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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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81 records · Page 5

A Machine-Checked Proof of A State-Space Construction Algorithm

This paper presents the correctness proof of Saturation, an algorithm for generating state spaces of concurrent systems, implemented in the SMART tool. Unlike the Breadth First Search exploration algorithm, which is easy to understand and formalise, Saturation is a complex algorithm, employing a mutually-recursive pair of procedures that compute a series of non-trivial, nested local fixed points, corresponding to a chaotic fixed point strategy. A pencil-and-paper proof of Saturation exists, but a machine checked proof had never been attempted. The key element of the proof is the characterisation theorem of saturated nodes in decision diagrams, stating that a saturated node represents a set of states encoding a local fixed-point with respect to firing all events affecting only the node s level and levels below. For our purpose, we have employed the Prototype Verification System (PVS) for formalising the Saturation algorithm, its data structures, and for conducting the proofs.

Catano, Nestor↗

Orbital Operations for Phobos and Deimos Exploration

One of the deep-space human exploration activities proposed for the post-Shuttle era is a mission to one of the moons of Mars, Phobos or Deimos. There are several options available to the mission architect for operations around these bodies. These options include distant retrograde orbits (DROs), Lagrange-point orbits such as halos and Lyapunov orbits, and fixed-point stationkeeping or "hovering." These three orbit options are discussed in the context of the idealized circular restricted three body problem, full-dynamics propagations, and a concept of operations. The discussion is focused on Phobos, but all results hold for Deimos

distant retrograde orbits (DROs)↗

Optimized FPGA Implementation of Multi-Rate FIR Filters Through Thread Decomposition

Multirate (decimation/interpolation) filters are among the essential signal processing components in spaceborne instruments where Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters are often used to minimize nonlinear group delay and finite-precision effects. Cascaded (multi-stage) designs of Multi-Rate FIR (MRFIR) filters are further used for large rate change ratio, in order to lower the required throughput while simultaneously achieving comparable or better performance than single-stage designs. Traditional representation and implementation of MRFIR employ polyphase decomposition of the original filter structure, whose main purpose is to compute only the needed output at the lowest possible sampling rate. In this paper, an alternative representation and implementation technique, called TD-MRFIR (Thread Decomposition MRFIR), is presented. The basic idea is to decompose MRFIR into output computational threads, in contrast to a structural decomposition of the original filter as done in the polyphase decomposition. Each thread represents an instance of the finite convolution required to produce a single output of the MRFIR. The filter is thus viewed as a finite collection of concurrent threads. The technical details of TD-MRFIR will be explained, first showing its applicability to the implementation of downsampling, upsampling, and resampling FIR filters, and then describing a general strategy to optimally allocate the number of filter taps. A particular FPGA design of multi-stage TD-MRFIR for the L-band radar of NASA's SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) instrument is demonstrated; and its implementation results in several targeted FPGA devices are summarized in terms of the functional (bit width, fixed-point error) and performance (time closure, resource usage, and power estimation) parameters.

DSP↗

CLAS-ACT: Conformal, Lightweight Antennas for Aeronautical Communications Technology

The growing demand for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and operating them beyond the line of sight (BLOS) has resulted in an increased interest in using existing satellite communication capabilities for command, control, and telemetry (CC&T). As the user base in this allocated portion of the spectrum expands, there is an increased potential for interference with existing terrestrial fixed-point communication systems. As secondary users, UAVs must seek out new solutions to avoid interfering with these existing ground sites while maintaining good links with satellite constellations. In this presentation, a novel lightweight conformal phased array antenna currently under development is presented that can use null steering and/or beam shaping to avoid ground interference while simultaneously providing strong satellite microwave links for communications. The reduced weight of this design and ability to integrate into the fuselage of smaller UAV platforms will also be discussed as a potential solution to provide BLOS operation via spectrum sharing for an expanding user base.

Meador, Mary Ann↗

Community Noise Assessment of Urban Air Mobility Vehicle Operations using the FAA Aviation Environmental Design Tool

In contrast to most commercial air traffic today, vehicles serving the urban air mobility (UAM) market are anticipated to operate in communities close to the public at large. The approved model for assessing environmental impact of air traffic actions in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), does not support analysis of such operations due to a combined lack of a UAM aircraft performance model and aircraft noise data. This paper discusses the initial development of a method to assess the acoustic impact of UAM fleet operations on the community using AEDT and demonstrates its use for representative UAM operations. In particular, methods were developed using fixed-point flight profiles and user-supplied noise data in a manner that avoids unwanted behavior in AEDT. A set of 32 routes in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area were assessed for single and multiple (fleet) operations for two concept vehicles.

urban air mobility↗

Community Noise Assessment of Urban Air Mobility Vehicle Operations using the FAA Aviation Environmental Design Tool

In contrast to most commercial air traffic today, vehicles serving the urban air mobility (UAM) market are anticipated to operate in communities close to the public at large. The approved model for assessing environmental impact of air traffic actions in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), does not support analysis of such operations due to a combined lack of a UAM aircraft performance model and aircraft noise data. This paper discusses the initial development of a method to assess the acoustic impact of UAM fleet operations on the community using AEDT and demonstrates its use for representative UAM operations. In particular, methods were developed using fixed-point flight profiles and user-supplied noise data in a manner that avoids unwanted behavior in AEDT. A set of 32 routes in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area were assessed for single and multiple (fleet) operations for two concept vehicles.

urban air mobility↗

Using XR for Improving Scientific Discovery With Numerical Weather Models

Our work explores the use of extended reality (XR) to im- prove scientific discovery with numerical weather/climate models that inform Earth science digital twins, specifically the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) global atmospheric model. The overall project is named the Vi- sualization And Lagrangian dynamics Immersive eXtended Reality Toolkit (VALIXR), which has two main areas of focus: (1) enhancing the understanding of and interaction with model output data through advanced visualizations in the XR environment, and (2) the integration of Lagrangian dynamics into the GEOS model, which allows a natural, feature-specific analysis of Earth science phenomena as op- posed to traditional, fixed-point Eulerian dynamics. Here, we report initial work on these focus areas.

Thomas Grubb↗

Development of Segregated Thermal-Hydraulics Solvers in MOOSE

The simulation of fluid flows is an essential part of the design and analysis of nuclear systems. Algorithms able to simulate flows at different fidelity levels are available in the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) and MOOSE-based applications such as Pronghorn \cite{novak2018pronghorn}, Pronghorn-Subchannel, RELAP-7, and SAM. Currently, significant effort is being invested in the development of coarse-mesh Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) capabilities within MOOSE and Pronghorn for the simulation of Generation IV nuclear reactors. Traditionally, the solution algorithms in MOOSE have relied on Newton or quasi-Newton methods (such as the preconditioned Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov method) where residuals and Jacobians (or approximations thereof) are constructed. Both Newton and quasi-Newton methods require the solution of a linear system at each nonlinear Newton iteration with the Jacobian as the system matrix. The Jacobian contains blocks originating from all variables in the problem (i.e., for thermal-hydraulics at least pressure, velocities, and temperature). Due to the formulation of the problem in a general multiphysics setting on unstructured mesh, creating a good preconditioner for the linear system can be challenging, thus many fluid applications have utilized direct solver-based methods such as LU factorization. However, with increasing system size and complexity in multi-dimensional problems, the direct solution of linear systems becomes computationally expensive both in execution time and and memory. For this reason, recent effort has focused on adapting segregated solution algorithms for CFD problems in MOOSE. These algorithms use fixed-point iteration between segregated systems whose assembly and preconditioning are easier those of the monolithic system. Initial results show that the segregated solution algorithm outperforms the monolithic approach in terms of memory usage and for large 3D problems in terms of CPU time as well.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Development of Segregated Thermal-Hydraulics Solvers in MOOSE

The simulation of fluid flows is an essential part of the design and analysis of nuclear systems. Algorithms able to simulate flows at different fidelity levels are available in the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) and MOOSE-based applications such as Pronghorn \cite{novak2018pronghorn}, Pronghorn-Subchannel, RELAP-7, and SAM. Currently, significant effort is being invested in the development of coarse-mesh Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) capabilities within MOOSE and Pronghorn for the simulation of Generation IV nuclear reactors. Traditionally, the solution algorithms in MOOSE have relied on Newton or quasi-Newton methods (such as the preconditioned Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov method) where residuals and Jacobians (or approximations thereof) are constructed. Both Newton and quasi-Newton methods require the solution of a linear system at each nonlinear Newton iteration with the Jacobian as the system matrix. The Jacobian contains blocks originating from all variables in the problem (i.e., for thermal-hydraulics at least pressure, velocities, and temperature). Due to the formulation of the problem in a general multiphysics setting on unstructured mesh, creating a good preconditioner for the linear system can be challenging, thus many fluid applications have utilized direct solver-based methods such as LU factorization. However, with increasing system size and complexity in multi-dimensional problems, the direct solution of linear systems becomes computationally expensive both in execution time and and memory. For this reason, recent effort has focused on adapting segregated solution algorithms for CFD problems in MOOSE. These algorithms use fixed-point iteration between segregated systems whose assembly and preconditioning are easier those of the monolithic system. Initial results show that the segregated solution algorithm outperforms the monolithic approach in terms of memory usage and for large 3D problems in terms of CPU time as well.

42 ENGINEERING↗