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Real-time dynamics simulation of the Cassini spacecraft using DARTS. Part 1: Functional capabilities and the spatial algebra algorithm

This paper describes the Dynamics Algorithms for Real-Time Simulation (DARTS) real-time hardware-in-the-loop dynamics simulator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Cassini spacecraft. The spacecraft model consists of a central flexible body with a number of articulated rigid-body appendages. The demanding performance requirements from the spacecraft control system require the use of a high fidelity simulator for control system design and testing. The DARTS algorithm provides a new algorithmic and hardware approach to the solution of this hardware-in-the-loop simulation problem. It is based upon the efficient spatial algebra dynamics for flexible multibody systems. A parallel and vectorized version of this algorithm is implemented on a low-cost, multiprocessor computer to meet the simulation timing requirements.

Jain, A.↗

Methodology for testing and validating knowledge bases

A test and validation toolset developed for artificial intelligence programs is described. The basic premises of this method are: (1) knowledge bases have a strongly declarative character and represent mostly structural information about different domains, (2) the conditions for integrity, consistency, and correctness can be transformed into structural properties of knowledge bases, and (3) structural information and structural properties can be uniformly represented by graphs and checked by graph algorithms. The interactive test and validation environment have been implemented on a SUN workstation.

Krishnamurthy, C.↗

On-policy learning-based deep reinforcement learning assessment for building control efficiency and stability

Artificial intelligence technologies have emerged as a game changer not only in specific applications such as image recognition and machine translation but also in many scientific domains. In particular, as deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has shown great success in complex control problems, DRL-based control has been considered as a potential solution to efficiently control and manage building systems. However, broad assessment of DRL-based building control is still required to characterize their pros and cons in comparison with conventional building control methods (e.g., rule-based feedback controls). In this paper, we assessed DRL-based controls with on-policy learning-based algorithms and continuous control actions for cooling control of large office buildings in the summer season to minimize whole-building energy use and occupant discomfort. We compared DRL-based control methods with two baseline control methods: (1) a pre-determined schedule with supply temperature and static pressure setpoints, and (2) advanced reset method that adjusts setpoints based on heuristic rules, i.e., ASHRAE Guideline 36. We also tested the DRL algorithms to evaluate their performances in multiple climate locations. We found that DRL-based control methods outperformed the baseline control methods in terms of energy savings while maintaining a thermal comfort. DRL reduced energy use between ~4%–22% on average compared to the baseline methods, depending on climate location. We also evaluated DRL-based control in terms of control stability and showed that DRL-based methods should address the span of hardware lifetimes in practical operations.

control stability↗

Satellite Remote Sensing of Tropical Precipitation and Ice Clouds for GCM Verification

This project, supported by the NASA New Investigator Program, has primarily been funding a graduate student, Darren McKague. Since August 1999 Darren has been working part time at Raytheon, while continuing his PhD research. Darren is planning to finish his thesis work in May 2001, thus some of the work described here is ongoing. The proposed research was to use GOES visible and infrared imager data and SSM/I microwave data to obtain joint distributions of cirrus cloud ice mass and precipitation for a study region in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. These joint distributions of cirrus cloud and rainfall were to be compared to those from the CSU general circulation model to evaluate the cloud microphysical amd cumulus parameterizations in the GCM. Existing algorithms were to be used for the retrieval of cloud ice water path from GOES (Minnis) and rainfall from SSM/I (Wilheit). A theoretical study using radiative transfer models and realistic variations in cloud and precipitation profiles was to be used to estimate the retrieval errors. Due to the unavailability of the GOES satellite cloud retrieval algorithm from Dr. Minnis (a co-PI), there was a change in the approach and emphasis of the project. The new approach was to develop a completely new type of remote sensing algorithm - one to directly retrieve joint probability density functions (pdf's) of cloud properties from multi-dimensional histograms of satellite radiances. The usual approach is to retrieve individual pixels of variables (i.e. cloud optical depth), and then aggregate the information. Only statistical information is actually needed, however, and so a more direct method is desirable. We developed forward radiative transfer models for the SSM/I and GOES channels, originally for testing the retrieval algorithms. The visible and near infrared ice scattering information is obtained from geometric ray tracing of fractal ice crystals (Andreas Macke), while the mid-infrared and microwave scattering is computed with Mie scattering. The radiative transfer is performed with the Spherical Harmonic Discrete Ordinate Method (developed by the PI), and infrared molecular absorption is included with the correlated k-distribution method. The SHDOM radiances have been validated by comparison to version 2 of DISORT (the community "standard" discrete-ordinates radiative transfer model), however we use SHDOM since it is computationally more efficient.

Evans, K. Franklin↗

An Efficient Algorithm for Automatic Structure Optimization in X-ray Standing-Wave Experiments

We present that x-ray standing-wave photoemission experiments involving multilayered samples are emerging as unique probes of the buried interfaces that are ubiquitous in current device and materials research. Such data require for their analysis a structure optimization process comparing experiment to theory that is not straightforward. In this work, we present a new computer program for optimizing the analysis of standing-wave data, called SWOPT, that automates this trial-and-error optimization process. The program includes an algorithm that has been developed for computationally expensive problems: so-called black-box simulation optimizations. It also includes a more efficient version of the Yang X-ray Optics Program (YXRO) [Yang, S.-H., Gray, A.X., Kaiser, A.M., Mun, B.S., Sell, B.C., Kortright, J.B., Fadley, C.S., J. Appl. Phys. 113, 1 (2013)] which is about an order of magnitude faster than the original version. Human interaction is not required during optimization. We tested our optimization algorithm on real and hypothetical problems and show that it finds better solutions significantly faster than a random search approach. The total optimization time ranges, depending on the sample structure, from minutes to a few hours on a modern laptop computer, and can be up to 100x faster than a corresponding manual optimization. Finally, these speeds make the SWOPT program a valuable tool for realtime analyses of data during synchrotron experiments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Performance of the Falling Snow Retrieval Algorithms for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission

Retrievals of falling snow from space represent an important data set for understanding the Earth's atmospheric, hydrological, and energy cycles, especially during climate change. Estimates of falling snow must be captured to obtain the true global precipitation water cycle, snowfall accumulations are required for hydrological studies, and without knowledge of the frozen particles in clouds one cannot adequately understand the energy and radiation budgets. While satellite-based remote sensing provides global coverage of falling snow events, the science is relatively new and retrievals are still undergoing development with challenges remaining). This work reports on the development and testing of retrieval algorithms for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Core Satellite, launched February 2014.

Microwave satellite↗

Multimodal Nondestructive Dry Cask Basket Structure and Spent Fuel Evaluation

This NEUP-IRP assembled a team from diverse institutions and a diverse set of expertise to examine the problem of assessing the structural health of dry nuclear fuel storage casks, specifically the TN-32 design. With no physical access designed into these storage casks and the high cost and risk associated with opening casks for direct inspection, the technical difficulty of structural assessment of the basket structure and fuel assemblies is high. In response to this challenge, this IRP brought together experts in both traditional and novel NDE methodologies: active acoustics (University of Mississippi), emissions tomography (University of Florida), muon tomography (Oregon State University), and passive-active ultrasonics (University of South Carolina). Further, our industry partners in the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and AREVA provided invaluable insight into technical design details for the cask, practical knowledge of operating parameters at a storage facility, and key relationships that enabled activities unforeseen at the time of the proposed work but were critical in guiding the path of the research. The team decided early in the project that we had a collective goal of laying the technical ground work for practical solutions that could be implemented in the field with reasonable cost, time, and reliability. A fortunate opportunity arose early in this IRP project to obtain access to a new TN-32 cask at Columbiana High Tech. Both acoustics teams were given access for testing concepts in the first year of the project. This ended up providing critical guidance in the design of subsequent laboratory experiments. Specifically, it became clear that the only reliable acoustic pathways to the interior were through the trunnions, base plate, and top ring of the cask. Based on these field tests and discussions about what would be of practical interest, the team as a whole decided a realistic goal was to detect catastrophic failure of a single fuel assembly, or one that was missing. It is clear from this work that the active acoustics / resonance and muon tomography methodologies would be capable of detecting interior structural integrity problems at this level. The other two areas of investigation (emissions tomography and passive/active ultrasonics) would need more testing to determine a successful implementation, but each may also have other applications such as long term monitoring and monitoring during transportation. This IRP project resulted in technical advances with applications that extend beyond the problem at hand, supported the training of 10 graduate students + 1 post doc, 21 publications, and 13 conference presentations. The remainder of this summary highlights significant activities and achievements in each of the methodologies and a brief discussion on how they can be combined to leverage strengths. Active Acoustics The active acoustics team at UM used both linear and non-linear structural resonance methods to infer information about the internal structure of a cask. Significant activities were a set of four field test measurements on a full scale TN-32 cask at the Columbiana Hi Tech facility in Greensboro, NC and the design and fabrication of a 1/6th scale model TN-32 cask for laboratory measurements. A significant set of acoustic data has been acquired on both the full scale and laboratory scale casks. It was determined early in the project that mechanical resonance techniques were not going to be sensitive to small scale (centimeter) cracks and structural defects in the basket structure or fuel assemblies. We were able to ascertain that both the energy and complexity of the resonance spectra were sensitive to “bulk state” of the fuel assemblies – an intact assembly versus a severely degraded assembly. By developing a novel combination of metrics, we are able to measure a statistically significant shift due to one out of the 32 fuel assemblies being either missing or degraded to a point of complete loss of structural coherence (i.e. “rubble”). We believe this combination of resonance metrics is new to the field and will have applications beyond the fuel storage problem. Emissions Tomography The Emissions Tomography team at the University of Florida explored the concept of using scattering of radiation emissions from the stored fuel as method of evaluating the internal structural health of the cask. Due to the need for emissive fuel assemblies and the difficulties of gaining access to storage facilities, this team primarily relied on simulations to inform feasibility. A key question was the flux estimates of neutrons with a small enough number of scattering events to retain spatial information. Some key conclusions from the transmission component of this work are that the number of scattering events falls rapidly with energy – setting a 11MeV threshold, the average number of scattering events is 8∓4. Rough estimates of scanning times using an ideal detector array would be 1 week. The team also explored the case of significant structural failure resulting in a shift of the source material (fuel). The result is that a +/- 2% mass shift results in a detectable (5.13%) shift in the correlated 2 neutron emission counts and thus may be a candidate as an initial survey. Finally, simulations for predicting the azimuthal dependence of the flux based on specific loading patterns were conducted. Due to self-shielding effects of the assemblies, a periodic pattern results and could potentially be used to identify missing or severely degraded assemblies. This work forms a basis for proper detector placement with the goal of optimizing sensitivity. Muon Tomography Muon tomography (MT) is a relatively novel method of interrogating interior structure on a large scale. One of the advantages of this technique is that the exciting energy source (cosmic muons) is ubiquitous and relatively stable in time. Challenging aspects are relatively low flux rates and appropriate detector technologies. The efforts of the muon group at Oregon State University focused on two areas: (1) simulation of various combinations of muon scattering events and detection schemes to assess sensitivities and time scales for image construction and (2) building a prototype muon detection system applicable to the dry storage cask problem as well as many other similar systems. Significant accomplishments in this area are: (1) demonstration that MT is a viable method for detecting missing or severely degraded rod assemblies, (2) a scintillation based detector with 4 panels and 32 channels of position data each were constructed, tested, and calibrated. Testing of the panels using natural muon background and no scattering objects yielded largely expected results – a straight line path for the muon through the four panels. However some anomalies (paths deviating from a line) were also detected. A redesign of the board improved the signal which greatly improved the muon tracking through the panels. Testing with lead bricks as scattering bodies showed a reduction in the coincidence rate with increasing bricks indicating increased scattering events. A refinement of the scintillator detector design resulted in a spatial image resolution of around 2 cm based on lead brick spacing tests lasting 24 hours. Passive/Active Ultrasonics This team at the University of South Carolina investigated the feasibility of combining passive ultrasonics, in which an elastic pulse is generated by a degradation process (such as a crack extending), and active ultrasonics, in which a known excitation is introduced into the structure and detected by an array of transducers. Significant accomplishments in this area include the development of elastic wave propagation simulation in relevant materials, development of diagnostic algorithms, and laboratory testing and validation using laser doppler vibrometry. This group demonstrated the applicability of various non-contact vibration detection methodologies such as air-coupled ultrasonic transducers and scanning laser doppler vibrometry. While passive acoustic emissions monitoring will likely have a role during the transportation of a fuel storage cask, the level of detailed information about the defect generating the event which can be ascertained from the detections in a complex structure remains for future work. Thermography The EPRI team contributed early in the project a series of thermography measurements in which various levels of water pooled in a mock-up canister were analyzed using commercially available infrared imaging technologies. While large levels of water (100 L, ~10 cm deep) were observable in the thermograms, more realistic levels of pooled water (1 L) were not detectable whether localized or distributed.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Evaluation of various thrust calculation techniques on an F404 engine

In support of performance testing of the X-29A aircraft at the NASA-Ames, various thrust calculation techniques were developed and evaluated for use on the F404-GE-400 engine. The engine was thrust calibrated at NASA-Lewis. Results from these tests were used to correct the manufacturer's in-flight thrust program to more accurately calculate thrust for the specific test engine. Data from these tests were also used to develop an independent, simplified thrust calculation technique for real-time thrust calculation. Comparisons were also made to thrust values predicted by the engine specification model. Results indicate uninstalled gross thrust accuracies on the order of 1 to 4 percent for the various in-flight thrust methods. The various thrust calculations are described and their usage, uncertainty, and measured accuracies are explained. In addition, the advantages of a real-time thrust algorithm for flight test use and the importance of an accurate thrust calculation to the aircraft performance analysis are described. Finally, actual data obtained from flight test are presented.

Ray, Ronald J.↗

Autonomous Closed-Loop Experimental Characterization and Dynamic Model Validation of a Scaled Underwater Kite

This paper presents the closed-loop experimental framework and dynamic model validation for a 1/12-scale underwater kite design. The pool-based tow testing framework described herein, which involves a fully actuated, closed-loop controlled kite and flexible tether, significantly expands upon the capabilities of any previously developed open-source framework for experimental underwater kite characterization. Specifically, the framework has allowed for the validation of three closed-loop flight control strategies, along with a critical comparison between dynamic model predictions and experimental results. In this paper, we provide a detailed presentation of the experimental tow system and kite setup, describe the control algorithms implemented and tested, and quantify the level of agreement between our multi-degree-of-freedom kite dynamic model and experimental data. Finally, we also present a sensitivity analysis that helps to identify the most influential parameters to kite performance and further explain the remaining mismatches between the model and data.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Comparison of Machine Learning and Deep Learning for View Identification from Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Images

Background: Artificial intelligence is increasingly utilized to aid in the interpretation of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) studies. One of the first steps is the identification of the imaging plane depicted, which can be achieved by both deep learning (DL) and classical machine learning (ML) techniques without user input. We aimed to compare the accuracy of ML and DL for CMR view classification and to identify potential pitfalls during training and testing of the algorithms. Methods: To train our DL and ML algorithms, we first established datasets by retrospectively selecting 200 CMR cases. The models were trained using two different cohorts (passively and actively curated) and applied data augmentation to enhance training. Once trained, the models were validated on an external dataset, consisting of 20 cases acquired at another center. We then compared accuracy metrics and applied class activation mapping (CAM) to visualize DL model performance. Results: The DL and ML models trained with the passively-curated CMR cohort were 99.1% and 99.3% accurate on the validation set, respectively. However, when tested on the CMR cases with complex anatomy, both models performed poorly. After training and testing our models again on all 200 cases (active cohort), validation on the external dataset resulted in 95% and 90% accuracy, respectively. The CAM analysis depicted heat maps that demonstrated the importance of carefully curating the datasets to be used for training. Conclusions: Both DL and ML models can accurately classify CMR images, but DL outperformed ML when classifying images with complex heart anatomy.

artificial intelligence↗

A Comparison of Two Skip Entry Guidance Algorithms

The Orion capsule vehicle will have a Lift-to-Drag ratio (L/D) of 0.3-0.35. For an Apollo-like direct entry into the Earth's atmosphere from a lunar return trajectory, this L/D will give the vehicle a maximum range of about 2500 nm and a maximum crossrange of 216 nm. In order to y longer ranges, the vehicle lift must be used to loft the trajectory such that the aerodynamic forces are decreased. A Skip-Trajectory results if the vehicle leaves the sensible atmosphere and a second entry occurs downrange of the atmospheric exit point. The Orion capsule is required to have landing site access (either on land or in water) inside the Continental United States (CONUS) for lunar returns anytime during the lunar month. This requirement means the vehicle must be capable of flying ranges of at least 5500 nm. For the L/D of the vehicle, this is only possible with the use of a guided Skip-Trajectory. A skip entry guidance algorithm is necessary to achieve this requirement. Two skip entry guidance algorithms have been developed: the Numerical Skip Entry Guidance (NSEG) algorithm was developed at NASA/JSC and PredGuid was developed at Draper Laboratory. A comparison of these two algorithms will be presented in this paper. Each algorithm has been implemented in a high-fidelity, 6 degree-of-freedom simulation called the Advanced NASA Technology Architecture for Exploration Studies (ANTARES). NASA and Draper engineers have completed several monte carlo analyses in order to compare the performance of each algorithm in various stress states. Each algorithm has been tested for entry-to-target ranges to include direct entries and skip entries of varying length. Dispersions have been included on the initial entry interface state, vehicle mass properties, vehicle aerodynamics, atmosphere, and Reaction Control System (RCS). Performance criteria include miss distance to the target, RCS fuel usage, maximum g-loads and heat rates for the first and second entry, total heat load, and control system saturation. The comparison of the performance criteria has led to a down select and guidance merger that will take the best ideas from each algorithm to create one skip entry guidance algorithm for the Orion vehicle.

Rea, Jeremy R.↗

The Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP): Continuing NASA Research and Applications

The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite was successfully launched into a polar orbit on October 28, 2011 carrying 5 remote sensing instruments designed to provide data to improve weather forecasts and to increase understanding of long-term climate change. SNPP provides operational continuity of satellite-based observations for NOAA's Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and continues the long-term record of climate quality observations established by NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites. In the 2003 to 2011 pre-launch timeframe, NASA's SNPP Science Team assessed the adequacy of the operational Raw Data Records (RDRs), Sensor Data Records (SDRs), and Environmental Data Records (EDRs) from the SNPP instruments for use in NASA Earth Science research, examined the operational algorithms used to produce those data records, and proposed a path forward for the production of climate quality products from SNPP. In order to perform these tasks, a distributed data system, the NASA Science Data Segment (SDS), ingested RDRs, SDRs, and EDRs from the NOAA Archive and Distribution and Interface Data Processing Segments, ADS and IDPS, respectively. The SDS also obtained operational algorithms for evaluation purposes from the NOAA Government Resource for Algorithm Verification, Independent Testing and Evaluation (GRAVITE). Within the NASA SDS, five Product Evaluation and Test Elements (PEATEs) received, ingested, and stored data and performed NASA's data processing, evaluation, and analysis activities. The distributed nature of this data distribution system was established by physically housing each PEATE within one of five Climate Analysis Research Systems (CARS) located at either at a NASA or a university institution. The CARS were organized around 5 key EDRs directly in support of the following NASA Earth Science focus areas: atmospheric sounding, ocean, land, ozone, and atmospheric composition products. The PEATES provided the system level interface with members of the NASA SNPP Science Team and other science investigators within each CARS. A sixth Earth Radiation Budget CARS was established at NASA Langley Research Center (NASA LaRC) to support instrument performance, data evaluation, and analysis for the SNPP Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Budget Energy System (CERES) instrument. Following the 2011 launch of SNPP, spacecraft commissioning, and instrument activation, the NASA SNPP Science Team evaluated the operational RDRs, SDRs, and EDRs produced by the NOAA ADS and IDPS. A key part in that evaluation was the NASA Science Team's independent processing of operational RDRs and SDRs to EDRs using the latest NASA science algorithms. The NASA science evaluation was completed in the December 2012 to April 2014 timeframe with the release of a series of NASA Science Team Discipline Reports. In summary, these reports indicated that the RDRs produced by the SNPP instruments were of sufficiently high quality to be used to create data products suitable for NASA Earth System science and applications. However, the quality of the SDRs and EDRs were found to vary greatly when considering suitability for NASA science. The need for improvements in operational algorithms, adoption of different algorithmic approaches, greater monitoring of on-orbit instrument calibration, greater attention to data product validation, and data reprocessing were prominent findings in the reports. In response to these findings, NASA, in late 2013, directed the NASA SNPP Science Team to use SNPP instrument data to develop data products of sufficiently high quality to enable the continuation of EOS time series data records and to develop innovative, practical applications of SNPP data. This direction necessitated a transition of the SDS data system from its pre-launch assessment mode to one of full data processing and production. To do this, the PEATES, which served as NASA's data product testing environment during the prelaunch and early on-orbit periods, were transitioned to Science Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPS). The distributed data architecture was maintained in this new system by locating the SIPS at the same institutions at which the CARS and PEATES were located. The SIPS acquire raw SNPP instrument Level 0 (i.e. RDR) data over the full SNPP mission from the NOAA ADS and IDPS through the NASA SDS Data Distribution and Depository Element (SD3E). The SIPS process those data into NASA Level 1, Level 2, and global, gridded Level 3 standard products using peer-reviewed algorithms provided by members of the NASA Science Team. The SIPS work with the NASA SNPP Science Team in obtaining enhanced, refined, or alternate real-time algorithms to support the capabilities of the Direct Readout Laboratory (DRL). All data products, algorithm source codes, coefficients, and auxiliary data used in product generation are archived in an assigned NASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

remote sensing↗

Ascent, Transition, Entry, and Abort Guidance Algorithm Design for the X-33 Vehicle

One of the primary requirements for X-33 is that it be capable of flying autonomously. That is, onboard computers must be capable of commanding the entire flight from launch to landing, including cases where a single engine failure abort occurs. Guidance algorithms meeting these requirements have been tested in simulation and have been coded into prototype flight software. These algorithms must be sufficiently robust to account for vehicle and environmental dispersions, and must issue commands that result in the vehicle operating, within all constraints. Continual tests of these algorithms (and modifications as necessary) will occur over the next year as the X-33 nears its first flight. This paper describes the algorithms in use for X-33 ascent, transition, and entry flight, as well as for the powered phase of PowerPack-out (PPO) aborts (equivalent in thrust impact to losing an engine). All following discussion refers to these phases of flight when discussing guidance. The paper includes some trajectory results and results of dispersion analysis.

Hanson, John M.↗

Benchmarking Diagnostic Algorithms on an Electrical Power System Testbed

Diagnostic algorithms (DAs) are key to enabling automated health management. These algorithms are designed to detect and isolate anomalies of either a component or the whole system based on observations received from sensors. In recent years a wide range of algorithms, both model-based and data-driven, have been developed to increase autonomy and improve system reliability and affordability. However, the lack of support to perform systematic benchmarking of these algorithms continues to create barriers for effective development and deployment of diagnostic technologies. In this paper, we present our efforts to benchmark a set of DAs on a common platform using a framework that was developed to evaluate and compare various performance metrics for diagnostic technologies. The diagnosed system is an electrical power system, namely the Advanced Diagnostics and Prognostics Testbed (ADAPT) developed and located at the NASA Ames Research Center. The paper presents the fundamentals of the benchmarking framework, the ADAPT system, description of faults and data sets, the metrics used for evaluation, and an in-depth analysis of benchmarking results obtained from testing ten diagnostic algorithms on the ADAPT electrical power system testbed.

Kurtoglu, Tolga↗

The Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC) and Closed-loop Hardware Testing for Orion Rendezvous System Design

The Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC) at the Lockheed Martin (LM) Waterton Campus in Littleton, Colorado is a dynamic test environment focused on Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) development testing and risk reduction activities. The SOSC supports multiple program pursuits and accommodates testing Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) algorithms for relative navigation, hardware testing and characterization, as well as software and test process development. The SOSC consists of a high bay (60 meters long by 15.2 meters wide by 15.2 meters tall) with dual six degree-of-freedom (6DOF) motion simulators and a single fixed base 6DOF robot. The large testing area (maximum sensor-to-target effective range of 60 meters) allows for large-scale, flight-like simulations of proximity maneuvers and docking events. The facility also has two apertures for access to external extended-range outdoor target test operations. In addition, the facility contains four Mission Operations Centers (MOCs) with connectivity to dual high bay control rooms and a data/video interface room. The high bay is rated at Class 300,000 (. 0.5 m maximum particles/m3) cleanliness and includes orbital lighting simulation capabilities.

D'Souza, Christopher↗

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↗

On-Wafer S-Parameter Measurements in the 325-508-GHz Band

New circuits have been designed and fabricated with operating frequencies over 325 GHz. In order to measure S-parameters of these circuits, an extensive process of wafer dicing and packaging, and waveguide transition design, fabrication, and packaging would be required. This is a costly and time-consuming process before the circuit can be tested in waveguide. The new probes and calibration procedures will simplify the testing process. New on-wafer probes, and a procedure for their calibration, have been developed that allow fast and inexpensive S-parameter characterization of circuits in the 325 -508 -GHz frequency band. The on-wafer probes transition from rectangular waveguide to coplanar waveguide probe tips with 40- m nominal signal-to-ground pin pitch so as to allow for probing circuits on a wafer. The probes with bias tees have been optimized for minimal insertion loss and maximum return loss when placed on 50-ohm structures to allow for calibration. The calibration process has been developed using the Thru-Reflect-Line Agilent algorithm with JPL determined calibration structures and calibration coefficients for the algorithm. This new test capability is presently unique to JPL. With it, researchers will be able to better develop circuits such as low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, multipliers, and mixers for heterodyne receivers in the 325-508-GHz frequency band for remote sensing/spectroscopy.

Fung, King Man↗

Advection algorithms for quantum neutrino moment transport

Neutrino transport in compact objects is an inherently challenging multidimensional problem. Here, this difficulty is compounded if one includes flavor transformation—an intrinsically quantum phenomenon requiring one to follow the coherence between flavors and thus necessitating the introduction of complex numbers. To reduce the computational burden, simulations of compact objects that include neutrino transport often make use of momentum-angle-integrated moments (the lowest order ones being commonly referred to as the energy density and flux) and these quantities can be generalized to include neutrino flavor, i.e., they become quantum moments. Numerous finite-volume approaches to solving the moment evolution equations for classical neutrino transport have been developed based on solving a Riemann problem at cell interfaces. In this paper we describe our generalization of a Riemann solver for quantum moments, specifically decomposing complex numbers in terms of a (signed) magnitude and phase instead of real and imaginary parts. We then test our new algorithm in numerous cases showing a neutrino fast flavor instability, varying from toy models with analytic solutions to snapshots from neutron star merger simulations. Compared to previous algorithms for neutrino transport with flavor mixing, we find uniformly smaller growth rates of the flavor transformation along with concomitantly larger length-scales, and that the results are a better match with the growth rates seen from multiangle codes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗