Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “dynamic timing analysis”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,135 records · Page 63

Modeling atmospheric data and identifying dynamics Temporal data-driven modeling of air pollutants

Atmospheric modelling has recently experienced a surge with the advent of deep learning. Most of these models, however, predict concentrations of pollutants following a data-driven approach in which the physical laws that govern their behaviors and relationships remain hidden. Furthermore, with the aid of real-world air quality data collected hourly in different stations throughout Madrid, we present a case study using a series of data-driven techniques with the following goals: (1) Find systems of ordinary differential equations that model the concentration of pollutants and their changes over time; (2) assess the performance and limitations of our model using stability analysis; (3) reconstruct the time series of chemical pollutants not measured in certain stations using delay coordinate embedding results.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Dynamics of Fungal and Bacterial Biomass Carbon in Natural Ecosystems: Site-level Applications of the CLM-Microbe Model

Explicitly representing microbial processes has been recognized as a key improvement to Earth system models for the realistic projections of soil carbon (C) and climate dynamics. The CLM-Microbe model builds upon the CLM4.5 and explicitly represents two major soil microbial groups, fungi and bacteria. Based on the compiled time-series data of fungal (FBC) and bacterial (BBC) biomass C from nine biomes, we parameterized and validated the CLM-Microbe model, and further conducted sensitivity analysis and uncertainty analysis for simulating C cycling. The model performance was evaluated with mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and coefficient of determination (R2) for relative change in FBC and BBC. The CLM-Microbe model is able to reasonably capture the seasonal dynamics of FBC and BBC across biomes, particularly for tropical/subtropical forest, temperate broadleaf forest, and grassland, with MAE < 0.49 for FBC and <0.36 for BBC and RMSE <0.52 FBC and <0.39 for BBC, while R2 values are relatively smaller in some biomes (e.g., shrub) due to small sample sizes. We found good consistencies between simulated and observed FBC (R 2 =0.70, P<0.001) and BBC (R 2 =0.26, P<0.05) on average across biomes, but the model is not able to fully capture the large variation in observed FBC and BBC. Sensitivity analysis shows the most critical parameters are turnover rate, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of fungi and bacteria, and microbial assimilation efficiency. This study confirms that the explicit representation of soil microbial mechanisms enhances model performance in simulating C variables such as heterotrophic respiration and soil organic C density. The further application of the CLM-Microbe model would deepen our understanding of microbial contributions to the global C cycle.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Test and validation for robot arm control dynamics simulation

The Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) program will require an ability to develop, in a cost effective manner, many simulation models for design, analysis, performance evaluation, and crew training. Computational speed and the degree of modeling fidelity associated with each simulation must be commensurate with problem objectives. To demonstrate evolving state-of-the-art general purpose multibody modeling capabilities, to validate these by laboratory testing, and to expose their modeling shortcomings, two focus problems at the opposite ends of the simulation spectrum are defined: (1) Coarse Acquisition Control Dynamics. Create a real time man-in-the-control-loop simulator. Provide animated graphical display of robot arm dynamics and tactile feedback sufficient for cueing the operator. Interface simulator software with human operated tactile feedback controller; i.e., the Kraft mini-master. (2) Fine, Precision Mode Control Dynamics. Create a high speed, high fidelity simulation model for the design, analysis, and performance evaluation of autonomous 7 degree-of-freedom (DOF) trajectory control algorithms. This model must contain detail dynamic models for all significant dynamics elements within the robot arm, such as joint drive mechanisms.

Yae, K. Harold↗

Analysis of the time-of-flight neutron scattering cross-section data for light water measured at the SEQUOIA spectrometer, Spallation Neutron Source (SNS)

Thermal neutron scattering cross-section data for light water available in the major nuclear data libraries observes significant differences especially at reactor operating temperatures. During the past few years there has been a renewed interest in reviewing the existing thermal scattering models and generating more accurate and reliable thermal scattering cross sections using existing experimental data and in some cases based on Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. There is a need for performing new time-of-flight experiments at high temperatures and pressures, to have a better understanding of the physics involved in the scattering process that could help improve the existing TSL data.Lack of experimental thermal scattering data for light water at high temperatures led to a new measurement campaign within the INSIDER project at the Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire (IRSN). Double differential scattering cross section for light water have been measured at the SEQUOIA spectrometer based at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, United States. Several measurements have been carried out at different temperatures and pressures corresponding to liquid light water. Measurements at five different incident neutron energies Ei (8, 60, 160, 280 and 800 meV) have been carried out to help exploring different regions of the frequency spectrum. This paper presents the analysis of the dynamic structure factor and the derived frequency spectrum of light water. The analysis of the experimental data would provide one with better confidence, the behavior of thermal scattering cross sections for light water at high temperatures, knowledge of which is very important for the design of novel reactors as well as existing pressurized water reactors.

Jaiswal, V↗

Interactions of Oxide Surfaces with Water Revealed with Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

Hydrous materials are ubiquitous in the natural environment and efforts have previously been made to investigate the structures and dynamics of hydrated surfaces for their key roles in various chemical and physical applications, with the help of theoretical modeling and microscopy techniques. However, an overall atomic-scale understanding of the water–solid interface, including the effect of water on surface ions, is still lacking. Herein, we employ ceria nanorods with different amounts of water as an example and demonstrate a new approach to explore the water–surface interactions by using solid-state NMR in combination with density functional theory. NMR shifts and relaxation time analysis provide detailed information on the local structure of oxygen ions and the nature of water motion on the surface: the amount of molecularly adsorbed water decreases rapidly with increasing temperature (from room temperature to 150 °C), whereas hydroxyl groups are stable up to 150 °C, and dynamic water molecules are found to instantaneously coordinate to the surface oxygen ions. Additionally, the applicability of dynamic nuclear polarization for selective detection of surface oxygen species is also compared to conventional NMR with surface selective isotopic-labeling: the optimal method depends on the feasibility of enrichment and the concentration of protons in the sample. These results provide new insight into the interfacial structure of hydrated oxide nanostructures, which is important to improve performance for various applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

High-Fidelity Computational Analysis Of Nasa’s Air Taxi Concepts

High-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations have been carried out for NASA’s air taxi concepts. The high-fidelity approach uses high-order accurate schemes and dual-time stepping, which simulates the rotor with its individual rotating blade grids. The delayed detached-eddy simulation model has been employed. A loose-coupling approach between the flow solver and a rotorcraft comprehensive code is utilized to include vehicle trim and motion variables.NASA’s air taxi conceptual designs are intended to focus and guide NASA’s research activities in support of aircraft development for vertical take-off and landing air taxi operations

ARMD↗

User Role Identification in Software Vulnerability Discussions over Social Networks

Understanding and early awareness of software vulnerabilities is vital for preventing and mitigating potential impacts from cybersecurity events. One step toward early characterization of software vulnerabilities may involve analyzing discussion and spread of information in online social networks. Prior work has used information from such discussions over multiple online forums to develop dynamic networks among users followed by analysis of structure, spread, and information evolution. In this work, we advance the state-of-the-art by focusing on data-driven learning of types, roles, and transition of roles exhibited by users over time. In social networks, users take on particular roles based on their actions and structure of the network. Identifying “meaningful” roles can help separate potential users of interest from the larger community, and identify patterns in a network. We will identify and compare roles found in online forums (e.g., Twitter) using techniques such as feature-based Non-negative Matrix Factorization coupled with topological and influence-based measures of centrality. Since users’ activities change over time, we also analyze role evolution in dynamic networks.

Jones, Rebecca D.↗

Robotics On-Board Trainer (ROBoT)

ROBoT is an on-orbit version of the ground-based Dynamics Skills Trainer (DST) that astronauts use for training on a frequent basis. This software consists of two primary software groups. The first series of components is responsible for displaying the graphical scenes. The remaining components are responsible for simulating the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), and the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Free Flyer Robotics Operations. The MSS simulation software includes: Robotic Workstation (RWS) simulation, a simulation of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), a simulation of the ISS Command and Control System (CCS), and a portion of the Portable Computer System (PCS) software necessary for MSS operations. These components all run under the CentOS4.5 Linux operating system. The JEMRMS simulation software includes real-time, HIL, dynamics, manipulator multi-body dynamics, and a moving object contact model with Tricks discrete time scheduling. The JEMRMS DST will be used as a functional proficiency and skills trainer for flight crews. The HTV Free Flyer Robotics Operations simulation software adds a functional simulation of HTV vehicle controllers, sensors, and data to the MSS simulation software. These components are intended to support HTV ISS visiting vehicle analysis and training. The scene generation software will use DOUG (Dynamic On-orbit Ubiquitous Graphics) to render the graphical scenes. DOUG runs on a laptop running the CentOS4.5 Linux operating system. DOUG is an Open GL-based 3D computer graphics rendering package. It uses pre-built three-dimensional models of on-orbit ISS and space shuttle systems elements, and provides realtime views of various station and shuttle configurations.

Johnson, Genevieve↗

Nonlinear calculations of the time evolution of black hole accretion disks

Based on previous works on black hole accretion disks, I continue to explore the disk dynamics using the finite difference method to solve the highly nonlinear problem of time-dependent alpha disk equations. Here a radially zoned model is used to develop a computational scheme in order to accommodate functional dependence of the viscosity parameter alpha on the disk scale height and/or surface density. This work is based on the author's previous work on the steady disk structure and the linear analysis of disk dynamics to try to apply to x-ray emissions from black candidates (i.e., multiple-state spectra, instabilities, QPO's, etc.).

Luo, C.↗

Chaotic Time Series Analysis Method Developed for Stall Precursor Identification in High-Speed Compressors

A new technique for rotating stall precursor identification in high-speed compressors has been developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center. This pseudo correlation integral method uses a mathematical algorithm based on chaos theory to identify nonlinear dynamic changes in the compressor. Through a study of four various configurations of a high-speed compressor stage, a multistage compressor rig, and an axi-centrifugal engine test, this algorithm, using only a single pressure sensor, has consistently predicted the onset of rotating stall.

Source record↗

Quantification of scaling exponents and crossover phenomena in nonstationary heartbeat time series

The healthy heartbeat is traditionally thought to be regulated according to the classical principle of homeostasis whereby physiologic systems operate to reduce variability and achieve an equilibrium-like state [Physiol. Rev. 9, 399-431 (1929)]. However, recent studies [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 1343-1346 (1993); Fractals in Biology and Medicine (Birkhauser-Verlag, Basel, 1994), pp. 55-65] reveal that under normal conditions, beat-to-beat fluctuations in heart rate display the kind of long-range correlations typically exhibited by dynamical systems far from equilibrium [Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 381-384 (1987)]. In contrast, heart rate time series from patients with severe congestive heart failure show a breakdown of this long-range correlation behavior. We describe a new method--detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA)--for quantifying this correlation property in non-stationary physiological time series. Application of this technique shows evidence for a crossover phenomenon associated with a change in short and long-range scaling exponents. This method may be of use in distinguishing healthy from pathologic data sets based on differences in these scaling properties.

NASA Discipline Number 14-10↗

Unveiling Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Plasmon-Enhanced Localized Fields in Metallic Nanoframes through Ultrafast Electron Microscopy

Plasmonic nanomaterials, particularly noble metal nanoframes (NFs), are important for applications such as catalysis, biosensing, and energy harvesting due to their ability to enhance localized electric fields and atomic efficiency via localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Yet the fundamental structure-function relationships and plasmonic dynamics of the NFS are difficult to study experimentally and thus far rely predominately on computational methodologies, limiting their utilization. This study leverages the capabilities of ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM), specifically photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM), to probe the light-matter interactions within plasmonic NF structures. Here, the effects of shape, size, and plasmonic coupling of Pt@Au core-shell NFs on spatial and temporal characteristics of plasmon-enhanced localized electric fields are explored. Importantly, time-resolved PINEM analysis reveals that the plasmonic fields around hexagonal NF prisms exhibit a spatially dependent excitation and decay rate, indicating a nuanced interplay between the spatial geometry of the NF and the temporal evolution of the localized electric field. These results and observations uncover nanophotonic energy transfer dynamics in NFs and highlight their potential for applications in biosensing and photocatalysis.

Plasmonics↗

Adaptive Control for Linear Uncertain Systems with Unmodeled Dynamics Revisited via Optimal Control Modification

This paper presents the optimal control modification for linear uncertain plants. The Lyapunov analysis shows that the modification parameter has a limiting value depending on the nature of the uncertainty. The optimal control modification exhibits a linear asymptotic property that enables it to be analyzed in a linear time invariant framework for linear uncertain plants. The linear asymptotic property shows that the closed-loop plants in the limit possess a scaled input-output mapping. Using this property, we can derive an analytical closed-loop transfer function in the limit as the adaptive gain tends to infinity. The paper revisits the Rohrs counterexample problem that illustrates the nature of non-robustness of model-reference adaptive control in the presence of unmodeled dynamics. An analytical approach is developed to compute exactly the modification parameter for the optimal control modification that stabilizes the plant in the Rohrs counterexample. The linear asymptotic property is also used to address output feedback adaptive control for non-minimum phase plants with a relative degree 1.

Unmodeled Dynamics↗

Database Management Module Framework for Dynamic Contingency Analysis and Visualization

The Dynamic Contingency Analysis Tool (DCAT) is being developed to mimic the response of generation dynamics, protection, and load components to extreme contingencies in power systems. Currently, DCAT generates a huge data set, with the analysis results stored in multiple subfolders using a great many files in different formats (power flow cases, time series, figures, spreadsheets). To help power system engineers thoroughly understand and analyze system behavior under many scenarios and contingencies, we developed a database management module (DBM) that enables future integration of DCAT with industry-grade Big Data analytical and interactive visualization platforms. In this paper, we demonstrate the DBM framework with interactive analytics and visualization for DCAT on the synthetic South Carolina 500-bus power system model using hurricane contingencies that capture possibilities for an extreme contingency. DCAT’s advanced data management and interactive visualization can help planning engineers to visually explore and analyze system behavior, all in one view.

Cascading, dynamic simulations, database managemen↗

Data Analysis and Theoretical Studies of the Upper Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere

Three separate tasks were proposed under this award. The first involved extending our continuing study of electrodynamical feedback between the thermosphere/ionosphere and the magnetosphere. The second was a model-experiment comparison study of global dynamics and the third was a 'spectral energetics' analysis of tidal dissipation and energy exchange mechanisms. The Earth's mesosphere and lower-thermosphere/ionosphere (MLTI), between approximately 60 and 180 km altitude, is the most poorly understood region of the Earth's atmosphere, primarily because of its relative inaccessibility. This lack of knowledge has been widely recognized and has provided important scientific rationale for the upcoming NASA TIMED mission. While the data gathered during the TIMED era will revolutionize our understanding of the MLTI region, much work can be done prior to the mission, both to develop data-analysis and modeling techniques and to study the more limited relevant experimental data from previous missions. The grant reported on here continues and extends an existing successful program of scientific research into the energetics, dynamics and electrodynamics of the MLTI, using available theoretical and data analysis tools.

Burns, Alan↗

The emergence and transmission dynamics of HIV-1 CRF07_BC in Mainland China

A total of 1155 partial pol gene sequences of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 CRF07_BC were sampled between 1997 and 2015, spanning 13 provinces in Mainland China and risk groups [heterosexual, injecting drug users (IDU), and men who have sex with men (MSM)] to investigate the evolution, adaptation, spatiotemporal and risk group dynamics, migration patterns, and protein structure of HIV-1 CRF07_BC. Due to the unequal distribution of sequences across time, location, and risk group in the complete dataset (‘full1155’), subsampling methods were used. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis as well as discrete trait analysis of geographical location and risk group were carried out. To study mutations of a cluster of HIV-1 CRF07_BC (CRF07-1), we performed a comparative analysis of this cluster to the other CRF07_BC sequences (‘backbone_295’) and mapped the mutations observed in the respective protein structure. Our findings showed that HIV-1 CRF07_BC most likely originated among IDU in Yunnan Province between October 1992 to July 1993 [95 per cent hightest posterior density (HPD): May 1989–August 1995] and that IDU in Yunnan Province and MSM in Guangdong Province likely served as the viral sources during the early and more recent spread in Mainland China. We also revealed that HIV-1 CRF07-1 has been spreading for roughly 20 years and continues to cause local transmission in Mainland China and worldwide. Overall, our study sheds light on the dynamics of HIV-1 CRF07_BC distribution patterns in Mainland China. Our research may also be useful in formulating public health policies aimed at controlling acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Mainland China and globally.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Optical and Probe Diagnostics Applied to Reacting Flows

We plan to explore three major threads during the fellowship period. The first interrogates the flame synthesis of carbon nanotubes using aerosol catalysts. Laser light scattering will reveal changes in particle size at various heights above the burner. Analysis of the flame gas by mass spectroscopy will reveal the chemical composition of the mixture. Finally, absorption measurements will map the nanotube concentration within the flow. The second thread explores soot oxidation kinetics. Cavity ring-down absorption measurements of the carbonaceous aerosol can provide a measure of the mass concentration with time and, hence, an oxidation rate. Spectroscopic and direct probe measurements will provide the temperature of the system needed for subsequent modeling. The third thread will explore the details of turbulent flame dynamics. Laser induced incandescence will be applied to measurements of soot volume fraction in a 2-d configuration. Analysis of seed tracer particles by planar laser light MIE scattering will reveal the elemental fuel mixture fraction in the flames. Cavity ring-down spectroscopy, a pulsed transient absorption method, will determine the instantaneous mass loading and its fluctuation. Finally, fluorescence measurements will investigate the formation of PAH's in these flames.

Ticich, Thomas M.↗