Applications of fast diffusion measurement using Difftrain

Novel applications of fast self-diffusion measurement are presented. Difftrain (Diffusion train), which uses successive stimulated echoes from a single excitation pulse where a portion of the available magnetisation is recovered for each echo, is used to measure self-diffusion by varying the observation time. It is applied to produce the droplet size distribution of an oil-in-water emulsion in less than 4s. This is verified by comparison with the droplet size distribution produced by a standard pulsed field gradient (PFG) technique. Difftrain is also extended to enable the application of incremental gradients, in addition to varying the observation time. This is used to produce propagators or displacement probabilities of water flowing through a packed bed for a range of 16 observation times in under 10 min. Again verification is provided by acquisition of the same propagators using a conventional PFG technique.     

Difftrain: a novel approach to a true spectroscopic single-scan diffusion measurement.

Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) has gained considerable attention over the past decade as a useful tool for calculating diffusion-related parameters or in the analysis of complex (reaction) mixtures. A major drawback of the established methods are the relatively long recording times needed to acquire the spectra, excluding the monitoring of rapidly progressing reactions and (hence) measurements of less stable components. In order to overcome these shortcomings a new pulse sequence, Difftrain, has been developed. The sequence involves stimulated echo attenuation, multilow flip angle excitation, and multiple sampling of the FID during the longitudinal storage. The calculated diffusion parameters obtained by Difftrain were compared with those obtained by the established sequence BPPSTE (bipolar pulse pair stimulated echo) and were in good agreement. For systems with moderate to good signal-to-noise ratios the Difftrain building block yields significant saving in recording time (single-shot acquisition instead of acquiring n-different gradients strengths), thus opening up new applications in nonequilibrium systems and screening of compositions and/or interactions of (larger) compound arrays.     

Rapid measurement of transient velocity evolution using GERVAIS

Rapid velocity measurements using GERVAIS (Gradient Echo Rapid Velocity and Acceleration Imaging Sequence), an EPI (Echo Planar Imaging) based technique capable of measuring velocity over an observation time of several milliseconds, are performed on a wide-gap Couette Rheo-NMR cell for the first time. A variable delay time between a control signal to initiate a transition in flow and the start of the measurement sequence is incorporated to allow investigation of the transient evolution of the velocity field following a step change in rotation rate. Both the commencement and the cessation of imposed shear stress are investigated for (i) a shear banding micellar solution of CPyCl (cetylpyridiniumchloride)/NaSal (sodium salicylate) in brine and (ii) a low molecular weight PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) oil. With respect to the micellar solution, an elastic shear wave is seen to propagate across the cell following the commencement of shear stress whilst an oscillatory ‘recoil’ is observed following the cessation of shear stress; neither of these phenomena were observed for the PDMS oil which exhibited a purely viscous response as expected for an incompressible Newtonian fluid. This technique has potential applications across a wide range of transient rheological investigations, particularly with respect to optically opaque materials.     

Rapid measurement of quantum systems using feedback control

We introduce a feedback control algorithm that increases the speed at which a measurement extracts information about a d-dimensional system by a factor that scales as d(2). Generalizing this algorithm, we apply it to a register of n qubits and show an improvement of O(n). We derive analytical bounds on the benefit provided by the feedback and perform simulations that confirm that this speedup is achieved.     

Rapid in-process measurement of surface roughness using adaptive optics

We present an in-process measurement of surface roughness by combining an optical probe of laser-scattering phenomena and adaptive optics for aberration correction. Measurement results of five steel samples with a roughness ranging from 0.2 to 3.125 μm demonstrate excellent correlation between the peak power and average roughness with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.9967. The proposed adaptive-optics-assisted system is in good agreement with the stylus method, and error values of less than 8.7% are obtained for average sample roughness in the range of 0.265 to 1.119 μm. The proposed system can be used as a rapid in-process roughness monitor/estimator to further increase the precision and stability of manufacturing processes in situ.     

Rapid and accurate chromatic dispersion measurement of fiber using asymmetric Sagnac interferometer

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an advanced method for chromatic dispersion measurement of fiber. This technique is based on spectral interferometry by using an asymmetric Sagnac loop and broadband optical source. The chromatic dispersion can be directly obtained from the spectral interferogram seen from an optical spectral analyzer. This method is rapid (<1?s), accurate, simple, low cost, and can provide a large dispersion measurement range.     

Rapid 3D whole-heart cine imaging using golden ratio stack of spirals

Three-dimensional cine imaging provides a wealth of information about cardiac anatomy and function, but its use in the clinical environment is limited because data acquisition is very time consuming. In this work, a free-breathing 3D whole-heart cine imaging framework was developed using a time-efficient stack of spirals trajectory and accelerated reconstruction. Two suitable view ordering methods are considered with different spacing between k-space readouts in the partition dimension: uniform and tiny golden ratio based. A simulation study suggested the latter did not present any benefits in terms of similarity to the true image. The proposed method was subsequently tested on 10 prospective subjects and compared with conventional multi-slice breath-hold imaging. Image quality was evaluated using objective and subjective scores and ventricular measurements were compared to assess clinical accuracy. Image quality was lower in the proposed technique than in breath-hold images but good agreement was found in clinically relevant ventricular measurements. In addition, the proposed method was fast to acquire, required minimal planning and provided full anatomical coverage with isotropic resolution.     

Measurement of tortuosity in aluminum foams using airborne ultrasound

The slow compressional wave in air-saturated aluminum foams was studied by means of ultrasonic transverse transmission method over a frequency range from 0.2 MHz to 0.8 MHz. The samples investigated have three different cell sizes or pores per inch (5, 10 and 20 ppi) and each size has three aluminum volume fractions (5%, 8% and 12% AVF). Phase velocities show minor dispersion at low frequencies but remain constant after 0.7 MHz. Pulse broadening and amplitude attenuation are obvious and increase with increasing ppi. Attenuation increases considerably with AVF for 20 ppi foams. Tortuosity ranges from 1.003 to 1.032 and increases with AVF and ppi. However, the increase of tortuosity with AVF is very small for 10 and 20 ppi samples.     

Rapid transfer alignment of laser SINS using quaternion based angular measurement

A novel rapid transfer alignment algorithm for laser strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) is studied. Transfer alignment have typically relied on velocity measurements from the master SINS as the source of alignment information, but lever arm error must be compensated accurately while velocity information is utilized, all most every quaternion based error model is nonlinear, so nonlinear filtering algorithms are need, suffering from computational complex and large error. Aim at these problems, a novel improved rapid transfer alignment algorithm formulation is presented, applying quaternion to built the process and measurement models, the improvement employs a special manipulation of the measurement equation results in a linear pseudo-measurement equation, thus the classical linear Kalman filter is employed to estimate the state, need not lever arm error compensation, results in the reduce of computational burden. Observability analysis of this new transfer alignment algorithm has been done based on the piece-wise constant system (PWCS) method, results show that the presented algorithm can accomplish the initial alignment task perfectly. A transfer alignment simulation system is also developed for the evaluation and analysis of the presented algorithm, simulation results are confirmed with the theoretical conclusion, which can achieve the transfer alignment accuracy about 1 mrad within 10 s.     

On-line measurement of texture,thickness and plastic strain ratio using laser-ultrasound resonance spectroscopy

Laser-ultrasound resonance spectroscopy, a non-contact ultrasonic technique, was used to determine reliably and rapidly the crystallographic texture, the average plastic strain ratio, and the thickness of sheet metal on the production line. As with laser-ultrasonics, a short laser pulse is used to generate a wide-band pulse of ultrasound and a laser interferometer is used for its detection. In this paper, a large number of echoes are collected and analyzed together using Fourier techniques to measure the natural resonance frequencies in the thickness of the sheet. One longitudinal and two shear resonance frequencies were measured together with their harmonics. From these frequencies, two crystallographic orientation distribution coefficients, W(400) and W(420), are obtained, as well as a highly accurate measurement of the sheet thickness that is corrected for changes in ultrasonic velocity caused by texture variations. Using these coefficients, the average and in-plane twofold and fourfold variations of the plastic strain ratio, respectively r delta(2)r, and delta(4)r, can be evaluated. These parameters are indications of the formability of metals sheets, which is of industrial interest. Measurements on 1 mm thick, low carbon steel sheets have shown the following measurement accuracies: r to within +/-0.08, delta(2)r, and delta(4)r to within +/-0.1, and thickness to better than +/-1 microm. On-line tests at LTV Steel Company showed that the sensitivity of the apparatus is sufficient to detect systematic variations in texture along the length of similar production coils and that the on-line repeatability for r was of order +/-0.02.     

Measurements of tortuosity in stereolithographical bone replicas using audiofrequency pulses

The tortuosity of five air-filled stereolithographical cancellous bone replicas has been obtained from measurements using audiofrequency pulses in a rectangular waveguide. The data obtained from the replicas yields information about anisotropy with respect to orthogonal axes of the passages that would be marrow filled in vivo. A strong relationship has been found between the acoustically measured tortuosity and the independently measured porosity. Use of stereolithographical bone replicas has the potential to simulate perforation and thinning of cancellous bone and hence evaluate the dependence of acoustic properties on cancellous bone microstructure. As an "extreme" illustration of such use, "inverses" of the original replicas have been manufactured and acoustic measurements have been made on them. The data reveal significantly greater tortuosity of the passages that are geometrically equivalent to the original solid bone structures.     

A speech-to-noise ratio measurement algorithm

An algorithm to measure speech-to-noise ratios has been implemented on a minicomputer. The algorithm attributes the energy within each consecutive 20-ms frame of a speech-plus-noise waveform to either a speech or noise source. This discrimination process is based upon the known characteristics of frame energy histograms of such waveforms. In response to observed inaccuracies of this discrimination process in cases of low speech versus noise separation, a method of estimating the speech Vrms of the signal is incorporated which attempts to recover speech energy, "masked" by noise. The algorithm's ability to track known speech-to-noise ratios on a decibel-for-decibel basis down to a ratio of approximately 5 dB has been demonstrated by experimentation.     

Isotopic ratio measurement of methane in ambient air using mid-infrared cavity leak-out spectroscopy

We report on infrared laser spectroscopic measurements of the isotopic composition of methane (¹²CH₄, ¹³CH₄) in natural air samples with a cavity ring-down technique. A CO overtone sideband laser is utilized to excite a high-finesse cavity which provides an effective optical absorption path length of 3.6 km. We achieved a detection limit of 105 ppt methane in ambient air using an integration time of 20 s. This corresponds to a minimum detectable absorption of 1.9×10^-9 /cm. Rapid determination of the ¹³C/¹²Cisotopic ratio of methane in ambient air without sample preconcentration or gas processing is realized. The present system requires only few minutes for an isotopic ratio measurement with a precision of 11%o . Received: 14 July 2000 / Revised version: 25 October 2000 / Published online: 6 December 2000     

Proposal for nonlinear refractive index measurement using spectral ratio in modulated OFRR dynamics

A novel method for measuring the nonlinear refractive index of an optical fiber using a spectral ratio between the modulation frequency and a harmonic component in a modulated optical fiber ring resonator (OFRR) is proposed. The spectral ratio between the modulation frequency and the 2nd-harmonics generated by phase-modulation through the OFRR is increased with increasing the input light power and has peaks above 5 W input power, however, the peaks was shifted to the lower input power below 1 W by averaging taken into account of the phase distribution. A experimental setup consisted of an OFRR system and an Ar-laser as a pump light source was used to determine the nonlinear refractive index of an optical fiber. In the experimental results, the peaks of the spectral ratio as a function of the input power was found out at 0.8 W and 0.45 W of the input power corresponding to the input source line at 488.0 nm and 514.5 nm, respectively. The profile was similar to that obtained by the simulation and the nonlinear refractive index of a optical fiber was determined as 1.0 × 10⁻²² m²/V² by a relationship between the input power giving the peak and the nonlinear refractive index.     

单发次皮秒脉冲对比度的三阶自相关法测试技术

为了测试单发次皮秒脉冲对比度,设计并研制了非共轴三阶自相关仪。三阶自相关仪参数优化设计中,在确保获得正确的相关耦合信号的前提下,充分利用KDP晶体的极化张量,寻找有效非线性系数相对较高的相位匹配点,在满足非共线相位匹配条件的同时兼顾群速匹配,为增大时间测试范围,选取较大的入射光夹角。采用分区测试和图形重构技术,增大对比度测试的动态范围,结果显示采用两个科学级CCD测试的脉冲对比度在105左右。     

单发次皮秒脉冲对比度的三阶自相关法测试技术

为了测试单发次皮秒脉冲对比度,设计并研制了非共轴三阶自相关仪。三阶自相关仪参数优化设计中,在确保获得正确的相关耦合信号的前提下,充分利用KDP晶体的极化张量,寻找有效非线性系数相对较高的相位匹配点,在满足非共线相位匹配条件的同时兼顾群速匹配,为增大时间测试范围,选取较大的入射光夹角。采用分区测试和图形重构技术,增大对比度测试的动态范围,结果显示采用两个科学级CCD测试的脉冲对比度在105左右。     

Rapid X-ray reflectivity measurement using a new liquid interface reflectometer at SPring-8

X-ray reflectivity measurements of liquid surfaces were demonstrated using a recently developed liquid interface reflectometer at SPring-8. The reflectometer, equipped with a two-dimensional hybrid pixel array detector (PILATUS), achieved x-ray reflectivity towards 10^-9 with an integration time at each angle of only 1 sec, offering enormous potential for rapid measurements. Time-resolved measurements at a time resolution of 1 min were performed on the adsorption process of a globular protein lysozyme on a water/air interface.     

Feasibility of diffusion-NMR surface-to-volume measurements tested by calculations and computer simulations

It has been demonstrated previously that the surface-to-volume ratio S/V can be determined from the derivative of the time-dependent diffusion coefficient D(t), in the limit t --> 0. Several questions arise concerning the practicality of determining S/V by NMR. In particular, how large are the errors generated by (1) working outside the t --> 0 limit and (2) measuring D outside the b --> 0 limit, both for narrow and full-width gradient pulses? Here b is gamma2G2delta2Delta for narrow pulses and gamma2G2t3/12 for broad pulses. These questions are addressed by random-walk computer simulations and numerical calculations in geometries relevant to small-airways of lung. The results demonstrate that one can work well outside the t --> 0 and b --> 0 limits, provided 10-20% accuracy in the measured S/V is sufficient. Emphasis is placed on the useful range of times t for which NMR determinations of lung S/V are feasible.     

Rapid 3D surface profile measurement of industrial parts using two-level structured light patterns

This paper aims to present a rapid 3D shape measurement system based on novel monochromatic structured light patterns. The system consists of projectors shooting the fringe patterns onto the inspected parts and cameras recording the corresponding distorted images. Using the two-level fringe patterns, the correspondence between the projector image and camera image can be established with sub-pixel accuracy. The two-level pattern is based on three spatiotemporal binary stripes, in which the value of the stripe boundary (first-level coding) is determined by the two adjacent stripes patterns over time and the codeword of the strip boundary (second-level coding) depends on its values and neighbor boundary values in space. The proposed pattern is robust to ambience light variation and part texture. Moreover, the occlusion can be overcome and high density measurement can be achieved. Experiments with different 3D parts are conducted to evaluate the robustness and accuracy of the inspection system using the two-level patterns. The results show that the system has desired properties of high accuracy, high density, rapid acquisition, and robustness, which are essential for industrial application.