A parallel tracking method for acoustic radiation force impulse imaging

Radiation force-based techniques have been developed by several groups for imaging the mechanical properties of tissue. Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging is one such method that uses commercially available scanners to generate localized radiation forces in tissue. The response of the tissue to the radiation force is determined using conventional B-mode imaging pulses to track micron-scale displacements in tissue. Current research in ARFI imaging is focused on producing real-time images of tissue displacements and related mechanical properties. Obstacles to producing a real-time ARFI imaging modality include data acquisition, processing power, data transfer rates, heating of the transducer, and patient safety concerns. We propose a parallel receive beamforming technique to reduce transducer heating and patient acoustic exposure, and to facilitate data acquisition for real-time ARFI imaging. Custom beam sequencing was used with a commercially available scanner to track tissue displacements with parallel-receive beamforming in tissue-mimicking phantoms. Using simulations, the effects of material properties on parallel tracking are observed. Transducer and tissue heating for parallel tracking are compared to standard ARFI beam sequencing. The effects of tracking beam position and size of the tracked region are also discussed in relation to the size and temporal response of the region of applied force, and the impact on ARFI image contrast and signal-to-noise ratio are quantified.     

Design and Development of High-Velocity Slurry Erosion Test Rig Using CFD

Slurry erosion (SE) is commonly observed in almost all kinds of components and machineries involved in fluid (liquid) transfer and delivery. During design and development phase of these components, test rigs are usually required to evaluate their performance; however, only few detailed designs of test rigs are available for SE investigations. Among the existing designs of SE test rigs, most of them belong to rotary type. In the present study, design of a new type of SE test rig has been proposed, which is simpler in construction and working. This newly designed test rig could possibly eliminate some of the limitations (velocity-concentration interdependence and lack of acceleration distance) found in the existing set-ups. Calibration of the test rig was done for jet velocity and erodent concentration. Commissioning of the rig was undertaken by evaluating the effect of operating parameters (concentration and impingement angle) on the erosion rates of aluminum and cast iron. Results show that the rig was able to capture the traditional responses of ductile and brittle erosion behaviors being observed for these materials. Repeatability of the test rig was ensured, and the results were found to be within the acceptable error limits.     

Sintering behavior and non-linear properties of ZnO varistors processed in microwave electric and magnetic fields at 2.45 GHz

A study of the densification behavior and grain growth mechanisms of ZnO-based varistors composed of 98 mol.% ZnO–2 mol.% (Bi₂O₃, Sb₂O₃, Co₃O₄, MnO₂) has been carried out. The pressed samples were sintered in microwave electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields using a single-mode cavity of 2.45 GHz. The effect of the sintering temperature (900–1200 °C), holding time (5–120 min) and sintering mode (E, H) on the microstructure and electrical properties of the sintered varistor samples were investigated. The grain growth kinetics was studied using the simplified phenomenological equation Gⁿ = kte^(?Q/RT). The grain growth exponent (n) and apparent activation energy (Q) values were estimated for both electric and magnetic heating modes and were found to be n = 3.06–3.27, Q = 206–214 kJ mol^?1, respectively. The lower value of n estimated in the E field was attributed to a volume diffusion mechanism, whereas the higher n value in the H field sintering was correlated mainly to a combined effect of volume and surface diffusion processes. Samples sintered in the H and E fields showed high final densities. Moreover, the ones sintered in the H field presented slightly higher density values and bigger grains for all sintering temperatures than E field heated ones. The optimal sintering conditions were achieved at 1100 °C for a 5 min soaking time for both H and E field processed samples, where respectively densities of 99.2 ± 0.5% theoretical density (TD) and 98.3 ± 0.5% TD along with grain size values of G = 7.2 ± 0.36 μm and G = 6.6 ± 0.33 μm were obtained. Regarding the electrical properties, breakdown voltage values as high as 500–570 V mm^?1 were obtained, together with high non-linear coefficients α = 29–39 and low leakage currents (J_l ≈ 5 × 10^?3 mA cm^?2), respectively, for E and H field sintered varistor samples. Moreover, samples sintered in an H field systematically exhibited higher breakdown voltage values compared to the ones sintered in the E field. This was attributed to an improved coupling between the H field and the present dopants within the ZnO matrix, this latter being mostly semiconductive, thus leading to an enhanced reactivity and improved properties of the electrostatic barrier.     

Dropwise Condensation Studies on Multiple Scales

Recent advances in nanotechnology, chemical/physical texturing and thin film coating technology generate definite possibilities for sustaining a dropwise mode of condensation for much longer durations than was previously possible. The availability of superior experimental techniques also leads to deeper understanding of the process parameters controlling the relevant transport phenomena, the distinguishing feature of which is the involvement of a hierarchy of length/time scales, proceeding from nuclei formation, to clusters, all the way to macroscopic droplet ensemble, drop coalescence, and subsequent dynamics. This paper is an attempt to connect and present a holistic framework of modeling and studying dropwise condensation at these multiple scales. After a review of the literature, discussions on the following problems are presented: (i) atomistic modeling of nucleation; (ii) droplet–substrate interaction; (iii) surface preparation; (iv) simulation of fluid motion inside sliding drops; (v) experimental determination of the local/ average heat transfer coefficient; and (vi) a macroscopic model of the complete dropwise condensation process underneath horizontal and inclined surfaces. The study indicates that hierarchal modeling is indeed the way forward to capture the complete process dynamics. The microscopic phenomena at the three-phase contact line, leading to the apparent droplet contact angle, influence the shear stress and heat transfer. The nucleation theory captures the quasi-steady-state behavior quite satisfactorily, although the early atomistic nucleation was not seen to have a profound bearing on the steady-state behavior. The latter is strongly governed by the coalescence dynamics. Visual observation of dropwise condensation provides important information for building hierarchical models.     

Hydrogen Distribution in Nuclear Reactor Containment During Accidents and Associated Heat and Mass Transfer Issues—A Review

Hydrogen generation during the progression of an accident in a nuclear reactor and its release into the containment comprise an important safety concern in the management of severe accidents in nuclear power plants. The distribution of hydrogen within the containment has important bearing on possibility, mode, and consequence of combustion in the containment. Hence, several small- and large-scale facilities have been built to study the distribution of released hydrogen. Further, several numerical studies and intercomparison exercises on hydrogen distribution have been carried out. The present review summarizes the experimental and numerical studies on hydrogen distribution and suggests opportunities for further studies.     

Analysis of geometrical error in the stereolithography process using a stochastic approach

The geometrical error in the stereolithography process is analysed using a stochastic approach. This approach is based on a unified methodology, developed by the authors, for studying the mechanical error in different rapid prototyping processes. The tolerances and clearances have been assumed to be random variables. The coordinates of a point on the resin surface, traced by the laser beam, are expressed as a function of random variables. In a numerical example, the geometrical error has been found for a grid of points traced by the laser beam. The three-sigma error bands are plotted when tracing example curves. This is the band in which the laser beams of 99.73% of machines, produced on a mass scale, lie on the work surface for the given tolerances and clearances. Stringent values of tolerances and clearances reduce the error at the tool tip, but the cost of manufacturing and assembling the machines may become prohibitive.     

Switching and self-trapping dynamics of bose-Einstein solitons

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of two weakly coupled Bose condensates in long cigar-shaped traps. The Bose condensates are characterized by attractive mean-field interaction and consequently can be studied in terms of bright solitons. We exploit the analogy with directional fibre couplers in nonlinear fibre optics to uncover interesting dynamical regimes like switching of condensates from one trap to another and self-trapping of condensates. We also discuss the analogy between two weakly coupled Bose condensates and the Josephson junction in superfluids and superconductors.     

Joint ICI Cancellation and PAPR Reduction in OFDM Systems Without Side Information

Intercarrier interference (ICI) self-cancellation, new ICI self-cancellation and conjugate cancellation schemes have been proposed in the literature to mitigate the effect of ICI. In this paper we have performed the mathematical analysis of PAPR performances for ICI self-cancellation, new ICI self-cancellation and ICI conjugate cancellation schemes and it is found that PAPR performance of these schemes are either very close to or poorer than the standard OFDM signal, which necessitates the requirement of PAPR reduction. After realizing the need of PAPR reduction in ICI cancellation schemes, we have proposed a joint scheme to reduce ICI and PAPR simultaneously. In this paper, we have proposed a multipoint partial transmit sequence (PTS) scheme, to improve the PAPR performance of ICI cancellation schemes. The proposed multipoint PTS based PAPR reduction scheme is coupled with ICI cancellation schemes in such a way that CIR performance of these schemes after coupling remains unchanged and no SI is required at the receiver to recover the original data signal. A comparison of CIR and PAPR performances for ICI cancellation schemes with and without PAPR reduction is also presented in this paper. The analytical results of CIR and PAPR performances for conventional ICI cancellation and joint ICI cancellation and PAPR reduction confirm the outperformance of the proposed scheme. We have also evaluated the SER performance of the joint schemes over additive white Gaussian noise and fading channels and presented a comparison with other existing schemes.