Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Software Quality Models”

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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Grizzly Development for Light Water Reactor and Advanced Reactor Applications in Fiscal Year 2021

This report summarizes work performed during Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Engineering Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program for the Structural Materials and Chemistry Technical Area in the work package entitled “MS-21IN050106 - Structural Materials - INL.” This effort mainly focused on development and application of capabilities for engineering-scale analysis of nuclear reactor structural components in the Grizzly and BlackBear codes. These efforts include performance improvements and application of models for high-temperature component response, cluster dynamics modeling of precipitation in light water reactor pressure vessel steel, engineering-scale capability development in the areas of concrete simulation and reactor pressure vessel analysis, and preparation for and conducting an independent assessment of the adherence of these codes to software quality standards.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1999

Model Checking Verification and Validation at JPL and the NASA Fairmont IV and V Facility

We show how a technology transfer effort was carried out. The successful use of model checking on a pilot JPL flight project demonstrates the usefulness and the efficacy of the approach. The pilot project was used to model a complex spacecraft controller. Software design and implementation validation were carried out successfully. To suggest future applications we also show how the implementation validation step can be automated. The effort was followed by the formal introduction of the modeling technique as a part of the JPL Quality Assurance process.

Schneider, Frank↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integrated Dynamic Facade Control with an Agent-based Architecture for Commercial Buildings

Dynamic façades have significant technical potential to minimize heating, cooling, and lighting energy use and peak electric demand in the perimeter zone of commercial buildings, but the performance of these systems is reliant on being able to balance complex trade-offs between solar control, daylight admission, comfort, and view over the life of the installation. As the context for controllable energy-efficiency technologies grows more complex with the increased use of intermittent renewable energy resources on the grid, it has become increasingly important to look ahead towards more advanced approaches to integrated systems control in order to achieve optimum life-cycle performance at a lower cost. This study examines the feasibility of a model predictive control system for low-cost autonomous dynamic façades. A system architecture designed around lightweight, simple agents is proposed. The architecture accommodates whole building and grid level demands through its modular, hierarchical approach. Automatically-generated models for computing window heat gains, daylight illuminance, and discomfort glare are described. The open source Modelica and JModelica software tools were used to determine the optimum state of control given inputs of window heat gains and lighting loads for a 24-hour optimization horizon. Penalty functions for glare and view/ daylight quality were implemented as constraints. The control system was tested on a low-power controller (1.4 GHz single core with 2 GB of RAM) to evaluate feasibility. The target platform is a low-cost ($35/unit) embedded controller with 1.2 GHz dual-core cpu and 1 GB of RAM. Configuration and commissioning of the curtainwall unit was designed to be largely plug and play with minimal inputs required by the manufacturer through a web-based user interface. An example application was used to demonstrate optimal control of a three-zone electrochromic window for a south-facing zone. The overall approach was deemed to be promising. Further engineering is required to enable scalable, turnkey solutions.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS2018

Internship in Augmented and Virtual Reality - Rapid Model Import Tool

The integration of virtual and augmented reality, sometimes called mixed reality, is an emerging technology which will likely skyrocket overnight much in the way smartphones did a decade ago. Kennedy Space Center's Augmented and Virtual Reality (AVR) Lab is developing a Rapid Model Import Tool (RMIT) to create a quick and efficient way to bring NASA's complex engineering 3D models into virtual and augmented environments. The long-term objective is to create a tool that will ultimately benefit KSC engineers. Its various uses within NASA can potentially span from astronaut training, to marketing, to public outreach, to name a few. Unity is a prolific cross-platform game engine that allows users to build high quality 2D and 3D games for desktop, mobile, web, and game console platforms. It is perhaps also the most widely used software for virtual reality game development. At the AVR lab, we are looking at alternative uses of Unity to build tools for NASA engineers to perform design, development, testing, and training on spacecraft, rocket delivery systems, ground support equipment, and facilities at KSC. As an intern for the RMIT project, I am charged with the task of performing research on Unity-compatible file types to develop an efficient, affordable, preservative process to bring models from CATIA 3D engineering software into the Unity environment. With a tool called the NASA Enterprise Visualization Application (NEVA), developed by the Boeing Design Visualization group at KSC, we are able to easily convert CATIA's design models to. DAE (also known as COLLADA) and .OBJ file formats. I first reduce the polygon count of the model within CATIA itself, make any necessary tweaks to reduce the model further, and then export using NEVA. The .OBJ or. DAE files that I am left with are then converted by another intern to a Unity-compatible file format using a custom Python script. I have generated extensive documentation of this process in a NEVA User Guide. By the end of this semester, we will have built a solid framework for RMIT based on a thorough understanding of virtual reality specifications and file requirements, allowing future software development teams to go forward with development on the custom tool.

Leap Motion↗
DOE OSTI2026

Super-resolution model for overlapping peak detection and improved spatial resolution in high-energy diffraction microscopy

Reconstruction quality in Far-field High-Energy Diffraction Microscopy (FF-HEDM) is limited by the spatial resolution of area detectors and the frequent occurrence of overlapping diffraction spots. To address these challenges, we developed a super-resolution (SR) framework using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to recreate 2D diffraction peaks at up to ×8 resolution from raw detector data. A specialized simulation tool was created to generate synthetic training datasets with varying degrees of peak overlap. Integrated into the Microstructural Imaging using Diffraction Analysis Software (MIDAS), the SR model improves the spatial accuracy and precision of 3D grain reconstruction by an order of magnitude. This approach provides a robust solution for investigation of complex micromechanical states and material classes where the analysis is limited by the presence of overlapping peaks. Furthermore, the methodology developed here can potentially be extended to other techniques that require sub-pixel accuracy for high-fidelity data analysis.

High-energy diffraction microscopy↗
NASA NTRS2012

Method for Pre-Conditioning a Measured Surface Height Map for Model Validation

This software allows one to up-sample or down-sample a measured surface map for model validation, not only without introducing any re-sampling errors, but also eliminating the existing measurement noise and measurement errors. Because the re-sampling of a surface map is accomplished based on the analytical expressions of Zernike-polynomials and a power spectral density model, such re-sampling does not introduce any aliasing and interpolation errors as is done by the conventional interpolation and FFT-based (fast-Fourier-transform-based) spatial-filtering method. Also, this new method automatically eliminates the measurement noise and other measurement errors such as artificial discontinuity. The developmental cycle of an optical system, such as a space telescope, includes, but is not limited to, the following two steps: (1) deriving requirements or specs on the optical quality of individual optics before they are fabricated through optical modeling and simulations, and (2) validating the optical model using the measured surface height maps after all optics are fabricated. There are a number of computational issues related to model validation, one of which is the "pre-conditioning" or pre-processing of the measured surface maps before using them in a model validation software tool. This software addresses the following issues: (1) up- or down-sampling a measured surface map to match it with the gridded data format of a model validation tool, and (2) eliminating the surface measurement noise or measurement errors such that the resulted surface height map is continuous or smoothly-varying. So far, the preferred method used for re-sampling a surface map is two-dimensional interpolation. The main problem of this method is that the same pixel can take different values when the method of interpolation is changed among the different methods such as the "nearest," "linear," "cubic," and "spline" fitting in Matlab. The conventional, FFT-based spatial filtering method used to eliminate the surface measurement noise or measurement errors can also suffer from aliasing effects. During re-sampling of a surface map, this software preserves the low spatial-frequency characteristic of a given surface map through the use of Zernike-polynomial fit coefficients, and maintains mid- and high-spatial-frequency characteristics of the given surface map by the use of a PSD model derived from the two-dimensional PSD data of the mid- and high-spatial-frequency components of the original surface map. Because this new method creates the new surface map in the desired sampling format from analytical expressions only, it does not encounter any aliasing effects and does not cause any discontinuity in the resultant surface map.

Sidick, Erkin↗
NASA NTRS2026

Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) Capability Maturity Levels for Ecosystems Enabling Digital Transformation

Digital engineering (DE) and integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) are widely recognized as critical enablers of faster, more affordable, and more reliable aerospace systems. However, many organizations have struggled to realize the promised return on investment (ROI) from digital initiatives. A primary reason is the absence of a shared, decision-focused framework that distinguishes simple digitization of existing workflows from true digital transformation that fundamentally changes how engineering decisions are made. This paper introduces an ICME capability maturity framework that fills this gap. The framework defines six cumulative ICME capability maturity levels (CMLs), explicitly tied to decision authority, engineering integration, optimization, and uncertainty management across material, process, structure, and performance scales. It is designed to complement established readiness metrics such as technology readiness levels (TRLs), manufacturing readiness levels (MRLs), and integration readiness levels (IRLs), by addressing a missing dimension: the conditions required for model-informed decision authority across scales. A unifying figure and capability table illustrate the six-level ICME Capability Maturity Framework, showing how organizations progress from digitization—with limited or negative ROI—to true digital transformation, where ICME-enabled workflows deliver measurable improvements in decision quality, cycle time, risk reduction, and reuse. The framework is intended for both technical practitioners and executive leadership, providing a common language to assess current state, guide roadmaps, align software ecosystem investments, and set realistic expectations for digital transformation outcomes. A regulatory-relevant statement clarifying the relationship between ICME capability and existing certification frameworks is provided.

ICME↗
DOE OSTI2020

Fluidization of Group A Glass Particles: Experiments and Preliminary Validation

This work is aimed at providing reliable high-quality data from fluidization experiments. Geldart Group A glass beads are used as bed material. The fluidizing medium is air at atmospheric pressure which enters the system at 40% relative humidity. The air inlet velocity is varied over a broad range from 2 U mf to 26 U mf , where the minimum fluidization velocity, U mf , is 0.608 cm/s. There is not a significant change in the mean values of differential pressure; however, there are noticeable trends in their standard deviation values. Preliminary validation studies are performed using the open-source software Multiphase Flow with Interphase eXchanges (MFiX) developed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The results from Eulerian-Eulerian (MFiX-TFM, two-fluid model) and Eulerian-Lagrangian (MFiX-PIC, particle-in-cell) formulations are compared. The work presented in this report highlights the applicability of MFiX-PIC for large-scale applications, and reveals that PIC simulation offers a suitable alternative to TFM simulation when effects due to multiple components or polydispersity are significant. PIC modeling provides a readily extendible framework for such systems. However, PIC models do rely on an empirical closure for inter-particle stress. Some solution discrepancies were evident in MFiX-PIC predictions which require further analysis. As such, the study underlines the need for a systematic approach to quantify the sources of numerical uncertainty within the PIC model. However, even with known empiricism, MFiX-PIC has demonstrated considerable potential in analyzing gas-solid systems. The results obtained are encouraging and warrant further investigation to improve the predictive capability of MFiX-PIC.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2001

Rapid Prototyping Integrated With Nondestructive Evaluation and Finite Element Analysis

Most reverse engineering approaches involve imaging or digitizing an object then creating a computerized reconstruction that can be integrated, in three dimensions, into a particular design environment. Rapid prototyping (RP) refers to the practical ability to build high-quality physical prototypes directly from computer aided design (CAD) files. Using rapid prototyping, full-scale models or patterns can be built using a variety of materials in a fraction of the time required by more traditional prototyping techniques (refs. 1 and 2). Many software packages have been developed and are being designed to tackle the reverse engineering and rapid prototyping issues just mentioned. For example, image processing and three-dimensional reconstruction visualization software such as Velocity2 (ref. 3) are being used to carry out the construction process of three-dimensional volume models and the subsequent generation of a stereolithography file that is suitable for CAD applications. Producing three-dimensional models of objects from computed tomography (CT) scans is becoming a valuable nondestructive evaluation methodology (ref. 4). Real components can be rendered and subjected to temperature and stress tests using structural engineering software codes. For this to be achieved, accurate high-resolution images have to be obtained via CT scans and then processed, converted into a traditional file format, and translated into finite element models. Prototyping a three-dimensional volume of a composite structure by reading in a series of two-dimensional images generated via CT and by using and integrating commercial software (e.g. Velocity2, MSC/PATRAN (ref. 5), and Hypermesh (ref. 6)) is being applied successfully at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The building process from structural modeling to the analysis level is outlined in reference 7. Subsequently, a stress analysis of a composite cooling panel under combined thermomechanical loading conditions was performed to validate this process.

Abdul-Aziz, Ali↗
NASA NTRS2011

MOS 2.0: Modeling the Next Revolutionary Mission Operations System

Designed and implemented in the 1980's, the Advanced Multi-Mission Operations System (AMMOS) was a breakthrough for deep-space NASA missions, enabling significant reductions in the cost and risk of implementing ground systems. By designing a framework for use across multiple missions and adaptability to specific mission needs, AMMOS developers created a set of applications that have operated dozens of deep-space robotic missions over the past 30 years. We seek to leverage advances in technology and practice of architecting and systems engineering, using model-based approaches to update the AMMOS. We therefore revisit fundamental aspects of the AMMOS, resulting in a major update to the Mission Operations System (MOS): MOS 2.0. This update will ensure that the MOS can support an increasing range of mission types, (such as orbiters, landers, rovers, penetrators and balloons), and that the operations systems for deep-space robotic missions can reap the benefits of an iterative multi-mission framework.12 This paper reports on the first phase of this major update. Here we describe the methods and formal semantics used to address MOS 2.0 architecture and some early results. Early benefits of this approach include improved stakeholder input and buy-in, the ability to articulate and focus effort on key, system-wide principles, and efficiency gains obtained by use of well-architected design patterns and the use of models to improve the quality of documentation and decrease the effort required to produce and maintain it. We find that such methods facilitate reasoning, simulation, analysis on the system design in terms of design impacts, generation of products (e.g., project-review and software-delivery products), and use of formal process descriptions to enable goal-based operations. This initial phase yields a forward-looking and principled MOS 2.0 architectural vision, which considers both the mission-specific context and long-term system sustainability.

ground support systems↗
NASA NTRS1981

airborne data analysis/monitor system

An Airborne Data Analysis/Monitor System (ADAMS), a ROLM 1666 computer based system installed onboard test airplanes used during experimental testing is evaluated. In addition to the 1666 computer, the ADAMS hardware includes a DDC System 90 fixed head disk and a Miltape DD400 floppy disk. Boeing designed a DMA interface to the data acquisition system and an intelligent terminal to reduce system overhead and simplify operator commands. The ADAMS software includes RMX/RTOS and both ROLM FORTRAN and assembly language are used. The ADAMS provides real time displays that enable onboard test engineers to make rapid decisions about test conduct thus reducing the cost and time required to certify new model airplanes, and improved the quality of data derived from the test, leading to more rapid development of improvements resulting in quieter, safer, and more efficient airplanes. The availability of airborne data processing removes most of the weather and geographical restrictions imposed by telemetered flight test data systems. A data base is maintained to describe the airplane, the data acquisition system, the type of testing, and the conditions under which the test is performed.

Stephison, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Aeroacoustic Simulations of a Nose Landing Gear Using FUN3D on Pointwise Unstructured Grids

Numerical simulations have been performed for a partially-dressed, cavity-closed (PDCC) nose landing gear configuration that was tested in the University of Florida's open-jet acoustic facility known as the UFAFF. The unstructured-grid flow solver FUN3D is used to compute the unsteady flow field for this configuration. Mixed-element grids generated using the Pointwise(TradeMark) grid generation software are used for these simulations. Particular care is taken to ensure quality cells and proper resolution in critical areas of interest in an effort to minimize errors introduced by numerical artifacts. A hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes/large eddy simulation (RANS/LES) turbulence model is used for these simulations. Solutions are also presented for a wall function model coupled to the standard turbulence model. Time-averaged and instantaneous solutions obtained on these Pointwise grids are compared with the measured data and previous numerical solutions. The resulting CFD solutions are used as input to a Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings noise propagation code to compute the farfield noise levels in the flyover and sideline directions. The computed noise levels compare well with previous CFD solutions and experimental data.

Vatsa, Veer N.↗
DOE OSTI2024

FENIX: Towards a Fully Integrated Multiphysics Framework for Plasma Facing Component Modeling

Computational tools have a crucial role to play in accelerating the deployment of fusion as a clean, reliable, abundant, and sustainable energy source. Multiphysics, high-fidelity simulation capabilities can help model, study, and predict intricate interactions between materials performance, plasma exposure, neutron irradiation, and engineering processes. As such, they can assist in the resolution of scientific and engineering challenges underpinning design, construction, and commission of fusion power plants. To address these needs, ongoing efforts are leveraging the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework and delivering new computational tools for the fusion community. These tools inherit crucial attributes from MOOSE. They are open-source, modular, integrated with nuclear industry-standard software quality assurance processes, and enable multiphysics, multi-fidelity, fully integrated, zero- to three-dimensional, and massively parallel simulations. After a short overview of these capabilities, we will present the development of Fusion ENergy Integrated multiphys-X (FENIX), a MOOSE-based application designed to enable plasma facing component design and performance evaluation. Throughout their lifetime, plasma facing components are exposed to extreme thermal loads, repeated thermal shocks, and irradiation by plasma ions, neutral particles, and high-energy neutrons. Consequently, designing a plasma facing component with acceptable lifetime degradation is extremely challenging. FENIX aims to model the multiphysics environment in which plasma facing components evolve to accelerate their design studies. To that end, FENIX couples existing MOOSE capabilities such as heat transfer, thermomechanics, and thermal hydraulics, with tritium transport via the MOOSE-based Tritium Migration Analysis Program, Version 8 (TMAP8), with neutronics via the MOOSE-based high-fidelity neutron-photon transport and fluid dynamics code Cardinal, and finally with Particle-in-Cell plasma simulation capabilities being developed in this project. In this study, we present the current FENIX capabilities and preliminary results of its application to model the Tritium Plasma Experiment set up at Idaho National Laboratory.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Advancing Scientific Productivity through Better Scientific Software: Developer Productivity and Software Sustainability Report

The Exascale Computing Project (ECP) provides a unique opportunity to advance computational science and engineering (CSE) through an accelerated growth phase in extreme-scale computing. Central to the project is the development of next-generation applications and software technologies that can exploit emerging architectures for optimal performance and provide high-fidelity, multiphysics, multiscale capabilities. However, disruptive changes in computer architectures and the complexities of tackling new frontiers in extreme-scale modeling, simulation, and analysis present daunting challenges to the productivity of software developers and the sustainability of software artifacts. Members of the CSE community - especially at extreme scales but more broadly at all scales of computing - face an urgent need to improve developer productivity, positively impacting product quality, development time, and staffing resources, and software sustainability, reducing the cost of maintaining, sustaining, and evolving software capabilities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1987

Summary of paper: Area navigation implementation for a microcomputer-based Loran-C receiver

The development of an area navigation program and the implementation of this software on a microcomputer-based Loran-C receiver to provide high-quality, practical area navigation information for general aviation are described. This software provides range and bearing angle to a selected waypoint, cross-track error, course deviation indication (CDI), ground speed, and estimated time of arrival at the waypoint. The range/bearing calculation, using an elliptical Earth model, provides very good accuracy; the error does not exceed more than -.012 nm (range) or 0.09 degree (bearing) for a maximum range to 530 nm. The alpha-beta filtering is applied in order to reduce the random noise on Loran-C raw data and in the ground speed calculation. Due to alpha-beta filtering, the ground speed calculation has good stability for constant or low-accelerative flight. The execution time of this software is approximately 0.2 second. Flight testing was done with a prototype Loran-C front-end receiver, with the Loran-C area navigation software demonstrating the ability to provide navigation for the pilot to any point in the Loran-C coverage area in true area navigation fashion without line-of-sight and range restriction typical of VOR area navigation.

Oguri, Fujiko↗
NASA NTRS1989

Error-Free Software

001 is an integrated tool suited for automatically developing ultra reliable models, simulations and software systems. Developed and marketed by Hamilton Technologies, Inc. (HTI), it has been applied in engineering, manufacturing, banking and software tools development. The software provides the ability to simplify the complex. A system developed with 001 can be a prototype or fully developed with production quality code. It is free of interface errors, consistent, logically complete and has no data or control flow errors. Systems can be designed, developed and maintained with maximum productivity. Margaret Hamilton, President of Hamilton Technologies, also directed the research and development of USE.IT, an earlier product which was the first computer aided software engineering product in the industry to concentrate on automatically supporting the development of an ultrareliable system throughout its life cycle. Both products originated in NASA technology developed under a Johnson Space Center contract.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2011

InSAR Scientific Computing Environment

This computing environment is the next generation of geodetic image processing technology for repeat-pass Interferometric Synthetic Aperture (InSAR) sensors, identified by the community as a needed capability to provide flexibility and extensibility in reducing measurements from radar satellites and aircraft to new geophysical products. This software allows users of interferometric radar data the flexibility to process from Level 0 to Level 4 products using a variety of algorithms and for a range of available sensors. There are many radar satellites in orbit today delivering to the science community data of unprecedented quantity and quality, making possible large-scale studies in climate research, natural hazards, and the Earth's ecosystem. The proposed DESDynI mission, now under consideration by NASA for launch later in this decade, would provide time series and multiimage measurements that permit 4D models of Earth surface processes so that, for example, climate-induced changes over time would become apparent and quantifiable. This advanced data processing technology, applied to a global data set such as from the proposed DESDynI mission, enables a new class of analyses at time and spatial scales unavailable using current approaches. This software implements an accurate, extensible, and modular processing system designed to realize the full potential of InSAR data from future missions such as the proposed DESDynI, existing radar satellite data, as well as data from the NASA UAVSAR (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar), and other airborne platforms. The processing approach has been re-thought in order to enable multi-scene analysis by adding new algorithms and data interfaces, to permit user-reconfigurable operation and extensibility, and to capitalize on codes already developed by NASA and the science community. The framework incorporates modern programming methods based on recent research, including object-oriented scripts controlling legacy and new codes, abstraction and generalization of the data model for efficient manipulation of objects among modules, and well-designed module interfaces suitable for command- line execution or GUI-programming. The framework is designed to allow users contributions to promote maximum utility and sophistication of the code, creating an open-source community that could extend the framework into the indefinite future.

Rosen, Paul A.↗