SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “application”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

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

At least 217 records · Page 12

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1987

Traditional versus rule-based programming techniques: Application to the control of optional flight information

To the software design community, the concern over the costs associated with a program's execution time and implementation is great. It is always desirable, and sometimes imperative, that the proper programming technique is chosen which minimizes all costs for a given application or type of application. A study is described that compared cost-related factors associated with traditional programming techniques to rule-based programming techniques for a specific application. The results of this study favored the traditional approach regarding execution efficiency, but favored the rule-based approach regarding programmer productivity (implementation ease). Although this study examined a specific application, the results should be widely applicable.

Ricks, Wendell R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Applications of artificial intelligence to rotorcraft

The application of AI technology may have significant potential payoff for rotorcraft. In the near term, the status of the technology will limit its applicability to decision aids rather than total automation. The specific application areas are categorized into onboard and nonflight aids. The onboard applications include: fault monitoring, diagnosis, and reconfiguration; mission and tactics planning; situation assessment; navigation aids, especially in nap-of-the-earth flight; and adaptive man-machine interfaces. The nonflight applications include training and maintenance diagnostics.

Abbott, Kathy H.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Robotic applications at Kennedy Space Center

McDonnell Douglas performed a study (1987) to find effective application of robots and their associated technology at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Specifically, this study was directed toward the newly planned Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF). Because the Operations and Checkout (O and C) building has a similar charter to that of the SSPF, the O and C was carefully checked for potential robotic applications. Eleven applications were discovered and a trade study developed to rate these applications. Twenty more applications external to the SSPF were found during additional studies. These robotic tasks fall into three major categories including: teleoperated robots for hazardous tasks, mobile robots for repetitive tasks and feedback compensated robots for refurbishment and inspection tasks. This paper highlights some of the requirements for these tasks and others external to the SSPF. Additionally, the resources available at KSC are discussed.

Wegerif, Dan↗

NASA NTRS1988

Artificial intelligence applications in space and SDI: A survey

The purpose of this paper is to survey existing and planned Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications to show that they are sufficiently advanced for 32 percent of all space applications and SDI (Space Defense Initiative) software to be AI-based software. To best define the needs that AI can fill in space and SDI programs, this paper enumerates primary areas of research and lists generic application areas. Current and planned NASA and military space projects in AI will be reviewed. This review will be largely in the selected area of expert systems. Finally, direct applications of AI to SDI will be treated. The conclusion covers the importance of AI to space and SDI applications, and conversely, their importance to AI.

Fiala, Harvey E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Application of reusable software components at the SEI

Robert Holibaugh of the Software Engineering Institute described a project which is studying the application of reusable software components. The primary goals are to gain practical experience with state-of-the-art reusable components, methods, and tools and to capture the lessons learned in the application of reuse technology. In addition the project will assess the impact of reuse on the software development process and products and will identify and validate the information that facilities software reuse during system development. The project includes two tasks - a reuse experiment and a redevelopment effort. The reuse experiment will define a life cycle and a methodology for reuse-based development, and define and implement a data collection mechanism for measuring the development. The redevelopment effort will construct a reuse test bed and will redevelop and realistically test subsystems from an embedded mission-critical real-time application. The reuse experiment will produce several products including a tested real-time application, reuse-based components and tools evaluation, a reuse-based development method, a framework for data collection, a framework for measuring productivity, and lessons learned data. Successful development with reusable components will require a rich set of components and an integrating methodology. The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile system is the application for the redevelopment effort.

Holibaugh, Robert↗

NASA NTRS1990

Natural laminar flow application to transport aircraft

A major goal of NASA during the last 15 years has been the development of laminar flow technology for aircraft drag reduction. Of equal importance is achieving a state of readiness that will allow the successful application of this technology by industry to large, long-range aircraft. Recent progress in achieving extensive laminar flow with limited suction on the Boeing 757 has raised the prospects from practical application of the hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC) concept to subsonic aircraft. Also, better understanding of phenomena affecting laminar flow stability and response to disturbances has encouraged consideration of natural laminar flow (NLF), obtained without suction or active mechanical means, for application to transport aircraft larger than previously thought feasible. These ideas have inspired the current NASA/ASEE project with goals as follows: explore the feasibility of extensive NLF for aircraft at high Reynolds number under realistic flight conditions; determine the potential applications of NLF technology and the conditions under which they may be achieved; and identify existing aircraft that could be adapted to carry out flight experiments to validate NLF technology application. To achieve these objectives, understanding of the physical limits to natural laminar flow and possible ways to extend these limits was sought. The primary factors involved are unit Reynolds number, Mach number, wing sweep, thickness, and lift coefficients as well as surface pressure gradients and curvature. Based on previous and ongoing studies using laminar boundary layer stability theory, the interplay of the above factors and the corresponding transition limits were postulated.

Gratzer, Louis B.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Preliminary survey of 21st century civil mission applications of space nuclear power

The purpose was to collect and categorize a forecast of civilian space missions and their power requirements, and to assess the suitability of an SP-100 class space reactor power system to those missions. A wide variety of missions were selected for examination. The applicability of an SP-100 type of nuclear power system was assessed for each of the selected missions; a strawman nuclear power system configuration was drawn up for each mission. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Space nuclear power in the 50 kW sub e plus range can enhance or enable a wide variety of ambitious civil space mission; (2) Safety issues require additional analyses for some applications; (3) Safe space nuclear reactor disposal is an issue for some applications; (4) The current baseline SP-100 conical radiator configuration is not applicable in all cases; (5) Several applications will require shielding greater than that provided by the baseline shadow-shield; and (6) Long duration, continuous operation, high reliability missions may exceed the currently designed SP-100 lifetime capabilities.

Mankins, John C.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Gigaflop performance on a CRAY-2: Multitasking a computational fluid dynamics application

The methodology is described for converting a large, long-running applications code that executed on a single processor of a CRAY-2 supercomputer to a version that executed efficiently on multiple processors. Although the conversion of every application is different, a discussion of the types of modification used to achieve gigaflop performance is included to assist others in the parallelization of applications for CRAY computers, especially those that were developed for other computers. An existing application, from the discipline of computational fluid dynamics, that had utilized over 2000 hrs of CPU time on CRAY-2 during the previous year was chosen as a test case to study the effectiveness of multitasking on a CRAY-2. The nature of dominant calculations within the application indicated that a sustained computational rate of 1 billion floating-point operations per second, or 1 gigaflop, might be achieved. The code was first analyzed and modified for optimal performance on a single processor in a batch environment. After optimal performance on a single CPU was achieved, the code was modified to use multiple processors in a dedicated environment. The results of these two efforts were merged into a single code that had a sustained computational rate of over 1 gigaflop on a CRAY-2. Timings and analysis of performance are given for both single- and multiple-processor runs.

Tennille, Geoffrey M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Aerospace applications of high temperature superconductivity

A review is presented of all the applications that are part of the NASA program to develop space technology capitalizing on the potential benefit of high temperature superconducting materials. The applications in three major areas are being pursued: sensors and cryogenic systems, space communications, and propulsion and power systems. This review places emphasis on space communications applications and the propulsion and power applications. It is concluded that the power and propulsion applications will eventually be limited by structural considerations rather than by the availability of suitable superconductors. A cursory examination of structural limitations implied by the virial theorem suggested that there is an upper limit to the size of high field magnetic systems that are feasible in space.

Connolly, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Software environment for implementing engineering applications on MIMD computers

In this paper the concept for a software environment for developing engineering application systems for multiprocessor hardware (MIMD) is presented. The philosophy employed is to solve the largest problems possible in a reasonable amount of time, rather than solve existing problems faster. In the proposed environment most of the problems concerning parallel computation and handling of large distributed data spaces are hidden from the application program developer, thereby facilitating the development of large-scale software applications. Applications developed under the environment can be executed on a variety of MIMD hardware; it protects the application software from the effects of a rapidly changing MIMD hardware technology.

Lopez, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Transportable Applications Environment Plus

Transportable Applications Environment Plus (TAE+) is integrated, portable program providing environment for developing and running interactive window, text, and graphical object-based application software systems. Enables construction of custom application interface and moving applications to different computers. Components are WorkBench, tool for design of user interface; WPT's (Window Programming Tools) package, set of callable subroutines controlling user interface; and TAE Command Language (TCL), providing ways to develop executable application prototype with run-time-interpreted language. Uses MIT X-Window System, WorkBench and WPT's written in C++, remaining code in C.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1991

Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus - A NASA productivity tool used to develop graphical user interfaces

The Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus, developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is an advanced portable user interface development environment which simplifies the process of creating and managing complex application graphical user interfaces (GUIs), supports prototyping, allows applications to be oported easily between different platforms, and encourages appropriate levels of user interface consistency between applications. This paper discusses the capabilities of the TAE Plus tool, and how it makes the job of designing and developing GUIs easier for the application developers. The paper also explains how tools like TAE Plus provide for reusability and ensure reliability of UI software components, as well as how they aid in the reduction of development and maintenance costs.

Szczur, Martha R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Applications for special-purpose minerals at a lunar base

Maintaining a colony on the Moon will require the use of lunar resources to reduce the number of launches necessary to transport goods from the Earth. It may be possible to alter lunar materials to produce minerals or other materials that can be used for applications in life support systems at a lunar base. For example, mild hydrothermal alteration of lunar basaltic glasses can produce special-purpose minerals (e.g., zeolites, smectites, and tobermorites) that in turn may be used in life support, construction, waste renovation, and chemical processes. Zeolites, smectites, and tobermorites have a number of potential applications at a lunar base. Zeolites are hydrated aluminosilicates of alkali and alkaline earth cations that possess infinite, three-dimensional crystal structures. They are further characterized by an ability to hydrate and dehydrate reversibly and to exchange some of their constituent cations, both without major change of structure. Based on their unique absorption, cation exchange, molecular sieving, and catalytic properties, zeolites may be used as a solid support medium for the growth of plants, as an adsorption medium for separation of various gases (e.g., N2 from O2), as catalysts, as molecular sieves, and as a cation exchanger in sewage-effluent treatment, in radioactive waste disposal, and in pollution control. Smectites are crystalline, hydrated 2:1 layered aluminosilicates that also have the ability to exchange some of their constituent cations. Like zeolites, smectites may be used as an adsorption medium for waste renovation, as adsorption sites for important essential plant growth cations in solid support plant growth mediums (i.e., 'soils'), as cation exchangers, and in other important application. Tobermorites are cystalline, hydrated single-chained layered silicates that have cation-exchange and selectivity properties between those of smectites and most zeolites. Tobermorites may be used as a cement in building lunar base structures, as catalysts, as media for nuclear and hazardous waste disposal, as exchange media for waste-water treatment, and in other potential applications. Special-purpose minerals synthesized at a lunar base may also have important applications at a space station and for other planetary missions. New technologies will be required at a lunar base to develop life support systems that are self-sufficient, and the use of special-purpose minerals may help achieve this self-sufficiency.

Ming, Douglas W.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus: A NASA tool for building and managing graphical user interfaces

The Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus, developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is an advanced portable user interface development which simplifies the process of creating and managing complex application graphical user interfaces (GUI's). TAE Plus supports the rapid prototyping of GUI's and allows applications to be ported easily between different platforms. This paper will discuss the capabilities of the TAE Plus tool, and how it makes the job of designing and developing GUI's easier for application developers. TAE Plus is being applied to many types of applications, and this paper discusses how it has been used both within and outside NASA.

Szczur, Martha R.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Development of a prototype kinestatic platform for application to space and ground servicing tasks. Phase 1: Concept Modeling

The Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics (CIMAR) of the University of Florida, in conjunction with Rockwell International is developing an electro-mechanical device called a Kinestatic Platform (KP) for aerospace applications. The goal of the current project is to develop a prototype KP which is capable of manipulating a 50 lb. payload. This prototype will demonstrate the feasibility of implementing a scaled up version to perform high precision manipulation of distributed systems and to control contact forces and allowable motions (rotations and translations), which is defined here as Kinestatic Control, in a six dimensional, partially constrained environment, simultaneously and independently. The objectives of the Phase 1 effort were as follows: (1) Identify specific NASA applications where the KP technology can be applied. (2) Select one application for development. (3) Develop a conceptual design of the KP specifically for the selected application. This includes the steps of developing a set of detailed performance criteria, establishing and making selection of the mechanism design parameters, and evaluating the expected system response. (4) Develop a computer graphics animation of the KP as it performs the selected application. This report will proceed by providing a technical description of the KP followed by how each of these objectives was addressed.

Duffy, J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Virtual reality as a human factors design analysis tool: Macro-ergonomic application validation and assessment of the Space Station Freedom payload control area

A virtual reality (VR) Applications Program has been under development at MSFC since 1989. Its objectives are to develop, assess, validate, and utilize VR in hardware development, operations development and support, missions operations training, and science training. A variety of activities are under way within many of these areas. One ongoing macro-ergonomic application of VR relates to the design of the Space Station Freedom Payload Control Area (PCA), the control room from which onboard payload operations are managed. Several preliminary conceptual PCA layouts have been developed and modeled in VR. Various managers and potential end users have virtually 'entered' these rooms and provided valuable feedback. Before VR can be used with confidence in a particular application, it must be validated, or calibrated, for that class of applications. Two associated validation studies for macro-ergonomic applications are under way to help characterize possible distortions of filtering of relevant perceptions in a virtual world. In both studies, existing control rooms and their 'virtual counterparts will be empirically compared using distance and heading estimations to objects and subjective assessments. Approaches and findings of the PCA activities and details of the studies are presented.

Hale, Joseph P.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Potential aerospace applications of high temperature superconductors

The recent discovery of High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) with superconducting transition temperature, T(sub c), above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen has opened the door for using these materials in new and practical applications. These materials have zero resistance to electric current, have the capability of carrying large currents and as such have the potential to be used in high magnetic field applications. One of the space applications that can use superconductors is electromagnetic launch of payloads to low-earth-orbit. An electromagnetic gun-type launcher can be used in small payload systems that are launched at very high velocity, while sled-type magnetically levitated launcher can be used to launch larger payloads at smaller velocities. Both types of launchers are being studied by NASA and the aerospace industry. The use of superconductors will be essential in any of these types of launchers in order to produce the large magnetic fields required to obtain large thrust forces. Low Temperature Superconductor (LTS) technology is mature enough and can be easily integrated in such systems. As for the HTS, many leading companies are currently producing HTS coils and magnets that potentially can be mass-produced for these launchers. It seems that designing and building a small-scale electromagnetic launcher is the next logical step toward seriously considering this method for launching payloads into low-earth-orbit. A second potential application is the use of HTS to build sensitive portable devices for the use in Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE). Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUID's) are the most sensitive instruments for measuring changes in magnetic flux. By using HTS in SQUID's, one will be able to design a portable unit that uses liquid nitrogen or a cryocooler pump to explore the use of gradiometers or magnetometers to detect deep cracks or corrosion in structures. A third use is the replacement of Infra-Red (IR) sensor leads on Earth Orbit Systems (EOS) with HTS leads. IR detectors on these EOS missions are cooled to a 4.2K to improve their signal to noise ratio. They are connected to data acquisitions systems using manganin wires (low thermal conductors) to reduce the heat load on the cryogen. Replacing these wires with HTS leads will increase the lifetime of these missions by about 50 percent. This is a promising application that is ready for actual implementation on such systems. The analysis also show that an the number of IR detectors increase in larger EOS systems, substantial increase in the lifetime of each mission will be realized by using HTS leads instead of the manganin ones.

Selim, Raouf↗

NASA NTRS1994

Application of electron paramagnetic resonance imaging to the characterization of the Ultem(R) exposed to 1 MeV electrons. Correlation of radical density data to tiger code calculations

A major long-term goal of the Materials Division at the NASA Langley Research Center is the characterization of new high-performance materials that have potential applications in the aircraft industry, and in space. The materials used for space applications are often subjected to a harsh and potentially damaging radiation environment. The present study constitutes the application of a novel technique to obtain reliable data for ascertaining the molecular basis for the resilience and durability of materials that have been exposed to simulated space radiations. The radiations of greatest concern are energetic electrons and protons, as well as galactic cosmic rays. Presently, the effects of such radiation on matter are not understood in their entirety. It is clear however, that electron radiation causes ionization and homolytic bond rupture, resulting in the formation of paramagnetic spin centers in the polymer matrices of the structural materials. Since the detection and structure elucidation of paramagnetic species are most readily accomplished using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy, the NASA LaRC EPR system was brought back on-line during the 1991 ASEE term. The subsequent 1992 ASEE term was devoted to the adaptation of the EPR core system to meet the requirements for EPR Imaging (EPRI), which provides detailed information on the spatial distribution of paramagnetic species in bulk media. The present (1994) ASEE term was devoted to the calibration of this EPR Imaging system, as well as to the application of this technology to study the effects of electron irradiation on Ultem(exp R), a high performance polymer which is a candidate for applications in aerospace. The Ultem was exposed to a dose of 2.4 x 10(exp 9) Rads (1-MeV energy/electron) at the LaRC electron accelerator facility. Subsequently, the exposed specimens were stored in liquid nitrogen, until immediately prior to analyses by EPRI. The intensity and dimensions of the EPR Images that were generated for the irradiated specimens showed that the electrons penetrated the material to a depth of approximately 0.125 inch. These data show a very high degree of correlation to the energy deposition profile as predicted by the Tiger Code, a Monte Carlo code that provides guidelines for the transport of electrons in matter. Subsequent efforts will focus on delineating the transport properties of energetic protons in Ultem(R).

Suleman, Naushadalli K.↗