Stepped-frequency Technique Research Articles

High Range Resolution Profile Estimation via a Cognitive Stepped Frequency Technique

The problem of high range resolution profile (HRRP) estimation is considered in this paper. In particular, stepped frequency waveforms are devised to enhance the target range profile (RP) estimation accuracy. The basic idea relies on the dynamic optimization of the probing waveform accounting for some feedback information to minimize the profile estimation error. The transmitted frequency hopping pattern is selected so as to minimize the predicted Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) associated with the amplitudes and locations of the scattering centers falling in the coarse range bin under test (i.e., the target profile). Specifically, it is assumed that the target imaging is initially performed via a conventional linear stepped frequency transmission, hence, based on the collected data, an initial prediction of the target profile is derived (perception). Then, the RP estimation is enhanced progressively according to the cognitive paradigm, via a specific frequency pattern selection at the next transmission (action). The results highlight the capabilities of the cognitive approach to provide interesting benefits with respect to the classic linear stepped frequency strategy.

Lorentz Force Electrical Impedance Detection Using Step Frequency Technique**Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 51137004 and 61427806, the Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences under Grant No YZ201507, and the China Scholarship Council Program under Grant No 201604910849.

Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography (LFEIT) inherits the merit of high resolution by ultrasound stimulation and the merit of high contrast through electromagnetic field detection. To reduce the instantaneous peak power of the stimulating signal to the transducer, the sinusoidal pulse and step-frequency technique is investigated in LFEIT. The theory of application of step-frequency technique in LFEIT is formulated with the direct demodulation method and the in-phase quadrature demodulation method. Compared with the in-phase quadrature demodulation method, the direct demodulation method has simple experimental setup but could only detect half of the range. Experiments carried out with copper foils confirmed that LFEIT using the step-frequency technique could detect the electrical conductivity variations precisely, which suggests an alternative method of realization of LFEIT.

Case Study of Step-frequency Radar Application in Evaluation of Complex Pavement Structure

The 3D imaging radar technique belongs to a relatively new generation of Ground Penetrating Radars (GPR). It can be used in both versions of equipment i.e. in commonly used pulses of electromagnetic wave scanning and in the step frequency technique, where sampling of the ground response for long sinusoidal signal and for numerous set of frequencies is used. The frequency range selection, as well as other settings of the measuring system (in the step frequency method) belongs to critical features of the procedure and they have influence on results and interpretation.The paper discusses the diagnostic abilities of the 3D imaging technique on the base of data collected over historic pavement section with complex structure of layers. The method of horizontal slices were used to present and analyze the data. The method is particularly efficient in the detection of reinforcement and large infrastructural objects of linear shape. In the case of tested pavement section it is interesting that slices allowed for the detection of joints and cracks characterized by very weak GPR response. In this case several questions appear as to the nature of response generation and the features of the medium structure which are represented in the scattered signal.The presented case study well illustrates possibilities of the GPR technique in interpretation of complex pavement structures and possible mechanisms of cracking process. The present paper describes one case study of the semi-rigid pavement. The GPR analysis of its structure shows possibilities of this technique, illustrating mechanism of the current reflected cracking occurring in asphalt package above the concrete subbase.

Foot strike pattern and impact continuous measurements during a trail running race: proof of concept in a world-class athlete

Foot strike identification has become an important topic since it may be related to injury risk and performance. Due to step variability and the influence of environmental features on running biomechanics, it is relevant to assess as many steps as possible in field conditions. Our purpose was to apply a novel simple method to assess foot strike and impact from continuous acceleration measurements over a 45 km trail running race. Three wireless tridimensional accelerometers were set on the left tibia and shoe (at the heel and metatarsals) of the current best ultratrail runner. Vertical, antero-posterior and resultant peak tibial accelerations and median frequencies were measured. Step frequency (SF) was calculated from tibial acceleration. Foot strike was quantified from the time between heel and metatarsal peak accelerations (THM). Foot strike classification was performed according to THM criteria and expressed in percentages of rearfoot, midfoot and forefoot steps. Multiple linear regressions were computed to assess relationships between the impact magnitude and slope, SF and THM. Over the first 20 km, 5530 steps were analysed. The pattern classification revealed on average 18.5% of rearfoot strike, 32.6% of midfoot strike and 48.9% of forefoot strike over the ∼82 min analysed in the runner studied. The impact magnitude for him may be related to slope, also taking into account speed, SF and landing technique. The main findings of this study were that (1) portable accelerometers make possible the assessment of foot strike and shock acceleration in situ, (2) the antero-posterior and resultant components of tibial acceleration should not be neglected in the measurement of stress severity, and (3) the trail running world champion presents an atypical foot strike profile.

Random-Frequency SAR Imaging Based on Compressed Sensing

Stepped-frequency waveforms can achieve an ultrawide bandwidth by using a sequence of single-frequency pulses. The advantages of stepped-frequency waveforms are low hardware requirements and high resolution. However, the stepped-frequency waveform requires a long time period to transmit the signals, which limits its application in synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The available imaging range width is usually very narrow, unless the range and azimuth resolutions are both decreased. In this paper, a random-frequency SAR imaging scheme based on compressed sensing is proposed. If the targets are sparse or compressible, it is sufficient to transmit only a small number of random frequencies to reconstruct the image of the targets. This means that the limitations of the stepped-frequency technique for SAR can be overcome. The available imaging range width can be enlarged significantly, while the range and azimuth resolutions are both maintained. Random undersampling is very easy to implement for both range and azimuth dimensions, and no new hardware components are needed. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.

High-Field Solid-State 67Zn NMR Spectroscopy of Several Zinc−Amino Acid Complexes

We report the results of our solid-state (67)Zn NMR study of the various zinc sites in four zinc-amino acid coordination complexes: bis(glycinato)zinc(II) monohydrate; bis(l-alaninato)zinc(II); bis(l-histidinato)zinc(II) dihydrate; and sodium bis(l-cysteinato)zincate(II) hexahydrate; as well as a related complex, bis(imidazole)zinc(II) chloride. We demonstrate the advantages of using high (21.1 T) applied magnetic fields for detecting (67)Zn directly at ambient temperatures using the quadrupolar Carr-Purcell Meiboom-Gill (QCPMG) pulse sequence. The stepped-frequency technique was employed in cases where the central-transition (CT) (67)Zn NMR spectra were too broad to be uniformly excited. The parameters of the anisotropic zinc tensors were extracted by iterative simulations of the experimental spectra. In all cases, the quadrupolar interaction is found to dominate the central-transition (67)Zn NMR spectra; no convincing effects from chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) on the NMR spectra of the five complexes could be reliably detected at this field strength. Analyses of the experimental NMR spectra reveal that the (67)Zn quadrupolar coupling constants (C(Q)) range from 7.05 to 26.4 MHz, the isotropic chemical shifts (delta(iso)) range from 140 to 265 ppm, and the quadrupolar asymmetry parameters (eta(Q)) range from 0.20 to 0.95. The first report of the NMR spectral features of pentacoordinated zinc sites is included for two complexes. Quantum chemical calculations of the electric field gradient (EFG) and magnetic shielding tensors reproduced the experimental results to a reasonable extent. Moreover, the computationally determined orientations of both tensors permit correlations between NMR tensor properties and zinc local environments to be understood.

Automatic target recognition of radar HRRP based on high order central moments features

The paper addresses the problem of target recognition using High-resolution Radar Range Profiles (HRRP). A novel approach of feature extraction and dimension reduction based on extended high order central moments is proposed in order to reduce the dimension of range profiles. Features extracted from radar HRRPs are normalized and smoothed, and then comparative analysis of the similar approaches is done. The range profiles are obtained by step frequency technique using the two-dimensional backscatters distribution data of four different aircraft models. The template matching method by nearest neighbor rules, which is based on the theory of kernel methods for pattern analysis, is used to classify and identify the range profiles from four different aircrafts. Numerical simulation results show that the proposed approach can achieve good performance of stability, shift independence and higher recognition rate. It is helpful for real-time identification and the engineering implements of automatic target recognition using HRRP. The number of required templates could be reduced considerably while maintaining an equivalent recognition rate.

Simulation of Step Frequency Imaging Technique Processed by the Least Squares Method

The least squares method was applied to the step frequency technique for processing two-dimensional images. The advantage of the method is that once the QR decomposition of the matrix is performed for a given target, it is not necessary to repeat this computation for other targets. Numerical simulations which show the validity of the method have been presented.