The Exascale Computing Project: Hardware Evaluation for Interconnects.
Abstract not provided.
Hemmert, Karl Scott↗
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Evaluation of an Anthropometric Human Body Model for Simulated EVA Task Assessment
One of the more mission-critical tasks performed in space is extravehicular activity (EVA) which requires the astronaut to be external to the station or spacecraft, and subsequently at risk from the many threats posed by space. These threats include, but are not limited to: no significant atmosphere, harmful electromagnetic radiation, micrometeoroids, and space debris. To protect the astronaut from this environment, a special EVA suit is worn which is designed to maintain a sustainable atmosphere (at 1/3 atmosphere) and provide protection against the hazards of space. While the EVA suit serves these functions well, it does impose limitations on the astronaut as a consequence of the safety it provides. Since the astronaut is in a virtual vacuum, any atmospheric pressure inside the suit serves to pressurize the suit and restricts mobility of flexible joints (such as fabric). Although some of the EVA suit joints are fixed, rotary-style joints, most of the mobility is achieved by the simple flexibility of the fabric. There are multiple layers of fabric, each of which serves a special purpose in the safety of the astronaut. These multiple layers add to the restriction of motion the astronaut experiences in the space environment. Ground-based testing is implemented to evaluate the capability of EVA-suited astronauts to perform the various tasks in space. In addition to the restriction of motion imposed by the EVA suit, most EVA activity is performed in a micro-gravity (weight less) environment. To simulate weightlessness EVA-suited testing is performed in a neutral buoyancy simulator (NBS). The NBS is composed of a large container of water (pool) in which a weightless environment can be simulated. A subject is normally buoyant in the pressurized suit; however he/she can be made neutrally buoyant with the addition of weights. In addition, most objects the astronaut must interface with in the NBS sink in water and flotation must be added to render them "weightless". The implementation of NBS testing has proven to invaluable in the assessment of EVA activities performed with the Orbiter and is considered to be a key step in the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). While the NBS testing is extremely valuable, it does require considerable overhead to maintain and operate. It has been estimated that the cost of utilizing the facility is approximately $10,000 per day. Therefore it is important to maximize the utility of NBS testing for optimal results. One important aspect to consider in any human/worksite interface is the considerable wealth of anthropometric and ergonomic data available. A subset of this information specific to EVA activity is available in NASA standard 3000. The difficulty in implementing this data is that most of the anthropometric information is represented in a two-dimensional format. This poses some limitations in complete evaluation of the astronaut's capabilities in a three-dimensional environment. Advances in computer hardware and software have provided for three-dimensional design and implementation of hardware with the advance of computer aided design (CAD) software. There are a number of CAD products available and most companies and agencies have adopted CAD as a fundamental aspect of the design process. Another factor which supports the use of CAD is the implementation of computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software and hardware which provides for rapid prototyping and decreases the time to product in the design process. It is probable that most hardware to be accessed by astronauts in EVA or IVA (intravehicular activity) has been designed by a CAD system, and is therefore represented in three-dimensional space for evaluation. Because of the implementation of CAD systems and the movement towards early prototyping, a need has arisen in industry and government for tools which facilitate the evaluation of ergonomic consideration in a three-dimensional environment where the hardware has been designed by the CAD tools. One such product is Jack which was developed by the University of Pennsylvania with funding from several government agencies, including NASA. While the primary purpose of Jack is to model human figures in a ground-based (gravity) environment, it can be utilized to evaluate EVA-suited activities as well. The effects of simulated gravity must be turned off by turning off "behaviors". Although Jack provides human figures for manipulation, the primary instrument to be evaluated for EVA mobility is the work envelope provided by the EVA suit. An EVA Jack suit model has been developed by NASA-JSC and was utilized in this study. This suit model provided a more restrictive motion environment as expected for an EVA suited subject. As part of this study, the anthropometric dimensions for a 50th percentile male were compared with basic anthropometric data and were found to be representative for the population group expected in the NASA flight program. The joints for the suit were created in a manner which provided consistent performance with EVA reach envelopes published in NASA standard #3000.
Etter, Brad↗
HamLib: A library of Hamiltonians for benchmarking quantum algorithms and hardware
In order to characterize and benchmark computational hardware, software, and algorithms, it is essential to have many problem instances on-hand. This is no less true for quantum computation, where a large collection of real-world problem instances would allow for benchmarking studies that in turn help to improve both algorithms and hardware designs. To this end, here we present a large dataset of qubit-based quantum Hamiltonians. The dataset, called HamLib (for Hamiltonian Library), is freely available online and contains problem sizes ranging from 2 to 1000 qubits. HamLib includes problem instances of the Heisenberg model, Fermi-Hubbard model, Bose-Hubbard model, molecular electronic structure, molecular vibrational structure, MaxCut, Max- k -SAT, Max- k -Cut, QMaxCut, and the traveling salesperson problem. The goals of this effort are (a) to save researchers time by eliminating the need to prepare problem instances and map them to qubit representations, (b) to allow for more thorough tests of new algorithms and hardware, and (c) to allow for reproducibility and standardization across research studies.
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
Computational Controls Workstation: Algorithms and hardware
The Computational Controls Workstation provides an integrated environment for the modeling, simulation, and analysis of Space Station dynamics and control. Using highly efficient computational algorithms combined with a fast parallel processing architecture, the workstation makes real-time simulation of flexible body models of the Space Station possible. A consistent, user-friendly interface and state-of-the-art post-processing options are combined with powerful analysis tools and model databases to provide users with a complete environment for Space Station dynamics and control analysis. The software tools available include a solid modeler, graphical data entry tool, O(n) algorithm-based multi-flexible body simulation, and 2D/3D post-processors. This paper describes the architecture of the workstation while a companion paper describes performance and user perspectives.
Venugopal, R.↗
Certification of CFD heat transfer software for turbine blade analysis
Accurate modeling of heat transfer effects is a critical component of the Turbine Branch of the Turbomachinery and Propulsion Systems Division. Being able to adequately predict and model heat flux, coolant flows, and peak temperatures are necessary for the analysis of high pressure turbine blades. To that end, the primary goal of my internship this summer will be to certify the reliability of the CFD program GlennHT for the purpose of turbine blade heat transfer analysis. GlennHT is currently in use by the engineers in the Turbine Branch who use the FORTRAN 77 version of the code for analysis. The program, however, has been updated to a FORTRAN 90 version which is more robust than the older code. In order for the new code to be distributed for use, its reliability must first be certified. Over the course of my internship I will create and run test cases using the FORTRAN 90 version of GlennHT and compare the results to older cases which are known to be accurate, If the results of the new code match those of the sample cases then the newer version will be one step closer to certification for distribution. In order to complete these it will first be necessary to become familiar with operating a number of other programs. Among them are GridPro, which is used to create a grid mesh around a blade geometry, and FieldView, whose purpose is to graphically display the results from the GlennHT program. Once enough familiarity is established with these programs to render them useful, then the work of creating and running test scenarios will begin. The work is additionally complicated by a transition in computer hardware. Most of the working computers in the Turbine Branch are Silicon Graphics machines, which will soon be replaced by LINUX PC's. My project is one of the first to make use the new PC's. The change in system architecture however, has created several software related issues which have greatly increased the time and effort investments required by the project.Although complications with the project continue to arise, it is expected that the goal of my internship can still be achieved within the remaining time period. Critical steps have been achieved and test scenarios can now be designed and run. At the completion of my internship, the FORTRAN 90 version of GlennHT should be well on its way to certification.
Jordan, William A.↗
Computer-aided design and computer science technology
A description is presented of computer-aided design requirements and the resulting computer science advances needed to support aerospace design. The aerospace design environment is examined, taking into account problems of data handling and aspects of computer hardware and software. The interactive terminal is normally the primary interface between the computer system and the engineering designer. Attention is given to user aids, interactive design, interactive computations, the characteristics of design information, data management requirements, hardware advancements, and computer science developments.
Fulton, R. E.↗
DSS-13 26-meter antenna upgraded radiometer system
The Deep Space Station (DSS)-13 26-m antenna radiometer system was upgraded with an IBM-compatible computer-controlled configuration with improved supporting hardware and software. Software was generated to analyze results and correct for antenna mispointing, tropospheric loss, and other observing errors. This total power radiometer configuration provides a prototype for the new DSS-13 34-m antenna. The radiometer system is described in terms of the theory, instrumentation hardware, computer configuration, and operational features and performance. The system is used to obtain antenna efficiency and pointing model data and is useful for radio source calibrations required for radio astronomy. Some recent results are given.
Stelzried, C. T.↗
Development of Collaborative Research Initiatives to Advance the Aerospace Sciences-via the Communications, Electronics, Information Systems Focus Group
The primary goal of the Adaptive Vision Laboratory Research project was to develop advanced computer vision systems for automatic target recognition. The approach used in this effort combined several machine learning paradigms including evolutionary learning algorithms, neural networks, and adaptive clustering techniques to develop the E-MOR.PH system. This system is capable of generating pattern recognition systems to solve a wide variety of complex recognition tasks. A series of simulation experiments were conducted using E-MORPH to solve problems in OCR, military target recognition, industrial inspection, and medical image analysis. The bulk of the funds provided through this grant were used to purchase computer hardware and software to support these computationally intensive simulations. The payoff from this effort is the reduced need for human involvement in the design and implementation of recognition systems. We have shown that the techniques used in E-MORPH are generic and readily transition to other problem domains. Specifically, E-MORPH is multi-phase evolutionary leaming system that evolves cooperative sets of features detectors and combines their response using an adaptive classifier to form a complete pattern recognition system. The system can operate on binary or grayscale images. In our most recent experiments, we used multi-resolution images that are formed by applying a Gabor wavelet transform to a set of grayscale input images. To begin the leaming process, candidate chips are extracted from the multi-resolution images to form a training set and a test set. A population of detector sets is randomly initialized to start the evolutionary process. Using a combination of evolutionary programming and genetic algorithms, the feature detectors are enhanced to solve a recognition problem. The design of E-MORPH and recognition results for a complex problem in medical image analysis are described at the end of this report. The specific task involves the identification of vertebrae in x-ray images of human spinal columns. This problem is extremely challenging because the individual vertebra exhibit variation in shape, scale, orientation, and contrast. E-MORPH generated several accurate recognition systems to solve this task. This dual use of this ATR technology clearly demonstrates the flexibility and power of our approach.
Knasel, T. Michael↗
The implementation and use of Ada on distributed systems with high reliability requirements
The use and implementation of Ada in distributed environments in which the hardware components are assumed to be unreliable is investigated. The possibility that a distributed system can be programmed entirely in Ada so that the individual tasks of the system are unconcerned with which processor they are executing on, and that failures can occur in the underlying hardware is considered. The reduced cost of computer hardware and the advantages of distributed processing (for example, increased reliability through redundancy and greater flexibility) indicate that many aerospace computer systems can be distributed. The use of Ada and distributed systems is a good combination for aerospace embedded systems.
Knight, J. C.↗
NASA Blazes a Different Path to Energy-Efficient Supercomputing
For years, NASA had a very straightforward process for replacing high-performance computing hardware: over a three-year period, when it became more expensive to operate an older suite of hardware than it did to replace it with new products that could accomplish the same work, we simply replaced the old hardware. For NASA’s High-End Computing Capability (HECC) Project, that process changed when we reached the limits of our facility’s power, cooling, and floor-loading capacity, becoming a strategy of decommissioning the least productive hardware and replacing it with more capable counterparts. The impact was that we provided our users with less supercomputing capability than we would have without the limitations. Additionally, with 25% of our total power consumption going to cool our systems and 50,000 gallons of water per day being evaporated, we wanted a solution that would expand our compute facility while being sensitive to the impact on our environment.
Thigpen, William↗
Animation of finite element models and results
This is not intended as a complete review of computer hardware and software that can be used for animation of finite element models and results, but is instead a demonstration of the benefits of visualization using selected hardware and software. The role of raw computational power, graphics speed, and the use of videotape are discussed.
Lipman, Robert R.↗
Bird's Eye View - A 3-D Situational Awareness Tool for the Space Station
Even as space-qualified computer hardware lags well behind the latest home computers, the possibility of using high-fidelity interactive 3-D graphics for displaying important on board information has finally arrived, and is being used on board the International Space Station (ISS). With the quantity and complexity of space-flight telemetry, 3-D displays can greatly enhance the ability of users, both onboard and on the ground, to interpret data quickly and accurately. This is particularly true for data related to vehicle attitude, position, configuration, and relation to other objects on the ground or in-orbit Bird's Eye View (BEV) is a 3-D real-time application that provides a high degree of Situational Awareness for the crew. Its purpose is to instantly convey important motion-related parameters to the crew and mission controllers by presenting 3-D simulated camera views of the International Space Station (ISS) in its actual environment Driven by actual telemetry, and running on board, as well as on the ground, the user can visualize the Space Station relative to the Earth, Sun, stars, various reference frames, and selected targets, such as ground-sites or communication satellites. Since the actual ISS configuration (geometry) is also modeled accurately, everything from the alignment of the solar panels to the expected view from a selected window can be visualized accurately. A virtual representation of the Space Station in real time has many useful applications. By selecting different cameras, the crew or mission control can monitor the station's orientation in space, position over the Earth, transition from day to night, direction to the Sun, the view from a particular window, or the motion of the robotic arm. By viewing the vehicle attitude and solar panel orientations relative to the Sun, the power status of the ISS can be easily visualized and understood. Similarly, the thermal impacts of vehicle attitude can be analyzed and visually confirmed. Communication opportunities can be displayed, and line-of-sight blockage due to interference by the vehicle structure (or the Earth) can be seen easily. Additional features in BEV display targets on the ground and in-orbit, including cities, communication sites, landmarks, satellites, and special sites of scientific interest for Earth observation and photography. Any target can be selected and tracked. This gives the user a continual line-of-sight to the target of current interest, and real-time knowledge about its visibility. Similarly, the vehicle ground-track, and an option to show "visibility circles" around displayed ground sites, provide continuous insight regarding current and future visibility to any target BEV was designed with inputs from many disciplines in the flight control and operations community both at NASA and from the International Partners. As such, BEV is setting the standards for interactive 3-D graphics for spacecraft applications. One important contribution of BEV is a generic graphical interface for camera control that can be used for any 3-D applications. This interface has become part of the International Display and Graphics Standards for the 16-nation ISS partnership. Many other standards related to camera properties, and the display of 3-D data, also have been defined by BEV. Future enhancements to BEV will include capabilities related to simulating ahead of the current time. This will give the user tools for analyzing off-nominal and future scenarios, as well as for planning future operations.
Dershowitz, Adam↗
Development of simulation computer complex specification
The Training Simulation Computer Complex Study was one of three studies contracted in support of preparations for procurement of a shuttle mission simulator for shuttle crew training. The subject study was concerned with definition of the software loads to be imposed on the computer complex to be associated with the shuttle mission simulator and the development of procurement specifications based on the resulting computer requirements. These procurement specifications cover the computer hardware and system software as well as the data conversion equipment required to interface the computer to the simulator hardware. The development of the necessary hardware and software specifications required the execution of a number of related tasks which included, (1) simulation software sizing, (2) computer requirements definition, (3) data conversion equipment requirements definition, (4) system software requirements definition, (5) a simulation management plan, (6) a background survey, and (7) preparation of the specifications.
Source record↗
New computing systems and their impact on structural and fracture mechanics calculations
Advances made in computer technology and their impact on structural and fracture mechanics calculations are reviewed, and the computational needs for future structural systems are discussed. Special attention is given to the computer hardware, the network technology, the performance of new computing systems, and the supersystems and parallel processing and their impact on structure technology. The differences between different machines are identified.
Liebowitz, Harold↗
Breaking the mold: Overcoming the time constraints of molecular dynamics on general-purpose hardware
The evolution of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations has been intimately linked to that of computing hardware. For decades following the creation of MD, simulations have improved with computing power along the three principal dimensions of accuracy, atom count (spatial scale), and duration (temporal scale). Since the mid-2000s, computer platforms have, however, failed to provide strong scaling for MD, as scale-out central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) platforms that provide substantial increases to spatial scale do not lead to proportional increases in temporal scale. Important scientific problems therefore remained inaccessible to direct simulation, prompting the development of increasingly sophisticated algorithms that present significant complexity, accuracy, and efficiency challenges. While bespoke MD-only hardware solutions have provided a path to longer timescales for specific physical systems, their impact on the broader community has been mitigated by their limited adaptability to new methods and potentials. In this work, we show that a novel computing architecture, the Cerebras wafer scale engine, completely alters the scaling path by delivering unprecedentedly high simulation rates up to 1.144 M steps/s for 200 000 atoms whose interactions are described by an embedded atom method potential. This enables direct simulations of the evolution of materials using general-purpose programmable hardware over millisecond timescales, dramatically increasing the space of direct MD simulations that can be carried out. In this paper, we provide an overview of advances in MD over the last 60 years and present our recent result in the context of historical MD performance trends.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
The application of a computer data acquisition system for a new high temperature tribometer
The two data acquisition computer programs are described which were developed for a high temperature friction and wear test apparatus, a tribometer. The raw data produced by the tribometer and the methods used to sample that data are explained. In addition, the instrumentation and computer hardware and software are presented. Also shown is how computer data acquisition was applied to increase convenience and productivity on a high temperature tribometer.
Bonham, Charles D.↗
Functional requirements document for the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Scientific Computing Facilities (SCF) of the NASA/MSFC Earth Science and Applications Division, 1992
Five scientists at MSFC/ESAD have EOS SCF investigator status. Each SCF has unique tasks which require the establishment of a computing facility dedicated to accomplishing those tasks. A SCF Working Group was established at ESAD with the charter of defining the computing requirements of the individual SCFs and recommending options for meeting these requirements. The primary goal of the working group was to determine which computing needs can be satisfied using either shared resources or separate but compatible resources, and which needs require unique individual resources. The requirements investigated included CPU-intensive vector and scalar processing, visualization, data storage, connectivity, and I/O peripherals. A review of computer industry directions and a market survey of computing hardware provided information regarding important industry standards and candidate computing platforms. It was determined that the total SCF computing requirements might be most effectively met using a hierarchy consisting of shared and individual resources. This hierarchy is composed of five major system types: (1) a supercomputer class vector processor; (2) a high-end scalar multiprocessor workstation; (3) a file server; (4) a few medium- to high-end visualization workstations; and (5) several low- to medium-range personal graphics workstations. Specific recommendations for meeting the needs of each of these types are presented.
Botts, Michael E.↗
The application of a computer data acquisition system to a new high temperature tribometer
The two data acquisition computer programs are described which were developed for a high temperature friction and wear test apparatus, a tribometer. The raw data produced by the tribometer and the methods used to sample that data are explained. In addition, the instrumentation and computer hardware and software are presented. Also shown is how computer data acquisition was applied to increase convenience and productivity on a high temperature tribometer.
Bonham, Charles D.↗