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May, Ryan D.

Publications and source records attributed to May, Ryan D..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Conditionally Active Min-Max Limit Regulators

A conditionally active limit regulator may be used to regulate the performance of engines or other limit regulated systems. A computing system may determine whether a variable to be limited is within a predetermined range of a limit value as a first condition. The computing system may also determine whether a current rate of increase or decrease of the variable to be limited is great enough that the variable will reach the limit within a predetermined period of time with no other changes as a second condition. When both conditions are true, the computing system may activate a simulated or physical limit regulator.

Garg, Sanjay↗
NASA NTRS2014

Autonomous Spacecraft Communication Interface for Load Planning

Ground-based controllers can remain in continuous communication with spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) with near-instantaneous communication speeds. This permits near real-time control of all of the core spacecraft systems by ground personnel. However, as NASA missions move beyond LEO, light-time communication delay issues, such as time lag and low bandwidth, will prohibit this type of operation. As missions become more distant, autonomous control of manned spacecraft will be required. The focus of this paper is the power subsystem. For present missions, controllers on the ground develop a complete schedule of power usage for all spacecraft components. This paper presents work currently underway at NASA to develop an architecture for an autonomous spacecraft, and focuses on the development of communication between the Mission Manager and the Autonomous Power Controller. These two systems must work together in order to plan future load use and respond to unanticipated plan deviations. Using a nominal spacecraft architecture and prototype versions of these two key components, a number of simulations are run under a variety of operational conditions, enabling development of content and format of the messages necessary to achieve the desired goals. The goals include negotiation of a load schedule that meets the global requirements (contained in the Mission Manager) and local power system requirements (contained in the Autonomous Power Controller), and communication of off-plan disturbances that arise while executing a negotiated plan. The message content is developed in two steps: first, a set of rapid-prototyping "paper" simulations are preformed; then the resultant optimized messages are codified for computer communication for use in automated testing.

Controls↗
NASA NTRS2014

Propulsion System Simulation Using the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS)

A simulation toolbox has been developed for the creation of both steady-state and dynamic thermodynamic software models. This paper describes the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS), which combines generic thermodynamic and controls modeling libraries with a numerical iterative solver to create a framework for the development of thermodynamic system simulations, such as gas turbine engines. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of T-MATS, the theory used in the creation of the module sets, and a possible propulsion simulation architecture. A model comparison was conducted by matching steady-state performance results from a T-MATS developed gas turbine simulation to a well-documented steady-state simulation. Transient modeling capabilities are then demonstrated when the steady-state T-MATS model is updated to run dynamically.

aerothermodynamics↗
NASA NTRS2014

Overview of Intelligent Power Controller Development for Human Deep Space Exploration

Intelligent or autonomous control of an entire spacecraft is a major technology that must be developed to enable NASA to meet its human exploration goals. NASA's current long term human space platform, the International Space Station, is in low Earth orbit with almost continuous communication with the ground based mission control. This permits the near real-time control by the ground of all of the core systems including power. As NASA moves beyond low Earth orbit, the issues of communication time-lag and lack of communication bandwidth beyond geosynchronous orbit does not permit this type of operation. This paper presents the work currently ongoing at NASA to develop an architecture for an autonomous power control system as well as the effort to assemble that controller into the framework of the vehicle mission manager and other subsystem controllers to enable autonomous control of the complete spacecraft. Due to the common problems faced in both space power systems and terrestrial power system, the potential for spin-off applications of this technology for use in micro-grids located at the edge or user end of terrestrial power grids for peak power accommodation and reliability are described.

Space Flight↗
NASA NTRS2014

Overview of Intelligent Power Controller Development for Human Deep Space Exploration

Intelligent or autonomous control of an entire spacecraft is a major technology that must be developed to enable NASA to meet its human exploration goals. NASA's current long term human space platform, the International Space Station, is in low earth orbit with almost continuous communication with the ground based mission control. This permits the near real-time control by the ground of all of the core systems including power. As NASA moves beyond Low Earth Orbit, the issues of communication time-lag and lack of communication bandwidth beyond geosynchronous orbit does not permit this type of operation. This paper presents the work currently ongoing at NASA to develop an architecture for an autonomous power control system as well as the effort to assemble that controller into the framework of the vehicle mission manager and other subsystem controllers to enable autonomous control of the complete spacecraft. Due to the common problems faced in both space power systems and terrestrial power system, the potential for spin-off applications of this technology for use in micro-grids located at the edge or user end of terrestrial power grids for peak power accommodation and reliability are described.

Space Flight↗
NASA NTRS2014

The Use of Software Agents for Autonomous Control of a DC Space Power System

In order to enable manned deep-space missions, the spacecraft must be controlled autonomously using on-board algorithms. A control architecture is proposed to enable this autonomous operation for an spacecraft electric power system and then implemented using a highly distributed network of software agents. These agents collaborate and compete with each other in order to implement each of the control functions. A subset of this control architecture is tested against a steadystate power system simulation and found to be able to solve a constrained optimization problem with competing objectives using only local information.

autonomous control↗
NASA NTRS2014

An Architecture to Enable Autonomous Control of Spacecraft

Autonomy is required for manned spacecraft missions distant enough that light-time communication delays make ground-based mission control infeasible. Presently, ground controllers develop a complete schedule of power modes for all spacecraft components based on a large number of factors. The proposed architecture is an early attempt to formalize and automate this process using on-vehicle computation resources. In order to demonstrate this architecture, an autonomous electrical power system controller and vehicle Mission Manager are constructed. These two components are designed to work together in order to plan upcoming load use as well as respond to unanticipated deviations from the plan. The communication protocol was developed using "paper" simulations prior to formally encoding the messages and developing software to implement the required functionality. These software routines exchange data via TCP/IP sockets with the Mission Manager operating at NASA Ames Research Center and the autonomous power controller running at NASA Glenn Research Center. The interconnected systems are tested and shown to be effective at planning the operation of a simulated quasi-steady state spacecraft power system and responding to unexpected disturbances.

space power systems↗
NASA NTRS2014

Cantera Integration with the Toolbox for Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS)

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has recently developed a software package for modeling generic thermodynamic systems called the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS). T-MATS is a library of building blocks that can be assembled to represent any thermodynamic system in the Simulink(Registered TradeMark) (The MathWorks, Inc.) environment. These elements, along with a Newton Raphson solver (also provided as part of the T-MATS package), enable users to create models of a wide variety of systems. The current version of T-MATS (v1.0.1) uses tabular data for providing information about a specific mixture of air, water (humidity), and hydrocarbon fuel in calculations of thermodynamic properties. The capabilities of T-MATS can be expanded by integrating it with the Cantera thermodynamic package. Cantera is an object-oriented analysis package that calculates thermodynamic solutions for any mixture defined by the user. Integration of Cantera with T-MATS extends the range of systems that may be modeled using the toolbox. In addition, the library of elements released with Cantera were developed using MATLAB native M-files, allowing for quicker prototyping of elements. This paper discusses how the new Cantera-based elements are created and provides examples for using T-MATS integrated with Cantera.

Systems Analysis↗
NASA NTRS2014

Propulsion System Simulation Using the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic System T-MATS

A simulation toolbox has been developed for the creation of both steady-state and dynamic thermodynamic software models. This paper describes the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS), which combines generic thermodynamic and controls modeling libraries with a numerical iterative solver to create a framework for the development of thermodynamic system simulations, such as gas turbine engines. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of T-MATS, the theory used in the creation of the module sets, and a possible propulsion simulation architecture. A model comparison was conducted by matching steady-state performance results from a T-MATS developed gas turbine simulation to a well-documented steady-state simulation. Transient modeling capabilities are then demonstrated when the steady-state T-MATS model is updated to run dynamically.

gas path dynamics↗
NASA NTRS2014

Propulsion System Simulation Using the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic System (T-MATS)

A simulation toolbox has been developed for the creation of both steady-state and dynamic thermodynamic software models. This presentation describes the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS), which combines generic thermodynamic and controls modeling libraries with a numerical iterative solver to create a framework for the development of thermodynamic system simulations, such as gas turbine engines. The objective of this presentation is to present an overview of T-MATS, the theory used in the creation of the module sets, and a possible propulsion simulation architecture.

aerothermodynamics↗
NASA NTRS2014

Cantera Integration with the Toolbox for Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS)

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has recently developed a software package for modeling generic thermodynamic systems called the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS). T-MATS is a library of building blocks that can be assembled to represent any thermodynamic system in the Simulink (The MathWorks, Inc.) environment. These elements, along with a Newton Raphson solver (also provided as part of the T-MATS package), enable users to create models of a wide variety of systems. The current version of T-MATS (v1.0.1) uses tabular data for providing information about a specific mixture of air, water (humidity), and hydrocarbon fuel in calculations of thermodynamic properties. The capabilities of T-MATS can be expanded by integrating it with the Cantera thermodynamic package. Cantera is an object-oriented analysis package that calculates thermodynamic solutions for any mixture defined by the user. Integration of Cantera with T-MATS extends the range of systems that may be modeled using the toolbox. In addition, the library of elements released with Cantera were developed using MATLAB native M-files, allowing for quicker prototyping of elements. This paper discusses how the new Cantera-based elements are created and provides examples for using T-MATS integrated with Cantera.

Thermodynamics↗
NASA NTRS2014

Detection of the Impact of Ice Crystal Accretion in an Aircraft Engine Compression System During Dynamic Operation

The accretion of ice in the compression system of commercial gas turbine engines operating in high ice water content conditions is a safety issue being studied by the aviation community. While most of the research focuses on the underlying physics of ice accretion and the meteorological conditions in which accretion can occur, a systems-level perspective on the topic lends itself to potential near-term operational improvements. Here a detection algorithm is developed which has the capability to detect the impact of ice accretion in the Low Pressure Compressor of an aircraft engine during steady flight as well as during changes in altitude. Unfortunately, the algorithm as implemented was not able to distinguish throttle changes from ice accretion and thus more work remains to be done.

detection↗
NASA NTRS2014

Detection of the Impact of Ice Crystal Accretion in an Aircraft Engine Compression System During Dynamic Operation

The accretion of ice in the compression system of commercial gas turbine engines operating in high ice water content conditions is a safety issue being studied by the aviation community. While most of the research focuses on the underlying physics of ice accretion and the meteorological conditions in which accretion can occur, a systems-level perspective on the topic lends itself to potential near-term operational improvements. Here a detection algorithm is developed which has the capability to detect the impact of ice accretion in the Low Pressure Compressor of an aircraft engine during steady flight as well as during changes in altitude. Unfortunately, the algorithm as implemented was not able to distinguish throttle changes from ice accretion and thus more work remains to be done.

high ice water content↗
NASA NTRS2013

An Approach to Detect and Mitigate Ice Particle Accretion in Aircraft Engine Compression Systems

The accretion of ice in the compression system of commercial gas turbine engines operating in high ice water content conditions is a safety issue being studied by the aviation sector. While most of the research focuses on the underlying physics of ice accretion and the meteorological conditions in which accretion can occur, a systems-level perspective on the topic lends itself to potential near-term operational improvements. This work focuses on developing an accurate and reliable algorithm for detecting the accretion of ice in the low pressure compressor of a generic 40,000 lbf thrust class engine. The algorithm uses only the two shaft speed sensors and works regardless of engine age, operating condition, and power level. In a 10,000-case Monte Carlo simulation, the detection approach was found to have excellent capability at determining ice accretion from sensor noise with detection occurring when ice blocks an average of 6.8% of the low pressure compressor area. Finally, an initial study highlights a potential mitigation strategy that uses the existing engine actuators to raise the temperature in the low pressure compressor in an effort to reduce the rate at which ice accretes.

May, Ryan D.↗
NASA NTRS2013

An Approach to Detect and Mitigate Ice Particle Accretion in Aircraft Engine Compression Systems

The accretion of ice in the compression system of commercial gas turbine engines operating in high ice water content conditions is a safety issue being studied by the aviation sector. While most of the research focuses on the underlying physics of ice accretion and the meteorological conditions in which accretion can occur, a systems-level perspective on the topic lends itself to potential near-term operational improvements. This work focuses on developing an accurate and reliable algorithm for detecting the accretion of ice in the low pressure compressor of a generic 40,000 lbf thrust class engine. The algorithm uses only the two shaft speed sensors and works regardless of engine age, operating condition, and power level. In a 10,000-case Monte Carlo simulation, the detection approach was found to have excellent capability at determining ice accretion from sensor noise with detection occurring when ice blocks an average of 6.8 percent of the low pressure compressor area. Finally, an initial study highlights a potential mitigation strategy that uses the existing engine actuators to raise the temperature in the low pressure compressor in an effort to reduce the rate at which ice accretes.

May, Ryan D.↗
NASA NTRS2013

A Systems-Level Perspective on Engine Ice Accretion

The accretion of ice in the compression system of commercial gas turbine engines operating in high ice water content conditions is a safety issue being studied by the aviation sector. While most of the research focuses on the underlying physics of ice accretion and the meteorological conditions in which accretion can occur, a systems-level perspective on the topic lends itself to potential near-term operational improvements. This work focuses on developing an accurate and reliable algorithm for detecting the accretion of ice in the low pressure compressor of a generic 40,000 lbf thrust class engine. The algorithm uses only the two shaft speed sensors and works regardless of engine age, operating condition, and power level. In a 10,000-case Monte Carlo simulation, the detection approach was found to have excellent capability at determining ice accretion from sensor noise with detection occurring when ice blocks an average of 6.8% of the low pressure compressor area. Finally, an initial study highlights a potential mitigation strategy that uses the existing engine actuators to raise the temperature in the low pressure compressor in an effort to reduce the rate at which ice accretes.

May, Ryan D.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Reducing Conservatism in Aircraft Engine Response Using Conditionally Active Min-Max Limit Regulators

Current aircraft engine control logic uses a Min-Max control selection structure to prevent the engine from exceeding any safety or operational limits during transients due to throttle commands. This structure is inherently conservative and produces transient responses that are slower than necessary. In order to utilize the existing safety margins more effectively, a modification to this architecture is proposed, referred to as a Conditionally Active (CA) limit regulator. This concept uses the existing Min-Max architecture with the modification that limit regulators are active only when the operating point is close to a particular limit. This paper explores the use of CA limit regulators using a publicly available commercial aircraft engine simulation. The improvement in thrust response while maintaining all necessary safety limits is demonstrated in a number of cases.

May, Ryan D.↗