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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 253 records · Page 14

Photoelectric scanning /6.65-m/ spectrometer for VUV cross-section measurements

A 6.65-m normal incidence vacuum spectrograph has been provided with a photoelectric scanner that is easily interchangeable with the original plate holder. The scanner consists essentially of a photoelectric detector and an exit slit that scans mechanically along the focal surface while the grating and entrance slit remain stationary. The design and construction of the 6.65-m scanning spectrometer, which operates in the 120-300-nm wavelength region, are discussed. The wavelength resolution of 0.001 nm obtained photoelectrically is better than that of any existing vacuum monochromator. The performance of the instrument is illustrated with vacuum ultraviolet scans of the (1, 5) band of fourth positive system of CO in emission, and the (14, 0) band of the Schumann-Runge system of O2 in absorption.

Yoshino, K.↗

Parameter estimation for slit-type scanning sensors

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite, scheduled for launch into a 900 km near-polar orbit in August 1982, will perform an infrared point source survey by scanning the sky with slit-type sensors. The description of position information is shown to require the use of a non-Gaussian random variable. Methods are described for deciding whether separate detections stem from a single common source, and a formulism is developed for the scan-to-scan problems of identifying multiple sightings of inertially fixed point sources for combining their individual measurements into a refined estimate. Several cases are given where the general theory yields results which are quite different from the corresponding Gaussian applications, showing that argument by Gaussian analogy would lead to error.

Fowler, J. W.↗

A new CT collimator for producing two simultaneous overlapping slices from one scan

A new CT collimator is developed which is capable of producing two simultaneous successive overlapping images from a single scan. The collimator represents a modification of the standard EMI 5005 collimator achieved by alternately masking one end or portions of both ends of the X-ray detectors at a 13-mm beamwidth so that a set of 540 filtered projections is obtained for each scan which can be separated into two sets of interleaved projections corresponding to views 3 mm apart. Tests have demonstrated that the quality of the images produced from these two projections almost equals the quality of those produced by the standard collimator from two separate scans. The new collimator may thus be used to achieve a speed improvement in the generation of overlapping sections as well as a reduction in X-ray dosage.

Kwoh, Y. S.↗

Scanning Seismic Intrusion Detector

Scanning seismic intrusion detector employs array of automatically or manually scanned sensors to determine approximate location of intruder. Automatic-scanning feature enables one operator to tend system of many sensors. Typical sensors used with new system are moving-coil seismic pickups. Detector finds uses in industrial security systems.

Lee, R. D.↗

Quantification of pilot workload via instrument scan

The use of visual scanning behavior as an indicator of pilot workload is described. The relationship between level of performance on a constant piloting task under simulated IFR conditions, the skill of the pilot the level of mental workload induced by an additional verbal task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning behavior is investigated. An increase in fixation dwell times, especially on the primary instrument with increased mental loading is indicated. Skilled subjects 'stared' less under increased loading than did novice pilots. Sequences of instrument fixations were also examined. The percentage occurrence of the subject's most used sequences decreased with increased task difficulty for novice subjects but not for highly skilled subjects. Entropy rate (bits/sec) of the sequence of fixations was also used to quantify the scan pattern. It consistently decreased for most subjects as the four loading levels used increased.

Tole, J. R.↗

Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload

An experimental paradigm and a set of results which demonstrate a relationship between the level of performance on a skilled man-machine control task, the skill of the operator, the level of mental difficulty induced by an additional task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning performance. During a constant, simulated piloting task, visual scanning of instruments was found to vary as a function of the level of difficulty of a verbal mental loading task. The average dwell time of each fixation on the pilot's primary instrument increased as a function of the estimated skill level of the pilots, with novices being affected by the loading task much more than the experts. The results suggest that visual scanning of instruments in a controlled task may be an indicator of both workload and skill.

Harris, R. L., Sr.↗

Mechanically scanned deployable antenna study

The conceptual design of a Mechanically Scanned Deployable Antenna which is launched by the STS (Space Shuttle) to provide radiometric brightness temperature maps of the Earth and oceans at selected frequency bands in the frequency range of 1.4 GHz to 11 GHz is presented. Unlike previous scanning radiometric systems, multiple radiometers for each frequency are required in order to fill in the resolution cells across the swath created by the 15 meter diameter spin stabilized system. This multiple beam radiometric system is sometimes designated as a ""whiskbroom'' system in that it combines the techniques of the scanning and ""pushbroom'' type systems. The definition of the feed system including possible feed elements and location, determination of the fundamental reflector feed offset geometry including offset angles and f/D ratio, preliminary estimates of the beam efficiency of the feed reflector system, a summary of reflector mesh losses at the proposed radiometric frequency bands, an overall conceptual configuration design and preliminary structural and thermal analyses are included.

Source record↗

Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload

This paper describes an experimental paradigm and a set of results which demonstrate a relationship between the level of performance on a skilled man-machine control task, the skill of the operator, the level of mental difficulty induced by an additional task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning performance. During a constant, simulated piloting task, visual scanning of instruments was found to vary with the difficulty of a verbal mental loading task. The average dwell time of each fixation on the pilot's primary instrument increased with the estimated skill level of the pilots, with novices being affected by the loading task much more than experts. The results suggest that visual scanning of instruments in a controlled task may be an indicator of both workload and skill.

Harris, R. L., Sr.↗

Inverting a dispersive scene's side-scanned image

Consideration is given to the problem of using a remotely sensed, side-scanned image of a time-variant scene, which changes according to a dispersion relation, to estimate the structure at a given moment. Additive thermal noise is neglected in the models considered in the formal treatment. It is shown that the dispersion relation is normalized by the scanning velocity, as is the group scanning velocity component. An inversion operation is defined for noise-free images generated by SAR. The method is extended to the inversion of noisy imagery, and a formulation is defined for spectral density estimation. Finally, the methods for a radar system are used for the case of sonar.

Harger, R. O.↗

The Voyager 2 scan platform anomaly

The two Voyager spacecraft were launched in the summer of 1977, flew past Jupiter in 1979, and reached Saturn in 1980 and 1981. The Voyager Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) controls the positioning of a scan platform on which scientific instruments are mounted. On August 26, 1981, it was discovered that the azimuth axis of the scan platform of Voyager 2 had not completed the commanded slew. The profile of the failed slew command resembled a similar scan failure on Voyager 1 on February 23, 1979. In that case, contamination of the output gear mesh in the azimuth actuator was identified as the most probable cause of the failure. The problem was solved by cycling the azimuth actuator until the contaminant broke down and smooth operation was restored. A similar treatment applied to the Voyager 2 problem failed. Details of the Voyager 2 anomaly investigation are discussed.

Marchetto, C. A.↗

Recording and reproduction of microwave holograms using a scanning procedure and their subsequent optical processing

Intensity distributions in nonoptical wave fields can be visualized and stored on photosensitive material. In the case of microwaves, temperature effects can be utilized with the aid of liquid crystals to visualize intensity distributions. Particular advantages for the study of intensity distributions in microwave fields presents a scanning procedure in which a microcomputer is employed for the control of a probe and the storage of the measured data. The present investigation is concerned with the employment of such a scanning procedure for the recording and the reproduction of microwave holograms. The scanning procedure makes use of an approach discussed by Farhat, et al. (1973). An eight-bit microprocessor with 64 kBytes of RAM is employed together with a diskette storage system.

Hetsch, J.↗

A robust pseudo-inverse spectral filter applied to the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanning channels

Computer simulations of a least squares estimator operating on the ERBE scanning channels are discussed. The estimator is designed to minimize the errors produced by nonideal spectral response to spectrally varying and uncertain radiant input. The three ERBE scanning channels cover a shortwave band a longwave band and a ""total'' band from which the pseudo inverse spectral filter estimates the radiance components in the shortwave band and a longwave band. The radiance estimator draws on instantaneous field of view (IFOV) scene type information supplied by another algorithm of the ERBE software, and on a priori probabilistic models of the responses of the scanning channels to the IFOV scene types for given Sun scene spacecraft geometry. It is found that the pseudoinverse spectral filter is stable, tolerant of errors in scene identification and in channel response modeling, and, in the absence of such errors, yields minimum variance and essentially unbiased radiance estimates.

Avis, L. M.↗

Scanning wind-vector scatterometers with two pencil beams

A scanning pencil-beam scatterometer for ocean windvector determination has potential advantages over the fan-beam systems used and proposed heretofore. The pencil beam permits use of lower transmitter power, and at the same time allows concurrent use of the reflector by a radiometer to correct for atmospheric attenuation and other radiometers for other purposes. The use of dual beams based on the same scanning reflector permits four looks at each cell on the surface, thereby improving accuracy and allowing alias removal. Simulation results for a spaceborne dual-beam scanning scatterometer with a 1-watt radiated power at an orbital altitude of 900 km is described. Two novel algorithms for removing the aliases in the windvector are described, in addition to an adaptation of the conventional maximum likelihood algorithm. The new algorithms are more effective at alias removal than the conventional one. Measurement errors for the wind speed, assuming perfect alias removal, were found to be less than 10%.

Kirimoto, T.↗

Scan angle dependence of radiance recorded by the NOAA-AVHRR

NOAA-AVHRR data is being used to monitor global vegetation type and condition and to study various environmental factors in addition to performance of meteorological functions. The AVHRR instrument has + or - 54 deg as maximum scan angle limits and it is necessary to be aware of the effects of sun-target-sensor geometry at extreme scan angles to be able to properly interpret the satellite images. In order to interpret the images for vegetation type and condition analysis, it is necessary to calibrate back to the nadir view position. Both simulation studies and empirical investigations with digital scanner data have been performed in order to sufficiently understand the effects of scan angle and sun angle, as well as the effects of atmospheric scattering, to eventually perform adequate calibrations. Not surprisingly, the effects are large and studies are continuing to provide improved calibrations.

Duggin, M. J.↗

Scan blindness in infinite phased arrays of printed dipoles

A comprehensive study of infinite phased arrays of printed dipole antennas is presented, with emphasis on the scan blindness phenomenon. A rigorous and efficient moment method procedure is used to calculate the array impedance versus scan angle. Data are presented for the input reflection coefficient for various element spacings and substrate parameters. A simple theory, based on coupling from Floquet modes to surface wave modes on the substrate, is shown to predict the occurrence of scan blindness. Measurements from a waveguide simulator of a blindness condition confirm the theory.

Pozar, D. M.↗

Validation of the Galileo scan platform control design using DISCOS

The flexibility of the Galileo spacecraft's scan platform control system stator structure, which lies between the scan platform and one of the control actuators, has been a major design consideration. Tests have been conducted to verify the prevention of undesirable interactions between the structure and the control loop, by means of the Dynamic Interaction Simulation of Controls and Structure (DISCOS) program. The scan platform's control design has been validated for the achievement of 140-microradians maximum position deviation and 50 microradians of jitter over 1-sec intervals.

Chodas, J. L.↗

The 20 GHz proof-of-concept test model results for a multiple scan beam dual reflector antenna

A full scale 20 GHz antenna model was designed, fabricated and tested. The model is intended to test the low sidelobe beam scanning capability of a new class of an offset dual reflector and feed array configuration. The offset main reflector and subreflector surfaces are custom shaped by a computer synthesis procedure. The derived optics result in beam scan loss under 1 db over the + or - 12.3 beamwidths by + or - 5.8 beamwidths scan volume while maintaining low sidelobes. It is found that the measured and computed patterns are in good agreement.

Roberts, T.↗

Ratioed scatter diagrams - An erotetic method for phase identification on complex surfaces using scanning Auger microscopy

By ratioing multiple Auger intensities and plotting a two-dimensional occupational scatter diagram while digitally scanning across an area, the number and elemental association of surface phases can be determined. This can prove a useful tool in scanning Auger microscopic analysis of complex materials. The technique is illustrated by results from an anomalous region on the reaction zone of a SiC/Ti-6Al-4V metal matrix composite material. The anomalous region is shown to be a single phase associated with sulphur and phosphorus impurities. Imaging of a selected phase from the ratioed scatter diagram is possible and may be a useful technique for presenting multiple scanning Auger images.

Browning, R.↗