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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 523 records · Page 29

Multicomponent Convection Induced by Fronts in the Chlorate-Sulfite Reaction

An application of a new method is presented for the measurement of the temperature profiles of chemical waves propagating through a solution. Using solutions of thermocolor materials, the temperature distribution caused by the heat released in the propagating chlorate oxidation of sulfite was visualized and recorded using digital image processing methods. After calibration, the temperature gradient was calculated from the gray scale value in a digitized image. Extensive multicomponent convection ('fingering') was induced by descending fronts. Only ascending fingers were observed because of the large thermal gradient that suppressed descending ones. The characteristics of the temperature profile were determined as a function of initial sulfite and chlorate concentration, and tube diameter. Unusual behavior was observed when the fronts propagated under conditions of continuously changing diameter in a conical vessel. Fingering occurred periodically in a front descending in a flask with an increasing diameter. However, when a front propagated down in flask whose diameter decreased, no multicomponent convection was observed.

Nagy, Istvan P.↗

Acquisition and analysis of coastal ground truth data for correlation with ERTS-A imagery

The author has identified the following significant results. Examination of the digital image of Monterey Bay, California area indicates more resolution in all MSS bands than found in the film imagery. This inability to delineate subtle density variations may be similar to those difficulties encountered by some investigators at the light end of the spectrum. Because the digital image is large and only certain areas of the total image are enhanced at one time, the digital technique of presenting MSS imagery is complimentary with the supplied film imagery. Examination of selected film imagery of the Monterey Bay and Santa Barbara Channel areas raises more questions than can be answered at this time. Density variations over water areas could be of an oceanic or atmospheric origin, or both. The ground truth acquisition phase of this project will clear up some of the apparent ambiguities, but probably not completely. A more thorough examination of meteorological parameters is recommended.

Miller, R. C.↗

Digital video image system

Interactive recording and display device acts as very-high-speed data-input/output interface between analog (video) signals and standard digital-computer components. System can be used with various picture and memory sizes and can be controlled manually or by computer.

Neely, P. L.↗

Comparative study of the mechanical properties of nanostructured thin films on stretchable substrates

Comparative studies of the mechanical behavior between copper, tungsten, and W/Cu nanocomposite based on copper dispersoïd thin films were performed under in-situ controlled tensile equi-biaxial loadings using both synchrotron X-ray diffraction and digital image correlation techniques. The films first deform elastically with the lattice strain equal to the true strain given by digital image correlation measurements. The Cu single thin film intrinsic elastic limit of 0.27% is determined below the apparent elastic limit of W and W/Cu nanocomposite thin films, 0.30% and 0.49%, respectively. This difference is found to be driven by the existence of as-deposited residual stresses. Above the elastic limit on the lattice strain-true strain curves, we discriminate two different behaviors presumably footprints of plasticity and fracture. The Cu thin film shows a large transition domain (0.60% true strain range) to a plateau with a smooth evolution of the curve which is associated to peak broadening. In contrast, W and W/Cu nanocomposite thin films show a less smooth and reduced transition domain (0.30% true strain range) to a plateau with no peak broadening. These observations indicate that copper thin film shows some ductility while tungsten/copper nanocomposites thin films are brittle. Fracture resistance of W/Cu nanocomposite thin film is improved thanks to the high compressive residual stress and the elimination of the metastable β-W phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

BOREAS Level-0 ER-2 Navigation Data

The BOREAS Staff Science effort covered those activities that were BOREAS community-level activities or required uniform data collection procedures across sites and time. These activities included the acquisition, processing, and archiving of aircraft navigation/attitude data to complement the digital image data. The level-0 ER-2 navigation data files contain aircraft attitude and position information acquired during the digital image and photographic data collection missions. Temporally, the data were acquired from April to September 1994. Data were recorded at intervals of 5 seconds. The data are stored in tabular ASCII files.

Strub, Richard↗

A Comprehensive Set of Impact Data for Common Aerospace Metals

Our results for the two sets of impact experiments are reported here. In order to assist with model development using the impact data reported, the materials are mechanically characterized using a series of standard experiments. The first set of impact data comes from a series of coefficient of restitution experiments, in which a 2 meter long pendulum is used to study "in context" measurements of the coefficient of restitution for eight different materials (6061-T6 Aluminum, Phosphor Bronze alloy 510, Hiperco, Nitronic 60A, Stainless Steel 304, Titanium, Copper, and Annealed Copper). The coefficient of restitution is measured via two different techniques: digital image correlation and laser Doppler vibrometry. Due to the strong agreement of the two different methods, only results from the digital image correlation are reported. The coefficient of restitution experiments are "in context" as the scales of the geometry and impact velocities are representative of common features in the motivating application for this research. Finally, a series of compliance measurements are detailed for the same set of materials. Furthermore, the compliance measurements are conducted using both nano-indentation and micro-indentation machines, providing sub-nm displacement resolution and uN force resolution. Good agreement is seen for load levels spanned by both machines. As the transition from elastic to plastic behavior occurs at contact displacements on the order of 30 nm, this data set provides a unique insight into the transitionary region.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

An approach for automated analysis of particle holograms

A simple method for analyzing droplet holograms is proposed that is readily adaptable to automation using modern image digitizers and analyzers for determination of the number, location, and size distributions of spherical or nearly spherical droplets. The method determines these parameters by finding the spatial location of best focus of the droplet images. With this location known, the particle size may be determined by direct measurement of image area in the focal plane. Particle velocity and trajectory may be determined by comparison of image locations at different instants in time. The method is tested by analyzing digitized images from a reconstructed in-line hologram, and the results show that the method is more accurate than a time-consuming plane-by-plane search for sharpest focus.

Stanton, A. C.↗

Apple Image Processing Educator

A software system design is proposed and demonstrated with pilot-project software. The system permits the Apple II microcomputer to be used for personalized computer-assisted instruction in the digital image processing of LANDSAT images. The programs provide data input, menu selection, graphic and hard-copy displays, and both general and detailed instructions. The pilot-project results are considered to be successful indicators of the capabilities and limits of microcomputers for digital image processing education.

Gunther, F. J.↗

Deep-learning-based workflow for boundary and small target segmentation in digital rock images using UNet++ and IK-EBM

We report three-dimensional (3D) X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) has been widely used in petroleum engineering because it can provide detailed pore structural information for a reservoir rock, which can be imported into a pore-scale numerical model to simulate the transport and distribution of multiple fluids in the pore space. The partial volume blurring (PVB) problem is a major challenge in segmenting raw μCT images of rock samples, which impacts boundaries and small targets near the resolution limit. We developed a deep-learning (DL)-based workflow for accurate and fast partial volume segmentation. The DL model's performance depends primarily on the training data quality and model architecture. This study employed the entropy-based-masking indicator kriging (IK-EBM) to segment 3D Berea sandstone images as training datasets. The comparison between IK-EBM and manual segmentation using a 3D synthetic sphere pack, which had a known ground truth, showed that IK-EBM had higher accuracy on partial volume segmentation. We then trained and tested the UNet++ model, a state-of-the-art supervised encoder-decoder model, for binary (i.e., void and solid) and four-class segmentation. We compared the UNet++ with the commonly used U-Net and wide U-Net models and showed that the UNet++ had the best performance in terms of pixel-wise and physics-based evaluation metrics. Specifically, boundary-scaled accuracy demonstrated that the UNet++ architecture outperformed the regular U-Net architecture in the segmentation of pixels near boundaries and small targets, which were subjected to the PVB effect. Feature map visualization illustrated that the UNet++ bridged the semantic gaps between the feature maps extracted at different depths of the network, thereby enabling faster convergence and more accurate extraction of fine-scale features. The developed workflow significantly enhances the performance of supervised encoder-decoder models in partial volume segmentation, which has extensive applications in fundamental studies of subsurface energy, water, and environmental systems.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Ultra-High Temperature Materials Characterization for Propulsion Applications

Propulsion system efficiency increases as operating temperatures are increased. Some very high-temperature materials are being developed, including refractory metal alloys, carbides, borides, and silicides. System design requires data for materials properties at operating temperatures. Materials property data are not available for many materials of interest at the desired operating temperatures (up to approx. 3000 K). The objective of this work is to provide important physical property data at ultra-high temperatures. The MSFC Electrostatic levitation (ESL) facility can provide measurements of thermophysical properties which include: creep strength, density and thermal expansion for materials being developed for propulsion applications. The ESL facility uses electrostatic fields to position samples between electrodes during processing and characterization studies. Because the samples float between the electrodes during studies, they are free from any contact with a container or test apparatus. This provides a high purity environment for the study of high-temperature, reactive materials. ESL can be used to process a wide variety of materials including metals, alloys, ceramics, glasses and semiconductors. The MSFC ESL has provided non-contact measurements of properties of materials up to 3400 C. Density and thermal expansion are measured by analyzing digital images of the sample at different temperatures. Our novel, non-contact method for measuring creep uses rapid rotation to deform the sample. Digital images of the deformed samples are analyzed to obtain the creep properties, which match those obtained using ASTM Standard E-139 for Nb at 1985 C. Data from selected ESL-based characterization studies will be presented. The ESL technique could support numerous propulsion technologies by advancing the knowledge base and the technology readiness level for ultra-high temperature materials. Applications include non-eroding nozzle materials and lightweight, high-temperature alloys for turbines and structures.

Rogers, Jan↗

Better Pictures in a Snap

Retinex Imaging Processing, winner of NASA's 1999 Space Act Award, is commercially available through TruView Imaging Company. With this technology, amateur photographers use their personal computers to improve the brightness, scene contrast, detail, and overall sharpness of images with increased ease. The process was originally developed for remote sensing of the Earth by researchers at Langley Research Center and Science and Technology Corporation (STC). It automatically enhances a digital image in terms of dynamic range compression, color independence from the spectral distribution of the scene illuminant, and color/lightness rendition. As a result, the enhanced digital image is much closer to the scene perceived by the human visual system, under all kinds and levels of lighting variations. TruView believes there are other applications for the software in medical imaging, forensics, security, recognizance, mining, assembly, and other industrial areas.

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Visualization of computer-generated flow fields

Flow field variables are visualized using color representations described on surfaces that are interpolated from computational grids and transformed to digital images. The color at a point on a surface represents the magnitude of a variable, and several surfaces can be included in a single digital image. Typically the surfaces are a boundary surface, a windward surface, and a crossflow surface. Sequences of images, in pictorial form, are presented to describe an entire flow field or a time history of a flow field. Several examples are presented.

Smith, R.↗

Digital Handling and Processing of Remote Sensing Data

Details of plans for developing a digital image processing facility to handle remote sensing data are reported. Also given are programs for data acquisition and handling, systems for use in programming various digital image processing tasks, and algorithms for feature enhancement.

Algazi, R.↗

Quality Assurance With Plan Veto: Reincarnation of a Record and Verify System and Its Potential Value

Purpose: To quantify the potential impact of the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise–Radiation Oncology Quality Assurance with Plan Veto (QAPV) on patient safety of external beam radiation therapy (RT) operations. Methods and Materials: An institutional database of events (errors and near-misses) was used to evaluate the ability of QAPV to prevent clinically observed events. We analyzed reported events that were related to Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine RT plan parameter inconsistencies between the intended treatment (on the treatment planning system) and the delivered treatment (on the treatment machine). Critical Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine RT plan parameters were identified. Each event was scored for importance using the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis methodology. Potential error occurrence (frequency) was derived according to the collected event data, along with the potential event severity, and the probability of detection with and without the theoretical implementation of the QAPV plan comparison check. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis Risk Priority Numbers (RPNs) with and without QAPV were compared to quantify the potential benefit of clinical implementation of QAPV. Results: The implementation of QAPV could reduce the RPN values for 15 of 22 (71%) of evaluated parameters, with an overall average reduction in RPN of 68 (range, 0-216). For the 6 high-risk parameters (>200), the average reduction in RPN value was 163 (range, 108-216). The RPN value reduction for the intermediate-risk (200 > RPN > 100) parameters was (0-140). With QAPV, the largest RPN value for “Beam Meterset” was reduced from 324 to 108. The maximum reduction in RPN value was for Beam Meterset (216, 66.7%), whereas the maximum percentage reduction was for Cumulative Meterset Weight (80, 88.9%). Conclusion: This analysis quantifies the value of the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise–Radiation Oncology QAPV implementation in clinical workflow. We demonstrate that although QAPV does not provide a comprehensive solution for error prevention in RT, it can have a significant impact on a subset of the most severe clinically observed events.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Theoretical analysis on the measurement errors of local 2D DIC: Part I temporal and spatial uncertainty quantification of displacement measurements

This study presents a theoretical uncertainty quantification of displacement measurements by subset-based 2D-digital image correlation. A generalized solution to estimate the random error of displacement measurement is presented. The obtained solution suggests that the random error of displacement measurements is determined by the image noise, the summation of the intensity gradient in a subset, the subpixel part of displacement, and the interpolation scheme. The proposed method is validated with virtual digital image correlation tests.

2D-DIC↗

The microcomputer workstation - An alternate hardware architecture for remotely sensed image analysis

Difficulties regarding the digital image analysis of remotely sensed imagery can arise in connection with the extensive calculations required. In the past, an expensive large to medium mainframe computer system was needed for performing these calculations. For image-processing applications smaller minicomputer-based systems are now used by many organizations. The costs for such systems are still in the range from $100K to $300K. Recently, as a result of new developments, the use of low-cost microcomputers for image processing and display systems appeared to have become feasible. These developments are related to the advent of the 16-bit microprocessor and the concept of the microcomputer workstation. Earlier 8-bit microcomputer-based image processing systems are briefly examined, and a computer workstation architecture is discussed. Attention is given to a microcomputer workstation developed by Stanford University, and the design and implementation of a workstation network.

Erickson, W. K.↗

Image-Processing Program

IMAGEP manipulates digital image data to effect various processing, analysis, and enhancement functions. It is keyboard-driven program organized into nine subroutines. Within subroutines are sub-subroutines also selected via keyboard. Algorithm has possible scientific, industrial, and biomedical applications in study of flows in materials, analysis of steels and ores, and pathology, respectively.

Roth, D. J.↗

Image Processing Software

The Ames digital image velocimetry technology has been incorporated in a commercially available image processing software package that allows motion measurement of images on a PC alone. The software, manufactured by Werner Frei Associates, is IMAGELAB FFT. IMAGELAB FFT is a general purpose image processing system with a variety of other applications, among them image enhancement of fingerprints and use by banks and law enforcement agencies for analysis of videos run during robberies.

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