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At least 19 records

Reliable VLSI sequential controllers

A VLSI architecture for synchronous sequential controllers is presented that has attractive qualities for producing reliable circuits. In these circuits, one hardware implementation can realize any flow table with a maximum of 2(exp n) internal states and m inputs. Also all design equations are identical. A real time fault detection means is presented along with a strategy for verifying the correctness of the checking hardware. This self check feature can be employed with no increase in hardware. The architecture can be modified to achieve fail safe designs. With no increase in hardware, an adaptable circuit can be realized that allows replacement of faulty transitions with fault free transitions.

Whitaker, S.

Sequential control chart methodology

A modification of the V mask sequential control chart is proposed. In this modified scheme, a parabolic section is included in the mask to provide better performance when the process undergoes a large change in the mean from goal conditions. It is shown that the modified V mask can be implemented either in conventional graphic form, or in an algorithmic form suitable for a digital computer. Average run lengths are given for a typical range of circumstances. It also is shown that the conventional Shewhart chart is better than a sequential chart for the specific purpose of promptly detecting very large shifts of the mean from goal conditions.

Source record

Apollo experience report: Command and service module sequential events control subsystem

The Apollo command and service module sequential events control subsystem is described, with particular emphasis on the major systems and component problems and solutions. The subsystem requirements, design, and development and the test and flight history of the hardware are discussed. Recommendations to avoid similar problems on future programs are outlined.

Johnson, G. W.

Sequential Events Control System (SECS) Overview

This slide presentation will cover the Sequential Events Control System (SECS), which is the Apollo spacecraft subsystem that controls the automatically sequenced functions during the mission and during any a borts that could be performed. Included in this presentation are its general architecture, its integration into and use of the spacecraft' s other systems, and details on the functions it is responsible for c ontrolling during the mission. The objectives are to describe the system's architecture, the major components in the system, and the major system functions.

Interbartolo, Michael

Optimal uniform-damping ratio controller for sequential design of multivariable systems

An optimal uniform-damping ratio controller is developed for the sequential design of a multivariable control system so that the designed closed-loop poles of the respective multivariable system and reduced-order observer are exactly placed on the negative real axis and/or the boundaries of desired sectors with constant-damping ratios. The functions in the quadratic performance index to be minimized are chosen as a combination of the weighted outputs, reduced states and inputs. Also, the optimal uniform-damping ratio controller is a combination of optimal output-feedback and optimal reduced-order state-feedback controllers. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the design procedure.

Shieh, Leang G.

Application of programmable logic controllers to space simulation

Incorporating a state-of-the-art process control and instrumentation system into a complex system for thermal vacuum testing is discussed. The challenge was to connect several independent control systems provided by various vendors to a supervisory computer. This combination will sequentially control and monitor the process, collect the data, and transmit it to color a graphic system for subsequent manipulation. The vacuum system upgrade included: replacement of seventeen diffusion pumps with eight cryogenic pumps and one turbomolecular pump, replacing a relay based control system, replacing vacuum instrumentation, and upgrading the data acquisition system.

Sushon, Janet

Automatic exposure control for space sequential camera

The final report for the automatic exposure control study for space sequential cameras, for the NASA Johnson Space Center is presented. The material is shown in the same sequence that the work was performed. The purpose of the automatic exposure control is to automatically control the lens iris as well as the camera shutter so that the subject is properly exposed on the film. A study of design approaches is presented. Analysis of the light range of the spectrum covered indicates that the practical range would be from approximately 20 to 6,000 foot-lamberts, or about nine f-stops. Observation of film available from space flights shows that optimum scene illumination is apparently not present in vehicle interior photography as well as in vehicle-to-vehicle situations. The evaluation test procedure for a breadboard, and the results, which provided information for the design of a brassboard are given.

Mcatee, G. E., Jr.

Fault Tolerant State Machines

State machines are commonly used to control sequential logic in FPGAs and ASKS. An errant state machine can cause considerable damage to the device it is controlling. For example in space applications, the FPGA might be controlling Pyros, which when fired at the wrong time will cause a mission failure. Even a well designed state machine can be subject to random errors us a result of SEUs from the radiation environment in space. There are various ways to encode the states of a state machine, and the type of encoding makes a large difference in the susceptibility of the state machine to radiation. In this paper we compare 4 methods of state machine encoding and find which method gives the best fault tolerance, as well as determining the resources needed for each method.

encoding

Voltage regulator with multiple parallel power source sections

Voltage regulator provides improved voltage-regulating system in which power dissipation and consequent heat generation are minimized. Each power source section is controlled sequentially so that only one operates in a linear range at a time.

Binckley, W. G.

The BLAZE language: A parallel language for scientific programming

A Pascal-like scientific programming language, Blaze, is described. Blaze contains array arithmetic, forall loops, and APL-style accumulation operators, which allow natural expression of fine grained parallelism. It also employs an applicative or functional procedure invocation mechanism, which makes it easy for compilers to extract coarse grained parallelism using machine specific program restructuring. Thus Blaze should allow one to achieve highly parallel execution on multiprocessor architectures, while still providing the user with onceptually sequential control flow. A central goal in the design of Blaze is portability across a broad range of parallel architectures. The multiple levels of parallelism present in Blaze code, in principle, allow a compiler to extract the types of parallelism appropriate for the given architecture while neglecting the remainder. The features of Blaze are described and shows how this language would be used in typical scientific programming.

Mehrotra, P.

The BLAZE language - A parallel language for scientific programming

A Pascal-like scientific programming language, BLAZE, is described. BLAZE contains array arithmetic, forall loops, and APL-style accumulation operators, which allow natural expression of fine grained parallelism. It also employs an applicative or functional procedure invocation mechanism, which makes it easy for compilers to extract coarse grained parallelism using machine specific program restructuring. Thus BLAZE should allow one to achieve highly parallel execution on multiprocessor architectures, while still providing the user with conceptually sequential control flow. A central goal in the design of BLAZE is portability across a broad range of parallel architectures. The multiple levels of parallelism present in BLAZE code, in principle, allow a compiler to extract the types of parallelism appropriate for the given architecture while neglecting the remainder. The features of BLAZE are described and it is shown how this language would be used in typical scientific programming.

Mehrotra, Piyush

Automated synthesis of sequence invariant state machines

A computer aided design (CAD) tool for the design of very large scale integration (VLSI) synchronous sequential controllers is presented. Both the design and layout of the state machine are automatically generated. The program is process independent allowing a choice of design rules to base generation upon. An incremental layout creation approach was implemented which makes the tool useful in a wide range of layout applications. Flow table descriptions are input to characterize the desired machine and a layout archive is output.

Buehler, D.