High resolution Time of Flight determination based on reconfigurable logic devices for future PET/MR systems
Abstract This contribution shows how to perform Time of Flight (TOF) measurements in PET systems using low-cost Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices with a resolution better of 100 ps. This is achieved with a proper management of the FPGA internal resources and with an extremely careful device calibration process including both temperature and voltage compensation. Preliminary results are reported.
Optimization of hybrid – ground coupled and air source – heat pump systems in combination with thermal storage
Ground coupled heat pumps are attractive solutions for cooling and heating commercial buildings due to their high efficiency and their reduced environmental impact. Two possible ideas to improve the efficiency of these systems are decoupling energy generation from energy distribution and combining different HVAC systems. Based on these two ideas, we present several HVAC configurations which combine the following equipments: a ground coupled heat pump, an air to water heat pump and a thermal storage device. These HVAC configurations are linked to an office building in a cooling dominated area in order to evaluate in these conditions the total electrical consumption of each configuration to o…
Imaging quality of multifocal intraocular lenses: automated assessment setup
[EN] Purpose: A new technique for the assessment of the optical quality of multifocal intraocular lenses (MIOLs) under monochromatic and polychromatic illumination is presented. Methods: The system provides, in a totally automated procedure, the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the lens under test for different axial positions of the object. The artificial eye admits different artificial corneas, to optimise the axial resolution in the sampling of the MTF of the MIOL under test, and different pupils, to test the dependence of the optical performance of the MIOL on the eye pupil diameter. Results: The performance and sensitivity of the apparatus is tested with different commercial MIOLs…
Real-time Electrode Misalignment Detection Device for RSW Basing on Magnetic Fields
Application of a new wireless instrument to characterize thermal properties of ground coupled heat exchangers
Abstract In this work, we report the design and laboratory test of a new instrument to measure the temperature of the heat transfer fluid along the borehole exchanger (BHE) by autonomous wireless sensor. The instrument consists of a device, which inserts and extracts miniaturized wireless sensors in the borehole with a mechanical subsystem, composed by a circulating pump and two valves. This device transmits to the sensors the acquisition configuration, and downloads the temperature data measured by the sensor along its way through the borehole heat exchanger. Each sensor is included in a sphere of 25 mm diameter and contains a transceiver, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a powe…
Design of Advanced Digital Systems Based on High-Speed Optical Links
Optical fiber links offer very important benefits as EMI immunity, low losses, high bandwidth, etc, so an increasing number of communication applications are being developed and deployed. At both sides of these optical links, the optical data signal has to be converted to (or from) the electronic domain. The processing of such a high speed optical signals is not straightforward in most cases, and special considerations need to be taken into account for a proper electronic design.
Novel Wireless Sensor System for Dynamic Characterization of Borehole Heat Exchangers
The design and field test of a novel sensor system based in autonomous wireless sensors to measure the temperature of the heat transfer fluid along a borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is presented. The system, by means of two specials valves, inserts and extracts miniaturized wireless sensors inside the pipes of the borehole, which are carried by the thermal fluid. Each sensor is embedded in a small sphere of just 25 mm diameter and 8 gr weight, containing a transceiver, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a power supply. A wireless data processing unit transmits to the sensors the acquisition configuration before the measurements, and also downloads the temperature data measured by the…
Temperature measurements along a vertical borehole heat exchanger: A method comparison
Abstract The standard thermal response tests (TRT) provide integral and effective thermal parameters of the ground in the vicinity of borehole heat exchangers (BHE). However, typical ground properties are heterogeneously distributed. As a result, advanced TRT such as distributed and enhanced TRT are growing in popularity as they provide more spatial information of the thermal properties. Thus, the objective of this study is to compare various instruments to measure the depth-dependent temperatures using standard Pt100-sensors, fiber optical thermometers and novel instruments such as Geowire, Geoball and GEOsniff®. The investigations are carried out in a 30 m length test borehole. The result…
RF Acquisition System Based on μTCA for Testing of High-Gradient Acceleration Cavities
The radio frequency (RF) laboratory hosted in the Corpuscular Physics Institute (IFIC) of the University of Valencia is designed to house a high-power and high-repetition-rate facility to test normal conduction RF accelerator cavities in the S-Band (2.9985 GHz) in order to perform R&D activities related to particle accelerator cavities. The system, which manages the entire process of RF signal generation, data acquisition and closed-loop control of the laboratory, is currently based on a modular and compact PXI platform system. This contribution details the development of a platform with similar features, but which is based on open architecture standards at both the hardware and softwar…
Thermal response test analysis for U-pipe vertical borehole heat exchangers under groundwater flow conditions
[EN] Conventional models used in the analysis of thermal response test data only consider conduction as heat transfer mechanism. In cases where presence of groundwater is detected, convection heat transmission plays an important role, so its influence must be determined in the calculation of the effective thermal conductivity, usually overestimated in these situations, increasing its value the higher the power injected and the time elapsed. In this work, based on the data collected in a borehole located at UPV (Valencia) in which have been carried out three thermal response tests with different characteristics, has been implemented a variation of the finite line source model introducing an …
Influence of the distance in a roundhouse kick's execution time and impact force in Taekwondo.
Taekwondo, originally a Korean martial art, is well known for its kicks. One of the most frequently used kicks in competition is Bandal Chagui or roundhouse kick. Excellence in Taekwondo relies on the ability to make contact with the opponent's trunk or face with enough force in as little time as possible, while at the same time avoiding being hit. Thus, the distance between contestants is an important variable to be taken into consideration. Thirty-one Taekwondo athletes in two different groups (expert and novice, according to experience in competition) took part in this study. The purpose of this study was to examine both impact force and execution time in a Bandal Chagui or roundhouse ki…
Wireless Sensor Network for Monitoring Thermal Evolution of the Fluid Traveling inside Ground Heat Exchangers
Ground-Coupled Heat Pump (GCHP) systems are an attractive choice of system for heating and cooling buildings (Genchi, 2002; Sanner, 2003; Omer, 2008; Urchueguia, 2008). By comparison with standard technologies, these heat pumps offer competitive levels of comfort, reduced noise levels, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and reasonable environmental safety. Furthermore, their electrical consumption and maintenance requirements are lower than those required by conventional systems and, consequently, they have a lower annual operating cost (Lund, 2000). Ground source systems are recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as being among the most efficient and comfortable heating and co…
Determination of Core Size Dependency on the EMI Suppression in Cable Ferrites
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) engineering should be approached via the systems approach, considering EMC throughout the design to anticipate possible electromagnetic interferences (EMI) problems. Nevertheless, an EMI source may appear when the designed device is supplied via an external power system or it is connected to another device to communicate to it. In these both cases, the cables or interfaces that interconnect the systems could represent the EMI source. Thereby, one of the most common techniques for reducing EMI in cables is the application of an EMI suppressor such as sleeve ferrite cores to them. The advantage of this solution is that it does not involve redesign the elect…
Ground Coupled Heat Pumps in Mixed Climate Areas: Design, Characterization and Optimization
This contribution reviews the research work developed by the authors on the design, characterization and optimization of ground coupled heat pumps in mixed climates areas. The design of a ground coupled heat pump HVAC system starts with the estimation of the thermal loads that the air-conditioned area demands. The capacity of the ground source airconditioning system is determined from this thermal load estimation. With this value and a proper estimation of the ground thermal properties, the characteristics of the water to water heat pump and the required length and layout of the borehole heat exchangers are estimated. Determining ground thermal properties is crucial for an accurate design o…
A VLSI for deskewing and fault tolerance in LVDS links
The device presented at this work is a switch implemented in a 0.35 mum CMOS process for compensating the skew which affects parallel data signal transmissions and for providing fault tolerance in large scale scalable systems, for instance used in trigger farms for high energy physics experiments. The SWIFT chip (SWItch for Fault Tolerance) is part of a cluster built around commercially components which has been inspired by the LHCb experiment. The skew is extremely important because it directly affects the sample window available to the receiver logic and either forces to use quality and expensive cables in order to minimize its effects or reduces the maximum signal transmission range or d…
Timing results using an FPGA-based TDC with large arrays of 144 SiPMs
Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have become an alternative to traditional tubes due to several features. However, their implementation to form large arrays is still a challenge especially due to their relatively high intrinsic noise, depending on the chosen readout. In this contribution, two modules composed of SiPMs with an area of roughly mm mm are used in coincidence. Coincidence resolving time (CRT) results with a field-programmable gate array, in combination with a time to digital converter, are shown as a function of both the sensor bias voltage and the digitizer threshold. The dependence of the CRT on the sensor matrix temperature, the amount of SiPM active area and the crystal type…
Improving bleeding detector features for electron intraoperative radiotherapy
Abstract Purpose The aim of this work is to improve the potential bleeding detection during intraoperative radiotherapy with linac polymethyl methacrylate applicators (PMMA), based on one previously developed. The improvements carried out have been focused on: i) minimizing the impact of the detector on the visual through the plastic applicators and ii) avoiding the asymmetry in the detection capability when the applicator is tilted. Methods Simulations have been made to select the geometry that provides a reduced visual impact on the applicator as well as allowing an independent response with the tilting angle of the applicator. A low-noise circuit for signal conditioning has been develope…
A Novel Method for the Real-time Force Losses Detection in Servo Welding Guns
Efficiency improvement of a ground coupled heat pump system from energy management
The installed capacity of an air conditioning system is usually higher than the average cooling or heating demand along the year. So, most of the time, the system is working under its actual capacity. In this contribution, we study the way to improve the efficiency of a ground coupled heat pump air conditioning system by adapting its produced thermal energy to the actual thermal demand. For this purpose, an air conditioning system composed by a ground coupled heat pump and a central fan coil linked to an office located in a cooling dominated area was simulated, and a new management strategy aiming to diminish electrical consumption was developed under the basic constraint that comfort requi…
A cellular automaton based model simulating HVAC fluid and heat transport in a building. Modeling approach and comparison with experimental results
A discrete model characterizing heat and fluid flow in connection with thermal fluxes in a building is described and tested against experiment in this contribution. The model, based on a cellular automaton approach, relies on a set of a few quite simple rules and parameters in order to simulate the dynamic evolution of temperatures and energy flows in any water or brine based thermal energy distribution network in a building or system. Using an easy-to-record input, such as the instantaneous electrical power demand of the heating or cooling system, our model predicts time varying temperatures in characteristic spots and the related enthalpy flows whose simulation usually requires heavy comp…
Development of the optical multiplexer board prototype for data acquisition in TileCal experiment
The optical multiplexer board is one of the elements present in the read out chain of the tile calorimeter in ATLAS experiment. Due to radiation effects, two optical fibers with the same data come out from the front end boards to this board, which has to decide in real time which one carries good data and pass them to the read out driver motherboard for processing. This paper describes the design and tests of the first prototype, implemented as a 6U VME64x slave module, including both hardware and firmware aspects. In this last, algorithms for cyclic redundancy code checking are used to make the decision. Besides, the board may be used as a data injector for testing purposes of the read out…
Transmission Attenuation Power Ratio Analysis of Flexible Electromagnetic Absorber Sheets Combined with a Metal Layer.
Electromagnetic noise absorber sheets have become a solution for solving complex electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems due to their high magnetic losses. This contribution is focused on characterizing a novel structure that is based on an absorber film with a metal layer attached on its top side. Two different absorber compositions were combined with Al and Cu metal layers in order to study the improvement on the performance of these structures, depending on the complex permeability, absorber film thickness, and type of metal. The transmission attenuation power ratio of the absorber films is analyzed and compared to the performance of absorber and metal structures. The measurement pro…
Extraction of thermal characteristics of surrounding geological layers of a geothermal heat exchanger by 3D numerical simulations
Ground thermal conductivity and borehole thermal resistance are key parameters for the design of closed Ground-Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems. The standard method to determine these parameters is the Thermal Response Test (TRT). This test analyses the ground thermal response to a constant heat power injection or extraction by measuring inlet and outlet temperatures of the fluid at the top of the borehole heat exchanger. These data are commonly evaluated by models considering the ground being homogeneous and isotropic. This approach estimates an effective ground thermal conductivity representing an average of the thermal conductivity of the different layers crossed by perforation. In order …
Time of flight measurements based on FPGA using a breast dedicated PET
In this work the implementation of a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) using a Nutt delay line FPGA-based and applied on a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) device is going to be presented in order to check the system’s suitability for Time of Flight (TOF) measurements. In recent years, FPGAs have shown great advantages for precise time measurements in PET. The architecture employed for these measurements is described in detail. The system developed was tested on a dedicated breast PET prototype, composed of LYSO crystals and Positive Sensitive Photomultipliers (PSPMTs). Two distinct experiments were carried out for this purpose. In the first test, system linearity was evaluated in order to …
Time of flight measurements based on FPGA and SiPMs for PET–MR
Coincidence time measurements with SiPMs have shown to be suitable for PET/MR systems. The present study is based on 3 x 3 mm(2) SiPMs, LSO crystals and a conditioning signal electronic circuit. A Constant Fraction Discriminator (CFD) is used to digitalize the signals and a TDC FPGA-implemented is employed for fine time measurements. TDC capability allows processing the arrival of multiple events simultaneously, measuring times under 100 ps. The complete set-up for time measurements results on a resolution of 892 +/- 41 ps for a pair of detectors. The details of such implementation are exposed and the trade-offs of each configuration are discussed. (C) 2013 Elsevier By, All rights reserved,
Novel instruments and methods to estimate depth-specific thermal properties in borehole heat exchangers
Standard thermal response tests (TRT) are typically carried out to evaluate subsurface thermal parameters for the design and performance evaluation of borehole heat exchangers (BHE). Typical interp ...
Novel Instrument for Temperature Measurements in Borehole Heat Exchangers
The thermal response test (TRT) is the standard method for characterizing the thermal properties of the ground and those of a borehole heat exchanger (BHE). During the TRT, the inlet and outlet temperatures of the BHE are monitored. However, this test typically considers the ground as a homogeneous, isotropic, and infinite media, and therefore, it only determines the bulk and effective parameters, such as effective thermal conductivity and thermal borehole resistance. Hence, the enhanced TRT protocols are necessary where the depth-dependent temperatures are measured to estimate depth-specific thermal properties. Thus, a novel instrument with a data logger to automatically obtain the tempera…
Optimization of a Time-to-Digital Converter and a coincidence map algorithm for TOF-PET applications
This contribution describes the optimization of a multichannel high resolution Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) in a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) initially capable of obtaining time resolutions below 100ps for multiple channels. Due to its fast propagation capability it has taken advantage of the FPGA internal carry logic for accurate time measurements. Furthermore, the implementation of the TDC has been performed in different clock regions and tested with different frequencies as well, achieving improvements of up to 50% for a pair of channels. Moreover, since the TDC is potentially going to be used in a trigger system for Positron Emission Tomography (PET), the algorithm for coinci…
Characterization of Different Cable Ferrite Materials to Reduce the Electromagnetic Noise in the 2–150 kHz Frequency Range
The gap of standardization for conducted and field coupled electromagnetic interferences (EMI) in the 2–150 kHz frequency range can lead to Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) problems. This is caused by power systems such as Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controlled rectifiers, photovoltaic inverters or charging battery units in electric vehicles. This is a very important frequency spectral due to interferences generated in a wide range of devices and, specifically, communication problems in the new technologies and devices incorporated to the traditional grid to convert it into a Smart Grid. Consequently, it is necessary to provide new solutions to attenuate this kind of interference, which…
Characterization of Different Cable Ferrite Materials to Reduce the Electromagnetic Noise in the 2–150 kHz Frequency Range
The gap of standardization for conducted and field coupled electromagnetic interferences (EMI) in the 2–150 kHz frequency range can lead to Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) problems. This is caused by power systems such as Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controlled rectifiers, photovoltaic inverters or charging battery units in electric vehicles. This is a very important frequency spectral due to interferences generated in a wide range of devices and, specifically, communication problems in the new technologies and devices incorporated to the traditional grid to convert it into a Smart Grid. Consequently, it is necessary to provide new solutions to attenuate this kind of interference, which…
Comparison between the energy performance of a ground coupled water to water heat pump system and an air to water heat pump system for heating and cooling in typical conditions of the European Mediterranean coast
Abstract The investigation presented in this article was aimed at demonstrating the technical and economical feasibility of using ground source heat pump systems in mixed climate applications, where cooling requirements are dominant. We show an experimental comparison between a ground coupled heat pump system and a conventional air to water heat pump system, focussing at the heating and cooling energy performance. A direct comparison could be made as both systems are linked, in parallel, to the same building with exactly the same loads and climatic conditions. For a whole climatic season the results obtained show that the geothermal system saves, in terms of primary energy consumption, a 43…
Advanced Control Structure for Energy Management in Ground Coupled Heat Pump HVAC System
Abstract Over the last 15 years, computerized controls have become more and more common in our homes. The smart home looks at expanding the use of the computers into the difference parts of the home, creating a network that can be easily and conveniently controlled. The use of computer controls removes the need to actually flick a switch and allows elements of the home to respond automatically to the people living in it. Successful control and heating ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems is a primary concern in building project: in order to achieve the required comfort and energy efficiency goals, a lot of variables must be coordinated and kept at particular pre-designed operatio…
High-resolution multichannel Time-to-Digital Converter core implemented in FPGA for ToF measurements in SiPM-PET
In this contribution, Coincidence Resolving Time (CRT) results with the developed multichannel FPGA-TDC are showed as a function of different configurations for both, the sensor bias voltage and the digitizer threshold. The dependence of the CRT with the sensor matrix temperature, the amount of SiPM active area and the crystal type are also analyzed. Preliminary measurements carried out with a crystal array of 2 mm pixel size and 10 mm height have shown time resolutions for the entire 144 SiPM two-detectors ensemble as good as 800 ps.