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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 1,261 records · Page 70

arcjetCV: A New Machine Learning Application for Extracting Time-Resolved Recession Measurements From Arc Jet Test Videos

Arc jet Computer Vision (ArcjetCV) is a software application built to automate analysis of arc jet ground test video footage. This includes tracking material recession and the shock-material standoff distance. This provides a new capability to resolve and validate new physics associated with non-linear processes. This is an essential step to reduce testing, modeling, and validation uncertainties for heatshield material performance. ArcjetCV uses several types of machine learning (convolutional neural net: CNN, decision tree: DT, k-means unsupervised clustering: KM) to automate the video processing pipeline. These include inferring the start/stop of time segments of interest (1D CNN), measuring the time-dependent 2D recession of the material samples (2D CNN, DT), measuring the time-dependent shock standoff distance (2D CNN, DT), and post-processing cleaning of the recession data (KM). The software also provides a graphical user interface for ease of use. The results of using this tool on arc jet videos show non-linear time-dependent effects can be important for certain materials and characterizing certain failure modes.

machine learning↗

Overlapping Conditions in IMPACT

Introduction The IMPACT 1.0 model assumes independence of 119 different medical conditions. That is, it is assumed that one medical event maps to a single medical condition. However, it is often the case that a single medical event may lead to several different concurrent conditions (e.g., a single accident resulting in multiple fractures, chest/abdominal trauma, and sepsis). There is a significant overlap between many of the conditions in ICL 1.0. For example, depression and anxiety are two separate conditions but often co-exist. This overlap may lead to an overestimation in the incidence calculation. In future iterations of the model, we plan to address progression of medical conditions. Methods There are two possible methods to approach progression of a medical condition. The first is to take any medical condition in ICL, calculate its incidence and determine its outcomes no matter what sequelae occur. For example, calculate the incidence of prostatitis and determine its metrics (e.g., loss of crew life, risk of medical evacuation or task time affected) no matter what the sequelae might be (sepsis, hydronephrosis, renal failure, etc.). The second approach is to take any medical condition in the ICL and calculate the outcomes based on transitions to any other condition. For example, calculate the incidence of nephrolithiasis and determine the incidence of each possible transition (e.g., hydronephrosis, renal failure, UTI, pyelonephritis, sepsis) and then determine its metrics. With perfectly informative evidence, the answers should be the same using either method. The question is which approach best reduces the opportunity for overlapping. Results The team identified 31 conditions that were the most likely to transition to a secondary condition such as sepsis and respiratory failure. It was felt that the first approach, as described above, would be the easiest to implement and would have the greatest reduction in overlapping conditions. The identified conditions were primarily infectious conditions, like UTI and pneumonia (which could lead to both respiratory failure and sepsis), toxic inhalations, cardiac arrest, seizures, and trauma. Once these conditions were identified, the conditions were divided between the four clinicians on the team to identify those that were not consistent with the others in way they were approached. There were 13 conditions that were found to be problematic. Some condition definitions needed to be changed to eliminate references to transitions or to update them in cases where the definitions were out of date. Some conditions required new evidence to correct the loss of crew life, and one condition was felt to have so much overlap that it was recommended for elimination. A second effort required modification of the sepsis incidence calculation to prevent double counting of the conditions, such as prostatitis, that could progress to sepsis. Conclusion The team made significant progress in clarifying the method for dealing with transitions from one medical condition to another. In addition, errors were found and corrected in definitions, incidence, and loss of crew life as well as a condition in which reference was made to a CLiFF that was no longer included. These modifications will provide greater fidelity in the IMPACT model and reduce overlap.

Arian Anderson↗

arcjetCV: automating recession extraction from video

Arc jet Computer Vision (arcjetCV)[1][2] is a software application built to automate time-resolved recession tracking of edges in test videos, specifically for tracking material recession and the shock-material standoff. This provides a new capability to resolve and validate new physics associated with non-linear processes and an essential step to reduce testing, modeling, and validation uncertainties for heatshield material performance. ArcticCV uses several types of machine learning (convolutional neural net: CNN, decision tree: DT, k-means unsupervised clustering: KM) to automate the video processing pipeline. These include inferring the start/stop of time segments of interest (1D CNN), measuring the time-dependent 2D recession of the material samples (2D CNN, DT), measuring the time-dependent shock standoff distance (2D CNN, DT), and post-processing cleaning of the recession data (KM). The software also provides a graphical user interface for ease of use. The results of using this tool on arc jet videos show non-linear time-dependent effects can be important for certain materials and characterizing certain failure modes.

Recession tracking↗

ArcjetCV: Automating Recession Tracking

Arc jet Computer Vision (arcjetCV) is a software application built to automate time-resolved recession tracking of edges in test videos, specifically for tracking material recession and the shock-material standoff. This provides a new capability to resolve and validate new physics associated with non-linear processes and an essential step to reduce testing, modeling, and validation uncertainties for heatshield material performance. ArcticCV uses several types of machine learning (convolutional neural net: CNN, decision tree: DT, k-means unsupervised clustering: KM) to automate the video processing pipeline. These include inferring the start/stop of time segments of interest (1D CNN), measuring the time-dependent 2D recession of the material samples (2D CNN, DT), measuring the time-dependent shock standoff distance (2D CNN, DT), and post-processing cleaning of the recession data (KM). The software also provides a graphical user interface for ease of use. The results of using this tool on arc jet videos show non-linear time-dependent effects can be important for certain materials and characterizing certain failure modes.

Recession tracking↗

ArcjetCV: Automating Arc Jet Analysis

Arc jet Computer Vision (arcjetCV) is a software application built to automate time-resolved recession tracking of edges in test videos, specifically for tracking material recession and the shock-material standoff. This provides a new capability to resolve and validate new physics associated with non-linear processes and an essential step to reduce testing, modeling, and validation uncertainties for heatshield material performance. ArcticCV uses several types of machine learning (convolutional neural net: CNN, decision tree: DT, k-means unsupervised clustering: KM) to automate the video processing pipeline. These include inferring the start/stop of time segments of interest (1D CNN), measuring the time-dependent 2D recession of the material samples (2D CNN, DT), measuring the time-dependent shock standoff distance (2D CNN, DT), and post-processing cleaning of the recession data (KM). The software also provides a graphical user interface for ease of use. The results of using this tool on arc jet videos show non-linear time-dependent effects can be important for certain materials and characterizing certain failure modes.

Recession tracking↗

Community Engagement - A Citizen-Centric Approach to Seeking a Social License - 20017

The long regulatory road has finally been completed-after years of effort a Record of Decision has been signed and a Permit to Construct has been granted or a Permit to Operate has been obtained. But what about the other road that should be taken in parallel-community engagement? Working with the public is not a sequential activity, rather it is a consequential one and needs to be integrated with overall project planning. Unless you have effectively, meaningfully, and patiently engaged with the project's communities of impact, you may find your project trying to obtain a social license or a social license to operate (SLO). The SLO has its origins in the mining industry and its roots in the business model of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. These latter practices are well known to the US DOE and its contractor community. Aspects of the SLO are emerging as individuals and communities are becoming more informed and have increased expectations for being able to influence and shape decisions. When local community issues are not sought out, listened to, or addressed early, and questions are left unanswered, they can become agenda items for larger unaffiliated groups, and project loss (through delays and/or cancellation) can occur. Issues can transition from resolvable to intractable, a type of SLO face-off. Social media campaigns, serial negative media coverage, and protest signs at project sites opposing regulatory decisions already made are no longer anomalies. These types of incidents demonstrate the increasingly delicate relationship between approved regulatory/technical decisions and public acceptance of those decisions. A SLO is not a requirement. However, the building-blocks of a SLO - working with members of affected communities to build understanding, potentially to obtain and maintain community acceptance or even gain approval or support - are evidence of leadership by project sponsors. Actions taken, or not taken, by project sponsors truly have the ability to influence an outcome. While projects are not assured of success or failure, engaging the community in an empowered process is an investment of time and resources toward success for the project and thus for the communities of impact. Authors Note: Extensive literature searches were performed in developing this paper. The majority of the published literature on SLO as a 'movement' was found from sources in Canada, the European Union (Germany and France in particular), South Asia, South Korea, and many Latin American countries. The literature addressed resource development (mining), infrastructure, and energy projects. Articles written by US sources often spoke to origins and structural theory, specific project issues such as Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) and to protests/demonstrations related to those projects, rather than systemic opposition/conflict phenomena. For these reasons many international SLO experiences and sources are cited in the discussion. The authors recognize these non-US experiences with SLO as having a 'forecast' value to US projects, especially those related to nuclear projects of any type, waste treatment and disposal, energy development (especially fossil fuels as well as alternative sources), mining, and infrastructure. The body of future SLO experiences in the US will shape the future responses to it. (authors)

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Fatigue behavior of flexhoses and bellows due to flow-induced vibrations

The analysis and results developed in a fresh approach to calculate flow induced vibration response of a flexible flow passage are summarized. The vibration results are further examined in the frequency domain to obtain dominant frequency information. A cumulative damage analysis due to cyclic strains is performed to obtain the number of cycles to failure for a metallic bellows of particular specifications under a variety of operational conditions. Sample plots of time and frequency domain responses are included. The complex listing of a computer program is provided. The program successively executes each of the analyses needed to calculate the vibration response, the frequency response, the cyclic strains and the number of cycles to failure. The program prompts the user for necessary input information. Sample data from the program is provided. The fatigue life results obtained by the computer model lie within an acceptable range of previously measured available data.

Desai, P. V.↗

Self-re-adhering alkali-activated cement composite and its ability to mitigate corrosion of carbon steel in 300 °C hydrothermal environment

Cement-steel interface is a weak point of cement sheath integrity under the environments of high-temperature geothermal wells. This paper presents carbon steel (CS) adherence behaviors of 300 °C-autoclaved alkali-activated Calcium-Aluminate-Cement (CAC)/fly ash F (FAF) (Thermal Shock Resistant Cement, TSRC), granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS)/SiO 2 , and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)/SiO 2 blends. The composites’ ability to preserve the bond under the conditions of thermal shock (TS) and strong acid attack (pH 0.6 H 2 SO 4 /brine at 90 °C) as well as their ability to recover the damaged bond and provide steel corrosion protection after additional short-time 5-day curing at 300 °C were evaluated. GBFS/SiO 2 sheath underwent catastrophic failure in the first TS cycle; OPC/SiO 2 lost 78 % and TSRC 51 % of the bond strength in 6 cycles. Only TSRC-CS bond survived 30 days of strong acid exposure; OPC/SiO 2 bond failed after 18 days and GBFS/SiO 2 after 20 days. Addition of micro-glass fibers (MGF) to TSRC further improved its bond strength and CS corrosion protection. Samples of TSRC-CS cured for 30 days at 300 °C before the bond damage recovered 49 % of the damaged bond strength after additional short-time curing. The CS protected by the re-adhered TSRC showed low corrosion rate of 0.13 mm/year (TSRC-MGF), 0.2 mm/year (TSRC) vs. 0.64 mm/year for OPC/SiO 2 protected CS.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Flight test of a full authority Digital Electronic Engine Control system in an F-15 aircraft

The Digital Electronic Engine Control (DEEC) system considered is a relatively low cost digital full authority control system containing selectively redundant components and fault detection logic with capability for accommodating faults to various levels of operational capability. The DEEC digital control system is built around a 16-bit, 1.2 microsecond cycle time, CMOS microprocessor, microcomputer system with approximately 14 K of available memory. Attention is given to the control mode, component bench testing, closed loop bench testing, a failure mode and effects analysis, sea-level engine testing, simulated altitude engine testing, flight testing, the data system, cockpit, and real time display.

Barrett, W. J.↗

An Autonomous Distributed Fault-Tolerant Local Positioning System

We describe a fault-tolerant, GPS-independent (Global Positioning System) distributed autonomous positioning system for static/mobile objects and present solutions for providing highly-accurate geo-location data for the static/mobile objects in dynamic environments. The reliability and accuracy of a positioning system fundamentally depends on two factors; its timeliness in broadcasting signals and the knowledge of its geometry, i.e., locations and distances of the beacons. Existing distributed positioning systems either synchronize to a common external source like GPS or establish their own time synchrony using a scheme similar to a master-slave by designating a particular beacon as the master and other beacons synchronize to it, resulting in a single point of failure. Another drawback of existing positioning systems is their lack of addressing various fault manifestations, in particular, communication link failures, which, as in wireless networks, are increasingly dominating the process failures and are typically transient and mobile, in the sense that they typically affect different messages to/from different processes over time.

Mahyar R Malekpour↗

Patterns and rates of soil movement and shallow failures across several small watersheds on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Abstract. Thawing permafrost can alter topography, ecosystems, and sediment and carbon fluxes, but predicting landscape evolution of permafrost-influenced watersheds in response to warming and/or hydrological changes remains an unsolved challenge. Sediment flux and slope instability in sloping saturated soils have been commonly predicted from topographic metrics (e.g., slope, drainage area). In addition to topographic factors, cohesion imparted by soil and vegetation and melting ground ice may also control spatial trends in slope stability, but the distribution of ground ice is poorly constrained and hard to predict. To address whether slope stability and surface displacements follow topographic-based predictions, we document recent drivers of permafrost sediment flux present on a landscape in western Alaska that include creep, solifluction, gullying, and catastrophic hillslope failures ranging in size from a few meters to tens of meters, and we find evidence of rapid and substantial landscape change on an annual timescale. We quantify the timing and rate of surface movements using a multi-pronged, multi-scalar dataset including aerial surveys, interannual GPS surveys, synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR), and climate data. Despite clear visual evidence of downslope soil transport of solifluction lobes, we find that the interannual downslope surface displacement of these features does not outpace downslope displacement of soil in locations where lobes are absent (downslope movement means: 7 cm yr−1 for lobes over 2 years vs. 10 cm yr−1 in landscape positions without lobes over 1 year). Annual displacements do not appear related to slope, drainage area, or modeled total solar radiation but are likely related to soil thickness, and volumetric sediment fluxes are high compared to temperate landscapes of comparable bedrock lithology. Time series of InSAR displacements show accelerated movement in late summer, associated with intense rainfall and/or deep thaw. While mapped slope failures do cluster at slope–area thresholds, a simple slope stability model driven with hydraulic conductivities representative of throughflow in mineral and organic soil drastically overpredicts the occurrence of slope failures. This mismatch implies permafrost hillslopes have unaccounted-for cohesion and/or throughflow pathways, perhaps modulated by vegetation, which stabilize slopes against high rainfall. Our results highlight the breadth and complexity of soil transport processes in Arctic landscapes and demonstrate the utility of using a range of synergistic data collection methods to observe multiple scales of landscape change, which can aid in predicting periglacial landscape evolution.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Efficient Ada multitasking on a RISC register window architecture

This work addresses the problem of reducing context switch overhead on a processor which supports a large register file - a register file much like that which is part of the Berkeley RISC processors and several other emerging architectures (which are not necessarily reduced instruction set machines in the purest sense). Such a reduction in overhead is particularly desirable in a real-time embedded application, in which task-to-task context switch overhead may result in failure to meet crucial deadlines. A storage management technique by which a context switch may be implemented as cheaply as a procedure call is presented. The essence of this technique is the avoidance of the save/restore of registers on the context switch. This is achieved through analysis of the static source text of an Ada tasking program. Information gained during that analysis directs the optimized storage management strategy for that program at run time. A formal verification of the technique in terms of an operational control model and an evaluation of the technique's performance via simulations driven by synthetic Ada program traces are presented.

Kearns, J. P.↗

An Alternative Approach to Human Servicing of Crewed Earth Orbiting Spacecraft

As crewed spacecraft have grown larger and more complex, they have come to rely on spacewalks, or Extravehicular Activities (EVA), for assembly and to assure mission success. Typically, these spacecraft maintain all of the hardware and trained personnel needed to perform an EVA on-board at all times. Maintaining this capability requires up-mass, volume for storage of EVA hardware, crew time for ground and on-orbit training, and on-orbit maintenance of EVA hardware. This paper proposes an alternative methodology, utilizing either launch-on-need hardware and crew or regularly scheduled missions to provide EVA capability for space stations in low Earth orbit after assembly complete. Much the same way that one would call a repairman to fix something at their home these EVAs are dedicated to maintenance and upgrades of the orbiting station. For crew safety contingencies it is assumed the station would be designed such the crew could either solve those issues from inside the spacecraft or use the docked Earth to Orbit vehicles as a return lifeboat, in the same manner as the International Space Station (ISS) which does not rely on EVA for crew safety related contingencies. This approach would reduce ground training requirements for long duration crews, save Intravehicular Activity (IVA) crew time in the form of EVA hardware maintenance and on-orbit training, and lead to more efficient EVAs because they would be performed by specialists with detailed knowledge and training stemming from their direct involvement in the development of the EVA. The on-orbit crew would then be available to focus on the immediate response to any failures such as IVA systems reconfiguration or jumper installation as well as the day-to-day operations of the spacecraft and payloads. This paper will look at how current unplanned EVAs are conducted on ISS, including the time required for preparation, and offer an alternative for future spacecraft. As this methodology relies on the on-time and on-need launch of spacecraft, any space station that utilized this approach would need a robust transportation system, possibly including more than one launch vehicle capable of carrying crew. In addition, the fault tolerance of the future space station would be an important consideration in how much time was available for EVA preparation after the failure. Ideally the fault tolerance of the station would allow for the maintenance tasks to be grouped such that they could be handled by regularly scheduled maintenance visits and not contingency launches. Each future program would have to weigh the risk of on-time launch against the increase in available crew time for the main objective of the spacecraft. This is only one of several ideas that could be used to reduce or eliminate a station's reliance on rapid turnaround EVAs using on-board crew. Others could include having shirt-sleeve access to critical systems or utilizing low pressure temporarily pressurized equipment bays.

Mularski, John R.↗

From Diagnosis to Action: An Automated Failure Advisor for Human Deep Space Missions

The major goal of current space system development at NASA is to enable human travel to deep space locations such as Mars and asteroids. At that distance, round trip communication with ground operators may take close to an hour, thus it becomes unfeasible to seek ground operator advice for problems that require immediate attention, either for crew safety or for activities that need to be performed at specific times for the attainment of scientific results. To achieve this goal, major reliance will need to be placed on automation systems capable of aiding the crew in detecting and diagnosing failures, assessing consequences of these failures, and providing guidance in repair activities that may be required. We report here on the most current step in the continuing development of such a system, and that is the addition of a Failure Response Advisor. In simple terms, we have a system in place the Advanced Caution and Warning System (ACAWS) to tell us what happened (failure diagnosis) and what happened because that happened (failure effects). The Failure Response Advisor will tell us what to do about it, how long until something must be done and why its important that something be done and will begin to approach the complex reasoning that is generally required for an optimal approach to automated system health management. This advice is based on the criticality and various timing elements, such as durations of activities and of component repairs, failure effects delay, and other factors. The failure advice is provided to operators (crew and mission controllers) together with the diagnostic and effects information. The operators also have the option to drill down for more information about the failure and the reasons for any suggested priorities.

spacecraft health maintenance↗

Reversed Tantalum Capacitor Problem: A Failure to Fail, a Case Study

Reverse Ta capacitors are not expected to last for any length of time much less the over 74000 hours that they have been flying on Express (i.e. ExPRESS (Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station) Logistics Carrier (ELC) on the International Space Station. The report looks at the effects of moisture and temperature have on the capacitors. The removal of moisture has a far greater role in the survival of the capacitors than one would expect. Over 10000 hours of testing will be reviewed.

Shue, Jack↗

Trajectory Specification for Automation of Terminal Air Traffic Control

"Trajectory specification" is the explicit bounding and control of aircraft tra- jectories such that the position at each point in time is constrained to a precisely defined volume of space. The bounding space is defined by cross-track, along-track, and vertical tolerances relative to a reference trajectory that specifies position as a function of time. The tolerances are dynamic and will be based on the aircraft nav- igation capabilities and the current traffic situation. A standard language will be developed to represent these specifications and to communicate them by datalink. Assuming conformance, trajectory specification can guarantee safe separation for an arbitrary period of time even in the event of an air traffic control (ATC) sys- tem or datalink failure, hence it can help to achieve the high level of safety and reliability needed for ATC automation. As a more proactive form of ATC, it can also maximize airspace capacity and reduce the reliance on tactical backup systems during normal operation. It applies to both enroute airspace and the terminal area around airports, but this paper focuses on arrival spacing in the terminal area and presents ATC algorithms and software for achieving a specified delay of runway arrival time.

air traffic control↗

Feedback-Based Fault-Tolerant and Health-Adaptive Optimal Charging of Batteries

The key technology barriers that hinder the growth of Electric Vehicles (EVs) are long charging time, the shorter life-time of EV batteries, and battery safety. Specifically, EV charging protocols have significant effects on battery lifetime and safety. If not charged properly, the battery could end up with shorter life, and more importantly, improper charging can cause battery faults leading to catastrophic failures. To overcome these barriers, we propose a closed-loop feedback based approach, that enables real-time optimal fast charging protocol adaptation to battery health and possess active diagnostic capabilities in the sense that, during charging, it detects real-time faults and takes corrective action to mitigate such fault effects. We utilize battery electrical-thermal model, explicit battery capacity and power fade aging models, and thermal fault model to capture battery behavior. In conjunction with the models, we adopt linear quadratic optimal control techniques to realize the feedback-based control algorithm. Simulation studies are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

batteries↗