Engineering PapersSearch

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “EVM”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2

Results of a NASA Kennedy Space Center Earned Value Management Pilot Project

The Earn Value Management Pilot provided a tremendous amount of data on the strengths and weaknesses of the new financial system, the ability to support EVM from many viewpoints, the lack of tools for small to medium projects implementing EVM, and the training and environment necessary to successfully deploy EVM to all projects. This data along with other pilots will prove invaluable. Deploying EVM should not be taken lightly - a full assessment of capabilities and supporting infrastructure should be done prior to any deployment, and some very basic questions should be asked. For instance, will sufficient training be provided? Can the project managers readily and easily obtain all the necessary data? If EVM is to thrive in all projects regardless of cost, the transition should be as seamless as possible, minimizing cost and effort, and with the end user in mind. In setting up an EVM implementation, the question, "How does the project manager benefit from this process?" must remain at the forefront. Further research in this area is needed to answer the question,"Is EVM cost effective in small projects?" The authors welcome knowledge sharing with other organizations that are striving to gain the benefits of EVM on small projects.

Delgado, Hector N.

Thoughts on Earned Value Assessments

This slide presentation reviews the concepts of Earned Value reporting and Earned Value Metrics (EVM) and the implementation for the Constellation Program. EVM is used to manage both the contract and civil service workforce, and used as a measure of contractor costs and performance. The Program EVM is not as useful for Level of Effort tasking, for either contractor, or civil service employees. Some issues and concerns in reference to EVM and the process for the use of EVM for Mission assurance are reviewed,

Pido, Kelle

Reference Guide for Project-Control Account Managers

The purpose of this guide is intended to be a quick reference for a Project-Control Account Manager (P-CAM) or technical manager empowered with a project’s cost, schedule, and technical responsibilities of a control account(s) when Earned Value Management (EVM) is required. The overall objective is to support the P-CAM in performing their responsibilities as they relate to EVM. In addition, the reference guide describes at a summary level how the scope, schedule, and budget of a project integrate for optimal planning and control of prime contracts and in-house projects. Because NASA implements a diverse and unique portfolio of projects, those projects have traditionally created project-specific systems to manage planning and performance analysis. However, establishment and implementation of a project management system that is common across all centers and mission directorates will facilitate the adoption of best business practices. In addition, the application of timely and predictive analysis, as well as, providing all stakeholders with greater insight into project performance will enhance opportunities for project success. For more detailed information, refer to the NASA EVM System Description; Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) Handbook; EVM Implementation Handbook; Schedule Management Handbook; Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Handbook; and other agency/industry documentation. In addition, you may contact your local center’s EVM Focal Points. All this information and more can be found at and/or the NASA Engineering Network located at https://nen.nasa.gov/web/pm.

Christopher Lewis Sadler

Lessons Learned from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Product Development Lead Training Schedule and Cost Development Workshop: Continuous Improvement

This presentation provides a status of the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) effort to increase foundational knowledge of Product Development Leads (PDLs) in schedule and cost management including earned value management (EVM). In 2012, GSFC’s Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD) implemented an in-house training program to prepare PDLs for managing the technical, cost, schedule, and risk aspects of spaceflight systems to meet their subsystem commitments. Developed in-house, the PDL training program provides an integrated approach to requirements development, risk, schedule and cost management, EVM, performance tracking, and other areas. The program has been held twice yearly since its inception with 531 participating and 451 completing the curriculum. In 2017, the program won the Robert H. Goddard award for Quality and Process Improvement. Program development and evolution were presented in the 2018 NASA Schedule and Cost Symposium. The presentation was so well received that this year we focus on one workshop within the program: Schedule and Cost Development, including EVM. We examine the on-going logic modeling process and how participant and stakeholder data influence workshop content and design, and how the disciplines of schedule and cost contribute to mission success. In this presentation we refresh you on how the approach integrates lecture, small group discussion, estimating, case study exercises, and problem solving. We update you on the data collected from participants and stakeholders, and we discuss how we use these data to measure training effectiveness. Specific topics include: • How the logic model is used as the backbone for continuous program improvement, • How feedback influences implementation and curriculum updates, • How data collection and analysis inform workshop content and development, including participant discoveries of EVM data, • How including the resource analyst and planner in the product development team supports project success.

Lessons Learned

Turbulence modelling in CFD: Present status, future prospects

Information is given in viewgraph form for turbulence modeling in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The Eddy Viscosity Models (EVM), Algebraic Second Moment Closures (ASM), and Differential Second-Moment Closures (DSM) are considered. It is concluded that EVM's, ASM's, and DSM's will remain in use, though with a steady decline in importance of EVM's and ASM's in favor of DSM's. Improved versions of low-Re two-equation EVM's should lead to more reliable predictions of separated flows than are achievable at present. Further refinement of sub-models in second moment closures can be expected throughout this decade. There will be increasing attention given to interfacing SMC with higher order approaches such as LES, and an increased use of two-time-scale schemes providing distinct time scales for large and fairly small eddies.

Launder, Brian E.

Earned Value Management Software Projects

JPL has been attempting to apply EVM techniques for the last 15 years with mixed success, especially when applied to software tasks. One of the main causes is that software presents particular challenges that were not considered during the genesis of EVM. A small number of tasks have been able to use EVM effectively and derive great benefits. This paper discusses challenges specific to software management and how they can be successfully addressed. Specifically, it details lessons learned from the $28 million dollar Next Generation Navigation Software Project that replaced NASA’s deep space navigation software for operations. The project was able to successfully use EVM techniques during a four year period, producing 12 releases on their promised delivery dates and projects actual costs that were within 0.3% of the planned budget (under), in contrast to performance before the techniques were put into practice.

Hanna, Robert A.

A normal stress subgrid-scale eddy viscosity model in large eddy simulation

The Smagorinsky subgrid-scale eddy viscosity model (SGS-EVM) is commonly used in large eddy simulations (LES) to represent the effects of the unresolved scales on the resolved scales. This model is known to be limited because its constant must be optimized in different flows, and it must be modified with a damping function to account for near-wall effects. The recent dynamic model is designed to overcome these limitations but is compositionally intensive as compared to the traditional SGS-EVM. In a recent study using direct numerical simulation data, Horiuti has shown that these drawbacks are due mainly to the use of an improper velocity scale in the SGS-EVM. He also proposed the use of the subgrid-scale normal stress as a new velocity scale that was inspired by a high-order anisotropic representation model. The testing of Horiuti, however, was conducted using DNS data from a low Reynolds number channel flow simulation. It was felt that further testing at higher Reynolds numbers and also using different flows (other than wall-bounded shear flows) were necessary steps needed to establish the validity of the new model. This is the primary motivation of the present study. The objective is to test the new model using DNS databases of high Reynolds number channel and fully developed turbulent mixing layer flows. The use of both channel (wall-bounded) and mixing layer flows is important for the development of accurate LES models because these two flows encompass many characteristic features of complex turbulent flows.

Horiuti, K.

Earned Value-Added

Earned value management [EVM] ...either you swear by it, or swear at it. Either way, there s no getting around the fact that EVM can be one of the most efficient and insightful methods of synthesizing cost, schedule, and technical status information into a single set of program health metrics. Is there a way of implementing EVM that allows a program to reap its early warning benefits while avoiding the pitfalls that make it infamous to its detractors? That s the question recently faced by the International Space Station [ISS] program.

Jansen, Michael

Thermal design verification testing for the ATS-F and -G spacecraft.

There is a wide fluctuation in the internal power dissipation from the components within the earth viewing module (EVM). The electronic component functional reliability required for a two-to-five year mission is the most significant factor for the thermal design criteria. A mathematical thermal model of the EVM and the orbital environment is used to predict the performance of the thermal control system. Comparisons of the results obtained in chamber thermal balance tests with the data computed on the basis of the theoretical model provide the means for validating the thermal design.

Coyle, M.

Aerogel Antennas Communications Study Using Error Vector Magnitude Measurements

This presentation discusses an aerogel antennas communication study using error vector magnitude (EVM) measurements. The study was performed using 2x4 element polyimide (PI) aerogel-based phased arrays designed for operation at 5 GHz as transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) antennas separated by a line of sight (LOS) distance of 8.5 meters. The results of the EVM measurements demonstrate that polyimide aerogel antennas work appropriately to support digital communication links with typically used modulation schemes such as QPSK and 4 DQPSK. As such, PI aerogel antennas with higher gain, larger bandwidth and lower mass than typically used microwave laminates could be suitable to enable aerospace-to- ground communication links with enough channel capacity to support voice, data and video links from CubeSats, unmanned air vehicles (UAV), and commercial aircraft.

Polyimide Aerogel

Aerogel Antennas Communications Study Using Error Vector Magnitude Measurements

This paper discusses an aerogel antennas communication study using error vector magnitude (EVM) measurements. The study was performed using 4x2 element polyimide (PI) aerogel-based phased arrays designed for operation at 5 GHz as transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) antennas separated by a line of sight (LOS) distance of 8.5 meters. The results of the EVM measurements demonstrate that polyimide aerogel antennas work appropriately to support digital communication links with typically used modulation schemes such as QPSK and pi/4 DQPSK. As such, PI aerogel antennas with higher gain, larger bandwidth and lower mass than typically used microwave laminates could be suitable to enable aerospace-to-ground communication links with enough channel capacity to support voice, data and video links from cubesats, unmanned air vehicles (UAV), and commercial aircraft.

Aerogel Antennas

Demonstration of GaN HEMT MMIC High-Power Amplifier for Lunar Proximity Communications

In this paper, we demonstrate a high efficiency, Ka-band (23.15 to 23.55 GHz) GaN HEMT MMIC based single-ended high power amplifier (HPA). The measured Pout, Gain, PAE, RMS EVM for Offset-QPSK, 8PSK, 16APSK, and 32APSK waveforms, 3rd-order IMD products, noise figure, and phase noise are presented. The results indicate that the saturated output power (P sat ) and the small signal Gain are on the order of 38.8 dBm (7.6 W) and 29.3 dB, respectively. The PAE at Psat is 20.0%. At the 1-dB compression point, the RMS EVM and the out-of-band spectral regrowth are less than 6% and –26 dBc respectively, for all four waveforms. Additionally, the spectrum is in compliance with the NTIA mask requirements for all four waveforms. The output 3rd-order intercept point (OIP3) is on the order of 42 dBm. The noise figure is less than 9.5 dB. The SSB phase noise spectral density is compliant with the envelope defined by the MIL-STD-188-164C. The HPA can enable proximity forward links between the orbiting Gateway/relay satellites and the lunar surface elements and cross links between relay satellites.

Ka-band

Generalized Theory and Realization of Reconfigurable Bandpass Filtering Equalizers

Here, in this article, a generalized theory of bandpass filtering equalizers is proposed. A filtering equalizer is a device that combines the frequency-selective properties of a filter with the controllable slope of an equalizer into a single component. The equations used to design the function for a desired slope are provided, and the design methodology to determine the necessary filtering polynomials is also shown. The controllable slope of the dual-function component is realized using variable capacitors, which are used to tune both a transmission zero and a matching network to achieve the desired slope. A third-order bandpass filtering equalizer is designed, fabricated, and measured to verify the generalized theory. The component is designed to operate at 1 GHz with a slope that can be reconfigured from 1 to 3 dB along the passband. This proposed filtering equalizer demonstrates the feasibility of a tunable, low-cost, size, weight, and power (C-SWaP) solution to enable increased flatness in the overall system response and thereby decrease the error vector magnitude (EVM) of future radio frequency (RF) systems and a design process that allows for future development of filtering equalizers.

Filter

ATS 6 EMI field measurements techniques and results

At the present time 'Applications Technology Satellite (ATS)-6' is the world's largest communication satellite. It handles telecommunications in the frequency range of 40 - 30,000 MHz. Power levels on board the spacecraft range from -110 dBm to 52.5 dBw. Consequently considerable care was required in the design and test of this spacecraft, in order to provide assurances that the spacecraft would perform properly in its own RF environments. The testing was performed first by placing the earth viewing module (EVM) in a specially constructed 'small' anechoic chamber with an overhead parabolic reflector section, of 8' in diameter, instead of the 30' reflector of the full scale design. The near field analysis of this paper proves that this test configuration leads to a desirable overtest for the spacecraft. The test requirements, procedure and results are also explained.

Afifi, M. S.

Hydrodynamics of primordial black hole formation

The hydrodynamic picture of the formation of primordial black holes (PBH) at the early stages of expansion of the Universe is considered. It is assumed that close to singularity, expansion occurs in a quasi-isotropic way. Using an EVM, a spherically symmetrical nonlinear problem of the evolution of primary strong deviation from the Fridman solution was solved. What these deviations must be, so that the formation of PBH occurred was clarified. Attention was devoted to the role of pressure gradients. It is pointed out that at the moment of formation of PBH, only a small part of matter enters into it, primarily the component of perturbation. It is also pointed out that at this moment, the mass of PBH essentially is smaller than the mass considered within the cosmic horizon. The possibility of changing the mass of the PBH as a result of accretion is analyzed.

Nadezhin, D. K.

Programming input-output operations in FORTRAN on magnetic tape

The subprogram MTCFF was designed for carrying out input-output operations in FORTRAN on magnetic tape within the framework of the DOS ES EVM operation system. It is possible, by means of this subprogram, to perform any input-output operations of interest to the programmer such as recording and reading various control operations in the direct and reverse directions, even though for these purposes the facilities of the language FORTRAN itself are limited. The subprogram can also be used in programs written in other programming languages.

Gorokov, V. N.

Earned Value - Added

Earned value management (EVM)... can be one of the most insightful methods of synthesizing cost, schedule, and technical status information into a single set of program health metrics.

Jansen, Michael