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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 757 records · Page 42

Low-Cost Flow Visualization for a Supersonic Ejector

Shadowgraph techniques were applied to the cold flow ejector facility at the Propulsion Research Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The setup for the experiments was relatively simple and was accomplished at very little cost. Series of shadowgraph images were taken of both dual nozzle and single nozzle strut based ejectors operating over a range of chamber pressures. The density gradient patterns in the shadowgraphs were compared to pressure data measured along the top and side walls of the mixing duct. The shadowgraph images showed the presence of barrel shocks emanating from the nozzles which at low pressures terminated in Mach disks and at higher pressures extended beyond the barrel shape and reflected off the walls of the duct. Based on pressure data from previous testing, reflected shocks were expected on the walls of the duct. The shadowgraph images confirmed the locations of these reflected shocks on the top wall of the duct. The shadowgraph images also showed the structure change which correlated to a change in pitch of the ejector noise, and corresponded to a change in trend of the duct wall pressure ratio distributions. The images produced from the setup provided insight into the complex flow behavior inside the ejector duct. In addition, the techniques were a valuable tool as an educational device for students.

Olden, George W.↗

VAINE: Visualization and AI for Natural Experiments

Natural experiments are observational studies where the assignment of treatment conditions to different populations occur by chance ``in the wild''. Researchers from fields such as economics, healthcare, and the social sciences leverage natural experiments to conduct hypothesis testing and causal effect estimation for treatment and outcome variables that would otherwise be costly, infeasible, or unethical. In this paper, we introduce VAINE (Visualization and AI for Natural Experiments), a visual analytics tool for identifying and understanding natural experiments from observational data. We then demonstrate how VAINE can be used to validate causal relationships, estimate average treatment effects, and identify statistical phenomena such as Simpson’s paradox through two use cases.

Guo, Grace↗

The State of the Art in Visualizing Dynamic Multivariate Networks

Abstract Most real‐world networks are both dynamic and multivariate in nature, meaning that the network is associated with various attributes and both the network structure and attributes evolve over time. Visualizing dynamic multivariate networks is of great significance to the visualization community because of their wide applications across multiple domains. However, it remains challenging because the techniques should focus on representing the network structure, attributes and their evolution concurrently. Many real‐world network analysis tasks require the concurrent usage of the three aspects of the dynamic multivariate networks. In this paper, we analyze current techniques and present a taxonomy to classify the existing visualization techniques based on three aspects: temporal encoding, topology encoding, and attribute encoding. Finally, we survey application areas and evaluation methods; and discuss challenges for future research.

Kale, Bharat↗

Plasmonics-Enhanced Optical Imaging Systems for Bioenergy Research

This final report summarizes the key accomplishments of the project entitled “Plasmonics-Enhanced Optical Imaging Systems for Bioenergy Research”. The goal of this project is aimed at developing innovative and improved imaging instrumentation for visualization and quantitative characterization of biomarkers related to molecular processes and cellular function in living plants. This project focused on three specific aims: 1) Development of Advanced Multimodal Optical Sensing And Imaging Combinatory (MOSAIC) System for SERS biosensing and bioimaging. 2) Evaluation of MOSAIC technologies for sensing and imaging gene expression in plant systems using plasmonic nanoprobes. 3) Application of MOSAIC techniques to bioenergy research.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Visualization of solidification front phenomena

Directional solidification experiments have been utilized throughout the Materials Processing in Space Program to provide an experimental platform which minimizes variables in solidification experiments. Because of the wide-spread use of this experimental technique in space-based research, it has become apparent that a better understanding of all the phenomena occurring during solidification can be better understood if direct visualization of the solidification interface were possible.

Workman, Gary L.↗

NASA Global Satellite and Model Data Products and Services for Tropical Meteorology and Climatology

Satellite remote sensing and model data play an important role in research and applications of tropical meteorology and climatology over vast, data sparse oceans and remote continents. Since the first weather satellite was launched by NASA in 1960, a large collection of NASA's Earth science data is freely available to the research and application communities around the world, significantly improving our overall understanding of the Earth system and environment. Established in the mid-80s, the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC), located in Maryland, USA, is a data archive center for multidisciplinary, satellite and model assimilation data products. As one of the 12 NASA data centers in Earth Sciences, GES DISC hosts several important NASA satellite missions for tropical meteorology and climatology such as the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission and the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). Over the years, GES DISC has developed data services to facilitate data discovery, access, distribution, analysis and visualization, including Giovanni, an online analysis and visualization tool without the need to download data and software. Despite many efforts for improving data access, still quite a number of challenges remain, such as finding datasets and services for a specific research topic or project, especially for inexperienced users or users outside the remote sensing community. In this article, we list and describe major NASA satellite remote sensing and model datasets and services for tropical meteorology and climatology along with examples of using the data and services, in hope that may help users better utilize the information in their research and applications.

tropical meteorology and climatology, data, servic↗

Radiation Mitigation and Power Optimization Design Tools for Reconfigurable Hardware in Orbit

The Reconfigurable Hardware in Orbit (RHinO)project is focused on creating a set of design tools that facilitate and automate design techniques for reconfigurable computing in space, using SRAM-based field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) technology. In the second year of the project, design tools that leverage an established FPGA design environment have been created to visualize and analyze an FPGA circuit for radiation weaknesses and power inefficiencies. For radiation, a single event Upset (SEU) emulator, persistence analysis tool, and a half-latch removal tool for Xilinx/Virtex-II devices have been created. Research is underway on a persistence mitigation tool and multiple bit upsets (MBU) studies. For power, synthesis level dynamic power visualization and analysis tools have been completed. Power optimization tools are under development and preliminary test results are positive.

French, Matthew↗

Advances and Challenges in Fluorescence in situ Hybridization for Visualizing Fungal Endobacteria

We report that Several bacteria have long been known to interact intimately with fungi, but molecular approaches have only recently uncovered how cosmopolitan these interactions are in nature. Currently, bacterial–fungal interactions (BFI) are inferred based on patterns of co-occurrence in amplicon sequencing investigations. However, determining the nature of these interactions, whether the bacteria are internally or externally associated, remains a grand challenge in BFI research. Fluorescence in situhybridization (FISH) is a robust method that targets unique sequences of interest which can be employed for visualizing intra-hyphal targets, such as mitochondrial organelles or, as in this study, bacteria. We evaluate the challenges and employable strategies to resolve intra-hyphal BFI to address pertinent criteria in BFI research, such as culturing media, spatial distribution of bacteria, and abundance of bacterial 16S rRNA copies for fluorescent labeling. While these experimental factors influence labeling and detection of endobacteria, we demonstrate how to overcome these challenges thorough permeabilization, appropriate media choice, and targeted amplification using hybridization chain reaction FISH. Such microscopy imaging approaches can now be utilized by the broader research community to complement sequence-based investigations and provide more conclusive evidence on the nature of specific bacterial–fungal relationships.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Analyzing and Visualizing Precipitation and Soil Moisture in ArcGIS

Precipitation and soil moisture are among the most important parameters in many land GIS (Geographic Information System) research and applications. These data are available globally from NASA GES DISC (Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center) in GIS-ready format at 10-kilometer spatial resolution and 24-hour or less temporal resolutions. In this presentation, well demonstrate how rainfall and soil moisture data are used in ArcGIS to analyze and visualize spatiotemporal patterns of droughts and their impacts on natural vegetation and agriculture in different parts of the world.

precipitation↗

Modifications to the NASA Ames Space Station Proximity Operations (PROX OPS) Simulator

As the United States is approaching an operational space station era, flight simulators are required to investigate human design and performance aspects associated with orbital operations. Among these are proximity operations (PROX OPS), those activities occurring within a 1-km sphere of Space Station including rendezvous, docking, rescue, and repair. The Space Station Proximity Operations Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center was modified to provide the capability for investigations into human performance aspects of proximity operations. Accurate flight equations of motion were installed to provide the appropriate visual scene to test subjects performing simulated missions. Also, the flight control system was enhanced by enabling pilot control over thruster acceleration values. Currently, research is under way to examine human performance in a variety of mission scenarios.

Brody, Adam↗

Sharepoint Team Site Configuration

The Data Mining project seeks to bring the capability of data visualization to NASA anomaly and problem reporting systems for the purpose of improving data trending, evaluations, and analyses. Currently NASA systems are tailored to meet the specific needs of its organizations. This tailoring has led to a variety of nomenclatures and levels of annotation for procedures, parts and anomalies making difficult the realization of the common causes for anomalies. Making significant observations and realizing the connection between these causes without a common way to view data is difficult to impossible. The Data Mining project is in its early stages of presenting a common visualization of normalized data through a web based portal. In this paper I detail what I have learned and what I have accomplished during my time as an intern toward the purpose of creating the project portal. I have gone through an iterative process of familiarization with the project and its goals, site design, research, modification and review on the road to creating a common method and location to view the visualized data created under this project.

iss↗

Determination of the Maturation Status of Dendritic Cells by Applying Pattern Recognition to High-Resolution Images

The maturation or activation status of dendritic cells (DCs) directly correlates with their behavior and immunofunction. A common means to determine the maturity of dendritic cells is from high-resolution images acquired via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or atomic force microscopy (AFM). While direct and visual, the determination has been made by directly looking at the images by researchers. Here we report a machine learning approach using pattern recognition in conjunction with cellular biophysical knowledge of dendritic cells to determine the maturation status of dendritic cells automatically. The determination from AFM images reaches 100% accuracy. The results from SEM images reaches 94.9%. The results demonstrate the accuracy of using machine learning for accelerating data analysis, extracting information, and drawing conclusions from high-resolution cellular images, paving the way for future applications requiring high-throughput and automation, such as cellular sorting and selection based on morphology, quantification of cellular structure, and DC-based immunotherapy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Reactive Flows in Porous Media: Challenges in Theoretical and Numerical Methods

We review theoretical and computational research, primarily from the past 10 years, addressing the flow of reactive fluids in porous media. The focus is on systems where chemical reactions at the solid–fluid interface cause dissolution of the surrounding porous matrix, creating nonlinear feedback mechanisms that can often lead to greatly enhanced permeability. Here, we discuss insights into the evolution of geological forms that can be inferred from these feedback mechanisms, as well as some geotechnical applications such as enhanced oil recovery, hydraulic fracturing, and carbon sequestration. Until recently, most practical applications of reactive transport have been based on Darcy-scale modeling, where averaged equations for the flow and reactant transport are solved. We summarize the successes and limitations of volume averaging, which leads to Darcy-scale equations, as an introduction to pore-scale modeling. Pore-scale modeling is computationally intensive but offers new insights as well as tests of averaging theories and pore-network models. We include recent research devoted to validation of pore-scale simulations, particularly the use of visual observations from microfluidic experiments.

wormhole formation↗

Mirostructure Characterization of Friction Consolidated Copper-Nickel using a Machine Learning Approach: Developing Process to Microstructure Associations

Friction consolidation (FC) is a solid phase processing approach where discrete material forms such as powders, chips, nuggets, etc. are densified via shear deformation. The precursors are placed in a billet container and brought in contact with a rotating tool that applying the desirable amount of normal force. Under the combined action of the rotation and normal pressure, the discrete precursor is consolidated through porosity reduction and shear deformation. FC is increasingly being studied as an attractive approach to manufacturing fully dense parts from powder forms owing to its ability to mix, alloy and consolidate difficult-to-process precursors in minimal number of process steps. Material consolidation and deformation in shear consolidation processes have been studied extensively previously for different material combinations previously. However, despite the extensive research in this area, understanding of the mechanistic processes in pore consolidation, deformation-induced mixing and material solubility during FC is still evolving. Material development using solid phase processing approaches such as FC is often performed based on research experience/education, which can be biased. Conventional analysis and simulation tools in this area tend to be successful only when material thermodynamic pathways and microstructural evolution sequences resulting from processing are clearly defined or known. They are not as effective for emerging advanced manufacturing technologies where material evolution pathways are not well established. The ability to predict optimal process parameters based on material chemistry and bulk properties is essential to accelerate materials design and processing, as are an understanding of the relevant structure-processing-property relationships. These structure-processing-property-performance relationships are at the core of materials science research. Microstructure characterization provides the link to these four core areas, often through visualizing material microstructure using imaging techniques. However, linking microstructure image data (i.e., micrographs) to variables of interest (e.g., processing parameters, material chemistry) in a reproducible, generalizable, and quantitative manner is a significant challenge. Typically, quantitatively linking image data to processing history relies on significant domain knowledge and manual or subject matter expert (SME)-heuristic based image analysis. Such an approach to image analysis has the potential to be biased, inefficient, and difficult to replicate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Flight tests of a helmet-mounted display synthetic visibility system

A short flight test program was conducted using the NASA Langley Research Center's B737 Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) research airplane to determine if pilots could land a transport category airplane under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) by reference to a synthetic visibility system. No external guidance was to be used. The program was undertaken jointly by NASA and the McDonnel-Douglas Corporation. The airplane was fitted with forward-looking television cameras fixed in the nose. Inputs from the television cameras were mixed with internally generated symbology and displayed to the pilot on helmet-mounted eyepieces. The pilot task was to execute a visual approach and landing. Two NASA and two McDonnel-Douglas engineering test pilots participated in the program completing over 200 landings in a 32-hour test program. Landings accomplished with the helmet-mounted display (HMD) were compared with visual landings for each pilot.

Yenni, Kenneth R.↗

Science information systems: Archive, access, and retrieval

The objective of this research is to develop technology for the automated characterization and interactive retrieval and visualization of very large, complex scientific data sets. Technologies will be developed for the following specific areas: (1) rapidly archiving data sets; (2) automatically characterizing and labeling data in near real-time; (3) providing users with the ability to browse contents of databases efficiently and effectively; (4) providing users with the ability to access and retrieve system independent data sets electronically; and (5) automatically alerting scientists to anomalies detected in data.

Campbell, William J.↗

A new technique for the measurement of surface shear stress vectors using liquid crystal coatings

Research has recently shown that liquid crystal coating (LCC) color-change response to shear depends on both shear stress magnitude and direction. Additional research was thus conducted to extend the LCC method from a flow-visualization tool to a surface shear stress vector measurement technique. A shear-sensitive LCC was applied to a planar test surface and illuminated by white light from the normal direction. A fiber optic probe was used to capture light scattered by the LCC from a point on the centerline of a turbulent, tangential-jet flow. Both the relative shear stress magnitude and the relative in-plane view angle between the sensor and the centerline shear vector were systematically varied. A spectrophotometer was used to obtain scattered-light spectra which were used to quantify the LCC color (dominant wavelength) as a function of shear stress magnitude and direction. At any fixed shear stress magnitude, the minimum dominant wavelength was measured when the shear vector was aligned with and directed away from the observer; changes in the relative in-plane view angle to either side of this vector/observer aligned position resulted in symmetric Gaussian increases in measured dominant wavelength. Based on these results, a vector measurement methodology, involving multiple oblique-view observations of the test surface, was formulated. Under present test conditions, the measurement resolution of this technique was found to be +/- 1 deg for vector orientations and +/- 5% for vector magnitudes. An approach t o extend the present methodology to full-surface applications is proposed.

Reda, Daniel C.↗

STS-70 Mission Highlights

The highlights of the STS-70 mission are presented in this video. The flight crew consisted of Cmdr. Tom Henricks, Pilot Kevin Kregel, Flight Engineer Nancy Currie, and Mission Specialists Dr. Don Thomas and Dr. Mary Ellen Weber. The mission's primary objective was the deployment of the 7th Tracking Data and Relay Satellite (TDRS), which will provide a communication, tracking, telemetry, data acquisition, and command services space-based network system essential to low Earth orbital spacecraft. Secondary mission objectives included activating and studying the Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment/National Institutes of Health-Rodents (PARE/NIH-R), The Bioreactor Demonstration System (BDS), the Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG) studies, the Space Tissue Loss/National Institutes of Health-Cells (STL/NIH-C) experiment, the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) experiment, Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-2 (SAREX-2), the Visual Function Tester-4 (VFT-4), the Hand-Held, Earth Oriented, Real-Time, Cooperative, User-Friendly, Location-Targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES), the Microcapsules in Space-B (MIS-B) experiment, the Windows Experiment (WINDEX), the Radiation Monitoring Equipment-3 (RME-3), and the Military Applications of Ship Tracks (MAST) experiment. There was an in-orbit dedication ceremony by the spacecrew and the newly Integrated Mission Control Center to commemorate the Center's integration. The STS-70 mission was the first mission monitored by this new control center. Earth views included the Earth's atmosphere, a sunrise over the Earth's horizon, several views of various land masses, some B/W lightning shots, some cloud cover, and a tropical storm.

Source record↗