OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF JET TRANSPORTS
Examination of normal acceleration, airspeed and altitude data from the operation of turbine powered transports
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Examination of normal acceleration, airspeed and altitude data from the operation of turbine powered transports
A general description of the design and construction of the WASP sounding rocket and of the performance of its first flight are presented. The purpose of the flight test was to place the 862-pound (391-kg) spacecraft above 250 000 feet (76.25 km) on free-fall trajectory for at least 6 minutes in order to study the effect of "weightlessness" on a slosh dynamics experiment. The WASP sounding rocket fulfilled its intended mission requirements. The sounding rocket approximately followed a nominal trajectory. The payload was in free fall above 250 000 feet (76.25 km) for 6.5 minutes and reached an apogee altitude of 134 nautical miles (248 km). Flight data including velocity, altitude, acceleration, roll rate, and angle of attack are discussed and compared to nominal performance calculations. The effect of residual burning of the second stage motor is analyzed. The flight vibration environment is presented and analyzed, including root mean square (RMS) and power spectral density analysis.
A satellite-to-satellite tracking experiment is planned between ATS-F and GEOS-C with a range accuracy of 2-meters and a range rate accuracy of 0.035 centimeters per second for a 10-second integration time. This experiment is planned for 1974. It is anticipated that it will improve the spatial resolution of the satellite geoid by half an order of magnitude to about 6 degrees. Longer integration times should also permit a modest increase in the acceleration resolution. Satellite altimeter data will also be obtained by means of GEOS-C. An overall accuracy of 5-meters in altitude is the goal. The altimeter, per se, is expected to have an instrumental precision of about 2 meters, and an additional capability to observe with a precision of about 0.2 meters for limited periods.
The effects on heated fluids of nonconstant accelerations, rocket vibrations, and spin rates, was studied. A system is discussed which can determine the influence of the convective effects on fluid experiments. The general suitability of sounding rockets for performing these experiments is treated. An analytical investigation of convection in an enclosure which is heated in low gravity is examined. The gravitational body force was taken as a time-varying function using anticipated sounding rocket accelerations, since accelerometer flight data were not available. A computer program was used to calculate the flow rates and heat transfer in fluids with geometries and boundary conditions typical of space processing configurations. Results of the analytical investigation identify the configurations, fluids and boundary values which are most suitable for measuring the convective environment of sounding rockets. A short description of fabricated fluid cells and the convection measurement package is given. Photographs are included.
The application of computer interactive graphics to three-dimensional structural analysis was described, with emphasis on the following aspects: (1) structural analysis, and (2) generation and checking of input data and examination of the large volume of output data (stresses, displacements, velocities, accelerations). Handling of three-dimensional input processing with a special MESH3D computer program was explained. Similarly, a special code PLTZ may be used to perform all the needed tasks for output processing from a finite element code. Examples were illustrated.
The Triad satellite is maintained within 1 mm of its proof mass (a small metal ball) in a purely gravitational orbit, using a drag-free control system, named Discos, as the disturbance compensation system. The Discos proof mass is surrounded by an outer shell which holds fuel tanks and cold gas jets. The shell shields the proof mass from such nongravitational forces as radiation pressure, atmospheric drag, and micrometeorite impact. Whenever these forces displace the outer shell relative to the proof mass, an error signal is generated by a capacitive bridge sensor, and the satellite is propelled by gas jets to remain centered on the proof mass when the error reaches 1 mm. Local atmospheric densities near 800 km were measured, using ball position data, and the observed accelerations were corrected for the effects of solar radiation pressure. The measured densities reveal a greater dependence on latitude than that indicated by balloon satellites, and also a dependence on longitude. Only a small dependence on Kp, however, was observed in the region where the measurements were made.
The model for field-time-dependent breakdown in the gate oxide of MOS devices is extended and verified with experimental data. The model permits accelerated tests at high fields which can be used to predict gate-oxide breakdowns at much longer times at normal operating fields.
The test program concentrates on three major areas: flight exposure; ground based exposure; and accelerated environmental effects and data correlation. Among the parameters investigated were: geographic location, flight profiles, solar heating effects, ultraviolet degradation, retrieval times, and test temperatures. Data from the tests can be used to effectively plan the cost of production and viable alternatives in materials selection.
A one-dimensional steady real gas MPD accelerator model based on data for various electrode lengths and anode orifice radii is presented. The model relates the electric field to the boundary conditions in a form that agrees with experiment over parametric variations in current and mass flow. The electric field is sensitive to the formulations and assumptions bound into the analysis, and is useful in the modeling of outflow properties. It is shown that the location of the sonic point in the arc chamber shifts upstream for high current operation, and the relation between terminal voltage and current is demonstrated. Experiments using an anode suggested by the theory yield a thrust efficiency 1.5 times that of the unmodified thruster.
DC partial discharge (PD) (corona) testing is performed using a multichannel analyzer for pulse storing, and data is collected during increase of voltage and at quiescent voltage levels. Thus high voltage ceramic disk capacitors were evaluated by obtaining PD data interspersed during an accelerated life test. Increased PD activity was found early in samples that later failed catastrophically. By this technique, trends of insulation behavior are revealed sensitively and nondestructively in high voltage dc components.
Five volunteer subjects were tested for acceleration tolerance under eight different experimental conditions representing relaxed and unprotected tolerance and tolerance with all possible combinations of the anti-G suit, and M-1 maneuver, and supination in a PALE seat. The individual and combined effects of the various acceleration protective techniques were examined as they related to various models for acceleration protection, and the data revealed no statistically significant deviations from a simple additive model. The apparent net additivity was interpreted as resulting from a combination of additive, synergistic, and overlapping mechanisms.
It is shown that the Zhurkov method for testing the strength of solids can be applied to dynamic tension and to cyclic loading and provides a viable approach to accelerated testing of composites. Data from the literature are used to demonstrate a straightforward application of the method to dynamic tension of glass fiber and cyclic loading for glass/polymer, metal matrix, and graphite/epoxy composites. Zhurkov's equation can be used at relatively high loads to obtain failure times at any temperature of interest. By taking a few data points at one or two other temperatures the spectrum of failure times can be expanded to temperatures not easily accessible.
A real time computer program was implemented on a F-15 jet fighter to monitor in-flight engine performance of a Digital Electronic Engine Controlled (DEES) F-100 engine. The application of two gas generator methods to calculate in-flight thrust real time is described. A comparison was made between the actual results and those predicted by an engine model simulation. The percent difference between the two methods was compared to the predicted uncertainty based on instrumentation and model uncertainty and agreed closely with the results found during altitude facility testing. Data was obtained from acceleration runs of various altitudes at maximum power settings with and without afterburner. Real time in-flight thrust measurement was a major advancement to flight test productivity and was accomplished with no loss in accuracy over previous post flight methods.
The volume begins with a non-mathematical discussion of the motivation behind, and basic ideas of, elementary-particle physics theory and experiment. The progress over the past two decades with the quark model and unification of the electromagnetic and weak interactions is reviewed. Existing theoretical problems in the field, such as the origin of mass and the unification of the fundamental forces, are detailed, along with experimental programs to test the new theories. Accelerators, instrumentation, and detectors are described for both current and future facilities. Interactions with other areas of both theoretical and applied physics are presented. The sociology of the field is examined regarding the education of graduate students, the organization necessary in large-scale experiments, and the decision-making process involved in high-cost experiments. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for maintaining US excellence in theory and experiment are given. Appendices list both current and planned accelerators, and present statistical data on the US elementary-particle physics program. A glossary is included.
While the standard mode acceleration formulation in structural dynamics has often been interpreted to suggest that the reason for improved convergence obtainable is that the dynamic correction factor is divided by the modal frequencies-squared, an alternative formulation is presented which clearly indicates that the only difference between mode acceleration and mode displacement data recovery is the addition of a static correction term. Attention is given to the advantages in numerical implementation associated with this alternative, as well as to an illustrative example.
A technique of predicting an upper bound on the rate at which single-event upsets due to ionizing radiation occur in semiconducting memory cells is described. The upper bound on the upset rate, which depends on the high-energy particle environment in earth orbit and accelerator cross-section data, is given by the product of an upper-bound linear energy-transfer spectrum and the mean cross section of the memory cell. Plots of the spectrum are given for low-inclination and polar orbits. An alternative expression for the exact upset rate is also presented. Both methods rely only on experimentally obtained cross-section data and are valid for sensitive bit regions having arbitrary shape.
This paper describes a three-dimensional (3D) helicopter flight simulation system. The simulation is designed to be a readily available tool for concept verification and tuning of automatic obstacle-avoidance guidance algorithms. The system has been implemented on networked workstations capable of interactive 3D graphics simulation. The simulation uses realistic terrain and obstacle models. The dynamics of the rotorcraft and the functional capabilities of the range sensors are simulated to provide all the components required to evaluate the guidance function. Standard graphics hardware available on the workstation is utilized to accelerate the range-data calculations for sensor simulation at the guidance rate. An example is given to demonstrate the performance of the obstacle-avoidance capability.
This paper presents an overview of the STABLE microgravity isolation system developed and successfully flight tested in October 1995. A description of the hardware design and operational principles is given. A sample of the measured flight data is presented, including an evaluation of attenuation performance provided by the actively controlled electromagnetic isolation system. Preliminary analyses of flight data show that the acceleration environment aboard STABLE's isolated platform was attenuated by a factor of more than 25 between 0.1 and 100 Hz. STABLE was developed under a cooperative agreement between National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Marshall Space Flight Center, and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace. The flight hardware was designed, fabricated, integrated, tested, and delivered to the Cape during a five month period.