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At least 721 records · Page 40

The CMS Magnetic Field Measuring and Monitoring Systems

This review article describes the performance of the magnetic field measuring and monitoring systems for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector. To cross-check the magnetic flux distribution obtained with the CMS magnet model, four systems for measuring the magnetic flux density in the detector volume were used. The magnetic induction inside the 6 m diameter superconducting solenoid was measured and is currently monitored by four nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes installed using special tubes outside the barrel hadron calorimeter. Two more NRM probes were installed at the faces of the tracking system. The field inside the superconducting solenoid was precisely measured in 2006 in a cylindrical volume of 3.448 m in diameter and 7 m in length using 10 three-dimensional (3D) B-sensors based on the Hall effect. These B-sensors were installed on each of the two propeller arms of an automated field-mapping machine. In addition to these measurement systems, a system for monitoring the magnetic field during the CMS detector operation has been developed. Inside the solenoid in the horizontal plane, 4 3D B-sensors were installed at the faces of the tracking detector. Twelve 3D B-sensors were installed on the surfaces of the flux-return yoke nose disks. Seventy 3D B-sensors were installed in the air gaps of the CMS magnet yoke. A specially developed flux loop technique was used for the most complex measurements of the magnetic flux density inside the steel blocks of the CMS magnet yoke. The flux loops are installed in 22 sections of the flux-return yoke blocks. The areas enclosed by these coils varied from 0.3 to 1.59 m$^{2}$ in the blocks of the barrel wheels and from 0.5 to 1.12 m$^{2}$ in the blocks of the yoke endcap disks. The development of these systems and the results of the magnetic flux density measurements across the CMS magnet are presented and discussed in this review article.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Effective Transition Management: The Seamless System

In this age of shrinking resources, cost avoidance has become as critical as direct cost savings. There is no doubt that Effective Transition Management (ETM) achieves this aim. What then, is ETM and how does it achieve its goal? It is the introduction and use of a hierarchical decision model and computerized tracking system which successfully integrates capital acquisition into the support base. You will discover that because this proven system is generic, compatible and flexible, its applications are virtually unlimited. It is this highly dynamic process which I would like to share with you. Skilled specialists are now rotated rapidly through acquisition programs on a requirements-driven basis. Managers continue their quest for inefficient areas to trim, slash or cut. However, there is one area of operations in every major corporation and government department that, as yet, has not received the attention it deserves. This essential element is Transition Management. Capital acquisitions, at some point, must be handed off to a support matrix for the 'in-service' phase of their life cycle. Most of us who have been on the receiving end can usually cite outrageous examples of adjustment, recovery or disaster. This means buying what amounts to a second initial sparing package, re-aligning the range and depth of inventory to match a changed maintenance concept, interpreting contractor-developed configuration control data or ensuring that the latest information is contained in the technical publications. This list is endless. For major purchases, this 'in-service' phase is often fifteen, twenty or more years. The least desirable, yet most common condition, is to suffer up to five years of recovering from errors or omissions after the transition to the support matrix occurs. Without ETM, making new equipment fully operational may thus become a long and costly process.

Burke, Marty↗

Operator modeling in commerical aviation: Cognitive models, intelligent displays, and pilot's assistants

One of the goals of the National Aviation Safety/Automation program is to address the issue of human-centered automation in the cockpit. Human-centered automation is automation that, in the cockpit, enhances or assists the crew rather than replacing them. The Georgia Tech research program focused on this general theme, with emphasis on designing a computer-based pilot's assistant, intelligent (i.e, context-sensitive) displays, and an intelligent tutoring system for understanding and operating the autoflight system. In particular, the aids and displays were designed to enhance the crew's situational awareness of the current state of the automated flight systems and to assist the crew's situational awareness of the current state of the automated flight systems and to assist the crew in coordinating the autoflight system resources. The activities of this grant included: (1) an OFMspert to understand pilot navigation activities in a 727 class aircraft; (2) an extension of OFMspert to understand mode control in a glass cockpit, Georgia Tech Crew Activity Tracking System (GT-CATS); (3) the design of a training system to teach pilots about the vertical navigation portion of the flight management system -VNAV Tutor; and (4) a proof-of-concept display, using existing display technology, to facilitate mode awareness, particularly in situations in which controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) is a potential.

Govindaraj, T.↗

Simulation of Wind Profile Perturbations for Launch Vehicle Ascent Flight Systems Design Assessments

Ideally, a statistically representative sample of measured high-resolution wind profiles with wavelengths as small as tens of meters is required for assessment of launch vehicle ascent flight systems component capability and vehicle operability for a selected launch site. At most potential launch sites a sample of high-resolution measured wind profiles may not exist. Representative samples of Rawinsonde wind profiles are more likely to be available because of the extensive network of measurement sites established for routine measurements at 12-hr intervals in support of national and international weather observing and forecasting activity. Such a sample, although large enough to statistically represent relatively large wavelength perturbations, would be inadequate for launch system design assessment applications because the Rawinsonde system can accurately measure wind perturbations with wavelengths no smaller than 2000m (1000m altitude increment). Wavelengths less than 2000m in the raw Rawinsonde data, which tend to be dominated by un-damped spurious balloon motion and radar tracking system noise, are filtered within the data processing scheme. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Jimsphere wind profiles (150/month and seasonal pairs) are the only adequate high resolution (approximately 150 to 300m effective resolution, but over-sampled at 25m intervals) data that have been used extensively in launch vehicle design, operability assessments and operational protection of vehicle systems for wind perturbation uncertainty. Jimsphere wind profiles have been measured at a few other potential launch sites but the number of profiles is relatively small and the samples are not statistically representative of the site dependent wind profile variability. A simulation process has been developed for enhancement of measured low-resolution Rawinsonde profiles that are more likely to be available in the vicinity of potential launch sites and are a statistically representative sample of wind profile perturbation wavelengths greater than 2000m. The enhancement produces perturbed wind profiles with wavelengths as small as desired for application in launch vehicle ascent flight simulations and design assessments.

Adelfang, S. I.↗

The New Space Network: the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System

When the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)is completed, the system, together with its various NASA support elements will be known simply as the Space Networks. It will substantially increase information exchanges between low-orbiting spacecraft and the ground. The structural design, functions, earth-based links, and present and future use are discussed.

Froehlich, W.↗

An overview of reference user services during the ATDRSS (Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System) era

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) is an integral part of the overall NASA Space Network (SN) that will continue to evolve into the 1990's. Projections for the first decade of the 21st century indicate the need for an SN evolution that must accommodate growth int he LEO user population and must further support the introduction of new/improved user services. A central ingredient of this evolution is an Advanced TDRSS (ATDRSS) follow-on to the current TDRSS that must initiate operations by the late 1990's in a manner that permits an orderly transition from the TDRSS to the ATDRSS era. An SN/ATDRSS architectural and operational concept that will satisfy the above goals is being developed. To this date, an SN/ATDRSS baseline concept was established that provides users with an end-to-end data transport (ENDAT) service. An expanded description of the baseline ENDAT concept, from the user perspective, is provided with special emphasis on the TDRSS/ATDRSS evolution. A high-level description of the end-to-end system that identifies the role of ATDRSS is presented; also included is a description of the baseline ATDRSS architecture and its relationship with the TDRSS 1996 baseline. Other key features of the ENDAT service are then expanded upon, including the multiple grades of service, and the RF telecommunications/tracking services to be available. The ATDRSS service options are described.

Weinberg, Aaron↗

NASA tracking ship navigation systems

The ship position and attitude measurement system that was installed aboard the tracking ship Vanguard is described. An overview of the entire system is given along with a description of how precise time and frequency is utilized. The instrumentation is broken down into its basic components. Particular emphasis is given to the inertial navigation system. Each navigation system used, a mariner star tracker, navigation satellite system, Loran C and OMEGA in conjunction with the inertial system is described. The accuracy of each system is compared along with their limitations.

Mckenna, J. J.↗

Ion tracking in an electrostatic potential distribution

An ion tracking system utilizing a single detector was designed to resolve two dimensional potential distributions in a vacuum. The ion detector consisted of a continuous dynode electron multiplier tube mounted behind a series of aperture plates. The detector was located on a track below a wedge shaped structure used to produce the desired potential distribution. A 150 volt electron beam aimed at selected regions, ionized the residual gas in the chamber. The ions were ejected from their source points by electrostatic forces causing them to drift downward toward the detector. Measurements of particle energy, detector position, and entry angle of the incoming particle flux were used to initialize a computer trajectory-tracing program. The program assumes a known theoretically calculated potential distribution near the wedge for computation of particle trajectories, providing a basis for evaluating the data. Special attention was given to characterization of the ion detector.

Ross, D. P.↗

Adaptive DIT-Based Fringe Tracking and Prediction at IOTA

An automatic fringe tracking system has been developed and implemented at the Infrared Optical Telescope Array (IOTA). In testing during May 2002, the system successfully minimized the optical path differences (OPDs) for all three baselines at IOTA. Based on sliding window discrete Fourier transform (DFT) calculations that were optimized for computational efficiency and robustness to atmospheric disturbances, the algorithm has also been tested extensively on off-line data. Implemented in ANSI C on the 266 MHZ PowerPC processor running the VxWorks real-time operating system, the algorithm runs in approximately 2.0 milliseconds per scan (including all three interferograms), using the science camera and piezo scanners to measure and correct the OPDs. Preliminary analysis on an extension of this algorithm indicates a potential for predictive tracking, although at present, real-time implementation of this extension would require significantly more computational capacity.

Wilson, Edward↗

Context in Models of Human-Machine Systems

All human-machine systems models represent context. This paper proposes a theory of context through which models may be usefully related and integrated for design. The paper presents examples of context representation in various models, describes an application to developing models for the Crew Activity Tracking System (CATS), and advances context as a foundation for integrated design of complex dynamic systems.

Callantine, Todd J.↗

Memory page access counts based on page refresh

A processing system tracks counts of accesses to memory pages using a set of counters located at the memory module that stores the pages, wherein the counts are adjusted at least in part based on refreshes of the memory pages. This approach allows a processing system to efficiently maintain the counts with relatively small counters and with relatively low overhead. Furthermore, the rate at which the counters are adjusted, relative to the page refreshes, is adjustable, so that the access counts are useful for a wide variety of application types.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

The CMS Phase II Outer Tracker Upgrade at Fermilab

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be upgraded to increase the instantaneous luminosity up to 5−7.5×10 34 cm −2 s −1 . To face these challenging conditions the CMS tracking system must be updated, using modules that on the one hand are able to cope with high radiations and on the other hand can provide information to the L-1 trigger selection. This report describes the results of some tests on the new tracking modules at the FNAL test beam facility. In particular half of one module was irradiated by 400 MeV protons (total fluence comparable to the one expected through the lifetime of the experiment) and then some analysis were performed on both the irradiated and not irradiated side of the detector with a 120 GeV proton beam. In this report, the efficiency and noise occupancy analysis are presented, with focus on the main critical issues encountered.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Nodding feed antenna for communications with satellites in synchronous orbit

The design, fabrication, and performance of a parabolic, ground receiving antenna system with a feed that nods in one axis producing a maximum beam deviation 1.1 deg from boresight is described. The antenna design was: (1)to lower the weight (and the subsequent cost) of the supporting structure and the actuator motors for a tracking antenna by moving just the feed; (2) to use a manual tracking system eliminating the need for expensive electronic controls or computers; (3) to provide for several hours of unattended operation; and (4)to permit operation of the antenna by unskilled personnel. Also described are some physical and orbital phenomenon that effect the operation or design of the antenna. One is the motion of a nearly geostationary satellite due to gravitational forces from the sun, the moon, and other stellar bodies. Others are the rotation of the nodding axis and the feed polarization as a function of the location of the station on the earth. A comparison of per unit cost was made for one unit and a quantity of 100.

Smetana, J.↗

Satellite eclipse power by laser illumination

A method is proposed to eliminate the energy storage system required to power a satellite in geosynchronous orbit during eclipse. An array of high-power CW lasers is situated at one or more ground locations in line of sight of the satellite, preferably on mountaintops. The lasers are provided with a tracking system, and lenses or mirrors of sufficient size to reduce the beam spread due to diffraction. As the satellite enters eclipse, the laser arrays illuminate the solar arrays on the satellite to a level sufficient to provide operating power.

Landis, Geoffrey A.↗

Precise orbit computation and sea surface modeling

The research project described below is part of a long-term program at Delft University of Technology aiming at the application of European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS-1) and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter measurements for geophysical purposes. This program started in 1980 with the processing of Seasat laser range and altimeter height measurements and concentrates today on the analysis of Geosat altimeter data. The objectives of the TOPEX/POSEIDON research project are the tracking of the satellite by the Dutch mobile laser tracking system MTLRS-2, the computation of precise TOPEX/POSEIDON orbits, the analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of the orbit errors, the improvement of ERS-1 orbits through the information obtained from the altimeter crossover difference residuals for crossing ERS-1 and TOPEX/POSEIDON tracks, the combination of ERS-1 and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data into a single high-precision data set, and the application of this data set to model the sea surface. The latter application will focus on the determination of detailed regional mean sea surfaces, sea surface variability, ocean topography, and ocean currents in the North Atlantic, the North Sea, the seas around Indonesia, the West Pacific, and the oceans around South Africa.

Wakker, Karel F.↗

Gravity Estimation from a Simulated GRACE Mission: Short vs. Long Arcs

We present simulations of gravity estimation from a GRACE-like satellite mission: low-low intersatellite tracking with a precision of order 1 micron s(exp -1) yielding gravity fields of degree and order 120. We employ a unique parameterization of the intersatellite baseline vector which allows the gravity estimation to be performed (relatively) independently of the GPS (global positioning system) tracking data once sufficiently accurate orbits are obtained. This considerably simplifies data processing during the gravity estimation. During that process only certain components of the baseline parameterization need be adjusted; other components are uncorrelated with gravity and may be adopted unchanged from the initial GPS orbits. The technique is also amenable to very short arcs of data. We present comparisons of gravity estimation from 30 days of observations with arcs of length 15 minutes vs. arcs of one day. Our 'truth' field is the EGM96 (Earth Gravitational Model) model; our prior field is a degree-70 clone of EGM96, perturbed from it by amounts comparable to the standard errors of EGM96 (and identically zero for degrees 71-120). For a high inclination orbit, the short-arc analysis recovers low order gravity coefficients remarkably well, although higher order terms, especially sectorial terms, are understandably less accurate. The simulations suggest that either long or short arcs of GRACE data are likely to improve parts of the geopotential spectrum by several orders of magnitude. This is especially so for low order coefficients, which are markedly improved for all degrees through 120.

Rowlands, David D.↗

A solar wind turbulence event during the Voyager 1978 solar conjunction profiled via new DSN radio science

A radio science data capability within the DSN Tracking System is described. This capability consists of routine provision of phase fluctuation data concurrently computed over several different time scales. This capability was used to observe phase fluctuation spectral characteristics during a rapid increase in solar wind turbulence that occurred during a July 23, 1978 track of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by Deep Space Station 11. It is suggested that the capability will prove useful in studies of variations of solar wind phase fluctuation spectral characteristics with, for instance, parameters such as the solar cycle and radial distance.

Berman, A. L.↗