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At least 199 records · Page 11

An Automated System for Chromosome Analysis

The design, construction, and testing of a complete system to produce karyotypes and chromosome measurement data from human blood samples, and to provide a basis for statistical analysis of quantitative chromosome measurement data are described.

Castleman, K. R.↗

An inerference assessment approach for a three-dimensional slotted tunnel with sparse wall pressure data

The various procedures referred to as wall interference assessment and correction procedures presume the existence of a surface distribution of data (usually static pressure) measured over a surface on or near the tunnel walls for each test point to be assessed. An alternative approach in which a reasonably sophisticated computer model of the test section flow would be fitted parametrically to a sparse set of measured data is presented. The measurements provides line distributions of static pressure near the center lines of the top, side and bottom walls. The development of a test section model incorporating explicit recognition of discrete slots of finite length with controlled flow reentry into the solid wall downstream portion of the tunnel is shown.

Kemp, W. B., Jr.↗

Data Fusion of In-Flight Aerothermodynamic Heating Measurements Using Kalman Filtering

On February 18th, 2021, the Mars 2020 entry system successfully delivered the Perserverance rover to the surface of Mars at Jezero Crater. The entry capsule carried a set of instrumentation installed on the heat shield and backshell, named the Mars 2020 Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation. The instruments include pressure transducers, thermocouples, heat flux gauges, and radiometers to measure the aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic performance of the entry vehicle. Three of these sensors, a thermocouple plug, heat flux gauge, and a radiometer, are located in close proximity on the backshell. Each sensor is exposed to roughly the same environment, but measured these environments in different ways, each with its own set of modeling and measurement error complications. This paper develops a method for blending each of these measurements together in a single algorithm to produce estimates of the aerothermodynamic environments at that location on the backshell. The approach makes use of the Kalman filter methodology for solving state estimation problems. The filter has a predictor/corrector structure in which simplified process models are used to propagate the aeroheating states forward through time, which are then updated based on the measurement data. The method has been tested on simulated datasets.

Christopher D. Karlgaard↗

Status of Solar Measurements and Data Reduction for Erb-nimbus 7

The status of the Total Solar Irradiance data obtained using the cavity radiometer aboard the Earth Radiation Budget experiment of the Nimbus 7 satellite is described. The ERB experiment has a number of sensors which measure the radiative fluxes (both shortwave and infrared) leaving the Earth as well as the solar channels. The complexity of the processing of the Earth-flux data, both wide and narrow angle has necessitated a reprocessing effort which produces the final data. Since the solar data is embedded in the same data stream and tape product as the Earth-flux data, it was not generally available in a format convenient for analysis as a separate product. Values for the final data product only are presented and a few remarks concerning the basic features of the data. There is no scientific conclusions presented here other than those directly related to the measurement results. A set of tabulated values is appended.

Hickey, J. R.↗

Absorption and Attenuation Coefficients Using the WET Labs ac-s in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Field Measurements and Data Analysis

Ocean color algorithms are based on the parameterization of apparent optical properties as a function of inherent optical properties. WET Labs underwater absorption and attenuation meters (ac-9 and ac-s) measure both the spectral beam attenuation [c (lambda)] and absorption coefficient [a (lambda)]. The ac-s reports in a continuous range of 390-750 nm with a band pass of 4 nm, totaling approximately 83 distinct wavelengths, while the ac-9 reports at 9 wavelengths. We performed the ac-s field measurements at nine stations in the Mid-Atlantic Bight from water calibrations to data analysis. Onboard the ship, the ac-s was calibrated daily using Milli Q-water. Corrections for the in situ temperature and salinity effects on optical properties of water were applied. Corrections for incomplete recovery of the scattered light in the ac-s absorption tube were performed. The fine scale of spectral and vertical distributions of c (lambda) and a (lambda) were described from the ac-s. The significant relationships between a (674) and that of spectrophotometric analysis and chlorophyll a concentration of discrete water samples were observed.

Ohi, Nobuaki↗

A description and some measured acoustic characteristics of the Langley 220 cubic meter reverberation chamber

An initial acoustic calibration was performed for the NASA Langley Research Center reverberation chamber located on the aircraft Noise Reduction Laboratory. The physical characteristics of the chamber and measured data for the ambient acoustic levels, reverberation times, reflection coefficients, the spatial uniformity of acoustic energy as measured in the 1/3-octave bands from 40 Hz to 10 KHz and acoustic power levels of a standard source are described. Measured power levels compared very well with those published for the ILG standard source. The measured data indicate that for broadband noise fields, the reverberation room has acceptable acoustic performance in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 8 KHz.

Mueller, A. W.↗

Hazard evaluation and operational cockpit display of ground-measured windshear data

Information transfer issues associated with the dissemination of wind shear alerts from the ground are studied. The two issues specifically addressed are the effectiveness of different cockpit presentations of ground-measured information and the assessment of the wind shear hazard from ground-based measurements. A pilot survey has produced an information base for study of crew-centered wind shear alert design. A part-task Boeing 767 'glass cockpit' simulation has provided useful data about modes of cockpit information presentation for both wind shear alert and ATC clearance delivery. Graphical map displays are observed to be exceptionally efficient for presentation of position-critical alerts, while some problems with text displays are identified. Problems associated with hazard assessment of ground-measured wind shear information are also identified.

Wanke, Craig↗

Data volume reduction for single-look polarimetric imaging radar data

An 8-b quantization scheme to reduce the data volume for single-look complex scattering matrix data measured by polarimetric imaging radar systems is described. The scattering matrices are not symmetrized before compression, thereby retaining information about background noise and system effects. The data volume is reduced by a factor of 3.2. It is shown, with measured data, that the signal to quantization noise ratio for the compression scheme is more than 35 dB for the cross-polarized channels, and more than 45 dB for the copolarized channels.

Van Zyl, Jakob J.↗

Review of Spectroscopic Data for Measurements of Stratospheric Species

Results and recommendations from a two day workshop are discussed. A review of the current status of experimental and theoretical spectroscopic data on molecules of stratospheric interest is given along with recommendations for additional research. Methods for disseminating new and existing data are also discussed.

Goldman, A.↗

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) Overview

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) launched on June 18, 2009 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle and into a direct insertion trajectory to the oon. LRO, which was designed, built, and operated by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, is gathering crucial data on the lunar environment that will help astronauts prepare for long-duration lunar expeditions. The mission has a nominal life of 1 year as its seven instruments find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and test new technology. To date, LRO has been operating well within the bounds of its requirements and has been collecting excellent science data images taken from the LRO Camera Narrow Angle Camera of the Apollo landing sites appeared on cable news networks. A significant amount of information on LRO s science instruments is provided at the LRO mission webpage. LRO s Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) subsystem is made up of an onboard attitude control system (ACS) and a hardware suite of sensors and actuators. The LRO onboard ACS is a collection of algorithms based on high level and derived requirements, and reflect the science and operational events throughout the mission lifetime. The primary control mode is the Observing mode, which maintains the lunar pointing orientation and any offset pointing from this baseline. It is within this mode that all science instrument calibrations, slews and science data is collected. Because of a high accuracy requirement for knowledge and pointing, the Observing mode makes use of star tracker (ST) measurement data to determine an instantaneous attitude pointing. But even the star trackers alone do not meet the tight requirements, so a six-state Kalman Filter is employed to improve the noisy measurement data. The Observing mode obtains its rate information from an inertial reference unit (IRU) and in the event of an IRU failure, the rate data is be derived from the star tracker, but with degraded pointing performance. The Delta-V control mode responsibility is to maintain attitude pointing during the cruise trajectory, insertion burns and lunar orbit maintenance by adjustments made to the spacecraft s velocity magnitude and vector direction. The ACS also provides for a thruster based system momentum management algorithm (known as Delta-H) to maintain the system and wheel momentum to within acceptable levels. In the event an anomaly causes the LRO spacecraft to lose the ability to maintain its current attitude pointing, a Sun Safe mode is included in the ACS for the purpose of providing a known power and thermally safe coarse inertial sun attitude for an indefinite period of time, within the manageable limits of the reaction wheels. The Sun Safe mode is also the initial spacecraft control mode off of the launch vehicle and provides for a means to null tip-off rates immediately after separation. The nominal configuration is to use the IRU for rate information in the controller. In the event of a gyro failure a gyroless control mode was developed that computes rate information from the CSS data.

Garrick, Joseph↗

The Nanograv Nine-Year Data Set: Measurement and Analysis of Variations in Dispersion Measures

We analyze dispersion measure(DM) variations of 37 millisecond pulsars in the nine-year North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) data release and constrain the sources of these variations. DM variations can result from a changing distance between Earth and the pulsar, inhomogeneities in the interstellar medium, and solar effects. Variations are significant for nearly all pulsars, with characteristic timescales comparable to or even shorter than the average spacing between observations. Five pulsars have periodic annual variations, 14 pulsars have monotonically increasing or decreasing trends, and 14 pulsars show both effects. Of the four pulsars with linear trends that have line-of-sight velocity measurements, three are consistent with a changing distance and require an overdensity of free electrons local to the pulsar. Several pulsars show correlations between DM excesses and lines of sight that pass close to the Sun. Mapping of the DM variations as a function of the pulsar trajectory can identify localized interstellar medium features and, in one case, an upper limit to the size of the dispersing region of 4 au. Four pulsars show roughly Kolmogorov structure functions (SFs), and another four show SFs less steep than Kolmogorov. One pulsar has too large an uncertainty to allow comparisons. We discuss explanations for apparent departures from a Kolmogorov-like spectrum, and we show that the presence of other trends and localized features or gradients in the interstellar medium is the most likely cause.

pulsars: general↗

Space Shuttle Orbiter entry through landing navigation

The Space Shuttle Orbiter navigation system must be capable of determining its position and velocity throughout a variety of operational regimes. The design and operation of the entry through landing navigation system is described as it operates during a nominal end of mission from the orbital coasting phase throughout atmospheric flight and landing. Design and operation of the Kalman filter is described. Stabilization of the altitude channel prior to acquisition of external measurement data is described. Utilization of the Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN), barometric altimeter, and Microwave Scan Beam Landing System external measurement data is described. A comparison is made between predicted performance and the navigation accuracy observed during flight.

Ewell, J. J., Jr.↗

Summary of the modeling and test correlations of a NASTRAN finite element vibrations model for the AH-1G helicopter, task 1

The AH-1G NASTRAN finite element model (FEM) is described and the correlations with measured data that were conducted to verify the model are summarized. Comparisons of the AH-1G NASTRAN FEM calculations with measured data include the following: (1) fuselage and tailboom static load deflection (stiffness) testing, (2) airframe ground vibration testing (0-30 H<), (3) airframe flight vibration testing (main rotor, 2,4, and 6/rev), and (4) tailboom effective skin static testing. A description of the modeling rationale and techniques used to develop the NASTRAN FEM is presented in conjunction with all previous correlation work. In general, the correlations show good agreement between analysis and test in stiffness and vibration response through 15 to 20 Hz. For higher frequencies (equal to or greater than 4/rev (21.6 Hz)), the vibration responses generally did not agree well. Also, the lateral (2/rev (10.8 Hz)) flight vibration responses were much lower in the FEM than test, indicating that there is a significant excitation source other than at the main rotor hub that is affecting the lateral vibrations, such as downwash impingement on the vertical tail.

Cronkhite, J. D.↗

Determining the accuracy of maximum likelihood parameter estimates with colored residuals

An important part of building high fidelity mathematical models based on measured data is calculating the accuracy associated with statistical estimates of the model parameters. Indeed, without some idea of the accuracy of parameter estimates, the estimates themselves have limited value. In this work, an expression based on theoretical analysis was developed to properly compute parameter accuracy measures for maximum likelihood estimates with colored residuals. This result is important because experience from the analysis of measured data reveals that the residuals from maximum likelihood estimation are almost always colored. The calculations involved can be appended to conventional maximum likelihood estimation algorithms. Simulated data runs were used to show that the parameter accuracy measures computed with this technique accurately reflect the quality of the parameter estimates from maximum likelihood estimation without the need for analysis of the output residuals in the frequency domain or heuristically determined multiplication factors. The result is general, although the application studied here is maximum likelihood estimation of aerodynamic model parameters from flight test data.

Morelli, Eugene A.↗

Integrated rate isolation sensor

In one embodiment, a system for providing fault-tolerant inertial measurement data includes a sensor for measuring an inertial parameter and a processor. The sensor has less accuracy than a typical inertial measurement unit (IMU). The processor detects whether a difference exists between a first data stream received from a first inertial measurement unit and a second data stream received from a second inertial measurement unit. Upon detecting a difference, the processor determines whether at least one of the first or second inertial measurement units has failed by comparing each of the first and second data streams to the inertial parameter.

Brady, Tye↗

Low Boom Configuration Analysis with FUN3D Adjoint Simulation Framework

Off-body pressure, forces, and moments for the Gulfstream Low Boom Model are computed with a Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes solver coupled with the Spalart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model. This is the first application of viscous output-based adaptation to reduce estimated discretization errors in off-body pressure for a wing body configuration. The output adaptation approach is compared to an a priori grid adaptation technique designed to resolve the signature on the centerline by stretching and aligning the grid to the freestream Mach angle. The output-based approach produced good predictions of centerline and off-centerline measurements. Eddy viscosity predicted by the SA turbulence model increased significantly with grid adaptation. Computed lift as a function of drag compares well with wind tunnel measurements for positive lift, but predicted lift, drag, and pitching moment as a function of angle of attack has significant differences from the measured data. The sensitivity of longitudinal forces and moment to grid refinement is much smaller than the differences between the computed and measured data.

Park, Michael A.↗

Updating the Finite Element Model of the Aerostructures Test Wing Using Ground Vibration Test Data

Improved and/or accelerated decision making is a crucial step during flutter certification processes. Unfortunately, most finite element structural dynamics models have uncertainties associated with model validity. Tuning the finite element model using measured data to minimize the model uncertainties is a challenging task in the area of structural dynamics. The model tuning process requires not only satisfactory correlations between analytical and experimental results, but also the retention of the mass and stiffness properties of the structures. Minimizing the difference between analytical and experimental results is a type of optimization problem. By utilizing the multidisciplinary design, analysis, and optimization (MDAO) tool in order to optimize the objective function and constraints; the mass properties, the natural frequencies, and the mode shapes can be matched to the target data to retain the mass matrix orthogonality. This approach has been applied to minimize the model uncertainties for the structural dynamics model of the aerostructures test wing (ATW), which was designed and tested at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California). This study has shown that natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes from the updated finite element model have excellent agreement with corresponding measured data.

Lung, Shun-Fat↗

Updating the Finite Element Model of the Aerostructures Test Wing using Ground Vibration Test Data

Improved and/or accelerated decision making is a crucial step during flutter certification processes. Unfortunately, most finite element structural dynamics models have uncertainties associated with model validity. Tuning the finite element model using measured data to minimize the model uncertainties is a challenging task in the area of structural dynamics. The model tuning process requires not only satisfactory correlations between analytical and experimental results, but also the retention of the mass and stiffness properties of the structures. Minimizing the difference between analytical and experimental results is a type of optimization problem. By utilizing the multidisciplinary design, analysis, and optimization (MDAO) tool in order to optimize the objective function and constraints; the mass properties, the natural frequencies, and the mode shapes can be matched to the target data to retain the mass matrix orthogonality. This approach has been applied to minimize the model uncertainties for the structural dynamics model of the Aerostructures Test Wing (ATW), which was designed and tested at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) (Edwards, California). This study has shown that natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes from the updated finite element model have excellent agreement with corresponding measured data.

Lung, Shun-fat↗