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At least 1,261 records · Page 70

Structural Model Tuning Tool: User's Reference Manual

This report presents an efficient approach for tuning finite element models to match the measured ground vibration test and static test data. Frequencies, mode shapes, total weight, location of the center of gravity, and static deformation computed from the finite element model are matched to the measured data. The model tuning procedure used in this work is based on solving an optimization problem in which the errors for the considered metrics, between the finite element prediction and the measured data, are minimized. Analytical sensitivity values of performance indices are computed using the NASTRAN-generated sensitivity values together with the in-house computer codes, which allow for faster computational time and the use of gradient-based optimizers. The method is applied to the Aerostructures Test Wing IV model. The study shows that the military standard and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration standard for comparing analytical and experimental modal data are all satisfied. The final finite element model correlates well with the test data. The flutter speed decreases by 8.91 percent after model tuning compared with the original Aerostructures Test Wing IV design.

Chan-gi Pak↗

A Comprehensive and Cost-Effective Computer Infrastructure for K-12 Schools

Since 1993, NASA Langley Research Center has been developing and implementing a low-cost Internet connection model, including system architecture, training, and support, to provide Internet access for an entire network of computers. This infrastructure allows local area networks which exceed 50 machines per school to independently access the complete functionality of the Internet by connecting to a central site, using state-of-the-art commercial modem technology, through a single standard telephone line. By locating high-cost resources at this central site and sharing these resources and their costs among the school districts throughout a region, a practical, efficient, and affordable infrastructure for providing scale-able Internet connectivity has been developed. As the demand for faster Internet access grows, the model has a simple expansion path that eliminates the need to replace major system components and re-train personnel. Observations of optical Internet usage within an environment, particularly school classrooms, have shown that after an initial period of 'surfing,' the Internet traffic becomes repetitive. By automatically storing requested Internet information on a high-capacity networked disk drive at the local site (network based disk caching), then updating this information only when it changes, well over 80 percent of the Internet traffic that leaves a location can be eliminated by retrieving the information from the local disk cache.

Warren, G. P.↗

An Analysis of Failure Handling in Chameleon, A Framework for Supporting Cost-Effective Fault Tolerant Services

The desire for low-cost reliable computing is increasing. Most current fault tolerant computing solutions are not very flexible, i.e., they cannot adapt to reliability requirements of newly emerging applications in business, commerce, and manufacturing. It is important that users have a flexible, reliable platform to support both critical and noncritical applications. Chameleon, under development at the Center for Reliable and High-Performance Computing at the University of Illinois, is a software framework. for supporting cost-effective adaptable networked fault tolerant service. This thesis details a simulation of fault injection, detection, and recovery in Chameleon. The simulation was written in C++ using the DEPEND simulation library. The results obtained from the simulation included the amount of overhead incurred by the fault detection and recovery mechanisms supported by Chameleon. In addition, information about fault scenarios from which Chameleon cannot recover was gained. The results of the simulation showed that both critical and noncritical applications can be executed in the Chameleon environment with a fairly small amount of overhead. No single point of failure from which Chameleon could not recover was found. Chameleon was also found to be capable of recovering from several multiple failure scenarios.

Haakensen, Erik Edward↗

Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations of the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel Airstream Oscillator System

This paper presents computational fluid dynamics simulations of the flow in the NASA Langley Research Center Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) with the airstream oscillator system (AOS) in operation. Test section flow angle can be modulated using sinusoidally oscillating vanes which are located in pairs within the contraction section of the tunnel circuit. A compilation of previously published experimental data for validation has been reviewed that contains hot-wire anemometer and fast-response probe data acquired in an empty test section with the vanes oscillating in-phase and out-of-phase. These experimental data have not previously been compared with computational results. The present results provide an opportunity for validation of the simulations of the sinusoidal AOS flow field in the TDT test section. Computed tunnel centerline, lateral and cross-section contour data of flow angle and vorticity show that resolving the vane tip vortex is critical to accurately predicting the test section center flow angle. The computed results show, as do the experimental data, what appears to be a resonance at higher frequencies. It is currently not known what is the cause of that resonance. Further refinement of the mesh is expected to improve the comparisons with experimental data

Robert E Bartels↗

Performance of the engineering analysis and data system 2 common file system

The Engineering Analysis and Data System (EADS) was used from April 1986 to July 1993 to support large scale scientific and engineering computation (e.g. computational fluid dynamics) at Marshall Space Flight Center. The need for an updated system resulted in a RFP in June 1991, after which a contract was awarded to Cray Grumman. EADS II was installed in February 1993, and by July 1993 most users were migrated. EADS II is a network of heterogeneous computer systems supporting scientific and engineering applications. The Common File System (CFS) is a key component of this system. The CFS provides a seamless, integrated environment to the users of EADS II including both disk and tape storage. UniTree software is used to implement this hierarchical storage management system. The performance of the CFS suffered during the early months of the production system. Several of the performance problems were traced to software bugs which have been corrected. Other problems were associated with hardware. However, the use of NFS in UniTree UCFM software limits the performance of the system. The performance issues related to the CFS have led to a need to develop a greater understanding of the CFS organization. This paper will first describe the EADS II with emphasis on the CFS. Then, a discussion of mass storage systems will be presented, and methods of measuring the performance of the Common File System will be outlined. Finally, areas for further study will be identified and conclusions will be drawn.

Debrunner, Linda S.↗

X-Ray Computed Tomography Monitors Damage in Composites

The NASA Lewis Research Center recently codeveloped a state-of-the-art x-ray CT facility (designated SMS SMARTSCAN model 100-112 CITA by Scientific Measurement Systems, Inc., Austin, Texas). This multipurpose, modularized, digital x-ray facility includes an imaging system for digital radiography, CT, and computed laminography. The system consists of a 160-kV microfocus x-ray source, a solid-state charge-coupled device (CCD) area detector, a five-axis object-positioning subassembly, and a Sun SPARCstation-based computer system that controls data acquisition and image processing. The x-ray source provides a beam spot size down to 3 microns. The area detector system consists of a 50- by 50- by 3-mm-thick terbium-doped glass fiber-optic scintillation screen, a right-angle mirror, and a scientific-grade, digital CCD camera with a resolution of 1000 by 1018 pixels and 10-bit digitization at ambient cooling. The digital output is recorded with a high-speed, 16-bit frame grabber that allows data to be binned. The detector can be configured to provide a small field-of-view, approximately 45 by 45 mm in cross section, or a larger field-of-view, approximately 60 by 60 mm in cross section. Whenever the highest spatial resolution is desired, the small field-of-view is used, and for larger samples with some reduction in spatial resolution, the larger field-of-view is used.

Baaklini, George Y.↗

ICAN Computer Code Adapted for Building Materials

The NASA Lewis Research Center has been involved in developing composite micromechanics and macromechanics theories over the last three decades. These activities have resulted in several composite mechanics theories and structural analysis codes whose applications range from material behavior design and analysis to structural component response. One of these computer codes, the Integrated Composite Analyzer (ICAN), is designed primarily to address issues related to designing polymer matrix composites and predicting their properties - including hygral, thermal, and mechanical load effects. Recently, under a cost-sharing cooperative agreement with a Fortune 500 corporation, Master Builders Inc., ICAN was adapted to analyze building materials. The high costs and technical difficulties involved with the fabrication of continuous-fiber-reinforced composites sometimes limit their use. Particulate-reinforced composites can be thought of as a viable alternative. They are as easily processed to near-net shape as monolithic materials, yet have the improved stiffness, strength, and fracture toughness that is characteristic of continuous-fiber-reinforced composites. For example, particlereinforced metal-matrix composites show great potential for a variety of automotive applications, such as disk brake rotors, connecting rods, cylinder liners, and other hightemperature applications. Building materials, such as concrete, can be thought of as one of the oldest materials in this category of multiphase, particle-reinforced materials. The adaptation of ICAN to analyze particle-reinforced composite materials involved the development of new micromechanics-based theories. A derivative of the ICAN code, ICAN/PART, was developed and delivered to Master Builders Inc. as a part of the cooperative activity.

Murthy, Pappu L. N.↗

Calculation of Free-Atom Fractions in Hydrocarbon-Fueled Rocket Engine Plume

Free atom fractions (Beta) of nine elements are calculated in the exhaust plume of CH4- oxygen and RP-1-oxygen fueled rocket engines using free energy minimization method. The Chemical Equilibrium and Applications (CEA) computer program developed by the Glenn Research Center, NASA is used for this purpose. Data on variation of Beta in both fuels as a function of temperature (1600 K - 3100 K) and oxygen to fuel ratios (1.75 to 2.25 by weight) is presented in both tabular and graphical forms. Recommendation is made for the Beta value for a tenth element, Palladium. The CEA computer code was also run to compare with experimentally determined Beta values reported in literature for some of these elements. A reasonable agreement, within a factor of three, between the calculated and reported values is observed. Values reported in this work will be used as a first approximation for pilot rocket engine testing studies at the Stennis Space Center for at least six elements Al, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe and Ni - until experimental values are generated. The current estimates will be improved when more complete thermodynamic data on the remaining four elements Ag, Co, Mn and Pd are added to the database. A critique of the CEA code is also included.

Verma, Satyajit↗

Snowmass 2021 Computational Frontier CompF4 Topical Group Report Storage and Processing Resource Access

Computing plays a significant role in all areas of high energy physics. The Snowmass 2021 CompF4 topical group's scope is facilities R&D, where we consider "facilities" as the computing hardware and software infrastructure inside the data centers plus the networking between data centers, irrespective of who owns them, and what policies are applied for using them. In other words, it includes commercial clouds, federally funded High Performance Computing (HPC) systems for all of science, and systems funded explicitly for a given experimental or theoretical program. This topical group report summarizes the findings and recommendations for the storage, processing, networking and associated software service infrastructures for future high energy physics research, based on the discussions organized through the Snowmass 2021 community study.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Space Operations for a New Era of Exploration Launch Vehicles

NASA's Constellation Program is depending on the Ares Projects to deliver the crew and cargo launch capabilities needed to send human explorers to the Moon and beyond. Ares I and V will provide the core space launch capabilities needed to continue providing crew and cargo access to the International Space Station (ISS), and to build upon the U.S. history of human space exploration. Since 2005, Ares has made substantial progress on designing, developing, and testing the Ares I crew launch vehicle and has continued its in-depth studies of the Ares V cargo launch vehicles. The combined Ares I/Ares V architecture has been designed to reduce the complexity and labor intensity of ground operations for America's next journeys beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). A deliberate effort is being made to ensure a high level of system operability to significantly increase safety and system availability as well as reduce recurring costs for this new launch vehicle. The Ares Projects goal is to instill operability as part of the vehicles requirements development, design, and operations. This simplicity will come from using simpler, proven engine designs, as in the case of the J-2X upper stage engine and RS-68 engine; improving existing hardware, as in the case of the Shuttle-heritage 5-segment solid rocket motor; and using common propulsion and instrument unit elements between Ares I and Ares V. Furthermore, lessons learned while developing Ares I will be applied directly to Ares V operations. In 2009, the Ares Projects plan to conduct the first flight test of Ares I, designated Ares I-X. Ares I-X preparations have already prompted changes to the vehicle stacking and launch infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), including removing Shuttle-specific fixtures from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to accommodate Ares I-style stacking operations, new firing room computers and infrastructure in the VAB Launch Control Center, and new lightning protection system towers at Launch Complex 39B to accommodate the greater height of Ares I-X. In addition to lessons learned from the stacking of Ares I-X, the flight test itself promises to yield important data and operations lessons for assembling, launching, and flying Ares I.

Cook, Stephen A.↗

Efficient Preparation of Dicke States

Here, we present an algorithm utilizing midcircuit measurement and feedback that prepares Dicke states with polylogarithmically many ancillae and polylogarithmic depth. Our algorithm uses only global midcircuit projective measurements and adaptively chosen global rotations. This improves over prior work that was only efficient for Dicke states of low weight or was not efficient in both depth and width. Our algorithm can also naturally be implemented in a cavity QED context using logarithmic time, zero ancillae, and atom-photon coupling scaling with the square root of the system size.

cavity methods↗

Point charge representation of multicenter multipole moments in calculation of electrostatic properties

Distributed Point Charge Models (PCM) for CO, (H2O)2, and HS-SH molecules have been computed from analytical expressions using multi-center multipole moments. The point charges (set of charges including both atomic and non-atomic positions) exactly reproduce both molecular and segmental multipole moments, thus constituting an accurate representation of the local anisotropy of electrostatic properties. In contrast to other known point charge models, PCM can be used to calculate not only intermolecular, but also intramolecular interactions. Comparison of these results with more accurate calculations demonstrated that PCM can correctly represent both weak and strong (intramolecular) interactions, thus indicating the merit of extending PCM to obtain improved potentials for molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics computational methods.

Non-NASA Center↗

Understanding Slat Noise Sources

Model-scale aeroacoustic tests of large civil transports point to the leading-edge slat as a dominant high-lift noise source in the low- to mid-frequencies during aircraft approach and landing. Using generic multi-element high-lift models, complementary experimental and numerical tests were carefully planned and executed at NASA in order to isolate slat noise sources and the underlying noise generation mechanisms. In this paper, a brief overview of the supporting computational effort undertaken at NASA Langley Research Center, is provided. Both tonal and broadband aspects of slat noise are discussed. Recent gains in predicting a slat s far-field acoustic noise, current shortcomings of numerical simulations, and other remaining open issues, are presented. Finally, an example of the ever-expanding role of computational simulations in noise reduction studies also is given.

Khorrami, Medhi R.↗

Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP)

The summer of 1997 will not only be noted by NASA for the mission to Mars by the Pathfinder but also for the 179 brilliant apprentices that participated in the SHARP Program. Apprentice participation increased 17% over last year's total of 153 participants. As indicated by the End-of-the-Program Evaluations, 96% of the programs' participants rated the summer experience from very good to excellent. The SHARP Management Team began the year by meeting in Cocoa Beach, Florida for the annual SHARP Planning Conference. Participants strengthened their Education Division Computer Aided Tracking System (EDCATS) skills, toured the world-renowned Kennedy Space Center, and took a journey into space during the Alien Encounter Exercise. The participants returned to their Centers with the same goals and objectives in mind. The 1997 SHARP Program goals were: (1) Utilize NASA's mission, unique facilities and specialized workforce to provide exposure, education, and enrichment experiences to expand participants' career horizons and inspire excellence in formal education and lifelong learning. (2) Develop and implement innovative education reform initiatives which support NASA's Education Strategic Plan and national education goals. (3) Utilize established statistical indicators to measure the effectiveness of SHARP's program goals. (4) Explore new recruiting methods which target the student population for which SHARP was specifically designed. (5) Increase the number of participants in the program. All of the SHARP Coordinators reported that the goals and objectives for the overall program as well as their individual program goals were achieved. Some of the goals and objectives for the Centers were: (1) To increase the students' awareness of science, mathematics, engineering, and computer technology; (2) To provide students with the opportunity to broaden their career objectives; and (3) To expose students to a variety of enrichment activities. Most of the Center goals and objectives were consistent with the overall program goals. Modem Technology Systems, Inc., was able to meet the SHARP Apprentices, Coordinators and Mentors during their site visits to Stennis Space Center, Ames Research Center and Dryden Flight Research Center. All three Centers had very efficient programs and adhered to SHARP's general guidelines and procedures. MTSI was able to meet the apprentices from the other Centers via satellite in July during the SHARP Video-Teleconference(ViTS). The ViTS offered the apprentices and the NASA and SHARP Coordinators the opportunity to introduce themselves. The apprentices from each Center presented topical "Cutting Edge Projects". Some of the accomplishments for the 1997 SHARP Program year included: MTSI hiring apprentices from four of the nine NASA Centers, the full utilization of the EDCATS by apprentices and NASA/SHARP Coordinators, the distribution of the SHARP Apprentice College and Scholarship Directory, a reunion with former apprentices from Langley Research Center and the development of a SHARP Recruitment Poster. MTSI developed another exciting newsletter containing graphics and articles submitted by the apprentices and the SHARP Management Team.

Source record↗

Nearby stellar substructures in the Galactic halo from DESI Milky Way Survey Year 1 Data Release

We report five nearby ($d_{\mathrm{helio}} < 5$ kpc) stellar substructures in the Galactic halo from a subset of 138 661 stars in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Milky Way Survey Year 1 Data Release. With an unsupervised clustering algorithm, HDBSCAN*, these substructures are independently identified in Integrals of Motion ($E_{\rm tot}$, $L_{\rm z}$, $\log {J_r}$, $\log {J_z}$) space and Galactocentric cylindrical velocity space ($V_{R}$, $V_{\phi }$, $V_{z}$). We associate all identified clusters with known nearby substructures (Helmi streams, M18-Cand10/MMH-1, Sequoia, Antaeus, and ED-2) previously reported in various studies. With metallicities precisely measured by DESI, we confirm that the Helmi streams, M18-Cand10, and ED-2 are chemically distinct from local halo stars. We have characterized the chemodynamic properties of each dynamic group, including their metallicity dispersions, to associate them with their progenitor types (globular cluster or dwarf galaxy). Our approach for searching substructures with HDBSCAN* reliably detects real substructures in the Galactic halo, suggesting that applying the same method can lead to the discovery of new substructures in future DESI data. With more stars from future DESI data releases and improved astrometry from the upcoming Gaia Data Release 4, we will have a more detailed blueprint of the Galactic halo, offering a significant improvement in our understanding of the formation and evolutionary history of the Milky Way Galaxy.

dynamics↗

NASA Propagation Information Center

The NASA Propagation Information Center became formally operational in July 1988. It is located in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Colorado at Boulder. The Center is several things: a communications medium for the propagation with the outside world, a mechanism for internal communication within the program, and an aid to management.

Smith, Ernest K.↗

NASA propagation information center

The NASA Propagation Information Center became formally operational in July 1988. It is located in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Colorado at Boulder. The center is several things: a communications medium for the propagation with the outside world, a mechanism for internal communication within the program, and an aid to management.

Smith, Ernest K.↗