Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “analytical development and support”

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 271 records · Page 15

Formulation of consumables management models: Mission planning processor payload interface definition

Consumables models required for the mission planning and scheduling function are formulated. The relation of the models to prelaunch, onboard, ground support, and postmission functions for the space transportation systems is established. Analytical models consisting of an orbiter planning processor with consumables data base is developed. A method of recognizing potential constraint violations in both the planning and flight operations functions, and a flight data file storage/retrieval of information over an extended period which interfaces with a flight operations processor for monitoring of the actual flights is presented.

Torian, J. G.↗

Validating the airborne and ground based components of a differential GPS system

A differential GPS mechanization of an external data link concept under development at NASA Ames Research Center is discussed. The system is intended to evaluate the use of differential GPS to support helicopter approach operation. Analytical techniques for static testing and evaluation of the system hardware and software performance in real time are described. Several techniques that have been used to detect and rectify a specific problem encountered during the tests are dicussed. An example of flight test results using the validated system is provided.

Edwards, F. G.↗

Large Engine Technology (LET) Task XXXVII Low-Bypass Ratio Mixed Turbofan Engine Subsonic Jet Noise Reduction Program Test Report

NASA Glenn Research Center supported a three year effort to develop the technology for reducing jet noise from low-bypass ratio engines. This effort concentrated on both analytical and experimental approaches using various mixer designs. CFD and MGB predictions are compared with LDV and noise data, respectively. While former predictions matched well with data, experiment shows a need for improving the latter predictions. Data also show that mixing noise can be sensitive to engine hardware upstream of the mixing exit plane.

Hauser, Joseph R.↗

Microbial spies and bloggers: programming cells to convert environmental information into discernible signals

Microbes regulate their dynamic behaviors using the chemical and physical characteristics of their environment. The ability of microbes to continuously convert this physicochemical information into biochemical information and to use organic matter in the environment as a power source makes these organisms attractive as chassis for building sensors. However, most biosensors have severe limitations when considering applications in hard-to-image settings like soils, sediments, and wastewater. Emerging technologies at the interface of biomolecular design, microbiome engineering, and synthetic biology offer new tools to program cells and communities as biosensors for these settings. Here, in this review, we describe innovations in biosensor outputs that are enabling new applications in complex environments, including reporters that are read out using electrochemical, gas chromatography, hyperspectral imaging, and next-generation sequencing methods. We also discuss computational advances that are accelerating the diversification of sensing components by mining metagenomics data for new transcriptional regulators and by designing allosteric protein switches that directly regulate reporter outputs using analytes. We highlight emerging opportunities for programming undomesticated microbes in communities to function as distributed sensors in the environment. Finally, we discuss the need for responsible biosensor development and to modernize regulatory frameworks to support evidence-based assessment of environmental biosensors.

analyte↗

The Monarch Initiative in 2024: an analytic platform integrating phenotypes, genes and diseases across species

Abstract Bridging the gap between genetic variations, environmental determinants, and phenotypic outcomes is critical for supporting clinical diagnosis and understanding mechanisms of diseases. It requires integrating open data at a global scale. The Monarch Initiative advances these goals by developing open ontologies, semantic data models, and knowledge graphs for translational research. The Monarch App is an integrated platform combining data about genes, phenotypes, and diseases across species. Monarch's APIs enable access to carefully curated datasets and advanced analysis tools that support the understanding and diagnosis of disease for diverse applications such as variant prioritization, deep phenotyping, and patient profile-matching. We have migrated our system into a scalable, cloud-based infrastructure; simplified Monarch's data ingestion and knowledge graph integration systems; enhanced data mapping and integration standards; and developed a new user interface with novel search and graph navigation features. Furthermore, we advanced Monarch's analytic tools by developing a customized plugin for OpenAI’s ChatGPT to increase the reliability of its responses about phenotypic data, allowing us to interrogate the knowledge in the Monarch graph using state-of-the-art Large Language Models. The resources of the Monarch Initiative can be found at monarchinitiative.org and its corresponding code repository at github.com/monarch-initiative/monarch-app.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Exploration Medical Capability Clinical Decision Support System Concept of Operations

The Clinical Decision Support (CDS) project supports the Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element of the Human Research Program (HRP). Specifically, the CDS project addresses the ExMC gap, Medical-701: Enhance medical capabilities within an exploration medical system. For long-duration, deep space missions, computational and data resources will play an important role in maintaining crew health, wellness and performance where the crew will need to be more self-reliant as we enter a new era in space exploration to return to the moon and explore Mars. These ambitious goals will require significant change in in-flight medical care due to constraints on mass, volume, power, crew time, skills reduction over time and medical evacuation capabilities. These constraints make it absolutely necessary to develop transformative solutions using new technologies. Unlike the current paradigm for crew health in low-Earth orbit missions that rely on constant communication with Mission Control, the deep space missions will experience communication delays and possibly, no communications for finite periods of time. Hence, crew health management will benefit from analytics’ capabilities to augment decision support. A comprehensive, multi-functional on-board clinical decision support system (CDSS) will help crews assess and diagnose conditions, decide appropriate responses, and guide the provision of tailored and evidence-based treatments, while reflecting contextual factors and constraints. The context may include present and historical data, viable diagnostic equipment, available supplies and medications, and vehicle and environmental health. Communication time with ground-based personnel is delayed or non-existent during significant portions of the mission so the crew will need to autonomously respond to health, performance and medical situations, particularly those that are unplanned. The CDSS must also provide additional capabilities as complex as training for an emergency situation while augmenting non-expert practitioner skillsets if the Crew Medical Officer (CMO) is incapacitated, and as routine as facilitating delayed communication with flight surgeons on the ground. The CDSS must connect complex issues involving health, wellness, task performance and environmental domains. Furthermore, CDSS functionality will focus on semi-autonomous and autonomous decision-making by the crew that is necessary to address challenges in executing a self-contained medical system that enables health care without assistance from ground clinical experts. The document, ExMC CDSS Architecture Recommendation, (HRP- 48032) establishes a description of the envisioned CDSS architecture. The analytics, descriptive or advanced, contained in a CDSS will interface with the integrated crew health and performance architecture that provides the appropriate data sets. The aim of the CDS project is to develop requirements for a CDSS through a series of test-bed prototype developments and demonstrations.

HRP↗

Autonomous Electrochemistry Platform with Real-Time Normality Testing of Voltammetry Measurements Using ML

Electrochemistry workflows utilize various instruments and computing systems to execute workflows consisting of electrocatalyst synthesis, testing and evaluation tasks. The heterogeneity of the software and hardware of these ecosystems makes it challenging to orchestrate a complete workflow from production to characterization by automating its tasks. We propose an autonomous electrochemistry computing platform for a multi-site ecosystem that provides the services for remote experiment steering, real-time measurement transfer, and AI/ML-driven analytics. We describe the integration of a mobile robot and synthesis workstation into the ecosystem by developing custom hub-networks and software modules to support remote operations over the ecosystem’s wireless and wired networks. We describe a workflow task for generating I-V voltammetry measurements using a potentiostat, and a machine learning framework to ensure their normality by detecting abnormal conditions such as disconnected electrodes. We study a number of machine learning methods for the underlying detection problem, including smooth, non-smooth, structural and statistical methods, and their fusers. We present experimental results to illustrate the effectiveness of this platform, and also validate the proposed ML method by deriving its rigorous generalization equations.

Alnajjar, Anees↗

Evaluating Optical Techniques to Characterize Solid State Samples for the Pu-238 Supply Program

This report documents steps that have been taken to establish advanced characterization capabilities for solid-state samples to support the 238 Pu Supply Program. The program has already invested significantly in spectroscopy and online monitoring development for liquid processes. Many of the data, analytical methods, and equipment could also be leveraged for the analysis of Np/Pu oxides and Np pellets to help classify material properties and link them to operations. The techniques described in this work include diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Raman spectroscopy, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Each technique is sensitive to various chemical and/or elemental species and can provide complimentary information to more standard methods such as powder x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. These options are remotely deployable via fiber-optic cables. DRS and Raman spectroscopy are already approved for glove box and hot cell work, but LIBS requires US Department of Energy approval for incorporation. Raman spectroscopy does require laser shielding, which means that DRS is the easiest method to implement. However, each technique provides complimentary data, and the most robust sample characterization could be achieved when all three, among other methods, are harnessed together. This report documents some of the progress made testing these capabilities, some of the challenges, and next steps to optimize the technology and integration strategies.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Launch vehicle aerodynamic data base development comparison with flight data

The aerodynamic development plan for the Space Shuttle integrated vehicle had three major objectives. The first objective was to support the evolution of the basic configuration by establishing aerodynamic impacts to various candidate configurations. The second objective was to provide continuing evaluation of the basic aerodynamic characteristics in order to bring about a mature data base. The third task was development of the element and component aerodynamic characteristics and distributed air loads data to support structural loads analyses. The complexity of the configurations rendered conventional analytic methods of little use and therefore required extensive wind tunnel testing of detailed complex models. However, the ground testing and analyses did not predict the aerodynamic characteristics that were extracted from the Space Shuttle flight test program. Future programs that involve the use of vehicles similar to the Space Shuttle should be concerned with the complex flow fields characteristics of these types of complex configurations.

Hamilton, J. T.↗

Controlled Ecological Life Support System - CELSS

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Program, a NASA effort to develop bioregenerative systems which provide required life support elements for crews on long duration space missions or extraterrestrial planetary colonizations, is briefly discussed. The CELSS analytical requirements are defined in relation to the life support objectives and priorities of a CELSS. The first phase of the CELSS Breadboard Concept is shown.

Sager, John C.↗

Data Challenges in Multi-Sensor Data Science System for Monitoring a Solvent Extraction Process

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is maintaining and gaining knowledge into the nuclear fuel cycle by building a test bed to allow researchers the opportunity to study nuclear fuel processing operations. This includes studying solvent extraction processes that use centrifugal contactors. As part of INL’s mission, the goal of this project is to develop a system that utilizes non-traditional measurement sources such as vibration, acoustics, current, light, flow, and temperature in conjunction with data-based, machine learning techniques that will allow for signal discovery. This multisensory data can support the development of safeguards by design, provide operator process awareness, and discover process anomalies. This poster will highlight some of the data collection and analytics challenges for the multi-sensor system as well as the mitigation strategies to build a robust system. Additionally, some preliminary data from the first testing campaign will be shown to help illustrate the data needs of the system.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Online and Offline Analytical Techniques to Quantify Chloride Salts

This report serves as the deliverable for Milestone- M3FT-26AN080502017: Summary of Accomplishments for Online and Offline Analytical Qualification of Chloride Fuel Salts. The qualification of chloride fuel salts is a critical challenge for the development and deployment of molten salt reactors (MSRs), requiring precise control and verification of chemical and isotopic composition to ensure predictable neutronics, manageable radiological behavior, and safe plant operation. Currently, there is no universally accepted standard for fuel salt qualification, particularly for chloride-based systems, which underscores the need for robust, science-based analytical methodologies. This report presents a comprehensive evaluation of both online and offline techniques for quantifying chloride fuel salts, including multielectrode array voltammetry, differential thermal analysis (DTA) probes, inert gas fusion (IGF) analyzers, and gamma spectrometry using the Mirion NAIS-2x2 NaI(Tl) detector. The integration of these methods enables real-time monitoring of actinide concentrations, redox state, and thermophysical properties, as well as high-precision measurement of impurities and isotopic composition. The acquisition of advanced instruments such as the Bruker Leonardo G6 for IGF and the Mirion NaI detector enhances analytical capabilities, supporting the establishment of operational envelopes and impurity thresholds. These approaches provide essential data for neutronic impact evaluation, feedstock documentation, and compliance with nuclear safety standards. The methodologies developed and validated in this report lay the groundwork for future standardized protocols, bridging the gap between laboratory research and commercial reactor operation, and advancing the safe and efficient deployment of chloride-fueled MSRs.

Polke, Amber↗

Findings on Subtask 3.1 - Bakken Rich Gas Enhanced Oil Recovery Project

Total in-place oil for the Bakken petroleum system (BPS) (which includes the Bakken and Three Forks Formations) has been estimated to be 600 billion barrels (bbl). However, BPS wells have decline rates as high as 85% over the first 3 years of their lives, and primary recovery factors typically range from 3% to 10% of original oil in place. Given the low initial recovery rates, even small incremental productivity improvements could dramatically increase technically recoverable oil in the BPS. One potential solution is enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using gas injection, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or hydrocarbon (HC) gases. While commonly used in conventional reservoirs, CO2 EOR in unconventional tight oil reservoirs has been limited to pilot tests. EOR using rich gas (mixture of methane, ethane, and propane) has also been employed in numerous pilots in several unconventional plays and has recently been successfully applied in the Eagle Ford play. If successful, large-scale gas-based EOR in the BPS could dramatically increase oil productivity and recovery factors and extend the life of the play for decades. While CO2 may be a technically suitable working fluid for EOR in the BPS, supplies are limited and costs for using CO2 in EOR pilots are prohibitively high. Meanwhile, produced gas flaring has presented challenges for BPS operators in North Dakota. Analysis conducted by the North Dakota Pipeline Authority indicates that the current gas-gathering infrastructure in North Dakota is insufficient to accommodate all of the associated gas that is produced from the BPS. The geographically isolated location of North Dakota relative to large natural gas markets, combined with suppressed natural gas prices, has made it economically challenging for industry to invest capital in expanding gas-gathering infrastructure in the state. These circumstances led to a research program conducted by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) in partnership with Liberty Resources Management Company LLC (LR) to examine the potential to use rich gas injection for EOR and mitigate flaring. A rich gas EOR pilot test was designed and executed by LR at its Stomping Horse development area in Williams County, North Dakota. From July 2018 through May 2019, a total of 160 million standard cubic feet (MMscf) of rich produced gas was injected into the BPS using five different wells in a sequential injection strategy. LR’s Leon–Gohrick drill spacing unit (DSU) was used as the test site. Regulatory oversight was provided by the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC). Technical support was provided by the EERC through a series of laboratory, modeling, and field-based activities, and additional post-pilot research activities incorporated learnings from the test, developed new laboratory data, improved fracture modeling methods, and developed machine learning and big data analytics. The results from the Stomping Horse rich gas EOR pilot activities indicate that developing an effective, economical EOR approach for the BPS will require more field tests. Another key lesson learned from the Stomping Horse tests is that detailed pre- and posttest data on reservoir conditions and fluids production are essential. Robust reservoir characterization provides information that is crucial to creating realistic geomodels and conducting valid dynamic simulations of potential EOR scenarios. A detailed understanding of the completions and production history of offset wells is also necessary for valid test result interpretations. This knowledge is essential to designing the operational parameters of injectivity tests and interpreting the results. A conformance control strategy is also essential to success. Laboratory-based examinations of rich gas interactions with reservoir fluids and rocks were conducted, with an emphasis on determining the ability to mobilize oil in the tight reservoir rocks and shales of the BPS. Injection fluid composition was shown to have a positive impact on reducing reservoir oil minimum miscibility pressure (MMP), reducing interfacial tension (IFT), and altering wettability. IFT and contact angle measurements demonstrated that wettability can be altered in the presence of rich gas, suggesting the potential to improve oil recovery. Iterative modeling of surface infrastructure and reservoir performance using data generated by the various project activities was conducted. A geologic model of the Stomping Horse area was built; history-matched oil, gas, and water production was used in simulations of various EOR scenarios. Early programmatic modeling results were used to support LR’s design and operation of the EOR pilot and to provide insight regarding optimization of future commercial-scale BPS EOR design and operations. Post-pilot modeling focused on alternative methods of understanding complex fracture networks and accelerating simulation time. These led to improved simulation run times and provide excellent history-matching results. Several of these iterative models were used as the bases for developing algorithms into machine learning and big data analytics. History matching in reservoir simulation is time-consuming and computer processing-intensive. Machine learning algorithms were created, and an automated history-matching tool was developed. A large set of synthetic reservoir simulations were created to generate well responses (oil, gas, and water production, well bottomhole pressure [BHP], and tracer or propane breakthrough) for a set of EOR operating parameters that included offset well status (open or closed), injectate (rich gas or propane), injection rate, and injection well BHP. A user interface was developed to provide real-time visualization. Machine learning-based models were developed to provide rapid forecasting of well performance given a set of user-defined EOR operating parameters. These predictive models allow the user to modify the offset well status, injection rate, and injection well BHP and rapidly forecast future production performance. The combination of real-time visualization tools with real-time forecasting tools provides a framework for real-time control—operational changes that the EOR site operator can enact (e.g., changing gas injection rates) to affect the observed performance and potentially improve the EOR outcome. There is great reason to be optimistic about the future of EOR in the Bakken. The results of the laboratory studies suggest significant potential for high rates of oil mobilization using produced field gas injection under the right conditions. The results of the lab studies, combined with rigorous statistical analysis of well production data and associated modeling efforts, confirm the notion that fluid mobility within the reservoir is controlled by fractures. As more knowledge is gained about the nature and distribution of fracture networks in the Bakken, the industry will be in a better position to predict and, ultimately, influence fluid mobility. New field tests are necessary to develop a more complete understanding of those conditions. Thoughtful and creatively engineered field tests within a well-characterized geologic setting will yield the fundamental knowledge needed to take Bakken oil production to the next level. This subtask was cofunded through the EERC–U.S. Department of Energy Joint Program on Research and Development for Fossil Energy-Related Resources Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FE0024233. Nonfederal funding was provided by the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Oil and Gas Research Program and Computer Modelling Group.

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS↗

Aeromechanical stability analysis of a multirotor vehicle with application to hybrid heavy lift helicopter dynamics

The Hybrid Heavy Lift Helicopter (HHLH) is a potential candidate vehicle aimed at providing heavy lift capability at low cost. This vehicle consists of a buoyant envelope attached to a supporting structure. Four rotor systems are also attached to the supporting structure. Nonlinear equations of motion capable of modeling the dynamics of this multi-rotor/support frame/vehicle system have been developed and used to study the fundamental aeromechanical stability characteristics of this class of vehicles. The mechanism of coupling between the blades, supporting structure and rigid body modes is identified and the effect of buoyancy ratio (buoyant lift/total weight) on the vehicle dynamics is studied. It is shown that dynamics effects have a major role in the design of such vehicles. The analytical model developed is also useful for studying the aeromechanical stability of single rotor and tandem rotor coupled rotor/fuselage systems.

Venkatesan, C.↗

COI Structural Analysis Presentation

This report discusses the structural analysis of the Next Generation Space Telescope Mirror System Demonstrator (NMSD) developed by Composite Optics Incorporated (COI) in support of the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) project. The mirror was submitted to Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) for cryogenic testing and evaluation. Once at MSFC, the mirror was lowered to approximately 40 K and the optical surface distortions were measured. Alongside this experiment, an analytical model was developed and used to compare to the test results. A NASTRAN finite element model was provided by COI and a thermal model was developed from it. Using the thermal model, steady state nodal temperatures were calculated based on the predicted environment of the large cryogenic test chamber at MSFC. This temperature distribution was applied in the structural analysis to solve for the deflections of the optical surface. Finally, these deflections were submitted for optical analysis and comparison to the interferometer test data.

Cline, Todd↗

Entanglement swapping systems toward a quantum internet

We demonstrate conditional entanglement swapping, i.e. teleportation of entanglement, between time-bin qubits at the telecommunication wavelength of 1536.4 nm with high fidelity of 87%. Our system is deployable, utilizing modular, off-the-shelf, fiber-coupled, and electrically controlled components such as electro-optic modulators. It leverages the precise timing resolution of superconducting nanowire detectors, which are controlled and read out via a custom developed graphical user interface. The swapping process is described, interpreted, and guided using characteristic function-based analytical modeling that accounts for realistic imperfections. Our system supports quantum networking protocols, including source-independent quantum key distribution, with an estimated secret key rate of approximately 0.5 bits per sifted bit.

Davis, Samantha I. [Caltech] (ORCID:00000001999481↗

Theoretical performance of cross-wind axis turbines with results for a catenary vertical axis configuration

A general analysis capable of predicting performance characteristics of cross-wind axis turbines was developed, including the effects of airfoil geometry, support struts, blade aspect ratio, windmill solidity, blade interference and curved flow. The results were compared with available wind tunnel results for a catenary blade shape. A theoretical performance curve for an aerodynamically efficient straight blade configuration was also presented. In addition, a linearized analytical solution applicable for straight configurations was developed. A listing of the computer program developed for numerical solutions of the general performance equations is included in the appendix.

Muraca, R. J.↗