Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Reduced Order Model”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 757 records · Page 42

Controller reduction by preserving impulse response energy

A model order reduction algorithm based on a Krylov recurrence formulation is developed to reduce order of controllers. The reduced-order controller is obtained by projecting the full-order LQG controller onto a Krylov subspace in which either the controllability or the observability grammian is equal to the identity matrix. The reduced-order controller preserves the impulse response energy of the full-order controller and has a parameter-matching property. Two numerical examples drawn from other controller reduction literature are used to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed reduction algorithm.

Craig, Roy R., Jr.↗

Research in robust control for hypersonic aircraft

The research during the third reporting period focused on fixed order robust control design for hypersonic vehicles. A new technique was developed to synthesize fixed order H(sub infinity) controllers. A controller canonical form is imposed on the compensator structure and a homotopy algorithm is employed to perform the controller design. Various reduced order controllers are designed for a simplified version of the hypersonic vehicle model used in our previous studies to demonstrate the capabilities of the code. However, further work is needed to investigate the issue of numerical ill-conditioning for large order systems and to make the numerical approach more reliable.

Calise, A. J.↗

A Monte Carlo simulation of the effect of ion self-collisions on the ion velocity distribution function in the high-latitude F-region

Non-Maxwellian ion velocity distribution functions have been theoretically predicted and confirmed by observations, to occur at high latitudes. These distributions deviate from Maxwellian due to the combined effect of the E x B drift and ion-neutral collisions. At high altitude and/or for solar maximum conditions, the ion-to-neutral density ratio increases and, hence, the role of ion self-collisions becomes appreciable. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to investigate the behavior of O(+) ions that are E x B-drifting through a background of neutral O, with the effect of O(+) (Coulomb) self-collisions included. Wide ranges of the ion-to-neutral density ratio n(sub i)/n(sub n) and the electrostatic field E were considered in order to investigate the change of ion behavior with solar cycle and with altitude. For low altitudes and/or solar minimum (n(sub i)/n(sub n) less than or equal to 10(exp -5)), the effect of self-collisions is negligible. For higher values of n(sub i)/n(sub n), the effect of self-collisions becomes significant and, hence, the non-Maxwellian features of the O(+) distribution are reduced. The Monte Carlo results were compared to those that used simplified collision models in order to assess their validity. In general, the simple collision models tend to be more accurate for low E and for high n(sub i)/n(sub n).

Barghouthi, I. A.↗

Drive Rig Mufflers for Model Scale Engine Acoustic Testing

Testing of air breathing propulsion systems in the 9x15 foot wind tunnel at NASA Glenn Research Center depends on compressed air turbines for power. The drive rig turbines exhaust directly to the wind tunnel test section, and have been found to produce significant unwanted noise that reduces the quality of the acoustic measurements of the model being tested. In order to mitigate this acoustic contamination, a muffler can be attached downstream of the drive rig turbine. The modern engine designs currently being tested produce much less noise than traditional engines, and consequently a lower noise floor is required of the facility. An acoustic test of a muffler designed to mitigate this extraneous noise is presented, and a noise reduction of 8 dB between 700 Hz and 20 kHz was documented, significantly improving the quality of acoustic measurements in the facility.

Stephens, David↗

Microthruster-Based Control for Precision Pointing of Next-Generation Space Telescopes

The next generation of space telescopes, such as the Habitable Exoplanet Observatory mission concept (HabEx), are expected to have milli-arcsecond-level pointing requirements at the spacecraft level. The pointing performance of such telescopes tends to be driven by internal rather than external disturbances, in particular reaction wheel jitter. This paper considers an architecture that relies on microthrusters instead of reaction wheels for spacecraft fine pointing, focusing on the HabEx mission concept as a case study. The proposed implementation uses micro-Newton-class colloidal thrusters that were tested in orbit as part of the ST7 payload on the LISA Pathfinder mission to reach Technical Readiness Level (TRL) 7. Key characteristics of these thrusters and the associated system trade-offs are first discussed. The resulting pointing control loop design is then described. Its ability to meet applicable pointing requirements is shown using three-degree-of-freedom simulations, where relevant disturbances are modelled. The control system is shown to reduce the pointing error by several orders of magnitude in about two hours, starting from coarse reaction control system (RCS) handover conditions. Once settled, the system meets the steady-state milli-arcsecond-level performance requirements with significant margin. Overall, the results show that microthruster-based pointing control architectures offer a promising alternative to traditional reaction-wheel-based designs for space telescope applications.

Ziemer, John↗

Normal mode energetics and error analysis of GLA GCM simulations with different horizontal resolutions during a winter month

Comparative energetics is presented for a series of four general circulation model simulations for January 1979 conducted by the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres. The simulations include cases of coarse and fine horizontal model resolutions with two slightly different initial conditions. Using a three-dimensional normal mode expansion, it is found that the gravity-mode energy levels are significantly reduced in the higher wavenumbers and in the higher-order internal vertical modes by the increase of horizontal model resolution.

Tanaka, H. L.↗

Failure modes of reduced-order orbit determination filters and their remedies

Ways in which failure can occur in reduced-order, orbit determination filter, error covariance calculations are discussed. In the context of this article, reduced-order filters denote nonoptimal filters which include fixed levels of uncertainty in some parameters of the measurement models or in the spacecraft dynamical model which are not explicitly estimated in the filter equations. Failure is defined as an increase in the orbit determination covariance with the addition of data or as an unreasonable growth in the covariance with time, i.e., nonasymptotic behavior of the covariance. Some simple, known cases of failure are discussed along with their traditional remedies. In addition, more modern remedies are discussed which are currently under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The article first describes the known problems of reduced-order filters when they are employed for orbit determination, and their traditional remedies. Then, having defined these, the relevancy and desirability of the more modern remedies are made apparent.

Scheeres, D. J.↗

Analysis of Waste Material Feedstocks Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Machine Learning

Predicting properties such as heating value, ash fusion temperature, and mineral ash composition from Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) data can make gasifiers more flexible to different feedstocks. Understanding these feedstock properties in-situ improves feedstock conversion modelling methods that allow for consistent operation, higher carbon conversion, and reduced fouling and erosion rates. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate methods for model creation that take LIBS data as predictor features and estimate higher order material properties as a function of feedstock material properties. Six samples were chosen to represent a mixture of abundant and carbon rich waste materials. LIBS measurements were performed on these samples for elemental wavelengths and intensity values. Laboratory analytical results were obtained for each sample’s heating value, proximate and ultimate analysis, mineral ash composition, ash fusion temperatures, and viscosity temperatures. Thermal conductivity was measured using a HotDisk TPS 2500S. LIBS measurements were processed and used as predictor features for machine learning (ML) models to predict the sample’s material properties. Predictor feature selection algorithms, particularly minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR), reduced the dimensionality of ML models. Many modelling methods such as Gaussian process regression (GPR), regression tree, neural networks (NN), and support vector machines (SVM) were demonstrated to be effective at predicting higher order properties; however, mRMR with GPR stood out as a clear winning combination.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Electromagnetic deep-probing (100-1000 KMS) of the Earth's interior from artificial satellites: Constraints on the regional emplacement of crustal resources

The two stages of analysis of MAGSAT magnetic data which are designed to evaluate electromagnetic induction effects are described. The first stage consists of comparison of data from contiguous orbit passes over large scale geologic boundaries, such as ocean-land interfaces, at several levels of magnetic disturbance. The purpose of these comparisons is to separate induction effects from effects of lithospheric magnetization. The procdure for reducing the data includes: (1) identifying and subtracting quiet time effects; (2) modelling and subtracting first order ring current effects; and (3) projecting an orbit track onto a map as a nearly straight line so it can serve as an axis on which to plot the corresponding orbit pass data in the context of geography. The second stage consists of comparison of MAGSAT data with standard hourly observatory data. The purpose is to constrain the time evolution of ionospheric and magnetospheric current systems. Qualitative features of the ground based dataset are discussed. Methods for reducing the ground based data are described.

Hermance, J. F.↗

Aeroacoustic performance of scale model sonic inlets

Various means can be used to vary engine inlet throat areas in order to reduce noise generated at takeoff and approach. Low-speed wind-tunnel tests were performed to evaluate the aeroacoustic performance of two takeoff geometries (cylindrical centerbody and bulb-shaped centerbody) and four approach geometries (bulb-shaped centerbody, annular ring, radial vanes, and step diffuser). The effects of inlet internal lip shape and diffuser length on sonic inlet performance were also investigated. It was found that the single-passage geometries, in particular a cylindrical centerbody takeoff geometry and a bulb-shaped centerbody approach geometry, provide the highest level of aeroacoustic performance. Increasing the inlet lip contraction ratio extends the maximum incidence angle for attached lip flow, while increasing the inlet diffuser length increases total pressure recovery for a given amount of noise suppression.

Abbott, J. M.↗

Scattering models for some vegetation samples

The Helmholtz integral equation is presently derived for a scatterer of arbitrary shape, and reduced in order to obtain the far zone-scattered field in terms of the field within the scatterer. Attention is given to the effect of different approaches to field estimation within the scatterer on the backscattering cross section, as illustrated numerically by the cases of a circular disk, a needle, and a finite-length cylinder. A comparison is made of the results obtained by modeling a leaf by means of a circular disk within the Shifrin approximation, and a tree branch by means of a finite-length cylinder, with measurements from a single leaf and a single branch.

Karam, M. A.↗

Edge detection - Image-plane versus digital processing

To optimize edge detection with the familiar Laplacian-of-Gaussian operator, it has become common to implement this operator with a large digital convolution mask followed by some interpolation of the processed data to determine the zero crossings that locate edges. It is generally recognized that this large mask causes substantial blurring of fine detail. It is shown that the spatial detail can be improved by a factor of about four with either the Wiener-Laplacian-of-Gaussian filter or an image-plane processor. The Wiener-Laplacian-of-Gaussian filter minimizes the image-gathering degradations if the scene statistics are at least approximately known and also serves as an interpolator to determine the desired zero crossings directly. The image-plane processor forms the Laplacian-of-Gaussian response by properly combining the optical design of the image-gathering system with a minimal three-by-three lateral-inhibitory processing mask. This approach, which is suggested by Marr's model of early processing in human vision, also reduces data processing by about two orders of magnitude and data transmission by up to an order of magnitude.

Huck, Friedrich O.↗

Computational aspects of sensitivity calculations in linear transient structural analysis

The calculation of sensitivities of displacements, velocities, accelerations, and stresses in linear, structural, and transient response problems is studied. Several existing sensitivity calculation methods and two new methods are compared for three example problems. Approximation vectors such as vibration mode shapes are used to reduce the dimensionality of the finite model. To be computationally practical in large-order problems, the overall finite difference methods must use the approximation vectors from the original design in the analyses of the perturbed models. This was found to result in poor convergence of stress sensitivities in several cases. Two semianalytical techniques are developed to overcome this poor convergence. Both new methods result in very good convergence of the stress sensitivities; the computational cost is much less than would result if the vibration modes were recalculated and then used in an overall finite difference method.

Greene, W. H.↗

Space biology initiative program definition review. Trade study 2: Prototype utilization in the development of space biology hardware

The objective was to define the factors which space flight hardware developers and planners should consider when determining: (1) the number of hardware units required to support program; (2) design level of the units; and (3) most efficient means of utilization of the units. The analysis considered technology risk, maintainability, reliability, and safety design requirements for achieving the delivery of highest quality flight hardware. Relative cost impacts of the utilization of prototyping were identified. The development of Space Biology Initiative research hardware will involve intertwined hardware/software activities. Experience has shown that software development can be an expensive portion of a system design program. While software prototyping could imply the development of a significantly different end item, an operational system prototype must be considered to be a combination of software and hardware. Hundreds of factors were identified that could be considered in determining the quantity and types of prototypes that should be constructed. In developing the decision models, these factors were combined and reduced by approximately ten-to-one in order to develop a manageable structure based on the major determining factors. The Baseline SBI hardware list of Appendix D was examined and reviewed in detail; however, from the facts available it was impossible to identify the exact types and quantities of prototypes required for each of these items. Although the factors that must be considered could be enumerated for each of these pieces of equipment, the exact status and state of development of the equipment is variable and uncertain at this time.

Jackson, L. Neal↗

A spectral method determination of the first critical Rayleigh number for a low-Prandtl number crystal melt in a cylindrical container

The onset of laminar axisymmetric Rayleigh-Benard convection is investigated for a low-Prandtl number liquid metal in a cylindrical container. All surfaces are considered to be solid and no-slip. Two separate cases are examined for the thermal boundary conditions at the side wall, one with conducting and the other with insulated surface. The governing Boussinesq system is first perturbed and then simplified by introducing a Stokes stream function. Subsequently, a Chebyshev Galerkin spectral model is employed to reduce the simplified system to a system of first-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations. A local stability analysis determines the two values of the first critical Rayleigh number, Ra(sub cl), for the insulated and conducting side walls. As expected, the conducting Ra(sub cl) value of 2882.5 obtained from the present approach exceeded the corresponding insulated Ra(sub cl) value of 2331.6. For the insulated case, an earlier study using a different numerical approach suggests that Ra(sub cl) = 2261.9, while an experimental study measured Ra(sub cl) = 2700.

Dietz, C. M., Jr.↗

Robust integrated flight/propulsion control design for a STOVL aircraft using H-infinity control design techniques

Results are presented from an application of H-infinity control design methodology to a centralized integrated flight/propulsion control (IFPC) system design for a supersonic STOVL fighter aircraft in transition flight. The emphasis is on formulating the H-infinity optimal control synthesis problem such that the critical requirements for the flight and propulsion systems are adequately reflected within the linear, centralized control problem formulation and the resulting controller provides robustness to modeling uncertainties and model parameter variations with flight condition. Detailed evaluation results are presented for a reduced order controller obtained from the improved H-infinity control design showing that the control design meets the specified nominal performance objective as well as provides stability robustness for variations in plant system dynamics with changes in aircraft trim speed within the transition flight envelope.

Garg, Sanjay↗

Pad B Liquid Hydrogen Storage Tank

Kennedy Space Center is home to two liquid hydrogen storage tanks, one at each launch pad of Launch Complex 39. The liquid hydrogen storage tank at Launch Pad B has a significantly higher boil off rate that the liquid hydrogen storage tank at Launch Pad A. This research looks at various calculations concerning the at Launch Pad B in an attempt to develop a solution to the excess boil off rate. We will look at Perlite levels inside the tank, Boil off rates, conductive heat transfer, and radiant heat transfer through the tank. As a conclusion to the research, we will model the effects of placing an external insulation to the tank in order to reduce the boil off rate and increase the economic efficiency of the liquid hydrogen storage tanks.

Hall, Felicia↗

Results of the space shuttle vehicle ascent air data system probe calibration test using a 0.07-scale external tank forebody model (68T) in the AEDC 16-foot transonic wind tunnel (IA-310), volume 1

A recalibration of the Space Shuttle Vehicle Ascent Air Data System probe was conducted in the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) transonic wind tunnel. The purpose was to improve on the accuracy of the previous calibration in order to reduce the existing uncertainties in the system. A probe tip attached to a 0.07-scale External Tank Forebody model was tested at angles of attack of -8 to +4 degrees and sideslip angles of -4 to +4 degrees. High precision instrumentation was used to acquire pressure data at discrete Mach numbers ranging from 0.6 to 1.55. Pressure coefficient uncertainties were estimated at less than 0.0020. Data is given in graphical and tabular form.

Collette, J. G. R.↗