High Thermal Conductivity Coatings via LENS™ for Thermal Management Applications

Surface modification has been used to improve wear resistance, corrosion resistance and thermal barrier properties of metals. However, no significant attempts have been made to improve thermal conductivity by surface modification. In this work, we have examined the feasibility of enhancing thermal conductivity (TC) of stainless steel by depositing brass using Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS). The coating increased the TC of the substrate by 65% at 100 C°. Significantly low thermal contact resistance was observed between the coating and the substrate due to minimal dilution and defect free sound interface. Our results indicate that laser processing can be used on low coefficient of thermal expansion metal matrix composites to create feature based coatings to enhance their heat transfer capability.Mechanical Engineerin

TScan–Stationary LiDAR for Traffic and Safety Applications: Vehicle Interpretation and Tracking

To improve traffic performance and safety, the ability to measure traffic accurately and effectively, including motorists and other vulnerable road users, at road intersections is needed. A past study conducted by the Center for Road Safety has demonstrated that it is feasible to detect and track various types of road users using a LiDAR-based system called TScan. This project aimed to progress towards a real-world implementation of TScan by building two trailer-based prototypes with full end-user documentation. The previously developed detection and tracking algorithms have been modified and converted from the research code to its implementational version written in the C++ programming language. Two trailer-based TScan units have been built. The design of the prototype was iterated multiple times to account for component placement, ease of maintenance, etc. The expansion of the TScan system from a one single-sensor unit to multiple units with multiple LiDAR sensors necessitated transforming all the measurements into a common spatial and temporal reference frame. Engineering applications for performing traffic counts, analyzing speeds at intersections, and visualizing pedestrian presence data were developed. The limitations of the existing SSAM for traffic conflicts analysis with computer simulation prompted the research team to develop and implement their own traffic conflicts detection and analysis technique that is applicable to real-world data. Efficient use of the development system requires proper training of its end users. An INDOT-CRS collaborative process was developed and its execution planned to gradually transfer the two TScan prototypes to INDOT’s full control. This period will be also an opportunity for collecting feedback from the end user and making limited modifications to the system and documentation as needed

Guidelines for Evaluating Safety Using Traffic Encounters: Proactive Crash Estimation on Roadways with Conventional and Autonomous Vehicle Scenarios

With the expected arrival of autonomous vehicles, and the ever-increasing levels of automation in today’s human driven vehicles, road safety is changing at a rapid pace. This project aimed to address the need for an efficient and rapid method of safety evaluation and countermeasure identification via traffic encounters, specifically traffic conflicts that are considered useful surrogates of crashes. Recent research-delivered methods for estimating crash frequencies based on these events were observed in the field. In this project we developed a method for observing traffic encounters with two LiDAR-based traffic monitoring units, called TScan, which were recently developed in JTRP-funded projects SPR-3831 and SPR-4102. The TScan units were deployed in the field for several hours to collect data at selected intersections. These large data sets were used to improve object detection and tracking algorithms in order to better assist in detecting traffic encounters and conflicts. Consequently, the software of the TScan trailer-based units was improved and the results generated with the upgraded system include a list of potential encounters for further analysis. We developed an engineering application for analyzing the trajectories of vehicles involved in the pre-selected encounters to identify final traffic encounters and conflicts. Another module of the engineering application visualized the traffic encounters and conflicts to inspect the spatial patterns of these events and to estimate the number of crashes for the observation period. Furthermore, a significant modeling effort resulted in a method of producing factors that expand the conflict-based crash estimates in short observation periods to an entire year. This report provides guidelines for traffic encounters and conflicts, the user manuals for setting up and operating the TScan research unit. and manuals for the engineering applications mentioned above

Lime-Stabilized Black Cotton Soil and Brick Powder Mixture as Subbase Material

Various researchers, for the past few decades, had tried to stabilize black cotton soil using lime for improving its shrinkage and swelling characteristics. But these days, the cost of lime has increased resulting in increase in need for alternative and cost effective waste materials such as fly ash and rice husk ash. Brick powder, one among the alternative materials, is a fine powdered waste that contains higher proportions of silica and is found near brick kilns in rural areas. The objective of the study is to investigate the use of lime-stabilized black cotton soil and brick powder mixture as subbase material in flexible pavements. Black cotton soil procured from the local area, tested for suitability as subbase material, turned out to be unsuitable as it resulted in very less CBR value. Even lime stabilization of black cotton soil under study has not showed up the required CBR value specified for the subbase material of flexible pavement by MORTH. Hence the lime-stabilized black cotton soil is proportioned with brick powder to obtain optimum mixture that yields a better CBR value. The mixture of 20% brick powder and 80% lime-stabilized black cotton soil under study resulted in increase in the CBR value by about 135% in comparison with lime-stabilized black cotton soil. Thus it is promising to use the mixture of brick powder and lime-stabilized black cotton soil as subbase material in flexible pavements

Implementing the ‘Frozen Potential’ Approach on ADEPT to Analyze Thin Film Solar Cells

Thin film solar cells have higher absorption coefficients than traditional Silicon solar cells. This means that lesser material is required to produce the same power output for a given intensity of solar illumination. As a result, they are less expensive, easier to install and have a wider range of applications. Analyzing the performance of cells requires separating the current into the photocurrent and the injection current based on the ‘Superposition Principle’. For thin film solar cells, this cannot be done using the conventional method. This is because these components are interdependent, and so modeling one’s behavior requires understanding the other. We address this issue by implementing a new modeling approach. This novel ‘Frozen Potential’ Approach separates the photocurrent and injection current from the total current. The currents are then plotted individually. This method is implemented on a rigorous simulation tool called ADEPT 2.0, which is readily available on nanoHUB.org – the premier platform for research and simulation in nanotechnology. Equipped with this new modelling approach, a useful framework is provided for ADEPT 2.0 by tying in a traditional understanding of solar cells to a new class of materials, geometries and illumination profiles relevant for the solar cell community

Femto Seconds Laser Based Efficient THz Generation from Different Temperature Annealed CdTe Thin Films and Effects of Carrier Concentration and Phase Transition on Efficiency of Generation

401-406The paper reports the thermal evaporation based growth process of CdTe thin films on glass substrates. These films were annealed between room temperature to 200, 300 and 400 oC, respectively. The XRD characterization of these films revealed the change in crystalline phase from cubic to triclinic above 200 oC. Finally, these films were subjected to 800 nm wavelength of 35fs pulsed obtained from Ti: sapphire amplifier at 1kHz repetition rate. The incident power of the laser was focused and tuned between 150-350 mW range and generated THz signals were recorded using calibrated Pyroelectric detector at 22.5 Hz frequency. The highest power of the THz signal was 80nW for 200 oC annealed film with respect to incident power of 300mW. The highest efficiency of THz signal was of the order of 3.11E-5%. We have also explained the effect of carrier concentration and phase transition with respect to different annealed temperature for efficient generation of THz signal

Deepfake Detection and Reconstruction of the Original Image

This study takes a novel method to addressing the problems faced by false faces created by adversarial networks. The system includes a Fake Face Identification Module and a Generative Image Reconstruction Module that use deep learning techniques. The former correctly recognises falsely manufactured faces, but the latter reconstructs the original images associated with the discovered forgeries. . The procedure entails training advanced deep neural networks on a variety of datasets in order to ensure flexibility against evolving adversarial tactics. The technology improves biometric security, data integrity, and the trustworthiness of facial recognition systems by cross-referencing and recovering legitimate photos in datasets. Identity verification, surveillance, and the preservation of accurate facial picture databases are all potential applications for this projec

Usage of Glimepiride/Metformin Fixed-dose Combination in Young Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes: The Indian Experience

Background: The prevalence of diabetes has been rising among the younger population and is a cause for concern. The present case-based questionnaire survey evaluated the treatment pattern and clinical experience of healthcare professionals (HCPs) in prescribing glimepiride/metformin fixed-dose combination (FDC) to young diabetes patients (up to 40 years of age) in the Indian setting. Material and methods: A retrospective, multicenter, observational, questionnaire-based survey was conducted in Indian healthcare centers using medical records of patients having type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), who were prescribed different strengths of glimepiride/metformin FDCs. Data was collected from the patients’ medical records and were analyzed using statistical tests. Results: A total of 2,715 patients aged between 18 and 40 years were included in the study. Mean diabetes duration among the young patients was 2.76 ± 1.97 years. Among the young T2DM patients, 83.2% patients received glimepiride/metformin FDC as first-line therapy, and 16.8% received it as second-line therapy. Hypoglycemia at 6 months was noted in only 2.47% of the young patients. Mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) before and after treatment was 8.7% ± 3.4% and 7.3% ± 3.9%, respectively. Mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was 171.8 ± 80.1 mg/dL in patients prior to treatment initiation and came down to 122.8 ± 41.8 mg/dL after treatment with glimepiride/metformin FDC. Mean postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) prior to combination therapy use was 248.7 ± 64.0 mg/dL and dropped to 177.2 ± 39.9 mg/dL after treatment. Good to excellent efficacy and tolerability were reported for 86% and 86.6% patients, respectively. Conclusion: This case-based questionnaire survey demonstrates the usage pattern of various strengths of glimepiride/metformin FDCs and the HCPs’ practice approach regarding the use of this combination in young T2DM patients in the Indian setting. The combination is commonly prescribed to young diabetes patients in India and is associated with beneficial effects on glycemic parameters

Guidelines for Evaluating Safety Using Traffic Encounters: Proactive Crash Estimation on Roadways with Conventional and Autonomous Vehicle Scenarios

SPR-4439With the expected arrival of autonomous vehicles, and the ever-increasing levels of automation in today\u2019s human driven vehicles, road safety is changing at a rapid pace. This project aimed to address the need for an efficient and rapid method of safety evaluation and countermeasure identification via traffic encounters, specifically traffic conflicts that are considered useful surrogates of crashes. Recent research-delivered methods for estimating crash frequencies based on these events were observed in the field. In this project we developed a method for observing traffic encounters with two LiDAR-based traffic monitoring units, called TScan, which were recently developed in JTRP-funded projects SPR-3831 and SPR-4102. The TScan units were deployed in the field for several hours to collect data at selected intersections. These large data sets were used to improve object detection and tracking algorithms in order to better assist in detecting traffic encounters and conflicts. Consequently, the software of the TScan trailer-based units was improved and the results generated with the upgraded system include a list of potential encounters for further analysis. We developed an engineering application for analyzing the trajectories of vehicles involved in the pre-selected encounters to identify final traffic encounters and conflicts. Another module of the engineering application visualized the traffic encounters and conflicts to inspect the spatial patterns of these events and to estimate the number of crashes for the observation period. Furthermore, a significant modeling effort resulted in a method of producing factors that expand the conflict-based crash estimates in short observation periods to an entire year. This report provides guidelines for traffic encounters and conflicts, the user manuals for setting up and operating the TScan research unit. and manuals for the engineering applications mentioned above