Operation of a high frequency piezoelectric ultrasound array with an application specific integrated circuit

Integration of a piezoelectric high frequency ultrasound (HFUS) array with a microfabricated application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) performing a range of functions has several advantages for ultrasound imaging. The number of signal cables between the array/electronics and the data acquisition / imaging system can be reduced, cutting costs and increasing functionality. Electrical impedance matching is also simplified and the same approach can reduce overall system dimensions for applications such as endoscopic ultrasound. The work reported in this paper demonstrates early ASIC operation with a piezocomposite HFUS array operating at approximately 30 MHz. The array was tested in three different modes. Clear signals were seen in catch-mode, with an external transducer as a source of ultrasound, and in pitch-mode with the external transducer as a receiver. Pitch-catch mode was also tested successfully, using sequential excitation on three array elements, and viable signals were detected. However, these were relatively small and affected by interference from mixed-signal sources in the ASIC. Nevertheless, the functionality and compatibility of the two main components of an integrated HFUS - ASIC device have been demonstrated and the means of further optimization are evident.

Operation of brushless doubly-fed machine for drive applications

This paper presents dynamic and steady-state performance of the Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine (BDFM) operating as a variable speed drive. A simple closed-loop control system is used which only requires a speed feedback. The controller is capable of stabilising the machine when changes in speed and torque are applied. The machine starts in cascade mode and then makes a transition to the synchronous mode to reach the desired speed. This will allow a uni-directional converter to be used. The experiments included in this paper were carried out on a 180 frame size BDFM.

Stable operation of the Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine (BDFM)

A simple method of controlling the Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine (BDFM) is presented. The controller comprises two Proportional-Integral (PI) modules and requires only the rotor speed feedback. The machine model and the control system are developed in MATLAB. Both simulation and experimental results are presented. The performance of the system is presented in the motoring and generating operations. The experimental tests included in this paper were carried out on a 180 frame size BDFM with a nested-loop rotor. © 2007 IEEE.

Control and operation of a high temperature superconducting synchronous motor

We have built a four-pole high temperature superconducting (HTS) permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) in our lab. At this stage, the HTS PMSM uses two 2G HTS racetrack coils, which are YBCO wires, type 344 from AMSC, and four conventional copper coils as stator windings. 75 YBCO bulks are mounted on the surface of the rotor. After the pulsed field magnetization system had been developed and tested in our lab in 2011, the rotor can trap a four-pole magnetic field. This makes HTS bulks possible for motor application, other than HTS coils. The HTS PMSM can successfully run at a low speed of around 150 rpm for an initial test. This paper states theoretical and practical works on the HTS PMSM's operation including HTS motor drive development and its application. © 2002-2011 IEEE.

Particulate matter emission during start-up and transient operation of a spark-ignition engine

In order to understand why emissions of Particulate Matter (PM) from Spark-Ignition (SI) automobiles peak during periods of transient operation such as rapid accelerations, a study of controlled, repeatable transients was performed. Time-resolved engine-out PM emissions from a modern four-cylinder engine during transient load and air/fuel ratio operation were examined, and the results could be fit in most cases to a first order time response. The time constants for the transient response are similar to those measured for changes in intake valve temperature, reflecting the strong dependence of PM emissions on the amount of liquid fuel in the combustion chamber. In only one unrepeatable case did the time response differ from a first order function: showing an overshoot in PM emissions during transition from the initial to the final steady state PM emission level. PM emissions during controlled, motored start-up experiments show a peak at start-up followed by a period during which emissions are either relatively constant or drift somewhat. When the fuel injection and ignition are shut off, PM emissions also peak briefly, but rapidly decay to low levels. Qualitative implications on the study and modeling of PM emissions during transient engine operation are discussed. Copyright © 1999 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.

Demonstration of cascaded operation of active-passive integrated 4×4 SOA switches with on-chip monitoring for power control and energy consumption optimization

Cascaded 4×4 SOA switches with on-chip power monitoring exhibit potential for lowpower 16×16 integrated switches. Cascaded operation at 10Gbit/s with an IPDR of 8.5dB and 79% lower power consumption than equivalent all-active switches is reported © 2013 OSA.

Multi-frequency operation of a mems vibration energy harvester by accessing five orders of parametric resonance

The mechanical amplification effect of parametric resonance has the potential to outperform direct resonance by over an order of magnitude in terms of power output. However, the excitation must first overcome the damping-dependent initiation threshold amplitude prior to accessing this more profitable region. In addition to activating the principal (1st order) parametric resonance at twice the natural frequency ω0, higher orders of parametric resonance may be accessed when the excitation frequency is in the vicinity of 2ω0/n for integer n. Together with the passive design approaches previously developed to reduce the initiation threshold to access the principal parametric resonance, vacuum packaging (< 10 torr) is employed to further reduce the threshold and unveil the higher orders. A vacuum packaged MEMS electrostatic harvester (0.278 mm3) exhibited 4 and 5 parametric resonance peaks at room pressure and vacuum respectively when scanned up to 10 g. At 5.1 ms-2, a peak power output of 20.8 nW and 166 nW is recorded for direct and principal parametric resonance respectively at atmospheric pressure; while a peak power output of 60.9 nW and 324 nW is observed for the respective resonant peaks in vacuum. Additionally, unlike direct resonance, the operational frequency bandwidth of parametric resonance broadens with lower damping. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Synchronous operation control of the Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine

The paper presents a novel vector control structure for the Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine (BDFM) which is derived based on the machine synchronous operation. In fact, the synchronous operation of the BDFM provides an efficient approach for determining the required reference angle in the machine vector control structure. The utilization of such reference angle makes the vector control structure presented in this paper different from and, in fact, more effective than the existing rotor flux and stator flux orientation schemes proposed for the machine. The results of implementing the vector control scheme in simulations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach for the BDFM control. © 2010 IEEE.