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At least 1,657 records · Page 92

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NASA NTRS1992

Multi-element array signal reconstruction with adaptive least-squares algorithms

Two versions of the adaptive least-squares algorithm are presented for combining signals from multiple feeds placed in the focal plane of a mechanical antenna whose reflector surface is distorted due to various deformations. Coherent signal combining techniques based on the adaptive least-squares algorithm are examined for nearly optimally and adaptively combining the outputs of the feeds. The performance of the two versions is evaluated by simulations. It is demonstrated for the example considered that both of the adaptive least-squares algorithms are capable of offsetting most of the loss in the antenna gain incurred due to reflector surface deformations.

Kumar, R.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Algorithms and sensitivity analyses for Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II water vapor retrieval

The operational inversion algorithm used for the retrieval of the water-vapor vertical profiles from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) occultation data is presented. Unlike the algorithm used for the retrieval of aerosol, O3, and NO2, the water-vapor retrieval algorithm accounts for the nonlinear relationship between the concentration versus the broad-band absorption characteristics of water vapor. Problems related to the accuracy of the computational scheme, the accuracy of the removal of other interfering species, and the expected uncertainty of the retrieved profile are examined. Results are presented on the error analysis of the SAGE II water vapor retrieval, indicating that the SAGE II instrument produced good quality water vapor data.

Chu, W. P.↗

NASA NTRS1993

On the spectral stability of time integration algorithms for a class of constrained dynamics problems

Incomplete field formulations have recently been the subject of intense research because of their potential in coupled analysis of independently modeled substructures, adaptive refinement, domain decomposition, and parallel processing. This paper discusses the design and analysis of time-integration algorithms for these formulations and emphasizes the treatment of their inter-subdomain constraint equations. These constraints are shown to introduce a destabilizing effect in the dynamic system that can be analyzed by investigating the behavior of the time-integration algorithm at infinite and zero frequencies. Three different approaches for constructing penalty-free unconditionally stable second-order accurate solution procedures for this class of hybrid formulations are presented, discussed and illustrated with numerical examples. The theoretical results presented in this paper also apply to a large family of nonlinear multibody dynamics formulations. Some of the algorithms outlined herein are important alternatives to the popular technique consisting of transforming differential/algebraic equations into ordinary differential equations via the introduction of a stabilization term that depends on arbitrary constants and that influences the computed so1ution.

Farhat, Charbel↗

NASA NTRS1991

An efficient and robust algorithm for two dimensional time dependent incompressible Navier-Stokes equations - High Reynolds number flows

An algorithm is presented for unsteady two-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes calculations. This algorithm is based on the fourth order partial differential equation for incompressible fluid flow which uses the streamfunction as the only dependent variable. The algorithm is second order accurate in both time and space. It uses a multigrid solver at each time step. It is extremely efficient with respect to the use of both CPU time and physical memory. It is extremely robust with respect to Reynolds number.

Goodrich, John W.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A discrete momentum-conserving explicit algorithm for rigid body dynamics analysis

A discrete momentum-conserving explicit time integration is presented. The accurate feature and simplicity of the present algorithm are realized by a mid-point implicit formula for integrating the Euler parameters and a second-order discrete momentum-conserving form of the central difference algorithm, respectively. The accuracy and robustness of the algorithm is demonstrated by example problems which exhibit large overall rigid motions under holonomic constraints.

Park, K. C.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A quadratic-tensor model algorithm for nonlinear least-squares problems with linear constraints

A new algorithm for solving nonlinear least-squares and nonlinear equation problems is proposed which is based on approximating the nonlinear functions using the quadratic-tensor model by Schnabel and Frank. The algorithm uses a trust region defined by a box containing the current values of the unknowns. The algorithm is found to be effective for problems with linear constraints and dense Jacobian matrices.

Hanson, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Time-accurate simulation of a self-excited oscillatory supersonic external flow with a multi-block solution-adaptive mesh algorithm

Results are presented of an investigation of the time-accurate simulation of supersonic unsteady flow oscillations over spike-tipped bodies using the multistage Runge-Kutta scheme coupled with a dynamic solution-adaptive grid algorithm modified for multiblock capabilities. The inviscid fluxes are described by a modified advective upwind split method to obviate the need for artificial dissipation. If a time-varying, solution-adaptive mesh algorithm is incorporated, resolution of the details of the unsteady spike-tipped body flow is improved. The adaptive algorithm is also shown to resolve multiple and diverse features of the flow simultaneously, with the adapted regions in the mesh convecting with these features as they translate.

Ingram, Clint L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Preliminary results from the ASF/GPS ice classification algorithm

The European Space Agency Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-1) satellite carried a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to study the earth's polar regions. The radar returns from sea ice can be used to infer properties of ice, including ice type. An algorithm has been developed for the Alaska SAR facility (ASF)/Geophysical Processor System (GPS) to infer ice type from the SAR observations over sea ice and open water. The algorithm utilizes look-up tables containing expected backscatter values from various ice types. An analysis has been made of two overlapping strips with 14 SAR images. The backscatter values of specific ice regions were sampled to study the backscatter characteristics of the ice in time and space. Results show both stability of the backscatter values in time and a good separation of multiyear and first-year ice signals, verifying the approach used in the classification algorithm.

Cunningham, G.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Confidence range estimate of extended source imagery acquisition algorithms via computer simulations

Spatial acquisition using the sun-lit Earth as a beacon source provides several advantages over active beacon-based systems for deep-space optical communication systems. However, since the angular extend of the Earth image is large compared to the laser beam divergence, the acquisition subsystem must be capable of resolving the image to derive the proper pointing orientation. The algorithms used must be capable of deducing the receiver location given the blurring introduced by the imaging optics and the large Earth albedo fluctuation. Furthermore, because of the complexity of modelling the Earth and the tracking algorithms, an accurate estimate of the algorithm accuracy can only be made via simulation using realistic Earth images. An image simulator was constructed for this purpose, and the results of the simulation runs are reported.

Chen, CHIEN-C.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Tomographic decoding algorithm for a nonoverlapping redundant array

A tomographic reconstruction algorithm is developed for the nonoverlapping redundant array X-ray imaging system whereby the background contributions from out-of-focus planes can be eliminated. The algorithm makes use of two constraints derived from the physical characteristics of the nonoverlapping redundant array system in tandem with the correlation decoding process. It is simple, direct, and noniterative. Tomographic images of computer-generated planar and three-dimensional objects are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Yin, Lo I.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Space marching calculations about hypersonic configurations using a solution-adaptive mesh algorithm

A solution-adaptive marching algorithm is developed and applied to a three-dimensional parabolized Navier-Stokes equation solver. The resulting algorithm obtains accurate solutions by using a spatial-marching/adaptive grid procedure. The adaptation step redistributes grid points line by line in both crossflow directions, with grid point motion controlled by forces analogous to tensional and torsional spring forces with the tensional force proportional to the error measure or weighting functions. The solution-adaptive marching procedure is applied to the hypersonic flow about two generic aircraft configurations. The first of these is an all-body-type geometry with elliptical cross sections and is studied at angles of attack of 0.5, and 15 deg. The second geometry is a generic blended-wing-body design. Results are presented that demonstrate the improvements in flowfield resolution obtainable with the solution-adaptive marching procedure over conventional fixed grid techniques. Computed pitot pressure profiles obtained using the solution-adaptive algorithm show improved agreement with experimental data compared to predictions obtained using a fixed grid.

Harvey, Albert D.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Algorithms For Integrating Nonlinear Differential Equations

Improved algorithms developed for use in numerical integration of systems of nonhomogenous, nonlinear, first-order, ordinary differential equations. In comparison with integration algorithms, these algorithms offer greater stability and accuracy. Several asymptotically correct, thereby enabling retention of stability and accuracy when large increments of independent variable used. Accuracies attainable demonstrated by applying them to systems of nonlinear, first-order, differential equations that arise in study of viscoplastic behavior, spread of acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus and predator/prey populations.

Freed, A. D.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A superlinear interior points algorithm for engineering design optimization

We present a quasi-Newton interior points algorithm for nonlinear constrained optimization. It is based on a general approach consisting of the iterative solution in the primal and dual spaces of the equalities in Karush-Kuhn-Tucker optimality conditions. This is done in such a way to have primal and dual feasibility at each iteration, which ensures satisfaction of those optimality conditions at the limit points. This approach is very strong and efficient, since at each iteration it only requires the solution of two linear systems with the same matrix, instead of quadratic programming subproblems. It is also particularly appropriate for engineering design optimization inasmuch at each iteration a feasible design is obtained. The present algorithm uses a quasi-Newton approximation of the second derivative of the Lagrangian function in order to have superlinear asymptotic convergence. We discuss theoretical aspects of the algorithm and its computer implementation.

Herskovits, J.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A data distributed parallel algorithm for ray-traced volume rendering

This paper presents a divide-and-conquer ray-traced volume rendering algorithm and a parallel image compositing method, along with their implementation and performance on the Connection Machine CM-5, and networked workstations. This algorithm distributes both the data and the computations to individual processing units to achieve fast, high-quality rendering of high-resolution data. The volume data, once distributed, is left intact. The processing nodes perform local ray tracing of their subvolume concurrently. No communication between processing units is needed during this locally ray-tracing process. A subimage is generated by each processing unit and the final image is obtained by compositing subimages in the proper order, which can be determined a priori. Test results on both the CM-5 and a group of networked workstations demonstrate the practicality of our rendering algorithm and compositing method.

Ma, Kwan-Liu↗

NASA NTRS1991

Training product unit neural networks with genetic algorithms

The training of product neural networks using genetic algorithms is discussed. Two unusual neural network techniques are combined; product units are employed instead of the traditional summing units and genetic algorithms train the network rather than backpropagation. As an example, a neural netork is trained to calculate the optimum width of transistors in a CMOS switch. It is shown how local minima affect the performance of a genetic algorithm, and one method of overcoming this is presented.

Janson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Synthesis algorithm of VLSI multipliers for ASIC

Multipliers are critical sub-blocks in ASIC design, especially for digital signal processing and communications applications. A flexible multiplier synthesis tool is developed which is capable of generating multiplier blocks for word size in the range of 4 to 256 bits. A comparison of existing multiplier algorithms is made in terms of speed, silicon area, and suitability for automated synthesis and verification of its VLSI implementation. The algorithm divides the range of supported word sizes into sub-ranges and provides each sub-range with a specific multiplier architecture for optimal speed and area. The algorithm of the synthesis tool and the multiplier architectures are presented. Circuit implementation and the automated synthesis methodology are discussed.

Chua, O. H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Heuristic-based scheduling algorithm for high level synthesis

A new scheduling algorithm is proposed which uses a combination of a resource utilization chart, a heuristic algorithm to estimate the minimum number of hardware units based on operator mobilities, and a list-scheduling technique to achieve fast and near optimal schedules. The schedule time of this algorithm is almost independent of the length of mobilities of operators as can be seen from the benchmark example (fifth order digital elliptical wave filter) presented when the cycle time was increased from 17 to 18 and then to 21 cycles. It is implemented in C on a SUN3/60 workstation.

Mohamed, Gulam↗

NASA NTRS1992

A reliable algorithm for optimal control synthesis

In recent years, powerful design tools for linear time-invariant multivariable control systems have been developed based on direct parameter optimization. In this report, an algorithm for reliable optimal control synthesis using parameter optimization is presented. Specifically, a robust numerical algorithm is developed for the evaluation of the H(sup 2)-like cost functional and its gradients with respect to the controller design parameters. The method is specifically designed to handle defective degenerate systems and is based on the well-known Pade series approximation of the matrix exponential. Numerical test problems in control synthesis for simple mechanical systems and for a flexible structure with densely packed modes illustrate positively the reliability of this method when compared to a method based on diagonalization. Several types of cost functions have been considered: a cost function for robust control consisting of a linear combination of quadratic objectives for deterministic and random disturbances, and one representing an upper bound on the quadratic objective for worst case initial conditions. Finally, a framework for multivariable control synthesis has been developed combining the concept of closed-loop transfer recovery with numerical parameter optimization. The procedure enables designers to synthesize not only observer-based controllers but also controllers of arbitrary order and structure. Numerical design solutions rely heavily on the robust algorithm due to the high order of the synthesis model and the presence of near-overlapping modes. The design approach is successfully applied to the design of a high-bandwidth control system for a rotorcraft.

Vansteenwyk, Brett↗