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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 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

Urban land use monitoring from computer-implemented processing of airborne multispectral data

Machine processing techniques were applied to multispectral data obtained from airborne scanners at an elevation of 600 meters over central Indianapolis in August, 1972. Computer analysis of these spectral data indicate that roads (two types), roof tops (three types), dense grass (two types), sparse grass (two types), trees, bare soil, and water (two types) can be accurately identified. Using computers, it is possible to determine land uses from analysis of type, size, shape, and spatial associations of earth surface images identified from multispectral data. Land use data developed through machine processing techniques can be programmed to monitor land use changes, simulate land use conditions, and provide impact statistics that are required to analyze stresses placed on spatial systems.

Todd, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS2024

DNA Break Clustering as a Predictor of Cell Death across Various Radiation Qualities: Influence of Cell Size, Cell Asymmetry, and Beam Orientation

Cosmic radiation, composed of high charge and energy (HZE) particles, causes cellular DNA damage that can result in cell death or mutation that can evolve into cancer. In this work, a cell death model is applied to several cell lines exposed to HZE ions spanning a broad range of linear energy transfer (LET) values. We hypothesize that chromatin movement leads to the clustering of multiple double strand breaks (DSB) within one radiation-induced foci (RIF). The survival probability of a cell population is determined by averaging the survival probabilities of individual cells, which is function of the number of pairwise DSB interactions within RIF. The simulation code RITCARD was used to compute DSB. Two clustering approaches were applied to determine the number of RIF per cell. RITCARD outputs were combined with experimental data from four normal human cell lines to derive the model parameters and expand its predictions in response to ions with LET ranging from ∼0.2keV/μmto∼3000keV/μm. Spherical and ellipsoidal nuclear shapes and two ion beam orientations were modeled to assess the impact of geometrical properties on cell death. The calculated average number of RIF per cell reproduces the saturation trend for high doses and high-LET values that is usually experimentally observed. The cell survival model generates the recognizable bell shape of LET dependence for the relative biological effectiveness (RBE). At low LET, smaller nuclei have lower survival due to increased DNA density and DSB clustering. At high LET, nuclei with a smaller irradiation area either because of a smaller size or a change in beam orientation have a higher survival rate due to a change in the distribution of DSB/RIF per cell. If confirmed experimentally, the geometric characteristics of cells would become a significant factor in predicting radiation-induced biological effects.

cell survival↗
NASA NTRS1992

Electrostatic Particle-In-Cell Code For Hypercube Computer

Code simulates two-dimensional motions of plasma particles in self-consistent electrostatic field and externally applied magnetic field developed for execution on Mark IIIfp hypercube computer. Based on generalization of one-dimensional particle-in-cell algorithm applicable to many different parallel computing architectures. Intermediate product of continuing effort to speed particle-in-cell computations by taking advantage of distributed-memory parallel computers like those of hypercube class.

Ferraro, Robert D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The Jacobi Matrix Technique in Computational Fluid Dynamics

The Jacobi matrix technique was applied to the direct calculation of inviscid supersonic flow about two dimensional airfoils of varying thickness, angle of attack and camber and axisymmetric bodies of varying thickness and taper; and the design (inverse) calculation of inviscid supersonic flow past airfoils described by a given family of pressure distributions and axisymmetric bodies described by a given family of pressure distributions. The method was also applied to subsonic potential flow about two dimensional airfoils by modifying Jameson's FLO36. Results are discussed.

Sharp, H. Thomas↗
NASA NTRS1988

Dynamic remapping of parallel computations with varying resource demands

The issue of deciding when to invoke a global load remapping mechanism is studied. Such a decision policy must effectively weigh the costs of remapping against the performance benefits, and should be general enough to apply automatically to a wide range of computations. The authors propose a general mapping decision heuristic, then study its effectiveness and its anticipated behavior on two very different models of load evolution. Assuming only that the remapping cost is known, this policy dynamically minimizes system degradation (including the cost of remapping) for each computation step. This policy is quite simple, choosing to remap when the first local minimum in the degradation function is detected. Simulations show that the decision obtained provides significantly better performance than that achieved by never remapping. The authors also observe that the average intermapping frequency is quite close to the optimal fixed remapping frequency.

Nicol, David M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A real time dynamic data acquisition and processing system for velocity, density, and total temperature fluctuation measurements

The real time Dynamic Data Acquisition and Processing System (DDAPS) is described which provides the capability for the simultaneous measurement of velocity, density, and total temperature fluctuations. The system of hardware and software is described in context of the wind tunnel environment. The DDAPS replaces both a recording mechanism and a separate data processing system. DDAPS receives input from hot wire anemometers. Amplifiers and filters condition the signals with computer controlled modules. The analog signals are simultaneously digitized and digitally recorded on disk. Automatic acquisition collects necessary calibration and environment data. Hot wire sensitivities are generated and applied to the hot wire data to compute fluctuations. The presentation of the raw and processed data is accomplished on demand. The interface to DDAPS is described along with the internal mechanisms of DDAPS. A summary of operations relevant to the use of the DDAPS is also provided.

Clukey, Steven J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Atmospheric Flux Computations in Complex Terrain

The greatest challenges in applying atmospheric water budget expressions are in determining the divergence and evapotranspiration terms. The evapotranspiration problem is ubiquitous, and critical issues of spatial and temporal resolution commonly arise in establishing the divergence term. In complex terrain, further difficulties crop up in using typical data on atmospheric profiles of water vapor and wind to estimate the divergence term. Those difficulties are the subject of this paper; considerations related to topographic variations both along and normal to the flow direction are treated.

Smith, Paul L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Approximations to eigenvalues of modified general matrices

The reanalysis of non-self-adjoint dynamic models is computationally very expensive in design optimization applications. This paper describes several approximations that can be applied to eigenvalues of non-hermitian matrices to reduce that computational cost. Approximations based on eigenvalue derivatives, generalized Rayleigh quotient and the trace theorem are presented and their accuracy and computational cost are estimated. The accuracy and cost estimates are verified by applying the approximations to random matrices and matrices arising in flutter analysis of compressor blades. Recommendations are made for selection of the best approximation when the derivatives are available and when they are not. In particular, it is concluded that the quadratic approximation for eigenvalues should never be used as higher order approximations are always more accurate as well as more efficient.

Murthy, Durbha V.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Investigation, Development, and Evaluation of Performance Proving for Fault-tolerant Computers

A number of methodologies for verifying systems and computer based tools that assist users in verifying their systems were developed. These tools were applied to verify in part the SIFT ultrareliable aircraft computer. Topics covered included: STP theorem prover; design verification of SIFT; high level language code verification; assembly language level verification; numerical algorithm verification; verification of flight control programs; and verification of hardware logic.

Levitt, K. N.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Reactive Collision Avoidance Algorithm

The reactive collision avoidance (RCA) algorithm allows a spacecraft to find a fuel-optimal trajectory for avoiding an arbitrary number of colliding spacecraft in real time while accounting for acceleration limits. In addition to spacecraft, the technology can be used for vehicles that can accelerate in any direction, such as helicopters and submersibles. In contrast to existing, passive algorithms that simultaneously design trajectories for a cluster of vehicles working to achieve a common goal, RCA is implemented onboard spacecraft only when an imminent collision is detected, and then plans a collision avoidance maneuver for only that host vehicle, thus preventing a collision in an off-nominal situation for which passive algorithms cannot. An example scenario for such a situation might be when a spacecraft in the cluster is approaching another one, but enters safe mode and begins to drift. Functionally, the RCA detects colliding spacecraft, plans an evasion trajectory by solving the Evasion Trajectory Problem (ETP), and then recovers after the collision is avoided. A direct optimization approach was used to develop the algorithm so it can run in real time. In this innovation, a parameterized class of avoidance trajectories is specified, and then the optimal trajectory is found by searching over the parameters. The class of trajectories is selected as bang-off-bang as motivated by optimal control theory. That is, an avoiding spacecraft first applies full acceleration in a constant direction, then coasts, and finally applies full acceleration to stop. The parameter optimization problem can be solved offline and stored as a look-up table of values. Using a look-up table allows the algorithm to run in real time. Given a colliding spacecraft, the properties of the collision geometry serve as indices of the look-up table that gives the optimal trajectory. For multiple colliding spacecraft, the set of trajectories that avoid all spacecraft is rapidly searched on-line. The optimal avoidance trajectory is implemented as a receding-horizon model predictive control law. Therefore, at each time step, the optimal avoidance trajectory is found and the first time step of its acceleration is applied. At the next time step of the control computer, the problem is re-solved and the new first time step is again applied. This continual updating allows the RCA algorithm to adapt to a colliding spacecraft that is making erratic course changes.

Scharf, Daniel↗
NASA NTRS1998

Shielding from Space Radiations

This Final Progress Report for NCC-1-178 presents the details of the engineering development of an analytical/computational solution to the heavy ion transport equation in terms of a multi-layer Green's function formalism as applied to the Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative (SSTI) program. The mathematical developments are recasted into a series of efficient computer codes for space applications. The efficiency of applied algorithms is accomplished by a nonperturbative technique of extending the Green's function over the solution domain. The codes may also be applied to the accelerator boundary conditions to allow code validation in laboratory experiments. Correlations with experiments for the isotopic version of the code with 59 and 80 isotopes present for a two layers target material in water has been verified.

Chang, C. Ken↗
NASA NTRS2002

Computational Approach for Developing Blood Pump

This viewgraph presentation provides an overview of the computational approach to developing a ventricular assist device (VAD) which utilizes NASA aerospace technology. The VAD is used as a temporary support to sick ventricles for those who suffer from late stage congestive heart failure (CHF). The need for donor hearts is much greater than their availability, and the VAD is seen as a bridge-to-transplant. The computational issues confronting the design of a more advanced, reliable VAD include the modelling of viscous incompressible flow. A computational approach provides the possibility of quantifying the flow characteristics, which is especially valuable for analyzing compact design with highly sensitive operating conditions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and rocket engine technology has been applied to modify the design of a VAD which enabled human transplantation. The computing requirement for this project is still large, however, and the unsteady analysis of the entire system from natural heart to aorta involves several hundred revolutions of the impeller. Further study is needed to assess the impact of mechanical VADs on the human body

Kwak, Dochan↗
NASA NTRS2018

An Examination of Launch Vehicle Loads Reanalysis Techniques

The typical approach to calculating dynamic launch loads in aerospace applications is coupled loads analysis (CLA). A component mode model of the launch vehicle is coupled with a component mode model of a payload, system modes are calculated, forcing functions are applied, and the dynamic responses are computed. This approach requires the explicit knowledge of the component models for the launch vehicle and payload, as well as the forcing functions. In many situations, the launch vehicle and forcing functions do not change from one analysis to the next only the payload is different. For this type of application, a method called reanalysis was developed to compute the response of a modified payload on the same launch vehicle. If the launch forcing functions are also the same, the approach eliminates the need for the launch vehicle model and the forcing functions and dramatically reduces the computation time. This work investigates the application and accuracy of three previously developed reanalysis methods using a typical launch vehicle and two different payloads. All three methods are based on knowledge of system modes from the original CLA, and Hurty/Craig-Bampton (HCB) models of the original and new payloads. The first method was developed at JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab) and is often referred to as substitution. It is a frequency-domain method, which requires transformation of time signals to and from the frequency domain. The other two methods are time-domain methods that more closely mimic the CLA process. The three methods were applied to two simple examples and a more complex one. The results indicate that the time-domain methods are considerably more robust with respect to modal truncation and other numerical errors than the frequency-domain JPL method.

Reanalysis↗
NASA NTRS1982

Effect of Rayleigh accelerations applied to an initially moving fluid

The General Interpolant Method computer code was used to analyze two-dimensional unsteady thermal convection in circular cylinders under variable low-g conditions associated with space flight. When an acceleration vector was applied parallel to the thermal gradient, in the case of a fluid at rest, no convection resulted for the stable direction, and an instability led to Rayleigh convection for the opposite direction. However, when the acceleration had a component orthogonal to the gradient, convection resulted at any Rayleigh number. The effect on convection of both types of acceleration, applied concurrently or sequentially, was investigated, including the case when the resultant vector varied in direction with time. An analysis of experimental results shows that for space flight conditions, the Rayleigh accelerations induce significant, but not dominating, changes in the established convection even when the Rayleigh number is less than critical.

Dressler, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS2013

A Supplementary Clear-Sky Snow and Ice Recognition Technique for CERES Level 2 Products

Identification of clear-sky snow and ice is an important step in the production of cryosphere radiation budget products, which are used in the derivation of long-term data series for climate research. In this paper, a new method of clear-sky snow/ice identification for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is presented. The algorithm's goal is to enhance the identification of snow and ice within the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data after application of the standard CERES scene identification scheme. The input of the algorithm uses spectral radiances from five MODIS bands and surface skin temperature available in the CERES Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) product. The algorithm produces a cryosphere rating from an aggregated test: a higher rating corresponds to a more certain identification of the clear-sky snow/ice-covered scene. Empirical analysis of regions of interest representing distinctive targets such as snow, ice, ice and water clouds, open waters, and snow-free land selected from a number of MODIS images shows that the cryosphere rating of snow/ice targets falls into 95% confidence intervals lying above the same confidence intervals of all other targets. This enables recognition of clear-sky cryosphere by using a single threshold applied to the rating, which makes this technique different from traditional branching techniques based on multiple thresholds. Limited tests show that the established threshold clearly separates the cryosphere rating values computed for the cryosphere from those computed for noncryosphere scenes, whereas individual tests applied consequently cannot reliably identify the cryosphere for complex scenes.

Radkevich, Alexander↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Multi-Scale Thermo-Mechanical Modeling of Porous 3D Woven TPS Materials

This work summarizes the process to compute and analyze the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of 3D woven TPS materials such as 3MDCP (3D Mid-Density Carbon-Phenolic). The PuMA [1,2] software, developed at NASA Ames, was used to characterize different 3MDCP samples from their constituents' data, averaging their thermal conductivity and elastic properties in the three main directions to obtain their effective orthotropic thermo-mechanical properties. This was performed in multiple steps: firstly, TPS samples were digitally reconstructed using micro computed tomography (µCT) and their constituents were segmented; then, the porous matrix phase was analyzed at the micro-scale and these results were used, along with the fibers’ constituents information, to model the tows at the meso-scale; finally, results from the constituents were homogenized and used to model the thermo-mechanical behavior of the unit cell at the macro-scale. Additionally, to gain a better understanding of the tows’ morphology and distribution of the carbon-phenolic blended fibers, microscopy images of the tows’ cross-section were segmented using deep learning techniques and analyzed with PuMA. This workflow can be applied to any TPS material to computationally obtain its thermo-mechanical properties, enabling more informed TPS design and manufacturing choices.

Multi-Scale↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Multi-Scale Thermo-Mechanical Modeling of Porous 3D Woven TPS Materials

This work summarizes the process to compute and analyze the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of 3D woven TPS materials such as 3MDCP (3D Mid-Density Carbon-Phenolic). The PuMA software, developed at NASA Ames, was used to characterize different 3MDCP samples from their constituents' data, averaging their thermal conductivity and elastic properties in the three main directions to obtain their effective orthotropic thermo-mechanical properties. This was performed in multiple steps: firstly, TPS samples were digitally reconstructed using micro computed tomography (µCT) and their constituents were segmented; then, the porous matrix phase was analyzed at the micro-scale and these results were used, along with the fibers’ constituents information, to model the tows at the meso-scale; finally, results from the constituents were homogenized and used to model the thermo-mechanical behavior of the unit cell at the macro-scale. Additionally, to gain a better understanding of the tows’ morphology and distribution of the carbon-phenolic blended fibers, microscopy images of the tows’ cross-section were segmented using deep learning techniques and analyzed with PuMA. This workflow can be applied to any TPS material to computationally obtain its thermo-mechanical properties, enabling more informed TPS design and manufacturing choices.

Multi-Scale↗