THE DYNAMICS OF HUMAN RESTRAINT SYSTEMS
Dynamics of human restraint systems - impact studies
ACCELERATION STRESS↗
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Impact processes and their implications for planetary formation and early evolution
Small impact craters dominate the geomorphology of small planetary bodies. Even Mars has extensive impact-dominated landscapes. The regoliths of the Moon and asteroids are created and maintained by impacts. It is now widely recognized that large impacts (craters 100-1000 km in diameter) are one of the major tectonic elements in the lithospheres of bodies like the Moon, Mercury, Mars and Callisto. The multiring basins these large impacts produce sometimes extend over an entire hemisphere. Such basins may have also affected tectonics during the Earth's hadean era. Although it has long been appreciated that low velocity collisions played a major role in the accretion of planetesimals into planets, recent work indicates a far more profound role for impacts. Studies of the interaction of planetary atmospheres with large impacts, begun in an effort to define the climatological effects of the K-T impactor, suggest that impacts may remove a significant fraction of a planet's atmosphere. Such removal now offers hope of explaining the puzzling systematics of the heavy noble gases in the atmospheres of the Earth, Venus, and Mars.
Melosh, H. J.↗
Impact damage in small diameter graphite/epoxy composite struts
An investigation was performed to study impact induced damage in small-diameter struts made of a composite material with a brittle matrix system. The major focus is on characterizing the impact behavior associated with the barely visible damage. An experimental procedure including ultrasonic inspection, instrumented impact testing, and delamination buckling and residual strength measurements is presented. From the ultrasonic inspection, it is found that for the strut specimens under investigation, the impact energy level for barely visible damage threshold is above that of the internal damage threshold. A 60- to 65-percent reduction in compressive strength was typical for struts subjected to the barely visible impact damage threshold.
Chen, G.-S.↗
Comprehensive Severe Weather Impact Assessment and Monitoring using Synthetic Aperture Radar and Auxiliary Data
Remote sensing datasets, particularly acquired by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors, have become increasingly important in severe weather disaster impact studies given their ability to observe the Earth largely irrespective of weather and sunlight conditions. The reliability of existing SAR change detection products applied on a pair of SAR images is constrained by the limitation of current methods to differentiate and classify disaster specific changes from anthropogenic surface alterations. Moreover, the inherent properties of the sensors, variations in SAR backscatter due to changes in surface conditions, and other factors exacerbate these limitations. We proposed a novel procedure expanding on earlier SAR-based change detection methods to exclude anthropogenic alterations and other sources of ambiguity that might lead to inaccurate mapping of the impacts of severe weather disasters. We applied the proposed procedure that is based on long term interferometric and amplitude-based change detection analyses of Sentinel- 1 SAR imagery to two study sites recently impacted by severe weather disasters (Flooding post severe weather events in urban centers; Hailstorm damage on crops). For the first case study, Sentinel-1 SLC scenes from two flood events in the Houston area (April 2016 flooding event and Hurricane Harvey of August-September 2017) were used to construct a flood map depicting areas repeatedly affected by the flood. Pixels with consistent coherence values in the pre-disaster coherence stack were retained for comparison with the pre- and post-disaster coherence stack and pixels with significant decline (greater than 60%) in coherence values were retained in the final flood map. The findings of the applied technique were calibrated and validated through datasets from NOAA/NWS Service storm reports, aerial imaging (NOAA and Civil Air Patrol), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reporting, and targeted collections of NASA’s L-band UAVSAR data. Findings and products derived from the adopted methodology can be useful in disaster response and mitigation activities.
Gebremichael, Esayas↗
The VIIRS Ocean Data Simulator Enhancements and Results
The VIIRS Ocean Science Team (VOST) has been developing an Ocean Data Simulator to create realistic VIIRS SDR datasets based on MODIS water-leaving radiances. The simulator is helping to assess instrument performance and scientific processing algorithms. Several changes were made in the last two years to complete the simulator and broaden its usefulness. The simulator is now fully functional and includes all sensor characteristics measured during prelaunch testing, including electronic and optical crosstalk influences, polarization sensitivity, and relative spectral response. Also included is the simulation of cloud and land radiances to make more realistic data sets and to understand their important influence on nearby ocean color data. The atmospheric tables used in the processing, including aerosol and Rayleigh reflectance coefficients, have been modeled using VIIRS relative spectral responses. The capabilities of the simulator were expanded to work in an unaggregated sample mode and to produce scans with additional samples beyond the standard scan. These features improve the capability to realistically add artifacts which act upon individual instrument samples prior to aggregation and which may originate from beyond the actual scan boundaries. The simulator was expanded to simulate all 16 M-bands and the EDR processing was improved to use these bands to make an SST product. The simulator is being used to generate global VIIRS data from and in parallel with the MODIS Aqua data stream. Studies have been conducted using the simulator to investigate the impact of instrument artifacts. This paper discusses the simulator improvements and results from the artifact impact studies.
Robinson, Wayne D.↗
Simulation studies of the impact of advanced observing systems on numerical weather prediction
To study the potential impact of advanced passive sounders and lidar temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind observing systems on large-scale numerical weather prediction, a series of realistic simulation studies between the European Center for medium-range weather forecasts, the National Meteorological Center, and the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheric Sciences is conducted. The project attempts to avoid the unrealistic character of earlier simulation studies. The previous simulation studies and real-data impact tests are reviewed and the design of the current simulation system is described. Consideration is given to the simulation of observations of space-based sounding systems.
Atlas, R.↗
Application of Digital Computer Techniques to the Study of the Impact Dynamics of Lunar- Landing Vehicles
Digital computer techniques applied to study of impact dynamics of lunar landing vehicles
LUNAR LANDING MODULE↗
Meteorological satellite products support for project COHMEX
The first year effort focussed on real-time support and satellite data collection during the field phase of COHMEX. Work efforts following the field phase of COHMEX concentrated on post-processing of the real-time data sets, and generation of enhanced, research-quality satellite data sets for selected COHMEX core days. These satellite-derived data sets will augment the special COHMEX conventional data base with high horizontal and temporal resolution information. The data sets will be examined for their usefulness in delineating important elements in the meteorological environment leading to convective activity. In addition, a limited research effort was conducted using the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) 4-d data assimilation system in conjunction with evaluating VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) and His-resolution Interferometer Sounder (HIS) data. The need to address the characteristics of the data types, and the problems they introduce into 4-d assimilation procedures is evident. The HIS instrument was flown aboard an ER-2 aircraft on several occasions during COHMEX. One of the flights was chosen for further study. Processed VAS soundings and COHMEX radiosonde data were also collected for this day. The case study included an evaluation of the HIS and VAS data and an impact study of the data on the assimilation system analysis.
Velden, Christopher S.↗
Geophysics of Small Planetary Bodies
As a SETI Institute PI from 1996-1998, Erik Asphaug studied impact and tidal physics and other geophysical processes associated with small (low-gravity) planetary bodies. This work included: a numerical impact simulation linking basaltic achondrite meteorites to asteroid 4 Vesta (Asphaug 1997), which laid the groundwork for an ongoing study of Martian meteorite ejection; cratering and catastrophic evolution of small bodies (with implications for their internal structure; Asphaug et al. 1996); genesis of grooved and degraded terrains in response to impact; maturation of regolith (Asphaug et al. 1997a); and the variation of crater outcome with impact angle, speed, and target structure. Research of impacts into porous, layered and prefractured targets (Asphaug et al. 1997b, 1998a) showed how shape, rheology and structure dramatically affects sizes and velocities of ejecta, and the survivability and impact-modification of comets and asteroids (Asphaug et al. 1998a). As an affiliate of the Galileo SSI Team, the PI studied problems related to cratering, tectonics, and regolith evolution, including an estimate of the impactor flux around Jupiter and the effect of impact on local and regional tectonics (Asphaug et al. 1998b). Other research included tidal breakup modeling (Asphaug and Benz 1996; Schenk et al. 1996), which is leading to a general understanding of the role of tides in planetesimal evolution. As a Guest Computational Investigator for NASA's BPCC/ESS supercomputer testbed, helped graft SPH3D onto an existing tree code tuned for the massively parallel Cray T3E (Olson and Asphaug, in preparation), obtaining a factor xIO00 speedup in code execution time (on 512 cpus). Runs which once took months are now completed in hours.
Asphaug, Erik I.↗
An operational application of ERTS-1 imagery to the environmental inventory process
A discussion is presented of how The Engineer Agency for Resources Inventories utilized ERTS remotely sensed imagery as a/supplement to airphotos and collateral data for an environmental impact study of the Atchafalaya Basin for the New Orleans engineer district. This single overall inventory permitted a systematic approach and substantial economy for a number of engineering projects for which environmental impact statements would be required. The study area covered approximately 25,000 square miles and included all or part of 36 parishes in Louisiana and 8 counties in Mississippi. It was concluded that as a supplementary source, used in conjunction with airphotos, ERTS had proven itself as a significant means of economy. As a primary source, the Engineer Agency is not yet ready to accept ERTS for their own particular applications.
Oneal, J. D.↗
Linking Indigenous Knowledge and Observed Climate Change Studies
We present indigenous knowledge narratives and explore their connections to documented temperature and other climate changes and observed climate change impact studies. We then propose a framework for enhancing integration of these indigenous narratives of observed climate change with global assessments. Our aim is to contribute to the thoughtful and respectful integration of indigenous knowledge with scientific data and analysis, so that this rich body of knowledge can inform science, and so that indigenous and traditional peoples can use the tools and methods of science for the benefit of their communities if they choose to do so. Enhancing ways of understanding such connections are critical as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment process gets underway.
Alexander, Chief Clarence↗
A RESEARCH PROGRAM TO DEVELOP A 60 ''G'' PERSONNEL RESTRAINT SYSTEM
A 60-g aircrew restraint system - impact studies
SAFETY DEVICE↗
Impacts and environmental catastrophes: A study of the effects of impact events on the climate system
The goal of this work is to investigate the perturbation of the climate system due to large impact events. Impacts are among the most important mechanisms for the evolution, distribution, and destruction of life in the universe. However, the possible climatic effects of an impact were not seriously considered until 1980, when Louis and Walter Alvarez suggested that the profound end-Cretaceous extinction might have been caused by the impact of an asteroid or comet about 10 km in diameter. Since then, the climatic change associated with the end-Cretaceous impact has become one of the most interesting and still unresolved questions in linking the well-known Chicxulub impact event and the end- Cretaceous mass extinction. While the end-Cretaceous impact offers the best-documented case of an impact affecting the Earth's climate and biota, even smaller (and more frequent in time) impacts could introduce significant perturbations of the climate comparable, if not larger, to the largest known volcanic perturbations. We propose to study the mechanical and thermal state of the atmosphere following an impact event. This will be done by using both one-dimensional and three-dimensional climate models. When necessary, modifications of the state-of-the-art general circulation models will b e carried out. We want to use the end-Cretaceous impact event as a case study. This allows us to take advantage of the extensive modeling of this impact event that has already been carried out through a previous Exobiology grant. Furthermore, a large experimental dataset, that can be used to constrain and test our models, is associated with the end-Cretaceous mass extinction (one of the largest of the Phanerozoic) and impact event.
Pierazzo, E.↗
NASA Marshall Impact Testing Facility Capabilities Applicable to Lunar Dust Work
The Impact Testing Facility at Marshall Space Flight Center has several guns that would be of use in studying impact phenomena with respect to lunar dust. These include both ballistic guns, using compressed gas and powder charges, and hypervelocity guns, either light gas guns or an exploding wire gun. In addition, a plasma drag accelerator expected to reach 20 km/s for small particles is under development. Velocity determination and impact event recording are done using ultra-high-speed cameras. Simulation analysis is also available using the SPHC hydrocode.
Evans, Steven W.↗
Simulation studies related to the design of post-FGGE observing systems
The results of three detailed simulation studies are presented. The first study consists of a comparative assessment of the performance of an advanced moisture/temperature sounder (AMTS) being proposed by NASA as a follow-on replacement to the current HIRS-2 operational sounder aboard the NOAA weather satellites. The second study was concerned with assessing the relative accuracies of inferred atmospheric states for idealized lidar wind profiling systems, temperature profiling systems, temperature profiling systems, surface pressure systems, and composite systems. The third study incorporated the above systems into a highly realistic data analysis/forecast cycle from which a series of forecast impact studies were conducted. These studies, taken together, give us a picture of the potential that emerging technoloies can offer in the determination of the basic atmospheric variables required for long-range numerical weather and climate prediction.
Halem, M.↗
HVI Ballistic Performance Characterization of Non-Parallel Walls
The Double-Wall, "Whipple" Shield [1] has been the subject of many hypervelocity impact studies and has proven to be an effective shield system for Micro-Meteoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) impacts for spacecraft. The US modules of the International Space Station (ISS), with their "bumper shields" offset from their pressure holding rear walls provide good examples of effective on-orbit use of the double wall shield. The concentric cylinder shield configuration with its large radius of curvature relative to separation distance is easily and effectively represented for testing and analysis as a system of two parallel plates. The parallel plate double wall configuration has been heavily tested and characterized for shield performance for normal and oblique impacts for the ISS and other programs. The double wall shield and principally similar Stuffed Whipple Shield are very common shield types for MMOD protection. However, in some locations with many spacecraft designs, the rear wall cannot be modeled as being parallel or concentric with the outer bumper wall. As represented in Figure 1, there is an included angle between the two walls. And, with a cylindrical outer wall, the effective included angle constantly changes. This complicates assessment of critical spacecraft components located within outer spacecraft walls when using software tools such as NASA's BumperII. In addition, the validity of the risk assessment comes into question when using the standard double wall shield equations, especially since verification testing of every set of double wall included angles is impossible.
Bohl, William↗
Hypervelocity Impact (HVI): WLE Small-Scale Fiberglass Panel Flat Target C-2 - Volume 4
During 2003 and 2004, the Johnson Space Center's White Sands Testing Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico conducted hypervelocity impact tests on the space shuttle wing leading edge. Hypervelocity impact tests were conducted to determine if Micro-Meteoroid/Orbital Debris impacts could be reliably detected and located using simple passive ultrasonic methods. The objective of Target C-2 was to study impacts through the reinforced carboncarbon (RCC) panels of the Wing Leading Edge. Fiberglass was used in place of RCC in the initial tests. Impact damage was detected using lightweight, low power instrumentation capable of being used in flight.
Gorman, Michael R.↗
Agricultural Breadbaskets Shift Poleward Given Adaptive Farmer Behavior Under Climate Change
Modern food production is spatially concentrated in global “breadbaskets”. A major unresolved question is whether these peak production regions will shift poleward as the climate warms, allowing some recovery of potential climaterelated losses. While agricultural impacts studies to date have focused on currently cultivated land, the Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison Project (GGCMI) Phase 2 experiment allows us to assess changes in both yields and the location of peak productivity regions under warming. We examine crop responses under projected end-of-century warming using 7 process-based models simulating 5 major crops (maize, rice, soybeans, and spring and winter wheat) with a variety of adaptation strategies. We find that in no-adaptation cases, when planting date and cultivar choices are held fixed, regions of peak production remain stationary and yield losses can be severe, since growing seasons contract strongly with warming. When adaptations in management practices are allowed (cultivars that retain growing season length under warming and modified planting dates), peak productivity zones shift poleward and yield losses are largely recovered. While most growing-zone shifts are ultimately limited by geography, breadbaskets studied here move poleward over 600 km on average by end of the century under RCP8.5. These results suggest that agricultural impacts assessments can be strongly biased if restricted in spatial area or in the scope of adaptive behavior considered. Accurate evaluation of food security under climate change requires global modeling and careful treatment of adaptation strategies.
adaptation↗