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NASA NTRS1995

Properties of a center/surround retinex. Part 2: Surround design

The last version of Edwin Land's retinex model for human vision's lightness and color constancy has been implemented. Previous research has established the mathematical foundations of Land's retinex but has not examined specific design issues and their effects on the properties of the retinex operation. We have sought to define a practical implementation of the retinex without particular concern for its validity as a model for human lightness and color perception. Here we describe issues involved in designing the surround function. We find that there is a trade-off between rendition and dynamic range compression that is governed by the surround space constant. Various functional forms for the retinex surround are evaluated and a Gaussian form is found to perform better than the inverse square suggested by Land. Preliminary testing led to the design of a Gaussian surround with a space constant of 80 pixels as a reasonable compromise between dynamic range compression and rendition.

Jobson, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Plume particle collection and sizing from static firing of solid rocket motors

A unique dart system has been designed and built at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to collect aluminum oxide plume particles from the plumes of large scale solid rocket motors, such as the space shuttle RSRM. The capability of this system to collect clean samples from both the vertically fired MNASA (18.3% scaled version of the RSRM) motors and the horizontally fired RSRM motor has been demonstrated. The particle mass averaged diameters, d43, measured from the samples for the different motors, ranged from 8 to 11 mu m and were independent of the dart collection surface and the motor burn time. The measured results agreed well with those calculated using the industry standard Hermsen's correlation within the standard deviation of the correlation . For each of the samples analyzed from both MNASA and RSRM motors, the distribution of the cumulative mass fraction of the plume oxide particles as a function of the particle diameter was best described by a monomodal log-normal distribution with a standard deviation of 0.13 - 0.15. This distribution agreed well with the theoretical prediction by Salita using the OD3P code for the RSRM motor at the nozzle exit plane.

Sambamurthi, Jay K.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Interannual Sea Level Variations in the Tropical Indian Ocean from Geosat and Shallow Water Simulations

Sea level variations of the Indian Ocean north of 20 deg S are analyzed from Geosat satellite altimeter data over April 1985-September 1989. These variations are compared and interpreted with numerical simulations derived from a reduced gravity model forced by FSU observed winds over the same period. After decomposition into complex empirical orthogonal functions, the low-frequency anomalies are described by the first two modes for observations as well as for simulations. The sums of the two modes contain 34% and 40% of the observed and simulated variances, respectively. Averaged over the basin, the observed and simulated sea level changes are correlated by 0.92 over 1985-1988. The strongest change happens during the El Ninio 1986-1987: between winter 1986 and summer 1987 the basin-averaged sea level rises by approx. 1 cm. These low-frequency variations can partly be explained by changes in the Sverdrup circulation. The southern tropical Indian Ocean between 1O deg and 20 deg S is the domain where those changes are strongest: the averaged sea level rises by approx. 4.5 cm between winter 1986 and winter 1987. There, the signal propagates southwestward across the basin at a speed similar to free Rossby waves. Sensitivity of observed anomalies is examined over 1987-1988, with different orbit ephemeris, tropospheric corrections, and error reduction processes. The uncertainty of the basin-averaged sea level estimates is mostly due to the way the orbit error is reduced and reaches approx. 1 cm. Nonetheless, spatial correlation is good between the various observations and better than between observations and simulations. Sensitivity of simulated anomalies to the wind uncertainty, examined with Former Soviet Union (FSU) and European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) forcings over 1985-1988, shows that the variance of the simulations driven by ECMWF is 52% smaller, as FSU winds are stronger than ECMWF. Results show that the wind strength also affects the dynamic response of the ocean: anomalies propagate westward across the basin more than twice as fast with FSU than with ECMWF. It is found that the discrepancy is larger between ECMWF and FSU simulations than between observations and FSU simulations.

Perigaud, Claire↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Degree-Scale Measurement of the Anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background

We report the detection of anisotropy in the microwave sky at 3O GHz and at l deg angular scales. The most economical interpretation of the data is that the fluctuations are intrinsic to the cosmic microwave background. However, galactic free-free emission is ruled out with only 90% confidence. The most likely root-mean-squared amplitude of the fluctuations, assuming they are described by a Gaussian auto-correlation function with a coherence angle of 1.2 deg, is 41(+16/-13) (mu)K. We also present limits on the anisotropy of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background.

Wollack, Ed↗
NASA NTRS1997

Report on the Radar/PIREP Cloud Top Discrepancy Study

This report documents the results of the Applied Meteorology Unit's (AMU) investigation of inconsistencies between pilot reported cloud top heights and weather radar indicated echo top heights (assumed to be cloud tops) as identified by the 45 Weather Squadron (45WS). The objective for this study is to document and understand the differences in echo top characteristics as displayed on both the WSR-88D and WSR-74C radars and cloud top heights reported by the contract weather aircraft in support of space launch operations at Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), Florida. These inconsistencies are of operational concern since various Launch Commit Criteria (LCC) and Flight Rules (FR) in part describe safe and unsafe conditions as a function of cloud thickness. Some background radar information was presented. Scan strategies for the WSR-74C and WSR-88D were reviewed along with a description of normal radar beam propagation influenced by the Effective Earth Radius Model. Atmospheric conditions prior to and leading up to both launch operations were detailed. Through the analysis of rawinsonde and radar data, atmospheric refraction or bending of the radar beam was identified as the cause of the discrepancies between reported cloud top heights by the contract weather aircraft and those as identified by both radars. The atmospheric refraction caused the radar beam to be further bent toward the Earth than normal. This radar beam bending causes the radar target to be displayed erroneously, with higher cloud top heights and a very blocky or skewed appearance.

Wheeler, Mark M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Statistical Perspectives on Stratospheric Transport

Long-lived tropospheric source gases, such as nitrous oxide, enter the stratosphere through the tropical tropopause, are transported throughout the stratosphere by the Brewer-Dobson circulation, and are photochemically destroyed in the upper stratosphere. These chemical constituents, or "tracers" can be used to track mixing and transport by the stratospheric winds. Much of our understanding about the stratospheric circulation is based on large scale gradients and other spatial features in tracer fields constructed from satellite measurements. The point of view presented in this paper is different, but complementary, in that transport is described in terms of tracer probability distribution functions (PDFs). The PDF is computed from the measurements, and is proportional to the area occupied by tracer values in a given range. The flavor of this paper is tutorial, and the ideas are illustrated with several examples of transport-related phenomena, annotated with remarks that summarize the main point or suggest new directions. One example shows how the multimodal shape of the PDF gives information about the different branches of the circulation. Another example shows how the statistics of fluctuations from the most probable tracer value give insight into mixing between different regions of the atmosphere. Also included is an analysis of the time-dependence of the PDF during the onset and decline of the winter circulation, and a study of how "bursts" in the circulation are reflected in transient periods of rapid evolution of the PDF. The dependence of the statistics on location and time are also shown to be important for practical problems related to statistical robustness and satellite sampling. The examples illustrate how physically-based statistical analysis can shed some light on aspects of stratospheric transport that may not be obvious or quantifiable with other types of analyses. An important motivation for the work presented here is the need for synthesis of the large and growing database of observations of the atmosphere and the vast quantities of output generated by atmospheric models.

Sparling, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Generalized Wall Function for Complex Turbulent Flows

A generalized wall function was proposed by Shih et al., (1999). It accounts the effect of pressure gradients on the flow near the wall. Theory shows that the effect of pressure gradients on the flow in the inertial sublayer is very significant and the standard wall function should be replaced by a generalized wall function. Since the theory is also valid for boundary layer flows toward separation, the generalized wall function may be applied to complex turbulent flows with acceleration, deceleration, separation and recirculation. This paper is to verify the generalized wall function with numerical simulations for boundary layer flows with various adverse and favorable pressure gradients, including flows about to separate. Furthermore, a general procedure of implementation of the generalized wall function for National Combustion Code (NCC) is described, it can be applied to both structured and unstructured CFD codes.

Shih, Tsan-Hsing↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Study of Short-Term Variations in Jupiter's Synchrotron Emission

Earth-based observations of the flux density and polarization of Jupiter's microwave emission provide useful data to test and constrain computational models of synchrotron radio emission from the inner regions of the Jovian magnetosphere. Stimulated by the sudden brightening of the synchrotron emission caused by the impacts of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994, the observational techniques of the NASA-JPL Jupiter Patrol were modified to search for other short-term variations unrelated to the SL-9 event. The characteristics of the improved data base are described and the results of the search for variability on timescales of 5 to 100 days are reported. The first results of Jupiter observations from the Goldstone-Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) project are reported and included in the data base. GAVRT is a new project in science education that engages middle- and high school students in science research. The paper also includes new observations of Jupiter's rotational beamed emission, commonly known as the "beaming curve", that describes the observed flux density as a function of System III longitude. The shape of the "beaming curve" is known to change with the parameter D(sub E), the declination of the earth relative to Jupiter's rotational equator. While the history of Jupiter's beaming curve exhibits remarkable stability and repeatability as a function of D(sub E), there may be evidence for short term departures from the nominal curves. Data supporting this tentative conclusion are presented. Preliminary results of a study comparing the observations and computer simulations of the synchrotron beaming curve will also be presented and discussed (see companion paper, "Modeling Jupiter's Synchrotron Emission", by Bolton et. al.). The research reported in this paper was performed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Klein, M.J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Mobile Computing for Aerospace Applications

The use of commercial computer technology in specific aerospace mission applications can reduce the cost and project cycle time required for the development of special-purpose computer systems. Additionally, the pace of technological innovation in the commercial market has made new computer capabilities available for demonstrations and flight tests. Three areas of research and development being explored by the Portable Computer Technology Project at NASA Ames Research Center are the application of commercial client/server network computing solutions to crew support and payload operations, the analysis of requirements for portable computing devices, and testing of wireless data communication links as extensions to the wired network. This paper will present computer architectural solutions to portable workstation design including the use of standard interfaces, advanced flat-panel displays and network configurations incorporating both wired and wireless transmission media. It will describe the design tradeoffs used in selecting high-performance processors and memories, interfaces for communication and peripheral control, and high resolution displays. The packaging issues for safe and reliable operation aboard spacecraft and aircraft are presented. The current status of wireless data links for portable computers is discussed from a system design perspective. An end-to-end data flow model for payload science operations from the experiment flight rack to the principal investigator is analyzed using capabilities provided by the new generation of computer products. A future flight experiment on-board the Russian MIR space station will be described in detail including system configuration and function, the characteristics of the spacecraft operating environment, the flight qualification measures needed for safety review, and the specifications of the computing devices to be used in the experiment. The software architecture chosen shall be presented. An analysis of the performance characteristics of wireless data links in the spacecraft environment will be discussed. Network performance and operation will be modeled and preliminary test results presented. A crew support application will be demonstrated in conjunction with the network metrics experiment.

Alena, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2000

All-Metal Magnetic RAM

The factors that enter into the development of an all-metal, nonvolatile magnetic RAM, in which multilayer giant magnetoresistive films are used for all functions - storage, readout, and support electronics - are described. Four significant characteristics are expected to favor all-metal over hybrid magnetic RAM. First, silicon-technology fabrication requires a large number of masking steps, including complex ones such as ion implantation. Conversely, all-metal technology is inherently simple: fewer masking steps, no doping, scaling to lithographic limits, very little operating power. Second, the all-metal footprint is significantly smaller than the hybrid one. Third, an all-metal RAM is expected to be able to be miniaturized to lithographic limits; miniaturization of hybrid magnetic RAMs is likely to be limited by the semiconductor circuitry. Finally, semiconductor processing and magnetic processing in MRAM are done separately because the former requires high temperatures, whereas magnetic fabrication is a low-temperature process. By contrast, because both GMR electronics and the memory elements are made of the same materials, the two major components are deposited and patterned concurrently on the same substrate.

Torok, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Optical Dust Characterization in Manned Mars Analogue Research Stations

Martian dust has been identified as a potentially serious hazard to any manned Mars landing mission. NASA and other organizations realize this risk and continue to support Martian dust research through the Matador project led by researchers at the University of Arizona. The Mars Society can contribute to this work by beginning a regimen of monitoring and measuring dust properties at its Mars analogue research stations. These research facilities offer the unique opportunity to study the transport and distribution of dust particles within a crewed habitat supporting active geologic exploration. Information regarding the amount, location and size of dust particles that may accumulate in a Mars habitat will be required to design a real Mars habitat and habitat equipment. Beginning such an effort does not require a large outlay of equipment and can be accomplished using crewmembers experienced with station operations. Various optical techniques, such as dark-field illumination, coupled with image processing algorithms enable the collection of dust grain relative size and frequency information. Such approaches can be applied in several different zones within the research stations to evaluate the various dust reduction and isolation procedures implemented during a particular crew rotation. As the stations simulation fidelity increases, the applicability of such data to a functional Mars lander will increase. This presentation describes the optical equipment and procedures for measuring dust properties in Mars analogue research stations that can be implemented during the next field season.

Bos, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

An Interpolation Method for Obtaining Thermodynamic Properties Near Saturated Liquid and Saturated Vapor Lines

The two most common approaches used to formulate thermodynamic properties of pure substances are fundamental (or characteristic) equations of state (Helmholtz and Gibbs functions) and a piecemeal approach that is described in Adebiyi and Russell (1992). This paper neither presents a different method to formulate thermodynamic properties of pure substances nor validates the aforementioned approaches. Rather its purpose is to present a method to generate property tables from existing property packages and a method to facilitate the accurate interpretation of fluid thermodynamic property data from those tables. There are two parts to this paper. The first part of the paper shows how efficient and usable property tables were generated, with the minimum number of data points, using an aerospace industry standard property package. The second part describes an innovative interpolation technique that has been developed to properly obtain thermodynamic properties near the saturated liquid and saturated vapor lines.

Nguyen, Huy H.↗
NASA NTRS2003

An Interpolation Method for Obtaining Thermodynamic Properties Near Saturated Liquid and Saturated Vapor Lines

The availability and proper utilization of fluid properties is of fundamental importance in the process of mathematical modeling of propulsion systems. Real fluid properties provide the bridge between the realm of pure analytiis and empirical reality. The two most common approaches used to formulate thermodynamic properties of pure substances are fundamental (or characteristic) equations of state (Helmholtz and Gibbs functions) and a piecemeal approach that is described, for example, in Adebiyi and Russell (1992). This paper neither presents a different method to formulate thermodynamic properties of pure substances nor validates the aforementioned approaches. Rather its purpose is to present a method to be used to facilitate the accurate interpretation of fluid thermodynamic property data generated by existing property packages. There are two parts to this paper. The first part of the paper shows how efficient and usable property tables were generated, with the minimum number of data points, using an aerospace industry standard property package (based on fundamental equations of state approach). The second part describes an innovative interpolation technique that has been developed to properly obtain thermodynamic properties near the saturated liquid and saturated vapor lines.

Nguyen, Huy H.↗
NASA NTRS2002

RNA-binding proteins in plants: the tip of an iceberg?

RNA-binding proteins, which are involved in the synthesis, processing, transport, translation, and degradation of RNA, are emerging as important, often multifunctional, cellular regulatory proteins. Although relatively few RNA-binding proteins have been studied in plants, they are being identified with increasing frequency, both genetically and biochemically. RNA-binding proteins that regulate chloroplast mRNA stability and translation in response to light and that have been elegantly analyzed in Clamydomonas reinhardtii have counterparts with similar functions in higher plants. Several recent reports describe mutations in genes encoding RNA-binding proteins that affect plant development and hormone signaling.

Review↗
NASA NTRS1994

Effects of 5 weeks of lower limb suspension on muscle size and strength

Lack of weight-bearing, as occurs in space, appears to be associated with reductions in strength and mass of skeletal muscle. Very limited data, however, is at hand describing changes in skeletal muscle size and function following manned space missions. Our current knowledge therefore is mainly based on studies of space flown rats. It is obvious though that this information, only in part can be extrapolated to humans. A few bed rest studies have demonstrated that decreases in strength and muscle size are substantial. At this time, however, the magnitude or time course of such changes either in response to space flight or simulations of microgravity have not been defined. In the last few years we have employed a human model to simulate unloading of lower limb skeletal muscles that occurs in microgravity. This model was essentially adopted from the rat hindlimb suspension technique. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of decreases in muscle strength and size as a result of five weeks of unilateral lower limb suspension.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2004

A New Approach to Using a Cloud-Resolving Model to Study the Interactions between Clouds, Precipitation and Aerosols

Recently Grabowski and Khairoutdinov and Randall have proposed and demonstrated, the feasibility of using 2D CRMs (these did not include detailed land processes and used periodic lateral boundary conditions) as 'super-parameterizations or a multi-scale modeling framework MMF' for cloud processes within atmospheric generation circulation models (GCMs). In the MMF, a fine-resolution 2D CRM takes the place of the single-column parameterization that is used in conventional GCMs. An overview of this approach is given by Randall et al.. Since a CRM can explicitly simulate cloud processes at the natural space and time scales of clouddynamical processes, it's possible to compute statistics of cloud fields, including radiances and radar backscatters, directly simulated/produced by the CRM. A seed fund is available at NASA Goddard to build a MMF based on a 2D GCE model and the Goddard fvGCM. A prototype MMF will be developed at end of 2004. The major objectives are to test and evaluate its performance using the GCE model as the super parameterization and compare its results with other super parameterizations, conventional GCMs and observations. Recently, a detailed spectral-bin microphysical scheme was implemented into the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (WE) model. The GCE model is a CRM and it has been improved and applied to study the precipitation processes in the past two decades. Atmospheric aerosols are also described using number density size-distribution functions. The model is tested by studying the evolution of deep tropical clouds in the west Pacific warm pool region and summertime convection over a mid-latitude continent with different concentrations of CCN: a low 'clean' concentration and a high 'dirty' concentration. The impact of atmospheric aerosol concentration on cloud and precipitation will be investigated. In addition, the similarities and differences between bulk- and spectral-bin microphysics will be presented,

Tao, Wei-Kuo↗
NASA NTRS2005

Introduction to System Health Engineering and Management in Aerospace

This paper provides a technical overview of Integrated System Health Engineering and Management (ISHEM). We define ISHEM as "the paper provides a techniques, and technologies used to design, analyze, build, verify, and operate a system to prevent faults and/or minimize their effects." This includes design and manufacturing techniques as well operational and managerial methods. ISHEM is not a "purely technical issue" as it also involves and must account for organizational, communicative, and cognitive f&ms of humans as social beings and as individuals. Thus the paper will discuss in more detail why all of these elements, h m the technical to the cognitive and social, are necessary to build dependable human-machine systems. The paper outlines a functional homework and architecture for ISHEM operations, describes the processes needed to implement ISHEM in the system life-cycle, and provides a theoretical framework to understand the relationship between the different aspects of the discipline. It then derives from these and the social and cognitive bases a set of design and operational principles for ISHEM.

Johnson, Stephen B.↗