Measurment of gas-liquid two-phase slug flow with a Venturi meter based on blind source separation

We propose a novel flow measurement method for gas–liquid two-phase slug flow by using the blind source separation technique. The flow measurement model is established based on the fluctuation characteristics of differential pressure(DP) signals measured from a Venturi meter. It is demonstrated that DP signals of two-phase flow are a linear mixture of DP signals of single phase fluids. The measurement model is a combination of throttle relationship and blind source separation model. In addition, we estimate the mixture matrix using the independent component analysis(ICA) technique. The mixture matrix could be described using the variances of two DP signals acquired from two Venturi meters. The validity of the proposed model was tested in the gas–liquid twophase flow loop facility. Experimental results showed that for most slug flow the relative error is within 10%.We also find that the mixture matrix is beneficial to investigate the flow mechanism of gas–liquid two-phase flow.

Drilling-based measuring method for the c-φ parameter of rock and its field application

The technology of drilling tests makes it possible to obtain the strength parameter of rock accurately in situ. In this paper, a new rock cutting analysis model that considers the influence of the rock crushing zone(RCZ) is built. The formula for an ultimate cutting force is established based on the limit equilibrium principle. The relationship between digital drilling parameters(DDP) and the c-φ parameter(DDP-cφ formula, where c refers to the cohesion and φ refers to the internal friction angle) is derived, and the response of drilling parameters and cutting ratio to the strength parameters is analyzed. The drillingbased measuring method for the c-φ parameter of rock is constructed. The laboratory verification test is then completed, and the difference in results between the drilling test and the compression test is less than 6%. On this basis, in-situ rock drilling tests in a traffic tunnel and a coal mine roadway are carried out, and the strength parameters of the surrounding rock are effectively tested. The average difference ratio of the results is less than 11%, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method for obtaining the strength parameters based on digital drilling. This study provides methodological support for field testing of rock strength parameters.

Early warning method for thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries under thermal abuse condition based on online electrochemical impedance monitoring

Early warning of thermal runaway(TR)of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)is a significant challenge in current application scenarios.Timely and effective TR early warning technology is urgently required considering the current fire safety situation of LIBs.In this work,we report an early warning method of TR with online electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)monitoring,which overcomes the shortcomings of warning methods based on traditional signals such as temperature,gas,and pressure with obvious delay and high cost.With in-situ data acquisition through accelerating rate calorimeter(ARC)-EIS test,the crucial features of TR were extracted using the RReliefF algorithm.TR mechanisms corresponding to the features at specific frequencies were analyzed.Finally,a three-level warning strategy for single battery,series module,and parallel module was formulated,which can successfully send out an early warning signal ahead of the self-heating temperature of battery under thermal abuse condition.The technology can provide a reliable basis for the timely intervention of battery thermal management and fire protection systems and is expected to be applied to electric vehicles and energy storage devices to realize early warning and improve battery safety.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of cultivated land use eco-efficiency and its influencing factors in China from 2000 to 2020

Improving cultivated land use eco-efficiency(CLUE)can effectively promote agricultural sustainability,particularly in developing countries where CLUE is generally low.This study used provincial-level data from China to evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of CLUE from 2000 to 2020 and identified the influencing factors of CLUE by using a panel Tobit model.In addition,given the undesirable outputs of agricultural production,we incorporated carbon emissions and nonpoint source pollution into the global benchmark-undesirable output-super efficiency-slacks-based measure(GB-US-SBM)model,which combines global benchmark technology,undesirable output,super efficiency,and slacks-based measure.The results indicated that there was an upward trend in CLUE in China from 2000 to 2020,with an increase rate of 2.62%.The temporal evolution of CLUE in China could be classified into three distinct stages:a period of fluctuating decrease(2000-2007),a phase of gradual increase(2008-2014),and a period of rapid growth(2015-2020).The major grain-producing areas(MPAs)had a lower CLUE than their counterparts,namely,non-major grain-production areas(non-MPAs).The spatial agglomeration effect followed a northeast-southwest strip distribution;and the movement path of barycentre revealed a"P"shape,with Luoyang City,Henan Province,as the centre.In terms of influencing factors of CLUE,investment in science and technology played the most vital role in improving CLUE,while irrigation index had the most negative effect.It should be noted that these two influencing factors had different impacts on MPAs and non-MPAs.Therefore,relevant departments should formulate policies to enhance the level of science and technology,improve irrigation condition,and promote sustainable utilization of cultivated land.

Bunch-length measurement at a bunch-by-bunch rate based on time–frequency-domain joint analysis techniques and its application

This paper presents a new technique for measuring the bunch length of a high-energy electron beam at a bunch-by-bunch rate in storage rings.This technique uses the time–frequency-domain joint analysis of the bunch signal to obtain bunch-by-bunch and turn-by-turn longitudinal parameters,such as bunch length and synchronous phase.The bunch signal is obtained using a button electrode with a bandwidth of several gigahertz.The data acquisition device was a high-speed digital oscilloscope with a sampling rate of more than 10 GS/s,and the single-shot sampling data buffer covered thousands of turns.The bunch-length and synchronous phase information were extracted via offline calculations using Python scripts.The calibration coefficient of the system was determined using a commercial streak camera.Moreover,this technique was tested on two different storage rings and successfully captured various longitudinal transient processes during the harmonic cavity debugging process at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility(SSRF),and longitudinal instabilities were observed during the single-bunch accumulation process at Hefei Light Source(HLS).For Gaussian-distribution bunches,the uncertainty of the bunch phase obtained using this technique was better than 0.2 ps,and the bunch-length uncertainty was better than 1 ps.The dynamic range exceeded 10 ms.This technology is a powerful and versatile beam diagnostic tool that can be conveniently deployed in high-energy electron storage rings.

Applying the Shearlet-Based Complexity Measure for Analyzing Mass Transfer in Continuous-Flow Microchannels

Continuous-flow microchannels are widely employed for synthesizing various materials,including nanoparticles,polymers,and metal-organic frameworks(MOFs),to name a few.Microsystem technology allows precise control over reaction parameters,resulting in purer,more uniform,and structurally stable products due to more effective mass transfer manipulation.However,continuous-flow synthesis processes may be accompanied by the emergence of spatial convective structures initiating convective flows.On the one hand,convection can accelerate reactions by intensifying mass transfer.On the other hand,it may lead to non-uniformity in the final product or defects,especially in MOF microcrystal synthesis.The ability to distinguish regions of convective and diffusive mass transfer may be the key to performing higher-quality reactions and obtaining purer products.In this study,we investigate,for the first time,the possibility of using the information complexity measure as a criterion for assessing the intensity of mass transfer in microchannels,considering both spatial and temporal non-uniformities of liquid’s distributions resulting from convection formation.We calculate the complexity using shearlet transform based on a local approach.In contrast to existing methods for calculating complexity,the shearlet transform based approach provides a more detailed representation of local heterogeneities.Our analysis involves experimental images illustrating the mixing process of two non-reactive liquids in a Y-type continuous-flow microchannel under conditions of double-diffusive convection formation.The obtained complexity fields characterize the mixing process and structure formation,revealing variations in mass transfer intensity along the microchannel.We compare the results with cases of liquid mixing via a pure diffusive mechanism.Upon analysis,it was revealed that the complexity measure exhibits sensitivity to variations in the type of mass transfer,establishing its feasibility as an indirect criterion for assessing mass transfer intensity.The method presented can extend beyond flow analysis,finding application in the controlling of microstructures of various materials(porosity,for instance)or surface defects in metals,optical systems and other materials that hold significant relevance in materials science and engineering.

The influences of canopy temperature measuring on the derived crop water stress index

Crop water stress index(CWSI)is widely used for efficient irrigation management.Precise canopy temperature(T_(c))measurement is necessary to derive a reliable CWSI.The objective of this research was to investigate the influences of atmospheric conditions,settled height,view angle of infrared thermography,and investigating time of temperature measuring on the performance of the CWSI.Three irrigation treatments were used to create different soil water conditions during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 winter wheat-growing seasons.The CWSI was calculated using the CWSI-E(an empirical approach)and CWSI-T(a theoretical approach)based on the T_(c).Weather conditions were recorded continuously throughout the experimental period.The results showed that atmospheric conditions influenced the estimation of the CWSI;when the vapor pressure deficit(VPD)was>2000 Pa,the estimated CWSI was related to soil water conditions.The height of the installed infrared thermograph influenced the T_(c)values,and the differences among the T_(c)values measured at height of 3,5,and 10 m was smaller in the afternoon than in the morning.However,the lens of the thermometer facing south recorded a higher T_(c)than those facing east or north,especially at a low height,indicating that the direction of the thermometer had a significant influence on T_(c).There was a large variation in CWSI derived at different times of the day,and the midday measurements(12:00-15:00)were the most reliable for estimating CWSI.Negative linear relationships were found between the transpiration rate and CWSI-E(R^(2)of 0.3646-0.5725)and CWSI-T(R^(2)of 0.5407-0.7213).The relations between fraction of available soil water(FASW)with CWSI-T was higher than that with CWSI-E,indicating CWSI-T was more accurate for predicting crop water status.In addition,The R^(2)between CWSI-T and FASW at 14:00 was higher than that at other times,indicating that 14:00 was the optimal time for using the CWSI for crop water status monitoring.Relative higher yield of winter wheat was obtained with average seasonal values of CWSI-E and CWSI-T around 0.23 and 0.25-0.26,respectively.The CWSI-E values were more easily influenced by meteorological factors and the timing of the measurements,and using the theoretical approach to derive the CWSI was recommended for precise irrigation water management.

A New Device for Gas-Liquid Flow Measurements Relying on Forced Annular Flow

A new measurement device,consisting of swirling blades and capsule-shaped throttling elements,is proposed in this study to eliminate typical measurement errors caused by complex flow patterns in gas-liquid flow.The swirling blades are used to transform the complex flow pattern into a forced annular flow.Drawing on the research of existing blockage flow meters and also exploiting the single-phase flow measurement theory,a formula is introduced to measure the phase-separated flow of gas and liquid.The formula requires the pressure ratio,Lockhart-Martinelli number(L-M number),and the gas phase Froude number.The unknown parameters appearing in the formula are fitted through numerical simulation using computational fluid dynamics(CFD),which involves a comprehensive analysis of the flow field inside the device from multiple perspectives,and takes into account the influence of pressure fluctuations.Finally,the measurement model is validated through an experimental error analysis.The results demonstrate that the measurement error can be maintained within±8%for various flow patterns,including stratified flow,bubble flow,and wave flow.

Research progress on micro-force measurement of a hydrate particle system

It remains a great challenge to understand the hydrates involved in phenomena in practical oil and gas systems.The adhesion forces between hydrate particles,between hydrate particles and pipe walls,and between hydrate particles and reservoir particles are essential factors that control the behaviors of clathrate hydrates in different applications.In this review,we summarize the typical micro-force measurement apparatus and methods utilized to study hydrate particle systems.In addition,the adhesion test results,the related understandings,and the applied numerical calculation models are systematically discussed.

Beyond functional MRI signals:molecular and cellular modifiers of the functional connectome and cognition

Our brain is constantly active.Even at rest,the brain carries out essential functions such as maintenance of resting potentials,subthreshold synaptic activity,and spiking activity related to information processing.This resting activity can be assessed with several in vivo tools,such as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.This technique measures subtle changes in blood flow,volume,and oxygenation that occur over time.Although vascular in nature,resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging is considered a reliable proxy of neural activity and several studies have shown that the brain is functionally divided into interacting neural networks called the“functional connectome”.

Analysis of the Reform of Ideological and Political Education in College English Curriculum from the Perspective of“Cultural Confidence”

With the rapid development of the education industry,higher requirements have been put forward for college English education and teaching,accelerating the pace of college English reform.Issues such as how to integrate knowledge transmission,language expression skill improvement,cultural element extraction,and ideological and political education,and present the role of curriculum education function have attracted attention.In the era of informatization,college students’thinking has undergone certain changes and gradually developed towards diversification.Therefore,universities should start from the perspective of cultural confidence,extract valuable ideological and political elements,and explore effective tourism ideological and political teaching methods.While helping college students enhance their cultural confidence,it is also beneficial for them to better inherit traditional Chinese culture.This article conducts an in-depth exploration of ideological and political education in college English courses from the perspective of“cultural confidence”and uses scientific and effective measures to solve the problems encountered,aiming to provide valuable guidelines for relevant researchers.

TBAB hydrate formation and growth in a microdevice under static and dynamic conditions

The natural gas hydrate has become one of the most promising future green energy sources on the earth.The natural gas hydrates mostly exist in the sediments with porous structure, so a solid understanding of the hydrate formation and growth processes in the porous medium is of significance for the exploitation of natural gas hydrate. The micro-packed bed device is one of the efficient microfluidic devices in the engineering field, but it has been rarely used for the hydrate-based research. In this study, a transparent micro-packed bed device filled with glass beads was developed to mimic the porous condition of sediments, and used to in-situ visualize the hydrate formation and growth habits in the pore spaces under both static and dynamic conditions. For the static experiment, two types of hydrate growth patterns in porous medium were observed and identified in the micro-packed bed device, which were the graincoating growth and pore-filling growth. For the dynamic condition, the hydrate formation, growth,distribution habits and hydrate blockage phenomena in the pore spaces were in-situ visually captured.The impacts of flowrate and subcooling on the pressure variation of the micro-packed bed and the duration of the hydrate growth under dynamic flow condition in pores were in-situ monitored and analyzed. The higher flowrate could result in the faster hydrate growth and more severe blockage in pores, but the effect of subcooling condition might be less significant at the high flowrate.

FPGA and computer-vision-based atom tracking technology for scanning probe microscopy

Atom tracking technology enhanced with innovative algorithms has been implemented in this study,utilizing a comprehensive suite of controllers and software independently developed domestically.Leveraging an on-board field-programmable gate array(FPGA)with a core frequency of 100 MHz,our system facilitates reading and writing operations across 16 channels,performing discrete incremental proportional-integral-derivative(PID)calculations within 3.4 microseconds.Building upon this foundation,gradient and extremum algorithms are further integrated,incorporating circular and spiral scanning modes with a horizontal movement accuracy of 0.38 pm.This integration enhances the real-time performance and significantly increases the accuracy of atom tracking.Atom tracking achieves an equivalent precision of at least 142 pm on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite(HOPG)surface under room temperature atmospheric conditions.Through applying computer vision and image processing algorithms,atom tracking can be used when scanning a large area.The techniques primarily consist of two algorithms:the region of interest(ROI)-based feature matching algorithm,which achieves 97.92%accuracy,and the feature description-based matching algorithm,with an impressive 99.99%accuracy.Both implementation approaches have been tested for scanner drift measurements,and these technologies are scalable and applicable in various domains of scanning probe microscopy with broad application prospects in the field of nanoengineering.

Measurement and Analysis of Vibration Effect of Free-falling Corner Cube Driving Mechanism in Free Fall Absolute Gravimeter

The vibration interference of the reference corner cube runs through the free flight process of the free-falling corner cube,which is superimposed on the whole laser interference fringes.Thus,it is necessary to solve the interference fringes with the entire fringe to analyze the quantitative influence of vibration on gravity measurements.

Research status and challenges in the manufacturing of IR conformal optics

The infrared conformal window is one of the most critical components in aircraft.Conformal windows with high performance bring low aberrations,high aerodynamic performance,reliability in extreme working environments,and added value for aircraft.Through the past decades,remarkable advances have been achieved in manufacturing technologies for conformal windows,where the machining accuracy approaches the nanometer level,and the surface form becomes more complex.These advances are critical to aircraft development,and these manufacturing technologies also have significant reference values for other directions of the ultra-precision machining field.In this review,the infrared materials suitable for manufacturing conformal windows are introduced and compared with insights into their performances.The remarkable advances and concrete work accomplished by researchers are reviewed.The challenges in manufacturing conformal windows that should be faced in the future are discussed.

Development of a toroidal soft x-ray imaging system and application for investigating three-dimensional plasma on J-TEXT

A toroidal soft x-ray imaging(T-SXRI)system has been developed to investigate threedimensional(3D)plasma physics on J-TEXT.This T-SXRI system consists of three sets of SXR arrays.Two sets are newly developed and located on the vacuum chamber wall at toroidal positionsφof 126.4°and 272.6°,respectively,while one set was established previously atφ=65.50.Each set of SXR arrays consists of three arrays viewing the plasma poloidally,and hence can be used separately to obtain SXR images via the tomographic method.The sawtooth precursor oscillations are measured by T-SXRI,and the corresponding images of perturbative SXR signals are successfully reconstructed at these three toroidal positions,hence providing measurement of the 3D structure of precursor oscillations.The observed 3D structure is consistent with the helical structure of the m/n=1/1 mode.The experimental observation confirms that the T-SXRI system is able to observe 3D structures in the J-TEXT plasma.

Unknown Environment Measurement Mapping by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Using Kalman Filter-Based Low-Cost Estimated Parallel 8-Beam LIDAR

The measurement and mapping of objects in the outer environment have traditionally been conducted using ground-based monitoring systems,as well as satellites.More recently,unmanned aerial vehicles have also been employed for this purpose.The accurate detection and mapping of a target such as buildings,trees,and terrains are of utmost importance in various applications of unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs),including search and rescue operations,object transportation,object detection,inspection tasks,and mapping activities.However,the rapid measurement and mapping of the object are not currently achievable due to factors such as the object’s size,the intricate nature of the sites,and the complexity of mapping algorithms.The present system introduces a costeffective solution for measurement and mapping by utilizing a small unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)equipped with an 8-beam Light Detection and Ranging(LiDAR)system.This approach offers advantages over traditional methods that rely on expensive cameras and complex algorithm-based approaches.The reflective properties of laser beams have also been investigated.The system provides prompt results in comparison to traditional camerabased surveillance,with minimal latency and the need for complex algorithms.The Kalman estimation method demonstrates improved performance in the presence of noise.The measurement and mapping of external objects have been successfully conducted at varying distances,utilizing different resolutions.

MULTIPLE INTERSECTIONS OF SPACE-TIME ANISOTROPIC GAUSSIAN FIELDS

Let X={X(t)∈R^(d),t∈R^(N)}be a centered space-time anisotropic Gaussian field with indices H=(H_(1),…,H_(N))∈(0,1)~N,where the components X_(i)(i=1,…,d)of X are independent,and the canonical metric√(E(X_(i)(t)-X_(i)(s))^(2))^(1/2)(i=1,…,d)is commensurate with■for s=(s_(1),…,s_(N)),t=(t_(1),…,t_(N))∈R~N,α_(i)∈(0,1],and with the continuous functionγ(·)satisfying certain conditions.First,the upper and lower bounds of the hitting probabilities of X can be derived from the corresponding generalized Hausdorff measure and capacity,which are based on the kernel functions depending explicitly onγ(·).Furthermore,the multiple intersections of the sample paths of two independent centered space-time anisotropic Gaussian fields with different distributions are considered.Our results extend the corresponding results for anisotropic Gaussian fields to a large class of space-time anisotropic Gaussian fields.

A seismic elastic moduli module for the measurements of low-frequency wave dispersion and attenuation of fluid-saturated rocks under different pressures

Knowledge about the seismic elastic modulus dispersion,and associated attenuation,in fluid-saturated rocks is essential for better interpretation of seismic observations taken as part of hydrocarbon identification and time-lapse seismic surveillance of both conventional and unconventional reservoir and overburden performances.A Seismic Elastic Moduli Module has been developed,based on the forced-oscillations method,to experimentally investigate the frequency dependence of Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio,as well as the inferred attenuation,of cylindrical samples under different confining pressure conditions.Calibration with three standard samples showed that the measured elastic moduli were consistent with the published data,indicating that the new apparatus can operate reliably over a wide frequency range of f∈[1-2000,10^(6)]Hz.The Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the shale and the tight sandstone samples were measured under axial stress oscillations to assess the frequency-and pressure-dependent effects.Under dry condition,both samples appear to be nearly frequency independent,with weak pressure dependence for the shale and significant pressure dependence for the sandstone.In particular,it was found that the tight sandstone with complex pore microstructure exhibited apparent dispersion and attenuation under brine or glycerin saturation conditions,the levels of which were strongly influenced by the increased effective pressure.In addition,the measured Young's moduli results were compared with the theoretical predictions from a scaled poroelastic model with a reasonably good agreement,revealing that the combined fluid flow mechanisms at both mesoscopic and microscopic scales possibly responsible for the measured dispersion.

Triple-path feature transform network for ring-array photoacoustic tomography image reconstruction

Photoacoustic imaging(PAI)is a noninvasive emerging imaging method based on the photoacoustic effect,which provides necessary assistance for medical diagnosis.It has the characteristics of large imaging depth and high contrast.However,limited by the equipment cost and reconstruction time requirements,the existing PAI systems distributed with annular array transducers are difficult to take into account both the image quality and the imaging speed.In this paper,a triple-path feature transform network(TFT-Net)for ring-array photoacoustic tomography is proposed to enhance the imaging quality from limited-view and sparse measurement data.Specifically,the network combines the raw photoacoustic pressure signals and conventional linear reconstruction images as input data,and takes the photoacoustic physical model as a prior information to guide the reconstruction process.In addition,to enhance the ability of extracting signal features,the residual block and squeeze and excitation block are introduced into the TFT-Net.For further efficient reconstruction,the final output of photoacoustic signals uses‘filter-then-upsample’operation with a pixel-shuffle multiplexer and a max out module.Experiment results on simulated and in-vivo data demonstrate that the constructed TFT-Net can restore the target boundary clearly,reduce background noise,and realize fast and high-quality photoacoustic image reconstruction of limited view with sparse sampling.