10,963 research outputs found

    Neural Networks for Modeling and Control of Particle Accelerators

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    We describe some of the challenges of particle accelerator control, highlight recent advances in neural network techniques, discuss some promising avenues for incorporating neural networks into particle accelerator control systems, and describe a neural network-based control system that is being developed for resonance control of an RF electron gun at the Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) facility, including initial experimental results from a benchmark controller.Comment: 21 p

    Automatic controls and regulators: A compilation

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    Devices, methods, and techniques for control and regulation of the mechanical/physical functions involved in implementing the space program are discussed. Section one deals with automatic controls considered to be, essentially, start-stop operations or those holding the activity in a desired constraint. Devices that may be used to regulate activities within desired ranges or subject them to predetermined changes are dealt with in section two

    The Boston University Photonics Center annual report 2013-2014

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    This repository item contains an annual report that summarizes activities of the Boston University Photonics Center in the 2013-2014 academic year. The report provides quantitative and descriptive information regarding photonics programs in education, interdisciplinary research, business innovation, and technology development. The Boston University Photonics Center (BUPC) is an interdisciplinary hub for education, research, scholarship, innovation, and technology development associated with practical uses of light.This annual report summarizes activities of the Boston University Photonics Center in the 2013–2014 academic year.This has been a good year for the Photonics Center. In the following pages, you will see that the center’s faculty received prodigious honors and awards, generated more than 100 notable scholarly publications in the leading journals in our field, and attracted 14.5Minnewresearchgrantsandcontractsthisyear.Facultyandstaffalsoexpandedtheireffortsineducationandtraining,throughNationalScienceFoundationsponsoredsitesforResearchExperiencesforUndergraduatesandforTeachers.Asacommunity,wehostedacompellingseriesofdistinguishedinvitedspeakers,andemphasizedthethemeofInnovationsattheIntersectionsofMicro/NanofabricationTechnology,Biology,andBiomedicineatourannualFutureofLightSymposium.Wetookaleadershiproleinrunningnationalworkshopsonemergingphotonicfields,includinganOSAIncubatoronControlledLightPropagationthroughComplexMedia,andanNSFWorkshoponNoninvasiveImagingofBrainFunction.HighlightsofourresearchachievementsfortheyearincludeadistinctivePresidentialEarlyCareerAwardforScientistsandEngineers(PECASE)forAssistantProfessorXueHan,anambitiousnewDoDsponsoredgrantforMultiScaleMultiDisciplinaryModelingofElectronicMaterialsledbyProfessorEnricoBellotti,launchofourNIHsponsoredCenterforInnovationinPointofCareTechnologiesfortheFutureofCancerCareledbyProfessorCathyKlapperich,andsuccessfulcompletionoftheambitiousIARPAfundedcontractforNextGenerationSolidImmersionMicroscopyforFaultIsolationinBackSideCircuitAnalysisledbyProfessorBennettGoldberg.Thesethreeprograms,whichrepresentmorethan14.5M in new research grants and contracts this year. Faculty and staff also expanded their efforts in education and training, through National Science Foundation–sponsored sites for Research Experiences for Undergraduates and for Teachers. As a community, we hosted a compelling series of distinguished invited speakers, and emphasized the theme of Innovations at the Intersections of Micro/Nanofabrication Technology, Biology, and Biomedicine at our annual Future of Light Symposium. We took a leadership role in running national workshops on emerging photonic fields, including an OSA Incubator on Controlled Light Propagation through Complex Media, and an NSF Workshop on Noninvasive Imaging of Brain Function. Highlights of our research achievements for the year include a distinctive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for Assistant Professor Xue Han, an ambitious new DoD-sponsored grant for Multi-Scale Multi-Disciplinary Modeling of Electronic Materials led by Professor Enrico Bellotti, launch of our NIH-sponsored Center for Innovation in Point of Care Technologies for the Future of Cancer Care led by Professor Cathy Klapperich, and successful completion of the ambitious IARPA-funded contract for Next Generation Solid Immersion Microscopy for Fault Isolation in Back-Side Circuit Analysis led by Professor Bennett Goldberg. These three programs, which represent more than 20M in research funding for the University, are indicative of the breadth of Photonics Center research interests: from fundamental modeling of optoelectronic materials to practical development of cancer diagnostics, from exciting new discoveries in optogenetics for understanding brain function to the achievement of world-record resolution in semiconductor circuit microscopy. Our community welcomed an auspicious cohort of new faculty members, including a newly hired assistant professor and a newly hired professor (and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department). The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center—the centerpiece of our translational biophotonics program—continues to focus on advancing the health care and medical device industries, and has entered its fourth year of operation with a strong record of achievement and with the support of an enthusiastic industrial membership base

    The Boston University Photonics Center annual report 2013-2014

    Full text link
    This repository item contains an annual report that summarizes activities of the Boston University Photonics Center in the 2013-2014 academic year. The report provides quantitative and descriptive information regarding photonics programs in education, interdisciplinary research, business innovation, and technology development. The Boston University Photonics Center (BUPC) is an interdisciplinary hub for education, research, scholarship, innovation, and technology development associated with practical uses of light.This annual report summarizes activities of the Boston University Photonics Center in the 2013–2014 academic year.This has been a good year for the Photonics Center. In the following pages, you will see that the center’s faculty received prodigious honors and awards, generated more than 100 notable scholarly publications in the leading journals in our field, and attracted 14.5Minnewresearchgrantsandcontractsthisyear.Facultyandstaffalsoexpandedtheireffortsineducationandtraining,throughNationalScienceFoundationsponsoredsitesforResearchExperiencesforUndergraduatesandforTeachers.Asacommunity,wehostedacompellingseriesofdistinguishedinvitedspeakers,andemphasizedthethemeofInnovationsattheIntersectionsofMicro/NanofabricationTechnology,Biology,andBiomedicineatourannualFutureofLightSymposium.Wetookaleadershiproleinrunningnationalworkshopsonemergingphotonicfields,includinganOSAIncubatoronControlledLightPropagationthroughComplexMedia,andanNSFWorkshoponNoninvasiveImagingofBrainFunction.HighlightsofourresearchachievementsfortheyearincludeadistinctivePresidentialEarlyCareerAwardforScientistsandEngineers(PECASE)forAssistantProfessorXueHan,anambitiousnewDoDsponsoredgrantforMultiScaleMultiDisciplinaryModelingofElectronicMaterialsledbyProfessorEnricoBellotti,launchofourNIHsponsoredCenterforInnovationinPointofCareTechnologiesfortheFutureofCancerCareledbyProfessorCathyKlapperich,andsuccessfulcompletionoftheambitiousIARPAfundedcontractforNextGenerationSolidImmersionMicroscopyforFaultIsolationinBackSideCircuitAnalysisledbyProfessorBennettGoldberg.Thesethreeprograms,whichrepresentmorethan14.5M in new research grants and contracts this year. Faculty and staff also expanded their efforts in education and training, through National Science Foundation–sponsored sites for Research Experiences for Undergraduates and for Teachers. As a community, we hosted a compelling series of distinguished invited speakers, and emphasized the theme of Innovations at the Intersections of Micro/Nanofabrication Technology, Biology, and Biomedicine at our annual Future of Light Symposium. We took a leadership role in running national workshops on emerging photonic fields, including an OSA Incubator on Controlled Light Propagation through Complex Media, and an NSF Workshop on Noninvasive Imaging of Brain Function. Highlights of our research achievements for the year include a distinctive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for Assistant Professor Xue Han, an ambitious new DoD-sponsored grant for Multi-Scale Multi-Disciplinary Modeling of Electronic Materials led by Professor Enrico Bellotti, launch of our NIH-sponsored Center for Innovation in Point of Care Technologies for the Future of Cancer Care led by Professor Cathy Klapperich, and successful completion of the ambitious IARPA-funded contract for Next Generation Solid Immersion Microscopy for Fault Isolation in Back-Side Circuit Analysis led by Professor Bennett Goldberg. These three programs, which represent more than 20M in research funding for the University, are indicative of the breadth of Photonics Center research interests: from fundamental modeling of optoelectronic materials to practical development of cancer diagnostics, from exciting new discoveries in optogenetics for understanding brain function to the achievement of world-record resolution in semiconductor circuit microscopy. Our community welcomed an auspicious cohort of new faculty members, including a newly hired assistant professor and a newly hired professor (and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department). The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center—the centerpiece of our translational biophotonics program—continues to focus on advancing the health care and medical device industries, and has entered its fourth year of operation with a strong record of achievement and with the support of an enthusiastic industrial membership base

    Robotic Machining from Programming to Process Control

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    Control and operation of a spinning disc reactor

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    PhD ThesisThe aim of the present research is to assess the control and operation of a Spinning Disc Reactor (SDR), carried out via four separate investigations. Firstly, the effect of equipment size reduction on control is studied by comparing the performance of a PID controller applied to simulated intensified and conventional processes. It was found that superior control performance in terms of Integral of Absolute Error (IAE) is achieved for the simulated intensified system. However, the results showed that intensified systems are more susceptible to disturbances and the controlled variable exhibits larger overshoots. Furthermore, the frequency response analysis of the two systems showed that the simulated intensified system has reduced stability margins. The second part of the research investigates the task of pH control in a SDR using a PID controller by means of simulation and experimental studies. The effectiveness of a disturbance observer (DO) and a pH characteriser to compensate for the severe pH system nonlinearity is also explored in detail. The experimental studies showed that a PID controller provides adequate setpoint tracking and disturbance rejection performances. However, sluggish transient responses prevailed and the effluent pH limit cycled around the setpoint. There were indications of unstable behaviour at lower flowrates, which implied more advanced control schemas may be required to adapt to various operating regions dictated by the complex thin film hydrodynamics. The addition of the DO scheme improved the control performance by reducing the limit cycles. In the third segment of the investigations, the potential of exploiting the disc rotational speed as a manipulated variable is assessed for the process of barium sulphate precipitation. A PI controller is successfully used to regulate the conductivity of the effluent stream by adjusting the disc rotational speed. The results are immensely encouraging and show that the disc speed may be used as an extra degree of freedom in control system design. Finally, the flow regimes and wave characteristics of thin liquid films produced in a SDR are investigated by means of a thermal imaging camera. The film hydrodynamics strongly affect the heat and mass transfer processes within the processing films, and thus the intensification aspects of SDRs. Therefore, effective control and operation of such units is significantly dependent on the knowledge of film hydrodynamics and the underlying impact of the operating parameters and the manipulated variables on a given process. The results provided an interesting insight and unveiled promising potentials for characterisation of thin liquid film flow and temperature profiles across the disc by means of thermographic techniques. The present study reveals both challenges and opportunities regarding the control aspects of SDRs. It is recommended that equipment design and process control need to be considered simultaneously during the early stages of the future developments. Furthermore, intensified sensors and advanced controllers may be required to achieve an optimum control capability. Currently, the control performance is inhibited by the lack of sufficient considerations during the SDR design and manufacturing stages, and also by the characteristics of the commercially available instrumentation.EPSRC Doctoral Training Awar

    Dissipative Kerr solitons in optical microresonators

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    This chapter describes the discovery and stable generation of temporal dissipative Kerr solitons in continuous-wave (CW) laser driven optical microresonators. The experimental signatures as well as the temporal and spectral characteristics of this class of bright solitons are discussed. Moreover, analytical and numerical descriptions are presented that do not only reproduce qualitative features but can also be used to accurately model and predict the characteristics of experimental systems. Particular emphasis lies on temporal dissipative Kerr solitons with regard to optical frequency comb generation where they are of particular importance. Here, one example is spectral broadening and self-referencing enabled by the ultra-short pulsed nature of the solitons. Another example is dissipative Kerr soliton formation in integrated on-chip microresonators where the emission of a dispersive wave allows for the direct generation of unprecedentedly broadband and coherent soliton spectra with smooth spectral envelope.Comment: To appear in "Nonlinear optical cavity dynamics", ed. Ph. Grel
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