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At least 1,369 records · Page 76

Design of experiment for earth rotation and baseline parameter determination from very long baseline interferometry

The possibility of recovering earth rotation and network geometry (baseline) parameters are emphasized. The numerical simulated experiments performed are set up in an environment where station coordinates vary with respect to inertial space according to a simulated earth rotation model similar to the actual but unknown rotation of the earth. The basic technique of VLBI and its mathematical model are presented. The parametrization of earth rotation chosen is described and the resulting model is linearized. A simple analysis of the geometry of the observations leads to some useful hints on achieving maximum sensitivity of the observations with respect to the parameters considered. The basic philosophy for the simulation of data and their analysis through standard least squares adjustment techniques is presented. A number of characteristic network designs based on present and candidate station locations are chosen. The results of the simulations for each design are presented together with a summary of the conclusions.

Dermanis, A.↗

Validation Methods Research for Fault-Tolerant Avionics and Control Systems Sub-Working Group Meeting. CARE 3 peer review

A computer aided reliability estimation procedure (CARE 3), developed to model the behavior of ultrareliable systems required by flight-critical avionics and control systems, is evaluated. The mathematical models, numerical method, and fault-tolerant architecture modeling requirements are examined, and the testing and characterization procedures are discussed. Recommendations aimed at enhancing CARE 3 are presented; in particular, the need for a better exposition of the method and the user interface is emphasized.

Trivedi, K. S.↗

Compression behavior of delaminated composite plates

The response of delaminated composite plates to compressive in-plane loads was investigated. The delaminated region may be either circular or elliptical, and may be located between any two plies of the laminate. For elliptical delaminations, the axes of the ellipse may be arbitrarily oriented with respect to the applied loads. A model was developed that describes the stresses, strains, and deformation of the sublaminate created by the delamination. The mathematical model is based on a two dimensional nonlinear plate theory that includes the effects of transverse shear deformation. The model takes into account thermal and moisture induced strains, transverse pressures acting on the sublaminate, and contact between the sublaminate and plate. The solution technique used is the Ritz method. A computationally efficient computer implementation of the model was developed. The code can be used to predict the nonlinear-load-strain behavior of the sublaminate including the buckling load, postbuckling behavior, and the onset of delamination growth. The accuracy of the code was evaluated by comparing the model results to benchmark analytical solutions. A series of experiments was conducted on Fiberite T300/976 graphite/epoxy laminates bonded to an aluminum honeycomb core forming a sandwich panel. Either circles or ellipses made from Teflon film were embedded in the laminates, simulating the presence of a delamination. Each specimen was loaded in compression and the strain history of the sublaminate was recorded far into the postbuckling regime. The extent of delamination growth was evaluated by C-scan examination of each specimen. The experimental data were compared to code predictions. The code was found to describe the data with reasonable accuracy. A sensitivity study examined the relative importance of various material properties, the delamination dimensions, the contact model, the transverse pressure differential, the critical strain energy release rate, and the relative growth direction on the buckling load, the postbuckling behavior, and the growth load of the sublaminate.

Peck, Scott O.↗

Characterization and modeling of an advanced flexible thermal protection material for space applications

This paper describes experimental and analytical characterization of a new flexible thermal protection material known as Tailorable Advanced Blanket Insulation (TABI). This material utilizes a three-dimensional ceramic fabric core structure and an insulation filler. TABI is the leading candidate for use in deployable aeroassisted vehicle designs. Such designs require extensive structural modeling, and the most significant in-plane material properties necessary for model development are measured and analytically verified in this study. Unique test methods are developed for damping measurements. Mathematical models are developed for verification of the experimental modulus and damping data, and finally, transverse properties are described in terms of the inplane properties through use of a 12-dof finite difference model of a simple TABI configuration.

Clayton, Joseph P.↗

Internal Physical Features of a Land Surface Model Employing a Tangent Linear Model

The Earth's land surface, including its biomass, is an integral part of the Earth's weather and climate system. Land surface heterogeneity, such as the type and amount of vegetative covering., has a profound effect on local weather variability and therefore on regional variations of the global climate. Surface conditions affect local weather and climate through a number of mechanisms. First, they determine the re-distribution of the net radiative energy received at the surface, through the atmosphere, from the sun. A certain fraction of this energy increases the surface ground temperature, another warms the near-surface atmosphere, and the rest evaporates surface water, which in turn creates clouds and causes precipitation. Second, they determine how much rainfall and snowmelt can be stored in the soil and how much instead runs off into waterways. Finally, surface conditions influence the near-surface concentration and distribution of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The processes through which these mechanisms interact with the atmosphere can be modeled mathematically, to within some degree of uncertainty, on the basis of underlying physical principles. Such a land surface model provides predictive capability for surface variables including ground temperature, surface humidity, and soil moisture and temperature. This information is important for agriculture and industry, as well as for addressing fundamental scientific questions concerning global and local climate change. In this study we apply a methodology known as tangent linear modeling to help us understand more deeply, the behavior of the Mosaic land surface model, a model that has been developed over the past several years at NASA/GSFC. This methodology allows us to examine, directly and quantitatively, the dependence of prediction errors in land surface variables upon different vegetation conditions. The work also highlights the importance of accurate soil moisture information. Although surface variables are predicted imperfectly due to inherent uncertainties in the modeling process, our study suggests how satellite observations can be combined with the model, through land surface data assimilation, to improve their prediction.

Yang, Runhua↗

Experience With Bayesian Image Based Surface Modeling

Bayesian surface modeling from images requires modeling both the surface and the image generation process, in order to optimize the models by comparing actual and generated images. Thus it differs greatly, both conceptually and in computational difficulty, from conventional stereo surface recovery techniques. But it offers the possibility of using any number of images, taken under quite different conditions, and by different instruments that provide independent and often complementary information, to generate a single surface model that fuses all available information. I describe an implemented system, with a brief introduction to the underlying mathematical models and the compromises made for computational efficiency. I describe successes and failures achieved on actual imagery, where we went wrong and what we did right, and how our approach could be improved. Lastly I discuss how the same approach can be extended to distinct types of instruments, to achieve true sensor fusion.

Stutz, John C.↗

Symbolic LTL Compilation for Model Checking: Extended Abstract

In Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) model checking, we check LTL formulas representing desired behaviors against a formal model of the system designed to exhibit these behaviors. To accomplish this task, the LTL formulas must be translated into automata [21]. We focus on LTL compilation by investigating LTL satisfiability checking via a reduction to model checking. Having shown that symbolic LTL compilation algorithms are superior to explicit automata construction algorithms for this task [16], we concentrate here on seeking a better symbolic algorithm.We present experimental data comparing algorithmic variations such as normal forms, encoding methods, and variable ordering and examine their effects on performance metrics including processing time and scalability. Safety critical systems, such as air traffic control, life support systems, hazardous environment controls, and automotive control systems, pervade our daily lives, yet testing and simulation alone cannot adequately verify their reliability [3]. Model checking is a promising approach to formal verification for safety critical systems which involves creating a formal mathematical model of the system and translating desired safety properties into a formal specification for this model. The complement of the specification is then checked against the system model. When the model does not satisfy the specification, model-checking tools accompany this negative answer with a counterexample, which points to an inconsistency between the system and the desired behaviors and aids debugging efforts.

Rozier, Kristin Y.↗

The HUNTER Dynamic Human Reliability Analysis Tool: Development of a Module for Performance Shaping Factors

Human Unimodel for Nuclear Technology to Enhance Reliability (HUNTER) is a framework to support dynamic human reliability analysis (HRA) in communication with a variety of methods and tools. In this paper, how we have developed one of the HUNTER modules, the individual module for evaluating performance shaping factors (PSFs), is introduced. The PSF refers to any factor that influences human performance such as workload or complexity. It has been used for highlighting human errors and adjusting the error probabilities in the existing HRA. We consider the eight PSFs suggested in the Standardized Plant Analysis Risk-HRA (SPAR-H) method, which is the representative HRA method widely used in the nuclear field. To support our dynamic modeling using the eight SPAR-H PSFs, we reviewed human performance literature and developed data-based mathematical models to rate and quantify PSFs in the context of dynamic HRA. We also design the individual module composed of the two functions: 1) the PSF qualification function that automatically or manually evaluates a PSF level, and 2) the PSF quantification function that dynamically or statically determines the PSF multiplier values and integrate them to adjust human error probabilities (HEPs). How each function works with the SPAR-H PSFs and how the PSFs adjust the HEPs are investigated through literature and discussed in this paper.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

A system identification approach for non-intrusive reduced order modeling of radiation-induced photocurrents

In this study, development of compact photocurrent models is currently dominated by analytical techniques that rely on physical assumptions to render the governing equations solvable in a closed form. Violation of these assumptions can reduce the accuracy of the models and/or limit their scope. In this paper we show that system identification of nonlinear state-space systems can serve as an alternative numerical basis for non-intrusive reduced order modeling of photocurrent effects. To that end we develop a compact gray box photocurrent model (GBPM) by using a state-space representation with a low-dimensional latent state equation that mimics a mathematical model for the response of an idealized class of devices to ionizing radiation. In so doing we obtain a model that learns the dynamics of a quantity of interest directly from its measurements without requiring snapshots of the internal device state or its discretized model, and can be inferred from very small data sets. To demonstrate the approach we train the GBPM using a small experimental data set for a Z5236 Zener diode and a small synthetic data set obtained by simulating a synthetic pn-junction device. We then compare the GBPMs with black box models trained on the same data and show that performance of the latter is limited by the size of the data set, while the former are able to achieve excellent performance in both the reproductive and the predictive regimes.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Validation of Power Distribution Models using Load Flow Analysis in an ADMS Environment

Electric utilities are facing the need for better monitoring, analysis, and control of their distribution systems. An accurate mathematical model is a key to both the development of cutting-edge, scalable model-based algorithms and the assessment of emerging technologies such as distributed energy resources (DER) for grid planning and operation. However, the constantly evolving nature of power distribution systems poses challenges to maintaining accurate models. In this paper, we propose a novel load flow based approach to validate power distribution models. Networked equipment models described according to the Common Information Model (CIM) standard and a measurement model are used to formulate the distribution load flow problem. First, a system admittance matrix (Ybus) is derived from device-level CIM parameters. Next, the operational parameters (dynamic Ybus and nodal injections) are extracted from the measurement model using sensor configuration and equipment state. An iterative power flow method is then used to compute nodal voltages and branch flows that are compared against the measurement data to find any inconsistencies in the networked equipment model. This approach is implemented within GridAPPS-D, an open-source standards-based platform for advanced distribution management system (ADMS) application development, and demonstrated on the IEEE 13-bus, 123-bus, and 8500-node test feeders.

Common information model, model validation, power ↗

Sound propagation and absorption in foam - A distributed parameter model.

Liquid-base foams are highly effective sound absorbers. A better understanding of the mechanisms of sound absorption in foams was sought by exploration of a mathematical model of bubble pulsation and coupling and the development of a distributed-parameter mechanical analog. A solution by electric-circuit analogy was thus obtained and transmission-line theory was used to relate the physical properties of the foams to the characteristic impedance and propagation constants of the analog transmission line. Comparison of measured physical properties of the foam with values obtained from measured acoustic impedance and propagation constants and the transmission-line theory showed good agreement. We may therefore conclude that the sound propagation and absorption mechanisms in foam are accurately described by the resonant response of individual bubbles coupled to neighboring bubbles.

Manson, L.↗

Benefits of detailed models of muscle activation and mechanics

Recent biophysical and physiological studies identified some of the detailed mechanisms involved in excitation-contraction coupling, muscle contraction, and deactivation. Mathematical models incorporating these mechanisms allow independent estimates of key parameters, direct interplay between basic muscle research and the study of motor control, and realistic model behaviors, some of which are not accessible to previous, simpler, models. The existence of previously unmodeled behaviors has important implications for strategies of motor control and identification of neural signals. New developments in the analysis of differential equations make the more detailed models feasible for simulation in realistic experimental situations.

Lehman, S. L.↗

Debris Dispersion Model Using Java 3D

This paper describes web based simulation of Shuttle launch operations and debris dispersion. Java 3D graphics provides geometric and visual content with suitable mathematical model and behaviors of Shuttle launch. Because the model is so heterogeneous and interrelated with various factors, 3D graphics combined with physical models provides mechanisms to understand the complexity of launch and range operations. The main focus in the modeling and simulation covers orbital dynamics and range safety. Range safety areas include destruct limit lines, telemetry and tracking and population risk near range. If there is an explosion of Shuttle during launch, debris dispersion is explained. The shuttle launch and range operations in this paper are discussed based on the operations from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA.

Thirumalainambi, Rajkumar↗

Practical Techniques for Modeling Gas Turbine Engine Performance

The cost and risk associated with the design and operation of gas turbine engine systems has led to an increasing dependence on mathematical models. In this paper, the fundamentals of engine simulation will be reviewed, an example performance analysis will be performed, and relationships useful for engine control system development will be highlighted. The focus will be on thermodynamic modeling utilizing techniques common in industry, such as: the Brayton cycle, component performance maps, map scaling, and design point criteria generation. In general, these topics will be viewed from the standpoint of an example turbojet engine model; however, demonstrated concepts may be adapted to other gas turbine systems, such as gas generators, marine engines, or high bypass aircraft engines. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example of gas turbine model generation and system performance analysis for educational uses, such as curriculum creation or student reference.

aerothermodynamics↗

Practical Techniques for Modeling Gas Turbine Engine Performance

The cost and risk associated with the design and operation of gas turbine engine systems has led to an increasing dependence on mathematical models. In this paper, the fundamentals of engine simulation will be reviewed, an example performance analysis will be performed, and relationships useful for engine control system development will be highlighted. The focus will be on thermodynamic modeling utilizing techniques common in industry, such as: the Brayton cycle, component performance maps, map scaling, and design point criteria generation. In general, these topics will be viewed from the standpoint of an example turbojet engine model; however, demonstrated concepts may be adapted to other gas turbine systems, such as gas generators, marine engines, or high bypass aircraft engines. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example of gas turbine model generation and system performance analysis for educational uses, such as curriculum creation or student reference.

aerothermodynamics↗

Nonlinear problems in flight dynamics

A comprehensive framework is proposed for the description and analysis of nonlinear problems in flight dynamics. Emphasis is placed on the aerodynamic component as the major source of nonlinearities in the flight dynamic system. Four aerodynamic flows are examined to illustrate the richness and regularity of the flow structures and the nature of the flow structures and the nature of the resulting nonlinear aerodynamic forces and moments. A framework to facilitate the study of the aerodynamic system is proposed having parallel observational and mathematical components. The observational component, structure is described in the language of topology. Changes in flow structure are described via bifurcation theory. Chaos or turbulence is related to the analogous chaotic behavior of nonlinear dynamical systems characterized by the existence of strange attractors having fractal dimensionality. Scales of the flow are considered in the light of ideas from group theory. Several one and two degree of freedom dynamical systems with various mathematical models of the nonlinear aerodynamic forces and moments are examined to illustrate the resulting types of dynamical behavior. The mathematical ideas that proved useful in the description of fluid flows are shown to be similarly useful in the description of flight dynamic behavior.

Chapman, G. T.↗

SINDA - Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer

Capability to model fluid flow added. SINDA is software system developed to solve physical problems governed by diffusion-type equations mathematically modeled by lumped-parameter representations. Used as general thermal analyzer with resistor-and-capacitor-network representations. Adapted to wide range of problems represented by Fourier, Possion, Laplace, or other differential equations. Written in FORTRAN and Assembler.

Damico, Steve J.↗