A Comparison of Sentinel-1 Biased and Unbiased Coherence for Crop Monitoring and Classification

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) holds significant potential for applications in crop monitoring and classification. Interferometric SAR (InSAR) coherence proves effective in monitoring crop growth. Currently, the coherence based on the maximum likelihood estimator is biased towards low coherence values. Therefore, the main aim of this work is to access the performance of Sentinel-1 time-series biased coherence and unbiased coherence in crop monitoring and classification. This study was conducted during the 2018 growing season (April-October) in Komoka, an agricultural region in southwestern Ontario, Canada, primarily cultivating three crops: soybean, corn, and winter wheat. To verify the ability of coherence to monitor crops, a linear correlation coefficient between temporal coherence and dual polarimetric radar vegetation index (DpRVI) was fitted. The results revealed a stable correlation between temporal coherence and DpRVI time-series, with the highest correlation observed for soybean (0.7 < R < 0.8), followed by wheat and corn. Notably, unbiased coherence of the VV channel exhibited the highest correlation (R > 0.75). In addition, we applied unbiased coherence to crop classification. The results show that unbiased coherence exhibits very promising classification performance, with the overall accuracy (84.83%) and kappa coefficient (0.76) of VV improved by 8.35% and 0.12, respectively, over biased coherence, and the overall accuracy (73.25%) and kappa coefficient (0.57) of VH improved by 7.56% and 0.14, respectively, over biased coherence, and all crop classification accuracies were also effectively improved. This study demonstrates the feasibility of coherence monitoring of crops and provides new insights in enhancing the higher separability of crops

Experimental study and mechanism analysis of high-pressure water jet for mud cake cutting during shield tunneling

When the opening rate of the cutter head of tunnel boring machines is insufficient for the removal of excavated soil in a timely manner, the soil tends to accumulate in front of the cutter head and inside the earth or slurry chamber, leading to mud caking. High-pressure water jetting is an effective method for removing mud cakes. This study explored the influence of high-pressure water jet parameters on the efficiency of mud cake cleaning by using highly weathered argillaceous siltstone as experimental materials. Mud cake compaction equipment and high-pressure water jetting devices were developed. In addition, the impact of jetting parameters such as jet pressure and flow rate on the mud cake cutting performance was investigated. The results indicated that with an increase in the erosion distance, the cutting width of the mud cake first increased and then gradually decreased to zero, while the cutting depth progressively diminished. Under the same jet pressure, when the flow rate increased from 49.1 L/min to 110 L/min, the cutting width of the high-pressure water jet increased. With further increase in the flow rate from 110 L/min to 202.8 L/min, the cutting width decreased and the cutting depth increased. Under the same jet flow, the increase in water pressure resulted in greater cutting width and depth

Study on mudcake disintegration in clayey strata during shield tunneling : effects of dispersants and bentonite slurry

While tunnel boring machines (TBMs) tunneling in clayey strata, the adhered excavated soil on the cutterhead and cutting tools tends to form mudcake after compaction and consolidation. Mudcake can obstruct the cutterhead openings and rendering the cutting tools ineffective, leads to a substantial reduction in advance rate. Dispersants are recognized as an effective method for the disintegration of mudcakes. A novel set of equipment, comprising a mudcake compression device and a mudcake disintegration apparatus, is developed for assessing mudcake disintegration properties. The results showed that mudcakes underwent a tripartite disintegration process in water, including an initial stage, a rapid disintegration stage, and a stable stage. In the initial stage, the mudcakes absorbed water before disintegration, resulting in marginal changes in the weight of the disintegrated mudcakes. In the rapid disintegration stage, the weight of the disintegrated mudcakes increased quickly. During the stable stage, the weight of the disintegrated mudcakes remained relatively constant. The submersion of mudcakes in a dispersant solution substantially increased the rate of disintegration. Greater dispersant concentration corresponded to an increase in the disintegration rate. No weight gain was observed in mudcakes during the initial disintegration stage. When mudcakes disintegrated in a bentonite slurry, the weight of the disintegrated mudcakes initially decreased and then stabilized. The weight of the disintegrated mudcakes turned negative, indicating an increase in the weight of mudcakes. This suggested that bentonite significantly hindered mudcake disintegration

Steam Oxidation of Austenitic Heat-Resistant Steels TP347H and TP347HFG at 650–800 °C

Steam oxidation of austenitic heat-resistant steels TP347H and TP347HFG at 650⁻800 °C was investigated. Comprehensive micro-characterization technologies containing Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to observe and analyze the oxidation products. Results show that breakaway oxidation behaviors were observed on TP347H at 700 °C and 800 °C. The oxidation kinetics of TP347HFG at 650⁻800 °C followed a parabolic law. The oxide scales formed on TP347HFG were composed of MnCr2O4 and Cr2O3. A thin and protective Cr-rich oxide scale was replaced by Fe2O3 nodules due to the insufficient outward migration of metallic ions, including Cr and Mn at the subsurface of coarse-grain TP347H. Smaller grain of TP347HFG promoted the formation of the compact Cr-rich oxide scales. At higher temperatures, the incubation period for breakaway oxidation of the Cr-rich oxide scale was much shorter because of quick evaporation of the Cr2O3 oxide scale and the slower outward diffusion of metallic ions via the grain boundaries

Evaluation of Five Gas Diffusion Models Used in the Gradient Method for Estimating CO2 Flux with Changing Soil Properties

The gradient method used to estimate soil CO2 flux is distinctive because it can provide additional information about CO2 production and consumption of soil profile. However, choosing an appropriate gas diffusion model with confidence with the gradient method is a big challenge. There is no universal optimal diffusion model but only the most suitable model in specific soils. This paper evaluates the applicability of five commonly used diffusion models in laboratory with changing soil properties and in a forest farm, respectively. When soil moisture, bulk density and fertility status were changed in the laboratory, the applicability of the five diffusion models was discussed. Moreover, this paper shows diurnal variation of soil CO2 flux estimated by the gradient method under four different climatic conditions in the forest farm, and the applicability of the five models was also analyzed. Both laboratory and forest experimental results confirm that the estimating accuracy of the Moldrup model is the highest, followed by the Millington–Quirk model, while those of the Penman, Marshall and Penman–Millington–Quirk models are poor. Furthermore, the results indicate that soil CO2 flux estimated by the gradient method is highly sensitive to the diffusion model and insensitive to the changes of soil properties. In general, the gradient method can be used as a practical, cost-effective tool to study soil respiration only when the appropriate diffusion model is first determined

Slagging and Fouling Characteristics of HRSG for Ferrosilicon Electric Furnaces

The slagging and fouling characteristics of the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) for ferrosilicon electric furnaces are discussed in this paper. Three ash samples were taken from the HRSG of a ferrosilicon furnace in Ningxia Province, China, which suffered from serious slagging and fouling. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to analyze the ash samples. The results show that low melting point salt Na2SO4 and composite salts Na (AlSi3O8) and 3K2SO4·CaSO4 deposit on the superheater tube walls in aerosol form and solidify to form the initial slag layer. With the continuous deposition of the low melting point compounds, more and more ash particles in the flue gas adhere to the slag surface to form a thicker slag. Low melting point composite salt NaO·Al2O3·SiO2 is absorbed on the evaporator tube walls in aerosol form. With the deposition of NaO·Al2O3·SiO2, more and more ash particles are absorbed to form the fouling. Since there is less space between pin-finned tubes, the large iron-rich slag particles are easily deposited on tube walls and fin surfaces, which is advantageous to the fouling process. There are large quantities of superfine ash particles in the flue gas that easily adhere to other particles or tube walls, which facilitates the slagging and fouling process

Removal of NOX Using Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor over Fe/TiO2 Catalysts and an Absorption Technique

In this study, we proposed an innovative oxidation–absorption method for low-temperature denitrification (160–240 °C), in which NO is initially catalytically oxidized by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) vapor over titania-based catalysts, and the oxidation products are then absorbed by NaOH solution. The effects of flue gas temperature, molar H2O2/NO ratio, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), and Fe substitution amounts of Fe/TiO2 catalysts on the denitrification efficiency were investigated by a well-designed experiment. The results indicated that the Fe/TiO2 catalyst exhibited a combination of remarkable activity and deep oxidation ability (NO converted into harmless NO3−). In order to comprehend the functional mechanism of the Fe dopant’s local environment in TiO2 support, the promotional effect of the calcination temperature of Fe/TiO2 on the denitration performance was also studied. A tentative synergetic mechanism could be interpreted from two aspects: (1) Fe3+ as a substitute of Ti4+, leading to the formation of enriched oxygen vacancies at the surface, could significantly improve the adsorption efficiency of •OH; (2) the isolated surface Fe ion holds a strong adsorption affinity for NO, such that the adsorbed NO could be easily oxidized by the pre-formed •OH. This process offers a promising alternative for current denitrification technology

Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Characteristics of H-type Finned Tube Banks

H-type finned tube heat exchanger elements maintain a high capacity for heat transfer, possess superior self-cleaning properties and retain the ability to effect flue gas waste heat recovery in boiler renovations. In this paper, the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of H-type finned tube banks are studied via an experimental open high-temperature wind tunnel system. The effects of fin width, fin height, fin pitch and air velocity on fin efficiency, convective heat transfer coefficient, integrated heat transfer capacity and pressure drop are examined. The results indicate that as air velocity, fin height and fin width increase, fin efficiency decreases. Convective heat transfer coefficient is proportional to fin pitch, but inversely proportional to fin height and fin width. Integrated heat transfer capacity is related to fin efficiency, convective heat transfer coefficient and finned ratio. Pressure drop increases with the increase of fin height and fin width. Finally, predictive correlations of fin efficiency, Nusselt number and Euler Number are developed based on the experimental data

Color Design Decisions for Ceramic Products Based on Quantification of Perceptual Characteristics

The appearance characteristics of ceramic color are an important factor in determining the user’s aesthetic perception of the product. Given the problem that ceramic color varies and the user’s visual sensory evaluation of color is highly subjective and uncertain, a method of quantifying ceramic color characteristics based on the Back Propagation (BP) neural network algorithm is proposed. The semantic difference method and statistical method were used to obtain quantified data from ceramic color perceptual semantic features and were combined with a neural network to study the association between ceramic color features and user perceptual-cognitive evaluation. A BP neural network was used to build a ceramic color perceptual semantic mapping model, using color semantic quantified values as the input layer, color L, A, and B component values as the output layer, and model training to predict the sample. The output color L, A, and B components are used as the input layer and the color scheme was designed. The above method can effectively solve the mapping problem between the appearance characteristics of ceramic color and perceptual semantics and provide a decision basis for ceramic product color design. The case application of color design of daily-use ceramic products was conducted to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the quantitative research method of ceramic color imagery