Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “frequency conversion”

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 307 records · Page 17

Stimulated Raman up-conversion of electromagnetic waves by a gyrating electron beam

A gyrating electron beam supports negative energy modes near the harmonics of electron-cyclotron frequency. An electromagnetic wave passing through such a beam parametrically up-converts into high-frequency electromagnetic modes separated from the pump frequency by the electron-cyclotron harmonics. The growth rate for this process varies directly as the oscillatory velocity of beam electrons caused by the pump and as square root of the beam density. It has a maximum at values of scattering angle close to 180 deg and is also implicitly dependent on the beam veocity and the cyclotron frequency of electrons. The effect of a cold electron component is to reduce the growth rate.

Sharma, O. P.↗

Hybrid integrated optic modules for real-time signal processing

The most recent progress on four relatively new hybrid integrated optic device modules in LiNbO3 waveguides and one in YIG/GGG waveguide that are currently being studied are discussed. The five hybrid modules include a time-integrating acoustooptic correlator, a channel waveguide acoustooptic frequency shifter/modulator, an electrooptic channel waveguide total internal reflection moculator/switch, an electrooptic analog-to-digital converter using a Fabry-Perot modulator array, and a noncollinear magnetooptic modulator using magnetostatic surface waves. All of these devices possess the desirable characteristics of very large bandwidth (GHz or higher), very small substrate size along the optical path (typically 1.5 cm or less), single-mode optical propagation, and low drive power requirement. The devices utilize either acoustooptic, electrooptic or magnetooptic effects in planar or channel waveguides and, therefore, act as efficient interface devices between a light wave and temporal signals. Major areas of application lie in wideband multichannel optical real-time signal processing and communications. Some of the specific applications include spectral analysis and correlation of radio frequency (RF) signals, fiber-optic sensing, optical computing and multiport switching/routing, and analog-to-digital conversion of wide RF signals.

Tsai, C. S.↗

Turbomachinery Application of Lagrangian Dynamics to the Motion of Continuous Discrete Rotors

The stability/instability condition of a turbine rotor with axisymmetric supports is determined in the presence of gyroscopic loads and rub-induced destabilizing forces. A modal representation of the turbine engine is used, with one mode in each of the vertical and horizontal planes. The use of non-spinning rotor modes permits an explicit treatment of gyroscopic effects. The two linearized modal equations of motion of a rotor with axisymmetric supports are reduced to a single equation in a complex variable. The resulting eigenvalues yield explicit expressions at the stability boundary, for the whirl frequency as well as the required damping in the presence of the available rub-induced destabilization. Conversely, the allowable destabilization in the presence of the available damping is also given.

Source record↗

Hexavalent Chrome Free Coatings for Electronics: Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding Effectiveness (SE)

Determine the suitability of trivalent chromium conversion coatings that meet the requirements of MIL-DTL-5541, Type II, for use in applications where high-frequency electrical performance is important. Evaluate the ability of hexavalent chrome free pretreated aluminum to form adequate EMI seals, and maintain that seal while being subjected to harsh environmental conditions. Assess the performance of trivalent chromium pretreatments against a known control hexavalent chrome pretreatment before and after they have been exposed to a set of environmental conditions. It is known that environmental testing causes a decrease in shielding effectiveness when hexavalent chrome pretreatments are used (Alodine 1200s). Need to determine how shielding effectiveness will be affected with the use of hexavalent chrome free pretreatments. Performance will be assessed by evaluating shielding effectiveness (SE) test data from a variety of test samples comprised of different aluminum types and/or conversion coatings. The formation of corrosion will be evaluated between the mating surfaces and gasket to assess the corrosion resistant properties of the pretreatments, comparing the hexavalent control to the hexavalent chrome free pretreatments.

hexavalent chrome free↗

A wide-band 760-GHz planar integrated Schottky receiver

A wideband planar integrated heterodyne receiver has been developed for use at submillimeter-wave to FIR frequencies. The receiver consists of a log-periodic antenna integrated with a planar 0.8-micron GaAs Schottky diode. The monolithic receiver is placed on a silicon lens and has a measured room temperature double side-band conversion loss and noise temperature of 14.9 +/- 1.0 dB and 8900 +/- 500 K, respectively, at 761 GHz. These results represent the best performance to date for room temperature integrated receivers at this frequency.

Gearhart, Steven S.↗

Stimulated Compton conversion of Langmuir waves by relativistic electron beams

The scattering of a Langmuir wave by a relativistic electron to produce a transversely polarized high-frequency EM wave by an inverse Compton process is investigated theoretically. The results of numerical computations are presented in diagrams and graphs, and it is shown that although net growth rates are predicted for several classes of Langmuir spectra, they are at least several orders of magnitude too small to account for the intense high-frequency emission seen in recent beam-plasma experiments (Benford et al., 1980; Kato et al., 1983) unless some unknown coherence mechanism is focusing the inverse-Compton emission. The implications of the mechanism for astrophysical beam-plasma systems such as quasars and radio galaxies are indicated.

Newman, D. L.↗

High-frequency ac power distribution in Space Station

A utility-type 20-kHz ac power distribution system for the Space Station, employing resonant power-conversion techniques, is presented. The system converts raw dc voltage from photovoltaic cells or three-phase LF ac voltage from a solar dynamic generator into a regulated 20-kHz ac voltage for distribution among various loads. The results of EASY5 computer simulations of the local and global performance show that the system has fast response and good transient behavior. The ac bus voltage is effectively regulated using the phase-control scheme, which is demonstrated with both line and load variations. The feasibility of paralleling the driver-module outputs is illustrated with the driver modules synchronized and sharing a common feedback loop. An HF sinusoidal ac voltage is generated in the three-phase ac input case, when the driver modules are phased 120 deg away from one another and their outputs are connected in series.

Tsai, Fu-Sheng↗

Frequency Agile Transceiver for Advanced Vehicle Data Links

Emerging and next-generation test instrumentation increasingly relies on network communication to manage complex and dynamic test scenarios, particularly for uninhabited autonomous systems. Adapting wireless communication infrastructure to accommodate challenging testing needs can benefit from reconfigurable radio technology. Frequency agility is one characteristic of reconfigurable radios that to date has seen only limited progress toward programmability. This paper overviews an ongoing project to validate a promising chipset that performs conversion of RF signals directly into digital data for the wireless receiver and, for the transmitter, converts digital data into RF signals. The Software Configurable Multichannel Transceiver (SCMT) enables four transmitters and four receivers in a single unit, programmable for any frequency band between 1 MHz and 6 GHz.

Freudinger, Lawrence C.↗

Fabrication and Performance of Planar Schottky Diodes with T-gate-like Anodes in 200 GHz Subharmonically-Pumped Waveguide Mixers

A T-gate-like structure has been developed, fabricated and tested as the anode for millimeter and submillimeter-wave Schottky diodes. The low parasitics of the T-anode diodes yield extremely high cutoff frequencies, making the diodes useable at frequencies well beyond 1 THz. The diodes were tested as an antiparallel-pair, integrated monolithically with microstrip circuitry on a quartz substrate, in a subharmonically pumped waveguide mixer. A double sideband noise temperature of 600 K with a conversion loss of 4.7 dB were measured at 200 GHz. This is believed to be the lowest noise temperature ever reported for a room temperature subharmonically-pumped Schottky diode mixer at this frequency.

Planar↗

Modeling and Analysis of Power Processing Systems (MAPPS), initial phase 2

The overall objective of the program is to provide the engineering tools to reduce the analysis, design, and development effort, and thus the cost, in achieving the required performances for switching regulators and dc-dc converter systems. The program was both tutorial and application oriented. Various analytical methods were described in detail and supplemented with examples, and those with standardization appeals were reduced into computer-based subprograms. Major program efforts included those concerning small and large signal control-dependent performance analysis and simulation, control circuit design, power circuit design and optimization, system configuration study, and system performance simulation. Techniques including discrete time domain, conventional frequency domain, Lagrange multiplier, nonlinear programming, and control design synthesis were employed in these efforts. To enhance interactive conversation between the modeling and analysis subprograms and the user, a working prototype of the Data Management Program was also developed to facilitate expansion as future subprogram capabilities increase.

Yu, Y.↗

A role for high frequency superconducting devices in free space power transmission systems

Major advances in space power technology are being made in photovoltaic, solar thermal, and nuclear systems. Despite these advances, the power systems required by the energy and power intensive mission of the future will be massive due to the large collecting surfaces, large thermal management systems, and heavy shielding. Reducing this mass on board the space vehicle can result in significant benefits because of the high cost of transporting and moving mass about in space. An approach to this problem is beaming the power from a point where the massiveness of the power plant is not such a major concern. The viability of such an approach was already investigated. Efficient microwave power beam transmission at 2.45 GHz was demonstrated over short range. Higher frequencies are desired for efficient transmission over several hundred or thousand kilometers in space. Superconducting DC-RF conversion as well as RF-DC conversion offers exciting possibilities. Multivoltage power conditioning for multicavity high power RF tubes could be eliminated since only low voltages are required for Josephson junctions. Small, high efficiency receivers may be possible using the reverse Josephson effects. A conceptual receiving antenna design using superconducting devices to determine possible system operating efficiency is assessed. If realized, these preliminary assessments indicate a role for superconducting devices in millimeter and submillimeter free space power transmission systems.

Christian, Jose L., Jr.↗

Real-Time Considerations for A Source-Time Dominant Auralization Scheme

A well-designed recording system can capture a moving source without risk of distortions, knowledge of the source or path, or transmission of information back to the source (i.e., a smartphone can reasonably record a plane flying overhead). This necessarily happens in real time. It would be good if signal processing schemes for auralization possessed these properties. Recent work on the NoTAP method of auralization proposed an asynchronous sample rate conversion scheme that keeps track of the (nonuniform) rate of incoming samples to formulate an effective incoming sampling frequency. This value allows the method to predict what frequency regions at the receiver are vulnerable to aliasing or imaging artifacts. Strategies of oversampling and filtering can be used to eliminate these problem regions while preserving as much of the original content as possible given the desired receiver sampling frequency. This approach creates a situation where the receiver processing can run independently of the source/path processing making it attractive for real-time implementation. This presentation discusses the challenges associated with producing a truly real-time scheme. A three-way tradeoff emerges between an interpolation mechanism that generates decorrelated noise, the computational burden, and the nearness to absolute real-time with which one wants the scheme to run.

Auralization↗

Auroral kilometric radiation - A theoretical review

Auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) is a high-density radio wave radiation in the frequency band from 50 to 750 kHz, with a peak around 250 kHz, that has been observed emanating from the auroral zone. In connection with its low frequency, the radiation can not penetrate through the ionosphere to earth, so all observations have been made by satellite. The AKR is closely correlated with the occurrence of discrete auroral arcs, which are believed to be generated by intense inverted V electron precipitation bands. A review is presented of several theories which have been proposed to explain the observed AKR. Attention is given to the conversion of electron cyclotron wave to O mode, the coherent amplification of gyroemission by velocity space instabilities, beam-driven electromagnetic instability via low-frequency turbulence, soliton radiation, loss cone instability, nonlinear beating of electrostatic waves, and the beam amplification of electromagnetic wave via coherent EIC density fluctuations.

Grabbe, C. L.↗

Combined operation of two ground transmitters for enhanced ionospheric heating

The combined operation of a high or medium frequency ground transmitter and a VLF transmitter for enhanced ionospheric heating is examined. The high or medium frequency transmitter operating in a pulsed mode produce short-scale density striations that can render the nonlinear mode conversion of the subsequently launched VLF waves into lower hybrid waves. Also if the VLF waves are intense enough, they can excite meter-scale density striations and lower hybrid waves via parametric instabilities. The expected ionospheric effects of the system are discussed.

Lee, M. C.↗

Turbine Engine Stability/Instability With Rub Forces Axisymmetric Rotor-Support Stiffness

The stability/instability condition of a turbine rotor with axisymmetric supports is determined in the presence of gyroscopic loads and rub-induced destabilizing forces. A modal representation of the turbine engine is used, with one mode in each of the vertical and horizontal planes. The use of non-spinning rotor modes permits an explicit treatment of gyroscopic effects. The two linearized modal equations of motion of a rotor with axisymmetric supports are reduced to a single equation in a complex variable. The resulting eigenvalues yield explicit expressions at the stability boundary, for the whirl frequency as well as the required damping for stability in the presence of the available rub-induced destabilization. Conversely, the allowable destabilization in the presence of the available damping is also given.

Gallardo, Vicente↗

Progress on millimeter wave Josephson junction mixers

Preset, recyclable Nb point contacts are tested as low-noise Josephson mixers at a signal frequency of 115 GHz. The best result achieved is a mixer noise temperature (single sideband) of 120 K with unity conversion efficiency (SSB) for a junction at 6 K. Variation of mixer properties with temperature and other parameters is presented.

Taur, Y.↗

Continued investigation of LDEF's structural frame and thermal blankets by the Meteoroid and Debris Special Investigation Group

This report focuses on the data acquired by detailed examination of LDEF intercostals, 68 of which are now in possession of the Meteoroid and Debris Special Investigation Group (M&D SIG) at JSC. In addition, limited data will be presented for several small sections from the A0178 thermal control blankets that were examined/counted prior to being shipped to Principal Investigators (PI's) for scientific study. The data presented here are limited to measurements of crater and penetration-hole diameters and their frequency of occurrence which permits, yet also constrains, more model-dependent, interpretative efforts. Such efforts will focus on the conversion of crater and penetration-hole sizes to projectile diameters (and masses), on absolute particle fluxes, and on the distribution of particle-encounter velocities. These are all complex issues that presently cannot be pursued without making various assumptions which relate, in part, to crater-scaling relationships, and to assumed trajectories of natural and man-made particle populations in LEO that control the initial impact conditions.

See, Thomas H.↗