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At least 217 records · Page 12

Three-dimensional calculation of shuttle charging in polar orbit

The charged particles environment in polar orbit can be of sufficient intensity to cause spacecraft charging. In order to gain a quantitative understanding of such effects, the Air Force is developing POLAR, a computer code which simulates in three dimensions the electrical interaction of large space vehicles with the polar ionospheric plasma. It models the physical processes of wake generation, ambient ion collection, precipitating auroral electron fluxes, and surface interactions, including secondary electron generation and backscattering, which lead to vehicle charging. These processes may be followed dynamically on a subsecond timescale so that the rapid passage through intense auroral arcs can be simulated. POLAR models the ambient plasma as isotropic Maxwellian electrons and ions (0+, H+), and allows for simultaneous precipitation of power-law, energetic Maxwellian, and accelerated Gaussian distributions of electrons. Magnetic field effects will be modeled in POLAR but are currently ignored.

Cooke, D. L.↗

A random distribution reacting mixing layer model

A methodology for simulation of molecular mixing and the resulting velocity and temperature fields has been developed. The ideas are applied to the flow conditions present in the NASA Lewis Planar Reacting Shear Layer (PRSL) facility, and results compared to experimental data. A gaussian transverse turbulent velocity distribution is used in conjunction with a linearly increasing time scale to describe the mixing of different regions of the flow. Equilibrium reaction calculations are then performed on the mix to arrive at a new species composition and temperature. Velocities are determined through summation of momentum contributions. The analysis indicates a combustion efficiency of the order of 80 percent for the reacting mixing layer, and a turbulent Schmidt number of 2/3. The success of the model is attributed to the simulation of large-scale transport of fluid. The favorable comparison shows that a relatively quick and simple PC calculation is capable of simulating the basic flow structure in the reacting and non-reacting shear layer present in the facility given basic assumptions about turbulence properties.

Jones, Richard A.↗

Laser Doppler velocimeter system simulation for sensing aircraft wake vortices. Part 3: The problem of reflection from the secondary mirror

Calculations are carried out to investigate the effects of obscuring the central portion of the secondary mirror. Two cases are treated: (1) a Gaussian distribution of reflectivity, and (2) a sharp-edged obscuration. Substantial reduction in reflection from the secondary mirror is found achievable, but the reduction was found highly sensitive to the form of the radial distribution of reflectivity. The total power reflected from the secondary mirror that is incident on the detector is estimated. Techniques for experimental testing of alleviation schemes are suggested.

Thomson, J. A. L.↗

Presenting the Rain-Sea Interaction Facility

The new Rain-Sea Interaction Facility (RSIF) was established at GSFC/WFF and the first finds are presented. The unique feature of this laboratory is the ability to systematically study microwave scattering from a water surface roughened by artificial rain, for which the droplets are at terminal velocity. The fundamental instruments and systems (e.g., the rain simulator, scatterometers, and surface elevation probes) were installed and evaluated during these first experiments - so the majority of the data were obtained with the rain simulator at 1 m above the water tank. From these initial experiments, three new models were proposed: the square-root function for NCS vs. R, the log Gaussian model for ring-wave elevation frequency spectrum, and the Erland probability density distribution for back scattered power. Rain rate is the main input for these models, although the coefficients may be dependent upon other factors (drop-size distribution, fall velocity, radar configuration, etc.). The facility is functional and we foresee collaborative studies with investigators who are engaged in measuring and modeling rain-sea interaction processes.

Bliven, Larry F.↗

A random distribution reacting mixing layer model

A methodology for simulation of molecular mixing, and the resulting velocity and temperature fields has been developed. The ideas are applied to the flow conditions present in the NASA Lewis Research Center Planar Reacting Shear Layer (PRSL) facility, and results compared to experimental data. A gaussian transverse turbulent velocity distribution is used in conjunction with a linearly increasing time scale to describe the mixing of different regions of the flow. Equilibrium reaction calculations are then performed on the mix to arrive at a new species composition and temperature. Velocities are determined through summation of momentum contributions. The analysis indicates a combustion efficiency of the order of 80 percent for the reacting mixing layer, and a turbulent Schmidt number of 2/3. The success of the model is attributed to the simulation of large-scale transport of fluid. The favorable comparison shows that a relatively quick and simple PC calculation is capable of simulating the basic flow structure in the reacting and nonreacting shear layer present in the facility given basic assumptions about turbulence properties.

Jones, Richard A.↗

Transonic Flutter Suppression Control Law Design Using Classical and Optimal Techniques with Wind-Tunnel Results

The benchmark active controls technology and wind tunnel test program at NASA Langley Research Center was started with the objective to investigate the nonlinear, unsteady aerodynamics and active flutter suppression of wings in transonic flow. The paper will present the flutter suppression control law design process, numerical nonlinear simulation and wind tunnel test results for the NACA 0012 benchmark active control wing model. The flutter suppression control law design processes using (1) classical, (2) linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG), and (3) minimax techniques are described. A unified general formulation and solution for the LQG and minimax approaches, based on the steady state differential game theory is presented. Design considerations for improving the control law robustness and digital implementation are outlined. It was shown that simple control laws when properly designed based on physical principles, can suppress flutter with limited control power even in the presence of transonic shocks and flow separation. In wind tunnel tests in air and heavy gas medium, the closed-loop flutter dynamic pressure was increased to the tunnel upper limit of 200 psf. The control law robustness and performance predictions were verified in highly nonlinear flow conditions, gain and phase perturbations, and spoiler deployment. A non-design plunge instability condition was also successfully suppressed.

Mukhopadhyay, Vivek↗

Transonic Flutter Suppression Control Law Design, Analysis and Wind Tunnel Results

The benchmark active controls technology and wind tunnel test program at NASA Langley Research Center was started with the objective to investigate the nonlinear, unsteady aerodynamics and active flutter suppression of wings in transonic flow. The paper will present the flutter suppression control law design process, numerical nonlinear simulation and wind tunnel test results for the NACA 0012 benchmark active control wing model. The flutter suppression control law design processes using (1) classical, (2) linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG), and (3) minimax techniques are described. A unified general formulation and solution for the LQG and minimax approaches, based on the steady state differential game theory is presented. Design considerations for improving the control law robustness and digital implementation are outlined. It was shown that simple control laws when properly designed based on physical principles, can suppress flutter with limited control power even in the presence of transonic shocks and flow separation. In wind tunnel tests in air and heavy gas medium, the closed-loop flutter dynamic pressure was increased to the tunnel upper limit of 200 psf The control law robustness and performance predictions were verified in highly nonlinear flow conditions, gain and phase perturbations, and spoiler deployment. A non-design plunge instability condition was also successfully suppressed.

Mukhopadhyay, Vivek↗

Transonic Flutter Suppression Control Law Design, Analysis and Wind-Tunnel Results

The benchmark active controls technology and wind tunnel test program at NASA Langley Research Center was started with the objective to investigate the nonlinear, unsteady aerodynamics and active flutter suppression of wings in transonic flow. The paper will present the flutter suppression control law design process, numerical nonlinear simulation and wind tunnel test results for the NACA 0012 benchmark active control wing model. The flutter suppression control law design processes using (1) classical, (2) linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG), and (3) minimax techniques are described. A unified general formulation and solution for the LQG and minimax approaches, based on the steady state differential game theory is presented. Design considerations for improving the control law robustness and digital implementation are outlined. It was shown that simple control laws when properly designed based on physical principles, can suppress flutter with limited control power even in the presence of transonic shocks and flow separation. In wind tunnel tests in air and heavy gas medium, the closed-loop flutter dynamic pressure was increased to the tunnel upper limit of 200 psf. The control law robustness and performance predictions were verified in highly nonlinear flow conditions, gain and phase perturbations, and spoiler deployment. A non-design plunge instability condition was also successfully suppressed.

Mukhopadhyay, Vivek↗

Transonic Flutter Suppression Control Law Design Using Classical and Optimal Techniques with Wind-Tunnel Results

The benchmark active controls technology and wind tunnel test program at NASA Langley Research Center was started with the objective to investigate the nonlinear, unsteady aerodynamics and active flutter suppression of wings in transonic flow. The paper will present the flutter suppression control law design process, numerical nonlinear simulation and wind tunnel test results for the NACA 0012 benchmark active control wing model. The flutter suppression control law design processes using (1) classical, (2) linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG), and (3) minimax techniques are described. A unified general formulation and solution for the LQG and minimax approaches, based on the steady state differential game theory is presented. Design considerations for improving the control law robustness and digital implementation are outlined. It was shown that simple control laws when properly designed based on physical principles, can suppress flutter with limited control power even in the presence of transonic shocks and flow separation. In wind tunnel tests in air and heavy gas medium, the closed-loop flutter dynamic pressure was increased to the tunnel upper limit of 200 psf. The control law robustness and performance predictions were verified in highly nonlinear flow conditions, gain and phase perturbations, and spoiler deployment. A non-design plunge instability condition was also successfully suppressed.

Mukhopadhyay, Vivek↗

Three-dimensional time dependent computation of turbulent flow

The three-dimensional, primitive equations of motion are solved numerically for the case of isotropic box turbulence and the distortion of homogeneous turbulence by irrotational plane strain at large Reynolds numbers. A Gaussian filter is applied to governing equations to define the large scale field. This gives rise to additional second order computed scale stresses (Leonard stresses). The residual stresses are simulated through an eddy viscosity. Uniform grids are used, with a fourth order differencing scheme in space and a second order Adams-Bashforth predictor for explicit time stepping. The results are compared to the experiments and statistical information extracted from the computer generated data.

Kwak, D.↗

A new approach to importance sampling for the simulation of false alarms

In this paper a modified importance sampling technique for improving the convergence of Importance Sampling is given. By using this approach to estimate low false alarm rates in radar simulations, the number of Monte Carlo runs can be reduced significantly. For one-dimensional exponential, Weibull, and Rayleigh distributions, a uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator is obtained. For Gaussian distribution the estimator in this approach is uniformly better than that of previously known Importance Sampling approach. For a cell averaging system, by combining this technique and group sampling, the reduction of Monte Carlo runs for a reference cell of 20 and false alarm rate of lE-6 is on the order of 170 as compared to the previously known Importance Sampling approach.

Lu, D.↗

Near-field structures in three-dimensional spatially-developing wakes

The effects of three-dimensional perturbations on a spatially-developing plane Gaussian wake are studied and quantified using a new numerical code. Results are presented for a elatively simple case since it appears that no 3-D spatially-developing simulations of plane wakes have been performed in the past. The inlet perturbation consists of a 2-D time-periodic forcing plus a spanwise-periodic array of steady streamwise vortices. The distortion of the 2-D vortices caused by the streamwise vortices will be discussed. The vorticity fields are compared to passive scalar fields which simulate the injection of smoke or low heat into the wake.

Buell, Jeffrey C.↗

Performance evaluation of land mobile satellite system under vegetative shadowing using differential multiple TCM and QPSK

A comparative analysis by computer simulation of the land mobile satellite system (LMSS) is presented for the uncoded quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), rate 2/3 8-PSK trellis coded modulation (TCM), and rate 4/6 multiplicity 2 8-PSK TCM schemes. An analytical model is used for simulating the fading channel. The simulation results show that under Rayleigh fades, the TCM designed for the fading channel is superior to uncoded QPSK and to the conventional TCM optimized for the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. The performance of differentially detected TCM under AWGN and fading is examined based on the preliminary results. Results of the uncoded QPSK with fading channel modeled with the empirical fade data are given.

Kim, Junghwan↗

Reliable fusion of control and sensing in intelligent machines

Although robotics research has produced a wealth of sophisticated control and sensing algorithms, very little research has been aimed at reliably combining these control and sensing strategies so that a specific task can be executed. To improve the reliability of robotic systems, analytic techniques are developed for calculating the probability that a particular combination of control and sensing algorithms will satisfy the required specifications. The probability can then be used to assess the reliability of the design. An entropy formulation is first used to quickly eliminate designs not capable of meeting the specifications. Next, a framework for analyzing reliability based on the first order second moment methods of structural engineering is proposed. To ensure performance over an interval of time, lower bounds on the reliability of meeting a set of quadratic specifications with a Gaussian discrete time invariant control system are derived. A case study analyzing visual positioning in robotic system is considered. The reliability of meeting timing and positioning specifications in the presence of camera pixel truncation, forward and inverse kinematic errors, and Gaussian joint measurement noise is determined. This information is used to select a visual sensing strategy, a kinematic algorithm, and a discrete compensator capable of accomplishing the desired task. Simulation results using PUMA 560 kinematic and dynamic characteristics are presented.

Mcinroy, John E.↗

A new eddy current model for magnetic bearing control system design

This paper describes a new VLSI-based controller for the implementation of a Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) theory-based control system. Use of the controller is demonstrated by design of a controller for a magnetic bearing and its performance is evaluated by computer simulation.

Feeley, Joseph J.↗

Simulation of Charge Collection to Spacecraft Surfaces: Freja Satellite

As spacecraft travel through plasma, spacecraft surfaces become charged by the collection of charged particles. This process is referred to as Surface Charging. These charges can be detrimental to the vehicle's electronic subsystems as they present a threat of electrostatic discharge (ESD) to onboard circuitry. The process of Surface Charging is complex and is affected by many elements. The charging of each surface is unique. The potential of an individual surface is dependent upon many variables including but not limited to the surface's geometry, material and its location. Each surface also has unique interactions with the surrounding plasma. Other factors that play large roles in the charging process is the density and temperature of plasma ions and electrons. Using Nascap-2k, a model of the Freja satellite has been constructed, and its auroral plasma environment has been imitated to simulate surface charging characteristics. The charging process of the Freja satellite has been modeled iteratively with incremental changes in both the Maxwellian electron temperature (eV) as well as the Gaussian electron energy (eV). This study provides an analysis of the sensitivity between spacecraft surface charging and these two primary variables of electron differential flux.

Wolfley, Olivia H.↗

Simulation of Charge Collection to Spacecraft Surfaces: Freja Satellite

As spacecraft travel through space plasma, spacecraft surfaces become charged by the collection of charged particles. This process is referred to as Surface Charging. These charges can be detrimental to the vehicle's electronic subsystems as they present a threat of electrostatic discharge (ESD) to onboard circuitry. The process of Surface Charging is complex and is affected by many elements. The charging of each surface is unique. The potential of an individual surface is dependent upon many variables including but not limited to the surface's geometry, material and its location. Each surface also has unique interactions with the surrounding plasma. Other factors that play large roles in the charging process is the density and temperature of plasma ions and electrons. Using Nascap-2k, a model of the Freja satellite has been constructed, and its auroral plasma environment has been imitated to simulate surface charging characteristics. The charging process of the Freja satellite has been modeled iteratively with incremental changes in both the Maxwellian electron temperature (eV) as well as the Gaussian electron energy (eV). This study provides an analysis of the sensitivity between spacecraft surface charging and these two primary variables of electron differential flux.

Wolfley, Olivia Hope↗

Maximum likelihood synchronizer for binary overlapping PCM/NRZ signals.

A maximum likelihood parameter estimation technique for the self bit synchronization problem is investigated. The input sequence to the bit synchronizer is a sequence of binary overlapping PCM/NRZ signal in the presence of white Gaussian noise with zero mean and known variance. The resulting synchronizer consists of matched filters, a transition device and a weighting function. Finally, the performance is examined by Monte Carlo simulations.

Wang, C. D.↗