Misalignment Angle Research Articles

Equivariant filtering framework for inertial-integrated navigation

This paper proposes an Equivariant Filtering (EqF) framework for the inertial-integrated state estimation. As the kinematic system of the inertial-integrated navigation can be naturally modeled on the matrix Lie group SE2(3), the symmetry of the Lie group can be exploited to design an equivariant filter which extends the invariant extended Kalman filtering on the group-affine system and overcomes the inconsitency issue of the traditional extend Kalman filter. We firstly formulate the inertial-integrated dynamics as the group-affine systems. Then, we prove the left equivariant properties of the inertial-integrated dynamics. Finally, we design an equivariant filtering framework on the earth-centered earth-fixed frame and the local geodetic navigation frame. The experiments show the superiority of the proposed filters when confronting large misalignment angles in Global Navigation Satellite Navigation (GNSS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS) loosely integrated navigation experiments.

Effects of axial motion and couple stress on lubrication performances of ship stern shaft

Increasingly prominent marine oil pollution problems highlight the importance of environmentally friendly lubricants in a ship. According to the actual navigation environment, the couple stress effect of environmentally friendly lubricants and axial motion of stern shaft is considered to establish a new hydrodynamic lubrication model, and finite difference method and Simpson integral method have been utilized to solve film pressure and bearing carrying capacity, respectively. Various performance characteristics were obtained for a range of couple stress parameters, misalignment angles and rotation speeds. The results show that axial motion and couple stress have opposite effects on film distribution, the minimum film thickness decreases with the increasing of axial velocity while the maximum film pressure significant reduce as couple stress parameter grows. The axial position corresponding to the maximum pressure is reduced from 0.51 to 0.49 m as axial velocity enhances from 0 to 0.8 m/s while couple stress parameter is 0, but nearly remains the place while couple stress is considered. Meanwhile, couple stress lubricants effectively restrain friction of journal caused by hydrodynamic effect, and the decreasing amplitude is nearly independent of axial velocity.

Comments on axions, domain walls, and cosmic strings

Axions have for some time been considered a plausible candidate for dark matter. They can be produced through misalignment, but it has been argued that when inflation occurs before a Peccei-Quinn transition, appreciable production can result from cosmic strings. This has been the subject of extensive simulations. But there are reasons to be skeptical about the possible role of axion strings. We review and elaborate on these questions, and argue that parametrically strings are already accounted for by the assumption of random misalignment angles. We review and elaborate on these questions, and provide several qualitative arguments that parametrically strings are already accounted for by the assumption of random misalignment angles. The arguments are base on considerations of the collective modes of the string solutions, on computations of axion radiation in particular models, and reviews of simulations.

New opportunities for axion dark matter searches in nonstandard cosmological models

We study axion dark matter production from a misalignment mechanism in scenarios featuring a general nonstandard cosmology. Before the onset of Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the energy density of the universe is dominated by a particle field ϕ described by a general equation of state ω. The ensuing enhancement of the Hubble expansion rate decreases the temperature at which axions start to oscillate, opening this way the possibility for axions heavier than in the standard window. This is the case for kination, or in general for scenarios with ω > 1/3. However, if ω < 1/3, as in the case of an early matter domination, the decay of ϕ injects additional entropy relative to the case of the standard model, diluting this way the preexisting axion abundance, and rendering lighter axions viable. For a misalignment angle 0.5 < θ_i < π/√(3), the usual axion window becomes expanded to 4 × 10-9 eV ≲ ma ≲ 2 × 10-5 eV for the case of an early matter domination, or to 2 × 10-6 eV ≲ ma ≲ 10-2 eV for the case of kination. Interestingly, the coupling axion-photon in such a wider range can be probed with next generation experiments such as ABRACADABRA, KLASH, ADMX, MADMAX, and ORGAN. Axion dark matter searches may therefore provide a unique tool to probe the history of the universe before Big Bang nucleosynthesis.

Array misalignment angle value estimation for OAM-based communication system

Orbit Angular Momentum (OAM) is a potential candidate for next-generation short-distance line-of-sight wireless communication, it is assumed that the channels associated with different OAM modes are orthogonal. When there are misalignments between transmitter and receiver arrays, the assumption is incorrect. In this paper, we propose the methods to estimate the array misalignment values in the OAM-based communication system for Uniform Circular Array (UCA) in transmitter and receiver. It is shown that, when the pilot signals are transmitted in a single or all OAM modes, the absolute value of the received signal can be approximated by the polynomial functions of misalignment angle. By solving these functions, the misalignment angle can be estimated. The proposed methods are theoretically analyzed and tested for OAM Index Modulation (OAM-IM)-based communication system, The obtained results indicate that the proposed methods improve the OAM-IM based communication system in the presence of array misalignments problem.

Cosmic Birefringence Triggered by Dark Matter Domination.

Cosmic birefringence is predicted if an axionlike particle (ALP) moves after the recombination. We show that this naturally happens if the ALP is coupled to the dark matter density because it then acquires a large effective mass after the matter-radiation equality. Our scenario applies to a broad range of the ALP mass m_{ϕ}≲10^{-28} eV, even smaller than the present Hubble constant. We give a simple model to realize this scenario, where dark matter is made of hidden monopoles, which give the ALP such a large effective mass through the Witten effect. The mechanism works if the ALP decay constant is of order of the grand unified theory scale without a fine-tuning of the initial misalignment angle. For smaller decay constant, the hidden monopole can be a fraction of dark matter. We also study the implications for the QCD axion, and show that the domain wall problem can be solved by the effective mass.

Growth and dissipation of Be star discs in misaligned binary systems

ABSTRACT We use a three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics code to simulate growth and dissipation of Be star discs in systems where the binary orbit is misaligned with respect to the spin axis of the primary star. We investigate six different scenarios of varying orbital period and misalignment angle, feeding the disc at a constant rate for 100 orbital periods, and then letting the disc dissipate for 100 orbital periods. During the disc growth phase, we find that the binary companion tilts the disc away from its initial plane at the equator of the primary star before settling to a constant orientation after 40–50 orbital periods. While the mass-injection into the disc is ongoing, the tilting of the disc can cause material to reaccrete on to the primary star prematurely. Once disc dissipation begins, usually the disc precesses about the binary companion’s orbital axis with precession periods ranging from 20 to 50 orbital periods. In special cases, we detect phenomena of disc tearing, as well as Kozai–Lidov oscillations of the disc. These oscillations reach a maximum eccentricity of about 0.6, and a minimum inclination of about 20○ with respect to the binary’s orbit. We also find the disc material to have highly eccentric orbits beyond the transition radius, where the disc changes from being dominated by viscous forces, to heavily controlled by the companion star, in contrast to its nearly circular motion inwards of the transition radius. Finally, we offer predictions to how these changes will affect Be star observables.

A calibration method of DVL in integrated navigation system based on particle swarm optimization

In the underwater SINS/DVL integrated navigation system, the calibration problem between SINS and DVL sensors is one of the critical factors affecting the accuracy of integrated navigation. Traditional calibration methods usually require long-term filter estimation or require the vehicle to operate specific maneuvers, which have limitations. In this paper, a DVL calibration algorithm using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed. The SINS/GPS integrated navigation velocity and DVL output velocity are constructed into two point sets, thereby converting the calibration problem into a Wahba problem and using the particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the optimal rotation matrix. Simulation experiments and semi-physical experiments show that the proposed calibration method can quickly and accurately estimate the scale factor and installation misalignment angle between SINS and DVL sensors, and the integrated navigation accuracy after calibration is significantly improved. Compared with the conventional calibration approaches, the calibration performance of the proposed method is better.

A quick multi-step discretization and parallelization wear simulation model for crown gear coupling with misalignment angle

Compared with other gear transmissions travelling along meshing line, the motion of crown gear coupling is much more complex, which makes more difficult for its tooth surface wear simulation. To reduce the computational costs associated with the wear simulation of crown gear coupling with misalignment angle, a quick multi-step discretization and parallelization wear simulation model is proposed. The model combines the finite element method based on self-compiled high-precision finite element mesh, kinematic analysis and Archard's formula to predict the tooth surface wear. The characteristics of the relative sliding distance are also discussed, while the effects of the misalignment angle and load torque on the wear depth are investigated. The numerical results show that the maximum relative sliding distance increases with an increase in the misalignment angle, and the relative sliding distance between the teeth near the pure tilted area is larger than that near the pure pivoted area. In addition, when crown gear coupling is aligned, the tooth surface doesn't produce wear, while the tooth surface wear pattern is symmetrical about the middle of the tooth width.

Axion dark matter in the time of primordial black holes

We investigate the production of QCD axion dark matter in a nonstandard cosmological era triggered by primordial black holes (PBHs) that fully evaporate before the onset of BBN. Even if PBHs cannot emit the whole axion cold dark matter abundance through Hawking radiation, they can have a strong impact on the dark matter produced via the misalignment mechanism. First, the oscillation temperature of axions reduces if there is a PBH dominated era, and second, PBH evaporation injects entropy to the standard model, diluting the axion relic abundance originally produced. The axion window is therefore enlarged, reaching masses as light as $\sim 10^{-8}$ eV and decay constants as large as $f_{a}\sim 10^{14}$ GeV without fine tuning the misalignment angle. Such small masses are in the reach of future detectors as ABRACADABRA, KLASH, and ADMX, if the axion couples to photons. Additionally, the axions radiated by PBHs contribute to $\Delta N_\text{eff}$ within the projected reach of the future CMB Stage 4 experiment.

Special features of superior oblique hypofunction due to tendon abnormalities

ABSTRACT While most cases of superior oblique (SO) hypofunction represent contractile weakness due to denervation, sometimes the lesion is exclusively in the tendon. This study sought to distinguish the pattern of incomitant strabismus caused by deficiency of SO oculorotary force caused by tendon abnormalities versus that of neurogenic palsy. Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of 7 cases of unilateral SO tendon interruption or extirpation were compared with 11 cases of age matched unilateral SO palsy having intact tendons. We compared angles of misalignment with high-resolution MRI in central gaze and deorsumversion. Muscle bellies in neurogenic palsy were markedly atrophic with maximal cross sections averaging 6.5 ± 2.7 mm2, in contrast with 13.5 ± 3.0 mm2 contralesionally (P < .0001). In contrast, SO muscle bellies ipsilateral to tendon interruption had maximum cross sections averaging 15.1 ± 3.0 mm2 occurring more posterior than on the contralesional side whose maximum averaged 12.1 ± 2.4 mm2. While cross sections of SO bellies ipsilateral to tendon interruption exhibited normal contractile increase in infraduction (P < .0005), there was nevertheless strabismus with incomitance similar to that in SO atrophy. Binocular alignment was statistically similar (P > .5) in the two groups for all diagnostic positions, including head tilt, except in deorsumversion, where cases with SO tendon abnormalities averaged 20.5 ± 6.9Δ ipsilateral hypertropia, significantly more than 8.5 ± 6.6Δ in neurogenic SO atrophy (P = .001). The average difference in hypertropia Hypertropia averaged 9D greater in deorsumversion than central gaze in tendon abnormalities, but 4.1Δ less in SO atrophy (P< .019). In contralesional version, average overelevation in adduction was 1.7 (scale of 0–4) in tendon abnormalities, and 2.6 in SO atrophy (P = .23), while average underdepression in adduction was −2.3 in cases of tendon abnormalities and −1.6 in SO atrophy (P = .82). Repair of the SO tendon in three cases was effective, while alternative procedures were performed when repair was infeasible. While both denervation and tendon interruption impair SO oculorotary function, interruption causes greater hypertropia in infraversion. Surgical tightening of interrupted SO tendons may have particularly gratifying effects. Posterior SO thickening and large hypertropia in infraversion suggest SO tendon interruption that may guide a surgical strategy of tendon repair.

On the Large Apparent Black Hole Spin-orbit Misalignment Angle in GW200115

Abstract GW200115 is one of the first two confidently detected gravitational-wave events of neutron star–black hole mergers. An interesting property of this merger is that the black hole, if spinning rapidly, has its spin axis negatively aligned (with a misalignment angle &gt;90°) with the binary orbital angular momentum vector. Although such a large spin–orbit misalignment angle naturally points toward a dynamical origin, the measured neutron star–black hole merger rate exceeds theoretical predictions of the dynamical formation channel. In the canonical isolated binary formation scenario, the immediate progenitor of GW200115 is likely to be a binary consisting of a black hole and a helium star, with the latter forming a neutron star during a supernova explosion. Since the black hole is generally expected to spin along the pre-supernova binary orbital angular momentum axis, a large neutron star natal kick is required to produce the observed misalignment angle. Using simple kinematic arguments, we find that a misalignment angle &gt;90° in GW200115-like systems implies a kick velocity ∼600 km s−1 and a kick direction within ≈30° of the pre-supernova orbital plane. We discuss different interpretations of the large apparent black hole spin–orbit misalignment angle, including a nonspinning black hole.

Application of Adaptive Robust CKF in SINS/GPS Initial Alignment with Large Azimuth Misalignment Angle

When the strapdown inertial navigation system does not perform coarse alignment, the misalignment angle is generally a large angle, and a nonlinear error model and a nonlinear filtering method are required. For large azimuth misalignment, the initial alignment technology with a large azimuth misalignment angle is researched in this paper. The initial alignment technology with a large azimuth misalignment angle is researched in this paper. First, the SINS/GPS nonlinear error model is established. Secondly, in the view of observation gross errors and inaccurate noise statistical characteristics, an adaptive robust CKF algorithm is proposed. Finally, according to the simulation analysis and experiment, the adaptive robust CKF algorithm can augment the stability and improve the filter estimation precision and convergence rate.

Lubrication and loading characteristics of cylindrical roller bearings with misalignment and roller modifications

A new model for cylindrical roller bearings, capable of deterministically handling lubrication and misalignment situations, is developed by coupling a quasi-static model and a finite line-contact EHL solver. Numerical results of internal load, pressure, and film thickness between rollers and raceways as well as bearing stiffness are obtained with different configurations of diametrical clearances, speeds, lubricant viscosity, misalignment angles, and the roller-profile modifications. It is revealed that if the roller bearings operate under zero or negative clearances, the loaded zone expands and additional loads can be produced by lubrication due to geometric constraints to the rollers, especially under light load and high speed conditions. The logarithmic profile of the rollers tolerates the misalignment better than the dub-off or crown profile.

Experimental investigation on the effect of misalignment on the wear failure for spline couplings

The teeth of misaligned spline couplings used in power transmission parts of helicopter and aero-engine often suffer serious abnormal wear faults during service. Through the self-made spline coupling test rig, the mechanism of misalignment on the spline coupling wear was explored. The tooth contact domain of the spline coupling with shaft misalignment is close to the addendum, and the tooth contact domain of the spline coupling with angle misalignment is mainly concentrated on the side of the tooth end. The edge contact effect becomes more serious as the amount of misalignment increases, resulting in abnormal wear at specific positions on the tooth surface. The presence of misalignment increases the vibration intensity of the spline coupling based vibration signal monitoring, which will increase the wear of the teeth. In addition, the difference in system vibration response of different misalignment types can be used to identify the misalignment failure mode of the spline coupling. It can be inferred from the characterization of wear debris that fretting wear is the cause of the failure of the misaligned spline coupling. Tooth modification, surface strengthening modification and lubrication design are necessary as potential solutions to improve the wear resistance of misaligned spline couplings.

Qualitative chirality effects on the Casimir-Lifshitz torque with liquid crystals

We model a cholesteric liquid crystal as a planar uniaxial multilayer system, where the orientation of each layer differs slightly from that of the adjacent one. This allows us to analytically simplify the otherwise acutely complicated calculation of the Casimir-Lifshitz torque. Numerical results differ appreciably from the case of nematic liquid crystals, which can be treated like bloc birefringent media. In particular, we find that the torque deviates considerably from its usual sinusoidal behavior as a function of the misalignment angle. In the case of a birefringent crystal faced with a cholesteric liquid one, the Casimir-Lifshitz torque decreases more slowly as a function of distance than in the nematic case. In the case of two cholesteric liquid crystals, either in the homochiral or in the heterochiral configuration, the angular dependence changes qualitatively as a function of distance. In all considered cases, finite pitch length effects are most pronounced at distances of about 10 nm.

Reference-Frame-Independent Design of Phase-Matching Quantum Key Distribution

The recently proposed phase-matching quantum key distribution offers means to overcome the linear key rate--transmittance bound. Since the key information is encoded onto the phases of coherent states, the misalignment between the two remote reference frames would yield errors and significantly degrade the key generation rate from the ideal case. In this work, we propose a reference-frame-independent design of phase-matching quantum key distribution by introducing a high-dimensional key encoding space. With encoded phases spanning the unit circle, the error statistics at arbitrary fixed-phase-reference difference can be recovered and treated separately, from which the misalignment angle can be identified. By naturally extending the binary encoding symmetry and complementarity to high dimensions, we present a security proof of this high-dimensional phase-matching quantum key distribution and demonstrate with simulation that a 17-dimensional protocol is completely immune to any degree of fixed misalignment and robust to slow phase fluctuations. We expect the high-dimensional protocol to be a practical reference-frame-independent design for general phase-encoding schemes where high-dimensional encoding is relatively easy to implement.

Position observation-based calibration method for an LDV/SINS integrated navigation system.

With the advantages of high velocity measurement accuracy and fast dynamic response, the laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) is expected to replace the odometer to be combined with a strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) to form a higher precision integrated navigation system. However, LDV scale factor error and misalignment angles between LDV and inertial measurement unit will affect the accuracy of navigation. Considering that not all global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers can directly provide velocity information and current mainstream calibration methods are sensitive to the measurement noise and outliers of velocity and position information, a robust calibration method aided by GNSS is proposed in this paper, which is based on position observation. Different from current popular calibration methods, the attitude information of the GNSS/SINS integrated navigation system obtained by an adaptive Kalman filter is used to construct the observation vector together with LDV velocity outputs and GNSS position outputs in this method. The LDV scale factor error and the misalignment angle are determined by the ratio of two observation vector modulus and the Davenport's q-method method, respectively. The accuracy and robustness of the calibration method are verified by one vehicle test with normal GNSS signals and one vehicle test with GNSS signals with outliers. And the horizontal position error of dead reckoning of the calibrated LDV/SINS integrated system are less than 0.0314% and 0.1033% of the mileage, respectively.

Magnetospheres of black hole-neutron star binaries

We perform force-free simulations for a neutron star orbiting a black hole, aiming at clarifying the main magnetosphere properties of such binaries towards their innermost stable circular orbits. Several configurations are explored, varying the orbital separation, the individual spins and misalignment angle among the magnetic and orbital axes. We find significant electromagnetic luminosities, $L\sim 10^{42-46} \, [B_{\rm pole}/ 10^{12}{\rm G}]^2 \, {\rm erg/s}$ (depending on the specific setting), primarily powered by the orbital kinetic energy, being about one order of magnitude higher than those expected from unipolar induction. The systems typically develop current sheets that extend to long distances following a spiral arm structure. The intense curvature of the black hole produces extreme bending on a particular set of magnetic field lines as it moves along the orbit, leading to magnetic reconnections in the vicinity of the horizon. For the most symmetric scenario (aligned cases), these reconnection events can release large-scale plasmoids that carry the majority of the Poynting fluxes. On the other hand, for misaligned cases, a larger fraction of the luminosity is instead carried outwards by large-amplitude Alfv{\'e}n waves disturbances. We estimate possible precursor electromagnetic emissions based on our numerical solutions, finding radio signals as the most promising candidates to be detectable within distances of $\lesssim 200$\,Mpc by forthcoming facilities like the Square Kilometer Array.

Effect of individual blade pitch angle misalignment on the remaining useful life of wind turbines

Abstract. An empirical data set of laser-optical pitch angle misalignment measurements on wind turbines was analyzed, and showed that 38 % of the turbines have been operating outside the accepted aerodynamic imbalance range. This imbalance results from deviations between the working pitch angle and the design angle set point. Several studies have focused on the consequences of this imbalance for the annual energy production (AEP) loss and mention a possible decrease in fatigue budget, i.e., remaining useful life (RUL). This research, however, quantifies the effect of the individual blade pitch angle misalignment and the resulting aerodynamic imbalance on the RUL of a wind turbine. To this end, several imbalance scenarios were derived from the empirical data representing various individual pitch misalignment configurations of the three blades. As the use case, a commercial 1.5 MW turbine was investigated, which provided a good representation of the sites and the turbine types in the empirical data set. Aeroelastic load simulations were conducted to determine the RUL of the turbine components. It was found that the RUL decreased in most scenarios, while the non-rotating wind turbine components were affected most by an aerodynamic imbalance.