Local measurement for structural health monitoring

Localized nature of damage in structures requires local measurements for structural health monitoring. The local measurement means to measure the local, usually higher modes of the vibration in a structure. Three fundamental issues about the local measurement for structural health monitoring including (1) the necessity of making local measurement, (2) the difficulty of making local measurement and (3) how to make local measurement are addressed in this paper. The results from both the analysis and the tests show that the local measurement can successfully monitor the structural health status as long as the local modes are excited. Unfortunately, the results also illustrate that it is difficult to excite local modes in a structure. Therefore, in order to carry structural health monitoring into effect, we must (1) ensure that the local modes are excited, and (2) deploy enough sensors in a structure so that the local modes can be monitored.

Online Power System Voltage Stability Index for LCC HVDC Using Local Measurements

This paper proposes an online power system voltage stability index(PVSI Online)that quantifies power system voltage stability in real time between an AC network and LCC HVDC using only local measurements.Previous methods relied on using telecommunications to inform a change in a predetermined AC network model.The proposed method uses local measurements of voltage and current from the HVDC using a newly developed,numerically robust technique called Moving Window Covariance to detect a change in the AC network in real time.These network parameters are fed to a newly devised index that accurately models and captures the dynamics of the interaction between an LCC HVDC and AC network.The index is used to quantify stability,but also to advise network operation.In an onset of instability due to network degradation,the proposed index can provide a power order value for the HVDC to restore stability.All as a self-contained module that can be implemented within a HVDC scheme.

A pixel-level local contrast measure for infrared small target detection

Infrared(IR) small target detection is one of the key technologies of infrared search and track(IRST)systems. Existing methods have some limitations in detection performance, especially when the target size is irregular or the background is complex. In this paper, we propose a pixel-level local contrast measure(PLLCM), which can subdivide small targets and backgrounds at pixel level simultaneously.With pixel-level segmentation, the difference between the target and the background becomes more obvious, which helps to improve the detection performance. First, we design a multiscale sliding window to quickly extract candidate target pixels. Then, a local window based on random walker(RW) is designed for pixel-level target segmentation. After that, PLLCM incorporating probability weights and scale constraints is proposed to accurately measure local contrast and suppress various types of background interference. Finally, an adaptive threshold operation is applied to separate the target from the PLLCM enhanced map. Experimental results show that the proposed method has a higher detection rate and a lower false alarm rate than the baseline algorithms, while achieving a high speed.

New Approach for Measured Surface Localization Based on Umbilical Points

Measured surface localization （MSL） is one of the key essentials for the assessment of form error in pre- cision manufacturing. Currently, the researches on MSL have focused on the corresponding relation search between two surfaces, the performance improvement of localization algorithms and the uncertainty analysis of localization. However, low efficiency, limitation of localization algo- rithms and mismatch of multiple similarities of feature points with no prior are the common disadvantages for MSL. In order to match feature points quickly and fulfill MSL efficiently, this paper presents a new localization approach for measured surfaces by extracting the generic umbilics and estimating their single complex variables, describing the match methods of ambiguous relation at umbilics, presenting the initial localization process of one pair matched points, refining MSL on the basis of obtained closet points for some measured points by the improvement directed projection method. In addition, the proposed algorithm is simulated in two different types of surfaces,two different localization types and multiple similar sur- faces, also tested with the part of B-spline surface machined and bottle mould with no knowledge, finally the initial and accurate rigid body transformation matrix, localization errors between two surfaces and execution time are got. The experimental results show that the pro- posed method is feasible, more accurate in localization and high in efficiency. The proposed research can not only improve the accuracy and performance of form error assessment, but also provide an effective guideline for the integration of different types of measured surfaces.

Measurement-induced nonlocality based on affinity

Measurement-induced nonlocality(MIN),a quantum correlation measure for bipartite systems,is an indicator of maximal global effects due to locally invariant von Neumann projective measurements.It is originally defined as the maximal square of the Hilbert-Schmidt norm of the difference between pre-and post-measurement states.In this article,we propose a new form of MIN based on affinity.This quantity satisfies all the criteria of a bona fide measure of quantum correlation measures.This quantity is evaluated for both arbitrary pure and 2×n dimensional(qubit-qudit)mixed states.The operational meaning of the proposed quantity is interpreted in terms of the interferometric power of the quantum state.We apply these results on two-qubit mixed states,such as the Werner,isotropic and Bell diagonal states.

Challenges of Renewable Forest Fuels for Green Electricity Market

In this study, strategic electricity market scenarios are considered in a grid of Scandinavia. This multiple-objective decision environment includes the allocation of a number of renewable forest fuel procurement chains to a combined heat and power plant in Finland. The decision environment includes also electricity procurement from Sweden and Russia. The environment is further complicated by sequence-dependent operations of the local procurement chains during different periods. Due to the complex nature of the environment, multiple-objective methods cannot be directly used to solve the electricity production problem in a manner that is techno-economically relevant to the forest energy industry. Therefore, local and time-varying parameters were measured in local wood procurement conditions to improve the solution method. Using these measurements the smart decision-support system automatically adjusted the multiple-objective methodology to better describe the combinatorial complexity of the production sector. The properties of this methodology are discussed and three scenarios of how the system works based on local real-world data and optional feed-in tariff of green electricity are presented. The Finnish electricity market is subject to policy decisions regarding green energy production regulations. These decisions should be made on the basis of local techno-economic analysis presented in this study accounting for the effects of forest operations on the electricity production and import.

Coordinated target localization base on pseudo measurement for clustered space robot

This paper presents a coordinated target localization method for clustered space robot.According to the different measuring capabilities of cluster members,the master-slave coordinated relative navigation strategy for target localization with respect to slavery space robots is proposed;then the basic mathematical models,including coordinated relative measurement model and cluster centralized dynamics,are established respectively.By employing the linear Kalman flter theorem,the centralized estimator based on truth measurements is developed and analyzed frstly,and with an intention to inhabit the initial uncertainties related to target localization,the globally stabilized estimator is designed through introduction of pseudo measurements.Furthermore,the observability and controllability of stochastic system are also analyzed to qualitatively evaluate the convergence performance of pseudo measurement estimator.Finally,on-orbit target approaching scenario is simulated by using semi-physical simulation system,which is used to verify the convergence performance of proposed estimator.During the simulation,both the known and unknown maneuvering acceleration cases are considered to demonstrate the robustness of coordinated localization strategy.

Simulation-supported measurements in large circulating fluidized bed combustors

The concept of simulation-supported measurement is suggested for the elucidation of processes occurring in the combustion chambers of large-scale circulating fluidized bed combustors where the desired information cannot be obtained by direct measurements. The concept is illustrated with the example of secondary air injection where the way the air is released, the penetration depth and the evenness of air distribution over the cross-sectional area of the combustion chamber are of interest. The measured information consists of lateral profiles of oxygen concentrations measured with gas sampling probes at two ports which were located 5 and 9 m, respectively, above the level of secondary air injection. The simulation is carried out on the basis of a 3D semi-empirical fluid-mechanical model of the circulating fluidized bed which is combined with models of gas and solids mixing, fuel distribution, devolatilization and combustion of char and volatiles. The combination of the simulation with the measurements yields a clear picture of the mechanism of secondary air injection, its penetration into the combustion chamber and its effect on the local combustion processes. The results confirm the usefulness of the concept of simulation-supported measurement for this application.

A New Monocular Vision Measurement Method to Estimate 3D Positions of Objects on Floor

A new visual measurement method is proposed to estimate three-dimensional （3D） position of the object on the floor based on a single camera. The camera fixed on a robot is in an inclined position with respect to the floor. A measurement model with the camera＇s extrinsic parameters such as the height and pitch angle is described. Single image of a chessboard pattern placed on the floor is enough to calibrate the camera＇s extrinsic parameters after the camera＇s intrinsic parameters are calibrated. Then the position of object on the floor can be computed with the measurement model. Furthermore, the height of object can be calculated with the paired-points in the vertical line sharing the same position on the floor. Compared to the conventional method used to estimate the positions on the plane, this method can obtain the 3D positions. The indoor experiment testifies the accuracy and validity of the proposed method.

Bearing-only Visual SLAM for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in GPS-denied Environments

This paper presents a hierarchical simultaneous localization and mapping（SLAM） system for a small unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV） using the output of an inertial measurement unit（IMU） and the bearing-only observations from an onboard monocular camera.A homography based approach is used to calculate the motion of the vehicle in 6 degrees of freedom by image feature match.This visual measurement is fused with the inertial outputs by an indirect extended Kalman filter（EKF） for attitude and velocity estimation.Then,another EKF is employed to estimate the position of the vehicle and the locations of the features in the map.Both simulations and experiments are carried out to test the performance of the proposed system.The result of the comparison with the referential global positioning system/inertial navigation system（GPS/INS） navigation indicates that the proposed SLAM can provide reliable and stable state estimation for small UAVs in GPS-denied environments.