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Results for “sensitivity estimation”

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
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NASA NTRS1972

Design of a celestial Thomson-scattering X-ray polarimeter.

A general discussion of the scientific importance and status of stellar X-ray polarimetry is presented. A stellar X-ray polarimeter designed to fit into the bottom half of the NASA OSO-1 wheel compartment or other similar spacecraft is described. In this design, the linear polarization is obtained as a function of energy. The sensitivity of the polarimeter in the 4-24 keV energy range was optimized with the aid of a Monte Carlo simulation computer program and is given for several important celestial X-ray sources. Estimates of sensitivity thresholds for a much larger polarimeter, suitable for flight in the NASA High-Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO), are also given. The minimum detectable polarization for several X-ray sources is given.

Landecker, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Using Dynamic Sensitivity Analysis to Assess Testability

This paper discusses sensitivity analysis and its relationship to random black box testing. Sensitivity analysis estimates the impact that a programming fault at a particular location would have on the program's input/output behavior. Locations that are relatively \"insensitive" to faults can render random black box testing unlikely to uncover programming faults. Therefore, sensitivity analysis gives new insight when interpreting random black box testing results. Although sensitivity analysis is computationally intensive, it requires no oracle and no human intervention.

Voas, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2021

All-sky search in early O3 LIGO data for continuous gravitational-wave signals from unknown neutron stars in binary systems

Rapidly spinning neutron stars are promising sources of continuous gravitational waves. Detecting such a signal would allow probing of the physical properties of matter under extreme conditions. A significant fraction of the known pulsar population belongs to binary systems. Searching for unknown neutron stars in binary systems requires specialized algorithms to address unknown orbital frequency modulations. We present a search for continuous gravitational waves emitted by neutron stars in binary systems in early data from the third observing run of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors using the semicoherent, GPU-accelerated, binaryskyhough pipeline. The search analyzes the most sensitive frequency band of the LIGO detectors, 50–300 Hz. Binary orbital parameters are split into four regions, comprising orbital periods of three to 45 days and projected semimajor axes of two to 40 light seconds. No detections are reported. We estimate the sensitivity of the search using simulated continuous wave signals, achieving the most sensitive results to date across the analyzed parameter space.

Gravitation↗
NASA NTRS2015

Uncertainties in Isoprene Photochemistry and Emissions: Implications for the Oxidative Capacity of Past and Present Atmospheres and for Climate Forcing Agents

Current understanding of the factors controlling biogenic isoprene emissions and of the fate of isoprene oxidation products in the atmosphere has been evolving rapidly. We use a climate-biosphere-chemistry modeling framework to evaluate the sensitivity of estimates of the tropospheric oxidative capacity to uncertainties in isoprene emissions and photochemistry. Our work focuses on trends across two time horizons: from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 000 years BP) to the preindustrial (1770s); and from the preindustrial to the present day (1990s). We find that different oxidants have different sensitivities to the uncertainties tested in this study, with OH being the most sensitive: changes in the global mean OH levels for the LGM-to-preindustrial transition range between -29 and +7, and those for the preindustrial-to-present day transition range between -8 and +17, across our simulations. Our results suggest that the observed glacial-interglacial variability in atmospheric methane concentrations is predominantly driven by changes in methane sources as opposed to changes in OH, the primary methane sink. However, the magnitudes of change are subject to uncertainties in the past isoprene global burdens, as are estimates of the change in the global burden of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) relative to the preindustrial. We show that the linear relationship between tropospheric mean OH and tropospheric mean ozone photolysis rates, water vapor, and total emissions of NOx and reactive carbon first reported in Murray et al. (2014) does not hold across all periods with the new isoprene photochemistry mechanism. Our results demonstrate that inadequacies in our understanding of present-day OH and its controlling factors must be addressed in order to improve model estimates of the oxidative capacity of past and present atmospheres.

methane↗
NASA NTRS2021

Starshade Rendezvous: Exoplanet Sensitivity and Observing Strategy

Launching a starshade to rendezvous with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman) would provide the first opportunity to directly image the habitable zones (HZs) of nearby sunlike stars in the coming decade. A report on the science and feasibility of such a mission was recently submitted to NASA as a probe study concept. The driving objective of the concept is to determine whether Earth-like exoplanets exist in the HZs of the nearest sunlike stars and have biosignature gases in their atmospheres. With the sensitivity provided by this telescope, it is possible to measure the brightness of zodiacal dust disks around the nearest sunlike stars and establish how their population compares with our own. In addition, known gas-giant exoplanets can be targeted to measure their atmospheric metallicity and thereby determine if the correlation with planet mass follows the trend observed in the Solar System and hinted at by exoplanet transit spectroscopy data. We provide the details of the calculations used to estimate the sensitivity of Roman with a starshade and describe the publicly available Python-based source code used to make these calculations. Given the fixed capability of Roman and the constrained observing windows inherent for the starshade, we calculate the sensitivity of the combined observatory to detect these three types of targets, and we present an overall observing strategy that enables us to achieve these objectives.

Andrew Frederic Romero-wolf↗
NASA NTRS2000

Adiabatic Compression Sensitivity of Liquid Fuels and Monopropellants

Liquid rocket propellants can be sensitive to rapid compression. Such liquids may undergo decomposition and their handling may be accompanied with risk. Decomposition produces small gas bubbles in the liquid, which upon rapid compression may cause catastrophic explosions. The rapid compression can result from mechanical shocks applied on the tank containing the liquid or from rapid closure of the valves installed on the lines. It is desirable to determine the conditions that may promote explosive reactions. At Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), we constructed an apparatus and established a safe procedure for estimating the sensitivity of propellant materials towards mechanical shocks (Adiabatic Compression Tester). A sample is placed on a stainless steel U-tube, held isothermally at a temperature between 20 and 150 C then exposed to an abrupt mechanical shock of nitrogen gas at a pressure between 6.9 and 20.7 MPa (1000 to 3000 psi). The apparatus is computer interfaced and is driven with LABTECH NOTEBOOK-pro (registered) Software. In this presentation, the design of the apparatus is shown, the operating procedure is outlined, and the safety issues are addressed. The results obtained on different energetic materials are presented.

Ismail, Ismail M. K.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Low-Cost Miniaturized Laser Heterodyne Radiometer for Highly Sensitive Detection of CO2 and CH4 in the Atmospheric Column

We present a new passive ground-network instrument capable of measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) at 1.57 microns and methane (CH4) at 1.62 microns -- key for validation of OCO-2, ASCENDS, OCO-3, and GOSAT. Designed to piggy-back on an AERONET sun tracker (AERONET is a global network of more than 450 aerosol sensing instruments), this instrument could be rapidly deployed into the established AERONET network of ground sensors. Because aerosols induce a radiative effect that influences terrestrial carbon exchange, this simultaneous measure of aerosols and carbon cycle gases offers a uniquely comprehensive approach. This instrument is a variation of a laser heterodyne radiometer (LHR) that leverages recent advances in telecommunications lasers to miniaturize the instrument (the current version fits in a carry-on suitcase). In this technique, sunlight that has undergone absorption by the trace gas is mixed with laser light at a frequency matched to a trace gas absorption feature in the infrared (IR). Mixing results in a beat signal in the RF (radio frequency) region that can be related to the atmospheric concentration. By dividing this RF signal into a filter bank, concentrations at different altitudes can be resolved. For a one second integration, we estimate column sensitivities of 0.1 ppmv for CO2, and <1 ppbv for CH4.

Wilson, Emily L.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Rationalizing Burned Carbon with Carbon Monoxide Exported from South America

We present several estimates cross-checking the fluxes of carbon to the atmosphere from burning, comparing models that are based on simple land-surface parameterizations and atmospheric transport dynamics. Both estimates made by NASA Ames and USP modeling techniques are quite high compared to some detailed satellite/land-use studies of emissions. The flux of carbon liberated to the atmosphere via biomass burning is important for several reasons. This flux is a fundamental statistic for the parameterization of the large-scale flux of gases controlling the reactive greenhouse gases methane and ozone. Similarly, it is central to the estimation of the translocation of nitrogen and pyrodenitrification in the tropics. Thirdly, CO2 emitted from rainforest clearing contributes directly to carbon lost from the rainforest system as it contributes to greenhouse gas forcing. While CO2 from pasturage, agriculture, etc, is considered to be reabsorbed seasonally, and so "off budget" for the carbon cycle, it must also be accounted. CO2 anomalies related to daily weather and interannual climatic variation are strong enough to perturb our scientific perception of long-term carbon storage trends. We compare fluxes deduced from land-use statistics (originally, W.M. Hao) and from satellite hot pixels (A. Setzer) with atmospheric fluxes determined by the mesoscale/continental scale models RAMS and MM5, and point to some new work with highly resolved global models (the NASA Data Assimilation Office's GEOS4). Our simulations are tied to events, so that measured tracers like CO tie the models directly to the burning and meteorology of a specific period. We point out a particular sensitivity in estimates based on CO, and indicate how analysis of CO2 along with other biomass-burning tracers may lead to an improved multi-species estimator of carbon burned.

Chatfield, R.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Sensitivity of the Tropical Atmospheric Energy Balance to ENSO-Related SST Changes: Comparison of Climate Model Simulations to Observed Responses

This paper focuses on how fresh water and radiative fluxes over the tropical oceans change during ENSO warm and cold events and how these changes affect the tropical energy balance. At present, ENSO remains the most prominent known mode of natural variability at interannual time scales. While this natural perturbation to climate is quite distinct from possible anthropogenic changes in climate, adjustments in the tropical water and energy budgets during ENSO may give insight into feedback processes involving water vapor and cloud feedbacks. Although great advances have been made in understanding this phenomenon and realizing prediction skill over the past decade, our ability to document the coupled water and energy changes observationally and to represent them in climate models seems far from settled (Soden, 2000 J Climate). In a companion paper we have presented observational analyses, based principally on space-based measurements which document systematic changes in rainfall, evaporation, and surface and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes. Here we analyze several contemporary climate models run with observed SSTs over recent decades and compare SST-induced changes in radiation, precipitation, evaporation, and energy transport to observational results. Among these are the NASA / NCAR Finite Volume Model, the NCAR Community Climate Model, the NCEP Global Spectral Model, and the NASA NSIPP Model. Key disagreements between model and observational results noted in the recent literature are shown to be due predominantly to observational shortcomings. A reexamination of the Langley 8-Year Surface Radiation Budget data reveals errors in the SST surface longwave emission due to biased SSTs. Subsequent correction allows use of this data set along with ERBE TOA fluxes to infer net atmospheric radiative heating. Further analysis of recent rainfall algorithms provides new estimates for precipitation variability in line with interannual evaporation changes inferred from the da Silva, Young, Levitus COADS analysis. The overall results from our analysis suggest an increase (decrease) of the hydrologic cycle during ENSO warm (cold) events at the rate of about 5 W/sq m per K of SST change. Model results agree reasonably well with this estimate of sensitivity. This rate is slightly less than that which would be expected for constant relative humidity over the tropical oceans. There remain, however, significant quantitative uncertainties in cloud forcing changes in the models as compared to observations. These differences are examined in relationship to model convection and cloud parameterizations Analysis of the possible sampling and measurement errors compared to systematic model errors is also presented.

Robertson, Franklin R.↗
NASA NTRS1964

Dynamic buckling estimates

Dynamic buckling estimates for sensitive structures subjected to finite-time loading

COMPRESSION BUCKLING↗
NASA NTRS1967

Computer program reduces calculation time of normal response functions

FORTRAN 2 computer program rapidly calculates parameters of maximum likelihood estimates from sensitivity experiment data populations. The program uses the Newton-Raphson iterative procedure to calculate the mean and standard deviation of portions of the cumulative normal response function.

Alexander, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Continued development of the Combined Pulsed Neutron Experiment (CPNE) for lunar and planetary surfaces

Current progress is reported on the inelastic scattering, capture, and activation gamma ray portions of the Combined Pulsed Neutron Experiment (CPNE). Experiments are described which have enabled a reduction in weight of the experimental probe to 7.3 kg. Parametric studies are described which enabled the optimization of experimental parameters (e.g., gate time settings, neutron pulse rate, etc.). Estimated detection sensitivities using this light weight probe and the optimized experimental parameters are discussed.

Mandler, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1976

EUV flux variations with solar rotation observed during 1974-1976 from AE satellites C, D, and E

Solar EUV fluxes in the spectral range from 140 to 1850 A have been observed by spectrophotometers on the satellites AE-C, D, and E. Variations over the long period of one or two years cannot be verified quantitatively, as the observed small variations are of the same magnitude as possible variations of instrumental sensitivities and estimated uncertainties of absolute values from the rocket experiment which established the calibration of the AE-C instrument. Fortunately, no similar difficulty exists for the interpretation of observed EUV variations within smaller time periods up to that of a full solar rotation. Results from AE-C observations for many different wavelength groups for the year 1974 are shown by some detail and compared with some recent observations made by the AE-D and AE-E instruments.

Hinteregger, H. E.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Stratospheric aerosols and climatic change

Generated primarily by volcanic explosions, a layer of submicron silicate particles and particles made of concentrated sulfuric acids solution is present in the stratosphere. Flights through the stratosphere may be a future source of stratospheric aerosols, since the effluent from supersonic transports contains sulfurous gases (which will be converted to H2SO4) while the exhaust from Space Shuttles contains tiny aluminum oxide particles. Global heat balance calculations have shown that the stratospheric aerosols have made important contributions to some climatic changes. In the present paper, accurate radiative transfer calculations of the globally-averaged surface temperature (T) are carried out to estimate the sensitivity of the climate to changes in the number of stratospheric aerosols. The results obtained for a specified model atmosphere, including a vertical profile of the aerosols, indicate that the climate is unlikely to be affected by supersonic transports and Space Shuttles, during the next decades.

Baldwin, B.↗
NASA NTRS1977

VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) instrumental effects, part 1

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is a method for observation of extragalactic radio sources which appears to have potential for precise long-distance earth surveying, clock synchronization and spacecraft navigation. Many researchers have been working to establish the accuracy of VLBI observations. The intent of the work reported here is to review the principal components of the VLBI instrument in order to estimate and/or bound the systematic error contributions. In this first of a series of articles, the definitions and tools which are needed in order to apply filter transfer-function analysis to the VLBI receiver are established and they are used to estimate the sensitivity of the VLBI receiver to plausible filter variations.

Layland, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Evaluation of the sensitivity and intrusion of workload estimation techniques in piloting tasks emphasizing mediational activity

In this experiment, pilots flew an instrumented moving-base simulator. Mediational loading was elicited by having them solve a variety of navigational problems. The problems were sorted into low, medium, and high load conditions based on the number and complexity of arithmetic and geometric operations required to solve them. Workload estimation techniques based on opinion, spare mental capacity, primary task performance, and physiological measures were obtained and compared. This paper describes: (1) the ability of the techniques to discriminate statistically between the three levels of loading conditions, and (2) changes in primary task performance caused by introduction of the workload technique procedures and equipment.

Rahimi, M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Integrating 128-element linear imager for the 1 to 5 microns region

Useful charge integration has been achieved in high quality photovoltaic InSb diodes when combined with a FET multiplexing (MUX) scheme. An experimental detector assembly with a linear array of 128 InSb diodes coupled to a FEX MUX has been developed. The first stage J-FET preamp, pixel reset switch, MUX, and the InSb array are contained in a hybrid microcircuit of compact dimensions. A low noise preamplifier topology which capitalizes on the low video line capacitance inherent with hybrid fabrication techniques is also utilized. Measurements indicate a signal-to-noise ratio of over 1000:1 and response uniformity of + or - 2 percent. Sample images show subtle detail which supports the estimated radiometric sensitivity of 0.01 K.

Bailey, G. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Tuning Concept for Resonant Cavities

Deviations from resonance detected by sampling phases. Automatic tuner feedback control system derives error signal from E and H plane probe signals. Control objective to maintain phase difference between E and H at 90 degrees. Technique estimated to sensitive to fractional frequency deviation of about 5 X 10-16 and applicable not only to masers but also other microwave elements, including klystrons, general purpose oscillators, and frequency standards.

Sydnor, R. L.↗