Finite element analysis of gradient coil deformation and vibration in NMR microscopy

Resolution degradation due to gradient coil deformation and vibration in NMR microscopy is investigated using finite element analysis. From the analysis, deformations due to the Lorentz force can be as large as 1-10 mum depending on the gradient strength and coil frame material. Thus, these deformations can be one of the major resolution limiting factors in NMR microscopy. Coil vibration, which depends on the input current waveform and resolution degradation due to time-variant deformation and time-invariant deformation are investigated by numerical simulations.     

Precoding and power allocation algorithms for device-to-device communication in massive MIMO networks

Device-to-device communication (D2D) and massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems are two emerging technologies that are being considered to improve the performance of next generation wireless cellular systems. In D2D, two mobile nodes communicate directly without traversing the base station (BS). Consequently, interference management, coordination, and/or cancellation techniques have to be adopted to target the problem of mutual interference between the D2D devices and the BS (or the normal mobiles nodes connected to the BS). In this paper, we investigate the problem of BS precoder design and D2D devices power allocation in the downlink of a single-cell network assuming existence of D2D devices as well as massive MIMO at the BS. We propose algorithms to maximize the sum of the achievable data rates of the D2D pairs while maintaining quality of service constraints on the cellular user equipment, which communicate normally with the BS. We also propose two algorithms for the precoding problem; the first is based on semi-definite programming while the second is based on gradient descent algorithms. Moreover, we investigate two solutions for the power allocation problem; the first solves an approximate convex optimization problem iteratively while the second is a suboptimal, but far less complex, heuristic. Finally, we propose a technique to apply the mentioned solutions when only partial channel state information is available at the BS. Simulation results show that the proposed solutions are superior to the conventional precoding and power allocation schemes.     

A 0.5-bit step multi-resolution adjustable-input range reconfigurable noise-shaping TDC using multi-step quantizer gated-ring oscillators

A reconfigurable noise-shaping time-to-digital converter (TDC) with adjustable resolution and input range is presented as a solution to nonlinear multi-input readout systems. By varying the frequency of a multi-step quantizer gated-ring oscillator (MSQ-GRO), the resolution and input range are adjusted without affecting the acquisition time. A prototype of a standalone second-order MASH MSQ-GRO-TDC operating over a 34 μs adjustable input range and covering five resolution modes is presented. The MSQ-GRO frequency changes by a factor of approximately \(\sqrt 2\), thus adjusting the resolution in steps of 0.5-bit. With a 12 MHz sampling frequency, the MSQ-GRO-TDC consumes 0.85 mW from a 1.2 V supply and achieves integrated noise of 42.8 and 1.9 ps_rms in 500 and 1 kHz bandwidths, respectively. The measured resolution is 13.3-to-15.3 bits with a sampling signal of 200 kHz in a 5 kHz bandwidth. The input range/resolution optimization allows up to 51% of power saving under the same supply voltage, thus extending the battery lifetime in portable devices. The MSQ-GRO-TDC is used as a data converter for a nonlinear pressure sensor. It achieves a worst-case resolution of 24.5 μbar_rms. It is realized in a standard 0.13 μm CMOS technology and occupies an area of 0.145 mm².     

A deep stacked wavelet auto-encoders to supervised feature extraction to pattern classification

The major issue in pattern classification is in the extraction of features in the training phase. The focus of this work is on combining the ability of wavelet networks and the deep learning techniques to propose a new supervised feature extraction method to pattern classification. This new approach allows the classification of all classes of the dataset by the reconstruction of a Deep Stacked wavelet Auto-Encoder. This Network is obtained after a series of wavelet Auto-Encoders followed by a Softmax classifier at the last layer. Finally, a fine-tuning is applied for the improvement of our result using a back propagation algorithm. Our approach is tested with different image datasets which are the COIL-100, the APTI and the ImageNet datasets and is also tested with two other audio corpuses that contain Arabic words and French words. The experimental test demonstrates the efficiency of our network for image and audio classification compared to other methods.     

A recursive hierarchical parametric estimation algorithm for nonlinear systems described by Wiener‐Hammerstein models

In this paper, a recursive hierarchical parametric estimation (RHPE) algorithm is proposed for stochastic nonlinear systems which can be described by Wiener‐Hammerstein (W‐H) mathematical models. The formulation of parameters estimation problem is based on the prediction error approach and the gradient techniques. The convergence analysis of the developed RHPE algorithm is derived using stochastic gradient‐based theory. Wiener‐Hammerstein hydraulic process is treated to prove the efficiency of the proposed approach.     

UWB coplanar waveguide‐fed coplanar strips rectangular spiral antenna

This article proposes an ultra‐wideband coplanar strips (CPS) rectangular spiral antenna that is fed by coplanar waveguide (CPW). The CPS is formed by gradually reducing the width of the CPW ground planes without the need of a balun. The antenna operates in the frequency band (3.5‐10.6 GHz) and has miniaturized size of 50 × 40 × 0.508 mm on a Rogers RO4003C substrate. The CPS spiral is terminated with a 100 Ω chip resistor for matching. A parametric study was performed to choose the CPS spiral dimensions. A good agreement is found between simulations and measurements in the radiation pattern and the return loss which was found to be better than 10 dB over the band. The measured peak gain ranges between 1 and 4.7 dBi.     

A subthreshold low-power CMOS LC-VCO with high immunity to PVT variations

This paper presents a current driver with a novel high voltage (HV) switch schematic for the use as a protective switch for recording circuits during the stimulation sequence in neural measurement system. The current driver can source and sink currents of amplitudes up to ±8.2 mA with a HV tolerance from 30 V up to 120 V. The proposed HV switch also tolerates the voltage difference up to 120 V between its terminals. Between stimulation sequences the driver provides the effective isolation of the stimulation electrode from ground and HV supply voltage. The inter pulse current is no more than 60 pA. The chip was fabricated with AMS HV 0.35 \(\mu\)m CMOS technology. For test purposes the complete stimulation system including the proposed chip and the external C8051F410 controller was build. For the proposed system the mismatch between the sourced and sinked current does not exceed 20 \(\mu\)A. The possibility to stimulate with frequencies up to 1 kHz is proven by measurement along with the electrode-tissue model.     

Kinetic Study and Modeling of the Degradation of the Maize Kernels Quality During Drying in Fluidized Bed

Only a few kinetic studies have been reported in the literature on the evolution of comercial quality of maize during drying and to the best of our knowledge no model allows to predict the dynamic coupling of drying and product quality evolution. The aim of this work is to present new information on the effects of the operating conditions (harvest year, weight of maize to be dried, initial moisture content of the grain and air temperature) on the evolution of maize saline-soluble protein denaturation and the wet-milling quality during drying of maize in a batch floatation fluidized bed dryer. Also, kinetic laws are proposed for the quality criteria that will be combined with drying model already derived [1, 2].

The experimental results show that the degradation of the main components of maize (starch and proteins) is considerably affected by the temperature level and to a lesser extent by the initial moisture content of grains. Beyond 70°C, the denaturation of saline-soluble proteins occurs rapidly in the heat-up period of the grains. As for the wet-milling quality degradation, it starts only above 90°C.

Kinetic laws derived from this study express the variation of the degradation rate of proteic and wet milling quality as functions of the solubility of saline-soluble proteins or the starch-gluten separation index, the grain moisture content and temperature.     

Mixing analysis in a coaxial mixer

The performance of a coaxial mixer in the laminar-transitional flow regime was numerically investigated with Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. These mixers comprised two shafts: a central fast speed shaft mounted with an open turbine, and a slow speed shaft fitted with a wall scraping anchor arm. To model the complex hydrodynamics inside the vessel, the virtual finite element method (POLY3D^TM software) coupled with a Lagrange multiplier approach to cope with the non-linearity coming from the rheological model was employed. Co-rotation and counter-rotation mode were compared, based on several numerical criteria, namely, mixing time, power consumption and pumping rate. It was found that co-rotating mode is more efficient than counter-rotating mode in terms of energy, pumping rate and homogenization time.     

Robust H ∞ output feedback control with pole placement constraints for uncertain discrete-time fuzzy systems

This paper investigates the problem of multi-objective control for a class of uncertain discrete-time fuzzy systems. The state-space Takagi–Sugeno T–S fuzzy model with linear fractional parameter uncertainties is adopted. Based on a linear matrix inequality approach and via so-called dynamic parallel distributed compensation, a fuzzy full-order dynamic output feedback controller is developed such that the L ₂ gain performance from the exogenous input signals to the controlled output is less than or equal to some prescribed value and, for all admissible uncertainties, the closed-loop poles of each local system are within a pre-specified sub-region of complex plane. Two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method.