Hydrogen has been inferred to occur in enhanced concentrations within permanently shadowed regions and, hence, the coldest areas of the lunar poles. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite ...(LCROSS) mission was designed to detect hydrogen-bearing volatiles directly. Neutron flux measurements of the Moon's south polar region from the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft were used to select the optimal impact site for LCROSS. LEND data show several regions where the epithermal neutron flux from the surface is suppressed, which is indicative of enhanced hydrogen content. These regions are not spatially coincident with permanently shadowed regions of the Moon. The LCROSS impact site inside the Cabeus crater demonstrates the highest hydrogen concentration in the lunar south polar region, corresponding to an estimated content of 0.5 to 4.0% water ice by weight, depending on the thickness of any overlying dry regolith layer. The distribution of hydrogen across the region is consistent with buried water ice from cometary impacts, hydrogen implantation from the solar wind, and/or other as yet unknown sources.
•Concentrations of hydrogen-bearing volatiles are biased towards the Moon's southern pole-facing slopes.•Pole-facing slopes are being hydrated in a continuum of spatial scales, perhaps approaching ...the level of a meter scale.•Pole-facing slopes are acting as local "cool-traps" that accumulate hydrogen outside of permanently shadowed regions.•The poleward hydration of pole-facing slopes as detected by neutron methods begins near 50°S.•The upper-bound temperature for the entrainment of hydrogen in regolith is ∼135K.
The Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) detects a widespread suppression of the epithermal neutron leakage flux that is coincident with the pole-facing slopes (PFS) of the Moon’s southern hemisphere. Suppression of the epithermal neutron flux is consistent with an interpretation of enhanced concentrations of hydrogen-bearing volatiles within the upper meter of the regolith. Localized flux suppression in PFS suggests that the reduced solar irradiation and lowered temperature on PFS constrains volatility to a greater extent than in surrounding regions. Epithermal neutron flux mapped with LEND’s Collimated Sensor for Epithermal Neutrons (CSETN) was analyzed as a function of slope geomorphology derived from the Lunar Orbiting Laser Altimeter (LOLA) and the results compared to co-registered maps of diurnally averaged temperature from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment and an averaged illumination map derived from LOLA. The suppression in the average south polar epithermal neutron flux on equator-facing slopes (EFS) and PFS (85–90°S) is 3.3±0.04% and 4.3±0.05% respectively (one-sigma-uncertainties), relative to the average count-rate in the latitude band 45–90°S. The discrepancy of 1.0±0.06% between EFS and PFS neutron flux corresponds to an average of ∼23parts-per-million-by-weight (ppmw) more hydrogen on PFS than on EFS. Results show that the detection of hydrogen concentrations on PFS is dependent on their spatial scale. Epithermal flux suppression on large scale PFS was found to be enhanced to 5.2±0.13%, a discrepancy of ∼45ppmw hydrogen relative to equivalent EFS. Enhanced poleward hydration of PFS begins between 50°S and 60°S latitude. Polar regolith temperature contrasts do not explain the suppression of epithermal neutrons on pole-facing slopes. The Supplemental on-line materials include supporting results derived from the uncollimated Lunar Prospector Neutron Spectrometer and the LEND Sensor for Epithermal Neutrons.
Orbital measurements of neutrons by the Lunar Exploring Neutron Detector (LEND) onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are being used to quantify the spatial distribution of near surface hydrogen ...(H). Inferred H concentration maps have low signal-to-noise (SN) and image restoration (IR) techniques are being studied to enhance results. A single-blind, two-phase study is described in which four teams of researchers independently developed image restoration techniques optimized for LEND data. Synthetic lunar epithermal neutron emission maps were derived from LEND simulations. These data were used as ground truth to determine the relative quantitative performance of the IR methods vs. a default denoising (smoothing) technique. We review and used factors influencing orbital remote sensing of neutrons emitted from the lunar surface to develop a database of synthetic “true” maps for performance evaluation. A prior independent training phase was implemented for each technique to assure methods were optimized before the blind trial. Method performance was determined using several regional root-mean-square error metrics specific to epithermal signals of interest. Results indicate unbiased IR methods realize only small signal gains in most of the tested metrics. This suggests other physically based modeling assumptions are required to produce appreciable signal gains in similar low SN IR applications.
The Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) discovered gamma-ray emission from more than 67 blazars during its 9 yr lifetime. We conducted an ...exhaustive search of the EGRET archives and selected all the blazars that were observed multiple times and were bright enough to enable a spectral analysis using standard power-law models. The sample consists of 18 flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), 6 low-frequency peaked BL Lac objects (LBLs) and 2 high-frequency peaked BL Lac objects (HBLs). We do not detect any clear pattern in the variation of spectral index with flux. Some of the blazars do not show any statistical evidence for spectral variability. The spectrum hardens with increasing flux in a few cases. There is also evidence for a flux-hardness anticorrelation at low fluxes in five blazars. The well-observed blazars (3C 279,3C 273, PKS 0528+134, PKS 1622-297, PKS 0208-512) do not show any overall trend in the long-term spectral dependence on flux, but the sample shows a mixture of hard and soft states. We observed a previously unreported spectral hysteresis at weekly timescales in all three FSRQs for which data from flares lasting for 6(3-4) weeks were available. All three sources show a counterclockwise rotation, despite the widely different flux profiles. We analyze the observed spectral behavior in the context of various inverse Compton mechanisms believed to be responsible for emission in the EGRET energy range. Our analysis uses the EGRET skymaps that were regenerated to include the changes in performance during the mission.
A doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) applied to wind power generation driven by wind turbine is under study for low voltage ride-through application during system unbalance. Use of DFIG in wind ...turbine is widely spreading due to its control over DC voltage and active and reactive power. Conventional dq axis current control using voltage source converters for both the grid side and the rotor side of the DFIG are analyzed and simulated. An improved control and operation of DFIG system under unbalanced grid voltage conditions by coordinating the control of both the rotor side converter (RSC) and the grid side converter (GSC) is done in this thesis. Simulation and analysis of DFIG system with wind turbine using Fuzzy logic controller for RSC and GSC under unbalanced condition is presented in the positive synchronous reference frame. The common DC-link voltage is controlled by grid side converter and control of DFIG’s stator output active and reactive power is controlled by rotor side converter. The steady-state operation of the DFIG and its dynamic response to voltage sag resulting from a remote fault on the 120-kV system is shown in this thesis using controllers. Modeling of DFIG system under Fuzzy logic controller to control voltage and active-reactive powers is done using MATLAB/SIMULINK.
Investigation of the stability of the building is a needed measurement process for all buildings in the cities. Periodic monitoring of the structure for such damage is therefore a key step in ...rationally planning the maintenance needed to guarantee an adequate level of safety and serviceability. However, in order for the installation of a permanently installed sensing system in buildings to be economically viable, the sensor modules must be wireless to reduce installation costs, must operate with a low power consumption to reduce servicing costs of replacing batteries, and use low cost sensors that can be mass produced such as MEMS sensors.