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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 595 records · Page 33

Community Coordinated Modeling Center Support of Operations: Real-Time Simulations and V & V.

In support of Operations Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) performing validation and verification of space weather models. To identify suitable metrics the CCMC focus on parameters most useful to operations that CCMC resident models can provide. The real time simulations carried out at CCMC are an essential tool to test model performance and stability by using input conditions that may occur in nature at any time. Since 2001, the magnetospheric MHD model BATSRUS has been run in real time using ACE real time data. CCMC staff developed an experimental real-time system that controls uploading of the real-time ACE data, monitors continuous model execution, initiates automatic recovery procedure in case of data gaps or hardware failures, synchronizes BATSRUS and FRC runs, and periodically runs IDL based visualization software.

Kuznetsova, M.↗

Multi-channel System for Beat to Beat QT Interval Variability and its Use in Screening for Coronary Artery Disease and Cardiomyopathy

We investigated the ability of beat-to-beat QT interval variability (QTV) and related parameters to differentiate healthy individuals from patients with obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiomyopathy (CM). For this purpose we developed a PC-based ECG software program that in real time, acquires, analyzes and displays QTV in each of the eight independent channels that constitute the 12-lead conventional ECG. The system also analyzes and displays the QTV from QT interval signals that are derived from multiple channels and from singular value decomposition (SVD) to substantially reduce the effect of noise and other artifacts on the QTV results. It also provides other useful SVD-related parameters such as the normalized 3-dimensional volume of the T wave (nTV) = 100*(rho(sub 2)*rho(sub 3)rho(sub 1^2). Advanced high-fidelity 12-lead ECG tests (approx. 5-min supine) were first performed on a "training set" of 99 individuals: 33 with ischemic or dilated CM and low ejection fraction (EF less than 40%); 33 with catheterization-proven obstructive CAD but normal EF; and 33 age-/gender-matched healthy controls. All QTV parameters that were studied for their accuracy in detecting CM and CAD significantly differentiated both CM and CAD from controls (p less than 0.0001). Retrospective areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of SDNN-QTV, rmsSD-QTV, and QTV Index (QTVI) for CM vs. controls in the lead V5 were 0.85, 0.90, and 0.99, respectively, and those for CAD vs. controls in the lead II were 0.82, 0.82, and 0.89. Other advanced ECG parameters, such as HFQRS RAZ score, LF Lomb of RRV or QRS-T angle, differentiated both CM and CAD from controls less significantly, with the respective AUC values of 0.89, 0.88 and 0.98 for CM vs. controls, and 0.73, 0.71 and 0.80 for CAD vs. controls. QTV parameters (especially QTVI, which is QTV as indexed to RRV) were, diagnostically speaking, amongst the best performing of the advanced ECG techniques studied thus far.

Starc, V.↗

T-Slide Linear Actuators

T-slide linear actuators use gear bearing differential epicyclical transmissions (GBDETs) to directly drive a linear rack, which, in turn, performs the actuation. Conventional systems use a rotary power source in conjunction with a nut and screw to provide linear motion. Non-back-drive properties of GBDETs make the new actuator more direct and simpler. Versions of this approach will serve as a long-stroke, ultra-precision, position actuator for NASA science instruments, and as a rugged, linear actuator for NASA deployment duties. The T slide can operate effectively in the presence of side forces and torques. Versions of the actuator can perform ultra-precision positioning. A basic T-slide actuator is a long-stroke, rack-and-pinion linear actuator that, typically, consists of a T-slide, several idlers, a transmission to drive the slide (powered by an electric motor) and a housing that holds the entire assembly. The actuator is driven by gear action on its top surface, and is guided and constrained by gear-bearing idlers on its other two parallel surfaces. The geometry, implemented with gear-bearing technology, is particularly effective. An electronic motor operating through a GBDET can directly drive the T slide against large loads, as a rack and pinion linear actuator, with no break and no danger of back driving. The actuator drives the slide into position and stops. The slide holes position with power off and no brake, regardless of load. With the T slide configuration, this GBDET has an entire T-gear surface on which to operate. The GB idlers coupling the other two T slide parallel surfaces to their housing counterpart surfaces provide constraints in five degrees-of-freedom and rolling friction in the direction of actuation. Multiple GB idlers provide roller bearing strength sufficient to support efficient, rolling friction movement, even in the presence of large, resisting forces. T-slide actuators can be controlled using the combination of an off-the-shelf, electric servomotor, a motor angle resolution sensor (typically an encoder or resolver), and microprocessor-based intelligent software. In applications requiring precision positioning, it may be necessary to add strain gauges to the T-slide housing. Existing sensory- interactive motion control art will work for T slides. For open-loop positioning, a stepping motor emulation technique can be used.

Vranish, John↗

Use of a Microphone Phased Array to Determine Noise Sources in a Rocket Plume

A 70-element microphone phased array was used to identify noise sources in the plume of a solid rocket motor. An environment chamber was built and other precautions were taken to protect the sensitive condenser microphones from rain, thunderstorms and other environmental elements during prolonged stay in the outdoor test stand. A camera mounted at the center of the array was used to photograph the plume. In the first phase of the study the array was placed in an anechoic chamber for calibration, and validation of the indigenous Matlab(R) based beamform software. It was found that the "advanced" beamform methods, such as CLEAN-SC was partially successful in identifying speaker sources placed closer than the Rayleigh criteria. To participate in the field test all equipments were shipped to NASA Marshal Space Flight Center, where the elements of the array hardware were rebuilt around the test stand. The sensitive amplifiers and the data acquisition hardware were placed in a safe basement, and 100m long cables were used to connect the microphones, Kulites and the camera. The array chamber and the microphones were found to withstand the environmental elements as well as the shaking from the rocket plume generated noise. The beamform map was superimposed on a photo of the rocket plume to readily identify the source distribution. It was found that the plume made an exceptionally long, >30 diameter, noise source over a large frequency range. The shock pattern created spatial modulation of the noise source. Interestingly, the concrete pad of the horizontal test stand was found to be a good acoustic reflector: the beamform map showed two distinct source distributions- the plume and its reflection on the pad. The array was found to be most effective in the frequency range of 2kHz to 10kHz. As expected, the classical beamform method excessively smeared the noise sources at lower frequencies and produced excessive side-lobes at higher frequencies. The "advanced" beamform routine CLEAN-SC created a series of lumped sources which may be unphysical. We believe that the present effort is the first-ever attempt to directly measure noise source distribution in a rocket plume.

Panda, J.↗

Identifying Trends in Deep Space Network Monitor Data

A computer program has been developed that analyzes Deep Space Network monitor data, looking for changes of trends in critical parameters. This program represents a significant improvement over the previous practice of manually plotting data and visually inspecting the resulting graphs to identify trends. This program uses proven numerical techniques to identify trends. When a statistically significant trend is detected, then it is characterized by means of a symbol that can be used by pre-existing model-based reasoning software. The program can perform any of the following functions: Given an expectation that data in a given list should exhibit an upward, downward, constant, or unknown trend, it can determine whether the data do or do not follow such a trend. Given a list of data, it can identify which of the aforementioned trends the data follow. Given two lists of data, it can determine whether or not both follow the same trend. This program can be executed on a variety of computers. It can be distributed in either source code or binary code form. It must be run in conjunction with any one of a number of Lisp compilers that are available commercially or as shareware.

James, Mark↗

Peak Satellite-to-Earth Data Rates Derived From Measurements of a 20 Gbps Bread-Board Modem

A prototype data link using a Ka-band space qualified, high efficiency 200 W TWT amplifier and a bread-board modem emulator were created to explore the feasibility of very high speed communications in satellite-to-earth applications. Experiments were conducted using a DVB-S2-like waveform with modifications to support up to 20 Gbps through the addition of 128-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). Limited by the bandwidth of the amplifier, a constant peak symbol rate of 3.2 Giga-symbols/sec was selected and the modulation order was varied to explore what peak data rate might be supported by an RF link through this amplifier. Using 128-QAM, an implementation loss of 3 dB was observed at 20 Gbps, and the loss decreased as data rate or bandwidth were reduced. Building on this measured data, realistic link budget calculations were completed. Low-Earth orbit (LEO) missions based on this TWTA with reasonable hardware assumptions and antenna sizing are found to be bandwidth-limited, rather than power-limited, making the spectral efficiency of 9/10-rate encoded 128-QAM very attractive. Assuming a bandwidth allocation of 1 GHz, these computations indicate that low-Earth orbit vehicles could achieve data rates up to 5 Gbps-an order of magnitude beyond the current state-of-practice, yet still within the processing power of a current FPGA-based software-defined modem. The measured performance results and a description of the experimental setup are presented to support these conclusions.

Landon, David G.↗

Advanced Multifunctional MMOD Shield: Radiation Shielding Assessment

As NASA is looking to explore further into deep space, multifunctional materials are a necessity for decreasing complexity and mass. One area where multifunctional materials could be extremely beneficial is in the micrometeoroid orbital debris (MMOD) shield. A typical MMOD shield on the International Space Station (ISS) is a stuffed whipple shield consisting of multiple layers. One of those layers is the thermal blanket, or multi-layer insulation (MLI). By increasing the MMOD effectiveness of MLI blankets, while still preserving their thermal capabilities, could allow for a less massive MMOD shield. Thus, a study was conducted to evaluate concept MLI blankets for MMOD shields. In conjunction, these MLI blankets and the subsequent MMOD shields were also evaluated for their radiation shielding effectiveness towards protecting crew. These concepts were evaluated against the ISS MLI blankets and the ISS MMOD shield, which acted as the baseline. These radiation shielding assessments were performed using the high charge and energy transport software (HZETRN). This software is based on a one-dimensional formula of the Boltzmann transport equation with a straight-ahead approximation. Each configuration was evaluated against the following environments to provide a diverse view of radiation shielding effectiveness in most space environments within the heliosphere: August 1972 solar particle event, October 1989 solar particle event, 1982 galactic cosmic ray environment (during solar maximum), 1987 galactic cosmic ray environment (during solar minimum), and a low earth orbit environment in 1970 that corresponded to an altitude of 400 km and inclination of 51.6 . Both the absorbed dose and the dose equivalent were analyzed, but the focus of the discussion was on the dose equivalent since the data is most concerned with radiation shielding of the crew. The following paper outlines the evaluations performed and discusses the results and conclusions of this evaluation for radiation shielding effectiveness. Future work will focus on optimizing the radiation shielding properties for the MMOD shield. Submission

Rojdev, Kristina↗

Dynamic Weather Routes Architecture Overview

Dynamic Weather Routes Architecture Overview, presents the high level software architecture of DWR, based on the CTAS software framework and the Direct-To automation tool. The document also covers external and internal data flows, required dataset, changes to the Direct-To software for DWR, collection of software statistics, and the code structure.

DWR↗

Computations on Wings With Full-Span Oscillating Control Surfaces Using Navier-Stokes Equations

A dual-level parallel procedure is presented for computing large databases to support aerospace vehicle design. This procedure has been developed as a single Unix script within the Parallel Batch Submission environment utilizing MPIexec and runs MPI based analysis software. It has been developed to provide a process for aerospace designers to generate data for large numbers of cases with the highest possible fidelity and reasonable wall clock time. A single job submission environment has been created to avoid keeping track of multiple jobs and the associated system administration overhead. The process has been demonstrated for computing large databases for the design of typical aerospace configurations, a launch vehicle and a rotorcraft.

Equations↗

Application of SAE ARP4754A to Flight Critical Systems

This report documents applications of ARP4754A to the development of modern computer-based (i.e., digital electronics, software and network-based) aircraft systems. This study is to offer insight and provide educational value relative to the guidelines in ARP4754A and provide an assessment of the current state-of-the- practice within industry and regulatory bodies relative to development assurance for complex and safety-critical computer-based aircraft systems.

Peterson, Eric M.↗

An EPIC Tale of the Quiescent Particle Background

Extended Source Analysis Software Use Based Empirical Investigation: (1) Builds quiescent particle background (QPB) spectra and images for observations of extended sources that fill (or mostly fill) the FOV i.e., annular background subtraction won't work. (2) Uses a combination of Filter Wheel Closed (FWC) and corner data to capture the spectral, spatial, and temporal variation of the quiescent particle background. New Work: (1) Improved understanding of the QPB (aided by adding a whole lot of data since 2008). (2) Significantly improved statistics (did I mention a LOT more data?). (3) Better characterization and identification of anomalous states. (4) Builds backgrounds for some anomalous state. (5) New efficient method for non-anomalous states.

Snowden, S.L.↗

Astrobiology Survey of a Lava Cave at Lava Beds National Monument by a Rover Carrying a Remote Sensing Instrument Payload

We report here on a survey of a lava tube cave by a rover that is instrumented for astrobiology missions. The NASA Ames testbed rover, CaveR, was deployed in Valentine Cave in Lava Beds National Monument (N. CA, USA) during August of 2018. The rover carried an instrument package consisting of Near Infrared and Visible Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) a point spectrometer operating in 1590-3400 nm range, sensitive to H2O and -OH bearing minerals, pyroxenes, and carbonates (Roush, et al 2018); the bore sighted Drill Operations Camera (DOC), a monochrome imager illuminated by LEDs at 410, 540, 640, 740, 905 and 940 nm; a Realsense ™ depth sensor system for 3D model generation; and a high resolution DSLR stereo camera. The payload was mounted on a tiltable instrument platform attached to the left side of the rover. The rover was driven manually in the cave by field operators, following instructions from a remote science operations team, and simulating a mission concept with science-guided autonomy. A simulated mission took place for 3 days with a team of 3 scientists selecting targets and interpreting data from the payload. To begin the mission, the rover drove along one wall of the cave imaging continuously with the Realsense in 20 m cave segments, three total. At the start of each day, the images from a 20m segment and a panorama stitched from them were provided to the science team to examine. The science team used these data to prioritize specific points along the cave wall for the collection of NIRVSS, DOC, and DSLR data. The objective of the data collection was to identify and study putative biological and mineralogical features in the cave. The data were delivered in xGDS, a customized mapping, planning, and data base management software developed at NASA Ames (Lee, et al 2013). Once the targets for further observations were selected, a plan for collecting the observations (positions in the cave and pointing for each requested observation) was constructed using xGDS and delivered to a rover team to execute the science data collection plan. Acquired data were delivered back to the science team for analysis. Preliminary results from the experiment illustrate the utility of the system (rover plus payload) to study the cave geology and mineralogy and its potential for identifying biomineral features.

Wong, Uland↗

On-Orbit Validation of a Framework for Spacecraft-Initiated Communication Service Requests with NASA's SCaN Testbed

We design, analyze, and experimentally validate a framework for demand-based allocation of high-performance space communication service in which the user spacecraft itself initiates a request for service. Leveraging machine-to-machine communications, the automated process has potential to improve the responsiveness and efficiency of space network operations. We propose an augmented ground station architecture in which a hemispherical-pattern antenna allows for reception of service requests sent from any user spacecraft within view. A suite of ground-based automation software acts upon these direct-to-Earth requests and allocates access to high-performance service through a ground station or relay satellite in response to immediate user demand. A software-defined radio transceiver, optimized for reception of weak signals from the helical antenna, is presented. Design and testing of signal processing equipment and a software framework to handle service requests is discussed. Preliminary results from on-orbit demonstrations with a testbed onboard the International Space Station are presented to verify feasibility of the concept.

Adam M Gannon↗

Autonomous Nanosatellite Swarming (ANS) Using Radio Frequency and Optical Navigation

The Autonomous Nanosatellite Swarming (ANS) subsystem is a dynamics, guidance, navigation, and control software unit based on commercial-off-the-shelf avionics, which is distributed and deployed on a cluster of cooperative nanosatellites to enable future exploration missions to near-Earth objects (NEOs). ANS allows multiple nanosatellites to act together as a single large spacecraft through radio-frequency (RF) cross-links, optical navigation, and low-thrust control. In particular, ANS-equipped nanosatellites can utilize images of a NEO taken from multiple viewpoints to achieve stereo-vision capabilities and characterize the target body’s shape, gravity field, and dynamical properties. All this is enabled by the fusion of major advances to the state of the art in the astrodynamics of relative motion, RF and vision-based navigation, as well as low-thrust control.

Simone D'Amico↗