Air University Review, November-December 1968
Development of the
Since the product of faculty research could be of significant benefit to the Air Force if funded and oriented appropriately and since cadet research experience would produce officers qualified and interested in careers in research and development, the Air Force Systems Command and the Office of Aerospace Research (OAR) were approached for assistance and advice with regard to establishment of a research activity at the Academy. As a result, the proposal made by OAR in February 1962 to establish a small in-house laboratory at the Academy was approved at all echelons of the Air Force. The Frank J. Seiler Research Laboratory was formally established under the Office of Aerospace Research on 1 September 1962 with the assignment of two officers. It was named in memory of the late Colonel Frank J. Seiler, an Air Force research pioneer.
The Seiler Laboratory conducts basic research, provides liaison between the Air Force and the scientific community, and ensures the effective dissemination of research results in chemistry, aerospace mechanics, and applied mathematics. It promotes, fosters, and encourages an awareness of and interest in the importance of scientific research to the Air Force in the Academy faculty and cadets, and it supports selected faculty and cadet research that is within the scope of the OAR mission.
Even before the formal establishment of the Laboratory, specifications were being prepared for a computer of sufficient size to allow digital computing to be made a required part of the Academy curriculum and to provide the means for teaching advanced science and engineering courses. The availability of computational and information-processing capabilities in the digital computer is essential not only to the basic research of the Seiler Laboratory but also to an active and imaginative research program at the Academy. Additionally, knowledge and training of future Air Force officers in the use of the digital computer were recognized as essential to the long-term goals of the Air Force.
In the OAR proposal for the establishment of this Laboratory, it was agreed that the computer would be procured and operated by the Seiler Laboratory, with a co-use agreement whereby the Laboratory would furnish adequate computer time to the Academy for the accomplishment of its faculty research program and for cadet computer courses and other courses in which the use of a computer is indicated. This support could be considered as analogous to federal research grants to civilian universities.
One large piece of research equipment much used by the Seiler Laboratory personnel and Academy staff and cadets is a multipurpose low-density shock tube, formally dedicated in October of 1965.
It is physically located in the Aeronautics Laboratory at the Academy and is similar to the one at California Institute of Technology. The tube is 84 feet long with a 17-inch inside diameter. The test-section initial pressure can be varied from less than a millionth of an atmosphere up to atmospheric pressure. Any gas or combination of bottled gases can be used in either the driver or test sections. Mach numbers ranging between 2 and 10 have been attained in argon at various initial pressures. A desired mach number can be repeatedly attained to within 0.5 percent.
The instrument is an extremely versatile device for studies in real gas dynamics (chemical kinetics, shock-associated phenomena etc.). Primary interest lies in its use for re-entry gas dynamics involving shock-wave structure and in the formation and attenuation of shock waves. One of its values to date has been its use as an instructive tool and research instrument for Academy cadets. Many of the engineering problems that arose in the design and construction of the shock tube were solved by cadets as independent research projects. Ten cadets participated in the design, checkout, and construction of the tube.
While the plans for the Seiler Laboratory were made in an austere environment, it was realized that the full-time scientific staff had to be large enough to provide a catalytic or “critical mass” effect. The manpower authorization was set at 37 people until November 1967, when it was increased to 39. Eighteen are Air Force officer scientists, and the remainder are supporting and staff positions. The annual Laboratory budget is approximately $450,000.
The military scientist posts are filled by highly qualified officers, all of whom have advanced scientific degrees, mostly at the doctoral level. All of the scientific staff have been given faculty status as research associates or one of the professorial ranks. They teach cadet courses, and this activity is encouraged to the extent that it relieves a faculty member to do research. The teaching activity is encouraged because of the belief that teaching is just as desirable for a good researcher as research is for a good teacher. The policy has resulted in effective rapport between Academy faculty and the Seiler Laboratory staff and is partially responsible for attracting highly motivated cadets to participate in research projects. One scientific space in the chemistry division is used for rotating faculty members into the Seiler Laboratory for one-year tours.
Funding of faculty research in those areas of direct interest to the Office of Aerospace Research is possible through the Seiler Laboratory’s resources. Faculty members may propose projects for support in a manner similar to proposals made by faculty members of civilian schools to the AF Office of Scientific Research, except that support is limited to providing equipment, supplies, and travel if absolutely necessary and does not include salary or indirect cost. This kind of support is provided to a number of faculty members each year. Where interests of the faculty and Laboratory are closely allied, it is possible to exchange individuals between the Laboratory and faculty.
The Seiler Chemistry Division has two adjacent laboratories which became operational in March 1964, a synthesis laboratory and an instrument room. The synthesis laboratory is a conventional “wet” chemistry laboratory with working spaces for six chemists. It is well equipped with the conventional utilities and has its own air supply separate from that of the remainder of the academic building. Most of the specialized chemical instruments are maintained in a separate instrument room, which is well equipped for the size of the activities of the Seiler Laboratory. Access is also available to the instruments of the Academy Department of Chemistry in a nearby laboratory.
The achievements of the program in the form of sound basic chemical research are rather noteworthy in spite of the short time the Laboratory has been in existence. The work in chemistry was reoriented about a year ago in order to relate more directly to Air Force needs. Even in this short time the Seiler Chemistry Division has managed to achieve some significant results in the new areas of chemistry that have been undertaken: electrochemistry and organometallic chemistry.
The AF Aero Propulsion Laboratory is seeking new ways of developing high-energy batteries that will operate at temperatures ranging from just above ambient to several hundred degrees centigrade. This need, plus the fact that other DOD agencies have similar requirements for high-energy fuel cells, motivated the Laboratory to enter the field of electrochemistry.
A study is being made to demonstrate the feasibility of using aluminum as the fuel in a fuel cell or battery. Aluminum is inexpensive, light in weight, and its compounds are characterized by large negative heats of formation. From these considerations, aluminum is an ideal choice for use in a fuel cell. It has in fact been the subject of many investigations for a similar purpose. However, the unique feature of this work is that a molten mixture of aluminum chloride and sodium chloride is being used as the electrolyte. Sufficient progress has been made in the work to prove the feasibility of the concept.
The second new area of research is organometallic chemistry, and its selection was based on the Air Force’s requirement for stable polymeric materials. The Air Force Materials Laboratory through meetings and seminars indicated several areas where basic chemistry research is needed to help solve critical materials problems.
Prior to our entry into the fields of electrochemistry and organometallic chemistry in early 1967, research here had been quite varied and successful although less directly related to short-term Air Force needs. One of the most active areas was investigation of structure and reactivity in phosphorus chemistry. Research is still going on in this field, though at a much lower level of effort than previously.
The Seiler Aerospace Mechanics Division conducts research in applied mathematics, with emphasis on system optimization and control. Here the prime objectives are the development of mathematical models of physical systems and the development of mathematical and computational procedures for the optimization and control of such systems. This research includes studies of the effects of randomness in systems, such as might be encountered by aircraft or missiles subject to random gusts or disturbances, and in the detection of signals in the presence of noise. It includes studies in nonlinear and adaptive control of systems, with the aim of designing autopilots and control systems for advanced aerospace vehicles. It emphasizes computational procedures in optimization, such as those that might be required for the optimum steering or guidance of aerospace vehicles.
In the area of adaptive and nonlinear control a notable achievement was made in a study on the control of unstable mechanical systems. They constitute a class of dynamical systems that have been of increasing interest to control-theory engineers over the past decade. The most noteworthy example of such a system is a steerable rocket vehicle during its launch phase. Aerodynamically unstable at low speeds, such a vehicle requires a sophisticated control mechanism to insure that it follows the desired trajectory. The present tempo of successful launches and missions indicates that sufficiently sophisticated controls have been designed for today’s vehicles; but it is not evident that contemporary techniques will suffice for the future. For example, the continuing stress on maximizing the payload/booster mass ratio indicates that future missiles may be significantly more flexible than those presently in use. This eventuality would seriously compound the control problem, for then the guidance system must not only maintain vehicle attitude and adherence to the desired track but must also control the complex interbody motions allowed by flexibility.
An aggressive effort has been made by the Seiler Laboratory to apply its knowledge and competency in optimization techniques to Air Force problems. As a result it has acted as a consultant to the Air Force Avionics Laboratory on their “most wanted item” in orbital transfer guidance, to the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory on an optimal control problem, to the Systems Engineering Group of Aeronautical Systems Division on the determination of optimum intercept and evasion trajectories for fighter-interceptors, and to the AF Armament Laboratory on the analysis of tactical aircraft-missile engagements.
The study of tactical aircraft-missile engagements was the result of a memorandum from Director of Defense Research and Engineering to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Research and Development. The subject of the memorandum was “Proposed Initiation of an Analysis of Optimal Aircraft-Missile Evasion Tactics.” The office of primary responsibility for the study was established in Hq USAF, with the AF Armament Laboratory as the project manager and the Seiler Laboratory as an active consultant. The study includes the support of a number of research projects of Academy faculty and cadets. It consists of the analysis of air-to-air combat for aircraft and of evasion tactics for aircraft pursued by surface-to-air or air-missiles. The goals of the study are the quantitative description of maneuvers, the development of new tactics, and the determination of quantitative measures of the effectiveness of various parametric improvements in either missile or aircraft design.
Significant results have been obtained so far in the development of a
methodology that includes modeling, verification of the models, etc., for
future computational efforts in problems of optimal pursuit-evasion. Insight
has been obtained on the structure of optimal evasive maneuvers. Worthwhile
progress has already been made on the problem of how to turn an aircraft in
minimum time and how this maneuver applies to air-to-air combat. Since the
results are of a quantitative nature and prescribe precisely how to perform
certain maneuvers, they are of considerable value to simulation models of air-to-air
combat. This research program has also produced some novel ideas on fighter
armament, target tracking, and cockpit displays. Results of this research have
been discussed with members of the
The work discussed so far is an application of optimization techniques to combat for which it has been assumed that the strategy or guidance laws of only one of the combatants is completely known. This situation is known as a one-player game in the theory of differential games. A more difficult game to analyze is a two-player game in which each combatant seeks to optimize his strategy. A current study consists of the analysis of a two-player differential game, a pursuit-evasion problem of an aircraft and a missile. This study emphasizes the very practical situation of time delays in the processing of information on the positions and velocities of the opponents. Naturally due to processing delays, a pilot or his computer does not know instantaneously the activities of his opponent. Similar situations exist for the opponent. Results from our study will be directly applicable to improvement in the design of missile guidance systems.
The establishment of a research and educational computer system was proposed to Headquarters USAF in a Data Automation Proposal dated 1 November 1962. The concept was approved and acquisition authority was granted on 20 February 1963. As a service facility of the Seiler Research Laboratory, a Burroughs B5000 computer became operational in June 1964. In January 1965 it was modified to the B5500 configuration.
In addition to computer processing support, technical programming assistance was provided during 1965 in the development of programs to schedule classes at the Academy and to study incentive contracting for the Space and Missile Systems Office.
Initial investigation and experience with remote consoles for programming,
problem-solving, data storage and retrieval, and computer-assisted instruction
are being accomplished by use of a JOSS Console of the RAND Corporation, a
teletype console to the Burroughs B5500 computing system at the University of
Denver Research Institute, and six teletype consoles to the General Electric
635 Computing System at the Rome Air Development Center, Griffiss
AFB, New York. This early experience has been most encouraging and has afforded
a variety of applications and capability. Use of the B5500 terminal to
In 1967-68, the Computer Division provided support and services each term for 23 Academy courses, 7 of which were in computer science. Approximately 1200 cadets were using the computer for computer science and other scientific and engineering courses in the fall and spring. In addition, a variety of research projects by Seiler research officers and Academy faculty and cadets were furnished computational support. Among current projects which require use of the Seiler Laboratory computer are the analysis of tactical aircraft-missile engagements, shock-tube data reduction, simulation of human eye movement, optimal control problem studies, and computer generation of molecular structures and actions to be animated on a cathode-ray tube. Academy staff and faculty research projects include orbital trajectory studies, development of a list processing language, wind-tunnel data reduction, statistical studies, simulation of the growth of molds, modeling historical events and situations to analyze and predict future events, investigation of higher-order programming languages, and economic analyses. Present plans call for the addition of a number of remote consoles this winter. By 1971, increased activity (including the addition of time-sharing) will cause the computing capacity available in the B5500 to become inadequate. Consequently, plans for a follow-on computer system are now being developed.
Plans for the Seiler Research Laboratory envision a stabilized level of effort and a budget with only modest increases and occasional special funding for updating equipment to provide a stable, modern, and fertile environment in which to perform relevant research. The emphasis is and will remain on quality. It was hypothesized in 1962 that this OAR laboratory could be manned with officer scientists, could accomplish worthwhile research, could secure cadet participation, and could improve the opportunity for research among the faculty. In the first six years of operation, the Seiler Laboratory has succeeded on all counts. By 1971 the Academy will have completed its expansion from 2500 to 4400 cadets, with a corresponding larger faculty. The catalysis provided by the small full-time research staff of the Seiler Research Laboratory should continue to stimulate that larger faculty, much as it does today.
Frank J. Seiler Research Laboratory,
OAR
Colonel Gage H. Crocker (Ph.D.,
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this
document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression,
academic environment of
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