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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.

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At least 1,351 records · Page 75
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Optical synchrotron radiation beam imaging with a digital mask

The 3GeV SPEAR3 synchrotron light source operates in top-up injection mode with up to 500mA circulating in the storage ring (equivalently 392nC). Each injection pulse contains only 40-80 pC producing a contrast ratio between total stored charge and injected charge of about 6500:1. In order to study transient injected beam dynamics during User operations, it is desirable to optically image the injected pulse in the presence of the bright stored beam. In the present work this is done by re-imaging visible synchrotron radiation onto a digital micro-mirror-array device (DMD), which is then used as an optical mask to block out light from the bright central core of the stored beam. The physical masking, together with an asynchronously-gated, ICCD imaging camera makes it is possible to observe the weak injected beam component on a turn-by-turn basis. The DMD optical masking system works similar to a classical solar coronagraph but has some distinct practical advantages: i.e. rapid adaption to changes in the shape of the stored beam, high extinction ratio for unwanted light and minimum scattering from the primary beam into the secondary optics. In this paper we describe the DMD masking method, features of the high dynamic range point spread function for the SPEAR3 optical beam line and measurements of the injected beam in the presence of the stored beam.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

The De-Icing Comparison Experiment – ARM Contribution (DICEXACO) Field Campaign Report

Longwave and shortwave radiative fluxes are fundamental quantities regularly observed globally using broadband radiometers. In regions conducive to frost, rime, and snow, ice frequently builds up on sensor windows, contaminating measurements. Since icing occurs under particular meteorological conditions, associated data loss constitutes a climatological bias. Furthermore, the signal caused by ice is difficult to distinguish from that of clouds, hampering efforts to identify contaminated data in post-processing. Because of the sensitivity of radiometers to internal temperature instabilities, there are limitations to using heat as a de-icing method, and consequently substantial amounts of data are lost. The De-Icing Comparison Experiment (D-ICE) was a campaign carried out at $Utqia\dot{g}vik$ (formerly known as Barrow) and Oliktok Point, Alaska, from August 2017 to July 2018. The purpose of D-ICE was to evaluate ventilation and heating technologies developed to mitigate radiometer icing. D-ICE consisted of 20 pyranometers and 5 pyrgeometers operating in various ventilator housings alongside operational stations run by the NOAA Global Monitoring Division (GMD) at NOAA’s Barrow Atmospheric Baseline Observatory. D-ICE also evaluated the sky radiometer (SKYRAD) systems at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope of Alaska (NSA) and Oliktok Point (OLI; third ARM Mobile Facility [AMF3]) observatories. In total, 34 systems were evaluated (8 of which were SKYRAD radiometers). All radiometers were monitored continuously using cameras, and a total of more than one million images of sensor domes were archived collectively between the stations. Data collected as part of D-ICE by NOAA can be found through the project web page, https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/arctic/d-ice/. The DICEXACO component of D-ICE (https://www.arm.gov/research/campaigns/nsa2017dicexaco) are the images collected at 10-min intervals at both OLI and NSA and are the subject of this report. Two cameras were installed at each ARM station, one directed towards the SKYRAD tracker and the other towards the SKYRAD global precision spectral pyranometer (PSP).

Oliktok Point, North Slope of Alaska, SKYRAD, pyra↗
DOE OSTI2022

Method and system for unsynchronized structured lighting

A system and method to capture the surface geometry a three-dimensional object in a scene using unsynchronized structured lighting is disclosed. The method and system includes a pattern projector configured and arranged to project a sequence of image patterns onto the scene at a pattern frame rate, a camera configured and arranged to capture a sequence of unsynchronized image patterns of the scene at an image capture rate, and a processor configured and arranged to synthesize a sequence of synchronized image frames from the unsynchronized image patterns of the scene. Each of the synchronized image frames corresponds to one image pattern of the sequence of image patterns.

Taubin, Gabriel↗
DOE OSTI2026

Quantifying Operational Drivers of Multimodal Biometric Verification in Aerial Surveillance

Multimodal biometric verification is increasingly applied across operational contexts ranging from close-range security cameras and building-mounted surveillance to long-range ground sensors and unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery. Variations in acquisition conditions—such as image resolution, viewing geometry, and motion artifacts—pose significant challenges for cross-domain algorithmic generalization. This study evaluates two independent multimodal biometric verification systems developed under the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) Biometric Recognition and Identification at Altitude and Range (BRIAR) program, comparing performance on close-range and aerial datasets. Close-range video served as a baseline to quantify the decline in verification performance on aerial footage. The dataset included six UAS platforms, spanning small quadcopters at 10m altitude to medium-sized fixed-wing aircraft at 360m. Mixed-effects logistic regression identified image resolution (head and body pixel counts), head height, sensor characteristics, and algorithm selection as primary determinants of verification success, whereas demographic attributes and mission gait were not significant predictors. Activity type and collection site influenced performance in close-range data but had negligible impact on UAS imagery. These results clarify modality-specific strengths and limitations and highlight opportunities to enhance cross-domain biometric verification.

Peluso, Alina [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000328950406)↗
DOE OSTI2019

Real-time visualization of dynamic fractures in porcine bones and the loading-rate effect on their fracture toughness

In this work we visualized, in real time, the dynamic fracture behaviors in porcine cortical bone from humerus and porcine trabecular bone from nasal bone at a high loading rate using highspeed synchrotron X-ray phase-contrast imaging (PCI). Dynamic three-point bending loading was applied on notched bone specimens by a modified Kolsky compression bar and images of the entire fracture events were recorded with an ultra-high-speed camera. Experiments at a quasi-static loading rate on material testing system (MTS) were also performed to identify the loading-rate effects on the fracture toughness of the two types of bone. Three-dimensional synchrotron X-ray computed tomography was conducted to examine the initial microstructures in the bone specimens before mechanical loading. At the dynamic loading rate, the onset locations of crack initiation were found to be independent from the bone types. The deleterious effect of dynamic loading rate on bone's fracture toughness was verified in this study and the crack was found to propagate at higher speeds in cortical bone than in trabecular bone. In a comparison of the observed more torturous crack paths at the quasi-static loading rate, cracks in dynamically loaded bone specimens generally followed the paths with less in-plane deflections and out-of-plane twists. However, our experimental results also indicated that, although the extent was diminished at dynamic loading rate, the crack deflections at osteon cement lines still played a role as a major toughening mechanism to dynamic fractures in transversely orientated cortical bone.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Real-Time Omnidirectional Stereo Rendering: Generating 360° Surround-View Panoramic Images for Comfortable Immersive Viewing

Surround-view panoramic images and videos have become a popular form of media for interactive viewing on mobile devices and virtual reality headsets. Viewing such media provides a sense of immersion by allowing users to control their view direction and experience an entire environment. When using a virtual reality headset, the level of immersion can be improved by leveraging stereoscopic capabilities. Stereoscopic images are generated in pairs, one for the left eye and one for the right eye, and result in providing an important depth cue for the human visual system. For computer generated imagery, rendering proper stereo pairs is well known for a fixed view. However, it is much more difficult to create omnidirectional stereo pairs for a surround-view projection that work well when looking in any direction. One major drawback of traditional omnidirectional stereo images is that they suffer from binocular misalignment in the peripheral vision as a user's view direction approaches the zenith / nadir (north / south pole) of the projection sphere. This paper presents a real-time geometry-based approach for omnidirectional stereo rendering that fits into the standard rendering pipeline. Our approach includes tunable parameters that enable pole merging - a reduction in the stereo effect near the poles that can minimize binocular misalignment. Results from a user study indicate that pole merging reduces visual fatigue and discomfort associated with binocular misalignment without inhibiting depth perception.

360° panorama↗
DOE OSTI2019

Real-time Free-moving Active Coded Mask 3D Gamma-Ray Imaging

The ability to localize and map the distribution of gamma-ray emitting radionuclides in 3D has applications ranging from medical imaging to nuclear security. In the case of radiological source search and nuclear contamination remediation, the deployment of freely moving detection systems such as hand- held instruments or ground/aerial-based vehicles are critical in overcoming the inverse square law and complex shielding scenarios. Using contextual sensors, these systems can simultaneously generate 3D maps of the surrounding environment and track the position and orientation of the gamma-ray sensitive detectors in that environment. The fusion of contextual scene data and gamma-ray detector data to facilitate real-time 3D gamma-ray image reconstruction has been demonstrated with mobile HPGe and CdZnTe-based Compton cameras for gamma-ray energies ranging from a few hundred keV to several MeV. Here we apply this approach for lower energy (50-400 keV) gamma-rays, using a hand-held CdZnTe-based omnidirectional imaging system and an active coded mask imaging modality. Here, we present our approach to real-time reconstruction using a scene data constrained GPU- accelerated list-mode MLEM algorithm and show results from several measurements in the lab and in the field.

3D gamma-ray imaging↗
DOE OSTI2017

PhotoSketch: a photocentric urban 3D modeling system

Online mapping services from Google, Apple, and Microsoft are exceedingly popular applications for exploring 3D urban cities. Their explosive growth provides impetus for photorealistic 3D modeling of urban scenes. Although classical algorithms such as multiview stereo and laser range scanners are traditional sources for detailed 3D models of existing structures, they generate heavyweight models that are not appropriate for the streaming data that these navigation applications leverage. Instead, lightweight models as produced by interactive image-based tools are better suited for this domain. The contribution of this work is that it merges the benefits of multiview geometry, an intuitive sketching interface, and dynamic texture mapping to produce lightweight photorealistic 3D models of buildings. We present experimental results from urban scenes using our PhotoSketch system.

3D photography↗
NASA NTRS1986

High spatial resolution passive microwave sounding systems

Two extensive series of flights aboard the ER-2 aircraft were conducted with the MIT 118 GHz imaging spectrometer together with a 53.6 GHz nadir channel and a TV camera record of the mission. Other microwave sensors, including a 183 GHz imaging spectrometer were flown simultaneously by other research groups. Work also continued on evaluating the impact of high-resolution passive microwave soundings upon numerical weather prediction models.

Staelin, D. H.↗
DOE OSTI2012

AN HST/WFC3-IR MORPHOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GALAXIES AT z = 1.5-3.6. I. SURVEY DESCRIPTION AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES

We present the results of a 42-orbit Hubble Space Telescope Wide-Field Camera 3 (HST/WFC3) survey of the rest-frame optical morphologies of star-forming galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the range z = 1.5-3.6. The survey consists of 42 orbits of F160W imaging covering {approx}65 arcmin{sup 2} distributed widely across the sky and reaching a depth of 27.9 AB for a 5{sigma} detection within a 0.2 arcsec radius aperture. Focusing on an optically selected sample of 306 star-forming galaxies with stellar masses in the range M{sub *} = 10{sup 9}-10{sup 11} M{sub Sun }, we find that typical circularized effective half-light radii range from {approx}0.7 to 3.0 kpc and describe a stellar mass-radius relation as early as z {approx} 3. While these galaxies are best described by an exponential surface brightness profile (Sersic index n {approx} 1), their distribution of axis ratios is strongly inconsistent with a population of inclined exponential disks and is better reproduced by triaxial stellar systems with minor/major and intermediate/major axis ratios {approx}0.3 and 0.7, respectively. While rest-UV and rest-optical morphologies are generally similar for a subset of galaxies with HST/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging data, differences are more pronounced at higher masses M{sub *} > 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} M{sub Sun }. Finally, we discuss galaxy morphology in the context of efforts to constrain the merger fraction, finding that morphologically identified mergers/non-mergers generally have insignificant differences in terms of physical observables such as stellar mass and star formation rate, although merger-like galaxies selected according to some criteria have statistically smaller effective radii and correspondingly larger {Sigma}{sub SFR}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Sci—Thur PM: Imaging — 05: Calibration of a SPECT/CT camera for quantitative SPECT with {sup 99m}Tc

While quantitation is the norm in PET, it is not widely available yet in SPECT. This work's aim was to calibrate a commercially available SPECT/CT system to perform quantitative SPECT. Counting sensitivity, dead-time (DT) constant and partial volume effect (PVE) of the system were assessed. A dual-head Siemens SymbiaT6 SPECT/CT camera equipped with low energy high-resolution collimators was studied. {sup 99m}Tc was the radioisotope of interest because of its wide usage in nuclear medicine. First, point source acquisitions were performed (activity: 30–990MBq). Further acquisitions were then performed with a uniform Jaszczak phantom filled with water at high activity (25–5000MBq). PVE was studied using 6 hot spheres (diameters: 9.9–31.2 mm) filled with {sup 99m}Tc (2.8MBq/cc) in the Jaszczak phantom, which was: (1) empty, (2) water-filled and (3) water-filled with low activity (0.1MBq/cc). The data was reconstructed with the Siemens's Flash3D iterative algorithm with 4 subsets and 8 iterations, attenuation-correction (AC) and scatter-correction (SC). DT modelling was based on the total spectrum counting rate. Sensitivity was assessed using AC-SC reconstructed SPECT data. Sensitivity and DT for the sources were 99.51±1.46cps/MBq and 0.60±0.04µs. For the phantom, sensitivity and DT were 109.9±2.3cps/MBq and 0.62±0.13µs. The recovery-coefficient varied from 5% for the 9.9mm, to 80% for the 31.2mm spheres. With our calibration methods, both sensitivity and DT constant of the SPECT camera had little dependence on the object geometry and attenuation. For small objects of known size, recovery-coefficient can be applied to correct PVE. Clinical quantitative SPECT appears to be possible and has many potential applications.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

An automated fast neutron computed tomography instrument with on-line focusing for non-destructive evaluation

A fast neutron tomography imaging instrument has been designed, built, and tested at The Ohio State University 500 kW Research Reactor on a fast neutron beamline with a peak neutron flux ≈5.4 × 107 n·cm−2·s−1 at 1.6 MeV median neutron energy. The instrument and beamline are also configurable for thermal neutron imaging. The imaging apparatus is composed of a lens coupled, water-cooled Electron Multiplying Charge Coupled Device camera, a front-surface mirror, and a high light yield plastic Polyvinyl toluene scintillator. The instrument sits on a mobile cart. A total of 5 motion-control stages are built into the system for XYZ and rotational degrees of freedom for sample positioning; the fifth stage fine tunes the focal distance between the camera and the scintillator to achieve on-line focusing. A Python code with a user-friendly graphical user interface controls the fully automated image acquisition, not requiring user interaction, yet facilitating tracking of the image acquisition. A complete fast neutron computed tomography dataset with 360 projections requires less than 3 h, with 30 s per projection. On-line focusing is accomplished with a commercial, off-the-shelf, dielectrically actuated liquid lens. Finally, tomographic reconstructions are visualized using the Livermore Tomography Tools software package. The effective pixel size (width and height) is ≈0.1058 mm, yielding a minimum voxel size of 0.1058 × 0.1058 × 0.1058 mm3, and produces a spatial resolution of 231 μm when calculated from knife-edge measurements.

Bisbee, M. G. (ORCID:0000000313466697)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Identifying common stored product insects using automated deep learning methods

Monitoring stored product insect pests is a common practice for post-harvest management of stored grain and grain-based commodities, which helps ensure product quality from harvest to final consumer. Current methods of sampling and monitoring can be time-consuming, labor-intensive, expensive and require expertise in insect identification. Therefore, this study aims to develop an image-based automated identification system for common stored product insect species using deep-learning methods. Top-down images of the common stored product adult insect species of Rhyzopertha dominica, Cryptolestes ferrugineus, Tribolium castaneum, Sitophilus oryzae, and Oryzaephilus surinamensis were acquired and analyzed. Deep learning-based, state-of-the-art Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) models (ResNet-50, MobileNet-v2, DarkNet-53, and EfficientNet-b0) were fine-tuned with a transfer learning approach to classify the insect species. All models were able to correctly identify the insect species with at least 96% accuracy and with few misclassifications. One issue with trained CNNs is that they do not explain the reasoning for the classification and are often called a “black box”. Therefore, visualization methods called Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) were implemented to explore the black box network. The Grad-CAM uses heat maps to highlight the major image features that the network focused on to make insect species predictions. The Grad-CAM verifies the network's prediction and also helps improve network performance. This study contributes to the overall goal of developing a camera-based system for monitoring stored grain insects. As a result, the developed system would empower warehouse, flour mills, and other food facilities with a tool to quickly and accurately identify insect species in stored product environments and could be implemented as part of a close to real-time monitoring system.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Collision Tracking in OpenMC: Methods and Applications in Neutron Noise, Neutron Imaging, Time-of-Flight, and Multiplicity Counting

We present the development and application of a collision tracking feature within the OpenMC Monte Carlo particle transport code, designed for diverse applications such as neutron spectroscopy, scatter camera system, neutron noise, and multiplicity counting simulations. This feature enables the tracking of individual particle collisions, with potential applications in nuclear nonproliferation, reactor physics, and nuclear security. Additionally, the feature holds potential for the calibration of neutron detectors, specifically in converting light output into energy deposited within the detectors. The implementation consists of a set of filters—such as reaction type, energy, cell, and material—that constrain the set of collisions that are tracked, extensions to the Python API to enable simple input specification, and support for writing either OpenMC’s native HDF5-based format or the Monte Carlo particle list format. This feature was added to the official OpenMC release in version 0.15.3. In this work, the feature will be applied to showcase scenarios such as time-of-flight simulations, scatter-camera imaging for neutron source localization, neutron-noise analysis to extract integral kinetic parameters such as the prompt decay constant α, and multiplicity counting to estimate the mass of special nuclear materials. Ultimately, this feature aims to expand the application scope of open-source Monte Carlo particle transport codes such as OpenMC.

Monte Carlo code↗
DOE OSTI2015

A Public-Private-Academic Partnership to Advance Solar Power Forecasting

Executive Summary NOAA is making major contributions to the solar forecasting project in three areas. First, it is improving its forecasts of solar irradiance, clouds, and aerosols in its numerical weather prediction models. Second, it is providing advanced satellite products for DOE's FOA awardees to use in their forecast systems. Third, it is using high-quality ground-based measurements from SURFRAD and ISIS stations to verify and validate forecast model output. This reports covers results from all three areas for the period May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015. Modeling In its modeling effort, NOAA continues work to improve the skill of solar forecasts from the Earth System Research Lab (ESRL) research versions of the 13-km Rapid Refresh (RAP) and the 3-km High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) models, which are in turn transitioned into operations at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). A major milestone was achieved in September 2014 with the initial operational implementation of the HRRR at NCEP. In the ESRL research versions of the models, testing and development, in both real-time runs and retrospective experiments, is guided by an extensive in-house verification system. Early in the SFIP project, we developed the capability to verify our model forecasts against the high-quality surface radiation measurements from the SURFRAD and ISIS networks. This highlighted some shortcomings with the RAP and HRRR forecasts of incoming shortwave radiation. Most of our effort during Phase 1 of SFIP was focused on addressing these problems with a variety of model system improvements. The RAP and HRRR models during the warm season of 2014 had a noticeable warm and dry bias in near-surface conditions over most of the central and eastern United States, and our new SURFRAD/ISIS verification revealed that there was also a large excess of incoming global horizontal irradiance in the models. We hypothesized that a lack of cloud cover (particularly low-level cloud cover) in the models was resulting in too much heating of the land surface. This, in turn, caused unrealistically strong surface heat fluxes and turbulent mixing in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), which further reduced the already deficient cloud cover. We addressed these issues with a combination of data assimilation system modifications and model physics improvements. Many of our data assimilation changes were made with a view towards improving the near-term representation of clouds and precipitation. One of these changes involved better accounting for regions of weak reflectivity in the RAP cloud / hydrometeor assimilation system, in order to improve the representation of light precipitation in the RAP initial conditions and provide more realistic initial cloud cover. Additional modifications more accurately accounted for radar beam blockage and data gaps (particularly in the western United States), which improves shorter lead times forecasts of clouds and precipitation. We have also tested the assimilation of new data sources within the RAP and the HRRR, including radar radial velocity data and surface mesonet observations. Within the HRRR, we have tested the cycling of the 3-km land surface fields to allow a higher-resolution treatment of land surface processes. In terms of model physics development for SFIP, we have implemented a shallow cumulus scheme within the RAP, and have made numerous improvements to the Mellor-Yamada-Nakanishi-Niino (MYNN) PBL scheme to address insufficient low-level cloud cover in the models. We have conducted tests incorporating the radiation effects of (parameterized) boundary-layer clouds within the modified MYNN PBL scheme (independent of the convective schemes). The Grell-Freitas-Olson shallow cumulus scheme has also been tested within the 3-km HRRR. Finally, we have also modified the RUC land surface model (LSM) treatment of the vegetation wilting point, reducing it to increase evapotranspiration and increase cloud cover in the boundary layer. All of these changes work in tandem to significantly improve the model forecasts of cloud cover, incoming shortwave radiation, and near-surface temperature and moisture. Satellite The role of NOAA/NESDIS in the Solar Forecasting Improvement Project is to provide Advanced Satellite Products (ASPs) for the two forecasting teams at NCAR and IBM. The ASPs are cloud, surface, and atmosphere products derived from geostationary satellite imagery at the highest possible spatial and temporal resolution - such quantities as cloud mask, cloud probability, cloud transmission, cloud top height, cloud top temperature, cloud effective particle size, etc. Ancillary data, such as elevation and numerical weather prediction fields are provided in the files at the same resolution as well. There are at this time 147 different variables in the ASP output, including quality flags and processing information. The main goals for Year 1 of the project were to implement an Advanced Satellite Products system for the use of the IBM and NCAR teams, begin validation, and make any needed changes based on feedback from the teams. ASP files are being produced every GOES Imager acquisition, which occur on a 15-30 minute schedule. Processing is done on a dedicated computer, with a turn-around time of 8-21 minutes from image acquisition to results available on ftp. Several helpful visualizations of the data are also created for users on web pages. Users have been provided with a document titled "User's Guide for 1km Cloud Products Derived from GOES Imager Data using CLAVR-x", which discusses the basics of the source imagery, the process by which it is turned into Advanced Satellite Products, and considerations users should make when using the data. Validation of selected variables from the older 4km version of the products was also included. Future work will concentrate on validation of the 1km products and improving the turn-around time, product variety, and product quality as needed. Ground Observations In the ground-based measurement effort, NOAA's main objectives are to provide high quality radiation products for validation and verification of short-term to day-ahead solar forecasts. More specifically for the three year project, our goals include (1) Maintaining and providing data from our 7 SURFRAD and 7 ISIS; (2) Update ISIS radiation measurements from 3 min to 1 min data: (3) Purchase and install new pyrheliometers for direct solar irradiance measurements at the 7 SURFRAD sites; (4) Building, testing, and deploying two mobile SURFRAD stations at two utility plants in collaboration with DOE sponsored partners, and includes ongoing maintenance and processing of the data at the mobile sites; (5) Upgrading the data acquisition and communications at 7 SURFRAD sites and 7 ISIS sites; (6) Providing radiation data at the 7 SURFRAD sites in near real-time; (7) Develop and provide aerosol optical depth and cloud images and cloud fraction at our two mobile sites; (8) Provide data recovery rates each year; (9) Provide temporally and spatially averaged radiation products for comparison to HRRR and RAP solar forecasts and advanced satellite products; (10) Provide a data-set for analysis of conversion of direct and diffuse to sloped surfaces; (11) and as time permits develop and provide spectral solar irradiance, cloud optical depth and spectral albedo from the mobile sites. Milestones this year include working with the DOE sponsored teams to find locations to deploy two mobile SURFRAD stations. One existing unit was deployed at a 30MW PV facility in the San Luis Valley in collaboration with Xcel and the NCAR team in August, 2014. The second unit was built and tested at our facilities in Boulder, CO and deployed near Green Mountain Power's Education Center in Rutland, VT in collaboration with Green Mountain Power and the IBM Team in October, 2014. Data processing was implemented and the radiation data from these two mobile sites have been made available on our ftp server in near real-time. We also are providing images and cloud fraction from the TSI cameras for these two mobile sites on our ftp site. Another milestone was upgrading our data acquisition and communication systems at 7 SURFRAD and 7 ISIS sites. We accelerated our schedule for these upgrades to provide timely radiation products. These upgrades allow more reliable and near-real time radiation data delivery to the DOE sponsored teams to meet their goals. Lastly, we changed the data rate at the ISIS sites from 3 min to 1 min.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

A CONSTANT LIMITING MASS SCALE FOR FLAT EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES FROM z {approx} 1 TO z = 0: DENSITY EVOLVES BUT SHAPES DO NOT

We measure the evolution in the intrinsic shape distribution of early-type galaxies from z {approx} 1 to z {approx} 0 by analyzing their projected axis-ratio distributions. We extract a low-redshift sample (0.04 < z < 0.08) of early-type galaxies with very low star formation rates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, based on a color-color selection scheme and verified through the absence of emission lines in the spectra. The inferred intrinsic shape distribution of these early-type galaxies is strongly mass dependent: the typical short-to-long intrinsic axis ratio of high-mass early-type galaxies (>10{sup 11} M{sub Sun }) is 2:3, whereas at masses below 10{sup 11} M{sub Sun} this ratio narrows to 1:3, or more flattened galaxies. In an entirely analogous manner, we select a high-redshift sample (0.6 < z < 0.8) from two deep-field surveys with multi-wavelength and Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging: GEMS and COSMOS. We find a seemingly universal mass of {approx}10{sup 11} M{sub Sun} for highly flattened early-type systems at all redshifts. This implies that the process that grows an early-type galaxy above this ceiling mass, irrespective of cosmic epoch, involves forming round systems. Using both parametric and non-parametric tests, we find no evolution in the projected axis-ratio distribution for galaxies with masses >3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} M{sub Sun} with redshift. At the same time, our samples imply an increase of 2-3 Multiplication-Sign in comoving number density for early-type galaxies at masses >3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} M{sub Sun }, in agreement with previous studies. Given the direct connection between the axis-ratio distribution and the underlying bulge-to-disk ratio distribution, our findings imply that the number density evolution of early-type galaxies is not exclusively driven by the emergence of either bulge- or disk-dominated galaxies, but rather by a balanced mix that depends only on the stellar mass of the galaxy. The challenge for galaxy formation models is to reproduce this overall non-evolving ratio of flattened to round early-type galaxies in the context of a continually growing population.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1981

Applications of digital image acquisition in anthropometry

A description is given of a video kinesimeter, a device for the automatic real-time collection of kinematic and dynamic data. Based on the detection of a single bright spot by three TV cameras, the system provides automatic real-time recording of three-dimensional position and force data. It comprises three cameras, two incandescent lights, a voltage comparator circuit, a central control unit, and a mass storage device. The control unit determines the signal threshold for each camera before testing, sequences the lights, synchronizes and analyzes the scan voltages from the three cameras, digitizes force from a dynamometer, and codes the data for transmission to a floppy disk for recording. Two of the three cameras face each other along the 'X' axis; the third camera, which faces the center of the line between the first two, defines the 'Y' axis. An image from the 'Y' camera and either 'X' camera is necessary for determining the three-dimensional coordinates of the point.

Woolford, B.↗
DOE OSTI2015

The effects of forced small-wavelength, finite-bandwidth initial perturbations and miscibility on the turbulent Rayleigh–Taylor instability

Rayleigh–Taylor instability experiments are performed using both immiscible and miscible incompressible liquid combinations having a relatively large Atwood number of $A\equiv ({\it\rho}_{2}-{\it\rho}_{1})/({\it\rho}_{2}+{\it\rho}_{1})=0.48$ . The liquid-filled tank is attached to a test sled that is accelerated downwards along a vertical rail system using a system of weights and pulleys producing approximately $1g$ net acceleration. The tank is backlit and images are digitally recorded using a high-speed video camera. The experiments are either initiated with forced initial perturbations or are left unforced. The forced experiments have an initial perturbation imposed by vertically oscillating the liquid-filled tank to produce Faraday waves at the interface. The unforced experiments rely on random interfacial fluctuations, resulting from background noise, to seed the instability. The main focus of this study is to determine the effects of forced initial perturbations and the effects of miscibility on the growth parameter, ${\it\alpha}$ . Measurements of the mixing-layer width, $h$ , are acquired, from which ${\it\alpha}$ is determined. It is found that initial perturbations of the form used in this study do not affect measured ${\it\alpha}$ values. However, miscibility is observed to strongly affect ${\it\alpha}$ , resulting in a factor of two reduction in its value, a finding not previously observed in past experiments. In addition, all measured ${\it\alpha}$ values are found to be smaller than those obtained in previous experimental studies.

42 ENGINEERING↗