Secular PGR Stokes Coefficients Via Ice Model Improvements, Quarter Century-Long Data Records and High Degeree and Order Field Recovery
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A spacecraft may be unable to communicate critical data associated with a serious or catastrophic failure. A brief report proposes a system, somewhat like a commercial aircraft "black box," for retrieving these data. A microspacecraft attached to the prime spacecraft would continually store recent critical data from that spacecraft. If either spacecraft detected certain serious conditions of the prime spacecraft, the microspacecraft would separate from the prime spacecraft and independently transmit the stored data to Earth. Supplemental data, acquired from sensors onboard the microspacecraft, could be added to this transmission. For example, the orientation and angular rates of the prime spacecraft immediately before separation as well as pictures taken of the prime spacecraft after separation could be included. Functional enhancements over aircraft black boxes include the separation from the prime vehicle (which gains independence from the fate of that vehicle), wireless transmission of data (making physical black box recovery unnecessary), and the optional acquisition of supplemental sensor data.
Jet impingement cooling of a hypersonic airfoil leading edge is experimentally investigated using thermochromic liquid crystals (TLCS) to measure surface temperature. The experiment uses computer data acquisition with digital imaging of the TLCs to determine heat transfer coefficients during a transient experiment. The data reduction relies on analysis of a coupled transient conduction - convection heat transfer problem that characterizes the experiment. The recovery temperature of the jet is accounted for by running two experiments with different heating rates, thereby generating a second equation that is used to solve for the recovery temperature. The resulting solution requires a complicated numerical iteration that is handled by a computer. Because the computational data reduction method is complex, special attention is paid to error assessment. The error analysis considers random and systematic errors generated by the instrumentation along with errors generated by the approximate nature of the numerical methods. Results of the error analysis show that the experimentally determined heat transfer coefficients are accurate to within 15%. The error analysis also shows that the recovery temperature data may be in error by more than 50%. The results show that the recovery temperature data is only reliable when the recovery temperature of the jet is greater than 5 C, i.e. the jet velocity is in excess of 100 m/s. Parameters that were investigated include nozzle width, distance from the nozzle exit to the airfoil surface, and jet velocity. Heat transfer data is presented in graphical and tabular forms. An engineering analysis of hypersonic airfoil leading edge cooling is performed using the results from these experiments. Several suggestions for the improvement of the experimental technique are discussed.
Imaging radar was evaluated as an adjunct to conventional petroleum exploration techniques, especially linear mapping. Linear features were mapped from several remote sensor data sources including stereo photography, enhanced LANDSAT imagery, SLAR radar imagery, enhanced SAR radar imagery, and SAR radar/LANDSAT combinations. Linear feature maps were compared with surface joint data, subsurface and geophysical data, and gas production in the Arkansas part of the Arkoma basin. The best LANDSAT enhanced product for linear detection was found to be a winter scene, band 7, uniform distribution stretch. Of the individual SAR data products, the VH (cross polarized) SAR radar mosaic provides for detection of most linears; however, none of the SAR enhancements is significantly better than the others. Radar/LANDSAT merges may provide better linear detection than a single sensor mapping mode, but because of operator variability, the results are inconclusive. Radar/LANDSAT combinations appear promising as an optimum linear mapping technique, if the advantages and disadvantages of each remote sensor are considered.
Two algorithms are developed for calculating power spectrums from the autocorrelation function when there are missing data points in the time series. Both methods use an average sampling interval to compute lagged products. One method, the correlation function power spectrum, takes the discrete Fourier transform of the lagged products directly to obtain the spectrum, while the other, the modified Blackman-Tukey power spectrum, takes the Fourier transform of the mean lagged products. Both techniques require fewer calculations than other procedures since only 50% to 80% of the maximum lags need be calculated. The algorithms are compared with the Fourier transform power spectrum and two least squares procedures (all for an arbitrary data spacing). Examples are given showing recovery of frequency components from simulated periodic data where portions of the time series are missing and random noise has been added to both the time points and to values of the function. In addition the methods are compared using real data. All procedures performed equally well in detecting periodicities in the data.
This report considers using a process to acquire performance data for supersonic mixed-compression inlets that is faster and less costly than the previous process. In the previous process for acquiring data during wind tunnel experiments, actuators for backpressuring an inlet moved in discrete increments, paused for dynamics to dampen, measured data for 5 s, recorded the data, and then reduced the data to graphic plots of pressure recovery versus mass capture ratio. This discrete data acquisition procedure was methodical, reliable, and accurate. However, acquiring data to characterize the inlet consumed significant wind-on time. Wind tunnel operation was costly when considering maintenance, energy, and human resources (operators and research team); therefore, the price for each data point was high. This report presents a quicker method to obtain all measurements, one which can also be used in blowdown wind tunnels. This approach, identified as the dynamic inlet characteristic data acquisition procedure, uses in situ dynamic high-speed pressure sensors to measure pressure signals. The backpressuring actuator moves continuously, and measurements from high-speed pressure sensors are recorded as the actuator progresses to and past the incremental points. Despite its advantages, the approach raised the following questions: (1) Will the new process be as accurate as the previous process? and (2) Are there any hidden costs? These concerns are addressed in this report. This report reviews a study that was undertaken to compare wind tunnel experiment data taken using the previous discrete data acquisition procedure with data recorded using the dynamic inlet characterization data acquisition procedure. In this report, the wind tunnel experiment and the study objectives are described. The processes to reduce the data for analysis are explained, and a discussion of the results is given. Finally, conclusions from this study that may guide further work in this area are presented.
Recent instrument developments have made it possible to measure the strain tensor caused by injecting or pumping fluid from aquifers or reservoirs, but the full value of these data is limited because the long runtimes of poroelastic forward models makes it impractical to use many inversion schemes. This limits the interpretation of strain data for managing the recovery of resources or storage of wastes in the subsurface. This paper describes a method of inverting deformation data using a poroelastic numerical simulator so the results can be used to manage reservoirs or aquifers. We developed a workflow designed to reduce the number of simulations sufficiently to make it feasible to use DREAMzs, an advanced Bayesian inversion method that translates the uncertainties from different sources into unbiased posterior parameter distributions and uncertainty envelopes around the field data. Using a KNN proxy model for the poroelastic simulator is key to reducing the overall computations, and the workflow includes a strategy for ensuring the proxy model results converge on the results from the simulator. The workflow is tested using an idealized example that verifies the ability to correctly identify parameters and characterize noise used to perturb the data. Field data from an injection test at an oil reservoir near Tulsa, Oklahoma, are also used to evaluate the efficacy of the workflow with a real dataset. The workflow identified 265 history matching solutions out of 1240 total simulation runs (21% acceptance ratio), where the results were used to characterize posterior parameter distribution and evaluate the prediction uncertainty. Furthermore, this workflow is significant because it enables strain tensor, or other geomechanical measurements to be interpreted to guide decision-making during energy and environmental processes in the subsurface.
The Entry Phase of the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe Mission involved data transmission over only a two-hour span. The criticality of recovery of those two hours of data, coupled with the fact that there were no radio signals from the Probes until their arrival at Venus, dictated unique telemetry recovery approaches on the ground. The result was double redundancy, use of spectrum analyzers to aid in rapid acquisition of the signals, and development of a technique for recovery of telemetry data without the use of real-time coherent detection which is normally employed by all other NASA planetary missions.
Abstract There is considerable interest in data reported by Cangialosi et al. [Cangialosi, D., Boucher, V. M., Alegría, A., & Colmenero, J. (2013). Physical Review Letters , 111 (9), 095701] that purportedly showed unusual irregular responses in the isothermal structural recovery behavior of glasses because the observation challenges the general view of the dynamics being smooth functions of time as observed in extensive dilatometric experiments by Kovacs [Kovacs, A. J. (1964). In Fortschritte der Hochpolymeren‐Forschung , 3 , 394–507. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.] in the 1960s. The reported data show an apparent two mechanism structural (enthalpy) recovery at aging temperatures ranging from 6 to 17 K below which is also controversial as it could not be reproduced in work from Koh and Simon [Koh, Y. P., & Simon, S. L. (2013). Macromolecules , 46(14), 5815–5821.] where a second plateau observed in the enthalpy loss curve was not reproduced in nearly 1‐year‐long experiments at 15 K below . Therefore, it is important to determine what might be possible reasons for the apparent non‐smooth relaxations. Here, we examine the possibility that the poor temperature control of a typical vacuum oven could explain the anomalous results. We used the Tool–Narayanaswamy–Moynihan (TNM) model of structural recovery to calculate the effect of typical vacuum oven temperature variation on the structural recovery of polystyrene and find that we can reproduce the reported experimental results. The issue of temperature control using a vacuum oven is discussed, and data from thermocouple measurements of temperature at various locations inside a vacuum oven are shown.
The DOE Advanced Reactor Technology program has supported recovery and preservation of legacy metallic fuel data collected as part of the US fast reactor program, recognizing it as essential to development and licensing activities for advanced fast reactors. Databases were established as organized collections of experimental records and data generated from in-pile experiments at EBRII, FFTF, and TREAT as well as related out-of-pile examinations of irradiated fuels. The Out-of-Pile Transient Database (OPTD), includes records of over 150 out-of-pile furnace transient tests on metallic fuels conducted at Argonne’s Alpha-Gamma Hot Cell Facility to evaluate their transient performance and characterize fuel/cladding interaction. The database is accessible to registered users from US universities, laboratories, and nuclear industry. Because the data in OPTD has not been formally qualified, its applicability and ability to support licensing activities is limited. This report outlines progress and plans to quality assure data in OPTD, maximizing its impact for model validation and verification as well as qualification of fuels for safe and effective use in advanced reactor designs.
INTRODUCTION Testing of crew responses following long-duration flights has not been previously possible until a minimum of more than 24 hours after landing. As a result, it has not been possible to determine the trend of the early recovery process, nor has it been possible to accurately assess the full impact of the decrements associated with long-duration flight. To overcome these limitations, both the Russian and U.S. programs have implemented joint testing at the Soyuz landing site. This International Space Station research effort has been identified as the functional Field Test, and represents data collect on NASA, Russian, European Space Agency, and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency crews. RESEARCH The primary goal of this research is to determine functional abilities associated with long-duration space flight crews beginning as soon after landing as possible on the day of landing (typically within 1 to 1.5 hours). This goal has both sensorimotor and cardiovascular elements. To date, a total of 15 subjects have participated in a 'pilot' version of the full 'field test'. The full version of the 'field test' will assess functional sensorimotor measurements included hand/eye coordination, standing from a seated position (sit-to-stand), walking normally without falling, measurement of dynamic visual acuity, discriminating different forces generated with the hands (both strength and ability to judge just noticeable differences of force), standing from a prone position, coordinated walking involving tandem heel-to-toe placement (tested with eyes both closed and open), walking normally while avoiding obstacles of differing heights, and determining postural ataxia while standing (measurement of quiet stance). Sensorimotor performance has been obtained using video records, and data from body worn inertial sensors. The cardiovascular portion of the investigation has measured blood pressure and heart rate during a timed stand test in conjunction with postural ataxia testing (quiet stance sway) as well as cardiovascular responses during sensorimotor testing on all of the above measures. We have also collected motion sickness data associated with each of the postflight tests. When possible rudimentary cerebellar assessment was undertaken. In addition to the immediate post-landing collection of data, postflight data has been acquired twice more within 24 hours after landing and measurements continue until sensorimotor and cardiovascular responses have returned to preflight normative values (approximately 60 days postflight). SUMMARY The level of functional deficit observed in the crew tested to date is more severe than expected, clearly triggered by the acquisition of gravity loads immediately after landing when the demands for crew intervention in response to emergency operations will be greatest. Measureable performance parameters such as ability to perform a seat egress, recover from a fall or the ability to see clearly when walking, and related physiologic data (orthostatic responses) are required to provide an evidence base for characterizing programmatic risks and the degree of variability among crewmembers for exploration missions where the crew will be unassisted after landing. Overall, these early functional and related physiologic measurements will allow the estimation of nonlinear sensorimotor and cardiovascular recovery trends that have not been previously captured.
The advent of low earth orbit (LEO) commercial communication satellites provides an opportunity to dramatically reduce Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) costs of launch vehicles, Unpiloted Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Research Balloons and spacecraft by reducing or eliminating ground infrastructure. Personnel from the Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility (GSFC\WFF) have successfully used commercial Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Big LEO communications satellites for Long Duration Balloon Flight TT&C. The Flight Modem is a GSFC\WFF Advanced Range Technology initiative (ARTI) designed to streamline TT&C capability in the user community of these scientific data gathering platforms at low cost. Making use of existing LEO satellites and adapting and ruggedized commercially available components; two-way, over the horizon communications may be established with these vehicles at great savings due to reduced infrastructure. Initially planned as a means for permitting GPS data for tracking and recovery of sounding rocket and balloon payloads, expectations are that the bandwidth can soon be expanded to allow more comprehensive data transfer. The system architecture which integrates antennas, GPS receiver, commercial satellite packet data modem and a single board computer with custom software is described and technical challenges are discussed along with the plan for their resolution. A three-phase testing and development plan is outlined and the current results are reported. Results and status of ongoing flight tests on aircraft and sounding rockets are reported. Future applications on these platforms and the potential for satellite support are discussed along with an analysis of cost effectiveness of this method vs. other tracking and data transmission schemes.
Four, quasi-circular, positive Bouguer gravity anomalies (PBGAs) that are similar in diameter (~90-190 km) and gravitational amplitude (> 140 mGal contrast) are identified within the central Oceanus Procellarum region of the Moon. These spatially associated PBGAs are located south of Aristarchus Plateau, north of Flamsteed crater, and two are within the Marius Hills volcanic complex (north and south). Each is characterized by distinct surface geologic features suggestive of ancient impact craters and/or volcanic/plutonic activity. Here, we combine geologic analyses with forward modeling of high-resolution gravity data from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission in order to constrain the subsurface structures that contribute to these four PBGAs. The GRAIL data presented here, at spherical harmonic degrees 6–660, permit higher resolution analyses of these anomalies than previously reported, and reveal new information about subsurface structures. Specifically, we find that the amplitudes of the four PBGAs cannot be explained solely by mare-flooded craters, as suggested in previous work; an additional density contrast is required to explain the high-amplitude of the PBGAs. For Northern Flamsteed (190 km diameter), the additional density contrast may be provided by impact-related mantle uplift. If the local crust has a density ~2800 kg/cu.m, then ~7 km of uplift is required for this anomaly, although less uplift is required if the local crust has a lower mean density of ~2500 kg/cu.m. For the Northern and Southern Marius Hills anomalies, the additional density contrast is consistent with the presence of a crustal complex of vertical dikes that occupies up to ~50% of the regionally thin crust. The structure of Southern Aristarchus Plateau (90 km diameter), an anomaly with crater-related topographic structures, remains ambiguous. Based on the relatively small size of the anomaly, we do not favor mantle uplift; however, understanding mantle response in a region of especially thin crust needs to be better resolved. It is more likely that this anomaly is due to subsurface magmatic material given the abundance of volcanic material in the surrounding region. Overall, the four PBGAs analyzed here are important in understanding the impact and volcanic/plutonic history of the Moon, specifically in a region of thin crust and elevated temperatures characteristic of the Procellarum KREEP Terrane.
Preliminary data on electric field changes produced by cloud-to-ground lightning and the subsequent field recoveries are presented. Both single-station and multiple-station observations were made. There is large variation in the data: total charge transfers range from 10 to 30 C and beyond, electric-field recovery times vary by a factor of 2 or more, and initial charge heights occur over a large interval. Only distance and angle dependencies are somewhat predictable, and then only in a few cases. Thus the field recovery mechanism is not a simple one.
Monitoring groundwater drought using land surface models is a valuable alternative given the current lack of systematic in situ measurements at continental and global scales and the low resolution of current remote sensing based groundwater data. However, uncertainties inherent to land surface models may impede drought detection, and thus should be assessed using independent data sources. In this study, we evaluated a groundwater drought index (GWI) derived from monthly groundwater storage output from the Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM) using a GWI similarly derived from in situ groundwater observations. Groundwater observations were obtained from unconfined or semi-confined aquifers in eight regions of the central and northeastern U.S. Regional average GWI derived from CLSM exhibited strong correlation with that from observation wells, with correlation coefficients between 0.43 and 0.92. GWI from both in situ data and CLSM was generally better correlated with the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) at 12 and 24 month timescales than at shorter timescales, but it varied depending on climate conditions. The correlation between CLSM derived GWI and SPI generally decreases with increasing depth to the water table, which in turn depends on both bedrock depth (a CLSM parameter) and mean annual precipitation. The persistence of CLSM derived GWI is spatially varied and again shows a strong influence of depth to groundwater. CLSM derived GWI generally persists longer than GWI derived from in situ data, due at least in part to the inability of coarse model inputs to capture high frequency meteorological variability at local scales. The study also showed that groundwater can have a significant impact on soil moisture persistence where the water table is shallow. Soil moisture persistence was estimated to be longer in the eastern U.S. than in the west, in contrast to previous findings that were based on models that did not represent groundwater. Assimilation of terrestrial water storage data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission improved the correlation between CLSM based regional average GWI and that based on in situ data in six of the eight regions. Practical issues regarding the application of GRACE assimilated groundwater storage for drought detection are discussed. An important conclusion of this study is that model parameters that control the depth to the water table, including bedrock depth, strongly influence the evolution and persistence of simulated groundwater and require careful configuration for drought monitoring.
Monitoring groundwater drought using land surface models is a valuable alternative given the current lack of systematic in situ measurements at continental and global scales and the low resolution of current remote sensing based groundwater data. However, uncertainties inherent to land surface models may impede drought detection, and thus should be assessed using independent data sources. In this study, we evaluated a groundwater drought index (GWI) derived from monthly groundwater storage output from the Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM) using a GWI similarly derived from in situ groundwater observations. Groundwater observations were obtained from unconfined or semi-confined aquifers in eight regions of the central and northeastern U.S. Regional average GWI derived from CLSM exhibited strong correlation with that from observation wells, with correlation coefficients between 0.43 and 0.92. GWI from both in situ data and CLSM was generally better correlated with the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) at 12 and 24 month timescales than at shorter timescales, but it varied depending on climate conditions. The correlation between CLSM derived GWI and SPI generally decreases with increasing depth to the water table, which in turn depends on both bedrock depth (a CLSM parameter) and mean annual precipitation. The persistence of CLSM derived GWI is spatially varied and again shows a strong influence of depth to groundwater. CLSM derived GWI generally persists longer than GWI derived from in situ data, due at least in part to the inability of coarse model inputs to capture high frequency meteorological variability at local scales. The study also showed that groundwater can have a significant impact on soil moisture persistence where the water table is shallow. Soil moisture persistence was estimated to be longer in the eastern U.S. than in the west, in contrast to previous findings that were based on models that did not represent groundwater. Assimilation of terrestrial water storage data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission improved the correlation between CLSM based regional average GWI and that based on in situ data in six of the eight regions. Practical issues regarding the application of GRACE assimilated groundwater storage for drought detection are discussed. An important conclusion of this study is that model parameters that control the depth to the water table, including bedrock depth, strongly influence the evolution and persistence of simulated groundwater and require careful configuration for drought monitoring.
We present a method to determine local gravity fields for the Moon using Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) data. We express gravity as gridded gravity anomalies on a sphere, and we estimate adjustments to a background global start model expressed in spherical harmonics. We processed GRAIL Ka-band range-rate data with a short-arc approach, using only data over the area of interest. We determine our gravity solutions using neighbor smoothing constraints. We divided the entire Moon into twelve regions and two polar caps, with a resolution of 0.15˚ x 0.15˚ (which is equivalent to degree and order 1199 in spherical harmonics), and determined the optimal smoothing parameter for each area by comparing localized correlations between gravity and topography for each solution set. Our selected areas share nodes with surrounding areas and they are overlapping. To mitigate boundary effects, we patch the solutions together by symmetrically omitting the boundary parts of overlapping solutions. Our new solution has been iterated, and it has improved correlations with topography when compared to a fully iterated global model. Our method requires fewer resources, and can easily handle regionally varying resolution or constraints. The smooth model describes small-scale features clearly, and can be used in local studies of the structure of the lunar crust.
Previous work has shown that the material properties of nuclear grade graphite are substantially affected by the atomic and microstructural changes that occur during neutron-irradiation. The parameters that play a role in these changes are irradiation dose, temperature, graphite composition and the initial microstructure of the graphite. Understanding the details of how these material changes occur and exactly what the changes consists of will enable the prediction of the material property changes as a function of these variables. Other work has shown these atomic level and microstructural changes can be healed or annealed out by raising the irradiated graphite above its irradiation temperature. Here in this work, experiments were carried out to investigate how the properties of irradiated graphite recover when heated. By showing property recovery as a function of annealing temperature or energy, insight is provided into the type of damage that occurred during neutron-irradiation. The data presented here shows recovery of thermal diffusivity, coefficient of thermal expansion, Young's modulus and electrical resistivity between annealing temperatures of 500 °C and 2380 °C. Graphite grades NBG-18, IG-110 and PCEA are considered that were both stressed and unstressed during irradiation.