Search NASASearch

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Surrogate”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records

Surrogate-equation technique for simulation of steady inviscid flow

A numerical procedure for the iterative solution of inviscid flow problems is described, and its utility for the calculation of steady subsonic and transonic flow fields is demonstrated. Application of the surrogate equation technique defined herein allows the formulation of stable, fully conservative, type dependent finite difference equations for use in obtaining numerical solutions to systems of first order partial differential equations, such as the steady state Euler equations. Steady, two dimensional solutions to the Euler equations for both subsonic, rotational flow and supersonic flow and to the small disturbance equations for transonic flow are presented.

Johnson, G. M.

Benchmarking Bayesian Optimization Frameworks and Acquisition Strategies for Materials Discovery and Autonomous Laboratories

Bayesian optimization (BO) can accelerate materials discovery by guiding expensive experiments toward the most promising processing conditions. We systematically compare five BO surrogate and framework combinations (Gaussian processes in Ax, Gaussian processes and Monte-Carlo neural networks in BayBE, random forests in Lolopy, and tree-structured Parzen (TPE) estimators in Hyperopt) on three benchmarks that mimic common materials design tasks (a discrete solid-electrolyte composition space, a hybrid discrete/continuous laminate-composite design problem solved with micromechanics modeling, and the continuous Ishigami analytic function which is a standard optimization benchmark). Each BO surrogate is paired with posterior mean, probability of improvement, and expected improvement acquisition functions and run for 100 trials from randomized initial samples with uniform random search providing a control. Across five random seeds per setting, BayBE’s Gaussian-process surrogate with expected improvement consistently reached ≥95 % of the known optimum in the fewest evaluations, while Lolopy’s random forest matched or exceeded GP performance on purely categorical or mixed spaces at a higher computational cost. Posterior mean alone often stagnated at local optima, underscoring the need for exploration, whereas probability and expected improvement balanced exploration and exploitation leading to better optimization in fewer trials. Execution times ranged from milliseconds for TPE to minutes for neural-network and random-forest surrogates. These results establish baseline expectations for BO in automated materials laboratories and highlight expected improvement with Gaussian processes as a reliable first choice, with random forests offering a strong alternative when categorical variables dominate. The benchmark suite and code are released to facilitate future surrogate, acquisition, and constraint-handling research in data-driven materials optimization.

Bayesian optimization

Acquisition and sources

Suggestions and ideas for acquiring documents or their surrogates for a planned or fledgling information system are offered. The problems of selectivity of documents or their surrogates, both in superabundant quantities, and duplicate checking are highlighted. Acquisitioning flow, a semiautomated duplicate search technique, and alerting methods for prospective documentation are described. Appendices include two category systems, selected definitions and acronyms, and a selected address list for document procurement.

Eckert, P. F.

ASRDI oxygen technology survey. Volume 6: Flow measurement instrumentation

A summary is provided of information available on liquid and gaseous oxygen flowmetering including an evaluation of commercial meters. The instrument types, physical principles of measurement, and performance characteristics are described. Problems concerning flow measurements of less than plus or minus two percent uncertainty are reviewed. Recommendations concerning work on flow reference systems, the use of surrogate fluids, and standard tests for oxygen flow measurements are also presented.

Mann, D. B.

Urban environmental health applications of remote sensing

An urban area was studied through the use of the inventory-by-surrogate method rather than by direct interpretation of photographic imagery. Prior uses of remote sensing in urban and public research are examined. The effects of crowding, poor housing conditions, air pollution, and street conditions on public health are considered. Color infrared photography was used to categorize land use features and the grid method was used in photo interpretation analysis. The incidence of shigella and salmonella, hepatitis, meningitis, tuberculosis, myocardial infarction and veneral disease were studied, together with mortality and morbidity rates. Sample census data were randomly collected and validated. The hypothesis that land use and residential quality are associated with and act as an influence upon health and physical well-being was studied and confirmed.

Rush, M.

Manual and automatic control of surface effect ships

A recent investigation of crew performance in the motion environment of a large generic high speed surface effect ship by means of a motion base simulation addressed some of the helmsman's control task with an external forward visual field of the seascape and navigation and steering displays in the pilot house. In addition to the primary steering control task, a subcritical speed tracking task provided a secondary surrogate for trimming the water speed of the craft. The results of helsmen's steering describing function measurements are presented, and some suggestions for their interpretation are offered. The likely steering loop closures comprise heading and lateral displacement for the course keeping task investigated. Also discussed is the manner in which these loop closures were implemented for automatic steering of the surface effect ship. Regardless of the influence of workload, steering technique, water speed and sea state, the helmsmen apparently adopted a disturbance regulation bandwidth of about 0.2 rad/sec for lateral displacement.

Clement, W. F.

Thoughts on standardization of parameters for image evaluation

Images received for image processing and analysis are obtained from a wide variety of sources and with a wide variety of sensors. Because it is desirable to have image processing algorithms be as universally applicable as possible, they should be designed, where possible, to be insensitive to the parametric variations of the source material. Where this is not possible, these variations must be taken into account. Therefore, it is necessary to consider what parameters may be defined in common across a suite of image types. Objective parameters or measurements of images which, in the proper combinations, may serve as surrogates for real images may be pixel-specific, location dependent, or combinations thereof. Parameters which have proven useful in defining the characteristics of images include the gray scale linearity, granularity of the quantization, spectral content, geometrical fidelity, resolution of the system expressed as either the point spread function or the modulation transfer function, and the spatial frequency content and characteristics of the data itself.

Billingsley, F. C.

The verification of LANDSAT data in the geographical analysis of wetlands in west Tennessee

The reliability of LANDSAT imagery as a medium for identifying, delimiting, monitoring, measuring, and mapping wetlands in west Tennessee was assessed to verify LANDSAT as an accurate, efficient cartographic tool that could be employed by a wide range of users to study wetland dynamics. The verification procedure was based on the visual interpretation and measurement of multispectral imagery. The accuracy testing procedure was predicated on surrogate ground truth data gleaned from medium altitude imagery of the wetlands. Fourteen sites or case study areas were selected from individual 9 x 9 inch photo frames on the aerial photography. These sites were then used as data control calibration parameters for assessing the cartography accuracy of the LANDSAT imagery. An analysis of results obtained from the verification tests indicated that 1:250,000 scale LANDSAT data were the most reliable scale of imagery for visually mapping and measuring wetlands using the area grid technique. The mean areal percentage of accuracy was 93.54 percent (real) and 96.93 percent (absolute). As a test of accuracy, the LANDSAT 1:250,000 scale overall wetland measurements were compared with an area cell mensuration of the swamplands from 1:130,000 scale color infrared U-2 aircraft imagery. The comparative totals substantiated the results from the LANDSAT verification procedure.

Rehder, J.

NASA automatic subject analysis technique for extracting retrievable multi-terms (NASA TERM) system

Current methods for information processing and retrieval used at the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility are reviewed. A more cost effective computer aided indexing system is proposed which automatically generates print terms (phrases) from the natural text. Satisfactory print terms can be generated in a primarily automatic manner to produce a thesaurus (NASA TERMS) which extends all the mappings presently applied by indexers, specifies the worth of each posting term in the thesaurus, and indicates the areas of use of the thesaurus entry phrase. These print terms enable the computer to determine which of several terms in a hierarchy is desirable and to differentiate ambiguous terms. Steps in the NASA TERMS algorithm are discussed and the processing of surrogate entry phrases is demonstrated using four previously manually indexed STAR abstracts for comparison. The simulation shows phrase isolation, text phrase reduction, NASA terms selection, and RECON display.

Kirschbaum, J.

Beach erosion control study at Pass Christian

The methods of measuring the existence of erosion and the effects of sand stabilization control systems are described. The mechanics of sand movement, the nature of sand erosion, and the use of satellite data to measure these factors and their surrogates are discussed using the locational and control aspects of aeolian and litoral erosion zones along the sand beach of the Mississippi coast. The aeolian erosion is highlighted due to the redeposition of the sand which causes high cleanup costs, property damage, and safety and health hazards. The areas of differential erosion and the patterns of beach sand movement are illustrated and the use of remote sensing methods to identify the areas of erosion are evaluated.

Source record

An alternative approach to the numerical simulation of steady inviscid flow

A numerical procedure for the efficient simulation of steady inviscid flow is described and its utility demonstrated. Application of the surrogate equation technique allows the formulation of stable, fully conservative, type dependent finite difference equations for use in obtaining numerical solutions to systems of first order partial differential equations, such as the steady state Euler equations or their various approximations. Computational results are presented for the full Euler equations and for the transonic disturbance equations. For the latter case, a computational efficiency greater than that obtained by means of the standard perturbation potential approach is indicated.

Johnson, G. M.

An alternative approach to the numerical simulation of steady inviscid flow

A numerical procedure for the efficient simulation of steady inviscid flow is described and its utility is demonstrated. The method is uniformly valid for application in the subsonic, transonic and supersonic flow regimes. It does not rely on the introduction of additional assumptions beyond those necessary to obtain the Euler equations from the Navier-Stokes equations, nor does it make use of a time-asymptotic solution of the unsteady equations of motion. Application of the herein-defined surrogate equation technique allows the formulation of stable, fully-conservative, type-dependent finite difference equations for use in obtaining numerical solutions to systems of first-order partial differential equations, such as the steady-state Euler equations or their various approximations. Computational results are presented for the full Euler equations used to simulate rotational subsonic flow and for the transonic small disturbance equations. For the latter case, a computational efficiency greater than that obtained by means of the standard perturbation potential approach is indicated.

Johnson, G. M.

Synergistic effects in trace gas-aerosol interactions

The reaction of SO2 and NO2 with soot has been studied experimentally by gravimetric determination of chemisorption with subsequent analysis of the chemisorbed species by various techniques. When samples of commercially available carbon black (used as soot surrogate) are exposed to SO2 or NO2 in dry air or N2 as carrier gas, no quantitative chemisorption (less than 5 micrograms per mg of substrate) is observed. However, exposure of the same grade of carbon to a combination of SO2 and NO2 in dry air of N2 results in significant chemisorption (180-200 micrograms/mg), a major fraction of which is analyzed as sulfate.

Schryer, D. R.

Carbon-catalyzed oxidation of SO2 by NO2 and air

A series of experiments was performed using carbon particles (commercial furnace black) as a surrogate for soot particles. Carbon particles were suspended in water, and gas mixtures were bubbled into the suspensions to observe the effect of carbon particles on the oxidation of SO2 by air and NO2. Identical gas mixtures were bubbled into a blank containing only pure water. After exposure each solution was analyzed for pH and sulfate. It was found that NO2 greatly enhances the oxidation of SO2 to sulfate in the presence of carbon particles. The amount of sulfate found in the blanks was significantly less. Under the conditions of these experiments no saturation of the reaction was observed and SO2 was converted to sulfate even in a highly acid medium (pH or = 1.5).

Rogowski, R. S.

Relaxation solution of the full Euler equations

A numerical procedure for the relaxation solution of the full steady Euler equations is described. By embedding the Euler system in a second order surrogate system, central differencing may be used in subsonic regions while retaining matrix forms well suited to iterative solution procedures and convergence acceleration techniques. Hence, this method allows the development of stable, fully conservative differencing schemes for the solution of quite general inviscid flow problems. Results are presented for both subcritical and shocked supercritical internal flows. Comparisons are made with a standard time dependent solution algorithm.

Johnson, G. M.

Evaluation of Thompson-type trend and monthly weather data models for corn yields in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana

An evaluation was made of Thompson-Type models which use trend terms (as a surrogate for technology), meteorological variables based on monthly average temperature, and total precipitation to forecast and estimate corn yields in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. Pooled and unpooled Thompson-type models were compared. Neither was found to be consistently superior to the other. Yield reliability indicators show that the models are of limited use for large area yield estimation. The models are objective and consistent with scientific knowledge. Timely yield forecasts and estimates can be made during the growing season by using normals or long range weather forecasts. The models are not costly to operate and are easy to use and understand. The model standard errors of prediction do not provide a useful current measure of modeled yield reliability.

French, V.

The Use of Immersion Rigs for High Temperature Hydrogen Exposure Testing within the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES): Thermal Soak Rig (TSR)

The Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES) facility was purpose constructed to perform non-nuclear evaluations of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system fuel materials and structures within prototypic thermochemical environments. This system has been utilized steadily in its ability to subject test specimens to thermochemical and thermohydraulic environments simulating that of an operating nuclear rocket engine. Fission heat is simulated by induction power and experiments are conducted within a ~1000 psi pressure vessel. Hydrogen is conventionally passed through the heated fuel surrogate test specimen while pressure, temperature, and gas species data are collected at various points along the experiment. In order to test fuel and material coupon samples, a class of test apparatus named “immersion rigs” are being developed and employed to more rapidly test these smaller and more technically challenging test specimen. One example of a promising potential fuel structure, Tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) particles, presents unique challenges for testing of this type. TRISO fuel micro-particles are spheroids typically on the order of 500 – 1000 μm in diameter, and exposing a batch sample to hot hydrogen requires purpose-built special test equipment. Thusly, an immersion rig was developed and successfully demonstrated to expose ~1 g of micro-particles to hydrogen gas at temperatures and pressures relevant to NTP systems for the purpose of fuel evaluation. The rig, comprised primarily of graphite and pure tungsten, houses in its core a batch of micro-particles between pucks of porous silicon carbide (SiC). This approach permits gas flow while simultaneously retaining the particles in place. Herein is a discussion of the design, analysis, fabrication, and testing of the NTREES Thermal Soak Rig (TSR).

Space Nuclear Propulsion