Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “randomized algorithms”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11

Application of multivariable search techniques to structural design optimization

Multivariable optimization techniques are applied to a particular class of minimum weight structural design problems: the design of an axially loaded, pressurized, stiffened cylinder. Minimum weight designs are obtained by a variety of search algorithms: first- and second-order, elemental perturbation, and randomized techniques. An exterior penalty function approach to constrained minimization is employed. Some comparisons are made with solutions obtained by an interior penalty function procedure. In general, it would appear that an interior penalty function approach may not be as well suited to the class of design problems considered as the exterior penalty function approach. It is also shown that a combination of search algorithms will tend to arrive at an extremal design in a more reliable manner than a single algorithm. The effect of incorporating realistic geometrical constraints on stiffener cross-sections is investigated. A limited comparison is made between minimum weight cylinders designed on the basis of a linear stability analysis and cylinders designed on the basis of empirical buckling data. Finally, a technique for locating more than one extremal is demonstrated.

Jones, R. T.↗

Investigation for improving Global Positioning System (GPS) orbits using a discrete sequential estimator and stochastic models of selected physical processes

GEODYNII is a conventional batch least-squares differential corrector computer program with deterministic models of the physical environment. Conventional algorithms were used to process differenced phase and pseudorange data to determine eight-day Global Positioning system (GPS) orbits with several meter accuracy. However, random physical processes drive the errors whose magnitudes prevent improving the GPS orbit accuracy. To improve the orbit accuracy, these random processes should be modeled stochastically. The conventional batch least-squares algorithm cannot accommodate stochastic models, only a stochastic estimation algorithm is suitable, such as a sequential filter/smoother. Also, GEODYNII cannot currently model the correlation among data values. Differenced pseudorange, and especially differenced phase, are precise data types that can be used to improve the GPS orbit precision. To overcome these limitations and improve the accuracy of GPS orbits computed using GEODYNII, we proposed to develop a sequential stochastic filter/smoother processor by using GEODYNII as a type of trajectory preprocessor. Our proposed processor is now completed. It contains a correlated double difference range processing capability, first order Gauss Markov models for the solar radiation pressure scale coefficient and y-bias acceleration, and a random walk model for the tropospheric refraction correction. The development approach was to interface the standard GEODYNII output files (measurement partials and variationals) with software modules containing the stochastic estimator, the stochastic models, and a double differenced phase range processing routine. Thus, no modifications to the original GEODYNII software were required. A schematic of the development is shown. The observational data are edited in the preprocessor and the data are passed to GEODYNII as one of its standard data types. A reference orbit is determined using GEODYNII as a batch least-squares processor and the GEODYNII measurement partial (FTN90) and variational (FTN80, V-matrix) files are generated. These two files along with a control statement file and a satellite identification and mass file are passed to the filter/smoother to estimate time-varying parameter states at each epoch, improved satellite initial elements, and improved estimates of constant parameters.

Goad, Clyde C.↗

Image gathering and processing - Information and fidelity

In this paper we formulate and use information and fidelity criteria to assess image gathering and processing, combining optical design with image-forming and edge-detection algorithms. The optical design of the image-gathering system revolves around the relationship among sampling passband, spatial response, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Our formulations of information, fidelity, and optimal (Wiener) restoration account for the insufficient sampling (i.e., aliasing) common in image gathering as well as for the blurring and noise that conventional formulations account for. Performance analyses and simulations for ordinary optical-design constraints and random scences indicate that (1) different image-forming algorithms prefer different optical designs; (2) informationally optimized designs maximize the robustness of optimal image restorations and lead to the highest-spatial-frequency channel (relative to the sampling passband) for which edge detection is reliable (if the SNR is sufficiently high); and (3) combining the informationally optimized design with a 3 by 3 lateral-inhibitory image-plane-processing algorithm leads to a spatial-response shape that approximates the optimal edge-detection response of (Marr's model of) human vision and thus reduces the data preprocessing and transmission required for machine vision.

Huck, F. O.↗

Experimental and theoretical study of combustion jet ignition

A combustion jet ignition system was developed to generate turbulent jets of combustion products containing free radicals and to discharge them as ignition sources into a combustible medium. In order to understand the ignition and the inflammation processes caused by combustion jets, the studies of the fluid mechanical properties of turbulent jets with and without combustion were conducted theoretically and experimentally. Experiments using a specially designed igniter, with a prechamber to build up and control the stagnation pressure upstream of the orifice, were conducted to investigate the formation processes of turbulent jets of combustion products. The penetration speed of combustion jets has been found to be constant initially and then decreases monotonically as turbulent jets of combustion products travel closer to the wall. This initial penetration speed to combustion jets is proportional to the initial stagnation pressure upstream of the orifice for the same stoichiometric mixture. Computer simulations by Chorin's Random Vortex Method implemented with the flame propagation algorithm for the theoretical model of turbulent jets with and without combustion were performed to study the turbulent jet flow field. In the formation processes of the turbulent jets, the large-scale eddy structure of turbulence, the so-called coherent structure, dominates the entrainment and mixing processes. The large-scale eddy structure of turbulent jets in this study is constructed by a series of vortex pairs, which are organized in the form of a staggered array of vortex clouds generating local recirculation flow patterns.

Chen, D. Y.↗

Formation and inflammation of a turbulent jet

The formation and inflammation of a planar, turbulent jet in an incompressible medium is modeled numerically by the use of the random vortex method amended by a flame propagation algorithm. The results demonstrate the dominant influence of turbulent eddies and their interactions upon the development of the jet. Its growth is shown to consist of three stages: formation of small eddies, pairing of eddies with the same sign of circulation, and pairing of eddies of opposite signs. On this basis a number of features of the jet mechanism are revealed, namely penetration, engulfment, entrainment, and intermittency. Two cases of inflammation are considered. In one, the jet is ignited at the center of the orifice, the solution tracing its own inflammation. In the other, combustion is initiated across its full cross section, the results modeling the action of a turbulent torch as it spreads the flame into the combustible surroundings. In both cases the flow field is still dominated by the turbulent eddies and their interactions. However, the coherence among them is encumbered as a consequence of expansion due to the exothermicity of the combustion process.

Ghoniem, A. F.↗

Quantum Superluminal Communications

Based upon quantum entanglement, a simple algorithm for instantaneous transmission of messages (chosen at random) to remote distances is proposed.

quantum information↗

CLUST - EVAP Monte Carlo Simulation Applications for Determining Effective Energy Deposition in Silicon by High Energy Protons

The CLUST-EVAP is a Monte Carlo simulation of the interaction of high energy (25 - 400 MeV) protons with silicon nuclei. The initial nuclear cascade stage is modeled using the CLUST model developed by Indiana University over 30 years ago. The second stage, in which the excited nucleus evaporates particles in random directions, is modeled according to the evaporation algorithm provided by H. H. K. Tang of IBM. Using the CLUST-EVAP code to model fragment produ6tion and the Vavilov-Landau theory to model fluctuations in direct ionization in thin silicon layers, we have predicted energy deposition in silicon components for various geometrical configurations. We have compared actual measurements with model predictions for geometry's such as single, thin silicon particle detectors, telescopic particle detectors flown in space to measure the environment, and thin sensitive volumes of modern micro-electronic components. We have recently compared the model predictions with actual measurements made by the DOSTEL spectrometer flown in the Shuttle payload bay on STS-84. The model faithfully reproduces the features and aids in interpretation of flight results of this instrument. We have also applied the CLUST-EVAP model to determine energy deposition in the thin sensitive volumes of modern micro-electronic components. We have accessed the ability of high energy (200 MeV) protons to induce latch-up in certain devices that are known to latch up in heavy ion environments. However, some devices are not nearly as susceptible to proton induced latch-up as expected according to their measured heavy ion latch-up cross sections. The discrepancy is believed to be caused by the limited range of the proton-silicon interaction fragments. The CLUST-EV AP model was used to determine a distribution of these fragments and their range and this is compared to knowledge of the ranges required based on the known device structure. This information is especially useful in accessing the risk to on-orbit perfonnance in a heavy ion environment based on testing performed with only protons.

ONeill, Pat M.↗

Adding GPU Support to the Markov Chain Monte Carlo Code Catmip

In geophysics, we are confronted with many under-determined inverse problems. For example, all of our observations of earthquakes are made at the Earth’s surface. So, when we try to infer how slip during an earthquake evolves in space and time, we find that there are many potential slip histories that are consistent with our limited observations and our understanding of earthquake physics. One way to approach these problems is with Bayesian analysis which allows us to infer the ensemble of all potential slip models that satisfy the observations and our prior knowledge of earthquake physics. In Bayesian analysis, our prior knowledge is known as the prior probability density function or prior PDF, the fit to the data is known as the data likelihood, and the target PDF that satisfies both the prior PDF and data likelihood is known as the posterior PDF. However, simulating the posterior PDF typically requires using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) to draw tens of billions of random realizations of earthquake slip models, which may not be computationally feasible. To make this and similar geophysical inversions computationally tractable, we developed the Cascading Adaptive Transitional Metropolis In Parallel (CATMIP) algorithm. CATMIP is an efficient parallel Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler that is used for model fitting and uncertainty quantification in geophysics. Example use cases are earthquake rupture modeling, determining mineral composition on Mars, reconstructing the history of ocean salinity, and historical earthquake relocation. CATMIP employs many parallel instances of the Metropolis algorithm for sampling in a transitioning framework. Transitioning is a process in which a set of random samples at equilibrium with a known probability density function (PDF) are used as seeds for the Markov chains to sample successive target PDFs that incrementally move the distribution from the starting seeds to the final desired PDF that describes the relative plausibility of potential values for the model parameters. The algorithm is implemented as a Master-Worker model employing MPI for communication. The worker processes are loosely coupled with global parameters periodically optimized by the master process. This provides a very high amount of parallelism with little communication between updates. During the presentation we will discuss the history of the algorithm and elaborate the earthquake rupture modeling use case for the CATMIP package. Our first step toward GPU optimization was to optimize the code for the CPU. CPU profiling revealed that most of the compute time is spent in calls to level 2 BLAS routines and calls to GSL random number generators. We revised the algorithm to employ level 3 BLAS routines instead. In our presentation we will describe how this was accomplished. Adding GPU support to CATMIP consisted mostly of replacing the calls to GSL with calls to GPU vendor-provided library routines. A small number of loops were directly implemented in CUDA. In the presentation will provide implementation details. Finally, we will discuss methods for profiling and opportunities for further optimizing GPU execution. By creating a code with the flexibility to run on either a CPU or GPU architecture, CATMIP can be used on systems ranging from large CPU-based HPC environments to single servers with GPU acceleration and everything in between.

HECC↗

Topology of large-scale structure. IV - Topology in two dimensions

In a recent series of papers, an algorithm was developed for quantitatively measuring the topology of the large-scale structure of the universe and this algorithm was applied to numerical models and to three-dimensional observational data sets. In this paper, it is shown that topological information can be derived from a two-dimensional cross section of a density field, and analytic expressions are given for a Gaussian random field. The application of a two-dimensional numerical algorithm for measuring topology to cross sections of three-dimensional models is demonstrated.

Melott, Adrian L.↗

Determining the Number of Clusters in a Data Set Without Graphical Interpretation

Cluster analysis is a data mining technique that is meant ot simplify the process of classifying data points. The basic clustering process requires an input of data points and the number of clusters wanted. The clustering algorithm will then pick starting C points for the clusters, which can be either random spatial points or random data points. It then assigns each data point to the nearest C point where "nearest usually means Euclidean distance, but some algorithms use another criterion. The next step is determining whether the clustering arrangement this found is within a certain tolerance. If it falls within this tolerance, the process ends. Otherwise the C points are adjusted based on how many data points are in each cluster, and the steps repeat until the algorithm converges,

Aguirre, Nathan S.↗

Comparison of Cloud Detection Algorithms for Sentinel-2 Imagery

Accurate, automated cloud and cloud shadow detection is a key component of the processing needed to prepare optical satellite imagery for scientific analysis. Many existing cloud detection algorithms rely on temperature information to identify clouds, making detection difficult for imagers that lack a thermal band, like Sentinel-2. To get maximum benefit from Sentinel-2 products it is critical to understand which algorithms best identify clouds and their shadows in images. We examined the relative performance of five different cloud-masking algorithms (Sen2Cor, MAJA, LaSRC, Fmask and Tmask) in 6 Sentinel-2 scenes (28 total images) distributed across the Eastern Hemisphere. Expanding on these comparisons, we tested ensemble approaches to improve results. We tested three ensemble approaches to cloud and shadow classification based on the outputs of the five initial algorithms using the cloud masks in: (1) a majority prediction model; (2) a random forests model; and (3) a conditional logic model. Accuracy assessments show a trade-off between omission and commission errors in cloud detection for individual algorithms across all sites, and some algorithms are better at detecting either clouds or cloud shadows. No single algorithm outperforms the others for both clouds and shadows. Aggregating the results from multiple algorithms produces fewer undetected clouds and higher overall accuracy than any single algorithm, with as high as 2.7% improvement over the top-performing algorithm, suggesting an ensemble approach may be the most useful for processing of Sentinel-2 data.

Sentinel-2↗

Estimating Species-Specific Leaf Area Index and Basal Area Using Optical and SAR Remote Sensing Data in Acadian Mixed Spruce-Fir Forests, USA

This study combined Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR), Sentinel-2 multispectral, and site variable datasets to model leaf area index (LAI) and basal area per ha (BAPH) of two economically important tree species in Northeast, USA; red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.; RS), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.; BF). We used Random Forest (RF), and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) algorithms for LAI and BAPH modeling. The results showed that RF outperformed MLP by reducing the normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) by 0.01 and 0.06 for LAI and BAPH, respectively. The final variables selected for modeling of both LAI and BAPH indicated the superiority of Sentinel-2 variables over the Sentinel-1 SAR with minor contributions of site variables (mainly elevation). The red-edge spectral vegetation indices played a significant role in both LAI and BAPH estimation. We attained the lowest nRMSEs of 0.12, and 0.16 for the final LAI model of RS, and BF, respectively using Sentinel-2 and site variables. The lowest nRMSE for both RS and BF BAPH models was 0.12. As RS and BF are the primary host species for a cyclically occurring and most destructive pest of the region, eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana; SBW), these estimations will be useful to evaluate SBW dynamics in the region.

Forest inventory↗

Computational methods for structural load and resistance modeling

An automated capability for computing structural reliability considering uncertainties in both load and resistance variables is presented. The computations are carried out using an automated Advanced Mean Value iteration algorithm (AMV +) with performance functions involving load and resistance variables obtained by both explicit and implicit methods. A complete description of the procedures used is given as well as several illustrative examples, verified by Monte Carlo Analysis. In particular, the computational methods described in the paper are shown to be quite accurate and efficient for a material nonlinear structure considering material damage as a function of several primitive random variables. The results show clearly the effectiveness of the algorithms for computing the reliability of large-scale structural systems with a maximum number of resolutions.

Thacker, B. H.↗

Design and simulation of stratified probability digital receiver with application to the multipath communication

One approach to the problem of simplifying complex nonlinear filtering algorithms is through using stratified probability approximations where the continuous probability density functions of certain random variables are represented by discrete mass approximations. This technique is developed in this paper and used to simplify the filtering algorithms developed for the optimum receiver for signals corrupted by both additive and multiplicative noise.

Deal, J. H.↗

Genetic Algorithm for Optimization of Neural Networks for Bayesian Inference of Model Uncertainty

The objective of this work was to develop a genetic optimization algorithm that can design a neural network capable of producing uncertainty estimates along with predictions. This algorithm is necessary because the inclusion of uncertainty modeling in a neural network greatly complicates the network’s design space, making the development of a converging model extremely difficult and time consuming. The genetic algorithm presented in this work uses a number of value ranges for various configurable neural network parameters to create a randomly generated population of network architectures. The initially generated population is then evolved over the course of several generations, with the best performing models breeding to produce novel network configurations. Mutations are randomly applied to the network designs to facilitate the development of adaptations beneficial to the task being performed. An experiment was conducted to validate the proposed algorithm, in which the genetic optimizer was tasked with producing a neural network capable of predicting the sound pressure level (SPL) resulting from jet-surface interaction (JSI) noise. The data used for this task was generated at the NASA Glenn Research Center in the Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory. Starting with an initial population size of 35 randomly generated networks, and evolved over the course of 10 generations, the genetic algorithm produced a design able to predict SPL as a result of JSI noise within 0.272 dB, on average.

Genetic algorithm↗

Coastal bathymetry and currents from LANDSAT data

LANDSAT scenes of coastal areas should be useful for bathymetry and for mapping sediment flow if scatter from bottom and suspended matter can be separated by multi-date analysis. Several filter algorithms have been developed to reduce both artifacts and random noise while retaining meaningful structures such as breakwaters and underwater reefs. Results of application of these filters to LANDSAT scenes of the Israeli coast are presented.

Rosenberg, N.↗

A satellite-based radar wind sensor

The objective is to investigate the application of Doppler radar systems for global wind measurement. A model of the satellite-based radar wind sounder (RAWS) is discussed, and many critical problems in the designing process, such as the antenna scan pattern, tracking the Doppler shift caused by satellite motion, and backscattering of radar signals from different types of clouds, are discussed along with their computer simulations. In addition, algorithms for measuring mean frequency of radar echoes, such as the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) estimator, the covariance estimator, and the estimators based on autoregressive models, are discussed. Monte Carlo computer simulations were used to compare the performance of these algorithms. Anti-alias methods are discussed for the FFT and the autoregressive methods. Several algorithms for reducing radar ambiguity were studied, such as random phase coding methods and staggered pulse repitition frequncy (PRF) methods. Computer simulations showed that these methods are not applicable to the RAWS because of the broad spectral widths of the radar echoes from clouds. A waveform modulation method using the concept of spread spectrum and correlation detection was developed to solve the radar ambiguity. Radar ambiguity functions were used to analyze the effective signal-to-noise ratios for the waveform modulation method. The results showed that, with suitable bandwidth product and modulation of the waveform, this method can achieve the desired maximum range and maximum frequency of the radar system.

Xin, Weizhuang↗