A Review of Digital Terrain Modeling

Terrains are a crucial component of three‐dimensional scenes and are present in many Computer Graphics applications. Terrain modeling methods focus on capturing landforms in all their intricate detail, including eroded valleys arising from the interplay of varied phenomena, dendritic mountain ranges, and complex river networks. Set against this visual complexity is the need for user control over terrain features, without which designers are unable to adequately express their artistic intent. This article provides an overview of current terrain modeling and authoring techniques, organized according to three categories: procedural modeling, physically‐based simulation of erosion and land formation processes, and example‐based methods driven by scanned terrain data. We compare and contrast these techniques according to several criteria, specifically: the variety of achievable landforms; realism from both a perceptual and geomorphological perspective; issues of scale in terms of terrain extent and sampling precision; the different interaction metaphors and attendant forms of user‐control, and computation and memory performance. We conclude with an in‐depth discussion of possible research directions and outstanding technical and scientific challenges.     

Carbon/PbO2 asymmetric electrochemical capacitor based on methanesulfonic acid electrolyte

A new hybrid electrochemical capacitor based on an activated carbon negative electrode, lead dioxide thin film and nanowire array positive electrode with an electrolyte made of a lead salt dissolved in methanesulfonic acid was investigated. It is shown that the maximum energy density and specific capacity of the C/PbO₂ nanowire system increase during the first 50 cycles before reaching their maximum values, which are 29 Wh kg⁻¹ and 34 F g⁻¹, respectively, at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and a depth of discharge (positive active electrode material) of 3.8%, that corresponds to a 22C rate. This is 7–8 times higher than the corresponding maximum values reached with a C/PbO₂ thin film cell operated in the same conditions. After an initial activation period, the performances of the C/PbO₂ nanowire system stay constant and do not show any sign of degradation during more than 5000 cycles. For comparison, the C/PbO₂ thin film system exhibits a 50% decrease of its performances in similar conditions.     

Influence of the molecular weight and imprint conditions on the formation of capillary bridges in nanoimprint lithography

Sub-100?nm patterns can be duplicated by nanoimprint lithography with high reproducibility, even on 200?mm wafers. Nevertheless, several problems have to be solved before this technique reaches a mature state for industrial applications. Several kinds of defect appear frequently in printed polymers. Some of them are induced by capillary effects and are related to mould deformation. Capillary bridges are observed on the flat surfaces around the pattern areas, or inside the printed structures. In this paper, the influence of the polymer molecular weight (M(w)) on the capillary bridge distribution is presented. It will be shown that for smaller M(w), they appear first around the pattern areas and move towards the structures more rapidly. It is also demonstrated that this evolution depends directly on the printing temperature and pattern filling related to the feature density and the film thickness. Finally, it is shown that the influence of these parameters is related to the polymer viscosity, which is the dominant property of the capillary effects, and a trade-off has to be made between the limitation due to the capillary bridges, the decrease of the temperature, which is important to reduce the cycle time, and the sticking defects.     

Comparison of 3D reaction rate distributions measured in an Optima2 BWR assembly with MCNPX predictions

As part of a joint research programme between the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and swissnuclear, with the co-operation of the Leibstadt nuclear power plant in Switzerland and fuel suppliers Westinghouse Sweden, measurements and calculations have been made of the axial and radial distributions of fission and ²³⁸U capture rates in the fuel rods of a Westinghouse SVEA-96 Optima2 boiling water reactor assembly. The measurements, made in the zero-energy research reactor PROTEUS at PSI, have been compared with calculations carried out using the Monte Carlo code MCNPX. The results reported are for the regions near the ends of the part-length fuel rods, which are a feature of SVEA-96 Optima2 assemblies. The sudden increase in moderation above the ends of the part-length rods leads to power peaking in the adjacent rods. Careful attention needs to be given to this phenomenon in the deployment of such fuel, the present paper providing experimental evidence for the ability of a stochastic code to predict such effects.     

Quantitative and qualitative characterization of aquatic iron oxyhydroxide particles by EF-TEM

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and elemental imaging under the energy-filtered transmission electron microscope are powerful tools for the characterization of iron-rich particles present in natural waters. Features present in EEL spectra (Fe-M_2,3 Fe-L_2,3 and O-K ionization edges) of goethite (α-FeOOH) have been studied with an energy filter operated at 80 keV to determine optimal quantification and elemental imaging of Fe-rich natural aquatic particles in the 30–200 nm range of thickness. For quantitative aims, the Fe-M_2,3 ionization edge cannot be used easily, but the Fe-L_2,3 edge provides more accurate results owing to a better background extrapolation. The partial cross-section of the Fe(III) M shell has been determined for iron oxide. The use of two-windows (jump-ratio) and three-windows (background stripping) imaging methods is discussed in relation to the specimen thickness.     

In vivo optic nerve head biomechanics: performance testing of a three-dimensional tracking algorithm

Measurement of optic nerve head (ONH) deformations could be useful in the clinical management of glaucoma. Here, we propose a novel three-dimensional tissue-tracking algorithm designed to be used in vivo. We carry out preliminary verification of the algorithm by testing its accuracy and its robustness. An algorithm based on digital volume correlation was developed to extract ONH tissue displacements from two optical coherence tomography (OCT) volumes of the ONH (undeformed and deformed). The algorithm was tested by applying artificial deformations to a baseline OCT scan while manipulating speckle noise, illumination and contrast enhancement. Tissue deformations determined by our algorithm were compared with the known (imposed) values. Errors in displacement magnitude, orientation and strain decreased with signal averaging and were 0.15 µm, 0.15° and 0.0019, respectively (for optimized algorithm parameters). Previous computational work suggests that these errors are acceptable to provide in vivo characterization of ONH biomechanics. Our algorithm is robust to OCT speckle noise as well as to changes in illumination conditions, and increasing signal averaging can produce better results. This algorithm has potential be used to quantify ONH three-dimensional strains in vivo, of benefit in the diagnosis and identification of risk factors in glaucoma.