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Structures for interconnecting active microwave semiconductor-devices, e.g. FET's and MIC's, with the electrical surrounding or with each other have to be designed more and more carefully when increasing the desired upper frequency limit. Therefore, several connecting structures for device embedding have been examined. Mainly, their applicability for the frequency range from 10 GHz to 100 GHz was considered. Additionally, different equivalent circuits were developed to approximately describe their behaviour for CAD-applications.
The advantages of the coupling-of-modes (COM) formalism and the transmission-matrix approach are combined to create exact and computationally efficient analysis and synthesis CAD tools for the design of SAW-resonator filters. The models for the filter components, especially gratings, interdigital transducers (IDTs). and multistrip couplers (MSCs), are based on the COM approach, which delivers closed-form expressions. In order to determine the relevant COM parameters, the integrated COM differential equations are compared with analytically derived expressions from the transmission-matrix approach. The most important second-order effects such as energy storage, propagation loss and mechanical and electrical loading are fully taken into account. As an example, the authors investigate a two-pole, acoustically coupled resonator filter at 914.5 MHz on AT quartz. Excellent agreement between theory and measurement is found.
An investigation is underway regarding the usefulness of altazimuth-mounting telescopes' incorporation of laser gyros for pointing and fiber gyros with extremely small random-walk coefficient for telescope inertial stabilization during tracking. A star tracker is expected to help stabilize long-term gyro bias. Gyro and telescope specifications have been derived by means of computer simulations and systems analyses.
A polarization mode dispersion measurement set-up based on a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer was realized. Measurements were carried out on short high-birefringent fibers and on long standard telecommunication single-mode fibers. In order to ensure high accurate results, special emphasis was placed on the evaluation of the interference pattern. The procedure will be described in detail and practical measurement results will be presented.
The prototype of an optical gyro encoder (OGE) has been successfully tested on the NTT telescope in September '93. The OGE consists of a ring laser gyro and a fiber optic gyro with their input axis parallel. The gyro outptu signals are compensated for earth rotation and misalignment and are subsequently integrated to get the angles. An adaptive digital control loop locks the fiber optic gyro to the laser gyro data. Thus the combined output has the precision of the laser gyro and the low noise of the fiber optic gyro. Specifically, the bias stability is better than 2 X 10-3 deg/h, the scale factor accuracy better than 1 ppm, the random walk coefficient better than 5 X 10-4 deg/(root)h and the resolution better than 3 X 10-4 arcsec. The OGE has been mounted in the altitude and in the azimuthy axis of the telescope. The data were compared with the telescope disk encoder data. The test data show that the pointing accuracy is about 1 arcsec and the tracking accuracy 0.1 arcsec over a time of 30 seconds. This accuracy is sufficient for the very large telescope, for instance.
This paper treats the Brillouin backscattering in a single mode optical fiber and its implications on the Brillouin Ring Laser Gyroscope (BRLG). The BRLG consists of a fiber ring cavity in which stimulated Brillouin scattering is induced and provides two resonant counterpropagating backscattered waves. If this cavity is rotating around its axis, the backscattered waves get different resonant frequencies because of the Sagnac effect. The frequency difference is proportional to the rotation rate (Omega) by inducing a frequency offset between the counterpropagating waves. Some reported Brillouin spectra exhibit several peaks, which means that one pump wave provides at least two backscattered waves with distinguishable frequencies. In order to understand this multi-backscattering and to take advantage of it for the BRLG, we present results of a simulation of the Brillouin backscattering in a single mode optical fiber.
Vortex breakdown phenomena in rotating fluids are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The fluid is contained in a cone between two spherical surfaces. The primary swirling motion is induced ba the rotating lower boundary. The upper surface can be fixed with non-slip condition or can be a stress-free surface. Depending on these boundary conditions and on the Reynolds number, novel structures of recirculation zones are realized. The axisymmetric flow patterns are simulated numerically by a finite difference method. Experiments are done to visualize the topological structure of the flow pattern and to observe the existence ranges of the different recirculating flows. The comparison between theory and experiment shows good agreement with respect to the topological structure of the flow.
A system for the on-line/in-line measurement of soot particle sizes and concentrations in the undiluted exhaust gas of diesel engines was developed and successfully tested. The unit uses the individual attenuations of three different laser wavelengths and is combined with an optical cell (white principle) with adjustable path lengths from 2.5 to 15 meters.
The title expresses goals the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) has been working toward for some time. This report extends concepts and objectives developed while working on an earlier effort for effective interactive digital maps on the Internet. That work was reported to the 1998 DMT Workshop in Champaign, Illinois (Ross, 1998). The current project goes beyond previous efforts that focused on methods for serving the contents of a geographic information system (GIS); the points, lines, and polygons representing features of the digital geologic map and the data in the attribute tables of the GIS describing those features.
The importance of obtaining simultaneous particle size and concentration values has grown up with continuing discussion of the health effects, of internal combustion engine generated particulate emissions and in particular of Diesel soot emissions. In the present work an aerosol measurement system is described that delivers information about particle size and concentration directly from the undiluted exhaust gas.
Using three laser diodes of different wavelengths which form one parallel light beam, each spectral attenuation is analysed by a single detector and the particle diameter and concentration is evaluated by the use of the Mie theory and shown on-line at a frequency of 1 Hz. The system includes an optical long-path-cell (White principle) with an adjustable path length from 2.5 to 15 m, which allows the analysis within a broad concentration range.
On-line measurements of the particulate emissions in the hot, undiluted exhaust of Diesel engines are presented under stationary and transient engine’s load conditions. Mean particle diameters well below 100 nm are detected for modern Diesel engines. The measured particle concentration corresponds excellently with the traditional gravimetrical measurements of the diluted exhaust. Additionally, measurements of particle emissions (mostly condensed hydricarbons) from a two-stroke engine are presented and discussed.
A prototype multiwavelength sensor able to characterise soot emissions in Diesel exhaust in terms of size and concentration has been tested against other methods for diesel particle measurements like electrical mobility sizing (SMPS) and raw exhaust gravimetric sampling (RES). Measurements carried out with the prototype sensor were correlated with the SMPS by assuming spherical and/or fractal aggregate morphology of the particles. Correlation of RES gravimetric data against the sensor and the SMPS led to the calculation of the solid density for soot particles to be 2.3 gr/cm3.
HPTLC (High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography) is a well known and versatile separation method which shows many advantages when compared to other separation techniques. The method is fast and inexpensive and does not need time-consuming pretreatments. For visualisation of the sample distribution on a HPTLC-plate we developed a new and sturdy HPTLC-scanner. The scanner allows simultaneous registrations of spectra in a range from 198 nm to 612 nm with a spectral resolution of better than 0.8 nm. The on-plate spatial resolution is better than 160 μm. The measurement of 450 spectra in one separation track does not need more than two minutes. The new diode-array scanner offers a fast survey over a TLC-separation and makes various chemometric applications possible. For compound identification a cross-correlation function is described to compare UV sample spectra with appropriate library data. The cross-correlation function herein described can also be used for purity testing. Unresolved peaks can be virtually separated by use of a least squares fit algorithm. In summary, the diode arry system delivers much more information than the commonly used TLC-scanner.
HPTLC (High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography) is a well known and versatile separation method which shows a lot of advantages and options in comparison to other separation techniques. The method is fast and inexpensive and does not need time-consuming pretreatments. Using fiber-optic elements for controlled light-guiding, the TLC-method was significantly improved: the new HPTLC-system is able to measure simultaneously at different wavelengths without destroying the plate surface or the analytes on the surface. For registration of the sample distribution on a HPTLC-plate we developed a new and sturdy diode-array HPTLC- scanner which allows registration of spectra on the TLC- plates in the range of 198 nm to 610 nm with a spectral resolution better than 1.2 nm. The spatial resolution on plate is better than 160 micrometers . In the spectral mode, the new HPTLC-scanner delivers much more information than the commonly used TLC-scanner. The measurement of 450 spectra of one separation track does not need more than three minutes. However, in the fixed wavelength mode the contour plot can be measured within 15 seconds. In this case, the signal will be summarized and averaged over a spectral range having FWHM from 10 nm to 25 nm depending on the substance under test. The new diode-array HPTLC-scanner makes various chemometric applications possible. The new method can be used easily in clinical diagnostic systems easily, e.g. for blood and uring investigations. In addition, new applications are possible. For example, the rich structured PAHs were studied. Although the separation is incomplete the 16 compounds can be quantified using suitable wavelengths.
Time Resolved Measurements of Soot Concentrations and Mean Particle Sizes during EUDC and ECE Cycles
(2002)
The central purpose of this paper is to present a novel framework supporting the specification, the implementation and retrieval of media streaming services. It provides an integrated service development environment comprising of a streaming service model, a service specification language and several implementation and retrieval tools. Our approach is based on a clear separation of a streaming service specification, and its implementation by a distributed application and can be used for different streaming paradigms, e.g. push and pull services.
The central purpose of this paper is to present a novel framework supporting the specification and the implementation of media streaming services using XML and Java Media Framework (JMF). It provides an integrated service development environment comprising of a streaming service model, a service specification language and several implementation and retrieval tools. Our approach is based on a clear separation of a streaming service specification, and its implementation by a distributed JMF application and can be used for different streaming paradigms, e.g. push and pull services.
In this paper, we propose a new streaming media service development environment comprising of a streaming media service model, a XML based service specification language and several implementation and configuration management tools. Our approach is based on a high level streaming service specification language, which allows specifying a service in terms of media objects, QoS, and distribution policies. Driven by such a streaming service specification and a streaming component library implemented with Java Media Framework, the required distributed application infrastructure is generated automatically by a service manager. To support flexible instantiation and termination of services as well as change management during runtime, e.g. migration or substitution of streaming components, we introduce instantiation and termination rules, and reconfiguration rules.
Nowadays the processing power of mobile phones, smartphones and PDAs is increasing as well as the transmission bandwidth. Nevertheless there is still the need to reduce the content and the need of processing the data. We discuss the proposals and solutions for dynamic reduction of the transmitted content. For that, device specific properties are taken into account, as much as for the aim to reduce the need of processing power at the client side to be able to display the 3D (virtual reality) data. Therefore, well known technologies, e.g. data compression are combined with new developed ideas to reach the goal of adaptive content transmission. To achieve a device dependant reduction of processing power the data have to be preprocessed at the server side or the server even has to take over functionality of weak mobile devices.
The goal of eLearning services integration in manufacturing is, through the development of new multimedia solutions, to accelerate and enhance the ability of the manufacturing industry to capitalise on the emergence of a powerful global information infrastructure. The key components of our approach are: (1) an XML based streaming service specification language; (2) automatic configuration of distributed eLearning streaming service implementations; (3) a set of Web services for searching, registration, and creation of streaming services; (4) caching and replication policies based on timing information derived from the service specifications. We also introduce a new concept for cache management during runtime, e.g., content is distributed to cache servers located at the edge of a network close to the client.
The iSign project started in 2000 as a web-based laboratory setting for students of electrical engineering. In the meantime it has broadened into a heterogeneous learning environment offering learning material, adaptive user settings and access to a simulation tool. All these offerings can be accessed via web and wireless by different clients, such as PCs, PDAs and mobile phones. User adaptive systems offer unique and personalised environment for every learner and therefore are a very important aspect of modern e-learning systems. The iSign project aims to personalise the content structure based on the learner's behaviour, content pattern, policies, and system environment. The second aspect of the recent research and development within this project is the generation of suitable content and presentation for different clients. This generation is based additionally on the user preferences in order to obtain the desirable presentation for a given device. New, valuable features are added to the mobile application, empowering the user not only to control the simulation process with his mobile device but also to input data, view the simulation's output and evaluate the results. Experiences with students have helped to improve functionality and look-and-feel whilst using the iSign system. Our goal is to provide unconstrained, continuous and personalised access to the laboratory settings and learning material everywhere and at anytime with different devices.
In this paper, a new method is demonstrated for online remote simulation of photovoltaic systems. The required communication technology for the data exchange is introduced and the methods of PV generator parameter extraction for the simulation models are analysed. The method shown for parameter extraction from the manufacturer data is especially useful for the commissioning procedure, where the measured installed power is transferred to standard test conditions using the simulation model and can then be easily compared with the design power. At a simulation accuracy of 2% using the software environment INSEL ® any problems with the PV generator can reliably be detected. Online simulation of a grid connected PV generator is then carried out during the operation of the photovoltaic plant. The visualisation includes both the monitored and the simulated online data sets, so that a very efficient fault detection scheme is available. The method is implemented and validated on several grid connected photovoltaic power plants in Germany. It is excellently suited to provide automatic and real time fault detection and significantly improve the commissioning procedure for photovoltaic plants of all sizes.
This paper explores the potential of an m-learning environment by introducing the concept of mLab, a remote laboratory environment accessible through the use of handheld devices.
We are aiming to enhance the existing e-learning platform and internet-assisted laboratory settings, where students are offered in-depth tutoring, by providing compact tuition and tools for controlling simulations that are made available to learners via handheld devices. In this way, students are empowered by having access totheir simulations from any place and at any time.
Sustainable Aspects force a building manager to continuous observation of actual states and developments concerning building use, energy and media flows.In the presented approach a communication structure was built up to use different software applications and tools in order to optimize the operation of the building.
We propose a new streaming media service development environment comprising of a streaming media service model, a XML based service specification language and several implementation and configuration management tools. In our project, the described approach is used for integration of streaming based eLearning services in manufacturing processes of a subcontractor to the automotive industry. The key components of our approach are 1) an xml based streaming service specification language, 2) a set of web services for searching, registration, and creation of streaming services, 3) caching and replication policies based on timing information derived from the service specifications.
The establishment of a software tool chain among requirements management tools, black box test approach tool CTE XL and RTRT is proposed in this paper. The use of Classification Tree Method ensures the reduction in the number of test cases and promises an increased efficiency when testing. The traceability of test cases and requirements is guaranteed by the established software tool chain with well defined interfaces. As the experimental results point out, a better test coverage can be achieved. Future work can be based on automatic generation of init and expected values for testing, requiring no interference from a software quality engineer. In conclusion, the tasks that need to be performed by the software quality engineers is to define the black box test cases using CTM/CTE XL, import the requirements from the requirements management tools, import the XML file to test tool RTRT. By giving the initial and expected values the testing can be performed in a comfortable way.
In 2000 the iSign project started as a virtual web-based laboratory for students of study program electrical engineering. Continuous development in the last years led to a heterogeneous learning environment offering learning material, adaptive user settings and access to a simulation tool. Access is available via web and wireless devices such as PCs, Laptops, PDAs, smartphones and mobile phones. Our attempt to adapt the content to the user's needs and the currently used device led us to a XML based data structure. This report shows our research results about content adaptation based on XML data. The two main aspects for that process are: the device capabilities and the adaptation methods using XML data.
Nowadays the processing power of mobile phones, Smart phones and PDA is increasing, as well as the transmission bandwidth. Nevertheless there is still the need to reduce the content and the need of processing the data. Proposals and solutions for dynamic reduction of the transmitted content will be discussed. For that, device specific properties will be taken into account, aiming at reducing the need of processing power at the client side to display the 3D Virtual Reality data. Therefore, well known technologies like data compression are combined with new approaches to achieve the goal of adaptive content transmission. For device dependant reduction of processing power the data has to be pre-processed at the server side or the server itself has to take over functionality of weak mobile devices.
In thin-layer chromatography, fiber-bundle arrays have been introduced for spectral absorption measurements in the UV-region. Using all-silica fiber bundles, the exciting light will be detected after re-emission on the plate with a fiberoptic spectrometer. In addition, fluorescence light can be detected which will be masked by the re-emitted light. Therefore, it is helpful to separate the absorption and fluorescence on the TLC-plate. A modified three-array assembly has been developed: using one array for detection, the two others are used for excitation with broadband band deuterium-light and with UV-LEDs adjusted to the substances under test. As an example, the quantification of glucosamine in nutritional supplements or spinach leaf extract will be described. Using simply heating of the amino-plate for derivation, the reaction product of Glucosamine can be detected sensitively either by light absorption or by fluorescence, using the new fiber-optic assembly. In addition, the properties of the new 3-row fiber-optic array and the commercially available UV-LEDs will be shown, in the interesting wavelength region for excitation of fluorescence, from 260 nm to 360 nm. The squint angle having an influence on coupling efficiency and spatial resolution will be measured with the inverse farfield method. Some properties of UV-LEDs for analytical applications will be described and discussed, too.
Previous studies of the hyphenation of gas chromatographic separation and spectrophotometric detection in the ultraviolet wavelength range between 168 and 330 nm showed a high potential for applications where the analysis of complex samples is required. Within this paper the development of a state-of-the-art detection system for compounds in the vapour phase is described, offering an improved behaviour compared to previous systems: Dependent on the requirements of established detection systems hyphenated with gas chromatography, the main components of the system have to be designed for optimum performance and reliability of the spectrophotometric detector: A deuterium lamp as a broadband light source has been selected for improved stability in the measurements. A new-type absorption cell based on fiber-optics has been developed considering the dynamic necessary to compete with existing techniques. In addition, the influence of the volume of the cell on the chromatogram needs to be analyzed. Tests for determining the performance of the absorption cell in terms of chemical and thermal influences have been carried out. A new spectrophotometer with adequate spectral resolution in the wavelength range, offering improved stability and dynamic for an efficient use in this application was developed. Furthermore, the influence of each component on the performance, reliability and stability of the sensor system will be discussed. An overview and outlook over the potential applications in the environmental, scientific and medical field will be given.
Non-esterified plant oils gain ecological and economical importance, particularly in the EU where it is intended to increase the share of renewable energies. Plant oils do not require any chemical treatment so do not cause secondary pollution. The importance of plant oil will increase in Germany for mobile and stationary applications. The generation co-generation of heat and power is subsidized by the German “Erneuerbares Energiegesetz” and the “Kraft-Wärme-Kopplungsgesetz” when renewable fuels are used such as plant oils..
Plant oils have a much higher viscosity than conventional gas oil. It is mandatory to decrease the oil viscosity by heating prior to injection to assure proper injection and to avoid engine damage due to coke formation in the combustion chamber and at the injection nozzle. The German quality standard of Weihenstephan (RK-Qualitätsstandard 05/2000) for rape seed oil should be followed for use as diesel fuel. The chemical composition of plant oils is appreciably different in comparison to diesel fuels derived from mineral oils suggesting also different emission behavior.
Particle and Gaseous Emissions of Diesel Engines Fuelled by Different Non-Esterified Plant Oils
(2007)
The particulate matter and gas emissions of several plant oils are analyzed in the hot exhaust gas under various engine conditions at different speeds and loads The measurement data are compared to the emission values of conventional diesel fuel (gas oil). The investigation concentrates on a modern common rail TDI light duty diesel, four cylinders, for passenger cars. The differences in the gas and particulate matter emission - compared to conventional diesel fuel - are remarkably low for the diesel engine which is properly adjusted for the plant oils. Emission data of an old heavy duty diesel engine are also shown for comparison reasons and reveals large differences. Differences are found in the pressures of the indicator diagram, time resolved over the crank angle. Plant oils consistently exhibit a higher cylinder pressure. The TEM investigation confirms the differences found by the LPME (long path multi-wavelength extinction) on-line analysis.
Electronic pills, smart capsules or miniaturized microsystems swallowed by human beings or animals for various biomedical and diagnostic applications are growing rapidly in the last years. This paper searched out the important existing electronic pills in the market and prototypes in research centers. Further objective of this research is to develop a technology platform with enhanced feature to cover the drawback of most
capsules. The designed telemetry unit is a synchronous bidirectional communication block using continuous phase DQPSK of 115 kHz low carrier frequency for inductive data transmission suited for human body energy transfer. The communication system can assist the electronic pill to trigger an actuator for drug delivery, to record temperature, or to measure pH of the body. It consists additionally to a 32bit processor, memory, external peripheries, and detection facility. The complete system is designed to fit small-size mass medical application with low power consumption, size of 7x25mm. The system is designed, simulated and emulated on FPGA.
A platform of an electronic capsule is being developed for multi-task medical assistant application. It includes a near field telemetry unit for bidirectional communication system of 115 KHz low carrier frequency for inductive data transmission suited for human body energy transfer. The system triggers an actuator for drug delivery in various time and release forms via wireless external control, it has the ability to record temperature, measure pH of the body (additional sensors), and retrieve data to the outside. It consists of a 32bit processor, memory, external peripheries, and detection facility. The complete system is designed to fit small-size mass medical application with low power consumption, size of 7x25mm. The system is designed, simulated and emulated on FPGA. A final layout of the complete chip design is still under progress.
A new electronic capsule with bidirectional communication system is being developed for multi-task application. The capsule is designed to be a platform for medical assistant application inside the body. The designed telemetry unit is a synchronous bidirectional communication block using continuous phase DQPSK of 115 kHz low carrier frequency for inductive data transmission suited for human body energy transfer. The communication system can assist the electronic pill to trigger an actuator for drug delivery, to record temperature, or to measure pH of the body. It consists additionally to a 32bit processor, memory, external peripheries, and detection facility. The complete system is designed to fit small-size mass medical application with low power consumption, size of 7x25mm. The system is designed, simulated and emulated on FPGA. A final layout of the complete chip design is still under progress.
A new, small, and optimized for low power processor core named SIRIUS has been developed, simulated, synthesized to a netlist and verified. From this netlist, containing only primitives like gates and flip-flops, a mapping to an ASIC - or FPGA technology can easily be done with existing synthesizer tools, allowing very complex SOC designs with several blocks. Emulation via FPGA can be done on already simple setups and cheap hardware because of the small core size. The performance is estimated 50 MIPS on Cyclone II FPGA and about 100 MIPS on a 0.35 CMOS 5M2P technology with 4197 primitives used for the core, including a 16 x 16 multiplier. An example design of the ASIC for an electronic ePille device currently in development is shown.
To provide proper solutions to the problem of device dependant content delivery, a fine categorization of the application target devices is needed. Earlier attempts provided two different presentations for desktop and mobile platforms. The mobile platform presentation was divided into three categories, based on a general classification (PDA, Smartphone or mobile phone). In order to improve the on mobile device presentation a finer categorization is introduced. In this paper, our focus is to clarify the concept of this more flexible presentation module, in which the delivered content depends on the efficiency of the device based on a selected set of capabilities.
The identification and quantification of compounds in the gas phase becomes of increasing interest in the context of environmental protection, as well as in the analytical field. In this respect, the high extinction coefficients of vapours and gases in the ultraviolet wavelength region allow a very sensitive measurement system. In addition, the increased performance of the components necessary for setting up a measurement system, such as fibres, light sources and detectors has been improved. In particular the light sources and detectors offer improved stability, and the deep UV performance and solarisation resistance of fused silica fibres allow have been significantly optimized in the past years. Therefore a compact and reliable detection system with high measuring accuracy is developed. Within this paper possible applications of the system under development and recent results will be discussed.
In this paper a practical way for fatigue life prediction of rubber products under multiaxial loads is shown. This is done by means of fracture mechanical concepts and the energy release rate as the failure criterion. Due to a FEA post-processor the potential energy release rate might be calculated at every material point supposed there was a crack. And therefore the risk of failure and with the help of a strain number curve the time to fatigue is able to be calculated by FEA. This concept is applied for an estimation of the life time of a test specimen with tensile loading from fatigue data of a shear loaded specimen of different design. This rather more theoretical concept of the energy release rate is complemented by experimental crack growth data by a Tear Fatigue Analyzer with its great advantage of reduction of testing time and costs compared to those of fatigue tests. For some materials a thorough characterization of crack growth and fatigue behavior is presented and is applied to estimate the time to fatigue by FEA for a real component under multiaxial loads.
Experimental and numerical investigations into the forming of tailored strips and tailored tubes
(2008)
Through the application of tailored strips and tailored tubes, the wall thickness of components can be manufactured in a load-optimised manner. Thus, it is also possible to optimise component weight. Prior to the application of tailored products, wall thicknesses and the respective degree of deformation as well as the welding seam position can be determined in a FEM (finite element method) simulation. These results are then verified in test series on transfer presses and tube bending machines, with the necessary tool adaptations being determined in the process. This results in weight and cost reductions for deep-drawn components and tube sections. Moreover, this means that especially with regard to tubes, multiple sections can be combined in one component. A feasibility study shows that the level of possible weight and cost savings depends on the respective component geometry and load situation. Additional costs for the production of tailored products and - if necessary - tool modifications also need to be considered. Thus, the amount of savings possible for a part can only be determined on an individual basis.
The authors present an abiotically catalyzed glucose fuel cell and demonstrate its application as energy harvesting power source for a cardiac pacemaker. This is enabled by an optimized DC-DC converter operating at 40 % conversion efficiency, which surpasses commercial low-power DC-DC converters. The required fuel cell surface area can thus be reduced from about 125 cm2 to 18 cm2, which would allow for its direct integration onto the pacemaker casing.
A new miniaturized capsule with 32bit processor and bidirectional communication system is being developed for multitask application. The capsule is designed to be a platform for medical assistant application inside the body. The processor core SIRIUS has been developed, simulated, synthesized to a netlist and verified. The designed telemetry unit is a synchronous bidirectional communication block using continuous phase DQPSK of 115 kHz low carrier frequency for inductive data transmission suited for human body energy transfer. The communication system can assist the electronic pill to trigger an actuator for drug delivery, to record temperature, or to measure pH of the body. The complete system is designed to fit small-size mass medical application with low power consumption, size of 7x25 mm. The system is designed, simulated, emulated on FPGA, and routed in AMIS Technology.
Im Rahmen einer Master Thesis wurde ausgehend von einem vorhandenen System On Chip Design, welches eingehende EKG-Datensignale verarbeitet, das bestehende System so erweitert dass es komplett über den standardisierten SPI-Bus steuerbar und auslesbar ist.
A new approach of continuous phase QPSK Band-Pass modulation technique is being developed as enhancement to the QPSK modulation scheme for inductive data transmission (NFC). The modulation is based on Gaussian filtering of the phase transition from one state to the other rather than discontinuity in phase shift. The carrier is based on low frequency 115 KHz suitable for human body energy penetration due to its large skin-depth and lower inductive power attenuation. The complete signal processing is done digitally, external coil and capacitor is used for transceiver interface. The telemetry assists a smart pill swallowed by human being to trigger an actuator for drug delivery, record temperature, or perform diagnostic task inside the body. The smart pill includes 32bit processor, 16 Kbyte memory, temperature sensor, telemetry unit, and additional external peripheries. The complete system is designed, embedded in one SoC, and realized on ASIC with chip-area less than 14 mm<sup>2</sup>.
A theoretical description is given for the propagation of surface acoustic wave pulses in anisotropic elastic media subject to the influence of nonlinearity. On the basis of nonlinear elasticity theory, an evolution equation is presented for the surface slope or the longitudinal surface velocity associated with an acoustic pulse. It contains a non-local nonlinearity, characterized by a kernel that strongly varies from one propagation geometry to another due to the anisotropy of the substrate. It governs pulse shape evolution in homogeneous halfspaces and the shapes of solitary surface pulses that exist in coated substrates. The theory describing nonlinear Rayleigh-type surface acoustic waves is extended in a straightforward way to surface waves that are localized at a one-dimensional acoustic waveguide like elastic wedges.
In short-reach connections, large-diameter multimode fibres allow for robust and easy connections. Unfortunately, their propagation properties depend on the excitation conditions. We propose a launching technique using a fibre stub that can tolerate fabrication tolerances in terms of tilts and off-sets to a large extent. A study of the influence of displaced connectors along the transmission link shows that the power distributions approach a steady-state power distribution very similar to the initial distribution established by the proposed launching scheme.
This paper shows the results of the evaluation of two sets of mobile web design guidelines concerning mobile learning. The first set of guidelines is concerned with the usage of text on mobile device screens. The second set is concerned with the usage of images on mobile devices. The evaluation is performed by eye tracking (objective) as well as questionnaires and interviews (subjective) respectively.
Plant oils may be used as a sustainable, nearly CO2neutral fuel for diesel engines. This work investigates experimentally the particulate and gaseous emissions of diesel engines fuelled with different non-esterified, pure plant oils. The data are collected from three engines: a) Common rail 1.7 liter passenger car engine from Opel AG b) 12.8 liter truck engine from VOLVO c) Truck engine from MAN AG.
The emissions of the MAN engine have been used to perform AMES tests to analyze possible health impacts of plant oil operation. Finally, all emission results with plant oils have been compared to traditional gas oils.
In the recent two years the authors have developed a light weight and low power flight control system for model helicopters consisting of an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), a navigator (INS) augmented with GPS, barometric altitude sensor and a magnetic sensor, a flight control computer (FCC) and bidirectional ground data links. The system has been tested on a commercial stunt flight model helicopter. The AHRS consists of three MEMS-gyros, two 2-axis MEMS accelerometers and a microcontroller performing the required sensor compensation and data processing to generate attitude angles and true rate and acceleration data of the flying platform. The heading angle is augmented with a 2-axis magnetic sensor. The AHRS is stunt flight capable. The INS integrates the acceleration data to obtain velocity and position data. All data are calculated in both the helicopter and the local earth frame with 50 Hz rate. The algorithm is augmented with GPS data for the lateral movement and with a barometric altitude sensor for the vertical movement. The barometric data are compensated for air pressure changes due to the helicopter main rotor. The FCC contains a set of control loops in order to stabilize the helicopter in all axis and to perform commanded velocity and position tasks. The sampling rate for the control loops is again 50 Hz allowing flight control with high bandwidth. Various safety features are implemented in the software. The bidirectional data link is based on a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth Class I RF-link with a 115 kbaud data rate. A dipole antenna is used on the helicopter, an automatically tracking patch antenna is used on the ground. For commanded velocity flight a standard 35 MHz RF-link is used. For data sampling, monitoring and mode control a laptop is used on the ground. Several operating modes are implemented ranging from commanded velocity flight to simple automatic stunt flight according to predefined flight tracks. The model helicopter is an ALIGN TREX 600 with 3 kg flight mass and a brushless electric motor. The rotor diameter is 1.40 m. The helicopter is able to carry a payload which mass depends on the size of the installed LiPo-cells and the purpose of the flight mission. The system has been tested in quite a few flight tests and missions. The helicopter is controlled safely up to wind loads of at least 5 Beaufort - 6 Beaufort. Data and video captures will be presented. If permission is granted, a demonstration flight will be performed on the premises of the conference.
This paper presents an enhancement on QPSK modulation technique for near field communication (NFC). The enhanced modulation is based on continuous-phase QPSK with Gaussian filtering during switch from one phase to the other. Signal processing is done digitally with minimum external discrete components for air interface. The telemetry system can be used to assist a smart capsule (slave) that can be swallowed to establish data communication with external device (master). The system is designed, simulated, and emulated on FPGA showing 20 dB attenuation on side-lobes of the spectrum.
This paper describes the magmaOffenburg 3D simulation team trying to qualify for RoboCup 2009. It focuses on two distinctive features of the team: decisions making using extended behavior networks and its software architecture and implementation in Java to open the simulation for the Java community.
There are additional long-term effects which also change the micro-structure of the polymer network and consequently the effective number of polymer chains in the material. These effects are summarized by ageing processes and will be used in the following to explain the basic assumptions of the model which can be generalized to simulate the viscous behaviour of the material. An implementation of these concepts into FEM codes is straightforward and has been carried out to the solver ABAQUS, Baaser & Ziegler (2006), Baaser et al. (2009).
Innovative technologies and concepts will emerge as we move towards a more dynamic, service-based, market-driven infrastructure, where energy efficiency and savings can be facilitated by interactive distribution networks. A new generation of fully interactive Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure has to be developed to support the optimal exploitation of the changing, complex business processes and to enable the efficient functioning of the deregulated energy market for the benefit of citizens and businesses. The architecture of such distributed system landscapes must be designed and validated, standards need to be created and widely supported, and comprehensive, reliable IT applications will need to be implemented. The collaboration between a smart house and a smart grid is a promising approach which, with the help of ICT can fully unleash the capabilities of the smart electricity network.
This paper discusses a technological solution to real-time road transportation optimization using a commercial multi-agent based system, LS/ATN, which has been proven through real-world deployment to reduce transportation costs for both small and large fleets in the full and part load business. Subsequent to describing the real-time optimization approach, we discuss how the platform is currently evolving to accept live data from vehicles in the fleet in order to improve optimization accuracy. A selection of the predominant pervasive technologies available today for enhancing intelligent route optimization is described.
Non-Esterified Plant Oils as Fuel -Engine Characteristics, Emissions and Mutagenic effects of PM-
(2009)
Plant oils may be used as a sustainable, nearly CO2 neutral fuel for diesel engines. This work investigates experimentally the particulate and gaseous emissions of diesel engines fuelled with non-esterified, pure plant oils with the quality standard of DIN V 51605 (Weihen-stephan RK-Qualitätsstandard 05/2000). The data are collected from three engines:
Common rail passenger car engine from OPEL AG
Truck engine from VOLVO
Truck engine from MAN AG
All engines have been correctly adjusted to plant oil operation.
The OPEL and VOLVO engines served for the basic investigations. The emissions of the MAN engine have been used to perform AMES tests to analyze possible health impacts of plant oil operation.
The experimental data show a reduction of particulate matter compared to traditional gasoil which may yield up to 50 % for. The particulate matter shows same primary particle sizes but the agglomerates as collected on TEM grids are different - the plant oil soot particles tend to form larger aggregates [4]. The gaseous emissions of CO and hydrocarbons HC are generally lower compared to the operation with gasoil. However, the NOX emissions are slightly higher. This may be contributed to the measured higher combustion chamber pressures and temperatures when fuelled by plant oils.
Emission samples have been extracted from ESC cycles of 13 step tests to perform the AMES test which give indication on carcinogen substances. The AMES test results gave no indication of mutagenic effects exceeding the detection limits. No significant differences could be found comparing the emissions of plant oil and gasoil operation. Thus, it can be stated that the emission from plant oil operation does not have a health impact different to traditional gas oil. This is in contrast to some other publications — a deeper insight shows that these investigations did not properly modify the engine for plant oils. It is mandatory to make the engine modification to pre-warm the plant oils to approx. 90°C prior to injection. The engine's warm-up phase needs special care to avoid any coking at the injection system and combustion chamber surfaces. The publications where a higher health risk was claimed to be found in the exhaust of plant oil fuels, did not pre-warm the plant oils — cold plant oils have been injected in the combustion chamber instead. This results in incomplete atomization and incomplete combustion with a lot of hazardous emission species (see also [4,11]. Such an operation will damage the engine after relatively short times and is, therefore, not realistic.
The investigated fuels had some influence on the engine characteristics. Higher temperatures and pressures in the cylinder have been detected for some plant oils compared to gasoil. This increase is explained by the higher oxygen content within the plant oils.
The University for Children is a very successful event aiming to spark children‧s interest in science, in this particular lecture in Optics and Photonics. It is from brain research that we know about the significant dependence of successful learning on the fun factor. Researchers in this field have shown that knowledge acquired with fun is stored for a longer time in the long-term memory and can be used both more efficiently and more creatively [1], [2]. Such an opportunity to inspire the young generation for science must not be wasted. The world of Photonics and Optics provides us with a nearly inexhaustible source of opportunities of this kind.
The developed solution enables the presentation of animations and 3D virtual reality (VR) on mobile devices and is well suited for mobile learning, thus creating new possibilities in the area of e-learning worldwide. Difficult relations in physics as well as intricate experiments in optics can be visualised on mobile devices without need for a personal computer.
The idea of this game is to use a flashcard system to create a short story in a foreign language. The story is developed by a group of people by exchanging sentences via a flashcard system. This way, people can learn from each other without fear of making mistakes because the group members are anonymous.
Flashcards are a well known and proven method to learn and memorise. Such a way of learning is perfectly suited for “learning on the way,” but carrying all the flashcards could be awkward. In this scenario, a mobile device (mobile phone) is an adequate solution. The new mobile device operating system Android from Google allows for writing multimedia-enriched applications.
Anisotropy has been found to play an important role for the existence of edge-localized acoustic modes as well as for nonlinear effects in rectangular edges. For a certain propagation geometry in silicon, the effective second-order nonlinearity for wedge waves was determined numerically from second-order and third-order elastic moduli and compared with the nonlinearity for Rayleigh waves propagating in the direction of the apex on one of the two surfaces forming the edge. In the presence of weak dispersion resulting from modifications of the wedge tip or coating of the adjacent surfaces, solitary pulses are predicted to exist and their shape was calculated.
“Today’s network landscape consists of quite different network technologies, wide range of end-devices with large scale of capabilities and power, and immense quantity of information and data represented in different formats” [9]. A lot of efforts are being done in order to establish open, scalable and seamless integration of various technologies and content presentation for different devices including mobile considering individual situation of the end user. This is very difficult because various kinds of devices used by different users or in different times/parallel by the same user which is not predictable and have to be recognized by the system in order to know device capabilities. Not only the devices but also Content and User Interfaces are big issues because they could include different kinds of data format like text, image, audio, video, 3D Virtual Reality data and upcoming other formats. Language Learning Game (LLG) is such an example of a device independent application where different kinds of devices and data formats, as a content of a flashcard is used for a collaborative learning. The idea of this game is to create a short story in a foreign language by using mobile devices. The story is developed by a group of participants by exchanging sentences/data via a flashcard system. This way the participants can learn from each other by knowledge sharing without fear of making mistakes because the group members are anonymous. Moreover they do not need a constant support from a teacher.
Today, thermoforming moulds are mostly produced using conventional mould-building technologies (e.g. milling and drilling) and are made of metal (e.g. aluminium or steel) or hardwood. The tools thus produced are very robust, but are only cost-effective in mass production. For the production of small batches of thermoformed parts, there is a need for moulds which can be produced quickly and economically. A new approach which significantly reduces the production time and cost is the 3D printing process (3DP). The use of this technology to produce thermoforming moulds offers many new options in the geometries which can be manufactured, and in manufacturing time and costs. In a case study of a thermoformed part (a scaled automotive model), the pre-processing of the CAD model of a mould is demonstrated. The mould can be printed within a few hours, and is sufficiently heat-resistant for moulding processes. The important advantages of moulds printed in 3D, in comparison to moulds built using conventional technologies, are the ability to create any shape of channels for the vacuum and the simplification in the production of tool mock-ups. This paper also discusses the economics of the technique, such as a comparison of material costs and manufacturing costs in relation to conventional production technologies and materials.
Integrating voice / video communication into business processes can accelerate resolution time, reduce mistakes, and establish a full audit-trail of the interactions. Some VoIP service providers offer website based or plugin based solutions, which are, however, difficult to integrate with other applications. A promising approach to overcome these disadvantages is the development of appropriate Web Services to allow applications interacting with a VoIP system. We propose a generic framework for VoIP applications consisting of an XML-based service specification language and a set of reusable Web Service components. Service providers using the proposed service-oriented architecture can offer to their customers a protocol-neutral Web Service interface, thus enabling the deployment of a general and integrated VoIP solution.
This paper presents an approach where closer integration between learning and work is achieved by integrating multimedia services into manufacturing processes. The goal of E-Learning services integration in manufacturing processes is, through the development of new multimedia services, to accelerate and enhance the ability of manufacturing industry to capitalise on the emergence of a powerful global information infrastructure. In this paper we suggest to combine the areas of media streaming services and manufacturing processes, by providing electronic learning offerings as collections of media streaming services. The key components of our approach are 1) an xml based streaming service specification language, 2) automated configuration of distributed E-Learning streaming applications, 3) Web Services for searching, registration, and creation of E-Learning streaming services.
Most E-Learning projects tend to separate learning activities from everyday work. This paper presents an approach where closer integration between learning and work is achieved by integrating multimedia services into manufacturing processes. The goal of E-Learning services integration in manufacturing is, through the development of new multimedia solutions, to accelerate and enhance the ability of manufacturing industry to capitalise on the emergence of a powerful global information infrastructure. In this paper we suggest to combine the areas of media streaming services and manufacturing processes, by providing electronic learning offerings as collections of media streaming services. The key components of our approach are 1) an xml based streaming service specification language, 2) automated configuration of distributed E-Learning streaming applications, 3) web services for searching, registration, and creation of E-Learning streaming services.
The Institute of Applied Research Offenburg is working in the field of autonomous data loggers since many years. In collaboration with industry, a new RFID based active sensor data logger for continuous recording of temperature has been developed and is now manufactured in mass production. Compared to existing systems, an unusual large data memory is integrated, which can be used via a simplified file system in a flexible way. The system will be used to accompany and monitor temperature sensitive goods of high value. The transponder is the first member of a new class of logging devices, the smallest will be not larger than a 2 Euro-coin with a fully integrated ASIC frontend.
This paper describes the magmaOffenburg 3D simulation team trying to qualify for RoboCup 2010. While last year’s TDP focused on decisions making using extended behavior networks and on its software architecture and implementation in this year we describe the tool set that was created for RoboCup 3D. It contians a GUI for agent- and world state visualization, for evaluation of localization algorithms and benchmarks in general, a visual editor for Extended Behavior Networks creation and debugging, a live movement tool to interact with the joints and finally a tool for editing behavior motor files.
Termination of atrial flutter (AFL) is not possible in all AFL patients (P) with transesophageal left atrial pacing (TLAP) with undirected electrical pacing field (EPF) and high atrial pacing threshold. Purpose of the study was to evaluate bipo-lar transesophageal left atrial electrocardiography (TLAE) and TLAP with directed EPF for evaluation and termination of AFL with and without simultaneous transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).
Methods: AFL P were analysed using either a TO electrode with one cylindrical (CE) and three or seven hemispherical electrodes (HE) or TEE electrode with four HE (Osypka, Rheinfelden, Germany). Burst TLAP cycle length was between 200msand 50ms.
Results: AFL cycle length was 233±30 ms with mean ventricular cycle length of 540±149 ms. AFL could be terminated by rapid bipolar TLAP with directed EPF using HE-HE and CE-HE with induction of atrial fibrillation (AF), induction of AF and spontaneous conversion to sinus rhythm and direct conversion to sinus rhythm. Directed EPF was simulated with finite element method.
Conclusions: AFL can be evaluated by bipolar TLAE. AFL can be terminated with rapid TLAP with directed EPF with and without simultaneous TEE. Bipolar TLAE with rapid TLAP is a safe, simple and useful method for evaluation and termination of AFL.
Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) with biventricular pacing (BV) is an established therapy for heart failure (HF) patients with interventricular conduction delay (IVCD). The aim of the study was to evaluate transesophageal IVCD and left ventricular (LV) pacing with directed electrical pacing field (EPF) in HF patients.
Methods: HF patients were analysed with bipolar transesophageal LV electrocardiogram recording and LV pacing with constant voltage stimulus output, 4 ms stimulus duration, distal cylindrical electrode (CE) and seven 6 mm hemispherical electrodes (HE) with 15 mm electrode distance (TO, Dr. Osypka, Rheinfelden, Germany).
Results: LV electrocardiogram recording with HE-HE and CE-HE evaluated a mean IVCD of 79.9 ± 36.7 ms. Directed EPF with CE-HE and HE-HE allowed LV VAT (n=12) and LV D00 pacing (n=5) with a mean effective capture output of 97.35 ± 6.64 V. In 15 responders with IVCD of 87 ± 33 ms arterial pulse pressure (PP) increased from 65 ± 24 mmHg to 79 ± 27 mmHg (p < 0.001). EPF was simulated with finite element method.
Conclusions: Transesophageal LV electrocardiography and directed EPF pacing with CE and HE allowed the evaluation of IVCD and PP to select patients for BV pacing.
AV delay (AVD) optimization can improve hemodynamics and avoid nonresponding to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). AVD can be approximated by the sum of the individual implant-related interatrial conduction interval and a mean electromechanical interval of about 50ms. We searched for methods to facilitate automatic, implant-based AV delay optimization. In 25 patients (19m, 6f, age: 65±8yrs.) with Medtronic Insync III Marquis CRT-D series systems and left ventricular electrode at lateral or posterolateral wall, we determined interatrial conduction intervals by telemetric left ventricular tip versus superior vena cava coil electrogram (LVCE). Compared with esophageal measurements, the duration of optimal AV delay by LVCE showed good correlation (k=0.98, p=0.01) with a difference of 1.5±4.9ms, only. Therefore, LVCE is feasible to determine interatrial conduction intervals in order to automate AV delay optimization in CRT-D pacing promising increased accuracy compared to other algorithms.
AV delay (AVD) optimization is mandatory in cardiac resynchronization (CRT) for heart failure. Several time consuming methods exist. We initialized development of left-atrial electrogram (LAE) feature for Biotronik ICS3000 programmer. It can be utilized to approximate optimal AV delay in CRT patients with pacing systems irrespective of make and model. Using this feature, we studied the share of interatrial conduction intervals (IACT) on individual echo AVD in 45 CRT patients (34m, 11f, mean age 69±6yrs.). The percentage of IACT on optimal echo AVD resulted in44.5±22.1% for VDD and 70.7±10.9% for DDD operation. In all patients, optimal echo AVDs exceeded the individual IACT by a duration of 52.5±33.3ms (p<0.001), at mean. Therefore, if AV delay optimization is not possible or not practicable in CRT patients, AVD should be approximated by individually measuring IACT and adding about 50ms.
This paper gives an overview of the implementation of an Active Noise Control system on the TMS320C6713 Digital Signal Processor from Texas Instruments in the Digital Signal Processing Lab at Hochschule Offenburg, Germany. This system is implemented considering some non-ideal environmental conditions on a real system instead of being limited to computer simulations. Changes over time on the physical acoustical path as well as reverberation and variation on the power of the reference signal can strongly degrade the performance of the system or even lead to instability. In order to try to minimize these effects, the Active Noise Control system was designed to support a fast and easy implementation and evaluation of different algorithms on the DSP in real-time. In Section 1 a brief introduction about active noise control system is given and in section 2 the basic algorithm is described. In section 3 the implementation of the system is described and in section 4 some final considerations are given.
In their famous work on prospect theory Kahneman and Tversky have presented a couple of examples where human decision making deviates from rational decision making as defined by decision theory. This paper describes the use of extended behavior networks to model human decision making in the sense of prospect theory. We show that the experimental findings of non-rational decision making described by Kahneman and Tversky can be reproduced using a slight variation of extended behavior networks.
Using guideline parameters for indication of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), only about two thirds of the patients improve clinically. Unfortunately both, surface ECG and echo are uncertain to predict CRT response. To better characterize cardiac desynchronization in heart failure, interventricular (IVCD) and intra-leftventricular conduction delays (ILVCD) were measured by esophageal left ventricular electrogram (LVE). Recordings in 43 CRT patients (34m, 9f, age: 64.7 ± 9.5yrs) evidenced only weak correlation between IVCD and QRS of 0.53 and between ILVCD and QRS of 0.33. This demonstrated that QRS duration is not a reliable indicator of desynchronization. Therefore, the study resulted into development of LVE feature for a programmer with implant support device. It can be used interoperatively to guide the left ventricular electrode location in order to increase responder rate in CRT.
Mobile learning (m-learning) can be considered as a new paradigm of e-learning. The developed solution enables the presentation of animations and 3D virtual reality (VR) on mobile devices and is well suited for mobile learning. Difficult relations in physics as well as intricate experiments in optics can be visualised on mobile devices without need for a personal computer. By outsourcing the computational power to a server, the coverage is worldwide.
Thin-layer chromatography is a rapid and reliable working method for quantification of mycotoxins which is suitable for checking EC legislation aflatoxin limits for dried figs without an RP-18 pre-column cleaning step. We describe normal-phase chromatography on silica gel plates with 2.4:0.05:0.1:0.05 ( v/v ) methyl t -butyl ether-water-methanol-cyclohexane as mobile phase and reversed-phase chromatography on RP-18 plates with methanol-4% aqueous ZnSO 4 solution-ethyl methyl ketone 15:15:3 ( v/v ) as mobile phase. Sample pretreatment was by modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) extraction with tetrahydrofuran or acetone. NaCl was used as QuEChERS salt. Response was a linear function of amount chromatographed in the ranges 3 to 100 pg per zone for aflatoxins B 2 and G 2 , 10 to 350 pg per zone for the aflatoxins B 1 and G 1 , and 0.25 to 2.5 ng per zone for ochratoxin A. Quantification limits for the aflatoxins were between 13 and 35 pg per zone (equivalent to 1.5 and 2.4 ppb, taking the pre-treatment procedure into account). Ochratoxin A was detectable with a limit of quantification of 970 pg per zone, corresponding to 56 ppb in the sample. Normal phase and RP-18 separations work rapidly, reliably, and at low cost. They are also suitable for checking the content of the mycotoxins patulin, penicillic acid, zearalenone, and deoxynivalenol.
The series of conferences on Environmental Best Practices (EBP) was inaugurated at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland in 2006 and continued at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland in 2009. This year the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg produly hosted the third event (EPB3).