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At least 361 records · Page 20

Orbit-determination performance of Doppler data for interplanetary cruise trajectories. Part 1: Error analysis methodology

An error covariance analysis methodology is used to investigate different weighting schemes for two-way (coherent) Doppler data in the presence of transmission-media and observing-platform calibration errors. The analysis focuses on orbit-determination performance in the interplanetary cruise phase of deep-space missions. Analytical models for the Doppler observable and for transmission-media and observing-platform calibration errors are presented, drawn primarily from previous work. Previously published analytical models were improved upon by the following: (1) considering the effects of errors in the calibration of radio signal propagation through the troposphere and ionosphere as well as station-location errors; (2) modelling the spacecraft state transition matrix using a more accurate piecewise-linear approximation to represent the evolution of the spacecraft trajectory; and (3) incorporating Doppler data weighting functions that are functions of elevation angle, which reduce the sensitivity of the estimated spacecraft trajectory to troposphere and ionosphere calibration errors. The analysis is motivated by the need to develop suitable weighting functions for two-way Doppler data acquired at 8.4 GHz (X-band) and 32 GHz (Ka-band). This weighting is likely to be different from that in the weighting functions currently in use; the current functions were constructed originally for use with 2.3 GHz (S-band) Doppler data, which are affected much more strongly by the ionosphere than are the higher frequency data.

Ulvestad, J. S.↗

Programs Help Create And Evaluate Markov Models

Pade Approximation With Scaling (PAWS) and Scaled Taylor Exponential Matrix (STEM) computer programs provide flexible, user-friendly, language-based interface for creation and evaluation of Markov models describing behaviors of fault-tolerant reconfigurable computer systems. Produce exact solution for probabilities of system failures and provide conservative estimates of numbers of significant digits in solutions. Also offer as part of bundled package with SURE and ASSIST, two other reliable analysis programs developed by Systems Validation Methods group at Langley Research Center.

Butler, Ricky W.↗

Expansion-based passive ranging

A new technique of passive ranging which is based on utilizing the image-plane expansion experienced by every object as its distance from the sensor decreases is described. This technique belongs in the feature/object-based family. The motion and shape of a small window, assumed to be fully contained inside the boundaries of some object, is approximated by an affine transformation. The parameters of the transformation matrix are derived by initially comparing successive images, and progressively increasing the image time separation so as to achieve much larger triangulation baseline than currently possible. Depth is directly derived from the expansion part of the transformation. To a first approximation, image-plane expansion is independent of image-plane location with respect to the focus of expansion (FOE) and of platform maneuvers. Thus, an expansion-based method has the potential of providing a reliable range in the difficult image area around the FOE. In areas far from the FOE the shift parameters of the affine transformation can provide more accurate depth information than the expansion alone, and can thus be used similarly to the way they were used in conjunction with the Inertial Navigation Unit (INU) and Kalman filtering. However, the performance of a shift-based algorithm, when the shifts are derived from the affine transformation, would be much improved compared to current algorithms because the shifts - as well as the other parameters - can be obtained between widely separated images. Thus, the main advantage of this new approach is that, allowing the tracked window to expand and rotate, in addition to moving laterally, enables one to correlate images over a very long time span which, in turn, translates into a large spatial baseline - resulting in a proportionately higher depth accuracy.

Barniv, Yair↗

Photoionization of the hydrogen atom in strong magnetic fields

The photoionization of the hydrogen atom in magnetic fields B about 10 exp 11 - 10 exp 13 G typical of the surface layers of neutron stars is investigated analytically and numerically. We consider the photoionization from various tightly bound and hydrogen-like states of the atom for photons with arbitrary polarizations and wave-vector directions. It is shown that the length form of the interaction matrix elements is more appropriate in the adiabatic approximation than the velocity form, at least in the most important frequency range omega much less than omega(B), where omega(B) is the electron cyclotron frequency. Use of the length form yields nonzero cross sections for photon polarizations perpendicular to the magnetic field at omega less than omega(B); these cross sections are the ones that most strongly affect the properties of the radiation escaping from an optically thick medium, e.g., from the atmosphere of a neutron star. The results of the numerical calculations are fitted by simple analytical formulas.

Potekhin, Aleksandr IU.↗

Expansion-based passive ranging

This paper describes a new technique of passive ranging which is based on utilizing the image-plane expansion experienced by every object as its distance from the sensor decreases. This technique belongs in the feature/object-based family. The motion and shape of a small window, assumed to be fully contained inside the boundaries of some object, is approximated by an affine transformation. The parameters of the transformation matrix are derived by initially comparing successive images, and progressively increasing the image time separation so as to achieve much larger triangulation baseline than currently possible. Depth is directly derived from the expansion part of the transformation. To a first approximation, image-plane expansion is independent of image-plane location with respect to the focus of expansion (FOE) and of platform maneuvers. Thus, an expansion-based method has the potential of providing a reliable range in the difficult image area around the FOE. In areas far from the FOE the shift parameters of the affine transformation can provide more accurate depth information than the expansion alone, and can thus be used similarly to the way they have been used in conjunction with the Inertial Navigation Unit (INU) and Kalman filtering. However, the performance of a shift-based algorithm, when the shifts are derived from the affine transformation, would be much improved compared to current algorithms because the shifts--as well as the other parameters--can be obtained between widely separated images. Thus, the main advantage of this new approach is that, allowing the tracked window to expand and rotate, in addition to moving laterally, enables one to correlate images over a very long time span which, in turn, translates into a large spatial baseline resulting in a proportionately higher depth accuracy.

Barniv, Yair↗

Evaluation of several non-reflecting computational boundary conditions for duct acoustics

Several non-reflecting computational boundary conditions that meet certain criteria and have potential applications to duct acoustics are evaluated for their effectiveness. The same interior solution scheme, grid, and order of approximation are used to evaluate each condition. Sparse matrix solution techniques are applied to solve the matrix equation resulting from the discretization. Modal series solutions for the sound attenuation in an infinite duct are used to evaluate the accuracy of each non-reflecting boundary conditions. The evaluations are performed for sound propagation in a softwall duct, for several sources, sound frequencies, and duct lengths. It is shown that a recently developed nonlocal boundary condition leads to sound attenuation predictions considerably more accurate for short ducts. This leads to a substantial reduction in the number of grid points when compared to other non-reflecting conditions.

Watson, Willie R.↗

Physical aging effects on the compressive linear viscoelastic creep of IM7/K3B composite

An experimental study was undertaken to establish the viscoelastic behavior of 1M7/K3B composite in compression at elevated temperature. Creep compliance, strain recovery and the effects of physical aging on the time dependent response was measured for uniaxial loading at several isothermal conditions below the glass transition temperature (T(g)). The IM7/K3B composite is a graphite reinforced thermoplastic polyimide with a T(g) of approximately 240 C. In a composite, the two matrix dominated compliance terms associated with time dependent behavior occur in the transverse and shear directions. Linear viscoelasticity was used to characterize the creep/recovery behavior and superposition techniques were used to establish the physical aging related material constants. Creep strain was converted to compliance and measured as a function of test time and aging time. Results included creep compliance master curves, physical aging shift factors and shift rates. The description of the unique experimental techniques required for compressive testing is also given.

Veazie, David R.↗

Adjoints and Low-rank Covariance Representation

Quantitative measures of the uncertainty of Earth System estimates can be as important as the estimates themselves. Second moments of estimation errors are described by the covariance matrix, whose direct calculation is impractical when the number of degrees of freedom of the system state is large. Ensemble and reduced-state approaches to prediction and data assimilation replace full estimation error covariance matrices by low-rank approximations. The appropriateness of such approximations depends on the spectrum of the full error covariance matrix, whose calculation is also often impractical. Here we examine the situation where the error covariance is a linear transformation of a forcing error covariance. We use operator norms and adjoints to relate the appropriateness of low-rank representations to the conditioning of this transformation. The analysis is used to investigate low-rank representations of the steady-state response to random forcing of an idealized discrete-time dynamical system.

Tippett, Michael K.↗

Glauber-theory analysis of nuclear reactions on a 12 C target with variational Monte Carlo wave functions

The application of Glauber theory has been playing an increasingly important role with the study of unstable or exotic nuclei. Its adaptation to medium and high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions is severely limited because one has to evaluate the matrix elements of multiple-scattering operators. The extraction of physical observables has been done using ‘approximate’ Glauber theory whose validity is hard to evaluate. Here, we perform a full calculation of the matrix elements using Monte Carlo integration and analyze the elastic differential cross sections and the total reaction cross sections for p+¹²C, ⁴,⁶He+¹²C, and ¹²C+¹²C collisions. We use the variational Monte Carlo wave functions for ⁴,⁶He and ¹²C obtained by using realistic two- and three-nucleon potentials. We demonstrate the performance of the Glauber-theory calculations by comparing with available experimental data. We further discuss the accuracy of the conventional approximate methods in the light of the cumulant expansion for Glauber’s phase-shift function.

Horiuchi, W. [Osaka Metropolitan University (Japan↗

Free vibration characteristics of multiple load path blades by the transfer matrix method

The determination of free vibrational characteristics is basic to any dynamic design, and these characteristics can form the basis for aeroelastic stability analyses. Conventional helicopter blades are typically idealized as single-load-path blades, and the transfer matrix method is well suited to analyze such blades. Several current helicopter dynamic programs employ transfer matrices to analyze the rotor blades. In this paper, however, the transfer matrix method is extended to treat multiple-load-path blades, without resorting to an equivalent single-load-path approximation. With such an extension, these current rotor dynamic programs which employ the transfer matrix method can be modified with relative ease to account for the multiple load paths. Unlike the conventional blades, the multiple-load-path blades require the introduction of the axial degree-of-freedom into the solution process to account for the differential axial displacements of the different load paths. The transfer matrix formulation is validated through comparison with the finite-element solutions.

Murthy, V. R.↗

Shape sensitivity analysis of flutter response of a laminated wing

A method is presented for calculating the shape sensitivity of a wing aeroelastic response with respect to changes in geometric shape. Yates' modified strip method is used in conjunction with Giles' equivalent plate analysis to predict the flutter speed, frequency, and reduced frequency of the wing. Three methods are used to calculate the sensitivity of the eigenvalue. The first method is purely a finite difference calculation of the eigenvalue derivative directly from the solution of the flutter problem corresponding to the two different values of the shape parameters. The second method uses an analytic expression for the eigenvalue sensitivities of a general complex matrix, where the derivatives of the aerodynamic, mass, and stiffness matrices are computed using a finite difference approximation. The third method also uses an analytic expression for the eigenvalue sensitivities, but the aerodynamic matrix is computed analytically. All three methods are found to be in good agreement with each other.

Kapania, Rakesh K.↗

SiC fiber reinforced reaction-bonded Si3N4 composites

A technique for fabricating strong and tough SiC fiber reinforced reaction bonded Si3N4 matrix composites (SiC/RBSN) was developed. Using this technique, composites containing approximately 23, 30, and 40 volume fractions of aligned 140 micron diameter, chemically vapor deposited SiC fibers were fabricated. The room temperature physical and mechanical properties were evaluated. The results for composite tensile strength, bend strength, and fracture strain indicate that the composite displays excellent properties when compared with the unreinforced matrix of comparable porosity. The composite stress at which the matrix first cracks and the ultimate composite fracture strength increase with increasing volume fraction of fibers, and the composite fails gracefully. The mechanical property data of this ceramic composite are compared with similar data for unreinforced commercially available Si3N4 materials and for SEP SiC/SiC composites.

Bhatt, Ramakrishna T.↗

Assimilation of Satellite Altimeter Data With a Four Dimensional Model of the Japan Sea

A data assimilation is carried out to detect the variability of the Japan Sea circulation in the range from a few days to several years and from eddy to basin scale. The model applied in this study is the same 1/6 degree GFDL MOM1 as Kim and Yoon (1999) but is driven by ECMWF daily wind stress, heat and fresh water fluxes. The satellite altimeter data of TOPEX/POSEIDON, ERS-1 (phase C and G) and -2 are assimilated by an approximate Kalman filter (Fukumori and M.Rizzoli, 1995). The approximation is made by seeking an asymptotic steady error covariance matrix (Fukumori et al., 1993) and by introducing a coarser grid model for the innovation (data-model misfit). The coarse grid model is defined on 1/2 degree horizontal resolution and consists of the barotropic stream function, first baroclinic displacement and velocity amplitudes. The assimilated estimates explain about 6cm sea level variability of the data (approximately 12cm in the southern part), which is much larger than the previous reduced-gravity model and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data assimilation (Hirose et al., 1999). The impacts of the T/P and ERS data on the filtered estimates are comparable. The result also shows high correlation to subsurface water temperatures measured by CTD. Many of the mesoscale eddies/disturbances travel east-northeastward with the advection speed of 1-3cm/s though most of them generated in the western region can not pass over the Oki Spur. The quasi-biennial variability found by Hirose and Ostrovskii (1999) did not show clear propagation pattern. The shallow Oki Spur may work as a "western boundary" to this signal. This is more plausible estimation than by the R-G model which has no bottom topography.

Hirose, Naoki↗

Model-size reduction technique for the analysis of symmetric anisotropic structures

A two-step computational procedure is presented for reducing the size of the analysis model for an anisotropic symmetric structure to that of the corresponding orthotropic structure. The key elements of the procedure are: (1) decomposition of the stiffness matrix into the sum of an orthotropic and nonorthotropic (anisotropic) parts; and (2) successive application of the finite element method and the classical Rayleigh-Ritz technique. The finite element method is first used to generate few global approximation vectors (or modes). Then the amplitudes of these modes are computed by using the Rayleigh-Ritz technique. The global approximation vectors are selected to be the solution corresponding to zero nonorthotropic matrix and its various-order derivatives with respect to an anisotropic tracing parameter (identifying the nonorthotropic material coefficients). The size of the analysis model used in generating the global approximation vectors is identical to that of the corresponding orthotropic structure. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is demonstrated by means of numerical examples and its potential for solving other quasi-symmetric problems is discussed.

Noor, A. K.↗

Eigenfunction methods in magnetospheric radial-diffusion theory

Complete sets of orthonormal basis functions constructed according to a generalization of the quantum-mechanical WKB approximation can be used to generate a nearly-diagonal matrix representation of the radial-transport operator for ring-current ions in the presence of radial diffusion and charge exchange. The resulting eigenfunctions (constructed by weighting the basis functions in proportion to the respective components of the eigenvectors of the matrix representation) and eigenvalues provide a spatial and temporal description of the evolving phase-space density during and following a magnetospheric disturbance (e.g., a magnetic storm). A linear superposition of the basis functions can also be used to eliminate any discrepancy between the steady-state solution of the transport equation and the appropriate WKB approximation of this steady-state solution.

Schulz, Michael↗

Error analysis for semi-analytic displacement derivatives with respect to shape and sizing variables

Sensitivity analysis is fundamental to the solution of structural optimization problems. Consequently, much research has focused on the efficient computation of static displacement derivatives. As originally developed, these methods relied on analytical representations for the derivatives of the structural stiffness matrix (K) with respect to the design variables (b sub i). To extend these methods for use with complex finite element formulations and facilitate their implementation into structural optimization programs using the general finite element method analysis codes, the semi-analytic method was developed. In this method the matrix the derivative of K/the derivative b sub i is approximated by finite difference. Although it is well known that the accuracy of the semi-analytic method is dependent on the finite difference parameter, recent work has suggested that more fundamental inaccuracies exist in the method when used for shape optimization. Another study has argued qualitatively that these errors are related to nonuniform errors in the stiffness matrix derivatives. The accuracy of the semi-analytic method is investigated. A general framework was developed for the error analysis and then it is shown analytically that the errors in the method are entirely accounted for by errors in delta K/delta b sub i. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that acceptable accuracy in the derivatives can be obtained through careful selection of the finite difference parameter.

Fenyes, Peter A.↗

Interpretable and flexible non-intrusive reduced-order models using reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces

This paper develops an interpretable, non-intrusive reduced-order modeling technique using regularized kernel interpolation. Existing non-intrusive approaches approximate the dynamics of a reduced-order model (ROM) by solving a data-driven least-squares regression problem for low-dimensional matrix operators. Our approach instead leverages regularized kernel interpolation, which yields an optimal approximation of the ROM dynamics from a user-defined reproducing kernel Hilbert space. We show that our kernel-based approach can produce interpretable ROMs whose structure mirrors full-order model structure by embedding judiciously chosen feature maps into the kernel. The approach is flexible and allows a combination of informed structure through feature maps and closure terms via more general nonlinear terms in the kernel. We also derive a computable a posteriori error bound that combines standard error estimates for intrusive projection-based ROMs and kernel interpolants. In conclusion, the approach is demonstrated in several numerical experiments that include comparisons to operator inference using both proper orthogonal decomposition and quadratic manifold dimension reduction.

Data-driven model reduction↗

Effects of aging condition on the fracture toughness of 2XXX and 7XXX series aluminum alloy composites

Results are presented on the effects of matrix aging condition (i.e., matrix temper) on the fracture toughness of 2XXX and 7XXX Al matrix alloys reinforced with SiC particulates, and the results are compared with the mechanical behavior. Fracture toughness testing was conducted on fatigue precracked bend specimens, and fracture surfaces were examined using SEM. Results revealed dramatic differences in the effect of matrix microstructure on the fracture properties of the two composite series. In the 7XXX material, the toughness values decreased from the underaged (UA) condition to the overaged (OA) condition by approximately 40 percent, while in the 2XXX series composite, the effect of matrix microstructure was marginal. In the 7XXX series composites, a transition in fracture mode from particle cracking (in UA) to matrix and linear-interface failure (in OA) was observed, while the 2XXX series composite failed predominantly by particle cracking.

Manoharan, M.↗