Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “bidirectional”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

The Galileo Energetic Particles Detector

Amongst its complement of particles and fields instruments, the Galileo spacecraft carries an Energetic Particles Detector (EPD) designed to measure the characteristics of particle populations important in determining the size, shape, and dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere. To do this the EPD provides 4pi angular coverage and spectral measurements for Z greater than or equal to 1 ions from 20 keV to 55 MeV, for electrons from 15 keV to greater than 11 MeV, and for the elemental species helium through iron from approximately 10 keV/nucl to 15 MeV/nucl. Two bidirectional telescopes, mounted on a stepping platform, employ magnetic deflection, energy loss versus energy, and time-of-flight techniques to provide 64 rate channels and pulse height analysis of priority selected events. The EPD data system provides a large number of possible operational modes from which a small number will be selected to optimize data collection during the many encounter and cruise phases of the mission. The EPD employs a number of safeing algorithms that are to be used in the event that its self-checking procedures indicate a problem. The instrument and its operation are described.

Williams, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Boeing Helicopters Advanced Rotorcraft Transmission (ART) Program summary of component tests

The principal objectives of the ART program are briefly reviewed, and the results of advanced technology component tests are summarized. The tests discussed include noise reduction by active cancellation, hybrid bidirectional tapered roller bearings, improved bearing life theory and friction tests, transmission lube study with hybrid bearings, and precision near-net-shape forged spur gears. Attention is also given to the study of high profile contact ratio noninvolute tooth form spur gears, parallel axis gear noise study, and surface modified titanium accessory spur gears.

Lenski, Joseph W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Normalization of multidirectional red and NIR reflectances with the SAVI

Directional reflectance measurements were made over a semi-desert gramma grassland at various times of the growing season. View angle measurements from +40 to -40 degrees were made at various solar zenith angles and soil moisture conditions. The sensitivity of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) to bidirectional measurements was assessed for purposes of improving remote temporal monitoring of vegetation dynamics. The SAVI view angle response was found to be symmetric about nadir while the NDVI response was strongly anisotropic. This enabled the view angle behavior of the SAVI to be normalized with a cosine function. In contrast to the NDVI, the SAVI was able to minimize soil moisture and shadow influences for all measurement conditions.

Huete, A. R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Noncontact Measurement Of Shaft Speed, Torque, And Power

Noncontact fiber-optic sensor and associated electronic equipment measure twist and speed of rotation of shaft. Measurements determine torque and power. Response of sensor remains linear even at cryogenic temperatures. Reflective strips on rotating shaft reflect two series of light pulses back into optical system. Bidirectional coupler in each of two optical fiber paths separates reflected light from incident light, sending it to photodiode for output to analog-to-digital converter and computer. Sensor requires no slip rings or telemetry to transfer signals from shaft. Well suited for providing data on performances of turbopumps for such cryogenic fluids as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.

Madzsar, George C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Trip Roller Clutch

Bidirectional roller-locking mechanism offers advantages of efficiency and controllability. Trip roller clutch contains back-to-back roller-locking, overrunning clutches released (tripped) with small magnetic forces. Designed to operate with lubricant. Unlike other friction-based devices, trip roller clutch remains cool during operation.

Vranish, John M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Dynamic test results for the CASES ground experiment

The Controls, Astrophysics, and Structures Experiment in Space (CASES) Ground Test Facility (GTF) has been developed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to provide a facility for the investigation of Controls/Structures Interaction (CSI) phenomena, to support ground testing of a potential shuttle-based CASES flight experiment, and to perform limited boom deployment and retraction dynamics studies. The primary objectives of the ground experiment are to investigate CSI on a test article representative of a Large Space Structure (LSS); provide a platform for Guest Investigators (GI's) to conduct CSI studies; to test and evaluate LSS control methodologies, system identification (ID) techniques, failure mode analysis; and to compare ground test predictions and flight results. The proposed CASES flight experiment consists of a 32 meter deployable/retractable boom at the end of which is an occulting plate. The control objective of the experiment is to maintain alignment of the tip plate (occulter) with a detector located at the base of the boom in the orbiter bay. The tip plate is pointed towards a star, the sun, or the galactic center to collect high-energy X-rays emitted by these sources. The tip plate, boom, and detector comprise a Fourier telescope. The occulting holes in the tip plate are approximately one millimeter in diameter making the alignment requirements quite stringent. Control authority is provided by bidirectional linear thrusters located at the boom tip and Angular Momentum Exchange Devices (AMED's) located at mid-boom and at the tip. The experiment embodies a number of CSI control problems including vibration suppression, pointing a long flexible structure, and disturbance rejection. The CASES GTF is representative of the proposed flight experiment with identical control objectives.

Bukley, Angelia P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Influence of atmospheric aerosols and desert reflectance properties on satellite radiance measurements

The influence of surface bidirectional reflectance factors, including shadowing, and of atmospheric aerosol variability are modeled for their effects on the remote sensing of desert targets from space in the 0.7-micron region at high spatial resolution. The white sand reflectance data of Salomonson (1968) are used as the basis for the simulation. The effects of the surface bi-directional reflectance and atmospheric aerosol on the nadir-normalized reflectance measured at the satellite are discussed individually and jointly. The net influence of these two factors is shown to depend on the magnitude of other parameters, such as the surface reflectance and solar zenith angle.

Bowker, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

An overview of surface radiance and biology studies in FIFE

The use of satellite data to study and to understand energy and mass exchanges between the land surface and the atmosphere requires information about various biological processes and how various reflected or emitted spectral radiances are influenced by or manifested in these processes. To obtain such information, studies were conducted by the First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE) surface radiances and biology (SRB) group using surface, near-surface, helicopter, and aircraft measurements. The two primary objectives of this group were to relate radiative fluxes to biophysical parameters and physiological processes and to assess how various management treatments affect important biological processes. This overview paper summarizes the results obtained by various SRB teams working in nine different areas: (1) measurements of bidirectional reflectance and estimation of hemispherical albedo; (2) evaluation of spatial and seasonal variability reflectance and vegetation indices; (3) determination of surface and radiational factors and their effects on vegetation indices and photosynthetically active radiation relationships; (4) use of surface temperatures to estimate sensible heat flux; (5) controls over photosynthesis and respiration at small scales; (6) soil surface CO2 fluxes and grassland carbon budget; (7) landscape variations in controls over gas exchange and energy partitioning; (8) radiometric response of prairie to management and topography; and (9) determination of nitrogen gas exchanges in a tallgrass prairie.

Blad, B. L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Effects of management and topography on the radiometric response of a tallgrass prairie

Bidirectional reflectance measurements are obtained for grazed, burned ungrazed, and unburned ungrazed tallgrass prairie in eastern Kansas. Observations are also made on experimental plots where vegetation height and biomass were manipulated by mowing. While productivity of grazed or mowed sites was either equal to or greater than that on ungrazed or unmowed sites, individual or cumulative normalized difference vegetation index values tended to be positively correlated with biomass, not productivity.

Turner, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Quantifying reflectance anisotropy of photosynthetically active radiation in grasslands

Quantifying the vegetative surface's reflectance anisotropy was an important part of the First ISLSCP Field Experiment, as its major objectives focused on retrieval of surface parameters from satellite-derived reflectances. The explicit remote measurements for approximating the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of photosynthetically active radiation had not been previously undertaken. In this paper the proper expression of reflectance for BRDFs for retrieval of canopy parameters is assessed.

Middleton, Elizabeth M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Requirements of a solar diffuser and measurements of some candidate materials

If the solar spectral irradiance and the orientation and directional reflectance of a solar diffuser are known, then the spectral radiance of the diffuser is readily calculated and it can be used for the accurate absolute calibration of a satellite sensor. However, the solar diffuser is exposed during in-flight satellite sensor calibration to high-energy ultraviolet irradiance, particle impacts and atomic oxygen effects. This paper describes desirable solar diffuser characteristics and the results of proton and UV irradiation on the directional-hemispheric spectral reflectance, the bidirectional spectral reflectance factor and the polarization properties of candidate diffuser materials.

Guzman, Carmen T.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Clouds as calibration targets for AVHRR reflected-solar channels - Results from a two-year study at NOAA/NESDIS

NOAA-11 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and associated ground-based data have been collected at NOAA/NESDIS, on a daily basis and for 600 days, using five stations within the continental United States in the NOAA solar radiation (SOLRAD) monitoring network. The data have been filtered to include only uniformly overcast conditions and analyzed along the lines described by Paris and Justus (1988). Results from this first long-term pilot operational application of the method are presented. The method is potentially useful for establishing yearly-averaged trends in the radiometric gain of AVHRR Channels. The relatively small data base examined here suggests a precision in the 600 day mean gain of 5 percent or worse, with a significant part of this uncertainty being driven by poor knowlege of the bidirectional reflectance properties of clouds. The results suggest that the method in its present formulation has insufficient precision to be used as a primary method for the measurement of in-orbit gains of reflected-solar radiometers aboard polar orbiting satellites. Intrinsic limitations to the precision and time resolution of the method are discussed, and suggestions are offered for improving the precision of future results.

Abel, Peter↗
NASA NTRS1991

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer-Tilt (MODIS-T) baseline concept

There will be several state of the art spectrometers in operation on the NASA Polar Orbiting Platform (NPOP-1) as part of the Earth Observing System (EOS). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) will consist of two imaging spectroradiometric instruments, one nadir viewing (MODIS-N) and the other tiltable (MODIS-T) for ocean observation and land bidirectional reflectance studies. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer-Tilt (MODIS-T) instrument is presently being constructed for flight on the EOS. It is an imaging spectrometer utilizing a grating type, reflecting Schmidt optical design that must provide a 1.1 kilometer spatial resolution at nadir from a spacecraft altitude of 705 kilometers with a 1500 kilometer cross-track swath and a +/- 50 degree forward and aft tilt capability. The instrument is required to cover the wavelength range from 400 to 880 nanometers in approximately 15 nanometer steps with less than 2.3 percent instrument induced polarization. The absolute radiometric accuracy must be at least 5 percent over the full dynamic range of the instrument.

Magner, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

An airborne system for collecting polarization imagery

This paper describes a recently completed electrooptical camera flying onboard the NASA ER-2 high altitude aircraft. The device includes a six-position filter wheel which can be fitted with a combination of polarizing and/or spectral filters. An alternate configuration will include a polarizing filter which can be rotated to any angle under computer control. The camera mount in the nose of the ER-2 can tilt forward or aft up to 40 degrees, both for bidirectional reflectance studies and for image motion compensation (the aircraft moves 34 meters between frame acquisitions). The ground resolution is nominally 5 meters from and altitude of 20 km. Spectral responsivity is that of the silicon imaging array (Kodak KAF-1400). Initial data sets were acquired in support of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program Regional Experiment of November, 1991, and will be used to study cirrus cloud properties.

Hildum, Edward A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Solar wind composition from sector boundary crossings and coronal mass ejections

Using the Ion Composition Instrument (ICI) on board the ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft, average abundances of He-4, He-3, O, Ne, Si, and Fe have been determined over extended periods. In this paper the abundances of He-4, O, Ne, Si, and Mg obtained by the ICI in the region of sector boundary crossings (SBCs), magnetic clouds and bidirectional streaming events (BDSs) are compared with the average abundances. Both magnetic clouds and BDSs are associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs). No variation of abundance is seen to occur at SBCs except for helium, as has already been observed. In CME-related material, the abundance of neon appears to be high and variable, in agreement with recent analysis of spectroscopic observations of active regions. We find that our observations can be correlated with the magnetic topology in the corona.

Ogilvie, K. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A quantitative assessment of the role of the post-shock turbulent region in the formation of Forbush decreases

We present results of a survey of the relation between Forbush decreases, magnetic clouds, and interplanetary shocks during the period August 1978 to November 1982. We have used data from the ISEE-3 study of bidirectional ions associated with magnetic structures or clouds of Marsden et al. (1987), and ground-based observations of Forbush decreases from several neutron monitors. We use the two-step model of a Forbush decrease. We assume that the first step is due to the passage of the postshock turbulent region, and that the second is due to the passage of the magnetic cloud or structure which usually follows the postshock turbulent region. To determine the effectiveness of the postshock turbulent region in causing a Forbush decrease, we have evaluated the radial diffusion coefficient of the postshock turbulent region for the eight largest events during the above period using observations of the magnetic field. We have made a quantitative assessment of the relative importance of the postshock turbulent region in the formation of the Forbush decrease, concluding that the postshock turbulent region alone is not sufficient to cause a Forbush decrease.

Sanderson, T. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A new neural net approach to robot 3D perception and visuo-motor coordination

A novel neural network approach to robot hand-eye coordination is presented. The approach provides a true sense of visual error servoing, redundant arm configuration control for collision avoidance, and invariant visuo-motor learning under gazing control. A 3-D perception network is introduced to represent the robot internal 3-D metric space in which visual error servoing and arm configuration control are performed. The arm kinematic network performs the bidirectional association between 3-D space arm configurations and joint angles, and enforces the legitimate arm configurations. The arm kinematic net is structured by a radial-based competitive and cooperative network with hierarchical self-organizing learning. The main goal of the present work is to demonstrate that the neural net representation of the robot 3-D perception net serves as an important intermediate functional block connecting robot eyes and arms.

Lee, Sukhan↗
NASA NTRS1993

Calculation of the angular radiance distribution for a coupled atmosphere and canopy

The radiative transfer equations for a coupled atmosphere and canopy are solved numerically by an improved Gauss-Seidel iteration algorithm. The radiation field is decomposed into three components: unscattered sunlight, single scattering, and multiple scattering radiance for which the corresponding equations and boundary conditions are set up and their analytical or iterational solutions are explicitly derived. The classic Gauss-Seidel algorithm has been widely applied in atmospheric research. This is its first application for calculating the multiple scattering radiance of a coupled atmosphere and canopy. This algorithm enables us to obtain the internal radiation field as well as radiances at boundaries. Any form of bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) as a boundary condition can be easily incorporated into the iteration procedure. The hotspot effect of the canopy is accommodated by means of the modification of the extinction coefficients of upward single scattering radiation and unscattered sunlight using the formulation of Nilson and Kuusk. To reduce the computation for the case of large optical thickness, an improved iteration formula is derived to speed convergence. The upwelling radiances have been evaluated for different atmospheric conditions, leaf area index (LAI), leaf angle distribution (LAD), leaf size and so on. The formulation presented in this paper is also well suited to analyze the relative magnitude of multiple scattering radiance and single scattering radiance in both the visible and near infrared regions.

Liang, Shunlin↗