No / A comparison between two indoor localization algorithms using received signal strength is carried out. The first algorithm is the vector algorithm; the second is the matrix algorithm. The comparison considered the effects of the reference points, the access point, and the frequency on the accuracy of the localization process. The experiments were carried out using ray tracing software and MATLAB. This paper justifies the use of adopting the matrix algorithm.

The numerical solutions of Maxwell’s equations have been the cornerstone of photonic design for over a century. In recent years, the field of photonics has witnessed a surge in interest in inverse design, driven by the potential to engineer nonintuitive photonic structures with remarkable properties. However, the conventional approach to inverse design, which relies on fully discretized numerical simulations, faces significant challenges in terms of computational efficiency and scalability. This thesis delves into an alternative paradigm for inverse design, leveraging the power of semi-analytical methods. Unlike their fully discretized counterparts, semi-analytical methods hold the promise of enabling simulations that are independent of the computational grid size, potentially revolutionizing the design and optimization of photonic structures. To achieve this goal, we put forth a more generalized formalism for semi-analytical methods and have developed a comprehensive differential theory to underpin their operation. This theoretical foundation not only enhances our understanding of these methods but also paves the way for their broader application in the field of photonics. In the final stages of our investigation, we illustrate how the semi-analytical simulation framework can be effectively employed in practical photonic design scenarios. We demonstrate the synergy of semi-analytical methods with ray tracing techniques, showcasing their combined potential in the creation of large-scale optical lens systems and other complex optical devices.

No description available.

The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is an international network of high frequency (HF) coherent scatter radars, employed to detect backscatter from magnetic field aligned plasma irregularities in the ionosphere and to study the near- Earth space weather. Space weather impacts many technological systems including HF communications, Global Positioning System (GPS), and surveillance radars. Variations in the pattern of the backscatter from the ground ("ground scatter") observed by the SuperDARN radars give information regarding the state of the ionosphere. In this thesis, ray tracing simulation of the observed ground scatter pattern for the mid-latitude SuperDARN radar at Blackstone, Virginia is implemented. An existing ray tracing code was modified, to incorporate the IRI-2007 model for electron density. This ray tracing code was used to simulate the ground scatter pattern observed at Blackstone in the year 2009. Simulations were compared with the observed ground scatter to assess our understanding of the ionospheric conditions. The IRI-2007 model is found to be adequate to predict the average ground scatter pattern observed through the year, including the winter anomaly. However, one deficiency with the IRI-2007 model is its inability to predict the sporadic E layer formation in summer and an anomalous evening enhancement in backscatter power observed in some months of the year, described here for the first time. Finally some suggestions are presented for the further improvement of the simulation methods for backscatter prediction. / Master of Science

Wind energy is the world´s fastest-growing renewable energy source. Thus, the amount of people exposed to wind farm noise is increasing. Due to its broadband amplitude modulated characteristic, wind turbine noise (WTN) is more annoying than noise produced by other common community/industrial sources. Aerodynamic noise along the blade span is the dominant noise source of modern large wind turbines. This type of noise propagates through the atmosphere in the proximity of wind farms. However, modelling and simulating WTN propagation over large distances is challenging due to the complexity of atmospheric conditions. Real temperature, wind velocity and relative humidity measurements typically show a characteristic nonlinear behavior. A comprehensive propagation model that addresses this problem while maintaining high accuracy and computational efficiency is necessary. A Hamiltonian Ray tracing (HRT) technique coupled to aerodynamically induced WTN is presented in this work. It incorporates acoustic wave refraction due to spatial speed of sound gradients, a full Doppler Effect formulation resulting from wind velocities in any arbitrary direction, proper acoustic energy dissipation during propagation, and ground reflection. The HRT method averts many of the setbacks presented by other common numerical approaches such as fast field program (FFP), parabolic equation methods (PE), and the standard Eikonal ray tracing (ERT) technique. In addition, it is not bounded to the linearity assumptions made for analytic propagation solutions. A wave phase tracking analysis through inhomogeneous and moving media is performed. Curved ray-paths are numerically computed by solving a non-linear system of coupled first order differential equations. Sound pressure levels through the propagation media are then calculated by using standard ray tubes and performing energy analysis along them. The ray model is validated by comparing a monopole’s ray path results against analytically obtained ones. Sound pressure level predictions are also validated against both FFP and ERT methods. Finally, results for a 5MW modern wind turbine over a flat acoustically soft terrain are provided. / Master of Science / Modelling propagation of noise produced by wind turbines over large distances is a challenging task. Real temperature distributions, flow characteristics around wind turbines, and relative humidity are some of the parameters that affect the behavior of the produced sound in the atmosphere. To this end, a Hamiltonian ray tracing tool that models the propagation of wind turbine noise has been developed and is the main focus of this thesis. This method avoids many of the limitations and inaccurate assumptions presented by other common numerical and analytical approaches. In addition, current commercial noise propagation codes are incapable of fully capturing the physical complexity of the problem. Finally, validation and simulation results for a wind turbine over flat terrain are presented in order to demonstrate the superior accuracy and computational efficiency of the Hamiltonian approach.

This thesis describes advanced techniques for site-specific propagation prediction. The need for accurate site-specific propagation is discussed in the context of current trends in the wireless industry. The first half of the report is dedicated to measuring and modeling continuous wave (CW) local-area path loss. Specifically, the text uses examples from a 5.85 GHz CW measurement campaign in and around suburban homes. Not only do these measurements demonstrate the validity of the original models and techniques presented in the thesis, but the results themselves may prove particularly useful for developing in-home wireless devices operating in the National Information Infrastructure band. This unlicensed spectrum was allocated in January of 1997 and holds promising applications for public and private telecommunications, home-based wireless internet, wireless local loops, and any number of wideband wireless applications. There is an in-depth development of deterministic propagation prediction techniques in the latter half of the thesis. The use of geometrical optics for terrestrial microwave propagation is discussed as well as an overview of the numerous ray tracing techniques that exist in the literature. Finally, a new 3D ray launching method is presented which improves upon many of the existing ray tracing algorithms. The thesis demonstrates how this algorithm is capable of recovering very detailed channel information from a wideband deterministic propagation prediction. / Master of Science

Cette thèse a apporté une contribution au défi de la caractérisation des canaux radios en bandes millimétriques ainsi que la validation d'un outil de simulation déterministe à travers un grand nombre de campagnes de mesures réalisées dans divers scénarios représentatives. Des questions de recherche liées à la caractérisation des canaux radio en bandes millimétriques et sa prédiction à travers un outil de simulation déterministe ont été abordées. Fournir des résultats précis et reproductibles est nécessaire dans le développement d'un système de communication. Ce défi peut être relevé en réalisant des campagnes de mesures qui capturent la réalité du canal de propagation constituant le point de départ. Dans cette thèse, les principales motivations scientifiques derrière ces campagnes de mesures étaient d'étudier la variabilité dans le temps et l'effet de l'environnement sur le canal de propagation dans les bandes millimétriques. Les bandes de fréquences adressées dans cette thèse sont identifiées comme étant importantes par l'UIT en vue d'un futur déploiement de la 5G à savoir 15, 28, 32 et 83 GHz. Les environnements considérés sont une conférence room, bureau, bibliothèque et micro-cellulaire. Les campagnes de mesures ont été menées en utilisant un sondage de canal fréquentiel avec l'utilisation d'un analyseur de réseau. L'exploitation des résultats de mesures ont permis d'apporter des éléments de réponses concernant le canal de propagation dans ces bandes de fréquences. D'autre part, les données de mesures ont été utilisés pour évaluer les performances et contribuer à la calibration d’un simulateur de canal radio à tracé de rayons (RT) reposant sur une approche déterministe. Le simulateur de canal déterministe utilisé dans cette thèse incorpore les mécanismes de propagation tels que le LOS, la réflexion et la diffraction. Le RT a permis de prédire le canal de propagation dans les bandes millimétriques avec une concordance acceptable avec les données de mesures. Ces résultats démontrent que le canal de propagation en bandes millimétriques a pour avantage d'être prédit avec de simple outil déterministe. / This thesis has contributed to the challenge of the radio channel characterizations in millimeter wave bands as well as the validation of a deterministic simulation tool through a large number of measurement campaigns carried out in various representative scenarios. Research questions related to the characterization of radio channels in millimetric bands and its prediction through a deterministic simulation tool were discussed. Providing accurate and repeatable results is necessary for the development of a communication system. This challenge can be meet by conducting measurement campaigns that capture the reality of the propagation channel and therefore constituting the starting point. In this thesis, the main scientific motivations behind these measurement campaigns were to study the time variability and the effect of the scattering environment of the propagation channel in the millimetric bands. The frequency bands addressed in this thesis are identified as important by the ITU for a future deployment of 5G, namely 15, 28, 32 and 83 GHz. The environments considered are a conference room, office, library and microcellular. The measurement campaigns were conducted using a frequency channel sounding technique with the use of a vector network analyzer. The exploitation of the measurement data provided some answers about the radio chennel propagation in these frequency bands. On the other hand, the measurements data were used to evaluate the performance and to contribute to the calibration of the ray-tracing tool (RT) based on a deterministic approach. The RT used in this thesis incorporates propagation mechanisms such as LOS, reflection and diffraction. The RT predicted the propagation channel in the millimeter bands with an acceptable level of agreement with respect to the measurement data. These results demonstrate that the propagation channel in millimetric bands has the advantage of being predicted with a simple deterministic tool.

The propagation paths of sound in water can be somewhat complicated due to the fact that the sound speed in water varies with properties such as water temperature and pressure, which has the effect of curving the propagation paths. This thesis shows how sound propagation in water can be simulated using a ray-tracing based approach on a GPU using Nvidia’s OptiX ray-tracing engine. In particular, it investigates how much speed-up can be achieved compared to CPU based implementations and whether the RT cores introduced in Nvidia’s Turing architecture, which provide hardware accelerated ray-tracing, can be used to speed up the computations. The presented GPU implementation is shown to be up to 310 times faster then the CPU based Fortran implementation Bellhop. Although the speed-up is significant, it is hard to say how much speed-up is gained by utilizing the RT cores due to not having anything equivalent to compare the performance to.

The time required for inspection and maintenance of piping systems and vessels needs to be reduced to both minimize down time and decrease operational costs of petrochemical plants. Current ultrasonic inspection systems are not suited for on-line monitoring, with the main issues being the resistance of transducers and their coupling to high temperatures and the removal of insulation to access structures. The use of welded cylindrical rods is thus proposed, but measurements are threatened by "trailing echo" generation in waveguides. The introduction of a taper angle is investigated to attenuate these undesired echoes. While clean signals can always be obtained by increasing the taper angle in long rods, that is not always the case for short rods, which are considered here. In addition, temperature variations have a non-negligible impact on the arrival time of the backwall echo when performing measurements with a waveguide, and on-line compensation is essential. Since the interface echo between the rod and the pipe wall may be suppressed after the welding operation, a notch is machined at the end of the rod to create a reflected echo, which can be used for on-line compensation. Finally, the implementation of waveguides is considered for both pulse-echo and pitch-catch modes. In the pitch-catch mode, the backwall echo and the notch echo are received by different transducers and signals of interst are both first arrivals. As a result, trailing echoes do not impede measurements and their attenuation becomes unnecessary. In contrast, pulse-echo measurements are sensitive to trailing echoes and the waveguide's design plays an essential role in the feasibility of measurements. However, the environment also imposes a set of constraints on waveguide dimensions that complicates the implementation of pulse-echo measurements. Being more flexible, the pitch-catch configuration is chosen for final implementation. Experiments are performed to verify the concept feasibility, and the accuracy of measurements with thickness and temperature changes is also confirmed.

BARRETO, Isaac Moreira. Cálculo do Fator-de-Forma exato entre Áreas Diferencial e Finita Usando CSG. 2008. 55 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências, Departamento de Computação, Fortaleza-CE, 2008. / Submitted by guaracy araujo (guaraa3355@gmail.com) on 2016-07-01T17:52:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_imbarreto.pdf: 752627 bytes, checksum: 2c1a97d41785e527e97633cc6c7e9756 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by guaracy araujo (guaraa3355@gmail.com) on 2016-07-01T17:56:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_imbarreto.pdf: 752627 bytes, checksum: 2c1a97d41785e527e97633cc6c7e9756 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-01T17:56:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_imbarreto.pdf: 752627 bytes, checksum: 2c1a97d41785e527e97633cc6c7e9756 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / The Ray-Tracing and Radiosity methods are the main representatives of the method that solve the global illumination problem. In both mthods it is necessary to know the energy tranfer ratio between two areas. This ratio, called form factor, is one of the key concepts in Radiosity methods and is being more frequently used in Ray-Tracing methods with finite area light sources. There are many methods for the computation of the form factor, most of them are approximative due to a matter of performance, but, in some specific cases, the extra computational effort needed to compute the exact value of the form factor can improve the overall performance of the illumination method. In general, in these cases, the computational effort needed to obtain an acceptable approximation of the form factor outweighs the effort necessary to compute the exact value. Furthermore there are situation, for example, shadow boundary shading, in which a high precision is far more important than a performance gain. In this work we present a method to compute the exact form factor between a finite area and a differential area which uses CSG techniques to identify the ooccluded areas of the source. / Os métodos de Ray-Tracing e Radiosidade são os principais representantes dos métodos existentes para resolver o problema de iluminação global. Em ambos os métodos se faz necessário saber a taxa de transferência de energia luminosa entre duas áreas. Essa taxa de transferência, chamada de fator-de-forma, é um dos pontos principais no método de Radiosidade e vem sendo usado cada vez com mais frequência em métodos de Ray-Tracing com fontes luminosas de área finita. Existem vários métodos para o cálculo do fator-de-forma, a maioria deles são aproximativos por uma questão de desempenho. Porém, em casos específicos, o trabalho extra para calcular o valor exato do fator-de-forma pode melhorar o desempenho global do método. Em geral, nesses casos, o esforço necessário para se obter uma aproximação aceitável do valor do fator-de-forma supera o esforço necessário para calcular o valor exato em si. Além disso, existem situações, tais como a renderização nas áreas de fronteiras de sombras, em que uma alta precisão é mais importante do que um ganho no desempenho. Nessas situações, é desejável que o método tenha ao seu dispor uma maneira de calcular o valor exato do fator-de-forma. Neste trabalho é apresentado um método para calcular o fator-de-forma exato entre uma área finita e uma área diferencial que utiliza de técnicas CSG para identificar as áreas ocluídas do polígono emissor.