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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 433 records · Page 24

Identifying and Exploiting Diurnal Motifs in Wind Generation Time Series Data

Wind energy is scheduled on the power grid using 0–6 h ahead forecasts generated from computer simulations or historical data. When the forecasts are inaccurate, control room operators use their expertise, as well as the actual generation from previous days, to estimate the amount of energy to schedule. However, this is a challenge, and it would be useful for the operators to have additional information they can exploit to make better informed decisions. In this paper, we use techniques from time series analysis to determine if there are motifs, or frequently occurring diurnal patterns in wind generation data. Here we compare two different representations of the data and four different ways of identifying the number of motifs. Using data from wind farms in Tehachapi Pass and mid-Columbia Basin, we describe our findings and discuss how these motifs can be used to guide scheduling decisions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A three-phase workflow for general and expressive representations of nondeterminism in HPC applications

Nondeterminism is an increasingly entrenched property of high-performance computing (HPC) applications and has recently been shown to seriously hamper debugging and reproducibility efforts. Additionally, tools for addressing the nondeterministic debugging problem have emerged, but they do not provide methods for systematically cataloging the nondeterminism in a given application. We propose a three-phase workflow for representing executions of nondeterministic message passing interface programs as event graphs, quantifying their structural similarity with graph kernels, and applying machine learning techniques to investigate shared properties across applications. We present an empirical study comparing two graph kernels’ suitability for this task and propose future uses of the methodology.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

State-based network similarity visualization

We introduce an approach for the interactive visual analysis of weighted, dynamic networks. These networks arise in areas such as computational neuroscience, sociology, and biology. Network analysis remains challenging due to complex time-varying network behavior. For example, edges disappear/reappear, communities grow/vanish, or overall network topology changes. Our technique, TimeSum, detects the important topological changes in graph data to abstract the dynamic network and visualize one summary representation for each temporal phase, a state. We define a network state as a graph with similar topology over a specific time interval. To enable a holistic comparison of networks, we use a difference network to depict edge and community changes. Here, we present case studies to demonstrate that our methods are effective and useful for extracting and exploring complex dynamic behavior of networks.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

MetaBAT 2: an adaptive binning algorithm for robust and efficient genome reconstruction from metagenome assemblies

We previously reported on MetaBAT, an automated metagenome binning software tool to reconstruct single genomes from microbial communities for subsequent analyses of uncultivated microbial species. MetaBAT has become one of the most popular binning tools largely due to its computational efficiency and ease of use, especially in binning experiments with a large number of samples and a large assembly. MetaBAT requires users to choose parameters to fine-tune its sensitivity and specificity. If those parameters are not chosen properly, binning accuracy can suffer, especially on assemblies of poor quality. Here, we developed MetaBAT 2 to overcome this problem. MetaBAT 2 uses a new adaptive binning algorithm to eliminate manual parameter tuning. We also performed extensive software engineering optimization to increase both computational and memory efficiency. Comparing MetaBAT 2 to alternative software tools on over 100 real world metagenome assemblies shows superior accuracy and computing speed. Binning a typical metagenome assembly takes only a few minutes on a single commodity workstation. We therefore recommend the community adopts MetaBAT 2 for their metagenome binning experiments. MetaBAT 2 is open source software and available at https://bitbucket.org/berkeleylab/metabat .

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

A comparison of land-use determinations using data from ERTS-1 and high altitude aircraft

A manual interpretation of ERTS-1 MSS system corrected imagery has been performed on a study area within the Houston Area Test Site to classify land use using the Level 1 categories proposed by the Department of the Interior. The two types of imagery used included: (1) black and white transparencies of each band enlarged to a scale of approximately 1:250,000 and (2) color transparencies composited from the computer compatible tapes using the film recorder on a multispectral data analysis station. The results of this interpretation have been compared with the 1970 land use inventory of HATS which was compiled using color ektachrome imagery from high altitude aircraft (scale 1:120,000). Urban data from the same scene was also analyzed using a computer-aided (clustering) technique. The resulting clusters, representing areas of similar content, were compared with existing land use patterns in Houston. A technique was developed to correlate the spectral clusters to specific urban features on aircraft imagery by the location of specific, high contrast objects in particular resolution elements. It was concluded that ERTS-1 data could be used to develop Level 1 and many Level 2 land use categories for regional inventories and perhaps to some degree on a local level.

Lundelius, M. A.↗

Hypothesis integration in image understanding systems

The goal of this research is to develop a robust control strategy for constructing image understanding systems (IUS). This paper proposes a general framework based on the integration of related hypotheses. Hypotheses are regarded as predictions of the occurrences of objects in the image. Related hypotheses are clustered together. A composite hypothesis is computed for each cluster. The goal of the IUS is to verify the hypotheses. We constructed an image understanding system, SIGMA, based on this framework and demonstrated its performance on an aerial image of a suburban housing development.

Hwang, Vincent Shang-Shouq↗

Mission telemetry system monitor: A real-time knowledge-based system

The Galileo Mission Telemetry System (MTS) has a cluster of computer subsystems configured as a star network. The MTS handles the real-time processing of spacecraft telemetry and ground monitor data. Large volumes of status and fault messages are generated as a result of changes in the system environment. These messages are triggered by the conditions that exist on any one particular subsystem or device. The order of message generation is in time sequence and does not always correlate to the function sequence of active processes. A significant number of messages provide context with varying degrees of uncertainty. As such, highly skilled telemetry controllers are required to regularly go through high volumes of messages generated by the MTS to identify, diagnose, and isolate faults. A knowledge-based system prototype is being developed to monitor the Galileo Mission Telemetry System performance. The system design approach features temporal reasoning, uncertainty management, and intelligent graphic user interfaces.

Mouneimne, Samih A.↗

Energy Efficient Engine Low Pressure Subsystem Aerodynamic Analysis

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the capability to analyze the aerodynamic performance of the complete low pressure subsystem (LPS) of the Energy Efficient Engine (EEE). Detailed analyses were performed using three- dimensional Navier-Stokes numerical models employing advanced clustered processor computing platforms. The analysis evaluates the impact of steady aerodynamic interaction effects between the components of the LPS at design and off- design operating conditions. Mechanical coupling is provided by adjusting the rotational speed of common shaft-mounted components until a power balance is achieved. The Navier-Stokes modeling of the complete low pressure subsystem provides critical knowledge of component acro/mechanical interactions that previously were unknown to the designer until after hardware testing.

Hall, Edward J.↗

Energy Efficient Engine Low Pressure Subsystem Flow Analysis

The objective of this project is to provide the capability to analyze the aerodynamic performance of the complete low pressure subsystem (LPS) of the Energy Efficient Engine (EEE). The analyses were performed using three-dimensional Navier-Stokes numerical models employing advanced clustered processor computing platforms. The analysis evaluates the impact of steady aerodynamic interaction effects between the components of the LPS at design and off-design operating conditions. Mechanical coupling is provided by adjusting the rotational speed of common shaft-mounted components until a power balance is achieved. The Navier-Stokes modeling of the complete low pressure subsystem provides critical knowledge of component aero/mechanical interactions that previously were unknown to the designer until after hardware testing.

Hall, Edward J.↗

Noise Prediction for Maneuvering Rotorcraft

This paper presents the initial work toward first-principles noise prediction for maneuvering rotors. Both the aeromechanical and acoustics aspects of the maneuver noise problem are discussed. The comprehensive analysis code, CAMRAD 2. was utilized to predict the time-dependent aircraft position and attitude, along - with the rotor blade airloads and motion. The major focus of this effort was the enhancement of the acoustic code WOPWOP necessary to compute the noise from a maneuvering rotorcraft. Full aircraft motion, including arbitrary transient motion, is modeled together with arbitrary rotor blade motions. Noise from a rotorcraft in turning and descending flight is compared to level flight. A substantial increase in the rotor noise is found both for turning flight and during a transient maneuver. Additional enhancements to take advantage of parallel computers and clusters of workstations, in addition to a new compact-chordwise loading formulation, are also described.

Brentner, Kenneth S.↗

RISC Processors and High Performance Computing

In this tutorial, we will discuss top five current RISC microprocessors: The IBM Power2, which is used in the IBM RS6000/590 workstation and in the IBM SP2 parallel supercomputer, the DEC Alpha, which is in the DEC Alpha workstation and in the Cray T3D; the MIPS R8000, which is used in the SGI Power Challenge; the HP PA-RISC 7100, which is used in the HP 700 series workstations and in the Convex Exemplar; and the Cray proprietary processor, which is used in the new Cray J916. The architecture of these microprocessors will first be presented. The effective performance of these processors will then be compared, both by citing standard benchmarks and also in the context of implementing a real applications. In the process, different programming models such as data parallel (CM Fortran and HPF) and message passing (PVM and MPI) will be introduced and compared. The latest NAS Parallel Benchmark (NPB) absolute performance and performance per dollar figures will be presented. The next generation of the NP13 will also be described. The tutorial will conclude with a discussion of general trends in the field of high performance computing, including likely future developments in hardware and software technology, and the relative roles of vector supercomputers tightly coupled parallel computers, and clusters of workstations. This tutorial will provide a unique cross-machine comparison not available elsewhere.

Saini, Subhash↗

Rocket Science for the Internet

Rainfinity, a company resulting from the commercialization of Reliable Array of Independent Nodes (RAIN), produces the product, Rainwall. Rainwall runs a cluster of computer workstations, creating a distributed Internet gateway. When Rainwall detects a failure in software or hardware, traffic is shifted to a healthy gateway without interruptions to Internet service. It more evenly distributes workload across servers, providing less down time.

Source record↗

Random Walk Method for Potential Problems

A local Random Walk Method (RWM) for potential problems governed by Lapalace's and Paragon's equations is developed for two- and three-dimensional problems. The RWM is implemented and demonstrated in a multiprocessor parallel environment on a Beowulf cluster of computers. A speed gain of 16 is achieved as the number of processors is increased from 1 to 23.

Krishnamurthy, T.↗

Space Communications Emulation Facility

Establishing space communication between ground facilities and other satellites is a painstaking task that requires many precise calculations dealing with relay time, atmospheric conditions, and satellite positions, to name a few. The Space Communications Emulation Facility (SCEF) team here at NASA is developing a facility that will approximately emulate the conditions in space that impact space communication. The emulation facility is comprised of a 32 node distributed cluster of computers; each node representing a satellite or ground station. The objective of the satellites is to observe the topography of the Earth (water, vegetation, land, and ice) and relay this information back to the ground stations. Software originally designed by the University of Kansas, labeled the Emulation Manager, controls the interaction of the satellites and ground stations, as well as handling the recording of data. The Emulation Manager is installed on a Linux Operating System, employing both Java and C++ programming codes. The emulation scenarios are written in extensible Markup Language, XML. XML documents are designed to store, carry, and exchange data. With XML documents data can be exchanged between incompatible systems, which makes it ideal for this project because Linux, MAC and Windows Operating Systems are all used. Unfortunately, XML documents cannot display data like HTML documents. Therefore, the SCEF team uses XML Schema Definition (XSD) or just schema to describe the structure of an XML document. Schemas are very important because they have the capability to validate the correctness of data, define restrictions on data, define data formats, and convert data between different data types, among other things. At this time, in order for the Emulation Manager to open and run an XML emulation scenario file, the user must first establish a link between the schema file and the directory under which the XML scenario files are saved. This procedure takes place on the command line on the Linux Operating System. Once this link has been established the Emulation manager validates all the XML files in that directory against the schema file, before the actual scenario is run. Using some very sophisticated commercial software called the Satellite Tool Kit (STK) installed on the Linux box, the Emulation Manager is able to display the data and graphics generated by the execution of a XML emulation scenario file. The Emulation Manager software is written in JAVA programming code. Since the SCEF project is in the developmental stage, the source code for this type of software is being modified to better fit the requirements of the SCEF project. Some parameters for the emulation are hard coded, set at fixed values. Members of the SCEF team are altering the code to allow the user to choose the values of these hard coded parameters by inserting a toolbar onto the preexisting GUI.

Hill, Chante A.↗

A Bioinformatics Facility for NASA

Building on an existing prototype, we have fielded a facility with bioinformatics technologies that will help NASA meet its unique requirements for biological research. This facility consists of a cluster of computers capable of performing computationally intensive tasks, software tools, databases and knowledge management systems. Novel computational technologies for analyzing and integrating new biological data and already existing knowledge have been developed. With continued development and support, the facility will fulfill strategic NASA s bioinformatics needs in astrobiology and space exploration. . As a demonstration of these capabilities, we will present a detailed analysis of how spaceflight factors impact gene expression in the liver and kidney for mice flown aboard shuttle flight STS-108. We have found that many genes involved in signal transduction, cell cycle, and development respond to changes in microgravity, but that most metabolic pathways appear unchanged.

Schweighofer, Karl↗