16,003 research outputs found
Automatic recognition and characterisation of supergranular cells from photospheric velocity fields
We have developed an exceptionally noise resistant method for accurate and automatic identification of supergranular cell boundaries from velocity measurements. Due to its high noise tolerance the algorithm can produce reliable cell patterns with only very small amounts of smoothing of the source data in comparison to conventional methods. In this paper we describe the method and test it with simulated data. We then apply it to the analysis of velocity fields derived from high-resolution continuum data from MDI (Michelson Doppler Imager) on SOHO. From this, we can identify certain basic properties of supergranulation cells, such as their characteristic sizes, the flow speeds within cells and their dependence on cell areas at high resolution. The effect of the noise and smoothing on the derived cell boundaries is investigated and quantified using simulated data. We show in detail the evolution of supergranular cells over their lifetime, including observations of emerging, splitting, and coalescing cells. A key result of our analysis of cell internal velocities is that there is a simple linear relation between cell size and cell internal velocity, rather than the power law usually suggested
Proceedings for the ICASE Workshop on Heterogeneous Boundary Conditions
Domain Decomposition is a complex problem with many interesting aspects. The choice of decomposition can be made based on many different criteria, and the choice of interface of internal boundary conditions are numerous. The various regions under study may have different dynamical balances, indicating that different physical processes are dominating the flow in these regions. This conference was called in recognition of the need to more clearly define the nature of these complex problems. This proceedings is a collection of the presentations and the discussion groups
Particle Acceleration and Plasma Dynamics during Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetically-dominated Regime
Magnetic reconnection is thought to be the driver for many explosive
phenomena in the universe. The energy release and particle acceleration during
reconnection have been proposed as a mechanism for producing high-energy
emissions and cosmic rays. We carry out two- and three-dimensional kinetic
simulations to investigate relativistic magnetic reconnection and the
associated particle acceleration. The simulations focus on electron-positron
plasmas starting with a magnetically dominated, force-free current sheet
(). For this limit, we demonstrate
that relativistic reconnection is highly efficient at accelerating particles
through a first-order Fermi process accomplished by the curvature drift of
particles along the electric field induced by the relativistic flows. This
mechanism gives rise to the formation of hard power-law spectra and approaches for sufficiently large and
system size. Eventually most of the available magnetic free energy is converted
into nonthermal particle kinetic energy. An analytic model is presented to
explain the key results and predict a general condition for the formation of
power-law distributions. The development of reconnection in these regimes leads
to relativistic inflow and outflow speeds and enhanced reconnection rates
relative to non-relativistic regimes. In the three-dimensional simulation, the
interplay between secondary kink and tearing instabilities leads to strong
magnetic turbulence, but does not significantly change the energy conversion,
reconnection rate, or particle acceleration. This study suggests that
relativistic reconnection sites are strong sources of nonthermal particles,
which may have important implications to a variety of high-energy astrophysical
problems.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, slightly modified after submitted to Ap
Time-dependence in Relativistic Collisionless Shocks: Theory of the Variable "Wisps" in the Crab Nebula
We describe results from time-dependent numerical modeling of the
collisionless reverse shock terminating the pulsar wind in the Crab Nebula. We
treat the upstream relativistic wind as composed of ions and electron-positron
plasma embedded in a toroidal magnetic field, flowing radially outward from the
pulsar in a sector around the rotational equator. The relativistic cyclotron
instability of the ion gyrational orbit downstream of the leading shock in the
electron-positron pairs launches outward propagating magnetosonic waves.
Because of the fresh supply of ions crossing the shock, this time-dependent
process achieves a limit-cycle, in which the waves are launched with
periodicity on the order of the ion Larmor time. Compressions in the magnetic
field and pair density associated with these waves, as well as their
propagation speed, semi-quantitatively reproduce the behavior of the wisp and
ring features described in recent observations obtained using the Hubble Space
Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. By selecting the parameters of the
ion orbits to fit the spatial separation of the wisps, we predict the period of
time variability of the wisps that is consistent with the data. When coupled
with a mechanism for non-thermal acceleration of the pairs, the compressions in
the magnetic field and plasma density associated with the optical wisp
structure naturally account for the location of X-ray features in the Crab. We
also discuss the origin of the high energy ions and their acceleration in the
equatorial current sheet of the pulsar wind.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted to ApJ. High-resolution figures and
mpeg movies available at http://astron.berkeley.edu/~anatoly/wisp
Nonlinear model predictive control for hydrogen production in an ethanol steam reformer with membrane separation
© 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other worksThis paper presents a new Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) design for an Ethanol Steam Reformer with Pd-Ag membrane separation stage. The reformer is used to produce pure hydrogen able to feed a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. Mass and energy balances are used to obtain the nonlinear dynamic model of both the reforming and the separation stages. Constraints, system nonlinearities and flexible cost function are the main reasons to select an NMPC controller, which is tested against the ordinary differential equations as simulation model, and has an internal model based on the sample data technique.Accepted versio
Particle filter state estimator for large urban networks
This paper applies a particle filter (PF) state estimator to urban traffic networks. The traffic network consists of signalized intersections, the roads that link these intersections, and sensors that detect the passage time of vehicles. The traffic state X(t) specifies at each time time t the state of the traffic lights, the queue sizes at the intersections, and the location and size of all the platoons of vehicles inside the system. The basic entity of our model is a platoon of vehicles that travel close together at approximately the same speed. This leads to a discrete event simulation model that is much faster than microscopic models representing individual vehicles. Hence it is possible to execute many random simulation runs in parallel. A particle filter (PF) assigns weights to each of these simulation runs, according to how well they explain the observed sensor signals. The PF thus generates estimates at each time t of the location of the platoons, and more importantly the queue size at each intersection. These estimates can be used for controlling the optimal switching times of the traffic light
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