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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

Thermoplastic Composite Aircraft Manufacturing Model

A manufacturing process to produce 80 single aisle sized thermoplastic composite aircraft a month is presented. Within the Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) program a baseline aircraft fuselage was designed and modeled based on the Boeing 787 one-piece barrel build, but scaled down to a single aisle aircraft. Key Performance Parameters (KPPs) of recurring cost, non-recurring cost, and weight are calculated from the model. The outcome of this simulation indicated a prohibitively high non-recurring cost, so the thermoplastic team modeled the manufacturing flow for a panelized fuselage concept. The minimum success criteria is a 30% cost reduction and less than two percent increase in weight compared to the baseline aircraft. Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) is used to layup skins, stamp forming is used to make body frames, stringers, and passenger door surround parts. In the model, Co-Fusion was used to consolidate the skin while simultaneously welding on stringers to make stiffened panels. Additional welding technologies were considered to minimize fastener use and a vertical build concept was used for final assembly to reduce factory size. This manufacturing concept for a thermoplastic aircraft indicated a 39% cost and 12% weight savings compared to the baseline. Additional trade studies were conducted using Northrop Grumman’s Automated Stiffener Forming technology to make stringers and stamp forming instead of AFP to make skins.

thermoplastic composites↗

Perception of binary acoustic events associated with the first heart sound

The resolving power of the auditory apparatus permits discrete vibrations associated with cardiac activity to be perceived as one or more events. Irrespective of the vibratory combinations recorded by conventional phonocardiography, in normal adults and in most adult patients auscultators tend to discriminate only two discrete events associated with the first heart sound S1. It is stressed that the heart sound S4 may be present when a binary acoustic event associated with S1 occurs in the sequence 'low pitched sound preceding high pitched sound', i.e., its components are perceived by auscultation as 'dull-sharp'. The question of S4 audibility arises in those individuals, normal and diseased, in whom the major components of S1 ought to be, at least clinically, at their customary high pitch and indeed on the PCG appear as high frequency oscillations. It is revealed that the apparent audibility of recorded S4 is not related to P-R interval, P-S4 interval, or relative amplitude of S4. The significant S4-LFC (low frequency component of S1) differences can be related to acoustic modification of the early component of S1.

Spodick, D. H.↗

Multiple Kernel Learning for Heterogeneous Anomaly Detection: Algorithm and Aviation Safety Case Study

The world-wide aviation system is one of the most complex dynamical systems ever developed and is generating data at an extremely rapid rate. Most modern commercial aircraft record several hundred flight parameters including information from the guidance, navigation, and control systems, the avionics and propulsion systems, and the pilot inputs into the aircraft. These parameters may be continuous measurements or binary or categorical measurements recorded in one second intervals for the duration of the flight. Currently, most approaches to aviation safety are reactive, meaning that they are designed to react to an aviation safety incident or accident. In this paper, we discuss a novel approach based on the theory of multiple kernel learning to detect potential safety anomalies in very large data bases of discrete and continuous data from world-wide operations of commercial fleets. We pose a general anomaly detection problem which includes both discrete and continuous data streams, where we assume that the discrete streams have a causal influence on the continuous streams. We also assume that atypical sequence of events in the discrete streams can lead to off-nominal system performance. We discuss the application domain, novel algorithms, and also discuss results on real-world data sets. Our algorithm uncovers operationally significant events in high dimensional data streams in the aviation industry which are not detectable using state of the art methods

Das, Santanu↗

Human Adaptation to Isolated and Confined Environments

A study was conducted over seven months in a winter Antarctic isolated and confined environment (ICE). Physiological and psychological data was collected several times a week. Information was collected on a monthly basis on behavior and the use of physical facilities. Adaptation and information indicated that there was a significant decrease in epinephrine and norepinephrine during the middle trimester of the winter. No vital changes were found for blood pressure. Self reports of hostility and anxiety show a linear increase. There were no significant changes in depression during ICE. The physiological and psychological data do not move in a synchronous fashion over time. The data also suggest that both ambient qualities of an ICE and discrete social environmental events, such as the arrival of the summer crew, have an impact on the outcome measures used. It may be most appropiate to develop a model for ICE's that incorporates not only global chronic stressors common to all ICE's but also the role of discrete environmental effects which can minimize or enhance the influence of more chronic stressors. Behavioral adjustment information highlight the importance of developing schedules which balance work and recreational activities.

Evans, Gary W.↗

Intermediate Fidelity Solid State Recorder Modeling for NISAR

At 26Tb/day return average, NISAR (National Aero- nautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the In- dian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar) will stress ground station facilities with a variable cadence of data generation observing nearly all of earth's land and ice to produce global time- series maps of cryospheric, solid-Earth and ecosystem phenomena. Between the instrument data generation source and downlink sink lies the primary science data bu er, the SSR (Solid State Recorder). The SSR has deferred, discrete le deletion events that occur only after a le is played back to all required ground segments (sometimes both NASA and ISRO). A forward dispatch, advancing frontier repropagation playback scheduler is proposed as a model of the SSR's greedy playback scheduling behavior. Schedules based on the existing low delity model and new intermediate delity model are compared to assess the impact of deferred, discrete deletion on planning. The low delity model is found to produce unfeasible schedules that exceed SSR capacity, causing 3.87% of all observations in a 12 day simulation to be removed by repair actions.

Doubleday, Joshua R.↗

Tectonism and volcanism of the Tharsis region of Mars

The Tharsis region of Mars, where the planet's largest shield volcanoes are located, is at the center of a fracture system that extends over almost half the surface of the planet. The fractures are tensional and aligned roughly radial to Tharsis and form two opposing fanlike arrangements that converge on the line of the Tharsis volcanoes. The fractures are attributed to a broad asymmetric updoming of the Martian crust centered to the southeast of the volcano line. Formation of the dome took place before the formation of the shield volcanoes. The location of the shields was controlled by the fractures, and volcano formation may have reactivated some of the fractures. The updoming, thought to result from mantle convection, separates eras of different volcanism and appears to have been a discrete and unique event in the history of Mars.

Carr, M. H.↗

Ultraviolet observations of V471 Tauri - Evidence for a nova-like outburst?

A search for accretion of wind-flare material onto the white dwarf in V471 Tauri has unexpected by revealed what appears to be shortward-shifted absorption, centered on two distinct velocities, near heliocentric velocities of -300 and -590 km/s in the line of sight toward V471 Tauri. The possibility that these features are due to instrumental effects is explored. The narrow interstellar-like appearance of the -590 km/s component and lack of variability with orbital phase indicate that the observed high-velocity absorption components are formed at a great distance from the V471 Tauri system and probably owe their origins to a discrete mass ejection event.

Bruhweiler, F. C.↗

Recent Advances in Composite Damage Mechanics

The state of the art and recent developments in the field of composite material damage mechanics are reviewed, with emphasis on damage accumulation. The kinetics of damage accumulation are considered with emphasis on the general accumulation of discrete local damage events such as single or multiple fiber fractures or microcrack formation. The issues addressed include: how to define strength in the presence of widely distributed damage, and how to combine mechanical representations in order to predict the damage tolerance and life of engineering components. It is shown that a damage mechanics approach can be related to the thermodynamics of the damage accumulation processes in composite laminates subjected to mechanical loading and environmental conditions over long periods of time.

Reifsnider, Ken↗

Galileo Infrared Observations of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 G Impact Fireball: A Preliminary Report

The Galileo spacecraft was fortuitously situated for a direct view of the impacts of the fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in Jupiter's atmosphere. The Galileo Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer instrument observed several of the impact events in several discrete bands and with a temporal resolution of roughly five seconds. This report provides a preliminary description of the fireball phase.

Shoemaker-Levy Comet Galileo Jupiter Fireball↗

Radio Detections During Two State Transitions of the Intermediate-Mass Black Hole HLX-1

Relativistic jets are streams of plasma moving at appreciable fractions of the speed of light. They have been observed from stellar-mass black holes (approx. 3 to 20 solar masses) as well as supermassive black holes (approx.. 10(exp 6) to 10(exp 9) Solar Mass) found in the centers of most galaxies. Jets should also be produced by intermediate-mass black holes (approx. 10(exp 2) to 10(exp 5) Solar Mass), although evidence for this third class of black hole has, until recently, been weak. We report the detection of transient radio emission at the location of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate ESO 243-49 HLX-1, which is consistent with a discrete jet ejection event. These observations also allow us to refine the mass estimate of the black hole to be between approx. 9 × 10(exp 3) Solar Mass and approx. 9 × 10(exp 4) Solar Mass.

transitions↗

Trace Element Abundances Measured in Concentric and Texturally Distinct Fine-Grained Rims Surrounding Allende Chondrules

Layered rims of dust-sized material surround some chondrules and other early formed nebular particles, such as calcium aluminum inclusions in chondritic meteorites. In the Allende meteorite most chondrules(~85%) are un-rimmed and in direct contact with the host matrix material [1]. When present, rim thickness appears correlated to underlying particle size in both the Allende and Murchison chondrites [1,2]. This diverse behavior strongly argues for pre-parent body formation of rimmed particles as they traversed distinct (cooler and/or dustier) nebular environments [1]. Nebular rim formation involves accretion of unequilibrated dust to chondrule surfaces, recording evidence for the formation of at least two separate particle populations (chondrules and dust) that interacted in the nebula, and therefore potentially record distinct nebular reservoirs (e.g. [3-5]). Additionally, some particles exhibit textural evidence for multiple rim layers, (e.g., [1], further investigated herein). Herein, we evaluate the chemistry of concentrically and texturally distinct chondrule rim layers to investigate the possibility of discrete rim formation events recorded by individual chondrules (Fig. 1A,B). Using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) we measure major, minor, and trace elements of the rims and particles in Allende. Samples were characterized in detail previously by electron microanalysis for their mineralogy, textures, particle size, and rim thickness(es) [1].

Chondrites↗

Spectral evolution of multiply-impulsive solar bursts

Hard X-ray and microwave observations of multiply-impulsive solar bursts, identified in the OSO-5 data were analyzed. Spectra in both frequency ranges were used to determine whether or not the source properties change from peak to peak within individual bursts. Two categories of microwave spectral behavior were identified: those events during which the microwave turnover frequency and spectral shape remain the same from peak to peak, and those during which the turnover frequency and spectral shape change significantly. These categories correspond to two classes of multiply-impulsive bursts: those for which the emission can be characterized by a constant magnetic field and therefore a single source region, in which case the multiplicity may be due to modulation of the emission process; and those in which groups of component spikes appear to originate in regions of different magnetic-field strengths, corresponding to separate source regions which flare sequentially. Examples of the latter type of events are presented. The discrete flaring regions are analyzed and their spatial separations estimated.

Karpen, J. T.↗

A distributed data acquisition system for aeronautics test facilities

The NASA Lewis Research Center is in the process of installing a new data acquisition and display system. This new system will provide small and medium sized aeronautics test facilities with a state-of-the-art real-time data acquisition and display system. The new data system will provide for the acquisition of signals from a variety of instrumentation sources. They include analog measurements of temperatures, pressures, and other steady state voltage inputs; frequency inputs to measure speed and flow; discrete I/O for significant events, and modular instrument systems such as multiplexed pressure modules or electronic instrumentation with a IEEE 488 interface. The data system is designed to acquire data, convert it to engineering units, compute test dependent performance calculations, limit check selected channels or calculations, and display the information in alphanumeric or graphical form with a cycle time of one second for the alphanumeric data. This paper describes the system configuration, its salient features, and the expected impact on testing.

Fronek, Dennis L.↗

A distributed data acquisition system for aeronautics test facilities

The NASA Lewis Research Center is in the process of installing a new data acquisition and display system. This new system will provide small and medium sized aeronautics test facilities with a state-of-the-art real-time data acquisition and display system. The new data system will provide for the acquisition of signals from a variety of instrumentation sources. They include analog measurements of temperatures, pressures, and other steady state voltage inputs; frequency inputs to measure speed and flow; discrete I/O for significant events, and modular instrument systems such as multiplexed pressure modules or electronic instrumentation with a IEEE 488 interface. The data system is designed to acquire data, convert it to engineering units, compute test dependent performance calculations, limit check selected channels or calculations, and display the information in alphanumeric or graphical form with a cycle time of one second for the alphanumeric data. This paper describes the system configuration, its salient features, and the expected impact on testing.

Fronek, Dennis L.↗

Pulse shaping and extraction of information from ultrasonic reflections in composite materials

The application of ultrasonic inspection to the nondestructive testing of composite materials is examined with reference to specific examples including monitoring of epoxy curing, evaluation of impact damage in a graphite/epoxy laminate, and monitoring of a repaired area in a composite wing plate. Signal processing methods are described which improve time resolution, facilitating identification of discrete echoes corresponding to events in the material.

Kishoni, Doron↗

Magnetic Reconnection as the Driver of the Solar Wind

We present EUV solar observations showing evidence for omnipresent jetting activity driven by small-scale magnetic reconnection at the base of the solar corona. We argue that the physical mechanism that heats and drives the solar wind at its source is ubiquitous magnetic reconnection in the form of small-scale jetting activity (i.e., a.k.a. jetlets). This jetting activity, like the solar wind and the heating of the coronal plasma, are ubiquitous regardless of the solar cycle phase. Each event arises from small-scale reconnection of opposite polarity magnetic fields producing a short-lived jet of hot plasma and Alfv´en waves into the corona. The discrete nature of these jetlet events leads to intermittent outflows from the corona, which homogenize as they propagate away from the Sun and form the solar wind. This discovery establishes the importance of small-scale magnetic reconnection in solar and stellar atmospheres in understanding ubiquitous phenomena such as coronal heating and solar wind acceleration. Based on previous analyses linking the switchbacks to the magnetic network, we also argue that these new observations might provide the link between the magnetic activity at the base of the corona and the switchback solar wind phenomenon. These new observations need to be put in the bigger picture of the role of magnetic reconnection and the diverse form of jetting in the solar atmosphere.

magnetic reconnection↗

Feature Extraction of Event-Related Potentials Using Wavelets: An Application to Human Performance Monitoring

This report describes the development and evaluation of mathematical models for predicting human performance from discrete wavelet transforms (DWT) of event-related potentials (ERP) elicited by task-relevant stimuli. The DWT was compared to principal components analysis (PCA) for representation of ERPs in linear regression and neural network models developed to predict a composite measure of human signal detection performance. Linear regression models based on coefficients of the decimated DWT predicted signal detection performance with half as many f ree parameters as comparable models based on PCA scores. In addition, the DWT-based models were more resistant to model degradation due to over-fitting than PCA-based models. Feed-forward neural networks were trained using the backpropagation,-, algorithm to predict signal detection performance based on raw ERPs, PCA scores, or high-power coefficients of the DWT. Neural networks based on high-power DWT coefficients trained with fewer iterations, generalized to new data better, and were more resistant to overfitting than networks based on raw ERPs. Networks based on PCA scores did not generalize to new data as well as either the DWT network or the raw ERP network. The results show that wavelet expansions represent the ERP efficiently and extract behaviorally important features for use in linear regression or neural network models of human performance. The efficiency of the DWT is discussed in terms of its decorrelation and energy compaction properties. In addition, the DWT models provided evidence that a pattern of low-frequency activity (1 to 3.5 Hz) occurring at specific times and scalp locations is a reliable correlate of human signal detection performance.

Trejo, Leonard J.↗

Feature extraction of event-related potentials using wavelets: an application to human performance monitoring

This report describes the development and evaluation of mathematical models for predicting human performance from discrete wavelet transforms (DWT) of event-related potentials (ERP) elicited by task-relevant stimuli. The DWT was compared to principal components analysis (PCA) for representation of ERPs in linear regression and neural network models developed to predict a composite measure of human signal detection performance. Linear regression models based on coefficients of the decimated DWT predicted signal detection performance with half as many free parameters as comparable models based on PCA scores. In addition, the DWT-based models were more resistant to model degradation due to over-fitting than PCA-based models. Feed-forward neural networks were trained using the backpropagation algorithm to predict signal detection performance based on raw ERPs, PCA scores, or high-power coefficients of the DWT. Neural networks based on high-power DWT coefficients trained with fewer iterations, generalized to new data better, and were more resistant to overfitting than networks based on raw ERPs. Networks based on PCA scores did not generalize to new data as well as either the DWT network or the raw ERP network. The results show that wavelet expansions represent the ERP efficiently and extract behaviorally important features for use in linear regression or neural network models of human performance. The efficiency of the DWT is discussed in terms of its decorrelation and energy compaction properties. In addition, the DWT models provided evidence that a pattern of low-frequency activity (1 to 3.5 Hz) occurring at specific times and scalp locations is a reliable correlate of human signal detection performance. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Evoked Potentials↗