Development of VME system in RPC electronics for reactor neutrino experiment at Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant

VME system of the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) electronics for the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment is described in this paper. A 9U VME RPC trigger module (RTM) is designed to process coincidence signals coming from front end cards (FECs), to generate local triggers and send them to FECs to select the hit data from RPC detector, to report trigger information to a master trigger system and receive cross triggers from the master trigger system. Another 9U VME readout module is designed to collect data from all FECs, to send out configurations to FECs, and to transmit collected hit data to the data acquisition system via VME bus. Test results prove that the VME system is capable of treating a maximum data rate (2.2 MB·s-1 ), without data loss.

Low profile cavity-embedded ultra-wideband UHF array antenna with end-fire beams

A low-profile,vertically polarized,ultra-wideband array antenna with end-fire beams operating in an ultra-high frequency(UHF)band is developed in this paper.The array antenna consists of 1×16 log-periodic top-hat loaded monopole antenna arrays and is feasible to embed into a shallow cavity to further reduce the array height.Capacitance is introduced in the proposed antenna element to reduce profile height and the rectangular top hats are carefully designed to minimize the transverse dimension.Simulated results show that when the antenna array operates in a frequency range of 300 MHz-900 MHz,the end-fire radiation pattern achieves±45°scanning range in the horizontal plane.Then prototypes of the proposed end-fire antenna element and a uniformly spaced linear array(1×2)are fabricated and validated.The end-fire antenna array should be suitable for airborne applications where low-profile and conformal scanning phased antenna arrays with end-fire radiations are required.This design is attractive for airborne platform applications that are used to search,discover,identify,and scout the aerial target with vertically polarized beams.

Low-power SiPM readout BETA ASIC for space applications

The BETA application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC)is a fully programmable chip designed to amplify,shape and digitize the signal of up to 64 Silicon photomultiplier(SiPM)channels,with a power consumption of approximately~1 mW/channel.Owing to its dual-path gain,the BETA chip is capable of resolving single photoelectrons(phes)with a signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)>5 while simultaneously achieving a dynamic range of~4000 phes.Thus,BETA can provide a cost-effective solution for the readout of SiPMs in space missions and other applications with a maximum rate below 10 kHz.In this study,we describe the key characteristics of the BETA ASIC and present an evaluation of the performance of its 16-channel version,which is implemented using 130 nm technology.The ASIC also contains two discriminators that can provide trigger signals with a time jitter down to 400 ps FWHM for 10 phes.The linearity error of the charge gain measurement was less than 2%for a dynamic range as large as 15 bits.

Improved organs at risk segmentation based on modified U‐Net with self‐attention and consistency regularisation

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world,with radiotherapy as one of the treatment options.Radiotherapy planning starts with delineating the affected area from healthy organs,called organs at risk(OAR).A new approach to automatic OAR seg-mentation in the chest cavity in Computed Tomography(CT)images is presented.The proposed approach is based on the modified U‐Net architecture with the ResNet‐34 encoder,which is the baseline adopted in this work.The new two‐branch CS‐SA U‐Net architecture is proposed,which consists of two parallel U‐Net models in which self‐attention blocks with cosine similarity as query‐key similarity function(CS‐SA)blocks are inserted between the encoder and decoder,which enabled the use of con-sistency regularisation.The proposed solution demonstrates state‐of‐the‐art performance for the problem of OAR segmentation in CT images on the publicly available SegTHOR benchmark dataset in terms of a Dice coefficient(oesophagus-0.8714,heart-0.9516,trachea-0.9286,aorta-0.9510)and Hausdorff distance(oesophagus-0.2541,heart-0.1514,trachea-0.1722,aorta-0.1114)and significantly outperforms the baseline.The current approach is demonstrated to be viable for improving the quality of OAR segmentation for radiotherapy planning.

Guest Editorial:Special issue on advances in representation learning for computer vision

Deep learning has been a catalyst for a transformative revo-lution in machine learning and computer vision in the past decade.Within these research domains,methods grounded in deep learning have exhibited exceptional performance across a spectrum of tasks.The success of deep learning methods can be attributed to their capability to derive potent representations from data,integral for a myriad of downstream applications.These representations encapsulate the intrinsic structure,fea-tures,or latent variables characterising the underlying statistics of visual data.Despite these achievements,the challenge per-sists in effectively conducting representation learning of visual data with deep models,particularly when confronted with vast and noisy datasets.This special issue is a dedicated platform for researchers worldwide to disseminate their latest,high-quality articles,aiming to enhance readers'comprehension of the principles,limitations,and diverse applications of repre-sentation learning in computer vision.

First Principles Calculations for Corrosion in Mg-Li-Al Alloys with Focus on Corrosion Resistance: A Comprehensive Review

This comprehensive review examines the structural,mechanical,electronic,and thermodynamic properties of Mg-Li-Al alloys,focusing on their corrosion resistance and mechanical performance enhancement.Utilizing first-principles calculations based on Density Functional Theory(DFT)and the quasi-harmonic approximation(QHA),the combined properties of the Mg-Li-Al phase are explored,revealing superior incompressibility,shear resistance,and stiffness compared to individual elements.The review highlights the brittleness of the alloy,supported by B/G ratios,Cauchy pressures,and Poisson’s ratios.Electronic structure analysis shows metallic behavior with varied covalent bonding characteristics,while Mulliken population analysis emphasizes significant electron transfer within the alloy.This paper also studied thermodynamic properties,including Debye temperature,heat capacity,enthalpy,free energy,and entropy,which are precisely examined,highlighting the Mg-Li-Al phase sensitive to thermal conductivity and thermal performance potential.Phonon density of states(PHDOS)confirms dynamic stability,while anisotropic sound velocities reveal elastic anisotropies.This comprehensive review not only consolidates the current understanding of the Mg-Li-Al alloy’s properties but also proposes innovative strategies for enhancing corrosion resistance.Among these strategies is the introduction of a corrosion barrier akin to the Mg-Li-Al network,which holds promise for advancing both the applications and performance of these alloys.This review serves as a crucial foundation for future research aimed at optimizing alloy design and processing methods.

SmartMicro Grid Energy System Management Based on Optimum Running Cost for Rural Communities in Rwanda

The governmental electric utility and the private sector are joining hands to meet the target of electrifying all households by 2024.However,the aforementioned goal is challenged by households that are scattered in remote areas.So far,Solar Home Systems(SHS)have mostly been applied to increase electricity access in rural areas.SHSs have continuous constraints to meet electricity demands and cannot run income-generating activities.The current research presents the feasibility study of electrifying Remera village with the smart microgrid as a case study.The renewable energy resources available in Remera are the key sources of electricity in that village.The generation capacity is estimated based on the load profile.The microgrid configurations are simulated with HOMER,and the genetic algorithm is used to analyze the optimum cost.By analyzing the impact of operation and maintenance costs,the results show that the absence of subsidies increases the levelized cost of electricity(COE)five times greater than the electricity price from the public utility.The microgrid made up of PV,diesel generator,and batteries proved to be the most viable solution and ensured continuous power supply to customers.By considering the subsidies,COE reaches 0.186$/kWh,a competitive price with electricity from public utilities in Rwanda.

Conducting Polymer-Based e-Refinery for Sustainable Hydrogen Peroxide Production

Electrocatalysis enables the industrial transition to sustainable production of chemicals using abundant precursors and electricity from renewable sources.De-centralized production of hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2))from water and oxygen of air is highly desirable for daily life and industry.We report an effective electrochemical refinery(e-refinery)for H_(2)O_(2)by means of electrocatalysis-controlled comproportionation reaction(2_(H)O+o→2HO),feeding pure water and oxygen only.Mesoporous nickel(Ⅱ)oxide(NiO)was used as electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction(OER),producing oxygen at the anode.Conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS)drove the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),forming H_(2)O_(2)on the cathode.The reactions were evaluated in both half-cell and device configurations.The performance of the H_(2)O_(2)e-refinery,assembled on anion-exchange solid electrolyte and fed with pure water,was limited by the unbalanced ionic transport.Optimization of the operation conditions allowed a conversion efficiency of 80%.

Depolarization Degree to Determine Dihedral Attribute of Radar Target

This paper investigates the ability of the depolarization degree, derived from the characteristic polarization states at the resonant frequency set, to identify corner or swept, i.e. dihedral, changes in same-class targets by a metallic wire example. A well-estimated depolarization degree requires a robust extraction of the fundamental target resonance set in two orthogonal sets of fully co-polarized and cross-polarized polarization channels, then finding the null polarization states using the Lagrangian method. Such depolarization degree per resonance mode has the potential to form a robust feature set because it is relatively less sensitive to onset ambiguity, invariant to rotation, and could create a compact, recognizable, and separable distribution in the proposed feature space. The study was limited to two targets with two swept changes of fifteen degrees within normal incidence;under a supervised learning approach, the results showed that the identification rate converging to upper-bound (100%) for a signal-to-noise ratio above 20 dB and lower-bound around (50%) below −10 dB.

Nickel-based superalloy architectures with surface mechanical attrition treatment: Compressive properties and collapse behaviour

Surface modifications can introduce natural gradients or structural hierarchy into human-made microlattices,making them simultaneously strong and tough.Herein,we describe our investigations of the mechanical properties and the underlying mechanisms of additively manufactured nickel–chromium superalloy(IN625)microlattices after surface mechanical attrition treatment(SMAT).Our results demonstrated that SMAT increased the yielding strength of these microlattices by more than 64.71%and also triggered a transition in their mechanical behaviour.Two primary failure modes were distinguished:weak global deformation,and layer-by-layer collapse,with the latter enhanced by SMAT.The significantly improved mechanical performance was attributable to the ultrafine and hard graded-nanograin layer induced by SMAT,which effectively leveraged the material and structural effects.These results were further validated by finite element analysis.This work provides insight into collapse behaviour and should facilitate the design of ultralight yet buckling-resistant cellular materials.

Real-Time Tunable Gas Sensing Platform Based on SnO_(2) Nanoparticles Activated by Blue Micro-Light-Emitting Diodes

Micro-light-emitting diodes(μLEDs)have gained significant interest as an activation source for gas sensors owing to their advantages,including room temperature operation and low power consumption.However,despite these benefits,challenges still exist such as a limited range of detectable gases and slow response.In this study,we present a blueμLED-integrated light-activated gas sensor array based on SnO_(2)nanoparticles(NPs)that exhibit excellent sensitivity,tunable selectivity,and rapid detection with micro-watt level power consumption.The optimal power forμLED is observed at the highest gas response,supported by finite-difference time-domain simulation.Additionally,we first report the visible light-activated selective detection of reducing gases using noble metal-decorated SnO_(2)NPs.The noble metals induce catalytic interaction with reducing gases,clearly distinguishing NH3,H2,and C2H5OH.Real-time gas monitoring based on a fully hardwareimplemented light-activated sensing array was demonstrated,opening up new avenues for advancements in light-activated electronic nose technologies.

The Pairing Analysis Improvement of Magnetized Structure in Electromagnetic Bulging Process in Case of Tube with Field Shaper

In the current practical science, the accuracy in the formability of metal alloys being the goal when using electromagnetic forming (EMF) technology, which is a high-speed processing technology that uses Lorentz forces to achieve plastic deformation of sheet metal;according to the previous analysis, the results have shown that in most cases, the Lorentz force acting on the workpiece (metal) is not uniform, there are uneven axial deformations of the metal plates which prevent the rapid advancement of today’s technology. In this article, we presented some advanced analyzes which will lead us to improve the technical solution for the problems of non-uniform axial deformations of the metals in the traditional tube electromagnetic forming technology (EMF). A field shaper is used as a practical forming tool to influence the magnetic field and magnetic pressure distribution, thereby improving the forming ability and result during the electromagnetic forming (EMF) process and we see that induced eddy current control is realized by changing the structural parameters of the magnetic field shaper;which improves the strength and controllability of the magnetic force that acts on the workpiece;thereby a greater radial magnetic pressure can be achieved with field shaper than the case without it;the field shaper regulates the electromagnetic force, the distribution of the magnetic pressure decreases, and the uniform force area of the tube increases which effectively enhances the uniform range of the pipe electromagnetic bulging and the electromagnetic induction coupling between the coil and the metallic workpiece is generally required to produce the Lorentz forces. Using COMSOL Multiphysics® simulation software helped us to accurately represent the real world, simulating multiple physical effects that happened in this model during the process.

利用近似解加速求解SAT问题的启发式完全算法

结合DPLL完全算法能够证明可满足性(SAT)问题的不可满足性和局部搜索算法快速的优点,提出利用近似解加速求解SAT问题的启发式完全算法.首先利用局部搜索算法快速地得到一个近似解,并将该近似解作为完全算法的初始输入,用于其中分支变量的相位决策.该算法引导完全算法优先搜索近似解所在的子空间,加速解决器找到可满足解的过程,为SAT问题的求解提供了一种新的有效途径.实验结果表明,该算法有效地提高了决策的精度和SAT解决器的效率,对很多实例非常有效.

干涉型光纤传感器阵列消PIF技术的研究

针对低双折射光纤双光束干涉型传感器两臂偏振态随机变化引起的信号衰落 ,提出了一种新型消偏振方式 ,它可以在可见度略有下降的情况下 ,较好地消除偏振态变化引起的干涉信号可见度的随机变化。该方案是通过相互正交的两个偏振态来补偿由于其中一个偏振态变化导致的干涉信号衰落。通过自动增益控制电路可以使传感信号稳定 ,能够在信噪比有所下降的情况下消除偏振衰落的影响 。

Angle estimation in bistatic MIMO radar using improved reduced dimension Capon algorithm

This paper discusses the problem of direction of departure （DOD） and direction of arrival （DOA） estimation for a bistatic multiple input multiple output （MIMO） radar, and proposes an improved reduced-dimension Capon algorithm therein. Compared with the reduced-dimension Capon algorithm which requires pair matching between the two-dimensional angle estimation, the pro- posed algorithm can obtain automatically paired DOD and DOA estimation without debasing the performance of angle estimation in bistatic MIMO radar. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm has a lower complexity than the reduced-dimension Capon algorithm, and it is suitable for non-uniform linear arrays. The complexity of the proposed algorithm is analyzed and the Cramer-Rao bound （CRB） is also derived. Simulation results verify the usefulness of the proposed algorithm.

Mathematical analyses of the GPS receiver interference tolerance and mean time to loss lock

In this paper, novel mathematical expressions are derived for the Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver interference tolerance in the presence of different types of interference signals such as: continuous wave interference, narrowband interference, partial band interference, broadband interference, match spectrum interference and pulse interference. Also, in this paper the mean time to loss lock is determined in order to analyse the mentioned interferences effect on the GPS receiver. These derived analytical expressions are validated with the aid of extensive simulation experiments.

External Characteristics and Internal Flow Features of a Centrifugal Pump during Rapid Startup

Centrifugal pumps always work under steady conditions,and many researches focus on the steady operation.But transient conditions,such as sudden startup and shutdown,are inevitable.The researches on the inner flow of centrifugal pumps under transient conditions have been done,and they show that the transient operation is different from the steady operation.In order to research the evolution of unsteady flow in a centrifugal pump under transient conditions,and to investigate the mechanism of transient effects by analyzing the unsteady flow in a centrifugal pump,the external characteristic experiment and the internal flow numerical calculation of the centrifugal pump with an open impeller during startup is presented.The relationships of the rotation speed,capacity and head between start-time are obtained by the external characteristics experiment.The numerical calculations under startup process are carried out by using the k-e model and N-S equation.The distribution of velocity and pressure in the inner channel of the tested pump was obtained by choosing fourteen start-time points and twelve geometrical points in the impeller channel during startup.The calculation results show that the velocity and the pressure increase linearly with the start-time before rotation＇s speed gets steady,then changes almost horizontally after rotation speed becomes steady,then fluctuates until being steady.The internal flow characteristics are in good agreement with the external characteristic experimental results and numerical calculation.The simulation methods and results make the basis for the diagnosis and optimization of under flow in the centrifugal pump during transient operation.

Effect of surface treatment for aluminum foils on discharge properties of lithium-ion battery

Aluminum foils having thicknesses of 10-20 μm are commonly employed as current collectors for cathode electrodes in Li-ion batteries. The effects of the surface morphology of the foil on battery performance were investigated by using a foil with roughened surface by chemical etching and a plain foil with smooth surface on both sides. For high-conductivity LiCoO2 active materials with large particle size, there are no significant differences in battery performance between the two types of foils. But for low-conductivity LiFePO4 active materials with small particle size, high-rate discharge properties are significantly different. The possibility shows that optimizing both the surface morphology of the aluminum foil and particle size of active material leads to improvement of the battery performance.

Determination of spatial resolution of plastic scintillation fiber array with a simple method

The spatial resolution of a position sensitive gamma-ray detector configuration based on plastic scintillation fiber array was measured using a Monte Carlo simulation method. Both point spread function and modulation transfer function (MTF) were presented. The factors that influence the spatial resolution were also discussed. The results of the simulation showed that the intrinsic spatial resolution was consistent with the size of the physical pixels and a few centimeters spatial resolution could be obtained under certain circumstances.

A digitalizing board for the prototype array of LHAASO WCDA

In this paper,a digitalizing board for readout of PMT signals in the prototype array of WCDA(water Cerenkov detector array)for LHAASO(Large high altitude air shower observatory)is designed.The prototype array is composed of 9 PMTs,including the pulse time and charge measurement from the PMTs,and clock generation and trigger decision.In the digitalizing board,FPGA reconfiguration and data readout via VME bus are implemented.Test results show that the performances meet well with the requirements of readout electronics.It has been installed in Yangbajing and tests with the prototype array and DAQ is ongoing.