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At least 199 records · Page 11

Inertial orientation tracker having automatic drift compensation for tracking human head and other similarly sized body

A self contained sensor apparatus generates a signal that corresponds to at least two of the three orientational aspects of yaw, pitch and roll of a human-scale body, relative to an external reference frame. A sensor generates first sensor signals that correspond to rotational accelerations or rates of the body about certain body axes. The sensor may be mounted to the body. Coupled to the sensor is a signal processor for generating orientation signals relative to the external reference frame that correspond to the angular rate or acceleration signals. The first sensor signals are impervious to interference from electromagnetic, acoustic, optical and mechanical sources. The sensors may be rate sensors. An integrator may integrate the rate signal over time. A drift compensator is coupled to the rate sensors and the integrator. The drift compensator may include a gravitational tilt sensor or a magnetic field sensor or both. A verifier periodically measures the orientation of the body by a means different from the drift sensitive rate sensors. The verifier may take into account characteristic features of human motion, such as stillness periods. The drift compensator may be, in part, a Kalman filter, which may utilize statistical data about human head motion.

Foxlin, Eric M.↗

Inertial orientation tracker apparatus method having automatic drift compensation for tracking human head and other similarly sized body

A self contained sensor apparatus generates a signal that corresponds to at least two of the three orientational aspects of yaw, pitch and roll of a human-scale body, relative to an external reference frame. A sensor generates first sensor signals that correspond to rotational accelerations or rates of the body about certain body axes. The sensor may be mounted to the body. Coupled to the sensor is a signal processor for generating orientation signals relative to the external reference frame that correspond to the angular rate or acceleration signals. The first sensor signals are impervious to interference from electromagnetic, acoustic, optical and mechanical sources. The sensors may be rate sensors. An integrator may integrate the rate signal over time. A drift compensator is coupled to the rate sensors and the integrator. The drift compensator may include a gravitational tilt sensor or a magnetic field sensor or both. A verifier periodically measures the orientation of the body by a means different from the drift sensitive rate sensors. The verifier may take into account characteristic features of human motion, such as stillness periods. The drift compensator may be, in part, a Kalman filter, which may utilize statistical data about human head motion.

Foxlin, Eric M.↗

Inertial orientation tracker apparatus having automatic drift compensation for tracking human head and other similarly sized body

A self contained sensor apparatus generates a signal that corresponds to at least two of the three orientational aspects of yaw, pitch and roll of a human-scale body, relative to an external reference frame. A sensor generates first sensor signals that correspond to rotational accelerations or rates of the body about certain body axes. The sensor may be mounted to the body. Coupled to the sensor is a signal processor for generating orientation signals relative to the external reference frame that correspond to the angular rate or acceleration signals. The first sensor signals are impervious to interference from electromagnetic, acoustic, optical and mechanical sources. The sensors may be rate sensors. An integrator may integrate the rate signal over time. A drift compensator is coupled to the rate sensors and the integrator. The drift compensator may include a gravitational tilt sensor or a magnetic field sensor or both. A verifier periodically measures the orientation of the body by a means different from the drift sensitive rate sensors. The verifier may take into account characteristic features of human motion, such as stillness periods. The drift compensator may be, in part, a Kalman filter, which may utilize statistical data about human head motion.

Foxlin, Eric M.↗

Inertial orientation tracker having gradual automatic drift compensation for tracking human head and other similarly sized body

A self contained sensor apparatus generates a signal that corresponds to at least two of the three orientational aspects of yaw, pitch and roll of a human-scale body, relative to an external reference frame. A sensor generates first sensor signals that correspond to rotational accelerations or rates of the body about certain body axes. The sensor may be mounted to the body. Coupled to the sensor is a signal processor for generating orientation signals relative to the external reference frame that correspond to the angular rate or acceleration signals. The first sensor signals are impervious to interference from electromagnetic, acoustic, optical and mechanical sources. The sensors may be rate sensors. An integrator may integrate the rate signal over time. A drift compensator is coupled to the rate sensors and the integrator. The drift compensator may include a gravitational tilt sensor or a magnetic field sensor or both. A verifier periodically measures the orientation of the body by a means different from the drift sensitive rate sensors. The verifier may take into account characteristic features of human motion, such as stillness periods. The drift compensator may be, in part, a Kalman filter, which may utilize statistical data about human head motion.

Foxlin, Eric M.↗

inertial orientation tracker having automatic drift compensation using an at rest sensor for tracking parts of a human body

A self contained sensor apparatus generates a signal that corresponds to at least two of the three orientational aspects of yaw, pitch and roll of a human-scale body, relative to an external reference frame. A sensor generates first sensor signals that correspond to rotational accelerations or rates of the body about certain body axes. The sensor may be mounted to the body. Coupled to the sensor is a signal processor for generating orientation signals relative to the external reference frame that correspond to the angular rate or acceleration signals. The first sensor signals are impervious to interference from electromagnetic, acoustic, optical and mechanical sources. The sensors may be rate sensors. An integrator may integrate the rate signal over time. A drift compensator is coupled to the rate sensors and the integrator. The drift compensator may include a gravitational tilt sensor or a magnetic field sensor or both. A verifier periodically measures the orientation of the body by a means different from the drift sensitive sate sensors. The verifier may take into account characteristic features of human motion, such as stillness periods. The drift compensator may be, in part, a Kalman filter, which may utilize statistical data about human head motion.

Foxlin, Eric M.↗

Catalytic Bias in Enzymatic Metal Cofactor-Based Oxidation-Reduction Catalysis

Catalytic bias refers to the relative rate preference of a catalyst for either the forward or reverse direction. In enzymatic metal cofactor-based oxidation-reduction catalysis, the tuning of catalytic bias plays an underlying role in controlling rates of reactivity. For this, enzymes have evolved complex active sites that can exist in multiple oxidation states with differing reduction potentials in order to achieve challenging multi-step, oxidation-reduction reactions. Conceivably, the relative stability of the intermediates that contribute to determining the rate-limiting step of the catalytic cycle could impose catalytic bias, although mechanisms for this concept are just beginning to be realized. As one example, recent work on Clostridium pasteurianum [FeFe]-hydrogenases which catalyze reversible hydrogen oxidation have shown that the differential stabilization/destabilization of active site oxidation states through either static or dynamic protein interactions can preferentially promote either the hydrogen oxidation or proton reduction direction of the reaction. This revealed how an enzymatic cofactor can impose bias in oxidation-reduction catalysis through various tuning mechanisms by protein scaffold interactions. The hypothesis based on achieving catalytic bias through the modulation of cofactor oxidation states critical for the reaction cycle can be extended more generally to other cofactor-based oxidation-reductions catalysts. The current understanding of catalytic bias has significant implications for the design of synthetic catalysts used in industrial settings, as well as providing a greater fundamental understanding of the factors that control metabolic processes in all life.

catalysis↗

Projected Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Over the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean in CMIP6 GCMs

The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) dataset is used to examine projected changes in temperature and precipitation over the United States (U.S.), Central America and the Caribbean. The changes are computed using an ensemble of 31 models for three future time slices (2021–2040, 2041–2060, and 2080–2099) relative to the reference period (1995–2014) under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs; SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5). The CMIP6 ensemble reproduces the observed annual cycle and distribution of mean annual temperature and precipitation with biases between – 0.93 and 1.27 °C and – 37.90 to 58.45%, respectively, for most of the region. However, modeled precipitation is too large over the western and Midwestern U.S. during winter and spring and over the North American monsoon region in summer, while too small over southern Central America. Temperature is projected to increase over the entire domain under all three SSPs, by as much as 6 °C under SSP5-8.5, and with more pronounced increases in the northern latitudes over the regions that receive snow in the present climate. Annual precipitation projections for the end of the twenty-first century have more uncertainty, as expected, and exhibit a meridional dipole-like pattern, with precipitation increasing by 10–30% over much of the U.S. and decreasing by 10–40% over Central America and the Caribbean, especially over the monsoon region. Seasonally, precipitation over the eastern and central subregions is projected to increase during winter and spring and decrease during summer and autumn. Over the monsoon region and Central America, precipitation is projected to decrease in all seasons except autumn. The analysis was repeated on a subset of 9 models with the best performance in the reference period; however, no significant difference was found, suggesting that model bias is not strongly influencing the projections.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Climate and air pollution implications of potential energy infrastructure and policy measures in India

India is a rapidly developing economy with interrelated air quality, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation goals. There are unique challenges to achieving each of these goals as well as potential tradeoffs among them. This study examines the implications of possible future energy, climate, and air pollution control policies and measures in India through 2050. We take a scenario approach using the GCAM global energy-climate-land model combined with the Hector simple climate model and the TM5-FASST air quality source-receptor model to examine energy, climate and air quality outcomes. Reducing use of traditional biomass in buildings can reduce primary carbonaceous particulate emissions well below 2015 levels. However, policies that are more ambitious than current plans would likely be required to reduce SO 2 and NO x emissions well below 2015 levels. Among single policy cases considered, pricing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and expansion of natural gas infrastructure have the largest impacts on overall energy system changes relative to the reference scenario. Ambitious air pollution control and GHG policies lead to the largest reductions in air pollution concentrations and radiative forcing, respectively. However, ambitious air pollution control and GHG policies differ in the extent to which they support or impede other policy objectives. Forcing increases due to reduced aerosols from ambitious air pollution policies can be mitigated, at least in part, by applying air pollution control and GHG policies together.

India↗

Health and air pollutant emission impacts of net zero CO2 by 2050 scenarios from the energy modeling forum 37 study

Carbon dioxide and non-greenhouse gas air pollutants are emitted from many of the same sources. Decarbonization actions thus typically yield air pollutant emission reductions, resulting in significant air quality benefits. Although several studies have highlighted this connection, including in the context of net zero carbon emission targets, substantial uncertainty remains regarding how alternative technological pathways to this goal will affect the spatial distribution and magnitude of air pollutants. Comprehensive multi-model and multi-scenario analyzes are needed to explore the relative impacts of alternative pathways. Here, our study begins to address this gap by leveraging the results from the recent Energy Modeling Forum 37 inter-model comparison exercise on U.S. decarbonization pathways. Comparing the results of the six teams who submitted air pollutant emissions suggests that strategies that target net zero U.S. carbon emissions would yield significant reductions in many air pollutants, and that this finding is generally robust across pathways. However, some energy sources, such as biomass and fossil fuels with carbon capture, will emit air pollutants and can potentially influence the magnitude, spatial distribution, and even sign of localized air pollutant emission changes. In the second part of this analysis, a simplified air quality and health impacts screening model is used to evaluate the air quality impacts in 2035 of sectoral emission changes from the three models that provided sectoral detail. Relative to a reference scenario, a net zero pathway is estimated to reduce fine particulate matter concentrations across the contiguous U.S., with health benefits from reduced mortality ranging from $\$$65 billion to $\$$250 billion in 2035 alone (2023$\$$s). These benefits would be expected to grow over time as the net zero trajectory becomes more stringent. Both the magnitude of potential benefits and the substantial variation of the projections across models underscore the need for an EMF-like inter-model comparison exercise focused on air quality.

Air pollutants↗

Machine learning surrogate of physics-based building-stock simulator for end-use load forecasting

Building energy models are used to simulate heat and mass transfer and estimate end-use load in buildings. With the proliferation of solar photovoltaics on residential and commercial buildings, increasingly, buildings are expected to provide grid services, for which accurate and computationally efficient building energy simulations and end-use load prediction are imperative. Existing building energy simulation tools, however, have significant computational overhead that make them less practical in real-time deployment for optimization, design, uncertainty quantification and control in building energy management systems. Here this article presents a data-driven machine learning model based on light gradient boosting method (LightGBM) as a surrogate for a physics-based simulator for residential buildings to predict end-use load. The machine learning based surrogate model accounts for time-series related variables, seasonality and trend component of end-use load, and history of end-use load. The accuracy of the surrogate model is assessed on the prediction of the load profiles of 100 different houses in Cook County, Illinois, USA. The LightGBM surrogate model is shown to reduce the root-mean-squared error by 53% relative to a reference decision tree (DT) based model reported previously in the literature. Moreover, the model predicts the load spikes and high-ramp rate events throughout the year which are often the Achilles heel of other models in the literature. The machine learning based surrogate model is demonstrated to be computationally efficient, with a ten-fold reduction in the computational time compared to a physics-based building energy simulation, and suitable for uncertainty analysis and real-time control of building characteristics in response to uncertainty.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Results of the International Energy Agency Bioenergy Round Robin on the Analysis of Heteroatoms in Biomass Liquefaction Oils

A round robin study evaluating the analysis of biomass liquefaction oils (BLOs) from fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) was performed, involving fifteen laboratories in seven countries in order to assess the current status of analytical techniques for the determination of nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine content in BLOs and evaluate potential differences in origin (i.e. fast pyrolysis vs HTL). The BLOs were produced from a range of feedstocks including pine, mixed softwoods, forest residues, micro-algae, miscanthus, and wheat straw to cover a variety in nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine content and speciation. Nine samples were distributed, comprised of eight separate BLOs and one blind duplicate produced by five producers. The samples were analyzed for water, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine content. No analytical test method was mandated; laboratories were encouraged to utilize whichever method they determined would be most applicable, relying on the existing body of BLO literature as a guide. The results of this round robin study are presented in this paper. The results of the carbon, hydrogen, and water measurements as reference analyses had relative standard deviations (2.9%, 3.5, and 5.6%, respectively) that were comparable to those found in past round robin studies on fast pyrolysis bio-oil. The analysis of nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine showed higher levels of variability. Laboratories mostly chose the same method for water, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen determination whereas there were a variety of methods chosen for sulfur and chlorine determination. The results suggest that specific analytical methods for the determination of nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine should be further refined to ensure reproducible and accurate results for BLO analysis due to their importance on emissions, material selection, and catalyst activity.

Biomass, IEA Bioenergy, pyrolysis, hydrothermal li↗

Effects of Climate Change on Capacity Expansion Decisions of an Electricity Generation Fleet in the Southeast U.S.

The electric power sector in the United States faces many challenges related to climate change. On the demand side, climate change could shift demand patterns due to increased air temperatures. On the supply side, climate change could lead to deratings of thermal units due to changes in air temperature, water temperature, and water availability. Past studies have typically analyzed these risks separately. Here, we developed an integrated, multimodel framework to analyze how compounding risks of climate-change impacts on demand and supply affect long-term planning decisions in the power system. In the southeast U.S., we found that compounding climate-change impacts could result in a 35% increase in installed capacity by 2050 relative to the reference case. Participation of renewables, particularly solar, in the fleet increased, driven mostly by the expected increase in summertime peak demand. Such capacity requirements would increase investment costs by approximately 31 billion (USD 2015) over the next 30 years, compared to the reference case. These changes in investment decisions align with carbon emission mitigation strategies, highlighting how adaptation and mitigation strategies can converge.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Control of Catalyst Isomers Using an N -Phenyl-Substituted RN(CH 2 CH 2 P i Pr 2 ) 2 Pincer Ligand in CO 2 Hydrogenation and Formic Acid Dehydrogenation

A novel pincer ligand, i Pr PN Ph P [PhN- (CH 2 CH 2 P i Pr 2 ) 2 ], which is an analogue of the versatile MACHO ligand, iPr PN H P [HN(CH 2 CH 2 P i Pr 2 ) 2 ], was synthesized and characterized. The ligand was coordinated to ruthenium, and a series of hydride-containing complexes were isolated and characterized by NMR and IR spectroscopies, as well as X-ray diffraction. Comparisons to previously published analogues ligated by iPr PN H P and iPr PN Me P [CH 3 N(CH 2 CH 2 P i Pr 2 ) 2 ] illustrate that there are large changes in the coordination chemistry that occur when the nitrogen substituent of the pincer ligand is altered. For example, ruthenium hydrides supported by the iPr PN Ph P ligand always form the syn isomer (where syn/anti refer to the relative orientation of the group on nitrogen and the hydride ligand on ruthenium), whereas complexes supported by iPr PN H P form the anti isomer and complexes supported by iPr PN Me P form a mixture of syn and anti isomers. We evaluated the impact of the nitrogen substituent of the pincer ligand in catalysis by comparing a series of iPr PN R P (R = H, Me, Ph)-ligated ruthenium hydride complexes as catalysts for formic acid dehydrogenation and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) hydrogenation to formate. The iPr PN Ph P-ligated species is the most active for formic acid dehydrogenation, and mechanistic studies suggest that this is likely because there are kinetic advantages for catalysts that operate via the syn isomer. In CO 2 hydrogenation, the iPr PN Ph P-ligated species is again the most active under our optimal conditions, and we report some of the highest turnover frequencies for homogeneous catalysts. Experimental and theoretical insights into the turnover-limiting step of catalysis provide a basis for the observed trends in catalytic activity. Additionally, the stability of our complexes enabled us to detect a previously unobserved autocatalytic effect involving the base that is added to drive the reaction. Overall, by modifying the nitrogen substituent on the MACHO ligand, we have developed highly active catalysts for formic acid dehydrogenation and CO 2 hydrogenation and also provided a framework for future catalyst development.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Porphyrinoid actinide complexes

The diverse coordination modes and electronic features of actinide complexes of porphyrins and related oligopyrrolic systems (referred to as “porpyrinoids”) have been the subject of interest since the 1960s.

Vargas-Zúñiga, Gabriela I.↗

High-precision shock equation of state measurements for metallic fluid carbon between 15 and 20 Mbar

Diamond is an efficient ablator material to convert the energy of high-power giant lasers into ablation pressure with applications for High-Energy-Density (HED) science, planetary science, and Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) research at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Unfortunately, current theoretical equation of state models cannot reproduce all the observed experimental data in the multi-megabar regime particularly relevant for HED and ICF research. New experimental data on the behavior of carbon at extreme pressures and temperatures are, therefore, essential to improve our predictive capability to design and analyze dynamic compression experiments for HED or ICF research and build improved equation of state models in the future. In this paper, we report high-precision laser-driven shock compression measurements on diamond single crystals at the Omega Laser Facility. Using ultrafast Doppler optical Velocimetry Interferometer System for Any Reflector (VISAR) to track the leading shock front and a quartz plate as an in situ reference, we obtain relative pressure-density shock equation-of-state measurements between 15 and 20 Mbar with an impedance-matching procedure. We also report shock-and-release measurements in a spherical geometry at the NIF. The new data provide tight constraints on the compressibility of warm dense carbon along the Hugoniot of full density diamond, allowing us to discriminate between existing theoretical equation-of-state models. We find that both LLNL LEOS 9061 and LANL Sesame 7835 models capture well the shock compressibility in the explored range. LANL Sesame 7835 also reproduces well the observed shock-and-release behavior of diamond near 10–20 Mbar.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Construction of linearly independent non-orthogonal AGP states

We show how to construct a linearly independent set of antisymmetrized geminal power (AGP) states, which allows us to rewrite our recently introduced geminal replacement models as linear combinations of non-orthogonal AGPs. Furthermore, this greatly simplifies the evaluation of matrix elements and permits us to introduce an AGP-based selective configuration interaction method, which can reach arbitrary excitation levels relative to a reference AGP, balancing accuracy and cost as we see fit.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Determining the complex second-order optical susceptibility in macroscale van der Waals heterobilayers

In this work, we report on the experimental characterization of the second-order susceptibility in MoSe 2 /WS 2 heterobilayers, including their hidden complex phases. To this end, we developed a heterodyne-detection scheme for second-harmonic generation and applied it to macroscale heterobilayer samples prepared using the gold-tape exfoliation method. The heterodyne scheme enabled us to distinguish the relative orientation of the crystal domains, and furthermore, it allowed us to characterize the complex phases of the susceptibility relative to a reference quartz sample. By comparing the results from the monolayer regions and the heterobilayer region over several hundred microns of the sample area, we determined that the contribution of interlayer effects to second-harmonic generation is within the experimental uncertainty arising from the sample inhomogeneity. The results here provide fundamental quantitative information necessary for the precise design of nanophotonic systems based on stacking engineering.

2D materials↗

First observation of RMP ELM mitigation on MAST Upgrade

Abstract The first experimental attempts at controlling edge localised modes (ELMs) via the application of resonant magnetic perturbations on the MAST Upgrade tokamak are reported. Using the linear MHD model MARS-F, the phase shift between the upper and lower coil rows ΔΦ was optimised for toroidal mode number n = 1 and n = 2 fields, to provide forward guidance to experiments. In low β N discharges, the application of n = 1 3D fields caused the ELM frequency f E L M to increase by over a factor 20 relative to the reference, and also induced a locked mode, which did not cause a plasma termination nor an H-L back transition. However when β N was raised, this induced locked mode caused plasma termination which precluded mitigation access. Initially, applying a numerically optimised n = 2 field had no effect. However applying a rigid toroidal shift to this field caused a locked mode disruption, demonstrating the presence of a substantial n = 2 error field. Coil current ramps were conducted with ΔΦ set at 6 different values, resulting in either locked mode disruptions or no effect, but mitigation with n = 2 fields was not established.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗