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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

Robust fault diagnosis of physical systems in operation

Ideas are presented and demonstrated for improved robustness in diagnostic problem solving of complex physical systems in operation, or operative diagnosis. The first idea is that graceful degradation can be viewed as reasoning at higher levels of abstraction whenever the more detailed levels proved to be incomplete or inadequate. A form of abstraction is defined that applies this view to the problem of diagnosis. In this form of abstraction, named status abstraction, two levels are defined. The lower level of abstraction corresponds to the level of detail at which most current knowledge-based diagnosis systems reason. At the higher level, a graph representation is presented that describes the real-world physical system. An incremental, constructive approach to manipulating this graph representation is demonstrated that supports certain characteristics of operative diagnosis. The suitability of this constructive approach is shown for diagnosing fault propagation behavior over time, and for sometimes diagnosing systems with feedback. A way is shown to represent different semantics in the same type of graph representation to characterize different types of fault propagation behavior. An approach is demonstrated that threats these different behaviors as different fault classes, and the approach moves to other classes when previous classes fail to generate suitable hypotheses. These ideas are implemented in a computer program named Draphys (Diagnostic Reasoning About Physical Systems) and demonstrated for the domain of inflight aircraft subsystems, specifically a propulsion system (containing two turbofan systems and a fuel system) and hydraulic subsystem.

Abbott, Kathy Hamilton↗
NASA NTRS1997

Hierarchical Simulation to Assess Hardware and Software Dependability

This thesis presents a method for conducting hierarchical simulations to assess system hardware and software dependability. The method is intended to model embedded microprocessor systems. A key contribution of the thesis is the idea of using fault dictionaries to propagate fault effects upward from the level of abstraction where a fault model is assumed to the system level where the ultimate impact of the fault is observed. A second important contribution is the analysis of the software behavior under faults as well as the hardware behavior. The simulation method is demonstrated and validated in four case studies analyzing Myrinet, a commercial, high-speed networking system. One key result from the case studies shows that the simulation method predicts the same fault impact 87.5% of the time as is obtained by similar fault injections into a real Myrinet system. Reasons for the remaining discrepancy are examined in the thesis. A second key result shows the reduction in the number of simulations needed due to the fault dictionary method. In one case study, 500 faults were injected at the chip level, but only 255 propagated to the system level. Of these 255 faults, 110 shared identical fault dictionary entries at the system level and so did not need to be resimulated. The necessary number of system-level simulations was therefore reduced from 500 to 145. Finally, the case studies show how the simulation method can be used to improve the dependability of the target system. The simulation analysis was used to add recovery to the target software for the most common fault propagation mechanisms that would cause the software to hang. After the modification, the number of hangs was reduced by 60% for fault injections into the real system.

Ries, Gregory Lawrence↗
NASA NTRS2013

Formal Validation of Fault Management Design Solutions

The work presented in this paper describes an approach used to develop SysML modeling patterns to express the behavior of fault protection, test the model's logic by performing fault injection simulations, and verify the fault protection system's logical design via model checking. A representative example, using a subset of the fault protection design for the Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) system, was modeled with SysML State Machines and JavaScript as Action Language. The SysML model captures interactions between relevant system components and system behavior abstractions (mode managers, error monitors, fault protection engine, and devices/switches). Development of a method to implement verifiable and lightweight executable fault protection models enables future missions to have access to larger fault test domains and verifiable design patterns. A tool-chain to transform the SysML model to jpf-Statechart compliant Java code and then verify the generated code via model checking was established. Conclusions and lessons learned from this work are also described, as well as potential avenues for further research and development.

Statechart↗
NASA NTRS1990

Evidence for chaotic fault interactions in the seismicity of the San Andreas fault and Nankai trough

The dynamical behavior introduced by fault interactions is examined here using a simple spring-loaded, slider-block model with velocity-weakening friction. The model consists of two slider blocks coupled to each other and to a constant-velocity driver by elastic springs. For an asymmetric system in which the frictional forces on the two blocks are not equal, the solutions exhibit chaotic behavior. The system's behavior over a range of parameter values seems to be generally analogous to that of weakly coupled segments of an active fault. Similarities between the model simulations and observed patterns of seismicity on the south central San Andreas fault in California and in the Nankai trough along the coast of southwestern Japan.

Huang, Jie↗
NASA NTRS1989

Mechanical model of an earthquake fault

The dynamic behavior of a simple mechanical model of an earthquake fault is studied. This model, introduced originally by Burridge and Knopoff (1967), consists of an elastically coupled chain of masses in contact with a moving rough surface. The present version of the model retains the full Newtonian dynamics with inertial effects and contains no externally imposed stochasticity or spatial inhomogeneity. The only nonlinear feature is a velocity-weakening stick-slip friction force between the masses and the moving surface. This system is being driven persistently toward a slipping instability and therefore exhibits noisy sequences of earthquakelike events. These events are observed in numerical simulations, and many of their features can be predicted analytically.

Carlson, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A technique for evaluating the application of the pin-level stuck-at fault model to VLSI circuits

Accurate fault models are required to conduct the experiments defined in validation methodologies for highly reliable fault-tolerant computers (e.g., computers with a probability of failure of 10 to the -9 for a 10-hour mission). Described is a technique by which a researcher can evaluate the capability of the pin-level stuck-at fault model to simulate true error behavior symptoms in very large scale integrated (VLSI) digital circuits. The technique is based on a statistical comparison of the error behavior resulting from faults applied at the pin-level of and internal to a VLSI circuit. As an example of an application of the technique, the error behavior of a microprocessor simulation subjected to internal stuck-at faults is compared with the error behavior which results from pin-level stuck-at faults. The error behavior is characterized by the time between errors and the duration of errors. Based on this example data, the pin-level stuck-at fault model is found to deliver less than ideal performance. However, with respect to the class of faults which cause a system crash, the pin-level, stuck-at fault model is found to provide a good modeling capability.

Palumbo, Daniel L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Modeling Off-Nominal Behavior in SysML

Fault Management is an essential part of the system engineering process that is limited in its effectiveness by the ad hoc nature of the applied approaches and methods. Providing a rigorous way to develop and describe off-nominal behavior is a necessary step in the improvement of fault management, and as a result, will enable safe, reliable and available systems even as system complexity increases... The basic concepts described in this paper provide a foundation to build a larger set of necessary concepts and relationships for precise modeling of off-nominal behavior, and a basis for incorporating these ideas into the overall systems engineering process.. The simple FMEA example provided applies the modeling patterns we have developed and illustrates how the information in the model can be used to reason about the system and derive typical fault management artifacts.. A key insight from the FMEA work was the utility of defining failure modes as the "inverse of intent", and deriving this from the behavior models.. Additional work is planned to extend these ideas and capabilities to other types of relevant information and additional products.

Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) Mission↗
NASA NTRS1972

Sequential behavior and its inherent tolerance to memory faults.

Representation of a memory fault of a sequential machine M by a function mu on the states of M and the result of the fault by an appropriately determined machine M(mu). Given some sequential behavior B, its inherent tolerance to memory faults can then be measured in terms of the minimum memory redundancy required to realize B with a state-assigned machine having fault tolerance type tau and fault tolerance level t. A behavior having maximum inherent tolerance is exhibited, and it is shown that behaviors of the same size can have different inherent tolerance.

Meyer, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Engine Data Interpretation System (EDIS), phase 2

A prototype of an expert system was developed which applies qualitative constraint-based reasoning to the task of post-test analysis of data resulting from a rocket engine firing. Data anomalies are detected and corresponding faults are diagnosed. Engine behavior is reconstructed using measured data and knowledge about engine behavior. Knowledge about common faults guides but does not restrict the search for the best explanation in terms of hypothesized faults. The system contains domain knowledge about the behavior of common rocket engine components and was configured for use with the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). A graphical user interface allows an expert user to intimately interact with the system during diagnosis. The system was applied to data taken during actual SSME tests where data anomalies were observed.

Cost, Thomas L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The conservativeness of reliability estimates based on instantaneous coverage

Reliability modeling must take into account two different types of phenomena, including the fault-occurrence behavior and the fault/error-handling behavior of a system. The effectiveness of the fault/error-handling behavior can be captured by instantaneous coverage probabilities. This paper has the objective to show that the assumption of instantaneous coverage leads to conservative predictions of system reliability for systems characterized by relatively long interevent times for fault occurrences and relatively short interevent times for fault/error-handling actions. The importance of this result is related to the fact that it can now be shown that model predictions based on instantaneous coverage are lower bounds on the true system reliability. Attention is given to a semi-Markov reliability model, instantaneous coverage approximations, the proof of conservative prediction, and the computation of coverage probabilities.

Mcgough, J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Intelligent fault management for the Space Station active thermal control system

The Thermal Advanced Automation Project (TAAP) approach and architecture is described for automating the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Active Thermal Control System (ATCS). The baseline functionally and advanced automation techniques for Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) will be compared and contrasted. Advanced automation techniques such as rule-based systems and model-based reasoning should be utilized to efficiently control, monitor, and diagnose this extremely complex physical system. TAAP is developing advanced FDIR software for use on the SSF thermal control system. The goal of TAAP is to join Knowledge-Based System (KBS) technology, using a combination of rules and model-based reasoning, with conventional monitoring and control software in order to maximize autonomy of the ATCS. TAAP's predecessor was NASA's Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS) project which was the first large real-time expert system to use both extensive rules and model-based reasoning to control and perform FDIR on a large, complex physical system. TEXSYS showed that a method is needed for safely and inexpensively testing all possible faults of the ATCS, particularly those potentially damaging to the hardware, in order to develop a fully capable FDIR system. TAAP therefore includes the development of a high-fidelity simulation of the thermal control system. The simulation provides realistic, dynamic ATCS behavior and fault insertion capability for software testing without hardware related risks or expense. In addition, thermal engineers will gain greater confidence in the KBS FDIR software than was possible prior to this kind of simulation testing. The TAAP KBS will initially be a ground-based extension of the baseline ATCS monitoring and control software and could be migrated on-board as additional computation resources are made available.

Hill, Tim↗
NASA NTRS1993

Seismology and space-based geodesy

The potential of space-based geodetic measurement of crustal deformation in the context of seismology is explored. The achievements of seismological source theory and data analyses, mechanical modeling of fault zone behavior, and advances in space-based geodesy are reviewed, with emphasis on realizable contributions of space-based geodetic measurements specifically to seismology. The fundamental relationships between crustal deformation associated with an earthquake and the geodetically observable data are summarized. The response and spatial and temporal resolution of the geodetic data necessary to understand deformation at various phases of the earthquake cycle is stressed. The use of VLBI, SLR, and GPS measurements for studying global geodynamics properties that can be investigated to some extent with seismic data is discussed. The potential contributions of continuously operating strain monitoring networks and globally distributed geodetic observatories to existing worldwide modern digital seismographic networks are evaluated in reference to mutually addressable problems in seismology, geophysics, and tectonics.

Tralli, David M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Reconfigurable Processing Module

To accommodate a wide spectrum of applications and technologies, NASA s Exploration System's Missions Directorate has called for reconfigurable and modular technologies to support future missions to the moon and Mars. In response, Langley Research Center is leading a program entitled Reconfigurable Scaleable Computing (RSC) that is centered on the development of FPGA-based computing resources in a stackable form factor. This paper details the architecture and implementation of the Reconfigurable Processing Module (RPM), which is the key element of the RSC system. The RPM is an FPGA-based, space-qualified printed circuit assembly leveraging terrestrial/commercial design standards into the space applications domain. The form factor is similar to, and backwards compatible with, the PCI-104 standard utilizing only the PCI interface. The size is expanded to accommodate the required functionality while still better than 30% smaller than a 3U CompactPCI(TradeMark)card and without the overhead of the backplane. The architecture is built around two FPGA devices, one hosting PCI and memory interfaces, and another hosting mission application resources; both of which are connected with a high-speed data bus. The PCI interface FPGA provides access via the PCI bus to onboard SDRAM, flash PROM, and the application resources; both configuration management as well as runtime interaction. The reconfigurable FPGA, referred to as the Application FPGA - or simply "the application" - is a radiation-tolerant Xilinx Virtex-4 FX60 hosting custom application specific logic or soft microprocessor IP. The RPM implements various SEE mitigation techniques including TMR, EDAC, and configuration scrubbing of the reconfigurable FPGA. Prototype hardware and formal modeling techniques are used to explore the performability trade space. These models provide a novel way to calculate quality-of-service performance measures while simultaneously considering fault-related behavior due to SEE soft errors.

Somervill, Kevin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Creating Formal Characterizations ofRoutine Contingency Management inCommercial Aviation

Traditional approaches to safety management focus on collection of data describing unwanted states (i.e., accidents and incidents) and analysis of undesired behaviors (i.e., faults and errors) that precede those states. Thus, in the traditional view of safety, safety is both defined and measured by its absence, namely the lack of safety. In extremely high confidence systems like commercial air transport, however, opportunities to measure the absence of safety are relatively rare. Ironically, a critical barrier to measuring safety and the impact of mitigation strategies in commercial aviation is the lack of opportunities for measurement.

Intelligent Contingency Management,↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Failure Behavior and Control-Based Mitigation for a Parallel Hybrid Propulsion System

NASA is pursuing research to advance Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) technologies that address fuel burn and emission reduction goals. EAP brings the potential for improved performance over the state of the art. However, for these systems to be practical and certifiable, they need to possess adequate robustness to adverse conditions including a variety of system failures that are not applicable to conventional turbofans today. Numerous EAP concepts interface gas turbine engines with an electrical power system that includes electric machines and sometimes electrical energy storage. The expansion of the powertrain increases the probability of encountering a failure and introduces new failure modes. Failures within the electrical power system may also impact the gas turbine engine(s) to which the electrical powertrain is coupled. This effort investigates failures originating in the electrical power system and their impact on the parallel hybrid propulsion system. Reversionary control strategies are also demonstrated to reduce the impact of the failures. Failure mitigation strategies were devised and employed in simulation. Various failure scenarios were simulated including those occurring during steady state operation, transients, and takeoff and landing scenarios. The timing of the failure and delay in failure identification and activation of mitigation strategies are noteworthy variables in the study. While the system remained stable throughout all failure scenarios, delays in failure identification could result in undesirable conditions such as increased operating temperatures and reduced stall margin. The results demonstrate successful mitigation of failures through reversionary control modes and help to generate confidence in the robustness of the conceptual parallel hybrid propulsion system.

Failure behavior↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Failure Behavior and Control Based Mitigation for a Parallel Hybrid Propulsion System

NASA is pursuing research to advance Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) technologies that address fuel burn and emission reduction goals. EAP brings the potential for improved performance over the state of the art. However, for these systems to be practical and certifiable, they need to possess adequate robustness to adverse conditions including a variety of system failures that are not applicable to conventional turbofans today. Numerous EAP concepts interface gas turbine engines with an electrical power system that includes electric machines and sometimes electrical energy storage. The expansion of the powertrain increases the probability of encountering a failure and introduces new failure modes. Failures within the electrical power system may also impact the gas turbine engine(s) to which the electrical powertrain is coupled. This effort investigates failures originating in the electrical power system and their impact on the parallel hybrid propulsion system. Reversionary control strategies are also demonstrated to reduce the impact of the failures. Failure mitigation strategies were devised and employed in simulation. Various failure scenarios were simulated including those occurring during steady state operation, transients, and takeoff and landing scenarios. The timing of the failure and delay in failure identification and activation of mitigation strategies are noteworthy variables in the study. While the system remained stable throughout all failure scenarios, delays in failure identification could result in undesirable conditions such as increased operating temperatures and reduced stall margin. The results demonstrate successful mitigation of failures through reversionary control modes and help to generate confidence in the robustness of the conceptual parallel hybrid propulsion system.

Failure behavior↗
NASA NTRS1990

A HOL theory for voting

Central to fault-tolerant computing is redundancy management, and common to proofs of fault-tolerance is a maximum fault assumption. Typically a maximum fault assumption is rather restrictive. Usually, this is necessary to avoid assumptions about the behavior of faulty channels. A maximum fault assumption is useful because it allows reasoning about fault tolerance in the presence of arbitrarily malicious fault behavior. However, analysis of the architecture may establish certain scenarios in which the assumption may be weakened. Proofs comparing majority and plurality and proofs of simple reconfiguration strategies are presented in viewgraph form.

Miner, Paul S.↗