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At least 1,315 records · Page 73

Evaluating software development by analysis of changes - Some data from the Software Engineering Laboratory

Basili and Weiss (1984) have discussed an approach for obtaining valid data which may be used to evaluate software development methodologies in a production environment. The methodology consists of five elements, including the identification of goals, the determination of questions of interest from the goals, the development of a data collection form, the development of data collection procedures, and the validation and analysis of the data. The current investigation is concerned with the presentation of the results from such an evaluation. The presented data were collected as part of studies reported by Basili et al. (1977). These studies had been conducted by NASA's Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL). Attention is given to an overview of the SEL, the application of the considered methodology, the results of a data analysis, and conclusions about the SEL environment.

Weiss, D. M.↗

Nanoparticle-Mediated Assembly of Peptoid Nanosheets Functionalized with Solid-Binding Proteins: Designing Heterostructures for Hierarchy

The fabrication of ordered architectures that intimately integrate polymer, protein and inorganic components remains difficult. Two promising building blocks to tackle this challenge are peptoids, peptide mimics capable of self-assembly into well-defined structures, and solid-binding peptides, which offer a biological path to controlled inorganic assembly. Here, we report on the synthesis of 3.3 nm-thick, thiol-reactive peptoid nanosheets from equimolar mixtures of unmodified and maleimide-derivatized versions of the Nbpe 6 Nce 6 oligomer, optimize the location of engineered cysteine residues in silica-binding derivatives of superfolder green fluorescent protein for maleimide conjugation, and react the two components to form proteinpeptoid hybrids exhibiting partial or uniform protein coverage on both of their sides. Using 10 nm silica nanoparticles, we trigger the stacking of these 2D structures into a multi-layer material comprised of alternating peptoid, protein and organic layers. This simple and modular approach to hierarchical hybrid synthesis should prove useful in bioimaging and photocatalysis applications.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Revealing the Structural Evolution and Phase Transformation of O3-Type NaNi 1/3 Fe 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 Cathode Material on Sintering and Cycling Processes

O-type layered oxide cathode materials can be easily synthesized for a full sodium stoichiometry with high specific capacity, but they all suffer from a capacity fade on cycling. The sintering process control and optimization are critical to ensure a high quality and consistency of the prepared cathode materials with stable structure. Herein, in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD) was first employed to investigate the phase evolution of the oxides during the sintering process of O3-type NaNi 1/3 Fe 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 . The in situ HEXRD and both operando Bragg coherent diffraction (BCXD) and coherent multicrystal diffraction (CMCD) were utilized to investigate the phase transformation of the cathode materials during the sodiation/desodiation process. A composite structure comprised of O-type and P-type oxides was formed after the initial electrochemical activation of the cathode material, resulting in good structural and electrochemical stability. This finding implies that strain engineering can be a new design philosophy for the development of next generation high-performance sodium ion cathodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Elasticity-controlled jamming criticality in soft composite solids

Soft composite solids are made of inclusions dispersed within soft matrices. They are ubiquitous in nature and form the basis of many biological tissues. In the field of materials science, synthetic soft composites are promising candidates for building various engineering devices due to their highly programmable features. However, when the volume fraction of the inclusions increases, predicting the mechanical properties of these materials poses a significant challenge for the classical theories of composite mechanics. The difficulty arises from the inherently disordered, multi-scale interactions between the inclusions and the matrix. To address this challenge, we systematically investigated the mechanics of densely filled soft elastomers containing stiff microspheres. We experimentally demonstrate how the strain-stiffening response of the soft composites is governed by the critical scalings in the vicinity of a shear-jamming transition of the included particles. The proposed criticality framework quantitatively connects the overall mechanics of a soft composite with the elasticity of the matrix and the particles, and captures the diverse mechanical responses observed across a wide range of material parameters. The findings uncover a novel design paradigm of composite mechanics that relies on engineering the jamming properties of the embedded inclusions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Engineering Synthetic Anaerobic Consortia Inspired by the Rumen for Biomass Breakdown and Conversion

Lignocellulosic plant biomass is a widely-abundant renewable resource that can be harnessed for value-added production of fuels & chemicals. While microbes have been engineered to breakdown lignocellulose and turn released sugars into products, this remains an energy-intensive process that requires expensive pre-treatment and separation steps. Furthermore, it is difficult to engineer all desirable traits for breakdown and conversion into one organism. This project developed a new strategy that relies on microbial partnerships formed in the herbivore rumen to liberate sugars from crude plant biomass and convert that sugar to value-added chemicals. Microbial consortia consisting of fungi, bacteria, and archaea form tight associations in the herbivore rumen, which divide-and-conquer the difficult tasks of biomass breakdown. This project leveraged a “synthetic rumen” consortium composed of anaerobic fungi and chain-elongating bacteria to study which metabolites are shared and exchanged between microbes and identify strategies to bolster lignocellulose conversion to value-added products. Our approach developed high-throughput systems and synthetic biology approaches to realize stable synthetic consortia that route lignocellulosic carbon into short and medium chain fatty acids (SCFAs/MCFAs) rather than methane. Key research objectives were to (1) design and predict anaerobic fungal and bacterial consortia that efficiently convert lignocellulosic biomass into medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), (2) understand how fermentation parameters and microbe-microbe interactions regulate and drive microbiome metabolic fluxes, and (3) use genomic editing to alter the fermentation byproducts of anaerobic fungi and bolster MCFA titers and yields.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

High y + Shear-Stress Turbulence Implementation for High Flux Isotope Reactor Narrow Channel Flows

The research objective of this work was to improve the engineering predictions of the turbulence characteristics of flows in curved narrow channels. Such channel flows are commonly encountered in nuclear research and test reactors, with one of them being the high-flux isotope reactor (HFIR). Research reactors bear high heat fluxes, and the proper computing of turbulence is paramount for safe and reliable reactor operation. The study builds on the results of a previous direct numerical simulation of turbulence to inform a well-known Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes shear-stress turbulence model and improves its accuracy in simulating parallel channel flows. A new formulation of the loss term in the dissipation conservation equation is suggested. Combined with high wall distance computational grids, the new implementation provides a fast-running flow solution, suitable for engineering purposes. Model generalization for parallel channel flows, in a broader range of frictional Reynolds numbers, is suggested by introducing a new form of the model constants.

CFD↗

Electromagnetic interference assessment of an ion drive electric propulsion system

The electromagnetic interference (EMI) form elements of an ion drive electric propulsion system was analyzed, and the effects of EMI interaction with a typical interplanetary spacecraft engineering and scientific subsystems were predicted. SEMCAP, a computerized electromagnetic compatibility assessment code, was used to analyze the impact of EMI noise sources on 65 engineering/telemetry circuits and 48 plasma wave and planetary radio astronomy channels measuring over the range of 100 Hz to 40 MHz in a spacecraft of the Voyager type; manual methods were used to evaluate electrostatics, magnetics, and communications effects. Results indicate that some conducted and radiated spectra are in excess of electromagnetic compatibility specification limits; direct design changes may be required for filtering and shielding of thrust system elements. The worst source of broadband radiated noise appears to be the power processor. The magnetic field necessary to thruster operation is equivalent to about 18 amp-sq m per amp of beam current at right angles to the axis caused by the neutralizer/plume loop.

Whittlesey, A. C.↗

Material removal considerations for metal-ceramic abradable turbine seal systems

Possible interaction mechanisms between turbine blade tips and ceramic seal elements have been considered and preferred mechanism defined. The influence of porosity in the seal structure is qualitatively assessed and a preferred form determined. A dual-density plasma-sprayed ceramic seal system encompassing the desired characteristics is described and test results, including engine tests, are reported. Possible remedies to correct performance deficiencies are presented.

Clingman, D. L.↗

Overview: Applications of numerical optimization methods to helicopter design problems

There are a number of helicopter design problems that are well suited to applications of numerical design optimization techniques. Adequate implementation of this technology will provide high pay-offs. There are a number of numerical optimization programs available, and there are many excellent response/performance analysis programs developed or being developed. But integration of these programs in a form that is usable in the design phase should be recognized as important. It is also necessary to attract the attention of engineers engaged in the development of analysis capabilities and to make them aware that analysis capabilities are much more powerful if integrated into design oriented codes. Frequently, the shortcoming of analysis capabilities are revealed by coupling them with an optimization code. Most of the published work has addressed problems in preliminary system design, rotor system/blade design or airframe design. Very few published results were found in acoustics, aerodynamics and control system design. Currently major efforts are focused on vibration reduction, and aerodynamics/acoustics applications appear to be growing fast. The development of a computer program system to integrate the multiple disciplines required in helicopter design with numerical optimization technique is needed. Activities in Britain, Germany and Poland are identified, but no published results from France, Italy, the USSR or Japan were found.

Miura, H.↗

APS-Workshop on Characterization of MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) Devices for Array Antenna

The IEEE AP-S ADCOM is attempting to expand its educational, tutorial and information exchange activities as a further benefit to all members. To this end, ADCOM will be forming specialized workshops on topics of interest to its members. The first such workshop on Characterization and Packaging of MMIC Devices for Array Antennas was conceived. The workshop took place on June 13, 1986 as part of the 1986 International Symposium sponsored by IEEE AP-S and URSI in Philadelphia, PA, June 9-13, 1986. The workshop was formed to foster the interchange of ideas among MMIC device users and to provide a forum to collect and focus information among engineers experienced and interested in the topic. After brief presentations by the panelists and comments from attendees on several subtopics, the group was divided into working committees. Each committee evaluated and made recommendations on one of the subtopics.

Smetana, Jerry↗

Plans for the extreme ultraviolet explorer data base

The paper presents an approach for storage and fast access to data that will be obtained by the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), a satellite payload scheduled for launch in 1991. The EUVE telescopes will be operated remotely from the EUVE Science Operation Center (SOC) located at the University of California, Berkeley. The EUVE science payload consists of three scanning telescope carrying out an all-sky survey in the 80-800 A spectral region and a Deep Survey/Spectrometer telescope performing a deep survey in the 80-250 A spectral region. Guest Observers will remotely access the EUVE spectrometer database at the SOC. The EUVE database will consist of about 2 X 10 to the 10th bytes of information in a very compact form, very similar to the raw telemetry data. A history file will be built concurrently giving telescope parameters, command history, attitude summaries, engineering summaries, anomalous events, and ephemeris summaries.

Marshall, Herman L.↗

The space exploration initiative. Operational efficiency panel space-basing technology requirements

The topics covered include the following: (1) space basing technology requirements sources; (2) orbit transfer vehicle (OTV) processing heritage; (3) ground processing progression to space processing; (4) technology requirements for space based OTV servicing and maintenance; (5) design and development schedule for OTV's and OTV accommodations/ support hardware; (6) cryogenic technology test program development; (7) cryogenic propellant transfer, storage, and reliquefaction management summary; (8) propellant transfer technology analysis and ground testing; (8) OTV propellant storage depot development critical scaling relationships; (9) flight experiment options; (10) OTV maintenance; (11) automated fault detection/ isolation and system checkout summary; (12) engine replacement; (13) alternative docking operation; (14) OTV/payload integration; and (15) technology criticality and capability assessment. This document is presented in viewgraph form.

Pena, Luis R.↗

Evaluation of RSRM case hardware fretting concerns

Fretting corrosion was first noted on Shuttle flight STS-26. This flight was the first usage of the Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM). The occurrence of fretting has since been observed on both the field and factory joints of the RSRM. Fretting is a form of corrosion that occurs at the interface between contacting, highly loaded, metal surfaces when exposed to slight relative vibratory motions. The engineering effort performed to evaluate the effect of fretting on the RSRM case hardware is summarized. Based on the results of this evaluation, several conclusions were made concerning flight safety. Also, recommendations were made concerning trending the effects of multiple generations of fretting damage.

Swauger, Thomas R.↗

Evolution of a NASTRAN trainer

The development is traced of a NASTRAN training system. The design and organization of the program is examined, including the static and dynamic modules. A discussion of how user feedback, in the form of questionnaire responses, was used to evaluate and improve the trainer is included. The trainer was used by a number of engineers, who found it to be a versatile low cost tool. It is particularly helpful in bridging the gap from theory to practical application of the finite element method for structural analysis. The program, along with documentation, is available through COSMIC.

Grooms, H. R.↗

Extended abstract: Managing disjunction for practical temporal reasoning

One of the problems that must be dealt with in either a formal or implemented temporal reasoning system is the ambiguity arising from uncertain information. Lack of precise information about when events happen leads to uncertainty regarding the effects of those events. Incomplete information and nonmonotonic inference lead to situations where there is more than one set of possible inferences, even when there is no temporal uncertainty at all. In an implemented system, this ambiguity is a computational problem as well as a semantic one. In this paper, we discuss some of the sources of this ambiguity, which we will treat as explicit disjunction, in the sense that ambiguous information can be interpreted as defining a set of possible inferences. We describe the application of three techniques for managing disjunction in an implementation of Dean's Time Map Manager. Briefly, the disjunction is either: removed by limiting the expressive power of the system, or approximated by a weaker form of representation that subsumes the disjunction. We use a combination of these methods to implement an expressive and efficient temporal reasoning engine that performs sound inference in accordance with a well-defined formal semantics.

Boddy, Mark↗

Space Propulsion Technology Program Overview

The topics presented are covered in viewgraph form. Focused program elements are: (1) transportation systems, which include earth-to-orbit propulsion, commercial vehicle propulsion, auxiliary propulsion, advanced cryogenic engines, cryogenic fluid systems, nuclear thermal propulsion, and nuclear electric propulsion; (2) space platforms, which include spacecraft on-board propulsion, and station keeping propulsion; and (3) technology flight experiments, which include cryogenic orbital N2 experiment (CONE), SEPS flight experiment, and cryogenic orbital H2 experiment (COHE).

Escher, William J. D.↗

Weaving multi-layer fabrics for reinforcement of engineering components

The performance of interlinked, multi-layer fabrics and near net shape preforms for engineering applications, woven on a 48 shaft dobby loom using glass, aramid, and carbon continuous filament yarns is assessed. The interlinking was formed using the warp yarns. Two basic types of structure were used. The first used a single warp beam and hence each of the warp yarns followed a similar path to form four layer interlinked reinforcements and preforms. In the second two warp beams were used, one for the interlinking yarns which pass from the top to the bottom layer through-the-thickness of the fabric and vice versa, and the other to provide 'straight' yarns in the body of the structure to carry the axial loading. Fabrics up to 15mm in thickness were constructed with varying amounts of through-the-thickness reinforcement. Tapered T and I sections were also woven, with the shaping produced by progressive removal of ends during construction. These fabrics and preforms were impregnated with resin and cured to form composite samples for testing. Using these two basic types of construction, the influence of reinforcement construction and the proportion and type of interlinking yarn on the performance of the composite was assessed.

Hill, B. J.↗

Aviation Research and the Internet

The Internet is a network of networks. It was originally funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DOD/DARPA and evolved in part from the connection of supercomputer sites across the United States. The National Science Foundation (NSF) made the most of their supercomputers by connecting the sites to each other. This made the supercomputers more efficient and now allows scientists, engineers and researchers to access the supercomputers from their own labs and offices. The high speed networks that connect the NSF supercomputers form the backbone of the Internet. The World Wide Web (WWW) is a menu system. It gathers Internet resources from all over the world into a series of screens that appear on your computer. The WWW is also a distributed. The distributed system stores data information on many computers (servers). These servers can go out and get data when you ask for it. Hypermedia is the base of the WWW. One can 'click' on a section and visit other hypermedia (pages). Our approach to demonstrating the importance of aviation research through the Internet began with learning how to put pages on the Internet (on-line) ourselves. We were assigned two aviation companies; Vision Micro Systems Inc. and Innovative Aerodynamic Technologies (IAT). We developed home pages for these SBIR companies. The equipment used to create the pages were the UNIX and Macintosh machines. HTML Supertext software was used to write the pages and the Sharp JX600S scanner to scan the images. As a result, with the use of the UNIX, Macintosh, Sun, PC, and AXIL machines, we were able to present our home pages to over 800,000 visitors.

Scott, Antoinette M.↗