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Results for “Allan Variance”

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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1995

The effects of clock errors on timescale stability

The weighting scheme for the cesium clocks and hydrogen masers constituting the USNO timing ensemble is reexamined from an empirical standpoint of maximizing both frequency accuracy and timescale uniformity. The utility of a sliding-weight relation between the masers and the cesiums is reaffirmed, but improvement is found if one incorporates inverse Allan variances for sampling times of 12 and 6 hours for the cesiums and masers, respectively, with some dependence on clock model.

Breakiron, Lee A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Noise Diode Stability Measurements Using a 4.3 GHz Laboratory Radiometer

The need for passive microwave radiometry using aperture synthesis and phased arrays for large apertures requiring more stability has generated several studies. The in-flight calibration and, therefore, the stability of such systems is an important design consideration. A 4.3 GHz laboratory radiometry operating in a balanced Dicke mode has been developed for making precise brightness (noise) temperature measurements. The stability of the noise diode source used in the noise-injection loop is of interest. A statistical Allan variance method to characterize the stability of the radiometer and the noise diode is presented in this paper. Noise measurements which demonstrate this approach are also included.

Scherner, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Time-Dependent Selection of an Optimal Set of Sources to Define a Stable Celestial Reference Frame

Temporal statistical position stability is required for VLBI sources to define a stable Celestial Reference Frame (CRF) and has been studied in many recent papers. This study analyzes the sources from the latest realization of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF2) with the Allan variance, in addition to taking into account the apparent linear motions of the sources. Focusing on the 295 defining sources shows how they are a good compromise of different criteria, such as statistical stability and sky distribution, as well as having a sufficient number of sources, despite the fact that the most stable sources of the entire ICRF2 are mostly in the Northern Hemisphere. Nevertheless, the selection of a stable set is not unique: studying different solutions (GSF005a and AUG24 from GSFC and OPA from the Paris Observatory) over different time periods (1989.5 to 2009.5 and 1999.5 to 2009.5) leads to selections that can differ in up to 20% of the sources. Observing, recording, and network improvement are some of the causes, showing better stability for the CRF over the last decade than the last twenty years. But this may also be explained by the assumption of stationarity that is not necessarily right for some sources.

Le Bail, Karine↗
NASA NTRS2018

6DOF Testing of the SLS Inertial Navigation Unit

The Navigation System on the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 vehicle performs initial alignment of the Inertial Navigation System (INS) navigation frame through gyrocompass alignment (GCA). Because the navigation architecture for the SLS Block 1 vehicle is a purely inertial system, the accuracy of the achieved orbit relative to mission requirements is very sensitive to initial alignment accuracy. The assessment of this sensitivity and many others via simulation is a part of the SLS Model-Based Design and Model-Based Requirements approach. As a part of the aforementioned, 6DOF Monte Carlo simulation is used in large part to develop and demonstrate verification of program requirements. To facilitate this and the GN&C flight software design process, an SLS-Program-controlled Design Math Model (DMM) of the SLS INS was developed by the SLS Navigation Team. The SLS INS model implements all of the key functions of the hardware-namely, GCA, inertial navigation, and FDIR (Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery)-in support of SLS GN&C design requirements verification. Despite the strong sensitivity to initial alignment, GCA accuracy requirements were not verified by test due to program cost and schedule constraints. Instead, the system relies upon assessments performed using the SLS INS model. In order to verify SLS program requirements by analysis, the SLS INS model is verified and validated against flight hardware. In lieu of direct testing of GCA accuracy in support of requirement verification, the SLS Navigation Team proposed and conducted an engineering test to, among other things, validate the GCA performance and overall behavior of the SLS INS model through comparison with test data. This paper will detail dynamic hardware testing of the SLS INS, conducted by the SLS Navigation Team at Marshall Space Flight Center's 6DOF Table Facility, in support of GCA performance characterization and INS model validation. A 6-DOF motion platform was used to produce 6DOF pad twist and sway dynamics while a simulated SLS flight computer communicated with the INS. Tests conducted include an evaluation of GCA algorithm robustness to increasingly dynamic pad environments, an examination of GCA algorithm stability and accuracy over long durations, and a long-duration static test to gather enough data for Allan Variance analysis. Test setup, execution, and data analysis will be discussed, including analysis performed in support of SLS INS model validation.

Geohagan, Kevin↗
NASA NTRS2018

6DOF Testing of the SLS Inertial Navigation Unit

The Navigation System on the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 vehicle performs initial alignment of the Inertial Navigation System (INS) navigation frame through gyrocompass alignment (GCA). In lieu of direct testing of GCA accuracy in support of requirement verification, the SLS Navigation Team proposed and conducted an engineering test to, among other things, validate the GCA performance and overall behavior of the SLS INS model through comparison with test data. This paper will detail dynamic hardware testing of the SLS INS, conducted by the SLS Navigation Team at Marshall Space Flight Center's 6DOF Table Facility, in support of GCA performance characterization and INS model validation. A 6-DOF motion platform was used to produce 6DOF pad twist and sway dynamics while a simulated SLS flight computer communicated with the INS. Tests conducted include an evaluation of GCA algorithm robustness to increasingly dynamic pad environments, an examination of GCA algorithm stability and accuracy over long durations, and a long-duration static test to gather enough data for Allan Variance analysis. Test setup, execution, and data analysis will be discussed, including analysis performed in support of SLS INS model validation.

Geohagan, Kevin W.↗
NASA NTRS2018

ATMS Radiometric Noise Characterization

The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS), on SNPP and NOAA-20, provides vertical atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles that are a key input to numerical weather prediction. Full characterization of radiometric noise is critical to error modeling, algorithm development and the potential development of performance requirements and product improvements. This paper presents estimates of white noise and low-frequency 1/f noise as derived from the Allan variance and scan-to-scan autocorrelations of data from the internal hot calibration. This approach allows direct comparison of on-orbit performance of the two units as well as comparison between ground calibration test data and on-orbit performance. The autocorrelation at multiple scan intervals is used as input to a theoretical model of the NET of inferred scene brightness temperature, when using weighted samples of calibration data over multiple scans. This will support selection of optimized calibration weighting functions for each channel, as well as providing further insight into the striping phenomenon. These measured autocorrelations are also compared to the autocorrelations derived from the 1/f spectra obtained both in special ground and on-orbit tests that characterize gain fluctuation. Channel cross-correlations are also presented, which can have a significant impact on effectiveness of direct assimilation performance.

instrument calibration↗
NASA NTRS1977

DSN system performance test Doppler noise models; noncoherent configuration

The newer model for variance, the Allan technique, now adopted for testing, is analyzed in the subject mode. A model is generated (including considerable contribution from the station secondary frequency standard), and rationalized with existing data. The variance model is definitely sound; the Allan technique mates theory and measure. The mean-frequency model is an estimate; this problem is yet to be rigorously resolved. The unaltered defining expressions are noncovergent, and the observed mean is quite erratic.

Bunce, R.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ppb-level mid-infrared ethane detection based on three measurement schemes using a 3.34-μm continuous-wave interband cascade laser

A ppb-level mid-infrared ethane (C 2 H 6 ) sensor was developed using a continuous-wave, thermoelectrically cooled, distributed feedback interband cascade laser emitting at 3.34 μm and a miniature dense patterned multipass gas cell with a 54.6-m optical path length. The performance of the sensor was investigated using two different techniques based on the tunable interband cascade laser: direct absorption spectroscopy (DAS) and second-harmonic wavelength modulation spectroscopy (2f-WMS). Three measurement schemes, DAS, WMS and quasi-simultaneous DAS and WMS, were realized based on the same optical sensor core. A detection limit of ~7.92 ppbv with a precision of ±30 ppbv for the separate DAS scheme with an averaging time of 1 s and a detection limit of ~1.19 ppbv with a precision of about ±4 ppbv for the separate WMS scheme with a 4-s averaging time were achieved. An Allan–Werle variance analysis indicated that the precisions can be further improved to 777 pptv @ 166 s for the separate DAS scheme and 269 pptv @ 108 s for the WMS scheme, respectively. For the quasi-simultaneous DAS and WMS scheme, both the 2f signal and the direct absorption signal were simultaneously extracted using a LabVIEW platform, and four C 2 H 6 samples (0, 30, 60 and 90 ppbv with nitrogen as the balance gas) were used as the target gases to assess the sensor performance. A detailed comparison of the three measurement schemes is reported. Here, atmospheric C 2 H 6 measurements on the Rice University campus and a field test at a compressed natural gas station in Houston, TX, were conducted to evaluate the performance of the sensor system as a robust and reliable field-deployable sensor system.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1987

DSS 13 frequency stability tests

In a previous article, the results of frequency stability tests at DSS 13 were presented in table form for tau = 1000 s for the test period May 1985 through March 1986. This article is a continuation of that initial report and presents specially selected Allan sigma (square root of variance) plots of each of the subsystem test previously reported. An additional result obtained from tests performed during July 1986 was included for completeness. The Allan sigma plots are useful in that frequency stability information is not only given for tau = 1000 s, but for tau values in the regions of 1, 100, 500, and 2000 s as well.

Otoshi, T. Y.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Four decades of implicit Monte Carlo

In 1971, Fleck and Cummings derived a system of equations to enable robust Monte Carlo simulations of time-dependent, thermal radiative transfer problems. Denoted the “Implicit Monte Carlo” (IMC) equations, their solution remains the de facto standard of high-fidelity radiative transfer simulations. Over the course of 44 years, their numerical properties have become better understood, and accuracy enhancements, novel acceleration methods, and variance reduction techniques have been suggested. In this review, we rederive the IMC equations—explicitly highlighting assumptions as they are made—and outfit the equations with a Monte Carlo interpretation. We put the IMC equations in context with other approximate forms of the radiative transfer equations and present a new demonstration of their equivalence to another well-used linearization solved with deterministic transport methods for frequency-independent problems. We discuss physical and numerical limitations of the IMC equations for asymptotically small time steps, stability characteristics and the potential of maximum principle violations for large time steps, and solution behaviors in an asymptotically thick diffusive limit. We provide a new stability analysis for opacities with general monomial dependence on temperature. Here, we consider spatial accuracy limitations of the IMC equations and discussion acceleration and variance reduction techniques.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1996

Simulation Study Using a New Type of Sample Variance

We evaluate with simulated data a new type of sample variance for the characterization of frequency stability. The new statistic (referred to as TOTALVAR and its square root TOTALDEV) is a better predictor of long-term frequency variations than the present sample Allan deviation. The statistical model uses the assumption that a time series of phase or frequency differences is wrapped (periodic) with overall frequency difference removed. We find that the variability at long averaging times is reduced considerably for the five models of power-law noise commonly encountered with frequency standards and oscillators.

Howe, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Pyroxene thermobarometry in LL-group chondrites and implications for parent body metamorphism

Geothermometry based on the compositions of clinopyroxenes in type 6 and 7 LL chondrites gives coherent results, but the estimated temperatures from coexisting orthopyroxenes are consistently lower than for clinopyroxenes. Orthopyroxene thermometry is suspect because of compositional effects of polymorphic inversions and/or unknown kinetic factors. Lack of clinopyroxene equilibration precludes accurate estimation of peak metamorphic temperatures for type 4 and 5 chondrites. There is no apparent correlation between Al content (a pressure-dependent variable) and equilibration temperature in chondritic pyroxenes. This finding, which is at variance with a previously published conclusion that temperature and pressure are correlated in metamorphosed chondrites, may have important implications for asteroid thermal models.

Mcsween, Harry Y., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Device response principles and the impact on energy resolution of epitaxial quantum dot scintillators with monolithic photodetector integration

Abstract Epitaxial quantum dot (QD) scintillator crystals with picosecond-scale timing and high light yield have been created for medical imaging, high energy physics and national security applications. Monolithic photodetector (PD) integration enables the sensing of photons generated within the waveguiding crystal and allows a wide range of scintillator-photodetector coupling geometries. Until recently, these doubly novel devices have suffered from complex, high variance responses to monoenergetic sources which significantly reduces their precision and accuracy. The principles governing the overall device response have now been discerned and embodied by an expression derived within a geometrical optics framework which considers optical properties, surface roughness and photodetector coupling geometry. Response variation due to these factors was sufficiently reduced to obtain material-related energy resolution values of 2.4% with alpha particles. These findings place energy resolution alongside luminescence timescale, photon yield, and radiation hardness as outstanding properties of these engineered materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Anthropogenic influences on the physical state of submicron particulate matter over a tropical forest

The occurrence of non-liquid and liquid physical states of submicron atmospheric particulate matter (PM) downwind of an urban region in central Amazonia was investigated. Measurements were conducted during two Intensive Operating Periods (IOP1 and IOP2) that took place during the wet and dry seasons, respectively, of the GoAmazon2014/5 campaign. Air masses representing variable influences of background conditions, urban pollution, and regional and continental scale biomass burning passed over the research site. As the air masses varied, particle rebound fraction, which is an indicator of the mix of physical states in a sampled particle population, was measured in real time at ground level using an impactor apparatus. Micrographs collected by transmission electron microscopy confirmed that liquid particles adhered while non-liquid particles rebounded. Relative humidity (RH) was scanned to collect rebound curves. When the apparatus RH matched ambient RH, 95% of the particles were liquid as a campaign average, although this percentage dropped to as low as 60% during periods of anthropogenic influence. Secondary organic material, produced for the most part by the oxidation of volatile organic compounds emitted from the forest, was the largest source of liquid PM. Analyses of the mass spectra of the atmospheric PM by positive-matrix factorization (PMF) and of concentrations of carbon monoxide, total particle number, and oxides of nitrogen were used to identify time periods affected by anthropogenic influences, including both urban pollution and biomass burning. The occurrence of non-liquid PM correlated with these indicators of anthropogenic influence. A linear model having as output the rebound fraction and as input the PMF factor loadings explained up to 70% of the variance in the observed rebound fractions. Lastly, anthropogenic influences appear to favor non-liquid PM by providing molecular species that increase viscosity when internally mixed with background PM, by contributing non-liquid particles in external mixtures of PM, and a by combination of these effects under real-world conditions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗