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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Remote sensing of precipitation structures using combined microwave radar and radiometric techniques

After reviewing published multiparameter radar observations and their interpretation for microphysical retrieval, the paper presents radiative transfer model simulations performed using radar measurements and a cloud model. The qualitative and quantitative aspects of the remote sensing of precipitation are discussed with particular attention given to the potential of estimating scattering-based ice water path.

Vivekanandan, J.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Modeling the Impact of Drizzle and 3D Cloud Structure on Remote Sensing of Effective Radius

Remote sensing of cloud particle size with passive sensors like MODIS is an important tool for cloud microphysical studies. As a measure of the radiatively relevant droplet size, effective radius can be retrieved with different combinations of visible through shortwave infrared channels. MODIS observations sometimes show significantly larger effective radii in marine boundary layer cloud fields derived from the 1.6 and 2.1 pm channel observations than for 3.7 pm retrievals. Possible explanations range from 3D radiative transport effects and sub-pixel cloud inhomogeneity to the impact of drizzle formation on the droplet distribution. To investigate the potential influence of these factors, we use LES boundary layer cloud simulations in combination with 3D Monte Carlo simulations of MODIS observations. LES simulations of warm cloud spectral microphysics for cases of marine stratus and broken stratocumulus, each for two different values of cloud condensation nuclei density, produce cloud structures comprising droplet size distributions with and without drizzle size drops. In this study, synthetic MODIS observations generated from 3D radiative transport simulations that consider the full droplet size distribution will be generated for each scene. The operational MODIS effective radius retrievals will then be applied to the simulated reflectances and the results compared with the LES microphysics.

Platnick, Steven↗
NASA NTRS1991

Vibration sensing in flexible structures using a distributed-effect modal domain optical fiber sensor

Modal domain optical fiber sensors have recently been employed in the implementation of system identification algorithms and the closed-loop control of vibrations in flexible structures. The mathematical model of the modal domain optical fiber sensor used in these applications, however, only accounted for the effects of strain in the direction of the fiber's longitudinal axis. In this paper, we extend this model to include the effects of arbitrary stress. Using this sensor model, we characterize the sensor's sensitivity and dynamic range.

Reichard, Karl M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Discrete distributed strain sensing of intelligent structures

Techniques are developed for the design of discrete highly distributed sensor systems for use in intelligent structures. First the functional requirements for such a system are presented. Discrete spatially averaging strain sensors are then identified as satisfying the functional requirements. A variety of spatial weightings for spatially averaging sensors are examined, and their wave number characteristics are determined. Preferable spatial weightings are identified. Several numerical integration rules used to integrate such sensors in order to determine the global deflection of the structure are discussed. A numerical simulation is conducted using point and rectangular sensors mounted on a cantilevered beam under static loading. Gage factor and sensor position uncertainties are incorporated to assess the absolute error and standard deviation of the error in the estimated tip displacement found by numerically integrating the sensor outputs. An experiment is carried out using a statically loaded cantilevered beam with five point sensors. It is found that in most cases the actual experimental error is within one standard deviation of the absolute error as found in the numerical simulation.

Anderson, Mark S.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Control of flexible structures with distributed sensing and processing

Technology is being developed to process signals from distributed sensors using distributed computations. These distributed sensors provide a new feedback capability for vibration control that has not been exploited. Additionally, the sensors proposed are of an optical and distributed nature and could be employed with known techniques of distributed optical computation (Fourier optics, etc.) to accomplish the control system functions of filtering and regulation in a distributed computer. This paper extends the traditional digital, optimal estimation and control theory to include distributed sensing and processing for this application. The design model assumes a finite number of modes which make it amenable to empirical determination of the design model via familiar modal-test techniques. The sensors are assumed to be distributed, but a finite number of point actuators are used. The design process is illustrated by application to a Euler beam. A simulation of the beam is used to design an optimal vibration control system that uses a distributed deflection sensor and nine linear force actuators. Simulations are also used to study the influence of design and processing errors on the performance.

Ghosh, Dave↗
NASA NTRS2017

UAV Inspection of Electrical Transmission Infrastructure with Path Conformance Autonomy and Lidar-Based Geofences NASA Report on UTM Reference Mission Flights at Southern Company Flights November 2016

Flights at low altitudes in close proximity to electrical transmission infrastructure present serious navigational challenges: GPS and radio communication quality is variable and yet tight position control is needed to measure defects while avoiding collisions with ground structures. To advance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigation technology while accomplishing a task with economic and societal benefit, a high voltage electrical infrastructure inspection reference mission was designed. An integrated air-ground platform was developed for this mission and tested in two days of experimental flights to determine whether navigational augmentation was needed to successfully conduct a controlled inspection experiment. The airborne component of the platform was a multirotor UAV built from commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software, and the ground component was a commercial laptop running open source software. A compact ultraviolet sensor mounted on the UAV can locate 'hot spots' (potential failure points in the electric grid), so long as the UAV flight path adequately samples the airspace near the power grid structures. To improve navigation, the platform was supplemented with two navigation technologies: lidar-to-polyhedron preflight processing for obstacle demarcation and inspection distance planning, and trajectory management software to enforce inspection standoff distance. Both navigation technologies were essential to obtaining useful results from the hot spot sensor in this obstacle-rich, low-altitude airspace. Because the electrical grid extends into crowded airspaces, the UAV position was tracked with NASA unmanned aerial system traffic management (UTM) technology. The following results were obtained: (1) Inspection of high-voltage electrical transmission infrastructure to locate 'hot spots' of ultraviolet emission requires navigation methods that are not broadly available and are not needed at higher altitude flights above ground structures. (2) The sensing capability of a novel airborne UV detector was verified with a standard ground-based instrument. Flights with this sensor showed that UAV measurement operations and recording methods are viable. With improved sensor range, UAVs equipped with compact UV sensors could serve as the detection elements in a self-diagnosing power grid. (3) Simplification of rich lidar maps to polyhedral obstacle maps reduces data volume by orders of magnitude, so that computation with the resultant maps in real time is possible. This enables real-time obstacle avoidance autonomy. Stable navigation may be feasible in the GPS-deprived environment near transmission lines by a UAV that senses ground structures and compares them to these simplified maps. (4) A new, formally verified path conformance software system that runs onboard a UAV was demonstrated in flight for the first time. It successfully maneuvered the aircraft after a sudden lateral perturbation that models a gust of wind, and processed lidar-derived polyhedral obstacle maps in real time. (5) Tracking of the UAV in the national airspace using the NASA UTM technology was a key safety component of this reference mission, since the flights were conducted beneath the landing approach to a heavily used runway. Comparison to autopilot tracking showed that UTM tracking accurately records the UAV position throughout the flight path.

Moore, Andrew J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Combining Sense and Intelligence for Smart Structures

IFOS developed the I*Sense technology with assistance from a NASA Langley Research Center SBIR contract. NASA and IFOS collaborated to create sensing network designs that have high sensitivity, low power consumption, and significant potential for mass production. The joint- research effort led to the development of a module that is rugged, compact and light-weight, and immune to electromagnetic interference. These features make the I*Sense multisensor arrays favorable for smart structure applications, including smart buildings, bridges, highways, dams, power plants, ships, and oil tankers, as well as space vehicles, space stations, and other space structures. For instance, the system can be used as an early warning and detection device, with alarms being set to monitor the maximum allowable strain and stress values at various points of a given structure.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2023

From Remotely-Sensed SIF to Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Service: Part I - Harnessing Theory

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is a remotely sensed optical signal emitted during the light reactions of photosynthesis. The past two decades have witnessed an explosion in availability of SIF data at increasingly higher spatial and temporal resolutions, sparking applications in diverse research sectors (e.g., ecology, agriculture, hydrology, climate, and socioeconomics). These applications must deal with complexities caused by tremendous variations in scale and the impacts of interacting and superimposing plant physiology and three-dimensional vegetation structure on the emission and scattering of SIF. At present, these complexities have not been overcome. To advance future research, the two companion reviews aim to (1) develop an analytical framework for inferring terrestrial vegetation structures and function that are tied to SIF emission, (2) synthesize progress and identify challenges in SIF research via the lens of multi-sector applications, and (3) map out actionable solutions to tackle these challenges and offer our vision for research priorities over the next 5–10 years based on the proposed analytical framework. This paper is the first of the two companion reviews, and theory oriented. It introduces a theoretically rigorous yet practically applicable analytical framework. Guided by this framework, we offer theoretical perspectives on three overarching questions: (1) The forward (mechanism) question—How are the dynamics of SIF affected by terrestrial ecosystem structure and function? (2) The inference question: What aspects of terrestrial ecosystem structure, function, and service can be reliably inferred from remotely sensed SIF and how? (3) The innovation question: What innovations are needed to realize the full potential of SIF remote sensing for real-world applications under climate change? The analytical framework elucidates that process complexity must be appreciated in inferring ecosystem structure and function from the observed SIF; this framework can serve as a diagnosis and inference tool for versatile applications across diverse spatial and temporal scales.

carbon fluxes↗
NASA NTRS2004

Remote Sensing of the Haughton Impact Structure (HIS): A Terrestrial Proof of Concept for Using the Remote Sensing of Martian Craters as a Probe of Subsurface Composition

Impact cratering is the most widespread geological process in the Solar System. Impact craters can provide 'windows' into the subsurfaces of planetary bodies through excavation and uplift. By utilizing remote methods in the visible and near infrared (VNIR; 0.4-1.4 micron), short-wavelength infrared (SWIR; 1.4-2.5 micron) and thermal infrared (TIR 7-14 micron), subsurface mineral compositions may be identified and mapped via impact craters. Complex craters in particular, expose minerals from both the shallow and deep-seated subsurface, which may be identified spectroscopically. Complex craters have morphological features such as central peaks or peak rings, which are composed of relatively coherent lithologies tapped from deep-seated crustal components. While near-surface crustal components can be observed as coherent rocks uplifted and exposed in the rim and the crater walls, and from the ejecta deposits. Only two previously published studies using this approach have been successful on large planetary bodies. Tompkins and Pieters utilized ultraviolet and VNIR from Clementine to characterize near- and deep-subsurface materials in and around lunar craters. The work of Ramsey and Wright was the first remote spectroscopic study to successfully identify near-subsurface materials in the ejecta and crater wall of a terrestrial impact structure, namely Meteor Crater. Here we present early results of a third such study, a remote spectroscopy evaluation of the Haughton impact structure (HIS). The purpose of this study is to serve as terrestrial proof of concept that remote visible/infrared spectroscopic methods in this case, analysis of LANDSAT 7 ETM+ and ASTER data of the well-preserved HIS can be utilized in deciphering the subsurface composition of planetary crusts. This technique is particularly promising for Mars were limited tectonic uplift and ubiquitous dust-mantling offer few opportunities to access subsurface information.

Tornabene, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Forest Attributes from Radar Interferometric Structure and its Fusion with Optical Remote Sensing

The possibility of global, three-dimensional remote sensing of forest structure with interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) bears on important forest ecological processes, particularly the carbon cycle. InSAR supplements two-dimensional remote sensing with information in the vertical dimension. Its strengths in potential for global coverage complement those of lidar (light detecting and ranging), which has the potential for high-accuracy vertical profiles over small areas. InSAR derives its sensitivity to forest vertical structure from the differences in signals received by two, spatially separate radar receivers. Estimation of parameters describing vertical structure requires multiple-polarization, multiple-frequency, or multiple-baseline InSAR. Combining InSAR with complementary remote sensing techniques, such as hyperspectral optical imaging and lidar, can enhance vertical-structure estimates and consequent biophysical quantities of importance to ecologists, such as biomass. Future InSAR experiments will supplement recent airborne and spaceborne demonstrations, and together with inputs from ecologists regarding structure, they will suggest designs for future spaceborne strategies for measuring global vegetation structure.

InSAR↗
NASA NTRS1991

Active control for vibration suppression in a flexible beam using a modal domain optical fiber sensor

An account is given of the use of a modal-domain (MD) fiber-optic sensor as an active control system component for vibration suppression, whose output is proportional to the integral of the axial strain along the optical fiber. When an MD sensor is attached to, or embedded in, a flexible structure, it senses the strain in the structure along its gage length. On the basis of the present integration of the sensor model into a flexible-structure model, it becomes possible to design a control system with a dynamic compensator which adds damping to the low-order modes of the flexible structure. This modeling procedure has been experimentally validated.

Cox, D. E.↗