Edge Taper Research Articles

Aperture Illumination Designs for Microwave Wireless Power Transmission With Constraints on Edge Tapers Using Bezier Curves

A new method is proposed for the antenna aperture illumination design on microwave wireless power transmission. Bezier curves are used to describe the aperture amplitude distributions. By optimizing the coordinates of the associated Bezier points, an aperture distribution yielding the maximum beam collection efficiency (BCE) can be achieved. Moreover, edge tapers can be easily controlled by the Bezier curves. The proposed method shows its effectiveness from carrying out extensive numerical experiments on different Fresnel parameters as well as edge taper constraints. The results show that larger aperture power coefficients obtain with a little sacrifice of BCEs when larger edge taper constraints are considered. Besides, the peak lobe irradiated outside the rectenna can be suppressed as well.

Comparative evaluation of apical bacterial extrusion following root canal instrumentation using different endodontic file systems: An in vitro study

Aim:This study aims to evaluate the amount of apical extrusion of bacteria during root canal instrumentation using K3XF, Protaper Gold, Edge taper platinum, and Hyflex CM Rotary systems.Materials and Methods:Sixty freshly extracted maxillary incisors teeth collected in saline. Access cavity prepared and canals were made free of bacterial and pulp. The teeth were mounted on the bacteria collecting apparatus. Root canals were contaminated with the Fusobacterium Nucleatum (ATCC25586) and dried at 37°C for 24 h. In Group 1 (Control group): No instrumentation was done and biomechanical preparation done in all other groups with Group 2: Hand K-files, Group 3: Protaper gold, Group 4: K3XF, Group 5: Edge taper platinum, and Group 6: Hyflex CM rotary file systems. Then, the extrude was collected, and it is incubated in Mueller-Hinton agar for 24 h and the number of colony forming units were counted and statistical comparison was done using Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U test.Results:Hand K-files extruded more bacteria when compared to other four rotary systems, K3XF file system extruded least number of bacteria.Conclusion:All instrumentation techniques extruded intracanal bacteria apically. However, engine-driven nickel-titanium instruments extruded less bacteria than the manual technique. The K3XF rotary file system comparatively extruded less bacteria than other rotary file systems.

Apical Transportation of Mesiobuccal Canals of Maxillary Molars Following Root Canal Preparation with Two Rotary Systems and Hand Files: A Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic Assessment.

Objectives:This study aimed to compare the transportation of the mesiobuccal canal of maxillary molars following root canal preparation with HyFlex CM (HCM) and Edge Taper Platinum (ETP) rotary systems and stainless steel (SS) hand files using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).Materials and Methods:This in-vitro study was performed on 48 maxillary molars in three groups of 16. The teeth were mounted in acrylic blocks, and root canals were prepared using HCM in group 1 (up to #30/0.06), ETP in group 2 (up to F3/0.06), and SS hand files in group 3 (up to #30). CBCT scans were taken before and after root canal preparation. The amount of canal transportation was measured at 0, 3, 6, and 9mm from the apex. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests.Results:The difference in canal transportation at 0 and 6mm from the apex was significant between the HCM and ETP groups (P=0.031 and 0.023) but none of the systems showed any significant difference with hand files at 0-and 6-mm levels (P=0.10, 0.56, 0.22, and 0.50), respectively. At 3mm from the apex, no significant difference was noted among the groups (P=0.30). At the 9-mm level, the amount of canal transportation was not significantly different between HCM and ETP (P=0.83) but they showed significant differences with hand files (P<0.001).Conclusion:ETP and HCM caused less canal transportation at the curvature of the mesiobuccal canal of maxillary molars compared to hand files. ETP showed superior efficacy in root canal preparation compared to HCM.

Investigation of hole quality in rotary ultrasonic drilling of borosilicate glass using RSM

The present article emphasizes on reducing the edge chipping and taper during rotary ultrasonic drilling of one of the most demanded ceramic glasses “BK-7.” Statistical tools of design of experiments and backing plate were adopted as two distinct approaches to curb the chipping damage. Central composite design has been conjugated with desirability function for framing the design matrix. This investigation also emphasizes to study the effect of process variables—spindle speed, ultrasonic power and feed rate—on the chipping width (CW) and taper (T). After developing the second-order regression models for the CW and T, analysis of variance was used to check the fitness of regression models and recognizing the significant model terms. Then impact of each process parameter was analyzed on responses of interest through 3-D surface plots. The feed rate came forth as the most dominating factor by having maximum influence over the qualitative aspects “CW” and “T” of the drilling process. Interactions of higher rpm and power with lower feed effectively reduced the CW and T. The backing material, employed during main experimentation, also proved its effectiveness to reduce CW when main experiments results were compared to the results of pilot experimentation, which was performed without backing plate. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to analyze the different tool wear modes and microstructure of machined surfaces. Tool weight measurement revealed the dominance of bond fracture and grain fracture during the early stage of the drilling process. Apart from brittle fracture, SEM also affirmed the presence of plastically deformed regions over the machined surfaces. Little deviations between the predicted values and experimental values during the confirmatory tests validated the prediction accuracy of regression models at 95% confidence level.

Optimization of an Offset Receiver Optics for Radio Telescopes

The latest generation of Cassegrain radio astronomy antennas is designed for multiple frequency bands with receivers for individual bands offset from the antenna axis. The offset feed arrangement typically has two focusing elements in the form of ellipsoidal mirrors in the optical path between the feed horn and the antenna focus. This arrangement aligns the beam from the offset feed horn to illuminate the subreflector. The additional focusing elements increase the number of design variables, namely the distances between the horn aperture and the first mirror and that between the two mirrors, and their focal lengths. There are a huge number of possible combinations of these four variables in which the optics system can take on. The design aim is to seek the combination that will give the optimum antenna efficiency, not only at the centre frequency of the particular band but also across its bandwidth. To pick the optimum combination of the variables, it requires working through, by computational mean, a continuum range of variable values at different frequencies which will fit the optics system within the allocated physical space. Physical optics (PO) is a common technique used in optics design. However, due to the repeated iteration of the huge number of computation involved, the use of PO is not feasible. We present a procedure based on using multimode Gaussian optics to pick the optimum design and using PO for final verification of the system performance. The best antenna efficiency is achieved when the beam illuminating the subreflector is truncated with the optimum edge taper. The optimization procedure uses the beam’s edge taper at the subreflector as the iteration target. The band 6 receiver optics design for the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) antenna is used to illustrate the optimization procedure.

Optimization of reflector antennas in radio telescopes

We present an analysis on the performance of Cassegrain reflector antennas. In our study, we have adopted the design parameters for the Cassegrain configuration used in the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) project. We have adjusted the focal-length-to-diameter ratio f/D of the primary reflector to investigate the optimum performance of the antenna. In our study, signal frequency at the high edge of ALMA band 1, i.e. 45 GHz has been selected. The results obtained from the physical optics simulation show that the aperture efficiency of the antenna is at its optimum (i.e. 80.36%) when f/D ranges from 0.5 to 0.6. The radiation characteristics at this range of ratio are found to be similar. The radius of the secondary reflector and edge taper Te which correspond to the optimum aperture efficiencies ranges from 371 mm to 372 mm and 10.64 dB to 10.75 dB, respectively.

Dual-profiled corrugated hybrid horn antenna

ABSTRACTA novel compact dual-profiled corrugated hybrid horn antenna (DPCHHA) feed for a shaped reflector antenna is presented in this abstract. Presently employed at Ku-band (10.95–11.7 GHz), the DPCHHA consists of four sections, viz. stepped section at throat, axial corrugated section followed by radial corrugated dual-profiled sections at aperture side. The horn is optimised using software TICRA CHAMP and fabricated using aluminium alloy 6061T6. The measured results agree well with predicted one. The DPCHHA has demonstrated measured return loss>20 dB, cross-polarisation (<−40 dB) and adequate edge taper (16–17 dB) at ±28° along with compact size (approximately 4.9λ aperture diameter and 5λ length at the highest frequency). Thus, this approach provides additional degree of flexibility to design a variety of horn antennas with tailored radio frequency performances for specific size of reflector antenna.

A wideband quadruple-ridged horn antenna for the multifeed S-band receiver of the Sardinia radio telescope

A feed horn for the multifeed S-band receiver of the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) has been designed. The antenna consists of a truncated circular waveguide with four ridges of variable height inside. The horn antenna has been designed and tested using Ansys HFSS and, then, the multifeed system has been coupled with the SRT using GRASP by TICRA. The return loss of the feed horn is larger than 20 dB over a 60% bandwidth (between 2.3 and 4.3 GHz), and the edge taper and the cross-polarization level of the multifeed system meet the specifications of the SRT S-band receiver.

Depinning of Domain Walls by Magnetic Fields and Current Pulses in Tapered Nanowires With Anti-Notches

The influence of the size of anti-notches on the domain wall propagation in Permalloy nanowires with edge taper is investigated. The critical magnetic fields and current pulses required for a domain wall to pass a symmetrical circular anti-notch obstacle were estimated by high-resolution in-situ Kerr microscopy experiments and by micromagnetic simulations. The nanowires, made using electron beam lithography and ion beam etching, had an average width of 220 nm and the anti-notches consisted of circular features that increased the wire width from 5% to 35%. The critical magnetic flux densities for domain walls to pass the obstacles increased with anti-notch diameter, from 0.6 mT to 3.4 mT in the simulations and 0.3 mT to 1.5 mT in the experiment. The critical current densities ranged from $0.5 \times {10^{12}} \text{A/m}^{2}$ to $10 \times {10^{12}} \text{A/m}^{2}$ in the simulations, with a strong dependence on the domain wall type, but the experiment yielded higher critical current densities of $6 \times {10^{12}} \text{A/m}^{2}$ to $25 \times {10^{12}} \text{A/m}^{2}$ .

Edge-modulated perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in [Co/Pd]n and L10-FePt thin film wires

Thickness modulation at the edges of nanostructured magnetic thin films is shown to have important effects on their perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Thin film wires with tapered edges were made from [Co/Pd]20 multilayers or L10-FePt films using liftoff with a double-layer resist. The effect of edge taper on the reversal process was studied using magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic modeling. In [Co/Pd]20, the anisotropy was lower in the tapered edge regions which switched at a lower reverse field compared to the center of the wire. The L10-FePt wires showed opposite behavior with the tapered regions exhibiting higher anisotropy.

Probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis of spalling during edge indentation in ice

The design of marine structures for ice environments requires ice load estimates, which are greatly influenced by fracture and associated scale effects. During edge indentation of natural ice, fracture processes are highly influenced by variability associated with flaw structure and contact conditions. A probabilistic framework is the most appropriate for modeling such interactions. In the present analysis, a probabilistic fracture mechanics model has been developed to model localized fracture events for ice specimens with ice edge taper angles ranging from 0° to 45°. Crack instability criteria have been formulated for compressive and tensile states of stress. This approach varies from traditional probabilistic failure models which assume that zones of compressive stress have zero failure probability and include only tensile zones in the calculation of failure probability. For compressive edge loading, experimental results indicate that local edge fractures (spalls) are most likely to emanate from regions of the ice where cracks would be subjected to axial compression and lateral tension. Compressive contact loads required to propagate fractures from zones of bi-axial tension or bi-axial compression were found to be considerably higher and are much less probable. Estimates of the mean pressure required to trigger a fracture event as a function of ice thickness were generated for thicknesses in the range of 0.2–2.0m. These results demonstrate that observed scale effects in ice pressure data can be explained by probabilistic aspects of fracture. Simulations of fracture probabilities as a function of loading eccentricity confirmed that extreme loads of interest in engineering design are most likely to correspond to high pressure zones located near the center of thickness of the ice sheet. Results indicate that fractures occur more readily for flat ice edges and higher pressures are required to propagate fractures for edges with more highly tapered edges. This result provides a theoretical basis to explore the interplay between fracture and crushing, both of which occur during compressive ice failure: fractures create tapered edges that localize contact in manner that supports crushing; crushing, over several cycles, flattens the ice edge in a manner that in turn promotes fracture. While the application presented here is focused on ice mechanics, the analysis methodology could readily be applied to other brittle materials.

Effect of feed array configuration on the Field-of-View of radio telescope antenna

Phased Array Feed (PAF) is a small two-dimensional phased array antenna, playing a role as the multi-beam feed for the reflector antenna. The prominent capability of large continuous Field-of-View (FoV) coverage and fast survey speed makes PAF the promising feed for radio telescopes. In this paper, the effect of feed array of PAF on the gain fluctuations over FoV is analyzed on a simplified model of the Five-hundred-meter Spherical Aperture radio Telescope (FAST), including illumination pattern edge taper, element spacing, element arrangement and element amount. And the differences between rectangular and hexagonal array arrangements are compared. The relationship between the FoV and array configuration are concluded at last.

Modal Frequency Response of a Four-Pad Tilting Pad Bearing With Spherical Pivots, Finite Pivot Stiffness, and Different Pad Preloads

Tilting pad journal bearings (TPJBs) provide radial support for rotors in high-speed machinery. Since the tilting pads cannot support a moment about the pivot, self-excited cross-coupled forces due to fluid-structure interactions are greatly reduced or eliminated. However, the rotation of the tilting pads about the pivots introduces additional degrees of freedom into the system. When the flexibility of the pivot results in pivot stiffness that is comparable to the equivalent stiffness of the oil film, then pad translations as well as pad rotations have to be considered in the overall bearing frequency response. There is significant disagreement in the literature over the nature of the frequency response of TPJBs due to nonsynchronous rotor perturbations. In this paper, a bearing model that explicitly considers pad translations and pad rotations is presented. This model is transformed to modal coordinates using state-space analysis to determine the natural frequencies and damping ratios for a four-pad tilting pad bearing. Experimental static and dynamic results were previously reported in the literature for the subject bearing. The bearing characteristics as tested are compared to a thermoelastohydrodynamic (TEHD) model. The subject bearing was reported as having an elliptical bearing bore and varying pad clearances for loaded and unloaded pads during the test. The TEHD analysis assumes a circular bearing bore, so the average bearing clearance was considered. Because of the ellipticity of the bearing bore, each pad has its own effective preload, which was considered in the analysis. The unloaded top pads have a leading edge taper. The loaded bottom pads have finned backs and secondary cooling oil flow. The bearing pad cooling features are considered by modeling equivalent convective coefficients for each pad back. The calculated bearing full stiffness and damping coefficients are also reduced nonsynchronously to the eight stiffness and damping coefficients typically used in rotordynamic analyses and are expressed as bearing complex impedances referenced to shaft motion. Results of the modal analysis are compared to a two-degree-of-freedom second-order model obtained via a frequency-domain system identification procedure. Theoretical calculations are compared to previously published experimental results for a four-pad tilting pad bearing. Comparisons to the previously published static and dynamic bearing characteristics are considered for model validation. Differences in natural frequencies and damping ratios resulting from the various models are compared, and the implications for rotordynamic analyses are considered.

A Simplified Feed Model for Investigating the Cross Polarization Reduction in Circular- and Elliptical-Rim Offset Reflector Antennas

An analytic model for the primary feed of offset reflector antennas is presented that facilitates a more general investigation of the cross polarization reduction in both asymmetric and inter-cardinal planes. It includes both first and second order azimuthal modes, primarily the TE11 and TE21 type modes, and allows selection of symmetric and asymmetrical patterns, with different field tapers in the principal planes. Using this model first the influence of the second order TE21 mode on the cross polarization of an offset reflector with a circular rim is investigated. Then, the problem for an offset reflector with an elliptic rim is also studied. It is shown that minimizing the cross polarization in the asymmetric plane does not necessarily reduce it globally, as in the inter-cardinal plane it remains high. The procedure for reduction of the cross polarization globally and its effects on the sidelobe levels of the reflector antenna are also investigated. With the proposed feed model, the aperture efficiency of the reflector antenna is improved compared with a standard Gaussian feed with the same edge taper. Based on this study, a dual-mode circular waveguide horn is also proposed and designed. Its performance on an offset reflector antenna is studied and shown that the cross polarization levels are reduced quite satisfactorily within a respectable frequency band.

Compact dual-band axially corrugated profiled horn for prime-focus reflector antenna

This paper reports a new compact dual-band axially corrugated profiled horn feed (DBCPH) for prime-focus reflector antenna at C-band (uplink and downlink frequency bands with bandwidth ratio of 1.6). DBPCH consists of one sinusoid profiled section and two internal axial corrugations (internal short-circuited ring slots), for obtaining a multimode horn feed. Such a blended structure is optimized over the specified frequency bands (3.68–3.70 and 5.865–5.915 GHz) to achieve various performance objectives (such as compactness, return loss, polarization purity, etc.). Measured and predicted results show that DBCPH provides better return loss &gt;18.6 dB, low cross-polarization (better than −32 dB), and adequate edge taper at ±48° (8.5–11.7 dB) along with compact size (1.3λ aperture diameter and 0.88λ length at lower frequency). The horn would be used as a feed element for front-fed prime-focus reflector for pencil beam spacecraft antenna application.

Multiband feed using coaxial configuration

We present design, analysis and test results of a dual-aperture coaxial multiband feed horn that operates at S, Ku, K and Ka bands. The design objectives are to achieve aperture efficiencies of 85% for S and Ku bands and 60% for K and Ka bands and cross-polarization level of −20 dB within 30 degree off-boresight for all bands. These values are deduced primarily from the reflector geometry, −10 dB reflector edge taper and moderate cross-polarization requirements for the secondary patterns. In our design the Ku, K and Ka bands are launched through a multiflared circular horn while the S band is launched through a coaxial horn. A method of moment based software is developed to analyze the structure including mutual coupling between the apertures. It is found that the aperture impedance significantly affects the S-band performance. For the high frequency bands, the mutual coupling between the circular and coaxial apertures plays an important role. The simulated results including mutual coupling effects agree well with the measured data. The multiband feed design allows a compact, low weight, single offset reflector configuration as opposed to a Cassegrain antenna system that requires two separate feeds and a dichroic subreflector to accommodate such widely separated bands. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

1.2 m Shielded Cassegrain Antenna for Close-Packed Radio Interferometer

ABSTRACTInterferometric millimeter observations of the cosmic microwave background and clusters of galaxies with arcminute resolutions require antenna arrays with short spacings. Having all antennas co-mounted on a single steerable platform sets limits to the overall weight. A 25 kg lightweight novel carbon-fiber design for a 1.2 m diameter Cassegrain antenna is presented. The finite element analysis predicts excellent structural behavior under gravity, wind, and thermal load. The primary- and secondary-mirror surfaces are aluminum-coated with a thin TiO2 top layer for protection. A low beam sidelobe level is achieved with a Gaussian feed-illumination pattern with edge taper, designed based on feed-horn antenna simulations and verified in a far-field beam-pattern measurement. A shielding baffle reduces interantenna coupling to below ∼-135 dB. The overall antenna efficiency, including a series of efficiency factors, is estimated to be around 60%, with major losses coming from the feed spillover and secondary blocking. With this new antenna, a detection rate of about 50 clusters yr-1 is anticipated in a 13-element array operation.

On the influence of windward edge structure and stand density on the flow characteristics at forest edges

Experimental investigations in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel were carried out in order to study both the influence of the windward edge structure and the stand density on the flow characteristics near the canopy top of forest edges. For the edge structure investigation, two different types of forest edges were used. The taper angle was varied three times for both edge types, and all tapered edges were combined with both dense and sparse forest stands. In addition, a configuration was investigated where the airflow in the trunk space of the dense forest was blocked completely by an impermeable wall. In order to study the influence of stand density, forest stands were varied three times by removing whole rows of the originally dense model forest. The measurements show that a forest edge induces strong disturbances in the flow field at the near-edge region leading to an increased momentum transfer and to an increased wind loading on trees. The region of significant disturbances extends to a distance of about eight tree heights. Both edge density and taper angle determine the amount of volume influx through the edge, which seems to be primarily responsible for the flow field properties near the canopy top. It was found that for sparse forest stands, sloping tapered edges reduce the wind velocities nearest to the canopy. It could also be shown that the positive skewness of the near-canopy longitudinal velocity distribution is diminished with decreasing taper angle indicating that higher wind velocity fluctuations are reduced.

Multi-mode horn design and beam characteristics for the Planck satellite

The ESA Planck satellite has begun studying the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background radiation over the whole sky with unprecedented sensitivity and high angular resolution. The High Frequency Instrument, HFI, on Planck is observing simultaneously in six bands in the range 100 GHz to 857 GHz. The inclusion of non-CMB bands allows for robust removal of foreground sources from the data. This paper is concerned with the design, modeling and predicted performances of the two highest frequency channels centered on 545 GHz and 857 GHz, which use specialized multi-mode feedhorns, and are dedicated to observing these foregrounds. Multi-mode systems have the advantage of increasing the throughput, and thus sensitivity, of the detection assembly when diffraction limited resolution is not required. The horns are configured in a back-to-back setup which transmits the signal through filters to a detector horn. The modeling of the broadband beam patterns on the sky is shown to require careful analysis. Simulations of the complex interactions of the horns is computationally challenging when the detector horn in the relay system is included. The paper describes the approach to modeling these high frequency channels and discusses how the optical requirements on the horn designs are met in terms of spillover, edge taper, illumination of the telescope aperture and beam patterns on the sky.

Performance of Hemielliptic Dielectric Lens Antennas With Optimal Edge Illumination

The role of edge illumination in the performance of compact-size dielectric lens antennas (DLAs) is studied in accurate manner using a highly efficient algorithm based on the combination of the Muller boundary integral equations and the method of analytical regularization. The analysis accounts for the finite size of the lens and directive nature of the primary feed placed close to the center of the lens base. The problem is solved in a two-dimensional formulation for both E- and H-polarizations. It is found that away from internal resonances that spoil the radiation characteristics of DLAs made of dense materials, the edge illumination has primary importance. The proper choice of this parameter helps maximize DLA directivity, and its optimal value depends on the lens material and feed polarization. Index Terms: Beam collimation, dielectric lens antenna, directivity improvement, edge illumination, edge taper, hemielliptic lens.