Radar Icing Algorithm: Algorithm Description and Comparison with Aircraft Observations

Detection of in-flight icing hazard is a priority of the aviation safety community. The ‘Radar Icing Algorithm’ (RadIA) has been developed to indicate the presence, phase, and relative size of supercooled drops. This paper provides an evaluation of RadIA via comparison to in-situ microphysical measurements collected with a research aircraft during the 2017 'Seeded and Natural Orographic Wintertime clouds: the Idaho Experiment' (SNOWIE) field campaign.RadIA uses Level 2 dual-polarization radar moments from operational National Weather Service WSR-88D radar and a numerical weather prediction model temperature profile as inputs. Moment membership functions are defined based on the results of previous studies, and fuzzy logic is used to combine the output of these functions to create a 0 to 1 interest for detecting small-drop, large-drop and mixed phase icing.Data from the 2D-S particle probe on board the University of Wyoming King Air aircraft were categorized as either liquid or solid phase water with a shape classification algorithm and binned by size. RadIA interest values from 17 cases were matched to statistical measures of the solid/liquid particle size distributions (such as maximum particle diameter) and values of LWC from research aircraft flights. Receiver Operating Characteristic Area Under the Curve (AUC) values for RadIA algorithms were 0.75 for large-drop, 0.73 for small-drop, and 0.83 for mixed-phase cases. RadIA is proven to be a valuable new capability for detecting the presence of in-flight icing hazards from ground-based precipitation radar.

Influence of Surfacing Modes on the Formation of Pores in the Deposited Metal Produced by Wire Arc Additive Method (WAAM) Using Al-Mg Alloy

This paper presents studies about the influence of the surfacing mode on the formation of defects in the deposited metal produced by WAAM using Al-Mg alloy. As the main parameters that affected on the surfacing mode were the travel speed and the frequency of current pulses. Graphs about an influence of the travel speed on a size of pores and an influence the frequency of current pulses on a specific area of pores were constructed. It was concluded that with increasing of the surfacing speed, the size of defects decreased. Increasing the frequency of current pulses affected on increasing the specific area of pores. Changing the frequency of the current pulses leads to a change in the metal transfer. When using large-drop transfer metal, the defect concentration is minimal, but when using small-drop transfer, the arc stability decreases, which contributes to a higher pore concentration in the deposited metal.

Cardiovascular and Metabolic Responses to Carbon Dioxide Euthanasia in Conscious and Anesthetized Rats

Euthanasia is a necessary component in research and must be conducted humanely. Currently, regulated CO2 exposure in conscious rats is acceptable, but data are divided on whether CO2 alone is more distressing than anesthesia prior to CO2. To evaluate distress in rats, we compared physiologic responses to CO2 euthanasia with and without isoflurane preanesthesia. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were implanted with telemetry devices to measure mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and blood glucose. Animals recovered for 2 wk and were then exposed to either 5% isoflurane (n = 6) or 100% CO2 (n = 7; calculated 30% chamber volume/min displacement) in their home cages to induce loss of consciousness. Euthanasia was then completed with CO2 in both groups. MAP and HR increased when the gas delivery lids were placed on the home cages of both groups. Both MAP and HR gradually decreased with isoflurane exposure. MAP increased and HR decreased with CO2 exposure. Glucose levels remained stable throughout the procedure, except for a small drop in conscious animals initially exposed to 100% CO2. These data suggest that both gases affect the measured parameters in a similar manner, and that environmental factors, such as gas delivery lid placement, also change these measurements.

An experimental investigation of the use of an outlet silencer to quiet ejectors

Ejectors are simple fluid movers and mixers used in a range of industries; however, the attractiveness of their simplicity can be offset by high levels of noise generation. This work experimentally investigates the use of a silencer affixed to the outlet of a subsonic air–air ejector as a means of quieting the ejector. An emphasis is placed on finding a silencer design which has a minimal impact on the mass flow rate exhausting from the ejector (pumping performance). This paper discusses the results of 10 different silencer designs, tested in an attempt to further understand noise generation mechanisms and to find a practical method to reduce the noise of ejectors. It is found that the placement of a perforated cone at the mid-length of the silencer is the only solution tested which provides a significant acoustic advantage with only a small drop in pumping performance. Other solutions tested provide either no acoustic advantage or have too great of a reduction in pumping performance. It is found that the size and shape of the ejector can be designed in such a way to reduce the overlap of natural modes and thus the overall noise levels of the ejector caused by high levels of resonance. The use of acoustic foam to dampen acoustic natural modes proves that the natural modes of the ejector are a significant contributor to the overall noise levels.

A new species of Diphascon (Tardigrada: Hypsibiidae) from Northern China supported by integrated taxonomy

Morphological and molecular analyses have determined that there is a new species of Tardigrada found in China. Diphascon wuyingensis sp. nov., has smooth cuticle, pharyngeal apophyses, three rod-shaped macroplacoids (increasing in length from first to third, with the second macroplacoid clearly longer than the first) and lacks microplacoids and septulum. The new species has a very small drop-shaped formation and small claws of the Hypsibius type, but no pseudolunules or other cuticular thickenings. Three individual specimens and a group of four specimens were used for DNA isolation and 18S rRNA and COI sequencing; the p-distances to another three Diphascon species used for comparison varied in ranges of 8.8–10.2% (18S rRNA) and 24.2–26.7% (COI).

Keys to Differentiating between Small- and Large-Drop Icing Conditions in Continental Clouds

Using observations from research aircraft flights over the Great Lakes region, synoptic and mesoscale environments that appear to drive a relationship between liquid water content, drop concentration, and drop size are investigated. In particular, conditions that fell within “small drop” and “large drop” regimes are related to cloud and stability profiles, providing insight regarding whether the clouds are tied to the local boundary layer. These findings are supported by analysis of flight data from other parts of North America and used to provide context for several icing incidents and accidents where large-drop icing was noted as a contributing factor. The relationships described for drop size discrimination in continental environments provide clues that can be applied for both human- and model-generated icing forecasts, as well as automated icing algorithms.

Measurements and Modeling of the Full Rain Drop Size Distribution

The raindrop size distribution (DSD) is fundamental for quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) and in numerical modeling of microphysical processes. Conventional disdrometers cannot capture the small drop end, in particular the drizzle mode which controls collisional processes as well as evaporation. To overcome this limitation, the DSD measurements were made using (i) a high-resolution (50 microns) meteorological particle spectrometer to capture the small drop end, and (ii) a 2D video disdrometer for larger drops. Measurements were made in two climatically different regions, namely Greeley, Colorado, and Huntsville, Alabama. To model the DSDs, a formulation based on (a) double-moment normalization and (b) the generalized gamma (GG) model to describe the generic shape with two shape parameters was used. A total of 4550 three-minute DSDs were used to assess the size-resolved fidelity of this model by direct comparison with the measurements demonstrating the suitability of the GG distribution. The shape stability of the normalized DSD was demonstrated across different rain types and intensities. Finally, for a tropical storm case, the co-variabilities of the two main DSD parameters (normalized intercept and mass-weighted mean diameter) were compared with those derived from the dual-frequency precipitation radar onboard the global precipitation mission satellite.

MRI-related anxiety in healthy individuals, intrinsic BOLD oscillations at 0.1 Hz and heart rate variability in low frequency bands

Participation in a MRI scan is associated with increased anxiety, thus possibly impacting baseline recording for functional MRI studies. We investigated in 23 healthy individuals without any former MRI experience (scanner-naïve) the relations between anxiety, 0.1-Hz BOLD oscillations and heart rate variability (HRV) in two separate resting state sessions (R1, R2). BOLD signals were recorded from precentral gyrus (PCG) and insula in both hemispheres. Phase-locking and time delays were computed in the frequency band 0.07–0.13 Hz. Positive (pTD) and negative time delays (nTD) were found. The pTD characterize descending neural BOLD oscillations spreading from PCG to insula and nTD characterize ascending vascular BOLD oscillations related to blood flow in the middle cerebral artery. HRV power in two low frequency bands 0.06–0.1 Hz and 0.1–0.14 Hz was computed. Based on the drop rate of the anxiety level from R1 to R2, two groups could be identified: one with a strong anxiety decline (large drop group) and one with a moderate decline or even anxiety increase (small drop group). A significant correlation was found only between the left-hemispheric time delay (pTD, nTD) of BOLD oscillations and anxiety drop, with a dominance of nTD in the large drop group. The analysis of within-scanner HRV revealed a pronounced increase of low frequency power between both resting states, dominant in the band 0.06–0.1 Hz in the large drop group and in the band 0.1–0.14 Hz in the small drop group. These results suggest different mechanisms related to anxiety processing in healthy individuals. One mechanism (large drop group) could embrace an increase of blood circulation in the territory of the left middle cerebral artery (vascular BOLD) and another (small drop group) translates to rhythmic central commands (neural BOLD) in the frequency band 0.1–0.14 Hz.