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NASA NTRS1995

User manual for NASA Lewis 10 by 10 foot supersonic wind tunnel

This manual describes the 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the NASA Lewis Research Center and provides information for users who wish to conduct experiments in this facility. Tunnel performance operating envelopes of altitude, dynamic pressure, Reynolds number, total pressure, and total temperature as a function of test section Mach number are presented. Operating envelopes are shown for both the aerodynamic (closed) cycle and the propulsion (open) cycle. The tunnel test section Mach number range is 2.0 to 3.5. General support systems, such as air systems, hydraulic system, hydrogen system, fuel system, and Schlieren system, are described. Instrumentation and data processing and acquisition systems are also described. Pretest meeting formats and schedules are outlined. Tunnel user responsibility and personnel safety are also discussed.

Soeder, Ronald H.↗

NASA NTRS1973

RALPH: An online computer program for acquisition and reduction of pulse height data

A background/foreground data acquisition and analysis system incorporating a high level control language was developed for acquiring both singles and dual parameter coincidence data from scintillation detectors at the Radiation Counting Laboratory at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. The system supports acquisition of gamma ray spectra in a 256 x 256 coincidence matrix (utilizing disk storage) and simultaneous operation of any of several background support and data analysis functions. In addition to special instruments and interfaces, the hardware consists of a PDP-9 with 24K core memory, 256K words of disk storage, and Dectape and Magtape bulk storage.

Davies, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Qualification of the RSRM case membrane case-to-insulation bondline inspection using the Thiokol Corporation ultrasonic RSRM bondline inspection system

Qualification testing of Combustion Engineering's AMDATA Intraspect/98 Data Acquisition and Imaging System that applies to the redesigned solid rocket motor (RSRM) case membrane case-to-insulation bondline inspection was performed. Testing was performed at M-67, the Thiokol Corp. RSRM Assembly Facility. The purpose of the inspection was to verify the integrity of the case membrane case-to-insulation bondline. The case membrane scanner was calibrated on the redesigned solid rocket motor case segment calibration standard, which had an intentional 1.0 by 1.0 in. case-to-insulation unbond. The case membrane scanner was then used to scan a 20 by 20 in. membrane area of the case segment. Calibration of the scanner was then rechecked on the calibration standard to ensure that the calibration settings did not change during the case membrane scan. This procedure was successfully performed five times to qualify the unbond detection capability of the case membrane scanner.

Cook, M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Qualification of the RSRM field joint CF case-to-insulation bondline inspection using the Thiokol Corporation ultrasonic RSRM bondline inspection system

Qualification testing of Combustion Engineering's AMDATA Intraspect/98 Data Acquisition and Imaging System that applies to the redesigned solid rocket motor field joint capture feature case-to-insulation bondline inspection was performed. Testing was performed at M-111, the Thiokol Corp. Inert Parts Preparation Building. The purpose of the inspection was to verify the integrity of the capture feature area case-to-insulation bondline. The capture feature scanner was calibrated over an intentional 1.0 to 1.0 in. case-to-insulation unbond. The capture feature scanner was then used to scan 60 deg of a capture feature field joint. Calibration of the capture feature scanner was then rechecked over the intentional unbond to ensure that the calibration settings did not change during the case scan. This procedure was successfully performed five times to qualify the unbond detection capability of the capture feature scanner. The capture feature scanner qualified in this test contains many points of mechanical instability that can affect the overall ultrasonic signal response. A new generation scanner, designated the sigma scanner, should be implemented to replace the current configuration scanner. The sigma scanner eliminates the unstable connection points of the current scanner and has additional inspection capabilities.

Cook, M.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Development and Flight Testing of an Adaptable Vehicle Health-Monitoring Architecture

Development and testing of an adaptable wireless health-monitoring architecture for a vehicle fleet is presented. It has three operational levels: one or more remote data acquisition units located throughout the vehicle; a command and control unit located within the vehicle; and a terminal collection unit to collect analysis results from all vehicles. Each level is capable of performing autonomous analysis with a trained adaptable expert system. The remote data acquisition unit has an eight channel programmable digital interface that allows the user discretion for choosing type of sensors; number of sensors, sensor sampling rate, and sampling duration for each sensor. The architecture provides framework for a tributary analysis. All measurements at the lowest operational level are reduced to provide analysis results necessary to gauge changes from established baselines. These are then collected at the next level to identify any global trends or common features from the prior level. This process is repeated until the results are reduced at the highest operational level. In the framework, only analysis results are forwarded to the next level to reduce telemetry congestion. The system's remote data acquisition hardware and non-analysis software have been flight tested on the NASA Langley B757's main landing gear.

Woodard, Stanley E.↗

NASA NTRS2008

NASA Langley's AirSTAR Testbed: A Subscale Flight Test Capability for Flight Dynamics and Control System Experiments

As part of the Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research (AirSTAR) project, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has developed a subscaled flying testbed in order to conduct research experiments in support of the goals of NASA s Aviation Safety Program. This research capability consists of three distinct components. The first of these is the research aircraft, of which there are several in the AirSTAR stable. These aircraft range from a dynamically-scaled, twin turbine vehicle to a propeller driven, off-the-shelf airframe. Each of these airframes carves out its own niche in the research test program. All of the airplanes have sophisticated on-board data acquisition and actuation systems, recording, telemetering, processing, and/or receiving data from research control systems. The second piece of the testbed is the ground facilities, which encompass the hardware and software infrastructure necessary to provide comprehensive support services for conducting flight research using the subscale aircraft, including: subsystem development, integrated testing, remote piloting of the subscale aircraft, telemetry processing, experimental flight control law implementation and evaluation, flight simulation, data recording/archiving, and communications. The ground facilities are comprised of two major components: (1) The Base Research Station (BRS), a LaRC laboratory facility for system development, testing and data analysis, and (2) The Mobile Operations Station (MOS), a self-contained, motorized vehicle serving as a mobile research command/operations center, functionally equivalent to the BRS, capable of deployment to remote sites for supporting flight tests. The third piece of the testbed is the test facility itself. Research flights carried out by the AirSTAR team are conducted at NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The UAV Island runway is a 50 x 1500 paved runway that lies within restricted airspace at Wallops Flight Facility. The facility provides all the necessary infrastructure to conduct the research flights in a safe and efficient manner. This paper gives a comprehensive overview of the development of the AirSTAR testbed.

Jordan, Thomas L.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Demonstrating Acquisition of Real-Time Thermal Data over Fires Utilizing UAVs

NASA-Ames Research Center, in collaboration with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has been developing real-time data acquisition and information delivery systems employing uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) technology for disaster mitigation and assessment demonstrations. Working in conjunction with the US Forest Service, a disaster community agency responsible for wildfire management and mitigation, we developed a large-scale wildfire demonstration called the First Response Experiment (FIRE). During that experiment in late summer 2001, the participants demonstrated the melding of innovative technologies such as UAV platforms, real-time data processing, and data telemetry for quick analysis of a disaster event. The General Atomics ALTUS UAV, the Airborne Infrared Disaster Assessment System (AIRDAS) and Over-The-Horizon (OTH) satellite data telemetry equipment were employed over a controlled burn to test the feasibility of a disaster monitoring and mitigation platform for hazardous duty. The ALTUS UAV was employed to demonstrate the long duration, altitude, and payload capability of unmanned platforms for acquiring disaster related data. The ALTUS has an operational altitude to 45,000 feet (13,700 in), with a flight duration of twenty-four hours and a payload capacity of over 300 lbs. (148.5 kg). This allows the platform to operate under the conditions that would be necessary for monitoring and mitigating disaster events throughout the Unites States. The four channel AIRDAS data (calibrated thermal infrared digital imagery of the fire event) was sent from the ALTUS UAV via a satellite communications system (NERA transponder and INMARSAT satellite) to a data archive server and an image processing work station at NASA-Ames Research Center, 400 miles away.

Wegener, Steven S.↗

NASA NTRS1978

An airborne meteorological data collection system using satellite relay (ASDAR)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed an airborne data acquisition and communication system for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This system known as ASDAR, the Aircraft to Satellite Data Relay, consists of a microprocessor based controller, time clock, transmitter and antenna. Together they acquire meteorological and position information from existing aircraft systems on B-747 aircraft, convert and format these, and transmit them to the ground via the GOES meteorological satellite series. The development and application of the ASDAR system is described with emphasis on unique features. Performance to date is exceptional, providing horizon-to-horizon coverage of aircraft flights. The data collected is of high quality and is considered a valuable addition to the data base from which NOAA generates its weather forecasts.

Bagwell, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS1972

A Preliminary Study of a Buoy System for Acquisition, Transmission, and Management of Hydrological Data Obtained from In-situ Measurements

The requirements for a system of remotely located, data collection buoys are considered first for a prototype system to be used in conjunction with the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-A), and then for a more advanced system. The necessary sensor characteristics for compatibility with the ERTS-A data collection platforms are considered, as well as possible sites for location of the prototype buoys. The advanced system is considered from the standpoint of continuous data collection both through satellite data relay and ground telemetry systems. Management of the data from a buoy system is analyzed, especially with regard to the advanced system.

Elliott, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Sonic boom measurement test plan for Space Shuttle STS-2 reentry

Procedures and system specifications associated with the space shuttle STS-2 sonic boom measurement program are described. Specifically included are details such as mobile data acquisition station locations, measurement systems calibration levels, predicted sonic boom overpressure levels, overpressure level assignment for each data acquisition station, data recording times on and off, universal coordinate time, and measurement system descriptions.

Henderson, H. R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Digital data acquisition and preliminary instrumentation study for the F-16 laminar flow control vehicle

Preliminary studies have shown that maintenance of laminar flow through active boundary-layer control is viable. Current research activity at NASA Langley and NASA Dryden is utilizing the F-16XL-1 research vehicle fitted with a laminar-flow suction glove that is connected to a vacuum manifold in order to create and control laminar flow at supersonic flight speeds. This experimental program has been designed to establish the feasibility of obtaining laminar flow at supersonic speeds with highly swept wing and to provide data for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code calibration. Flight experiments conducted as supersonic speeds have indicated that it is possible to achieve laminar flow under controlled suction at flight Mach numbers greater than 1. Currently this glove is fitted with a series of pressure belts and flush mounted hot film sensors for the purpose of determining the pressure distributions and the extent of laminar flow region past the stagnation point. The present mode of data acquisition relies on out-dated on board multi-channel FM analogue tape recorder system. At the end of each flight, the analogue data is digitized through a long laborious process and then analyzed. It is proposed to replace this outdated system with an on board state-of-the-art digital data acquisition system capable of a through put rate of up to 1 MegaHertz. The purpose of this study was three-fold: (1) to develop a simple algorithm for acquiring data via 2 analogue-to-digital convertor boards simultaneously (total of 32 channels); (2) to interface hot-film/wire anemometry instrumentation with a PCAT type computer; and (3) to characterize the frequency response of a flush mounted film sensor. A brief description of each of the above tasks along with recommendations are given.

Ostowari, Cyrus↗

NASA NTRS1962

NIMBUS GROUND SYSTEM

Nimbus satellite - ground support system - command and data acquisition stations

GROUND SUPPORT SYSTEM↗

NASA NTRS1998

The X-33 range Operations Control Center

This paper describes the capabilities and features of the X-33 Range Operations Center at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. All the unprocessed data will be collected and transmitted over fiber optic lines to the Lockheed Operations Control Center for real-time flight monitoring of the X-33 vehicle. By using the existing capabilities of the Western Aeronautical Test Range, the Range Operations Center will provide the ability to monitor all down-range tracking sites for the Extended Test Range systems. In addition to radar tracking and aircraft telemetry data, the Telemetry and Radar Acquisition and Processing System is being enhanced to acquire vehicle command data, differential Global Positioning System corrections and telemetry receiver signal level status. The Telemetry and Radar Acquisition Processing System provides the flexibility to satisfy all X-33 data processing requirements quickly and efficiently. Additionally, the Telemetry and Radar Acquisition Processing System will run a real-time link margin analysis program. The results of this model will be compared in real-time with actual flight data. The hardware and software concepts presented in this paper describe a method of merging all types of data into a common database for real-time display in the Range Operations Center in support of the X-33 program. All types of data will be processed for real-time analysis and display of the range system status to ensure public safety.

Shy, Karla S.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Advanced Engine Health Management Applications of the SSME Real-Time Vibration Monitoring System

The Real Time Vibration Monitoring System (RTVMS) is a 32-channel high speed vibration data acquisition and processing system developed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). It Delivers sample rates as high as 51,200 samples/second per channel and performs Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processing via on-board digital signal processing (DSP) chips in a real-time format. Advanced engine health assessment is achieved by utilizing the vibration spectra to provide accurate sensor validation and enhanced engine vibration redlines. Discrete spectral signatures (such as synchronous) that are indicators of imminent failure can be assessed and utilized to mitigate catastrophic engine failures- a first in rocket engine health assessment. This paper is presented in viewgraph form.

Fiorucci, Tony R.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Performance of the Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility During Altitude Firing Tests of the Delta 3 Upper Stage

The Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility at the NASA Lewis Research Center's Plum Brook Station was reactivated in order to conduct flight simulation ground tests of the Delta 3 cryogenic upper stage. The tests were a cooperative effort between The Boeing Company, Pratt and Whitney, and NASA. They included demonstration of tanking and detanking of liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and helium pressurant gas as well as 12 engine firings simulating first, second, and third burns at altitude conditions. A key to the success of these tests was the performance of the primary facility systems and their interfaces with the vehicle. These systems included the structural support of the vehicle, propellant supplies, data acquisition, facility control systems, and the altitude exhaust system. While the facility connections to the vehicle umbilical panel simulated the performance of the launch pad systems, additional purge and electrical connections were also required which were unique to ground testing of the vehicle. The altitude exhaust system permitted an approximate simulation of the boost-phase pressure profile by rapidly pumping the test chamber from 13 psia to 0.5 psia as well as maintaining altitude conditions during extended steady-state firings. The performance of the steam driven ejector exhaust system has been correlated with variations in cooling water temperature during these tests. This correlation and comparisons to limited data available from Centaur tests conducted in the facility from 1969-1971 provided insight into optimizing the operation of the exhaust system for future tests. Overall, the facility proved to be robust and flexible for vehicle space simulation engine firings and enabled all test objectives to be successfully completed within the planned schedule.

Meyer, Michael L.↗

NASA NTRS1984

A hardware/software simulation for the video tracking system of the Kuiper Airborne Observatory telescope

This simulator was created so that C-141 Kuiper Airborne Observatory investigators could test their Airborne Data Acquisition and Management System software on a system which is generally more accessible than the ADAMS on the plane. An investigator can currently test most of his data acquisition program using the data computer simulator in the Cave. (The Cave refers to the ground-based computer facilities for the KAO and the associated support personnel.) The main Cave computer is interfaced to the data computer simulator in order to simulate the data-Exec computer communications. However until now, there has been no way to test the data computer interface to the tracker. The simulator described here simulates both the KAO Exec and tracker computers with software which runs on the same Hewlett-Packard (HP) computer as the investigator's data acquisition program. A simulator control box is hardwired to the computer to provide monitoring of tracker functions, to provide an operator panel similar to the real tracker, and to simulate the 180 deg phase shifting of the chopper squre-wave reference with beam switching. If run in the Cave, one can use their Exec simulator and this tracker simulator.

Boozer, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Near-field antenna testing using the Hewlett Packard 8510 automated network analyzer

Near-field antenna measurements were made using a Hewlett-Packard 8510 automated network analyzer. This system features measurement sensitivity better than -90 dBm, at measurement speeds of one data point per millisecond in the fast data acquisition mode. The system was configured using external, even harmonic mixers and a fiber optic distributed local oscillator signal. Additionally, the time domain capability of the HP8510, made it possible to generate far-field diagnostic results immediately after data acquisition without the use of an external computer.

Kunath, Richard R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A ground test program to support condition monitoring of a spacecraft attitude control propulsion system

The Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) mission involves seven years of flight from 0.6 to 4.57 Astronomical Units (AU), followed by about 915 days of maneuvering around a comet. Ground testing will characterize the very critical attitude control system thrusters' fuel consumption and performance for all anticipated fuel temperatures over thruster life. The ground test program characterization will support flight condition monitoring. A commercial software application hosted on a commercial microcomputer will control ground test operations and data acquisition using a newly designed thrust stand. The data acquisition and control system uses a graphics-based language and features a visual interface to integrate data acquisition and control.

Clark, Douglas J.↗