Design of a total energy control autopilot using constrained parameter optimization
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Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) processes maps of vertical-column abundances of water vapor in atmosphere with good precision and spatial resolution. Maps provide information for meteorology, climatology, and agriculture.
Iterative error correction of asymptotically large associative memories is equivalent to a one-step learning rule. This rule is the inverse of the activation function of the memory. Spectral representations of nonlinear activation functions are used to obtain the inverse in closed form for Sparse Distributed Memory, Selected-Coordinate Design, and Radial Basis Functions.
A diagnostic expert system to improve the quality of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) construction drawings and specification is described. C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) and computer aided design layering standards are used in an expert system to check and coordinate construction drawings and specifications to eliminate errors and omissions.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the use of Taguchi's Design of Experiment Methods to improve the effectiveness of this and future parametric studies. Taguchi Methods will be applied in addition to the typical approach to provide a mechanism for comparing the results and the cost or effort necessary to complete the studies. It is anticipated that results of this study should include an improved systematic analysis process, an increase in information obtained at a lower cost, and a more robust, cost effective vehicle design.
Atomic oxygen and solar radiation exposures were determined analytically for rows, longerons, and end bays of the LDEF. Calculated atomic oxygen exposures are based on an analytical model that accounts for the effects of thermal molecular velocity, atmospheric temperature, number density, spacecraft velocity, incidence angle, and atmospheric rotation. Results also incorporate variations in solar activity, geomagnetic index, and orbital parameters occurring over the six year flight of the spacecraft. Solar radiation exposure calculations are based on the form factors reported in the Solar Illumination Data Package prepared by NASA Langley. The earth albedo value for these calculations was based on the Nimbus 7 earth radiation data set. Summary charts for both atomic oxygen and solar radiation exposure are presented to facilitate the use of the data generated by LDEF experimenters.
The opportunity to compare cosmic radiation effects caused during long and short duration exposure flights in biological objects are limited until now, and data obtained so far are very rare and insufficient. Because of the very long exposure of the experiment during the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) mission (approximately 2000 days) structural changes of the hardware material can be expected which will influence its biocompatibility and, thus, will interact with the radiobiological effects. The aim of the experiment flown on LDEF was a detailed investigation of biological effects caused by cosmic radiation especially of particles of high atomic number Z and high energy. The flight hardware consisted of standard BIOSTACK containers; in these containers a special sandwich construction consisted of visual plastic detectors with seed rsp. spore layers interlocked.
The goals of the research were to provide a fundamental science basis for why the bonding of Cu to graphite is weak, to critically evaluate the previous analysis of the wetting studies with particular regard to the values used for the surface energies of Cu and graphite, and to make recommendations for future experiments or other studies which could advance the understanding and solution of this technological problem. First principles electronic structure calculations were used to study the problem. These are based on density functional theory in the local density approximation and the use of the linear muffin-tin orbital band structure method. Calculations were performed for graphite monolayers, single crystal graphite with the hexagonal AB stacking, bulk Cu, Cu(111) surface, and Cu/graphite superlattices. The study is limited to the basal plane of graphite because this is the graphite plane exposed to Cu and graphite surface energies and combined with the measured contact angles to evaluate the experimental adhesion energy.
The satellite method of Gautier et al. (1980) is applied to GOES-6 radiometer data to determine the availability of quantitative data on the temporal variability of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) and insolation. Comparisons with in situ measurements indicate that the modified satellite method yields insolation and PAR data with small biases and standard errors of 9 and 6.5 percent respectively. It is shown that large-scale satellite climatologies of insolation can be converted into climatologies of PAR to study photosynthetic activity on a global scale.
Correlation statistics are used to investigate some of the characteristic temporal and spatial scales of the day-to-day changes in cloudiness which tend to dominate the variance of outgoing LW radiation and SW radiation fields. The temporal decorrelation time of the radiation field as measured by the lag time required for the autocorrelation of a region to fall to 0.4 is about 12 hours in the midlatitude storm track. Decorrelation time approaches one to two days when the averaging area of the region is increased significantly. Decorrelation times are also longer in the equatorial and tropical regions. The short decorrelation times are a manifestation of the creation, breakup, and movement of cloud systems. Cross-correlation analysis of the radiation field in the midlatitude storm track region and the subtropical dry zone shows advection speeds that range from about 25 m/sec in the storm tracks to about 8 m/sec in the subtropical dry zone.
The relationship between narrowband and broadband thermal radiances is explored to determine the accuracy of outgoing longwave radiation derived from narrowband data. Infrared window (10.2-12.2 microns) data from the Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite are correlated with longwave (5.0-50.0 microns) data from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment. A simple quadratic fit between the narrowband and longwave fluxes results in standard errors of 4.4-5.3 percent for data that are matched closely in time and space. The use of matched regional flux data with temporal differences up to 59 minutes yields standard errors of 4.1-5.4 percent. About 30 percent of the error may be attributed to limb darkening and spatial and temporal differences in the matched fluxes. The relationship shows a statistically significant dependence on the relative humidity of the atmosphere above the radiating surface. Although this dependency accounts for only about 1 percent of the standard error, it reduces the monthly mean regional errors by more than 10 percent. Data taken over land produced a relationship slightly different from data taken over water. The differences appear to be primarily due to daytime heating of the land surface.
Global trends in both stratospheric column ozone and as a function of altitude are derived on the basis of SAGE I/II ozone data from the period 1979-1991. A statistical model containing quasi-biennial, seasonal, and semiannual oscillations, a linear component, and a first-order autoregressive noise process was fit to the time series of SAGE I/II monthly zonal mean data. The linear trend in column ozone above 17-km altitude, averaged between 65 deg S and 65 deg N, is -0.30 +/-0.19 percent/yr, or -3.6 percent over the time period February 1979 through April 1991. The data show that the column trend above 17 km is nearly zero in the tropics and increases towards the high latitudes with values of -0.6 percent/yr at 60 deg S and -0.35 percent/yr at 60 deg N. Both these results are in agreement with the recent TOMS results. The profile trend analyses show that the column ozone losses are occurring below 25 km, with most of the loss coming from the region between 17 and 20 km. Negative trend values on the order of -2 percent/yr are found at 17 km in midlatitudes.
An account is given of an Advanced Design Program, developed under the auspices of NASA/USRA, which uses a six quarter-hour multidisciplinary systems-design course to teach spacecraft design. The course integrates engineering skills with system-design principles, while emphasizing written and oral communications. The setting for such student efforts is patterned after existing high-tech spacecraft-design organizations. The classes address design tradeoff decisions, parametric studies, and design reviews, as well as project-continuations.
Three-dimensional model simulations are used to describe the January 31, 1989 ozone minihole over Stavanger, Norway. This minihole is typical of many transient events in the lower stratosphere that arise because of cyclonic-scale disturbances in the troposphere. Although the ozone reduction is a short-lived reversible dynamical event, through heterogeneous chemical processes there can be a significant transfer of chlorine from reservoir molecules to active radicals. This chemically perturbed air is defined as processed air, and it is found that a single event can produce enough processed air to reduce the HCl in the entire polar vortex. Chemical processing on clouds associated with transient events is shown to be a major source of processed air in the polar vortex in December before background temperatures are cold enough for more uniform heterogeneous conversion.
Observations of the solar limb at the point of first contact during the eclipse of 1991 July 11, with a spatial resolution of about 1.6 arcsec, are reported. The visibility amplitude and phase were modeled to yield the height of the 3-mm limb above the visible photosphere, and the data were differentiated to yield the brightness profile of the limb in strips about 1.6 arcsec wide. The 3-mm limb was found to extend 7.5 +/- 0.8 arcsec above the visible photosphere, with no evidence of a limb spike. The 3-mm limb, at a temperature of about 6500 K, extends to altitudes far beyond the expected location of the transition region in the model of Vernazza et al. (1981). A comparison of the 3-mm profile and an off-band H-alpha photograph of the limb reveals a close correspondence between the 3-mm limb and the height of H-alpha spicules.
The partitioning of relative nitrogen in the Arctic and the sub-Arctic troposphere based on measurements conducted during the 1988 Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition (ABLE 3A) is described. The first set of comprehensive odd nitrogen and O3 measurements from the Arctic/sub-Arctic free troposphere shows that a highly aged air mass that has persisted under very cold conditions is present. A large fraction of the odd nitrogen appears to be present in the form of reservoir species such as PAN. Significant quantities of as yet unknown reactive nitrogen species, such as complex alkyl nitrates and pernitrates, are expected to be present. Together with PAN, these nitrate and pernitrate reservoir species could control the entire NO(x) availability of the high-latitude troposphere and in turn influence the O3 photochemistry of the region. The role of PAN in influencing the O3 reservoir is shown to be important and may be responsible for the increasing O3 temporal trend observed at high latitudes.
Two simple techniques (Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio, CIBR, and Narrow/Wide ratio, N/W) to retrieve path precipitable water from AVIRIS high spectral resolution radiance data using the 940 nm water absorption band are compared. A sensitivity analysis was performed using the radiative transfer code LOWTRAN 7 to determine which one of these two approaches will provide a better estimate over land and water areas. The CIBR proved to be the technique less sensitive to perturbing effects, except for errors in visibility estimate. Both techniques were applied to AVIRIS radiance data acquired over Salton Sea, California. Resulting images confirmed that the use of a constant gray reflectance in the model led to a higher overestimation of the amount of water retrieved for N/W over vegetated areas. Validation was performed through comparison between an independent estimate of water vapor from concurrent Reagan sunphotometer measurements and AVIRIS estimates. Amounts retrieved using the N/W approach match more closely in situ measurements, even after adjusting model parameters for background reflectance, viewing geometry, and type of aerosol at the site.
Column ozone measurements obtained from a Spin-scan Ozone Imager (SOI) aboard the Dynamics Explorer I (DE-I) satellite are discussed. The orbital geometry has many features similar to the Molniya satellite orbits. The ozone imagery obtained from DE-I are unique in being synoptic views of a region of continental scale for a period of a few hours. A brief description of the instrument, data, and orbit is followed by a discussion of some applications of DE-I data and the potential usefulness of an ozone imager aboard a satellite in a Molniya-type orbit.