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At least 343 records · Page 19

The Crab Nebula pulsar - Variability of dispersion and scattering

Previous investigations of the effects of interstellar dispersion and scattering on the waveform of the Crab Nebula pulsar (NP 0532) have indicated a two-screen scattering model with one variable screen and have revealed anomalously large phase residuals at 73.8 MHz. The relevant observational data are reanalyzed in order to bring the two-screen model into better agreement with theoretical models of the interstellar medium and to account for the low-frequency (73.8-MHz) phase anomaly. The wavenumber spectrum of electron-density fluctuations is examined along with its role in scattering models involving an extended medium, a thick screen, or a thin screen. A tenable unit impulse response is constructed for a thin screen, its Fourier transform is analyzed, and an attempt is made to obtain the dispersion measure and scattering constants for two screens. A comparison of the resulting pulse-broadening and delay effects with other theoretical predictions shows that all observed pulse-broadening and delay effects in NP 0532 are consistent with scattering by a single thick slab of plasma occupying no more than one quarter of the line of sight.

Isaacman, R.↗

Auroral kilometric radiation as an indicator of auroral magnetic disturbances

Satellite low-frequency radio measurements have shown that auroral kilometric radiation, an intense radio emission from the earth's auroral regions, is closely associated with auroral and magnetic disturbances. In this paper a detailed investigation of this relationship is presented, using the auroral electrojet (AE) index as an indicator of auroral magnetic disturbances and radio measurements from the Imp 6 spacecraft. This study indicates that the mean power flux of the 178-kHz radiation tends to be proportional to the 1.2 power of (AE) for AE more than 100 gamma and, with less certainty, to the square of (AE) for AE less than 100 gamma. The correlation coefficient between log AE and the logarithm of the power flux is 0.514. Occasionally, a kilometric radiation event is detected which is not detected by the ground magnetometer stations, even though an auroral substorm is in progress. This study shows that the remote detection of kilometric radio emissions from the earth can be used as a reasonably reliable indicator of auroral substorm activity.

Voots, G. R.↗

Auroral hiss on the ground at L approximately equal to 4

Auroral hiss is rarely detected at subauroral-zone ground stations, but during the 4-month period January to April 1976 it became very prevalent in the wide-band audio-frequency synoptic whistler records at Farewell, Alaska (L = 4.2). A possible reason for this is that in the normal reduction and retreat of auroral zone effects to higher latitudes at sunspot minimum the reduction in the particle precipitation which causes auroral absorption is greater than that in the softer precipitation which causes auroral hiss. The occurrence of auroral hiss at Farewell showed, at 21 hours LMT (local magnetic time), the same strong diurnal peak found at auroral zone and polar cap stations. The low-frequency cutoff of auroral hiss on the ground is also discussed.

Morgan, M. G.↗

Unsteady linearized transonic flow analysis for slender bodies

An unsteady linearized formulation based on Oswatitsch-Keune's parabolic method is developed to analyze transonic flow past oscillating slender bodies. In contrast to the widely used integral transform method, it is shown that all solutions can be derived by a simpler method directly in the physical plane. By various expansion procedures, low-frequency solutions then are derived according to two clearly defined frequency ranges. Adams-Sears' iteration is employed to account for the second-order effects. Stability derivatives are compared with available theories and data. It is found that the derivatives depend more sensitively on thickness than on the reduced frequency. Finally, a critical assessment of the present method is given.

Liu, D. D.↗

A general unified approach to modelling switching-converter power stages

A method for modeling switching-converter power stages is developed, whose starting point is the unified state-space representation of the switched networks and whose end result is either a complete state-space description or its equivalent small-signal low-frequency linear circuit model. A new canonical circuit model is proposed, whose fixed topology contains all the essential input-output and control properties of any dc-to-dc switching converter, regardless of its detailed configuration, and by which different converters can be characterized in the form of a table conveniently stored in a computer data bank to provide a useful tool for computer aided design and optimization. The new canonical circuit model predicts that, in general, switching action introduces both zeros and poles into the duty ratio to output transfer function in addition to those from the effective filter network.

Middlebrook, R. D.↗

Electrostatic turbulence in the magnetosphere

Plasma wave measurements from the IMP-6, IMP-8 and Hawkeye-1 satellites show that a broad region of intense low-frequency electric field turbulence occurs on the high latitude auroral field lines at altitudes ranging from a few thousand kilometers in the ionosphere to many earth radii in the distant magnetosphere. A qualitatively similar, but less intense, type of electric field turbulence is also observed at the plasmapause during magnetic storms. In the auroral regions the turbulence occurs in an essentially continuous band on the auroral L-shells at all local times around the earth and is most intense during periods of auroral activity. In this paper we summarize the basic characteristics of this electric field turbulence and consider the possible role this turbulence may play in the heating and acceleration of plasma in the magnetosphere.

Gurnett, D. A.↗

Core noise source diagnostics on a turbofan engine using correlation and coherence techniques

Fluctuating pressure measurements at several locations within the core of a turbofan engine were made simultaneously with far-field acoustic measurements. Correlation and coherence techniques were used to determine the relative amplitude and phase relationships between core pressures at these various locations and between the core pressures and far-field acoustic pressure. The results indicate that the combustor is a low-frequency source region for acoustic propagation through the core nozzle and out to the far-field. Specifically, it was found that the relation between source pressure and the resulting sound pressure involves a 180 deg phase shift and an amplitude transfer function which varies approximately as frequency squared. This is shown to be consistent with a simplified model using fluctuating entropy as a source term.

Karchmer, A.↗

Band-limited power flow into enclosures

Equations for the band-limited power flow to a cavity in the low-frequency regime are derived. The total power to cavity is obtained by summing separate calculations of the power from structural modes resonant in the band and power from structural modes resonant below the band. High-frequency relations compatible with the usual statistical energy analysis and generalized to include other excitations in addition to diffuse fields are also provided.

Pope, L. D.↗

Inward transport of a toroidally confined plasma subject to strong radial electric fields

The paper aims at showing that the density and confinement time of a toroidal plasma can be enhanced by radial electric fields far stronger than the ambipolar values, and that, if such electric fields point into the plasma, radially inward transport can result. The investigation deals with low-frequency fluctuation-induced transport using digitally implemented spectral analysis techniques and with the role of strong applied radial electric fields and weak vertical magnetic fields on plasma density and particle confinement times in a Bumpy Torus geometry. Results indicate that application of sufficiently strong radially inward electric fields results in radially inward fluctuation-induced transport into the toroidal electrostatic potential well; this inward transport gives rise to higher average electron densities and longer particle confinement times in the toroidal plasma.

Roth, J. R.↗

The coupling of Alfven and compressional waves

The article studies the hydromagnetic wave propagation characteristics in a mixture of cold and hot plasma in the presence of an inhomogeneous magnetic field. Electron and ion distribution functions with a temperature anisotropy and a density gradient are used to obtain the dispersion equation by solving the Vlasov equation and Maxwell equations. From the solutions of the dispersion equation we find that the Alfven waves can couple to unstable drift mirror waves under certain conditions. The polarization of the coupled waves is studied for varying parameters of temperature anisotropy and the cold to hot density ratio. From detailed comparison of the theoretical results with the low-frequency wave properties observed in the magnetosphere we propose that the storm-associated magnetic field oscillations with periods of 100-600 s might be caused by the coupling of Alfven waves and the unstable drift mirror waves.

Lin, C. S.↗

Excitation of low frequency waves by streaming ions via anomalous cyclotron resonance

The effect of a small population of streaming ions on low-frequency waves with frequencies below the ion cyclotron frequency is analyzed for three modes of interest: Alfven waves, magnetosonic waves, and ion-cyclotron waves. The instability mechanism is the anomalous cyclotron resonance of the waves with the streaming ions. Conditions for excitation of the three types of waves are derived and expressions for the growth rates are obtained. Excitation of Alfven waves is possible even if the ratio of the densities of the streaming ions to the thermal ions is very small. For magnetosonic waves, excitation can easily occur if waves are propagating parallel or nearly parallel to the ambient magnetic field. As for ion-cyclotron waves, it is found that for the ion-whistler branch the excitation is suppressed over a broader range of wave frequencies than for the fast magnetosonic branch.

Wu, C. S.↗

Manual control of yaw motion with combined visual and vestibular cues

Measurements are made of manual control performance in the closed-loop task of nulling perceived self-rotation velocity about an earth-vertical axis. Self-velocity estimation was modelled as a function of the simultaneous presentation of vestibular and peripheral visual field motion cues. Based on measured low-frequency operator behavior in three visual field environments, a parallel channel linear model is proposed which has separate visual and vestibular pathways summing in a complementary manner. A correction to the frequency responses is provided by a separate measurement of manual control performance in an analogous visual pursuit nulling task. The resulting dual-input describing function for motion perception dependence on combined cue presentation supports the complementary model, in which vestibular cues dominate sensation at frequencies above 0.05 Hz. The describing function model is extended by the proposal of a non-linear cue conflict model, in which cue weighting depends on the level of agreement between visual and vestibular cues.

Zacharias, G. L.↗

Transonic-flutter Investigation of Wings Attached to Two Low-acceleration Rocket-propelled Vehicles

Two low-acceleration transonic-flutter vehicles were launched and flown. The first carried two test wings, one of which fluttered at M = 0.92 at a frequency of 61.4 cycles per second. The reference flutter speed determined from two-dimensional theory for an unswept wing in incompressible flow is conservative when compared to the experimental flutter speed. The second vehicle carried two test wings, one of which failed at M = 0.71 because of low-frequency divergent oscillation. Since this failure was not caused by conventional flexure-torsion flutter, no comparison with a reference flutter speed can be made.

MISSILES, SPECIFIC TYPES↗

Balancing Vanguard Satellites

The Vanguard satellites and component parts were balanced within the specified limits by using a Gisholt Type-S balancer in combination with a portable International Research and Development vibration analyzer and filter, with low-frequency pickups. Equipment and procedures used for balancing are described; and the determination of residual imbalance is accomplished by two methods: calculation, and graphical interpretation. Between-the-bearings balancing is recommended for future balancing of payloads.

Simkovich, A.↗

Analysis of of Injection-Velocity Effects on Rocket Motor Dynamics and Stability

A concept of combustion time lag that includes dependency on injection velocity is introduced. The concept is used in the formulation of chamber transfer functions and in an analysis of low-frequency combustion instability. Theoretical frequency responses and stability boundaries are compared with those obtained when the injection-velocity effect on the time lag to be an important consideration, in the theory of chamber dynamics and combustion instability

Hurrell, Herbert G.↗

Near-Field and Far-Field Noise Measurements for a Blowdown-Wind-Tunnel Supersonic Exhaust Jet having about 475,000 Pounds of Thrust

Near-field and far-field noise surveys were made of the supersonic The exhaust jet of the Langley 9- by 6-foot thermal structures tunnel. The jet had a thrust rating of approximately 475,000 pounds. The sound power radiated was found to be about 3.6 x 10(exp 6) watts, and on an acoustical-mechanical efficiency basis this value is in reasonable agreement with data for smaller supersonic jets and for rocket engines of other investigations. Octave-band analyses of the near-field noise show that the maximum sound pressure levels in the low-frequency bands are greatest downstream, whereas maximum sound pressure levels in the high-frequency bands were greatest near the jet exit. A comparison of near-field noise measurements is made with data previously obtained for rocket engines. Noise survey measurements of the original jet are compared with similar data obtained after the addition of a 97-foot-long exit diffuser section, and an example of the application of this facility to the problem of acoustic environmental testing of a large space capsule is cited.

Mayes, William H.↗

Fermilab PIP II machine protection system digitized data noise elimination scheme and its FPGA implementation

In Fermilab's PIP-II machine protection system, beam loss signals from various detectors are digitized at 125 MS/s. Noise from both high-frequency sources and low-frequency 60 Hz AC power equipment can contaminate the data. To suppress noise across these ranges especially 60 Hz and its harmonics, which overlap with beam loss signal frequencies advanced digital processing beyond standard filtering is required. Several real-time functional blocks were simulated and tested on an FPGA: (1) a dual time-constant discharging integrator filter, (2) a de-ripple baseline extraction and storage block, and (3) a fast-recovery discharging integrator. The nonlinear IIR integrator filter removes high-frequency noise and feeds into the baseline extractor. Upon detecting abrupt beam loss, it switches to a longer time constant to prevent baseline distortion. The de-ripple block calculates a valid baseline by averaging over multiple 60 Hz periods, storing results in a 4096-word FPGA RAM. This baseline is subtracted from raw data before integration by the fast-recovery block, which resets quickly after use. All blocks achieved expected performance.

Wu, J. [Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000344329521)↗

A stable potential-based time-domain method for wideband elec- tromagnetic analysis

In previous research, the frequency-domain A-ϕ formulation has been validated using the finite element method for electromagnetic simulations of low-frequency and multi- scale problems, demonstrating excellent numerical accuracy, good matrix condition, and high computational efficiency. Time- domain simulations provide significant advantages for modeling wideband problems and are crucial for multiphysics applications. In this paper, the frequency-domain A-ϕ formulation is extended to the time domain. The central difference scheme is employed for temporal discretization to ensure both accuracy and stability. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the capability of the proposed time-domain method in wideband electromagnetic analysis.

Mekonnen, Minyichil↗