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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.

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At least 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

Enhancement of Otolith Specific Ocular Responses Using Vestibular Stochastic Resonance

Introduction: Astronauts experience disturbances in sensorimotor function after spaceflight during the initial introduction to a gravitational environment, especially after long-duration missions. Our goal is to develop a countermeasure based on vestibular stochastic resonance (SR) that could improve central interpretation of vestibular input and mitigate these risks. SR is a mechanism by which noise can assist and enhance the response of neural systems to relevant, imperceptible sensory signals. We have previously shown that imperceptible electrical stimulation of the vestibular system enhances balance performance while standing on an unstable surface. Methods: Eye movement data were collected from 10 subjects during variable radius centrifugation (VRC). Subjects performed 11 trials of VRC that provided equivalent tilt stimuli from otolith and other graviceptor input without the normal concordant canal cues. Bipolar stochastic electrical stimulation, in the range of 0-1500 microamperes, was applied to the vestibular system using a constant current stimulator through electrodes placed over the mastoid process behind the ears. In the VRC paradigm, subjects were accelerated to 216 deg./s. After the subjects no longer sensed rotation, the chair oscillated along a track at 0.1 Hz to provide tilt stimuli of 10 deg. Eye movements were recorded for 6 cycles while subjects fixated on a target in darkness. Ocular counter roll (OCR) movement was calculated from the eye movement data during periods of chair oscillations. Results: Preliminary analysis of the data revealed that 9 of 10 subjects showed an average increase of 28% in the magnitude of OCR responses to the equivalent tilt stimuli while experiencing vestibular SR. The signal amplitude at which performance was maximized was in the range of 100-900 microamperes. Discussion: These results indicate that stochastic electrical stimulation of the vestibular system can improve otolith specific responses. This will have a significant impact on development of vestibular SR delivery systems to aid recovery of function in astronauts after long-duration spaceflight or in people with balance disorders.

Fiedler, Matthew↗
NASA NTRS2013

The Effect of Fiber Strength Stochastics and Local Fiber Volume Fraction on Multiscale Progressive Failure of Composites

Continuous fiber unidirectional polymer matrix composites (PMCs) can exhibit significant local variations in fiber volume fraction as a result of processing conditions that can lead to further local differences in material properties and failure behavior. In this work, the coupled effects of both local variations in fiber volume fraction and the empirically-based statistical distribution of fiber strengths on the predicted longitudinal modulus and local tensile strength of a unidirectional AS4 carbon fiber/ Hercules 3502 epoxy composite were investigated using the special purpose NASA Micromechanics Analysis Code with Generalized Method of Cells (MAC/GMC); local effective composite properties were obtained by homogenizing the material behavior over repeating units cells (RUCs). The predicted effective longitudinal modulus was relatively insensitive to small (~8%) variations in local fiber volume fraction. The composite tensile strength, however, was highly dependent on the local distribution in fiber strengths. The RUC-averaged constitutive response can be used to characterize lower length scale material behavior within a multiscale analysis framework that couples the NASA code FEAMAC and the ABAQUS finite element solver. Such an approach can be effectively used to analyze the progressive failure of PMC structures whose failure initiates at the RUC level. Consideration of the effect of local variations in constituent properties and morphologies on progressive failure of PMCs is a central aspect of the application of Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) principles for composite materials.

multiscale analysis↗
NASA NTRS1989

Computations of turbulent evaporating sprays

A computational study of turbulent evaporating sprays is reported. The major focus is to examine the sensitivity of the vaporization behavior of turbulent sprays to the transient liquid-phase processes. Three models considered to represent these processes are the thin skin, infinite diffusion, and diffusion limit models. Favre-averaged equations with k-epsilon-g turbulence model are employed for the gas phase. The Lagrangian approach with a stochastic separated flow method is used for the liquid phase where the effects of gas turbulence on droplet trajectories and interphase transport rates are considered using random-walk computations. Also the variable-property effects are considered in detail. Results indicate that, depending upon the boiling temperature and heat of vaporization of the fuel considered, the vaporization behavior of turbulent sprays may be quite sensitive to the modeling of transient liquid-phase processes. Thus, it is important that for most hydrocarbon fuels these processes be adequately represented in any comprehensive spray computations. The present results also provide further support to the conclusions of earlier studies which have been based on simplified spray configurations.

Aggarwal, S. K.↗
NASA NTRS1971

The role and use of the stochastic linear-quadratic-Gaussian problem in control system design.

The role of the linear-quadratic stochastic control problem in engineering design is reviewed in tutorial fashion. The design approach is motivated by considering the control of a nonlinear uncertain plant about a desired input-output response. It is demonstrated how a design philosophy based on (1) deterministic perturbation control, (2) stochastic state estimation, and (3) linearized stochastic control leads to an overall closed-loop control system. The emphasis of the paper is on the philosophy of the design process, the modeling issue, and the formulation of the problem; the results are given for the sake of completeness, but no proofs are included. The systematic off-line nature of the design process is stressed throughout.

Athans, M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Filtering Image Records Using Wavelets and the Zakai Equation

Consider the problem of detecting and localizing a faint object moving In an "essentially stationary" background, using a sequence of two-dimensional low-SNR images of the scene. A natural approach consists of "digitizing" each snapshot into a discrete set of observations, sufficiently (perhaps not exactly) matched to the object In question, then tracking the object using an appropriate stochastic filter. The tracking would be expected to make up for the low signal-to-noise ratio, this allowing one to "coherently" process successive images in order to beat down the noise and localize the object. Thus, "tracking" here does not refer to the usual notion of detecting then tracking: rather, we track in order to detect The problem then becomes one of choosing the appropriate image representation as well as the optimal (and necessarily nonlinear filter. We propose exact and approximate solutions using wavelets and the Zakai equation. The smoothness of the wavelets used is required in the derivation of the evolution equation for the conditional density giving the filter, and their orthogonality makes it possible to carry out actual computations of the Ito- and change-of-gauge-terms in the algorithm effectively.

Haddad, Ziad S.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Parallel discrete-event simulation of FCFS stochastic queueing networks

Physical systems are inherently parallel. Intuition suggests that simulations of these systems may be amenable to parallel execution. The parallel execution of a discrete-event simulation requires careful synchronization of processes in order to ensure the execution's correctness; this synchronization can degrade performance. Largely negative results were recently reported in a study which used a well-known synchronization method on queueing network simulations. Discussed here is a synchronization method (appointments), which has proven itself to be effective on simulations of FCFS queueing networks. The key concept behind appointments is the provision of lookahead. Lookahead is a prediction on a processor's future behavior, based on an analysis of the processor's simulation state. It is shown how lookahead can be computed for FCFS queueing network simulations, give performance data that demonstrates the method's effectiveness under moderate to heavy loads, and discuss performance tradeoffs between the quality of lookahead, and the cost of computing lookahead.

Nicol, David M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Extended H2 synthesis for multiple degree-of-freedom controllers

H2 synthesis techniques are developed for a general multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) system subject to both stochastic and deterministic disturbances. The H2 synthesis is extended by incorporation of anticipated disturbances power-spectral-density information into the controller-design process, as well as by frequency weightings of generalized coordinates and control inputs. The methodology is applied to a simple single-input-multiple-output (SIMO) problem, analogous to the type of vibration isolation problem anticipated in microgravity research experiments.

Hampton, R. David↗
NASA NTRS1991

Frequency stability of GPS NAVSTAR block 1 and block 2 on-orbit clocks

Analysis of the frequency stability of the on-orbit NAVSTAR clocks os performed by the Naval Research Laboratory. The frequency stability is presented for sample times of one day to 30 days. Composite frequency stability profiles are presented for Block 1 and Block 2 NAVSTAR clocks. Several NAVSTAR cesium clocks show frequency stabilities of a few parts in 10^(14) for long sample times. Time-domain noise-process analysis shows the dominant noise type to be white frequency noise for sample times of one to ten days. The non-stationary stochastic behavior of one of the cesium clocks, illustrated by its frequency stability history, shows that the frequency stability is not always time-invariant.

Thomas B. Mccaskill↗
NASA NTRS1994

Fundamental and harmonic radiation in type III solar radio bursts

Type III solar radio bursts are investigated by modeling the propagation of the electron beam and the generation and subsequent propagation of waves to the observer. Predictions from this model are compared in detail with particle, Langmuir wave, and radio data from the International Sun Earth Explorer-3 (ISSE-3) spacecraft and with other observations to clarify the roles of fundamental and harmonic emission in type III radio bursts. Langmuir waves are seen only after the arrival of the beam, in accord with the standard theory. These waves persist after a positive beam slope is last resolved, implying that sporadic positive slopes persist for some time, unresolved but in accord with the predictions of stochastic growth theory. Local electromagnetic emission sets in only after Langmuir waves are seen, in accord with the standard theory, which relies on nonlinear processes involving Langmuir waves. In the events investigated here, fundamental radiation appears to dominate early in the event, followed and/or accompanied by harmonic radiation after the peak, with a long-lived tail of multiply scattered fundamental or harmonic emission extending long afterwards. These results are largely independent of, but generally consistent with, the conclusions of earlier works.

Robinson, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Refractory grain processing in circumstellar shells Diagnostic infrared signatures

Recent advances in infrared speckle interferometry reported by Ridgway, et al. (1986) have made possible the determination of the temperatures at the inner radius of certain dusty outflows. When combined with recent data on the thermal annealing and hydrous alteration rates of amorphous magnesium silicate grains, this information allows one to predict that grains heated to high temperatures around stars such as NML Cygnus will be more crystalline than will cooler grains around stars like IRC +10420. In 1985, Jura and Morris (1985) showed that water vapor can condense on previously nucleated refractory grains in some stellar outflows. Stochastic heating events might provide sufficient energy to produce hydrated silicates from orginally amorphous grains provided that the loss of water from such materials does not occur too rapidly. Observable consequences of both types of grain processing are discussed.

Nuth, Joseph A., III↗
NASA NTRS1975

Design of optimal partial state feedback controllers for linear systems in stochastic environments

The problem of obtaining an optimal control law, which is constrained to be a feedback of the available measurements, is considered for both continuous and discrete time linear systems subjected to additive white process noise and measurement noise. Necessary conditions are obtained for minimizing a quadratic performance function for both finite and infinite duration cases. The feedback gain matrices are constrained to be constant for the infinite duration cases. For all the cases considered, algorithms are derived for generating sequences of feedback gain matrices which successively improve the performance function. Computational aspects are discussed via application to two continuous time processes, including a helicopter/slung load system subjected to measurement noise and random wind gust input.

Joshi, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Absolute value optimization to estimate phase properties of stochastic time series

Most existing deconvolution techniques are incapable of determining phase properties of wavelets from time series data; to assure a unique solution, minimum phase is usually assumed. It is demonstrated, for moving average processes of order one, that deconvolution filtering using the absolute value norm provides an estimate of the wavelet shape that has the correct phase character when the random driving process is nonnormal. Numerical tests show that this result probably applies to more general processes.

Scargle, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Stochastic and fractal analysis of fracture trajectories

Analyses of fracture trajectories are used to investigate structures that fall between 'micro' and 'macro' scales. It was shown that fracture trajectories belong to the class of nonstationary processes. It was also found that correlation distance, which may be related to a characteristic size of a fracture process, increases with crack length. An assemblage of crack trajectory processes may be considered as a diffusive process. Chudnovsky (1981-1985) introduced a 'crack diffusion coefficient' d which reflects the ability of the material to deviate the crack trajectory from the most energetically efficient path and thus links the material toughness to its structure. For the set of fracture trajectories in AISI 304 steel, d was found to be equal to 1.04 microns. The fractal dimension D for the same set of trajectories was found to be 1.133.

Bessendorf, Michael H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Stochastic histories of dust grains in the interstellar medium

The purpose is to study an evolving system of refractory dust grains within the Interstellar Medium (ISM). This is done via a combination of Monte Carlo processes and a system of partial differential equations, where refractory dust grains formed within supernova remnants and ejecta from high mass loss stars are subjected to the processes of sputtering and collisional fragmentation in the diffuse media and accretion within the cold molecular clouds. In order to record chemical detail, the authors take each new particle to consist of a superrefractory core plus a more massive refractory mantle. The particles are allowed to transfer to and fro between the different phases of the interstellar medium (ISM) - on a time scale of 10(exp 8) years - until either the particles are destroyed or the program finishes at a Galaxy time of 6x10(exp 9) years. The resulting chemical and size spectrum(s) are then applied to various astrophysical problems with the following results. For an ISM which has no collisional fragmentation of the dust grains, roughly 10 percent by mass of the most refractory material survives the rigors of the ISM intact, which leaves open the possibility that fossilized isotopically anomalous material may have been present within the primordial solar nebula. Stuctured or layered refractory dust grains within the model cannot explain the observed interstellar depletions of refractory material. Fragmentation due to grain-grain collisions in the diffuse phase plus the accretion of material in the molecular cloud phase can under certain circumstances cause a bimodal distribution in grain size.

Liffman, Kurt↗
NASA NTRS1991

A Scheduling Algorithm for Replicated Real-Time Tasks

We present an algorithm for scheduling real-time periodic tasks on a multiprocessor system under fault-tolerant requirement. Our approach incorporates both the redundancy and masking technique and the imprecise computation model. Since the tasks in hard real-time systems have stringent timing constraints, the redundancy and masking technique are more appropriate than the rollback techniques which usually require extra time for error recovery. The imprecise computation model provides flexible functionality by trading off the quality of the result produced by a task with the amount of processing time required to produce it. It therefore permits the performance of a real-time system to degrade gracefully. We evaluate the algorithm by stochastic analysis and Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that the algorithm is resilient under hardware failures.

Yu, Albert C.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Probabilistic Structural Analysis Methods (PSAM) for Select Space Propulsion System Components

Probabilistic Structural Analysis Methods (PSAM) are described for the probabilistic structural analysis of engine components for current and future space propulsion systems. Components for these systems are subjected to stochastic thermomechanical launch loads. Uncertainties or randomness also occurs in material properties, structural geometry, and boundary conditions. Material property stochasticity, such as in modulus of elasticity or yield strength, exists in every structure and is a consequence of variations in material composition and manufacturing processes. Procedures are outlined for computing the probabilistic structural response or reliability of the structural components. The response variables include static or dynamic deflections, strains, and stresses at one or several locations, natural frequencies, fatigue or creep life, etc. Sample cases illustrates how the PSAM methods and codes simulate input uncertainties and compute probabilistic response or reliability using a finite element model with probabilistic methods.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1986

Analysis of modeling errors in system identification

This paper is concerned with the identification of a system in the presence of several error sources. Following some basic definitions, the notion of 'near-equivalence in probability' is introduced using the concept of near-equivalence between a model and process. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the identifiability of system parameters are given. The effect of structural error on the parameter estimates for both deterministic and stochastic cases are considered.

Hadaegh, F. Y.↗