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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 1,099 records · Page 61

Application of advanced signal processing techniques to the rectification and registration of spaceborne imagery

The development of an ERTS/MSS image processing system responsive to the needs of the user community is discussed. An overview of the TRW ERTS/MSS processor is presented, followed by a more detailed discussion of image processing functions satisfied by the system. The particular functions chosen for discussion are evolved from advanced signal processing techniques rooted in the areas of communication and control. These examples show how classical aerospace technology can be transferred to solve the more contemporary problems confronting the users of spaceborne imagery.

Caron, R. H.↗

Advances in systems for interactive processing and display of meteorological data

Advances in systems for interactive processing and display of meteorological data are reviewed, with particular attention given to developments in hardware and software, meteorological data base, analysis and display, and systems availability. These developments include inexpensive minicomputers which give the user almost instantaneous results for many types of jobs; image terminals with the capability to enhance, quantify, animate, and compare image and graphical data; accessibility of a large meteorological data base and the capability of merging different types of data; and sophisticated analysis and multidimensional display techniques. Critical problems still to be solved include getting quick access to historical and real time data bases from any system and making it easy to transport software from one system to another.

Hasler, A. F.↗

A revisit to the requirements methodologies for services provided by the Office of Space Communications

The methodologies of the NASA requirements processing system, originally designed to enhance NASA's customer interface and response time, are reviewed. The response of NASA to the problems associated with the system is presented, and it is shown what was done to facilitate the process and to improve customer relations. The requirements generation system (RGS), a computer-supported client-server system, adopted by NASA is presented. The RGS system is configurable on a per-mission basis and can be structured to allow levels of requirements. The details provided concerning the RGS include the recommended configuration, information on becoming an RGS user and network connectivity worksheets for computer users.

Fishkind, Stanley↗

Single-Camera Panoramic-Imaging Systems

Panoramic detection systems (PDSs) are developmental video monitoring and image-data processing systems that, as their name indicates, acquire panoramic views. More specifically, a PDS acquires images from an approximately cylindrical field of view that surrounds an observation platform. The main subsystems and components of a basic PDS are a charge-coupled- device (CCD) video camera and lens, transfer optics, a panoramic imaging optic, a mounting cylinder, and an image-data-processing computer. The panoramic imaging optic is what makes it possible for the single video camera to image the complete cylindrical field of view; in order to image the same scene without the benefit of the panoramic imaging optic, it would be necessary to use multiple conventional video cameras, which have relatively narrow fields of view.

Lindner, Jeffrey L.↗

Opportunities for Process Intensification with Membranes to Promote Circular Economy Development for Critical Minerals

Critical minerals are essential to the future of clean energy, especially energy storage, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics. In this paper, we argue that process systems engineering (PSE) paradigms provide essential frameworks for enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of critical mineral processing pathways. As a concrete example, we review challenges and opportu-nities across material-to-infrastructure scales for process intensification (PI) with membranes. Within critical mineral processing, there is a need to reduce environmental impact, especially con-cerning chemical reagent usage. Feed concentrations and product demand variability require flex-ible, intensified processes. Further, unique feedstocks require unique processes (i.e., no one-size-fits-all recycling or refining system exists). Membrane materials span a vast design space that allows significant optimization. Therefore, there is a need to rapidly identify the best opportunities for membrane implementation, thus informing materials optimization with process and infrastructure scale performance targets. Finally, scale-up must be accelerated and de-risked across the materials-to-process levels to fully realize the opportunity presented by membranes, thereby fostering the development of a circular economy for critical minerals. Tackling these challenges requires integrating efforts across diverse disciplines. We advocate for a holistic molecular-to-systems perspective for fully realizing PI with membranes to address sustainability challenges in critical mineral processing. The opportunities for PI with membranes are excellent applications for emerging research in machine learning, data science, automation, and optimization.

Dougher, Molly↗

Approaches to digital snow mapping with LANDSAT-1 data

Applying the same LANDSAT-1 data to three substantially different image processing systems, a snow mapping task was performed. LARSYS Ver.3, STANSORT-2, and General Electric Image-100 did all the jobs of detecting the snowline in forested mountainous terrain, and to determine the snowcovered area. While the control and accuracy achieved with LARSYS is remarkable, time and effort to perform the processing favor the systems STANSORT and Image-100. The experiences and results demonstrate the need for a fast interactive system for operational snowmapping with multispectral satellite data.

Itten, K. I.↗

Component Testing Supporting SHINE Medical Technologies

SHINE is going to be implementing a tritium gas processing system to support their Mo-99 work. They have requested that the Hydrogen Process Group of SRNL does some required testing on the system components before startup. The lab plans on conducting both seismic and valve testing. Test Plan: - Testing 10 1C valves 750,000 cycles or until failure; - Testing intervals will be every couple thousand; - 1C valves will have metal stem tips instead of Polymer due to being in a tritium prone area; - Hope that the valves will still have enough force to create a sufficient seal with metal stem tips; - Goal is for a more cost and space efficient alternative to the 5C valves. Status: - Received half the parts, waiting on the other half due to long procurement times; - Waiting on the LabVIEW program which will perform the testing. Path Forward: - R and DE to change out the stem tips (July 2018); - Assemble Manifold (July 2018); - Perform Testing (August 2018); - Report (September 2018). Since SRNL does not own a shaker table, the test will be conducted at a facility like the NTS Facility in Huntsville, Alabama. Test Plans: - Leak Testing; - Use LabVIEW to monitor for leaks before, during and after seismic testing with an Electronic Pressure Transducer; - If leak is detected, sniff for location using Helium Leak Detector; - Connector Testing; - Use LabVIEW to test for electrical continuity before, during and after seismic testing; - If a connectors continuity is interrupted, further testing will be performed; - Each Pin in faulty connector will be testing to determine specific location of disruption. Path Forward: - Pick a Qualified Vender for testing (July 2018); - Procure the connector plugs (July 2018); - Send components and test plan to facility for testing (August 2018); - Perform Testing (August-September 2018); - Report Results (September 2018)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Development of an instructional expert system for hole drilling processes

An expert system which captures the expertise of workshop technicians in the drilling domain was developed. The expert system is aimed at novice technicians who know how to operate the machines but have not acquired the decision making skills that are gained with experience. This paper describes the domain background and the stages of development of the expert system.

Al-Mutawa, Souhaila↗

Decomposition-Based Decision Making for Aerospace Vehicle Design

Most practical engineering systems design problems have multiple and conflicting objectives. Furthermore, the satisfactory attainment level for each objective ( requirement ) is likely uncertain early in the design process. Systems with long design cycle times will exhibit more of this uncertainty throughout the design process. This is further complicated if the system is expected to perform for a relatively long period of time, as now it will need to grow as new requirements are identified and new technologies are introduced. These points identify a need for a systems design technique that enables decision making amongst multiple objectives in the presence of uncertainty. Traditional design techniques deal with a single objective or a small number of objectives that are often aggregates of the overarching goals sought through the generation of a new system. Other requirements, although uncertain, are viewed as static constraints to this single or multiple objective optimization problem. With either of these formulations, enabling tradeoffs between the requirements, objectives, or combinations thereof is a slow, serial process that becomes increasingly complex as more criteria are added. This research proposal outlines a technique that attempts to address these and other idiosyncrasies associated with modern aerospace systems design. The proposed formulation first recasts systems design into a multiple criteria decision making problem. The now multiple objectives are decomposed to discover the critical characteristics of the objective space. Tradeoffs between the objectives are considered amongst these critical characteristics by comparison to a probabilistic ideal tradeoff solution. The proposed formulation represents a radical departure from traditional methods. A pitfall of this technique is in the validation of the solution: in a multi-objective sense, how can a decision maker justify a choice between non-dominated alternatives? A series of examples help the reader to observe how this technique can be applied to aerospace systems design and compare the results of this so-called Decomposition-Based Decision Making to more traditional design approaches.

Borer, Nicholas K.↗

The X-38 Spacecraft Fault-Tolerant Avionics System

In 1995 NASA began an experimental program to develop a reusable crew return vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station. The purpose of the CRV was threefold: (i) to bring home an injured or ill crewmember; (ii) to bring home the entire crew if the Shuttle fleet was grounded; and (iii) to evacuate the crew in the case of an imminent Station threat (i.e., fire, decompression, etc). Built at the Johnson Space Center, were two approach and landing prototypes and one spacecraft demonstrator (called V201). A series of increasingly complex ground subsystem tests were completed, and eight successful high-altitude drop tests were achieved to prove the design concept. In this program, an unprecedented amount of commercial-off-the-shelf technology was utilized in this first crewed spacecraft NASA has built since the Shuttle program. Unfortunately, in 2002 the program was canceled due to changing Agency priorities. The vehicle was 80% complete and the program was shut down in such a manner as to preserve design, development, test and engineering data. This paper describes the X-38 V201 fault-tolerant avionics system. Based on Draper Laboratory's Byzantine-resilient fault-tolerant parallel processing system and their "network element" hardware, each flight computer exchanges information on a strict timescale to process input data, compare results, and issue voted vehicle output commands. Major accomplishments achieved in this development include: (i) a space qualified two-fault tolerant design using mostly COTS (hardware and operating system); (ii) a single event upset tolerant network element board, (iii) on-the-fly recovery of a failed processor; (iv) use of synched cache; (v) realignment of memory to bring back a failed channel; (vi) flight code automatically generated from the master measurement list; and (vii) built in-house by a team of civil servants and support contractors. This paper will present an overview of the avionics system and the hardware implementation, as well as the system software and vehicle command & telemetry functions. Potential improvements and lessons learned on this program are also discussed.

Kouba,Coy↗

Software techniques for image processing

The present paper describes several software techniques that can be used to get the 'most' out of an image without destroying or adding any information. A simple overview is given of a general image-processing system, a number of systems in current use are listed, and three types of processing tasks are delineated: image diagnostics, subjective enhancement, and quantitative restoration. Examples of each of these types are discussed in some detail, including histogram, differences, and Fourier analysis for image diagnostics; contrast stretching, edge enhancement, and pseudocolor displays for subjective enhancement; and photometric correction, contouring, and geometric correction for quantitative restoration.

Klinglesmith, D. A.↗

Capabilities of the Navy variable stability X-22A for V/STOL flying qualities R and D

The X-22A V/STOL Flight Research Facility which provides in-flight simulation capability applicable to hover, low speed, and transition flight investigation of fixed wing V/STOL flying is described. The variable stability system, the guidance and display equipment, the data acquisition and processing system, and the ground simulator are included. Research programs involving the STOL flying qualities for landing approach, the control system, display, and guidance requirements for VTOL aircraft instrument approach and landing, and the expansion of the adverse weather operation capabilities of the Navy's VTOL aircraft are briefly summarized.

Aiken, E. W.↗

Process feasibility study in support of silicon material task 1

Process system properties are analyzed for materials involved in the alternate processes under consideration for solar cell grade silicon. The following property data are reported for trichlorosilane: critical constants, vapor pressure, heat of vaporization, gas heat capacity, liquid heat capacity, density, surface tension, viscosity, thermal conductivity, heat of formation, and Gibb's free energy of formation. Work continued on the measurement of gas viscosity values of silicon source materials. Gas phase viscosity values for silicon tetrafluoride between 40 C and 200 C were experimentally determined. Major efforts were expended on completion of the preliminary economic analysis of the silane process. Cost, sensitivity and profitability analysis results are presented based on a preliminary process design of a plant to produce 1,000 metric tons/year of silicon by the revised process.

Li, K. Y.↗