Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Factor Analysis, Statistical”

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 343 records · Page 19

The Prospect for Remote Sensing of Cirrus Clouds with a Submillimeter-Wave Spectrometer

Given the substantial radiative effects of cirrus clouds and the need to validate cirrus cloud mass in climate models, it is important to measure the global distribution of cirrus properties with satellite remote sensing. Existing cirrus remote sensing techniques, such as solar reflectance methods, measure cirrus ice water path (IWP) rather indirectly and with limited accuracy. Submillimeter/wave radiometry is an independent method of cirrus remote sensing based on ice particles scattering the upwelling radiance emitted by the lower atmosphere. A new aircraft instrument, the Far Infrared Sensor for Cirrus (FIRSC), is described. The FIRSC employs a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). which measures the upwelling radiance across the whole submillimeter region (0.1 1.0-mm wavelength). This wide spectral coverage gives high sensitivity to most cirrus particle sizes and allows accurate determination of the characteristic particle size. Radiative transfer modeling is performed to analyze the capabilities of the submillimeter FTS technique. A linear inversion analysis is done to show that cirrus IWP, particle size, and upper-tropospheric temperature and water vapor may be accurately measured, A nonlinear statistical algorithm is developed using a database of 20000 spectra simulated by randomly varying most relevant cirrus and atmospheric parameters. An empirical orthogonal function analysis reduces the 500-point spectrum (20 - 70/cm) to 15 "pseudo-channels" that are then input to a neural network to retrieve cirrus IWP and median particle diameter. A Monte Carlo accuracy study is performed with simulated spectra having realistic noise. The retrieval errors are low for IWP (rms less than a factor of 1.5) and for particle sizes (rins less than 30%) for IWP greater than 5 g/sq m and a wide range of median particle sizes. This detailed modeling indicates that there is good potential to accurately measure cirrus properties with a submillimeter FTS.

Evans, K. Franklin↗

A Comparison of Two Balance Calibration Model Building Methods

Simulated strain-gage balance calibration data is used to compare the accuracy of two balance calibration model building methods for different noise environments and calibration experiment designs. The first building method obtains a math model for the analysis of balance calibration data after applying a candidate math model search algorithm to the calibration data set. The second building method uses stepwise regression analysis in order to construct a model for the analysis. Four balance calibration data sets were simulated in order to compare the accuracy of the two math model building methods. The simulated data sets were prepared using the traditional One Factor At a Time (OFAT) technique and the Modern Design of Experiments (MDOE) approach. Random and systematic errors were introduced in the simulated calibration data sets in order to study their influence on the math model building methods. Residuals of the fitted calibration responses and other statistical metrics were compared in order to evaluate the calibration models developed with different combinations of noise environment, experiment design, and model building method. Overall, predicted math models and residuals of both math model building methods show very good agreement. Significant differences in model quality were attributable to noise environment, experiment design, and their interaction. Generally, the addition of systematic error significantly degraded the quality of calibration models developed from OFAT data by either method, but MDOE experiment designs were more robust with respect to the introduction of a systematic component of the unexplained variance.

DeLoach, Richard↗

A Prognostic Launch Vehicle Probability of Failure Assessment Methodology for Conceptual Systems Predicated on Human Causal Factors

Lessons learned from past failures of launch vehicle developments and operations were used to create a new method to predict the probability of failure of conceptual systems. Existing methods such as Probabilistic Risk Assessments and Human Risk Assessments were considered but found to be too cumbersome for this type of system-wide application for yet-to-be-flown vehicles. The basis for this methodology were historic databases of past failures, where it was determined that various faulty human-interactions were the predominant root causes of failure rather than deficient component reliabilities evaluated through statistical analysis. This methodology contains an expert scoring part which can be used in either a qualitative or a quantitative mode. The method produces two products: a numerical score of the probability of failure and guidance to program management on critical areas in need of increased focus to improve the probability of success. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this new method, data from a concluded vehicle program (USAF's Titan IV with the Centaur G-Prime upper stage) was used as a test case. The theoretical vs. actual probability of failure was found to be 4.46% vs. 6.67% respectively. Recommendations are made for future applications of this method to ongoing launch vehicle development programs.

Launch Vehicle↗

Prognostic Launch Vehicle Probability of Failure Assessment Methodology for Conceptual Systems Predicated on Human Causal Factors

Lessons learned from past failures of launch vehicle developments and operations were used to create a new method to predict the probability of failure of conceptual systems. Existing methods such as Probabilistic Risk Assessments and Human Risk Assessments were considered but found to be too cumbersome for this type of system-wide application for yet-to-be-flown vehicles. The basis for this methodology were historic databases of past failures, where it was determined that various faulty human-interactions were the predominant root causes of failure rather than deficient component reliabilities evaluated through statistical analysis. This methodology contains an expert scoring part which can be used in either a qualitative or a quantitative mode. The method produces two products: a numerical score of the probability of failure or guidance to program management on critical areas in need of increased focus to improve the probability of success. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this new method, data from a concluded vehicle program (USAF's Titan IV with the Centaur G-Prime upper stage) was used as a test case. Although the theoretical vs. actual probability of failure was found to be in reasonable agreement (4.46% vs. 6.67% respectively) the underlying sub-root cause scoring had significant disparities attributable to significant organizational changes and acquisitions. Recommendations are made for future applications of this method to ongoing launch vehicle development programs.

Craig H Williams↗

A New Measurement of the Neutron Electric Form Factor with the Super Bigbite Spectrometer Apparatus

Protons and neutrons, collectively known as nucleons, make up the nuclei at the core of atoms which form our world. The nucleon has been under intensive study for over 100 years, and yet we still do not fully understand the internal dynamics which govern properties like its spin or its mass-which contributes to almost all of the visible mass in the universe. These dynamics are governed by quantum chromodynamics(QCD), the predictions of which are experimentally tested at high energy accelerator facilities such as Jefferson Lab. TheGEN-II experiment (E12-09-016) is one such experiment. GEN-II is part of the Super Bigbite Spectrometer (SBS) experimental form factor pro gramme taking place in Hall A at Jefferson Lab, which aims to make precision measurements of the nucleon electromagnetic form factors(EMFFs)at record high values of squared four momentum transfer ¿2. EMFFs describe the electric and magnetic moment distributions within the nucleon. They can be measured through elastic electron scattering off the nucleon, and describe the recoil response of the target nucleon at a given energy scale. GEN-II is a double polarized semi-exclusive beam target asymmetry (BTA) experiment, seeking to measure the electric form factor of the neutron,¿¿ ¿,at three new values of squared four-momentum transfer¿2 =2.92,6.74and9.82GeV². The latter two points being at record high ¿2. The form factor is determined through measuring the BTA of quasielliptical scattering of a neutron from a polarized nuclear target. The experiment utilized the CEBAF accelerator to produce longitudinally polarized electrons up to ~85% polarization, which were scattered off neutrons within a novel polarized helium-3 (³He) target. This new polarized ³He target was employed by building on the technology of its precursors which existed in similar preceding experiments. This target was designed to operate at the high luminosities typical of Hall A, and reached a record breaking combination of polarization and beam intensity known as figure of merit, three times larger than those predecessors. The SBS collaboration designed and constructed two brand new high acceptance spectrometers for these experiments, an electron arm named Bigbite (BB) and a hadron arm named Super Bigbite. Both spectrometers featured a large acceptance EM dipole magnet, and complementary detector systems. The electron arm contained gaseous electronmultipliers(GEMs) which were used for high precision tracking of the scattered electrons, a heavy gas cherenkov (GRINCH) which was used for PID between electrons and pions, a plastic i ii scintillator timing hodoscope to provide high resolution timing of the start of events, and a pair of EM calorimeters (BBCal) which provided energy measurements of detected particles, and provided the experimental trigger. The hadron arm also contained a system of GEMs which will be utilized for future SBS experiments, and a hadron calorimeter designed to provide position, timing and energy measurements of the recoiling nucleon. The calibration of all detector subsystems, beam and target data is discussed, with a focus on novel timing calibrations to the hodoscope and hadron calorimeter. An analysis of selecting quasielliptical events and suppressing background contributions from a number of sources which contaminate the final event sample is given. The largest irreducible backgrounds are found to be from misidentified protons, timing accidentals and inelastic events. The physical asymmetry is measured and used to extract a value for the form factor ratio ¿¿ ¿/¿¿ ¿. High precision ¿2 data for ¿¿ ¿ is used to then extract ¿¿ ¿. This work finds at ¿2 = 2.92 GeV2 that ¿¿ ¿ = 0.0129+0.0019 -0.0020. This result is in statistical agreement with existing fits to world data, and predictions from the constituent quark model and Dyson–Schwinger equations, in this region of ¿2.

Penman, Gary [Univ. of Glasgow, Scotland (United K↗

New Approaches to Quantifying Transport Model Error in Atmospheric CO2 Simulations

In recent years, much progress has been made in observing CO2 distributions from space. However, the use of these observations to infer source/sink distributions in inversion studies continues to be complicated by difficulty in quantifying atmospheric transport model errors. We will present results from several different experiments designed to quantify different aspects of transport error using the Goddard Earth Observing System, Version 5 (GEOS-5) Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM). In the first set of experiments, an ensemble of simulations is constructed using perturbations to parameters in the model s moist physics and turbulence parameterizations that control sub-grid scale transport of trace gases. Analysis of the ensemble spread and scales of temporal and spatial variability among the simulations allows insight into how parameterized, small-scale transport processes influence simulated CO2 distributions. In the second set of experiments, atmospheric tracers representing model error are constructed using observation minus analysis statistics from NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). The goal of these simulations is to understand how errors in large scale dynamics are distributed, and how they propagate in space and time, affecting trace gas distributions. These simulations will also be compared to results from NASA's Carbon Monitoring System Flux Pilot Project that quantified the impact of uncertainty in satellite constrained CO2 flux estimates on atmospheric mixing ratios to assess the major factors governing uncertainty in global and regional trace gas distributions.

Ott, L.↗

SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft Post Flight MMOD Inspection Campaign

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft performed 20 resupply flights to the International Space Station (ISS) between 2012 and 2020. After each mission, a team led by the NASA Johnson Space Center Hypervelocity Impact Technology (HVIT) Group inspected each Dragon vehicle exterior for hypervelocity impact damage. A general description of the inspected vehicle areas is provided as well as mission details such as exposure duration and launch dates. This paper documents the general inspection procedure for collection of data and the post inspection data analysis process. It also provides details of the observation data collected in addition to the spectroscopic analysis results of intact samples collected to discern the source of the impacting particle. A comparison between observed impacts and the expected number of damage features calculated by Bumper 3 with the latest micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) environments are also presented. Statistics on the >300 impact features documented in the database will provide insight into the depth to diameter ratios and other relationships. The quality of the comparison between the observations and code predictions are dependent on several factors. The paper provides details of each of these variables.

orbital debris↗

A Prognostic Launch Vehicle Probability of Failure Assessment Methodology for Conceptual Systems Predicated on Human Causal Factors

Create an improved method to calculate reliability of a conceptual launch vehicle system prior to fabrication by using historic data of actual root causes of failures. While failures have unique "proximate causes", there are typically a finite amount of common "root causes". Heretofore launch vehicle reliability evaluation typically hardware-centric statistical analyses, while most root causes of failures are been shown to be human-centric. A method based on human-centric root causes can be used to quantify reliability assessments and focus proposed actions to mitigate problems. Existing methods have been optimistic in their projections of launch vehicle reliability compared to actuals. Hypothesis: reliability of a conceptual launch vehicle can be more accurately evaluated based on a rational, probabilistic approach using past failure assessment teams' findings predicated on human-centric causes."Human Reliability Analysis Methods Selection Guidance for NASA"Chandler F.T., et al., NASA HQ/OSMA study group, July 2006. Outside HRA experts from academia, other federal labs, and the private sector. 50 system reliability methods considered, fourteen selected for further study, four finally selected as best suited for human spaceflight. Probabilistic Risk Analysis (PRA) + Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) enabled incorporating effects and probabilities of human errors. While four down-selected methods deemed appropriate for failure assessment, it did not appear that these methods could be concisely applied to perform major system-wide assessment of probability of failure of a conceptual design without becoming unwieldy."Engineering a Safer World", Detailed, comprehensive study external to NASA Leveson N. G., MIT, 2011.Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP). All-encompassing accident model based on systems theory analyzed accidents after they occurred and created approaches to prevent occurrence in developing systems not focused on failure prevention per se, but rather reducing hazards by influencing human behavior through use of constraints, hierarchical control structures, and process models to improve system safetySystem Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) addresses predictive part of problem (a "hazard analysis"). Includes all causal factors identified in STAMP: "...design errors, software flaws, component interaction accidents, cognitively complex human decision-making errors, and social organizational and management factors contributing to accidents" can guide design process rather than require it to exist before-hand did not appear capable of concise application for system-wide assessment of probability of failure of a conceptual design without becoming unwieldy.

Williams, Craig H.↗

Marsh Archive Reveals Human Population History and Future Implications for Estuarine Health in Long Island Sound

Coastal marshes are efficient ecosystems providing a multitude of benefits for invertebrates, birds, fish and humans alike. Yet despite these benefits, wetlands are threatened by anthropogenic inputs such as human wastewater which contain high levels of nitrogen (N). Increased nitrogen loads cause eutrophication and hypoxia in estuaries leading to further degradation of these valuable ecosystems that are already stressed by sea level rise and climate change. Policies to protect wetlands via wastewater treatments are reactive rather than proactive and a growing body of research shows that characteristics associated with population health and economic activity can be identified in wastewater. Analysis of a 2-m salt marsh sediment core reveals δN15 signatures indicative of human population rise and connects human impact to ecosystem health. Using key X-ray fluorescence (XRF), pollen, sediment and nitrogen signatures along the core, a robust chronology was produced dating back to 1700. This result was coupled with population data to observe the relationship between δN15 levels and population over three centuries. There is a statistically significant positive correlation between δN15 and population. Other external factors such as federal government policies (regulating clean water) show a clear reduction in this association but the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer masks the strength of this relationship. Further research to refine the relationship between population and δN15 could be beneficial in predicting nitrogen loads as human population grows, which in turn would create a proactive system to protect our coastal ecosystems.

Nitrogen↗

Multimodality in the Search for New Physics in Pulsar Timing Data and the Case of Kination-amplified Gravitational-wave Background from Inflation

We investigate the kination-amplified inflationary gravitational-wave background (GWB) interpretation of the signal recently reported by various pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments. Kination is a post-inflationary phase in the expansion history dominated by the kinetic energy of some scalar field, characterized by a stiff equation of state w = 1. Within the inflationary GWB model, we identify two modes that can fit the current data sets (NANOGrav and EPTA) with equal likelihood: the kination-amplification (KA) mode and the ordinary, no-kination-amplification (no-KA) mode. The multimodality of the likelihood motivates a Bayesian analysis with nested sampling. We analyze the free spectra of current PTA data and mock free spectra constructed with higher signal-to-noise ratios using nested sampling. The analysis of the mock spectrum designed to be consistent with the best fit to the NANOGrav 15 yr (NG15) data successfully reveals the expected bimodal posterior for the first time while excluding the reheating mode that appears in the fit to the current NG15 data, making a case for our correct and comprehensive treatment of potential multimodal posteriors arising from future PTA data sets. The resultant Bayes factor is $\mathcal{B}$ $\equiv$ Z no–KA /Z KA = 2.9 ± 1.9, indicating comparable statistical significance between the two modes. Given the theoretical model-building challenges of producing highly blue-tilted primordial tensor spectra, the KA mode has the advantage of requiring less blue primordial spectra, compared with the no-KA mode. The synergy between future cosmic microwave background polarization, pulsar timing, and laser interferometer measurements of gravitational waves will help resolve the ambiguity implied by the multimodal posterior in PTA-only searches.

Cosmology↗

Understanding Climate-Vegetation Interactions in Global Rainforests Through a GP-Tree Analysis

The tropical rainforests are the largest reserves of terrestrial carbon and, therefore, the future of these rainforests is a question that is of immense importance in the geoscience research community. With the recent severe Amazonian droughts in 2005 and 2010 and on-going drought in the Congo region for more than two decades, there is growing concern that these forests could succumb to precipitation reduction, causing extensive carbon release and feedback to the carbon cycle. However, there is no single ecosystem model that quantifies the relationship between vegetation health in these rainforests and climatic factors. Small scale studies have used statistical correlation measure and simple linear regression to model climate-vegetation interactions, but suffer from the lack of comprehensive data representation as well as simplistic assumptions about dependency of the target on the covariates. In this paper we use genetic programming (GP) based symbolic regression for discovering equations that govern the vegetation climate dynamics in the rainforests. Expecting micro-regions within the rainforests to have unique characteristics compared to the overall general characteristics, we use a modified regression-tree based hierarchical partitioning of the space to build individual models for each partition. The discovery of these equations reveal very interesting characteristics about the Amazon and the Congo rainforests. Our method GP-tree shows that the rainforests exhibit tremendous resiliency in the face of extreme climatic events by adapting to changing conditions.

genetic programming↗

Power flow analysis of two coupled plates with arbitrary characteristics

In the last progress report (Feb. 1988) some results were presented for a parametric analysis on the vibrational power flow between two coupled plate structures using the mobility power flow approach. The results reported then were for changes in the structural parameters of the two plates, but with the two plates identical in their structural characteristics. Herein, limitation is removed. The vibrational power input and output are evaluated for different values of the structural damping loss factor for the source and receiver plates. In performing this parametric analysis, the source plate characteristics are kept constant. The purpose of this parametric analysis is to determine the most critical parameters that influence the flow of vibrational power from the source plate to the receiver plate. In the case of the structural damping parametric analysis, the influence of changes in the source plate damping is also investigated. The results obtained from the mobility power flow approach are compared to results obtained using a statistical energy analysis (SEA) approach. The significance of the power flow results are discussed together with a discussion and a comparison between the SEA results and the mobility power flow results. Furthermore, the benefits derived from using the mobility power flow approach are examined.

Cuschieri, J. M.↗

Advanced Signal Decomposition Analysis and Anomaly Detection in Photovoltaic Systems

With the rapid expansion of large-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants, it is paramount for solar stakeholders to understand the reliability and efficiency of their plants to inform maintenance decisions, increase production, and understand the design factors that impact performance. Diagnosing underperformance in PV plants is challenging due to the relatively few monitoring points with respect to the large geographic footprint of the plant. This work introduces a cutting-edge method that transforms the analysis and management of key factors influencing PV plant performance, including performance loss rate (PLR), recoverable soiling, and major system changes. Identifying these factors is critical for deriving actionable insights. Leveraging advanced analytical techniques such as wavelet transformation, robust regression, and extreme point analysis, this approach provides a nuanced understanding of these factors. This method has been tested across two synthetic datasets and one real dataset, consistently surpassing existing benchmarks by achieving a lower median mean absolute error and reduced error variability across all comparable components.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Improvement of Drop‐Hammer Impact Testing for Safety Assessment of High Explosives Using 10‐mg Samples

Here, in this study, we established an improved method for drop-hammer impact testing of small quantities of high explosives (10 mg). We performed about seven hundred impact tests under various experimental conditions (e.g., sandpaper vs bare anvil, different sample masses, drop-weights, and striker diameters) to determine an optimal set of conditions and reaction detection methods (e.g., gas analysis, video, and sound recordings) that give the most statistically reliable results with 10 mg samples. We used both Frequentist and Bayesian statistical approaches to compare estimates of the drop height (DH50) that initiates a reaction 50% of the time, and to quantify the associated uncertainty. Gas analysis proved to be the most reliable reaction detection method, showing unambiguous rises in HE decomposition products (e.g., CO 2 ) even when the other indicators (e.g., sound, video) were inconclusive. The impact tests performed with a bare anvil showed much better reproducibility than those conducted with sandpaper, reducing the largest uncertainty observed in the data sets by a factor of 1.7. The DH 50 values obtained from three different sample masses (10, 20, and 35 mg) fell within the uncertainties of the measurements. We demonstrated the improved procedure (i.e., 10-mg samples, gas analysis, bare anvil, and Bayesian approach) on a variety of PETN samples having different surface areas and thermal histories.

PETN↗

Stochastic frequency fluctuation super-resolution imaging

The inherent non-linearity of intensity correlation functions can be used to spatially distinguish identical emitters beyond the diffraction limit, as achieved, for example, in super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging (SOFI). Here, we propose a complementary concept based on spectral correlation functions, termed spectral fluctuation super-resolution (SFSR) imaging. Through theoretical and computational analysis, we show that spatially resolving time-frequency correlation functions in the image plane can improve the imaging resolution by a factor of $\sqrt2$ in most cases and up to twofold for strictly two emitters. This improvement is achieved by quantifying the degree of correlation in spectral fluctuations across the spatial domain. Experimentally, SFSR can be implemented using a combination of interferometry and photon-correlation measurements. The method works for non-blinking emitters and stochastic spectral fluctuations with arbitrary temporal statistics. This suggests its utility in super-resolution microscopy of quantum emitters at low temperatures, where spectral diffusion is often more pronounced than emitter blinking.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Evidence for interstellar H2O in the Orion molecular cloud

A search for interstellar gas phase H2O in the infrared spectrum of the BN object in Orion is reported. There is absorption (S/N = 2-4) at the position of the nu3 1(01)-2(02) line of H2O at 3801.42/cm, the strongest expected H2O line. Statistical analysis of the spectrum provides corroborating evidence for other H2O lines. With an assumed H2O excitation temperature of 150 K, N(H2O) of 2.3 x 10 to the 17th/sq cm or less toward the BN object is derived. The H2O column density implies abundance ratios of (H2O)/(CO) = 0.01-0.08 or less and (HDO)/(H2O) = 0.8-3.0 x 10 to the -3rd or more. The gas-to-ice ratio is (H2O gas)/(H2O ice) = 0.06 with an estimated uncertainty of a factor of 5.

Knacke, R. F.↗

Recent Advances in Statistical Energy Analysis

Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) has traditionally been developed using modal summation and averaging approach, and has led to the need for many restrictive SEA assumptions. The assumption of 'weak coupling' is particularly unacceptable when attempts are made to apply SEA to structural coupling. It is now believed that this assumption is more a function of the modal formulation rather than a necessary formulation of SEA. The present analysis ignores this restriction and describes a wave approach to the calculation of plate-plate coupling loss factors. Predictions based on this method are compared with results obtained from experiments using point excitation on one side of an irregular six-sided box structure. Conclusions show that the use and calculation of infinite transmission coefficients is the way forward for the development of a purely predictive SEA code.

K H Heron↗

A Survey of Eight Hot Jupiters in Secondary Eclipse Using WIRCam at CFHT

We present near-infrared high-precision photometry for eight transiting hot Jupiters observed during their predicted secondary eclipses. Our observations were carried out using the staring mode of the WIRCam instrument on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT).We present the observing strategies and data reduction methods which delivered time series photometry with statistical photometric precision as low as 0.11 percent. We performed a Bayesian analysis to model the eclipse parameters and systematics simultaneously. The measured planet-to-star flux ratios allowed us to constrain the thermal emission from the day side of these hot Jupiters, as we derived the planet brightness temperatures. Our results combined with previously observed eclipses reveal an excess in the brightness temperatures relative to the blackbody prediction for the equilibrium temperatures of the planets for a wide range of heat redistribution factors. We find a trend that this excess appears to be larger for planets with lower equilibrium temperatures. This may imply some additional sources of radiation, such as reflected light from the host star and/or thermal emission from residual internal heat from the formation of the planet.

Bayesian Analysis↗