308 research outputs found
Recent Advances in Metasurface Design and Quantum Optics Applications with Machine Learning, Physics-Informed Neural Networks, and Topology Optimization Methods
As a two-dimensional planar material with low depth profile, a metasurface
can generate non-classical phase distributions for the transmitted and
reflected electromagnetic waves at its interface. Thus, it offers more
flexibility to control the wave front. A traditional metasurface design process
mainly adopts the forward prediction algorithm, such as Finite Difference Time
Domain, combined with manual parameter optimization. However, such methods are
time-consuming, and it is difficult to keep the practical meta-atom spectrum
being consistent with the ideal one. In addition, since the periodic boundary
condition is used in the meta-atom design process, while the aperiodic
condition is used in the array simulation, the coupling between neighboring
meta-atoms leads to inevitable inaccuracy. In this review, representative
intelligent methods for metasurface design are introduced and discussed,
including machine learning, physics-information neural network, and topology
optimization method. We elaborate on the principle of each approach, analyze
their advantages and limitations, and discuss their potential applications. We
also summarise recent advances in enabled metasurfaces for quantum optics
applications. In short, this paper highlights a promising direction for
intelligent metasurface designs and applications for future quantum optics
research and serves as an up-to-date reference for researchers in the
metasurface and metamaterial fields
Super Ball Bot - Structures for Planetary Landing and Exploration
Small, light-weight and low-cost missions will become increasingly important to NASA's exploration goals for our solar system. Ideally teams of dozens or even hundreds of small, collapsable robots, weighing only a few kilograms a piece, will be conveniently packed during launch and would reliably separate and unpack at their destination. Such teams will allow rapid, reliable in-situ exploration of hazardous destination such as Titan, where imprecise terrain knowledge and unstable precipitation cycles make single-robot exploration problematic. Unfortunately landing many lightweight conventional robots is difficult with conventional technology. Current robot designs are delicate, requiring combinations of devices such as parachutes, retrorockets and impact balloons to minimize impact forces and to place a robot in a proper orientation. Instead we propose to develop a radically different robot based on a "tensegrity" built purely upon tensile and compression elements. These robots can be light-weight, absorb strong impacts, are redundant against single-point failures, can recover from different landing orientations and are easy to collapse and uncollapse. We believe tensegrity robot technology can play a critical role in future planetary exploration
Efficient automotive electromagnetic modelling
The Transmission Line Modelling (TLM) method is applied to the electromagnetic modelling
of vehicles. Implications of increasing frequencies in computer models of electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC) studies are discussed. Efficient algorithms and resource management
strategies are developed With a view to producing accurate results m a realistic computational
run time.
Theoretical aspects covered are: (1) the development and accuracy of the TLM method; (2) an improved Partial Huygens' surface for plane wave excitation; (3) an evaluation of high-performance local and global absorbing boundary conditions. Implementation aspects of TLM addressed include: (1) the effects of arithmetic precision on link line voltage and stub impedance calculations; (2) the development of an object-oriented computer code using the Object Modelling Technique; (3) methods for estimating and managing the memory requirement and run lime of simulations.
It is shown that by optimizing algorithms and carefully managing resources, sufficient improvement
can be made to allow relatively sophisticated models to be run on a modest desktop computer
Emerging technologies in physics education
Three emerging technologies in physics education are evaluated from the
interdisciplinary perspective of cognitive science and physics education
research. The technologies - Physlet Physics, the Andes Intelligent Tutoring
System (ITS), and Microcomputer-Based Laboratory (MBL) Tools - are assessed
particularly in terms of their potential at promoting conceptual change,
developing expert-like problem-solving skills, and achieving the goals of the
traditional physics laboratory. Pedagogical methods to maximize the potential
of each educational technology are suggested.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Science Education and
Technology; 20 page
Acoustic pulse propagation in an urban environment using a three-dimensional numerical simulation
Acoustic pulse propagation in outdoor urban environments is a physically complex phenomenon due to the predominance of reflection, diffraction, and scattering. This is especially true in non-line-of-sight cases, where edge diffraction and high-order scattering are major components of acoustic energy transport. Past work by Albert and Liu [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 127, 1335-1346 (2010)] has shown that many of these effects can be captured using a two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method, which was compared to the measured data recorded in an army training village. In this paper, a full three-dimensional analysis of acoustic pulse propagation is presented. This analysis is enabled by the adaptive rectangular decomposition method by Raghuvanshi, Narain and Lin [IEEE Trans. Visual. Comput. Graphics 15, 789-801 (2009)], which models sound propagation in the same scene in three dimensions. The simulation is run at a much higher usable bandwidth (nearly 450 Hz) and took only a few minutes on a desktop computer. It is shown that a three-dimensional solution provides better agreement with measured data than two-dimensional modeling, especially in cases where propagation over rooftops is important. In general, the predicted acoustic responses match well with measured results for the source/sensor locations
Efficient discrete modelling of axisymmetric radiating structures
This thesis describes research on Efficient Discrete Modelling of Axisymmetric Radiating Structures . Investigating the possibilities of surmounting the inherent limitation in the Cartesian rectangular Transmission Line Modelling (TLM) method due to staircase approximation by efficiently implementing the 3D cylindrical TLM mesh led to the development of a numerical model for simulating axisymmetric radiating structures such as cylindrical and conical monopole antennas.
Following a brief introduction to the TLM method, potential applications of the method are presented. Cubic and cylindrical TLM models have been implemented in MATLAB and the code has been validated against microwave cavity benchmark problems. The results are compared to analytical results and the results obtained from the use of commercial cubic model (CST) in order to highlight the benefit of using a cylindrical model over its cubic counterpart.
A cylindrical TLM mesh has not previously been used in the modelling of axisymmetric 3D radiating structures. In this thesis, it has been applied to the modelling of both cylindrical monopole and the conical monopole. The technique can also be applied to any radiating structure with axisymmetric cylindrical shape. The application of the method also led to the development of a novel conical antenna with periodic slot loading. Prototype antennas have been fabricated and measured to validate the simulated results for the antennas
Reflector geometry specific modeling of an annular array based ultrasound pulse-echo system
Abstract Conventional ultrasound imaging systems use array transducers for focusing and beam steering, to improve lateral resolution and permit real-time imaging. This thesis research investigates a different use of array transducers, where the acoustic field and the receiver characteristics are designed such that the energy of the output signal from targets of a specified geometry is maximized. The output signal is the sum of the received signals obtained using all the possible combinations of transducer array elements as transmitter and receiver. This work is based on annular array transducers, but is applicable for any array configuration. The first step is the development of software for the efficient modeling of the wave interaction between transmitted field and target, and between the transducer and receiver field. Using this software, we have calculated the received signal for each combination of an array element as transmitter and the same or another array element as receiver, leading to an N x N received signal matrix for an N element array transducer. A waveform optimization algorithm is then implemented for the purpose of determining the set of delays for the individual array elements, which maximizes the energy of the sum of the received signals. In one implementation of this algorithm, the received signal with the maximum energy is considered as a reference signal, and specific delays are applied to the other signals so that any two signals produce a maximum correlation. This leads to an N x N delay matrix, which, however, is not readily implemented in a practical real-time system, which uses all the elements in an array transducer simultaneously to customize acoustic fields. Hence, the values in this delay matrix are fed into a linear programming optimizer tool to obtain a set of delay values, which makes its implementation practical. The optimized set of delays thus obtained is used to maximize the energy of the received signal for a given transducer and target geometry and hence to enhance the reflectivity of that target. It is also important to check the robustness of the optimized set of delays obtained above, for a given target geometry. Robustness refers to the sensitivity of the optimization to variation in target geometry. This aspect is also evaluated as a part of this thesis work
Audio-visual Virtual Reality System for Room Acoustics
We present an audio-visual Virtual Reality display system for simulated sound fields. In addition to the room acoustic simulation by means of phonon tracing and finite element method this system includes the stereoscopic visualization of simulation results using a 3D back projection system as well as auralization by use of a professional sound equipment. For auralization purposes we develop a sound field synthesis approach for accurate control of the loudspeaker system
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