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At least 1,081 records · Page 60

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2005

Topics covered include: Laser System for Precise, Unambiguous Range Measurements; Flexible Cryogenic Temperature and Liquid-Level Probes; Precision Cryogenic Dilatometer; Stroboscopic Interferometer for Measuring Mirror Vibrations; Some Improvements in H-PDLCs; Multiple-Bit Differential Detection of OQPSK; Absolute Position Encoders With Vertical Image Binning; Flexible, Carbon-Based Ohmic Contacts for Organic Transistors; GaAs QWIP Array Containing More Than a Million Pixels; AutoChem; Virtual Machine Language; Two-Dimensional Ffowcs Williams/Hawkings Equation Solver; Full Multigrid Flow Solver; Doclet To Synthesize UML; Computing Thermal Effects of Cavitation in Cryogenic Liquids; GUI for Computational Simulation of a Propellant Mixer; Control Program for an Optical-Calibration Robot; SQL-RAMS; Distributing Data from Desktop to Hand-Held Computers; Best-Fit Conic Approximation of Spacecraft Trajectory; Improved Charge-Transfer Fluorescent Dyes; Stability-Augmentation Devices for Miniature Aircraft; Tool Measures Depths of Defects on a Case Tang Joint; Two Heat-Transfer Improvements for Gas Liquefiers; Controlling Force and Depth in Friction Stir Welding; Spill-Resistant Alkali-Metal-Vapor Dispenser; A Methodology for Quantifying Certain Design Requirements During the Design Phase; Measuring Two Key Parameters of H3 Color Centers in Diamond; Improved Compression of Wavelet-Transformed Images; NASA Interactive Forms Type Interface - NIFTI; Predicting Numbers of Problems in Development of Software; Hot-Electron Photon Counters for Detecting Terahertz Photons; Magnetic Variations Associated With Solar Flares; and Artificial Intelligence for Controlling Robotic Aircraft.

Source record↗

High-Performance 3D Articulated Robot Display

In the domain of telerobotic operations, the primary challenge facing the operator is to understand the state of the robotic platform. One key aspect of understanding the state is to visualize the physical location and configuration of the platform. As there is a wide variety of mobile robots, the requirements for visualizing their configurations vary diversely across different platforms. There can also be diversity in the mechanical mobility, such as wheeled, tracked, or legged mobility over surfaces. Adaptable 3D articulated robot visualization software can accommodate a wide variety of robotic platforms and environments. The visualization has been used for surface, aerial, space, and water robotic vehicle visualization during field testing. It has been used to enable operations of wheeled and legged surface vehicles, and can be readily adapted to facilitate other mechanical mobility solutions. The 3D visualization can render an articulated 3D model of a robotic platform for any environment. Given the model, the software receives real-time telemetry from the avionics system onboard the vehicle and animates the robot visualization to reflect the telemetered physical state. This is used to track the position and attitude in real time to monitor the progress of the vehicle as it traverses its environment. It is also used to monitor the state of any or all articulated elements of the vehicle, such as arms, legs, or control surfaces. The visualization can also render other sorts of telemetered states visually, such as stress or strains that are measured by the avionics. Such data can be used to color or annotate the virtual vehicle to indicate nominal or off-nominal states during operation. The visualization is also able to render the simulated environment where the vehicle is operating. For surface and aerial vehicles, it can render the terrain under the vehicle as the avionics sends it location information (GPS, odometry, or star tracking), and locate the vehicle over or on the terrain correctly. For long traverses over terrain, the visualization can stream in terrain piecewise in order to maintain the current area of interest for the operator without incurring unreasonable resource constraints on the computing platform. The visualization software is designed to run on laptops that can operate in field-testing environments without Internet access, which is a frequently encountered situation when testing in remote locations that simulate planetary environments such as Mars and other planetary bodies.

Powell, Mark W.↗

Immersive Technologies for Human-in-the-Loop Lunar Surface Simulations

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, continually seeks innovative solutions to enhance its operations, particularly in the realms of testing, evaluation, and training for future missions. Immersive technologies, such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality have proven to be powerful tools for immersing users in realistic, interactive, and engaging environments. This paper explores how the Simulation and Graphics Branch at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) leverages immersive technology, modern commercial rendering engines, and physics-based systems simulations to develop human-in-the-loop systems for humanity’s return to the Moon through the Artemis program. When NASA returns to the Moon, astronauts will travel to the Moon’s South Pole where lighting conditions will cause a more complex operational environment. Human-in-the-loop simulations play a crucial role in NASA’s mission planning, spacecraft and space systems development, and evaluation of operational scenarios. The development of immersive environments such as a lunar rover mockup at a video wall enables engineers and astronauts to simulate and experience mission scenarios, integrated spacecraft systems, and operational procedures in a relevant environment before deployment. By integrating realistic virtual environments, immersive technology allows for the visualization and interaction with virtual spacecraft models, mission landscapes, and complex operational tasks. This approach helps identify potential design flaws, operational challenges, and safety considerations. It also provides valuable insights for risk reduction and helps improve mission efficiency and effectiveness. With advanced motion tracking systems and custom virtual environments, data can be gathered and evaluated to help NASA refine training protocols, develop specialized training procedures, and optimize human-robotic interactions for future space missions. Furthermore, immersive technology offers opportunities for future training initiatives at NASA. The Virtual Reality Laboratory at JSC has pioneered training with Virtual Reality (VR) since the Hubble Space Telescope repair missions in the early 1990’s. Extended Reality (XR) simulations enable astronauts to rehearse complex spacewalks, spacecraft maneuvers, and extravehicular activities in a safe and controlled environment. By replicating the physical and cognitive challenges of space missions, immersive training experiences enhance astronauts’ situational awareness, decision-making abilities, and adaptability to unexpected scenarios. Additionally, immersive technology facilitates collaborative training, allowing geographically dispersed crew and mission control personnel to engage in synchronized simulations, fostering teamwork and effective communication. The adoption of immersive technology in NASA’s testing, evaluation, and future training programs has yielded significant benefits. By incorporating human-in-the-loop simulations for studies involving Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA), surface mobility and landing systems, NASA can identify and mitigate risks, optimize operational procedures, and enhance mission success. Ultimately, immersive simulation experiences can empower astronauts to better navigate the complexities of space missions, ensuring their safety, productivity, and success in the dynamic and challenging environments they will experience at the Lunar South Pole.

HITL↗

Assessments of Physiology and Cognition in Hybrid-Reality Environments (APACHE)

NASA is planning to return to the Moon in the mid-2020s as a stepping stone to Mars missions in the 2030s. Spacewalks, or extravehicular activities (EVAs), performed on the Moon and Mars will differ in a variety of ways from those that have been performed in decades past. NASA has identified multiple risks to human health and performance associated with a crewed mission to Mars, especially those associated with exploration EVAs which are expected to be a primary mission activity. Crew may be expected to conduct up to 24 hours of EVA per person per week, where the likelihood of injury and/or mental mistakes are increased compared to ground-based training or current microgravity EVAs and the consequences of which can be catastrophic. Current test environments for exploration EVA research and technology development are large, costly facilities that are limited in their availability or capabilities. Spacesuit testing in a reduced gravity environment such as NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, while a good representation of the crew’s physical workload during exploration EVAs, typically has small datasets and is difficult to integrate physiological sensors or other types of crew performance measures. Meanwhile, scientific field-based testing such as NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies offers an operationally relevant environment for exploration EVAs, particularly for cognitive workload, but is also limited by small datasets, lack of a pressurized spacesuit, and obtrusive measures. The limitations of current analogs for exploration EVAs identify a need for a new test environment that can approximate both the physical and cognitive demands associated with exploration EVAs to enable rapid, controlled, and repeatable evaluations of human health and performance risks of exploration missions. In response, the Human Physiology, Performance, Protection, and Operations Laboratory (H-3PO) at NASA Johnson Space Center has developed a hybrid reality exploration EVA analog named the Assessments of Physiology And Cognition in Hybrid-reality Environments (APACHE) to address these limitations using a combination of virtual, physical, and hybrid reality techniques. The APACHE facility resides at NASA Johnson Space Center and serves as a large “sandbox” for EVA research and simulation. At its center is a roughly 15x20ft space surrounded by a 14” tall sandbox partially filled with lunar regolith simulant to emulate the physical feeling of walking on a planetary surface and to allow for simulated geology operations. Nearby, a curved passive treadmill (Skillmill Connect, Technogym, Fairfield, NJ) and an omnidirectional treadmill (Infinadeck, Infinadeck, Rocklin, CA) are included to enable exploration of these large virtual environments while also imposing the physical demands, representative timelines, and cognitive burdens required to navigate and traverse these distances during exploration EVA. A 6DOF motion platform is used to simulate rover operations and supports various human performance evaluations and associated risks. Lastly, APACHE can support two extravehicular (EV) crewmembers working in tandem. A computer workstation is located nearby and also supports an intravehicular (IV) crewmember as part of a full mission simulation. The IV crewmember has direct video and audio communication with the EV crew in VR to provide operational and procedural support. The software used in APACHE was created by the JSC Engineering Directorate, in partnership with Buendea, powered by a custom Unreal Engine 5 (UE5.3, Epic Games) project. APACHE currently utilizes the HTC Vive Pro Eye in a wireless configuration for VR simulations. There are two virtual environments that subjects can explore within APACHE, a Lunar and Martian surface. The virtual Lunar surface was created from LIDAR data of the Lunar South Pole to create roughly 16 sq km of explorable terrain. The virtual Martian surface contains roughly 400 sq km of explorable terrain derived from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter LIDAR data of the Jezero Crater. The immersion and related cognitive burdens of conducting a planetary EVA is simulated through a series of EVA-relevant tasks performed in the VR environment, using these high-fidelity visual representations. Additionally, APACHE includes biosensor driven informatics, such as real-time heart rate monitoring and/or derived values from model simulations, for active monitoring by the EV crew and added cognitive demand. A “Wizard of Oz” control panel enables test operators to activate contingency events such as simulated spacesuit malfunctions, loss of communications, and/or limited visibility. Embedded performance measures such as accuracy, completeness, and execution time have been developed for various exploration tasks to objectively quantify crew performance during an EVA and compare impacts to performance when different environmental stressors, both physical and cognitive, are added to or removed from the simulation. Additionally, validated cognitive and operational performance measures such as the Digit Symbol Substitution Task have been recreated and embedded in VR for direct and relatively unobtrusive measurement of motor perception. The APACHE environment currently supports multiple research studies at NASA. Examples include the CHAPEA project, a series of simulated year-long missions on Mars by a 4-person crew; and the CO2 Contingency Walk Back Study, an investigation of elevated CO2 exposure on crew performance during a contingency EVA scenario. APACHE also provides a test environment to support the development of the Crew State and Risk Model, which is a collection of individualized, mathematical models of crew physical and cognitive state; and the Personalized EVA Informatics and Decision Support system, an operational tool for flight controllers, and eventually a self-reliant Martian crew, to make biomedically-informed decisions in real-time to optimize the EVA planning and execution with respect to crew health and performance. Some technical challenges associated with developing the APACHE environment, as well as current limitations, include VR limitless natural walking with a hybrid spacesuit simulator, optimizing performance for wireless PC VR streaming while maintaining a high degree of visual fidelity, and the integration of various physiological (metabolic masks) and psychometric (eye tracking) sensors with the VR headset.

Human Performance↗

Development of a Digital Twin for Electrified Aircraft Powertrain Health Management

The augmentation of aircraft powertrains with electrical power systems is a promising path to reducing aircraft fuel consumption, emissions, and noise. Like conventional propulsion systems, electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP) systems will be subject to wear and tear throughout their lifecycles. System health management for EAP will enable efficient flight and maintenance scheduling, realizing economic, safety, and reliability benefits. A digital twin is, broadly, a dynamically updated virtual representation of an individual physical asset. This paper presents a Kalman filter-based approach for the development of a digital twin for an electrified powertrain and applies the approach to an EAP controls testbed. Measurements from nominal testbed operations are used to update a nonlinear model of the testbed. A Kalman filter is then created and used to identify and isolate anomalous testbed behavior based on measurements from off- nominal operations. Results show that the Kalman filter-based digital twin can monitor individual powertrain components’ health for degradation or other changes in performance. The applicability of the presented digital twin approach to any hybrid- or fully-electrified powertrain is emphasized.

Electrified Aircraft Propulsion↗

Physics Coupled Machine Learning Applications for Geological Carbon Storage

This is the conference paper accompanying a poster presentation at the 17th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies GHGT-17 held in Calgary, Canada, October 20-24, 2024. In this paper, a physics-based method, CRM is coupled with the advanced artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) models in virtual learning environment (VLE) for three-dimension details of reservoir responses and evaluations for a comprehensive understanding for CCS field operations and reservoir managements.

Liu, Guoxiang↗

Enhancing Security and Resiliency in Operational Technology Environments Through Network Slicing and Federated Learning

The growing convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) within Industry 4.0 environments has introduced new demands on industrial network infrastructure. As cyber-physical systems become increasingly interconnected, ensuring the secure, timely, and efficient exchange of critical data is essential. This thesis explores how network slicing, a method of creating isolated virtual network segments, can be applied within OT environments to address challenges such as latency, security, and resource allocation. The first research question addressed in this thesis is: How can OT networks take advantage of NFV and SDN technology to become cyber resilient? This study examines the operational, security, and architectural implications of introducing network slicing into traditionally static OT infrastructures such as Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and SCADA. Through simulated deployments and case studies, the research demonstrates how slicing enables better isolation between critical and non-critical services, thereby improving response time, throughput, and security in sensitive environments. The second question considers: How to dynamically implement network slicing and take advantage of network resources towards integrating decentralized machine learning? In response, this thesis proposes a framework that combines Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV), and Federated Learning (FL) to enable real-time analytics while maintaining data locality. The proposed approach reduces the burden on centralized infrastructure and minimizes privacy risks by supporting on-site training of models across distributed OT nodes, coordinated through dynamically allocated network slices. The third focus explores: How slicing helps to increase the resiliency of OT networks through the orchestration of a dynamic DMZ? To answer this, the thesis presents a method for creating and managing Dynamic Demilitarized Zones (DMZs) using network slicing. This enables flexible and automated isolation of sensitive subsystems during threat scenarios or high-risk operations. Coupled with intelligent orchestration and containerized security services, the dynamic DMZ significantly enhances the system's ability to respond to cyber incidents without halting production. Ultimately, this thesis contributes a comprehensive architecture that blends network slicing with machine learning, secure segmentation, and automation, paving the way for resilient, adaptive, and intelligent OT environments. Performance evaluations across multiple scenarios show improvements in system reliability, threat response time, model accuracy, and resource utilization, providing a strong foundation for future industrial automation systems.

Rodiles Delgado, Brian G↗

Extremely small bandgaps, engineered by controlled multi-scale ordering in InAsSb

The relationship between the effective bandgap and the crystalline structure in ordered InAsSb material has been studied. Modulation of the As/Sb ratio was induced along the growth direction during molecular beam epitaxy, producing a strained layer superlattice. To enable the use of concentration ratios near unity in both layers in the period, the structures were grown with negligible net strain on a virtual substrate with a lattice constant considerably larger than that of GaSb. The bandgap line-up of InAsSb layers with different compositions is such that a type II superlattice is formed, which exhibits smaller bandgaps than either of the two constituents. It can also be smaller than the possible minimum direct-bandgap of the alloy. From observations of CuPt ordering in bulk layers with small amounts of strain of both signs, we postulate that strain is the main driving force for atomic ordering in InAsSb. Because the modulated structures exhibit small but opposing amounts of strain, both layers in the period exhibit ordering at the atomic scale throughout the structure. Since the strain can be controlled, the ordering can be controlled and sustained for arbitrary thick layers, unlike the situation in uniform bulk layers where the residual strain eventually leads to dislocation formation. This offers a unique way of using ordering at two different scales to engineer the band-structure.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

25th Space Simulation Conference. Environmental Testing: The Earth-Space Connection

Topics covered include: Methods of Helium Injection and Removal for Heat Transfer Augmentation; The ESA Large Space Simulator Mechanical Ground Support Equipment for Spacecraft Testing; Temperature Stability and Control Requirements for Thermal Vacuum/Thermal Balance Testing of the Aquarius Radiometer; The Liquid Nitrogen System for Chamber A: A Change from Original Forced Flow Design to a Natural Flow (Thermo Siphon) System; Return to Mercury: A Comparison of Solar Simulation and Flight Data for the MESSENGER Spacecraft; Floating Pressure Conversion and Equipment Upgrades of Two 3.5kw, 20k, Helium Refrigerators; Affect of Air Leakage into a Thermal-Vacuum Chamber on Helium Refrigeration Heat Load; Special ISO Class 6 Cleanroom for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Project; A State-of-the-Art Contamination Effects Research and Test Facility Martian Dust Simulator; Cleanroom Design Practices and Their Influence on Particle Counts; Extra Terrestrial Environmental Chamber Design; Contamination Sources Effects Analysis (CSEA) - A Tool to Balance Cost/Schedule While Managing Facility Availability; SES and Acoustics at GSFC; HST Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier (SLIC) Static Test; Virtual Shaker Testing: Simulation Technology Improves Vibration Test Performance; Estimating Shock Spectra: Extensions beyond GEVS; Structural Dynamic Analysis of a Spacecraft Multi-DOF Shaker Table; Direct Field Acoustic Testing; Manufacture of Cryoshroud Surfaces for Space Simulation Chambers; The New LOTIS Test Facility; Thermal Vacuum Control Systems Options for Test Facilities; Extremely High Vacuum Chamber for Low Outgassing Processing at NASA Goddard; Precision Cleaning - Path to Premier; The New Anechoic Shielded Chambers Designed for Space and Commercial Applications at LIT; Extraction of Thermal Performance Values from Samples in the Lunar Dust Adhesion Bell Jar; Thermal (Silicon Diode) Data Acquisition System; Aquarius's Instrument Science Data System (ISDS) Automated to Acquire, Process, Trend Data and Produce Radiometric System Assessment Reports; Exhaustive Thresholds and Resistance Checkpoints; Reconfigurable HIL Testing of Earth Satellites; FPGA Control System for the Automated Test of MicroShutters; Ongoing Capabilities and Developments of Re-Entry Plasma Ground Tests at EADS-ASTRIUM; Operationally Responsive Space Standard Bus Battery Thermal Balance Testing and Heat Dissipation Analysis; Galileo - The Serial-Production AIT Challenge; The Space Systems Environmental Test Facility Database (SSETFD), Website Development Status; Simulated Reentry Heating by Torching; Micro-Vibration Measurements on Thermally Loaded Multi-Layer Insulation Samples in Vacuum; High Temperature Life Testing of 80Ni-20Cr Wire in a Simulated Mars Atmosphere for the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suit Gas Processing System (GPS) Carbon Dioxide Scrubber; The Planning and Implementation of Test Facility Improvements; and Development of a Silicon Carbide Molecular Beam Nozzle for Simulation Planetary Flybys and Low-Earth Orbit.

Packard, Edward↗

Evaluating the Acoustic Effect of Over-the-Rotor Foam-Metal Liner Installed on a Low Speed Fan Using Virtual Rotating Microphone Imaging

An in-duct beamforming technique for imaging rotating broadband fan sources has been used to evaluate the acoustic characteristics of a Foam-Metal Liner installed over-the-rotor of a low-speed fan. The NASA Glenn Research Center s Advanced Noise Control Fan was used as a test bed. A duct wall-mounted phased array consisting of several rings of microphones was employed. The data are mathematically resampled in the fan rotating reference frame and subsequently used in a conventional beamforming technique. The steering vectors for the beamforming technique are derived from annular duct modes, so that effects of reflections from the duct walls are reduced.

Sutliff, Daniel L.↗

Computers in Spaceflight: the NASA Experience

This book examines the computer systems used in actual spaceflight or in close support of it. Computer systems used in administration and in aeronautical and other research not directly related to spaceflight are ignored. Each chapter deals with either a specific program, such as Gemini or Apollo onboard computers, or a closely related set of systems, such as launch processing or mission control.. A glossary of computer terms is included.

assembly language↗

Enabling Spacecraft Formation Flying through Position Determination, Control and Enhanced Automation Technologies

Formation Flying is revolutionizing the way the space community conducts science missions around the Earth and in deep space. This technological revolution will provide new, innovative ways for the community to gather scientific information, share that information between space vehicles and the ground, and expedite the human exploration of space. Once fully matured, formation flying will result in numerous sciencecraft acting as virtual platforms and sensor webs, gathering significantly more and better science data than call be collected today. To achieve this goal, key technologies must be developed including those that address the following basic questions posed by the spacecraft: Where am I? Where is the rest of the fleet? Where do I need to be? What do I have to do (and what am I able to do) to get there? The answers to these questions and the means to implement those answers will depend oil the specific mission needs and formation configuration. However, certain critical technologies are common to most formations. These technologies include high-precision position and relative-position knowledge including Global Positioning System (GPS) mid celestial navigation; high degrees of spacecraft autonomy inter-spacecraft communication capabilities; targeting and control including distributed control algorithms, and high precision control thrusters and actuators. This paper provides an overview of a selection of the current activities NASA/DoD/Industry/Academia are working to develop Formation Flying technologies as quickly as possible, the hurdles that need to be overcome to achieve our formation flying vision, and the team's approach to transfer this technology to space. It will also describe several of the formation flying testbeds, such as Orion and University Nanosatellites, that are being developed to demonstrate and validate many of these innovative sensing and formation control technologies.

Bristow, John↗

Helmet-Mounted Display Research Capabilities of the NASA/Army Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL)

The Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) is a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter that is being modified by the US Army and NASA for flight systems research. The principal systems that are being installed in the aircraft are a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) and imaging system, and a programmable full authority Research Flight Control System (RFCS). In addition, comprehensive instrumentation of both the rigid body of the helicopter and the rotor system is provided. The paper will describe the capabilities of these systems and their current state of development. A brief description of initial research applications is included. The wide (40 X 60 degree) field-of-view HMD system has been provided by Kaiser Electronics. It can be configured as a monochromatic system for use in bright daylight conditions, a two color system for darker ambients, or a full color system for use in night viewing conditions. Color imagery is achieved using field sequential video and a mechanical color wheel. In addition to the color symbology, high resolution computer-gene rated imagery from an onboard Silicon Graphics Reality Engine Onyx processor is available for research in virtual reality applications. This synthetic imagery can also be merged with real world video from a variety of imaging systems that can be installed easily on the front of the helicopter. These sensors include infrared or tv cameras, or potentially small millimeter wave radars. The Research Flight Control System is being developed for the aircraft by a team of contractors led by Boeing Helicopters. It consists of a full authority high bandwidth fly-by-wire actuators that drive the main rotor swashplate actuators and the tail rotor actuator in parallel. This arrangement allows the basic mechanical flight control system of the Black Hawk to be retained so that the safety pilot can monitor the operation of the system through the action of his own controls. The evaluation pilot will signal the fly-by-wire actuators through the flight computer from electrical sidearm controllers located in the right hand cockpit. The system will have very substantial input/output capacity and impressive computational power. These systems are installed in the aircraft using predominantly a MIL-STD 1553B data bus architecture. Sensor data from the RFCS, the basic aircraft and rotor system instrumentation including navigation information, and the HMD system are easily exchanged among user systems, or are available at the systems operator station located in the cabin for real time monitoring or data recording.

Jacobsen, R. A.↗

Theory of the thermionic current beyond the traditional space charge limit enabled by trapped ions in the virtual cathode

We show that trapped ions in virtual cathode potential wells can raise the transmitted current of emitted electrons into a plasma much closer to the full emission than is predicted by cathode sheath theories without trapped ions. The transmitted current is controlled by the well barrier voltage, which must adjust to balance the creation of low-energy ions within the well, and their loss. Our model considers the case of a plasma-facing cathode where trapped ions are created passively via charge-exchange collisions and lost passively via thermal leakage over the well. We quantify these rates and estimate the current in terms of system parameters for thermionic emission into a plasma with several cathode geometries. A general prediction is that the current as a function of emitted flux does not saturate at the traditional space charge limit (the onset of a well) but can reach far higher values until the trapped ion balance breaks down, causing instability. The maximum stable current depends on parameters but in principle can be arbitrarily high if active techniques are used to manipulate the trapped ion balance. We conclude that major improvements in plasma technologies with hot cathodes might be achieved by optimizing the current enhancement enabled by trapped ions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

SU-D-BRB-07: Lipiodol Impact On Dose Distribution in Liver SBRT After TACE

Purpose: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) combining transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with Lipiodol is expected to improve local control. This study aims to evaluate the impact of Lipiodol on dose distribution by comparing the dosimetric performance of the Acuros XB (AXB) algorithm, anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA), and Monte Carlo (MC) method using a virtual heterogeneous phantom and a treatment plan for liver SBRT after TACE. Methods: The dose distributions calculated using AAA and AXB algorithm, both in Eclipse (ver. 11; Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA), and EGSnrc-MC were compared. First, the inhomogeneity correction accuracy of the AXB algorithm and AAA was evaluated by comparing the percent depth dose (PDD) obtained from the algorithms with that from the MC calculations using a virtual inhomogeneity phantom, which included water and Lipiodol. Second, the dose distribution of a liver SBRT patient treatment plan was compared between the calculation algorithms. Results In the virtual phantom, compared with the MC calculations, AAA underestimated the doses just before and in the Lipiodol region by 5.1% and 9.5%, respectively, and overestimated the doses behind the region by 6.0%. Furthermore, compared with the MC calculations, the AXB algorithm underestimated the doses just before and in the Lipiodol region by 4.5% and 10.5%, respectively, and overestimated the doses behind the region by 4.2%. In the SBRT plan, the AAA and AXB algorithm underestimated the maximum doses in the Lipiodol region by 9.0% in comparison with the MC calculations. In clinical cases, the dose enhancement in the Lipiodol region can approximately 10% increases in tumor dose without increase of dose to normal tissue. Conclusion: The MC method demonstrated a larger increase in the dose in the Lipiodol region than the AAA and AXB algorithm. Notably, dose enhancement were observed in the tumor area; this may lead to a clinical benefit.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Analysis of a flare-director concept for an externally blown flap STOL aircraft

A flare-director concept involving a thrust-required flare-guidance equation was developed and tested on a moving-base simulator. The equation gives a signal to command thrust as a linear function of the errors between the variables thrust, altitude, and altitude rate and corresponding values on a desired reference flare trajectory. During the simulator landing tests this signal drove either the horizontal command bar of the aircraft's flight director or a thrust-command dot on a head-up virtual-image display of a flare director. It was also used as the input to a simple autoflare system. An externally blown flap STOL (short take-off and landing) aircraft (with considerable stability and control augmentation) was modeled for the landing tests. The pilots considered the flare director a valuable guide for executing a proper flare-thrust program under instrument-landing conditions, but were reluctant to make any use of the head-up display when they were performing the landings visually.

Middleton, D. B.↗

A study of topologies and protocols for fiber optic local area network

The emergence of new applications requiring high data traffic necessitates the development of high speed local area networks. Optical fiber is selected as the transmission medium due to its inherent advantages over other possible media and the dual optical bus architecture is shown to be the most suitable topology. Asynchronous access protocols, including token, random, hybrid random/token, and virtual token schemes, are developed and analyzed. Exact expressions for insertion delay and utilization at light and heavy load are derived, and intermediate load behavior is investigated by simulation. A new tokenless adaptive scheme whose control depends only on the detection of activity on the channel is shown to outperform round-robin schemes under uneven loads and multipacket traffic and to perform optimally at light load. An approximate solution to the queueing delay for an oscillating polling scheme under chaining is obtained and results are compared with simulation. Solutions to the problem of building systems with a large number of stations are presented, including maximization of the number of optical couplers, and the use of passive star/bus topologies, bridges and gateways.

Yeh, C.↗

Portable, Controlled-Load-Rate Tension Tester

Tensile-testing machine for ceramic and foam materials has selfcontained air supply with built-in airflow controller. New machine easily moved to point of use, and loads applied automatically at constant rate of increase, without fluctuations caused by manual control of supply pressure. Eliminates impact after failure of specimen so it does not damage itself. Potential applications of machine include tensile tests of large composite parts that contain localized defects and adhesion tests of virtually any bonded structure.

Jamieson, R. S.↗