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At least 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Program Analyzes Radar Altimeter Data

A computer program has been written to perform several analyses of radar altimeter data. The program was designed to improve on previous methods of analysis of altimeter engineering data by (1) facilitating and accelerating the analysis of large amounts of data in a more direct manner and (2) improving the ability to estimate performance of radar-altimeter instrumentation and provide data corrections. The data in question are openly available to the international scientific community and can be downloaded from anonymous file-transfer- protocol (FTP) locations that are accessible via links from altimetry Web sites. The software estimates noise in range measurements, estimates corrections for electromagnetic bias, and performs statistical analyses on various parameters for comparison of different altimeters. Whereas prior techniques used to perform similar analyses of altimeter range noise require comparison of data from repetitions of satellite ground tracks, the present software uses a high-pass filtering technique to obtain similar results from single satellite passes. Elimination of the requirement for repeat-track analysis facilitates the analysis of large amounts of satellite data to assess subtle variations in range noise.

Vandemark, Doug↗
NASA NTRS1992

Advanced statistical methods for improved data analysis of NASA astrophysics missions

The investigators under this grant studied ways to improve the statistical analysis of astronomical data. They looked at existing techniques, the development of new techniques, and the production and distribution of specialized software to the astronomical community. Abstracts of nine papers that were produced are included, as well as brief descriptions of four software packages. The articles that are abstracted discuss analytical and Monte Carlo comparisons of six different linear least squares fits, a (second) paper on linear regression in astronomy, two reviews of public domain software for the astronomer, subsample and half-sample methods for estimating sampling distributions, a nonparametric estimation of survival functions under dependent competing risks, censoring in astronomical data due to nondetections, an astronomy survival analysis computer package called ASURV, and improving the statistical methodology of astronomical data analysis.

Feigelson, Eric D.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Volume Averaged Height Integrated Radar Reflectivity (VAHIRR) Cost-Benefit Analysis

Lightning Launch Commit Criteria (LLCC) are designed to prevent space launch vehicles from flight through environments conducive to natural or triggered lightning and are used for all U.S. government and commercial launches at government and civilian ranges. They are maintained by a committee known as the NASA/USAF Lightning Advisory Panel (LAP). The previous LLCC for anvil cloud, meant to avoid triggered lightning, have been shown to be overly restrictive. Some of these rules have had such high safety margins that they prohibited flight under conditions that are now thought to be safe 90% of the time, leading to costly launch delays and scrubs. The LLCC for anvil clouds was upgraded in the summer of 2005 to incorporate results from the Airborne Field Mill (ABFM) experiment at the Eastern Range (ER). Numerous combinations of parameters were considered to develop the best correlation of operational weather observations to in-cloud electric fields capable of rocket triggered lightning in anvil clouds. The Volume Averaged Height Integrated Radar Reflectivity (VAHIRR) was the best metric found. Dr. Harry Koons of Aerospace Corporation conducted a risk analysis of the VAHIRR product. The results indicated that the LLCC based on the VAHIRR product would pose a negligible risk of flying through hazardous electric fields. Based on these findings, the Kennedy Space Center Weather Office is considering seeking funding for development of an automated VAHIRR algorithm for the new ER 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) RadTec 431250 weather radar and Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) radars. Before developing an automated algorithm, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) was tasked to determine the frequency with which VAHIRR would have allowed a launch to safely proceed during weather conditions otherwise deemed "red" by the Launch Weather Officer. To do this, the AMU manually calculated VAHIRR values based on candidate cases from past launches with known anvil cloud LLCC violations. An automated algorithm may be developed if the analyses from past launches show VAHIRR would have provided a significant cost benefit by allowing a launch to proceed. The 45 WS at the ER and 30th Weather Squadron (30 WS) at the Western Range provided the AMU with launch weather summaries from past launches that were impacted by LLCC. The 45 WS provided summaries from 14 launch attempts and the 30 WS fkom 5. The launch attempts occurred between December 2001 and June 2007. These summaries helped the AMU determine when the LLCC were "red" due to anvil cloud. The AMU collected WSR-88D radar reflectivity, cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, soundings and satellite imagery. The AMU used step-by-step instructions for calculating VAHIRR manually as provided by the 45 WS. These instructions were used for all of the candidate cases when anvil cloud caused an LLCC violation identified in the launch weather summaries. The AMU evaluated several software programs capable of visualizing radar data so that VAHIRR could be calculated and chose GR2Analyst from Gibson Ridge Software, LLC. Data availability and lack of detail from some launch weather summaries permitted analysis of six launch attempts from the ER and none from the WR. The AMU did not take into account whether or not other weather LCC violations were occurring at the same time as the anvil cloud LLCC since the goal of this task was to determine how often VAHIRR provided relief to the anvil cloud LLCC at any time during several previous launch attempts. Therefore, in the statistics presented in this report, it is possible that even though VAHIRR provided relief to the anvil cloud LLCC, other weather LCC could have been violated not permitting the launch to proceed. The results of this cost-benefit analysis indicated VAHIRR provided relief from the anvil cloud LLCC between about 15% and 18% of the time for varying 5-minute time periods based on summaries fkom six launch attempts and would have allowed launch to proceed that were otherwise "NO GO" due to the anvil cloud LLCC if the T-0 time occurred during the anvil cloud LLCC violations.

Bauman, William H., III↗
NASA NTRS1993

Welding process modelling and control

The research and analysis performed, and software developed, and hardware/software recommendations made during 1992 in development of the PC-based data acquisition system for support of Welding Process Modeling and Control is reported. A need was identified by the Metals Processing Branch of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, for a mobile data aquisition and analysis system, customized for welding measurement and calibration. Several hardware configurations were evaluated and a PC-based system was chosen. The Welding Measurement System (WMS) is a dedicated instrument, strictly for the use of data aquisition and analysis. Although the WMS supports many of the functions associated with the process control, it is not the intention for this system to be used for welding process control.

Romine, Peter L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Recent Updates to the CFD General Notation System (CGNS)

The CFD General Notation System (CGNS) - a general, portable, and extensible standard for the storage and retrieval of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis data has been in existence for more than a decade (Version 1.0 was released in May 1998). Both structured and unstructured CFD data are covered by the standard, and CGNS can be easily extended to cover any sort of data imaginable, while retaining backward compatibility with existing CGNS data files and software. Although originally designed for CFD, it is readily extendable to any field of computational analysis. In early 2011, CGNS Version 3.1 was released, which added significant capabilities. This paper describes these recent enhancements and highlights the continued usefulness of the CGNS methodology.

Rumsey, Christopher L.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cross-Cutting Software Solutions in Support of Experimental Analysis Challenges at National Scattering Facilities

Rapid improvements in instrumentation at neutron and light source combined with new capabilities in computing, data analytics, and machine learning offer unprecedented scientific capabilities to address fundamental and applied science questions in a wide area of subjects from quantum materials to biological systems. In order to make these capabilities accessible to the broader scientific community, significant developments are needed related to workflow spanning from experimental control to advanced materials simulations as well as the underpinning scientific software. In this chapter, we explore these needs and recent developments at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A central part of the workflow at the SNS is the data reduction framework Mantid which is developed as a partnership between European and US neutron-scattering facilities.

Proffen, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS1989

Support for life-cycle product reuse in NASA's SSE

The Software Support Environment (SSE) is a software factory for the production of Space Station Freedom Program operational software. The SSE is to be centrally developed and maintained and used to configure software production facilities in the field. The PRC product TTCQF provides for an automated qualification process and analysis of existing code that can be used for software reuse. The interrogation subsystem permits user queries of the reusable data and components which have been identified by an analyzer and qualified with associated metrics. The concept includes reuse of non-code life-cycle components such as requirements and designs. Possible types of reusable life-cycle components include templates, generics, and as-is items. Qualification of reusable elements requires analysis (separation of candidate components into primitives), qualification (evaluation of primitives for reusability according to reusability criteria) and loading (placing qualified elements into appropriate libraries). There can be different qualifications for different installations, methodologies, applications and components. Identifying reusable software and related components is labor-intensive and is best carried out as an integrated function of an SSE.

Shotton, Charles↗
NASA NTRS2015

Evaluation of Solid Rocket Motor Component Data Using a Commercially Available Statistical Software Package

Commercially available software packages today allow users to quickly perform the routine evaluations of (1) descriptive statistics to numerically and graphically summarize both sample and population data, (2) inferential statistics that draws conclusions about a given population from samples taken of it, (3) probability determinations that can be used to generate estimates of reliability allowables, and finally (4) the setup of designed experiments and analysis of their data to identify significant material and process characteristics for application in both product manufacturing and performance enhancement. This paper presents examples of analysis and experimental design work that has been conducted using Statgraphics®(Registered Trademark) statistical software to obtain useful information with regard to solid rocket motor propellants and internal insulation material. Data were obtained from a number of programs (Shuttle, Constellation, and Space Launch System) and sources that include solid propellant burn rate strands, tensile specimens, sub‐scale test motors, full‐scale operational motors, rubber insulation specimens, and sub‐scale rubber insulation analog samples. Besides facilitating the experimental design process to yield meaningful results, statistical software has demonstrated its ability to quickly perform complex data analyses and yield significant findings that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. One caveat to these successes is that useful results not only derive from the inherent power of the software package, but also from the skill and understanding of the data analyst.

Stefanski, Philip L.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Digital exploitation of synthetic aperture radar

A digital processing and analysis scheme for use with digitized synthetic aperture radar data was developed. Using data from a four channel system, the imagery is preprocessed using specially designed software and then analyzed using preexisting facilities originally intended for use with MSS type data. Geometric and radiometric correction may be performed if desired, as well as classification analysis, Fast Fourier transform, filtering and level slice and display functions. The system provides low cost output in real time, permitting interactive imagery analysis. System information flow diagrams as well as sample output products are shown.

Wagner, H. L.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Processing Raman Spectra of High-Pressure Hydrogen Flames

The Raman Code automates the analysis of laser-Raman-spectroscopy data for diagnosis of combustion at high pressure. On the basis of the theory of molecular spectroscopy, the software calculates the rovibrational and pure rotational Raman spectra of H2, O2, N2, and H2O in hydrogen/air flames at given temperatures and pressures. Given a set of Raman spectral data from measurements on a given flame and results from the aforementioned calculations, the software calculates the thermodynamic temperature and number densities of the aforementioned species. The software accounts for collisional spectral-line-broadening effects at pressures up to 60 bar (6 MPa). The line-broadening effects increase with pressure and thereby complicate the analysis. The software also corrects for spectral interference ("cross-talk") among the various chemical species. In the absence of such correction, the cross-talk is a significant source of error in temperatures and number densities. This is the first known comprehensive computer code that, when used in conjunction with a spectral calibration database, can process Raman-scattering spectral data from high-pressure hydrogen/air flames to obtain temperatures accurate to within 10 K and chemical-species number densities accurate to within 2 percent.

Nguyen, Quang-Viet↗
NASA NTRS1999

Parallelization of the Physical-Space Statistical Analysis System (PSAS)

Atmospheric data assimilation is a method of combining observations with model forecasts to produce a more accurate description of the atmosphere than the observations or forecast alone can provide. Data assimilation plays an increasingly important role in the study of climate and atmospheric chemistry. The NASA Data Assimilation Office (DAO) has developed the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS DAS) to create assimilated datasets. The core computational components of the GEOS DAS include the GEOS General Circulation Model (GCM) and the Physical-space Statistical Analysis System (PSAS). The need for timely validation of scientific enhancements to the data assimilation system poses computational demands that are best met by distributed parallel software. PSAS is implemented in Fortran 90 using object-based design principles. The analysis portions of the code solve two equations. The first of these is the "innovation" equation, which is solved on the unstructured observation grid using a preconditioned conjugate gradient (CG) method. The "analysis" equation is a transformation from the observation grid back to a structured grid, and is solved by a direct matrix-vector multiplication. Use of a factored-operator formulation reduces the computational complexity of both the CG solver and the matrix-vector multiplication, rendering the matrix-vector multiplications as a successive product of operators on a vector. Sparsity is introduced to these operators by partitioning the observations using an icosahedral decomposition scheme. PSAS builds a large (approx. 128MB) run-time database of parameters used in the calculation of these operators. Implementing a message passing parallel computing paradigm into an existing yet developing computational system as complex as PSAS is nontrivial. One of the technical challenges is balancing the requirements for computational reproducibility with the need for high performance. The problem of computational reproducibility is well known in the parallel computing community. It is a requirement that the parallel code perform calculations in a fashion that will yield identical results on different configurations of processing elements on the same platform. In some cases this problem can be solved by sacrificing performance. Meeting this requirement and still achieving high performance is very difficult. Topics to be discussed include: current PSAS design and parallelization strategy; reproducibility issues; load balance vs. database memory demands, possible solutions to these problems.

Larson, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Scientific Visualization Using the Flow Analysis Software Toolkit (FAST)

Over the past few years the Flow Analysis Software Toolkit (FAST) has matured into a useful tool for visualizing and analyzing scientific data on high-performance graphics workstations. Originally designed for visualizing the results of fluid dynamics research, FAST has demonstrated its flexibility by being used in several other areas of scientific research. These research areas include earth and space sciences, acid rain and ozone modelling, and automotive design, just to name a few. This paper describes the current status of FAST, including the basic concepts, architecture, existing functionality and features, and some of the known applications for which FAST is being used. A few of the applications, by both NASA and non-NASA agencies, are outlined in more detail. Described in the Outlines are the goals of each visualization project, the techniques or 'tricks' used lo produce the desired results, and custom modifications to FAST, if any, done to further enhance the analysis. Some of the future directions for FAST are also described.

Bancroft, Gordon V.↗
DOE OSTI2025

srlife : A software tool for estimating the life of high temperature concentrating solar receivers. Part II – Ceramic receivers

As Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies aim for higher operating temperatures to enhance efficiency and meet industrial process heat demands, high-temperature metallic materials, including nickel-based superalloys, face challenges in maintaining structural integrity. Advanced ceramics offer a promising alternative due to their superior high-temperature strength. However, accurately assessing the performance of ceramic components requires a fundamentally different approach from that used for metallic components. This Part II of a two-part paper describes the integration of ceramic statistical failure models within srlife – an open-source tool for predicting the life of high-temperature CSP receivers. These models account for the inherent variability in ceramic strength, as well as the effects of subcritical crack growth (SCG) under high temperature cyclic loads. Here, the paper includes an example problem that demonstrate the process of evaluating ceramic receivers using srlife. Part I details the life estimation process for metallic receivers (i.e. creep-fatigue life) along with input and output data structure, thermohydraulic analysis, and structural analysis. The complete tool is available as open-source software at https://github.com/srlife-project/srlife and can be installed via the PyPi package manager (https://pypi.org). By supporting both ceramic and metallic receiver analyses, srlife facilitates fair comparisons between competing metallic and ceramic designs, enabling accurate evaluations of plant efficiency and the economic benefits of ceramic solar receivers and other components.

High temperature ceramic receivers↗
DOE OSTI2022

Performance Debugging and Tuning of Flash-X with Data Analysis Tools

State-of-the-art multiphysics simulations running on large scale leadership computing platforms have many variables contributing to their performance and scaling behavior. We recently encountered an interesting performance anomaly in Flash-X, a multiphysics multicomponent simulation software, when characterizing its performance behavior on several large-scale HPC platforms. The anomaly was tracked down to the interaction between the use of dynamic allocation of scratch data and data locality in the cache hierarchy. In this paper we present the details of unexpected performance variability of Flash-X, its extensive analysis using the performance measurement tool TAU to collect the data and Python data analysis libraries to explore the data, and our insights from this experience. In this process, we discovered and removed or mitigated two additional performance limiting bottlenecks for performance tuning.

Huck, Kevin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Virtual Diagnostics Interface (ViDI) for Planning Laser-Based Wind Tunnel Experiments

Virtual Diagnostics Interface (ViDI), originally introduced by Richard Schwartz in 2004 and described again by Alderfer, et. al., in 2007, is an interactive 3D software tool developed at NASA Langley Research Center to serve three main purposes: assist in pre-test planning, enhance post-test image analysis and visualization, and serve as a central location for data storage and distribution.1,2 ViDI is composed of custom-developed software and Autodesk® 3ds Max® as it incorporates Computer Aided Design (CAD) models with the results obtained from optical diagnostics.3 This software tool has proven useful in the field of optical diagnostics where pre-test planning of beam paths, optical elements, and test articles must be carried out to avoid interference, ensure spatial resolution is sufficient, and the camera Field of View (FoV) is adequate for the field of interest. Typically, practical considerations such as the distance a camera is from the region of interest, the angles at which the camera is oriented and issues such as the size of the camera and its sensor and size and focal length lens as well as the path of the laser need to be taken into account to predict a successful measurement. An example application of ViDI is shown in Fig.1 where an experiment to investigate flow separation over the wing of the High Lift Common Research Model (HL-CRM) is currently being planned in the National Transonic Facility (NTF) at NASA Langley Research Center.

virtual diagnostics interface↗
NASA NTRS2023

Easy, Scalable Subsetting of GEDI Point Clouds

The GEDI Subsetter, a Python tool developed for NASA’s Multi-mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP), optimizes the accessibility and visualization of GEDI point clouds by enabling users to efficiently subset data in a convenient, scalable manner. Complex science data often requires users to learn new software skills and handle many large files. Handling and cleaning large data sets is tedious and error-prone. These challenges significantly impede analysis. One of the goals of NASA's MAAP is to provide a platform that lowers the barrier to conducting research and analysis at scale. When a group of MAAP users wanted to conduct above-ground biomass estimation using GEDI data, we found that their existing workflow for leveraging GEDI data suffered from the barriers mentioned above. Furthermore, their workflow did not scale easily beyond a small number of granules. We found that existing tools related to GEDI data retrieval and subsetting were too limiting, so the GEDI Subsetter was written to support MAAP users’ needs. Being able to run many subsetting jobs simultaneously in the MAAP, and parallelizing the code itself, has led to significant speed improvements in obtaining relevant data, reducing subsetting time from hours to minutes. MAAP users can now more quickly and easily obtain only the data relevant to their research, by choosing which GEDI collection they want to work with (L1A, L2A, L2B, or L4A), and how they want to subset it, by specifying an area of interest, a temporal range, and relevant attributes. This has significantly reduced the feedback loop for users, allowing them to much more quickly subset GEDI data and begin their analysis. Although the GEDI Subsetter originally targeted users of the MAAP, it is generalized such that it can also be used outside of the MAAP and includes a command-line interface for convenience. Furthermore, with minor modifications, it should be possible to use it with non-GEDI data as the general pattern should be applicable to other sparse/track-based sensors.

Charles Daniels↗
NASA NTRS2009

Hypersonic Navier Stokes Comparisons to Orbiter Flight Data

Hypersonic chemical nonequilibrium simulations of low earth orbit entry flow fields are becoming increasingly commonplace as software and computational capabilities become more capable. However, development of robust and accurate software to model these environments will always encounter a significant barrier in developing a suite of high quality calibration cases. The US3D hypersonic nonequilibrium Navier Stokes analysis capability has been favorably compared to a number of wind tunnel test cases. Extension of the calibration basis for this software to Orbiter flight conditions will provide an incremental increase in confidence. As part of the Orbiter Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment and the Hypersonic Thermodynamic Infrared Measurements project, NASA is performing entry flight testing on the Orbiter to provide valuable aerothermodynamic heating data. An increase in interest related to orbiter entry environments is resulting from this activity. With the advent of this new data, comparisons of the US3D software to the new flight testing data is warranted. This paper will provide information regarding the framework of analyses that will be applied with the US3D analysis tool. In addition, comparisons will be made to entry flight testing data provided by the Orbiter BLT Flight Experiment and HYTHIRM projects. If data from digital scans of the Orbiter windward surface become available, simulations will also be performed to characterize the difference in surface heating between the CAD reference OML and the digitized surface provided by the surface scans.

Campbell, Charles H.↗
NASA NTRS2011

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2011

The topics include: 1) Flight Test Results from the Rake Airflow Gage Experiment on the F-15B; 2) Telemetry and Science Data Software System; 3) CropEx Web-Based Agricultural Monitoring and Decision Support; 4) High-Performance Data Analysis Tools for Sun-Earth Connection Missions; 5) Experiment in Onboard Synthetic Aperture Radar Data Processing; 6) Microfabrication of a High-Throughput Nanochannel Delivery/Filtration System; 7) Improved Design and Fabrication of Hydrated-Salt Pills; 8) Monolithic Flexure Pre-Stressed Ultrasonic Horns; 9) Cryogenic Quenching Process for Electronic Part Screening; 10) Broadband Via-Less Microwave Crossover Using Microstrip-CPW Transitions; 11) Wheel-Based Ice Sensors for Road Vehicles; 12) G-DYN Multibody Dynamics Engine; 13) Multibody Simulation Software Testbed for Small-Body Exploration and Sampling; 14) Propulsive Reaction Control System Model; 15) Licklider Transmission Protocol Implementation; 16) Core Recursive Hierarchical Image Segmentation; 17) Two-Stage Centrifugal Fan; 18) Combined Structural and Trajectory Control of Variable-Geometry Planetary Entry Systems; 19) Pressure Regulator With Internal Ejector Circulation Pump, Flow and Pressure Measurement Porting, and Fuel Cell System Integration Options; 20) Temperature-Sensitive Coating Sensor Based on Hematite; 21) Standardization of a Volumetric Displacement Measurement for Two-Body Abrasion Scratch Test Data Analysis; 22) Detection of Carbon Monoxide Using Polymer-Carbon Composite Films; 23) Substituted Quaternary Ammonium Salts Improve Low-Temperature Performance of Double-Layer Capacitors; 24) Sustainably Sourced, Thermally Resistant, Radiation Hard Biopolymer; 25) Integrated Lens Antennas for Multi-Pixel Receivers; 26) 180-GHz Interferometric Imager; 27) Maturation of Structural Health Management Systems for Solid Rocket Motors; 28) Validating Phasing and Geometry of Large Focal Plane Arrays; 29) Transverse Pupil Shifts for Adaptive Optics Non-Common Path Calibration; 30) Qualification of Fiber Optic Cables for Martian Extreme Temperature Environments; 31) Solid-State Spectral Light Source System; 32) Multiple-Event, Single-Photon Counting Imaging Sensor; 33) Surface Modeling to Support Small-Body Spacecraft Exploration and Proximity Operations; and 34) Achieving Exact and Constant Turnaround Ratio in a DDS-Based Coherent Transponder.

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