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At least 1,423 records · Page 79

Utilization of an agility assessment module in analysis and optimization of preliminary fighter configuration

A study has been conducted to develop and to analyze a FORTRAN computer code for performing agility analysis on fighter aircraft configurations. This program is one of the modules of the NASA Ames ACSYNT (AirCraft SYNThesis) design code. The background of the agility research in the aircraft industry and a survey of a few agility metrics are discussed. The methodology, techniques, and models developed for the code are presented. The validity of the existing code was evaluated by comparing with existing flight test data. A FORTRAN program was developed for a specific metric, PM (Pointing Margin), as part of the agility module. Example trade studies using the agility module along with ACSYNT were conducted using a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet aircraft model. Tile sensitivity of thrust loading, wing loading, and thrust vectoring on agility criteria were investigated. The module can compare the agility potential between different configurations and has capability to optimize agility performance in the preliminary design process. This research provides a new and useful design tool for analyzing fighter performance during air combat engagements in the preliminary design.

Ngan, Angelen↗

Quantity, Revisited: An Object-Oriented Reusable Class

"Quantity", a prototype implementation of an object-oriented class, was developed for two reasons: to help engineers and scientists manipulate the many types of quantities encountered during routine analysis, and to create a reusable software component to for large domain-specific applications. From being used as a stand-alone application to being incorporated into an existing computational mechanics toolkit, "Quantity" appears to be a useful and powerful object. "Quantity" has been designed to maintain the full engineering meaning of values with respect to units and coordinate systems. A value is a scalar, vector, tensor, or matrix, each of which is composed of Value Components, each of which may be an integer, floating point number, fuzzy number, etc., and its associated physical unit. Operations such as coordinate transformation and arithmetic operations are handled by member functions of "Quantity". The prototype has successfully tested such characteristics as maintaining a numeric value, an associated unit, and an annotation. In this paper we further explore the design of "Quantity", with particular attention to coordinate systems.

Funston, Monica Gayle↗

Ares I-X Ground Diagnostic Prototype

Automating prelaunch diagnostics for launch vehicles offers three potential benefits. First, it potentially improves safety by detecting faults that might otherwise have been missed so that they can be corrected before launch. Second, it potentially reduces launch delays by more quickly diagnosing the cause of anomalies that occur during prelaunch processing. Reducing launch delays will be critical to the success of NASA's planned future missions that require in-orbit rendezvous. Third, it potentially reduces costs by reducing both launch delays and the number of people needed to monitor the prelaunch process. NASA is currently developing the Ares I launch vehicle to bring the Orion capsule and its crew of four astronauts to low-earth orbit on their way to the moon. Ares I-X will be the first unmanned test flight of Ares I. It is scheduled to launch on October 27, 2009. The Ares I-X Ground Diagnostic Prototype is a prototype ground diagnostic system that will provide anomaly detection, fault detection, fault isolation, and diagnostics for the Ares I-X first-stage thrust vector control (TVC) and for the associated ground hydraulics while it is in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and on the launch pad. It will serve as a prototype for a future operational ground diagnostic system for Ares I. The prototype combines three existing diagnostic tools. The first tool, TEAMS (Testability Engineering and Maintenance System), is a model-based tool that is commercially produced by Qualtech Systems, Inc. It uses a qualitative model of failure propagation to perform fault isolation and diagnostics. We adapted an existing TEAMS model of the TVC to use for diagnostics and developed a TEAMS model of the ground hydraulics. The second tool, Spacecraft Health Inference Engine (SHINE), is a rule-based expert system developed at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We developed SHINE rules for fault detection and mode identification. The prototype uses the outputs of SHINE as inputs to TEAMS. The third tool, the Inductive Monitoring System (IMS), is an anomaly detection tool developed at NASA Ames Research Center and is currently used to monitor the International Space Station Control Moment Gyroscopes. IMS automatically "learns" a model of historical nominal data in the form of a set of clusters and signals an alarm when new data fails to match this model. IMS offers the potential to detect faults that have not been modeled. The three tools have been integrated and deployed to Hangar AE at KSC where they interface with live data from the Ares I-X vehicle and from the ground hydraulics. The outputs of the tools are displayed on a console in Hangar AE, one of the locations from which the Ares I-X launch will be monitored. The full paper will describe how the prototype performed before the launch. It will include an analysis of the prototype's accuracy, including false-positive rates, false-negative rates, and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. It will also include a description of the prototype's computational requirements, including CPU usage, main memory usage, and disk usage. If the prototype detects any faults during the prelaunch period then the paper will include a description of those faults. Similarly, if the prototype has any false alarms then the paper will describe them and will attempt to explain their causes.

Schwabacher, Mark↗

Identification of Security related Bug Reports via Text Mining using Supervised and Unsupervised Classification

This paper is focused on automated classification of software bug reports to security and non-security related, using both supervised and unsupervised approaches. For both approaches, three types of feature vectors are used. For supervised learning, we experiment with multiple learning algorithms and training sets with different sizes. Furthermore, we propose a novel unsupervised approach based on anomaly detection. The evaluated is based on three NASA datasets. The results show that supervised classification is affected more by the learning algorithms than by feature vectors and using only 25% of the data for training provides as good results as if 90% of data are used for training. Both supervised and unsupervised learning can be used for identification of security bug reports; the former slightly outperforms the latter at the expense of labeling the testing set. In general, the performance differs across datasets, mainly due to the different amounts of security related information.

Goseva-Popstojanova, Katerina↗

Matrix Exponential in C/C++ Version of Vector Radiative Transfer Code IPOL

We use only left eigenvectors to evaluate the matrix exponential in the method of discrete ordinates for the vector radiative transfer equation, which neglects circular polarization, in a plane-parallel atmosphere. This is contrary to a common practice of using the right eigenvectors to evaluate the matrix exponential combined with the left eigenvectors to avoid the inversion of the matrix of the right ones. Two numerical tests for Rayleigh and Aerosol scattering confirm our idea. For better explanation of our approach and for independent crosscheck of our results, we distribute an example in C/C++.

Sergey Korkin↗

Robust Adaptive Decentralized Dynamic State Estimation with Unknown Control Inputs using Field PMU Measurements

This paper proposes a robust adaptive decentralized dynamic state estimation method for power system with unknown inputs of the highly detailed synchronous machine model. The temporal and spatial correlations among the unknown inputs are used to derive a vector auto-regressive model. The latter is further integrated together with state transition and measurement models for joint state and unknown inputs estimation. Thanks to the consideration of implicit cross-correlations between the states and the unknown inputs, only generator terminal voltage and current phasors are needed. Test results on the US WECC system using the field PMU measurements show that the proposed method is able to track both the system dynamic states and unknown controller inputs. These information could significantly benefit the validation and calibration of generator controller parameters.

Zhao, Junbo↗

Data-Driven Robust M-LS-SVR-Based NARX Modeling for Estimation and Control of Molten Iron Quality Indices in Blast Furnace Ironmaking

Optimal operation of an industrial blast furnace (BF) ironmaking process largely depends on a reliable measurement of molten iron quality (MIQ), which is not feasible using the conventional sensors. This paper proposes a novel data-driven robust modeling method for online estimation and control of MIQ indices. First, to completely capture the nonlinear dynamics of the BF process, the nonlinear autoregressive exogenous (NARX) model is constructed for the MIQ indices. Then, considering that the standard least-squares support vector regression (LS-SVR) cannot directly cope with the multi-output problem, the multi- task transfer learning is proposed to design a novel multi-output LS-SVR (M-LS-SVR) for learning of the NARX model. Furthermore, a novel M-estimator is proposed to reduce the interference of outliers and improve the robustness of the M-LS- SVR model. Since the weights of different outlier data are properly given by the weight function, their corresponding contributions on modeling can be properly distinguished, thus a robust modeling result can be achieved. Finally, a novel multi- objective evaluation index on modeling performance is developed by comprehensively considering the root mean square error of modeling and the correlation coefficient on trend fitting, based on which the NSGA-II algorithm is used to globally optimize the model parameters. Both experiments using industrial data and industrial applications illustrate that the proposed method can eliminate the adverse effect caused by the fluctuation of data in BF process efficiently, which indicates its stronger robustness and higher accuracy. Moreover, control testing shows that the developed model can be well applied to realize data-driven control of the BF process.

blast cavities, Control↗

Modeling thin layers of analytes on substrates for spectral analysis: use of solid/liquid n and k values to model reflectance spectra

Since solids are only sometimes seen en masse in a pure bulk form, and for liquids other than water almost never, a capability to model reflectance spectra from analytes deposited on various substrates would be highly advantageous. If available, the real, n ( ν ) , and imaginary, k ( ν ) , components of the complex refractive index, n n + i k , can be used to simulate infrared spectra, accounting for reflection, refraction, and absorption phenomena as a function of wavelength. We focus on using the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) derived n / k vectors for solid and liquid analytes deposited as thin layers on different types of substrates including conductors, such as aluminum, and inorganic dielectrics, such as glass. The model is an adaptation of the Monte Carlo ray trace modeling program, TracePro, extended through the use of its macrolanguage. The model is tested using thin films of organic liquids including silicone oil and no. 2 diesel fuel, as well as organic solids such as caffeine and acetaminophen on aluminum and glass. The predicted spectra for the solid films were compared to experimental hemispherical reflectance data measured using a Fourier transform spectrometer with an integrating sphere. The thickness of the calculated layer is a parameter for predicting the (transflectance) spectra and is obtained using the areal density measured from gravimetric methods to generate the thin-layer samples. Comparison of the calculated spectra with experimental hemispherical reflectance data shows excellent agreement, indicating promise for the use of measured n / k data to synthesize reference spectral data. In particular, accounting for the inhomogeneity of the deposits greatly improved the match with experimental data. Finally, the theoretical modeling shows that for thicker layers (ca. 20 to 100 μm) of typical organics possessing moderately strong k values, the longwave infrared features are often saturated and better spectral contrast is obtained from the overtone/combination bands in the shortwave infrared.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Vector magnetometer design study: Analysis of a triaxial fluxgate sensor design demonstrates that all MAGSAT Vector Magnetometer specifications can be met

The design of the vector magnetometer selected for analysis is capable of exceeding the required accuracy of 5 gamma per vector field component. The principal elements that assure this performance level are very low power dissipation triaxial feedback coils surrounding ring core flux-gates and temperature control of the critical components of two-loop feedback electronics. An analysis of the calibration problem points to the need for improved test facilities.

Adams, D. F.↗

Bending-torsion flutter of a highly swept advanced turboprop

Experimental and analytical results are presented for a bending-torsion flutter phenomena encountered during wind-tunnel testing of a ten-bladed, advanced, high-speed propeller (turboprop) model with thin airfoil sections, high blade sweep, low aspect ratio, high solidity and transonic tip speeds. Flutter occurred at free-stream Mach numbers of 0.6 and greater and when the relative tip Mach number (based on vector sum of axial and tangential velocities) reached a value of about one. The experiment also included two- and five-blade configurations. The data indicate that aerodynamic cascade effects have a strong destabilizing influence on the flutter boundary. The data was correlated with analytical results which include aerodynamic cascade effects and good agreement was found.

Mehmed, O.↗

Design considerations for high-power VHF radar transceivers: Phase matching long coaxial cables using a cable radar

The Poker Flat 49.92-MHz MST radar uses 64 phase-controlled transmitters in individual shelters distributed throughout the antenna array. Phase control is accomplished by sampling the transmitted pulse at the directional coupler of each transmitter and sending the sample pulse back to a phase-control unit. This method requires phase matching 64 long (256 meter) coaxial cables (RG-213) to within several electrical degrees. Tests with a time domain reflectometer showed that attenuation of high frequency components in the long RG-213 cable rounded the leading edge of the reflected pulse so that the cables could only be measured to within 50 cm (about 45 deg at 49.92 MHz). Another measurement technique using a vector voltmeter to compare forward and reflected phase required a directional coupler with unattainable directivity. Several other techniques were also found lacking, primarily because of loss in the long RG-213 cables. At this point it was realized that what was needed was a simple version of the phase-coherent clear-air radar, i.e., a cable radar. The design and operation of this cable are described.

Johnson, P. E.↗

An Eulerian/Lagrangian coupling procedure for three-dimensional vortical flows

A coupled Eulerian/Lagrangian method is presented for the reduction of numerical diffusion observed in solutions of 3D vortical flows using standard Eulerian finite-volume time-marching procedures. A Lagrangian particle tracking method, added to the Eulerian time-marching procedure, provides a correction of the Eulerian solution. In turn, the Eulerian solution is used to integrate the Lagrangian state-vector along the particles trajectories. While the Eulerian solution ensures the conservation of mass and sets the pressure field, the particle markers describe accurately the convection properties and enhance the vorticity and entropy capturing capabilities of the Eulerian solver. The Eulerian/Lagrangian coupling strategies are discussed and the combined scheme is tested on a constant stagnation pressure flow in a 90 deg bend and on a swirling pipe flow. As the numerical diffusion is reduced when using the Lagrangian correction, a vorticity gradient augmentation is identified as a basic problem of this inviscid calculation.

Felici, Helene M.↗

Helioseismic Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of a Rotating Sunspot Beneath the Solar Surface

Time-distance helioseismology is applied to study the subphotospheric structures and dynamics of an unusually fast-rotating sunspot observed by the Michelson Doppler Imager on bead SOH0 in 2000 August. The subsurface sound speed structures and velocity fields are obtained for the sunspot region at different depths from 0 to 12 Mm. By comparing the subsurface sound speed variations with the surface magnetic field, we find evidence for structural twists beneath the visible surface of this active region, which may indicate that magnetic twists often seen at the photosphere also exist beneath the photosphere. We also report on the observation of subsurface horizontal vortical flows that extend to a depth of 5 Mm around this rotating sunspot and present evidence that opposite vortical flows may exist below 9 Mm. It is suggested that the vortical flows around this active region may build up a significant amount of magnetic helicity and energy to power solar eruptions. Monte Carlo simulation has been performed to estimate the error propagation, and in addition the sunspot umbra is masked to test the reliability of our inversion results. On the basis of the three-dimensional velocity fields obtained from the time-distance helioseismology inversions, we estimate the subsurface kinetic helicity at different depths for the first time and conclude that it is comparable to the current helicity estimated from vector magnetograms.

Zhao, Junwei↗

Magnetic Characterization of Micro Shutters for James Web Space Telescope (JWST)

Summary of Research that was part of the grant: NASA NAG5 - 13405: Magnetic Characterization of Micro Shutters for James Web Space Telescope (JWST) Period: May 1 2003-October 31 2005 The above funding resulted in following major achievements related to microshutter system for JWST. 1. The original rectangular pattern of magnetic material was changed into magnetic striped pattern to prevent unnecessary twisting during the actuation. The Original geometry favored magnetic remanence vector being oriented along the longer side of the shutter and thus resulting torque caused out of plane twist. Stripe pattern minimizes the out of plane motion and thus prolongs the life-time of microshutter device. 2. We built a new magnetic system (magnetic rotisserie) allowing an accelerated life test of microshutters at various temperatures. This system identified that shutter are capable to withstand as many as several millions of actuating cycles. Our system also identified fabrication related features, like bowing with temperature, collisions with the frame due to misalignment, delaminating of the light shields due to uncontrolled voltage release and poorly fabricated light shields.

Wasilewski, P.↗

NASA's Black Marble Nighttime Lights Product Suite

NASA's Black Marble nighttime lights product suite (VNP46) is available at 500 meters resolution since January 2012 with data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Platform (SNPP). The retrieval algorithm, developed and implemented for routine global processing at NASA's Land Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS), utilizes all high-quality, cloud-free, atmospheric-, terrain-, vegetation-, snow-, lunar-, and stray light-corrected radiances to estimate daily nighttime lights (NTL) and other intrinsic surface optical properties. Key algorithm enhancements include: (1) lunar irradiance modeling to resolve non-linear changes in phase and libration; (2) vector radiative transfer and lunar bidirectional surface anisotropic reflectance modeling to correct for atmospheric and BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function) effects; (3) geometric-optical and canopy radiative transfer modeling to account for seasonal variations in NTL; and (4) temporal gap-filling to reduce persistent data gaps. Extensive benchmark tests at representative spatial and temporal scales were conducted on the VNP46 time series record to characterize the uncertainties stemming from upstream data sources. Initial validation results are presented together with example case studies illustrating the scientific utility of the products. This includes an evaluation of temporal patterns of NTL dynamics associated with urbanization, socioeconomic variability, cultural characteristics, and displaced populations affected by conflict. Current and planned activities under the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Human Planet Initiative are aimed at evaluating the products at different geographic locations and time periods representing the full range of retrieval conditions.

Suomi-NPP↗

Anomalous chiral transport in heavy ion collisions from Anomalous-Viscous Fluid Dynamics

Chiral anomaly is a fundamental aspect of quantum theories with chiral fermions. How such microscopic anomaly manifests itself in a macroscopic many-body system with chiral fermions, is a highly nontrivial question that has recently attracted significant interest. As it turns out, unusual transport currents can be induced by chiral anomaly under suitable conditions in such systems, with the notable example of the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) where a vector current (e.g. electric current) is generated along an external magnetic field. A lot of efforts have been made to search for CME in heavy ion collisions, by measuring the charge separation effect induced by the CME transport. A crucial challenge in such effort, is the quantitative prediction for the CME signal. In this paper, we develop the Anomalous-Viscous Fluid Dynamics (AVFD) framework, which implements the anomalous fluid dynamics to describe the evolution of fermion currents in QGP, on top of the neutral bulk background described by the VISH2+1 hydrodynamic simulations for heavy ion collisions. With this new tool, we quantitatively and systematically investigate the dependence of the CME signal to a series of theoretical inputs and associated uncertainties. With realistic estimates of initial conditions and magnetic field lifetime, the predicted CME signal is quantitatively consistent with measured change separation data in 200GeV Au–Au collisions. Based on analysis of Au–Au collisions, we further make predictions for the CME observable to be measured in the planned isobaric (Ru–Ru v.s. Zr–Zr) collision experiment, which could provide a most decisive test of the CME in heavy ion collisions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Observational Investigation of Solar Interior and Atmosphere

The Imaging Vector Magnetograph (IVM) has been modified to make it easier to observe at more than one spectral line. The cell holding the blocking filter has been replaced by a four-position filter wheel, so that changing to a different line is a matter of a few minutes rather than the several hours it used to take to disassemble the cell and install a new filter. Three new filters have been obtained, for Na 1589.6 nm, Fe 1630.25 nm, and H 1656.3 nm. The new filters have better bandpass profiles than the ones they replaced: somewhat wider, with flatter tops and steeper wings. This results in a reduction of parasitic light coming from adjacent Fabry-Perot orders, from seven percent to about two percent, and flattens the apparent continuum. The Mees CCD Imaging Spectrograph (MCCD) was upgraded under this grant, with a new control computer and data system. The camera was replaced with a faster, larger-format frame-transfer camera. Final integration of the upgrades is not yet complete, but tests indicate that the system cadence will be improved by a factor of five to ten, while increasing the spatial coverage by a factor of two (depending on observation options). Synoptic observations with the IVM and MCCD continue to be conducted daily, to the extent permitted by the fact that we have a single observer responsible for the observations. The older Haleakala Stokes Polarimeter is also used to make a daily vector magnetogram, normally of the region selected by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) duty scientists. This instrument, however, is showing its age to the extent that its maintenance is becoming something of a challenge. We also run a white light full-disk imager and a video H alpha prominence camera, continuously during times of observations. Of particular interest, we obtained rapid-cadence observations of the 2003 July 15 white light flare with both the IVM and MCCD. The vector magnetograms show no obvious difference between the preflare and postflare configurations. The photospheric magnetogram sequence and H alpha spectra we obtained can be combined with spacecraft observations to construct a rather detailed picture of the events of this flare. Several papers are in preparation.

Kuhn, Jeffrey R.↗

Singleton portals to the twin sector

The mirror twin Higgs framework allows for a natural Higgs mass while being consistent with collider bounds on colored symmetry partners to standard model quarks. This mechanism relies crucially on a discrete symmetry which relates each standard model field to a mirror partner. These partners are charged under gauge groups identical to, but distinct from, those in the standard model. The minimal twin Higgs scenario provides only one low-energy connection between the visible and twin sectors, the light Higgs boson. We present a new class of portals connecting the two sectors, using fields that have no twin partner under the discrete symmetry. Scalar, fermion, and vector states may provide such singleton portals, each with unique features and experimental signatures. The vector portal, in particular, provides a variety of renormalizable interactions relevant for the LHC. We provide concrete constructions of these portals and determine their phenomenology and opportunities to probe the twin sector at the LHC. We also sketch a scenario in which the structure of the twin sector itself can be tested.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗