra of sound, pressure fluctuations and vibration signals and their principal frequencies were identified successfully. The air-borne noise level of the designed condition is lower than that of the off-design conditions, and the highest sound pressure level is found at part-load condition. The acoustic emission from the pump is mainly caused by unsteady flow structures and pressure fluctuations. In addition, both the link between air- borne noise and pressure fluctuation, and the correlation between vibration and unsteady hydrodynamic forces, were quantitatively examined and verified. This work offers good data to understand noise and vibration characteristics of circulator pumps and the relationships among the noise, vibration and unsteady flow structures.

Development of Active Noise Control System for Quieting Transformer Noise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Bok Kyu; Song, Seik Young; Choi, Huo Yul [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Yun, Dae Hea; Lee, Hyuk Jae [Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

The passive noise control technique made use of sound-absorbing or soundproofing materials, so it required a large area and high cost for installation and had a drawback of poor performance at low frequency. Compared to this, the Active Noise Control attenuates noise sound pressure by using secondary source which has same performance ay low-frequency. Furthermore, it is able to save space and expenses. - research on adaptive algorithms - evaluation of global attenuation of the control - computer simulation - real-time Active Noise Control System Hardware Implementation - ANC system setting in the noisy area.

Effects of divided attention and operating room noise on perception of pulse oximeter pitch changes: a laboratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Ryan A; Schlesinger, Joseph J; Wallace, Mark T

2013-02-01

Anesthesiology requires performing visually oriented procedures while monitoring auditory information about a patient's vital signs. A concern in operating room environments is the amount of competing information and the effects that divided attention has on patient monitoring, such as detecting auditory changes in arterial oxygen saturation via pulse oximetry. The authors measured the impact of visual attentional load and auditory background noise on the ability of anesthesia residents to monitor the pulse oximeter auditory display in a laboratory setting. Accuracies and response times were recorded reflecting anesthesiologists' abilities to detect changes in oxygen saturation across three levels of visual attention in quiet and with noise. Results show that visual attentional load substantially affects the ability to detect changes in oxygen saturation concentrations conveyed by auditory cues signaling 99 and 98% saturation. These effects are compounded by auditory noise, up to a 17% decline in performance. These deficits are seen in the ability to accurately detect a change in oxygen saturation and in speed of response. Most anesthesia accidents are initiated by small errors that cascade into serious events. Lack of monitor vigilance and inattention are two of the more commonly cited factors. Reducing such errors is thus a priority for improving patient safety. Specifically, efforts to reduce distractors and decrease background noise should be considered during induction and emergence, periods of especially high risk, when anesthesiologists has to attend to many tasks and are thus susceptible to error.

Effects of divided attention and operating room noise on perception of pulse oximeter pitch changes: A laboratory study

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Ryan A.; Fellow, Postdoctoral; Schlesinger, Joseph J.; Physician, Resident; Wallace, Mark T.

2012-01-01

Background Anesthesiology requires performing visually-oriented procedures while monitoring auditory information about a patient’s vital signs. A concern in operating rooms environments is the amount of competing information and the effects that divided attention have on patient monitoring, such as detecting auditory changes in arterial oxygen saturation via pulse oximetry. Methods We measured the impact of visual attentional load and auditory background noise on the ability of anesthesia residents to monitor the pulse oximeter auditory display in a laboratory setting. Accuracies and response times were recorded reflecting anesthesiologists’ abilities to detect changes in oxygen saturation across three levels of visual attention in quiet and with noise. Results Results show that visual attentional load substantially impacts the ability to detect changes in oxygen saturation levels conveyed by auditory cues signaling 99 and 98% saturation. These effects are compounded by auditory noise, with up to a 17% decline in performance. These deficits are seen in the ability to accurately detect a change in oxygen saturation and in speed of response. Conclusions Most anesthesia accidents are initiated by small errors that cascade into serious events. Lack of monitor vigilance and inattention are two of the more commonly cited factors. Reducing such errors is thus a priority for improving patient safety. Specifically, efforts to reduce distractors and lower background noise should be considered during induction and emergence, periods of especially high risk, when anesthesiologists must attend to many tasks and are thus susceptible to error. PMID:23263015

Secure Image Encryption Based On a Chua Chaotic Noise Generator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. S. Andreatos

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a secure image cryptography telecom system based on a Chua's circuit chaotic noise generator. A chaotic system based on synchronised Master–Slave Chua's circuits has been used as a chaotic true random number generator (CTRNG. Chaotic systems present unpredictable and complex behaviour. This characteristic, together with the dependence on the initial conditions as well as the tolerance of the circuit components, make CTRNGs ideal for cryptography. In the proposed system, the transmitter mixes an input image with chaotic noise produced by a CTRNG. Using thresholding techniques, the chaotic signal is converted to a true random bit sequence. The receiver must be able to reproduce exactly the same chaotic noise in order to subtract it from the received signal. This becomes possible with synchronisation between the two Chua's circuits: through the use of specific techniques, the trajectory of the Slave chaotic system can be bound to that of the Master circuit producing (almost identical behaviour. Additional blocks have been used in order to make the system highly parameterisable and robust against common attacks. The whole system is simulated in Matlab. Simulation results demonstrate satisfactory performance, as well as, robustness against cryptanalysis. The system works with both greyscale and colour jpg images.

Fast High-Quality Noise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frisvad, Jeppe Revall; Wyvill, Geoff

2007-01-01

At the moment the noise functions available in a graphics programmer's toolbox are either slow to compute or they involve grid-line artifacts making them of lower quality. In this paper we present a real-time noise computation with no grid-line artifacts or other regularity problems. In other words......, we put a new tool in the box that computes fast high-quality noise. In addition to being free of artifacts, the noise we present does not rely on tabulated data (everything is computed on the fly) and it is easy to adjust quality vs. quantity for the noise. The noise is based on point rendering (like...... spot noise), but it extends to more than two dimensions. The fact that it is based on point rendering makes art direction of the noise much easier....

Tracking of Nonstationary Noise Based on Data-Driven Recursive Noise Power Estimation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Erkelens, J.S.; Heusdens, R.

2008-01-01

This paper considers estimation of the noise spectral variance from speech signals contaminated by highly nonstationary noise sources. The method can accurately track fast changes in noise power level (up to about 10 dB/s). In each time frame, for each frequency bin, the noise variance estimate is

Noise performance of microwave humidity sounders over their lifetime

Science.gov (United States)

Hans, Imke; Burgdorf, Martin; John, Viju O.; Mittaz, Jonathan; Buehler, Stefan A.

2017-12-01

The microwave humidity sounders Special Sensor Microwave Water Vapor Profiler (SSMT-2), Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-B (AMSU-B) and Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) to date have been providing data records for 25 years. So far, the data records lack uncertainty information essential for constructing consistent long time data series. In this study, we assess the quality of the recorded data with respect to the uncertainty caused by noise. We calculate the noise on the raw calibration counts from the deep space views (DSVs) of the instrument and the noise equivalent differential temperature (NEΔT) as a measure for the radiometer sensitivity. For this purpose, we use the Allan deviation that is not biased from an underlying varying mean of the data and that has been suggested only recently for application in atmospheric remote sensing. Moreover, we use the bias function related to the Allan deviation to infer the underlying spectrum of the noise. As examples, we investigate the noise spectrum in flight for some instruments. For the assessment of the noise evolution in time, we provide a descriptive and graphical overview of the calculated NEΔT over the life span of each instrument and channel. This overview can serve as an easily accessible information for users interested in the noise performance of a specific instrument, channel and time. Within the time evolution of the noise, we identify periods of instrumental degradation, which manifest themselves in an increasing NEΔT, and periods of erratic behaviour, which show sudden increases of NEΔT interrupting the overall smooth evolution of the noise. From this assessment and subsequent exclusion of the aforementioned periods, we present a chart showing available data records with NEΔT processing to provide input values for the uncertainty propagation in the generation of a new set of Fundamental Climate Data Records (FCDRs) that are currently produced in the project Fidelity and Uncertainty in Climate data

Concorde noise-induced building vibrations: International Airport Dulles. [studies by Langley Research Center

Science.gov (United States)

Mayes, W. H.; Scholl, H. F.; Stephens, D. G.; Holliday, B. G.; Deloach, R.; Finley, T. D.; Holmes, H. K.; Lewis, R. B.; Lynch, J. W.

1977-01-01

A series of studies were conducted to assess the noise-induced building vibrations associated with Concorde operations. The vibration levels of windows, walls, and floors were measured along with the associated noise levels of Concorde, subsonic aircraft and some nonaircraft events. Test sites included Sully Plantation which is adjacent to Dulles International Airport and three residential homes located in Montgomery County, Maryland. The measured vibration response levels due to Concorde operations were found to be: (1) higher than the levels due to other aircraft, (2) less than the levels due to certain household events which involve direct impulsive loading such as door and window closing, (3) less than criteria levels for building damage, and (4) comparable to levels which are perceptible to people.

Distortions of the statistical distribution of Barkhausen noise measured by magneto-optical Kerr effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinotti, E.; Brenna, M.; Puppin, E.

2008-01-01

In magneto-optical Kerr measurements of the Barkhausen noise, a magnetization jump ΔM due to a domain reversal produces a variation ΔI of the intensity of a laser beam reflected by the sample, which is the physical quantity actually measured. Due to the non-uniform beam intensity profile, the magnitude of ΔI depends both on ΔM and on its position on the laser spot. This could distort the statistical distribution p(ΔI) of the measured ΔI with respect to the true distribution p(ΔM) of the magnetization jumps ΔM. In this work the exact relationship between the two distributions is derived in a general form, which will be applied to some possible beam profiles. It will be shown that in most cases the usual Gaussian beam produces a negligible statistical distortion. Moreover, for small ΔI the noise of the experimental setup can also distort the statistical distribution p(ΔI), by erroneously rejecting small ΔI as noise. This effect has been calculated for white noise, and it will be shown that it is relatively small but not totally negligible as the measured ΔI approaches the detection limit

Loads and loads and loads: The influence of prospective load, retrospective load, and ongoing task load in prospective memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beat eMeier

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In prospective memory tasks different kinds of load can occur. Adding a prospective memory task can impose a load on ongoing task performance. Adding ongoing task load can affect prospective memory performance. The existence of multiple target events increases prospective load and adding complexity to the to-be-remembered action increases retrospective load. In two experiments, we systematically examined the effects of these different types of load on prospective memory performance. Results showed an effect of prospective load on costs in the ongoing task for categorical targets (Experiment 2, but not for specific targets (Experiment 1. Retrospective load and ongoing task load both affected remembering the retrospective component of the prospective memory task. We suggest that prospective load can enhance costs in the ongoing task due to additional monitoring requirements. Retrospective load and ongoing task load seem to impact the division of resources between the ongoing task and retrieval of the retrospective component, which may affect disengagement from the ongoing task. In general, the results demonstrate that the different types of load affect prospective memory differentially.

Difficulty understanding speech in noise by the hearing impaired: underlying causes and technological solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Healy, Eric W; Yoho, Sarah E

2016-08-01

A primary complaint of hearing-impaired individuals involves poor speech understanding when background noise is present. Hearing aids and cochlear implants often allow good speech understanding in quiet backgrounds. But hearing-impaired individuals are highly noise intolerant, and existing devices are not very effective at combating background noise. As a result, speech understanding in noise is often quite poor. In accord with the significance of the problem, considerable effort has been expended toward understanding and remedying this issue. Fortunately, our understanding of the underlying issues is reasonably good. In sharp contrast, effective solutions have remained elusive. One solution that seems promising involves a single-microphone machine-learning algorithm to extract speech from background noise. Data from our group indicate that the algorithm is capable of producing vast increases in speech understanding by hearing-impaired individuals. This paper will first provide an overview of the speech-in-noise problem and outline why hearing-impaired individuals are so noise intolerant. An overview of our approach to solving this problem will follow.

Noise Reduction Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Hallas, Tony

There are two distinct kinds of noise - structural and color. Each requires a specific method of attack to minimize. The great challenge is to reduce the noise without reducing the faint and delicate detail in the image. My most-used and favorite noise suppression is found in Photoshop CS 5 Camera Raw. If I cannot get the desired results with the first choice, I will use Noise Ninja, which has certain advantages in some situations that we will cover.

Aeroacoustic Validation of Installed Low Noise Propulsion for NASA's N+2 Supersonic Airliner

Science.gov (United States)

Bridges, James

2018-01-01

An aeroacoustic test was conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center on an integrated propulsion system designed to meet noise regulations of ICAO Chapter 4 with 10EPNdB cumulative margin. The test had two objectives: to demonstrate that the aircraft design did meet the noise goal, and to validate the acoustic design tools used in the design. Variations in the propulsion system design and its installation were tested and the results compared against predictions. Far-field arrays of microphones measured the acoustic spectral directivity, which was transformed to full scale as noise certification levels. Phased array measurements confirmed that the shielding of the installation model adequately simulated the full aircraft and provided data for validating RANS-based noise prediction tools. Particle image velocimetry confirmed that the flow field around the nozzle on the jet rig mimicked that of the full aircraft and produced flow data to validate the RANS solutions used in the noise predictions. The far-field acoustic measurements confirmed the empirical predictions for the noise. Results provided here detail the steps taken to ensure accuracy of the measurements and give insights into the physics of exhaust noise from installed propulsion systems in future supersonic vehicles.

Gene regulation and noise reduction by coupling of stochastic processes

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Alexandre F.; Hornos, José Eduardo M.; Reinitz, John

2015-02-01

Here we characterize the low-noise regime of a stochastic model for a negative self-regulating binary gene. The model has two stochastic variables, the protein number and the state of the gene. Each state of the gene behaves as a protein source governed by a Poisson process. The coupling between the two gene states depends on protein number. This fact has a very important implication: There exist protein production regimes characterized by sub-Poissonian noise because of negative covariance between the two stochastic variables of the model. Hence the protein numbers obey a probability distribution that has a peak that is sharper than those of the two coupled Poisson processes that are combined to produce it. Biochemically, the noise reduction in protein number occurs when the switching of the genetic state is more rapid than protein synthesis or degradation. We consider the chemical reaction rates necessary for Poisson and sub-Poisson processes in prokaryotes and eucaryotes. Our results suggest that the coupling of multiple stochastic processes in a negative covariance regime might be a widespread mechanism for noise reduction.

Gene regulation and noise reduction by coupling of stochastic processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Alexandre F; Hornos, José Eduardo M; Reinitz, John

2015-02-01

Here we characterize the low-noise regime of a stochastic model for a negative self-regulating binary gene. The model has two stochastic variables, the protein number and the state of the gene. Each state of the gene behaves as a protein source governed by a Poisson process. The coupling between the two gene states depends on protein number. This fact has a very important implication: There exist protein production regimes characterized by sub-Poissonian noise because of negative covariance between the two stochastic variables of the model. Hence the protein numbers obey a probability distribution that has a peak that is sharper than those of the two coupled Poisson processes that are combined to produce it. Biochemically, the noise reduction in protein number occurs when the switching of the genetic state is more rapid than protein synthesis or degradation. We consider the chemical reaction rates necessary for Poisson and sub-Poisson processes in prokaryotes and eucaryotes. Our results suggest that the coupling of multiple stochastic processes in a negative covariance regime might be a widespread mechanism for noise reduction.

Overview of en route noise prediction using a integrated noise model

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-20

En route aircraft noise is often ignored in aircraft noise modeling because large amounts of noise attenuation due to long propagation distances between the aircraft and the receivers on the ground, reduced power in cruise flight compared to takeoff ...

Noise dependence with pile-up in the ATLAS Tile calorimeter

CERN Document Server

Araque Espinosa, Juan Pedro; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

The Tile Calorimeter, TileCal, is the central hadronic calorimeter of the ATLAS experiment and comprises alternating layers of steel (as absorber material) and plastic (as active material), known as tiles. Between 2009 and 2012, the LHC has performed better than expected producing proton-proton collisions at a very high rate. Under these challenging conditions not only the energy from an interesting event will be measured but also a component coming from other collisions. This component is referred to as pile-up noise. Studies carried out to better understand how pile-up affects calorimeter noise under different circumstances are described.

Noise-based Stego-ECC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahardjo Budi

2014-03-01

Full Text Available A novel method of inserting noise into stream of ciphered text is proposed. The goal of inserting noise is to increase the level of uncertainty, thus making it harder for an attacker to detect data and noise. This form of steganography is implemented using Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC. The process of embedding the noise to the message in the encryption process and removing the noise from the message in the decryption process is proposed in this work by modifying ElGamal to allow auto detection of data and noise.

The Traffic Noise Index: A Method of Controlling Noise Nuisance.

Science.gov (United States)

Langdon, F. J.; Scholes, W. E.

This building research survey is an analysis of the social nuisance caused by urban motor ways and their noise. The Traffic Noise Index is used to indicate traffic noises and their effects on architectural designs and planning, while suggesting the need for more and better window insulation and acoustical barriers. Overall concern is for--(1)…

Investigation of Diesel’s Residual Noise on Predictive Vehicles Noise Cancelling using LMS Adaptive Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Arttini Dwi Prasetyowati, Sri; Susanto, Adhi; Widihastuti, Ida

2017-04-01

Every noise problems require different solution. In this research, the noise that must be cancelled comes from roadway. Least Mean Square (LMS) adaptive is one of the algorithm that can be used to cancel that noise. Residual noise always appears and could not be erased completely. This research aims to know the characteristic of residual noise from vehicle’s noise and analysis so that it is no longer appearing as a problem. LMS algorithm was used to predict the vehicle’s noise and minimize the error. The distribution of the residual noise could be observed to determine the specificity of the residual noise. The statistic of the residual noise close to normal distribution with = 0,0435, = 1,13 and the autocorrelation of the residual noise forming impulse. As a conclusion the residual noise is insignificant.

Noise Pollution

Science.gov (United States)

... Regulated by EPA EPA or a designated Federal agency regulates noise sources, such as rail and motor carriers, low noise emission products, construction equipment, transport equipment, trucks, motorcycles, and the labeling of hearing ...

Prediction of helicopter rotor noise in hover

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kusyumov A.N.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Two mathematical models are used in this work to estimate the acoustics of a hovering main rotor. The first model is based on the Ffowcs Williams-Howkings equations using the formulation of Farassat. An analytical approach is followed for this model, to determine the thickness and load noise contributions of the rotor blade in hover. The second approach allows using URANS and RANS CFD solutions and based on numerical solution of the Ffowcs Williams-Howkings equations. The employed test cases correspond to a model rotor available at the KNRTUKAI aerodynamics laboratory. The laboratory is equipped with a system of acoustic measurements, and comparisons between predictions and measurements are to be attempted as part of this work.

Prediction of helicopter rotor noise in hover

Science.gov (United States)

Kusyumov, A. N.; Mikhailov, S. A.; Garipova, L. I.; Batrakov, A. S.; Barakos, G.

2015-05-01

Two mathematical models are used in this work to estimate the acoustics of a hovering main rotor. The first model is based on the Ffowcs Williams-Howkings equations using the formulation of Farassat. An analytical approach is followed for this model, to determine the thickness and load noise contributions of the rotor blade in hover. The second approach allows using URANS and RANS CFD solutions and based on numerical solution of the Ffowcs Williams-Howkings equations. The employed test cases correspond to a model rotor available at the KNRTUKAI aerodynamics laboratory. The laboratory is equipped with a system of acoustic measurements, and comparisons between predictions and measurements are to be attempted as part of this work.

A high-efficiency, low-noise power solution for a dual-channel GNSS RF receiver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)