2,007 research outputs found
Blood pressure estimation using pulse transit time models
Abstract. Blood pressure (BP) is an important indicator of human health. Common methods for measuring BP continuously are either invasive, intermittent or they require using a cumbersome cuff. Pulse Transmit Time (PTT) -based measurement can be an alternative for such methods, as it ensures continue and non-invasive monitoring. However, since the method is indirect, it requires careful modelling of PTT-BP relation. In this thesis, three approaches of BP estimation from PTT are tested: linear regression, nonlinear Moens and Korteweg model and nonlinear model developed by Gesche. In the experiments, cardiovascular pulses for PTT were sensed using two fiber optics based accelerometers developed at the University of Oulu.
To evaluate feasibility of presented models, the results were compared with reference BP values, measured using methods accepted for the commercial use. There were two groups of data. One was compared with BP measured using invasive catheter. Second group was compared with BP measured using volume clamp method. Obtained results suggest, that the presented calculation methods in present state still require further development in order to provide accurate BP values, however, they can be potentially used for observation of BP changes
Generalized Berreman's model of the elastic surface free energy of a nematic liquid crystal on a sawtoothed substrate
In this paper we present a generalization of Berreman's model for the elastic
contribution to the surface free-energy density of a nematic liquid crystal in
presence of a sawtooth substrate which favours homeotropic anchoring, as a
function of the wavenumber of the surface structure , the tilt angle
and the surface anchoring strength . In addition to the previously
reported non-analytic contribution proportional to , due to the
nucleation of disclination lines at the wedge bottoms and apexes of the
substrate, the next-to-leading contribution is proportional to for a given
substrate roughness, in agreement with Berreman's predictions. We characterise
this term, finding that it has two contributions: the deviations of the nematic
director field with respect to the corresponding to the isolated disclination
lines, and their associated core free energies. Comparison with the results
obtained from the Landau-de Gennes model shows that our model is quite accurate
in the limit , when strong anchoring conditions are effectively achieved.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures; revised version submitted to Phys. Rev.
Modelling Heat Transfer of Carbon Nanotubes
Modelling heat transfer of carbon nanotubes is important for the thermal
management of nanotube-based composites and nanoelectronic device. By using a
finite element method for three-dimensional anisotropic heat transfer, we have
simulated the heat conduction and temperature variations of a single nanotube,
a nanotube array and a part of nanotube-based composite surface with heat
generation. The thermal conductivity used is obtained from the upscaled value
from the molecular simulations or experiments. Simulations show that nanotube
arrays have unique cooling characteristics due to its anisotropic thermal
conductivity.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Optimal, scalable forward models for computing gravity anomalies
We describe three approaches for computing a gravity signal from a density
anomaly. The first approach consists of the classical "summation" technique,
whilst the remaining two methods solve the Poisson problem for the
gravitational potential using either a Finite Element (FE) discretization
employing a multilevel preconditioner, or a Green's function evaluated with the
Fast Multipole Method (FMM). The methods utilizing the PDE formulation
described here differ from previously published approaches used in gravity
modeling in that they are optimal, implying that both the memory and
computational time required scale linearly with respect to the number of
unknowns in the potential field. Additionally, all of the implementations
presented here are developed such that the computations can be performed in a
massively parallel, distributed memory computing environment. Through numerical
experiments, we compare the methods on the basis of their discretization error,
CPU time and parallel scalability. We demonstrate the parallel scalability of
all these techniques by running forward models with up to voxels on
1000's of cores.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures; accepted by Geophysical Journal Internationa
Computing stationary free-surface shapes in microfluidics
A finite-element algorithm for computing free-surface flows driven by
arbitrary body forces is presented. The algorithm is primarily designed for the
microfluidic parameter range where (i) the Reynolds number is small and (ii)
force-driven pressure and flow fields compete with the surface tension for the
shape of a stationary free surface. The free surface shape is represented by
the boundaries of finite elements that move according to the stress applied by
the adjacent fluid. Additionally, the surface tends to minimize its free energy
and by that adapts its curvature to balance the normal stress at the surface.
The numerical approach consists of the iteration of two alternating steps: The
solution of a fluidic problem in a prescribed domain with slip boundary
conditions at the free surface and a consecutive update of the domain driven by
the previously determined pressure and velocity fields. ...Comment: Revised versio
Control-volume representation of molecular dynamics
A Molecular Dynamics (MD) parallel to the Control Volume (CV) formulation of
fluid mechanics is developed by integrating the formulas of Irving and
Kirkwood, J. Chem. Phys. 18, 817 (1950) over a finite cubic volume of molecular
dimensions. The Lagrangian molecular system is expressed in terms of an
Eulerian CV, which yields an equivalent to Reynolds' Transport Theorem for the
discrete system. This approach casts the dynamics of the molecular system into
a form that can be readily compared to the continuum equations. The MD
equations of motion are reinterpreted in terms of a
Lagrangian-to-Control-Volume (\CV) conversion function , for
each molecule . The \CV function and its spatial derivatives are used to
express fluxes and relevant forces across the control surfaces. The
relationship between the local pressures computed using the Volume Average (VA,
Lutsko, J. Appl. Phys 64, 1152 (1988)) techniques and the Method of Planes
(MOP, Todd et al, Phys. Rev. E 52, 1627 (1995)) emerges naturally from the
treatment. Numerical experiments using the MD CV method are reported for
equilibrium and non-equilibrium (start-up Couette flow) model liquids, which
demonstrate the advantages of the formulation. The CV formulation of the MD is
shown to be exactly conservative, and is therefore ideally suited to obtain
macroscopic properties from a discrete system.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figure
A numerical investigation of a piezoelectric surface acoustic wave interaction with a one-dimensional channel
We investigate the propagation of a piezoelectric surface acoustic wave (SAW)
across a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure surface, on which there is
fixed a metallic split-gate. Our method is based on a finite element
formulation of the underlying equations of motion, and is performed in
three-dimensions fully incorporating the geometry and material composition of
the substrate and gates. We demonstrate attenuation of the SAW amplitude as a
result of the presence of both mechanical and electrical gates on the surface.
We show that the incorporation of a simple model for the screening by the
two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), results in a total electric potential
modulation that suggests a mechanism for the capture and release of electrons
by the SAW. Our simulations suggest the absence of any significant turbulence
in the SAW motion which could hamper the operation of SAW based quantum devices
of a more complex geometry.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Large Eddy Simulation of acoustic pulse propagation and turbulent flow interaction in expansion mufflers
A novel hybrid pressure-based compressible solver is developed and validated for low Mach number acoustic flow simulation. The solver is applied to the propagation of an acoustic pulse in a simple expansion muffler, a configuration frequently employed in HVAC and automotive exhaust systems. A set of benchmark results for experimental analysis of the simple expansion muffler both with and without flow are obtained to compare attenuation in forced pulsation for various mean-flow velocities. The experimental results are then used for validation of the proposed pressure-based compressible solver. Compressible, Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulation of a muffler with a mean through flow is conducted and results are presented to demonstrate inherent limitations associated with this approach. Consequently, a mixed synthetic inflow boundary condition is developed and validated for compressible Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of channel flow. The mixed synthetic boundary is then employed for LES of a simple expansion muffler to analyse the flow-acoustic and acoustic-pulse interactions inside the expansion muffler. The improvement in the prediction of vortex shedding inside the chamber is highlighted in comparison to the URANS method. Further, the effect of forced pulsation on flow-acoustic is observed in regard to the shift in Strouhal number inside the simple expansion muffler
Electronic Structures of Quantum Dots and the Ultimate Resolution of Integers
The orbital angular momentum L as an integer can be ultimately factorized as
a product of prime numbers. We show here a close relation between the
resolution of L and the classification of quantum states of an N-electron
2-dimensional system. In this scheme, the states are in essence classified into
different types according to the m(k)-accessibility, namely the ability to get
access to symmetric geometric configurations. The m(k)-accessibility is an
universal concept underlying all kinds of 2-dimensional systems with a center.
Numerical calculations have been performed to reveal the electronic structures
of the states of the dots with 9 and 19 electrons,respectively. This paper
supports the Laughlin wave finction and the composite fermion model from the
aspect of symmetry.Comment: Two figure
A Toy Model for Testing Finite Element Methods to Simulate Extreme-Mass-Ratio Binary Systems
Extreme mass ratio binary systems, binaries involving stellar mass objects
orbiting massive black holes, are considered to be a primary source of
gravitational radiation to be detected by the space-based interferometer LISA.
The numerical modelling of these binary systems is extremely challenging
because the scales involved expand over several orders of magnitude. One needs
to handle large wavelength scales comparable to the size of the massive black
hole and, at the same time, to resolve the scales in the vicinity of the small
companion where radiation reaction effects play a crucial role. Adaptive finite
element methods, in which quantitative control of errors is achieved
automatically by finite element mesh adaptivity based on posteriori error
estimation, are a natural choice that has great potential for achieving the
high level of adaptivity required in these simulations. To demonstrate this, we
present the results of simulations of a toy model, consisting of a point-like
source orbiting a black hole under the action of a scalar gravitational field.Comment: 29 pages, 37 figures. RevTeX 4.0. Minor changes to match the
published versio
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