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At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Design of an advanced flight planning system

The demand for both fuel conservation and four-dimensional traffic management require that the preflight planning process be designed to account for advances in airborne flight management and weather forecasting. The steps and issues in designing such an advanced flight planning system are presented. Focus is placed on the different optimization options for generating the three-dimensional reference path. For the cruise phase, one can use predefined jet routes, direct routes based on a network of evenly spaced grid points, or a network where the grid points are existing navaid locations. Each choice has its own problem in determining an optimum solution. Finding the reference path is further complicated by choice of cruise altitude levels, use of a time-varying weather field, and requiring a fixed time-of-arrival (four-dimensional problem).

Sorensen, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Preliminary measurement of the noise from the 2/9 scale model of the Large-scale Advanced Propfan (LAP) propeller, SR-7A

Noise data on the Large-scale Advanced Propfan (LAP) propeller model SR-7A were taken into the NASA Lewis 8- by 6-Foot Wind Tunnel. The maximum blade passing tone decreases from the peak level when going to higher helical tip Mach numbers. This noise reduction points to the use of higher propeller speeds as a possible method to reduce airplane cabin noise while maintaining high flight speed and efficiency. Comparison of the SR-7A blade passing noise with the noise of the similarly designed SR-3 propeller shows good agreement as expected. The SR-7A propeller is slightly noisier than the SR-3 model in the plane of rotation at the cruise condition. Projections of the tunnel model data are made to the full-scale LAP propeller mounted on the test bed aircraft and compared with design predictions. The prediction method is conservative in the sense that it overpredicts the projected model data.

Dittmar, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Hypergol Maintenance Facility North, SWMU 090, Year 3 Air Sparge System Performance Monitoring Report, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

This Performance Monitoring Report (PMR) presents Year 3 Air Sparge (AS) System operation, maintenance, and monitoring (OM&M) activities and performance monitoring results for the AS Interim Measure (IM) at the Hypergol Maintenance Facility North (HMFN) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. HMFN has been designated Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 090 under the KSC Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action Program. The timeframe for activities included in this report extends from September 2022 to August 2023. The HMFN AS IM was implemented in 2019-2020 to treat a chlorinated solvent groundwater plume that resulted from historical operations supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Program. The system includes 213 AS wells, with screen depths ranging from 25 feet to 45 feet below land surface (bls) and treats approximately 1.62 acres of contaminated groundwater. The objective of the AS IM is to actively reduce groundwater concentrations exceeding Florida Department of Environmental Protection Natural Attenuation Default Concentrations (NADCs) (identified as the High Concentration Plume [HCP]) to levels that facilitate transition into a Long-Term Monitoring program. The AS IM targets all of the HCP, except for a source zone area within the HCP where trichloroethene (TCE) concentrations exceed 11,000 micrograms per liter (μg/L) at depths greater than 45 feet bls. This is because site lithology was found to not be conducive to the AS treatment technology at these deeper depths. NASA will re-visit plans for potentially utilizing another remedial technology for residual deeper contamination following completion of the AS IM. OM&M activities and results from Year 3 indicate that the AS system at HMFN is operating as designed and is meeting performance criteria. Groundwater performance monitoring results indicate that following the third year of AS system operation, TCE concentrations in wells across all treated depth intervals have been reduced by an average of more than 99 percent. Overall, the areal extent of the plume showed a reduction following Year 3 of AS operations; however, continued operation of the AS system is required to meet the IM objective.

VOCs↗
NASA NTRS2003

Marine ecosystem appropriation in the Indo-Pacific: a case study of the live reef fish food trade

Our ecological footprint analyses of coral reef fish fisheries and, in particular, the live reef fish food trade (FT), indicate many countries' current consumption exceeds estimated sustainable per capita global, regional and local coral reef production levels. Hong Kong appropriates 25% of SE Asia's annual reef fish production of 135 260-286 560 tonnes (t) through its FT demand, exceeding regional biocapacity by 8.3 times; reef fish fisheries demand out-paces sustainable production in the Indo-Pacific and SE Asia by 2.5 and 6 times. In contrast, most Pacific islands live within their own reef fisheries means with local demand at < 20% of total capacity in Oceania. The FT annually requisitions up to 40% of SE Asia's estimated reef fish and virtually all of its estimated grouper yields. Our results underscore the unsustainable nature of the FT and the urgent need for regional management and conservation of coral reef fisheries in the Indo-Pacific.

Fishes↗
NASA NTRS2022

KSC Headquarters Building Area SWMU 104 Soil Interim Measure Report for LOC 2D and LOC 2E Kennedy Space Center, Florida

This Interim Measure (IM) Report for Location of Concern (LOC) 2D and LOC 2E summarizes the activities associated with implementation of an IM to address soil and concrete contamination at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Headquarters Building Area (KHQA) located at KSC, Florida. KHQA has been designated Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 104 under KSC’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action Program. The IM consisted of excavating/removing residual polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in soil and concrete from two separate areas, LOC 2D and LOC 2E, which were associated with electrical transformer locations. IM activities were conducted in accordance with the Interim Measure Work Plan (IMWP), Revision 1, for KHQA dated June 2018, which was approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in a correspondence letter dated April 2016 and the United States Environmental Protection Agency in a correspondence letter dated August 2018. The objective of the IM was to remove all remaining contaminated media with total PCB concentrations greater than the State of Florida Residential Soil Cleanup Target Level (RSCTL) (0.5 milligrams per kilogram [mg/kg]). This cleanup goal meets unrestrictive re-use conditions in Florida, and is below federal regulations for PCB Bulk Remediation Waste Cleanup of 1 mg/kg for high occupancy, unrestricted use areas, as outlined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 761.61(a). The timeline of the IM was coordinated with demolition of the former KSC Headquarters Building (demolished in 2021) in order to safely remove contaminated media after electrical equipment was de-energized and removed from the site. Excavation activities were conducted between January 10, 2022, and February 8, 2022, and included two waste streams for off-site disposal: (1) PCB-remediation waste greater than or equal to 50 mg/kg, and (2) PCB-remediation waste less than 50 mg/kg. A total of approximately 347 cubic yards (478 tons) of PCB-contaminated soil and concrete was initially removed from the LOC 2D and LOC 2E areas, as defined in the IMWP. An additional 4.35 tons of soil and concrete were removed based on verification sampling, which was conducted until the cleanup goal was achieved. The total area of excavation from both LOC 2D and LOC 2E was approximately 5,186 square feet (0.12 acres), and excavation depths ranged from 0.5 to 4.0 feet below land surface Excavated soils and concrete were stockpiled based on waste stream and subsequently transported and disposed of at Waste Connections of Osceola County, LLC – JED Landfill in St. Cloud, Florida (PCBs less than 50 mg/kg) or the Chemical Waste Management Landfill in Emelle, Alabama (PCBs greater than or equal to 50 mg/kg). Following excavation, clean backfill was brought to the site and provided to the Demolition Contractor to complete backfill and grading in conjunction with their final site restoration activities from building demolition. Post-IM groundwater sampling was conducted in May 2022 at three monitoring wells installed in April 2022 to confirm that PCBs did not leach into groundwater. These wells were installed where the highest PCB concentrations were detected at LOC 2D, LOC 2E, and from the Building Perimeter IM (previously completed in 2020). All PCB results in groundwater were non-detect. Volatile organic compounds were also analyzed based on potential past use of solvents in transformers with PCB-dielectric fluids and the potential release of dielectric fluids containing volatile organic compounds, and all results were non-detect. Based on completion of a successful IM at LOC 2D and LOC 2E, as well as previous remedial actions that have addressed other contamination at KHQA (SWMU 104), No Further Action without controls will be recommended for SWMU 104. NASA will submit separate Site Rehabilitation Completion Order request documentation for SWMU 104 to support an NFA without controls recommendation.

PCB↗
NASA NTRS1977

Thermal energy storage heat exchanger: Molten salt heat exchanger design for utility power plants

The use of thermal energy storage (TES) in the latent heat of molten salts as a means of conserving fossil fuels and lowering the cost of electric power was evaluated. Public utility systems provided electric power on demand. This demand is generally maximum during late weekday afternoons, with considerably lower overnight and weekend loads. Typically, the average demand is only 60% to 80% of peak load. As peak load increases, the present practice is to purchase power from other grid facilities or to bring older less efficient fossil-fuel plants on line which increase the cost of electric power. The widespread use of oil-fired boilers, gas turbine and diesel equipment to meet peaking loads depletes our oil-based energy resources. Heat exchangers utilizing molten salts can be used to level the energy consumption curve. The study begins with a demand analysis and the consideration of several existing modern fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants for use as models. Salts are evaluated for thermodynamic, economic, corrosive, and safety characteristics. Heat exchanger concepts are explored and heat exchanger designs are conceived. Finally, the economics of TES conversions in existing plants and new construction is analyzed. The study concluded that TES is feasible in electric power generation. Substantial data are presented for TES design, and reference material for further investigation of techniques is included.

Ferarra, A.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Launch Complex 34, SWMU CCO542022 DNAPL Source Zone Operations, Maintenance, and Monitoring, Site-Wide Long-Term Monitoring, and Hot Spot 6 Air Sparge System Annual Performance Monitoring Report Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

This Annual Performance Monitoring Report (PMR) for the Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) Source Zone (DSZ), Site-Wide Long-Term Monitoring (LTM), and Hot Spot (HS) 6 Air Sparge (AS) System presents the results of Year 13 operation of the hydraulic containment (HC) Interim Measure (IM), the results of performance monitoring direct-push technology (DPT) sampling and monitoring well sampling conducted in the DSZ, results of the biennial site-wide LTM event, and the results of operations and performance sampling of the HS 6 AS IM at Launch Complex 34 (LC34), located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida. This site has been designated Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) CC054 under the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Program. For the site-wide biennial LTM event, a total of 55 monitoring wells were sampled for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in February 2023 and one well was sampled for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in December 2022. One well planned for VOC sampling was found to be destroyed and could not be sampled (CW0002). The LTM wells are screened in two lithologic zones: Layer 1 (0 to 25 feet below land surface [bls]) and Layer 2 (25 to 30 ft bls), and are located in the outlying areas of LC34 to monitor groundwater conditions within the Low-Concentration Plume (LCP), defined as concentrations exceeding Groundwater Cleanup Target Levels (GCTLs), and the High-Concentration Plume (HCP), defined as concentrations exceeding Natural Attenuation Default Concentrations (NADCs). Results from the biennial sampling event indicated overall plume stability and delineation for the plume, which extends over 300 acres. The operational period for Year 13 of the HCS was from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023. Operational runtime for the system was 90 percent during Year 13, with downtime events attributed to planned maintenance, system repairs, and power outages. As of March 31, 2023, a total of 313,673,241 cumulative gallons of groundwater containing 88,337 pounds of VOCs have been removed by the HCS. Influent concentrations of trichloroethene (TCE) have decreased since startup from approximately 280,000 μg/L (January 2010) to 12,000 μg/L (March 2023). During the reporting period, all effluent concentrations from the HCS (aqueous and vapor) were below regulatory reporting limits, indicating the system continues to operate as intended. Performance monitoring was conducted in December 2022 within the DSZ to evaluate TCE contamination. Groundwater samples were collected via DPT at nine locations, consistent with previous events between 2017 and 2021. Full vertical profile sampling was completed at each DPT from 8 to 98 feet bls, at 5-foot intervals. The DPT performance monitoring results are summarized in this PMR. The results revealed TCE remains at concentrations greater than 11,000 μg/L in the DSZ (1-percent solubility, indicative of DNAPL) at eight of the nine DPT locations and at depths ranging from 8 to 98 feet bls. In addition to DPT sampling, groundwater samples were collected from deep monitoring wells in the DSZ area (Layers 7 and 8) in December 2022 to verify vertical delineation. Layer 7/8 monitoring well results were non-detect in December 2022, with exception of three wells (IW0162, IW043D2, and IW044D2), where TCE, cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE), and/or vinyl chloride (VC) were detected above GCTLs. These wells are screened 105 to 115 feet bls, which is below the existing recovery well capture zone. TCE was first detected in IW0162 in December 2021 and has since been sampled at least monthly to monitor TCE concentrations. The maximum TCE concentration during this operational period was 15,000 μg/L at IW0162 in March 2023. Because of the increased TCE concentrations in this well, a new recovery well (RW21D), screened 86 to 106 feet bls, was installed in January 2023 and incorporated into existing HCS operations. The HS 6 AS IM was initiated in 2018 with 160 AS wells, and expanded in 2019 with an additional 140 AS wells. Quarterly performance monitoring was reduced to semi-annual in 2020. The HS 6 AS system remained operational during the reporting period covered under this report. The results of the HS 6 system operation and semi-annual performance monitoring are summarized in this report. Semi-annual monitoring results collected in April and October 2022 show concentrations of contaminants of concern (cDCE, trans-1,2-dichloroethene, and vinyl chloride) are generally decreasing and not impacting the surface water drainage canal, indicating the HS 6 IM is meeting objectives. A Phase Two Expansion of the HS 6 AS IM was recently completed. As of the date of this report, the expansion became operational in August 2023 and the first quarter of monitoring was conducted in November 2023. Details of the construction, start-up, and performance monitoring will be included in a future Annual PMR. Overall, the tasks associated with Year 13 operation of the HC IM, operation of the HS 6 AS IM, and biennial site-wide sampling were performed in accordance with recommendations included in the previous 2021 LC34 (Year 12) annual report. Evaluation of results from the HC IM and HS 6 IM show that these systems are operating as designed and meeting performance objectives. Results from the site-wide biennial LTM program also show that the overall network of monitoring wells is adequate to continue monitoring plume-wide conditions.

Complex 34↗
NASA NTRS1982

Evaluation of wind tunnel performance testings of an advanced 45 deg swept 8-bladed propeller at Mach numbers from 0.45 to 0.85

The increased emphasis of fuel conservation in the world and the rapid increase in the cost of jet fuel has stimulated a series of studies of both conventional and unconventional propulsion systems for commercial aircraft. The results of these studies indicate that a fuel saving of 15 to 30 percent may be realized by the use of an advanced high-speed turboprop (Prop-Fan) compared to aircraft equipped with high bypass turbofan engines of equivalent technology. The Prop-Fan propulsion system is being investigated as part of the NASA Aircraft Energy Efficient Program. This effort includes the wind tunnel testing of a series of 8 and 10-blade Prop-Fan models incorporate swept blades. Test results indicate efficiency levels near the goal of 80 percent at Mach 0.8 cruise and an altitude of 10.67 km (35,000 ft). Each successive swept model has shown improved efficiency relative to the straight blade model. The fourth model, with 45 deg swept blades reported herein, shows a net efficiency of 78.2 at the design point with a power loading of 301 kW/sq meter and a tip speed of 243.8 m/sec (800 ft/sec.).

Rohrbach, C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Remote Sensing of Lineage Functional Types for Modeling and Monitoring Biodiversity

Hyperspectral remote sensing has the potential to continuously scale plant function and plant diversity information from landscape to global extents. Numerous studies have indicated that VSWIR (400-2500 nm) reflectance properties of vegetation capture evolutionarily conserved biochemical, structural, and other functional attributes of plant species. Spectral properties conserved in plants provide the opportunity to both 1) aggregate species into lineages with improved classification accuracy and 2) link those lineages directly to plant traits. Full realization of this goal will enable parameterization of Land Surface Models (LSMs) with remotely sensed information, e.g., canopy nitrogen, and better representations of biodiversity and functional diversity in biogeographic studies. In this study, we use hyperspectral AVIRIS data from the 2013 HyspIRI campaign over the Southern Sierra Nevada, California flight box to investigate the potential for incorporating evolutionary thinking into landcover classification. We link the airborne hyperspectral data with vegetation plot data from roughly 1372 surveys and a phylogeny representing 1361 species. We aggregate species into lineages ranging from species level groups down to similar number of Plant Functional Types as often used in LSMs. We assessed the ability of Random Forest and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis to discriminate across these different phylogenetic scales and determine the optimal number of lineages to classify. Although there are some temporal and spatial differences in our training data, our best approaches achieved moderate classification accuracy (Kappa > 0.65). Given an optimal number of lineages, we explored approaches to improve classifications including machine learning and unmixing approaches. This work suggests that lineage-based methods may be a promising way to leverage the huge amounts of data that will come from high resolution and high return interval hyperspectral data planned for the Surface Biology and Geology mission with sparsely sampled existing ground-based ecological data.

Hyperspectral↗
NASA NTRS1993

De-Dopplerization of aircraft acoustic signals

A de-Dopplerization scheme is devised and applied to both a tonal noise source, a XV-15 aircraft, and a broadband noise source, a F-18 aircraft. The procedure is developed from the conservation equations of fluid mechanics and is described in the paper. The corrected time history is constructed by using linear interpolation in the measured time history. This was made possible by knowing the position history of the aircraft provided by radar and/or laser tracking. The XV-15 data established that the scheme can accurately account for Doppler frequency shifts. The F-18 data confirms what has been noted in prediction models and static tests pertaining to broadband shock associated noise. That is, the peak frequency increases and the peaks broaden toward the jet axis. Another issue addressed in the study is the influence of correcting for spherical spreading and Doppler amplitude on the spectral shape and overall sound pressure levels of the source. Results from this investigation confirm that the dominant noise source in high-speed jets is due to turbulent mixing.

Kelly, Jeffrey J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Numerical simulation of conservation laws

A new numerical framework for solving conservation laws is being developed. This new approach differs substantially from the well established methods, i.e., finite difference, finite volume, finite element and spectral methods, in both concept and methodology. The key features of the current scheme include: (1) direct discretization of the integral forms of conservation laws, (2) treating space and time on the same footing, (3) flux conservation in space and time, and (4) unified treatment of the convection and diffusion fluxes. The model equation considered in the initial study is the standard one dimensional unsteady constant-coefficient convection-diffusion equation. In a stability study, it is shown that the principal and spurious amplification factors of the current scheme, respectively, are structurally similar to those of the leapfrog/DuFort-Frankel scheme. As a result, the current scheme has no numerical diffusion in the special case of pure convection and is unconditionally stable in the special case of pure diffusion. Assuming smooth initial data, it will be shown theoretically and numerically that, by using an easily determined optimal time step, the accuracy of the current scheme may reach a level which is several orders of magnitude higher than that of the MacCormack scheme, with virtually identical operation count.

Chang, Sin-Chung↗
NASA NTRS2016

Interim Measures Report for the Headquarters Building Area Location of Concern (LOC) 2E East SWMU 104 John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida

The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendment portion of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), requires identification and evaluation of all known Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and Locations of Concern (LOCs) located on Kennedy Space Center (KSC) property. The KSC Headquarters Building Area (KHQA) has been identified as SWMU 104 under KSC's RCRA Program. This report summarizes the Interim Measure (IM) conducted by Geosyntec Consultants (Geosyntec) for NASA under Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contract NNK12CA13B at the KHQA to mitigate potential exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-affected media at the eastern side of LOC 2E. The IM activities were conducted in June and July 2015 to remediate PCBs above the FDEP Residential Direct-Exposure (R-) Soil Cleanup Target Level (SCTL) of 0.5 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg) established by Chapter 62-777, Florida Administrative Code. The IM was performed in accordance with the IM Work Plan (IMWP) approved by the FDEP, dated August 2012. IM activities were conducted in accordance with the KSC Generic PCB Work Plan (NASA 2007).

Sager, Eric D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Constraints from LIGO O3 Data on Gravitational-wave Emission Due to R-modes in the Glitching Pulsar PSR J0537-6910

We present a search for continuous gravitational-wave emission due to r-modes in the pulsar PSR J0537–6910 using data from the LIGO–Virgo Collaboration observing run O3. PSR J0537–6910 is a young energetic X-ray pulsar and is the most frequent glitcher known. The inter-glitch braking index of the pulsar suggests that gravitational-wave emission due to r-mode oscillations may play an important role in the spin evolution of this pulsar. Theoretical models confirm this possibility and predict emission at a level that can be probed by groundbased detectors. In order to explore this scenario, we search for r-mode emission in the epochs between glitches by using a contemporaneous timing ephemeris obtained from NICER data. We do not detect any signals in the theoretically expected band of 86–97 Hz, and report upper limits on the amplitude of the gravitational waves. Our results improve on previous amplitude upper limits from r-modes in J0537-6910 by a factor of up to 3 and place stringent constraints on theoretical models for r-mode-driven spin-down in PSR J0537–6910, especially for higher frequencies at which our results reach below the spin-down limit defined by energy conservation.

J. B. Camp↗
NASA NTRS1991

Naturally induced secondary radiation in interplanetary space: Preliminary analyses for gamma radiation and radioisotope production from thermal neutron activation

Thermal neutron activation analyses were carried out for various space systems components to determine gamma radiation dose rates and food radiation contamination levels. The space systems components selected were those for which previous radiation studies existed. These include manned space vehicle radiation shielding, liquid hydrogen propellant tanks for a Mars mission, and a food supply used as space vehicle radiation shielding. The computational method used is based on the fast neutron distribution generated by the BRYNTRN and HZETRN transport codes for Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) at solar minimum conditions and intense solar flares in space systems components. The gamma dose rates for soft tissue are calculated for water and aluminum space vehicle slab shields considering volumetric source self-attenuation and exponential buildup factors. In the case of the lunar habitat with regolith shielding, a completely exposed spherical habitat was assumed for mathematical convenience and conservative calculations. Activation analysis of the food supply used as radiation shielding is presented for four selected nutrients: potassium, calcium, sodium, and phosphorus. Radioactive isotopes that could represent a health hazard if ingested are identified and their concentrations are identified. For nutrients soluble in water, it was found that all induced radioactivity was below the accepted maximum permissible concentrations.

Plaza-Rosado, Heriberto↗
NASA NTRS2003

Neural crest contributions to the lamprey head

The neural crest is a vertebrate-specific cell population that contributes to the facial skeleton and other derivatives. We have performed focal DiI injection into the cranial neural tube of the developing lamprey in order to follow the migratory pathways of discrete groups of cells from origin to destination and to compare neural crest migratory pathways in a basal vertebrate to those of gnathostomes. The results show that the general pathways of cranial neural crest migration are conserved throughout the vertebrates, with cells migrating in streams analogous to the mandibular and hyoid streams. Caudal branchial neural crest cells migrate ventrally as a sheet of cells from the hindbrain and super-pharyngeal region of the neural tube and form a cylinder surrounding a core of mesoderm in each pharyngeal arch, similar to that seen in zebrafish and axolotl. In addition to these similarities, we also uncovered important differences. Migration into the presumptive caudal branchial arches of the lamprey involves both rostral and caudal movements of neural crest cells that have not been described in gnathostomes, suggesting that barriers that constrain rostrocaudal movement of cranial neural crest cells may have arisen after the agnathan/gnathostome split. Accordingly, neural crest cells from a single axial level contributed to multiple arches and there was extensive mixing between populations. There was no apparent filling of neural crest derivatives in a ventral-to-dorsal order, as has been observed in higher vertebrates, nor did we find evidence of a neural crest contribution to cranial sensory ganglia. These results suggest that migratory constraints and additional neural crest derivatives arose later in gnathostome evolution.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1975

Conceptual design study of advanced acoustic-composite nacelles

Conceptual studies were conducted to assess the impact of incorporating advanced technologies in the nacelles of a current wide-bodied transport and an advanced technology transport. The improvement possible in the areas of fuel consumption, flyover noise levels, airplane weight, manufacturing costs, and airplane operating cost were evaluated for short and long-duct nacelles. Use of composite structures for acoustic duct linings in the fan inlet and exhaust ducts was considered as well as for other nacelle components. For the wide-bodied transport, the use of a long-duct nacelle with an internal mixer nozzle in the primary exhaust showed significant improvement in installed specific fuel consumption and airplane direct operating costs compared to the current short-duct nacelle. The long-duct mixed-flow nacelle is expected to achieve significant reductions in jet noise during takeoff and in turbo-machinery noise during landing approach. Recommendations were made of the technology development needed to achieve the potential fuel conservation and noise reduction benefits.

Nordstrom, K. E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A numerical study of Li-SF6 wick combustion - Forced and mixed convective burning

A numerical study is conducted to study Li-SF6 wick diffusion flames under mixed convective burning conditions at a pressure of 0.01 MPa. Both planar and cylindrical wicks are considered. The model is based on a conserved scalar approach. The objective of this study is to assess the effects of particular parameters on the burning rate and heat transfer. The flat-plate solution yields a fuel mass burning rate per unit surface area following the x exp -1/2 dependence of the classical similarity solution, where x is the streamwise distance. Cylindrical wick geometries yield enhanced burning rates over planar wicks. For the case of mixed convective burning, the burning rate results approach either the forced or natural convective burning limits as ambient streamwise velocity is changed. Critical Richardson numbers specifying these burning limits are determined for a given condition. Reducing gravity results in a lower burning rate because the influence of natural convection is diminished. Under reduced gravity of 1/1000 of the sea-level value, mixed convective burning nearly resembles forced convection.

Damaso, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Temporal Variability of Upper-level Winds at the Eastern Range, Western Range and Wallops Flight Facility

Space launch vehicle commit-to-launch decisions include an assessment of the upper-level (UL) atmospheric wind environment to assess the vehicle's controllability and structural integrity during ascent. These assessments occur at predetermined times during the launch countdown based on measured wind data obtained prior to the assessment. However, the pre-launch measured winds may not represent the wind environment during the vehicle ascent. Uncertainty in the UL winds over the time period between the assessment and launch can be mitigated by a statistical analysis of wind change over time periods of interest using historical data from the launch range. Without historical data, theoretical wind models must be used, which can result in inaccurate wind placards that misrepresent launch availability. Using an overconservative model could result in overly restrictive vehicle wind placards, thus potentially reducing launch availability. Conversely, using an under-conservative model could result in launching into winds that might damage or destroy the vehicle. A large sample of measured wind profiles best characterizes the wind change environment. These historical databases consist of a certain number of wind pairs, where two wind profile measurements spaced by the time period of interest define a pair.

Decker, Ryan K.↗