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NASA NTRS1988

Identification of visual evoked response parameters sensitive to pilot mental state

Systems analysis techniques were developed and demonstrated for modeling the electroencephalographic (EEG) steady state visual evoked response (ssVER), for use in EEG data compression and as an indicator of mental workload. The study focused on steady state frequency domain stimulation and response analysis, implemented with a sum-of-sines (SOS) stimulus generator and an off-line describing function response analyzer. Three major tasks were conducted: (1) VER related systems identification material was reviewed; (2) Software for experiment control and data analysis was developed and implemented; and (3) ssVER identification and modeling was demonstrated, via a mental loading experiment. It was found that a systems approach to ssVER functional modeling can serve as the basis for eventual development of a mental workload indicator. The review showed how transient visual evoked response (tVER) and ssVER research are related at the functional level, the software development showed how systems techniques can be used for ssVER characterization, and the pilot experiment showed how a simple model can be used to capture the basic dynamic response of the ssVER, under varying loads.

Zacharias, G. L.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Time domain simulation of the response of geometrically nonlinear panels subjected to random loading

The response of composite panels subjected to random pressure loads large enough to cause geometrically nonlinear responses is studied. A time domain simulation is employed to solve the equations of motion. An adaptive time stepping algorithm is employed to minimize intermittent transients. A modified algorithm for the prediction of response spectral density is presented which predicts smooth spectral peaks for discrete time histories. Results are presented for a number of input pressure levels and damping coefficients. Response distributions are calculated and compared with the analytical solution of the Fokker-Planck equations. RMS response is reported as a function of input pressure level and damping coefficient. Spectral densities are calculated for a number of examples.

Moyer, E. Thomas, Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Transient response of joint dominated space structures - A new linearization technique

The linearization method presented for calculating the transient responses of nonlinear systems due to initial disturbances is an extension of the 'describing function' approach, in which the system's steady-state response is calculated by representing such nonlinear elements as space structure joints with impedances that are functions of response amplitude. It is shown that, for the transient case, the steady-state impedances can be averaged over the range of responses in order to furnish equivalent values of stiffness and damping; these, for a given set of initial displacements, may be treated as constant during calculations of system response.

Foelsche, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Nonlinear photorefractive response at high modulation depths

The response of photorefractive materials to sinusoidal intensity patterns of high modulation depths is considered. It is shown that the induced refractive-index response in this regime is highly nonlinear. Concise analytic expressions for the various nonlinear harmonics of the photorefractive response field are developed and compared with exact numerical solutions of the underlying charge-transport equations as well as with the results of previous theoretical models over a broad range of physical parameters. We show that the nonlinear response characteristics are strongly dependent on both the magnitude of applied electric fields and the relative concentrations of charge donor and acceptor sites in the material. For drift dominated recording, in particular, we determine analytically that in the limit of a minimal acceptor/donor ratio, the amplitudes of higher spatial harmonics of the response reach a maximum and eventually decay as functions of increasing applied field, whereas these amplitudes reach a nonzero limit in the case of a near-unity acceptor/donor ratio. Finally, we generalize our results to account for diffusion effects in an appended derivation.

Vachss, Frederick↗

NASA NTRS1989

Investigation and suppression of high dynamic response encountered on an elastic supercritical wing

The DAST Aeroelastic Research Wing had been previously in the NASA Langley TDT and an unusual instability boundary was predicted based upon supercritical response data. Contrary to the predictions, no instability was found during the present test. Instead a region of high dynamic wing response was observed which reached a maximum value between Mach numbers 0.92 and 0.93. The amplitude of the dynamic response increased directly with dynamic pressure. The reponse appears to be related to chordwise shock movement in conjunction with flow separation and reattachment on the upper and lower wing surfaces. The onset of flow separation coincided with the occurrence of strong shocks on a surface. A controller was designed to suppress the wing response. The control law attenuated the response as compared with the uncontrolled case and added a small but significant amount of damping for the lower density condition.

Seidel, David A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Theoretical investigation of the oceanic inverted barometer response

Dynamic tidal theory is generalized in order to predict the oceanic response to atmospheric pressure variations. The oceans are found to exhibit distinct dynamic behavior when forced at periods less than one week; depending on the harmonic type of forcing, the amplitude of the response can differ by about 20 percent or more from the static response. Even at roughly two months the traditional 'inverted barometer' may not be sufficiently accurate for applications in which detection of long-term sea level trends or vertical crustal motion is the goal. For forcing at periods of order one year the oceanic response differs by at most a few percent from the static (not the inverted barometer) response; thus calculations of meteorological excitation of the annual and Chandler wobbles can employ the static approximation without reservation.

Dickman, S. R.↗

NASA NTRS1989

How gravity and joint scaling affect dynamics response

If a scale model of a space structure is ground tested to establish dynamic characteristics of full-scale space structure, two factors need to be taken into consideration: the joint tolerances may not be scaled, and joint preloads (from gravity) may be present. In some situations, these differences may significantly affect dynamic response so that the model is not representative of the structure in space. In this study, joint effects are investigated by considering the response of a single-degree-of-freedom system that is restrained by a joint linkage. The joint is characterized by its initial stiffness, the load at which it slips, its hardening rate, and the distance it can slip (joint 'slop' or gap). The steady-state response of the system is calculated using a harmonic balance approach. It is found that the system response is multivalued for certain ranges of gap dimensions. When this is the case, small changes in system properties can lead to large differences in dynamic response and make it difficult to obtain meaningful results directly from model testing.

Hsu, S. T.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Linear and nonlinear responses to middle latitude surface temperature anomalies

Nonlinear responses to fixed and seasonally varying surface temperature anomalies in a two-level hemispheric time-dependent coupled atmosphere-surface mixed layer model are described. Linear stationary models that are equivalent to the nonlinear time-dependent model are used to analyze these responses. A model linearized around the climatological zonal state of the time dependent model and forced by anomalous surface temperatures does not provide a reasonable estimate for the anomalous reponses, which are considerably underestimated. Better responses are obtained when the anomalous stationary nonlinear eddy fluxes are included in a model linearized around the full climatology. However, this latter model is overly sensitive, and anomalous responses are a small residual balance to the forcing by the surface temperature anomalies and the anomalous transient eddy fluxes. To better understand these linear responses, an eigenanalysis of the climatological state is performed. Seasonal anomalies appear to be dominated by one characteristic pattern near resonance which can be associated with a slowly growing coupled atmosphere-ocean instability.

Roads, John O.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Frequency response modeling and control of flexible structures: Computational methods

The dynamics of vibrations in flexible structures can be conventiently modeled in terms of frequency response models. For structural control such models capture the distributed parameter dynamics of the elastic structural response as an irrational transfer function. For most flexible structures arising in aerospace applications the irrational transfer functions which arise are of a special class of pseudo-meromorphic functions which have only a finite number of right half place poles. Computational algorithms are demonstrated for design of multiloop control laws for such models based on optimal Wiener-Hopf control of the frequency responses. The algorithms employ a sampled-data representation of irrational transfer functions which is particularly attractive for numerical computation. One key algorithm for the solution of the optimal control problem is the spectral factorization of an irrational transfer function. The basis for the spectral factorization algorithm is highlighted together with associated computational issues arising in optimal regulator design. Options for implementation of wide band vibration control for flexible structures based on the sampled-data frequency response models is also highlighted. A simple flexible structure control example is considered to demonstrate the combined frequency response modeling and control algorithms.

Bennett, William H.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Review of probabilistic analysis of dynamic response of systems with random parameters

The various methods that have been studied in the past to allow probabilistic analysis of dynamic response for systems with random parameters are reviewed. Dynamic response may have been obtained deterministically if the variations about the nominal values were small; however, for space structures which require precise pointing, the variations about the nominal values of the structural details and of the environmental conditions are too large to be considered as negligible. These uncertainties are accounted for in terms of probability distributions about their nominal values. The quantities of concern for describing the response of the structure includes displacements, velocities, and the distributions of natural frequencies. The exact statistical characterization of the response would yield joint probability distributions for the response variables. Since the random quantities will appear as coefficients, determining the exact distributions will be difficult at best. Thus, certain approximations will have to be made. A number of techniques that are available are discussed, even in the nonlinear case. The methods that are described were: (1) Liouville's equation; (2) perturbation methods; (3) mean square approximate systems; and (4) nonlinear systems with approximation by linear systems.

Kozin, F.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Vortex creep and the internal temperature of neutron stars - Linear and nonlinear response to a glitch

The dynamics of pinned superfluid in neutron stars is determined by the thermal 'creep' of vortices. Vortex creep can respond to changes in the rotation rate of the neutron star crust and provide the observed types of dynamical relaxation following pulsar glitches. It also gives rise to energy dissipation, which determines the thermal evolution of pulsars once the initial heat content has been radiated away. The different possible regimes of vortex creep are explored, and it is shown that the nature of the dynamical response of the pinned superfluid evolves with a pulsar's age. Younger pulsars display a linear regime, where the response is linear in the initial perturbation and is a simple exponential relaxation as a function of time. A nonliner response, with a characteristic nonlinear dependence on the initial perturbation, is responsible for energy dissipation and becomes the predominant mode of response as the pulsar ages. The transition from the linear to the nonlinear regime depends sensitively on the temperature of the neutron star interior. A preliminary review of existing postglitch observations is given within this general evolutionary framework.

Alpar, M. A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The stability of individual patterns of autonomic responses to motion sickness stimulation

As part of a program to develop a treatment for motion sickness based on self-regulation of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, this study examined the stability of an individual's pattern of ANS responses to motion sickness stimulation on repeated occasions. Motion sickness symptoms were induced in 58 people during two rotating chair test. Physiological responses measured were heart rate, finger pulse volume, respiration rate, and skin conductance. Using standard scores, stability of responses of specific magnitudes across both tests is as examined. Correlational analyses, analysis of variance, and a components of variance analysis all revealed marked, but quite stable, individual differences in ANS responses to both mild and severe motion sickness. These findings confirm the prior observation that people are sufficiently unique in their ANS responses to motion sickness provocation to make it nesessary to individually tailor self-regulation training. Further, these data support the contention that individual ANS patterns are sufficiently consistent from test to test so as to serve as an objective indicator of individual motion sickness malaise levels.

Cowings, Patricia S.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Indicial response approach derived from Navier-Stokes equations. Part 1: Time-invariant equilibrium state

The indicial response approach is recast in a form appropriate to the study of vortex induced oscillations phenomena. An appropriate form is demonstrated for the indicial response of the velocity field which may be derived directly from the Navier-Stokes equations. On the basis of the Navier-Stokes equations, it is demonstrated how a form of the velocity response to an arbitrary motion may be determined. To establish its connection with the previous work, the new approach is applied first to the simple situation wherein the indicial response has a time invariant equilibrium state. Results for the aerodynamic response to an arbitrary motion are shown to confirm to the form obtained previously.

Truong, K. V.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Some buffet response characteristics of a twin-vertical-tail configuration

A rigid, 1/6 size, full span model of an F-18 airplane was fitted with flexible vertical tails of two different levels of stiffness that were buffet tested in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. Vertical tail buffet response results that were obtained over the range of angles of attack from -10 to 40 degs, and over the range of Mach numbers from 0.30 to 0.95 are presented. These results indicate the following: (1) the response occurs in the first bending mode; (2) the response increases with increasing dynamic pressure, but changes in response are not linearly proportional to the changes in dynamic pressure; (3) the response is larger at M = 0.30 than it is at the higher Mach numbers; (4) the maximum intensity of the buffeting is described as heavy to severe using an assessment criteria proposed by another investigator; and (5) the data at different dynamic pressures and for the different tails correlate reasonably well using the buffet excitation parameter derived from the dynamic analysis of buffeting.

Cole, Stanley R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Long-term prediction test procedure for most ICs, based on linear response theory

Experimentally, thermal annealing is known to be a factor which enables a number of different integrated circuits (IC's) to recover their operating characteristics after suffering radiation damage in the space radiation environment; thus, decreasing and limiting long term cumulative total-dose effects. This annealing is also known to be accelerated at elevated temperatures both during and after irradiation. Linear response theory (LRT) was applied, and a linear response function (LRF) to predict the radiation/annealing response of sensitive parameters of IC's for long term (several months or years) exposure to the space radiation environment were constructed. Compressing the annealing process from several years in orbit to just a few hours or days in the laboratory is achieved by subjecting the IC to elevated temperatures or by increasing the typical spaceflight dose rate by several orders of magnitude for simultaneous radiation/annealing only. The accomplishments are as follows: (1) the test procedure to make predictions of the radiation response was developed; (2) the calculation of the shift in the threshold potential due to the charge distribution in the oxide was written; (3) electron tunneling processes from the bulk Si to the oxide region in an MOS IC were estimated; (4) in order to connect the experimental annealing data to the theoretical model, constants of the model of the basic annealing process were established; (5) experimental data obtained at elevated temperatures were analyzed; (6) time compression and reliability of predictions for the long term region were shown; (7) a method to compress test time and to make predictions of response for the nonlinear region was proposed; and (8) nonlinearity of the LRF with respect to log(t) was calculated theoretically from a model.

Litovchenko, V.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A model study of the response of mesospheric ozone to short-term solar ultraviolet flux variations

An investigation is conducted in order to determine the relative importance of several modeled processes in controlling the magnitude and phase of the mesospheric ozone response. A detailed one-dimensional modeling study of the mesospheric ozone response to solar UV flux variations is conducted to remove some of the deficiencies in previous studies. This study is also used to examine specifically the importance of solar zenith angle, self-consistent calculation of water vapor abundance, and temperature feedback with a nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium radiation model. The photochemical model is described, and the assumptions made for the purpose of comparing model results with the observed ozone response obtained from a statistical analysis of Solar Mesosphere Explorer data (Keating et al., 1987) are discussed. The numerical results for the theoretical ozone response are presented. The results of selected time-dependent calculations are considered to illustrate the degree to which a relatively simple model of the mesosphere is able to capture the major characteristics of the observed response.

Summers, M. E.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Responsive systems - The challenge for the nineties

A concept of responsive computer systems will be introduced. The emerging responsive systems demand fault-tolerant and real-time performance in parallel and distributed computing environments. The design methodologies for fault-tolerant, real time and responsive systems will be presented. Novel techniques of introducing redundancy for improved performance and dependability will be illustrated. The methods of system responsiveness evaluation will be proposed. The issues of determinism, closed and open systems will also be discussed from the perspective of responsive systems design.

Malek, Miroslaw↗

NASA NTRS1991

The Stability of the Steady State and Bistable Response of a Flexible Rotor Supported on Squeeze Film Dampers

The stability of the steady state response, the bistable response, and the jumping characteristics are analyzed for the case when a system accelerates or decelerates through the bistable region of a flexible rotor-centralized squeeze film damper system. It was found that the system steady state responses have two unstable regions. The larger the unbalance parameter and the smaller the bearing parameter and the external damping ratio, the easier it is for the system to lose stability. The larger the mass ratio and the smaller the stiffness ratio, the lower the threshold rotating speed of instability. The instability of the system steady-state response determined here is due to the system nonsynchronous response in many cases.

Meng, Guang↗