Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Analysis of Variance”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,603 records · Page 89

Equatorial Kelvin wave variability during 1992 and 1993

Temperature and ozone data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument on Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are used to analyze the variability of Kelvin wave activity during the first two years of the UARS mission. The analysis is carried out using the asynoptic mapping technique. Time frequency plots for zonal wavenumbers 1 and 2, at two heights representing the middle stratosphere and the stratopause, respectively, are used to analyze the temporal variability of the waves, and its possible relationship to the equatorial quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and semiannual oscillation (SAO). Kelvin wave activity reaches a maximum during the solstice seasons and almost disappears during the equinoxes, in agreement with previous studies. Eastward propagating variance is estimated for wave periods from 4 to 20 days, at all UARS pressure surfaces currently available for MLS. The semiannual modulation of variance is observed to extend down to the lower limits of the height ranges of the temperature and ozone retrievals. Furthermore, a superposed QBO modulation is detected up to the stratopause. Comparison between the variance in eastward propagating waves and the mean zonal wind shows a possible participation of kelvin waves in the forcing of the QBO. At the stratopause the role of Kelvin waves in forcing the SAO appears to be limited, in agreement with previous results. Between the 21-hPa and 4.6-hPa surfaces there appears to be a transition zone where there is no clear relationship between Kelvin wave activity and mean zonal flow acceleration.

Canziani, Pablo O.↗

A Survey of Mathematical Structures for Lunar Networks

To sustain the current and increasing accessibility of space, a scalable communications infrastructure (i.e. the Solar System Internet, SSI) is necessary. The goal of this paper is to begin the discovery of the fundamental underlying mathematical structure of space networks to help the research community harness these structures for algorithm development and optimization. To ensure the applicability of the research, the approaches are considered through the lens of simulated scenarios inspired by the Artemis Back-to-the-Moon mission set for 2024. We note that any approach to an SSI must fit under the umbrella of Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN), due to celestial mobility, high link latencies, high variance in link latencies, disconnections, lack of end-to-end paths, and so on. These difficulties are exacerbated by the fact that the underlying structure of a space network is a time-evolving network and may experience multiple discontinuities in its topology. In this paper we propose several novel approaches to a mathematical foundation for Delay Tolerant Networking Theory that fall outside the traditional scope of temporal network theory. These techniques include methods from Topological Data Analysis, Dynamic Graph Analysis, Applied Algebraic Geometry, Probability Theory, and Game Theory. Some of these methods include tools adapted to the study of dynamic metric spaces, such as zigzag persistent homology and their higher parameter analogs. We find that several of these methods target desired engineering outcomes such as discovery and automatic sub-netting. While each approach is theoretical, they are also algorithmic in nature and offer immediate practical applications. The paper concludes with comparisons of the various methods along with suggestions for future work.

Delay tolerant networking↗

Self-Consistent Field Methods for Excited States in Strong Magnetic Fields: A Comparison Between Energy - and Variance-based Approaches

An efficient implementation of geometrical derivatives at the Hartree–Fock (HF) and current-density functional theory (CDFT) levels is presented for the study of molecular structure in strong magnetic fields. The required integral derivatives are constructed using a hybrid McMurchie–Davidson and Rys quadrature approach, which combines the amenability of the former to the evaluation of derivative integrals with the efficiency of the latter for basis sets with high angular momentum. In addition to its application to evaluating derivatives of four-center integrals, this approach is also applied to gradients using the resolution-of-the-identity approximation, enabling efficient optimization of molecular structure for many-electron systems under a strong magnetic field. The CDFT contributions have been implemented for a wide range of density functionals up to and including the meta-GGA level with current-density dependent contributions and (range-separated) hybrids for the first time. Illustrative applications are presented to the OH and benzene molecules, revealing the rich and complex chemistry induced by the presence of an external magnetic field. Challenges for geometry optimization in strong fields are highlighted, along with the requirement for careful analysis of the resulting electronic structure at each stationary point. The importance of correlation effects is examined by comparison of results at the HF and CDFT levels. The present implementation of molecular gradients at the CDFT level provides a cost-effective approach to the study of molecular structure under strong magnetic fields, opening up many new possibilities for the study of chemistry in this regime.

Comparison↗

Venus gravity - A harmonic analysis

An improved model of Venusian global gravity has been obtained by fitting an eighteenth-degree and eighteenth-order spherical harmonic series to 78 orbital arcs of high altitude (950-1350 km at periapsis) tracking data and 351 orbital arcs of lower-altitude (150-200 km at periapsis) data from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO). Compared to a recently published tenth-degree model of Mottinger et al. (1985), which is based on the 78 high-altitude arcs only, the current model provides a significant improvement in resolution and fidelity. As a measure of this improvement, it is noted that for the low-altitude arcs alone, the variance of the residuals for the present model is reduced to 19 percent of the data variance, compared to 51 percent for the tenth-degree model. Venus differs significantly from the earth in that it exhibits a significant correlation between long-wavelength topography and gravity. The gravity/topography spectral admittances are inconsistent with either Airy or Pratt isostasy, but are consistent with dynamic support by mantle convection.

Bills, Bruce G.↗

Analysis of modified SMI method for adaptive array weight control

An adaptive array is applied to the problem of receiving a desired signal in the presence of weak interference signals which need to be suppressed. A modification, suggested by Gupta, of the sample matrix inversion (SMI) algorithm controls the array weights. In the modified SMI algorithm, interference suppression is increased by subtracting a fraction F of the noise power from the diagonal elements of the estimated covariance matrix. Given the true covariance matrix and the desired signal direction, the modified algorithm is shown to maximize a well-defined, intuitive output power ratio criterion. Expressions are derived for the expected value and variance of the array weights and output powers as a function of the fraction F and the number of snapshots used in the covariance matrix estimate. These expressions are compared with computer simulation and good agreement is found. A trade-off is found to exist between the desired level of interference suppression and the number of snapshots required in order to achieve that level with some certainty. The removal of noise eigenvectors from the covariance matrix inverse is also discussed with respect to this application. Finally, the type and severity of errors which occur in the covariance matrix estimate are characterized through simulation.

Dilsavor, R. L.↗

Determination of Chemical Freeze-Out Parameters from Net-Kaon Fluctuations at RHIC

We calculate the mean-over-variance ratio of the net-kaon fluctuations in the Hadron Resonance Gas (HRG) Model for the five highest energies of the RHIC Beam Energy Scan (BES) for different particle data lists. We compare these results with the latest experimental data from the STAR collaboration in order to extract sets of chemical freeze-out parameters for each list. We focused on the PDG2012 and PDG2016+ particle lists, which differ largely in the number of resonant states. Furthermore, our analysis determines the effect of the amount of resonances included in the HRG on the freeze-out conditions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Effects of Photovoltaic Module Materials and Design on Module Deformation Under Load

Quasi-static structural finite-element models of an aluminum-framed crystalline silicon photovoltaic module and a glass-glass thin-film module were constructed and validated against experimental measurements of deflection under uniform pressure loading. Specific practices in the computational representation of module assembly were identified as influential to matching experimental deflection observations. Additionally, parametric analyses using Latin hypercube sampling were performed to propagate input uncertainties related to module materials, dimensions, and tolerances into uncertainties in simulated deflection. Sensitivity analyses were performed on the uncertainty quantification datasets using linear correlation coefficients and variance-based sensitivity indices to elucidate key parameters influencing module deformation. Results identified edge tape and adhesive material properties as being strongly correlated to module deflection, suggesting that optimization of these materials could yield module stiffness gains at par with the conventionally structural parameters, such as glass thickness. This exercise verifies the applicability of finite-element models for accurately predicting mechanical behavior of solar modules and demonstrates a workflow for model-based parametric uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis. Finally, applications of this capability include the assessment of field environment loads, derivation of representative loading conditions for reduced-scale testing, and module design optimization, among others.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The structure of sheared turbulence near a plane boundary

An analysis is presented of how a plane boundary affects the structure of turbulence in a sheared free stream. A uniform-shear boundary layer (USBL) is formulated with slip velocity condition at the surface, and inhomogeneous rapid distortion theory is applied. The effects of blocking by the surface on the turbulence structure in USBL is compared with those in the shear-free boundary layer (SFBL). Shear produces highly anisotropic eddies elongated in the flow direction. The vertical velocity variance is reduced with shear at all heights, roughly in proportion to the reduction in the homogeneous value, but the shape of the profile remains unchanged only near the surface. The streamwise integral scales increase with shear, indicating elongation of the streamwise extent of eddies.

Lee, Moon J.↗

Correlated noise in the COBE DMR sky maps

The Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite Differential Radiometer (COBE DMR) sky maps contain low-level correlated noise. We obtain estimates of the amplitude and pattern of the correlated noise from three techniques: angular averages of the covariance matrix, Monte Carlo simulations of two-point correlation functions and direct analysis of the DMR maps. The results from the three methods are mutually consistent. The noise covariance matrix of a DMR sky maps is diagonal to an accuracy of better than 1%. For a given sky pixel, the dominant noise covariance occure with the ring of pixels at an angular separation of 60 deg due to the 60 deg separation of the DMR horns. The mean covariance at 60 deg is 0.45%((sup +0.18)(sub -0.14)) of the mean variance. Additionally, the variance in a given pixel is 0.7% greater than would be expected from a single beam experiment with the same noise properties. Autocorrelation functions suffer from a approximately 1.5 sigma positive bias at 60 deg while cross-correlations have no bias. Published COBE DMR results are not significantly affected by correlated noise.

Lineweaver, C. H.↗

Effects of Orbital Lifetime Reduction on the Long-Term Earth Satellite Population as Modeled by EVOLVE 4.0

The latest update of the NASA orbital debris environment model, EVOLVE 4.0, has been used to study the effect of various proposed debris mitigation measures, including the NASA 25-year guideline. EVOLVE 4.0, which includes updates of the NASA breakup, solar activity, and the orbit propagator models, a GEO analysis option, and non-fragmentation debris source models, allows for the statistical modeling and predicted growth of the particle population >1 mm in characteristic length in LEO and GEO orbits. The initial implementation of this &odel has been to study the sensitivity of the overall LEO debris environment to mitigation measures designed to limit the lifetime of intact objects in LEO orbits. The mitigation measures test matrix for this study included several commonly accepted testing schemes, i.e., the variance of the maximum LEO lifetime from 10 to 50 years, the date of the initial implementation of this policy, the shut off of all explosions at some specified date, and the inclusion of disposal orbits. All are timely studies in that all scenarios have been suggested by researchers and satellite operators as options for the removal of debris from LEO orbits.

Krisko, Paula H.↗

An analysis of carrier phase jitter in an MPSK receiver utilizing map estimation

The use of 8 and 16 PSK TCM to support satellite communications in an effort to achieve more bandwidth efficiency in a power-limited channel has been proposed. This project addresses the problem of carrier phase jitter in an M-PSK receiver utilizing the high SNR approximation to the maximum aposteriori estimation of carrier phase. In particular, numerical solutions to the 8 and 16 PSK self-noise and phase detector gain in the carrier tracking loop are presented. The effect of changing SNR on the loop noise bandwidth is also discussed. These data are then used to compute variance of phase error as a function of SNR. Simulation and hardware data are used to verify these calculations. The results show that there is a threshold in the variance of phase error versus SNR curves that is a strong function of SNR and a weak function of loop bandwidth. The M-PSK variance thresholds occur at SNR's in the range of practical interest for the use of 8 and 16-PSK TCM. This suggests that phase error variance is an important consideration in the design of these systems.

Osborne, William P.↗

Molecular dynamics analysis of particle number fluctuations in the mixed phase of a first-order phase transition

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed for a finite nonrelativistic system of particles with Lennard-Jones potential. We study the effect of liquid-gas mixed phase on particle number fluctuations in coordinate subspace. A metastable region of the mixed phase, the so-called nucleation region, is analyzed in terms of a noninteracting cluster model. Large fluctuations due to spinodal decomposition are observed. They arise due to the interplay between the size of the acceptance region and that of the liquid phase. These effects are studied with a simple geometric model. The model results for the scaled variance of particle number distribution are compared with those obtained from the direct molecular dynamic simulations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

The importance of retaining a phylogenetic perspective in traits-based community analyses

1) Many environmental stressors manifest their effects via physiological processes (traits) that can differ significantly among species and species groups. We compiled available data for three traits related to the bioconcentration of the toxic metal cadmium (Cd) from 42 aquatic insect species representing orders Ephemeroptera (mayfly), Plecoptera (stonefly), and Trichoptera (caddisfly). These traits included the propensity to take up Cd from water (uptake rate constant, ku), the ability to excrete Cd (efflux rate constant, ke), and the net result of these two processes (bioconcentration factor, BCF). 2) Ranges in these Cd bioaccumulation traits varied in magnitude across lineages (some lineages had a greater tendency to bioaccumulate Cd than others). Overlap in the ranges of trait values among different lineages was common and highlights situations where species from different lineages can share a similar trait state, but represent the high end of possible physiological values for one lineage and the low end for another. 3) Variance around the mean trait state differed widely across clades, suggesting that some groups (e.g., Ephemerellidae) are inherently more variable than others (e.g., Perlidae). Thus, trait variability/lability is at least partially a function of lineage. 4) Akaike information criterion (AIC) comparisons of statistical models were more often driven by clade than by other potential biological or ecological explanation tested. Clade-driven models generally improved with increasing taxonomic resolution. 5) Altogether, these findings suggest that lineage provides context for the analysis of species traits, and that failure to consider lineage in community-based analysis of traits may obscure important patterns of species responses to environmental change.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

SU-E-QI-17: Dependence of 3D/4D PET Quantitative Image Features On Noise

Purpose: Quantitative imaging is a fast evolving discipline where a large number of features are extracted from images; i.e., radiomics. Some features have been shown to have diagnostic, prognostic and predictive value. However, they are sensitive to acquisition and processing factors; e.g., noise. In this study noise was added to positron emission tomography (PET) images to determine how features were affected by noise. Methods: Three levels of Gaussian noise were added to 8 lung cancer patients PET images acquired in 3D mode (static) and using respiratory tracking (4D); for the latter images from one of 10 phases were used. A total of 62 features: 14 shape, 19 intensity (1stO), 18 GLCM textures (2ndO; from grey level co-occurrence matrices) and 11 RLM textures (2ndO; from run-length matrices) features were extracted from segmented tumors. Dimensions of GLCM were 256×256, calculated using 3D images with a step size of 1 voxel in 13 directions. Grey levels were binned into 256 levels for RLM and features were calculated in all 13 directions. Results: Feature variation generally increased with noise. Shape features were the most stable while RLM were the most unstable. Intensity and GLCM features performed well; the latter being more robust. The most stable 1stO features were compactness, maximum and minimum length, standard deviation, root-mean-squared, I30, V10-V90, and entropy. The most stable 2ndO features were entropy, sum-average, sum-entropy, difference-average, difference-variance, difference-entropy, information-correlation-2, short-run-emphasis, long-run-emphasis, and run-percentage. In general, features computed from images from one of the phases of 4D scans were more stable than from 3D scans. Conclusion: This study shows the need to characterize image features carefully before they are used in research and medical applications. It also shows that the performance of features, and thereby feature selection, may be assessed in part by noise analysis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

An analysis of scatter decomposition

A formal analysis of a powerful mapping technique known as scatter decomposition is presented. Scatter decomposition divides an irregular computational domain into a large number of equal sized pieces, and distributes them modularly among processors. A probabilistic model of workload in one dimension is used to formally explain why, and when scatter decomposition works. The first result is that if correlation in workload is a convex function of distance, then scattering a more finely decomposed domain yields a lower average processor workload variance. The second result shows that if the workload process is stationary Gaussian and the correlation function decreases linearly in distance until becoming zero and then remains zero, scattering a more finely decomposed domain yields a lower expected maximum processor workload. Finally it is shown that if the correlation function decreases linearly across the entire domain, then among all mappings that assign an equal number of domain pieces to each processor, scatter decomposition minimizes the average processor workload variance. The dependence of these results on the assumption of decreasing correlation is illustrated with situations where a coarser granularity actually achieves better load balance.

Nicol, David M.↗

Nested-hierarchical scene models and image segmentation

An improved model of scenes for image analysis purposes, a nested-hierarchical approach which explicitly acknowledges multiple scales of objects or categories of objects, is presented. A multiple-pass, region-based segmentation algorithm improves the segmentation of images from scenes better modeled as a nested hierarchy. A multiple-pass approach allows slow and careful growth of regions while interregion distances are below a global threshold. Past the global threshold, a minimum region size parameter forces development of regions in areas of high local variance. Maximum and viable region size parameters limit the development of undesirably large regions. Application of the segmentation algorithm for forest stand delineation in TM imagery yields regions corresponding to identifiable features in the landscape. The use of a local variance, adaptive-window texture channel in conjunction with spectral bands improves the ability to define regions corresponding to sparsely stocked forest stands which have high internal variance.

Woodcock, C.↗

Development of Fusion Neutronics Methodology, Software, and Testing Facility in FDS Team

Fusion neutronics including methodology, software, experiments, etc. is studied concerning the generation, utilizing and protection of neutrons in fusion facilities. Achievements have been made in the past decades to solve the new problems fusion neutronics. However there is still some way to go such as following. Automatic modeling method based on CAD has been developed to avoid the heavy burden of manual geometry description. The pre-processing costs much time to simplify the CAD model for converting to Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG), 2D or 3D mesh based geometry. This problem has become a new focus. Deep penetration of radiation shielding is notable problem for fusion. Adaptive variance reduction methods such as Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (CADIS) were developed to accelerate convergence. However the gap still exists between engineering requirements and current methodology. The geometry simplification, homogenizing based tally, error in nuclear data and error propagation in coupled calculation, etc., causes considerable uncertainty, which leads to 'safety factor' applied in simulation results to achieve required safety margin. It can significantly raise the cost and even makes it impractical to initiate the fusion facilities. Uncertainty qualification, error analysis and error propagation problem should be studied. New methodology and software should be validated. For example the (n,p), (n,a), (n,t) cross section of Cu, Fe, W, Ni which is important for evaluation of material radiation damage is absent. The validation of neutronics properties of special components such as first wall, blanket and coil are needed. The D-T fusion neutron generator can directly represent the neutron environment in fusion reactors. However the neutron yield is several orders of magnitudes lower than requirements. To resolve obstacles in fusion neutronics, broad improvements of methodology, software and testing facility have been achieved by FDS Team in recent years and the main progress was introduced in this paper.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

An analysis of the AVE-SESAME I period using statistical structure and correlation functions

Structure and correlation functions are used to describe atmospheric variability during the 10-11 April day of AVE-SESAME 1979 that coincided with the Red River Valley tornado outbreak. The special mesoscale rawinsonde data are employed in calculations involving temperature, geopotential height, horizontal wind speed and mixing ratio. Functional analyses are performed in both the lower and upper troposphere for the composite 24 h experiment period and at individual 3 h observation times. Results show that mesoscale features are prominent during the composite period. Fields of mixing ratio and horizontal wind speed exhibit the greatest amounts of small-scale variance, whereas temperature and geopotential height contain the least. Results for the nine individual times show that small-scale variance is greatest during the convective outbreak. The functions also are used to estimate random errors in the rawinsonde data. Finally, sensitivity analyses are presented to quantify confidence limits of the structure functions.

Fuelberg, H. E.↗