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At least 775 records · Page 43

VSTOL ground effects testing with flow visualization and image enhancement

A remotely controlled high-energy fiber-optic light delivery technique is employed to examine the implementation of a laser-light-sheet flow-visualization system. During testing, video data are enhanced in real time using digital image processing techniques. A summary of test results for an advanced VSTOL configuration in ground effect, and techniques for the generation of 3D reconstructions for the flowfield are outlined. The system performed well during all phases of the test and proved to be an extremely useful asset to the overall test program. The most useful application of the flow visualization system was the interactive real-time flow field analysis made during the actual testing.

Kegelman, Jerome T.↗

The use of spatial characteristics for the improvement of multispectral classification of remotely sensed data

Two techniques for the classification of multispectral remotely sensed data - the image processing technique of texture features, which is modeled after the human visual system, and the ECHO (Extraction and Classification of Homogeneous Objects) numerical technique - are examined. These two spatial analysis techniques are compared using Landsat imagery of an area of Indiana as an example, and it is found that the numerical approach is superior in classification accuracy and more efficient computationally.

Wiersma, D. J.↗

Flow Visualization for Plume-Surface Interaction at Martian-Relevant Lander Environments

This paper describes a jet impingement experiment performed in a large-scale vacuum chamber at Martian-relevant ambient pressure conditions, with the motivation of studying plume-surface interaction (PSI) caused by the exhaust plume of a lander interacting with the planetary surface. Flow visualization of an inert supersonic jet was performed using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), which is a molecular-based, two-dimensional measurement technique. Representative instantaneous and time-averaged visualizations of the impinging jet at two different nozzle flow conditions corresponding to the underexpanded and overexpanded jet regimes are presented for up to six different dimensionless altitudes h/De. The time-averaged measured spatial distribution of impingement pressures at these conditions is also reported. The PLIF visualizations appear to be critical towards explaining unexpected behavior in the impingement pressure, such as a higher impingement pressure for the underexpanded condition at h/De = 10, compared to a lower altitude of h/De = 8. This behavior can be attributed to differences in the stagnation shock structure observed in the PLIF images. The PLIF images also reveal significant flow separation at the nozzle exit for the overexpanded jet conditions. Further analysis of the test data as well as combined flow visualization and surface diagnostics for future ground tests will help inform engineering designs for landings on the Martian surface while mitigating PSI risks.

PLIF↗

Flow Visualization for Plume-Surface Interaction at Martian-Relevant Lander Environments

This paper describes a jet impingement experiment performed in a large-scale vacuum chamber at Martian-relevant ambient pressure conditions, with the motivation of studying plume-surface interaction (PSI) caused by the exhaust plume of a lander interacting with the planetary surface. Flow visualization of an inert supersonic jet was performed using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), which is a molecular-based, two-dimensional measurement technique. Representative instantaneous and time-averaged visualizations of the impinging jet at two different nozzle flow conditions corresponding to the underexpanded and overexpanded jet regimes are presented for up to six different dimensionless altitudes h/De. The time-averaged measured spatial distribution of impingement pressures at these conditions is also reported. The PLIF visualizations appear to be critical towards explaining unexpected behavior in the impingement pressure, such as a higher impingement pressure for the underexpanded condition at h/De = 10, compared to a lower altitude of h/De = 8. This behavior can be attributed to differences in the stagnation shock structure observed in the PLIF images. The PLIF images also reveal significant flow separation at the nozzle exit for the overexpanded jet conditions. Further analysis of the test data as well as combined flow visualization and surface diagnostics for future ground tests will help inform engineering designs for landings on the Martian surface while mitigating PSI risks.

PLIF↗

Electronic Visualization Laboratory's 50th Anniversary Retrospective: Look to the Future, Build on the Past

September 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). EVL's introduction of the CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment in 1992, the first widely replicated, projection-based, walk-in, virtual-reality (VR) system in the world, put EVL at the forefront of collaborative, immersive data exploration and analytics. However, the journey did not begin then. Since its founding in 1973, EVL has been developing tools and techniques for real-time, interactive visualizations—pillars of VR. But EVL's culture is also relevant to its successes, as it has always been an interdisciplinary lab that fosters teamwork, where each person's expertise contributes to the development of the necessary tools, hardware, system software, applications, and human interface models to solve problems. Over the years, as multidisciplinary collaborations evolved and advanced scientific instruments and data resources were distributed globally, the need to access and share data and visualizations while working with colleagues, local and remote, synchronous and asynchronous, also became important fields of study. This paper is a retrospective of EVL's past 50 years that surveys the many networked, immersive, collaborative visualization and VR systems and applications it developed and deployed, as well as lessons learned and future plans.

Johnson, Andrew E.↗

Development of High Speed Imaging and Analysis Techniques Compressible Dynamics Stall

Dynamic stall has limited the flight envelope of helicopters for many years. The problem has been studied in the laboratory as well as in flight, but most research, even in the laboratory, has been restricted to surface measurement techniques such as pressure transducers or skin friction gauges, except at low speed. From this research, it became apparent that flow visualization tests performed at Mach numbers representing actual flight conditions were needed if the complex physics associated with dynamic stall was to be properly understood. However, visualization of the flow field during compressible conditions required carefully aligned and meticulously reconstructed holographic interferometry. As part of a long-range effort focused on exposing of the physics of compressible dynamic stall, a research wind tunnel was developed at NASA Ames Research Center which permits visual access to the full flow field surrounding an oscillating airfoil during compressible dynamic stall. Initially, a stroboscopic schlieren technique was used for visualization of the stall process, but the primary research tool has been point diffraction interferometry(PDI), a technique carefully optimized for use in th is project. A review of the process of development of PDI will be presented in the full paper. One of the most valuable aspects of PDI is the fact that interferograms are produced in real time on a continuous basis. The use of a rapidly-pulsed laser makes this practical; a discussion of this approach will be presented in the full paper. This rapid pulsing(up to 40,000 pulses/sec) produces interferograms of the rapidly developing dynamic stall field in sufficient resolution(both in space and time) that the fluid physics of the compressible dynamic stall flowfield can be quantitatively determined, including the gradients of pressure in space and time. This permits analysis of the influence of the effect of pitch rate, Mach number, Reynolds number, amplitude of oscillation, and other parameters on the dynamic stall process. When interferograms can be captured in real time, the potential for real-time mapping of a developing unsteady flow such as dynamic stall becomes a possibility. This has been achieved in the present case through the use of a high-speed drum camera combined with electronic circuitry which has resulted in a series of interferograms obtained during a single cycle of dynamic stall; images obtained at the rate of 20 KHz will be presented as a part of the formal presentation. Interferometry has been available for a long time; however, most of its use has been limited to visualization. The present research has focused on use of interferograms for quantitative mapping of the flow over oscillating airfoils. Instantaneous pressure distributions can now be obtained semi-automatically, making practical the analysis of the thousands of interferograms that are produced in this research. A review of the techniques that have been developed as part of this research effort will be presented in the final paper.

Chandrasekhara, M. S.↗

Developing Tests of Visual Dependency

Astronauts develop neural adaptive responses to microgravity during space flight. Consequently these adaptive responses cause maladaptive disturbances in balance and gait function when astronauts return to Earth and are re-exposed to gravity. Current research in the Neuroscience Laboratories at NASA-JSC is focused on understanding how exposure to space flight produces post-flight disturbances in balance and gait control and developing training programs designed to facilitate the rapid recovery of functional mobility after space flight. In concert with these disturbances, astronauts also often report an increase in their visual dependency during space flight. To better understand this phenomenon, studies were conducted with specially designed training programs focusing on visual dependency with the aim to understand and enhance subjects ability to rapidly adapt to novel sensory situations. The Rod and Frame test (RFT) was used first to assess an individual s visual dependency, using a variety of testing techniques. Once assessed, subjects were asked to perform two novel tasks under transformation (both the Pegboard and Cube Construction tasks). Results indicate that head position cues and initial visual test conditions had no effect on an individual s visual dependency scores. Subjects were also able to adapt to the manual tasks after several trials. Individual visual dependency correlated with ability to adapt manual to a novel visual distortion only for the cube task. Subjects with higher visual dependency showed decreased ability to adapt to this task. Ultimately, it was revealed that the RFT may serve as an effective prediction tool to produce individualized adaptability training prescriptions that target the specific sensory profile of each crewmember.

Kindrat, Alexandra N.↗

The Development and Hover Test Application of a Projection Moire Interferometry Blade Displacement Measurement System

Projection moir interferometry (PMI) was employed to measure blade deflections during a hover test of a generic model-scale rotor in the NASA Langley 14x22 subsonic wind tunnel s hover facility. PMI was one of several optical measurement techniques tasked to acquire deflection and flow visualization data for a rotor at several distinct heights above a ground plane. Two of the main objectives of this test were to demonstrate that multiple optical measurement techniques can be used simultaneously to acquire data and to identify and address deficiencies in the techniques. Several PMI-specific technical challenges needed to be addressed during the test and in post-processing of the data. These challenges included developing an efficient and accurate calibration method for an extremely large (65 inch) height range; automating the analysis of the large amount of data acquired during the test; and developing a method to determinate the absolute displacement of rotor blades without a required anchor point measurement. The results indicate that the use of a single-camera/single-projector approach for the large height range reduced the accuracy of the PMI system compared to PMI systems designed for smaller height ranges. The lack of the anchor point measurement (due to a technical issue with one of the other measurement techniques) limited the ability of the PMI system to correctly measure blade displacements to only one of the three rotor heights tested. The new calibration technique reduced the data required by 80 percent while new post-processing algorithms successfully automated the process of locating rotor blades in images, determining the blade quarter chord location, and calculating the blade root and blade tip heights above the ground plane.

Sekula, Martin K.↗

Investigation of Error Patterns in Geographical Databases

The objective of the research conducted in this project is to develop a methodology to investigate the accuracy of Airport Safety Modeling Data (ASMD) using statistical, visualization, and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) techniques. Such a methodology can contribute to answering the following research questions: Over a representative sampling of ASMD databases, can statistical error analysis techniques be accurately learned and replicated by ANN modeling techniques? This representative ASMD sample should include numerous airports and a variety of terrain characterizations. Is it possible to identify and automate the recognition of patterns of error related to geographical features? Do such patterns of error relate to specific geographical features, such as elevation or terrain slope? Is it possible to combine the errors in small regions into an error prediction for a larger region? What are the data density reduction implications of this work? ASMD may be used as the source of terrain data for a synthetic visual system to be used in the cockpit of aircraft when visual reference to ground features is not possible during conditions of marginal weather or reduced visibility. In this research, United States Geologic Survey (USGS) digital elevation model (DEM) data has been selected as the benchmark. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNS) have been used and tested as alternate methods in place of the statistical methods in similar problems. They often perform better in pattern recognition, prediction and classification and categorization problems. Many studies show that when the data is complex and noisy, the accuracy of ANN models is generally higher than those of comparable traditional methods.

Dryer, David↗

Deep learning applications in visual data for benign and malignant hematologic conditions: a systematic review and visual glossary

Deep learning (DL) is a subdomain of artificial intelligence algorithms capable of automatically evaluating subtle graphical features to make highly accurate predictions, which was recently popularized in multiple imaging-related tasks. Because of its capabilities to analyze medical imaging such as radiology scans and digitized pathology specimens, DL has significant clinical potential as a diagnostic or prognostic tool. Coupled with rapidly increasing quantities of digital medical data, numerous novel research questions and clinical applications of DL within medicine have already been explored. Similarly, DL research and applications within hematology are rapidly emerging, although these are still largely in their infancy. Given the exponential rise of DL research for hematologic conditions, it is essential for the practising hematologist to be familiar with the broad concepts and pitfalls related to these new computational techniques. This narrative review provides a visual glossary for key deep learning principles, as well as a systematic review of published investigations within malignant and non-malignant hematologic conditions, organized by the different phases of clinical care. In order to assist the unfamiliar reader, this review highlights key portions of current literature and summarizes important considerations for the critical understanding of deep learning development and implementations in clinical practice.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Imaging Of Directional-Solidification Interfaces

X-ray and gamma-ray technique developed at NASA Langley Research Center enables melt/solid interface to be observed visually during crystal growth by directional solidification in Bridgman furnace. Technique used to observe movement and shape of interface in germanium and in lead tin telluride. Valuable tool in efforts to grow seeded semiconductor materials in Bridgman furnaces.

Fripp, Archibald L., Jr.↗

Visualization of supercomputer simulations in physics

A description is given of the hardware and software tools and techniques in use at NASA's Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Facility for visualization of computational fluid dynamics. The hardware consists of high-performance graphics workstations connected to the supercomputer with high-bandwidth lines, a frame buffer connected to the supercomputer with UltraNet, a digital video recording system, and film recorders. The software permits the scientist to view the three-dimensional scenes dynamically, to zoom into a region of interest, and to rotate his viewing position to study any region of interest in more detail. The software also provides automated animation and video recording of the scenes. The digital effects unit on the video system facilitates comparison of computer simulations with flight or wind tunnel experiments.

Watson, Val↗

NeuralCubes: Deep Representations for Visual Data Exploration

Visual exploration of large multi-dimensional datasets has seen tremendous progress in recent years, allowing users to express rich data queries that produce informative visual summaries, all in real time. Techniques based on data cubes are some of the most promising approaches. However, these techniques usually require a large memory footprint for large datasets. To tackle this problem, we present NeuralCubes: neural networks that predict results for aggregate queries, similar to data cubes. NeuralCubes learns a function that takes as input a given query, for instance, a geographic region and temporal interval, and outputs the result of the query. The learned function serves as a real-time, low-memory approximator for aggregation queries. Our models are small enough to be sent to the client side (e.g. the web browser for a web-based application) for evaluation, enabling data exploration of large datasets without database/network connection. Here, we demonstrate the effectiveness of NeuralCubes through extensive experiments on a variety of datasets and discuss how NeuralCubes opens up opportunities for new types of visualization and interaction.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Multi-atom quasiparticle scattering interference for superconductor energy-gap symmetry determination

Complete theoretical understanding of the most complex superconductors requires a detailed knowledge of the symmetry of the superconducting energy-gap Δ$^α_k$, for all momenta k on the Fermi surface of every band α. While there are a variety of techniques for determining |Δ$^α_k$|, no general method existed to measure the signed values of Δ$^α_k$. Recently, however, a technique based on phase-resolved visualization of superconducting quasiparticle interference (QPI) patterns, centered on a single non-magnetic impurity atom, was introduced. In principle, energy-resolved and phase-resolved Fourier analysis of these images identifies wavevectors connecting all k-space regions where Δ$^α_k$ has the same or opposite sign. But use of a single isolated impurity atom, from whose precise location the spatial phase of the scattering interference pattern must be measured, is technically difficult. Here we introduce a generalization of this approach for use with multiple impurity atoms, and demonstrate its validity by comparing the Δ$^α_k$ it generates to the Δ$^α_k$ determined from single-atom scattering in FeSe where s ± energy-gap symmetry is established. Finally, to exemplify utility, we use the multi-atom technique on LiFeAs and find scattering interference between the hole-like and electron-like pockets as predicted for Δ$^α_k$ of opposite sign.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Circular Trajectory Approach for Online Sinusoidal Signal Distortion Monitoring and Visualization

The increasing complexity and uncertainties of modern power systems are placing significant demands on signal monitoring techniques. This work proposes the Circular Trajectory Approach (CTA) for online sinusoidal signal distortion monitoring and visualization. CTA can detect distortions of a sinusoidal signal. Compared with existing waveform anomaly detection techniques, CTA is faster in detection and less computation intensive. It thus supports edge devices and online applications. CTA also offers a new means of sinusoidal signal distortion visualization. It can reveal the distorted sections in a sinusoidal cycle and clearly display the distortions. The proposed approach is tested on real data from an open source EPRI dataset.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Atmospheric Pre-Corrected Differential Absorption Techniques to Retrieve Columnar Water Vapor: Theory and Simulations

Two different approaches exist to retrieve columnar water vapor from imaging spectrometer data: (1) Differential absorption techniques based on: (a) Narrow-Wide (N/W) ratio between overlapping spectrally wide and narrow channels; (b) Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio (CIBR) between a measurement channel and the weighted sum of two reference channels. (2) Non-linear fitting techniques which are based on spectral radiative transfer calculations. The advantage of the first approach is computational speed and of the second, improved retrieval accuracy. Our goal was to improve the accuracy of the first technique using physics based on radiative transfer. Using a modified version of the Duntley equation, we derived an "Atmospheric Pre-corrected Differential Absorption" (APDA) technique and described an iterative scheme to retrieve water vapor on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Next we compared both, the CIBR and the APDA using the Duntley equation for MODTRAN3 computed irradiances, transmissions and path radiance (using the DISORT option). This simulation showed that the CIBR is very sensitive to reflectance effects and that the APDA performs much better. An extensive data set was created with the radiative transfer code 6S over 379 different ground reflectance spectra. The calculated relative water vapor error was reduced significantly for the APDA. The APDA technique had about 8% (vs. over 35% for the CIBR) of the 379 spectra with a relative water vapor error of greater than +5%. The APDA has been applied to 1991 and 1995 AVIRIS scenes which visually demonstrate the improvement over the CIBR technique.

Borel, Christoph C.↗

Visualization of a Sweeping Jet by Laser Speckle Retro-reflective Background Oriented Schlieren

Sweeping jet actuators are currently being studied as a method of active flow control to increase the performance of wings and tails. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations show that the jet does not sweep at a constant rate, instead spending more time at the minimum and maximum of its extent. As part of a test done to provide dynamic flow measurements for Computation Fluid Dynamics validation in NASA Ames Fluid Mechanics Lab, Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was performed on a single sweeping jet actuator designed by NASA and Boeing that was inset in a small airfoil. However, even at low jet pressures, the PIV could not be acquired at high enough frequencies to both spatially and temporally resolve the stickiness of the jet motion. Therefore, a small portion of the PIV laser was picked off and used to acquire flow visualization at higher frequencies through a new technique, laser speckle Retroreflective Background Oriented Schlieren (RBOS).

sweeping jet actuator↗