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At least 307 records · Page 17

Lunar Simple Crater Impact Melt Volumes

Impact melt is observed in simple lunar craters having diameters as small as less than 200 m. The presence of ponds of impact melt on the floor of such small craters is interpreted to indicate vertical impacts. Data from the LRO LROC and LOLA experiments allow quantitative estimates of the volume of impact melt in simple crater. Such estimates allow for validation of theoretical models of impact melt generation and examination of target effects. Preliminary data have considerable scatter but are broadly consistent with the models.

Plescia, Jeffrey B.↗

A study of application of remote sensing to river forecasting. Volume 2: Detailed technical report, NASA-IBM streamflow forecast model user's guide

The Model is described along with data preparation, determining model parameters, initializing and optimizing parameters (calibration) selecting control options and interpreting results. Some background information is included, and appendices contain a dictionary of variables, a source program listing, and flow charts. The model was operated on an IBM System/360 Model 44, using a model 2250 keyboard/graphics terminal for interactive operation. The model can be set up and operated in a batch processing mode on any System/360 or 370 that has the memory capacity. The model requires 210K bytes of core storage, and the optimization program, OPSET (which was used previous to but not in this study), requires 240K bytes. The data band for one small watershed requires approximately 32 tracks of disk storage.

Source record↗

A Simplified Model of VIPER Thermal Management System. Part II: Integrated Vehicle

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) thermal management system (TMS) relies on four loop heat pipes (LHPs) to transport electronic waste heat to the vehicle cooling radiative surface and avoid overheating. The TMS has also ten constant conductance heat pipes (CCHPs) dedicated to balance the thermal load within the internal environment where the avionics boxes are mounted, also called warm electronic box (WEB), and to transport the heat from two of the science payload instruments. The TMS also uses two thermal straps to thermally link the batteries to the WEB. These thermal components, in addition to heaters, thermostat, multi-layer insulation (MLIs), and isolators forms the core of the VIPER TMS. The complex heat transport balance managed by the TMS is challenging to characterize and model. The more fidelity and granularity of a model, the more costly the computational resources needed and the longer the simulation and modeling time. When the priority is to provide quick but reliable assessments of the thermal performance or real time thermal feedback for training of console operators, simplified modeling tools are needed. To satisfy that need, this paper describes the effort to develop and correlate a model of VIPER TMS based on control volume approach. The correlation effort in particular focuses on hibernation, cold thermal balance, and hot thermal balance data from the integrated vehicle thermal vacuum (TVAC) test. Thus, the correlated model captures the heat leaks during hibernations and the performance at two extremes, bounding, operating scenarios.

Loop Heat Pipe↗

A Simplified Model of VIPER Thermal Management System. Part II: Integrated Vehicle

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) thermal management system (TMS) relies on four loop heat pipes (LHPs) to transport electronic waste heat to the vehicle cooling radiative surface and avoid overheating. The TMS has also ten constant conductance heat pipes (CCHPs) dedicated to balance the thermal load within the internal environment where the avionics boxes are mounted, also called warm electronic box (WEB), and to transport the heat from two of the science payload instruments. The TMS also uses two thermal straps to thermally link the batteries to the WEB. These thermal components, in addition to heaters, thermostat, multi-layer insulation (MLIs), and isolators forms the core of the VIPER TMS. The complex heat transport balance managed by the TMS is challenging to characterize and model. The more fidelity and granularity of a model, the more costly the computational resources needed and the longer the simulation and modeling time. When the priority is to provide quick but reliable assessments of the thermal performance or real time thermal feedback for training of console operators, simplified modeling tools are needed. To satisfy that need, this paper describes the effort to develop and correlate a model of VIPER TMS based on control volume approach. The correlation effort in particular focuses on hibernation, cold thermal balance, and hot thermal balance data from the integrated vehicle thermal vacuum (TVAC) test. Thus, the correlated model captures the heat leaks during hibernations and the performance at two extremes, bounding, operating scenarios.

Thermal Modeling↗

Experimental Surface Pressure Data Obtained on 65 deg Delta Wing Across Reynolds Number and Mach Number Ranges: Sharp Leading Edge - Volume 1

An experimental wind tunnel test of a 65 deg delta wing model with interchangeable leading edges was conducted in the Langley National Transonic Facility (NTF). The objective was to investigate the effects of Reynolds and Mach numbers on slender-wing leading-edge vortex flows with four values of wing leading-edge bluntness. Experimentally obtained pressure data are presented without analysis in tabulated and graphical formats across a Reynolds number range of 6 x 10(exp 6) to 36 x 10(exp 6) at a Mach number of 0.85 and across a Mach number range of 0.4 to 0.9 at a Reynolds number of 6 x 10(exp 6). Normal-force and pitching-moment coefficient plots for these Reynolds number and Mach number ranges are also presented.

Chu, Julio↗

Effect of measured material properties on the finite element analysis of an OH-58 composite tail boom

A static and dynamic finite element analysis is conducted on a U.S. Army OH-58 composite tail boom and compared with test data. The tail boom is a filament-wound graphite/epoxy monocoque structure. The structural design of the composite tail boom skin is based on 50-percent graphite fiber volume. However, material tests on representative samples of the tail boom skin reveal that the graphite fiber-volume fraction varied from 44.6 to 49.3 percent. To determine the effect of using measured material properties, static and dynamic finite element analyses are conducted for three fiber-volume conditions of 45, 48, and 50 percent. The static and dynamic model with the 45-percent fiber-volume graphite skins gives the closest agreement with test data.

Bowman, L. M.↗

Small-Scale Drop Size Variability: Impact on Estimation of Cloud Optical Properties

Most cloud radiation models and conventional data processing techniques assume that the mean number of drops of a given radius is proportional to volume. The analysis of microphysical data on liquid water drop sizes shows that, for sufficiently small volumes, this proportionality breaks down; the number of cloud drops of a given radius is instead proportional to the volume raised to a drop size-dependent nonunit power. The coefficient of proportionality, a generalized drop concentration, is a function of the drop size. For abundant small drops the power is unity as assumed in the conventional approach. However, for rarer large drops, it falls increasingly below unity. This empirical fact leads to drop clustering, with the larger drops exhibiting a greater degree of clustering. The generalized drop concentration shows the mean number of drops per cluster, while the power characterizes the occurrence frequency of clusters. With a fixed total number of drops in a cloud, a decrease in frequency of clusters is accompanied by a corresponding increase in the generalized concentration. This initiates a competing process missed in the conventional models: an increase in the number of drops per cluster enhances the impact of rarer large drops on cloud radiation while a decrease in the frequency suppresses it. Because of the nonlinear relationship between the number of clustered drops and the volume, these two opposite tendencies do not necessarily compensate each other. The data analysis suggests that clustered drops likely have a stronger radiative impact compared to their unclustered counterpart; ignoring it results in underestimation of the contribution from large drops to cloud horizontal optical path.

Knyazikhin, Y.↗

Virginia precipitation scatter experiment: Data analysis

Rain scatter and surface rain rate data were obtained from October 3, 1970 to October 2, 1971 using a bistatic radar system and tipping bucket rain gauges located in southeastern Virginia. The data showed that interference may occur between earth and terrestrial stations located within 80 km of each other either by mainlobe-to-mainlobe coupling or sidelobe-to-mainlobe coupling. The data further show that the distributions of scattering cross section per unit volume measured at several heights and estimated from surface rain gauge data were different. The density functions for the scattering cross section per unit volume values measured at a 3 km height and estimated from surface rain rate data were identical only for summer thundershowers. The data showed that the CCIR model used to estimate interference due to rain is inadequate because the cell size and change of scattering cross section per unit volume with height estimates of the model predict transmission loss values that are too low (more interference than will occur).

Crane, R. K.↗

Quantitative interpretation of Great Lakes remote sensing data

The paper discusses the quantitative interpretation of Great Lakes remote sensing water quality data. Remote sensing using color information must take into account (1) the existence of many different organic and inorganic species throughout the Great Lakes, (2) the occurrence of a mixture of species in most locations, and (3) spatial variations in types and concentration of species. The radiative transfer model provides a potential method for an orderly analysis of remote sensing data and a physical basis for developing quantitative algorithms. Predictions and field measurements of volume reflectances are presented which show the advantage of using a radiative transfer model. Spectral absorptance and backscattering coefficients for two inorganic sediments are reported.

Shook, D. F.↗

Computational and Experimental Study of Supersonic Nozzle Flow and Aft-Deck Interactions

NASA has been conducting research into reducing sonic boom and changing FAA regulations to allow for supersonic commercial transport over land in the United States. This particular study looks at a plume passing through a shock generated from an aft deck on a nacelle; the aft deck is meant to represent the trailing edge of a wing. NASA Langley Research Center USM3D CFD code results are compared to the experimental data taken at the NASA Glenn Research Center 1-foot by 1-foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. This study included examining two turbulence models along with different volume sourcing methods for grid generation. The results show that using the k-epsilon turbulence model within USM3D produced shock signatures that closely follow the experimental data at a variety of nozzle pressure ratio settings.

Bruce, Walter E., IV↗

Assimilation of Cloud- and Land-Affected TOVS/ATOVS Level 1B Radiances in DAO's Next Generation Finite-Volume Data Assimilation System

The Physical-space/Finite-volume Data Assimilation System (fvDAS) is the next generation global atmospheric data assimilation system in development at the Data Assimilation Office (DAO) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. It is based on a new finite-volume general circulation model jointly developed by NASA and NCAR, and on the Physical-Space Statistical Analysis System (PSAS) developed at the DAO. In this talk we will focus on the assimilation of data from the (Advanced) TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (ATOVS), with emphasis on the impact of cloud- and land-affected level 1B radiances. Recently, it has been shown that the use of observations from satellite-borne microwave and infrared radiometers in data assimilation systems consistently increases forecast skill. Considerable effort has been expended over the past two decades, particularly with the (Advanced) TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (ATOVS), to achieve this result. The positive impact on forecast skill has resulted from improvements in quality control algorithms, systematic error correction schemes, and more sophisticated data assimilation algorithms. Despite these advances, there are still many issues regarding the use of satellite data in data assimilation systems that remain unresolved. In particular, most operational centers still do not assimilate cloud- and land-affected TOVS data. In this study, we evaluate the impact of assimilating cloud-and land-affected TOVS/ATOVS level 1B data in DAO's next generation fvDAS, using a 1D variational scheme. We will discuss the impact of these data on both tropospheric and stratospheric forecasts, as well as on the general aspects of the earth climate system.

Joiner, J.↗

Generating Solid Models from Topographical Data

A method of generating solid models of terrain involves the conversion of topographical data into a form useable by a rapid-prototyping (RP) machine. The method was developed to enable the use of the RP machine to make solid models of Martian terrain from Mars Orbiter laser-altimeter topographical data. The method is equally applicable to the generation of models of the terrains of other astronomical bodies, including other planets, asteroids, and Earth. Topographical data describe a terrain in terms of a set of three-dimensional coordinates [e.g., Cartesian (x,y,z) or polar (latitude, longitude, radius) coordinates] of points or nodes on the terrain surface. The input data for the RP machines are required to provide a three-dimensional description, not of a single surface, but of a volume in this case, a ground volume that underlies the terrain surface. The description is required to be in the form of triangular elements that connect the nodes of all the surfaces and that completely bound the volume, with no open areas, no overlap of triangles, and no extraneous geometric elements. The software used in the present model-generation method was written in IDL - an advanced programming language that affords a number of tools, including subroutines that triangularize surfaces. The software creates a volume from the topographical surface data by adding sides to the edges of the terrain surface and joining the sides with a bottom surface. Each of the sides is triangularized by use of IDL subroutines, and then the software searches for extraneous elements and removes them. Topographical data are usually presented in a grid corresponding to polar coordinates, so that a model generated from such data is equivalent to a topographical map in Mercator projection. However an RP machine is fully capable of including the curvature of a planetary body in a model that it makes. Therefore, the software also offers a capability to transform the topographical data to a projection onto a surface having a curvature corresponding to that of the surface of the modeled planet.

Keller, John W.↗

Terminal area energy management regime investigations utilizing an 0.030-scale model (47-0) of the space shuttle vehicle orbiter configuration 140A/B/C/R in the Ames Research Center 11 x 11 foot transonic wind tunnel (0A148), volume 1

Data obtained in wind tunnel tests are presented. The objectives of the tests were to: (1) obtain pressure distributions, forces and moments over the vehicle 5 Orbiter in the terminal area energy management (TAEM) and approach phases of flight; (2) obtain elevon and rudder hinge moments in the TAEM and approach phases of flight; (3) obtain body flap and elevon loads for verification of loads balancing with integrated pressure distributions; and (4) obtain pressure distributions near the short OMS pods in the high subsonic, transonic and low supersonic Mach number regimes. Testing was conducted over a Mach number range from 0.6 to 1.4 with Reynolds number variations from 4.57 million to 2.74 million per foot. Model angle-of-attack was varied from -4 to 16 degrees and angles of side slip ranged from -8 to 8 degrees.

Hawthorne, P. J.↗

Nonlinear Internal Waves in the South China Sea During ASIAEX

Internal wave distribution maps have been compiled from more than one hundred ERS-1/2, RADARSAT and Space Shuttle SAR images in the South China Sea (SCS) from 1993 to 2000. Based on these distribution maps, most of internal waves in the northeast part of SCS were propagating westward. The wave crest can be as long as 200 km with amplitude of 100 m, due to strong current from the Kuroshio branching out into the SCS. In recent Asian Seas International Acoustics Experiment (ASIAEX), moorings have been deployed in April 2000 and May 2001. Simultaneous RADARSAT ScanSAR images have been collected during the field test to integrate with the model and the in-situ measurements in the SCS. During ASIAEX in May 2001, many large internal waves were observed at the test area and were the major features for acoustic volume interaction. The environmental parameters have been calculated based on extensive CTD castings and mooring data. Nonlinear internal wave models have been applied to simulate the wave evolution on the continental shelf and the results compare reasonably with mooring measurements. The evolution and dissipation of huge internal waves on the shelf break, mode-two waves, elevation waves, and wave-wave interaction are very important issues for acoustic propagation. The implication of internal wave effects on acoustic propagation will also be discussed.

ACOUSTIC PROPAGATION↗

Seismically induced modification of lunar surface features

The formation of large impact craters and basins produced not only large volumes of ejecta but also catastrophic seismic waves. Theoretical models, extrapolation of terrestrial explosion data, and extrapolation of lunar impact data suggest surface displacements of 1-10 m at four crater radii from a Copernicus-size impact (4 x 10 to the 30th power ergs). Independent estimates of impact-generated stresses indicate that regions within 4 crater radii of an impact will receive shock waves with pressures exceeding 1 kbar. Greater areas also may receive shock effects as elastic waves following deep ray paths transform into shock waves near the surface. Additional seismic energy will be generated by impacts from secondary ejecta. The resulting large and long-lasting surface movement may contribute to the subdued appearance of the continuous ejecta blanket and secondary craters around large impact craters and to the degradation of small craters outside these zones.

Schultz, P. H.↗

Evaluation of spatial, radiometric and spectral Thematic Mapper performance for coastal studies

A series of experiments were initiated to determine the feasibility of using thematic mapper spectral data to estimate wetlands biomass. The experiments were conducted using hand-held radiometers simulating thematic mapper wavebands 3, 4 and 5. Spectral radiance data were collected from the ground and from a low altitude aircraft in an attempt to gain some insight into the potential utility of actual thematic mapper data for biomass estimation in wetland plant communities. In addition, radiative transfer models describing volume reflectance of eight water column containing submerged aquatic vegetation were refined.

Klemas, V.↗

Low speed wind tunnel test of a propulsive wing/canard concept in the STOL configuration. Volume 1: Test description and discussion of results

A propulsive wing/canard model was tested at STOL operating conditions in the NASA Langley Research Center 4 x 7 meter wind tunnel. Longitudinal and lateral/directional aerodynamic characteristics were measured for various flap deflections, angles of attack and sideslip, and blowing coefficients. Testing was conducted for several model heights to determine ground proximity effects on the aerodynamic characteristics. Flow field surveys of local flow angles and velocities were performed behind both the canard and the wing. This is volume 1 of a 2 volume report. The model, instrumentation, and test procedures are described. An analysis of the data is included.

Stewart, V. R.↗