TY - JOUR A1 - Otten, Dennis A1 - Weber, Tobias A1 - Arent, Jan-Christoph T1 - Manufacturing Process Simulation – On Its Way to Industrial Application JF - International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace N2 - Manufacturing process simulation (MPS) has become more and more important for aviation and the automobile industry. A highly competitive market requires the use of high performance metals and composite materials in combination with reduced manufacturing cost and time as well as a minimization of the time to market for a new product. However, the use of such materials is expensive and requires sophisticated manufacturing processes. An experience based process and tooling design followed by a lengthy trial-and-error optimization is just not contemporary anymore. Instead, a tooling design process aided by simulation is used more often. This paper provides an overview of the capabilities of MPS in the fields of sheet metal forming and prepreg autoclave manufacturing of composite parts summarizing the resulting benefits for tooling design and manufacturing engineering. The simulation technology is explained briefly in order to show several simplification and optimization techniques for developing industrialized simulation approaches. Small case studies provide examples of an efficient application on an industrial scale. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.15394/ijaaa.2018.1217 SN - 2374-6793 VL - 5 IS - 2 PB - Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University CY - Daytona Beach, Fla. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weber, Tobias A1 - Ruff-Stahl, Hans-Joachim K. T1 - Advances in Composite Manufacturing of Helicopter Parts JF - International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.15394/ijaaa.2017.1153 SN - 2374-6793 VL - 4 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weber, Tobias A1 - Arent, Jan-Christoph A1 - Steffen, Lucas A1 - Balvers, Johannes M. A1 - Duhovic, Miro T1 - Thermal optimization of composite autoclave molds using the shift factor approach for boundary condition estimation JF - Journal of Composite Materials Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0021998317699868 SN - 1530-793X VL - 51 IS - 12 SP - 1753 EP - 1767 PB - Sage CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weber, Tobias A1 - Arent, Jan-Christoph A1 - Münch, Lukas A1 - Duhovic, Miro A1 - Balvers, Johannes M. T1 - A fast method for the generation of boundary conditions for thermal autoclave simulation JF - Composites Part A N2 - Manufacturing process simulation enables the evaluation and improvement of autoclave mold concepts early in the design phase. To achieve a high part quality at low cycle times, the thermal behavior of the autoclave mold can be investigated by means of simulations. Most challenging for such a simulation is the generation of necessary boundary conditions. Heat-up and temperature distribution in an autoclave mold are governed by flow phenomena, tooling material and shape, position within the autoclave, and the chosen autoclave cycle. This paper identifies and summarizes the most important factors influencing mold heat-up and how they can be introduced into a thermal simulation. Thermal measurements are used to quantify the impact of the various parameters. Finally, the gained knowledge is applied to develop a semi-empirical approach for boundary condition estimation that enables a simple and fast thermal simulation of the autoclave curing process with reasonably high accuracy for tooling optimization. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.05.036 SN - 1359-835X VL - 88 SP - 216 EP - 225 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Franko, Josef A1 - Du, Shengzhi A1 - Kallweit, Stephan A1 - Duelberg, Enno Sebastian A1 - Engemann, Heiko T1 - Design of a Multi-Robot System for Wind Turbine Maintenance JF - Energies N2 - The maintenance of wind turbines is of growing importance considering the transition to renewable energy. This paper presents a multi-robot-approach for automated wind turbine maintenance including a novel climbing robot. Currently, wind turbine maintenance remains a manual task, which is monotonous, dangerous, and also physically demanding due to the large scale of wind turbines. Technical climbers are required to work at significant heights, even in bad weather conditions. Furthermore, a skilled labor force with sufficient knowledge in repairing fiber composite material is rare. Autonomous mobile systems enable the digitization of the maintenance process. They can be designed for weather-independent operations. This work contributes to the development and experimental validation of a maintenance system consisting of multiple robotic platforms for a variety of tasks, such as wind turbine tower and rotor blade service. In this work, multicopters with vision and LiDAR sensors for global inspection are used to guide slower climbing robots. Light-weight magnetic climbers with surface contact were used to analyze structure parts with non-destructive inspection methods and to locally repair smaller defects. Localization was enabled by adapting odometry for conical-shaped surfaces considering additional navigation sensors. Magnets were suitable for steel towers to clamp onto the surface. A friction-based climbing ring robot (SMART— Scanning, Monitoring, Analyzing, Repair and Transportation) completed the set-up for higher payload. The maintenance period could be extended by using weather-proofed maintenance robots. The multi-robot-system was running the Robot Operating System (ROS). Additionally, first steps towards machine learning would enable maintenance staff to use pattern classification for fault diagnosis in order to operate safely from the ground in the future. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/en13102552 SN - 1996-1073 VL - 13 IS - 10 SP - Article 2552 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Keller, Johannes A1 - Rath, Volker A1 - Bruckmann, Johanna A1 - Mottaghy, Darius A1 - Clauser, Christoph A1 - Wolf, Andreas A1 - Seidler, Ralf A1 - Bücker, H. Martin A1 - Klitzsch, Norbert T1 - SHEMAT-Suite: An open-source code for simulating flow, heat and species transport in porous media JF - SoftwareX N2 - SHEMAT-Suite is a finite-difference open-source code for simulating coupled flow, heat and species transport in porous media. The code, written in Fortran-95, originates from geoscientific research in the fields of geothermics and hydrogeology. It comprises: (1) a versatile handling of input and output, (2) a modular framework for subsurface parameter modeling, (3) a multi-level OpenMP parallelization, (4) parameter estimation and data assimilation by stochastic approaches (Monte Carlo, Ensemble Kalman filter) and by deterministic Bayesian approaches based on automatic differentiation for calculating exact (truncation error-free) derivatives of the forward code. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2020.100533 SN - 2352-7110 VL - 12 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nobis, Moritz A1 - Schmitt, Carlo A1 - Schemm, Ralf A1 - Schnettler, Armin T1 - Pan-European CVAR-constrained stochastic unit commitment in day-ahead and intraday electricity markets JF - Energies N2 - The fundamental modeling of energy systems through individual unit commitment decisions is crucial for energy system planning. However, current large-scale models are not capable of including uncertainties or even risk-averse behavior arising from forecasting errors of variable renewable energies. However, risks associated with uncertain forecasting errors have become increasingly relevant within the process of decarbonization. The intraday market serves to compensate for these forecasting errors. Thus, the uncertainty of forecasting errors results in uncertain intraday prices and quantities. Therefore, this paper proposes a two-stage risk-constrained stochastic optimization approach to fundamentally model unit commitment decisions facing an uncertain intraday market. By the nesting of Lagrangian relaxation and an extended Benders decomposition, this model can be applied to large-scale, e.g., pan-European, power systems. The approach is applied to scenarios for 2023—considering a full nuclear phase-out in Germany—and 2035—considering a full coal phase-out in Germany. First, the influence of the risk factors is evaluated. Furthermore, an evaluation of the market prices shows an increase in price levels as well as an increasing day-ahead-intraday spread in 2023 and in 2035. Finally, it is shown that intraday cross-border trading has a significant influence on trading volumes and prices and ensures a more efficient allocation of resources. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/en13092339 SN - 1996-1073 N1 - Special Issue Uncertainties and Risk Management in Competitive Energy Markets VL - 13 IS - Art. 2339 SP - 1 EP - 35 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Emhardt, Selina A1 - Jarodzka, Halszka A1 - Brand-Gruwel, Saskia A1 - Drumm, Christian A1 - Gog, Tamara van T1 - Introducing eye movement modeling examples for programming education and the role of teacher's didactic guidance JF - ETRA '20 Short Papers: ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications N2 - In this article, we introduce how eye-tracking technology might become a promising tool to teach programming skills, such as debugging with ‘Eye Movement Modeling Examples’ (EMME). EMME are tutorial videos that visualize an expert's (e.g., a programming teacher's) eye movements during task performance to guide students’ attention, e.g., as a moving dot or circle. We first introduce the general idea behind the EMME method and present studies that showed first promising results regarding the benefits of EMME to support programming education. However, we argue that the instructional design of EMME varies notably across them, as evidence-based guidelines on how to create effective EMME are often lacking. As an example, we present our ongoing research on the effects of different ways to instruct the EMME model prior to video creation. Finally, we highlight open questions for future investigations that could help improving the design of EMME for (programming) education. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1145/3379156.3391978 IS - Art. 52 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - ACM CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinke, Lars N. A1 - Knicker, Axel J. A1 - Albracht, Kirsten T1 - Increased shoulder muscle stretch reflex elicitability in supine subject posture JF - Isokinetics and Exercise Science N2 - BACKGROUND: Muscle stretch reflexes are widely used to examine neural muscle function. The knowledge of reflex response in muscles crossing the shoulder is limited. OBJECTIVE: To quantify reflex modulation according to various subject postures and different procedures of muscle pre-activation steering. METHODS: Thirteen healthy male participants performed two sets of external shoulder rotation stretches in various positions and with different procedures of muscle pre-activation steering on an isokinetic dynamometer over a range of two different pre-activation levels. All stretches were applied with a dynamometer acceleration of 104∘/s2 and a velocity of 150∘/s. Electromyographical response was measured via sEMG. RESULTS: Consistent reflexive response was observed in all tested muscles in all experimental conditions. The reflex elicitation rate revealed a significant muscle main effect (F (5,288) = 2.358, ρ= 0.040; η2= 0.039; f= 0.637) and a significant test condition main effect (F (1,288) = 5.884, ρ= 0.016; η2= 0.020; f= 0.143). Reflex latency revealed a significant muscle pre-activation level main effect (F (1,274) = 5.008, ρ= 0.026; η2= 0.018; f= 0.469). CONCLUSION: Muscular reflexive response was more consistent in the primary internal rotators of the shoulder. Supine posture in combination with visual feedback of muscle pre-activation level enhanced the reflex elicitation rate. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3233/IES-192219 SN - 1878-5913 VL - 28 IS - 2 SP - 139 EP - 146 PB - IOS Press CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schiedermeier, Maximilian A1 - Rettner, Cornelius A1 - Heilmann, Marcel A1 - Schneider, Felix A1 - Marz, Martin T1 - Interference of automotive HV-DC-systems by traction voltage-source-inverters (VSI) JF - 2019 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference (ITEC-India) Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/ITEC-India48457.2019.ITECINDIA2019-37 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - IEEE CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hoeveler, B. A1 - Bauknecht, André A1 - Wolf, C. Christian A1 - Janser, Frank T1 - Wind-Tunnel Study of a Wing-Embedded Lifting Fan Remaining Open in Cruise Flight JF - Journal of Aircraft N2 - It is investigated whether a nonrotating lifting fan remaining uncovered during cruise flight, as opposed to being covered by a shutter system, can be realized with limited additional drag and loss of lift during cruise flight. A wind-tunnel study of a wing-embedded lifting fan has been conducted at the Side Wind Test Facility Göttingen of DLR, German Aerospace Center in Göttingen using force, pressure, and stereoscopic particle image velocimetry techniques. The study showed that a step on the lower side of the wing in front of the lifting fan duct increases the lift-to-drag ratio of the whole model by up to 25% for all positive angles of attack. Different sizes and inclinations of the step had limited influence on the surface pressure distribution. The data indicate that these parameters can be optimized to maximize the lift-to-drag ratio. A doubling of the curvature radius of the lifting fan duct inlet lip on the upper side of the wing affected the lift-to-drag ratio by less than 1%. The lifting fan duct inlet curvature can therefore be optimized to maximize the vertical fan thrust of the rotating lifting fan during hovering without affecting the cruise flight performance with a nonrotating fan. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C035422 SN - 1533-3868 VL - 57 IS - 4 PB - AIAA CY - Reston, Va. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Choi, Chang-Hoon A1 - Felder, Tim A1 - Felder, Jörg A1 - Tellmann, Lutz A1 - Hong, Suk-Min A1 - Wegener, Hans-Peter A1 - Shah, N Jon A1 - Ziemons, Karl T1 - Design, evaluation and comparison of endorectal coils for hybrid MR-PET imaging of the prostate JF - Physics in Medicine & Biology N2 - Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men and its early detection is critical for its successful treatment. The use of multimodal imaging, such as MR-PET, is most advantageous as it is able to provide detailed information about the prostate. However, as the human prostate is flexible and can move into different positions under external conditions, it is important to localise the focused region-of-interest using both MRI and PET under identical circumstances. In this work, we designed five commonly used linear and quadrature radiofrequency surface coils suitable for hybrid MR-PET use in endorectal applications. Due to the endorectal design and the shielded PET insert, the outer face of the coils investigated was curved and the region to be imaged was outside the volume of the coil. The tilting angles of the coils were varied with respect to the main magnetic field direction. This was done to approximate the various positions from which the prostate could be imaged. The transmit efficiencies and safety excitation efficiencies from simulations, together with the signal-to-noise ratios from the MR images were calculated and analysed. Overall, it was found that the overlapped loops driven in quadrature were superior to the other types of coils we tested. In order to determine the effect of the different coil designs on PET, transmission scans were carried out, and it was observed that the differences between attenuation maps with and without the coils were negligible. The findings of this work can provide useful guidance for the integration of such coil designs into MR-PET hybrid systems in the future. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/ab87f8 SN - 0031-9155 VL - 65 IS - 11 PB - IOP CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Khayyam, Hamid A1 - Jamali, Ali A1 - Bab-Hadiashar, Alireza A1 - Esch, Thomas A1 - Ramakrishna, Seeram A1 - Jalili, Mahdi A1 - Naebe, Minoo T1 - A Novel Hybrid Machine Learning Algorithm for Limited and Big Data Modeling with Application in Industry 4.0 JF - IEEE Access N2 - To meet the challenges of manufacturing smart products, the manufacturing plants have been radically changed to become smart factories underpinned by industry 4.0 technologies. The transformation is assisted by employment of machine learning techniques that can deal with modeling both big or limited data. This manuscript reviews these concepts and present a case study that demonstrates the use of a novel intelligent hybrid algorithms for Industry 4.0 applications with limited data. In particular, an intelligent algorithm is proposed for robust data modeling of nonlinear systems based on input-output data. In our approach, a novel hybrid data-driven combining the Group-Method of Data-Handling and Singular-Value Decomposition is adapted to find an offline deterministic model combined with Pareto multi-objective optimization to overcome the overfitting issue. An Unscented-Kalman-Filter is also incorporated to update the coefficient of the deterministic model and increase its robustness against data uncertainties. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined on a set of real industrial measurements. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2999898 SN - 2169-3536 VL - 8 IS - Art. 9108222 SP - 111381 EP - 111393 PB - IEEE CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Svaneborg, Carsten A1 - Karimi-Varzaneh, Hossein Ali A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Fleck, Franz A1 - Everaers, Ralf T1 - Multiscale approach to equilibrating model polymer melts JF - Physical Review E N2 - We present an effective and simple multiscale method for equilibrating Kremer Grest model polymer melts of varying stiffness. In our approach, we progressively equilibrate the melt structure above the tube scale, inside the tube and finally at the monomeric scale. We make use of models designed to be computationally effective at each scale. Density fluctuations in the melt structure above the tube scale are minimized through a Monte Carlo simulated annealing of a lattice polymer model. Subsequently the melt structure below the tube scale is equilibrated via the Rouse dynamics of a force-capped Kremer-Grest model that allows chains to partially interpenetrate. Finally the Kremer-Grest force field is introduced to freeze the topological state and enforce correct monomer packing. We generate 15 melts of 500 chains of 10.000 beads for varying chain stiffness as well as a number of melts with 1.000 chains of 15.000 monomers. To validate the equilibration process we study the time evolution of bulk, collective, and single-chain observables at the monomeric, mesoscopic, and macroscopic length scales. Extension of the present method to longer, branched, or polydisperse chains, and/or larger system sizes is straightforward. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.94.032502 SN - 2470-0053 VL - 94 IS - 032502 PB - AIP Publishing CY - Melville, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwab, Lukas A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Lacayo, Jorge A1 - Wilhelm, Manfred T1 - Fourier-Transform Rheology of Unvulcanized, Carbon Black Filled Styrene Butadiene Rubber JF - Macromolecular Materials and Engineering N2 - Rubber materials filled with reinforcing fillers display nonlinear rheological behavior at small strain amplitudes below γ0 < 0.1. Nevertheless, rheological data are analyzed mostly in terms of linear parameters, such as shear moduli (G′, G″), which loose their physical meaning in the nonlinear regime. In this work styrene butadiene rubber filled with carbon black (CB) under large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) is analyzed in terms of the nonlinear parameter I3/1. Three different CB grades are used and the filler load is varied between 0 and 70 phr. It is found that I3/1(φ) is most sensitive to changes of the total accessible filler surface area at low strain amplitudes (γ0 = 0.32). The addition of up to 70 phr CB leads to an increase of I3/1(φ) by a factor of more than ten. The influence of the measurement temperature on I3/1 is pronounced for CB levels above the percolation threshold. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.201500356 SN - 1439-2054 VL - 301 IS - 4 SP - 457 EP - 468 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Harish, Ajay B. A1 - Wriggers, Peter A1 - Jungk, Juliane A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Recker, Carla T1 - Mesoscale Constitutive Modeling of Non-Crystallizing Filled Elastomers JF - Computational Mechanics N2 - Elastomers are exceptional materials owing to their ability to undergo large deformations before failure. However, due to their very low stiffness, they are not always suitable for industrial applications. Addition of filler particles provides reinforcing effects and thus enhances the material properties that render them more versatile for applications like tyres etc. However, deformation behavior of filled polymers is accompanied by several nonlinear effects like Mullins and Payne effect. To this day, the physical and chemical changes resulting in such nonlinear effect remain an active area of research. In this work, we develop a heterogeneous (or multiphase) constitutive model at the mesoscale explicitly considering filler particle aggregates, elastomeric matrix and their mechanical interaction through an approximate interface layer. The developed constitutive model is used to demonstrate cluster breakage, also, as one of the possible sources for Mullins effect observed in non-crystallizing filled elastomers. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00466-015-1251-1 SN - 1432-0924 VL - 57 SP - 653 EP - 677 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hentschke, Reinhard A1 - Hager, Jonathan A1 - Hojdis, Nils T1 - Molecular Modeling Approach to the Prediction of Mechanical Properties of Silica-Reinforced Rubbers JF - Journal of Applied Polymer Science N2 - Recently, we have suggested a nanomechanical model for dissipative loss in filled elastomer networks in the context of the Payne effect. The mechanism is based on a total interfiller particle force exhibiting an intermittent loop, due to the combination of short-range repulsion and dispersion forces with a long-range elastic attraction. The sum of these forces leads, under external strain, to a spontaneous instability of “bonds” between the aggregates in a filler network and attendant energy dissipation. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations to obtain chemically realistic forces between surface modified silica particles. The latter are combined with the above model to estimate the loss modulus and the low strain storage modulus in elastomers containing the aforementioned filler-compatibilizer systems. The model is compared to experimental dynamic moduli of silica filled rubbers. We find good agreement between the model predictions and the experiments as function of the compatibilizer's molecular structure and its bulk concentration. KW - theory and modeling KW - supramolecular structures KW - rubber KW - mechanical properties KW - elastomers Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/app.40806 SN - 1097-4628 VL - 131 IS - 18 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Wiley CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhnhenne, Markus A1 - Reger, Vitali A1 - Pyschny, Dominik A1 - Döring, Bernd T1 - Influence of airtightness of steel sandwich panel joints on heat losses JF - E3S Web of Conferences 12th Nordic Symposium on Building Physics (NSB 2020) N2 - Energy saving ordinances requires that buildings must be designed in such a way that the heat transfer surface including the joints is permanently air impermeable. The prefabricated roof and wall panels in lightweight steel constructions are airtight in the area of the steel covering layers. The sealing of the panel joints contributes to fulfil the comprehensive requirements for an airtight building envelope. To improve the airtightness of steel sandwich panels, additional sealing tapes can be installed in the panel joint. The influence of these sealing tapes was evaluated by measurements carried out by the RWTH Aachen University - Sustainable Metal Building Envelopes. Different installation situations were evaluated by carrying out airtightness tests for different joint distances. In addition, the influence on the heat transfer coefficient was also evaluated using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The combination of obtained air volume flow and transmission losses enables to create an "effective heat transfer coefficient" due to transmission and infiltration. This summarizes both effects in one value and is particularly helpful for approximate calculations on energy efficiency. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202017205008 VL - 172 IS - Art. 05008 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kunkel, Maximilian Hugo A1 - Gebhardt, Andreas A1 - Mpofu, Khumbulani A1 - Kallweit, Stephan T1 - Quality assurance in metal powder bed fusion via deep-learning-based image classification JF - Rapid Prototyping Journal Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-03-2019-0066 SN - 1355-2546 VL - 26 IS - 2 SP - 259 EP - 266 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maurischat, Andreas A1 - Perkins, Rudolph T1 - Taylor coefficients of Anderson generating functions and Drinfeld torsion extensions N2 - We generalize our work on Carlitz prime power torsion extension to torsion extensions of Drinfeld modules of arbitrary rank. As in the Carlitz case, we give a description of these extensions in terms of evaluations of Anderson generating functions and their hyperderivatives at roots of unity. We also give a direct proof that the image of the Galois representation attached to the p-adic Tate module lies in the p-adic points of the motivic Galois group. This is a generalization of the corresponding result of Chang and Papanikolas for the t-adic case. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1142/S1793042122500099 IS - Vol. 18, No. 01 SP - 113 EP - 130 PB - World Scientific CY - Singapur ER - TY - JOUR A1 - El Moussaoui, Noureddine A1 - Talbi, Sofian A1 - Atmane, Ilyas A1 - Kassmi, Khalil A1 - Schwarzer, Klemens A1 - Chayeb, Hamid A1 - Bachiri, Najib T1 - Feasibility of a new design of a Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Cooker (PSTC) JF - Solar Energy N2 - In this article, we describe the structure, the functioning, and the tests of parabolic trough solar thermal cooker (PSTC). This oven is designed to meet the needs of rural residents, including Urban, which requires stable cooking temperatures above 200 °C. The cooking by this cooker is based on the concentration of the sun's rays on a glass vacuum tube and heating of the oil circulate in a big tube, located inside the glass tube. Through two small tubes, associated with large tube, the heated oil, rise and heats the pot of cooking pot containing the food to be cooked (capacity of 5 kg). This cooker is designed in Germany and extensively tested in Morocco for use by the inhabitants who use wood from forests. During a sunny day, having a maximum solar radiation around 720 W/m2 and temperature ambient around 26 °C, maximum temperatures recorded of the small tube, the large tube and the center of the pot are respectively: 370 °C, 270 °C and 260 °C. The cooking process with food at high (fries, ..), we show that the cooking oil temperature rises to 200 °C, after 1 h of heating, the cooking is done at a temperature of 120 °C for 20 min. These temperatures are practically stable following variations and decreases in the intensity of irradiance during the day. The comparison of these results with those of the literature shows an improvement of 30–50 % on the maximum value of the temperature with a heat storage that could reach 60 min of autonomy. All the results obtained show the good functioning of the PSTC and the feasibility of cooking food at high temperature (>200 °C). Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2020.03.079 SN - 0038-092X VL - 201 IS - Vol. 201 (May 2020) SP - 866 EP - 871 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Wolfram A1 - Jung, Alexander A1 - Ahammer, Helmut T1 - Advantages and problems of nonlinear methods applied to analyze physiological time signals: human balance control as an example JF - Scientific Reports Y1 - 2017 SN - 2045-2322 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02665-5 VL - 7 IS - Article number 2464 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Springer Nature CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Fiedler, Thomas M. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Quick, Harald H. T1 - Local SAR compression with overestimation control to reduce maximum relative SAR overestimation and improve multi-channel RF array performance JF - Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine N2 - Objective In local SAR compression algorithms, the overestimation is generally not linearly dependent on actual local SAR. This can lead to large relative overestimation at low actual SAR values, unnecessarily constraining transmit array performance. Method Two strategies are proposed to reduce maximum relative overestimation for a given number of VOPs. The first strategy uses an overestimation matrix that roughly approximates actual local SAR; the second strategy uses a small set of pre-calculated VOPs as the overestimation term for the compression. Result Comparison with a previous method shows that for a given maximum relative overestimation the number of VOPs can be reduced by around 20% at the cost of a higher absolute overestimation at high actual local SAR values. Conclusion The proposed strategies outperform a previously published strategy and can improve the SAR compression where maximum relative overestimation constrains the performance of parallel transmission. Y1 - 2020 SN - 1352-8661 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-020-00890-0 IS - 34 (2021) SP - 153 EP - 164 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ulmer, Jessica A1 - Braun, Sebastian A1 - Cheng, Chi-Tsun A1 - Dowey, Steve A1 - Wollert, Jörg T1 - Human-Centered Gamification Framework for Manufacturing Systems JF - Procedia CIRP N2 - While bringing new opportunities, the Industry 4.0 movement also imposes new challenges to the manufacturing industry and all its stakeholders. In this competitive environment, a skilled and engaged workforce is a key to success. Gamification can generate valuable feedbacks for improving employees’ engagement and performance. Currently, Gamification in workspaces focuses on computer-based assignments and training, while tasks that require manual labor are rarely considered. This research provides an overview of Enterprise Gamification approaches and evaluates the challenges. Based on that, a skill-based Gamification framework for manual tasks is proposed, and a case study in the Industry 4.0 model factory is shown. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.04.076 SN - 2212-8271 VL - 93 SP - 670 EP - 675 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Everaers, Ralf A1 - Karimi-Varzaneh, Hossein Ali A1 - Fleck, Franz A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Svaneborg, Carsten T1 - Kremer–Grest Models for Commodity Polymer Melts: Linking Theory, Experiment, and Simulation at the Kuhn Scale JF - Macromolecules N2 - The Kremer–Grest (KG) polymer model is a standard model for studying generic polymer properties in molecular dynamics simulations. It owes its popularity to its simplicity and computational efficiency, rather than its ability to represent specific polymers species and conditions. Here we show that by tuning the chain stiffness it is possible to adapt the KG model to model melts of real polymers. In particular, we provide mapping relations from KG to SI units for a wide range of commodity polymers. The connection between the experimental and the KG melts is made at the Kuhn scale, i.e., at the crossover from the chemistry-specific small scale to the universal large scale behavior. We expect Kuhn scale-mapped KG models to faithfully represent universal properties dominated by the large scale conformational statistics and dynamics of flexible polymers. In particular, we observe very good agreement between entanglement moduli of our KG models and the experimental moduli of the target polymers. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.9b02428 SN - 1520-5835 VL - 53 IS - 6 SP - 1901 EP - 1916 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meyer, Jan A1 - Hentschke, Reinhard A1 - Hager, Jonathan A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Karimi-Varzaneh, Hossein Ali T1 - Molecular Simulation of Viscous Dissipation due to Cyclic Deformation of a Silica–Silica Contact in Filled Rubber JF - Macromolecules Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.7b00947 SN - 1520-5835 VL - 50 IS - 17 SP - 6679 EP - 6689 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hager, Jonathan A1 - Hentschke, Reinhard A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Karimi-Varzaneh, Hossein Ali T1 - Computer Simulation of Particle–Particle Interaction in a Model Polymer Nanocomposite JF - Macromolecules Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5b01864 SN - 1520-5835 VL - 48 IS - 24 SP - 9039 EP - 9049 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Waller, Mark P. A1 - Braun, Heiko A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Bühl, Michael T1 - Geometries of Second-Row Transition-Metal Complexes from Density-Functional Theory JF - Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation Y1 - 2007 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/ct700178y SN - 1549-9626 VL - 3 IS - 6 SP - 2234 EP - 2242 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Svaneborg, Carsten A1 - Karimi-Varzaneh, Hossein Ali A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Fleck, Franz A1 - Everaers, Ralf T1 - Kremer-Grest Models for Universal Properties of Specific Common Polymer Species JF - Soft Condensed Matter N2 - The Kremer-Grest (KG) bead-spring model is a near standard in Molecular Dynamic simulations of generic polymer properties. It owes its popularity to its computational efficiency, rather than its ability to represent specific polymer species and conditions. Here we investigate how to adapt the model to match the universal properties of a wide range of chemical polymers species. For this purpose we vary a single parameter originally introduced by Faller and Müller-Plathe, the chain stiffness. Examples include polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, cis-polyisoprene, polydimethylsiloxane, polyethyleneoxide and styrene-butadiene rubber. We do this by matching the number of Kuhn segments per chain and the number of Kuhn segments per cubic Kuhn volume for the polymer species and for the Kremer-Grest model. We also derive mapping relations for converting KG model units back to physical units, in particular we obtain the entanglement time for the KG model as function of stiffness allowing for a time mapping. To test these relations, we generate large equilibrated well entangled polymer melts, and measure the entanglement moduli using a static primitive-path analysis of the entangled melt structure as well as by simulations of step-strain deformation of the model melts. The obtained moduli for our model polymer melts are in good agreement with the experimentally expected moduli. Y1 - 2018 IS - 1606.05008 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mayer, Jan A1 - Hentschke, Reinhard A1 - Hager, Jonathan A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Karimi-Varnaneh, Hossein Ali T1 - A Nano-Mechanical Instability as Primary Contribution to Rolling Resistance JF - Scientific Reports Y1 - 2017 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 7 IS - Article number 11275 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ulmer, Jessica A1 - Braun, Sebastian A1 - Cheng, Chi-Tsun A1 - Dowey, Steve A1 - Wollert, Jörg T1 - Gamification of virtual reality assembly training: Effects of a combined point and level system on motivation and training results JF - International Journal of Human-Computer Studies N2 - Virtual Reality (VR) offers novel possibilities for remote training regardless of the availability of the actual equipment, the presence of specialists, and the training locations. Research shows that training environments that adapt to users' preferences and performance can promote more effective learning. However, the observed results can hardly be traced back to specific adaptive measures but the whole new training approach. This study analyzes the effects of a combined point and leveling VR-based gamification system on assembly training targeting specific training outcomes and users' motivations. The Gamified-VR-Group with 26 subjects received the gamified training, and the Non-Gamified-VR-Group with 27 subjects received the alternative without gamified elements. Both groups conducted their VR training at least three times before assembling the actual structure. The study found that a level system that gradually increases the difficulty and error probability in VR can significantly lower real-world error rates, self-corrections, and support usages. According to our study, a high error occurrence at the highest training level reduced the Gamified-VR-Group's feeling of competence compared to the Non-Gamified-VR-Group, but at the same time also led to lower error probabilities in real-life. It is concluded that a level system with a variable task difficulty should be combined with carefully balanced positive and negative feedback messages. This way, better learning results, and an improved self-evaluation can be achieved while not causing significant impacts on the participants' feeling of competence. KW - Gamification KW - Virtual reality KW - Assembly KW - User study KW - Level system Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102854 SN - 1071-5819 VL - 165 IS - Art. No. 102854 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinke, Lars N. A1 - Knicker, Axel J. A1 - Albracht, Kirsten T1 - Test-retest reliability of the internal shoulder rotator muscles' stretch reflex in healthy men JF - Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology N2 - Until now the reproducibility of the short latency stretch reflex of the internal rotator muscles of the glenohumeral joint has not been identified. Twenty-three healthy male participants performed three sets of external shoulder rotation stretches with various pre-activation levels on two different dates of measurement to assess test-retest reliability. All stretches were applied with a dynamometer acceleration of 104°/s2 and a velocity of 150°/s. Electromyographical response was measured via surface EMG. Reflex latencies showed a pre-activation effect (ƞ2 = 0,355). ICC ranged from 0,735 to 0,909 indicating an overall “good” relative reliability. SRD 95% lay between ±7,0 to ±12,3 ms.. The reflex gain showed overall poor test-retest reproducibility. The chosen methodological approach presented a suitable test protocol for shoulder muscles stretch reflex latency evaluation. A proof-of-concept study to validate the presented methodical approach in shoulder involvement including subjects with clinically relevant conditions is recommended. KW - stretch reflex KW - shoulder KW - test-retest reliability KW - intraclass correlation coefficient KW - standard error of measurement Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2021.102611 SN - 1050-6411 VL - 62 IS - Article 102611 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klettke, Tanja A1 - Homburg, Carsten A1 - Gell, Sebastian T1 - How to measure analyst forecast effort JF - European Accounting Review N2 - We introduce a new way to measure the forecast effort that analysts devote to their earnings forecasts by measuring the analyst's general effort for all covered firms. While the commonly applied effort measure is based on analyst behaviour for one firm, our measure considers analyst behaviour for all covered firms. Our general effort measure captures additional information about analyst effort and thus can identify accurate forecasts. We emphasise the importance of investigating analyst behaviour in a larger context and argue that analysts who generally devote substantial forecast effort are also likely to devote substantial effort to a specific firm, even if this effort might not be captured by a firm-specific measure. Empirical results reveal that analysts who devote higher general forecast effort issue more accurate forecasts. Additional investigations show that analysts' career prospects improve with higher general forecast effort. Our measure improves on existing methods as it has higher explanatory power regarding differences in forecast accuracy than the commonly applied effort measure. Additionally, it can address research questions that cannot be examined with a firm-specific measure. It provides a simple but comprehensive way to identify accurate analysts. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09638180.2014.909291 SN - 0963-8180 VL - 24 IS - 1 SP - 129 EP - 146 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Tim M. A1 - Leise, Philipp A1 - Lorenz, Imke-Sophie A1 - Altherr, Lena A1 - Pelz, Peter F. T1 - Optimization and validation of pumping system design and operation for water supply in high-rise buildings JF - Optimization and Engineering N2 - The application of mathematical optimization methods for water supply system design and operation provides the capacity to increase the energy efficiency and to lower the investment costs considerably. We present a system approach for the optimal design and operation of pumping systems in real-world high-rise buildings that is based on the usage of mixed-integer nonlinear and mixed-integer linear modeling approaches. In addition, we consider different booster station topologies, i.e. parallel and series-parallel central booster stations as well as decentral booster stations. To confirm the validity of the underlying optimization models with real-world system behavior, we additionally present validation results based on experiments conducted on a modularly constructed pumping test rig. Within the models we consider layout and control decisions for different load scenarios, leading to a Deterministic Equivalent of a two-stage stochastic optimization program. We use a piecewise linearization as well as a piecewise relaxation of the pumps’ characteristics to derive mixed-integer linear models. Besides the solution with off-the-shelf solvers, we present a problem specific exact solving algorithm to improve the computation time. Focusing on the efficient exploration of the solution space, we divide the problem into smaller subproblems, which partly can be cut off in the solution process. Furthermore, we discuss the performance and applicability of the solution approaches for real buildings and analyze the technical aspects of the solutions from an engineer’s point of view, keeping in mind the economically important trade-off between investment and operation costs. KW - Technical Operations Research KW - MINLP KW - MILP KW - Experimental validation KW - Pumping systems Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11081-020-09553-4 SN - 1573-2924 VL - 2021 IS - 22 SP - 643 EP - 686 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Altherr, Lena A1 - Leise, Philipp A1 - Pfetsch, Marc E. A1 - Schmitt, Andreas T1 - Algorithmic design and resilience assessment of energy efficient high-rise water supply systems JF - Applied Mechanics and Materials N2 - High-rise water supply systems provide water flow and suitable pressure in all levels of tall buildings. To design such state-of-the-art systems, the consideration of energy efficiency and the anticipation of component failures are mandatory. In this paper, we use Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming to compute an optimal placement of pipes and pumps, as well as an optimal control strategy.Moreover, we consider the resilience of the system to pump failures. A resilient system is able to fulfill a predefined minimum functionality even though components fail or are restricted in their normal usage. We present models to measure and optimize the resilience. To demonstrate our approach, we design and analyze an optimal resilient decentralized water supply system inspired by a real-life hotel building. KW - MINLP KW - Buffering Capacity KW - Uncertainty KW - Water Supply Networks KW - Booster Stations Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.885.211 SN - 1662-7482 VL - 885 SP - 211 EP - 223 PB - Trans Tech Publications CY - Bäch ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Braun, Sebastian A1 - Cheng, Chi-Tsun A1 - Dowey, Steve A1 - Wollert, Jörg T1 - Performance evaluation of skill-based order-assignment in production environments with multi-agent systems JF - IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Industrial Electronics N2 - The fourth industrial revolution introduces disruptive technologies to production environments. One of these technologies are multi-agent systems (MASs), where agents virtualize machines. However, the agent's actual performances in production environments can hardly be estimated as most research has been focusing on isolated projects and specific scenarios. We address this gap by implementing a highly connected and configurable reference model with quantifiable key performance indicators (KPIs) for production scheduling and routing in single-piece workflows. Furthermore, we propose an algorithm to optimize the search of extrema in highly connected distributed systems. The benefits, limits, and drawbacks of MASs and their performances are evaluated extensively by event-based simulations against the introduced model, which acts as a benchmark. Even though the performance of the proposed MAS is, on average, slightly lower than the reference system, the increased flexibility allows it to find new solutions and deliver improved factory-planning outcomes. Our MAS shows an emerging behavior by using flexible production techniques to correct errors and compensate for bottlenecks. This increased flexibility offers substantial improvement potential. The general model in this paper allows the transfer of the results to estimate real systems or other models. KW - cyber-physical production systems KW - event-based simulation KW - multi-agent systems KW - digital factory KW - industrial agents Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/JESTIE.2021.3108524 SN - 2687-9735 IS - Early Access PB - IEEE CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jahnke, Siegfried A1 - Roussel, Johanna A1 - Hombach, Thomas A1 - Kochs, Johannes A1 - Fischbach, Andreas A1 - Huber, Gregor A1 - Scharr, Hanno T1 - phenoSeeder - A robot system for automated handling and phenotyping of individual seeds JF - Plant physiology N2 - The enormous diversity of seed traits is an intriguing feature and critical for the overwhelming success of higher plants. In particular, seed mass is generally regarded to be key for seedling development but is mostly approximated by using scanning methods delivering only two-dimensional data, often termed seed size. However, three-dimensional traits, such as the volume or mass of single seeds, are very rarely determined in routine measurements. Here, we introduce a device named phenoSeeder, which enables the handling and phenotyping of individual seeds of very different sizes. The system consists of a pick-and-place robot and a modular setup of sensors that can be versatilely extended. Basic biometric traits detected for individual seeds are two-dimensional data from projections, three-dimensional data from volumetric measures, and mass, from which seed density is also calculated. Each seed is tracked by an identifier and, after phenotyping, can be planted, sorted, or individually stored for further evaluation or processing (e.g. in routine seed-to-plant tracking pipelines). By investigating seeds of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), rapeseed (Brassica napus), and barley (Hordeum vulgare), we observed that, even for apparently round-shaped seeds of rapeseed, correlations between the projected area and the mass of seeds were much weaker than between volume and mass. This indicates that simple projections may not deliver good proxies for seed mass. Although throughput is limited, we expect that automated seed phenotyping on a single-seed basis can contribute valuable information for applications in a wide range of wild or crop species, including seed classification, seed sorting, and assessment of seed quality. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.16.01122 SN - 0032-0889 VL - 172 IS - 3 SP - 1358 EP - 1370 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wrede, Oliver T1 - Continuity in travel information JF - Information Design Journal N2 - This article discusses the contrast between the information transportation companies provide to travellers and that of their brand messaging. Companies’ brand messaging often portrays the service they provide as pleasant, stress free and perfect. Customers and users of the service, on the other hand, often describe their experience of the service as a negative one. This article suggests that the brand value would be greater if transportation companies paid more attention to the users’ experience when designing their information systems, particularly in worst case scenarios. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.22.2.09wre SN - 0142-5471 N1 - Gedruckt vorhanden in der Bereichsbibliothek Boxgraben unter 53 Z 971-2016 (Magazin) VL - 22 IS - 2 SP - 172 EP - 178 PB - John Benjamins CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neu, Eugen A1 - Janser, Frank A1 - Khatibi, Akbar A. A1 - Orifici, Adrian C. T1 - Fully Automated Operational Modal Analysis using multi-stage clustering JF - Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymssp.2016.07.031 SN - 0888-3270 VL - Vol. 84, Part A SP - 308 EP - 323 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Funke, Harald A1 - Keinz, Jan A1 - Kusterer, Karsten A1 - Ayed, Anis Haj A1 - Kazari, Masahide A1 - Kitajima, Junichi A1 - Horikawa, Atsushi A1 - Okada, Kunio T1 - Experimental and Numerical Study on Optimizing the Dry Low NOₓ Micromix Hydrogen Combustion Principle for Industrial Gas Turbine Applications JF - Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications N2 - Combined with the use of renewable energy sources for its production, hydrogen represents a possible alternative gas turbine fuel for future low-emission power generation. Due to the difference in the physical properties of hydrogen compared to other fuels such as natural gas, well-established gas turbine combustion systems cannot be directly applied to dry low NOₓ (DLN) hydrogen combustion. The DLN micromix combustion of hydrogen has been under development for many years, since it has the promise to significantly reduce NOₓ emissions. This combustion principle for air-breathing engines is based on crossflow mixing of air and gaseous hydrogen. Air and hydrogen react in multiple miniaturized diffusion-type flames with an inherent safety against flashback and with low NOₓ emissions due to a very short residence time of the reactants in the flame region. The paper presents an advanced DLN micromix hydrogen application. The experimental and numerical study shows a combustor configuration with a significantly reduced number of enlarged fuel injectors with high-thermal power output at constant energy density. Larger fuel injectors reduce manufacturing costs, are more robust and less sensitive to fuel contamination and blockage in industrial environments. The experimental and numerical results confirm the successful application of high-energy injectors, while the DLN micromix characteristics of the design point, under part-load conditions, and under off-design operation are maintained. Atmospheric test rig data on NOₓ emissions, optical flame-structure, and combustor material temperatures are compared to numerical simulations and show good agreement. The impact of the applied scaling and design laws on the miniaturized micromix flamelets is particularly investigated numerically for the resulting flow field, the flame-structure, and NOₓ formation. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4034849 SN - 1948-5093 N1 - TSEA-15-1227 VL - 9 IS - 2 SP - 021001 EP - 021001-10 PB - ASME CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ayed, Anis Haj A1 - Kusterer, Karsten A1 - Funke, Harald A1 - Keinz, Jan T1 - CFD Based Improvement of the DLN Hydrogen Micromix Combustion Technology at Increased Energy Densities JF - American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) N2 - Combined with the use of renewable energy sources for its production, Hydrogen represents a possible alternative gas turbine fuel within future low emission power generation. Due to the large difference in the physical properties of Hydrogen compared to other fuels such as natural gas, well established gas turbine combustion systems cannot be directly applied for Dry Low NOx (DLN) Hydrogen combustion. Thus, the development of DLN combustion technologies is an essential and challenging task for the future of Hydrogen fuelled gas turbines. The DLN Micromix combustion principle for hydrogen fuel has been developed to significantly reduce NOx-emissions. This combustion principle is based on cross-flow mixing of air and gaseous hydrogen which reacts in multiple miniaturized diffusion-type flames. The major advantages of this combustion principle are the inherent safety against flash-back and the low NOx-emissions due to a very short residence time of reactants in the flame region of the micro-flames. The Micromix Combustion technology has been already proven experimentally and numerically for pure Hydrogen fuel operation at different energy density levels. The aim of the present study is to analyze the influence of different geometry parameter variations on the flame structure and the NOx emission and to identify the most relevant design parameters, aiming to provide a physical understanding of the Micromix flame sensitivity to the burner design and identify further optimization potential of this innovative combustion technology while increasing its energy density and making it mature enough for real gas turbine application. The study reveals great optimization potential of the Micromix Combustion technology with respect to the DLN characteristics and gives insight into the impact of geometry modifications on flame structure and NOx emission. This allows to further increase the energy density of the Micromix burners and to integrate this technology in industrial gas turbines. Y1 - 2016 SN - 2313-4402 VL - 26 IS - 3 SP - 290 EP - 303 PB - GSSRR ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Johst, Sören A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Solbach, Klaus A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - Mitigation of B1(+) inhomogeneity on single-channel transmit systems with TIAMO JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.24453 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 70 IS - 1 SP - 290 EP - 294 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, S. A1 - Maderwald, S. A1 - Poser, B. A. A1 - Johst, S. A1 - Kannengiesser, S. A1 - Ladd, M. E. A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - Time-interleaved acquisition of modes: an analysis of SAR and image contrast implications JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - s the magnetic field strength and therefore the operational frequency in MRI are increased, the radiofrequency wavelength approaches the size of the human head/body, resulting in wave effects which cause signal decreases and dropouts. Especially, whole-body imaging at 7 T and higher is therefore challenging. Recently, an acquisition scheme called time-interleaved acquisition of modes has been proposed to tackle the inhomogeneity problems in high-field MRI. The basic premise is to excite two (or more) different Burn:x-wiley:07403194:media:MRM23081:tex2gif-stack-1 modes using static radiofrequency shimming in an interleaved acquisition, where the complementary radiofrequency patterns of the two modes can be exploited to improve overall signal homogeneity. In this work, the impact of time-interleaved acquisition of mode on image contrast as well as on time-averaged specific absorption rate is addressed in detail. Time-interleaved acquisition of mode is superior in Burn:x-wiley:07403194:media:MRM23081:tex2gif-stack-2 homogeneity compared with conventional radiofrequency shimming while being highly specific absorption rate efficient. Time-interleaved acquisition of modes can enable almost homogeneous high-field imaging throughout the entire field of view in PD, T2, and T2*-weighted imaging and, if a specified homogeneity criterion is met, in T1-weighted imaging as well. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.23081 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 67 IS - 4 SP - 1033 EP - 1041 PB - Wiley-Liss CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kobus, Thiele A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Uden, Mark J. van A1 - Lagemaat, Miram W. A1 - Rothgang, Eva A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Heerschap, Arend A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. T1 - In vivo 31P MR spectroscopic imaging of the human prostate at 7 T: safety and feasibility JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - 31P MR spectroscopic imaging of the human prostate provides information about phosphorylated metabolites that could be used for prostate cancer characterization. The sensitivity of a magnetic field strength of 7 T might enable 3D 31P MR spectroscopic imaging with relevant spatial resolution in a clinically acceptable measurement time. To this end, a 31P endorectal coil was developed and combined with an eight-channel 1H body-array coil to relate metabolic information to anatomical location. An extensive safety validation was performed to evaluate the specific absorption rate, the radiofrequency field distribution, and the temperature distribution of both coils. This validation consisted of detailed Finite Integration Technique simulations, confirmed by MR thermometry and Burn:x-wiley:07403194:media:MRM24175:tex2gif-stack-1 measurements in a phantom and in vivo temperature measurements. The safety studies demonstrated that the presence of the 31P endorectal coil had no influence on the specific absorption rate levels and temperature distribution of the external eight-channel 1H array coil. To stay within a 10 g averaged local specific absorption rate of 10 W/kg, a maximum time-averaged input power of 33 W for the 1H array coil was allowed. For transmitting with the 31P endorectal coil, our safety limit of less than 1°C temperature increase in vivo during a 15-min MR spectroscopic imaging experiment was reached at a time-averaged input power of 1.9 W. With this power setting, a second in vivo measurement was performed on a healthy volunteer. Using adiabatic excitation, 3D 31P MR spectroscopic imaging produced spectra from the entire prostate in 18 min with a spatial resolution of 4 cm3. The spectral resolution enabled the separate detection of phosphocholine, phosphoethanolamine, inorganic phosphate, and other metabolites that could play an important role in the characterization of prostate cancer. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.24175 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 68 IS - 6 SP - 1683 EP - 1695 PB - Wiley-Liss CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Poser, Benedikt Andreas A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - RF excitation using time interleaved acquisition of modes (TIAMO) to address B1 inhomogeneity in high-field MRI JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - As the field strength and, therefore, the operational frequency in MRI is increased, the wavelength approaches the size of the human head/body, resulting in wave effects, which cause signal decreases and dropouts. Several multichannel approaches have been proposed to try to tackle these problems, including RF shimming, where each element in an array is driven by its own amplifier and modulated with a certain (constant) amplitude and phase relative to the other elements, and Transmit SENSE, where spatially tailored RF pulses are used. In this article, a relatively inexpensive and easy to use imaging scheme for 7 Tesla imaging is proposed to mitigate signal voids due to B1 field inhomogeneity. Two time-interleaved images are acquired using a different excitation mode for each. By forming virtual receive elements, both images are reconstructed together using GRAPPA to achieve a more homogeneous image, with only small SNR and SAR penalty in head and body imaging at 7 Tesla. Y1 - 2010 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.22527 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 64 IS - 2 SP - 327 EP - 333 PB - Wiley-Liss CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Umutlu, Lale A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Kinner, Sonja A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Brote, Irina A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Schroeder, Tobias A1 - Forsting, Michael T1 - Contrast-enhanced ultra-high-field liver MRI: a feasibility trial JF - European Journal of Radiology Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2011.07.004 SN - 0720-048X VL - 82 IS - 5 SP - 760 EP - 767 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yazdanbakhsh, Pedram A1 - Solbach, Klaus A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - Variable power combiner for RF mode shimming in 7-T MR imaging JF - IEEE Transaction on Biomedical Engineering N2 - This contribution discusses the utilization of RF power in an MRI system with RF mode shimming which enables the superposition of circularly polarized modes of a transmit RF coil array driven by a Butler matrix. Since the required power for the individual modes can vary widely, mode-shimming can result in a significant underutilization of the total available RF power. A variable power combiner (VPC) is proposed to improve the power utilization: it can be realized as a reconfiguration of the MRI transmit system by the inclusion of one additional matrix network which receives the power from all transmit amplifiers at its input ports and provides any desired (combined) power distribution at its output ports by controlling the phase and amplitude of the amplifiers’ input signals. The power distribution at the output ports of the VPC is then fed into the “mode” ports of the coil array Butler matrix in order to superimpose the spatial modes at the highest achievable power utilization. The VPC configuration is compared to the standard configuration of the transmit chain of our MRI system with 8 transmit channels and 16 coils. In realistic scenarios, improved power utilization was achieved from 17% to 60% and from 14% to 55% for an elliptical phantom and a region of interest in the abdomen, respectively, and an increase of the power utilization of 1 dB for a region of interest in the upper leg. In general, it is found that the VPC allows significant improvement in power utilization when the shimming solution demands only a few modes to be energized, while the technique can yield loss in power utilization in cases with many modes required at high power level. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2012.2205926 SN - 1558-2531 VL - 59 IS - 9 SP - 2549 EP - 2557 PB - IEEE CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prochnow, Nora A1 - Gebing, Tina A1 - Ladage, Kerstin A1 - Krause-Finkeldey, Dorothee A1 - Ourdi, Abessamad El A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Streckert, Joachim A1 - Hansen, Volkert A1 - Dermietzel, Rolf T1 - Electromagnetic field effect or simply stress? Effects of UMTS exposure on hippocampal longterm plasticity in the context of procedure related hormone release JF - PLoS one N2 - Harmful effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on cognitive and behavioural features of humans and rodents have been controversially discussed and raised persistent concern about adverse effects of EMF on general brain functions. In the present study we applied radio-frequency (RF) signals of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to full brain exposed male Wistar rats in order to elaborate putative influences on stress hormone release (corticosteron; CORT and adrenocorticotropic hormone; ACTH) and on hippocampal derived synaptic long-term plasticity (LTP) and depression (LTD) as electrophysiological hallmarks for memory storage and memory consolidation. Exposure was computer controlled providing blind conditions. Nominal brain-averaged specific absorption rates (SAR) as a measure of applied mass-related dissipated RF power were 0, 2, and 10 W/kg over a period of 120 min. Comparison of cage exposed animals revealed, regardless of EMF exposure, significantly increased CORT and ACTH levels which corresponded with generally decreased field potential slopes and amplitudes in hippocampal LTP and LTD. Animals following SAR exposure of 2 W/kg (averaged over the whole brain of 2.3 g tissue mass) did not differ from the sham-exposed group in LTP and LTD experiments. In contrast, a significant reduction in LTP and LTD was observed at the high power rate of SAR (10 W/kg). The results demonstrate that a rate of 2 W/kg displays no adverse impact on LTP and LTD, while 10 W/kg leads to significant effects on the electrophysiological parameters, which can be clearly distinguished from the stress derived background. Our findings suggest that UMTS exposure with SAR in the range of 2 W/kg is not harmful to critical markers for memory storage and memory consolidation, however, an influence of UMTS at high energy absorption rates (10 W/kg) cannot be excluded. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019437 VL - 6 IS - 5 PB - PLOS CY - San Francisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Schäfer, Lena C. A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Maderwald, Stefan T1 - Open design eight-channel transmit/receive coil for high-resolution and real-time ankle imaging at 7 T JF - Medical Physics N2 - Purpose: At 1.5 T, real-time MRI of joint movement has been shown to be feasible. However, 7 T, provides higher SNR and thus an improved potential for parallel imaging acceleration. The purpose of this work was to build an open, U-shaped eight-channel transmit/receive microstrip coil for 7 T MRI to enable high-resolution and real-time imaging of the moving ankle joint. Methods: A U-shaped eight-channel transmit/receive array for the human ankle was built.urn:x-wiley:00942405:mp3399:equation:mp3399-math-0001-parameters and urn:x-wiley:00942405:mp3399:equation:mp3399-math-0002-factor were measured. SAR calculations of different ankle postures were performed to ensure patient safety. Inhomogeneities in the transmit field consequent to the open design were compensated for by the use of static RF shimming. High-resolution and real-time imaging was performed in human volunteers. Results: The presented array showed good performance with regard to patient comfort and image quality. High acceleration factors of up to 4 are feasible without visible acceleration artifacts. Reasonable image homogeneity was achieved with RF shimming. Conclusions: Open, noncylindrical designs for transmit/receive coils are practical at 7 T and real-time imaging of the moving joint is feasible with the presented coil design. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1118/1.3553399 SN - 2473-4209 VL - 38 IS - 3 SP - 1162 EP - 1167 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Dammann, Philipp A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Quick, Harald H. T1 - An eight-channel transmit/receive multipurpose coil for musculoskeletal MR imaging at 7 T JF - Medical Physics N2 - Purpose: MRI plays a leading diagnostic role in assessing the musculoskeletal (MSK) system and is well established for most questions at clinically used field strengths (up to 3 T). However, there are still limitations in imaging early stages of cartilage degeneration, very fine tendons and ligaments, or in locating nerve lesions, for example. 7 T MRI of the knee has already received increasing attention in the current published literature, but there is a strong need to develop new radiofrequency (RF) coils to assess more regions of the MSK system. In this work, an eight-channel transmit/receive RF array was built as a multipurpose coil for imaging some of the thus far neglected regions. An extensive coil characterization protocol and first in vivo results of the human wrist, shoulder, elbow, knee, and ankle imaged at 7 T will be presented. Methods: Eight surface loop coils with a dimension ofurn:x-wiley:00942405:media:mp7176:mp7176-math-0001 were machined from FR4 circuit board material. To facilitate easy positioning, two coil clusters, each with four loop elements, were combined to one RF transmit/receive array. An overlapped and shifted arrangement of the coil elements was chosen to reduce the mutual inductance between neighboring coils. A phantom made of body-simulating liquid was used for tuning and matching on the bench. Afterward, the S-parameters were verified on a human wrist, elbow, and shoulder. For safety validation, a detailed compliance test was performed including full wave simulations of the RF field distribution and the corresponding specific absorption rate (SAR) for all joints. In vivo images of four volunteers were assessed with gradient echo and spin echo sequences modified to obtain optimal image contrast, full anatomic coverage, and the highest spatial resolution within a reasonable acquisition time. The performance of the RF coil was additionally evaluated by in vivo B1 mapping. Results: A comparison of B1 per unit power, flip angle distribution, and anatomic images showed a fairly homogeneous excitation for the smaller joints (elbow, wrist, and ankle), while for the larger joints, the shoulder and especially the knee, B1 inhomogeneities and limited penetration depth were more pronounced. However, the greater part of the shoulder joint could be imaged.In vivo images rendered very fine anatomic details such as fascicles of the median nerve and the branching of the nerve bundles. High-resolution images of cartilage, labrum, and tendons could be acquired. Additionally, turbo spin echo (TSE) and inversion recovery sequences performed very well. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the concept of two four-channel transmit/receive RF arrays can be used as a multipurpose coil for high-resolutionin vivo MR imaging of the musculoskeletal system at 7 T. Not only gradient echo but also typical clinical and SAR-intensive sequences such as STIR and TSE performed well. Imaging of small structures and peripheral nerves could in particular benefit from this technique. Y1 - 2010 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1118/1.3517176 SN - 2473-4209 VL - 37 IS - 12 SP - 6368 EP - 6376 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, NJ ER -