Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center in the City of Pasadena, California, United States. Founded in 1936 by Caltech researchers, the laboratory is now owned and sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and administrated and managed by the California Institute of Technology. The laboratory's primary function is the construction and operation of planetary robotic spacecraft, though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions. It is also responsible for operating the NASA Deep Space Network. Among the laboratory's major active projects are the Mars 2020 mission, which includes the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity Mars helicopter; the Mars Science Laboratory mission, including the Curiosity rover; the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter; the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter; the SMAP satellite for earth surface soil moisture monitoring; the NuSTAR X-ray telescope; and the forthcoming Psyche asteroid orbiter

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Accelerometer and Pit Counting Detection of Cavitation Erosion on a Laboratory Jet and a Large Francis Turbine

The two techniques, vibratory monitoring and pit counting, show promising results for the prediction of prototype cavitation erosion from model tests of Francis turbines. These cavitation detection methods are compared in two set-ups at different power levels, a laboratory high velocity cavitation jet and a full scale 270 MW Francis turbine. Excellent quantitative correlations are obtained in the jet tests between erosion rate, volume pitting rate measured on polished metal surfaces of different hardness with a laser profilometer and the mean square value of forces on the eroded specimen inferred from measurements with a high frequency accelerometer on the specimen holder. On the large prototype good coherent results are also obtained but the vibratory information requires much finer analysis. In particular the varying erosive cavitation intensity with power output level is well detected by both methods. The two cavitation detection techniques exhibit great dynamic range and can prove very useful in characterizing the erosive aggressiveness of cavitating flow both in large machines and in reduced scale models.

International Association For Hydraulic Research1994

Jet-Scheduling Control for SpiderCrane: Experimental Results

Dominique Bonvin, Davide Buccieri, Philippe Müllhaupt, Christophe Salzmann

SpiderCrane is a three-dimensional crane, whose main particularity lies in the absence of large inertial moving parts. This paper presents experimental results obtained with the novel jet-scheduling control methodology that is based on differential flatness. Jet scheduling consists essentially in using measurements to regenerate the derivatives associated with a reference trajectory. Through this regeneration, the feedforward control law, which is computed from the reference trajectory using the flatness property, is transformed into a feedback control law. Jet-scheduling control takes full advantage of the dynamic possibilities of SpiderCrane as it allows operation far away from the quasi-static mode of operation. In contrast to proportional-like compensators, the proposed control scheme does not over-react whenever the load is displaced in a persistent way, mainly because only higher derivatives are scheduled. Furthermore, the position of the upper pulley can be adapted without requiring a change in the load position, that is, without over-pulling the main cable. This general compliance makes the control methodology ``user friendly'' without cutting down on dynamic performance. Both point stabilization and trajectory tracking can be implemented.

2008

Field application of a rapid spectrophotometric method for determination of persulfate in soil

David Andrew Barry

Remediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soils can be performed both in situ and ex situ using chemical oxidants such as sodium persulfate. Standard methods for quantifying persulfate require either centrifugation or prolonged settling times. An optimized soil extraction procedure was developed for persulfate involving simple water extraction using a modified disposable syringe. This allows considerable saving of time and removes the need for centrifugation. The extraction time was reduced to only 5 min compared to 15 min for the standard approach. A comparison of the two approaches demonstrated that each provides comparable results. Comparisons were made using high (93 g per kg soil) and low (9.3 g per kg soil) additions of sodium persulfate to a petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil, as well as sand spiked with diesel. Recoveries of 95 +/- 1% and 96 +/- 10% were observed with the higher application rate in the contaminated soil and spiked sand, respectively. Corresponding recoveries of 86 +/- 5% and 117 +/- 19% were measured for the lower application rate. Results were obtained in only 25 min and the method is well suited to batch analyses. In addition, it is suitable for application in a small field laboratory or even a mobile, vehicle-based system, as it requires minimal equipment and reagents.

Public Library of Science2013

EE-584: Spacecraft design and system engineering

The main objective of the course is to introduce the concept of space system design and engineering. The course will describe the various subsystems involved in the design of a satellite. It will also describe the techniques of systems engineering that are used to obtain a coherent satellite design.

PHYS-454: Quantum optics and quantum information

This lecture describes advanced concepts and applications of quantum optics. It emphasizes the connection with ongoing research, and with the fast growing field of quantum technologies. The topics cover some aspects of quantum information processing, quantum sensing and quantum simulation.

ME-202: Mechanical systems

Ce cours vise à approfondir la compréhension des lois de fonctionnement de plusieurs principes mécaniques majeurs et largement utilisés en construction de machines, en vue d'être capable d'en faire le dimensionnement dans les cas concrets les plus courants.

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet and the furthest terrestrial planet from the Sun. The reddish color of its surface is due to finely grained iron(III) oxide dust in the soil, giving it the nickname "the Red

Curiosity (rover)

Curiosity is a car-sized Mars rover exploring Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. Curiosity was launched from Cape

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly