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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.

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At least 235 records · Page 13

tobac v1.5: introducing fast 3D tracking, splits and mergers, and other enhancements for identifying and analysing meteorological phenomena

There is a continuously increasing need for reliable feature detection and tracking tools based on objective analysis principles for use with meteorological data. Many tools have been developed over the previous 2 decades that attempt to address this need but most have limitations on the type of data they can be used with, feature computational and/or memory expenses that make them unwieldy with larger datasets, or require some form of data reduction prior to use that limits the tool's utility. The Tracking and Object-Based Analysis of Clouds (tobac) Python package is a modular, open-source tool that improves on the overall generality and utility of past tools. A number of scientific improvements (three spatial dimensions, splits and mergers of features, an internal spectral filtering tool) and procedural enhancements (increased computational efficiency, internal regridding of data, and treatments for periodic boundary conditions) have been included in tobac as a part of the tobac v1.5 update. These improvements have made tobac one of the most robust, powerful, and flexible identification and tracking tools in our field to date and expand its potential use in other fields. Future plans for tobac v2 are also discussed.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Oxidative stress is a shared characteristic of ME/CFS and Long COVID

Over 65 million individuals worldwide are estimated to have Long COVID (LC), a complex multisystemic condition marked by fatigue, post-exertional malaise, and other symptoms resembling myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). With no clinically approved treatments or reliable diagnostic markers, there is an urgent need to define the molecular underpinnings of these conditions. By studying bioenergetic characteristics of peripheral blood lymphocytes in 25 healthy controls, 27 ME/CFS, and 20 LC donors, we find both ME/CFS and LC donors exhibit signs of elevated oxidative stress, especially in the memory subset. Using a combination of flow cytometry, RNA-seq, mass spectrometry, and systems chemistry analysis, we observed aberrations in reactive oxygen species (ROS) clearance pathways including elevated glutathione levels, decreases in mitochondrial superoxide dismutase protein levels, and glutathione peroxidase 4–mediated lipid oxidative damage. Strikingly, these redox pathways changes show sex-specific trends. While ME/CFS females exhibit higher total ROS and mitochondrial calcium levels, males have normal ROS levels, with pronounced mitochondrial lipid oxidative damage. In females, these higher ROS levels correlate with T cell hyperproliferation, consistent with the known role of elevated ROS in initiating proliferation. This hyperproliferation can be attenuated by metformin, suggesting this Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug as a possible treatment, as also suggested by a recent clinical study of LC patients. Moreover, these results suggest a shared mechanistic basis for the systemic phenotypes of ME/CFS and LC, which can be detected by quantitative blood cell measurements, and that effective, patient-tailored drugs might be discovered using standard lymphocyte stimulation assays.

ME/CFS↗

Four-Channel PC/104 MIL-STD-1553 Circuit Board

The mini bus interface card (miniBIC) is the first four-channel electronic circuit board that conforms to MIL-STD-1553 and to the electrical-footprint portion of PC/104. [MIL-STD-1553 is a military standard that encompasses a method of communication and electrical- interface requirements for digital electronic subsystems connected to a data bus. PC/104 is an industry standard for compact, stackable modules that are fully compatible (in architecture, hardware, and software) with personal-computer data- and power-bus circuitry.] Prior to the development of the miniBIC, only one- and two-channel PC/104 MIL-STD-1553 boards were available. To obtain four channels, it was necessary to include at least two boards in a PC/104 stack. In comparison with such a two-board stack, the miniBIC takes up less space, consumes less power, and is more reliable. In addition, the miniBIC includes 32 digital input/output channels. The miniBIC (see figure) contains four MIL-STD-1553B hybrid integrated circuits (ICs), four transformers, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) interface. Each hybrid IC includes a MILSTD-1553 dual transceiver, memory-management circuitry, processor interface logic circuitry, and 64Kx16 bits of shared static random access memory. The memory is used to configure message and data blocks. In addition, 23 16-bit registers are available for (1) configuring the hybrid IC for, and starting it in, various modes of operation; (2) reading the status of the functionality of the hybrid IC; and (3) resetting the hybrid IC to a known state. The miniBIC can operate as a remote terminal, bus controller, or bus monitor. The FPGA provides the chip-select and data-strobe signals needed for operation of the hybrid ICs. The FPGA also receives interruption signals and forwards them to the ISA bus. The ISA interface connects the address, data, and control interfaces of the hybrid ICs to the ISA backplane. Each channel is, in effect, a MIL-STD-1553 interface that can operate either independently of the others or else as a redundant version of one of the others. The transformer in each channel provides electrical isolation between the rest of the miniBIC circuitry and the bus to which that channel is connected.

Cox, Gary L.↗

Prospects for the development of phototelevision methods in space studies

In-space imaging of the surface of celestial bodies can be carried out by both television and photographic equipment. Television equipment of various types has the important property of being capable of transmitting imagery in real time. Frequently this is not possible because of the nature of information transmission over the spacecraft-ground communication line. The inadequate energy handling capacity of the communication lines usually requires storage of the video information aboard the spacecraft for subsequent transmission at a definite time and rate. For this purpose, the television camera can be connected with a magnetic memory, or the television imagery may be stored on photographic film. The television/photographic film system has been termed phototelevision. The choice of a system of one type or the other is dictated by several considerations, the most important of which are the size and weight characteristics, other conditions being the same (power consumption, reliability, etc.). The advantages and disadvantages of the two systems are discussed and examples are given of types of satellites on which the two types have been employed.

Selivanov, A. S.↗

MRAM Technology Status

Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) is much different from conventional types of memory like SRAM, DRAM, and Flash, where electric charge is used to store information. Instead of exploiting the charge of an electron, MRAM uses its spin to store data. This new type of electronics is known as "spintronics." The primary focus of this report is the current generation of MRAM technology, and its reliability, vendors, and space-readiness.

Heidecker, Jason↗

MRAM Technology Status

Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) is much different from conventional types of memory like SRAM, DRAM, and Flash, where electric charge is used to store information. Instead of exploiting the charge of an electron, MRAM uses its spin to store data. This new type of electronics is known as “spintronics.” The primary focus of this report is the current generation of MRAM technology, and its reliability, vendors, and space-readiness.

Heidecker, Jason↗

Experimental Results and Issues on Equalization for Nonlinear Memory Channel: Pre-Cursor Enhanced Ram-DFE Canceler

This thesis investigates the effects of the High Power Amplifier (HPA) and the filters over a satellite or telemetry channel. The Volterra series expression is presented for the nonlinear channel with memory, and the algorithm is based on the finite-state machine model. A RAM-based algorithm operating on the receiver side, Pre-cursor Enhanced RAM-FSE Canceler (PERC) is developed. A high order modulation scheme , 16-QAM is used for simulation, the results show that PERC provides an efficient and reliable method to transmit data on the bandlimited nonlinear channel. The contribution of PERC algorithm is that it includes both pre-cursors and post-cursors as the RAM address lines, and suggests a new way to make decision on the pre-addresses. Compared with the RAM-DFE structure that only includes post- addresses, the BER versus Eb/NO performance of PERC is substantially enhanced. Experiments are performed for PERC algorithms with different parameters on AWGN channels, and the results are compared and analyzed. The investigation of this thesis includes software simulation and hardware verification. Hardware is setup to collect actual TWT data. Simulation on both the software-generated data and the real-world data are performed. Practical limitations are considered for the hardware collected data. Simulation results verified the reliability of the PERC algorithm. This work was conducted at NMSU in the Center for Space Telemetering and Telecommunications Systems in the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

Yuan, Lu↗

Day-Ahead Forecasting with Federated LSTM to Plan Energy Sharing in a Community Microgrid

Energy balancing in microgrids is a key enabler of resilience. Community microgrids located close to each other have the added benefit of networking and sharing surplus energy, if available. Such complex decision-making runs on optimization that requires reliable short-term (up to very-short-term) forecasts of energy generation and consumption for scheduling or trading. Each microgrid may also opt to not expose their sensitive data such as consumption patterns of individual businesses or residences. This paper investigates a federated approach to dayahead forecasting that trains naive long short-term memory (LSTM) at each business in a microgrid and aggregates weights at the microgrid controller using proximal regularization. This approach ensures that the controller has access only to energy surplus/deficit and not the actual generation or consumption values, avoiding unwanted exposure of sensitive data. A community microgrid in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico with 3 businesses is selected as a case study with a laboratory-scale computing setup. A central LSTM forecaster, where sensitive data from businesses are aggregated at the controller, is implemented as a baseline for qualifying the results. This work serves as a proof-of-concept for scaling the approach to networked and nested microgrids with more complex control options.

Sundararajan, Aditya [ORNL] (ORCID:000000033577854↗

Dynamical Evolution of Meteoroid Streams, Developments Over the Last 30 Years

As soon as reliable methods for observationally determining the heliocentric orbits of meteoroids and hence the mean orbit of a meteoroid stream in the 1950s and 60s, astronomers strived to investigate the evolution of the orbit under the effects of gravitational perturbations from the planets. At first, the limitations in the capabilities of computers, both in terms of speed and memory, placed severe restrictions on what was possible to do. As a consequence, secular perturbation methods, where the perturbations are averaged over one orbit became the norm. The most popular of these is the Halphen- Goryachev method which was used extensively until the early 1980s. The main disadvantage of these methods lies in the fact that close encounter can be missed, however they remain useful for performing very long-term integrations. Direct integration methods determine the effects of the perturbing forces at many points on an orbit. This give a better picture of the orbital evolution of an individual meteoroid, but many meteoroids have to be integrated in order to obtain a realistic picture of the evolution of a meteoroid stream. The notion of generating a family of hypothetical meteoroids to represent a stream and directly integrate the motion of each was probably first used by Williams Murray & Hughes (1979), to investigate the Quadrantids. Because of computing limitations, only 10 test meteoroids were used. Only two years later, Hughes et. al. (1981) had increased the number of particles 20-fold to 200 while after a further year, Fox Williams and Hughes used 500 000 test meteoroids to model the Geminid stream. With such a number of meteoroids it was possible for the first time to produce a realistic cross-section of the stream on the ecliptic. From that point on there has been a continued increase in the number of meteoroids, the length of time over which integration is carried out and the frequency with which results can be plotted so that it is now possible to produce moving images of the stream. As a consequence, over recent years, emphasis has moved to considering stream formation and the role fragmentation plays in this.

Williams, I. P.↗

CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP): Why it's Useful and How it Works

Reliable delivery of data products is often required across space links. For example, a NASA mission will require reliable delivery of images produced by an on-board detector. Many missions have their own (unique) way of accomplishing this, requiring custom software. Many missions also require manual operations (e.g. the telemetry receiver software keeps track of what data is missing, and a person manually inputs the appropriate commands to request retransmissions). The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) developed the CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP) specifically for this situation. CFDP is an international standard communication protocol that provides reliable delivery of data products. It is designed for use across space links. It will work well if run over the widely used CCSDS Telemetry and Telecommand protocols. However, it can be run over any protocol, and will work well as long as the underlying protocol delivers a reasonable portion of the data. The CFDP receiver will autonomously determine what data is missing, and request retransmissions as needed. The CFDP sender will autonomously perform the requested transmissions. When the entire data product is delivered, the CFDP receiver will let the CFDP sender know that the transaction has completed successfully. The result is that custom software becomes standard, and manual operations become autonomous. This paper will consider various ways of achieving reliable file delivery, explain why CFDP is the optimal choice for use over space links, explain how the core protocol works, and give some guidance on how to best utilize CFDP within various mission scenarios. It will also touch on additional features of CFDP, as well as other uses for CFDP (e.g. the loading of on-board memory and tables).

Ray, Tim↗

Probabilistic resource allocation system with self-adaptive capability

A probabilistic resource allocation system is disclosed containing a low capacity computational module (Short Term Memory or STM) and a self-organizing associative network (Long Term Memory or LTM) where nodes represent elementary resources, terminal end nodes represent goals, and weighted links represent the order of resource association in different allocation episodes. Goals and their priorities are indicated by the user, and allocation decisions are made in the STM, while candidate associations of resources are supplied by the LTM based on the association strength (reliability). Weights are automatically assigned to the network links based on the frequency and relative success of exercising those links in the previous allocation decisions. Accumulation of allocation history in the form of an associative network in the LTM reduces computational demands on subsequent allocations. For this purpose, the network automatically partitions itself into strongly associated high reliability packets, allowing fast approximate computation and display of allocation solutions satisfying the overall reliability and other user-imposed constraints. System performance improves in time due to modification of network parameters and partitioning criteria based on the performance feedback.

Yufik, Yan M.↗

Probabilistic resource allocation system with self-adaptive capability

A probabilistic resource allocation system is disclosed containing a low capacity computational module (Short Term Memory or STM) and a self-organizing associative network (Long Term Memory or LTM) where nodes represent elementary resources, terminal end nodes represent goals, and directed links represent the order of resource association in different allocation episodes. Goals and their priorities are indicated by the user, and allocation decisions are made in the STM, while candidate associations of resources are supplied by the LTM based on the association strength (reliability). Reliability values are automatically assigned to the network links based on the frequency and relative success of exercising those links in the previous allocation decisions. Accumulation of allocation history in the form of an associative network in the LTM reduces computational demands on subsequent allocations. For this purpose, the network automatically partitions itself into strongly associated high reliability packets, allowing fast approximate computation and display of allocation solutions satisfying the overall reliability and other user-imposed constraints. System performance improves in time due to modification of network parameters and partitioning criteria based on the performance feedback.

Yufik, Yan M.↗

Development of Shape Memory Alloys- Challenges and Solutions

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are a unique class of multifunctional materials that have the ability to recover large deformations or generate high stresses in response to thermal, mechanical andor electromagnetic stimuli. These abilities have made them a viable option for actuation systems in aerospace, medical, and automotive applications, amongst others. However, despite many advantages and the fact that SMA actuators have been developed and used for many years, so far they have only found service in a limited range of applications. In order to expand their applications, further developments are needed to increase their reliability and stability and to address processing, testing and qualification needed for large-scale commercial application of SMA actuators. In this seminar, historical inhibitors of SMA applications and current research efforts by NASA Glenn Research Center and collaborators will be discussed. Relationships between fundamental physicalscientific understanding, and the direct transition to engineering and design of mechanisms using these novel materials will be highlighted. Examples will be presented related to targeted alloy development, microstructural control, and bulk-scale testing as a function of stresses, temperatures and harsh environments. The seminar will conclude with a summary of SMA applications under development and current advances.

Shape Memory Alloy↗

Reduced‐Order Probabilistic Emulation of Physics‐Based Ring Current Models: Application to RAM‐SCB Particle Flux

Abstract In this work, we address the computational challenge of large‐scale physics‐based simulation models for the ring current. Reduced computational cost allows for significantly faster than real‐time forecasting, enhancing our ability to predict and respond to dynamic changes in the ring current, valuable for space weather monitoring and mitigation efforts. Additionally, it can also be used for a comprehensive investigation of the system. Thus, we aim to create an emulator for the Ring current‐Atmosphere interactions Model with Self‐Consistent magnetic field (RAM‐SCB) particle flux that not only improves efficiency but also facilitates forecasting with reliable estimates of prediction uncertainties. The probabilistic emulator is built upon the methodology developed by Licata and Mehta (2023), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022sw003345 . A novel discrete sampling is used to identify 30 simulation periods over 20 years of solar and geomagnetic activity. Focusing on a subset of particle flux, we use Principal Component Analysis for dimensionality reduction and Long Short‐Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks to perform dynamic modeling. Hyperparameter space was explored extensively resulting in about 5% median symmetric accuracy across all data sets for one‐step dynamic prediction. Using a hierarchical ensemble of LSTMs, we have developed a reduced‐order probabilistic emulator (ROPE) tailored for time‐series forecasting of particle flux in the ring current. This ROPE offers accurate predictions of omnidirectional flux at a single energy with no pitch angle information, providing robust predictions on the test set with an error score below 11% and calibration scores under 8% with bias under 2% providing a significant speed up as compared to the full RAM‐SCB run.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Method and apparatus for I-V data acquisition from solar cells

A method and apparatus for logging current-voltage (I-V) characteristic d of a solar cell module (10) in two modes using a portable instrument. One mode controls the load current through a circuit (36) in 256 equal intervals while voltage is measured from open circuit to at least halfway into the knee of the curve and the other mode controls the load voltage through a circuit (34) in 256 equal intervals from the lowest voltage measurement possible (short circuit) to at least halfway into the knee of the curve, under control of a microcomputer (12). All measurements are packed by discarding each measurement that is within 0.5% of the value predicted from two previous measurements, except every ninth (9th) measurement which is retained. The remaining data is further packed into a memory block of a detachable storage medium (14) by recording the data points in sequence following a header containing data common to all points, with each point having the value of the controlled parameter recorded as the number of increments from the previous point recorded followed by the measured value. The detachable storage medium is preferably a solid state device for reliability, and is transferable to a playback terminal which unpacks the data for analysis and display.

Cole, Steven W.↗

A Diffusion‐Based Uncertainty Quantification Method to Advance E3SM Land Model Calibration

Abstract Calibrating land surface models and accurately quantifying their uncertainty are crucial for improving the reliability of simulations of complex environmental processes. This, in turn, advances our predictive understanding of ecosystems and supports climate‐resilient decision‐making. Traditional calibration methods, however, face challenges of high computational costs and difficulties in accurately quantifying parameter uncertainties. To address these issues, we develop a diffusion‐based uncertainty quantification (DBUQ) method. Unlike conventional generative diffusion methods, which are computationally expensive and memory‐intensive, DBUQ innovates by formulating a parameterized generative model and approximates this model through supervised learning, which enables quick generation of parameter posterior samples to quantify its uncertainty. DBUQ is effective, efficient, and general‐purpose, making it suitable for site‐specific ecosystem model calibration and broadly applicable for parameter uncertainty quantification across various earth system models. In this study, we applied DBUQ to calibrate the Energy Exascale Earth System Model land model at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux forest site. Results indicated that DBUQ produced accurate parameter posterior distributions similar to those from Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling but with 30 times less computing time. This significant improvement in efficiency suggests that DBUQ can enable rapid, site‐level model calibration at a global scale, enhancing our predictive understanding of climate impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

C-MOS array design techniques: SUMC multiprocessor system study

The current capabilities of LSI techniques for speed and reliability, plus the possibilities of assembling large configurations of LSI logic and storage elements, have demanded the study of multiprocessors and multiprocessing techniques, problems, and potentialities. Evaluated are three previous systems studies for a space ultrareliable modular computer multiprocessing system, and a new multiprocessing system is proposed that is flexibly configured with up to four central processors, four 1/0 processors, and 16 main memory units, plus auxiliary memory and peripheral devices. This multiprocessor system features a multilevel interrupt, qualified S/360 compatibility for ground-based generation of programs, virtual memory management of a storage hierarchy through 1/0 processors, and multiport access to multiple and shared memory units.

Clapp, W. A.↗

Development of a fault-tolerant microprocessor based computer system for space flight

A methodology for the design of a tightly coupled, highly reliable microprocessor based computer system is described. The concept of triple modular redundancy with sparing is used. The notion of synchronizing by using a single crystal oscillator is examined. The use of decoders to replace voters is also used. The decoders not only isolate the failed module but also allow error identification to be accomplished. Each module is to have its own RAM memory. The necessary circuitry to select a correct memory and the corresponding DMA controller was designed.

Montgomery, V. T.↗