Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “effective resolution”

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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Analysis of Near Simultaneous Jimsphere and AMPS High Resolution Wind Profiles

The high-resolution wind profile of the Automated Meteorological Profiling System (HRAMPS) is the proposed replacement for the Jimsphere measurement system used to support NASA Shuttle launches from the Eastern Test Range (ETR). Samples of twenty-six ETR near simultaneous Jimsphere and HRAMPS wind profiles were obtained for Shuttle program HRAMPS certification studies. Shuttle systems engineering certification is to ensure that spacecraft and launch vehicle systems performance and safety evaluations for each launch (derived from flight simulations with Jimsphere wind profile data bases) retain their validity when HRAMPS profiles are used on day-of-launch (DOL) in trajectory and loads simulations to support the commit-to-launch decision. This paper describes a statistical analysis of the near simultaneous profiles. In principle the differences between a Jimsphere profile and an HRAMPS profile should be attributed to tracking technology (radar versus GPS tracking of a Jimsphere flight element) and the method for derivation of wind vectors from the raw tracking data. In reality, it is not technically feasible to track the same Jimsphere balloon with the two systems. The aluminized Mylar surface of the standard Jimsphere flight element facilitates radar tracking, but it interferes with HRAMPS during simultaneous tracking. Suspending a radar reflector from an HRAMPS flight element (Jimsphere without aluminized coating) does not produce satisfactory Jimsphere profiles because of intermittent radar returns. Thus, differences between the Jimsphere and HRAMPS profiles are also attributed to differences in the trajectories of separate flight elements. Because of small sample size and a test period limited to one winter season, test measurements during extreme high winds aloft could not have been expected and did not occur. It is during the highest winds that the largest differences between Jimsphere and HRAMPS would occur because the distance between flight elements would be larger. Jimsphere radar tracking noise increases as a function of balloon displacement downrange. The Jimsphere data processing compensates for tracking signal/noise degradation by increasing the smoothing interval. The Jimsphere wind profile effective resolution is a function of downrange distance and altitude, whereas the effective resolution of the HRAMPS should be independent of those variables. The procedure used for editing Jimsphere spikes in Shuttle DOL profiles was not implemented for the Jimsphere profile measurements during the AMPS field tests. For this analysis a code was developed that essentially mimics DOL Jimsphere spike editing. Jimsphere profiles have somewhat more noise in the wavelength range less than 200m defined as the noise floor. No differences between Jimsphere and HRAMPS wind profile pairs have been found that would support denial of HRAMPS certification for application in Shuttle DOL applications. The reliability of the HRAMPS system, which is an important certification issue, is not addressed in this study.

Adelfang, S. I.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Experiments with explicit filtering for LES using a finite-difference method

The equations for large-eddy simulation (LES) are derived formally by applying a spatial filter to the Navier-Stokes equations. The filter width as well as the details of the filter shape are free parameters in LES, and these can be used both to control the effective resolution of the simulation and to establish the relative importance of different portions of the resolved spectrum. An analogous, but less well justified, approach to filtering is more or less universally used in conjunction with LES using finite-difference methods. In this approach, the finite support provided by the computational mesh as well as the wavenumber-dependent truncation errors associated with the finite-difference operators are assumed to define the filter operation. This approach has the advantage that it is also 'automatic' in the sense that no explicit filtering: operations need to be performed. While it is certainly convenient to avoid the explicit filtering operation, there are some practical considerations associated with finite-difference methods that favor the use of an explicit filter. Foremost among these considerations is the issue of truncation error. All finite-difference approximations have an associated truncation error that increases with increasing wavenumber. These errors can be quite severe for the smallest resolved scales, and these errors will interfere with the dynamics of the small eddies if no corrective action is taken. Years of experience at CTR with a second-order finite-difference scheme for high Reynolds number LES has repeatedly indicated that truncation errors must be minimized in order to obtain acceptable simulation results. While the potential advantages of explicit filtering are rather clear, there is a significant cost associated with its implementation. In particular, explicit filtering reduces the effective resolution of the simulation compared with that afforded by the mesh. The resolution requirements for LES are usually set by the need to capture most of the energy-containing eddies, and if explicit filtering is used, the mesh must be enlarged so that these motions are passed by the filter. Given the high cost of explicit filtering, the following interesting question arises. Since the mesh must be expanded in order to perform the explicit filter, might it be better to take advantage of the increased resolution and simply perform an unfiltered simulation on the larger mesh? The cost of the two approaches is roughly the same, but the philosophy is rather different. In the filtered simulation, resolution is sacrificed in order to minimize the various forms of numerical error. In the unfiltered simulation, the errors are left intact, but they are concentrated at very small scales that could be dynamically unimportant from a LES perspective. Very little is known about this tradeoff and the objective of this work is to study this relationship in high Reynolds number channel flow simulations using a second-order finite-difference method.

Lund, T. S.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Simulation of Wind Profile Perturbations for Launch Vehicle Ascent Flight Systems Design Assessments

Ideally, a statistically representative sample of measured high-resolution wind profiles with wavelengths as small as tens of meters is required for assessment of launch vehicle ascent flight systems component capability and vehicle operability for a selected launch site. At most potential launch sites a sample of high-resolution measured wind profiles may not exist. Representative samples of Rawinsonde wind profiles are more likely to be available because of the extensive network of measurement sites established for routine measurements at 12-hr intervals in support of national and international weather observing and forecasting activity. Such a sample, although large enough to statistically represent relatively large wavelength perturbations, would be inadequate for launch system design assessment applications because the Rawinsonde system can accurately measure wind perturbations with wavelengths no smaller than 2000m (1000m altitude increment). Wavelengths less than 2000m in the raw Rawinsonde data, which tend to be dominated by un-damped spurious balloon motion and radar tracking system noise, are filtered within the data processing scheme. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Jimsphere wind profiles (150/month and seasonal pairs) are the only adequate high resolution (approximately 150 to 300m effective resolution, but over-sampled at 25m intervals) data that have been used extensively in launch vehicle design, operability assessments and operational protection of vehicle systems for wind perturbation uncertainty. Jimsphere wind profiles have been measured at a few other potential launch sites but the number of profiles is relatively small and the samples are not statistically representative of the site dependent wind profile variability. A simulation process has been developed for enhancement of measured low-resolution Rawinsonde profiles that are more likely to be available in the vicinity of potential launch sites and are a statistically representative sample of wind profile perturbation wavelengths greater than 2000m. The enhancement produces perturbed wind profiles with wavelengths as small as desired for application in launch vehicle ascent flight simulations and design assessments.

Adelfang, S. I.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Long wavelength radar for geological analysis in vegetated terrain

In contrast to shorter wavelength radars, the range of returns from vegetated surfaces is appreciably less at L-band frequencies. However, the evaluation of differences in image quality due to changes in operational frequency is hindered by several system dissimilarities. In particular, a comparison of the Ka, X- and L-band radar imagery is difficult because of differences in 'effective' resolution. Though the physical resolution of these systems may be somewhat comparable, the inherent averaging of the real aperture systems (X-and Ka-) provides an apparent wider range of gray tones. This effect is related to the fact that at a scale where the resolution cell is discernable, the coherent scintillation of 'speckle' of the synthetic aperture L-band system masks tonal variations. This mismatch of effective resolution impedes detection of small changes in gray tone and makes subtle boundary changes less distinct.

Macdonald, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Effects of Spatial Resolution on the Simulated Dust Aerosol Lifecycle: Implications for Dust Event Magnitude and Timing in the NASA GEOS-5 AGCM

The NASA GEOS-5 atmospheric transport model simulates global aerosol distributions with an online aerosol module. GEOS-5 may be run at various horizontal spatial resolutions depending on the research application. For example, long integration climate simulations are typically run at 2 deg or 1 deg grid spacing, whereas aerosol reanalysis and forecasting applications may be performed at O.5 deg or 0.25 deg resolutions. In this study, we assess the implications of varying spatial resolution on the simulated aerosol fields, with a particular focus on dust. Dust emissions in GEOS-5 are calculated with one of two parameterizations, one based on the Goddard Chemistry, Aerosol, Radiation, and Transport (GO CART) model and another based on the Dust Entrainment and Deposition (DEAD) model. Emission fluxes are parameterized in terms of the surface wind speed, either the 10-m (GO CART) or friction (DEAD) wind speed. We consider how surface wind speeds and thus the dust emission rates are a function of the model spatial resolution. We find that spatial resolution has a significant effect on the magnitude of dust emissions, as higher resolution versions of the model have typically higher surface wind speeds. Utilizing space-borne observations from MISR, MODIS, and CALIOP, we find that simulated Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) distributions respond differently to spatial resolution over the African and Asian source regions, highlighting the need to regional dust emission tuning. When compared to ground-based observations from AERONET, we found improved timing of dust events with as spatial resolution was increased. In an attempt to improve the representation of the dust aerosol lifecycle at coarse resolutions, we found that incorporating the effects of sub-grid wind variability in a course resolution simulation led to improved agreement with observed AOT magnitudes, but did not impact the timing of simulated dust events.

Nowottnick, E.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Cross spectral analysis to determine the resolution and precision of Jimsphere and windsonde wind measurements

Spectral analysis of wind profiles measured by two systems, one consisting of Jimsphere balloons tracked by two precision tracking radars and the other of the Windsonde and a Meteorological Sounding System (MSS) tracker, was carried out to assess the effective resolution and precision of these two systems. Results obtained from the cross-spectral analysis of seven nearly simultaneous profiles from Jimsphere and MSS-Windsonde releases obtained in March and April, 1985 indicate that the coherence between the Jimsphere and Windsonde profiles was not as strong as between two independent radars tracking the same Jimsphere. The effective vertical resolution for the Jimsphere measurements was 150-300 m, while that for the Windsonde was above 500 m. The amplitude of the incoherent noise in the Jimsphere measurements was approximately 0.25 m/s, while that of the MSS-tracked Windsonde was about 1.2 m/s.

Smith, Steve A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Simulation of Wind Profile Perturbations for Launch Vehicle Design

Ideally, a statistically representative sample of measured high-resolution wind profiles with wavelengths as small as tens of meters is required in design studies to establish aerodynamic load indicator dispersions and vehicle control system capability. At most potential launch sites, high- resolution wind profiles may not exist. Representative samples of Rawinsonde wind profiles to altitudes of 30 km are more likely to be available from the extensive network of measurement sites established for routine sampling in support of weather observing and forecasting activity. Such a sample, large enough to be statistically representative of relatively large wavelength perturbations, would be inadequate for launch vehicle design assessments because the Rawinsonde system accurately measures wind perturbations with wavelengths no smaller than 2000 m (1000 m altitude increment). The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Jimsphere wind profiles (150/month and seasonal 2 and 3.5-hr pairs) are the only adequate samples of high resolution profiles approx. 150 to 300 m effective resolution, but over-sampled at 25 m intervals) that have been used extensively for launch vehicle design assessments. Therefore, a simulation process has been developed for enhancement of measured low-resolution Rawinsonde profiles that would be applicable in preliminary launch vehicle design studies at launch sites other than KSC.

Adelfang, S. I.↗
NASA NTRS1987

X-ray optics - A technique for high resolution imaging

Both scattering and figure errors in grazing incidence optics are larger in the plane of incidence than out-of-plane by a factor equal to 1/sin theta, where theta is the graze angle. When the full annular aperture of a grazing incidence telescope is stopped down, the point spread function becomes highly elliptical with a width as much as sin theta times narrower than the full image. In practice, this means that improvements in resolution of up to 100 times can be achieved, and effective resolution can approach the diffraction limit. Laboratory data demonstrating the effect are presented.

Cash, Webster↗
NASA NTRS2011

X-Ray Optics for the 2020s

Three factors characterize an X-ray optics technology: angular resolution, effective area per unit mass, and production cost per unit effective area. In general, these three factors are always in conflict with one another. Every telescope that has flown so far represents an astronomically useful compromise of these factors. Of three operating X-ray telescopes, Chandra has been optimized for angular resolution (0.5); Suzaku for effective area per unit mass; and both were optimized in its own way to minimize production cost. Optics for the decade of2020 requires a combination of Chandra's angular resolution and Suzaku's effective area per unit mass. In this talk I will briefly review X -ray optics fabrication techniques that have been used in the past three decades and then present my expectations for the 2020s. In particular I will propose a couple of new techniques that should be investigated for making lightweight and high resolution X-ray optics.

Zhang, William↗