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Articles 17521 - 17550 of 30237

Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Characterizing Phantom Arteries With Multi-Channel Laser Ultrasonics And Photo-Acoustics, Jami L. Johnson, Kasper Van Wijk, Michelle Sabick Mar 2014

Characterizing Phantom Arteries With Multi-Channel Laser Ultrasonics And Photo-Acoustics, Jami L. Johnson, Kasper Van Wijk, Michelle Sabick

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Multi-channel photo-acoustic and laser ultrasonic waves are used to sense the characteristics of proxies for healthy and diseased vessels. The acquisition system is non-contacting and non-invasive with a pulsed laser source and a laser vibrometer detector. As the wave signatures of our targets are typically low in amplitude, we exploit multi-channel acquisition and processing techniques. These are commonly used in seismology to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of data. We identify vessel proxies with a diameter on the order of 1 mm, at a depth of 18 mm. Variations in scattered and photo-acoustic signatures are related to differences in vessel wall …

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Numerical Analysis Of Cold Injury Of Skin In Cryogen Spray Cooling For Laser Dermatologic Surgery, Dong Li, Bin Chen, Wen-Juan Wu, Ya-Ling He, Lin Zhuang Xing, Guo-Xiang Wang Mar 2014

Numerical Analysis Of Cold Injury Of Skin In Cryogen Spray Cooling For Laser Dermatologic Surgery, Dong Li, Bin Chen, Wen-Juan Wu, Ya-Ling He, Lin Zhuang Xing, Guo-Xiang Wang

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

In laser dermatologic surgery, cryogen spray cooling (CSC) is used to avoid unwanted thermal damage such as scars from skin burning due to the melanin absorption of the laser beam. As the cryogen is fully atomized from the nozzle, temperature of the droplets can quickly drop below -60 oC because of evaporation. Such low temperature may lead to cold injury of skin. Therefore, spray cooling process should be accurately controlled during clinical practice to achieve sufficient protection and avoid cold injury. This study presents a numerical analysis for cold injury of skin in cryogen spray cooling for dermatologic laser surgery …

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U-Pu-Zr Alloy Design By Ternary Potts-Phase Field Modeling, Jordan Jeffrey Cox Mar 2014

U-Pu-Zr Alloy Design By Ternary Potts-Phase Field Modeling, Jordan Jeffrey Cox

Theses and Dissertations

U-Pu-Zr nuclear fuels experience a redistribution of constituents and a number of phase transformations when subjected to the thermal gradient present in nuclear reactors. This redistribution and phase separation leads to several undesirable fuel performance issues. In an effort to better understand how different alloys compositions are affected by this thermal gradient, we utilize the recently introduced Hybrid Potts-phase Field Method to study the U-Pu-Zr system. The recently introduced Hybrid method couples microstructural and compositional evolutions of a system so that the two phenomena can be studied together rather than separately, as is frequently done. However, simulation of the U-Pu-Zr …

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Experimental Study On Influence Of Pitch Motion On The Wake Of A Floating Wind Turbine Model, Stanislav Rockel, Elizabeth Camp, Jonas Schmidt, Joachim Peinke, Raúl Bayoán Cal, Michael Höllimg Mar 2014

Experimental Study On Influence Of Pitch Motion On The Wake Of A Floating Wind Turbine Model, Stanislav Rockel, Elizabeth Camp, Jonas Schmidt, Joachim Peinke, Raúl Bayoán Cal, Michael Höllimg

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wind tunnel experiments were performed, where the development of the wake of a model wind turbine was measured using stereo Particle Image Velocimetry to observe the influence of platform pitch motion. The wakes of a classical bottom fixed turbine and a streamwise oscillating turbine are compared. Results indicate that platform pitch creates an upward shift in all components of the flow and their fluctuations. The vertical flow created by the pitch motion as well as the reduced entrainment of kinetic energy from undisturbed flows above the turbine result in potentially higher loads and less available kinetic energy for a downwind …

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2014 (Spring) Ensi Informer Magazine, Morehead State University. Engineering Sciences Department Mar 2014

2014 (Spring) Ensi Informer Magazine, Morehead State University. Engineering Sciences Department

ENSI Informer Magazine Archive

The ENSI Informer Magazine published in the spring of 2014.

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Me-Em Enewsbrief, March 2014, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University Mar 2014

Me-Em Enewsbrief, March 2014, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

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Aircraft Route Optimization For Formation Flight, Jia Xu, Andrew Ning, Geoffrey Bower, Ilan Kroo Mar 2014

Aircraft Route Optimization For Formation Flight, Jia Xu, Andrew Ning, Geoffrey Bower, Ilan Kroo

Faculty Publications

We quantify the fuel and cost benefits of applying extended formation flight to com- mercial airline operations. Central to this study is the development of a bi-level, mixed integer-real formation flight optimization framework. The framework has two main components: 1) a continuous domain aircraft mission performance optimization and 2) an integer optimization component that selects the best combination of optimized missions to form a formation flight schedule. The mission performance reflects the effects of rolled-up wakes, formation heterogeneity, and formation-induced compressibility. The results show that an airline can use formation flight to reduce fuel burn by 5.8% or direct operating …

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Passive Biaxial Mechanical Properties And In Vivo Axial Pre-Stretch Of The Diseased Human Femoropopliteal And Tibial Arteries, Alexey Kamenskiy, Iraklis I. Pipinos, Yuris A. Dzenis, Clay Lomneth, Syed A. Jaffar Kazmi, Nicholas Y. Phillips, Jason N. Mactaggart Mar 2014

Passive Biaxial Mechanical Properties And In Vivo Axial Pre-Stretch Of The Diseased Human Femoropopliteal And Tibial Arteries, Alexey Kamenskiy, Iraklis I. Pipinos, Yuris A. Dzenis, Clay Lomneth, Syed A. Jaffar Kazmi, Nicholas Y. Phillips, Jason N. Mactaggart

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Surgical and interventional therapies for atherosclerotic lesions of the infrainguinal arteries are notorious for high rates of failure. Frequently, this leads to expensive reinterventions, return of disabling symptoms, or limb loss. Interaction between the artery and repair material likely plays an important role in reconstruction failure, but data describing the mechanical properties and functional characteristics of human femoropopliteal and tibial arteries are currently not available. Diseased superficial femoral (SFA, n=10), popliteal (PA, n=8), and tibial arteries (TA, n=3) from 10 patients with critical limb ischemia were tested to determine passive mechanical properties using planar biaxial extension. All …

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Assessing The Impact Of Water Filters And Improved Cook Stoves On Drinking Water Quality And Household Air Pollution: A Randomised Controlled Trial In Rwanda, Ghislaine Rosa, Fiona Majorin, Sophie Boisson, Christina Barstow, Michael Johnson, Miles Kirby, Fidele Ngabo, Evan A. Thomas, Thomas Clasen Mar 2014

Assessing The Impact Of Water Filters And Improved Cook Stoves On Drinking Water Quality And Household Air Pollution: A Randomised Controlled Trial In Rwanda, Ghislaine Rosa, Fiona Majorin, Sophie Boisson, Christina Barstow, Michael Johnson, Miles Kirby, Fidele Ngabo, Evan A. Thomas, Thomas Clasen

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diarrhea and respiratory infections remain the biggest killers of children under 5 years in developing countries. We conducted a 5-month household randomised controlled trial among 566 households in rural Rwanda to assess uptake, compliance and impact on environmental exposures of a combined intervention delivering high-performance water filters and improved stoves for free. Compliance was measured monthly by self-report and spot-check observations. Semicontinuous 24-h PM2.5 monitoring of the cooking area was conducted in a random subsample of 121 households to assess household air pollution, while samples of drinking water from all households were collected monthly to assess the levels of thermotolerant …

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Decreasing The Power Consumption Of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Architectures, Domenic Leo Barsotti Mar 2014

Decreasing The Power Consumption Of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Architectures, Domenic Leo Barsotti

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This paper presents the challenges seen by current automotive manufacturers in their investigation of more fuel efficient vehicles. The two main areas for improvement are aerodynamics and passive cooling of electrical systems. Aerodynamics of an Ahmed body is investigated with a drag reduction system proposed utilizing slot jets at the rear of the bluff body . Two separate systems show a decrease in drag of 16 and 25%. The paper also investigates the use of a phase change material for a hybrid electric vehicles energy storage system cooling. Phase change materials take advantage of the latent heat of fusion to …

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Hemocompatibility Comparison Of Biomedical Grade Polymers Using Rabbit Thrombogenicity Model For Preparing Nonthrombogenic Nitric Oxide Releasing Surfaces, Hitesh Handa, Terry C. Major, Elizabeth Brisbois, Kagya Amoako, Mark E. Meyerhoff, Robert E. Bartlett Feb 2014

Hemocompatibility Comparison Of Biomedical Grade Polymers Using Rabbit Thrombogenicity Model For Preparing Nonthrombogenic Nitric Oxide Releasing Surfaces, Hitesh Handa, Terry C. Major, Elizabeth Brisbois, Kagya Amoako, Mark E. Meyerhoff, Robert E. Bartlett

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous vasodilator as well as natural inhibitor of platelet adhesion/ activation. Nitric oxide releasing (NOrel) materials can be prepared by doping an NO donor species, such as diazeniumdiolated dibutylhexanediamine (DBHD/N2O2), within a polymer coating. The inherent hemocompatibility properties of the base polymer can also influence the efficiency of such NO release coatings. In this study, four biomedical grade polymers were evaluated in a 4 h rabbit model of thrombogenicity for their effects on extracorporeal circuit thrombus formation and circulating platelet count. At the end of 4 h, Elast-Eon E2As was found to preserve 58% of …

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Frequency-Limited Adaptive Control Of A Generic Transport Model In The Presence Of System Uncertainty And Losses In Control Effectiveness, Gerardo De La Torre, Tansel Yucelen, Wassim M. Haddad, Eric N. Johnson Feb 2014

Frequency-Limited Adaptive Control Of A Generic Transport Model In The Presence Of System Uncertainty And Losses In Control Effectiveness, Gerardo De La Torre, Tansel Yucelen, Wassim M. Haddad, Eric N. Johnson

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

While adaptive control has been used in numerous applications to achieve system performance without excessive reliance on dynamical system models, the necessity of high-gain learning rates for safety-critical systems to achieve fast adaptation can be a serious limitation of most adaptive controllers. In order to address this problem, two novel adaptive control approaches developed recently aim to limit the bandwidth of the closed-loop adaptive control system in order to suppress the high-frequency content contained in the system error dynamics and adaptation algorithms. Specifically, this key feature of these frameworks allows for robust and fast adaptation by utilizing high-gain learning rates …

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Methods, Systems, And Devices For Surgical Access And Inserton, Tom Frederick, Shane Farritor, Jack Mondry, Eric Markvicka, Dmitry Oleynikov, Jacob Greenburg Feb 2014

Methods, Systems, And Devices For Surgical Access And Inserton, Tom Frederick, Shane Farritor, Jack Mondry, Eric Markvicka, Dmitry Oleynikov, Jacob Greenburg

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The various embodiments herein relate to systems, devices, and/or methods relating to Surgical procedures, and more specifically for accessing an insufflated cavity of a patient and/or positioning Surgical systems or devices into the cavity.

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Energy And Peak Power Reduction From Air Misting Products Applied To Commercial Condensing Units In Hot And Humid Climates, Florida Solar Energy Center, Charles Withers, Jr. Feb 2014

Energy And Peak Power Reduction From Air Misting Products Applied To Commercial Condensing Units In Hot And Humid Climates, Florida Solar Energy Center, Charles Withers, Jr.

FSEC Energy Research Center®

A proprietary research project was conducted to evaluate the potential annual and peak energy reduction resulting from the addition of a water misting system applied to supermarket condenser coils in the Florida Power and Light service territory. Tests were performed to evaluate the performance of a mist system under various outdoor conditions over an eight-month period in a hot and humid climate zone. The project measured an average of 2.8% percentage energy savings and average 3.2% utility peak demand reduction. The report discusses why hot and humid climates can expect much lower savings compared to hot and arid climates. One …

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Development Of A Method Of Obtaining Fluid Temperature Measurements Using A Laser, Scott L. Thomson, Dr. Dan Maynes Feb 2014

Development Of A Method Of Obtaining Fluid Temperature Measurements Using A Laser, Scott L. Thomson, Dr. Dan Maynes

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Developing a method of measuring fluid temperature using a laser-based system was the goal of this research project. The following paragraphs summarize the research procedure, results, and plans for future development.

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Development Of A One-Piece, Aramid-Polyurethane Bumper System For Automobiles, Brent Zollinger, Dr. Christopher Rotz Feb 2014

Development Of A One-Piece, Aramid-Polyurethane Bumper System For Automobiles, Brent Zollinger, Dr. Christopher Rotz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The automobile bumper system—consisting primarily of a decorative fascia, structural cross-beam, and energy absorber—is an ideal candidate for redesign using advanced technology. This report examines a concept that integrates the three main components of the bumper system into one by using high-performance materials. A one-piece, aramid-polyurethane composite bumper system that can be manufactured using the SRIM process offers possible weight reductions, cost reductions, and styling versatility, while maintaining manufacturability.

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Fluidic Compression In A Scramjet Engine, Jeff S. Noall, Dr. Russell L. Daines Feb 2014

Fluidic Compression In A Scramjet Engine, Jeff S. Noall, Dr. Russell L. Daines

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A scramjet (supersonic-combustion ramjet) is a theoretical engine which, like a ramjet, converts the velocity of the inlet air into pressure. This “ram” pressure compresses the fluid stream entering the engine prior to fuel injection and combustion. In a ramjet, the incoming air is slowed to subsonic speeds (speeds less than the speed of sound) before combustion occurs. In a scramjet, the air stream remains supersonic throughout the process. This feature gives the scramjet potential in high-speed applications such as hypersonic aircraft and space-transport systems. One of the main problems facing scramjet development is controlling the behavior of the shock …

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Systemand Method For Controlling Motion Of Spacecrafts, Piyush Grover, Christian Andersson Feb 2014

Systemand Method For Controlling Motion Of Spacecrafts, Piyush Grover, Christian Andersson

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A motion of an object is controlled from a geostationary transit orbit (GTO) of an earth to an orbit of a moon. A first trajectory of the motion of the object is determined from an intermediate orbit of an earth to a neighborhood of a stable manifold of a first Lagrange point (L1). A second trajectory of the motion of the object is determined from the GTO to the intermediate orbit. A third trajectory of the motion of the object is determined from the neighborhood to the stable manifold to an L1 orbit, and a fourth trajectory of the motion …

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Remote Control And Web-Access Of The Mitutoyo Coordinate Measuring Machine, Cun Ling Linda Chu, Dr. C. Greg Jensen Feb 2014

Remote Control And Web-Access Of The Mitutoyo Coordinate Measuring Machine, Cun Ling Linda Chu, Dr. C. Greg Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The goal of this project was to devise a way to remotely control a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) so students could measure an engineering product wherever they have access to a computer. The project began as a semester assignment for Dr. Jensen’s ME 273 course in the fall of 1998. During the semester a group of students and I researched and developed the basic procedure to accomplish the goal.

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Comparative Performance Analysis: Hers Index Score Dependencies Related To Home Geometries And Operating Assumptions, Florida Solar Energy Center, Philip W. Fairey Feb 2014

Comparative Performance Analysis: Hers Index Score Dependencies Related To Home Geometries And Operating Assumptions, Florida Solar Energy Center, Philip W. Fairey

FSEC Energy Research Center®

EnergyGauge USA v.3.1.02 is used examine the impact of geometry and operating conditions on comparative simulation analysis techniques that are used to evaluate home energy performance with respect to a standardized reference case. A cohort of homes is simulated using the HERS Index scoring system in 15 U.S. cities that are representative of the 8 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) climate zones. All of the homes are configured to have the thermal envelope characteristics specified by Table R402.1.1 of the 2012 IECC. All homes are also configured to meet all other mandatory requirements of the 2012 IECC, including 75% high …

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Ground-Effect Flight, Troy Schank, Dr. Paul Eastman Feb 2014

Ground-Effect Flight, Troy Schank, Dr. Paul Eastman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Ground-effect is a well-known phenomenon that occurs as an aircraft approaches the surface of the earth. Flight in ground-effect changes the characteristics of the airflow around the wing causing both positive and negative effects. Though ground-effect is a well-known phenomenon, the details of lift and drag are less understood. I was able to gain an understanding of the details of ground effect from existing studies and learn from my own experiments in this research.

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Design And Fabrication Of A Water Tunnel For The Byu Mechanical Engineering Department, Lon M. Stevens, Dr. Daniel R. Maynes Feb 2014

Design And Fabrication Of A Water Tunnel For The Byu Mechanical Engineering Department, Lon M. Stevens, Dr. Daniel R. Maynes

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A water tunnel is essential for visualization, validation, and experimental analysis of the fundamental fluid dynamic behavior of flowing liquids. Water tunnels come in a variety of geometric dimensions, which are dependent upon the type of fluid flows that are of interest. It was proposed for this project that a water tunnel be designed to be used for research and instruction in the Mechanical Engineering Department. The test section of the proposed design will be three feet long, eight inches wide, and eight inches high and manufactured from transparent Plexiglas. Water will flow from one side of the tunnel to …

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Systems Integration Of The Goldhelox X-Ray Telescope, Paul F. Eastman, Dr. Thomas J. Utley Jr. Feb 2014

Systems Integration Of The Goldhelox X-Ray Telescope, Paul F. Eastman, Dr. Thomas J. Utley Jr.

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The GoldHelox X-Ray Telescope is an undergraduate project of the Brigham Young University Physics Department in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is a fully autonomous robotic telescope and camera system capable of converting x-rays in the range of 171 angstroms into visible light and capturing the source images on 35mm film. This particular wavelength corresponds to the frequency of x-rays emitted by solar flares erupting from the surface of the sun, and by imaging only the x-rays emitted by the flares themselves, the effect will be to strip away much of the rest of the solar …

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Considerations In The Design Of A Prosthetic Foot Using Compliant Design And Analysis Techniques, Kenneth E. Richardson Feb 2014

Considerations In The Design Of A Prosthetic Foot Using Compliant Design And Analysis Techniques, Kenneth E. Richardson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The modeling of the human body is not an easy task. Designers of artificial organs and prosthetic devices have the unenviable goal of attempting to duplicate (or at least satisfactorily approximate) the motion and function of the greatest and most powerful machine on the face of the earth. Any new tool that could be used in such design would be valuable and useful. Compliant mechanism theory and design is one such tool.

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Anti-Icing Coatings And Methods, Russell G. Alger Feb 2014

Anti-Icing Coatings And Methods, Russell G. Alger

Michigan Tech Patents

A method of inhibiting or preventing bonding between snow or ice and a substrate. The method includes applying an adhesive to the substrate, broadcasting an aggregate onto the adhesive, the aggregate having the capacity to receive an anti-icing chemical into the aggregate, and applying the antiicing chemical onto the aggregate so that at least a portion of the anti-icing chemical is received into at least a portion of the aggregate.

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Development Of Tailsitter Hover Estimation And Control, Jason M. Beach Feb 2014

Development Of Tailsitter Hover Estimation And Control, Jason M. Beach

Theses and Dissertations

UAVs have become an essential tool in many market segments, particularly the military where critical intelligence can be gathered by them. A tailsitter aircraft is a platform whose purpose is to efficiently merge the range and endurance of fixed-wing aircraft with the VTOL capabilities of rotorcraft and is of significant value in applications where launch and recovery area is limited or the use of launch and recovery equipment is not desirable. Developing autopilot software for a tailsitter UAV is unique in that the aircraft must be autonomously controlled over a much wider range of attitudes than conventional UAVs. Assumptions made …

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The Effects Of Winglets At Low Speeds, Brian Johansen Feb 2014

The Effects Of Winglets At Low Speeds, Brian Johansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of an airplane wing is to provide lift by creating a pressure gradient between the top and bottom of the wing. However, this pressure gradient causes some inherent problems at the wing tip. A vortex forms when the high pressure from the bottom side of the wing flows around the wig tip to the top side of the wing. This vortex is detrimental not only to the lift that the wing can produce but to the fuel efficiency of the airplane.

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The Role Of Grain Boundary Misorientation In Intergranular Cracking Of Copper, John W. Bean Feb 2014

The Role Of Grain Boundary Misorientation In Intergranular Cracking Of Copper, John W. Bean

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This report will summarize the efforts and results of the research conducted by John Bean on the role of grain boundary misorientations in intergranular cracking of copper-based metals. This research was conducted during the period of Sept. 1993 toApril1994. I was not able to prove all that I had originally proposed to do because of certain difficulties I will explain below. My research was ended when the equipment I was using was moved at the end of the 1994 winter semester. This report will briefly describe the purpose of my research and the difficulties that I encountered.

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The Origin Of Interferometric Effect Involving Surface Plasmon Polariton In Scattering Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy, Yan Li, Nan Zhou, Edward C. Kinzel, Xifeng Ren, Xianfan Xu Feb 2014

The Origin Of Interferometric Effect Involving Surface Plasmon Polariton In Scattering Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy, Yan Li, Nan Zhou, Edward C. Kinzel, Xifeng Ren, Xianfan Xu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Scattering near-field scanning optical microscopy (s-NSOM) has been developed to characterize optical near field with spatial resolution on the order of 10 nm. In this work we report investigation of the interferometric patterns commonly occurred in s-NSOM measurements. To reveal the origin of such interference patterns, a simple nano slit is used. Comparing the measured result with a simplified analytical model as well as full-field numerical simulations, it is shown that the interference pattern is predominantly formed by the in-plane component of incidence light and surface plasmon polariton (SPP) launched by the nano slit. This result helps to understand the …

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The General Public’S Weather Information-Seeking And Decision-Making Behavior During Tornado Outbreaks In The Oklahoma City Metroplex In May 2013, Chen Ling, Michelle Madison, Jessica Adams, Kevin Warren, Michael Mudd, Kim Graves Wolfinbarger, Lans Rothfusz Feb 2014

The General Public’S Weather Information-Seeking And Decision-Making Behavior During Tornado Outbreaks In The Oklahoma City Metroplex In May 2013, Chen Ling, Michelle Madison, Jessica Adams, Kevin Warren, Michael Mudd, Kim Graves Wolfinbarger, Lans Rothfusz

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Severe weather impacts the lives of many people. Today's technology allows weather information to be distributed to the general public in many ways. However, it is not clear how people obtain information regarding severe weather, and how they make decisions based on the information. This study surveyed people in the Oklahoma City metroplex about their weather information–seeking and decision-making behaviors during the May 2013 tornado outbreaks. The preliminary results based on 124 survey responses show that people used and trusted television news most to obtain the severe weather information, followed by siren, weather radio, radio, looking at the sky, and …

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