Results for “distributed predictive control” — Page 3

NASA NTRS2023

Efficient Two-Way Coupled Analysis of Steady-State Particle-Laden Hypersonic Flows

A direct solution approach for surface erosion in particle-laden hypersonic flows is extended for use in low-cost two-way coupled solutions of dilute gas-particle flows. The Trajectory Control Volume method, which uses a sparse set of probe particles to predict surface erosion distributions on general vehicles, is reformulated for the solution of source terms by mean trajectory subdivision and computing a flux differencing. The approach is verified successfully against a boundary layer solution and shown to agree well with experimental measurements. A representative Mars entry case, with conditions and geometry based on the ExoMars Schiaparelli capsule, is solved with the approach to study the impact of two-way coupling on surface heating and erosion. Results indicate that for realistic loading conditions, heating is largely unmodified compared to one-way coupled results at peak heating trajectory conditions, and no measureable difference is observed in the surface erosion rate. At exaggerated loading conditions high enough to observe coupling effects, the worst case collisional heating can increase heating by up to 60%.

Particle Laden Flow↗

NASA NTRS2005

Wirelessly Controllable Inflated Electroactive Polymer (EAP) Reflectors

Inflatable membrane reflectors are attractive for deployable, large aperture, lightweight optical and microwave systems in micro-gravity space environment. However, any fabrication flaw or temperature variation may results in significant aberration of the surface. Even for a perfectly fabricated inflatable membrane mirror with uniform thickness, theory shows it will form a Hencky curve surface but a desired parabolic or spherical surface. Precision control of the surfaceshape of extremely flexible membrane structures is a critical challenge for the success of this technology. Wirelessly controllable inflated reflectors made of electroactive polymers (EAP) are proposed in this paper. A finite element model was configured to predict the behavior of the inflatable EAP membranes under pre-strains, pressures and distributed electric charges on the surface. To explore the controllability of the inflatable EAP reflectors, an iteration algorism was developed to find the required electric actuation for correcting the aberration of the Hencky curve to the desired parabolic curve. The correction capability of the reflectors with available EAP materials was explored numerically and is presented in this paper.

Electroactive polymer (EAP)↗

NASA NTRS2013

Unit-Sphere Anisotropic Multiaxial Stochastic-Strength Model Probability Density Distribution for the Orientation of Critical Flaws

Models that predict the failure probability of monolithic glass and ceramic components under multiaxial loading have been developed by authors such as Batdorf, Evans, and Matsuo. These "unit-sphere" failure models assume that the strength-controlling flaws are randomly oriented, noninteracting planar microcracks of specified geometry but of variable size. This report develops a formulation to describe the probability density distribution of the orientation of critical strength-controlling flaws that results from an applied load. This distribution is a function of the multiaxial stress state, the shear sensitivity of the flaws, the Weibull modulus, and the strength anisotropy. Examples are provided showing the predicted response on the unit sphere for various stress states for isotropic and transversely isotropic (anisotropic) materials--including the most probable orientation of critical flaws for offset uniaxial loads with strength anisotropy. The author anticipates that this information could be used to determine anisotropic stiffness degradation or anisotropic damage evolution for individual brittle (or quasi-brittle) composite material constituents within finite element or micromechanics-based software

Nemeth, Noel↗

NASA NTRS2018

Tonal Noise Prediction of a Distributed Propulsion Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Noise is expected to be a major barrier of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to public acceptance. A noise prediction scheme is introduced in this paper and applied to a specific vehicle configuration, namely, the Greased Lightning-10. Results herein will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating a noise constraint within the flight control system of a distributed electric propulsion vehicle by modifying commands for low-noise operation over sensitive areas, e.g., communities, schools, etc. Steady loading and thickness noise signatures of single propellers are computed using the Propeller Analysis System of the NASA Aircraft NOise Prediction Program. The individual signatures are then superposed at far field observers after applying corrections for spherical spreading and phase delays based on straight ray propagation. Two-propeller source fields are verified using analytical directivity patterns of monopoles. Notional effects of rotation rate, rotation direction, and relative propeller phase are given. Under ideal circumstances and equivalent RPM, random phasing, which occurs in most small UAVs, can produce up to 20 decibels uncertainty in the tonal sound pressure level at a given ground observer. Additionally, directivity modification via relative propeller phase control is shown to have great potential as a noise reduction technique. This paper will focus on the forward flight mode but will also briefly discuss the vertical flight mode.

Pascioni, Kyle A.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Predictive Thermal Control (PTC) Technology to Enable Thermally Stable Telescopes

The Predictive Thermal Control (PTC) technology development project is a multiyear effort initiated in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, to mature the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of critical technologies required to enable ultra-thermally-stable telescopes for exoplanet science. During 2017/18 PTC has successfully progressed its three defined objectives: 1. Validate thermal optical performance models. 2. Derive thermal system stability specifications. 3. Demonstrate Predictive Thermal Control. by accomplishing or advancing three of its five quantifiable milestones: Milestone #1 (Complete): Created a high-fidelity STOP (Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance) model of the1.5 meter ULE® AMTD (Advanced Mirror Technology Development)-2 mirror, including 3D CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) distribution and reflective coating, that predicts its optical performance response to steady-state and dynamic thermal gradients. Structural model was created using 3D X-Ray Computed Tomography; Milestone #2 (Complete): Derived specifications for thermal control system as a function of wavefront stability for a Vector Vortex Coronagraph; Milestone #3 (In-Process): Designed and started fabricating a predictive Thermal Control System for the AMTD-2 1.5 meter ULE® mirror that senses temperature changes and actively controls the mirror's thermal environment; Milestone #4 (In-Process): Performed preliminary STOP model validation tests of the 1.5-m ULE® mirror in a relevant thermal vacuum environment at the MSFC X-ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) test facility; Milestone #5: Use validated model to perform trade studies to determine how thermo-optical performance can be optimized as a function of mirror design, material selection, mass, etc.

Stahl, H. Philip↗

NASA NTRS1972

Slowly oscillating lifting surfaces at subsonic and supersonic speeds.

The paper presents an unsteady aerodynamic influence coefficient method based on the low-frequency approximation. The influence coefficients are of a type which have been used to compute steady flow about wing-body combinations; therefore, the new method may be extended readily to low-frequency unsteady flow about wing-body combinations. The validity of the method is demonstrated by comparisons with numerical results from conventional, unsteady lifting surface methods. The method is valid for arbitrary wings in supersonic flow and for wings of finite span in subsonic flow. The method, when extended to include wing-body-tail interactions, will have important applications for predicting stability, control, and gust response characteristics of large airplanes. Dynamic stability derivatives and pressure distributions are given for several planforms. The comparison with either analytical or other well established numerical methods shows good agreement.-

Brune, G. W.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Numerical model for the Programmable Multirole Furnace (PMZF)

The present account of the Programmable Multizone Furnace numerical model uses various examples to illustrate the ways in which the model serves as an optimization, test, prediction, and visualization tool; a numerical PID-control algorithm obtains the desired sample temperature distributions and allows the model to solve an inverse heat transfer problem where the desired sample temperature profile is the input and the required heater power distribution is the output of numerical simulations. Parametric studies show how the total power consumption of the furnace is affected by such design variables as the conductivity.

Kassemi, M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Experimental investigation of a new device to control the asymmetric flowfield on forebodies at large angles of attack

An exploratory experimental investigation of a new device to control the asymmetric flowfield on forebodies at large angles of attack has been conducted. The device is a rotatable forebody tip, which varies in cross section from circular at its base to elliptic at its tip. The device itself extends over a small portion of the aircraft or missile forebody. The device provides two important improvements. First, it replaced the normally random behavior of the nose side force as a function of nose tip orientation with a predictable and generally sinusoidal distribution and, second, the device showed promise for use as part of a vehicle control system, to be deflected in a prescribed manner to provide additional directional control for the vehicle. The device was tested on a cone/cylinder model having a 10 deg semiapex angle and on a 3.0 caliber tangent ogive model, each with a base diameter of 3.5 in, for angles of attack from 30 to 60 deg. Data were taken from 3 circumferential rows of pressure taps on each model at a Reynolds number of 84,000 based on cylinder diameter and by a helium-bubble flow visualization technique at a Reynolds number of 24,000.

Moskovitz, Cary A.↗

NASA NTRS2000

A Validation Summary of the NCC Turbulent Reacting/non-reacting Spray Computations

This pper provides a validation summary of the spray computations performed as a part of the NCC (National Combustion Code) development activity. NCC is being developed with the aim of advancing the current prediction tools used in the design of advanced technology combustors based on the multidimensional computational methods. The solution procedure combines the novelty of the application of the scalar Monte Carlo PDF (Probability Density Function) method to the modeling of turbulent spray flames with the ability to perform the computations on unstructured grids with parallel computing. The calculation procedure was applied to predict the flow properties of three different spray cases. One is a nonswirling unconfined reacting spray, the second is a nonswirling unconfined nonreacting spray, and the third is a confined swirl-stabilized spray flame. The comparisons involving both gas-phase and droplet velocities, droplet size distributions, and gas-phase temperatures show reasonable agreement with the available experimental data. The comparisons involve both the results obtained from the use of the Monte Carlo PDF method as well as those obtained from the conventional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution. Detailed comparisons in the case of a reacting nonswirling spray clearly highlight the importance of chemistry/turbulence interactions in the modeling of reacting sprays. The results from the PDF and non-PDF methods were found to be markedly different and the PDF solution is closer to the reported experimental data. The PDF computations predict that most of the combustion occurs in a predominantly diffusion-flame environment. However, the non-PDF solution predicts incorrectly that the combustion occurs in a predominantly vaporization-controlled regime. The Monte Carlo temperature distribution shows that the functional form of the PDF for the temperature fluctuations varies substantially from point to point. The results also bring to the fore some of the deficiencies associated with the use of assumed-shape PDF methods in spray computations.

Raju, M. S.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Integrated digital/electric aircraft concepts study

The integrated digital/electrical aircraft (IDEA) is an aircraft concept which employs all electric secondary power systems and advanced digital flight control systems. After trade analysis, preferred systems were applied to the baseline configuration. An additional configuration, the alternate IDEA, was also considered. For this concept the design ground rules were relaxed in order to quantify additional synergistic benefits. It was proposed that an IDEA configuration and technical risks associated with the IDEA systems concepts be defined and the research and development required activities to reduce these risks be identified. The selected subsystems include: power generation, power distribution, actuators, environmental control system and flight controls systems. When the aircraft was resized, block fuel was predicted to decrease by 11.3 percent, with 7.9 percent decrease in direct operating cost. The alternate IDEA shows a further 3.4 percent reduction in block fuel and 3.1 percent reduction in direct operating cost.

Cronin, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Investigation of long-lived eddies on Jupiter

Quasi-geostrophic, two layer models of the Jovian atmosphere are under development; these may be used to simulate eddy phemonena in the atmosphere and include tracer dynamics explicitly. The models permit the investigation of the dynamics of quasi-geostrophic eddies under more controlled conditions than are possible in the laboratory. They can also be used to predict the distribution and behavior of tracer species, and hence to discriminate between different models of the mechanisms forcing the eddies, provided suitable observations can be obtained. At the same time, observational strategies are being developed for the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer on the Galileo Orbiter, with the objective of obtaining composition measurements for comparison with the models. Maps of features at thermal infrared wavelengths near 5 micron and reflected sunlight maps as a function of wavelength and phase angle will be obtained. These should provide further useful information on the morphology, composition and microstructure of clouds within eddy features. Equilibrium chemistry models which incorporate advection may then be used to relate these results of the dynamical models and provide addtional means of classifying different types of eddies.

Lewis, S. R.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Are Water Markets Globally Applicable?

Water scarcity is a global concern that necessitates a global perspective, but it is also the product of multiple regional issues that require regional solutions. Water markets constitute a regionally applicable non-structural measure to counter water scarcity that has received the attention of academics and policy-makers, but there is no global view on their applicability. We present the global distribution of potential nations and states where water markets could be instituted in a legal sense, by investigating 296 water laws internationally, with special reference to a minimum set of key rules: legalization of water reallocation, the separation of water rights and landownership, and the modification of the cancellation rule for non-use. We also suggest two additional globally distributed prerequisites and policy implications: the predictability of the available water before irrigation periods and public control of groundwater pumping throughout its jurisdiction.

global water scarcity↗

NASA NTRS2014

TPSAS-NF1676L-19524-DND

Distributed propulsion is being proposed as an approach to achieve greater aircraft efficiency. An added benefit which might be realized with a distributed propulsion configuration is a reduction in radiated sound power. A reduction in radiated sound power could relieve concerns related to an increase in community noise that would accompany the adaptation of a fleet of many small aircraft fielded to meet increased travel demand. However, a reduction in radiated sound power does not necessarily translate into community acceptance of the new noise signature. Some characteristics of distributed propulsion configurations can create aural effects that people would find more annoying even though the sound is at a lower power level. To understand the community response to the new class of noise that a distributed propulsion system would present requires the prediction, synthesis and auralization of the noise in a controlled environment. Representative members of the community can then be exposed to the noise and queried for their reaction. These are the types of tests performed in NASA Langley’s Exterior Effects Room. This report summarizes preliminary results obtained using isolated propeller predictions. The sound pressure level of a single ‘large’ propeller is compared to that of two ‘smaller’ propellers of equivalent total thrust. The aural effects of different implementations of the two propellers are also considered. The different implementations include rotation direction and blade passage frequency separation.

Stephen A Rizzi↗

NASA NTRS2014

TPSAS-NF1676L-19003-DND

Distributed propulsion is being proposed as an approach to achieve greater aircraft efficiency. An added benefit which might be realized with a distributed propulsion configuration is a reduction in radiated sound power. A reduction in radiated sound power could relieve concerns related to an increase in community noise that would accompany the adaptation of a fleet of many small aircraft fielded to meet increased travel demand. However, a reduction in radiated sound power does not necessarily translate into community acceptance of the new noise signature. Some characteristics of distributed propulsion configurations can create aural effects that people would find more annoying even though the sound is at a lower power level. To understand the community response to the new class of noise that a distributed propulsion system would present requires the prediction, synthesis and auralization of the noise in a controlled environment. Representative members of the community can then be exposed to the noise and queried for their reaction. These are the types of tests performed in NASA Langley’s Exterior Effects Room. This report summarizes preliminary results obtained using isolated propeller predictions. The sound pressure level of a single ‘large’ propeller is compared to that of two ‘smaller’ propellers of equivalent total thrust. The aural effects of different implementations of the two propellers are also considered. The different implementations include rotation direction and blade passage frequency separation.

Daniel L Palumbo↗

NASA NTRS2014

TPSAS-NF1676L-17844-DND

Distributed propulsion is being proposed as an approach to achieve greater aircraft efficiency. An added benefit which might be realized with a distributed propulsion configuration is a reduction in radiated sound power. A reduction in radiated sound power could relieve concerns related to an increase in community noise that would accompany the adaptation of a fleet of many small aircraft fielded to meet increased travel demand. However, a reduction in radiated sound power does not necessarily translate into community acceptance of the new noise signature. Some characteristics of distributed propulsion configurations can create aural effects that people would find more annoying even though the sound is at a lower power level. To understand the community response to the new class of noise that a distributed propulsion system would present requires the prediction, synthesis and auralization of the noise in a controlled environment. Representative members of the community can then be exposed to the noise and queried for their reaction. These are the types of tests performed in NASA Langley’s Exterior Effects Room. This report summarizes preliminary results obtained using isolated propeller predictions. The sound pressure level of a single ‘large’ propeller is compared to that of two ‘smaller’ propellers of equivalent total thrust. The aural effects of different implementations of the two propellers are also considered. The different implementations include rotation direction and blade passage frequency separation.

Dan Palumbo↗

NASA NTRS2012

An Integrated Framework for Model-Based Distributed Diagnosis and Prognosis

Diagnosis and prognosis are necessary tasks for system reconfiguration and fault-adaptive control in complex systems. Diagnosis consists of detection, isolation and identification of faults, while prognosis consists of prediction of the remaining useful life of systems. This paper presents a novel integrated framework for model-based distributed diagnosis and prognosis, where system decomposition is used to enable the diagnosis and prognosis tasks to be performed in a distributed way. We show how different submodels can be automatically constructed to solve the local diagnosis and prognosis problems. We illustrate our approach using a simulated four-wheeled rover for different fault scenarios. Our experiments show that our approach correctly performs distributed fault diagnosis and prognosis in an efficient and robust manner.

Bregon, Anibal↗

NASA NTRS1994

Height and altitude distribution of large volcanoes on Venus

Magellan data reveal 156 large volcanoes on Venus (greater than 100 km in diameter) which range in height from 300 m to 5.55 km, with an average height of 1.42 km. On the basis of theory it has been predicted that the development of neutral buoyancy zones (NBZ) on Venus and thus the resulting volcanic deposits are strongly influenced by the altitude-controlled variations in surface pressure. The distribution and height of these large volcanoes as a function of altitude was examined to begin to test these predications. Although large volcanoes are relatively uniformly distributed in altitude, there may be a slight paucity of volcanoes at the lowest elevations and a slight surplus at mid-altitudes. In addition, it is observed that the volcanoes at the highest altitudes tend to be the tallest. The observed distributions at low-mid altitudes is consistent with the prediction of NBZ theory. The high altitude distribution and heights, however, emphasize the necessity of considering other factors, such as tectonic setting, edifice age, magma supply, and thermal gradient, in describing the location and development of large volcanoes on Venus.

Keddie, S. T.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Space Technology 7 : Micropropulsion and Mass Distribution

The NASA New Millennium Program Space Technology 7 (ST7) project will validate technology for precision spacecraft control. The ST7 disturbance reduction system (DRS) will contain new micropropulsion technology to be flown as part of the European Space Agency's LISA (laser interferometer space antenna) Pathfinder project. After launch into a low Earth orbit in early 2010, the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft will be maneuvered to a halo orbit about the Earth-Sun LI Lagrange point for operations. The DRS will control the position of the spacecraft relative to a reference to an accuracy of one nanometer over time scales of several thousand seconds. To perform the control the spacecraft will use a new colloid thruster technology. The thrusters will operate over the range of 5 to 30 micro-Newtons with precision of 0.1 micro-Newton. The thrust will be generated by using a high electric field to extract charged droplets of a conducting colloid fluid and accelerating them with a precisely adjustable voltage. The control position reference will be provided by the European LISA Technology Package, which will include two nearly free-floating test masses. The test mass position and attitude will be sensed and adjusted using electrostatic capacitance bridges. The DRS will control the spacecraft position with respect to one test mass while minimizing disturbances on the second test mass. The dynamic control system will cover eighteen degrees of freedom, six for each of the test masses and six for the spacecraft. In the absence of other disturbances, the test masses will slowly gravitate toward local concentrations of spacecraft mass. The test mass acceleration must be minimized to maintain the acceleration of the enclosing drag-free spacecraft within the control authority of the micropropulsion system. Therefore, test mass acceleration must be predicted by accurate measurement of mass distribution, then offset by the placement of specially shaped balance masses near each test mass. The - acceleration is characterized by calculating the gravitational effect of over ten million modeled points of a nearly 500-kg spacecraft. This paper provides an overview of the mission technology and the process of precision mass modeling of the DRS equipment.

ST-7↗