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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Route Monopolie and Optimal Nonlinear Pricing

To cope with air traffic growth and congested airports, two solutions are apparent on the supply side: 1) use larger aircraft in the hub and spoke system; or 2) develop new routes through secondary airports. An enlarged route system through secondary airports may increase the proportion of route monopolies in the air transport market.The monopoly optimal non linear pricing policy is well known in the case of one dimension (one instrument, one characteristic) but not in the case of several dimensions. This paper explores the robustness of the one dimensional screening model with respect to increasing the number of instruments and the number of characteristics. The objective of this paper is then to link and fill the gap in both literatures. One of the merits of the screening model has been to show that a great varieD" of economic questions (non linear pricing, product line choice, auction design, income taxation, regulation...) could be handled within the same framework.VCe study a case of non linear pricing (2 instruments (2 routes on which the airline pro_ddes customers with services), 2 characteristics (demand of services on these routes) and two values per characteristic (low and high demand of services on these routes)) and we show that none of the conclusions of the one dimensional analysis remain valid. In particular, upward incentive compatibility constraint may be binding at the optimum. As a consequence, they may be distortion at the top of the distribution. In addition to this, we show that the optimal solution often requires a kind of form of bundling, we explain explicitly distortions and show that it is sometimes optimal for the monopolist to only produce one good (instead of two) or to exclude some buyers from the market. Actually, this means that the monopolist cannot fully apply his monopoly power and is better off selling both goods independently.We then define all the possible solutions in the case of a quadratic cost function for a uniform distribution of agent types and explain the implications for airlines in terms of service differentiation.

Tournut, Jacques↗
NASA NTRS2022

Application Table: A Bridge Connecting the Designing “With-The-Material” and “The-Material” Paradigms

Over the last few decades, advances in high-performance computing, new material characterization methods, and, more recently, an emphasis on integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) have been a catalyst for multiscale modeling and simulation-based design of materials and structures in the aerospace industry. In 2016 NASA sponsored a 2040 Vision study (which appeared in 2018) to define the potential 25-year future state required for integrated multiscale modeling of materials and systems (e.g., load-bearing structures) to accelerate the pace and reduce the expense of innovation in future aerospace and aeronautical systems. The study envisions a cyber-physical-social ecosystem comprised of experimentally verified and validated (V & V) computational models, tools, and techniques, along with the associated digital tapestry, that impacts the entire supply chain to enable cost-effective, rapid, and revolutionary design of “fit-for-purpose” materials, components, and systems. Consequently, the development of a robust information management system that incorporates (across the full life cycle) both experimental (real data) and virtual data resulting from the application of various simulation tools (at single or multiple length scales), therefore enabling the virtual design and optimization of materials throughout their processing – internal structure – property – performance envelope, has become critical. This need is also fueled by the demands for higher efficiency in material testing; consistency, quality, and traceability of data; product design; engineering analysis; as well as control of access to proprietary or sensitive information. This is particularly true when attempting to merge ICME practices with recent additive manufacturing technology which will enable production of the resulting 2040 Vision material and structural designs. At NASA Glenn Research Center we are exploring the future of material science through the use of novel characterization methodologies, high performance computing, and recently an emphasis on integrated computational materials engineering (ICME). Herein, recent efforts to incorporate an Application Table within NASA Glenn Research Center’s ICME Granta MI database is presented. The goal is to provide a place where material and structural application information/requirements can be linked so as to marry the “design the-material” and the “design-with-material” paradigms and thereby enable application-driven design and optimization of materials and structures by providing a central location that links material processing at various length scales to the application’s performance requirements. This paper discusses the specifics of this Application Table as well as best practices and key principles for the development of a robust materials information management system to enable the 2040 Vision integrated materials and structures ecosystem. Furthermore, it presents the intended role of the Application Table in the future of ICME design of “fit-for-purpose” materials, showing the need for a well-established framework that can successfully bridge the gap between the design “the material” and design “with-the-material” paradigms.

Materials↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Application Table: A Bridge Connecting the Designing “With-the-Material” and “the-Material”

Over the last few decades, advances in high-performance computing, new material characterization methods, and, more recently, an emphasis on integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) have been a catalyst for multiscale modeling and simulation-based design of materials and structures in the aerospace industry. In 2016 NASA sponsored a 2040 Vision study (which appeared in 2018) to define the potential 25-year future state required for integrated multiscale modeling of materials and systems (e.g., load-bearing structures) to accelerate the pace and reduce the expense of innovation in future aerospace and aeronautical systems. The study envisions a cyber-physical-social ecosystem comprised of experimentally verified and validated (V & V) computational models, tools, and techniques, along with the associated digital tapestry, that impacts the entire supply chain to enable cost-effective, rapid, and revolutionary design of “fit-for-purpose” materials, components, and systems. Consequently, the development of a robust information management system that incorporates (across the full life cycle) both experimental (real data) and virtual data resulting from the application of various simulation tools (at single or multiple length scales), therefore enabling the virtual design and optimization of materials throughout their processing – internal structure – property – performance envelope, has become critical. This need is also fueled by the demands for higher efficiency in material testing; consistency, quality, and traceability of data; product design; engineering analysis; as well as control of access to proprietary or sensitive information. This is particularly true when attempting to merge ICME practices with recent additive manufacturing technology which will enable production of the resulting 2040 Vision material and structural designs. At NASA Glenn Research Center we are exploring the future of material science through the use of novel characterization methodologies, high performance computing, and recently an emphasis on integrated computational materials engineering (ICME). Herein, recent efforts to incorporate an Application Table within NASA Glenn Research Center’s ICME Granta MI database is presented. The goal is to provide a place where material and structural application information/requirements can be linked so as to marry the “design the-material” and the “design-with-material” paradigms and thereby enable application-driven design and optimization of materials and structures by providing a central location that links material processing at various length scales to the application’s performance requirements. This paper discusses the specifics of this Application Table as well as best practices and key principles for the development of a robust materials information management system to enable the 2040 Vision integrated materials and structures ecosystem. Furthermore, it presents the intended role of the Application Table in the future of ICME design of “fit-for-purpose” materials, showing the need for a well-established framework that can successfully bridge the gap between the design “the material” and design “with-the-material” paradigms.

Materials↗
NASA NTRS2011

Coding for Parallel Links to Maximize the Expected Value of Decodable Messages

When multiple parallel communication links are available, it is useful to consider link-utilization strategies that provide tradeoffs between reliability and throughput. Interesting cases arise when there are three or more available links. Under the model considered, the links have known probabilities of being in working order, and each link has a known capacity. The sender has a number of messages to send to the receiver. Each message has a size and a value (i.e., a worth or priority). Messages may be divided into pieces arbitrarily, and the value of each piece is proportional to its size. The goal is to choose combinations of messages to send on the links so that the expected value of the messages decodable by the receiver is maximized. There are three parts to the innovation: (1) Applying coding to parallel links under the model; (2) Linear programming formulation for finding the optimal combinations of messages to send on the links; and (3) Algorithms for assisting in finding feasible combinations of messages, as support for the linear programming formulation. There are similarities between this innovation and methods developed in the field of network coding. However, network coding has generally been concerned with either maximizing throughput in a fixed network, or robust communication of a fixed volume of data. In contrast, under this model, the throughput is expected to vary depending on the state of the network. Examples of error-correcting codes that are useful under this model but which are not needed under previous models have been found. This model can represent either a one-shot communication attempt, or a stream of communications. Under the one-shot model, message sizes and link capacities are quantities of information (e.g., measured in bits), while under the communications stream model, message sizes and link capacities are information rates (e.g., measured in bits/second). This work has the potential to increase the value of data returned from spacecraft under certain conditions.

Klimesh, Matthew A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Control of Mixing and Reactive Flow Processes

The interdisciplinary field of reactive flow control is one that holds a great deal of promise for the optimization of complex phenomena occurring in many practical systems, ranging from automobile and gas turbine engines to environmental thermal destruction systems. The fundamental underpinnings of combustion control, however, require a detailed level of understanding of complex reactive flow phenomena, and, in the case of closed-loop active control, require the ability to sense (monitor) and actuate (manipulate) flow processes in a spatially distributed manner in "near real time". Hence the ultimate growth and success of the field of reactive flow control is intimately linked: 1) to advances in the understanding, simulation, and model reduction for complex reactive flows, 2) to the development of experimental diagnostic techniques, in particular, to the development of physically robust sensors, and 3) to the development of a framework or frameworks for generation of closed loop control algorithms suitable for unsteady, nonlinear reactive flow systems. The present paper seeks to outline the potential benefits and technical challenges that exist for mixing and combustion control in fundamental as well as practical systems and to identify promising research directions that could help meet these challenges.

Karagozian, A. R.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Manufacture of Regularly Shaped Sol-Gel Pellets

An extrusion batch process for manufacturing regularly shaped sol-gel pellets has been devised as an improved alternative to a spray process that yields irregularly shaped pellets. The aspect ratio of regularly shaped pellets can be controlled more easily, while regularly shaped pellets pack more efficiently. In the extrusion process, a wet gel is pushed out of a mold and chopped repetitively into short, cylindrical pieces as it emerges from the mold. The pieces are collected and can be either (1) dried at ambient pressure to xerogel, (2) solvent exchanged and dried under ambient pressure to ambigels, or (3) supercritically dried to aerogel. Advantageously, the extruded pellets can be dropped directly in a cross-linking bath, where they develop a conformal polymer coating around the skeletal framework of the wet gel via reaction with the cross linker. These pellets can be dried to mechanically robust X-Aerogel.

Leventis, Nicholas↗
NASA NTRS1987

On Motion Planning and Control of Multi-Link Lightweight Robotic Manipulators

A general gross and fine motion planning and control strategy is needed for lightweight robotic manipulator applications such as painting, welding, material handling, surface finishing, and spacecraft servicing. The control problem of lightweight manipulators is to perform fast, accurate, and robust motions despite the payload variations, structural flexibility, and other environmental disturbances. Performance of the rigid manipulator model based computed torque and decoupled joint control methods are determined and simulated for the counterpart flexible manipulators. A counterpart flexible manipulator is defined as a manipulator which has structural flexibility, in addition to having the same inertial, geometric, and actuation properties of a given rigid manipulator. An adaptive model following control (AMFC) algorithm is developed to improve the performance in speed, accuracy, and robustness. It is found that the AMFC improves the speed performance by a factor of two over the conventional non-adaptive control methods for given accuracy requirements while proving to be more robust with respect to payload variations. Yet there are clear limitations on the performance of AMFC alone as well, which are imposed by the arm flexibility. In the search to further improve speed performance while providing a desired accuracy and robustness, a combined control strategy is developed. Furthermore, the problem of switching from one control structure to another during the motion and implementation aspects of combined control are discussed.

Cetinkunt, Sabri↗
NASA NTRS2008

Entry, Descent, and Landing Communications for the 2007 Phoenix Mars Lander

This paper addresses NASA's requirement on the 2007 Phoenix Mars Lander to provide spacecraft communications during entry, descent, and landing on Mars to allow the identification of probable root cause should any mission failure occur. The Phoenix mission launched on 4 August 2007 and will land on 25 May 2008 on the northern plains of Mars to conduct a three-month study of the Martian environment. The paper discusses the architectural trades in designing a communications link and surveys the entry, descent, and landing communications approaches taken by previous missions. It then discusses the Phoenix-specific constraints and degrees of freedoms and presents a novel and robust implementation approach to entry, descent, and landing communications. The overall methodology and conclusions described herein can serve as a pathfinder for the entry, descent, and landing communications architecture and implementation of future Mars landed missions.

communications↗
NASA NTRS2015

Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) Prototype Radio - Generation 2 Security Flight Test Report

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), in cooperation with Rockwell Collins, is working to develop a prototype Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) radio platform as part of NASA Integrated Systems Research Program's (ISRP) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) project. A primary focus of the project is to work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and industry standards bodies to build and demonstrate a safe, secure, and efficient CNPC architecture that can be used by industry to evaluate the feasibility of deploying a system using these technologies in an operational capacity. GRC has been working in conjunction with these groups to assess threats, identify security requirements, and to develop a system of standards-based security controls that can be applied to the GRC prototype CNPC architecture as a demonstration platform. The proposed security controls were integrated into the GRC flight test system aboard our S-3B Viking surrogate aircraft and several network tests were conducted during a flight on November 15th, 2014 to determine whether the controls were working properly within the flight environment. The flight test was also the first to integrate Robust Header Compression (ROHC) as a means of reducing the additional overhead introduced by the security controls and Mobile IPv6. The effort demonstrated the complete end-to-end secure CNPC link in a relevant flight environment.

Communication Networks↗
NASA NTRS1989

Input preshaping with frequency domain information for flexible-link manipulator control

The application of an input preshaping scheme to flexible manipulators is considered. The resulting control corresponds to a feedforward term that convolves in real-time the desired reference input with a sequence of impulses and produces a vibration free output. The robustness of the algorithm with respect to injected disturbances and modal frequency variations is not satisfactory and can be improved by convolving the input with a longer sequence of impulses. The incorporation of the preshaping scheme to a closed-loop plant, using acceleration feedback, offers satisfactory disturbance rejection due to feedback and cancellation of the flexible mode effects due to the preshaping. A frequency domain identification scheme is used to estimate the modal frequencies on-line and subsequently update the spacing between the impulses. The combined adaptive input preshaping scheme provides the fastest possible slew that results in a vibration free output.

Tzes, Anthony↗
NASA NTRS1987

Report on the Stanford/Ames direct-link space suit prehensor

Researchers at the Center for Design Research at Stanford University, in collaboration with NASA Ames at Moffet Field, California, are developing hand-powered mechanical prehensors to replace gloves for EVA spacesuits. The design and functional properties of the first version Direct Link Prehensor (DLP) is discussed. It has a total of six degrees-of-freedom and is the most elaborate of three prehensors being developed for the project. The DLP has a robust design and utilizes only linkages and revolute joints for the drive system. With its anthropomorphic configuration of two fingers and a thumb, it is easy to control and is capable of all of the basic prehension patterns such as cylindrical or lateral pinch grasps. Kinematic analysis reveals that, assuming point contacts, a grasped object can be manipulated with three degrees-of-freedom. Yet, in practice more degrees-of-freedom are possible.

Jameson, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Space Launch System Implementation of Adaptive Augmenting Control

Given the complex structural dynamics, challenging ascent performance requirements, and rigorous flight certification constraints owing to its manned capability, the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle requires a proven thrust vector control algorithm design with highly optimized parameters to provide stable and high-performance flight. On its development path to Preliminary Design Review (PDR), the SLS flight control system has been challenged by significant vehicle flexibility, aerodynamics, and sloshing propellant. While the design has been able to meet all robust stability criteria, it has done so with little excess margin. Through significant development work, an Adaptive Augmenting Control (AAC) algorithm has been shown to extend the envelope of failures and flight anomalies the SLS control system can accommodate while maintaining a direct link to flight control stability criteria such as classical gain and phase margin. In this paper, the work performed to mature the AAC algorithm as a baseline component of the SLS flight control system is presented. The progress to date has brought the algorithm design to the PDR level of maturity. The algorithm has been extended to augment the full SLS digital 3-axis autopilot, including existing load-relief elements, and the necessary steps for integration with the production flight software prototype have been implemented. Several updates which have been made to the adaptive algorithm to increase its performance, decrease its sensitivity to expected external commands, and safeguard against limitations in the digital implementation are discussed with illustrating results. Monte Carlo simulations and selected stressing case results are also shown to demonstrate the algorithm's ability to increase the robustness of the integrated SLS flight control system.

Wall, John H.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Simultaneous Optical Links with the Inter-Satellite Omnidirectional Optical Communicator

As the onboard data volume for smaller platforms such as CubeSats increases, Radio Frequency (RF) communications systems may be unable to adequately support the required downlink demand. Optical communications (lasercom) systems can relieve the data bottleneck as they can support higher data throughput than RF for comparable Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP). Lasercom crosslinks are of particular interest for spacecraft swarms and constellations because they enable additional mission robustness for distributed science observations and remote sensing applications. The Inter-Satellite Omnidirectional optical Communicator (ISOC) is capable of supporting simultaneous lasercom crosslinks between multiple spacecraft at separations of up to thousands of kilometers in orbit. The ISOC architecture features a truncated dodecahedron chassis containing an array of photodetectors and gimbal-less MEMS mirrors, enabling full-duplex communications. The main objectives of the ISOC terminal include: 1) full sky coverage, 2) Gbps data rates, and 3) the ability to maintain multiple simultaneous links. We show ISOC can support up to 12 simultaneous links with the current architecture at 1-Gbps at 200-km separation with 10-9 BER. Compared to current lasercom transceivers (i.e., point-to-point), ISOC offers increased throughput performance for similar SWaP. A detailed link budget for both scenarios is presented, and the limiting factors for maximum number of simultaneous links are discussed.

Cahoy, Kerri↗
NASA NTRS1991

Control of a small working robot on a large flexible manipulator for suppressing vibrations: Development of a robust control law for flexible robot and it's stability analysis

Researchers developed a robust control law for slow motions for the accurate trajectory control of a flexible robot. The control law does not need larger velocity gains than position gains, which some researchers need to ensure the stability of a rigid robot. Initial experimentation for the Small Articulated Manipulator (SAM) shows that control laws that use smaller velocity gains are more robust to signal noise than the control laws that use larger velocity gains. Researchers analyzed the stability of the composite control law, the robust control for the slow motion, and the strain rate feedback for the fast control. The stability analysis was done by using a quadratic Liapunov function. Researchers found that the flexible motion of links could be controlled by relating the input force to the flexible signals which are sensed at the near tip of each link. The signals are contaminated by the time delayed input force. However, the effect of the time delayed input force can be reduced by giving a certain configuration to the SAM.

Soo, Han Lee↗
NASA NTRS2018

Web-Based Geospatial Visualization of GPM Data with CesiumJS

Advancements in the capabilities of JavaScript frameworks and web browsing technology have made online visualization of large geospatial datasets such as those coming from precipitation satellites viable. These data benefit from being visualized on and above a three-dimensional surface. The open-source JavaScript framework CesiumJS (http://cesiumjs.org), developed by Analytical Graphics, Inc., leverages the WebGL protocol to do just that. This presentation will describe how CesiumJS has been used in three-dimensional visualization products developed as part of the NASA Precipitation Processing System (PPS) STORM data-order website. Existing methods of interacting with Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission data primarily focus on two-dimensional static images, whether displaying vertical slices or horizontal surface/height-level maps. These methods limit interactivity with the robust three-dimensional data coming from the GPM core satellite. Integrating the data with CesiumJS in a web-based user interface has allowed us to create the following products. We have linked with the data-order interface an on-the-fly visualization tool for any GPM/partner satellite orbit. A version of this tool also focuses on high-impact weather events. It enables viewing of combined radar and microwave-derived precipitation data on mobile devices and in a way that can be embedded into other websites. We also have used CesiumJS to visualize a method of integrating gridded precipitation data with modeled wind speeds that animates over time. Emphasis in the presentation will be placed on how a variety of technical methods were used to create these tools, and how the flexibility of the CesiumJS framework facilitates creative approaches to interact with the data.

3D↗
NASA NTRS1985

Robust torque control of an elastic robotic arm based on invertibility and feedback stabilization

An approach to the control of elastic robotic systems for space applications using inversion, servocompensation, and feedback stabilization is presented. For simplicity, a robot arm (PUMA-type) with three rotational joints is considered. The third link is assumed to be elastic. Using an inversion algorithm, a nonlinear decoupling control law, u sub d, is derived such that in the closed loop system, independent control of joint angles by the three joint torquers is accomplished. For the stabilization of elastic oscillations, a linear feedback torquer control law, u sub s, is obtained applying linear quadratic optimization to the linearized arm model augmented with a servocompensator about the terminal state. Simulation results show that, in spite of uncertainties in the payload and vehicle angular velocity, good joint angle control and damping of elastic oscillations are obtained with the torquer control law u = u sub d + u sub s.

Singh, S. N.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Tiltrotor Vibration Reduction Through Higher Harmonic Control

The results of a joint NASA/Army/Bell Helicopter Textron wind-tunnel test to assess the potential of higher harmonic control (HHC) for reducing vibrations in tiltrotor aircraft operating in the airplane mode of flight, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a Bell-developed HHC algorithm called MAVSS (Multipoint Adaptive Vibration Suppression System) are presented. The test was conducted in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel using an unpowered 1/5-scale semispan aeroelastic model of the V-22 which was modified to incorporate an HHC system employing both the rotor swashplate and the wing flaperon. The effectiveness of the swashplate and the flaperon acting either singly or in combination in reducing IP and 3P wing vibrations over a wide range of tunnel airspeeds and rotor rotational speeds was demonstrated. The MAVSS algorithm was found to be robust to variations in tunnel airspeed and rotor speed, requiring only occasional on-line recalculations of the system transfer matrix. HHC had only a small (usually beneficial) effect on blade loads but increased pitch link loads by 25%. No degradation in aeroelastic stability was noted for any of the conditions tested.

Nixon, Mark W.↗