Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Small scaled image'

Earlier investigations of Combustion Powered Actuation (COMPACT) have demonstrated its utility for high-speed aerodynamic flow control. In this actuation approach, momentary (pulsed) actuation jets are produced by the ignition of a mixture of gaseous fuel and oxidizer within a cubic-centimeter scale chamber. The combustion process yields a high pressure burst and the ejection of a high-speed exhaust jet. The present thesis focuses on characterization of the effects of the internal flow (which is altered through the fuel and oxidizer inlet streams) on mixing and flame propagation within the actuator's combustion chamber, and thereby on actuator operation and performance. A test chamber with a grid of interchangeable air and fuel inlets was used for parametric investigations of the effects of inlet size and location. Actuator performance is characterized using dynamic pressure measurements and phase-locked Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) of the combustor's internal flow field in the presence and absence of the active combustion process. Over the range tested, increased momentum of the air inlet jet for a given flow rate improves the actuator performance by increasing bulk velocities and small-scale motions within the chamber, thus yielding net higher flame propagation speed and subsequently faster pressure rise and higher pressure peak. Variation in inlet location that results in swirling flow within the chamber yields higher internal pressures while air flow over the spark ignition site yields lower internal pressures and erratic combustion. Improved refill and combustion processes will lead to enhanced performance combustor designs.

La qualité de l'air et l'efficacité de la ventilation dans les stations de métro souterraines sont des préoccupations en matière de santé et de sécurité. L'effet piston, causé par le passage des trains, contribue de manière significative aux mouvements d'air. La réalisation de mesures sur site étant coûteuse, l’utilisation de modèle permet d’étudier et de prédire la circulation de l'air dans ces environnements. Les différences entre les données mesurées et modélisées sont cependant rarement discutées. Cette thèse développe des modèles pour la circulation de l’air induite par les trains sur les quais des stations de métro. Un modèle de dynamique des fluides numérique (CFD) de la station en 3D avec un maillage dynamique est réalisé, et la vélocimétrie par imagerie de particules (PIV) est utilisée sur un modèle à l'échelle 1:95. Les deux modèles incluent le mouvement réaliste du train, comprenant la décélération, l'arrêt et le départ. Pour valider les modèles, des mesures de la vitesse de l’air à différentes positions sur le quai sont réalisées. Les résultats sont comparés à l'aide de paramètres de corrélation et de forme de pic. Ils montrent que les modèles capturent les principaux éléments de l’effet piston dans la station. Les résultats numériques comme expérimentaux révèlent des différences entre des positions proches les unes des autres, conséquences de caractéristiques de l'écoulement se développant à une fraction de l'échelle du quai dans le plan horizontal ; et des changements locaux de vitesse se produisent sur de courts intervalles de temps liés à la vitesse du train. Cependant, les prédictions plus fines concernant l'amplitude de la vitesse sont moins fiables, car limitées par des simplifications de la géométrie, des conditions aux limites, et des considérations d'échelle. Malgré ces limitations, les modèles permettent d’étudier comment les variations de l’architecture de la station et de la vitesse du train affectent la vitesse et les échanges d'air dans la station<br>Air quality and ventilation efficiency in underground subway stations are concerns for health and safety. The piston effect, caused by trains passing through the station, contributes significantly to air movements. Models are often used to study and predict airflow in these environments due to challenges in on-site measurements. However, the differences between measured and modeled data are rarely discussed. This thesis focuses on developing models for train-induced airflow on platforms of underground subway stations. A 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model with a dynamic mesh is implemented to simulate the station. A small-scale model at 1:95 scale with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is also used. Both models include the train's realistic movement, deceleration, stop, and departure phases. To validate the models, extensive on-site measurements are conducted, recording velocity magnitude at various platform positions. The results are compared using correlation and peak shape parameters. They show that models can capture the key elements of piston wind in the station: both the numerical and experimental results reveal that differences can be found between locations close to each other, that are the consequence of flow features developing at a fraction of the platform scale in the horizontal plane; and that local velocity changes occur over short time intervals scaling with the train velocity. However, finer predictions about the value of velocity magnitude are less reliable as they are bounded by simplifications of the geometry, of the boundary conditions and by scaling considerations. Despite these limitations, the models provide insights into flow patterns and are used to investigate how changes in station blockage ratio and train speed affect velocity magnitude and air exchanges in the station. The study concludes that the models are valuable tools for exploring platform airflow, but caution is needed in interpreting fine-scale velocity predictions

Le travail réalisé durant cette thèse a été motivé par l'étude des mécanismes microscopiques à l'origine du fluage dans les matériaux granulaires.%En particulier, on cherche à explorer des techniques expérimentales et numériques pour l'étude d'un tel phénomène.Dans une première partie, on cherche à mesurer les déplacements des grains dans un matériau granulaire par observations en micro-tomographie X. Une telle identification ne peut être efficacement réalisée pour des phénomènes rapides avec les méthodes classiques de corrélation d'images numériques. Une nouvelle méthode nommée emph{corrélation discrète des projections numériques} qui contourne cette difficulté est développée dans cette thèse. Cette méthode, basée sur la corrélation des projections de tomographie, permet de mesurer les déplacements avec un nombre réduit de projections (100 fois moins que les méthodes classiques), ce qui diminue énormément le temps d'acquisition nécessaire pour la mesure. La méthode, appliquée à des données expérimentales, donne une précision comparable à celles des méthodes classiques tandis que le temps d'acquisition nécessaire est réduit à quelques minutes. Une étude portant sur l'analyse des sources d'erreurs affectant la précision des résultats est également présentée.Le but de la deuxième partie est de réaliser des simulations numériques pour fournir une caractérisation de l'essai oedométrique. Différents assemblages de billes de verre légèrement poly-disperses interagissant à travers des contacts élastiques de Hertz-Mindlin et frottement de Coulomb ont été utilisés. Ces simulations ont permis d'étudier l'évolution de certains paramètres structuraux du matériau modèle, préparant ainsi le terrain pour de futures études sur le fluage. Il a été particulièrement souligné que les contacts élastiques utilisés dans ces simulations ne reproduisent pas l'irréversibilité des déformations observée dans les expériences sur des sables. Cependant, l'irréversibilité est bien visible sur le nombre de coordination et l'anisotropie. Alors que les paramètres élastiques peuvent exprimer la réponse pour des petits incréments de déformations, la compression oedometrique est belle et bien anélastique, principalement à cause de la mobilisation du frottement. Le rapport entre les contraintes horizontales et verticales (coefficient du sol au repos) n'est particulièrement constant que lorsque l'anisotropie de structure est instaurée dans l'état initial de l'assemblage. Il est par ailleurs relié à l'anisotropie interne de la structure par une formule simple. Finalement, les coefficients du tenseur élastique dépendent principalement du nombre de coordination et son anisotropie est plus liée à l'anisotropie des contacts qu'à celle des forces<br>The present work is motivated by the study of creep in granular materials at the microscopic scale.The first part of this thesis deals with displacement measurements by microtomography. Classical digital image correlation fails to catch time-dependent (possibly fast) phenomena such as short-term creep. A new method named emph{Discrete Digital Projection Correlation} is developed to overcome this limitation. This method requires very few projections (about 100 times less than classical methods) of the deformed state to perform the correlation and retrieve grain displacements. Therefore, the acquisition time is remarkably reduced, which allows to study time-dependent phenomena.The method is tested on experimental data. While its accuracy compares favorably to that of conventional methods, it only requires acquisition times of a few minutes. The origins of measurement errors are tracked by numerical means, on simulated grain displacements and rotations.The second part is a numerical simulation study, by the Discrete Element Method (DEM), of oedometric compression in model granular materials, carried out with a simple model material: assemblies of slightly polydisperse spherical beads interacting by Hertz-Mindlin contact elasticity and Coulomb friction. A wide variety of initial states are subject to compression, differing in density, coordination number and fabric anisotropy. Despite apparently almost reversible strains, oedometric compression proves an essentially anelastic and irreversible process,due to friction, with important internal state changes affecting coordination number and anisotropy. Elastic moduli only describe the response to very small stress increments about well equilibrated configurations. The ratio of horizontal stress to vertical stress (or coefficient of earth pressure at rest, commonly investigated in soil mechanics) only remains constant for initially anisotropic assemblies. A simple formula relates it to force and fabric anisotropy parameters, while elastic moduli are mainly sensitive to the latter. Further studies of contact network instabilities and rearrangements should pave the way to numerical investigations of creep behavior

Дисертаційну роботу присвячено вирішенню важливої наукової проблеми підвищення ефективності функціонування багатоканальних оптико-електронних систем спостереження з комплексуванням зображень шляхом створення методів узгодження характеристик основних блоків, механізму оцінювання ефективності функціонування систем і адаптивного вибору найкращого методу злиття зображень спектральних каналів, засобів експериментального визначення основних характеристик систем, що дозволяє покращити якість виконання поточної задачі спостереження оператором, підвищити максимальну дальність виявлення об’єктів в двоканальних системах до 12%, забезпечує збільшення динамічного діапазону вимірювання енергетичних характеристик до 2,5 разів.<br>The dissertation is devoted to solving the scientific problem of increasing performance of optoelectronic surveillance systems (OESS) with image fusion by creating scientific bases and applied methods of analysis, synthesis and adjustment of information channels on a uniform methodological basis. The methodological bases for improving the OESS power consumption with image fusion are scientifically substantiated. They include the methods of constructive harmonization of the OESS’s main units characteristics, the mechanism of the adaptive selection of the best method of spectral images merging, the means of experimental determination of the OESS main characteristics and allow increase performance of the system. By information fusion from different channels, one can dramatically improve the quality of background status (BS) information. There is still no unified OESS design technology to analyze and synthesize the entire information system, to formulate technical requirements for individual blocks of spectral channels and algorithms for image fusion, taking into account the context of the observer's current task and type of BS. A number of problems remain to be solved with regard to improve the OESS performance by forming the image in operator’s field of view, which content provides best solution to the current surveillance task. An «object - OESS with image fusion – operator» mathematical model has been created. It allows analyze and design the OESS within a linear model. The formula for mod-ulation transfer function of the “lens - detector” system of the aerospace OESS was obtained at arbitrary angles of view. It can be used to calculate the values of the lens pupil diameter, focal length of the lens and threshold irradiance of detector, which is required to achieve the given image contrast. Unified algorithm for estimation of spatial and energy properties of OESS spectral channels based on the targeting task performance (TTP) metric is offered. It allows to determine the main information channel in the OESS as the base for further fusion, as well as to coordinate the parameters of the input blocks of two-chan-nel OESS. The method of performance estimation of OESS with information fusion on the basis of a posteriori TTP metric is developed. The metric is determined numerically for the method of merging images on the resulting spatial spectrum of images. This method allows to investigate the features of the image fusion process and its visual perception by the operator. It allows you to calculate the probability of detection, recognition and identification of an object, which is observed by the OESS with image fusion. A new method of reconciling the basic parameters of monoblock collimator and telescopic sights for small arms is proposed. Two variants of monoblock collimator sights with improved aiming accuracy are offered. The sight of two optical parts with different refractive index, glued on the plane, provides a linear aperture of the original pupil of the sight 0.276, with parallax 3 mrad. A monoblock collimator sight of two optical parts with different refractive index, glued on a spherical surface, at the same linear aperture of the original pupil and mass provides parallax of 1.25 mrad. A scheme of a decentralized tele-scopic monoblock is proposed, in which at a mismatch of 3 mrad the magnification can reach 1.6 times compared to 1.4 times for an axisymmetric scheme. A new method for measuring OESS spectral channels basic energy characteristics has been developed. This method, compared to its analogues, increases the dynamic range up to 2.5 times with a high uniformity of the brightness field. For the first time, the efficiency of the image fusion strategy, which allows to increase the maximum detection range of objects in dual-channel OESS by up to 12%, was developed and experimentally validated. New methods of increasing the speed of information processing in multichannel OESS with image fusion are proposed. The first method uses the information map based on the low spatial resolution channel and the second method uses a digital coherent optical processor. The amount of computation in the first case can be reduced up to 2 times.<br>Диссертационная работа посвящена решению важной научной проблемы повышения эффективности функционирования многоканальных оптико-электронных систем наблюдения с комплексированием изображений путем создания методов согласования характеристик основных блоков, механизма оценки эффективности функционирования систем и адаптивного выбора наилучшего метода слияния изображений спектральных каналов, средств экспериментального определения основных характеристик систем, что позволяет улучшить качество выполнения текущей задачи наблюдения оператором, повысить максимальную дальность обнаружения объектов в двухканальных системах до 12%, обеспечивает увеличение динамического диапазона измерения энергетических характеристик до 2,5 раз.

This thesis aims at proposing all the possible enhancements for the Multi-Resolution Frequency-Domain ParFlow (MR-FDPF) model. As a deterministic radio propagation model, the MR-FDPF model possesses the property of a high level of accuracy, but it also suffers from some common limitations of deterministic models. For instance, realistic radio channels are not deterministic but a kind of random processes due to, e.g. moving people or moving objects, thus they can not be completely described by a purely deterministic model. In this thesis, a semi-deterministic model is proposed based on the deterministic MR-FDPF model which introduces a stochastic part to take into account the randomness of realistic radio channels. The deterministic part of the semi-deterministic model is the mean path loss, and the stochastic part comes from the shadow fading and the small scale fading. Besides, many radio propagation simulators provide only the mean power predictions. However, only mean power is not enough to fully describe the behavior of radio channels. It has been shown that fading has also an important impact on the radio system performance. Thus, a fine radio propagation simulator should also be able to provide the fading information, and then an accurate Bit Error Rate (BER) prediction can be achieved. In this thesis, the fading information is extracted based on the MR-FDPF model and then a realistic BER is predicted. Finally, the realistic prediction of the BER allows the implementation of the adaptive modulation scheme. This has been done in the thesis for three systems, the Single-Input Single-Output (SISO) systems, the Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) diversity systems and the wideband Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems.

Wind turbines installed in the open atmosphere experience much more complex and highly-varying flow than their counterparts in wind tunnels or numerical simulations. In particular, aerodynamic stall—which occurs often on stall-regulated wind turbines in such variable flow conditions—can affect both wind turbine blade lifespan and noise generation. A field test site was therefore installed at the outer limits of the city of Waterloo, Ontario to study a small-scale 30 kW stall-regulated wind turbine. Experimental equipment was installed to monitor parameters such as wind speed and direction, electrical power output, blade pitch angle, rotor rotational speed, and wind turbine yaw orientation. Extensive hardware and software was developed and installed to wirelessly collect data from all instrumentation. Tufts and a remote-operated camera were also installed on one of the two blades of the 10 m diameter horizontal-axis turbine. In a variation on the tuft flow visualisation technique, video files were analysed using a novel digital image processing code. The code was developed in MATLAB to calculate the fraction of the blade which was stalled by determining the position and angle of each tuft in every video frame. The algorithm was able to locate on average 85% of the visible tufts and correctly tagged those which were stalled with a bias of only −5% compared to the typical manual method. When the algorithm was applied to 7 h of tuft video at the outboard 40% of the blade, the total average fraction of stalled tufts varied from 5% at 5 m/s to 40% at 21 m/s. This trend was expected for the stall-regulated design since, as the wind speed is increased, the stall progresses from inboard to outboard regions and from trailing edge to leading edge. The 7 h time period represents at least a two order-of-magnitude increase compared with time periods analysed using previous manual methods. This work has demonstrated a digital implementation of tuft flow visualisation which lends statistical validity (through long-time-period averaging) to a common tool for researching wind turbine stall. The speed and ease with which the tuft method can be implemented, combined with the high cost per energy of small-scale wind turbines, suggest that this digital algorithm is a highly beneficial tool for future studies.