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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

Near-Body Grid Adaption for Overset Grids

A solution adaption capability for curvilinear near-body grids has been implemented in the OVERFLOW overset grid computational fluid dynamics code. The approach follows closely that used for the Cartesian off-body grids, but inserts refined grids in the computational space of original near-body grids. Refined curvilinear grids are generated using parametric cubic interpolation, with one-sided biasing based on curvature and stretching ratio of the original grid. Sensor functions, grid marking, and solution interpolation tasks are implemented in the same fashion as for off-body grids. A goal-oriented procedure, based on largest error first, is included for controlling growth rate and maximum size of the adapted grid system. The adaption process is almost entirely parallelized using MPI, resulting in a capability suitable for viscous, moving body simulations. Two- and three-dimensional examples are presented.

Buning, Pieter G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Optimal parallel evaluation of AND trees

A quantitative analysis based on both preemptive and nonpreemptive critical-path scheduling algorithms is presently conducted for the optimal degree of parallelism required in evaluating a given AND tree. The optimal degree of parallelism is found to depend on problem complexity, precedence-graph shape, and task-time distribution along each path. In addition to demonstrating the optimality of the preemptive critical-path scheduling algorithm for evaluating an arbitrary AND tree on a fixed number of processors, the possibility of efficiently ascertaining tight bounds on the number of processors for optimal processor-time efficiency is illustrated.

Wah, Benjamin W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Correlation filters for orientation estimation

An important task in many vision applications is that of rapidly estimating the orientation of an object with respect to some frame of reference. Because of their speed and parallel processing capabilities, optical correlators should prove valuable in this application. This paper considers two algorithms for object orientation estimation based on optical correlations and presents some initial simulation results.

Kumar, B. V. K. Vijaya↗
NASA NTRS2003

Effects of a psychophysiological system for adaptive automation on performance, workload, and the event-related potential P300 component

The present study examined the effects of an electroencephalographic- (EEG-) based system for adaptive automation on tracking performance and workload. In addition, event-related potentials (ERPs) to a secondary task were derived to determine whether they would provide an additional degree of workload specificity. Participants were run in an adaptive automation condition, in which the system switched between manual and automatic task modes based on the value of each individual's own EEG engagement index; a yoked control condition; or another control group, in which task mode switches followed a random pattern. Adaptive automation improved performance and resulted in lower levels of workload. Further, the P300 component of the ERP paralleled the sensitivity to task demands of the performance and subjective measures across conditions. These results indicate that it is possible to improve performance with a psychophysiological adaptive automation system and that ERPs may provide an alternative means for distinguishing among levels of cognitive task demand in such systems. Actual or potential applications of this research include improved methods for assessing operator workload and performance.

Task Performance and Analysis↗
NASA NTRS1983

Array processor architecture

A high speed parallel array data processing architecture fashioned under a computational envelope approach includes a data base memory for secondary storage of programs and data, and a plurality of memory modules interconnected to a plurality of processing modules by a connection network of the Omega gender. Programs and data are fed from the data base memory to the plurality of memory modules and from hence the programs are fed through the connection network to the array of processors (one copy of each program for each processor). Execution of the programs occur with the processors operating normally quite independently of each other in a multiprocessing fashion. For data dependent operations and other suitable operations, all processors are instructed to finish one given task or program branch before all are instructed to proceed in parallel processing fashion on the next instruction. Even when functioning in the parallel processing mode however, the processors are not locked-step but execute their own copy of the program individually unless or until another overall processor array synchronization instruction is issued.

Barnes, George H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Construction and demonstration of a 9-string 6 DOF force reflecting joystick for telerobotics

Confrontation with difficult manipulation tasks in hostile environments such as space, has led to the development of means to transport the human's senses, skills and cognition to the remote site. The use of advanced Telerobotics to achieve this goal is examined. A novel and universal hand controller based on a fully parallel mechanical architecture is discussed. The design and implementation of this 6 DOF force reflecting joystick is shown in relationship to the general philosophy of achieving telepresence in a man-machine system.

Lindemann, Randel↗
NASA NTRS2005

Dual-task performance with ideomotor-compatible tasks: is the central processing bottleneck intact, bypassed, or shifted in locus?

The present study examined whether the central bottleneck, assumed to be primarily responsible for the psychological refractory period (PRP) effect, is intact, bypassed, or shifted in locus with ideomotor (IM)-compatible tasks. In 4 experiments, factorial combinations of IM- and non-IM-compatible tasks were used for Task 1 and Task 2. All experiments showed substantial PRP effects, with a strong dependency between Task 1 and Task 2 response times. These findings, along with model-based simulations, indicate that the processing bottleneck was not bypassed, even with two IM-compatible tasks. Nevertheless, systematic changes in the PRP and correspondence effects across experiments suggest that IM compatibility shifted the locus of the bottleneck. The findings favor an engage-bottleneck-later hypothesis, whereby parallelism between tasks occurs deeper into the processing stream for IM- than for non-IM-compatible tasks, without the bottleneck being actually eliminated.

Psychomotor Performance↗
NASA NTRS1994

Parallel Processing Systems for Passive Ranging During Helicopter Flight

The complexity of rotorcraft missions involving operations close to the ground result in high pilot workload. In order to allow a pilot time to perform mission-oriented tasks, sensor-aiding and automation of some of the guidance and control functions are highly desirable. Images from an electro-optical sensor provide a covert way of detecting objects in the flight path of a low-flying helicopter. Passive ranging consists of processing a sequence of images using techniques based on optical low computation and recursive estimation. The passive ranging algorithm has to extract obstacle information from imagery at rates varying from five to thirty or more frames per second depending on the helicopter speed. We have implemented and tested the passive ranging algorithm off-line using helicopter-collected images. However, the real-time data and computation requirements of the algorithm are beyond the capability of any off-the-shelf microprocessor or digital signal processor. This paper describes the computational requirements of the algorithm and uses parallel processing technology to meet these requirements. Various issues in the selection of a parallel processing architecture are discussed and four different computer architectures are evaluated regarding their suitability to process the algorithm in real-time. Based on this evaluation, we conclude that real-time passive ranging is a realistic goal and can be achieved with a short time.

Sridhar, Bavavar↗
NASA NTRS1981

Influence of combined visual and vestibular cues on human perception and control of horizontal rotation

Measurements are made of manual control performance in the closed-loop task of nulling perceived self-rotation velocity about an earth-vertical axis. Self-velocity estimation is modeled as a function of the simultaneous presentation of vestibular and peripheral visual field motion cues. Based on measured low-frequency operator behavior in three visual field environments, a parallel channel linear model is proposed which has separate visual and vestibular pathways summing in a complementary manner. A dual-input describing function analysis supports the complementary model; vestibular cues dominate sensation at higher frequencies. The describing function model is extended by the proposal of a nonlinear cue conflict model, in which cue weighting depends on the level of agreement between visual and vestibular cues.

Zacharias, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Test and training simulator for ground-based teleoperated in-orbit servicing

For the Post-IOC(In-Orbit Construction)-Phase of COLUMBUS it is intended to use robotic devices for the routine operations of ground-based teleoperated In-Orbit Servicing. A hardware simulator for verification of the relevant in-orbit operations technologies, the Servicing Test Facility, is necessary which mainly will support the Flight Control Center for the Manned Space-Laboratories for operational specific tasks like system simulation, training of teleoperators, parallel operation simultaneously to actual in-orbit activities and for the verification of the ground operations segment for telerobotics. The present status of definition for the facility functional and operational concept is described.

Schaefer, Bernd E.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Variable-Complexity Multidisciplinary Optimization on Parallel Computers

This report covers work conducted under grant NAG1-1562 for the NASA High Performance Computing and Communications Program (HPCCP) from December 7, 1993, to December 31, 1997. The objective of the research was to develop new multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) techniques which exploit parallel computing to reduce the computational burden of aircraft MDO. The design of the High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) air-craft was selected as a test case to demonstrate the utility of our MDO methods. The three major tasks of this research grant included: development of parallel multipoint approximation methods for the aerodynamic design of the HSCT, use of parallel multipoint approximation methods for structural optimization of the HSCT, mathematical and algorithmic development including support in the integration of parallel computation for items (1) and (2). These tasks have been accomplished with the development of a response surface methodology that incorporates multi-fidelity models. For the aerodynamic design we were able to optimize with up to 20 design variables using hundreds of expensive Euler analyses together with thousands of inexpensive linear theory simulations. We have thereby demonstrated the application of CFD to a large aerodynamic design problem. For the predicting structural weight we were able to combine hundreds of structural optimizations of refined finite element models with thousands of optimizations based on coarse models. Computations have been carried out on the Intel Paragon with up to 128 nodes. The parallel computation allowed us to perform combined aerodynamic-structural optimization using state of the art models of a complex aircraft configurations.

Grossman, Bernard↗
NASA NTRS1987

A transputer based finite element solver

The feasibility of performing FEM structural-mechanics analyses on transputer systems is investigated experimentally. Transputers are programmable microprocessors equipped with local memory and point-to-point communication links; they can be joined in a large concurrent system via a programming language which supports distributed processing; this permits parallel processing at relatively low hardware cost. The computational tasks required by FEM programs are reviewed; the hardware (one PC, one master transputer, and 12 slave transputers) employed in the test calculations is described; and results demonstrating the speed and efficiency of the transputer array in assembling a global stiffness matrix and performing Gauss-Jordan matrix inversion are presented in graphs. It is predicted that larger transputer networks could approach the power of supercomputers at minicomputer costs.

Favenesi, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Optical Signature Analysis of Tumbling Rocket Bodies via Laboratory Measurements

The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has acquired telescopic lightcurve data on massive intact objects, specifically spent rocket bodies, in order to ascertain tumble rates in support of the Active Debris Removal (ADR) task to help remediate the LEO environment. Rotation rates are needed to plan and develop proximity operations for potential future ADR operations. To better characterize and model optical data acquired from ground-based telescopes, the Optical Measurements Center (OMC) at NASA/JSC emulates illumination conditions in space using equipment and techniques that parallel telescopic observations and source-target-sensor orientations. The OMC employs a 75-watt Xenon arc lamp as a solar simulator, an SBIG CCD camera with standard Johnson/Bessel filters, and a robotic arm to simulate an object's position and rotation. The light source is mounted on a rotary arm, allowing access any phase angle between 0 -- 360 degrees. The OMC does not attempt to replicate the rotation rates, but focuses on how an object is rotating as seen from multiple phase angles. The two targets studied are scaled (1:48), SL-8 Cosmos 3M second stages. The first target is painted in the standard government "gray" scheme and the second target is primary white, as used for commercial missions. This paper summarizes results of the two scaled rocket bodies, each rotated about two primary axes: (a) a spin-stabilized rotation and (b) an end-over-end rotation. The two rotation states are being investigated as a basis for possible spin states of rocket bodies, beginning with simple spin states about the two primary axes. The data will be used to create a database of potential spin states for future works to convolve with more complex spin states. The optical signatures will be presented for specific phase angles for each rocket body and shown in conjunction with acquired optical data from multiple telescope sources.

Cowardin, H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Performance prediction of concurrent systems

Concurrent systems are computers that use multiple processors to solve a single problem. A means to predict the application performance on these systems is a useful tool in many areas of concurrent system research. A computationally efficient and accurate method to predict performance for a class of parallel computations on concurrent systems is described. A parallel computation is modeled as a task system with precedence relationships expressed as a series parallel directed acyclic graph. Resources in concurrent systems are modeled as service centers in queueing network models. Using these two models as inputs, the method outputs predictions of both the time to complete the computation and the concurrent system utilization. The algorithm used is based on the approximate Mean Value Analysis in queueing network modeling with extensions to model concurrency in the computation. The new algorithm was validated against both detailed simulation and actual execution on a commercial multiprocessor.

Mak, Victor W. K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Space applications of artificial intelligence; Proceedings of the Annual Goddard Conference, Greenbelt, MD, May 16, 17, 1989

Theoretical and implementation aspects of AI systems for space applications are discussed in reviews and reports. Sections are devoted to planning and scheduling, fault isolation and diagnosis, data management, modeling and simulation, and development tools and methods. Particular attention is given to a situated reasoning architecture for space repair and replace tasks, parallel plan execution with self-processing networks, the electrical diagnostics expert system for Spacelab life-sciences experiments, diagnostic tolerance for missing sensor data, the integration of perception and reasoning in fast neural modules, a connectionist model for dynamic control, and applications of fuzzy sets to the development of rule-based expert systems.

Rash, James L.↗
NASA NTRS1997

NAS Parallel Benchmark. Results 11-96: Performance Comparison of HPF and MPI Based NAS Parallel Benchmarks

High Performance Fortran (HPF), the high-level language for parallel Fortran programming, is based on Fortran 90. HALF was defined by an informal standards committee known as the High Performance Fortran Forum (HPFF) in 1993, and modeled on TMC's CM Fortran language. Several HPF features have since been incorporated into the draft ANSI/ISO Fortran 95, the next formal revision of the Fortran standard. HPF allows users to write a single parallel program that can execute on a serial machine, a shared-memory parallel machine, or a distributed-memory parallel machine. HPF eliminates the complex, error-prone task of explicitly specifying how, where, and when to pass messages between processors on distributed-memory machines, or when to synchronize processors on shared-memory machines. HPF is designed in a way that allows the programmer to code an application at a high level, and then selectively optimize portions of the code by dropping into message-passing or calling tuned library routines as 'extrinsics'. Compilers supporting High Performance Fortran features first appeared in late 1994 and early 1995 from Applied Parallel Research (APR) Digital Equipment Corporation, and The Portland Group (PGI). IBM introduced an HPF compiler for the IBM RS/6000 SP/2 in April of 1996. Over the past two years, these implementations have shown steady improvement in terms of both features and performance. The performance of various hardware/ programming model (HPF and MPI (message passing interface)) combinations will be compared, based on latest NAS (NASA Advanced Supercomputing) Parallel Benchmark (NPB) results, thus providing a cross-machine and cross-model comparison. Specifically, HPF based NPB results will be compared with MPI based NPB results to provide perspective on performance currently obtainable using HPF versus MPI or versus hand-tuned implementations such as those supplied by the hardware vendors. In addition we would also present NPB (Version 1.0) performance results for the following systems: DEC Alpha Server 8400 5/440, Fujitsu VPP Series (VX, VPP300, and VPP700), HP/Convex Exemplar SPP2000, IBM RS/6000 SP P2SC node (120 MHz) NEC SX-4/32, SGI/CRAY T3E, SGI Origin2000.

Saini, Subash↗
NASA NTRS1992

Real-time processing of radar return on a parallel computer

NASA is working with the FAA to demonstrate the feasibility of pulse Doppler radar as a candidate airborne sensor to detect low altitude windshears. The need to provide the pilot with timely information about possible hazards has motivated a demand for real-time processing of a radar return. Investigated here is parallel processing as a means of accommodating the high data rates required. A PC based parallel computer, called the transputer, is used to investigate issues in real time concurrent processing of radar signals. A transputer network is made up of an array of single instruction stream processors that can be networked in a variety of ways. They are easily reconfigured and software development is largely independent of the particular network topology. The performance of the transputer is evaluated in light of the computational requirements. A number of algorithms have been implemented on the transputers in OCCAM, a language specially designed for parallel processing. These include signal processing algorithms such as the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), pulse-pair, and autoregressive modelling, as well as routing software to support concurrency. The most computationally intensive task is estimating the spectrum. Two approaches have been taken on this problem, the first and most conventional of which is to use the FFT. By using table look-ups for the basis function and other optimizing techniques, an algorithm has been developed that is sufficient for real time. The other approach is to model the signal as an autoregressive process and estimate the spectrum based on the model coefficients. This technique is attractive because it does not suffer from the spectral leakage problem inherent in the FFT. Benchmark tests indicate that autoregressive modeling is feasible in real time.

Aalfs, David D.↗
NASA NTRS1994

VLSI neuroprocessors

Electronic and optoelectronic hardware implementations of highly parallel computing architectures address several ill-defined and/or computation-intensive problems not easily solved by conventional computing techniques. The concurrent processing architectures developed are derived from a variety of advanced computing paradigms including neural network models, fuzzy logic, and cellular automata. Hardware implementation technologies range from state-of-the-art digital/analog custom-VLSI to advanced optoelectronic devices such as computer-generated holograms and e-beam fabricated Dammann gratings. JPL's concurrent processing devices group has developed a broad technology base in hardware implementable parallel algorithms, low-power and high-speed VLSI designs and building block VLSI chips, leading to application-specific high-performance embeddable processors. Application areas include high throughput map-data classification using feedforward neural networks, terrain based tactical movement planner using cellular automata, resource optimization (weapon-target assignment) using a multidimensional feedback network with lateral inhibition, and classification of rocks using an inner-product scheme on thematic mapper data. In addition to addressing specific functional needs of DOD and NASA, the JPL-developed concurrent processing device technology is also being customized for a variety of commercial applications (in collaboration with industrial partners), and is being transferred to U.S. industries. This viewgraph p resentation focuses on two application-specific processors which solve the computation intensive tasks of resource allocation (weapon-target assignment) and terrain based tactical movement planning using two extremely different topologies. Resource allocation is implemented as an asynchronous analog competitive assignment architecture inspired by the Hopfield network. Hardware realization leads to a two to four order of magnitude speed-up over conventional techniques and enables multiple assignments, (many to many), not achievable with standard statistical approaches. Tactical movement planning (finding the best path from A to B) is accomplished with a digital two-dimensional concurrent processor array. By exploiting the natural parallel decomposition of the problem in silicon, a four order of magnitude speed-up over optimized software approaches has been demonstrated.

Kemeny, Sabrina E.↗