Crack detection of steel girders using Brillouin optical time domain analysis

This article presents the results from an experimental program designed to evaluate the performance of a system consisting of a readout unit and a ribbon type Fiber Optic Sensor (FOS) based on Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA). The system is intended for the detection of cracks as well as the monitoring of long-term performance for steel bridge girders. The program consisted of introducing a crack at the center of a 3-m-long steel beam and monitoring its progression using static loading tests performed at ambient and sub-zero temperatures. For sensor lengths similar to those used in the field, the resonant frequency shifts per unit increase in crack width were found to decrease from 114 MHz/mm at ambient temperature (~25C) to 65 MHz/mm at -10C. Results also revealed nonlinearity and variability, which can be attributed to an incompatibility between the settings of the laser pump in the readout unit and the sensor length. Significant losses were detected along the bonded segments of the sensor and were attributed to the presence of ripples along the sensor. These undulations worsen with a reduction in temperature and are induced by the bonding procedure as well as the slack provided in the plastic sleeves containing the splices.

Comparison of Wavelet Transform and Time-Domain Analysis of Second Trimester Uterine Artery Doppler Waveforms in Screening for Pre-Eclampsia

The aim of this study was to compare time-domain waveform analysis of second-trimester uterine artery Doppler using the resistance index (RI) with waveform analysis using a mathematical tool known as wavelet transform for the prediction of pre-eclampsia (PE). This was a retrospective, nested case-cohort study of 336 women, 37 of whom subsequently developed PE. Uterine artery Doppler waveforms were analysed using both RI and waveform analysis. The utility of these indices in screening for PE was then evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves. There were significant differences in uterine artery RI between the PE women and those with normal pregnancy outcome. After wavelet analysis, significant difference in the mean amplitude in wavelet frequency band 4 was noted between the 2 groups. The sensitivity for both Doppler RI and frequency band 4 for the detection of PE at a 10% false-positive rate was 45%. This small study demonstrates the application of wavelet transform analysis of uterine artery Doppler waveforms in screening for PE. Further prospective studies are needed in order to clearly define if this analytical approach to waveform analysis may have the potential to improve the detection of PE by uterine artery Doppler screening.

A Spherical Array Approach for Simulation of Binaural Impulse Responses using the Finite Difference Time Domain Method

The finite difference time domain (FDTD) method has direct applications in musical instrument modeling, simulation of environmental acoustics, room acoustics and sound reproduction paradigms, all of which benefit from auralization. However, rendering binaural impulse responses from simulated
data is not straightforward to accomplish as the calculated pressure at FDTD grid nodes does not contain any directional information. This paper addresses this issue by introducing a spherical array to capture sound pressure on a finite difference grid, and decomposing it into a plane-wave density
function. Binaural impulse responses are then constructed in the spherical harmonics domain by combining the decomposed grid data with free field head-related transfer functions. The effects of designing a spherical array in a Cartesian grid are studied, and emphasis is given to the relationships
between array sampling and the spatial and spectral design parameters of several finite-difference
schemes.

A mixed cost-function adaptive algorithm for ADSL time-domain equalization

We propose a mixed cost-function adaptive initialization algorithm for the time domain equalizer in a discrete multitone (DMT)-based asymmetric digital subscriber line. Using our approach, a higher convergence rate than that of the commonly used least-mean square algorithm is obtained, whilst attaining bit rates close to the optimum maximum shortening SNR and the upper bound SNR. Furthermore, our proposed method outperforms the minimum mean-squared error design for a range of time domain equalizer (TEQ) filter lengths. The improved performance outweighs the small increase in computational complexity required. A block variant of our proposed algorithm is also presented to overcome the increased latency imposed on the feedback path of the adaptive system.

Investigation of tanpura string vibrations using a two-dimensional time-domain model incorporating coupling and bridge friction

Tanpura string vibrations have been investigated previously using numerical models based on energy conserving schemes derived from a Hamiltonian description in one-dimensional form. Such time-domain models have the property that, for the lossless case, the numerical Hamiltonian (representing total energy of the system) can be proven to be constant from one time step
to the next, irrespective of any of the system parameters; in practice the Hamiltonian can be shown to be conserved within machine precision. Models of this kind can reproduce a jvari effect, which results from the bridge-string interaction. However the one-dimensional formulation has recently been shown to fail to replicate the jvaris strong dependence on the thread placement. As a first step towards simulations which accurately emulate this sensitivity to the thread placement, a twodimensional model is proposed, incorporating coupling of controllable level between the two string polarisations at the string termination opposite from the barrier. In addition, a friction force acting when the string slides across the bridge in horizontal direction is introduced, thus effecting a further damping mechanism. In this preliminary study, the string is terminated at the position of the thread. As in the one-dimensional model, an implicit scheme has to be used to solve the system, employing Newton's method to calculate the updated positions and momentums of each string segment. The two-dimensional model is proven to be energy conserving when the loss parameters are set to zero, irrespective of the coupling constant. Both frequency-dependent and independent losses are then added to the string, so that the model can be compared to analogous instruments. The influence of coupling and the bridge friction are investigated.

Time domain design of fractional differintegrators using least-squares

In this paper we propose the use of the least-squares based methods for obtaining digital rational approximations (IIR filters) to fractional-order integrators and differentiators of type sα, α∈R. Adoption of the Padé, Prony and Shanks techniques is suggested. These techniques are usually applied in the signal modeling of deterministic signals. These methods yield suboptimal solutions to the problem which only requires finding the solution of a set of linear equations. The results reveal that the least-squares approach gives similar or superior approximations in comparison with other widely used methods. Their effectiveness is illustrated, both in the time and frequency domains, as well in the fractional differintegration of some standard time domain functions.

Buried-object detection using free-space time-domain near-field measurements

The detection of buried objects using time-domain freespace measurements was carried out in the near field. The location of a hidden object was determined from an analysis of the reflected signal. This method can be extended to detect any number of objects. Measurements were carried out in the X- and Ku-bands using ordinary rectangular pyramidal horn antennas of gain 15 dB. The same antenna was used as the transmitter and recei er. The experimental results were compared with simulated results by applying the two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain(FDTD)method, and agree well with each other. The dispersi e nature of the dielectric medium was considered for the simulation.

The point source method for inverse scattering in the time domain

Many recent inverse scattering techniques have been designed for single frequency scattered fields in the frequency domain. In practice, however, the data is collected in the time domain. Frequency domain inverse scattering algorithms obviously apply to time-harmonic scattering, or nearly time-harmonic scattering, through application of the Fourier transform. Fourier transform techniques can also be applied to non-time-harmonic scattering from pulses. Our goal here is twofold: first, to establish conditions on the time-dependent waves that provide a correspondence between time domain and frequency domain inverse scattering via Fourier transforms without recourse to the conventional limiting amplitude principle; secondly, we apply the analysis in the first part of this work toward the extension of a particular scattering technique, namely the point source method, to scattering from the requisite pulses. Numerical examples illustrate the method and suggest that reconstructions from admissible pulses deliver superior reconstructions compared to straight averaging of multi-frequency data. Copyright (C) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.