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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 397 records · Page 22

A look at computer system selection criteria

There is no difficulty in identifying the criteria involved in the computer selection process; complexity arises in objectively evaluating various candidate configurations against the criteria, based on the user's specific needs. A model for formalizing the selection process consists of two major steps: verifying that the candidate configuration is adequate to the user's programming requirements, and determining an overall system evaluation rating based on cost, usability, adaptability, and availability. A 36 step instruction for computer sizing evaluation is included in the appendix along with a sample application of the configuration adequacy model. Selection criteria and the weighting process are also discussed.

Poole, E. W.↗

Centaur capabilities for communications satellite launches

The configurations, payload capabilities, and payload envelopes for Centaur in various applications are presented. The Centaur launch record is summarized and the Atlas/Centaur launch schedule is shown. Improvements in capability are reported on, and current and proposed vehicles are depicted. Dual Delta class spacecraft will be flown using a tandem adapter or large direct broadcast satellites in a single launch model. Shuttle/Centaur will permit spacecraft weights of up to 14,000 lb to be put into orbit, including payload lengths up to 40 ft. A new capability to transfer large deployed space systems from the Shuttle to high-altitude orbits at low thrusts will be available. Spacecraft lengths requiring the full, 60-foot cargo bay and weighing 20,000 lb could be placed in geosynchronous orbit with on-orbit rendezvous and assembly of the Centaur and spacecraft in low earth orbit.

Rector, W. F., III↗

Space Station viewing requirements

Concern based on historical precedent led to early investment of resources to identify Space Station viewing requirements in order that they could be transferred to module window designs, cupolas, indirect viewing methods (e.g., closed circuit television), and implemented in cost models tracking overall station configuration weight and cost. Previous space history and earth based analogs were used to identify needs and requirements relevant to long term missions.

Mount, Frances E.↗

HSPICE modelling of a solar array circuit controlled by a fet switch

This paper presents a method of modeling a solar array circuit controlled by a hexfet switch on HSPICE. HSPICE models are developed for the solar array current voltage (IV) characteristic and the IRF150 hexfet. Computer simulations are made to verify rate of current change at the load. The equivalent LC circuit for the same current control is modeled to show savings in weight and power in choosing the fet switch over an LC circuit.

Cox, Deanna D.↗

An 8-PSK coded TDMA satellite demodulator

The objectives of this project are: (1) to develop a proof-of-concept (POC) uplink modulation system which will significantly increase the bandwidth efficiency of a time division multiple access (TDMA) uplink system; (2) to maintain present performance levels; and (3) to ensure that the POC model exhibit potential for low weight and low power consumption. Other aspects of this project are presented in view graph form.

Ames, S. A.↗

Some experience with identification of the Caltech experimental space structure

It is shown that identification of modes with practically the same frequency but with different mode shapes can be carried out in experimental settings. Using multiple-input multiple-output data, distinct modes whose FRFs (frequency response functions) appear as single peaks can be distinguished from their input and output weights. When the peak is modeled with a single mode, some input/output channels may have good peaks, but others will not. Addition of more modes and use of multiple input data result in good fits for all channels if the system behaves in a linear modal manner.

Moser, A. N.↗

Simultaneous solution for core magnetic field and fluid flow beneath an electrically conducting mantle

The effects of laterally homogeneous mantle electrical conductivity were included in steady, frozen-flux core surface flow estimation along with refinements in method and weighting. The refined method allows simultaneous solution for both the initial radial geomagnetic field component at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and the sub-adjacent fluid motion; it also features Gauss' method for solving the non-linear inverse problem associated with steady motional induction. The tradeoff between spatial complexity of the derived flows and misfit to the weighted Definitive Geomagnetic Reference Field models (DGRF's) is studied for various mantle conductivity profiles. For simple flow and a fixed initial geomagnetic condition, a fairly high deep-mantle conductivity performs better than either insulating or weakly conducting profiles; however, a thin, very high conductivity layer at the base of the mantle performs almost as well. Simultaneous solution for both initial geomagnetic field and flow reduces the misfit per degree of freedom even more than does changing the mantle conductivity profile. Moreover, when both core field and flow are estimated, the performance of the solutions and the derived flows become insensitive to the conductivity profile.

Voorhies, Coerte V.↗

The effects of design details on cost and weight of fuselage structures

Crown panel design studies showing the relationship between panel size, cost, weight, and aircraft configuration are compared to aluminum design configurations. The effects of a stiffened sandwich design concept are also discussed. This paper summarizes the effect of a design cost model in assessing the cost and weight relationships for fuselage crown panel designs. Studies were performed using data from existing aircraft to assess the effects of different design variables on the cost and weight of transport fuselage crown panel design. Results show a strong influence of load levels, panel size, and material choices on the cost and weight of specific designs. A design tool being developed under the NASA ACT program is used in the study to assess these issues. The effects of panel configuration comparing postbuckled and buckle resistant stiffened laminated structure is compared to a stiffened sandwich concept. Results suggest some potential economy with stiffened sandwich designs for compression dominated structure with relatively high load levels.

Swanson, G. D.↗

Simultaneous solution for core magnetic field and fluid flow beneath an electrically conducting mantle

The effects of laterally homogeneous mantle electrical conductivity have been included in steady, frozen-flux core surface flow estimation along with refinements in method and weighting. The refined method allows simultaneous solution for both the initial radial geomagnetic field component at the core-mantle boundary and the subadjacent fluid motion; it also features Gauss' method for solving the nonlinear inverse problem associated with steady motional induction. The trade-off between spatial complexity of the derived flows and misfit to the weighted Definitive Geomagnetic Reference Field models is studied for various mantle conductivity profiles. For simple flow and a fixed initial geomagnetic condition a fairly high deep-mantle conductivity performs better than either insulating or weakly conducting profiles; however, a thin, very high conductivity layer at the base of the mantle performs almost as well. Simultaneous solution for both initial geomagnetic field and fluid flow reduces the misfit per degree of freedom even more than does changing the mantle conductivity profile. Moreover, when both core field and flow are estimated, the performance of the solutions and the derived flows become insensitive to the conductivity profile.

Voorhies, Goerte V.↗

Sensitivity of engine-integrated waverider performance to static margin constraint

The performance of an engine-integrated wedge caret-wing waverider is optimized with respect to a set of geometric and flight attitude variables with constraints for steady state flight and static margin. The optimization is done with different values for the constraint on the static margin, and the resulting performances and geometries compared. This comparison is done for three performance parameters: L/D ratio, range coefficient, and a parameter that measures energy height gain per unit weight of fuel. The vehicle model incorporates a one-dimensional calculation on the forebody, inlet and wings. Fuel injection is done prior to the combustor entrance and flow properties are calculated with a one-dimensional model using a correlation for the shock shape in front of a transverse jet. The combustor is modeled as a shock-induced-combustion scramjet, and the nozzle flow field is calculated using the method of characteristics.

Tarpley, C.↗

An interleave retrieval method for oversampled limb scans

Rodgers presents a general approach for error analysis of retrievals based on a linearization of the retrieval problem. This approach allows calculation of retrieval error from uncertainties in the input radiances and in each of the forward radiance model parameters. These terms are weighted according to the sensitivity of the retrieval to each of them. We use this framework to describe the results of an error analysis performed on HALOE data. This paper will show the effect of using over sampled profile data and an interleave retrieval technique by application of formal error analysis.

Gordley, Larry L.↗

Improving the Performance of the Structure-Based Connectionist Network for Diagnosis of Helicopter Gearboxes

A diagnostic method is introduced for helicopter gearboxes that uses knowledge of the gear-box structure and characteristics of the 'features' of vibration to define the influences of faults on features. The 'structural influences' in this method are defined based on the root mean square value of vibration obtained from a simplified lumped-mass model of the gearbox. The structural influences are then converted to fuzzy variables, to account for the approximate nature of the lumped-mass model, and used as the weights of a connectionist network. Diagnosis in this Structure-Based Connectionist Network (SBCN) is performed by propagating the abnormal vibration features through the weights of SBCN to obtain fault possibility values for each component in the gearbox. Upon occurrence of misdiagnoses, the SBCN also has the ability to improve its diagnostic performance. For this, a supervised training method is presented which adapts the weights of SBCN to minimize the number of misdiagnoses. For experimental evaluation of the SBCN, vibration data from a OH-58A helicopter gearbox collected at NASA Lewis Research Center is used. Diagnostic results indicate that the SBCN is able to diagnose about 80% of the faults without training, and is able to improve its performance to nearly 100% after training.

Jammu, Vinay B.↗

Optimal Controller Design for the Microgravity Isolation Mount (MIM)

H2 controllers, when designed using an appropriate design model and carefully chosen frequency weightings, appear to provide robust performance and robust stability for Microgravity Isolation Mount (MIM). The STS-85 flight data will be used to evaluate the H2 controllers' performance on the actual hardware under working conditions. Next, full-order H-infinity controllers will be developed, as an intermediate step, in order to determine appropriate H-infinity performance weights for use in the mixed-norm design. Finally the basic procedure outlined above will be used to develop fixed-order mixed-norm controllers for MIM.

Hampton, R. David↗

Toward a Global Map of Raindrop Size Distributions: Rain-Type Classification and Its Implications for Validating Global Rainfall Products - Part 1

Variability in the global distribution of precipitation is recognized as a key element in assessing the impact of climate change for life on earth. The response of precipitation to climate forcings is, however, poorly understood because of discrepancies in the magnitude and sign of climatic trends in satellite-based rainfall estimates. Quantifying and ultimately removing these biases is critical for studying the response of the hydrologic cycle to climate change. In addition, estimates of random errors owing to variability in algorithm assumptions on local spatial and temporal scales are critical for establishing how strongly their products should be weighted in data assimilation or model validation applications and for assigning a level of confidence to climate trends diagnosed from the data. This paper explores the potential for refining assumed drop size distributions (DSDs) in global radar rainfall algorithms by establishing a link between satellite observables and information gleaned from regional validation experiments where polarimetric radar, Doppler radar, and disdrometer measurements can be used to infer raindrop size distributions. By virtue of the limited information available in the satellite retrieval framework, the current method deviates from approaches adopted in the ground-based radar community that attempt to relate microphysical processes and resultant DSDs to local meteorological conditions. Instead, the technique exploits the fact that different microphysical pathways for rainfall production are likely to lead to differences in both the DSD of the resulting raindrops and the three-dimensional structure of associated radar reflectivity profiles. Objective rain-type classification based on the complete three-dimensional structure of observed reflectivity profiles is found to partially mitigate random and systematic errors in DSDs implied by differential reflectivity measurements. In particular, it is shown that vertical and horizontal reflectivity structure obtained from spaceborne radar can be used to reproduce significant differences in Z(sub dr) between the easterly and westerly climate regimes observed in the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere (TRMM-LBA) field experiment as well as the even larger differences between Amazonian rainfall and that observed in eastern Colorado. As such, the technique offers a potential methodology for placing locally observed DSD information into a global framework.

L'Ecuyer, Tristan S.↗

Fuel Burn Estimation Model

Conclusions: Validated the fuel estimation procedure using flight test data. A good fuel model can be created if weight and fuel data are available. Error in assumed takeoff weight results in similar amount of error in the fuel estimate. Fuel estimation error bounds can be determined.

Chatterji, Gano↗

Aeroelastic Optimization of Generalized Tube and Wing Aircraft Concepts Using HCDstruct Version 2.0

Major enhancements were made to the Higher-fidelity Conceptual Design and structural optimization (HCDstruct) tool developed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). Whereas previous versions were limited to hybrid wing body (HWB) configurations, the current version of HCDstruct now supports the analysis of generalized tube and wing (TW) aircraft concepts. Along with significantly enhanced user input options for all air- craft configurations, these enhancements represent HCDstruct version 2.0. Validation was performed using a Boeing 737-200 aircraft model, for which primary structure weight estimates agreed well with available data. Additionally, preliminary analysis of the NASA D8 (ND8) aircraft concept was performed, highlighting several new features of the tool.

Quinlan, Jesse R.↗

Surface Reflectance Product from Geostationary Satellite

We have generated provisional Himawari-8 AHI surface reflectance (SR) product for land and vegetation monitoring. The Himawari-8 AHI surface reflectance product is part of our GeoNEX land products, which integrate level 2 and higher remote sensing data from a set of geostationary satellite sensors (i.e. GOES-16, -17 ABI, Himawari-8 AHI, FY4-A AGRI, and MTG-I). Adapted Multiangle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm is used to process time series Himawari-8 AHI observations. Himawari-8 AHI SR provides gridded and tiled land SR in 1-km resolution with high frequency (every 10 minutes during daylight time). There are three subdatasets: 1) retrieved atmospheric properties (e.g. column water vapor at 0.86 m, aerosol optical depth at 0.47m and 0.51m); 2) spectral (AHI bands 1-6) surface reflectance, kernels of RTLS BRDF model; 3)spectral BRDF kernel weights, and extensive quality assurance flags. The evaluation results show that Himawari-8 AHI data yield much more valid pixels in a single day in the characterization of land surface, when compare to NASA flagship satellite MODIS Terra/Aqua. This observation frequency and resolution of geostationary data should allow for using continuous ecosystem monitoring in diurnal studies at continental scale. Initial evaluations indicate a stable Himawari-8 AHI land SR product.

Li, Shuang↗

Global Aerodynamic Modeling Using Automated Local Model Networks in Real Time

A novel method is presented for automated real-time global aerodynamic modeling using local model networks, known as Smoothed Partitioning with Localized Trees in Real Time (SPLITR), as part of NASA’s Learn-to-Fly technology development initiative. The global nonlinear aerodynamics are partitioned into several local regions known as cells, with the dimension, location, and timing of each partition automatically selected based on a residual characterization procedure, under the constraints of real-time operation. Regression trees represent the successive partitioning of the global flight envelope and describe the evolution of the cell structure. Recursive equation-error least-squares parameter estimation in the time domain is used to estimate a model that represents the local aerodynamics in each region, so that it can be updated independently with non-contiguous data in the range of each cell over time. A weighted superposition of these piecewise local models across the flight envelope forms a global nonlinear model that also accurately captures the local aerodynamics. The SPLITR approach is demonstrated using both simulation and flight data, and the results are analyzed in terms of model predictive capabilities as well as interpretability. The results show that SPLITR can be used to automatically partition complex nonlinear aerodynamic behavior, produce an accurate model, and provide valuable physical insight into the local and global aerodynamics.

Weinstein, Rose↗