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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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Two classes of nonparametric density estimators, the histogram and the kernel estimator, both require a choice of smoothing parameter, or 'window width'. The optimum choice of this parameter is in general very difficult. An upper bound to the choices that depends only on the standard deviation of the distribution is described.
A spatial domain adaptive Wiener filter for smoothing radar images corrupted by multiplicative noise is presented. The filter is optimum in a minimum mean squared error sense, computationally efficient, and preserves edges in the image better than other filters. The proposed algorithm can also be used for processing optical images with illumination variations that have a multiplicative effect.
The influence of channel geometry on pressure losses and heat transfer in noncircular channels with hydraulically smooth walls was studied. As a basic assumption for the description of this influence, integral geometrical criteria, selected according to experimental experience, were introduced. Using these geometrical criteria, a large set of experimental data for pressure losses and heat transfer in circular and annular channels with longitudinal fins was evaluated. In this way it as empirically proved that the criteria described channel geometry fairly well.
Convolutions on the sphere with corresponding convolution theorems are developed for one and two dimensional functions. Some of these results are used in a study of isotropic smoothing operators or filters. Well known filters in Fourier spectral analysis, such as the rectangular, Gaussian, and Hanning filters, are adapted for data on a sphere. The low-pass filter most often used on gravity data is the rectangular (or Pellinen) filter. However, its spectrum has relatively large sidelobes; and therefore, this filter passes a considerable part of the upper end of the gravity spectrum. The spherical adaptations of the Gaussian and Hanning filters are more efficient in suppressing the high-frequency components of the gravity field since their frequency response functions are strongly field since their frequency response functions are strongly tapered at the high frequencies with no, or small, sidelobes. Formulas are given for practical implementation of these new filters.
Unsteady aerodynamic methods adopted for the study of aeroelasticity in helicopters are considered with focus on the development of a semiempirical model of unsteady aerodynamic forces acting on an oscillating profile at high incidence. The successive smoothing algorithm described leads to the model's coefficients in a very satisfactory manner.
An electronic filter comprised of three active filter sections to smooth the stepped signal from a digital to analog converter is described. The first section has a noninverting low pass filter transfer function, and the second has an inverting transfer function designed to pass a narrow frequency band centered at the step frequency of the stepped output signal with sharp cutoff of either side of that narrow band. The third section adds the noninverted output of the first section to the inverted output of the second section. This third section has a lead-lag transfer function designed to reduce the phase angle between the signal at its output terminal and the stepped signal at the input of the first section.
Statistical model identification techniques being developed to provide workable solutions to problems in density estimation and function smoothing are examined.
A new scanning scheme is presented for implementation for terrain slope estimation on a Martian exploratory rover. The rover will be equipped with a laser rangefinder as a principal sensing device for distance in its navigational equipment. A scan of the horizontal terrain from 5-50 m is indicated, and calculations are devised for quantifying the range errors. A constant incremental pointing angle is ruled out and a set of three pointing angles for different sub-areas of scan are defined. A two-dimensional smoothing algorithm is described for estimating slopes. The resultant scanning scheme involves the use of the characteristic curves derived from the relationships between the incremental elevation angle and the horizontal data spacing and the slope error index. A simulation was run and wavy terrain was produced from noise corrupted range measurements.
A detailed analysis of the dynamic stress field in smooth and notched fiber composite (Charpy-type) specimens is reported in this paper. The analysis is performed with the aid of the direct transient response analysis solution sequence of MSC/NASTRAN. Three unidirectional composites were chosen for the study. They are S-Glass/Epoxy, Kevlar/Epoxy and T-300/Epoxy composite systems. The specimens are subjected to an impact load which is modeled as a triangular impulse with a maximum of 2000 lb and a duration of 1 ms. The results are compared with those of static analysis of the specimens subjected to a peak load of 2000 lb. For the geometry and type of materials studied, the static analysis results gave close conservative estimates for the dynamic stresses. Another interesting inference from the study is that the impact induced effects are felt by S-Glass/Epoxy specimens sooner than Kevlar/Epoxy or T-300/Epoxy specimens.
By utilizing the unique X-ray test facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, high resolution data have been obtained for the scattering of X-rays from smooth optical flats. Using X-rays with energies in the range from 2.99 keV to 8.06 keV, the resulting reflected images from five state-of-the-art polished mirror flats with various substrate and coating materials are presented and analyzed. Evidence for large angle scattering is shown to exist for some energies and is discussed in terms of theoretical models for surface defects.
Smoothing as a way to improve the carrier phase estimation is proposed and analyzed. The performance of first and second order Kalman optimum smoothers are investigated. This performance is evaluated in terms of steady state covariance error computation, dynamic tracking, and noise response. It is shown that with practical amounts of memory, a second order smoother can have a position error due to an acceleration or jerk step input less than any prescribed maximum. As an example of importance to the NASA Deep Space Network, a second order smoother can be used to track the Voyager spacecraft at Uranus and Neptune encounters with significantly better performance than a second order phase locked loop.
An approach for state estimation and identification of spatially distributed parameters embedded in static distributed (elliptic) system models is advanced. The method of maximum likelihood is used to find parameter values that maximize a likelihood functional for the system model, or equivalently, that minimize the negative logarithm of this functional. To find the minimum, a Newton-Raphson search is conducted that from an initial estimate generates a convergent sequence of parameter estimates. For simplicity, a Gauss-Markov approach is used to approximate the Hessian in terms of products of first derivatives. The gradient and approximate Hessian are computed by first arranging the negative log likelihood functional into a form based on the square root factorization of the predicted covariance of the measurement process. The resulting data processing approach, referred to here by the new term of predicted data covariance square root filtering, makes the gradient and approximate Hessian calculations very simple. A closely related set of state estimates is also produced by the maximum likelihood method: smoothed estimates that are optimal in a conditional mean sense and filtered estimates that emerge from the predicted data covariance square root filter.
This paper analyses the coupling between an imposed disturbance and an instability wave that propagates downstream on a shear layer which emanates from a separation point on a smooth surface. Since the wavelengths of the most-amplified instability waves will generally be small compared with the streamwise body dimensions, the analysis is restricted to this 'high-frequency' limit and the solution is obtained by using matched asymptotic expansions. An 'inner' solution, valid near the separation point, is matched onto an outer solution, which represents an instability wave on a slowly diverging mean flow. The analysis relates the amplitude of this instability to that of the imposed disturbance.
The contact behavior between a smooth rigid cylinder and a simply supported orthotropic beam under uniaxial initial stresses is studied. The displacements are computed by superposing Mindlin plate solution with the solution obtained from Biot's theory of incremental deformation. Finite Fourier transforms are used in solving the equations. A point matching technique is used to compute the contact stresses and the amount of indentation for a given contact length. The effects of orthotropy and initial stresses on the contact stress distribution are investigated. An indentation law is established from the numerical results.
Smoothing as a way to improve the carrier phase estimation is proposed and analyzed. The performance of first and second order Kalman optimum smoothers are investigated. This performance is evaluated in terms of steady state covariance error computation, dynamic tracking, and noise response. It is shown that with practical amounts of memory, a second order smoother can have a position error due to an acceleration or jerk step input less than any prescribed maximum. As an example of importance to the NASA Deep Space Network, a second order smoother can be used to track the Voyager spacecraft at Uranus and Neptune encounters with significantly better performance than a second order phase locked loop.
An elastic continuum method of analysis developed for a smooth rigid pin in a finite composite plate by using complex potentials that satisfy the governing orthotropic differential equation is presented. The plate is subjected to uniaxial loading and the nonlinear problems of partial contact in the pin-plate are studied. Three types of pin fits are examined: interference, push, and clearance. The problems of stresses due to pure interference, load contact behavior, and stresses variations are addressed. The effects of the rectangular geometry and the orthotropic property of the plate are demonstrated through numerical results. It is found that the use of large hole diameter/plate width ratios have deleterious effects and the use of interference has beneficial effects. The solutions obtained will help in the development of special finite elements for fastener joints. Finally, the boundary conditions on the finite outer boundaries are found to be satisfied by a successive integration technique.
An implicit approximate factorization algorithm is employed to quantify the parametric effects of Courant number and artificial smoothing on numerical solutions of the unsteady 3-D Euler equations for a windmilling propeller (low speed) flow field. The results show that propeller global or performance chracteristics vary strongly with Courant number and artificial dissipation parameters, though the variation is such less severe at high Courant numbers. Candidate sets of Courant number and dissipation parameters could result in parameter-dependent solutions. Parameter-independent numerical solutions can be obtained if low values of the dissipation parameter-time step ratio are used in the computations. Furthermore, it is realized that too much artificial damping can degrade numerical stability. Finally, it is demonstrated that highly resolved meshes may, in some cases, delay convergence, thereby suggesting some optimum cell size for a given flow solution. It is suspected that improper boundary treatment may account for the cell size constraint.
A detailed analysis of the dynamic stress field in smooth and notched fiber composite (Charpy-type) specimens is reported in this paper. The analysis is performed with the aid of the direct transient response analysis solution sequence of MSC/NASTRAN. Three unidirectional composites were chosen for the study. They are S-Glass/Epoxy, Kevlar/Epoxy and T-300/Epoxy composite systems. The specimens are subjected to an impact load which is modeled as a triangular impulse with a maximum of 2000 lb and a duration of 1 ms. The results are compared with those of static analysis of the specimens subjected to a peak load of 2000 lb. For the geometry and type of materials studied, the static analysis results gave close conservative estimates for the dynamic stresses. Another interesting inference from the study is that the impact induced effects are felt by S-Glass/Epoxy specimens sooner than Kevlar/Epoxy or T-300/Epoxy specimens.