3,606 research outputs found
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Automated drill bit forensics : enhancing efficiency and accuracy through image processing and machine learning
In recent years, the automation of drilling has garnered considerable attention within both the upstream oil and gas companies and the drilling research community. Drill bit forensics, being integral to the enhancement of efficiencies and profits in the oil and gas industries, promises heightened drilling efficiency, augmented consistency, and a refined comprehension of bit damage mechanisms through automation. Nevertheless, the adoption rate of drilling automation remains sluggish, largely due to the intricate nature of drilling operations. At present, the conventional inspection and grading of bit damage by human operators is labor-intensive and susceptible to human biases. This underscores the imperative for an automated system in drill bit forensics, which would aid drilling operators and specialists in processing and analyzing bit damage data.
In this dissertation, a novel systematic framework is introduced, amalgamating computer vision and machine learning techniques with domain-specific knowledge of drill bits. This framework streamlines the evaluation process from identifying various drill bit components, quantifying and categorizing cutter damage, collating positional data, to ultimately forecasting the primary causes of damage.
The methodologies devised are applied to visual data of drill bits, encompassing images and videos from hundreds of different bit runs. This work delves into several innovative contributions: (1) The industry's first bit detection model that segments distinct parts of the bit; (2) A pioneering proposition to utilize video data of drill bits to expedite the automation of bit forensics; (3) A comprehensive workflow tailored for diverse bit data sources; (4) An adaptable analytical methodology for discerning the root causes of bit damage. The outcomes underscore the potential of an automated system in drill bit forensics to bolster the precision and uniformity of drill bit assessments, offering invaluable insights into drilling operations. This groundbreaking methodology lays the foundation for further advancements in the realm of automated drill bit forensics, targeting the enhancement of the overall efficacy and cost-efficiency of drilling operations.Mechanical Engineerin
Temperature dependence of instantons in QCD
We investigate the temperature dependence of the instanton contents of gluon
fields, using unquenched lattice QCD and the cooling method. The instanton size
parameter deduced from the correlation function decreases from 0.44fm below the
phase-transition temperature (MeV) to 0.33fm at 1.3 .
The instanton charge distribution is Poissonian above , but it deviates
from the convoluted Poisson at low temperature. The topological susceptibility
decreases rapidly below , showing the apparent restoration of the
symmetry already at .Comment: 8 pages TEX, 3 Postscript figures available at
http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/MAP.htm
Instantons and Condensate
We argue that the is similar to .Comment: 6 pages, 1 fig., 1 tab., RevTeX to be use
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Protein kinase C is a calcium sensor for presynaptic short-term plasticity
In presynaptic boutons, calcium (Ca2+) triggers both neurotransmitter release and short-term synaptic plasticity. Whereas synaptotagmins are known to mediate vesicle fusion through binding of high local Ca2+ to their C2 domains, the proteins that sense smaller global Ca2+ increases to produce short-term plasticity have remained elusive. Here, we identify a Ca2+ sensor for post-tetanic potentiation (PTP), a form of plasticity thought to underlie short-term memory. We find that at the functionally mature calyx of Held synapse the Ca2+-dependent protein kinase C isoforms α and β are necessary for PTP, and the expression of PKCβ in PKCαβ double knockout mice rescues PTP. Disruption of Ca2+ binding to the PKCβ C2 domain specifically prevents PTP without impairing other PKCβ-dependent forms of synaptic enhancement. We conclude that different C2-domain-containing presynaptic proteins are engaged by different Ca2+ signals, and that Ca2+ increases evoked by tetanic stimulation are sensed by PKCβ to produce PTP. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03011.00
Instantons and Chiral Symmetry on the Lattice
I address the question of how much of QCD in the chiral limit is reproduced
by instantons. After reconstructing the instanton content of smoothed Monte
Carlo lattice configurations, I compare hadron spectroscopy on this instanton
ensemble to the spectroscopy on the original ``physical'' smoothed
configurations using a chirally optimised clover fermion action. By studying
the zero mode zone in simple instances I find that the optimised action gives a
satisfactory description of it. Through the Banks-Casher formula, instantons by
themselves are shown to break chiral symmetry but hadron correlators on the
instanton backgrounds are strongly influenced by free quark propagation. This
results in unnaturally light hadrons and a small splitting between the vector
and the pseudoscalar meson channels. Superimposing a perturbative ensemble of
zero momentum gauge field fluctuations (torons) on the instantons is found to
be enough to eliminate the free quarks and restore the physical hadron
correlators. I argue that the torons that are present only in finite volumes,
are probably needed to compensate the unnaturally large finite size effects due
to the lack of confinement in the instanton ensemble.Comment: 32 pages, LaTeX with 14 eps figure
Micro and nanostructured surfaces for enhanced phase change heat transfer
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-65).Two-phase microchannel heat sinks are of significant interest for thermal management applications, where the latent heat of vaporization offers an efficient method to dissipate large heat fluxes in a compact device. However, a significant challenge for the implementation of microchannel heat sinks is associated with flow instabilities due to insufficient bubble removal, leading to liquid dry-out which severely limits the heat removal efficiency. To address this challenge, we propose to incorporate micro/nanostructures to stabilize and enhance two-phase microchannel flows. Towards this goal, this thesis focuses on fundamental understanding of micro/nanostructures to manipulate liquid and vapor bubble dynamics, and to improve overall microchannel heat transfer performance. We first investigated the role of micro/nanostructure geometry on liquid transport behavior. We designed and fabricated asymmetric nanostructured surfaces where nanopillars are deflected with angles ranging from 7 -52'. Uni-directional liquid spreading was demonstrated where the liquid propagates in a single preferred direction and pins in all others. Through experiments and modeling, we determined that the spreading characteristic is dependent on the degree of nanostructure asymmetry, height-to-spacing ratio of the nanostructures, and intrinsic contact angle. The theory, based on an energy argument, provides excellent agreement with experimental data. This work shows a promising method to manipulate liquid spreading with structured surfaces, which potentially can also be used to manipulate vapor bubble dynamics. We subsequently investigated the effect of micro/nanostructured surface design on vapor bubble dynamics and pool boiling heat transfer. We fabricated micro-, nano-, and hierarchically-structured surfaces with a wide range of well-defined surface roughness factors and measured the heat transfer characteristics. The maximum critical heat flux (CHF) was ~250 W/cm2 with a roughness factor of~-13.3. We also developed a force-balance based model, which shows excellent agreement with the experiments. The results demonstrate the significant effect of surface roughness at capillary length scales on enhancing CHF. This work is an important step towards demonstrating the promising role of surface design for enhanced two-phase heat transfer. Finally, we investigated the heat transfer performance of microstructured surfaces incorporated in microchannel devices with integrated heaters and temperature sensors. We fabricated silicon micropillars with heights of 25 [mu]m, diameters of 5-10 [mu]m and spacings of 5- 10 [mu]m in microchannels of 500 [mu]m x 500 [mu]m. We characterized the performance of the microchannels with a custom closed loop test setup. This thesis provides improved fundamental understanding of the role of micro/nanostructures on liquid spreading and bubble dynamics as well as the practical implementation of such structures in microchannels for enhanced heat transfer. This work serves as an important step towards realizing high flux two-phase microchannel heat sinks for various thermal management applications.by Kuang-Han Chu.Ph.D
Validation of the disease-specific components of the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36) in Chinese patients undergoing maintenance dialysis
AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity, reliability and sensitivity of the disease-specific items of the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36) in Chinese patients undergoing maintenance dialysis. METHODS: The content validity was assessed by content validity index (CVI) in ten subjects. 356 subjects were recruited for pilot psychometric testing. The internal construct validity was assessed by corrected item-subscale total correlation. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to confirm the factor structure. The convergent validity was assessed by Pearson's correlation test between the disease specific subscale scores and SF-12 version 2 Health Survey (SF-12 v2) scores. The reliability was assessed by the internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha coefficient) and 2-week test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)). The sensitivity was determined by performing known group comparisons by independent t-test. RESULTS: The CVI on clarity and relevance was â ¥ 0.9 for all items. Corrected item- total correlation scores were â ¥0.4 for all, except an item related to problems with access site. CFA confirmed the 3-factor structure of the disease-specific component of the KDQOL-36. The correlation coefficients between the disease-specific domain scores and the SF-12 v2 physical and mental component summary scores ranged from 0.328 to 0.492. The reliability was good (Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.810 to 0.931, ICC ranged from 0.792 to 0.924). Only the effect subscale was sensitive in detecting differences in HRQOL between haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients, with effect size = 0.68. CONCLUSION: The disease-specific items of the KDQOL-36 are a valid, reliable and sensitive measure to assess the health-related quality of life of Chinese patients on maintenance dialysis.published_or_final_versio
Hadronic Spectral Functions in Lattice QCD
QCD spectral functions of hadrons in the pseudo-scalar and vector channels
are extracted from lattice Monte Carlo data of the imaginary time Green's
functions. The maximum entropy method works well for this purpose, and the
resonance and continuum structures in the spectra are obtained in addition to
the ground state peaks.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps-figures, revtex (minor modifications in the text and
an added reference). To appear in Physical Review D Rapid Communication
Nanoscopic Tunneling Contacts on Mesoscopic Multiprobe Conductors
We derive Bardeen-like expressions for the transmission probabilities between
two multi-probe mesoscopic conductors coupled by a weak tunneling contact. We
emphasize especially the dual role of a weak coupling contact as a current
source and sink and analyze the magnetic field symmetry. In the limit of a
point-like tunneling contact the transmission probability becomes a product of
local, partial density of states of the two mesoscopic conductors. We present
expressions for the partial density of states in terms of functional
derivatives of the scattering matrix with respect to the local potential and in
terms of wave functions. We discuss voltage measurements and resistance
measurements in the transport state of conductors. We illustrate the theory for
the simple case of a scatterer in an otherwise perfect wire. In particular, we
investigate the development of the Hall-resistance as measured with weak
coupling probes.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, revte
Relations among neutrino observables in the light of a large theta_13 angle
The recent T2K and MINOS indications for a "large" theta_13 neutrino mixing
angle can be accommodated in principle by an infinite number of Yukawa flavour
structures in the seesaw model. Without considering any explicit flavour
symmetry, there is an instructive exercise one can do: to determine the
simplest flavour structures which can account for the data with a minimum
number of parameters, simply assuming these parameters to be uncorrelated. This
approach points towards a limited number of simple structures which show the
minimum complexity a neutrino mass model must generally involve to account for
the data. These basic structures essentially lead to only 4 relations between
the neutrino observables. We emphasize that 2 of these relations, |sin
theta_13|=(tan theta_23/cos delta)*(1-tan theta_12)/(1+tan theta_12) and |sin
theta_13| = sin theta_12 R^1/4, with R= Delta m^2_21/Delta m^2_32, have several
distinctive properties. First, they hold not only with a minimum number of
parameters, but also for complete classes of more general models. Second, any
value of theta_13 within the T2K and MINOS ranges can be obtained from these
relations by taking into account small perturbations. Third, they turn out to
be the pivot relations of models with approximate conservation of lepton
number, which allow the seesaw interactions to induce observable flavour
violating processes, such as mu -> e gamma and tau -> mu gamma. Finally, in
specific cases of this kind, these structures have the rather unique property
to allow a full reconstruction of the seesaw Lagrangian from low energy data.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
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