Measurement of SIFT operating system overhead

The overhead of the software implemented fault tolerance (SIFT) operating system was measured. Several versions of the operating system evolved. Each version represents different strategies employed to improve the measured performance. Three of these versions are analyzed. The internal data structures of the operating systems are discussed. The overhead of the SIFT operating system was found to be of two types: vote overhead and executive task overhead. Both types of overhead were found to be significant in all versions of the system. Improvements substantially reduced this overhead; even with these improvements, the operating system consumed well over 50% of the available processing time

Software Implemented Fault-Tolerant (SIFT) user's guide

Program development for a Software Implemented Fault Tolerant (SIFT) computer system is accomplished in the NASA LaRC AIRLAB facility using a DEC VAX-11 to interface with eight Bendix BDX 930 flight control processors. The interface software which provides this SIFT program development capability was developed by AIRLAB personnel. This technical memorandum describes the application and design of this software in detail, and is intended to assist both the user in performance of SIFT research and the systems programmer responsible for maintaining and/or upgrading the SIFT programming environment

An operations manual for the Spinning Mode Synthesizer in the Langley Aircraft Noise Reduction Laboratory

The need for a dependable and controllable noise source and the consequent development of the Spinning Mode Synthesizer (SMS) is discussed. Configuration of the SMS incorporated into the flow duct facility is reported. Turbofan noise is composed of a series of fundamental acoustical modes, which are produced by acoustic drivers equispaced circumferentially around the flow duct. Pressure field is compared to an ideal result in an optimization algorithm, adjusting driver settings until system error is minimized. The following items are included: operating instructions, a detailed description of the system, and a user's guide to data acquisition packages available

Design of a laser rangefinder for Martian terrain measurements

Methods for using a laser for rangefinding are discussed. These are: (1) Optical Focusing, (2) the Phase Difference Method, and (3) Timed Pulse. For application on a Mars Rover, the Timed Pulse Method proves to be the better choice in view of the requirements set down. This is made possible by pulse expansion techniques described in detail. Initial steps taken toward building the range finder are given, followed by a conclusion which is actually a proposal for future steps

Optimizing an Actuator Array for the Control of Multi-Frequency Noise in Aircraft Interiors

Techniques developed for selecting an optimized actuator array for interior noise reduction at a single frequency are extended to the multi-frequency case. Transfer functions for 64 actuators were obtained at 5 frequencies from ground testing the rear section of a fully trimmed DC-9 fuselage. A single loudspeaker facing the left side of the aircraft was the primary source. A combinatorial search procedure (tabu search) was employed to find optimum actuator subsets of from 2 to 16 actuators. Noise reduction predictions derived from the transfer functions were used as a basis for evaluating actuator subsets during optimization. Results indicate that it is necessary to constrain actuator forces during optimization. Unconstrained optimizations selected actuators which require unrealistically large forces. Two methods of constraint are evaluated. It is shown that a fast, but approximate, method yields results equivalent to an accurate, but computationally expensive, method

Reconfigurable Adaptive Multiple Transform Hardware Solutions for Versatile Video Coding

Computer aided design is nowadays a must to quickly provide optimized circuits, to cope with stringent time to market constraints, and to be able to guarantee colliding constrained requirements. Design automation is exploited, whenever possible, to speed up the design process and relieve the developers from error prone customization, optimization and tuning phases. In this work we study the possibility of adopting automated algorithms for the optimization of reconfigurable multiple constant multiplication circuits. In particular, an exploration of novel reconfigurable Adaptive Multiple Transform circuital solutions adoptable in video coding applications has been conducted. These solutions have also been compared with the unique similar work at the state of the art, revealing to be beneficial under certain constraints. Moreover, the proposed approach has been generalized with some guidelines helpful to designers facing similar problems

Nonlocal effects in high energy charged particle beams

Within the framework of the thermal wave model, an investigation is made of the longitudinal dynamics of high energy charged particle beams. The model includes the self-consistent interaction between the beam and its surroundings in terms of a nonlinear coupling impedance, and when resistive as well as reactive parts are included, the evolution equation becomes a generalised nonlinear Schroedinger equation including a nonlocal nonlinear term. The consequences of the resistive part on the propagation of particle bunches are examined using analytical as well as numerical methods.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, uses RevTeX

Thermal issues for the optical transition radiation screen for the ELI-NP compton gamma source

A high brightness electron LINAC is being built in the Compton Gamma Source at the ELI Nuclear Physics facility in Romania. To achieve the design luminosity, a train of 32 bunches, 16 ns spaced, with a nominal charge of 250 pC will collide with a laser beam in two interaction points. Electron beam spot size is measured with Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) profile monitors. In order to measure the beam properties, the OTR screens must sustain the thermal and mechanical stress due to the energy deposited by bunches. This paper is an ANSYS study of the issues due to the high energy transferred to the OTR screens. Thermal multicycle analysis will be shown; each analysis will be followed by a structural analysis in order to investigate the performance of the materia