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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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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1998

A Comparison of Interactional Aerodynamics Methods for a Helicopter in Low Speed Flight

Recent advances in computing subsonic flow have been applied to helicopter configurations with various degrees of success. This paper is a comparison of two specific methods applied to a particularly challenging regime of helicopter flight, very low speeds, where the interaction of the rotor wake and the fuselage are most significant. Comparisons are made between different methods of predicting the interactional aerodynamics associated with a simple generic helicopter configuration. These comparisons are made using fuselage pressure data from a Mach-scaled powered model helicopter with a rotor diameter of approximately 3 meters. The data shown are for an advance ratio of 0.05 with a thrust coefficient of 0.0066. The results of this comparison show that in this type of complex flow both analytical techniques have regions where they are more accurate in matching the experimental data.

Berry, John D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Comparison of Interactional Aerodynamics Methods for a Helicopter in Low Speed Flight

Recent advances in computing subsonic flow have been applied to helicopter configurations with various degrees of success. This paper is a comparison of two specific methods applied to a particularly challenging regime of helicopter flight, very low speeds, where the interaction of the rotor wake and the fuselage are most significant. Comparisons are made between different methods of predicting the interactional aerodynamics associated with a simple generic helicopter configuration. These comparisons are made using fuselage pressure data from a Mach-scaled powered model helicopter with a rotor diameter of approximately 3 meters. The data shown are for an advance ratio of 0.05 with a thrust coefficient of 0.0066. The results of this comparison show that in this type of complex flow both analytical techniques have regions where they are more accurate in matching the experimental data.

Berry, John D.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Microwave-Spectral Signatures Would Reveal Concealed Objects

A proposed technique for locating concealed objects (especially small antipersonnel land mines) involves the acquisition and processing of spectral signatures over broad microwave frequency bands. This technique was conceived to overcome the weaknesses of older narrow- band electromagnetic techniques like ground-probing radar and low-frequency electromagnetic induction. Ground-probing radar is susceptible to false detections and/or interference caused by rocks, roots, air pockets, soil inhomogeneities, ice, liquid water, and miscellaneous buried objects other than those sought. Moreover, if the radar frequency happens to be one for which the permittivity of a sought object matches the permittivity of the surrounding soil or there is an unfavorable complex-amplitude addition of the radar reflection at the receiver, then the object is not detected. Low-frequency electromagnetic induction works well for detecting metallic objects, but the amounts of metal in plastic mines are often too small to be detectable. The potential advantage of the proposed technique arises from the fact that wideband spectral signatures generally contain more relevant information than do narrow-band signals. Consequently, spectral signatures could be used to make better decisions regarding whether concealed objects are present and whether they are the ones sought. In some cases, spectral signatures could provide information on the depths, sizes, shapes, and compositions of objects. An apparatus to implement the proposed technique (see Figure 1) could be assembled from equipment already in common use. Typically, such an apparatus would include a radio-frequency (RF) transmitter/receiver, a broad-band microwave antenna, and a fast personal computer loaded with appropriate software. In operation, the counter would be turned on, the antenna would be aimed at the ground or other mass suspected to contain a mine or other sought object, and the operating frequency would be swept over the band of interest.

Arndt, G.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Dude Where's My Stars: A Novel Topologically Justified Approach to Star Tracking

In this paper, we consider two novel approaches to celestial navigation for spacecraft. Determining attitude without any prior knowledge using star tracking is known to be a difficult task, particularly given the computational complexity and the many potential sources of misinformation. We consider localization by optimizing matching parameters without explicit star identification in a computationally tractable manner. This is achieved using the mathematical tools of topological data analysis (TDA) and cellular sheaves to study the geometry and distribution of cataloged stars. A framework is gained that enhances the statistical approach to noise handling and false star detection, and heterogeneous sensor fusion. Finally, we discuss confidence bounds and minimum information requirements for successful operation.

Sheaf theory↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Computational Icing Analysis on NASA’s SIDRM Geometry to Investigate Collection Efficiency

Computational icing analysis results were compared to experimental icing tunnel data including aerothermal (e.g. dry air) and supercooled water droplet rime-ice conditions from tests conducted in early 2022 at the NASA Icing Research Tunnel (IRT). The Simulated Intercompressor Duct Research Model (SIDRM) test article was used in this study, and its geometry represents the inter-compressor duct region of a turbofan engine. The test article’s purpose is to study the physics of supercooled water icing and ice crystal icing. This study compared three different icing codes: FENSAP-ICE (Eulerian approach), LEWICE3D (Lagrangian approach), and GlennICE (Lagrangian approach). All three icing codes were conducted on SIDRM’s complex body flow-field and compared to different experimental supercooled water rime runs. The test article instrumentation (pressure taps, thermocouples, etc.) and 3D laser scans of final ice shapes were used to compare against the different icing code simulations. The overall objectives are to understand how the icing codes handle capturing collection efficiency on the complex test article’s unheated surfaces. In the aerothermal cases, pressure tap readings matched the CFD results, but dry air CFD underpredicted thermocouple readings. Collection efficiency results from all three icing codes matched well together on the main body leading edge, main body slope, and the strut leading edges. All three icing codes underpredicted the final ice shape using a single-shot constant ice density approach, with more difficulty coming from the strut leading edge ice shape due to the swept wing like flow field. NASA’s overall goal for this effort is to develop computational icing tools to assist in the design and certification of engines for flight in icing conditions.

Supercooled icing, SIDRM, aerodynamics, computatio↗
NASA NTRS1990

Sparse distributed memory overview

The Sparse Distributed Memory (SDM) project is investigating the theory and applications of massively parallel computing architecture, called sparse distributed memory, that will support the storage and retrieval of sensory and motor patterns characteristic of autonomous systems. The immediate objectives of the project are centered in studies of the memory itself and in the use of the memory to solve problems in speech, vision, and robotics. Investigation of methods for encoding sensory data is an important part of the research. Examples of NASA missions that may benefit from this work are Space Station, planetary rovers, and solar exploration. Sparse distributed memory offers promising technology for systems that must learn through experience and be capable of adapting to new circumstances, and for operating any large complex system requiring automatic monitoring and control. Sparse distributed memory is a massively parallel architecture motivated by efforts to understand how the human brain works. Sparse distributed memory is an associative memory, able to retrieve information from cues that only partially match patterns stored in the memory. It is able to store long temporal sequences derived from the behavior of a complex system, such as progressive records of the system's sensory data and correlated records of the system's motor controls.

Raugh, Mike↗
NASA NTRS2005

Tholins as Coloring Agents on Outer Solar System Bodies

The red colors of many solid bodies in outer Solar System may be caused by tholins, which are refractory organic complexes, incorporated in their surface materials. Tholins synthesized in the laboratory are shown to match the colors of these bodies when their optical properties are used in rigorous scattering models. We review recent successes in modeling the spectra of icy outer Solar System bodies with tholins as the coloring agents. New work on the systematic laboratory synthesis and analysis of tholins made by cold plasma discharge in mixtures of gaseous CH4/N2 shows that the composition of the tholin depends strongly on the pressure in the reaction chamber, and only weakly on the mixing fraction of CH4 relative to N2. In tholins made at high pressure (e.g., 23 hPa) the abundance of aliphatic hydrocarbons is greater and the abundance of aromatic hydrocarbons is less than in tholins made at low pressure (e.g., 0.13 hPa). Tholins made at low deposition pressures show a greater abundance of N-H bonds.

Cruikshank, Dale P.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Simulating the Composite Propellant Manufacturing Process

There is a strategic interest in understanding how the propellant manufacturing process contributes to military capabilities outside the United States. The paper will discuss how system dynamics (SD) has been applied to rapidly assess the capabilities and vulnerabilities of a specific composite propellant production complex. These facilities produce a commonly used solid propellant with military applications. The authors will explain how an SD model can be configured to match a specific production facility followed by a series of scenarios designed to analyze operational vulnerabilities. By using the simulation model to rapidly analyze operational risks, the analyst gains a better understanding of production complexities. There are several benefits of developing SD models to simulate chemical production. SD is an effective tool for characterizing complex problems, especially the production process where the cascading effect of outages quickly taxes common understanding. By programming expert knowledge into an SD application, these tools are transformed into a knowledge management resource that facilitates rapid learning without requiring years of experience in production operations. It also permits the analyst to rapidly respond to crisis situations and other time-sensitive missions. Most importantly, the quantitative understanding gained from applying the SD model lends itself to strategic analysis and planning.

Williamson, Suzanne↗
NASA NTRS2009

Complex Event Recognition Architecture

Complex Event Recognition Architecture (CERA) is the name of a computational architecture, and software that implements the architecture, for recognizing complex event patterns that may be spread across multiple streams of input data. One of the main components of CERA is an intuitive event pattern language that simplifies what would otherwise be the complex, difficult tasks of creating logical descriptions of combinations of temporal events and defining rules for combining information from different sources over time. In this language, recognition patterns are defined in simple, declarative statements that combine point events from given input streams with those from other streams, using conjunction, disjunction, and negation. Patterns can be built on one another recursively to describe very rich, temporally extended combinations of events. Thereafter, a run-time matching algorithm in CERA efficiently matches these patterns against input data and signals when patterns are recognized. CERA can be used to monitor complex systems and to signal operators or initiate corrective actions when anomalous conditions are recognized. CERA can be run as a stand-alone monitoring system, or it can be integrated into a larger system to automatically trigger responses to changing environments or problematic situations.

Fitzgerald, William A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Sin(x)**2 + cos(x)**2 = 1

Attempts to achieve tasteful automatic employment of the identities sin sq x + cos sq x = 1 and cos sq h x -sin sq h x = 1 in a manner which truly minimizes the complexity of the resulting expression are described. The disappointments of trigonometric reduction, trigonometric expansion, pattern matching, Poisson series, and Demoivre's theorem are related. The advantages of using the method of comparative combinatorial substitutions are illustrated.

Stoutemyer, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Automated dynamic analytical model improvement for damped structures

A method is described to improve a linear nonproportionally damped analytical model of a structure. The procedure finds the smallest changes in the analytical model such that the improved model matches the measured modal parameters. Features of the method are: (1) ability to properly treat complex valued modal parameters of a damped system; (2) applicability to realistically large structural models; and (3) computationally efficiency without involving eigensolutions and inversion of a large matrix.

Fuh, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Fault-tolerant wait-free shared objects

A concurrent system consists of processes and shared objects. Previous research focused on the problem of tolerating process failure. We study the complementary problem of tolerating failures. We divide object failures into two broad classes: responsive and non-responsive. With responsive failures, a faulty object responds to every invocation, but responses may be incorrect. With non-responsive failures, a faulty object may also 'hang' without responding. For each class, we consider crash, and arbitrary types of failures. For each type of failure, we are seeking a universal implementation for fault-tolerant wait-free shared objects. We present (deterministic) implementations for all types of responsive failures, including arbitrary failures. In contrast, we show that even the most benign type of non-responsive failures requires the use of randomization. Of special interest is the problem of implementing fault-tolerant objects using only objects of the same type. We present such fault-tolerant self-implementations for many common object types. Graceful degradation is a desirable property of fault-tolerant implementations: the implemented object never fails more severely than the base objects it is derived from, even if all the base objects fail. For several failure models, we show whether this property can be achieved, and, if so, how. In addition to the above possibility/impossibility results, we also consider the resources complexity of fault-tolerant implementations. In many cases, we present lower bounds and give matching algorithms.

Jayanti, Prasad↗
NASA NTRS2019

Human Performance Contributions to Safety in Commercial Aviation

Every day in aviation, pilots, air traffic controllers, and other front-line personnel perform countless correct judgments and actions in a variety of operational environments. These judgments and actions are often the difference between an accident and a non-event. Ironically, data on these behaviors are rarely collected or analyzed. Data-driven decisions about safety management and design of safety-critical systems are limited by the available data, which influence how decision makers characterize problems and identify solutions. Large volumes of data are collected on the failures and errors that result in infrequent incidents and accidents, but in the absence of data on behaviors that result in routine successful outcomes, safety management and system design decisions are based on a small sample of nonrepresentative safety data. This assessment aimed to find and document “safety successes” made possible by human operators. With many Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) Programs and Projects focusing on increased automation and autonomy and decreased human involvement, failure to fully consider the human contributions to successful system performance in civil aviation represents a significant risk — a risk that has not been recognized to date. Without understanding how humans contribute to safety, any estimate of predicted safety of autonomous capabilities is incomplete and inherently suspect. Furthermore, understanding the ways in which humans contribute to safety can promote strategic interactions among safety technologies, functions, procedures and the people using them. Without this understanding, the full benefits of an integrated, optimized human/technology or autonomous system will not be realized. Historically, safety has been consistently defined in terms of the occurrence of accidents or recognized risks (i.e., in terms of things that go wrong). These adverse outcomes are explained by identifying their causes, and safety is restored by eliminating or mitigating these causes. An alternative to this approach is to focus on what goes right and identify how to replicate that process. Focusing on the rare cases of failures attributed to “human error” provides little information about why human performance routinely prevents adverse events. Hollnagel has proposed that things go right because people continuously adjust their work to match their operating conditions. These adjustments become increasingly important as systems continue to grow in complexity. Thus, the definition of safety should reflect not only “avoiding things that go wrong” but “ensuring that things go right.” The basis for safety management requires developing an understanding of everyday activities. However, few mechanisms to monitor everyday work exist in the aviation domain, which limits opportunities to learn how designs function in reality. This concept of safety thinking and safety management is reflected in the emerging field of resilience engineering. According to Hollnagel, a system is resilient if it can sustain required operations under expected and unexpected conditions by adjusting its functioning prior to, during, or following changes, disturbances, and opportunities. To explore “positive” behaviors that contribute to resilient performance in commercial aviation, the assessment team examined a range of existing sources of data about pilot and air traffic control (ATC) tower controller performance, including subjective interviews with domain experts and objective aircraft flight data records. These data were used to identify strategies that support resilient performance, methods for exploring and refining those strategies in existing data, and proposed methods for capturing and analyzing new data.

Null, Cynthia H.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Quantitative comparison of combined gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric profiles of complex mixtures

The paper describes a method called HISLIB for automatic quantitative comparison of gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) results obtained on complex mixtures of organic compounds. The method is based on comparing new mixtures to 'historical' libraries of previous results. Co-occurrence of components is determined by matching relative retention indices (RRIs) and mass spectra after background removal and resolution of overlapping GC components. Internal standards are used to quantify the relative concentrations of components. Applications of HISLIB include validation of analytical procedures to isolate complex mixtures; development of historical libraries which might include complete summaries of all past observations, compilations of controls, or any other selected subset of results; improvement of the quality of existing libraries of mass spectral data; and detection of differences in kind and/or amounts of individual components. Limitations of the method are mentioned along with causes of their occurrence.

Smith, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Protecting Venus from Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors

It is well accepted that the dense, thick atmosphere of Venus prevents most small cosmic bodies from reaching the surface and forming craters. We have examined this atmospheric intervention in detail, incorporating the lessons learned from the extensive modeling of impactor deceleration and flattening motivated by the SL-9 impacts with Jupiter. We employ a "pancake" model, which best matches detailed code simulations of atmospheric energy deposition, and Schmidt-Holsapple crater scaling modified for complex (flattened) craters. We adopt the distributions of Venus-crossing asteroids and comets determined by E.M. Shoemaker and co-workers, as well as generalizations of these distributions. Our nominal simulation of the venusian crater record is shown below, calibrated to the total number of venusian craters (940). As nearly all craters on Venus are well-preserved and relatively uniformly distributed, such simulations constrain the age of the surface. The fit is reasonable, with a nominal crater retention age of approx. 700 Ma. The fit at the large-crater end is improved if the number of large asteroids is increased, which Shoemaker argues is in fact more representative of the long-term (over several 100 Ma) average, and if Halley-family comets are included. The ages we obtain under a variety of modeling choices that produce good fits (including using Shoemaker's preferred crater scaling) are approx. 700-900 Ma, substantially greater than the most widely cited age estimate in the literature (-300 Ma). The key difference is that we find very large depletions in the production of 20-30-km craters (see figure) compared with previous estimates, the size range at which atmospheric effects are often calibrated or assumed nearly negligible. As venusian global resurfacing recedes deeper into history, the likelihood that Venus is resting between bouts of activity diminishes. Venus, like Mars, may instead be dying or dead.

McKinnon, William B.↗
NASA NTRS2003

A Tabletop Tool for Modeling Life Support Systems

This paper describes the development plan for a comprehensive research and diagnostic tool for aspects of advanced life support systems in space-based laboratories. Specifically it aims to build a high fidelity tabletop model that can be used for the purpose of risk mitigation, failure mode analysis, contamination tracking, and testing reliability. We envision a comprehensive approach involving experimental work coupled with numerical simulation to develop this diagnostic tool. It envisions a 10% scale transparent model of a space platform such as the International Space Station that operates with water or a specific matched index of refraction liquid as the working fluid. This allows the scaling of a 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft room with air flow to 1 ft x 1 ft x 1 ft tabletop model with water/liquid flow. Dynamic similitude for this length scale dictates model velocities to be 67% of full-scale and thereby the time scale of the model to represent 15% of the full- scale system; meaning identical processes in the model are completed in 15% of the full- scale time. The use of an index matching fluid (fluid that matches the refractive index of cast acrylic, the model material) allows making the entire model (with complex internal geometry) transparent and hence conducive to non-intrusive optical diagnostics. So using such a system one can test environment control parameters such as core flows (axial flows), cross flows (from registers and diffusers), potential problem areas such as flow short circuits, inadequate oxygen content, build up of other gases beyond desirable levels, test mixing processes within the system at local nodes or compartments and assess the overall system performance. The system allows quantitative measurements of contaminants introduced in the system and allows testing and optimizing the tracking process and removal of contaminants. The envisaged system will be modular and hence flexible for quick configuration change and subsequent testing. The data and inferences from the tests will allow for improvements in the development and design of next generation life support systems and configurations.

Ramachandran, N.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Peripherally hydrogenated neutral polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as carriers of the 3 micron interstellar infrared emission complex: results from single-photon infrared emission spectroscopy

Infrared emission spectra of five gas-phase UV laser-excited polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) containing aliphatic hydrogens are compared with the main 3.3 microns and associated interstellar unidentified infrared emission bands (UIRs). We show that neutral PAHs can account for the majority of the 3 microns emission complex while making little contribution to the other UIR bands; peripherally hydrogenated PAHs produce a better match to astrophysical data than do those containing methyl side groups; 3.4 microns plateau emission is shown to be a general spectral feature of vibrationally excited PAHs containing aliphatic hydrogens, especially those containing methyl groups; and finally, hot-band and overtone emissions arising from aromatic C-H vibrations are not observed in laboratory emission spectra, and therefore, in contrast to current assignments, are not expected to be observed in the UIRs.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗