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At least 19 records

Large Volume Airborne Contamination Monitoring To Support Nuclear Processes' Deactivation and Decommissioning

Current D and D operations at Hanford have demonstrated a flaw in the current state of the art capability of defining airborne contamination boundaries - Airborne particulate emissions of Pu-239 from CM2H operations on the Hanford Pu Finishing Plant were detected well beyond areas controlled for airborne Pu, putting numerous workers at risk for radiological assimilations - Current air samplers and CAM systems were surveying insufficient volumes of air to accurately predict where respiratory protection was required - Hanford is located in a high radon environment, making air monitoring for alpha emitting actinides challenging in high alpha radon induced backgrounds. - Inexpensive HEPA based home and industrial air purifiers filter significantly higher volumes of air than commercially available continuous-air monitoring (CAM) systems. - Inexpensive models capable of filtered air volumes exceeding 1000 times that of a CAM. - Detector system can be built to detect x-rays generated from actinide decay. - Branching ratios of x-rays are 4 orders of magnitude more intense from Plutonium decay than its gamma emissions. - Detector system can be a low resolution systems, as x-ray region of interest is not terribly congested. - Detection systems evaluated will be designed based on slabs of NaI or pixelated NaI or CsI panels. - Simple graphical user interface software will be developed to operate the detection system. - Concept is to deploy some of these air-purifying systems in nonradiological areas around SRNL to confirm radon can be rejected with confidence. - Generate some filters contaminated with plutonium via electroplated Pu or lab generated simulated particles. - then deploy units in known airborne radiological environments to establish systems ability to accurately measure actinide based hot particles Lab analyses will follow up the system analyses to ensure hot particles were correctly identified. Analysis by Scintillation: - Application of scintillation media to the surface of the filters is being explored. - Evaluating slabs of ZnS(Ag), application of powdered ZnS(Cu) and spray on Perkin Elmer Enhance. - Scintillation events would then be digitized with a digital camera and quantified. - Comparing against sensitivity of a PMT or SiPD readout. - Currently evaluating a Thorlabs 8 Megapixel Monochrome Scientific CCD Camera, hermetically sealed cooled package with a wide angle lens. - Wide angle lens allows complete view of HEPA filter from 7 inches away. - Images taken of glow in the dark paint, as well as plutonium-induced fluorescence. - Plutonium was flamed mounted on a 1 inch diameter stainless steel planchet, covered with a layer of mylar and a section of scintillating ZnS obtained from Eljon. - Currently working on reducing signal-to-noise levels to boost sensitivity. - Dark box to hold contaminated or electroplated source covered filters under fabrication. Analysis by x-ray Spectroscopy: - Branching ratios for x-ray emissions from Plutonium isotopes are orders of magnitude more intense than gamma-ray emissions. - The nuclear databases are incomplete on the branching ratios of some of the isotopes. - Evaluating some custom built SrI2 x-ray spectrometers vs a conventional windowed NaI detector. - SrI2 detectors are carbon-composite-windowed 51 mm x 51 mm. - MCNP calculations to establish self absorbance of filter media on 17 keV x-ray. Radon Rejection: - Activated charcoal pre-filter acts as a Radon trap. - Adding a time lapse feature to camera to aid in radon rejection. SRS Plutonium Fuel Form D and D Operations: Currently deploying air sampler to D and D operation of Pu-238 facility at SRS to generate some field samples to analyze.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Miniature Optical Wide-Angle-Lens Startracker (Mini-OWLS)

This paper provides a brief overview of the design considerations and the current status of the Miniature Optical Wide-Angle Lens Startracker Program. Mini-OWLS offers a revolutionary alternative to the conventional startracker. It is a small, lightweight, low cost, high performance startracker that can be used in a variety of applications including calibration and alignment of Inertial Measurement Units (IMU's) Mini-OWLS makes use of a strap down design incorporating Holographic Optical Elements (HOES) in place of conventional optics. HOES can be multiplexed so that the same aperture can be used for multiple separate optical paths looking in several directions simultaneously without startracker rotation. Additionally, separate Schmidt corrector plates are not required to compensate for spherical aberration. The optical assembly, or what would normally be considered as the telescope, is less than 20 cc in volume, weighs less than 55 grams, and contains the equivalent of three individual telescopes. Each one has a 4 deg Field of View (FOV) with a field of regard of 48 square degrees. Mini-OWLS has a bandwidth of approximately 300 nm in or near the visible wavelength. The projected resolution of the startracker is 5 to 10 arcseconds, depending on the centroiding algorithm used. The Mini-OWLS program was initiated last year and represents a miniaturized version of a similar design for aeronautical applications. The contract is managed by Wright Laboratory, Air Force Systems Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, with funding from the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization through Eglin AFB. The initial phase of the program is to build and test a development unit. The second phase is to integrate the startracker with the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Micromechanical Inertial Guidance System (MIGS) and the Signal Processing Packaging Design (SPPD) being developed by Texas Instruments. The preliminary design review was conducted in November 1991. Three-axes prototype telescope assemblies have been built and design evaluation tests initiated.

Miller, Rick↗

Miniature Wide-Angle Lens for Small-Pixel Electronic Camera

A proposed wideangle lens is shown that would be especially well suited for an electronic camera in which the focal plane is occupied by an image sensor that has small pixels. The design of the lens is intended to satisfy requirements for compactness, high image quality, and reasonably low cost, while addressing issues peculiar to the operation of small-pixel image sensors. Hence, this design is expected to enable the development of a new generation of compact, high-performance electronic cameras. The lens example shown has a 60 degree field of view and a relative aperture (f-number) of 3.2. The main issues affecting the design are also shown.

Mouroulils, Pantazis↗

Evaluation of lens distortion errors in video-based motion analysis

In an effort to study lens distortion errors, a grid of points of known dimensions was constructed and videotaped using a standard and a wide-angle lens. Recorded images were played back on a VCR and stored on a personal computer. Using these stored images, two experiments were conducted. Errors were calculated as the difference in distance from the known coordinates of the points to the calculated coordinates. The purposes of this project were as follows: (1) to develop the methodology to evaluate errors introduced by lens distortion; (2) to quantify and compare errors introduced by use of both a 'standard' and a wide-angle lens; (3) to investigate techniques to minimize lens-induced errors; and (4) to determine the most effective use of calibration points when using a wide-angle lens with a significant amount of distortion. It was seen that when using a wide-angle lens, errors from lens distortion could be as high as 10 percent of the size of the entire field of view. Even with a standard lens, there was a small amount of lens distortion. It was also found that the choice of calibration points influenced the lens distortion error. By properly selecting the calibration points and avoidance of the outermost regions of a wide-angle lens, the error from lens distortion can be kept below approximately 0.5 percent with a standard lens and 1.5 percent with a wide-angle lens.

Poliner, Jeffrey↗

Direction Judgement Errors in Perspective Displays

Spatial information transfer characteristics of perspective situation displays were investigated by having eight subjects judge the directions of displayed targets relative to a fixed position in the center of computer generated perspective scenes. Their errors in judging azimuth angles varied sinusoidally with the azimuth of the targets. Errors alternated between clockwise and counterclock wise from one direction quadrant to the next. As the perspective geometry was varied between telephoto lens and wide angle lens views, the direction of error gradually reversed in all quadrants. The results can be explained by systematic differences between the three-dimensional stimulus angles and the perspective projections of those angles onto the display screen.

Mcgreevy, M. W.↗

Visual imaging control systems of the Mariner to Jupiter and Saturn spacecraft

Design and fabrication of optical systems for the Mariner Jupiter Saturn (Voyager) mission is described. Because of the long distances of these planets from the sun, the spacecraft was designed without solar panels with the electricity generated on-board by radio-isotope thermal generators (RTG). The presence of RTG's and Jupiter radiation environment required that the optical systems be fabricated out of radiation stabilized materials. A narrow angle and a wide angle camera are located on the spacecraft scan platform, with the narrow angle lens a modification of the Mariner 10 lens. The optical system is described, noting that the lens was modified by moving the aperture correctors forward and placing a spider mounted secondary mirror in the original back surface of the second aperture corrector. The wide angle lens was made out of cerium doped, radiation stabilized optical glass with greatest blue transmittance, which would be resistant to RTG and Jupiter radiation.

Larks, L.↗

Evaluation of lens distortion errors using an underwater camera system for video-based motion analysis

Video-based motion analysis systems are widely employed to study human movement, using computers to capture, store, process, and analyze video data. This data can be collected in any environment where cameras can be located. One of the NASA facilities where human performance research is conducted is the Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF), a pool of water which simulates zero-gravity with neutral buoyance. Underwater video collection in the WETF poses some unique problems. This project evaluates the error caused by the lens distortion of the WETF cameras. A grid of points of known dimensions was constructed and videotaped using a video vault underwater system. Recorded images were played back on a VCR and a personal computer grabbed and stored the images on disk. These images were then digitized to give calculated coordinates for the grid points. Errors were calculated as the distance from the known coordinates of the points to the calculated coordinates. It was demonstrated that errors from lens distortion could be as high as 8 percent. By avoiding the outermost regions of a wide-angle lens, the error can be kept smaller.

Poliner, Jeffrey↗

NASA Tech Briefs, May 2009

Topics covered include: Valve-"Health"-Monitoring System; Microstrip Antenna for Remote Sensing of Soil Moisture and Sea Surface Salinity; Biomedical Wireless Ambulatory Crew Monitor; Wireless Avionics Packet to Support Fault Tolerance for Flight Applications; Aerobot Autonomy Architecture; Submillimeter Confocal Imaging Active Module; Traveling-Wave Maser for 32 GHz; System Synchronizes Recordings from Separated Video Cameras; Piecewise-Planar Parabolic Reflectarray Antenna; Reducing Interference in ATC Voice Communication; EOS MLS Level 1B Data Processing, Version 2.2; Auto-Generated Semantic Processing Services; Geospatial Authentication; Maneuver Automation Software; Event Driven Messaging with Role-Based Subscriptions; Estimating Relative Positions of Outer-Space Structures; Fabricating PFPE Membranes for Capillary Electrophoresis; Linear Actuator Has Long Stroke and High Resolution; Installing a Test Tap on a Metal Battery Case; Fabricating PFPE Membranes for Microfluidic Valves and Pumps; Room-Temperature-Cured Copolymers for Lithium Battery Gel Electrolytes; Catalysts for Efficient Production of Carbon Nanotubes; Amorphous Silk Fibroin Membranes for Separation of CO2; "Zero-Mass" Noninvasive Pressure Transducers; Radial-Electric-Field Piezoelectric Diaphragm Pumps; Ejector-Enhanced, Pulsed, Pressure-Gain Combustor; Suppressing Ghost Diffraction in E-Beam-Written Gratings; Target-Tracking Camera for a Metrology System; Polarimetric Imaging using Two Photoelastic Modulators; Miniature Wide-Angle Lens for Small-Pixel Electronic Camera; Modal Filters for Infrared Interferometry; Mo(3)Sb(7-x)Te(x) for Thermoelectric Power Generation; Two-Dimensional Quantum Model of a Nanotransistor; Scanning Miniature Microscopes without Lenses; Manipulating Neutral Atoms in Chip-Based Magnetic Traps; Expansion Compression Contacts for Thermoelectric Legs; Processing Electromyographic Signals to Recognize Words; Physical Principle for Generation of Randomness; DSN Beowulf Cluster-Based VLBI Correlator; Hybrid NN/SVM Computational System for Optimizing Designs; Criteria for Modeling in LES of Multicomponent Fuel Flow; Computerized Machine for Cutting Space Shuttle Thermal Tiles; Orbiting Depot and Reusable Lander for Lunar Transportation; FPGA-Based Networked Phasemeter for a Heterodyne Interferometer; Aquarius Digital Processing Unit; Three-Dimensional Optical Coherence Tomography; Benchtop Antigen Detection Technique using Nanofiltration and Fluorescent Dyes; Isolation of Precursor Cells from Waste Solid Fat Tissue; Identification of Bacteria and Determination of Biological Indicators; Further Development of Scaffolds for Regeneration of Nerves; Chemically Assisted Photocatalytic Oxidation System; Use of Atomic Oxygen for Increased Water Contact Angles of Various Polymers for Biomedical Applications; Crashworthy Seats Would Afford Superior Protection; Open-Access, Low-Magnetic-Field MRI System for Lung Research; Microfluidic Mixing Technology for a Universal Health Sensor; Microfluidic Extraction of Biomarkers using Water as Solvent; Microwell Arrays for Studying Many Individual Cells; Droplet-Based Production of Liposomes; and Identifying and Inactivating Bacterial Spores

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Indoor Navigation using Direction Sensor and Beacons

A system for indoor navigation of a mobile robot includes (1) modulated infrared beacons at known positions on the walls and ceiling of a room and (2) a cameralike sensor, comprising a wide-angle lens with a position-sensitive photodetector at the focal plane, mounted in a known position and orientation on the robot. The system also includes a computer running special-purpose software that processes the sensor readings to obtain the position and orientation of the robot in all six degrees of freedom in a coordinate system embedded in the room.

Shields, Joel↗

Video Mosaicking for Inspection of Gas Pipelines

A vision system that includes a specially designed video camera and an image-data-processing computer is under development as a prototype of robotic systems for visual inspection of the interior surfaces of pipes and especially of gas pipelines. The system is capable of providing both forward views and mosaicked radial views that can be displayed in real time or after inspection. To avoid the complexities associated with moving parts and to provide simultaneous forward and radial views, the video camera is equipped with a wide-angle (>165 ) fish-eye lens aimed along the axis of a pipe to be inspected. Nine white-light-emitting diodes (LEDs) placed just outside the field of view of the lens (see Figure 1) provide ample diffuse illumination for a high-contrast image of the interior pipe wall. The video camera contains a 2/3-in. (1.7-cm) charge-coupled-device (CCD) photodetector array and functions according to the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standard. The video output of the camera is sent to an off-the-shelf video capture board (frame grabber) by use of a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) interface in the computer, which is of the 400-MHz, Pentium II (or equivalent) class. Prior video-mosaicking techniques are applicable to narrow-field-of-view (low-distortion) images of evenly illuminated, relatively flat surfaces viewed along approximately perpendicular lines by cameras that do not rotate and that move approximately parallel to the viewed surfaces. One such technique for real-time creation of mosaic images of the ocean floor involves the use of visual correspondences based on area correlation, during both the acquisition of separate images of adjacent areas and the consolidation (equivalently, integration) of the separate images into a mosaic image, in order to insure that there are no gaps in the mosaic image. The data-processing technique used for mosaicking in the present system also involves area correlation, but with several notable differences: Because the wide-angle lens introduces considerable distortion, the image data must be processed to effectively unwarp the images (see Figure 2). The computer executes special software that includes an unwarping algorithm that takes explicit account of the cylindrical pipe geometry. To reduce the processing time needed for unwarping, parameters of the geometric mapping between the circular view of a fisheye lens and pipe wall are determined in advance from calibration images and compiled into an electronic lookup table. The software incorporates the assumption that the optical axis of the camera is parallel (rather than perpendicular) to the direction of motion of the camera. The software also compensates for the decrease in illumination with distance from the ring of LEDs.

Magruder, Darby↗

Field-flattener lens

Proposed spherical lens employs image flattening reflective surface within spherical refracting elements to focus light to flat image. Device is intended for use as optical scanner for silicon light detector. Lens can scan wide angle at low F-stops, producing high-resolution image over angle of wavelengths from 0.4 to 14 micrometers.

Vicik, F.↗

Optimized three-dimensional lenses for wide-angle scanning

Three-dimensional bootlace lens antennas with two and four focal points can be optimized to produce high-quality scanned beams over a wide field of view. For two-dimensional scanning, the planar feed locus is replaced by a curved feed locus designed to minimize path length errors. Comparisons with previous bootlace lens designs demonstrate the advantages of this focal distribution. The bifocal lens shows good scanning performance in both principal and orthogonal planes. The quadrufocal lens performs better in its principal plane than in its orthogonal plane. It is also shown that the quadrufocal lens can be realized with a planar outer surface and a circular focal arc, and improved scanning performance is still achievable. Further optimization of the focal arc and/or relaxation of the planar outer surface condition results in quadrufocal lenses with negligible phase errors in the principal plane.

Rappaport, C. M.↗

Outer planets mission television subsystem optics study

An optics study was performed to establish a candidate optical system design for the proposed NASA Mariner Jupiter/Saturn 77 mission. The study was performed over the 6-month period from January through June 1972. The candidate optical system contains both a wide angle (A) and a narrow angle (B) lens. An additional feature is a transfer mirror mechanism that allows image transfer from the B lens to the vidicon initially used for the A lens. This feature adds an operational redundancy to the optical system in allowing for narrow angle viewing if the narrow angle vidicon were to fail. In this failure mode, photography in the wide angle mode would be discontinued. The structure of the candidate system consists mainly of aluminum with substructures of Invar for athermalization. The total optical system weighs (excluding vidicons) approximately 30 pounds and has overall dimensions of 26.6 by 19.5 by 12.3 inches.

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Development of the design of a between-the-lens band type photographic shutter

When photographic equipment is miniaturized, in order to conserve weight and size for spacecraft use, by using wide angle, short focus lenses, a band-type central between-the-lens shutter must be used. The rectangular slot shape was the form with the highest optical efficiency. To overcome the problem of burrs caused in the punching out of the slots in a carbon steel band, a shape limited by arcs with radius equal to half the slot width is preferred.

Dorofeyev, A. S.↗