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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 541 records · Page 30
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

Basic research and data analysis for the National Geodetic Satellite program and for the Earth Surveys program

Current research is reported on precise and accurate descriptions of the earth's surface and gravitational field and on time variations of geophysical parameters. A new computer program was written in connection with the adjustment of the BC-4 worldwide geometric satellite triangulation net. The possibility that an increment to accuracy could be transferred from a super-control net to the basic geodetic (first-order triangulation) was investigated. Coordinates of the NA9 solution were computed and were transformed to the NAD datum, based on GEOS 1 observations. Normal equations from observational data of several different systems and constraint equations were added and a single solution was obtained for the combined systems. Transformation parameters with constraints were determined, and the impact of computers on surveying and mapping is discussed.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1980

Measurement of minority-carrier drift mobility in solar cells using a modulated electron beam

A determination of diffusivity on solar cells is here reported which utilizes a one dimensional treatment of diffusion under sinusoidal excitation. An intensity-modulated beam of a scanning electron microscope was used as a source of excitation. The beam was injected into the rear of the cell, and the modulated component of the induced terminal current was recovered phase sensitively. A Faraday cup to measure the modulated component of beam current was mounted next to the sample, and connected to the same electronics. A step up transformer and preamplifier were mounted on the sample holder. Beam currents on the order of 400-pA were used in order to minimize effects of high injection. The beam voltage was 34-kV, and the cell bias was kept at 0-V.

Othmer, S.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Hue-saturation-intensity split-spectrum processing of Seasat radar imagery

Characteristics of terrain features in orbital radar imagery are investigated on the basis of radar physics and the human visual system. Signal scattering, the dominant factor in radar imagery, is caused by look angle and relief displacement. Power spectra characteristics are explored, noting that surface scattering dominates the low frequencies and slope significantly affects the high frequency tone variations. The maximum human visual response has been identified for achromatic scenes as 7 cycles per degree, whereas in radar imagery the low frequency half-power point occurs near 2.5 cycles/deg. Image feature size at a scale of 1:500,000 has been calculated for the maximum human response at 1.25 km. A hue-saturation-intensity transformation is presented for displaying two or three data sets on the same image and is demonstrated for Seasat SAR imagery. The transformation is shown to restore low spatial frequencies to the SAR imagery in order to identify terrain features which would otherwise not be visually discernible.

Daily, M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Automatic algebraic coordinate generation

A computer software system has been developed to automatically generate two-dimensional coordinates from algebraic transformations. For topologically complex regions, a smooth assembly of the transformations can be used to automatically produce a composite mesh where a general gridded format is retained. The algebraic mesh generation system consists of a collection of operator subroutines which are applied to an established data structure and which automatically perform the necessary parts of mesh construction from a sequence of multisurface transformations. The system operators are discussed, taking into account the data base, the order of application, direct surface generators, geometric surface operators, surface generators from existing surfaces, transverse operators, mesh operators, assembly operators, and data visualization operators. Attention is given to applications related to airfoils.

Eiseman, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Characterization of silicon-gate CMOS/SOS integrated circuits processed with ion implantation

The procedure used to generate MEBES masks and produce test wafers from the 10X Mann 1600 Pattern Generator Tape using existing CAD utility programs and the MEBES machine in the RCA Solid State Technology Center are described. The test vehicle used is the MSFC-designed SC102 Solar House Timing Circuit. When transforming the Mann 1600 tapes into MEBES tapes, extreme care is required in order to obtain accurate minimum linewidths when working with two different coding systems because the minimum grid sizes may be different for the two systems. The minimum grid sizes are 0.025 mil for MSFC Mann 1600 and 0.02 mil for MEBES. Some snapping to the next grid is therefore inevitable, and the results of this snapping effect are significant when submicron lines are present. However, no problem was noticed in the SC102 circuit because its minimum linewidth is 0.3 mil (7.6 microns). MEBES masks were fabricated and wafers were processed using the silicon-gate CMOS/SOS and aluminum-gate COS/MOS processing.

Woo, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Galileo probe relay receiver - Acquisition and tracking

The probe-to-orbiter data link for the Jovian mission uses a Manchester encoded BPSK waveform which is demodulated by the Galileo probe relay receiver. Signal acquisition and tracking consists of a sequential probability ratio signal search, frequency acquisition with a least-squares estimator, wide-band phase lock acquisition, and a self-regulating mode control. A discrete Fourier transform serves as the basic mechanism to generate the algorithms that provide this orderly transition to phase tracking. Acquisition and tracking is addressed in this paper with emphasis on key algorithms, rationale, and theoretical/measured performance.

Von Der Embse, U. A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A vision system for a Mars rover

A Mars rover must be able to sense its local environment with sufficient resolution and accuracy to avoid local obstacles and hazards while moving a significant distance each day. Power efficiency and reliability are extremely important considerations, making stereo correlation an attractive method of range sensing compared to laser scanning, if the computational load and correspondence errors can be handled. Techniques for treatment of these problems, including the use of more than two cameras to reduce correspondence errors and possibly to limit the computational burden of stereo processing, have been tested at JPL. Once a reliable range map is obtained, it must be transformed to a plan view and compared to a stored terrain database, in order to refine the estimated position of the rover and to improve the database. The slope and roughness of each terrain region are computed, which form the basis for a traversability map allowing local path planning. Ongoing research and field testing of such a system is described.

Wilcox, Brian H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

A patched-grid algorithm for complex configurations directed towards the F-18 aircraft

A patched-grid algorithm for the analysis of complex configurations with an implicit, upwind-biased Navier-Stokes solver is presented. Results from both a spatial-flux and a time-flux conservation approach to patching across zonal boundaries are presented. A generalized coordinate transformation with a biquadratic geometric element is used at the zonal interface in order to treat highly stretched viscous grids and arbitrarily-shaped zonal boundaries. Applications are made to the F-18 forebody-strake configuration at subsonic, high-alpha conditions. Computed surface flow patterns compare well with ground-based and flight-test results; the large effect of Reynolds number on the forebody flowfield is shown.

Thomas, James L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The asymptotic spectra of banded Toeplitz and quasi-Toeplitz matrices

Toeplitz matrices occur in many mathematical, as well as, scientific and engineering investigations. This paper considers the spectra of banded Toeplitz and quasi-Toeplitz matrices with emphasis on non-normal matrices of arbitrarily large order and relatively small bandwidth. These are the type of matrices that appear in the investigation of stability and convergence of difference approximations to partial differential equations. Quasi-Toeplitz matrices are the result of non-Dirichlet boundary conditions for the difference approximations. The eigenvalue problem for a banded Toeplitz or quasi-Toeplitz matrix of large order is, in general, analytically intractable and (for non-normal matrices) numerically unreliable. An asymptotic (matrix order approaches infinity) approach partitions the eigenvalue analysis of a quasi-Toeplitz matrix into two parts, namely the analysis for the boundary condition independent spectrum and the analysis for the boundary condition dependent spectrum. The boundary condition independent spectrum is the same as the pure Toeplitz matrix spectrum. Algorithms for computing both parts of the spectrum are presented. Examples are used to demonstrate the utility of the algorithms, to present some interesting spectra, and to point out some of the numerical difficulties encountered when conventional matrix eigenvalue routines are employed for non-normal matrices of large order. The analysis for the Toeplitz spectrum also leads to a diagonal similarity transformation that improves conventional numerical eigenvalue computations. Finally, the algorithm for the asymptotic spectrum is extended to the Toeplitz generalized eigenvalue problem which occurs, for example, in the stability of Pade type difference approximations to differential equations.

Beam, Richard M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Interim report on Landsat national archive activities

The Department of the Interior (DOI) has the responsibility to preserve and to distribute most Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Multispectral Scanner (MSS) data that have been acquired by the five Landsat satellites operational since July 1972. Data that are still covered by exclusive marketing rights, which were granted by the U.S. Government to the commercial Landsat operator, cannot be distributed by the DOI. As the designated national archive for Landsat data, the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Data Center (EDC) has initiated two new programs to protect and make available any of the 625,000 MSS scenes currently archived and the 200,000 TM scenes to be archived at EDC by 1995. A specially configured system has begun converting Landsat MSS data from obsolete high density tapes (HDT's) to more dense digital cassette tapes. After transcription, continuous satellite swaths are (1) divided into standard scenes defined by a world reference system, (2) geographically located by latitude and longitude, and (3) assessed for overall quality. Digital browse images are created by subsampling the full-resolution swaths. Conversion of the TM HDT's will begin in the fourth quarter of 1992 and will be conducted concurrently with MSS conversion. Although the TM archive is three times larger than the entire MSS archive, conversion of data from both sensor systems and consolidation of the entire Landsat archive at EDC will be completed by the end of 1994. Some MSS HDT's have deteriorated, primarily as a result of hydrolysis of the pigment binder. Based on a small sample of the 11 terabytes of post-1978 MSS data and the 41 terabytes of TM data to be converted, it appears that to date, less than 2 percent of the data have been lost. The data loss occurs within small portions of some scenes; few scenes are lost entirely. Approximately 10,000 pre-1979 MSS HDT's have deteriorated to such an extent, as a result of hydrolysis, that the data cannot be recovered without special treatment of the tapes. An independent consulting division of a major tape manufacturer has analyzed affected tapes and is confident that restorative procedures can be applied to the HDT's to permit one pass to reproduce the data on another recording media. A system to distribute minimally processed Landsat data will be procured in 1992 and will be operational by mid-1994. Any TM or MSS data in the national archive that are not restricted by exclusive marketing rights will be reproduced directly from the archive media onto user specified computer-compatible media. TM data will be produced either at a raw level (radiometrically and geometrically uncorrected) or at an intermediate level (radiometrically corrected and geometrically indexed). MSS data will be produced to an intermediate level or to a fully corrected level (radiometrically corrected and geometrically transformed to an Oblique Mercator projection). The system will be capable of providing ordered scenes within 48 hours of receipt of order.

Boyd, John E.↗
NASA NTRS1995

DRS: Derivational Reasoning System

The high reliability requirements for airborne systems requires fault-tolerant architectures to address failures in the presence of physical faults, and the elimination of design flaws during the specification and validation phase of the design cycle. Although much progress has been made in developing methods to address physical faults, design flaws remain a serious problem. Formal methods provides a mathematical basis for removing design flaws from digital systems. DRS (Derivational Reasoning System) is a formal design tool based on advanced research in mathematical modeling and formal synthesis. The system implements a basic design algebra for synthesizing digital circuit descriptions from high level functional specifications. DRS incorporates an executable specification language, a set of correctness preserving transformations, verification interface, and a logic synthesis interface, making it a powerful tool for realizing hardware from abstract specifications. DRS integrates recent advances in transformational reasoning, automated theorem proving and high-level CAD synthesis systems in order to provide enhanced reliability in designs with reduced time and cost.

Bose, Bhaskar↗
NASA NTRS1998

Effects of magnetometer calibration and maneuvers on accuracies of magnetometer-only attitude-and-rate determination

Two different algorithms - a deterministic magnetic-field-only algorithm and a Kalman filter for gyroless spacecraft - are used to estimate the attitude and rates of the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) using only measurements from a three-axis magnetometer. The performance of these algorithms is examined using in-flight data from various scenarios. In particular, significant enhancements in accuracies are observed when' the telemetered magnetometer data are accurately calibrated using a recently developed calibration algorithm. Interesting features observed in these studies of the inertial-pointing RXTE include a remarkable sensitivity of the filter to the numerical values of the noise parameters and relatively long convergence time spans. By analogy, the accuracy of the deterministic scheme is noticeably lower as a result of reduced rates of change of the body-fixed geomagnetic field. Preliminary results show the filter-per-axis attitude accuracies ranging between 0.1 and 0.5 deg and rate accuracies between 0.001 deg/sec and 0.005 deg./sec, whereas the deterministic method needs a more sophisticated techniques for smoothing time derivatives of the measured geomagnetic field to clearly distinguish both attitude and rate solutions from the numerical noise. Also included is a new theoretical development in the deterministic algorithm: the transformation of a transcendental equation in the original theory into an 8th-order polynomial equation. It is shown that this 8th-order polynomial reduces to quadratic equations in the two limiting cases-infinitely high wheel momentum, and constant rates-discussed in previous publications.

Challa, M.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Intitialization, Conceptualization, and Application in the Generalized Fractional Calculus

This paper provides a formalized basis for initialization in the fractional calculus. The intent is to make the fractional calculus readily accessible to engineering and the sciences. A modified set of definitions for the fractional calculus is provided which formally include the effects of initialization. Conceptualizations of fractional derivatives and integrals are shown. Physical examples of the basic elements from electronics are presented along with examples from dynamics, material science, viscoelasticity, filtering, instrumentation, and electrochemistry to indicate the broad application of the theory and to demonstrate the use of the mathematics. The fundamental criteria for a generalized calculus established by Ross (1974) are shown to hold for the generalized fractional calculus under appropriate conditions. A new generalized form for the Laplace transform of the generalized differintegral is derived. The concept of a variable structure (order) differintegral is presented along with initial efforts toward meaningful definitions.

Lorenzo, Carl F.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Kinetics of organic transformations under mild aqueous conditions: implications for the origin of life and its metabolism

The rates of thermal transformation of organic molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen were systematically examined in order to identify the kinetic constraints that governed origin-of-life organic chemistry under mild aqueous conditions. Arrhenius plots of the kinetic data were used to estimate the reaction of half-lifes at 50 degrees C. This survey showed that hydrocarbons and organic substances containing a single oxygenated group were kinetically the most stable; whereas organic substances containing two oxygenated groups in which one group was an alpha- or beta-positioned carbonyl group were the most reactive. Compounds with an alpha- or beta-positioned carbonyl group (aldehyde or ketone) had rates of reaction that were up to 10(24)-times faster than rates of similar molecules lacking the carbonyl group. This survey of organic reactivity, together with estimates of the molecular containment properties of lipid vesicles and liquid spherules, indicates that an origins process in a small domain that used C,H,O-intermediates had to be catalytic and use the most reactive organic molecules to prevent escape of its reaction intermediates.

Biogenesis↗
DOE OSTI2022

Maximum strength and dislocation patterning in multi–principal element alloys

Multi–principal element alloys (MPEAs) containing three or more components in high concentrations render a tunable chemical short-range order (SRO). Leveraging large-scale atomistic simulations, we probe the limit of Hall-Petch strengthening and deformation mechanisms in a model CrCoNi alloy and unravel chemical ordering effects. The presence of SRO appreciably increases the maximum strength and lowers the propensity for faulting and structure transformation, accompanied by intensification of planar slip and strain localization. Deformation grains exhibit notably different microstructures and dislocation patterns that prominently depend on their crystallographic orientation and the number of active slip planes. Grain of single-planar slip attains the highest volume fraction of deformation-induced structure transformation, and grain with double-slip planes develops the densest dislocation network. These results advancing the fundamental understanding of deformation mechanisms and dislocation patterning in MPEAs suggest a mechanistic strategy for tuning mechanical behavior through simultaneously tailoring grain texture and local chemical order.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1993

A new look at rainfall fluctuations and scaling properties of spatial rainfall using orthogonal wavelets

It has been observed that the finite-dimensional distribution functions of rainfall cannot obey simple scaling laws due to rainfall intermittency (mixed distribution with an atom at zero) and the probability of rainfall being an increasing function of area. Although rainfall fluctuations do not suffer these limitations, it is interesting to note that very few attempts have been made to study them in terms of their self-similarity characteristics. This is due to the lack of unambiguous definition of fluctuations in multidimensions. This paper shows that wavelet transforms offer a convenient and consistent method for the decomposition of inhomogeneous and anisotropic rainfall fields in two dimensions and that the components of this decomposition can be looked at as fluctuations of the rainfall field. It is also shown that under some mild assumptions, the component fields can be treated as homogeneous and thus are amenable to second-order analysis, which can provide useful insight into the nature of the process. The fact that wavelet transforms are a space-scale method also provides a convenient tool to study scaling characteristics of the process. Orthogonal wavelets are used, and these properties are investigated for a squall-line storm to study the presence of self-similarity.

Kumar, Praveen↗
NASA NTRS1994

Nonlinear Optical Image Processing with Bacteriorhodopsin Films

The transmission properties of some bacteriorhodopsin film spatial light modulators are uniquely suited to allow nonlinear optical image processing operations to be applied to images with multiplicative noise characteristics. A logarithmic amplitude transmission feature of the film permits the conversion of multiplicative noise to additive noise, which may then be linearly filtered out in the Fourier plane of the transformed image. The bacteriorhodopsin film displays the logarithmic amplitude response for write beam intensities spanning a dynamic range greater than 2.0 orders of magnitude. We present experimental results demonstrating the principle and capability for several different image and noise situations, including deterministic noise and speckle. Using the bacteriorhodopsin film, we successfully filter out image noise from the transformed image that cannot be removed from the original image.

Downie, John D.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fluctuation cepstral scanning transmission electron microscopy of mixed-phase amorphous materials

Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) is a versatile analytical tool for characterizing materials structural properties. However, extending such analysis to disordered materials is challenging, especially in technologically important samples with mixed ordered and disordered phases. Here, in this work, we present a new 4D-STEM method, called fluctuation cepstral STEM (FC-STEM), based on the fluctuation analysis of cepstral transform of diffraction patterns. The peaks in the associated transformation relate to inter-atomic distances in a thin sample. By varying the real-space range over which fluctuations are calculated, distinct ordered and disordered phases can be mapped in a diffractive image reconstruction. We demonstrate the principles of FC-STEM by characterizing a silicon anode, harvested from a cycled lithium-ion battery. A mixture of amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon, graphitic carbon, and electrolyte by-products is identified and mapped. Comparisons with conventional electron imaging and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy show that FC-STEM is highly effective for the structure determination of mixed-phase amorphous materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗