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At least 1,171 records · Page 65

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NASA NTRS1995

Formal methods in the design of Ada 1995

Formal, mathematical methods are most useful when applied early in the design and implementation of a software system--that, at least, is the familiar refrain. I will report on a modest effort to apply formal methods at the earliest possible stage, namely, in the design of the Ada 95 programming language itself. This talk is an 'experience report' that provides brief case studies illustrating the kinds of problems we worked on, how we approached them, and the extent (if any) to which the results proved useful. It also derives some lessons and suggestions for those undertaking future projects of this kind. Ada 95 is the first revision of the standard for the Ada programming language. The revision began in 1988, when the Ada Joint Programming Office first asked the Ada Board to recommend a plan for revising the Ada standard. The first step in the revision was to solicit criticisms of Ada 83. A set of requirements for the new language standard, based on those criticisms, was published in 1990. A small design team, the Mapping Revision Team (MRT), became exclusively responsible for revising the language standard to satisfy those requirements. The MRT, from Intermetrics, is led by S. Tucker Taft. The work of the MRT was regularly subject to independent review and criticism by a committee of distinguished Reviewers and by several advisory teams--for example, the two User/Implementor teams, each consisting of an industrial user (attempting to make significant use of the new language on a realistic application) and a compiler vendor (undertaking, experimentally, to modify its current implementation in order to provide the necessary new features). One novel decision established the Language Precision Team (LPT), which investigated language proposals from a mathematical point of view. The LPT applied formal mathematical analysis to help improve the design of Ada 95 (e.g., by clarifying the language proposals) and to help promote its acceptance (e.g., by identifying a verifiable subset that would meet the needs of safety-critical applications). The first LPT project, which ran from the fall of 1990 unti the end of 1992, produced studies of several language issues: optimization, sharing and storage, tasking and protected records, overload resolution, the floating point model, distribution, program erros, and object-oriented programming. The second LPT project, in 1994, formally modeled the dynamic semantics of a large part of the (almost) final language definition, looking especially for interactions between language features.

Guaspari, David↗

NASA NTRS1971

Monopropellant hydrazine resisto jet

Mathematical models for the electrothermal hydrazine thruster are provided which can be utilized to aid in preliminary design definition, interpretation of test data, and the evaluation of design and operational changes. Three computer programs were formulated to provide the necessary steady state and transient performance design tools. These included: preliminary evaluation of the energy balance characteristics of the thruster; a means of evaluating steady state performance relative to the primary design, configuration, and operational parameters; and a model to provide a means of evaluating transient (pulse mode) operation of the thruster relative to primary design and operational parameters.

Muenzer, F. B.↗

NASA NTRS1976

User data dissemination concepts for earth resources, appendixes

A number of appendices were presented, dealing with the following topics: (1) a summary of the recommendations for spectral band location from six studies and for six disciplines. (2) demonstration of the LANDSAT scenes required for a satellite of 18-day repeat cycle, and comparison of the data volume associated with scene transmission with the data volume based on length-of-swath estimates, (3) presentation of a sample of the potential user demand projected based on polar orbiter passes over Conus and Alaska, (4) presentation of the nominal and expanded user demands for both Conus and Alaska, (5) derivation of a mathematical relation, (6) tables giving cost calculations for certain data points, (7) presentation of the UOT G/T and link budgets for leased-transponder transmission alternative, and (8) flow charts of the simulation program.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1978

A simple element for multilayer beams in NASTRAN thermal stress analysis

In the application of NASTRAN, structural members are usually represented by bar elements with multipoint constraint cards to enforce the interface conditions. While this is a very powerful method in principle, it was found that in practice the process for specification of constraints became tedious and error prone, unless the geometry was simple and the number of grid points low. An alternative approach was found within the framework of the NASTRAN program. This approach made use of the idea that a thermal distortion in a multilayer beam may be similar to a homogeneous beam with a thermal gradient across the cross section. The exact mathematical derivation for the equivalent beam, and all the necessary formulae for the equivalent parameters in NASTRAN analysis are presented. Some numerical examples illustrate the simplicity and ease of this approach for finite element analysis.

Chen, W. T.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Arc program documentation

A description of the input and output files and the data control cards for the altimeter residual computation (ARC) computer program is given. The program acts as the final altimeter preprocessor before the data is reformatted for external users. It calculates all parameters necessary for the computation of the altimeter observation residuals and the sea surface height. Mathematical models used for calculating tropospheric refraction, geoid height, tide height, ephemeris, and orbit geometry are described.

Mcmillan, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1982

PROGRAM VSAERO: A computer program for calculating the non-linear aerodynamic characteristics of arbitrary configurations: User's manual

VSAERO is a computer program used to predict the nonlinear aerodynamic characteristics of arbitrary three-dimensional configurations in subsonic flow. Nonlinear effects of vortex separation and vortex surface interaction are treated in an iterative wake-shape calculation procedure, while the effects of viscosity are treated in an iterative loop coupling potential-flow and integral boundary-layer calculations. The program employs a surface singularity panel method using quadrilateral panels on which doublet and source singularities are distributed in a piecewise constant form. This user's manual provides a brief overview of the mathematical model, instructions for configuration modeling and a description of the input and output data. A listing of a sample case is included.

Maskew, B.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Design of stiffened composite panels with a fracture constraint

An automated procedure for designing minimum-weight composite panels subject to a local damage constraint under tensile loading was developed. A finite element program based on linear elastic fracture mechanics for calculating stress intensity factors (SIF) was incorporated in the design cycle. Panel fracture toughness was obtained by using a strain based criterion. A general purpose mathematical optimization algorithm was used for the weight minimization. Analytical sensitivity derivatives of the SIF employing the adjoint variable technique was used to enhance the computational efficiency of the procedure. Design results for both unstiffened and stiffened plates are presented.

Gurdal, Z.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Benchmarks of programming languages for special purposes in the space station

Although Ada is likely to be chosen as the principal programming language for the Space Station, certain needs, such as expert systems and robotics, may be better developed in special languages. The languages, LISP and Prolog, are studied and some benchmarks derived. The mathematical foundations for these languages are reviewed. Likely areas of the space station are sought out where automation and robotics might be applicable. Benchmarks are designed which are functional, mathematical, relational, and expert in nature. The coding will depend on the particular versions of the languages which become available for testing.

Knoebel, Arthur↗

NASA NTRS1990

Multilevel decomposition approach to the preliminary sizing of a transport aircraft wing

A multilevel/multidisciplinary optimization scheme for sizing an aircraft wing structure is described. A methodology using nonlinear programming in application to a very large engineering problem is presented. This capability is due to the decomposition approach. Over 1300 design variables are considered for this nonlinear optimization task. In addition, a mathematical link is established coupling the detail of structural sizing to the overall system performance objective, such as fuel consumption. The scheme is implemented as a three level system analyzing aircraft mission performance at the top level, the total aircraft structure as the middle level, and individual stiffened wing skin cover panels at the bottom level. Numerical show effectiveness of the method and its good convergence characteristics.

Wrenn, Gregory A.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Effects of cooling system parameters on heat transfer in PAFC stack

Analytical and experimental study for the effects of cooling system parameters on the heat transfer and temperature distribution in the electrode plates of a phosphoric acid fuel-cell has been conducted. An experimental set-up that simulates the operating conditions prevailing in a phosphoric-acid fuel-cell stack was designed and constructed. The set-up was then used to measure the overall heat transfer coefficient, the thermal contact resistance, and the electrode temperature distribution for two different cooling plate configurations. Two types of cooling plate configurations, serpentine and straight, were tested. Air, water, and oil were used as coolants. Measurements for the heat transfer coefficient and the thermal contact resistance were made for various flow rates ranging from 16 to 88 Kg/hr, and stack clamping pressure ranging from O to 3448 Kpa. The experimental results for the overall heat transfer coefficient were utilized to derive mathematical relations for the overall heat transfer coefficient as a function of stack clamping pressure and Reynolds number for the three coolants. The empirically derived formulas were incorporated in a previously developed computer program to predict electrodes temperature distribution and the performance of the stack cooling system. The results obtained were then compared with those available in the literature. The comparison showed maximum deviation of +/- 11%.

Abdul-Aziz, Ali A.↗

NASA NTRS2008

A Temperature Sensor using a Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) Timer for Very Wide Temperature Measurement

A temperature sensor based on a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) Timer was designed for extreme temperature applications. The sensor can operate under a wide temperature range from hot jet engine compartments to cryogenic space exploration missions. For example, in Jet Engine Distributed Control Architecture, the sensor must be able to operate at temperatures exceeding 150 C. For space missions, extremely low cryogenic temperatures need to be measured. The output of the sensor, which consisted of a stream of digitized pulses whose period was proportional to the sensed temperature, can be interfaced with a controller or a computer. The data acquisition system would then give a direct readout of the temperature through the use of a look-up table, a built-in algorithm, or a mathematical model. Because of the wide range of temperature measurement and because the sensor is made of carefully selected COTS parts, this work is directly applicable to the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics/Subsonic Fixed Wing Program--Jet Engine Distributed Engine Control Task and to the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program. In the past, a temperature sensor was designed and built using an SOI operational amplifier, and a report was issued. This work used an SOI 555 timer as its core and is completely new work.

Patterson, Richard L.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Trajectory Optimization: OTIS 4

The latest release of the Optimal Trajectories by Implicit Simulation (OTIS4) allows users to simulate and optimize aerospace vehicle trajectories. With OTIS4, one can seamlessly generate optimal trajectories and parametric vehicle designs simultaneously. New features also allow OTIS4 to solve non-aerospace continuous time optimal control problems. The inputs and outputs of OTIS4 have been updated extensively from previous versions. Inputs now make use of objectoriented constructs, including one called a metastring. Metastrings use a greatly improved calculator and common nomenclature to reduce the user s workload. They allow for more flexibility in specifying vehicle physical models, boundary conditions, and path constraints. The OTIS4 calculator supports common mathematical functions, Boolean operations, and conditional statements. This allows users to define their own variables for use as outputs, constraints, or objective functions. The user-defined outputs can directly interface with other programs, such as spreadsheets, plotting packages, and visualization programs. Internally, OTIS4 has more explicit and implicit integration procedures, including high-order collocation methods, the pseudo-spectral method, and several variations of multiple shooting. Users may switch easily between the various methods. Several unique numerical techniques such as automated variable scaling and implicit integration grid refinement, support the integration methods. OTIS4 is also significantly more user friendly than previous versions. The installation process is nearly identical on various platforms, including Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, and Linux operating systems. Cross-platform scripts also help make the execution of OTIS and post-processing of data easier. OTIS4 is supplied free by NASA and is subject to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restrictions. Users must have a Fortran compiler, and a Python interpreter is highly recommended.

Riehl, John P.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Rotor systems research aircraft simulation mathematical model

An analytical model developed for evaluating and verifying advanced rotor concepts is discussed. The model was used during in both open loop and real time man-in-the-loop simulation during the rotor systems research aircraft design. Future applications include: pilot training, preflight of test programs, and the evaluation of promising concepts before their implementation on the flight vehicle.

Houck, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Model description document for a computer program for the emulation/simulation of a space station environmental control and life support system (ESCM)

Emulation/Simulation Computer Model (ESCM) computes the transient performance of a Space Station air revitalization subsystem with carbon dioxide removal provided by a solid amine water desorbed subsystem called SAWD. This manual describes the mathematical modeling and equations used in the ESCM. For the system as a whole and for each individual component, the fundamental physical and chemical laws which govern their operations are presented. Assumptions are stated, and when necessary, data is presented to support empirically developed relationships.

Yanosy, James L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Initial Ada components evaluation

The SAIC has the responsibility for independent test and validation of the SSE. They have been using a mathematical functions library package implemented in Ada to test the SSE IV and V process. The library package consists of elementary mathematical functions and is both machine and accuracy independent. The SSE Ada components evaluation includes code complexity metrics based on Halstead's software science metrics and McCabe's measure of cyclomatic complexity. Halstead's metrics are based on the number of operators and operands on a logical unit of code and are compiled from the number of distinct operators, distinct operands, and total number of occurrences of operators and operands. These metrics give an indication of the physical size of a program in terms of operators and operands and are used diagnostically to point to potential problems. McCabe's Cyclomatic Complexity Metrics (CCM) are compiled from flow charts transformed to equivalent directed graphs. The CCM is a measure of the total number of linearly independent paths through the code's control structure. These metrics were computed for the Ada mathematical functions library using Software Automated Verification and Validation (SAVVAS), the SSE IV and V tool. A table with selected results was shown, indicating that most of these routines are of good quality. Thresholds for the Halstead measures indicate poor quality if the length metric exceeds 260 or difficulty is greater than 190. The McCabe CCM indicated a high quality of software products.

Moebes, Travis↗

NASA NTRS1970

Empirical analytic transformations between geographic and corrected geomagnetic coordinates

Based upon a mathematical model of contours of constant corrected geomagnetic latitude in a polar projection of geographic coordinates, analytic equations are developed for converting geographic coordinates to corrected geomagnetic coordinates and vice versa. The equations were programmed for use on a small computer. This treatment is restricted to the Northern Hemisphere.

Comfort, R. H.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Modifications to give HOPE/MDC 2.0 the capability to solve for or consider vent forces: Mission planning, mission analysis, and software formulation

The modifications are described as necessary to give the Houston Operations Predictor/Estimator (HOPE) program the capability to solve for or consider vent forces for orbit determination. The model implemented in solving for vent forces is described along with the integrator problems encountered. A summary derivation of the mathematical principles applicable to solve/consider methodology is provided.

Zyla, L. V.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Radiative and free convective heat transfer from a containerless sphere

A mathematical model is derived for heat loss due to radiation and free convection for a small copper sphere (approximately 0.3 to 0.4 cm diameter) cooled by a helium-argon gas mixture. A FORTRAN program written to simplify calculations and extend the range of applicability to experimentation is presented. Pressures used were less than 400 torr, and resulting temperatures ranged from 500 to 4600 K. Comparison of results for initial cooling by the gas mixture with experimental data showed a 5 percent error for temperature values and a 2.7 percent error for the temperature difference caused by the cooling. Results indicate that the accuracy could be increased significantly by using better estimates for thermal conductivities.

Johnson, K.↗