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At least 1,099 records · Page 61
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Development and evaluation of an inverse solution technique for studying helicopter maneuverability and agility

An inverse solution technique for determining the maximum maneuvering performance of a helicopter using smooth, pilotlike control inputs is presented. Also described is a pilot simulation experiment performed to investigate the accuracy of the solution resulting from this technique. The maneuverability and agility capability of the helicopter math model was varied by varying the pitch and roll damping, the maximum pitch and roll rate, and the maximum load-factor capability. Three maneuvers were investigated: a 180-deg turn, a longitudinal pop-up, and a lateral jink. The inverse solution technique yielded accurate predictions of pilot-in-the-loop maneuvering performance for two of the three maneuvers.

Whalley, Matthew S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Evolution equation for infinitesimal rotational discontinuities

An evolution equation in the form of a modified Korteweg-de Vries equation is developed which describes the small-amplitude version of the infinitesimal rotational discontinuity (RD) studied by Wang and Sonnerup (1984). It is shown that the small-amplitude version of the equilibrium pulse solution obtained by Wang and Sonnerup is metastable and thus unlikely to arise spontaneously. When the initial pulse amplitude is smaller than and/or the initial pulse width is greater than the equilibrium value, the pulse decays. When the reverse is the case, the pulse is converted to an infinitesimal intermediate-mode solitary wave having greater pulse amplitude and speed. A simulation experiment is performed in which one of the equilibrium intermediate-mode solitary waves overtakes another, less rapidly moving version of the same wave. The existence of multipeaked intermediate-mode solitary pulses is demonstrated.

Sonnerup, B. U. O.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The measurement and improvement of the lateral agility of the F-18

The effect of vehicle configuration and flight control system performance on the roll agility of a modern fighter aircraft has been investigated. A batch simulation of a generic F-18 Hornet was used to study the roll agility as measured by the time to roll through 90 deg metric. Problems discussed include definition of agility, factors affecting the agility of a vehicle, the development of the time to roll through 90 deg agility metric, and a simulation experiment. It is concluded that the integral of stability or wind axis roll rate should be used as a measure of the roll measure traversed. The time through roll angle 90 deg metric is considered to be a good metric for measuring the transient performance aspect of agility. Roll agility of the F-18, as measured by 90 deg metric, can be improved by 10 to 30 percent. Compatible roll and rudder actuator rates can significantly affect 90 deg agility metric.

Eggold, David P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Fault characterization of a multilayered perceptron network

The results of a set of simulation experiments conducted to quantify the effects of faults in a classification network implemented as a three-layered perception model are reported. The percentage of vectors misclassified by the classification network, the time taken for the network to stabilize, and the output values are measured. The results show that both transient and permanent faults have a significant impact on the performance of the network. Transient faults are also found to cause the network to be increasingly unstable as the duration of a transient is increased. The average percentage of the vectors misclassified is about 25 percent; after relearning, this is reduced to 10 percent. The impact of link faults is relatively insignificant in comparison with node faults (1 percent versus 19 percent misclassified after relearning). A study of the impact of hardware redundancy shows a linear increase in misclassifications with increasing hardware size.

Tan, Chang H.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Development of theoretical models of integrated millimeter wave antennas

Extensive radiation patterns for Linear Tapered Slot Antenna (LTSA) Single Elements are presented. The directivity of LTSA elements is predicted correctly by taking the cross polarized pattern into account. A moment method program predicts radiation patterns for air LTSAs with excellent agreement with experimental data. A moment method program was also developed for the task LTSA Array Modeling. Computations performed with this program are in excellent agreement with published results for dipole and monopole arrays, and with waveguide simulator experiments, for more complicated structures. Empirical modeling of LTSA arrays demonstrated that the maximum theoretical element gain can be obtained. Formulations were also developed for calculating the aperture efficiency of LTSA arrays used in reflector systems. It was shown that LTSA arrays used in multibeam systems have a considerable advantage in terms of higher packing density, compared with waveguide feeds. Conversion loss of 10 dB was demonstrated at 35 GHz.

Yngvesson, K. Sigfrid↗
NASA NTRS1992

Experimental evaluation of candidate graphical microburst alert displays

A piloted flight simulator experiment was conducted to evaluate issues related to the display of microburst alerts on electronic cockpit instrumentation. Issues addressed include display clarity, usefulness of multilevel microburst intensity information, and whether information from multiple sensors should be presented separately or 'fused' into combined alerts. Nine active airline pilots of 'glass cockpit' aircraft participated in the study. Microburst alerts presented on a moving map display were found to be visually clear and useful to pilots. Also, multilevel intensity information coded by colors or patterns was found to be important for decision making purposes. Pilot opinion was mixed on whether to 'fuse' data from multiple sensors, and some resulting design tradeoffs were identified. The positional information included in the graphical alert presentation was found useful by the pilots for planning lateral missed approach maneuvers, but may result in deviations which could interfere with normal airport operations. A number of flight crew training issues were also identified.

Wanke, Craig R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Small convolution kernels for high-fidelity image restoration

An algorithm is developed for computing the mean-square-optimal values for small, image-restoration kernels. The algorithm is based on a comprehensive, end-to-end imaging system model that accounts for the important components of the imaging process: the statistics of the scene, the point-spread function of the image-gathering device, sampling effects, noise, and display reconstruction. Subject to constraints on the spatial support of the kernel, the algorithm generates the kernel values that restore the image with maximum fidelity, that is, the kernel minimizes the expected mean-square restoration error. The algorithm is consistent with the derivation of the spatially unconstrained Wiener filter, but leads to a small, spatially constrained kernel that, unlike the unconstrained filter, can be efficiently implemented by convolution. Simulation experiments demonstrate that for a wide range of imaging systems these small kernels can restore images with fidelity comparable to images restored with the unconstrained Wiener filter.

Reichenbach, Stephen E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

1991 NASA Planetary Rover Program

The principal accomplishments of the 1991 Nasa Planetary Rover Program are described. The work to date has focused on development of unmanned science rover technology within the context of high mobility wheeled vehicles at the JPL and an innovative legged locomotion concept at Carnegie Mellon University. Attention is given to mission operations research including simulation environment, mission scenario simulation experiments, and the rover system executive software that will reside onboard a rover in future planetary surface missions.

Lavery, David↗
NASA NTRS1990

Observing system simulations using synthetic radiances and atmospheric retrievals derived for the AMSU and HIRS in a mesoscale model

The paper addresses the concept of synthetic satellite imagery as a visualization and diagnostic tool for understanding satellite sensors of the future and to detail preliminary results on the quality of soundings from the current sensors. Preliminary results are presented on the quality of soundings from the combination of the High-Resolution Infrared Radiometer Sounder and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit. Results are also presented on the first Observing System Simulation Experiment using this data in a mesoscale numerical prediction model.

Diak, George R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Experimental evaluation of candidate graphical microburst alert displays

A piloted flight simulator experiment has been conducted to evaluate issues related to the display of microburst alerts on electronic cockpit instrumentation. Issues addressed include display clarity, usefulness of multilevel microburst intensity information, and whether information from multiple sensors should be presented separately or 'fused' into combined alerts. Nine active airline pilots of 'glass-cockpit' aircraft participated in the study. Microburst alerts presented on a moving map display were found to be visually clear and useful to pilots. Also, multilevel intensity information coded by colors or patterns was found to be important for decision-making purposes. Inconclusive results were obtained on whether to 'fuse' data from multiple sensors. The positional information included in the graphical alert presentation was found useful by the pilots for planning lateral missed-approach maneuvers, but may result in deviations which could interfere with normal airport operations.

Wanke, Craig↗
NASA NTRS1992

Lunar and Asteroid Composition Using a Remote Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer

Laboratory experiments simulating solar wind sputtering of lunar surface materials have shown that solar wind protons sputter secondary ions in sufficient numbers to be measured from low-altitude lunar orbit. Secondary ions of Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Mn, Ti, and Fe have been observed sputtered from sample simulants of mare and highland soils. While solar wind ions are hundreds of times less efficient than those used in standard secondary ion mass spectrometry, secondary ion fluxes expected at the Moon under normal solar wind conditions range from approximately 10 to greater than 10(exp 4) ions cm(sup -2)s(sup -1), depending on species. These secondary ion fluxes depend both on concentration in the soil and on probability of ionization; yields of easily ionized elements such as K and Na are relatively much greater than those for the more electronegative elements and compounds. Once these ions leave the surface, they are subject to acceleration by local electric and magnetic fields. For typical solar wind conditions, secondary ions can be accelerated to an orbital observing location. The same is true for atmospheric atoms and molecules that are photoionized by solar EUV. The instrument to detect, identify, and map secondary ions sputtered from the lunar surface and photoions arising from the tenuous atmosphere is discussed.

Elphic, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Chemical and physical effects in the bulk of cometary analogs

KOSI comet simulation experiments were designed as a macroscopic tester for the studies of physicochemical problems inherent to comet bodies. The analog samples consist of H2O and CO2 ice, organic admixtures, mineral dust, and carbon. Two of the fundamental changes the analogs undergo when submitted to 'insolation' by artificial sunlight, i.e., the diffusion of frozen gases and subsequent crust formation and the natural isotopic fractionation, are reported.

Roessler, K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Study of magnetic bearings with high temperature superconductors, phase 3

Three areas related to the actively controlled radial magnetic bearing concepts are discussed. These areas are: (1) modification to the ac loss calculations of the 1990 report; (2) a continuous changing mechanism to compensate rotor current drop due to ac losses; and (3) design of a proof of principle experiment simulating the proposed bearing concept.

Eyssa, Y. M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Lunar regolith penetrators and cutters

An apparatus was designed and built for conducting simulation experiments on cutting tool penetration in the centrifuge. This equipment is mounted on the laminar container which is used for the regolith densification study, so that the end product of the latter, i.e., a regolith bed with the proper density profile, can be used directly for the penetration tests. In this apparatus, an etching tool is suspended through a pulley system by the action of a double acting air cylinder. By adjusting the air pressure acting on each side of the cylinder, the net downward force acting on the tool can be controlled. The penetration of the tool is measured by an LVDT. This apparatus was proof-tested in the centrifuge and is ready for use in conjunction with the regolith densification experiments.

Barnes, Frank↗
NASA NTRS1992

Decision analysis with approximate probabilities

This paper concerns decisions under uncertainty in which the probabilities of the states of nature are only approximately known. Decision problems involving three states of nature are studied. This is due to the fact that some key issues do not arise in two-state problems, while probability spaces with more than three states of nature are essentially impossible to graph. The primary focus is on two levels of probabilistic information. In one level, the three probabilities are separately rounded to the nearest tenth. This can lead to sets of rounded probabilities which add up to 0.9, 1.0, or 1.1. In the other level, probabilities are rounded to the nearest tenth in such a way that the rounded probabilities are forced to sum to 1.0. For comparison, six additional levels of probabilistic information, previously analyzed, were also included in the present analysis. A simulation experiment compared four criteria for decisionmaking using linearly constrained probabilities (Maximin, Midpoint, Standard Laplace, and Extended Laplace) under the eight different levels of information about probability. The Extended Laplace criterion, which uses a second order maximum entropy principle, performed best overall.

Whalen, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS1992

Determining the transferability of flight simulator data

This paper presented a method for collecting and graphically correlating subjective ratings and objective flight test data. The method enables flight-simulation engineers to enhance the simulator characterization of rotor craft flight in order to achieve maximum transferability of simulator experience.

Green, David↗
NASA NTRS1992

Pilot/Vehicle display development from simulation to flight

The Pilot Vehicle Interface Group, Cockpit Technology Branch, Flight Management Division, at the NASA Langley Research Center is developing display concepts for air combat in the next generation of highly maneuverable aircraft. The High-Alpha Technology Program, under which the research is being done, is involved in flight tests of many new control and display concepts on the High-Alpha Research Vehicle, a highly modified F-18 aircraft. In order to support display concept development through flight testing, a software/hardware system is being developed which will support each phase of the project with little or no software modifications, thus saving thousands of manhours in software development time. Simulation experiments are in progress now and flight tests are slated to begin in FY1994.

Dare, Alan R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Phase II simulation evaluation of the flying qualities of two tilt-wing flap control concepts

A simulation study was initiated to investigate alternative wing and flap controls for tilt-wing aircraft. The initial phase of the study compared the flying qualities of both a conventional (programmed) flap and an innovative geared flap. The second phase of the study, reported in this paper, introduced an alternate method for pilot control of the geared flap and further studied the flying qualities of the programmed flap, and two geared flap configurations. The results showed little difference among the three flap control configurations except during a longitudinal reposition task where the programmed flap configuration was the best. The addition of pitch attitude stabilization greatly enhanced the aircraft handling qualities. This paper describes the tilt-wing aircraft and the flap control concepts, and presents the results of the second simulation experiment.

Birckelbaw, Lourdes G.↗