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Evaluation of a six-DOF electrodynamic shaker system

Gregory, Danny L.

The paper describes the preliminary evaluation of a 6 degree of freedom electrodynamic shaker system. The 8 by 8 inch (20.3 cm) table is driven by 12 electrodynamic shakers producing motion in all 6 rigid body modes. A small electrodynamic shaker system suitable for small component testing is described. The principal purpose of the system is to demonstrate the technology. The shaker is driven by 12 electrodynamic shakers each with a force capability of about 50 lbs (220 N). The system was developed through an informal cooperative agreement between Sandia National Laboratories, Team Corp. and Spectral Dynamics Corporation. Sandia provided the laboratory space and some development funds. Team provided the mechanical system, and Spectral Dynamics provided the control system. Spectral Dynamics was chosen to provide the control system partly because of their experience in MIMO control and partly because Sandia already had part of the system in house. The shaker system was conceived and manufactured by TEAM Corp. Figure 1 shows the overall system. The vibration table, electrodynamic shakers, hydraulic pumps, and amplifiers are all housed in a single cabinet. Figure 2 is a drawing showing how the electrodynamic shakers are coupled to the table. The shakers are coupled to the table through a hydraulic spherical pad bearing providing 5 degrees of freedom and one stiff degree of freedom. The pad bearing must be preloaded with a static force as they are unable to provide any tension forces. The horizontal bearings are preloaded with steel springs. The drawing shows a spring providing the vertical preload. This was changed in the final design. The vertical preload is provided by multiple strands of an O-ring material as shown in Figure 4. Four shakers provide excitation in each of the three orthogonal axes. The specifications of the shaker are outlined in Table 1. Four shakers provide inputs in each of the three orthogonal directions. By choosing the phase relationships between the shakers all six rigid body modes (three translation, and three rotations) can be excited. The system is over determined. There are more shakers than degrees of freedom. This provided an interesting control problem. The problem was approached using the input-output transformation matrices provided in the Spectral control system. Twelve accelerometers were selected for the control accelerometers (a tri-axial accelerometer at each corner of the table (see Figure 5). Figure 6 shows the nomenclature used to identify the shakers and control accelerometers. A fifth tri-axial accelerometer was placed at the center of the table, but it was not used for control. Thus we had 12 control accelerometers and 12 shakers to control a 6-dof shaker. The 12 control channels were reduced to a 6-dof control using a simple input transformation matrix. The control was defined by a 6x6 spectral density matrix. The six outputs in the control variable coordinates were transformed to twelve physical drive signals using another simple output transformation matrix. It was assumed that the accelerometers and shakers were well matched such that the transformation matrices were independent of frequency and could be deduced from rigid body considerations. The input/output transformations are shown in Equations 1 and 2.

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The process for integrating the NNSA knowledge base

Martinez, Elaine M.; Young, Christopher J.; Wilkening, Lisa K.

From 2002 through 2006, the Ground Based Nuclear Explosion Monitoring Research & Engineering (GNEMRE) program at Sandia National Laboratories defined and modified a process for merging different types of integrated research products (IRPs) from various researchers into a cohesive, well-organized collection know as the NNSA Knowledge Base, to support operational treaty monitoring. This process includes defining the KB structure, systematically and logically aggregating IRPs into a complete set, and verifying and validating that the integrated Knowledge Base works as expected.

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On identifying the specular reflection of sunlight in earth-monitoring satellite data

Jackson, Dale C.; Hohlfelder, Robert J.; Longenbaugh, Randolph S.; Nelsen, James M.

Among the background signals commonly seen by Earth-monitoring satellites is the specular reflection of sunlight off of Earth's surface, commonly referred to as a glint. This phenomenon, involving liquid or ice surfaces, can result in the brief, intense illumination of satellite sensors appearing from the satellite perspective to be of terrestrial origin. These glints are important background signals to be able to identify with confidence, particularly in the context of analyzing data from satellites monitoring for transient surface or atmospheric events. Here we describe methods for identifying glints based on the physical processes involved in their production, including spectral fitting and polarization measurements. We then describe a tool that, using the WGS84 spheroidal Earth model, finds the latitude and longitude on Earth where a reflection of this type could be produced, given input Sun and satellite coordinates. This tool enables the user to determine if the surface at the solution latitude and longitude is in fact reflective, thus identifying the sensor response as a true glint or an event requiring further analysis.

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Results 75726–75750 of 99,299
Results 75726–75750 of 99,299