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At least 451 records · Page 25

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1973

Inventory of forest and rangeland and detection of forest stress

The author has identified the following significant results. Three small scales of CIR photography were interpreted to determine the number of bark beetle-killed trees detected in each of six spot size categories. A procedure was developed to predict the probability of detecting spots in each spot size category and in turn to estimate the number of infestations and dead trees even on the smallest scale. Statistical tests of the data indicated that the linear model did not fit the data and that other models should be tested. As a result of daily monitoring of Black Hills radiometric instruments it was possible to show the spectral energy relationships in the ponderosa pine ecosystems over time. These data have been helpful for comparison with radiance signatures extracted from ERTS-1 bulk 70mm using precision microdensitometry. Effects of atmospheric interference were shown by a 30 percent increase in scene radiance on channel 4 of the satellite imagery. A calibration and scaling technique was developed and tested to enable interpretation of ERTS-1 bulk and precision data for the Atlanta test site. The technique includes calibration of a photographic copy system for the I2S image combiner and the production of scaled overlays of grid coordinate systems, study area locations, and outline maps of county boundaries.

Heller, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1983

A fully vectorized numerical solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

A vectorizable algorithm is presented for the implicit finite difference solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in general curvilinear coordinates. The unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations solved are in two dimension and non-conservative primitive variable form. A two-layer algebraic eddy viscosity turbulence model is used to incorporate the effects of turbulence. Two momentum equations and a Poisson pressure equation, which is obtained by taking the divergence of the momentum equations and satisfying the continuity equation, are solved simultaneously at each time step. An elliptic grid generation approach is used to generate a boundary conforming coordinate system about an airfoil. The governing equations are expressed in terms of the curvilinear coordinates and are solved on a uniform rectangular computational domain. A checkerboard SOR, which can effectively utilize the computer architectural concept of vector processing, is used for iterative solution of the governing equations.

Patel, N.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Regularity estimates up to the boundary for elliptic systems of difference equations

Regularity estimates up to the boundary for solutions of elliptic systems of finite difference equations were proved. The regularity estimates, obtained for boundary fitted coordinate systems on domains with smooth boundary, involve discrete Sobolev norms and are proved using pseudo-difference operators to treat systems with variable coefficients. The elliptic systems of difference equations and the boundary conditions which are considered are very general in form. The regularity of a regular elliptic system of difference equations was proved equivalent to the nonexistence of eigensolutions. The regularity estimates obtained are analogous to those in the theory of elliptic systems of partial differential equations, and to the results of Gustafsson, Kreiss, and Sundstrom (1972) and others for hyperbolic difference equations.

Strikwerda, J. C.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Coolant side heat transfer with rotation: User manual for 3D-TEACH with rotation

This program solves the governing transport equations in Reynolds average form for the flow of a 3-D, steady state, viscous, heat conducting, multiple species, single phase, Newtonian fluid with combustion. The governing partial differential equations are solved in physical variables in either a Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate system. The effects of rotation on the momentum and enthalpy calculations modeled in Cartesian coordinates are examined. The flow of the fluid should be confined and subsonic with a maximum Mach number no larger than 0.5. This manual describes the operating procedures and input details for executing a 3D-TEACH computation.

Syed, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Steady-state thermal-solutal convection and diffusion in a simulated float zone

Models describing the steady-state thermal diffusion in a pure system, the thermal-solutal diffusion in a binary system, and heat and momentum transverse in a pure system are presented. The geometry of the model is described by a 2D Cartesian coordinate system that is applicable for crystal sheets. The melting, solidifying, and melt/gas interfacial shapes as well as the thermal, flow, and solutal profiles are analytically evaluated as functions of the heat and ambient temperature profiles and material properties. The solution procedure involves a coupled asymptotic/numerical approach which reduces the coupled set of partial differential equations to ordinary type. The results should be applicable in situations where melt flows are not intense enough to change the thermal field in pure systems, or where the physical properties of the melt are such that the convective field is decoupled from the thermal field, the latter being established primarily by diffusion.

Young, G. W.↗

NASA NTRS1993

An approach for finding long period elliptical orbits for precursor SEI missions

Precursors for Solar System Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions may require long period elliptical orbits about a planet. These orbits will typically have periods on the order of tens to hundreds of days. Some potential uses for these orbits may include the following: studying the effects of galactic cosmic radiation, parking orbits for engineering and operational test of systems, and ferrying orbits between libration points and low altitude orbits. This report presents an approach that can be used to find these orbits. The approach consists of three major steps. First, it uses a restricted three-body targeting algorithm to determine the initial conditions which satisfy certain desired final conditions in a system of two massive primaries. Then the initial conditions are transformed to an inertial coordinate system for use by a special perturbation method. Finally, using the special perturbation method, other perturbations (e.g., sun third body and solar radiation pressure) can be easily incorporated to determine their effects on the nominal trajectory. An algorithm potentially suitable for on-board guidance will also be discussed. This algorithm uses an analytic method relying on Chebyshev polynomials to compute the desired position and velocity of the satellite as a function of time. Together with navigation updates, this algorithm can be implemented to predict the size and timing for AV corrections.

Fraietta, Michael F.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Grid generation using differential systems techniques

The errors in approximating the derivatives of a function by traditional central differences at grid points of a curvilinear coordinate system were examined. The implications concerning the accuracy of the numerical solution of a partial differential equation are explained by considering several numerical examples. Although this study only considers the two dimensional case, the techniques and implications are equally valid for three dimensional grids. An interesting feature of the error analysis is its simplicity. Most of the results follow by merely working with the truncation terms of some power series expansion. These series expansions also give rise to higher order difference approximations which can significantly reduce error when the grid spacing changes rapidly, as might be the case in problems with shock waves or thin boundary layers.

Thompson, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1965

Dipolar coordinates

Derivation of dipolar coordinates and basic vector formulas in dipolar coordinate system - application to magnetohydrodynamic problems

VECTOR↗

NASA NTRS1982

Algebraic grid generation

The numerical solution of partial differential equations about irregular geometries and with varying characteristic scales has created the need for coordinate systems and associated transformations which reflect both geometric and physical requirements. The process of finding coordinate transformations in discrete representations is called 'grid generation'. The present investigation is concerned with three algebraic grid generation methods. The methods include transfinite interpolation, the multisurface method, and the two-boundary technique. Interpolation formulas, in terms of homotopic mappings and constraints in terms of point positions and/or derivatives are the essential elements of the techniques. The methods are relatively simple to understand, they are explicit and do not require extensive computational effort, and they have a high degree of generality.

Smith, R. E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A CAD/CAE analysis of photographic and engineering data

In the investigation of the STS 51L accident, NASA engineers were given the task of visual analysis of photographic data extracted from the tracking cameras located at the launch pad. An analysis of the rotations associated with the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was also performed. The visual analysis involved pinpointing coordinates of specific areas on the photographs. The objective of the analysis on the right SRB was to duplicate the rotations provided by the SRB rate gyros and to determine the effects of the rotations on the launch configuration. To accomplish the objectives, computer aided design and engineering was employed. The solid modeler, GEOMOD, inside the Structural Dynamics Research Corp. I-DEAS package, proved invaluable. The problem areas that were encountered and the corresponding solutions that were obtained are discussed. A brief description detailing the construction of the computer generated solid model of the STS launch configuration is given. A discussion of the coordinate systems used in the analysis is provided for the purpose of positioning the model in coordinate space. The techniques and theory used in the model analysis are described.

Goza, S. Michael↗

NASA NTRS1992

Three-dimensional boundary layer calculation by a characteristic method

A numerical method for solving the three-dimensional boundary layer equations for bodies of arbitrary shape is presented. In laminar flows, the application domain extends from incompressible to hypersonic flows with the assumption of chemical equilibrium. For turbulent boundary layers, the application domain is limited by the validity of the mixing length model used. In order to respect the hyperbolic nature of the equations reduced to first order partial derivative terms, the momentum equations are discretized along the local streamlines using of the osculator tangent plane at each node of the body fitted coordinate system. With this original approach, it is possible to overcome the use of the generalized coordinates, and therefore, it is not necessary to impose an extra hypothesis about the regularity of the mesh in which the boundary conditions are given. By doing so, it is possible to limit, and sometimes to suppress, the pre-treatment of the data coming from an inviscid calculation. Although the proposed scheme is only semi-implicit, the method remains numerically very efficient.

Houdeville, R.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Montage Version 3.0

The final version (3.0) of the Montage software has been released. To recapitulate from previous NASA Tech Briefs articles about Montage: This software generates custom, science-grade mosaics of astronomical images on demand from input files that comply with the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) standard and contain image data registered on projections that comply with the World Coordinate System (WCS) standards. This software can be executed on single-processor computers, multi-processor computers, and such networks of geographically dispersed computers as the National Science Foundation s TeraGrid or NASA s Information Power Grid. The primary advantage of running Montage in a grid environment is that computations can be done on a remote supercomputer for efficiency. Multiple computers at different sites can be used for different parts of a computation a significant advantage in cases of computations for large mosaics that demand more processor time than is available at any one site. Version 3.0 incorporates several improvements over prior versions. The most significant improvement is that this version is accessible to scientists located anywhere, through operational Web services that provide access to data from several large astronomical surveys and construct mosaics on either local workstations or remote computational grids as needed.

Jacob, Joseph↗

NASA NTRS1979

Numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for arbitrary two-dimensional multi-element airfoils

The development of a numerical simulation of time dependent, turbulent, compressible flow about two dimensional multi-element airfoils of arbitrary shape is described. The basis of this simulation is a technique of automatic numerical generation of coordinate systems fitted to the multiple bodies regardless of their number or shape. Procedures developed whereby the coordinate lines are automatically concentrated in the boundary layer at any Reynolds number are discussed. The compressible turbulent solution involves an algebraic eddy viscosity turbulence model. The laminar version was run for transonic flow at free stream Mach numbers up to 0.9.

Thompson, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Progress in development of a Navier-Stokes solver for evaluation of iced airfoil performance

A method is being developed for evaluation of the flow field behavior about an airfoil with significant ice accretion on the leading edge. The computer code, being evaluated for this purpose, solves the Navier-Stokes equations in a body-fitted curvilinear coordinate system. This requires the use of a grid generation code to transform the x-y coordinates of the physical space into xi-eta coordinates of the computational space. Evaluation of the suitability of these two codes for predicting iced airfoil performance is presently being carried out in anticipation of use in an overall icing analysis effort. Results of this evaluation to date indicate good correlation with known information on clean airfoils. Preliminary results for rime and glaze, iced airfoil shapes are also presented.

Potapczuk, M. G.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A unified lunar control network: April 1991

This program was designed to combine and transform various control networks of the Moon into a common center-of-mass coordinate system. The first phase, dealing with the near side, was completed and published. This report contains coordinates of 1166 points on the near side of the Moon.

Davies, Merton E.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Nonlinear Estimation Approach to Real-Time Georegistration from Aerial Images

When taking aerial images, it is important to know locations of specific points of interest in an Earth-centered coordinate system (latitude, longitude, height). The correspondence between a pixel location in the image and its Earth coordinate is known as georegistration. There are two main technical challenges arising in the intended application. The first is that no known features are assumed to be available in any of the images. The second is that the intended applications are real time. Here, images are taken at regular intervals (i.e. once per second), and it is desired to make decisions in real time based on the geolocation of specific objects seen in the images as they arrive. This is in sharp contrast to most current methods for geolocation that operate "after-the-fact" by processing, on the ground, a database of stored images using computationally intensive methods. The solution is a nonlinear estimation algorithm that combines processed realtime camera images with vehicle position and attitude information ob tained from an onboard GPS receiver. This approach provides accurate georegistration estimates (latitude, longitude, height) of arbitrary features and/or points of interest seen in the camera images. This solves the georegistration problem at the modest cost of augmenting the camera information with a GPS receiver carried onboard the vehicle.

Bayard, David S.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Using Systems Engineering to Develop an Integrated Crew Health and Performance System to Mitigate Risk for Human Exploration Missions

New space exploration missions are currently being designed to take humanity beyond Low EarthOrbit (LEO) to cis-lunar space, the lunar surface, and eventually to Mars. These missions carryincreased risks due to a number of factors, including distance from Earth, exposure to deep spacehazards, reduced capacity and ability to resupply and evacuate, and increased communication delays.As distance from Earth grows and mission length increases, a growing proportion of overall missionrisk can be attributed to the “human system.” Almost twenty years ago, the Institute of Medicine in theUnited States recommended the early and complete integration of the human system into thespacecraft and mission design process to mitigate this increased risk inherent in exploration missions.Exploration missions will require increasing levels of crew self-sufficiency that will challenge thecurrent operational paradigms established in LEO. Enabling progressive Earth independence requiresmanagement of the increasingly complex interactions among spacecraft systems and integration of allthe data and functions that affect human health and performance into one coordinated system – theCrew Health and Performance (CHP) system. This system is a critical spacecraft system that isanalogous to other systems such as propulsion, guidance and navigation, or avionics. Design andintegration of the CHP system requires the evidence-based merger of typically disparate disciplinessuch as medicine, human factors, and physiological support system design, using systems engineering(SE) practices. The approach described here enables spacecraft and mission designers to align thescope of a CHP system with mission specific requirements, decrease risk to the crew, and increase theprobability of mission success.

Kerry Mcguire↗

NASA NTRS1952

Generalization of Boundary-Layer Momentum-Integral Equations to Three-Dimensional Flows Including Those of Rotating System

The Navier-Stokes equations of motion and the equation of continuity are transformed so as to apply to an orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system rotating with a uniform angular velocity about an arbitrary axis in space. A usual simplification of these equations as consistent with the accepted boundary-layer theory and an integration of these equations through the boundary layer result in boundary-layer momentum-integral equations for three-dimensional flows that are applicable to either rotating or nonrotating fluid boundaries. These equations are simplified and an approximate solution in closed integral form is obtained for a generalized boundary-layer momentum-loss thickness and flow deflection at the wall in the turbulent case. A numerical evaluation of this solution carried out for data obtained in a curving nonrotating duct shows a fair quantitative agreement with the measures values. The form in which the equations are presented is readily adaptable to cases of steady, three-dimensional, incompressible boundary-layer flow like that over curved ducts or yawed wings; and it also may be used to describe the boundary-layer flow over various rotating surfaces, thus applying to turbomachinery, propellers, and helicopter blades.

Mager, Arthur↗