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At least 451 records · Page 25

High Resolution Computed Tomography Inspection of Components Uncovers Root Causes of Vexing Failure Mysteries

During testing of actuators for fight programs, failures have occurred that required closure with an understanding of the root cause of the failure. For some InSight project actuators, intermittent changes of the winding resistance of the motors during temperature changes was extremely baffling. It was critical to determine the cause of the intermittent characteristic because the actuators were stock from a previous program and the company that provided the motors was no longer in business. Using an X-Ray Computed-Tomography (CT) method, the exact source of the intermittent failure was determined and completely understood – at dimensions of less than 20 microns. In another case, after the completion of an actuator’s life-test-to-failure, inspection was required to determine the source of the failure. The size of the actuator (10 mm diameter) required destructive means to get to the interior of the actuator for inspection, risking the loss of the source of the failure. Using CT imaging, the exact source of the failure was determined.

Johnson, Michael R.↗

Robust Control Methodology Via Loop Shaping, Root Locus, and Model Reference Control

The paper describes the development of a robust control methodology that can tolerate large uncertainties in plant dynamics in terms of proportional gain variations as well as frequencies and damping. For this to be accomplished, the methodology starts by designing a feedback controller based on a loop shaping technique. The design is then improved by employing a root locus control design approach. Finally, the response of the feedback system is further improved by augmenting the control design using model reference control. The design approach also takes into consideration the speed of the process actuator for a fast response and for high disturbance rejection. Results from two control design examples covered in the paper show that this control approach can tolerate plant proportional gain uncertainty of approximately ± two orders of magnitude with relatively large variations in plant frequencies and damping.

Control Systems↗

Root Growth Response of Arabidopsis Thaliana Seeds Exposed to Simulated Solar Particle Event Radiation and Microgravity

As NASA manned missions are planned to go past earth’s orbit, the effects of microgravity and radiation on plants will be essential to know as plants will be a part of the crew’s diet. APPROACH: Imbibed Arabidopsis thaliana seeds were exposed to simulated solar particle event (SPE) radiation, experiencing up to 80 cGy of radiation. After the radiation exposure, they were grown under simulated microgravity using a Random Positioning Machine. Images of the plants were taken after six to seven days of growth and the root length, top angle, tip angle were analyzed.

Karen Perkins↗

Root Cause Analysis of the Data Refinement Process – Medical Conditions Capability Resource Tables

The medical system for spaceflight thus far has been designed to support missions in low earth orbit (LEO). Crew capabilities are limited and heavily dependent on the team of medical support staff at Mission Control Center (MCC) to guide diagnosis and management. However, missions to the Moon and Mars will suffer from several constraints that will make this ground support focused approach to care ineffective. In order to update and modify medical system design, NASA has relied on Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) modeling to mitigate medical risk through trade space analysis. Specifically, capability resource tables (CRT’s) were developed to create a dataset of resources required to manage a list of accepted medical conditions significant in exploration spaceflight. With 120 conditions, this dataset contained hundreds of capabilities and thousands of resources with tens of thousands of cells of data. Initially these tables were built in excel for high throughput during development, but ultimately had to be transferred, managed, and modified into the Evidence Library database for modeling purposes. The process of collating and reviewing the Evidence Library revealed numerous errors in the dataset that had to be corrected through iterative changes. Several error types emerged during this process and can be broken into specific classifications defined as “input”, “transcription”, “structural”, “branching”, and “information”. In reviewing these error types through the root cause analysis (RCA) approach, we were able to identify the contributors to these errors which included single data review points, changing product end goals, limited software selection, time constraints and several others. By reviewing and evaluating the underlying causes we can provide possible system improvements that can be implemented for current and future data management in PRA model inputs.

A. Anderson↗

Changes in the distribution of plastids and endoplasmic reticulum during cellular differentiation in root caps of Zea mays

In calyptrogen cells of Zea mays, proplastids are distributed randomly throughout the cell, and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is distributed parallel to the cell walls. The differentiation of calyptrogen cells into columella statocytes is characterized by the following sequential events: (1) formation of ER complexes at the distal and proximal ends of the cell, (2) differentiation of proplastids into amyloplasts, (3) sedimentation of amyloplasts onto the distal ER complex, (4) breakdown of the distal ER complex and sedimentation of amyloplasts to the bottom of the cell, and (5) formation of sheets of ER parallel to the longitudinal cell walls. Columella statocytes located in the centre of the cap each possess 4530 +/- 780 micrometers2 of ER surface area, an increase of 670 per cent over that of calyptrogen cells. The differentiation of peripheral cells correlates positively with (1) the ER becoming arranged in concentric sheets, (2) amyloplasts and ER becoming randomly distributed, and (3) a 280 per cent increase in ER surface area over that of columella statocytes. These results are discussed relative to graviperception and mucilage secretion, which are functions of columella and peripheral cells, respectively.

NASA Discipline Number 40-10↗

Root cause analysis

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root cause analysis↗

Origins: in search of our cosmic roots

You are holding a strategic roadmap for the first two decades into the new millennium, chartered by NASA's Office of Space Science to travel toward understanding and explaining the origins of galaxies, stars, planetary systems, and life.

Origins↗

Turbine blade root design concept promises superior alignment

Blade-to-hub mounting concept assures excellent alignment integrity and results in elimination of some welding problems associated with designs. With this design, if rework is required, blade removal and replacement may be readily accomplished without damage to blade positioning media on the wheel hub.

King, O. D.↗