scholarly journals Towards a comprehensive model of Earth's disk-integrated Stokes vector

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. García Muñoz

AbstractA significant body of work on simulating the remote appearance of Earth-like exoplanets has been done over the last decade. The research is driven by the prospect of characterizing habitable planets beyond the Solar System in the near future. In this work, I present a method to produce the disk-integrated signature of planets that are described in their three-dimensional complexity, i.e. with both horizontal and vertical variations in the optical properties of their envelopes. The approach is based on Pre-conditioned Backward Monte Carlo integration of the vector Radiative Transport Equation and yields the full Stokes vector for outgoing reflected radiation. The method is demonstrated through selected examples inspired by published work at wavelengths from the visible to the near infrared and terrestrial prescriptions of both cloud and surface albedo maps. I explore the performance of the method in terms of computational time and accuracy. A clear strength of this approach is that its computational cost does not appear to be significantly affected by non-uniformities in the planet optical properties. Earth's simulated appearance is strongly dependent on wavelength; both brightness and polarization undergo diurnal variations arising from changes in the planet cover, but polarization yields a better insight into variations with phase angle. There is partial cancellation of the polarized signal from the northern and southern hemispheres so that the outgoing polarization vector lies preferentially either in the plane parallel or perpendicular to the planet scattering plane, also for non-uniform cloud and albedo properties and various levels of absorption within the atmosphere. The evaluation of circular polarization is challenging; a number of one-photon experiments of 109 or more is needed to resolve hemispherically integrated degrees of circular polarization of a few times 10−5. Last, I introduce brightness curves of Earth obtained with one of the Messenger cameras at three wavelengths (0.48, 0.56 and 0.63 μm) during a flyby in 2005. The light curves show distinct structure associated with the varying aspect of the Earth's visible disk (phases of 98–107°) as the planet undergoes a full 24 h rotation; the structure is reasonably well reproduced with model simulations.

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Boncinelli ◽  
Filippo Rubechini ◽  
Andrea Arnone ◽  
Massimiliano Cecconi ◽  
Carlo Cortese

A numerical model was included in a three-dimensional viscous solver to account for real gas effects in the compressible Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The behavior of real gases is reproduced by using gas property tables. The method consists of a local fitting of gas data to provide the thermodynamic property required by the solver in each solution step. This approach presents several characteristics which make it attractive as a design tool for industrial applications. First of all, the implementation of the method in the solver is simple and straightforward, since it does not require relevant changes in the solver structure. Moreover, it is based on a low-computational-cost algorithm, which prevents a considerable increase in the overall computational time. Finally, the approach is completely general, since it allows one to handle any type of gas, gas mixture or steam over a wide operative range. In this work a detailed description of the model is provided. In addition, some examples are presented in which the model is applied to the thermo-fluid-dynamic analysis of industrial turbomachines.


2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (3) ◽  
pp. 2762-2767
Author(s):  
Hajime Fukushima ◽  
Hidenobu Yajima ◽  
Masayuki Umemura

ABSTRACT We explore the induction of circular polarization (CP) of near-infrared light in star-forming regions using three-dimensional radiative transfer calculations. The simulations trace the change of Stokes parameters at each scattering/absorption process in a dusty gas slab composed of aligned grains. We find that the CP degree enlarges significantly according as the size of dust grains increases and exceeds ∼20 per cent for micron-sized grains. Therefore, if micron-sized grains are dominant in a dusty gas slab, the high CP observed around luminous young stellar objects can be accounted for. The distributions of CP show the asymmetric quadrupole patterns regardless of the grain sizes. Also, we find that the CP degree depends on the relative position of a dusty gas slab. If a dusty gas slab is located behind a star-forming region, the CP reaches ∼60 per cent in the case of 1.0 µm dust grains. Hence, we suggest that the observed variety of CP maps can be explained by different size distributions of dust grains and the configuration of aligned grains.


1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 905-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susumu Noda ◽  
Noritsugu Yamamoto ◽  
Hideaki Kobayashi ◽  
Makoto Okano ◽  
Katsuhiro Tomoda

Author(s):  
Takahiro Sato ◽  
Kota Watanabe ◽  
Hajime Igarashi

Purpose – Three-dimensional (3D) mesh generation for shape optimizations needs long computational time. This makes it difficult to perform 3D shape optimizations. The purpose of this paper is to present a new meshing method with light computational cost for 3D shape optimizations. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a new meshing method on the basis of nonconforming voxel finite element method. The 3D mesh generation is performed with light computational cost keeping the computational accuracy. Findings – It is shown that the computational cost for 3D mesh generation can be reduced without deteriorating numerical accuracy in the FE analysis. It is reported the performance of the present method. Originality/value – The validity of the nonconforming voxel elements is tested to apply it to the optimization of 3D optimizations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Alexandre Emmanuel Wetzel ◽  
Ada-Ioana Bunea ◽  
Einstom Engay ◽  
Nikolaj Kofoed Mandsberg ◽  
Nuria del Castillo Iniesta ◽  
...  

Antireflective (AR) coatings have been around for more than a century, with the simplest form dating back to Lord Rayleigh’s 1886 tarnished glass. Different approaches to obtaining AR coatings exploit index-matching, interference, or absorbing phenomena. In 2002, a novel super black surface was developed by Brown et al. at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK and soon gained significant interest among both academia and industry. Since then, scientists have been competing in a race to produce the blackest material. Although extremely valuable, existing solutions usually require complicated fabrication procedures and post-application treatments. Structural colors are ubiquitous in nature, so an interesting approach to developing AR coatings is biomimicry. Moth-eye structures are well-known for their AR properties, and they have been successfully replicated using micro- and nanofabrication methods and employed as AR coatings. Interestingly, recent studies from Harvard University highlight two types of microstructures that lead to super black coloring in nature, i.e., barbule microstructures on birds of paradise and cuticular bumps on peacock spiders. These publications provide detailed information on the shape of such natural super black microstructures and mechanisms behind the observed super black effect. Although the replication of such structures should prove extremely valuable, it has not yet been demonstrated. In this paper, we present the fabrication and characterization of AR microarrays inspired by the peacock spiders’ super black structures encountered in nature. Fabrication is done by super-resolution three-dimensional (3D) printing using two-photon polymerization of an acrylic resin. The optical properties of microstructure arrays with different shape design parameters are then characterized using a homemade reflectance/transmittance setup, which allows wavelength-dependent investigations in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared ranges. The influence of the shape design parameters on the optical properties of the microarrays is then discussed with experimental measurements as well as simulations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 247 ◽  
pp. 06037
Author(s):  
Antonio Galia ◽  
Igor Zmijarevic ◽  
Richard Sanchez

The classical two-step calculation scheme has been extensively used to perform three-dimensional deterministic core calculations thanks to its fast results. On the other hand, direct 3D transport calculations and 2D/1D Fusion methods, mostly based on the method of characteristics, have recently been applied showing a prohibitive computational time for routine design purposes as well as in the context of multiphysics and core depletion calculations, due to current machine capabilities. The Dynamic Homogenization method is here proposed as an alternative technique that may lie between the classical and the direct approaches in terms of precision and performance. In this work, the method is applied to the NEA ”PWR MOX/UO2 Core Benchmark” for a 3D configuration. Comparison of pin power relative errors and computational cost against the two-step and direct approaches are presented.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago Dias dos Santos ◽  
Mathieu Morlighem ◽  
Douglas Brinkerhoff

Abstract. Numerical simulations of ice sheets rely on the momentum balance to determine how ice velocities change as the geometry of the system evolves. Ice is generally assumed to follow a Stokes flow with a nonlinear viscosity. Several approximations have been proposed in order to lower the computational cost of a full-Stokes stress balance. A popular option is the Blatter-Pattyn or Higher-Order model (HO), which consists of a three-dimensional set of equations that solves the horizontal velocities only. However, it still remains computationally expensive for long transient simulations. Here we present a depth-integrated formulation of the HO model, which can be solved on a two-dimensional mesh in the horizontal plane. We employ a specific polynomial function to describe the vertical variation of the velocity, which allows us to integrate the vertical dimension using a semi-analytic integration. We assess the performance of this MOno-Layer Higher-Order model (MOLHO) to compute ice velocities and simulate grounding line dynamics on standard benchmarks (ISMIP-HOM and MISMIP3D). We compare MOLHO results to the ones obtained with the original three-dimensional HO model. We also compare the time performance of both models in time-dependent runs. Our results show that the ice velocities and grounding line positions obtained with MOLHO are in very good agreement with the ones from HO. In terms of computing time, MOLHO requires less than 10 % of the computational time of a typical HO model, for the same simulations. These results suggest that the MOno-Layer Higher-Order formulation provides improved computational time performance and a comparable accuracy compared to the HO formulation, which opens the door to Higher-Order paleo simulations.


Author(s):  
Paolo Boncinelli ◽  
Filippo Rubechini ◽  
Andrea Arnone ◽  
Massimiliano Cecconi ◽  
Carlo Cortese

A numerical model was included in a three-dimensional viscous solver to account for real gas effects in the compressible Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The behavior of real gases is reproduced by using gas property tables. The method consists of a local fitting of gas data to provide the thermodynamic property required by the solver in each solution step. This approach presents several characteristics which make it attractive as a design tool for industrial applications. First of all, the implementation of the method in the solver is simple and straightforward, since it does not require relevant changes in the solver structure. Moreover, it is based on a low-computational-cost algorithm, which prevents a considerable increase in the overall computational time. Finally, the approach is completely general, since it allows one to handle any type of gas, gas mixture or steam over a wide operative range. In this work a detailed description of the model is provided. In addition, some examples are presented in which the model is applied to the thermo-fluid-dynamic analysis of industrial turbomachines.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bitelli ◽  
P. Conte ◽  
T. Csoknyai ◽  
E. Mandanici

The management of an urban context in a Smart City perspective requires the development of innovative projects, with new applications in multidisciplinary research areas. They can be related to many aspects of city life and urban management: fuel consumption monitoring, energy efficiency issues, environment, social organization, traffic, urban transformations, etc. Geomatics, the modern discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering digital spatially referenced information, can play a fundamental role in many of these areas, providing new efficient and productive methods for a precise mapping of different phenomena by traditional cartographic representation or by new methods of data visualization and manipulation (e.g. three-dimensional modelling, data fusion, etc.). The technologies involved are based on airborne or satellite remote sensing (in visible, near infrared, thermal bands), laser scanning, digital photogrammetry, satellite positioning and, first of all, appropriate sensor integration (online or offline). The aim of this work is to present and analyse some new opportunities offered by Geomatics technologies for a Smart City management, with a specific interest towards the energy sector related to buildings. Reducing consumption and CO2 emissions is a primary objective to be pursued for a sustainable development and, in this direction, an accurate knowledge of energy consumptions and waste for heating of single houses, blocks or districts is needed. A synoptic information regarding a city or a portion of a city can be acquired through sensors on board of airplanes or satellite platforms, operating in the thermal band. A problem to be investigated at the scale A problem to be investigated at the scale of the whole urban context is the Urban Heat Island (UHI), a phenomenon known and studied in the last decades. UHI is related not only to sensible heat released by anthropic activities, but also to land use variations and evapotranspiration reduction. The availability of thermal satellite sensors is fundamental to carry out multi-temporal studies in order to evaluate the dynamic behaviour of the UHI for a city. Working with a greater detail, districts or single buildings can be analysed by specifically designed airborne surveys. The activity has been recently carried out in the EnergyCity project, developed in the framework of the Central Europe programme established by UE. As demonstrated by the project, such data can be successfully integrated in a GIS storing all relevant data about buildings and energy supply, in order to create a powerful geospatial database for a Decision Support System assisting to reduce energy losses and CO2 emissions. Today, aerial thermal mapping could be furthermore integrated by terrestrial 3D surveys realized with Mobile Mapping Systems through multisensor platforms comprising thermal camera/s, laser scanning, GPS, inertial systems, etc. In this way the product can be a true 3D thermal model with good geometric properties, enlarging the possibilities in respect to conventional qualitative 2D images with simple colour palettes. Finally, some applications in the energy sector could benefit from the availability of a true 3D City Model, where the buildings are carefully described through three-dimensional elements. The processing of airborne LiDAR datasets for automated and semi-automated extraction of 3D buildings can provide such new generation of 3D city models.


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