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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.

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At least 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Evaluation of the Williams-type spring wheat model in North Dakota and Minnesota

The Williams type model, developed similarly to previous models of C.V.D. Williams, uses monthly temperature and precipitation data as well as soil and topological variables to predict the yield of the spring wheat crop. The models are statistically developed using the regression technique. Eight model characteristics are examined in the evaluation of the model. Evaluation is at the crop reporting district level, the state level and for the entire region. A ten year bootstrap test was the basis of the statistical evaluation. The accuracy and current indication of modeled yield reliability could show improvement. There is great variability in the bias measured over the districts, but there is a slight overall positive bias. The model estimates for the east central crop reporting district in Minnesota are not accurate. The estimate of yield for 1974 were inaccurate for all of the models.

Leduc, S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The 13 November 1984 occultation of BD +08 deg 0471 by (1) Ceres

The 13 November 1984 occultation of BD +08 deg 0471 was discovered during a photographic search carried out with the 0.5 meter Carnegie Double Astrograph at Lick Observatory and the Lowell Observatory PDS microdensitometer. Such a search was stimulated by the curious fact that few favorably located occultations of AGK3 or SAO catalog starts by Ceres will occur during the 1980s. The occultation on 13 November, however, is a particularly good event. The star is 1000 cubic M in V, yielding a predicted drop at occultation of about 10%. Such a drop can be detected by small telescopes equipped with photoelectric photometers, but is too small to be seen visually. The track was predicted to cross the Caribbean, Florida, southern Texas, and Mexico. Based on this prediction, preparations were made to observe the event in Mexico using four portable occultation data systems.

Wasserman, L. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Current collection from the space plasma through defects in solar array insulation

Operating high-voltage solar arrays in the space environment can result in anomalously large currents being collected through small insulation defects. Tests simulating the electron collection have shown that there are two major collection modes. The first involves current enhancement by means of a surface phenomenon involving secondary electron emission from the surrounding insulator. In the second mode, the current collection is enhanced by vaporization and ionization of the insulator material, in addition to the surface enhancement of the first mode. The electron collection due to surface enhancement (first mode) has been modeled. Using this model, simple calculations yield realistic predictions.

Robinson, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The 13 November 1984 occultation of BD +08 deg 0471 by (1) Ceres

The November 13, 1984 occultation of BD +08 deg 0471 was discovered during a photographic search carried out with the 0.5 meter Carnegie Double Astrograph at Lick Observatory and the Lowell Observatory PDS microdensitometer. Such a search was stimulated by the curious fact that few favorably located occultations of AGK3 or SAO catalog starts by Ceres will occur during the 1980s. The occultation on November 13, however, is a particularly good event. The star is 1000 cubic M in V, yielding a predicted drop at occultation of about 10 percent. Such a drop can be detected by small telescopes equipped with photoelectric photometers, but is too small to be seen visually. The track was predicted to cross the Caribbean, Florida, southern Texas, and Mexico. Based on this prediction, preparations were made to observe the event in Mexico using four portable occultation data systems.

Wasserman, L. H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A study of multi-body aerodynamic interference at transonic Mach numbers

A wind tunnel experiment involving single, double, and triple combinations of mutually interfering generic, unfinned aircraft stores has been conducted. Each combination of stores was tested at Mach numbers from 0.60 to 1.20 and at angles of attack from 0 to 25 deg for the single store and from 0 to 6 deg for the double and triple store configurations. Extensive axial and circumferential pressure and flow visualization data at each store location were obtained. Euler solutions for each configuration at 0 deg incidence have been generated and compared with experimental data. This comparison indicates an Euler flow solver can yield accurate predictions of the location and magnitude of multibody interference provided an appropriate grid is used and the viscous effects associated with these configurations remain small. The data indicate multibody interference in the transonic region increases as the freestream Mach number approaches 1 from either direction, and subsides as the Mach number moves away from sonic conditions. This interference is characterized by a large, localized reduction in pressure on the inboard surfaces of the bodies which results in forces that draw the configuration closer together.

Cottrell, Charles J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Transition boiling heat transfer and the film transition regime

The Berenson (1960) flat-plate transition-boiling experiment has been recreated with a reduced thermal resistance in the heater, and an improved access to those portions of the transition boiling regime that have a steep negative slope. Tests have been made in Freon-113, acetone, benzene, and n-pentane boiling on horizontal flat copper heaters that have been mirror-polished, 'roughened', or teflon-coated. The resulting data reproduce and clarify certain features observed by Berenson: the modest surface finish dependence of boiling burnout, and the influence of surface chemistry on both the minimum heat flux and the mode of transition boiling, for example. A rational scheme of correlation yields a prediction of the heat flux in what Witte and Lienhard (1982) previously identified as the 'film-transition boiling' region. It is also shown how to calculate the heat flux at the boundary between the pure-film, and the film-transition, boiling regimes, as a function of the advancing contact angle.

Ramilison, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Remote sensing of forest canopy and leaf biochemical contents

Recent research on the remote sensing of forest leaf and canopy biochemical contents suggests that the shortwave IR region contains this information; laboratory analyses of dry ground leaves have yielded reliable predictive relationships between both leaf nitrogen and lignin with near-IR spectra. Attention is given to the application of these laboratory techniques to a limited set of spectra from fresh, whole leaves of conifer species. The analysis of Airborne Imaging Spectrometer data reveals that total water content variations in deciduous forest canopies appear as overall shifts in the brightness of raw spectra.

Peterson, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Turbulent flow in a 180 deg bend: Modeling and computations

A low Reynolds number k-epsilon turbulence model was presented which yields accurate predictions of the kinetic energy near the wall. The model is validated with the experimental channel flow data of Kreplin and Eckelmann. The predictions are also compared with earlier results from direct simulation of turbulent channel flow. The model is especially useful for internal flows where the inflow boundary condition of epsilon is not easily prescribed. The model partly derives from some observations based on earlier direct simulation results of near-wall turbulence. The low Reynolds number turbulence model together with an existing curvature correction appropriate to spinning cylinder flows was used to simulate the flow in a U-bend with the same radius of curvature as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) Turn-Around Duct (TAD). The present computations indicate a space varying curvature correction parameter as opposed to a constant parameter as used in the spinning cylinder flows. Comparison with limited available experimental data is made. The comparison is favorable, but detailed experimental data is needed to further improve the curvature model.

Kaul, Upender K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Connection between energy relations of solids and molecules

The universal energy relation, discovered for metallic and covalent solids as well as nuclear matter, is tested for diatomic molecules. It is found that it applies well to covalent diatomic bonds, but that ionic diatomic bonds are in a distinct class. A simple extension of the universal binding energy relation that includes the effects of ionicity ensues. It yields accurate prediction of spectroscopic data for both ionic and covalent bonds in 150 molecules. The form of the covalent part is given by the universal relation, suggesting an intimate relationship between the energetics of solids and diatomic molecules.

Smith, John R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Neptune's Triton: A moon rich in dry ice and carbon

The encounter of the spacecraft Voyager 2 with Neptune and its large satellite Triton in August 1989 will provide a crucial test of ideas regarding the origin and chemical composition of the outer solar system. In this pre-encounter publication, the possibility is quantified that Titron is a captured moon which, like Pluto and Charon, originally condensed as a major planetesimal within the gas ring that was shed by the contracting protosolar cloud at Neptune's orbit. Ideas of supersonic convective turbulence are used to compute the gas pressure, temperature and rat of catalytic synthesis of CH4, CO2, and C(s) within the protosolar cloud, assuming that all C is initially present as CO. The calculations lead to a unique composition for Triton, Pluto, Charon: each body consists of, by mass, 18 1/2 percent solid CO2 ice, 4 percent graphite, 1/2 percent CH4 ice, 29 percent methanated water ice and 48 percent of anhydrous rock. This mix has a density consistent with that of the Pluto-Charon system and yields a predicted mean density for Triton of 2.20 + or - 0.5 g/cu cm, for satellite radius equal to 1,750 km.

Prentice, A. J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A critical evaluation of two-equation models for near wall turbulence

A variety of two-equation turbulence models,including several versions of the K-epsilon model as well as the K-omega model, are analyzed critically for near wall turbulent flows from a theoretical and computational standpoint. It is shown that the K-epsilon model has two major problems associated with it: the lack of natural boundary conditions for the dissipation rate and the appearance of higher-order correlations in the balance of terms for the dissipation rate at the wall. In so far as the former problem is concerned, either physically inconsistent boundary conditions have been used or the boundary conditions for the dissipation rate have been tied to higher-order derivatives of the turbulent kinetic energy which leads to numerical stiffness. The K-omega model can alleviate these problems since the asymptotic behavior of omega is known in more detail and since its near wall balance involves only exact viscous terms. However, the modeled form of the omega equation that is used in the literature is incomplete-an exact viscous term is missing which causes the model to behave in an asymptotically inconsistent manner. By including this viscous term and by introducing new wall damping functions with improved asymptotic behavior, a new K-tau model (where tau is identical with 1/omega is turbulent time scale) is developed. It is demonstrated that this new model is computationally robust and yields improved predictions for turbulent boundary layers.

Speziale, Charles G.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Distortion effects in spacecraft observations of MHD toroidal standing waves - Theory and observations

This paper considers the distortion effect of the simultaneous occurrence of locally resonant toroidal pulsations over a range of L shells on the interpretation of spacecraft observations of these waves. A theoretical model is developed which yields quantitative predictions of the phase shear effect that causes a shift from the true pulsation frequency measured from a spacecraft moving radially across L shells. Calculations with this model indicate that, due to this effect, the AMPTE/CCE satellite should observe 8-30 percent lower frequencies on outbound passes than on inbound passes. A comparison of fundamental mode frequency measurements made on 10 inbound and 9 outbound passes of the AMPTE/CCE satellite in the morning sector confirms the predictions of the model.

Anderson, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Biophysical aspects of heavy ion interactions in matter

The biological effects of high energy, high charge nuclei (HZE particles) occupy a central role in the management of space radiation hazards due to galactic cosmic rays. For the energy range of interest, the mean free path for nuclear interactions of these heavy ions is comparable to the thickness of the material traversed, and a significant fraction of stopping particles will undergo a nuclear reaction with the nuclei of the stopping material. Transport methods for HZE particles are dependent on models of the interaction of man-made systems with the space environment to an even greater extent than methods used for other types of radiation. Hence, there is a major need to validate these transport codes by comparison with experimental data. The basic physical properties of HZE particles will be reviewed and illustrated with the results of nuclear fragmentation experiments performed with 670A MeV neon ions incident on a water absorber and with measurements of multiple Coulomb scattering of uranium beams in copper. Finally, the extent to which physical measurements yield radiobiological predictions is illustrated for the example of neon.

Schimmerling, Walter↗
NASA NTRS1990

A critical evaluation of two-equation models for near wall turbulence

A basic theoretical and computational study of two-equation models for near-wall turbulent flows was conducted. Two major problems established for the K-epsilon model are discussed, the lack of natural boundary conditions for the dissipation rate and the appearance of higher-order correlations in the balance of terms for the dissipation rate at the wall. The K-omega equation is shown to have two problems also: an exact viscous term is missing, and the destruction of the dissipation term is not properly damped near the wall. A new K-tau model (where tau = 1/omega is the turbulent time scale) was developed by inclusion of the exact viscous term, and by introduction of new wall damping functions with improved asymptotic behavior. A preliminary test of the new model yields improved predictions for the flat-plate turbulent boundary layer.

Speziale, Charles G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Microwave characterization of high-temperature superconducting thin films using stripline resonators

A method was derived for the extraction of the surface resistivity (Rs) of high-Tc superconducting (HTS) thin films at microwave frequencies, using a stripline resonator circuit. Surface resistivity values were calculated by measuring the difference in Q-values of a stripline resonator configuration when an HTS thin film was substituted for one of the metallic ground planes. Cryogenic tests were completed for several stripline resonator structures, yielding accurate predictions of the HTS thin-film performance at frequencies between 3 and 26 GHz (in harmonics of approximately 3 GHz). These results were then used to illustrate the dependence of HTS surface resistivity on frequency and temperature in the microwave frequency band.

Macdonald, Alan D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Equivalence of physically based statistical fracture theories for reliability analysis of ceramics in multiaxial loading

The present comparison of the Batdorf (1974) flaw density and orientation distribution approach with Evans' (1978) elemental strength approach, with a view to identities in fracture criteria and distribution functions, notes that despite their fundamental differences in multiaxial loading fracture probabilities, the two approaches yield identical predictions. Lamon's (1988) assertion to the contrary, in light of different theoretical predictions by the two methods for the case of alumina disks loaded in flexure, is demonstrated to be in error.

Chao, Luen-Yuan↗
NASA NTRS1991

Development and evaluation of an inverse solution technique for studying helicopter maneuverability and agility

An inverse solution technique for determining the maximum maneuvering performance of a helicopter using smooth, pilotlike control inputs is presented. Also described is a pilot simulation experiment performed to investigate the accuracy of the solution resulting from this technique. The maneuverability and agility capability of the helicopter math model was varied by varying the pitch and roll damping, the maximum pitch and roll rate, and the maximum load-factor capability. Three maneuvers were investigated: a 180-deg turn, a longitudinal pop-up, and a lateral jink. The inverse solution technique yielded accurate predictions of pilot-in-the-loop maneuvering performance for two of the three maneuvers.

Whalley, Matthew S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The prediction of STOVL noise - Current semiempirical methods and comparisons with jet noise data

The prediction of conventional or STOVL turbojet propulsion system-using aircraft noise is presently undertaken by means of a method incorporating empirical models for jet-mixing noise, engine core noise, and broadband shock noise. The free-jet noise is coupled with a novel empirical equation for ground-interaction noise generated by a vertically impinging jet, and supplemented with the out-of-ground-effect free-jet acoustic directivity pattern of a Harrier-type vectoring nozzle installation. This acoustic-prediction method yielded reasonable agreement with measured far-field Harrier noise during hover in and out of ground effect. Unlike small-scale studies of jet impingement on a hard surface, no tones were found in the present Harrier nozzle spectra.

Soderman, Paul T.↗