148,737 research outputs found
Large-Scale Circulation Reversals in a 2D Rayleigh-Bénard cell
No full textWe consider the numerical simulation of a two-dimensional Rayleigh-B\'enard cell in the turbulent regime and . The flow is dominated by a large-scale inclined roll, the orientation of which switches intermittently in time. We use Proper Orthogonal Decomposition to identify the most energetic modes. We find that the first two modes respectively correspond to an antisymmetric and a symmetric mode. The next most energetic mode breaks the symmetry of the flow. During reversals, sharp variations in the temporal amplitudes of the modes are observed. We derive a low-dimensional model based on the first three most energetic modes which is able to reproduce the large-scale circulation reversals, in quantitative agreement with the simulation
A class B switch-mode assisted linear amplifier
No full textA switch-mode assisted linear amplifier (SMALA) combining a linear (Class B) and a switch-mode (Class D) amplifier is presented. The usual single hysteretic controlled half-bridge current dumping stage is replaced by two parallel buck converter stages, in a parallel voltage controlled topology. These operate independently: one buck converter sources current to assist the upper Class B output device, and a complementary converter sinks current to assist the lower device. This topology lends itself to a novel control approach of a dead-band at low power levels where neither class D amplifier assists, allowing the class B amplifier to supply the load without interference, ensuring high fidelity. A 20 W implementation demonstrates 85% efficiency, with distortion below 0.08% measured across the full audio bandwidth at 15 W. The class D amplifier begins assisting at 2 W, and below this value, the distortion was below 0.03%. Complete circuitry is given, showing the simplicity of the additional class D amplifier and its corresponding control circuitry
A new data reduction scheme to obtain the mode II fracture properties of Pinus Pinaster wood
No full textIn this work a numerical study of the End Notched Flexure (ENF) specimen was performed
in order to obtain the mode II critical strain energy released rate (GIIc) of a Pinus pinaster wood in the RL crack propagation system. The analysis included interface finite elements and a progressive damage
model based on indirect use of Fracture Mechanics.
The difficulties in monitoring the crack length during an experimental ENF test and the inconvenience of performing separate tests in order to obtain the elastic properties are well known. To avoid these
problems, a new data reduction scheme based on the equivalent crack concept was proposed and validated. This new data reduction scheme, the Compliance-Based Beam Method (CBBM), does not require crack measurements during ENF tests and additional tests to obtain elastic properties.FCT - POCTI/EME/45573/200
Finite element analysis of the ECT test on mode III interlaminar fracture of carbon-epoxy composite laminates
No full textIn this work a parametric study of the Edge Crack Torsion (ECT) specimen was performed
in order to maximize the mode III component (GIII) of the strain energy release rate for carbon-epoxy laminates.
A three-dimensional finite element analysis of the ECT test was conducted considering a
[90/0/(+45/-45)2/(-45/+45)2/0/90]S lay-up. The main objective was to define an adequate geometry to obtain an almost pure mode III at crack front. The geometrical parameters studied were specimen dimensions, distance between pins and size of the initial crack.
The numerical results demonstrated that the ratio between the specimen length and the initial crack length had a significant effect on the strain energy release rate distributions. In almost all of the tested
configurations, a mode II component occurred near the edges but it did not interfere significantly with the dominant mode III state.FCT - POCTI/EME/45573/200
External cavity mode structure of a two-mode VCSEL subject to optical feedback
No full textWe consider a multi-transverse-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) subject to optical feedback. The system is modeled by a partial differential equation for the spatial carrier population, which is coupled to delay differential equations for the electric fields of the participating transverse modes that are subject to external optical feedback. We consider here the case that the VCSEL supports the two basic, rotationally symmetric, linearly polarized optical modes LP01 and LP02. In our model each LP mode receives feedback not only from itself but also from the other LP mode; the amount of cross-feedback can be controlled by a parameter. Specifically, we use numerical continuation techniques to present a detailed analysis of the steady state, external cavity mode (ECM) structure in dependence on the feedback strength, the feedback phase and the amount of cross-feedback. This shows that the case of zero cross-feedback is degenerate and changes quite dramatically even in the presence of small feedback from the other transverse mode. On the other hand, in an intermediate range of cross-feedback the ECM structure does not change qualitatively in a physically relevant range of feedback strength. We consider the entire transition from zero cross-feedback to zero self-feedback, in which we identify the key changes in the ECM structure
Diagnosis of gastric submucosal tumors and estimation of malignant risk of GIST by endoscopic ultrasound. Comparison between B mode and contrast- harmonic mode (with videos)
No full textBackground: standard B-mode EUS assessment and EUS-guided tissue acquisition present sub-optimal diagnostic yield in the differential diagnosis of gastric submucosal tumors (SMTs). Aims: to evaluate the performances of contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasonography (CH-EUS) to differentiate gastric SMTs and predict malignancy risk of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Methods: a retrospective analysis was performed retrieving consecutive patients with gastric SMTs who underwent EUS between 2009 and 2014. Patients with available EUS video recordings and histological diagnosis were included. De-identified videos were presented to experts who made a diagnosis on B-mode EUS and CH-EUS. Results: fifty-four patients (29 female, 64-year-old) were included. Final diagnoses were 40 GISTs (8 high-grade), 9 leiomyomas, 5 rare SMTs. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of B-mode and CH-EUS for the differential diagnosis of GIST were 95.0% vs. 85.0%, 57.1% for both techniques, and 85.2% vs. 77.8%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of B-mode and CH-EUS for the estimation of the malignancy GISTs risk were 62.5% vs. 100%, 83.3% vs. 82.1%, and 78.9% vs. 86.1%, respectively. Conclusions: CH-EUS showed better diagnostic performance than B-mode EUS in differentiating leiomyomas and risk stratification of GIST. When considering high-grade GISTs, the addition of CH-EUS allowed an improvement in diagnostic accuracy
The intrinsic B-mode polarisation of the cosmic microwave background
No full textAbstract. We estimate the B-polarisation induced in the Cosmic Microwave Background by the non-linear evolution of density perturbations. Using the second-order Boltzmann code SONG, our analysis incorporates, for the first time, all physical effects at recombination. We also include novel contributions from the redshift part of the Boltzmann equation and from the bolometric definition of the temperature in the presence of polarisation. The remaining line-of-sight terms (lensing and time-delay) have previously been studied and must be calculated non-perturbatively. The intrinsic B-mode polarisation is present independent of the initial conditions and might contaminate the signal from primordial gravitational waves. We find this contamination to be comparable to a primordial tensor-to-scalar ratio of r ' 10−7 at the angular scale ` ' 100, where the primordial signal peaks, and r ' 5 × 10−5 at ` ' 700, where the intrinsic signal peaks. Therefore, we conclude that the intrinsic B-polarisation from second-order effects is not likely to contaminate future searches of primordial gravitational waves.ar X i
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
Bifurcation analysis of a multi-transverse-mode VCSEL
No full textWe study the behaviour of a multi-transverse-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser subject to optical feedback in which the optical modes are coupled through the external round-trip. Starting from a delayed partial differential equation description of the spatial optical mode profiles and the carrier diffusion, we first use eigenfunction expansion techniques to resolve the spatial dependence. The resulting system of delay differential equations is then amenable to a full nonlinear bifurcation analysis by means of numerical continuation techniques. As illustration, we present bifurcation diagrams of a two-mode VCSEL in the plane of feedback strength versus feedback phase. In this way, we identify a number of changes in the structure and bifurcations of the VCSEL's dynamics. In particular, we find coexisting stable steady state solutions, which bifurcate to stable in-phase and anti-phase periodic solutions with vastly differing frequencies. We show how these periodic solutions give rise to quasiperiodic and chaotic laser dynamics
Tatouage audio par EMD
No full textIn this paper a new adaptive audio watermarking algorithm based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) is introduced. The audio signal is divided into frames and each one is decomposed adaptively, by EMD, into intrinsic oscillatory components called Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs). The watermark and the synchronization codes are embedded into the extrema of the last IMF, a low frequency mode stable under different attacks and preserving audio perceptual quality of the host signal. The data embedding rate of the proposed algorithm is 46.9–50.3 b/s. Relying on exhaustive simulations, we show the robustness of the hidden watermark for additive noise, MP3 compression, re-quantization, filtering, cropping and resampling. The comparison analysis shows that our method has better performance than watermarking schemes reported recently
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