Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Interactive visualization and analysis”

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

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

At least 955 records · Page 53

VORTAB - A data-tablet method of developing input data for the VORLAX program

A method of developing an input data file for use in the aerodynamic analysis of a complete airplane with the VORLAX computer program is described. The hardware consists of an interactive graphics terminal equipped with a graphics tablet. Software includes graphics routines from the Tektronix PLOT 10 package as well as the VORTAB program described. The user determines the size and location of each of the major panels for the aircraft before using the program. Data is entered both from the terminal keyboard and the graphics tablet. The size of the resulting data file is dependent on the complexity of the model and can vary from ten to several hundred card images. After the data are entered, two programs READB and PLOTB, are executed which plot the configuration allowing visual inspection of the model.

Denn, F. M.↗

MacPASCO - A Macintosh-based, interactive graphic preprocessor for structural analysis and sizing

MacPASCO, an interactive, graphic preprocessor for panel design is described. MacPASCO creates input for PASCO, an existing computer code for structural analysis and optimization of longitudinal stiffened composite panels. By using a graphical user interface, MacPASCO simplifies the specification of panel geometry and reduces user input errors, thus making the modeling and analysis of panel designs more efficient. The user draws the initial structural geometry on the computer screen, then uses a combination of graphic and text inputs to: refine the structural geometry, specify information required for analysis such as panel load conditions, and define design variables and constraints for minimum-mass optimization. Composite panel design is an ideal application because the graphical user interface can: serve as a visual aid, eliminate the tedious aspects of text-based input, and eliminate many sources of input errors.

Lucas, S. H.↗

A distributed analysis and visualization system for model and observational data

The objective of this proposal is to develop an integrated and distributed analysis and display software system which can be applied to all areas of the Earth System Science to study numerical model and earth observational data from storm to global scale. This system will be designed to be easy to use, portable, flexible and easily extensible and to adhere to current and emerging standards whenever possible. It will provide an environment for visualization of the massive amounts of data generated from satellites and other observational field measurements and from model simulations during or after their execution. Two- and three-dimensional animation will also be provided. This system will be based on a widely used software package from NASA called GEMPAK and prototype software for three dimensional interactive displays built at NCSA. The underlying foundation of the system will be a set of software libraries which can be distributed across a UNIX based supercomputer and workstations.

Wilhelmson, Robert↗

Tilt Rotor Aircraft Aeroacoustics

A fleet of civil tilt rotor transports offers a means of reducing airport congestion and point-to-point travel time. The speed, range, and fuel economy of these aircraft, along with their efficient use of vertiport area, make them good candidates for short-to-medium range civil transport. However, to be successfully integrated into the civilian community, the tilt rotor must be perceived as a quiet, safe, and economical mode of transportation that does not harm the environment. In particular, noise impact has been identified as a possible barrier to the civil tilt rotor. Along with rotor conversion-mode flight, and blade-vortex interaction noise during descent, hover mode is a noise problem for tilt rotor operations. In the present research, tilt rotor hover aeroacoustics have been studied analytically, experimentally, and computationally. Various papers on the subject were published as noted in the list of publications. More recently, experimental measurements were made on a 1/12.5 scale model of the XV-15 in hover and analyses of this data and extrapolations to full scale were also carried out. A dimensional analysis showed that the model was a good aeroacoustic approximation to the full-scale aircraft, and scale factors were derived to extrapolate the model measurements to the full-scale XV-15. The experimental measurements included helium bubble flow visualization, silk tuft flow visualization, 2-component hot wire anemometry, 7-hole pressure probe measurements, vorticity measurements, and outdoor far field acoustic measurements. The hot wire measurements were used to estimate the turbulence statistics of the flow field into the rotors, such as length scales, velocity scales, dissipation, and turbulence intermittency. Several different configurations of the model were tested: (1) standard configurations (single isolated rotor, two rotors without the aircraft, standard tilt rotor configuration); (2) flow control devices (the 'plate', the 'diagonal fences'); (3) basic configuration changes (increasing the rotor/rotor spacing, reducing the rotor plane/wing clearance. operating the rotors out of phase). Also, an approximation to Sikorsky's Variable Diameter Tilt Rotor (VDTR) configuration was tested, and some flow measurements were made on a semi-span configuration of the model. Acoustic predictions were made using LOWSON.M, a Mathematica code Mean aerodynamic models were developed based on hover performance predictions from HOVER.FOR. This hover prediction code used blade element theory for the aerodynamics, and Prandtl's Vortex theory to model the wake, along with empirical formulas for the effects of Reynolds number, Mach number, and stall. Aerodynamic models were developed from 7-hole pressure probe measurements of the mean velocity into the model rotors.

George, Albert R.↗

RABBIT: A Rapid Low Fidelity BVI Prediction Tool—Comparison and Validation using the NASA RVLT Toolchain

Rotorcraft noise source identification is at the forefront of civil rotorcraft applications with the emergence of the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market. Blade Vortex Interaction (BVI) has been identified as one key source of noise produced by a rotor. To predict BVI occurrences for various Urban Air Mobility (UAM) configurations, the RApid Blade and Blade-Vortex InTeraction (RABBIT) tool was developed and utilized. The tool is built from a Beddoes Wake Model, and computes variables such as miss distance and BVI angle to calculate an impulse factor, which is able to visualize BVI for a given vehicle and flight condition. A complete checkout of this tool and comparison with CAMRADII and ANOPP2/AARON, is performed. A wake comparison between RABBIT and CAMRADII is presented, and BVI is compared with ANOPP2/AARON’s acoustic pressure time history to verify the tools effectiveness and accuracy. Three NASA Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) concept vehicles were analyzed with increasing geometric and aerodynamic complexity, including the Quiet Single Main Rotor (QSMR), Side-by-Side, and Quadrotor. An analysis of the results concludes that RABBIT presents a low-fidelity tool that accurately predicts BVI location and intensity for multiple vehicle configurations and various flight conditions.

RABBIT↗

Nuclear Trade Atlas 2016-2020

Building on prior work developing a Strategic Trade Atlas promoting understanding of global trade flows of strategic goods, a Nuclear Trade Atlas was developed based on publicly available trade data. The Nuclear Trade Atlas examines trade patterns and trends for seventeen commodities based on a two-step assessment of the trade’s nuclear relevance: first estimating the probability that trade classified under a given Harmonized System (HS) code represents a specific commodity included in the export control lists of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and second estimating the probability that the listed, often dual-use, commodity would be indicative of nuclear use. These estimates combine to provide a measure of the likelihood trade classified under a given HS code may be nuclear relevant. By exclusively focusing on the HS codes most highly ranked by this measure, the resulting data visualizations comprising the Nuclear Trade Atlas provide those responsible for regulating or monitoring nuclear trade greater understanding of relevant global trading patterns and trends. The Atlas includes both commodity- and country-based views of nuclear trade. It is published as a book and as an interactive tool. Besides trade data, the interactive Atlas also includes data about countries’ non-proliferation commitments, allowing users to take this information into consideration while analyzing specific trade flows.

strategic trade, world customs organization, trade↗

Visualizing percolation and ion transport in hybrid solid electrolytes for Li–metal batteries

Hybrid solid electrolytes are composed of organic (polymer) and inorganic (ceramic) ion conducting materials, and are promising options for large-scale production of solid state lithium–metal batteries. Hybrid solid electrolytes containing 15 vol% Al-LLZO demonstrate optimal ionic conductivity properties. Ionic conductivity is shown to decrease at high inorganic loadings. This optimum is most obvious above the melting temperature of polyethylene oxide where the polymer is amorphous. Structural analysis using synchrotron nanotomography reveals that the inorganic particles are highly aggregated. The aggregation size grows with inorganic content and the largest percolating clusters measured for 5 vol%, 15 vol% and 50 vol% were ~12 μm 3 , 206 μm 3 , and 324 μm 3 , respectively. Enhanced transport in hybrid electrolytes is shown to be due to polymer|particle (Al-LLZO) interactions and ionic conductivity is directly related to the accessible surface area of the inorganic particles within the electrolyte. Finally, ordered and well-dispersed structures are ideal for next generation hybrid solid electrolytes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Analysis and Prediction of VFR Vs IFR Traffic Behavior to Support Uncrewed Aircraft Flight Operations at Regional Airports

Uncrewed Aircraft flight operations at a regional airport will be affected by the uncertainty in the Visual Flight Rules traffic around. This paper analyzes Visual Flight Rules traffic behavior, compares it with Instrument Flight Rules traffic and develops traffic prediction methods to support uncrewed aircraft flight operations. The spatio-temporal distribution of traffic operating under Visual Flight Rules and Instrument Flight Rules was analyzed from one month of historical track data around Fort Worth Alliance airport as a representative regional airport. The traffic behavior was visualized as occupancy maps generated at different altitudes. The Instrument Flight Rules traffic was concentrated in fewer regions of the airspace along structured routes where the risk of interacting with one or more flights reached close to fifty percent in some areas. Visual Flight Rules traffic was spread over more regions, mostly segregated from the Instrument Flight Rules regions, and the risk of interaction was lower reaching up to twenty-five percent on average over the month in some regions. The interaction risk was predicted using predictive occupancy maps over multiple time horizons and conditioned on time and partial observation of traffic in the vicinity. The month-to-month predictability of Visual Flight Rules risk was lower than that of the Instrument Flight Rules traffic, consistently over all the conditions analyzed. However, the prediction and its accuracy were demonstrated to be sensitive to the conditions used. The predictive models generated can be used to support both strategic planning and in-flight decision-making by uncrewed aircraft during flight operations while maintaining an acceptable risk of interacting with other traffic.

VFR↗

Analysis and Prediction of VFR Vs IFR Traffic Behavior to Support Uncrewed Aircraft Flight Operations at Regional Airports

Uncrewed Aircraft flight operations at a regional airport will be affected by the uncertainty in the Visual Flight Rules traffic around. This paper analyzes Visual Flight Rules traffic behavior, compares it with Instrument Flight Rules traffic and develops traffic prediction methods to support uncrewed aircraft flight operations. The spatio-temporal distribution of traffic operating under Visual Flight Rules and Instrument Flight Rules was analyzed from one month of historical track data around Fort Worth Alliance airport as a representative regional airport. The traffic behavior was visualized as occupancy maps generated at different altitudes. The Instrument Flight Rules traffic was concentrated in fewer regions of the airspace along structured routes where the risk of interacting with one or more flights reached close to fifty percent in some areas. Visual Flight Rules traffic was spread over more regions, mostly segregated from the Instrument Flight Rules regions, and the risk of interaction was lower reaching up to twenty-five percent on average over the month in some regions. The interaction risk was predicted using predictive occupancy maps over multiple time horizons and conditioned on time and partial observation of traffic in the vicinity. The month-to-month predictability of Visual Flight Rules risk was lower than that of the Instrument Flight Rules traffic, consistently over all the conditions analyzed. However, the prediction and its accuracy were demonstrated to be sensitive to the conditions used. The predictive models generated can be used to support both strategic planning and in-flight decision-making by uncrewed aircraft during flight operations while maintaining an acceptable risk of interacting with other traffic.

VFR↗

Production Operations Management System (POMS) for Fermilab Experiments

The Production Operations Management System (POMS) software allows production teams and analysis groups across multiple Fermilab experiments to launch, modify and monitor large scale campaigns of related Monte Carlo or data processing jobs, and currently manages the majority of production computing of experiments at Fermilab.POMS provides a web service interface that enables automated job submission on distributed resources according to customers’ requests, as well as subsequent monitoring of those submissions as well as recovery of failed submissions, debugging and record keeping.POMS interfaces with existing HEP data access, processing, movement and monitoring tools at Fermilab, including Jobsub (for job submission), SAM (for data management), and Landscape (for monitoring), and in combination with them handles the creation of intermediate datasets of files for multistage campaigns.POMS visualizes these campaigns with an interactive GUI interface. An important feature of POMS is a one-to-one connection between the GUI campaign visualizer and a text based representation of the complete campaign configuration. An extensible library of template campaign configurations is available. The templates are user modifiable and map cleanly to and from the GUI description of the campaign.This paper will discuss the current usage, history, and some technical details of POMS, as well as planned future extensions, particularly interfacing with Rucio as well as SAM for file movement.

Mengel, Marc↗

The Effect of Laser Cutting Heuristic Presentation Modality on Design Learning

Abstract The goal of this work is to study the way student designers use heuristics to effectively design for laser-cut manufacturing methods. With the recent advent of academic makerspaces, digital fabrication tools like laser cutters are relatively new additions to the classroom. Therefore, there is a gap in formal education or training on these tools, and students can find it challenging to design effectively for them. A study was performed to investigate the way students apply heuristics to redesign laser-cut assemblies when received in different modalities. All participants were given an identical lecture on laser cutting heuristics. Then, a redesign problem was presented to students, and three different experimental groups were given the heuristics in different modalities: Text-Only, text with Visual aids, and text with Tactile aids. The novelty and quality of each of the resulting redesigns were evaluated. It was hypothesized that participants would have more difficulty interpreting and applying the Text-Only heuristics, lowering the quality of their redesigned solutions relative to the other two conditions. It was also hypothesized that participants would experience fixation caused by interacting with the tactile aids, leading to the lower novelty of their redesigned solutions relative to the other two conditions. Results showed that modality played a significant role in participants’ feelings of self-efficacy after the intervention, as well as in their understanding of laser cutter design skills when responding to quiz-style questions. However, analysis of novelty and quality showed little significant impact of the intervention and varying modalities on participants’ designs.

Engineering↗

Flexural fatigue life prediction of closed hat-section using materially nonlinear axial fatigue characteristics

Straight or curved hat-section members are often used as structural stiffeners in aircraft. For instance, they are employed as stiffeners for the dorsal skin as well as in the aerial refueling adjacent area structure in F-106 aircraft. The flanges of the hat-section are connected to the aircraft skin. Thus, the portion of the skin closing the hat-section interacts with the section itself when resisting the stresses due to service loads. The flexural fatigue life of such a closed section is estimated using materially nonlinear axial fatigue characteristics. It should be recognized that when a structural shape is subjected to bending, the fatigue life at the neutral axis is infinity since the normal stresses are zero at that location. Conversely, the fatigue life at the extreme fibers where the normal bending stresses are maximum can be expected to be finite. Thus, different fatigue life estimates can be visualized at various distances from the neural axis. The problem becomes compounded further when significant portions away from the neutral axis are stressed into plastic range. A theoretical analysis of the closed hat-section subjected to flexural cyclic loading is first conducted. The axial fatigue characteristics together with the related axial fatigue life formula and its inverted form given by Manson and Muralidharan are adopted for an aluminum alloy used in aircraft construction. A closed-form expression for predicting the flexural fatigue life is then derived for the closed hat-section including materially nonlinear action. A computer program is written to conduct a study of the variables such as the thicknesses of the hat-section and the skin, and the type of alloy used. The study has provided a fundamental understanding of the flexural fatigue life characteristics of a practical structural component used in aircraft when materially nonlinear action is present.

Razzaq, Zia↗

Kinematic/Dynamic Characteristics for Visual and Kinesthetic Virtual Environments

Work was carried out on two topics of principal importance to current progress in virtual environment research at NASA Ames and elsewhere. The first topic was directed at maximizing the temporal dynamic response of visually presented Virtual Environments (VEs) through reorganization and optimization of system hardware and software. The final results of this portion of the work was a VE system in the Advanced Display and Spatial Perception Laboratory at NASA Ames capable of updating at 60 Hz (the maximum hardware refresh rate) with latencies approaching 30 msec. In the course of achieving this system performance, specialized hardware and software tools for measurement of VE latency and analytic models correlating update rate and latency for different system configurations were developed. The second area of activity was the preliminary development and analysis of a novel kinematic architecture for three Degree Of Freedom (DOF) haptic interfaces--devices that provide force feedback for manipulative interaction with virtual and remote environments. An invention disclosure was filed on this work and a patent application is being pursued by NASA Ames. Activities in these two areas are expanded upon below.

Bortolussi, Michael R.↗

A distributed analysis and visualization system for model and observational data

The objective of this proposal is to develop an integrated and distributed analysis and display software system which can be applied to all areas of the Earth System Science to study numerical model and earth observational data from storm to global scale. This system will be designed to be easy to use, portable, flexible and easily extensible and designed to adhere to current and emerging standards whenever possible. It will provide an environment for visualization of the massive amounts of data generated from satellites and other observational field measurements and from model simulations during or after their execution. Two- and three-dimensional animation will also be provided. This system will be based on a widely used software package from NASA called GEMPAK and prototype software for three-dimensional interactive displays built at NCSA. The underlying foundation of the system will be a set of software libraries which can be distributed across a UNIX based supercomputer and workstations.

Wilhelmson, Robert↗

Scientific Benefits of Space Science Models Archiving at Community Coordinated Modeling Center

The Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) hosts a set of state-of-the-art space science models ranging from the solar atmosphere to the Earth's upper atmosphere. CCMC provides a web-based Run-on-Request system, by which the interested scientist can request simulations for a broad range of space science problems. To allow the models to be driven by data relevant to particular events CCMC developed a tool that automatically downloads data from data archives and transform them to required formats. CCMC also provides a tailored web-based visualization interface for the model output, as well as the capability to download the simulation output in portable format. CCMC offers a variety of visualization and output analysis tools to aid scientists in interpretation of simulation results. During eight years since the Run-on-request system became available the CCMC archived the results of almost 3000 runs that are covering significant space weather events and time intervals of interest identified by the community. The simulation results archived at CCMC also include a library of general purpose runs with modeled conditions that are used for education and research. Archiving results of simulations performed in support of several Modeling Challenges helps to evaluate the progress in space weather modeling over time. We will highlight the scientific benefits of CCMC space science model archive and discuss plans for further development of advanced methods to interact with simulation results.

Kuznetsova, Maria M.↗

Phase-contrast 3D tomography of HeLa cells grown in PLLA polymer electrospun scaffolds using synchrotron X-rays

Advanced imaging is useful for understanding the three-dimensional (3D) growth of cells. X-ray tomography serves as a powerful noninvasive, nondestructive technique that can fulfill these purposes by providing information about cell growth within 3D platforms. There are a limited number of studies taking advantage of synchrotron X-rays, which provides a large field of view and suitable resolution to image cells within specific biomaterials. In this study, X-ray synchrotron radiation microtomography at Diamond Light Source and advanced image processing were used to investigate cellular infiltration of HeLa cells within poly L-lactide (PLLA) scaffolds. This study demonstrates that synchrotron X-rays using phase contrast is a useful method to understand the 3D growth of cells in PLLA electrospun scaffolds. Two different fiber diameter (2 and 4 µm) scaffolds with different pore sizes, grown over 2, 5 and 8 days in vitro , were examined for infiltration and cell connectivity. After performing visualization by segmentation of the cells from the fibers, the results clearly show deeper cell growth and higher cellular interconnectivity in the 4 µm fiber diameter scaffold. Finally, this indicates the potential for using such 3D technology to study cell–scaffold interactions for future medical use.

3D culture↗

CANDELS Visual Classifications: Scheme, Data Release, and First Results

We have undertaken an ambitious program to visually classify all galaxies in the five CANDELS fields down to H <24.5 involving the dedicated efforts of 65 individual classifiers. Once completed, we expect to have detailed morphological classifications for over 50,000 galaxies spanning 0 < z < 4 over all the fields. Here, we present our detailed visual classification scheme, which was designed to cover a wide range of CANDELS science goals. This scheme includes the basic Hubble sequence types, but also includes a detailed look at mergers and interactions, the clumpiness of galaxies, k-corrections, and a variety of other structural properties. In this paper, we focus on the first field to be completed - GOODS-S, which has been classified at various depths. The wide area coverage spanning the full field (wide+deep+ERS) includes 7634 galaxies that have been classified by at least three different people. In the deep area of the field, 2534 galaxies have been classified by at least five different people at three different depths. With this paper, we release to the public all of the visual classifications in GOODS-S along with the Perl/Tk GUI that we developed to classify galaxies. We present our initial results here, including an analysis of our internal consistency and comparisons among multiple classifiers as well as a comparison to the Sersic index. We find that the level of agreement among classifiers is quite good and depends on both the galaxy magnitude and the galaxy type, with disks showing the highest level of agreement and irregulars the lowest. A comparison of our classifications with the Sersic index and restframe colors shows a clear separation between disk and spheroid populations. Finally, we explore morphological k-corrections between the V-band and H-band observations and find that a small fraction (84 galaxies in total) are classified as being very different between these two bands. These galaxies typically have very clumpy and extended morphology or are very faint in the V-band.

Visual↗

Interaction of Light and Ethylene on Stem Gravitropism

The major objective of this study was to evaluate light-regulated ethylene production during gravitropic bending in etiolated pea stems. Previous investigations indicated that ethylene production increases after gravistimulation and is associated with the later (counter-reactive) phase of bending. Additionally, changes in the counter-reaction and locus of curvature during gravitropism are greatly influenced by red light and ethylene production. Ethylene production may be regulated by the levels of available precursor (1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylic acid, ACC) via its synthesis, conjugation to malonyl-ACC or glutamyl-ACC, or oxidation to ethylene. The regulation of ethylene production by quantifying ACC and conjugated ACC levels in gravistimulated pea stemswas examined. Also measured was the changes in protein and enzyme activity associated with gravitropic curvature by electrophoretic and spectrophotometric techniques. An image analysis system was used to visualize and quantify enzymatic activity and transcriptional products in gravistimulated and red-light treated etiolated pea stem tissues.

Harrison, Marcia A.↗