SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The author has identified the following significant results. A more efficient algorithm for calculating surface temperature was developed. This algorithm was determined to be essentially exact, and relative accuracies in determining thermal inertia of the finite difference and the linear Fourier series algorithms were approximately 5% for both. A procedure for performing geometric registration was developed.
A strategy for determining an improved lunar moment of inertia is proposed. An improved uncertainty in the lunar inhomogeneity parameter could reduce the core density error from 4.20 gr/cu cm to 0.1 gm/cu cm for the case of a lunar density model having a 300 km core radius. The current error of 0.0025 for the lunar inhomogeneity parameter is mostly due to the uncertainties in the C20 and C22 gravity harmonics. An optimum reduction strategy for obtaining an order of magnitude improvement in the gravity estimates is based on covariance analyses of Doppler data. The long-arc reduction method is shown to provide better results than the short-arc technique, and the use of an orbit with a 7000 km semimajor axis along with certain terms of up to degree and order eight is recommended.
The author has identified the following significant results. After digitization, a noise rejection filter was applied to data obtained by USGS aircraft. An albedo image was formed by combining three bands of visible data. Along with the day and nighttime thermal data, the albedo image was used to construct a relative thermal-inertia image. This image, registered to a topographic base, shows there are thermal property differences in the vicinity of the contact between the Fort Union and Wasatch formations in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming.
Operation of inertia balance is simplified by packaging set of balance springs in interchangeable modules. They are held in place in balance pedestal by just two fasteners, making removal and replacement fast and simple. With them, balance can be readied in less than 15 minutes, in contrast to more than 2 hours by previous method.
The apparent inertia of an airship hull is examined. The exact solution of the aerodynamical problem is studied for hulls of various shapes with special attention given to the case of an ellipsoidal hull. So that the results for the ellipsoidal hull may be readily adapted to other cases, they are expressed in terms of the area and perimeter of the largest cross section perpendicular to the direction of motion by means of a formula involving a coefficient kappa which varies only slowly when the shape of the hull is changed, being 0.637 for a circular or elliptic disk, 0.5 for a sphere, and about 0.25 for a spheroid of fineness ratio. The case of rotation of an airship hull is investigated and a coefficient is defined with the same advantages as the corresponding coefficient for rectilinear motion.
The author has identified the following significant results. Two night-time thermal images of the Powder River Basin, Wyoming distinctly show a major thermal feature. This feature is substantially coincident with a drainage divide and the southward facing slope appears cooler, suggesting a lower thermal inertia. An initial examination of regional geologic maps provides no clear evidence to suggest what type of geologic feature or structure may be present, although it can be noted that its northeastern end passes directly through Lead, South Dakota where the Homestake Gold Mine is located.
The spatial variations on Mars of the surface thermal inertia and radiometric albedo are used to predict the variation with sub-earth longitude of the 2.8 cm whole-disk brightness temperature. The maximum variation predicted, about 8 K, agrees well with observations. The sub-earth longitudes at which the temperature maxima and minima are predicted to occur nearly agree with the observations. There are, however, differences in the overall form of the variation with longitude. These discrepancies can be reduced by an ad hoc assumption of spatial variations in either the fraction of the surface covered by rock or the amount of atmospheric dust.
The possibility of identifying ground surface material by measuring the surface temperature at two different and significant times of the day was investigated for the case of hypothetical island whose rocky surface contained no vegetation and consisted of dolomite, clay, and granite. The thermal dynamics of the soil surface during a day in which atmospheric conditions were average for a latitude of about 40 deg to 50 deg were numerically simulated. The line of separation between zones of different materials was delineated by the range of temperature variation. Results show that the difference between maximum and minimum value of the temperature of ground surface during the day is linked to the thermal inertia value of the material of which the rock is formed.
During the July to September 1980 quarter the final tapes were received completing the order and preliminary processing was done. Thermal Inertia images for each of the three test sites, Death Valley and Pisgah Crater, California and Goldfield, Nevada were created using registered HCMM day/night pairs and the JPL model. A comprehensive study and analysis of the geologic application of all acquired HCMM data is in progress.
Radiometric measurements determine thermal inertia for geologic materials. Measurements are correlated with data obtained by remote sensing, for discriminating varieties of rock encountered when exploring for minerals by aircraft or by satellites equipped with infrared scanners.
The HCMM transparency scenes for the available winter of 1978-1979 were evaluated; scenes were identified on processed magnetic tapes; other remote sensing information was identified; and a soil heat flux model with variable-depth thermal profile was developed. The Image 100 system was used to compare HCMM and GOES transparent images of surface thermal patterns. Excellent correspondence of patterns was found, with HCMM giving the greater resolution. One image shows details of thermal patterns in Florida that are attributable to difference in near surface water contents. The wide range of surface temperatures attributable to surface thermal inertia that exist in the relatively flat Florida topography is demonstrated.
Digital thermal maps of the Cooper River (SC) and the Potomac River estuaries were prepared from heat capacity mapping radiometer (HCMR) tapes. Tidal phases were correctly interpreted and verified. Synoptic surface circulation patterns were charted by location thermal fronts and water mass boundaries within the estuaries. Thermal anomalies were detected adjacent of a conventional power plant on the Potomac. Under optimum conditions, estuaries as small as the Cooper River can be monitored for generalized thermal/tidal circulation patterns by the HCMM-type IR sensors. The HCMM thermal inertia approach to estimating soil moisture at the Luverne (MN) test site was found to be unsatisfactory as a NESS operational satellite technique because of cloud cover interference. Thermal-IR data show similar structure of the Baltimore and Washington heat islands when compared to NOAA AVHRR thermal-IR data. Thermal anomalies from the warm water discharge water of a nuclear power plant were mapped in Lake Anna, Virginia.
Transparencies, prints, and computer compatible tapes of temperature differential and thermal inertia for the winter of 1978 to 1979 were obtained. Thermal inertial differences in the South Florida depicted include: drained organic soils of the Everglades agricultural area, undrained organic soils of the managed water conservation areas of the South Florida water management district, the urbanized area around Miami, Lake Okeechobee, and the mineral soil west of the Everglades agricultural area. The range of wetlands and uplands conditions within the Suwanee River basin was also identified. It is shown that the combination of wetlands uplands surface features of Florida yield a wide range of surface temperatures related to wetness of the surface features.
Surface temperatures derived from HCMM data were compared with to those obtained by GOES satellite and the apparent thermal inertia (ATI) calculated. For two dates, the HCMM temperatures appear to be about 5 C lower than the GOES temperatures. The ATI for excessively-drained to well-drained mineral soils was greater than for drained organic soils possibly because of long periods of low rainfall during late 1980 and early 1981. Organic soils cropped to sugar cane showed lower ATI after a severe killing freeze. With dead leaves, there was less transpiration and more solar radiation probably reached the dark soil surface. This would explain the larger diurnal temperature amplitude observed.
Registered data sets were used to develop qualititative temperature and delta T maps of a band across north Florida and across south Florida for use with Carlson's boundary layer energy model balance model. Thermal inertia and moisture availability computations for north Florida are being used to investigate model sensitivity and to evaluate input parameters. Temperature differences of day-night HCMM overpasses clearly differentiate wetlands and uplands areas.
An important use of NASTRAN is in the area of structural loads analysis on weapon systems carried aboard aircraft. The program is used to predict bending moments and shears in missile bodies, when subjected to aircraft induced accelerations. The missile, launcher and aircraft wing are idealized, using rod and beam type elements for solution economy. Using the inertia relief capability of NASTRAN, the model is subjected to various acceleration combinations. It is found to be difficult to model the launcher sway braces and hooks which transmit compression only or tension only type forces respectively. A simple, iterative process was developed to overcome this modeling difficulty. A proposed code modification would help model compression or tension only contact type problems.
An attempt is made to achieve inertia friction-welding in FeAl and NiAl samples, taking into account their intermetallics' compositions, extrusion parameters, and microstructural data. The energy required for the weld is stored in a rotating flywheel mass attached to one of the two pieces to be joined; when enough energy is introduced, the flywheel is disconnected and an axial load is applied which forces the spinning piece against the stationary one, converting the energy into heat by means of friction. Due to the inherent brittleness of the aluminides, a step-load program was used in which an initial, low-pressure heat buildup increased the work pieces' ductility.
The mean moment of inertia of Mars is, at present, very poorly constrained. The generally accepted value of 0.365 M(R-squared) is obtained by assuming that the observed second degree gravity field can be decomposed into a hydrostatic oblate spheroid and a nonhydrostatic prolate spheroid with an equatorial axis of symmetry. An alternative decomposition is advocated in the present analysis. If the nonhydrostatic component is a maximally triaxial ellipsoid (intermediate moment exactly midway between greatest and least), the hydrostatic component is consistent with a mean moment of 0.345 M(R-squared). The plausibility of this decomposition is supported by statistical arguments and comparison with the earth, moon and Venus.