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At least 577 records · Page 32

Ensuring Safe Exploration: Ares Launch Vehicle Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Testing

Ground vibration testing has been an integral tool for developing new launch vehicles throughout the space age. Several launch vehicles have been lost due to problems that would have been detected by early vibration testing, including Ariane 5, Delta III, and Falcon 1. NASA will leverage experience and testing hardware developed during the Saturn and Shuttle programs to perform ground vibration testing (GVT) on the Ares I crew launch vehicle and Ares V cargo launch vehicle stacks. NASA performed dynamic vehicle testing (DVT) for Saturn and mated vehicle ground vibration testing (MVGVT) for Shuttle at the Dynamic Test Stand (Test Stand 4550) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, and is now modifying that facility to support Ares I integrated vehicle ground vibration testing (IVGVT) beginning in 2012. The Ares IVGVT schedule shows most of its work being completed between 2010 and 2014. Integrated 2nd Stage Ares IVGVT will begin in 2012 and IVGVT of the entire Ares launch stack will begin in 2013. The IVGVT data is needed for the human-rated Orion launch vehicle's Design Certification Review (DCR) in early 2015. During the Apollo program, GVT detected several serious design concerns, which NASA was able to address before Saturn V flew, eliminating costly failures and potential losses of mission or crew. During the late 1970s, Test Stand 4550 was modified to support the four-body structure of the Space Shuttle. Vibration testing confirmed that the vehicle's mode shapes and frequencies were better than analytical models suggested, however, the testing also identified challenges with the rate gyro assemblies, which could have created flight instability and possibly resulted in loss of the vehicle. Today, NASA has begun modifying Test Stand 4550 to accommodate Ares I, including removing platforms needed for Shuttle testing and upgrading the dynamic test facilities to characterize the mode shapes and resonant frequencies of the vehicle. The IVGVT team expects to collect important information about the new launch vehicles, greatly increasing astronaut safety as NASA prepares to explore the Moon and beyond.

Tuma, M. L.↗

iDDS: intelligent distributed dispatch and scheduling for workflow orchestration

The intelligent distributed dispatch and scheduling (iDDS) service is a versatile workflow orchestration system designed for large-scale, distributed scientific computing. iDDS extends traditional workload and data management by integrating data-aware execution, conditional logic, and programmable workflows, enabling automation of complex and dynamic processing pipelines. Originally developed for the ATLAS experiment at the large hadron collider, iDDS has evolved into an experiment-agnostic platform that supports both template-driven workflows and a Function-as-a-Task model for Python-based orchestration. This paper presents the architecture and core components of iDDS, highlighting its scalability, modular message-driven design, and integration with systems such as PanDA and Rucio. We demonstrate its versatility through real-world use cases: fine-grained tape resource optimization for ATLAS, orchestration of large Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) workflows for the Rubin Observatory, distributed hyperparameter optimization for machine learning applications, active learning for physics analyses, and AI-assisted detector design at the electron–ion collider. By unifying workload scheduling, data movement, and adaptive decision-making, iDDS reduces operational overhead and enables reproducible, high-throughput workflows across heterogeneous infrastructures. We conclude with current challenges and future directions, including interactive, cloud-native, and serverless workflow support.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Investigation of Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) and a Dynamic Loads Balance to Predict Launch Vehicle Buffet Environments

This NESC assessment examined the accuracy of estimating buffet loads on in-line launch vehicles without booster attachments using sparse unsteady pressure measurements. The buffet loads computed using sparse sensor data were compared with estimates derived using measurements with much higher spatial resolution. The current method for estimating launch vehicle buffet loads is through wind tunnel testing of models with approximately 400 unsteady pressure transducers. Even with this relatively large number of sensors, the coverage can be insufficient to provide reliable integrated unsteady loads on vehicles. In general, sparse sensor spacing requires the use of coherence-length-based corrections in the azimuthal and axial directions to integrate the unsteady pressures and obtain reasonable estimates of the buffet loads. Coherence corrections have been used to estimate buffet loads for a variety of launch vehicles with the assumption methodology results in reasonably conservative loads. For the Space Launch System (SLS), the first estimates of buffet loads exceeded the limits of the vehicle structure, so additional tests with higher sensor density were conducted to better define the buffet loads and possibly avoid expensive modifications to the vehicle design. Without the additional tests and improvements to the coherence-length analysis methods, there would have been significant impacts to the vehicle weight, cost, and schedule. If the load estimates turn out to be too low, there is significant risk of structural failure of the vehicle. This assessment used a combination of unsteady pressure-sensitive paint (uPSP), unsteady pressure transducers, and a dynamic force and moment balance to investigate the integration schemes used with limited unsteady pressure data by comparing them with direct integration of extremely dense fluctuating pressure measurements. An outfall of the assessment was to evaluate the potential of using the emerging uPSP technique in a production test environment for future launch vehicles. The results show that modifications to the current technique can improve the accuracy of buffet estimates. More importantly, the uPSP worked remarkably well and, with improvements to the frequency response, sensitivity, and productivity, will provide an enhanced method for measuring wind tunnel buffet forcing functions (BFFs).

Schuster, David M.↗

Design and architecture of the Mars relay network planning and analysis framework

In this paper we describe the design and architecture of the Mars Network planning and analysis framework that supports generation and validation of efficient planning and scheduling strategy. The goals are to minimize the transmitting time, minimize the delaying time, and/or maximize the network throughputs. The proposed framework would require (1) a client-server architecture to support interactive, batch, WEB, and distributed analysis and planning applications for the relay network analysis scheme, (2) a high-fidelity modeling and simulation environment that expresses link capabilities between spacecraft to spacecraft and spacecraft to Earth stations as time-varying resources, and spacecraft activities, link priority, Solar System dynamic events, the laws of orbital mechanics, and other limiting factors as spacecraft power and thermal constraints, (3) an optimization methodology that casts the resource and constraint models into a standard linear and nonlinear constrained optimization problem that lends itself to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)planning and scheduling algorithms.

Mars relay network planning analysis↗

Nuclear Materials Process Modeling at the Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) has implemented process modeling for various accountable nuclear materials operations that are performed throughout the plant. Using a discrete, event-based dynamic simulation program, key nuclear material streams are modeled, allowing Y-12 to effectively manage numerous points of interest within the plant’s production operations. Integration of the various material processes into a single, interdependent supply and demand model is one of the ongoing focuses within Y-12’s process modeling effort. The primary purpose of using dynamic simulation modeling is to allow for analysis of the nuclear materials inventories and forecasted supplies based on future demands. Analysis of these inventories includes capacity evaluation, bottleneck mitigation, and assessments of individual pieces of equipment to inform future facility investment decisions and associated project schedules. Modeling of the nuclear materials processes throughout the complex also allows for incorporation of changes relevant to production capabilities such as the upcoming transition of specific operations to the new Uranium Processing Facility. Prior to implementation of process modeling, Y-12 forecasted supply and demand of accountable nuclear materials streams using Microsoft Excel. With deterministic models such as Microsoft Excel, the annual forecasts, generated within data input condition parameters, can only provide a fixed point of data. Fixed data cannot simulate integrated material streams and account for the possibility of occurrences and other changes that dynamic simulations take into consideration. Y-12’s dynamic process modeling allows integrated simulations of multiple accountable nuclear materials processes, including supply and demand forecasting and analysis, and is a coordinated effort involving many steps of verification and validation (V&V), site briefings, testing, reporting, data mining, planning, and documentation that spans various programs throughout the Y-12 complex.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Robustness Analysis of Integrated LPV-FDI Filters and LTI-FTC System for a Transport Aircraft

This paper proposes an analysis framework for robustness analysis of a nonlinear dynamics system that can be represented by a polynomial linear parameter varying (PLPV) system with constant bounded uncertainty. The proposed analysis framework contains three key tools: 1) a function substitution method which can convert a nonlinear system in polynomial form into a PLPV system, 2) a matrix-based linear fractional transformation (LFT) modeling approach, which can convert a PLPV system into an LFT system with the delta block that includes key uncertainty and scheduling parameters, 3) micro-analysis, which is a well known robust analysis tool for linear systems. The proposed analysis framework is applied to evaluating the performance of the LPV-fault detection and isolation (FDI) filters of the closed-loop system of a transport aircraft in the presence of unmodeled actuator dynamics and sensor gain uncertainty. The robustness analysis results are compared with nonlinear time simulations.

Khong, Thuan H.↗

Model-based predictive control of multi-stage air-source heat pumps integrated with phase change material-embedded ceilings

This paper presents a model-based predictive control strategy to optimize the operations of phase change material (PCM) ceiling panels coupled with a multi-stage air-source heat pump. A three-stage prototype heat pump unit has been built and tested in the laboratory, with the low and medium stages designed for space heating/cooling and the high compression stage dedicated to charging of the PCM energy storage. To facilitate optimal control of the integrated heat pump system, a mixed-integer linear programming formulation is derived through linearization of the heat pump model and a mixed-integer reformulation of the PCM dynamic governing equations. A predictive control strategy is synthesized based on the resultant control formulation and implemented in a receding horizon scheme that optimizes the PCM charging and the zone temperature schedules simultaneously to leverage both the passive (associated with building construction materials) and active (PCM) storage capacities of a building. The control strategy has been tested along with three benchmarking control scenarios using a co-simulation platform for a prototypical detached house in Atlanta, GA. In this study, test results showed that application of the proposed control strategy to the PCM-integrated heat pump could provide 27.1% electricity cost savings while a fine tuned rule-based control strategy could achieve cost savings of 20.4%, compared to a baseline case without PCM storage, under a time-of-use rate tariff.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Model Deformation Measurements at NASA Langley Research Center

Only recently have large amounts of model deformation data been acquired in NASA wind tunnels. This acquisition of model deformation data was made possible by the development of an automated video photogrammetric system to measure the changes in wing twist and bending under aerodynamic load. The measurement technique is based upon a single view photogrammetric determination of two dimensional coordinates of wing targets with a fixed third dimensional coordinate, namely the spanwise location. A major consideration in the development of the measurement system was that use of the technique must not appreciably reduce wind tunnel productivity. The measurement technique has been used successfully for a number of tests at four large production wind tunnels at NASA and a dedicated system is nearing completion for a fifth facility. These facilities are the National Transonic Facility, the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel, and the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA Langley, and the 12-FT Pressure Tunnel at NASA Ames. A dedicated system for the Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel is scheduled to be used for the first time for a test in September. The advantages, limitations, and strategy of the technique as currently used in NASA wind tunnels are presented. Model deformation data are presented which illustrate the value of these measurements. Plans for further enhancements to the technique are presented.

Burner, A. W.↗

Analyses Of Transient Events In Complex Valve and Feed Systems

Valve systems in rocket propulsion systems and testing facilities are constantly subject to dynamic events resulting from the timing of valve motion leading to unsteady fluctuations in pressure and mass flow. Such events can also be accompanied by cavitation, resonance, system vibration leading to catastrophic failure. High-fidelity dynamic computational simulations of valve operation can yield important information of valve response to varying flow conditions. Prediction of transient behavior related to valve motion can serve as guidelines for valve scheduling, which is of crucial importance in engine operation and testing. In this paper, we present simulations of the diverse unsteady phenomena related to valve and feed systems that include valve stall, valve timing studies as well as cavitation instabilities in components utilized in the test loop.

Ahuja, Vineet↗

Simulations of Transient Phenomena in Liquid Rocket Feed Systems

Valve systems in rocket propulsion systems and testing facilities are constantly subject to dynamic events resulting from the timing of valve motion leading to unsteady fluctuations in pressure and mass flow. Such events can also be accompanied by cavitation, resonance, system vibration leading to catastrophic failure. High-fidelity dynamic computational simulations of valve operation can yield important information of valve response to varying flow conditions. Prediction of transient behavior related to valve motion can serve as guidelines for valve scheduling, which is of crucial importance in engine operation and testing. Feed components operating in cryogenic regimes can also experience cavitation based instabilities leading to large scale shedding of vapor clouds and pressure oscillations. In this paper, we present simulations of the diverse unsteady phenomena related to valve and feed systems that include valve stall, valve timing studies as well as two different forms of cavitation instabilities in components utilized in the test loop.

Ahuja, V.↗

Ares I-X Flight Test--The Future Begins Here

In less than one year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch the Ares I-X mission. This will be the first flight of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, which, together with the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, will send humans to the Moon and beyond. Personnel from the Ares I-X Mission Management Office (MMO) are finalizing designs and fabricating vehicle hardware for a 2009 launch. Ares I-X will be a suborbital development flight test that will gather critical data about the flight dynamics of the integrated launch vehicle stack; understand how to control its roll during flight; better characterize the severe stage separation environments that the upper stage engine will experience during future flights; and demonstrate the first stage recovery system. NASA also will modify the launch infrastructure and ground and mission operations. The Ares I-X Flight Test Vehicle (FTV) will incorporate flight and mockup hardware similar in mass and weight to the operational vehicle. It will be powered by a four-segment Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), which is currently in Shuttle inventory, and will include a fifth spacer segment and new forward structures to make the booster approximately the same size and weight as the five-segment SRB. The Ares I-X flight profile will closely approximate the flight conditions that the Ares I will experience through Mach 4.5, up to approximately 130,000 feet (39,600 meters (m)) and through maximum dynamic pressure ('Max Q') of approximately 800 pounds per square foot (38.3 kilopascals (kPa)). Data from the Ares I-X flight will support the Ares I Critical Design Review (CDR), scheduled for 2010. Work continues on Ares I-X design and hardware fabrication. All of the individual elements are undergoing CDRs, followed by a two-part integrated vehicle CDR in March and July 2008. The various hardware elements are on schedule to begin deliveries to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in early September 2008. Ares I-X is the first step in the long journey to the Moon and farther destinations. This suborbital test will be NASA's first flight of a new human-rated launch vehicle in more than a generation. This promises to be an exciting time for NASA and the nation, as we reach for new goals in space exploration. A visual presentation is included.

Davis, Stephan R.↗

Optimal Execution of Co-analysis for Large-scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The analysis of scientific simulation data enables scientists to derive insights from their simulations. This analysis of the simulation output can be performed at the same execution site as the simulation using the same resources or can be done at a different site. The optimal output frequency is challenging to decide and is often chosen empirically. We propose a mathematical formulation for choosing the optimal frequency of data transfer for analysis and the feasibility of performing the analysis, under the given resource constraints such as network bandwidth, disk space, available memory, and computation time. We propose formulations for two cases of co-analysis -- local and remote. We consider various analyses features such as computation time, input data and memory requirement, importance of the analysis and minimum frequency required for performing the analysis. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach using molecular dynamics applications on the Mira and Edison supercomputers.

analysis↗

Robust multi‐loop control of a floating wind turbine

Abstract A principal challenge facing the control of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) is the problem of instability, or “negative damping,” when using blade pitch feedback to control generator speed. This closed‐loop instability can be attributed to non‐minimum phase zeros in the transfer function from blade pitch to generator speed. Standard approaches to improving stability and performance include robust tuning of control gains and introducing multiple feedback loops to respond to platform motion. Combining these approaches is nontrivial because multiple control loops complicate the impact of coupling in the system dynamics. The single‐loop approach to analyzing stability robustness neglects inter‐loop coupling, while a simplistic multi‐loop approach is highly sensitive to dimensional scaling and overestimates the robustness of the single‐loop controller. This work proposes a sensitivity representation that separates some of the natural FOWT dynamic coupling into a parallel feedback loop in the sensitivity function loop to address both of these concerns. The modified robustness measure is used with a simplified linear FOWT model to optimize scheduled multi‐loop control parameters in an automated tuning procedure. This controller is implemented for the 10‐MW Ultraflexible Smart FLoating Offshore Wind Turbine (USFLOWT) and compared against conventional single‐ and multi‐loop controllers tuned using frequency‐domain analysis and high‐fidelity OpenFAST simulations. The multi‐loop robust controller shows the highest overall performance in generator speed regulation and tower load reduction, though consideration of power quality, actuator usage, and other structural loading leads to additional trade‐offs.

Stockhouse, David↗

Optimal operation of solid-oxide electrolysis cells considering long-term chemical degradation

Optimizing the performance of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) for long-term hydrogen (H 2 ) production at high temperatures is crucial, as prolonged operation leads to efficiency losses and shorter cell lifespans due to chemical degradation. Here, in this work, we adopt a quasi-steady state approach for dynamic optimization over extended operational periods to address the disparity in timescales between cell operation and degradation. Integrating a 2-D non-isothermal SOEC model with balance-of-plant (BOP) equipment, we explore three optimization objectives: minimizing terminal degradation, maximizing integral efficiency, and minimizing the levelized cost of H 2 (LCOH). Our dynamic optimization algorithm reduces LCOH by 9.5% and 16% compared to strategies focusing solely on terminal degradation and integral efficiency, respectively. For electricity prices of 0.03 $\$$/mWh and 0.3 $\$$ mWh optimal replacement schedules range from 5 to 2 years, depending on the operational mode. Furthermore, a flexible operational mode yields additional improvements in LCOH over traditional galvanostatic and potentiostatic modes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Incorporating Wind Energy in Power System Restoration Planning

Wind energy is rapidly growing. While wind brings us clean and inexpensive energy, its inherent variability and uncertainty present challenges for the power grid. In particular, employing wind energy for power system restoration is very challenging. A fast and reliable restoration plays a vital role to achieve the self-healing power grid. This paper develops a novel offline restoration planning tool for harnessing wind energy to enhance grid resilience. The Wind-for-Restoration problem is formulated as a stochastic mixed-integer linear programming problem with generated wind energy scenarios. The problem is then decomposed into two stages and solved with the integer Lshaped algorithm. Numerical experiments have been conducted through different case studies using the modified IEEE 57-bus system. The developed tool can provide the scheduled wind power at each restoration time. The impact of wind energy is investigated from the aspects of location and inertia capability, as well as wind penetration, fluctuation, and uncertainty. Moreover, a dynamic response validation tool is developed to validate the results of optimization problem in a dynamic simulation software. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that the optimal wind harnessing strategy can help improve system restoration process and enhance system resilience.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Space Station Photovoltaic power modules

Silicon cell Photovoltaic (PV) power modules are key components of the Space Station Electrical Power System (EPS) scheduled to begin deployment in 1994. Four PV power modules, providing 75 KWe of user ac power, form the cornerstone of the EPS; which is comprised of Photovoltaic (PV) power modules, Solar Dynamic (SD) power modules, and the Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) system. The PV modules are located on rotating outboard sections of the Space Station (SS) structure and each module incorporates its own nickel-hydrogen energy storage batteries, its own thermal control system, and some autonomous control features. The PV modules are a cost-effective and technologically mature approach for providing reliable SS electrical power and are a solid base for EPS growth, which is expected to reach 300 KWe by the end of the Space Station's 30-year design lifetime.

Tatro, Charles A.↗

En route Spacing Tool: Efficient Conflict-free Spacing to Flow-Restricted Airspace

This paper describes the Air Traffic Management (ATM) problem within the U.S. of flow-restricted en route airspace, an assessment of its impact on airspace users, and a set of near-term tools and procedures to resolve the problem. The FAA is committed, over the next few years, to deploy the first generation of modem ATM decision support tool (DST) technology under the Free-Flight Phase-1 (FFp1) program. The associated en route tools include the User Request Evaluation Tool (URET) and the Traffic Management Advisor (TMA). URET is an initial conflict probe (ICP) capability that assists controllers with the detection and resolution of conflicts in en route airspace. TMA orchestrates arrivals transitioning into high-density terminal airspace by providing controllers with scheduled times of arrival (STA) and delay feedback advisories to assist with STA conformance. However, these FFPl capabilities do not mitigate the en route Miles-In-Trail (MIT) restrictions that are dynamically applied to mitigate airspace congestion. National statistics indicate that en route facilities (Centers) apply Miles-In-Trail (MIT) restrictions for approximately 5000 hours per month. Based on results from this study, an estimated 45,000 flights are impacted by these restrictions each month. Current-day practices for implementing these restrictions result in additional controller workload and an economic impact of which the fuel penalty alone may approach several hundred dollars per flight. To mitigate much of the impact of these restrictions on users and controller workload, a DST and procedures are presented. The DST is based on a simple derivative of FFP1 technology that is designed to introduce a set of simple tools for flow-rate (spacing) conformance and integrate them with conflict-probe capabilities. The tool and associated algorithms are described based on a concept prototype implemented within the CTAS baseline in 1995. A traffic scenario is used to illustrate the controller's use of the tool, and potential display options are presented for future controller evaluation.

Green, S.↗

Vertiport Dynamic Density

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is envisioned to be another spoke in a region’s transportation system, supplementing ground-based travel with air-based travel. Eventually, air taxis will be pervasive, convenient, and affordable. As demand and operations tempo increase, congestion may arise. Several characteristics of AAM reduce the applicability of techniques used in today’s National Airspace System (NAS) to manage congestion. AAM will include both scheduled and non-scheduled, on-demand operations, challenging strategic deconfliction algorithms. Flights will be fairly short, traversing an urban area, not hundreds or thousands of miles, with corresponding low energy reserves, prohibiting excessive delays. Flight operators will need flexibility in operations, scheduling a flight only minutes before departure, or diverting to an alternate vertiport if it becomes advantageous, further adding to trajectory uncertainty that would challenge strategic deconfliction. Finally, operators will desire privacy to protect sensitive information or preserve competitive advantage, limiting early access to intent information. In this paper, we present an approach for managing congestion at vertiports by providing insight into the traffic situation to support operationally-advantageous and safe land or divert decisions. We propose a metric designed with usefulness and usability in AAM operations in mind. The metric uses the sociology concept of dynamic density (DD) that takes into consideration not only number of flights, but also the interaction of those flights with the vertiport’s limited resources, namely the landing pads and the parking spots. DD supports a Pilot in Command (PIC) with decisions about whether to proceed, expedite, delay, or divert; and supports air traffic control (ATC) and vertiport operators in airspace management and vertiport usage. We demonstrate the metric on a notional vertiport scenario. We also show that DD provides better insight into congestion and resulting flight delays than an aircraft count metric used in traditional air traffic management.

Lilly Spirkovska↗