284 research outputs found
Pulse analysis of acoustic emission signals
A method for the signature analysis of pulses in the frequency domain and the time domain is presented. Fourier spectrum, Fourier transfer function, shock spectrum and shock spectrum ratio were examined in the frequency domain analysis, and pulse shape deconvolution was developed for use in the time domain analysis. Comparisons of the relative performance of each analysis technique are made for the characterization of acoustic emission pulses recorded by a measuring system. To demonstrate the relative sensitivity of each of the methods to small changes in the pulse shape, signatures of computer modeled systems with analytical pulses are presented. Optimization techniques are developed and used to indicate the best design parameters values for deconvolution of the pulse shape. Several experiments are presented that test the pulse signature analysis methods on different acoustic emission sources. These include acoustic emissions associated with: (1) crack propagation, (2) ball dropping on a plate, (3) spark discharge and (4) defective and good ball bearings. Deconvolution of the first few micro-seconds of the pulse train are shown to be the region in which the significant signatures of the acoustic emission event are to be found
Pulse analysis of acoustic emission signals
A method for the signature analysis of pulses in the frequency domain and the time domain is presented. Fourier spectrum, Fourier transfer function, shock spectrum and shock spectrum ratio were examined in the frequency domain analysis and pulse shape deconvolution was developed for use in the time domain analysis. Comparisons of the relative performance of each analysis technique are made for the characterization of acoustic emission pulses recorded by a measuring system. To demonstrate the relative sensitivity of each of the methods to small changes in the pulse shape, signatures of computer modeled systems with analytical pulses are presented. Optimization techniques are developed and used to indicate the best design parameter values for deconvolution of the pulse shape. Several experiments are presented that test the pulse signature analysis methods on different acoustic emission sources. These include acoustic emission associated with (a) crack propagation, (b) ball dropping on a plate, (c) spark discharge, and (d) defective and good ball bearings. Deconvolution of the first few micro-seconds of the pulse train is shown to be the region in which the significant signatures of the acoustic emission event are to be found
Impulse Analysis of Ultrasonic Indicia
What I would like to talk about today is essentially a portion of a program that has been sponsored by the AFOSR. The primary objectives of the program are to try and analyze defects associated with fastener holes. These include straight-shank fastener holes, tapered shank fastener holes, and cold-worked holes. The total scope of the program is to try and understand the factors that affect the detection capabilities associated with the fastener hole, both with the fastener in place and with the fastener out (including metallurgical, geometric, and local stresses), and to see if there is some way of characterizing the size, the shape and the orientation of the hole in the hope of differentiating between what might be considered a benign defect versus a critical defect. A benign defect, for example, could be some scratches on the inside of the hole that might not be expected to grow. I say, would not be expected to grow, because you don\u27t know if they are or not
Defect Characterization by Spatial Distribution of Ultrasonic Scattered Energy
The ultrasonic pulse echo technique is a highly sensitive nondestructive method for detecting small defects within the bulk of a structure. The technique is capable of reliably finding small volumetric defects when the defect size is approximately 0.030 inches in diameter and the specimen thicknesses are not too great. If the distance between the transducer and the defect is large, greater than 2 near field distances, the minimum value of volumetric flaw sizes that can be reliably detected rises considerably. For 6-8 inch thick plates, it is not too surprising to occasionally miss volumetric defects such as slag inclusions of considerable length
Fractal Patterns in Riverbed Morphology Produce Fractal Scaling of Water Storage Times
River topography is famously fractal, and the fractality of the sediment bed surface can produce scaling in solute residence time distributions. Empirical evidence showing the relationship between fractal bed topography and scaling of hyporheic travel times is still lacking. We performed experiments to make high-resolution observations of streambed topography and solute transport over naturally formed sand bedforms in a large laboratory flume. We analyzed the results using both numerical and theoretical models. We found that fractal properties of the bed topography do indeed affect solute residence time distributions. Overall, our experimental, numerical, and theoretical results provide evidence for a coupling between the sand-bed topography and the anomalous transport scaling in rivers. Larger bedforms induced greater hyporheic exchange and faster pore water turnover relative to smaller bedforms, suggesting that the structure of legacy morphology may be more important to solute and contaminant transport in streams and rivers than previously recognized
Nutrient cycling in bedform induced hyporheic zones
The hyporheic zone is an ecotone connecting the stream and groundwater ecosystem that plays a significant role for stream biogeochemistry. Water exchange across the stream-sediment interface and biogeochemical reactions in the streambed concur to affect subsurface solute concentrations and eventually nutrient cycling in the fluvial corridor. In this paper we investigate the interplay of hydrological and biogeochemical processes in a duned streambed and their effect on spatial distribution of solutes. We employ a numerical model to simulate the turbulent water flow and the pressure distribution over the dunes, and then to evaluate the flow field and the biogeochemical reactions in the hyporheic sediments. Sensitivity analyses are performed to analyze the influence of hydrological and chemical properties of the system on solute reaction rates. The results demonstrate the effect of stream velocity and sediment permeability on the chemical zonation. Changing sediment permeability as well as stream velocity directly affects the nutrient supply and the residence times in the streambed, thus controlling the reaction rates under the dune. Stream-water quality is also shown to influence the reactive behavior of the sediments. In particular, the availability of dissolved organic carbon determines whether the streambed acts as a net sink or source of nitrate. This study represents a step towards a better understanding of the complex interactions between hydrodynamical and biogeochemical processes in the hyporheic zon
Ecological and Genomic Attributes of Novel Bacterial Taxa That Thrive in Subsurface Soil Horizons.
While most bacterial and archaeal taxa living in surface soils remain undescribed, this problem is exacerbated in deeper soils, owing to the unique oligotrophic conditions found in the subsurface. Additionally, previous studies of soil microbiomes have focused almost exclusively on surface soils, even though the microbes living in deeper soils also play critical roles in a wide range of biogeochemical processes. We examined soils collected from 20 distinct profiles across the United States to characterize the bacterial and archaeal communities that live in subsurface soils and to determine whether there are consistent changes in soil microbial communities with depth across a wide range of soil and environmental conditions. We found that bacterial and archaeal diversity generally decreased with depth, as did the degree of similarity of microbial communities to those found in surface horizons. We observed five phyla that consistently increased in relative abundance with depth across our soil profiles: Chloroflexi, Nitrospirae, Euryarchaeota, and candidate phyla GAL15 and Dormibacteraeota (formerly AD3). Leveraging the unusually high abundance of Dormibacteraeota at depth, we assembled genomes representative of this candidate phylum and identified traits that are likely to be beneficial in low-nutrient environments, including the synthesis and storage of carbohydrates, the potential to use carbon monoxide (CO) as a supplemental energy source, and the ability to form spores. Together these attributes likely allow members of the candidate phylum Dormibacteraeota to flourish in deeper soils and provide insight into the survival and growth strategies employed by the microbes that thrive in oligotrophic soil environments.IMPORTANCE Soil profiles are rarely homogeneous. Resource availability and microbial abundances typically decrease with soil depth, but microbes found in deeper horizons are still important components of terrestrial ecosystems. By studying 20 soil profiles across the United States, we documented consistent changes in soil bacterial and archaeal communities with depth. Deeper soils harbored communities distinct from those of the more commonly studied surface horizons. Most notably, we found that the candidate phylum Dormibacteraeota (formerly AD3) was often dominant in subsurface soils, and we used genomes from uncultivated members of this group to identify why these taxa are able to thrive in such resource-limited environments. Simply digging deeper into soil can reveal a surprising number of novel microbes with unique adaptations to oligotrophic subsurface conditions
Hydrogeomorphology of the Hyporheic Zone: Stream Solute and Fine Particle Interactions With a Dynamic Streambed
Hyporheic flow in streams has typically been studied separately from geomorphic processes. We investigated interactions between bed mobility and dynamic hyporheic storage of solutes and fine particles in a sand-bed stream before, during, and after a flood. A conservatively transported solute tracer (bromide) and a fine particles tracer (5 μm latex particles), a surrogate for fine particulate organic matter, were co-injected during base flow. The tracers were differentially stored, with fine particles penetrating more shallowly in hyporheic flow and retained more efficiently due to the high rate of particle filtration in bed sediment compared to solute. Tracer injections lasted 3.5 h after which we released a small flood from an upstream dam one hour later. Due to shallower storage in the bed, fine particles were rapidly entrained during the rising limb of the flood hydrograph. Rather than being flushed by the flood, we observed that solutes were stored longer due to expansion of hyporheic flow paths beneath the temporarily enlarged bedforms. Three important timescales determined the fate of solutes and fine particles: (1) flood duration, (2) relaxation time of flood-enlarged bedforms back to base flow dimensions, and (3) resulting adjustments and lag times of hyporheic flow. Recurrent transitions between these timescales explain why we observed a peak accumulation of natural particulate organic matter between 2 and 4 cm deep in the bed, i.e., below the scour layer of mobile bedforms but above the maximum depth of particle filtration in hyporheic flow paths. Thus, physical interactions between bed mobility and hyporheic transport influence how organic matter is stored in the bed and how long it is retained, which affects decomposition rate and metabolism of this southeastern Coastal Plain stream. In summary we found that dynamic interactions between hyporheic flow, bed mobility, and flow variation had strong but differential influences on base flow retention and flood mobilization of solutes and fine particulates. These hydrogeomorphic relationships have implications for microbial respiration of organic matter, carbon and nutrient cycling, and fate of contaminants in streams
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