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At least 1,459 records · Page 81

Development of an unstructured solution adaptive method for the quasi-three-dimensional Euler and Navier-Stokes equations

A general solution adaptive scheme-based on a remeshing technique is developed for solving the two-dimensional and quasi-three-dimensional Euler and Favre-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The numerical scheme is formulated on an unstructured triangular mesh utilizing an edge-based pointer system which defines the edge connectivity of the mesh structure. Jameson's four-stage hybrid Runge-Kutta scheme is used to march the solution in time. The convergence rate is enhanced through the use of local time stepping and implicit residual averaging. As the solution evolves, the mesh is regenerated adaptively using flow field information. Mesh adaptation parameters are evaluated such that an estimated local numerical error is equally distributed over the whole domain. For inviscid flows, the present approach generates a complete unstructured triangular mesh using the advancing front method. For turbulent flows, the approach combines a local highly stretched structured triangular mesh in the boundary layer region with an unstructured mesh in the remaining regions to efficiently resolve the important flow features. One-equation and two-equation turbulence models are incorporated into the present unstructured approach. Results are presented for a wide range of flow problems including two-dimensional multi-element airfoils, two-dimensional cascades, and quasi-three-dimensional cascades. This approach is shown to gain flow resolution in the refined regions while achieving a great reduction in the computational effort and storage requirements since solution points are not wasted in regions where they are not required.

Jiang, Yi-Tsann↗

Reliability of Autonomic Responses and Malaise Across Multiple Motion Sickness Stimulation Tests

There is general agreement that a high degree of variability exists between subjects in their autonomic nervous system responses to motion sickness stimulation. Additionally, a paucity of data exists that examines the variability within an individual across repeated motion sickness tests. Investigators have also examined the relationship of autonomic responses to motion sickness development. These investigations have used analyses at discrete points in time to describe this relationship. This approach fails to address the time course of autonomic responses and malaise development throughout the motion sickness test. Our objectives were to examine the reliability of autonomic responses and malaise using the final minute of the motion sickness test across five testing occasions, to examine the reliability of the change in autonomic responses and the change in malaise across five testing occasions, and to examine the relationship between changes in autonomic responses and changes in malaise level across the entire motion sickness test. Our results indicate that, based on the final minute of testing, the autonomic responses of heart rate, blood volume pulse, and respiration rate are moderately stable across multiple tests. Changes in heart rate, blood volume pulse, respiration rate, and malaise throughout the test duration were less stable across the tests. We attribute this instability to variations in individual susceptibility and the error associated with estimating a measure of autonomic gain.

Stout, Cynthia S.↗

Comparison of remote sensing measurements with a two-scale polarimetric emission and scattering model for sea surfaces

Recently, it has been observed that the brightness temperatures of sea surfaces correlate with the azimuth angle of the ocean wind vector, indicating that ocean wind direction can not only be retrieved from the microwave backscatter, but also from the brightness temperature measurements. In this paper, comparison of the theoretical result calculated from a two-scale emission and scattering model with the Seasat and SSM/I model functions and aircraft measurements is presented and potential applications of microwave polarimetry are discussed. In our two-scale model, the modified reflectivities of large scale surfaces are calculated by extending the small perturbation method to the second order for small scale perturbation with anisotropic directional spectrum. It was found that the modified reflectivities derived from the second-order scattered field agree excellently well with the results obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation technique which numerically calculates the polarimetric reflectivities of one-dimensional random rough surfaces with a power-law spectrum. Without the second-order correction, the modified reflectivities of the rough surfaces are significantly over-estimated and sign errors are observed in the third and fourth Stokes parameters for thermal emissions. The surface spectrum parameters and two-scale cutoff are selected so that the calculated scattering and emission signatures agree with the reported model functions for Seasat and SSM/I. Subsequently, the polarimetric signatures of sea surfaces are illustrated to indicate the possibility of reducing the number of azimuthal looks required for spaceborne sensors in the remote sensing of ocean wind by using the polarimetric information. Furthermore, it is found that contrary to the dependence of backscattering coefficients on incidence angles, polarimetric brightness temperatures display a stronger wind direction dependence in the near nadir-looking direction than away from nadir. Finally, we discuss the potential of a single-look polarimetric radiometer for wind retrieval.

Yueh, S. H.↗

Topographic mapping using a monopulse SAR system

Terrain height variations in mountainous areas cause two problems in the radiometric correction of SAR images: the first being that the wrong elevation angle may be used in correcting for the radiometric variation of the antenna pattern; the second that the local incidence angle used in correcting the projection of the pixel area from slant range to ground range coordinates may vary from that given by the flat earth assumption. We propose a novel design of a SAR system which exploits the monopulse principle to determine the elevation angle and thus the height at the different parts of the image. The key element of such a phase monopulse system is an antenna, which can be divided into a lower and upper half in elevation using a monopulse comparator. In addition to the usual sum pattern, the elevation difference pattern can be generated by a -pi phase shift on one half of the antenna. From the ratios of images radiometrically modulated by the difference and sum antenna pattern in cross-track direction, we can derive the appropriate elevation angle at any point in the image. Together with the slant range we can calculate the height of the platform above this point using information on the antenna pointing and the platform attitude. This operation, repeated at many locations throughout the image, allows us to build up a topographic map of the height of the aircraft above each location. Inversion of this map, using the precisely determined aircraft altitude and the accurate flight path, leads to the actual topography of the imaged surface. The precise elevation of one point in the image could also be used to convert the height map to a topographic map. In this paper, we present design considerations for a corresponding airborne SAR system in X-Band and give estimates of the error due to system noise and azimuth ambiguities as well as the expected performance and precision in topographic mapping.

Zink, M.↗

Optical position measurement for a large gap magnetic suspension system: Design and performance analysis

An optical measurement system (OMS) has been designed and tested for a large gap magnetic suspension system (LGMSS). The LGMSS will be used to study control laws for magnetic suspension systems for vibration isolation and pointing applications. The LGMSS features six degrees of freedom and consists of a planar array of electromagnets that levitate and position a cylindrical element containing a permanent magnet core. The OMS provides information on the location and orientation of the element to the LGMSS control system to stabilize suspension. The hardware design of this optical sensing system and the tracking algorithms are presented. The results of analyses and experiments are presented that define the accuracy limits of the optical sensing system and that quantify the errors in position estimation.

Welch, Sharon S.↗

Satellite laser ranging and gravity field modeling accuracy

Gravitational field mismodeling procedures errors in the estimated orbital motion of near Earth satellites. This effect is studied using a linear perturbation approach following the analysis of Kaula. The perturbations in the orbital position as defined by either orbital elements or Cartesian components are determined. From these perturbations it is possible to ascertain the expected signal due to gravitational mismodeling that would be present in station-to-satellite laser ranging measurements. This expected signal has been estimated for the case of the Lageos satellite and using the predicted uncertainties of the GEM-T1 and GEM-T2 gravity field models. The results indicate that observable signal still exists in the laser range residuals given the current accuracy of the range measurements and the accuracy of the gravity field models.

Rosborough, George W.↗

Parallel, adaptive finite element methods for conservation laws

We construct parallel finite element methods for the solution of hyperbolic conservation laws in one and two dimensions. Spatial discretization is performed by a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method using a basis of piecewise Legendre polynomials. Temporal discretization utilizes a Runge-Kutta method. Dissipative fluxes and projection limiting prevent oscillations near solution discontinuities. A posteriori estimates of spatial errors are obtained by a p-refinement technique using superconvergence at Radau points. The resulting method is of high order and may be parallelized efficiently on MIMD computers. We compare results using different limiting schemes and demonstrate parallel efficiency through computations on an NCUBE/2 hypercube. We also present results using adaptive h- and p-refinement to reduce the computational cost of the method.

Biswas, Rupak↗

Measuring the Hubble constant and our Virgo-infall velocity independently

A sample of spiral galaxies with B(sub T) less than 14.5 located in two local volumes, one in the direction of, but behind, the Virgo Cluster (behind-Virgo volume (BV)) and the other in the opposite direction (anti-Virgo volume (AV)), were used via a Tully-Fisher (TF) relation to derive the following two parameters: H(sub AB), the mean Hubble ratio between AV and BV, and delta v(sub parallel), the peculiar velocity of the Local Group in the direction of the Virgo Cluster (VC) with respect to a uniformly expanding reference system defined by our AV and BV sub-samples. The two sampled volumes, separated by a velocity interval of 5600 km/s, form an antipodal pair. This particular geometry not only allows us to derive the two parameters independently but also reduces the dynamical effect of the Local Supercluster on H(sub AB) without increasing the Malmquist bias. By limiting our sample to spiral galaxies having large velocity widths W(sub R), we effectively reduce the TF scatter and Malmquist bias in our sample. The TF zero point and dispersion were then determined by further correcting for the small residual Malmquist bias. An additional sample of fainter galaxies was used to test for a non-Gaussian tail to the TF disperison. We found no evidence for such a tail and formally give an upper limit of about 18% for the fractional contribution of an unseen tail. The average intrinsic TF dispersion for the dominant Gaussian component is sigma(sub TF)(sup 0) approximately 0.33 mag for W(sub R) approximately equal to or greater than 180 km/s. Our numerical results are delta v(sub parallel) approximately equals 414 +/- 82 km/s and H(sub AB) approximately equals (84.0 +/- 2.4)(1 + epsilon) km/s Mpc, where (1 + epsilon) accounts for any systematic error between the calibrators and the sample galaxies. Various dynamical models were tested to explore the effect on H(sub AB) of the uncertainties in the local velocity field. Constrained by our observed delta v(sub parallel) as well as other observational quantities, we found that the rms deviation from unity of H(sub AB)/H(sub 0) (where H(sub 0) is the Hubble constant for each model) is 5%, making H(sub AB) a good indicator for H(sub 0). Taking this variation as an additional error, our formal estimate for the Hubble constant is H(sub 0) approximately equals (84 +/- 5)(1 + epsilon) km/s Mpc.

Lu, Nanyao Y.↗

An Automated Mapping Processor using C-Band Interferometric SAR Data

We describe a processor which has been implemented to generate map products starting from C-band interferometric data. The first stage of the processor consists of the conventional interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing producing a digital elevation model (DEM) and a SAR brightness image in sensor coordinates. In the second stage of processing, a land use classification map is obtained by using the DEM, brightness, and interferometric correlation layers. Auxiliary layers which include a drainage layer, a height gradient layer, a height error layer, an estimated penetration layer, and a shaded relief layer are also computed. In the final step, all UTM collocated layers are combined in a geographical information system (GIS) which allows for both hard copy map products and digital applications.

Rodriguez, E.↗

An Automated Mapping Processor Using C-Band Interferometric SAR Data

We present the description of a processor which has been implemented to generate map products starting from C-band interferometric data. The first stage of the processor consists of the conventional interferometric SAR processing producing a Digital Elevation Model (DEMs) and a SAR brightness image in sensor coordinates. In the second stage of processing, a land use classification map is obtained by using the DEM, brightness, and interferometric correlation layers. Auxiliary layers which include a drainage layer, a height gradient layer, a height error layer, an estimated penetration layer, and a shaded relief layer are also computed. In the final step, all UTM collocated layers are combined in a GIS system which allows for both hard copy map products and for digital applications.

Rodriguez, E.↗

Estimating Surface Radiation Fluxes in the Arctic from TOVS Brightness Temperatures

A new method for estimating downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes in the Arctic from TOVS brightness temperatures has been developed. The method employs a neural network to bypass computationally intensive inverse and for-ward radiative transfer calculations, Results from two drifting ice camps (CEAREX, LeadEx) and from one coastal station show that downwelling fluxes can be estimated with r.m.s. errors of 20 W/sq m for longwave radiation and 35 W/sq m for shortwave radiation. Mean errors are less than 4 W/sq m and are well within the bounds required for many climate process studies.

Schweiger, A. J.↗

On the Unusually High Temperature of the Cluster of Galaxies 1E 0657-56

A recent X-ray observation of the cluster 1E 0657-56 (z = 0.296) with ASC,4 implied an unusually high temperature of approx. 17 keV. Such a high temperature would make it the hottest known cluster and severely constrain cosmological models since, in a Universe with critical density (Omega = 1) the probability of observing such a cluster is only approx. 4 x 10(exp -5). Here we test the robustness of this observational result since it has such important implications. We analysed the data using a variety of different data analysis methods and spectral analysis assumptions and find a temperature of approx. 11 - 12 keV in all cases, except for one class of spectral fits. These are fits in which the absorbing column density is fixed at the Galactic value. Using simulated data for a 12 keV cluster, we show that a high temperature of approx. 17 keV is artificially obtained if the true spectrum has a stronger low-energy cut-off than that for Galactic absorption only. The apparent extra absorption may be astrophysical in origin, (either intrinsic or line-of-sight), or it may be a problem with the low-energy CCD efficiency. Although significantly lower than previous measurements, this temperature of kT approx. 11 - 12 keV is still relatively high since only a few clusters have been found to have temperatures higher than 10 keV and the data therefore still present some difficulty for an Omega = 1 Universe. Our results will also be useful to anyone who wants to estimate the systematic errors involved in different methods of background subtraction of ASCA data for sources with similar signal-to-noise to that of the IE 0657-56 data reported here.

Yaqoob, Tahir↗

Estimating the Effects of Sensor Spacing on Peak Wind Measurements at Launch Complex 39

This paper presents results of an empirical study to estimate the measurement error in the peak wind speed at Shuttle Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) which results from the measurement being made by sensors 1,300 feet away. Quality controlled data taken at a height of 30 feet from an array of sensors at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) were used to model differences of peak winds as a function of separation distance and time interval. The SLF data covered wind speeds from less than ten to more than 25 knots. Winds measured at the standard LC-39 site at the normal height of 60 feet were used to verify the applicability of the model to the LC-39 situation. The error in the peak wind speed resulting from separation of the sensor from the target site obeys a power law as a function of separation distance and varies linearly with mean wind speed. At large separation distances, the error becomes a constant fraction of the mean wind speed as the separation function reaches an asymptotic value. The asymptotic average of the mean of the absolute difference in the peak wind speed between the two locations is about twelve percent of the mean wind speed. The distribution of the normalized absolute differences is half-Gaussian.

Merceret, Francis J.↗

NASA Ocean Altimeter Pathfinder Project: Data Set Validation - Report 2

The NOAA/NASA Pathfinder program was created by the Earth Observing System (EOS) Program Office to determine how existing satellite-based data sets can be processed and used to study global change. The data sets are designed to be long time-series data processed with stable calibration and community consensus algorithms to better assist the research community. The Ocean Altimeter Pathfinder Project involves the reprocessing of all altimeter observations with a consistent set of improved algorithms, based on the results from TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P), into easy-to-use data sets for the oceanographic community for climate research. Details are currently presented in two technical reports: Report# 1: Data Processing Handbook Report #2: Data Set Validation This report describes the validation of the data sets against a global network of high quality tide gauge measurements and provides an estimate of the error budget. The first report describes the processing schemes used to produce the geodetic consistent data set comprised of SEASAT, GEOSAT, ERS-1, TOPEX/ POSEIDON, and ERS-2 satellite observations.

Koblinsky, C. J.↗

Satellite Remote Sensing of Tropical Precipitation and Ice Clouds for GCM Verification

This project, supported by the NASA New Investigator Program, has primarily been funding a graduate student, Darren McKague. Since August 1999 Darren has been working part time at Raytheon, while continuing his PhD research. Darren is planning to finish his thesis work in May 2001, thus some of the work described here is ongoing. The proposed research was to use GOES visible and infrared imager data and SSM/I microwave data to obtain joint distributions of cirrus cloud ice mass and precipitation for a study region in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. These joint distributions of cirrus cloud and rainfall were to be compared to those from the CSU general circulation model to evaluate the cloud microphysical amd cumulus parameterizations in the GCM. Existing algorithms were to be used for the retrieval of cloud ice water path from GOES (Minnis) and rainfall from SSM/I (Wilheit). A theoretical study using radiative transfer models and realistic variations in cloud and precipitation profiles was to be used to estimate the retrieval errors. Due to the unavailability of the GOES satellite cloud retrieval algorithm from Dr. Minnis (a co-PI), there was a change in the approach and emphasis of the project. The new approach was to develop a completely new type of remote sensing algorithm - one to directly retrieve joint probability density functions (pdf's) of cloud properties from multi-dimensional histograms of satellite radiances. The usual approach is to retrieve individual pixels of variables (i.e. cloud optical depth), and then aggregate the information. Only statistical information is actually needed, however, and so a more direct method is desirable. We developed forward radiative transfer models for the SSM/I and GOES channels, originally for testing the retrieval algorithms. The visible and near infrared ice scattering information is obtained from geometric ray tracing of fractal ice crystals (Andreas Macke), while the mid-infrared and microwave scattering is computed with Mie scattering. The radiative transfer is performed with the Spherical Harmonic Discrete Ordinate Method (developed by the PI), and infrared molecular absorption is included with the correlated k-distribution method. The SHDOM radiances have been validated by comparison to version 2 of DISORT (the community "standard" discrete-ordinates radiative transfer model), however we use SHDOM since it is computationally more efficient.

Evans, K. Franklin↗

Cloud Masking and Surface Temperature Distribution in the Polar Regions Using AVHRR and other Satellite Data

Surface temperature is one of the key variables associated with weather and climate. Accurate measurements of surface air temperatures are routinely made in meteorological stations around the world. Also, satellite data have been used to produce synoptic global temperature distributions. However, not much attention has been paid on temperature distributions in the polar regions. In the polar regions, the number of stations is very sparse. Because of adverse weather conditions and general inaccessibility, surface field measurements are also limited. Furthermore, accurate retrievals from satellite data in the region have been difficult to make because of persistent cloudiness and ambiguities in the discrimination of clouds from snow or ice. Surface temperature observations are required in the polar regions for air-sea-ice interaction studies, especially in the calculation of heat, salinity, and humidity fluxes. They are also useful in identifying areas of melt or meltponding within the sea ice pack and the ice sheets and in the calculation of emissivities of these surfaces. Moreover, the polar regions are unique in that they are the sites of temperature extremes, the location of which is difficult to identify without a global monitoring system. Furthermore, the regions may provide an early signal to a potential climate change because such signal is expected to be amplified in the region due to feedback effects. In cloud free areas, the thermal channels from infrared systems provide surface temperatures at relatively good accuracies. Previous capabilities include the use of the Temperature Humidity Infrared Radiometer (THIR) onboard the Nimbus-7 satellite which was launched in 1978. Current capabilities include the use of the Advance Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) aboard NOAA satellites. Together, these two systems cover a span of 16 years of thermal infrared data. Techniques for retrieving surface temperatures with these sensors in the polar regions have been developed. Errors have been estimated to range from 1K to 5K mainly due to cloud masking problems. With many additional channels available, it is expected that the EOS-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) will provide an improved characterization of clouds and a good discrimination of clouds from snow or ice surfaces.

Comiso, Joey C.↗

Phase Retrieval Using a Genetic Algorithm on the Systematic Image-Based Optical Alignment Testbed

NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center s Systematic Image-Based Optical Alignment (SIBOA) Testbed was developed to test phase retrieval algorithms and hardware techniques. Individuals working with the facility developed the idea of implementing phase retrieval by breaking the determination of the tip/tilt of each mirror apart from the piston motion (or translation) of each mirror. Presented in this report is an algorithm that determines the optimal phase correction associated only with the piston motion of the mirrors. A description of the Phase Retrieval problem is first presented. The Systematic Image-Based Optical Alignment (SIBOA) Testbeb is then described. A Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) is necessary to transfer the incoming wavefront (or estimate of phase error) into the spatial frequency domain to compare it with the image. A method for reducing the DFT to seven scalar/matrix multiplications is presented. A genetic algorithm is then used to search for the phase error. The results of this new algorithm on a test problem are presented.

Taylor, Jaime R.↗

Thermal Characterization of Functionally Graded Materials: Design of Optimum Experiments

This paper is a study of optimal experiment design applied to the measure of thermal properties in functionally graded materials. As a first step, a material with linearly-varying thermal properties is analyzed, and several different tran- sient experimental designs are discussed. An optimality criterion, based on sen- sitivity coefficients, is used to identify the best experimental design. Simulated experimental results are analyzed to verify that the identified best experiment design has the smallest errors in the estimated parameters. This procedure is general and can be applied to design of experiments for a variety of materials.

Cole, Kevin D.↗