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At least 127 records · Page 7

Pilot performance in zero-visibility precision approach

The pilot's short-term decisions regarding performance assessment and failure monitoring is examined. The performance of airline pilots who flew simulated zero-visibility landing approaches is reported. Results indicate that the pilot's mode of participation in the control task has a strong effect on his workload, the induced workload being lowest when the pilot acts as a monitor during a coupled approach and highest when the pilot is an active element in the control loop. A marked increase in workload at altitudes below 500 ft. is documented at all participation modes; this increase is inversely related to distance-to-go. The participation mode is shown to have a dominant effect on failure-detection performance, with a failure in a monitored (coupled) axis being detected faster than a comparable failure in a manually-controlled axis. Touchdown performance is also documented. It is concluded that the conventional instrument panel and its associated displays are inadequate for zero-visibility operations in the final phases of the landing approach.

Ephrath, A. R.↗

System and Method for Providing Model-Based Alerting of Spatial Disorientation to a Pilot

A system and method monitor aircraft state parameters, for example, aircraft movement and flight parameters, applies those inputs to a spatial disorientation model, and makes a prediction of when pilot may become spatially disoriented. Once the system predicts a potentially disoriented pilot, the sensitivity for alerting the pilot to conditions exceeding a threshold can be increased and allow for an earlier alert to mitigate the possibility of an incorrect control input.

Conner, Kevin J↗

Perspective traffic display format and airline pilot traffic avoidance

Part-task experiments have examined perspective projections of cockpit displays of traffic information as a means of presenting aircraft separation information to airline pilots. Ten airline pilots served as subjects in an experiment comparing the perspective projection with plan-view projections of the same air traffic situations. The pilots' task was to monitor the traffic display in order to decide if an avoidance maneuver was needed. Pilots took more time to select avoidance maneuvers with a conventional plan-view display than with an experimental perspective display. In contrast to previous results, if the pilots selected a maneuver with the perspective display, they were more likely to choose one with a vertical component. Tabulation of the outcomes of their initial avoidance decisions with both perspective and plan-view displays showed that they were more likely to achieve required separation with maneuvers chosen with the aid of perspective displays.

Ellis, Stephen R.↗

Cockpit weather information needs

The primary objective is to develop an advanced pilot weather interface for the flight deck and to measure its utilization and effectiveness in pilot reroute decision processes, weather situation awareness, and weather monitoring. Identical graphical weather displays for the dispatcher, air traffic control (ATC), and pilot crew should also enhance the dialogue capabilities for reroute decisions. By utilizing a broadcast data link for surface observations, forecasts, radar summaries, lightning strikes, and weather alerts, onboard weather computing facilities construct graphical displays, historical weather displays, color textual displays, and other tools to assist the pilot crew. Since the weather data is continually being received and stored by the airborne system, the pilot crew has instantaneous access to the latest information. This information is color coded to distinguish degrees of category for surface observations, ceiling and visibilities, and ground radar summaries. Automatic weather monitoring and pilot crew alerting is accomplished by the airborne computing facilities. When a new weather information is received, the displays are instantaneously changed to reflect the new information. Also, when a new surface or special observation for the intended destination is received, the pilot crew is informed so that information can be studied at the pilot's discretion. The pilot crew is also immediately alerted when a severe weather notice, AIRMET or SIGMET, is received. The cockpit weather display shares a multicolor eight inch cathode ray tube and overlaid touch panel with a pilot crew data link interface. Touch sensitive buttons and areas are used for pilot selection of graphical and data link displays. Time critical ATC messages are presented in a small window that overlays other displays so that immediate pilot alerting and action can be taken. Predeparture and reroute clearances are displayed on the graphical weather system so pilot review of weather along the route can be accomplished prior to pilot acceptance of the clearance. An ongoing multiphase test series is planned for testing and modifying the graphical weather system. Preliminary data shows that the nine test subjects considered the graphical presentation to be much better than their current weather information source for situation awareness, flight safety, and reroute decision making.

Scanlon, Charles H.↗

Star Formation Rates in Cooling Flow Clusters: A UV Pilot Study with Archival XMM-Newton Optical Monitor Data

We have analyzed XMM-Newton Optical Monitor (OM) UV (180-400 nm) data for a sample of 33 galaxies. 30 are cluster member galaxies, and nine of these are central cluster galaxies (CCGs) in cooling flow clusters having mass deposition rates which span a range of 8 - 525 Solar Mass/yr. By comparing the ratio of UV to 2MASS J band fluxes, we find a significant UV excess in many, but not all, cooling flow CCGs, a finding consistent with the outcome of previous studies based on optical imaging data (McNamara & O'Connell 1989; Cardiel, Gorgas, & Aragon-Salamanca 1998; Crawford et al. 1999). This UV excess is a direct indication of the presence of young massive stars, and therefore recent star formation, in these galaxies. Using the Starburst99 spectral energy distribution (SED) model of continuous star formation over a 900 Myr period, we derive star formation rates of 0.2 - 219 solar Mass/yr for the cooling flow sample. For 2/3 of this sample it is possible to equate Chandra/XMM cooling flow mass deposition rates with UV inferred star formation rates, for a combination of starburst lifetime and IMF slope. This is a pilot study of the well populated XMM UV cluster archive and a more extensive follow up study is currently underway.

Hicks, A. K.↗

Star Formation Rates in Cooling Flow Clusters: A UV Pilot Study with Archival XMM-Newton Optical Monitor Data

We have analyzed XMM-Newton Optical Monitor (OM) UV (180-400 nm) data for a sample of 33 galaxies. 30 are cluster member galaxies, and nine of these are central cluster galaxies (CCGs) in cooling flow clusters having mass deposition rates which span a range of 8 - 525 solar mass per year. By comparing the ratio of UV to 2MASS J band fluxes, we find a significant UV excess in many, but not all, cooling flow CCGs, a finding consistent with the outcome of previous studies based on optical imaging data (McNamara & O Connell 1989; Cardiel, Gorgas, & Aragon-Salamanca 1998; Crawford et al. 1999). This UV excess is a direct indication of the presence of young massive stars, and therefore recent star formation, in these galaxies. Using the Starburst99 spectral energy distribution (SED) model of continuous star formation over a 900 Myr period, we derive star formation rates of 0.2 - 219 solar mass per year for the cooling flow sample. For 2/3 of this sample it is possible to equate Chandra/XMM cooling flow mass deposition rates with UV inferred star formation rates, for a combination of starburst lifetime and IMF slope. This is a pilot study of the well populated XMM UV cluster archive and a more extensive follow up study is currently underway.

Hicks, A. K.↗

International Conference on Remote Sensing Applications for Archaeological Research and World Heritage Conservation

Contents include the following: Monitoring the Ancient Countryside: Remote Sensing and GIS at the Chora of Chersonesos (Crimea, Ukraine). Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS for Management Decision Support in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve (Republic of Benin). Monitoring of deforestation invasion in natural reserves of northern Madagascar based on space imagery. Cartography of Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Cartography and Land Use Change of World Heritage Areas and the Benefits of Remote Sensing and GIS for Conservation. Assessing and Monitoring Vegetation in Nabq Protected Area, South Sinai, Egypt, using combine approach of Satellite Imagery and Land Surveys. Evaluation of forage resources in semi-arid savannah environments with satellite imagery: contribution to the management of a protected area (Nakuru National Park) in Kenya. SOGHA, the Surveillance of Gorilla Habitat in World Heritage sites using Space Technologies. Application of Remote Sensing to monitor the Mont-Saint-Michel Bay (France). Application of Remote Sensing & GIS for the Conservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage Sites of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Social and Environmental monitoring of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: Case Study over the Vosges du Nord and Pfalzerwald Parks using Corona and Spot Imagery. Satellite Remote Sensing as tool to Monitor Indian Reservation in the Brazilian Amazonia. Remote Sensing and GIS Technology for Monitoring UNESCO World Heritage Sites - A Pilot Project. Urban Green Spaces: Modern Heritage. Monitoring of the technical condition of the St. Sophia Cathedral and related monastic buildings in Kiev with Space Applications, geo-positioning systems and GIS tools. The Murghab delta palaeochannel Reconstruction on the Basis of Remote Sensing from Space. Acquisition, Registration and Application of IKONOS Space Imagery for the cultural World Heritage site at Mew, Turkmenistan. Remote Sensing and VR applications for the reconstruction of archaeological landscapes. Archaeology through Space: Experience in Indian Subcontinent. The creation of a GIS Archaeological Site Location Catalogue in Yucatan: A Tool to preserve its Cultural Heritage. Mapping the Ancient Anasazi Roads of Southeast Utah. Remote Sensing and GIS Technology for Identification of Conservation and Heritage sites in Urban Planning. Mapping Angkor: For a new appraisal of the Angkor region. Angkor and radar imaging: seeing a vast pre-industrial low-density, dispersed urban complex. Technical and methodological aspects of archaeological CRM integrating high resolution satellite imagery. The contribution of satellite imagery to archaeological survey: an example from western Syria. The use of satellite images, digital elevation models and ground truth for the monitoring of land degradation in the "Cinque Terre" National park. Remote Sensing and GIS Applications for Protection and Conservation of World Heritage Site on the coast - Case Study of Tamil Nadu Coast, India. Multispectral high resolution satellite imagery in combination with "traditional" remote sensing and ground survey methods to the study of archaeological landscapes. The case study of Tuscany. Use of Remotely-Sensed Imagery in Cultural Landscape. Characterisation at Fort Hood, Texas. Heritage Learning and Data Collection: Biodiversity & Heritage Conservation through Collaborative Monitoring & Research. A collaborative project by UNESCO's WHC (World Heritage Center) & The GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment). Practical Remote Sensing Activities in an Interdisciplinary Master-Level Space Course.

Source record↗

A simulation evaluation of the engine monitoring and control system display

The Engine Monitoring and Control System (E-MACS) display is a new concept for an engine instrument display, the purpose of which is to provide an enhanced means for a pilot to control and monitor aircraft engine performance. It provides graphically-presented information about performance capabilities, current performance, and engine component or subsystem operational conditions relative to nominal conditions. The concept was evaluated by sixteen pilot-subjects against a traditional, state-of-the-art electronic engine display format. The results of this evaluation showed a substantial pilot preference for the E-MACS display relative to the traditional display. The results of the failure detection portion of the evaluation showed a 100 percent detection rate for the E-MACS display relative to a 57 percent rate for the traditional display. From these results, it is concluded that by providing this type of information in the cockpit, a reduction in pilot workload and an enhanced ability for detecting degraded or off-nominal conditions is probable, thus leading to an increase in operational safety.

Abbott, Terence S.↗

Flight Evaluation of the Army/NASA Variable Stability Fly-by-Wire Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concept Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) JUH-60A

NASA Ames Research Center and the U.S. Army Aeroflight dynamics Directorate (AFDD) have performed initial flight evaluations of the Research Flight Control System (RFCS) integrated into the Army/NASA Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) JUH-GOA. The highly modified JUH-GOA Black Hawk helicopter is a full authority, high bandwidth, variable stability, in-flight simulator designed to support development of advanced flight control, sensor, and integrated display and control technologies in a fail safe environment. Preparation for flight test required an extensive hazard analysis and ground testing to ensure proper system operation. A hardware in the loop development facility was utilized to evaluate control law stability following software changes, assess servo hardover upset conditions during manual and monitor disengagements and provide pilot familiarization of test techniques and software changes prior to flight. First engagement of the RFCS was conducted on 31 Aug 2001. RFCS transfer system operation, envelope expansion and a limited rate monitor evaluation have been completed with low bandwidth and model following control laws. The presentation will discuss the following - System overview including aircraft modifications and integrated development facilities used with the RASCAL facility. - Preliminary hazard identification and mitigation prior to flight test. - Ground testing used to qualify the RFCS transfer system and verify fault monitor operation. - Flight test results of low-bandwidth and model following control law evaluations including maneuver agility, control limitations, fault monitor reliability, and recovery from manual and monitor disengagement. - Lessons learned including test techniques using a passive three-axis sidearm controller, the value of the development facility in reducing risk and crew coordination issues related to the operation of a full authority, variable stability platform. - Future research and modifications planned for the RASCAL aircraft.

Dave Arterburn↗

Pilot Study for Determining HVAC Fault Prevalence from Fault Monitoring Data

HVAC faults in U.S. commercial buildings are estimated to waste 0.7 quads of energy annually and many companies have deployed software at scale for fault detection and diagnosis (FDD). Yet the lack of comprehensive published data on fault prevalence makes it difficult for researchers, software developers, and building operators to target the most important types of faults and accelerate the widespread deployment of this technology. A multi-lab effort is underway to quantify the prevalence of commercial building HVAC faults. This paper describes initial analysis conducted on over 2-years of FDD data from 12 campus buildings to inform the methodology and data collection strategy of the full study. The analysis found a large variability in fault prevalence across different buildings, pieces of equipment, and fault types, many duplicate fault alarms, and challenges in validating faults with secondary data sources such as manually entered work order data. This paper also discusses the requirements for a successful full study, which necessitates the acquisition of a large, diverse dataset, from buildings that vary in end-use, climate region, and installed FDD software platform, as well as robust validation data easily linked to the FDD data. It is especially important to perform this analysis on data from multiple FDD providers and building owners to ensure that the results are agnostic to the software methodology used and building-specific settings. Future work will present the results of the full study, which will contain data from several different partner organizations, spanning a large proportion of U.S. climate zones.

Newman, Sarah F.↗

Consequence Management Monitoring Strategies

This presentation will be used in the pilot NA-81 Consequence Monument course. This presentation discusses monitoring techniques that can be used when responding to a radiological incident.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Insights Into Seismicity Associated With Flexibly Operating Enhanced Geothermal System From Real‐Time Distributed Acoustic Sensing

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) have the capacity to broaden the accessible resource pool for geothermal power generation. Traditionally viewed as a “baseload” resource, their flexible operation might also enable dispatchable load‐following generation and long‐term energy storage, aligning them with the evolving landscape of decarbonized electricity systems. However, increasing permeability and extracting energy during EGS operations can induce microseismic events; for many prior EGS efforts, some associated seismicity has been observed. While energetically beneficial, the flexibility of EGS operations prompts our inquiry into whether new types of operations will yield previously unseen seismicity patterns. We demonstrate the use of distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) with real‐time edge computing to monitor seismicity during a pilot test of a cyclically operated EGS facility at the Blue Mountain geothermal field. Our focus lies in uncovering seismicity insights from the real‐time microseismic catalog, particularly during load‐following dispatchability tests simulating flexible EGS operation. Here, we find that variations in pore pressure consistently correlate with seismicity, and that controlling pressure cycles during flexible operations appears to constrain microseismic activity during subsequent cycles. The spatio‐temporal evolution of microseismic clouds recorded during cyclic injection cycles fits diffusive models over our available observation period. Additionally, seismicity elevation lags behind pore pressure increases, likely due to pressure diffusion to the fracture system boundary. Through real‐time monitoring, we offer novel insights into seismicity associated with flexibly operating EGS. Our findings suggest that leveraging DAS and edge computing can inform EGS operations and help mitigate induced seismicity.

Chamarczuk, Michal [Rice Univ., Houston, TX (Unite↗

Beware of agents when flying aircraft: Basic principles behind a generic methodology for the evaluation and certification of advanced aviation systems

There is currently a growing interest in the aeronautical community to assess the effects of the increasing levels of automation on pilots' performance and overall safety. The first effect of automation is the change in the nature of the pilot's role on the flight deck. Pilots have become supervisors who monitor aircraft systems in usual situations and intervene only when unanticipated events occur. Instead of 'hand flying' the airplane, pilots contribute to the control of aircraft by acting as mediators, instructions given to the automation. By eliminating the need for manually controlling normal situations, such a role division has reduced the opportunities for the pilot to acquire experience and skills necessary to safely cope with abnormal events. Difficulties in assessing the state and behavior of automation arise mainly from four factors: (1) the complexity of current systems and consequence mode-related problems; (2) the intrinsic autonomy of automation which is able to fire mode transitions without explicit commands from the pilots; (3) the bad quality of feed-back from the control systems displays and interfaces to the pilots; and (4) the fact that the automation currently has no explicit representation of the current pilots' intentions and strategy. Assuming certification has among its major goals to guarantee the passengers' and pilots' safety and the airplane integrity under normal and abnormal operational conditions, the authors suggest it would be particularly fruitful to come up with a conceptual reference system providing the certification authorities both with a theoretical framework and a list of principles usable for assessing the quality of the equipment and designs under examination. This is precisely the scope of this paper. However, the authors recognize that the conceptual presented is still under development and would thus be best considered as a source of reflection for the design, evaluation and certification processes of advanced aviation technologies.

Javaux, Denis↗

Temperature response and brine availability to heated boreholes in bedded salt

Abstract There is a growing need for disposal of high‐level nuclear waste. To reduce uncertainty associated with brine availability to repository excavations in salt formations, a collaboration between Sandia, Los Alamos, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories is performing a series of borehole‐scale coupled process tests. Here, we report on the first round of the Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) project, a “shakedown” experiment called Phase 1s. Experimental testing included placing a resistive heater, a 260‐W radiative heater, and a 750‐W radiative heater within previously drilled horizontal boreholes at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) while monitoring temperature and water inflow. The experiments successfully achieved the targeted temperature of 120 °C when using the 750‐W radiative heater. Simulations using FEHM (Finite Element Heat and Mass transfer code) and TOUGH‐FLAC (Transport Of Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat–Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua) were able to accurately predict the coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical–chemical response of salt, matching the observed temperature and brine production. Due to the extremely low permeability of salt, these systems take many years to reach steady state when perturbed by mining activities. Long‐term numerical simulations are used to develop the initial pressure and saturation conditions. The inclusion of a damaged rock zone with higher permeability around the borehole also affects the saturation and pressure distributions and plays an important role in dissipating the potential for thermal pressurization. Knowledge gained from this round of experimentation and simulation will be used to conduct the next BATS project experiment in new boreholes at WIPP.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗