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NASA NTRS2010

Portable Health Algorithms Test System

A document discusses the Portable Health Algorithms Test (PHALT) System, which has been designed as a means for evolving the maturity and credibility of algorithms developed to assess the health of aerospace systems. Comprising an integrated hardware-software environment, the PHALT system allows systems health management algorithms to be developed in a graphical programming environment, to be tested and refined using system simulation or test data playback, and to be evaluated in a real-time hardware-in-the-loop mode with a live test article. The integrated hardware and software development environment provides a seamless transition from algorithm development to real-time implementation. The portability of the hardware makes it quick and easy to transport between test facilities. This hard ware/software architecture is flexible enough to support a variety of diagnostic applications and test hardware, and the GUI-based rapid prototyping capability is sufficient to support development execution, and testing of custom diagnostic algorithms. The PHALT operating system supports execution of diagnostic algorithms under real-time constraints. PHALT can perform real-time capture and playback of test rig data with the ability to augment/ modify the data stream (e.g. inject simulated faults). It performs algorithm testing using a variety of data input sources, including real-time data acquisition, test data playback, and system simulations, and also provides system feedback to evaluate closed-loop diagnostic response and mitigation control.

Melcher, Kevin J.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Turbulence Lidar Development Status

This viewgraph provides an overview of efforts conducted by Coherent Technologies, Inc. in conjunction with NASA Langley Research Center to develop a robust turbulence detection capability that spans full range of turbulence environments. Topics covered include: general principles of infrared doppler radar (lidar) turbulence measurement, performance simulation, complete detection capability provided by dual wavelength radar, algorithm development, technology development needs and turbulence detection problems. Versions of this turbulence lidar system were flight tested. Data analysis from these flight tests are presented. Future flight tests aboard DC-8 and B-757 are planned as well as continued algorithm development and performance simulation activities.

Clark, Ivan↗

NASA NTRS1979

A high order accurate numerical solution algorithm for turbulent boundary layer flow

A fourth-order accurate numerical solution algorithm is derived using finite element interpolation theory for the non-linear parabolic equations governing turbulent boundary layer flow including a two-equation turbulence closure model. The results of carefully controlled numerical experiments firmly quantize for the first time performance differences between finite element and finite difference solution methodology for this type of equation. The developed algorithm takes advantage of the apparent semi-analytical formulational procedure, in establishment of a single, retarded-evaluation Jacobian matrix iterative solution algorithm. Numerical results document performance of solution economy features in terms of computer requirements and solution accuracy. The developed algorithm should find wide application in aerodynamics analysis.

Soliman, M. O.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Soil Moisture Active/Passive (SMAP) Forward Brightness Temperature Simulator

The SMAP is one of four first-tier missions recommended by the US National Research Council's Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space (Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond, Space Studies Board, National Academies Press, 2007) [1]. It is to measure the global soil moisture and freeze/thaw from space. One of the spaceborne instruments is an L-band radiometer with a shared single feedhorn and parabolic mesh reflector. While the radiometer measures the emission over a footprint of interest, unwanted emissions are also received by the antenna through the antenna sidelobes from the cosmic background and other error sources such as the Sun, the Moon and the galaxy. Their effects need to be considered accurately, and the analysis of the overall performance of the radiometer requires end-to-end performance simulation from Earth emission to antenna brightness temperature, such as the global simulation of L-band brightness temperature simulation over land and sea [2]. To assist with the SMAP radiometer level 1B algorithm development, the SMAP forward brightness temperature simulator is developed by adapting the Aquarius simulator [2] with necessary modifications. This poster presents the current status of the SMAP forward brightness simulator s development including incorporating the land microwave emission model and its input datasets, and a simplified atmospheric radiative transfer model. The latest simulation results are also presented to demonstrate the ability of supporting the SMAP L1B algorithm development.

Peng, Jinzheng↗

NASA NTRS2012

Trajectory Control of Rendezvous with Maneuver Target Spacecraft

In this paper, a nonlinear trajectory control algorithm of rendezvous with maneuvering target spacecraft is presented. The disturbance forces on the chaser and target spacecraft and the thrust forces on the chaser spacecraft are considered in the analysis. The control algorithm developed in this paper uses the relative distance and relative velocity between the target and chaser spacecraft as the inputs. A general formula of reference relative trajectory of the chaser spacecraft to the target spacecraft is developed and applied to four different proximity maneuvers, which are in-track circling, cross-track circling, in-track spiral rendezvous and cross-track spiral rendezvous. The closed-loop differential equations of the proximity relative motion with the control algorithm are derived. It is proven in the paper that the tracking errors between the commanded relative trajectory and the actual relative trajectory are bounded within a constant region determined by the control gains. The prediction of the tracking errors is obtained. Design examples are provided to show the implementation of the control algorithm. The simulation results show that the actual relative trajectory tracks the commanded relative trajectory tightly. The predicted tracking errors match those calculated in the simulation results. The control algorithm developed in this paper can also be applied to interception of maneuver target spacecraft and relative trajectory control of spacecraft formation flying.

Zhou, Zhinqiang↗

NASA NTRS1981

An objective method for forecasting tropical cyclone intensity using Nimbus-5 electrically scanning microwave radiometer measurements

An empirical analysis program, based on finding an optimal representation of the data, is applied to 120 observations of 29 1973 and 1974 North Pacific tropical cyclones. It is found that the algorithms developed from the Nimbus-5 Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR-5) base alone outperformed the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) operational forecast for the 48 and 72 hour maximum wind speed. It is also found that the ESMR-5 data base, when combined with the non-satellite base, produced algorithms that improved the 24 and 48 hour maximum wind-speed forecast by as much as 10% and the 72 hour maximum wind forecast by approximately 16% as compared to the forecast obtained from the algorithms developed from the non-satellite data base alone.

Hunter, H. E.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Development of a Forced Oscillation System for Measuring Dynamic Derivatives of Fluidic Vehicles

A new Forced Oscillation System (FOS) has been designed and built at NASA Langley Research Center that provides new capabilities for aerodynamic researchers to investigate the dynamic derivatives of vehicle configurations. Test vehicles may include high performance and general aviation aircraft, re-entry spacecraft, submarines and other fluidic vehicles. The measured data from forced oscillation testing is used in damping characteristic studies and in simulation databases for control algorithm development and performance analyses. The newly developed FOS hardware provides new flexibility for conducting dynamic derivative studies. The design is based on a tracking principle where a desired motion profile is achieved via a fast closed-loop positional controller. The motion profile for the tracking system is numerically generated and thus not limited to sinusoidal motion. This approach permits non-traditional profiles such as constant velocity and Schroeder sweeps. Also, the new system permits changes in profile parameters including nominal offset angle, waveform, and associated parameters such as amplitude and frequency. Most importantly, the changes may be made remotely without halting the FOS and the tunnel. System requirements, system analysis, and the resulting design are addressed for a new FOS in the 12-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (LSWT). The overall system including mechanical, electrical, and control subsystems is described. The design is complete, and the FOS has been built and installed in the 12-Foot LSWT. System integration and testing have verified design intent and safe operation. Currently it is being validated for wind-tunnel operations and aerodynamic testing. The system is a potential major enhancement to forced oscillation studies. The productivity gain from the motion profile automation will shorten the testing cycles needed for control surface and aircraft control algorithm development. The new motion capabilities also will serve as a test bed for researchers to study and to improve and/or alter future forced oscillation testing techniques.

Trieu, B. C.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Finding the earth in ERTS

Itek's Optical System Division recently completed an investigation funded by NASA to develop interpretation methods and algorithms suitable for recognition of earth resources by machines using multispectral data from ERTS. Through the algorithms developed (and described here) it is now possible to automatically recognize terrain types. The clustering algorithm guarantees high accuracy in the recognition process with almost complete automation. Interestingly, the machine recognition seems to be more accurate than a human photointerpreter who has been restricted to using only ERTS-1 color composites. That is, machine recognition appears to be more sensitive, it can operate much closer, to the resolution limit of the ERTS-1 imagery than the human photointerpreter.

Gramenopoulos, N.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Constraint Embedding Technique for Multibody System Dynamics

Multibody dynamics play a critical role in simulation testbeds for space missions. There has been a considerable interest in the development of efficient computational algorithms for solving the dynamics of multibody systems. Mass matrix factorization and inversion techniques and the O(N) class of forward dynamics algorithms developed using a spatial operator algebra stand out as important breakthrough on this front. Techniques such as these provide the efficient algorithms and methods for the application and implementation of such multibody dynamics models. However, these methods are limited only to tree-topology multibody systems. Closed-chain topology systems require different techniques that are not as efficient or as broad as those for tree-topology systems. The closed-chain forward dynamics approach consists of treating the closed-chain topology as a tree-topology system subject to additional closure constraints. The resulting forward dynamics solution consists of: (a) ignoring the closure constraints and using the O(N) algorithm to solve for the free unconstrained accelerations for the system; (b) using the tree-topology solution to compute a correction force to enforce the closure constraints; and (c) correcting the unconstrained accelerations with correction accelerations resulting from the correction forces. This constraint-embedding technique shows how to use direct embedding to eliminate local closure-loops in the system and effectively convert the system back to a tree-topology system. At this point, standard tree-topology techniques can be brought to bear on the problem. The approach uses a spatial operator algebra approach to formulating the equations of motion. The operators are block-partitioned around the local body subgroups to convert them into aggregate bodies. Mass matrix operator factorization and inversion techniques are applied to the reformulated tree-topology system. Thus in essence, the new technique allows conversion of a system with closure-constraints into an equivalent tree-topology system, and thus allows one to take advantage of the host of techniques available to the latter class of systems. This technology is highly suitable for the class of multibody systems where the closure-constraints are local, i.e., where they are confined to small groupings of bodies within the system. Important examples of such local closure-constraints are constraints associated with four-bar linkages, geared motors, differential suspensions, etc. One can eliminate these closure-constraints and convert the system into a tree-topology system by embedding the constraints directly into the system dynamics and effectively replacing the body groupings with virtual aggregate bodies. Once eliminated, one can apply the well-known results and algorithms for tree-topology systems to solve the dynamics of such closed-chain system.

Woo, Simon S.↗

NASA NTRS2013

A Summary of Large Raindrop Observations from GPM GV Field Campaigns

NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) has conducted as series of Ground Validation (GV) studies to assist algorithm development for the GPM core satellite. Characterizing the drop size distribution (DSD) for different types of precipitation systems is critical in order to accurately estimate precipitation across the majority of the planet. Thus far, GV efforts have sampled DSDs in a variety of precipitation systems from Finland to Oklahoma. This dataset consists of over 33 million raindrops sampled by GPM GV's two‐dimensional video disdrometers (2DVD) and includes RSD observations from the LPVEx, MC3E, GCPEx, HyMEx and IFloodS campaigns as well as from GV sites in Huntsville, AL and Wallops Island, VA. This study focuses on the larger end of the raindrop size spectrum, which greatly influences radar reflectivity and has implications for moment estimation. Thus knowledge of the maximum diameter is critical to GPM algorithm development. There are over 24,000 raindrops exceeding 5 mm in diameter contained within this disdrometer dataset. The largest raindrops in the 2DVD dataset (>7‐8 mm in diameter) are found within intense convective thunderstorms, and their origins are believed to be hailstones. In stratiform rainfall, large raindrops have also been found to fall from lower and thicker melting layers. The 2DVD dataset will be combined with that collected by dual‐polarimetric radar and aircraft particle imaging probes to "follow" the vertical evolution of the DSD tail (i.e., retrace the large drops from the surface to their origins aloft).

Gatlin, Patrick N.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Minimum-Time and Vibration Avoidance Attitude Maneuver for Spacecraft with Torque and Momentum Limit Constraints in Redundant Reaction Wheel Configuration

In this paper, we present an optimal open-loop slew trajectory algorithm developed at GSFC for the so-called "Yardstick design" of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). JWST is an orbiting infrared observatory featuring a lightweight, segmented primary mirror approximately 6 meters in diameter and a sunshield approximately the size of a tennis court. This large, flexible structure will have significant number of lightly damped, dominant flexible modes. With very stringent requirements on pointing accuracy and image quality, it is important that slewing be done within the required time constraint and with minimal induced vibration in order to maximize observing efficiency. With reaction wheels as control actuators, initial wheel speeds as well as individual wheel torque and momentum limits become dominant constraints in slew performance. These constraints must be taken into account when performing slews to ensure that unexpected reaction wheel saturation does not occur, since such saturation leads to control failure in accurately tracking commanded motion and produces high frequency torque components capable of exciting structural modes. A minimum-time constraint is also included and coupled with reaction wheel limit constraints in the optimization to minimize both the effect of the control torque on the flexible body motion and the maneuver time. The optimization is on slew command parameters, such as maximum slew velocity and acceleration, for a given redundant reaction wheel configuration and is based on the dynamic interaction between the spacecraft and reaction wheel motion. Analytical development of the slew algorithm to generate desired slew position, rate, and acceleration profiles to command a feedback/feed forward control system is described. High-fidelity simulation and experimental results are presented to show that the developed slew law achieves the objectives.

Ha, Kong Q.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Development of algorithms for augmenting and replacing conventional process control using reinforcement learning

Here, this work seeks to allow for the online operation and training of model-free reinforcement learning (RL) agents but limit the risk to system equipment and personnel. The parallel implementation of RL alongside more conventional process control (CPC) allows for the RL algorithm to learn from CPC. The past performance of both methods are assessed on a continuous basis allowing for a transition from CPC to RL and, if needed, transitioning back to CPC from RL. This allows for the RL algorithm to slowly and safely assume control of the process without significant degradation in control performance. It is shown that the RL can derive a near optimal policy even when coupled with a suboptimal CPC. It is also demonstrated that the coupled RL-CPC algorithm learns at a faster rate than traditional RL methods of exploration while the algorithm’s performance does not deteriorate below CPC, even when exposed to an unknown operating condition.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2025

DISTRI: Distributed Multi-Facility HPC Simulator (DISTRI) v2.1

DISTRI is an advanced network simulator designed for multi-facility computational infrastructures with agentic behavior. It simulates HPC facilities where computational resources act as autonomous agents, making intelligent decisions about job scheduling, load balancing, and resource allocation. The simulator focuses on developing and testing decentralized algorithms that promote resilience and efficiency in multi-facility environments. Key Features: - Agentic Resource Behavior: Processors and DTNs act as autonomous agents with decision-making capabilities - Pheromone-Based Load Balancing: Decentralized load balancing inspired by ant colony optimization - Dual Topology Support: Mesh (normal operations) and Dumbell (network testing) topologies - Comprehensive TCP Simulation: Realistic TCP implementations with multiple congestion control algorithms - Failure Resilience Testing: Processor failure simulation with automatic job reassignment - Extensive Visualization: Detailed performance analysis and metrics collection - Research-Ready: Designed for algorithm development and benchmarking

Bez, Jean Luca [Lawrence Berkeley National Laborat↗

NASA NTRS1983

A perspective of theoretical and applied computational fluid dynamics

The present effectiveness and future promise of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are discussed. The CFD ideal of computer-designed flight vehicles and the progress that has been made toward its achievement, expressed in terms of primary and secondary pacing items, are also addressed. The primary pacing items listed by Chapman - grid generation, turbulence modeling, solution methodology development, and mainframe computer methods and architecture - are modified and reviewed. Important secondary pacing items in CFD development are also examined: algorithm development, complex geometry definition, and predata and postata processing. In addition, user requirements placed on CFD computer codes are defined and some problems associated with the dissemination of CFD technology are identified.

Kutler, P.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Towards developing robust algorithms for solving partial differential equations on MIMD machines

Methods for efficient computation of numerical algorithms on a wide variety of MIMD machines are proposed. These techniques reorganize the data dependency patterns to improve the processor utilization. The model problem finds the time-accurate solution to a parabolic partial differential equation discretized in space and implicitly marched forward in time. The algorithms are extensions of Jacobi and SOR. The extensions consist of iterating over a window of several timesteps, allowing efficient overlap of computation with communication. The methods increase the degree to which work can be performed while data are communicated between processors. The effect of the window size and of domain partitioning on the system performance is examined both by implementing the algorithm on a simulated multiprocessor system.

Saltz, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Towards developing robust algorithms for solving partial differential equations on MIMD machines

Saltz, Joel H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Sub-band/transform compression of video sequences

The progress on compression of video sequences is discussed. The overall goal of the research was the development of data compression algorithms for high-definition television (HDTV) sequences, but most of our research is general enough to be applicable to much more general problems. We have concentrated on coding algorithms based on both sub-band and transform approaches. Two very fundamental issues arise in designing a sub-band coder. First, the form of the signal decomposition must be chosen to yield band-pass images with characteristics favorable to efficient coding. A second basic consideration, whether coding is to be done in two or three dimensions, is the form of the coders to be applied to each sub-band. Computational simplicity is of essence. We review the first portion of the year, during which we improved and extended some of the previous grant period's results. The pyramid nonrectangular sub-band coder limited to intra-frame application is discussed. Perhaps the most critical component of the sub-band structure is the design of bandsplitting filters. We apply very simple recursive filters, which operate at alternating levels on rectangularly sampled, and quincunx sampled images. We will also cover the techniques we have studied for the coding of the resulting bandpass signals. We discuss adaptive three-dimensional coding which takes advantage of the detection algorithm developed last year. To this point, all the work on this project has been done without the benefit of motion compensation (MC). Motion compensation is included in many proposed codecs, but adds significant computational burden and hardware expense. We have sought to find a lower-cost alternative featuring a simple adaptation to motion in the form of the codec. In sequences of high spatial detail and zooming or panning, it appears that MC will likely be necessary for the proposed quality and bit rates.

Sauer, Ken↗

NASA NTRS1991

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) design evolution and associated development and verification of data product efforts

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) is a key observing facility to be flown on the Earth Observing System (EOS). The facility is composed of two instruments called MODIS-N (nadir) and MODIS-T (tilt). The MODIS-N is being built under contract to NASA by the Santa Barbara Research Center. The MODIS-T is being fabricated by the Engineering Directorate at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The MODIS Science Team has defined nearly 40 biogeophysical data products for studies of the ocean and land surface and properties of the atmosphere including clouds that can be expected to be produced from the MODIS instruments shortly after the launch of EOS. The ocean, land, atmosphere, and calibration groups of the MODIS Science Team are now proceeding to plan and implement the operations and facilities involving the analysis of data from existing spaceborne, airborne, and in-situ sensors required to develop and validate the algorithms that will produce the geophysical data products. These algorithm development and validation efforts will be accomplished wherever possible within the context of existing or planned national and international experiments or programs such as those in the World Climate Research Program.

Salomonson, Vincent V.↗