Amplitude Transfer Function Research Articles

Tuning Microelectrodes' Impedance to Improve Fast Ripples Recording.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures resulting from abnormal neuronal hyperexcitability. In the case of pharmacoresistant epilepsy requiring resection surgery, the identification of the Epileptogenic Zone (EZ) is critical. Fast Ripples (FRs; 200-600 Hz) are one of the promising biomarkers that can aid in EZ delineation. However, recording FRs requires physically small electrodes. These microelectrodes suffer from high impedance, which significantly impacts FRs' observability and detection. In this study, we investigated the potential of a conductive polymer coating to enhance FR observability. We employed biophysical modeling to compare two types of microelectrodes: Gold (Au) and Au coated with the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (Au/PEDOT:PSS). These electrodes were then implanted into the CA1 hippocampal neural network of epileptic mice to record FRs during epileptogenesis. The results showed that the polymer-coated electrodes had a two-order lower impedance as well as a higher transfer function amplitude and cut-off frequency. Consequently, FRs recorded with the PEDOT:PSS-coated microelectrode yielded significantly higher signal energy compared to the uncoated one. The PEDOT:PSS coating improved the observability of the recorded FRs and thus their detection. This work paves the way for the development of signal-specific microelectrode designs that allow for better targeting of pathological biomarkers.

Tangential Shear Stress in Oscillatory Flow of a Viscoelastic Incompressible Fluid in a Plane Channel

The problems of oscillatory flow of a viscoelastic incompressible fluid in a plane channel are solved for a given harmonic oscillation of the fluid flow rate. The transfer function (amplitude–phase frequency response) is determined. Using this function, the effect of the acceleration oscillation frequency and the relaxation properties of fluid on the ratio of the tangential shear stress on channel wall to the velocity averaged over the channel cross-section (cross-sectional velocity) is determined. It is shown that the viscoelastic properties of fluid, as well as its acceleration, are the limiting factors for using the quasi-stationary approach. The found formulas for determining the transfer function for viscoelastic fluid flow in the case of non-stationary stream make it possible to determine the dissipations of mechanical energy in a non-stationary flow of the medium which are of importance for calculation of the control of hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

Deep Machine Learning for Path Length Characterization Using Acoustic Diffraction

Many fields now perform non-destructive testing using acoustic signals for the detection of objects or features of interest. This detection requires the decision of an experienced technician, which varies from technician to technician. This evaluation becomes even more challenging as the object decreases in size. In this paper, we assess the use of both traditional signal-processing machine learning algorithms, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), as well as Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures to approximate acoustic anomalies with an eye toward micro-scale applications such as application to biofilms. The probing signal is generated using a continuous sound wave emitted at controlled frequencies of 1 and 5 MHz through metallic specimens of varying heights each containing an anomaly in the form of a hole. Data are collected as the transmitted signal is sampled at several locations as the wave travels through the specimen. We have developed both a CNN and an LSTM architecture for frequency-domain feature detection and approximation. The CNN models, one for phase and one for amplitude data, take short-distance Fourier transforms (SDFTs) representing the change in the signal over multiple observation points as input. The LSTM model takes the change in phase or amplitude points at each lateral location as a comma-separated value (CSV) input. The models analyze the frequency and spatial changes experienced by each specimen and produce an estimation of the acoustic path length of the anomaly in radians. The models are evaluated using mean-square error and the R-square statistic. All models perform with a fairly high R-square score, the amplitude CNN and LSTM models achieving upwards of a 99% fit and the phase CNN achieving a 97% fit on average for the predicted values. With the performance of these models, we demonstrate that utilizing the transfer function phase and amplitude data to analyze acoustic diffraction patterns leads to the ability to extract, with great precision, features in the input signal that describe the nature of the anomaly.

Seismic-induced vibration control of a multi-story building with double tuned mass dampers considering soil-structure interaction

This paper presents a methodology for the optimization of double tuned mass dampers (TMDs) positioned on the top floor of a multi-story building subjected to ground motions considering soil-structure interaction (SSI). In the optimization process, it is considered that double TMDs are connected both in series and in parallel. STMD and PTMD are used to denote the series TMDs and parallel TMDs, respectively. The equations of motion for an n-story shear building controlled by STMD and PTMD are derived by considering the SSI effect and the optimum parameters of both devices are obtained by minimizing the amplitude of the displacement transfer function for the top floor of the building in the frequency domain analysis. The effectiveness of the PTMD and STMD designed using the Jaya algorithm (JA) is verified by numerical examples of a ten-story shear building under twelve earthquake records with different frequency content and the comparison with the traditional TMD is also performed. In order to investigate the effect of earthquake frequency content on the control performance of the TMDs, earthquakes considered are divided into three different groups as low, intermediate, and high-frequency contents. In addition, the influence of the soil stiffness on the optimum parameters and effectiveness of the PTMD and STMD is discussed. Numerical results show that the optimally designed PTMD and STMD effectively suppressed the maximum floor displacements and accelerations of the building. It is also shown that SSI effects can be ignored when the building is built on stiff soil. In addition, it is concluded that the SSI and earthquake frequency content have a significant effect on the control performance of TMDs and the seismic response of the building.

Stochastic Semi-Physical Model for Nonstationary Spatially Variable Ground Motions in an Engineering Site

Spatially variable ground motions are crucial for the seismic analysis and design of extended and multi-support structures. In this study, a new random nonstationary spatially variable ground motion model based on the propagation process of seismic waves is proposed. In particular, the amplitude and phase transfer functions of seismic waves at the local site are studied herein. The probability density function of the corresponding parameters is given. Two simple examples are used to show the generation of random ground motions. Compared with traditional methods, our proposed model not only has a clear physical background but also shows good practicability. The model should be for those researchers who want to use nonstationary spatially variable ground motions to study the seismic response of lifeline systems or building portfolios.

An analytical model for 2D seismic tunnel-aboveground structure interaction with considering the influence of tunnel longitudinal shear deformation

The influence of tunnel longitudinal shear deformation on the response of its adjacent ground building is investigated based on a 2D analytical model considering a flexible circular tunnel and a shear wall standing on a semi-circular rigid foundation under SH-waves excitation. Soil-tunnel relative stiffness is introduced, and a closed-form analytical solution is presented for the system response. Tunnel stiffness significantly affects the foundation impedance function of the building. Rayleigh scattering frequency can accurately predict the position of the fluctuation peaks of the foundation impedance function. At locations where the tunnel–building interaction is strong, the tunnel cannot be considered as rigid even if the tunnel relative stiffness to the soil reaches 100. At locations where constructive and destructive wave interference occurs, the building relative response increases or decreases accordingly. Considering the influence of tunnel relative stiffness, the amplitude of the building relative response can be amplified by 27.0% or reduced by approximately 28.0%, respectively. This analytical model is also used to qualitatively predict the amplitude of the relative response transfer function of the Hollywood Storage Building under the influence of the tunnel longitudinal shear deformation, and its accuracy is verified.

Parameter Optimization and Application for the Inerter-Based Tuned Type Dynamic Vibration Absorbers

As an acceleration-type mechanical element, inerter element has been widely used in the dynamic suppressing field. In this paper, a tuned mass damper with inerter (TMDI) is presented for vibration control and energy dissipation. To evaluate the effectiveness of the TMDI, the simplified model of TMDI coupled with a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structure has been established. Numerical optimization has been conducted with the goal of minimizing the maximum transfer function amplitude of displacement for the damped primary structure. The control performance and robustness for TMDI has been evaluated with the SDOF system in the frequency and time domain, compared with the classical TMD device. Lately, multiple active TMDI (MATMDI) has been proposed as a vibration suppression strategy for a multi-story steel structure. The performances of passive and active control methods have been evaluated in the time domain via real earthquake excitations, and it has proven that the MATMDI is more effective at reducing the response of the structure and the stroke of devices. The results show that the proposed optimal TMDI system can sufficiently harvest vibrational energy and enhance the robustness of structure.

Study of Capacitive Coupling Sensor Fused With High Voltage XLPE Cable Joint

A capacitive coupling sensor for partial discharge detection with the fusion of high voltage XLPE cable joint is designed in this paper. The sensor is to address partial discharge signals leading to transmission attenuation and external interference causing poor field detection sensitivity. First, a coaxial waveguide transmission model was established of high-frequency electrical signals in the body and joint. The result showed that the signal transmission attenuation was minimized while the sensor electrodes were closely attached to the outer semi-conductive layer of the body. Second, the equivalent circuit model was constructed of the capacitive coupling sensor fused with the 110 kV straight passing joint. The specific installation location, main structure size, detection bandwidth, and sensitivity of the sensor in the joint area were determined, which was to maximize the coupling output signal amplitude and transfer function amplitude. Finally, a lightning surge voltage test was carried out with the integration of the fusion of the joint voltage thermal cycling. Simulation and measurement show the following: while the sensor is installed in the cable metal sleeve break and the electrodes are closed to the overall semi-conductive layer, there is excellent performance for partial discharge detection in the frequency range of 1–300 MHz, with a sensitivity of 5 pC.

Lateral Resolution of a Commercial Optical Coherence Tomography Instrument.

PurposeThe lateral resolution of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) instrument was considered to be equal to the illumination spot size on the retina. To evaluate the potential lateral resolution of the Spectralis OCT, an instrument calculated to have a 14 µm resolution.MethodsThe lateral point spread function (PSF) was evaluated using diamond abrasive powder 0 to 1 µm in diameter in silicone elastomer and a validated target with 800 nm FeO particles in urethane. The amplitude transfer function was calculated from human OCT images. Finally, resolution was measured using the 1951 USAF target.ResultsMeasurement of the lateral PSF from 1215 diamond particle images yielded a full-width half maximum (FWHM) to be 5.11 µm and for 732 FeO particles, 4.9 µm. From the amplitude transfer function, the FWHM of the diffraction limited PSF was calculated to be 5.0 µm. The USAF target imaging showed a lateral resolution of 4.6 µm.ConclusionsAlthough a calculation of the spot size of the illumination beam was reported in the past as the lateral resolution of the OCT instrument, the actual lateral resolution is better by a factor of at least 2.5 times. The clinically used A-scan spacing was derived from the calculated, and not the true resolution, and results in under sampling. This set of findings likely apply to all commercial clinical instruments.Translational RelevanceThe scan density parameters of past and present commercial OCT instruments were based on earlier translational concepts, which now appear to have been incorrect.

Orbital angular momentum transformations by non-local linear systems.

A matrix description of orbital angular momentum (OAM) transformations in scalar optical beams by non-local, linear systems is introduced and the amplitude transfer function (ATF) is generalized to include information about mode-to-mode OAM coupling. In particular, the analysis of radially independent systems suggests the existence of unexplored types of OAM transforming systems. The results are extended to random beams and random non-local systems and the optical transfer function (OTF) is generalized to the OAM space.

Piston Error Measurement for Segmented Telescopes with an Artificial Neural Network.

A piston error detection method is proposed based on the broadband intensity distribution on the image plane using a back-propagation (BP) artificial neural network. By setting a mask with a sparse circular clear multi-subaperture configuration in the exit pupil plane of a segmented telescope to fragment the pupil, the relation between the piston error of segments and amplitude of the modulation transfer function (MTF) sidelobes is strictly derived according to the Fourier optics principle. Then the BP artificial neural network is utilized to establish the mapping relation between them, where the amplitudes of the MTF sidelobes directly calculated from theoretical relationship and the introduced piston errors are used as inputs and outputs respectively to train the network. With the well trained-network, the piston errors are measured to a good precision using one in-focused broadband image without defocus division as input, and the capture range achieving the coherence length of the broadband light is available. Adequate simulations demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method; the results show that the trained network has high measurement accuracy, wide detection range, quite good noise immunity and generalization ability. This method provides a feasible and easily implemented way to measure piston error and can simultaneously detect the multiple piston errors of the entire aperture of the segmented telescope.

MEMS-based low-cost and open-source accelerograph for earthquake strong-motion

This paper describes a sensing technique that has been entirely built from off-the-shelf electronic components, with the aim of providing its construction and programming guidelines as an open-source platform which can be continuously updated. The assessments carried out in this investigation indicate that the proposed sensor is suitable for deployment as an accelerograph for seismic monitoring of structural systems. The results show low levels of self- noise, considering the nature of the MEMS analogue accelerometer embedded in the sensor. The amplitude transfer functions exhibit a flat behaviour for the full range of frequencies tested, whose boundaries were limited by the installed capacity within the laboratory. However, this flat behaviour is expected to be coherent up to the resonant frequency of the MEMS accelerometer, whose absolute value is much higher than the bandwidth of frequencies of interest for seismologists and structural earthquake engineers. The clipping tests demonstrate a high linearity of the amplitude transfer function from low acceleration levels up to the vicinity of the maximum nominal recordable acceleration of ±3 g at which a typical roll-off is observed. Under long-time operations, the sensor produces a robust performance, maintaining a steady pace of sampling. The performance of the sensor was finally tested considering non-stationary signals, using a linear shake table to reproduce a wide ensemble of strong-motion recordings from actual earthquakes. Intensity measures of strong-motion commonly used in earthquake engineering were appraised, such as horizontal spectral acceleration, Arias Intensity, and transient peaks of response.

Amplitude and frequency sensing of microwave fields with a superconducting transmon qudit

Experiments with superconducting circuits require careful calibration of the applied pulses and fields over a large frequency range. This remains an ongoing challenge as commercial semiconductor electronics are not able to probe signals arriving at the chip due to its cryogenic environment. Here, we demonstrate how the on-chip amplitude and frequency of a microwave signal can be inferred from the ac Stark shifts of higher transmon levels. In our time-resolved measurements we employ Ramsey fringes, allowing us to detect the amplitude of the systems transfer function over a range of several hundreds of MHz with an energy sensitivity on the order of 10−4. Combined with similar measurements for the phase of the transfer function, our sensing method can facilitate pulse correction for high fidelity quantum gates in superconducting circuits. Additionally, the potential to characterize arbitrary microwave fields promotes applications in related areas of research, such as quantum optics or hybrid microwave systems including photonic, mechanical or magnonic subsystems.

Traceable measurement of the instrument transfer function in dXCT

In dimensional X-ray CT (dXCT), the definition of a resolution describing parameter (metrological structural resolution) is not standardized conclusively yet. The instrument transfer function (ITF) is currently being discussed in national and international standardization bodies as one candidate for such a parameter. The ITF describes the wavelength-dependent transfer of a surface modulation - which is the main focus of dXCT - in contrast to the modulation transfer function (MTF), a well-known parameter which describes the grey-value amplitude transfer function after volume reconstruction without including a surface determination. In this article, a practical implementation of two differently sized new ITF reference standards is presented. Their idea is to use a height profile - with nearly constant spectral amplitude and bandwidth-limited - which is extended periodically. This profile is diamond-turned on the outer side of a tube and can be segmented to obtain identical pieces. One piece is calibrated pars pro toto with a high-resolution tactile scanner (HRTS) to obtain the reference ITF. Comparisons, CT parameter dependency tests and simulations highlight the benefit of this new type of standards for the determination of the ITF as a measure for resolution.

Quantifying the Nonlinear Interaction in the Nervous System Based on Phase-Locked Amplitude Relationship.

This paper introduces the Cross-frequency Amplitude Transfer Function (CATF), a model-free method for quantifying nonlinear stimulus-response interaction based on phase-locked amplitude relationship. The CATF estimates the amplitude transfer from input frequencies at stimulation signal to their harmonics/intermodulation at the response signal. We first verified the performance of CATF in simulation tests with systems containing a static nonlinear function and a linear dynamic, i.e., Hammerstein and Wiener systems. We then applied the CATF to investigate the second-order nonlinear amplitude transfer in the human proprioceptive system from the periphery to the cortex. The simulation demonstrated that the CATF is a general method, which can well quantify nonlinear stimulus-response amplitude transfer for different orders of nonlinearity in Wiener or Hammerstein system configurations. Applied to the human proprioceptive system, we found a complicated nonlinear system behavior with substantial amplitude transfer from the periphery stimulation to cortical response signals in the alpha band. This complicated system behavior may be associated with the nonlinear behavior of the muscle spindle and the dynamic interaction in the thalamocortical radiation. This paper provides a new tool to identify nonlinear interaction in the nervous system. The results provide novel insight of nonlinear dynamics in the human proprioceptive system.

Optimization of elastic spring supports for cantilever beams

In this study,a new approach of optimization algorithm is developed. The optimum distribution of elastic springs on which a cantilever Timoshenko beam is seated and minimization of the shear force on the support of the beam is investigated.The Fourier transform is applied to the beam vibration equation in the time domain and transfer function, independent from the external influence, is used to define the structural response. For all translational modes of the beam, the optimum locations and amounts of the springs are investigated so that the transfer function amplitude of the support shear force is minimized. The stiffness coefficients of the springs placed on the nodes of the beam divided into finite elements are considered as design variables. There is an active constraint on the sum of the spring coefficients taken as design variables and passive constraints on each of them as the upper and lower bounds. Optimality criteria are derived using the Lagrange Multipliers method. The gradient information required for solving the optimization problem is analytically derived. Verification of the new approach optimization algorithm was carried out by comparing the results presented in this paper with those ones from analysis of the model of the beam without springs, with springs with uniform stiffness and with optimal distribution of springs which support a cantilever beam to minimize the tip deflection of the beam found in the literature. The numerical results show that the presented method is effective in finding the optimum spring stiffness coefficients and location of springs for all translational modes.The proposed method can give designers an idea of how to support the cantilever beams under different harmonic vibrations.

Comparative investigation on optimal viscous damper placement for elastic-plastic MDOF structures: Transfer function amplitude or double impulse

The effectiveness of the optimal viscous damper placement for elastic-plastic multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) structures under the critical double impulse is demonstrated through the comparison with the optimal damper placement for elastic MDOF structures designed with respect to transfer function amplitudes at natural frequencies. The method for optimal viscous damper placement was proposed for elastic-plastic MDOF structures subjected to the critical double impulse as a representative of near-fault ground motions in the previous paper [1]. The double impulse is composed of two impulses with opposite directions and the critical interval is determined by using the criterion on the maximum input energy. The critical timing of the second impulse was found to be the timing which requires the vanishing of the sum of the restoring force and the damping force in the first story. Three models with different story stiffness distributions of main structures are treated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the optimal viscous damper placement under the critical double impulse. The double impulse pushover (DIP) procedure proposed in the previous paper for determining the input velocity level of the critical double impulse is examined further in this paper. It is demonstrated that the optimal viscous damper placement for elastic-plastic MDOF structures under the critical double impulse is more effective for pulse-type recorded earthquake ground motions than the optimal damper placement designed with respect to transfer function amplitudes at natural frequencies because several higher modes arising in the elastic-plastic response under pulse-type recorded earthquake ground motions can be well controlled by the design for the double impulse.

Estimation of optimum tuned mass damper parameters via machine learning

The performance of tuned mass dampers (TMDs) relies on a tuning process in which the parameters are optimized for one or several objectives. For this purpose, several formulations and numerical optimization methods have been developed. The existing closed form formulation may not be suitable for a desired objective, and numerical optimization methods must be applied to every different system. For that reason, optimum TMD parameters such as period and damping ratio can be estimated by using machine learning. Since the use of machine learning in TMD optimization is a novel field of research, a well-known Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model is proposed. Training of the ANN was done by using optimum TMD values of several sets of single degree of freedom (SDOF) structures. The optimum values were found according to an optimization process using a flower pollination algorithm (FPA) and transfer function amplitude as an objective in the frequency domain. The generated ANN model is generally effective to find the same optimum results as the FPA approach up to two decimal places. Also, the ANN model was used to generate three basic tuning formulations, which are tested on SDOF and multiple degrees of freedom (MDOF) structural models. Including the responses under seismic excitation by considering stroke of the TMD, the optimum TMD parameters defined according to the developed formulations are more effective than optimum results found by existing formulations for reduction of maximum structural responses.

Binocular cross-correlation analyses of the effects of high-order aberrations on the stereoacuity of eyes with keratoconus.

Stereoacuity losses are induced by increased magnitudes and interocular differences in high-order aberrations (HOAs). This study used keratoconus as a model to investigate the impact of HOAs on disparity processing and stereoacuity. HOAs and stereoacuity were quantified in subjects with keratoconus (n = 21) with HOAs uncorrected (wearing spectacles) or minimized (wearing rigid gas-permeable contact lenses) and in control subjects without keratoconus (n = 5) for 6-mm pupil diameters. Disparity signal quality was estimated using metrics derived from binocular cross-correlation functions of stereo pairs convolved with point-spread functions from these HOAs. Metrics computed for all subjects were compared with stereoacuities. The effects of contrast losses and phase shifts on disparity signal quality were studied independently by manipulating the amplitude and phase components of optical transfer functions. The magnitudes, orientations, interocular relationships in magnitude, and shape of the point-spread function affected the cross-correlation metrics that determine disparity signal quality. Stereoacuity covaries strongly with cross-correlation metrics and moderately with image-quality metrics. Both phase distortions and contrast losses due to HOAs significantly influence computations of binocular disparity. HOA-induced stereoacuity reductions are attributable to disparity blur and noise from image properties that reduce the height and kurtosis of the peak stimulus disparity match of the cross-correlation. Phase distortions and contrast losses due to HOAs are both partly responsible for the greater stereoacuity losses seen with spectacles compared to rigid gas-permeable contact lenses in keratoconus.

Passive optimization of pump noise transfer function by narrow band-pass filtering in femtosecond fiber lasers

Fluctuation of pump power is one of the major sources of temporal and intensity noise in femtosecond fiber lasers. In this work, the transfer functions between the relative intensity noise (RIN) of the pump laser diode (LD) and the output RIN, between the RIN of the pump LD and timing jitter of femtosecond fiber lasers are systematically studied. It is demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, that the amplitude of the pump RIN transfer function can be effectively decreased by an intra-cavity narrow band-pass filter. In particular, for normal-dispersion lasers, the 3-dB bandwidth of the transfer function can also be narrowed by two-thirds, with a steeper falling edge. Furthermore, with the narrow band-pass filtering, the transfer function is almost independent of the net intra-cavity dispersion due to amplifier similariton formation. The proposed scheme can effectively isolate the pump-induced noise without the need of complex active pump LD control and intra-cavity dispersion management, thus providing an easy way for practical high-power, high-stability femtosecond fiber laser design and related high-precision applications outside the laboratory.