SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Detection”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 649 records · Page 36

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2024

Detection of small drizzle droplets in a large cloud chamber using ultrahigh-resolution radar

Abstract. A large convection–cloud chamber has the potential to produce drizzle-sized droplets, thus offering a new opportunity to investigate aerosol–cloud–drizzle interactions at a fundamental level under controlled environmental conditions. One key measurement requirement is the development of methods to detect the low-concentration drizzle drops in such a large cloud chamber. In particular, remote sensing methods may overcome some limitations of in situ methods. Here, the potential of an ultrahigh-resolution radar to detect the radar return signal of a small drizzle droplet against the cloud droplet background signal is investigated. It is found that using a small sampling volume is critical to drizzle detection in a cloud chamber to allow a drizzle drop in the radar sampling volume to dominate over the background cloud droplet signal. For instance, a radar volume of 1 cubic centimeter (cm3) would enable the detection of drizzle embryos with diameter larger than 40 µm. However, the probability of drizzle sampling also decreases as the sample volume reduces, leading to a longer observation time. Thus, the selection of radar volume should consider both the signal power and the drizzle occurrence probability. Finally, observations from the Pi Convection–Cloud Chamber are used to demonstrate the single-drizzle-particle detection concept using small radar volume. The results presented in this study also suggest new applications of ultrahigh-resolution cloud radar for atmospheric sensing.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Investigating lab-scaled offshore wind aerodynamic testing failure and developing solutions for early anomaly detections

As offshore wind systems become more complex, the risk of human error or equipment malfunction increases during experimental testing. This study investigates a lab-scale incident involving a 1 : 50 scale 5 MW wind turbine, where a generator failure led to rotor overspeed and a blade–tower strike. To improve early fault detection, we propose a data-driven method based on multivariate long short-term memory (LSTM) models. High-frequency measurements are projected onto principal components, and anomalies are identified using reconstruction error and its time derivative. Two models are trained on different healthy datasets and tested using single- and multi-principal component (1PC and MPC) variations. Results show that combining both error and error derivative improves detection accuracy. The 1PC model detects faults faster, has a higher recall rate, and achieves a 43 % improvement in anomaly detection accuracy, while the MPC model yields higher precision. This approach provides a simple and effective tool for early anomaly detection in lab-scale experiments, helping to reduce the risk of future failures during the testing of new technologies.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Accurate in vivo tumor detection using plasmonic-enhanced shifted-excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS)

For the majority of cancer patients, surgery is the primary method of treatment. In these cases, accurately removing the entire tumor without harming surrounding tissue is critical; however, due to the lack of intraoperative imaging techniques, surgeons rely on visual and physical inspection to identify tumors. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is emerging as a non-invasive optical alternative for intraoperative tumor identification, with high accuracy and stability. However, Raman detection requires dark rooms to work, which is not consistent with surgical settings. Methods: Herein, we used SERS nanoprobes combined with shifted-excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) detection, to accurately detect tumors in xenograft murine model. Results: We demonstrate for the first time the use of SERDS for in vivo tumor detection in a murine model under ambient light conditions. We compare traditional Raman detection with SERDS, showing that our method can improve sensitivity and accuracy for this task. Conclusion: Our results show that this method can be used to improve the accuracy and robustness of in vivo Raman/SERS biomedical application, aiding the process of clinical translation of these technologies.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

NASA NTRS1972

Optical Production and Detection of Ultrasonic Waves in Metals for Nondestructive Testing

Ultrasonic waves were produced by striking the surface of a metal with the focused one-joule pulse of a Q-switched ruby laser. Rayleigh (surface) waves and longitudinal waves were detected with conventional transducers. Optical methods of detection were tested and developed. Rayleigh waves were produced with an oscillator and transducer. They were optically detected on curved polished surfaces, and on unpolished surfaces. The technique uses a knife edge to detect small angle changes of the surface as the wave pulse passes the illuminated spot. Optical flaw detection using pulse echo and attenuation is demonstrated.

Morrison, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Single photon detection and timing - Experiments and techniques.

Single photon detection and timing means essentially the detection and timing of a single photoelectron released by light from a photosensitive surface of a photomultiplier, channel multiplier, avalanche multiplier photodiode, or other photodevice. Necessary photodevice gain and detection circuits, mechanisms and statistics of photodevice gain, photodevice and background noise and their reduction, and practical photodevice techniques and photon detection performance tests are discussed. Fast timing with single photons, and single photon detection with moderate timing requirements are considered.

Poultney, S. K.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Threshold detection in an on-off binary communications channel with atmospheric scintillation

The optimum detection threshold in an on-off binary optical communications system operating in the presence of atmospheric turbulence was investigated assuming a poisson detection process and log normal scintillation. The dependence of the probability of bit error on log amplitude variance and received signal strength was analyzed and semi-emperical relationships to predict the optimum detection threshold derived. On the basis of this analysis a piecewise linear model for an adaptive threshold detection system is presented. Bit error probabilities for non-optimum threshold detection system were also investigated.

Webb, W. E.↗

NASA NTRS1975

A noise study of the A-6 airplane and techniques for reducing its aural detection distance

A study was undertaken to determine the noise reduction potential of the A-6 airplane in order to reduce its aural detection distance. Static and flyby noise measurements were taken to document the basic airplane signature. The low-frequency noise which is generally most critical for aural detection was found to be broad-band in nature from this airplane, and its source is the turbojet engine exhaust. High-frequency compressor noise, which is characteristic of turbojet powerplants, and which is prominent at close range for this airplane, has no measurable effect on aural detection distance. The use of fluted-engine exhaust nozzles to change the far-field noise spectra is suggested as a possible means for reducing the aural detection distances. Detection distances associated with eight-lobe and four-lobe nozzles are estimated for a 1,000-foot altitude and grassy terrain to decrease from 4 miles to about 3 miles, and from 3 miles to about 2 miles for a 300-foot altitude and grassy terrain.

Hilton, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Threshold detection in an on-off binary communications channel with atmospheric scintillation

The optimum detection threshold in an on-off binary optical communications system operating in the presence of atmospheric turbulence was investigated assuming a poisson detection process and log normal scintillation. The dependence of the probability of bit error on log amplitude variance and received signal strength was analyzed and semi-empirical relationships to predict the optimum detection threshold derived. On the basis of this analysis a piecewise linear model for an adaptive threshold detection system is presented. The bit error probabilities for nonoptimum threshold detection systems were also investigated.

Webb, W. E.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Threshold detection in an on-off binary communications channel with atmospheric scintillation

The optimum detection threshold in an on-off binary optical communications system operating in the presence of atmospheric turbulence has been investigated assuming a Poisson detection process and log normal scintillation. The dependence of the probability of bit error on log amplitude variance and received signal strength has been analyzed, and semi-empirical relationships to predict the optimum detection threshold have been derived. On the basis of this analysis, a piecewise-linear model for an adaptive threshold detection system is presented. The bit-error probabilities for nonoptimum threshold detection systems have also been investigated.

Webb, W. E.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Threshold detection in pulsed laser ranging

Suzaki and Tachibana (1972, 1973) have developed a method for detecting the arrival time of the return pulse in pulsed laser ranging based on the identification of the time at which the preset threshold level is exceeded by the output of the optical detector. The received optical pulse is considered to be made up of cells of width equal to the resolution time of the receiver and an equation is derived for P sub j, the probability that the threshold is first exceeded in the j-th cell. Using the density P sub j, expressions are obtained for the mean position of the cell at which threshold occurs and for the standard deviation (rms error) in the detection cell. The present paper maintains that, since the number j is purely an artifice for identifying the cells, its mean and standard deviation are inadequate for characterizing the detection cell and detection errors. It is proposed that if the detection cell is defined as the cell at which P sub j attains a maximum, then the above-cited ambiguity would be eliminated.

Iyer, R. S.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Evaluation of change detection techniques for monitoring coastal zone environments

The author has identified the following significant results. Four change detection techniques were designed and implemented for evaluation: (1) post classification comparison change detection, (2) delta data change detection, (3) spectral/temporal change classification, and (4) layered spectral/temporal change classification. The post classification comparison technique reliably identified areas of change and was used as the standard for qualitatively evaluating the other three techniques. The layered spectral/temporal change classification and the delta data change detection results generally agreed with the post classification comparison technique results; however, many small areas of change were not identified. Major discrepancies existed between the post classification comparison and spectral/temporal change detection results.

Weismiller, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Radar detectability of asteroids - A survey of opportunities for 1977 through 1987

The study of asteroids by earth-based radar during the period 1977 to 1987 is discussed. Detection modeling, including backscattering laws, limits of detectability, and in particular, measurement of center frequency, center-to-limb bandwidth, and areal spectral density, is reviewed. The number of detectable objects and detectable events falling into various 5-decibel radar target loss slots is estimated; a total of 60 different asteroids should be observable on about 130 occasions by either the Goldstone or Arecibo radar systems during the decade considered. Furthermore, the detectability margins for many objects should be large enough to permit more refined analysis of the radar spectrograms. Data acquired during the ten-year period may be used to find the radius, average surface roughness, rotation rate, direction of polar axis, and estimates of the Doppler frequency offsets for many of the asteroids. Also, information about radar albedos and orbital parameters may be obtainable in a number of cases.

Jurgens, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Optical communication with two-photon coherent states. II - Photoemissive detection and structured receiver performance

In a previous paper (1978), the authors developed a method of analyzing the performance of two-photon coherent state (TCS) systems for free-space optical communications. General theorems permitting application of classical point process results to detection and estimation of signals in arbitrary quantum states were derived. The present paper examines the general problem of photoemissive detection statistics. On the basis of the photocounting theory of Kelley and Kleiner (1964) it is shown that for arbitrary pure state illumination, the resulting photocurrent is in general a self-exciting point process. The photocount statistics for first-order coherent fields reduce to those of a special class of Markov birth processes, which the authors term single-mode birth processes. These general results are applied to the structure of TCS radiation, and it is shown that the use of TCS radiation with direct or heterodyne detection results in minimal performance increments over comparable coherent-state systems. However, significant performance advantages are offered by use of TCS radiation with homodyne detection. The abstract quantum descriptions of homodyne and heterodyne detection are derived and a synthesis procedure for obtaining quantum measurements described by arbitrary TCS is given.

Shapiro, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Thresholds for detection of constant rotary acceleration during vibratory rotary acceleration

The effects of vibratory angular acceleration on detection thresholds for constant angular acceleration in a dynamic flight simulator are reported in three experiments. Detection thresholds were determined for 10 pilots and four nonpilots using a random, double-staircase procedure while the subjects sat erect in a device which rotated about an earth-vertical axis. Constant angular acceleration were presented for 0.5 and 1.0 s with concurrent, vibratory angular acceleration at 1 and 5 Hz, and thresholds with no vibratory angular acceleration were established. The thresholds were obtained while the subjects observed a visual reference in the enclosed cockpit in two experiments and in total darkness in a third. The results confirmed earlier experiments showing an inverse relationship between the duration of constant angular acceleration and detection threshold and showed that the detection thresholds in darkness were higher than with a visual reference present. Two analyses of variance revealed no significant differences in thresholds across the three vibration conditions. These results indicate that vibratory angular acceleration of fairly high levels can be present in a dynamic flight simulator without masking the pilot's ability to detect either maneuver or disturbance motions.

Clark, B.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Software error detection

Several methods were employed to detect both the occurrence and source of errors in the operational software of the AN/SLQ-32. A large embedded real time electronic warfare command and control system for the ROLM 1606 computer are presented. The ROLM computer provides information about invalid addressing, improper use of privileged instructions, stack overflows, and unimplemented instructions. Additionally, software techniques were developed to detect invalid jumps, indices out of range, infinte loops, stack underflows, and field size errors. Finally, data are saved to provide information about the status of the system when an error is detected. This information includes I/O buffers, interrupt counts, stack contents, and recently passed locations. The various errors detected, techniques to assist in debugging problems, and segment simulation on a nontarget computer are discussed. These error detection techniques were a major factor in the success of finding the primary cause of error in 98% of over 500 system dumps.

Buechler, W.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Demonstration of radar reflector detection and ground clutter suppression using airborne weather and mapping radar

A navigation system which utilizes minimum ground-based equipment is especially advantageous to helicopters, which can make off-airport landings. Research has been conducted in the use of weather and mapping radar to detect large radar reflectors overland for navigation purposes. As initial studies have not been successful, investigations were conducted regarding a new concept for the detection of ground-based radar reflectors and eliminating ground clutter, using a device called an echo processor (EP). A description is presented of the problems associated with detecting radar reflectors overland, taking into account the EP concept and the results of ground- and flight-test investigations. The echo processor concept was successfully demonstrated in detecting radar reflectors overland in a high-clutter environment. A radar reflector target size of 55 dBsm was found to be adequate for detection in an urban environment.

Anderson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1982

On the detection of other planetary systems by astrometric techniques

A quantitative method for astrometrically detecting perturbations induced in a star's motion by the presence of a planetary object is described. A periodogram is defined, wherein signals observed from a star show exactly periodic variations, which can be extracted from observational data using purely statistical methods. A detection threshold is defined for the frequency of occurrence of some detectable signal, e.g., the Nyquist frequency. Possible effects of a stellar orbital eccentricity and multiple companions are discussed, noting that assumption of a circular orbit assures the spectral purity of the signal described. The periodogram technique was applied to 12 yr of astrometric data from the U.S. Naval Observatory for three stars with low mass stellar companions. Periodic perturbations were confirmed. A comparison of the accuracy of different astrometric systems shows that the detection accuracy of a system is determined by the measurement accuracy and the number of observations, although the detection efficiency can be maximized by minimizing the number of data points for the case when observational errors are proportional to the square root of the number of data points. It is suggested that a space-based astrometric telescope is best suited to take advantage of the method.

Black, D. C.↗

NASA NTRS1982

An analysis of Seasat SAR for detecting geologic linears

The value of Seasat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery for detecting geologic linears was assessed in a study of an 89,000 sq km section of New York's Adirondack Mountains. A photographic print of optically processed, 1:500,000 scale SAR imagery (one look direction) was analyzed visually, and the detected linears were compared to those recorded on a 1:250,000 scale geologic map. Eighty percent of the 4,170 km of mapped, geologic linears were detected with the SAR imagery. Moreover, nearly 6,900 km of unmapped linears were also detected. Of these, an estimated 90 percent could be observed on high altitude aerial photographs. The relationship between SAR image detection of linears and the different types of indicators (e.g., straight valleys or shorelines) is reported.

Yan, S.-Y.↗