Variable mixture ratio performance through nitrogen augmentation

High/variable mixture ratio O2/H2 candidate engine cycles are examined for earth-to-orbit vehicle application. Engine performance and power balance information are presented for the candidate cycles relative to chamber pressure, bulk density, and mixture ratio. Included in the cycle screening are concepts where a third fluid (liquid nitrogen) is used to achieve a variable mixture ratio over the trajectory from liftoff to earth orbit. The third fluid cycles offer a very low risk, fully reusable, low operation cost alternative to high/variable mixture ratio bipropellant cycles. Variable mixture ratio engines with extendible nozzle are slightly lower performing than a single mixture ratio engine (MR = 7:1) with extendible nozzle. Dual expander engines (MR = 7:1) have slightly better performance than the single mixture ratio engine. Dual fuel dual expander engines offer a 16 percent improvement over the single mixture ratio engine

Lung Segmentation in 4D CT Volumes Based on Robust Active Shape Model Matching

Dynamic and longitudinal lung CT imaging produce 4D lung image data sets, enabling applications like radiation treatment planning or assessment of response to treatment of lung diseases. In this paper, we present a 4D lung segmentation method that mutually utilizes all individual CT volumes to derive segmentations for each CT data set. Our approach is based on a 3D robust active shape model and extends it to fully utilize 4D lung image data sets. This yields an initial segmentation for the 4D volume, which is then refined by using a 4D optimal surface finding algorithm. The approach was evaluated on a diverse set of 152 CT scans of normal and diseased lungs, consisting of total lung capacity and functional residual capacity scan pairs. In addition, a comparison to a 3D segmentation method and a registration based 4D lung segmentation approach was performed. The proposed 4D method obtained an average Dice coefficient of 0.9773±0.0254, which was statistically significantly better (p value ≪0.001) than the 3D method (0.9659±0.0517). Compared to the registration based 4D method, our method obtained better or similar performance, but was 58.6% faster. Also, the method can be easily expanded to process 4D CT data sets consisting of several volumes

Robust Initialization of Active Shape Models for Lung Segmentation in CT Scans: A Feature-Based Atlas Approach

Model-based segmentation methods have the advantage of incorporating a priori shape information into the segmentation process but suffer from the drawback that the model must be initialized sufficiently close to the target. We propose a novel approach for initializing an active shape model (ASM) and apply it to 3D lung segmentation in CT scans. Our method constructs an atlas consisting of a set of representative lung features and an average lung shape. The ASM pose parameters are found by transforming the average lung shape based on an affine transform computed from matching features between the new image and representative lung features. Our evaluation on a diverse set of 190 images showed an average dice coefficient of 0.746 ± 0.068 for initialization and 0.974 ± 0.017 for subsequent segmentation, based on an independent reference standard. The mean absolute surface distance error was 0.948 ± 1.537 mm. The initialization as well as segmentation results showed a statistically significant improvement compared to four other approaches. The proposed initialization method can be generalized to other applications employing ASM-based segmentation

An Artificial SEI Layer Based on an Inorganic Coordination Polymer with Self-Healing Ability for Long-Lived Rechargeable Lithium-Metal Batteries

Upon immersion of a lithium (Li) anode into a diluted 0.05 to 0.20 M dimethoxyethane solution of the phosphoric-acid derivative (CF$_{3}$CH$_{2}$O)$_{2}$P(O)OH (HBFEP), an artificial solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) is generated on the Li-metal surface. Hence, HBFEP reacts on the surface to the corresponding Li salt (LiBFEP), which is a Li-ion conducting inorganic coordination polymer. This film exhibits – due to the reversibly breaking ionic bonds – self-healing ability upon cycling-induced volume expansion of Li. The presence of LiBFEP as the major component in the artificial SEI is proven by ATR-IR and XPS measurements. SEM characterization of HBFEP-treated Li samples reveals porous layers on top of the Li surface with at least 3 μm thickness. Li−Li symmetrical cells with HBFEP-modified Li electrodes show a three- to almost fourfold cycle-lifetime increase at 0.1 mA cm$^{-2}$ in a demanding model electrolyte that facilitates fast battery failure (1 M LiOTf in TEGDME). Hence, the LiBFEP-enriched layer apparently acts as a Li-ion conducting protection barrier between Li and the electrolyte, enhancing the rechargeability of Li electrodes

Comparative Study With New Accuracy Metrics for Target Volume Contouring in PET Image Guided Radiation Therapy

[EN] The impact of positron emission tomography (PET) on radiation therapy is held back by poor methods of defining functional volumes of interest. Many new software tools are being proposed for contouring target volumes but the different approaches are not adequately compared and their accuracy is poorly evaluated due to the ill-definition of ground truth. This paper compares the largest cohort to date of established, emerging and proposed PET contouring methods, in terms of accuracy and variability. We emphasize spatial accuracy and present a new metric that addresses the lack of unique ground truth. Thirty methods are used at 13 different institutions to contour functional volumes of interest in clinical PET/CT and a custom-built PET phantom representing typical problems in image guided radiotherapy. Contouring methods are grouped according to algorithmic type, level of interactivity and how they exploit structural information in hybrid images. Experiments reveal benefits of high levels of user interaction, as well as simultaneous visualization of CT images and PET gradients to guide interactive procedures. Method-wise evaluation identifies the danger of over-automation and the value of prior knowledge built into an algorithm.For retrospective patient data and manual ground truth delineation, the authors wish to thank S. Suilamo, K. Lehtio, M. Mokka, and H. Minn at the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Turku University Hospital, Finland. This study was funded by the Finnish Cancer Organisations.Shepherd, T.; Teräs, M.; Beichel, RR.; Boellaard, R.; Bruynooghe, M.; Dicken, V.; Gooding, MJ.... (2012). Comparative Study With New Accuracy Metrics for Target Volume Contouring in PET Image Guided Radiation Therapy. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. 31(12):2006-2024. doi:10.1109/TMI.2012.2202322S20062024311