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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1996

Turbulent flame propagation in partially premixed flames

Turbulent premixed flame propagation is essential in many practical devices. In the past, fundamental and modeling studies of propagating flames have generally focused on turbulent flame propagation in mixtures of homogeneous composition, i.e. a mixture where the fuel-oxidizer mass ratio, or equivalence ratio, is uniform. This situation corresponds to the ideal case of perfect premixing between fuel and oxidizer. In practical situations, however, deviations from this ideal case occur frequently. In stratified reciprocating engines, fuel injection and large-scale flow motions are fine-tuned to create a mean gradient of equivalence ratio in the combustion chamber which provides additional control on combustion performance. In aircraft engines, combustion occurs with fuel and secondary air injected at various locations resulting in a nonuniform equivalence ratio. In both examples, mean values of the equivalence ratio can exhibit strong spatial and temporal variations. These variations in mixture composition are particularly significant in engines that use direct fuel injection into the combustion chamber. In this case, the liquid fuel does not always completely vaporize and mix before combustion occurs, resulting in persistent rich and lean pockets into which the turbulent flame propagates. From a practical point of view, there are several basic and important issues regarding partially premixed combustion that need to be resolved. Two such issues are how reactant composition inhomogeneities affect the laminar and turbulent flame speeds, and how the burnt gas temperature varies as a function of these inhomogeneities. Knowledge of the flame speed is critical in optimizing combustion performance, and the minimization of pollutant emissions relies heavily on the temperature in the burnt gases. Another application of partially premixed combustion is found in the field of active control of turbulent combustion. One possible technique of active control consists of pulsating the fuel flow rate and thereby modulating the equivalence ratio (Bloxsidge et al. 1987). Models of partially premixed combustion would be extremely useful in addressing all these questions related to practical systems. Unfortunately, the lack of a fundamental understanding regarding partially premixed combustion has resulted in an absence of models which accurately capture the complex nature of these flames. Previous work on partially premixed combustion has focused primarily on laminar triple flames. Triple flames correspond to an extreme case where fuel and oxidizer are initially totally separated (Veynante et al. 1994 and Ruetsch et al. 1995). These flames have a nontrivial propagation speed and are believed to be a key element in the stabilization process of jet diffusion flames. Different theories have also been proposed in the literature to describe a turbulent flame propagating in a mixture with variable equivalence ratio (Muller et al. 1994), but few validations are available. The objective of the present study is to provide basic information on the effects of partial premixing in turbulent combustion. In the following, we use direct numerical simulations to study laminar and turbulent flame propagation with variable equivalence ratio.

Poinsot, T.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Adaptation to Coriolis force perturbation of movement trajectory; role of proprioceptive and cutaneous somatosensory feedback

Subjects exposed to constant velocity rotation in a large fully-enclosed room that rotates initially make large reaching errors in pointing to targets. The paths and endpoints of their reaches are deviated in the direction of the transient lateral Coriolis forces generated by the forward velocity of their reaches. With additional reaches, subjects soon reach in straighter paths and become more accurate at landing on target even in the absence of visual feedback about their movements. Two factors contribute to this adaptation: first, muscle spindle and golgi tendon organ feedback interpreted in relation to efferent commands provide information about movement trajectory, and second, somatosensory stimulation of the fingertip at the completion of a reach provides information about the location of the fingertip relative to the torso.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2011

Measuring Effective Leaf Area Index, Foliage Profile, and Stand Height in New England Forest Stands Using a Full-Waveform Ground-Based Lidar

Effective leaf area index (LAI) retrievals from a scanning, ground-based, near-infrared (1064 nm) lidar that digitizes the full return waveform, the Echidna Validation Instrument (EVI), are in good agreement with those obtained from both hemispherical photography and the Li-Cor LAI-2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer. We conducted trials at 28 plots within six stands of hardwoods and conifers of varying height and stocking densities at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, and Howland Experimental Forest, Maine, in July 2007. Effective LAI values retrieved by four methods, which ranged from 3.42 to 5.25 depending on the site and method, were not significantly different ( b0.1 among four methods). The LAI values also matched published values well. Foliage profiles (leaf area with height) retrieved from the lidar scans, although not independently validated, were consistent with stand structure as observed and as measured by conventional methods. Canopy mean top height, as determined from the foliage profiles, deviated from mean RH100 values obtained from the Lidar Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS) airborne large-footprint lidar system at 27 plots by .0.91 m with RMSE=2.04 m, documenting the ability of the EVI to retrieve stand height. The Echidna Validation Instrument is the first realization of the Echidna lidar concept, devised by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), for measuring forest structure using full-waveform, ground-based, scanning lidar.

Zhao, Feng↗
NASA NTRS1995

Rotational Energy Transfer Cross Sections in N2-N2 Collisions

Rotational inelastic transitions of N2 have been studied in the coupled state (CS, also called centrifugal sudden) and infinite-order-sudden (IOS) approximations, using the N2-N2 rigid-rotor potential of van der Avoird et al. For benchmarking purposes, close coupling (CC) calculations have also been carried out over a limited energy range and for even j - even j collisions only. Both the CC and CS cross sections have been obtained with and without exchange symmetry, whereas exchange is neglected in the IOS calculations. The CS results track the CC cross sections rather well. At total energies between 113 to 219 cm(exp -1) the average deviation is 14%. The deviation decrease with increasing energy, indicating that the CS approximation can be used as a substitute at higher energies when the CC calculations become impractical. Comparison between the CS and IOS cross sections at the high energy end of the CS calculation, 500 - 680 cm(exp-1), shows significant differences between the two. In addition, the IOS results exhibits sensitivity to the amount of inelasticity and the results for large DELTA J transitions are subjected to bigger errors. At total energy 113 cm(exp -1) and above, the average deviation between state-to-state cross sections calculated with even and odd exchange symmetries is 1.5%.

Huo, Winifred M.↗
NASA NTRS2016

The Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE)

The Primordial Inflation Explorer is an Explorer-class mission to open new windows on the early universe through measurements of the polarization and absolute frequency spectrum of the cosmic microwave background. PIXIE will measure the gravitational-wave signature of primordial inflation through its distinctive imprint in linear polarization, and characterize the thermal history of the universe through precision measurements of distortions in the blackbody spectrum. PIXIE uses an innovative optical design to achieve background-limited sensitivity in 400 spectral channels spanning over 7 octaves in frequency from 30 GHz to 6 THz (1 cm to 50 micron wavelength). Multi-moded non-imaging optics feed a polarizing Fourier Transform Spectrometer to produce a set of interference fringes, proportional to the difference spectrum between orthogonal linear polarizations from the two input beams. Multiple levels of symmetry and signal modulation combine to reduce systematic errors to negligible levels. PIXIE will map the full sky in Stokes I, Q, and U parameters with angular resolution 2.6 degrees and sensitivity 70 nK per 1degree square pixel. The principal science goal is the detection and characterization of linear polarization from an inflationary epoch in the early universe, with tensor-to-scalar ratio r < 10(exp. -3) at 5 standard deviations. The PIXIE mission complements anticipated ground-based polarization measurements such as CMBS4, providing a cosmic-variance-limited determination of the large-scale E-mode signal to measure the optical depth, constrain models of reionization, and provide a firm detection of the neutrino mass (the last unknown parameter in the Standard Model of particle physics). In addition, PIXIE will measure the absolute frequency spectrum to characterize deviations from a blackbody with sensitivity 3 orders of magnitude beyond the seminal COBE/FIRAS limits. The sky cannot be black at this level; the expected results will constrain physical processes ranging from inflation to the nature of the first stars and the physical conditions within the interstellar medium of the Galaxy. We describe the PIXIE instrument and mission architecture required to measure the CMB to the limits imposed by astrophysical foregrounds.

Kogut, Alan↗
NASA NTRS1991

Variations in magmatic processes among igneous asteroids

Six asteroid classes (types V, E, A, R, M, S) are composed primarily of differentiated assemblages produced by igneous processes within their parent planetesimals. These are identified by surface materials which deviate from a chondritic composition to a degree that require igneous chemical fractionation processes. There are large variations among these igneous asteroids in the peak temperatures attained, in the efficiency of magmatic phase separation, and in the depth within the original parent body exposed at the present surface. These variations provide important constraints on the nature of asteroidal heating events, on the differentiation processes within small planetary bodies, and on the disruption of those parent bodies. Variations due to depth within the parent body and due to degree of magmatic differentiation are detailed.

Gaffey, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Process capability determination of new and existing equipment

The objective of this paper is to illustrate a method of determining the process capability of new or existing equipment. The method may also be modified to apply to testing laboratories. Long term changes in the system may be determined by periodically making new test parts or submitting samples from the original set to the testing laboratory. The technique described has been developed through a series of projects in special topics manufacturing courses and graduate student projects. It will be implemented as a standard experiment in an advanced manufacturing course in a new Manufacturing Engineering program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus. Before starting a project of this nature, it is important to decide on the exact question to be answered. In this case, it is desired to know what variation can be reasonably expected in the next part, feature, or test result produced. Generally, this question is answered by providing the process capability or the average value of a measured characteristic of the part or process plus or minus three standard deviations. There are two general cases to be considered: the part or test is made in large quantities with little change, or the process is flexible and makes a large variety of parts. Both cases can be accommodated; however, the emphasis in this report is on short run situations.

Mcclelland, H. T.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Spectral and temporal properties of the X-ray pulsar SMC X-1 at hard X-rays

The binary X-ray pulsar SMC X- 1 has been observed at hard X-rays with the High Energy X-Ray Experiment (HEXE) on nine occasions between Nov. 1987 and March 1989. A thin thermal bremsstrahlung fit to the phase averaged spectrum yields a plasma temperature (14.4 +/- 1.3) keV and a luminosity above (1.1 +/- 0.1) x 10 exp 38 erg/s in the 20-80 keV band. Pulse period values have been established for three observations, confirming the remarkably stable spin-up trend of SMC X-1. In one of the three observations the pulse profile was seen to deviate from a dominant double pulsation, while at the same time the pulsed fraction was unusually large. For one observation we determined for the first time the pulsed fraction in narrow energy bands. It increases with photon energy from about 20 percent up to over 60 percent in the energy range from 20 to 80 keV.

Kunz, M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Characterization of the Edge Crack Torsion (ECT) Test for Mode III Fracture Toughness Measurement of Laminated Composites

The edge crack torsion (ECT) test is designed to initiate mode III delamination growth in composite laminates. An ECT specimen is a rectangular laminate, containing an edge delamination at the laminate mid-plane. Torsion load is applied to the specimens, resulting in relative transverse shear sliding of the delaminated faces. The test data reduction schemes are intended to yield initiation values of critical mode III strain energy release rate, G(sub IIIc), that are constant with delamination length. The test has undergone several design changes during its development. The objective of this paper was to determine the suitability of the current ECT test design as a mode III fracture test. To this end, ECT tests were conducted on specimens manufactured from IM7/8552 and specimens made from S2/8552 tape laminates. Several specimens, each with different delamination lengths are tested. Detailed, three-dimensional finite element analyses of the specimens were performed. The analysis results were used to calculate the distribution of mode I, mode II, and mode III strain energy release rate along the delamination front. The results indicated that mode III-dominated delamination growth would be initiated from the specimen center. However, in specimens of both material types, the measured values of G(sub IIIc) exhibited significant dependence on delamination length. Furthermore, there was a large amount of scatter in the data. Load-displacement response of the specimens exhibited significant deviation from linearity before specimen failure. X-radiographs of a sample of specimens revealed that damage was initiated in the specimens prior to failure. Further inspection of the failure surfaces is required to identify the damage and determine that mode III delamination is initiated in the specimens.

Ratcliffe, James G.↗
NASA NTRS2011

CFD Based Computations of Flexible Helicopter Blades for Stability Analysis

As a collaborative effort among government aerospace research laboratories an advanced version of a widely used computational fluid dynamics code, OVERFLOW, was recently released. This latest version includes additions to model flexible rotating multiple blades. In this paper, the OVERFLOW code is applied to improve the accuracy of airload computations from the linear lifting line theory that uses displacements from beam model. Data transfers required at every revolution are managed through a Unix based script that runs jobs on large super-cluster computers. Results are demonstrated for the 4-bladed UH-60A helicopter. Deviations of computed data from flight data are evaluated. Fourier analysis post-processing that is suitable for aeroelastic stability computations are performed.

Guruswamy, Guru P.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Estimating Total Open Heliospheric Magnetic Flux

Over the solar-activity cycle, there are extended periods where significant discrepancies occur between the spacecraft-observed total (unsigned) open magnetic flux and that determined from coronal models. In this article, the total open heliospheric magnetic flux is computed using two different methods and then compared with results obtained from insitu interplanetary magnetic-field observations. The first method uses two different types of photospheric magnetic-field maps as input to the Wang–Sheeley–Arge (WSA) model: i) traditional Carrington or diachronic maps, and ii) Air Force Data Assimilative Photospheric Flux Transport model synchronic maps. The second method uses observationally derived helium and extreme-ultraviolet coronal-hole maps overlaid on the same magnetic-field maps in order to compute total open magnetic flux. The diachronic and synchronic maps are both constructed using magnetograms from the same source, namely the National Solar Observatory Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope and Vector Spectromagnetograph. The results of this work show that the total open flux obtained from observationally derived coronal holes agrees remarkably well with that derived from WSA, especially near solar minimum. This suggests that, on average, coronal models capture well the observed large-scale coronal-hole structure over most of the solar cycle. Both methods show considerable deviations from total open flux deduced from spacecraft data, especially near solar maximum, pointing to something other than poorly determined coronal-hole area specification as the source of these discrepancies.

Wallace, S.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Influence of Tailored Applied Magnetic Fields on High-Power MPD Thruster Current Transport and Onset-Related Phenomena

This work investigated the effects of tailored, externally-applied magnetic fields on current transport and near-anode processes in the plasma discharge of a magnetoplasmadynamic thruster (MPDT). Electrical and plasma diagnostics were used to investigate how localized applied magnetic fields could mitigate the effects of the "onset" phenomena, including large-amplitude terminal voltage fluctuations and high anode fall voltages associated with unstable operation and anode erosion. An MPDT with a multi-channel hollow cathode was developed and tested with quasi-steady pulses of 1 millisecond duration at power levels of 36 kilowatts (20 volts, 1800 amperes) to 3.3 milliwatts (255 volts, 13.1 kiloamperes) with argon propellant in three different magnetic configurations: self-field, applied B field tangential to the anode lip near the exit plane, and applied cusp B field. The current pattern and current densities redistributed to follow the applied poloidal magnetic field lines, which created increased conduction paths to the anode. Also, the anode fall voltage was substantially reduced with both applied B field topologies over a large range of currents. For example, at 10.7 kiloamperes, the cusp applied magnetic field decreased anode fall voltages from 45-83 volts down to 15 volts or lower along much of the anode. The amplitude and frequency of the voltage fluctuations were also reduced over a broad range of currents with the applied fields. E.g., the standard deviations of the fluctuations were lowered by 37-49 percent at 8-9 kiloamperes. In addition, decreases in the mean terminal voltages as large as 31 percent were measured with the applied magnetic fields. These effects are shown to be associated with the increased current conduction along the applied magnetic field lines in the near-anode region. These results also suggest a reduction in frequency and intensity of current-concentrating filaments and anode spots, which contribute to erosion. Overall, both applied magnetic field configurations enabled significant reductions in onset-related behaviors relative to self-field operation. These improvements should lead to reduced anode erosion, i.e., improved thruster lifetime, and increased thruster efficiency with the applied fields. The applied fields used in this study differ from both the topologies and relative field strengths typically used in the vast majority of conventional, so-called "applied-field MPD thrusters" (AF-MPDTs). These results suggest a distinctive and more effective approach to influencing the near-anode phenomena and mitigating the deleterious effects of onset with appropriately designed applied magnetic fields.

delta-V↗
NASA NTRS1988

A figure control sensor for the Large Deployable Reflector (LDR)

A sensing and control system is required to maintain high optical figure quality in a segmented reflector. Upon detecting a deviation of the segmented surface from its ideal form, the system drives segment mounted actuators to realign the individual segments and thereby return the surface to its intended figure. When the reflector is in use, a set of figure sensors will determine positions of a number of points on the back surface of each of the reflector's segments, each sensor being assigned to a single point. By measuring the positional deviations of these points from previously established nominal values, the figure sensors provide the control system with the information required to maintain the reflector's optical figure. The optical lever, multiple wavelength interferometer, and electronic capacitive sensor, the most promising technologies for the development of the figure sensor, are illustrated. It is concluded that to select a particular implementation of the figure sensors, performance requirement will be refined and relevant technologies investigated further.

Bartman, R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

N2 broadening parameters of ozone at 9.6 microns

Pressure-broadening coefficients were determined for 156 O3 absorption lines made with the Fourier-transform spectrometer at the McMath Solar Telescope of the Kitt Peak National Observatory in the 9-micron region, with a resolution of 0.005/cm. O3 prepared from O2 by silent arc discharge and collected on cold silica gel was held at stable concentrations over 50 percent in a glass or stainless-steel cell with a rock-salt window, and broadened with dry N2. Interferograms were made in several scans of the interferometer during 30 min. The pressure-broadening coefficients were calculated by an iterative least-squares approach, a synthetic spectrum was constructed and compared to the actual spectrum, and the parameters were varied to achieve the best fit. It is shown that the estimated precision of the values reported is about 7 percent, and that the deviation from the theoretical calculations of Tejwani and Yeung (1975) averaged 7.6 percent (a small number of large discrepancies having been excluded).

Margolis, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Minimal cosmic background fluctuations implied by streaming motions

The minimal cosmic background radiation (CBR) anisotropy implied by the presence of peculiar motions of a given amplitude on some specified scale is calculated using a new, power spectrum-independent approach. If the tentative evidence for deviations from the Hubble flow of magnitude delta V/V roughly 0.1 at V roughly 5000 km/s is confirmed, microwave background fluctuations with a coherence scale of about 2 deg and dispersion delta T/T greater than 10 to the -5th are predicted. It is found that the existing upper limits on delta T/T are not inconsistent with v(r) = 500 km/s at r = 50/h Mpc. A reduction of the observational limits on the CBR anisotropy below the authors' minimal predictions for delta T/T would challenge the current interpretation of measurements of deviations from the Hubble flow. Gravitational instability without reheating as a mechanism for generation of the large-scale structure of the universe would be in severe difficulty.

Juszkiewicz, Roman↗
NASA NTRS1995

Average motion, structure and orientation of the distant magnetotail determined from remote sensing of the edge of the plasma sheet boundary layer with E greater than 35 keV ions

We study gradients of the energetic ion intesity observed at the edge of the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) by the energetic ion anisotropy spectrometer (EPAS) on International Sun Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE 3). In particular, we have determined the velocity of the boundary relative to the spacecraft in the direction perpendicular to the tail axis and the angle which the boundary normal makes to the spacecraft spin axis for 1160 PSBL encounters at X(sub GSM) greater than -240 R(sub E). By asuming that, on average, the edge of the PSBL is parallel to the cross-tail current sheet, we are then able to determine a number of properties of the structure, orientation and motion of the deep geomagnetic tail. We conclude the following: (1) Most crossings of the edge of the PSBL are caused by transverse motuion of the entire tail induced by solar wind direction variations, although some are caused by reconfiguration of the tail due to geomagnetic activity. (2) The typical velocity of the PSBL (and hence of the tail) in the direction perpendicular to the tail axis is 50-85 km/s. (3) The average twist of the tail is near zero, with the edge of the PSBL (and by inference the cross-tail current sheet) lying parallel to the ecliptic plane (however, large twists are found in individual events and the distribution of twists is broad, with one standard deviation of approximately 50 deg. (4) The width of the distribution decreases with downtail distance. (5) The variation of the distributions with cross-tail position reveals that this decreas in width is most likely due to the edge of the PSBL being concave, or significantly flared at the tail flanks, in the near-Earth region. (6) During days on which the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) has 'away' sector structure, the north lobe of the trail is twisted on average towards dawn by 7.0 +/-2.4 deg. (7) During days on which the IMF has 'toward' sector structure, the north lobe is tilted towards duskby 3.8 +/- 2.3. (8) A subset of events for which IMP 8 solar wind data are available show that, for southward IMF BH(sub z) the tail has a mean twist of -12.3 +/- 5.0 deg for IMF B(sub Y) greater than 0 and 5.5 +/- 3.8 deg for IMF B(sub Y) less than 0 (positive twist angles correspond to a tilt of the northern lobe towards dusk). (9) For northward IMF B(sub z) the tail has a twist of -23.9 +/- 5.0 deg for IMF B(sub Y) greater than 0 and 13.4 +/- 6.0 deg for IMF B(sub y) less than 0. Hence the tail appears more twisted on average for the IMF B(sub Z) northward case. (10) The distribution of tail twist is wider for lower levels of geomagnetic activity, indicating that the tail is able to twist more at lower levels of activity. (11) The data set reveals no evident effect of the earth's dipole wobble; tail orientation appears to be controlled by the solar wind and IMF, such that the GSE coordinate system may be appropriate for the study of field and plasma structures in the distant tail region.

Owen, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Flow properties along field lines in a 3-D tilted-dipole geometry

A 3-D MHD simulation of a global, tilted-dipole solar wind flow pattern is analyzed to determine flow properties along individual magnetic field lines. In the model, flow conditions near the Sun are chosen to provide a reasonable match to the interplanetary configuration prevailing during the recent south polar passage by Ulysses, i.e., a streamer belt inclined approximately 30 deg to the solar equator and speeds ranging from 325-800 km/s. Field lines all across the stream pattern are traced from 1 to 10 AU by following the motion of marker particles embedded in the flow. It is found that those field lines threading the core of the interaction region are subject to significant latitudinal and relative longitudinal displacement over this range of heliocentric distance. Thus, observations taken at a fixed latitude in the inner solar system sample, over the course of a solar rotation, field lines which connect to a range of latitudes in the outer heliosphere. Maps of the field line displacements are presented to help visualize these connections. In addition, it is found that depending upon the location relative to the CIR structure, the radial evolution of fluid elements frozen to different field lines can deviate considerably from that of the canonical solar wind. That is, for selected subsets of field lines, large speed changes (not just at shocks) can be experienced; the density variation can be far from 1/r(exp 2), and the magnetic field intensity need not decay monotonically with distance.

Pizzo, V. J.↗