Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “exclusive”

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.

At least 181 records · Page 10

A study of carburetor/induction system icing in general aviation accidents

An assessment of the frequency and severity of carburetor/induction icing in general-aviation accidents was performed. The available literature and accident data from the National Transportation Safety Board were collected. A computer analysis of the accident data was performed. Between 65 and 90 accidents each year involve carburetor/induction system icing as a probable cause/factor. Under conditions conducive to carburetor/induction icing, between 50 and 70 percent of engine malfunction/failure accidents (exclusive of those due to fuel exhaustion) are due to carburetor/induction system icing. Since the evidence of such icing may not remain long after an accident, it is probable that the frequency of occurrence of such accidents is underestimated; therefore, some extrapolation of the data was conducted. The problem of carburetor/induction system icing is particularly acute for pilots with less than 1000 hours of total flying time. The severity of such accidents is about the same as any accident resulting from a forced landing or precautionary landing. About 144 persons, on the average, are exposed to death and injury each year in accidents involving carburetor/induction icing as a probable cause/factor.

Obermayer, R. W.↗

Oxygen reduction of several gold alloys in 1-molar potassium hydroxide

With rotated disk-and-ring equipment, polarograms and other electrochemical measurements were made of oxygen reduction in 1-molar potassium hydroxide on an equiatomic gold-copper (Au-Cu) alloy and a Au-Cu alloy doped with either indium (In) or cobalt (Co) and on Au doped with either nickel (Ni) or platinum (Pt). The results were compared with those for pure Au and pure Pt. The two-electron reaction dominated on all Au alloys as it did on Au. The polarographic results at lower polarization potentials were compared, assuming exclusively a two-step reduction. A qualified ranking of cathodic electrocatalytic activity on the freshly polished reduced disks was indicated: anodized Au Au-Cu-In Au-Cu Au-Cu-Co is equivalent or equal to Au-Pt Au-Ni. Aging in distilled water improved the electrocatalytic efficiency of Au-Cu-Co, Au-Cu, and (to a lesser extent) Au-Cu-In.

Miller, R. O.↗

Digital phase-locked loop

An digital phase-locked loop is provided for deriving a loop output signal from an accumulator output terminal. A phase detecting exclusive OR gate is fed by the loop digital input and output signals. The output of the phase detector is a bi-level digital signal having a duty cycle indicative of the relative phase of the input and output signals. The accumulator is incremented at a first rate in response to a first output level of the phase detector and at a second rate in response to a second output level of the phase detector.

Cliff, R. A.↗

Food safety

Illness induced by unsafe food is a problem of great public health significance. This study relates exclusively to the occurrence of chemical agents which will result in food unsafe for human consumption since the matter of food safety is of paramount importance in the mission and operation of the manned spacecraft program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Pier, S. M.↗

Application of a new criterion for modeling systems

A new criterion is proposed for modeling systems which promises to be useful in deciding how complex a model should be. The criterion is based on the expected model response error instead of the error in fitting the data used for estimating the model parameters. The new criterion also does not require withholding data to be used exclusively for testing. There remains, however, the difficulty of testing a large number of candidate models that correspond to the combinations of terms used in the dynamic equations. A computational approach is suggested which greatly reduces the computations required in searching for the best model. In the suggested approach the gradient of the response with respect to the model coefficients is held fixed and numerous combinations of terms are assessed. After determining the most promising candidate model, the gradient is updated and the process is repeated. This procedure gives greater assurance that the best model is selected and does not rely on the analyst's judgement.

Taylor, L. W., Jr.↗

Characterization of typical platelet injector flow configurations

A study to investigate the hydraulic atomization characteristics of several novel injector designs for use in liquid propellant rocket engines is presented. The injectors were manufactured from a series of thin stainless steel platelets through which orifices were very accurately formed by a photoetching process. These individual platelets were stacked together and the orifices aligned so as to produce flow passages of prescribed geometry. After alignment, the platelets were bonded into a single, 'platelet injector', unit by a diffusion bonding process. Because of the complex nature of the flow associated with platelet injectors, it was necessary to use experimental techniques, exclusively, throughout the study. Large scale models of the injectors were constructed from aluminum plates and the appropriate fluids were modeled using a glycerol-water solution. Stop-action photographs of test configurations, using spark-shadowgraph or stroboscopic back-lighting, are shown.

Hickox, C. E.↗

Multivariable manual control with simultaneous visual and auditory presentation of information

Multivariable manual compensatory tracking experiments were carried out in order to determine typical strategies of the human operator and conditions for improvement of his performance if one of the visual displays of the tracking errors is supplemented by an auditory feedback. Because the tracking error of the system which is only visually displayed is found to decrease, but not in general that of the auditorally supported system, it was concluded that the auditory feedback unloads the visual system of the operator who can then concentrate on the remaining exclusively visual displays.

Uhlemann, H.↗

The distribution of Sr and REE between diopside and silicate liquid

Experimental determination of the distribution coefficients in diopside-liquid pairs for strontium and nine rare-earth elements in the system CaMgSi2O6-NaAlSi3O8-CaAl2Si2O8. In experiments in air at 1265 C it is found that most of the Sr(2+), Eu(2+), and RE(3+) ions substitute for Ca(2+) and, in addition, a coupled substitution of Al(3+) for Si(4+) occurs. All of the trace ions considered are found to be excluded from the diopside lattice relative to the liquid. In the case of the trivalent ions the exclusion is much more pronounced for La and Ce, which have ionic radii larger than that of Ca(2+) in 8-fold oxygen coordination. Divalent Sr and Eu with even larger radii are also strongly excluded.

Grutzeck, M.↗

Significance of semiannual waves in the mesospheric zonal wind and evidence of influence by the geomagnetic field

The recently described polar semiannual oscillations in zonal wind can explain midwinter weakening of the polar winter vortex and the relatively short stratospheric and mesospheric summer easterlies. This explanation implies that stratospheric sudden warmings may be caused or affected by the polar semiannual oscillation. Two potential physical mechanisms (not mutually exclusive) for the oscillation are presented: planetary wave action and changes in the radiation field. Radiation absorption changes are suggested to result from changes in ozone concentration during magnetic storms. Contours of amplitude of both the polar and tropical semiannual wind oscillations are more nearly congruent with geomagnetic than with geographic latitude.

Belmont, A. D.↗

Primitive control of cellular metabolism

It is pointed out that control substances must have existed from the earliest times in the evolution of life and that the same control mechanisms must exist today. The investigation reported is concerned with the concept that carbon dioxide is a primitive regulator of cell function. The effects of carbon dioxide on cellular materials are examined, taking into account questions of solubilization, dissociation, changes of charge, stabilization, structural changes, wettability, the exclusion of other gases, the activation of compounds, changes in plasticity, and changes in membrane permeability.

Mitz, M. A.↗

High gas velocity burner tests on silicon carbide and silicon nitride at 1200 C

Ten SiC materials and five Si3N4 materials were exposed in a Mach 1-gas-velocity burner simulating a gas-turbine engine environment. All materials studied are commercially available. Cyclic tests up to 100 hours' duration were conducted at specimen temperatures of 1200 C. A specimen geometry was used that develops thermal stresses during thermal cycling in a manner similar to blades and vanes of a gas turbine engine. Materials were compared on a basis of weight change, dimensional reductions, metallography, fluorescent-penetrant inspection, X-ray diffraction analyses, failure mode, and general appearance. One hot-pressed SiC, one reaction-sintered SiC, and three hot-pressed Si3N4 materials survived the program goal of 100 one-hour cycles of exposures. Of the materials that failed to meet the program goal, thermal fatigue was identified as the exclusive failure mode.

Sanders, W. A.↗

Infrared-pumped third-harmonic and sum-frequency generation in diatomic molecules

Using molecular hydrogen as a model system, we present a calculation which demonstrates the feasibility of efficient third-harmonic and sum-frequency generation of IR laser radiation by diatomic molecular gases. A conversion efficiency of 10% without phase matching is achievable with a modest laser intensity of about 20 MW/sq cm. In addition to a two-photon resonance, the efficient conversion depends on a mechanism which makes use of virtual vibronic transitions exclusively. Possible methods for phase matching are also suggested.

She, C. Y.↗

Guide to the use of Mariner images

Planetary imaging from unmanned spacecraft, almost exclusively done by digital systems, is examined. The Mars Mariner 9 television camera, representative of such systems, is considered. Each image consists of 700 lines, each containing 832 picture elements, or pixels. Each pixel contains nine binary bits of information capable of displaying 512 discrete brightness levels. Several problems inherent in television systems are discussed. These include nonuniform target response, residual images, noise, and blemishes. These defects can be removed to some extent by decalibration of the image. The final product is geometrically corrected for camera distortion and photometrically corrected. Several versions of the decalibrated images are available. The most generally useful are the geometrically corrected images with enhanced contrast. The Mariner 10 imaging of Mercury is briefly discussed.

Saunders, R. S.↗

Detection and mapping of mineralized areas in the Cortez-Uinta Belt, Utah-Nevada, using computer-enhanced ERTS imagery

The author has identified the following significant results. Mineralogical differences between hydrothermally altered rocks and most unaltered rocks in south central Nevada cause visible and near infrared (0.45-2.4 micron) spectral reflectance differences which can be used to discriminate broad categories of rocks in multispectral images. The most important mineralogical differences are the increased abundance of goethite, hematite, jarosite, alunite, montmorillonite, and kaolinite in the altered zones. Because of the wavelength positions and widths of the LANDSAT MSS bands, these spectral differences are not apparent in individual or color infrared composite MSS images. The technique developed to enhance these subtle spectral differences combines ratioing of the MSS bands and contrast stretching. Field evaluation of color-ratio composite shows that, after exclusion of alluvial areas, approximately 80% of the green and brown color patterns are related to hydrothermal alteration. The remaining 20% consists mainly of pink hematitic crystallized tuff and tan or red ferruginous shale and siltstone.

Rowan, L. C.↗

A digital computer propulsion control facility: Description of capabilities and summary of experimental program results

Flight weight digital computers are being used today to carry out many of the propulsion system control functions previously delegated exclusively to hydromechanical controllers. An operational digital computer facility for propulsion control mode studies has been used successfully in several experimental programs. This paper describes the system and some of the results concerned with engine control, inlet control, and inlet engine integrated control. Analytical designs for the digital propulsion control modes include both classical and modern/optimal techniques.

Zeller, J. R.↗

Beaufort Sea ice zones as delineated by microwave imagery

Microwave and infrared data were obtained from a research aircraft over the Beaufort Sea ice from the shoreline of Harrison Bay northward to a latitude of almost 81 deg N. The data acquired were compared with microwave data obtained on the surface at an approximate position of 75 deg N, 150 deg W. Over this north-south transect of the polar ice canopy it was discovered that the sea ice could be divided into five distinct zones. The shorefast sea ice was found to consist uniformly of first-year sea ice. The second zone was found to be a mixture of first-year sea ice, medium size multiyear floes, and many recently refrozen leads, polynyas, and open water; considerable shearing activity was evident in this zone. The third zone was a mixture of first-year and multiyear sea ice which had a uniform microwave signature. The fourth zone was found to be a mixture of first-year sea ice and medium-to-large size multiyear floes which was similar in composition to the second zone. The fifth zone was almost exclusively multiyear ice extending to the North Pole.

Campbell, W. J.↗

Distribution of small channels on the Martian surface

The distribution of small channels on Mars has been mapped from Mariner 9 images at the 1:5,000,000 scale. The small channels referred to here are small valleys ranging in width from the resolution limit of the Mariner 9 wide-angle images (about 1 km) to about 10 km. The greatest density of small channels occurs in dark cratered terrain. This dark zone forms a broad subequatorial band around the planet. The observed distribution may be the result of decreased small-channel visibility in bright areas due to obscuration by a high albedo dust or sediment mantle. Crater densities within two small-channel segments show crater size-frequency distributions consistent with those of the oldest of the heavily cratered plains units. Such crater densities coupled with the almost exclusive occurrence of small channels in old cratered terrain and the generally degraded appearance of small channels in the high-resolution images (about 100 m) imply a major episode of small-channel formation early in Martian geologic history.

Pieri, D.↗