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Results for “slope errors”

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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Surface finish quality of the outer AXAF mirror pair based on X-ray measurements of the VETA-I

We employ the X-ray measurements of the VETA-I taken at the X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to extract information about the surface finish quality of the outermost pair of AXAF mirrors. The particular measurements we consider are 1D scans of the core of the point response function (PRF) (FWHM scans), the encircled energy as a function of radius, and 1D scans of the wings of the PRF. We discuss briefly our raytrace model which incorporates the numerous effects present in the VETA-I test, such as the finite source distance, the size and shape of the X-ray source, the residual gravitational distortions of the optic, the despace of the VETA-I, and particulate contamination. We show how the data constrain the amplitude of mirror surface deviations for spatial frequencies greater than about 0.1/mm. Constraints on the average amplitude of circumferential slope errors are derived as well.

Hughes, John P.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Innovative Liner Concepts: Experiments and Impedance Modeling of Liners Including the Effect of Bias Flow

The study of normal impedance of perforated plate acoustic liners including the effect of bias flow was studied. Two impedance models were developed by modeling the internal flows of perforate orifices as infinite tubes with the inclusion of end corrections to handle finite length effects. These models assumed incompressible and compressible flows, respectively, between the far field and the perforate orifice. The incompressible model was used to predict impedance results for perforated plates with percent open areas ranging from 5% to 15%. The predicted resistance results showed better agreement with experiments for the higher percent open area samples. The agreement also tended to deteriorate as bias flow was increased. For perforated plates with percent open areas ranging from 1% to 5%, the compressible model was used to predict impedance results. The model predictions were closer to the experimental resistance results for the 2% to 3% open area samples. The predictions tended to deteriorate as bias flow was increased. The reactance results were well predicted by the models for the higher percent open area, but deteriorated as the percent open area was lowered (5%) and bias flow was increased. A fit was done on the incompressible model to the experimental database. The fit was performed using an optimization routine that found the optimal set of multiplication coefficients to the non-dimensional groups that minimized the least squares slope error between predictions and experiments. The result of the fit indicated that terms not associated with bias flow required a greater degree of correction than the terms associated with the bias flow. This model improved agreement with experiments by nearly 15% for the low percent open area (5%) samples when compared to the unfitted model. The fitted model and the unfitted model performed equally well for the higher percent open area (10% and 15%).

Kelly, Jeff↗
NASA NTRS1980

Achievable flatness in a large microwave power transmitting antenna

A dual reference SPS system with pseudoisotropic graphite composite as a representative dimensionally stable composite was studied. The loads, accelerations, thermal environments, temperatures and distortions were calculated for a variety of operational SPS conditions along with statistical considerations of material properties, manufacturing tolerances, measurement accuracy and the resulting loss of sight (LOS) and local slope distributions. A LOS error and a subarray rms slope error of two arc minutes can be achieved with a passive system. Results show that existing materials measurement, manufacturing, assembly and alignment techniques can be used to build the microwave power transmission system antenna structure. Manufacturing tolerance can be critical to rms slope error. The slope error budget can be met with a passive system. Structural joints without free play are essential in the assembly of the large truss structure. Variations in material properties, particularly for coefficient of thermal expansion from part to part, is more significant than actual value.

Ried, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Modeling of terrain gradient for stochastically spaced rows of a measurement matrix

Terrain gradients are employed to evaluate passable regions for unmanned martian roving vehicle. Range data matrix is displaced randomly row wise at the shallow elevation angles near the skyline. The magnitude of the measurement noise in the elevation angles can approach that of the spacing of the same angle. By using a variable incremental data spacing scanning scheme, one can estimate this signal noise ratio. It is found that the error in slope estimate at far distance becomes large for a given elevation angle error. Evaluation of the in-path slopes can be expressed in terms of the inverse of the range slopes. This is because of the fact that the elevation angle is considered as a random variable while the range data are relatively less noisy. An error analysis is performed and it is found that the change of slope is a nonlinear function of the error in elevation angle.

Mediavilla, R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Stochastic estimates of gradient from laser measurements for an autonomous Martian roving vehicle

The general problem of estimating the state vector x from the state equation h = Ax where h, A, and x are all stochastic, is presented. Specifically, the problem is for an autonomous Martian roving vehicle to utilize laser measurements in estimating the gradient of the terrain. Error exists due to two factors - surface roughness and instrumental measurements. The errors in slope depend on the standard deviations of these noise factors. Numerically, the error in gradient is expressed as a function of instrumental inaccuracies. Certain guidelines for the accuracy of permissable gradient must be set. It is found that present technology can meet these guidelines.

Burger, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Stochastic estimates of gradient from laser measurements for an autonomous Martian Roving Vehicle

The general problem presented in this paper is one of estimating the state vector x from the state equation h = Ax, where h, A, and x are all stochastic. Specifically, the problem is for an autonomous Martian Roving Vehicle to utilize laser measurements in estimating the gradient of the terrain. Error exists due to two factors - surface roughness and instrumental measurements. The errors in slope depend on the standard deviations of these noise factors. Numerically, the error in gradient is expressed as a function of instrumental inaccuracies. Certain guidelines for the accuracy of permissable gradient must be set. It is found that present technology can meet these guidelines.-

Shen, C. N.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Derivation of formulas for root-mean-square errors in location, orientation, and shape in triangulation solution of an elongated object in space

Formulas are derived for the root-mean-square (rms) displacement, slope, and curvature errors in an azimuth-elevation image trace of an elongated object in space, as functions of the number and spacing of the input data points and the rms elevation error in the individual input data points from a single observation station. Also, formulas are derived for the total rms displacement, slope, and curvature error vectors in the triangulation solution of an elongated object in space due to the rms displacement, slope, and curvature errors, respectively, in the azimuth-elevation image traces from different observation stations. The total rms displacement, slope, and curvature error vectors provide useful measure numbers for determining the relative merits of two or more different triangulation procedures applicable to elongated objects in space.

Long, S. A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Satellite radar altimetry over ice. Volume 1: Processing and corrections of Seasat data over Greenland

The data-processing methods and ice data products derived from Seasat radar altimeter measurements over the Greenland ice sheet and surrounding sea ice are documented. The corrections derived and applied to the Seasat radar altimeter data over ice are described in detail, including the editing and retracking algorithm to correct for height errors caused by lags in the automatic range tracking circuit. The methods for radial adjustment of the orbits and estimation of the slope-induced errors are given.

Zwally, H. Jay↗
NASA NTRS1975

The effect of measurement errors and computational approximations on a perspective ILM radar image

The effect was examined of aircraft position and attitude, of measurement errors, and of computational approximations on the size, shape, and position of a perspective radar image of an airport runway as might be displayed by an independent landing monitor in transport aircraft. The effect on runway image geometry was examined for different aircraft attitudes and different aircraft positions relative to a standard three degree glide slope. Measurement errors investigated were errors in radar azimuth angle and range, and errors in those aircraft parameters supplied to the radar for use in converting the radar image into a perspective format (namely pitch, roll, and altitude). Also investigated were the effects of using certain mathematical approximations, such as small angle, in the coordinate transformation which converts the image to a perspective format.

Bundick, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Comparison of full-aperture interferometry to sub-aperture stitched interferometry for a large diameter fast mirror

The Herschel Space Observatory (formerly known as FIRST) consists of a 3.5 m space telescope. Stitching sub aperture interferograms may offer considerable cost savings during testing of the flight telescope as compared to other techniques. A comparative demonstration is presented of interferogram stitching techniques that enable a composite map of a 3-D surface to be assembled from a sequence of sub-aperture measurements. This paper describes the fundamental procedures for stitching together component data sets and demonstrates such techniques with real data sets.

carbon fiber composite cryogenic optics high slope↗
NASA NTRS2008

Linear FMCW Laser Radar for Precision Range and Vector Velocity Measurements

An all fiber linear frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) coherent laser radar system is under development with a goal to aide NASA s new Space Exploration initiative for manned and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. By employing a combination of optical heterodyne and linear frequency modulation techniques and utilizing state-of-the-art fiber optic technologies, highly efficient, compact and reliable laser radar suitable for operation in a space environment is being developed. Linear FMCW lidar has the capability of high-resolution range measurements, and when configured into a multi-channel receiver system it has the capability of obtaining high precision horizontal and vertical velocity measurements. Precision range and vector velocity data are beneficial to navigating planetary landing pods to the preselected site and achieving autonomous, safe soft-landing. The all-fiber coherent laser radar has several important advantages over more conventional pulsed laser altimeters or range finders. One of the advantages of the coherent laser radar is its ability to measure directly the platform velocity by extracting the Doppler shift generated from the motion, as opposed to time of flight range finders where terrain features such as hills, cliffs, or slopes add error to the velocity measurement. Doppler measurements are about two orders of magnitude more accurate than the velocity estimates obtained by pulsed laser altimeters. In addition, most of the components of the device are efficient and reliable commercial off-the-shelf fiber optic telecommunication components. This paper discusses the design and performance of a second-generation brassboard system under development at NASA Langley Research Center as part of the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance (ALHAT) project.

Pierrottet, Diego↗
NASA NTRS2002

Sparse matrix wavefront reconstruction: simulations and experiments

Adaptive optics systems with Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors require reconstruction of the atmospheric phase error from slope measurements, with every sensor in the array being used in the computation of each actuator command. This fully populated reconstruction matrix can result in a significant computational burden for adaptive optics systems with large numbers of actuators. A method for generating sparse wavefront reconstruction matrices for adaptive optics isproposed. The method exploits the relevance of nearby slope measurements for control of an individual actuator, and relies upon the limited extent of the influence function for a zonal deformable mirror. Relying only on nearby sensor information can significantly reduce the calculation time for wavefront reconstruction. In addition, a hierarchic controller is proposed to recover some of the global wavefront information. The performance of these sparse wavefront reconstruction matrices was evaluated in simulation, and tested on the Palomar Adaptive Optics System. This paper will present some initial results from the simulations and experiments.

space↗
NASA NTRS2002

Bench top interferometric test bed for LISA

Adaptive optics systems with Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors require reconstruction of the atmospheric phase error from slope measurements, with every sensor in the array being used in the computation of each actuator command. This fully populated reconstruction matrix can result in a significant computational burden for adaptive optics systems with large numbers of actuators. A method for generating sparse wavefront reconstruction matrices for adaptive optics is proposed. The method exploits the relevance of nearby slope measurements for control of an individual actuator, and relies upon the limited extent of the influence function for a zonal deformable mirror. Relying only on nearby sensor information can significantly reduce the calculation time for wavefront reconstruction. In addition, a hierarchic controller is proposed to recover some of the global wavefront information. The performance of these sparse wavefront reconstruction matrices was evaluated in simulation, and tested on the Palomar Adaptive Optics System. This paper will present some initial results from the simulations and experiments.

LISA↗
NASA NTRS1983

Influence of modulation frequency in rubidium cell frequency standards

The error signal which is used to control the frequency of the quartz crystal oscillator of a passive rubidium cell frequency standard is considered. The value of the slope of this signal, for an interrogation frequency close to the atomic transition frequency is calculated and measured for various phase (or frequency) modulation waveforms, and for several values of the modulation frequency. A theoretical analysis is made using a model which applies to a system in which the optical pumping rate, the relaxation rates and the RF field are homogeneous. Results are given for sine-wave phase modulation, square-wave frequency modulation and square-wave phase modulation. The influence of the modulation frequency on the slope of the error signal is specified. It is shown that the modulation frequency can be chosen as large as twice the non-saturated full-width at half-maximum without a drastic loss of the sensitivity to an offset of the interrogation frequency from center line, provided that the power saturation factor and the amplitude of modulation are properly adjusted.

Audoin, C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Performance Metrics for the Assessment of Satellite Data Products: An Ocean Color Case Study

Performance assessment of ocean color satellite data has generally relied on statistical metrics chosen for their common usage and the rationale for selecting certain metrics is infrequently explained. Commonly reported statistics based on mean squared errors, such as the coefficient of determination (r2), root mean square error, and regression slopes, are most appropriate for Gaussian distributions without outliers and, therefore, are often not ideal for ocean color algorithm performance assessment, which is often limited by sample availability. In contrast, metrics based on simple deviations, such as bias and mean absolute error, as well as pair-wise comparisons, often provide more robust and straightforward quantities for evaluating ocean color algorithms with non-Gaussian distributions and outliers. This study uses a SeaWiFS chlorophyll-a validation data set to demonstrate a framework for satellite data product assessment and recommends a multimetric and user-dependent approach that can be applied within science, modeling, and resource management communities.

remote sensing↗
NASA NTRS1990

Cophasing segmented mirrors with large surface errors using physical and geometrical ray-based techniques

Phasing an array with steep slopes and large surface errors, such as in NASA's Precision Segmented Reflector (PSR) Program for submillimeter astrophysics, is difficult using conventional optical techniques because the surface errors on the panels are large as compared with optical wavelengths. This paper extrapolates a procedure proposed by the Keck Observatory whereby physical optical techniques phase the edges of the panels, but with this technique they are phased with respect to a reference surface obtained from a high-quality central panel. A full-surface height-map is thereby obtained by integrating slope measurements, and full-surface phasing can be achieved using the modified and conventional Shack-Hartmann camera.

Manhart, Paul K.↗