Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “authorization”

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 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Mars low albedo regions: Possible map of near-surface

A freeze/thaw desorption mechanism is proposed in certain low albedo areas which could be the factor that instigated dust storms. It is widely accepted that the bulk of the episodic gas evolution (not necessarily the oxygen release) experienced during the humidification process in the Viking Gas Exhange Experiment (GEX) was caused by a familiar process in which more polar H2O molecules replace large quantities of other preadsorbed gas molecules on adsorption sites. The author suggests that a similar process could produce high pore pressures in soil that could disrupt the soil and eject dust at high velocity. The author also argued that association of sites of dust storms initiated with high thermal inertial areas may simply reflect repeated dust depletion.

Huguenin, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

An evaluation of selected NASA scientific and technical information products: Results of a pilot study

A pilot study was conducted to evaluate selected NASA scientific and technical information (STI) products. The study, which utilized survey research in the form of a self-administered mail questionnaire, had a two-fold purpose -- to gather baseline data regarding the use and perceived usefulness of selected NASA STI products and to develop/validate questions that could be used in a future study concerned with the role of the U.S. government technical report in aeronautics. The sample frame consisted of 25,000 members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the U.S. with academic, government or industrial affiliation. Simple random sampling was used to select 2000 individuals to participate in the study. Three hundred fifty-three usable questionnaires (17 percent response rate) were received by the established cutoff date. The findings indicate that: (1) NASA STI is used and is generally perceived as being important; (2) the use rate for NASA-authored conference/meeting papers, journal articles, and technical reports is fairly uniform; (3) a considerable number of respondents are unfamiliar with STAR (Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports), IAA (International Aerospace Abstracts), SCAN (Selected Current Aerospace Notices), and the RECON on-line retrieval system; (4) a considerable number of respondents who are familiar with these media do not use them; and (5) the perceived quality of NASA-authored journal articles and technical reports is very good.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Permo-Triassic vertebrate extinctions: A program

Since the time of the Authors' study on this subject, a great deal of new information has become available. Concepts of the nature of extinctions have changed materially. The Authors' conclusion that a catastrophic event was not responsible for the extinction of vertebrates has modified to the extent that hypotheses involving either the impact of a massive extra-terrestrial body or volcanism provide plausible but not currently fully testable hypotheses. Stated changes resulted in a rapid decrease in organic diversity, as the ratio of origins of taxa to extinctions shifted from strongly positive to negative, with momentary equilibrium being reached at about the Permo-Triassic boundary. The proximate causes of the changes in the terrestrial biota appear to lie in two primary factors: (1) strong climatic changes (global mean temperatures, temperature ranges, humidity) and (2) susceptibility of the dominant vertebrates (large dicynodonts) and the glossopteris flora to disruption of the equlibrium of the world ecosystem. The following proximate causes have been proposed: (1) rhythmic fluctuations in solar radiation, (2) tectonic events as Pangea assembled, altering land-ocean relationships, patterns of wind and water circulation and continental physiography, (3) volcanism, and (4) changes subsequent to impacts of one or more massive extra terrestrial objects, bodies or comets. These hypotheses are discussed.

Olson, E. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Iridium abundance measurements across bio-event horizons in the geological record

Geochemical studies have been performed on thousands of rock samples collected across bio-event horizons in the fossil record using INAA for about 40 common and trace elements and radiochemical isolation procedures for Os, Ir, Pt, and Au on selected samples. These studies were begun soon after the Alvarez team announced their discovery of the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) Ir anomaly in marine rock sequences in Europe. With their encouragement the Authors searched for the anomaly in nearby continental (freshwater coal swamp) deposits. In collaboration with scientists from the U.S.G.S. in Denver, the anomaly was located and it was observed that a floral crisis occurred at the same stratigraphic position as the Ir spike. Further work in the Raton Basin has turned up numerous well-preserved K-T boundary sections. Although the Authors have continued to study the K-T boundary and provide geochemical measurements for other groups trying to precisely locate it, the primary effort was turned to examining the other bio-events in the Phanerozoic, especially to those that are older than the terminal Cretaceous. A list of horizons that were examined in collaboration with paleontologists and geologists is given. Results are also given and discussed.

Orth, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

How widely is the Andean type of continental margin represented in the Archean

Application of the principle of uniformitarianism to the Archean was discussed in a search for evidence of Archean-type continental margins in Archean rocks. The author cautioned that Archean rocks represent only 2 percent of the current exposure of the continents, half of which is in the North American Superior Province. Care must be taken in interpreting the global tectonic significance of relatively small exposures of Archean rocks, such as South India. Andean margins were characterized by their elongate shape, magmatic associations, and isotopic signatures. Although the compositional evidence alone will always be ambiguous, it was suggested that supporting structural evidence may aid in the identification of Archean Andean margins. Andean margin remains have been recognized in the Superior Province of Canada by these criteria, and the author suggested that the Closepet granite of South India may represent another example.

Burke, Kevin↗
NASA NTRS1988

A study of kinematic models for forward calibration of manipulators

The objective of robot calibration is to identify all parameters in a robot model so that the model represents the true robot. Each model has its own set of parameters. The authors prove that regardless of the kinematic model chosen, there are a maximum number of parameters that must be determined, implying that model accuracy cannot be improved by adding parameters. In addition, the authors demonstrate how to model any manipulator so that a minimum size Jacobian is used, thus reducing the computation required for calibration.

Everett, Louis J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Ion-beam focusing in a double-plasma device

The authors studied the propagation of a low-energy charge-neutralized ion beam injected into the target region of a long double-plasma device. A magnetic field of up to about 180 G may be applied along the axis of the device. As a result of charge exchange collisions, the ion beam is attenuated as it propagates into the target region. However, under certain conditions of magnetic field strength and neutral gas pressure, the authors have observed a `reemergence' of the beam on axis far downstream in the target. This reemergence of the ion beam is attributed to a focusing of the ions by a self-consistently produced radial ambipolar electric field. The effect may be expected to occur in other types of plasma devices as well, whenever a sufficiently large radially inward electric field is present.

Johnson, James C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

An improved V-Lambda solution of the matrix Riccati equation

The authors present an improved algorithm for computing the V-Lambda solution of the matrix Riccati equation. The improvement is in the reduction of the computational load, results from the orthogonality of the eigenvector matrix that has to be solved for. The orthogonality constraint reduces the number of independent parameters which define the matrix from n-squared to n (n - 1)/2. The authors show how to specify the parameters, how to solve for them and how to form from them the needed eigenvector matrix. In the search for suitable parameters, the analogy between the present problem and the problem of attitude determination is exploited, resulting in the choice of Rodrigues parameters.

Bar-Itzhack, Itzhack Y.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Controller synthesis for infinite dimensional systems based on a passivity approach

The author discusses a generalization of hyperstability to systems in Hilbert space and its application to finite-dimensional stabilizing compensator design. The basic idea is to characterize tolerable perturbations in terms of the passivity of the nominal closed-loop system. Controllers achieving the required closed-loop passivity property can then be designed using H(infinity)-optimization. In particular, the author presents a design procedure for a stabilizing a finite-dimensional compensator for a given infinite-dimensional system.

Wen, John T.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Stability margins for Hurwitz polynomials

The authors treat the robust stability issue using the characteristic polynomial, for two different cases: first in coefficient space with respect to perturbations in the coefficient of the characteristic polynomial; and then for a control system containing perturbed parameters in the transfer function description of the plant. In coefficient space, a simple expression is first given for the l-(squared) stability margin for both the monic and nonmonic cases. Following this, a method is given to find the l(infinity) margin, and the method is extended to reveal much larger stability regions. In parameter space the authors consider all single-input (multi-output) or single-output (multi-input) systems with a fixed controller and a plant described by a set of transfer functions which are ratios of polynomials with variable coefficients. A procedure is presented to calculate the radius of the largest stability ball in the space of these variable parameters. The calculation serves as a stability margin for the control system. The formulas that result are quasi-closed-form expressions for the stability margin and are computationally efficient.

Chapellat, Herve↗
NASA NTRS1989

A position sensitive detector for EUV remote sensing

The authors describe a photon-counting extreme ultraviolet (EUV) detector system used in a rocket-borne spectroscopic instrument for remote sensing of upper atmospheric composition and temperature. The detector uses a KBr coated microchannel plate (MCP) Z stack in combination with a wedge-and-strip image readout system. Three separate detector fields of view are used to sense the Earth dayglow spectrum (980 A to 1040 A, and 1300 A to 1360 A) and the solar EUV spectrum (250 A to 1400 A). The authors demonstrate high gain (2 x 107), tight pulse-height distribution (35 percent FWHM), and a spatial resolution of about 35 microns FWHM (full width at half maximum), which is the highest resolution for a wedge-and-strip anode MCP detector flown to date. The background, image linearity, and flat-field performance are discussed. Raw spectra from the rocket flight are also presented.

Siegmund, O. H. W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

High pressure gas scintillation drift chambers with wave shifter fiber readout. I

The authors present results from a prototype xenon-gas scintillation drift chamber. It was operated at pressures up to 20 atm, and the scintillation light yield was measured at various pressures and reduced fields. Scintillation-reduced fields ranged from 1.3 to 3 kV/cm/atm in a 5.4-mm scintillation gap. Drift fields ranged from 45 to 100 V/cm/atm in an 8-cm drift region. The chamber was exposed to an 241Am source in a port either 2.7 or 5.4 cm from the secondary scintillation region. The authors also describe the high-voltage problems encountered during operation at high pressures. Further tests with the wave shifter fiber readout showed that the problem of gas contamination by the fibers is manageable but that the interaction between the optical fibers and the high-pressure xenon gas can lead to fiber damage. A solution to this problem is described.

Parsons, A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

An ac bridge readout for bolometric detectors

The authors have developed a bolometer readout circuit which greatly improves the low-frequency stability of bolometric detectors. The circuit uses an ac bias voltage and two matched bolometers and allows stable dc bolometer operation for integration times greater than 10 s. In astronomical applications the readout allows for qualitatively different observation modes (e.g. staring or slow-drift scanning) which are particularly well suited for space observations and for the use of arrays. In many applications the readout can increase sensitivity. The authors present noise spectra for 4He temperature bolometers with no excess noise at frequencies greater than 0.1 Hz. The measured optical responsivity of a bolometer operated with the present readout is the same as that of a bolometer operated with a conventional readout.

Rieke, F. M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Identification of nonlinear systems

Given a Volterra series representations of an input-output system, the authors present a result concerning conditions under which there exists a feedback linearizable realization of the nonlinear system. In addition, they have developed a method to compute the unknown parameters in a canonical form realization from the known Volterra kernels. A finite number of parameters can be calculated from an associated finite number of the kernels. The authors restrict themselves to single-input, single-output continuous-time systems. It is assumed that the systems have real analytic state-space representations. The realization results are local, taking place a neighborhood of the origin in state space.

Hunt, L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Maximum principle solutions for time-optimal half-loop maneuvers of a high alpha fighter aircraft

An investigation was conducted of maximum principle solutions for an initial 0.6 Mach number and 15,000-ft altitude. The authors generate these solutions for a family of prescribed final times tf, starting with tf = 0.5 s. Using a nonlinear wind-tunnel model they construct maximum principle solutions. Above tf = 1.2 s some small nonlinear variations in the aerodynamic pitching moment coefficient presented difficulty with respect to numerical convergence. This was circumvented by fitting analytical models to the aerodynamic coefficients of the wind-tunnel model at Mach 0.4. Maximum principle solutions of the analytical model are shown to compare well with those obtained for tf of less than 1.2 s. Using the analytical model the authors extended the prescribed final time to a value of 13.65 s at which time the aircraft completes the half-loop maneuver. This is 0.53 s longer than that obtained using the singular perturbation feedback control law.

Stalford, Harold↗
NASA NTRS1989

Additional software developments wanted for modeling and control of flexible space systems

Existing modeling and control software packages are either inadequate or inefficient for applications to flexible space structures. Some additional software developments are wanted for effective design and evaluation of the control systems. The following are discussed: (1) linear-quadratic optimal regulators as usual can be designed using various modern control design software packages, (2) modal dashpots are very effective output-feedback vibration controllers for flexible structures, not only effective for augmenting a small amount of active damping to a large number of vibration modes (like the so-called low-authority structural controllers), but also effective for quick suppression of large vibrations (like high-authority structural controllers), and (3) the actual performance of any control design needs to be evaluated against a faithful model of the flexible structure to be controlled. The potential of destabilization or serious performance degradation needs to be detected by numerical simulation of the structure with the control loops being closed.

Lin, Jiguan Gene↗