SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “wave spectrum”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 433 records · Page 24

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2011

Wavenumber Imaging For Damage Detection and Measurement

This paper presents a method for analyzing ultrasonic wavefield data using the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) applied in the spatial domain. Unlike data obtained by sparse arrays of transducers, full wavefield data contains information local to the structure and can be used to obtain more detailed measurements of damage type, location, size, etc. By calculating the CWT of the wavefield in the spatial domain, the wavenumber spectrum is determined for the inspected locations. Because wavenumber is affected by the local geometry and material properties of the structure through which Lamb waves propagate, the wavenumber spectrum can be analyzed to assess the location, severity, and size of damage. The technique is first applied to experimental wavefield data obtained using a laser Doppler vibrometer and automated positioning stage. The out-of-plane velocity along the length of a composite stringer was measured to detect the presence of delaminations within the composite overwrap. Next, simulated corrosion is detected and measured within an aluminum plate using the two dimensional CWT. The experimental results show the usefulness of the technique for vehicle structure inspection applications.

Rogge, Matthew D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Plasma-beam instabilities in cometary ionospheres

It is shown that the interaction between the solar wind flux and the cometary ionosphere leads to the excitation of ion sound, whistler, electron-cyclotron, low hybrid, and magnetohydrodynamic waves. We investigated the frequency spectrum and found linear-increasing increments and lengths of excited waves.

Churyumov, Klim I.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The response of SAR imagery to azimuth travelling ocean surface waves as determined from shuttle SAR imagery

Comparisons between two-dimensional ocean wave spectra, derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, and two-dimensional wave spectra from independent instruments have shown good agreement. The procedure by which raw SAR image intensity-variance spectra are converted to estimates of wave spectra is dependent upon models of how a SAR is able to image ocean waves. The greatest uncertainty exists about the mechanism by which azimuth (along track) traveling waves are imaged. In this paper, independent wave spectra from an airborne, radar ocean wave spectrometer (ROWS) are systematically compared with spatially and temporally coincident shuttle SAR image intensity-variance spectra to determine an optimum description of the relationship between the two. The result of these comparisons is to demonstrate that a SAR image intensity-variance spectrum is nearly proportional to the ocean wave slope-variance spectrum for azimuth traveling waves.

Monaldo, Frank M.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Role of electromagnetic noise in the interhemispheric plasma exchange along closed field lines

Satellite observations have demonstrated that the equatorially trapped superthermal hydrogen ions are a common occurrence in the outer plasmaspheric flux tubes. Such ions occur in conjunction with broadband waves over a frequency spectrum from the proton-cyclotron frequency to the lower-hybrid frequency. Trapped ions are produced by the transverse heating of the ions by the waves. The effect of such ion heating on the interhemispheric plasma flow is studied here. The consequences of the trapped ion production on the plasmaspheric refilling after geomagnetic storms are examined.

Singh, Nagendra↗

NASA NTRS2004

Numerical Simulation of Waves Driven by Plasma Currents Generated by Low-Frequency Alfven Waves in a Multi-Ion Plasma

When multi-ion plasma consisting of heavy and light ions is permeated by a low-frequency Alfven (LFA) wave, the crossed-electric-and-magnetic field (E x B), and the polarization drifts of the different ion species and the electrons could be quite different. The relative drifts between the charged-particle species drive waves, which energize the plasma. Using 2.5-dimensional (2.5-D) particle-in-cell simulations, we study this process of wave generation and its nonlinear consequences in terms of acceleration and heating plasma. Specifically, we study the situation for LFA wave frequency being lower than the heavy-ion cyclotron frequency in a multi-ion plasma. We impose such a wave to the plasma assuming that its wavelength is much larger than that of the waves generated by the relative drifts. For better understanding, the LFA-wave driven simulations are augmented by those driven by initialized ion beams. The driven high-frequency (HF) wave modes critically depend on the heavy ion density nh; for small values of nh, the lower hybrid (LH) waves dominate. On the other hand, for large nh a significantly enhanced level of waves occurs over a much broader frequency spectrum below the LH frequency and such waves are interpreted here as the ion Bernstein (IB) mode near the light ion cyclotron harmonics. Irrespective of the driven wave modes, both the light and heavy ions undergo significant transverse acceleration, but for the large heavy-ion densities, even the electrons are significantly accelerated in the parallel direction by the waves below the LH frequency. Even when the LFA wave drive is maintained, the ion heating leads to the cessation of HF wave excitation just after a few cycles of the former wave. On the basis of marginal stability seen in the simulations, an empirical relation for LFA wave amplitude, frequency and ion temperature is given.

Singh, Nagendra↗

NASA NTRS1989

Observations of gravity waves in the mesosphere with the MU radar

Wind motions were observed at 60 to 90 km altitudes with the MU radar during daylight hours (0800 to 1600 LT) from 13 to 31 October 1986. Quasi-monochromatic gravity waves were evident on 16 of the 19 days of observations. They were characterized by typical vertical wavelength of 5 to 15 km and intrinsic periods centered at about 9 hours. The propagation direction of the gravity waves, determined by the gravity wave dispersion relation, was mostly equatorward. The vertical wave number spectra of the horizontal components of the mesoscale wind fluctuations are explained well by saturated gravity wave theory. The frequency spectrum of vertical wind component has a slope of + 1/3, while the oblique spectra have a slope of -5/3 up to 4 x 10(-3) (c/s); these agree fairly well with model gravity wave spectra. Doppler shift effects on the frequency spectra are recognized at higher frequencies. Upward flux was determined of horizontal momentum flux induced by waves with periods from 10 min to 8 hours, and westward and northward body forces of 5.1 and 4.0 m/s/day, were estimated respectively.

Tsuda, T.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Ionospheric wave measurements with satellite-borne cross-power spectrum analyzers

The paper studies the feasibility of using the cross-power spectrum analyzer on a satellite such as the Space Shuttle to measure the spectrum of potential and charged particle density fluctuations and macroscopic parameters in the ionosphere. The integration time required to make a measurement of a cross-power spectral density to a given accuracy, or its equivalent, the spatial resolution of a measurement to a given accuracy is examined.

Harker, K. J.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Reflection Spectrum of Two Level Atoms by an Evanescent Laser Wave

An exact solution and numerical calculation of the reflection of two level atoms by atomic mirror are presented. The curve of reflection coefficient against Rabi frequency calculated shows some new features, and the physical machanism underlying is analyzed.

Tan, Weihan↗

NASA NTRS1974

Observations of enhanced ion line frequency spectrum during Arecibo ionospheric modification experiment

The Arecibo 430 MHz incoherent scatter radar (ISR) was used to monitor the effects of modifying the ionosphere by a high power HF transmitter feeding the 305 m reflector antenna. When in the ordinary magnetoionic mode parametric instabilities develop in the ionosphere near the reflection level. Manifestations of these instabilities are the strong enhancement of Langmuir oscillations in the direction of the ISR beam at a wavelength of 35 cm and the simultaneous much weaker enhancement of ion oscillations in that direction. The spectral analysis of the enhanced peak with a height resolution of 2.4 km shows that the ionic mode enhancement most often has a double humped frequency spectrum corresponding to up- and down-going ion acoustic waves. The shape of the frequency spectrum is interpreted in terms of a stable oscillation which is driven by a secondary electrostatic field caused by nonlinear interaction of Langmuir waves within a cone centered on the magnetic field and by the scattering of the pump field on stable Langmuir waves travelling along the direction of the ISR.

Hagfors, T.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Observations of nonlinear interactions in directionally spread shoaling surface gravity waves

Shoaling wave fields generated in laboratory experiments were analyzed to determine the sensitivity of nonlinear interactions to the directional distributions of incident waves. Peaks in the directional spectra observed in shallow water were consistent with near resonating, quadratic interactions between two primary waves transferring energy to a third wave with the sum frequency and vector sum wavenumber of the primary waves. Directionally colinear waves forced a higher-frequency wave propagating in the same direction as the primary waves, while directionally spread (i.e., noncolinear) primary waves forced a higher-frequency wave that propagated in a direction between those of the interacting primary waves. Deepwater wave fields with similar frequency spectra but different directional spectra evolved to different shallow-water directional spectra, yet their shallow-water frequency spectra were remarkably similar. This result suggests that the shape of the directional spectrum of the incident wave field has only a small effect on the magnitudes of nonlinear energy transfer during shoaling. The principal effect of directionality in the incident wave field is on the directions, not the amplitudes, of the nonlinearly generated waves. The laboratory data demonstrate clearly the importance of triad interactions between noncolinear and colinear shoaling waves.

Elgar, Steve↗

NASA NTRS1971

Shift and broadening of resonance in turbulent plasmas.

The resonant wave-particle interaction is described, taking into account the effect of the turbulent field on the particle motion in lowest order. It is shown that an electrostatic turbulence produces a shift and a broadening of the Landau resonance. It is found that the resonance shift depends on the mean square spread in wave numbers of the turbulent spectrum, while the resonance width is proportional to the root square of the wave amplitude.

Birmingham, T.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Electromagnetic radiation and nonlinear energy flow in an electron beam-plasma system

It is shown that the unstable electron-plasma waves of a beam-plasma system can generate electromagnetic radiation in a uniform plasma. The generation mechanism is a scattering of the unstable electron plasma waves off ion-acoustic waves, producing electromagnetic waves whose frequency is near the local plasma frequency. The wave vector and frequency matching conditions of the three-wave mode coupling are experimentally verified. The electromagnetic radiation is observed to be polarized with the electric field parallel to the beam direction, and its source region is shown to be localized to the unstable plasma wave region. The frequency spectrum shows negligible intensity near the second harmonic of the plasma frequency. These results suggest that the observed electromagnetic radiation of type III solar bursts may be generated near the local plasma frequency and observed downstream where the wave frequency is near the harmonic of the plasma frequency.

Whelan, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Toward a theory of interstellar turbulence. 2: Strong alfvenic turbulence

We continue to investigate the possibility that interstellar turbulence is caused by nonlinear interactions among shear Alfven waves. Here, we restrict attention to the symmetric case where the oppositely directed waves carry equal energy fluxes. This precludes application to the solar wind in which the outward flux significantly exceeds the ingoing one. All our detailed calculations are carried out for an incompressible magnetized fluid. In incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), nonlinear interactions only occur between oppositely direct waves. We present a theory for the strong turbulence of shear Alfven waves. It has the following main characteristics. (1) The inertial-stage energy spectrum exhibits a critical balance between linear wave periods and nonlinear turnover timescales. (2) The 'eddies' are elongated in the direction of the field on small spatial scales; the parallel and perpendicular components of the wave vector, k(sub z) and k(perpendicular) are related by k(sub z) approximately equals k(sub perpendicular to)(exp 2/3) L(exp -1/3), where L is the outer scale of the turbulence. (3) The 'one-dimensional' energy spectrum is proportional to k(sub perpendicular)(exp -5/3)-an anisotropic Kolmogorov energy spectrum. Shear Alfvenic turbulence mixes specific entropy as a passive contaminant. This gives rise to an electron density power spectrum whose form mimics the energy spectrum of the turbulence. Radio wave scattering by these electron density fluctuations produces anisotropic scatter-broadened images. Damping by ion-neutral collisions restricts Alfvenic turbulence to highly ionized regions of the interstellar medium.

Goldreich, P.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Phase Coupling Between Spectral Components of Collapsing Langmuir Solitons in Solar Type III Radio Bursts

We present the high time resolution observations of one of the Langmuir wave packets obtained in the source region of a solar type III radio burst. This wave packet satisfies the threshold condition of the supersonic modulational instability, as well as the criterion of a collapsing Langmuir soliton, i.e., the spatial scale derived from its peak intensity is less than that derived from its short time scale. The spectrum of t his wave packet contains an intense spectral peak at local electron plasma frequency, f(sub pe) and relatively weaker peaks at 2f(sub pe) and 3f(sub pe). We apply the wavelet based bispectral analysis technique on this wave packet and compute the bicoherence between its spectral components. It is found that the bicoherence exhibits two peaks at (approximately f(sub pe), approximately f(sub pe)) and (approximately f(sub pe) approximately 2f(sub pe)), which strongly suggest that the spectral peak at 2f(sub pe) probably corresponds to the second harmonic radio emission, generated as a result of the merging of antiparallel propagating Langmuir waves trapped in the collapsing Langmuir soliton, and, the spectral peak at 3f(sub pe) probably corresponds to the third harmonic radio emission, generated as a result of merging of a trapped Langmuir wave and a second harmonic electromagnetic wave.

Thejappa, G.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A comparison of SIR-B directional ocean wave spectra with aircraft scanning radar spectra

Directional ocean wave spectra derived from Shuttle Imaging Radar-B (SIR-B) L-band imagery collected off the coast of Southern Chile on 11 and 12 October 1984 were compared with independent spectral estimates from two airborne scanning radars. In sea states with significant wave heights ranging from 3 to 5 meters, the SIR-B-derived sspectra at 18 deg and 25 deg off nadir yielded reasonable estimates of wavelengths, directions, and spectral shapes for all wave systems encountered, including a purely azimuth-traveling system. A SIR-B image intensity variance spectrum containing predominantly range-traveling waves closely resembles an independent aircraft estimate of the slope variance spectrum. The prediction of a U.S. Navy global spectral ocean wave model on 11 October 1984 exhibited no significant bias in dominant wave number but contained a directional bias of about 30 deg with respect to the mean of the aircraft and spacecraft estimates.

Beal, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Magnetosheath electrostatic turbulence

The spectrum of electrostatic plasma waves in the terrestrial magnetosheath was studied using the plasma wave experiment on the IMP-6 satellite. Electrostatic plasma wave turbulence is almost continuously present throughout the magnetosheath with broadband (20 Hz- 70 kHz) r.m.s. field intensities typically 0.01 - 1.0 millivolts/m. Peak intensities of about 1.0 millivolts/m near the electron plasma frequency (30 - 60 kHz) were detected occasionally. The components usually identified in the spectrum of magnetosheath electrostatic turbulence include a high frequency ( or = 30 kHz) component peaking at the electron plasma frequency f sub pe, a low frequency component with a broad intensity maximum below the nominal ion plasma frequency f sub pi (approximately f sub pe/43), and a less well defined intermediate component in the range f sub pi f f sub pe. The intensity distribution of magnetosheath electrostatic turbulence clearly shows that the low frequency component is associated with the bow shock, suggesting that the ion heating begun at the shock continues into the downstream magnetosheath.

Rodriquez, P.↗

NASA NTRS1980

An analysis of short pulse and dual frequency radar techniques for measuring ocean wave spectra from satellites

Scanning beam microwave radars were used to measure ocean wave directional spectra from satellites. In principle, surface wave spectral resolution in wave number can be obtained using either short pulse (SP) or dual frequency (DF) techniques; in either case, directional resolution obtains naturally as a consequence of a Bragg-like wave front matching. A four frequency moment characterization of backscatter from the near vertical using physical optics in the high frequency limit was applied to an analysis of the SP and DF measurement techniques. The intrinsic electromagnetic modulation spectrum was to the first order in wave steepness proportional to the large wave directional slope spectrum. Harmonic distortion was small and was a minimum near 10 deg incidence. NonGaussian wave statistics can have an effect comparable to that in the second order of scattering from a normally distributed sea surface. The SP technique is superior to the DF technique in terms of measurement signal to noise ratio and contrast ratio.

Jackson, F. C.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Lower-hybrid-drift instability and its associated anomalous resistivity in the neutral sheet of earth's magnetotail

A one-dimensional non-Maxwellian model for the steady neutral sheet at the center of the earth's plasma sheet is constructed, and its instability properties are examined with respect to the lower-hybrid-drift wave. It is shown that in the limit of a thin neutral sheet, the distribution of modified Alper and Boltzmann distributions is a more powerful source of free energy than the usual drifting Maxwellian. It is also shown that most regions within the neutral sheet are unstable, and the frequency spectrum of the unstable waves is nearly the same as in the drifting Maxwellian case. The growth rate is found to be enhanced, and the saturation level of the fluctuating field and the anomalous resistivity calculated in the entire sheet are found to be 3 to 4 times larger than those in a Maxwellian sheet.

Pu, Z.-Y.↗