Satellite-Based Energy Balance for Mapping Evapotranspiration with Internalized Calibration (METRIC)—Applications

Recent satellite image processing developments have provided the means to calculate evapotranspiration (ET) as a residual of the surface energy balance to produce ET “maps.” These ET maps (i.e., images) provide the means to quantify ET on a field by field basis in terms of both the rate and spatial distribution. The ET images show a progression of ET during the year or growing season as well as its spatial distribution. The mapping evapotranspiration at high resolution with internalized calibration (METRIC) is a satellite-based image-processing procedure for calculating ET. METRIC has been applied with high resolution Landsat images in southern Idaho, southern California, and New Mexico to quantify monthly and seasonal ET for water rights accounting, operation of ground water models, and determination of crop coefficient populations and mean curves for common crops. Comparisons between ET by METRIC, ET measured by lysimeter, and ET predicted using traditional methods have been made on a daily and monthly basis for a variety of crop types and land uses. Error in estimated growing season ET was 4% for irrigated meadow in the Bear River basin of Idaho and 1% for an irrigated sugar beet crop near Kimberly, Id. Standard deviation of error for time periods represented by each satellite image averaged about 13 to 20% in both applications. The results indicate that METRIC and similar methods such as SEBAL hold substantial promise as efficient, accurate, and inexpensive procedures to estimate actual evaporation fluxes from irrigated lands throughout growing seasons.     

Comparison of Optical and SEM-BEI Inclusion Analyses of VIM-VAR Nickel-Titanium Alloy

The ASTM Standard for NiTi alloys does not specify the method to be used for the analysis of inclusions. Quantitative analysis is generally done by optical metallography with a computer program to measure size and area fraction. This study gives a comparison of quantitative analyses of inclusions by scanning electron microscopy using backscattered electron imaging (SEM-BEI) and quantitative analyses by optical metallography. Seven samples of 6.3-mm hot-rolled NiTi were evaluated. The coil samples were selected to exhibit a wide range of inclusion content. Each sample had a different Ni to Ti ratio corresponding to a different transformation temperature range (TTR) from A _s = ?25 °C (Ni = 50.79 a/o) to A _s = +95 °C (Ni = 49.63 a/o). Quantitative analyses by optical and by SEM-BEI are in reasonable good agreement for maximum particle size and maximum area fraction. Both methods of analysis show that carbide and intermetallic oxide inclusion populations in VIM-VAR hot-rolled coil vary significantly in the amount and size of inclusions with the alloy transformation temperature. Therefore, an analysis of a larger number of samples at each TTR is needed to develop statistically precise data. All carbide inclusions were less than 12.5 ??m and less than 1.0% area fraction in all the samples. Maximum size and area fraction of carbides decreased as TTR increased. Intermetallic oxide size and area fraction increased with increasing TTR Intermetallic oxides are fractured and separated from the matrix during hot working. However, stringering is very limited. The fracturing appears to happen in high TTR alloys but not in low TTR alloys. This dependence on TTR suggests that chemistry in or around the oxides affects their fracture behavior.     

Service-provider intelligent humanoid robot using TCP/IP and CORBA

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - Ubiquitous and traditional service-provider platforms and frameworks are non-flexible and standardized. But ubiquitous environments are...     

Studies on the mechanism of ZSM-5 formation

The nucleation of (Al-free) zeolite precursor gels was studied using X-ray diffraction,²⁹Si FT-NMR, and ion exchange. Results suggest that in ZSM-5 nucleation, the channel intersections are first formed. These clathrate-like units, each containing essentially one TPA⁺ cation, are initially randomly connected, but progressively anneal with rearrangement under the influence of OH^– ions to form the ZSM-5 framework.     

Use of Fuzzy Neural Network in Industrial Sorting of Apples

In this paper,an automated system and methodology for nondestructive sorting of apples are presented.Different from the traditional manual grading method,the au...     

In‐process thermochemical analysis of in situ poly(ethylene glycol methacrylate‐co‐glycidyl methacrylate) monolithic adsorbent synthesis

Thermomolecular mechanisms associated with the synthesis of polymethacrylate monoliths are critical in controlling the physicochemical and binding characteristics of the adsorbent. Notwithstanding, there has been limited reported work on probing the underlining synthesis mechanism essential in establishing the relationship between in‐process polymerization characteristics and the physicochemical properties of the monolith for tailored applications. In this article, we present a real‐time thermochemical analysis of polymethacrylate monolith synthesis by free‐radical polymerization to probe the effects on the physicochemical characteristics of the adsorbent. The experimental results show that an increase in the crosslinker monomer concentration from 30 to 70% resulted in a peak temperature increase from 96.3 to 114.3 °C. Also, an increase in the initiator (benzoyl peroxide) concentration from 1 to 3% w/v resulted in a temperature increase from 90.7 to 106.3 °C. A temperature buildup increases the kinetic rate of intermolecular collision associated with microglobular formation and interglobular interactions. This reduces the structural homogeneity and macroporosity of the polymer matrix. A two‐phase reactive crystallization model was used to characterize the rate of monomeric reaction after initiation and microglobular formation from the liquid monomeric phase to formulate the theoretical framework essential for evaluating the kinetics of the polymer formation process. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43507.