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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Expert systems for automated maintenance of a Mars oxygen production system

A prototype expert system was developed for maintaining autonomous operation of a Mars oxygen production system. Normal operation conditions and failure modes according to certain desired criteria are tested and identified. Several schemes for failure detection and isolation using forward chaining, backward chaining, knowledge-based and rule-based are devised to perform several housekeeping functions. These functions include self-health checkout, an emergency shut down program, fault detection and conventional control activities. An effort was made to derive the dynamic model of the system using Bond-Graph technique in order to develop the model-based failure detection and isolation scheme by estimation method. Finally, computer simulations and experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of the expert system and a preliminary reliability analysis for the oxygen production system is also provided.

Ash, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Successful expert systems for space shuttle payload integration

Expert systems are successfully applied to solve recurring NASA Space Shuttle orbiter payload integration problems. Recurrence of these problems is the result of each Space Shuttle mission being unique. The NASA Space Shuttle orbiter was designed to be extremely flexible in its ability to handle many types and combinations of satellites and experiments. This flexibility results in different and unique engineering resource requirements for each of the payload satellites and experiments. The first successful expert system to be applied to these problems was the Orbiter Payload Bay Cabling Expert System (EXCABL), developed at Rockwell International Space Transportation Systems Division. The operational version of EXCABL was delivered in 1986 and successfully solved the payload electrical support services cabling layout problem. As a result of this success, a second expert system, Expert Drawing Matching System (EXMATCH), was developed to generate a list of the reusable installation drawings available for each EXCABL solution. EXMATCH went operational in 1987. As a result of these initial successes, the need for a third expert system was defined and is awaiting development. This new Expert System, called Technical Order Listing Expert System (EXTOL), will generate a list of all the applicable reusable installation drawings available to support the total payload bay mission provisioning and installation effort. This paper describes these expert systems, the individual problems that they were designed to solve, their individual solutions, and the degree of success achieved. These expert systems' instantiate the applicability of this technology to the solution of real-world Space Shuttle payload integration problems.

Morris, Keith↗
NASA NTRS1988

Spacecraft environmental anomalies expert system

A microcomputer-based expert system is being developed at the Aerospace Corporation Space Sciences Laboratory to assist in the diagnosis of satellite anomalies caused by the space environment. The expert system is designed to address anomalies caused by surface charging, bulk charging, single event effects and total radiation dose. These effects depend on the orbit of the satellite, the local environment (which is highly variable), the satellite exposure time and the hardness of the circuits and components of the satellite. The expert system is a rule-based system that uses the Texas Instruments Personal Consultant Plus expert system shell. The completed expert system knowledge base will include 150 to 200 rules, as well as a spacecraft attributes database, an historical spacecraft anomalies database, and a space environment database which is updated in near real-time. Currently, the expert system is undergoing development and testing within the Aerospace Corporation Space Sciences Laboratory.

Koons, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The emergence of multi-user expert systems

There exists a set of problems for which the single user workstation is not a viable solution. In some cases, it may be necessary for the system to support numerous experts working on different aspects of a single logical activity concurrently. In others, the activity may extend over a prolonged period of time during which different experts will work on different phases of the project to produce a single integrated result. Another possibility is that the results produced by the expert system must be continuously available to some group other than that actively exercising the expert system. These are the types of applications which require multiuser expert systems. The nature of NASA tends to produce expert system domains which are inherently multiuser. It is these domains that this new class of expert systems has first been encountered. As expert systems move into the main stream of large scale engineering projects, these encounters will become more frequent. A need for expert system building tools which can accommodate the unique properties of these multiuser domains as they emerge is a problem which needs to be addressed as the current set of tools migrate to time sharing environments, and as new tools are developed.

Freeman, Michael S.↗
NASA NTRS1988

An expert system for cogeneration energy system selection

A demonstration expert system has been developed which assists engineers in cogeneration energy system selection by asking them such applications-related questions as the desired electrical and thermal loads, fuel price, and electric rates. The answers given will be interfaced with the expert system's knowledge base to recommend candidate systems. Attention is given to expert system use results obtained for a sample site; their suitability is compared to that of the detailed results obtained by an earlier cogeneration system study.

Birur, G. C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Threat expert system technology advisor

A prototype expert system was developed to determine the feasibility of using expert system technology to enhance the performance and survivability of helicopter pilots in a combat threat environment while flying NOE (Nap of the Earth) missions. The basis for the concept is the potential of using an Expert System Advisor to reduce the extreme overloading of the pilot who flies NOE mission below treetop level at approximately 40 knots while performing several other functions. The ultimate goal is to develop a Threat Expert System Advisor which provides threat information and advice that are better than even a highly experienced copilot. The results clearly show that the NOE pilot needs all the help in decision aiding and threat situation awareness that he can get. It clearly shows that heuristics are important and that an expert system for combat NOE helicopter missions can be of great help to the pilot in complex threat situations and in making decisions.

Kurrasch, E. R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The nutrition advisor expert system

The Nutrition Advisor Expert System (NAES) is an expert system written in the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS). NAES provides expert knowledge and guidance into the complex world of nutrition management by capturing the knowledge of an expert and placing it at the user's fingertips. Specifically, NAES enables the user to: (1) obtain precise nutrition information for food items; (2) perform nutritional analysis of meal(s), flagging deficiencies based upon the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances; (3) predict possible ailments based upon observed nutritional deficiency trends; (4) obtain a top ten listing of food items for a given nutrient; and (5) conveniently upgrade the data base. An explanation facility for the ailment prediction feature is also provided to document the reasoning process.

Huse, Scott M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

An hierarchical approach to performance evaluation of expert systems

The number and size of expert systems is growing rapidly. Formal evaluation of these systems - which is not performed for many systems - increases the acceptability by the user community and hence their success. Hierarchical evaluation that had been conducted for computer systems is applied for expert system performance evaluation. Expert systems are also evaluated by treating them as software systems (or programs). This paper reports many of the basic concepts and ideas in the Performance Evaluation of Expert Systems Study being conducted at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

Dominick, Wayne D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Considerations in development of expert systems for real-time space applications

Over the years, demand on space systems has increased tremendously and this trend will continue for the near future. Enhanced capabilities of space systems, however, can only be met with increased complexity and sophistication of onboard and ground systems. Artificial Intelligence and expert system techniques have great potential in space applications. Expert systems could facilitate autonomous decision making, improve in-orbit fault diagnosis and repair, enhance performance and reduce reliance on ground support. However, real-time expert systems, unlike conventional off-line consultative systems, have to satisfy certain special stringent requirements before they could be used for onboard space applications. Challenging and interesting new environments are faced while developing expert system space applications. This paper discusses the special characteristics, requirements and typical life cycle issues for onboard expert systems. Further, it also describes considerations in design, development, and implementation which are particularly important to real-time expert systems for space applications.

Murugesan, S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Risk management and expert system development methodology

A risk-based expert-system development methodology has been developed to provide guidance to managers and technical personnel and to serve as a standard for developing expert systems. Expert-system development differs from conventional software development in that the information needed to prepare system requirements for expert systems is not known at the outset of a project and is obtained by knowledge engineering methods. The paper describes the expert-system life cycle, development methodology, and the approach taken in this methodology to manage and reduce the risks in expert system development. Also examined are the risks of using and of not using a methodology, the studies undertaken to validate the provisions of the expert system development methodology, and the results of these validation studies.

Hull, Larry↗
NASA NTRS1989

Space Shuttle telemetry monitoring by expert systems in mission control

The development of two real-time expert systems for making flight-critical decisions during Space Shuttle missions is discussed. The expert systems, which monitor Space Shuttle communications and the Shuttle main engines, were first used in the STS-26 mission. The NASA Mission Control Center information systems are described. Consideration is given to the use of the C language inference production system expert system tool to develop the integrated communications officer (INCO) expert system, which monitors the Shuttle communications and data systems. The layered architecture of the INCO expert system is examined and results are presented from the use of the INCO expert system during Shuttle missions.

Muratore, John F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Expert System Development Methodology (ESDM)

The Expert System Development Methodology (ESDM) provides an approach to developing expert system software. Because of the uncertainty associated with this process, an element of risk is involved. ESDM is designed to address the issue of risk and to acquire the information needed for this purpose in an evolutionary manner. ESDM presents a life cycle in which a prototype evolves through five stages of development. Each stage consists of five steps, leading to a prototype for that stage. Development may proceed to a conventional development methodology (CDM) at any time if enough has been learned about the problem to write requirements. ESDM produces requirements so that a product may be built with a CDM. ESDM is considered preliminary because is has not yet been applied to actual projects. It has been retrospectively evaluated by comparing the methods used in two ongoing expert system development projects that did not explicitly choose to use this methodology but which provided useful insights into actual expert system development practices and problems.

Sary, Charisse↗
NASA NTRS1988

Heat exchanger demonstration expert system

A real-time expert system intended for detecting and diagnosing faults in a 20 kW microwave transmitter heat exchanger is described. The expert system was developed on a LISP machine, Incorporated (LMI), Lambda Plus computer using Process Intelligent Control (PICON) software. The Heat Exhanger Expert System was tested and debugged. Future applications and extensions of the expert system to transmitters, masers, and antenna subassemblies are discussed.

Bagby, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

CLIPS: An expert system building tool

The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is an expert system building tool, which provides a complete environment for the development and delivery of rule and/or object based expert systems. CLIPS was specifically designed to provide a low cost option for developing and deploying expert system applications across a wide range of hardware platforms. The commercial potential of CLIPS is vast. Currently, CLIPS is being used by over 3,300 individuals throughout the public and private sector. Because the CLIPS source code is readily available, numerous groups have used CLIPS as a basis for their own expert system tools. To date, three commercially available tools have been derived from CLIPS. In general, the development of CLIPS has helped to improve the ability to deliver expert system technology throughout the public and private sectors for a wide range of applications and diverse computing environments.

Riley, Gary↗
NASA NTRS1988

A parallel expert system for the control of a robotic air vehicle

Expert systems can be used to govern the intelligent control of vehicles, for example the Robotic Air Vehicle (RAV). Due to the nature of the RAV system the associated expert system needs to perform in a demanding real-time environment. The use of a parallel processing capability to support the associated expert system's computational requirement is critical in this application. Thus, algorithms for parallel real-time expert systems must be designed, analyzed, and synthesized. The design process incorporates a consideration of the rule-set/face-set size along with representation issues. These issues are looked at in reference to information movement and various inference mechanisms. Also examined is the process involved with transporting the RAV expert system functions from the TI Explorer, where they are implemented in the Automated Reasoning Tool (ART), to the iPSC Hypercube, where the system is synthesized using Concurrent Common LISP (CCLISP). The transformation process for the ART to CCLISP conversion is described. The performance characteristics of the parallel implementation of these expert systems on the iPSC Hypercube are compared to the TI Explorer implementation.

Shakley, Donald↗
NASA NTRS1988

Optimization of low gravity materials processing experiments using expert systems

The use of an expert system for the control of materials processing experiments in a facility such as the Space Station provides a number of attractive features for insuring that certain critical process parameters can be used to optimize the productivity of the materials processing experiments. The proposed approach to implementation of an expert system utilizes a knowledge base of desired process characteristics which will provide the desired results. The knowledge base for each experiment will be created in conjunction with the scientific investigator in charge of the experiment. Improvements to the knowledge base will be expanded to include self learning sessions in ground based experiments in order to teach the expert system how to respond to perturbations in the process and update the knowledge base on what process change should be implemented in order to reach the desired end product. Design considerations using an on-line real time expert system such as PICON is studied. The types of experiments evaluated include several types of solidification experiments which will be performed on the Space Station.

Workman, Gary L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Development experience with a simple expert system demonstrator for pilot emergency procedures

Expert system techniques, a major application area of artificial intelligence (AI), are examined in the development of pilot associate to handle aircraft emergency procedures. The term pilot associate is used to describe research involving expert systems that can assist the pilot in the cockpit. The development of expert systems for the electrical system and flight control system emergency procedures are discussed. A simple, high-level expert system provides the means to choose which knowledge domain is needed. The expert systems were developed on a low-cost, FORTH-based package, using a personal computer.

Vannorman, M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Three CLIPS-based expert systems for solving engineering problems

We have written three expert systems, using the CLIPS PC-based expert system shell. These three expert systems are rule based and are relatively small, with the largest containing slightly less than 200 rules. The first expert system is an expert assistant that was written to help users of the ASPEN computer code choose the proper thermodynamic package to use with their particular vapor-liquid equilibrium problem. The second expert system was designed to help petroleum engineers choose the proper enhanced oil recovery method to be used with a given reservoir. The effectiveness of each technique is highly dependent upon the reservoir conditions. The third expert system is a combination consultant and control system. This system was designed specifically for silicon carbide whisker growth. Silicon carbide whiskers are an extremely strong product used to make ceramic and metal composites. The manufacture of whiskers is a very complicated process. which to date. has defied a good mathematical model. The process was run by experts who had gained their expertise by trial and error. A system of rules was devised by these experts both for procedure setup and for the process control. In this paper we discuss the three problem areas of the design, development and evaluation of the CLIPS-based programs.

Parkinson, W. J.↗