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At least 451 records · Page 25

Fault detection of helicopter gearboxes using the multi-valued influence matrix method

In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of a pattern classifying fault detection system that is designed to cope with the variability of fault signatures inherent in helicopter gearboxes. For detection, the measurements are monitored on-line and flagged upon the detection of abnormalities, so that they can be attributed to a faulty or normal case. As such, the detection system is composed of two components, a quantization matrix to flag the measurements, and a multi-valued influence matrix (MVIM) that represents the behavior of measurements during normal operation and at fault instances. Both the quantization matrix and influence matrix are tuned during a training session so as to minimize the error in detection. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this detection system, it was applied to vibration measurements collected from a helicopter gearbox during normal operation and at various fault instances. The results indicate that the MVIM method provides excellent results when the full range of faults effects on the measurements are included in the training set.

Chin, Hsinyung↗

Temporal and vertical distribution of acidity and ionic composition in clouds - Comparison between modeling results and observations

Cyclic temporal variations of pH and ionic concentration in sampled clouds which traversed the Mt. Mitchell State Park (North Carolina) site during the summers of 1986, 1987, and 1988 are reported. These clouds typically had a measured pH minimum during their initial and final stages. The cause of this basic cylic pattern is attributed to sampling at different vertical levels of the cloud. This is substantiated by visual observations made while sampling. The results also suggest that the measured pH patterns do not always exhibit minima during the formative and dissipative stages of the cloud, apparently in response to the underlying dynamical processes. The relationship between temporal pH measurements made at a stationary site to vertical cloud levels provides insights into the physical processes (e.g., nucleation scavenging near cloud base, dry air entrainment near cloud top) influencing the observed cloud-water chemistry on a real-time basis and would improve cloud chemistry models.

Defelice, T. P.↗

Shuttle orbiter Ku-band radar/communications system design evaluation: High gain antenna/widebeam horn

The physical characteristics of the high gain antenna reflector and feed elements are described. Deficiencies in the sum feed are discussed, and lack of atmospheric venting is posed as a potential problem area. The measured RF performance of the high gain antenna is examined and the high sidelobe levels measured are related to the physical characteristics of the antenna. An examination of the attributes of the feed which might be influenced by temperature extremes shows that the antenna should be insensitive to temperature variations. Because the feed support bipod structure is considered a significant contributor to the high sidelobe levels measured in the azimuth plane, pod relocation, material changes, and shaping are suggested as improvements. Alternate feed designs are presented to further improve system performance. The widebeam horn and potential temperature effects due to the polarizer are discussed as well as in the effects of linear polarization on TDRS acquisition, and the effects of circular polarization on radar sidelobe avoidance. The radar detection probability is analyzed as a function of scan overlap and target range.

Iwasaki, R.↗

Measure of displacement around holes in composite plates subjected to quasi-static compression

Contour maps of thickness changes were obtained for three quasi-isotropic graphite-epoxy plates with central holes, loaded in compression. Thickness changes were determined for six load increments from nearly zero to within a few percent of the failure load. The largest change of thickness occurred near the hole but not at the boundary of the hole. Below 90 percent of the failure load, the thickness changes were nearly proportional to load. Irregularities of thickness changes occurred in zones of compressive stresses and they were attributed to localized fiber buckling. A new optical technique was developed to measure thickness changes with high sensitivity. It utilizes a comparatively simple means of holographic interferometry on both sides of the specimen, followed by additive moire to obtain thickness changes as the sum of the out-of-plane displacements. Sensitivity was 12.5 x 10 to the -6 power in. per fringe order. The fringe patterns represent thickness changes uniquely, even when specimen warpage and consequent out-of-plane displacements are very large.

Duke, J. C., Jr.↗

Quantitative Surface Emissivity and Temperature Measurements of a Burning Solid Fuel Accompanied by Soot Formation

Surface radiometry is an established technique for noncontact temperature measurement of solids. We adapt this technique to the study of solid surface combustion where the solid fuel undergoes physical and chemical changes as pyrolysis proceeds, and additionally may produce soot. The physical and chemical changes alter the fuel surface emissivity, and soot contributes to the infrared signature in the same spectral band as the signal of interest. We have developed a measurement that isolates the fuel's surface emissions in the presence of soot, and determine the surface emissivity as a function of temperature. A commercially available infrared camera images the two-dimensional surface of ashless filter paper burning in concurrent flow. The camera is sensitive in the 2 to 5 gm band, but spectrally filtered to reduce the interference from hot gas phase combustion products. Results show a strong functional dependence of emissivity on temperature, attributed to the combined effects of thermal and oxidative processes. Using the measured emissivity, radiance measurements from several burning samples were corrected for the presence of soot and for changes in emissivity, to yield quantitative surface temperature measurements. Ultimately the results will be used to develop a full-field, non-contact temperature measurement that will be used in spacebased combustion investigations.

Piltch, Nancy D.↗

Nonlinear consider covariance analysis using a sigma-point filter formulation

The research reported here extends the mathematical formulation of nonlinear, sigma-point estimators to enable consider covariance analysis for dynamical systems. This paper presents a novel sigma-point consider filter algorithm, for consider-parameterized nonlinear estimation, following the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) variation on the sigma-point filter formulation, which requires no partial derivatives of dynamics models or measurement models with respect to the parameter list. It is shown that, consistent with the attributes of sigma-point estimators, a consider-parameterized sigma-point estimator can be developed entirely without requiring the derivation of any partial-derivative matrices related to the dynamical system, the measurements, or the considered parameters, which appears to be an advantage over the formulation of a linear-theory sequential consider estimator. It is also demonstrated that a consider covariance analysis performed with this 'partial-derivative-free' formulation yields equivalent results to the linear-theory consider filter, for purely linear problems.

covariance↗

Recent Biomass Burning in the Tropics and Related Changes in Tropospheric Ozone

Biomass burning is an important source of chemical precursors of tropospheric ozone. In the tropics, biomass burning produces ozone enhancements over broad regions of Indonesia, Africa, and South America including Brazil. Fires are intentionally set in these regions during the dry season each year to clear cropland and to clear land for human/industrial expansion. In Indonesia enhanced burning occurs during dry El Nino conditions such as in 1997 and 2006. These burning activities cause enhancement in atmospheric particulates and trace gases which are harmful to human health. Measurements from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) from October 2004-November 2008 are used to evaluate the effects of biomass burning on tropical tropospheric ozone. These measurements show sizeable decreases approx.15-20% in ozone in Brazil during 2008 compared to 2007 which we attribute to the reduction in biomass burning. Three broad biomass burning regions in the tropics (South America including Brazil, western Africa, and Indonesia) were analyzed in the context of OMI/MLS measurements and the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) chemical transport model developed at Goddard Space Flight Center. The results indicate that the impact of biomass burning on ozone is significant within and near the burning regions with increases of approx.10-25% in tropospheric column ozone relative to average background concentrations. The model suggests that about half of the increases in ozone from these burning events come from altitudes below 3 km. Globally the model indicates increases of approx.4-5% in ozone, approx.7-9% in NO, (NO+NO2), and approx.30-40% in CO.

Ziemke↗

Separating the Influence of Environment from Stress Relaxation Effects on Dwell Fatigue Crack Growth in a Nickel-Base Disk Alloy

Both environmental embrittlement and crack tip visco-plastic stress relaxation play a significant role in determining the dwell fatigue crack growth (DFCG) resistance of nickel-based disk superalloys. In the current study performed on the Low Solvus High Refractory (LSHR) disk alloy, the influence of these two mechanisms were separated so that the effects of each could be quantified and modeled. Seven different microstructural variations of LSHR were produced by controlling the cooling rate and the subsequent aging and thermal exposure heat treatments. Through cyclic fatigue crack growth testing performed both in air and vacuum, it was established that four out of the seven LSHR heat treatments evaluated, possessed similar intrinsic environmental resistance to cyclic crack growth. For these four heat treatments, it was further shown that the large differences in dwell crack growth behavior which still persisted, were related to their measured stress relaxation behavior. The apparent differences in their dwell crack growth resistance were attributed to the inability of the standard linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) stress intensity parameter to account for visco-plastic behavior. Crack tip stress relaxation controls the magnitude of the remaining local tensile stresses which are directly related to the measured dwell crack growth rates. It was hypothesized that the environmentally weakened grain boundary crack tip regions fail during the dwells when their strength is exceeded by the remaining local crack tip tensile stresses. It was shown that the classical creep crack growth mechanisms such as grain boundary sliding did not contribute to crack growth, but the local visco-plastic behavior still plays a very significant role by determining the crack tip tensile stress field which controls the dwell crack growth behavior. To account for the influence of the visco-plastic behavior on the crack tip stress field, an empirical modification to the LEFM stress intensity parameter, Kmax, was developed by incorporating into the formulation the remaining stress level concept as measured by simple stress relaxation tests. The newly proposed parameter, Ksrf, did an excellent job in correlating the dwell crack growth rates for the four heat treatments which were shown to have similar intrinsic environmental cyclic fatigue crack growth resistance.

Dwell crack growth↗

Separating the Influence of Environment from Stress Relaxation Effects on Dwell Fatigue Crack Growth

Seven different microstructural variations of LSHR were produced by controlling the cooling rate and the subsequent aging and thermal exposure heat treatments. Through cyclic fatigue crack growth testing performed both in air and vacuum, it was established that four out of the seven LSHR heat treatments evaluated, possessed similar intrinsic environmental resistance to cyclic crack growth. For these four heat treatments, it was further shown that the large differences in dwell crack growth behavior which still persisted, were related to their measured stress relaxation behavior. The apparent differences in their dwell crack growth resistance were attributed to the inability of the standard linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) stress intensity parameter to account for visco-plastic behavior. Crack tip stress relaxation controls the magnitude of the remaining local tensile stresses which are directly related to the measured dwell crack growth rates. It was hypothesized that the environmentally weakened grain boundary crack tip regions fail during the dwells when their strength is exceeded by the remaining local crack tip tensile stresses. It was shown that the classical creep crack growth mechanisms such as grain boundary sliding did not contribute to crack growth, but the local visco-plastic behavior still plays a very significant role by determining the crack tip tensile stress field which controls the dwell crack growth behavior. To account for the influence of the visco-plastic behavior on the crack tip stress field, an empirical modification to the LEFM stress intensity parameter, Kmax, was developed by incorporating into the formulation the remaining stress level concept as measured by simple stress relaxation tests. The newly proposed parameter, Ksrf, did an excellent job in correlating the dwell crack growth rates for the four heat treatments which were shown to have similar intrinsic environmental cyclic fatigue crack growth resistance.

environmental damage↗

Airborne and Ground-Based Measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth of Freshly Emitted Anthropogenic Plumes in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region

In this work we report the airborne aerosol optical depth (AOD) from measurements within freshly emitted anthropogenic plumes arising from mining and processing operations in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in the context of ground-based AERONET climatological daily averaged AODs at Fort McMurray (Alberta, Canada). During two flights on 9 and 18 June 2018, the NASA airborne 4STAR (Spectrometers for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) Sun photometer registered high fine-mode (FM, <1 µm) in-plume AODs of up to 0.4 and 0.9, respectively, in the vicinity of the plume source (<20 km). Particle composition shows that the plumes were associated with elevated concentrations of sulfates and ammonium. These high AODs significantly exceed climatological averages for June and were not captured by the nearby AERONET instrument (mean daily AODs of 0.10±0.01 and 0.07±0.02, maximum AOD of 0.12) due possibly to horizontal inhomogeneity of the plumes, plume dilution and winds which in certain cases were carrying the plume away from the ground-based instrument. The average 4STAR out-of-plume (background) AODs deviated only marginally from AERONET daily averaged values. While 4STAR AOD peaks were generally well correlated in time with peaks in the in situ-measured particle concentrations, we show that differences in particle size are the dominant factor in determining the 4STAR-derived AOD. During the two flights of 24 June and 5 July 2018 when plumes likely travelled distances of 60 km or more, the average 4STAR FM AOD increased by 0.01–0.02 over ∼50 km of downwind particle evolution, which was supported by the increases in layer AODs calculated from the in situ extinction measurements. Based on these observations as well as the increases in organic mass, we attribute the observed AOD increase, at least in part, to secondary organic aerosol formation. The in-plume and out-of-plume AODs for this second pair of flights, in contrast to clear differences in in situ optical and other measurements, were practically indistinguishable and compared favourably to AERONET within 0.01–0.02 AOD. This means that AERONET was generally successful in capturing the background AODs, but missed some of the spatially constrained high-AOD plumes with sources as close as 30–50 km, which is important to note since the AERONET measurements are generally thought to be representative of the regional AOD loading. The fact that industrial plumes can be associated with significantly higher AODs in the vicinity of the emission sources than previously reported from AERONET can potentially have an effect on estimating the AOSR radiative impact.

AERONET↗

Satellite Investigations of Fire, Smoke, and Carbon Monoxide during April 1994 MAPS Mission: Case Studies over Tropical Asia

During April 9-19, 1994, the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS) measured free tropospheric carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations on a near-global basis. For these eleven days the global lkm advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) Pathfinder data are used to detect fires and smoke over the Indo-Burma region (85 degrees E - 110 degrees E; 10 degrees N -30 degrees N). The fire activities are categorized for four major ecosystems that include (1) cropland/natural vegetation mosaic (CNVM), (2) evergreen broadleaf forest (EBF), (3) mixed forest (MFD), and (4) grassland (GL). Using published emission rates between particulate matter and carbon monoxide concentrations from temperate areas, the fire counts along with other information are used to obtain estimates of CO concentrations from the AVERR data. More than 7000 fires are detected during the study period with 23%, 43%, 24%, and 10% fires in the CNVM, EBF, MFD, and GL ecosystems, respectively. The enhanced CO concentrations over the area of study are either over or downwind of the fires detected by the AVHRR. The preliminary AVHRR estimates of CO concentrations are smaller than the MAPS-measured values by a factor of 4 to 5 for fire counts areater than 200. The differences are attributed to the lack of transport mechanisms and other assumptions in the current model. However, these results show a good potential for usino the AVHRR measurements to detect fires and smoke and also to estimate CO concentrations.

Christopher, Sundar A.↗

Airborne Observations of the Spatial and Temporal Variability of Tropospheric Carbon Dioxide during the INTEX-B Campaign

The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment-North America (INTEX-NA) is an international field campaign envisioned to investigate the transport and transformation of gases and aerosols on transcontinental/intercontinental scales and assess their impact on air quality and climate. Phase B (INTEX-B) of the mission was conducted during a 10- week period from March 1 to May 15, 2006 and focused initially on pollution outflow from the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, later addressing the transport of pollution from Asia to North America during springtime meteorological conditions. During the deployment, fast-response (1-s resolution) CO2 measurements were recorded aboard the NASA DC-8 providing valuable regional-scale information on carbon sources and sinks over sparsely sampled areas of North America and adjacent ocean basins. When coupled with the enormously sophisticated chemistry payload on the DC-8, these measurements collectively afford extremely powerful multi-tracer constraints for carbon source/sink attribution. Preliminary examination of the two data sets from the INTEX-B campaign, acquired one month apart, reveals not only the influence of the CO2 seasonal cycle, but also the preponderance of human population and industrial activity in the northern hemisphere. In this presentation, a synergy of the ensemble of airborne and surface observations, bottomup emission inventories, as well as transport history are invoked in a GIS framework to elucidate the source/sink processes reflected in the observations. The airborne CO2 data, along with simultaneous surface measurements (e.g. NOAA ESRL), are examined to establish the vertical distribution and variability of CO2 as a function of location. The role of localized sources, long-range transport, the biosphere, stratospheric exchange, and dynamical processes on the CO2 spatial variability observed throughout the tropospheric column will be discussed.

Vay, Stephanie A.↗

Initial Trade Study for In-line Silver Sensor for Spacecraft Potable Water Systems

Ionic silver is currently baselined as the biocide for microbial control in potable water systems for future space exploration missions. In-line monitoring of silver ion concentration is desired for system feedback control to introduce and maintain sufficient and safe levels of biocide in the water. To date, NASA testing of silver biocide system prototypes has made use of an Ion-Selective Electrode (ISE) for in-line silver concentration measurements. However, known issues with ISE technology have continued to motivate a search for alternate sensor systems. Although devices capable of detecting silver are available for terrestrial applications, these systems are generally not well-suited for the unique demands of spaceflight. Desired attributes include: low weight, volume, and power consumption; stable, autonomous, and in-line measurement capability; long calibration lifetime; and limited maintenance requirements. This paper provides the results from a preliminary trade study conducted on three candidate silver sensor technologies: ISEs, Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV), and Fiber Optic Chemical Sensors (FOCS). The review of these technologies includes the rationale for their selection, an overview of the principles of their operation, and a detailed assessment of their strengths and weaknesses relative to the anticipated requirements of future spacecraft applications. The study concluded that none of the currently-available versions of these technologies is suitable for immediate application to spacecraft systems; further technology development should be considered. To that end, recommendations for forward development work have been proposed and provided herein.

Potable Water↗

Electrical properties of the middle atmosphere

Probe techniques have been utilized extensively to measure middle atmospheric electrical properties such as the polar components of conductivity, ion mobility and density. The most variable of these parameters is conductivity, which is dependent on both charge mobility and concentration. Overall conductivity variations, attributable to different geophysical conditions, can exceed several orders of magnitude at some altitudes. Also, measurements of conductivity over the 20 to 90 km region indicate a general exponential increase with altitude, exceeding seven orders of magnitude during certain conditions. Gerdien condensers, on occasion, have measured very low-mobility positive ions in addition to the more commonly observed molecular species. These smaller mobility values appear to indicate the presence of very large ions at some altitudes, possibly charged particulates, having mass sizes greater than those identifiable by presently flown mass spectrometers. The presence of these large ions is of importance to middle atmospheric electrodynamics as a potential causal mechanism for measured large electric fields.

Mitchell, John D.↗

SIMBAD quality-control

The astronomical database SIMBAD developed at the Centre de donnees astronomiques de Strasbourg presently contains 760,000 objects (stellar and non-stellar). It has the unique characteristic of being structured specifically for astronomical objects. All types of heterogeneous data (bibliographic references, measurements, and sets of identification) are connected with each object. The attributes that define quality of the database include the following. Reliability: cross-identification should not rely upon just exact values object coordinates. It also means that information attached to one simple object should be consistent. The existing data must be controlled in order to start with a reliable base and to cross-identify new data assuring the quality as data grows. Exhaustivity: delays between publication of new informations and their inclusion in the database should be as short as possible. The integrity of the database has to be maintained as data accumulates. Taking the amount of data into consideration and the rate of new data production, it is necessary to use automatic methods. One of the possibilities is to use multivariate data analysis. The factor-space is a n-dimensional relevancy space which is described by the n-axes representing a set of n subject matter headings; the words and phrases can be used to scale the axes and the documents are then a vector average of the terms within them. The application reported herein is based on the NASA-STI bibliographical database. The selected data concern astronomy, astrophysics, and space radiation (102,963 references from 1975 to 1991 included 8070 keywords). The F-space is built from this bibliographical data. By comparing the F-space position obtained from the NASA-STI keywords with the F-space position obtained from the SIMBAD references, the authors will be able to show whether it is possible to retrieve information with a restricted set of words only. If the comparison is valid, this will be a way to enter bibliographic information in the SIMBAD quality control process. Furthermore, it is possible to connect the physical measurements of stars from SIMBAD to literature concerning these stars from the NASA-STI abstracts. The physical properties of stars (e.g. UBV colors) are not randomly distributed. Stars are distributed among different clusters in a physical parameter space. The authors will show that there are some relations between this classification and the literature concerning these objects clusters in a factor space. They will investigate the nature of the relationship between the SIMBAD measurements and the bibliography. These would be new relationships that are not pre-established by an astronomer. In addition, the bibliography could be neutral information that can be used in combination with the measured parameters.

Lesteven, Soizick↗

Miscanthus × giganteus increases soil maximum water holding capacity compared to maize

Soil ecosystem services, like the ability to store water, have been depleted after a century of conventional, annual cropping, and perennial crops offer a solution to this and other agricultural environmental issues. We assessed the impact of Miscanthus × giganteus (miscanthus), a perennial biomass crop, on soil water holding capacity and structure compared to continuous maize (Zea mays L.) at two sites in Iowa. After three growing seasons, we measured the following: (1) maximum water holding capacity (MWHC) with and without soil structure, and (2) total porosity and pore size distribution (PSD) via micro-computed tomography (microCT). Miscanthus increased MWHC by 14.7% across both sites relative to maize (p = 0.002), and we attributed this to structural changes due to the lack of a crop effect when measured on structureless soils. No significant changes were detected in soil organic matter, texture, total porosity, or PSD that could explain the increase in MWHC under miscanthus. Our findings suggest that the increases in MWHC are primarily due to structural changes rather than increases in soil organic matter or porosity (at least porosity detectable by microCT). This study highlights miscanthus' potential to enhance soil water storage and underscores the need for further investigation to clarify the mechanisms through which this biomass crop influences soil structural properties.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

End-gas autoignition fraction and flame propagation rate in laser-ignited primary reference fuel mixtures at elevated temperature and pressure

Knock in spark-ignited (SI) engines is initiated by autoignition of the unburned gasses upstream of spark-ignited, propagating, turbulent premixed flames. Knock propensity of fuel/air mixtures is typically quantified using research octane number (RON), motor octane number (MON), or methane number (MN; for gaseous fuels), which are measured using single-cylinder, variable compression ratio engines. In this study, knock propensity of SI fuels was quantified via observations of end-gas autoignition (EGAI) in unburned gasses upstream of laser-ignited, premixed flames at elevated pressures and temperatures in a rapid compression machine. Stoichiometric primary reference fuel (PRF; n-heptane/isooctane) blends of varying reactivity (50 ≤ PRF ≤ 100) were ignited using an Nd:YAG laser over a range of temperatures and pressures, all in excess of 545 K and 16.1 bar. Laser ignition produced outwardly-propagating premixed flames. High-speed pressure measurements and schlieren images indicated the presence of EGAI. The fraction of the total heat release attributed to EGAI (i.e., EGAI fraction) varied with fuel reactivity (i.e., octane number) and the time-integrated temperature of the end-gas prior to ignition. Flame propagation rates, which were measured using schlieren images, were only weakly correlated with octane number but were affected by turbulence caused by variation in piston timing. Under conditions of low turbulence, measured flame propagation rates approached one-dimensional premixed laminar flame speed computations performed at the same conditions. Experiments were simulated with a three-dimensional CONVERGE™ model using reduced chemical kinetics (121 species, 538 reactions). The simulations accurately captured the measured flame propagation rates, as well as the variation in EGAI fraction with fuel reactivity and time-integrated end-gas temperature. The simulations also revealed low-temperature heat release as well as formaldehyde and hydrogen peroxide formation in the end-gas upstream of the propagating flame, which increased the temperature and degree of chain branching in the end-gas, ultimately leading to EGAI.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Total hemispherical emittance measured at high temperatures by the calorimetric method

A calorimetric vacuum emissometer (CVE) capable of measuring total hemispherical emittance of surfaces at elevated temperatures was designed, built, and tested. Several materials with a wide range of emittances were measured in the CVE between 773 to 923 K. These results were compared to values calculated from spectral emittance curves measured in a room temperature Hohlraum reflectometer and in an open-air elevated temperature emissometer. The results differed by as much as 0.2 for some materials but were in closer agreement for the more highly-emitting, diffuse-reflecting samples. The differences were attributed to temperature, atmospheric, and directional effects, and errors in the Hohlraum and emissometer measurements (plus or minus 5 percent). The probable error of the CVE measurements was typically less than 1 percent.

Difilippo, Frank↗