Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “sensor data validation”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,297 records · Page 72

Evaluation of a Wave Powered Water Pump Performance by Ocean Field Testing and WEC-Sim Modeling

This submission from AMEC (the Atlantic Marine Energy Center) includes data from an ocean field deployment of a wave powered water pump in March 2023. The wave pump is an upweller device, designed to enhance macroalgal aquaculture. The wave pump device was deployed off the coast of Isles of Shoals Appledore Island in Maine, USA. The data were collected using a custom-built DAQ module comprised of Arduino Unos. GPS time stamp accompanies the data. The data are volumetric flow rate from the wave pump, and relative motion of the device between float and spar buoys. Flow rate is measured by flow meter, and relative motion is measured by lidar. Calibration data for the lidar and flow meter sensors are included. This data set also includes synchronous Sofar Spotter buoy data from a mooring approximately 300 feet away from the wave pump mooring. Video data from the deployment are included from both on-board the device sporadically throughout the deployment, and from a webcam for a short duration of the deployment. Hydrophone data were also taken co-currently, and are available by contacting Martin Wosnik at the University of New Hampshire. The Matlab code used to process the field data is incorporated. A biological assessment is included which aided the NEPA consultation process, prior to conducting the field deployment. A WEC-Sim numerical model of the wave pump, and a re-design effort are part of this work. Code used to validate the WEC-Sim model from the field data are also included.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Storm severity detection (RF)

Atmospheric electrical emissions occurring in association with Hurricane Alicia were observed by two crossed baseline phase linear interferometers. The sensors were located in San Antonio, Texas, and at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Alabama. An analysis of the data has indicated that the direction finding (DF) performance of the San Antonio site was extremely good while the DF performance at the MSFC site evidenced erratic behavior. A check of the data acquisition hardware revealed an intermitted problem in one of the radio receiver channels. Since the system has experienced several lightning strikes during the early spring of 1984, it was necessary to ship the entire rack of equipment back to SwRI for refurbishment. Analysis of the DF data from the interferometer site at San Antonio is being done. A limited subset of the MSFC data acquired during Hurricane Alicia has been found to be valid. These were data which satisfied the phase linearity criteria. Approximately 2,000 location estimates have been produced on the valid data. The results of the DF analysis and the location data are being correlated with the McIDAS data base at Marshall Space Flight Center, and with the radar summary data provided by the Hurricane Research Division using the National weather Service radar Facility at Galveston, Texas.

Johnson, R. L.↗

The Status of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) after 2 Years in Orbit

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was launched on November 27, 1997, and data from all the instruments first became available approximately 30 days after launch. Since then, much progress has been made in the calibration of the sensors, the improvement of the rainfall algorithms, in related modeling applications and in new datasets tailored specifically for these applications. This paper reports the latest results regarding the calibration of the TRMM Microwave Imager, (TMI), Precipitation Radar (PR) and Visible and Infrared Sensor (VIRS). For the TMI, a new product is in place that corrects for a still unknown source of radiation leaking in to the TMI receiver. The PR calibration has been adjusted upward slightly (by 0.6 dBZ) to better match ground reference targets, while the VIRS calibration remains largely unchanged. In addition to the instrument calibration, great strides have been made with the rainfall algorithms as well, with the new rainfall products agreeing with each other to within less than 20% over monthly zonally averaged statistics. The TRMM Science Data and Information System (TSDIS) has responded equally well by making a number of new products, including real-time and fine resolution gridded rainfall fields available to the modeling community. The TRMM Ground Validation (GV) program is also responding with improved radar calibration techniques and rainfall algorithms to provide more accurate GV products which will be further enhanced with the new multiparameter 10 cm radar being developed for TRMM validation and precipitation studies. Progress in these various areas has, in turn, led to exciting new developments in the modeling area where Data Assimilation, and Weather Forecast models are showing dramatic improvements after the assimilation of observed rainfall fields.

Kummerow, C.↗

Atmospheric Correction for Hyperspectral Ocean Color Retrieval with Application to the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO)

The classical multi-spectral Atmospheric Correction (AC) algorithm is inadequate for the new generation of spaceborne hyperspectral sensors such as NASA's first hyperspectral Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) onboard the anticipated Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite mission. The AC process must estimate and remove the atmospheric path radiance contribution due to the Rayleigh scattering by air molecules and scattering by aerosols from the measured top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance, compensate for the absorption by atmospheric gases, and correct for reflection and refraction of the air-sea interface. In this work, we present and evaluate an improved AC for hyperspectral sensors developed within NASA's Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Data Analysis System software package (SeaDAS). The improvement is based on combining the classical AC approach of multi-spectral capabilities to correct for the atmospheric path radiance, extended to hyperspectral, with a gas correction algorithm to compensate for absorbing gases in the atmosphere, including water vapor. The SeaDAS-hyperspectral version is capable of operationally processing the AC of any hyperspectral airborne or spaceborne sensor. The new algorithm development was evaluated and assessed using the Hyperspectral Imager for Coastal Ocean (HICO) scenes collected at the Marine Optical BuoY (MOBY) site, and other SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS) and AERosol Robotic NETwork - Ocean Color (AERONET-OC) coastal sites. A hyperspectral vicarious calibration was applied to HICO, showing the validity and consistency of HICO's ocean color products. The hyperspectral AC capability is currently available in SeaDAS to the scientific community at https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

Ocean Color↗

Gas and liquid measurements in air-water bubbly flows

Local measurements of gas- and liquid-phase flow parameters are conducted in an air-water two-phase flow loop. The test section is a vertical pipe with an inner diameter of 50 mm and a height of 3.2 m. The measurements are performed at z/D = 10. The gas-phase measurements are performed using a four-sensor conductivity probe. The data taken from this probe are processed using a signal processing program to yield radial profiles of the void fraction, bubble velocity, and interfacial area concentration. The velocity measurements of the liquid-phase are performed using a state-of-the-art Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system. The raw PIV images are acquired using fluorescent particles and an optical filtration device. Image processing is used to remove noise in the raw PIV images. The statistical cross correlation is introduced to determine the axial velocity field and turbulence intensity of the liquid-phase. Measurements are currently being performed at z/D = 32 to provide a more complete data set. These data can be used for computational fluid dynamic model development and validation. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Field Validation of Dynamic Mechanical Torque Measurements for Geared Wind Turbines

Accurate knowledge of the mechanical loads of wind turbine gearboxes has become essential in modern, highly loaded gearbox designs, as maintaining or even improving gearbox reliability with increasing torque density demands is proving to be challenging. Unfortunately, the traditional method of measuring dynamic mechanical torque using strain gauges placed on the outer surface of a rotating shaft and transmitting the resulting signal is unsuitable for serial deployment due to technical and economic constraints. An alternative method based on fiber-optic strain sensors placed on the stationary outer surface of the gearbox ring gear has been proposed. Like shaft torsion, the radial deformation of the ring gear is proportionate to the rotor torque. Placing the sensors on a stationary component is a cost-effective alternative for serial implementation because the need for complex and expensive data transfer via wireless transmission or a slip ring is eliminated. In this paper, we present the results of an extensive field experiment conducted to evaluate the torque measurement accuracy of this novel sensing solution installed on the gearbox of a Gamesa G97 2-MW wind turbine at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Flatirons Campus. Torque measurements derived from fiber-optic strain sensors placed on the ring gear of the planetary stage are compared to conventional torque measurements from strain gauges placed on the main shaft. Two different torque estimation data processing methods were evaluated, with the method based on operational deflection shapes providing the most accurate results with an average normalized root mean square error below 0.7% for a load revolution distribution analysis. The effect of operating conditions on the torque estimate was also investigated, and the third planet-passing operational deflection shape was found to be the least sensitive to nontorque load-related effects. The fiber-optic strain sensors' successful operation during the complete test campaign has demonstrated a robust and accurate solution for fleet-wide enhanced gearbox remaining useful life estimation.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Inter-Disciplinary Validation of Pre Earthquake Signals. Case Study for Major Earthquakes in Asia (2004-2010) and for 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

We carried out multi-sensors observations in our investigation of phenomena preceding major earthquakes. Our approach is based on a systematic analysis of several physical and environmental parameters, which we found, associated with the earthquake processes: thermal infrared radiation, temperature and concentration of electrons in the ionosphere, radon/ion activities, and air temperature/humidity in the atmosphere. We used satellite and ground observations and interpreted them with the Lithosphere-Atmosphere- Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) model, one of possible paradigms we study and support. We made two independent continues hind-cast investigations in Taiwan and Japan for total of 102 earthquakes (M>6) occurring from 2004-2011. We analyzed: (1) ionospheric electromagnetic radiation, plasma and energetic electron measurements from DEMETER (2) emitted long-wavelength radiation (OLR) from NOAA/AVHRR and NASA/EOS; (3) radon/ion variations (in situ data); and 4) GPS Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements collected from space and ground based observations. This joint analysis of ground and satellite data has shown that one to six (or more) days prior to the largest earthquakes there were anomalies in all of the analyzed physical observations. For the latest March 11 , 2011 Tohoku earthquake, our analysis shows again the same relationship between several independent observations characterizing the lithosphere /atmosphere coupling. On March 7th we found a rapid increase of emitted infrared radiation observed from satellite data and subsequently an anomaly developed near the epicenter. The GPS/TEC data indicated an increase and variation in electron density reaching a maximum value on March 8. Beginning from this day we confirmed an abnormal TEC variation over the epicenter in the lower ionosphere. These findings revealed the existence of atmospheric and ionospheric phenomena occurring prior to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, which indicated new evidence of a distinct coupling between the lithosphere and atmosphere/ionosphere.

Ouzounov, D.↗

Deep learning categorization of infrasound array data

Here we develop a deep learning-based infrasonic detection and categorization methodology that uses convolutional neural networks with self-attention layers to identify stationary and non-stationary signals in infrasound array processing results. Using features extracted from the coherence and direction-of-arrival information from beamforming at different infrasound arrays, our model more reliably detects signals compared with raw waveform data. Using three infrasound stations maintained as part of the International Monitoring System, we construct an analyst-reviewed data set for model training and evaluation. We construct models using a 4-category framework, a generalized noise vs non-noise detection scheme, and a signal-of-interest (SOI) categorization framework that merges short duration stationary and non-stationary categories into a single SOI category. We evaluate these models using a combination of k-fold cross-validation, comparison with an existing “state-of-the-art” detector, and a transportability analysis. Although results are mixed in distinguishing stationary and non-stationary short duration signals, f-scores for the noise vs non-noise and SOI analyses are consistently above 0.96, implying that deep learning-based infrasonic categorization is a highly accurate means of identifying signals-of-interest in infrasonic data records.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A digital twin platform for building performance monitoring and optimization: Performance simulation and case studies

Advancements in sensor technology, data analytics, affordable compute, and communication infrastructure have paved the way for Digital Twin technology in optimizing building operations and controls. This study presents the development of an open and interoperable web-based Digital Twin platform for integrating diverse data streams and facilitating effective user interactions. The platform utilizes modern technologies for the web framework and time-series data management, ensuring scalability and responsiveness. The backend supports seamless integration of diverse data sources and emulators, incorporating data from building sensors and meters, external weather Application Programming Interfaces, and advanced EnergyPlus simulation models of the building and its energy systems including the Distributed Energy Resources that are formulated in Functional Mockup Units. A simulation case study was conducted with FlexLab, a test facility on Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory campus. The case study includes normal operations, Distributed Energy Resource integration, and power outage scenarios, to illustrate the Digital Twin’s ability to provide critical insights into energy performance and thermal resilience. The results demonstrated the platform’s potential as a decision-support tool for optimizing building energy performance and enhancing resilience against extreme weather events. Future work will focus on deploying the Digital Twin platform to a real building for field validation, extending its capabilities to cover more scenarios such as bidirectional Electric Vehicle interactions, and enhancing user engagement.

EnergyPlus↗

Development of a semi-adiabatic isoperibol solution calorimeter

A semi-adiabatic isoperibol solution calorimeter has been indigenously developed. The measurement system comprises modules for sensitive temperature measurement probe, signal processing, data collection, and joule calibration. The sensitivity of the temperature measurement module was enhanced by using a sensitive thermistor coupled with a lock-in amplifier based signal processor. A microcontroller coordinates the operation and control of these modules. The latter in turn is controlled through personal computer (PC) based custom made software developed with LabView. An innovative summing amplifier concept was used to cancel out the base resistance of the thermistor. The latter was placed in the dewar. The temperature calibration was carried out with a standard platinum resistance (PT100) sensor coupled with an 8½ digit multimeter. The water equivalent of this calorimeter was determined by using electrical calibration with the joule calibrator. The experimentally measured values of the quantum of heat were validated by measuring heats of dissolution of pure KCl (for endotherm) and tris (hydroxyl methyl) amino-methane (for exotherm). The uncertainity in the measurements was found to be within ±3%.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

SeaWiFS technical report series. Volume 15: The simulated SesWiFS data set, version 2

This document describes the second version of the simulated SeaWiFS data set. A realistic simulated data set is essential for mission readiness preparations and can potentially assist in all phases of ground support for a future mission. The second version improves on the first version primarily through additional realism and complexity. This version incorporates a representation of virtually every aspect of the flight mission. Thus, it provides a high-fidelity data set for testing several aspects of the ground system, including data acquisition, data processing, data transfers, calibration and validation, quality control, and mission operations. The data set is constructed for a seven-day period, 25-31 March 1994. Specific features of the data set include Global Area coverage (GAC), recorded Local Area Coverage (LAC), and realtime High Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) data for the seven-day period. A realistic orbit, which is propagated using a Brouwer-Lyddane model with drag, is used to simulate orbit positions. The simulated data corresponds to the command schedule based on the orbit for this seven-day period. It includes total (at-satellite) radiances not only for ocean, but for land, clouds, and ice. The simulation also utilizes a high-resolution land-sea mask. It includes the April 1993 SeaWiFS spectral responses and sensor saturation responses. The simulation is formatted according to July 1993 onboard data structures, which include corresponding telemetry (instrument and spacecraft) data. The methods are described and some examples of the output are given. The instrument response functions made available in April 1993 have been used to produce the Version 2 simulated data. These response functions will change as part of the sensor improvements initiated in July-August 1993.

Hooker, Stanford B.↗

An Overview of Suomi NPP VIIRS Calibration Maneuvers

The first Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument was successfully launched on-board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) spacecraft on October 28, 2011. Suomi NPP VIIRS observations are made in 22 spectral bands, from the visible (VIS) to the long-wave infrared (LWIR), and are used to produce 22 Environmental Data Records (EDRs) with a broad range of scientific applications. The quality of these VIIRS EDRs strongly depends on the quality of its calibrated and geo-located Sensor Date Records (SDRs). Built with a strong heritage to the NASA's EOS MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument, the VIIRS is calibrated on-orbit using a similar set of on-board calibrators (OBC), including a solar diffuser (SD) and solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) system for the reflective solar bands (RSB) and a blackbody (BB) for the thermal emissive bands (TEB). On-orbit maneuvers of the SNPP spacecraft provide additional calibration and characterization data from the VIIRS instrument which cannot be obtained pre-launch and are required to produce the highest quality SDRs. These include multi-orbit yaw maneuvers for the characterization of SD and SDSM screen transmission, quasi-monthly roll maneuvers to acquire lunar observations to track sensor degradation in the visible through shortwave infrared, and a driven pitch-over maneuver to acquire multiple scans of deep space to determine TEB response versus scan angle (RVS). This paper pro-vides an overview of these three SNPP calibration maneuvers. Discussions are focused on their potential calibration and science benefits, pre-launch planning activities, and on-orbit scheduling and implementation strategies. Results from calibration maneuvers performed during the Intensive Calibration and Validation (ICV) period for the VIIRS sensor are illustrated. Also presented in this paper are lessons learned regarding the implementation of calibration spacecraft maneuvers on follow-on missions.

Butler, James J.↗

Toward Landsat and Sentinel-2 BRDF Normalization and Albedo Estimation: A Case Study in the Peruvian Amazon Forest

The Amazon forest has been the focus of study by the science community during the last few decades. Remote sensing data analysis is the only way to study such a large geographical extent during an extended period of time. Since the launch in 2015 of Sentinel 2 and its increase in temporal resolution through the combination with Landsat sensors, a strong emphasis has been put on exploiting these data. Though these satellites provide near nadir observations, surface reflectance time series are affected by illumination variability throughout the year. These effects can be corrected using a Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) model. Franch et al. (2014a) developed a methodology to derive Landsat surface albedo and BRDF. It is based on the BRDF parameters from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) which are disaggregated at Landsat spatial resolution (30 m). In this work, we apply the Franch et al. (2014a) method to normalize the surface reflectance for BRDF effects using the NASA's Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) product. We apply this method to the Tambopata region in Peru from 2013 to 2017 and validate it using ground-based albedometer measurements. The results show that the near infrared reflectance can increase up to 0.06 (20%) for low solar angles while the impact on the red range and the NDVI is minor (<0.01). The evaluation of the surface albedo against field measurements shows an error of 0.01.

Landsat 8↗

High-Fidelity Dataset Generation for Sensor Anomalies in Power Grids using Hardware-in-the-Loop Testbed

Sensor anomalies in power grids can have significant impacts on the operation of the grid due to the increased reliance of the grid operation on data-driven applications. However, there is a lack of datasets that accurately capture these anomalies as many of the anomalies go undetected using the current bad data detectors. High-fidelity labeled datasets are essential for developing robust applications that can detect and mitigate the impacts of anomalies. In this paper, we propose a hardware-in-the-loop testbed model that can emulate the grid behavior with high-fidelity. This testbed is used to inject anomalies at various levels in the grid architecture and generate labeled datasets. These high-fidelity datasets can be used for development and validation of data-driven applications for detection and mitigation of anomalies in grids and other cyber-physical systems.

Hyder, Burhan↗

Fusing GeoNEX and VIIRS Surface BRDF Retrievals: Exploring a GEO-LEO Synergy

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function or BRDF, which describes the dependency of surface reflectance on the illumination-view geometries, are the foundation of many high-level satellite products for terrestrial and aquatic system monitoring. The latest geostationary sensors like GOES ABI provide high frequent (~10 minutes) observations of the Earth surface that feature continuously changing sun angles, allowing us to retrieve surface BRDF with dedicated atmospheric correction algorithms like MAIAC (Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction). For mid-latitude locations, because geostationary satellites have fixed view angles in the back-scattering directions, the angular sampling of surface BRDF by GEO sensors is not comprehensive. This study explores a GEO-LEO synergy to address this issue. We first extract concurrent GeoNEX and VIIRS BRDF data with the best quality (cloud-free and low aerosol loading) at chosen AERONET sites. We then compare the magnitude and the shape factors of the two set of BRDF parameters as well as their variations through the season. We calculate the “distances” between the GeoNEX and VIIRS BRDF by using them to cross-predict the top-of-atmosphere reflectance measured by their counterpart and evaluating the corresponding prediction errors. This metric allows us to derive a set of optimized BRDF parameters that minimize such distances or prediction errors, which are considered as the fused BRDF result. We validate the algorithm with reserved AERONET data and then apply it to generate the GEO-LEO BRDF synergy over CONUS. We expect the fused BRDF to have reduced uncertainties as compared to the source GeoNEX or VIIRS data and may find broadly application in deriving other high-level satellite products.

Geostationary satellite↗

The role of global cloud climatologies in validating numerical models

The purpose of this work is to estimate sampling errors of area-time averaged rain rate due to temporal samplings by satellites. In particular, the sampling errors of the proposed low inclination orbit satellite of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) (35 deg inclination and 350 km altitude), one of the sun synchronous polar orbiting satellites of NOAA series (98.89 deg inclination and 833 km altitude), and two simultaneous sun synchronous polar orbiting satellites--assumed to carry a perfect passive microwave sensor for direct rainfall measurements--will be estimated. This estimate is done by performing a study of the satellite orbits and the autocovariance function of the area-averaged rain rate time series. A model based on an exponential fit of the autocovariance function is used for actual calculations. Varying visiting intervals and total coverage of averaging area on each visit by the satellites are taken into account in the model. The data are generated by a General Circulation Model (GCM). The model has a diurnal cycle and parameterized convective processes. A special run of the GCM was made at NASA/GSFC in which the rainfall and precipitable water fields were retained globally for every hour of the run for the whole year.

HARSHVARDHAN↗

Utilization of an Advanced Sensor network to determine fuel heating value and Real-Time net unit heat rate during transient operation

Coal-fired utility boilers are being increasingly used as variable electricity generation to resolve the imbalance in the energy market from the expansion of intermittent renewable energy. The frequent transient operation required to meet residual energy demand has created a challenge for coal-fired units to operate efficiently. This work utilizes an advanced sensor network (ASN) to calculate net unit heat rate (NUHR) of a coal-fired boiler in real time through combustion calculations and statistical correlations to provide the tools for optimizing dynamic operation. Real-time heating values that were necessary to determine fuel input energy to calculate accurate NUHR were found using both fundamental and data-driven methods. Real-time NUHR shows distinct shifts that reflect changes in process conditions that will improve the ability to optimize transient operation. Data-driven heating value correlations had 24% lower root mean square error (RMSE) than the fundamental combustion calculation approach when compared to daily retrospective proximate analysis. Furthermore, the data-driven method RMSE improved by 7% with the inclusion of ASN data. Future work is to validate by comparing unit performance with and without the inclusion of NUHR as a control parameter for the dynamic neural network.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Precipitable water and surface humidity over global oceans from special sensor microwave imager and European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts

Global fields of precipitable water W from the special sensor microwave imager were compared with those from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model. They agree over most ocean areas; both data sets capture the two annual cycles examined and the interannual anomalies during an ENSO episode. They show significant differences in the dry air masses over the eastern tropical-subtropical oceans, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. In these regions, comparisons with radiosonde data indicate that overestimation by the ECMWF model accounts for a large part of the differences. As a check on the W differences, surface-level specific humidity Q derived from W, using a statistical relation, was compared with Q from the ECMWF model. The differences in Q were found to be consistent with the differences in W, indirectly validating the Q-W relation. In both W and Q, SSMI was able to discern clearly the equatorial extension of the tongues of dry air in the eastern tropical ocean, while both ECMWF and climatological fields have reduced spatial gradients and weaker intensity.

Liu, W. T.↗