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Design and testing of document retrieval system based on development of Boolean file searching instructions and pattern recognition
Computer programs for design of cloud character recognition system using TIROS photographic data
Work on the development of low cost, high energy per unit area solar cell modules was conducted. Hexagonal solar cell and module efficiencies, module packing ratio, and solar cell design calculations were made. The cell grid structure and interconnection pattern was designed and the module substrates were fabricated for the three modules to be used. It was demonstrated that surface macrostructures significantly improve cell power output and photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency.
Test results consisting of direct and transverse force coefficients are presented for eleven sawtooth-pattern damper-seal configurations. The designation 'damper' seal refers to a seal which uses a deliberately roughened stator and smooth rotor to increase the net seal damping force. The designation 'sawtooth-pattern' refers to a stator-roughness pattern whose cross section normal to the axis of the seal resembles saw teeth with the teeth direction opposing fluid motion in the direction of shaft rotation. The sawtooth pattern yields axial grooves in the stator which are interrupted by spacer elements which act as flow constrictions or 'dams'. Sawtooth-pattern seals had more damping than smooth seals but less than the round-hole-pattern seals tested previously. If damping is sacrificed, sawtooth-pattern seals can be designed to leak less than round-hole-pattern seals.
An ultrawideband antenna based on a slotline feed structure, a bowtie horn, and a rolled edge termination was developed, analyzed, and measured. Empirical data showed that its beamwidths and bandwidth are dependent on its physical dimensions which are easily controllable by an antenna designer. Measured patterns of models with various radiation properties are shown to substantiate these design rules. A flat plateau-like main beam, low voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR), the ability to produce both wide (60 deg) and narrow (30 deg) half-power beamwidths, low sidelobes and backlobe (40-50 dB down), low cross-polarized levels (20-25 dB down), and independent control of E- and H-plane beamwidths over an ultrawide bandwidth, say 2-18 GHz, are some of the strong points of this antenna type.
We present comparisons of cloud droplet size distributions retrieved from the Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) data with correlative in situ measurements made during the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES). This field experiment was based at St. Johns airport, Newfoundland, Canada with the latest deployment in May - June 2016. RSP was onboard the NASA C-130 aircraft together with an array of in situ and other remote sensing instrumentation. The RSP is an along-track scanner measuring polarized and total reflectances in9 spectral channels. Its unique high angular resolution allows for characterization of liquid water droplet size using the rainbow structure observed in the polarized reflectances in the scattering angle range between 135 and 165 degrees. A parametric fitting algorithm applied to the polarized reflectances provides retrievals of the droplet effective radius and variance assuming a prescribed size distribution shape (gamma distribution). In addition to this, we use a non-parametric method, Rainbow Fourier Transform (RFT), which allows us to retrieve the droplet size distribution (DSD) itself. The latter is important in the case of clouds with complex structure, which results in multi-modal DSDs. During NAAMES the aircraft performed a number of flight patterns specifically designed for comparison of remote sensing retrievals and in situ measurements. These patterns consisted of two flight segments above the same straight ground track. One of these segments was flown above clouds allowing for remote sensing measurements, while the other was at the cloud top where cloud droplets were sampled. We compare the DSDs retrieved from the RSP data with in situ measurements made by the Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP). The comparisons show generally good agreement with deviations explainable by the position of the aircraft within cloud and by presence of additional cloud layers in RSP view that do not contribute to the in situ DSDs. In the latter case the distributions retrieved from the RSP data were consistent with the multi-layer cloud structures observed in the correlative High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) profiles. The comparison results provide a rare validation of polarimetric droplet size retrieval techniques, which can be used for analysis of satellite data on global scale.
We present comparisons of cloud droplet size distributions (DSDs) retrieved from the research scanning polarimeter (RSP) data with correlative in situ measurements made during the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES). The airborne portion of this field experiment was based out of St. John's airport, Newfoundland, Canada with the focus of this paper being on the deployment in May - June 2016. RSP was onboard the NASA C-130 aircraft together with an array of in situ and other remote sensing instrumentation. The RSP is an along-track scanner measuring the polarized and total reflectance in 9 spectral channels. Its uniquely high angular resolution allows for characterization of liquid water droplet sizes using the rainbow structure observed in the polarized reflectance over the scattering angle range from 135 to 165.degrees The rainbow is dominated by single scattering of light by cloud droplets, so its structure is characteristic specifically of the droplet sizes at cloud top (within unit optical depth into the cloud, equivalent to approximately 50m). A parametric fitting algorithm applied to the polarized reflectance provides retrievals of the droplet effective radius and variance assuming a prescribed size distribution shape (gamma distribution). In addition to this, we use a non-parametric method, the Rainbow Fourier Transform (RFT), which allows us to retrieve the droplet size distribution itself. The latter is important in the case of clouds with complex microphysical structure, or multiple layers of cloud, which result in multi-modal DSDs. During NAAMES the aircraft performed a number of flight patterns specifically designed for comparisons between remote sensing retrievals and in situ measurements. These patterns consisted of two flight segments above the same straight ground track. One of these segments was flown above clouds allowing for remote sensing measurements, while the other was near the cloud top where cloud droplets were sampled. We compare the DSDs retrieved from the RSP data with in situ measurements made by the Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP). The comparisons generally show good agreement (better than 1 micron for effective radius and in most cases better than 0.02 for effective variance) with deviations explainable by the position of the aircraft within the cloud, or by the presence of additional cloud layers between the cloud being sampled by the in situ instrumentation and the altitude of the remote sensing segment. In the latter case, the multi-modal DSDs retrieved from the RSP data were consistent with the multi-layer cloud structures observed in the correlative High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) profiles. The results of these comparisons provide a rare validation of polarimetric droplet size retrieval techniques, demonstrating their accuracy and robustness and the potential of satellite data of this kind on a global scale.
X-rays can provide images when an object is visibly obstructed, allowing for motion measurements via x-ray digital image correlation (DIC). However, x-ray images are path-integrated and contain data for all objects between the source and detector. If multiple objects are present in the x-ray path, conventional DIC algorithms may fail to correlate the x-ray images. A new DIC algorithm called path-integrated (PI)-DIC addresses this issue by reformulating the matching criterion for DIC to account for multiple, independently-moving objects. PI-DIC requires a set of reference x-ray images of each independent object. However, due to experimental constraints, such reference images might not be obtainable from the experiment. Here, this work focuses on the reliability of synthetically-generated reference images, in such cases. A simplified exemplar is used for demonstration purposes, consisting of two aluminum plates with tantalum x-ray DIC patterns undergoing independent rigid translations. Synthetic reference images based on the “as-designed” DIC patterns were generated. However, PI-DIC with the synthetic images suffered some biases due to manufacturing defects of the patterns. A systematic study of seven identified defect types found that an incorrect feature diameter was the most influential defect. Synthetic images were re-generated with the corrected feature diameter, and PI-DIC errors were improved by a factor of 3-4. Final biases ranged from 0.00-0.04 px, and standard uncertainties ranged from 0.06-0.11 px. In conclusion, PI-DIC accurately measured the independent displacement of two plates from a single series of path-integrated x-ray images using synthetically-generated reference images, and the methods and conclusions derived here can be extended to more generalized cases involving stereo PI-DIC for arbitrary specimen geometry and motion. This work thus extends the application space of x-ray imaging for full-field DIC measurements of multiple surfaces or objects in extreme environments where optical DIC is not possible.
A dirt separator and excluder for removing entrained debris from gas turbine shaft seals is described. A helical groove pattern is constructed on the rotating shaft with the pumping pattern such that it tends to pump seal pressurizing gas toward the gas turbine seal. A second helical groove pattern is provided on the stationary housing or counter rotating member coaxial with the shaft, and this pattern is designed to provide pumping in the direction opposite from that of the groove pattern on the shaft. Gas with entrained debris entering this grooved area will be subjected to high centrifugal forces due to the swirl motion induced by the groove pattern and the rotation of the shaft. This debris is centrifuged outwardly into the outer groove pattern on the housing or counter rotating member. Because the outer groove pattern has a pumping direction opposite from that of the seal, dirt is pumped away from the seal and can be collected in a suitable debris trap remote from the seal location.
The present work gives an account of basic principles and available techniques for the analysis and design of pattern processing and recognition systems. Areas covered include decision functions, pattern classification by distance functions, pattern classification by likelihood functions, the perceptron and the potential function approaches to trainable pattern classifiers, statistical approach to trainable classifiers, pattern preprocessing and feature selection, and syntactic pattern recognition.
Surface texturing of manufactured products tailors their properties, such as friction, adhesion, biocompatibility, or fluid interactions. However, advancements in this area are largely the result of trial-and-effort testing and generally lack a science-guided framework for determining the surface topography that will optimize performance. The present investigation explores grayscale electron-beam lithography as a means to create multiscale surface patterns to control surface performance. Here, we created and characterized a set of surface textures on a silicon wafer; the textures were superpositions of sine waves of varying wavelengths and amplitudes. First, the multiscale topography of the patterned surface was characterized, using profilometry and atomic force microscopy, to understand its fidelity to the designed-in pattern. The results of this analysis demonstrated how grayscale lithography accurately controlled the lateral size of features but was less precise on the vertical height of the surface, and also introduced inherent roughness below the scale of patterning. Second, a micromechanical tester was used to characterize the adhesion of the surfaces with large-scale polished silicon spheres. The results showed that adhesion could be tailored, with significant contribution from all of the designed-in length scales of topography. The strength of adhesion did not correlate with conventional roughness parameters but could be accurately modeled using simple numerical integration. Taken together, this investigation demonstrates the promise and challenges of grayscale e-beam lithography with multiscale patterns as a method for the tailoring of surface performance.
Lossy compression is becoming an indispensable technique for the success of today's extreme-scale high-performance computing projects that produce vast volumes of data during scientific simulations or instrument data acquisitions. Comprehensively understanding the compression quality and performance of different lossy compressors is critical to selecting the best-fit compressors and using them properly and efficiently in practice. A few lossy compression assessment tools (e.g., Z-checker) have been developed, but none of them support the execution in a GPU environment. This is a significant gap because many recent extreme-scale applications and lossy compressors (e.g., cuSZ) can run entirely within GPUs. In this work, we develop an efficient lossy compression measuring system (called cuZ-Checker) on the GPU platform, which aims to perform the lossy compression quality and performance assessment completely within the GPU environment. Our contribution is threefold. (1) We develop a novel GPU-based lossy compression measuring framework using a computation pattern-based design approach. This approach classifies the computing-intensive metrics into three categories based on their patterns which creates large opportunities for kernel fusion and data reuse. (2) For each pattern in cuZ-Checker, we develop a CUDA kernel and provide fine-grained optimizations to boost its performance. (3) We thoroughly evaluate our cuZ-checker on a V100 GPU using four real-world scientific application datasets. Experiments show that cuZ-Checker can significantly accelerate the overall lossy compression assessment performance by 23X similar to 31X compared with the OpenMP-based multithreading CPU performance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first lossy compression measuring system designed for GPU devices.
CELLOPT program developed to assist in designing grid pattern of current-conducting material on photovoltaic cell. Analyzes parasitic resistance losses and shadow loss associated with metallized grid pattern on both round and rectangular solar cells. Though performs sensitivity studies, used primarily to optimize grid design in terms of bus bar and grid lines by minimizing power loss. CELLOPT written in APL.
Digital portion of power supply synchronizer used in forming subsystem on single silicon slice - logic design, interconnect pattern, nonlinear load switch and packaging
This report summarizes the results of a two-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office (SuNLaMP 1506) to evaluate the performance of high-temperature (>700 °C) particle receivers for concentrating solar power (see Appendix A for project information). In the first year, novel particle release patterns were designed and tested to increase the effective solar absorptance of the particle curtain. Modeling results showed that increasing the magnitude and frequency of different wave-like patterns increased the effective absorptance and thermal efficiency by several percentage points, depending on the mass flow rate. Tests showed that triangular-wave, square-wave, and parallel-curtain particle release patterns could be implemented and maintained at flow rates of ~10 kg/s/m. The second year of the project focused on the development and testing of particle mass-flow control and measurement methods. An automated slide gate controlled by the outlet temperature of the particles was designed and tested. Testing demonstrated that the resolution accuracy of the slide-gate positioning was less than ~1 mm, and the speed of the slide gate enabled rapid adjustments to accommodate changes in the irradiance to maintain a desired outlet temperature range. Different in-situ particle mass-flow measurement techniques were investigated, and two were tested. The in-situ microwave sensor was found to be unreliable and sensitive to variations in particle flow patterns. However, the in-situ weigh hopper using load cells was found to provide reliable and repeatable measurements of real-time in-situ particle mass flow. On-sun tests were performed to determine the thermal efficiency of the receiver as a function of mass flow rate, particle temperature, and irradiance. Models of the tests were also developed and compared to the tests.
An electro-active transducer includes a ferroelectric material sandwiched by first and second electrode patterns. When the device is used as an actuator, the first and second electrode patterns are configured to introduce an electric field into the ferroelectric material when voltage is applied to the electrode patterns. When the device is used as a sensor. the first and second electrode patterns are configured to introduce an electric field into the ferroelectric material when the ferroelectric material experiences deflection in a direction substantially perpendicular thereto. In each case, the electrode patterns are designed to cause the electric field to: i) originate at a region of the ferroelectric material between the first and second electrode patterns. and ii) extend radially outward from the region of the ferroelectric material (at which the electric field originates) and substantially parallel to the ferroelectric material s plane.
An electro-active transducer for sonic applications includes a ferroelectric material sandwiched by first and second electrode patterns to form a piezo-diaphragm coupled to a mounting frame. When the device is used as a sonic actuator, the first and second electrode patterns are configured to introduce an electric field into the ferroelectric material when voltage is applied to the electrode patterns. When the device is used as a sonic sensor, the first and second electrode patterns are configured to introduce an electric field into the ferroelectric material when the ferroelectric material experiences deflection in a direction substantially perpendicular thereto. In each case, the electrode patterns are designed to cause the electric field to: i) originate at a region of the ferroelectric material between the first and second electrode patterns, and ii) extend radially outward from the region of the ferroelectric material (at which the electric field originates) and substantially parallel to the plane of the ferroelectric material. The mounting frame perimetrically surrounds the peizo-diaphragm and enables attachment of the piezo-diaphragm to a housing.
Experiments are being conducted in the NASA Ames Hypervelocity Free Flight Aerodynamic Facility to quantify the effects on turbulent convective heat transfer of surface roughness representative of a new class of 3D woven thermal protection system mRough-wall turbulent heat transfer measurements were obtained on ballistic-range models in hypersonic flight in the NASA Ames Hypervelocity Free Flight Aerodynamic Facility. Each model had three different surface textures on segments of the conic frustum: smooth wall, sand roughness, and a pattern roughness, thus providing smooth-wall and sand-roughness reference data for each test. The pattern roughness was representative of a woven thermal protection system material developed by NASA's Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology project. The tests were conducted at launch speeds of 3.2 km/s in air at 0.15 atm. Roughness Reynolds numbers, k+, ranged for 12 to 70 for the sand roughness, and as high as 200 for the pattern roughness. Boundary-layer parameters required for calculating k+ were evaluated using computational fluid dynamics simulations. The effects of pattern roughness are generally characterized by an equivalent sand roughness determined with a correlation developed from experimental data obtained on specifically-designed roughness patterns that do not necessarily resemble real TPS materials. Two sand roughness correlations were examined: Dirling and van Rij, et al. Both gave good agreement with the measured heat-flux augmentation for the two larger pattern roughness heights tested, but not for the smallest height tested. It has yet to be determined whether this difference is due to limitations in the experimental approach, or due to limits in the correlations used. Future experiments are planned that will include roughness patterns more like those used in developing the equivalent sand roughness correlations.aterials being developed by NASA's Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET) project. Data were simultaneously obtained on sand-grain roughened surfaces and smooth surfaces, which can be compared with previously obtained data. Results are presented in this extended abstract for one roughness pattern. The full paper will include results from three roughness patterns representing virgin HEEET, nominal turbulent ablated HEEET, and twice the roughness of nominal turbulent ablated HEEET. Results will be used to compare with commonly used equivalent sand grain roughness correlations.