WorldWideScience

Sample records for performance thermal imager

  1. Performance Evaluation Facility for Fire Fighting Thermal Imager

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sung Chan; Amon, Francine; Hamins, Anthony

    2007-01-01

    The present study investigates the characteristics of obscuring media inside an optical smoke cell, which is a bench-scale testing facility for the evaluation of thermal imaging cameras used by fire fighters. Light extinction coefficient and visibility through the smoke cell is characterized by the measured laser transmittance. The laser transmittance along the axial direction of the smoke cell is relatively uniform at upper and lower part for various air/fuel volume flow rate. Contrast level based image quality of visible CCD camera through the smoke cell is compared with that of thermal imaging camera. The optical smoke cell can be used as well-controlled and effective laboratory-scale test apparatus to evaluate the performance of thermal imaging camera for fire fighting application

  2. Thermal imaging cameras characteristics and performance

    CERN Document Server

    Williams, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    The ability to see through smoke and mist and the ability to use the variances in temperature to differentiate between targets and their backgrounds are invaluable in military applications and have become major motivators for the further development of thermal imagers. As the potential of thermal imaging is more clearly understood and the cost decreases, the number of industrial and civil applications being exploited is growing quickly. In order to evaluate the suitability of particular thermal imaging cameras for particular applications, it is important to have the means to specify and measur

  3. Performance of a thermal neutron radiographic system using imaging plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silvani, Maria Ines; Almeida, Gevaldo L. de; Furieri, Rosanne; Lopes, Ricardo T.

    2009-01-01

    A performance evaluation of a neutron radiographic system equipped with a thermal neutron sensitive imaging plate has been undertaken. It includes the assessment of spatial resolution, linearity, dynamic range and the response to exposure time, as well as a comparison of these parameters with the equivalent ones for neutron radiography employing conventional films and a gadolinium foil as converter. The evaluation and comparison between the radiographic systems have been performed at the Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear - CNEN, using the Argonauta Reactor as source of thermal neutrons and a commercially available imaging plate reader. (author)

  4. Thermal Imaging Performance of TIR Onboard the Hayabusa2 Spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arai, Takehiko; Nakamura, Tomoki; Tanaka, Satoshi; Demura, Hirohide; Ogawa, Yoshiko; Sakatani, Naoya; Horikawa, Yamato; Senshu, Hiroki; Fukuhara, Tetsuya; Okada, Tatsuaki

    2017-07-01

    The thermal infrared imager (TIR) is a thermal infrared camera onboard the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. TIR will perform thermography of a C-type asteroid, 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3), and estimate its surface physical properties, such as surface thermal emissivity ɛ , surface roughness, and thermal inertia Γ, through remote in-situ observations in 2018 and 2019. In prelaunch tests of TIR, detector calibrations and evaluations, along with imaging demonstrations, were performed. The present paper introduces the experimental results of a prelaunch test conducted using a large-aperture collimator in conjunction with TIR under atmospheric conditions. A blackbody source, controlled at constant temperature, was measured using TIR in order to construct a calibration curve for obtaining temperatures from observed digital data. As a known thermal emissivity target, a sandblasted black almite plate warmed from the back using a flexible heater was measured by TIR in order to evaluate the accuracy of the calibration curve. As an analog target of a C-type asteroid, carbonaceous chondrites (50 mm × 2 mm in thickness) were also warmed from the back and measured using TIR in order to clarify the imaging performance of TIR. The calibration curve, which was fitted by a specific model of the Planck function, allowed for conversion to the target temperature within an error of 1°C (3σ standard deviation) for the temperature range of 30 to 100°C. The observed temperature of the black almite plate was consistent with the temperature measured using K-type thermocouples, within the accuracy of temperature conversion using the calibration curve when the temperature variation exhibited a random error of 0.3 °C (1σ ) for each pixel at a target temperature of 50°C. TIR can resolve the fine surface structure of meteorites, including cracks and pits with the specified field of view of 0.051°C (328 × 248 pixels). There were spatial distributions with a temperature variation of 3°C at the setting

  5. Thermal imaging in medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaka Ogorevc

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available AbstractIntroduction: Body temperature monitoring is one of the oldest and still one of the most basic diagnostic methods in medicine. In recent years thermal imaging has been increasingly used in measurements of body temperature for diagnostic purposes. Thermal imaging is non-invasive, non-contact method for measuring surface body temperature. Method is quick, painless and patient is not exposed to ionizing radiation or any other body burden.Application of thermal imaging in medicine: Pathological conditions can be indicated as hyper- or hypothermic patterns in many cases. Thermal imaging is presented as a diagnostic method, which can detect such thermal anomalies. This article provides an overview of the thermal imaging applications in various fields of medicine. Thermal imaging has proven to be a suitable method for human febrile temperature screening, for the detection of sites of fractures and infections, a reliable diagnostic tool in the detection of breast cancer and determining the type of skin cancer tumour. It is useful in monitoring the course of a therapy after spinal cord injury, in the detection of food allergies and detecting complications at hemodialysis and is also very effective at the course of treatment of breast reconstruction after mastectomy. With thermal imaging is possible to determine the degrees of burns and early detection of osteomyelitis in diabetic foot phenomenon. The most common and the oldest application of thermal imaging in medicine is the field of rheumatology.Recommendations for use and standards: Essential performance of a thermal imaging camera, measurement method, preparation of a patient and environmental conditions are very important for proper interpretation of measurement results in medical applications of thermal imaging. Standard for screening thermographs was formed for the human febrile temperature screening application.Conclusion: Based on presented examples it is shown that thermal imaging can

  6. Performance of a thermal imager employing a hybrid pyroelectric detector array with MOSFET readout

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watton, R.; Mansi, M.V.

    1988-01-01

    A thermal imager employing a two-dimensional hybrid array of pyroelectric detectors with MOSFET readout has been built. The design and theoretical performance of the detector are discussed, and the results of performance measurements are presented. 8 references

  7. Next generation thermal imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marche, P.P.

    1988-01-01

    The best design of high performance thermal imagers for the 1990s will use horizontal quasi-linear arrays with focal plane processing associated with a simple vertical mechanical scanner. These imagers will have performance that is greatly improved compared to that of present-day devices (50 to 100 percent range and resolution improvement). 5 references

  8. Adapting Local Features for Face Detection in Thermal Image

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao Ma

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available A thermal camera captures the temperature distribution of a scene as a thermal image. In thermal images, facial appearances of different people under different lighting conditions are similar. This is because facial temperature distribution is generally constant and not affected by lighting condition. This similarity in face appearances is advantageous for face detection. To detect faces in thermal images, cascade classifiers with Haar-like features are generally used. However, there are few studies exploring the local features for face detection in thermal images. In this paper, we introduce two approaches relying on local features for face detection in thermal images. First, we create new feature types by extending Multi-Block LBP. We consider a margin around the reference and the generally constant distribution of facial temperature. In this way, we make the features more robust to image noise and more effective for face detection in thermal images. Second, we propose an AdaBoost-based training method to get cascade classifiers with multiple types of local features. These feature types have different advantages. In this way we enhance the description power of local features. We did a hold-out validation experiment and a field experiment. In the hold-out validation experiment, we captured a dataset from 20 participants, comprising 14 males and 6 females. For each participant, we captured 420 images with 10 variations in camera distance, 21 poses, and 2 appearances (participant with/without glasses. We compared the performance of cascade classifiers trained by different sets of the features. The experiment results showed that the proposed approaches effectively improve the performance of face detection in thermal images. In the field experiment, we compared the face detection performance in realistic scenes using thermal and RGB images, and gave discussion based on the results.

  9. THE EFFECT OF IMAGE ENHANCEMENT METHODS DURING FEATURE DETECTION AND MATCHING OF THERMAL IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Akcay

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available A successful image matching is essential to provide an automatic photogrammetric process accurately. Feature detection, extraction and matching algorithms have performed on the high resolution images perfectly. However, images of cameras, which are equipped with low-resolution thermal sensors are problematic with the current algorithms. In this paper, some digital image processing techniques were applied to the low-resolution images taken with Optris PI 450 382 x 288 pixel optical resolution lightweight thermal camera to increase extraction and matching performance. Image enhancement methods that adjust low quality digital thermal images, were used to produce more suitable images for detection and extraction. Three main digital image process techniques: histogram equalization, high pass and low pass filters were considered to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, sharpen image, remove noise, respectively. Later on, the pre-processed images were evaluated using current image detection and feature extraction methods Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSER and Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF algorithms. Obtained results showed that some enhancement methods increased number of extracted features and decreased blunder errors during image matching. Consequently, the effects of different pre-process techniques were compared in the paper.

  10. Thermal imaging for current D&S priorities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craig, Robert; Parsons, John F.

    2012-11-01

    Supplying thermal imagers for today's operational needs requires flexibility, responsiveness and ever reducing costs. This paper will use the latest thermal imager development in the Catherine range from Thales UK to address the technical interactions with such issues as modularity, re-use, regions of deployment and supply chain management. All this is in the context of the increasingly public operations and the pressures on validating performance especially when weapon aiming is involved.

  11. Multispectral Thermal Imager Optical Assembly Performance and Integration of the Flight Focal Plane Assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blake, Dick; Byrd, Don; Christensen, Wynn; Henson, Tammy; Krumel, Les; Rappoport, William; Shen, Gon-Yen

    1999-01-01

    The Multispectral Thermal Imager Optical Assembly (OA) has been fabricated, assembled, successfully performance tested, and integrated into the flight payload structure with the flight Focal Plane Assembly (FPA) integrated and aligned to it. This represents a major milestone achieved towards completion of this earth observing E-O imaging sensor that is to be operated in low earth orbit. The OA consists of an off-axis three mirror anastigmatic (TMA) telescope with a 36 cm unobscured clear aperture, a wide-field-of-view (WFOV) of 1.82 along the direction of spacecraft motion and 1.38 across the direction of spacecraft motion. It also contains a comprehensive on-board radiometric calibration system. The OA is part of a multispectral pushbroom imaging sensor which employs a single mechanically cooled focal plane with 15 spectral bands covering a wavelength range from 0.45 to 10.7 m. The OA achieves near diffraction-limited performance from visible to the long-wave infrared (LWIR) wavelengths. The two major design drivers for the OA are 80% enpixeled energy in the visible bands and radiometric stability. Enpixeled energy in the visible bands also drove the alignment of the FPA detectors to the OA image plane to a requirement of less than 20 m over the entire visible detector field of view (FOV). Radiometric stability requirements mandated a cold Lyot stop for stray light rejection and thermal background reduction. The Lyot stop is part of the FPA assembly and acts as the aperture stop for the imaging system. The alignment of the Lyot stop to the OA drove the centering and to some extent the tilt alignment requirements of the FPA to the OA

  12. Thermal-to-visible transducer (TVT) for thermal-IR imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flusberg, Allen; Swartz, Stephen; Huff, Michael; Gross, Steven

    2008-04-01

    We have been developing a novel thermal-to-visible transducer (TVT), an uncooled thermal-IR imager that is based on a Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI). The FPI-based IR imager can convert a thermal-IR image to a video electronic image. IR radiation that is emitted by an object in the scene is imaged onto an IR-absorbing material that is located within an FPI. Temperature variations generated by the spatial variations in the IR image intensity cause variations in optical thickness, modulating the reflectivity seen by a probe laser beam. The reflected probe is imaged onto a visible array, producing a visible image of the IR scene. This technology can provide low-cost IR cameras with excellent sensitivity, low power consumption, and the potential for self-registered fusion of thermal-IR and visible images. We will describe characteristics of requisite pixelated arrays that we have fabricated.

  13. THERMAL AND VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGE FUSION USING WAVELET IN REMOTE SENSING AND SATELLITE IMAGE PROCESSING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. H. Ahrari

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Multimodal remote sensing approach is based on merging different data in different portions of electromagnetic radiation that improves the accuracy in satellite image processing and interpretations. Remote Sensing Visible and thermal infrared bands independently contain valuable spatial and spectral information. Visible bands make enough information spatially and thermal makes more different radiometric and spectral information than visible. However low spatial resolution is the most important limitation in thermal infrared bands. Using satellite image fusion, it is possible to merge them as a single thermal image that contains high spectral and spatial information at the same time. The aim of this study is a performance assessment of thermal and visible image fusion quantitatively and qualitatively with wavelet transform and different filters. In this research, wavelet algorithm (Haar and different decomposition filters (mean.linear,ma,min and rand for thermal and panchromatic bands of Landast8 Satellite were applied as shortwave and longwave fusion method . Finally, quality assessment has been done with quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative parameters such as Entropy, Standard Deviation, Cross Correlation, Q Factor and Mutual Information were used. For thermal and visible image fusion accuracy assessment, all parameters (quantitative and qualitative must be analysed with respect to each other. Among all relevant statistical factors, correlation has the most meaningful result and similarity to the qualitative assessment. Results showed that mean and linear filters make better fused images against the other filters in Haar algorithm. Linear and mean filters have same performance and there is not any difference between their qualitative and quantitative results.

  14. A Thermal Imaging Instrument with Uncooled Detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, A. T.; Barrentine, E. M.; Brown, A. D.

    2017-12-01

    In this work, we perform an instrument concept study for sustainable thermal imaging over land with uncooled detectors. The National Research Council's Committee on Implementation of a Sustained Land Imaging Program has identified the inclusion of a thermal imager as critical for both current and future land imaging missions. Such an imaging instrument operating in two bands located at approximately 11 and 12 microns (for example, in Landsat 8, and also Landsat 9 when launched) will provide essential information for furthering our hydrologic understanding at scales of human influence, and produce field-scale moisture information through accurate retrievals of evapotranspiration (ET). Landsat 9 is slated to recycle the TIRS-2 instrument launched with Landsat 8 that uses cooled quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs), hence requiring expensive and massive cryocooler technology to achieve its required spectral and spatial accuracies. Our goal is to conceptualize and develop a thermal imaging instrument which leverages recent and imminent technology advances in uncooled detectors. Such detector technology will offer the benefit of greatly reduced instrument cost, mass, and power at the expense of some acceptable loss in detector sensitivity. It would also allow a thermal imaging instrument to be fielded on board a low-cost platform, e.g., a CubeSat. Sustained and enhanced land imaging is crucial for providing high-quality science data on change in land use, forest health, crop status, environment, and climate. Accurate satellite mapping of ET at the agricultural field scale (the finest spatial scale of the environmental processes of interest) requires high-quality thermal data to produce the corresponding accurate land surface temperature (LST) retrievals used to drive an ET model. Such an imaging instrument would provide important information on the following: 1) the relationship between land-use and land/water management practices and water use dynamics; 2) the

  15. Some selected quantitative methods of thermal image analysis in Matlab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koprowski, Robert

    2016-05-01

    The paper presents a new algorithm based on some selected automatic quantitative methods for analysing thermal images. It shows the practical implementation of these image analysis methods in Matlab. It enables to perform fully automated and reproducible measurements of selected parameters in thermal images. The paper also shows two examples of the use of the proposed image analysis methods for the area of ​​the skin of a human foot and face. The full source code of the developed application is also provided as an attachment. The main window of the program during dynamic analysis of the foot thermal image. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. A Thermal Imaging Instrument with Uncooled Detectors

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — In this proposed work, we will perform an instrument concept study for sustainable thermal imaging over land with uncooled detectors. We will define the science and...

  17. Estimating envelope thermal characteristics from single point in time thermal images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alshatshati, Salahaldin Faraj

    Energy efficiency programs implemented nationally in the U.S. by utilities have rendered savings which have cost on average 0.03/kWh. This cost is still well below generation costs. However, as the lowest cost energy efficiency measures are adopted, this the cost effectiveness of further investment declines. Thus there is a need to more effectively find the most opportunities for savings regionally and nationally, so that the greatest cost effectiveness in implementing energy efficiency can be achieved. Integral to this process. are at scale energy audits. However, on-site building energy audits process are expensive, in the range of US1.29/m2-$5.37/m2 and there are an insufficient number of professionals to perform the audits. Energy audits that can be conducted at-scale and at low cost are needed. Research is presented that addresses at community-wide scales characterization of building envelope thermal characteristics via drive-by and fly-over GPS linked thermal imaging. A central question drives this research: Can single point-in-time thermal images be used to infer U-values and thermal capacitances of walls and roofs? Previous efforts to use thermal images to estimate U-values have been limited to rare steady exterior weather conditions. The approaches posed here are based upon the development two models first is a dynamic model of a building envelope component with unknown U-value and thermal capacitance. The weather conditions prior to the thermal image are used as inputs to the model. The model is solved to determine the exterior surface temperature, ultimately predicted the temperature at the thermal measurement time. The model U-value and thermal capacitance are tuned in order to force the error between the predicted surface temperature and the measured surface temperature from thermal imaging to be near zero. This model is developed simply to show that such a model cannot be relied upon to accurately estimate the U-value. The second is a data

  18. Assessment of optical performance of three non-tracking, non-imaging, external compound parabolic concentrators designed for high temperature solar thermal collector units

    OpenAIRE

    Cisneros, Jesus

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this thesis is to perform a preliminary optical assessment of the external compound parabolic concentrator (XCPC) component in three concentrating solar thermal units. Each solar thermal unit consists an optical element (the non-imaging concentrating reflector) and a thermal element (the evacuated glass tube solar absorber). The three concentrating solar thermal units discussed in this work are DEWAR 58, a direct flow all-glass dewar, DEWAR 47 an indirect flow ...

  19. Thermal design and performance of the REgolith x-ray imaging spectrometer (REXIS) instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stout, Kevin D.; Masterson, Rebecca A.

    2014-08-01

    The REgolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) instrument is a student collaboration instrument on the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission scheduled for launch in September 2016. The REXIS science mission is to characterize the elemental abundances of the asteroid Bennu on a global scale and to search for regions of enhanced elemental abundance. The thermal design of the REXIS instrument is challenging due to both the science requirements and the thermal environment in which it will operate. The REXIS instrument consists of two assemblies: the spectrometer and the solar X-ray monitor (SXM). The spectrometer houses a 2x2 array of back illuminated CCDs that are protected from the radiation environment by a one-time deployable cover and a collimator assembly with coded aperture mask. Cooling the CCDs during operation is the driving thermal design challenge on the spectrometer. The CCDs operate in the vicinity of the electronics box, but a 130 °C thermal gradient is required between the two components to cool the CCDs to -60 °C in order to reduce noise and obtain science data. This large thermal gradient is achieved passively through the use of a copper thermal strap, a large radiator facing deep space, and a two-stage thermal isolation layer between the electronics box and the DAM. The SXM is mechanically mounted to the sun-facing side of the spacecraft separately from the spectrometer and characterizes the highly variable solar X-ray spectrum to properly interpret the data from the asteroid. The driving thermal design challenge on the SXM is cooling the silicon drift detector (SDD) to below -30 °C when operating. A two-stage thermoelectric cooler (TEC) is located directly beneath the detector to provide active cooling, and spacecraft MLI blankets cover all of the SXM except the detector aperture to radiatively decouple the SXM from the flight thermal environment. This paper describes the REXIS thermal system requirements, thermal design, and analyses, with

  20. Industrial application of thermal image processing and thermal control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Lingxue

    2001-09-01

    Industrial application of infrared thermography is virtually boundless as it can be used in any situations where there are temperature differences. This technology has particularly been widely used in automotive industry for process evaluation and system design. In this work, thermal image processing technique will be introduced to quantitatively calculate the heat stored in a warm/hot object and consequently, a thermal control system will be proposed to accurately and actively manage the thermal distribution within the object in accordance with the heat calculated from the thermal images.

  1. High Temperature Fiberoptic Thermal Imaging System, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The proposed Phase 1 program will fabricate and demonstrate a small diameter single fiber endoscope that can perform high temperature thermal imaging in a jet engine...

  2. A debugging method of the Quadrotor UAV based on infrared thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Guangjie; Hao, Qian; Yang, Jianguo; Chen, Lizhi; Hu, Hongkang; Zhang, Lijun

    2018-01-01

    High-performance UAV has been popular and in great need in recent years. The paper introduces a new method in debugging Quadrotor UAVs. Based on the infrared thermal technology and heat transfer theory, a UAV is under debugging above a hot-wire grid which is composed of 14 heated nichrome wires. And the air flow propelled by the rotating rotors has an influence on the temperature distribution of the hot-wire grid. An infrared thermal imager below observes the distribution and gets thermal images of the hot-wire grid. With the assistance of mathematic model and some experiments, the paper discusses the relationship between thermal images and the speed of rotors. By means of getting debugged UAVs into test, the standard information and thermal images can be acquired. The paper demonstrates that comparing to the standard thermal images, a UAV being debugging in the same test can draw some critical data directly or after interpolation. The results are shown in the paper and the advantages are discussed.

  3. Security surveillance challenges and proven thermal imaging capabilities in real-world applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francisco, Glen L.; Roberts, Sharon

    2004-09-01

    Uncooled thermal imaging was first introduced to the public in early 1980's by Raytheon (legacy Texas Instruments Defense Segment Electronics Group) as a solution for military applications. Since the introduction of this technology, Raytheon has remained the leader in this market as well as introduced commercial versions of thermal imaging products specifically designed for security, law enforcement, fire fighting, automotive and industrial uses. Today, low cost thermal imaging for commercial use in security applications is a reality. Organizations of all types have begun to understand the advantages of using thermal imaging as a means to solve common surveillance problems where other popular technologies fall short. Thermal imaging has proven to be a successful solution for common security needs such as: ¸ vision at night where lighting is undesired and 24x7 surveillance is needed ¸ surveillance over waterways, lakes and ports where water and lighting options are impractical ¸ surveillance through challenging weather conditions where other technologies will be challenged by atmospheric particulates ¸ low maintenance requirements due to remote or difficult locations ¸ low cost over life of product Thermal imaging is now a common addition to the integrated security package. Companies are relying on thermal imaging for specific applications where no other technology can perform.

  4. Comparison of the signal-to-noise characteristics of quantum versus thermal ghost imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Sullivan, Malcolm N.; Chan, Kam Wai Clifford; Boyd, Robert W.

    2010-01-01

    We present a theoretical comparison of the signal-to-noise characteristics of quantum versus thermal ghost imaging. We first calculate the signal-to-noise ratio of each process in terms of its controllable experimental conditions. We show that a key distinction is that a thermal ghost image always resides on top of a large background; the fluctuations in this background constitutes an intrinsic noise source for thermal ghost imaging. In contrast, there is a negligible intrinsic background to a quantum ghost image. However, for practical reasons involving achievable illumination levels, acquisition times for thermal ghost images are often much shorter than those for quantum ghost images. We provide quantitative predictions for the conditions under which each process provides superior performance. Our conclusion is that each process can provide useful functionality, although under complementary conditions.

  5. Segmentation techniques for extracting humans from thermal images

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dickens, JS

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available A pedestrian detection system for underground mine vehicles is being developed that requires the segmentation of people from thermal images in underground mine tunnels. A number of thresholding techniques are outlined and their performance on a...

  6. Application of optical character recognition in thermal image processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, W. T.; Sim, K. S.; Tso, C. P.

    2011-07-01

    This paper presents the results of a study on the reliability of the thermal imager compared to other devices that are used in preventive maintenance. Several case studies are used to facilitate the comparisons. When any device is found to perform unsatisfactorily where there is a suspected fault, its short-fall is determined so that the other devices may compensate, if possible. This study discovered that the thermal imager is not suitable or efficient enough for systems that happen to have little contrast in temperature between its parts or small but important parts that have their heat signatures obscured by those from other parts. The thermal imager is also found to be useful for preliminary examinations of certain systems, after which other more economical devices are suitable substitutes for further examinations. The findings of this research will be useful to the design and planning of preventive maintenance routines for industrial benefits.

  7. Thermal diffusivity imaging with the thermal lens microscope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dada, Oluwatosin O; Feist, Peter E; Dovichi, Norman J

    2011-12-01

    A coaxial thermal lens microscope was used to generate images based on both the absorbance and thermal diffusivity of histological samples. A pump beam was modulated at frequencies ranging from 50 kHz to 5 MHz using an acousto-optic modulator. The pump and a CW probe beam were combined with a dichroic mirror, directed into an inverted microscope, and focused onto the specimen. The change in the transmitted probe beam's center intensity was detected with a photodiode. The photodiode's signal and a reference signal from the modulator were sent to a high-speed lock-in amplifier. The in-phase and quadrature signals were recorded as a sample was translated through the focused beams and used to generate images based on the amplitude and phase of the lock-in amplifier's signal. The amplitude is related to the absorbance and the phase is related to the thermal diffusivity of the sample. Thin sections of stained liver and bone tissues were imaged; the contrast and signal-to-noise ratio of the phase image was highest at frequencies from 0.1-1 MHz and dropped at higher frequencies. The spatial resolution was 2.5 μm for both amplitude and phase images, limited by the pump beam spot size. © 2011 Optical Society of America

  8. The analysis and rationale behind the upgrading of existing standard definition thermal imagers to high definition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goss, Tristan M.

    2016-05-01

    With 640x512 pixel format IR detector arrays having been on the market for the past decade, Standard Definition (SD) thermal imaging sensors have been developed and deployed across the world. Now with 1280x1024 pixel format IR detector arrays becoming readily available designers of thermal imager systems face new challenges as pixel sizes reduce and the demand and applications for High Definition (HD) thermal imaging sensors increases. In many instances the upgrading of existing under-sampled SD thermal imaging sensors into more optimally sampled or oversampled HD thermal imaging sensors provides a more cost effective and reduced time to market option than to design and develop a completely new sensor. This paper presents the analysis and rationale behind the selection of the best suited HD pixel format MWIR detector for the upgrade of an existing SD thermal imaging sensor to a higher performing HD thermal imaging sensor. Several commercially available and "soon to be" commercially available HD small pixel IR detector options are included as part of the analysis and are considered for this upgrade. The impact the proposed detectors have on the sensor's overall sensitivity, noise and resolution is analyzed, and the improved range performance is predicted. Furthermore with reduced dark currents due to the smaller pixel sizes, the candidate HD MWIR detectors are operated at higher temperatures when compared to their SD predecessors. Therefore, as an additional constraint and as a design goal, the feasibility of achieving upgraded performance without any increase in the size, weight and power consumption of the thermal imager is discussed herein.

  9. Reliability of a novel thermal imaging system for temperature assessment of healthy feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrova, N L; Whittam, A; MacDonald, A; Ainarkar, S; Donaldson, A N; Bevans, J; Allen, J; Plassmann, P; Kluwe, B; Ring, F; Rogers, L; Simpson, R; Machin, G; Edmonds, M E

    2018-01-01

    Thermal imaging is a useful modality for identifying preulcerative lesions ("hot spots") in diabetic foot patients. Despite its recognised potential, at present, there is no readily available instrument for routine podiatric assessment of patients at risk. To address this need, a novel thermal imaging system was recently developed. This paper reports the reliability of this device for temperature assessment of healthy feet. Plantar skin foot temperatures were measured with the novel thermal imaging device (Diabetic Foot Ulcer Prevention System (DFUPS), constructed by Photometrix Imaging Ltd) and also with a hand-held infrared spot thermometer (Thermofocus® 01500A3, Tecnimed, Italy) after 20 min of barefoot resting with legs supported and extended in 105 subjects (52 males and 53 females; age range 18 to 69 years) as part of a multicentre clinical trial. The temperature differences between the right and left foot at five regions of interest (ROIs), including 1st and 4th toes, 1st, 3rd and 5th metatarsal heads were calculated. The intra-instrument agreement (three repeated measures) and the inter-instrument agreement (hand-held thermometer and thermal imaging device) were quantified using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and the 95% confidence intervals (CI). Both devices showed almost perfect agreement in replication by instrument. The intra-instrument ICCs for the thermal imaging device at all five ROIs ranged from 0.95 to 0.97 and the intra-instrument ICCs for the hand-held-thermometer ranged from 0.94 to 0.97. There was substantial to perfect inter-instrument agreement between the hand-held thermometer and the thermal imaging device and the ICCs at all five ROIs ranged between 0.94 and 0.97. This study reports the performance of a novel thermal imaging device in the assessment of foot temperatures in healthy volunteers in comparison with a hand-held infrared thermometer. The newly developed thermal imaging device showed very good agreement in

  10. Geant4 Analysis of a Thermal Neutron Real-Time Imaging System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, Arka; Hawari, Ayman I.

    2017-07-01

    Thermal neutron imaging is a technique for nondestructive testing providing complementary information to X-ray imaging for a wide range of applications in science and engineering. Advancement of electronic imaging systems makes it possible to obtain neutron radiographs in real time. This method requires a scintillator to convert neutrons to optical photons and a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to detect those photons. Alongside, a well collimated beam which reduces geometrical blurriness, the use of a thin scintillator can improve the spatial resolution significantly. A representative scintillator that has been applied widely for thermal neutron imaging is 6LiF:ZnS (Ag). In this paper, a multiphysics simulation approach for designing thermal neutron imaging system is investigated. The Geant4 code is used to investigate the performance of a thermal neutron imaging system starting with a neutron source and including the production of charged particles and optical photons in the scintillator and their transport for image formation in the detector. The simulation geometry includes the neutron beam collimator and sapphire filter. The 6LiF:ZnS (Ag) scintillator is modeled along with a pixelated detector for image recording. The spatial resolution of the system was obtained as the thickness of the scintillator screen was varied between 50 and 400 μm. The results of the simulation were compared to experimental results, including measurements performed using the PULSTAR nuclear reactor imaging beam, showing good agreement. Using the established model, further examination showed that the resolution contribution of the scintillator screen is correlated with its thickness and the range of the neutron absorption reaction products (i.e., the alpha and triton particles). Consequently, thinner screens exhibit improved spatial resolution. However, this will compromise detection efficiency due to the reduced probability of neutron absorption.

  11. Minimum detectable gas concentration performance evaluation method for gas leak infrared imaging detection systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xu; Jin, Weiqi; Li, Jiakun; Wang, Xia; Li, Shuo

    2017-04-01

    Thermal imaging technology is an effective means of detecting hazardous gas leaks. Much attention has been paid to evaluation of the performance of gas leak infrared imaging detection systems due to several potential applications. The minimum resolvable temperature difference (MRTD) and the minimum detectable temperature difference (MDTD) are commonly used as the main indicators of thermal imaging system performance. This paper establishes a minimum detectable gas concentration (MDGC) performance evaluation model based on the definition and derivation of MDTD. We proposed the direct calculation and equivalent calculation method of MDGC based on the MDTD measurement system. We build an experimental MDGC measurement system, which indicates the MDGC model can describe the detection performance of a thermal imaging system to typical gases. The direct calculation, equivalent calculation, and direct measurement results are consistent. The MDGC and the minimum resolvable gas concentration (MRGC) model can effectively describe the performance of "detection" and "spatial detail resolution" of thermal imaging systems to gas leak, respectively, and constitute the main performance indicators of gas leak detection systems.

  12. Ghost imaging with third-order correlated thermal light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ou, L-H; Kuang, L-M

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a ghost imaging scheme with third-order correlated thermal light. We show that it is possible to produce the spatial information of an object at two different places in a nonlocal fashion by means of a third-order correlated imaging process with a third-order correlated thermal source and third-order correlation measurement. Concretely, we propose a protocol to create two ghost images at two different places from one object. This protocol involves two optical configurations. We derive the Gaussian thin lens equations and plot the geometrical optics of the ghost imaging processes for the two configurations. It is indicated that third-order correlated ghost imaging with thermal light exhibits richer correlated imaging effects than second-order correlated ghost imaging with thermal light

  13. Thermal infrared panoramic imaging sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutin, Mikhail; Tsui, Eddy K.; Gutin, Olga; Wang, Xu-Ming; Gutin, Alexey

    2006-05-01

    Panoramic cameras offer true real-time, 360-degree coverage of the surrounding area, valuable for a variety of defense and security applications, including force protection, asset protection, asset control, security including port security, perimeter security, video surveillance, border control, airport security, coastguard operations, search and rescue, intrusion detection, and many others. Automatic detection, location, and tracking of targets outside protected area ensures maximum protection and at the same time reduces the workload on personnel, increases reliability and confidence of target detection, and enables both man-in-the-loop and fully automated system operation. Thermal imaging provides the benefits of all-weather, 24-hour day/night operation with no downtime. In addition, thermal signatures of different target types facilitate better classification, beyond the limits set by camera's spatial resolution. The useful range of catadioptric panoramic cameras is affected by their limited resolution. In many existing systems the resolution is optics-limited. Reflectors customarily used in catadioptric imagers introduce aberrations that may become significant at large camera apertures, such as required in low-light and thermal imaging. Advantages of panoramic imagers with high image resolution include increased area coverage with fewer cameras, instantaneous full horizon detection, location and tracking of multiple targets simultaneously, extended range, and others. The Automatic Panoramic Thermal Integrated Sensor (APTIS), being jointly developed by Applied Science Innovative, Inc. (ASI) and the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) combines the strengths of improved, high-resolution panoramic optics with thermal imaging in the 8 - 14 micron spectral range, leveraged by intelligent video processing for automated detection, location, and tracking of moving targets. The work in progress supports the Future Combat Systems (FCS) and the

  14. Confirmation of Thermal Images and Vibration Signals for Intelligent Machine Fault Diagnostics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Achmad Widodo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the maintenance technique for industrial machinery using the artificial neural network so-called self-organizing map (SOM. The aim of this work is to develop intelligent maintenance system for machinery based on an alternative way, namely, thermal images instead of vibration signals. SOM is selected due to its simplicity and is categorized as an unsupervised algorithm. Following the SOM training, machine fault diagnostics is performed by using the pattern recognition technique of machine conditions. The data used in this work are thermal images and vibration signals, which were acquired from machine fault simulator (MFS. It is a reliable tool and is able to simulate several conditions of faulty machine such as unbalance, misalignment, looseness, and rolling element bearing faults (outer race, inner race, ball, and cage defects. Data acquisition were conducted simultaneously by infrared thermography camera and vibration sensors installed in the MFS. The experimental data are presented as thermal image and vibration signal in the time domain. Feature extraction was carried out to obtain salient features sensitive to machine conditions from thermal images and vibration signals. These features are then used to train the SOM for intelligent machine diagnostics process. The results show that SOM can perform intelligent fault diagnostics with plausible accuracies.

  15. Detecting thermal phase transitions in corneal stroma by fluorescence micro-imaging analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matteini, P.; Rossi, F.; Ratto, F.; Bruno, I.; Nesi, P.; Pini, R.

    2008-02-01

    Thermal modifications induced in corneal stroma were investigated by the use of fluorescence microscopy. Freshly extracted porcine corneas were immersed for 5 minutes in a water bath at temperatures in the 35-90°C range and stored in formalin. The samples were then sliced in 200-μm-thick transversal sections and analyzed under a stereomicroscope to assess corneal shrinkage. Fluorescence images of the thermally treated corneal samples were acquired using a slow-scan cooled CCD camera, after staining the slices with Indocyanine Green (ICG) fluorescent dye which allowed to detect fluorescence signal from the whole tissue. All measurements were performed using an inverted epifluorescence microscope equipped with a mercury lamp. The thermally-induced modifications to the corneal specimens were evaluated by studying the grey level distribution in the fluorescence images. For each acquired image, Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and entropy analyses were performed. The spatial distribution of DFT absolute value indicated the spatial orientation of the lamellar planes, while entropy was used to study the image texture, correlated to the stromal structural transitions. As a result, it was possible to indicate a temperature threshold value (62°C) for high thermal damage, resulting in a disorganization of the lamellar planes and in full agreement with the measured temperature for corneal shrinkage onset. Analysis of the image entropy evidenced five strong modifications in stromal architecture at temperatures of ~45°C, 53°C, 57°C, 66°C, 75°C. The proposed procedure proved to be an effective micro-imaging method capable of detecting subtle changes in corneal tissue subjected to thermal treatment.

  16. System performance modeling of extreme ultraviolet lithographic thermal issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spence, P. A.; Gianoulakis, S. E.; Moen, C. D.; Kanouff, M. P.; Fisher, A.; Ray-Chaudhuri, A. K.

    1999-01-01

    Numerical simulation is used in the development of an extreme ultraviolet lithography Engineering Test Stand. Extensive modeling was applied to predict the impact of thermal loads on key lithographic parameters such as image placement error, focal shift, and loss of CD control. We show that thermal issues can be effectively managed to ensure that their impact on lithographic performance is maintained within design error budgets. (c) 1999 American Vacuum Society

  17. Design and development of a very high resolution thermal imager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuerbitz, Gunther; Duchateau, Ruediger

    1998-10-01

    The design goal of this project was to develop a thermal imaging system with ultimate geometrical resolution without sacrificing thermal sensitivity. It was necessary to fulfil the criteria for a future advanced video standard. This video standard is the so-called HDTV standard (HDTV High Definition TeleVision). The thermal imaging system is a parallel scanning system working in the 7...11 micrometer spectral region. The detector for that system has to have 576 X n (n number of TDI stages) detector elements taking into account a twofold interlace. It must be carefully optimized in terms of range performance and size of optics entrance pupil as well as producibility and yield. This was done in strong interaction with the detector manufacturer. The 16:9 aspect ratio of the HDTV standard together with the high number of 1920 pixels/line impose high demands on the scanner design in terms of scan efficiency and linearity. As an advanced second generation thermal imager the system has an internal thermal reference. The electronics is fully digitized and comprises circuits for Non Uniformity Correction (NUC), scan conversion, electronic zoom, auto gain and level, edge enhancement, up/down and left/right reversion etc. It can be completely remote-controlled via a serial interface.

  18. Detection of Thermal Erosion Gullies from High-Resolution Images Using Deep Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, L.; Liu, L.; Jiang, L.; Zhang, T.; Sun, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Thermal erosion gullies, one type of thermokarst landforms, develop due to thawing of ice-rich permafrost. Mapping the location and extent of thermal erosion gullies can help understand the spatial distribution of thermokarst landforms and their temporal evolution. Remote sensing images provide an effective way for mapping thermokarst landforms, especially thermokarst lakes. However, thermal erosion gullies are challenging to map from remote sensing images due to their small sizes and significant variations in geometric/radiometric properties. It is feasible to manually identify these features, as a few previous studies have carried out. However manual methods are labor-intensive, therefore, cannot be used for a large study area. In this work, we conduct automatic mapping of thermal erosion gullies from high-resolution images by using Deep Learning. Our study area is located in Eboling Mountain (Qinghai, China). Within a 6 km2 peatland area underlain by ice-rich permafrost, at least 20 thermal erosional gullies are well developed. The image used is a 15-cm-resolution Digital Orthophoto Map (DOM) generated in July 2016. First, we extracted 14 gully patches and ten non-gully patches as training data. And we performed image augmentation. Next, we fine-tuned the pre-trained model of DeepLab, a deep-learning algorithm for semantic image segmentation based on Deep Convolutional Neural Networks. Then, we performed inference on the whole DOM and obtained intermediate results in forms of polygons for all identified gullies. At last, we removed misidentified polygons based on a few pre-set criteria on the size and shape of each polygon. Our final results include 42 polygons. Validated against field measurements using GPS, most of the gullies are detected correctly. There are 20 false detections due to the small number and low quality of training images. We also found three new gullies that missed in the field observations. This study shows that (1) despite a challenging

  19. High-performance ferroelectric and magnetoresistive materials for next-generation thermal detector arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todd, Michael A.; Donohue, Paul P.; Watton, Rex; Williams, Dennis J.; Anthony, Carl J.; Blamire, Mark G.

    2002-12-01

    This paper discusses the potential thermal imaging performance achievable from thermal detector arrays and concludes that the current generation of thin-film ferroelectric and resistance bolometer based detector arrays are limited by the detector materials used. It is proposed that the next generation of large uncooled focal plane arrays will need to look towards higher performance detector materials - particularly if they aim to approach the fundamental performance limits and compete with cooled photon detector arrays. Two examples of bolometer thin-film materials are described that achieve high performance from operating around phase transitions. The material Lead Scandium Tantalate (PST) has a paraelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition around room temperature and is used with an applied field in the dielectric bolometer mode for thermal imaging. PST films grown by sputtering and liquid-source CVD have shown merit figures for thermal imaging a factor of 2 to 3 times higher than PZT-based pyroelectric thin films. The material Lanthanum Calcium Manganite (LCMO) has a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition around -20oC. This paper describes recent measurements of TCR and 1/f noise in pulsed laser-deposited LCMO films on Neodymium Gallate substrates. These results show that LCMO not only has high TCR's - up to 30%/K - but also low 1/f excess noise, with bolometer merit figures at least an order of magnitude higher than Vanadium Oxide, making it ideal for the next generation of microbolometer arrays. These high performance properties come at the expense of processing complexities and novel device designs will need to be introduced to realize the potential of these materials in the next generation of thermal detectors.

  20. RESEARCH OF REGISTRATION APPROACHES OF THERMAL INFRARED IMAGES AND INTENSITY IMAGES OF POINT CLOUD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Liu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In order to realize the analysis of thermal energy of the objects in 3D vision, the registration approach of thermal infrared images and TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanner point cloud was studied. The original data was pre-processed. For the sake of making the scale and brightness contrast of the two kinds of data meet the needs of basic matching, the intensity image of point cloud was produced and projected to spherical coordinate system, histogram equalization processing was done for thermal infrared image.This paper focused on the research of registration approaches of thermal infrared images and intensity images of point cloud based on SIFT,EOH-SIFT and PIIFD operators. The latter of which is usually used for medical image matching with different spectral character. The comparison results of the experiments showed that PIIFD operator got much more accurate feature point correspondences compared to SIFT and EOH-SIFT operators. The thermal infrared image and intensity image also have ideal overlap results by quadratic polynomial transformation. Therefore, PIIFD can be used as the basic operator for the registration of thermal infrared images and intensity images, and the operator can also be further improved by incorporating the iteration method.

  1. An intelligent approach for cooling radiator fault diagnosis based on infrared thermal image processing technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taheri-Garavand, Amin; Ahmadi, Hojjat; Omid, Mahmoud; Mohtasebi, Seyed Saeid; Mollazade, Kaveh; Russell Smith, Alan John; Carlomagno, Giovanni Maria

    2015-01-01

    This research presents a new intelligent fault diagnosis and condition monitoring system for classification of different conditions of cooling radiator using infrared thermal images. The system was adopted to classify six types of cooling radiator faults; radiator tubes blockage, radiator fins blockage, loose connection between fins and tubes, radiator door failure, coolant leakage, and normal conditions. The proposed system consists of several distinct procedures including thermal image acquisition, image pre-processing, image processing, two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform (2D-DWT), feature extraction, feature selection using a genetic algorithm (GA), and finally classification by artificial neural networks (ANNs). The 2D-DWT is implemented to decompose the thermal images. Subsequently, statistical texture features are extracted from the original images and are decomposed into thermal images. The significant selected features are used to enhance the performance of the designed ANN classifier for the 6 types of cooling radiator conditions (output layer) in the next stage. For the tested system, the input layer consisted of 16 neurons based on the feature selection operation. The best performance of ANN was obtained with a 16-6-6 topology. The classification results demonstrated that this system can be employed satisfactorily as an intelligent condition monitoring and fault diagnosis for a class of cooling radiator. - Highlights: • Intelligent fault diagnosis of cooling radiator using thermal image processing. • Thermal image processing in a multiscale representation structure by 2D-DWT. • Selection features based on a hybrid system that uses both GA and ANN. • Application of ANN as classifier. • Classification accuracy of fault detection up to 93.83%

  2. A novel technique to monitor thermal discharges using thermal infrared imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muthulakshmi, A L; Natesan, Usha; Ferrer, Vincent A; Deepthi, K; Venugopalan, V P; Narasimhan, S V

    2013-09-01

    Coastal temperature is an important indicator of water quality, particularly in regions where delicate ecosystems sensitive to water temperature are present. Remote sensing methods are highly reliable for assessing the thermal dispersion. The plume dispersion from the thermal outfall of the nuclear power plant at Kalpakkam, on the southeast coast of India, was investigated from March to December 2011 using thermal infrared images along with field measurements. The absolute temperature as provided by the thermal infrared (TIR) images is used in the Arc GIS environment for generating a spatial pattern of the plume movement. Good correlation of the temperature measured by the TIR camera with the field data (r(2) = 0.89) make it a reliable method for the thermal monitoring of the power plant effluents. The study portrays that the remote sensing technique provides an effective means of monitoring the thermal distribution pattern in coastal waters.

  3. Thermal performance of the ATST secondary mirror

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Myung K.; DeVries, Joe; Hansen, Eric

    2007-12-01

    The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) has a 4.24m off-axis primary mirror designed to deliver diffractionlimited images of the sun. Its baseline secondary mirror (M2) design uses a 0.65m diameter Silicon Carbide mirror mounted kinematically by a bi-pod flexure mechanism at three equally spaced locations. Unlike other common telescopes, the ATST M2 is to be exposed to a significant solar heat loading. A thermal management system (TMS) will be developed to accommodate the solar loading and minimize "mirror seeing effect" by controlling the temperature difference between the M2 optical surface and the ambient air at the site. Thermo-elastic analyses for steady state thermal behaviors of the ATST secondary mirror was performed using finite element analysis by I-DEAS TM and PCRINGE TM for the optical analysis. We examined extensive heat transfer simulation cases and their results were discussed. The goal of this study is to establish thermal models by I-DEAS for an adequate thermal environment. These thermal models will be useful for estimating segment thermal responses. Current study assumes a few sample time dependent thermal loadings to synthesize the operational environment.

  4. Real-Time Monitoring of Occupants’ Thermal Comfort through Infrared Imaging: A Preliminary Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris Pavlin

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Thermally comfortable indoor environments are of great importance, as modern lifestyles often require people to spend more than 20 h per day indoors. Since most of the thermal comfort models use a variety of different environmental and personal factors that need to be measured or estimated, real-time and continuous assessment of thermal comfort is often not practically feasible. This work presents a cheap and non-invasive approach based on infrared imaging for monitoring the occupants’ thermal sensation and comfort in real time. Thanks to a mechatronic device developed by the authors, the imaging is performed on the forehead skin, selected because it is always exposed to the environment and, thus, facilitating the monitoring activity in a non-invasive manner. Tests have been performed in controlled conditions on ten subjects to assess the hypothesis that the forehead temperature is correlated with subjects’ thermal sensation. This allows the exploitation of this quantity as a base for a simple monitoring of thermal comfort, which could later be tuned with an extensive experimental campaign.

  5. Thermal performance of plate-type loop thermosyphon at sub-atmospheric pressures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsoi, Vadim; Chang, Shyy Woei; Chiang Kuei Feng; Huang, Chuan Chin

    2011-01-01

    This experimental study examines the thermal performance of a newly devised plate-type two-phase loop thermosyphon with cooling applications to electronic boards of telecommunication systems. The evaporation section is configured as the inter-connected multi channels to emulate the bridging boiling mechanism in pulsating thermosyphon. Two thermosyphon plates using water as the coolant with filling ratios (FR) of 0.22 and 0.32 are tested at sub-atmospheric pressures. The vapor-liquid flow images as well as the thermal resistances and effective spreading thermal conductivities are individually measured for each thermosyphon test plate at various heating powers. The high-speed digital images of the vapor-liquid flow structures reveal the characteristic boiling phenomena and the vapor-liquid circulation in the vertical thermosyphon plate, which assist to explore the thermal physics for this type of loop thermosyphon. The bubble agglomeration and pumping action in the inter-connected boiling channels take place at metastable non-equilibrium conditions, leading to the intermittent slug flows with a pulsation character. Such hybrid loop-pulsating thermosyphon permits the vapor-liquid circulation in the horizontal plate. Thermal resistances and spreading thermal conductivities detected from the present thermosyphon plates; the vapor chamber flat plate heat pipe and the copper plate at free and forced convective cooling conditions with both vertical and horizontal orientations are cross-examined. In most telecommunication systems and units, the electrical boards are vertical so that the thermal performance data on the vertical thermosyphon are most relevant to this particular application. - Highlights: → We examine thermal performances of plate-type loop thermosyphon. → Thermal resistances and spreading conductivities are examined. → Bubble agglomeration in inter-connected boiling channels generates intermittent slug flows with pulsations. → Boiling instability

  6. Thermal performance of a radiatively cooled system for quantum optomechanical experiments in space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pilan Zanoni, André; Burkhardt, Johannes; Johann, Ulrich; Aspelmeyer, Markus; Kaltenbaek, Rainer; Hechenblaikner, Gerald

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • We improved performance and design aspects of a radiatively cooled instrument. • A heat-flow analysis showed near optimal performance of the shield design. • A simple modification to imaging optics allowed further improvements. • We studied the thermal behavior for different orbital cases. • A transfer-function analysis showed strong attenuation of thermal variations. - Abstract: Passive cooling of scientific instruments via thermal radiation to deep space offers many advantages over active cooling in terms of mission cost, lifetime and the achievable quality of vacuum and microgravity. Motivated by the mission proposal MAQRO to test the foundations of quantum physics harnessing a deep-space environment, we investigate the performance of a radiatively cooled instrument, where the environment of a test particle in a quantum superposition has to be cooled to less than 20 K. We perform a heat-transfer analysis between the instrument components and a transfer-function analysis on thermal oscillations induced by the spacecraft interior and dissipative sources. The thermal behavior of the instrument is discussed for an orbit around a Lagrangian point and for a highly elliptical Earth orbit. Finally, we investigate possible design improvements. These include a mirror-based design of the imaging system on the optical bench (OB) and an extension of the heat shields.

  7. Thermal Infrared Imaging-Based Computational Psychophysiology for Psychometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardone, Daniela; Pinti, Paola; Merla, Arcangelo

    2015-01-01

    Thermal infrared imaging has been proposed as a potential system for the computational assessment of human autonomic nervous activity and psychophysiological states in a contactless and noninvasive way. Through bioheat modeling of facial thermal imagery, several vital signs can be extracted, including localized blood perfusion, cardiac pulse, breath rate, and sudomotor response, since all these parameters impact the cutaneous temperature. The obtained physiological information could then be used to draw inferences about a variety of psychophysiological or affective states, as proved by the increasing number of psychophysiological studies using thermal infrared imaging. This paper presents therefore a review of the principal achievements of thermal infrared imaging in computational physiology with regard to its capability of monitoring psychophysiological activity.

  8. Ultrasound elastographic imaging of thermal lesions and temperature profiles during radiofrequency ablation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Techavipoo, Udomchai

    Manual palpation to sense variations in tissue stiffness for disease diagnosis has been regularly performed by clinicians for centuries. However, it is generally limited to large and superficial structures and the ability of the physician performing the palpation. Imaging of tissue stiffness or elastic properties via the aid of modern imaging such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, referred to as elastography, enhances the capability for disease diagnosis. In addition, elastography could be used for monitoring tissue response to minimally invasive ablative therapies, which are performed percutaneously to destruct tumors with minimum damage to surrounding tissue. Monitoring tissue temperature during ablation is another approach to estimate tissue damage. The ultimate goal of this dissertation is to improve the image quality of elastograms and temperature profiles for visualizing thermal lesions during and after ablative therapies. Elastographic imaging of thermal lesions is evaluated by comparison of sizes, shapes, and volumes with the results obtained using gross pathology. Semiautomated segmentation of lesion boundaries on elastograms is also developed. It provides comparable results to those with manual segmentation. Elastograms imaged during radiofrequency ablation in vitro show that the impact of gas bubbles during ablation on the ability to delineate the thermal lesion is small. Two novel methods to reduce noise artifacts in elastograms, and an accurate estimation of displacement vectors are proposed. The first method applies wavelet-denoising algorithms to the displacement estimates. The second method utilizes angular compounding of the elastograms generated using ultrasound signal frames acquired from different insonification angles. These angular frames are also utilized to estimate all tissue displacement vector components in response to a deformation. These enable the generation of normal and shear strain elastograms and Poisson's ratio

  9. Method and apparatus for implementing material thermal property measurement by flash thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jiangang

    2017-11-14

    A method and apparatus are provided for implementing measurement of material thermal properties including measurement of thermal effusivity of a coating and/or film or a bulk material of uniform property. The test apparatus includes an infrared camera, a data acquisition and processing computer coupled to the infrared camera for acquiring and processing thermal image data, a flash lamp providing an input of heat onto the surface of a two-layer sample with an enhanced optical filter covering the flash lamp attenuating an entire infrared wavelength range with a series of thermal images is taken of the surface of the two-layer sample.

  10. MR imaging and histopathologic correlations of thermal injuries induced by interstitial laser applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anzai, Y.; Lufkin, R.B.; Castro, D.J.; Farahani, K.; Chen, H.W.; Hirchowiz, S.

    1991-01-01

    Interstitial laser phototherapy for deep-seated tumors may become an attractive therapeutic modality when a noninvasive, accurate monitoring system is developed. In this paper, to devaluate the ability of MR imaging to differentiate reversible and irreversible thermal injuries induced by laser therapy, the precise correlation of MR and histopathologic findings are investigated in the in vivo model. Nd:YAG lasers were applied to normal musculature of rabbits, and MR examinations were performed immediately after laser exposure and followed up for up to 10 weeks. The sequential MR images were correlated with histopathologic findings. T2-weighted MR imaging clearly showed laser-induced thermal injuries on any postoperative day. MR imaging of acute thermal injuries showed a central cavity, low-signal zone of coagulative necrosis and a peripheral high-signal layer of interstitial edema. The infiltration of neutrophils followed by fibrovascular response was identified on the marginal edema layer after 6 postoperative days

  11. Quantitative assessment of pain-related thermal dysfunction through clinical digital infrared thermal imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frize Monique

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The skin temperature distribution of a healthy human body exhibits a contralateral symmetry. Some nociceptive and most neuropathic pain pathologies are associated with an alteration of the thermal distribution of the human body. Since the dissipation of heat through the skin occurs for the most part in the form of infrared radiation, infrared thermography is the method of choice to study the physiology of thermoregulation and the thermal dysfunction associated with pain. Assessing thermograms is a complex and subjective task that can be greatly facilitated by computerised techniques. Methods This paper presents techniques for automated computerised assessment of thermal images of pain, in order to facilitate the physician's decision making. First, the thermal images are pre-processed to reduce the noise introduced during the initial acquisition and to extract the irrelevant background. Then, potential regions of interest are identified using fixed dermatomal subdivisions of the body, isothermal analysis and segmentation techniques. Finally, we assess the degree of asymmetry between contralateral regions of interest using statistical computations and distance measures between comparable regions. Results The wavelet domain-based Poisson noise removal techniques compared favourably against Wiener and other wavelet-based denoising methods, when qualitative criteria were used. It was shown to improve slightly the subsequent analysis. The automated background removal technique based on thresholding and morphological operations was successful for both noisy and denoised images with a correct removal rate of 85% of the images in the database. The automation of the regions of interest (ROIs delimitation process was achieved successfully for images with a good contralateral symmetry. Isothermal division complemented well the fixed ROIs division based on dermatomes, giving a more accurate map of potentially abnormal regions. The measure

  12. Multispectral thermal imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weber, P.G.; Bender, S.C.; Borel, C.C.; Clodius, W.B.; Smith, B.W. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States). Space and Remote Sensing Sciences Group; Garrett, A.; Pendergast, M.M. [Westinghouse Savannah River Corp., Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Technology Center; Kay, R.R. [Sandia National Lab., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Monitoring Systems and Technology Center

    1998-12-01

    Many remote sensing applications rely on imaging spectrometry. Here the authors use imaging spectrometry for thermal and multispectral signatures measured from a satellite platform enhanced with a combination of accurate calibrations and on-board data for correcting atmospheric distortions. The approach is supported by physics-based end-to-end modeling and analysis, which permits a cost-effective balance between various hardware and software aspects. The goal is to develop and demonstrate advanced technologies and analysis tools toward meeting the needs of the customer; at the same time, the attributes of this system can address other applications in such areas as environmental change, agriculture, and volcanology.

  13. Thermal particle image velocity estimation of fire plume flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiangyang Zhou; Lulu Sun; Shankar Mahalingam; David R. Weise

    2003-01-01

    For the purpose of studying wildfire spread in living vegetation such as chaparral in California, a thermal particle image velocity (TPIV) algorithm for nonintrusively measuring flame gas velocities through thermal infrared (IR) imagery was developed. By tracing thermal particles in successive digital IR images, the TPIV algorithm can estimate the velocity field in a...

  14. Characterization of 3 to 5 Micron Thermal Imagers and Analysis of Narrow Band Images

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Quek, Yew S

    2004-01-01

    ...) and the Minimum Resolvable Temperature (MRT). An available thermal imager, the Cincinnati Electronics IRRIS-256LN, and a newly purchased thermal imager, the Indigo Systems Merlin InSb Laboratory Camera, were investigated and compared...

  15. CONTOURS BASED APPROACH FOR THERMAL IMAGE AND TERRESTRIAL POINT CLOUD REGISTRATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Bennis

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Building energetic performances strongly depend on the thermal insulation. However the performance of the insulation materials tends to decrease over time which necessitates the continuous monitoring of the building in order to detect and repair the anomalous zones. In this paper, it is proposed to couple 2D infrared images representing the surface temperature of the building with 3D point clouds acquired with Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS resulting in a semi-automatic approach allowing the texturation of TLS data with infrared image of buildings. A contour-based algorithm is proposed whose main features are : 1 the extraction of high level primitive is not required 2 the use of projective transform allows to handle perspective effects 3 a point matching refinement procedure allows to cope with approximate control point selection. The procedure is applied to test modules aiming at investigating the thermal properties of material.

  16. Automated thermal mapping techniques using chromatic image analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buck, Gregory M.

    1989-01-01

    Thermal imaging techniques are introduced using a chromatic image analysis system and temperature sensitive coatings. These techniques are used for thermal mapping and surface heat transfer measurements on aerothermodynamic test models in hypersonic wind tunnels. Measurements are made on complex vehicle configurations in a timely manner and at minimal expense. The image analysis system uses separate wavelength filtered images to analyze surface spectral intensity data. The system was initially developed for quantitative surface temperature mapping using two-color thermographic phosphors but was found useful in interpreting phase change paint and liquid crystal data as well.

  17. Formation of the image on the receiver of thermal radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akimenko, Tatiana A.

    2018-04-01

    The formation of the thermal picture of the observed scene with the verification of the quality of the thermal images obtained is one of the important stages of the technological process that determine the quality of the thermal imaging observation system. In this article propose to consider a model for the formation of a thermal picture of a scene, which must take into account: the features of the object of observation as the source of the signal; signal transmission through the physical elements of the thermal imaging system that produce signal processing at the optical, photoelectronic and electronic stages, which determines the final parameters of the signal and its compliance with the requirements for thermal information and measurement systems.

  18. Laser-induced photo-thermal strain imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Changhoon; Ahn, Joongho; Jeon, Seungwan; Kim, Chulhong

    2018-02-01

    Vulnerable plaque is the one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease occurrence. However, conventional intravascular imaging techniques suffer from difficulty in finding vulnerable plaque due to limitation such as lack of physiological information, imaging depth, and depth sensitivity. Therefore, new techniques are needed to help determine the vulnerability of plaque, Thermal strain imaging (TSI) is an imaging technique based on ultrasound (US) wave propagation speed that varies with temperature of medium. During temperature increase, strain occurs in the medium and its variation tendency is depending on the type of tissue, which makes it possible to use for tissue differentiation. Here, we demonstrate laser-induced photo-thermal strain imaging (pTSI) to differentiate tissue using an intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheter and a 1210-nm continuous-wave laser for heating lipids intensively. During heating, consecutive US images were obtained from a custom-made phantom made of porcine fat and gelatin. A cross correlation-based speckle-tracking algorithm was then applied to calculate the strain of US images. In the strain images, the positive strain produced in lipids (porcine fat) was clearly differentiated from water-bearing tissue (gelatin). This result shows that laser-induced pTSI could be a new method to distinguish lipids in the plaque and can help to differentiate vulnerability of plaque.

  19. Thermal Imaging Systems for Real-Time Applications in Smart Cities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gade, Rikke; Moeslund, Thomas B.; Nielsen, Søren Zebitz

    2016-01-01

    of thermal imaging in real-time Smart City applications. Thermal cameras operate independently of light and measure the radiated infrared waves representing the temperature of the scene. In order to showcase the possibilities, we present five different applications which use thermal imaging only...

  20. Measurement of thermally ablated lesions in sonoelastographic images using level set methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castaneda, Benjamin; Tamez-Pena, Jose Gerardo; Zhang, Man; Hoyt, Kenneth; Bylund, Kevin; Christensen, Jared; Saad, Wael; Strang, John; Rubens, Deborah J.; Parker, Kevin J.

    2008-03-01

    The capability of sonoelastography to detect lesions based on elasticity contrast can be applied to monitor the creation of thermally ablated lesion. Currently, segmentation of lesions depicted in sonoelastographic images is performed manually which can be a time consuming process and prone to significant intra- and inter-observer variability. This work presents a semi-automated segmentation algorithm for sonoelastographic data. The user starts by planting a seed in the perceived center of the lesion. Fast marching methods use this information to create an initial estimate of the lesion. Subsequently, level set methods refine its final shape by attaching the segmented contour to edges in the image while maintaining smoothness. The algorithm is applied to in vivo sonoelastographic images from twenty five thermal ablated lesions created in porcine livers. The estimated area is compared to results from manual segmentation and gross pathology images. Results show that the algorithm outperforms manual segmentation in accuracy, inter- and intra-observer variability. The processing time per image is significantly reduced.

  1. Imaging of Rabbit VX-2 Hepatic Cancer by Cold and Thermal Neutron Radiography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuchiya, Yoshinori; Matsubayashi, Masahito; Takeda, Tohoru; Lwin, Thet Thet; Wu, Jin; Yoneyama, Akio; Matsumura, Akira; Hori, Tomiei; Itai, Yuji

    2003-11-01

    Neutron radiography is based on differences in neutron mass attenuation coefficients among the elements and is a non-destructive imaging method. To investigate biomedical applications of neutron radiography, imaging of rabbit VX-2 liver cancer was performed using thermal and cold neutron radiography with a neutron imaging plate. Hepatic vessels and VX-2 tumor were clearly observed by neutron radiography, especially by cold neutron imaging. The image contrast of this modality was better than that of absorption-contrast X-ray radiography.

  2. PHOTOGRAMMETRIC 3D BUILDING RECONSTRUCTION FROM THERMAL IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Maset

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the problem of 3D building reconstruction from thermal infrared (TIR images. We show that a commercial Computer Vision software can be used to automatically orient sequences of TIR images taken from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV and to generate 3D point clouds, without requiring any GNSS/INS data about position and attitude of the images nor camera calibration parameters. Moreover, we propose a procedure based on Iterative Closest Point (ICP algorithm to create a model that combines high resolution and geometric accuracy of RGB images with the thermal information deriving from TIR images. The process can be carried out entirely by the aforesaid software in a simple and efficient way.

  3. Thermal error analysis and compensation for digital image/volume correlation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Bing

    2018-02-01

    Digital image/volume correlation (DIC/DVC) rely on the digital images acquired by digital cameras and x-ray CT scanners to extract the motion and deformation of test samples. Regrettably, these imaging devices are unstable optical systems, whose imaging geometry may undergo unavoidable slight and continual changes due to self-heating effect or ambient temperature variations. Changes in imaging geometry lead to both shift and expansion in the recorded 2D or 3D images, and finally manifest as systematic displacement and strain errors in DIC/DVC measurements. Since measurement accuracy is always the most important requirement in various experimental mechanics applications, these thermal-induced errors (referred to as thermal errors) should be given serious consideration in order to achieve high accuracy, reproducible DIC/DVC measurements. In this work, theoretical analyses are first given to understand the origin of thermal errors. Then real experiments are conducted to quantify thermal errors. Three solutions are suggested to mitigate or correct thermal errors. Among these solutions, a reference sample compensation approach is highly recommended because of its easy implementation, high accuracy and in-situ error correction capability. Most of the work has appeared in our previously published papers, thus its originality is not claimed. Instead, this paper aims to give a comprehensive overview and more insights of our work on thermal error analysis and compensation for DIC/DVC measurements.

  4. Ground-based thermal imaging of stream surface temperatures: Technique and evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonar, Scott A.; Petre, Sally J.

    2015-01-01

    We evaluated a ground-based handheld thermal imaging system for measuring water temperatures using data from eight southwestern USA streams and rivers. We found handheld thermal imagers could provide considerably more spatial information on water temperature (for our unit one image = 19,600 individual temperature measurements) than traditional methods could supply without a prohibitive amount of effort. Furthermore, they could provide measurements of stream surface temperature almost instantaneously compared with most traditional handheld thermometers (e.g., >20 s/reading). Spatial temperature analysis is important for measurement of subtle temperature differences across waterways, and identification of warm and cold groundwater inputs. Handheld thermal imaging is less expensive and equipment intensive than airborne thermal imaging methods and is useful under riparian canopies. Disadvantages of handheld thermal imagers include their current higher expense than thermometers, their susceptibility to interference when used incorrectly, and their slightly lower accuracy than traditional temperature measurement methods. Thermal imagers can only measure surface temperature, but this usually corresponds to subsurface temperatures in well-mixed streams and rivers. Using thermal imaging in select applications, such as where spatial investigations of water temperature are needed, or in conjunction with stationary temperature data loggers or handheld electronic or liquid-in-glass thermometers to characterize stream temperatures by both time and space, could provide valuable information on stream temperature dynamics. These tools will become increasingly important to fisheries biologists as costs continue to decline.

  5. Combining a thermal-imaging diagnostic with an existing imaging VISAR diagnostic at the National Ignition Facility (NIF)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robert M, Malone; John R, Celesteb; Peter M, Celliers; Brent C, Froggeta; Robert L, Guyton; Morris I, Kaufman; Tony L, Lee; Brian J, MacGowan; Edmund W, Ng; Imants P, Reinbachs; Ronald B, Robinson; Lynn G, Seppala; Tom W, Tunnell; Phillip W, Watts

    2005-01-01

    Optical diagnostics are currently being designed to analyze high-energy density physics experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Two independent line-imaging Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector (VISAR) interferometers have been fielded to measure shock velocities, breakout times, and emission of targets having sizes of 1-5 mm. An 8-inch-diameter, fused silica triplet lens collects light at f/3 inside the 30-foot-diameter NIF vacuum chamber. VISAR recordings use a 659.5-nm probe laser. By adding a specially coated beam splitter to the interferometer table, light at wavelengths from 540 to 645 nm is spilt into a thermal-imaging diagnostic. Because fused silica lenses are used in the first triplet relay, the intermediate image planes for different wavelengths separate by considerable distances. A corrector lens on the interferometer table reunites these separated wavelength planes to provide a good image. Thermal imaging collects light at f/5 from a 2-mm object placed at Target Chamber Center (TCC). Streak cameras perform VISAR and thermal-imaging recording. All optical lenses are on kinematic mounts so that pointing accuracy of the optical axis may be checked. Counter-propagating laser beams (orange and red) are used to align both diagnostics. The red alignment laser is selected to be at the 50 percent reflection point of the beam splitter. This alignment laser is introduced at the recording streak cameras for both diagnostics and passes through this special beam splitter on its way into the NIF vacuum chamber

  6. Kalman filtered MR temperature imaging for laser induced thermal therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuentes, D; Yung, J; Hazle, J D; Weinberg, J S; Stafford, R J

    2012-04-01

    The feasibility of using a stochastic form of Pennes bioheat model within a 3-D finite element based Kalman filter (KF) algorithm is critically evaluated for the ability to provide temperature field estimates in the event of magnetic resonance temperature imaging (MRTI) data loss during laser induced thermal therapy (LITT). The ability to recover missing MRTI data was analyzed by systematically removing spatiotemporal information from a clinical MR-guided LITT procedure in human brain and comparing predictions in these regions to the original measurements. Performance was quantitatively evaluated in terms of a dimensionless L(2) (RMS) norm of the temperature error weighted by acquisition uncertainty. During periods of no data corruption, observed error histories demonstrate that the Kalman algorithm does not alter the high quality temperature measurement provided by MR thermal imaging. The KF-MRTI implementation considered is seen to predict the bioheat transfer with RMS error 10 sec.

  7. Thermal neutron imaging in an active interrogation environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanier, P.E.; Forman, L.; Norman, D.R.

    2009-01-01

    We have developed a thermal-neutron coded-aperture imager that reveals the locations of hydrogenous materials from which thermal neutrons are being emitted. This imaging detector can be combined with an accelerator to form an active interrogation system in which fast neutrons are produced in a heavy metal target by means of excitation by high energy photons. The photo-induced neutrons can be either prompt or delayed, depending on whether neutronemitting fission products are generated. Provided that there are hydrogenous materials close to the target, some of the photo-induced neutrons slow down and emerge from the surface at thermal energies. These neutrons can be used to create images that show the location and shape of the thermalizing materials. Analysis of the temporal response of the neutron flux provides information about delayed neutrons from induced fission if there are fissionable materials in the target. The combination of imaging and time-of-flight discrimination helps to improve the signal-to-background ratio. It is also possible to interrogate the target with neutrons, for example using a D-T generator. In this case, an image can be obtained from hydrogenous material in a target without the presence of heavy metal. In addition, if fissionable material is present in the target, probing with fast neutrons can stimulate delayed neutrons from fission, and the imager can detect and locate the object of interest, using appropriate time gating. Operation of this sensitive detection equipment in the vicinity of an accelerator presents a number of challenges, because the accelerator emits electromagnetic interference as well as stray ionizing radiation, which can mask the signals of interest.

  8. Additive Manufacturing Thermal Performance Testing of Single Channel GRCop-84 SLM Components

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Chance P.; Cross, Matthew

    2014-01-01

    The surface finish found on components manufactured by sinter laser manufacturing (SLM) is rougher (0.013 - 0.0006 inches) than parts made using traditional fabrication methods. Internal features and passages built into SLM components do not readily allow for roughness reduction processes. Alternatively, engineering literature suggests that the roughness of a surface can enhance thermal performance within a pressure drop regime. To further investigate the thermal performance of SLM fabricated pieces, several GRCop-84 SLM single channel components were tested using a thermal conduction rig at MSFC. A 20 kW power source running at 25% duty cycle and 25% power level applied heat to each component while varying water flow rates between 2.1 - 6.2 gallons/min (GPM) at a supply pressure of 550 to 700 psi. Each test was allowed to reach quasi-steady state conditions where pressure, temperature, and thermal imaging data were recorded. Presented in this work are the heat transfer responses compared to a traditional machined OHFC Copper test section. An analytical thermal model was constructed to anchor theoretical models with the empirical data.

  9. Thermal performance monitoring and optimisation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sunde, Svein; Berg; Oeyvind

    1998-01-01

    Monitoring of the thermal efficiency of nuclear power plants is expected to become increasingly important as energy-market liberalisation exposes plants to increasing availability requirements and fiercer competition. The general goal in thermal performance monitoring is straightforward: to maximise the ratio of profit to cost under the constraints of safe operation. One may perceive this goal to be pursued in two ways, one oriented towards fault detection and cost-optimal predictive maintenance, and another determined at optimising target values of parameters in response to any component degradation detected, changes in ambient conditions, or the like. Annual savings associated with effective thermal-performance monitoring are expected to be in the order of $ 100 000 for power plants of representative size. A literature review shows that a number of computer systems for thermal-performance monitoring exists, either as prototypes or commercially available. The characteristics and needs of power plants may vary widely, however, and decisions concerning the exact scope, content and configuration of a thermal-performance monitor may well follow a heuristic approach. Furthermore, re-use of existing software modules may be desirable. Therefore, we suggest here the design of a flexible workbench for easy assembly of an experimental thermal-performance monitor at the Halden Project. The suggested design draws heavily on our extended experience in implementing control-room systems featured by assets like high levels of customisation, flexibility in configuration and modularity in structure, and on a number of relevant adjoining activities. The design includes a multi-computer communication system and a graphical user's interface, and aims at a system adaptable to any combination of in-house or end user's modules, as well as commercially available software. (author)

  10. Status of thermal imaging technology as applied to conservation-update 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Snow, F.J.; Wood, J.T.; Barthle, R.C.

    1980-07-01

    This document updates the 1978 report on the status of thermal imaging technology as applied to energy conservation in buildings. Thermal imaging technology is discussed in terms of airborne surveys, ground survey programs, and application needs such as standards development and lower cost equipment. Information on the various thermal imaging devices was obtained from manufacturer's standard product literature. Listings are provided of infrared projects of the DOE building diagnostics program, of aerial thermographic firms, and of aerial survey programs. (LCL)

  11. A novel algorithm for thermal image encryption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Iqtadar; Anees, Amir; Algarni, Abdulmohsen

    2018-04-16

    Thermal images play a vital character at nuclear plants, Power stations, Forensic labs biological research, and petroleum products extraction. Safety of thermal images is very important. Image data has some unique features such as intensity, contrast, homogeneity, entropy and correlation among pixels that is why somehow image encryption is trickier as compare to other encryptions. With conventional image encryption schemes it is normally hard to handle these features. Therefore, cryptographers have paid attention to some attractive properties of the chaotic maps such as randomness and sensitivity to build up novel cryptosystems. That is why, recently proposed image encryption techniques progressively more depends on the application of chaotic maps. This paper proposed an image encryption algorithm based on Chebyshev chaotic map and S8 Symmetric group of permutation based substitution boxes. Primarily, parameters of chaotic Chebyshev map are chosen as a secret key to mystify the primary image. Then, the plaintext image is encrypted by the method generated from the substitution boxes and Chebyshev map. By this process, we can get a cipher text image that is perfectly twisted and dispersed. The outcomes of renowned experiments, key sensitivity tests and statistical analysis confirm that the proposed algorithm offers a safe and efficient approach for real-time image encryption.

  12. Use of a thermal imager for snow pit temperatures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Shea

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Weak snow of interest to avalanche forecasting often forms and changes as thin layers. Thermometers, the current field technology for measuring the temperature gradients across such layers – and for thus estimating the expected vapour flux and future type of crystal metamorphism – are difficult to use at distances shorter than 1 cm. In contrast, a thermal imager can provide thousands of simultaneous temperature measurements across small distances with better accuracy. However, a thermal imager only senses the exposed surface, complicating its methods for access and accuracy of buried temperatures. This paper presents methods for exposing buried layers on pit walls and using a thermal imager to measure temperatures on these walls, correct for lens effects with snow, adjust temperature gradients, adjust time exposed, and calculate temperature gradients over millimetre distances. We find lens error on temperature gradients to be on the order of 0.03 °C between image centre and corners. We find temperature gradient change over time to usually decrease – as expected with atmospheric equalization as a strong effect. Case studies including thermal images and visual macro photographs of crystals, collected during the 2010–2011 winter, demonstrate large temperature differences over millimetre-scale distances that are consistent with observed kinetic metamorphism. Further study is needed to use absolute temperatures independently of supporting gradient data.

  13. Image processing techniques for thermal, x-rays and nuclear radiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chadda, V.K.

    1998-01-01

    The paper describes image acquisition techniques for the non-visible range of electromagnetic spectrum especially thermal, x-rays and nuclear radiations. Thermal imaging systems are valuable tools used for applications ranging from PCB inspection, hot spot studies, fire identification, satellite imaging to defense applications. Penetrating radiations like x-rays and gamma rays are used in NDT, baggage inspection, CAT scan, cardiology, radiography, nuclear medicine etc. Neutron radiography compliments conventional x-rays and gamma radiography. For these applications, image processing and computed tomography are employed for 2-D and 3-D image interpretation respectively. The paper also covers main features of image processing systems for quantitative evaluation of gray level and binary images. (author)

  14. Robust reflective ghost imaging against different partially polarized thermal light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hong-Guo; Wang, Yan; Zhang, Rui-Xue; Zhang, De-Jian; Liu, Hong-Chao; Li, Zong-Guo; Xiong, Jun

    2018-03-01

    We theoretically study the influence of degree of polarization (DOP) of thermal light on the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the reflective ghost imaging (RGI), which is a novel and indirect imaging modality. An expression for the CNR of RGI with partially polarized thermal light is carefully derived, which suggests a weak dependence of CNR on the DOP, especially when the ratio of the object size to the speckle size of thermal light has a large value. Different from conventional imaging approaches, our work reveals that RGI is much more robust against the DOP of the light source, which thereby has advantages in practical applications, such as remote sensing.

  15. Intelligent MRTD testing for thermal imaging system using ANN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Junyue; Ma, Dongmei

    2006-01-01

    The Minimum Resolvable Temperature Difference (MRTD) is the most widely accepted figure for describing the performance of a thermal imaging system. Many models have been proposed to predict it. The MRTD testing is a psychophysical task, for which biases are unavoidable. It requires laboratory conditions such as normal air condition and a constant temperature. It also needs expensive measuring equipments and takes a considerable period of time. Especially when measuring imagers of the same type, the test is time consuming. So an automated and intelligent measurement method should be discussed. This paper adopts the concept of automated MRTD testing using boundary contour system and fuzzy ARTMAP, but uses different methods. It describes an Automated MRTD Testing procedure basing on Back-Propagation Network. Firstly, we use frame grabber to capture the 4-bar target image data. Then according to image gray scale, we segment the image to get 4-bar place and extract feature vector representing the image characteristic and human detection ability. These feature sets, along with known target visibility, are used to train the ANN (Artificial Neural Networks). Actually it is a nonlinear classification (of input dimensions) of the image series using ANN. Our task is to justify if image is resolvable or uncertainty. Then the trained ANN will emulate observer performance in determining MRTD. This method can reduce the uncertainties between observers and long time dependent factors by standardization. This paper will introduce the feature extraction algorithm, demonstrate the feasibility of the whole process and give the accuracy of MRTD measurement.

  16. Reconstructing Face Image from the Thermal Infrared Spectrum to the Visible Spectrum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brahmastro Kresnaraman

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available During the night or in poorly lit areas, thermal cameras are a better choice instead of normal cameras for security surveillance because they do not rely on illumination. A thermal camera is able to detect a person within its view, but identification from only thermal information is not an easy task. The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the face image of a person from the thermal spectrum to the visible spectrum. After the reconstruction, further image processing can be employed, including identification/recognition. Concretely, we propose a two-step thermal-to-visible-spectrum reconstruction method based on Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA. The reconstruction is done by utilizing the relationship between images in both thermal infrared and visible spectra obtained by CCA. The whole image is processed in the first step while the second step processes patches in an image. Results show that the proposed method gives satisfying results with the two-step approach and outperforms comparative methods in both quality and recognition evaluations.

  17. Direct thermal dyes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehlinger, Edward

    1990-07-01

    Direct thermal dyes are members of a class of compounds referred to in the imaging industry as color formers or leuco dyes. The oldest members of that class have simple triarylmethane structures, and have been employed for years in various dyeing applications. More complex triarylmethane compounds, such as phthalides and fluorans, are now used in various imaging systems to produce color. Color is derived from all of these compounds via the same mechanism, on a molecular level. That is, an event of activation produces a highly resonating cationic system whose interaction with incident light produces reflected light of a specific color. The activation event in the case of a direct thermal system is the creation of a melt on the paper involving dye and an acidic developer. The three major performance parameters in a thermal system are background color, image density, and image stability. The three major dye physical parameters affecting thermal performance are chemical constituency, purity, and particle size. Those dyes having the best combination of characteristics which can also be manufactured economically dominate the marketplace. Manufacturing high performance dyes for the thermal market involves multi-step, convergent reaction sequences performed on large scale. Intermediates must be manufactured at the right time, and at the right quality to be useful.

  18. Night vision imaging system design, integration and verification in spacecraft vacuum thermal test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Yonghong; Wang, Jing; Gong, Zhe; Li, Xiyuan; Pei, Yifei; Bai, Tingzhu; Zhen, Haijing

    2015-08-01

    The purposes of spacecraft vacuum thermal test are to characterize the thermal control systems of the spacecraft and its component in its cruise configuration and to allow for early retirement of risks associated with mission-specific and novel thermal designs. The orbit heat flux is simulating by infrared lamp, infrared cage or electric heater. As infrared cage and electric heater do not emit visible light, or infrared lamp just emits limited visible light test, ordinary camera could not operate due to low luminous density in test. Moreover, some special instruments such as satellite-borne infrared sensors are sensitive to visible light and it couldn't compensate light during test. For improving the ability of fine monitoring on spacecraft and exhibition of test progress in condition of ultra-low luminous density, night vision imaging system is designed and integrated by BISEE. System is consist of high-gain image intensifier ICCD camera, assistant luminance system, glare protect system, thermal control system and computer control system. The multi-frame accumulation target detect technology is adopted for high quality image recognition in captive test. Optical system, mechanical system and electrical system are designed and integrated highly adaptable to vacuum environment. Molybdenum/Polyimide thin film electrical heater controls the temperature of ICCD camera. The results of performance validation test shown that system could operate under vacuum thermal environment of 1.33×10-3Pa vacuum degree and 100K shroud temperature in the space environment simulator, and its working temperature is maintains at 5° during two-day test. The night vision imaging system could obtain video quality of 60lp/mm resolving power.

  19. Quantitative subsurface analysis using frequency modulated thermal wave imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subhani, S. K.; Suresh, B.; Ghali, V. S.

    2018-01-01

    Quantitative depth analysis of the anomaly with an enhanced depth resolution is a challenging task towards the estimation of depth of the subsurface anomaly using thermography. Frequency modulated thermal wave imaging introduced earlier provides a complete depth scanning of the object by stimulating it with a suitable band of frequencies and further analyzing the subsequent thermal response using a suitable post processing approach to resolve subsurface details. But conventional Fourier transform based methods used for post processing unscramble the frequencies with a limited frequency resolution and contribute for a finite depth resolution. Spectral zooming provided by chirp z transform facilitates enhanced frequency resolution which can further improves the depth resolution to axially explore finest subsurface features. Quantitative depth analysis with this augmented depth resolution is proposed to provide a closest estimate to the actual depth of subsurface anomaly. This manuscript experimentally validates this enhanced depth resolution using non stationary thermal wave imaging and offers an ever first and unique solution for quantitative depth estimation in frequency modulated thermal wave imaging.

  20. Real-space post-processing correction of thermal drift and piezoelectric actuator nonlinearities in scanning tunneling microscope images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yothers, Mitchell P.; Browder, Aaron E.; Bumm, Lloyd A.

    2017-01-01

    We have developed a real-space method to correct distortion due to thermal drift and piezoelectric actuator nonlinearities on scanning tunneling microscope images using Matlab. The method uses the known structures typically present in high-resolution atomic and molecularly resolved images as an internal standard. Each image feature (atom or molecule) is first identified in the image. The locations of each feature's nearest neighbors are used to measure the local distortion at that location. The local distortion map across the image is simultaneously fit to our distortion model, which includes thermal drift in addition to piezoelectric actuator hysteresis and creep. The image coordinates of the features and image pixels are corrected using an inverse transform from the distortion model. We call this technique the thermal-drift, hysteresis, and creep transform. Performing the correction in real space allows defects, domain boundaries, and step edges to be excluded with a spatial mask. Additional real-space image analyses are now possible with these corrected images. Using graphite(0001) as a model system, we show lattice fitting to the corrected image, averaged unit cell images, and symmetry-averaged unit cell images. Statistical analysis of the distribution of the image features around their best-fit lattice sites measures the aggregate noise in the image, which can be expressed as feature confidence ellipsoids.

  1. Real-space post-processing correction of thermal drift and piezoelectric actuator nonlinearities in scanning tunneling microscope images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yothers, Mitchell P; Browder, Aaron E; Bumm, Lloyd A

    2017-01-01

    We have developed a real-space method to correct distortion due to thermal drift and piezoelectric actuator nonlinearities on scanning tunneling microscope images using Matlab. The method uses the known structures typically present in high-resolution atomic and molecularly resolved images as an internal standard. Each image feature (atom or molecule) is first identified in the image. The locations of each feature's nearest neighbors are used to measure the local distortion at that location. The local distortion map across the image is simultaneously fit to our distortion model, which includes thermal drift in addition to piezoelectric actuator hysteresis and creep. The image coordinates of the features and image pixels are corrected using an inverse transform from the distortion model. We call this technique the thermal-drift, hysteresis, and creep transform. Performing the correction in real space allows defects, domain boundaries, and step edges to be excluded with a spatial mask. Additional real-space image analyses are now possible with these corrected images. Using graphite(0001) as a model system, we show lattice fitting to the corrected image, averaged unit cell images, and symmetry-averaged unit cell images. Statistical analysis of the distribution of the image features around their best-fit lattice sites measures the aggregate noise in the image, which can be expressed as feature confidence ellipsoids.

  2. Online thermal imaging: a simple approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senior, Mark; Hollock, Steve; Sandhu, Sat; Coy, Joanne; Parkin, Rob

    2003-04-01

    Continuous monitoring of plant and processes is widely practised but the use of thermal imagers in such systems has always been restricted by camera cost. A radiometric thermal imager can be regarded as equivalent to multiple single point radiometers or a matrix of thermocouples but with the advantages of far denser coverage, non-contact measurement, simpler installation and data processing; in addition several of the advantages of conventional machine vision systems such as shape and position recognition can be provided. IRISYS has developed a multipoint radiometer utilising its low-cost infrared array technology. This unit provides continuous real-time temperature monitoring of 256 data points at an affordable price; it is housed in a small, light-weight, sealed and robust metal case and generates RS232 or Ethernet data output. This paper reviews the radiometer technology and its application to single and multi-camera systems.

  3. Breast cancer diagnosis by thermal imaging in the fields of medical and artificial intelligence sciences: review article

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossein Ghayoumi Zadeh

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and one of the leading of death among them. The high and increasing incidence of the disease and its difficult treatment specifically in advanced stages, imposes hard situations for different countries’ health systems. Body temperature is a natural criteria for the diagnosis of diseases. In recent decades extensive research has been conducted to increase the use of thermal cameras and obtain a close relationship between heat and temperature of the skin's physiology. Thermal imaging (thermography applies infrared method which is fast, non-invasive, non-contact and flexibile to monitor the temperature of the human body. This paper investigates highly diversified studies implemented before and after the year 2000. And it emphasizes mostly on the newely published articles including: performance and evaluation of thermal imaging, the various aspects of imaging as well as The available technology in this field and its disadvantages in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Thermal imaging has been adopted by researchers in the fields of medicine and biomedical engineering for the diagnosis of breast cancer. With the advent of modern infrared cameras, data acquisition and processing techniques, it is now possible to have real time high resolution thermographic images, which is likely to surge further research in this field.  Thermography does not provide information on the structures of the breast morphology, but it provides performance information of temperature and breast tissue vessels. It is assumed that the functional changes occured before the start of the structural changes which is the result of disease or cancer. These days, thermal imaging method has not been established as an applicative method for screening or diagnosing purposes in academic centers. But there are different centers that adopt this method for the diognosis and examining purposes. Thermal imaging is an effective method which is

  4. Thermal performance and heat transport in aquifer thermal energy storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sommer, W. T.; Doornenbal, P. J.; Drijver, B. C.; van Gaans, P. F. M.; Leusbrock, I.; Grotenhuis, J. T. C.; Rijnaarts, H. H. M.

    2014-01-01

    Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) is used for seasonal storage of large quantities of thermal energy. Due to the increasing demand for sustainable energy, the number of ATES systems has increased rapidly, which has raised questions on the effect of ATES systems on their surroundings as well as their thermal performance. Furthermore, the increasing density of systems generates concern regarding thermal interference between the wells of one system and between neighboring systems. An assessment is made of (1) the thermal storage performance, and (2) the heat transport around the wells of an existing ATES system in the Netherlands. Reconstruction of flow rates and injection and extraction temperatures from hourly logs of operational data from 2005 to 2012 show that the average thermal recovery is 82 % for cold storage and 68 % for heat storage. Subsurface heat transport is monitored using distributed temperature sensing. Although the measurements reveal unequal distribution of flow rate over different parts of the well screen and preferential flow due to aquifer heterogeneity, sufficient well spacing has avoided thermal interference. However, oversizing of well spacing may limit the number of systems that can be realized in an area and lower the potential of ATES.

  5. Thermal neutron imaging through XRQA2 GAFCHROMIC films coupled with a cadmium radiator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sacco, D. [INFN – LNF, Via E. Fermi n.40, Frascati, 00044 Roma (Italy); INAIL – DIT, Via di Fontana Candida n.1, 00040 Monteporzio Catone (Italy); Bedogni, R., E-mail: roberto.bedogni@lnf.infn.it [INFN – LNF, Via E. Fermi n.40, Frascati, 00044 Roma (Italy); Bortot, D. [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milano (Italy); INFN – Milano, Via Celoria16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Palomba, M. [ENEA Casaccia, Via Anguillarese, 301, S. Maria di Galeria, 00123 Roma (Italy); Pola, A. [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milano (Italy); INFN – Milano, Via Celoria16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Introini, M.V.; Lorenzoli, M. [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milano (Italy); Gentile, A. [INFN – LNF, Via E. Fermi n.40, Frascati, 00044 Roma (Italy); Strigari, L. [Laboratory of Medical Physics, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via E. Chianesi 53, 00144 Roma (Italy); Pressello, C. [Department of Medical Physics, Azienda Ospedaliera San Camillo Forlanini, Circonvallazione Gianicolense 87, 00152 Roma (Italy); Soriani, A. [Laboratory of Medical Physics, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via E. Chianesi 53, 00144 Roma (Italy); Gómez-Ros, J.M. [INFN – LNF, Via E. Fermi n.40, Frascati, 00044 Roma (Italy); CIEMAT, Av. Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2015-10-21

    A simple and inexpensive method to perform passive thermal neutron imaging on large areas was developed on the basis of XRQA2 GAFCHROMIC films, commonly employed for quality assurance in radiology. To enhance their thermal neutron response, the sensitive face of film was coupled with a 1 mm thick cadmium radiator, forming a sandwich. By exchanging the order of Cd filter and sensitive film with respect to the incident neutron beam direction, two different configurations (beam-Cd-film and beam-film-Cd) were identified. These configurations were tested at thermal neutrons fluence values in the range 10{sup 9}–10{sup 10} cm{sup −2}, using the ex-core radial thermal neutron column of the ENEA Casaccia – TRIGA reactor. The results are presented in this work.

  6. Long-distance thermal temporal ghost imaging over optical fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Xin; Zhang, Wei; Li, Hao; You, Lixing; Wang, Zhen; Huang, Yidong

    2018-02-01

    A thermal ghost imaging scheme between two distant parties is proposed and experimentally demonstrated over long-distance optical fibers. In the scheme, the weak thermal light is split into two paths. Photons in one path are spatially diffused according to their frequencies by a spatial dispersion component, then illuminate the object and record its spatial transmission information. Photons in the other path are temporally diffused by a temporal dispersion component. By the coincidence measurement between photons of two paths, the object can be imaged in a way of ghost imaging, based on the frequency correlation between photons in the two paths. In the experiment, the weak thermal light source is prepared by the spontaneous four-wave mixing in a silicon waveguide. The temporal dispersion is introduced by single mode fibers of 50 km, which also could be looked as a fiber link. Experimental results show that this scheme can be realized over long-distance optical fibers.

  7. Thermal imaging of spin Peltier effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daimon, Shunsuke; Iguchi, Ryo; Hioki, Tomosato; Saitoh, Eiji; Uchida, Ken-Ichi

    2016-12-01

    The Peltier effect modulates the temperature of a junction comprising two different conductors in response to charge currents across the junction, which is used in solid-state heat pumps and temperature controllers in electronics. Recently, in spintronics, a spin counterpart of the Peltier effect was observed. The `spin Peltier effect' modulates the temperature of a magnetic junction in response to spin currents. Here we report thermal imaging of the spin Peltier effect; using active thermography technique, we visualize the temperature modulation induced by spin currents injected into a magnetic insulator from an adjacent metal. The thermal images reveal characteristic distribution of spin-current-induced heat sources, resulting in the temperature change confined only in the vicinity of the metal/insulator interface. This finding allows us to estimate the actual magnitude of the temperature modulation induced by the spin Peltier effect, which is more than one order of magnitude greater than previously believed.

  8. Occupancy Analysis of Sports Arenas Using Thermal Imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gade, Rikke; Jørgensen, Anders; Moeslund, Thomas B.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a system for automatic analysis of the occupancy of sports arenas. By using a thermal camera for image capturing the number of persons and their location on the court are found without violating any privacy issues. The images are binarised with an automatic threshold method...

  9. Helicopter thermal imaging for detecting insect infested cadavers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amendt, Jens; Rodner, Sandra; Schuch, Claus-Peter; Sprenger, Heinz; Weidlich, Lars; Reckel, Frank

    2017-09-01

    One of the most common techniques applied for searching living and even dead persons is the FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) system fixed on an aircraft like e.g. a helicopter, visualizing the thermal patterns emitted from objects in the long-infrared spectrum. However, as body temperature cools down to ambient values within approximately 24h after death, it is common sense that searching for deceased persons can be just applied the first day post-mortem. We postulated that the insect larval masses on a decomposing body generate a heat which can be considerably higher than ambient temperatures for a period of several weeks and that such heat signatures might be used for locating insect infested human remains. We examined the thermal history of two 70 and 90kg heavy pig cadavers for 21days in May and June 2014 in Germany. Adult and immature insects on the carcasses were sampled daily. Temperatures were measured on and inside the cadavers, in selected maggot masses and at the surroundings. Thermal imaging from a helicopter using the FLIR system was performed at three different altitudes up to 1500ft. during seven day-flights and one night-flight. Insect colonization was dominated by blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) which occurred almost immediately after placement of the cadavers. Larvae were noted first on day 2 and infestation of both cadavers was enormous with several thousand larvae each. After day 14 a first wave of post-feeding larvae left the carcasses for pupation. Body temperature of both cadavers ranged between 15°C and 35°C during the first two weeks of the experiment, while body surface temperatures peaked at about 45°C. Maggot masses temperatures reached values up to almost 25°C above ambient temperature. Detection of both cadavers by thermal imaging was possible on seven of the eight helicopter flights until day 21. Copyright © 2017 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. [Investigation on Mobile Phone Based Thermal Imaging System and Its Preliminary Application].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Fufeng; Chen, Feng; Liu, Jing

    2015-03-01

    The technical structure of a low-cost thermal imaging system (TIM) lunched on a mobile phone was investigated, which consists of a thermal infrared module and mobile phone and application software. The designing strategies and technical factors toward realizing various TIM array performances are interpreted, including sensor cost and Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD). In the software algorithm, a mechanism for scene-change detection was implemented to optimize the efficiency of non-uniformity correction (NUC). The performance experiments and analysis indicate that the NETD of the system can be smaller than 150 mK when the integration time is larger than 16 frames. Furthermore, a practical application for human temperature monitoring during physical exercise is proposed and interpreted. The measurement results support the feasibility and facility of the system in the medical application.

  11. Thermal imaging in screening of joint inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis in children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lasanen, R; Julkunen, P; Töyräs, J; Piippo-Savolainen, E; Remes-Pakarinen, T; Kröger, L; Heikkilä, A; Karhu, J

    2015-01-01

    Potential of modern thermal imaging for screening and differentiation of joint inflammation has not been assessed in child and juvenile patient populations, typically demanding groups in diagnostics of musculoskeletal disorders. We hypothesize that thermal imaging can detect joint inflammation in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis or autoimmune disease with arthritis such as systemic lupus erythematosus. To evaluate the hypothesis, we studied 58 children exhibiting symptoms of joint inflammation. First, the patients’ joints were examined along clinical procedure supplemented with ultrasound imaging when deemed necessary by the clinician. Second, thermal images were acquired from patients’ knees and ankles. Results of thermal imaging were compared to clinical evaluations in knee and ankle. The temperatures were significantly (p max = 0.044, p mean  < 0.001) higher in inflamed ankle joints, but not in inflamed knee joints. No significant difference was found between the skin surface temperatures of medial and lateral aspects of ankle joints. In knee joints the mean temperatures of medial and lateral aspect differed significantly (p = 0.004). We have demonstrated that thermal imaging may have potential for detecting joint inflammation in ankle joints of children. For knee joints our results are inconclusive and further research is warranted. (paper)

  12. Visualization and measurement by image processing of thermal hydraulic phenomena by neutron radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takenaka, Nobuyuki

    1996-01-01

    Neutron Radiography was applied to visualization of thermal hydraulic phenomena and measurement was carried out by image processing the visualized images. Since attenuation of thermal neutron rays is high in ordinary liquids like water and organic fluid while it is low in most of metals, liquid flow behaviors can be visualized through a metallic wall by neutron radiography. Measurement of void fraction and flow vector field which is important to study thermal hydraulic phenomena can be carried out by image processing the images obtained by the visualization. Various two-phase and liquid metal flows were visualized by a JRR-3M thermal neutron radiography system in the present study. Multi-dimensional void fraction distributions in two-phase flows and flow vector fields in liquid metals, which are difficult to measure by the other methods, were successfully measured by image processing. It was shown that neutron radiography was efficiently applicable to study thermal hydraulic phenomena. (author)

  13. THERMAL IMAGING OF Si, GaAs AND GaN -BASED DEVICES WITHIN THE MICROTHERM PROJECT

    OpenAIRE

    Pavageau , S.; Tessier , G.; Filloy , C.; Jerosolimski , G.; Fournier , D.; Polignano , M.-L.; Mica , I.; Cassette , S.; Aubry , R.; Durand , O.

    2005-01-01

    Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/5920); International audience; Within the european project Microtherm, we have developed a CCD-based thermoreflectance system which delivers thermal images of working integrated circuits with high spatial and thermal resolutions (down to 350 nm and 0.1 K respectively). We illustrate the performances of this set-up on several classes of semiconductor devices including high power transistors and transistor ar...

  14. Thermal Performance Benchmarking: Annual Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feng, Xuhui [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center

    2017-10-19

    In FY16, the thermal performance of the 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid power electronics thermal management systems were benchmarked. Both experiments and numerical simulation were utilized to thoroughly study the thermal resistances and temperature distribution in the power module. Experimental results obtained from the water-ethylene glycol tests provided the junction-to-liquid thermal resistance. The finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were found to yield a good match with experimental results. Both experimental and modeling results demonstrate that the passive stack is the dominant thermal resistance for both the motor and power electronics systems. The 2014 Accord power electronics systems yield steady-state thermal resistance values around 42- 50 mm to the 2nd power K/W, depending on the flow rates. At a typical flow rate of 10 liters per minute, the thermal resistance of the Accord system was found to be about 44 percent lower than that of the 2012 Nissan LEAF system that was benchmarked in FY15. The main reason for the difference is that the Accord power module used a metalized-ceramic substrate and eliminated the thermal interface material layers. FEA models were developed to study the transient performance of 2012 Nissan LEAF, 2014 Accord, and two other systems that feature conventional power module designs. The simulation results indicate that the 2012 LEAF power module has lowest thermal impedance at a time scale less than one second. This is probably due to moving low thermally conductive materials further away from the heat source and enhancing the heat spreading effect from the copper-molybdenum plate close to the insulated gate bipolar transistors. When approaching steady state, the Honda system shows lower thermal impedance. Measurement results of the thermal resistance of the 2015 BMW i3 power electronic system indicate that the i3 insulated gate bipolar transistor module has significantly lower junction

  15. STUDY ON SHADOW EFFECTS OF VARIOUS FEATURES ON CLOSE RANGE THERMAL IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. L. Liao

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Thermal infrared data become more popular in remote sensing investigation, for it could be acquired both in day and night. The change of temperature has special characteristic in natural environment, so the thermal infrared images could be used in monitoring volcanic landform, the urban development, and disaster prevention. Heat shadow is formed by reflecting radiating capacity which followed the objects. Because of poor spatial resolution of thermal infrared images in satellite sensor, shadow effects were usually ignored. This research focus on discussing the shadow effects of various features, which include metals and nonmetallic materials. An area-based thermal sensor, FLIR-T360 was selected to acquire thermal images. Various features with different emissivity were chosen as reflective surface to obtain thermal shadow in normal atmospheric temperature. Experiments found that the shadow effects depend on the distance between sensors and features, depression angle, object temperature and emissivity of reflective surface. The causes of shadow effects have been altered in the experiment for analyzing the variance in thermal infrared images. The result shows that there were quite different impacts by shadow effects between metals and nonmetallic materials. The further research would be produced a math model to describe the shadow effects of different features in the future work.

  16. Pedestrian detection in thermal images: An automated scale based region extraction with curvelet space validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lakshmi, A.; Faheema, A. G. J.; Deodhare, Dipti

    2016-05-01

    Pedestrian detection is a key problem in night vision processing with a dozen of applications that will positively impact the performance of autonomous systems. Despite significant progress, our study shows that performance of state-of-the-art thermal image pedestrian detectors still has much room for improvement. The purpose of this paper is to overcome the challenge faced by the thermal image pedestrian detectors, which employ intensity based Region Of Interest (ROI) extraction followed by feature based validation. The most striking disadvantage faced by the first module, ROI extraction, is the failed detection of cloth insulted parts. To overcome this setback, this paper employs an algorithm and a principle of region growing pursuit tuned to the scale of the pedestrian. The statistics subtended by the pedestrian drastically vary with the scale and deviation from normality approach facilitates scale detection. Further, the paper offers an adaptive mathematical threshold to resolve the problem of subtracting the background while extracting cloth insulated parts as well. The inherent false positives of the ROI extraction module are limited by the choice of good features in pedestrian validation step. One such feature is curvelet feature, which has found its use extensively in optical images, but has as yet no reported results in thermal images. This has been used to arrive at a pedestrian detector with a reduced false positive rate. This work is the first venture made to scrutinize the utility of curvelet for characterizing pedestrians in thermal images. Attempt has also been made to improve the speed of curvelet transform computation. The classification task is realized through the use of the well known methodology of Support Vector Machines (SVMs). The proposed method is substantiated with qualified evaluation methodologies that permits us to carry out probing and informative comparisons across state-of-the-art features, including deep learning methods, with six

  17. A novel concept for CT with fixed anodes (FACT): Medical imaging based on the feasibility of thermal load capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kellermeier, Markus; Bert, Christoph; Müller, Reinhold G

    2015-07-01

    Focussing primarily on thermal load capacity, we describe the performance of a novel fixed anode CT (FACT) compared with a 100 kW reference CT. Being a fixed system, FACT has no focal spot blurring of the X-ray source during projection. Monte Carlo and finite element methods were used to determine the fluence proportional to thermal capacity. Studies of repeated short-time exposures showed that FACT could operate in pulsed mode for an unlimited period. A virtual model for FACT was constructed to analyse various temporal sequences for the X-ray source ring, representing a circular array of 1160 fixed anodes in the gantry. Assuming similar detector properties at a very small integration time, image quality was investigated using an image reconstruction library. Our model showed that approximately 60 gantry rounds per second, i.e. 60 sequential targetings of the 1160 anodes per second, were required to achieve a performance level equivalent to that of the reference CT (relative performance, RP = 1) at equivalent image quality. The optimal projection duration in each direction was about 10 μs. With a beam pause of 1 μs between projections, 78.4 gantry rounds per second with consecutive source activity were thermally possible at a given thermal focal spot. The settings allowed for a 1.3-fold (RP = 1.3) shorter scan time than conventional CT while maintaining radiation exposure and image quality. Based on the high number of rounds, FACT supports a high image frame rate at low doses, which would be beneficial in a wide range of diagnostic and technical applications. Copyright © 2015 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. MHTGR thermal performance envelopes: Reliability by design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Etzel, K.T.; Howard, W.W.; Zgliczynski, J.B.

    1992-05-01

    This document discusses thermal performance envelopes which are used to specify steady-state design requirements for the systems of the Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor to maximize plant performance reliability with optimized design. The thermal performance envelopes are constructed around the expected operating point accounting for uncertainties in actual plant as-built parameters and plant operation. The components are then designed to perform successfully at all points within the envelope. As a result, plant reliability is maximized by accounting for component thermal performance variation in the design. The design is optimized by providing a means to determine required margins in a disciplined and visible fashion

  19. Enhance wound healing monitoring through a thermal imaging based smartphone app

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Steven; Lu, Minta; Yee, Adam; Harmon, John; Meng, Frank; Hinduja, Saurabh

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, we present a thermal imaging based app to augment traditional appearance based wound growth monitoring. Accurate diagnose and track of wound healing enables physicians to effectively assess, document, and individualize the treatment plan given to each wound patient. Currently, wounds are primarily examined by physicians through visual appearance and wound area. However, visual information alone cannot present a complete picture on a wound's condition. In this paper, we use a smartphone attached thermal imager and evaluate its effectiveness on augmenting visual appearance based wound diagnosis. Instead of only monitoring wound temperature changes on a wound, our app presents physicians a comprehensive measurements including relative temperature, wound healing thermal index, and wound blood flow. Through the rat wound experiments and by monitoring the integrated thermal measurements over 3 weeks of time frame, our app is able to show the underlying healing process through the blood flow. The implied significance of our app design and experiment includes: (a) It is possible to use a low cost smartphone attached thermal imager for added value on wound assessment, tracking, and treatment; and (b) Thermal mobile app can be used for remote wound healing assessment for mobile health based solution.

  20. Fourier-transform ghost imaging with pure far-field correlated thermal light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Honglin; Shen Xia; Han Shensheng; Zhu Daming

    2007-01-01

    Pure far-field correlated thermal light beams are created with phase grating, and Fourier-transform ghost imaging depending only on the far-field correlation is demonstrated experimentally. Theoretical analysis and the results of experimental investigation of this pure far-field correlated thermal light are presented. Applications which may be exploited with this imaging scheme are discussed

  1. Research on the Compression Algorithm of the Infrared Thermal Image Sequence Based on Differential Evolution and Double Exponential Decay Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jin-Yu; Meng, Xiang-Bing; Xu, Wei; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Yong

    2014-01-01

    This paper has proposed a new thermal wave image sequence compression algorithm by combining double exponential decay fitting model and differential evolution algorithm. This study benchmarked fitting compression results and precision of the proposed method was benchmarked to that of the traditional methods via experiment; it investigated the fitting compression performance under the long time series and improved model and validated the algorithm by practical thermal image sequence compression and reconstruction. The results show that the proposed algorithm is a fast and highly precise infrared image data processing method. PMID:24696649

  2. Research on the Compression Algorithm of the Infrared Thermal Image Sequence Based on Differential Evolution and Double Exponential Decay Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin-Yu Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper has proposed a new thermal wave image sequence compression algorithm by combining double exponential decay fitting model and differential evolution algorithm. This study benchmarked fitting compression results and precision of the proposed method was benchmarked to that of the traditional methods via experiment; it investigated the fitting compression performance under the long time series and improved model and validated the algorithm by practical thermal image sequence compression and reconstruction. The results show that the proposed algorithm is a fast and highly precise infrared image data processing method.

  3. Two-dimensional fruit ripeness estimation using thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumriddetchkajorn, Sarun; Intaravanne, Yuttana

    2013-06-01

    Some green fruits do not change their color from green to yellow when being ripe. As a result, ripeness estimation via color and fluorescent analytical approaches cannot be applied. In this article, we propose and show for the first time how a thermal imaging camera can be used to two-dimensionally classify fruits into different ripeness levels. Our key idea relies on the fact that the mature fruits have higher heat capacity than the immature ones and therefore the change in surface temperature overtime is slower. Our experimental proof of concept using a thermal imaging camera shows a promising result in non-destructively identifying three different ripeness levels of mangoes Mangifera indica L.

  4. Thermal performance advisor expert system development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McClintock, M.; Hirota, N.; Metzinger, R.

    1991-01-01

    In recent years the electric industry has developed an increased interest in improving efficiency of nuclear power plants. EPRI has embarked upon a research project RP2407, Nuclear Plant Performance Improvements which is designed to address needs in this area. One product of this project has been the Thermal Performance Diagnostic Manual for Nuclear Power Plants (NP-4990P). The purpose of this manual is to provide engineering personnel at nuclear power plants with a consistent way in which to identify thermal performance problems. General Physics is also involved in the development of another computer system called Fossil Thermal Performance Advisor (FTPA) which helps operators improve performance for fossil power plants. FTPA is a joint venture between General Physics and New York State Electric and Gas Company. This paper describes both of these computer systems and uses the FTPA as an interesting comparison that illustrates the considerations required for the development of a computer system that effectively addresses the needs of the users

  5. Thermal performance of a PCM thermal storage unit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Ming; Bruno, Frank; Saman, Wasim [Sustainable Energy Centre, Inst. for Sustainable Systems and Technologies, Univ. of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Adelaide (Australia)

    2008-07-01

    The thermal performance of a PCM thermal storage unit (TSU) is studied numerically and experimentally. The TSU under analysis consists of several flat slabs of phase change material (PCM) with melting temperature of -26.7 C. Liquid heat transfer fluid (HTF) passes between the slabs to charge and discharge the storage unit. A one dimensional mathematical model was employed to analyze the transient thermal behavior of the storage unit during the melting and freezing processes. The model takes into consideration the temperature variations in the wall along the flow direction of the HTF. The paper compares the experimental and numerical simulation results in terms of HTF outlet temperatures during the melting period. (orig.)

  6. Utilizing Structure-from-Motion Photogrammetry with Airborne Visual and Thermal Images to Monitor Thermal Areas in Yellowstone National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, B. B.; Vaughan, R. G.

    2017-12-01

    The thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, USA) are constantly changing. Persistent monitoring of these areas is necessary to better understand the behavior and potential hazards of both the thermal features and the deeper hydrothermal system driving the observed surface activity. As part of the Park's monitoring program, thousands of visual and thermal infrared (TIR) images have been acquired from a variety of airborne platforms over the past decade. We have used structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry techniques to generate a variety of data products from these images, including orthomosaics, temperature maps, and digital elevation models (DEMs). Temperature maps were generated for Upper Geyser Basin and Norris Geyser Basin for the years 2009-2015, by applying SfM to nighttime TIR images collected from an aircraft-mounted forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera. Temperature data were preserved through the SfM processing by applying a uniform linear stretch over the entire image set to convert between temperature and a 16-bit digital number. Mosaicked temperature maps were compared to the original FLIR image frames and to ground-based temperature data to constrain the accuracy of the method. Due to pixel averaging and resampling, among other issues, the derived temperature values are typically within 5-10 ° of the values of the un-resampled image frame. We also created sub-meter resolution DEMs from airborne daytime visual images of individual thermal areas. These DEMs can be used for resource and hazard management, and in cases where multiple DEMs exist from different times, for measuring topographic change, including change due to thermal activity. For example, we examined the sensitivity of the DEMs to topographic change by comparing DEMs of the travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs, which can grow at > 1 m per year. These methods are generally applicable to images from airborne platforms, including planes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial

  7. Thickness measurement by two-sided step-heating thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaoli; Tao, Ning; Sun, J. G.; Zhang, Cunlin; Zhao, Yuejin

    2018-01-01

    Infrared thermal imaging is a promising nondestructive technique for thickness prediction. However, it is usually thought to be only appropriate for testing the thickness of thin objects or near-surface structures. In this study, we present a new two-sided step-heating thermal imaging method which employed a low-cost portable halogen lamp as the heating source and verified it with two stainless steel step wedges with thicknesses ranging from 5 mm to 24 mm. We first derived the one-dimensional step-heating thermography theory with the consideration of warm-up time of the lamp, and then applied the nonlinear regression method to fit the experimental data by the derived function to determine the thickness. After evaluating the reliability and accuracy of the experimental results, we concluded that this method is capable of testing thick objects. In addition, we provided the criterions for both the required data length and the applicable thickness range of the testing material. It is evident that this method will broaden the thermal imaging application for thickness measurement.

  8. Thermal annealing response following irradiation of a CMOS imager for the JUICE JANUS instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lofthouse-Smith, D.-D.; Soman, M. R.; Allanwood, E. A. H.; Stefanov, K. D.; Holland, A. D.; Leese, M.; Turne, P.

    2018-03-01

    ESA's JUICE (JUpiter ICy moon Explorer) spacecraft is an L-class mission destined for the Jovian system in 2030. Its primary goals are to investigate the conditions for planetary formation and the emergence of life, and how does the solar system work. The JANUS camera, an instrument on JUICE, uses a 4T back illuminated CMOS image sensor, the CIS115 designed by Teledyne e2v. JANUS imager test campaigns are studying the CIS115 following exposure to gammas, protons, electrons and heavy ions, simulating the harsh radiation environment present in the Jovian system. The degradation of 4T CMOS device performance following proton fluences is being studied, as well as the effectiveness of thermal annealing to reverse radiation damage. One key parameter for the JANUS mission is the Dark current of the CIS115, which has been shown to degrade in previous radiation campaigns. A thermal anneal of the CIS115 has been used to accelerate any annealing following the irradiation as well as to study the evolution of any performance characteristics. CIS115s have been irradiated to double the expected End of Life (EOL) levels for displacement damage radiation (2×1010 protons, 10 MeV equivalent). Following this, devices have undergone a thermal anneal cycle at 100oC for 168 hours to reveal the extent to which CIS115 recovers pre-irradiation performance. Dark current activation energy analysis following proton fluence gives information on trap species present in the device and how effective anneal is at removing these trap species. Thermal anneal shows no quantifiable change in the activation energy of the dark current following irradiation.

  9. Theoretical scheme of thermal-light many-ghost imaging by Nth-order intensity correlation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yingchuan; Kuang Leman

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a theoretical scheme of many-ghost imaging in terms of Nth-order correlated thermal light. We obtain the Gaussian thin lens equations in the many-ghost imaging protocol. We show that it is possible to produce N-1 ghost images of an object at different places in a nonlocal fashion by means of a higher order correlated imaging process with an Nth-order correlated thermal source and correlation measurements. We investigate the visibility of the ghost images in the scheme and obtain the upper bounds of the visibility for the Nth-order correlated thermal-light ghost imaging. It is found that the visibility of the ghost images can be dramatically enhanced when the order of correlation becomes larger. It is pointed out that the many-ghost imaging phenomenon is an observable physical effect induced by higher order coherence or higher order correlations of optical fields.

  10. TADIR: ElOp's high-resolution second-generation 480 x 4 TDI thermal imager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarusi, Gabby; Ziv, Natan; Zioni, O.; Gaber, J.; Shechterman, Mark S.; Wiess, I.; Friedland, Igor V.; Lerner, M.; Friedenberg, Abraham

    1998-10-01

    'TADIR' is a new high-end thermal imager, developed in El-Op under contract with the Israeli MOD during the last three years. This new second generation thermal imager is based on 480 X 4 TDI MCT detector operated in the 8 - 12 micrometer spectral range. Although the prototype configuration of TADIR was design for the highly demanded light weight low volume and low power air applications, TADIR can be considered as a generic modular technology of which the future El-Op's FLIR applications such as ground fire control system and surveillance systems will be derived from. Besides the detector, what puts the system in the high-end category are the state of the art features implemented in each system's components. This paper describes the system concept and design considerations as well as the anticipated performances. TADIRs fist prototype was demonstrated at the beginning of 1998 and is currently under evaluation.

  11. Digital Enhancement of Night Vision and Thermal Images

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Teo, Chek

    2003-01-01

    .... This thesis explores the effect of the Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) process on night vision and thermal images With better contrast, target detection and discrimination can be improved...

  12. Object localization in handheld thermal images for fireground understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandecasteele, Florian; Merci, Bart; Jalalvand, Azarakhsh; Verstockt, Steven

    2017-05-01

    Despite the broad application of the handheld thermal imaging cameras in firefighting, its usage is mostly limited to subjective interpretation by the person carrying the device. As remedies to overcome this limitation, object localization and classification mechanisms could assist the fireground understanding and help with the automated localization, characterization and spatio-temporal (spreading) analysis of the fire. An automated understanding of thermal images can enrich the conventional knowledge-based firefighting techniques by providing the information from the data and sensing-driven approaches. In this work, transfer learning is applied on multi-labeling convolutional neural network architectures for object localization and recognition in monocular visual, infrared and multispectral dynamic images. Furthermore, the possibility of analyzing fire scene images is studied and their current limitations are discussed. Finally, the understanding of the room configuration (i.e., objects location) for indoor localization in reduced visibility environments and the linking with Building Information Models (BIM) are investigated.

  13. A review on the application of medical infrared thermal imaging in hands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sousa, Elsa; Vardasca, Ricardo; Teixeira, Sérgio; Seixas, Adérito; Mendes, Joaquim; Costa-Ferreira, António

    2017-09-01

    Infrared Thermal (IRT) imaging is a medical imaging modality to study skin temperature in real time, providing physiological information about the underlining structures. One of the most accessible body sites to be investigated using such imaging method is the hands, which can reflect valuable information about conditions affecting the upper limbs. The aim of this review is to acquaint the successful applications of IRT in the hands with a medical scope, opening horizons for future applications based in the achieved results. A systematic literature review was performed in order to assess in which applications medical IRT imaging was applied to the hands. The literature search was conducted in the reference databases: PubMed, Scopus and ISI Web of Science, making use of keywords (hand, thermography, infrared imaging, thermal imaging) combination that were present at the title and abstract. No temporal restriction was made. As a result, 4260 articles were identified, after removal of duplicates, 3224 articles remained and from first title and abstract filtering, a total of 388 articles were considered. After application of exclusion criteria (non-availability, non-clinical applications, reviews, case studies, written in other languages than English and using liquid crystal thermography), 146 articles were considered for this review. It can be verified that thermography provides useful diagnostic and monitoring information of conditions that directly or indirectly related to hands, as well as aiding in the treatment assessment. Trends and future challenges for IRT applications on hands are provided to stimulate researchers and clinicians to explore and address them.

  14. MR imaging in the presence of small circular metallic implants. Assessment of thermal injuries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manner, I.; Alanen, A.; Komu, M.; Savunen, T.; Kantonen, I.; Ekfors, T.

    1996-01-01

    Purpose: The thermal effects of MR imaging in the presence of circular nonferromagnetic metallic implants were studied in 6 rabbits. Material and Methods: A sternotomy was performed and fixed with stainless steel wires, and small titanium rings (diameter 3 mm) were placed on the surface of the ascending aorta and subcutaneous tissue of the thigh. Four of the rabbits were exposed to an imaging procedure with a 1.5 T scanner applying a T1-weighted spin-echo sequence and a gradient echo sequence. Two of the animals served as unexposed controls. Thirty-six hours after the exposure, tissues adjacent to the implants were examined histologically and compared with corresponding samples of the control animals. Results: In the area of the titanium rings, histologic analysis revealed slight inflammatory changes apparently caused by the operation. No evidence of thermal injury was found, suggesting that the presence of the rings does not contraindicate MR examinations. Necrosis was noted in all of the sternal specimens. This was probably post-operative, but it impaired the assessment of thermal injury in this area. (orig.)

  15. High-performance noncontact thermal diode via asymmetric nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Jiadong; Liu, Xianglei; He, Huan; Wu, Weitao; Liu, Baoan

    2018-05-01

    Electric diodes, though laying the foundation of modern electronics and information processing industries, suffer from ineffectiveness and even failure at high temperatures. Thermal diodes are promising alternatives to relieve above limitations, but usually possess low rectification ratios, and how to obtain a high-performance thermal rectification effect is still an open question. This paper proposes an efficient contactless thermal diode based on the near-field thermal radiation of asymmetric doped silicon nanostructures. The rectification ratio computed via exact scattering theories is demonstrated to be as high as 10 at a nanoscale gap distance and period, outperforming the counterpart flat-plate diode by more than one order of magnitude. This extraordinary performance mainly lies in the higher forward and lower reverse radiative heat flux within the low frequency band compared with the counterpart flat-plate diode, which is caused by a lower loss and smaller cut-off wavevector of nanostructures for the forward and reversed scheme, respectively. This work opens new routes to realize high performance thermal diodes, and may have wide applications in efficient thermal computing, thermal information processing, and thermal management.

  16. Evaluation of the AN/SAY-1 Thermal Imaging Sensor System

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Smith, John G; Middlebrook, Christopher T

    2002-01-01

    The AN/SAY-1 Thermal Imaging Sensor System "TISS" was developed to provide surface ships with a day/night imaging capability to detect low radar reflective, small cross-sectional area targets such as floating mines...

  17. Stream temperature estimated in situ from thermal-infrared images: best estimate and uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iezzi, F; Todisco, M T

    2015-01-01

    The paper aims to show a technique to estimate in situ the stream temperature from thermal-infrared images deepening its best estimate and uncertainty. Stream temperature is an important indicator of water quality and nowadays its assessment is important particularly for thermal pollution monitoring in water bodies. Stream temperature changes are especially due to the anthropogenic heat input from urban wastewater and from water used as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. The stream temperatures assessment using ordinary techniques (e.g. appropriate thermometers) is limited by sparse sampling in space due to a spatial discretization necessarily punctual. Latest and most advanced techniques assess the stream temperature using thermal-infrared remote sensing based on thermal imagers placed usually on aircrafts or using satellite images. These techniques assess only the surface water temperature and they are suitable to detect the temperature of vast water bodies but do not allow a detailed and precise surface water temperature assessment in limited areas of the water body. The technique shown in this research is based on the assessment of thermal-infrared images obtained in situ via portable thermal imager. As in all thermographic techniques, also in this technique, it is possible to estimate only the surface water temperature. A stream with the presence of a discharge of urban wastewater is proposed as case study to validate the technique and to show its application limits. Since the technique analyzes limited areas in extension of the water body, it allows a detailed and precise assessment of the water temperature. In general, the punctual and average stream temperatures are respectively uncorrected and corrected. An appropriate statistical method that minimizes the errors in the average stream temperature is proposed. The correct measurement of this temperature through the assessment of thermal- infrared images obtained in situ via portable

  18. Exploring the use of thermal infrared imaging in human stress research.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veronika Engert

    Full Text Available High resolution thermal infrared imaging is a pioneering method giving indices of sympathetic activity via the contact-free recording of facial tissues (thermal imprints. Compared to established stress markers, the great advantage of this method is its non-invasiveness. The goal of our study was to pilot the use of thermal infrared imaging in the classical setting of human stress research. Thermal imprints were compared to established stress markers (heart rate, heart rate variability, finger temperature, alpha-amylase and cortisol in 15 participants undergoing anticipation, stress and recovery phases of two laboratory stress tests, the Cold Pressor Test and the Trier Social Stress Test. The majority of the thermal imprints proved to be change-sensitive in both tests. While correlations between the thermal imprints and established stress markers were mostly non-significant, the thermal imprints (but not the established stress makers did correlate with stress-induced mood changes. Multivariate pattern analysis revealed that in contrast to the established stress markers the thermal imprints could not disambiguate anticipation, stress and recovery phases of both tests. Overall, these results suggest that thermal infrared imaging is a valuable method for the estimation of sympathetic activity in the stress laboratory setting. The use of this non-invasive method may be particularly beneficial for covert recordings, in the study of special populations showing difficulties in complying with the standard instruments of data collection and in the domain of psychophysiological covariance research. Meanwhile, the established stress markers seem to be superior when it comes to the characterization of complex physiological states during the different phases of the stress cycle.

  19. Optical Thermal Characterization Enables High-Performance Electronics Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2016-02-01

    NREL developed a modeling and experimental strategy to characterize thermal performance of materials. The technique provides critical data on thermal properties with relevance for electronics packaging applications. Thermal contact resistance and bulk thermal conductivity were characterized for new high-performance materials such as thermoplastics, boron-nitride nanosheets, copper nanowires, and atomically bonded layers. The technique is an important tool for developing designs and materials that enable power electronics packaging with small footprint, high power density, and low cost for numerous applications.

  20. Diagnosis of the three-phase induction motor using thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glowacz, Adam; Glowacz, Zygfryd

    2017-03-01

    Three-phase induction motors are used in the industry commonly for example woodworking machines, blowers, pumps, conveyors, elevators, compressors, mining industry, automotive industry, chemical industry and railway applications. Diagnosis of faults is essential for proper maintenance. Faults may damage a motor and damaged motors generate economic losses caused by breakdowns in production lines. In this paper the authors develop fault diagnostic techniques of the three-phase induction motor. The described techniques are based on the analysis of thermal images of three-phase induction motor. The authors analyse thermal images of 3 states of the three-phase induction motor: healthy three-phase induction motor, three-phase induction motor with 2 broken bars, three-phase induction motor with faulty ring of squirrel-cage. In this paper the authors develop an original method of the feature extraction of thermal images MoASoID (Method of Areas Selection of Image Differences). This method compares many training sets together and it selects the areas with the biggest changes for the recognition process. Feature vectors are obtained with the use of mentioned MoASoID and image histogram. Next 3 methods of classification are used: NN (the Nearest Neighbour classifier), K-means, BNN (the back-propagation neural network). The described fault diagnostic techniques are useful for protection of three-phase induction motor and other types of rotating electrical motors such as: DC motors, generators, synchronous motors.

  1. Automatic detection of diseased tomato plants using thermal and stereo visible light images.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shan-e-Ahmed Raza

    Full Text Available Accurate and timely detection of plant diseases can help mitigate the worldwide losses experienced by the horticulture and agriculture industries each year. Thermal imaging provides a fast and non-destructive way of scanning plants for diseased regions and has been used by various researchers to study the effect of disease on the thermal profile of a plant. However, thermal image of a plant affected by disease has been known to be affected by environmental conditions which include leaf angles and depth of the canopy areas accessible to the thermal imaging camera. In this paper, we combine thermal and visible light image data with depth information and develop a machine learning system to remotely detect plants infected with the tomato powdery mildew fungus Oidium neolycopersici. We extract a novel feature set from the image data using local and global statistics and show that by combining these with the depth information, we can considerably improve the accuracy of detection of the diseased plants. In addition, we show that our novel feature set is capable of identifying plants which were not originally inoculated with the fungus at the start of the experiment but which subsequently developed disease through natural transmission.

  2. Cardboard Based Packaging Materials as Renewable Thermal Insulation of Buildings: Thermal and Life Cycle Performance

    OpenAIRE

    Čekon, Miroslav; Struhala, Karel; Slávik, Richard

    2017-01-01

    Cardboard based packaging components represent a material with a significant potential of renewable exploitation in buildings. This study presents the results of thermal and environmental analysis of existing packaging materials compared with standard conventional thermal insulations. Experimental measurements were performed to identify the thermal performance of studied cardboard packaging materials. Real-size samples were experimentally tested in laboratory measurements. The thermal resi...

  3. Hot Shoes in the Room: Authentication of Thermal Imaging for Quantitative Forensic Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justin H. J. Chua

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Thermal imaging has been a mainstay of military applications and diagnostic engineering. However, there is currently no formalised procedure for the use of thermal imaging capable of standing up to judicial scrutiny. Using a scientifically sound characterisation method, we describe the cooling function of three common shoe types at an ambient room temperature of 22 °C (295 K based on the digital output of a consumer-grade FLIR i50 thermal imager. Our method allows the reliable estimation of cooling time from pixel intensity values within a time interval of 3 to 25 min after shoes have been removed. We found a significant linear relationship between pixel intensity level and temperature. The calibration method allows the replicable determination of independent thermal cooling profiles for objects without the need for emissivity values associated with non-ideal black-body thermal radiation or system noise functions. The method has potential applications for law enforcement and forensic research, such as cross-validating statements about time spent by a person in a room. The use of thermal images can thus provide forensic scientists, law enforcement officials, and legislative bodies with an efficient and cost-effective tool for obtaining and interpreting time-based evidence.

  4. Natural selection on thermal preference, critical thermal maxima and locomotor performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Anthony L; Miles, Donald B

    2017-08-16

    Climate change is resulting in a radical transformation of the thermal quality of habitats across the globe. Whereas species have altered their distributions to cope with changing environments, the evidence for adaptation in response to rising temperatures is limited. However, to determine the potential of adaptation in response to thermal variation, we need estimates of the magnitude and direction of natural selection on traits that are assumed to increase persistence in warmer environments. Most inferences regarding physiological adaptation are based on interspecific analyses, and those of selection on thermal traits are scarce. Here, we estimate natural selection on major thermal traits used to assess the vulnerability of ectothermic organisms to altered thermal niches. We detected significant directional selection favouring lizards with higher thermal preferences and faster sprint performance at their optimal temperature. Our analyses also revealed correlational selection between thermal preference and critical thermal maxima, where individuals that preferred warmer body temperatures with cooler critical thermal maxima were favoured by selection. Recent published estimates of heritability for thermal traits suggest that, in concert with the strong selective pressures we demonstrate here, evolutionary adaptation may promote long-term persistence of ectotherms in altered thermal environments. © 2017 The Author(s).

  5. Near-real-time feedback control system for liver thermal ablations based on self-referenced temperature imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keserci, Bilgin M.; Kokuryo, Daisuke; Suzuki, Kyohei; Kumamoto, Etsuko; Okada, Atsuya; Khankan, Azzam A.; Kuroda, Kagayaki

    2006-01-01

    Our challenge was to design and implement a dedicated temperature imaging feedback control system to guide and assist in a thermal liver ablation procedure in a double-donut 0.5T open MR scanner. This system has near-real-time feedback capability based on a newly developed 'self-referenced' temperature imaging method using 'moving-slab' and complex-field-fitting techniques. Two phantom validation studies and one ex vivo experiment were performed to compare the newly developed self-referenced method with the conventional subtraction method and evaluate the ability of the feedback control system in the same MR scanner. The near-real-time feedback system was achieved by integrating the following primary functions: (1) imaging of the moving organ temperature; (2) on-line needle tip tracking; (3) automatic turn-on/off the heating devices; (4) a Windows operating system-based novel user-interfaces. In the first part of the validation studies, microwave heating was applied in an agar phantom using a fast spoiled gradient recalled echo in a steady state sequence. In the second part of the validation and ex vivo study, target visualization, treatment planning and monitoring, and temperature and thermal dose visualization with the graphical user interface of the thermal ablation software were demonstrated. Furthermore, MR imaging with the 'self-referenced' temperature imaging method has the ability to localize the hot spot in the heated region and measure temperature elevation during the experiment. In conclusion, we have demonstrated an interactively controllable feedback control system that offers a new method for the guidance of liver thermal ablation procedures, as well as improving the ability to assist ablation procedures in an open MR scanner

  6. Thermal performance of nanofluid flow in microchannels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li Jie [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7910, Broungton Hall 4160, Raleigh, NC 27695-7910 (United States); Kleinstreuer, Clement [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7910, Broungton Hall 4160, Raleigh, NC 27695-7910 (United States)], E-mail: ck@eos.ncsu.edu

    2008-08-15

    Two effective thermal conductivity models for nanofluids were compared in detail, where the new KKL (Koo-Kleinstreuer-Li) model, based on Brownian motion induced micro-mixing, achieved good agreements with the currently available experimental data sets. Employing the commercial Navier-Stokes solver CFX-10 (Ansys Inc., Canonsburg, PA) and user-supplied pre- and post-processing software, the thermal performance of nanofluid flow in a trapezoidal microchannel was analyzed using pure water as well as a nanofluid, i.e., CuO-water, with volume fractions of 1% and 4% CuO-particles with d{sub p} = 28.6 nm. The results show that nanofluids do measurably enhance the thermal performance of microchannel mixture flow with a small increase in pumping power. Specifically, the thermal performance increases with volume fraction; but, the extra pressure drop, or pumping power, will somewhat decrease the beneficial effects. Microchannel heat sinks with nanofluids are expected to be good candidates for the next generation of cooling devices.

  7. Human emotions detection based on a smart-thermal system of thermographic images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz-Albarran, Irving A.; Benitez-Rangel, Juan P.; Osornio-Rios, Roque A.; Morales-Hernandez, Luis A.

    2017-03-01

    This work presents a noninvasive methodology to obtain biomedical thermal imaging which provide relevant information that may assist in the diagnosis of emotions. Biomedical thermal images of the facial expressions of 44 subjects were captured experiencing joy, disgust, anger, fear and sadness. The analysis of these thermograms was carried out through its thermal value not with its intensity value. Regions of interest were obtained through image processing techniques that allow to differentiate between the subject and the background, having only the subject, the centers of each region of interest were obtained in order to get the same region of the face for each subject. Through the thermal analysis a biomarker for each region of interest was obtained, these biomarkers can diagnose when an emotion takes place. Because each subject tends to react differently to the same stimuli, a self-calibration phase is proposed, its function is to have the same thermal trend for each subject in order to make a decision so that the five emotions can be correctly diagnosed through a top-down hierarchical classifier. As a final result, a smart-thermal system that diagnose emotions was obtained and it was tested on twenty-five subjects (625 thermograms). The results of this test were 89.9% successful.

  8. Performance test of Si PIN photodiode line scanner for thermal neutron detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Totsuka, Daisuke, E-mail: totsuka@imr.tohoku.ac.jp [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan); Nihon Kessho Kogaku Co., Ltd., 810-5 Nobe-cho Tatebayashi, Gunma 374-0047 (Japan); Yanagida, Takayuki [New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe) 6-6-10 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579 (Japan); Fukuda, Kentaro; Kawaguchi, Noriaki [Tokuyama Corp., 3 Shibuya Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8383 (Japan); Fujimoto, Yutaka [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan); Pejchal, Jan [Institute of Physics AS CR, Cukrovarnicka 10, Prague 6, 162-53 (Czech Republic); Yokota, Yuui [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan); Yoshikawa, Akira [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan); New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe) 6-6-10 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579 (Japan)

    2011-12-11

    Thermal neutron imaging using Si PIN photodiode line scanner and Eu-doped LiCaAlF{sub 6} crystal scintillator has been developed. The pixel dimensions of photodiode are 1.18 mm (width) Multiplication-Sign 3.8 mm (length) with 0.4 mm gap and the module has 192 channels in linear array. The emission peaks of Eu-doped LiCaAlF{sub 6} after thermal neutron excitation are placed at 370 and 590 nm, and the corresponding photon sensitivities of photodiode are 0.04 and 0.34 A/W, respectively. Polished scintillator blocks with a size of 1.18 mm (width) Multiplication-Sign 3.8 mm (length) Multiplication-Sign 5.0 mm (thickness) were wrapped by several layers of Teflon tapes as a reflector and optically coupled to the photodiodes by silicone grease. JRR-3 MUSASI beam line emitting 13.5 meV thermal neutrons with the flux of 8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} n/cm{sup 2} s was used for the imaging test. As a subject for imaging, a Cd plate was moved at the speed of 50 mm/s perpendicular to the thermal neutron beam. Analog integration time was set to be 416.6 {mu}s, then signals were converted by a delta-sigma A/D converter. After the image processing, we successfully obtained moving Cd plate image under thermal neutron irradiation using PIN photodiode line scanner coupled with Eu-doped LiCaAlF{sub 6} scintillator.

  9. Performance test of Si PIN photodiode line scanner for thermal neutron detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Totsuka, Daisuke; Yanagida, Takayuki; Fukuda, Kentaro; Kawaguchi, Noriaki; Fujimoto, Yutaka; Pejchal, Jan; Yokota, Yuui; Yoshikawa, Akira

    2011-01-01

    Thermal neutron imaging using Si PIN photodiode line scanner and Eu-doped LiCaAlF 6 crystal scintillator has been developed. The pixel dimensions of photodiode are 1.18 mm (width)×3.8 mm (length) with 0.4 mm gap and the module has 192 channels in linear array. The emission peaks of Eu-doped LiCaAlF 6 after thermal neutron excitation are placed at 370 and 590 nm, and the corresponding photon sensitivities of photodiode are 0.04 and 0.34 A/W, respectively. Polished scintillator blocks with a size of 1.18 mm (width)×3.8 mm (length)×5.0 mm (thickness) were wrapped by several layers of Teflon tapes as a reflector and optically coupled to the photodiodes by silicone grease. JRR-3 MUSASI beam line emitting 13.5 meV thermal neutrons with the flux of 8×10 5 n/cm 2 s was used for the imaging test. As a subject for imaging, a Cd plate was moved at the speed of 50 mm/s perpendicular to the thermal neutron beam. Analog integration time was set to be 416.6 μs, then signals were converted by a delta-sigma A/D converter. After the image processing, we successfully obtained moving Cd plate image under thermal neutron irradiation using PIN photodiode line scanner coupled with Eu-doped LiCaAlF 6 scintillator.

  10. Temperature Distribution and Thermal Performance of an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguly, Sayantan

    2017-04-01

    Energy conservation and storage has become very crucial to make use of excess energy during times of future demand. Excess thermal energy can be captured and stored in aquifers and this technique is termed as Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES). Storing seasonal thermal energy in water by injecting it into subsurface and extracting in time of demand is the principle of an ATES system. Using ATES systems leads to energy savings, reduces the dependency on fossil fuels and thus leads to reduction in greenhouse gas emission. This study numerically models an ATES system to store seasonal thermal energy and evaluates the performance of it. A 3D thermo-hydrogeological numerical model for a confined ATES system is presented in this study. The model includes heat transport processes of advection, conduction and heat loss to confining rock media. The model also takes into account regional groundwater flow in the aquifer, geothermal gradient and anisotropy in the aquifer. Results show that thermal injection into the aquifer results in the generation of a thermal-front which grows in size with time. Premature thermal-breakthrough causes thermal interference in the system when the thermal-front reaches the production well and consequences in the fall of system performance and hence should be avoided. This study models the transient temperature distribution in the aquifer for different flow and geological conditions. This may be effectively used in designing an efficient ATES project by ensuring safety from thermal-breakthrough while catering to the energy demand. Based on the model results a safe well spacing is proposed. The thermal energy discharged by the system is determined and strategy to avoid the premature thermal-breakthrough in critical cases is discussed. The present numerical model is applied to simulate an experimental field study which is found to approximate the field results quite well.

  11. Target acquisition performance : Effects of target aspect angle, dynamic imaging and signal processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beintema, J.A.; Bijl, P.; Hogervorst, M.A.; Dijk, J.

    2008-01-01

    In an extensive Target Acquisition (TA) performance study, we recorded static and dynamic imagery of a set of military and civilian two-handheld objects at a range of distances and aspect angles with an under-sampled uncooled thermal imager. Next, we applied signal processing techniques including

  12. Infrared thermal imaging for automated detection of diabetic foot complications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Netten, Jaap J.; van Baal, Jeff G.; Liu, C.; van der Heijden, Ferdinand; Bus, Sicco A.

    Background: Although thermal imaging can be a valuable technology in the prevention and management of diabetic foot disease, it is not yet widely used in clinical practice. Technological advancement in infrared imaging increases its application range. The aim was to explore the first steps in the

  13. Infrared thermal imaging for automated detection of diabetic foot complications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Netten, Jaap J.; van Baal, Jeff G.; Liu, Chanjuan; van der Heijden, Ferdi; Bus, Sicco A.

    2013-01-01

    Although thermal imaging can be a valuable technology in the prevention and management of diabetic foot disease, it is not yet widely used in clinical practice. Technological advancement in infrared imaging increases its application range. The aim was to explore the first steps in the applicability

  14. Vineyard water status assessment using on-the-go thermal imaging and machine learning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salvador Gutiérrez

    Full Text Available The high impact of irrigation in crop quality and yield in grapevine makes the development of plant water status monitoring systems an essential issue in the context of sustainable viticulture. This study presents an on-the-go approach for the estimation of vineyard water status using thermal imaging and machine learning. The experiments were conducted during seven different weeks from July to September in season 2016. A thermal camera was embedded on an all-terrain vehicle moving at 5 km/h to take on-the-go thermal images of the vineyard canopy at 1.2 m of distance and 1.0 m from the ground. The two sides of the canopy were measured for the development of side-specific and global models. Stem water potential was acquired and used as reference method. Additionally, reference temperatures Tdry and Twet were determined for the calculation of two thermal indices: the crop water stress index (CWSI and the Jones index (Ig. Prediction models were built with and without considering the reference temperatures as input of the training algorithms. When using the reference temperatures, the best models casted determination coefficients R2 of 0.61 and 0.58 for cross validation and prediction (RMSE values of 0.190 MPa and 0.204 MPa, respectively. Nevertheless, when the reference temperatures were not considered in the training of the models, their performance statistics responded in the same way, returning R2 values up to 0.62 and 0.65 for cross validation and prediction (RMSE values of 0.190 MPa and 0.184 MPa, respectively. The outcomes provided by the machine learning algorithms support the use of thermal imaging for fast, reliable estimation of a vineyard water status, even suppressing the necessity of supervised acquisition of reference temperatures. The new developed on-the-go method can be very useful in the grape and wine industry for assessing and mapping vineyard water status.

  15. Vineyard water status assessment using on-the-go thermal imaging and machine learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutiérrez, Salvador; Diago, María P; Fernández-Novales, Juan; Tardaguila, Javier

    2018-01-01

    The high impact of irrigation in crop quality and yield in grapevine makes the development of plant water status monitoring systems an essential issue in the context of sustainable viticulture. This study presents an on-the-go approach for the estimation of vineyard water status using thermal imaging and machine learning. The experiments were conducted during seven different weeks from July to September in season 2016. A thermal camera was embedded on an all-terrain vehicle moving at 5 km/h to take on-the-go thermal images of the vineyard canopy at 1.2 m of distance and 1.0 m from the ground. The two sides of the canopy were measured for the development of side-specific and global models. Stem water potential was acquired and used as reference method. Additionally, reference temperatures Tdry and Twet were determined for the calculation of two thermal indices: the crop water stress index (CWSI) and the Jones index (Ig). Prediction models were built with and without considering the reference temperatures as input of the training algorithms. When using the reference temperatures, the best models casted determination coefficients R2 of 0.61 and 0.58 for cross validation and prediction (RMSE values of 0.190 MPa and 0.204 MPa), respectively. Nevertheless, when the reference temperatures were not considered in the training of the models, their performance statistics responded in the same way, returning R2 values up to 0.62 and 0.65 for cross validation and prediction (RMSE values of 0.190 MPa and 0.184 MPa), respectively. The outcomes provided by the machine learning algorithms support the use of thermal imaging for fast, reliable estimation of a vineyard water status, even suppressing the necessity of supervised acquisition of reference temperatures. The new developed on-the-go method can be very useful in the grape and wine industry for assessing and mapping vineyard water status.

  16. Near Infrared Fluorescence Imaging in Nano-Therapeutics and Photo-Thermal Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vats, Mukti; Mishra, Sumit Kumar; Baghini, Mahdieh Shojaei; Chauhan, Deepak S.; Srivastava, Rohit; De, Abhijit

    2017-01-01

    The unresolved and paramount challenge in bio-imaging and targeted therapy is to clearly define and demarcate the physical margins of tumor tissue. The ability to outline the healthy vital tissues to be carefully navigated with transection while an intraoperative surgery procedure is performed sets up a necessary and under-researched goal. To achieve the aforementioned objectives, there is a need to optimize design considerations in order to not only obtain an effective imaging agent but to also achieve attributes like favorable water solubility, biocompatibility, high molecular brightness, and a tissue specific targeting approach. The emergence of near infra-red fluorescence (NIRF) light for tissue scale imaging owes to the provision of highly specific images of the target organ. The special characteristics of near infra-red window such as minimal auto-fluorescence, low light scattering, and absorption of biomolecules in tissue converge to form an attractive modality for cancer imaging. Imparting molecular fluorescence as an exogenous contrast agent is the most beneficial attribute of NIRF light as a clinical imaging technology. Additionally, many such agents also display therapeutic potentials as photo-thermal agents, thus meeting the dual purpose of imaging and therapy. Here, we primarily discuss molecular imaging and therapeutic potentials of two such classes of materials, i.e., inorganic NIR dyes and metallic gold nanoparticle based materials. PMID:28452928

  17. Teaching physics and understanding infrared thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vollmer, Michael; Möllmann, Klaus-Peter

    2017-08-01

    Infrared thermal imaging is a very rapidly evolving field. The latest trends are small smartphone IR camera accessories, making infrared imaging a widespread and well-known consumer product. Applications range from medical diagnosis methods via building inspections and industrial predictive maintenance etc. also to visualization in the natural sciences. Infrared cameras do allow qualitative imaging and visualization but also quantitative measurements of the surface temperatures of objects. On the one hand, they are a particularly suitable tool to teach optics and radiation physics and many selected topics in different fields of physics, on the other hand there is an increasing need of engineers and physicists who understand these complex state of the art photonics systems. Therefore students must also learn and understand the physics underlying these systems.

  18. Thermal performance measurements on ATLAS-SCT KB forward modules

    CERN Document Server

    Donegà, M; D'Onofrio, M; Ferrère, D; Hirt, C; Ikegami, Y; Kohriki, T; Kondo, T; Lindsay, S; Mangin-Brinet, M; Niinikoski, T O; Pernegger, H; Perrin, E; Taylor, G; Terada, S; Unno, Y; Wallny, R; Weber, M

    2003-01-01

    The thermal design of the KB module is presented. A Finite Elements Analysis (FEA) has been used to finalize the module design. The thermal performance of an outer irradiated KB module has been measured at different cooling conditions. The thermal runaway of the module has been measured. The FEA model has been compared with the measurements and has been used to predict the thermal performance in a realistic SCT scenario.

  19. Effect of thermal state and thermal comfort on cycling performance in the heat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulze, Emiel; Daanen, Hein A M; Levels, Koen; Casadio, Julia R; Plews, Daniel J; Kilding, Andrew E; Siegel, Rodney; Laursen, Paul B

    2015-07-01

    To determine the effect of thermal state and thermal comfort on cycling performance in the heat. Seven well-trained male triathletes completed 3 performance trials consisting of 60 min cycling at a fixed rating of perceived exertion (14) followed immediately by a 20-km time trial in hot (30°C) and humid (80% relative humidity) conditions. In a randomized order, cyclists either drank ambient-temperature (30°C) fluid ad libitum during exercise (CON), drank ice slurry (-1°C) ad libitum during exercise (ICE), or precooled with iced towels and ice slurry ingestion (15 g/kg) before drinking ice slurry ad libitum during exercise (PC+ICE). Power output, rectal temperature, and ratings of thermal comfort were measured. Overall mean power output was possibly higher in ICE (+1.4%±1.8% [90% confidence limit]; 0.4> smallest worthwhile change [SWC]) and likely higher PC+ICE (+2.5%±1.9%; 1.5>SWC) than in CON; however, no substantial differences were shown between PC+ICE and ICE (unclear). Time-trial performance was likely enhanced in ICE compared with CON (+2.4%±2.7%; 1.4>SWC) and PC+ICE (+2.9%±3.2%; 1.9>SWC). Differences in mean rectal temperature during exercise were unclear between trials. Ratings of thermal comfort were likely and very likely lower during exercise in ICE and PC+ICE, respectively, than in CON. While PC+ICE had a stronger effect on mean power output compared with CON than ICE did, the ICE strategy enhanced late-stage time-trial performance the most. Findings suggest that thermal comfort may be as important as thermal state for maximizing performance in the heat.

  20. Simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and heat capacity by flash thermal imaging methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, N.; Li, X. L.; Sun, J. G.

    2017-06-01

    Thermal properties are important for material applications involved with temperature. Although many measurement methods are available, they may not be convenient to use or have not been demonstrated suitable for testing of a wide range of materials. To address this issue, we developed a new method for the nondestructive measurement of the thermal effusivity of bulk materials with uniform property. This method is based on the pulsed thermal imaging-multilayer analysis (PTI-MLA) method that has been commonly used for testing of coating materials. Because the test sample for PTI-MLA has to be in a two-layer configuration, we have found a commonly used commercial tape to construct such test samples with the tape as the first-layer material and the bulk material as the substrate. This method was evaluated for testing of six selected solid materials with a wide range of thermal properties covering most engineering materials. To determine both thermal conductivity and heat capacity, we also measured the thermal diffusivity of these six materials by the well-established flash method using the same experimental instruments with a different system setup. This paper provides a description of these methods, presents detailed experimental tests and data analyses, and discusses measurement results and their comparison with literature values.

  1. Method of improving the performance of lenses for use in thermal infrared

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDowell, M. W.; Klee, H. W.

    1980-10-01

    A method is described whereby the field performance of an all-germanium triplet, as used for imaging radiation in the 8 to 13 micron waveband, can be improved. The principle of the method, which could also be used to improve the performance of achromatic triplets or aspherized doublets, involves the use of a field flattener lens which replaces the germanium window of the detector. The curvature of this lens can be optimized to minimize field curvature, which together with chromatic aberration is one of the most serious residuals of thermal imaging systems with relative apertures of around f/0.7. It is also shown that for such relative apertures, and for typical fields of less than 15 degrees, at 100 mm focal length, the location of the aperture stop is not a significant design parameter. This arises as a result of the intrinsic optical properties of germanium.

  2. Thermal performance of an innovative roof component

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dimoudi, A. [Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Vassilisis Sofias 12, 67 100 Xanthi (Greece); Lykoudis, S. [Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, I. Metaxa and B. Pavlou, 152 36 Penteli (Greece); Androutsopoulos, A. [Buildings Department, Division of Energy Efficiency, Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), 19th km Marathonos Aven., 190 09 Pikermi (Greece)

    2006-11-15

    In this paper, the thermal performance of a ventilated roof component is investigated during the winter period. The ventilated roof component consists of a conventional roof structure - reinforced concrete with a layer of thermal insulation - an air gap that allows the movement of the ambient air and an external layer made of a prefabricated concrete slab. The experimental results of the ventilated roof component during the winter period are presented and its thermal performance is analysed. The effect of key construction parameters like the height of the air gap and the use of a radiant barrier in the air gap is also investigated. Analysis of the results showed that the performance of a ventilated roof component is comparable to a conventional structure during winter. The ventilated component is shown to be in compliance with Greek regulatory requirements in terms of U-value. (author)

  3. Estimation of the temperature spatial variability in confined spaces based on thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augustyn, Grzegorz; Jurasz, Jakub; Jurczyk, Krzysztof; Korbiel, Tomasz; Mikulik, Jerzy; Pawlik, Marcin; Rumin, Rafał

    2017-11-01

    In developed countries the salaries of office workers are several times higher than the total cost of maintaining and operating the building. Therefore even a small improvement in human work productivity and performance as a result of enhancing the quality of their work environment may lead to a meaningful economic benefits. The air temperature is the most commonly used indicator in assessing the indoor environment quality. What is more, it is well known that thermal comfort has the biggest impact on employees performance and their ability to work efficiently. In majority of office buildings, indoor temperature is managed by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) appliances. However the way how they are currently managed and controlled leads to the nonhomogeneous distribution of temperature in certain space. An approach to determining the spatial variability of temperature in confined spaces was introduced based on thermal imaging temperature measurements. The conducted research and obtained results enabled positive verification of the method and creation of surface plot illustrating the temperature variability.

  4. Thermal interface pastes nanostructured for high performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chuangang

    Thermal interface materials in the form of pastes are needed to improve thermal contacts, such as that between a microprocessor and a heat sink of a computer. High-performance and low-cost thermal pastes have been developed in this dissertation by using polyol esters as the vehicle and various nanoscale solid components. The proportion of a solid component needs to be optimized, as an excessive amount degrades the performance, due to the increase in the bond line thickness. The optimum solid volume fraction tends to be lower when the mating surfaces are smoother, and higher when the thermal conductivity is higher. Both a low bond line thickness and a high thermal conductivity help the performance. When the surfaces are smooth, a low bond line thickness can be even more important than a high thermal conductivity, as shown by the outstanding performance of the nanoclay paste of low thermal conductivity in the smooth case (0.009 mum), with the bond line thickness less than 1 mum, as enabled by low storage modulus G', low loss modulus G" and high tan delta. However, for rough surfaces, the thermal conductivity is important. The rheology affects the bond line thickness, but it does not correlate well with the performance. This study found that the structure of carbon black is an important parameter that governs the effectiveness of a carbon black for use in a thermal paste. By using a carbon black with a lower structure (i.e., a lower DBP value), a thermal paste that is more effective than the previously reported carbon black paste was obtained. Graphite nanoplatelet (GNP) was found to be comparable in effectiveness to carbon black (CB) pastes for rough surfaces, but it is less effective for smooth surfaces. At the same filler volume fraction, GNP gives higher thermal conductivity than carbon black paste. At the same pressure, GNP gives higher bond line thickness than CB (Tokai or Cabot). The effectiveness of GNP is limited, due to the high bond line thickness. A

  5. Infrared survey of 50 buildings constructed during 100 years: thermal performances and damage conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ljungberg, Sven-Ake

    1995-03-01

    Different building constructions and craftsmanship give rise to different thermal performance and damage conditions. The building stock of most industrial countries consists of buildings of various age, and constructions, from old historic buildings with heavy stone or wooden construction, to new buildings with heavy or light concrete construction, or modern steel or wooden construction. In this paper the result from a detailed infrared survey of 50 buildings from six Swedish military camps is presented. The presentation is limited to a comparison of thermal performance and damage conditions of buildings of various ages, functions, and constructions, of a building period of more than 100 years. The result is expected to be relevant even to civilian buildings. Infrared surveys were performed during 1992-1993, with airborne, and mobile short- and longwave infrared systems, out- and indoor thermography. Interpretation and analysis of infrared data was performed with interactive image and analyzing systems. Field inspections were carried out with fiber optics system, and by ocular inspections. Air-exchange rate was measured in order to quantify air leakages through the building envelope, indicated in thermograms. The objects studied were single-family houses, barracks, office-, service-, school- and exercise buildings, military hotels and restaurants, aircraft hangars, and ship factory buildings. The main conclusions from this study are that most buildings from 1880 - 1940 have a solid construction with a high quality of craftsmanship, relatively good thermal performance, due to extremely thick walls, and adding insulation at the attic floor. From about 1940 - 1960 the quality of construction, thermal performance and craftsmanship seem to vary a lot. Buildings constructed during the period of 1960 - 1990 have in general the best thermal performance due to a better insulation capacity, however, also one finds here the greatest variety of problems. The result from this

  6. Lock-in thermal imaging for the early-stage detection of cutaneous melanoma: a feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonmarin, Mathias; Le Gal, Frédérique-Anne

    2014-04-01

    This paper theoretically evaluates lock-in thermal imaging for the early-stage detection of cutaneous melanoma. Lock-in thermal imaging is based on the periodic thermal excitation of the specimen under test. Resulting surface temperature oscillations are recorded with an infrared camera and allow the detection of variations of the sample's thermophysical properties under the surface. In this paper, the steady-state and transient skin surface temperatures are numerically derived for a different stage of development of the melanoma lesion using a two-dimensional axisymmetric multilayer heat-transfer model. The transient skin surface temperature signals are demodulated according to the digital lock-in principle to compute both a phase and an amplitude image of the lesions. The phase image can be advantageously used to accurately detect cutaneous melanoma at an early stage of development while the maximal phase shift can give precious information about the lesion invasion depth. The ability of lock-in thermal imaging to suppress disturbing subcutaneous thermal signals is demonstrated. The method is compared with the previously proposed pulse-based approaches, and the influence of the modulation frequency is further discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Transmutation Fuel Performance Code Thermal Model Verification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gregory K. Miller; Pavel G. Medvedev

    2007-09-01

    FRAPCON fuel performance code is being modified to be able to model performance of the nuclear fuels of interest to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). The present report documents the effort for verification of the FRAPCON thermal model. It was found that, with minor modifications, FRAPCON thermal model temperature calculation agrees with that of the commercial software ABAQUS (Version 6.4-4). This report outlines the methodology of the verification, code input, and calculation results.

  8. THERMAL EFFECTS ON CAMERA FOCAL LENGTH IN MESSENGER STAR CALIBRATION AND ORBITAL IMAGING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Burmeister

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available We analyse images taken by the MErcury Surface, Space ENviorment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER spacecraft for the camera’s thermal response in the harsh thermal environment near Mercury. Specifically, we study thermally induced variations in focal length of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS. Within the several hundreds of images of star fields, the Wide Angle Camera (WAC typically captures up to 250 stars in one frame of the panchromatic channel. We measure star positions and relate these to the known star coordinates taken from the Tycho-2 catalogue. We solve for camera pointing, the focal length parameter and two non-symmetrical distortion parameters for each image. Using data from the temperature sensors on the camera focal plane we model a linear focal length function in the form of f(T = A0 + A1 T. Next, we use images from MESSENGER’s orbital mapping mission. We deal with large image blocks, typically used for the production of a high-resolution digital terrain models (DTM. We analyzed images from the combined quadrangles H03 and H07, a selected region, covered by approx. 10,600 images, in which we identified about 83,900 tiepoints. Using bundle block adjustments, we solved for the unknown coordinates of the control points, the pointing of the camera – as well as the camera’s focal length. We then fit the above linear function with respect to the focal plane temperature. As a result, we find a complex response of the camera to thermal conditions of the spacecraft. To first order, we see a linear increase by approx. 0.0107 mm per degree temperature for the Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC. This is in agreement with the observed thermal response seen in images of the panchromatic channel of the WAC. Unfortunately, further comparisons of results from the two methods, both of which use different portions of the available image data, are limited. If leaving uncorrected, these effects may pose significant difficulties in

  9. A balanced strategy in managing steam generator thermal performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, M. H.; Nelson, P. R.

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a balanced strategy in managing thermal performance of steam generator designed to deliver rated megawatt thermal (MWt) and megawatt electric (MWe) power without loss with some amount of thermal margin. A steam generator (SG) is a boiling heat exchanger whose thermal performance may degrade because of steam pressure loss. In other words, steam pressure loss is an indicator of thermal performance degradation. Steam pressure loss is mainly a result of either 1) tube scale induced poor boiling or 2) tube plugging historically resulting from tubing corrosion, wear due to flow induced tube vibration or loose parts impact. Thermal performance degradation was historically due to tube plugging but more recently it is due to poor boiling caused by more bad than good constituents of feedwater impurities. The whole SG industry still concentrates solely on maintenance programs towards preventing causes for tube plugging and yet almost no programs on maintaining adequate boiling of fouled tubes. There can be an acceptable amount of tube scale that provides excellent boiling capacity without tubing corrosion, as operational experience has repeatedly demonstrated. Therefore, future maintenance has to come up balanced programs for allocating limited resources in both maintaining good boiling capacity and preventing tube plugging. This paper discusses also thermal performance degradation due to feedwater impurity induced blockage of tube support plate and thus subsequent water level oscillations, and how to mitigate them. This paper provides a predictive management of tube scale for maintaining adequate steam pressure and stable water level without loss in MWt/MWe or recovering from steam pressure loss or water level oscillations. This paper offers a balanced strategy in managing SG thermal performance to fulfill its mission. Such a strategy is even more important in view of the industry trend in pursuing extended power uprate as high as 20 percent

  10. Thermal performance envelopes for MHTGRs - Reliability by design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Etzel, K.T.; Howard, W.W.; Zgliczynski, J.

    1992-01-01

    Thermal performance envelopes are used to specify steady-state design requirements for the systems of the modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (MHTGR) to maximize plant performance reliability with optimized design. The thermal performance envelopes are constructed around the expected operating point to account for uncertainties in actual plant as-built parameters and plant operation. The components are then designed to perform successfully at all points within the envelope. As a result, plant reliability is maximized by accounting for component thermal performance variation in the design. The design is optimized by providing a means to determine required margins in a disciplined and visible fashion. This is accomplished by coordinating these requirements with the various system and component designers in the early stages of the design, applying the principles of total quality management. The design is challenged by the more complex requirements associated with a range of operating conditions, but in return, high probability of delivering reliable performance throughout the plant life is ensured

  11. BOOK REVIEW: Infrared Thermal Imaging: Fundamentals, Research and Applications Infrared Thermal Imaging: Fundamentals, Research and Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Planinsic, Gorazd

    2011-09-01

    Ten years ago, a book with a title like this would be interesting only to a narrow circle of specialists. Thanks to rapid advances in technology, the price of thermal imaging devices has dropped sharply, so they have, almost overnight, become accessible to a wide range of users. As the authors point out in the preface, the growth of this area has led to a paradoxical situation: now there are probably more infrared (IR) cameras sold worldwide than there are people who understand the basic physics behind them and know how to correctly interpret the colourful images that are obtained with these devices. My experience confirms this. When I started using the IR camera during lectures on the didactics of physics, I soon realized that I needed more knowledge, which I later found in this book. A wide range of potential readers and topical areas provides a good motive for writing a book such as this one, but it also represents a major challenge for authors, as compromises in the style of writing and choice of topics are required. The authors of this book have successfully achieved this, and indeed done an excellent job. This book addresses a wide range of readers, from engineers, technicians, and physics and science teachers in schools and universities, to researchers and specialists who are professionally active in the field. As technology in this area has made great progress in recent times, this book is also a valuable guide for those who opt to purchase an infrared camera. Chapters in this book could be divided into three areas: the fundamentals of IR thermal imaging and related physics (two chapters); IR imaging systems and methods (two chapters) and applications, including six chapters on pedagogical applications; IR imaging of buildings and infrastructure, industrial applications, microsystems, selected topics in research and industry, and selected applications from other fields. All chapters contain numerous colour pictures and diagrams, and a rich list of relevant

  12. MODIS on-orbit thermal emissive bands lifetime performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madhavan, Sriharsha; Wu, Aisheng; Chen, Na; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

    2016-05-01

    MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), a leading heritage sensor in the fleet of Earth Observing System for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is in space orbit on two spacecrafts. They are the Terra (T) and Aqua (A) platforms. Both instruments have successfully continued to operate beyond the 6 year design life time, with the T-MODIS currently functional beyond 15 years and the A-MODIS operating beyond 13 years respectively. The MODIS sensor characteristics include a spectral coverage from 0.41 μm - 14.4 μm, of which wavelengths ranging from 3.7 μm - 14. 4 μm cover the thermal infrared region also referred to as the Thermal Emissive Bands (TEBs). The TEBs is calibrated using a v-grooved BlackBody (BB) whose temperature measurements are traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology temperature scales. The TEBs calibration based on the onboard BB is extremely important for its high radiometric fidelity. In this paper, we provide a complete characterization of the lifetime instrument performance of both MODIS instruments in terms of the sensor gain, the Noise Equivalent difference Temperature, key instrument telemetry such as the BB lifetime trends, the instrument temperature trends, the Cold Focal Plane telemetry and finally, the total assessed calibration uncertainty of the TEBs.

  13. REVIEW OF METHODS FOR THE SURVEILLANCE AND ACCESS CONTROL USING THE THERMAL IMAGING SYSTEM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mate Krišto

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents methods for human detection for application in the field of national security in the context of state border surveillance. Except in the context of state border security, the presented methods can be applied to monitor other protected object and infrastructure such as ports and airports, power plants, water supply systems, oil pipelines, etc. Presented methods are based on use of thermal imaging systems for the human detection, recognition and identification. In addition to methods for the detection of persons, are presented and methods for face recognition and identification of the person. The use of such systems has special significance in the context of national security in the domain of timely detection of illegal crossing of state border or illegal movement near buildings, which are of special importance for national security such as traffic infrastructure facilities, power plants, military bases, especially in mountain or forests areas. In this context, thermal imaging has significant advantages over the optical camera surveillance systems because thermal imaging is robust to weather conditions and due to such an infrared thermal system can successfully applied in any weather conditions, or the periods of the day. Featured are procedures that has human detection results as well as a brief survey of specific implementation in terms of the use of infrared thermal imagers mounted on autonomous vehicles (AV and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV. In addition to the above in this paper are described techniques and methods of face detection and human identification based on thermal image (thermogram.

  14. NCTM workshop splinter session, IR thermal measurement instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaplan, Herbert

    1989-06-01

    The splinter session dealing with commercial industrial thermal measurement state-of-the-hardware had a total attendance of 15. Two papers were presented in the splinter session as follows: (1) Development of an Infrared Imaging System for the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment, Alexander D. Pline, NASA LeRC; (2) A Space-qualified PtSi Thermal Imaging System, Robert W. Astheimer, Barnes Engineering Div., EDO Corp. In addition a brief description of SPRITE detector technology was presented by Richard F. Leftwich of Magnovox. As anticipated, the discussions were concerned mainly with thermal imaging figures of merit rather than those for point measurement instruments. The need for uniform guidelines whereby infrared thermal imaging instruments could be specified and evaluated was identified as most important, particularly where temperature measurements are required. Presently there are differences in the way different manufacturers present significant performance parameters in their instrument data sheets. Furthermore, the prospective user has difficulty relating these parameters to actual measurement needs, and procedures by which performance can be verified are poorly defined. The current availability of powerful thermal imaging diagnostic software was discussed.

  15. Problems of thermal IR-imaging in evaluation of burn wounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowakowski, A.

    2009-01-01

    Results of the research devoted to application of thermal IR-imaging in diagnostics of burn wounds are discussed. The main aim of the work was to develop an effective method for quantitative evaluation of the depth of a burn wound and for classification of regions for surgical treatment. The criterion of determination the area of the wound to be treated surgically is the time, which should not exceed three weeks for natural healing of a burn wound. Prediction that the healing process may last longer is concluded by immediate surgical intervention. We concentrate on using for this purpose QIRT - NDT TI methods (Quantitative Infra-Red Thermography - Non-Destructive Testing Thermal Imaging); especially - active dynamic thermography - ADT. In this work both, classical thermography using a high quality thermal camera as well as ADT are applied and the results of analysis are joined, allowing multimodality diagnostic approach and improved classification of burns requiring surgical treatment. Now our work in application of thermal imaging in determination of burns is continued for around 10 years, as the first publication showing our methodology was presented in 1999. In 2001, during the Thermosense conference, we have been awarded the Andronicos Kantsios Award for the work on Medical applications of model based dynamic thermography. Important reports of our experience in classical as well as ADT thermography are already published. Now we concentrate on practical aspects of the problem, trying to construct a measuring set to be operative even by not experienced staff and meeting all of necessary requirements for clinical applications. (author)

  16. Performance analysis of a lunar based solar thermal power system with regolith thermal storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Xiaochen; Ma, Rong; Wang, Chao; Yao, Wei

    2016-01-01

    The manned deep-space exploration is a hot topic of the current space activities. The continuous supply of thermal and electrical energy for the scientific equipment and human beings is a crucial issue for the lunar outposts. Since the night lasts for periods of about 350 h at most locations on the lunar surface, massive energy storage is required for continuous energy supply during the lengthy lunar night and the in-situ resource utilization is demanded. A lunar based solar thermal power system with regolith thermal storage is presented in this paper. The performance analysis is carried out by the finite-time thermodynamics to take into account major irreversible losses. The influences of some key design parameters are analyzed for system optimization. The analytical results shows that the lunar based solar thermal power system with regolith thermal storage can meet the requirement of the continuous energy supply for lunar outposts. - Highlights: • A lunar based solar thermal power system with regolith thermal storage is presented. • The performance analysis is carried out by the finite-time thermodynamics. • The influences of some key design parameters are analyzed.

  17. Thermal imaging as a smartphone application: exploring and implementing a new concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanai, Omer

    2014-06-01

    Today's world is going mobile. Smartphone devices have become an important part of everyday life for billions of people around the globe. Thermal imaging cameras have been around for half a century and are now making their way into our daily lives. Originally built for military applications, thermal cameras are starting to be considered for personal use, enabling enhanced vision and temperature mapping for different groups of professional individuals. Through a revolutionary concept that turns smartphones into fully functional thermal cameras, we have explored how these two worlds can converge by utilizing the best of each technology. We will present the thought process, design considerations and outcome of our development process, resulting in a low-power, high resolution, lightweight USB thermal imaging device that turns Android smartphones into thermal cameras. We will discuss the technological challenges that we faced during the development of the product, and what are the system design decisions taken during the implementation. We will provide some insights we came across during this development process. Finally, we will discuss the opportunities that this innovative technology brings to the market.

  18. Mathematical Foundation Based Inter-Connectivity modelling of Thermal Image processing technique for Fire Protection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sayantan Nath

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, integration between multiple functions of image processing and its statistical parameters for intelligent alarming series based fire detection system is presented. The proper inter-connectivity mapping between processing elements of imagery based on classification factor for temperature monitoring and multilevel intelligent alarm sequence is introduced by abstractive canonical approach. The flow of image processing components between core implementation of intelligent alarming system with temperature wise area segmentation as well as boundary detection technique is not yet fully explored in the present era of thermal imaging. In the light of analytical perspective of convolutive functionalism in thermal imaging, the abstract algebra based inter-mapping model between event-calculus supported DAGSVM classification for step-by-step generation of alarm series with gradual monitoring technique and segmentation of regions with its affected boundaries in thermographic image of coal with respect to temperature distinctions is discussed. The connectedness of the multifunctional operations of image processing based compatible fire protection system with proper monitoring sequence is presently investigated here. The mathematical models representing the relation between the temperature affected areas and its boundary in the obtained thermal image defined in partial derivative fashion is the core contribution of this study. The thermal image of coal sample is obtained in real-life scenario by self-assembled thermographic camera in this study. The amalgamation between area segmentation, boundary detection and alarm series are described in abstract algebra. The principal objective of this paper is to understand the dependency pattern and the principles of working of image processing components and structure an inter-connected modelling technique also for those components with the help of mathematical foundation.

  19. Reflective all-sky thermal infrared cloud imager.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redman, Brian J; Shaw, Joseph A; Nugent, Paul W; Clark, R Trevor; Piazzolla, Sabino

    2018-04-30

    A reflective all-sky imaging system has been built using a long-wave infrared microbolometer camera and a reflective metal sphere. This compact system was developed for measuring spatial and temporal patterns of clouds and their optical depth in support of applications including Earth-space optical communications. The camera is mounted to the side of the reflective sphere to leave the zenith sky unobstructed. The resulting geometric distortion is removed through an angular map derived from a combination of checkerboard-target imaging, geometric ray tracing, and sun-location-based alignment. A tape of high-emissivity material on the side of the reflector acts as a reference that is used to estimate and remove thermal emission from the metal sphere. Once a bias that is under continuing study was removed, sky radiance measurements from the all-sky imager in the 8-14 μm wavelength range agreed to within 0.91 W/(m 2 sr) of measurements from a previously calibrated, lens-based infrared cloud imager over its 110° field of view.

  20. Thermal performances of an insulating structure for a reactor vessel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aranovitch, E.; Crutzen, S.; Le Det, M.; Denis, R.

    1974-12-01

    This report describes the thermal and technological tests performed on a multilayer thermal insulation system for high temperature gas reactors. It includes the description of test facilities, global tests, interpretation of data, and technological tests. Results obtained make it possible to predetermine with a satisfactory precision thermal performances under various nominal conditions

  1. Parametric study of closed wet cooling tower thermal performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qasim, S. M.; Hayder, M. J.

    2017-08-01

    The present study involves experimental and theoretical analysis to evaluate the thermal performance of modified Closed Wet Cooling Tower (CWCT). The experimental study includes: design, manufacture and testing prototype of a modified counter flow forced draft CWCT. The modification based on addition packing to the conventional CWCT. A series of experiments was carried out at different operational parameters. In view of energy analysis, the thermal performance parameters of the tower are: cooling range, tower approach, cooling capacity, thermal efficiency, heat and mass transfer coefficients. The theoretical study included develops Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models to predicting various thermal performance parameters of the tower. Utilizing experimental data for training and testing, the models simulated by multi-layer back propagation algorithm for varying all operational parameters stated in experimental test.

  2. Ecological Aspects of the Performed Thermal Reclamation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Łucarz M.

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The thermal analysis results of the selected group of binders and the thermal reclamation of one spent moulding sand with organic binder, are presented in the paper. The reclaiming process of the quartz matrix was performed on the basis of the own method of selecting the reclamation temperature. Taking into account thermogravimetric (TG analysis results of the binder, the temperature range - required for performing the efficient reclamation of spent moulding sand containing this binder - was indicated. In order to confirm the assumptions, the thermal reclamation operations were carried out at a temperature similar to the determined on the TG basis and - for comparisons - at lower and higher temperatures. During the reclamation operation the reclaim samples were taken for the loss on ignition testing, aimed at the determination of the process efficiency. Temperature in the reclaimer chamber and gas consumptions were also recorded. On the bases of the thermal analyses, loss on ignition, gas consumption and temperatures of the reclaimed moulding sand bed the recommendations for the realisation of the thermal reclamation were given. These recommendations will allow a better, than currently available, process control in an aspect of decreasing the pyrolysis effect and limiting the emission of substances harmful for the environment.

  3. Thermal performance of Danish solar combi systems in practice and in theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Elsa; Shah, Louise Jivan; Furbo, Simon

    2004-01-01

    An overview of measured thermal performances of Danish solar combi systems in practice is given. The thermal performance varies greatly from system to system. Measured and calculated thermal performances of different solar combi systems are compared and the main reasons for the different thermal ...... as theoretically expected....

  4. Performance analysis of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fudholi, Ahmad; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman; Yazdi, Mohammad H.; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz; Ibrahim, Adnan; Kazem, Hussein A.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Performances analysis of PVT collector based on energy efficiencies. • New absorber designs of PVT collectors were presented. • Comparison present study with other absorber collector designs was presented. • High efficiencies were obtained for spiral flow absorber. - Abstract: The electrical and thermal performances of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collectors were determined under 500–800 W/m 2 solar radiation levels. At each solar radiation level, mass flow rates ranging from 0.011 kg/s to 0.041 kg/s were introduced. The PVT collectors were tested with respect to PV efficiency, thermal efficiency, and a combination of both (PVT efficiency). The results show that the spiral flow absorber exhibited the highest performance at a solar radiation level of 800 W/m 2 and mass flow rate of 0.041 kg/s. This absorber produced a PVT efficiency of 68.4%, a PV efficiency of 13.8%, and a thermal efficiency of 54.6%. It also produced a primary-energy saving efficiency ranging from 79% to 91% at a mass flow rate of 0.011–0.041 kg/s

  5. Effect of thermal acclimation on thermal preference, resistance and locomotor performance of hatchling soft-shelled turtle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mei-Xian WU,Ling-Jun HU, Wei DANG, Hong-Liang LU, Wei-Guo DU

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The significant influence of thermal acclimation on physiological and behavioral performance has been documented in many ectothermic animals, but such studies are still limited in turtle species. We acclimated hatchling soft-shelled turtles Pelodiscus sinensis under three thermal conditions (10, 20 and 30 °C for 4 weeks, and then measured selected body temperature (Tsel, critical thermal minimum (CTMin and maximum (CTMax, and locomotor performance at different body temperatures. Thermal acclimation significantly affected thermal preference and resistance of P. sinensis hatchlings. Hatchling turtles acclimated to 10 °C selected relatively lower body temperatures and were less resistant to high temperatures than those acclimated to 20 °C and 30 °C. The turtles’ resistance to low temperatures increased with a decreasing acclimation temperature. The thermal resistance range (i.e. the difference between CTMax and CTMin, TRR was widest in turtles acclimated to 20 °C, and narrowest in those acclimated to 10 °C. The locomotor performance of turtles was affected by both body temperature and acclimation temperature. Hatchling turtles acclimated to relatively higher temperatures swam faster than did those acclimated to lower temperatures. Accordingly, hatchling turtles acclimated to a particular temperature may not enhance the performance at that temperature. Instead, hatchlings acclimated to relatively warm temperatures have a better performance, supporting the “hotter is better” hypothesis [Current Zoology 59 (6 : 718–724, 2013 ].

  6. Thermal performance enhancement in nanofluids containing diamond nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie Huaqing; Yu Wei; Li Yang

    2009-01-01

    Nanofluids, nanoparticle suspensions prepared by dispersing nanoscale particles in a base fluid, have been gaining interest lately due to their potential to greatly outperform traditional thermal transport liquids. Diamond has the highest thermal transport capacity in nature and diamond particles are often used as filler in mixtures for upgrading the performance of a matrix. It is reasonable to expect that the addition of diamond nanoparticles (DNPs) would lead to thermal performance enhancement in a base fluid. In this study, homogeneous and stable nanofluids composed of DNPs as the inclusions and a mixture of ethylene glycol (EG) and water as base fluid have been prepared. Acid mixtures of perchloric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid were employed to purify and tailor the DNPs to eliminate impurities and to enhance their dispersibilty. Ultrasound and the alkalinity of solution are beneficial to the deaggregation of the soft DNP aggregations. The thermal conductivity enhancement of the DNP nanofluids increases with DNP loading and the thermal conductivity enhancement is more than 18.0% for a nanofluid at a DNP volume fraction of 0.02. Viscosity measurements show that the DNP nanofluids demonstrate Newtonian behaviour, and the viscosity significantly decreases with temperature. With increasing volume fraction of DNPs, the convective heat transfer coefficient increases first, and then decreases with a further increase in the volume fraction of DNPs. The nanofluid with a volume fraction of 0.005 has optimal overall thermal performance.

  7. Estimation of the temperature spatial variability in confined spaces based on thermal imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Augustyn Grzegorz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In developed countries the salaries of office workers are several times higher than the total cost of maintaining and operating the building. Therefore even a small improvement in human work productivity and performance as a result of enhancing the quality of their work environment may lead to a meaningful economic benefits. The air temperature is the most commonly used indicator in assessing the indoor environment quality. What is more, it is well known that thermal comfort has the biggest impact on employees performance and their ability to work efficiently. In majority of office buildings, indoor temperature is managed by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC appliances. However the way how they are currently managed and controlled leads to the nonhomogeneous distribution of temperature in certain space. An approach to determining the spatial variability of temperature in confined spaces was introduced based on thermal imaging temperature measurements. The conducted research and obtained results enabled positive verification of the method and creation of surface plot illustrating the temperature variability.

  8. THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF FLAT PLATE SOLAR COLLECTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TABET I.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a theoretical and experimental studyof flat platesolar water collector with reflectors.A mathematical model based on energy balance equations saw the thermal behavior of the collector is investigated. The experimental test was made at the unit research applies in renewable energy (URAER located in southern Algeria.An increase of 23% for solar radiation incident on the collector surface with the addition of the planers reflectors in the day of May, this increase causes an improvement of the performance of the collector,the fluid temperature increases with an average of 5%. Thetests conducted on the flat plate solar water collector in open circuit enabled the determination of thermal performance of the collector by estimating the daily output The thermal efficiency of the collector ranges from 1% -63% during the day, a mean value of 36%obtained.

  9. Experiment Investigation on Electrical and Thermal Performances of a Semitransparent Photovoltaic/Thermal System with Water Cooling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guiqiang Li

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Different from the semitransparent building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T system with air cooling, the semitransparent BIPV/T system with water cooling is rare, especially based on the silicon solar cells. In this paper, a semitransparent photovoltaic/thermal system (SPV/T with water cooling was set up, which not only would provide the electrical power and hot water, but also could attain the natural illumination for the building. The PV efficiency, thermal efficiency, and exergy analysis were all adopted to illustrate the performance of SPV/T system. The results showed that the PV efficiency and the thermal efficiency were about 11.5% and 39.5%, respectively, on the typical sunny day. Furthermore, the PV and thermal efficiencies fit curves were made to demonstrate the SPV/T performance more comprehensively. The performance analysis indicated that the SPV/T system has a good application prospect for building.

  10. High Performance Flat Plate Solar Thermal Collector Evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rockenbaugh, Caleb [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dean, Jesse [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lovullo, David [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lisell, Lars [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Barker, Greg [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hanckock, Ed [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Norton, Paul [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-09-01

    This report was prepared for the General Services Administration by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Honeycomb Solar Thermal Collector (HSTC) is a flat plate solar thermal collector that shows promising high efficiencies over a wide range of climate zones. The technical objectives of this study are to: 1) verify collector performance, 2) compare that performance to other market-available collectors, 3) verify overheat protection, and 4) analyze the economic performance of the HSTC both at the demonstration sites and across a matrix of climate zones and utility markets.

  11. An Efficient Algorithm for Server Thermal Fault Diagnosis Based on Infrared Image

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hang; Xie, Ting; Ran, Jian; Gao, Shan

    2017-10-01

    It is essential for a data center to maintain server security and stability. Long-time overload operation or high room temperature may cause service disruption even a server crash, which would result in great economic loss for business. Currently, the methods to avoid server outages are monitoring and forecasting. Thermal camera can provide fine texture information for monitoring and intelligent thermal management in large data center. This paper presents an efficient method for server thermal fault monitoring and diagnosis based on infrared image. Initially thermal distribution of server is standardized and the interest regions of the image are segmented manually. Then the texture feature, Hu moments feature as well as modified entropy feature are extracted from the segmented regions. These characteristics are applied to analyze and classify thermal faults, and then make efficient energy-saving thermal management decisions such as job migration. For the larger feature space, the principal component analysis is employed to reduce the feature dimensions, and guarantee high processing speed without losing the fault feature information. Finally, different feature vectors are taken as input for SVM training, and do the thermal fault diagnosis after getting the optimized SVM classifier. This method supports suggestions for optimizing data center management, it can improve air conditioning efficiency and reduce the energy consumption of the data center. The experimental results show that the maximum detection accuracy is 81.5%.

  12. Air-Filled Nanopore Based High-Performance Thermal Insulation Materials

    OpenAIRE

    Gangåssæter, Haakon Fossen; Jelle, Bjørn Petter; Alex Mofid, Sohrab; Gao, Tao

    2017-01-01

    State-of-the-art thermal insulation solutions like vacuum insulation panels (VIP) and aerogels have low thermal conductivity, but their drawbacks may make them unable to be the thermal insulation solutions that will revolutionize the building industry regarding energy-efficient building envelopes. Nevertheless, learning from these materials may be crucial to make new and novel high-performance thermal insulation products. This study presents a review on the state-of-the-art air-filled thermal...

  13. UAV-Based Thermal Imaging for High-Throughput Field Phenotyping of Black Poplar Response to Drought

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riccardo Ludovisi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Poplars are fast-growing, high-yielding forest tree species, whose cultivation as second-generation biofuel crops is of increasing interest and can efficiently meet emission reduction goals. Yet, breeding elite poplar trees for drought resistance remains a major challenge. Worldwide breeding programs are largely focused on intra/interspecific hybridization, whereby Populus nigra L. is a fundamental parental pool. While high-throughput genotyping has resulted in unprecedented capabilities to rapidly decode complex genetic architecture of plant stress resistance, linking genomics to phenomics is hindered by technically challenging phenotyping. Relying on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV-based remote sensing and imaging techniques, high-throughput field phenotyping (HTFP aims at enabling highly precise and efficient, non-destructive screening of genotype performance in large populations. To efficiently support forest-tree breeding programs, ground-truthing observations should be complemented with standardized HTFP. In this study, we develop a high-resolution (leaf level HTFP approach to investigate the response to drought of a full-sib F2 partially inbred population (termed here ‘POP6’, whose F1 was obtained from an intraspecific P. nigra controlled cross between genotypes with highly divergent phenotypes. We assessed the effects of two water treatments (well-watered and moderate drought on a population of 4603 trees (503 genotypes hosted in two adjacent experimental plots (1.67 ha by conducting low-elevation (25 m flights with an aerial drone and capturing 7836 thermal infrared (TIR images. TIR images were undistorted, georeferenced, and orthorectified to obtain radiometric mosaics. Canopy temperature (Tc was extracted using two independent semi-automated segmentation techniques, eCognition- and Matlab-based, to avoid the mixed-pixel problem. Overall, results showed that the UAV platform-based thermal imaging enables to effectively assess genotype

  14. UAV-Based Thermal Imaging for High-Throughput Field Phenotyping of Black Poplar Response to Drought.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludovisi, Riccardo; Tauro, Flavia; Salvati, Riccardo; Khoury, Sacha; Mugnozza Scarascia, Giuseppe; Harfouche, Antoine

    2017-01-01

    Poplars are fast-growing, high-yielding forest tree species, whose cultivation as second-generation biofuel crops is of increasing interest and can efficiently meet emission reduction goals. Yet, breeding elite poplar trees for drought resistance remains a major challenge. Worldwide breeding programs are largely focused on intra/interspecific hybridization, whereby Populus nigra L. is a fundamental parental pool. While high-throughput genotyping has resulted in unprecedented capabilities to rapidly decode complex genetic architecture of plant stress resistance, linking genomics to phenomics is hindered by technically challenging phenotyping. Relying on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based remote sensing and imaging techniques, high-throughput field phenotyping (HTFP) aims at enabling highly precise and efficient, non-destructive screening of genotype performance in large populations. To efficiently support forest-tree breeding programs, ground-truthing observations should be complemented with standardized HTFP. In this study, we develop a high-resolution (leaf level) HTFP approach to investigate the response to drought of a full-sib F 2 partially inbred population (termed here 'POP6'), whose F 1 was obtained from an intraspecific P. nigra controlled cross between genotypes with highly divergent phenotypes. We assessed the effects of two water treatments (well-watered and moderate drought) on a population of 4603 trees (503 genotypes) hosted in two adjacent experimental plots (1.67 ha) by conducting low-elevation (25 m) flights with an aerial drone and capturing 7836 thermal infrared (TIR) images. TIR images were undistorted, georeferenced, and orthorectified to obtain radiometric mosaics. Canopy temperature ( T c ) was extracted using two independent semi-automated segmentation techniques, eCognition- and Matlab-based, to avoid the mixed-pixel problem. Overall, results showed that the UAV platform-based thermal imaging enables to effectively assess genotype

  15. Performance reliability prediction for thermal aging based on kalman filtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren Shuhong; Wen Zhenhua; Xue Fei; Zhao Wensheng

    2015-01-01

    The performance reliability of the nuclear power plant main pipeline that failed due to thermal aging was studied by the performance degradation theory. Firstly, through the data obtained from the accelerated thermal aging experiments, the degradation process of the impact strength and fracture toughness of austenitic stainless steel material of the main pipeline was analyzed. The time-varying performance degradation model based on the state space method was built, and the performance trends were predicted by using Kalman filtering. Then, the multi-parameter and real-time performance reliability prediction model for the main pipeline thermal aging was developed by considering the correlation between the impact properties and fracture toughness, and by using the stochastic process theory. Thus, the thermal aging performance reliability and reliability life of the main pipeline with multi-parameter were obtained, which provides the scientific basis for the optimization management of the aging maintenance decision making for nuclear power plant main pipelines. (authors)

  16. Protection Heater Design Validation for the LARP Magnets Using Thermal Imaging

    CERN Document Server

    Marchevsky, M; Cheng, D W; Felice, H; Sabbi, G; Salmi, T; Stenvall, A; Chlachidze, G; Ambrosio, G; Ferracin, P; Izquierdo Bermudez, S; Perez, J C; Todesco, E

    2016-01-01

    Protection heaters are essential elements of a quench protection scheme for high-field accelerator magnets. Various heater designs fabricated by LARP and CERN have been already tested in the LARP high-field quadrupole HQ and presently being built into the coils of the high-field quadrupole MQXF. In order to compare the heat flow characteristics and thermal diffusion timescales of different heater designs, we powered heaters of two different geometries in ambient conditions and imaged the resulting thermal distributions using a high-sensitivity thermal video camera. We observed a peculiar spatial periodicity in the temperature distribution maps potentially linked to the structure of the underlying cable. Two-dimensional numerical simulation of heat diffusion and spatial heat distribution have been conducted, and the results of simulation and experiment have been compared. Imaging revealed hot spots due to a current concentration around high curvature points of heater strip of varying cross sections and visuali...

  17. Thermal imaging experiments on ANACONDA ion beam generator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Weihua; Yatsui, Kiyoshi [Nagaoka University of Technology (Japan). Lab. of Beam Technology; Olson, C J; Davis, H A [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    1997-12-31

    The thermal imaging technique was used in two experimental measurements. First, the ion intensity distribution on the anode surface was observed from different angles by using a multi-pinhole camera. Second, the plume from a target intercepting the beam was visualized by observing the distribution of temperature increase on a thin plate hit by the plume. (author). 6 figs., 4 refs.

  18. Thermal neutron imaging with rare-earth-ion-doped LiCaAlF{sub 6} scintillators and a sealed {sup 252}Cf source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawaguchi, Noriaki, E-mail: famicom@mail.tagen.tohoku.ac.jp [Tokuyama Corporation, Shibuya 3-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8383 (Japan); IMRAM, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan); Yanagida, Takayuki; Fujimoto, Yutaka; Yokota, Yuui; Kamada, Kei [IMRAM, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan); Fukuda, Kentaro; Suyama, Toshihisa [Tokuyama Corporation, Shibuya 3-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8383 (Japan); Watanabe, Kenichi; Yamazaki, Atsushi [Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Chani, Valery [IMRAM, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan); Yoshikawa, Akira [IMRAM, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan); New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan)

    2011-10-01

    Thermal neutron imaging with Ce-doped LiCaAlF{sub 6} crystals has been performed. The prototype of the neutron imager using a Ce-doped LiCaAlF{sub 6} scintillating crystal and a position sensitive photomultiplier tube (PSPMT) which had 64 multi-channel anode was developed. The Ce-doped LiCaAlF{sub 6} single crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. A plate with dimensions of a diameter of 50x2 mm{sup 2} was cut from the grown crystal, polished, and optically coupled to PSPMT by silicone grease. The {sup 252}Cf source (<1 MBq) was sealed with 43 mm of polyethylene for neutron thermalization. Alphabet-shaped Cd pieces with a thickness of 2 mm were used as a mask for the thermal neutrons. After corrections for the pedestals and gain of each pixel, we successfully obtained two-dimensional neutron images using Ce-doped LiCaAlF{sub 6}.

  19. A Novel, Aqueous Surface Treatment To Thermally Stabilize High Resolution Positive Photoresist Images*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grunwald, John J.; Spencer, Allen C.

    1986-07-01

    The paper describes a new approach to thermally stabilize the already imaged profile of high resolution positive photoresists such as ULTRAMAC" PR-914. ***XD-4000, an aqueous emulsion of a blend of fluorine-bearing compounds is spun on top of the developed, positive photoresist-imaged wafer, and baked. This allows the photoresist to withstand temperatures up to at least 175 deg. C. while essentially maintaining vertical edge profiles. Also, adverse effects of "outgassing" in harsh environments, ie., plasma and ion implant are greatly minimized by allowing the high resolution imaged photoresist to be post-baked at "elevated" temperatures. Another type of product that accomplishes the same effect is ***XD-4005, an aqueous emulsion of a high temperature-resistant polymer. While the exact mechanism is yet to be identified, it is postulated that absorption of the "polymeric" species into the "skin" of the imaged resist forms a temperature resistant "envelope", thereby allowing high resolution photoresists to also serve in a "high temperature" mode, without reticulation, or other adverse effects due to thermal degradation. SEM's are presented showing imaged ULTRAMAC" PR-914 and ULTRAMAC" **EPA-914 geometries coated with XD-4000 or XD-4005 and followed by plasma etched oxide,polysilicon and aluminum. Selectivity ratios are compared with and without the novel treatment and are shown to be significantly better with the treatment. The surface-treated photoresist for thermal resistance remains easily strippable in solvent-based or plasma media, unlike photoresists that have undergone "PRIST" or other gaseous thermal stabilization methods.

  20. A Facile Approach to Evaluate Thermal Insulation Performance of Paper Cups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yudi Kuang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Paper cups are ubiquitous in daily life for serving water, soup, coffee, tea, and milk due to their convenience, biodegradability, recyclability, and sustainability. The thermal insulation performance of paper cups is of significance because they are used to supply hot food or drinks. Using an effective thermal conductivity to accurately evaluate the thermal insulation performance of paper cups is complex due to the inclusion of complicated components and a multilayer structure. Moreover, an effective thermal conductivity is unsuitable for evaluating thermal insulation performance of paper cups in the case of fluctuating temperature. In this work, we propose a facile approach to precisely analyze the thermal insulation performance of paper cups in a particular range of temperature by using an evaluation model based on the MISO (Multiple-Input Single-Output technical theory, which includes a characterization parameter (temperature factor and a measurement apparatus. A series of experiments was conducted according to this evaluation model, and the results show that this evaluation model enables accurate characterization of the thermal insulation performance of paper cups and provides an efficient theoretical basis for selecting paper materials for paper cups.

  1. Near-IR imaging of thermal changes in enamel during laser ablation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maung, Linn H.; Lee, Chulsung; Fried, Daniel

    2010-02-01

    The objective of this work was to observe the various thermal-induced optical changes that occur in the near-infrared (NIR) during drilling in dentin and enamel with the laser and the high-speed dental handpiece. Tooth sections of ~ 3 mm-thickness were prepared from extracted human incisors (N=60). Samples were ablated with a mechanically scanned CO2 laser operating at a wavelength of 9.3-μm, a 300-Hz laser pulse repetition rate, and a laser pulse duration of 10-20 μs. An InGaAs imaging camera was used to acquire real-time NIR images at 1300-nm of thermal and mechanical changes (cracks). Enamel was rapidly removed by the CO2 laser without peripheral thermal damage by mechanically scanning the laser beam while a water spray was used to cool the sample. Comparison of the peripheral thermal and mechanical changes produced while cutting with the laser and the high-speed hand-piece suggest that enamel and dentin can be removed at high speed by the CO2 laser without excessive peripheral thermal or mechanical damage. Only 2 of the 15 samples ablated with the laser showed the formation of small cracks while 9 out of 15 samples exhibited crack formation with the dental hand-piece. The first indication of thermal change is a decrease in transparency due to loss of the mobile water from pores in the enamel which increase lightscattering. To test the hypothesis that peripheral thermal changes were caused by loss of mobile water in the enamel, thermal changes were intentionally induced by heating the surface. The mean attenuation coefficient of enamel increased significantly from 2.12 +/- 0.82 to 5.08 +/- 0.98 with loss of mobile water due to heating.

  2. Integrated homeland security system with passive thermal imaging and advanced video analytics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francisco, Glen; Tillman, Jennifer; Hanna, Keith; Heubusch, Jeff; Ayers, Robert

    2007-04-01

    A complete detection, management, and control security system is absolutely essential to preempting criminal and terrorist assaults on key assets and critical infrastructure. According to Tom Ridge, former Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, "Voluntary efforts alone are not sufficient to provide the level of assurance Americans deserve and they must take steps to improve security." Further, it is expected that Congress will mandate private sector investment of over $20 billion in infrastructure protection between 2007 and 2015, which is incremental to funds currently being allocated to key sites by the department of Homeland Security. Nearly 500,000 individual sites have been identified by the US Department of Homeland Security as critical infrastructure sites that would suffer severe and extensive damage if a security breach should occur. In fact, one major breach in any of 7,000 critical infrastructure facilities threatens more than 10,000 people. And one major breach in any of 123 facilities-identified as "most critical" among the 500,000-threatens more than 1,000,000 people. Current visible, nightvision or near infrared imaging technology alone has limited foul-weather viewing capability, poor nighttime performance, and limited nighttime range. And many systems today yield excessive false alarms, are managed by fatigued operators, are unable to manage the voluminous data captured, or lack the ability to pinpoint where an intrusion occurred. In our 2006 paper, "Critical Infrastructure Security Confidence Through Automated Thermal Imaging", we showed how a highly effective security solution can be developed by integrating what are now available "next-generation technologies" which include: Thermal imaging for the highly effective detection of intruders in the dark of night and in challenging weather conditions at the sensor imaging level - we refer to this as the passive thermal sensor level detection building block Automated software detection

  3. Thermal imaging method to visualize a hidden painting thermally excited by far infrared radiations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davin, T.; Wang, X.; Chabane, A.; Pawelko, R.; Guida, G.; Serio, B.; Hervé, P.

    2015-06-01

    The diagnosis of hidden painting is a major issue for cultural heritage. In this paper, a non-destructive active infrared thermographic technique was considered to reveal paintings covered by a lime layer. An extended infrared spectral range radiation was used as the excitation source. The external long wave infrared energy source delivered to the surface is then propagated through the material until it encounters a painting zone. Due to several thermal effects, the sample surface then presents non-uniformity patterns. Using a high sensitive infrared camera, the presence of covered pigments can thus be highlighted by the analysis of the non-stationary phenomena. Reconstituted thermal contrast images of mural samples covered by a lime layer are shown.

  4. Study of skin model and geometry effects on thermal performance of thermal protective fabrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Fanglong; Ma, Suqin; Zhang, Weiyuan

    2008-05-01

    Thermal protective clothing has steadily improved over the years as new materials and improved designs have reached the market. A significant method that has brought these improvements to the fire service is the NFPA 1971 standard on structural fire fighters’ protective clothing. However, this testing often neglects the effects of cylindrical geometry on heat transmission in flame resistant fabrics. This paper deals with methods to develop cylindrical geometry testing apparatus incorporating novel skin bioheat transfer model to test flame resistant fabrics used in firefighting. Results show that fabrics which shrink during the test can have reduced thermal protective performance compared with the qualities measured with a planar geometry tester. Results of temperature differences between skin simulant sensors of planar and cylindrical tester are also compared. This test method provides a new technique to accurately and precisely characterize the thermal performance of thermal protective fabrics.

  5. Emission and thermal performance upgrade through advanced control backfit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Banerjee, A.K. [Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation, Boston, MA (United States)

    1994-12-31

    Reducing emission and improving thermal performance of currently operating power plants is a high priority. A majority of these power plants are over 20 years old with old control systems. Upgrading the existing control systems with the latest technology has many benefits, the most cost beneficial are the reduction of emission and improving thermal performance. The payback period is usually less than two years. Virginia Power is installing Stone & Webster`s NO{sub x} Emissions Advisor and Advanced Steam Temperature Control systems on Possum Point Units 3 and 4 to achieve near term NO{sub x} reductions while maintaining high thermal performance. Testing has demonstrated NO{sub x} reductions of greater than 20 percent through the application of NO{sub x} Emissions Advisor on these units. The Advanced Steam Temperature Control system which has been operational at Virginia Power`s Mt. Storm Unit 1 has demonstrated a signification improvement in unit thermal performance and controllability. These control systems are being combined at Units 3 and 4 to reduce NO{sub x} emissions and achieve improved unit thermal performance and control response with the existing combustion hardware. Installation has been initiated and is expected to be completed by the spring of 1995. Possum Point Power Station Units 3 and 4 are pulverized coal, tangentially fired boilers producing 107 and 232 MW and have a distributed control system and a PC based performance monitoring system. The installation of the advanced control and automation system will utilize existing control equipment requiring the addition of several PCs and PLC.

  6. Pest damage assessment in fruits and vegetables using thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vadakkapattu Canthadai, Badrinath; Muthuraju, M. Esakki; Pachava, Vengalrao; Sengupta, Dipankar

    2015-05-01

    In some fruits and vegetables, it is difficult to visually identify the ones which are pest infested. This particular aspect is important for quarantine and commercial operations. In this article, we propose to present the results of a novel technique using thermal imaging camera to detect the nature and extent of pest damage in fruits and vegetables, besides indicating the level of maturity and often the presence of the pest. Our key idea relies on the fact that there is a difference in the heat capacity of normal and damaged ones and also observed the change in surface temperature over time that is slower in damaged ones. This paper presents the concept of non-destructive evaluation using thermal imaging technique for identifying pest damage levels of fruits and vegetables based on investigations carried out on random samples collected from a local market.

  7. Thermal performances of ETFE cushion roof integrated amorphous silicon photovoltaic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Jianhui; Chen, Wujun; Qiu, Zhenyu; Zhao, Bing; Zhou, Jinyu; Qu, Yegao

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermal performances of a three layer ETFE cushion integrated a-Si PV is evaluated. • Temperature of a-Si PV obviously affects temperature field and temperature boundary. • The maximum temperature difference of 3.4 K between measured and numerical results. • Main transport mechanisms in upper and lower chambers are convection and conduction. • Heat transfer coefficients of this roof are less than those of other ETFE cushion roofs. - Abstract: Thermal performances of the ETFE cushion roof integrated amorphous silicon photovoltaic (a-Si PV) are essential to estimate building performances, such as temperature distribution and heat transfer coefficient. To investigate these thermal performances, an experimental mock-up composed of a-Si PV and a three-layer ETFE cushion roof was built and the experiment was carried out under summer sunny condition. Meanwhile, numerical model with real boundary conditions was performed in this paper. The experimental results show that the temperature sequence of the three layers was the middle, top and bottom layer and that the PV temperature caused by solar irradiance was 353.8 K. This gives evidence that the PV has a significant effect on the temperature distribution. The experimental temperature was in good agreement with the corresponding location of the numerical temperature since the maximum temperature difference was only 3.4 K. Therefore, the numerical results were justified and then used to analyze the airflow characteristics and calculate the thermal performances. For the airflow characteristics, it is found that the temperature distribution was not uniform and the main transport mechanisms in the upper and lower chambers formed by the three layers were the convection and conduction, respectively. For the thermal performances, the surface convective heat transfer coefficients were obtained, which have validated that thermal performances of the three-layer ETFE cushion integrated a-Si PV are better than

  8. Thermal fluctuation based study of aqueous deficient dry eyes by non-invasive thermal imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azharuddin, Mohammad; Bera, Sumanta Kr; Datta, Himadri; Dasgupta, Anjan Kr

    2014-03-01

    In this paper we have studied the thermal fluctuation patterns occurring at the ocular surface of the left and right eyes for aqueous deficient dry eye (ADDE) patients and control subjects by thermal imaging. We conducted our experiment on 42 patients (84 eyes) with aqueous deficient dry eyes and compared with 36 healthy volunteers (72 eyes) without any history of ocular surface disorder. Schirmer's test, Tear Break-up Time, tear Meniscus height and fluorescein staining tests were conducted. Ocular surface temperature measurement was done, using an FL-IR thermal camera and thermal fluctuation in left and right eyes was calculated and analyzed using MATLAB. The time series containing the sum of squares of the temperature fluctuation on the ocular surface were compared for aqueous deficient dry eye and control subjects. Significant statistical difference between the fluctuation patterns for control and ADDE was observed (p eyes are significantly correlated in controls but not in ADDE subjects. The possible origin of such correlation in control and lack of correlation in the ADDE subjects is discussed in the text. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Thermal performances of molten salt steam generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan, Yibo; He, Canming; Lu, Jianfeng; Ding, Jing

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermal performances of molten salt steam generator were experimentally studied. • Overall heat transfer coefficient reached maximum with optimal molten salt flow rate. • Energy efficiency first rose and then decreased with salt flow rate and temperature. • Optimal molten salt flow rate and temperature existed for good thermal performance. • High inlet water temperature benefited steam generating rate and energy efficiency. - Abstract: Molten salt steam generator is the key technology for thermal energy conversion from high temperature molten salt to steam, and it is used in solar thermal power station and molten salt reactor. A shell and tube type molten salt steam generator was set up, and its thermal performance and heat transfer mechanism were studied. As a coupling heat transfer process, molten salt steam generation is mainly affected by molten salt convective heat transfer and boiling heat transfer, while its energy efficiency is also affected by the heat loss. As molten salt temperature increased, the energy efficiency first rose with the increase of heat flow absorbed by water/steam, and then slightly decreased for large heat loss as the absorbed heat flow still rising. At very high molten salt temperature, the absorbed heat flow decreased as boiling heat transfer coefficient dropping, and then the energy efficiency quickly dropped. As the inlet water temperature increased, the boiling region in the steam generator remarkably expanded, and then the steam generation rate and energy efficiency both rose with the overall heat transfer coefficient increasing. As the molten salt flow rate increased, the wall temperature rose and the boiling heat transfer coefficient first increased and then decreased according to the boiling curve, so the overall heat transfer coefficient first increased and then decreased, and then the steam generation rate and energy efficiency of steam generator both had maxima.

  10. The Fuel Performance Analysis of LWR Fuel containing High Thermal Conductivity Reinforcements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seung Su; Ryu, Ho Jin

    2015-01-01

    The thermal conductivity of fuel affects many performance parameters including the fuel centerline temperature, fission gas release and internal pressure. In addition, enhanced safety margin of fuel might be expected when the thermal conductivity of fuel is improved by the addition of high thermal conductivity reinforcements. Therefore, the effects of thermal conductivity enhancement on the fuel performance of reinforced UO2 fuel with high thermal conductivity compounds should be analyzed. In this study, we analyzed the fuel performance of modified UO2 fuel with high thermal conductivity reinforcements by using the FRAPCON-3.5 code. The fissile density and mechanical properties of the modified fuel are considered the same with the standard UO2 fuel. The fuel performance of modified UO2 with high thermal conductivity reinforcements were analyzed by using the FRAPCON-3.5 code. The thermal conductivity enhancement factors of the modified fuels were obtained from the Maxwell model considering the volume fraction of reinforcements

  11. Thermal performance analysis of a solar heating plant

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fan, Jianhua; Huang, Junpeng; Andersen, Ola Lie

    was developed to calculate thermal performances of the plant. In the Trnsys model, three solar collector fields with a total solar collector area of 33,300 m2, a seasonal water pit heat storage of 75,000 m3, a simplified CO2 HP, a simplified ORC unit and a simplified wood chip boiler were included. The energy......Detailed measurements were carried out on a large scale solar heating plant located in southern Denmark in order to evaluate thermal performances of the plant. Based on the measurements, energy flows of the plant were evaluated. A modified Trnsys model of the Marstal solar heating plant...... consumption of the district heating net was modeled by volume flow rate and given forward and return temperatures of the district heating net. Weather data from a weather station at the site of the plant were used in the calculations. The Trnsys calculated yearly thermal performance of the solar heating plant...

  12. Provisional maps of thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park, based on satellite thermal infrared imaging and field observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, R. Greg; Heasler, Henry; Jaworowski, Cheryl; Lowenstern, Jacob B.; Keszthelyi, Laszlo P.

    2014-01-01

    Maps that define the current distribution of geothermally heated ground are useful toward setting a baseline for thermal activity to better detect and understand future anomalous hydrothermal and (or) volcanic activity. Monitoring changes in the dynamic thermal areas also supports decisions regarding the development of Yellowstone National Park infrastructure, preservation and protection of park resources, and ensuring visitor safety. Because of the challenges associated with field-based monitoring of a large, complex geothermal system that is spread out over a large and remote area, satellite-based thermal infrared images from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) were used to map the location and spatial extent of active thermal areas, to generate thermal anomaly maps, and to quantify the radiative component of the total geothermal heat flux. ASTER thermal infrared data acquired during winter nights were used to minimize the contribution of solar heating of the surface. The ASTER thermal infrared mapping results were compared to maps of thermal areas based on field investigations and high-resolution aerial photos. Field validation of the ASTER thermal mapping is an ongoing task. The purpose of this report is to make available ASTER-based maps of Yellowstone’s thermal areas. We include an appendix containing the names and characteristics of Yellowstone’s thermal areas, georeferenced TIFF files containing ASTER thermal imagery, and several spatial data sets in Esri shapefile format.

  13. Toward automated face detection in thermal and polarimetric thermal imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Christopher; Acosta, Mark; Short, Nathan; Hu, Shuowen; Chan, Alex L.

    2016-05-01

    Visible spectrum face detection algorithms perform pretty reliably under controlled lighting conditions. However, variations in illumination and application of cosmetics can distort the features used by common face detectors, thereby degrade their detection performance. Thermal and polarimetric thermal facial imaging are relatively invariant to illumination and robust to the application of makeup, due to their measurement of emitted radiation instead of reflected light signals. The objective of this work is to evaluate a government off-the-shelf wavelet based naïve-Bayes face detection algorithm and a commercial off-the-shelf Viola-Jones cascade face detection algorithm on face imagery acquired in different spectral bands. New classifiers were trained using the Viola-Jones cascade object detection framework with preprocessed facial imagery. Preprocessing using Difference of Gaussians (DoG) filtering reduces the modality gap between facial signatures across the different spectral bands, thus enabling more correlated histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) features to be extracted from the preprocessed thermal and visible face images. Since the availability of training data is much more limited in the thermal spectrum than in the visible spectrum, it is not feasible to train a robust multi-modal face detector using thermal imagery alone. A large training dataset was constituted with DoG filtered visible and thermal imagery, which was subsequently used to generate a custom trained Viola-Jones detector. A 40% increase in face detection rate was achieved on a testing dataset, as compared to the performance of a pre-trained/baseline face detector. Insights gained in this research are valuable in the development of more robust multi-modal face detectors.

  14. Remote measurement of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry (PIV) and various sources of bathymetric information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legleiter, Carl; Kinzel, Paul J.; Nelson, Jonathan M.

    2017-01-01

    Although river discharge is a fundamental hydrologic quantity, conventional methods of streamgaging are impractical, expensive, and potentially dangerous in remote locations. This study evaluated the potential for measuring discharge via various forms of remote sensing, primarily thermal imaging of flow velocities but also spectrally-based depth retrieval from passive optical image data. We acquired thermal image time series from bridges spanning five streams in Alaska and observed strong agreement between velocities measured in situ and those inferred by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), which quantified advection of thermal features by the flow. The resulting surface velocities were converted to depth-averaged velocities by applying site-specific, calibrated velocity indices. Field spectra from three clear-flowing streams provided strong relationships between depth and reflectance, suggesting that, under favorable conditions, spectrally-based bathymetric mapping could complement thermal PIV in a hybrid approach to remote sensing of river discharge; this strategy would not be applicable to larger, more turbid rivers, however. A more flexible and efficient alternative might involve inferring depth from thermal data based on relationships between depth and integral length scales of turbulent fluctuations in temperature, captured as variations in image brightness. We observed moderately strong correlations for a site-aggregated data set that reduced station-to-station variability but encompassed a broad range of depths. Discharges calculated using thermal PIV-derived velocities were within 15% of in situ measurements when combined with depths measured directly in the field or estimated from field spectra and within 40% when the depth information also was derived from thermal images. The results of this initial, proof-of-concept investigation suggest that remote sensing techniques could facilitate measurement of river discharge.

  15. Dynamic thermal performance of alveolar brick construction system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gracia, A. de; Castell, A.; Medrano, M.; Cabeza, L.F.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Even though U-value does not measure thermal inertia, it is the commonly used parameter. → The thermal performance analysis of buildings must include the evaluation of transient parameters. → Transient parameters of alveolar brick constructive system show good agreement with its low energy consumption. -- Abstract: Alveolar bricks are being introduced in building sector due to the simplicity of their construction system and to the elimination of the insulation material. Nevertheless, it is not clear if this new system is energetically efficient and which is its thermal behaviour. This paper presents an experimental and theoretical study to evaluate the thermal behaviour of the alveolar brick construction system, compared with a traditional Mediterranean brick system with insulation. The experimental study consists of measuring the thermal performance of four real house-like cubicles. The thermal transmittance in steady-state, also known as U-value, is calculated theoretically and experimentally for each cubicle, presenting the insulated cubicles as the best construction system, with differences around 45% in comparison to the alveolar one. On the other hand, experimental results show significantly smaller differences on the energy consumption between the alveolar and insulated construction systems during summer period (around 13% higher for the alveolar cubicle). These values demonstrate the high thermal efficiency of the alveolar system. In addition, the lack of agreement between the measured energy consumption and the calculated U-values, guides the authors to analyze the thermal inertia of the different building components. Therefore, several transient parameters, extracted from the heat transfer matrix and from experimental data, are also evaluated. It can be concluded that the alveolar brick construction system presents higher thermal inertia than the insulated one, justifying the low measured energy consumption.

  16. Study of the electrical and thermal performances of photovoltaic thermal collector-compound parabolic concentrated

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahed Hameed Jaaz

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The importance of utilizing the solar energy as a very suitable source among multi-source approaches to replace the conventional energy is on the rise in the last four decades. The invention of the photovoltaic module (PV could be the corner stone in this process. However, the limited amount of energy obtained from PV was and still the main challenge of full utilization of the solar energy. In this paper, the use of the compound parabolic concentrator (CPC along with the thermal photovoltaic module (PVT where the cooling process of the CPC is conducted using a novel technique of water jet impingement has applied experimentally and physically tested. The test includes the effect of water jet impingement on the total power, electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency, and total efficiency on CPC-PVT system. The cooling process at the maximum irradiation by water jet impingement resulted in improving the electrical efficiency by 7%, total output power by 31% and the thermal efficiency by 81%. These results outperform the recent highest results recorded by the most recent work. Keywords: Photovoltaic thermal collectors, Electrical performance, Thermal performance, Compound parabolic concentrator, Jet impingement

  17. Investigation of Thermal Performance for Atria: a Method Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moosavi Leila

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The importance of low energy design in large buildings has encouraged researchers to implement different methods for predicting a building’s thermal performance. Atria, as energy efficient features, have been implemented to improve the indoor thermal environment in large modern buildings. Though widely implemented, the thorough study of atrium performance is restricted due to its large size, complex thermodynamic behavior and the inaccuracies and limitations of available prediction tools. This study reviews the most common research tools implemented in previous researches on atria thermal performance, to explore the advantages and limitation of different methods for future studies. The methods reviewed are analytical, experimental, computer modelling and a combination of any or all of these methods. The findings showed that CFD (computational fluid dynamic models are the most popular tools of recent due to their higher accuracy, capabilities and user-friendly modification. Although the experimental methods were reliable for predicting atria thermal and ventilation performance, they have mostly been used to provide data for validation of CFD models. Furthermore, coupling CFD with other experimental models could increase the reliability and accuracy of the models and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

  18. Performance testing of thermal analysis codes for nuclear fuel casks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez, L.C.

    1987-01-01

    In 1982 Sandia National Laboratories held the First Industry/Government Joint Thermal and Structural Codes Information Exchange and presented the initial stages of an investigation of thermal analysis computer codes for use in the design of nuclear fuel shipping casks. The objective of the investigation was to (1) document publicly available computer codes, (2) assess code capabilities as determined from their user's manuals, and (3) assess code performance on cask-like model problems. Computer codes are required to handle the thermal phenomena of conduction, convection and radiation. Several of the available thermal computer codes were tested on a set of model problems to assess performance on cask-like problems. Solutions obtained with the computer codes for steady-state thermal analysis were in good agreement and the solutions for transient thermal analysis differed slightly among the computer codes due to modeling differences

  19. TIRCIS: A Thermal Infrared, Compact Imaging Spectrometer for Small Satellite Applications

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This project will demonstrate how hyperspectral thermal infrared (TIR; 8-14 microns) image data, with a spectral resolution of up to 8 wavenumbers, can be acquired...

  20. Numerical investigation of temperature distribution and thermal performance while charging-discharging thermal energy in aquifer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganguly, Sayantan; Mohan Kumar, M.S.; Date, Abhijit; Akbarzadeh, Aliakbar

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A 3D coupled thermo-hydrogeological numerical model of an ATES system is presented. • Importance of a few parameters involved in the study is determined. • Thermal energy discharge by the ATES system for two seasons is estimated. • A strategy and a safe well spacing are proposed to avoid thermal interference. • The proposed model is applied to simulate a real life ATES field study. - Abstract: A three-dimensional (3D) coupled thermo-hydrogeological numerical model for a confined aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system underlain and overlain by rock media has been presented in this paper. The ATES system operates in cyclic mode. The model takes into account heat transport processes of advection, conduction and heat loss to confining rock media. The model also includes regional groundwater flow in the aquifer in the longitudinal and lateral directions, geothermal gradient and anisotropy in the aquifer. Results show that thermal injection into the aquifer results in the generation of a thermal-front which grows in size with time. The thermal interference caused by the premature thermal-breakthrough when the thermal-front reaches the production well results in the fall of system performance and hence should be avoided. This study models the transient temperature distribution in the aquifer for different flow and geological conditions which may be effectively used in designing an efficient ATES project by ensuring safety from thermal-breakthrough while catering to the energy demand. Parameter studies are also performed which reveals that permeability of the confining rocks; well spacing and injection temperature are important parameters which influence transient heat transport in the subsurface porous media. Based on the simulations here a safe well spacing is proposed. The thermal energy produced by the system in two seasons is estimated for four different cases and strategy to avoid the premature thermal-breakthrough in critical cases is

  1. Detecting hepatic steatosis using ultrasound-induced thermal strain imaging: an ex vivo animal study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahmoud, Ahmed M; Ding, Xuan; Dutta, Debaditya; Kim, Kang; Singh, Vijay P

    2014-01-01

    Hepatic steatosis or fatty liver disease occurs when lipids accumulate within the liver and can lead to steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer and eventual liver failure requiring liver transplant. Conventional brightness mode (B-mode) ultrasound (US) is the most common noninvasive diagnostic imaging modality used to diagnose hepatic steatosis in clinics. However, it is mostly subjective or requires a reference organ such as the kidney or spleen with which to compare. This comparison can be problematic when the reference organ is diseased or absent. The current work presents an alternative approach to noninvasively detecting liver fat content using US-induced thermal strain imaging (US-TSI). This technique is based on the difference in the change in the speed of sound as a function of temperature between water- and lipid-based tissues. US-TSI was conducted using two system configurations including a mid-frequency scanner with a single linear array transducer (5–14 MHz) for both imaging and heating and a high-frequency (13–24 MHz) small animal imaging system combined with a separate custom-designed US heating transducer array. Fatty livers (n = 10) with high fat content (45.6 ± 11.7%) from an obese mouse model and control livers (n = 10) with low fat content (4.8 ± 2.9%) from wild-type mice were embedded in gelatin. Then, US imaging was performed before and after US induced heating. Heating time periods of ∼3 s and ∼9.2 s were used for the mid-frequency imaging and high-frequency imaging systems, respectively, to induce temperature changes of approximately 1.5 °C. The apparent echo shifts that were induced as a result of sound speed change were estimated using 2D phase-sensitive speckle tracking. Following US-TSI, histology was performed to stain lipids and measure percentage fat in the mouse livers. Thermal strain measurements in fatty livers (−0.065 ± 0.079%) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those measured in control livers (−0.124

  2. Multi-material classification of dry recyclables from municipal solid waste based on thermal imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundupalli, Sathish Paulraj; Hait, Subrata; Thakur, Atul

    2017-12-01

    There has been a significant rise in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in the last few decades due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Due to the lack of source segregation practice, a need for automated segregation of recyclables from MSW exists in the developing countries. This paper reports a thermal imaging based system for classifying useful recyclables from simulated MSW sample. Experimental results have demonstrated the possibility to use thermal imaging technique for classification and a robotic system for sorting of recyclables in a single process step. The reported classification system yields an accuracy in the range of 85-96% and is comparable with the existing single-material recyclable classification techniques. We believe that the reported thermal imaging based system can emerge as a viable and inexpensive large-scale classification-cum-sorting technology in recycling plants for processing MSW in developing countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Contribution of thermal infrared images on the understanding of the subsurface/atmosphere exchanges on Earth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez, Teodolina; Antoine, Raphaël; Baratoux, David; Rabinowicz, Michel

    2017-04-01

    High temporal resolution of space-based thermal infrared images (METEOSAT, MODIS) and the development of field thermal cameras have permitted the development of thermal remote sensing in Earth Sciences. Thermal images are influenced by many factors such as atmosphere, solar radiation, topography and physico-chemical properties of the surface. However, considering these limitations, we have discovered that thermal images can be used in order to better understand subsurface hydrology. In order to reduce as much as possible the impact of these perturbing factors, our approach combine 1) field observations and 2) numerical modelling of surface/subsurface thermal processes. Thermal images of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano (Réunion Island), acquired by hand, show that the Formica Leo inactive scoria cone and some fractures close to the Bory-Dolomieu caldera are always warmer, inducing a thermal difference with the surrounding of at least 5°C and a Self-Potential anomaly [1, 2]. Topography cannot explain this thermal behaviour, but Piton de la Fournaise is known as highly permeable. This fact allows the development of an air convection within the whole permeable structure volcanic edifice [2]. Cold air enters the base of the volcano, and exits warmer upslope, as the air is warmed by the geothermal flow [1,2]. Then, we have decided to understand the interaction between subsurface hydrogeological flows and the humidity in the atmosphere. In the Lake Chad basin, regions on both sides of Lake Chad present a different thermal behaviour during the diurnal cycle and between seasons [3]. We propose that this thermal behaviour can only be explained by lateral variations of the surface permeability that directly impact the process of evaporation/condensation cycle. These studies bring new highlights on the understanding of the exchanges between subsurface and the atmosphere, as the presence of a very permeable media and/or variations of the surface permeability may enhance or

  4. The thermal performance of earth buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heathcote, K.

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the theoretical basis for the thermal performance of earth walls and links it to some test results on buildings constructed by the author, and to their predicted performance using a sophisticated computer modelling program. The analysis shows that for all earth walls the steady state thermal resistance is low but that for walls greater than about 450 mm thick the cyclic thermal resistance is high and increases exponentially. Whilst the steady state resistance of all thickness walls is low and results in higher than normal average temperatures in summer and lower than normal in winter the ability of thick earth walls to even out the swings in temperature is thought to be responsible for the materials reputation. The paper notes that good passive design principles (such as providing internal thermal mass and large areas of glazing for winter performance will greatly improve the performance of earth buildings with thin walls, but it is the author’s opinion that external earth walls should be at least 450 mm thick to gain the full benefit of thermal mass.

    Este artículo examina la base teórica del comportamiento térmico de las paredes de tierra y la relaciona con varios resultados de test realizados sobre edificios construidos por el autor, y con su comportamiento previsto utilizando un sofisticado programa de modelado por ordenador. El análisis muestra que la resistencia térmica constante es baja para todas las paredes de tierra, pero que para muros con un grosor mayor que 450 mm la resistencia térmica cíclica es alta y se incrementa exponencialmente. Mientras que la resistencia térmica constante de las paredes de cualquier grosor es baja y se traduce en temperaturas más altas que la media en verano y más bajas que la media en invierno, la capacidad de las paredes gruesas de tierra para amortiguar las variaciones de temperatura es la responsable de la reputación de los materiales. El artículo señala que los

  5. Thermal comfort, physiological responses and performance during exposure to a moderate temperature drift

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schellen, Lisje; van Marken Lichtenbelt, Wouter; de Wit, Martin

    2008-01-01

    The objective of this research was to study the effects of a moderate temperature drift on human thermal comfort, physiological responses, productivity and performance. A dynamic thermophysiological model was used to examine the possibility of simulating human thermal responses and thermal comfort...... temperature corresponding with a neutral thermal sensation (control situation). During the experiments both physiological responses and thermal sensation were measured. Productivity and performance were assessed with a ‘Remote Performance Measurement’ (RPM) method. Physiological and thermal sensation data...

  6. The imaging performance of the SRC on Mars Express

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oberst, J.; Schwarz, G.; Behnke, T.; Hoffmann, H.; Matz, K.-D.; Flohrer, J.; Hirsch, H.; Roatsch, T.; Scholten, F.; Hauber, E.; Brinkmann, B.; Jaumann, R.; Williams, D.; Kirk, R.; Duxbury, T.; Leu, C.; Neukum, G.

    2008-01-01

    The Mars Express spacecraft carries the pushbroom scanner high-resolution stereo camera (HRSC) and its added imaging subsystem super resolution channel (SRC). The SRC is equipped with its own optical system and a 1024??1024 framing sensor. SRC produces snapshots with 2.3 m ground pixel size from the nominal spacecraft pericenter height of 250 km, which are typically embedded in the central part of the large HRSC scenes. The salient features of the SRC are its light-weight optics, a reliable CCD detector, and high-speed read-out electronics. The quality and effective visibility of details in the SRC images unfortunately falls short of what has been expected. In cases where thermal balance cannot be reached, artifacts, such as blurring and "ghost features" are observed in the images. In addition, images show large numbers of blemish pixels and are plagued by electronic noise. As a consequence, we have developed various image improving algorithms, which are discussed in this paper. While results are encouraging, further studies of image restoration by dedicated processing appear worthwhile. The SRC has obtained more than 6940 images at the time of writing (1 September 2007), which often show fascinating details in surface morphology. SRC images are highly useful for a variety of applications in planetary geology, for studies of the Mars atmosphere, and for astrometric observations of the Martian satellites. This paper will give a full account of the design philosophy, technical concept, calibration, operation, integration with HRSC, and performance, as well as science accomplishments of the SRC. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Thermal performance of the Atlas SCT forward modules

    CERN Document Server

    Clark, A; Nasteva, I; Snow, S W; Wallny, R; Wilmut, I

    2003-01-01

    We describe the thermal design of the Atlas SCT forward modules and their cooling blocks. We report on the performance of the $C_3 F_8$ evaporative cooling system and the blocks alone, then on the performance of an irradiated inner module mounted on two alternative prototype cooling blocks (baseline and PEEK split). Runs are presented at different cooling conditions, representative of those expected to be used in the final experiment. We have also measured thermal runaway, with the module mounted on the PEEK split block and cooled with liquid cooling.

  8. Thermal performance curves under daily thermal fluctuation: A study in helmeted water toad tadpoles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartheld, José L; Artacho, Paulina; Bacigalupe, Leonardo

    2017-12-01

    Most research in physiological ecology has focused on the effects of mean changes in temperature under the classic "hot vs cold" acclimation treatment; however, current evidence suggests that an increment in both the mean and variance of temperature could act synergistically to amplify the negative effects of global temperature increase and how it would affect fitness and performance-related traits in ectothermic organisms. We assessed the effects of acclimation to daily variance of temperature on thermal performance curves of swimming speed in helmeted water toad tadpoles (Calyptocephalella gayi). Acclimation treatments were 20°C ± 0.1 SD (constant) and 20°C ± 1.5 SD (fluctuating). We draw two key findings: first, tadpoles exposed to daily temperature fluctuation had reduced maximal performance (Z max ), and flattened thermal performance curves, thus supporting the "vertical shift or faster-slower" hypothesis, and suggesting that overall swimming performance would be lower through an examination of temperatures under more realistic and ecologically-relevant fluctuating regimens; second, there was significant interindividual variation in performance traits by means of significant repeatability estimates. Our present results suggest that the widespread use of constant acclimation temperatures in laboratory experiments to estimate thermal performance curves (TPCs) may lead to an overestimation of actual organismal performance. We encourage the use of temperature fluctuation acclimation treatments to better understand the variability of physiological traits, which predict ecological and evolutionary responses to global change. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Thermal Performance Analyses of Multiborehole Ground Heat Exchangers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wanjing Luo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Geothermal energy known as a clean, renewable energy resource is widely available and reliable. Ground heat exchangers (GHEs can assist the development of geothermal energy by reducing the capital cost and greenhouse gas emission. In this paper, a novel semianalytical method was developed to study the thermal performance of multiborehole ground heat exchangers (GHEs with arbitrary configurations. By assuming a uniform inlet fluid temperature (UIFT, instead of uniform heat flux (UHF, the effects of thermal interference and the thermal performance difference between different boreholes can be examined. Simulation results indicate that the monthly average outlet fluid temperatures of GHEs will increase gradually while the annual cooling load of the GHEs is greater than the annual heating load. Besides, two mechanisms, the thermal dissipation and the heat storage effect, will determine the heat transfer underground, which can be further divided into four stages. Moreover, some boreholes will be malfunctioned; that is, boreholes can absorb heat from ground when the GHEs are under the cooling mode. However, as indicated by further investigations, this malfunction can be avoided by increasing borehole spacing.

  10. Thermal Model Predictions of Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao-Yen J.; Fabanich, William Anthony; Schmitz, Paul C.

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents recent thermal model results of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG). The three-dimensional (3D) ASRG thermal power model was built using the Thermal Desktop(trademark) thermal analyzer. The model was correlated with ASRG engineering unit test data and ASRG flight unit predictions from Lockheed Martin's (LM's) I-deas(trademark) TMG thermal model. The auxiliary cooling system (ACS) of the ASRG is also included in the ASRG thermal model. The ACS is designed to remove waste heat from the ASRG so that it can be used to heat spacecraft components. The performance of the ACS is reported under nominal conditions and during a Venus flyby scenario. The results for the nominal case are validated with data from Lockheed Martin. Transient thermal analysis results of ASRG for a Venus flyby with a representative trajectory are also presented. In addition, model results of an ASRG mounted on a Cassini-like spacecraft with a sunshade are presented to show a way to mitigate the high temperatures of a Venus flyby. It was predicted that the sunshade can lower the temperature of the ASRG alternator by 20 C for the representative Venus flyby trajectory. The 3D model also was modified to predict generator performance after a single Advanced Stirling Convertor failure. The geometry of the Microtherm HT insulation block on the outboard side was modified to match deformation and shrinkage observed during testing of a prototypic ASRG test fixture by LM. Test conditions and test data were used to correlate the model by adjusting the thermal conductivity of the deformed insulation to match the post-heat-dump steady state temperatures. Results for these conditions showed that the performance of the still-functioning inboard ACS was unaffected.

  11. An efficient method for facial component detection in thermal images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Michael; Blanik, Nikolai; Blazek, Vladimir; Leonhardt, Steffen

    2015-04-01

    A method to detect certain regions in thermal images of human faces is presented. In this approach, the following steps are necessary to locate the periorbital and the nose regions: First, the face is segmented from the background by thresholding and morphological filtering. Subsequently, a search region within the face, around its center of mass, is evaluated. Automatically computed temperature thresholds are used per subject and image or image sequence to generate binary images, in which the periorbital regions are located by integral projections. Then, the located positions are used to approximate the nose position. It is possible to track features in the located regions. Therefore, these regions are interesting for different applications like human-machine interaction, biometrics and biomedical imaging. The method is easy to implement and does not rely on any training images or templates. Furthermore, the approach saves processing resources due to simple computations and restricted search regions.

  12. Thermal Performance of the Storage Brick Containing Microencapsulated PCM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Dong Gyu

    1998-02-01

    The utilization of microencapsulated phase change materials(PCMs) provides several advantages over conventional PCM application. The heat storage system, as well as heat recovery system, can be built to a smaller size than the normal systems for a given thermal cycling capacity. This microencapsulated PCM technique has not yet been commercialized, however. In this work sodium acetate trihydrate(CH 3 COONa · 3H 2 O) was selected for the PCM and was encapsulated. This microencapsulated PCM was mixed with cement mortar for utilization as a floor heating system. In this experiment performed here the main purpose was to investigate the thermal performance of a storage brick with microencapsulated PCM concentration. The thermal performance of this storage brick is dependent on PCM concentration, flow rate and cooling temperature of the heat transfer fluid, etc. The results showed that cycle time was shortened as the PCM content was increased and as the mass flow rate was increased. The same effect was obtained when the cooling temperature was decreased. For each thermal storage brick the overall heat transfer coefficient(U-value) was constant for a 0% brick, but was increased with time for the bricks containing microencapsulated PCM. For the same mass flow rate, as the cooling temperature decreased, the amount of heat withdrawn increased, and in particular a critical cooling temperature was found for each thermal storage brick. The average effectiveness of each thermal storage brick was found to be approximately 48%, 51% and 58% respectively

  13. Performance evaluation of a thermal Doppler Michelson interferometer system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mani, Reza; Dobbie, Steven; Scott, Alan; Shepherd, Gordon; Gault, William; Brown, Stephen

    2005-11-20

    The thermal Doppler Michelson interferometer is the primary element of a proposed limb-viewing satellite instrument called SWIFT (Stratospheric Wind Interferometer for Transport studies). SWIFT is intended to measure stratospheric wind velocities in the altitude range of 15-45 km. SWIFT also uses narrowband tandem etalon filters made of germanium to select a line out of the thermal spectrum. The instrument uses the same technique of phase-stepping interferometry employed by the Wind Imaging Interferometer onboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. A thermal emission line of ozone near 9 microm is used to detect the Doppler shift due to winds. A test bed was set up for this instrument that included the Michelson interferometer and the etalon filters. For the test bed work, we investigate the behavior of individual components and their combination and report the results.

  14. Mid-infrared thermal imaging for an effective mapping of surface materials and sub-surface detachments in mural paintings: integration of thermography and thermal quasi-reflectography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daffara, C.; Parisotto, S.; Mariotti, P. I.

    2015-06-01

    Cultural Heritage is discovering how precious is thermal analysis as a tool to improve the restoration, thanks to its ability to inspect hidden details. In this work a novel dual mode imaging approach, based on the integration of thermography and thermal quasi-reflectography (TQR) in the mid-IR is demonstrated for an effective mapping of surface materials and of sub-surface detachments in mural painting. The tool was validated through a unique application: the "Monocromo" by Leonardo da Vinci in Italy. The dual mode acquisition provided two spatially aligned dataset: the TQR image and the thermal sequence. Main steps of the workflow included: 1) TQR analysis to map surface features and 2) to estimate the emissivity; 3) projection of the TQR frame on reference orthophoto and TQR mosaicking; 4) thermography analysis to map detachments; 5) use TQR to solve spatial referencing and mosaicking for the thermal-processed frames. Referencing of thermal images in the visible is a difficult aspect of the thermography technique that the dual mode approach allows to solve in effective way. We finally obtained the TQR and the thermal maps spatially referenced to the mural painting, thus providing the restorer a valuable tool for the restoration of the detachments.

  15. Apple detection using infrared thermal image, 3: Real-time temperature measurement of apple tree

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, S.H.; Takahashi, T.; Fukuchi, H.; Sun, M.; Terao, H.

    1998-01-01

    In Part 1, we reported the thermal distribution characteristics and the identification methods of apples, leaves and branches by using the infrared thermal image at the specific time. This paper reports the temperature changing characteristics and the relationships among apples, leaves and air temperature based on the information measured by the infrared thermal image equipment in the real-time for 24 hours. As a result, it was confirmed that the average temperature of apples was 1 degree C or more higher than the one of the leaves, and the average temperature of the leaves was almost same as the air temperature within daytime and about 3 hours period after sunset. It was also clarified for a remarkable temperature difference not to exist for midnight and the early morning between the apples and the leaves, and both became almost as well as the air temperature. Moreover, a binary image was easily obtained and the apples could be detected by using this temperature difference informat

  16. The use of thermal imaging to monitoring skin temperature during cryotherapy: A systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matos, Filipe; Neves, Eduardo Borba; Norte, Marco; Rosa, Claudio; Reis, Victor Machado; Vilaça-Alves, José

    2015-11-01

    Cryotherapy has been applied on clinical injuries and as a method for exercise recovery. It is aimed to reduce edema, nervous conduction velocity, and tissue metabolism, as well as to accelerate the recovery process of the muscle injury induced by exercise. Objective: This review aim to investigate the applicability of thermal imaging as a method for monitoring skin temperature during cryotherapy. Method: Search the Web of Science database using the terms "Cryotherapy", "Thermography", "Thermal Image" and "Cooling". Results: Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria and pass the PEDro scale quality evaluation. Evidence support the use of thermal imaging as a method for monitoring the skin temperature during cryotherapy, and it is superior to other contact methods and subjective methods of assessing skin temperature. Conclusion: Thermography seems to be an efficient, trustworthy and secure method in order to monitoring skin temperature during cryotherapy application. Evidence supports the use of thermography in detriment of contact methods as well as other subjective ones.

  17. Comparative analyses on dynamic performances of photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors integrated with phase change materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, Di; Jia, Yuting; Alva, Guruprasad; Liu, Lingkun; Fang, Guiyin

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • The dynamic model of photovoltaic–thermal collector with phase change material was developed. • The performances of photovoltaic–thermal collector are performed comparative analyses. • The performances of photovoltaic–thermal collector with phase change material were evaluated. • Upper phase change material mode can improve performances of photovoltaic–thermal collector. - Abstract: The operating conditions (especially temperature) of photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors have significant influence on dynamic performance of the hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors. Only a small percentage of incoming solar radiation can be converted into electricity, and the rest is converted into heat. This heat leads to a decrease in efficiency of the photovoltaic module. In order to improve the performance of the hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar collector, we performed comparative analyses on a hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar collector integrated with phase change material. Electrical and thermal parameters like solar cell temperature, outlet temperature of air, electrical power, thermal power, electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency and overall efficiency are simulated and analyzed to evaluate the dynamic performance of the hybrid photovoltaic–thermal collector. It is found that the position of phase change material layer in the photovoltaic–thermal collector has a significant effect on the performance of the photovoltaic–thermal collector. The results indicate that upper phase change material mode in the photovoltaic–thermal collector can significantly improve the thermal and electrical performance of photovoltaic–thermal collector. It is found that overall efficiency of photovoltaic–thermal collector in ‘upper phase change material’ mode is 10.7% higher than that in ‘no phase change material’ mode. Further, for a photovoltaic–thermal collector with upper phase change material, it is verified that 3 cm

  18. Exploiting Microwave Imaging Methods for Real-Time Monitoring of Thermal Ablation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Scapaticci

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Microwave thermal ablation is a cancer treatment that exploits local heating caused by a microwave electromagnetic field to induce coagulative necrosis of tumor cells. Recently, such a technique has significantly progressed in the clinical practice. However, its effectiveness would dramatically improve if paired with a noninvasive system for the real-time monitoring of the evolving dimension and shape of the thermally ablated area. In this respect, microwave imaging can be a potential candidate to monitor the overall treatment evolution in a noninvasive way, as it takes direct advantage from the dependence of the electromagnetic properties of biological tissues from temperature. This paper explores such a possibility by presenting a proof of concept validation based on accurate simulated imaging experiments, run with respect to a scenario that mimics an ex vivo experimental setup. In particular, two model-based inversion algorithms are exploited to tackle the imaging task. These methods provide independent results in real-time and their integration improves the quality of the overall tracking of the variations occurring in the target and surrounding regions.

  19. Development of a test device to characterize thermal protective performance of fabrics against hot steam and thermal radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, Yun; Li, Jun

    2016-01-01

    Steam burns severely threaten the life of firefighters in the course of their fire-ground activities. The aim of this paper was to characterize thermal protective performance of flame-retardant fabrics exposed to hot steam and low-level thermal radiation. An improved testing apparatus based on ASTM F2731-11 was developed in order to simulate the routine fire-ground conditions by controlling steam pressure, flow rate and temperature of steam box. The thermal protective performance of single-layer and multi-layer fabric system with/without an air gap was studied based on the calibrated tester. It was indicated that the new testing apparatus effectively evaluated thermal properties of fabric in hot steam and thermal radiation. Hot steam significantly exacerbated the skin burn injuries while the condensed water on the skin’s surface contributed to cool down the skin tissues during the cooling. Also, the absorbed thermal energy during the exposure and the cooling was mainly determined by the fabric’s configuration, the air gap size, the exposure time and the existence of hot steam. The research provides a effective method to characterize the thermal protection of fabric in complex conditions, which will help in optimization of thermal protection performance of clothing and reduction of steam burn. (paper)

  20. Millisecond photo-thermal process on significant improvement of supercapacitor’s performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Kui; Wang, Jixiao; Wu, Ying; Zhao, Song; Wang, Zhi; Wang, Shichang

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: A high way for charge transfer is created by a millisecond photo-thermal process which could decrease contact resistance among nanomaterials and improve the electrochemical performances. - Highlights: • Improve conductivity among nanomaterials with a millisecond photo-thermal process. • The specific capacitance can increase about 25% with an photo-thermal process. • The circle stability and rate capability can be improved above 10% with photo-thermal process. • Provide a new way that create electron path to improve electrochemical performance. - Abstract: Supercapacitors fabricated with nanomaterials usually have high specific capacitance and excellent performance. However, the small size of nanomaterials renders a considerable limitation of the contact area among nanomaterials, which is harmful to charge carrier transfer. This fact may hinder the development and application of nanomaterials in electrochemical storage systems. Here, a millisecond photo-thermal process was introduced to create a charge carries transfer path to decrease the contact resistance among nanomaterials, and enhance the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors. Polyaniline (PANI) nanowire, as a model nanomaterial, was used to modify electrodes under different photo-thermal process conditions. The modified electrodes were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the results were analysed by equivalent circuit simulation. These results demonstrate that the photo-thermal process can alter the morphology of PANI nanowires, lower the charge transfer resistances and thus improve the performance of electrodes. The specific capacitance increase of the modified electrodes is about 25%. The improvement of the circle stability and rate capability are above 10%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt on research the effect of photo-thermal process on the conductivity

  1. Nanoscale thermal imaging of dissipation in quantum systems and in encapsulated graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halbertal, Dorri

    Energy dissipation is a fundamental process governing the dynamics of physical systems. In condensed matter physics, in particular, scattering mechanisms, loss of quantum information, or breakdown of topological protection are deeply rooted in the intricate details of how and where the dissipation occurs. Despite its vital importance the microscopic behavior of a system is usually not formulated in terms of dissipation because the latter is not a readily measureable quantity on the microscale. While the motivation is clear, existing thermal imaging methods lack the necessary sensitivity and are unsuitable for low temperature operation required for the study of quantum systems. We developed a superconducting quantum interference nano thermometer device with sub 50 nm diameter that resides at the apex of a sharp pipette and provides scanning cryogenic thermal sensing with four orders of magnitude improved thermal sensitivity of below 1 uK/sqrtHz. The noncontact noninvasive thermometry allows thermal imaging of very low nanoscale energy dissipation down to the fundamental Landauer limitý of 40 fW for continuous readout of a single qubit at 1 GHz at 4.2 K. These advances enable observation of dissipation due to single electron charging of individual quantum dots in carbon nanotubes, opening the door to direct imaging of nanoscale dissipation processes in quantum matter. In this talk I will describe the technique and present a study of hBN encapsulated graphene which reveals a novel dissipation mechanism due to atomic-scale resonant localized states at the edges of graphene. These results provide a direct valuable glimpse into the electron thermalization process in systems with weak electron-phonon interactions. Funded by European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme (Grant No. 655416), Minerva Foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry of Education and Research, Rosa and Emilio Segré Research Award, and the MISTI.

  2. Stereoscopic radiographic images with thermal neutrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvani, M. I.; Almeida, G. L.; Rogers, J. D.; Lopes, R. T.

    2011-10-01

    Spatial structure of an object can be perceived by the stereoscopic vision provided by eyes or by the parallax produced by movement of the object with regard to the observer. For an opaque object, a technique to render it transparent should be used, in order to make visible the spatial distribution of its inner structure, for any of the two approaches used. In this work, a beam of thermal neutrons at the main port of the Argonauta research reactor of the Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil has been used as radiation to render the inspected objects partially transparent. A neutron sensitive Imaging Plate has been employed as a detector and after exposure it has been developed by a reader using a 0.5 μm laser beam, which defines the finest achievable spatial resolution of the acquired digital image. This image, a radiographic attenuation map of the object, does not represent any specific cross-section but a convoluted projection for each specific attitude of the object with regard to the detector. After taking two of these projections at different object attitudes, they are properly processed and the final image is viewed by a red and green eyeglass. For monochromatic images this processing involves transformation of black and white radiographies into red and white and green and white ones, which are afterwards merged to yield a single image. All the processes are carried out with the software ImageJ. Divergence of the neutron beam unfortunately spoils both spatial and contrast resolutions, which become poorer as object-detector distance increases. Therefore, in order to evaluate the range of spatial resolution corresponding to the 3D image being observed, a curve expressing spatial resolution against object-detector gap has been deduced from the Modulation Transfer Functions experimentally. Typical exposure times, under a reactor power of 170 W, were 6 min for both quantitative and qualitative measurements. In spite of its intrinsic constraints

  3. Stereoscopic radiographic images with thermal neutrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silvani, M.I.; Almeida, G.L.; Rogers, J.D.; Lopes, R.T.

    2011-01-01

    Spatial structure of an object can be perceived by the stereoscopic vision provided by eyes or by the parallax produced by movement of the object with regard to the observer. For an opaque object, a technique to render it transparent should be used, in order to make visible the spatial distribution of its inner structure, for any of the two approaches used. In this work, a beam of thermal neutrons at the main port of the Argonauta research reactor of the Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil has been used as radiation to render the inspected objects partially transparent. A neutron sensitive Imaging Plate has been employed as a detector and after exposure it has been developed by a reader using a 0.5 μm laser beam, which defines the finest achievable spatial resolution of the acquired digital image. This image, a radiographic attenuation map of the object, does not represent any specific cross-section but a convoluted projection for each specific attitude of the object with regard to the detector. After taking two of these projections at different object attitudes, they are properly processed and the final image is viewed by a red and green eyeglass. For monochromatic images this processing involves transformation of black and white radiographies into red and white and green and white ones, which are afterwards merged to yield a single image. All the processes are carried out with the software ImageJ. Divergence of the neutron beam unfortunately spoils both spatial and contrast resolutions, which become poorer as object-detector distance increases. Therefore, in order to evaluate the range of spatial resolution corresponding to the 3D image being observed, a curve expressing spatial resolution against object-detector gap has been deduced from the Modulation Transfer Functions experimentally. Typical exposure times, under a reactor power of 170 W, were 6 min for both quantitative and qualitative measurements. In spite of its intrinsic constraints

  4. Feasibility and Performance of the Microwave Thermal Rocket Launcher

    OpenAIRE

    Parkin, Kevin L. G.; Culick, Fred E. C.

    2004-01-01

    Beamed-energy launch concepts employing a microwave thermal thruster are feasible in principle, and microwave sources of sufficient power to launch tons into LEO already exist. Microwave thermal thrusters operate on an analogous principle to nuclear thermal thrusters, which have experimentally demonstrated specific impulses exceeding 850 seconds. Assuming such performance, simple application of the rocket equation suggests that payload fractions of 10% are possible for a single stage to orbit...

  5. Ultra-high performance mirror systems for the imaging and coherence beamline I13 at the Diamond Light Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, U. H.; Alcock, S.; Ludbrook, G.; Wiatryzk, J.; Rau, C.

    2012-05-01

    I13L is a 250m long hard x-ray beamline (6 keV to 35 keV) currently under construction at the Diamond Light Source. The beamline comprises of two independent experimental endstations: one for imaging in direct space using x-ray microscopy and one for imaging in reciprocal space using coherent diffraction based imaging techniques. To minimise the impact of thermal fluctuations and vibrations onto the beamline performance, we are developing a new generation of ultra-stable beamline instrumentation with highly repeatable adjustment mechanisms using low thermal expansion materials like granite and large piezo-driven flexure stages. For minimising the beam distortion we use very high quality optical components like large ion-beam polished mirrors. In this paper we present the first metrology results on a newly designed mirror system following this design philosophy.

  6. Pedestrian detection from thermal images: A sparse representation based approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Bin; John, Vijay; Liu, Zheng; Mita, Seiichi

    2016-05-01

    Pedestrian detection, a key technology in computer vision, plays a paramount role in the applications of advanced driver assistant systems (ADASs) and autonomous vehicles. The objective of pedestrian detection is to identify and locate people in a dynamic environment so that accidents can be avoided. With significant variations introduced by illumination, occlusion, articulated pose, and complex background, pedestrian detection is a challenging task for visual perception. Different from visible images, thermal images are captured and presented with intensity maps based objects' emissivity, and thus have an enhanced spectral range to make human beings perceptible from the cool background. In this study, a sparse representation based approach is proposed for pedestrian detection from thermal images. We first adopted the histogram of sparse code to represent image features and then detect pedestrian with the extracted features in an unimodal and a multimodal framework respectively. In the unimodal framework, two types of dictionaries, i.e. joint dictionary and individual dictionary, are built by learning from prepared training samples. In the multimodal framework, a weighted fusion scheme is proposed to further highlight the contributions from features with higher separability. To validate the proposed approach, experiments were conducted to compare with three widely used features: Haar wavelets (HWs), histogram of oriented gradients (HOG), and histogram of phase congruency (HPC) as well as two classification methods, i.e. AdaBoost and support vector machine (SVM). Experimental results on a publicly available data set demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach.

  7. [Study on Hollow Brick Wall's Surface Temperature with Infrared Thermal Imaging Method].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Ming-fang; Yin, Yi-hua

    2015-05-01

    To address the characteristic of uneven surface temperature of hollow brick wall, the present research adopts soft wares of both ThermaCAM P20 and ThermaCAM Reporter to test the application of infrared thermal image technique in measuring surface temperature of hollow brick wall, and further analyzes the thermal characteristics of hollow brick wall, and building material's impact on surface temperature distribution including hollow brick, masonry mortar, and so on. The research selects the construction site of a three-story-high residential, carries out the heat transfer experiment, and further examines the exterior wall constructed by 3 different hollow bricks including sintering shale hollow brick, masonry mortar and brick masonry. Infrared thermal image maps are collected, including 3 kinds of sintering shale hollow brick walls under indoor heating in winter; and temperature data of wall surface, and uniformity and frequency distribution are also collected for comparative analysis between 2 hollow bricks and 2 kinds of mortar masonry. The results show that improving heat preservation of hollow brick aid masonry mortar can effectively improve inner wall surface temperature and indoor thermal environment; non-uniformity of surface temperature decreases from 0. 6 to 0. 4 °C , and surface temperature frequency distribution changes from the asymmetric distribution into a normal distribution under the condition that energy-saving sintering shale hollow brick wall is constructed by thermal mortar replacing cement mortar masonry; frequency of average temperature increases as uniformity of surface temperature increases. This research provides a certain basis for promotion and optimization of hollow brick wall's thermal function.

  8. Thermal expansion coefficient determination of polylactic acid using digital image correlation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Botean Adrian - Ioan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims determining the linear thermal expansion coefficient (CTE of polylactic acid (PLA using an optical method for measuring deformations called digital image correlation method (DIC. Because PLA is often used in making many pieces with 3D printing technology, it is opportune to know this coefficient to obtain a higher degree of precision in the construction of parts and to monitor deformations when these parts are subjected to a thermal gradient. Are used two PLA discs with 20 and 40% degree of filling. In parallel with this approach was determined the linear thermal expansion coefficient (CTE for the copper cylinder on the surface of which are placed the two discs of PLA.

  9. Thermal expansion coefficient determination of polylactic acid using digital image correlation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botean, Adrian-Ioan

    2018-02-01

    This paper aims determining the linear thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) of polylactic acid (PLA) using an optical method for measuring deformations called digital image correlation method (DIC). Because PLA is often used in making many pieces with 3D printing technology, it is opportune to know this coefficient to obtain a higher degree of precision in the construction of parts and to monitor deformations when these parts are subjected to a thermal gradient. Are used two PLA discs with 20 and 40% degree of filling. In parallel with this approach was determined the linear thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) for the copper cylinder on the surface of which are placed the two discs of PLA.

  10. Thermal preference, thermal tolerance and the thermal de-pendence of digestive performance in two Phrynocephalus lizards (Agamidae), with a review of species studied

    OpenAIRE

    Yanfu QU, Hong LI, Jianfang GAO, Xuefeng XU, Xiang JI

    2011-01-01

    We reported data on thermal preference, thermal tolerance and the thermal dependence of digestive performance for two Phrynocephalus lizards (P. frontalis and P. versicolor), and compared data among lizards so far studied worldwide. Mean values for selected body temperature (Tsel) and critical thermal maximum (CTMax) were greater in P. versicolor, whereas mean values for critical thermal minimum (CTMin) did not differ between the two species. The two lizards differed in food intake, but not i...

  11. Airborne Thematic Thermal InfraRed and Electro-Optical Imaging System, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The innovation is an advanced Airborne Thematic Thermal InfraRed and Electro-Optical Imaging System (ATTIREOIS). ATTIREOIS sensor payload consists of two sets of...

  12. Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI)_Thermal Infared Sensor (TIRS) V1

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Abstract:The Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) are instruments onboard the Landsat 8 satellite, which was launched in February of...

  13. Theoretical evaluation of thermal and energy performance of tropical green roofs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsang, S.W.; Jim, C.Y.

    2011-01-01

    The thermal and energy efficiency of tropical green roofs is assessed by a theoretical model to clarify the contribution of underlying factors. The suitability of 1400 high-rise public housing blocks in Hong Kong for rooftop greening was assessed by remote sensing images. Weather and microclimatic-soil monitoring data of an experimental green roof provided the basis for computations. Roof greening prevented a huge amount of solar energy at 43.9 TJ in one summer from penetrating the buildings to bring significant energy saving. Thermal performance of humid-tropical green roofs, with greater latent heat dissipation, is twice more effective than the temperate ones. The energy balance model shows that solar energy absorption by bare and green roofs depends on shortwave rather than longwave radiation. Heat flux into a building indicates a one-day time lag after a sunshine day. With restricted evapotranspiration, bare roofs have more sensible heat and heat storage than green roofs. The bare roof albedo of 0.15, comparing with 0.30 of green roof, renders 75% higher heat storage. Small increase in convection coefficient from 12 to 16 could amplify 24% and 45% of latent heat dissipation respectively for bare and green roofs. Doubling the soil water availability could halve the heat storage of green roofs. -- Highlights: → We developed a theoretical model to calculate the thermal performance of tropical green roofs. → Bare roofs have more sensible heat and heat storage than green roofs. → Latent heat dissipation of tropical green roofs is twice that of temperate counterparts. → Heat flux through the roof into a building demonstrates a one-day time lag after a long sunshine day. → Green roofs can block 43.9 TJ of solar energy penetration into public housing buildings in one summer.

  14. Thermal Power Plant Performance Analysis

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    The analysis of the reliability and availability of power plants is frequently based on simple indexes that do not take into account the criticality of some failures used for availability analysis. This criticality should be evaluated based on concepts of reliability which consider the effect of a component failure on the performance of the entire plant. System reliability analysis tools provide a root-cause analysis leading to the improvement of the plant maintenance plan.   Taking in view that the power plant performance can be evaluated not only based on  thermodynamic related indexes, such as heat-rate, Thermal Power Plant Performance Analysis focuses on the presentation of reliability-based tools used to define performance of complex systems and introduces the basic concepts of reliability, maintainability and risk analysis aiming at their application as tools for power plant performance improvement, including: ·         selection of critical equipment and components, ·         defini...

  15. High Performance Polymer Field-Effect Transistors Based on Thermally Crosslinked Poly(3-hexylthiophene)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Chun-Xia; Yang Xiao-Yan; Zhao Kai; Wu Xiao-Ming; Yang Li-Ying; Cheng Xiao-Man; Yin Shou-Gen; Wei Jun

    2011-01-01

    The performance of polymer field-effect transistors is improved by thermal crosslinking ofpoly(3-hexylthiophene), using ditert butyl peroxide as the crosslinker. The device performance depends on the crosslinker concentration significantly. We obtain an optimal on/off ratio of 10 5 and the saturate field-effect mobility of 0.34cm 2 V −1 s −1 , by using a suitable ratios of ditert butyl peroxide, 0.5 wt% ofpoly(3-hexylthiophene). The microstructure images show that the crosslinked poly(3-hexylthiophene) active layers simultaneously possess appropriate crystallinity and smooth morphology. Moreover, crosslinking of poly(3-hexylthiophene) prevents the transistors from large threshold voltage shifts under ambient bias-stressing, showing an advantage in encouraging device environmental and operating stability. (cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  16. Performance evaluation of four directional emissivity analytical models with thermal SAIL model and airborne images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Huazhong; Liu, Rongyuan; Yan, Guangjian; Li, Zhao-Liang; Qin, Qiming; Liu, Qiang; Nerry, Françoise

    2015-04-06

    Land surface emissivity is a crucial parameter in the surface status monitoring. This study aims at the evaluation of four directional emissivity models, including two bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) models and two gap-frequency-based models. Results showed that the kernel-driven BRDF model could well represent directional emissivity with an error less than 0.002, and was consequently used to retrieve emissivity with an accuracy of about 0.012 from an airborne multi-angular thermal infrared data set. Furthermore, we updated the cavity effect factor relating to multiple scattering inside canopy, which improved the performance of the gap-frequency-based models.

  17. Thermal imaging comparison of Signature, Infiniti, and Stellaris phacoemulsification systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryoo, Na Kyung; Kwon, Ji-Won; Wee, Won Ryang; Miller, Kevin M; Han, Young Keun

    2013-10-12

    To compare the heat production of 3 different phacoemulsification machines under strict laboratory test conditions. More specifically, the thermal behavior was analyzed between the torsional modality of the Infiniti system and longitudinal modalities of the Abbot WhiteStar Signature Phacoemulsification system and Bausch and Lomb Stellaris system. Experiments were performed under in-vitro conditions in this study.Three phacoemulsification handpieces (Infiniti, Signature, and Stellaris) were inserted into balanced salt solution-filled silicone test chambers and were imaged side-by-side by using a thermal camera. Incision compression was simulated by suspending 30.66-gram weights from the silicone chambers. The irrigation flow rate was set at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 cc/min and the phacoemulsification power on the instrument consoles was set at 40, 60, 80, and 100%. The highest temperatures generated from each handpiece around the point of compression were measured at 0, 10, 30, and 60 seconds. Under the same displayed phacoemulsification power settings, the peak temperatures measured when using the Infiniti were lower than when using the other two machines, and the Signature was cooler than the Stellaris. At 10 seconds, torsional phacoemulsification with Infiniti at 100% power showed data comparable to that of the Signature at 80% and the Stellaris at 60%. At 30 seconds, the temperature from the Infiniti at 100% power was lower than the Signature at 60% and the Stellaris at 40%. Torsional phacoemulsification with the Infiniti generates less heat than longitudinal phacoemulsification with the Signature and the Stellaris. Lower operating temperatures indicate lower heat generation within the same fluid volume, which may provide additional thermal protection during cataract surgery.

  18. Thermal performance and efficiency of supercritical nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romney Duffey; Tracy Zhou; Hussam Khartabil

    2009-01-01

    The paper reviews the major advances and innovative aspects of the thermal performance of recent concepts for super-critical water-cooled nuclear reactors (SCWR). The concepts are based on the extensive experience in the thermal power industry with super and ultra-supercritical boilers and turbines. The challenges and goals of increased efficiency, reduced cost, enhanced safety and co-generation have been pursued over the last ten years, and have resulted both in viable concepts and a vibrant defined R and D effort. The supercritical concept has wide acceptance among industry, as it reflects standard engineering practices and current thermal plant technology that is being already deployed. The SCWR concept represents a continuous development of water-cooled reactor technology, which utilizes the best and latest advances made in the thermal power industry. (author)

  19. Thermal resistances of air in cavity walls and their effect upon the thermal insulation performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bekkouche, S.M.A.; Cherier, M.K.; Hamdani, M.; Benamrane, N. [Application of Renewable Energies in Arid and Semi Arid Environments /Applied Research Unit on Renewable Energies/ EPST Development Center of Renewable Energies, URAER and B.P. 88, ZI, Gart Taam Ghardaia (Algeria); Benouaz, T. [University of Tlemcen, BP. 119, Tlemcen R.p. 13000 (Algeria); Yaiche, M.R. [Development Center of Renewable Energies, CDER and B.P 62, 16340, Route de l' Observatoire, Bouzareah, Algiers (Algeria)

    2013-07-01

    The optimum thickness in cavity walls in buildings is determined under steady conditions; the heat transfer has been calculated according to ISO 15099:2003. Two forms of masonry units are investigated to conclude the advantage of high thermal emissivity. The paper presents also some results from a study of the thermal insulation performance of air cavities bounded by thin reflective material layer 'eta = 0.05'. The results show that the most economical cavity configuration depends on the thermal emissivity and the insulation material used.

  20. Composite Materials for Thermal Energy Storage: Enhancing Performance through Microstructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Zhiwei; Ye, Feng; Ding, Yulong

    2014-01-01

    Chemical incompatibility and low thermal conductivity issues of molten-salt-based thermal energy storage materials can be addressed by using microstructured composites. Using a eutectic mixture of lithium and sodium carbonates as molten salt, magnesium oxide as supporting material, and graphite as thermal conductivity enhancer, the microstructural development, chemical compatibility, thermal stability, thermal conductivity, and thermal energy storage performance of composite materials are investigated. The ceramic supporting material is essential for preventing salt leakage and hence provides a solution to the chemical incompatibility issue. The use of graphite gives a significant enhancement on the thermal conductivity of the composite. Analyses suggest that the experimentally observed microstructural development of the composite is associated with the wettability of the salt on the ceramic substrate and that on the thermal conduction enhancer. PMID:24591286

  1. Estimation and optimization of thermal performance of evacuated tube solar collector system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dikmen, Erkan; Ayaz, Mahir; Ezen, H. Hüseyin; Küçüksille, Ecir U.; Şahin, Arzu Şencan

    2014-05-01

    In this study, artificial neural networks (ANNs) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy (ANFIS) in order to predict the thermal performance of evacuated tube solar collector system have been used. The experimental data for the training and testing of the networks were used. The results of ANN are compared with ANFIS in which the same data sets are used. The R2-value for the thermal performance values of collector is 0.811914 which can be considered as satisfactory. The results obtained when unknown data were presented to the networks are satisfactory and indicate that the proposed method can successfully be used for the prediction of the thermal performance of evacuated tube solar collectors. In addition, new formulations obtained from ANN are presented for the calculation of the thermal performance. The advantages of this approaches compared to the conventional methods are speed, simplicity, and the capacity of the network to learn from examples. In addition, genetic algorithm (GA) was used to maximize the thermal performance of the system. The optimum working conditions of the system were determined by the GA.

  2. D Surface Generation from Aerial Thermal Imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khodaei, B.; Samadzadegan, F.; Dadras Javan, F.; Hasani, H.

    2015-12-01

    Aerial thermal imagery has been recently applied to quantitative analysis of several scenes. For the mapping purpose based on aerial thermal imagery, high accuracy photogrammetric process is necessary. However, due to low geometric resolution and low contrast of thermal imaging sensors, there are some challenges in precise 3D measurement of objects. In this paper the potential of thermal video in 3D surface generation is evaluated. In the pre-processing step, thermal camera is geometrically calibrated using a calibration grid based on emissivity differences between the background and the targets. Then, Digital Surface Model (DSM) generation from thermal video imagery is performed in four steps. Initially, frames are extracted from video, then tie points are generated by Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm. Bundle adjustment is then applied and the camera position and orientation parameters are determined. Finally, multi-resolution dense image matching algorithm is used to create 3D point cloud of the scene. Potential of the proposed method is evaluated based on thermal imaging cover an industrial area. The thermal camera has 640×480 Uncooled Focal Plane Array (UFPA) sensor, equipped with a 25 mm lens which mounted in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The obtained results show the comparable accuracy of 3D model generated based on thermal images with respect to DSM generated from visible images, however thermal based DSM is somehow smoother with lower level of texture. Comparing the generated DSM with the 9 measured GCPs in the area shows the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) value is smaller than 5 decimetres in both X and Y directions and 1.6 meters for the Z direction.

  3. Thermal performance of evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putra, Nandy; Kristian, M. R.; David, R.; Haliansyah, K.; Ariantara, Bambang

    2016-06-01

    The high fossil energy consumption not only causes the scarcity of energy but also raises problems of global warming. Increasing needs of fossil fuel could be reduced through the utilization of solar energy by using solar collectors. Indonesia has the abundant potential for solar energy, but non-renewable energy sources still dominate energy consumption. With heat pipe as passive heat transfer device, evacuated tube solar collector is expected to heat up water for industrial and home usage without external power supply needed to circulate water inside the solar collector. This research was conducted to determine the performance of heat pipe-based evacuated tube solar collector as solar water heater experimentally. The experiments were carried out using stainless steel screen mesh as a wick material, and water and Al2O3-water 0.1% nanofluid as working fluid, and applying inclination angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°. To analyze the heat absorbed and transferred by the prototype, water at 30°C was circulated through the condenser. A 150 Watt halogen lamp was used as sun simulator, and the prototype was covered by an insulation box to obtain a steady state condition with a minimum affection of ambient changes. Experimental results show that the usage of Al2O3-water 0.1% nanofluid at 30° inclination angle provides the highest thermal performance, which gives efficiency as high as 0.196 and thermal resistance as low as 5.32 °C/W. The use of nanofluid as working fluid enhances thermal performance due to high thermal conductivity of the working fluid. The increase of the inclination angle plays a role in the drainage of the condensate to the evaporator that leads to higher thermal performance until the optimal inclination angle is reached.

  4. Thermal-Hydraulic Performance of Scrubbing Nozzle Used for CFVS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Hyun Chul; Lee, Doo Yong; Jung, Woo Young; Lee, Jong Chan; Kim, Gyu Tae [FNC TECH, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    A Containment Filtered Venting System (CFVS) is the most interested device to mitigate a threat against containment integrity under the severe accident of nuclear power plant by venting with the filtration of the fission products. FNC technology and partners have been developed the self-priming scrubbing nozzle used for the CFVS which is based on the venturi effect. The thermal-hydraulic performances such as passive scrubbing water suction as well as pressure drop across the nozzle have been tested under various thermal-hydraulic conditions. The two types of test section have been built for testing the thermal-hydraulic performance of the self-priming scrubbing nozzle. Through the visualization loop, the liquid suction performance through the slit, pressure drop across the nozzle are measured. The passive water suction flow through the suction slit at the throat is important parameter to define the scrubbing performance of the self-priming scrubbing nozzle. The water suction flow is increased with the increase of the overhead water level at the same inlet gas flow. It is not so much changed with the change of inlet gas flow at the overhead water level.

  5. Thermal performance measurements on ultimate heat sinks--cooling ponds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hadlock, R.K.; Abbey, O.B.

    1977-12-01

    The primary objective of the studies described is to obtain the requisite data, with respect to modeling requirements, to characterize thermal performance of heat sinks for nuclear facilities existing at elevated water temperatures in result of experiencing a genuinely large heat load and responding to meteorological influence. The data should reflect thermal performance for combinations leading to worst-case meteorological influence. A geothermal water retention basin has been chosen as the site for the first measurement program and data have been obtained in the first of several experiments scheduled to be performed there. These data illustrate the thermal and water budgets during episodes of cooling from an initially high pond water bulk temperature. Monitoring proceeded while the pond experienced only meteorological and seepage influence. The data are discussed and are presented as a data volume which may be used for calculation purposes. Suggestions for future measurement programs are stated with the intent to maintain and improve relevance to nuclear ultimate heat sinks while continuing to examine the performance of the analog geothermal pond. It is further suggested that the geothermal pond, with some modification, may be a suitable site for spray pond measurements

  6. Performance analysis of a hybrid photovoltaic thermal solar air heater

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Othman, Mohd Yusof; Yatim, Baharudin; Abu Bakar, Mohd Nazari; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman

    2006-01-01

    A photovoltaic (PV/T) air heater is a collector that combines thermal and photovoltaic systems in one single hybrid generating unit. It generators both thermal and electrical energies simultaneously. A new design of a double-pass photovoltaic-thermal solar air collector with CPC and fins was successfully developed and fabricated at Universiti Kebangsaam Malaysia. This collector tested under actual environmental conditions to study its performance over a range of operating conditions. The test set-up, instrumentation and measurement are described further. It was found that the performance of the collector was in agreement with the theoretical prediction. Results of the outdoors test are presented and discussed(Author)

  7. Experimental study on the thermal performance of a new type of thermal energy storage based on flat micro-heat pipe array

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Feng-fei; Diao, Yan-hua; Zhao, Yao-hua; Zhu, Ting-ting; Liu, Jing

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel thermal energy storage based on flat micro-heat pipe array is proposed. • The thermal storage shows excellent thermal performance in the working process. • The novel thermal storage has the advantage of low flow resistance. - Abstract: The thermal performance of an air-based phase change storage unit is analyzed and discussed in this study. The thermal energy storage uses flat micro-heat pipe array (FMHPA) as the core heat transfer component and lauric acid as phase change material (PCM). An experimental system is devised to test the heat storage–release property of the storage unit under different inlet temperatures and flow rates of the heat transfer medium. The performance of the storage unit and the melting/solidification curves of the phase change material are obtained based on extensive experimental data. Experimental results indicate that the flat micro-heat pipe array exhibits excellent temperature uniformity in the heat storage–release process, and the performance of the storage unit is efficient and steady.

  8. Assessment of radicular dentin permeability after irradiation with CO2 laser and endodontic irrigation treatments with thermal imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Heajin; Lee, Robert C.; Chan, Kenneth H.; Fried, Daniel

    2017-02-01

    Previous studies have demonstrated that the permeability changes due to the surface modification of dentin can be quantified via thermal imaging during dehydration. The CO2 laser has been shown to remove the smear layer and disinfect root canals. Moreover, thermal modification via CO2 laser irradiation can be used to convert dentin into a highly mineralized enamel-like mineral. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the radicular dentin surface modification after CO2 laser irradiation by measuring the permeability with thermal imaging. Human molar specimens (n=12) were sectioned into 4 axial walls of the pulp chamber and treated with either 10% NaClO for 1 minute, 5% EDTA for 1 minute, CO2 laser or none. The CO2 laser was operated at 9.4 μm with a pulse duration of 26 μs, pulse repetition rate of 300 Hz and a fluence of 13 J/cm2. The samples were dehydrated using an air spray for 60 seconds and imaged using a thermal camera. The resulting surface morphological changes were assessed using 3D digital microscopy. The images from digital microscopy confirmed melting of the mineral phase of dentin. The area enclosed by the time-temperature curve during dehydration, ▵Q, measured with thermal imaging increased significantly with treatments with EDTA and the CO2 laser (Ptreatment increases permeability of radicular dentin.

  9. MATLAB Simulation of Photovoltaic and Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasir, Farah H. M.; Husaini, Yusnira

    2018-03-01

    The efficiency of the photovoltaic reduces when the photovoltaic cell temperature increased due to solar irradiance. One solution is come up with the cooling system photovoltaic system. This combination is forming the photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) system. Not only will it generate electricity also heat at the same time. The aim of this research is to focus on the modeling and simulation of photovoltaic (PV) and photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) electrical performance by using single-diode equivalent circuit model. Both PV and PV/T models are developed in Matlab/Simulink. By providing the cooling system in PV/T, the efficiency of the system can be increased by decreasing the PV cell temperature. The maximum thermal, electrical and total efficiency values of PV/T in the present research are 35.18%, 15.56% and 50.74% at solar irradiance of 400 W/m2, mass flow rate of 0.05kgs-1 and inlet temperature of 25 °C respectively has been obtained. The photovoltaic-thermal shows that the higher efficiency performance compared to the photovoltaic system.

  10. Thermal and Structural Analysis of FIMS Grating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.-I. Seon

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available Far ultraviolet IMaging Spectrograph (FIMS should be designed to maintain its structural stability and to minimize optical performance degradation in launch and in operation enviroments. The structural and thermal analyzes of grating and grating mount system, which are directly related to FIMS optical performance, was performed using finite element method. The grating mount was made to keep the grating stress down, while keeping the natural frequency of the grating mount higher than 100 Hz. Transient and static thermal analyzes were also performed and the results shows that the thermal stress on the grating can be attenuated sufficiently The optical performance variation due to temperature variation was within the allowed range.

  11. Composite materials for thermal energy storage: enhancing performance through microstructures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Zhiwei; Ye, Feng; Ding, Yulong

    2014-05-01

    Chemical incompatibility and low thermal conductivity issues of molten-salt-based thermal energy storage materials can be addressed by using microstructured composites. Using a eutectic mixture of lithium and sodium carbonates as molten salt, magnesium oxide as supporting material, and graphite as thermal conductivity enhancer, the microstructural development, chemical compatibility, thermal stability, thermal conductivity, and thermal energy storage performance of composite materials are investigated. The ceramic supporting material is essential for preventing salt leakage and hence provides a solution to the chemical incompatibility issue. The use of graphite gives a significant enhancement on the thermal conductivity of the composite. Analyses suggest that the experimentally observed microstructural development of the composite is associated with the wettability of the salt on the ceramic substrate and that on the thermal conduction enhancer. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Non-destructive high-resolution thermal imaging techniques to evaluate wildlife and delicate biological samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lavers, C; Franklin, P; Franklin, P; Plowman, A; Sayers, G; Bol, J; Shepard, D; Fields, D, E-mail: brnc-radarcomms1@nrta.mod.u [Sensors Team, Plymouth University at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Devon (United Kingdom) and Paignton Zoological Park, Paignton, Devon (United Kingdom); Thermal Wave Imaging, Inc., 845 Livernoise St, Ferndale, MI (United States); Buckfast Butterfly and Otter Sanctuary, Buckfast, Devon (United Kingdom)

    2009-07-01

    Thermal imaging cameras now allows routine monitoring of dangerous yet endangered wildlife in captivity. This study looks at the potential applications of radiometrically calibrated thermal data to wildlife, as well as providing parameters for future materials applications. We present a non-destructive active testing technique suitable for enhancing imagery contrast of thin or delicate biological specimens yielding improved thermal contrast at room temperature, for analysis of sample thermal properties. A broad spectrum of animals is studied with different textured surfaces, reflective and emissive properties in the infra red part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some surface features offer biomimetic materials design opportunities.

  13. Non-destructive high-resolution thermal imaging techniques to evaluate wildlife and delicate biological samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lavers, C; Franklin, P; Franklin, P; Plowman, A; Sayers, G; Bol, J; Shepard, D; Fields, D

    2009-01-01

    Thermal imaging cameras now allows routine monitoring of dangerous yet endangered wildlife in captivity. This study looks at the potential applications of radiometrically calibrated thermal data to wildlife, as well as providing parameters for future materials applications. We present a non-destructive active testing technique suitable for enhancing imagery contrast of thin or delicate biological specimens yielding improved thermal contrast at room temperature, for analysis of sample thermal properties. A broad spectrum of animals is studied with different textured surfaces, reflective and emissive properties in the infra red part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some surface features offer biomimetic materials design opportunities.

  14. Thermal and Hygric Expansion of High Performance Concrete

    OpenAIRE

    J. Toman; R. Černý

    2001-01-01

    The linear thermal expansion coefficient of two types of high performance concrete was measured in the temperature range from 20 °C to 1000 °C, and the linear hygric expansion coefficient was determined in the moisture range from dry material to saturation water content. Comparative methods were applied for measurements of both coefficients. The experimental results show that both the effect of temperature on the values of linear thermal expansion coefficients and the effect of moisture on th...

  15. Optimal thermal-hydraulic performance for helium-cooled divertors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Izenson, M.G.; Martin, J.L.

    1996-01-01

    Normal flow heat exchanger (NFHX) technology offers the potential for cooling divertor panels with reduced pressure drops (<0.5% Δp/p), reduced pumping power (<0.75% pumping/thermal power), and smaller duct sizes than conventional helium heat exchangers. Furthermore, the NFHX can easily be fabricated in the large sizes required for divertors in large tokamaks. Recent experimental and computational results from a program to develop NFHX technology for divertor coolings using porous metal heat transfer media are described. We have tested the thermal and flow characteristics of porous metals and identified the optimal heat transfer material for the divertor heat exchanger. Methods have been developed to create highly conductive thermal bonds between the porous material and a solid substrate. Computational fluid dynamics calculations of flow and heat transfer in the porous metal layer have shown the capability of high thermal effectiveness. An 18-kW NFHX, designed to meet specifications for the international Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor divertor, has been fabricated and tested for thermal and flow performance. Preliminary results confirm design and fabrication methods. 11 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab

  16. The influence of weather on the thermal performance of solar heating systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Elsa; Furbo, Simon; Shah, Louise Jivan

    2003-01-01

    . The investigation is based on calculations with validated models. Solar heating systems with different solar collector types, heat storage volumes and solar fractions are included in the investigation. The yearly solar radiation varies with approximately 20 % in the period from 1990 until 2002. The calculations......The influence of weather on the thermal performance of solar combi systems, solar domestic hot water systems and solar heating plants is investigated. The investigation is based on weather data from the Danish Design Reference Year, DRY and weather data measured for a period from 1990 until 2002...... show that the thermal performance of the investigated systems varies due to the weather variation. The variation of the yearly thermal performance of a solar heating plant is about 40 % while the variation of the yearly thermal performance of a solar domestic hot water system is about 30...

  17. Hologlyphics: volumetric image synthesis performance system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, Walter

    2008-02-01

    This paper describes a novel volumetric image synthesis system and artistic technique, which generate moving volumetric images in real-time, integrated with music. The system, called the Hologlyphic Funkalizer, is performance based, wherein the images and sound are controlled by a live performer, for the purposes of entertaining a live audience and creating a performance art form unique to volumetric and autostereoscopic images. While currently configured for a specific parallax barrier display, the Hologlyphic Funkalizer's architecture is completely adaptable to various volumetric and autostereoscopic display technologies. Sound is distributed through a multi-channel audio system; currently a quadraphonic speaker setup is implemented. The system controls volumetric image synthesis, production of music and spatial sound via acoustic analysis and human gestural control, using a dedicated control panel, motion sensors, and multiple musical keyboards. Music can be produced by external acoustic instruments, pre-recorded sounds or custom audio synthesis integrated with the volumetric image synthesis. Aspects of the sound can control the evolution of images and visa versa. Sounds can be associated and interact with images, for example voice synthesis can be combined with an animated volumetric mouth, where nuances of generated speech modulate the mouth's expressiveness. Different images can be sent to up to 4 separate displays. The system applies many novel volumetric special effects, and extends several film and video special effects into the volumetric realm. Extensive and various content has been developed and shown to live audiences by a live performer. Real world applications will be explored, with feedback on the human factors.

  18. Comparative performance study of smart structure for thermal microactuators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yahya, Zulkarnain; Johar, Muhammad Akmal

    2017-04-01

    Thermal microactuator is one of earliest types of microactuators. Typical thermal actuators are in the form of Bimorph and Chevron structures. A bimorph thermal actuator has a complex movement direction, in arc motion and thus it is not feasible in the most MEMS designs. While Chevron actuator has a tendency to produce an off-plane movement which lead to low precision in lateral movement. A new thermal actuator design in the form of serpentine structures shows promising feature to have better performances in terms of more predictive lateral movement with smaller off-plane displacement. In MEMS chip design, areas play a critical role as it will impact with the cost of the final product. In this study, four different structures of thermal actuator were simulated using ANSYS v15. Three different set of area sizes which are 240 µm x 1000 µm, 240 µm x 1500 µm and 240 µm x 2000 µm have been analyzed. All four structures were named as Serpentine01, Serpentine02, Bimorph and Chevron. The data with regards to temperature produced by the structure and z-axis directional deformation were collected and analyzed. This paper reported the investigation result of comparison between these three types of thermal actuator structures design with a given area. From all of the result obtained, it is shown that the area 240 µm x 1500 µm showed a well balance performance in term of huge deformations and low power consumption. The Serpentine01 structure produced 16.7 µm deformation at 4mA of current. The results shows the potential of Serpentine01 structure as a new candidate for thermal microactuator for MEMS applications.

  19. Research on Debonding Defects in Thermal Barrier Coatings Structure by Thermal-Wave Radar Imaging (TWRI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fei; Liu, Junyan; Mohummad, Oliullah; Wang, Yang

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, thermal-wave radar imaging (TWRI) is introduced to detect debonding defects in SiC-coated Ni-based superalloy plates. Linear frequency modulation signal (chirp) is used as the excitation signal which has a large time-bandwidth product. Artificial debonding defects in SiC coating are excited by the laser beam with the light intensity modulated by a chirp signal. Cross-correlation algorithm and chirp lock-in algorithm are introduced to extract the thermal-wave signal characteristic. The comparative experiment between TWRI reflection mode and transmission mode was carried out. Experiments are conducted to investigate the influence of laser power density, chirp period, and excitation frequency. Experimental results illustrate that chirp lock-in phase has a better detection capability than other characteristic parameters. TWRI can effectively detect simulated debonding defects of SiC-coated Ni-based superalloy plates.

  20. A thermal ground cloak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Tianzhi; Wu, Qinghe; Xu, Weikai; Liu, Di; Huang, Lujun; Chen, Fei

    2016-01-01

    The thermal cloak has been a long-standing scientific dream of researchers and engineers. Recently thermal metamaterials with man-made micro-structure have been presented based on the principle of transformation optics (TO). This new concept has received considerable attention, which is a powerful tool for manipulating heat flux in thermal imaging systems. However, the inherent material singularity has long been a captivation of experimental realization. As an alternative method, the scattering-cancellation-based cloak (or bi-layer thermal cloak) has been presented to remove the singularity for achieving the same cloaking performance. Nevertheless, such strategy needs prerequisite knowledge (geometry and conductivity) of the object to be cloaked. In this paper, a new thermal ground cloak is presented to overcome the limitations. The device is designed, fabricated and measured to verify the thermal cloaking performance. We experimentally show that the remarkably low complexity of the device can fully and effectively be manipulated using realizable transformation thermal devices. More importantly, this thermal ground cloak is designed to exclude heat flux without knowing the information of the cloaked object. - Highlights: • We present the first thermal carpet cloak. • The carpet can thermally cloak any shaped object without knowing the properties of the object to be cloaked. • Excellent agreements between simulation and experiment are observed.

  1. Thermal imagers: from ancient analog video output to state-of-the-art video streaming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haan, Hubertus; Feuchter, Timo; Münzberg, Mario; Fritze, Jörg; Schlemmer, Harry

    2013-06-01

    The video output of thermal imagers stayed constant over almost two decades. When the famous Common Modules were employed a thermal image at first was presented to the observer in the eye piece only. In the early 1990s TV cameras were attached and the standard output was CCIR. In the civil camera market output standards changed to digital formats a decade ago with digital video streaming being nowadays state-of-the-art. The reasons why the output technique in the thermal world stayed unchanged over such a long time are: the very conservative view of the military community, long planning and turn-around times of programs and a slower growth of pixel number of TIs in comparison to consumer cameras. With megapixel detectors the CCIR output format is not sufficient any longer. The paper discusses the state-of-the-art compression and streaming solutions for TIs.

  2. Image: from the cinema to the performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carina

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In the scope of a research on the body arts, the text approaches the issue of image representation in face of corporeal forces. With Deleuze’s philosophical studies on cinema, we bring his image taxonomy, which passes from a movement-image to a time-image, and we also consider theater to analyze how an image is launched from a stratified and moralizing representation to a performative and resonating image. The work of contemporary artists allows and makes us think an image in its relation with the new, with what is impossible to restrain, with images produced by the art of performance, by a body which creates images successively

  3. Photovoltaic thermal module concepts and their performance analysis: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasan, M. Arif; Sumathy, K.

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents a review of the available literature covering the latest module aspects of different photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors and their performances in terms of electrical as well as thermal output. The review covers detailed description of flat-plate and concentrating PV/T systems, using liquid or air as the working fluid, numerical model analysis, experimental work and qualitative evaluation of thermal and electrical output. Also an in-depth review on the performance parameters such as, optimum mass flow rate, PV/T dimensions, air channel geometry is presented in this study. Based on the thorough review, it is clear that PV/T modules are very promising devices and there exists lot of scope to further improve their performances. Appropriate recommendations are made which will aid PV/T systems to improve their efficiency and reducing their cost, making them more competitive in the present market. (author)

  4. Study on thermal performance and margins of BWR fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stosic, Zoran

    1999-01-01

    This paper contributes to developing a methodology of predicting and analyzing thermal performance and margins of Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) fuel assemblies under conditions of reaching high quality Boiling Crisis and subsequent post-dryout thermal hydraulics causing temperature excursion of fuel cladding. Operational margins against dryout and potential for increasing fuel performance with appropriate benefits are discussed. The philosophy of modeling with its special topics are demonstrated on the HECHAN (HEated CHannel ANalyzer) model as the state-of-art for thermal-hydraulics analysis of BWR fuel assemblies in pre- and post-dryout two-phase flow regimes. The scope of further work either being or has to be performed concerning implementation of new physical aspects, including domain extension of HECHAN model applications to the Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs), is discussed. Finally, a comprehensive overview of the literature dealing with development of the model is given. (author)

  5. Photovoltaic thermal module concepts and their performance analysis: A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasan, M. Arif; Sumathy, K. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND (United States)

    2010-09-15

    This paper presents a review of the available literature covering the latest module aspects of different photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors and their performances in terms of electrical as well as thermal output. The review covers detailed description of flat-plate and concentrating PV/T systems, using liquid or air as the working fluid, numerical model analysis, experimental work and qualitative evaluation of thermal and electrical output. Also an in-depth review on the performance parameters such as, optimum mass flow rate, PV/T dimensions, air channel geometry is presented in this study. Based on the thorough review, it is clear that PV/T modules are very promising devices and there exists lot of scope to further improve their performances. Appropriate recommendations are made which will aid PV/T systems to improve their efficiency and reducing their cost, making them more competitive in the present market. (author)

  6. Detection of leaks in buried rural water pipelines using thermal infrared images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eidenshink, Jeffery C.

    1985-01-01

    Leakage is a major problem in many pipelines. Minor leaks called 'seeper leaks', which generally range from 2 to 10 m3 per day, are common and are difficult to detect using conventional ground surveys. The objective of this research was to determine whether airborne thermal-infrared remote sensing could be used in detecting leaks and monitoring rural water pipelines. This study indicates that such leaks can be detected using low-altitude 8.7- to 11.5. micrometer wavelength, thermal infrared images collected under proper conditions.

  7. Low-stress photosensitive polyimide suspended membrane for improved thermal isolation performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, J.; Xing, R. Y.; Wu, W. J.; Liu, H. F.; Liu, J. Q.; Tu, L. C.

    2017-11-01

    In this paper, we introduce a method of isolating thermal conduction from silicon substrate for accommodating thermal-sensitive micro-devices. This method lies in fabrication of a low-stress photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) suspension structure which has lower thermal conductivity than silicon. First, a PSPI layer was patterned on a silicon wafer and hard baked. Then, a cavity was etched from the backside of the silicon substrate to form a membrane or a bridge-shape PSPI structure. After releasing, a slight deformation of about 20 nm was observed in the suspended structures, suggesting ultralow residual stress which is essential for accommodating micro-devices. In order to investigate the thermal isolation performance of the suspended PSPI structures, micro Pirani vacuum gauges, which are thermal-sensitive, had been fabricated on the PSPI structures. The measurement results illustrated that the Pirani gauges worked as expected in the range from 1- 470 Pa. Moreover, the results of the Pirani gauges based on the membrane and bridge structures were comparable, indicating that the commonly used bridge-shape structure for further reducing thermal conduction was unnecessary. Due to the excellent thermal isolation performance of PSPI, the suspended PSPI membrane is promising to be an outstanding candidate for thermal isolation applications.

  8. Thermal performance analysis of a phase change thermal storage unit for space heating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halawa, E.; Saman, W. [Institute for Sustainable Systems and Technologies School of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes SA 5095 (Australia)

    2011-01-15

    This paper presents the results of a comprehensive numerical study on the thermal performance of an air based phase change thermal storage unit (TSU) for space heating. The unit is designed for integration into space heating and cooling systems. The unit consists of a number of one dimensional phase change material (PCM) slabs contained in a rectangular duct where air passes between the slabs. The numerical analysis was based on an experimentally validated model. A parametric study has been carried out including the study on the effects of charge and discharge temperature differences, air mass flow rate, slab thicknesses, air gaps and slab dimensions on the air outlet temperatures and heat transfer rates of the thermal storage unit. The paper introduces and discusses quantities called charge and discharge temperature differences which play an important role in the melting and freezing processes. (author)

  9. Development and implementation of a generic analysis template for structural-thermal-optical-performance modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scola, Salvatore; Stavely, Rebecca; Jackson, Trevor; Boyer, Charlie; Osmundsen, Jim; Turczynski, Craig; Stimson, Chad

    2016-09-01

    Performance-related effects of system level temperature changes can be a key consideration in the design of many types of optical instruments. This is especially true for space-based imagers, which may require complex thermal control systems to maintain alignment of the optical components. Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance (STOP) analysis is a multi-disciplinary process that can be used to assess the performance of these optical systems when subjected to the expected design environment. This type of analysis can be very time consuming, which makes it difficult to use as a trade study tool early in the project life cycle. In many cases, only one or two iterations can be performed over the course of a project. This limits the design space to best practices since it may be too difficult, or take too long, to test new concepts analytically. In order to overcome this challenge, automation, and a standard procedure for performing these studies is essential. A methodology was developed within the framework of the Comet software tool that captures the basic inputs, outputs, and processes used in most STOP analyses. This resulted in a generic, reusable analysis template that can be used for design trades for a variety of optical systems. The template captures much of the upfront setup such as meshing, boundary conditions, data transfer, naming conventions, and post-processing, and therefore saves time for each subsequent project. A description of the methodology and the analysis template is presented, and results are described for a simple telescope optical system.

  10. Development and Implementation of a Generic Analysis Template for Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scola, Salvatore; Stavely, Rebecca; Jackson, Trevor; Boyer, Charlie; Osmundsen, Jim; Turczynski, Craig; Stimson, Chad

    2016-01-01

    Performance-related effects of system level temperature changes can be a key consideration in the design of many types of optical instruments. This is especially true for space-based imagers, which may require complex thermal control systems to maintain alignment of the optical components. Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance (STOP) analysis is a multi-disciplinary process that can be used to assess the performance of these optical systems when subjected to the expected design environment. This type of analysis can be very time consuming, which makes it difficult to use as a trade study tool early in the project life cycle. In many cases, only one or two iterations can be performed over the course of a project. This limits the design space to best practices since it may be too difficult, or take too long, to test new concepts analytically. In order to overcome this challenge, automation, and a standard procedure for performing these studies is essential. A methodology was developed within the framework of the Comet software tool that captures the basic inputs, outputs, and processes used in most STOP analyses. This resulted in a generic, reusable analysis template that can be used for design trades for a variety of optical systems. The template captures much of the upfront setup such as meshing, boundary conditions, data transfer, naming conventions, and post-processing, and therefore saves time for each subsequent project. A description of the methodology and the analysis template is presented, and results are described for a simple telescope optical system.

  11. Diagnosis Of The Risk For Carotid Artery Stenos Based On Thermal Model In Infrared Images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Valipoori Goodarzi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Background and purpose: Ischemic stroke is the third leading cause of death and a common cause of hospitalization in the United States of America and is also an important factor for Inability of patients and carotid stenos is one of the most important factors in creating it. Now, Imaging studies include: Angiography, MRI, CT scan and Doppler ultrasonography , are used to detect carotid artery stenos that is one of the most important causes of ischemic stroke. However, each method has unique advantages and disadvantages, that many of them will have a compromise between performance and accuracy versus easy usage and cost considerations. In contrast, in this paper, thermography is used as a non-invasive and cost effective to detect carotid artery Stenos and thus the risk of stroke. Materials and methods: This study is done on a series of thermal images obtained from the Clinical Center in California. In this imaging, the automatic detection of carotid artery stenos and thus Risk for stroke was done, based on: (1 the difference of average temperature between the right and left carotid arteries in the neck (2 The presence or absence of internal and external carotid arteries. Results: In this study, with the survey conducted by a specialist brain of patients had been previously, the accuracy of this work is confirmed. the techniques and points that are Experimental and  scientifically based  and obtained in this study, can help to doctors for Early detection of Artery disease, based on analysis of thermal images . Conclusion: The method presented in this paper is considered as a non-invasive and cost-effective method that automatically operates to detect the carotid arteries and prevent the Risk for stroke.

  12. Thermal neutron imaging with rare-earth-ion-doped LiCaAlF6 scintillators and a sealed 252Cf source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawaguchi, Noriaki; Yanagida, Takayuki; Fujimoto, Yutaka; Yokota, Yuui; Kamada, Kei; Fukuda, Kentaro; Suyama, Toshihisa; Watanabe, Kenichi; Yamazaki, Atsushi; Chani, Valery; Yoshikawa, Akira

    2011-01-01

    Thermal neutron imaging with Ce-doped LiCaAlF 6 crystals has been performed. The prototype of the neutron imager using a Ce-doped LiCaAlF 6 scintillating crystal and a position sensitive photomultiplier tube (PSPMT) which had 64 multi-channel anode was developed. The Ce-doped LiCaAlF 6 single crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. A plate with dimensions of a diameter of 50x2 mm 2 was cut from the grown crystal, polished, and optically coupled to PSPMT by silicone grease. The 252 Cf source ( 6 .

  13. Human ear detection in the thermal infrared spectrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abaza, Ayman; Bourlai, Thirimachos

    2012-06-01

    In this paper the problem of human ear detection in the thermal infrared (IR) spectrum is studied in order to illustrate the advantages and limitations of the most important steps of ear-based biometrics that can operate in day and night time environments. The main contributions of this work are two-fold: First, a dual-band database is assembled that consists of visible and thermal profile face images. The thermal data was collected using a high definition middle-wave infrared (3-5 microns) camera that is capable of acquiring thermal imprints of human skin. Second, a fully automated, thermal imaging based ear detection method is developed for real-time segmentation of human ears in either day or night time environments. The proposed method is based on Haar features forming a cascaded AdaBoost classifier (our modified version of the original Viola-Jones approach1 that was designed to be applied mainly in visible band images). The main advantage of the proposed method, applied on our profile face image data set collected in the thermal-band, is that it is designed to reduce the learning time required by the original Viola-Jones method from several weeks to several hours. Unlike other approaches reported in the literature, which have been tested but not designed to operate in the thermal band, our method yields a high detection accuracy that reaches ~ 91.5%. Further analysis on our data set yielded that: (a) photometric normalization techniques do not directly improve ear detection performance. However, when using a certain photometric normalization technique (CLAHE) on falsely detected images, the detection rate improved by ~ 4%; (b) the high detection accuracy of our method did not degrade when we lowered down the original spatial resolution of thermal ear images. For example, even after using one third of the original spatial resolution (i.e. ~ 20% of the original computational time) of the thermal profile face images, the high ear detection accuracy of our method

  14. Development of Mitsubishi high thermal performance grid 1 - CFD applicability for thermal hydraulic design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikeda, K.; Hoshi, M.

    2001-01-01

    Mitsubishi applied the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) evaluation method for designing of the new lower pressure loss and higher DNB performance grid spacer. Reduction of pressure loss of the grid has been estimated by CFD. Also, CFD has been developed as a design tool to predict the coolant mixing ability of vane structures, that is to compare the relative peak spot temperatures around fuel rods at the same heat flux condition. These evaluations have been reflected to the new grid spacer design. The prototype grid was manufactured and some flow tests were performed to examine the thermal hydraulic performance, which were predicted by CFD. The experimental data of pressure loss was in good agreement with CFD prediction. The CFD prediction of flow behaviors at downstream of the mixing vanes was verified by detail cross-flow measurements at rod gaps by the rod LDV system. It is concluded that the applicability of the CFD evaluation method for the thermal hydraulic design of the grid is confirmed. (authors)

  15. Thermal imaging of solid oxide fuel cell anode processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pomfret, Michael B.; Kidwell, David A.; Owrutsky, Jeffrey C. [Chemistry Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Steinhurst, Daniel A. [Nova Research Inc., Alexandria, VA 22308 (United States)

    2010-01-01

    A Si-charge-coupled device (CCD), camera-based, near-infrared imaging system is demonstrated on Ni/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) fragments and the anodes of working solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). NiO reduction to Ni by H{sub 2} and carbon deposition lead to the fragment cooling by 5 {+-} 2 C and 16 {+-} 1 C, respectively. When air is flowed over the fragments, the temperature rises 24 {+-} 1 C as carbon and Ni are oxidized. In an operational SOFC, the decrease in temperature with carbon deposition is only 4.0 {+-} 0.1 C as the process is moderated by the presence of oxides and water. Electrochemical oxidation of carbon deposits results in a {delta}T of +2.2 {+-} 0.2 C, demonstrating that electrochemical oxidation is less vigorous than atmospheric oxidation. While the high temperatures of SOFCs are challenging in many respects, they facilitate thermal imaging because their emission overlaps the spectral response of inexpensive Si-CCD cameras. Using Si-CCD cameras has advantages in terms of cost, resolution, and convenience compared to mid-infrared thermal cameras. High spatial ({proportional_to}0.1 mm) and temperature ({proportional_to}0.1 C) resolutions are achieved in this system. This approach provides a convenient and effective analytical technique for investigating the effects of anode chemistry in operating SOFCs. (author)

  16. Thermal imaging of solid oxide fuel cell anode processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pomfret, Michael B.; Steinhurst, Daniel A.; Kidwell, David A.; Owrutsky, Jeffrey C.

    A Si-charge-coupled device (CCD), camera-based, near-infrared imaging system is demonstrated on Ni/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) fragments and the anodes of working solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). NiO reduction to Ni by H 2 and carbon deposition lead to the fragment cooling by 5 ± 2 °C and 16 ± 1 °C, respectively. When air is flowed over the fragments, the temperature rises 24 ± 1 °C as carbon and Ni are oxidized. In an operational SOFC, the decrease in temperature with carbon deposition is only 4.0 ± 0.1 °C as the process is moderated by the presence of oxides and water. Electrochemical oxidation of carbon deposits results in a Δ T of +2.2 ± 0.2 °C, demonstrating that electrochemical oxidation is less vigorous than atmospheric oxidation. While the high temperatures of SOFCs are challenging in many respects, they facilitate thermal imaging because their emission overlaps the spectral response of inexpensive Si-CCD cameras. Using Si-CCD cameras has advantages in terms of cost, resolution, and convenience compared to mid-infrared thermal cameras. High spatial (∼0.1 mm) and temperature (∼0.1 °C) resolutions are achieved in this system. This approach provides a convenient and effective analytical technique for investigating the effects of anode chemistry in operating SOFCs.

  17. Thermal performance of a multiple PCM thermal storage unit for free cooling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosaffa, A.H.; Infante Ferreira, C.A.; Talati, F.; Rosen, M.A.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Numerical analysis on the performance of a thermal storages as free cooling system. ► Employing multiple PCMs to enhance heat transfer rate in thermal storages. ► Using an effective heat capacity method, the phase change parameters are determined. ► The effect of the slabs size and air channel thickness on COP is investigated. - Abstract: As demand for refrigeration and air conditioning increased during the last decade, the opportunities have expanded for using thermal energy storage (TES) systems in an economically advantageous manner in place of conventional cooling plants. Many cool storage systems use phase change materials (PCMs) and achieve peak load shifting in buildings. This work presents numerical investigations of the performance enhancement of a free cooling system using a TES unit employing multiple PCMs. The TES unit is composed of a number of rectangular channels for the flowing heat transfer fluid, separated by PCM slabs. Using the effective heat capacity method, the melting and solidification of the PCM is solved. The forced convective heat transfer inside the channels is analyzed by solving the energy equation, which is coupled with the heat conduction equation in the container wall. The effect of design parameters such as PCM slab length, thickness and fluid passage gap on the storage performance is also investigated using an energy based optimization. The results show that a system which can guarantee comfort conditions for the climate of Tabriz, Iran has an optimum COP of 7.0. This could be achieved by a combination of CaCl 2 ·6H 2 O with RT25 with the optimum air channel thickness of 3.2 mm, length of 1.3 m and PCM slab thickness of 10 mm

  18. TADIR-production version: El-Op's high-resolution 480x4 TDI thermal imaging system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarusi, Gabby; Ziv, Natan; Zioni, O.; Gaber, J.; Shechterman, Mark S.; Lerner, M.

    1999-07-01

    Efforts invested at El-Op during the last four years have led to the development of TADIR - engineering model thermal imager, demonstrated in 1998, and eventually to the final production version of TADIR to be demonstrated in full operation during 1999. Both versions take advantage of the high resolution and high sensitivity obtained by the 480 X 4 TDI MCT detector as well as many more features implemented in the system to obtain a state of the art high- end thermal imager. The production version of TADIR uses a 480 X 6 TDI HgCdTe detector made by the SCD Israeli company. In this paper, we will present the main features of the production version of TADIR.

  19. Yearly thermal performances of solar heating plants in Denmark – Measured and calculated

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Furbo, Simon; Dragsted, Janne; Perers, Bengt

    2018-01-01

    The thermal performance of solar collector fields depends mainly on the mean solar collector fluid temperature of the collector field and on the solar radiation. For Danish solar collector fields for district heating the measured yearly thermal performances per collector area varied in the period...... 2012–2016 between 313 kWh/m2 and 577 kWh/m2, with averages between 411 kWh/m2 and 463 kWh/m2. The percentage difference between the highest and lowest measured yearly thermal performance is about 84%. Calculated yearly thermal performances of typically designed large solar collector fields at six...... different locations in Denmark with measured weather data for the years 2002–2010 vary between 405 kWh/m2 collector and 566 kWh/m2 collector, if a mean solar collector fluid temperature of 60 °C is assumed. This corresponds to a percentage difference between the highest and lowest calculated yearly thermal...

  20. Thermal performance of a phase change material on a nickel-plated surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nurmawati, M.H.; Siow, K.S.; Rasiah, I.J.

    2004-01-01

    Thermal control becomes increasingly vital with IC chips becoming faster and smaller. The need to keep chips within acceptable operating temperatures is a growing challenge. Thermal interface materials (TIM) form the interfaces that improve heat transfer from the heat-generating chip to the heat dissipating thermal solution. One of the most commonly used materials in today's electronics industry is phase change material (PCM). Typically, the heat spreader is a nickel-plated copper surface. The compatibility of the PCM to this surface is crucial to the performance of the TIM. In this paper, we report on the performance of this interface. To that end, an instrument to suitably measure critical parameters, like the apparent and contact thermal resistance of the TIM, is developed according to the ASTM D5470 and calibrated. A brief theory of TIM is described and the properties of the PCM were investigated using the instrument. Thermal resistance measurements were made to investigate the effects of physical parameters like pressure, temperature and supplied power on the thermal performance of the material on nickel-plated surface. Conclusions were drawn on the effectiveness of the interface and their application in IC packages

  1. Performance monitoring pavements with thermal segregation in Texas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-01

    This project conducted work to investigate the performance of asphalt surface mixtures that exhibited : thermal segregation during construction. From 2004 to 2009, a total of 14 construction projects were : identified for monitoring. Five of these pr...

  2. Infrared thermal imaging for automated detection of diabetic foot complications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Netten, Jaap J; van Baal, Jeff G; Liu, Chanjuan; van der Heijden, Ferdi; Bus, Sicco A

    2013-09-01

    Although thermal imaging can be a valuable technology in the prevention and management of diabetic foot disease, it is not yet widely used in clinical practice. Technological advancement in infrared imaging increases its application range. The aim was to explore the first steps in the applicability of high-resolution infrared thermal imaging for noninvasive automated detection of signs of diabetic foot disease. The plantar foot surfaces of 15 diabetes patients were imaged with an infrared camera (resolution, 1.2 mm/pixel): 5 patients had no visible signs of foot complications, 5 patients had local complications (e.g., abundant callus or neuropathic ulcer), and 5 patients had diffuse complications (e.g., Charcot foot, infected ulcer, or critical ischemia). Foot temperature was calculated as mean temperature across pixels for the whole foot and for specified regions of interest (ROIs). No differences in mean temperature >1.5 °C between the ipsilateral and the contralateral foot were found in patients without complications. In patients with local complications, mean temperatures of the ipsilateral and the contralateral foot were similar, but temperature at the ROI was >2 °C higher compared with the corresponding region in the contralateral foot and to the mean of the whole ipsilateral foot. In patients with diffuse complications, mean temperature differences of >3 °C between ipsilateral and contralateral foot were found. With an algorithm based on parameters that can be captured and analyzed with a high-resolution infrared camera and a computer, it is possible to detect signs of diabetic foot disease and to discriminate between no, local, or diffuse diabetic foot complications. As such, an intelligent telemedicine monitoring system for noninvasive automated detection of signs of diabetic foot disease is one step closer. Future studies are essential to confirm and extend these promising early findings. © 2013 Diabetes Technology Society.

  3. NASA Goddards LiDAR, Hyperspectral and Thermal (G-LiHT) Airborne Imager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Bruce D.; Corp, Lawrence A.; Nelson, Ross F.; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Morton, Douglas C.; McCorkel, Joel T.; Masek, Jeffrey G.; Ranson, Kenneth J.; Ly, Vuong; Montesano, Paul M.

    2013-01-01

    The combination of LiDAR and optical remotely sensed data provides unique information about ecosystem structure and function. Here, we describe the development, validation and application of a new airborne system that integrates commercial off the shelf LiDAR hyperspectral and thermal components in a compact, lightweight and portable system. Goddard's LiDAR, Hyperspectral and Thermal (G-LiHT) airborne imager is a unique system that permits simultaneous measurements of vegetation structure, foliar spectra and surface temperatures at very high spatial resolution (approximately 1 m) on a wide range of airborne platforms. The complementary nature of LiDAR, optical and thermal data provide an analytical framework for the development of new algorithms to map plant species composition, plant functional types, biodiversity, biomass and carbon stocks, and plant growth. In addition, G-LiHT data enhance our ability to validate data from existing satellite missions and support NASA Earth Science research. G-LiHT's data processing and distribution system is designed to give scientists open access to both low- and high-level data products (http://gliht.gsfc.nasa.gov), which will stimulate the community development of synergistic data fusion algorithms. G-LiHT has been used to collect more than 6,500 km2 of data for NASA-sponsored studies across a broad range of ecoregions in the USA and Mexico. In this paper, we document G-LiHT design considerations, physical specifications, instrument performance and calibration and acquisition parameters. In addition, we describe the data processing system and higher-level data products that are freely distributed under NASA's Data and Information policy.

  4. Hydraulic performance of compacted clay liners under simulated daily thermal cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldaeef, A A; Rayhani, M T

    2015-10-01

    Compacted clay liners (CCLs) are commonly used as hydraulic barriers in several landfill applications to isolate contaminants from the surrounding environment and minimize the escape of leachate from the landfill. Prior to waste placement in landfills, CCLs are often exposed to temperature fluctuations which can affect the hydraulic performance of the liner. Experimental research was carried out to evaluate the effects of daily thermal cycles on the hydraulic performance of CCLs under simulated landfill conditions. Hydraulic conductivity tests were conducted on different soil specimens after being exposed to various thermal and dehydration cycles. An increase in the CCL hydraulic conductivity of up to one order of magnitude was recorded after 30 thermal cycles for soils with low plasticity index (PI = 9.5%). However, medium (PI = 25%) and high (PI = 37.2%) plasticity soils did not show significant hydraulic deviation due to their self-healing potential. Overlaying the CCL with a cover layer minimized the effects of daily thermal cycles, and maintained stable hydraulic performance in the CCLs even after exposure to 60 thermal cycles. Wet-dry cycles had a significant impact on the hydraulic aspect of low plasticity CCLs. However, medium and high plasticity CCLs maintained constant hydraulic performance throughout the test intervals. The study underscores the importance of protecting the CCL from exposure to atmosphere through covering it by a layer of geomembrane or an interim soil layer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Role of magnetic resonance imaging in guiding thermal therapies. A brief technical review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuroda, Kagayaki

    2007-01-01

    For a number of reasons, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a unique tool for interventional use. It has a spatial resolution which is independent of the wavelength of the electromagnetic field used for imaging, has various imaging parameters which are related to the physical properties of the subject; provides a superior soft-tissue contrast; provides freedom in determining the slicing or viewing angle; and it utilizes non-ionizing radiation. This technology offers assistance in therapeutic applications such as lesion identification, treatment planning, device tracking, temperature imaging and treatment evaluation. In this article, the role of MRI in assisting thermal therapy is briefly reviewed from a technical point of view. (author)

  6. Battery Pack Thermal Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pesaran, Ahmad

    2016-06-14

    This presentation describes the thermal design of battery packs at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. A battery thermal management system essential for xEVs for both normal operation during daily driving (achieving life and performance) and off-normal operation during abuse conditions (achieving safety). The battery thermal management system needs to be optimized with the right tools for the lowest cost. Experimental tools such as NREL's isothermal battery calorimeter, thermal imaging, and heat transfer setups are needed. Thermal models and computer-aided engineering tools are useful for robust designs. During abuse conditions, designs should prevent cell-to-cell propagation in a module/pack (i.e., keep the fire small and manageable). NREL's battery ISC device can be used for evaluating the robustness of a module/pack to cell-to-cell propagation.

  7. High precision automated face localization in thermal images: oral cancer dataset as test case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, M.; Raman, S. K.; Mukhopadhyay, S.; Patsa, S.; Anjum, N.; Ray, J. G.

    2017-02-01

    Automated face detection is the pivotal step in computer vision aided facial medical diagnosis and biometrics. This paper presents an automatic, subject adaptive framework for accurate face detection in the long infrared spectrum on our database for oral cancer detection consisting of malignant, precancerous and normal subjects of varied age group. Previous works on oral cancer detection using Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging(DITI) reveals that patients and normal subjects differ significantly in their facial thermal distribution. Therefore, it is a challenging task to formulate a completely adaptive framework to veraciously localize face from such a subject specific modality. Our model consists of first extracting the most probable facial regions by minimum error thresholding followed by ingenious adaptive methods to leverage the horizontal and vertical projections of the segmented thermal image. Additionally, the model incorporates our domain knowledge of exploiting temperature difference between strategic locations of the face. To our best knowledge, this is the pioneering work on detecting faces in thermal facial images comprising both patients and normal subjects. Previous works on face detection have not specifically targeted automated medical diagnosis; face bounding box returned by those algorithms are thus loose and not apt for further medical automation. Our algorithm significantly outperforms contemporary face detection algorithms in terms of commonly used metrics for evaluating face detection accuracy. Since our method has been tested on challenging dataset consisting of both patients and normal subjects of diverse age groups, it can be seamlessly adapted in any DITI guided facial healthcare or biometric applications.

  8. PCA-based approach for subtracting thermal background emission in high-contrast imaging data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunziker, S.; Quanz, S. P.; Amara, A.; Meyer, M. R.

    2018-03-01

    Aims.Ground-based observations at thermal infrared wavelengths suffer from large background radiation due to the sky, telescope and warm surfaces in the instrument. This significantly limits the sensitivity of ground-based observations at wavelengths longer than 3 μm. The main purpose of this work is to analyse this background emission in infrared high-contrast imaging data as illustrative of the problem, show how it can be modelled and subtracted and demonstrate that it can improve the detection of faint sources, such as exoplanets. Methods: We used principal component analysis (PCA) to model and subtract the thermal background emission in three archival high-contrast angular differential imaging datasets in the M' and L' filter. We used an M' dataset of β Pic to describe in detail how the algorithm works and explain how it can be applied. The results of the background subtraction are compared to the results from a conventional mean background subtraction scheme applied to the same dataset. Finally, both methods for background subtraction are compared by performing complete data reductions. We analysed the results from the M' dataset of HD 100546 only qualitatively. For the M' band dataset of β Pic and the L' band dataset of HD 169142, which was obtained with an angular groove phase mask vortex vector coronagraph, we also calculated and analysed the achieved signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Results: We show that applying PCA is an effective way to remove spatially and temporarily varying thermal background emission down to close to the background limit. The procedure also proves to be very successful at reconstructing the background that is hidden behind the point spread function. In the complete data reductions, we find at least qualitative improvements for HD 100546 and HD 169142, however, we fail to find a significant increase in S/N of β Pic b. We discuss these findings and argue that in particular datasets with strongly varying observing conditions or

  9. Thermal buffering performance of composite phase change materials applied in low-temperature protective garments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Kai; Jiao, Mingli; Yu, Yuanyuan; Zhu, Xueying; Liu, Rangtong; Cao, Jian

    2017-07-01

    Phase change material (PCM) is increasingly being applied in the manufacturing of functional thermo-regulated textiles and garments. This paper investigated the thermal buffering performance of different composite PCMs which are suitable for the application in functional low-temperature protective garments. First, according to the criteria selecting PCM for functional textiles/garments, three kinds of pure PCM were selected as samples, which were n-hexadecane, n-octadecane and n-eicosane. To get the adjustable phase change temperature range and higher phase change enthalpy, three kinds of composite PCM were prepared using the above pure PCM. To evaluate the thermal buffering performance of different composite PCM samples, the simulated low-temperature experiments were performed in the climate chamber, and the skin temperature variation curves in three different low temperature conditions were obtained. Finally composite PCM samples’ thermal buffering time, thermal buffering capacity and thermal buffering efficiency were calculated. Results show that the comprehensive thermal buffering performance of n-octadecane and n-eicosane composite PCM is the best.

  10. Performance assessment of imaging plates for the JHR transfer Neutron Imaging System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, E.; Guimbal, P. AB(; )

    2018-01-01

    The underwater Neutron Imaging System to be installed in the Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR-NIS) is based on a transfer method using a neutron activated beta-emitter like Dysprosium. The information stored in the converter is to be offline transferred on a specific imaging system, still to be defined. Solutions are currently under investigation for the JHR-NIS in order to anticipate the disappearance of radiographic films commonly used in these applications. We report here the performance assessment of Computed Radiography imagers (Imaging Plates) performed at LLB/Orphée (CEA Saclay). Several imaging plate types are studied, in one hand in the configuration involving an intimate contact with an activated dysprosium foil converter: Fuji BAS-TR, Fuji UR-1 and Carestream Flex XL Blue imaging plates, and in the other hand by using a prototypal imaging plate doped with dysprosium and thus not needing any contact with a separate converter foil. The results for these imaging plates are compared with those obtained with gadolinium doped imaging plate used in direct neutron imaging (Fuji BAS-ND). The detection performances of the different imagers are compared regarding resolution and noise. The many advantages of using imaging plates over radiographic films (high sensitivity, linear response, high dynamic range) could palliate its lower intrinsic resolution.

  11. The FLIR ONE thermal imager for the assessment of burn wounds: Reliability and validity study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaspers, M E H; Carrière, M E; Meij-de Vries, A; Klaessens, J H G M; van Zuijlen, P P M

    2017-11-01

    Objective measurement tools may be of great value to provide early and reliable burn wound assessment. Thermal imaging is an easy, accessible and objective technique, which measures skin temperature as an indicator of tissue perfusion. These thermal images might be helpful in the assessment of burn wounds. However, before implementation of a novel measurement tool into clinical practice is considered, it is appropriate to test its clinimetric properties (i.e. reliability and validity). The objective of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the recently introduced FLIR ONE thermal imager. Two observers obtained thermal images of burn wounds in adult patients at day 1-3, 4-7 and 8-10 after burn. Subsequently, temperature differences between the burn wound and healthy skin (ΔT) were calculated on an iPad mini containing the FLIR Tools app. To assess reliability, ΔT values of both observers were compared by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and measurement error parameters. To assess validity, the ΔT values of the first observer were compared to the registered healing time of the burn wounds, which was specified into three categories: (I) ≤14 days, (II) 15-21 days and (III) >21 days. The ability of the FLIR ONE to discriminate between healing ≤21 days and >21 days was evaluated by means of a receiver operating characteristic curve and an optimal ΔT cut-off value. Reliability: ICCs were 0.99 for each time point, indicating excellent reliability up to 10 days after burn. The standard error of measurement varied between 0.17-0.22°C. the area under the curve was calculated at 0.69 (95% CI 0.54-0.84). A cut-off value of -1.15°C shows a moderate discrimination between burn wound healing ≤21 days and >21 days (46% sensitivity; 82% specificity). Our results show that the FLIR ONE thermal imager is highly reliable, but the moderate validity calls for additional research. However, the FLIR ONE is pre-eminently feasible

  12. Heat transfer and thermal storage performance of an open thermosyphon type thermal storage unit with tubular phase change material canisters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Ping-Yang; Hu, Bo-Wen; Liu, Zhen-Hua

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel open heat pipe thermal storage unit is design to improve its performance. • Mechanism of its operation is phase-change heat transfer. • Tubular canisters with phase change material were placed in thermal storage unit. • Experiment and analysis are carried out to investigate its operation properties. - Abstract: A novel open thermosyphon-type thermal storage unit is presented to improve design and performance of heat pipe type thermal storage unit. In the present study, tubular canisters filled with a solid–liquid phase change material are vertically placed in the middle of the thermal storage unit. The phase change material melts at 100 °C. Water is presented as the phase-change heat transfer medium of the thermal storage unit. The tubular canister is wrapped tightly with a layer of stainless steel mesh to increase the surface wettability. The heat transfer mechanism of charging/discharging is similar to that of the thermosyphon. Heat transfer between the heat resource or cold resource and the phase change material in this device occurs in the form of a cyclic phase change of the heat-transfer medium, which occurs on the surface of the copper tubes and has an extremely high heat-transfer coefficient. A series of experiments and theoretical analyses are carried out to investigate the properties of the thermal storage unit, including power distribution, start-up performance, and temperature difference between the phase change material and the surrounding vapor. The results show that the whole system has excellent heat-storage/heat-release performance

  13. Entransy analysis on the thermal performance of flat plate solar air collectors

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Jie Deng; Xudong Yang; Yupeng Xu; Ming Yang

    2017-01-01

    Based on the thermo-electric analogy (the so-called thermal entransy analysis), the unified airside convective heat transfer coefficient for different sorts of flat plate solar air collectors (FPSACs) is identified in terms of colector aperture area. In addition, the colector thermodynamic characteristic matching coefficient is defined to depict the matching property of collector thermal performance between the collector airside heat transfer and the total heat losses. It is found that the airside convective heat transfer coefficient can be experimentally determined by collector thermal performance test method to compare the airside thermal performances of FPSACs with different types of airflow structures. Moreover, the smaler the colector thermodynamic characteristic matching coefficient is, the better the thermodynamic perfect degree of a FPSAC is. The minimum limit value of the collector thermodynamic matching coefficient is close to zero but it can not vanish in practical engineering. Parameter sensitivity analysis on the total entransy dissipation and the entransy increment of a general FPSAC is also undertaken. The results indicate that the effective way of decreasing total entransy dissipation and enhancing the useful entransy increment is improving the efficiency intercept of the FPSAC. This is equivalent to the cognition result of thermal analysis. However, the evaluation indices identified by the thermal entransy analysis can not be extracted by singular thermal analysis.

  14. Preliminary tests of a model of cooling-pond thermal performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hicks, B.B.; Wesely, M.L.; Wilczek, J.

    1975-01-01

    Experiments performed during recent years at the cooling pond complex at the Dresden nuclear power station have been designed to improve our understanding of the fundamental properties of thermal exchange at a warm-water surface. To a considerable extent, the field studies have been successful in that they have shown that modern micrometeorological techniques can be successfully applied to the demanding circumstances of an industrial cooling lake at temperature of at least 40 0 C. The intent of these studies has been to create a set of parameterization schemes good enough to allow simulation of the performance of the Dresden cooling lake without adjustment of numerical constants. An obvious extension of these studies, and one of the goals of the cooling-pond research program as presently stated, is to obtain an accurate numerical simulation of thermal performance of ponds with use of the improved formulations that have resulted from the experimental work at the Dresden lake. The computer model is divided into two sections and can be used to test the sensitivity of predicted performance to variations in procedures for determining the thermal transfer from the surface

  15. Supervision of the thermal performance of heat exchanger trains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Negrao, C.O.R.; Tonin, P.C.; Madi, M. [Federal University of Technology Parana UTFPR, Post-graduate Program in Mechanical and Materials Engineering PPGEM, Thermal Science Laboratory LACIT, Av. Sete de Setembro, 3165, CEP 80230-901, Curitiba, Parana (Brazil)

    2007-02-15

    In oil refining, heat exchanger networks are employed to recover heat and therefore save energy of the plant. However, many heat exchangers in crude oil pre-heat trains are under high risk of fouling. Under fouling conditions, the thermal performance of heat exchangers is continuously reduced and its supervision becomes an important task. The large number of heat exchangers in pre-heat trains and the change of operation conditions and feedstock charges make the daily supervision a difficult task. This work applies an approach to follow the performance of heat exchangers [M.A.S. Jeronimo, L.F. Melo, A.S. Braga, P.J.B.F. Ferreira, C. Martins, Monitoring the thermal efficiency of fouled heat exchangers - A simplified method, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 14 (1997) 455-463] and extends it to monitor the whole train. The approach is based on the comparison of measured and predicted heat exchanger effectiveness. The measured value is computed from the four inlet and outlet temperatures of a heat exchanger unit. The predicted clean and dirty values of effectiveness are calculated from classical literature relations as a function of NTU and of heat capacity ratio (R). NTU and R are continuously adjusted according to mass flow rate changes. An index of fouling is defined for the whole network and the results show the performance degradation of the network with time. The work also suggests that Jeronimo's index of fouling can be used to estimate the fouling thermal resistance of heat exchangers. (author)

  16. Image timing and detector performance of a matrix ion-chamber electronic portal imaging device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greer, P.

    1996-01-01

    The Oncology Centre of Auckland Hospital recently purchased a Varian PortalVision TM electronic portal imaging device (EPID). Image acquisition times, input-output characteristics and contrast-detail curves of this matrix liquid ion-chamber EPID have been measured to examine the variation in imaging performance with acquisition mode. The variation in detector performance with acquisition mode has been examined. The HV cycle time can be increased to improve image quality. Consideration should be given to the acquisition mode and HV cycle time used when imaging to ensure adequate imaging performance with reasonable imaging time. (author)

  17. Passive thermal infrared hyperspectral imaging for quantitative imaging of shale gas leaks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gagnon, Marc-André; Tremblay, Pierre; Savary, Simon; Farley, Vincent; Guyot, Éric; Lagueux, Philippe; Morton, Vince; Giroux, Jean; Chamberland, Martin

    2017-10-01

    There are many types of natural gas fields including shale formations that are common especially in the St-Lawrence Valley (Canada). Since methane (CH4), the major component of shale gas, is odorless, colorless and highly flammable, in addition to being a greenhouse gas, methane emanations and/or leaks are important to consider for both safety and environmental reasons. Telops recently launched on the market the Hyper-Cam Methane, a field-deployable thermal infrared hyperspectral camera specially tuned for detecting methane infrared spectral features under ambient conditions and over large distances. In order to illustrate the benefits of this novel research instrument for natural gas imaging, the instrument was brought on a site where shale gas leaks unexpectedly happened during a geological survey near the Enfant-Jesus hospital in Quebec City, Canada, during December 2014. Quantitative methane imaging was carried out based on methane's unique infrared spectral signature. Optical flow analysis was also carried out on the data to estimate the methane mass flow rate. The results show how this novel technique could be used for advanced research on shale gases.

  18. Output performance analyses of solar array on stratospheric airship with thermal effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Jun; Lv, Mingyun; Tan, Dongjie; Zhu, Weiyu; Sun, Kangwen; Zhang, Yuanyuan

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A model investigating the output power of solar array is proposed. • The output power in the cruise condition with thermal effect is researched. • The effect of some factors on output performance is discussed in detail. • A suitable transmissivity of external layer is crucial in preliminary design step. - Abstract: Output performance analyses of the solar array are very critical for solving the energy problem of a long endurance stratospheric airship, and the solar cell efficiency is very sensitive to temperature of the solar cell. But the research about output performance of solar array with thermal effect is rare. This paper outlines a numerical model including the thermal model of airship and solar cells, the incident solar radiation model on the solar array, and the power output model. Based on this numerical model, a MATLAB computer program is developed. In the course of the investigation, the comparisons of the simulation results with and without considering thermal effect are reported. Furthermore, effects of the transmissivity of external encapsulation layer of solar array and wind speed on the thermal performance and output power of solar array are discussed in detail. The results indicate that this method is helpful for planning energy management.

  19. Long term energy performance analysis of Egbin thermal power ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study is aimed at providing an energy performance analysis of Egbin thermal power plant. The plant operates on Regenerative Rankine cycle with steam as its working fluid .The model equations were formulated based on some performance parameters used in power plant analysis. The considered criteria were plant ...

  20. Availability Performance Analysis of Thermal Power Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhangu, Navneet Singh; Singh, Rupinder; Pahuja, G. L.

    2018-03-01

    This case study presents the availability evaluation method of thermal power plants for conducting performance analysis in Indian environment. A generic availability model has been proposed for a maintained system (thermal plants) using reliability block diagrams and fault tree analysis. The availability indices have been evaluated under realistic working environment using inclusion exclusion principle. Four year failure database has been used to compute availability for different combinatory of plant capacity, that is, full working state, reduced capacity or failure state. Availability is found to be very less even at full rated capacity (440 MW) which is not acceptable especially in prevailing energy scenario. One of the probable reason for this may be the difference in the age/health of existing thermal power plants which requires special attention of each unit from case to case basis. The maintenance techniques being used are conventional (50 years old) and improper in context of the modern equipment, which further aggravate the problem of low availability. This study highlights procedure for finding critical plants/units/subsystems and helps in deciding preventive maintenance program.

  1. Thermal Performance and Reliability Characterization of Bonded Interface Materials (BIMs): Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeVoto, D.; Paret, P.; Mihalic, M.; Narumanchi, S.; Bar-Cohen, A.; Matin, K.

    2014-08-01

    Thermal interface materials are an important enabler for low thermal resistance and reliable electronics packaging for a wide array of applications. There is a trend towards bonded interface materials (BIMs) because of their potential for low thermal resistivity (< 1 mm2K/W). However, BIMs induce thermomechanical stresses in the package and can be prone to failures and integrity risks. Deteriorated interfaces can result in high thermal resistance in the package and degradation and/or failure of the electronics. DARPA's Thermal Management Technologies program has addressed this challenge, supporting the development of mechanically-compliant, low resistivity nano-thermal interface (NTI) materials. In this work, we describe the testing procedure and report the results of NREL's thermal performance and reliability characterization of an initial sample of four different NTI-BIMs.

  2. Thermal and Hygric Expansion of High Performance Concrete

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Toman

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available The linear thermal expansion coefficient of two types of high performance concrete was measured in the temperature range from 20 °C to 1000 °C, and the linear hygric expansion coefficient was determined in the moisture range from dry material to saturation water content. Comparative methods were applied for measurements of both coefficients. The experimental results show that both the effect of temperature on the values of linear thermal expansion coefficients and the effect of moisture on the values of linear hygric expansion coefficients are very significant and cannot be neglected in practical applications.

  3. Temperature measurement by thermal strain imaging with diagnostic power ultrasound, with potential for thermal index determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Hai-Dong; Zhou, Li-Xia; Wells, Peter N T; Halliwell, Michael

    2009-05-01

    Over the years, there has been a substantial increase in acoustic exposure in diagnostic ultrasound as new imaging modalities with higher intensities and frame rates have been introduced; and more electronic components have been packed into the probe head, so that there is a tendency for it to become hotter. With respect to potential thermal effects, including those which may be hazardous occurring during ultrasound scanning, there is a correspondingly growing need for in vivo techniques to guide the operator as to the actual temperature rise occurring in the examined tissues. Therefore, an in vivo temperature estimator would be of considerable practical value. The commonly-used method of tissue thermal index (TI) measurement with a hydrophone in water could underestimate the actual value of TI (in one report by as much as 2.9 times). To obtain meaningful results, it is necessary to map the temperature elevation in 2-D (or 3-D) space. We present methodology, results and validation of a 2-D spatial and temporal thermal strain ultrasound temperature estimation technique in phantoms, and its apparently novel application in tracking the evolution of heat deposition at diagnostic exposure levels. The same ultrasound probe is used for both transmission and reception. The displacement and thermal strain estimation methods are similar to those used in high-intensity focused ultrasound thermal monitoring. The use of radiofrequency signals permits the application of cross correlation as a similarity measurement for tracking feature displacement. The displacement is used to calculate the thermal strain directly related to the temperature rise. Good agreement was observed between the temperature rise and the ultrasound power and scan duration. Thermal strain up to 1.4% was observed during 4000-s scan. Based on the results obtained for the temperature range studied in this work, the technique demonstrates potential for applicability in phantom (and possibly in vivo tissue

  4. Preparation and thermal performance of paraffin/Nano-SiO2 nanocomposite for passive thermal protection of electronic devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Yaqin; Gao, Xuenong; Chen, Peng; Huang, Zhaowen; Xu, Tao; Fang, Yutang; Zhang, Zhengguo

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Three types of paraffin/nano-SiO 2 nanocomposites were prepared and characterized. • Thermo-physical properties of these composites were determined and compared. • One composite with lower thermal conductivity showed better thermal insulation properties. • This composite was identified as thermal insulation material for electronic components. - Abstract: In this paper, three grades of nano silicon dioxide (nano-SiO 2 ), NS1, NS2 and NS3, were mixed into paraffin to prepare nanocomposites as novel insulation materials for electronic passive thermal protection applications. The optimal mass percentages of paraffin for the three composites, NS1P, NS2P and NS3P, were determined to be 75%, 70% and 65%, respectively. Investigations by means of scanning electron micrographs (SEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), hot disk analyzer and thermal protection performance tests were devoted to the morphology, thermal properties and thermal protection performance analysis of composites. Experimental results showed that paraffin uniformly distributed into the pores and on the surface of nano-SiO 2 . Melting points of composites declined and experimental latent heat became lower than the calculated values with the decrease of nano-SiO 2 pore size. The NS1P composite had larger thermal storage capacity, better reliability and stability compared with NS2P and NS3P. In addition, compared with 90% wt.% paraffin/EG composite, the incorporation of NS1 (25 wt.%) into paraffin caused not only 63.2% reduction in thermal conductivity, but also 21.8% increase in thermal protection time affected by the ambient temperature. Thus those good properties confirmed that NS1P (75 wt.%) composite was a viable candidate for protecting electronic devices under high temperature environment.

  5. Coherence holography by achromatic 3-D field correlation of generic thermal light with an imaging Sagnac shearing interferometer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naik, Dinesh N; Ezawa, Takahiro; Singh, Rakesh Kumar; Miyamoto, Yoko; Takeda, Mitsuo

    2012-08-27

    We propose a new technique for achromatic 3-D field correlation that makes use of the characteristics of both axial and lateral magnifications of imaging through a common-path Sagnac shearing interferometer. With this technique, we experimentally demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, 3-D image reconstruction of coherence holography with generic thermal light. By virtue of the achromatic axial shearing implemented by the difference in axial magnifications in imaging, the technique enables coherence holography to reconstruct a 3-D object with an axial depth beyond the short coherence length of the thermal light.

  6. Role of thermal resistance on the performance of superconducting radio frequency cavities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhakal, Pashupati; Ciovati, Gianluigi; Myneni, Ganapati Rao

    2017-03-01

    Thermal stability is an important parameter for the operation of the superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities used in particle accelerators. The rf power dissipated on the inner surface of the cavities is conducted to the helium bath cooling the outer cavity surface and the equilibrium temperature of the inner surface depends on the thermal resistance. In this manuscript, we present the results of direct measurements of thermal resistance on 1.3 GHz single cell SRF cavities made from high purity large-grain and fine-grain niobium as well as their rf performance for different treatments applied to outer cavity surface in order to investigate the role of the Kapitza resistance to the overall thermal resistance and to the SRF cavity performance. The results show no significant impact of the thermal resistance to the SRF cavity performance after chemical polishing, mechanical polishing or anodization of the outer cavity surface. Temperature maps taken during the rf test show nonuniform heating of the surface at medium rf fields. Calculations of Q0(Bp) curves using the thermal feedback model show good agreement with experimental data at 2 and 1.8 K when a pair-braking term is included in the calculation of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer surface resistance. These results indicate local intrinsic nonlinearities of the surface resistance, rather than purely thermal effects, to be the main cause for the observed field dependence of Q0(Bp) .

  7. Role of thermal resistance on the performance of superconducting radio frequency cavities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pashupati Dhakal

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Thermal stability is an important parameter for the operation of the superconducting radio frequency (SRF cavities used in particle accelerators. The rf power dissipated on the inner surface of the cavities is conducted to the helium bath cooling the outer cavity surface and the equilibrium temperature of the inner surface depends on the thermal resistance. In this manuscript, we present the results of direct measurements of thermal resistance on 1.3 GHz single cell SRF cavities made from high purity large-grain and fine-grain niobium as well as their rf performance for different treatments applied to outer cavity surface in order to investigate the role of the Kapitza resistance to the overall thermal resistance and to the SRF cavity performance. The results show no significant impact of the thermal resistance to the SRF cavity performance after chemical polishing, mechanical polishing or anodization of the outer cavity surface. Temperature maps taken during the rf test show nonuniform heating of the surface at medium rf fields. Calculations of Q_{0}(B_{p} curves using the thermal feedback model show good agreement with experimental data at 2 and 1.8 K when a pair-braking term is included in the calculation of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer surface resistance. These results indicate local intrinsic nonlinearities of the surface resistance, rather than purely thermal effects, to be the main cause for the observed field dependence of Q_{0}(B_{p}.

  8. Volume Fraction Dependent Thermal Performance of UAlx-Al Dispersion Target

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kong, Eui Hyun; Tahk, Young Wook; Kim, Hyun Jung; Oh, Jae Yong; Yim, Jeong Sik [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    Unlike U-Al alloys, properties of UAl{sub x}-Al dispersion target can be highly sensitive to volume fraction of UAlx in a target meat due to the interface resistance between target particles and matrix. The interface resistance effects on properties of the target meat including thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, specific heat, elastic modulus and so on. Thermal performances of a dispersion target meat were theoretically evaluated under normal operation condition of KJRR (Kijang Research Reactor) during short effective full power days (EFPD) of 7 days, based on reported measured thermal conductivities of UAl{sub x}-Al dispersion fuels. Effective thermal conductivity determines maximum temperature of dispersion target plate. And for that volume fraction of UAlx in target meat has to be determined considering manufacturing of target plate without degradation of physical and mechanical characteristics.

  9. Ghost imaging and ghost diffraction with pseudo-thermal light generated by means of a programmable SLM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Capeluto, M G; Schmiegelow, C T; Francisco, D; Ledesma, S; Iemmi, C; Duisterwinkel, H

    2011-01-01

    Ghost imaging and ghost diffraction are techniques in which information about the object or about its diffraction pattern is extracted by measuring the correlation between a reference beam and a beam that passes through the object. Although first experiments were carried on by using entangled photons, it was demonstrated that this technique can be performed by splitting incoherent pseudo-thermal radiation such as that obtained with a laser passing through a moving diffuser. In this work we implemented the use of a programmable phase spatial light modulator (SLM) in order to replace the rotating ground glass. In this way the random phase distributions obtained from the moving diffuser can be emulated by displaying onto the SLM different realizations of a random function with uniform distribution. Based on the programmability of the modulator we have studied the influence of diverse parameters such as speckle size or phase distributions in the final image quality. We carry on the experiment for two different cases ghost imaging and far field ghost diffraction.

  10. Utility experience using THERMAC for plant thermal performance analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, P.K.; Doran, K.J.

    1993-01-01

    THERMAC is a state-of-the-art software package designed to assist those responsible for monitoring and evaluating the thermal performance of fossil and nuclear power plants. It is an integrated program, available on PCs and selected workstations, that combines strong analytical capabilities with a graphical user interface and object-oriented database. The software accurately analyses all of the components of a power plant from first principles. The graphical user interface is employed to build plant specific models; it can also be used to create custom screen displays. THERMAC is able to read plant measurements and statistically account for any missing or erroneous plant data; it does not require any additional plant instrumentation. THERMAC can be used to archive historical data, generate customized trending plots and periodic performance reports. open-quotes What-if close-quote studies can be conducted to predict the impact of corrective actions on thermal performance

  11. Fabrication and performance evaluation of flexible heat pipes for potential thermal control of foldable electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Chao; Chang, Chao; Song, Chengyi; Shang, Wen; Wu, Jianbo; Tao, Peng; Deng, Tao

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A flexible and high-performance heat pipe is fabricated. • Bending effect on thermal performance of flexible heat pipes is evaluated. • Theoretical analysis is carried out to reveal the change of thermal resistance with bending. • Thermal control of foldable electronics with flexible heat pipes is demonstrated. - Abstract: In this work, we report the fabrication and thermal performance evaluation of flexible heat pipes prepared by using a fluororubber tube as the connector in the adiabatic section and using strong base treated hydrophilic copper meshes as the wick structure. Deionized water was chosen as working fluid and three different filling ratios (10%, 20%, and 30%) of working fluid were loaded into the heat pipe to investigate its impact on thermal performance. The fabricated heat pipes can be easily bended from 0"o to 180"o in the horizontal operation mode and demonstrated consistently low thermal resistances after repeated bending. It was found that with optimized amount of working fluid, the thermal resistance of flexible heat pipes increased with larger bending angles. Theoretical analysis reveals that bending disturbs the normal vapor flow from evaporator to condenser in the heat pipe, thus leads to increased liquid–vapor interfacial thermal resistance in the evaporator section. The flexible heat pipes have been successfully applied for thermal control of foldable electronic devices showing superior uniform heat-transfer performance.

  12. In-Flight performance of MESSENGER's Mercury dual imaging system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, S.E.; Murchie, S.L.; Becker, K.J.; Selby, C.M.; Turner, F.S.; Noble, M.W.; Chabot, N.L.; Choo, T.H.; Darlington, E.H.; Denevi, B.W.; Domingue, D.L.; Ernst, C.M.; Holsclaw, G.M.; Laslo, N.R.; Mcclintock, W.E.; Prockter, L.M.; Robinson, M.S.; Solomon, S.C.; Sterner, R.E.

    2009-01-01

    The Mercury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft, launched in August 2004 and planned for insertion into orbit around Mercury in 2011, has already completed two flybys of the innermost planet. The Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) acquired nearly 2500 images from the first two flybys and viewed portions of Mercury's surface not viewed by Mariner 10 in 1974-1975. Mercury's proximity to the Sun and its slow rotation present challenges to the thermal design for a camera on an orbital mission around Mercury. In addition, strict limitations on spacecraft pointing and the highly elliptical orbit create challenges in attaining coverage at desired geometries and relatively uniform spatial resolution. The instrument designed to meet these challenges consists of dual imagers, a monochrome narrow-angle camera (NAC) with a 1.5?? field of view (FOV) and a multispectral wide-angle camera (WAC) with a 10.5?? FOV, co-aligned on a pivoting platform. The focal-plane electronics of each camera are identical and use a 1024??1024 charge-coupled device detector. The cameras are passively cooled but use diode heat pipes and phase-change-material thermal reservoirs to maintain the thermal configuration during the hot portions of the orbit. Here we present an overview of the instrument design and how the design meets its technical challenges. We also review results from the first two flybys, discuss the quality of MDIS data from the initial periods of data acquisition and how that compares with requirements, and summarize how in-flight tests are being used to improve the quality of the instrument calibration. ?? 2009 SPIE.

  13. Thermal performance measurement and application of a multilayer insulator for emergency architecture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salvalai, Graziano; Imperadori, Marco; Scaccabarozzi, Diego; Pusceddu, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    Lightness coupled with a quick assembly method is crucial for emergency architecture in post-disaster area where accessibility and action time play a huge barer to rescue people. In this prospective, the following work analyses the potentiality (technological and thermal performances) of multilayer insulator for a new shelter envelope able to provide superior thermal comfort for the users. The thermal characteristics are derived experimentally by means of a guard ring apparatus under different working temperatures. Tests are performed on the multilayer insulator itself and on a composite structure, made of the multilayer insulator and two air gaps wrapped by a polyester cover, which is the core of a new lightweight emergency architecture. Experimental results show good agreement with literature data, providing a thermal conductivity and transmittance of about 0.04 W/(m °C) and 1.6 W/(m 2  °C) for the tested multilayer. The composite structure called Thermo Reflective Multilayer System (TRMS) shows better insulation performances, providing a thermal transmittance set to 0.85 W/(m 2  °C). A thermal model of an emergency tent based on the new insulating structure (TRMS) has been developed and its thermal performances have been compared with those of a UNHCR traditional emergency shelter. The shelter model was simulated (Trnsys v.17 environment) in the winter season considering the climate of Belgrade and using only the casual gains from occupant and solar radiation through opaque wall. Numerical simulations evidenced that the new insulating composite envelope reduces required heating load of about two and four times with respect to the traditional insulation. The study sets a starting point to develop a lightweight emergency architecture made with a combination between multilayer, air, polyester and vulcanized rubber. - Highlights: • Multilayer insulator tested by means of a guard ring apparatus. • Thermo reflective multilayer system (TRMS) development

  14. Wall temperature measurements using a thermal imaging camera with temperature-dependent emissivity corrections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDaid, Chloe; Zhang, Yang

    2011-01-01

    A methodology is presented whereby the relationship between temperature and emissivity for fused quartz has been used to correct the temperature values of a quartz impingement plate detected by an SC3000 thermal imaging camera. The methodology uses an iterative method using the initial temperature (obtained by assuming a constant emissivity) to find the emissivity values which are then put into the thermal imaging software and used to find the subsequent temperatures, which are used to find the emissivities, and so on until converged. This method is used for a quartz impingement plate that has been heated under various flame conditions, and the results are compared. Radiation losses from the plate are also calculated, and it is shown that even a slight change in temperature greatly affects the radiation loss. It is a general methodology that can be used for any wall material whose emissivity is a function of temperature

  15. Kalman Filtered MR Temperature Imaging for Laser Induced Thermal Therapies

    OpenAIRE

    Fuentes, D.; Yung, J.; Hazle, J. D.; Weinberg, J. S.; Stafford, R. J.

    2011-01-01

    The feasibility of using a stochastic form of Pennes bioheat model within a 3D finite element based Kalman filter (KF) algorithm is critically evaluated for the ability to provide temperature field estimates in the event of magnetic resonance temperature imaging (MRTI) data loss during laser induced thermal therapy (LITT). The ability to recover missing MRTI data was analyzed by systematically removing spatiotemporal information from a clinical MR-guided LITT procedure in human brain and comp...

  16. The retrieval of two-dimensional distribution of the earth's surface aerodynamic roughness using SAR image and TM thermal infrared image

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHANG; Renhua; WANG; Jinfeng; ZHU; Caiying; SUN; Xiaomin

    2004-01-01

    After having analyzed the requirement on the aerodynamic earth's surface roughness in two-dimensional distribution in the research field of interaction between land surface and atmosphere, this paper presents a new way to calculate the aerodynamic roughness using the earth's surface geometric roughness retrieved from SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and TM thermal infrared image data. On the one hand, the SPM (Small Perturbation Model) was used as a theoretical SAR backscattering model to describe the relationship between the SAR backscattering coefficient and the earth's surface geometric roughness and its dielectric constant retrieved from the physical model between the soil thermal inertia and the soil surface moisture with the simultaneous TM thermal infrared image data and the ground microclimate data. On the basis of the SAR image matching with the TM image, the non-volume scattering surface geometric information was obtained from the SPM model at the TM image pixel scale, and the ground pixel surface's equivalent geometric roughness-height standard RMS (Root Mean Square) was achieved from the geometric information by the transformation of the typical topographic factors. The vegetation (wheat, tree) height retrieved from spectrum model was also transferred into its equivalent geometric roughness. A completely two-dimensional distribution map of the equivalent geometric roughness over the experimental area was produced by the data mosaic technique. On the other hand, according to the atmospheric eddy currents theory, the aerodynamic surface roughness was iterated out with the atmosphere stability correction method using the wind and the temperature profiles data measured at several typical fields such as bare soil field and vegetation field. After having analyzed the effect of surface equivalent geometric roughness together with dynamic and thermodynamic factors on the aerodynamic surface roughness within the working area, this paper first establishes a scale

  17. ACCESS: Thermal Mechanical Design, Performance, and Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, Mary Elizabeth; Morris, M. J.; McCandliss, S. R.; Rauscher, B. J.; Kimble, R. A.; Kruk, J. W.; Wright, E. L.; Bohlin, R.; Kurucz, R. L.; Riess, A. G.; Pelton, R.; Deustua, S. E.; Dixon, W. V.; Sahnow, D. J.; Benford, D. J.; Gardner, J. P.; Feldman, P. D.; Moos, H. W.; Lampton, M.; Perlmutter, S.; Woodgate, B. E.

    2014-01-01

    Systematic errors associated with astrophysical data used to probe fundamental astrophysical questions, such as SNeIa observations used to constrain dark energy theories, are now rivaling and exceeding the statistical errors associated with these measurements. ACCESS: Absolute Color Calibration Experiment for Standard Stars is a series of rocket-borne sub-orbital missions and ground-based experiments designed to enable improvements in the precision of the astrophysical flux scale through the transfer of absolute laboratory detector standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to a network of stellar standards with a calibration accuracy of 1% and a spectral resolving power of 500 across the 0.35 - 1.7μm bandpass. Achieving this level of accuracy requires characterization and stability of the instrument and detector including a thermal background that contributes less than 1% to the flux per resolution element in the NIR. We will present the instrument and calibration status with a focus on the thermal mechanical design and associated performance data. The detector control and performance will be presented in a companion poster (Morris, et al). NASA APRA sounding rocket grant NNX08AI65G supports this work.

  18. Feasibility and Performance of the Microwave Thermal Rocket Launcher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parkin, Kevin L. G.; Culick, Fred E. C.

    2004-03-01

    Beamed-energy launch concepts employing a microwave thermal thruster are feasible in principle, and microwave sources of sufficient power to launch tons into LEO already exist. Microwave thermal thrusters operate on an analogous principle to nuclear thermal thrusters, which have experimentally demonstrated specific impulses exceeding 850 seconds. Assuming such performance, simple application of the rocket equation suggests that payload fractions of 10% are possible for a single stage to orbit (SSTO) microwave thermal rocket. We present an SSTO concept employing a scaled X-33 aeroshell. The flat aeroshell underside is covered by a thin-layer microwave absorbent heat-exchanger that forms part of the thruster. During ascent, the heat-exchanger faces the microwave beam. A simple ascent trajectory analysis incorporating X-33 aerodynamic data predicts a 10% payload fraction for a 1 ton craft of this type. In contrast, the Saturn V had 3 non-reusable stages and achieved a payload fraction of 4%.

  19. Thermally Optimized Paradigm of Thermal Management (TOP-M)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-07-18

    19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) 18-07-2017 Final Technical Jul 2015 - Jul 2017 NICOP - Thermally Optimized Paradigm of Thermal Management ...The main goal of this research was to present a New Thermal Management Approach, which combines thermally aware Very/Ultra Large Scale Integration...SPAD) image sensors were used to demonstrate the new thermal management approach. Thermal management , integrated temperature sensors, Vt extractor

  20. In situ thermal imaging and three-dimensional finite element modeling of tungsten carbide-cobalt during laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiong Yuhong; Hofmeister, William H.; Cheng Zhao; Smugeresky, John E.; Lavernia, Enrique J.; Schoenung, Julie M.

    2009-01-01

    Laser deposition is being used for the fabrication of net shapes from a broad range of materials, including tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) cermets (composites composed of a metallic phase and a hard refractory phase). During deposition, an unusual thermal condition is created for cermets, resulting in rather complex microstructures. To provide a fundamental insight into the evolution of such microstructures, we studied the thermal behavior of WC-Co cermets during laser deposition involving complementary results from in situ high-speed thermal imaging and three-dimensional finite element modeling. The former allowed for the characterization of temperature gradients and cooling rates in the vicinity of the molten pool, whereas the latter allowed for simulation of the entire sample. By combining the two methods, a more robust analysis of the thermal behavior was achieved. The model and the imaging results correlate well with each other and with the alternating sublayers observed in the microstructure.

  1. A high performance parallel approach to medical imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frieder, G.; Frieder, O.; Stytz, M.R.

    1988-01-01

    Research into medical imaging using general purpose parallel processing architectures is described and a review of the performance of previous medical imaging machines is provided. Results demonstrating that general purpose parallel architectures can achieve performance comparable to other, specialized, medical imaging machine architectures is presented. A new back-to-front hidden-surface removal algorithm is described. Results demonstrating the computational savings obtained by using the modified back-to-front hidden-surface removal algorithm are presented. Performance figures for forming a full-scale medical image on a mesh interconnected multiprocessor are presented

  2. Evaluation of Strategies to Improve the Thermal Performance of Steel Frames in Curtain Wall Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ji Hyun Oh

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Recently, metal curtain wall systems have been widely used in high-rise buildings due to many advantages, including being lightweight, rapid construction, and aesthetic features. Since the metal frame may lead to lower energy performance, thermal discomfort, and condensation risk due to the high thermal conductivity, its thermal performance can be important for the improvement of the overall thermal performance of the curtain wall system, as well as the energy efficiency of the building envelope. This study aims to evaluate variety of design strategies to improve the thermal performance of steel curtain wall frames. Five base cases and three further steps were selected for two different head profile shapes based on a state-of-the art technology review, and their thermal transmittances were calculated through simulations according to the ISO 12631 standard which is an international standard for calculating thermal transmittance of curtain wall system. Measured results that were obtained from hot-box tests were compared with the calculated results to validate the simulation method of this study. The shape of the head profile did not strongly influence the overall thermal transmittance, and the choice of strategies for the rabbet space was more important. More effective strategies could be decided according to the steps for variation development. This result can serve as a guideline for the design of high-performance curtain wall frames.

  3. THERMAL DIAGNOSTICS WITH THE ATMOSPHERIC IMAGING ASSEMBLY ON BOARD THE SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY: A VALIDATED METHOD FOR DIFFERENTIAL EMISSION MEASURE INVERSIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheung, Mark C. M.; Boerner, P.; Schrijver, C. J.; Malanushenko, A. [Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, 3251 Hanover Street Bldg. 252, Palo Alto, CA 94304 (United States); Testa, P. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Chen, F.; Peter, H., E-mail: cheung@lmsal.com [Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, D-37077 Göttingen (Germany)

    2015-07-10

    We present a new method for performing differential emission measure (DEM) inversions on narrow-band EUV images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The method yields positive definite DEM solutions by solving a linear program. This method has been validated against a diverse set of thermal models of varying complexity and realism. These include (1) idealized Gaussian DEM distributions, (2) 3D models of NOAA Active Region 11158 comprising quasi-steady loop atmospheres in a nonlinear force-free field, and (3) thermodynamic models from a fully compressible, 3D MHD simulation of active region (AR) corona formation following magnetic flux emergence. We then present results from the application of the method to AIA observations of Active Region 11158, comparing the region's thermal structure on two successive solar rotations. Additionally, we show how the DEM inversion method can be adapted to simultaneously invert AIA and Hinode X-ray Telescope data, and how supplementing AIA data with the latter improves the inversion result. The speed of the method allows for routine production of DEM maps, thus facilitating science studies that require tracking of the thermal structure of the solar corona in time and space.

  4. Ways to improve physical and thermal performance of refractory lining materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khlystov A.I.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Refractory lining materials, which include ceramic refractories and nonfired heat-resistant concretes, have a very short lifespan during the turnaround time measured in years and sometimes months. Therefore, increasing the service life of thermal generating units by 1.5-2 times will bring significant economic benefits. The main factor that determines the durability of refractory lining materials is the thermal resistance. It is possible to increase the thermal resistance by improving such physical and mechanical properties as strength and density. As for the ceramic refractory performance improvement, such technological methods as their structural and chemical modification by phosphate binder impregnation, as well as introduction of phosphate components into the ceramic batches during the molding process increase, in particular, their thermal stability. The use of aluminous and high-alumina cements contributes to a significant increase of not only strength, but also physical and thermal performance of heat-resistant concretes with different fillers. Switching to the use of chemical binders in the compositions of heat-resistant concretes (liquid glass with effective hardeners; silicate-block and phosphate binders enables to develop high-heat resistant materials which do not soften in a wide range of heating temperatures from 400 °С to 1600 °С. The positive results on increasing the thermal resistance of heat-resistant composites can be obtained by reinforcing them with high temperature fibers.

  5. Thermal ecological physiology of native and invasive frog species: do invaders perform better?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortes, Pablo A; Puschel, Hans; Acuña, Paz; Bartheld, José L; Bozinovic, Francisco

    2016-01-01

    Biological invasions are recognized as an important biotic component of global change that threatens the composition, structure and functioning of ecosystems, resulting in loss of biodiversity and displacement of native species. Although ecological characteristics facilitating the establishment and spread of non-native species are widely recognized, little is known about organismal attributes underlying invasion success. In this study, we tested the effect of thermal acclimation on thermal tolerance and locomotor performance in the invasive Xenopus laevis and the Chilean native Calyptocephalella gayi . In particular, the maximal righting performance (μ MAX ), optimal temperature ( T O ), lower (CT min ) and upper critical thermal limits (CT max ), thermal breadth ( T br ) and the area under the performance curve (AUC) were studied after 6 weeks acclimation to 10 and 20°C. We observed higher values of μ max and AUC in X. laevis in comparison to C. gayi . On the contrary, the invasive species showed lower values of CT min in comparison to the native one. In contrast, CT max , T O and T br showed no inter-specific differences. Moreover, we found that both species have the ability to acclimate their locomotor performance and lower thermal tolerance limit at low temperatures. Our results demonstrate that X. laevis is a better performer than C. gayi . Although there were differences in CT min , the invasive and native frogs did not differ in their thermal tolerance. Interestingly, in both species the lower and upper critical thermal limits are beyond the minimal and maximal temperatures encountered in nature during the coldest and hottest month, respectively. Overall, our findings suggest that both X. laevis and C. gayi would be resilient to climate warming expectations in Chile.

  6. Analyzing Thermal Characteristics of Urban Streets Using a Thermal Imaging Camera: A Case Study on Commercial Streets in Seoul, Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sugie Lee

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Due to continuing city growth and global warming over the past decades, urban heat island (UHI effects, referring to the phenomena wherein the ambient air temperatures in cities are higher than those in rural areas, have become a serious threat to urban populations. Impervious surfaces, buildings with low-albedo materials, and a lack of vegetated areas are the major causes of poor urban thermal environments, particularly during the summer. Previous research has focused primarily on the thermal characteristics of individual building units. Few studies consider the impact of the street-scale thermal environments on the surface temperature, which affects pedestrian thermal comfort. The purpose of this study is to analyze the thermal characteristics of various physical elements on urban streets using thermal imaging cameras, and present policy implications for improving pedestrian thermal comfort. This study examines street-scale thermal environments of three major commercial streets: Garosu road, Serosu road, and Narosu road, in Seoul, Korea. This study conducted field measurements both during the day and the night in June 2017 in order to investigate changes in the urban surface temperatures across time. The results show that street trees are the most effective mitigation element for reducing surface temperatures. With regard to building use types, the highest surface temperatures are typically measured near restaurant buildings. Building façades that are dark-colored or partially covered with a metal contribute to high surface temperatures. Similarly, the temperatures of artificial turf or wooden decks on urban streets are also significantly high during the daytime. The thermal characteristics of various urban street elements should be considered to reduce the surface temperature and mitigate the urban heat island effect.

  7. Thermal performance of various multilayer insulation systems below 80K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boroski, W.N.; Nicol, T.H.; Schoo, C.J.

    1992-04-01

    The SSC collider dipole cryostat consists of a vacuum shell operating at room temperature, two thermal shields operating near 80K and 20K respectively, and the superconducting magnet assembly operating near 4K. The cryostat design incorporates multilayer insulation (MLI) blankets to limit radiant heat transfer into the 80K and 20K thermal shields. Also, an MLI blanket is used to impede heat transfer through residual gas conduction into the 4K superconducting magnet assembly. A measurement facility at Fermilab has been used to experimentally optimize the thermal insulation system for the dipole cryostat. Previous thermal measurements have been used to define the 80K MLI system configuration and verify system performance. With the 80K MLI system defined, the current effort has focused on experimentally defining the optimum insulation scheme for the 20K thermal shield. The SSC design specification requires that radiant heat transfer be limited to 0.093 W/m 2 at an insulating vacuum of 10 -6 torr

  8. The performance analysis of the Trough Concentrating Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, M., E-mail: liming@ynnu.edu.c [Solar Energy Research Institute, Yunnan Normal University, 650092 Kunming (China); Li, G.L. [School of Physics and Electronic Information, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650092 (China); Ji, X.; Yin, F.; Xu, L. [Solar Energy Research Institute, Yunnan Normal University, 650092 Kunming (China)

    2011-06-15

    Research highlights: {yields} A 2 m{sup 2} Trough Concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal (TCPV/T) system is built, a single crystalline silicon solar cell array, a polycrystalline silicon cell array, a Super cell array and a GaAs cell array are respectively used in the experiments. {yields} Another 10 m{sup 2} TCPV/T system using the GaAs cell array and a concentrating silicon cell array are also constructed and characterized. {yields} The economic performance analysis show the electricity generating cost of the TCPV/T system with the concentrating silicon cell array can catch up with flat-plate PV system. -- Abstract: The electrical and thermal performance of a 2 m{sup 2} Trough Concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal (TCPV/T) system with an energy flux ratio 10.27 are characterized by experiments. A single crystalline silicon solar cell array, a polycrystalline silicon cell array, a Super cell array and a GaAs cell array are respectively used in the experiments. The experimental results show that the electrical performance of the system with the GaAs cell array is better than that of crystal silicon solar cell arrays. The superior output performance of the GaAs cell array mainly benefits from its lower series resistance. But the thermal performances of the system using the single crystal silicon solar cell array and the polycrystalline silicon solar cell array are better. It results from the widths of the two types of cells in the system close to that of the focal line. Another 10 m{sup 2} TCPV/T system with an energy flux ratio of 20 using the GaAs cell array and a concentrating silicon cell array are also constructed and characterized. The experimental results indicate that the photoelectric efficiency of the GaAs cell array is 23.83%, and the instantaneous electrical efficiency and thermal efficiency of the system are 9.88% and 49.84% respectively. While the instantaneous electrical efficiency and thermal efficiency of the system using the low-cost concentrating

  9. The performance analysis of the Trough Concentrating Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, M.; Li, G.L.; Ji, X.; Yin, F.; Xu, L.

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → A 2 m 2 Trough Concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal (TCPV/T) system is built, a single crystalline silicon solar cell array, a polycrystalline silicon cell array, a Super cell array and a GaAs cell array are respectively used in the experiments. → Another 10 m 2 TCPV/T system using the GaAs cell array and a concentrating silicon cell array are also constructed and characterized. → The economic performance analysis show the electricity generating cost of the TCPV/T system with the concentrating silicon cell array can catch up with flat-plate PV system. -- Abstract: The electrical and thermal performance of a 2 m 2 Trough Concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal (TCPV/T) system with an energy flux ratio 10.27 are characterized by experiments. A single crystalline silicon solar cell array, a polycrystalline silicon cell array, a Super cell array and a GaAs cell array are respectively used in the experiments. The experimental results show that the electrical performance of the system with the GaAs cell array is better than that of crystal silicon solar cell arrays. The superior output performance of the GaAs cell array mainly benefits from its lower series resistance. But the thermal performances of the system using the single crystal silicon solar cell array and the polycrystalline silicon solar cell array are better. It results from the widths of the two types of cells in the system close to that of the focal line. Another 10 m 2 TCPV/T system with an energy flux ratio of 20 using the GaAs cell array and a concentrating silicon cell array are also constructed and characterized. The experimental results indicate that the photoelectric efficiency of the GaAs cell array is 23.83%, and the instantaneous electrical efficiency and thermal efficiency of the system are 9.88% and 49.84% respectively. While the instantaneous electrical efficiency and thermal efficiency of the system using the low-cost concentrating silicon cell array are 7.51% and 42

  10. The Effect of Internal Leakages on Thermal Performance in NPPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heo, Gyun Young; Kim, Doo Won; Jang, Seok Bo

    2007-01-01

    Since the Balance Of Plant (BOP, limited to a turbine cycle in this study) does not contain radioactive material, regulatory authorities did not need to have concerns on it. As the interests on safety and performance is getting more serious and extensive, controlling the level of safety and performance of a BOP have just begun or is about to begin. The performance standards or ageing management programs of the major equipment in a BOP is being developed. The regulatory requirements for tests and/or maintenance are being actively built up. There is also a probabilistic approach quantifying performance of a BOP. The study on quantifying the rate of unanticipated shutdowns caused by careless maintenance and/or tests conducted in a BOP is going on. In this study, the modeling of the entire BOP and the methodologies of thermal performance analysis should be one of the must-have items as well. This study was achieved to ensure fundamental skills related to 1) the detailed steady-state modeling of a BOP and 2) thermal performance analysis under various conditions. Particularly, the paper will focus on the effect of internal leakages inside the valves and FeedWater Heaters (FWHs). The internal leakage is regarded as the flow movement through the isolated path but remaining inside the system boundary of a BOP. For instance, the leakage from one side of a valve seat to the other side, or the leakage through the cracked tubes or tube-sheets in a heat exchanger correspond to internal leakages. We made a BOP model of OPR1000 and investigated thermal performance under the internal leakage in Turbine Bypass Condenser Dump Valves (TBCDV) and FWHs

  11. Shuttle TPS thermal performance and analysis methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuenschwander, W. E.; Mcbride, D. U.; Armour, G. A.

    1983-01-01

    Thermal performance of the thermal protection system was approximately as predicted. The only extensive anomalies were filler bar scorching and over-predictions in the high Delta p gap heating regions of the orbiter. A technique to predict filler bar scorching has been developed that can aid in defining a solution. Improvement in high Delta p gap heating methodology is still under study. Minor anomalies were also examined for improvements in modeling techniques and prediction capabilities. These include improved definition of low Delta p gap heating, an analytical model for inner mode line convection heat transfer, better modeling of structure, and inclusion of sneak heating. The limited number of problems related to penetration items that presented themselves during orbital flight tests were resolved expeditiously, and designs were changed and proved successful within the time frame of that program.

  12. COMMIX analysis of four constant flow thermal upramp experiments performed in a thermal hydraulic model of an advanced LMR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yarlagadda, B.S.

    1989-04-01

    The three-dimensional thermal hydraulics computer code COMMIX-1AR was used to analyze four constant flow thermal upramp experiments performed in the thermal hydraulic model of an advanced LMR. An objective of these analyses was the validation of COMMIX-1AR for buoyancy affected flows. The COMMIX calculated temperature histories of some thermocouples in the model were compared with the corresponding measured data. The conclusions of this work are presented. 3 refs., 5 figs

  13. Performance of silvered Teflon (trademark) thermal control blankets on spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pippin, Gary; Stuckey, Wayne; Hemminger, Carol

    1993-01-01

    Silverized Teflon (Ag/FEP) is a widely used passive thermal control material for space applications. The material has a very low alpha/e ratio (less than 0.1) for low operating temperatures and is fabricated with various FEP thicknesses (as the Teflon thickness increases, the emittance increases). It is low outgassing and, because of its flexibility, can be applied around complex, curved shapes. Ag/FEP has achieved multiyear lifetimes under a variety of exposure conditions. This has been demonstrated by the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), Solar Max, Spacecraft Charging at High Altitudes (SCATHA), and other flight experiments. Ag/FEP material has been held in place on spacecraft by a variety of methods: mechanical clamping, direct adhesive bonding of tapes and sheets, and by Velcro(TM) tape adhesively bonded to back surfaces. On LDEF, for example, 5-mil blankets held by Velcro(TM) and clamping were used for thermal control over 3- by 4-ft areas on each of 17 trays. Adhesively bonded 2- and 5-mil sheets were used on other LDEF experiments, both for thermal control and as tape to hold other thermal control blankets in place. Performance data over extended time periods are available from a number of flights. The observed effects on optical properties, mechanical properties, and surface chemistry will be summarized in this paper. This leads to a discussion of performance life estimates and other design lessons for Ag/FEP thermal control material.

  14. Numerical analysis on thermal performance of roof contained PCM of a single residential building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Dong; Zheng, Yumeng; Liu, Changyu; Wu, Guozhong

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermal performance of different roofs in cold area of China are investigated. • Effects of five different conditions on thermal performance of roofs are analyzed. • Delay time of temperatures peak in PCM roofs are beyond 3 h than common roof. - Abstract: The phase change material (PCM) applied in the roof can decrease the building energy consumption and improve the thermal comfort by enhancing the thermal energy storage capacity of building envelope. In the present work, the thermal performance of different kinds of roofs with and without PCM in Northeast and cold area of China, i.e. common roof and PCM roofs, have been investigated numerically. This study also explored the influencing factors of thermal behavior of the roofs, such as solar radiation intensity, transition temperature and latent heat of PCM, roof slope, PCM layer thickness, and absorption coefficients of external roof surface. The results show that the PCM roofs effect on the temperature delay in the room is very strong and the delay time of temperatures peak of base layer in PCM roofs are beyond 3 h than common roof. The effect of transition temperature and latent heat of PCM on the thermal performance of roofs is relatively weak, compared with the roof slope, PCM layer thickness and absorption coefficients of external roof surface

  15. Density dependence of reactor performance with thermal confinement scalings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stotler, D.P.

    1992-03-01

    Energy confinement scalings for the thermal component of the plasma published thus far have a different dependence on plasma density and input power than do scalings for the total plasma energy. With such thermal scalings, reactor performance (measured by Q, the ratio of the fusion power to the sum of the ohmic and auxiliary input powers) worsens with increasing density. This dependence is the opposite of that found using scalings based on the total plasma energy, indicating that reactor operation concepts may need to be altered if this density dependence is confirmed in future research

  16. Three-Dimensional Numerical Evaluation of Thermal Performance of Uninsulated Wall Assemblies: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ridouane, E. H.; Bianchi, M.

    2011-11-01

    This study describes a detailed three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics modeling to evaluate the thermal performance of uninsulated wall assemblies accounting for conduction through framing, convection, and radiation. The model allows for material properties variations with temperature. Parameters that were varied in the study include ambient outdoor temperature and cavity surface emissivity. Understanding the thermal performance of uninsulated wall cavities is essential for accurate prediction of energy use in residential buildings. The results can serve as input for building energy simulation tools for modeling the temperature dependent energy performance of homes with uninsulated walls.

  17. Proximity and Gaze Influences Facial Temperature: A Thermal Infrared Imaging Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanos eIoannou

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Direct gaze and interpersonal proximity are known to lead to changes in psycho-physiology, behaviour and brain function. We know little, however, about subtler facial reactions such as rise and fall in temperature, which may be sensitive to contextual effects and functional in social interactions. Using thermal infrared imaging cameras 18 female adult participants were filmed at two interpersonal distances (intimate and social and two gaze conditions (averted and direct. The order of variation in distance was counterbalanced: half the participants experienced a female experimenter’s gaze at the social distance first before the intimate distance (a socially ‘normal’ order and half experienced the intimate distance first and then the social distance (an odd social order. At both distances averted gaze always preceded direct gaze. We found strong correlations in thermal changes between six areas of the face (forehead, chin, cheeks, nose, maxilliary and periorbital regions for all experimental conditions and developed a composite measure of thermal shifts for all analyses. Interpersonal proximity led to a thermal rise, but only in the ‘normal’ social order. Direct gaze, compared to averted gaze, led to a thermal increase at both distances with a stronger effect at intimate distance, in both orders of distance variation. Participants reported direct gaze as more intrusive than averted gaze, especially at the intimate distance. These results demonstrate the powerful effects of another person’s gaze on psycho-physiological responses, even at a distance and independent of context.

  18. High-Performance Molybdenum Coating by Wire–HVOF Thermal Spray Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tailor, Satish; Modi, Ankur; Modi, S. C.

    2018-04-01

    Coating deposition on many industrial components with good microstructural, mechanical properties, and better wear resistance is always a challenge for the thermal spray community. A number of thermal spray methods are used to develop such promising coatings for many industrial applications, viz. arc spray, flame spray, plasma, and HVOF. All these processes have their own limitations to achieve porous free, very dense, high-performance wear-resistant coatings. In this work, an attempt has been made to overcome this limitation. Molybdenum coatings were deposited on low-carbon steel substrates using wire-high-velocity oxy-fuel (W-HVOF; WH) thermal spray system (trade name HIJET 9610®). For a comparison, Mo coatings were also fabricated by arc spray, flame spray, plasma spray, and powder-HVOF processes. As-sprayed coatings were analyzed using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy for phase, and microstructural analysis, respectively. Coating microhardness, surface roughness, and porosity were also measured. Adhesion strength and wear tests were conducted to determine the mechanical and wear properties of the as-sprayed coatings. Results show that the coatings deposited by W-HVOF have better performance in terms of microstructural, mechanical, and wear resistance properties, in comparison with available thermal spray process (flame spray and plasma spray).

  19. A global fouling factor methodology for analyzing steam generator thermal performance degradation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kreider, M.A.; White, G.A.; Varrin, R.D. Jr.

    1998-06-01

    Over the past few years, steam generator (SG) thermal performance degradation has led to decreased plant efficiency and power output at numerous PWR nuclear power plants with recirculating-type SGs. The authors have developed and implemented methodologies for quantitatively evaluating the various sources of SG performance degradation, both internal and external to the SG pressure boundary. These methodologies include computation of the global fouling factor history, evaluation of secondary deposit thermal resistance using deposit characterization data, and consideration of pressure loss causes unrelated to the tube bundle, such as hot-leg temperature streaming and SG moisture separator fouling. In order to evaluate the utility of the global fouling factor methodology, the authors performed case studies for a number of PWR SG designs. Key results from two of these studies are presented here. In tandem with the fouling-factor analyses, a study evaluated for each plant the potential causes of pressure loss. The combined results of the global fouling factor calculations and the pressure-loss evaluations demonstrated two key points: (1) that the available thermal margin against fouling, which can vary substantially from plant to plant, has an important bearing on whether a given plant exhibits losses in electrical generating capacity, and (2) that a wide variety of causes can result in SG thermal performance degradation

  20. Comparative exergetic performance analysis for certain thermal power plants in Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mitrović Dejan M.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Traditional methods of analysis and calculation of complex thermal systems are based on the first law of thermodynamics. These methods use energy balance for a system. In general, energy balances do not provide any information about internal losses. In contrast, the second law of thermodynamics introduces the concept of exergy, which is useful in the analysis of thermal systems. Exergy is a measure for assessing the quality of energy, and allows one to determine the location, cause, and real size of losses incurred as well as residues in a thermal process. The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the performance of four thermal power plants from the energetic and exergetic viewpoint. Thermodynamic models of the plants are developed based on the first and second law of thermodynamics. The primary objectives of this paper are to analyze the system components separately and to identify and quantify the sites having largest energy and exergy losses. Finally, by means of these analyses, the main sources of thermodynamic inefficiencies as well as a reasonable comparison of each plant to others are identified and discussed. As a result, the outcomes of this study can provide a basis for the improvement of plant performance for the considered thermal power plants.

  1. Thermal Model Predictions of Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao-Yen J.; Fabanich, William Anthony; Schmitz, Paul C.

    2014-01-01

    This presentation describes the capabilities of three-dimensional thermal power model of advanced stirling radioisotope generator (ASRG). The performance of the ASRG is presented for different scenario, such as Venus flyby with or without the auxiliary cooling system.

  2. Noise Characterization and Performance of MODIS Thermal Emissive Bands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madhavan, Sriharsha; Xiong, Xiaoxiong; Wu, Aisheng; Wenny, Brian; Chiang, Kwofu; Chen, Na; Wang, Zhipeng; Li, Yonghong

    2016-01-01

    The MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is a premier Earth-observing sensor of the early 21st century, flying onboard the Terra (T) and Aqua (A) spacecraft. Both instruments far exceeded their six-year design life and continue to operate satisfactorily for more than 15 and 13 years, respectively. The MODIS instrument is designed to make observations at nearly a 100% duty cycle covering the entire Earth in less than two days. The MODIS sensor characteristics include a spectral coverage from 0.41micrometers to 14.4 micrometers, of which those wavelengths ranging from 3.7 micrometers to 14.4 micrometers cover the thermal infrared region which is interspaced in 16 thermal emissive bands (TEBs). Each of the TEB contains ten detectors which record samples at a spatial resolution of 1 km. In order to ensure a high level of accuracy for the TEB-measured top-of-atmosphere radiances, an onboard blackbody (BB) is used as the calibration source. This paper reports the noise characterization and performance of the TEB on various counts. First, the stability of the onboard BB is evaluated to understand the effectiveness of the calibration source. Next, key noise metrics such as the noise equivalent temperature difference and the noise equivalent dn difference (NEdN) for the various TEBs are determined from multiple temperature sources. These sources include the nominally controlled BB temperature of 290 K for T-MODIS and 285 K for A-MODIS, as well as a BB warm up-cool down cycle that is performed over a temperature range from roughly 270 to 315 K. The space-view port that measures the background signal serves as a viable cold temperature source for measuring noise. In addition, a well characterized Earth-view target, the Dome Concordia site located in the Antarctic plateau, is used for characterizing the stability of the sensor, indirectly providing a measure of the NEdN. Based on this rigorous characterization, a list of the noisy and inoperable detectors for

  3. Hydrocarbon Fuel Thermal Performance Modeling based on Systematic Measurement and Comprehensive Chromatographic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-31

    distribution unlimited Hydrocarbon Fuel Thermal Performance Modeling based on Systematic Measurement and Comprehensive Chromatographic Analysis Matthew...vital importance for hydrocarbon -fueled propulsion systems: fuel thermal performance as indicated by physical and chemical effects of cooling passage... analysis . The selection and acquisition of a set of chemically diverse fuels is pivotal for a successful outcome since test method validation and

  4. Real-time bicycle detection at signalized intersections using thermal imaging technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collaert, Robin

    2013-02-01

    More and more governments and authorities around the world are promoting the use of bicycles in cities, as this is healthy for the bicyclist and improves the quality of life in general. Safety and efficiency of bicyclists has become a major focus. To achieve this, there is a need for a smarter approach towards the control of signalized intersections. Various traditional detection technologies, such as video, microwave radar and electromagnetic loops, can be used to detect vehicles at signalized intersections, but none of these can consistently separate bikes from other traffic, day and night and in various weather conditions. As bikes should get a higher priority and also require longer green time to safely cross the signalized intersection, traffic managers are looking for alternative detection systems that can make the distinction between bicycles and other vehicles near the stop bar. In this paper, the drawbacks of a video-based approach are presented, next to the benefits of a thermal-video-based approach for vehicle presence detection with separation of bicycles. Also, the specific technical challenges are highlighted in developing a system that combines thermal image capturing, image processing and output triggering to the traffic light controller in near real-time and in a single housing.

  5. Performance results of a solar greenhouse combining electrical and thermal energy production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sonneveld, P.J.; Swinkels, G.L.A.M.; Campen, J.B.; Tuijl, van B.A.J.; Janssen, H.J.J.; Bot, G.P.A.

    2010-01-01

    Performance results are given of a new type of greenhouse, which combines reflection of near infrared radiation (NIR) with electrical power generation using hybrid photovoltaic cell/thermal collector modules. Besides the generation of electrical and thermal energy, the reflection of the NIR will

  6. Characterization and recognition of mixed emotional expressions in thermal face image

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Priya; Bhattacharjee, Debotosh; De, Barin K.; Nasipuri, Mita

    2016-05-01

    Facial expressions in infrared imaging have been introduced to solve the problem of illumination, which is an integral constituent of visual imagery. The paper investigates facial skin temperature distribution on mixed thermal facial expressions of our created face database where six are basic expressions and rest 12 are a mixture of those basic expressions. Temperature analysis has been performed on three facial regions of interest (ROIs); periorbital, supraorbital and mouth. Temperature variability of the ROIs in different expressions has been measured using statistical parameters. The temperature variation measurement in ROIs of a particular expression corresponds to a vector, which is later used in recognition of mixed facial expressions. Investigations show that facial features in mixed facial expressions can be characterized by positive emotion induced facial features and negative emotion induced facial features. Supraorbital is a useful facial region that can differentiate basic expressions from mixed expressions. Analysis and interpretation of mixed expressions have been conducted with the help of box and whisker plot. Facial region containing mixture of two expressions is generally less temperature inducing than corresponding facial region containing basic expressions.

  7. Thermal infrared images to quantify thermal ablation effects of acid and base on target tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ran; Wang, Jia; Liu, Jing

    2015-07-01

    Hyperthermia (42-46°C), treatment of tumor tissue through elevated temperature, offers several advantages including high cost-effectiveness, highly targeted ablation and fewer side effects and hence higher safety level over traditional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Recently, hyperthermia using heat release through exothermic acid-base neutralization comes into view owing to its relatively safe products of salt and water and highly confined ablation. However, lack of quantitative understanding of the spatial and temporal temperature profiles that are produced by simultaneous diffusion of liquid chemical and its chemical reaction within tumor tissue impedes the application of this method. This article is dedicated to quantify thermal ablation effects of acid and base both individually and as in neutralization via infrared captured thermal images. A theoretical model is used to approximate specific heat absorption rate (SAR) based on experimental measurements that contrast two types of tissue, normal pork and pig liver. According to the computation, both pork and liver tissue has a higher ability in absorbing hydrochloric acid (HCl) than sodium hydroxide, hence suggesting that a reduced dosage for HCl is appropriate in a surgery. The heating effect depends heavily on the properties of tissue types and amount of chemical reagents administered. Given thermal parameters such as SAR for different tissues, a computational model can be made in predicting temperature transitions which will be helpful in planning and optimizing surgical hyperthermia procedures.

  8. Thermal infrared images to quantify thermal ablation effects of acid and base on target tissues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ran Liu

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Hyperthermia (42-46°C, treatment of tumor tissue through elevated temperature, offers several advantages including high cost-effectiveness, highly targeted ablation and fewer side effects and hence higher safety level over traditional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Recently, hyperthermia using heat release through exothermic acid-base neutralization comes into view owing to its relatively safe products of salt and water and highly confined ablation. However, lack of quantitative understanding of the spatial and temporal temperature profiles that are produced by simultaneous diffusion of liquid chemical and its chemical reaction within tumor tissue impedes the application of this method. This article is dedicated to quantify thermal ablation effects of acid and base both individually and as in neutralization via infrared captured thermal images. A theoretical model is used to approximate specific heat absorption rate (SAR based on experimental measurements that contrast two types of tissue, normal pork and pig liver. According to the computation, both pork and liver tissue has a higher ability in absorbing hydrochloric acid (HCl than sodium hydroxide, hence suggesting that a reduced dosage for HCl is appropriate in a surgery. The heating effect depends heavily on the properties of tissue types and amount of chemical reagents administered. Given thermal parameters such as SAR for different tissues, a computational model can be made in predicting temperature transitions which will be helpful in planning and optimizing surgical hyperthermia procedures.

  9. Thermal infrared images to quantify thermal ablation effects of acid and base on target tissues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Ran, E-mail: jliubme@tsinghua.edu.cn, E-mail: liuran@tsinghua.edu.cn; Liu, Jing, E-mail: jliubme@tsinghua.edu.cn, E-mail: liuran@tsinghua.edu.cn [Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Wang, Jia [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)

    2015-07-15

    Hyperthermia (42-46°C), treatment of tumor tissue through elevated temperature, offers several advantages including high cost-effectiveness, highly targeted ablation and fewer side effects and hence higher safety level over traditional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Recently, hyperthermia using heat release through exothermic acid-base neutralization comes into view owing to its relatively safe products of salt and water and highly confined ablation. However, lack of quantitative understanding of the spatial and temporal temperature profiles that are produced by simultaneous diffusion of liquid chemical and its chemical reaction within tumor tissue impedes the application of this method. This article is dedicated to quantify thermal ablation effects of acid and base both individually and as in neutralization via infrared captured thermal images. A theoretical model is used to approximate specific heat absorption rate (SAR) based on experimental measurements that contrast two types of tissue, normal pork and pig liver. According to the computation, both pork and liver tissue has a higher ability in absorbing hydrochloric acid (HCl) than sodium hydroxide, hence suggesting that a reduced dosage for HCl is appropriate in a surgery. The heating effect depends heavily on the properties of tissue types and amount of chemical reagents administered. Given thermal parameters such as SAR for different tissues, a computational model can be made in predicting temperature transitions which will be helpful in planning and optimizing surgical hyperthermia procedures.

  10. Effect of aluminum anodizing in phosphoric acid electrolyte on adhesion strength and thermal performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sulki; Kim, Donghyun; Kim, Yonghwan; Jung, Uoochang; Chung, Wonsub

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the adhesive bond strength and thermal performance of the anodized aluminum 6061 in phosphoric acid electrolyte to improve the adhesive bond strength and thermal performance for use in metal core printed circuit boards (MCPCB). The electrolyte temperature and applied voltage were altered to generate varied pore structures. The thickness, porosity and pore diameter of the anodized layer were measured. The pore morphologies were affected most by temperature, which was the driving force for ion transportation. The mechanism of adhesive bond was penetration of the epoxy into the pores. The optimal anodization conditions for maximum adhesive bond strength, 27 MPa, were 293 K and 100V. The maximum thermal conductivity of the epoxy-treated anodized layer was 1.6 W/m·K at 273 K. Compared with the epoxy-treated Al layer used for conventional MCPCBs, the epoxy-treated anodized layer showed advanced thermal performance due to a low difference of thermal resistance and high heat dissipation.

  11. Thermal performance of a micro-combustor for micro-gas turbine system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, H.L.; Xu, J.L.

    2007-01-01

    Premixed combustion of hydrogen gas and air was performed in a stainless steel based micro-annular combustor for a micro-gas turbine system. Micro-scale combustion has proved to be stable in the micro-combustor with a gap of 2 mm. The operating range of the micro-combustor was measured, and the maximum excess air ratio is up to 4.5. The distribution of the outer wall temperature and the temperature of exhaust gas of the micro-combustor with excess air ratio were obtained, and the wall temperature of the micro-combustor reaches its maximum value at the excess air ratio of 0.9 instead of 1 (stoichiometric ratio). The heat loss of the micro-combustor to the environment was calculated and even exceeds 70% of the total thermal power computed from the consumed hydrogen mass flow rate. Moreover, radiant heat transfer covers a large fraction of the total heat loss. Measures used to reduce the heat loss were proposed to improve the thermal performance of the micro-combustor. The optimal operating status of the micro-combustor and micro-gas turbine is analyzed and proposed by analyzing the relationship of the temperature of the exhaust gas of the micro-combustor with thermal power and excess air ratio. The investigation of the thermal performance of the micro-combustor is helpful to design an improved micro-combustor

  12. Numerical research on the thermal performance of high altitude scientific balloons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai, Qiumin; Xing, Daoming; Fang, Xiande; Zhao, Yingjie

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A model is presented to evaluate the IR radiation between translucent surfaces. • Comprehensive ascent and thermal models of balloons are established. • The effect of IR transmissivity on film temperature distribution is unneglectable. • Atmospheric IR radiation is the primary thermal factor of balloons at night. • Solar radiation is the primary thermal factor of balloons during the day. - Abstract: Internal infrared (IR) radiation is an important factor that affects the thermal performance of high altitude balloons. The internal IR radiation is commonly neglected or treated as the IR radiation between opaque gray bodies. In this paper, a mathematical model which considers the IR transmissivity of the film is proposed to estimate the internal IR radiation. Comprehensive ascent and thermal models for high altitude scientific balloons are established. Based on the models, thermal characteristics of a NASA super pressure balloon are simulated. The effects of film IR property on the thermal behaviors of the balloon are discussed in detail. The results are helpful for the design and operation of high altitude scientific balloons.

  13. Transient thermal performance analysis of micro heat pipes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Xiangdong; Chen, Yongping

    2013-01-01

    A theoretical analysis of transient fluid flow and heat transfer in a triangular micro heat pipes (MHP) has been conducted to study the thermal response characteristics. By introducing the system identification theory, the quantitative evaluation of the MHP's transient thermal performance is realized. The results indicate that the evaporation and condensation processes are both extended into the adiabatic section. During the start-up process, the capillary radius along axial direction of MHP decreases drastically while the liquid velocity increases quickly at the early transient stage and an approximately linear decrease in wall temperature arises along the axial direction. The MHP behaves as a first-order LTI control system with the constant input power as the 'step input' and the evaporator wall temperature as the 'output'. Two corresponding evaluation criteria derived from the control theory, time constant and temperature constant, are able to quantitatively evaluate the thermal response speed and temperature level of MHP under start-up, which show that a larger triangular groove's hydraulic diameter within 0.18–0.42 mm is able to accelerate the start-up and decrease the start-up temperature level of MHP. Additionally, the MHP starts up fastest using the fluid of ethanol and most slowly using the working fluid of methanol, and the start-up temperature reaches maximum level for acetone and minimum level for the methanol. -- Highlights: • Transient thermal response of micro heat pipe is simulated by an improved model. • Control theory is introduced to quantify the thermal response of micro heat pipe. • Evaluation criteria are proposed to represent thermal response of micro heat pipe. • Effects of groove dimensions and working fluids on start-up of micro heat pipe are evaluated

  14. PID temperature controller in pig nursery: improvements in performance, thermal comfort, and electricity use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Souza Granja Barros, Juliana; Rossi, Luiz Antonio; Sartor, Karina

    2016-08-01

    The use of smarter temperature control technologies in heating systems can optimize the use of electric power and performance of piglets. Two control technologies of a resistive heating system were assessed in a pig nursery: a PID (proportional, integral, and derivative) controller and a thermostat. The systems were evaluated regarding thermal environment, piglet performance, and use of electric power for 99 days. The heating system with PID controller improved the thermal environment conditions and was significantly (P PID-controlled heating system is more efficient in electricity use and provides better conditions for thermal comfort and animal performance than heating with thermostat.

  15. Cerebral cortex classification by conditional random fields applied to intraoperative thermal imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hoffmann Nico

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Intraoperative thermal neuroimaging is a novel intraoperative imaging technique for the characterization of perfusion disorders, neural activity and other pathological changes of the brain. It bases on the correlation of (sub-cortical metabolism and perfusion with the emitted heat of the cortical surface. In order to minimize required computational resources and prevent unwanted artefacts in subsequent data analysis workflows foreground detection is a important preprocessing technique to differentiate pixels representing the cerebral cortex from background objects. We propose an efficient classification framework that integrates characteristic dynamic thermal behaviour into this classification task to include additional discriminative features. The first stage of our framework consists of learning this representation of characteristic thermal time-frequency behaviour. This representation models latent interconnections in the time-frequency domain that cover specific, yet a priori unknown, thermal properties of the cortex. In a second stage these features are then used to classify each pixel’s state with conditional random fields. We quantitatively evaluate several approaches to learning high-level features and their impact to the overall prediction accuracy. The introduction of high-level features leads to a significant accuracy improvement compared to a baseline classifier.

  16. High thermal performance lithium-ion battery pack including hybrid active–passive thermal management system for using in hybrid/electric vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fathabadi, Hassan

    2014-01-01

    In this study, a novel Li-ion battery pack design including hybrid active–passive thermal management system is presented. The battery pack is suitable for using in hybrid/electric vehicles. Active part of the hybrid thermal management system uses distributed thin ducts, air flow and natural convection as cooling media while the passive part utilizes phase change material/expanded graphite composite (PCM/EG) as cooling/heating component to optimize the thermal performance of the proposed battery pack. High melting enthalpy of PCM/EG composite together with melting of PCM/EG composite at the temperature of 58.9 °C remains the temperature distribution of the battery units in the desired temperature range (below 60 °C). The temperature and voltage distributions in the proposed battery pack design consisting of battery units, distributed thin ducts and PCM/EG composite are calculated by numerical solving of the related partial differential equations. Simulation results obtained by writing M-files code in Matlab environment and plotting the numerical data are presented to validate the theoretical results. A comparison between the thermal and physical characteristics of the proposed battery pack and other latest works is presented that explicitly proves the battery pack performance. - Highlights: • Novel Li-ion battery pack including active and passive thermal management systems. • The battery pack has high thermal performance for ambient temperatures until 55 °C. • Uniform temperature and voltage distributions. • The maximum observed temperature in each battery unit is less than other works. • The maximum temperature dispersion in each battery is less than other works

  17. Simultaneous thermal and optical imaging of two-phase flow in a micro-model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karadimitriou, N K; Nuske, P; Kleingeld, P J; Hassanizadeh, S M; Helmig, R

    2014-07-21

    In the study of non-equilibrium heat transfer in multiphase flow in porous media, parameters and constitutive relations, like heat transfer coefficients between phases, are unknown. In order to study the temperature development of a relatively hot invading immiscible non-wetting fluid and, ultimately, approximate heat transfer coefficients, a transparent micro-model is used as an artificial porous medium. In the last few decades, micro-models have become popular experimental tools for two-phase flow studies. In this work, the design of an innovative, elongated, PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) micro-model with dimensions of 14.4 × 39 mm(2) and a constant depth of 100 microns is described. A novel setup for simultaneous thermal and optical imaging of flow through the micro-model is presented. This is the first time that a closed flow cell like a micro-model is used in simultaneous thermal and optical flow imaging. The micro-model is visualized by a novel setup that allowed us to monitor and record the distribution of fluids throughout the length of the micro-model continuously and also record the thermal signature of the fluids. Dynamic drainage and imbibition experiments were conducted in order to obtain information about the heat exchange between the phases. In this paper the setup as well as analysis and qualitative results are presented.

  18. Drift Correction of Lightweight Microbolometer Thermal Sensors On-Board Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco-Javier Mesas-Carrascosa

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The development of lightweight sensors compatible with mini unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs has expanded the agronomical applications of remote sensing. Of particular interest in this paper are thermal sensors based on lightweight microbolometer technology. These are mainly used to assess crop water stress with thermal images where an accuracy greater than 1 °C is necessary. However, these sensors lack precise temperature control, resulting in thermal drift during image acquisition that requires correction. Currently, there are several strategies to manage thermal drift effect. However, these strategies reduce useful flight time over crops due to the additional in-flight calibration operations. This study presents a drift correction methodology for microbolometer sensors based on redundant information from multiple overlapping images. An empirical study was performed in an orchard of high-density hedgerow olive trees with flights at different times of the day. Six mathematical drift correction models were developed and assessed to explain and correct drift effect on thermal images. Using the proposed methodology, the resulting thermally corrected orthomosaics yielded a rate of error lower than 1° C compared to those where no drift correction was applied.

  19. Computational Analysis on Performance of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Diffuser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adib, M. A. H. M.; Adnan, F.; Ismail, A. R.; Kardigama, K.; Salaam, H. A.; Ahmad, Z.; Johari, N. H.; Anuar, Z.; Azmi, N. S. N.

    2012-09-01

    Application of thermal energy storage (TES) system reduces cost and energy consumption. The performance of the overall operation is affected by diffuser design. In this study, computational analysis is used to determine the thermocline thickness. Three dimensional simulations with different tank height-to-diameter ratio (HD), diffuser opening and the effect of difference number of diffuser holes are investigated. Medium HD tanks simulations with double ring octagonal diffuser show good thermocline behavior and clear distinction between warm and cold water. The result show, the best performance of thermocline thickness during 50% time charging occur in medium tank with height-to-diameter ratio of 4.0 and double ring octagonal diffuser with 48 holes (9mm opening ~ 60%) acceptable compared to diffuser with 6mm ~ 40% and 12mm ~ 80% opening. The conclusion is computational analysis method are very useful in the study on performance of thermal energy storage (TES).

  20. Thermal Performance of Precast Concrete Sandwich Panel (PCSP) Design for Sustainable Built Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ern, Peniel Ang Soon; Ling, Lim Mei; Kasim, Narimah; Hamid, Zuhairi Abd; Masrom, Md Asrul Nasid Bin

    2017-10-01

    Malaysia’s awareness of performance criteria in construction industry towards a sustainable built environment with the use of precast concrete sandwich panel (PCSP) system is applied in the building’s wall to study the structural behaviour. However, very limited studies are conducted on the thermal insulation of exterior and interior panels in PCSP design. In hot countries such as Malaysia, proper designs of panel are important to obtain better thermal insulation for building. This study is based on thermal performance of precast concrete sandwich panel design for sustainable built environment in Malaysia. In this research, three full specimens, which are control specimen (C), foamed concrete (FC) panels and concrete panels with added palm oil fuel ash (FC+ POFA), where FC and FC+POFA sandwiched with gypsum board (G) were produced to investigate their thermal performance. Temperature difference of exterior and interior surface of specimen was used as indicators of thermal-insulating performance of PCSP design. Heat transfer test by halogen lamp was carried out on three specimens where the exterior surface of specimens was exposed to the halogen lamp. The temperature reading of exterior and interior surface for three specimens were recorded with the help of thermocouple. Other factors also studied the workability, compressive strength and axial compressive strength of the specimens. This study has shown that FC + POFA specimen has the strength nearer to normal specimen (C + FC specimen). Meanwhile, the heat transfer results show that the FC+POFA has better thermal insulation performance compared to C and FC specimens with the highest temperature difference, 3.4°C compared to other specimens. The results from this research are useful to be implemented in construction due to its benefits such as reduction of energy consumption in air-conditioning, reduction of construction periods and eco-friendly materials.

  1. Measure the effects of thermal discomfort on the performance of office work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lan, L.; Wargocki, P.; Lian, Z.W.

    2011-01-01

    Accuracy and speed are the two distinct aspects of human performance. A method was proposed by which the speed and accuracy were integrated into one measure by designing the tasks in such a way that the participants can only proceed to the next test when the task was performed without errors....... The method was examined through a subjective experiment with thermal environment as the prototypical example. The experimental results indicate that the negative effects of thermal discomfort on human performance were evaluated well by the tasks designed with the proposed method. It provides a useful tool...... for better measurement of human performance and helps to facilitate the development of quantitative relationship between IEQ and productivity....

  2. Hot Spots Detection of Operating PV Arrays through IR Thermal Image Using Method Based on Curve Fitting of Gray Histogram

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiang Lin

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The overall efficiency of PV arrays is affected by hot spots which should be detected and diagnosed by applying responsible monitoring techniques. The method using the IR thermal image to detect hot spots has been studied as a direct, noncontact, nondestructive technique. However, IR thermal images suffer from relatively high stochastic noise and non-uniformity clutter, so the conventional methods of image processing are not effective. The paper proposes a method to detect hotspots based on curve fitting of gray histogram. The result of MATLAB simulation proves the method proposed in the paper is effective to detect the hot spots suppressing the noise generated during the process of image acquisition.

  3. Infrared imaging systems: Design, analysis, modeling, and testing III; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 23, 24, 1992

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holst, Gerald C.

    This volume discusses today's thermal imaging systems, modeling of thermal imaging systems, sampling and aliasing, and systems and testing. Individual papers are on single-frame multispectral thermal imagery, measurement of the MTF of IR staring-array imaging systems, IRC-64 infrared focal-plane-array camera, performance and application of serial-scan FLIRs, and nondestructive thermal analysis with portable pyroelectric television camera. Attention is also given to standard night vision thermal modeling parameters, the analysis of a proposed infrared sensor focal plane, spatial aliasing effects in ground vehicle IR imagery, spatial sampling effects of multipixel sensors on the guided-missile system performance, and the perception of unwanted signals in displayed imagery. Other papers are on the assessment of environment-driven infrared intensity components, measurements of optical transfer function of discretely sampled thermal imaging systems, and the status of uncooled infrared imagers.

  4. Evaluating the interior thermal performance of mosques in the tropical environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordin, N. I.; Misni, A.

    2018-02-01

    This study introduces the methodology applied in conducting data collection and data analysis. Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established systematic method. Qualitative and quantitative methods are combined in collecting data from government departments, site experiments and observation. Furthermore, analysing the indoor thermal performance data in the heritage and new mosques were used thermal monitoring tests, while validation will be made by meteorology data. Origin 8 version of the software is used to analyse all the data. Comparison techniques were applied to analyse several factors that influence the indoor thermal performance of mosques, namely building envelope include floor area, opening, and material used. Building orientation, location, surrounding vegetation and water elements are also recorded as supported building primary data. The comparison of primary data using these variables for four mosques include heritage and new buildings were revealed.

  5. THERMAL TEXTURE GENERATION AND 3D MODEL RECONSTRUCTION USING SFM AND GAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Kniaz

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Realistic 3D models with textures representing thermal emission of the object are widely used in such fields as dynamic scene analysis, autonomous driving, and video surveillance. Structure from Motion (SfM methods provide a robust approach for the generation of textured 3D models in the visible range. Still, automatic generation of 3D models from the infrared imagery is challenging due to an absence of the feature points and low sensor resolution. Recent advances in Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN have proved that they can perform complex image-to-image transformations such as a transformation of day to night and generation of imagery in a different spectral range. In this paper, we propose a novel method for generation of realistic 3D models with thermal textures using the SfM pipeline and GAN. The proposed method uses visible range images as an input. The images are processed in two ways. Firstly, they are used for point matching and dense point cloud generation. Secondly, the images are fed into a GAN that performs the transformation from the visible range to the thermal range. We evaluate the proposed method using real infrared imagery captured with a FLIR ONE PRO camera. We generated a dataset with 2000 pairs of real images captured in thermal and visible range. The dataset is used to train the GAN network and to generate 3D models using SfM. The evaluation of the generated 3D models and infrared textures proved that they are similar to the ground truth model in both thermal emissivity and geometrical shape.

  6. Thermal performance of a linear Fresnel reflector solar concentrator PV/T energy systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gomaa, Mohamed R. [State Engineering University of Armenia (Armenia)], E-Mail: Dmoh_elbehary@yahoo.com

    2011-07-01

    This is a report on an investigation of photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors. Solar energy conversion efficiency was increased by taking advantage of PV/T collectors and low solar concentration technologies, combined into a PV/T system operated at elevated temperature. The main novelty is the coupling of a linear Fresnel mirror reflecting concentrator with a channel PV/T collector. Concentrator PV/T collectors can function at temperatures over 100 degrees celsius, and thus thermal energy can be made to drive processes such as refrigeration, desalination and steam production. Solar system analytical thermal performance gives efficiency values over 60%. Combined electric and thermal (CET) efficiency is high. A combined electric and heat power for the linear fresnel reflector approach that employs high performance CPV technology to produce both electricity and thermal energy at low to medium temperatures is presented. A well-functioning PV/T system can be designed and constructed with low concentration and a total efficiency of nearly 80% can be attained.

  7. Enhanced Gender Recognition System Using an Improved Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG Feature from Quality Assessment of Visible Light and Thermal Images of the Human Body

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dat Tien Nguyen

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available With higher demand from users, surveillance systems are currently being designed to provide more information about the observed scene, such as the appearance of objects, types of objects, and other information extracted from detected objects. Although the recognition of gender of an observed human can be easily performed using human perception, it remains a difficult task when using computer vision system images. In this paper, we propose a new human gender recognition method that can be applied to surveillance systems based on quality assessment of human areas in visible light and thermal camera images. Our research is novel in the following two ways: First, we utilize the combination of visible light and thermal images of the human body for a recognition task based on quality assessment. We propose a quality measurement method to assess the quality of image regions so as to remove the effects of background regions in the recognition system. Second, by combining the features extracted using the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG method and the measured qualities of image regions, we form a new image features, called the weighted HOG (wHOG, which is used for efficient gender recognition. Experimental results show that our method produces more accurate estimation results than the state-of-the-art recognition method that uses human body images.

  8. Enhanced Gender Recognition System Using an Improved Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) Feature from Quality Assessment of Visible Light and Thermal Images of the Human Body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Dat Tien; Park, Kang Ryoung

    2016-07-21

    With higher demand from users, surveillance systems are currently being designed to provide more information about the observed scene, such as the appearance of objects, types of objects, and other information extracted from detected objects. Although the recognition of gender of an observed human can be easily performed using human perception, it remains a difficult task when using computer vision system images. In this paper, we propose a new human gender recognition method that can be applied to surveillance systems based on quality assessment of human areas in visible light and thermal camera images. Our research is novel in the following two ways: First, we utilize the combination of visible light and thermal images of the human body for a recognition task based on quality assessment. We propose a quality measurement method to assess the quality of image regions so as to remove the effects of background regions in the recognition system. Second, by combining the features extracted using the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) method and the measured qualities of image regions, we form a new image features, called the weighted HOG (wHOG), which is used for efficient gender recognition. Experimental results show that our method produces more accurate estimation results than the state-of-the-art recognition method that uses human body images.

  9. Thermal imager based on the array light sensor device of 128×128 CdHgTe-photodiodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reva V. P.

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The results of investigation of developed thermal imager for middle (3—5 µm infrared region are presented and its applications features are discussed. The thermal imager consists of cooled to 80 K 128×128 diodes focal plane array on the base of cadmium–mercury–telluride compound and cryostat with temperature checking system. The photodiode array is bonded with readout device (silicon focal processor via indium microcontacts. The measured average value of noise equivalent temperature difference was NETD= 20±4 mK (background radiation temperature T = 300 K, field of view 2θ = 180°, the cooled diaphragm was not used.

  10. Performance Testing of Thermal Cutting Systems for Sweet Pepper Harvesting Robot in Greenhouse Horticulture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachche, Shivaji; Oka, Koichi

    2013-03-01

    This paper proposes design of end-effector and prototype of thermal cutting system for harvesting sweet peppers. The design consists of two parallel gripper bars mounted on a frame connected by specially designed notch plate and operated by servo motor. Based on voltage and current, two different types of thermal cutting system prototypes; electric arc and temperature arc respectively were developed and tested for performance. In electric arc, a special electric device was developed to obtain high voltage to perform cutting operation. At higher voltage, electrodes generate thermal arc which helps to cut stem of sweet pepper. In temperature arc, nichrome wire was mounted between two electrodes and current was provided directly to electrodes which results in generation of high temperature arc between two electrodes that help to perform cutting operation. In both prototypes, diameters of basic elements were varied and the effect of this variation on cutting operation was investigated. The temperature arc thermal system was found significantly suitable for cutting operation than electric arc thermal system. In temperature arc thermal cutting system, 0.5 mm nichrome wire shows significant results by accomplishing harvesting operation in 1.5 seconds. Also, thermal cutting system found suitable to increase shelf life of fruits by avoiding virus and fungal transformation during cutting process and sealing the fruit stem. The harvested sweet peppers by thermal cutting system can be preserved at normal room temperature for more than 15 days without any contamination.

  11. Early detection and classification of powdery mildew-infected rose leaves using ANFIS based on extracted features of thermal images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, Mehrnoosh; Minaei, Saeid; Safaie, Naser; Torkamani-Azar, Farah

    2016-05-01

    Spatial and temporal changes in surface temperature of infected and non-infected rose plant (Rosa hybrida cv. 'Angelina') leaves were visualized using digital infrared thermography. Infected areas exhibited a presymptomatic decrease in leaf temperature up to 2.3 °C. In this study, two experiments were conducted: one in the greenhouse (semi-controlled ambient conditions) and the other, in a growth chamber (controlled ambient conditions). Effect of drought stress and darkness on the thermal images were also studied in this research. It was found that thermal histograms of the infected leaves closely follow a standard normal distribution. They have a skewness near zero, kurtosis under 3, standard deviation larger than 0.6, and a Maximum Temperature Difference (MTD) more than 4. For each thermal histogram, central tendency, variability, and parameters of the best fitted Standard Normal and Laplace distributions were estimated. To classify healthy and infected leaves, feature selection was conducted and the best extracted thermal features with the largest linguistic hedge values were chosen. Among those features independent of absolute temperature measurement, MTD, SD, skewness, R2l, kurtosis and bn were selected. Then, a neuro-fuzzy classifier was trained to recognize the healthy leaves from the infected ones. The k-means clustering method was utilized to obtain the initial parameters and the fuzzy "if-then" rules. Best estimation rates of 92.55% and 92.3% were achieved in training and testing the classifier with 8 clusters. Results showed that drought stress had an adverse effect on the classification of healthy leaves. More healthy leaves under drought stress condition were classified as infected causing PPV and Specificity index values to decrease, accordingly. Image acquisition in the dark had no significant effect on the classification performance.

  12. Performance evaluation of image segmentation algorithms on microscopic image data

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Beneš, Miroslav; Zitová, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 275, č. 1 (2015), s. 65-85 ISSN 0022-2720 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP103/12/2211 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : image segmentation * performance evaluation * microscopic images Subject RIV: JC - Computer Hardware ; Software Impact factor: 2.136, year: 2015 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2014/ZOI/zitova-0434809-DOI.pdf

  13. A global fouling factor methodology for analyzing steam generator thermal performance degradation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kreider, M.A.; White, G.A.; Varrin, R.D.

    1998-01-01

    Over the past few years, steam generator (SG) thermal performance degradation has led to decreased plant efficiency and power output at numerous PWR nuclear power plants with recirculating-type SGs. The authors have developed and implemented methodologies for quantitatively evaluating the various sources of SG performance degradation, both internal and external to the SG pressure boundary. These methodologies include computation of the global fouling factor history, evaluation of secondary deposit thermal resistance using deposit characterization data, and consideration of pressure loss causes unrelated to the tube bundle, such as hot-leg temperature streaming and SG moisture separator performance. In order to evaluate the utility of the global fouling factor methodology, the authors performed case studies for a number of PWR SG designs. Key results from two of these studies are presented here. Uncertainty analyses were performed to determine whether the calculated fouling factor for each plant represented significant fouling or whether uncertainty in key variables (e.g., steam pressure or feedwater flow rate) could be responsible for calculated fouling. The methodology was validated using two methods: by predicting the SG pressure following chemical cleaning at San Onofre 2 and also by performing a sensitivity study with the industry-standard thermal-hydraulics code ATHOS to investigate the effects of spatially varying tube scale distributions. This study indicated that the average scale thickness has a greater impact on fouling than the spatial distribution, showing that the assumption of uniform resistance inherent to the global fouling factor is reasonable. In tandem with the fouling-factor analyses, a study evaluated for each plant the potential causes of pressure loss. The combined results of the global fouling factor calculations and the pressure loss evaluations demonstrated two key points: 1) that the available thermal margin against fouling, which can

  14. Preparation and thermal performance of polystyrene/n-tetradecane composite nanoencapsulated cold energy storage phase change materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang, Yutang; Yu, Huimin; Wan, Weijun; Gao, Xuenong; Zhang, Zhengguo

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Average particle size of Tet/PS nanocapsules is smaller than the same type composite. • Latent heat of Tet/PS nanocapsules is as high as the same type composite. • Freeze–thaw cycle test and centrifugal sedimentation method are employed. • Tet/PS nanocapsules can be a candidate for cold thermal energy storage. - Abstract: In this paper, a novel polystyrene/n-tetradecane composite nanoencapsulated phase change material as latent functionally thermal fluid (LFTF) for cold thermal energy storage was synthesized by ultrasonic-assistant miniemulsion in situ polymerization. The morphology, chemical structure and thermal performances of the nanoencapsulated phase change material (NEPCM) were measured by particle size analyzer, transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), respectively. The thermo-physical properties of the cool storage media were tested as well. The results showed that, a uniform spherical NEPCM with average diameter of 132 nm was prepared. The melting and freezing points and the latent heats of the NEPCMs was measured as 4.04 °C and −3.43 °C, 98.71 J g −1 and 91.27 J g −1 , respectively. The specific heat of its latex were determined as the maximum value of 4.822 J g −1 K −1 . The freeze–thaw cycle test indicated that the NEPCMs have good mechanical stability, and most capsules were still complete except some broken individuals from TEM images. Due to its good thermal properties and mechanical stability, the polystyrene/n-tetradecane NEPCM displays a good potential for cool energy storage

  15. Acquisition of an Advanced Thermal Analysis andImaging System for Integration with Interdisciplinary Researchand Education in Low Density Organic Inorganic Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-02

    Report: Acquisition of an Advanced Thermal Analysis and Imaging System for Integration with Interdisciplinary Research and Education in Low Density...Agreement Number: W911NF-16-1-0475 Organization: University of Texas at El Paso Title: Acquisition of an Advanced Thermal Analysis and Imaging System ...for Integration with Interdisciplinary Research and Education in Low Density Organic-Inorganic Materials Report Term: 0-Other Email: dmisra2

  16. Video and thermal imaging system for monitoring interiors of high temperature reaction vessels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saveliev, Alexei V [Chicago, IL; Zelepouga, Serguei A [Hoffman Estates, IL; Rue, David M [Chicago, IL

    2012-01-10

    A system and method for real-time monitoring of the interior of a combustor or gasifier wherein light emitted by the interior surface of a refractory wall of the combustor or gasifier is collected using an imaging fiber optic bundle having a light receiving end and a light output end. Color information in the light is captured with primary color (RGB) filters or complimentary color (GMCY) filters placed over individual pixels of color sensors disposed within a digital color camera in a BAYER mosaic layout, producing RGB signal outputs or GMCY signal outputs. The signal outputs are processed using intensity ratios of the primary color filters or the complimentary color filters, producing video images and/or thermal images of the interior of the combustor or gasifier.

  17. Performance evaluation of 2D image registration algorithms with the numeric image registration and comparison platform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerganov, G.; Kuvandjiev, V.; Dimitrova, I.; Mitev, K.; Kawrakow, I.

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this work is to present the capabilities of the NUMERICS web platform for evaluation of the performance of image registration algorithms. The NUMERICS platform is a web accessible tool which provides access to dedicated numerical algorithms for registration and comparison of medical images (http://numerics.phys.uni-sofia.bg). The platform allows comparison of noisy medical images by means of different types of image comparison algorithms, which are based on statistical tests for outliers. The platform also allows 2D image registration with different techniques like Elastic Thin-Plate Spline registration, registration based on rigid transformations, affine transformations, as well as non-rigid image registration based on Mobius transformations. In this work we demonstrate how the platform can be used as a tool for evaluation of the quality of the image registration process. We demonstrate performance evaluation of a deformable image registration technique based on Mobius transformations. The transformations are applied with appropriate cost functions like: Mutual information, Correlation coefficient, Sum of Squared Differences. The accent is on the results provided by the platform to the user and their interpretation in the context of the performance evaluation of 2D image registration. The NUMERICS image registration and image comparison platform provides detailed statistical information about submitted image registration jobs and can be used to perform quantitative evaluation of the performance of different image registration techniques. (authors)

  18. Thermal Performance Analysis of Staging Effect of Solar Thermal Absorber with Cross Design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amir Abdul Razak; Zafri Azran Abdul Majid; Mohd Hafidz Ruslan; Kamaruzzaman Sopian

    2015-01-01

    The type and shape of solar thermal absorber materials will impact on the operating temperature and thermal energy storage effect of a solar air thermal collector. For a standard flat-plate design, energy gain can be increased by expanding the thermal absorber area along the collector plane, subject to area limitation. This paper focuses on the staging effect of a metal hollow square rod absorber of aluminium, stainless steel, and a combination of the two with a cross design, for the heat gain and temperature characteristics of a solar air collector. Experiments were carried out with three cross design set-ups, with 30 minutes of heating and cooling, phase, respectively, under 485 W/ m 2 solar irradiance value, and at a constant air speed at 0.38 m/ s. One set aluminium set-up delivered the highest output temperature of 41.8 degree Celsius, followed by two-sets aluminium and one aluminium set + one stainless steel set at 39.3 and 38.2 degree Celsius, respectively. The lowest peak temperature is recorded on three sets of the aluminium absorber at 35 degree Celsius. The bi-metallic set-up performed better than the two aluminium set-up where each set-up obtained a temperature drop against heat gain gradient value of -0.4186 degree Celsius/ W and -0.4917 degree Celsius/ W, respectively. Results concluded that by increasing the number of sets, the volume and surface areas of the absorber material are also increased, and lead to a decrease in peak temperature output for each increase of sets. (author)

  19. Computational Analysis on Performance of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Diffuser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adib, M A H M; Ismail, A R; Kardigama, K; Salaam, H A; Ahmad, Z; Johari, N H; Anuar, Z; Azmi, N S N; Adnan, F

    2012-01-01

    Application of thermal energy storage (TES) system reduces cost and energy consumption. The performance of the overall operation is affected by diffuser design. In this study, computational analysis is used to determine the thermocline thickness. Three dimensional simulations with different tank height-to-diameter ratio (HD), diffuser opening and the effect of difference number of diffuser holes are investigated. Medium HD tanks simulations with double ring octagonal diffuser show good thermocline behavior and clear distinction between warm and cold water. The result show, the best performance of thermocline thickness during 50% time charging occur in medium tank with height-to-diameter ratio of 4.0 and double ring octagonal diffuser with 48 holes (9mm opening ∼ 60%) acceptable compared to diffuser with 6mm ∼ 40% and 12mm ∼ 80% opening. The conclusion is computational analysis method are very useful in the study on performance of thermal energy storage (TES).

  20. Third-order optical intensity correlation measurements of pseudo-thermal light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Xi-Hao; Wu Wei; Meng Shao-Ying; Li Ming-Fei

    2014-01-01

    Third-order Hanbrury Brown—Twiss and double-slit interference experiments with a pseudo-thermal light are performed by recording intensities in single, double and triple optical paths, respectively. The experimental results verifies the theoretical prediction that the indispensable condition for achieving a interference pattern or ghost image in Nth-order intensity correlation measurements is the synchronous detection of the same light field by each reference detector, no matter the intensities recorded in one, or two, or N optical paths. It is shown that, when the reference detectors are scanned in the opposite directions, the visibility and resolution of the third-order spatial correlation function of thermal light is much better than that scanned in the same direction, but it is no use for obtaining the Nth-order interference pattern or ghost image in the thermal Nth-order interference or ghost imaging. (general)

  1. Performance of stratified thermal-storage system for Oliver Springs Elementary School. Progress report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reid, R.L.; Bedinger, A.F.G.

    1981-01-01

    A progress report is given on the performance of a stratified thermal storage system coupled with a heat recovery refrigeration machine designed to provide space heating, cooling and service water heating. Water storage tanks utilizing a flexible membrane to resist temperature blending will be used as the thermal storage element. The two design goals of the heat recovery and thermal energy storage system are (1) to minimize the need to purchase energy for space heating and cooling and water heating and (2) to minimize electrical demand. An automatic data acquisition system will be used for system performance and data gathering. Data collection is expected to begin in September, 1981.

  2. Alternative High Performance Polymers for Ablative Thermal Protection Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boghozian, Tane; Stackpoole, Mairead; Gonzales, Greg

    2015-01-01

    Ablative thermal protection systems are commonly used as protection from the intense heat during re-entry of a space vehicle and have been used successfully on many missions including Stardust and Mars Science Laboratory both of which used PICA - a phenolic based ablator. Historically, phenolic resin has served as the ablative polymer for many TPS systems. However, it has limitations in both processing and properties such as char yield, glass transition temperature and char stability. Therefore alternative high performance polymers are being considered including cyanate ester resin, polyimide, and polybenzoxazine. Thermal and mechanical properties of these resin systems were characterized and compared with phenolic resin.

  3. Ballistic Performance of Porous-Ceramic, Thermal-Protection-Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christiansen, E. L.; Davis, B. A.; Miller, J. E.; Bohl, W. E.; Foreman, C. D.

    2009-01-01

    Porous-ceramic, thermal protection systems are used heavily in current reentry vehicles like the Space Shuttle and are currently being proposed for the next generation of manned spacecraft, Orion. These materials insulate the structural components of a spacecraft against the intense thermal environments of atmospheric reentry. Furthermore, these materials are also highly exposed to space environmental hazards like meteoroid and orbital debris impacts. This paper discusses recent impact testing up to 9 km/s, and the findings of the influence of material equation-of-state on the simulation of the impact event to characterize the ballistic performance of these materials. These results will be compared with heritage models1 for these materials developed from testing at lower velocities. Assessments of predicted spacecraft risk based upon these tests and simulations will also be discussed.

  4. Controllable Fabrication of Au Nanocups by Confined-Space Thermal Dewetting for OCT Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Aiqin; Xu, Wenjing; Ponce de León, Yenisey; Bai, Yaocai; Gong, Mingfu; Xie, Kongliang; Park, Boris Hyle; Yin, Yadong

    2017-07-01

    Here, this study reports a novel confined-space thermal dewetting strategy for the fabrication of Au nanocups with tunable diameter, height, and size of cup opening. The nanocup morphology is defined by the cup-shaped void space created by a yolk-shell silica template that spontaneously takes an eccentric configuration during annealing. Thermal dewetting of Au, which is sandwiched between the yolk and shell, leads to the desired nanocup morphology. With strong scattering in near infrared, the Au nanocups exhibit superior efficiency as contrast agents for spectral-domain optical coherence tomography imaging. This confined-space thermal dewetting strategy is scalable and general, and can be potentially extended to the synthesis of novel anisotropic nanostructures of various compositions that are difficult to produce by conventional wet chemical or physical methods, thus opening up opportunities for many new applications. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Thermal performance test for steam turbine of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bu Yubing; Xu Zongfu; Wang Shiyong

    2014-01-01

    Through study of steam turbine thermal performance test of CPR1000 nuclear power plant, we solve the enthalpy calculation problems of the steam turbine in wet steam zone using heat balance method which can help to figure out the real overall heat balance diagram for the first time, and we develop a useful software for thermal heat balance calculation. Ling'ao phase II as an example, this paper includes test instrument layout, system isolation, risk control, data acquisition, wetness measurement, heat balance calculation, etc. (authors)

  6. INTRODUCING A LOW-COST MINI-UAV FOR THERMAL- AND MULTISPECTRAL-IMAGING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Bendig

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The trend to minimize electronic devices also accounts for Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAVs as well as for sensor technologies and imaging devices. Consequently, it is not surprising that UAVs are already part of our daily life and the current pace of development will increase civil applications. A well known and already wide spread example is the so called flying video game based on Parrot's AR.Drone which is remotely controlled by an iPod, iPhone, or iPad (http://ardrone.parrot.com. The latter can be considered as a low-weight and low-cost Mini-UAV. In this contribution a Mini-UAV is considered to weigh less than 5 kg and is being able to carry 0.2 kg to 1.5 kg of sensor payload. While up to now Mini-UAVs like Parrot's AR.Drone are mainly equipped with RGB cameras for videotaping or imaging, the development of such carriage systems clearly also goes to multi-sensor platforms like the ones introduced for larger UAVs (5 to 20 kg by Jaakkolla et al. (2010 for forestry applications or by Berni et al. (2009 for agricultural applications. The problem when designing a Mini-UAV for multi-sensor imaging is the limitation of payload of up to 1.5 kg and a total weight of the whole system below 5 kg. Consequently, the Mini-UAV without sensors but including navigation system and GPS sensors must weigh less than 3.5 kg. A Mini-UAV system with these characteristics is HiSystems' MK-Okto (www.mikrokopter.de. Total weight including battery without sensors is less than 2.5 kg. Payload of a MK-Okto is approx. 1 kg and maximum speed is around 30 km/h. The MK-Okto can be operated up to a wind speed of less than 19 km/h which corresponds to Beaufort scale number 3 for wind speed. In our study, the MK-Okto is equipped with a handheld low-weight NEC F30IS thermal imaging system. The F30IS which was developed for veterinary applications, covers 8 to 13 μm, weighs only 300 g, and is capturing the temperature range between −20 °C and 100 °C. Flying at a height of

  7. Performance Measure as Feedback Variable in Image Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ristić Danijela

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper extends the view of image processing performance measure presenting the use of this measure as an actual value in a feedback structure. The idea behind is that the control loop, which is built in that way, drives the actual feedback value to a given set point. Since the performance measure depends explicitly on the application, the inclusion of feedback structures and choice of appropriate feedback variables are presented on example of optical character recognition in industrial application. Metrics for quantification of performance at different image processing levels are discussed. The issues that those metrics should address from both image processing and control point of view are considered. The performance measures of individual processing algorithms that form a character recognition system are determined with respect to the overall system performance.

  8. CFD investigations of data centers’ thermal performance for different configurations of CRACs units and aisles separation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.A. Nada

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The thermal performance of data centers is numerically studied for different configurations of computer room air conditioning (CRAC units and physical separations of cold and hot aisles. Temperature distribution, air flow characteristics and thermal management of data centers racks array are predicted and evaluated for the different arrangements. Measureable performance indices: supply/return heat index (SHI/RHI, return temperature index (RTI and return cooling index (RCI are used to measure the thermal management effectiveness of data center racks. The results showed that: (i hot air recirculation, cold air bypass and the measurable performance indices of the racks strongly depend on the racks location in the racks array, (ii the CRACs units layout affects the thermal managements of the racks array especially the sides and middle racks in the array, and (iii using cold aisle containments enhances the thermal performance of the data center.

  9. Thermal performance of Egypt's research reactor core (ET-RR-1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khattab, M.; Mariy, A.

    1986-01-01

    The steady state thermal performance of the ET-RR-1 core system is theoretically investigated by different models describing the heat flux and the coolant mass flow rate. The magnitude of the heat generated by a fuel element depends upon its position in the core. Normal and uniform distributions for heat flux and coolant mass flow rate are considered. The clad and coolant temperatures at different core positions are evaluated and compared with the experimental measurements at different operating conditions. The results indicated large discrepancy between the predicted and the experimental results. Therefore, the previous models and the experimental results are evaluated in order to develop the best model that describes the thermal performance of the ET-RR-1 core. The adapted model gives 99.5% significant confidence limit. The effect of increasing the heat flux or decreasing the mass flow rate by 20% from its maximum recommended operating condition is tested and discussed. Also, the thermal behaviour towards increasing the reactor power more than its maximum operating condition is discussed. The present work could also be used in extending the investigation to other PWR reactor operating conditions

  10. IMPULSE---an advanced, high performance nuclear thermal propulsion system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrosky, L.J.; Disney, R.K.; Mangus, J.D.; Gunn, S.A.; Zweig, H.R.

    1993-01-01

    IMPULSE is an advanced nuclear propulsion engine for future space missions based on a novel conical fuel. Fuel assemblies are formed by stacking a series of truncated (U, Zr)C cones with non-fueled lips. Hydrogen flows radially inward between the cones to a central plenum connected to a high performance bell nozzle. The reference IMPULSE engine rated at 75,000 lb thrust and 1800 MWt weighs 1360 kg and is 3.65 meters in height and 81 cm in diameter. Specific impulse is estimated to be 1000 for a 15 minute life at full power. If longer life times are required, the operating temperature can be reduced with a concomitant decrease in specific impulse. Advantages of this concept include: well defined coolant paths without outlet flow restrictions; redundant orificing; very low thermal gradients and hence, thermal stresses, across the fuel elements; and reduced thermal stresses because of the truncated conical shape of the fuel elements

  11. Thermal Performance of the LHC Short Straight Section Cryostat

    CERN Document Server

    Bergot, J B; Nielsen, L; Parma, Vittorio; Rohmig, P; Roy, E

    2002-01-01

    The LHC Short Straight Section (SSS) cryostat houses and thermally protects in vacuum the cold mass which contains a twin-aperture superconducting quadrupole magnet and superconducting corrector magnets operating at 1.9 K in superfluid helium. In addition to mechanical requirements, the cryostat is designed to minimize the heat in-leak from the ambient temperature to the cold mass. Mechanical components linking the cold mass to the vacuum vessel such as support posts and an insulation vacuum barrier are designed to have minimum heat conductivity with efficient thermalisations for heat interception. Heat in-leak by radiation is reduced by employing multilayer insulation wrapped around the cold mass and an actively cooled aluminium thermal shield. The recent commissioning and operation of two SSS prototypes in the LHC Test String 2 have given a first experimental validation of the thermal performance of the SSS cryostat in nominal operating conditions. Temperature sensors mounted in critical locations provide a...

  12. A method to quickly test the emissivity with an infrared thermal imaging system within a small distance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xuan-yu; Hu, Rui; Wang, Rui-xin

    2015-10-01

    A simple method has been set up to quickly test the emissivity with an infrared thermal imaging system within a small distance according to the theory of measuring temperature by infrared system, which is based on the Planck radiation law and Lambert-beer law. The object's temperature is promoted and held on by a heater while a temperature difference has been formed between the target and environment. The emissivity of human skin, galvanized iron plate, black rubber and liquid water has been tested under the condition that the emissivity is set in 1.0 and the testing distance is 1m. According to the invariance of human's body temperature, a testing curve is established to describe that the thermal imaging temperatures various with the emissivity which is set in from 0.9 to 1.0. As a result, the method has been verified. The testing results show that the emissivity of human skin is 0.95. The emissivity of galvanized iron plate, black rubber and liquid water decreases with the increase of object's temperature. The emissivity of galvanized iron plate is far smaller than the one of human skin, black rubber or water. The emissivity of water slowly linearly decreases with the increase of its temperature. By the study, within a small distance and clean atmosphere, the infrared emissivity of objects may be expediently tested with an infrared thermal imaging system according to the method, which is promoting the object's temperature to make it different from the environment temperature, then simultaneously measures the environmental temperature, the real temperature and thermal imaging temperature of the object when the emissivity is set in 1.0 and the testing distance is 1.0m.

  13. Ethernet image communication performance in a multimodal PACS network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lou, S.L.; Valentino, D.J.; Chan, K.K.; Huang, H.K.

    1989-01-01

    The authors have evaluated the performance of an Ethernet network in a multimodal picture archiving and communications system (PACS) environment. The study included measurements between Sun workstations and PC- AT computers running communication software at the TCP level. First they initiated image transfers between two workstations, a server and a client. Next, they successively added clients to transfer images to the server and they measured degradation in network performance. Finally, they initiated image transfers between pairs of workstations and again measured performance degradation. The results of the authors' experiments indicate that Ethernet is suitable for image communication only in limited network situations. They discuss how to maximize network performance given these constraints

  14. The automated infrared thermal imaging system for the continuous long-term monitoring of the surface temperature of the Vesuvius crater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabio Sansivero

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Infrared remote sensing monitoring is a significant tool aimed to integrated surveillance system of active volcanic areas. In this paper we describe the realization and the technological evolution of the permanent image thermal infrared (TIR surveillance system of the Vesuvius volcano. The TIR monitoring station was installed on the Vesuvius crater rim on July 2004 in order to acquire scenes of the SW inner slope of Vesuvius crater that is characterized by a significant thermal emission. At that time, it represented the first achievement all over the world of a permanent surveillance thermal imaging system on a volcano. It has been working in its prototypal configuration till May 2007. The experience gained over years about the engineering, management and maintenance of TIR remote acquisition systems in extreme environmental conditions, allows us to design and realize a new release of the TIR monitoring station with improved functionalities and more flexibility for the IR image acquisition, management and storage, which became operational in June 2011. In order to characterize the thermal background of the Vesuvius crater at present state of volcanic quiescence, the time series of TIR images gathered between July 2004 and May 2012 were analyzed using a statistical approach. Results show no significant changes in the thermal radiation during the observation periods, so they can be assumed as representative of a background level to which refer for the interpretation of possible future anomalies related to a renewal of the volcanic dynamics of the Vesuvius volcano.

  15. Relationship between dynamic infrared thermal images and blood perfusion rate of the tongue in anaemia patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Haiwei; Zhang, Yan

    2018-03-01

    The relationship between dynamic infrared (IR) thermal images and blood perfusion rate of the tongues of anaemia patients was investigated. Blood perfusion rates at multiple locations on the tongues of 62 anaemia patients and 70 control subjects were measured. For both groups of subjects, dynamic IR thermal images were also recorded within 16 s after the mouth opened. The results showed that the blood perfusion rates at different sites (apex, middle, left side and right side) on the tongues in anaemia patients (3.49, 3.71, 3.85 and 3.77 kg/s m-3) were significantly lower than those at the corresponding sites in control subjects (4.45, 4.66, 4.81 and 4.70 kg/s m-3). After the mouth opened, the tongue temperature decreased more rapidly in anaemia patients than in control subjects. To analyse the heat transfer mechanism, a transient heat transfer model of the tongue was developed. The tongue temperatures in anaemia patients and control subjects were calculated using this model and compared to the tongue temperatures measured by the IR thermal imager. The relationship between the tongue surface temperature and the tongue blood perfusion rate was analysed. The simulation results indicated that the low blood perfusion rate and the correlated changes in anaemia patients can cause faster temperature decreases of the tongue surface.

  16. Thermal performance of the MFTF magnets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    VanSant, J.H.

    1983-01-01

    A yin-yang pair of liquid-helium (LHe) cooled, superconducting magnets were tested last year at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as part of a series of tests with the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF). These tests were performed to determine the success of engineering design used in major systems of the MFTF and to provide a technical base for rescoping from a single-mirror facility to the large tandem-mirror configuration (MFTF-B) now under construction. The magnets were cooled, operated at their design current and magnetic field, and warmed to atmospheric temperature. In this report, we describe their thermal behavior during these tests

  17. Thermography During Thermal Test of the Gaia Deployable Sunshield Assembly Qualification Model in the ESTEC Large Space Simulator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simpson, R.; Broussely, M.; Edwards, G.; Robinson, D.; Cozzani, A.; Casarosa, G.

    2012-07-01

    The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) have performed for the first time successful surface temperature measurements using infrared thermal imaging in the ESTEC Large Space Simulator (LSS) under vacuum and with the Sun Simulator (SUSI) switched on during thermal qualification tests of the GAIA Deployable Sunshield Assembly (DSA). The thermal imager temperature measurements, with radiosity model corrections, show good agreement with thermocouple readings on well characterised regions of the spacecraft. In addition, the thermal imaging measurements identified potentially misleading thermocouple temperature readings and provided qualitative real-time observations of the thermal and spatial evolution of surface structure changes and heat dissipation during hot test loadings, which may yield additional thermal and physical measurement information through further research.

  18. Applying thermal neutron radiography to non-destructive assays of dynamic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silvani, Maria I.; Almeida, Gevaldo L. de; Goncalves, Marcelo J.; Lopes, Ricardo T.

    2008-01-01

    Dynamic processes or systems frequently can not have their behavior directly analyzed due to safety reasons or because they require destructive assays, which can not be always afforded when high-cost equipment, devices and components are involved. Under these circumstances, some kind of non-destructive technique should be applied to preserve the safety of the personnel performing the assay, as well as the integrity of the piece being inspected. Thermal neutrons are specially suited as a tool for this purpose, thanks to their capability to pass through metallic materials, which could be utterly opaque to X-rays. This paper describes the accomplishments achieved at the Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear / CNEN, Brazil, aiming at the development of an Image Acquisition System capable to perform non-destructive assays using thermal neutrons. It is comprised of a thermal neutron source provided by the Argonauta research reactor, a converter-scintillating screen, and a CCD-based video camera optically coupled to the screen through a dark chamber equipped with a mirror. The developed system has been used to acquire 2D neutron radiographic images of static devices to reveal their inner structure, as well as movies of running systems and working devices to verify its functioning and soundness. Radiographic images of objects taken at different angles would be later on used as projections to retrieve - through a proper unfolding software - their 3D images expressed as attenuation coefficients for thermal neutrons. A quantitative performance of the system has been assessed through its Modulation Transfer Function - MTF. In order to determine this curve, unique collimators designed to simulate different spatial frequencies have been manufactured. Besides that, images of some objects have been acquired with the system being developed as well as using the conventional radiographic film, allowing thus a qualitative comparison between them. (author)

  19. Polymer/boron nitride nanocomposite materials for superior thermal transport performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Wei-Li; Wang, Ping; Cao, Li; Anderson, Ankoma; Meziani, Mohammed J; Farr, Andrew J; Sun, Ya-Ping

    2012-06-25

    Boron nitride nanosheets were dispersed in polymers to give composite films with excellent thermal transport performances approaching the record values found in polymer/graphene nanocomposites. Similarly high performance at lower BN loadings was achieved by aligning the nanosheets in poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix by simple mechanical stretching (see picture). Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Effect of thermal stress on the performance of HgCdTe/Si diodes and FPAs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Shan; Hu, Xiao-Ning

    2012-01-01

    As a typical hetero-epitaxial material, the HgCdTe film which directly grows on the Si substrate possesses great residual stress for the large lattice and thermal expansion mismatch. Thermal stress caused by the thermal expansion mismatch dominates the stress mechanism after growth and seriously affects the device performance. In this paper, the performance of the HgCdTe/Si material, diodes and focal plane arrays under different thermal stress condition was studied. The experimental results indicate that the performance regularly changes with the thermal stress and all the results can be duplicated and recoverable. By analyzing the changes of the energy band under different stress conditions, it was found that the stress in the HgCdTe film impacts the film's characteristics. The HgCdTe film with tensile stress exhibits higher electron mobility, while with the compressive stress, the film exhibits higher hole mobility than that of the bulk HgCdTe crystal. Finally, the theoretical analysis can explain the experimental results well. (paper)

  1. Understanding synthesis imaging dynamic range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, R.

    2013-03-01

    We develop a general framework for quantifying the many different contributions to the noise budget of an image made with an array of dishes or aperture array stations. Each noise contribution to the visibility data is associated with a relevant correlation timescale and frequency bandwidth so that the net impact on a complete observation can be assessed when a particular effect is not captured in the instrumental calibration. All quantities are parameterised as function of observing frequency and the visibility baseline length. We apply the resulting noise budget analysis to a wide range of existing and planned telescope systems that will operate between about 100 MHz and 5 GHz to ascertain the magnitude of the calibration challenges that they must overcome to achieve thermal noise limited performance. We conclude that calibration challenges are increased in several respects by small dimensions of the dishes or aperture array stations. It will be more challenging to achieve thermal noise limited performance using 15 m class dishes rather than the 25 m dishes of current arrays. Some of the performance risks are mitigated by the deployment of phased array feeds and more with the choice of an (alt,az,pol) mount, although a larger dish diameter offers the best prospects for risk mitigation. Many improvements to imaging performance can be anticipated at the expense of greater complexity in calibration algorithms. However, a fundamental limitation is ultimately imposed by an insufficient number of data constraints relative to calibration variables. The upcoming aperture array systems will be operating in a regime that has never previously been addressed, where a wide range of effects are expected to exceed the thermal noise by two to three orders of magnitude. Achieving routine thermal noise limited imaging performance with these systems presents an extreme challenge. The magnitude of that challenge is inversely related to the aperture array station diameter.

  2. Evaluation of the thermal and structural performance of straw bale construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaudry, Kyle R.

    This thesis is primarily divided into two distinct experimental programs evaluating: 1) the thermal performance and, 2) the structural performance of straw bale construction. The thermal performance chapter describes hot-box testing (based on ASTM C1363-11) of seven straw bale wall panels to obtain their apparent thermal conductivity values. All panels were constructed with stacked bales and cement-lime plaster skins on each side of the bales. Four panels were made with traditional, 2-string field bales of densities ranging from 89.5 kg/m3 - 131 kg/m3 and with the bales on-edge (fibres perpendicular to the heat flow). Three panels were made with manufactured high-density bales (291 kg/m3 - 372 kg/m3). The fibres of the manufactured bales were randomly oriented. The key conclusion of this work is that within the experimental error, there is no difference in the apparent thermal conductivity value for panels using normal density bales and manufactured high-density bales up to a density of 333 kg/m3. The structural performance chapter describes gravity and transverse load testing (based on ASTM E72-15) of non-plastered modular straw bale wall (DBW) panels to evaluate their strength capacity and failure modes. The out-of-plane flexural (OPF) tests exhibited a mean ultimate bending moment of 49.7 kNm. The axial compression (AC) tests exhibited a mean ultimate line load of 161.0 kN/m. The local flexural header beam (HP) tests exhibited an ultimate line load of 31.6 kN/m. The OPF and AC capacities of the DBW exceeded the capacities exhibited by a conventional 38 mm x 140 mm stud wall. However, the DBW's header beam strength and stiffness was inferior to conventional stud wall.

  3. Phenomena of non-thermal electrons from the X-ray imaging crystal spectrometer on J-TEXT tokamak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, W.; Chen, Z.Y.; Jin, W.; Huang, D.W.; Lee, S.G.; Shi, Y.J.; Tong, R.H.; Wang, S.Y.; Wei, Y.N.; Ma, T.K.; Zhuang, G.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Some lines from X-ray imaging crystal spectrometer (XICS) can be enhanced by non-thermal electrons, such as q, r satellite lines and z lines. • Analyze the non-thermal phenomena can reduce the error of electron temperature deduced from the intensity ratio of different lines of the He-like argon spectra from XICS. • XICS can be a tool to measure the non-thermal phenomena from these enhanced lines. - Abstract: A high spectra resolution X-ray imaging crystal spectrometer has been implemented on J-TEXT Tokamak for the measurements of K_α spectra of helium-like argon and its satellite lines. The wavelength range of K_α spectra of helium-like argon is from 3.9494 Å to 3.9944 Å that includes the resonance line w, intercombination lines x and y, forbidden line z and numerous satellite lines, referenced using standard Gabriel notation. In low-density discharge, the intensity of q, r satellite lines and z lines can be significantly enhanced by non-thermal electrons. Non-thermal electrons are produced due to the low plasma density. The high hard X-ray flux from NaI detector and significant downshift electron cyclotron emissions from energetic runaway electrons also indicated that there is a large population of runaway electrons in the low-density discharge. The non-thermal part of electrons can affect the excitation/transition equilibrium or ionization/recombination equilibrium. The q line is mainly produced by inner-shell excitation of lithium-like argon, and the r line is partially produced by inner-shell excitation of lithium-like argon and dielectronic recombination of helium-like argon.

  4. Phenomena of non-thermal electrons from the X-ray imaging crystal spectrometer on J-TEXT tokamak

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yan, W. [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China); Chen, Z.Y., E-mail: zychen@hust.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China); Jin, W. [Center of Interface Dynamics for Sustainability, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Chengdu 610200, Sichuan (China); Huang, D.W. [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China); Lee, S.G.; Shi, Y.J. [National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of); Tong, R.H.; Wang, S.Y.; Wei, Y.N.; Ma, T.K.; Zhuang, G. [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China)

    2016-11-01

    Highlights: • Some lines from X-ray imaging crystal spectrometer (XICS) can be enhanced by non-thermal electrons, such as q, r satellite lines and z lines. • Analyze the non-thermal phenomena can reduce the error of electron temperature deduced from the intensity ratio of different lines of the He-like argon spectra from XICS. • XICS can be a tool to measure the non-thermal phenomena from these enhanced lines. - Abstract: A high spectra resolution X-ray imaging crystal spectrometer has been implemented on J-TEXT Tokamak for the measurements of K{sub α} spectra of helium-like argon and its satellite lines. The wavelength range of K{sub α} spectra of helium-like argon is from 3.9494 Å to 3.9944 Å that includes the resonance line w, intercombination lines x and y, forbidden line z and numerous satellite lines, referenced using standard Gabriel notation. In low-density discharge, the intensity of q, r satellite lines and z lines can be significantly enhanced by non-thermal electrons. Non-thermal electrons are produced due to the low plasma density. The high hard X-ray flux from NaI detector and significant downshift electron cyclotron emissions from energetic runaway electrons also indicated that there is a large population of runaway electrons in the low-density discharge. The non-thermal part of electrons can affect the excitation/transition equilibrium or ionization/recombination equilibrium. The q line is mainly produced by inner-shell excitation of lithium-like argon, and the r line is partially produced by inner-shell excitation of lithium-like argon and dielectronic recombination of helium-like argon.

  5. Performance evaluation of no-reference image quality metrics for face biometric images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xinwei; Pedersen, Marius; Charrier, Christophe; Bours, Patrick

    2018-03-01

    The accuracy of face recognition systems is significantly affected by the quality of face sample images. The recent established standardization proposed several important aspects for the assessment of face sample quality. There are many existing no-reference image quality metrics (IQMs) that are able to assess natural image quality by taking into account similar image-based quality attributes as introduced in the standardization. However, whether such metrics can assess face sample quality is rarely considered. We evaluate the performance of 13 selected no-reference IQMs on face biometrics. The experimental results show that several of them can assess face sample quality according to the system performance. We also analyze the strengths and weaknesses of different IQMs as well as why some of them failed to assess face sample quality. Retraining an original IQM by using face database can improve the performance of such a metric. In addition, the contribution of this paper can be used for the evaluation of IQMs on other biometric modalities; furthermore, it can be used for the development of multimodality biometric IQMs.

  6. Numerical Investigation of the Thermal Management Performance of MEPCM Modules for PV Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao-Yang Huang

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The efficiency of photovoltaic modules decreases as the cell temperature increases. It is necessary to have an adequate thermal management mechanism for a photovoltaic module, especially when combined with a building construction system. This study aims to investigate via computational fluid dynamics simulations the heat transfer characteristics and thermal management performance of microencapsulated phase change material modules for photovoltaic applications under temporal variations of daily solar irradiation. The results show that the aspect ratio of the microencapsulated phase change material layer has significant effects on the heat transfer characteristics and the overall thermal performance of the two cases examined with different melting points (26 °C and 34 °C are approximately the same.

  7. Glass sample preparation and performance investigations. [solar x-ray imager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, R. Barry

    1992-01-01

    This final report details the work performed under this delivery order from April 1991 through April 1992. The currently available capabilities for integrated optical performance modeling at MSFC for large and complex systems such as AXAF were investigated. The Integrated Structural Modeling (ISM) program developed by Boeing for the U.S. Air Force was obtained and installed on two DECstations 5000 at MSFC. The structural, thermal and optical analysis programs available in ISM were evaluated. As part of the optomechanical engineering activities, technical support was provided in the design of support structure, mirror assembly, filter wheel assembly and material selection for the Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) program. As part of the fabrication activities, a large number of zerodur glass samples were prepared in different sizes and shapes for acid etching, coating and polishing experiments to characterize the subsurface damage and stresses produced by the grinding and polishing operations. Various optical components for AXAF video microscope and the x-ray test facility were also fabricated. A number of glass fabrication and test instruments such as a scatter plate interferometer, a gravity feed saw and some phenolic cutting blades were fabricated, integrated and tested.

  8. Thermal dependence of ultrasound contrast agents scattering efficiency for echographic imaging techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biagioni, Angelo; Bettucci, Andrea; Passeri, Daniele; Alippi, Adriano

    2015-06-01

    Ultrasound contrast agents are used in echographic imaging techniques to enhance image contrast. In addition, they may represent an interesting solution to the problem of non-invasive temperature monitoring inside the human body, based on some thermal variations of their physical properties. Contrast agents, indeed, are inserted into blood circulation and they reach the most important organs inside the human body; consequently, any thermometric property that they may possess, could be exploited for realizing a non-invasive thermometer. They essentially are a suspension of microbubbles containing a gas enclosed in a phospholipid membrane; temperature variations induce structural modifications of the microbubble phospholipid shell, thus causing thermal dependence of contrast agent's elastic characteristics. In this paper, the acoustic scattering efficiency of a bulk suspension of of SonoVue® (Bracco SpA Milan, Italy) has been studied using a pulse-echo technique in the frequency range 1-17 MHz, as it depends upon temperatures between 25 and 65°C. Experimental data confirm that the ultrasonic attenuation coefficient of SonoVue® depends on temperature between 25 and 60°C. Chemical composition of the bubble shell seem to support the hypothesis that a phase transition in the microstructure of lipid-coated microbubbles could play a key role in explaining such effect.

  9. Data Mining of the Thermal Performance of Cool-Pipes in Massive Concrete via In Situ Monitoring

    OpenAIRE

    Zuo, Zheng; Hu, Yu; Li, Qingbin; Zhang, Liyuan

    2014-01-01

    Embedded cool-pipes are very important for massive concrete because their cooling effect can effectively avoid thermal cracks. In this study, a data mining approach to analyzing the thermal performance of cool-pipes via in situ monitoring is proposed. Delicate monitoring program is applied in a high arch dam project that provides a good and mass data source. The factors and relations related to the thermal performance of cool-pipes are obtained in a built theory thermal model. The supporting ...

  10. An investigation of heat transfer between a microcantilever and a substrate for improved thermal topography imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Somnath, Suhas; King, William P

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports the numerical and experimental investigation of heat transfer from a heated microcantilever to a substrate and uses the resulting insights to improve thermal topography imaging. The cantilever sensitivity, defined as change in thermal signal due to changes in the topography height, is relatively constant for feature heights in the range 100–350 nm. Since the cantilever-substrate heat transfer is governed by thermal conduction through the air, the cantilever sensitivity is nearly constant across substrates of varying thermal conductivity. Surface features with lateral size larger than 2.5 μm can induce artifacts in the cantilever signal resulting in measurement errors as large as 28%. These artifacts arise from thermal conduction from the cantilever in the lateral direction, parallel to the surface. We show how these artifacts can be removed by accounting for this lateral conduction and removing it from the thermal signal. This technique reduces the measurement error by as much as 26%, can be applied to arbitrary substrate topographies, and can be scaled to arrays of heated cantilevers. These results could lead to improvements in nanometer-scale thermal measurements including scanning thermal microscopy and tip-based nanofabrication. (paper)

  11. Thermal and Energy Performance of Conditioned Building Due To Insulated Sloped Roof

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irwan, Suhandi Syiful; Ahmed, Azni Zain; Zakaria, Nor Zaini; Ibrahim, Norhati

    2010-07-01

    For low-rise buildings in equatorial region, the roof is exposed to solar radiation longer than other parts of the envelope. Roofs are to be designed to reject heat and moderate the thermal impact. These are determined by the design and construction of the roofing system. The pitch of roof and the properties of construction affect the heat gain into the attic and subsequently the indoor temperature of the living spaces underneath. This finally influences the thermal comfort conditions of naturally ventilated buildings and cooling load of conditioned buildings. This study investigated the effect of insulated sloping roof on thermal energy performance of the building. A whole-building thermal energy computer simulation tool, Integrated Environmental Solution (IES), was used for the modelling and analyses. A building model with dimension of 4.0 m × 4.0 m × 3.0 m was designed with insulated roof and conventional construction for other parts of the envelope. A 75 mm conductive insulation material with thermal conductivity (k-value) of 0.034 Wm-1K-1 was installed underneath the roof tiles. The building was modelled with roof pitch angles of 0° , 15°, 30°, 45°, 60° and simulated for the month of August in Malaysian climate conditions. The profile for attic temperature, indoor temperature and cooling load were downloaded and evaluated. The optimum roof pitch angle for best thermal performance and energy saving was identified. The results show the pitch angle of 0° is able to mitigate the thermal impact to provide the best thermal condition with optimum energy savings. The maximum temperature difference between insulated and non-insulted roof for attic (AtticA-B) and indoor condition (IndoorA-B) is +7.8 °C and 0.4 °C respectively with an average energy monthly savings of 3.9 %.

  12. Effect of oral dietary supplement for chicks subjected to thermal oscillation on performance and intestinal morphometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovanir Inês Müller Fernandes

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a nutritional formulation based on amino acids and vitamins supplemented in the drinking water for chicks in the first week of life subjected to thermal oscillation on performance, organ development and intestinal morphometry from 1 to 21 days. 640-male broiler chicks were distributed in a 2x2 factorial completely randomized design (with or without dietary supplementation and at comfort temperature or thermal oscillation. Chicks subjected to thermal oscillation presented worse performance (p < 0.05 than those under thermal comfort of 1 to 7, 1 to 14 and 1 to 21 days. Nutritional supplementation did not alter the performance (p < 0.05 of the birds, but resulted in a higher body weight (p < 0.05 regardless of the environmental thermal condition. At 7 days, chicks under thermal comfort had better intestinal morphometric parameters (p < 0.05, in relation to birds under thermal oscillation. In conclusion, the temperature oscillations caused negative consequences to the productive performance and the intestinal morphology of chicks for which dietary supplementation was not enough to mitigate the effects of the environmental challenge during the first week of life of the birds.

  13. Calculated thermal performance of solar collectors based on measured weather data from 2001-2010

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsted, Janne; Furbo, Simon; Andersen, Elsa

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents an investigation of the differences in modeled thermal performance of solar collectors when meteorological reference years are used as input and when mulit-year weather data is used as input. The investigation has shown that using the Danish reference year based on the period ...... with an increase in global radiation. This means that besides increasing the thermal performance with increasing the solar radiation, the utilization of the solar radiation also becomes better.......This paper presents an investigation of the differences in modeled thermal performance of solar collectors when meteorological reference years are used as input and when mulit-year weather data is used as input. The investigation has shown that using the Danish reference year based on the period...

  14. IR-to-visible image upconverter under nonlinear crystal thermal gradient operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maestre, H; Torregrosa, A J; Fernández-Pousa, C R; Capmany, J

    2018-01-22

    In this work we study the enhancement of the field-of-view of an infrared image up-converter by means of a thermal gradient in a PPLN crystal. Our work focuses on compact upconverters, in which both a short PPLN crystal length and high numerical aperture lenses are employed. We found a qualitative increase in both wavelength and angular tolerances, compared to a constant temperature upconverter, which makes it necessary a correct IR wavelength allocation in order to effectively increase the up-converted area.

  15. Thermal characteristics and performance of Ag-water nanofluid: Application to natural circulation loops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koca, Halil Dogacan; Doganay, Serkan; Turgut, Alpaslan

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermal conductivity and viscosity of Ag-water nanofluid were measured. • Thermal performance of Ag-water nanofluid was compared with water. • Effectiveness enhanced up to 11% with 1 wt% Ag-water nanofluid. • Effectiveness of Ag-water nanofluid samples increased with inclination angle. • Ag-water nanofluid has potential to be used in flat-plate solar collectors. - Abstract: The goal of this study is to investigate the thermal conductivity, viscosity and thermal performance in a single-phase natural circulation mini loop of Ag-water nanofluid which can be a potential working fluid for natural convective flat-plate solar collectors. The silver-water nanofluid with 5 wt% concentration, which contains also polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with 1.25 wt%, was purchased. Then, the sample was diluted with de-ionized water to four different concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 wt%. Thermal conductivity and viscosity were measured by 3ω method and Brookfield rheometer, respectively. An effectiveness factor was used to define the thermal performance of Ag-water nanofluids for different inclination angles and heating powers. The results showed that nanofluid samples are thermally less conductive than the literature, at ambient temperature (23 °C). The viscosity of nanofluid decreases significantly with increasing temperature and increases with increasing concentration. Our measurements appear to be more compatible with PVP solution results available in the literature. Effectiveness is enhanced up to 11% with 1 wt% concentrated nanofluid compared to de-ionized water and the effectiveness of the mini loop indicates an enhancement with increase in inclination angle and particle concentration at whole applied power. According to obtained results, it is concluded that Ag-water nanofluid has a promising potential to be used in natural convective flat-plate solar collector.

  16. Performance of thermally-chargeable supercapacitors in different solvents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Hyuck; Zhao, Cang; Qiao, Yu

    2014-07-07

    The influence of solvent on the temperature sensitivity of the electrode potential of thermally-chargeable supercapacitors (TCSs) is investigated. For large electrodes, the output voltage is positively correlated with the dielectric constant of solvent. When nanoporous carbon electrodes are used, different characteristics of system performance are observed, suggesting that possible size effects must be taken into consideration when the solvent molecules and solvated ions are confined in a nanoenvironment.

  17. Assessing the Crop-Water Status in Almond (Prunus dulcis Mill. Trees via Thermal Imaging Camera Connected to Smartphone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iván Francisco García-Tejero

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Different tools are being implemented in order to improve the water management in agricultural irrigated areas of semiarid environments. Thermography has been progressively introduced as a promising technique for irrigation scheduling and the assessing of crop-water status, especially when deficit irrigation is being implemented. However, an important limitation is related to the cost of the actual cameras, this being a severe limitation to its practical usage by farmers and technicians. This work evaluates the potential and the robustness of a thermal imaging camera that is connected to smartphone (Flir One recently developed by Flir Systems Inc. as a first step to assess the crop water status. The trial was developed in mature almond (Prunus dulcis Mill. trees that are subjected to different irrigation treatments. Thermal information obtained by the Flir One camera was deal with the thermal information obtained with a conventional Thermal Camera (Flir SC660 with a high resolution, and subsequently, confronted with other related plant physiological parameters (leaf water potential, Ψleaf, and stomatal conductance, gs. Thermal imaging camera connected to smartphone provided useful information in estimating the crop-water status in almond trees, being a potential promising tool to accelerate the monitoring process and thereby enhance water-stress management of almond orchards.

  18. Assessing the Crop-Water Status in Almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) Trees via Thermal Imaging Camera Connected to Smartphone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Tejero, Iván Francisco; Ortega-Arévalo, Carlos José; Iglesias-Contreras, Manuel; Moreno, José Manuel; Souza, Luciene; Tavira, Simón Cuadros; Durán-Zuazo, Víctor Hugo

    2018-03-31

    Different tools are being implemented in order to improve the water management in agricultural irrigated areas of semiarid environments. Thermography has been progressively introduced as a promising technique for irrigation scheduling and the assessing of crop-water status, especially when deficit irrigation is being implemented. However, an important limitation is related to the cost of the actual cameras, this being a severe limitation to its practical usage by farmers and technicians. This work evaluates the potential and the robustness of a thermal imaging camera that is connected to smartphone (Flir One) recently developed by Flir Systems Inc. as a first step to assess the crop water status. The trial was developed in mature almond ( Prunus dulcis Mill.) trees that are subjected to different irrigation treatments. Thermal information obtained by the Flir One camera was deal with the thermal information obtained with a conventional Thermal Camera (Flir SC660) with a high resolution, and subsequently, confronted with other related plant physiological parameters (leaf water potential, Ψ leaf , and stomatal conductance, g s ). Thermal imaging camera connected to smartphone provided useful information in estimating the crop-water status in almond trees, being a potential promising tool to accelerate the monitoring process and thereby enhance water-stress management of almond orchards.

  19. Performance model and thermal comparison of different alternatives for the Fresnel single-tube receiver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montes, María J.; Barbero, Rubén; Abbas, Rubén; Rovira, Antonio

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A thermal model for a single-tube Fresnel receiver has been developed. • A comparative analysis based on different design parameters, has been carried out. • A comparative analysis based on different working fluids, has been carried out. • The receiver thermal performance is characterized by energy and exergy efficiencies. - Abstract: Although most of recent commercial Solar Thermal Power Plants (STPP) installed worldwide are parabolic trough plants, it seems that Linear Fresnel Collectors (LFC) are becoming an attractive option to generate electricity from solar radiation. Contrary to parabolic trough collectors, the design of LFC receivers has many degrees of freedom, and two basic designs can be found in the literature: single-tube and multi-tube design. This article studies the single-tube design, for which a thermal model has been developed. This model has been thought to be accurate enough to characterize the heat transfer in a non-elementary geometry and flexible enough to support changes of the characteristic parameters in the receiver design. The thermal model proposed is based on a two-dimensional, steady-state energy balance, in the receiver cross section and along its length. One of the features of the model is the characterization of the convective and radiative heat transfer in the receiver cavity, as it is not an elementary geometry. Another feature is the possibility of studying the receiver performance with different working fluids, both single-phase or two-phase. At last, the receiver performance has been characterized by means of the energy and exergy efficiency. Both variables are important for a complete receiver thermal analysis, as will be shown in the paper. The model has been first applied to the comparative study of the thermal performance of LFC receivers based on the value of some parameters: selective coating emissivity in the tube and inlet fluid thermal properties, for the case of using water/steam. As a second

  20. Thermal performance test of the hot gas ducts of HENDEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hishida, M.; Kunitomi, K.; Ioka, I.; Umenishi, K.; Tanaka, T.; Shimomura, H.; Sanokawa, K.

    1984-01-01

    A hot gas duct provided with internal thermal insulation is to be used for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR). This type of hot gas duct has not been used so far in industrial facilities, and only a couple of tests on such a large-scale model of a hot gas duct have been conducted. The present report deals with the results of the thermal performance of the single tube type hot gas ducts which are installed as parts of a helium engineering demonstration loop (HENDEL). Uniform temperature and heat flux distribution at the surface of the duct were observed, the experimental correlations being obtained for the effective thermal conductivity of the internal thermal insulation layer. The measured temperature distribution of the pressure tube was in good agreement with the calculation by a TRUMP heat transfer computer code. The temperature distribution of the inner tube of the co-axial hot gas duct was evaluated and no hot spot was detected. These results would be very valuable for the design and development of HTGR. (orig.)

  1. Experimental investigation of a PCM-HP heat sink on its thermal performance and anti-thermal-shock capacity for high-power LEDs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Yuxuan; Tang, Yong; Li, Zongtao; Ding, Xinrui; Yuan, Wei; Zhao, Xuezhi; Yu, Binhai

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A phase-change material (PCM) base heat pipe heat sink (PCM-HP heat sink) is designed. • The PCM-HP heat sink can significantly lower the LED heating rate and temperature. • The PCM-HP heat sink achieves a best anti-thermal-shock capacity in LED cyclic working modes. - Abstract: High-power LEDs demonstrate a number of benefits compared with conventional incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps, including a longer lifetime, higher brightness and lower power consumption. However, owing to their severe high heat flux, it is difficult to develop effective thermal management of high-power LEDs, especially under cyclic working modes, which cause serious periodic thermal stress and limit further development. Focusing on the above problem, this paper designed a phase-change material (PCM) base heat pipe heat sink (PCM-HP heat sink) that consists of a PCM base, adapter plate, heat pipe and finned radiator. Different parameters, such as three types of interior materials to fill the heat sink, three LED power inputs and eight LED cyclic working modes, were separately studied to investigate the thermal performance and anti-thermal-shock capacity of the PCM-HP heat sink. The results show that the PCM-HP heat sink possesses remarkable thermal performance owing to the reduction of the LED heating rate and peak temperature. More importantly, an excellent anti-thermal-shock capacity of the PCM-HP heat sink is also demonstrated when applied in LED cyclic working modes, and this capacity demonstrates the best range.

  2. 2D resistivity imaging and magnetic survey for characterization of thermal springs: A case study of Gergedi thermal springs in the northwest of Wonji, Main Ethiopian Rift, Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdulkadir, Yahya Ali; Eritro, Tigistu Haile

    2017-09-01

    Electrical resistivity imaging and magnetic surveys were carried out at Gergedi thermal springs, located in the Main Ethiopian Rift, to characterize the geothermal condition of the area. The area is geologically characterized by alluvial and lacustrine deposits, basaltic lava, ignimbrites, and rhyolites. The prominent structural feature in this part of the Main Ethiopian Rift, the SW -NE trending structures of the Wonji Fault Belt System, crosse over the study area. Three lines of imaging data and numerous magnetic data, encompassing the active thermal springs, were collected. Analysis of the geophysical data shows that the area is covered by low resistivity response regions at shallow depths which resulted from saline moisturized soil subsurface horizon. Relatively medium and high resistivity responses resulting from the weathered basalt, rhyolites, and ignimbrites are also mapped. Qualitative interpretation of the magnetic data shows the presence of structures that could act as pathways for heat and fluids manifesting as springs and also characterize the degree of thermal alteration of the area. Results from the investigations suggest that the Gergedi thermal springs area is controlled by fault systems oriented parallel and sub-parallel to the main tectonic lines of the Main Ethiopian Rift.

  3. Design, modeling and performance analysis of dual channel semitransparent photovoltaic thermal hybrid module in the cold environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Sonveer; Agrawal, Sanjay; Avasthi, D.V.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermal modeling of novel dual channel semitransparent PVT hybrid module. • Exergy and carbon credit analysis has been performed. • Annual performance has been evaluated for Srinagar (India). • There are improvements in results for case-I as compared to case-II. - Abstract: In this work, thermal modeling and performance analysis of the dual channel semitransparent photovoltaic thermal (DCSPVT) module has been carried out. For extracting heat associated with the lower and upper surface of the solar cell, two channels have been proposed; (i) one is above the solar cell called upper channel and (ii) second is below the solar cell called lower channel. Firstly, thermal modeling of DCSPVT module has been developed. After that, performance analysis of the above system has been carried out for Srinagar, Indian climatic condition. Performance in terms of electrical gain (EG), thermal gain (TG), overall exergy gain (OEG), overall thermal gain (OTG), electrical efficiency (EE) and overall exergy efficiency (OEE) of the DCSPVT module (case-I) have been compared with single channel semitransparent photovoltaic thermal (SCSPVT) hybrid module (case-II). The average improvement in EG, TG, OEG, OTG of the case-I have been observed by 71.51%, 34.57%, 5.78% and 35.41% respectively as compared to case-II.

  4. Development of Non-Tracking Solar Thermal Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winston, Roland; Johnston, Bruce; Balkowski, Kevin

    2011-11-01

    The aims of this research is to develop high temperature solar thermal collectors that do not require complex solar tracking devices to maintain optimal performance. The collector technology developed through these efforts uses non-imaging optics and is referred to as an external compound parabolic concentrator. It is able to operate with a solar thermal efficiency of approximately 50% at a temperature of 200 ° C and can be readily manufactured at a cost between 15 and 18 per square foot.

  5. Computed tomography with thermal neutrons and gaseous position sensitive detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Souza, Maria Ines Silvani

    2001-12-01

    A third generation tomographic system using a parallel thermal neutron beam and gaseous position sensitive detector has been developed along three discrete phases. At the first one, X-ray tomographic images of several objects, using a position sensitive detector designed and constructed for this purpose have been obtained. The second phase involved the conversion of that detector for thermal neutron detection, by using materials capable to convert neutrons into detectable charged particles, testing afterwards its performance in a tomographic system by evaluation the quality of the image arising from several test-objects containing materials applicable in the engineering field. High enriched 3 He, replacing the argon-methane otherwise used as filling gas for the X-ray detection, as well as, a gadolinium foil, have been utilized as converters. Besides the pure enriched 3 He, its mixture with argon-methane and later on with propane, have been also tested, in order to evaluate the detector efficiency and resolution. After each gas change, the overall performance of the tomographic system using the modified detector, has been analyzed through measurements of the related parameters. This was done by analyzing the images produced by test-objects containing several materials having well known attenuation coefficients for both thermal neutrons and X-rays. In order to compare the performance of the position sensitive detector as modified to detect thermal neutrons, with that of a conventional BF 3 detector, additional tomographs have been conducted using the last one. The results have been compared in terms of advantages, handicaps and complementary aspects for different kinds of radiation and materials. (author)

  6. These images show thermal infrared radiation from Jupiter at different wavelengths which are diagnos

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    These images show thermal infrared radiation from Jupiter at different wavelengths which are diagnostic of physical phenomena The 7.85-micron image in the upper left shows stratospheric temperatures which are elevated in the region of the A fragment impact (to the left of bottom). Temperatures deeper in the atmosphere near 150-mbar are shown by the 17.2-micron image in the upper right. There is a small elevation of temperatures at this depth, indicated by the arrow, and confirmed by other measurements near this wavelength. This indicates that the influence of the impact of fragment A on the troposphere has been minimal. The two images in the bottom row show no readily apparent perturbation of the ammmonia condensate cloud field near 600 mbar, as diagnosed by 8.57-micron radiation, and deeper cloud layers which are diagnosed by 5-micron radiation.

  7. Thermal performance monitoring and assessment in Dukovany nuclear power plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Madron, F. [Chemplant Technology s.r.o., Hrncirska 4, 400 01 Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic); Papuga, J. [CEZ a.s., JE Dukovany, 675 50 Dukovany (Czech Republic); Pliska, J. [I and C ENERGO a.s., Prazska 684, 674 01 Trebic (Czech Republic)

    2006-07-01

    Competition in the European electricity market forces generators to achieve - in compliance with safety and environmental standards - efficiency of production as high as possible. This efficiency or heat rate is an important indicator of both the condition of the plant equipment and the quality of plant operation. Similar thermal performance indicators can also be calculated for components of the plant equipment such as heat exchangers. However, it is not easy to quantify these indicators with sufficient precision so that the results can be used for conduct of plant operation in near-real time and for predictive maintenance. This paper describes a present state of the system monitoring and evaluating thermal performance of the reactor units in Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant. The system provides information on actual and desirable (should-be) values of thermal performance indicators for control room operators, performance engineers and maintenance planners. The system is designed to monitor steady states and has two main functions: data validation and process simulation. Data validation is based on data reconciliation methodology and carried out with Recon software by Chemplant Technology. A detailed model of the secondary side for mass and heat balancing has been made up by means of the Recon's graphical editor; now it contains roughly 300 flows and employs data of about 200 measurements. Main advantages of the data reconciliation are: - reconciled data are consistent with the model, - reconciled data are more precise than data directly measured with consequence that the thermal power of steam generators is determined with substantially lower uncertainty than before - data reconciliation represents a solid basis for detection and identification of data corrupted by gross errors. Simulation is performed with a different analytical model of plant components configured into secondary side. The model has been developed by I and C Energo. Main purposes of simulation

  8. High-performance flat-panel solar thermoelectric generators with high thermal concentration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraemer, Daniel; Poudel, Bed; Feng, Hsien-Ping; Caylor, J. Christopher; Yu, Bo; Yan, Xiao; Ma, Yi; Wang, Xiaowei; Wang, Dezhi; Muto, Andrew; McEnaney, Kenneth; Chiesa, Matteo; Ren, Zhifeng; Chen, Gang

    2011-07-01

    The conversion of sunlight into electricity has been dominated by photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation. Photovoltaic cells are deployed widely, mostly as flat panels, whereas solar thermal electricity generation relying on optical concentrators and mechanical heat engines is only seen in large-scale power plants. Here we demonstrate a promising flat-panel solar thermal to electric power conversion technology based on the Seebeck effect and high thermal concentration, thus enabling wider applications. The developed solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) achieved a peak efficiency of 4.6% under AM1.5G (1 kW m-2) conditions. The efficiency is 7-8 times higher than the previously reported best value for a flat-panel STEG, and is enabled by the use of high-performance nanostructured thermoelectric materials and spectrally-selective solar absorbers in an innovative design that exploits high thermal concentration in an evacuated environment. Our work opens up a promising new approach which has the potential to achieve cost-effective conversion of solar energy into electricity.

  9. High-performance flat-panel solar thermoelectric generators with high thermal concentration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraemer, Daniel; Poudel, Bed; Feng, Hsien-Ping; Caylor, J Christopher; Yu, Bo; Yan, Xiao; Ma, Yi; Wang, Xiaowei; Wang, Dezhi; Muto, Andrew; McEnaney, Kenneth; Chiesa, Matteo; Ren, Zhifeng; Chen, Gang

    2011-05-01

    The conversion of sunlight into electricity has been dominated by photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation. Photovoltaic cells are deployed widely, mostly as flat panels, whereas solar thermal electricity generation relying on optical concentrators and mechanical heat engines is only seen in large-scale power plants. Here we demonstrate a promising flat-panel solar thermal to electric power conversion technology based on the Seebeck effect and high thermal concentration, thus enabling wider applications. The developed solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) achieved a peak efficiency of 4.6% under AM1.5G (1 kW m(-2)) conditions. The efficiency is 7-8 times higher than the previously reported best value for a flat-panel STEG, and is enabled by the use of high-performance nanostructured thermoelectric materials and spectrally-selective solar absorbers in an innovative design that exploits high thermal concentration in an evacuated environment. Our work opens up a promising new approach which has the potential to achieve cost-effective conversion of solar energy into electricity. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

  10. Methodology for thermal hydraulic conceptual design and performance analysis of KALIMER core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young-Gyun Kim; Won-Seok Kim; Young-Jin Kim; Chang-Kue Park

    2000-01-01

    This paper summarizes the methodology for thermal hydraulic conceptual design and performance analysis which is used for KALIMER core, especially the preliminary methodology for flow grouping and peak pin temperature calculation in detail. And the major technical results of the conceptual design for the KALIMER 98.03 core was shown and compared with those of KALIMER 97.07 design core. The KALIMER 98.03 design core is proved to be more optimized compared to the 97.07 design core. The number of flow groups are reduced from 16 to 11, and the equalized peak cladding midwall temperature from 654 deg. C to 628 deg. C. It was achieved from the nuclear and thermal hydraulic design optimization study, i.e. core power flattening and increase of radial blanket power fraction. Coolant flow distribution to the assemblies and core coolant/component temperatures should be determined in core thermal hydraulic analysis. Sodium flow is distributed to core assemblies with the overall goal of equalizing the peak cladding midwall temperatures for the peak temperature pin of each bundle, thus pin cladding damage accumulation and pin reliability. The flow grouping and the peak pin temperature calculation for the preliminary conceptual design is performed with the modules ORFCE-F60 and ORFCE-T60 respectively. The basic subchannel analysis will be performed with the SLTHEN code, and the detailed subchannel analysis will be done with the MATRA-LMR code which is under development for the K-Core system. This methodology was proved practical to KALIMER core thermal hydraulic design from the related benchmark calculation studies, and it is used to KALIMER core thermal hydraulic conceptual design. (author)

  11. Transient thermal finite element analysis of CFC–Cu ITER monoblock using X-ray tomography data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Evans, Ll.M., E-mail: llion.evans@ccfe.ac.uk [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); School of Materials, University of Manchester, Grosvenor Street, Manchester M1 7HS (United Kingdom); Margetts, L. [School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Williamson Building, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Casalegno, V. [Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, I-10129 Torino (Italy); Lever, L.M. [IT Services for Research, University of Manchester, Devonshire House, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Bushell, J.; Lowe, T.; Wallwork, A. [School of Materials, University of Manchester, Grosvenor Street, Manchester M1 7HS (United Kingdom); Young, P. [Simpleware Ltd., Bradninch Hall, Castle Street, Exeter EX4 3PL (United Kingdom); Lindemann, A. [NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH, Wittelsbacherstraße 42, D-95100 Selb, Bayern (Germany); Schmidt, M.; Mummery, P.M. [School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE), University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom)

    2015-11-15

    Highlights: • Thermal performance of a fusion power heat exchange component was investigated. • Microstructures effecting performance were determined using X-ray tomography. • This data was used to perform a microstructurally faithful finite element analysis. • FEA demonstrated that manufacturing defects had an appreciable effect on performance. • This image-based modelling showed which regions could be targeted for improvements. - Abstract: The thermal performance of a carbon fibre composite-copper monoblock, a sub-component of a fusion reactor divertor, was investigated by finite element analysis. High-accuracy simulations were created using an emerging technique, image-based finite element modelling, which converts X-ray tomography data into micro-structurally faithful models, capturing details such as manufacturing defects. For validation, a case study was performed where the thermal analysis by laser flash of a carbon fibre composite-copper disc was simulated such that computational and experimental results could be compared directly. Results showed that a high resolution image-based simulation (102 million elements of 32 μm width) provided increased accuracy over a low resolution image-based simulation (0.6 million elements of 194 μm width) and idealised computer aided design simulations. Using this technique to analyse a monoblock mock-up, it was possible to detect and quantify the effects of debonding regions at the carbon fibre composite-copper interface likely to impact both component performance and expected lifetime. These features would not have been accounted for in idealised computer aided design simulations.

  12. Transient thermal finite element analysis of CFC–Cu ITER monoblock using X-ray tomography data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, Ll.M.; Margetts, L.; Casalegno, V.; Lever, L.M.; Bushell, J.; Lowe, T.; Wallwork, A.; Young, P.; Lindemann, A.; Schmidt, M.; Mummery, P.M.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermal performance of a fusion power heat exchange component was investigated. • Microstructures effecting performance were determined using X-ray tomography. • This data was used to perform a microstructurally faithful finite element analysis. • FEA demonstrated that manufacturing defects had an appreciable effect on performance. • This image-based modelling showed which regions could be targeted for improvements. - Abstract: The thermal performance of a carbon fibre composite-copper monoblock, a sub-component of a fusion reactor divertor, was investigated by finite element analysis. High-accuracy simulations were created using an emerging technique, image-based finite element modelling, which converts X-ray tomography data into micro-structurally faithful models, capturing details such as manufacturing defects. For validation, a case study was performed where the thermal analysis by laser flash of a carbon fibre composite-copper disc was simulated such that computational and experimental results could be compared directly. Results showed that a high resolution image-based simulation (102 million elements of 32 μm width) provided increased accuracy over a low resolution image-based simulation (0.6 million elements of 194 μm width) and idealised computer aided design simulations. Using this technique to analyse a monoblock mock-up, it was possible to detect and quantify the effects of debonding regions at the carbon fibre composite-copper interface likely to impact both component performance and expected lifetime. These features would not have been accounted for in idealised computer aided design simulations.

  13. Performance comparison of different graylevel image fusion schemes through a universal image quality index

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toet, A.; Hogervorst, M.A.

    2003-01-01

    We applied a recently introduced universal image quality index Q that quantifies the distortion of a processed image relative to its original version, to assess the performance of different graylevel image fusion schemes. The method is as follows. First, we adopt an original test image as the

  14. Calorimetric thermal-vacuum performance characterization of the BAe 80K space cryocooler

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kotsubo, V.Y.; Johnson, D.L.; Ross, R.G. Jr.

    1992-01-01

    This paper on a comprehensive characterization program which is underway at JPL to generate test data on long-life, miniature Stirling-cycle cryocoolers for space application. The key focus of this paper is on the thermal performance of the British Aerospace (BAe) 80K split-Stirling-cycle cryocooler as measured in a unique calorimetric thermal-vacuum test chamber that accurately simulates the heat-transfer interfaces of space. Two separate cooling fluid loops provide precis individual control of the compressor and displacer heatsink temperatures. In addition, heatflow transducers enable calorimetric measurements of the heat rejected separately by the compressor and displacer. Cooler thermal performance has been mapped for coldtip temperatures ranging from below 45 K to above 150 K, for heat-sink temperatures ranging from 280 K to 320 K, and for a wide variety of operational variables including compressor-displacer phase, compressor-displacer stoke, drive frequency, and piston-displacer dc offset

  15. In-situ long-term thermal performance of impermeably face polyiso foam boards

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mukhopadhyaya, Phalguni; Normandin, Nicole; Van Reenen, David; Lackey, John [National Research Council Canada, Institute for Reserch in Construction, Ottawa, (Canada); Drouin, Michel [Consultant, Dorion, (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    Closed-cell polyisocyanurate (polyiso) foam insulation products are widely used in building envelope constructions as they have one of the highest R-values per unit thickness among the insulations used in the construction industry. The introduction of impermeable facers on the surface of polyiso rigid board is aimed at enhancing the long-term thermal resistance (LTTR) properties of the foam. This paper evaluated the thermal performance of impermeably faced polyiso boards after more than six years of field exposure. Boards were installed and instrumented at NRC-IRC's field test facility. Field monitoring was performed on a regular basis for six years of exposure until 2008. Then, nine specimens were cut from the boards which were removed from the test hut to evaluate their thermal characteristic using a heat flow meter apparatus. It was found that the impermeably faced polyiso foam insulation boards aged significantly.

  16. Experiment study on thermal mixing performance of HTR-PM reactor outlet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Yangping, E-mail: zhouyp@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, the Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Hao, Pengfei [School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Li, Fu; Shi, Lei [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, the Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); He, Feng [School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Dong, Yujie; Zhang, Zuoyi [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, the Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2016-09-15

    A model experiment is proposed to investigate the thermal mixing performance of HTR-PM reactor outlet. The design of the test facility is introduced, which is set at a scale of 1:2.5 comparing with the design of thermal mixing structure at HTR-PM reactor outlet. The test facility using air as its flow media includes inlet pipe system, electric heaters, main mixing structure, hot gas duct, exhaust pipe system and I&C system. Experiments are conducted on the test facility and the values of thermal-fluid parameters are collected and analyzed, which include the temperature, pressure and velocity of the flow as well as the temperature of the tube wall. The analysis results show the mixing efficiency of the test facility is higher than that required by the steam generator of HTR-PM, which indicates that the thermal mixing structure of HTR-PM fulfills its design requirement.

  17. Next-Generation Thermal Infrared Multi-Body Radiometer Experiment (TIMBRE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenyon, M.; Mariani, G.; Johnson, B.; Brageot, E.; Hayne, P.

    2016-10-01

    We have developed an instrument concept called TIMBRE which belongs to the important class of instruments called thermal imaging radiometers (TIRs). TIMBRE is the next-generation TIR with unparalleled performance compared to the state-of-the-art.

  18. Design and Performance Optimizations of Advanced Erosion-Resistant Low Conductivity Thermal Barrier Coatings for Rotorcraft Engines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Dongming; Miller, Robert A.; Kuczmarski, Maria A.

    2012-01-01

    Thermal barrier coatings will be more aggressively designed to protect gas turbine engine hot-section components in order to meet future rotorcraft engine higher fuel efficiency and lower emission goals. For thermal barrier coatings designed for rotorcraft turbine airfoil applications, further improved erosion and impact resistance are crucial for engine performance and durability, because the rotorcraft are often operated in the most severe sand erosive environments. Advanced low thermal conductivity and erosion-resistant thermal barrier coatings are being developed, with the current emphasis being placed on thermal barrier coating toughness improvements using multicomponent alloying and processing optimization approaches. The performance of the advanced thermal barrier coatings has been evaluated in a high temperature erosion burner rig and a laser heat-flux rig to simulate engine erosion and thermal gradient environments. The results have shown that the coating composition and architecture optimizations can effectively improve the erosion and impact resistance of the coating systems, while maintaining low thermal conductivity and cyclic oxidation durability

  19. Characterization of systems for external insulation and retrofitting with emphasis on the thermal performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rudbeck, Claus; Rose, Jørgen

    1999-01-01

    During the last decade retrofitting of buildings has received increased attention not only in northern Europe but throughout the world. Retrofitting of buildings is usually performed to solve one or more of the following problems: poor indoor climate, excessive heat losses, insufficient durability...... a building designer with such a choice, key parameters for insulation systems are described in a uniform manner stating their performance with regards to aesthetics, heat transfer, moisture, durability, fire and economy. Parameters given for the total insulation capability enable the building designer...... to include the effect of thermal bridges by performing simple calculations, a task which normally requires the use of numerical models. The results show that thermal bridges in external insulation systems may decrease their thermal resistance by more than 25%.Key parameters was calculated by the use...

  20. Single frequency thermal wave radar: A next-generation dynamic thermography for quantitative non-destructive imaging over wide modulation frequency ranges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnikov, Alexander; Chen, Liangjie; Ramirez Venegas, Diego; Sivagurunathan, Koneswaran; Sun, Qiming; Mandelis, Andreas; Rodriguez, Ignacio Rojas

    2018-04-01

    Single-Frequency Thermal Wave Radar Imaging (SF-TWRI) was introduced and used to obtain quantitative thickness images of coatings on an aluminum block and on polyetherketone, and to image blind subsurface holes in a steel block. In SF-TWR, the starting and ending frequencies of a linear frequency modulation sweep are chosen to coincide. Using the highest available camera frame rate, SF-TWRI leads to a higher number of sampled points along the modulation waveform than conventional lock-in thermography imaging because it is not limited by conventional undersampling at high frequencies due to camera frame-rate limitations. This property leads to large reduction in measurement time, better quality of images, and higher signal-noise-ratio across wide frequency ranges. For quantitative thin-coating imaging applications, a two-layer photothermal model with lumped parameters was used to reconstruct the layer thickness from multi-frequency SF-TWR images. SF-TWRI represents a next-generation thermography method with superior features for imaging important classes of thin layers, materials, and components that require high-frequency thermal-wave probing well above today's available infrared camera technology frame rates.

  1. Single frequency thermal wave radar: A next-generation dynamic thermography for quantitative non-destructive imaging over wide modulation frequency ranges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnikov, Alexander; Chen, Liangjie; Ramirez Venegas, Diego; Sivagurunathan, Koneswaran; Sun, Qiming; Mandelis, Andreas; Rodriguez, Ignacio Rojas

    2018-04-01

    Single-Frequency Thermal Wave Radar Imaging (SF-TWRI) was introduced and used to obtain quantitative thickness images of coatings on an aluminum block and on polyetherketone, and to image blind subsurface holes in a steel block. In SF-TWR, the starting and ending frequencies of a linear frequency modulation sweep are chosen to coincide. Using the highest available camera frame rate, SF-TWRI leads to a higher number of sampled points along the modulation waveform than conventional lock-in thermography imaging because it is not limited by conventional undersampling at high frequencies due to camera frame-rate limitations. This property leads to large reduction in measurement time, better quality of images, and higher signal-noise-ratio across wide frequency ranges. For quantitative thin-coating imaging applications, a two-layer photothermal model with lumped parameters was used to reconstruct the layer thickness from multi-frequency SF-TWR images. SF-TWRI represents a next-generation thermography method with superior features for imaging important classes of thin layers, materials, and components that require high-frequency thermal-wave probing well above today's available infrared camera technology frame rates.

  2. Performance Analysis of Segmentation of Hyperspectral Images Based on Color Image Segmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Praveen Agarwal

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Image segmentation is a fundamental approach in the field of image processing and based on user’s application .This paper propose an original and simple segmentation strategy based on the EM approach that resolves many informatics problems about hyperspectral images which are observed by airborne sensors. In a first step, to simplify the input color textured image into a color image without texture. The final segmentation is simply achieved by a spatially color segmentation using feature vector with the set of color values contained around the pixel to be classified with some mathematical equations. The spatial constraint allows taking into account the inherent spatial relationships of any image and its color. This approach provides effective PSNR for the segmented image. These results have the better performance as the segmented images are compared with Watershed & Region Growing Algorithm and provide effective segmentation for the Spectral Images & Medical Images.

  3. Thermal performance of a Stirling engine powered by a solar simulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aksoy, Fatih; Karabulut, Halit; Çınar, Can; Solmaz, Hamit; Özgören, Yasar Önder; Uyumaz, Ahmet

    2015-01-01

    In this study, the performance of a beta type Stirling engine which works at relatively lower temperatures was investigated using 400 W and 1000 W halogen lamps as a heat source and helium as the working fluid. The working fluid was charged into the engine block and the pressure of the working fluid was ranged from 1 to 5 bars with 1 bar increments. The halogen lamps were placed into a cavity adjacent to the hot end of the displacer cylinder, which is made of aluminum alloy. In the experiments conducted with 400 W halogen lamp, the temperature of the cavity was 623 ± 10 K. The power, torque and thermal efficiency of the engine were determined to be 37.08 W, 1.68 Nm and 9.27%, at 5 bar charge pressure. For the 1000 W halogen lamp, the temperature of the cavity was determined to be 873 ± 10 K. The power, torque and thermal efficiency of the engine were determined to be 127.17 W, 3.4 Nm and 12.85%, at the same charge pressure. The experimental thermal efficiencies of the engine were also compared with thermodynamic nodal analysis. - Highlights: • The performance of a beta type Stirling engine was investigated. • 400 and 1000 W halogen lamps were used as a solar simulator in the experiments. • Cavity temperature was measured 623 and 873 K for 400 and 1000 W lamps. • 1000 W halogen lamp provided better engine performance and thermal efficiency. • Experimental results of efficiency were compared with nodal analysis results

  4. Thermal performance and heat transport in aquifer thermal energy storage

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sommer, W.T.; Doornenbal, P.J.; Drijver, B.C.; Gaans, van P.F.M.; Leusbrock, I.; Grotenhuis, J.T.C.; Rijnaarts, H.H.M.

    2014-01-01

    Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) is used for seasonal storage of large quantities of thermal energy. Due to the increasing demand for sustainable energy, the number of ATES systems has increased rapidly, which has raised questions on the effect of ATES systems on their surroundings as well as

  5. Data Mining of the Thermal Performance of Cool-Pipes in Massive Concrete via In Situ Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Zuo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Embedded cool-pipes are very important for massive concrete because their cooling effect can effectively avoid thermal cracks. In this study, a data mining approach to analyzing the thermal performance of cool-pipes via in situ monitoring is proposed. Delicate monitoring program is applied in a high arch dam project that provides a good and mass data source. The factors and relations related to the thermal performance of cool-pipes are obtained in a built theory thermal model. The supporting vector machine (SVM technology is applied to mine the data. The thermal performances of iron pipes and high-density polyethylene (HDPE pipes are compared. The data mining result shows that iron pipe has a better heat removal performance when flow rate is lower than 50 L/min. It has revealed that a turning flow rate exists for iron pipe which is 80 L/min. The prediction and classification results obtained from the data mining model agree well with the monitored data, which illustrates the validness of the approach.

  6. A numerical and experimental investigation of the thermal control performance of a spaceborne compressor assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Hyun-Ung; Lee, Min-Kyu; Shin, Somin; Hong, Joo-Sung

    2011-09-01

    Spaceborne pulse tube type cryocoolers are widely used for providing cryogenic temperatures for sensitive infrared, gamma-ray and X-ray detectors. Thermal control for the compressor of the cryocooler is one of the important technologies for the cooling performance, mission life time, and jitter stability of the cooler. The thermal design of the compressor assembly proposed in this study is basically composed of a heat pipe, a radiator, and a heater. In the present work, a method for heat pipe implementation is proposed and investigated to ensure the jitter stability of the compressor under the condition that one heat pipe is not working. An optimal design of the radiator that uses ribs for effective use by minimizing the temperature gradient on the radiator and reducing its weight is introduced. The effectiveness of the thermal design of the compressor assembly is demonstrated by on-orbit thermal analysis using the correlated thermal model obtained from the thermal balance test that is performed under a space simulating environment.

  7. Geophysical logging and thermal imaging near the Hemphill Road TCE National Priorities List Superfund site near Gastonia, North Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antolino, Dominick J.; Chapman, Melinda J.

    2017-03-27

    Borehole geophysical logs and thermal imaging data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey near the Hemphill Road TCE (trichloroethylene) National Priorities List Superfund site near Gastonia, North Carolina, during August 2014 through February 2015. In an effort to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the development of a conceptual groundwater model for the assessment of current contaminant distribution and future migration of contaminants, surface geological mapping and borehole geophysical log and thermal imaging data collection, which included the delineation of more than 600 subsurface features (primarily fracture orientations), was completed in five open borehole wells and two private supply bedrock wells. In addition, areas of possible groundwater discharge within a nearby creek downgradient of the study site were determined based on temperature differences between the stream and bank seepage using thermal imagery.

  8. Performance maps for the control of thermal energy storage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Finck, Christian; Li, Rongling; Zeiler, Wim

    2017-01-01

    Predictive control in building energy systems requires the integration of the building, building system, and component dynamics. The prediction accuracy of these dynamics is crucial for practical applications. This paper introduces performance maps for the control of water tanks, phase change mat...... material tanks, and thermochemical material tanks. The results show that these performance maps can fully account for the dynamics of thermal energy storage tanks.......Predictive control in building energy systems requires the integration of the building, building system, and component dynamics. The prediction accuracy of these dynamics is crucial for practical applications. This paper introduces performance maps for the control of water tanks, phase change...

  9. A New Model for Optimal Mechanical and Thermal Performance of Cement-Based Partition Wall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Shiping; Hu, Mengyu; Huang, Yonghui; Cui, Nannan; Wang, Weifeng

    2018-04-17

    The prefabricated cement-based partition wall has been widely used in assembled buildings because of its high manufacturing efficiency, high-quality surface, and simple and convenient construction process. In this paper, a general porous partition wall that is made from cement-based materials was proposed to meet the optimal mechanical and thermal performance during transportation, construction and its service life. The porosity of the proposed partition wall is formed by elliptic-cylinder-type cavities. The finite element method was used to investigate the mechanical and thermal behaviour, which shows that the proposed model has distinct advantages over the current partition wall that is used in the building industry. It is found that, by controlling the eccentricity of the elliptic-cylinder cavities, the proposed wall stiffness can be adjusted to respond to the imposed loads and to improve the thermal performance, which can be used for the optimum design. Finally, design guidance is provided to obtain the optimal mechanical and thermal performance. The proposed model could be used as a promising candidate for partition wall in the building industry.

  10. A New Model for Optimal Mechanical and Thermal Performance of Cement-Based Partition Wall

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shiping Huang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The prefabricated cement-based partition wall has been widely used in assembled buildings because of its high manufacturing efficiency, high-quality surface, and simple and convenient construction process. In this paper, a general porous partition wall that is made from cement-based materials was proposed to meet the optimal mechanical and thermal performance during transportation, construction and its service life. The porosity of the proposed partition wall is formed by elliptic-cylinder-type cavities. The finite element method was used to investigate the mechanical and thermal behaviour, which shows that the proposed model has distinct advantages over the current partition wall that is used in the building industry. It is found that, by controlling the eccentricity of the elliptic-cylinder cavities, the proposed wall stiffness can be adjusted to respond to the imposed loads and to improve the thermal performance, which can be used for the optimum design. Finally, design guidance is provided to obtain the optimal mechanical and thermal performance. The proposed model could be used as a promising candidate for partition wall in the building industry.

  11. Improvement of energy performances of existing buildings by application of solar thermal systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krstić-Furundžić Aleksandra

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Improvement of energy performances of the existing buildings in the suburban settlement Konjarnik in Belgrade, by the application of solar thermal systems is the topic presented in this paper. Hypothetical models of building improvements are created to allow the benefits of applying solar thermal collectors to residential buildings in Belgrade climate conditions to be estimated. This case study presents different design variants of solar thermal collectors integrated into a multifamily building envelope. The following aspects of solar thermal systems integration are analyzed in the paper: energy, architectural, ecological and economic. The results show that in Belgrade climatic conditions significant energy savings and reduction of CO2 emissions can be obtained with the application of solar thermal collectors.

  12. Aqueous preparation of polyethylene glycol/sulfonated graphene phase change composite with enhanced thermal performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Hairong; Jiang, Ming; Li, Qi; Li, Denian; Chen, Zongyi; Hu, Waping; Huang, Jing; Xu, Xizhe; Dong, Lijie; Xie, Haian; Xiong, Chuanxi

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • We report an aqueous preparation technique of PEG/graphene phase change composite. • Hydrophilic sulfonated graphene (SG) nanosheets were synthesized. • Large increase in thermal conductivity is attained at low SG loading. • High latent heat is retained due to the low filler loading. • Affinity between SG and PEG contributes to the enhanced thermal performance. - Abstract: A polyethylene glycol (PEG)/sulfonated graphene (SG) phase change composite with enhanced thermal performance was prepared by solution processing in aqueous medium. It is remarkable that the addition of only 4 wt.% of SG to PEG could lead to a four times higher increase in thermal conductivity and a slight decrease in the phase change enthalpy, which is attributed to the formation of efficient thermal conductive network within the PEG matrix relevant to the excellent thermal property and unique 2-dimensional morphology of graphene as well as strong interface affinity between PEG matrix and SG nanosheets. The aqueous preparation technique is expected to pioneer a new way to prepare environment friendly organic phase change materials, and the production of PEG/SG composites is potentially scalable due to the facile fabricating process

  13. Analytical prediction of thermal performance of hypervapotron and its application to ITER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baxi, C.B.; Falter, H.

    1992-09-01

    A hypervapotron (HV) is a water cooled device made of high thermal conductivity material such as copper. A surface heat flux of up to 30 MW/m 2 has been achieved in copper hypervapotrans cooled by water at a velocity of 10 m/s and at a pressure of six bar. Hypervapotrons have been used in the past as beam dumps at the Joint European Torus (JET). It is planned to use them for diverter cooling during Mark II upgrade of the JET. Although a large amount of experimental data has been collected on these devices, an analytical performance prediction has not been done before due to the complexity of the heat transfer mechanisms. A method to analytically predict the thermal performance of the hypervapotron is described. The method uses a combination of a number of thermal hydraulic correlations and a finite element analysis. The analytical prediction shows an excellent agreement with experimental results over a wide range of velocities, pressures, subcooling, and geometries. The method was used to predict the performance of hypervapotron made of beryllium. Merits for the use of hypervapotrons for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and Tokamak Physics Experiment (TPX) are discussed

  14. Use and imaging performance of CMOS flat panel imager with LiF/ZnS(Ag) and Gadox scintillation screens for neutron radiography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cha, B. K.; kim, J. Y.; Kim, T. J.; Sim, C.; Cho, G.; Lee, D. H.; Seo, C.-W.; Jeon, S.; Huh, Y.

    2011-01-01

    In digital neutron radiography system, a thermal neutron imaging detector based on neutron-sensitive scintillating screens with CMOS(complementary metal oxide semiconductor) flat panel imager is introduced for non-destructive testing (NDT) application. Recently, large area CMOS APS (active-pixel sensor) in conjunction with scintillation films has been widely used in many digital X-ray imaging applications. Instead of typical imaging detectors such as image plates, cooled-CCD cameras and amorphous silicon flat panel detectors in combination with scintillation screens, we tried to apply a scintillator-based CMOS APS to neutron imaging detection systems for high resolution neutron radiography. In this work, two major Gd2O2S:Tb and 6LiF/ZnS:Ag scintillation screens with various thickness were fabricated by a screen printing method. These neutron converter screens consist of a dispersion of Gd2O2S:Tb and 6LiF/ZnS:Ag scintillating particles in acrylic binder. These scintillating screens coupled-CMOS flat panel imager with 25x50mm2 active area and 48μm pixel pitch was used for neutron radiography. Thermal neutron flux with 6x106n/cm2/s was utilized at the NRF facility of HANARO in KAERI. The neutron imaging characterization of the used detector was investigated in terms of relative light output, linearity and spatial resolution in detail. The experimental results of scintillating screen-based CMOS flat panel detectors demonstrate possibility of high sensitive and high spatial resolution imaging in neutron radiography system.

  15. Performance of Polycrystalline Photovoltaic and Thermal Collector (PVT on Serpentine-Parallel Absor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustofa

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the performance of an unglazed polycrystalline photovoltaic-thermal PVT on 0.045 kg/s mass flow rate. PVT combine photovoltaic modules and solar thermal collectors, forming a single device that receive solar radiation and produces heat and electricity simultaneously. The collector figures out serpentine-parallel tubes that can prolong fluid heat conductivity from morning till afternoon. During testing, cell PV, inlet and outlet fluid temperatures were recorded by thermocouple digital LM35 Arduino Mega 2560. Panel voltage and electric current were also noted in which they were connected to computer and presented each second data recorded. But, in this performance only shows in the certain significant time data. This because the electric current was only noted by multimeter device not the digital one. Based on these testing data, average cell efficiency was about 19%, while thermal efficiency of above 50% and correspondent cell efficiency of 11%, respectively.

  16. Experimental investigation on charging and discharging performance of absorption thermal energy storage system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xiaoling; Li, Minzhi; Shi, Wenxing; Wang, Baolong; Li, Xianting

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A prototype of ATES using LiBr/H 2 O was designed and built. • Charging and discharging performances of ATES system were investigated. • ESE and ESD for cooling, domestic hot water and heating were obtained. - Abstract: Because of high thermal storage density and little heat loss, absorption thermal energy storage (ATES) is known as a potential thermal energy storage (TES) technology. To investigate the performance of the ATES system with LiBr–H 2 O, a prototype with 10 kW h cooling storage capacity was designed and built. The experiments demonstrated that charging and discharging processes are successful in producing 7 °C chilled water, 65 °C domestic hot water, or 43 °C heating water to meet the user’s requirements. Characteristics such as temperature, concentration and power variation of the ATES system during charging and discharging processes were investigated. The performance of the ATES system for supplying cooling, heating or domestic hot water was analyzed and compared. The results indicate that the energy storage efficiencies (ESE) for cooling, domestic hot water and heating are 0.51, 0.97, 1.03, respectively, and the energy storage densities (ESD) for cooling, domestic hot water and heating reach 42, 88, 110 kW h/m 3 , respectively. The performance is better than those of previous TES systems, which proves that the ATES system using LiBr–H 2 O may be a good option for thermal energy storage

  17. Thermal infrared imaging of the temporal variability in stomatal conductance for fruit trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Struthers, Raymond; Ivanova, Anna; Tits, Laurent; Swennen, Rony; Coppin, Pol

    2015-07-01

    Repeated measurements using thermal infrared remote sensing were used to characterize the change in canopy temperature over time and factors that influenced this change on 'Conference' pear trees (Pyrus communis L.). Three different types of sensors were used, a leaf porometer to measure leaf stomatal conductance, a thermal infrared camera to measure the canopy temperature and a meteorological sensor to measure weather variables. Stomatal conductance of water stressed pear was significantly lower than in the control group 9 days after stress began. This decrease in stomatal conductance reduced transpiration, reducing evaporative cooling that increased canopy temperature. Using thermal infrared imaging with wavelengths between 7.5 and13 μm, the first significant difference was measured 18 days after stress began. A second order derivative described the average rate of change of the difference between the stress treatment and control group. The average rate of change for stomatal conductance was 0.06 (mmol m-2 s-1) and for canopy temperature was -0.04 (°C) with respect to days. Thermal infrared remote sensing and data analysis presented in this study demonstrated that the differences in canopy temperatures between the water stress and control treatment due to stomata regulation can be validated.

  18. Thermal performance modeling of cross-flow heat exchangers

    CERN Document Server

    Cabezas-Gómez, Luben; Saíz-Jabardo, José Maria

    2014-01-01

    This monograph introduces a numerical computational methodology for thermal performance modeling of cross-flow heat exchangers, with applications in chemical, refrigeration and automobile industries. This methodology allows obtaining effectiveness-number of transfer units (e-NTU) data and has been used for simulating several standard and complex flow arrangements configurations of cross-flow heat exchangers. Simulated results have been validated through comparisons with results from available exact and approximate analytical solutions. Very accurate results have been obtained over wide ranges

  19. Thermal Performance and Operation Limit of Heat Pipe Containing Neutron Absorber

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Kyung Mo; Jeong, Yeong Shin; Kim, In Guk; Bang, In Choel [UNIST, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-05-15

    Recently, passive safety systems are under development to ensure the core cooling in accidents involving impossible depressurization such as station blackout (SBO). Hydraulic control rod drive mechanisms, passive auxiliary feedwater system (PAFS), Passive autocatalystic recombiner (PAR), and so on are types of passive safety systems to enhance the safety of nuclear power plants. Heat pipe is used in various engineering fields due to its advantages in terms of easy fabrication, high heat transfer rate, and passive heat transfer. Also, the various concepts associated with safety system and heat transfer using the heat pipe were developed in nuclear engineering field.. Thus, our group suggested the hybrid control rod which combines the functions of existing control rod and heat pipe. If there is significant temperature difference between active core and condenser, the hybrid control rod can shutdown the nuclear fission reaction and remove the decay heat from the core to ultimate heat sink. The unique characteristic of the hybrid control rod is the presence of neutron absorber inside the heat pipe. Many previous researchers studied the effect of parameters on the thermal performance of heat pipe. However, the effect of neutron absorber on the thermal performance of heat pipe has not been investigated. Thus, the annular heat pipe which contains B{sub 4}C pellet in the normal heat pipe was prepared and the thermal performance of the annular heat pipe was studied in this study. Hybrid control rod concept was developed as a passive safety system of nuclear power plant to ensure the safety of the reactor at accident condition. The hybrid control rod must contain the neutron absorber for the function as a control rod. So, the effect of neutron absorber on the thermal performance of heat pipe was experimentally investigated in this study. Temperature distributions at evaporator section of annular heat pipe were lower than normal heat pipe due to the larger volume occupied by

  20. Effects of synergetic and antagonistic additive elements on the thermal performance of engine oils at various bulk temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abou-Ziyan, H.; Mahmoud, M.; Al-Ajmi, R.; Shedid, M.

    2015-01-01

    This paper reports effects of additive elements on thermal performance of engine oils during cooling of different engine parts at bulk temperatures from 40 to 150 °C and average wall superheat of 100 °C. The analysis is performed using a back propagation neural network that was trained on experimentally obtained sub-cooled boiling data of engine oils. The results demonstrate that sodium, boron, molybdenum, magnesium and barium additive elements are thermally synergetic while phosphorous, zinc, calcium and silicon elements are thermally antagonistic. Experimental thermal performance of oils could potentially be improved by increasing the concentration of synergetic additive elements or decreasing antagonistic additive elements concentration. - Highlights: • Oil additives enhance lubrication properties but may hinder oil thermal performance. • Sodium, boron, molybdenum, magnesium and barium additives enhance heat transfer. • Additives containing phosphorous, zinc, calcium and silicon hinder the heat transfer. • Oil thermal performance is improved by changing some oil additives concentrations. • Some additives are highly sensitive to interaction with other additives in the oil.

  1. Assessment of lower extremity ischemia using smartphone thermographic imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter H. Lin, MD

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Conventional diagnostic modalities for assessing arterial circulation or tissue perfusion include blood pressure measurement, ultrasound evaluation, and contrast-based angiographic assessment. An infrared thermal camera can detect infrared radiation energy from the human body, which generates a thermographic image to allow tissue perfusion analysis. We describe a smartphone-based miniature thermal imaging system that can be used as an adjunctive imaging modality to assess tissue perfusion. This smartphone-based camera device is noninvasive, simple to use, and cost-effective in assessing patients with lower extremity tissue perfusion. Assessment of patients with lower extremity arterial ischemia can be performed by a variety of diagnostic modalities, including ankle-brachial index, absolute systolic ankle or toe pressure, transcutaneous oximetry, arterial Doppler waveform, arterial duplex ultrasound, computed tomography scan, arterial angiography, and thermal imaging. We herein describe a noninvasive imaging modality using smartphone-based infrared thermography.

  2. Reliability residual-life prediction method for thermal aging based on performance degradation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren Shuhong; Xue Fei; Yu Weiwei; Ti Wenxin; Liu Xiaotian

    2013-01-01

    The paper makes the study of the nuclear power plant main pipeline. The residual-life of the main pipeline that failed due to thermal aging has been studied by the use of performance degradation theory and Bayesian updating methods. Firstly, the thermal aging impact property degradation process of the main pipeline austenitic stainless steel has been analyzed by the accelerated thermal aging test data. Then, the thermal aging residual-life prediction model based on the impact property degradation data is built by Bayesian updating methods. Finally, these models are applied in practical situations. It is shown that the proposed methods are feasible and the prediction accuracy meets the needs of the project. Also, it provides a foundation for the scientific management of aging management of the main pipeline. (authors)

  3. Design and thermal performances of a scalable linear Fresnel reflector solar system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Yanqing; Shi, Jifu; Li, Yujian; Wang, Leilei; Huang, Qizhang; Xu, Gang

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A scalable linear Fresnel reflector which can supply different temperatures is proposed. • Inclination design of the mechanical structure is used to reduce the end losses. • The maximum thermal efficiency of 64% is achieved in Guangzhou. - Abstract: This paper proposes a scalable linear Fresnel reflector (SLFR) solar system. The optical mirror field which contains an array of linear plat mirrors closed to each other is designed to eliminate the inter-low shading and blocking. Scalable mechanical mirror support which can place different number of mirrors is designed to supply different temperatures. The mechanical structure can be inclined to reduce the end losses. Finally, the thermal efficiency of the SLFR with two stage mirrors is tested. After adjustment, the maximum thermal efficiency of 64% is obtained and the mean thermal efficiency is higher than that before adjustment. The results indicate that the end losses have been reduced effectively by the inclination design and excellent thermal performance can be obtained by the SLFR after adjustment.

  4. Perceptual evaluation of different image fusion schemes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toet, A.; IJspeert, J.K.

    2001-01-01

    Human perceptual performance was tested with images of nighttime outdoor scenes. The scenes were registered both with a dual band (visual and near infrared) image intensified low-light CCD camera (DII) and with a thermal middle wavelength band (3-5 μm) infrared (IR) camera. Fused imagery was

  5. Fourier diffraction theorem for diffusion-based thermal tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baddour, Natalie

    2006-01-01

    There has been much recent interest in thermal imaging as a method of non-destructive testing and for non-invasive medical imaging. The basic idea of applying heat or cold to an area and observing the resulting temperature change with an infrared camera has led to the development of rapid and relatively inexpensive inspection systems. However, the main drawback to date has been that such an approach provides mainly qualitative results. In order to advance the quantitative results that are possible via thermal imaging, there is interest in applying techniques and algorithms from conventional tomography. Many tomography algorithms are based on the Fourier diffraction theorem, which is inapplicable to thermal imaging without suitable modification to account for the attenuative nature of thermal waves. In this paper, the Fourier diffraction theorem for thermal tomography is derived and discussed. The intent is for this thermal-diffusion based Fourier diffraction theorem to form the basis of tomographic reconstruction algorithms for quantitative thermal imaging

  6. Automated tracking of lava lake level using thermal images at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai’i

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, Matthew R.; Swanson, Don; Orr, Tim R.

    2016-01-01

    Tracking the level of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai’i, is an essential part of monitoring the ongoing eruption and forecasting potentially hazardous changes in activity. We describe a simple automated image processing routine that analyzes continuously-acquired thermal images of the lava lake and measures lava level. The method uses three image segmentation approaches, based on edge detection, short-term change analysis, and composite temperature thresholding, to identify and track the lake margin in the images. These relative measurements from the images are periodically calibrated with laser rangefinder measurements to produce real-time estimates of lake elevation. Continuous, automated tracking of the lava level has been an important tool used by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory since 2012 in real-time operational monitoring of the volcano and its hazard potential.

  7. Comparison of Thermal Performances between Low Porosity Perforate Plate and Flat Plate Solar Air Collector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Hoy-Yen; Vinson, A. A.; Baljit, S. S. S.; Ruslan, M. H.

    2018-04-01

    Flat plate solar air collector is the most common collector design, which is relatively simpler to fabricate and lower cost. In the present study, perforated plate solar collector was developed to improve the system thermal performance. A glazed perforated plate of 6mm holes diameter with square geometry was designed and installed as the absorber of the collector. The influences of solar radiation intensity and mass flow rate on the thermal performance were investigated. The perforated collector was compared with the flat plate solar collector under the same operating conditions. The highest values of thermal efficiency in this study for the perforated plate (PP) and the flat plate (FP) solar collectors were 59% and 36% respectively, at solar radiation intensity of 846 Wm-2 and mass flow rate of 0.02 kgs-1. Furthermore, PP collector gave better thermal performance compared to FP collector; and compared to previous studies, the present perforated design was compatible with the flat plate with double pass designs.

  8. PREDICTING THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF ROOFING SYSTEMS IN SURABAYA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MINTOROGO Danny Santoso

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Traditional roofing systems in the developing country likes Indonesia are still be dominated by the 30o, 45o, and more pitched angle roofs; the roofing cover materials are widely used to traditional clay roof tiles, then modern concrete roof tiles, and ceramic roof tiles. In the 90’s decay, shop houses are prosperous built with flat concrete roofs dominant. Green roofs and roof ponds are almost rarely built to meet the sustainable environmental issues. Some tested various roof systems in Surabaya were carried out to observe the roof thermal performances. Mathematical equation model from three references are also performed in order to compare with the real project tested. Calculated with equation (Kabre et al., the 30o pitched concrete-roof-tile, 30o clay-roof-tile, 45o pitched concrete-roof-tile are the worst thermal heat flux coming to room respectively. In contrast, the bare soil concrete roof and roof pond system are the least heat flux streamed onto room. Based on predicted calculation without insulation and cross-ventilation attic space, the roof pond and bare soil concrete roof (greenery roof are the appropriate roof systems for the Surabaya’s climate; meanwhile the most un-recommended roof is pitched 30o or 45o angle with concrete-roof tiles roofing systems.

  9. High-performance polyamide thin-film composite nanofiltration membrane: Role of thermal treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Baicang; Wang, Shuai; Zhao, Pingju; Liang, Heng; Zhang, Wen; Crittenden, John

    2018-03-01

    Nanofiltration (NF) membranes have many excellent applications (e.g., removing multivalent ions and pretreating water before reverse osmosis, RO), but their relatively high cost limits their application. Especially in recent years, researchers have paid substantial attention to reducing the cost of NF membranes. In this paper, high-performance NF membranes were fabricated using interfacial polymerization (IP) methods. The polymer concentration, IP solution concentration, and thermal treatment conditions were varied. The synthesized membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), a contact angle goniometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and performance tests. The results show that water flux was significantly improved using a hot-water thermal treatment method. Our fabricated thermal-treated NF membrane had an approximately 15% higher water permeability with a value of 13.6 L/(m2 h bar) than that of the commercially available GE HL membrane with a value of 11.8 L/(m2 h bar). Our membranes had the same MgSO4 rejection as that of the GE HL membrane. We found that the thermal treatment causes the NF membrane surface to be smoother and have a high crosslinking degree.

  10. Imaging Performance Analysis of Simbol-X with Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauvin, M.; Roques, J. P.

    2009-05-01

    Simbol-X is an X-Ray telescope operating in formation flight. It means that its optical performances will strongly depend on the drift of the two spacecrafts and its ability to measure these drifts for image reconstruction. We built a dynamical ray tracing code to study the impact of these parameters on the optical performance of Simbol-X (see Chauvin et al., these proceedings). Using the simulation tool we have developed, we have conducted detailed analyses of the impact of different parameters on the imaging performance of the Simbol-X telescope.

  11. Imaging Performance Analysis of Simbol-X with Simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chauvin, M.; Roques, J. P.

    2009-01-01

    Simbol-X is an X-Ray telescope operating in formation flight. It means that its optical performances will strongly depend on the drift of the two spacecrafts and its ability to measure these drifts for image reconstruction. We built a dynamical ray tracing code to study the impact of these parameters on the optical performance of Simbol-X (see Chauvin et al., these proceedings). Using the simulation tool we have developed, we have conducted detailed analyses of the impact of different parameters on the imaging performance of the Simbol-X telescope.

  12. Thermal Performance of a Cryogenic Fluid Management Cubesat Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, J. J.; Oliveira, J. M.; Congiardo, J. F.; Walls, L. K.; Putman, P. T.; Haberbusch, M. S.

    2013-01-01

    Development for an in-space demonstration of a CubeS at as a Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) test bed is currently underway. The favorable economics of CubeSats make them appealing for technology development activity. While their size limits testing to smaller scales, many of the regimes relevant to CFM can still be achieved. The first demo flight of this concept, CryoCube®-1, will focus on oxygen liquefaction and low-gravity level sensing using Reduced Gravity CryoTracker®. An extensive thermal modeling effort has been underway to both demonstrate concept feasibility and drive the prototype design. The satellite will utilize both a sun- and earth-shield to passively cool its experimental tank below 115 K. An on-board gas generator will create high pressure gaseous oxygen, which will be throttled into a bottle in the experimental node and condensed. The resulting liquid will be used to perform various experiments related to level sensing. Modeling efforts have focused on the spacecraft thermal performance and its effects on condensation in the experimental node. Parametric analyses for both optimal and suboptimal conditions have been considered and are presented herein.

  13. Thermal effects on human performance in office environment measured by integrating task speed and accuracy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lan, Li; Wargocki, Pawel; Lian, Zhiwei

    2014-01-01

    We have proposed a method in which the speed and accuracy can be integrated into one metric of human performance. This was achieved by designing a performance task in which the subjects receive feedback on their performance by informing them whether they have committed errors, and if did, they can......, 12 subjects performed tasks under two thermal conditions (neutral & warm) repeatedly. The tasks were presented with and without feedback on errors committed, as outlined above. The results indicate that there was a greater decrease in task performance due to thermal discomfort when feedback was given......, compared to the performance of tasks presented without feedback....

  14. Application of monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis in thermal performance analysis for nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hyeong Min; Heo, Gyun Young [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Na, Man Gyun [Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-12-15

    As condition-based maintenance (CBM) has risen as a new trend, there has been an active movement to apply information technology for effective implementation of CBM in power plants. This motivation is widespread in operations and maintenance, including monitoring, diagnosis, prognosis, and decision-making on asset management. Thermal efficiency analysis in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is a longstanding concern being updated with new methodologies in an advanced IT environment. It is also a prominent way to differentiate competitiveness in terms of operations and maintenance costs. Although thermal performance tests implemented using industrial codes and standards can provide officially trustworthy results, they are essentially resource-consuming and maybe even a hind-sighted technique rather than a foresighted one, considering their periodicity. Therefore, if more accurate performance monitoring can be achieved using advanced data analysis techniques, we can expect more optimized operations and maintenance. This paper proposes a framework and describes associated methodologies for in-situ thermal performance analysis, which differs from conventional performance monitoring. The methodologies are effective for monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis in pursuit of CBM. Our enabling techniques cover the intelligent removal of random and systematic errors, deviation detection between a best condition and a currently measured condition, degradation diagnosis using a structured knowledge base, and prognosis for decision-making about maintenance tasks. We also discuss how our new methods can be incorporated with existing performance tests. We provide guidance and directions for developers and end-users interested in in-situ thermal performance management, particularly in NPPs with large steam turbines.

  15. Application of monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis in thermal performance analysis for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyeong Min; Heo, Gyun Young; Na, Man Gyun

    2014-01-01

    As condition-based maintenance (CBM) has risen as a new trend, there has been an active movement to apply information technology for effective implementation of CBM in power plants. This motivation is widespread in operations and maintenance, including monitoring, diagnosis, prognosis, and decision-making on asset management. Thermal efficiency analysis in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is a longstanding concern being updated with new methodologies in an advanced IT environment. It is also a prominent way to differentiate competitiveness in terms of operations and maintenance costs. Although thermal performance tests implemented using industrial codes and standards can provide officially trustworthy results, they are essentially resource-consuming and maybe even a hind-sighted technique rather than a foresighted one, considering their periodicity. Therefore, if more accurate performance monitoring can be achieved using advanced data analysis techniques, we can expect more optimized operations and maintenance. This paper proposes a framework and describes associated methodologies for in-situ thermal performance analysis, which differs from conventional performance monitoring. The methodologies are effective for monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis in pursuit of CBM. Our enabling techniques cover the intelligent removal of random and systematic errors, deviation detection between a best condition and a currently measured condition, degradation diagnosis using a structured knowledge base, and prognosis for decision-making about maintenance tasks. We also discuss how our new methods can be incorporated with existing performance tests. We provide guidance and directions for developers and end-users interested in in-situ thermal performance management, particularly in NPPs with large steam turbines.

  16. Thermal imaging comparison of Signature, Infiniti, and Stellaris phacoemulsification systems

    OpenAIRE

    Ryoo, NK; Kwon, J-W; Wee, WR; Miller, KM; Han, YK

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Background To compare the heat production of 3 different phacoemulsification machines under strict laboratory test conditions. More specifically, the thermal behavior was analyzed between the torsional modality of the Infiniti system and longitudinal modalities of the Abbot WhiteStar Signature Phacoemulsification system and Bausch and Lomb Stellaris system. Methods Experiments were performed under in-...

  17. Gender Recognition from Human-Body Images Using Visible-Light and Thermal Camera Videos Based on a Convolutional Neural Network for Image Feature Extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Dat Tien; Kim, Ki Wan; Hong, Hyung Gil; Koo, Ja Hyung; Kim, Min Cheol; Park, Kang Ryoung

    2017-03-20

    Extracting powerful image features plays an important role in computer vision systems. Many methods have previously been proposed to extract image features for various computer vision applications, such as the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT), speed-up robust feature (SURF), local binary patterns (LBP), histogram of oriented gradients (HOG), and weighted HOG. Recently, the convolutional neural network (CNN) method for image feature extraction and classification in computer vision has been used in various applications. In this research, we propose a new gender recognition method for recognizing males and females in observation scenes of surveillance systems based on feature extraction from visible-light and thermal camera videos through CNN. Experimental results confirm the superiority of our proposed method over state-of-the-art recognition methods for the gender recognition problem using human body images.

  18. Gender Recognition from Human-Body Images Using Visible-Light and Thermal Camera Videos Based on a Convolutional Neural Network for Image Feature Extraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Dat Tien; Kim, Ki Wan; Hong, Hyung Gil; Koo, Ja Hyung; Kim, Min Cheol; Park, Kang Ryoung

    2017-01-01

    Extracting powerful image features plays an important role in computer vision systems. Many methods have previously been proposed to extract image features for various computer vision applications, such as the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT), speed-up robust feature (SURF), local binary patterns (LBP), histogram of oriented gradients (HOG), and weighted HOG. Recently, the convolutional neural network (CNN) method for image feature extraction and classification in computer vision has been used in various applications. In this research, we propose a new gender recognition method for recognizing males and females in observation scenes of surveillance systems based on feature extraction from visible-light and thermal camera videos through CNN. Experimental results confirm the superiority of our proposed method over state-of-the-art recognition methods for the gender recognition problem using human body images. PMID:28335510

  19. High performance computing environment for multidimensional image analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, A Ravishankar; Cecchi, Guillermo A; Magnasco, Marcelo

    2007-07-10

    The processing of images acquired through microscopy is a challenging task due to the large size of datasets (several gigabytes) and the fast turnaround time required. If the throughput of the image processing stage is significantly increased, it can have a major impact in microscopy applications. We present a high performance computing (HPC) solution to this problem. This involves decomposing the spatial 3D image into segments that are assigned to unique processors, and matched to the 3D torus architecture of the IBM Blue Gene/L machine. Communication between segments is restricted to the nearest neighbors. When running on a 2 Ghz Intel CPU, the task of 3D median filtering on a typical 256 megabyte dataset takes two and a half hours, whereas by using 1024 nodes of Blue Gene, this task can be performed in 18.8 seconds, a 478x speedup. Our parallel solution dramatically improves the performance of image processing, feature extraction and 3D reconstruction tasks. This increased throughput permits biologists to conduct unprecedented large scale experiments with massive datasets.

  20. Stereographic images acquired with gamma rays and thermal neutron radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Souza, Maria Ines Silvani; Almeida, Gevaldo L. de; Furieri, Rosanne C.; Lopes, Ricardo T.

    2011-01-01

    Full text: The inner structure of an object, which should not be submitted to an invasive assay, can only be perceived by using a suitable technique in order to render it transparent. A widely employed technique for this purpose involves the using of a radiation capable to pass through the object, collecting the transmitted radiation by a proper device, which furnishes a radiographic attenuation map of the object. This map, however, does not display the spatial distribution of the inner components of the object, but a convoluted view for each specific attitude of the object with regard to the set beam-detector. A 3D tomographic approach would show that distribution but it would demand a large number of projections requiring special equipment and software, not always available or affordable. In some circumstances however, a 3D tomography can be replaced by a stereographic view of the object under inspection, as done in this work, where instead of tens of radiographic projections, only two of them taken at suitable object attitudes are employed. Once acquired, these projections are properly processed and observed through a red and green eyeglass. For monochromatic images, this methodology requires the transformation of the black and white radiographs into red and white and green and white ones, which are afterwards merged to yield a single image. All the process is carried out with the software Image J . In this work, the Argonauta reactor at the Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear in Rio de Janeiro has been used as a source of thermal neutrons to acquire the neutron radiographic images, as well as to produce 198 Au sources employed in the acquisition of gamma-ray radiographic ones. X-ray or neutron-sensitive imaging plates have been used as detector, which after exposure were developed by a reader using a 0.5μm-diameter laser beam. (author)

  1. MODVOLC2: A Hybrid Time Series Analysis for Detecting Thermal Anomalies Applied to Thermal Infrared Satellite Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koeppen, W. C.; Wright, R.; Pilger, E.

    2009-12-01

    We developed and tested a new, automated algorithm, MODVOLC2, which analyzes thermal infrared satellite time series data to detect and quantify the excess energy radiated from thermal anomalies such as active volcanoes, fires, and gas flares. MODVOLC2 combines two previously developed algorithms, a simple point operation algorithm (MODVOLC) and a more complex time series analysis (Robust AVHRR Techniques, or RAT) to overcome the limitations of using each approach alone. MODVOLC2 has four main steps: (1) it uses the original MODVOLC algorithm to process the satellite data on a pixel-by-pixel basis and remove thermal outliers, (2) it uses the remaining data to calculate reference and variability images for each calendar month, (3) it compares the original satellite data and any newly acquired data to the reference images normalized by their variability, and it detects pixels that fall outside the envelope of normal thermal behavior, (4) it adds any pixels detected by MODVOLC to those detected in the time series analysis. Using test sites at Anatahan and Kilauea volcanoes, we show that MODVOLC2 was able to detect ~15% more thermal anomalies than using MODVOLC alone, with very few, if any, known false detections. Using gas flares from the Cantarell oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, we show that MODVOLC2 provided results that were unattainable using a time series-only approach. Some thermal anomalies (e.g., Cantarell oil field flares) are so persistent that an additional, semi-automated 12-µm correction must be applied in order to correctly estimate both the number of anomalies and the total excess radiance being emitted by them. Although all available data should be included to make the best possible reference and variability images necessary for the MODVOLC2, we estimate that at least 80 images per calendar month are required to generate relatively good statistics from which to run MODVOLC2, a condition now globally met by a decade of MODIS observations. We also found

  2. Cost and performance analysis of concentrating solar power systems with integrated latent thermal energy storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nithyanandam, K.; Pitchumani, R.

    2014-01-01

    Integrating TES (thermal energy storage) in a CSP (concentrating solar power) plant allows for continuous operation even during times when solar irradiation is not available, thus providing a reliable output to the grid. In the present study, the cost and performance models of an EPCM-TES (encapsulated phase change material thermal energy storage) system and HP-TES (latent thermal storage system with embedded heat pipes) are integrated with a CSP power tower system model utilizing Rankine and s-CO 2 (supercritical carbon-dioxide) power conversion cycles, to investigate the dynamic TES-integrated plant performance. The influence of design parameters of the storage system on the performance of a 200 MW e capacity power tower CSP plant is studied to establish design envelopes that satisfy the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative requirements, which include a round-trip annualized exergetic efficiency greater than 95%, storage cost less than $15/kWh t and LCE (levelized cost of electricity) less than 6 ¢/kWh. From the design windows, optimum designs of the storage system based on minimum LCE, maximum exergetic efficiency, and maximum capacity factor are reported and compared with the results of two-tank molten salt storage system. Overall, the study presents the first effort to construct and analyze LTES (latent thermal energy storage) integrated CSP plant performance that can help assess the impact, cost and performance of LTES systems on power generation from molten salt power tower CSP plant. - Highlights: • Presents technoeconomic analysis of thermal energy storage integrated concentrating solar power plants. • Presents a comparison of different storage options. • Presents optimum design of thermal energy storage system for steam Rankine and supercritical carbon dioxide cycles. • Presents designs for maximizing exergetic efficiency while minimizing storage cost and levelized cost of energy

  3. Surface-restrained growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays with excellent thermal transport performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ping, Linquan; Hou, Peng-Xiang; Liu, Chang; Li, Jincheng; Zhao, Yang; Zhang, Feng; Ma, Chaoqun; Tai, Kaiping; Cong, Hongtao; Cheng, Hui-Ming

    2017-06-22

    A vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) array is a promising candidate for a high-performance thermal interface material in high-power microprocessors due to its excellent thermal transport property. However, its rough and entangled free tips always cause poor interfacial contact, which results in serious contact resistance dominating the total thermal resistance. Here, we employed a thin carbon cover to restrain the disorderly growth of the free tips of a VACNT array. As a result, all the free tips are seamlessly connected by this thin carbon cover and the top surface of the array is smoothed. This unique structure guarantees the participation of all the carbon nanotubes in the array in the heat transport. Consequently the VACNT array grown on a Cu substrate shows a record low thermal resistance of 0.8 mm 2 K W -1 including the two-sided contact resistances, which is 4 times lower than the best result previously reported. Remarkably, the VACNT array can be easily peeled away from the Cu substrate and act as a thermal pad with excellent flexibility, adhesive ability and heat transport capability. As a result the CNT array with a thin carbon cover shows great potential for use as a high-performance flexible thermal interface material.

  4. Thermal performance enhancement of erythritol/carbon foam composites via surface modification of carbon foam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Junfeng; Lu, Wu; Luo, Zhengping; Zeng, Yibing

    2017-03-01

    The thermal performance of the erythritol/carbon foam composites, including thermal diffusivity, thermal capacity, thermal conductivity and latent heat, were investigated via surface modification of carbon foam using hydrogen peroxide as oxider. It was found that the surface modification enhanced the wetting ability of carbon foam surface to the liquid erythritol of the carbon foam surface and promoted the increase of erythritol content in the erythritol/carbon foam composites. The dense interfaces were formed between erythritol and carbon foam, which is due to that the formation of oxygen functional groups C=O and C-OH on the carbon surface increased the surface polarity and reduced the interface resistance of carbon foam surface to the liquid erythritol. The latent heat of the erythritol/carbon foam composites increased from 202.0 to 217.2 J/g through surface modification of carbon foam. The thermal conductivity of the erythritol/carbon foam composite before and after surface modification further increased from 40.35 to 51.05 W/(m·K). The supercooling degree of erythritol also had a large decrease from 97 to 54 °C. Additionally, the simple and effective surface modification method of carbon foam provided an extendable way to enhance the thermal performances of the composites composed of carbon foams and PCMs.

  5. Deep Space Thermal Cycle Testing of Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility - Imaging (AXAF-I) Solar Array Panels Test

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sisco, Jimmy

    1997-01-01

    The NASA Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility - Imaging (AXAF-I) satellite will be exposed to thermal conditions beyond normal experience flight temperatures due to the satellite's high elliptical orbital flight...

  6. Perceptual evaluation of different image fusion schemes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toet, A.; Franken, E.M.

    2003-01-01

    Human scene recognition performance was tested with images of night-time outdoor scenes. The scenes were registered both with a dual band (visual and near infrared) image intensified low-light CCD camera (DII) and with a thermal middle wavelength band (3–5 mm) infrared (IR) camera. Fused imagery was

  7. High-contrast imaging of the close environment of HD 142527. VLT/NaCo adaptive optics thermal and angular differential imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rameau, J.; Chauvin, G.; Lagrange, A.-M.; Thébault, P.; Milli, J.; Girard, J. H.; Bonnefoy, M.

    2012-10-01

    Context. It has long been suggested that circumstellar disks surrounding young stars may be the signposts of planets, and even more so since the recent discoveries of embedded substellar companions. According to models, the planet-disk interaction may create large structures, gaps, rings, or spirals in the disk. In that sense, the Herbig star HD 142527 is particularly compelling, as its massive disk displays intriguing asymmetries that suggest the existence of a dynamical peturber of unknown nature. Aims: Our goal was to obtain deep thermal images of the close circumstellar environment of HD 142527 to re-image the reported close-in structures (cavity, spiral arms) of the disk and to search for stellar and substellar companions that could be connected to their presence. Methods: We obtained high-contrast images with the NaCo adaptive optics system at the Very Large Telescope in L'-band. We applied different analysis strategies using both classical PSF-subtraction and angular differential imaging to probe for any extended structures or point-like sources. Results: The circumstellar environment of HD 142527 is revealed at an unprecedented spatial resolution down to the subarcsecond level for the first time at 3.8 μm. Our images reveal important radial and azimuthal asymmetries that invalidate an elliptical shape for the disk. It instead suggests a bright inhomogeneous spiral arm plus various fainter spiral arms. We also confirm an inner cavity down to 30 AU and two important dips at position angles of 0 and 135 deg. The detection performance in angular differential imaging enables exploration of the planetary mass regime for projected physical separations as close as 40 AU. Use of our detection map together with Monte Carlo simulations sets stringent constraints on the presence of planetary mass, brown dwarf or stellar companions as a function of the semi-major axis. They severely limit any presence of massive giant planets with semi-major axis beyond 50 AU, i

  8. Performance evaluation of breast image compression techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anastassopoulos, G.; Lymberopoulos, D.; Panayiotakis, G.; Bezerianos, A.

    1994-01-01

    Novel diagnosis orienting tele working systems manipulate, store, and process medical data through real time communication - conferencing schemes. One of the most important factors affecting the performance of these systems is image handling. Compression algorithms can be applied to the medical images, in order to minimize : a) the volume of data to be stored in the database, b) the demanded bandwidth from the network, c) the transmission costs, and to minimize the speed of the transmitted data. In this paper an estimation of all the factors of the process that affect the presentation of breast images is made, from the time the images are produced from a modality, till the compressed images are stored, or transmitted in a Broadband network (e.g. B-ISDN). The images used were scanned images of the TOR(MAX) Leeds breast phantom, as well as typical breast images. A comparison of seven compression techniques has been done, based on objective criteria such as Mean Square Error (MSE), resolution, contrast, etc. The user can choose the appropriate compression ratio in order to achieve the desired image quality. (authors)

  9. A two-wavelength imaging pyrometer for measuring particle temperature, velocity and size in thermal spray processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Craig, J.E.; Parker, R.A.; Lee, D.Y.; Biancaniello, F.; Ridder, S.

    1999-01-01

    An imaging pyrometer has been developed to measure the surface temperature of hot metal objects and to measure particle temperature, velocity and size in thermal spray, spray-fonning and atomization processes. The two-wavelength surface imaging pyrometer provides true temperature measurement with high resolution, even when the surface has emissivity variation caused by roughness or oxidation. The surface imaging pyrometer has been calibrated for use in a material processing lab calibration over the range of 1000 to 3000 deg K, and these results are described. The particle imaging pyrometer has a field of view that spans the entire particle stream in typical thermal spray devices, and provides continuous measurement of the entire particle stream. Particle temperature and velocity are critical parameters for producing high quality spray coatings efficiently and reliably. The software locates the particle streaks in the image, and determines the intensity ratio for each particle streak pair to obtain the temperature. The dimensions of the particle streak image are measured to determine the velocity and size. Because the vision-based sensor samples the entire particle stream in every video frame, the particle temperature, velocity and size data are updated at 30 Hz at all points in the particle stream. Particle measurements in a plasma spray at NIST are described. In this paper, we will describe our experiments with ceramic powders, in which measurements have been made at several positions along the particle stream. The particle data are represented as profiles across the particle stream, histograms of the full particle stream or time histories of the full-stream average. The results are compared and calibrated with other temperature and diagnostic measurement systems. (author)

  10. Thermal Performance of Cryogenic Multilayer Insulation at Various Layer Spacings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Wesley Louis

    2010-01-01

    Multilayer insulation (MLI) has been shown to be the best performing cryogenic insulation system at high vacuum (less that 10 (exp 3) torr), and is widely used on spaceflight vehicles. Over the past 50 years, many investigations into MLI have yielded a general understanding of the many variables that are associated with MLI. MLI has been shown to be a function of variables such as warm boundary temperature, the number of reflector layers, and the spacer material in between reflectors, the interstitial gas pressure and the interstitial gas. Since the conduction between reflectors increases with the thickness of the spacer material, yet the radiation heat transfer is inversely proportional to the number of layers, it stands to reason that the thermal performance of MLI is a function of the number of layers per thickness, or layer density. Empirical equations that were derived based on some of the early tests showed that the conduction term was proportional to the layer density to a power. This power depended on the material combination and was determined by empirical test data. Many authors have graphically shown such optimal layer density, but none have provided any data at such low densities, or any method of determining this density. Keller, Cunnington, and Glassford showed MLI thermal performance as a function of layer density of high layer densities, but they didn't show a minimal layer density or any data below the supposed optimal layer density. However, it was recently discovered that by manipulating the derived empirical equations and taking a derivative with respect to layer density yields a solution for on optimal layer density. Various manufacturers have begun manufacturing MLI at densities below the optimal density. They began this based on the theory that increasing the distance between layers lowered the conductive heat transfer and they had no limitations on volume. By modifying the circumference of these blankets, the layer density can easily be

  11. Performance study of heat-pipe solar photovoltaic/thermal heat pump system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Hongbing; Zhang, Lei; Jie, Pengfei; Xiong, Yaxuan; Xu, Peng; Zhai, Huixing

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • The testing device of HPS PV/T heat pump system was established by a finished product of PV panel. • A detailed mathematical model of heat pump was established to investigate the performance of each component. • The dynamic and static method was combined to solve the mathematical model of HPS PV/T heat pump system. • The HPS PV/T heat pump system was optimized by the mathematical model. • The influence of six factors on the performance of HPS PV/T heat pump system was analyzed. - Abstract: A heat-pipe solar (HPS) photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) heat pump system, combining HPS PV/T collector with heat pump, is proposed in this paper. The HPS PV/T collector integrates heat pipes with PV panel, which can simultaneously generate electricity and thermal energy. The extracted heat from HPS PV/T collector can be used by heat pump, and then the photoelectric conversion efficiency is substantially improved because of the low temperature of PV cells. A mathematical model of the system is established in this paper. The model consists of a dynamic distributed parameter model of the HPS PV/T collection system and a quasi-steady state distributed parameter model of the heat pump. The mathematical model is validated by testing data, and the dynamic performance of the HPS PV/T heat pump system is discussed based on the validated model. Using the mathematical model, a reasonable accuracy in predicting the system’s dynamic performance with a relative error within ±15.0% can be obtained. The capacity of heat pump and the number of HPS collectors are optimized to improve the system performance based on the mathematical model. Six working modes are proposed and discussed to investigate the effect of solar radiation, ambient temperature, supply water temperature in condenser, PV packing factor, heat pipe pitch and PV backboard absorptivity on system performance by the validated model. It is found that the increase of solar radiation, ambient temperature and PV

  12. Neural network application for thermal image recognition of low-resolution objects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Yi-Chin; Wu, Bo-Wen

    2007-02-01

    In the ever-changing situation on a battle field, accurate recognition of a distant object is critical to a commander's decision-making and the general public's safety. Efficiently distinguishing between an enemy's armoured vehicles and ordinary civilian houses under all weather conditions has become an important research topic. This study presents a system for recognizing an armoured vehicle by distinguishing marks and contours. The characteristics of 12 different shapes and 12 characters are used to explore thermal image recognition under the circumstance of long distance and low resolution. Although the recognition capability of human eyes is superior to that of artificial intelligence under normal conditions, it tends to deteriorate substantially under long-distance and low-resolution scenarios. This study presents an effective method for choosing features and processing images. The artificial neural network technique is applied to further improve the probability of accurate recognition well beyond the limit of the recognition capability of human eyes.

  13. Influence of Atmospheric Propagation on Performance of Laser Active Imaging System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yingchun; Sun Huayan; Guo Huichao; Zhao Yun

    2011-01-01

    Atmospheric propagation has serious influence on the performance of a good designed laser active imaging system. Atmospheric attenuation and turbulence are two main effects on laser atmospheric propagation. Imaging SNR (Signal-Noise-Ratio) and resolution are two key indexes to describe the performance of a laser active imaging system. Establishing the relation between system performance index and atmospheric propagation effect is significant. The paper analyzed the relation between imaging performance and atmospheric attenuation and turbulence through simulation. And also the experiments were done under different weather to validate the conclusion of simulation.

  14. Thermal insulation performance of green roof systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Celik, Serdar; Morgan, Susan; Retzlaff, William; Once, Orcun [southern Illinois University (United States)], e-mail: scelik@siue.edu, e-mail: smorgan@siue.edu, e-mail: wretzla@siue.edu, e-mail: oonce@siue.edu

    2011-07-01

    With the increasing costs of energy, good building insulation has become increasingly important. Among existing insulation techniques is the green roof system, which consists of covering the roof of a building envelop with plants. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of vegetation type and growth media on the thermal performance of green roof systems. Twelve different green roof samples were made with 4 different growth media and 3 sedum types. Temperature at the sample base was recorded every 15 minutes for 3 years; the insulation behavior was then analysed. Results showed that the insulation characteristics were achieved with a combination of haydite and sedum sexangulare. This study demonstrated that the choice of growth media and vegetation is important to the green roof system's performance; further research is required to better understand the interactions between growth media and plant roots.

  15. Thermal dependence of sprint performance in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2200-meter elevational gradient: Cold-habitat lizards do not perform better at low temperatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamora-Camacho, Francisco Javier; Rubiño-Hispán, María Virtudes; Reguera, Senda; Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio

    2015-08-01

    Sprint speed has a capital relevance in most animals' fitness, mainly for fleeing from predators. Sprint performance is maximal within a certain range of body temperatures in ectotherms, whose thermal upkeep relies on exogenous thermal sources. Ectotherms can respond to diverse thermal environments either by shifting their thermal preferences or maintaining them through different adaptive mechanisms. Here, we tested whether maximum sprint speed of a lizard that shows conservative thermal ecology along a 2200-meter elevational gradient differs with body temperature in lizards from different elevations. Lizards ran faster at optimum than at suboptimum body temperature. Notably, high-elevation lizards were not faster than mid- and low-elevation lizards at suboptimum body temperature, despite their low-quality thermal environment. This result suggests that both preferred body temperature and thermal dependence of speed performance are co-adapted along the elevational gradient. High-elevation lizards display a number of thermoregulatory strategies that allow them to achieve high optimum body temperatures in a low thermal-quality habitat and thus maximize speed performance. As for reproductive condition, we did not find any effect of it on sprint speed, or any significant interaction with elevation or body temperature. However, strikingly, gravid females were significantly slower than males and non-gravid females at suboptimum temperature, but performed similarly well at optimal temperature. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Experimental results pertaining to the performance of thermal igniters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carmel, M.K.

    1989-10-01

    This report summarizes the results of various experimental programs regarding the performance of thermal igniters for the deliberate ignition of hydrogen in light water reactors. Experiments involving both premixed combustion and combustion with continuous hydrogen injection are reviewed. Combustion characteristics examined include flammability limits of hydrogen:air and hydrogen:air:steam mixtures, combustion pressure rises, combustion completeness, flame speeds, and heat transfer aspects. Comparisons of igniter type and igniter reliability under simulated reactor accident conditions are included. The results of the research programs provide a broad data base covering nearly all aspects of hydrogen combustion related to the performance of deliberate ignition systems

  17. Thermal Texture Selection and Correction for Building Facade Inspection Based on Thermal Radiant Characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, D.; Jarzabek-Rychard, M.; Schneider, D.; Maas, H.-G.

    2018-05-01

    An automatic building façade thermal texture mapping approach, using uncooled thermal camera data, is proposed in this paper. First, a shutter-less radiometric thermal camera calibration method is implemented to remove the large offset deviations caused by changing ambient environment. Then, a 3D façade model is generated from a RGB image sequence using structure-from-motion (SfM) techniques. Subsequently, for each triangle in the 3D model, the optimal texture is selected by taking into consideration local image scale, object incident angle, image viewing angle as well as occlusions. Afterwards, the selected textures can be further corrected using thermal radiant characteristics. Finally, the Gauss filter outperforms the voted texture strategy at the seams smoothing and thus for instance helping to reduce the false alarm rate in façade thermal leakages detection. Our approach is evaluated on a building row façade located at Dresden, Germany.

  18. Thermal performance analysis of a direct-expansion solar-assisted heat pump water heater

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kong, X.Q.; Zhang, D.; Li, Y.; Yang, Q.M.

    2011-01-01

    A direct-expansion solar-assisted heat pump water heater (DX-SAHPWH) is described, which can supply hot water for domestic use during the whole year. The system mainly employs a bare flat-plate collector/evaporator with a surface area of 4.2 m 2 , an electrical rotary-type hermetic compressor, a hot water tank with the volume of 150 L and a thermostatic expansion valve. R-22 is used as working fluid in the system. A simulation model based on lumped and distributed parameter approach is developed to predict the thermal performance of the system. Given the structure parameters, meteorological parameters, time step and final water temperature, the numerical model can output operational parameters, such as heat capacity, system COP and collector efficiency. Comparisons between the simulation results and the experimental measurements show that the model is able to give satisfactory predictions. The effect of various parameters, including solar radiation, ambient temperature, wind speed and compressor speed, has been analyzed on the thermal performance of the system. -- Highlights: ► A direct-expansion solar-assisted heat pump water heater (DX-SAHPWH) is described. ► A simulation model based on lumped and distributed parameter approach is developed to predict the thermal performance of the system. ► The numerical model can output operational parameters, such as heat capacity, system COP and collector efficiency. ► Comparisons between the simulation results and the experimental measurements show that the model is able to give satisfactory predictions. ► The effect of various parameters has been analyzed on the thermal performance of the system.

  19. Mediaprocessors in medical imaging for high performance and flexibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Managuli, Ravi; Kim, Yongmin

    2002-05-01

    New high performance programmable processors, called mediaprocessors, have been emerging since the early 1990s for various digital media applications, such as digital TV, set-top boxes, desktop video conferencing, and digital camcorders. Modern mediaprocessors, e.g., TI's TMS320C64x and Hitachi/Equator Technologies MAP-CA, can offer high performance utilizing both instruction-level and data-level parallelism. During this decade, with continued performance improvement and cost reduction, we believe that the mediaprocessors will become a preferred choice in designing imaging and video systems due to their flexibility in incorporating new algorithms and applications via programming and faster-time-to-market. In this paper, we will evaluate the suitability of these mediaprocessors in medical imaging. We will review the core routines of several medical imaging modalities, such as ultrasound and DR, and present how these routines can be mapped to mediaprocessors and their resultant performance. We will analyze the architecture of several leading mediaprocessors. By carefully mapping key imaging routines, such as 2D convolution, unsharp masking, and 2D FFT, to the mediaprocessor, we have been able to achieve comparable (if not better) performance to that of traditional hardwired approaches. Thus, we believe that future medical imaging systems will benefit greatly from these advanced mediaprocessors, offering significantly increased flexibility and adaptability, reducing the time-to-market, and improving the cost/performance ratio compared to the existing systems while meeting the high computing requirements.

  20. WE-G-207-05: Relationship Between CT Image Quality, Segmentation Performance, and Quantitative Image Feature Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, J; Nishikawa, R [University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Reiser, I [The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Boone, J [UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: Segmentation quality can affect quantitative image feature analysis. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between computed tomography (CT) image quality, segmentation performance, and quantitative image feature analysis. Methods: A total of 90 pathology proven breast lesions in 87 dedicated breast CT images were considered. An iterative image reconstruction (IIR) algorithm was used to obtain CT images with different quality. With different combinations of 4 variables in the algorithm, this study obtained a total of 28 different qualities of CT images. Two imaging tasks/objectives were considered: 1) segmentation and 2) classification of the lesion as benign or malignant. Twenty-three image features were extracted after segmentation using a semi-automated algorithm and 5 of them were selected via a feature selection technique. Logistic regression was trained and tested using leave-one-out-cross-validation and its area under the ROC curve (AUC) was recorded. The standard deviation of a homogeneous portion and the gradient of a parenchymal portion of an example breast were used as an estimate of image noise and sharpness. The DICE coefficient was computed using a radiologist’s drawing on the lesion. Mean DICE and AUC were used as performance metrics for each of the 28 reconstructions. The relationship between segmentation and classification performance under different reconstructions were compared. Distributions (median, 95% confidence interval) of DICE and AUC for each reconstruction were also compared. Results: Moderate correlation (Pearson’s rho = 0.43, p-value = 0.02) between DICE and AUC values was found. However, the variation between DICE and AUC values for each reconstruction increased as the image sharpness increased. There was a combination of IIR parameters that resulted in the best segmentation with the worst classification performance. Conclusion: There are certain images that yield better segmentation or classification