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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.

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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Tools for monitoring and controlling distributed applications

The Meta system is a UNIX-based toolkit that assists in the construction of reliable reactive systems, such as distributed monitoring and debugging systems, tool integration systems and reliable distributed applications. Meta provides mechanisms for instrumenting a distributed application and the environment in which it executes, and Meta supplies a service that can be used to monitor and control such an instrumented application. The Meta toolkit is built on top of the ISIS toolkit; they can be used together in order to build fault-tolerant and adaptive, distributed applications.

Marzullo, Keith↗
NASA NTRS1994

Open solutions to distributed control in ground tracking stations

The advent of high speed local area networks has made it possible to interconnect small, powerful computers to function together as a single large computer. Today, distributed computer systems are the new paradigm for large scale computing systems. However, the communications provided by the local area network is only one part of the solution. The services and protocols used by the application programs to communicate across the network are as indispensable as the local area network. And the selection of services and protocols that do not match the system requirements will limit the capabilities, performance, and expansion of the system. Proprietary solutions are available but are usually limited to a select set of equipment. However, there are two solutions based on 'open' standards. The question that must be answered is 'which one is the best one for my job?' This paper examines a model for tracking stations and their requirements for interprocessor communications in the next century. The model and requirements are matched with the model and services provided by the five different software architectures and supporting protocol solutions. Several key services are examined in detail to determine which services and protocols most closely match the requirements for the tracking station environment. The study reveals that the protocols are tailored to the problem domains for which they were originally designed. Further, the study reveals that the process control model is the closest match to the tracking station model.

Heuser, William Randy↗
NASA NTRS1987

Irradiance and spectral distribution control system for controlled environment chambers

This paper describes a closed-loop control system for controlling the irradiance and spectral quality generated by fluorescent lamps in a controlled environment chamber. The 400 to 800 nm irradiance and the ratio of the red waveband (600 to 700 nm) to the far-red waveband (700 to 800 nm) were independently controlled and varied as functions of time. A suggested application is to investigate the possibility of synergistic effects of changing irradiance levels and changing spectral distributions on photoperiodism and photomorphogenesis.

NASA Center KSC↗
NASA NTRS2020

Model-Reference Adaptive Control of Distributed Lagrangian Infinite-Dimensional Systems Using Hamilton’s Principle

This paper presents a Hamilton's principle for distributed control of infinite-dimensional systems modeled by a distributed form of the Euler-Lagrange method. The distributed systems are governed by a system of linear partial differential equations in space and time. A generalized potential energy expression is developed that can capture most physical systems including those systems that have no spatial distribution. The Hamilton's principle is applied to derive distributed feedback control methods without resorting to the standard weak-form discretization approach to convert an infinite-dimensional systems to a finite-dimensional systems. It can be shown by the principle of least action that the distributed control synthesized by the Hamilton's principle is a minimum-norm control. A model-reference adaptive control framework is developed for distributed Lagrangian systems in the presence of uncertainty. The theory is demonstrated by an application of adaptive flutter suppression control of a flexible aircraft wing.

Nguyen, Nhan T.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Open Solutions to Distributed Control in Ground Tracking Stations

The advent of high speed local area networks has made it possible to interconnect small, powerful computers to function together as a single large computer...This paper examines a model for tracking stations and their requirements for inter-processor communications in the next century.

lan↗
NASA NTRS2004

Controlling Distributed Planning

A system of software implements an extended version of an approach, denoted shared activity coordination (SHAC), to the interleaving of planning and the exchange of plan information among organizations devoted to different missions that normally communicate infrequently except that they need to collaborate on joint activities and/or the use of shared resources. SHAC enables the planning and scheduling systems of the organizations to coordinate by resolving conflicts while optimizing local planning solutions. The present software provides a framework for modeling and executing communication protocols for SHAC. Shared activities are represented in each interacting planning system to establish consensus on joint activities or to inform the other systems of consumption of a common resource or a change in a shared state. The representations of shared activities are extended to include information on (1) the role(s) of each participant, (2) permissions (defined as specifications of which participant controls what aspects of shared activities and scheduling thereof), and (3) constraints on the parameters of shared activities. Also defined in the software are protocols for changing roles, permissions, and constraints during the course of coordination and execution.

Clement, Bradley↗
NASA NTRS1976

Historical review of C-5A lift distribution control systems

Analytical and experimental development work on various load alleviation systems for the C-5A is reviewed to trace the development of the technical and hardware concepts to the present time. Variations in system objectives, means of implementation and effects on loads and airplane performance, stability and control are discussed.

Disney, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1976

The C-5A active lift distribution control system

The ALDCS development and design tasks, ALDCS functional configuration, and resulting challenges encountered while accomplishing the first phase of the program are described. These tasks are establishing system requirements and criteria and synthesizing a system mechanization to meet the desired load alleviation, stability margins, flight safety, and flying qualities performance. Results of the ALDCS development and prototype system flight simulation programs, and control law optimization including system stability, handling qualities and structural load analyses are presented, along with concluding remarks relative to the system design integration.

Hargrove, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Distributed control of large space structures

Theoretical developments and the results of laboratory experiments are treated as they apply to active attitude and vibration control, as well as static shape control. Modern control theory was employed throughout as the method for obtaining estimation and control laws.

Schaechter, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Distributed control of large space antennas

A systematic way to choose control design parameters and to evaluate performance for large space antennas is presented. The structural dynamics and control properties for a Hoop and Column Antenna and a Wrap-Rib Antenna are characterized. Some results of the effects of model parameter uncertainties to the stability, surface accuracy, and pointing errors are presented. Critical dynamics and control problems for these antenna configurations are identified and potential solutions are discussed. It was concluded that structural uncertainties and model error can cause serious performance deterioration and can even destabilize the controllers. For the hoop and column antenna, large hoop and long meat and the lack of stiffness between the two substructures result in low structural frequencies. Performance can be improved if this design can be strengthened. The two-site control system is more robust than either single-site control systems for the hoop and column antenna.

Cameron, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Distributed control for COFS 1

An overview is given of the work being done at NASA LaRC on developing the Control of Flexible Structures (COFS) 1 Flight Experiment Baseline Control Law. This control law currently evolving to a generic control system software package designed to supply many, but not all, guest investigators. A system simulator is also described. It is currently being developed for COFS-1 and will be used to develop the Baseline Control Law and to evaluate guest investigator control schemes. It will be available for use whether or not control schemes fall into the category of the Baseline Control Law. First, the hardware configuration for control experiments is described. This is followed by a description of the simulation software. Open-loop sinusoid excitation time histories are next presented both with and without a local controller for the Linear DC Motor (LDCM) actuators currently planned for the flight. The generic control law follows and algorithm processing requirements are cited for a nominal case of interest. Finally, a closed-loop simulation study is presented, and the state of the work is summarized in the concluding remarks.

Montgomery, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Robust design of distributed controllers for large flexible space structures

Independent Modal Space Control (IMSC) method avoids control spillover generated by conventional control schemes such as Coupled Modal Control by decoupling the large flexible space structure into independent subsystems of second order and controlling each mode independently. The IMSC implementation requires that the number of actuators be equal to that of modeled modes, which is in general very huge. Consequently the number of required actuators is unrealizable. Two methods are proposed for the implementation of IMSC with reduced number of actuators. In the first method, the first m modes are optimized, leaving the last (n-m) modes unchanged. In the second method, generalized inverse matrices are employed to design the feedback controller so that the control scheme is suboptimal with respect to IMSC. The performance of the proposed methods is tested by performing computer simulation on a simply support beam. Simulation results are presented and discussed.

Nguyen, Charles C.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Computational Model of Human and System Dynamics in Free Flight: Studies in Distributed Control Technologies

This paper presents a set of studies in full mission simulation and the development of a predictive computational model of human performance in control of complex airspace operations. NASA and the FAA have initiated programs of research and development to provide flight crew, airline operations and air traffic managers with automation aids to increase capacity in en route and terminal area to support the goals of safe, flexible, predictable and efficient operations. In support of these developments, we present a computational model to aid design that includes representation of multiple cognitive agents (both human operators and intelligent aiding systems). The demands of air traffic management require representation of many intelligent agents sharing world-models, coordinating action/intention, and scheduling goals and actions in a potentially unpredictable world of operations. The operator-model structure includes attention functions, action priority, and situation assessment. The cognitive model has been expanded to include working memory operations including retrieval from long-term store, and interference. The operator's activity structures have been developed to provide for anticipation (knowledge of the intention and action of remote operators), and to respond to failures of the system and other operators in the system in situation-specific paradigms. System stability and operator actions can be predicted by using the model. The model's predictive accuracy was verified using the full-mission simulation data of commercial flight deck operations with advanced air traffic management techniques.

Corker, Kevin M.↗