Continuation of theoretical and experimental research on digital adaptive control system, 16 September 1966 - 16 February 1967
Digital adaptive control system
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Digital adaptive control system
Newton-Raphson method generalized for solution of two-point boundary value problems of nonlinear optimal control theory for digital solution
Solar flare measuring system using vidicon TV camera combined with analog computer and digital encoder to produce quantitative time history data
Onboard computer equations for rocket vehicle guidance to elliptical orbit, discussing iteration absence from computations and digital simulation results
Adding calcium increases uniformity of grain growth over a wide range of sintering temperatures and reduces porosity within the grain. Ferrite cores containing calcium have square hysteresis loops and high curie temperatures, making them useful in coincident current memories of digital electronic computers.
Radiation patterns for thermally distorted, 30 ft Applications Technology Satellite parabolic antenna computed using digital techniques
Digital simulation computer stability analysis scheme premised on use of perturbed transient responses
The Apollo 12 photographic observations of clouds produced by venting liquids into space were reduced and analyzed. The number of Baker-Nunn photographs required that film measurement and data processing be automated, and the microdensitometer was adapted to automatic digital operation. Computer programs were prepared to process the image-density measurements. A substantial selection of Apollo 12 data was processed; both hydrogen and oxygen clouds are represented. Some limited data were obtained from Apollo 13 and 14 missions. During the Apollo 12 data analysis, the theory and models of cloud phenomena were refined because the models were initially applied to inferior oxygen data from earlier missions. The reported observations of water dumps from Apollo 12 are also discussed, along with the use of the oxygen and hydrogen data from Apollo 12 photographs with the cloud models.
The author has identified the following significant results. Study has concentrated on the two primary aspects of the project, structural analysis through evaluation of lineaments and circular features and spectral analyses through digital computer-processing techniques. Several previously unrecognized lineaments are mapped which may be the surface manifestations of major fault or fracture zones. Two of these, the Walker Lane and the Midas Trench lineament system, transect the predominantly NNE-NNW-trending moutain ranges for more than 500 km. Correlation of major lineaments with productive mining districts implies a genetic relationship, the 50 circular or elliptical features delineated suggest a related role for Tertiary volcanism. Color-ratio composites have been used to identify limonitic zones and to discriminate mafic and felsic rock by combing diazo color transparencies of three different ratios. EROS Data Center scene identification number for color composite in this report is ER 1 CC 500. Refinement of enhancement procedures for the ratio images is progressing. Fieldwork in coordination with both spectral and structural analyses is underway.
Research has focused on the design and partial implementation of a comprehensive ILLIAC software system for computer-assisted interpretation of multispectral earth resources data such as that now collected by the Earth Resources Technology Satellite. Research suggests generally that the ILLIAC 4 should be as much as two orders of magnitude more cost effective than serial processing computers for digital interpretation of ERTS imagery via multivariate statistical classification techniques. The potential of the ARPA Network as a mechanism for interfacing geographically-dispersed users to an ILLIAC 4 image processing facility is discussed.
A design study of adaptive control logic suitable for implementation in modern airborne digital flight computers was conducted. Two designs are described for an example aircraft. Each of these designs uses a weighted least squares procedure to identify parameters defining the dynamics of the aircraft. The two designs differ in the way in which control law parameters are determined. One uses the solution of an optimal linear regulator problem to determine these parameters while the other uses a procedure called single stage optimization. Extensive simulation results and analysis leading to the designs are presented.
The specifications and functions of the Central Data Processing (CDPF) Facility which supports the Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) are discussed. The CDPF will receive the EOS sensor data and spacecraft data through the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) and the Operations Control Center (OCC). The CDPF will process the data and produce high density digital tapes, computer compatible tapes, film and paper print images, and other data products. The specific aspects of data inputs and data processing are identified. A block diagram of the CDPF to show the data flow and interfaces of the subsystems is provided.
Water quality monitoring possibilities from LANDSAT were demonstrated both for direct readings of reflectances from the water and indirect monitoring of changes in use of land surrounding Swift Creek Reservoir in a joint project with the Virginia State Water Control Board and NASA. Film products were shown to have insufficient resolution and all work was done by digitally processing computer compatible tapes. Land cover maps of the 18,000 hectare Swift Creek Reservoir watershed, prepared for two dates in 1974, are shown. A significant decrease in the pine cover was observed in a 740 hectare construction site within the watershed. A measure of the accuracy of classification was obtained by comparing the LANDSAT results with visual classification at five sites on a U-2 photograph. Such changes in land cover can alert personnel to watch for potential changes in water quality.
The paper describes an experiment consisting of the acceleration of N(+) and N2(+) ions to energies between 0.25 and 1.75 MeV and their injection through a thin carbon foil, whereupon they were charge-state analyzed with an electrostatic analyzer. A foil-covered electrically suppressed Faraday cup, connected to a stepping motor, moved in the plane of the dispersed beams. The Faraday cup current, which was proportional to the number of incident ions, was sent to a current digitizer and computer programmed as a multiscaler. The energy-dependent charge-state fractions, the mean charge and the distribution width were calculated. It was shown that for incident atoms, the charge state distribution appeared to be spread over more charge states, while for the incident molecules, there was a greater fraction of charge states near the mean charge.
The state-of-the-art of automatic multispectral scanner data analysis and interpretation is reviewed. Sources of system variability which tend to obscure the spectral characteristics of the classes under consideration are discussed, and examples of the application of spatial and temporal discrimination bases are given. Automatic processing functions, techniques and methods, and equipment are described with particular attention to those that are applicable to large land surveys using satellite data. The development and characteristics of the Multivariate Interactive Digital Analysis System (MIDAS) for processing aircraft or satellite multispectral scanning data are discussed in detail. The MIDAS system combines the parallel digital implementation capabilities of a low-cost processor with a general purpose PDP-11/45 minicomputer to provide near-real-time data processing. The preprocessing functions are user-selectable. The input subsystem accepts data stored on high density digital tape, computer compatible tape, and analog tape.
Thermocouple probe incorporates small jet of inert gas to cool thermocouple. To measure gas temperatures, cooling jet is turned off momentarily, allowing thermocouple to heat up to near its melting point, then cooling is reapplied. Heating curve is recorded by high speed digital system. Computing system extrapolates final temperature thermocouple would have attained.
Sensitivity and roundoff errors can seriously limit the application of recursive digital filters in practice, particularly when the filters have poles near z = + 1. A filter structure, based on digital incremental computers is proposed, which has low sensitivity, good error characteristics, and simple hardware implementation for pole locations close to z = + 1. Expressions for the roundoff errors are derived and compared to those for conventional structures. A design procedure is suggested to implement the new filter structure given the transfer function. Simulation results are presented.
The application of the step transform subarray processing techniques to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) was studied. The subarray technique permits the application of efficient digital transform computational techniques such as the fast Fourier transform to be applied while offering an effective tool for range migration compensation. Range migration compensation is applied at the subarray level, and with the subarray size based on worst case range migration conditions, a minimum control system is achieved. A baseline processor was designed for a four-look SAR system covering approximately 4096 by 4096 SAR sample field every 2.5 seconds. Implementation of the baseline system was projected using advanced low power technologies. A 20 swath is implemented with approximately 1000 circuits having a power dissipation of from 70 to 195 watts. The baseline batch step transform processor is compared to a continuous strip processor, and variations of the baseline are developed for a wide range of SAR parameters.