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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 1,045 records · Page 58
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Development of an Ada package library

A usable prototype Ada package library was developed and is currently being evaluated for use in large software development efforts. The library system is comprised of an Ada-oriented design language used to facilitate the collection of reuse information, a relational data base to store reuse information, a set of reusable Ada components and tools, and a set of guidelines governing the system's use. The prototyping exercise is discussed and the lessons learned from it have led to the definition of a comprehensive tool set to facilitate software reuse.

Burton, Bruce↗
NASA NTRS1988

Acquisition of spectral reflectance data using an artificial source of hemispherical illumination

An integrating hemisphere illumination system has been developed to facilitate the collection of spectral reflectance factor measurements of targets of interest in a laboratory environment. One of the most significant advantages associated with such an illumination source is that repeated measurements can be made over an extended period of time, for a variety of targets, under nearly identical illumination and viewing angle conditions. The illumination system consists of a 76 cm (30 in.) aluminum hemisphere coated internally with barium sulfate paint. Illumination is provided by sixteen 62 watt quartz halogen bulbs with tungsten filaments. A simple metal structure has been developed to hold the hemisphere and all peripheral equipment, such as spectrometers, radiometers, and cameras, in place during data collection. The entire set up can be easily disassembled and packed in airline-approved shipping cases to facilitate transportation to laboratory facilities located near any study area. The illumination system is described briefly, and numerous plots of radiance and spectral reflectance are provided to illustrate the performance and utility of the apparatus.

Williams, Darrel L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Development of a finite element based delamination analysis for laminates subject to extension, bending, and torsion

Delamination is a common failure mode of laminated composite materials. This type of failure frequently occurs at the free edges of laminates where singular interlaminar stresses are developed due to the difference in Poisson's ratios between adjacent plies. Typically the delaminations develop between 90 degree plies and adjacent angle plies. Edge delamination has been studied by several investigators using a variety of techniques. Recently, Chan and Ochoa applied the quasi-three-dimensional finite element model to the analysis of a laminate subject to bending, extension, and torsion. This problem is of particular significance relative to the structural integrity of composite helicopter rotors. The task undertaken was to incorporate Chan and Ochoa's formulation into a Raju Q3DG program. The resulting program is capable of modeling extension, bending, and torsional mechanical loadings as well as thermal and hygroscopic loadings. The addition of the torsional and bending loading capability will provide the capability to perform a delamination analysis of a general unsymmetric laminate containing four cracks, each of a different length. The solutions obtained using this program are evaluated by comparing them with solutions from a full three-dimensional finite element solution. This comparison facilitates the assessment of three dimensional affects such as the warping constraint imposed by the load frame grips. It wlso facilitates the evaluation of the external load representation employed in the Q3D formulation. Finally, strain energy release rates computed from the three-dimensional results are compared with those predicted using the quasi-three-dimensional formulation.

Hooper, Steven J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Planning 3-D collision-free paths using spheres

A scheme for the representation of objects, the Successive Spherical Approximation (SSA), facilitates the rapid planning of collision-free paths in a 3-D, dynamic environment. The hierarchical nature of the SSA allows collision-free paths to be determined efficiently while still providing for the exact representation of dynamic objects. The concept of a freespace cell is introduced to allow human 3-D conceptual knowledge to be used in facilitating satisfying choices for paths. Collisions can be detected at a rate better than 1 second per environment object per path. This speed enables the path planning process to apply a hierarchy of rules to create a heuristically satisfying collision-free path.

Bonner, Susan↗
NASA NTRS1990

Research into display sharing techniques for distributed computing environments

The X-based Display Sharing solution for distributed computing environments is described. The Display Sharing prototype includes the base functionality for telecast and display copy requirements. Since the prototype implementation is modular and the system design provided flexibility for the Mission Control Center Upgrade (MCCU) operational consideration, the prototype implementation can be the baseline for a production Display Sharing implementation. To facilitate the process the following discussions are presented: Theory of operation; System of architecture; Using the prototype; Software description; Research tools; Prototype evaluation; and Outstanding issues. The prototype is based on the concept of a dedicated central host performing the majority of the Display Sharing processing, allowing minimal impact on each individual workstation. Each workstation participating in Display Sharing hosts programs to facilitate the user's access to Display Sharing as host machine.

Hugg, Steven B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Utilizing expert systems for satellite monitoring and control

Spacecraft analysts in the spacecraft control center for the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite are currently utilizing a fault-isolation expert system developed to assist in the isolation and correction of faults in the communications link. This system, the communication link expert assistance resource (CLEAR), monitors real time spacecraft and ground systems performance parameters in search of configuration discrepancies and communications link problems. If such a discrepancy or problem is isolated, CLEAR alerts the analyst and provides advice on how to resolve the problem swiftly and effectively. The CLEAR system is the first real time expert system to be used in the operational environment of a satellite control center at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Clear has not only demonstrated the utility and potential of an expert system in the demanding environment of a satellite control center, but also has revealed many of the pitfalls and deficiencies of development of expert systems. One of the lessons learned from this and other initial expert system projects is that prototypes can often be developed quite rapidly, but operational expert systems require considerable effort. Development is generally a slow, tedious process that typically requires the special skills of trained programmers. Due to the success of CLEAR and several other systems in the control center domain, a large number of expert systems will certainly be developed to support control center operations during the early 1990's. To facilitate the development of these systems, a project was initiated to develop an integrated, domain-specific tool, the generic spacecraft analyst assistent (GenSAA), that alows the spacecraft analysts to rapidly create simple expert systems themselves. By providing a highly graphical point-and-select method of system development, GenSAA allows the analyst to utilize and/or modify previously developed rule bases and system components; thus, facilitating software reuse and reducing development time and effort.

Hughes, Peter M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Specification of parameters for development of a spatial database for drought monitoring and famine early warning in the African Sahel

Parameters were described for spatial database to facilitate drought monitoring and famine early warning in the African Sahel. The proposed system, referred to as the African Drought and Famine Information System (ADFIS) is ultimately recommended for implementation with the NASA/FEMA Spatial Analysis and Modeling System (SAMS), a GIS/Dymanic Modeling software package, currently under development. SAMS is derived from FEMA'S Integration Emergency Management Information System (IEMIS) and the Pacific Northwest Laborotory's/Engineering Topographic Laboratory's Airland Battlefield Environment (ALBE) GIS. SAMS is primarily intended for disaster planning and resource management applications with the developing countries. Sources of data for the system would include the Developing Economics Branch of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the World Bank, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine's Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS) Project, the USAID's Foreign Disaster Assistance Section, the World Resources Institute, the World Meterological Institute, the USGS, the UNFAO, UNICEF, and the United Nations Disaster Relief Organization (UNDRO). Satellite imagery would include decadal AVHRR imagery and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from 1981 to the present for the African continent and selected Landsat scenes for the Sudan pilot study. The system is initially conceived for the MicroVAX 2/GPX, running VMS. To facilitate comparative analysis, a global time-series database (1950 to 1987) is included for a basic set of 125 socio-economic variables per country per year. A more detailed database for the Sahelian countries includes soil type, water resources, agricultural production, agricultural import and export, food aid, and consumption. A pilot dataset for the Sudan with over 2,500 variables from the World Bank's ANDREX system, also includes epidemiological data on incidence of kwashiorkor, marasmus, other nutritional deficiencies, and synergistically-related infectious diseases.

Rochon, Gilbert L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Sphere quadtrees - A new data structure to support the visualization of spherically distributed data

The concept of the sphere quadtree (SQT) is introduced to enable the structuring of spherically distributed data to be consistent with its geometry and facilitate mapping of the data onto a flat file system. The SQT is based on the recursive subdivision of the spherical triangles that result from the projection of the faces of an icosahedron onto a sphere. The SQT concept is insensitive to the distortions that occur far from the equator in spherically distributed data sets. Geographic data can be shown at several levels and at any resolution, allowing a system of referencing between data sets of different resolutions as well as data that are not geographically registered. SQTs are found to facilitate the search for particular spherically distributed data sets and improve the efficiency of surface rendering algorithms.

Fekete, Gyorgy↗
NASA NTRS1989

A real-time blade element helicopter simulation for handling qualities analysis

A simulation model which utilizes parallel processing platforms is described in terms of its contributions to improved real-time helicopter simulation. The FLIGHTLAB parallel processing environment is explained, and the relative advantages of the blade element and rotor map models for rigid and elastic articulated blades are discussed. A UH-60 simulation is conducted by means of a rigid model with 14 degrees of freedom, as well as an elastic model with 26 degrees of freedom, to compare trim conditions, longitudinal static margins, and longitudinal and lateral frequency responses. The FLIGHTLAB system is shown to facilitate restructuring for parallel processing as well as the systematic comparison of a variety of models. The system can facilitate the comparison of rigid and elastic blade element rotor models at NASA-Ames and other research facilities.

Du Val, Ronald W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Sensor fusion for synthetic vision

Display methodologies are explored for fusing images gathered by millimeter wave sensors with images rendered from an on-board terrain data base to facilitate visually guided flight and ground operations in low visibility conditions. An approach to fusion based on multiresolution image representation and processing is described which facilitates fusion of images differing in resolution within and between images. To investigate possible fusion methods, a workstation-based simulation environment is being developed.

Pavel, M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Candidate Mission from Planet Earth control and data delivery system architecture

Using a structured, experienced-based approach, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has assessed the generic functional requirements for a lunar mission control and data delivery (CDD) system. This analysis was based on lunar mission requirements outlined in GSFC-developed user traffic models. The CDD system will facilitate data transportation among user elements, element operations, and user teams by providing functions such as data management, fault isolation, fault correction, and link acquisition. The CDD system for the lunar missions must not only satisfy lunar requirements but also facilitate and provide early development of data system technologies for Mars. Reuse and evolution of existing data systems can help to maximize system reliability and minimize cost. This paper presents a set of existing and currently planned NASA data systems that provide the basic functionality. Reuse of such systems can have an impact on mission design and significantly reduce CDD and other system development costs.

Shapiro, Phillip↗
NASA NTRS1992

RT-Syn: A real-time software system generator

This paper presents research into providing highly reusable and maintainable components by using automatic software synthesis techniques. This proposal uses domain knowledge combined with automatic software synthesis techniques to engineer large-scale mission-critical real-time software. The hypothesis centers on a software synthesis architecture that specifically incorporates application-specific (in this case real-time) knowledge. This architecture synthesizes complex system software to meet a behavioral specification and external interaction design constraints. Some examples of these external constraints are communication protocols, precisions, timing, and space limitations. The incorporation of application-specific knowledge facilitates the generation of mathematical software metrics which are used to narrow the design space, thereby making software synthesis tractable. Success has the potential to dramatically reduce mission-critical system life-cycle costs not only by reducing development time, but more importantly facilitating maintenance, modifications, and extensions of complex mission-critical software systems, which are currently dominating life cycle costs.

Setliff, Dorothy E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The StarView intelligent query mechanism

The StarView interface is being developed to facilitate the retrieval of scientific and engineering data produced by the Hubble Space Telescope. While predefined screens in the interface can be used to specify many common requests, ad hoc requests require a dynamic query formulation capability. Unfortunately, logical level knowledge is too sparse to support this capability. In particular, essential formulation knowledge is lost when the domain of interest is mapped to a set of database relation schemas. Thus, a system known as QUICK has been developed that uses conceptual design knowledge to facilitate query formulation. By heuristically determining strongly associated objects at the conceptual level, QUICK is able to formulate semantically reasonable queries in response to high-level requests that specify only attributes of interest. Moreover, by exploiting constraint knowledge in the conceptual design, QUICK assures that queries are formulated quickly and will execute efficiently.

Semmel, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Generation and exploration of aggregation abstractions for scheduling and resource allocation

This paper presents research on the abstraction of computational theories for scheduling and resource allocation. The paper describes both theory and methods for the automated generation of aggregation abstractions and approximations in which detailed resource allocation constraints are replaced by constraints between aggregate demand and capacity. The interaction of aggregation abstraction generation with the more thoroughly investigated abstractions of weakening operator preconditions is briefly discussed. The purpose of generating abstract theories for aggregated demand and resources includes: answering queries about aggregate properties, such as gross feasibility; reducing computational costs by using the solution of aggregate problems to guide the solution of detailed problems; facilitating reformulating theories to approximate problems for which there are efficient problem-solving methods; and reducing computational costs of scheduling by providing more opportunities for variable and value-ordering heuristics to be effective. Experiments are being developed to characterize the properties of aggregations that make them cost effective. Both abstract and concrete theories are represented in a variant of first-order predicate calculus, which is a parameterized multi-sorted logic that facilitates specification of large problems. A particular problem is conceptually represented as a set of ground sentences that is consistent with a quantified theory.

Lowry, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Symbolic discrete event system specification

Extending discrete event modeling formalisms to facilitate greater symbol manipulation capabilities is important to further their use in intelligent control and design of high autonomy systems. An extension to the DEVS formalism that facilitates symbolic expression of event times by extending the time base from the real numbers to the field of linear polynomials over the reals is defined. A simulation algorithm is developed to generate the branching trajectories resulting from the underlying nondeterminism. To efficiently manage symbolic constraints, a consistency checking algorithm for linear polynomial constraints based on feasibility checking algorithms borrowed from linear programming has been developed. The extended formalism offers a convenient means to conduct multiple, simultaneous explorations of model behaviors. Examples of application are given with concentration on fault model analysis.

Zeigler, Bernard P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Improved instrumentation for monitoring the diurnal and seasonal cycles in the dielectric properties of forest canopies

The design and implementation of a dielectric measurement system that facilitates the automated and continuous in situ monitoring of the dielectric properties of several canopy constituents is presented. This system utilizes the same coaxial line reflection coefficient measurement technique as the portable dielectric probe (PDP) while incorporating several features that facilitate the automated monitoring of canopy dielectric properties. The new system is capable of continuously monitoring the dielectric properties of the canopy constituents in a near-simultaneous fashion. The implementation of a data logger as a user interface has increased the number of measurements that the instrument is able to store in memory while significantly improving system reliability.

Guerra, Abel G.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The development of a cislunar space infrastructure

The primary objective of the University of Colorado Advanced Mission Design Program is to define the characteristics and evolution of a near-Earth space infrastructure. The envisioned foundation includes a permanently manned, self-sustaining base on the lunar surface, an L1 space station, and a transportation system that anchors these elements to a low Earth orbit (LEO) station. The motivation of this project was based on the idea that a near-Earth space infrastructure is not an end but an important step in a larger plan to expand man's capabilities in space science and technology. The presence of a cislunar space infrastructure would greatly facilitate the staging of future planetary missions, as well as facilitating the full exploration of the potential for science and industry on the lunar surface. This paper will provide a sound rationale and a detailed scenario in support of the cislunar infrastructure design.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

The MERMAID project

The tendency for software development projects to be completed over schedule and over budget was documented extensively. Additionally many projects are completed within budgetary and schedule target only as a result of the customer agreeing to accept reduced functionality. In his classic book, The Mythical Man Month, Fred Brooks exposes the fallacy that effort and schedule are freely interchangeable. All current cost models are produced on the assumption that there is very limited scope for schedule compression unless there is a corresponding reduction in delivered functionality. The Metrication and Resources Modeling Aid (MERMAID) project, partially financed by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) as Project 2046 began in Oct. 1988 and its goal were as follows: (1) improvement of understanding of the relationships between software development productivity and product and process metrics; (2) to facilitate the widespread technology transfer from the Consortium to the European Software Industry; and (3) to facilitate the widespread uptake of cost estimation techniques by the provision of prototype cost estimation tools. MERMAID developed a family of methods for cost estimation, many of which have had tools implemented in prototypes. These prototypes are best considered as toolkits or workbenches.

Cowderoy, A. J. C.↗