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At least 145 records · Page 8

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NASA NTRS1979

Design fabrication and installation of a yaw measuring device

The results of work performed in the development and testing of a yaw measuring device are summarized. A review of the yaw measurement method; and the techniques and hardware needed for its implementation are presented. A description and summary of the tests performed at the U.S. Bureau of Mines Bruceton facility are included. Conclusions are summarized and recommendations for a unit capable of operation in a mine environment are presented.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1981

A radar image time series

A set of ten side-looking radar images of a mining area in Arizona that were aquired over a period of 14 yr are studied to demonstrate the photogrammetric differential-rectification technique applied to radar images and to examine changes that occurred in the area over time. Five of the images are rectified by using ground control points and a digital height model taken from a map. Residual coordinate errors in ground control are reduced from several hundred meters in all cases to + or - 19 to 70 m. The contents of the radar images are compared with a Landsat image and with aerial photographs. Effects of radar system parameters on radar images are briefly reviewed.

Leberl, F.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Mineralogic information from a new airborne thermal infrared multispectral scanner

The thermal IR multispectral scanner (TIMS) has been developed for airborne geologic surveys. The resststrahlen band between 8-11 microns is exhibited by interatomic stretching vibrations of Si and oxygen bound up in the crystal lattice of silicate rocks. The crystal structure of the component minerals influence the depth and position of the detected band. The TIMS has six channels, an 80 deg field of view, and a sensitivity sufficient to detect a noise equivalent change in spectral emissivity of 0.002-0.006. The six bands measured are 8.2-8.6, 8.6-9.0, 9.4-10.2, 10.2-11.2, and 11.2-12.2 microns, using HgCdTe detectors. The data are analyzed with respect to emissivity variations as a function of wavelength, using the component transformation technique called a decorrelation stretch, with spectral differences being displayed as different colors. Sample scenes from Death Valley and the Nevada Cuprite mining district are compared with visible and near-IR color composites of the same areas, revealing the superior distinctions that are available with the TIMS.

Kahle, A. B.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Remote Detection and Mapping of Supergene Iron Oxides in the Cripple Creek Mining District, Colorado

The Geophysical and Environmental Research Imaging Spectrometer (GERIS) was flown over the Cripple Creek mining district in south-central Colorado to improve the geological understanding of the district. As part of the study, an airborne mapping technique was developed for the discrimination of the ferric iron minerals hematite, goethite, and jarosite, minerals often important indicators of the distribution of economic mineralization. A software technique was developed which uses the binary encoding of spectral slopes to identify the mineral hematite from the group goethite/jarosite. Mixtures of hematite and goethite can also be detected with GERIS data. The study included district-wide field mapping and spectral measurements to evaluate the accuracy of the image classifications. The ARC/INFO geographic information system (GIS) was a useful tool which allowed quantitative comparison of the field mapping and GERIS image data sets. The study results demonstrate the ability to discriminate individual iron minerals using imaging spectroscopy, and the development of a rapid mapping technique useful in the reconnaissance stage of minerals exploration.

Taranik, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS1982

A Temporal Approach to Monitor Surface Mine Reclamation Progress via LANDSAT

Using LANDSAT satellite imagery, the mine reclamation process can be studied on a temporal and continuing basis. Not only can the progress of reclamation be readily monitored, but also a breakdown in the mining reclamation process can be detected. In viewing reclamation, it is important to monitor the mined site well past initial revegation stages. With present mining law and bonding procedures, fast revegetational growth is encouraged, often leading to poor soil fertilizing and inappropriate stabilizing species. As a result, the initial reclamation may exhibit good qualities for one or two years but then may experience vegetational deterioration after the state has relinquished the mining company from it's responsibility. It is this small-scale breakdown in the reclamation process that was detected using an unsupervised classification technique with eight-year temporal LANDSAT imagery coverage.

Davis, A. L.↗

NASA NTRS1995

The NAS Computational Aerosciences Archive

In order to further the state-of-the-art in computational aerosciences (CAS) technology, researchers must be able to gather and understand existing work in the field. One aspect of this information gathering is studying published work available in scientific journals and conference proceedings. However, current scientific publications are very limited in the type and amount of information that they can disseminate. Information is typically restricted to text, a few images, and a bibliography list. Additional information that might be useful to the researcher, such as additional visual results, referenced papers, and datasets, are not available. New forms of electronic publication, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), limit publication size only by available disk space and data transmission bandwidth, both of which are improving rapidly. The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center is in the process of creating an archive of CAS information on the WWW. This archive will be based on the large amount of information produced by researchers associated with the NAS facility. The archive will contain technical summaries and reports of research performed on NAS supercomputers, visual results (images, animations, visualization system scripts), datasets, and any other supporting meta-information. This information will be available via the WWW through the NAS homepage, located at http://www.nas.nasa.gov/, fully indexed for searching. The main components of the archive are technical summaries and reports, visual results, and datasets. Technical summaries are gathered every year by researchers who have been allotted resources on NAS supercomputers. These summaries, together with supporting visual results and references, are browsable by interested researchers. Referenced papers made available by researchers can be accessed through hypertext links. Technical reports are in-depth accounts of tools and applications research projects performed by NAS staff members and collaborators. Visual results, which may be available in the form of images, animations, and/or visualization scripts, are generated by researchers with respect to a certain research project, depicting dataset features that were determined important by the investigating researcher. For example, script files for visualization systems (e.g. FAST, PLOT3D, AVS) are provided to create visualizations on the user's local workstation to elucidate the key points of the numerical study. Users can then interact with the data starting where the investigator left off. Datasets are intended to give researchers an opportunity to understand previous work, 'mine' solutions for new information (for example, have you ever read a paper thinking "I wonder what the helicity density looks like?"), compare new techniques with older results, collaborate with remote colleagues, and perform validation. Supporting meta-information associated with the research projects is also important to provide additional context for research projects. This may include information such as the software used in the simulation (e.g. grid generators, flow solvers, visualization). In addition to serving the CAS research community, the information archive will also be helpful to students, visualization system developers and researchers, and management. Students (of any age) can use the data to study fluid dynamics, compare results from different flow solvers, learn about meshing techniques, etc., leading to better informed individuals. For these users it is particularly important that visualization be integrated into dataset archives. Visualization researchers can use dataset archives to test algorithms and techniques, leading to better visualization systems, Management can use the data to figure what is really going on behind the viewgraphs. All users will benefit from fast, easy, and convenient access to CFD datasets. The CAS information archive hopes to serve as a useful resource to those interested in computational sciences. At present, only information that may be distributed internationally is made available via the archive. Studies are underway to determine security requirements and solutions to make additional information available. By providing access to the archive via the WWW, the process of information gathering can be more productive and fruitful due to ease of access and ability to manage many different types of information. As the archive grows, additional resources from outside NAS will be added, providing a dynamic source of research results.

Miceli, Kristina D.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Detailed Studies on the Structure and Dynamics of Reacting Dusty Flows at Normal and Microgravity

Dusty reacting flows are of particular interest for a wide range of applications. Inert particles can alter the flammability and extinction limits of a combustible mixture. Reacting particles can release substantial amount of heat and can be used either for power generation or propulsion. Accumulation of combustible particles in air can result in explosions which, for example, can occur in grain elevators, during lumber milling and in mine galleries. Furthermore, inert particles are used as flow velocity markers in reacting flows, and their velocity is measured by non-intrusive laser diagnostic techniques. Despite their importance, dusty reacting flows have been less studied and understood compared to gas phase as well as sprays. The addition of solid particles in a flowing gas stream can lead to strong couplings between the two phases, which can be of dynamic, thermal, and chemical nature. The dynamic coupling between the two phases is caused by the inertia that causes the phases to move with different velocities. Furthermore, gravitational, thermophoretic, photophoretic, electrophoretic, diffusiophoretic, centrifugal, and magnetic forces can be exerted on the particles. In general, magnetic, electrophoretic, centrifugal, photophoretic, and diffusiophoretic can be neglected. On the other hand, thermophoretic forces, caused by steep temperature gradients, can be important. The gravitational forces are almost always present and can affect the dynamic response of large particles. Understanding and quantifying the chemical coupling between two phases is a challenging task. However, all reacting particles begin this process as inert particles, and they must be heated before they participate in the combustion process. Thus, one must first understand the interactions of inert particles in a combustion environment. The in-detail understanding of the dynamics and structure of dusty flows can be only advanced by considering simple flow geometries such as the opposed-jet, stagnation-type. In such configurations the imposed strain rate is well characterized, and the in-depth understanding of the details of the physico-chemical processes can be systematically obtained. A number of computational and experimental studies on spray and particle flows have been conducted in stagnation-type configurations. Numerically, the need for a hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian approach has been identified by Continillo and Sirignano, and the use of such approach has allowed for the prediction of the phenomenon of droplet flow reversal. Gomez and Rosner have conducted a detailed study on the particle response in the opposed-jet configuration, and the particle thermophoretic diffusivities were determined experimentally. Sung, Law and co-workers have conducted numerical studies on the effect of strain rate and temperature gradients on the dynamics of inert particles, as a way of understanding potential errors in experimental LDV data that may arise from thermophoretic forces. This investigation is a combined experimental and numerical study on the details of reacting dusty flows. The specific tasks are: (1) Experimental determination of laminar flame speeds, and extinction strain rates of dusty flows at normal- and micro-gravity as functions of the particle type, particle initial diameter, particle initial number density, and gas phase chemical composition; (2) Detailed numerical simulation of the experiments. Results are compared with experiments and the adequacy of theoretical models is assessed; and (3) Provision of enhanced insight into the thermo-chemical coupling between the two phases.

Andac, M. Gurhan↗

NASA NTRS2003

Use of Computed Tomography for Characterizing Materials Grown Terrestrially and in Microgravity

Computed Tomography (CT) has advanced considerably since being responsible for such dramatic advances in diagnostics within the medical field. It has become a major tool in non destructive evaluation (NDE), and is used in many fields as diverse as coal-mining to metal solidification to examination of rock cores. A review of industrial applications has been written by Dennis. It is only recently that the technique has been seriously used to determine composition through precise measurement of density. While such applications are restricted to cases when there is no ambiguity in the relationship of composition to density. Thus alloy solid solutions lend themselves to compositional analysis provided there is a large change in density with composition. The technique is most useful when rapid non-destructive evaluation is needed. Such cases will occur with samples returning from the International Space Station (ISS) when knowledge of the results could affect future strategies for processing of on-board samples. Experiments from those Principal Investigators (PI) that are most likely to benefit from early CT scanning are discussed. With a dearth of samples, the major emphasis in the first part of this project has been on preparing suitable standards, optimizing the CT technique for these applications, and using the CT system to determine density variations with temperature. An interesting application of CT has been in the examination of meteorites, which can be classified as space-grown materials and will certainly have solidified in a low gravity environment.

Gillies, Donald C.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Mining and beneficiation: A review of possible lunar applications

Successful exploration of Mars and outer space may require base stations strategically located on the Moon. Such bases must develop a certain self-sufficiency, particularly in the critical life support materials, fuel components, and construction materials. Technology is reviewed for the first steps in lunar resource recovery-mining and beneficiation. The topic is covered in three main categories: site selection; mining; and beneficiation. It will also include (in less detail) in-situ processes. The text described mining technology ranging from simple diggings and hauling vehicles (the strawman) to more specialized technology including underground excavation methods. The section of beneficiation emphasizes dry separation techniques and methods of sorting the ore by particle size. In-situ processes, chemical and thermal, are identified to stimulate further thinking by future researchers.

Chamberlain, Peter G.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Machine processing of remotely sensed data; Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Symposium, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., June 27-29, 1979

Papers are presented on techniques and applications for the machine processing of remotely sensed data. Specific topics include the Landsat-D mission and thematic mapper, data preprocessing to account for atmospheric and solar illumination effects, sampling in crop area estimation, the LACIE program, the assessment of revegetation on surface mine land using color infrared aerial photography, the identification of surface-disturbed features through a nonparametric analysis of Landsat MSS data, the extraction of soil data in vegetated areas, and the transfer of remote sensing computer technology to developing nations. Attention is also given to the classification of multispectral remote sensing data using context, the use of guided clustering techniques for Landsat data analysis in forest land cover mapping, crop classification using an interactive color display, and future trends in image processing software and hardware.

Tendam, I. M.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Chemical Compositions and Abundance Anomalies in Stellar Coronae ADP99

We have been investigating different statistical methods for analysing the metal abundances of sources with low S/N. A Bayesian technique has been developed that determines the most probable line-to-continuum ratio in the source, thereby leading to the metallicity. This method is a promising approach with which to mine the ASCA archive. Some of this work has now been published in conference proceedings. The flavour of the project has changed very slightly in the last year owing to the increasing availability of several good quality Chandra HETG and LETG spectra for stars for which we had reduced and analysed ASCA data. The Chandra grating spectra in principle provide a means of calibrating the results from the low resolution ASCA spectra and we have started some work toward that goal. One paper concerning abundance ratios in active stars is appearing shortly in conference proceedings and is being readied for publication in a main-stream astrophysical journal. This paper demonstrates for the first time that abundance anomalies cannot be categorized simply in terms of First Ionization Potential (FIP) or inverse-FIP based effects. Different Ne enhancements are found in different star types but a link between enhancement factors and stellar properties is not obvious. The publication noted as in preparation in an earlier report, finding strong Ne enhancements in active stars, is now published. These results will again be used to "calibrate" low resolution results for which line ratio techniques cannot be employed.

Drake, Jeremy↗

NASA NTRS1973

Facilitating the exploitation of ERTS imagery using snow enhancement techniques

The author has identified the following significant results. Comparative analysis of snow-free and snow-covered imagery of the New England Test Area has resulted in a larger number of lineaments mapped from snow-covered imagery in three out of four sets of comparative imagery. Analysts unfamiliar with the New England Test Area were utilized; the quality of imagery was independently judged to be uniform. In all image sets, a greater total length of lineaments was mapped with the snow-covered imagery. The value of this technique for fracture mapping in areas with thick soil cover is suggested. A number of potentially useful environmental applications of snow enhancement related to such areas as mining, land use, and hydrology have been identified.

Wobber, F. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

DIAL Mapping of Atmospheric Atomic Mercury of Geophysical Origin

The atmospheric distribution of atomic mercury is studied with the differential absorption lidar technique using the 253.6 nm Hg resonance line. Using a mobile lidar system employing a Nd:YAG-pumped dye laser, studies were performed in Italian geothermal and mining areas. Concentrations ranging from the background value 2 ng/m(exp 3) to several micro-g/m(exp 3) were measured.

Edner, H.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Correlation Between Bulk Material Defects and Spectroscopic Response in Cadmium Zinc Telluride Detectors

One of the critical challenges for large area cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) detector arrays is obtaining material capable of uniform imaging and spectroscopic response. Two complementary nondestructive techniques for characterizing bulk CdZnTe have been developed to identify material with a uniform response. The first technique, infrared transmission imaging, allows for rapid visualization of bulk defects. The second technique, x-ray spectral mapping, provides a map of the material spectroscopic response when it is configured as a planar detector. The two techniques have been used to develop a correlation between bulk defect type and detector performance. The correlation allows for the use of infrared imaging to rapidly develop wafer mining maps. The mining of material free of detrimental defects has the potential to dramatically increase the yield and quality of large area CdZnTe detector arrays.

Parker, Bradford H.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Hydrothermal systems on Mars: an assessment of present evidence

Hydrothermal processes have been suggested to explain a number of observations for Mars, including D/H ratios of water extracted from Martian meteorites, as a means for removing CO2 from the Martian atmosphere and sequestering it in the crust as carbonates, and as a possible origin for iron oxide-rich spectral units on the floors of some rifted basins (chasmata). There are numerous examples of Martian channels formed by discharges of subsurface water near potential magmatic heat sources, and hydrothermal processes have also been proposed as a mechanism for aquifer recharge needed to sustain long term erosion of sapping channels. The following geological settings have been identified as targets for ancient hydrothermal systems on Mars: channels located along the margins of impact crater melt sheets and on the slopes of ancient volcanoes; chaotic and fretted terranes where shallow subsurface heat sources are thought to have interacted with ground ice; and the floors of calderas and rifted basins (e.g. chasmata). On Earth, such geological environments are often a locus for hydrothermal mineralization. But we presently lack the mineralogical information needed for a definitive evaluation of hypotheses. A preferred tool for identifying minerals by remote sensing methods on Earth is high spatial resolution, hyperspectral, near-infrared spectroscopy, a technique that has been extensively developed by mineral explorationists. Future efforts to explore Mars for ancient hydrothermal systems would benefit from the application of methods developed by the mining industry to look for similar deposits on Earth. But Earth-based exploration models must be adapted to account for the large differences in the climatic and geological history of Mars. For example, it is likely that the early surface environment of Mars was cool, perhaps consistently below freezing, with the shallow portions of hydrothermal systems being dominated by magma-cryosphere interactions. Given the smaller gravitational field, declining atmospheric pressure, and widespread, permeable megaregolith on Mars, volatile outgassing and magmatic cooling would have been more effective than on Earth. Thus, hydrothermal systems are likely to have had much lower average surface temperatures than comparable geological settings on Earth. The likely predominance of basaltic crust on Mars suggests that hydrothermal fluids and associated deposits should be enriched in Fe, Mg, Si and Ca, with surficial deposits being dominated by lower temperature, mixed iron oxide and carbonate mineralogies.

Review↗

NASA NTRS2012

Traffic Flow Management: Data Mining Update

This presentation provides an update on recent data mining efforts that have been designed to (1) identify like/similar days in the national airspace system, (2) cluster/aggregate national-level rerouting data and (3) apply machine learning techniques to predict when Ground Delay Programs are required at a weather-impacted airport

Grabbe, Shon R.↗

NASA NTRS2014

MARGInS: Model-Based Analysis of Realizable Goals in Systems

Under NASAs Constellation effort, the Exploration Technology Development Program funded research toward a system validation capability that applied machine learning and test-case generation techniques to the analysis of black-box system behavior. The behavior analysis capability scaled to spaces of hundreds of input parameters and tens of thousands of test cases. Aerospace systems at the vehicle level, especially those systems which contain some level of autonomy, are best described by hybrid and non-linear mathematics. Even simplified models of such systems need parameter dimensionalities in the hundreds or thousands of parameters in order to capture sufficient fidelity. The System Safety Assessments (such as those described in the SAE ARP 4761A Safety Assessment Process guidelines) for these systems are prone to errorinteractions between the vehicles subsystems are complex, and can display emergent behaviors. NASA captured this new analysis in the Model-based Analysis of Realizable Goals in Systems (MARGInS) tool and applied it to the Pad Abort 1 (PA-1) simulation as part of the independent validation and verification cycle before the PA-1 flight test in May of 2010. MARGInS evaluated the adherence of the high-fidelity simulation to its requirements, and deter- mined the margins to failure from the expected nominal input conditions. Following the PA-1 test, the capabilities within the MARGInS framework have been extended with sophisticated statistical and white-box test case generation techniques and applied to other NASA missions. The frame- work now includes a critical factors analysis that was applied to NASAs Orion simulation and design. NASAs Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) leveraged the existing MARGInS framework for work on aviation safety for civil transport vehicles and for research on autonomy issues. The NASA ARMD effort created a time series output prediction capability that has been used to characterize trajectories for a plane with an adaptive control system, and a safety boundary detection capability that has been applied to an air traffic control concept of operation for the Federal Aviation Administration. The statistical and machine- learning based techniques within MARGInS have been successfully combined with concolic execution to improve the coverage of a critical unit by driving system-level inputs. The use case driving the concolic execution and MARGInS integration was inspired by the Air France 447 disaster in which the loss of a critical functionality (the airspeed calculation from the pitot tubes) led to loss of the entire plane with the people aboard. To illustrate capabilities and limitations, we will highlight the analyses for the applications listed above. We will then discuss the future plans for MARGInS and its interfaces with other tools.

Validation↗

NASA NTRS1980

Coal thickness guage using RRAS techniques, parts 2 and 3

Electron magnetic resonance was investigated as a sensing technique for use in measuring the thickness of the layer of coal overlying the rock substrate. The goal is development of a thickness gauge which will be usable for control of mining machinery to maintain the coal thickness within selected bounds. A sensor must be noncontracting, have a measurement range of 6 inches or more, and an accuracy of 1/2 inch or better. The sensor should be insensitive to variations in spacing between the sensor and the surface, the response speed should be adequate to permit use on continuous mining equipment, and the device should be rugged and otherwise suited for operation under conditions of high vibration, moisture, and dust. Finally, the sensor measurement must not be adversely affected by the natural effects occurring in coal such as impurities, voids, cracks, layering, high moisture level, and other conditions that are likely to be encountered.

King, J. D.↗