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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 1,153 records · Page 64
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

A comparison of microwave techniques for measuring rainfall

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate within a common framework a large number of techniques for nearly instantaneous microwave measurements of rainfall and to determine the range of rainfall rates best suited to the various techniques and estimators. The physical basis of a technique as transformed by measurement imperfections of real instruments determines the ultimate performance capability of any microwave rain estimator. While many of the defects of the measurement process apply to all techniques, the physics behind each estimator differs. A method is presented for objectively evaluating the physical bases of the techniques and for quantifying estimator performance for perfect instruments. These results are then tempered by standard measurement errors to yield more realistic results. Analysis demonstrates that, in general, the minimization of rainfall estimate errors over a wide range of rainfall rates requires the simultaneous application of more than one microwave rainfall measurement technique.

Jameson, A. R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Calculation of scramjet inlet with thick boundary-layer ingestion

Numerical flowfields around a scramjet inlet model are simulated and analyzed. The present inlet flowfield is characterized by thick boundary-layer ingestion and strong viscous/inviscid interaction because of a combined effect of high hypersonic freestream Mach and low Reynolds numbers. Shock-induced separation further enlarges regions of viscous flows which occupy most of the inlet flowfield. Results obtained from the computations with the PARC code developed for ideal gas are presented for several 2D cases at various hypersonic Mach numbers ranging from 10 to 25, and two 3D simulations at Mach numbers of 12 and 19 are also discussed. Comparison between computation and experiment is made in terms of pressure distributions at the wall center line. Large discrepancy is observed and may be partially attributed to the lack of real gas and/or 3D effects in the simulation as well as to the uncertainty of the experiment.

Lai, H. T.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Second law analysis of a conventional steam power plant

A numerical investigation of exergy destroyed by operation of a conventional steam power plant is computed via an exergy cascade. An order of magnitude analysis shows that exergy destruction is dominated by combustion and heat transfer across temperature differences inside the boiler, and conversion of energy entering the turbine/generator sets from thermal to electrical. Combustion and heat transfer inside the boiler accounts for 53.83 percent of the total exergy destruction. Converting thermal energy into electrical energy is responsible for 41.34 percent of the total exergy destruction. Heat transfer across the condenser accounts for 2.89 percent of the total exergy destruction. Fluid flow with friction is responsible for 0.50 percent of the total exergy destruction. The boiler feed pump turbine accounts for 0.25 percent of the total exergy destruction. Fluid flow mixing is responsible for 0.23 percent of the total exergy destruction. Other equipment including gland steam condenser, drain cooler, deaerator and heat exchangers are, in the aggregate, responsible for less than one percent of the total exergy destruction. An energy analysis is also given for comparison of exergy cascade to energy cascade. Efficiencies based on both the first law and second law of thermodynamics are calculated for a number of components and for the plant. The results show that high first law efficiency does not mean high second law efficiency. Therefore, the second law analysis has been proven to be a more powerful tool in pinpointing real losses. The procedure used to determine total exergy destruction and second law efficiency can be used in a conceptual design and parametric study to evaluate the performance of other steam power plants and other thermal systems.

Liu, Geng↗
NASA NTRS1994

Interferometric investigations of compressible dynamic stall over a transiently pitching airfoil

The compressible dynamic stall flowfield over a NACA 0012 airfoil transiently pitching from 0 to 60 deg at a constant rate under compressible flow conditions has been studied using real-time interferometry. A quantitative description of the overall flowfield, including the finer details of dynamic stall vortex formation, growth, and the concomitant changes in the airfoil pressure distribution, has been provided by analyzing the interferograms. For Mach numbers above 0.4, small multiple shocks appear near the leading edge and are present through the initial stages of dynamic stall. Dynamic stall was found to occur coincidentally with the bursting of the separation bubble over the airfoil. Compressibility was found to confine the dynamic stall vortical structure closer to the airfoil surface. The measurements show that the peak suction pressure coefficient drops with increasing freestream Mach number, and also it lags the steady flow values at any given angle of attack. As the dynamic stall vortex is shed, an anti-clockwise vortex is induced near the trailing edge, which actively interacts with the post-stall flow.

Chandrasekhara, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Software Development Technologies for Reactive, Real-Time, and Hybrid Systems: Summary of Research

This research is directed towards the implementation of a comprehensive deductive-algorithmic environment (toolkit) for the development and verification of high assurance reactive systems, especially concurrent, real-time, and hybrid systems. For this, we have designed and implemented the STCP (Stanford Temporal Prover) verification system. Reactive systems have an ongoing interaction with their environment, and their computations are infinite sequences of states. A large number of systems can be seen as reactive systems, including hardware, concurrent programs, network protocols, and embedded systems. Temporal logic provides a convenient language for expressing properties of reactive systems. A temporal verification methodology provides procedures for proving that a given system satisfies a given temporal property. The research covered necessary theoretical foundations as well as implementation and application issues.

Manna, Zohar↗
NASA NTRS1998

Real-Time Sensor Validation System Developed

Real-time sensor validation improves process monitoring and control system dependability by ensuring data integrity through automated detection of sensor data failures. The NASA Lewis Research Center, Expert Microsystems, and Intelligent Software Associates have developed an innovative sensor validation system that can automatically detect automated sensor failures in real-time for all types of mission-critical systems. This system consists of a sensor validation network development system and a real-time kernel. The network development system provides tools that enable systems engineers to automatically generate software that can be embedded within an application. The sensor validation methodology captured by these tools can be scaled to validate any number of sensors, and permits users to specify system sensitivity. The resulting software reliably detects all types of sensor data failures.

Zakrajsek, June F.↗
NASA NTRS2009

General Purpose Data-Driven Monitoring for Space Operations

As modern space propulsion and exploration systems improve in capability and efficiency, their designs are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Determining the health state of these systems, using traditional parameter limit checking, model-based, or rule-based methods, is becoming more difficult as the number of sensors and component interactions grow. Data-driven monitoring techniques have been developed to address these issues by analyzing system operations data to automatically characterize normal system behavior. System health can be monitored by comparing real-time operating data with these nominal characterizations, providing detection of anomalous data signatures indicative of system faults or failures. The Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a data-driven system health monitoring software tool that has been successfully applied to several aerospace applications. IMS uses a data mining technique called clustering to analyze archived system data and characterize normal interactions between parameters. The scope of IMS based data-driven monitoring applications continues to expand with current development activities. Successful IMS deployment in the International Space Station (ISS) flight control room to monitor ISS attitude control systems has led to applications in other ISS flight control disciplines, such as thermal control. It has also generated interest in data-driven monitoring capability for Constellation, NASA's program to replace the Space Shuttle with new launch vehicles and spacecraft capable of returning astronauts to the moon, and then on to Mars. Several projects are currently underway to evaluate and mature the IMS technology and complementary tools for use in the Constellation program. These include an experiment on board the Air Force TacSat-3 satellite, and ground systems monitoring for NASA's Ares I-X and Ares I launch vehicles. The TacSat-3 Vehicle System Management (TVSM) project is a software experiment to integrate fault and anomaly detection algorithms and diagnosis tools with executive and adaptive planning functions contained in the flight software on-board the Air Force Research Laboratory TacSat-3 satellite. The TVSM software package will be uploaded after launch to monitor spacecraft subsystems such as power and guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C). It will analyze data in real-time to demonstrate detection of faults and unusual conditions, diagnose problems, and react to threats to spacecraft health and mission goals. The experiment will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of integrated system health management (ISHM) technologies with both ground and on-board experiments.

Iverson, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

General Purpose Data-Driven Online System Health Monitoring with Applications to Space Operations

Modern space transportation and ground support system designs are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Determining the health state of these systems using traditional parameter limit checking, or model-based or rule-based methods is becoming more difficult as the number of sensors and component interactions grows. Data-driven monitoring techniques have been developed to address these issues by analyzing system operations data to automatically characterize normal system behavior. System health can be monitored by comparing real-time operating data with these nominal characterizations, providing detection of anomalous data signatures indicative of system faults, failures, or precursors of significant failures. The Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a general purpose, data-driven system health monitoring software tool that has been successfully applied to several aerospace applications and is under evaluation for anomaly detection in vehicle and ground equipment for next generation launch systems. After an introduction to IMS application development, we discuss these NASA online monitoring applications, including the integration of IMS with complementary model-based and rule-based methods. Although the examples presented in this paper are from space operations applications, IMS is a general-purpose health-monitoring tool that is also applicable to power generation and transmission system monitoring.

Iverson, David L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Gigatraj: An Atmospheric Trajectory Model

Atmospheric trajectory models have a long history of success in tracking air motions in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere over periods of up to a few days. Parcels have been traced backwards from observations to identify whatever phenomena (strong convection, volcanic eruptions, rocket launches, etc.) put their signature on them. Parcels have also been initialized at a known event and traced forward to examine their subsequent physical and chemical evolution. We describe a new trajectory model, "gigatraj," that aims to increase exibility by (a) making it straightforward to use new meteorological data sources, including those not based on regular latitude-longitude grids; (b) enabling a run-time choice of vertical coordinate system for kinematic and/or quasi-isentropic calculations; (c) allowing for the output of arbitrary meteorological products, selectable by the user and interpolated to the parcels' locations and times. The model can be run in a serial or parallel processing environment, so that large numbers of parcels can be traced in a reasonable time. Information is presented on model accuracy and performance. The former is demonstrated by runs using both test-pattern winds (comparing expected paths with actual output) and real-world winds (comparing forward and backward runs to characterize how well parcels retrace their paths). Sample cases are also shown, including a reverse domain lling (RDF) calculation illustrating a tropopause fold event. Model output can be displayed using the new Visualization And Lagrangian dynamics Immersive eXtended Reality (VALIXR) system, and an example will be shown. In addition, we describe work to incorporate a version of gigatraj into the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) of NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation O ce (GMAO) at Goddard Space Flight Center. This enables trajectory calculations to be performed within the running GEOS model at the latter's native time resolution, instead of using the winds from every few hours. It also provides access to all of GEOS's internal variables as they are calculated. This module may be useful, for example, for tracking rapid chemical changes in a Lagrangian framework.

dynamics↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Voltage Inference Framework for Real-Time Observability in Active Distribution Grids

Active distribution grids are gaining traction to meet the growing environmental, socio-economic, and sustainability targets. Various advanced smart grid technologies facilitate the integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) by supporting the bi-directional power flow. The limited observability of distribution grids, primarily related to their location at the very edge of power system infrastructure, brings challenges to optimal grid management. Moreover, only a limited number of measurements at regular intervals are usually available. This paper presents a novel inference framework, referred to as “Voltage Inference”, to overcome the observability issues. The proposed framework employs a prediction step based on the Multivariate Taylor series approximation, followed by a corrector step that minimizes the estimation error to infer the otherwise unknown voltages from the available measurements. Furthermore, numerical results on the IEEE 13-bus test feeder validate the accuracy and computational performance of the proposed framework.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1989

The eyes prefer real images

For better or worse, virtual imaging displays are with us in the form of narrow-angle combining-glass presentations, head-up displays (HUD), and head-mounted projections of wide-angle sensor-generated or computer-animated imagery (HMD). All military and civil aviation services and a large number of aerospace companies are involved in one way or another in a frantic competition to develop the best virtual imaging display system. The success or failure of major weapon systems hangs in the balance, and billions of dollars in potential business are at stake. Because of the degree to which national defense is committed to the perfection of virtual imaging displays, a brief consideration of their status, an investigation and analysis of their problems, and a search for realistic alternatives are long overdue.

Roscoe, Stanley N.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Co-optimization of repairs and dynamic network reconfiguration for improved distribution system resilience

In this work, a post-disaster distribution system repair and restoration (DSRR) strategy is proposed to improve distribution system resilience. The DSRR strategy is formulated as a two-stage optimization. The first stage is a comprehensive co-optimization of repair crew scheduling, dynamic network reconfiguration, and distributed energy resource (DER) dispatch based on the forecast load profile. The goal is to minimize the accumulative operating cost caused by the load reduction payment as well as DER operating cost. In particular, since the number of available repair crews is usually smaller than the number of faulted lines after a disaster event, the DSRR strategy determines the optimal scheduling for repairing faulted lines. The second stage is a re-dispatch of the DER power output and load shedding based on the real-time load demand of each bus. The proposed algorithm is validated by case studies of the IEEE 33-bus and 123-bus test systems. We consider those scenarios in which faults occur in multiple heavy-loaded feeders. The simulation results demonstrate that the DSRR strategy effectively coordinate the repair scheduling, network reconfiguration and load shedding to minimize the operating cost.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Chemical Imaging of Atmospheric Biomass Burning Particles from North American Wildfires

The effects of biomass burning aerosols (BBA) on radiative forcing and cloud formation depend on chemical composition and the internal structures of individual particles within smoke plumes. To improve our understanding of the chemical and physical properties of BBA emitted at different times of the day and their evolution during atmospheric aging, we conducted a study as a part of the Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality field campaign. Particle samples were collected onboard a research aircraft from smoke plumes from a wildfire in eastern Oregon during late afternoon and nighttime flights on August 28, 2019. A time-resolved aerosol collector was used to collect samples on substrates for offline spectromicroscopic imaging to investigate the single-particle characteristics of BBA particles. Approximately 20,400 individual particles from 10 selected samples were analyzed using computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis, revealing their elemental composition, morphology, and viscosity. Elemental microanalysis indicated that aged potassium is likely found in the form of K 2 SO 4 , KNO 3 , and possible K-organic salts. Further chemical speciation and carbon bonding mapping within individual particles were conducted using synchrotron-based scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) coupled with near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. Real-time, water-soluble light absorption measurements were acquired using a particle-into-liquid sampler instrument coupled to a liquid waveguide capillary cell and total organic analyzer. In the late afternoon samples, 65% of the total particle number population consisted entirely of organic components, compared to 46% in the nighttime particles. These differences were attributed to discrepancies in composition at the time of emission and to the daytime condensation and accumulation of photochemically formed secondary organic material on existing BBA particles, a process that halts at night. Microscopy images indicated that particle viscosity was lower in the nighttime particles (<10 1 Pa·s), likely due to increased relative humidity and a higher contribution from hygroscopic inorganic components. The chemical heterogeneity of individual particles was quantified using STXM-derived mixing state parameters. The nature of carbon bonding within individual particles was inferred from the extent of carbon sp 2 hybridization derived from NEXAFS spectra. Average percentages of sp 2 hybridization range between 40% and 60%, with no noticeable differences between late afternoon and nighttime flights. These findings were compared with the online optical properties of both late afternoon and nighttime smoke plumes, providing valuable insights into the complex relationship between chemical composition and optical properties of BBA particles at different times of the day.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Attack on Grid Event Cause Analysis: An Adversarial Machine Learning Approach

With the ever-increasing reliance on data for data-driven applications in power grids, such as event cause analysis, the authenticity of data streams has become crucially important. The data can be prone to adversarial stealthy attacks aiming to manipulate the data such that residual-based bad data detectors cannot detect them, and the perception of system operators or event classifiers changes about the actual event. This paper investigates the impact of adversarial attacks on convolutional neural network-based event cause analysis frameworks. We have successfully verified the ability of adversaries to maliciously misclassify events through stealthy data manipulations. The vulnerability assessment is studied with respect to the number of compromised measurements. Furthermore, a defense mechanism to robustify the performance of the event cause analysis is proposed. The effectiveness of adversarial attacks on changing the output of the framework is studied using the data generated by real-time digital simulator (RTDS) under different scenarios such as type of attacks and level of access to data.

Niazazari, Iman↗
DOE OSTI2021

MCS+: An Efficient Algorithm for Crawling the Community Structure in Multiplex Networks

In this article, we consider the problem of crawling a multiplex network to identify the community structure of a layer-of-interest. A multiplex network is one where there are multiple types of relationships between the nodes. In many multiplex networks, some layers might be easier to explore (in terms of time, money etc.). We propose MCS+, an algorithm that can use the information from the easier to explore layers to help in the exploration of a layer-of-interest that is expensive to explore. We consider the goal of exploration to be generating a sample that is representative of the communities in the complete layer-of-interest. This work has practical applications in areas such as exploration of dark (e.g., criminal) networks, online social networks, biological networks, and so on. For example, in a terrorist network, relationships such as phone records, e-mail records, and so on are easier to collect; in contrast, data on the face-to-face communications are much harder to collect, but also potentially more valuable. We perform extensive experimental evaluations on real-world networks, and we observe that MCS+ consistently outperforms the best baseline—the similarity of the sample that MCS+ generates to the real network is up to three times that of the best baseline in some networks. We also perform theoretical and experimental evaluations on the scalability of MCS+ to network properties, and find that it scales well with the budget, number of layers in the multiplex network, and the average degree in the original network.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
NASA NTRS1978

Characterization of acoustic disturbances in linearly sheared flows

The equation describing the plane wave propagation, the stability, or the rectangular duct mode characteristics in a compressible inviscid linearly sheared parallel, but otherwise homogeneous flow, is shown to be reducible to Whittaker's equation. The resulting solutions, which are real, viewed as functions of two variables, depend on a parameter and an argument, the values of which have precise physical meanings depending on the problem. The exact solutions in terms of Whittaker functions are used to obtain a number of known results of plane wave propagation and stability in linearly sheared flows as limiting cases in which the speed of sound goes to infinity (incompressible limit) or the shear layer thickness, or wave number, goes to zero (vortex sheet limit). The usefulness of the exact solutions is then discussed in connection with the problems of plane wave propagation and the stability of a finite thickness layer with a linear velocity profile.

Koutsoyannis, S. P.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Composite model of a 3-D image

This paper presents a composite model of a moving (3-D) image especially useful for the sequential image processing and encoding. A non-linear predictor based on the composite model is described. The performance of this predictor is used as a measure of the validity of the model for a real image source. The minimization of a total mean square prediction error provides an inequality which determines a condition for the profitable use of the composite model and can serve as a decision device for the selection of the number of subsources within the model. The paper also describes statistical properties of the prediction error and contains results of computer simulation of two non-linear predictors in the case of perfect classification between subsources.

Dukhovich, I. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Experimental investigation of gamma effects on heat transfer to a 0.006 scale Shuttle Orbiter at Mach 6

Real-gas effects on heating to the windward centerline of the Shuttle Orbiter and shock shape were simulated by testing a 0.006-scale Orbiter model in Mach 6 air and CF4 flows. The range of free-stream Reynolds number, based on model length, was 0.4 x 10 to the 6th to 5.3 x 10 to the 6th for air, resulting in laminar and turbulent heating. The Reynolds number for CF4 was 0.3 x 10 to the 6th and gamma was equal to 1.13, corresponding to a normal shock density ratio of 12 as compared to 5.25 in air. Angle of attack was varied from 15 deg to 45 deg in 5 deg increments. Centerline heating distributions were compared for the two gases, and to Mach 8 wind-tunnel data, predictions, and flight (STS-1 and STS-2) data. The present results revealed a significant increase in heating with increasing density ratio and decreasing Reynolds number at the lower angles of attack; the effects of density ratio and Reynolds number diminished with increasing angle of attack and were relatively small at the angles of attack for the hypersonic portion of Space Shuttle Orbiter flights STS-1 and STS-2. Wind-tunnel and flight heating distributions were in relatively good agreement, and the present heating rates in air were accurately predicted by a local infinite swept cylinder analysis.

Miller, C. G.↗