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At least 19 records

Error Localization Examples: Looking for a Needle in a Haystack

Finite element models (FEM) are routinely developed and used during fabrication of high dollar-value hardware. NASA, as part of the pre-flight certification of launch vehicles, routinely conducts vibration and static tests to calibrate models used for flight-risk assessments. During model calibration, certain areas of the model are modified, using engineering judgment and sensitivity analysis, to match the test results. Unfortunately, tools to identify problem areas in the FEM using test data directly are scarce and infrequently applied. Over the years, error localization algorithms have been proposed with very limited success. Recently, the Analytical Dynamics Model Improvement (ADMI) algorithm, which computes closed-form mass and stiffness corrections to match the test data exactly, have been shown to be an effective Error Localization Algorithm (ELA). The paper discusses three examples where ELA is used with simulated test data to locate problem areas. To gain confidence in the approach, the exact answer is shown along with ELA results. Results show that ELA is able to identify general problem areas consistent with known problem areas. In all examples, the ELA identified area is larger than the exact problem area. Nonetheless, with proper optimization tools, calibration results using the ELA identified areas provide excellent results.

model calibration

Error Localization Examples: Looking for a Needle in a Hay-stack

Finite element models (FEM) are routinely developed and used during fabrication of high dollar-value hardware. NASA as part of the pre-flight certification of launch vehicles routinely conducts vibration and static tests to calibrate models used for flight-risk assessments. As part of the calibration process, certain areas in the model are modified, using engineering judgment and sensitivity analysis, to match the test results. Unfortunately, tools to identify problem areas in the FEM using test data directly are scarce. Over the years, Error Localization Algorithms (ELA) have been proposed with very limited success. Recently, the Analytical Dynamics Model Improvement (ADMI) algorithm, which computes closed-form mass and stiffness corrections to match the test data exactly, have been shown to be effective for error localization. The paper will present several FEM example problems where ELA is used with simulated test data to determine FEM problem areas. For each example, the correct answer is shown along with ELA results. It is shown that the ELA process is able to identify general problem areas in the FEM, which are consistent with known model perturbations. However, in most cases the ELA identified area of improvement is larger than the true answer. Nonetheless, with proper optimization tools, calibration results using the ELA identified areas provide excellent results.

error localization

Propagation of local errors in the solutions of the differential equations for orbital elements

The propagation of errors in the solutions of the differential equations for the orbital elements of perturbed two-body motion is investigated. It is shown that the error in the time-element grows linearly for differential equations for orbital elements when only perturbations are present on the right-hand side, cubically for formulations which have a two-body term on the right-hand side, and linearly for formulations based upon extended phase space Hamiltonians.

Bond, V. R.

Local error estimates for discontinuous solutions of nonlinear hyperbolic equations

Let u(x,t) be the possibly discontinuous entropy solution of a nonlinear scalar conservation law with smooth initial data. Suppose u sub epsilon(x,t) is the solution of an approximate viscosity regularization, where epsilon greater than 0 is the small viscosity amplitude. It is shown that by post-processing the small viscosity approximation u sub epsilon, pointwise values of u and its derivatives can be recovered with an error as close to epsilon as desired. The analysis relies on the adjoint problem of the forward error equation, which in this case amounts to a backward linear transport with discontinuous coefficients. The novelty of this approach is to use a (generalized) E-condition of the forward problem in order to deduce a W(exp 1,infinity) energy estimate for the discontinuous backward transport equation; this, in turn, leads one to an epsilon-uniform estimate on moments of the error u(sub epsilon) - u. This approach does not follow the characteristics and, therefore, applies mutatis mutandis to other approximate solutions such as E-difference schemes.

Tadmor, Eitan

Fringe localization requirements for three-dimensional flow visualization of shock waves in diffuse-illumination double-pulse holographic interferometry

A theory of fringe localization in rapid-double-exposure, diffuse-illumination holographic interferometry was developed. The theory was then applied to compare holographic measurements with laser anemometer measurements of shock locations in a transonic axial-flow compressor rotor. The computed fringe localization error was found to agree well with the measured localization error. It is shown how the view orientation and the curvature and positional variation of the strength of a shock wave are used to determine the localization error and to minimize it. In particular, it is suggested that the view direction not deviate from tangency at the shock surface by more than 30 degrees.

Decker, A. J.

A simulator evaluation of a rate-enhanced instrument landing system display

A piloted simulation study was conducted to evaluate the effect on instrument landing system tracking performance of integrating localizer error rate information with the raw localizer error display. The resulting display was named the pseudo command tracking indicator (PCTI) because it provides an indication of any changes of heading required to track the localizer. Eight instrument-rated pilots each flew five instrument approaches with the PCTI and five instrument approaches with a conventional course deviation indicator. The results show good overall pilot acceptance of the PCTI and a significant reduction in localizer tracking error.

Hinton, D. A.

Local concurrent error detection and correction in data structures using virtual backpointers

A new technique, based on virtual backpointers, for local concurrent error detection and correction in linked data structures is presented. Two new data structures, the Virtual Double Linked List, and the B-tree with Virtual Backpointers, are described. For these structures, double errors can be detected in 0(1) time and errors detected during forward moves can be corrected in 0(1) time. The application of a concurrent auditor process to data structure error detection and correction is analyzed, and an implementation is described, to determine the effect on mean time to failure of a multi-user shared database system. The implementation utilizes a Sequent shared memory multiprocessor system operating on a shared databased of Virtual Double Linked Lists.

Li, C. C.

Local concurrent error detection and correction in data structures using virtual backpointers

A new technique, based on virtual backpointers, for local concurrent error detection and correction in linked data strutures is presented. Two new data structures, the Virtual Double Linked List, and the B-tree with Virtual Backpointers, are described. For these structures, double errors can be detected in 0(1) time and errors detected during forward moves can be corrected in 0(1) time. The application of a concurrent auditor process to data structure error detection and correction is analyzed, and an implementation is described, to determine the effect on mean time to failure of a multi-user shared database system. The implementation utilizes a Sequent shared memory multiprocessor system operating on a shared database of Virtual Double Linked Lists.

Li, Chung-Chi Jim

A general aviation simulator evaluation of a rate-enhanced instrument landing system display

A piloted-simulation study was conducted to evaluate the effect on instrument landing system tracking performance of integrating localizer-error rate with raw localizer and glide-slope error. The display was named the pseudocommand tracking indicator (PCTI) because it provides an indication of the change of heading required to track the localizer center line. Eight instrument-rated pilots each flew five instrument approaches with the PCTI and five instrument approaches with a conventional course deviation indicator. The results show good overall pilot acceptance of the display, a significant improvement in localizer tracking error, and no significant changes in glide-slope tracking error or pilot workload.

Hinton, D. A.

Satellite radar interferometry - Two-dimensional phase unwrapping

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar observations provide a means for obtaining high-resolution digital topographic maps from measurements of amplitude and phase of two complex radar images. The phase of the radar echoes may only be measured modulo 2 pi; however, the whole phase at each point in the image is needed to obtain elevations. An approach to 'unwrapping' the 2 pi ambiguities in the two-dimensional data set is presented. It is found that noise and geometrical radar layover corrupt measurements locally, and these local errors can propagate to form global phase errors that affect the entire image. It is shown that the local errors, or residues, can be readily identified and avoided in the global phase estimation. A rectified digital topographic map derived from the unwrapped phase values is presented.

Goldstein, Richard M.

Adaptive computational methods for SSME internal flow analysis

Adaptive finite element methods for the analysis of classes of problems in compressible and incompressible flow of interest in SSME (space shuttle main engine) analysis and design are described. The general objective of the adaptive methods is to improve and to quantify the quality of numerical solutions to the governing partial differential equations of fluid dynamics in two-dimensional cases. There are several different families of adaptive schemes that can be used to improve the quality of solutions in complex flow simulations. Among these are: (1) r-methods (node-redistribution or moving mesh methods) in which a fixed number of nodal points is allowed to migrate to points in the mesh where high error is detected; (2) h-methods, in which the mesh size h is automatically refined to reduce local error; and (3) p-methods, in which the local degree p of the finite element approximation is increased to reduce local error. Two of the three basic techniques have been studied in this project: an r-method for steady Euler equations in two dimensions and a p-method for transient, laminar, viscous incompressible flow. Numerical results are presented. A brief introduction to residual methods of a-posterior error estimation is also given and some pertinent conclusions of the study are listed.

Oden, J. T.

Tracking Three-Dimensional Fish Behavior with a New Marine Acoustic Telemetry System

The persistent monitoring capability provided by acoustic telemetry systems allows us to study behavior, movement, and resource selection of mobile marine animals. Current marine acoustic telemetry systems are challenged by localization errors and limits in the number of animals that can be tracked simultaneously. We designed a new system to provide detection ranges of up to 1 km, to reduce localization errors to less than 1 m, and to increase to 500 the number of unique tags simultaneously tracked. The design builds on HTIs experience of more than a decade developing acoustic telemetry systems for freshwater environments. A field trial of the prototype system was conducted at the University of Washingtons Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory (Friday Harbor, WA). Copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus) were selected for field trials of this new system because their high site-fidelity and small home ranges provide ample opportunity to track individual fish behavior while testing our ability to characterize the movements of a species of interest to management authorities.

acoustic telemetry

Analysis of DGPS/INS and MLS/INS final approach navigation errors and control performance data

Flight tests were conducted jointly by NASA Langley Research Center and Honeywell, Inc., on a B-737 research aircraft to record a data base for evaluating the performance of a differential DGPS/inertial navigation system (INS) which used GPS Course/Acquisition code receivers. Estimates from the DGPS/INS and a Microwave Landing System (MLS)/INS, and various aircraft parameter data were recorded in real time aboard the aircraft while flying along the final approach path to landing. This paper presents the mean and standard deviation of the DGPS/INS and MLS/INS navigation position errors computed relative to the laser tracker system and of the difference between the DGPS/INS and MLS/INS velocity estimates. RMS errors are presented for DGPS/INS and MLS/INS guidance errors (localizer and glideslope). The mean navigation position errors and standard deviation of the x position coordinate of the DGPS/INS and MLS/INS systems were found to be of similar magnitude while the standard deviation of the y and z position coordinate errors were significantly larger for DGPS/INS compared to MLS/INS.

Hueschen, Richard M.

Underlying Fundamentals of Kalman Filtering for River Network Modeling

The grand challenge of producing hydrometeorological estimates every time and everywhere has motivated the fusion of sparse observations with dense numerical models, with a particular interest on discharge in river modeling. Ensemble methods are largely preferred as they enable the estimation of error properties, but at the expense of computational load and generally with underestimations. These imperfect stochastic estimates motivate the use of correction methods, that is, error localization and inflation, although the physical justifications for their optimality are limited. The purpose of this study is to use one of the simplest forms of data assimilation when applied to river modeling and reveal the underlying mechanisms impacting its performance. Our framework based on assimilating daily averaged in situ discharge measurements to correct daily averaged runoff was tested over a 4-yr case study of two rivers in Texas. Results show that under optimal conditions of inflation and localization, discharge simulations are consistently improved such that the mean values of Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency are enhanced from211.32 to 0.55 at observed gauges and from212.24 to21.10 at validation gauges. Yet, parameters controlling the inflation and the localization have a large impact on the performance. Further investigations of these sensitivities showed that optimal inflation occurs when compensating exactly for discrepancies in the magnitude of errors while optimal localization matches the distance traveled during one assimilation window. These results may be applicable to more advanced data assimilation methods as well as for larger applications motivated by upcoming river-observing satellite missions, such as NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission.

Streamflow