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At least 37 records · Page 2

Computation of turbulent flows on rotating bodies and ducts

A K-epsilon model for three-dimensional boundary layers modified to include anisotropy and one modified for rotating flows are described. Based on these models, the predictions of a space-marching code show good agreement with the flow data for a rotating cylinder and a rotating channel.

Pougare, M.

An Experimental Investigation To Determine Interaction Between Rotating Bodies

A brass (copper+zinc) wheel, with a 4-in diameter and 1.4 in thick, was used for this investigation. Ceramic ball bearings were used to safely spin the wheel up to 40,000 rpm. The wheel was also electrically insulated from the rest of the armature. For spinning, an air turbine was used. The rotational velocity was measured by two methods: (1) A simple strobe light and (2) a photodiode that detected laser beam pulses as they passed through a slot in the rotating shaft. The magnetic sensor is based on a giant magnetoresistivity, and consists of a balanced bridge circuitry. The position of the sensor was as close as possible to the rim of the wheel. The linear dimension of the sensor is approximately equal to 8 mm so that the offset from the surface is on the order of 15 percent. We did not use any goniometer system, so the accuracy of the angular position is not high, being estimated within a few degrees, with the main uncertainty being the direction of Earth's magnetic field. We attempted to fit the experimental data with the presented theory by selecting the best value for the electrical conductivity of the wheel. The results of this procedure are displayed, where the black dots represent experimental values. A slight misfit on the right shoulder can be due to slight angular misalignment from a 90 degree position. The obtained value for the resistivity is 43 n(OMEGA)m, which compares well with those listed. We can conclude, based on these measurements, that the proposed theory satisfactorily explains our experiments.

Grugel, R. N.

Apparatus for and method of compensating dynamic unbalance

An apparatus to stabilize a fine platform that carries a parabolic reflecting dish, utilized in connection with the large aperture, multichannel microwave radiometer, is discussed. It provides compensation for dynamic unbalance imparted to a fixed body by a shaft about which the rotating body rotates. Force components exerted on the fixed body by the rotating body in a plane at right angles to the axis are determined. In response to the determined force components, the rotational speed and effective direction of mass means mounted on the rotating body are controlled. The mass means has an effective axis of rotation in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis.

Hrastar, J. A.

Gravitational waves from rotating and precessing rigid bodies - Simple models and applications to pulsars

An axially symmetric, torque-free rigid body, rotating and precessing, emits gravitational quadrupole radiation at two frequencies, omega and 2 omega, corresponding to the l = 2, m = 1,2 spherical harmonics. The paper presents explicitly the waveforms of the two polarizations at both frequencies. From observations of gravitational waves, one can derive information about the body's orientation and its precession amplitude. Electromagnetic radiation emitted by a spot fixed on the surface of the body arrives in pulses at a mean frequency Omega which is typically different from omega. If the body is not axially symmetric but the amplitude of the precession is small, the gravitational radiation at the lower frequency omega is split into two frequencies on either side of the electromagnetic pulse frequency. Explicit waveforms for the two polarizations in this case are also presented.

Zimmermann, M.

The problem of exact interior solutions for rotating rigid bodies in general relativity

The (3 + 1) dyadic formalism for timelike congruences is applied to derive interior solutions for stationary, axisymmetric, rigidly rotating bodies. In this approach the mathematics is formulated in terms of three-space-covariant, first-order, vector-dyadic, differential equations for a and Omega, the acceleration and angular velocity three-vectors of the rigid body; for T, the stress dyadic of the matter; and for A and B, the 'electric' and 'magnetic' Weyl curvature dyadics which describe the gravitational field. It is shown how an appropriate ansatz for the forms of these dyadics can be used to discover exact rotating interior solutions such as the perfect fluid solution first published in 1968. By incorporating anisotropic stresses, a generalization is found of that previous solution and, in addition, a very simple new solution that can only exist in toroidal configurations.

Wahlquist, H. D.

Equations of motion for rotating finite bodies in the extended PPN formalism

The equations of motion for rotating finite bodies are computed in the perfect fluid metric in the extended parametric post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism of Will and Nordtvedt (1972) and are used to build a model of the solar system consisting of N oblate, homogeneous, stationary, self-gravitating masses of rotating perfect fluid. These equations contain relativistic acceleration terms which are currently observable or may be observable in the future with improved radio and laser ranging techniques.

Dallas, S. S.

Firing behavior of vestibular neurons during active and passive head movements: vestibulo-spinal and other non-eye-movement related neurons

The firing behavior of 51 non-eye movement related central vestibular neurons that were sensitive to passive head rotation in the plane of the horizontal semicircular canal was studied in three squirrel monkeys whose heads were free to move in the horizontal plane. Unit sensitivity to active head movements during spontaneous gaze saccades was compared with sensitivity to passive head rotation. Most units (29/35 tested) were activated at monosynaptic latencies following electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral vestibular nerve. Nine were vestibulo-spinal units that were antidromically activated following electrical stimulation of the ventromedial funiculi of the spinal cord at C1. All of the units were less sensitive to active head movements than to passive whole body rotation. In the majority of cells (37/51, 73%), including all nine identified vestibulo-spinal units, the vestibular signals related to active head movements were canceled. The remaining units (n = 14, 27%) were sensitive to active head movements, but their responses were attenuated by 20-75%. Most units were nearly as sensitive to passive head-on-trunk rotation as they were to whole body rotation; this suggests that vestibular signals related to active head movements were cancelled primarily by subtraction of a head movement efference copy signal. The sensitivity of most units to passive whole body rotation was unchanged during gaze saccades. A fundamental feature of sensory processing is the ability to distinguish between self-generated and externally induced sensory events. Our observations suggest that the distinction is made at an early stage of processing in the vestibular system.

Non-NASA Center

Computation and turbulence closure models for shear flows in rotating curved bodies

This paper is concerned with the effects of rotation and curvature on the turbulence closure model. The k-epsilon model that includes the effects of curvature has been modified to include the anisotropy in turbulence. A space-marching algorithm which solves the parabolized Navier-Stokes equations is coupled with the turbulence closure model to predict the turbulent shear flow over a rotating cylinder and inside a rotating channel. The agreement between the predictions and available data is good. The rotation and curvature effects are predicted well.

Pouagare, M.

Coriolis-force-induced trajectory and endpoint deviations in the reaching movements of labyrinthine-defective subjects

When reaching movements are made during passive constant velocity body rotation, inertial Coriolis accelerations are generated that displace both movement paths and endpoints in their direction. These findings directly contradict equilibrium point theories of movement control. However, it has been argued that these movement errors relate to subjects sensing their body rotation through continuing vestibular activity and making corrective movements. In the present study, we evaluated the reaching movements of five labyrinthine-defective subjects (lacking both semicircular canal and otolith function) who cannot sense passive body rotation in the dark and five age-matched, normal control subjects. Each pointed 40 times in complete darkness to the location of a just extinguished visual target before, during, and after constant velocity rotation at 10 rpm in the center of a fully enclosed slow rotation room. All subjects, including the normal controls, always felt completely stationary when making their movements. During rotation, both groups initially showed large deviations of their movement paths and endpoints in the direction of the transient Coriolis forces generated by their movements. With additional per-rotation movements, both groups showed complete adaptation of movement curvature (restoration of straight-line reaches) during rotation. The labyrinthine-defective subjects, however, failed to regain fully accurate movement endpoints after 40 reaches, unlike the control subjects who did so within 11 reaches. Postrotation, both groups' movements initially had mirror image curvatures to their initial per-rotation reaches; the endpoint aftereffects were significantly different from prerotation baseline for the control subjects but not for the labyrinthine-defective subjects reflecting the smaller amount of endpoint adaptation they achieved during rotation. The labyrinthine-defective subjects' movements had significantly lower peak velocity, higher peak elevation, lower terminal velocity, and a more vertical touchdown than those of the control subjects. Thus the way their reaches terminated denied them the somatosensory contact cues necessary for full endpoint adaptation. These findings fully contradict equilibrium point theories of movement control. They emphasize the importance of contact cues in adaptive movement control and indicate that movement errors generated by Coriolis perturbations of limb movements reveal characteristics of motor planning and adaptation in both healthy and clinical populations.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience

Bubble motion in a rotating liquid body

The behavior of a single gas bubble inside a rotating liquid-filled sphere has been investigated analytically and experimentally as part of ground-based investigations aimed at aiding in the design and interpretation of Shuttle experiments. In the analysis, a quasi-static description of the motion of a bubble was developed in the limit of small values of the Taylor number. A series of rotation experiments using air bubbles and silicone oils were designed to match the conditions specified in the analysis, i.e., the bubble size, sphere rotation rate, and liquid kinematic viscosity were chosen such that the Taylor number was much less than unity. The analytical description predicts the bubble velocity and its asymptotic location. It is shown that the asymptotic position is removed from the axis of rotation.

Annamalai, P.

Effect of field size, head motion, and rotational velocity on roll vection and illusory self-tilt in a tumbling room

The effect of field size, velocity, and visual fixation upon the perception of self-body rotation and tilt was examined in a rotating furnished room. Subjects sat in a stationary chair in the furnished room which could be rotated about the body roll axis. For full-field conditions, complete 360 degrees body rotation (tumbling) was the most common sensation (felt by 80% of subjects). Constant tilt or partial tumbling (less than 360 degrees rotation) occurred more frequently with a small field of view (20 deg). The number of subjects who experienced complete tumbling increased with increases in field of view and room velocity (for velocities between 15 and 30 degrees s-1). The speed of perceived self-rotation relative to room rotation also increased with increasing field of view.

Non-NASA Center

An Overset Grid Motion Driver for Resolving Entry Vehicle CFD Simulations with Large Changes in Wake Orientation

Time-accurate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using overset meshes can enable reduced computational cost compared to a rigid, monolithic mesh for blunt-body atmospheric entry vehicles. If the vehicle has a significant change in attitude, the high-density region of the overset mesh designed for resolving the subsonic wake can be kept in position as the wake orientation changes relative to the body. Current simulations generally keep the wake mesh fixed in attitude while the body rotates, assuming the wake orientation remains relatively constant. However, changes in the relative velocity over a long-duration simulation or effects of the body geometry can invalidate this assumption. This work presents a method for calculating the desired mesh orientation to resolve a blunt body wake using the atmosphere-relative velocity of the vehicle. A motion driver using these calculations is implemented in a CFD-in-the-loop flight model bridging the FUN3D flow solver and POST2 trajectory propagator. Overset meshing is performed using the Yoga extension for FUN3D. Results are presented for simulations with both overset and monolithic meshes under large changes in relative velocity (and therefore wake orientation). The results demonstrate that the motion driver successfully orients an overset wake mesh to capture the subsonic wake with sufficient resolution despite variable body rotation and body-relative freestream velocity.

CFD