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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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Gravitational potential of oblate planet, expressed in terms of oblate spheroidal coordinates, generalized by means of transformation of associated Cartesian system
Propagation of nervous impulse down medullated and unmedullated fibers, obtaining expression involving ionic conductances
The control of linear continuous dynamical systems is investigated as a problem of limited state feedback control. The equations which describe the structure of an observer are developed constrained to time-invarient systems. The optimal control problem is formulated, accounting for the uncertainty in the design parameters. Expressions for bounds on closed loop stability are also developed. The results indicate that very little uncertainty may be tolerated before divergence occurs in the recursive computation algorithms, and the derived stability bound yields extremely conservative estimates of regions of allowable parameter variations.
Estimation of the state of a nonlinear discrete-time system using quantized data is considered. An exact solution for the maximum likelihood estimate is expressed as the solution of a nonlinear two-point boundary-value problem. Approximate recursive solutions for both the maximum likelihood and the conditional-mean estimates are obtained. The results of Monte-Carlo simulations are presented in which the performance of these two algorithms is compared with that of a Kalman filter in which the quantization error is approximated by white noise.-
The papers consider the orbits, physical properties, composition, origin, and evolution of the natural satellites of the solar system from the viewpoint of celestial mechanics. Topics include a computer technique for developing analytic expressions for the coordinates and partial derivatives of Jupiter's Galilean satellites, a theory of the motion of the Galilean satellites, a comparison between photographic observations of the positions of the Galilean satellites and Sampson's tables, astrolabe observations of several transits of the Galilean satellites, the orbital resonance among the Galilean satellites, the motion of the Martian satellites from ground-based observations and Mariner-9 TV data, and a general method for predicting eclipses of natural planetary satellites. Individual items are announced in this issue.
A simple physiological model of mortality kinetics is used to assess the intuitive concept that the aging rates of populations are proportional to their mortality rates. It is assumed that the vitality of an individual can be expressed as a simple summation of the weighted functional capacities of its organs and homeostatic systems that are indispensable for survival. It is shown that the mortality kinetics of a population can be derived by a linear transformation of the frequency distribution of vitality, assuming a uniform constant rate of decline of the physiological functions. A simple comparison of two populations is not possible when they have different vitality frequency distributions. Analysis of the data using the model suggests that the differences in decline of survivorship with age between the military pilot population, a medically insured population, and the control population can be accounted for by the effect of physical selection on the vitality frequency distribution of the screened populations.
A preliminary Eulerian formulation of the in-plane dynamics of the proposed spacecraft control laboratory experiment configuration is undertaken when the mast is treated as a cantilever type beam and the reflector as a lumped mass at the end of the beam. Frequency and mode shapes are obtained for the open loop model of the beam system and the stability of closed loop control systems is analyzed by both frequency and time domain techniques. Environmental disturbances due to solar radiation pressure are incorporated into models of controlled large flexible orbiting platforms. Thermally induced deformations of simple beam and platform type structures are modelled and expressions developed for the disturbance torques resulting from the interaction of solar radiation pressure. Noise effects in the deterministic model of the hoop/column antenna system are found to cause a degradation in system performance. Appropriate changes in the ratio of plant noise to the measurement noise and/or changes in the control weighting matrix elements can improve transient and steady state performance.
This paper examines the vibrational excitation rate processes expected in the flow field of aeroassisted orbital transfer vehicles (AOTVs). An analysis of the multiple-quantum vibrational excitation processes by electron impact is made to predict the vibrational excitation cross sections, rate coefficients, and relaxation times which control vibrational temperature. The expression for the rate of electron-vibration energy transfer is derived by solving the system of master equations which account for the multiple-level transitions. The vibrational excitation coefficients, which are the prerequisite physical quantities in solving the obtained vibrational equation, are calculated based on the theoretically predicted cross sections. These cross sections are obtained from quantum mechanical calculations, based on the concept that vibrational excitation of molecules by electron impact occurs through formation of an intermediate negative ion state. Finally, the modified Landau-Teller-type rate equation, which is suitable for the numerical calculations for the AOTV flow fields, is suggested.
The design concept of a control for rapid torque-limited slewing of a rigid-mast version of the NASA SCOLE configuration is presented and demonstrated by means of numerical simulation. The time-optimal control problem for the system is decomposed into separate single-axis problems, expanding analytically the implicit nonlinear transcendental expression for the SCOLE line-of-sight error, and the final Euler attitude angles and slew angles are determined. The simulation results are presented in tables and graphs, and it is found that bang-bang or bang-pause-bang slew maneuvers with control moment applied to the Shuttle and control force applied to the reflector, and with a 5-deg/s slew-rate limit, produce the best pointing accuracy and the shortest slew times, although the specified line-of-sight error of 0.02 deg cannot be achieved using such open-loop single-axis maneuvers.
In previous work the problem of injecting the Galileo and Ulysses spacecraft from low earth orbit into their respective interplanetary trajectories has been discussed for the single stage (Centaur) vehicle. The central issue, in the event of spherically distributed injection errors, is what happens to the vehicle? The difficulties addressed in this paper involve the multi-stage problem since both Galileo and Ulysses will be utilizing the two-stage IUS system. Ulysses will also include a third stage: the PAM-S. The solution is expressed in terms of probabilities for total percentage of escape, orbit decay and reentry trajectories. Analytic solutions are found for Hill's Equations of Relative Motion (more recently called Clohessy-Wiltshire Equations) for multi-stage injections. These solutions are interpreted geometrically on the injection sphere. The analytic-geometric models compare well with numerical solutions, provide insight into the behavior of trajectories mapped on the injection sphere and simplify the numerical two-dimensional search for trajectory families.
The results of a stability design study are presented for a slender column with curved longitudinal stiffeners for large space structure applications. Linear stability analyses are performed using a link-plate representation of the stiffeners to determine stiffener local buckling stresses. Results from a set of parametric analyses are used to determine an approximate explicit expression for stiffener local buckling in terms of its geometric parameters. This expression along with other equations governing column stability and mass are assembled into a determinate system describing minimum mass stiffened column design. An iterative solution is determined to solve this system and a computer program incorporating this routine is presented. Example design problems are presented which verify the solution accuracy and illustrate the implementation of the solution routine. Also, observations are made which lead to a greatly simplified first iteration design equation relating the percent increase in column mass to the percent increase in column buckling load. From this, generalizations are drawn as to the mass savings offered by the stiffened column concept. Finally, the percent increase in fundamental column vibration frequency due to the addition of deployable stiffeners is studied.
The objective is the theoretical analysis and the experimental verification of dynamics and control of a two link flexible manipulator with a flexible parallel link mechanism. Nonlinear equations of motion of the lightweight manipulator are derived by the Lagrangian method in symbolic form to better understand the structure of the dynamic model. The resulting equation of motion have a structure which is useful to reduce the number of terms calculated, to check correctness, or to extend the model to higher order. A manipulator with a flexible parallel link mechanism is a constrained dynamic system whose equations are sensitive to numerical integration error. This constrained system is solved using singular value decomposition of the constraint Jacobian matrix. Elastic motion is expressed by the assumed mode method. Mode shape functions of each link are chosen using the load interfaced component mode synthesis. The discrepancies between the analytical model and the experiment are explained using a simplified and a detailed finite element model.
This is the final report on the dynamics and control of slew maneuvers of the Spacecraft Control Laboratory Experiment (SCOLE) test facility. The report documents the basic dynamical equation derivations for an arbitrary large angle slew maneuver as well as the basic decentralized slew maneuver control algorithm. The set of dynamical equations incorporate rigid body slew maneuver and three dimensional vibrations of the complete assembly comprising the rigid shuttle, the flexible beam, and the reflector with an offset mass. The analysis also includes kinematic nonlinearities of the entire assembly during the maneuver and the dynamics of the interactions between the rigid shuttle and the flexible appendage. The equations are simplified and evaluated numerically to include the first ten flexible modes to yield a model for designing control systems to perform slew maneuvers. The control problem incorporates the nonlinear dynamical equations and is expressed in terms of a two point boundary value problem.
The secular change in the mean motion of the moon, n, caused by the tidal dissipation in the ocean and solid earth is due primarily to the effect of the diurnal and semidiurnal tides. The long-period ocean tides produce an increase in n, but the effects are only 1 percent of the diurnal and semidiurnal ocean tides. In this investigation, expressions for these effects are obtained by developing the tidal potential in the ecliptic reference system. The computation of the amplitude of equilibrium tide and the phase corrections is also discussed. The averaged tidal deceleration of the moon's mean motion, n, from the most recent satellite ocean tide solutions is -25.25 +/- 0.4 arcseconds/sq century. The value for n inferred from the satellite-determined ocean-tide solution is in good agreement with the value obtained from the analysis of 20 years of lunar laser-ranging observations.
The dynamics of error growth in a two-layer nonlinear quasi-geostrophic model has been studied to gain an understanding of the mathematical theory of atmospheric predictability. The growth of random errors of varying initial magnitudes has been studied, and the relation between this classical approach and the concepts of the nonlinear dynamical systems theory has been explored. The local and global growths of random errors have been expressed partly in terms of the properties of an error ellipsoid and the Liapunov exponents determined by linear error dynamics. The local growth of small errors is initially governed by several modes of the evolving error ellipsoid but soon becomes dominated by the longest axis. The average global growth of small errors is exponential with a growth rate consistent with the largest Liapunov exponent. The duration of the exponential growth phase depends on the initial magnitude of the errors. The subsequent large errors undergo a nonlinear growth with a steadily decreasing growth rate and attain saturation that defines the limit of predictability. The degree of chaos and the largest Liapunov exponent show considerable variation with change in the forcing, which implies that the time variation in the external forcing can introduce variable character to the predictability.
To verify the requirements for the mode control logic of a Flight Guidance System (FGS) we applied SPIN, a widely used software package that supports the formal verification of distributed systems. These requirements, collectively called the FGS specification, were developed at Rockwell Avionics & Communications and expressed in terms of the Consortium Requirements Engineering (CoRE) method. The properties to be verified are the invariants formulated in the FGS specification, along with the standard properties of consistency and completeness. The project had two stages. First, the FGS specification and the properties to be verified were reformulated in PROMELA, the input language of SPIN. This involved a semantics issue, as some constructs of the FGS specification do not have well-defined semantics in CoRE. Then we attempted to verify the requirements' properties using the automatic model checking facilities of SPIN. Due to the large size of the state space of the FGS specification an exhaustive state space analysis with SPIN turned out to be impossible. So we used the supertrace model checking procedure of SPIN that provides for a partial analysis of the state space. During this process, we found some subtle errors in the FGS specification.
The senseless (sens) gene is required for proper development of most cell types of the embryonic and adult peripheral nervous system (PNS) of Drosophila. Sens is a nuclear protein with four Zn fingers that is expressed and required in the sensory organ precursors (SOP) for proper proneural gene expression. Ectopic expression of Sens in many ectodermal cells causes induction of PNS external sensory organ formation and is able to recreate an ectopic proneural field. Hence, sens is both necessary and sufficient for PNS development. Our data indicate that proneural genes activate sens expression. Sens is then in turn required to further activate and maintain proneural gene expression. This feedback mechanism is essential for selective enhancement and maintenance of proneural gene expression in the SOPs.
Drosophila atonal (ato) is the proneural gene of the chordotonal organs (CHOs) in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the larval and adult photoreceptor organs. Here, we show that ato is expressed at multiple stages during the development of a lineage of central brain neurons that innervate the optic lobes and are required for eclosion. A novel fate mapping approach shows that ato is expressed in the embryonic precursors of these neurons and that its expression is reactivated in third instar larvae (L3). In contrast to its function in the PNS, ato does not act as a proneural gene in the embryonic brain. Instead, ato performs a novel function, regulating arborization during larval and pupal development by interacting with Notch.