Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-213). / In this thesis, an innovative architecture for real-time adaptive and cooperative control of autonomous sensor platforms in a marine sensor network is described in the context of the autonomous oceanographic network scenario. This architecture has three major components, an intelligent, logical sensor that provides high-level environmental state information to a behavior-based autonomous vehicle control system, a new approach to behavior-based control of autonomous vehicles using multiple objective functions that allows reactive control in complex environments with multiple constraints, and an approach to cooperative robotics that is a hybrid between the swarm cooperation and intentional cooperation approaches. The mobility of the sensor platforms is a key advantage of this strategy, allowing dynamic optimization of the sensor locations with respect to the classification or localization of a process of interest including processes which can be time varying, not spatially isotropic and for which action is required in real-time. Experimental results are presented for a 2-D target tracking application in which fully autonomous surface craft using simulated bearing sensors acquire and track a moving target in open water. / (cont.) In the first example, a single sensor vehicle adaptively tracks a target while simultaneously relaying the estimated track to a second vehicle acting as a classification platform. In the second example, two spatially distributed sensor vehicles adaptively track a moving target by fusing their sensor information to form a single target track estimate. In both cases the goal is to adapt the platform motion to minimize the uncertainty of the target track parameter estimates. The link between the sensor platform motion and the target track estimate uncertainty is fully derived and this information is used to develop the behaviors for the sensor platform control system. The experimental results clearly illustrate the significant processing gain that spatially distributed sensors can achieve over a single sensor when observing a dynamic phenomenon as well as the viability of behavior-based control for dealing with uncertainty in complex situations in marine sensor networks. / by Donald Patrick Eickstedt. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2004. / Includes bibliographical references. / This study is a geochemical investigation into the accretion of lower oceanic crust and processes of shallow melt-rock reaction at mid-ocean ridges. Major-, trace-elements, and isotopes from whole-rocks and minerals from the Lyngen Gabbro, a 480-My old dismembered ophiolite from the Scandinavian Caledonides, indicate that this igneous complex was produced from hydrous supra-subduction zone magmas, a remnant of an incipient ocean-arc. Such ophiolites are better models for the structural evolution than the geochemical evolution of the lower oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges. Minerals in gabbros from Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge, a modern, in-situ example of lower ocean-crust, were analyzed for major and trace-elements. The MELTS algorithm indicates that these gabbros formed by near-fractional crystallization at mid-crustal pressures. The gabbroic crust is more evolved than the lavas and represents melts fractionated 50-95% relative to a mantle-derived melt-composition, supported by trace-element models. This argues against the often-cited gabbro-glacier accretion model, where mantle-derived melts are transported to a shallow melt-lens and fractionates there before eruption. There remain >770-m of additional primitive cumulates below 1500-m deep Hole 735B or within the underlying mantle. Thus, the seismic Moho, beneath Hole 735B, could be the crust-mantle boundary, rather than an alteration front as suggested elsewhere. The Atlantis Bank gabbros have augites that are more primitive than plagioclases and olivines with which they coexist. Melt-rock interaction, where ascending melts dissolve the pre-existing gabbroic rocks and create hybrid magma may have caused this. Dissolution-experiments for plagioclase-olivine and plagioclase-augite mineral pairs / (cont.) were performed at 1180⁰-1330⁰C and 20-min - 24hrs. Dissolution occurs rapidly and out of equilibrium, with the dissolution rates dependent on the [delta]T above the solidus. Rocks with small grain-boundary areas (coarse grained or nearly mono-mineralic) heat internally when enclosed in hot magma, causing xenoliths or wall-rock to melt and disaggregate. The dissolution-derived magma crystallizes minerals more refractory-looking than the melts that precipitated the original gabbroic rocks. Assimilation of gabbroic rocks increases the Na content and decreases the Fe content of the melt that digests it, thus basaltic glasses formed after this hybridization will falsely reflect a lower degree and pressure of mantle melting. / by Astri Jæger Sweetman Kvassnes. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-169). / Hurricanes, powerful storms with wind speeds that can exceed 80 m/s, are one of the most destructive natural disasters known to man. While current satellite technology has made it possible to effectively detect and track hurricanes, expensive 'hurricane-hunting' aircraft are required to accurately classify their destructive power. Here we show that passive undersea acoustic techniques may provide a promising tool for accurately quantifying the destructive power of a hurricane and so may provide a safe and inexpensive alternative to aircraft-based techniques. It is well known that the crashing of wind-driven waves generates underwater noise in the 10 Hz to 10 kHz range. Theoretical and empirical evidence are combined to show that underwater acoustic sensing techniques may be valuable for measuring the wind speed and determining the destructive power of a hurricane. This is done by first developing a model for the acoustic intensity and mutual intensity in an ocean waveguide due to a hurricane and then determining the relationship between local wind speed and underwater acoustic intensity. / (cont.) Acoustic measurements of the underwater noise generated by hurricane Gert are correlated with meteorological data from reconnaissance aircraft and satellites to show that underwater noise intensity between 10 and 50 Hz is approximately proportional to the cube of the local wind speed. From this it is shown that it should be feasible to accurately measure the local wind speed and quantify the destructive power of a hurricane if its eye wall passes directly over a single underwater acoustic sensor. The potential advantages and disadvantages of the proposed acoustic method are weighed against those of currently employed techniques. It has also long been known that hurricanes generate microseisms in the 0.1 to 0.6 Hz frequency range through the non-linear interaction of ocean surface waves. Here we model microseisms generated by the spatially inhomogeneous waves of a hurricane with the non-linear wave equation where a second-order acoustic field is created by first-order ocean surface wave motion. We account for the propagation of microseismic noise through range-dependent waveguide environments from the deep ocean to a receiver on land. We compare estimates based on the ocean surface wave field measured in hurricane Bonnie with seismic measurements from Florida. / by Joshua David Wilson. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-173). / A fundamental problem in limnology and oceanography is the inability to quickly identify and map distributions of plankton. This thesis addresses the problem by applying statistical machine learning to video images collected by an optical sampler, the Video Plankton Recorder (VPR). The research is focused on development of a real-time automatic plankton recognition system to estimate plankton abundance. The system includes four major components: pattern representation/feature measurement, feature extraction/selection, classification, and abundance estimation. After an extensive study on a traditional learning vector quantization (LVQ) neural network (NN) classifier built on shape-based features and different pattern representation methods, I developed a classification system combined multi-scale cooccurrence matrices feature with support vector machine classifier. This new method outperforms the traditional shape-based-NN classifier method by 12% in classification accuracy. Subsequent plankton abundance estimates are improved in the regions of low relative abundance by more than 50%. Both the NN and SVM classifiers have no rejection metrics. In this thesis, two rejection metrics were developed. / (cont.) One was based on the Euclidean distance in the feature space for NN classifier. The other used dual classifier (NN and SVM) voting as output. Using the dual-classification method alone yields almost as good abundance estimation as human labeling on a test-bed of real world data. However, the distance rejection metric for NN classifier might be more useful when the training samples are not "good" ie, representative of the field data. In summary, this thesis advances the current state-of-the-art plankton recognition system by demonstrating multi-scale texture-based features are more suitable for classifying field-collected images. The system was verified on a very large real-world dataset in systematic way for the first time. The accomplishments include developing a multi-scale occurrence matrices and support vector machine system, a dual-classification system, automatic correction in abundance estimation, and ability to get accurate abundance estimation from real-time automatic classification. The methods developed are generic and are likely to work on range of other image classification applications. / by Qiao Hu. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-76). / In order to overcome the challenges that an anisotropic noise field poses for underwater target tracking, we conduct an onboard estimation of the horizontal noise directionality in the real-time processing suite of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) towing a horizontal line array. The estimation of the noise directionality is a precursor to another adaptive behavior: optimizing tracking capability of a towed array by choosing a particular heading that minimizes the detection level in the target's direction. In each distinct simulated anisotropic noise field, the AUV successfully calculates the optimal towed array headings based on the real-time estimation of the horizontal noise directionality. The findings reveal a clear advantage over the conventional broadside beam tracking method, with some limitations due predominantly to the noise field itself. / by Maria Alejandra Parra-Orlandoni. / S.M.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / The presence of aqueous organic compounds derived from sedimentary organic matter has the potential to influence a range of chemical processes in hydrothermal vent environments. For example, hydrothermal alteration experiments indicate that alteration of organic-rich sediments leads to up to an order of magnitude more metals in solution than alteration of organic-poor basalt. This result is in contrast to traditional models for the evolution of vent fluids at sediment-covered mid-ocean ridge axis environments, and indicates the fundamental importance of including the effects of organic compounds in models of crustal alteration processes. However, in order to rigorously constrain their role in crustal alteration processes, quantitative information on the abundances and distributions of organic compounds in hydrothermal vent fluids is required. This thesis was undertaken to provide quantitative information on the distributions and stable carbon isotopic compositions of several low-molecular weight organic compounds (C1-C4 alkanes, C2-C3 alkenes, benzene and toluene) in fluids collected in July, 2000, at three sites on the northern Juan de Fuca Ridge: the Dead Dog and ODP Mound fields, which are located at Middle Valley, and the Main Endeavour Field, located on the Endeavour segment. At Middle Valley, the ridge axis is covered by up to 1.5 km of hemipelagic sediment containing up to 0.5 wt. % organic carbon. The Main Endeavour Field (MEF) is located approximately 70 km south of Middle Valley in a sediment-free ridge-crest environment, but previously measured high concentrations of NH3 and isotopically light CH4 relative to other bare-rock sites suggest that the chemical composition of these fluids is affected by sub-seafloor alteration of sedimentary material (LILLEY et al., 1993). / (cont.) Differences in the absolute and relative concentrations of NH3 and organic compounds and the stable carbon isotopic compositions of the C1-C3 organic compounds suggest that the three fields represent a continuum in terms of the extent of secondary alteration of the aqueous organic compounds, with the Dead Dog fluids the least altered, the MEF fluids the most altered and ODP Mound fluids in an intermediate state. At the two Middle Valley sites, the greater extent of alteration in the ODP Mound fluids as compared to the Dead Dog fluids is due either to higher temperatures in the subsurface reaction zone, or a greater residence time of the fluids at high temperatures. Higher reaction zone temperatures at the ODP Mound field than at the Dead Dog field are consistent with differences in endmember Cl concentrations between the two fields. The greater extent of alteration in the MEF fluids is caused by relatively oxidizing conditions in the subsurface reaction zone that promote faster reaction kinetics. Temperatures in the subsurface reaction zones calculated by assuming equilibrium among aqueous alkanes, alkenes and hydrogen are ... / by Anna M. Cruse. / Ph.D.

As a part of the Dutch development program Geo-impulse, which aims to half the occurrence of geotechnical failures in civil engineering projects inside the Netherlands by 2015, this master thesis is investigating how to trace imperfections in bored piles at an early stage. The objective is to carry out literature study on suitable methods and then focus the research on one particular method. The basis of the research is the single-hole sonic logging method. Field and laboratory measurements are carried out with the aim to investigate the detection range of the method as well as try to apply more advanced post-processing techniques. Results from the measurements are discussed and also a comparison between single-hole sonic logging and the better standardized test cross-hole sonic logging is made. The results indicate that single-hole sonic logging has a small detection range inside a bored pile, especially compared to cross-hole sonic logging. Also more advanced post-processing techniques fails or make the test to advance to use on a daily basis. Finally the recommendation is to carry on research with other techniques which in scientific papers have showed some promising results.

No description available.

[pt] O conhecimento dos esforços de flexão e normal provocados por movimentação de solo é importante para a análise de integridade estrutural de dutos. A existência de tensões residuais é um dos principais obstáculos para obtenção de resultados precisos na determinação de tais esforços. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de analisar o comportamento das tensões residuais de fabricação em tubos ao longo de sua circunferência e de seu comprimento. Foram feitas medições de tensões residuais em corpos de prova de um tubo novo e de outros retirados de operação utilizando a técnica de furo cego e uma nova técnica de seccionamento. As medições foram realizadas ao longo da circunferência e em diferentes seções dos tubos. As medições com a técnica de seccionamento proposta, denominada técnica do furo elíptico, mostraram-se coerentes com as medições com o furo cego, principalmente para as tensões longitudinais. A partir dos resultados obtidos nos experimentos realizados, foram feitas recomendações e propostas metodologias para separar as tensões residuais de fabricação das tensões atuantes no duto em operação. Para cada método proposto foi feita uma simulação para avaliar seus erros. As tensões residuais de fabricação circunferenciais e longitudinais possuem magnitudes consideráveis (por vezes até próximas à resistência ao escoamento dos tubos). Desprezá-las em medições realizadas em campo, como é feito na maioria das vezes para calcular os esforços existentes, pode acarretar grandes erros na determinação dos esforços agindo sobre o duto. Os resultados das simulações mostraram que, se as tensões residuais forem baixas, os esforços de trabalho obtidos desconsiderando-as são próximos dos valores reais. No mais, os procedimentos propostos para a determinação dos esforços, mediante a separação das tensões residuais existentes, apresentaram erros menores ou, no mínimo, próximos aos encontrados quando o cálculo foi feito negligenciando-se as tensões residuais. / [en] The knowledge of the bending and axial efforts caused by soil movement is important for the structural integrity analysis of pipelines. The existence of residual stresses is one of the main obstacles for obtaining good results in the determination of such efforts. This work was developed to analyze the behavior of the residual stresses of manufacturing in pipes throughout its circumference and length. Measurements of residual stresses had been made in samples of a new pipe and others samplers removed from operation, using the hole drilling technique and a new sectioning technique. The measurements had been carried throughout the circumference and different sections of the pipes. The measurements with the sectioning technique proposed, called elliptical hole technique, are coherent with the measurements of the hole drilling technique, mainly for the longitudinal stresses. From the experimental results, recommendations had been made and methodologies had been proposed to separate the manufacturing residual stresses from the operating stresses in the pipelines. For each method considered in this work, a simulation was made to evaluate its errors. The circumferential and longitudinal residual stresses of manufacturing have considerable magnitudes (sometimes next to the yield strength of the pipes). Not considering the residual stresses in measurements carried through in situ to calculate the existing loads, as it is made most of the time, can cause significant errors in the determination of the efforts acting on the pipeline. The results of the simulations had shown that, if the residual stresses are low, the work loads obtained when the residual stresses are not considered are comparable with the correct loads. The procedures proposed for the determination of loads, considering the separation of the existing residual stresses, had presented smaller errors or closer to those when the calculation was made neglecting the residual stresses.

Capítulo 1. Objetivos: Medir e comparar o perfil de tensão residual da cerâmica de recobrimento aplicada sobre infraestruturas em zircônia tetragonal policristalina estabilizada por ítria (Y-TZP), em um compósito de alumina/zircônia (ZTA) e em uma alumina policristalina (AL). Material e Métodos: Os perfis de tensão residual de cada um dos materiais foi medido por meio do método \"hole-drilling\" em discos de 19 mm de diâmetro e 2,2 mm de espessura (0,7 mm de infraestrutura + 1,5 mm de porcelana de cobertura) .Resultados: Os espécimes de AL exibiram tensões de compressão que aumentaram numericamente com a profundidade, enquanto que as tensões compressivas mudaram para tensões de tração no interior das amostras de Y-TZP. As amostras de ZTA exibiram tensões de compressão na superfície, decrescendo com a profundidade até 0,6 mm, tornando-se compressivas novamente próximo à infraestrutura. Conclusão: O ZTA não apresentou tensões de tração em nenhum ponto ao longo da espessura da cerâmica de recobrimento. A AL apresentou um perfil de tensão residual mais favorável, gerado pelas tensões compressivas. A Y-TZP apresentou o perfil mais desfavorável, por apresentar tensões de tração próximo à infraestrutura. Capítulo 2. Objetivos: 1) Comparar os coeficientes de susceptibilidade ao crescimento subcrítico (n), de uma zircônia tetragonal policristalina estabilizada por ítria, obtidos por meio de dois ensaios de fadiga: cíclica e dinâmica. 2) Verificar o efeito da frequência usada no ensaio de fadiga cíclica no tempo de vida característico. Material e Métodos: Espécimes em forma de barras (25 mm x 4 mm x 3 mm) foram confeccionadas de acordo com as recomendações do fabricante. Os ensaios de fadiga dinâmica (n=70) e de fadiga cíclica (n=75) foram realizados por meio de resistência à flexão em quatro pontos para a obtenção dos parâmetros de crescimento de trincas subcrítico (SCG). O ensaio de fadiga cíclica também foi realizado em duas frequências (2 e 10 Hz), utilizando valores de tensão máxima entre 350 e 600 MPa. Todos os espécimes fraturados foram inspecionados em microscópio eletrônico de varredura para que fosse identificada a origem da fratura. Os dados de fadiga dinâmica foram analisados por meio das fórmulas apresentadas na ASTM C 1368-00. Os dados de fadiga cíclica foram analisados por meio da estatística de Weibull e por meio de análise tipo \"General Log Linear Model\". Resultados: A Y-TZP apresentou valores dos parâmetros de SCG obtidos no ensaio de fadiga dinâmica de ?fo = 667 MPa e n = 54. Os parâmetros de Weibull obtidos a partir dos resultados do mesmo ensaio foram de m = 7,9, ?0 = 968,9 MPa e ?5% = 767 MPa. Os parâmetros de Weibull obtidos no ensaio de fadiga cíclica foram estatisticamente semelhantes para as duas frequências utilizadas, o m* foi de 0,17 para 2Hz e de 0,21 10Hz; os tempos de vida característicos (?, em número de ciclos) foram de 1,93 x 106 e 40.768, respectivamente para 2 e 10 Hz. O valor de n obtido na fadiga cíclica foi de 48 e 40, nas frequências de 2 e 10 Hz, respectivamente. Não foi observado o efeito da frequência da aplicação da tensão, do nível de tensão, nem da interação dos dois no tempo de vida da Y-TZP, quando analisados pelo General Log Linear Model. Conclusão: Os coeficientes de susceptibilidade ao crescimento subcrítico (n) obtidos por meio de fadiga cíclica e dinâmica foram semelhantes para a Y-TZP testada. Os extensos intervalos de confiança obtidos nos ensaios de fadiga cíclica indicaram não haver efeito da frequência usado nesse método de fadiga nos tempos de vida característicos da Y-TZP testada. / Chapter 1. Objective: was: to measure and compare the residual stress profile in the veneering ceramic layered on three different polycrystalline ceramic frame-work materials: Y-TZP, alumina polycrystalline (AL) and zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA).Materials and Methods. The stress profile was measured with the hole-drilling method in bilayered disk samples of 19 mm diameter with a 0.7 mm thick Y-TZP, AL or ZTA framework and a 1.5 mm thick layer of the corresponding veneering ceramic. Results: The AL samples exhibited increasing compressive stresses with depth, while compressive stresses switching into interior tensile stresses were measured in Y-TZP samples. ZTA samples exhibited compressive stress at the ceramic surface, decreasing with depth up to 0.6 mm from the surface, and then becoming compressive again near the framework. Conclusions: Y-TZP samples exhibited a less favorable stress profile than those of AL and ZTA samples. Chapter 2. Objectives: 1) To compare the stress corrosion coefficient (n) of a Y-TZP, obtained by two fatigue tests: cyclic and dynamic and 2) Evaluate the effect of frequency used in the cyclic fatigue test in the characteristic lifetime. Methods: Bar shaped specimens (4 mm x 25 mm x 3 mm) were prepared according to the manufacturer\'s recommendations. The dynamic fatigue test (n = 70) and cyclic fatigue (n = 75) were performed by four-point bending to obtain the slow crack growth parameters (n) .The cyclic fatigue test was also conducted in two frequencies (2 and 10Hz), using stress levels between 350 and 600 MPa. All fractured specimens were inspected by SEM so that the origin of the fracture were identified. The dynamic fatigue data were analyzed using the formulas given in ASTM C 1368-00. Cyclic fatigue data were analyzed using Weibull statistics and by the Log General Linear Model. Results: The material showed values of parameters obtained in the SCG assay dynamic fatigue ?fo = 667 and n = 54. The Weibull parameters obtained from the same test results were m = 7.9, ?0 = 968, 9 and ?5% = 767. The Weibull parameters obtained by cyclic fatigue were statistically similar for the two frequencies used, the m* was 0.17 (2 Hz) and 0.21 (10 Hz); characteristic lifetimes (?) were 1.93 x 106 and 40768, respectively. The n value obtained by cyclic fatigue was 48 and 40 at frequencies of 2 and 10 Hz, respectively. There was no effect of the frequency, the stress level or the interaction of the two in the Y-TZP lifetime, when analyzed by General Log Linear Model. Conclusion: The n values obtained by cyclic and dynamic fatigue tests were similar to Y-TZP tested. The extensive confidence intervals obtained in cyclic fatigue tests showed no effect of frequency used this method in fatigue characteristic lifetimes of the Y-TZP tested.