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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Factors Controlling a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Derived Root-Zone Soil Moisture Product over The Seward Peninsula of Alaska

Root-zone soil moisture exerts a fundamental control on vegetation, energy balance, and the carbon cycle in Arctic ecosystems, but it is still not well understood in vast, remote, and understudied regions of discontinuous permafrost. The root-zone soil moisture product (30 m resolution) used in this analysis was retrieved from a time-series P-Band (420–440 MHz) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) backscatter observations (August 2017 & October 2017). While similar approaches have been taken to retrieve surface (0 cm to 5 cm) soil moisture from L-Band (1.2 GHz) SAR backscatter, this is one of the first known attempts at reaching the root-zone in permafrost regions. Here, we analyze secondary factors (excluding primary factors, such as precipitation) controlling summer (August) soil moisture at depths of 6 cm, 12 cm, and 20 cm over a 4500 km2 area on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. Using a random forest model, we quantify the impact of topography, vegetation, and meteorological factors on soil moisture distributions. In developing the random forest model, we explore a variety of feature scales (30 m, 60 m, 90 m, 120 m, 180 m, and 240 m), tune hyperparameters (the structure of individual decision trees making up the ensemble including the number and depth of trees), and perform the final feature selection using cross-validated recursive feature elimination. Results suggest that root-zone soil moisture on the Seward Peninsula is primarily controlled by vegetation at 6 cm, but deeper in the soil column topography and meteorological factors, such as predominant winter wind direction and summer insolation, play a larger role. The random forest model accounts for 40% to 60% of the variation observed (R2 = 0.44 at 6 cm, R2 = 0.52 at 12 cm, R2 = 0.58 at 20 cm). These results indicate that vegetation is the dominant control on soil moisture shallow in the soil column, but the impact of vegetation does not extend to deeper layers retrieved from P-Band SAR backscatter.

Dann, Julian↗
NASA NTRS2012

Variable Sampling Mapping

The performance of an optical system (for example, a telescope) is limited by the misalignments and manufacturing imperfections of the optical elements in the system. The impact of these misalignments and imperfections can be quantified by the phase variations imparted on light traveling through the system. Phase retrieval is a methodology for determining these variations. Phase retrieval uses images taken with the optical system and using a light source of known shape and characteristics. Unlike interferometric methods, which require an optical reference for comparison, and unlike Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors that require special optical hardware at the optical system's exit pupil, phase retrieval is an in situ, image-based method for determining the phase variations of light at the system s exit pupil. Phase retrieval can be used both as an optical metrology tool (during fabrication of optical surfaces and assembly of optical systems) and as a sensor used in active, closed-loop control of an optical system, to optimize performance. One class of phase-retrieval algorithms is the iterative transform algorithm (ITA). ITAs estimate the phase variations by iteratively enforcing known constraints in the exit pupil and at the detector, determined from modeled or measured data. The Variable Sampling Mapping (VSM) technique is a new method for enforcing these constraints in ITAs. VSM is an open framework for addressing a wide range of issues that have previously been considered detrimental to high-accuracy phase retrieval, including undersampled images, broadband illumination, images taken at or near best focus, chromatic aberrations, jitter or vibration of the optical system or detector, and dead or noisy detector pixels. The VSM is a model-to-data mapping procedure. In VSM, fully sampled electric fields at multiple wavelengths are modeled inside the phase-retrieval algorithm, and then these fields are mapped to intensities on the light detector, using the properties of the detector and optical system, for comparison with measured data. Ultimately, this model-to-data mapping procedure enables a more robust and accurate way of incorporating the exit-pupil and image detector constraints, which are fundamental to the general class of ITA phase retrieval algorithms.

Smith, Jeffrey, S.↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Methodology for Investigating Adaptive Postural Control

Our research on postural control and human-environment interactions provides an appropriate scientific foundation for understanding the skill of mass handling by astronauts in weightless conditions (e.g., extravehicular activity or EVA). We conducted an investigation of such skills in NASA's principal mass-handling simulator, the Precision Air-Bearing Floor, at the Johnson Space Center. We have studied skilled movement-body within a multidisciplinary context that draws on concepts and methods from biological and behavioral sciences (e.g., psychology, kinesiology and neurophysiology) as well as bioengineering. Our multidisciplinary research has led to the development of measures, for manual interactions between individuals and the substantial environment, that plausibly are observable by human sensory systems. We consider these methods to be the most important general contribution of our EVA investigation. We describe our perspective as control theoretic because it draws more on fundamental concepts about control systems in engineering than it does on working constructs from the subdisciplines of biomechanics and motor control in the bio-behavioral sciences. At the same time, we have attempted to identify the theoretical underpinnings of control-systems engineering that are most relevant to control by human beings. We believe that these underpinnings are implicit in the assumptions that cut across diverse methods in control-systems engineering, especially the various methods associated with "nonlinear control", "fuzzy control," and "adaptive control" in engineering. Our methods are based on these theoretical foundations rather than on the mathematical formalisms that are associated with particular methods in control-systems engineering. The most important aspects of the human-environment interaction in our investigation of mass handling are the functional consequences that body configuration and stability have for the pick up of information or the achievement of overt goals. It follows that an essential characteristic of postural behavior is the effective maintenance of the orientation and stability of the sensory and motor "platforms" (e.g., head or shoulders) over variations in the human, the environment and the task. This general skill suggests that individuals should be sensitive to the functional consequences of body configuration and stability. In other words, individuals should perceive the relation between configuration, stability, and performance so that they can adaptively control their interaction with the surroundings. Human-environment interactions constitute robust systems in that individuals can maintain the stability of such interactions over uncertainty about and variations in the dynamics of the interaction. Robust interactions allow individuals to adopt orientations and configurations that are not optimal with respect to purely energetic criteria. Individuals can tolerate variation in postural states, and such variation can serve an important function in adaptive systems. Postural variability generates stimulation which is "textured" by the dynamics of the human-environment system. The texture or structure in stimulation provides information about variation in dynamics, and such information can be sufficient to guide adaption in control strategies. Our method were designed to measure informative patterns of movement variability.

McDonald, P. V.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Longitudinal and lateral static stability and control characteristics of a 1/6-scale model of a remotely piloted research vehicle with a supercritical wing

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 8-foot transonic pressure tunnel to determine the longitudinal and lateral-directional static stability and control characteristics of a 1/6-scale force model of a remotely piloted research vehicle. The model was equipped with a supercritical wing and employed elevons for pitch and roll control. Test conditions were as follows: Reynolds number of about 6.6 x 10 to the 6th power per meter, variations of sideslip from -6 deg to 6 deg, elevon deflection angle (symmetrically and asymmetrically) from -9 deg to 3 deg, and rudder deflection angle from 0 deg to -10 deg. The model was longitudinally statically stable at angles of attack up to about 7 deg, which is significantly greater than the angle of attack for the cruise condition (approximately 4 deg). In the range of test Mach numbers, the model was directionally stable and had positive effective dihedral, sufficient pitch control, and positive effectiveness of roll and yaw control.

Byrdsong, T. A.↗
DOE OSTI2020

To Dim or Not to Dim: Why Is That Still a Difficult Question?

LED lighting is becoming widely adopted and is displacing most traditional lighting technologies. However, the traditional methods used to control light sources have not been similarly displaced. In an effort to address some of the long-standing weaknesses of one of the most popular control methods, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently released the ANSI C137.1-2019 standard for 0-10V control of LED drivers and fluorescent ballasts. The new standard builds upon previous specifications by providing requirements for some aspects of dimming-curve shape and endpoints. In order to characterize the performance variation found in market-available LED drivers, and to explore the potential impact of ANSI C137.1, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Connected Lighting Test Bed was used to evaluate the response to 0-10V controls signals of 21 different LED outdoor cobrahead luminaires (typically used for street-lighting applications) that claimed dimmability via a 0-10V interface. The results provide insights about how ANSI C137.1 will affect the performance variation currently found among such products.

0-10V, LED dimming, interoperability↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development and assessment of a model predictive controller enabling anticipatory control strategies for a heat-pipe system

To support the reliable and resilient operation of modular reactors and microreactors, anticipatory control strategies have been proposed for achieving faster-than-real-time predictions and decision-making capabilities in anticipation of potential anomalies, including setpoint changes and cyber incidents. Here this work presents how anticipatory control strategies can be implemented via model predictive control (MPC) of a single heat pipe’s temperature. Considering the uncertainty in developing and applying MPC, this work evaluates MPC performance given three different model forms: a linear response surface model, an artificial neural network (ANN), and an autoregressive model with exogenous input (ARX). This work also evaluates the impacts of different input biases and variance on MPC performance in order to account for potential sensor reading variations due to cyber incidents. We observe that nonparametric models such as the ANN and ARX result in more fluctuated control actions compared to the MPC applied to the linear response surface model. However, when the cyber incidents are of a large magnitude, the linear response surface model produces smaller feasible regions than the nonparametric models under identical constraints.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1996

Effects of the solar wind conditions on the global magnetospheric configuration as deduced from data-based field models

The results of data based modeling of the magnetospheric configuration and its response to changes in the solar wind dynamical pressure and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) are described. Previous models did not have a pre-defined magnetopause and were calibrated by the Kp index, and therefore did not correctly model the solar wind effects. Models are presented which include the effects of the solar wind-controlled magnetopause, the region 1 and 2 Birkeland currents, and the interconnection of the magnetospheric and solar wind fields at the boundary. They predict the most significant effects of solar wind variation on the global magnetospheric structure. On the dayside, the region 1 Birkeland currents cause major changes of the magnetic configuration as the IMF turns southward. The tail current intensity is controlled mainly by the pressure of the solar wind, although the influence of the southward IMF is clearly seen. The effects of the IMF-induced interconnection field were found to be significant.

Tsyganenko, N. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

ASDTIC duty-cycle control for power converters

The application of analog signal to discrete interval converter (ASDTIC), a hybrid micromodule, two loop control subsystem, to a switching, stepdown dc to dc converter is described. The power circuitry, interface and ASDTIC subsystems used in this switching regulator were developed to exhibit the improved regulation, transient performance, regulator stability and freedom from the effects of variations in parts characteristics due to environmental changes and aging. ASDTIC can be used with other types of power circuits that use duty-cycle control techniques by simple changes in the interface subsystem. The circuitry and performance characteristics of a +10V dc switching converter as well as that of the ASDTIC micromodule are described. Realization of the ASDTIC hybrid micromodule has been accomplished with a hermetically sealed, beam-lead, bonded/deposited nichrome thin film resistors, discrete capacitors and integrated circuits on dilithic, glazed alumina substrates using 22 feed through terminals in an integrated package.

Lalli, V. R.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Narrowband Rejection of Reaction Wheel and Environmental Disturbances for the WFIRST OMC Testbed

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a NASA observatory with two scientific instruments. The first is the Wide Field Instrument (WFI) designed to perform wide field imaging and surveys of the near infrared (NIR) sky. The second is a coronagraph (CGI) that will enable astronomers to detect and measure properties of planets in other solar systems. The coronagraph requires 0.5 milli-arcsecond (mas) RMS pointing per axis of the line of sight (LOS) to achieve a contrast of 1x10-9. This paper discusses the approach used for achieving this level of pointing performance on the occulting mask coronagraph (OMC) testbed at JPL. This testbed uses a low-order wavefront sensing (LOWFS) camera and fast steering mirror (FSM) to suppress injected LOS jitter and environmental LOS jitter. The injected jitter includes representative broadband spacecraft attitude control system (ACS) LOS motion and tonal LOS jitter caused by the reaction wheel assemblies (RWA). The environmental jitter includes thermal LOS variations and harmonics of the line noise. The LOWFS camera uses high flux from the obscured science target to achieve high rate measurements of the LOS. These measurements are augmented with fictitious RWA tachometer information and an estimate of the line noise frequency. A LOS servo using a combination of feedback and feedforward control is used in the testbed to compensate for all of the disturbance sources and to mitigate jitter caused by in-band camera noise. The feedforward uses a novel robust least mean squares (RLMS) filter algorithm to reject the RWA and line frequency tones. High fidelity models of the sensors, disturbances and actuator are presented in this paper. These models were developed as part of a simulation of the LOS control system. Performance results from the hardware testbed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are discussed in this paper.

Shields, Joel↗
NASA NTRS2000

Hydrogen Biogeochemistry in Anaerobic and Photosynthetic Ecosystems

The simple biochemistry of molecular hydrogen is central to a large number of microbial processes, affecting the interaction of organisms with each other and with the environment. In anoxic sediments, a great majority of microbial redox processes involve hydrogen as a reactant, product or potential by-product. Accordingly, the energetics (thermodynamics) of each of these processes is affected by variations in local H2 concentrations. It has long been established that this effect is important in governing microbe-microbe interactions and there are multiple demonstrations that "interspecies hydrogen transfer" can alter the products of, inhibit/stimulate, or even reverse microbial metabolic reactions. In anoxic sediments, H2 concentrations themselves are thought to be controlled by the thermodynamics of the predominant H2-consuming microbial process. In sediments from Cape Lookout Bight, this relationship quantitatively describes the co-variation of H2 concentrations with temperature (for methanogens and sulfate reducers) and with sulfate concentration (for sulfate reducers). The quantitative aspect is import= for two reasons: 1) it permits the modeling of H2-sensitive biogeochemistry, such as anaerobic methane oxidation or pathways of organic matter remineralization, as a function of environmental controls; 2) for such a relationship to be observed requires that intracellular biochemistry and bioenergetics are being directly expressed in a component of the extracellular medium. H2 could therefore be utilized a non-invasive probe of cellular energetic function in intact microbial ecosystems. Based on the latter principle we have measured down-core profiles of H2 and other relevant physico-chemical parameters in order to calculate the metabolic energy yields (DG) that support microbial metabolism in Cape Lookout Bight sediments. Methanogens in this system apparently function with energy yields significantly smaller than the minimum requirements suggested by pure culture studies. Our recent work has extended the study of hydrogen to cyanobacterial mat communities. The large amounts of reducing power generated during photosynthetic activity carry the potential to contribute a swamping term to the H2 economy of the anaerobic microbial populations within the mat - and thereby to alter the population structure and biogeochemical function of the mat as a whole. In hypersaline microbial mats, we observe a distinct diel cycle in H2 production and a substantial corresponding flux. On an early Earth dominated by microbial mats, this transmission of photosynthetic reducing power may have carried important implications for both biospheric and atmospheric evolution.

Hoehler, Tori M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Optical Analysis of an Ultra-High resolution Two-Mirror Soft X-Ray Microscope

This work has summarized for a Schwarzschild microscope some relationships between numerical aperture (NA), magnification, diameter of the primary mirror, radius of curvature of the secondary mirror, and the total length of the microscope. To achieve resolutions better than a spherical Schwarzschild microscope of 3.3 Lambda for a perfectly aligned and fabricated system. it is necessary to use aspherical surfaces to control higher-order aberrations. For an NA of 0.35, the aspherical Head microscope provides diffraction limited resolution of 1.4 Lambda where the aspherical surfaces differ from the best fit spherical surface by approximately 1 micrometer. However, the angle of incidence varies significantly over the primary and the secondary mirrors, which will require graded multilayer coatings to operate near peak reflectivities. For higher numerical apertures, the variation of the angle of incidence over the secondary mirror surface becomes a serious problem which must be solved before multilayer coatings can be used for this application. Tolerance analysis of the spherical Schwarzschild microscope has shown that water window operations will require 2-3 times tighter tolerances to achieve a similar performance for operations with 130 A radiation. Surface contour errors have been shown to have a significant impact on the MTF and must be controlled to a peak-to-valley variation of 50-100 A and a frequency of 8 periods over the surface of a mirror.

Shealy, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Effect of Helical Slow-Wave Circuit Variations on TWT Cold-Test Characteristics

Recent advances in the state of the art of computer modeling offer the possibility for the first time to evaluate the effect that slow-wave structure parameter variations, such as manufacturing tolerances, have on the cold-test characteristics of helical traveling-wave tubes (TWT's). This will enable manufacturers to determine the cost effectiveness of controlling the dimensions of the component parts of the TWT, which is almost impossible to do experimentally without building a large number of tubes and controlling several parameters simultaneously. The computer code MAFIA is used in this analysis to determine the effect on dispersion and on-axis interaction impedance of several helical slow-wave circuit parameter variations, including thickness and relative dielectric constant of the support rods, tape width, and height of the metallized films deposited on the dielectric rods. Previous computer analyses required so many approximations that accurate determinations of the effect of many relevant dimensions on tube performance were practically impossible.

Kory, Carol L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Effect of Helical Slow-Wave Circuit Variations on TWT Cold-Test Characteristics

Recent advances in the state of the art of computer modeling offer the possibility for the first time to evaluate the effect that slow-wave structure parameter variations, such as manufacturing tolerances, have on the cold-test characteristics of helical traveling-wave tubes (TWT's). This will enable manufacturers to determine the cost effectiveness of controlling the dimensions of the component parts of the TWT, which is almost impossible to do experimentally without building a large number of tubes and controlling several parameters simultaneously. The computer code MAFIA is used in this analysis to determine the effect on dispersion and on-axis interaction impedance of several helical slow-wave circuit parameter variations, including thickness and relative dielectric constant of the support rods, tape width, and height of the metallized films deposited on the dielectric rods. Previous computer analyzes required so many approximations that accurate determinations of the effect of many relevant dimensions on tube performance were practically impossible.

Kory, Carol L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Integrated Laser Characterization, Data Acquisition, and Command and Control Test System

Satellite-based laser technology has been developed for topographical measurements of the Earth and of other planets. Lasers for such missions must be highly efficient and stable over long periods in the temperature variations of orbit. In this innovation, LabVIEW is used on an Apple Macintosh to acquire and analyze images of the laser beam as it exits the laser cavity to evaluate the laser s performance over time, and to monitor and control the environmental conditions under which the laser is tested. One computer attached to multiple cameras and instruments running LabVIEW-based software replaces a conglomeration of computers and software packages, saving hours in maintenance and data analysis, and making very longterm tests possible. This all-in-one system was written primarily using LabVIEW for Mac OS X, which allows the combining of data from multiple RS-232, USB, and Ethernet instruments for comprehensive laser analysis and control. The system acquires data from CCDs (charge coupled devices), power meters, thermistors, and oscilloscopes over a controllable period of time. This data is saved to an html file that can be accessed later from a variety of data analysis programs. Also, through the LabVIEW interface, engineers can easily control laser input parameters such as current, pulse width, chiller temperature, and repetition rates. All of these parameters can be adapted and cycled over a period of time.

Stysley, Paul↗
DOE OSTI2024

Force reduction of friction stir welding and processing of steel

Friction stir welding and processing (FSW&P) is considered as a new fabrication method for canisters and repair of existing dry cask storage system canisters (generally made of austenitic stainless steel). Low heat input compared to fusion joining processes and grain refinement associated with low-temperature FSW&P result in a material with improved mechanical properties and equivalent generalized corrosion performance relative to the base metal. But FSW&P of austenitic stainless steel requires significant tool forge axis force to produce a weld (or a run). Exploratory runs utilizing forge axis force control were conducted to investigate the minimum force required to achieve defect-free runs. The correlation between forge axis force and resultant plunge depth was also investigated. Furthermore, detailed microstructural characterization was conducted to display the microstructural variation within the nugget zone.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1981

Optimal use of electrophysiological indicators of muscular effort and fatigue

Electromyograms (EMG) from working muscles convey information on effort and fatigue. Their application, e.g., to assess the demands of vehicle control tasks, is complicated by the cooperative action of sets of muscles, by both intrinsic and imposed filtering, and by numerous other sources of variation. Fourier analyses of these noise like signals offer one approach to interpretation; downward spectral shifts accompany fatigue. Techniques are being sought (in both time and frequency domains) for further condensing the wideband EMG signals, while retaining essential information, into a concise 'state vector' usable in comparing control system designs.

Updike, O. L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Interaction between Convection and Heat Transfer in Crystal Growth

Crystals are integral components in some of our most sophisticated and rapidly developing industries. Single crystals are solids with the most uniform structures that can be obtained on an atomic scale. Because of their structural uniformity, crystals can transmit acoustic and electromagnetic waves and charged particles with essentially no scattering or interferences. This transparency, which can be selectively modified by controlled additions of impurities known as dopants, is the foundation of modern electronic industry. It has brought about widespread application of crystals in transistors, lasers, microwave devices, infrared detectors, magnetic memory devices, and many other magnets and electro-optic components. The performance of a crystal depends strongly on its compositional homogeneity. For instance, in modern microcircuitry, compositional variations of a few percent (down to a submicron length scale) can seriously jeopardize predicted yields. Since crystals are grown by carefully controlled phase transformations, the compositional adjustment in the solid is often made during growth from the nutrient. Hence, a detailed understanding of mass transfer in the nutrient is essential. Moreover, since mass transfer is often the slowest process during growth, it is usually the rate limiting mechanism. Crystal growth processes are usually classified according to the nature of the parent phase. Nevertheless, whether the growth occurs by solidification from a melt (melt growth), nucleation from a solution (solution growth), condensation from a vapor (physical vapor transport) or chemical reaction of gases (chemical vapor deposition), the parent phase is a fluid. As is with most non-equilibrium processes involving fluids, liquid or vapor, fluid motion plays an important role, affecting both the concentration and temperature gradients at the soli-liquid interface.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1987

Safe microburst penetration techniques: A deterministic, nonlinear, optimal control approach

A relatively large amount of computer time was used for the calculation of a optimal trajectory, but it is subject to reduction with moderate effort. The Deterministic, Nonlinear, Optimal Control algorithm yielded excellent aircraft performance in trajectory tracking for the given microburst. It did so by varying the angle of attack to counteract the lift effects of microburst induced airspeed variations. Throttle saturation and aerodynamic stall limits were not a problem for the case considered, proving that the aircraft's performance capabilities were not violated by the given wind field. All closed loop control laws previously considered performed very poorly in comparison, and therefore do not come near to taking full advantage of aircraft performance.

Psiaki, Mark L.↗