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Title: The biological effects of atomic radiation: Summary reports from a study.
Creator: National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Date Issued: 1960
Identifier: 886197, CFDT886197, ucf:5608
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/886197

Title: Infrared Tapered Slot Antennas Coupled to Tunnel Diodes.
Creator: Florence, Louis, Boreman, Glenn, Likamwa, Patrick, Schoenfeld, Winston, Lail, Brian, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Tapered slot antennas (TSAs) have seen considerable application in the millimeter-wave portion of the spectrum. Desirable characteristics of TSAs include symmetric E- and H-plane antenna patterns, and broad non-resonant bandwidths. We investigate extension of TSA operation toward higher frequencies in the thermal infrared (IR), using a metal-oxide-metal diode as the detector. Several different infrared TSA design forms are fabricated using electron-beam lithography and specially developed...
Show moreTapered slot antennas (TSAs) have seen considerable application in the millimeter-wave portion of the spectrum. Desirable characteristics of TSAs include symmetric E- and H-plane antenna patterns, and broad non-resonant bandwidths. We investigate extension of TSA operation toward higher frequencies in the thermal infrared (IR), using a metal-oxide-metal diode as the detector. Several different infrared TSA design forms are fabricated using electron-beam lithography and specially developed thin-film processes. The angular antenna patterns of TSA-coupled diodes are measured at 10.6 micrometer wavelength in both E- and H-planes, and are compared to results of finite-element electromagnetic modeling using Ansoft HFSS. Parameter studies are carried out, correlating the geometric and material properties of several TSA design forms to numerical-model results and to measurements. A significant increase in antenna gain is noted for a dielectric-overcoat design. The traveling-wave behavior of the IR TSA structure is investigated using scattering near-field microscopy. The measured near-field data is compared to HFSS results. Suggestions for future research are included.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004376, ucf:49395
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004376

Title: 4D-CT Lung Registration and its Application for Lung Radiation Therapy.
Creator: Min, Yugang, Pattanaik, Sumanta, Hughes, Charles, Foroosh, Hassan, Santhanam, Anand, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Radiation therapy has been successful in treating lung cancer patients, but its efficacy is limited by the inability to account for the respiratory motion during treatment planning and radiation dose delivery. Physics-based lung deformation models facilitate the motion computation of both tumor and local lung tissue during radiation therapy. In this dissertation, a novel method is discussed to accurately register 3D lungs across the respiratory phases from 4D-CT datasets, which facilitates...
Show moreRadiation therapy has been successful in treating lung cancer patients, but its efficacy is limited by the inability to account for the respiratory motion during treatment planning and radiation dose delivery. Physics-based lung deformation models facilitate the motion computation of both tumor and local lung tissue during radiation therapy. In this dissertation, a novel method is discussed to accurately register 3D lungs across the respiratory phases from 4D-CT datasets, which facilitates the estimation of the volumetric lung deformation models. This method uses multi-level and multi-resolution optical flow registration coupled with thin plate splines (TPS), to address registration issue of inconsistent intensity across respiratory phases. It achieves higher accuracy as compared to multi-resolution optical flow registration and other commonly used registration methods. Results of validation show that the lung registration is computed with 3 mm Target Registration Error (TRE) and approximately 3 mm Inverse Consistency Error (ICE). This registration method is further implemented in GPU based real time dose delivery simulation to assist radiation therapy planning.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004300, ucf:49464
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004300

Title: Effects of radiation and fallout.
Creator: Crow, James F
Date Issued: 1957
Identifier: 360088, CFDT360088, ucf:5246
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/360088

Title: SYNTHESIS OF ALKYLTHIOL-CONTAINING FLUORENE DERIVATIVES FOR GOLD NANOPARTICLE FUNCTIONALIZATION.
Creator: Mukundarajan, Sriram, Belfield, Kevin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: A novel synthetic methodology has been developed for attaching fluorene derivatives, containing different types of electron donating and accepting groups at the 2 and 7 positions, to gold nanoparticles of different sizes by exploiting the affinity of the thiol functional group for gold. The distance between the dye and nanoparticles was varied by introducing two alkyl chains containing different number of carbon atoms at the 9 position on the fluorene ring system. The methodology that was...
Show moreA novel synthetic methodology has been developed for attaching fluorene derivatives, containing different types of electron donating and accepting groups at the 2 and 7 positions, to gold nanoparticles of different sizes by exploiting the affinity of the thiol functional group for gold. The distance between the dye and nanoparticles was varied by introducing two alkyl chains containing different number of carbon atoms at the 9 position on the fluorene ring system. The methodology that was developed gave enough scope for performing Radiative Decay Engineering (RDE) studies, in order to investigate the impact of gold nanoparticles on the singlet oxygen quantum yields of fluorene dyes that already exhibit high singlet oxygen quantum yields as well as high two photon absorption (2PA) cross-sections. The dialkylation of the fluorene derivatives was accomplished by reacting the dye with ƒÑ, ƒç-dibromoalkanes containing different number of carbon atoms in a biphasic reaction mixture containing toluene and aqueous sodium hydroxide solution in the presence of tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) as a phase transfer catalyst. The bromine atom on the alkyl chains was converted to thioester by reaction with potassium thioacetate. This was followed by the hydrolysis of the thioester to form the thiol moiety. The compounds synthesized were characterized using 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Functionalization of gold nanoparticles was attempted by bringing into contact a solution of the thiol compound in toluene and an aqueous gold nanoparticles solution. UV-vis absorbance spectroscopy was used to monitor the progress of the attachment. Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectroscopy was used to probe the enhancement of Raman signal by the metallic nanoparticles.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000769, ucf:46589
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000769

Title: PREDICTION AND MEASUREMENT OF RADIATED EMISSIONS BASED ON EMPIRICAL TIME DOMAIN CONDUCTED MEASUREMENTS.
Creator: Freeman, Larry, Wu, Thomas, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis develops a novel method to predict radiated emissions measurements. The techniques used are based on standard Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) qualification test methods. The empirical data used to formulate the final results was restricted to pertinent data protocol waveforms however the entire method may be applied to any waveforms for which empirical radiated emissions have been measured. The method provides a concise means for predicting worst case radiated emissions...
Show moreThis thesis develops a novel method to predict radiated emissions measurements. The techniques used are based on standard Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) qualification test methods. The empirical data used to formulate the final results was restricted to pertinent data protocol waveforms however the entire method may be applied to any waveforms for which empirical radiated emissions have been measured. The method provides a concise means for predicting worst case radiated emissions profiles based on empirical measured data.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001294, ucf:46880
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001294

Title: TERAHERTZ RADIATION FROM HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING BSCCO MESAS OF VARIOUS GEOMETRIES.
Creator: Cerkoney, Daniel, Klemm, Richard, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the radiation from high-temperature superconducting mesas of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (BSCCO). This is motivated by the need for coherent sources of continuous wave terahertz (THz) emission capable of radiating practically in the THz frequency band. As BSCCO has been shown to be tunable from 0.5-2.4 THz (i.e., through the entire so-called terahertz gap centered about 1 THz), and has a higher peak operating temperature near 1 THz than most alternative sources,...
Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to examine the radiation from high-temperature superconducting mesas of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (BSCCO). This is motivated by the need for coherent sources of continuous wave terahertz (THz) emission capable of radiating practically in the THz frequency band. As BSCCO has been shown to be tunable from 0.5-2.4 THz (i.e., through the entire so-called terahertz gap centered about 1 THz), and has a higher peak operating temperature near 1 THz than most alternative sources, it is a good candidate for imaging and spectroscopy device applications. When a static DC voltage is applied to a BSCCO mesa, the stack of Josephson junctions intrinsic to this type-II layered superconductor synchronously radiate. Adjustment of the bath temperature and applied voltage allows for the high degree of tunability observed for such an emitter. To determine the angular dependence of radiation from BSCCO mesas, the dual source model from antenna theory is employed, and Love's equivalence principle is used to simplify this framework. The total emission power obtained in this manner for the pie-shaped wedge is then fit to experimental results for a thin isosceles triangular mesa using the method of least squares, resulting in a standard deviation of 0.4657. Additionally, symmetry is shown to play a significant role in the emissions for the transverse magnetic (TM) cavity modes of the equilateral triangular mesa. When the full group symmetry is imposed, the density of allowed modes is heavily diminished, and the original first excited even mode becomes the C3v symmetric ground state. These results for the equilateral triangle suggest, along with earlier experiments on the regular pentagonal mesa, that symmetry breaking effects can be used for purposes of tuning the characteristic frequency and angular dependence of the power radiated from BSCCO mesas with a high degree of symmetry.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFH0004898, ucf:45429
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004898

Title: Convective Heat Transfer in Nanofluids.
Creator: Schraudner, Steven, Vajravelu, Kuppalapalle, Mohapatra, Ram, Rollins, David, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In recent years, the study of fluid flow with nanoparticles in base fluids has attracted the attention of several researchers due to its various applications to science and engineering problems. Recent investigations on convective heat transfer in nanofluids indicate that the suspended nanoparticles markedly change the transport properties and thereby the heat transfer characteristics. Convection in saturated porous media with nanofluids is also an area of growing interest. In this thesis, we...
Show moreIn recent years, the study of fluid flow with nanoparticles in base fluids has attracted the attention of several researchers due to its various applications to science and engineering problems. Recent investigations on convective heat transfer in nanofluids indicate that the suspended nanoparticles markedly change the transport properties and thereby the heat transfer characteristics. Convection in saturated porous media with nanofluids is also an area of growing interest. In this thesis, we study the effects of radiation on the heat and mass transfer characteristics of nanofluid flows over solid surfaces. In Chapter 2, an investigation is made into the effects of radiation on mixed convection over a wedge embedded in a saturated porous medium with nanofluids, while in Chapter 3 results are presented for the effects of radiation on convection heat transfer about a cone embedded in a saturated porous medium with nanofluids. The resulting governing equations are non-dimensionalized and transformed into a non-similar form and then solved by Keller box method. A comparison is made with the available results in the literature, and the results are found to be in very good agreement. The numerical results for the velocity, temperature, volume fraction, the local Nusselt number and the Sherwood number are presented graphically. The salient features of the results are analyzed and discussed for several sets of values of the pertinent parameters. Also, the effects of the Rosseland diffusion and the Brownian motion are discussed.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004214, ucf:49024
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004214

Title: USE OF CERIUM OXIDE NANOPARTICLES FOR PROTECTION AGAINSTRADIATION-INDUCED CELL DEATH.
Creator: Colon, Jimmie, Kolattukudy, Pappachan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The ability of engineered cerium oxide nanoparticles to confer radioprotection was examined. Rat astrocytes were treated with cerium oxide nanoparticles to a final concentration of 10 nanomolar, irradiated with a single 10 Gy dose of ionizing radiation and cell death was evaluated by propidium iodine uptake at 24 and 48 hours after radiation insult. Treatment of rat astrocytes with nanoceria resulted in an approximate 3-fold decrease in radiation induced death. These results suggest that the...
Show moreThe ability of engineered cerium oxide nanoparticles to confer radioprotection was examined. Rat astrocytes were treated with cerium oxide nanoparticles to a final concentration of 10 nanomolar, irradiated with a single 10 Gy dose of ionizing radiation and cell death was evaluated by propidium iodine uptake at 24 and 48 hours after radiation insult. Treatment of rat astrocytes with nanoceria resulted in an approximate 3-fold decrease in radiation induced death. These results suggest that the nanoceria are conferring protection from radiation induced cell death. Further experiments with human cells were conducted. Human normal and tumor cells (MCF-7 and CRL8798) were treated with the same dosage of cerium oxide nanoparticles, irradiated and evaluated for cell survival. Treatment of normal cells (MCF-7) conferred nearly 99% protection from radiation-induced cell death while the same concentration of nanoceria showed almost no protection in tumor cells (CRL8798). TUNEL analysis results of similarly treated cells demonstrated that nanoceria reduced radiation-induced cell death by 3-fold in normal breast cells but not in MCF-7 tumor cell lines when cultured under the same conditions. We concluded that cerium oxide nanoparticles confer radioprotection in a normal human breast line (CRL 8798) but not in a human breast tumor line (MCF-7). It is hoped that the outcome of this study will guide future endeavors toward a better elucidation of the molecular pathways involved in the protection of cells with nanoceria against radiation-induced cell death, as well as the minimization of the bystander effect in radiation therapy.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001048, ucf:46823
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001048

Title: X-ray Radiation Enabled Cancer Detection and Treatment with Nanoparticles.
Creator: Hossain, Mainul, Su, Ming, Behal, Aman, Gong, Xun, Hu, Haiyan, Kapoor, Vikram, Deng, Weiwei, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Despite significant improvements in medical sciences over the last decade, cancer still continues to be a major cause of death in humans throughout the world. Parallel to the efforts of understanding the intricacies of cancer biology, researchers are continuously striving to develop effective cancer detection and treatment strategies. Use of nanotechnology in the modern era opens up a wide range of possibilities for diagnostics, therapies and preventive measures for cancer management....
Show moreDespite significant improvements in medical sciences over the last decade, cancer still continues to be a major cause of death in humans throughout the world. Parallel to the efforts of understanding the intricacies of cancer biology, researchers are continuously striving to develop effective cancer detection and treatment strategies. Use of nanotechnology in the modern era opens up a wide range of possibilities for diagnostics, therapies and preventive measures for cancer management. Although, existing strategies of cancer detection and treatment, using nanoparticles, have been proven successful in case of cancer imaging and targeted drug deliveries, they are often limited by poor sensitivity, lack of specificity, complex sample preparation efforts and inherent toxicities associated with the nanoparticles, especially in case of in-vivo applications. Moreover, the detection of cancer is not necessarily integrated with treatment. X-rays have long been used in radiation therapy to kill cancer cells and also for imaging tumors inside the body using nanoparticles as contrast agents. However, X-rays, in combination with nanoparticles, can also be used for cancer diagnosis by detecting cancer biomarkers and circulating tumor cells. Moreover, the use of nanoparticles can also enhance the efficacy of X-ray radiation therapy for cancer treatment.This dissertation describes a novel in vitro technique for cancer detection and treatment using X-ray radiation and nanoparticles. Surfaces of synthesized metallic nanoparticles have been modified with appropriate ligands to specifically target cancer cells and biomarkers in vitro. Characteristic X-ray fluorescence signals from the X-ray irradiated nanoparticles are then used for detecting the presence of cancer. The method enables simultaneous detection of multiple cancer biomarkers allowing accurate diagnosis and early detection of cancer. Circulating tumor cells, which are the primary indicators of cancer metastasis, have also been detected where the use of magnetic nanoparticles allows enrichment of rare cancer cells prior to detection. The approach is unique in that it integrates cancer detection and treatment under one platform, since, X-rays have been shown to effectively kill cancer cells through radiation induced DNA damage. Due to high penetrating power of X-rays, the method has potential applications for in vivo detection and treatment of deeply buried cancers in humans. The effect of nanoparticle toxicity on multiple cell types has been investigated using conventional cytotoxicity assays for both unmodified nanoparticles as well as nanoparticles modified with a variety of surface coatings. Appropriate surface modifications have significantly reduced inherent toxicity of nanoparticles, providing possibilities for future clinical applications. To investigate cellular damages caused by X-ray radiation, an on-chip biodosimeter has been fabricated based on three dimensional microtissues which allows direct monitoring of responses to X-ray exposure for multiple mammalian cell types. Damage to tumor cells caused by X-rays is known to be significantly higher in presence of nanoparticles which act as radiosensitizers and enhance localized radiation doses. An analytical approach is used to investigate the various parameters that affect the radiosensitizing properties of the nanoparticles. The results can be used to increase the efficacy of nanoparticle aided X-ray radiation therapy for cancer treatment by appropriate choice of X-ray beam energy, nanoparticle size, material composition and location of nanoparticle with respect to the tumor cell nucleus.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004547, ucf:49242
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004547

Title: DESIGN AND MODELING OF RADIATION HARDENED LDMOSFET FOR SPACE CRAFT POWER SYSTEMS.
Creator: Shea, Patrick, Shen, John, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: NASA missions require innovative power electronics system and component solutions with long life capability, high radiation tolerance, low mass and volume, and high reliability in space environments. Presently vertical double-diffused MOSFETs (VDMOS) are the most widely used power switching device for space power systems. It is proposed that a new lateral double-diffused MOSFET (LDMOS) designed at UCF can offer improvements in total dose and single event radiation hardness, switching...
Show moreNASA missions require innovative power electronics system and component solutions with long life capability, high radiation tolerance, low mass and volume, and high reliability in space environments. Presently vertical double-diffused MOSFETs (VDMOS) are the most widely used power switching device for space power systems. It is proposed that a new lateral double-diffused MOSFET (LDMOS) designed at UCF can offer improvements in total dose and single event radiation hardness, switching performance, development and manufacturing costs, and total mass of power electronics systems. Availability of a hardened fast-switching power MOSFET will allow space-borne power electronics to approach the current level of terrestrial technology, thereby facilitating the use of more modern digital electronic systems in space. It is believed that the use of a p+/p-epi starting material for the LDMOS will offer better hardness against single-event burnout (SEB) and single-event gate rupture (SEGR) when compared to vertical devices fabricated on an n+/n-epi material. By placing a source contact on the bottom-side of the p+ substrate, much of the hole current generated by a heavy ion strike will flow away from the dielectric gate, thereby reducing electrical stress on the gate and decreasing the likelihood of SEGR. Similarly, the device is hardened against SEB by the redirection of hole current away from the base of the device's parasitic bipolar transistor. Total dose hardness is achieved by the use of a standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process that has shown proven hardness against total dose radiation effects.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001966, ucf:47468
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001966

Title: ON THE USE OF VARIABLE COHERENCE IN INVERSE SCATTERING PROBLEMS.
Creator: Baleine, Erwan, Dogariu, Aristide, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Even though most of the properties of optical fields, such as wavelength, polarization, wavefront curvature or angular spectrum, have been commonly manipulated in a variety of remote sensing procedures, controlling the degree of coherence of light did not find wide applications until recently. Since the emergence of optical coherence tomography, a growing number of scattering techniques have relied on temporal coherence gating which provides efficient target selectivity in a way achieved only...
Show moreEven though most of the properties of optical fields, such as wavelength, polarization, wavefront curvature or angular spectrum, have been commonly manipulated in a variety of remote sensing procedures, controlling the degree of coherence of light did not find wide applications until recently. Since the emergence of optical coherence tomography, a growing number of scattering techniques have relied on temporal coherence gating which provides efficient target selectivity in a way achieved only by bulky short pulse measurements. The spatial counterpart of temporal coherence, however, has barely been exploited in sensing applications. This dissertation examines, in different scattering regimes, a variety of inverse scattering problems based on variable spatial coherence gating. Within the framework of the radiative transfer theory, this dissertation demonstrates that the short range correlation properties of a medium under test can be recovered by varying the size of the coherence volume of an illuminating beam. Nonetheless, the radiative transfer formalism does not account for long range correlations and current methods for retrieving the correlation function of the complex susceptibility require cumbersome cross-spectral density measurements. Instead, a variable coherence tomographic procedure is proposed where spatial coherence gating is used to probe the structural properties of single scattering media over an extended volume and with a very simple detection system. Enhanced backscattering is a coherent phenomenon that survives strong multiple scattering. The variable coherence tomography approach is extended in this context to diffusive media and it is demonstrated that specific photon trajectories can be selected in order to achieve depth-resolved sensing. Probing the scattering properties of shallow and deeper layers is of considerable interest in biological applications such as diagnosis of skin related diseases. The spatial coherence properties of an illuminating field can be manipulated over dimensions much larger than the wavelength thus providing a large effective sensing area. This is a practical advantage over many near-field microscopic techniques, which offer a spatial resolution beyond the classical diffraction limit but, at the expense of scanning a probe over a large area of a sample which is time consuming, and, sometimes, practically impossible. Taking advantage of the large field of view accessible when using the spatial coherence gating, this dissertation introduces the principle of variable coherence scattering microscopy. In this approach, a subwavelength resolution is achieved from simple far-zone intensity measurements by shaping the degree of spatial coherence of an evanescent field. Furthermore, tomographic techniques based on spatial coherence gating are especially attractive because they rely on simple detection schemes which, in principle, do not require any optical elements such as lenses. To demonstrate this capability, a correlated lensless imaging method is proposed and implemented, where both amplitude and phase information of an object are obtained by varying the degree of spatial coherence of the incident beam. Finally, it should be noted that the idea of using the spatial coherence properties of fields in a tomographic procedure is applicable to any type of electromagnetic radiation. Operating on principles of statistical optics, these sensing procedures can become alternatives for various target detection schemes, cutting-edge microscopies or x-ray imaging methods.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001387, ucf:47005
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001387

Title: EVALUATION OF A MICROWAVE RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODEL FOR CALCULATING SATELLITE BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE.
Creator: Thompson, Simonetta, Jones, Linwood, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Remote sensing is the process of gathering and analyzing information about the earth's ocean, land and atmosphere using electromagnetic "wireless" techniques. Mathematical models, known as Radiative Transfer Models (RTM), are developed to calculate the observed radiance (brightness temperature) seen by the remote sensor. The RTM calculated brightness temperature is a function of fourteen environmental parameters, including atmospheric profiles of temperature, pressure and moisture, sea...
Show moreRemote sensing is the process of gathering and analyzing information about the earth's ocean, land and atmosphere using electromagnetic "wireless" techniques. Mathematical models, known as Radiative Transfer Models (RTM), are developed to calculate the observed radiance (brightness temperature) seen by the remote sensor. The RTM calculated brightness temperature is a function of fourteen environmental parameters, including atmospheric profiles of temperature, pressure and moisture, sea surface temperature, and cloud liquid water. Input parameters to the RTM model include data from NOAA Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Reynolds weekly Sea Surface Temperature and National Ocean Data Center (NODC) WOA98 Ocean Salinity and special sensor microwave/imager (SSM/I) cloud liquid water. The calculated brightness temperatures are compared to collocated measurements from the WindSat satellite. The objective of this thesis is to fine tune the RadTb model, using simultaneous environmental parameters and measured brightness temperature from the well-calibrated WindSat radiometer. The model will be evaluated at four microwave frequencies (6.8 GHz, 10.7 GHz, 18.7 GHz, and 37.0 GHz) looking off- nadir for global radiance measurement.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000325, ucf:46303
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000325

Title: CLIMATE MODELING, OUTGOING LONGWAVE RADIATION, AND TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECASTING.
Creator: Rechtman, Thomas, Mohapatra, Ram N., University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Climate modeling and tropical cyclone forecasting are two significant issues that are continuously being improved upon for more accurate weather forecasting and preparedness. In this thesis, we have studied three climate models and formulated a new model with a view to determine the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) budget at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) as observed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) satellite based Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer ...
Show moreClimate modeling and tropical cyclone forecasting are two significant issues that are continuously being improved upon for more accurate weather forecasting and preparedness. In this thesis, we have studied three climate models and formulated a new model with a view to determine the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) budget at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) as observed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) satellite based Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). In 2006, Karnauskas proposed the African meridional OLR as an Atlantic hurricane predictor, the relation was further proven in 2016 by Karnauskas and Li. Here we have considered a similar study for all other tropical cyclone basins.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFH2000403, ucf:45775
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000403

Title: A DIRECT COMPENSATOR PROFILE OPTIMIZATION APPROACH FOR INTENSITY MODULATED RADIATION TREATMENT PLANNING.
Creator: Erhart, Kevin, Divo, Eduardo, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Radiation therapy accounts for treatment of over one million cancer patients each year in the United States alone, and its use will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years. Recently, many important advancements have been developed that greatly improve the outcomes and effectiveness of this treatment technique, the most notable being Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). IMRT is a sophisticated treatment technique where the radiation dose is conformed to the tumor volume, thereby...
Show moreRadiation therapy accounts for treatment of over one million cancer patients each year in the United States alone, and its use will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years. Recently, many important advancements have been developed that greatly improve the outcomes and effectiveness of this treatment technique, the most notable being Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). IMRT is a sophisticated treatment technique where the radiation dose is conformed to the tumor volume, thereby sparing nearby healthy tissue from excessive radiation dose. While IMRT is a valuable tool in the planning of radiation treatments, it is not without its difficulties. This research has created, developed, and tested an innovative approach to IMRT treatment planning, coined Direct Compensator Profile Optimization (DCPO), which is shown to eliminate many of the difficulties typically associated with IMRT planning and delivery using solid compensator based treatment. The major innovation of this technique is that it is a direct delivery parameter optimization approach which has adopted a parameterized surface representation using Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBs) to replace the conventional beamlet weight optimization approach. This new approach brings with it three key advantages: 1) a reduced number of parameters to optimize, reducing the difficulty of numerical optimization; 2) the ability to ensure complete equivalence of planned and actual manufactured compensators; and 3) direct inclusion of delivery device effects during planning with no performance penalties, eliminating the degrading fluence-to-delivery parameter conversion process. Detailed research into the affects of the DCPO approach on IMRT planning has been completed and a thorough analysis of the developments is provided herein. This research includes a complete description of the DCPO surface representation scheme, inverse planning process, as well as quantification of the manufacturing constraint control procedure. Results are presented which demonstrate the performance and innovation offered by this new approach and show that the resulting compensator shapes can be manufactured to nearly 100 percent of the designed shape.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002800, ucf:48099
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002800

Title: HURRICANE WIND SPEED AND RAIN RATE MEASUREMENTS USING THE AIRBORNE HURRICANE IMAGING RADIOMETER (HIRAD).
Creator: Amarin, Ruba, Jones, W. Linwood, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation presents results for an end-to-end computer simulation of a new airborne microwave remote sensor, the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer, HIRAD, which will provide improved hurricane surveillance. The emphasis of this research is the retrieval of hurricane-force wind speeds in the presence of intense rain and over long atmospheric slant path lengths that are encountered across its wide swath. Brightness temperature (Tb) simulations are performed using a forward microwave radiative...
Show moreThis dissertation presents results for an end-to-end computer simulation of a new airborne microwave remote sensor, the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer, HIRAD, which will provide improved hurricane surveillance. The emphasis of this research is the retrieval of hurricane-force wind speeds in the presence of intense rain and over long atmospheric slant path lengths that are encountered across its wide swath. Brightness temperature (Tb) simulations are performed using a forward microwave radiative transfer model (RTM) that includes an ocean surface emissivity model at high wind speeds developed especially for HIRAD high incidence angle measurements and a rain model for the hurricane environment. Also included are realistic sources of errors (e.g., instrument NEDT, antenna pattern convolution of scene Tb, etc.), which are expected in airborne hurricane observations. Case studies are performed using 3D environmental parameters produced by numerical hurricane models for actual hurricanes. These provide realistic Ã‚Â"nature runsÃ‚Â" of rain, water vapor, clouds and surface winds from which simulated HIRAD TbÃ‚Â's are derived for various flight tracks from a high altitude aircraft. Using these simulated HIRAD measurements, Monte Carlo retrievals of wind speed and rain rate are performed using available databases of sea surface temperatures and climatological hurricane atmospheric parameters (excluding rain) as a priori information. Examples of retrieved hurricane wind speed and rain rate images are presented, and comparisons of the retrieved parameters with the numerical model data are made. Statistical results are presented over a broad range of wind and rain conditions and as a function of path length over the full swath.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003082, ucf:48330
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003082

Title: Atomic-scale simulation of physical and chemical processes during space weathering and planet formation.
Creator: Quadery, Abrar, Schelling, Patrick, Britt, Daniel, Peale, Robert, Kara, Abdelkader, Sohn, Yongho, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: We investigate the mechanisms of space weathering and dust grain collisions, two topics of interests from planetary sciences, using atomic-scale simulations. Space weathering is the change in chemical and physical properties of minerals exposed to solar radiation and micrometeorite bombardment on surfaces of airless planetary bodies like the Moon and asteroids. An understanding of the connection between the surface evolution of the minerals and the underlying thermodynamic and kinetic factors...
Show moreWe investigate the mechanisms of space weathering and dust grain collisions, two topics of interests from planetary sciences, using atomic-scale simulations. Space weathering is the change in chemical and physical properties of minerals exposed to solar radiation and micrometeorite bombardment on surfaces of airless planetary bodies like the Moon and asteroids. An understanding of the connection between the surface evolution of the minerals and the underlying thermodynamic and kinetic factors is still missing. We address this issue and determine the time evolution of Frenkel defects in the silicate minerals olivine ((Mg,Fe)$_2$SiO$_4$) and orthopyroxene ((Mg,Fe)SiO$_3$) using molecular dynamics with a pair potential. Defect diffusion and clustering are observed in both the minerals. Cation diffusion occurs more readily in olivine than in orthopyroxene and leads to faster annealing in the former. In orthopyroxene, diffusion of anion defects, especially oxygen interstitials, occurs more rapidly and also exhibits anisotropy, which hinders the annealing process. This difference in defect evolution may explain the experimental observation that surface modifications due to irradiation is more pronounced in orthopyroxene than in olivine. Dust grain collision is the dominant process in the initial stage of planet formation, however, the mechanisms by which dust grains grow to larger aggregates and eventually to kilometer sized planetesimal is still not understood. We explore the role of surface chemistry in energy dissipation and grain adhesion during collision of amorphous silica (SiO$_2$) nanograins using molecular dynamics with a reactive potential, namely ReaxFF. We found nonhydroxylated amorphous silica nanoparticles stick with higher probability than their hydroxylated counterpart. This difference is attributed to the preponderance of unsatisfied dangling bonds on the dry silicate surface which facilitate bond formation during collision, and thereby provide a mechanism for energy dissipation. The speed below which sticking occurs in the dry nanograins is much higher than that found in Earth-based experiments, which suggests any experimental study of dust grain collision should take into account of the chemical environment. We probe into the nanograin collisions further and carry out atomistic simulatons of collisions of molten silica nanograins. We observed in the molten state, amorphous silica is more sticky than it is in the solid phase. This happens due to increased viscoelastic energy dissipation. The result may explain how rocky planets originated from the inner rings of the protoplanetay disks where temperatures were as high as $\sim$ 2000 K. In order to increase the range of materials that could be simulated with ReaxFF potential, and also to examine the different oxidation states of iron associated with nanophase iron formation during space weathering, we made attempt to develop ReaxFF potential for fayalite (Fe$_2$SiO$_4$). We found out fundamental limitations of ReaxFF model to describe three-component minerals. However, during the fitting process we developed a model for iron silicide (FeSi), and made attempt to improve the silica model to obtain better elastic properties. We report here the fitting processes and the observed limitations of ReaxFF model.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006907, ucf:51691
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006907

Title: EVALUATION OF CLIMATIC AND ECOHYDROLOGICAL EFFECTS ON LONGWAVE RADIATION AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION.
Creator: Rizou, Maria, Nnadi, Fidelia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Modern tools, nontraditional datasets and a better understanding of the interaction between climate and ecohydrology are continuously being developed as today's society is in critical need for improving water management, predicting hydrometeorological hazards and forecasting future climate. In particular, the study of the intra- and inter-annual variations in grass productivity and evapotranspiration caused by variations in precipitation/soil moisture and other biophysical factors is of...
Show moreModern tools, nontraditional datasets and a better understanding of the interaction between climate and ecohydrology are continuously being developed as today's society is in critical need for improving water management, predicting hydrometeorological hazards and forecasting future climate. In particular, the study of the intra- and inter-annual variations in grass productivity and evapotranspiration caused by variations in precipitation/soil moisture and other biophysical factors is of great significance due to their relation to future climatic changes. The research presented here falls in three parts. In the first part of the dissertation, a land use adaptable model, based on the superposition of the temperature and water vapor pressure effects, is proposed for the effective clear sky emissivity. Ground radiometer and meteorological data, applicable in the subtropical climate of Saint Johns River Water Management District, Florida, were utilized for the model development over the spring season of 2004. The performance of this model was systematically evaluated by pertinent comparisons with previously established models using data over various land covers. The second part of the thesis investigates the dynamics of evapotranspiration with respect to its significant environmental and biological controls over an unmanaged bahia grassland. Eddy correlation measurements were carried out at a flux tower in Central Florida over the annual course of 2004. The main focus was on the sensitivity of the water vapor flux to wetness variables, namely the volumetric soil water content and the current precipitation index. It was shown that the time scales involved with the dynamics of evapotranspiration were on the order of six days, suggesting that depletion of the soil moisture was mostly responsible for the temporal fluctuations in evapotranspiration. Finally, simple models for the Priestley-Taylor factor were employed in terms of water availability, and the modeled results closely matched the eddy covariance flux values on daily time scale during all moisture conditions. In the third part of this work, the partitioning between latent and sensible heat fluxes was systematically examined with respect to biophysical factors. It was found that the seasonal variations in leaf area index, soil water content and net radiation were reflected in a strong seasonal pattern of the energy balance. Calculations of the bulk parameters, namely Priestley-Taylor parameter and decoupling coefficient, indicated that evapotranspiration of this grassland was controlled by water supply limitations and surface conductance. At an annual basis, the cumulative evapotranspiration was 59 percent of the precipitation received at the site. The results of this research complemented with other studies will promote better understanding of land-atmosphere interactions, accurate parameterizations of hydroclimatic models, and assessment of climate impact of grassland ecosystems.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002279, ucf:47851
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002279

Title: Impact of Ionizing Radiation and Electron Injection on Carrier Transport Properties in Narrow and Wide Bandgap Semiconductors.
Creator: Lee, Jonathan, Flitsiyan, Elena, Chernyak, Leonid, Peale, Robert, Orlovskaya, Nina, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study investigated the minority carrier properties of wide and narrow bandgap semiconductors. Included specifically are wide bandgap materials GaN and ?-Ga2O3, and narrow bandgap InAs/GaSb type-II strain-layer superlattice. The importance of minority carrier behavior in bipolar device performance is utmost because it is the limiting component in current conduction. The techniques used to determine minority carrier properties include electron beam induced current (EBIC) and...
Show moreThis study investigated the minority carrier properties of wide and narrow bandgap semiconductors. Included specifically are wide bandgap materials GaN and ?-Ga2O3, and narrow bandgap InAs/GaSb type-II strain-layer superlattice. The importance of minority carrier behavior in bipolar device performance is utmost because it is the limiting component in current conduction. The techniques used to determine minority carrier properties include electron beam induced current (EBIC) and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy. The CL spectroscopy is complemented with time-resolved CL (TRCL) for direct measurement of carrier radiative recombination lifetime. The minority carrier properties and effect of high energy radiation is explored. The GaN TRCL results suggested an activation energy effecting carrier lifetime of about 90 meV which is related to nitrogen vacancies. The effects of 60Co gamma radiation are demonstrated and related to the effects of electron injection in GaN-based devices. The effects of various high energy radiations upon Si-doped ?-Ga2O3 minority carrier diffusion length and radiative lifetime are measured. The non-irradiated sample thermal activation energies found for minority carrier diffusion length were 40.9 meV, related to shallow Si-donors in the material. The CL results demonstrate that the bandgap of 4.9 eV is slightly indirect. The thermal activation energy decreased on 1.5 MeV electron irradiation but increased for 10 MeV proton irradiation. The increase in energy was related to higher order defects and their complexes, and influenced recombination lifetime significantly. Finally, the diffusion length is reported for narrow bandgap InAs/GaSb superlattice structure and the effect of 60Co gamma radiation is demonstrated.In general, the defects introduced by high energy radiations decreased minority carrier diffusion length, except for 60Co gamma on AlGaN/GaN HEMT devices and high-temperature proton irradiated ?-Ga2O3.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007217, ucf:52239
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007217

Title: VALIDATION OF WIDEBAND OCEAN EMISSIVITY RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODEL.
Creator: Crofton, Sonya, Jones, Linwood, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Radiative Transfer Models (RTM) have many applications in the satellite microwave remote sensing field, such as the retrieval of oceanic and atmospheric environmental parameters, including surface wind vectors and sea surface temperatures, integrated water vapor, cloud liquid, and precipitation. A key component of the ocean RTM is the emissivity model used to determine the brightness temperature (Tb) at the oceanÃ‚Â's surface. A new wideband ocean emissivity RTM...
Show moreRadiative Transfer Models (RTM) have many applications in the satellite microwave remote sensing field, such as the retrieval of oceanic and atmospheric environmental parameters, including surface wind vectors and sea surface temperatures, integrated water vapor, cloud liquid, and precipitation. A key component of the ocean RTM is the emissivity model used to determine the brightness temperature (Tb) at the oceanÃ‚Â's surface. A new wideband ocean emissivity RTM developed by the Central Florida Remote Sensing Laboratory (CFRSL) calculates ocean emissivity over a wide range of frequencies, incidence angles, sea surface temperatures (SST), and wind speed. This thesis presents the validation of this CFRSL model using independent WindSat Tb measurements collocated with Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) Numerical weather model environmental parameters for frequencies between 6.8 to 37 GHz and wind speeds between 0 Ã‚Â– 20 m/s over the July 2005 Ã‚Â– June 2006 year. In addition, the CFRSL emissivity model is validated using WindSat derived ocean wind speeds and SST that are contained in the Environmental Data Record (EDR) and combined with the GDAS environmental parameters. Finally, the validation includes comparisons to the well-established XCAL ocean emissivity RTM. The focus of this validation and comparison is to assess performance of the emissivity model results with respect to a wide range of frequency and wind speeds but limited to a narrow range of incidence angles between approximately 50Ã‚Â° - 55Ã‚Â°.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003533, ucf:48946
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003533

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