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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 613 records · Page 34

Real-time decision aiding - Aircraft guidance for wind shear avoidance

Modern control theory and artificial intelligence technology are applied to the Wind Shear Safety Advisor, a conceptual airborne advisory system to help flight crews avoid or survive encounter with hazardous low-altitude wind shear. Numerical and symbolic processes of the system fuse diverse, time-varying data from ground-based and airborne measurements. Simulated wind-shear-encounter scenarios illustrate the need to consider a variety of factors for optimal decision reliability. The wind-shear-encounter simulations show the Wind Shear Safety Advisor's potential for effectively integrating the available information, highlighting the benefits of the computational techniques employed.

Stratton, D. A.↗

A fundamental study of suction for Laminar Flow Control (LFC)

This report covers the period forming the first year of the project. The aim is to experimentally investigate the effects of suction as a technique for Laminar Flow Control. Experiments are to be performed which require substantial modifications to be made to the experimental facility. Considerable effort has been spent developing new high performance constant temperature hot-wire anemometers for general purpose use in the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory. Twenty instruments have been delivered. An important feature of the facility is that it is totally automated under computer control. Unprecedently large quantities of data can be acquired and the results examined using the visualization tools developed specifically for studying the results of numerical simulations on graphics works stations. The experiment must be run for periods of up to a month at a time since the data is collected on a point-by-point basis. Several techniques were implemented to reduce the experimental run-time by a significant factor. Extra probes have been constructed and modifications have been made to the traverse hardware and to the real-time experimental code to enable multiple probes to be used. This will reduce the experimental run-time by the appropriate factor. Hot-wire calibration drift has been a frustrating problem owing to the large range of ambient temperatures experienced in the laboratory. The solution has been to repeat the calibrations at frequent intervals. However the calibration process has consumed up to 40 percent of the run-time. A new method of correcting the drift is very nearly finalized and when implemented it will also lead to a significant reduction in the experimental run-time.

Watmuff, Jonathan H.↗

On recursive least-squares filtering algorithms and implementations

In many real-time signal processing applications, fast and numerically stable algorithms for solving least-squares problems are necessary and important. In particular, under non-stationary conditions, these algorithms must be able to adapt themselves to reflect the changes in the system and take appropriate adjustments to achieve optimum performances. Among existing algorithms, the QR-decomposition (QRD)-based recursive least-squares (RLS) methods have been shown to be useful and effective for adaptive signal processing. In order to increase the speed of processing and achieve high throughput rate, many algorithms are being vectorized and/or pipelined to facilitate high degrees of parallelism. A time-recursive formulation of RLS filtering employing block QRD will be considered first. Several methods, including a new non-continuous windowing scheme based on selectively rejecting contaminated data, were investigated for adaptive processing. Based on systolic triarrays, many other forms of systolic arrays are shown to be capable of implementing different algorithms. Various updating and downdating systolic algorithms and architectures for RLS filtering are examined and compared in details, which include Householder reflector, Gram-Schmidt procedure, and Givens rotation. A unified approach encompassing existing square-root-free algorithms is also proposed. For the sinusoidal spectrum estimation problem, a judicious method of separating the noise from the signal is of great interest. Various truncated QR methods are proposed for this purpose and compared to the truncated SVD method. Computer simulations provided for detailed comparisons show the effectiveness of these methods. This thesis deals with fundamental issues of numerical stability, computational efficiency, adaptivity, and VLSI implementation for the RLS filtering problems. In all, various new and modified algorithms and architectures are proposed and analyzed; the significance of any of the new method depends crucially on specific application.

Hsieh, Shih-Fu↗

Global Temperature and Salinity Pilot Project

Data exchange and data management programs have been evolving over many years. Within the international community there are two main programs to support the exchange, management and processing of real time and delayed mode data. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) operate the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) program which coordinates the exchange of delayed mode data between national oceanographic data centers, World Data Centers and the user community. The Integrated Global Ocean Services System is a joint IOC/World Meteorological Organization (WMO) program for the exchange and management of real-time data. These two programs are complemented by mechanisms that have been established within scientific programs to exchange and manage project data sets. In particular TOGA and WOCE have identified a data management requirement and established the appropriate infrastructure to achieve this. Where GTSPP fits into this existing framework is discussed.

Searle, Ben↗

Automated in situ observations of upper ocean biogeochemistry, bio-optics, and physics and their potential use for global studies

The processes controlling the flux of carbon in the upper ocean have dynamic ranges in space and time of at least nine orders of magnitude. These processes depend on a broad suite of inter-related biogeochemical, bio-optical, and physical variables. These variables should be sampled on scales matching the relevant phenomena. Traditional ship-based sampling, while critical for detailed and more comprehensive observations, can span only limited portions of these ranges because of logistical and financial constraints. Further, remote observations from satellite platforms enable broad horizontal coverage which is restricted to the upper few meters of the ocean. For these main reasons, automated subsurface measurement systems are important for the fulfillment of research goals related to the regional and global estimation and modeling of time varying biogeochemical fluxes. Within the past few years, new sensors and systems capable of autonomously measuring several of the critical variables have been developed. The platforms for deploying these systems now include moorings and drifters and it is likely that autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV's) will become available for use in the future. Each of these platforms satisfies particular sampling needs and can be used to complement both shipboard and satellite observations. In the present review, (1) sampling considerations will be summarized, (2) examples of data obtained from some of the existing automated in situ sampling systems will be highlighted, (3) future sensors and systems will be discussed, (4) data management issues for present and future automated systems will be considered, and (5) the status of near real-time data telemetry will be outlined. Finally, we wish to make it clear at the outset that the perspectives presented here are those of the authors and are not intended to represent those of the United States JGOFS program, the International JGOFS program, NOAA's C&GC program, or other global ocean programs.

Dickey, Tommy D.↗

Performance analysis of a large-grain dataflow scheduling paradigm

A paradigm for scheduling computations on a network of multiprocessors using large-grain data flow scheduling at run time is described and analyzed. The computations to be scheduled must follow a static flow graph, while the schedule itself will be dynamic (i.e., determined at run time). Many applications characterized by static flow exist, and they include real-time control and digital signal processing. With the advent of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools for capturing software designs in dataflow-like structures, macro-dataflow scheduling becomes increasingly attractive, if not necessary. For parallel implementations, using the macro-dataflow method allows the scheduling to be insulated from the application designer and enables the maximum utilization of available resources. Further, by allowing multitasking, processor utilizations can approach 100 percent while they maintain maximum speedup. Extensive simulation studies are performed on 4-, 8-, and 16-processor architectures that reflect the effects of communication delays, scheduling delays, algorithm class, and multitasking on performance and speedup gains.

Young, Steven D.↗

Recent experiences with implementing a video based six degree of freedom measurement system for airplane models in a 20 foot diameter vertical spin tunnel

A model space positioning system (MSPS), a state-of-the-art, real-time tracking system to provide the test engineer with on line model pitch and spin rate information, is described. It is noted that the six-degree-of-freedom post processor program will require additional programming effort both in the automated tracking mode for high spin rates and in accuracy to meet the measurement objectives. An independent multicamera system intended to augment the MSPS is studied using laboratory calibration methods based on photogrammetry to characterize the losses in various recording options. Data acquired to Super VHS tape encoded with Vertical Interval Time Code and transcribed to video disk are considered to be a reasonable priced choice for post editing and processing video data.

Snow, Walter L.↗

The SSABLE system - Automated archive, catalog, browse and distribution of satellite data in near-real time

Historically, locating and browsing satellite data has been a cumbersome and expensive process. This has impeded the efficient and effective use of satellite data in the geosciences. SSABLE is a new interactive tool for the archive, browse, order, and distribution of satellite date based upon X Window, high bandwidth networks, and digital image rendering techniques. SSABLE provides for automatically constructing relational database queries to archived image datasets based on time, data, geographical location, and other selection criteria. SSABLE also provides a visual representation of the selected archived data for viewing on the user's X terminal. SSABLE is a near real-time system; for example, data are added to SSABLE's database within 10 min after capture. SSABLE is network and machine independent; it will run identically on any machine which satisfies the following three requirements: 1) has a bitmapped display (monochrome or greater); 2) is running the X Window system; and 3) is on a network directly reachable by the SSABLE system. SSABLE has been evaluated at over 100 international sites. Network response time in the United States and Canada varies between 4 and 7 s for browse image updates; reported transmission times to Europe and Australia typically are 20-25 s.

Simpson, James J.↗

Streak camera based SLR receiver for two color atmospheric measurements

To realize accurate two-color differential measurements, an image digitizing system with variable spatial resolution was designed, built, and integrated to a photon-counting picosecond streak camera, yielding a temporal scan resolution better than 300 femtosecond/pixel. The streak camera is configured to operate with 3 spatial channels; two of these support green (532 nm) and uv (355 nm) while the third accommodates reference pulses (764 nm) for real-time calibration. Critical parameters affecting differential timing accuracy such as pulse width and shape, number of received photons, streak camera/imaging system nonlinearities, dynamic range, and noise characteristics were investigated to optimize the system for accurate differential delay measurements. The streak camera output image consists of three image fields, each field is 1024 pixels along the time axis and 16 pixels across the spatial axis. Each of the image fields may be independently positioned across the spatial axis. Two of the image fields are used for the two wavelengths used in the experiment; the third window measures the temporal separation of a pair of diode laser pulses which verify the streak camera sweep speed for each data frame. The sum of the 16 pixel intensities across each of the 1024 temporal positions for the three data windows is used to extract the three waveforms. The waveform data is processed using an iterative three-point running average filter (10 to 30 iterations are used) to remove high-frequency structure. The pulse pair separations are determined using the half-max and centroid type analysis. Rigorous experimental verification has demonstrated that this simplified process provides the best measurement accuracy. To calibrate the receiver system sweep, two laser pulses with precisely known temporal separation are scanned along the full length of the sweep axis. The experimental measurements are then modeled using polynomial regression to obtain a best fit to the data. Data aggregation using normal point approach has provided accurate data fitting techniques and is found to be much more convenient than using the full rate single shot data. The systematic errors from this model have been found to be less than 3 ps for normal points.

Varghese, Thomas K.↗

Development and evaluation of a profile negotiation process for integrating aircraft and air traffic control automation

The development and evaluation of the profile negotiation process (PNP), an interactive process between an aircraft and air traffic control (ATC) that integrates airborne and ground-based automation capabilities to determine conflict-free trajectories that are as close to an aircraft's preference as possible, are described. The PNP was evaluated in a real-time simulation experiment conducted jointly by NASA's Ames and Langley Research Centers. The Ames Center/TRACON Automation System (CTAS) was used to support the ATC environment, and the Langley Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV) piloted cab was used to simulate a 4D Flight Management System (FMS) capable aircraft. Both systems were connected in real time by way of voice and data lines; digital datalink communications capability was developed and evaluated as a means of supporting the air/ground exchange of trajectory data. The controllers were able to consistently and effectively negotiate nominally conflict-free vertical profiles with the 4D-equipped aircraft. The actual profiles flown were substantially closer to the aircraft's preference than would have been possible without the PNP. However, there was a strong consensus among the pilots and controllers that the level of automation of the PNP should be increased to make the process more transparent. The experiment demonstrated the importance of an aircraft's ability to accurately execute a negotiated profile as well as the need for digital datalink to support advanced air/ground data communications. The concept of trajectory space is proposed as a comprehensive approach for coupling the processes of trajectory planning and tracking to allow maximum pilot discretion in meeting ATC constraints.

Green, Steven M.↗

PILOT: An intelligent distributed operations support system

The Real-Time Data System (RTDS) project is exploring the application of advanced technologies to the real-time flight operations environment of the Mission Control Centers at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The system, based on a network of engineering workstations, provides services such as delivery of real time telemetry data to flight control applications. To automate the operation of this complex distributed environment, a facility called PILOT (Process Integrity Level and Operation Tracker) is being developed. PILOT comprises a set of distributed agents cooperating with a rule-based expert system; together they monitor process operation and data flows throughout the RTDS network. The goal of PILOT is to provide unattended management and automated operation under user control.

Rasmussen, Arthur N.↗

Production of long-term global water vapor and liquid water data set using ultra-fast methods to assimilate multi-satellite and radiosonde observations

During the next decade, many programs and experiments under the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) will utilize present day and future data sets to improve our understanding of the role of moisture in climate, and its interaction with other variables such as clouds and radiation. An important element of GEWEX will be the GEWEX Water Vapor Project (GVaP), which will eventually initiate a routine, real-time assimilation of the highest quality, global water vapor data sets including information gained from future data collection systems, both ground and space based. The comprehensive global water vapor data set being produced by METSAT Inc. uses a combination of ground-based radiosonde data, and infrared and microwave satellite retrievals. This data is needed to provide the desired foundation from which future GEWEX-related research, such as GVaP, can build. The first year of this project was designed to use a combination of the best available atmospheric moisture data including: radiosonde (balloon/acft/rocket), HIRS/MSU (TOVS) retrievals, and SSM/I retrievals, to produce a one-year, global, high resolution data set of integrated column water vapor (precipitable water) with a horizontal resolution of 1 degree, and a temporal resolution of one day. The time period of this pilot product was to be det3ermined by the availability of all the input data sets. January 1988 through December 1988 were selected. In addition, a sample of vertically integrated liquid water content (LWC) was to be produced with the same temporal and spatial parameters. This sample was to be produced over ocean areas only. Three main steps are followed to produce a merged water vapor and liquid water product. Input data from Radiosondes, TOVS, and SSMI/I is quality checked in steps one and two. Processing is done in step two to generate individual total column water vapor and liquid water data sets. The third step, and final processing task, involves merging the individual output products to produce the integrated water vapor product. A final quality control is applied to the merged data sets.

Vonderhaar, T. H.↗

The SERENDIP piggyback SETI project

The SERENDIP project is an ongoing program of monitoring and processing broadband radio signals acquired by existing radio astronomy observatories. SERENDIP operates in a piggyback mode: it makes use of whatever observing plan (sequence of frequencies, sky coordinates, and polarizations) is under way at its host observatory. Moreover, the SERENDIP data acquisition system, once installed, operates autonomously. This approach makes it possible to obtain large amounts of high quality observing time in a manner that is economical and that does not adversely affect ongoing radio astronomy survey work. The SERENDIP II system has been installed at the NRAO 300-foot telescope at Green Bank, West Virginia, and has operated there for several thousand hours. In this report, we summarize our findings from these observations and describe the present status of the project. Two key elements of SERENDIP are the automated data acquisition system that uses adaptive thresholds and logs only statistically significant peaks in the real-time power spectra, and the subsequent off-line analysis programs that identify and reject a variety of interference signals. Several specific correlations have been identified that offer promise. At present, the development and testing of these interference rejection algorithms is the main thrust of our work.

NASA Discipline Number 52-60↗

The NASA Sounding Rocket Program and space sciences

High altitude suborbital rockets (sounding rockets) have been extensively used for space science research in the post-World War II period; the NASA Sounding Rocket Program has been on-going since the inception of the Agency and supports all space science disciplines. In recent years, sounding rockets have been utilized to provide a low gravity environment for materials processing research, particularly in the commercial sector. Sounding rockets offer unique features as a low gravity flight platform. Quick response and low cost combine to provide more frequent spaceflight opportunities. Suborbital spacecraft design practice has achieved a high level of sophistication which optimizes the limited available flight times. High data-rate telemetry, real-time ground up-link command and down-link video data are routinely used in sounding rocket payloads. Standard, off-the-shelf, active control systems are available which limit payload body rates such that the gravitational environment remains less than 10(-4) g during the control period. Operational launch vehicles are available which can provide up to 7 minutes of experiment time for experiment weights up to 270 kg. Standard payload recovery systems allow soft impact retrieval of payloads. When launched from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, payloads can be retrieved and returned to the launch site within hours.

Flight Experiment↗

Bank Terminals

In the photo, employees of the UAB Bank, Knoxville, Tennessee, are using Teller Transaction Terminals manufactured by SCI Systems, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, an electronics firm which has worked on a number of space projects under contract with NASA. The terminals are part of an advanced, computerized financial transaction system that offers high efficiency in bank operations. The key to the system's efficiency is a "multiplexing" technique developed for NASA's Space Shuttle. Multiplexing is simultaneous transmission of large amounts of data over a single transmission link at very high rates of speed. In the banking application, a small multiplex "data bus" interconnects all the terminals and a central computer which stores information on clients' accounts. The data bus replaces the maze-of wiring that would be needed to connect each terminal separately and it affords greater speed in recording transactions. The SCI system offers banks real-time data management through constant updating of the central computer. For example, a check is immediately cancelled at the teller's terminal and the computer is simultaneously advised of the transaction; under other methods, the check would be cancelled and the transaction recorded at the close of business. Teller checkout at the end of the day, conventionally a time-consuming matter of processing paper, can be accomplished in minutes by calling up a summary of the day's transactions. SCI manufactures other types of terminals for use in the system, such as an administrative terminal that provides an immediate printout of a client's account, and another for printing and recording savings account deposits and withdrawals. SCI systems have been installed in several banks in Tennessee, Arizona, and Oregon and additional installations are scheduled this year.

Source record↗

Fusion of Experiments and Simulations for Real-Time Identification of Pipeline Defects

In this study, we explored fusion of experiments and simulations for real time identification of pipeline defects across physical and non-physical domains. The challenges associated to data processing were addressed and a combined classification models was presented via CNN models. In addition, regression model based on XGBOOST is built to determine the defect location and defect dimension from data-driven features of guided wave signals captured by SMS fiber optic sensor.

deep learning↗

Predicting Initial Trans-Membrane Pressure for Optimized Operations in UF Unit Using Random Forest

With the growing scarcity of freshwater, innovative process design mechanisms like Reverse Osmosis (RO) are increasingly gaining attention among water treatment utilities to address the rising demand. Ensuring reliable water production necessitates efficient resource utilization, minimizing downtime in (ultra-filtration) UF systems. Recent advancements in machine learning (ML) have enabled the development of accurate data-driven models for Model Predictive Control (MPC), often requiring minimal prior knowledge of underlying physical processes. In this study, we present predictive regression models based on Random Forest (RF) and Auto-Regressive (AR) approaches to forecast the initial Trans-Membrane Pressure (TMP) for each filtration cycle in data generated by Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) systems. The proposed RF-based model demonstrates superior performance compared to baseline methods, including historical mean, Last Observation Carried Forward (LOCF), and naïve AR models, across various forecasting horizons in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) metric. To evaluate how different classes of process variables contribute to TMP dynamics over time, we examine the feature importance of independent covariates across multiple forecast horizons. This analysis provides insight into the temporal relevance of operational and sensor-derived features, guiding control and monitoring strategies. Additionally, the impact of hyperparameter tuning on TMP prediction performance is studied for both direct and recursive RF modelling approaches across increasing forecast horizons. Accurate prediction of initial TMP is critical for optimizing RO operations, as it enables the development of robust modelling frameworks by accurately estimating membrane fouling trends, thereby enhancing process efficiency and long-term reliability. The demonstrated efficacy of the RF-based approach highlights its potential as a tool for real-time decision-making in water treatment systems, paving the way for advanced process optimization and sustainable water resource management.

Mukherjee, Subrata [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000309930338)↗

Insights Into On-Demand Transit: A Case Study of Houston METRO's curb2curb Transit Services: Preprint

As modern on-demand transit (ODT) deployments increase, the insights gained from studying real-world systems prove more useful. In this study, a shared ODT system called "METRO curb2curb" in the suburbs of Houston, Texas was studied, with a particular focus on the Missouri City zone, which has the highest ridership out of the four total zones in which the system operates. The Missouri City zone spans 18 square miles with an average daily ridership of nearly 400 as of November 2024. In order to gain a passenger perspective, data collection was performed through using the ODT system first-hand, completing 50 rides in March and April of 2023. These rides included a mix of three different types of on-demand travel accommodations - 1.) advance bookings (30 min - 2 hours ahead), 2.) as-soon-as-possible / real-time dispatch bookings, and 3.) no-reservation trips at two designated "anchor points." Wait and travel time were collected for each ride. Anecdotal findings related to ease of locating the driver/vehicle, the process of booking a ride, and popular trip purposes were also documented. This study provides an overview of the METRO curb2curb system, including its history, service provider, service area, ridership, booking options, wait time, and travel time. Intricacies related to different definitions of wait time are included. Finally, relevant considerations for automating the on-demand transit system and discussed.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗