An unconventional but general method is described for estimating the probability of collision between an Earth-orbiting spacecraft and orbital debris. This method uses a Monte Carlo simulation of the orbital motion of...
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An unconventional but general method is described for estimating the probability of collision between an Earth-orbiting spacecraft and orbital debris. This method uses a Monte Carlo simulation of the orbital motion of the target spacecraft and each discrete debris object to generate an empirical set of distances, each distance representing the separation between the spacecraft and the nearest debris object at random times. Using concepts from the asymptotic theory of extreme order statistics, an analytical density function is fitted to this set of minimum distances. From this function, it is possible to generate realistic collision estimates for the spacecraft.
The effects of random external excitation on nonlinear systems with marginally stable/unstable modes is studied within the context of stochastic bifurcation theory. Using the method of stochastic averaging, a Markov a...
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The effects of random external excitation on nonlinear systems with marginally stable/unstable modes is studied within the context of stochastic bifurcation theory. Using the method of stochastic averaging, a Markov approximation is derived and a perturbation technique is developed to solve the resulting Fokker-Planck equation. It is found that, due to mode interaction through system nonlinearities, deterministic bifurcation characteristics are not preserved in the presence of external random excitation. In general, one critical mode can experience a stabilizing effect at the expense of the other. The theory is then applied to a flight dynamics problem at large angles of attack and sideslip.
The quaternion estimation (QUEST) batch attitude-determination algorithm has been extended to work in a general Kalman-filter framework. This has been done to allow the inclusion of a complicated dynamics model and to...
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The quaternion estimation (QUEST) batch attitude-determination algorithm has been extended to work in a general Kalman-filter framework. This has been done to allow the inclusion of a complicated dynamics model and to allow the estimation of additional quantities beyond the attitude quaternion. The QUEST algorithm, which works with vector attitude observations, serves as a starting point because it is able to work with a poor (or no) first guess of the attitude. This paper's extended version of QUEST uses square-root information filtering techniques and linearization of the dynamics to propagate the state and its covariance. The measurement update problem is solved by a technique that is an extension of the original QUEST algorithm's eigenvalue/eigenvector solution. The paper demonstrates the new algorithm's performance on an attitude determination problem that uses star-tracker and rate-gyro measurements. The new algorithm is able to converge from initial attitude errors of 180 deg and initial rate-gyro bias errors as large as 2400 deg/h.
The objective of this study is to present a novel experimental laboratory design for polarimetric exploratory data analysis for the detection and discrimination of dimly lit resident space objects in the presence of s...
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The objective of this study is to present a novel experimental laboratory design for polarimetric exploratory data analysis for the detection and discrimination of dimly lit resident space objects in the presence of starlight or cluttered luminous objects, or in the shadow of the Earth. The experimental results of this study indicate that fusion of polarimetric exploratory data analysis and Stokes parameters lead to reliable figures of merit that can be used as powerful tools for image analysis, detection, characterization, and discrimination of dim targets, under passive illumination. The outcome of this study allows for the design of planned future sensor systems through experimentation. modeling, and simulation, enabling the more accurate assessment of sensor requirements for space-to-space and Earth-to-space sensing of dimly lit resident space objects as well as anticipated sensor detection and discrimination potential.
A framework is provided for the propagation of uncertainty in planetary entry, descent, and landing. The traditional Monte-Carlo based dispersion analysis is overly resource-expensive for such high-dimensional nonline...
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A framework is provided for the propagation of uncertainty in planetary entry, descent, and landing. The traditional Monte-Carlo based dispersion analysis is overly resource-expensive for such high-dimensional nonlinear systems and does not provide any methodical way to analyze the effect of uncertainty for mission design. It is shown that propagating the density function through Liouville equation is computationally attractive and suitable for further statistical analysis. Comparative simulation results are provided to bring forth the efficacies of the proposed method. Examples are given from the entry, descent, and landing domain to illustrate how one can retrieve statistical information of interest from an analyst's perspective.
The use of stereo vision to determine the deformed shape of an elastic plate is investigated. The quantization error associated with using discrete charge coupled device camera images for this purpose is examined. An ...
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The use of stereo vision to determine the deformed shape of an elastic plate is investigated. The quantization error associated with using discrete charge coupled device camera images for this purpose is examined. An upper bound on the error is derived in terms of the stationary configuration parameters. An expression for the average (root mean square) error is also developed. The issue of interpolating the shape of the plate through erroneous data is addressed. The vibratory mode shapes are used as interpolation functions and two cases are considered: the case when the number of interpolation points (targets) is the same as the number of modes used in the interpolation, and the case when the number of targets exceeds the number of modes used. Error criteria are established for both cases and they provide a means of establishing the best fit to the measured data.
A series to compute the collision probability of two spheres under the assumption of short encounter has been derived. It is valid for both Gaussian and non-Gaussian distributions of the position. In the particular ca...
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A series to compute the collision probability of two spheres under the assumption of short encounter has been derived. It is valid for both Gaussian and non-Gaussian distributions of the position. In the particular case of a Gaussian distribution, the use of Hermite polynomials yields a simple form for the series. The region in which the parameters of the problem (probabilitydensity function of the relative position, relative position of the spheres, and size of spheres) define cases of practical interest has been carefully defined. A sampling set of 244 cases in this region has been chosen. On this sampling set, a comparison between this series and previous algorithms has been performed for the Gaussian case. This series is faster than any other algorithm in every case. Numerical evidence strongly suggests that if the series for the Gaussian case is truncated when the last term is smaller than the computed probability times a tolerance of 0.1 then the last term is an upper bound for the error.
Engineering structural design requires many simulations of the structural system after modifications are made to the initial structure. The computational cost of these repetitive simulations can be prohibitive in many...
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Engineering structural design requires many simulations of the structural system after modifications are made to the initial structure. The computational cost of these repetitive simulations can be prohibitive in many engineering applications, such as optimization, reliability analysis, and so forth. In this work, the successive matrix inversion method is improved to include the capability to update not only the inverse of the modified stiffness matrix, but also the modified system response vector. This is done by introducing an influence vector storage matrix and a vector-updating operator that makes it possible to perform sequential reanalyses. The improved successive matrix inversion method has a wider applicable range of modification than the original method. The applicability of the proposed successive matrix inversion method is demonstrated with two popular engineering problems: sensitivity analysis and reliability analysis of an aircraft wing structure.
The characteristic time model (CTM) represents the dominant physical processes related to combustor performance in terms of characteristic times. Properly formulated, these characteristic times will correlate effects ...
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The characteristic time model (CTM) represents the dominant physical processes related to combustor performance in terms of characteristic times. Properly formulated, these characteristic times will correlate effects of variations in combustor geometry, fuel characteristics, and operating conditions. Here, a CTM for NOx emissions is used to investigate the sensitivity of NO formation in piloted-lean premixed combustor to fuel/air unmixedness. The CTM analysis presented here also suggests an experimental method of evaluating premixed performance under fired conditions that is discussed in a companion paper.
When the target Doppler frequency in a radar homing missile crosses the main lobe clutter spectrum at the terminal phase of its flight, a large miss distance is induced. This paper presents the quantitative analysis o...
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