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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

Spectral line inversion for sounding of stratospheric minor constituents by infrared heterodyne technique from balloon altitudes

A combination of two different techniques for the inversion of infrared laser heterodyne measurements of tenuous gases in the stratosphere by solar occulation is presented which incorporates the advantages of each technique. An experimental approach and inversion technique are developed which optimize the retrieval of concentration profiles by incorporating the onion peel collection scheme into the spectral inversion technique. A description of an infrared heterodyne spectrometer and the mode of observations for solar occulation measurement is presented, and the results of inversions of some synthetic ClO spectral lines corresponding to solar occulation limb-scans of the stratosphere are examined. A comparison between the new techniques and one of the current techniques indicates that considerable improvement in the accuracy of the retrieved profiles can be achieved. It is found that noise affects the accuracy of both techniques but not in a straightforward manner since there is interaction between the noise level, noise propagation through inversion, and the number of scans leading to an optimum retrieval.

Abbas, M. M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Application of a sensitivity analysis technique to high-order digital flight control systems

A sensitivity analysis technique for multiloop flight control systems is studied. This technique uses the scaled singular values of the return difference matrix as a measure of the relative stability of a control system. It then uses the gradients of these singular values with respect to system and controller parameters to judge sensitivity. The sensitivity analysis technique is first reviewed; then it is extended to include digital systems, through the derivation of singular-value gradient equations. Gradients with respect to parameters which do not appear explicitly as control-system matrix elements are also derived, so that high-order systems can be studied. A complete review of the integrated technique is given by way of a simple example: the inverted pendulum problem. The technique is then demonstrated on the X-29 control laws. Results show linear models of real systems can be analyzed by this sensitivity technique, if it is applied with care. A computer program called SVA was written to accomplish the singular-value sensitivity analysis techniques. Thus computational methods and considerations form an integral part of many of the discussions. A user's guide to the program is included. The SVA is a fully public domain program, running on the NASA/Dryden Elxsi computer.

Paduano, James D.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Correlation of Ultrasonic Polar Backscatter with the Deply Technique for Assessment of Impact Damage in Composite Laminates

Ultrasonic polar backscatter, a quantitative NDE technique introduced by O'Donnell and Miller (1981), was used to characterize impact damages in a 16-ply graphite-epoxy laminate. The results were correlated with the results obtained by the destructive deply technique of Freeman (1984). The size, shape, and orientation of damage correlated well between the polar backscatter technique and the deply technique. There was good quantitative correlation between the areas of damage indicated by the two techniques, suggesting that the polar backscatter technique is sensitive to specific orientations of damage. The polar backscatter technique provides a good qualitative image of the size and shape of the largest zone of damage in each of the principal orientations; a quantitative estimate of the extent of these largest damage zones can then be obtained.

Blodgett, E. D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The application of emulation techniques in the analysis of highly reliable, guidance and control computer systems

Emulation techniques can be a solution to a difficulty that arises in the analysis of the reliability of guidance and control computer systems for future commercial aircraft. Described here is the difficulty, the lack of credibility of reliability estimates obtained by analytical modeling techniques. The difficulty is an unavoidable consequence of the following: (1) a reliability requirement so demanding as to make system evaluation by use testing infeasible; (2) a complex system design technique, fault tolerance; (3) system reliability dominated by errors due to flaws in the system definition; and (4) elaborate analytical modeling techniques whose precision outputs are quite sensitive to errors of approximation in their input data. Use of emulation techniques for pseudo-testing systems to evaluate bounds on the parameter values needed for the analytical techniques is then discussed. Finally several examples of the application of emulation techniques are described.

Migneault, Gerard E.↗
NASA NTRS1989

A vector scanning processing technique for pulsed laser velocimetry

Pulsed laser sheet velocimetry yields nonintrusive measurements of two-dimensional velocity vectors across an extended planar region of a flow. Current processing techniques offer high precision (1 pct) velocity estimates, but can require several hours of processing time on specialized array processors. Under some circumstances, a simple, fast, less accurate (approx. 5 pct), data reduction technique which also gives unambiguous velocity vector information is acceptable. A direct space domain processing technique was examined. The direct space domain processing technique was found to be far superior to any other techniques known, in achieving the objectives listed above. It employs a new data coding and reduction technique, where the particle time history information is used directly. Further, it has no 180 deg directional ambiguity. A complex convection vortex flow was recorded and completely processed in under 2 minutes on an 80386 based PC, producing a 2-D velocity vector map of the flow field. Hence, using this new space domain vector scanning (VS) technique, pulsed laser velocimetry data can be reduced quickly and reasonably accurately, without specialized array processing hardware.

Wernet, Mark P.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Reduced-dynamic technique for precise orbit determination of low earth satellites

A reduced-dynamic technique for precise orbit determination of low earth satellites is described. This technique optimally combines the conventional dynamic technique with the nondynamic technique which uses differential GPS continuous carrier phase to define the state transition. A Kalman filter formulation for this reduced-dynamic technique is given. A covariance analysis shows that when neither the dynamic nor the nondynamic technique is clearly superior, the reduced-dynamic technique appreciably improves the orbit accuracy. Guidelines for selecting a near-optimum weighting for the combination are given. Sensitivity to suboptimal weighting is assessed.

Wu, Sien-Chong↗
NASA NTRS1989

Signal processing applied to photothermal techniques for materials characterization

There is a need to make noncontact measurements of material characteristics in the microgravity environment. Photothermal and photoacoustics techniques offer one approach for attaining this capability since lasers can be used to generate the required thermal or acoustic signals. The perturbations in the materials that can be used for characterization can be detected by optical reflectance, infrared detection or laser detection of photoacoustics. However, some of these laser techniques have disadvantages of either high energy pulsed excitation or low signal-to-noise ratio. Alternative signal processing techniques that have been developed can be applied to photothermal or photoacoustic instrumentation. One fully coherent spread spectrum signal processing technique is called time delay spectrometry (TDS). With TDS the system is excited using a combined frequency-time domain by employing a linear frequency sweep excitation function. The processed received signal can provide either frequency, phase or improved time resolution. This signal processing technique was shown to outperform other time selective techniques with respect to noise rejection and was recently applied to photothermal instrumentation. The technique yields the mathematical equivalent of pulses yet the input irradiances are orders of magnitude less than pulses with the concomitant reduction in perturbation of the sample and can increase the capability of photothermal methods for materials characterization.

Rooney, James A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

An expert system shell for inferring vegetation characteristics: Implementation of additional techniques (task E)

The NASA VEGetation Workbench (VEG) is a knowledge based system that infers vegetation characteristics from reflectance data. The VEG subgoal PROPORTION.GROUND.COVER has been completed and a number of additional techniques that infer the proportion ground cover of a sample have been implemented. Some techniques operate on sample data at a single wavelength. The techniques previously incorporated in VEG for other subgoals operated on data at a single wavelength so implementing the additional single wavelength techniques required no changes to the structure of VEG. Two techniques which use data at multiple wavelengths to infer proportion ground cover were also implemented. This work involved modifying the structure of VEG so that multiple wavelength techniques could be incorporated. All the new techniques were tested using both the VEG 'Research Mode' and the 'Automatic Mode.'

Harrison, P. Ann↗
NASA NTRS1993

Validation of a nonintrusive optical technique for the measurement of liquid mass distribution in a two-phase spray

This work is the continuation of an optical technique development program initiated as part of the 1992 Summer Faculty Fellowship Program. The 1992 work consisted of the formulation and implementation of a technique ivolving the spatial deconvolution of fluorescence data from a uniformly illuminated, seeded densed spray to obtain quantitative measurements of the liquid density profiles. This measurement approach largely overcomes substantial scattering problems associated with other optical approaches for two-phase flows. However, to apply this measurement approach with confidence to unknown flows, the technique must be validated. Consequently, technique validation using classical grid patternator techniques has been focus of the current work. This work has included the design and construction of a patternator rig and the implementation of a test program designed for the comparison of patternator data with the deconvolved optical data. The flow field used for the validation is the plume of an axisymetric swirl coaxial LOX injector being considered for use in the Space Transportation System Main Engine. The flow facility is an improved version of the test rig which was constructed in 1992 for the initial technique development. This report includes a brief description of the optical measurement technique and the patternator rig and a presentation of the data comparisons.

Hartfield, Roy, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Dynamic measurements of thermophysical properties of metals and alloys at high temperatures by subsecond pulse heating techniques

Rapid (subsecond) heating techniques developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the measurements of selected thermophysical and related properties of metals and alloys at high temperatures (above 1000 C) are described. The techniques are based on rapid resistive self-heating of the specimen from room temperature to the desired high temperature in short times and measuring the relevant experimental quantities, such as electrical current through the specimen, voltage across the specimen, specimen temperature, length, etc., with appropriate time resolution. The first technique, referred to as the millisecond-resolution technique, is for measurements on solid metals and alloys in the temperature range 1000 C to the melting temperature of the specimen. It utilizes a heavy battery bank for the energy source, and the total heating time of the specimen is typically in the range of 100-1000 ms. Data are recorded digitally every 0.5 ms with a full-scale resolution of about one part in 8000. The properties that can be measured with this system are as follows: specific heat, enthalpy, thermal expansion, electrical resistivity, normal spectral emissivity, hemispherical total emissivity, temperature and energy of solid-solid phase transformations, and melting temperature (solidus). The second technique, referred to as the microsecond-resolution technique, is for measurements on liquid metals and alloys in the temperature range 1200 to 6000 C. It utilizes a capacitor bank for the energy source, and the total heating time of the specimen is typically in the range 50-500 micro-s. Data are recorded digitally every 0.5 micro-s with a full-scale resolution of about one part in 4000. The properties that can be measured with this system are: melting temperature (solidus and liquidus), heat of fusion, specific heat, enthalpy, and electrical resistivity. The third technique is for measurements of the surface tension of liquid metals and alloys at their melting temperature. It utilizes a modified millisecond-resolution heating system designed for use in a microgravity environment.

Cezairliyan, Ared↗
NASA NTRS1993

Hybrid techniques for complex aerospace electromagnetics problems

Important aerospace electromagnetics problems include the evaluation of antenna performance on aircraft and the prediction and control of the aircraft's electromagnetic signature. Due to the ever increasing complexity and expense of aircraft design, aerospace engineers have become increasingly dependent on computer solutions. Traditionally, computational electromagnetics (CEM) has relied primarily on four disparate techniques: the method of moments (MoM), the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique, the finite element method (FEM), and high frequency asymptotic techniques (HFAT) such as ray tracing. Each of these techniques has distinct advantages and disadvantages, and no single technique is capable of accurately solving all problems of interest on computers that are available now or will be available in the foreseeable future. As a result, new approaches that overcome the deficiencies of traditional techniques are beginning to attract a great deal of interest in the CEM community. Among these new approaches are hybrid methods which combine two or more of these techniques into a coherent model. During the ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program a hybrid FEM/MoM computer code was developed and applied to a geometry containing features found on many modern aircraft.

Aberle, Jim↗
NASA NTRS1994

An adaptive technique to maximize lossless image data compression of satellite images

Data compression will pay an increasingly important role in the storage and transmission of image data within NASA science programs as the Earth Observing System comes into operation. It is important that the science data be preserved at the fidelity the instrument and the satellite communication systems were designed to produce. Lossless compression must therefore be applied, at least, to archive the processed instrument data. In this paper, we present an analysis of the performance of lossless compression techniques and develop an adaptive approach which applied image remapping, feature-based image segmentation to determine regions of similar entropy and high-order arithmetic coding to obtain significant improvements over the use of conventional compression techniques alone. Image remapping is used to transform the original image into a lower entropy state. Several techniques were tested on satellite images including differential pulse code modulation, bi-linear interpolation, and block-based linear predictive coding. The results of these experiments are discussed and trade-offs between computation requirements and entropy reductions are used to identify the optimum approach for a variety of satellite images. Further entropy reduction can be achieved by segmenting the image based on local entropy properties then applying a coding technique which maximizes compression for the region. Experimental results are presented showing the effect of different coding techniques for regions of different entropy. A rule-base is developed through which the technique giving the best compression is selected. The paper concludes that maximum compression can be achieved cost effectively and at acceptable performance rates with a combination of techniques which are selected based on image contextual information.

Stewart, Robert J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Dual-Line Detection Rayleigh Scattering Diagnostic Technique for the Combustion of Hydrocarbon Fuels and Filtered UV Rayleigh Scattering for Gas Velocity Measurements

Non-intrusive techniques for the dynamic measurement of gas flow properties such as density, temperature and velocity, are needed in the research leading to the development of new generation high-speed aircraft. Accurate velocity, temperature and density data obtained in ground testing and in-flight measurements can help understand the flow physics leading to transition and turbulence in supersonic, high-altitude flight. Such non-intrusive measurement techniques can also be used to study combustion processes of hydrocarbon fuels in aircraft engines. Reliable, time and space resolved temperature measurements in various combustor configurations can lead to a better understanding of high temperature chemical reaction dynamics thus leading to improved modeling and better prediction of such flows. In view of this, a research program was initiated at Polytechnic University's Aerodynamics Laboratory with support from NASA Lewis Research Center through grants NAG3-1301 and NAG3-1690. The overall objective of this program has been to develop laser-based, non-contact, space- and time-resolved temperature and velocity measurement techniques. In the initial phase of the program a ND:YAG laser-based dual-line Rayleigh scattering technique was developed and tested for the accurate measurement of gas temperature in the presence of background laser glare. Effort was next directed towards the development of a filtered, spectrally-resolved Rayleigh/Mie scattering technique with the objective of developing an interferometric method for time-frozen velocity measurements in high-speed flows utilizing the uv line of an ND:YAG laser and an appropriate molecular absorption filter. This effort included both a search for an appropriate filter material for the 266 nm laser line and the development and testing of several image processing techniques for the fast processing of Fabry-Perot images for velocity and temperature information. Finally, work was also carried out for the development of a new laser-based strain-rate and vorticity technique for the time-resolved measurement of vorticity and strain-rates in turbulent flows.

Otugen, M. Volkan↗
NASA NTRS1993

Hybrid Analytical Technique for Nonlinear Vibration Analysis of Thin-Walled Beams

A two-step hybrid analytical technique is presented for the nonlinear vibration analysis of thin-walled beams. The first step involves the generation of various-order perturbation functions using the Linstedt-Poincare perturbation technique. The second step consists of using the perturbation functions as coordinate (or approximation) functions and then computing both the amplitudes of these functions and the nonlinear frequency of vibration via a direct variational procedure. The analytical formulation is based on a form of the geometrically nonlinear beam theory with the effects of in-plane inertia, rotatory inertia, and transverse shear deformation included. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is demonstrated by means of a numerical example of thin-walled beam with a doubly symmetric I-section. The solutions obtained using a single-spatial mode were compared with those obtained using multiple-spatial modes. The standard of comparison was taken to be the frequencies obtained by the direct integration/fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique. The nonlinear frequencies obtained by the hybrid technique were shown to converge to the corresponding ones obtained by the direct integration/fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique well beyond the range of applicability of the perturbation technique. The frequencies and total strain energy of the beam were overestimated by using a single-spatial mode.

Noor, Ahmed K.↗
NASA NTRS2002

A TRMM-Calibrated Infrared Technique for Global Rainfall Estimation

The development of a satellite infrared (IR) technique for estimating convective and stratiform rainfall and its application in studying the diurnal variability of rainfall on a global scale is presented. The Convective-Stratiform Technique (CST), calibrated by coincident, physically retrieved rain rates from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR), is applied over the global tropics during 2001. The technique is calibrated separately over land and ocean, making ingenious use of the IR data from the TRMM Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) before application to global geosynchronous satellite data. The low sampling rate of TRMM PR imposes limitations on calibrating IR-based techniques; however, our research shows that PR observations can be applied to improve IR-based techniques significantly by selecting adequate calibration areas and calibration length. The diurnal cycle of rainfall, as well as the division between convective and stratiform rainfall will be presented. The technique is validated using available data sets and compared to other global rainfall products such as Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) IR product, calibrated with TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) data. The calibrated CST technique has the advantages of high spatial resolution (4 km), filtering of non-raining cirrus clouds, and the stratification of the rainfall into its convective and stratiform components, the latter being important for the calculation of vertical profiles of latent heating.

Negri, Andrew J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

A TRMM-Calibrated Infrared Technique for Global Rainfall Estimation

This paper presents the development of a satellite infrared (IR) technique for estimating convective and stratiform rainfall and its application in studying the diurnal variability of rainfall on a global scale. The Convective-Stratiform Technique (CST), calibrated by coincident, physically retrieved rain rates from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR), is applied over the global tropics during summer 2001. The technique is calibrated separately over land and ocean, making ingenious use of the IR data from the TRMM Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) before application to global geosynchronous satellite data. The low sampling rate of TRMM PR imposes limitations on calibrating IR- based techniques; however, our research shows that PR observations can be applied to improve IR-based techniques significantly by selecting adequate calibration areas and calibration length. The diurnal cycle of rainfall, as well as the division between convective and ~ t i f m rainfall will be presented. The technique is validated using available data sets and compared to other global rainfall products such as Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) IR product, calibrated with TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) data. The calibrated CST technique has the advantages of high spatial resolution (4 km), filtering of non-raining cirrus clouds, and the stratification of the rainfall into its convective and stratiform components, the latter being important for the calculation of vertical profiles of latent heating.

Negri, Andrew J.↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Comparison of Potential IM-CW Lidar Modulation Techniques for ASCENDS CO2 Column Measurements From Space

Global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements through the Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) Decadal Survey recommended space mission are critical for improving our understanding of CO2 sources and sinks. IM-CW (Intensity Modulated Continuous Wave) lidar techniques are investigated as a means of facilitating CO2 measurements from space to meet the ASCENDS science requirements. In previous laboratory and flight experiments we have successfully used linear swept frequency modulation to discriminate surface lidar returns from intermediate aerosol and cloud contamination. Furthermore, high accuracy and precision ranging to the surface as well as to the top of intermediate clouds, which is a requirement for the inversion of the CO2 column-mixing ratio from the instrument optical depth measurements, has been demonstrated with the linear swept frequency modulation technique. We are concurrently investigating advanced techniques to help improve the auto-correlation properties of the transmitted waveform implemented through physical hardware to make cloud rejection more robust in special restricted scenarios. Several different carrier based modulation techniques are compared including orthogonal linear swept, orthogonal non-linear swept, and Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK). Techniques are investigated that reduce or eliminate sidelobes. These techniques have excellent auto-correlation properties while possessing a finite bandwidth (by way of a new cyclic digital filter), which will reduce bias error in the presence of multiple scatterers. Our analyses show that the studied modulation techniques can increase the accuracy of CO2 column measurements from space. A comparison of various properties such as signal to noise ratio (SNR) and time-bandwidth product are discussed.

Campbell, Joel F.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Rapid Fabrication Techniques for Liquid Rocket Channel Wall Nozzles

The functions of a regeneratively-cooled nozzle are to (1) expand combustion gases to increase exhaust gas velocity while, (2) maintaining adequate wall temperatures to prevent structural failure, and (3) transfer heat from the hot gases to the coolant fluid to promote injector performance and stability. Regeneratively-cooled nozzles are grouped into two categories: tube-wall nozzles and channel wall nozzles. A channel wall nozzle is designed with an internal liner containing a series of integral coolant channels that are closed out with an external jacket. Manifolds are attached at each end of the nozzle to distribute coolant to and away from the channels. A variety of manufacturing techniques have been explored for channel wall nozzles, including state of the art laser-welded closeouts and pressure-assisted braze closeouts. This paper discusses techniques that NASA MSFC is evaluating for rapid fabrication of channel wall nozzles that address liner fabrication, slotting techniques and liner closeout techniques. Techniques being evaluated for liner fabrication include large-scale additive manufacturing of freeform-deposition structures to create the liner blanks. Abrasive water jet milling is being evaluated for cutting the complex coolant channel geometries. Techniques being considered for rapid closeout of the slotted liners include freeform deposition, explosive bonding and Cold Spray. Each of these techniques, development work and results are discussed in further detail in this paper.

Gradl, Paul R.↗