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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

Nonlinear and adaptive estimation in reentry.

The problem of real-time estimation of a lifting reentry vehicle trajectory of the shuttle orbiter type is considered. Simulations feature large position and velocity uncertainties at radar acquisition and realistic model errors in lift, drag and other model parameters. Radar tracking and accelerometer data are simulated. Significant nonlinearities are found to exist on spacecraft acquisition. An iterated nonlinear filter is shown to perform optimally during the radar acquisition phase. An adaptive filter is shown to track time-varying model errors, such as errors in the lift and drag coefficients, down to the noise level. Such real-time model tracking (identification) is frequently required for guidance and control implementation.

Jazwinski, A. H.↗
NASA NTRS1986

PROFILE user's guide

User information for program PROFILE, an aerodynamics design utility for refining, plotting, and tabulating airfoil profiles is provided. The theory and implementation details for two of the more complex options are also presented. These are the REFINE option, for smoothing curvature in selected regions while retaining or seeking some specified thickness ratio, and the OPTIMIZE option, which seeks a specified curvature distribution. REFINE uses linear techniques to manipulate ordinates via the central difference approximation to second derivatives, while OPTIMIZE works directly with curvature using nonlinear least squares techniques. Use of programs QPLOT and BPLOT is also described, since all of the plots provided by PROFILE (airfoil coordinates, curvature distributions) are achieved via the general purpose QPLOT utility. BPLOT illustrates (again, via QPLOT) the shape functions used by two of PROFILE's options. The programs were designed and implemented for the Applied Aerodynamics Branch at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, and written in FORTRAN and run on a VAX-11/780 under VMS.

Collins, L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Minimum Weight Design of a Leaf Spring Tapered in Thickness and Width for the Hubble Space Telescope-Space Support Equipment

A linear elastic solution to the problem of minimum weight design of cantilever beams with variable width and depth is presented. The solution shown is for the specific application of the Hubble Space Telescope maintenance mission hardware. During these maintenance missions, delicate instruments must be isolated from the potentially damaging vibration environment of the space shuttle cargo bay during the ascent and descent phases. The leaf springs are designed to maintain the isolation system natural frequency at a level where load transmission to the instruments in a minimum. Nonlinear programming is used for the optimization process. The weight of the beams is the objective function with the deflection and allowable bending stress as the constraint equations. The design variables are the width and depth of the beams at both the free and the fixed ends.

Rodriguez, P. I.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Maximum orbit plane change with heat-transfer-rate considerations

Two aerodynamic maneuvers are considered for maximizing the plane change of a circular orbit: gliding flight with a maximum thrust segment to regain lost energy (aeroglide) and constant altitude cruise with the thrust being used to cancel the drag and maintain a high energy level (aerocruise). In both cases, the stagnation heating rate is limited. For aeroglide, the controls are the angle of attack, the bank angle, the time at which the burn begins, and the length of the burn. For aerocruise, the maneuver is divided into three segments: descent, cruise, and ascent. During descent the thrust is zero, and the controls are the angle of attack and the bank angle. During cruise, the only control is the assumed-constant angle of attack. During ascent, a maximum thrust segment is used to restore lost energy, and the controls are the angle of attack and bank angle. The optimization problems are solved with a nonlinear programming code known as GRG2. Numerical results for the Maneuverable Re-entry Research Vehicle with a heating-rate limit of 100 Btu/ft(2)-s show that aerocruise gives a maximum plane change of 2 deg, which is only 1 deg larger than that of aeroglide. On the other hand, even though aerocruise requires two thrust levels, the cruise characteristics of constant altitude, velocity, thrust, and angle of attack are easy to control.

Lee, J. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The 'optimum' upwind advection on a triangular mesh

For advection schemes based on fluctuation splitting, a design criterion of optimizing the time step leads to linear schemes that coincide with those designed for least truncation error. A further stage of optimizing the time step using a nonlinear positivity criterion, leads to considerable further gains in resolution.

Roe, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Computation of Sensitivity Derivatives of Navier-Stokes Equations using Complex Variables

Accurate computation of sensitivity derivatives is becoming an important item in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) because of recent emphasis on using nonlinear CFD methods in aerodynamic design, optimization, stability and control related problems. Several techniques are available to compute gradients or sensitivity derivatives of desired flow quantities or cost functions with respect to selected independent (design) variables. Perhaps the most common and oldest method is to use straightforward finite-differences for the evaluation of sensitivity derivatives. Although very simple, this method is prone to errors associated with choice of step sizes and can be cumbersome for geometric variables. The cost per design variable for computing sensitivity derivatives with central differencing is at least equal to the cost of three full analyses, but is usually much larger in practice due to difficulty in choosing step sizes. Another approach gaining popularity is the use of Automatic Differentiation software (such as ADIFOR) to process the source code, which in turn can be used to evaluate the sensitivity derivatives of preselected functions with respect to chosen design variables. In principle, this approach is also very straightforward and quite promising. The main drawback is the large memory requirement because memory use increases linearly with the number of design variables. ADIFOR software can also be cumber-some for large CFD codes and has not yet reached a full maturity level for production codes, especially in parallel computing environments.

Vatsa, Veer N.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Modeling the effects of exercise during 100% oxygen prebreathe on the risk of hypobaric decompression sickness

BACKGROUND: Several previous studies indicated that exercise during prebreathe with 100% O2 decreased the incidence of hypobaric decompression sickness (DCS). We report a meta-analysis of these investigations combined with a new study in our laboratory to develop a statistical model as a predictive tool for DCS. HYPOTHESIS: Exercise during prebreathe increases N2 elimination in a theoretical 360-min half-time compartment decreasing the incidence of DCS. METHODS: A dose-response probability tissue ratio (TR) model with 95% confidence limits was created for two groups, prebreathe with exercise (n = 113) and resting prebreathe (n = 113), using nonlinear regression analysis with maximum likelihood optimization. RESULTS: The model predicted that prebreathe exercise would reduce the residual N2 in a 360-min half-time compartment to a level analogous to that in a 180-min compartment. This finding supported the hypothesis. The incidence of DCS for the exercise prebreathe group was significantly decreased (Chi-Square = 17.1, p < 0.0001) from the resting prebreathe group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that exercise during prebreathe increases tissue perfusion and N2 elimination approximately 2-fold and markedly lowers the risk of DCS. Based on the model, the prebreathe duration may be reduced from 240 min to a predicted 91 min for the protocol in our study, but this remains to be verified. The model provides a useful planning tool to develop and test appropriate prebreathe exercise protocols and to predict DCS risks for astronauts.

NASA Program Environmental Health↗
NASA NTRS2012

Direct Method Transcription for a Human-Class Translunar Injection Trajectory Optimization

This paper presents a new trajectory optimization software package developed in the framework of a low-to-high fidelity 3 degrees-of-freedom (DOF)/6-DOF vehicle simulation program named Mission Analysis Simulation Tool in Fortran (MASTIF) and its application to a translunar trajectory optimization problem. The functionality of the developed optimization package is implemented as a new "mode" in generalized settings to make it applicable for a general trajectory optimization problem. In doing so, a direct optimization method using collocation is employed for solving the problem. Trajectory optimization problems in MASTIF are transcribed to a constrained nonlinear programming (NLP) problem and solved with SNOPT, a commercially available NLP solver. A detailed description of the optimization software developed is provided as well as the transcription specifics for the translunar injection (TLI) problem. The analysis includes a 3-DOF trajectory TLI optimization and a 3-DOF vehicle TLI simulation using closed-loop guidance.

Witzberger, Kevin E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Rolling Horizon with K-Position Search Method for Strategic Deconfliction of Package Delivery UAS

In this research, the strategic deconfliction of unmanned aircraft systems for an urban package delivery environment with two depots and multiple drop-off locations is studied. This research aims to formulate a mathematical model to compute both the departure sequence and scheduled time of departure for each unmanned aircraft system at a depot, considering temporal constraints at en-route crossing waypoints and depots for strategic deconfliction. However, the problem formulation results in an NP-hard mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem for the global optimal solution, so instead, a "rolling horizon with𝑘-position search"heuristic method is developed. The simulation studies show that an increase in the value of𝑘(the parameter used to determine the size of the local neighborhood) reduces the average ground delay at the cost of an increase in the computation time for a given problem size. The study also shows an order of magnitude increase in the maximum number of flights scheduled with the integration of rolling horizon (time decomposition) compared to those without the integration of rolling horizon in the heuristic algorithm for a given computation time cut off.

UTM↗
DOE OSTI2011

Albany v 1.0

The Albany code is a general purpose finite element code for solving partial differential equations (PDEs). Albany is a research code that demonstrates how a PDE code can be built by interfacing many of the open-source software libraries that are released under Sandia's Trilinos project. Part of the mission of Albany is to be a testbed for new Trilinos libraries, to refine their methods, usability, and interfaces. Albany also serves as a demonstration code on how to build an application code against an installed Trilinos project. Because of this, Albany is a desirable starting point for new code development efforts that wish to make heavy use of Trilinos. The physics solved in Albany are currently only very academic problems, such as heat transfer, linear elasticity, and nonlinear elasticity. Albany includes hooks to optimization and uncertainty quantification algorithms, including those in the Dakota toolkit.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1977

Influences of joystick spring resistance on the execution of simple and complex positioning movements

To provide good proprioceptive feedback in a manual control device for a designation task, spring resistance of a joystick was optimized by adjustment of centering force and deflection nonlinearly with each other by using the psychophysical method of cross modality matching. Designation with zero and first order systems showed that the coarse adjustment was insensitive to stick and certain task parameters, although it was influenced by some biomechanical parameters and the anticipated demands of the final control positioning. Only the more difficult fine adjustment is sensitive to parameter alterations and therefore suitable for optimization attempts. The strong centering of the stick by a nonlinear degressive spring resistance facilitates fine adjustment. Through this, total adjustment time with the first order system is reduced by more than thirty percent, compared to a linear resistance. Tracking experiments affirm the usefulness and preference of nonlinear spring resistance.

Rothbauer, G.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Convex Optimization of Integrated Power-Gas Energy Flow Model With Applications to Probabilistic Energy Flow

Energy flow calculation is a fundamental problem of the integrated power and gas system (IPGS) operation and planning. However, the nonlinear gas flow model introduces major challenges to the energy flow calculation. In this paper, we propose a tractably convex optimization model to solve the energy flow problem in IPGSs. It is demonstrated that the proposed optimization model has the same optimal solution as the original nonlinear steady energy flow model. Also, piecewise linearization is adopted to tightly linearize the nonlinear objective function of the model, which transforms the formulated convex optimization into a linear program one. Thus, the computation complexity of the proposed energy flow model is significantly reduced as compared with the existing methods. In addition, the proposed model can be extended to probabilistic energy flow estimation. Extensive case studies are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed energy flow model using three IPGSs.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2013

A Probabilistic Approach to Interior Regularity of Fully Nonlinear Degenerate Elliptic Equations in Smooth Domains

We consider the value function of a stochastic optimal control of degenerate diffusion processes in a domain D. We study the smoothness of the value function, under the assumption of the non-degeneracy of the diffusion term along the normal to the boundary and an interior condition weaker than the non-degeneracy of the diffusion term. When the diffusion term, drift term, discount factor, running payoff and terminal payoff are all in the class of C{sup 1,1}( D-bar ) , the value function turns out to be the unique solution in the class of C{sub loc}{sup 1,1}(D) Intersection C{sup 0,1}( D-bar ) to the associated degenerate Bellman equation with Dirichlet boundary data. Our approach is probabilistic.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

An Optimized Input/Output-Constrained Control Design With Application to Microgrid Operation

In this paper, a nonlinear control design is presented for systems whose input and output vectors are saturated. The proposed synthesis includes an optimal tracker as the seed controller and explicitly imposes all the relevant constraints on system input, on the rate of change in the input, and on system output by using the tools of barrier functions, input-output feedback linearization, comparison argument, Lyapunov argument, and a real-time constrained optimization. The proposed design is applied to microgrid operation with high penetration of renewable generation, where net load and variable generation must be balanced and the microgrid should be operated at an optimal or near-optimal performance level. Since traditional generation has a limited ramping rate, battery storage devices and demand responses become necessary to effectively deal with variability of renewable generation and to maintain frequency stability, but their capacities are also limited. Finally,it is shown that the proposed design is effective for coordinated control of traditional generation, storage and demand response so that the power system frequency is guaranteed to be within the required operational limits and that renewable curtailment is eliminated or minimized.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2019

Bi-Level Volt-VAR Optimization to Coordinate Smart Inverters with Voltage Control Devices

Conservation voltage reduction (CVR) uses voltage control to reduce customer power demand and help improve the operational efficiency of the electric power distribution system. With the advent of advanced distribution management systems (ADMS), the underlying data and control-rich platform can be utilized to enable a centralized Volt-VAR optimization (VVO) scheme that includes smart inverter controls along with legacy voltage control devices such as voltage regulators and capacitor banks to ensure a maximum CVR benefit. The objective of this paper to present a VVO approach that controls system’s legacy voltage control devices and coordinates their operation with smart inverter control. An optimal power flow (OPF) formulation is proposed by developing linear and nonlinear power flow approximations for a three-phase unbalanced electric power distribution system. A bi-level VVO approach is proposed where, Level-1 optimizes the control of legacy devices and smart inverters using a linear approximate three-phase power flow. In Level-2, the control parameters for smart inverters are adjusted to obtain an optimal and feasible solution by solving the approximate nonlinear OPF model. Level-1 is modeled as a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) while Level-2 as a Quadratically Constrained Quadratic Program (QCQP). The proposed approach is validated using IEEE test cases and the results demonstrate the applicability of the framework in achieving the CVR objective.

Jha, Rahul Ranjan↗
NASA NTRS1984

Regions of attraction and ultimate boundedness for linear quadratic regulators with nonlinearities

The closed-loop stability of multivariable linear time-invariant systems controlled by optimal linear quadratic (LQ) regulators is investigated for the case when the feedback loops have nonlinearities N(sigma) that violate the standard stability condition, sigma N(sigma) or = 0.5 sigma(2). The violations of the condition are assumed to occur either (1) for values of sigma away from the origin (sigma = 0) or (2) for values of sigma in a neighborhood of the origin. It is proved that there exists a region of attraction for case (1) and a region of ultimate boundedness for case (2), and estimates are obtained for these regions. The results provide methods for selecting the performance function parameters to design LQ regulators with better tolerance to nonlinearities. The results are demonstrated by application to the problem of attitude and vibration control of a large, flexible space antenna in the presence of actuator nonlinearities.

Joshi, S. M.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design, tuning, and blackbox optimization of laser systems

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and subsequent nonlinear optical (NLO) systems constitute the backbone of myriad advancements in semiconductor manufacturing, communications, biology, defense, and beyond. Accurately and efficiently modeling CPA+NLO-based laser systems is challenging because of the complex coupled processes and diverse simulation frameworks. Our modular start-to-end model unlocks the potential for exciting new optimization and inverse design approaches reliant on data-driven machine learning methods, providing a means to create tailored CPA+NLO systems unattainable with current models. To demonstrate this new, to our knowledge, technical capability, we present a study on the LCLS-II photo-injector laser, representative of a high-power and spectro-temporally non-trivial CPA+NLO system.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2011

Interlocked optimization and fast gradient algorithm for a seismic inverse problem

Highlights: {yields} A 2D extension of the 1D nonlinear inversion of well-seismic data is given. {yields} Appropriate regularization yields a well-determined large scale inverse problem. {yields} An interlocked optimization loop acts as an efficient preconditioner. {yields} The adjoint state method is used to compute the misfit function gradient. {yields} Domain decomposition method yields an efficient parallel implementation. - Abstract: We give a nonlinear inverse method for seismic data recorded in a well from sources at several offsets from the borehole in a 2D acoustic framework. Given the velocity field, approximate values of the impedance are recovered. This is a 2D extension of the 1D inversion of vertical seismic profiles . The inverse problem generates a large scale undetermined ill-conditioned problem. Appropriate regularization terms render the problem well-determined. An interlocked optimization algorithm yields an efficient preconditioning. A gradient algorithm based on the adjoint state method and domain decomposition gives a fast parallel numerical method. For a realistic test case, convergence is attained in an acceptable time with 128 processors.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗