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At least 829 records · Page 46
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Decentralized control of large flexible structures by joint decoupling

This paper presents a novel method to design decentralized controllers for large complex flexible structures by using the idea of joint decoupling. Decoupling of joint degrees of freedom from the interior degrees of freedom is achieved by setting the joint actuator commands to cancel the internal forces exerting on the joint degrees of freedom. By doing so, the interactions between substructures are eliminated. The global structure control design problem is then decomposed into several substructure control design problems. Control commands for interior actuators are set to be localized state feedback using decentralized observers for state estimation. The proposed decentralized controllers can operate successfully at the individual substructure level as well as at the global structure level. Not only control design but also control implementation is decentralized. A two-component mass-spring-damper system is used as an example to demonstrate the proposed method.

LINEAR QUADRATIC REGULATOR MET↗
NASA NTRS1989

The effects of the nonsphericity and size distribution of ice crystals on the radiative properties of cirrus clouds

Hexagonal ice crystal and equivalent ice spheres have significantly different single-scattering properties. Although the extinction cross-section for spheres with equivalent surface areas is about the same as that for nonspherical ice crystals randomly oriented in space, equivalent spheres produce more forward scattering and have smaller single-scattering albedos. On the basis of broad-band radiative transfer calculations, in this note we will illustrate that the assumption that ice particles are spheres with equivalent surface areas leads to an underestimate to the solar albedo of cirrus clouds. Furthermore, we show that, for a given optical thickness, small ice particles reflect more solar flux than large ice particles. This implies that the ice crystal size distribution could be extremely important in the determination of the solar albedo of cirrus clouds due to external radiative forcing in climatic perturbation experiments. In the thermal infrared region, absorption by ice crystals predominates and the effects of the nonsphericity and size distribution of ice crystals on infrared radiative transfer appear to be secondary.

Kinne, Stefan↗
NASA NTRS1993

Identification of a second-order mechanical system model from a state space realization

Many system identification algorithms produce models in modern state variable form. When a mechanical system is identified one knows that there must be a model in second order form. In structural dynamics one is interested in either a modal model of the system, or in a model including a mass matrix, stiffness matrix and a damping matrix. In this paper, algorithms are developed that convert a modern state space realization into the above two representations of interest in mechanical systems. The algorithm can be used with any identification methods that produce a modern state variable representation such as the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA), its modified version by data correlation (ERA/DC), and combinations of these with Observer/Kalman Filter Identification (OKID). An algorithm is developed that allows one to identify the damping matrix in a model representation, so that one determines how near to modal the damping is in the system, and can therefore understand the degree to which the modes are coupled by the damping in the system. A second algorithm produced the mass, damping, and stiffness matrices, given the input and output matrices. It is assumed that the number of sensors (or the number of actuators) is greater than or equal to the number of modes in the system, and it is proved that this is a necessary condition to be able to uniquely identify these matrices. Experience with examples suggests that a singular value truncation involved in these algorithms can help one determine the true system order. This truncation has the benefit of knowledge of the correct form for a mechanical system model, which is not present in the modern control identification algorithm.

Tseng, Dong-Huei↗
NASA NTRS1994

Direct calculations of waves in fluid flows using high-order compact difference scheme

The solution of the unsteady Euler equations by a sixth-order compact difference scheme combined with a fourth-order Runge-Kutta method is investigated. Closed-form expression for the amplification factors and their corresponding dispersion correlations are obtained by Fourier analysis of the fully discretized, two-dimensional Euler equations. The numerical dissipation, dispersion, and anisotropic effects are assessed. It is found that the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) limit for stable calculations is about 0.8. For a CFL number equal to 0.6, the smallest wavelength which is resolved without numerical damping is about six - eight grid nodes. For phase speeds corresponding to acoustic waves, the corresponding time period is resolved by about 200 - 300 time steps. Three numerical examples of waves in compressible flow are included: (1) sound propagation in a duct with linear shear, (2) linear wave growth in a compressible free shear layer, and (3) vortex pairing in a compressible free shear layer perturbed at two frequencies.

Yu, Sheng-Tao↗
NASA NTRS1992

Least-squares finite element solution of 3D incompressible Navier-Stokes problems

Although significant progress has been made in the finite element solution of incompressible viscous flow problems. Development of more efficient methods is still needed before large-scale computation of 3D problems becomes feasible. This paper presents such a development. The most popular finite element method for the solution of incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is the classic Galerkin mixed method based on the velocity-pressure formulation. The mixed method requires the use of different elements to interpolate the velocity and the pressure in order to satisfy the Ladyzhenskaya-Babuska-Brezzi (LBB) condition for the existence of the solution. On the other hand, due to the lack of symmetry and positive definiteness of the linear equations arising from the mixed method, iterative methods for the solution of linear systems have been hard to come by. Therefore, direct Gaussian elimination has been considered the only viable method for solving the systems. But, for three-dimensional problems, the computer resources required by a direct method become prohibitively large. In order to overcome these difficulties, a least-squares finite element method (LSFEM) has been developed. This method is based on the first-order velocity-pressure-vorticity formulation. In this paper the LSFEM is extended for the solution of three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations written in the following first-order quasi-linear velocity-pressure-vorticity formulation.

Jiang, Bo-Nan↗
NASA NTRS1995

Supersonic-Spray Cleaner

Spraying system for cleaning mechanical components uses less liquid and operates at pressures significantly lower. Liquid currently used is water. Designed to replace chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) solvent-based cleaning and cleanliness verification methods. Consists of spray head containing supersonic converging/diverging nozzles, source of gas at regulated pressure, pressurized liquid tank, and various hoses, fittings, valves, and gauges. Parameters of nozzles set so any of large variety of liquids and gases combined in desired ratio and rate of flow. Size and number of nozzles varied so system built in configurations ranging from small hand-held spray heads to large multinozzle cleaners. Also used to verify part adequately cleaned. Runoff liquid from spray directed at part collected. Liquid analyzed for presence of contaminants, and part recleaned if necessary.

Caimi, Raoul E. B.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Multiprocessor Adaptive Control Of A Dynamic System

Architecture for fully autonomous digital electronic control system developed for use in identification and adaptive control of dynamic system. Architecture modular and hierarchical. Combines relatively simple, standardized processing units into complex parallel-processing subsystems. Although architecture based on neural-network concept, processing units themselves not neural networks; processing units implemented by programming of currently available microprocessors.

Juang, Jer-Nan↗
NASA NTRS1996

Frequency Domain Identification Toolbox

This report documents software written in MATLAB programming language for performing identification of systems from frequency response functions. MATLAB is a commercial software environment which allows easy manipulation of data matrices and provides other intrinsic matrix functions capabilities. Algorithms programmed in this collection of subroutines have been documented elsewhere but all references are provided in this document. A main feature of this software is the use of matrix fraction descriptions and system realization theory to identify state space models directly from test data. All subroutines have templates for the user to use as guidelines.

Horta, Lucas G.↗
NASA NTRS1996

SeaWiFS Technical Report Series: SeaWiFS Calibration Topics - Volume 39

For Earth-observing satellite instruments, it was standard to consider each instrument band to have a spectral response that is infinitely narrow, i.e., to have a response from a single wavelength. The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) bands, however, have nominal spectral bandwidths of 20 and 40nm. These bandwidths affect the SeaWiFS measurements on orbit. The effects are also linked to the manner in which the instrument was calibrated and to the spectral shape of the radiance that SeaWiFS views. Currently, SeaWiFS is calibrated such that the digital counts from each instrument band are linked to the Earth-exiting radiance at an individual center wavelength. Before launch, SeaWiFS will be recalibrated so that the digital counts from each band will be linked to the Earth-exiting radiance integrated over the spectral response of that band. In this technical memorandum, the effects of the instrument calibration and the source spectral shape on SeaWiFS measurements, including the in-band and out-of-band responses, and the center wavelengths are discussed.

Hooker, Stanford B.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Adaptation of Cancellous Bone to Aging and Immobilization in Growing Rats

Two-and-a half month-old female rats were subjected to right hindlimb immobilization or served as controls for 0, 1, 2, 8, 14, and 20 weeks. The right hindlimb was immobilized by bandaging it against the abdomen, thus unloading it. Cancellous bone histomorphometry was performed on microradiographs and double-fluorescent labeled 20 micron sections of the distal femoral metaphyses. Primary spongiosa bone loss occurred rapidly by 2 weeks, and secondary spongiosa bone loss occurred rapidly by 8 weeks of immobilization, and then equilibrated at 60% less bone mass than age-related controls. The negative bone balance induced by immobilization was caused by transient increase in bone resorption, decrease in bone formation, and longitudinal bone growth. The dynamic data of secondary spongiosa cancellous bone showed that percent eroded perimeter was transiently elevated by 55% to 82% between 1 and 8 weeks, percent labeled perimeter was transiently depressed by 32% to 50% between 1 and 14 weeks, mineral apposition rate was depressed by 23% and 19% at 1 and 2 weeks, and bone formation rate-bone area referent was transiently depressed by 35% and 59%c at 1 and 2 weeks. All the above parameters were at age-related control levels by 20 weeks of immobilization. However, bone formation rate-tissue area referent was depressed (-65%) throughout the study. Immobilization depressed completely longitudinal bone growth by 2 weeks and remained so. Only 0.65 mm of new metaphysis was generated in the immobilized versus 2.1 mm in controls during the study period. The immobilization induced an early cancellous bone loss which equilibrated at a new steady state with less bone and a normal (age-related control) bone turnover rate. When these findings were compared to an earlier study of 9 month-old virgin females subjected to right hindlimb immobilization up to 26 weeks, we found the adaptive responses of the cancellous bone were identical except that they occurred earlier and equilibrated sooner in younger rats.

Chen, Meng Meng↗
NASA NTRS1996

SeaWiFS Technical Report Series: SeaWiFS Calibration and Validation Quality Control Procedures - Volume 38

This document provides five brief reports that address several quality control procedures under the auspices of the Calibration and Validation Element (CVE) within the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project. Chapter 1 describes analyses of the 32 sensor engineering telemetry streams. Anomalies in any of the values may impact sensor performance in direct or indirect ways. The analyses are primarily examinations of parameter time series combined with statistical methods such as auto- and cross-correlation functions. Chapter 2 describes how the various onboard (solar and lunar) and vicarious (in situ) calibration data will be analyzed to quantify sensor degradation, if present. The analyses also include methods for detecting the influence of charged particles on sensor performance such as might be expected in the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). Chapter 3 discusses the quality control of the ancillary environmental data that are routinely received from other agencies or projects which are used in the atmospheric correction algorithm (total ozone, surface wind velocity, and surface pressure; surface relative humidity is also obtained, but is not used in the initial operational algorithm). Chapter 4 explains the procedures for screening level-, level-2, and level-3 products. These quality control operations incorporate both automated and interactive procedures which check for file format errors (all levels), navigation offsets (level-1), mask and flag performance (level-2), and product anomalies (all levels). Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the match-up data set development for comparing SeaWiFS level-2 derived products with in situ observations, as well as the subsequent outlier analyses that will be used for evaluating error sources.

Hooker, Stanford B.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Simulation of Two-Fluid Flows by the Least-Squares Finite Element Method Using a Continuum Surface Tension Model

In this paper a numerical procedure for simulating two-fluid flows is presented. This procedure is based on the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method proposed by Hirt and Nichols and the continuum surface force (CSF) model developed by Brackbill, et al. In the VOF method fluids of different properties are identified through the use of a continuous field variable (color function). The color function assigns a unique constant (color) to each fluid. The interfaces between different fluids are distinct due to sharp gradients of the color function. The evolution of the interfaces is captured by solving the convective equation of the color function. The CSF model is used as a means to treat surface tension effect at the interfaces. Here a modified version of the CSF model, proposed by Jacqmin, is used to calculate the tension force. In the modified version, the force term is obtained by calculating the divergence of a stress tensor defined by the gradient of the color function. In its analytical form, this stress formulation is equivalent to the original CSF model. Numerically, however, the use of the stress formulation has some advantages over the original CSF model, as it bypasses the difficulty in approximating the curvatures of the interfaces. The least-squares finite element method (LSFEM) is used to discretize the governing equation systems. The LSFEM has proven to be effective in solving incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and pure convection equations, making it an ideal candidate for the present applications. The LSFEM handles all the equations in a unified manner without any additional special treatment such as upwinding or artificial dissipation. Various bench mark tests have been carried out for both two dimensional planar and axisymmetric flows, including a dam breaking, oscillating and stationary bubbles and a conical liquid sheet in a pressure swirl atomizer.

Wu, Jie↗
NASA NTRS1996

A Benchmark Problem for Development of Autonomous Structural Modal Identification

This paper summarizes modal identification results obtained using an autonomous version of the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm on a dynamically complex, laboratory structure. The benchmark problem uses 48 of 768 free-decay responses measured in a complete modal survey test. The true modal parameters of the structure are well known from two previous, independent investigations. Without user involvement, the autonomous data analysis identified 24 to 33 structural modes with good to excellent accuracy in 62 seconds of CPU time (on a DEC Alpha 4000 computer). The modal identification technique described in the paper is the baseline algorithm for NASA's Autonomous Dynamics Determination (ADD) experiment scheduled to fly on International Space Station assembly flights in 1997-1999.

Pappa, Richard S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Adaptation of Cancellous Bone to Aging and Immobilization in Growing Rats

Two-and-half-month-old female rats were subjected to right hindlimb immobilization or served as controls for 0, 1, 2, 8, 14, and 20 weeks. The right hindlimb was immobilized by bandaging it against the abdomen, thus unloading it. Cancellous bone histomorphometry was performed on microradiographs and double-fluorescent labeled 20 tLm sections of the distal femoral metaphyses. Primary spongiosa bone loss occurred rapidly by 2 weeks, and secondary spongiosa bone loss occurred rapidly by 8 weeks of immobilization, and then equilibrated at 60% less bone mass than age-related controls. The negative bone balance induced by immobilization was caused by transient increase in bone resorption, decrease in bone formation, and longitudinal bone growth. The dynamic data of secondary spongiosa cancellous bone showed that percent eroded perimeter was transiently elevated by 55 to 82% between 1 and 8 weeks, percent labeled perimeter was transiently depressed by 32% to 50% between 1 and 14 weeks, mineral apposition rate was depressed by 23% and 19% at I and 2 weeks, and bone formation rate-bone area referent was transiently depressed by 35% and 59% at 1 and 2 weeks. All the above parameters were at age-related control levels by 20 weeks of immobiliza- tion. However, bone formation rate-tissue area referent was depressed (-65%) throughout the study. Immobilization depressed completely longitudinal bone growth by 2 weeks and remained so. Only 0.65 mm of new metaphysis was generated in the immobilized versus 2.1 mm in controls during the study period. The immobilization induced an early cancellous bone loss which equilibrated at a new steady state with less bone and a normal (age-related control) bone turnover rate. When these findings were compared to an earlier study of 9-month-old virgin females subjected to right hindlimb immobilization up to 26 weeks, we found the adaptive responses of the cancellous bone were identical except that they occurred earlier and equilibrated sooner in younger rats.

Chen, Meng-Meng↗
NASA NTRS1997

Virtual Passive Controller for Robot Systems Using Joint Torque Sensors

This paper presents a control method based on virtual passive dynamic control that will stabilize a robot manipulator using joint torque sensors and a simple joint model. The method does not require joint position or velocity feedback for stabilization. The proposed control method is stable in the sense of Lyaponov. The control method was implemented on several joints of a laboratory robot. The controller showed good stability robustness to system parameter error and to the exclusion of nonlinear dynamic effects on the joints. The controller enhanced position tracking performance and, in the absence of position control, dissipated joint energy.

Aldridge, Hal A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

State-Space System Realization with Input- and Output-Data Correlation

This paper introduces a general version of the information matrix consisting of the autocorrelation and cross-correlation matrices of the shifted input and output data. Based on the concept of data correlation, a new system realization algorithm is developed to create a model directly from input and output data. The algorithm starts by computing a special type of correlation matrix derived from the information matrix. The special correlation matrix provides information on the system-observability matrix and the state-vector correlation. A system model is then developed from the observability matrix in conjunction with other algebraic manipulations. This approach leads to several different algorithms for computing system matrices for use in representing the system model. The relationship of the new algorithms with other realization algorithms in the time and frequency domains is established with matrix factorization of the information matrix. Several examples are given to illustrate the validity and usefulness of these new algorithms.

Juang, Jer-Nan↗
NASA NTRS1997

Broadband Noise Control Using Predictive Techniques

Predictive controllers have found applications in a wide range of industrial processes. Two types of such controllers are generalized predictive control and deadbeat control. Recently, deadbeat control has been augmented to include an extended horizon. This modification, named deadbeat predictive control, retains the advantage of guaranteed stability and offers a novel way of control weighting. This paper presents an application of both predictive control techniques to vibration suppression of plate modes. Several system identification routines are presented. Both algorithms are outlined and shown to be useful in the suppression of plate vibrations. Experimental results are given and the algorithms are shown to be applicable to non- minimal phase systems.

Eure, Kenneth W.↗