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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.

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At least 163 records · Page 9

The fortedata R package: open-science datasets from a manipulative experiment testing forest resilience

The fortedata R package is an open data notebook from the Forest Resilience Threshold Experiment (FoRTE) – a modeling and manipulative field experiment that tests the effects of disturbance severity and disturbance type on carbon cycling dynamics in a temperate forest. Package data consist of measurements of carbon pools and fluxes and ancillary measurements to help analyze and interpret carbon cycling over time. Currently the package includes data and metadata from the first three FoRTE field seasons, serves as a central, updatable resource for the FoRTE project team, and is intended as a resource for external users over the course of the experiment and in perpetuity. Further, it supports all associated FoRTE publications, analyses, and modeling efforts. This increases efficiency, consistency, compatibility, and productivity while minimizing duplicated effort and error propagation that can arise as a function of a large, distributed and collaborative effort. More broadly, fortedata represents an innovative, collaborative way of approaching science that unites and expedites the delivery of complementary datasets to the broader scientific community, increasing transparency and reproducibility of taxpayer-funded science. The fortedata package is available via GitHub: https://github.com/FoRTExperiment/fortedata (last access: 19 February 2021), and detailed documentation on the access, used, and applications of fortedata are available at https://fortexperiment.github.io/fortedata/ (last access: 19 February 2021). The first public release, version 1.0.1 is also archived at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4399601 (Atkins et al., 2020b). All data products are also available outside of the package as .csv files: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13499148.v1 (Atkins et al., 2020c).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Metrics for Intercomparison of Remapping Algorithms (MIRA) protocol applied to Earth system models

Abstract. Strongly coupled nonlinear phenomena such as those described by Earth system models (ESMs) are composed of multiple component models with independent mesh topologies and scalable numerical solvers. A common operation in ESMs is to remap or interpolate component solution fields defined on their computational mesh to another mesh with a different combinatorial structure and decomposition, e.g., from the atmosphere to the ocean, during the temporal integration of the coupled system. Several remapping schemes are currently in use or available for ESMs. However, a unified approach to compare the properties of these different schemes has not been attempted previously. We present a rigorous methodology for the evaluation and intercomparison of remapping methods through an independently implemented suite of metrics that measure the ability of a method to adhere to constraints such as grid independence, monotonicity, global conservation, and local extrema or feature preservation. A comprehensive set of numerical evaluations is conducted based on a progression of scalar fields from idealized and smooth to more general climate data with strong discontinuities and strict bounds. We examine four remapping algorithms with distinct design approaches, namely ESMF Regrid (Hill et al., 2004), TempestRemap (Ullrich and Taylor, 2015), generalized moving least squares (GMLS) (Trask and Kuberry, 2020) with post-processing filters, and WLS-ENOR (Li et al., 2020). By repeated iterative application of the high-order remapping methods to the test fields, we verify the accuracy of each scheme in terms of their observed convergence order for smooth data and determine the bounded error propagation using challenging, realistic field data on both uniform and regionally refined mesh cases. In addition to retaining high-order accuracy under idealized conditions, the methods also demonstrate robust remapping performance when dealing with non-smooth data. There is a failure to maintain monotonicity in the traditional L2-minimization approaches used in ESMF and TempestRemap, in contrast to stable recovery through nonlinear filters used in both meshless GMLS and hybrid mesh-based WLS-ENOR schemes. Local feature preservation analysis indicates that high-order methods perform better than low-order dissipative schemes for all test cases. The behavior of these remappers remains consistent when applied on regionally refined meshes, indicating mesh-invariant implementations. The MIRA intercomparison protocol proposed in this paper and the detailed comparison of the four algorithms demonstrate that the new schemes, namely GMLS and WLS-ENOR, are competitive compared to standard conservative minimization methods requiring computation of mesh intersections. The work presented in this paper provides a foundation that can be extended to include complex field definitions, realistic mesh topologies, and spectral element discretizations, thereby allowing for a more complete analysis of production-ready remapping packages.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Lidar measurements of yawed-wind-turbine wakes: characterization and validation of analytical models

Abstract. Wake measurements of a scanning Doppler lidar mounted on the nacelle of a full-scale wind turbine during a wake-steering experiment were used for the characterization of the wake flow, the evaluation of the wake-steering set-up, and the validation of analytical wake models. Inflow-scanning Doppler lidars, a meteorological mast, and the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system of the wind turbine complemented the set-up. Results from the wake-scanning Doppler lidar showed an increase in the wake deflection with the yaw angle and that the wake deflection was not in all cases beneficial for the power output of a downstream turbine due to a bias of the inflow wind direction perceived by the yawed wind turbine and the wake-steering design implemented. Both observations could be reproduced with an analytical model that was initialized with the inflow measurements. Error propagation from the inflow measurements that were used as model input and the power coefficient of a waked wind turbine contributed significantly to the model uncertainty. Lastly, the span-wise cross section of the wake was strongly affected by wind veer, masking the effects of the yawed wind turbine on the wake cross sections.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Tools to perform data reduction of time-of-flight data taken on BL4A (MagRef)—a Jupyter notebook approach

A collection of modules or tools to produce reflectivity profiles from data acquired with unpolarized and polarized neutron beams using the BL4A (MagRef) instrument at the Spallation Neutron Source. The Jupyter notebook approach offers transparency to the user on what is done with the data, and once the event mode data are stored as NumPy binary files empowers the user to perform the steps from their own laptop without the need for Mantid. The notebook offers two options for background subtraction, applies corrections for the wavelength dependence of the polarizer and flipper efficiencies, accounts for Zeeman energy splitting of the spin-flip channels, Qz-bins the data along contours of constant Qz, propagates errors and writes results in text format suitable for analysis with tools such as GenX.

Fitzsimmons, Michael [Oak Ridge Associated Univ., ↗

Differential phase measurements of D-region partial reflections

Differential phase partial reflection measurements were used to deduce D region electron density profiles. The phase difference was measured by taking sums and differences of amplitudes received on an array of crossed dipoles. The reflection model used was derived from Fresnel reflection theory. Seven profiles obtained over the period from 13 October 1971 to 5 November 1971 are presented, along with the results from simultaneous measurements of differential absorption. Some possible sources of error and error propagation are discussed. A collision frequency profile was deduced from the electron concentration calculated from differential phase and differential absorption.

Wiersma, D. J.↗

Geodetic satellite observations in North American (solution NA-9)

A new detailed geoidal map with claimed accuracies of plus or minus 2 meters (on land), based on gravimetric and satellite data, was presented. With the new geoid and the orthometric heights given, more reliable height constraints were calculated and applied. The basic purpose of this experiment was to compute the new solution NA9 by defining the origin of the system, from the point of view of error propagation, in the most favorable position applying inner constraints and imposing new weighted height constraints to all of the stations. The major differences with respect to formerly published adjustments are presented.

Mueller, I. I.↗

A three-station lightning detection system

A three-station network is described which senses magnetic and electric fields of lightning. Directional and distance information derived from the data are used to redundantly determine lightning position. This redundancy is used to correct consistent propagation errors. A comparison is made of the relative accuracy of VLF direction finders with a newer method to determine distance to and location of lightning by the ratio of magnetic-to-electric field as observed at 400 Hz. It was found that VLF direction finders can determine lightning positions with only one-half the accuracy of the method that uses the ratio of magnetic-to-electric field.

Ruhnke, L. H.↗

Notions of analytic vs numerical stability as applied to the numerical calculation of orbits

This paper deals with the implications of 'stability' as applied to the numerical calculation of orbits. The study was motivated by the recent appearance of several proposed transformations of the classical Newtonian equations of motion which 'analytically stabilize' Cowell's method. This report analyzes the basic properties of such stabilizing transformations and shows the removal of the period as a parameter is the key to these transformations and, that although such transformations do not yield global numerical error bounds, the error propagation properties are more favorable - linear vs quadratic growth.

Velez, C. E.↗

The use of back corrections in multistep methods of numerical integration

Generalized multistep methods for the numerical solution of nonlinear systems of ordinary differential equations are introduced which allow the correction of previously computed values of the solution at internal points of the grid. These methods are shown to possess enhanced numerical stability. Preliminary numerical results indicate that for some satellite orbit problems these methods also possess greater overall efficiency. A uniformly converging theory of error propagation is presented which is valid for nonasymptotic values of the step size. Experimental results are seen to conform with theory.

Beaudet, P.↗

Redundancy management of the Space Shuttle inertial measurement units

A description is given of the inertial measurement unit (IMU) redundancy management (RM) techniques for automatic in-flight monitoring of inertial instrument performance by the Space Shuttles primary onboard guidance, navigation, and control computers. The techniques and rationale for detecting and identifying faulty instruments are discussed. Special attention is given to the design philosophy, thresholds, and error propagation characteristics of the IMU RM system. The derivation of thresholds is described from the viewpoint of reliability and the safety of the vehicle and crew.

Thibodeau, J. R.↗

Care 3 phase 2 report, maintenance manual

CARE 3 (Computer-Aided Reliability Estimation, version three) is a computer program designed to help estimate the reliability of complex, redundant systems. Although the program can model a wide variety of redundant structures, it was developed specifically for fault-tolerant avionics systems--systems distinguished by the need for extremely reliable performance since a system failure could well result in the loss of human life. It substantially generalizes the class of redundant configurations that could be accommodated, and includes a coverage model to determine the various coverage probabilities as a function of the applicable fault recovery mechanisms (detection delay, diagnostic scheduling interval, isolation and recovery delay, etc.). CARE 3 further generalizes the class of system structures that can be modeled and greatly expands the coverage model to take into account such effects as intermittent and transient faults, latent faults, error propagation, etc.

Bryant, L. A.↗

The CARE 3 Phase 3 Report: Test and Evaluation

CARE 3 (Computer-Aided Reliability Estimation, version three) is a computer program designed to help estimate the reliability of complex, redundant systems; although the program can model a wide variety of redundant structures, it was developed specifically for fault-tolerant avionics systems, systems distinguished by the need for extremely reliable performance since a system failure could well result in the loss of human life. CARE 3 further generalizes the class of system structures that can be modeled and greatly expands the coverage model to take into account such effects as intermittent and transient faults, latent faults, error propagation, etc. The initial test and evaluation of CARE 3 are reported.

Stiffler, J. J.↗

CARE 3 phase 2 report - mathematical description

CARE III (Computer-Aided Reliability Estimation, version three) a computer program designed to help estimate the reliability of complex, redundant systems is described. Although the program can model a wide variety of redundant structures, it was developed specifically for fault tolerant avionics systems. CARE III generalizes the class of system structures that can be modeled and greatly expands the coverage model to take into account such effects as intermittent and transient faults, latent faults, and error propagation.

Stiffler, J. J.↗

OSTA-1 lessons learned and recommendations for future payloads

Five remote sensing experiments, together with one air pollution and one bioengineering experiment, were incorporated into the first Space Shuttle scientific payload of the NASA Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications (OSTA-1). The instrument package, experimental procedures, and specialized personnel teams all performed satisfactorily. Attention is presently given to the lessons learned during the OSTA-1-incorporating mission, STS-2 of November 12, 1981. Payload test and integration teams should never take unfamiliar facilities for granted. Training, especially if it employs hands-on experience with full-scale mockups and mission simulations, is found to be highly effective. Ephemeris data is too important to trust to table-top calculators, since errors propagate in repeated calculations. Terminal access to an off-line computer is required.

Baldwin, R. R.↗