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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 415 records · Page 23

Remote sensing and numerical modeling of suspended sediment in Laguna de Terminos, Campeche, Mexico

It is necessary to understand the complex physical processes at work in coastal lagoons in order to manage them effectively. Improved methods of data collection and analysis must be found to provide synoptic, timely hydrodynamic information because of the sheer size of some lagoons and the difficulty of acquiring in situ data (particularly in the tropics). This paper summarizes research to model salinity and suspended sediment distributions in Laguna de Terminos, Mexico, using (1) a coupled hydrodynamic and dispersion model and (2) analysis of two Landsat Thematic Mapper images collected on November 25, 1984 and April 24, 1987. Atmospherically corrected chromaticity data derived from Thermatic Mapper data were significantly correlated with modeled total suspended sediment concentrations for the two dates. Comparison between numerically modeled and remotely sensed suspended sediment maps at 1.5 x 1.5 km resolution yielded a covariation map useful for identifying areas of discrepancy between the remotely sensed data and model output.

Jensen, John R.↗

Laser annealing of amorphous/poly: Silicon solar cell material flight experiment

The preliminary design proposed for the microelectronics materials processing equipment is presented. An overall mission profile, description of all processing steps, analysis methods and measurement techniques, data acquisition and storage, and a preview of the experimental hardware are included. The goal of the project is to investigate the viability of material processing of semiconductor microelectronics materials in a micro-gravity environment. The two key processes are examined: (1) Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) of semiconductor thin films and damaged solar cells, and (2) thin film deposition using a filament evaporator. The RTA process will be used to obtain higher quality crystalline properties from amorphous/poly-silicon films. RTA methods can also be used to repair radiation-damaged solar cells. On earth this technique is commonly used to anneal semiconductor films after ion-implantation. The damage to the crystal lattice is similar to the defects found in solar cells which have been exposed to high-energy particle bombardment.

Cole, Eric E.↗

Automation for deep space vehicle monitoring

Information on automation for deep space vehicle monitoring is given in viewgraph form. Information is given on automation goals and strategy; the Monitor Analyzer of Real-time Voyager Engineering Link (MARVEL); intelligent input data management; decision theory for making tradeoffs; dynamic tradeoff evaluation; evaluation of anomaly detection results; evaluation of data management methods; system level analysis with cooperating expert systems; the distributed architecture of multiple expert systems; and event driven response.

Schwuttke, Ursula M.↗

Transient loads analysis for space flight applications

A significant part of the flight readiness verification process involves transient analysis of the coupled Shuttle-payload system to determine the low frequency transient loads. This paper describes a methodology for transient loads analysis and its implementation for the Spacelab Life Sciences Mission. The analysis is carried out using two major software tools - NASTRAN and an external FORTRAN code called EZTRAN. This approach is adopted to overcome some of the limitations of NASTRAN's standard transient analysis capabilities. The method uses Data Recovery Matrices (DRM) to improve computational efficiency. The mode acceleration method is fully implemented in the DRM formulation to recover accurate displacements, stresses, and forces. The advantages of the method are demonstrated through a numerical example.

Thampi, S. K.↗

Comparison of several methods for obtaining the time response of linear systems to either a unit impulse or arbitrary input from frequency-response data

Several methods of obtaining the time response of Linear systems to either a unit impulse or an arbitrary input from frequency-response data are described and compared. Comparisons indicate that all the methods give good accuracy when applied to a second-order system; the main difference is the required computing time. The methods generally classified as inverse Laplace transform methods were found to be most effective in determining the response to a unit impulse from frequency-response data of higher order systems. Some discussion and examples are given of the use of such methods as flight-data-analysis techniques in predicting loads and motions of a flexible aircraft on the basis of simple calculations when the aircraft frequency response is known.

Donegan, James J↗

Multi-modal virtual environment research at Armstrong Laboratory

One mission of the Paul M. Fitts Human Engineering Division of Armstrong Laboratory is to improve the user interface for complex systems through user-centered exploratory development and research activities. In support of this goal, many current projects attempt to advance and exploit user-interface concepts made possible by virtual reality (VR) technologies. Virtual environments may be used as a general purpose interface medium, an alternative display/control method, a data visualization and analysis tool, or a graphically based performance assessment tool. An overview is given of research projects within the division on prototype interface hardware/software development, integrated interface concept development, interface design and evaluation tool development, and user and mission performance evaluation tool development.

Eggleston, Robert G.↗

A Model for Space Shuttle Orbiter Tire Side Forces Based on NASA Landing Systems Research Aircraft Test Results

Forces generated by the Space Shuttle orbiter tire under varying vertical load, slip angle, speed, and surface conditions were measured using the Landing System Research Aircraft (LSRA). Resulting data were used to calculate a mathematical model for predicting tire forces in orbiter simulations. Tire side and drag forces experienced by an orbiter tire are cataloged as a function of vertical load and slip angle. The mathematical model is compared to existing tire force models for the Space Shuttle orbiter. This report describes the LSRA and a typical test sequence. Testing methods, data reduction, and error analysis are presented. The LSRA testing was conducted on concrete and lakebed runways at the Edwards Air Force Flight Test Center and on concrete runways at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Wet runway tire force tests were performed on test strips made at the KSC using different surfacing techniques. Data were corrected for ply steer forces and conicity.

Carter, John F.↗

Prediction Capability for Transonic Nozzle Afterbodies Improved

Under the High Speed Research (HSR) Program, the NASA Lewis Research Center, the NASA Langley Research Center, and the aerospace industry have been developing exhaust nozzle concepts for a future High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). For such an aircraft to be both economically viable and environmentally acceptable, the exhaust nozzles must combine highly efficient operation throughout the flight envelope with low noise levels at takeoff. A team composed of researchers from Lewis, Langley, and McDonnell Douglas created a two-dimensional data base using computational fluid dynamics. First, each group validated their computational fluid dynamics code against existing experimental data to gain confidence in the code's results. Next, the organizations analyzed several configurations, and the results were used to create the new data base. Then, the analysis methods were updated to account for the effects of two-dimensional nozzles. This will result in a more accurate analysis of the propulsion system for the High Speed Civil Transport.

Source record↗

Subscale and Full-Scale Testing of Buckling-Critical Launch Vehicle Shell Structures

New analysis-based shell buckling design factors (aka knockdown factors), along with associated design and analysis technologies, are being developed by NASA for the design of launch vehicle structures. Preliminary design studies indicate that implementation of these new knockdown factors can enable significant reductions in mass and mass-growth in these vehicles and can help mitigate some of NASA s launch vehicle development and performance risks by reducing the reliance on testing, providing high-fidelity estimates of structural performance, reliability, robustness, and enable increased payload capability. However, in order to validate any new analysis-based design data or methods, a series of carefully designed and executed structural tests are required at both the subscale and full-scale level. This paper describes recent buckling test efforts at NASA on two different orthogrid-stiffened metallic cylindrical shell test articles. One of the test articles was an 8-ft-diameter orthogrid-stiffened cylinder and was subjected to an axial compression load. The second test article was a 27.5-ft-diameter Space Shuttle External Tank-derived cylinder and was subjected to combined internal pressure and axial compression.

Hilburger, Mark W.↗

Waveforms and Sonic Boom Perception and Response (WSPR): Low-Boom Community Response Program Pilot Test Design, Execution, and Analysis

The Waveforms and Sonic boom Perception and Response (WSPR) Program was designed to test and demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of techniques to gather data relating human subjective response to multiple low-amplitude sonic booms. It was in essence a practice session for future wider scale testing on naive communities, using a purpose built low-boom demonstrator aircraft. The low-boom community response pilot experiment was conducted in California in November 2011. The WSPR team acquired sufficient data to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of the various physical and psychological data gathering techniques and analysis methods.

Page, Juliet A.↗

You Can't Reach for the Stars if You are Tripping Over the Ground! (Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls)

Although there are very few mishaps related to ground, vehicle or payload processing at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), employees have experienced a significant number of injuries due to slips, trips, and falls outside of performing flight processing operations. Slips, trips, and falls are major causes of occupational injuries at KSC, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and in general industry. To help KSC employees avoid these injuries, and allow them to be fully productive, KSC launched an initiative in 2013 to reduce slips, trips, and falls. This initiative is based on a four-part model focusing on DATA analysis, HAZARD awareness, PREVENTIVE methods, and BALANCE.

Falls↗

Thermal Radiation Anomalies Associated with Major Earthquakes

Recent developments of remote sensing methods for Earth satellite data analysis contribute to our understanding of earthquake related thermal anomalies. It was realized that the thermal heat fluxes over areas of earthquake preparation is a result of air ionization by radon (and other gases) and consequent water vapor condensation on newly formed ions. Latent heat (LH) is released as a result of this process and leads to the formation of local thermal radiation anomalies (TRA) known as OLR (outgoing Longwave radiation, Ouzounov et al, 2007). We compare the LH energy, obtained by integrating surface latent heat flux (SLHF) over the area and time with released energies associated with these events. Extended studies of the TRA using the data from the most recent major earthquakes allowed establishing the main morphological features. It was also established that the TRA are the part of more complex chain of the short-term pre-earthquake generation, which is explained within the framework of a lithosphere-atmosphere coupling processes.

Ouzounov, Dimitar↗

Bayesian Blocks: A New Method to Analyze Photon Counting Data

A Bayesian analysis of photon-counting data leads to a new time-domain algorithm for detecting localized structures (bursts), revealing pulse shapes, and generally characterizing intensity variations. The raw counting data -- time-tag events (TTE), time-to-spill (TTS) data, or binned counts -- is converted to a maximum likelihood segmentation of the observation into time intervals during which the photon arrival rate is perceptibly constant -- i.e. has a fixed intensity without statistically significant variations. The resulting structures, Bayesian Blocks, can be thought of as bins with arbitrary spacing determined by the data. The method itself sets no lower limit to the time scale on which variability can be detected. We have applied the method to RXTE data on Cyg X-1, yielding information on this source's short-time-scale variability.

Scargle, Jeffrey D.↗

Precision Measurement of Black Hole Binary Dynamics: Analyzing the LISA Data Stream

One of the richest potential sources of insight into fundamental physics that LISA will be capable of observing is the inspiral of supermassive black hole binaries (BHBs). However, the data analysis challenge presented by the LISA data stream is quite unlike the situation for present day gravitational wave detectors. In order to make the precision measurements necessary to achieve LISA's science goals, the BHB signal must be distinguished from a data stream that not only contains instrumental noise, but potentially thousands of other signals as well, so that the "background" we wish to separate out to focus on the BHB signal is likely to be highly nonstationary and nongaussian, as well as being of scientific interest in its own right. In addition, whereas the theoretical templates that we calculate in order to ultimately estimate the parameters can afford to be somewhat inaccurate and still be effective for present day and near future detectors, this is not the case for LISA, and extremely high fidelity of the theoretical templates for high signal-to-noise signals will be required to prevent theoretical errors from dominating the parameter estimates. NVe, will describe efforts in the community of LISA data analysts to address the challenges regarding the specific issue of BHB signals. These efforts include using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach with the freedom to model the BHB and the other signals present in the data stream simultaneously, rather than trying to remove other signals and risk biasing the remaining data. The Mock LISA Data Challenge is a community of LISA scientists who generate rounds of simulated LISA noise with increasingly difficult signal content, and invite the LISA data analysis community to exercise their methods, or develop new methods, in an attempt to extract the parameters for the signals embedded in the mock data. In addition to practical approaches such ,is this to assess the level of parameter accuracy, one can apply the Fisher matrix formalism to assess both the statistical errors from noise and the theoretical errors

McWilliams, Sean T.↗

Reflectance spectroscopy - Quantitative analysis techniques for remote sensing applications

The empirical methods and scattering theories that are important for solving remote sensing problems are among the methods for remotely sensed reflectance data analysis presently compared. In the case of the photon mean optical path length concept's implications for reflectance spectra modeling, it is shown that the mean optical path length in a particulate surface is in roughly inverse proportion to the square root of the absorption coefficient. Absorption bands, which are Gaussian in shape when plotted as true absorptance vs photon energy, are also Gaussians in apparent absorptance, although they have a smaller intensity. An apparent continuum in a reflectance spectrum is modeled as a mathematical function that is used to isolate a particular absorption feature for analysis, and it is noted that this continuum should be removed by dividing it into the reflectance spectrum.

Clark, R. N.↗

A relational metric, its application to domain analysis, and an example analysis and model of a remote sensing domain

An objective and quantitative method has been developed for deriving models of complex and specialized spheres of activity (domains) from domain-generated verbal data. The method was developed for analysis of interview transcripts, incident reports, and other text documents whose original source is people who are knowledgeable about, and participate in, the domain in question. To test the method, it is applied here to a report describing a remote sensing project within the scope of the Earth Observing System (EOS). The method has the potential to improve the designs of domain-related computer systems and software by quickly providing developers with explicit and objective models of the domain in a form which is useful for design. Results of the analysis include a network model of the domain, and an object-oriented relational analysis report which describes the nodes and relationships in the network model. Other products include a database of relationships in the domain, and an interactive concordance. The analysis method utilizes a newly developed relational metric, a proximity-weighted frequency of co-occurrence. The metric is applied to relations between the most frequently occurring terms (words or multiword entities) in the domain text, and the terms found within the contexts of these terms. Contextual scope is selectable. Because of the discriminating power of the metric, data reduction from the association matrix to the network is simple. In addition to their value for design. the models produced by the method are also useful for understanding the domains themselves. They can, for example, be interpreted as models of presence in the domain.

Mcgreevy, Michael W.↗

Clarifying Objectives and Results of Equivalent System Mass Analyses for Advanced Life Support

This paper discusses some of the analytical decisions that an investigator must make during the course of a life support system trade study. Equivalent System Mass (ESM) is often applied to evaluate trade study options in the Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. ESM can be used to identify which of several options that meet all requirements are most likely to have lowest cost. It can also be used to identify which of the many interacting parts of a life support system have the greatest impact and sensitivity to assumptions. This paper summarizes recommendations made in the newly developed ALS ESM Guidelines Document and expands on some of the issues relating to trade studies that involve ESM. In particular, the following three points are expounded: 1) The importance of objectives: Analysis objectives drive the approach to any trade study, including identification of assumptions, selection of characteristics to compare in the analysis, and the most appropriate techniques for reflecting those characteristics. 2) The importance of results inferprefafion: The accuracy desired in the results depends upon the analysis objectives, whereas the realized accuracy is determined by the data quality and degree of detail in analysis methods. 3) The importance of analysis documentation: Documentation of assumptions and data modifications is critical for effective peer evaluation of any trade study. ESM results are analysis-specific and should always be reported in context, rather than as solitary values. For this reason, results reporting should be done with adequate rigor to allow for verification by other researchers.

Levri, Julie A.↗

LinkWinds: An Approach to Visual Data Analysis

The Linked Windows Interactive Data System (LinkWinds) is a prototype visual data exploration and analysis system resulting from a NASA/JPL program of research into graphical methods for rapidly accessing, displaying and analyzing large multivariate multidisciplinary datasets. It is an integrated multi-application execution environment allowing the dynamic interconnection of multiple windows containing visual displays and/or controls through a data-linking paradigm. This paradigm, which results in a system much like a graphical spreadsheet, is not only a powerful method for organizing large amounts of data for analysis, but provides a highly intuitive, easy to learn user interface on top of the traditional graphical user interface.

Jacobson, Allan S.↗