Improved navigation by combining VOR/DME information with air or inertial data

The improvement was determined in navigational accuracy obtainable by combining VOR/DME information (from one or two stations) with air data (airspeed and heading) or with data from an inertial navigation system (INS) by means of a maximum-likelihood filter. It was found that the addition of air data to the information from one VOR/DME station reduces the RMS position error by a factor of about 2, whereas the addition of inertial data from a low-quality INS reduces the RMS position error by a factor of about 3. The use of information from two VOR/DME stations with air or inertial data yields large factors of improvement in RMS position accuracy over the use of a single VOR/DME station, roughly 15 to 20 for the air-data case and 25 to 35 for the inertial-data case. As far as position accuracy is concerned, at most one VOR station need be used. When continuously updating an INS with VOR/DME information, the use of a high-quality INS (0.01 deg/hr gyro drift) instead of a low-quality INS (1.0 deg/hr gyro drift) does not substantially improve position accuracy

A terminal guidance scheme for lifting body entry vehicles

Perturbation feedback guidance for terminal phase of lifting body entry vehicl

Particle filtering in high-dimensional chaotic systems

We present an efficient particle filtering algorithm for multiscale systems, that is adapted for simple atmospheric dynamics models which are inherently chaotic. Particle filters represent the posterior conditional distribution of the state variables by a collection of particles, which evolves and adapts recursively as new information becomes available. The difference between the estimated state and the true state of the system constitutes the error in specifying or forecasting the state, which is amplified in chaotic systems that have a number of positive Lyapunov exponents. The purpose of the present paper is to show that the homogenization method developed in Imkeller et al. (2011), which is applicable to high dimensional multi-scale filtering problems, along with important sampling and control methods can be used as a basic and flexible tool for the construction of the proposal density inherent in particle filtering. Finally, we apply the general homogenized particle filtering algorithm developed here to the Lorenz'96 atmospheric model that mimics mid-latitude atmospheric dynamics with microscopic convective processes.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figure

Effect of feedback on the control of a two-level dissipative quantum system

We show that it is possible to modify the stationary state by a feedback control in a two-level dissipative quantum system. Based on the geometric control theory, we also analyze the effect of the feedback on the time-optimal control in the dissipative system governed by the Lindblad master equation. These effects are reflected in the function $\Delta_A(\vec{x})$ and $\Delta_B(\vec{x})$ that characterize the optimal trajectories, as well as the switching function $\Phi(t)$ and $\theta(t),$ which characterize the switching point in time for the time-optimal trajectory.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Limiting Behaviour of the Mean Residual Life

In survival or reliability studies, the mean residual life or life expectancy is an important characteristic of the model. Here, we study the limiting behaviour of the mean residual life, and derive an asymptotic expansion which can be used to obtain a good approximation for large values of the time variable. The asymptotic expansion is valid for a quite general class of failure rate distributions--perhaps the largest class that can be expected given that the terms depend only on the failure rate and its derivatives.Comment: 19 page

Who is really at risk? Identifying risk factors for subthreshold and full syndrome eating disorders in a high-risk sample

BACKGROUND: Numerous longitudinal studies have identified risk factors for the onset of most eating disorders (EDs). Identifying women at highest risk within a high-risk sample would allow for focusing of preventive resources and also suggests different etiologies. METHOD: A longitudinal cohort study over 3 years in a high-risk sample of 236 college-age women randomized to the control group of a prevention trial for EDs. Potential risk factors and interactions between risk factors were assessed using the methods developed previously. Main outcome measures were time to onset of a subthreshold or full ED. RESULTS: At the 3-year follow-up, 11.2% of participants had developed a full or partial ED. Seven of 88 potential risk factors could be classified as independent risk factors, seven as proxies, and two as overlapping factors. Critical comments about eating from teacher/coach/siblings and a history of depression were the most potent risk factors. The incidence for participants with either or both of these risk factors was 34.8% (16/46) compared to 4.2% (6/144) for participants without these risk factors, with a sensitivity of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.82. CONCLUSIONS: Targeting preventive interventions at women with high weight and shape concerns, a history of critical comments about eating weight and shape, and a history of depression may reduce the risk for EDs

Theoretical and experimental stress analyses of ORNL thin-shell cylinder-to- cylinder model 2

Model 2 in a series of four thin-shell cylinder-to-cylinder models was tested, and the experimentally determined elastic stress distributions were compared with theoretical predictions obtained from a thin-shell finite-element analysis. Both the cylinder and the nozzle of model 2 had outside diameters of 10 in., giving a d$sub 0$/D$sub 0$ ratio of 1.0, and both had outside diameter/ thickness ratios of 100. Sixteen separate loading cases in which one end of the cylinder was rigidly held were analyzed. An internal pressure loading, three mutually perpendicular force components, and three mutually perpendicular moment components were individually applied at the free end of the cylinder and at the end of the nozzle. In addition to these 13 loadings, 3 additional loads were applied to the nozzle (in-plane bending moment, out-of-plane bending moment, and axial force) with the free end of the cylinder restrained. The experimental stress distributions for each of the 16 loadings were obtained using 152 three- gage strain rosettes located on the inner and outer surfaces. All the 16 loading cases were also analyzed theoretically using a finite-element shell analysis. The analysis used flat-plate elements and considered five degrees of freedom per node in the final assembled equations. The comparisons between theory and experiment show reasonably good general agreement, and it is felt that the analysis would be satisfactory for most engineering purposes. (auth