Abstract: The structural health monitoring method of the present invention utilizes a sensor system to determine information about deformation, stress and/or damage in structural elements. The sensor system and the method employ at least one sensor which comprises a material having fully-reversible nonlinear elasticity. The method comprises associating at least one sensor including a material having fully-reversible nonlinear elasticity with a structural element in a manner whereby stress is transferred from said structural element to said sensor, propagating ultrasound through a portion of the sensor, receiving the ultrasound which has been propagated through at least a portion of the sensor and determining information about the structural element from attenuation and/or time of flight of said received ultrasound.

Abstract: Method of detecting a leak in a fuel system comprising a fuel tank and an orifice with a controlled section between the tank and the atmosphere, according to which a) the controlled section is set to a value Al at a time T1 and a pressure differential ?p1 between the inside of the tank and the atmosphere is measured at least after an interval of time ?T from T1, for a constant fuel flow out of the tank; b) the controlled section is set to a value A2 at a time T2 and a pressure differential ?p2 between the inside of the tank and the atmosphere is measured at least after the same interval of time ?T from T2, for the same constant fuel flow; c) a ratio of the pressure differentials ?p1 and ?p2 is computed and is compared to a reference pressure differential ratio ?pL obtained with the same fuel system but comprising a calibrated leak.

Abstract: A method for filtering noise from seismic data is disclosed. The method includes: receiving at least one seismic data set; computing a value of at least one subset of a plurality of subsets of the at least one seismic data set; computing quartiles and an upper moustache (M) for the plurality of subsets; comparing the upper moustache (M) to the value of the at least one subset; and one of discarding and retaining the at least one subset as filtered seismic data. A system and computer program product for filtering noise from seismic data is also disclosed.

Abstract: A mobile device configured to estimate the speed at which it is moving. The mobile device includes a timing component configured to perform a plurality of Doppler shift measurements on a timing signal received by the mobile device. The mobile device also includes a processing component configured to correlate the size of the range of the plurality of Doppler shift measurements to the speed at which the mobile device is moving.

Abstract: This method for measuring the diameter of a circular track on a component comprises: a) a step (162) of moving the component along a measurement path, b) as the component is moving along the measurement path, a measurement step (170), for measuring at least one parameter, without contact with the component, c) a step (186) of determining the diameter of the circular track from the parameters measured. During step a) a robot continuously moves the component at an instantaneous speed that is never zero along the measurement path and an instantaneous acceleration that never changes sign along the measurement path.

Abstract: To determine fluid flow information associated with a well, data from plural discrete temperature sensors in zones without radial fluid flow in the well are received. The fluid flow information associated with the well is derived by combining the received data from the plural discrete temperature sensors with reservoir data that is independent of the fluid flow. That information can be further enhanced by monitoring the changes of temperature data over time.

Abstract: A living body light measuring device including plural light-radiating devices for radiating light to a head of a subject, plural light-receiving devices for detecting light which is transmitted through the head of the subject after radiation from the light-radiating devices, a calculator for calculating a change of concentration of oxidized and deoxidized hemoglobin in the head of the subject at a measurement point using a pair of each of the plural light-radiating devices and corresponding ones of the light-receiving devices. The calculator decides whether the oxidized hemoglobin concentration change and the deoxidized hemoglobin concentration change are statistically significant at each of the measurement points, and the display displays the decisions regarding the individual measurement points.

Abstract: A method for monitoring performance of an actuator is provided that includes the steps of: 1) determining an actuator response time constant in a control system, which actuator response time constant is representative of a task time taken by the actuator to complete a selected percentage of a task; 2) determining a rate of change of the actuator response time constant over a predetermined number of events; 3) determining a fault value indicative of when the actuator response time constant will equal or exceed an error time constant using the determined rate of change of the actuator response time constant; and 4) outputting a signal from the control system representative of the determined fault value.

Abstract: An inclination calculation apparatus sequentially calculates an inclination of an input device operable in terms of a posture thereof. The input device includes acceleration detection means and imaging means. The inclination calculation apparatus sequentially calculates first inclination information representing an inclination of the input device from positions of two imaging targets in a taken image obtained by the imaging means. The inclination calculation apparatus also sequentially calculates second inclination information representing an inclination of the input device from an acceleration detected by the acceleration detection means. The inclination calculation apparatus calculates an inclination of the input device using the first inclination information and the second inclination information.

Abstract: A position detecting device for a motor includes a resolver, amplifiers and a microcomputer. The microcomputer corrects an amplified sine wave signal to have the same amplitude in both positive and negative polarities, and corrects an amplified cosine wave signal to have the same amplitude in both positive and negative polarities. The microcomputer further corrects the corrected sine wave signal or the corrected cosine wave signal to have the same amplitude therebetween. The rotation position is determined accurately based on the sine wave signal and the cosine wave signal of the same amplitude, even if the amplifiers have different operation characteristics.

Abstract: A method of automatically correlating well logs includes selecting well loops from the well logs and creating a set of possible marker positions for each well log in each well loop. From the possible marker positions, alternate marker sets are iteratively selected. A well tie error on each loop is calculated for each selected marker set, summed over all loops and minimized.

Abstract: A system and method for structural health monitoring (SHM) of a physical structure, such as an aircraft component. The system may comprise a central data acquisition module and a plurality of wireless, self-contained sensor wafers bonded to a surface of the physical structure. The central data acquisition module and the sensor wafers may be communicably coupled in a hierarchical order. If any of the sensor wafers detects a structural fault, it may be stored in a memory of the central data acquisition module for retrieval by maintenance personnel. If one or more of the sensor wafers malfunctions, the central data acquisition module may reconfigure the hierarchical order in which the sensor wafers communicate to exclude the malfunctioning sensor wafer or wafers. The sensor wafers may include a sensor, circuitry, a wireless antenna, and a power source.

Abstract: A mobile system powers, charges, and communicates with separate devices, such as sensors and actuators. The mobile system includes an unmanned vehicle for approaching and wirelessly electromagnetically powering the separate device.

Abstract: A method of estimating a clearance between at least one rotating object of a rotary machine and a second object is provided. The method includes measuring an operating parameter of the rotary machine. The method also includes obtaining signals corresponding to the at least one rotating object across multiple revolutions in time, wherein the number of the revolutions is determined based upon the measured operating parameter. The method further includes generating waveforms corresponding to the at least one rotating object from the obtained signals for the revolutions. The method also includes estimating the clearance between the second object and the at least one rotating object based upon the generated waveforms.

Abstract: A self-calibration method and apparatus for on-axis rotary encoders comprising the steps of: receiving output signals from a detector during a spindle-free response period, the signals including a plurality of data sets wherein each data set comprises the periods between sampling events occurring in one revolution of the encoder at an angular speed, selecting a data set pair from the output signals, wherein the data set pair contains two linearly uncorrelated data sets; defining a model of the angular distances between each sampling event occurring in one revolution of the encoder as a function of one or more damping coefficients and the periods between each sampling event as contained in the data set pair; solving the model for the angular distances for the data set pair using circular closure and dynamic reversal techniques; and establishing an encoder error map using the selected solved angular distances from the model.

Abstract: Electrical measures of resistivity and permittivity of engine lubricating oil are gathered continuously under normal vehicle engine operating conditions and combined into a composite parameter, the aggregated electrical measure, which, is indicative of engine oil condition and when plotted over the useful life of the oil displays a first linear slope anticipatory of the end of oil life followed by a second, steeper slope indicative of the end of oil life. An algorithm, implementable in an on-vehicle computer, to reliably detect these features is described.

Abstract: A system and method for estimating a condition of a power module is provided. In accordance with an embodiment, a motor controller may be maintained by tracking a total proportion of power module life expended by a power module in a variable frequency motor controller based on a minimum junction temperature or a mean junction temperature and a junction temperature change, and indicating when the power module is estimated to fail.

Abstract: A specific-condition-section detection apparatus configured to detect a specific condition section in a data signal having a signal level that continues to be closer to a predetermined signal level than a reference level includes a signal correcting unit configured to correct the data signal so that a segment of the data signal is corrected to a level closer to the predetermined signal level than the reference level for a predetermined amount of time starting from the point where the signal level of the data signal changes from a level closer to the predetermined signal level than the reference level to a level further away from the predetermined signal level than the reference level, and a determining unit configured to determine whether the level of the corrected data signal is closer to the predetermined signal level than the reference level.

Abstract: Method of acquisition and processing of an intake pressure signal in an internal combustion engine without an intake manifold; the internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder that receives fresh air through an intake duct, which is controlled by a butterfly valve and is provided with a pressure sensor connected to an electronic control unit. The acquisition and processing method provides for the following steps: measuring, via the pressure sensor, the instantaneous induction pressure at a plurality of different crank angles distributed over an engine cycle; storing, during each engine cycle, the instantaneous induction pressures in a fast acquisition buffer of the electronic control unit; and determining, at the end of each engine cycle, the mean induction pressure in the engine cycle by calculating a mean of the instantaneous induction pressures previously stored in the fast acquisition buffer of the electronic control unit.

Abstract: A system determines pedaling effort of a bicycle and includes a first detector to generate a first sensor signal responsive to passage of a force transmission chain across a first frame-fixed point located in proximity to the force transmission trajectory of the force transmission chain, a second detector for generating a second sensor signal responsive to passage of a force transmission chain across a second frame-fixed point located in proximity to the force transmission trajectory of the force transmission chain, and a controller configured to receive the first and second sensor signals and configured to determine a first pedaling parameter proportional to tension of the force transmission chain by using the first and second sensor signal. A corresponding method for determining pedaling effort of a bicycle, and a computer program distribution medium including instructions for executing a computer process in a digital processor are also disclosed.