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At least 37 records · Page 2

On a fourth order accurate implicit finite difference scheme for hyperbolic conservation laws. I - Nonstiff strongly dynamic problems

An implicit finite difference method of fourth order accuracy in space and time is introduced for the numerical solution of one-dimensional systems of hyperbolic conservation laws. The basic form of the method is a two-level scheme which is unconditionally stable and nondissipative. The scheme uses only three mesh points at level t and three mesh points at level t + delta t. The dissipative version of the basic method given is conditionally stable under the CFL (Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy) condition. This version is particularly useful for the numerical solution of problems with strong but nonstiff dynamic features, where the CFL restriction is reasonable on accuracy grounds. Numerical results are provided to illustrate properties of the proposed method.

Harten, A.↗

On a fourth order accurate implicit finite difference scheme for hyperbolic conservation laws. II - Five-point schemes

This paper presents a family of two-level five-point implicit schemes for the solution of one-dimensional systems of hyperbolic conservation laws, which generalized the Crank-Nicholson scheme to fourth order accuracy (4-4) in both time and space. These 4-4 schemes are nondissipative and unconditionally stable. Special attention is given to the system of linear equations associated with these 4-4 implicit schemes. The regularity of this system is analyzed and efficiency of solution-algorithms is examined. A two-datum representation of these 4-4 implicit schemes brings about a compactification of the stencil to three mesh points at each time-level. This compact two-datum representation is particularly useful in deriving boundary treatments. Numerical results are presented to illustrate some properties of the proposed scheme.

Harten, A.↗

SAR image data compression for an on-line archive system

This paper summarizes the investigation of SAR image data compression for an on-line archive data distribution system. This system is planned for the ground processing system of Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) and Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-C). The objective of the SAR image data compression is to enable the data archive system to provide the remote users a large data base with good image quality, short response time, low transfer cost, and minimal decoding complexity. The requirements and limitations of the on-line archive data distribution system are presented. The effects of SAR image data characteristics on data compression are addressed. The users' survey results suggest that compression ratios between 10:1 and 20:1 appear suitable. Based on the algorithm evaluation results, the two-level tree-searched vector quantization technique has been recommended as the SAR image data compression algorithm for the on-line archive data distribution system.

Chang, C. Y.↗

Drive-train dynamics technology - State-of-the-art and design of a test facility for advanced development

A program for the development and verification of drive-train dynamic technology is described along with its basis and the results expected from it. A central feature of this program is a drive-train test facility designed for the testing and development of advanced drive-train components, including shaft systems, dampers, and couplings. Previous efforts in designing flexible dynamic drive-train systems are reviewed, and the present state of the art is briefly summarized. The design of the test facility is discussed with major attention given to the formulation of the test-rig concept, dynamic scaling of model shafts, and the specification of design parameters. Specific efforts envisioned for the test facility are briefly noted, including evaluations of supercritical test shafts, stability thresholds for various sources and types of instabilities that can exist in shaft systems, effects of structural flexibility on the dynamic performance of dampers, and methods for vibration control in two-level and three-level flexible shaft systems.

Badgley, R. H.↗

Magnetoresistance and noise properties of chevron stretcher detectors for field access bubble domain devices

Experiments were devised to study the angular variation of the resistance and noise properties of one- and two-level chevron stretcher magnetoresistive detectors for use in field access bubble memory devices. All measurements, made with an electronic system, were performed on glass or garnet samples upon which 1 micron of SiO2 was sputter-deposited, followed by 4000 A of Permalloy for the 28-micron-period devices and 0.8 microns of SiO2, followed by 3000 A of Permalloy for the 20-micron-period devices. The geometrical and drive-state dependence of the zero-state noise were studied, as was its frequency dependence. It is found that both types of detectors operate primarily in the amplitude-shift mode for drive fields of interest and that the presence of a bubble in a detector causes a magnetoresistance change equal to that produced by increasing the in-plane drive field about 8 Oe in the absence of a bubble.

George, P. K.↗

Structural optimization by multilevel decomposition

The application of formal optimization techniques to the design of large engineering structures such as aircraft is presently hindered in connection with the large number of design variables involved. According to an approach which attempts to overcome the difficulties, the problem is broken up into several smaller subproblems. This approach has, however, weaknesses which may prevent a determination of the minimum structural weight. Schmit and Ramanathan (1973) have developed a method, which is designed to incorporate control of the material distribution among the finite elements of an assembled structure for a two-level optimization. However, the optimization schemes considered would not be suitable to optimization schemes considered would not be suitable to multidisciplinary optimization of large engineering systems. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski (1982) proposed a method for decomposing a large multidisciplinary optimization problem into a number of small subproblems. The present investigation is concerned with the implementation of this method.

Sobieszczanski-Sobieski, J.↗

A two-level controller design approach for large space structures

A controller design approach is proposed for large space structures (LSS) using an Annular Momentum Control Device (AMCD). The controller consists of a primary attitude controller and a secondary or modal damping enhancement controller. It is proved that the LSS/AMCD system using the proposed damping enhancement controller is stable in the sense of Lyapunov regardless of the number of modes in the model and without the necessity of precise knowledge of the modal frequencies and mode shapes. Numerical results obtained for the secondary controller design for a large thin flat plate indicate that the proposed method can yield satisfactory damping enhancement with small weight penalty.

Joshi, S. M.↗

A Production System Model of Capturing Reactive Moving Targets

Subjects manipulated a control stick to position a cursor over a moving target that reacted with a computer-generated escape strategy. The cursor movements were described at two levels of abstraction. At the upper level, a production system described transitions among four modes of activity; rapid acquisition, close following, a predictive mode, and herding. Within each mode, differential equations described trajectory-generating mechanisms. A simulation of this two-level model captures the targets in a manner resembling the episodic time histories of human subjects.

Jagacinski, R. J.↗

Common data buffer

Time-shared interface speeds data processing in distributed computer network. Two-level high-speed scanning approach routes information to buffer, portion of which is reserved for series of "first-in, first-out" memory stacks. Buffer address structure and memory are protected from noise or failed components by error correcting code. System is applicable to any computer or processing language.

Byrne, F.↗

Validity of the two-level model for Viterbi decoder gap-cycle performance

A two-level model has previously been proposed for approximating the performance of a Viterbi decoder which encounters data received with periodically varying signal-to-noise ratio. Such cyclically gapped data is obtained from the Very Large Array (VLA), either operating as a stand-alone system or arrayed with Goldstone. This approximate model predicts that the decoder error rate will vary periodically between two discrete levels with the same period as the gap cycle. It further predicts that the length of the gapped portion of the decoder error cycle for a constraint length K decoder will be about K-1 bits shorter than the actual duration of the gap. The two-level model for Viterbi decoder performance with gapped data is subjected to detailed validation tests. Curves showing the cyclical behavior of the decoder error burst statistics are compared with the simple square-wave cycles predicted by the model. The validity of the model depends on a parameter often considered irrelevant in the analysis of Viterbi decoder performance, the overall scaling of the received signal or the decoder's branch-metrics. Three scaling alternatives are examined: optimum branch-metric scaling and constant branch-metric scaling combined with either constant noise-level scaling or constant signal-level scaling. The simulated decoder error cycle curves roughly verify the accuracy of the two-level model for both the case of optimum branch-metric scaling and the case of constant branch-metric scaling combined with constant noise-level scaling. However, the model is not accurate for the case of constant branch-metric scaling combined with constant signal-level scaling.

Dolinar, S.↗

Wiring Viterbi decoders (splitting deBruijn graphs)

A new Viterbi decoder, capable of decoding convolutional codes with constraint lengths up to 15, is under development for the Deep Space Network (DSN). A key feature of this decoder is a two-level partitioning of the Viterbi state diagram into identical subgraphs. The larger subgraphs correspond to circuit boards, while the smaller subgraphs correspond to Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) chips. The full decoder is built from identical boards, which in turn are built from identical chips. The resulting system is modular and hierarchical. The decoder is easy to implement, test, and repair because it uses a single VLSI chip design and a single board design. The partitioning is completely general in the sense that an appropriate number of boards or chips may be wired together to implement a Viterbi decoder of any size greater than or equal to the size of the module.

Collins, O.↗

Spatial compression of Seasat SAR imagery

The results of a study of techniques for spatial compression of synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) imagery are summarized. Emphasis is on image-data volume reduction for archive and online storage applications while preserving the image resolution and radiometric fidelity. A quantitative analysis of various techniques, including vector quantization (VQ) and adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT), is presented. Various factors such as compression ratio, algorithm complexity, and image quality are considered in determining the optimal algorithm. The compression system requirements are established for electronic access of an online archive system based on the results of a survey of the science community. The various algorithms are presented and their results evaluated considering the effects of speckle noise and the wide dynamic range inherent in SAR imagery. The conclusion is that although the ADCT produces the best signal-to-distortion-noise ratio for a given compression ratio, the two-level tree-searched VQ technique is preferred due to its simplicity of decoding and near-optimal performance.

Chang, C. Y.↗

A numerical circulation model with topography for the Martian southern hemisphere

A two-level numerical model taking account of the observed planetary topography is applied to the general circulation of the Martian atmosphere in the southern hemisphere. The physics of this model is based on the assumption of a hydrostatic quasi-geostrophic ideal-gas atmosphere composed entirely of carbon dioxide; radiative transfer among the atmosphere, space, and the ground is included along with surface friction. The calculations indicate the development of near-equilibrium weather systems after about five model days, weather systems and velocity fields whose positions appear to be connected with topography, and a midlatitude jet stream strikingly similar to the terrestrial case. The results also suggest that the vertical and horizontal wind components in western Hellas and eastern Argyre produce copious amounts of suspendible dust each year, that both major and minor dust storms should be a common occurrence on Mars, and that the entire south circumpolar zone appears to be a dust sink in winter.

Mass, C.↗

Superradiant effects on pulse propagation in resonant media

Adopting the so-called genealogical construction, the eigenstates of collective operators can be expressed corresponding to a specified mode for an N-atom system in terms of those for an (N-1)-atom system. Matrix element of a collective operator of an arbitrary mode is presented which can be written as the product of an m-dependent factor and an m-independent reduced matrix element (RME). A set of recursion formulas for the RME was obtained. A graphical representation of the RME on the branching diagram for binary irreducible representations of permutation groups was then introduced. This gave a simple and systematic way of calculating the RME. Results show explicitly the geometry dependence of superradiance and the relative importance of r-conserving and r-nonconserving processes and clears up the chief difficulty encounted in the problem of N two-level atoms, spread over large regions, interacting with a multimode radiation field.

Lee, C.↗

Development of a Multilevel Optimization Approach to the Design of Modern Engineering Systems

A general algorithm is proposed which carries out the design process iteratively, starting at the top of the hierarchy and proceeding downward. Each subproblem is optimized separately for fixed controls from higher level subproblems. An optimum sensitivity analysis is then performed which determines the sensitivity of the subproblem design to changes in higher level subproblem controls. The resulting sensitivity derivatives are used to construct constraints which force the controlling subproblems into chosing their own designs so as to improve the lower levels subproblem designs while satisfying their own constraints. The applicability of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by devising a four-level hierarchy to perform the simultaneous aerodynamic and structural design of a high-performance sailplane wing for maximum cross-country speed. Finally, the concepts discussed are applied to the two-level minimum weight structural design of the sailplane wing. The numerical experiments show that discontinuities in the sensitivity derivatives may delay convergence, but that the algorithm is robust enough to overcome these discontinuities and produce low-weight feasible designs, regardless of whether the optimization is started from the feasible space or the infeasible one.

Barthelemy, J. F. M.↗

Vacillations in a coupled ocean-atmosphere model

Results are presented from a 35-year integration of a coupled ocean-atmosphere model. Both ocean and atmosphere are two-level, nonlinear primitive equation models. The global atmospheric model is forced by a steady, zonally symmetric Newtonian heating. The ocean model is solved in a rectangular tropical basin. Heat fluxes between ocean and atmosphere are linear in air-sea temperature differences, and the interfacial stress is proportional to lower-level atmospheric winds. The coupled models produce ENSO-like variability on time scales of 3 to 5 years. Since there is no external time-dependent forcing, these are self-sustained vacillations of the nonlinear system. It is argued that the energetics of the vacillations is that of unstable coupled modes and that the time scale is crucially dependent on the effects of ocean waves propagating in a closed basin.

Schopf, Paul S.↗

The effect of latent heat release on synoptic-to-planetary wave interactions and its implication for satellite observations: Theoretical modeling

Simple models are being developed to simulate interaction of planetary and synoptic-scale waves incorporating the effects of large-scale topography; eddy heat and momentum fluxes (or nonlinear dynamics); radiative heating/cooling; and latent heat release (precipitation) in synoptic-scale waves. The importance of latent heat release is determined in oceanic storm tracks for temporal variability and time-mean behavior of planetary waves. The model results were compared with available observations of planetary and synoptic-scale wave variability and time-mean circulation. The usefulness of monitoring precipitation in oceanic storm tracks by satellite observing systems was ascertained. The modeling effort includes two different low-order quasi-geostrophic models-time-dependent version and climatological mean version. The modeling also includes a low-order primitive equation model. A time-dependent, multi-level version will be used to validate the two-level Q-G models and examine effects of spherical geometry.

Branscome, Lee E.↗