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At least 163 records · Page 9

A model of convergent plate margins based on the recent tectonics of Shikoku, Japan

A viscoelastic finite element plate tectonic model is applied to displacement data for the island of Shikoku, Japan. The flow properties and geometry of the upper portions of the earth are assumed known from geophysical evidence, and the loading characteristics are determined from the model. The nature of the forces acting on the Philippine Sea plate, particularly in the vicinity of the Nankai trough, is determined. Seismic displacement data related to the 1946 Nankaido earthquake are modeled in terms of a thick elastic plate overlying a fluidlike substratum. The sequence of preseismic and seismic displacements can be explained in terms of two independent processes operating on elastic lithospheric plates: a strain accumulation process caused by vertical downward forces acting on or within the lithosphere in the vicinity of the trench, and a strain release process caused by plate failure along a preexisting zone on weakness. This is a restatement of Reid's elastic rebound theory in terms of elastic lithospheric plates.

Bischke, R. E.↗

The Analysis and Support for LANL Technology Testbed: High Altitude Balloon Gondola and Orion Eagle Gamma Ray Detection Instrument

The Analysis and Support for LANL Technology Testbed: High Altitude Balloon Gondola and Orion Eagle Gamma-Ray Detection Instrument is a project where Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in conjunction with the University of Michigan, are looking into gamma-ray detection in a space-like environment. The purpose of the detection is to work on instruments that can assist with planetary exploration and nuclear deterrents using a High-Altitude Balloon (HAB). For this paper, the main focus is on the mechanical aspects related to the structural analysis of the gondola. It is vital to understand the structural analysis because it helps determine if the gondola can survive the changes in the environment and the different forces or shocks that it will experience when the parachute is deployed and at landing. Additionally, NASA's Balloon Program Office (BPO) has specific requirements to meet to achieve flight certifications. Part of those certifications requires the gondola to simulate different scenarios at specific conditions with various forces applied and orientations. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the calculations of each method and the force applied to get the right results. Once that is done, the information is inputted into the structural analysis modeling system. The system will aid the mechanical team in assessing the conditions of the gondola at each scenario and determine its margin of safety. After the gondola and instrument are certified, the payload will be able to fly. The HAB and payload are launched from NASA's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) at Fort Sumner, NM. The official flight was on September 26th, 2021.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Optimization of control gain by operator adjustment

An optimal gain was established by measuring errors at 5 discrete control gain settings in an experimental set-up consisting of a 2-dimensional, first-order pursuit tracking task performed by subjects (S's). No significant experience effect on optimum gain setting was found in the first experiment. During the second experiment, in which control gain was continuously adjustable, high experienced S's tended to reach the previously determined optimum gain quite accurately and quickly. Less experienced S's tended to select a marginally optimum gain either below or above the experimentally determined optimum depending on initial control gain setting, although mean settings of both groups were equal. This quick and simple method is recommended for selecting control gains for different control systems and forcing functions.

Kruse, W.↗

Rapid retreat of the southwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Bølling-Allerød interval

The timing of Laurentide Ice Sheet deglaciation along its southwestern margin controlled the evolution of large glacial lakes and has implications for human migration into the Americas. Accurate reconstruction of the ice sheet’s retreat also constrains glacial isostatic adjustment models and is important for understanding ice-sheet sensitivity to climate forcing. Despite its significance, retreat of the southwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet (SWLIS) is poorly constrained by minimum-limiting 14 C data. We present 26 new cosmogenic 10 Be exposure ages spanning the western Interior Plains, Canada. Using a Bayesian framework, we combine these data with geomorphic mapping, 10 Be, and high-quality minimum-limiting 14 C ages to provide an updated chronology. This dataset presents an internally consistent retreat record and indicates that the initial detachment of the SWLIS from its convergence with the Cordilleran Ice Sheet began by ca. 15.0 ka, concurrent with or slightly prior to the onset of the Bølling-Allerød interval (14.7–12.9 ka) and retreated >1200 km to its Younger Dryas (YD) position in ~2500 yr. Ice-sheet stabilization at the Cree Lake Moraine facilitated a meltwater drainage route to the Arctic from glacial Lake Agassiz within the YD, but not necessarily at the beginning. Our record of deglaciation and new YD constraints demonstrate deglaciation of the Interior Plains was ~60% faster than suggested by minimum 14 C constraints alone. In conclusion, numerical modeling of this rapid retreat estimates a loss of ~3.7 m of sea-level equivalent from the SWLIS during the Bølling-Allerød interval.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

The Large-Scale Vorticity Balance of the Antarctic Continental Margin in a Fine-Resolution Global Simulation

The depth-integrated vorticity budget of a global, eddy-permitting ocean/sea ice simulation over the Antarctic continental margin (ACM) is diagnosed to understand the physical mechanisms implicated in meridional transport. The leading-order balance is between the torques due to lateral friction, nonlinear effects, and bottom vortex stretching, although details vary regionally. Maps of the time-averaged depth-integrated vorticity budget terms and time series of the spatially averaged, depth-integrated vorticity budget terms reveal that the flow in the Amundsen, Bellingshausen, and Weddell Seas and, to a lesser extent, in the western portion of East Antarctica, is closer to an approximate topographic Sverdrup balance (TSB) compared to other segments of the ACM. Correlation and coherence analyses further support these findings, and also show that inclusion of the vorticity tendency term in the response (the planetary vorticity advection and the bottom vortex stretching term) increases the correlation with the forcing (the vertical net stress curl), and also increases the coherence between forcing and response at high frequencies across the ACM, except for the West Antarctic Peninsula. Finally, these findings suggest that the surface stress curl, imparted by the wind and the sea ice, has the potential to contribute to the meridional, approximately cross-slope, transport to a greater extent in the Amundsen, Bellingshausen, Weddell, and part of the East Antarctic continental margin than elsewhere in the ACM.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

The seventh blind test of crystal structure prediction: structure ranking methods

A seventh blind test of crystal structure prediction has been organized by the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. The results are presented in two parts, with this second part focusing on methods for ranking crystal structures in order of stability. The exercise involved standardized sets of structures seeded from a range of structure generation methods. Participants from 22 groups applied several periodic DFT-D methods, machine learned potentials, force fields derived from empirical data or quantum chemical calculations, and various combinations of the above. In addition, one non-energy-based scoring function was used. Results showed that periodic DFT-D methods overall agreed with experimental data within expected error margins, while one machine learned model, applying system-specific AIMnet potentials, agreed with experiment in many cases demonstrating promise as an efficient alternative to DFT-based methods. For target XXXII, a consensus was reached across periodic DFT methods, with consistently high predicted energies of experimental forms relative to the global minimum (above 4 kJ mol −1 at both low and ambient temperatures) suggesting a more stable polymorph is likely not yet observed. The calculation of free energies at ambient temperatures offered improvement of predictions only in some cases (for targets XXVII and XXXI). Several avenues for future research have been suggested, highlighting the need for greater efficiency considering the vast amounts of resources utilized in many cases.

Chemistry↗

Energy Infrastructure Futures: A Multiscale Evaluation of Projected Power Plant Siting Across the Western Interconnection

Energy Infrastructure Futures: A Multiscale Evaluation of Projected Power Plant Siting Across the Western Interconnection Description This dataset contains input and output data for the manuscript Mongird, K. et al. (under review) titled "Energy Infrastructure Futures: A Multiscale Evaluation of Projected Power Plant Siting Across the Western Interconnection". Input data corresponds to gridded spatial siting attributes that are necessary to conduct a random forest machine learning analysis of siting feature importance. Output data includes SHAP feature analysis outputs, and classification report values. For data on power plant siting results referred to in the manuscript, please refer to the CERF: IM3 Projected Western US Power Plant Locations data download page. The downloadable data includes values for eight different future scenarios for the Western US. The scenarios include combinations of two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP3 and SSP5) with four high-resolution climate projections specific to the United States (see, https://tgw-data.msdlive.org/). These climate projections include "hotter" and "cooler" variants for two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The resulting eight simulations are: rcp45cooler_ssp3 rcp45cooler_ssp5 rcp45hotter_ssp3 rcp45hotter_ssp5 rcp85cooler_ssp3 rcp85cooler_ssp5 rcp85hotter_ssp3 rcp85hotter_ssp5 Technical Information The dataset includes two sets of data files: (1) CERF gridded siting parameters and (2) Feature analysis outputs and classification reports. All downloadable data is in csv file format. Files with x/y coordinate information use the Albers Equal Area Conic projection (ESRI:102003). 1. CERF Gridded Siting Parameters This directory provides a balanced sample of gridded CERF siting parameters data for eight different scenarios for the Western US through 2055, seven different technologies, and eight timesteps. This data serves as input to the feature analysis. It contains the following parameters. region_name - name of region (i.e., state) sited - binary value representing whether the grid cell received a siting of that technology type (1=True) rcp - binary value representing scenario resource concentration pathway (0 = RCP4.5, 1 = RCP8.5) ssp - binary value representing scenario shared socioeconomic pathway (0 = SSP3, 1 = SSP5) climate - binary value representing cooler (0) or hotter (1) GCM forcing tech_name - generation technology name sited_year - year that values correspond to transmission_cost - cost of transmission interconnection pipeline_cost - cost of natural gas pipeline interconnection interconnection_cost - total interconnection cost (sum of transmission cost and gas pipeline cost) lmp - associated locational marginal value ($/MWh) associated with the grid cell, timestep, scenario, and technology xcoord - x-coordinate of location ycoord - y-coordinate of location 2a. Feature Analysis Output The dataset includes the feature analysis shap output for locational marginal price and interconnection cost. It contains the following parameters. technology - generator technology name scenario - name of scenario feature - name of feature, either locational_marginal_price or interconnection_cost value - the mean of absolute value of SHAP values for given feature 2b. Feature Analysis Classification Report This download includes the classification report associated with each random forest model. The dataset contains the following parameters. technology - generation technology name scenario - name of scenario test - one of precision (the proportion of predicted positives that are actually correct), recall (the proportion of actual positives that were correctly identified), f1-score (the harmonic mean of precision and recall) 0.0 - value of test for classification of 0 (grid cell not chosen for siting) 1.0 - value of test for classification of 1 (grid cell chosen for siting) accuracy - accuracy of model (i.e., fraction of all predictions that were right) macro avg - Simple average of test values for all classes weighted avg - Weighted average of test values for all classes, weighted based on Acknowledgment IM3 is a multi-institutional effort led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science as part of research in MultiSector Dynamics, Earth and Environmental Systems Modeling Program. License This data is made available under a CCBY4 License Disclaimer This material was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the United States Department of Energy, nor the Contractor, nor any or their employees, nor any jurisdiction or organization that has cooperated in the development of these materials, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness or any information, apparatus, product, software, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or Battelle Memorial Institute. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORYoperated byBATTELLEfor theUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYunder Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830

Mongird, Kendall [Pacific Northwest National Labor↗

ACT Payload Shroud Structural Concept Analysis and Optimization

Aerospace structural applications demand a weight efficient design to perform in a cost effective manner. This is particularly true for launch vehicle structures, where weight is the dominant design driver. The design process typically requires many iterations to ensure that a satisfactory minimum weight has been obtained. Although metallic structures can be weight efficient, composite structures can provide additional weight savings due to their lower density and additional design flexibility. This work presents structural analysis and weight optimization of a composite payload shroud for NASA s Ares V heavy lift vehicle. Two concepts, which were previously determined to be efficient for such a structure are evaluated: a hat stiffened/corrugated panel and a fiber reinforced foam sandwich panel. A composite structural optimization code, HyperSizer, is used to optimize the panel geometry, composite material ply orientations, and sandwich core material. HyperSizer enables an efficient evaluation of thousands of potential designs versus multiple strength and stability-based failure criteria across multiple load cases. HyperSizer sizing process uses a global finite element model to obtain element forces, which are statistically processed to arrive at panel-level design-to loads. These loads are then used to analyze each candidate panel design. A near optimum design is selected as the one with the lowest weight that also provides all positive margins of safety. The stiffness of each newly sized panel or beam component is taken into account in the subsequent finite element analysis. Iteration of analysis/optimization is performed to ensure a converged design. Sizing results for the hat stiffened panel concept and the fiber reinforced foam sandwich concept are presented.

Zalewski, Bart B.↗

KSC Vertical Launch Site Evaluation

RS&H was tasked to evaluate the potential available launch sites for a combined two user launch pad. The Launch sites were to be contained entirely within current Kennedy Space Center property lines. The user launch vehicles to be used for evaluation are in the one million pounds of first stage thrust range. Additionally a second evaluation criterion was added early on in the study. A single user launch site was to be evaluated for a two million pound first stage thrust vehicle. Both scenarios were to be included in the report. To provide fidelity to the study criteria, a specific launch vehicle in the one million pound thrust range was chosen as a guide post or straw-man launch vehicle. The RpK K-1 vehicle is a current Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS), contract awardee along with the SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle. SpaceX, at the time of writing, is planning to launch COTS and possibly other payloads from Cx-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station property. RpK has yet to declare a specific launch site as their east coast US launch location. As such it was deemed appropriate that RpK's vehicle requirements be used as conceptual criteria. For the purposes of this study those criteria were marginally generalized to make them less specifiC.

Phillips, Lynne V.↗

An analytical and experimental investigation of output feedback vs. linear quadratic regulator

This paper presents analytical and experimental comparison of three control laws for a laboratory structure designed to simulate large space structures. The first control law is the standard time invariant linear quadratic regulator with state estimation, which requires model reduction for practical implementation. This model reduction is associated with the so-called spillover instability. Two new simple direct output feedback control laws guaranteeing stability are proposed. One minimizes the maximum control force, and the other minimizes the same quadratic performance index as the linear quadratic regulator. The three control laws are found to give comparable performance for the modes retained in the reduced model. However, the standard linear quadratic regulator with state estimation provides almost no margin of stability for the unmodeled modes, while the simpler direct feedback laws provide significant stability margins to all modes. The analytical results were verified experimentally using a digital implementation of the control laws. Good agreement between the analytical predictions and experimental measurements was observed.

Martinovic, Zoran N.↗

Multidisciplinary Dynamic Testing Challenges in Validating the NASA Artemis Architecture

NASA is in the midst of bold and exciting next steps in human exploration and spaceflight. The designs of the new Space Launch System (SLS), the Orion spacecraft and the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) for vehicle processing and launch are essentially complete and there has been significant progress in manufacturing and assembly of specific hardware for the Artemis I and Artemis II missions. Equally as important, the program level and integrated system level testing and analyses are also well underway to support integrated verification, validation, and certificate of flight readiness (CoFR) for the first Artemis mission. Testing and analysis are key to addressing technical challenges that the Artemis missions offer. Building block approaches are required that provide the right balance between component, system, and/or element level testing that satisfies verification and validation objectives and where, uncertainties are quantified and minimized. Artemis I is a system of systems that requires a fusion of test and analysis that adeptly characterizes critical interfaces between major program elements. NASA is implementing new in-situ testing that fuse traditional aerospace structures with civil structures, such as the Integrated Modal Test for the Artemis I vehicle where the Mobile Launcher and Crawler Transporter serve as a support structure whose dynamics couple with that of the Artemis I vehicle. This new paradigm requires a closer inspection of structural behavior of the Crawler Transporter and the Mobile Launcher as they now serve multiple purposes. This requires a paradigm shift to look beyond experimental modal techniques and incorporates operational modal analysis techniques to validate dynamic models from data collected during rollout to the launch pad. A further complicating factor is the Crawler Transporter generated ground forces have numerous harmonics making extracting dynamic responses of the Artemis I, Mobile Launcher, and Crawler Transporter coupled system challenging. This discussion explores all these challenges with and attempts to understand how we best build confidence in systems and system-of-systems performance capabilities and margins and understand uncertainties.

Joel W Sills↗

Drag Coefficient Analysis of Arbitrary Fragment Geometry with Emphasis on Meshing Sensitivity Studies.

This report characterizes Mach number effects in the hypersonic range from Mach 3 to Mach 7 for an arbitrary, computationally generated fragment. Force and moment coefficients in the x, y, z direction were successfully obtained and resulting trends were compared with theoretical expectations. Three orientations were tested in the form of unit vectors: [1,0,0], [0,1,0], and [0,0,1]; these represent the i, j, k principle axes. The final results ultimately showcased a trend very similar to that shown in previous literature — drag coefficients for a given orientation decreased with increasing Mach number by a very small amount in the hypersonic range. It was therefore concluded that the aerodynamic quantities used to obtain the fragment trajectory at low hypersonic Mach numbers (such as Mach 3) can be used to characterize the aerodynamic qualities at higher hypersonic Mach numbers (Mach 5, 7) with a reasonably small margin. A sensitivity study was also conducted which ultimately defined drag effects as a result of changing grid spacing and normal extrusion parameters for the unstructured tetrahedral mesh used in the simulation. Further work can be done in the form of experimental validation, specifically with regards to wind tunnels and ballistic range testing. Error can be reduced by testing more mesh variabilities and capturing a larger amount of fragment orientations. The results for force and moment characteristics dependent on meshing parameters and high Mach numbers are satisfactory and consistent with expected trends.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Capacity contributions of Southern Oregon offshore wind to the Pacific Northwest and California

Variable renewable energy generation poses unique capacity challenges, which increasingly depend on weather events at varying timescales. Facilitated by transmission planning, geographic and technological diversity of the generation fleet may provide a mitigation to capacity shortfalls. In this work, offshore wind (OSW) energy is sited in the areas off the West Coast between Coos Bay, Oregon, and Crescent City, California. Three generation and transmission scenarios are modeled within the Western Interconnection: (i) 3.4 gigawatts (GW) of installed OSW capacity connected to Southern Oregon through a High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) Radial Topology in 2030; (ii) 12.9 GW of installed OSW capacity connected to Washington, Oregon, and California through a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Radial Topology post-2030, and (iii) the same 12.9 GW connected to the same locations through a Multi-terminal DC (MTDC) Backbone Topology post-2030. Zonal dispatch simulations assuming coincident wind, solar, and hydropower production and loads over 18 meteorological years, accounting for temperature-dependent equipment derating and forced outages, serve as inputs to the Associated System Capacity Contribution (ASCC) methodology. The capacity credit is 33%, 25% and 34% for the 2030 HVAC Radial Topology, 2030+ HVDC Radial Topology, and 2030+ MTDC Backbone Topology, respectively. Transmission design is shown to mitigate the typical erosion of marginal capacity contribution as more OSW is developed, underscoring the opportunity for grid modernization while decarbonizing the generation mix.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Effects of turbulence on a kinetic auroral arc model

A plasma kinetic model of an inverted-V auroral arc structure which includes the effects of electrostatic turbulence is proposed. In the absence of turbulence, a parallel potential drop is supported by magnetic mirror forces and charge quasi neutrality, with energetic auroral ions penetrating to low altitudes; relative to the electrons, the ions' pitch angle distribution is skewed toward smaller pitch angles. The electrons energized by the potential drop form a current which excites electrostatic turbulence. In equilibrium the plasma is marginally stable. The conventional anomalous resistivity contribution to the potential drop is very small. Anomalous resistivity processes are far too dissipative to be powered by auroral particles. It is concluded that under certain circumstances equilibrium may be impossible and relaxation oscillations set in.

Cornwall, J. M.↗

Proximity operations considerations affecting spacecraft design

Proximity operations can be defined as the maneuvering of two or more spacecraft within 1 nautical mile range, with relative velocity less than 10 feet per second. The passive vehicle is nontranslating and should provide for maintenance of the desired approach attitude. It must accommodate the active (translating) vehicle induced structural loads and performance characteristics (mating hardware tolerances), and support sensor compatibility (transponder, visual targets, etc.). The active vehicle must provide adequate sensor systems (relative state information, field-of-view, redundancy), flight control hardware (thruster sizing, minimal cross-coupling, performance margins, redundancy) and software (reconfigurable, attitude/rate modes, translation and rotation fine control authority) characteristic, and adequate non-propulsive consumables such as power. Operational concerns must be considered. These include the following: (1) the desired approach trajectory and relative orientation; (2) the active vehicle thruster plume effects (forces, torques, contamination) on the passive vehicle; and (3) procedures for contingencies such as loss of communications, sensor or propulsion failures, and target vehicle loss of control.

Staas, Steven K.↗

Applying Formal Methods to NASA Projects: Transition from Research to Practice

NASA project managers attempt to manage risk by relying on mature, well-understood process and technology when designing spacecraft. In the case of crewed systems, the margin for error is even tighter and leads to risk aversion. But as we look to future missions to the Moon and Mars, the complexity of the systems will increase as the spacecraft and crew work together with less reliance on Earth-based support. NASA will be forced to look for new ways to do business. Formal methods technologies can help NASA develop complex but cost effective spacecraft in many domains, including requirements and design, software development and inspection, and verification and validation of vehicle subsystems. To realize these gains, the technologies must be matured and field-tested so that they are proven when needed. During this discussion, current activities used to evaluate FM technologies for Orion spacecraft design will be reviewed. Also, suggestions will be made to demonstrate value to current designers, and mature the technology for eventual use in safety-critical NASA missions.

Othon, Bill↗

Integrated flight-propulsion control concepts for supersonic transport airplanes

Increased powerplant thrust and reduced fuel consumption are obtainable by controlling engine stall margins as a function of flight and engine operating conditions. An evaluation is presently conducted of the performance improvements obtainable by these means in SSTs. It is noted that inlet pressure recovery increases and inlet drag reductions are obtainable via inlet control system integration; the use of propulsion system forces and moments to augment the flight control and aircraft stabilization system can also reduce empennage areas, weights, and drag. Special control modes may be instituted for community noise minimization and emergency procedures.

Burcham, Frank W., Jr.↗

Aeroservoelastic Testing of Free Flying Wind Tunnel Models Part 2: A Centerline Supported Fullspan Model Tested for Gust Load Alleviation

This is part 2 of a two part document. Part 1 is titled: "Aeroservoelastic Testing of Free Flying Wind Tunnel Models Part 1: A Sidewall Supported Semispan Model Tested for Gust Load Alleviation and Flutter Suppression." A team comprised of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing, and the NASA Langley Research Center conducted three aeroservoelastic wind tunnel tests in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel to demonstrate active control technologies relevant to large, flexible vehicles. In the first of these three tests, a full-span, aeroelastically scaled, wind tunnel model of a joined wing SensorCraft vehicle was mounted to a force balance to acquire a basic aerodynamic data set. In the second and third tests, the same wind tunnel model was mated to a new, two degree of freedom, beam mount. This mount allowed the full-span model to translate vertically and pitch. Trimmed flight at10 percent static margin and gust load alleviation were successfully demonstrated. The rigid body degrees of freedom required that the model be flown in the wind tunnel using an active control system. This risky mode of testing necessitated that a model arrestment system be integrated into the new mount. The safe and successful completion of these free-flying tests required the development and integration of custom hardware and software. This paper describes the many systems, software, and procedures that were developed as part of this effort. The balance and free flying wind tunnel tests will be summarized. The design of the trim and gust load alleviation control laws along with the associated results will also be discussed.

Scott, Robert C.↗