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At least 343 records · Page 19

Visually Lossless Data Compression for Real-Time Frame/Pushbroom Space Science Imagers

A visually lossless data compression technique is currently being developed for space science applications under the requirement of high-speed push-broom scanning. The technique is also applicable to frame based imaging and is error-resilient in that error propagation is contained within a few scan lines. The algorithm is based on a block transform of a hybrid of modulated lapped transform (MLT) and discrete cosine transform (DCT), or a 2-dimensional lapped transform, followed by bit-plane encoding; this combination results in an embedded bit string with exactly the desirable compression rate as desired by the user. The approach requires no unique table to maximize its performance. The compression scheme performs well on a suite of test images typical of images from spacecraft instruments. Flight qualified hardware implementations are in development; a functional chip set is expected by the end of 2001. The chip set is being designed to compress data in excess of 20 Msamples/sec and support quantizations from 2 to 16 bits.

Yeh, Pen-Shu↗

Adiabatic Compression Sensitivity of Liquid Fuels and Monopropellants

Liquid rocket propellants can be sensitive to rapid compression. Such liquids may undergo decomposition and their handling may be accompanied with risk. Decomposition produces small gas bubbles in the liquid, which upon rapid compression may cause catastrophic explosions. The rapid compression can result from mechanical shocks applied on the tank containing the liquid or from rapid closure of the valves installed on the lines. It is desirable to determine the conditions that may promote explosive reactions. At Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), we constructed an apparatus and established a safe procedure for estimating the sensitivity of propellant materials towards mechanical shocks (Adiabatic Compression Tester). A sample is placed on a stainless steel U-tube, held isothermally at a temperature between 20 and 150 C then exposed to an abrupt mechanical shock of nitrogen gas at a pressure between 6.9 and 20.7 MPa (1000 to 3000 psi). The apparatus is computer interfaced and is driven with LABTECH NOTEBOOK-pro (registered) Software. In this presentation, the design of the apparatus is shown, the operating procedure is outlined, and the safety issues are addressed. The results obtained on different energetic materials are presented.

Ismail, Ismail M. K.↗

Wavelet Compression of Satellite-Transmitted Digital Mammograms

Breast cancer is one of the major causes of cancer death in women in the United States. The most effective way to treat breast cancer is to detect it at an early stage by screening patients periodically. Conventional film-screening mammography uses X-ray films which are effective in detecting early abnormalities of the breast. Direct digital mammography has the potential to improve the image quality and to take advantages of convenient storage, efficient transmission, and powerful computer-aided diagnosis, etc. One effective alternative to direct digital imaging is secondary digitization of X-ray films. This technique may not provide as high an image quality as the direct digital approach, but definitely have other advantages inherent to digital images. One of them is the usage of satellite-transmission technique for transferring digital mammograms between a remote image-acquisition site and a central image-reading site. This technique can benefit a large population of women who reside in remote areas where major screening and diagnosing facilities are not available. The NASA-Lewis Research Center (LeRC), in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF), has begun a pilot study to investigate the application of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) network to telemammography. The bandwidth of the T1 transmission is limited (1.544 Mbps) while the size of a mammographic image is huge. It takes a long time to transmit a single mammogram. For example, a mammogram of 4k by 4k pixels with 16 bits per pixel needs more than 4 minutes to transmit. Four images for a typical screening exam would take more than 16 minutes. This is too long a time period for a convenient screening. Consequently, compression is necessary for making satellite-transmission of mammographic images practically possible. The Wavelet Research Group of the Department of Electrical Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU) participated in the LeRC-CCF collaboration by providing advanced compression technology using wavelet transform. OSU developed a time-efficient software package with various wavelets to compress a serious of mammographic images. This documents reports the result of the compression activities.

Zheng, Yuan F.↗

Development of High Speed Imaging and Analysis Techniques Compressible Dynamics Stall

Dynamic stall has limited the flight envelope of helicopters for many years. The problem has been studied in the laboratory as well as in flight, but most research, even in the laboratory, has been restricted to surface measurement techniques such as pressure transducers or skin friction gauges, except at low speed. From this research, it became apparent that flow visualization tests performed at Mach numbers representing actual flight conditions were needed if the complex physics associated with dynamic stall was to be properly understood. However, visualization of the flow field during compressible conditions required carefully aligned and meticulously reconstructed holographic interferometry. As part of a long-range effort focused on exposing of the physics of compressible dynamic stall, a research wind tunnel was developed at NASA Ames Research Center which permits visual access to the full flow field surrounding an oscillating airfoil during compressible dynamic stall. Initially, a stroboscopic schlieren technique was used for visualization of the stall process, but the primary research tool has been point diffraction interferometry(PDI), a technique carefully optimized for use in th is project. A review of the process of development of PDI will be presented in the full paper. One of the most valuable aspects of PDI is the fact that interferograms are produced in real time on a continuous basis. The use of a rapidly-pulsed laser makes this practical; a discussion of this approach will be presented in the full paper. This rapid pulsing(up to 40,000 pulses/sec) produces interferograms of the rapidly developing dynamic stall field in sufficient resolution(both in space and time) that the fluid physics of the compressible dynamic stall flowfield can be quantitatively determined, including the gradients of pressure in space and time. This permits analysis of the influence of the effect of pitch rate, Mach number, Reynolds number, amplitude of oscillation, and other parameters on the dynamic stall process. When interferograms can be captured in real time, the potential for real-time mapping of a developing unsteady flow such as dynamic stall becomes a possibility. This has been achieved in the present case through the use of a high-speed drum camera combined with electronic circuitry which has resulted in a series of interferograms obtained during a single cycle of dynamic stall; images obtained at the rate of 20 KHz will be presented as a part of the formal presentation. Interferometry has been available for a long time; however, most of its use has been limited to visualization. The present research has focused on use of interferograms for quantitative mapping of the flow over oscillating airfoils. Instantaneous pressure distributions can now be obtained semi-automatically, making practical the analysis of the thousands of interferograms that are produced in this research. A review of the techniques that have been developed as part of this research effort will be presented in the final paper.

Chandrasekhara, M. S.↗

DCTune Perceptual Optimization of Compressed Dental X-Rays

In current dental practice, x-rays of completed dental work are often sent to the insurer for verification. It is faster and cheaper to transmit instead digital scans of the x-rays. Further economies result if the images are sent in compressed form. DCTune is a technology for optimizing DCT (digital communication technology) quantization matrices to yield maximum perceptual quality for a given bit-rate, or minimum bit-rate for a given perceptual quality. Perceptual optimization of DCT color quantization matrices. In addition, the technology provides a means of setting the perceptual quality of compressed imagery in a systematic way. The purpose of this research was, with respect to dental x-rays, 1) to verify the advantage of DCTune over standard JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), 2) to verify the quality control feature of DCTune, and 3) to discover regularities in the optimized matrices of a set of images. We optimized matrices for a total of 20 images at two resolutions (150 and 300 dpi) and four bit-rates (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 bits/pixel), and examined structural regularities in the resulting matrices. We also conducted psychophysical studies (1) to discover the DCTune quality level at which the images became 'visually lossless,' and (2) to rate the relative quality of DCTune and standard JPEG images at various bitrates. Results include: (1) At both resolutions, DCTune quality is a linear function of bit-rate. (2) DCTune quantization matrices for all images at all bitrates and resolutions are modeled well by an inverse Gaussian, with parameters of amplitude and width. (3) As bit-rate is varied, optimal values of both amplitude and width covary in an approximately linear fashion. (4) Both amplitude and width vary in systematic and orderly fashion with either bit-rate or DCTune quality; simple mathematical functions serve to describe these relationships. (5) In going from 150 to 300 dpi, amplitude parameters are substantially lower and widths larger at corresponding bit-rates or qualities. (6) Visually lossless compression occurs at a DCTune quality value of about 1. (7) At 0.25 bits/pixel, comparative ratings give DCTune a substantial advantage over standard JPEG. As visually lossless bit-rates are approached, this advantage of necessity diminishes. We have concluded that DCTune optimized quantization matrices provide better visual quality than standard JPEG. Meaningful quality levels may be specified by means of the DCTune metric. Optimized matrices are very similar across the class of dental x-rays, suggesting the possibility of a 'class-optimal' matrix. DCTune technology appears to provide some value in the context of compressed dental x-rays.

Watson, Andrew B.↗

The Pixon Method for Data Compression Image Classification, and Image Reconstruction

As initially proposed, this program had three goals: (1) continue to develop the highly successful Pixon method for image reconstruction and support other scientist in implementing this technique for their applications; (2) develop image compression techniques based on the Pixon method; and (3) develop artificial intelligence algorithms for image classification based on the Pixon approach for simplifying neural networks. Subsequent to proposal review the scope of the program was greatly reduced and it was decided to investigate the ability of the Pixon method to provide superior restorations of images compressed with standard image compression schemes, specifically JPEG-compressed images.

Puetter, Richard↗

Buckling Behavior of Compression-Loaded Composite Cylindrical Shells with Reinforced Cutouts

Results from a numerical study of the response of thin-wall compression-loaded quasi-isotropic laminated composite cylindrical shells with reinforced and unreinforced square cutouts are presented. The effects of cutout reinforcement orthotropy, size, and thickness on the nonlinear response of the shells are described. A high-fidelity nonlinear analysis procedure has been used to predict the nonlinear response of the shells. The analysis procedure includes a nonlinear static analysis that predicts stable response characteristics of the shells and a nonlinear transient analysis that predicts unstable dynamic buckling response characteristics. The results illustrate how a compression-loaded shell with an unreinforced cutout can exhibit a complex nonlinear response. In particular, a local buckling response occurs in the shell near the cutout and is caused by a complex nonlinear coupling between local shell-wall deformations and in-plane destabilizing compression stresses near the cutout. In general, the addition of reinforcement around a cutout in a compression-loaded shell can retard or eliminate the local buckling response near the cutout and increase the buckling load of the shell, as expected. However, results are presented that show how certain reinforcement configurations can actually cause an unexpected increase in the magnitude of local deformations and stresses in the shell and cause a reduction in the buckling load. Specific cases are presented that suggest that the orthotropy, thickness, and size of a cutout reinforcement in a shell can be tailored to achieve improved response characteristics.

Hilburger, Mark W.↗

Onboard Processor for Compressing HSI Data

With EO-1 Hyperion and MightySat in orbit NASA and the DoD are showing their continued commitment to hyperspectral imaging (HSI). As HSI sensor technology continues to mature, the ever-increasing amounts of sensor data generated will result in a need for more cost effective communication and data handling systems. Lockheed Martin, with considerable experience in spacecraft design and developing special purpose onboard processors, has teamed with Applied Signal & Image Technology (ASIT), who has an extensive heritage in HSI, to develop a real-time and intelligent onboard processing (OBP) system to reduce HSI sensor downlink requirements. Our goal is to reduce the downlink requirement by a factor greater than 100, while retaining the necessary spectral fidelity of the sensor data needed to satisfy the many science, military, and intelligence goals of these systems. Our initial spectral compression experiments leverage commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) spectral exploitation algorithms for segmentation, material identification and spectral compression that ASIT has developed. ASIT will also support the modification and integration of this COTS software into the OBP. Other commercially available COTS software for spatial compression will also be employed as part of the overall compression processing sequence. Over the next year elements of a high-performance reconfigurable OBP will be developed to implement proven preprocessing steps that distill the HSI data stream in both spectral and spatial dimensions. The system will intelligently reduce the volume of data that must be stored, transmitted to the ground, and processed while minimizing the loss of information.

Cook, Sid↗

A High Performance Image Data Compression Technique for Space Applications

A highly performing image data compression technique is currently being developed for space science applications under the requirement of high-speed and pushbroom scanning. The technique is also applicable to frame based imaging data. The algorithm combines a two-dimensional transform with a bitplane encoding; this results in an embedded bit string with exact desirable compression rate specified by the user. The compression scheme performs well on a suite of test images acquired from spacecraft instruments. It can also be applied to three-dimensional data cube resulting from hyper-spectral imaging instrument. Flight qualifiable hardware implementations are in development. The implementation is being designed to compress data in excess of 20 Msampledsec and support quantization from 2 to 16 bits. This paper presents the algorithm, its applications and status of development.

Yeh, Pen-Shu↗

Evaluation of Algorithms for Compressing Hyperspectral Data

With EO-1 Hyperion in orbit NASA is showing their continued commitment to hyperspectral imaging (HSI). As HSI sensor technology continues to mature, the ever-increasing amounts of sensor data generated will result in a need for more cost effective communication and data handling systems. Lockheed Martin, with considerable experience in spacecraft design and developing special purpose onboard processors, has teamed with Applied Signal & Image Technology (ASIT), who has an extensive heritage in HSI spectral compression and Mapping Science (MSI) for JPEG 2000 spatial compression expertise, to develop a real-time and intelligent onboard processing (OBP) system to reduce HSI sensor downlink requirements. Our goal is to reduce the downlink requirement by a factor > 100, while retaining the necessary spectral and spatial fidelity of the sensor data needed to satisfy the many science, military, and intelligence goals of these systems. Our compression algorithms leverage commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) spectral and spatial exploitation algorithms. We are currently in the process of evaluating these compression algorithms using statistical analysis and NASA scientists. We are also developing special purpose processors for executing these algorithms onboard a spacecraft.

Cook, Sid↗

Optimum Design of Insulated Compression Plates Subjected to Aerodynamic Heating

A method to determine the optimum thicknesses of insulation and load-carrying structure has been applied to insulated compression plates subjected to aerodynamic heating. The optimum design results in the lowest combined weight of insulation and load-carrying plate. Load parameters which included the imposed load, insulation conductivity and density, and flight time were found for design strength criteria of compressive yield, compressive buckling, and postbuckling failure. Charts of optimum total weight were prepared for 2024-T3 aluminum alloy, HK3lA magnesium alloy, 17-7 PH stainless steel, and Inconel X for each design criterion. The results show that 17-7 PH stainless steel and Inconel X are most efficient for compressive yield stress and that HK3lA magnesium is most efficient for buckling. HK31A magnesium is also most efficient for the postbuckling failure criterion except under conditions of light loading and long flight periods; under such conditions uninsulated Inconel X may be superior for environmental temperature less than 1,200 F. Insulated magnesium is more efficient than insulated aluminum because the lower density of magnesium permits the use of thick plates with large heat capacity. When more than one failure mode was applied to a design, it was found that the minimum weight structure was one in which all modes of failure occurred at the design load.

Davidson, John R.↗

Internal Shock Interactions in Propulsion/Airframe Integrated Three-Dimensional Sidewall Compression Scramjet Inlets

The advantages and design requirements of propulsion/airframe integration for high Mach number flight have led to extensive study of the three-dimensional sidewall compression scramjet inlet in recent years. Recent research publications have indicated testing over a broad range of Mach number (2 to 18) in a variety of test gases, such as air, helium, and tetrafluoromethane. Multiple experimental techniques have been employed to obtain detailed internal shock interaction data, performance data, and inlet starting limits. Computational fluid dynamics has been effectively used for preliminary parametric studies as well as in parallel with experiments to aid in the explanation of unusual or unexpected flow phenomena. Inlets of this genre afford a relatively simple, generic geometry while producing a highly complex, three-dimensional flow field dominated by shock/shock and shock/boundary layer interactions. While the importance of the viscous effects in high speed inlet interactions is recognized, the present work addresses in a parametric fashion the inviscid effects of leading edge sweep, sidewall compression, and inflow Mach number on the internal shock structure in terms of inlet compression and mass capture. In the process, the source of the of the Mach number invariance with leading edge sweep for a constant sidewall compression class of inlet is identified, and a previously undocumented spillage phenomenon in a constant effective wedge angle class of inlets is discussed.

Holland, Scott D.↗

Turbulent Friction in the Boundary Layer of a Flat Plate in a Two-Dimensional Compressible Flow at High Speeds

In the present report an investigation is made on a flat plate in a two-dimensional compressible flow of the effect of compressibility and heating on the turbulent frictional drag coefficient in the boundary layer of an airfoil or wing radiator. The analysis is based on the Prandtl-Karman theory of the turbulent boundary later and the Stodola-Crocco, theorem on the linear relation between the total energy of the flow and its velocity. Formulas are obtained for the velocity distribution and the frictional drag law in a turbulent boundary later with the compressibility effect and heat transfer taken into account. It is found that with increase of compressibility and temperature at full retardation of the flow (the temperature when the velocity of the flow at a given point is reduced to zero in case of an adiabatic process in the gas) at a constant R (sub x), the frictional drag coefficient C (sub f) decreased, both of these factors acting in the same sense.

Frankl, F.↗

Evaluation of a Compression-Loaded-Stitched-Multi-Bay Fuselage Panel With Barely Visible Impact Damage

The experimental results from a stitched VaRTM carbon-epoxy composite panel tested under uni-axial compression loading are presented along with nonlinear finite element analysis prediction of the response. The curved panel is divided by frames and stringers into six bays with a column of three bays along the compressive loading direction. The frames are supported at the frame ends to resist out-of-plane translation. Back-to-back strain gages are used to record the strain and displacement transducers were used to record the out-of-plane displacements. In addition a full-field-displacement measurement technique that utilizes a camera-based-stereo-vision system was used to record the displacements. The panel was loaded to 1.5 times the predicted initial buckling load (1st bay buckling load, P(sub er) from the nonlinear finite element analysis and then was removed from the test machine for impact testing. After impacting with 20 ft-lbs of energy using a spherical impactor to produce barely visible damage the panel was loaded in compression until failure. The buckling load of the first bay to buckle was 97% of the buckling load before impact. The stitching constrained the impact damage from growing during the loading to failure. Impact damage had very little overall effect on panel stiffness. Panel stiffness measured by the full-field-displacement technique indicated a 13% loss in stiffness after impact. The panel failed at 1.64 times the first panel buckling load. The barely visible impact damage did not grow noticeably as the panel failed by global instability due to stringer-web terminations at the frame locations. The predictions from the nonlinear analysis of the finite element modeling of the entire specimen were very effective in the capture of the initial buckling and global behavior of the panel. In addition, the prediction highlighted the weakness of the panel under compression due to stringer web terminations. Both the test results and the nonlinear predictions serve to reinforce the severe penalty in structural integrity caused by the low cost manufacturing technique to terminate the stringer webs, and demonstrates the importance of this type of sub-component testing and high fidelity failure analysis in the design of a composite fuselage.

Baker, Donald J.↗

User Guide for Compressible Flow Toolbox Version 2.1 for Use With MATLAB(Registered Trademark); Version 7

This report provides a user guide for the Compressible Flow Toolbox, a collection of algorithms that solve almost 300 linear and nonlinear classical compressible flow relations. The algorithms, implemented in the popular MATLAB programming language, are useful for analysis of one-dimensional steady flow with constant entropy, friction, heat transfer, or shock discontinuities. The solutions do not include any gas dissociative effects. The toolbox also contains functions for comparing and validating the equation-solving algorithms against solutions previously published in the open literature. The classical equations solved by the Compressible Flow Toolbox are: isentropic-flow equations, Fanno flow equations (pertaining to flow of an ideal gas in a pipe with friction), Rayleigh flow equations (pertaining to frictionless flow of an ideal gas, with heat transfer, in a pipe of constant cross section.), normal-shock equations, oblique-shock equations, and Prandtl-Meyer expansion equations. At the time this report was published, the Compressible Flow Toolbox was available without cost from the NASA Software Repository.

Melcher, Kevin J.↗

Compressive Failure of Fiber Composites under Multi-Axial Loading

This paper examines the compressive strength of a fiber reinforced lamina under multi-axial stress states. An equilibrium analysis is carried out in which a kinked band of rotated fibers, described by two angles, is sandwiched between two regions in which the fibers are nominally straight. Proportional multi-axial stress states are examined. The analysis includes the possibility of bifurcation from the current equilibrium state. The compressive strength of the lamina is contingent upon either attaining a load maximum in the equilibrium response or satisfaction of a bifurcation condition, whichever occurs first. The results show that for uniaxial loading a non-zero kink band angle beta produces the minimum limit load. For multi-axial loading, different proportional loading paths show regimes of bifurcation dominated and limit load dominated behavior. The present results are able to capture the beneficial effect of transverse compression in raising the composite compressive strength as observed in experiments.

Basu, Shiladitya↗

Lossless Compression of Classification-Map Data

A lossless image-data-compression algorithm intended specifically for application to classification-map data is based on prediction, context modeling, and entropy coding. The algorithm was formulated, in consideration of the differences between classification maps and ordinary images of natural scenes, so as to be capable of compressing classification- map data more effectively than do general-purpose image-data-compression algorithms. Classification maps are typically generated from remote-sensing images acquired by instruments aboard aircraft (see figure) and spacecraft. A classification map is a synthetic image that summarizes information derived from one or more original remote-sensing image(s) of a scene. The value assigned to each pixel in such a map is the index of a class that represents some type of content deduced from the original image data for example, a type of vegetation, a mineral, or a body of water at the corresponding location in the scene. When classification maps are generated onboard the aircraft or spacecraft, it is desirable to compress the classification-map data in order to reduce the volume of data that must be transmitted to a ground station.

Hua, Xie↗

Algorithm for Lossless Compression of Calibrated Hyperspectral Imagery

A two-stage predictive method was developed for lossless compression of calibrated hyperspectral imagery. The first prediction stage uses a conventional linear predictor intended to exploit spatial and/or spectral dependencies in the data. The compressor tabulates counts of the past values of the difference between this initial prediction and the actual sample value. To form the ultimate predicted value, in the second stage, these counts are combined with an adaptively updated weight function intended to capture information about data regularities introduced by the calibration process. Finally, prediction residuals are losslessly encoded using adaptive arithmetic coding. Algorithms of this type are commonly tested on a readily available collection of images from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral imager. On the standard calibrated AVIRIS hyperspectral images that are most widely used for compression benchmarking, the new compressor provides more than 0.5 bits/sample improvement over the previous best compression results. The algorithm has been implemented in Mathematica. The compression algorithm was demonstrated as beneficial on 12-bit calibrated AVIRIS images.

Kiely, Aaron B.↗