Digital holography and 3-D imaging

This feature issue on Digital Holography and 3-D Imaging comprises 15 papers on digital holographic techniques and applications, computer-generated holography and encryption techniques, and 3-D display. It is hoped that future work in the area leads to innovative applications of digital holography and 3-D imaging to biology and sensing, and to the development of novel nonlinear dynamic digital holographic techniques.     

Three-dimensional complex image coding using a circular Dammann grating

Recently, optical image coding using a circular Dammann grating (CDG) has been proposed and investigated. However, the proposed technique is intensity based and could not be used for three-dimensional (3D) image coding. In this paper, we investigate an optical image coding technique that is complex-amplitude based. The system can be used for 3D image coding. The complex-amplitude coding is provided by a circular Dammann grating through the use of a digital holographic recording technique called optical scanning holography. To decode the image, along the depth we record a series of pinhole holograms coded by the CDG. The decoded reconstruction of each depth location is extracted by the measured pinhole hologram matched to the desired depth. Computer simulations as well as experimental results are provided.     

Determination of absorption coefficient by digital holographic measurement of optical excitation

Digital holographic microscopy produces quantitative phase analysis of a specimen with excellent optical precision. In this study, this imaging method has been used to observe and measure induced thermal lensing by optical excitation. Previous studies have derived these phase shifts from intensity profiles for the determination of photothermal properties of very transparent materials. We have measured physical observables and determined the absorption coefficients of methanol and ethanol with improved precision and accuracy over traditional thermal lens spectroscopy methods.     

Large strain response in acceptor- and donor-doped Bi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Na<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-based lead-free ceramics

Effects of Fe and La addition on the dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃–Bi_0.5Li_0.5TiO₃–BaTiO₃–Mn ceramics were investigated. Similar to the doping effect in lead-based piezoelectric materials, here the Fe-doped ceramic created a hard effect with an improved mechanical quality factor (Q _m) ~ 160, coercive field (E _c) ~ 2.9 kV/mm, decreased dielectric constant ( e₃₃^T /e₀ ) ~ 80 3, \left( {\varepsilon_{33}^{T} /\varepsilon_{0} } \right)\sim 80 3, and loss (tanδ) ~ 0.024 while the La-doped one indicated a soft feature with improved piezoelectric constant (d ₃₃) ~ 184 pC/N, e₃₃^T /e₀   ~ 983, \varepsilon_{33}^{T} /\varepsilon_{0} \,\sim { 983}, tanδ ~ 0.033, and decreased E _c ~ 2.46 kV/mm. In addition, the temperature dependence of the ferroelectric hysteresis loops and strain response under unipolar electric field was also studied. Around the depolarization temperature T _d, large strain value was obtained with the normalized d₃₃^* d_{33}^{*} up to ~1,000 pC/N, which was suggested originated from the development of the short-range order or non-polar phases in the ferroelectric matrix. All these would provide a new way to realize high piezoelectric response for practical application in different temperature scale.     

Delay of ignition in early direct-injected PCCI engine combustion using fuel-evaporative cooling and cooled EGR

In early direct-injected PCCI combustion, one of the several approaches to ideal PCCI, the early injected fuel forms a nearly homogeneous air-fuel charge, but most or all of the mixture ignites and burns during the compression stroke, which limits its application to light load operation range with lower-than-expected thermal efficiency. In the present research a unique split fuel injection technique was developed to delay the combustion of the entire fuel for mixing with air before burning. Evaporative cooling effects provided by the fuel in the second injection at precise timing held the self-ignition of the early injected fuel, and thus allowed the entire fuel to burn in PCCI mode at a favorable time in a cycle, namely a little after the top center. The single cylinder test engine run this way demonstrated the diesel-like efficiency along with an-order-of-magnitude lower NOx emissions than in conventional diesel combustion.     

Large eddy simulation of flow characteristics in an unconfined slot impinging jet with various nozzle-to-plate distances

To study the detailed flow structure of the unconfined plane impinging jet, a 3-dimensional flow analysis is carried out focused on the flow mechanism with the non-dimensional distance, L/d, as flow parameter by using the LES turbulent technique. The symbols d and L represent the nozzle width and the nozzle-to-plate distance, respectively. Then, the flow structures along both the stream-wise and spanwise direction are investigated. For these purposes, the plane impinging jet with Reynolds number of 11,000 is analyzed. The nozzle width was fixed at 1.5mm, but the nozzle-to-plate distance was varied between 4mm and 24mm. As a result, the plane impinging jet shows different flow patterns with L/d. In conclusion, the plane impinging jet is classified into three types with the non-dimensional variable, L/d. L/d≤4: Stable impinging jet, 4<L/d<11: periodically-stable impinging jet and L/d≥11: Unstable impinging jet.     

A numerical study on extinction and NOx formation in nonpremixed flames with syngas fuel

The flame structure, extinction, and NO_x emission characteristics of syngas/air nonpremixed flames, have been investigated numerically. The extinction stretch rate increased with the increase in the hydrogen proportion in the syngas and with lower fuel dilution and higher initial temperature. It also increased with pressure, except for the case of highly diluted fuel at high pressure. The maximum temperature and the emission index of nitric oxides (EINO_x) also increased in aforementioned conditions. The EINO_x decreased with stretch rate in general, while the decreasing rate was found to be somewhat different between the cases of N₂ and CO₂ dilutions. The reaction paths of NO_x formation were analyzed and represented as NO reaction path diagram. The increase in N radical resulted in larger NO_x production at high initial temperature and pressure. As the pressure increases, EINO_x increases slower due to the third-body recombination. The thermal NO mechanism is weakened for high dilution cases and non-thermal mechanisms prevail. The combustion conditions achieving higher extinction stretch rate can be lead to more NO_x emission, therefore that the selection of optimum operation range is needed in syngas combustion.     

Cyclic behavior of prefabricated circular composite columns with low steel ratio

Improved economy and speed of construction can be achieved through the use of prefabricated structural members. As a step toward the advancement of prefabricated substructures, a precast composite column for seismic regions is proposed in this paper. Concrete-encased composite columns with core structural steel can be utilized for a fast construction method using steel connections. Six concrete-encased composite specimens with low steel ratio were fabricated. Quasi-static tests were conducted to investigate the cyclic response of the prefabricated composite columns. For composite columns with bolt connections, the cyclic behavior in terms of ultimate load and post-cracking behavior was enhanced significantly as the transverse reinforcement ratio increases. Higher prestressing gave greater flexural strength to the composite columns with prestressing and better energy absorption capacity, while displacement ductility of the prestressed composite column was decreased as the prestressing increased.     

Experiment and numerical modeling of prestressed concrete curved slab with spatial unbonded tendons

Curved prestressed concrete structures with unbonded tendons are widely used in highway interchanges and industrial cooling towers, etc. In engineering practice, there is a demand to establish calculating methods for analyzing and designing these prestressed concrete curved structures with unbonded tendons. However, there are some difficulties in calculating the ultimate strength of these curved structures. The major difficulty is to calculate the ultimate stress in unbonded tendons. The assumption of a plane cross-section cannot be adopted here because of the slip between unbonded tendon and concrete. Thus, many formulas for calculating the ultimate stress in unbonded tendons were mainly based on experimental data fitting. In order to obtain the ultimate stress in unbonded tendons from mechanical principles, instead of using experimental data fitting formula, an advanced nonlinear analysis method to calculate ultimate stress in unbonded tendons is developed. The analysis model is established by using the Reissner-Mindlin medium thickness plate theory allowing for the influence of the transverse shear deformation. The orthotropic increment constitutive model of concrete is extended to solve the medium thickness plate problem. The tension stiffening of the cracked concrete is considered in the nonlinear analysis model. The numerical formulation of calculating the stress increment in an unbonded tendon is established by using the spatial displacement relationship. Instead of using general-purpose programs such as ANSYS and ABAQUS, a computer program specifically for predicting the nonlinear response of a prestressed concrete curved slab structure with unbonded tendons and calculating the ultimate stress in unbonded tendons is developed by authors. Six test models of prestressed concrete curved slabs with unbonded tendons are reported. The calculated results using this program are compared with test results, where their relative deviation is less than 3.0%, which validates the proposed method. These study results can be used for analysis, especially to design the strength of prestressed concrete curved structures with unbonded tendons. And, this research work also proposes a new approach, which can be customized to fit into general purposed FEM programs, such as APDL (ANSYS Parametric Design Language), for analyzing the nonlinear structural behavior of these curved structures.     

The analysis of PM2.5 and associated elements and their indoor/outdoor pollution status in an urban area

In this study, elemental composition of PM2.5 and the status of indoor/outdoor pollution were investigated in a commercial building near a roadside area in Daejeon, Korea. A total of 60 parallel PM2.5 samples were collected both on the roof (outdoor) and in an indoor office of a building near a highly congested road during the spring and fall of 2008. The concentrations of 23 elements were analysed from these PM2.5 samples using instrumental neutron activation analysis. PM2.5 levels in indoor environment (47.6 ± 16.5 μg/m(3)) were noticeably higher than the outdoor levels (37.7 ± 17.2 μg/m(3)) with the I/O concentration ratio of 1.37 ± 0.33 [correlation coefficient (r) = 0.89, P < 0.001]. Principal component analysis results coincidently showed the predominance of sources such as soil dust, traffic, oil/coal combustion and road dust for both indoor and outdoor microenvironments. An isolated source in the indoor environment was assigned to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) with high factor loading of Ce, Cl, I, K, La and Zn. The overall results of our study indicate that the sources of indoor constituents were strongly dependent on outdoor processes except for the ones affected by independent sources such as ETS. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: An improved understanding of the factors affecting the indoor PM2.5 concentration levels can lead to the development of an efficient management strategy to control health risks from exposure to indoor PM2.5 and related toxic components. A comparison of our comprehensive data sets indicated that most indoor PM2.5 and associated elemental species were strongly enriched by indoor source activities along with infiltration of ambient outdoor air for a naturally ventilated building.