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Photonic variable delay devices based on optical birefringence

Optical variable delay devices for providing variable true time delay to multiple optical beams simultaneously. A ladder-structured variable delay device comprises multiple basic building blocks stacked on top of each other resembling a ladder. Each basic building block has two polarization beamsplitters and a polarization rotator array arranged to form a trihedron; Controlling an array element of the polarization rotator array causes a beam passing through the array element either going up to a basic building block above it or reflect back towards a block below it. The beams going higher on the ladder experience longer optical path delay. An index-switched optical variable delay device comprises of many birefringent crystal segments connected with one another, with a polarization rotator array sandwiched between any two adjacent crystal segments. An array element in the polarization rotator array controls the polarization state of a beam passing through the element, causing the beam experience different refractive indices or path delays in the following crystal segment. By independently control each element in each polarization rotator array, variable optical path delays of each beam can be achieved. Finally, an index-switched variable delay device and a ladder-structured variable device are cascaded to form a new device which combines the advantages of the two individual devices. This programmable optic device has the properties of high packing density, low loss, easy fabrication, and virtually infinite bandwidth. The device is inherently two dimensional and has a packing density exceeding 25 lines/cm2. The delay resolution of the device is on the order of a femtosecond (one micron in space) and the total delay exceeds 10 nanosecond. In addition, the delay is reversible so that the same delay device can be used for both antenna transmitting and receiving.

Yao, X. Steve↗

Compact Dielectric-Rod White-Light Delay Lines

Optical delay lines of a proposed type would be made from rods of such dielectric materials as calcium fluoride, fused silica, or sapphire. These would offer advantages over prior optical delay lines, as summarized below. Optical delay lines are key components of opto-electronic microwave oscillators, narrow-band opto-electronic microwave filters, evanescent-field optical biochemical detectors, and some Fourier-Transform spectrum analyzers. Heretofore, optical delay lines used in such applications have been of two types: resonators and coiled long optical fibers, both of which have disadvantages: Resonators are compact, but excitation must be provided by narrow-band lasers. Wide-band (including noisy) laser light cannot be coupled efficiently to narrow-band resonators. When light is coupled into a narrowband resonator from a source of reasonably high power, a significant amount of optical energy circulates within the resonator, causing nonlinear loss and significant noise. Typically, a coil-type optical delay line is made of fused-silica fiber, which exhibits fundamental loss. To overcome the limit imposed by the optical loss in fused silica, it would be necessary to use fibers having crystalline cores. Although space is saved by winding fibers into coils, fiber-coil delay lines are still inconveniently bulky. The proposed compact dielectric-rod delay lines would exploit the special class of non-diffracting light beams that are denoted Bessel beams because their amplitudes are proportional to Bessel functions of the radii from their central axes. High-order Bessel beams can have large values of angular momentum. They can be generated with the help of whispering-gallery-mode optical resonators, as described, for example, in "Simplified Generation of High-Angular-Momentum Light Beams" (NPO-42965) NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 31, No. 3 (March 2007), page 8a. In a delay line according to the proposal, the dielectric rod would be dimensioned to function as a multimode waveguide. Suitably chosen high-angular-momentum modes in such a waveguide exhibit low group velocity (hence, long delay) and no resonance. Such a delay line could perform well at any wavelength or range of wavelengths within the transparency wavelength band of the dielectric material, and the maximum possible group delay achievable through suitable design would be limited only by the optical loss in the rod material.

Maleki, Lute↗

Neural correspondence to spectrum of environmental uncertainty in multiple-cue probability judgment system with time delay

Despite state-of-the-art technologies like artificial intelligence, human judgment is critically essential in cooperative systems, such as the multi-agent system (MAS), which collect information among agents based on multiple-cue judgment. Human agents can prevent impaired situational awareness of automated agents by confirming situations under environmental uncertainty. System error caused by uncertainty can result in an unreliable system environment, and this environment affects the human agent, resulting in non-optimal decision-making in MAS. Thus, it is necessary to know how human behavior is changed to capture system reliability under uncertainty. Another issue affecting MAS is time delay, which can delay agent information transfer, resulting in low performance and instability. However, it is difficult to find studies on the influence of time delay on human agents. This study is about understanding the human decision-making process under a specific system reliability environment by uncertainty with time delay. We used concepts of expected and unexpected uncertainty to implement reliability of the system usage environment with three types of time delay conditions: no time delay, regular time delay, and irregular time delay conditions. We used electroencephalogram (EEG) for human cognitive neural mechanisms in multiple-cue judgment systems to understand human decision-making. In the reliability of system usage environment, the unreliable system environment significantly creates less memory load by less utilization of system rules for decision-making. In terms of time delay, delayed information delivery does not significantly affect memory load for decision-making.

cognitive process↗

Comparing Delay-, Distance-, and Cordon-Based Congestion Pricing Strategies Via Large-Scale Simulation

This study compares the impacts of delay-, distance-, and cordon-based congestion pricing strategies for Austin, Texas, using the POLARIS agent-based activity-based travel demand simulation model. This approach enables agent-level heterogeneity and realistic choice options (including destination, mode, and activity scheduling) for dynamic traffic assignment and congestion feedbacks across a major metro region, which are features lacking in past work. To ensure comparability, distance-based tolls were set to generate the same revenue as delay-based tolling of $3.5 M/day, averaging $1.17/resident/day or $0.42/vehicle-trip. Delay-based pricing delivers 44% lower network delay and 13% lower VHT compared to the no-toll baseline, levels unmatched by other pricing strategies. At the height of the AM peak, drivers pay up to $0.13/mile on average, though most links in the network remain untolled. Distance-based pricing is the most effective at reducing VMT (by 4%), but VHT reductions (of 6%) primarily stem from drivers selecting closer destinations, achieving only one-fourth the delay reduction of delay-based pricing. Across various implementations of delay- and distance-based pricing, the results suggest that spatial variations of tolls are far more important than temporal variations. Cordon tolls produce minimal impacts at the network-wide level, but offer substantial delay reductions inside the cordon. Other major findings include: 1) delay-based pricing increases trip-making during the PM peak period due to backward shifts in discretionary-activity start times by higher-income residents; and 2) tolls’ spatial impacts, including changes in network flows and tolls paid by residents, vary substantially between delay- and distance-based pricing strategies.

Agent-based modeling↗

Delayed access to feed early post-hatch affects the development and maturation of gastrointestinal tract microbiota in broiler chickens

Background: The first two weeks of post-hatch (PH) growth in broilers (meat-type birds) are critical for gut development and microbiota colonization. In the current broiler production system, chicks may not receive feed and water for 24 to 72 h due to variations in hatching time and hatchery management. Post-hatch feed delay affects body weight, feed efficiency, mortality, and gut development. The goal of this study was to investigate changes in the microbiome in broiler chickens early PH and the effect of delayed access to feed on the microbiota. Results: Chicks either received feed and water immediately after hatch or access to feed was delayed for 48 h to mimic commercial hatchery settings (treatment, TRT). Both groups were sampled (n = 6) at -48, 0, 4 h, and 1 (24 h), 2 (48 h), 3 (72 h), 4 (96 h), 6 (144 h), 8 (192 h), 10 (240 h), 12 (288 h) and 14 (336 h) days PH. Ileal (IL) and cecal (CE) epithelial scrapings (mucosal bacteria, M) and digesta (luminal bacteria, L) were collected for microbiota analysis. Microbiota was determined by sequencing the V3-V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA and analyzed using QIIME2. The microbiota of early ileal and cecal samples were characterized by high abundance of unclassified bacteria. Among four bacterial populations (IL-L, IL-M, CE-L, CE-M), IL-M was the least affected by delayed access to feed early PH. Both alpha and beta diversities were affected by delayed access to feed PH in IL-L, CE-M and CE-L. However, the development effect was more pronounced. In all four bacterial populations, significant changes due to developmental effect (time relative to hatch) was observed in taxonomic composition, with transient changes of bacterial taxa during the first two weeks PH. Delayed access to feed has limited influence on bacterial composition with only a few genera and species affected in all four bacterial populations. Predicted function based on 16S rRNA was also affected by delayed access to feed PH with most changes in metabolic pathway richness observed in IL-L, CE-L and CE-M. Conclusions: These results show transient changes in chicken microbiota biodiversity during the first two weeks PH and indicate that delayed access to feed affects microbiota development. Proper microbiota development could be an important factor in disease prevention and antibiotic use in broiler chickens. Moreover, significant differences in response to delayed access to feed PH between luminal and mucosal bacterial populations strongly suggests the need for separate analysis of these two populations.

16S↗

Cycle-by-cycle Delay Estimation at Signalized Intersections by using Machine Learning and Simulated Video Detection Data

Accurate estimation of delay is crucial for efficient traffic signal operations. Estimation of delay in the real-time manner using traditional loop detectors requires advanced detectors (in addition to stop-bar detection). In cases when this detection layout is not in place, delay estimates are approximated with a lower accuracy. Video detection is one of the most frequently deployed detection systems at signalized intersections in recent years. In most cases video detection operates in the same way as traditional inductive loops. However, when coupled with computer vision algorithms, video detection systems could be used to retrieve additional information (e.g., vehicular arrivals and departures) that cannot be taken out from the conventional systems (e.g., long stop-bar loop detectors). Although present for several decades, video detection data were not frequently examined for delay estimation purposes. In this study, we proposed a novel delay estimation model which can be developed with only data from stop-bar video detectors. Relevant data were collected from a simulation model of 11 signalized intersections at downtown Chattanooga, TN and processed to create needed inputs for model development. With the use of multigene genetic programming the authors developed a delay model that outperforms accuracy of multi regression model. Furthermore, authors evaluated the developed model by comparison with the other benchmark delay models, such as HCM and approach delay model. It was found that the developed MGGP delay model outperforms benchmark models for a wide range of traffic and signal operation conditions.

Erdagi, Ismet Goksad↗

Effect of time delay on flying qualities: An update

Flying qualities problems of modern, full-authority electronic flight control systems are most often related to the introduction of additional time delay in aircraft response to a pilot input. These delays can have a significant effect on the flying qualities of the aircraft. Time delay effects are reexamined in light of recent flight test experience with aircraft incorporating new technology. Data from the X-29A forward-swept-wing demonstrator, a related preliminary in-flight experiment, and other flight observations are presented. These data suggest that the present MIL-F-8785C allowable-control system time delay specifications are inadequate or, at least, incomplete. Allowable time delay appears to be a function of the shape of the aircraft response following the initial delay. The cockpit feel system is discussed as a dynamic element in the flight control system. Data presented indicate that the time delay associated with a significant low-frequency feel system does not result in the predicted degradation in aircraft flying qualities. The impact of the feel system is discussed from two viewpoints: as a filter in the control system which can alter the initial response shape and, therefore, the allowable time delay, and as a unique dynamic element whose delay contribution can potentially be discounted by special pilot loop closures.

Smith, R. E.↗

Effect of time delay on flying qualities - An update

Flying qualities problems of modern, full-authority electronic flight control systems are most often related to the introduction of additional time delay in aircraft response to a pilot input. These delays can have a significant effect on the flying qualities of the aircraft. This paper reexamines time delay effects in light of recent flight test experience with aircraft incorporating new technology. Data from the X-29A forward-swept-wing demonstrator, a related preliminary in-flight experiment, and other flight observations are presented. These data suggest that the present MIL-F-8785C allowable-control system time delay specifications are inadequate or, at least, incomplete. Allowable time delay appears to be a function of the shape of the aircraft response following the initial delay. The cockpit feel system is discussed as a dynamic element in the flight control system. Data presented indicate that the time delay associated with a significant low-frequency feel system does not result in the predicted degradation in aircraft flying qualities. The impact of the feel system is discussed from two viewpoints: as a filter in the control system which can alter the initial response shape and, therefore, the allowable time delay, and as a unique dynamic element whose delay contribution can potentially be discounted by special pilot loop closures.

Smith, R. E.↗

Piloted simulator study of allowable time delay in pitch flight control system of a transport airplane with negative static stability

A piloted simulation study was conducted to determine the permissible time delay in the flight control system of a 10-percent statically unstable transport airplane during cruise flight conditions. The math model used for the simulation was a derivative Lockheed L-1011 wide-body jet transport. Data were collected and analyzed from a total of 137 cruising flights in both calm- and turbulent-air conditions. Results of this piloted simulation study verify previous findings that show present military specifications for allowable control-system time delay may be too stringent when applied to transport-size airplanes. Also, the degree of handling-qualities degradation due to time delay is shown to be strongly dependent on the source of the time delay in an advanced flight control system. Maximum allowable time delay for each source of time delay in the control system, in addition to a less stringent overall maximum level of time delay, should be considered for large aircraft. Preliminary results also suggest that adverse effects of control-system time delay may be at least partially offset by variations in control gearing. It is recommended that the data base include different airplane baselines, control systems, and piloting tasks with many pilots participating, so that a reasonable set of limits for control-system time delay can be established to replace the military specification limits currently being used.

Grantham, William D.↗

The Carrier's Liability for Damage Caused by Delay in International Air Transport

Delay in the air transport occurs when passengers, baggage or cargo do not arrive at their destination at the time indicated in the contract of carriage. The causes of delay in the carriage of passengers are booking errors or double booking, delayed departure of aircraft, incorrect information regarding the time of departure, failure to land at the scheduled destination and changes in flight schedule or addition of extra landing stops. Delay in the carriage of baggage or cargo may have different causes: no reservation, lack of space, failure to load the baggage or cargo at the right place, or to deliver the covering documents at the right place. The Montreal Convention of 1999 Article 19 provides that 'The carrier is liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers, baggage or cargo. Nevertheless, the carder shall not be liable for damage occasioned by delay if it proves that it and its servants and agents took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for it or them to take such measures'. The Montreal Convention Article 22 provides liability limits of the carrier in case of delay for passengers and their baggage and for cargo. In the carriage of persons, the liability of the carrier for each passenger is limited to 4,150 SDR. In the carriage of baggage, the liability of the carrier is limited to 1,000 SDR for each passenger unless a special declaration as to the value of the baggage has been made. In the carriage of cargo, the liability of the carrier is limited to 17 SDR per kilogram unless a special declaration as to the value of the cargo has been made. The Montreal Convention Article 19 has shortcomings: it is silent on the duration of the liability for carriage,andit does not make any distinction between persons and good. It does not give any indication concerning the circumstances to be taken into account in cases of delay, and about the length of delay. In conclusion, it is desirable to define the period of carriage with accuracy, and to insert the word 'unreasonable' in Article 19.

Lee, Kang Bin↗

Relationship between Weather, Traffic and Delay Based on Empirical Methods

The steady rise in demand for air transportation over the years has put much emphasis on the need for sophisticated air traffic flow management (TFM) within the National Airspace System (NAS). The NAS refers to hardware, software and people, including runways, radars, networks, FAA, airlines, etc., involved in air traffic management (ATM) in the US. One of the metrics that has been used to assess the performance of NAS is the actual delays provided through FAA's Air Traffic Operations Network (OPSNET). The OPSNET delay data includes those reportable delays, i.e. delays of 15 minutes or more experienced by Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) flights, submitted by the FAA facilities. These OPSNET delays are caused by the application of TFM initiatives in response to, for instance, weather conditions, increased traffic volume, equipment outages, airline operations, and runway conditions. TFM initiatives such as, ground stops, ground delay programs, rerouting, airborne holding, and miles-in-trail restrictions, are actions which are needed to control the air traffic demand to mitigate the demand-capacity imbalance due to the reduction in capacity. Consequently, TFM initiatives result in NAS delays. Of all the causes, weather has been identified as the most important causal factor for NAS delays. Therefore, in order to accurately assess the NAS performance, it has become necessary to create a baseline for NAS performance and establish a model which characterizes the relation between weather and NAS delays.

Sridhar, Banavar↗

Advanced Control Algorithms for Compensating the Phase Distortion Due to Transport Delay in Human-Machine Systems

The desire to create more complex visual scenes in modern flight simulators outpaces recent increases in processor speed. As a result, simulation transport delay remains a problem. New approaches for compensating the transport delay in a flight simulator have been developed and are presented in this report. The lead/lag filter, the McFarland compensator and the Sobiski/Cardullo state space filter are three prominent compensators. The lead/lag filter provides some phase lead, while introducing significant gain distortion in the same frequency interval. The McFarland predictor can compensate for much longer delay and cause smaller gain error in low frequencies than the lead/lag filter, but the gain distortion beyond the design frequency interval is still significant, and it also causes large spikes in prediction. Though, theoretically, the Sobiski/Cardullo predictor, a state space filter, can compensate the longest delay with the least gain distortion among the three, it has remained in laboratory use due to several limitations. The first novel compensator is an adaptive predictor that makes use of the Kalman filter algorithm in a unique manner. In this manner the predictor can accurately provide the desired amount of prediction, while significantly reducing the large spikes caused by the McFarland predictor. Among several simplified online adaptive predictors, this report illustrates mathematically why the stochastic approximation algorithm achieves the best compensation results. A second novel approach employed a reference aircraft dynamics model to implement a state space predictor on a flight simulator. The practical implementation formed the filter state vector from the operator s control input and the aircraft states. The relationship between the reference model and the compensator performance was investigated in great detail, and the best performing reference model was selected for implementation in the final tests. Theoretical analyses of data from offline simulations with time delay compensation show that both novel predictors effectively suppress the large spikes caused by the McFarland compensator. The phase errors of the three predictors are not significant. The adaptive predictor yields greater gain errors than the McFarland predictor for short delays (96 and 138 ms), but shows smaller errors for long delays (186 and 282 ms). The advantage of the adaptive predictor becomes more obvious for a longer time delay. Conversely, the state space predictor results in substantially smaller gain error than the other two predictors for all four delay cases.

Guo, Liwen↗

Interaction of Airspace Partitions and Traffic Flow Management Delay

To ensure that air traffic demand does not exceed airport and airspace capacities, traffic management restrictions, such as delaying aircraft on the ground, assigning them different routes and metering them in the airspace, are implemented. To reduce the delays resulting from these restrictions, revising the partitioning of airspace has been proposed to distribute capacity to yield a more efficient airspace configuration. The capacity of an airspace partition, commonly referred to as a sector, is limited by the number of flights that an air traffic controller can safely manage within the sector. Where viable, re-partitioning of the airspace distributes the flights over more efficient sectors and reduces individual sector demand. This increases the overall airspace efficiency, but requires additional resources in some sectors in terms of controllers and equipment, which is undesirable. This study examines the tradeoff of the number of sectors designed for a specified amount of traffic in a clear-weather day and the delays needed for accommodating the traffic demand. Results show that most of the delays are caused by airport arrival and departure capacity constraints. Some delays caused by airspace capacity constraints can be eliminated by re-partitioning the airspace. Analyses show that about 360 high-altitude sectors, which are approximately today s operational number of sectors of 373, are adequate for delays to be driven solely by airport capacity constraints for the current daily air traffic demand. For a marginal increase of 15 seconds of average delay, the number of sectors can be reduced to 283. In addition, simulations of traffic growths of 15% and 20% with forecasted airport capacities in the years 2018 and 2025 show that delays will continue to be governed by airport capacities. In clear-weather days, for small increases in traffic demand, increasing sector capacities will have almost no effect on delays.

Palopo, Kee↗

Void-Engineered Metamaterial Delay Line with Built-In Impedance Matching for Ultrasonic Applications

Metamaterials exhibit unique ultrasonic properties that are not always achievable with traditional materials. However, the structures and geometries needed to achieve such properties are often complex and difficult to obtain using common fabrication techniques. In the present research work, we report a novel metamaterial acoustic delay line with built-in impedance matching that is fabricated using a common 3D printer. Delay lines are commonly used in ultrasonic inspection when signals need to be separated in time for improved sensitivity. However, if the impedance of the delay line is not perfectly matched with those of both the sensor and the target medium, a strong standing wave develops in the delay line, leading to a lower energy transmission. The presented metamaterial delay line was designed to match the acoustic impedance at both the sensor and target medium interfaces. This was achieved by introducing graded engineered voids with different densities at both ends of the delay line. The measured impedances of the designed metamaterial samples show a good match with the theoretical predictions. The experimental test results with concrete samples show that the acoustic energy transmission is increased by 120% and the standing wave in the delay line is reduced by over a factor of 2 compared to a commercial delay line.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Predicting Ground Delay Program at an Airport Based on Meteorological Conditions

In this paper, we present two supervised-learning models, logistic regression and decision tree, to predict occurrence of ground delay program at an airport based on meteorological conditions and scheduled traffic demand. Such predictive capabilities can help the Federal Aviation Administration traffic managers and airline dispatchers to prepare mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of adverse weather. The models are applied to predict ground delay program occurrence at two major U.S. airports: Newark Liberty Intl. and San Francisco Intl. airports. The logistic regression model estimates the probability that a ground delay program will occur during a given hour. Decision tree, on the other hand, classifies an hour as a ground delay program or not based on the input variables. Results indicate that both models perform significantly better than a purely random prediction of ground delay program occurrence at the two airports. The logistic regression model performs better than the decision tree model. The degree to which various input variables impact the probability of ground delay program vary between the two airports. While the enroute convective weather is a dominant factor causing ground delay programs at New York airports, poor visibility and low cloud ceiling caused by marine stratus are major drivers of ground delay programs at San Francisco Intl. airport.

traffic flow management↗

TDCOSMO VIII. A key test of systematics in the hierarchical method of time-delay cosmography

The largest source of systematic errors in the time-delay cosmography method likely arises from the lens model mass distribution, where an inaccurate choice of model could in principle bias the value of $H$ 0 . A Bayesian hierarchical framework has been proposed which combines lens systems with kinematic data, constraining the mass profile shape at a population level. The framework has been previously validated using a small sample of lensing galaxies drawn from hydro-simulations. The goal of this work is to expand the validation to a more general set of lenses consistent with observed systems, as well as confirm the capacity of the method to combine two lens populations: one which has time delay information and one which lacks time delays and has systematically different image radii. For this purpose, we generated samples of analytic lens mass distributions made of baryons+dark matter and fit the subsequent mock images with standard power-law models. Corresponding kinematics data were also emulated. The hierarchical framework applied to an ensemble of time-delay lenses allowed us to correct the $H$ 0 bias associated with model choice to find $H$ 0 within 1.5σ of the fiducial value. We then combined this set with a sample of corresponding lens systems which have no time delays and have a source at lower $z$, resulting in a systematically smaller image radius relative to their effective radius. The hierarchical framework has successfully accounted for this effect, recovering a value of $H$ 0 which is both more precise (σ ~ 2%) and more accurate (0.7% median offset) than the time-delay set alone. This result confirms that non-time-delay lenses can nonetheless contribute valuable constraining power to the determination of $H$ 0 via their kinematic constraints, assuming they come from the same global population as the time-delay set.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Describing-function analysis of a ripple regulator with slew-rate limits and time delays

The effects of time delays and slew-rate limits on the steady-state operating points and performance of a free-running ripple regulator are evaluated using describing-function analysis. The describing function of an ideal comparator (no time delays or slew rate limits) has no phase shift and is independent of frequency. It is found that turn-on delay and turn-off delay have different effects on gain and phase and cannot be combined. Comparator hysteresis affects both gain and phase; likewise, time delays generally affect both gain and phase. It is found that the effective time delay around the feedback loop is one half the sum of turn-on and turn-off delays, regardless of whether the delays are caused by storage time or slew rate limits. Expressions are formulated for the switching frequency, switch duty ratio, dc output, and output ripple. For the case of no hysteresis, a simple, graphical solution for the switching frequency is possible, and the resulting switching frequency is independent of first-order variations of input or load.

Wester, Gene W.↗

Prediction of Weather Related Center Delays

This paper presents results of an initial study of relations between national delay, center level delays and weather. The results presented in the paper indicate: (a) the methodology used for estimating the delay at the national level can be extended to estimate delays caused by a center and delays experienced by a center, (b)delays caused by a center can be predicted using that center's Weather Impacted Traffic Index (WITI) whereas delays experienced by a center are best predicted using WITI of that center and that of a few prominent centers (c) there is differential impact of weather of different centers on center delays.

Deepak, Kulkarni↗