For this study, a novel optical fiber sensing system was developed and tested for the monitoring of corrosion in transportation systems. The optical fiber sensing system consists of a reference long period fiber gratings (LPFG) sensor for corrosive environmental monitoring and a LPFG sensor coated with a thin film of nano iron and silica particles for steel corrosion monitoring. The environmental effects (such as pH and temperature) are compensated by the use of the reference LPFG sensor. The sensor design, simulation, and experimental validation were performed in this study to investigate the feasibility of the proposed sensing system for corrosion and environment monitoring. The detailed investigations of the proposed sensing system showed that within the detection limitation of the thin coated layer, the proposed sensor could monitor both the initial and stable corrosion rate consistently. Compared to the traditional electrochemical method, the proposed optical fiber sensing system has a converter coefficient of 1 nm/day=3.746(10-3 A/cm2). Therefore, the proposed nano iron/silica particles dispersed polyurethane coated optical fiber sensor can monitor the critical corrosion information of the host members in real time and remotely. With multiple LPFGs in a single fiber, it is possible to provide a cost-effective, distributed monitoring solution for corrosion monitoring of large scale transportation structures.

This project, sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology (NEET) program, focuses on the development of advanced embedded sensors and controls to achieve significant performance, reliability, and safety improvements for nuclear reactor components and systems. As survivability and reliability are critical, designing and validating embedded measurement and control technologies in representative operating conditions are needed. With this framework in mind, a canned rotor pump platform is being constructed as a validation platform for advanced sensor and control development. The demonstration platform is a suitable application in advanced reactor designs that present challenging environments and operational demands. Consequently, the benefits from enhanced control system capabilities can be clearly assessed while the project outcome will also fulfill a need for improved technology to meet the goals of advanced reactor performance. Additionally, the complexity of the system is such that traditional control techniques are inadequate and more advanced techniques need to be utilized for the system to be feasible. The cost of nuclear energy is directly related to the cost and reliability of nuclear power plant (NPP) components. Deeply embedding instrumentation and controls (I&C) within these components has the potential to significantly increase the reliability of the components while enabling otherwise unobtainable performance and reduced maintenance cost. Directly measuring changes in component characteristics and performance can obviate a significant portion of component maintenance, which is both time-consuming and expensive in itself and, more importantly, lowers plant availability. Embedding I&C within components is key to observing degradation in the component and predicting remaining useful life.

The results of supersonic wind-tunnel tests on three probes at nominal Mach numbers of 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 and flight tests on two of these probes up to a Mach number of 1.9 are described. One probe is an 8 deg. half-angle wedge with two total-pressure measurements and one static. The second, a conical probe, is a cylinder that has a 15 deg., semi-angle cone tip with one total-pressure orifice at the apex and four static-pressure orifices on the surface of the cone, 90 deg. apart, and about two-thirds of the distance from the cone apex to the base of the cone. The third is a 2 deg. semi-angle cone that has two static ports located 180 deg. apart about 1.5 inches behind the apex of the cone. The latter probe was included since it has been the "probe of choice" for wind-tunnel flow-field pressure measurements (or one similar to it) for the past half-century. The wedge and 15 deg. conical probes used in these tests were designed for flight diagnostic measurements for flight Mach numbers down to 1.35 and 1.15 respectively, and have improved capabilities over earlier probes of similar shape. The 15. conical probe also has a temperature sensor that is located inside the cylindrical part of the probe that is exposed to free-stream flow through an annulus at the apex of the cone. It enables the determination of free-stream temperature, density, speed of sound, and velocity, in addition to free-stream pressure, Mach number, angle of attack and angle of sideslip. With the time-varying velocity, acceleration can be calculated. Wind-tunnel tests of the two probes were made in NASA Langley Research Center fs Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) at Mach numbers of 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0. Flight tests were carried out at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) on its F-15B aircraft up to Mach numbers of 1.9. The probes were attached to a fixture, referred to as the Centerline Instrumented Pylon (CLIP), under the fuselage of the aircraft. Problems controlling the velocity of the flow through the conical probe required for accurate temperature measurements are noted, as well as some calibration problems of the miniature pressure sensors that required a re-calculation of the flow variables. Data are presented for angle of attack, pressure and Mach number obtained in the wind tunnel and in flight. In the wind tunnel some transient data were obtained by translating the probes through the shock flow field created by a bump on the wind-tunnel wall.

NASA's Kennedy Space Cenler (KSC) recently acquired two state-of-the-art wireless sensor systems as the final deli verable ora Phase " Small Business Technology Transfer (STIR) contract with Mnemonics, tnc. and the Uni versity of Central Florida (UCF), contract number NNX09CB69C. Mnemonics constnlcted the radio freq uency (RF) interrogator portion of these systems and UCF constructed the sensors, which arc based on a novel surface acoustic wave (SA W) arch itecture. The purpose of this testing is to characterize the performance of the system, both in its basic parameters and under a range of operat ing conditions.

There is a great need to develop non-GPS based methods for positioning and navigation in situations where GPS is not available. This research focuses on the development of an Ultra-Wideband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (UWB-OFDM) radar as a navigation sensor in GPS-denied environments. A side-looking vehicle-fixed UWB-OFDM radar is mounted to a ground or aerial vehicle continously collecting data. A set of signal processing algorithms and methods are developed which use the raw radar data to aide in calculating the vehicle position and velocity via a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) approach. The radar processing algorithms detect strong, persistent, and stationary reflectors embedded in the environment and extract range/Doppler measurements to them. If the radar is the only sensor available, the measurements are used to directly compute the vehicle position. If an existing navigation platform is available, the measurements are combined with the other sensors in an EKF. The developed algorithms are tested via both a series of airborne simulations and a ground- based experiment. The computed navigation solution performance is analyzed with the following sensor availability: radar-only, INS-only, and combined radar/INS. In both simulations and experimental scenarios, the integrated INS/UWB-OFDM system shows significant improvements over an INS-only navigation solution.

Aircraft based direction finding (DF) in the high frequency (HF) band is difficult due to the aircraft's size with respect to wavelength and limited azimuthal resolution. A B-dot sensor is useful for detection of the time varying magnetic field and offers improved integration into an aircraft. What the B-dot sensor gains in integration it gives up in sensitivity because it is designed for frequencies above 5 GHz. Design of an airborne HFDF array using Bdot sensors is based in maximizing the physical extent of the array and eliminating multiple main beams. The goals of this research are to complete a computational analysis of a B-dot sensor, evaluate a cluster of closely spaced B-dot sensors, and design an array of B-dot sensor clusters on a simulated airborne HFDF platform. The B-dot sensors are simulated to determine the sensitivity of the sensor and sensor cluster. Eight and ten-sensor elements are placed on a simulated airframe to characterize the direction finding capability in the HF band. Additionally, a field test is accomplished to compare the simulated B-dot sensor cluster to an actual cluster of Bdot sensors. The B-dot sensor is inadequate for use in an HFDF array due to a lack of sensitivity, but based on initial simulations a larger B-dot sensor, designed for 700 MHz, offers equivalent sensitivity to previous research. Utilizing a cluster of sensors improves the radiation efficiency by 6 dB. The eight and ten-element arrays offer a limited direction finding capability due limited sidelobe reduction. The addition of two sensors does present sidelobe reduction; therefore, additional sensors will improve the direction finding capability of the airborne HFDF array.

Several advances are made toward a microelectromechanical (MEMS) acoustic direction-finding sensor based on the Ormia ochracea fly's ear. First, linear elastic stiffness models are presented and then validated by using a nanoindenter to measure the sensor s stiffness directly. The measured stiffness is highly linear, and the resonant frequencies are correctly predicted by the models presented. Additional nanoindenter results suggest that the sensor can be exposed to at least 162 decibel sound pressure level with no loss of function. Next, an improved capacitive readout system using branched comb fingers is presented. This design is shown to double electrical sensitivity to motion. Finally, it is shown that residual stress-induced curvature in the sensors greatly reduces their sensitivity by effectively shrinking the readout capacitors. A simple model of this curvature is presented and then verified by measurements. This model offers an extremely straightforward means of predicting curvature in similarly fabricated structures. It is also shown that perforations in the sensor s structure have no effect on curvature. The results presented here provide several essential tools for the continued development of the MEMS acoustic direction-finding sensor.

Fish passage conditions through a Kaplan turbine and spillway fish weir at Foster Dam, located on the South Santiam River in Linn County, Oregon, were evaluated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, using Sensor Fish devices. The objective of the study was to describe and compare passage exposure conditions, identifying potential fish injury regions encountered during passage via specific routes. The investigation was performed in May 2012, concurrent with HI-Z balloon-tag studies by Normandeau Associates, Inc. Sensor Fish data were analyzed to characterize the passage exposure conditions through the spillway fish weir and turbine Unit 1 at Foster Dam at two forebay pool elevations (616 and 634 ft mean sea level (MSL)) and to estimate data relationships with live fish injury and mortality estimates. For the spillway fish weir evaluation, Sensor Fish and live fish were deployed through injection system piping mounted on the weir. The bottom of the injection pipe was at an elevation of approximately 614 ft during testing at the 616-ft MSL (low) forebay elevation and at 632 ft during the 634-ft MSL (high) forebay level tests. Two systems were useda 4-in. pipe for juvenile fish releases and an 8-in. pipe for adult releases at each elevation.

This report summarizes technical progress on the program Multiplexed Optical Fiber Sensors for Coal Fired Advanced Fossil Energy Systems funded by the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, and performed jointly by the Center for Photonics Technology of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Virginia Tech. This three-year project started on October 1, 2008. In the project, a fiber optical sensing system based on intrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometer (IFPI) was developed for strain and temperature measurements for Ultra Supercritical boiler condition assessment. Investigations were focused on sensor design, fabrication, attachment techniques and novel materials for high temperature and strain measurements.

Heaving has been observed in sulfate soils when they are treated with lime or cement additives. This heaving is attributed to the formation of an expansive mineral known as Ettringite. Ettringite is known to form from reactions of calcium ions from the chemical additives, sulfates in soils and free reactive alumina released from treated clayey soils and stabilizers. Since chemically-treated bases have been used to support the pavement infrastructure, this type of heave has distressed the pavements and as a result, it became necessary to develop alternate stabilization techniques to treat sulfate soils. Evaluation of the sulfate heaving requires long laboratory-based mix designs, since it is important to perform the long term swell tests on treated soils. Hence, it is important to develop a faster and reliable device and test method to assess and evaluate sulfate heaving in chemically-treated sulfate soils in a short time frame. The intent of the present research was to devlop an innovative hybrid sensor, BM sensor comprised of Bender Element (BE) and moisture based Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technologies to assess the sulfate heave in treated soils in a quick time frame. This hybrid sensor was successfully used in the laboratory for quick assessments of soil stiffness and moisture content variations in cement and lime-treated sulfate soils. After succesful and quick assessments of the heaving, the sensor was used in the field test section to monitore stiffness and moisture content changes. Both laboratory and field studies showed that this sensor can be used in the field to assess sulfate heaving. More field studies will further enhance and promote the use of this sensor for quick evaluation of sulfate heaving.

The Sensor Research Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School is developing a real-time THz imaging camera. Vital to its design is the metamaterial absorbing layer (metafilm) within each pixel that allows for THz absorption. While there are numerous applications in the THz region, sensors and sources for THz energy have much room for improvement. The use of metamaterial technology for the purpose of a THz sensor has the potential to reduce costs while greatly improving sensitivity performance. The Sensor Research Lab has fabricated metafilms capable of near 100 percent absorption. In this research project, absorption characteristics of a set of metamaterials were measured using Fourier transform THz spectroscopy and modeled using an RLC circuit. The model provides a good description of the absorption characteristics and should assist in better understanding of the electromagnetic interactions within the metafilm.

1999年，在美国召开的移动计算和网络国际会议上首次提出了“物联网”(IOT，The Internet of Things)的概念。虽然近年来物联网技术及应用取得迅猛的发展，但是对物联网一直都没有一个权威的定义。目前被普遍认可的一种定义是：通过射频识别(RFID，Radio Frequency IDentification)装置、红外感应器、全球定位系统、激光扫描器等信息传感设备，按约定的协议，把任何物品与互联网相连接，进行信息交换和通信，以实现智能化识别、定位、跟踪、监控和管理的一种网络。这个定义有两层意思：一是物联网的核心和基础仍然是互联网，是在互联网基础之上延伸和扩展的一种网络；二是其用户端延伸和扩展到了任何物品与物品之间，进行信息交换和通信。

本刊以七大战略性新兴产业——节能环保、新一代信息技术、生物、高端装备制造、新能源、新材料、新能源汽车为研究重点，关注国家高层和各部委的动态，剖析国家和地方的新兴产业政策。本刊设有政策导读、领导讲话、七大战略性新兴产业本周国内外行业动态和重点企业新闻、投资专题四大板块，能够实时监测新兴产业和重点企业动态，把握新兴产业发展方向，研究发展重点，寻求发展机遇。