Electrical Tree Image Segmentation Using Hybrid Multi Scale Line Tracking Algorithm

Electrical trees are an aging mechanismmost associated with partial discharge(PD)activities in crosslinked polyethylene(XLPE)insulation of high-voltage(HV)cables.Characterization of electrical tree structures gained considerable attention from researchers since a deep understanding of the tree morphology is required to develop new insulation material.Two-dimensional(2D)optical microscopy is primarily used to examine tree structures and propagation shapes with image segmentation methods.However,since electrical trees can emerge in different shapes such as bush-type or branch-type,treeing images are complicated to segment due to manifestation of convoluted tree branches,leading to a high misclassification rate during segmentation.Therefore,this study proposed a new method for segmenting 2D electrical tree images based on the multi-scale line tracking algorithm(MSLTA)by integrating batch processing method.The proposed method,h-MSLTA aims to provide accurate segmentation of electrical tree images obtained over a period of tree propagation observation under optical microscopy.The initial phase involves XLPE sample preparation and treeing image acquisition under real-time microscopy observation.The treeing images are then sampled and binarized in pre-processing.In the next phase,segmentation of tree structures is performed using the h-MSLTA by utilizing batch processing in multiple instances of treeing duration.Finally,the comparative investigation has been conducted using standard performance assessment metrics,including accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,Dice coefficient and Matthew’s correlation coefficient(MCC).Based on segmentation performance evaluation against several established segmentation methods,h-MSLTA achieved better results of 95.43%accuracy,97.28%specificity,69.43%sensitivity rate with 23.38%and 24.16%average improvement in Dice coefficient and MCC score respectively over the original algorithm.In addition,h-MSLTA produced accurate measurement results of global tree parameters of length and width in comparison with the ground truth image.These results indicated that the proposed method had a solid performance in terms of segmenting electrical tree branches in 2D treeing images compared to other established techniques.

Zero-Index Metamaterial Superstrates UWB Antenna for Microwave Imaging Detection

Metamaterials(MTM)can enhance the properties of microwaves and also exceed some limitations of devices used in technical practice.Note that the antenna is the element for realizing a microwave imaging(MWI)system since it is where signal transmission and absorption occur.Ultra-Wideband(UWB)antenna superstrates with MTM elements to ensure the signal transmitted from the antenna reaches the tumor and is absorbed by the same antenna.The lack of conventional head imaging techniques,for instance,Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI)and Computerized Tomography(CT)-scan,has been demonstrated in the paper focusing on the point of failure of these techniques for prompt diagnosis and portable systems.Furthermore,the importance ofMWIhas been addressed elaborately to portray its effectiveness and aptness for a primary tumor diagnosis.Other than that,MTM element designs have been discussed thoroughly based on their performances towards the contributions to the better image resolution of MWI with detailed reasonings.This paper proposes the novel design of a Zeroindex Split RingResonator(SRR)MTMelement superstrate with a UWB antenna implemented in MWI systems for detecting tumor.The novel design of the MTM enables the realization of a high gain of a superstrate UWB antenna with the highest gain of 5.70 dB.Besides that,the MTM imitates the conduct of the zeroreflection phase on the resonance frequency,which does not exist.An antenna with an MTM unit is of a 7×4 and 10×5 Zero-index SRR MTM element that acts as a superstrate plane to the antenna.Apart from that,Rogers(RT5880)substrate material is employed to fabricate the designed MTM unit cell,with the following characteristics:0.51mm thickness,the loss tangent of 0.02,as well as the relative permittivity of 2.2,with Computer Simulation Technology(CST)performing the simulation and design.Both MTM unit cells of 7×4 and 10×5 attained 0°with respect to the reflection phase at the 2.70 GHz frequency band.The first design,MTM Antenna Design 1,consists of a 7×4 MTM unit cell that observed a rise of 5.70 dB with a return loss(S11)−20.007 dB at 2.70 GHz frequency.The second design,MTM Antenna Design 2,consists of 10×5 MTM unit cells that recorded a gain of 5.66 dB,having the return loss(S11)−19.734 dB at 2.70 GHz frequency.Comparing these two MTM elements superstrates with the antenna,one can notice that the 7×4 MTM element shape has a low number of the unit cell with high gain and is a better choice than the 10×5 MTM element in realizing MTM element superstrates antenna for MWI.