A Bayesian approach for sparse flaw detection from noisy signals for ultrasonic NDT

Ultrasonic pulse-echo methods for flaw detection have been widely employed as an effective strategy for nondestructive evaluation, and flaw detection plays an important role due to its ability to detect localized damage in structures. In practice, flaw damage typically occurs in a few areas in the material, resulting in only a few echoes that exist in a received signal, which motivates us to detect flaws using sparse representation methods. In this study, the noisy signal is modelled by a linear combination of modulated Gaussian pulses, which form an over-complete dictionary. The over-complete dictionary is designed such that the sparseness of the representation is expected. A robust sparse Bayesian learning framework is employed with the goal of enforcing model sparseness and reducing the source of ill-conditioning in the inversion problem for flaw detection. Useful information, including the range of frequency and bandwidth parameters of the flaw echoes, is also estimated. Based on this information, we propose a post-processing scheme for structure noise elimination and flaw detection. The capability of the proposed method is quantitatively evaluated by simulation studies and is further validated by the experimental data.     

Simulation and inversion of ultrasonic pitch-catch through-tubing well logging with an array of receivers

Current methods for ultrasonic pitch-catch well logging use two receivers to log the bonded material outside a single casing. For two casings separated by a fluid, we find by simulation that increasing the number of receivers provides a better picture of the effect of the bonded material outside the second casing. Inverting simulated measurements with five receivers, using a simulated annealing algorithm and a simple forward model, we find for a subset of simulations that we can estimate the impedance of the material outside the outer casing.     

Atmospheric-pressure plasma treated water for seed germination and seedling growth of mung bean and its sterilization effect on mung bean sprouts

Plasma treated water (PTW), produced by atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment of water, usually contains various reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of different types of PTW on seed germination, seedling growth and microbial sterilization during the germinated mung bean processing. Results showed that air-PTW possessed outstanding abilities in improving seed germination and seedling growth with a germination index of 95.50% and a vigor index of 1146.64, and in microbial decontamination. The physicochemical properties of the PTW were analyzed to better understand the PTW stressed germination. Some physiological parameters like the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and phytohormone (indole acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA)) during germination were also evaluated. This study suggested that air-PTW treatment could indeed provide a green and effective mean of stimulating seed germination and plant growth, and thus accelerate the growth cycle.Industrial relevanceIncreasing the production of food by using both economical and environmentally friendly means has been deemed as an urgent matter to sustain the food demand of rapidly growing world population. The results of this study suggest that PTW presents a great opportunity to address this need by increasing seedling growth and viability. PTW treatment is an environment-friendly and low-cost mean of stimulating seed germination and plant growth, which possesses the potential of scale up or industrial applications in relevant fields.     

Research and test of the adaptive quadrature demodulation technologyfor silicon micro-machined gyroscope

A program of adaptive quadrature demodulation is proposed to supply the gaps in the traditional analog detection technology of a silicon micro-machined gyroscope (SMG). This program is suitable for digital phase locked loop (DPLL) drive technology that proposed in other papers. In addition the program adopts an adaptive filtering algorithm, which selects the in-phase and quadrature components that are outputs of the DPLL of the SMG’s drive mode as reference signals to update the amplitude of the in-phase and quadrature components of the input signal by iteratively. An objective of the program is to minimize the mean square error of the accurate amplitudes and the estimated amplitudes of SMG’s detection mode. The simulation and test results prove the feasibility of the program that lays the foundation for the further improvement of the SMG’s system performance and the implementation of the SMG system’s self-calibration and self-demarcation in future.     

码率可调节的高质量语音编码算法

中远距离水声语音通信时,由于水声信道可利用带宽窄的原因,通信速率较之无线电信道低.在高质量通话的前提下,语音编码码率也在一定范围内受到制约.在众多低速率语音编码标准中,美国联邦标准MELP(mixed excitation lin-ear prediction)是最佳选择,其编码码率2.4 kbit/s对于水声信道来说仍然偏高.考虑到水声信道的特点,结合语音信息不均匀分布、MELP编码参数分析和简化、码本冗余度降低等几个方面,从语音生成和听觉感知角度深入研究了MELP编码标准,采用不定帧数联合编码的方式,提出一种码率可调节的高保真语音编码算法.正常语速下,平均码率约800 bit/s.合成语音清晰可懂,保持了说话人的个性特征,其PESQ MOS(perceptual evaluation of speech quality mean opinion score)评分不低于2.7,语音质量接近2.4 kbit/s MELP标准水平,满足了中远距离(>10 km)水声高质量语音通信的要求.同时,本算法也可用于其他对实时性要求不高的场合.     

Laser shock-processing for fatigue and fracture resistance

The generation mechanism of stress wave induced by laser-shocking is described and the stress wave is measured with a PVDF transducer. The visual inspections and control methods of the effectiveness of laser shock-processing (LSP) are built up. A small-sized, Q switched Nd: glass laser with high-power is used for LSP The fa tigue lives of aluminum alloy are increased greatly after LSP. With 95% confidence, the mean fatigue life of 2024T62 aluminum alloy after the LSP is 4. 5-9. 8 times that of the un-shocked ones The hardness, microstructure and fracture section of materials are analysed before and after LSP. The anti-fatigue and anti-fracture mechanism is analysed and the prospects of wide applications of LSP technology are described     

Phase Diagram and Properties of High TC/TR−T Pb(In1/2Nb1/2) O3–Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 Ferroelectric Ceramics

A ternary ferroelectric ceramic system, (1?x?y)Pb(In_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃–xPb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–yPbTiO₃ (PIN–PZN–PT, x = 0.21, 0.27, 0.36, 0.42), was prepared using a two‐step precursor method. The phase structure, dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties of the ternary ceramics were systematically investigated. A morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) was identified by X‐ray diffraction. The optimum piezoelectric and electromechanical properties were achieved for a composition close to MPB (0.5PIN–0.21PZN–0.29PT), where the piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃, planar electromechanical coupling factor k_p, and remnant polarization P_r are 660 pC/N,72%, and 45 μC/cm², respectively. The Curie temperature T_C and rhombohedral to tetragonal phase transition temperature T_R?T were also derived by temperature dependence of dielectric measurements. The strongly “bended” MPB in the PIN–PT system was found to be “flattened” after addition of PZN in the PIN–PT–PZN system. The results demonstrate a possibility of growing ferroelectric single crystals with high electromechanical properties and expanded range of application temperature.     

Synthesis of Na ion-electron mixed conductor Na3Zr2Si2PO12 by doping with transition metal elements (Co,Fe, Ni)

NASICON solid electrolyte Na₃Zr₂Si₂PO₁₂ (NZSP) exhibits high chemical stability and can be utilized as cladding materials of cathodes to improve battery cycle stability. However, the electronic conductivity of NZSP is extremely low (∼10⁻⁹ S cm⁻¹), which will hinder the electron conduction of cathode materials. To address this issue, the electronic conductivity of NZSP is improved by doping with transition metal elements (Co, Fe, Ni). Co-doped NZSP has an electronic conductivity of 5.03 × 10⁻⁶ S cm⁻¹. On the other hand, the ionic conductivity of doped samples remains stable, even slightly increased. The mechanical properties of pristine and doped samples are characterized with a micro indenter, which is also a key parameter for coating materials.     

HTS filter and front-end subsystem for GSM1800 wireless base station

The first HTS front-end subsystem for wireless base station in China was developed. This demonstration system, which aims at the application in GSM 1800 mobile communication base station, consists of a single RF path, i.e. one filter and one LNA, integrated with the pulse tube cooler. The subsystem works at a pass band of 1710-1785 MHz with a gain of 18 dB and at a temperature of 70 K. The accomplishment of such a demonstration subsystem can boost the development of HTS commercial subsystem.     

螺旋线阵匹配场三维定位

研究短混合阵声源三维定位方法,将阵设计为双螺旋线阵(DSLA),利用垂直孔径和水平孔径同时估计声源方位、距离和深度.阵的任意两阵元三维坐标均不同,具有复杂的空间取向性.为了提高短DSLA定位的可靠性,采用宽带中频信号进行声源定位.仿真和实验结果表明,利用宽带信号可以进一步提高DSLA定位性能.关于环境失配问题,采用L∞估计器进行解决.仿真结果表明,由于空间取向的复杂性,DSLA较倾斜阵具有更好的源定位性能;在较少环境先验知识的前提下,L∞估计器比MAP估计器和Bartlett估计器具有更好的环境宽容性.