FLIR Systems (United States)

Abstract. Natural gas infrastructure releases methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. The estimated emission rate associated with the production and transportation of natural gas is uncertain, hindering our understanding of its greenhouse footprint. This study presents a new application of inverse methodology for estimating regional emission rates from natural gas production and gathering facilities in north-eastern Pennsylvania. An inventory of CH4 emissions was compiled for major sources in Pennsylvania. This inventory served as input emission data for the Weather Research and Forecasting model with chemistry enabled (WRF-Chem), and atmospheric CH4 mole fraction fields were generated at 3 km resolution. Simulated atmospheric CH4 enhancements from WRF-Chem were compared to observations obtained from a 3-week flight campaign in May 2015. Modelled enhancements from sources not associated with upstream natural gas processes were assumed constant and known and therefore removed from the optimization procedure, creating a set of observed enhancements from natural gas only. Simulated emission rates from unconventional production were then adjusted to minimize the mismatch between aircraft observations and model-simulated mole fractions for 10 flights. To evaluate the method, an aircraft mass balance calculation was performed for four flights where conditions permitted its use. Using the model optimization approach, the weighted mean emission rate from unconventional natural gas production and gathering facilities in north-eastern Pennsylvania approach is found to be 0.36 % of total gas production, with a 2σ confidence interval between 0.27 and 0.45 % of production. Similarly, the mean emission estimates using the aircraft mass balance approach are calculated to be 0.40 % of regional natural gas production, with a 2σ confidence interval between 0.08 and 0.72 % of production. These emission rates as a percent of production are lower than rates found in any other basin using a top-down methodology, and may be indicative of some characteristics of the basin that make sources from the north-eastern Marcellus region unique.

Conventionally, quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometers eject ions of different mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) in a sequential fashion by performing a scan of the rf trapping voltage amplitude. Due to the inherent sparsity of most mass spectra, the detector measures no signal for much of the scan time. By exploiting this sparsity property, we propose a new compressive and multiplexed mass analysis approach--multi Resonant Frequency Excitation (mRFE) ejection. This new approach divides the mass spectrum into several mass subranges and detects all the subrange spectra in parallel for increased mass analysis speed. Mathematical estimation of standard mass spectrum is demonstrated while statistical classification on the parallel measurements remains viable because of the sparse nature of the mass spectra. This method can reduce mass analysis time by a factor of 3-6 and increase system duty cycle by 2×. The combination of reduced analysis time and accurate compound classification is demonstrated in a commercial quadrupole ion trap (QIT) system.

Earlier work has shown that a narrow-frequency-band, wide-angle emission is produced by an array of metal patches supported on a thin dielectric layer covering a ground plane. The modes responsible for this emission are local plasmons trapped under the metal patches. As the dielectric layer thickness, ${h}_{d}$, is increased, the resonant emission fades in strength because the plasmon modes can no longer be trapped under a single patch. Further increases in ${h}_{d}$, making it comparable to the light wavelength in the dielectric layer, lead to a collection of new emission peaks. These are narrower than the one peak found for small ${h}_{d}$ but they are not well separated. We have found that some of these peaks can be suppressed over a narrow range of ${h}_{d}$. This leaves one with well-separated, narrow-band emission peaks. We have identified the physical mechanism for this selective suppression of emission peaks.

Passive radiation detection systems have been developed to screen passengers, vehicles, and cargo for illicit radioactive sources by measuring gamma and neutron signatures with separate, specialized sensors. The paper introduces a novel concept combining neutron and gamma sensing in a single detector, thus reducing the overall expense. Low-cost converter media capture thermal neutrons and commute neutron flux in energetic gammas, which are then detected by a common gamma detector. Energy signals above 3 MeV indicate the neutron captures. Two prototype systems are presented: (1) The NCD-BGO, a segmented 655 ml BGO scintillator with embedded Cd absorber, demonstrated an intrinsic thermal-neutron detection efficiency of about 50%. (2) The PVTNG, comprising 75 l of PVT scintillator complemented with PVC panels, exhibited a neutron sensitivity of 1.9 cps/ng of 252Cf, thus almost meeting the corresponding requirement for Radiation Portal Monitors. Moreover, an unconventional construction of scintillator and light readout, combined with innovative electronics and proper detector stabilization, improved the gamma detector performance noticeably and enabled nuclide identification.

To fight against the explosives-related threats in defense and homeland security applications, a smarter sensing device that not only detects but differentiates multiple true threats from false positives caused by environmental interferents is essential. A new optical detection system is proposed to address these issues by using the temporal and spectroscopic information generated by the surface plasmon coupling emission (SPCE) effect. Innovative SPCE optics have been designed using Zemax software to project the fluorescence signal into clear rainbow rings on a CCD with subnanometer wavelength resolution. The spectroscopic change of the fluorescence signal and the time history of such changes due to the presence of a certain explosive analyte are unique and can be used to identify explosives. Thanks to high optical efficiency, reporter depositions as small as 160-μm in diameter can generate a sufficient signal, allowing a dense array of different reporters to be interrogated with wavelength multiplexing and detect a wide range of explosives. We have demonstrated detection and classification of explosives, such as TNT, NT, NM, RDX, PETN, and AN, with two sensing materials in a prototype.

Forward looking infrared and Radar (X-band or Ku-band) sensors are potential components in external hazard monitoring systems for general aviation aircraft. We are investigating the capability of these sensors to provide hazard information to the pilot when normal visibility is reduced by meteorological conditions. Fusing detection results from FLIR and Radar sensors can improve hazard detection performance. We have developed a demonstration fusion system for the detection of runway incursions. In this paper, we present our fusion system, along with detection results from data recorded on approach to a landing during clear daylight, overcast daylight, and clear night conditions.

Mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) 1024x1024 pixel InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs based quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) focal planes have been demonstrated with excellent imaging performance. The MWIR QWIP detector array has demonstrated a noise equivalent differential temperature (NEΔT) of 17 mK at a 95K operating temperature with f/2.5 optics at 300K background and the LWIR detector array has demonstrated a NEΔT of 13 mK at a 70K operating temperature with the same optical and background conditions as the MWIR detector array after the subtraction of system noise. Both MWIR and LWIR focal planes have shown background limited performance (BLIP) at 90K and 70K operating temperatures respectively, with similar optical and background conditions. It is well known that III-V compound semiconductor materials such as GaAs, InP, etc. are easy to grow and process into devices. In addition, III-V compound semiconductors are available in large diameter wafers, up to 8-inches. Thus, III-V compound semiconductor based infrared focal plane technologies such as QWIP, InSb, and strain layer superlattices (SLS) are potential candidates for the development of large format focal planes such as 4096x4096 pixels and larger. In this paper, we will discuss the possibility of extending the infrared detector array size up to 16 megapixels.

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Epitaxially grown self-assembled InAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) are exploited for the development of large-format long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) focal plane arrays (FPAs). The Dot-in-a-Well (DWELL) structures were experimentally shown to absorb both 45° and normal incident light, therefore a reflection grating structure was used to enhance the quantum efficiency. The devices exhibit peak responsivity out to 8.1 microns, with peak detectivity reaching ~ 1 x 10 10 Jones at 77 K. The devices were fabricated into the first long-wavelength 640x512 pixel QDIP imaging FPA, which has produced excellent infrared imagery with noise equivalent temperature difference of 40 mK at 60K operating temperature.