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At least 55 records · Page 3

The probabilistic neural network architecture for high speed classification of remotely sensed imagery

In this paper we discuss a neural network architecture (the Probabilistic Neural Net or the PNN) that, to the best of our knowledge, has not previously been applied to remotely sensed data. The PNN is a supervised non-parametric classification algorithm as opposed to the Gaussian maximum likelihood classifier (GMLC). The PNN works by fitting a Gaussian kernel to each training point. The width of the Gaussian is controlled by a tuning parameter called the window width. If very small widths are used, the method is equivalent to the nearest neighbor method. For large windows, the PNN behaves like the GMLC. The basic implementation of the PNN requires no training time at all. In this respect it is far better than the commonly used backpropagation neural network which can be shown to take O(N6) time for training where N is the dimensionality of the input vector. In addition the PNN can be implemented in a feed forward mode in hardware. The disadvantage of the PNN is that it requires all the training data to be stored. Some solutions to this problem are discussed in the paper. Finally, we discuss the accuracy of the PNN with respect to the GMLC and the backpropagation neural network (BPNN). The PNN is shown to be better than GMLC and not as good as the BPNN with regards to classification accuracy.

Chettri, Samir R.↗

Collocation and Galerkin Time-Stepping Methods

We study the numerical solutions of ordinary differential equations by one-step methods where the solution at tn is known and that at t(sub n+1) is to be calculated. The approaches employed are collocation, continuous Galerkin (CG) and discontinuous Galerkin (DG). Relations among these three approaches are established. A quadrature formula using s evaluation points is employed for the Galerkin formulations. We show that with such a quadrature, the CG method is identical to the collocation method using quadrature points as collocation points. Furthermore, if the quadrature formula is the right Radau one (including t(sub n+1)), then the DG and CG methods also become identical, and they reduce to the Radau IIA collocation method. In addition, we present a generalization of DG that yields a method identical to CG and collocation with arbitrary collocation points. Thus, the collocation, CG, and generalized DG methods are equivalent, and the latter two methods can be formulated using the differential instead of integral equation. Finally, all schemes discussed can be cast as s-stage implicit Runge-Kutta methods.

Huynh, H. T.↗

Equivalent linearization for fatigue life estimates of a nonlinear structure

An adaptation of the method of equivalent linearization is developed in order to estimate the fatigue life of a nonlinear structure excited by Gaussian white noise. While conventional equivalent linearization has been successfully applied to approximate the mean square responses of the variety of complex nonlinear systems, it has not been possible to apply the method for fatigue predictions. This limitation results from the assumption that the probability density of the response of the nonlinear system is Gaussian, which is not generally true. In the present effort, a modification of equivalent linearization, developed by the author, is employed which has been shown in recent studies to provide a much more accurate description of the random response of a nonlinear structure than provided by conventional equivalent linearization. A method is presented for estimating fatigue life based on this approach and results are compared with those obtained using both numerical simulation and the classical method. The fatigue life is estimated for a nonlinear plate vibrating in a single resonant mode with random white noise excitation. Excellent agreement is found between all three methods. These results indicate that equivalent linearization may be extended to predict the fatigue life of more complex nonlinear systems than can be analyzed at present.

Miles, R. N.↗

Distribution of Snow and Maximum Snow Water Equivalent Obtained by LANDSAT Data and Degree Day Method

Maximum snow water equivalence and snowcover distribution are estimated using several LANDSAT data taken in snowmelting season over a four year period. The test site is Okutadami-gawa Basin located in the central position of Tohoku-Kanto-Chubu District. The year to year normalization for snowmelt volume computation on the snow line is conducted by year to year correction of degree days using the snowcover percentage within the test basin obtained from LANDSAT data. The maximum snow water equivalent map in the test basin is generated based on the normalized snowmelt volume on the snow line extracted from four LANDSAT data taken in a different year. The snowcover distribution on an arbitrary day in snowmelting of 1982 is estimated from the maximum snow water equivalent map. The estimated snowcover is compared with the snowcover area extracted from NOAA-AVHRR data taken on the same day. The applicability of the snow estimation using LANDSAT data is discussed.

Takeda, K.↗

Constitutive Modeling of Nanotube/Polymer Composites with Various Nanotube Orientations

In this study, a technique has been proposed for developing constitutive models for polymer composite systems reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) with various orientations with respect to the bulk material coordinates. A nanotube, the local polymer adjacent to the nanotube, and the nanotube/polymer interface have been modeled as an equivalent-continuum fiber by using an equivalent-continuum modeling method. The equivalent-continuum fiber accounts for the local molecular structure and bonding information and serves as a means for incorporating micromechanical analyses for the prediction of bulk mechanical properties of SWNT/polymer composite. As an example, the proposed approach is used for the constitutive modeling of a SWNT/LaRC-SI (with a PmPV interface) composite system, with aligned nanotubes, three-dimensionally randomly oriented nanotubes, and nanotubes oriented with varying degrees of axisymmetry. It is shown that the Young s modulus is highly dependent on the SWNT orientation distribution.

Odegard, Gregory M.↗

A critical study of higher-order numerical methods for solving the boundary-layer equations

A fourth-order box method is presented for calculating numerical solutions to parabolic, partial differential equations in two variables or ordinary differential equations. The method is the natural extension of the second-order Keller Box Scheme to fourth order and is demonstrated with application to the incompressible, laminar and turbulent boundary-layer equations. The efficiency of the present method is compared with other two-point and three-point higher-order methods; namely, the Keller Box Scheme with Richardson extrapolation, the method of deferred corrections, and the three-point spline methods. For equivalent accuracy, numerical results show the present method to be more efficient than the other higher-order methods for both laminar and turbulent flows.

Wornom, S. F.↗

Application of higher-order numerical methods to the boundary-layer equations

A fourth-order method is presented for calculating numerical solutions to parabolic, partial differential equations in two variables or ordinary differential equations. The method is the natural extension of the second-order Keller Box Scheme to fourth order and is demonstrated with application to the incompressible, laminar and turbulent boundary-layer equations for both attached and separated flows. The efficiency of the present method is compared with other higher-order methods; namely, the Keller Box Scheme with Richardson extrapolation, the method of deferred corrections, the three-point spline methods, and a modified finite-element method. For equivalent accuracy, numerical results show the present method to be more efficient than the other higher-order methods for both laminar and turbulent flows.

Wornom, S. F.↗

Critical study of higher order numerical methods for solving the boundary-layer equations

A fourth order box method is presented for calculating numerical solutions to parabolic, partial differential equations in two variables or ordinary differential equations. The method, which is the natural extension of the second order box scheme to fourth order, was demonstrated with application to the incompressible, laminar and turbulent, boundary layer equations. The efficiency of the present method is compared with two point and three point higher order methods, namely, the Keller box scheme with Richardson extrapolation, the method of deferred corrections, a three point spline method, and a modified finite element method. For equivalent accuracy, numerical results show the present method to be more efficient than higher order methods for both laminar and turbulent flows.

Wornom, S. F.↗

Multiple Coarse Grid Multigrid Methods for Solving Elliptic Problems

In this paper we describe some classes of multigrid methods for solving large linear systems arising in the solution by finite difference methods of certain boundary value problems involving Poisson's equation on rectangular regions. If parallel computing systems are used, then with standard multigrid methods many of the processors will be idle when one is working at the coarsest grid levels. We describe the use of Multiple Coarse Grid MultiGrid (MCGMG) methods. Here one first constructs a periodic set of equations corresponding to the given system. One then constructs a set of coarse grids such that for each grid corresponding to the grid size h there are four grids corresponding to the grid size 2*h. Multigrid operations such as restriction of residuals and interpolation of corrections are done in parallel at each grid level. For suitable choices of the multigrid operators the MCGMG method is equivalent to the Parallel Superconvergent MultiGrid (PSMG) method of Frederickson and McBryan. The convergence properties of MCGMG methods can be accurately analyzed using spectral methods.

Xiao, Shengyou↗

Equivalent linearization for fatigue life estimates of a nonlinear structure

An analysis is presented of the suitability of the method of equivalent linearization for estimating the fatigue life of a nonlinear structure. Comparisons are made of the fatigue life of a nonlinear plate as predicted using conventional equivalent linearization and three other more accurate methods. The excitation of the plate is assumed to be Gaussian white noise and the plate response is modeled using a single resonant mode. The methods used for comparison consist of numerical simulation, a probabalistic formulation, and a modification of equivalent linearization which avoids the usual assumption that the response process is Gaussian. Remarkably close agreement is obtained between all four methods, even for cases where the response is significantly linear.

Miles, R. N.↗

Equivalent linearization for fatigue life estimates of a nonlinear structure

An analysis is presented of the suitability of the method of equivalent linearization for estimating the fatigue life of a nonlinear structure. Comparisons are made of the fatigue life of a nonlinear plate as predicted using conventional equivalent linearization and three other more accurate methods. The excitation of the plate is assumed to be Gaussian white noise and the plate response is modeled using a single resonant mode. The methods used for comparison consist of numerical simulation, a probabilistic formulation, and a modification of equivalent linearization which avoids the usual assumption that the response process is Gaussian. Remarkably close agreement is obtained between all four methods, even for cases where the response is significantly linear.

Miles, R. N.↗

Shape sensitivity analysis of wing static aeroelastic characteristics

A method is presented to calculate analytically the sensitivity derivatives of wing static aeroelastic characteristics with respect to wing shape parameters. The wing aerodynamic response under fixed total load is predicted with Weissinger's L-method; its structural response is obtained with Giles' equivalent plate method. The characteristics of interest include the spanwise distribution of lift, trim angle of attack, rolling and pitching moments, wind induced drag, as well as the divergence dynamic pressure. The shape parameters considered are the wing area, aspect ratio, taper ratio, sweep angle, and tip twist angle. Results of sensitivity studies indicate that: (1) approximations based on analytical sensitivity derivatives can be used over wide ranges of variations of the shape parameters considered, and (2) the analytical calculation of sensitivity derivatives is significantly less expensive than the conventional finite-difference alternative.

Barthelemy, Jean-Francois M.↗

Shape sensitivity analysis of wing static aeroelastic characteristics

A method is presented to calculate analytically the sensitivity derivatives of wing static aeroelastic characteristics with respect to wing shape parameters. The wing aerodynamic response under fixed total load is predicted using Weissinger's L-method; its structural response is obtained with Giles' equivalent plate method. The characteristics of interest in this study include the spanwise distribution of lift, trim angle of attack, rolling and pitching moments, wing induced drag as well as the divergence dynamic pressure. The shape parameters considered are the wing area, aspect ratio, taper ratio, sweep angle and tip twist angle. Results of sensitivity studies indicate that (1) approximations based on analytical sensitivity derivatives can be used for wide ranges of variations of the shape parameters considered and (2) the analytical calculation of sensitivity derivatives is significantly less expensive than the conventional finite difference alternative.

Barthelemy, Jean-Francois M.↗

Method of Generating Transient Equivalent Sink and Test Target Temperatures for Swift BAT

The NASA Swift mission has a 600-km altitude and a 22 degrees maximum inclination. The sun angle varies from 45 degrees to 180 degrees in normal operation. As a result, environmental heat fluxes absorbed by the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) radiator and loop heat pipe (LHP) compensation chambers (CCs) vary transiently. Therefore the equivalent sink temperatures for the radiator and CCs varies transiently. In thermal performance verification testing in vacuum, the radiator and CCs radiated heat to sink targets. This paper presents an analytical technique for generating orbit transient equivalent sink temperatures and a technique for generating transient sink target temperatures for the radiator and LHP CCs. Using these techniques, transient target temperatures for the radiator and LHP CCs were generated for three thermal environmental cases: worst hot case, worst cold case, and cooldown and warmup between worst hot case in sunlight and worst cold case in the eclipse, and three different heat transport values: 128 W, 255 W, and 382 W. The 128 W case assumed that the two LHPs transport 255 W equally to the radiator. The 255 W case assumed that one LHP fails so that the remaining LHP transports all the waste heat from the detector array to the radiator. The 382 W case assumed that one LHP fails so that the remaining LHP transports all the waste heat from the detector array to the radiator, and has a 50% design margin. All these transient target temperatures were successfully implemented in the engineering test unit (ETU) LHP and flight LHP thermal performance verification tests in vacuum.

Choi, Michael K.↗

Evaluation of Multiple Methods for Calculating Gray Equivalent

The assessment of different algorithms to determine the Gray-Equivalent as defined in NASA-STD-3001 from a source of space radiation has been evaluated in this paper. The Gray-Equivalent applies an RBE (Relative Biological Effectiveness) to the dose seen at the organ of interest in a human phantom. The current design basis solar particle event was used in the assessments along with the August 1972 event modeled by J.H. King and with idealized spheres and two vehicle designs. Three different algorithms were used and compared. One of the algorithms was the current OLTARIS algorithm. This algorithm is astronaut orientation averaged, which is not what happens in a storm shelter during a solar particle event. Two other algorithms were proposed to eliminate this issue. It is clear that either algorithm will be adequate to satisfy NASA-STD-3001 requirements. This work recommends the algorithm which applies the RBEs to the phantom points instead of at the surface of the phantom as with the current OLTARIS algorithm.

Gray Equivalent↗

Classification and equivalence in estimation theory

A method is proposed for classifying estimation problems based on the Lie algebra generated by the operators which appear in the conditional density equation. A natural class of automorphisms of this algebra is examined and a systematic method of generating equivalent problems is developed. Finally, a new class of nonlinear filtering problems with essentially nonlinear filtering equations are presented.

Brockett, R. W.↗

Demonstrating Computational Equivalence Between Continuous and Discrete Adjoint Methods by Calculating Time-Dependent Adjoint Solutions with Neutron Diffusion Models

The continuous adjoint method and the discrete adjoint method are two alternative approaches used to calculate adjoint solutions for adjoint systems. The continuous adjoint method derives adjoint equations analytically from continuous forward equations and then solves the adjoint equations either analytically or numerically in a discretized form whereas the discrete adjoint method calculates the adjoint solutions directly from the discretized forward equations. With regard to the methodology development and calculation procedure, distinct differences are well recognized between the two methods. For certain reasons, both methods are exclusively preferred and commonly used by different computational communities, but limited studies clarify the connections between the two adjoint methods from either of the communities. Herein, this paper demonstrates the computational equivalence between the continuous and discrete adjoint methods by investigating time-dependent adjoint solutions to the two-group neutron diffusion model in nuclear reactor analysis problems using both methods. Adjoint solutions can be used to estimate system parameters for reactor safety analysis. Appropriate final state conditions for the adjoint systems are specified in both of the methods, and the conditions are clarified with proper physical explanations. With the help of an event-based case study on neutron diffusion models, the accuracy of the time-dependent adjoint fluxes obtained from both methods is verified, and the pros and cons of both adjoint methods are examined. More importantly, the computational equivalence of both methods is demonstrated when they are applied to multigroup neutron diffusion systems. The advantage of calculating time-dependent adjoint fluxes by directly solving time-dependent adjoint systems rather than taking steady-state approximations as in common practice is also demonstrated.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗