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This study investigates the interactional aerodynamics of hovering side-by-side rotors in ground effect. The 5.5-ft diameter, three-bladed fixed-pitched rotors are simulated using computational fluid dynamics at a targeted 5 lb/ft2 disk loading. Simulations are performed using the commercial Navier–Stokes solver, AcuSolve®, with a delayed detached eddy simulation model. Side-by-side rotors are simulated at two heights above the ground (H/D = 0.5 and H/D = 1), and with two hub–hub separation distances (3R and 2.5R). The performance of side-by-side rotors in ground effect (IGE) is compared to isolated rotors out of ground effect. Between the side-by-side rotors IGE, a highly turbulent mixing region is identified where the wakes of each rotor collide. The flow fountains upwards, as well as exits outwards (along a direction normal to a plane connecting the two rotor hubs) with fountaining between the rotors reaching up to 0.75D above the ground. As blades at H/D = 0.5 traverse the highly turbulent flow, strong vibratory loading is induced and a thrust loss is observed over the outboard sections between the rotors that is large enough to negate any nominal ground effect benefits inboard. Side-by-side rotors at H/D = 0.5 with 2.5R hub–hub spacing produce peak-to-peak thrust oscillations up to 16% of the steady thrust. Rotors placed higher, at H/D = 1 are positioned above the turbulent mixing flow and produce significantly lower vibratory loads. The spacing between rotors at H/D = 0.5 and 3R hub–hub separation allows strong vortical structures to develop between the rotors which move from side to side over multiple revolutions. When the vorticity moves closer to one of the rotors, it produces a greater lift deficit over the outboard region and a stronger vibratory loading. For rotors closer together, at H/D = 0.5 and 2.5R separation, the vortical structures between rotors are constrained to a more concentrated area and show less side-to-side drift.

Lung ultrasound (LUS) is an accurate thoracic imaging technique distinguished by its handheld size, low-cost, and lack of radiation. User dependence and poor access to training have limited the impact and dissemination of LUS outside of acute care hospital environments. Automated interpretation of LUS using deep learning can overcome these barriers by increasing accuracy while allowing point-of-care use by non-experts. In this multicenter study, we seek to automate the clinically vital distinction between A line (normal parenchyma) and B line (abnormal parenchyma) on LUS by training a customized neural network using 272,891 labelled LUS images. After external validation on 23,393 frames, pragmatic clinical application at the clip level was performed on 1162 videos. The trained classifier demonstrated an area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of 0.96 (±0.02) through 10-fold cross-validation on local frames and an AUC of 0.93 on the external validation dataset. Clip-level inference yielded sensitivities and specificities of 90% and 92% (local) and 83% and 82% (external), respectively, for detecting the B line pattern. This study demonstrates accurate deep-learning-enabled LUS interpretation between normal and abnormal lung parenchyma on ultrasound frames while rendering diagnostically important sensitivity and specificity at the video clip level.

The Sun regularly produces large-scale eruptive events, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that can drive shock waves through the solar corona. Such shocks can result in electron acceleration and subsequent radio emission in the form of a type II radio burst. However, the early-phase evolution of shock properties and its relationship to type II burst evolution is still subject to investigation. Here we study the evolution of a CME-driven shock by comparing three commonly used methods of calculating the Alfvén Mach number (MA), namely: shock geometry, a comparison of CME speed to a model of the coronal Alfvén speed, and the type II band-splitting method. We applied the three methods to the 2017 September 2 event, focusing on the shock wave observed in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) by the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) on board GOES-16, in white-light by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on board SOHO, and the type II radio burst observed by the Irish Low Frequency Array (I-LOFAR). We show that the three different methods of estimating shock MA yield consistent results and provide a means of relating shock property evolution to the type II emission duration. The type II radio emission emerged from near the nose of the CME when MA was in the range 1.4-2.4 at a heliocentric distance of ∼1.6 R⊙. The emission ceased when the CME nose reached ∼2.4 R⊙, despite an increasing Alfvén Mach number (up to 4). We suggest the radio emission cessation is due to the lack of quasi-perpendicular geometry at this altitude, which inhibits efficient electron acceleration and subsequent radio emission.

Solar flare emission at X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) energies can cause substantial enhancements in the electron density in the Earth's lower ionosphere. It is now become clear that flares exhibit quasi-periodic pulsations with timescales of minutes at X-ray energies, but to date, it has not been known if the ionosphere is sensitive to this variability. Here, using a combination of Very Low Frequency (24 kHz) measurement together with space-based X-ray and EUV observations, we report pulsations of the ionospheric D-region, which are synchronized with a set of pulsating flare loops. Modeling of the ionosphere show that the D-region electron density varies by up to an order of magnitude over the timescale of the pulsations ($\sim$20 mins). Our results reveal that the Earth's ionosphere is more sensitive to small-scale changes in solar soft X-ray flux than previously thought, and implies that planetary ionospheres are closely coupled to small-scale changes in solar/stellar activity., Accepted in JGR Space Physics

The Sun regularly produces large-scale eruptive events, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that can drive shock waves through the solar corona. Such shocks can result in electron acceleration and subsequent radio emission in the form of a type II radio burst. However, the early-phase evolution of shock properties and its relationship to type II burst evolution is still subject to investigation. Here we study the evolution of a CME-driven shock by comparing three commonly used methods of calculating the Alfv\'en Mach number ($M_A$), namely: shock geometry, a comparison of CME speed to a model of the coronal Alfv\'en speed, and the type II band-splitting method. We applied the three methods to the 2017 September 2 event, focusing on the shock wave observed in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) by the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) on board GOES-16, in white-light by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on board SOHO, and the type II radio burst observed by the Irish Low Frequency Array (I-LOFAR). We show that the three different methods of estimating shock $M_A$ yield consistent results and provide a means of relating shock property evolution to the type II emission duration. The type II radio emission emerged from near the nose of the CME when $M_A$ was in the range 1.4-2.4 at a heliocentric distance of $\sim$1.6 $R_\odot$. The emission ceased when the CME nose reached $\sim$2.4 $R_\odot$, despite an increasing Alfv\'en Mach number (up to 4). We suggest the radio emission cessation is due to the lack of quasi-perpendicular geometry at this altitude, which inhibits efficient electron acceleration and subsequent radio emission., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

In this paper we analysed sudden phase anomalies (SPAs) of VLF–LF signals recorded at Graz (Austria), Birr (Ireland) and Moscow (Russia) stations during two strong solar flares in September 2017. The first X-class 9.3 flare occurred on 6 September at 12:02 UT, and the second X-class 8.2 flare was observed on 10 September 2017 at 16:06 UT. Data from seven transmitters in a frequency range between 20 and 45 kHz are used for the analysis. The SPAs were observed in all middle-latitude paths (differently orientated) with path lengths from 350 to 7000 km. Solar X-ray burst data were taken from GOES satellite observations in the wavelength band of 0.05–0.4 nm. It was found that (i) the amplitude of SPAs in different paths varies from 10 to 282∘, and (ii) the correlation between the amplitudes of SPAs, the lengths of paths and the signal frequency is weak. The change in effective height of reflection due to lowering of the reflecting layer during the flares was found to be about 12 km for the first event and about 9 km for the second event. Spectral analysis of the X-ray and LF data, filtered in the range between 5 s and 16 min, showed that the LF signal spectra are very similar to X-ray spectra. Maxima of both X-ray and LF spectra are in 2–16 min interval.

Cosmic rays and solar energetic particles may be accelerated to relativistic energies by shock waves in astrophysical plasmas. On the Sun, shocks and particle acceleration are often associated with the eruption of magnetized plasmoids, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). However, the physical relationship between CMEs and shock particle acceleration is not well understood. Here, we use extreme ultraviolet, radio and white-light imaging of a solar eruptive event on 22 September 2011 to show that a CME-induced shock (Alfv\'en Mach number 2.4$^{+0.7}_{-0.8}$) was coincident with a coronal wave and an intense metric radio burst generated by intermittent acceleration of electrons to kinetic energies of 2-46 keV (0.1-0.4 c). Our observations show that plasmoid-driven quasi-perpendicular shocks are capable of producing quasi-periodic acceleration of electrons, an effect consistent with a turbulent or rippled plasma shock surface.

The Rosse Solar-Terrestrial Observatory (RSTO; www.rosseobservatory.ie) was established at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland (53 05'38.9", 7 55'12.7") in 2010 to study solar radio bursts and the response of the Earth's ionosphere and geomagnetic field. To date, three Compound Astronomical Low-cost Low-frequency Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory (CALLISTO) spectrometers have been installed, with the capability of observing in the frequency range 10-870 MHz. The receivers are fed simultaneously by biconical and log-periodic antennas. Nominally, frequency spectra in the range 10-400 MHz are obtained with 4 sweeps per second over 600 channels. Here, we describe the RSTO solar radio spectrometer set-up, and present dynamic spectra of a sample of Type II, III and IV radio bursts. In particular, we describe fine-scale structure observed in Type II bursts, including band splitting and rapidly varying herringbone features.