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The application of the thermal analysis phase of NASTRAN in engineering is described. Some illustrative samples are presented to demonstrate the applicability and limitation of NASTRAN thermal analysis capability. The results of the evaluation of the relative efficiency, applicability and accuracy among NASTRAN, other finite element programs, and finite difference programs are also presented.
The investigation reported demonstrates that in the case considered perturbation methods can be used in a straightforward manner to obtain reanalysis information. A perturbation formula for the buckling loads of a general shell of revolution is derived. The accuracy of the obtained relations and their range of application is studied with the aid of a specific example involving a particular stiffened shell of revolution.
Since the Voyager Mission will encounter Saturn at a time when the planet will be nearly in the earth's equatorial plane, earth-based orbit determination will be more difficult than usual because of the so-called zero-declination singularity associated with conventional radiometric observations. Simulation studies show that in order to meet the required delivery accuracy at Saturn, a relative range measurement between the Goldstone and Canberra Deep Space Stations must be accurate to 4.5 times the square root of two meters. Topics discussed include the nature of error sources, the methodology and technology required for calibration, the verification process concerning the nearly simultaneous range capability, a description of the ranging system, and tracking strategy.
The photogrammetric methods can be applied only if the horizontal displacements of the ground are of the order of several centimeters, because the standard error of the points so determined cannot, at the present time, be smaller than two centimeters. The procedure to be adopted, which has already been applied with satisfactory results for the densification of geodetic nets, is the aerial analytical triangulation. The taking can be executed with wide-angle cameras (f = 15 cm), or normal-angle cameras (f = 30 cm) and format 23 x 23 cm. Since the average scale of photos must be chosen in relation with the desired accuracy and then is independent of the principal distance of the cameras, the number of photos is constant, whereas the flying height varies according to the focal length.
Performability analysis is a technique developed for evaluating the effectiveness of fault-tolerant computing systems in multiphase missions. Performability was evaluated for its accuracy, practical usefulness, and relative cost. The evaluation was performed by applying performability and the fault tree method to a set of sample problems ranging from simple to moderately complex. The problems involved as many as five outcomes, two to five mission phases, permanent faults, and some functional dependencies. Transient faults and software errors were not considered. A different analyst was responsible for each technique. Significantly more time and effort were required to learn performability analysis than the fault tree method. Performability is inherently as accurate as fault tree analysis. For the sample problems, fault trees were more practical and less time consuming to apply, while performability required less ingenuity and was more checkable. Performability offers some advantages for evaluating very complex problems.
Various numerical analysis schemes for the classification of remotely sensed data are evaluated with respect to their capabilities for crop identification. A per point Gaussian maximum likelihood classifier, per point sum-of-normal-densities classifier, per point linear classifier, per point Gaussian maximum likelihood decision tree classifier and a texture-sensitive per field Gaussian maximum likelihood classifier were applied to seven sets of Landsat MSS data on several crop types and regions. The results of the implementation of the classifiers indicate that, given a representative set of training statistics, the choice of classification algorithm of the differentiation of corn and soybeans from one another and from other crop types made relatively little difference in accuracy, whereas the use of a different training method affected the accuracy significantly. In addition, the linear classifier is found to be the easiest for the analyst to use and to cost least in computer time per classification.
A new algorithm for generating solution-adaptive grids (SAG) about airfoil configurations embedded in transonic flow is presented. The present SAG approach uses only the airfoil surface solution to recluster grid points on the airfoil surface, i.e., the reclustering problem is one dimension smaller than the flow-field calculation problem. Special controls automatically built into the elliptic grid generation procedure are then used to obtain grids with suitable interior behavior. This concept of redistributing grid points greatly simplifies the idea of solution-adaptive grids. Numerical results indicate significant improvements in accuracy for SAG grids relative to standard grids using the same number of points.
The implementation of a satellite tracking and antenna control system is described. Due to the loss of inclination control for the symphonie satellites, it became necessary to equip the parabolic antennas of the mobile Symphonie ground station with tracking facilities. For the relatively low required tracking accuracy of 0.5 dB, a low cost, step track system was selected. The step track system developed for this purpose and tested over a long period of time in 7 ground stations is based on a search step method with subsequent parabola interpolation. As compared with the real search step method, the system has the advantage of a higher pointing angle resolution, and thus a higher tracking accuracy. When the pilot signal has been switched off for a long period of time, as for instance after the eclipse, the antenna is repointed towards the satellite by an automatically initiated spiral search scan. The function and design of the tracking system are detailed, while easy handling and tracking results.
Precise determinations of the transmission medium loss and noise temperature contribution which are important to the performance characterization of low noise microwave receiving systems and thermal noise standards are discussed. Tropospheric loss is frequently inferred from microwave radiometer noise temperature measurements. Interpretation of these measurements requires an inversion of the radiative transfer integral equation. This is inconvenient even with computer techniques. Solutions of a rapidly convergent power series of the radiative transfer equations are presented. This solution is applicable to a low loss medium with either uniform or nonuniform loss distributions. A four layer atmosphere model is investigated to demonstrate the accuracy of the solution relative to the model. Applications include thermal noise standards and single- and dual-frequency water radiometers.
A procedure to estimate wheat (Triticum aestivum L) area using sampling technique based on aerial photographs and digital LANDSAT MSS data is developed. Aerial photographs covering 720 square km are visually analyzed. To estimate wheat area, a regression approach is applied using different sample sizes and various sampling units. As the size of sampling unit decreased, the percentage of sampled area required to obtain similar estimation performance also decreased. The lowest percentage of the area sampled for wheat estimation with relatively high precision and accuracy through regression estimation is 13.90% using 10 square km as the sampling unit. Wheat area estimation using only aerial photographs is less precise and accurate than those obtained by regression estimation.
Using digitally processed MSS/LANDSAT data as auxiliary variable, a methodology to estimate wheat (Triticum aestivum L) area by means of sampling techniques was developed. To perform this research, aerial photographs covering 720 sq km in Cruz Alta test site at the NW of Rio Grande do Sul State, were visually analyzed. LANDSAT digital data were analyzed using non-supervised and supervised classification algorithms; as post-processing the classification was submitted to spatial filtering. To estimate wheat area, the regression estimation method was applied and different sample sizes and various sampling units (10, 20, 30, 40 and 60 sq km) were tested. Based on the four decision criteria established for this research, it was concluded that: (1) as the size of sampling units decreased the percentage of sampled area required to obtain similar estimation performance also decreased; (2) the lowest percentage of the area sampled for wheat estimation with relatively high precision and accuracy through regression estimation was 90% using 10 sq km s the sampling unit; and (3) wheat area estimation by direct expansion (using only aerial photographs) was less precise and accurate when compared to those obtained by means of regression estimation.
The travel times of acoustic rays traced through a climatological sound-speed profile are compared with travel times computed through the same profile containing an eddy field. The accuracy of linearizing the relations between the travel time difference and the sound-speed deviation at long ranges is assessed using calculations made for two different eddy fields measured in the eastern Atlantic. Significant nonlinearities are found in some cases, and the relationships of the values of these nonlinearities to the range between source and receiver, to the anomaly size associated with the eddies, and to the positions of the eddies are studied. An analytical model of the nonlinearities is discussed.
Many future civilian and military large space structures (LSS) will have as performance objectives stringent pointing accuracies, short settling times, relatively fast response requirements, or combinations thereof. Many of these structures will be large, light weight, and will exhibit high structural modal density at low frequency and within the control bandwidth. Although it is possible in principle to achieve structural vibration control through purely active means, experience with complex structures has shown that the realities of plant model inaccuracies and sensor/actuator dynamics frequently combine to produce substandard performance. A more desirable approach is to apply passive damping technology to reduce the active control burden. Development of the technology to apply this strategy is the objective of the PACOSS (Passive and Active Control OF Space Structures) program. A key element in the PACOSS program is the Representative System Article (RSA). The RSA is a generic paper system that serves as a testbed for damping and controls studies. It also serves as a basis for design of the smaller Dynamic Test Article (DTA), a hardware testbed for the laboratory validation of analysis and design practices developed under PACOSS.
The ECMWF wind analysis of a moisture burst over the NE Pacific Ocean occurring during a 9-day period in January 1979 is discussed. The availability of the data in synoptically active regions, and the horizontal, vertical, and temporal correlations of the data are considered. The accuracy of the wind data and the divergence in the tropics are examined. It is noted that it is necessary to maximize wind accuracy, and procedures for relating divergence to synoptic activity and satellite imagery to data correction are needed.
A 15-meter diameter deployable antenna has been built and is being used as an experimental test system with which to develop interdisciplinary controls, structures, and electromagnetics technology for large space antennas. The program objective is to study interdisciplinary issues important in optimizing large space antenna performance for a variety of potential users. The 15-meter antenna utilizes a hoop column structural concept with a gold-plated molybdenum mesh reflector. One feature of the design is the use of adjustable control cables to improve the paraboloid reflector shape. Manual adjustment of the cords after initial deployment improved surface smoothness relative to the build accuracy from 0.140 in. RMS to 0.070 in. Preliminary structural dynamics tests and near-field electromagnetic tests were made. The antenna is now being modified for further testing. Modifications include addition of a precise motorized control cord adjustment system to make the reflector surface smoother and an adaptive feed for electronic compensation of reflector surface distortions. Although the previous test results show good agreement between calculated and measured values, additional work is needed to study modelling limits for each discipline, evaluate the potential of adaptive feed compensation, and study closed-loop control performance in a dynamic environment.
The NASA Geodynamics Laser Ranging System is a spaceborne multicolor laser ranger to be used for studying regional and local scale crustal movements and will provide a capability for height profiling of ice-sheets, land terrains, cloud-tops, and other surfaces. Ranging measurements to retroreflector targets will produce intersite distances and relative heights with subcentimeter accuracy over baselines up to several hundred kilometers long. Arrays containing up to a few hundred targets can be surveyed nearly simultaneously. Altimetric profiling can be performed with spatial resolution of 80m and vertical accuracy of 10cm with the latter depending on the roughness and slope of the terrain.
For satellite orbit determination, the most accurate observable available today is microwave radio phase, which can be differenced between observing stations and between satellites to cancel both transmitter- and receiver-related errors. For maximum accuracy, the integer cycle ambiguities of the doubly differenced observations must be resolved. To perform this ambiguity resolution, a bootstrapping strategy is proposed. This strategy requires the tracking stations to have a wide ranging progression of spacings. By conventional 'integrated Doppler' processing of the observations from the most widely spaced stations, the orbits are determined well enough to permit resolution of the ambiguities for the most closely spaced stations. The resolution of these ambiguities reduces the uncertainty of the orbit determination enough to enable ambiguity resolution for more widely spaced stations, which further reduces the orbital uncertainty. In a test of this strategy with six tracking stations, both the formal and the true errors of determining Global Positioning System satellite orbits were reduced by a factor of 2.
A computer model of the three dimensional geometry and material distributions for the LDEF spacecraft, experiment trays, and, for selected trays, the components of experiments within a tray was developed for use in ionizing radiation assessments. The model is being applied to provide 3-D shielding distributions around radiation dosimeters to aid in data interpretation, particularly in assessing the directional properties of the radiation exposure. Also, the model has been interfaced with radiation transport codes for 3-D dosimetry response predictions and for calculations related to determining the accuracy of trapped proton and cosmic ray environment models. The methodology is described used in developing the 3-D LDEF model and the level of detail incorporated. Currently, the trays modeled in detail are F2, F8, and H12 and H3. Applications of the model which are discussed include the 3-D shielding distributions around various dosimeters, the influence of shielding on dosimetry responses, and comparisons of dose predictions based on the present 3-D model vs those from 1-D geometry model approximations used in initial estimates.