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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Finite-dimensional modeling of network-induced delays for real-time control systems

In integrated control systems (ICS), a feedback loop is closed by the common communication channel, which multiplexes digital data from the sensor to the controller and from the controller to the actuator along with the data traffic from other control loops and management functions. Due to asynchronous time-division multiplexing in the network access protocols, time-varying delays are introduced in the control loop, which degrade the system dynamic performance and are a potential source of instability. The delayed control system is represented by a finite-dimensional, time-varying, discrete-time model which is less complex than the existing continuous-time models for time-varying delays; this approach allows for simpler schemes for analysis and simulation of the ICS.

Ray, Asok↗
NASA NTRS1980

A study of a space communication system for the control and monitoring of the electric distribution system. Volume 1: Summary

It is technically feasible to design a satellite communication system to serve the United States electric utility industry's needs relative to load management, real-time operations management, remote meter reading, and to determine the costs of various elements of the system. A definition of distribution control and monitoring functions is given. Associated communications traffic is quantified. A baseline conceptual design in terms of operating capability and equipment is described, important factors to be considered in designing a system are examined, and preliminary cost data are provided. Factors associated with implementation are discussed and conclusions and recommendations are listed.

Vaisnys, A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Profile negotiation - A concept for integrating airborne and ground-based automation for managing arrival traffic

The profile negotiation process (PNP) concept as applied to the management of arrival traffic within the extended terminal area is presented, focusing on functional issues from the ground-based perspective. The PNP is an interactive process between an aircraft and air traffic control (ATC) which combines airborne and ground-based automation capabilities to determine conflict-free trajectories that are as close to an aircraft's preference as possible. Preliminary results from a real-time simulation study show that the controller teams are able to consistently and effectively negotiate conflict-free vertical profiles with 4D-equipped aircraft. The ability of the airborne 4D flight management system to adapt to ATC specified 4D trajectory constraints is found to be a requirement for successful execution of the PNP. It is recommended that the conventional method of cost index iteration for obtaining the minimum fuel 4D trajectory be supplemented by a method which constrains the profile speeds to those desired by ATC.

Green, Steven M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

A sensor for control of arterials and networks

The sensor for control of arterials and networks (SCAN) uses imaging technology and processing technology to jointly provide real-time quantification. The SCAN concept consists of a television camera mounted on a pole to obtain images of the traffic, and a microprocessor to process the image data into traffic parameters. The current activities focus on the development of SCAN for surveillance of arterials or urban highways. If these efforts are successful, an attempt will be made to extend the concept to network applications. The key software developed for the SCAN is a vehicle detection and tracking algorithm which reduces the TV image data to vehicle descriptions and trajectories. These preprocessed trajectory data can be transmitted over a phone line or can be easily reduced to a wide range of traffic parameters. A SCAN breadboard has been implemented and installed in a van which enables remote field tests and evaluations. The SCAN breadboard and its operation, evaluation, and potential applications are described.

Hilbert, E. E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Development and evaluation of a profile negotiation process for integrating aircraft and air traffic control automation

The development and evaluation of the profile negotiation process (PNP), an interactive process between an aircraft and air traffic control (ATC) that integrates airborne and ground-based automation capabilities to determine conflict-free trajectories that are as close to an aircraft's preference as possible, are described. The PNP was evaluated in a real-time simulation experiment conducted jointly by NASA's Ames and Langley Research Centers. The Ames Center/TRACON Automation System (CTAS) was used to support the ATC environment, and the Langley Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV) piloted cab was used to simulate a 4D Flight Management System (FMS) capable aircraft. Both systems were connected in real time by way of voice and data lines; digital datalink communications capability was developed and evaluated as a means of supporting the air/ground exchange of trajectory data. The controllers were able to consistently and effectively negotiate nominally conflict-free vertical profiles with the 4D-equipped aircraft. The actual profiles flown were substantially closer to the aircraft's preference than would have been possible without the PNP. However, there was a strong consensus among the pilots and controllers that the level of automation of the PNP should be increased to make the process more transparent. The experiment demonstrated the importance of an aircraft's ability to accurately execute a negotiated profile as well as the need for digital datalink to support advanced air/ground data communications. The concept of trajectory space is proposed as a comprehensive approach for coupling the processes of trajectory planning and tracking to allow maximum pilot discretion in meeting ATC constraints.

Green, Steven M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Research in ground-based near-terminal area 4D guidance and control

This paper describes work being done at NASA, Langley Research Center and at the Research Triangle Institute on advanced, ground-based guidance and control for the near terminal area. Large-scale computer traffic simulations in conjunction with flight experiments with a Boeing 737 aircraft will be used to evaluate various concepts for automated terminal area metering and spacing. The all-digital real-time air traffic simulation model is described. Facilities for aircraft tracking and for interfacing the aircraft with the digital simulation are discussed, along with possible application to other types of experiments.

Britt, C. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Investigation of air transportation technology at Princeton University, 1988-1989

The Air Transportation Technology Program at Princeton University, a program emphasizing graduate and undergraduate student research, proceeded along several avenues during the past year. A study of optimal trajectories for penetration of microbursts when encounter is unavoidable was conducted. The emphasis of current wind shear research is on developing an expert system for wind shear avoidance. A knowledge-based reconfigurable flight control system that is implemented with the Pascal programming language using parallel microprocessors was developed. This expert system could be considered a prototype for a failure-tolerant control system that can be constructed using existing hardware. Development of a real-time cockpit simulator continued during the year. The simulator provides a single-person crew station with both conventional and advanced control devices; it currently is programmed to simulate the Navion single-engine general aviation airplane. Alternatives for the air traffic control system giving particular attention to the institutional structure of the FAA are analyzed. A simple numerical procedure for estimating the stochastic robustness of control systems is being investigated. The revitalization of the general aviation industry is also discussed.

Stengel, Robert F.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Throughput analysis of the IEEE 802.4 token bus standard under heavy load

It has become clear in the last few years that there is a trend towards integrated digital services. Parallel to the development of public Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is service integration in the local area (e.g., a campus, a building, an aircraft). The types of services to be integrated depend very much on the specific local environment. However, applications tend to generate data traffic belonging to one of two classes. According to IEEE 802.4 terminology, the first major class of traffic is termed synchronous, such as packetized voice and data generated from other applications with real-time constraints, and the second class is called asynchronous which includes most computer data traffic such as file transfer or facsimile. The IEEE 802.4 token bus protocol which was designed to support both synchronous and asynchronous traffic is examined. The protocol is basically a timer-controlled token bus access scheme. By a suitable choice of the design parameters, it can be shown that access delay is bounded for synchronous traffic. As well, the bandwidth allocated to asynchronous traffic can be controlled. A throughput analysis of the protocol under heavy load with constant channel occupation of synchronous traffic and constant token-passing times is presented.

Pang, Joseph↗
NASA NTRS1972

The optimal control of merging aircraft - Implementation of the hybrid air traffic controller.

The control of merging aircraft is formulated as a finite-time, quadratic optimal control problem of a linear system with state and control constraints. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the Hybrid Air Traffic Controller (HAC), which has been previously developed as a solution to this problem, may be easily implemented. Use is made of both the properties of the algebraic solution to the matrix Riccati equation and the structure of the linear model. This approach results in a real-time synthesis procedure for the HAC which does not rely on iterative numerical integration techniques.

Schatz, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

JPL's Real-Time Weather Processor project (RWP) metrics and observations at system completion

As an integral part of the overall upgraded National Airspace System (NAS), the objective of the Real-Time Weather Processor (RWP) project is to improve the quality of weather information and the timeliness of its dissemination to system users. To accomplish this, an RWP will be installed in each of the Center Weather Service Units (CWSUs), located in 21 of the 23 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs). The RWP System is a prototype system. It is planned that the software will be GFE and that production hardware will be acquired via industry competitive procurement. The ARTCC is a facility established to provide air traffic control service to aircraft operating on Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plans within controlled airspace, principally during the en route phase of the flight. Covered here are requirement metrics, Software Problem Failure Reports (SPFRs), and Ada portability metrics and observations.

Loesh, Robert E.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Real-time manned simulation of advanced terminal area guidance concepts for short-haul operations

A real-time simulation was conducted of three-dimensional area navigation and four-dimensional area navigation equipped (STOL) aircraft operating in a high-density terminal area traffic environment. The objectives were to examine the effects of 3D RNAV and 4D RNAV equipped aircraft on the terminal area traffic efficiency, and to examine the performance of an air traffic control system concept and associated controller display proposed for use with advanced RNAV systems. Three types of STOL aircraft were simulated each with different performance capabilities. System performance was measured in both the 4D mode and in a 3D mode; the 3D mode, used as a baseline, was simply the 4D mode less any time specification. The results show that communications workload in the 4D mode was reduced by about 35 percent compared to the 3D, while 35 percent more traffic was handled with the 4D. Aircraft holding time in the 4D mode was only 30 percent of that required in the 3D mode. In addition, the orderliness of traffic was improved significantly in the 4D mode.

Tobias, L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Profile negotiation: An air/ground automation integration concept for managing arrival traffic

NASA Ames Research Center and NASA Langley Research Center conducted a joint simulation study to evaluate a profile negotiation process (PNP) between a time-based air traffic control ATC system and an airplane equipped with a four dimensional flight management system (4D FMS). Prototype procedures were developed to support the functional implementation of this process. The PNP was designed to provide an arrival trajectory solution that satisfies the separation requirements of ATC while remaining as close as possible to the airplane's preferred trajectory. The Transport Systems Research Vehicle cockpit simulator was linked in real-time to the Center/TRACON Automation System (CTAS) for the experiment. Approximately 30 hours of simulation testing were conducted over a three week period. Active airline pilot crews and active Center controller teams participated as test subjects. Results from the experiment indicate the potential for successful incorporation of airplane preferred arrival trajectories in the CTAS automation environment. Controllers were able to consistently and effectively negotiate nominally conflict-free trajectories with pilots flying a 4D-FMS-equipped airplane. The negotiated trajectories were substantially closer to the airplane's preference than would have otherwise been possible without the PNP. Airplane fuel savings relative to baseline CTAS were achieved in the test scenarios. The datalink procedures and clearances developed for this experiment, while providing the necessary functionality, were found to be operationally unacceptable to the pilots. Additional pilot control and understanding of the proposed airplane-preferred trajectory and a simplified clearance procedure were cited as necessary for operational implementation of the concept. From the controllers' perspective, the main concerns were the ability of the 4D airplane to accurately track the negotiated trajectory and the workload required to support the PNP as implemented in this study.

Williams, David H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Using the stereokinetic effect to convey depth - Computationally efficient depth-from-motion displays

Recent developments in microelectronics have encouraged the use of 3D data bases to create compelling volumetric renderings of graphical objects. However, even with the computational capabilities of current-generation graphical systems, real-time displays of such objects are difficult, particularly when dynamic spatial transformations are involved. In this paper we discuss a type of visual stimulus (the stereokinetic effect display) that is computationally far less complex than a true three-dimensional transformation but yields an equally compelling depth impression, often perceptually indiscriminable from the true spatial transformation. Several possible applications for this technique are discussed (e.g., animating contour maps and air traffic control displays so as to evoke accurate depth percepts).

Kaiser, Mary K.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Design and simulation of a descent controller for strategic four-dimensional aircraft navigation

A time-controlled navigation system applicable to the descent phase of flight for airline transport aircraft was developed and simulated. The design incorporates the linear discrete-time sampled-data version of the linearized continuous-time system describing the aircraft's aerodynamics. Using optimal linear quadratic control techniques, an optimal deterministic control regulator which is implementable on an airborne computer is designed. The navigation controller assists the pilot in complying with assigned times of arrival along a four-dimensional flight path in the presence of wind disturbances. The strategic air traffic control concept is also described, followed by the design of a strategic control descent path. A strategy for determining possible times of arrival at specified waypoints along the descent path and for generating the corresponding route-time profiles that are within the performance capabilities of the aircraft is presented. Using a mathematical model of the Boeing 707-320B aircraft along with a Boeing 707 cockpit simulator interfaced with an Adage AGT-30 digital computer, a real-time simulation of the complete aircraft aerodynamics was achieved. The strategic four-dimensional navigation controller for longitudinal dynamics was tested on the nonlinear aircraft model in the presence of 15, 30, and 45 knot head-winds. The results indicate that the controller preserved the desired accuracy and precision of a time-controlled aircraft navigation system.

Lax, F. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Development of real-time ATC simulation facility

The Flight Transportation Laboratory has developed a real time interactive Air Traffic Control simulation facility designed to provide a versatile and easy to use tool for research and experimentation involving air traffic control. The facility uses a VAX-11/750 as the central computer. The SANDERS GRAPHICS-7 display system is used to simulate air traffic control displays. Pseudo-pilot displays are provided on Texas Instruments TI940 video terminals. Finally, a custom designed audio system driven by a Z-80 and interfaced with the VAX provides voice communication between the air traffic controllers and the pseudo-pilots. The audio system provides computer controlled voice disguising and thus allows each aircraft to have its own audio characteristics and provides an added realism to the experiment. The facility can accommodate multiple controller stations and pseudo-pilot stations. Each station is manned by a single operator who has a large repertoire of commands with which to control his/her display and the simulated aircraft under his/her jurisdiction. An additional console and a distinct set of commands allow full controllability of the simulation environment by the experimenter in real time.

Pararas, J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The real-time use of wind profilers in nowcasting

The program for Regional Observing and Forecasting Services (PROFS) has been using wind profile data in experimental forecast applications for over two years, mostly in the form of real-time color displays on the PROFS forecast workstation. The most ambitious test of the workstation to date, the 1985 PROFS Real-Time Experiment (RT-85), ran from 15 May to 23 August, 1985. The use of wind profiler products during this and previous experiments is described. Data from the experimental profiler network in Colorado and from the profiler in Oklahoma are in the form of hourly averages. Arriving data frequently contain errors whose origins range from interference by aircraft in the beams to highway truck traffic. Most of the irregularities are apparent through visual inspection of profiler wind observations plotted on a time-height cross section, but this method of quality control is inadequate if the intended uses of the data involve numerical calculations.

Smith, T. L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Real-time operational planning for the U.S. air traffic system

This paper describes an integrated planning model for the U.S. air traffic system. The approach incorporates the dual objectives of monitoring collision risk while minimizing transportation costs. Specialized solution algorithms exploit the underlying structure of the model - especially for large-scale examples. The proposed formulation is tested with real-world data for the Indianapolis control sector. Additional experiments with a CRAY X-MP/24 supercomputer show that a full-scale model can be solved under real time conditions. Despite these advances, additional work is required in developing a practical system. Suggestions are made for combining advances in computer graphics and mathematical modeling.

Mulvey, John M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Real-time adaptive aircraft scheduling

One of the most important functions of any air traffic management system is the assignment of ground-holding times to flights, i.e., the determination of whether and by how much the take-off of a particular aircraft headed for a congested part of the air traffic control (ATC) system should be postponed in order to reduce the likelihood and extent of airborne delays. An analysis is presented for the fundamental case in which flights from many destinations must be scheduled for arrival at a single congested airport; the formulation is also useful in scheduling the landing of airborne flights within the extended terminal area. A set of approaches is described for addressing a deterministic and a probabilistic version of this problem. For the deterministic case, where airport capacities are known and fixed, several models were developed with associated low-order polynomial-time algorithms. For general delay cost functions, these algorithms find an optimal solution. Under a particular natural assumption regarding the delay cost function, an extremely fast (O(n ln n)) algorithm was developed. For the probabilistic case, using an estimated probability distribution of airport capacities, a model was developed with an associated low-order polynomial-time heuristic algorithm with useful properties.

Kolitz, Stephan E.↗