Embedded System Development for Detection of Railway Track Surface Deformation Using Contour Feature Algorithm

Derailment of trains is not unusual all around the world,especially in developing countries,due to unidentified track or rolling stock faults that cause massive casualties each year.For this purpose,a proper condition monitoring system is essential to avoid accidents and heavy losses.Generally,the detection and classification of railway track surface faults in real-time requires massive computational processing and memory resources and is prone to a noisy environment.Therefore,in this paper,we present the development of a novel embedded system prototype for condition monitoring of railway track.The proposed prototype system works in real-time by acquiring railway track surface images and performing two tasks a)detect deformation(i.e.,faults)like squats,shelling,and spalling using the contour feature algorithm and b)the vibration signature on that faulty spot by synchronizing acceleration and image data.A new illumination scheme is also proposed to avoid the sunlight reflection that badly affects the image acquisition process.The contour detection algorithm is applied here to detect the uneven shapes and discontinuities in the geometrical structure of the railway track surface,which ultimately detects unhealthy regions.It works by converting Red,Green,and Blue(RGB)images into binary images,which distinguishes the unhealthy regions by making them white color while the healthy regions in black color.We have used the multiprocessing technique to overcome the massive processing and memory issues.This embedded system is developed on Raspberry Pi by interfacing a vision camera,an accelerometer,a proximity sensor,and a Global Positioning System(GPS)sensors(i.e.,multi-sensors).The developed embedded system prototype is tested in real-time onsite by installing it on a Railway Inspection Trolley(RIT),which runs at an average speed of 15 km/h.The functional verification of the proposed system is done successfully by detecting and recording the various railway track surface faults.An unhealthy frame’s onsite detection processing time was recorded at approximately 25.6ms.The proposed system can synchronize the acceleration data on specific railway track deformation.The proposed novel embedded system may be beneficial for detecting faults to overcome the conventional manual railway track condition monitoring,which is still being practiced in various developing or underdeveloped countries.

Evaluation of underground blast-induced ground motions through nearsurface low-velocity geological layers

Surface ground motion produced by underground blasts is significantly influenced by near-surface geological conditions.However,near-surface low-propagation velocity layers were always ignored in past analyses of ground motions due to their thin thickness.With the rising concern about surface ground motions produced by the ascendant scale and frequentness of underground excavation and mining,close attention is gradually paid to ground blast vibrations.Therefore,systemic experiments were conducted and took seven months in an underground mine to clarify the variation of motion from underground rock to surface ground.The attenuation of surface ground peak particle velocities(PPVs)is compared to that in underground rock,and horizontal amplitudes are compared to vertical amplitudes.Differences between bedrock and surface ground vibrations are analyzed to illustrate the site effect of near-surface lower-propagation velocity layers.One-dimensional site response analysis is employed to quantify the influence of different geological profiles on surface ground vibrations.The experimental data and site response analysis allowed the following conclusions:(1)geological site effects mainly produce decreasing dominant frequency(DF)of surface ground vibrations;(2)the site amplification effect of blast vibration needs to be characterized by peak particle displacement(PPD);(3)shear waves(S-waves)begin to dominate and surface Rayleigh waves(R-waves)develop as blast-induced ground vibrations travel upward through rock and lower-velocity layers to the surface.The comparison of response relative displacement to a critical value is best to assess the potential for cracking on surface structures.

Event-triggered model-free adaptive control for a class of surface vessels with time-delay and external disturbance via state observer

This paper provides an improved model-free adaptive control(IMFAC)strategy for solving the surface vessel trajectory tracking issue with time delay and restricted disturbance.Firstly,the original nonlinear time-delay system is transformed into a structure consisting of an unknown residual term and a parameter term with control inputs using a local compact form dynamic linearization(local-CFDL).To take advantage of the resulting structure,use a discrete-time extended state observer(DESO)to estimate the unknown residual factor.Then,according to the study,the inclusion of a time delay has no effect on the linearization structure,and an improved control approach is provided,in which DESO is used to adjust for uncertainties.Furthermore,a DESO-based event-triggered model-free adaptive control(ET-DESO-MFAC)is established by designing event-triggered conditions to assure Lyapunov stability.Only when the system’s indicator fulfills the provided event-triggered condition will the control input signal be updated;otherwise,the control input will stay the same as it is at the last trigger moment.A coordinate compensation approach is developed to reduce the steady-state inaccuracy of trajectory tracking.Finally,simulation experiments are used to assess the effectiveness of the proposed technique for trajectory tracking.

Evaluation of Haney-Type Surface ThermalBoundary Conditions Using a CoupledAtmosphere and Ocean Model

A coupled atmosphere-ocean model developed at the Institute for Space Studies at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Russell et al., 1995) was used to verify the validity of Haney-type surface thermal boundary condition, which linearly connects net downward surface heat fluxQ to air/sea temperature difference ΔT by a relaxation coefficientk. The model was initiated from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) atmospheric observations for 1 December 1977, and from the National Ocean Data Center (NODC) global climatological mean December temperature and salinity fields at 1°x 1° resolution. The time step is 7.5 minutes. We integrated the model for 450 days and obtained a complete model-generated global data set of daily mean downward net surface fluxQ, surface air temperatureT A, and sea surface temperatureT O. Then, we calculated the cross-correlation coefficients (CCC) betweenQ and ΔT. The ensemble mean CCC fields show (a) no correlation betweenQ and ΔT in the equatiorial regions, and (b) evident correlation (CCC≥0.7) betweenQ and ΔT in the middle and high latitudes. Additionally, we did the variance analysis and found that whenk=120 W m?2K?1, the two standard deviations, σQ and σκδT , are quite close in the middle and high latitudes. These results agree quite well with a previous research (Chu et al., 1998) on analyzing the NCEP re-analyzed surface data, except that a smaller value ofk (80 W m?2K?1) was found in the previous study. Key words Air-sea coupled system - Ocean surface fluxes - Surface thermal boundary condition

A Trend towards a Stable Warm and Windless State of the Surface Weather Conditions in Northern and Northeastern China during 1961–2014

This study investigates the trends in the mean state and the day-to-day variability （DDV） of the surface weather conditions over northern and northeastern China （NNEC） during 1961-2014 using CN05.1 observational data. In this study, we show that the surface temperature （wind speed） has increased （decreased） over NNEC and that the DDV of the surface temperatures and wind speeds has decreased, indicating a trend towards a stable warm and windless state of the surface weather conditions over NNEC. This finding implies a trend towards more persistent hot and windless episodes, which threaten human health and aggravate environmental problems. The trends are also examined in reanalysis data. Both the ERA-40 and the NCEP data show an increasing （decreasing） trend in the mean state of the surface temperatures （wind speeds）. However, the reanalysis data show a consistent decreasing trend in the DDV of the surface weather conditions only in the spring. The underlying reason for the decreased DDV of the surface weather conditions is further analyzed, focusing on the spring season. Essentially, the decreased DDV of the surface weather conditions can be attributed to a decrease in synoptic-scale wave activity, which is caused by a decrease in the baroclinic instability. There is a contrasting change in the baroclinic instability over East Asia, showing a decreasing （increasing） trend north （south） of 40°N. This contrasting change in the baroclinic instability is primarily caused by a tropospheric cooling zone over East Asia at approximately 40°N, which influences the meridional temperature gradient over East Asia.

An Application of the Real Free Surface Boundary Condition in Calculation of Ship wave Problem

A real free surface boundary condition,taking the viscous effects and surface tension into account,is applied to the nonlinear calculation of wave making resistance.It may provide more information about the character of the nonlinear ship wave and be helpful to improving the stability,convergence and local wave profile in potential calculation of the nonlinear ship wave.The wave making calculations for Series 60 are presented.

STRUCTURE AND SURFACE CONDITION OF ULTRAFINE AI PARTICLES

The crystal habit,crystalline structure,surface condition and composition of the ultrafine Al particles prepared by inert gas evaporation method were studied in detail by means of high resolution transmission electron microscope,X-ray diffraction and X-ray photo-electron spectrum.The results indicate that the ultrafine Al particles prepared in high pure inert gas are of clear crystal habits,single crystal in a large majority and fcc crystalline structure with a_0=0.405 nm.It is also found on the surface of the Al particles that there is a layer of amor- phous Al_2O_3 with 2 nm average thickness,which could protect the particles against oxidizing further.Therefore,the ultrafine Al particles prepared by the inert gas evaporation method are very stable in atmosphere.

Dependence of the AGCM Climatology on the Method of Prescribing Surface Boundary Conditions and Its Climatological Implication

By using IAP 9L AGCM, two sets of long-term climatological integration have been performed with the two different interpolation procedures for generating the daily surface boundary conditions. One interpolation procedure is the so-called “traditional” scheme, for which the daily surface boundary conditions are obtained by linearly interpolating between the observed monthly mean values, however the observed monthly means cannot be preserved after interpolation. The other one is the “new” scheme, for which the daily surface boundary conditions are obtained by linearly interpolating between the “artificial” monthly mean values which are based on, but are different from the observed ones, after interpolating with this new scheme, not only the observed monthly mean values are preserved, the time series of the new generated daily values is also more consistent with the observation. Comparison of the model results shows that the differences of the globally or zonally averaged fields between these two integrations are quite small, and this is due to the compensating effect between the different regions. However, the differences of the two patterns (the global or regional geographical distributions), are quite significant, for example, the magnitude of the difference in the JJA mean rainfall between these two integrations can exceed 2 mm/ day over Asian monsoon regions, and the difference in DJF mean surface air temperature can also exceed 2?C over this region. The fact that the model climatology depends quite strongly on the method of prescribing the daily surface boundary conditions suggests that in order to validate the climate model or to predict the short-term climate anomalies, either the “new? interpolation scheme or the high frequency surface boundary conditions (e.g., daily or weekly data instead of the monthly data) should be introduced. Meanwhile, as for the coupled model, the daily coupling scheme between the different component climate models ( e.g., atmospheric and oceanic general circulation models) is preferred in order to partly eliminate the “climate drift” problem which may appear during the course of direct coupling.

Platelet adhesion to the surface of a sudden tubular expansion tube under swirling flow condition

The size mismatch in an end-to-end vascular anastomosis between the host vessel and the graft may cause flow disturbance and predispose to thrombosis [1].Although a number of techniques have been employed to reduce the risk of anastomotic thrombosis due to the size mismatch。

Road Surface Condition and Monitoring System Utilizing Motorcycle(ROCOM)—System Development,Validation and Field Test

Motorcycles are the riskiest mode of travel in Malaysia,however motorcycles are also very sensitive to the road surface condition.Thus,by taking advantage of this,a system of software applications that analyses motorcycle motion and mapped out risky road sections was developed,i.e.ROCOM.The system consists of three major components,i.e.ROCOM Data Logger app,which utilizes a smart phone to collect acceleration data,ROCOM Risk Mapping app,which is a web-based application,and ROCOM Visual Tracking,which is a stand along software.ROCOM is able to detect adverse acceleration( >2g)or vibration on the road surface similar to the High Accuracy GPS Data Logging for Vehicle Testing(VBOX).Risk mapping validation along a section of the motorcycle lane along Federal Route 2 shows that not only ROCOM have the similar risk-mapping pattern,but its route tracking capability on the map is far superior that the VBOX.The pilot and field test results showed that ROCOM works best when mounting the smartphone on the motorcycle handle bar or basket,and it can detect various road anomalies with successful detection rate of 62%,with high detection rate when passing through uneven road surfaces.

A Sufficient Convexity Condition for Parametric Bézier Surface over Rectangle

Surface convexity is a key issue in computer aided geometric design, which is widely applied in geometric modeling field, such as physical models, industrial design, automatic manufacturing, etc. In this paper, a sufficient convexity condition of the parametric Bézier surface over rectangles is proposed, which is firstly considered as a sufficient convexity condition for the Bézier control grid. The condition is proved by De Casteljau surface subdivision arithmetic, in which the recursive expressions elaborate that the control grid eventually converges to the surface. At last, two examples for the modeling of interpolation-type surface are discussed, one of which is a general surface and the other is a degenerate surface.

Boundary Conditions for Momentum and Vorticity at an Interface between Two Fluids

Boundary conditions for momentum and vorticity have been precisely derived, paying attention to the physical meaning of each mathematical expression of terms rigorously obtained from the basic equations: Navier-Stokes equation and the equation of vorticity transport. It has been shown first that a contribution of fluid molecules crossing over a conceptual surface moving with fluid velocity due to their fluctuating motion is essentially important to understanding transport phenomena of momentum and vorticity. A notion of surface layers, which are thin layers at both sides of an interface, has been introduced next to elucidate the transporting mechanism of momentum and vorticity from one phase to the other at an interface through which no fluid molecules are crossing over. A fact that a size of δV, in which reliable values of density, momentum, and velocity of fluid are respectively defined as a volume-averaged mass of fluid molecules, a volume-averaged momentum of fluid molecules and a mass-averaged velocity of fluid molecules, is not infinitesimal but finite has been one of the key factors leading to the boundary conditions for vorticity at an interface between two fluids. The most distinguished characteristics of the boundary conditions derived here are the zero-value conditions for a normal component of momentum flux and tangential components of vorticity flux, at an interface.

Numerical Modeling of Non-Similar Mixed Convection Heat Transfer over a Stretching Surface with Slip Conditions

In this paper, the heat transfer effect on the steady boundary layer flow of a Casson fluid past a stretching surface in the presence of slip conditions was analyzed. The stretching surface is maintained at a constant temperature. The boundary layer conservation equations, which are parabolic in nature, are normalized into non-similar form and then solved numerically with the well-tested, efficient, implicit, stable Keller-box finite difference scheme. The resulting equations are solved numerically by using the Kellerbox finite-difference method, and the expressions for velocity and temperature are obtained. They satisfy all imposed initial and boundary conditions and reduce to some well-known solutions for non-Newtonian fluids. Numerical results for velocity, temperature, skin friction and Nusselt number are shown in various graphs and discussed for embedded flow parameters. It is found that both velocity and temperature decrease with an increase of the Casson fluid parameter.

Global Reporting Format (GRF) Application Automation for Runway Surface Conditions in West Africa

This paper aims to design an automated Global Reporting Format’s (GRF) application in order to reduce time of manual application (on a runway) of the Global Reporting Format developed by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). A method has been used to measure and generate Runway Condition Report (RCR) automatically. The developed computing model is an autonomous and automatic application implemented specially for West Africa (and can be extended to any rainy area). It uses Arduino materials and computing code developed by the authors. Results obtained show that using that method to retrieve the Runway Condition Report (RCR) is fast, so human presence on the runway is reduced. Even though the results obtained using this model are slightly different from those expected, the actual runway conditions are not too much affected.

Impact of Spin-up Forcing on Vegetation States Simulated by a Dynamic Global Vegetation Model Coupled with a Land Surface Model

A dynamic global vegetation model （DGVM） coupled with a land surface model （LSM） is generally initialized using a spin-up process to derive a physically-consistent initial condition. Spin-up forcing, which is the atmospheric forcing used to drive the coupled model to equilibrium solutions in the spin-up process, varies across earlier studies. In the present study, the impact of the spin-up forcing in the initialization stage on the fractional coverages （FCs） of plant functional type （PFT） in the subsequent simulation stage are assessed in seven classic climate regions by a modified Community Land Model’s Dynamic Global Vegetation Model （CLM-DGVM）. Results show that the impact of spin-up forcing is considerable in all regions except the tropical rainforest climate region （TR） and the wet temperate climate region （WM）. In the tropical monsoon climate region （TM）, the TR and TM transition region （TR-TM）, the dry temperate climate region （DM）, the highland climate region （H）, and the boreal forest climate region （BF）, where FCs are affected by climate non-negligibly, the discrepancies in initial FCs, which represent long-term cumulative response of vegetation to different climate anomalies, are large. Moreover, the large discrepancies in initial FCs usually decay slowly because there are trees or shrubs in the five regions. The intrinsic growth timescales of FCs for tree PFTs and shrub PFTs are long, and the variation of FCs of tree PFTs or shrub PFTs can affect that of grass PFTs.

Surface modification of up-conversion luminescence material Na[Y_(0.57)Yb_(0.39)Er_(0.04)]F_4 with hydrosulfide group

A new method was reported for surface modification of an up-conversion luminescence material with hydrosulfide group. The factors that may influence the surface modification,such as reaction time,amount of catalyzer and modifier,and reaction solvent,were investigated. The optimal conditions were that the reaction time,the quantity of the basic catalyzer,the quantity of modifier and the volume of reaction solvent were 40 min,1.0,1.0,and 40 mL,respectively. The results indicated that hydrosulfide group content modified on the surface of up-conversion luminescence material reached to 0.1430 mmol/g,and this modified up-conversion luminescence material could be widely used in the study of structure of protein and the property of microenvironment.

Vertical 2D Modeling of Free Surface Flow with Hydrodynamic Pressure Using SIMPLE Arithmetic in σ Coordinates

A numerical model for shallow water flow has been developed based on the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the hydrodynamic pressure instead of hydrostatic pressure assumption. The equations are transformed into the σ-coordinate system and the eddy viscosity is calculated with the standard k-ε turbulence model. The control volume method is used to discrete the equations, and the boundary conditions at the bed for shallow water models only include vertical diffusion terms expressed with wall functions. And the semi-implicit method for pressure linked equation arithmetic is adopted to solve the equations. The model is applied to the 2D vertical plane flow of a current over two steep-sided trenches for which experiment data are available for comparison and good agreement is obtained. And the model is used to predicting the flow in a channel with a steep-sided submerged breakwater at the bottom, and the streamline is drawn.

Determining the groundwater basin and surface watershed boundary of Dalinuoer Lake in the middle of Inner Mongolian Plateau,China and its impacts on the ecological environment

The surface watershed and groundwater basin have fixed recharge scale,which are not only the basic unit for hydrologic cycle research but also control the water resources formation and evolution and its corresponding eco-geological environment pattern.To accurately identify the boundary of the surface watershed and groundwater basin is the basis for properly understanding hydrologic cycle and conducting the water balance analysis at watershed scale in complicated geologic structure area,especially when the boundary are inconsistent.In this study,the Dalinuoer Lake located in the middle of the Inner Mongolian Plateau which has complicated geologic structure was selected as the representative case.Based on the multidisciplinary comprehensive analysis of topography,tectonics,hydrogeology,groundwater dynamics and stable isotopes,the results suggest the following:(1)The surface watershed ridge and groundwater basin divide of Dalinuoer Lake are inconsistent.The surface watershed was divided into two separate groundwater systems almost having no groundwater exchange by the SW-NE Haoluku Anticlinorium Fault which has obvious water-blocking effect.The surface drainage area of Dalinuoer Lake is 6139 km^(2).The northern regional A is the Dalinuoer Lake groundwater system with an area of 4838 km^(2),and the southern regional B is the Xilamulun Riverhead groundwater system with an area of 1301 km^(2).(2)The groundwater in the southern of regional A and the spring-feeding river are the important recharge sources for the Dalinuoer Lake,and it has greater recharge effects than the northern Gonggeer River system.(3)It is speculated that the trend of Haoluku Anticlinorium Fault is the boundary of the westerlies and the East Asian summer Monsoon(EASM)climate systems,which further pinpoints the predecessor’s understanding of this boundary line.At present,the Dalinuoer Lake watershed is proved to have gone through a prominent warming-drying trend periods,which leads to the precipitation reduction,temperature rise,human activities water usage increasement.So the hydrological cycle and lake eco-environment at watershed scale will still bound to be change,which may pose the potential deterioration risk on the suitability of fish habitat.The results can provide basic support for better understanding water balance evolution and lake area shrinkage cause as well as the ecological protection and restoration implementation of Dalinuoer Lake watershed.

Factors influencing electromagnetic scattering from the dielectric periodic surface

The scattering characteristics of the periodic surface of infinite and finite media are investigated in detail.The Fourier expression of the scattering field of the periodic surface is obtained in terms of Huygens’ s principle and Floquet’s theorem.Using the extended boundary condition method(EBCM) and T-matrix method, the scattering amplitude factor is solved,and the correctness of the algorithm is verified by use of the law of conservation of energy.The scattering cross section of the periodic surface in the infinitely long region is derived by improving the scattering cross section of the finite period surface.Furthermore, the effects of the incident wave parameters and the geometric structure parameters on the scattering of the periodic surface are analyzed and discussed.By reasonable approximation, the scattering calculation methods of infinite and finite long surfaces are unified.Besides, numerical results show that the dielectric constant of the periodic dielectric surface has a significant effect on the scattering rate and transmittance.The period and amplitude of the surface determine the number of scattering intensity peaks, and, together with the incident angle, influence the scattering intensity distribution.

Efficient Computation of Scattering from Targets with Negative Impedance Surface

Current surface integral equations used for computing scattering from targets with negative impedance boundary condition（IBC）are not efficient.A modified surface dual integral equation（M-SDIE）for targets with negative IBC is presented.A pure imaginary number is used to balance the formulations.It is proved that the M-SDIE is accurate and efficient with three numerical examples.The first numerical example shows that the M-SDIE is accurate compared with Mie.The second example shows that the presented SIE is efficient.In the third example,a missile head is selected to present the computing power of the M-SDIE.All the examples show that the M-SDIE is an efficient algorithm for negative IBC.