Time Delay Measurements Research Articles

A novel calibration method for angular misalignment in independently controlled fast tool servo-based diamond turning

With significant technological progress in optics fields, such as VR and 3D sensing technologies, the demand for optical components with complex shapes (e.g., freeform surfaces) has expanded significantly in recent years. Ultra-precision diamond turning is one of the common manufacturing methods used for freeform optics. There are two tool-motion mechanisms for freeform diamond turning: slow tool servo (STS), which moves the entire tool rest, and fast tool servo (FTS), which only drives the diamond tool. In particular, high-frequency and long-stroke FTS units driven by a separate control system from the machine tool controller have recently been developed as a new trend in FTS-based diamond turning. However, this type of independent FTS control system causes a time delay between the machine tool instruction and the FTS tool motion. Even a millisecond-scale time delay can cause a considerable angular misalignment owing to the high rotation rate of the spindle, resulting in a micron-scale form error on the workpiece surface. In this paper, a novel method for precisely measuring the time delay from the machined workpiece surface and compensating for the misalignment based on the measured time delay was proposed. To measure the time delay, spherical dimples were machined on the workpiece surface by using STS and FTS. Subsequently, the angular misalignment and time delay were obtained by comparing the measured surface profiles at specific positions of the spherical dimples. Thus, the time delay can be measured with microsecond-scale accuracy. Based on the measured time delay, the shifted tool position along the spindle axis by the time delay was compensated to the ideal tool position by considering the cutting velocity. Consequently, the angular misalignment was completely eliminated, and submicron-level form accuracy was achieved. This calibration method of angular misalignment for an independent FTS unit is expected to significantly improve the accuracy of ultra-precision machining of freeform optics.

Experimental Kinetics Study on Diethyl Carbonate Oxidation

Diethyl carbonate (DEC) is a common component of the liquid electrolyte in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). As such, understanding DEC combustion chemistry is imperative to improving chemical kinetic modeling of LIB fires. To this end, a comprehensive experimental study was conducted to collect ignition delay times, CO time histories, and laminar flame speeds during DEC combustion. Ignition delay times were collected using a heated shock tube at real fuel–air conditions for three equivalence ratios (ϕ = 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0) near atmospheric pressure and for temperatures between 1182 and 1406 K. Another shock tube was used to collect CO time histories using a laser absorption diagnostic. These experiments were conducted for the same equivalence ratios, but highly diluted in argon and helium (79.25% Ar + 20% He) at an average pressure of 1.27 atm and a temperature range of 1236–1669 K. Finally, a heated constant-volume vessel was used to collect laminar flame speeds of DEC at an initial temperature and pressure of 403 K and 1 atm, respectively, for equivalence ratios between 0.79 and 1.38. The results are compared with different mechanisms from the literature. Good agreement is seen for the ignition delay time and flame speed measurements. However, significant deviations are observed for the CO time histories. A detailed discussion of the chemical kinetics is presented to elucidate the important reactions and direct future modeling efforts.

Force sensor reduced measurement error compared with verbal command during sit-to-stand assessment of cerebral autoregulation.

Current methods estimate the time delay (TD) before the onset of dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) from verbal command to stand. A force sensor used during a sit-to-stand dCA measure provides an objective moment an individual stands (arise-and-off, AO). We hypothesized that the detection of AO would improve the accuracy of TD compared with estimation. We measured middle cerebral artery blood velocity (MCAv) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) for 60 s sitting followed by 2-min standing, three times separated by 20 min. TD was calculated as the time from: (1) verbal command and (2) AO, until an increase in cerebrovascular conductance index (CVCi = MCAv/MAP). Sixty-five participants were enrolled: young adults (n = 25), older adults (n = 20), and individuals post-stroke (n = 20). The TD calculated from AO ( = 2.98 ± 1.64 s) was shorter than TD estimated from verbal command ( = 3.35 ± 1.72 s, η2 = 0.49, p < 0.001), improving measurement error by ~17%. TD measurement error was not related to age or stroke. Therefore, the force sensor provided an objective method to improve the calculation of TD compared with current methods. Our data support using a force sensor during sit-to-stand dCA measures in adults across the lifespan and post-stroke.

New insights into the pre-ignition behavior of methane behind reflected shock waves

Pre-ignition is an undesired combustion event known to restrict kinetic modeling validation. Previous methane oxidation studies reported premature ignition as part of ignition delay time measurements in shock tubes. In this context, the effect on the pre-ignition propensity and auto-ignition behavior of stoichiometric methane mixtures at different dilution levels of hbox {N}_2, Ar, He, and hbox {CO}_2 was studied at 10 bar and 25 bar and temperatures between 1080 K and 1350 K. In addition to conventional sidewall pressure and endwall light emission measurements, a high-speed imaging setup was utilized to visualize the ignition process. Relevant physicochemical parameters to describe and predict the pre-ignition phenomenon were used. The results suggest that dilution levels up to 80% of bath gas are not successful in mitigating early ignition occurrence and its effects at moderate pressures. Replacing hbox {N}_2 by He was found to suppress early ignition at 10 bar, attributed to an enhanced dissipation of temperature inhomogeneities in the test gas section. The present findings demonstrate that hbox {CO}_2 has potential for pre-ignition heat release mitigation, while Ar was confirmed to promote premature ignition. To the best of our knowledge, we present the first detailed study on pre-ignition mitigation for methane mixtures in shock tubes, where further insights into its ignition non-idealities are given.

Characterization of Nonlinear Responses of Non-Premixed Flames to Low-Frequency Acoustic Excitations

The response of flames’ heat release to acoustic excitation is a critical factor for understanding combustion instability. In the present work, the nonlinear heat release response of a methane–air non-premixed flame to low-frequency acoustic excitations is experimentally investigated. The flame describing function (FDF) was measured based on the overall CH* chemiluminescence intensity and the velocity fluctuations obtained by the two-microphone method. The CH* chemiluminescence and schlieren images were analyzed for revealing the mechanism of nonlinear response. The excitation frequency ranges from 10 Hz to 120 Hz. The forced relative velocity fluctuation amplitude ranges from 0.10 to 0.50. The corresponding flame Strouhal number (Stf) ranges from 0.43 to 4.67. The study has shown that the flame length responds more sensitively to changes in excitation amplitude when subjected to relatively high-frequency excitations. The normalized flame length (Lf/D) decreases from 3.79 to 2.37 with the increase in excitation amplitude at an excitation frequency of 100 Hz. The number of oscillation zones along the flame increases with increasing excitation frequency, which is consistent with the increase in the Stf. The low-pass filtering characteristic of FDF is caused by the dispersion of multiple oscillation zones, as well as the cancellation effect of the adjacent oscillation zones under relatively high-frequency excitation. The main mechanism for the local gain peak and valley is the cancellation effect of positive and negative oscillation zones with various Stf. When two adjacent oscillation regions have similar amplitudes, the overall phase-lag becomes more sensitive to changes in excitation frequency and amplitude. This sensitivity leads to nonlinear anomalous changes in the phase-lag near the frequency corresponding to the gain valley. The calculated disturbance convection time is consistent with the measured time delay in the short flame scenario. Further research is required to determine whether the identified agreement is a result of the consistent occurrence of the oscillation zone in close proximity to the flame’s center of mass, in conjunction with a precise determination of the average convective velocity.

Modulation Transfer between Microwave Beams: Angular Dependence of the Delay-Time

Further measurements of delay time, in the transfer of modulation between microwave beams, are reported even considering the angular dependence in the orientation of the F1 c.w. launcher. The obtained results allow for a better interpretation of the observed phenomenology on the basis of a more sophisticated analysis, which takes into account the presence of pole singularities in field-amplitude evaluations according to the saddle point method. The model already presented in one of our previous publications, consisting of a photon–photon scattering mechanism as concomitant with a stochastic process, is then confirmed.

Attosecond Time Delay Trends across the Isoelectronic Noble Gas Sequence

The analysis and measurement of Wigner time delays can provide detailed information about the electronic environment within and around atomic and molecular systems, with one the key differences being the lack of a long-range potential after a halogen ion undergoes photoionization. In this work, we use relativistic random-phase approximation to calculate the average Wigner delay from the highest occupied subshells of the atomic pairings (2p, 2s in Fluorine, Neon), (3p, 3s in Chlorine, Argon), (4p, 4s, 3d, in Bromine, Krypton), and (5p, 5s, 4d in Iodine, Xenon). The qualitative behaviors of the Wigner delays between the isoelectronic pairings were found to be similar in nature, with the only large differences occurring at photoelectron energies less than 20 eV and around Cooper minima. Interestingly, the relative shift in Wigner time delays between negatively charged halogens and noble gases decreases as atomic mass increases. All atomic pairings show large differences at low energies, with noble gas atoms showing large positive Wigner delays, while negatively charged halogen ions show negative delays. The implications for photoionization studies in halide-containing molecules is also discussed.

Modifications in the angular photoemission time delay in Ar@C60q=−1 : Coulomb confinement resonance as an amplifier of the spin-orbit-interaction-activated interchannel coupling effect

Coulomb confinement resonances (CCRs) are the main features of the photoionization spectra of an atom inside an anionic fullerene. These CCRs can act as an amplifier to spin-orbit-interaction-activated interchannel coupling (SOIAIC) and can lead to discernible signatures of relativistic effects even for low $Z$ confined atomic systems. The present paper demonstrates this intriguing feature by studying angular photoemission time delay of the $2{p}_{3/2}$ subshell of $\mathrm{Ar}@{\mathrm{C}}_{60}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ in the vicinity of the $2{p}_{1/2}$ ionization threshold. Here $2{p}_{1/2}$ CCR functions as an amplifier to the SOIAIC and, thereby, induces significant modifications in the $2{p}_{3/2}$ angular time delay through the interchannel coupling. Moreover, the effects of the SOIAIC for the spin-up and spin-down photoelectrons are found to be different. All of these suggest that angle-resolved time-delay measurements can reveal the relativistic effects even for the low Z confined atomic systems, and $\mathrm{Ar}@{\mathrm{C}}_{60}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ is a potential candidate for such experimental scrutiny. The impact of the model parameters on the predicted feature is also critically examined by using different sets of parameters. All of those calculations showed the existence of SOIAIC enabled structures in the angular time-delay profile.

Methane and n-hexane ignition in a newly developed diaphragmless shock tube

Shock tubes have been routinely used to generate reliable chemical kinetic data for gas-phase chemistry. The conventional diaphragm-rupture mode for shock tube operation presents many challenges that may ultimately affect the quality of chemical kinetics data. Numerous diaphragmless concepts have been developed to overcome the drawbacks of using diaphragms. Most of these diaphragmless designs require significant alterations in the driver section of the shock tube and, in some cases, fail to match the performance of the diaphragm-mode of operation. In the present work, an existing diaphragm-type shock tube is retrofitted with a fast-acting valve, and the performance of the diaphragmless shock tube is evaluated for investigating the ignition of methane and n-hexane. The diaphragmless shock tube reported here presents many advantages, such as eliminating the use of diaphragms, avoiding substantial manual effort during experiments, automating the shock tube facility, having good control over driver conditions, and obtaining good repeatability for reliable gas-phase chemical kinetic studies. Ignition delay time measurements have been performed in the diaphragmless shock tube for three methane mixtures and two n-hexane mixtures at P5 = 10–20 bar and T5 = 738–1537 K. The results obtained for fuel-rich, fuel-lean, and oxygen-rich (undiluted) mixtures show very good agreement with previously reported experimental data and literature kinetic models (AramcoMech 3.0 [1] for methane and Zhang et al. mechanism [2] for n-hexane). The study presents an easy and simple method to upgrade conventional shock tubes to a diaphragmless mode of operation and opens new possibilities for reliable chemical kinetics investigations.

Elliptic Localization of a Moving Object by Transmitter at Unknown Position and Velocity: A Semidefinite Relaxation Approach

This paper investigates the elliptic localization for moving object problem from time delay (TD) and Doppler frequency shift (DFS) measurements, where the transmitter position and velocity are unknown. The transmitter is not perfectly time syncronized such that unknown offsets exist in the TD and DFS measurements. We propose to jointly estimate the object and transmitter positions and velocities and the offsets. Using the TD and DFS measurements from both the indirect and direct paths between the transmitter and the receivers, we formulate a non-convex weighted least squares (WLS) problem. Local convergence may occur when solving the non-convex WLS problem, implying that good estimate is not guaranteed. Thus, we relax the non-convex WLS problem into a convex semidefinite program by applying semidefinite relaxation (SDR). Moreover, we theoretically show that the performance can be improved by using multiple transmitters as compared to that using single transmitter, although more unknown parameters are introduced. We then extend the proposed SDR method to handle the multiple transmitters case. Finally, the mean square error analysis is provided to show that the proposed WLS method reaches the Cramer-Rao lower bound accuracy under small Gaussian noise condition. Simulation results validate the theoretical analysis and show the superior performance over the existing methods.

The Magnificent Five Images of Supernova Refsdal: Time Delay and Magnification Measurements

In late 2014, four images of supernova (SN) “Refsdal,” the first known example of a strongly lensed SN with multiple resolved images, were detected in the MACS J1149 galaxy-cluster field. Following the images’ discovery, the SN was predicted to reappear within hundreds of days at a new position ∼8″ away in the field. The observed reappearance in late 2015 makes it possible to carry out Refsdal’s original proposal to use a multiply imaged SN to measure the Hubble constant H 0, since the time delay between appearances should vary inversely with H 0. Moreover, the position, brightness, and timing of the reappearance enable a novel test of the blind predictions of galaxy-cluster models, which are typically constrained only by the positions of multiply imaged galaxies. We have developed a new photometry pipeline that uses DOLPHOT to measure the fluxes of the five images of SN Refsdal from difference images. We apply four separate techniques to perform a blind measurement of the relative time delays and magnification ratios between the last image SX and the earlier images S1–S4. We measure the relative time delay of SX–S1 to be days and the relative magnification to be . This corresponds to a 1.5% precision on the time delay and 17% precision for the magnification ratios and includes uncertainties due to millilensing and microlensing. In an accompanying paper, we place initial and blind constraints on the value of the Hubble constant.

Research on the Estimation Method of Target Motion Parameters Based on Ternary Array

The ternary array passive positioning technique performs the estimation of target distance and bearing by measuring the time delay difference between array elements. The estimates are limited by the geometric model and time delay measurement errors, and the positioning accuracy and reliability are poor. In this paper, we propose an orientation matching-based motion target localization model. By introducing the target motion model, and establish a matching objective function for the time delay difference obtained by calculating the predefined target motion trajectory and the actual received data of the ternary array separately. The matching objective function is optimally solved by using Burg algorithm in the AR spectrum estimation method, and a highly accurate and reliable target parameter estimation can be obtained in a short time. The results of computer simulation experiments verify the effectiveness of the method.

An anti-collusion attack defense method for physical layer key generation scheme based on transmission delay.

Physical layer security (PLS) is considered one of the most promising solutions to solve the security problems of massive Internet of Things (IoTs) devices because of its lightweight and high efficiency. Significantly, the recent physical layer key generation (PLKG) scheme based on transmission delay proposed by Huang et al. (2021) does not have any restrictions on communication methods and can extend the traditional physical layer security based on wireless channels to the whole Internet scene. However, the secret-sharing strategy adopted in this scheme has hidden dangers of collusion attack, which may lead to security problems such as information tampering and privacy disclosure. By establishing a probability model, this article quantitatively analyzes the relationship between the number of malicious collusion nodes and the probability of key exposure, which proves the existence of this security problem. In order to solve the problem of collusion attack in Huang et al.'s scheme, this article proposes an anti-collusion attack defense method, which minimizes the influence of collusion attack on key security by optimizing parameters including the number of the middle forwarding nodes, the random forwarding times, the time delay measurement times and the out-of-control rate of forwarding nodes. Finally, based on the game model, we prove that the defense method proposed in this article can reduce the risk of key leakage to zero under the scenario of the "Careless Defender" and "Cautious Defender" respectively.

Parameter-Independent Event-Triggered Implicit UKF for the Celestial Navigation Using Time Delay Measurement

Celestial navigation using time delay measurement is an innovative autonomous navigation method. To calculate the equivalent measurement, the numerical method needs to be applied, which is time-consuming. The event-triggered mechanism intermittently and aperiodically processes measurements by judging if the update error has changed drastically. However, its performance is greatly affected by the constant threshold. To solve this problem, a parameter-independent event-triggered implicit unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is proposed and applied to the celestial navigation using time delay measurement. The innovation at the current moment and the updated estimate covariance at the last moment are compared with the previous value instead of the constant threshold. The event is automatically triggered when the accuracy of the state estimate is low. Simulation results indicate that the proposed parameter-independent event-triggered implicit UKF can reduce the running time by reducing unnecessary measurement updates, whose performance will not be affected by any parameter or window size. In a word, the proposed method substitutes the dynamic threshold for the constant threshold, ensuring that its performance will not be affected by any parameter or window size.

An Improved Time Delay Measurement Method for the Long-Distance Underwater Environment.

With the development of underwater navigation and underwater communication, it remains difficult to obtain time delay measurements after propagating long distance. This paper proposes an improved high-accuracy time delay measuring method for long distance underwater channel propagation. First, by sending an encoded signal, the signal acquisition is carried out at the receiving end. Then, to improve signal to noise ratio (SNR), bandpass filtering is carried out on the receiving end. Next, considering the random changes in the underwater sound propagation channel, a strategy is proposed to select the optimal time window for cross-correlation. Then, new regulations are proposed to calculate the cross-correlation results. To verify the effectiveness of the algorithm, we compared it with other algorithms under low SNR conditions using Bellhop simulation data. Finally, the accurate time delay is obtained. With underwater experiments over different distances, the method proposed by the paper achieves high accuracy. The error is about 10-3 s. The proposed method makes a contribution to underwater navigation and communication.

A Novel Reduced Reaction Mechanism for Diesel/2,5-Dimethylfuran Engine Application

The application of 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) as an alternative fuel for internal combustion engines has been gaining popularity. However, it has rarely been studied in previous research on the chemical kinetics of DMF for engine combustion simulations. In the present study, a reduced n-heptane/toluene/DMF-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) reaction mechanism containing only 78 species amongst 190 reactions was proposed and applied to predict the combustion and emissions of a diesel engine using diesel/DMF blend fuel. First, a detailed reaction mechanism for DMF from the literature was chosen and reduced using combined mechanism reduction methods under engine-relevant conditions. Second, the reduced mechanism of DMF was incorporated into an existing reduced n-heptane/toluene-PAH mechanism to establish a three-component chemistry mechanism. Third, the predictive capability of the combined mechanism was improved by adjusting the rate constants of selected gas-phase reactions. Subsequently, the proposed three-component mechanism was compared and validated with experimental measurements of shock tube ignition delay times and premixed flame species profiles acquired from published papers. Moreover, new experimental data from a conventional diesel engine were used to evaluate the developed mechanism. Overall, the predicted results obtained by this proposed reduced n-heptane/toluene/DMF-PAH mechanism are in reasonable agreement with the available experiments.

A method and its validation for measuring the absolute time-delay of the read-out system of a space electrostatic accelerometer.

High-precision accelerometers play an important role in satellite gravity field missions to measure the non-conservative forces acting on the satellites. To map the Earth's gravity field, the accelerometer data must be time-tagged using the on-board global navigation satellite system time reference. For example, in the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission, the time-tag error of the accelerometers must be within 0.1ms with respect to the satellite clock. To realize this requirement, the time delay between the actual measurement time and the nominal time of the accelerometer should be considered and corrected. This paper presents the techniques for measuring the absolute time delay of an electrostatic accelerometer on the ground, where this delay is mainly introduced by the low-noise scientific data read-out system, which is based on a Σ-Δ (sigma-delta) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). First, the time-delay sources of the system are theoretically analyzed. Then, a time-delay measurement method is proposed, and its principle and system error are presented. Finally, a prototype is built to demonstrate and investigate the feasibility of the method. Experimental results show that the absolute time delay of the read-out system is 150.80 ± 0.04ms. This important value is the basis for the final time-tag error correction of the scientific accelerometer data. Meanwhile, the time-delay measurement method described in this paper is also useful for other data acquisition systems.

Forecast of Observing Time Delay of Strongly Lensed Quasars with the Muztagh-Ata 1.93 m Telescope

As a completely independent method, the measurement of time delay of strongly lensed quasars (TDSL) are crucial to resolve the Hubble tension. Extensive monitoring is required but so far limited to a small sample of strongly lensed quasars. Together with several partner institutes, Beijing Normal University is constructing a 1.93 m reflector telescope at the Muztagh-Ata site in west China, which has the world class observing conditions with median seeing of 0.″82 and median sky brightness of 21.74 in V-band during the dark time. The telescope will be equipped with both a three-channel imager/photometer which covers 3500–11,000 Å wavelength band, and a low-medium resolution (λ/δ λ = 500/2000/7500) spectrograph. In this paper, we investigate the capability of the Muztagh-Ata 1.93 m telescope in measuring time delays of strongly lensed quasars. We generate mock strongly lensed quasar systems and light curves with microlensing effects based on five known strongly lensed quasars, i.e., RX J1131-1231, HE 0435-1223, PG 1115+080, WFI 2033-4723 and SDSS 1206+4332. In particular, RX J1131-1231 is generated based on the lens modeling results of Suyu et al. Due to the lack of enough information, the other four systems are calculated by a simple analytical approximation. According to simulations, for RX J1131-like systems (wide variation in time delay between images) the TDSL measurement can be achieved with the precision about Δt = 0.5 day with four seasons campaign length and 1 day cadence. This accuracy is comparable to the up-coming TDCOSMO project. And it would be better when the campaign length keeps longer and with high cadence. As a result, the capability of the Muztagh-Ata 1.93 m telescope allows it to join the network of TDSL observatories. It will enrich the database for strongly lensed quasar observations and make more precise measurements of time delays, especially considering the unique coordinate of the site.

Nucleation kinetics model for primary crystallization in Al-Y-Fe metallic glass.

The high density of aluminum nanocrystals (>1021m-3) that develop during the primary crystallization in Al-based metallic glasses indicates a high nucleation rate (∼1018m-3s-1). Several studies have been advanced to account for the primary crystallization behavior, but none have been developed to completely describe the reaction kinetics. Recently, structural analysis by fluctuation electron microscopy has demonstrated the presence of the Al-like medium range order (MRO) regions as a spatial heterogeneity in as-spun Al88Y7Fe5 metallic glass that is representative for the class of Al-based amorphous alloys that develop Al nanocrystals during primary crystallization. From the structural characterization, an MRO seeded nucleation configuration is established, whereby the Al nanocrystals are catalyzed by the MRO core to decrease the nucleation barrier. The MRO seeded nucleation model and the kinetic data from the delay time (τ) measurement provide a full accounting of the evolution of the Al nanocrystal density (Nv) during the primary crystallization under isothermal annealing treatments. Moreover, the calculated values of the steady state nucleation rates (Jss) predicted by the nucleation model agree with the experimental results. Moreover, the model satisfies constraints on the structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic parameters, such as the critical nucleus size, the interface energy, and the volume-free energy driving force that are essential for a fully self-consistent nucleation kinetics analysis. The nucleation kinetics model can be applied more broadly to materials that are characterized by the presence of spatial heterogeneities.

First-principle calculation of birefringence effects for in-ice radio detection of neutrinos

The detection of high-energy neutrinos in the EeV range requires new detection techniques to cope with the small expected flux. The radio detection method, utilizing Askaryan emission, can be used to detect these neutrinos in polar ice. The propagation of the radio pulses has to be modeled carefully to reconstruct the energy, direction, and flavor of the neutrino from the detected radio flashes. Here, we study the effect of birefringence in ice, which splits up the radio pulse into two orthogonal polarization components with slightly different propagation speeds. This provides useful signatures to determine the neutrino energy and is potentially important to determine the neutrino direction to degree precision. We calculated the effect of birefringence from first principles where the only free parameter is the dielectric tensor as a function of position. Our code, for the first time, can propagate full RF waveforms, taking interference due to changing polarization eigenvectors during propagation into account. The model is available open-source through the NuRadioMC framework. We compare our results to in-situ calibration data from the ARA and ARIANNA experiments and find good agreement for the available time delay measurements. This indicates a significant improvement of the prediction power of birefringence effects compared to previous models. Finally, the implications and opportunities for neutrino detection are discussed.