Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “data analysis cluster”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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

At least 505 records · Page 28

Diffuse hot gas in the NGC 4261 group of galaxies

We have found diffuse X-ray gas in the group of galaxies containing the elliptical galaxy NGC 4261. This galaxy along with its associated companions are behind the Virgo cluster in the W-cloud. A recent analysis of the velocity structure in the Virgo region indicates that the W-cloud has approximately 30 members, most of which are low luminosity dwarfs. The hot X-ray emitting gas is centered about halfway between NGC 4261 and NGC 4264 and extends out to a radius of approximately 40 min(620 kpc). The spectral data for the diffuse component are well fitted with a Raymond-Smith plasma model with a temperature of 0.85(sup +0.21)(sub -0.16) keV and abundance less than 0.08 times the solar value. Under the assumption that the diffuse gas is in hydrostatic equilibrium the total mass within 40 min is 1.9 x 10(exp 13) solar mass. We estimate that the total baryonic mass of the hot gas and the galaxies is 20%-34% of the total mass in the central 40 min radius of this group. This group of galaxies contains NGC 4273 which exhibits a 'bow shock' morphology similar to that of NGC 2276. This is thought to occur when the ram pressure from the intragroup gas significantly perturbs the interstellar medium in a late-type galaxy. We show that this is unlikely in this group.

Davis, David S.↗

Using Clustering to Establish Climate Regimes from PCM Output

A multivariate statistical clustering technique--based on the k-means algorithm of Hartigan has been used to extract patterns of climatological significance from 200 years of general circulation model (GCM) output. Originally developed and implemented on a Beowulf-style parallel computer constructed by Hoffman and Hargrove from surplus commodity desktop PCs, the high performance parallel clustering algorithm was previously applied to the derivation of ecoregions from map stacks of 9 and 25 geophysical conditions or variables for the conterminous U.S. at a resolution of 1 sq km. Now applied both across space and through time, the clustering technique yields temporally-varying climate regimes predicted by transient runs of the Parallel Climate Model (PCM). Using a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and clustering four fields of significance to the global water cycle (surface temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and snow depth) from 1871 through 2098, the authors' analysis shows an increase in spatial area occupied by the cluster or climate regime which typifies desert regions (i.e., an increase in desertification) and a decrease in the spatial area occupied by the climate regime typifying winter-time high latitude perma-frost regions. The patterns of cluster changes have been analyzed to understand the predicted variability in the water cycle on global and continental scales. In addition, representative climate regimes were determined by taking three 10-year averages of the fields 100 years apart for northern hemisphere winter (December, January, and February) and summer (June, July, and August). The result is global maps of typical seasonal climate regimes for 100 years in the past, for the present, and for 100 years into the future. Using three-dimensional data or phase space representations of these climate regimes (i.e., the cluster centroids), the authors demonstrate the portion of this phase space occupied by the land surface at all points in space and time. Any single spot on the globe will exist in one of these climate regimes at any single point in time. By incrementing time, that same spot will trace out a trajectory or orbit between and among these climate regimes (or atmospheric states) in phase (or state) space. When a geographic region enters a state it never previously visited, a climatic change is said to have occurred. Tracing out the entire trajectory of a single spot on the globe yields a 'manifold' in state space representing the shape of its predicted climate occupancy. This sort of analysis enables a researcher to more easily grasp the multivariate behavior of the climate system.

Oglesby, Robert↗

Utilizing Airborne and Space-Based Remote Sensing Imagery to Implement the Unvegetated-Vegetated Ratio to Assess Salt Marsh Vulnerability in South Carolina

Among the most productive ecosystems on earth, salt marshes provide crucial ecosystem services including water filtration, shoreline protection, storm surge buffering, and flood mitigation. Marshes are largely dependent on their sediment budget which can significantly vary across a region and can be used to determine the life span of the marsh. Upstream land use change near Charleston, South Carolina, along with rising sea levels, are expected to alter sediment budgets and threaten marsh stability and long-term health. The unvegetated-vegetated ratio (UVVR), developed by researchers at USGS, is a scalable and efficient method to assess vulnerability. The NASA DEVELOP National Program collaborated with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the United States Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center to apply the UVVR method within Google Earth Engine. Marsh vulnerability was analyzed using UVVR derived from clustering and manual interpretation of National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) high-resolution aerial imagery. NAIP derived UVVR was aggregated to Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) resolution and projection. A Random Forest Regression between Landsat derived data and UVVR was modeled to estimate a potential relationship. The estimation of this relationship was used to produce temporal change analysis maps of salt marsh vulnerability back to 1984. The NAIP imagery processed through Google Earth Engine allowed us to make detailed UVVR maps for 2009, 2015, 2017, and 2019 for decision making within South Carolina. Google Earth Engine scripting provided a novel approach to UVVR methodology that will allow decision makers to input new marsh regions and easily calculate marsh vulnerability without external data downloading. These results were used to understand what areas of the marsh need most resource allocation in the future.

NASA DEVELOP↗

Atacama Compact Array Measurements of the Molecular Mass in the NGC 5044 Cooling-Flow Group

The fate of cooling gas in the centers of galaxy clusters and groups is still not well understood, as is also the case for the complex processes of triggering star formation in central dominant galaxies, reheating of cooled gas by active galactic nuclei (AGN), and the triggering or “feeding” of supermassive black hole outbursts. We present CO observations of the early-type galaxy NGC 5044, which resides at the center of an X-ray bright group with a moderate cooling flow. For our analysis we combine CO(2−1) data from the 7 m antennae of the Atacama Compact Array (ACA) and the ACA total power array (TP). We demonstrate, using the 7 m array data, that we can recover the total flux inferred from IRAM 30 m single-dish observations, which corresponds to a total molecular mass of about 4 × 10(exp 7) M⨀ Most of the recovered flux is blueshifted with respect to the galaxy rest frame and is extended on kiloparsec-scales, suggesting low filling factor dispersed clouds. We find eight concentrations of molecular gas out to a radius of 10” (1.5 kpc), which we identify with giant molecular clouds. The total molecular gas mass is more centrally concentrated than the X-ray emitting gas but is extended in the northeast-southwest direction beyond the IRAM 30 m beam. We also compare the spatial extent of the molecular gas to the Hα emission: The CO emission coincides with the very bright Hα region in the center. We do not detect CO emission in the fainter Hα regions. Furthermore, we find two CO absorption features spatially located at the center of the galaxy, within 5 pc projected distance of the AGN, infalling at 255 and 265 km s(exp −1) relative to the AGN. This indicates that the two giant molecular clouds seen in absorption are most likely within the sphere of influence of the supermassive black hole.

Galaxy clusters↗

Three dimensional CSCM method for the compressible Navier-Stokes equations with application to a multi-nozzle exhaust flowfield

The effective design of three-dimensional flow systems such as a clustered multinozzle shrouded exhaust system requires detailed analysis of the internal flowfield. It is pointed out that new numerical techniques on the most modern vector computers are making these analyses practicable. In this paper, the upwind differenced implicit conservative supracharacteristics method (CSCM) for three-dimensional viscous flow is presented. The new method is an implicit 'method of planes' symmetric Gauss-Seidel relaxation scheme. The data is conveniently stored on successive planes along the streamwise coordinate, and the system of equations is solved twice in each successive plane of the streamwise coordinate. The developed new three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes algorithm combines the best features of the storage and computationally efficient space marching procedures with the generality of time dependent techniques to solve flows with elliptic and streamwise separated flows.

Bardina, J.↗

Analysis of magnetic field data from Pioneer Venus orbiter

The subject grant (NAG 2-501) supported the analysis of magnetic field data from the Pioneer Venus orbiter for the period 10/1/87 to 9/30/94. During that period, 188 papers were contributed to scientific meetings that either analyzed the magnetometer data or used the data as part of the analysis of a scientific problem. Further, 107 papers were published in research journals and books. The magnetic moment of Venus was described. Venus was found to be essentially devoid of any intrinsic magnetic field. There was evidence though for the presence of lightning in the Venus atmosphere. The altitude distribution of impulsive signals in the night atmosphere was mapped and geographic clusters were found, most probably associated with local time ordering. A new means to create flux ropes in the ionosphere was postulated. On the nightside, ionospheric holes, ionospheric clouds, and tail rays were studied. The subsolar ionopause and the magnetic barrier were examined as was the altitude asymmetry of the ionopause, properties of the magnetosheath, and location of the bow shock upstream waves.

Russell, Christopher T.↗

Crater clusters and light mantle at the Apollo 17 site - A result of secondary impact from Tycho

The morphologies of Tycho secondary craters and their ejecta deposits were studied using full-moon, Lunar-Orbiter, and Apollo panoramic photographs. These data were compared with similar data for the secondary craters and light mantle of the Apollo 17 landing site. The results indicate that (1) the central crater cluster and the light mantle can be attributed to Tycho, (2) the dominant mechanism for emplacement of the light mantle was impact by secondary craters that threw material across the valley floor, and (3) level sheets of material may be emplaced locally by secondary impact. Analysis of returned samples confirms that secondary impacts rework mostly local material.

Lucchitta, B. K.↗

Evaluation of Clouds, Radiation, and Precipitation in CMIP6 Models Using Global Weather States Derived from ISCCP-H Cloud Property Data

A clustering methodology is applied to cloud optical depth cloud top pressure (TAU-PC) histograms from the new, 1-degree resolution, ISCCP-H dataset, to derive an updated global Weather State (WS) dataset. Then, PC-TAU histograms from current-climate CMIP6 model simulations are assigned to the ISCCP-H WSs along with their concurrent radiation and precipitation properties, to evaluate model cloud, radiation, and precipitation properties in the context of the Weather States. The new ISCCP-H analysis produces WSs that are very similar to those previously found in the lower resolution ISCCP-D dataset. The main difference lies in the splitting of the ISCCP-D thin stratocumulus WS between the ISCCP-H shallow cumulus and stratocumulus WSs, which results in the reduction by one of the total WS number. The evaluation of the CMIP6 models against the ISCCP-H Weather States, shows that, in the ensemble mean, the models are producing an adequate representation of the frequency and geographical distribution of the WSs, with measurable improvements compared to the WSs derived for the CMIP5 ensemble. However, the frequency of shallow cumulus clouds continues to be underestimated, and, in some WSs the good agreement of the ensemble mean with observations comes from averaging models that significantly overpredict and underpredict the ISCCP-H WS frequency. In addition, significant biases exist in the internal cloud properties of the model WSs, such as the model underestimation of cloud fraction in middle-top clouds and secondarily in midlatitude storm and stratocumulus clouds, that result in an underestimation of cloud SW cooling in those regimes.

Clouds↗

The IMACS Cluster Building Survey. I. Description of the Survey and Analysis Methods

The IMACS Cluster Building Survey uses the wide field spectroscopic capabilities of the IMACS spectrograph on the 6.5 m Baade Telescope to survey the large-scale environment surrounding rich intermediate-redshift clusters of galaxies. The goal is to understand the processes which may be transforming star-forming field galaxies into quiescent cluster members as groups and individual galaxies fall into the cluster from the surrounding supercluster. This first paper describes the survey: the data taking and reduction methods. We provide new calibrations of star formation rates (SFRs) derived from optical and infrared spectroscopy and photometry. We demonstrate that there is a tight relation between the observed SFR per unit B luminosity, and the ratio of the extinctions of the stellar continuum and the optical emission lines.With this, we can obtain accurate extinction-corrected colors of galaxies. Using these colors as well as other spectral measures, we determine new criteria for the existence of ongoing and recent starbursts in galaxies.

IMACS↗

Proceedings of the Workshop on the Spectrophotometric Dating of Stars and Galaxies

In the past decade, we have seen an avalanche of new observational results from space observatories and ground-based observatories. These observations have revealed young globular clusters in the cores of merger galaxies, elliptical galaxies at redshifts up to z=1.5, and starburst galaxies at high redshift. Analyses of the detailed spectra or color- magnitude diagrams of these systems promise to give a new understanding of evolutionary processes and to provide a check on cosmological ages. At the same time, these new spectro-photometric data present new challenges to current methods of spectral analysis and modeling.At the Workshop, we will discuss these new opportunities and challenges on spectro-photometric dating of stars and galaxies.

Hubeny, Ivan↗

MEASURE: An integrated data-analysis and model identification facility

The first phase of the development of MEASURE, an integrated data analysis and model identification facility is described. The facility takes system activity data as input and produces as output representative behavioral models of the system in near real time. In addition a wide range of statistical characteristics of the measured system are also available. The usage of the system is illustrated on data collected via software instrumentation of a network of SUN workstations at the University of Illinois. Initially, statistical clustering is used to identify high density regions of resource-usage in a given environment. The identified regions form the states for building a state-transition model to evaluate system and program performance in real time. The model is then solved to obtain useful parameters such as the response-time distribution and the mean waiting time in each state. A graphical interface which displays the identified models and their characteristics (with real time updates) was also developed. The results provide an understanding of the resource-usage in the system under various workload conditions. This work is targeted for a testbed of UNIX workstations with the initial phase ported to SUN workstations on the NASA, Ames Research Center Advanced Automation Testbed.

Singh, Jaidip↗

Autonomous Navigation, Guidance, and Control Software in a Low SWaP Box

Onboard autonomy is a necessity for responsive space operations. Autonomous navigation, guidance, and control (NGC) enables space missions to reduce their dependence on high demand ground assets and costly ground personnel. It also allows for in-situ decision making and higher return on mission data. A flight software and hardware system providing this capability, called “autoNGC,” is currently being developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for infusion into multiple future missions. The autoNGC flight software is built on the plug-and-play architecture of the core Flight System (cFS) consisting of the standard cFS apps and newly developed autoNGC interface apps and libraries. The various apps cooperate through communication over the message-based software bus. With the plug-and-play architecture of autoNGC, cFS apps can easily be added and replaced to meet the needs of different missions, even after launch. The first flight software release of autoNGC is targeted for Summer 2024 to provide autonomous navigation at the Moon and beyond. It can perform sensor fusion of multiple measurement types including pseudo-range from a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver (including weak signal), 1-way and 2-way range and Doppler from ground stations (i.e., direct to Earth (DTE)), bearing and range from optical camera images, and accelerometer data. Accurate onboard navigation and timing is obtained through the Goddard Enhanced Onboard Navigation System (GEONS) software library which fuses different measurement types through an extended Kalman filter (EKF) framework. Optical measurements that are ingested in GEONS are first extracted from optical images by the cFS Goddard Image Analysis and Navigation Tool (cGIANT) app. If the imaged body is far enough away that it appears as a pixel or cluster of pixels, then bearing angles to the body centroid can be provided. If the body is close enough and the shape is known coarsely, then bearing angles and range to the body centroid can be derived from the limb. Bearing angles to individual surface features can also be extracted (i.e., terrain relative navigation (TRN)). Onboard guidance and control capabilities are being developed for a future release to perform autonomous station-keeping and trajectory correction maneuvers in multiple orbital regimes. Capabilities to enable distributed systems missions and constellations, such as crosslink measurements, and onboard time management are being developed as well. The first hardware implementation of autoNGC is a minimal size, weight, and power (SWaP) design allowing for inclusion into CubeSats and SmallSat-size buses. Advancements in miniaturized space processors, such as the SpaceCube 3.0 Mini and the SpaceCube Mini-Z are utilized for low SWaP while maintaining a high level of performance. The current enclosure design is 12 cm x 17 cm x 13.5 cm. The box mass is expected to be less than 2 kg, and the nominal power is 21 W. In order to accommodate a wide range of missions, the hardware interfaces are designed for flexibility with a variety of sensor inputs. Through comprehensive testing in the software-in-the-loop, processor-in-the-loop, and hardware-in-the-loop test beds that are concurrently being developed, autoNGC is expected to achieve TRL 6 by late 2024.

Sun Hur-Diaz↗

Monte Carlo predictions of DNA fragment-size distributions for large sizes after HZE particle irradiation

DSBs (double-strand breaks) produced by densely ionizing space radiation are not located randomly in the genome: recent data indicate DSB clustering along chromosomes. DSB clustering at large scales, from >100 Mbp down to approximately 2 kbp, is modeled using a Monte-Carlo algorithm. A random-walk model of chromatin is combined with a track model, that predicts the radial distribution of energy from an ion, and the RLC (randomly-located-clusters) formalism, in software called DNAbreak. This model generalizes the random-breakage model, whose broken-stick fragment-size distribution is applicable to low-LET radiation. DSB induction due to track interaction with the DNA volume depends on the radiation quality parameter Q. This dose-independent parameter depends only weakly on LET. Multi-track, high-dose effects depend on the cluster intensity parameter lambda, proportional to fluence as defined by the RLC formalism. After lambda is determined by a numerical experiment, the model reduces to one adjustable parameter Q. The best numerical fits to the experimental data, determining Q, are obtained. The knowledge of lambda and Q allows us to give biophysically based extrapolations of high-dose DNA fragment-size data to low doses or to high LETs.

NASA Center JSC↗

Mineralogical Analysis of Calcium-Aluminum-Rich Inclusions Provides Insight Into Post-Formation Processes

Introduction: Calcium-aluminum inclusions (CAIs) are cm- to mm-sized intergrowths of refractory phases found in chondritic meteorites [1]. Their mineral compositions closely match the compositions of the solids thought to condense from an extremely hot (>1500K) gas with a bulk solar composition [2-4], suggesting that CAIs were the earliest solids within the Solar System [2-4]. These inclusions provide invaluable insights into the conditions and dynamics of the early Solar System. CAIs must be transported from their formation region near the protosun to the chondrite parent-body accretion region. The nature of their journey could affect how, when, and where the secondary processes recorded in these CAIs occurred [4]. Did these secondary processes occur in the solar nebula or during accretion with the parent body, or both? How were the CAIs affected by varying thermochemical processes? To better answer these questions, we have undertaken an in-depth, textural study of the secondary alteration of select CAI samples. Methods: We chose three CAIs that experienced a range of post-formation processing to gain better understanding of secondary alteration based on previous preliminary examination [5]. Representative CAIs were chosen from NWA 5508 (CV3), NWA 12772 (CV3), and Coolidge (CL4) carbonaceous chondrites. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques for detailed chemical, mineralogical, and textural analysis of the CAIs. Backscattered electron (BSE) images and X-ray elemental maps were taken of Coolidge and NWA 5508 using the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) Phenom SEM. The JEOL 7900F SEM at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) was used to obtain energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) chemical maps of all samples. High resolution EBSD analysis identified the mineral phases and textures, providing key information on their nature. Based on the SEM and EBSD data, minerals of interest were selected for quantitative chemical electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) using the JEOL JXA-8530F at NASA JSC. Results and Discussion: The EDS maps show that the NWA 5508 and NWA 12772 CAIs designated “Saguaro” and “Hoopoe” respectively [5] are enriched in calcium while the Coolidge CAI designated “Cottonwood” is aluminum and magnesium rich. Saguaro. A ~1.5cm diameter igneous Type B CAI with a rounded shape. The dominant phases are melilite, spinel, and Al-Ti pyroxene with minor anorthite. Spinel is subhedral and occurs in clusters. Some of these clusters have a circular geometry which encloses other minerals, known as a palisade structure [6] (Fig. 1). Some palisades form near perfect circles while others are more irregular in shape. Melilite in Saguaro ranges in size from coarse (>250m) to fine-grained (5-7m) and forms intergrown laths. A third of the melilite grains exhibit simple twinning about their <001> axis. The spinel palisades and twinned melilite in Saguaro suggest an igneous history, and the lack of secondary minerals suggests minimal aqueous alteration. At some point in time after the initial condensation of the minerals and formation of the inclusion, the sample was remelted and quickly solidified. The formation of the palisades is still heavily debated. One hypothesis is that the palisades are the rims of smaller CAIs that accreted early on, essentially acting as xenoliths within the larger CAIs [7]. Another hypothesis suggests an igneous origin for palisade structures [6-8] wherein the melt traps gas bubbles, and the spinel nucleates on the surface of this bubble. Based on the WDS spot analyses of 41 melilite grains using EPMA, the data suggest that the composition inside and outside the palisades is nearly identical. This finding indicates that these palisades are likely not exogenous but rather formed from melt-vapor reactions. Our results are consistent with studies by Simon and Grossman,1997 [6] and Zhang et al. (2019) [8]. Hoopoe. A ~0.5cm compact Type A CAI with an irregular shape. The dominant mineral phases are melilite, spinel, and hibonite with minor amounts of anorthite, augite, and perovskite. The melilite ranges in size from ~500 to 50µm. The larger melilite grains have simple twinning along the <001> axis like melilite in Saguaro. Melilite in Hoopoe exhibits crystal-plastic strain with misorientation dominantly about the <010> and <110> axes. Spinel shows subhedral to euhedral morphology and appears in clusters. Hibonite grains are similar to spinel in habit and size but show more plastic strain. The two minerals are often found together with one appearing to replace the other. Perovskite appears in fine grained recrystallized regions alongside fine augite and spinel. The abundant strain and deformation features in the melilite and hibonite suggest that Hoopoe experienced shock. This shock could have occurred in the nebula [9] or from an impact of another body on the parent body asteroid. The appearance of fine-grained (<10m) areas of augite, perovskite, and spinel in the dominantly coarse-grained inclusion suggest recrystallization, possibly due to the sudden increase in pressure and temperature. Cottonwood. This ~0.5cm CAI exhibits distinct mineralogy and textures suggesting a high degree of alteration. It is irregular in shape. The dominant mineral phases are spinel and anorthite with minor amounts of augite and rutile. The two main texture types can be seen in Fig. 2. The first type consists of coarse euhedral to subhedral spinel and anorthite. The second includes fine grained spinel, anorthite, rutile, and iron sulfides. Within these fine-grained regions, the anorthite grains are clustered into domains exhibiting the same crystallographic orientation. Rutile exclusively occurs with fine anorthite indicating a potential relationship between the two. Cottonwood has a clear and unbroken Wark-Lovering [10] rim (Fig. 2) on one side that consists of a sequence of spinel followed by anorthite and an outer layer of augite. The abundance of the fine-grained regions containing iron oxides and iron sulfides, secondary phases such as rutile, and oriented anorthite grains is evidence for recrystallization associated with a high degree of thermal metamorphism. The EPMA analyses on both coarse- and fine-grained spinel show that the fine spinel grains are more enriched in Cr (1-2 wt. %) than their coarse counterparts (0.1-0.5 wt. %). The data suggest thermal metamorphism drove chemical exchange of the previously refractory inclusion, introducing chromium and iron as well as sulfur, which is moderately volatile. Conclusions: The three CAIs analyzed record distinct secondary nebular and parent body processes. Saguaro melted in the nebula as seen by the twinned melilite and spinel palisades. Hoopoe experienced intense shock which deformed its melilite and recrystallized perovskite, augite, and spinel in fine-grained regions. Cottonwood shows evidence of recrystallization and chemical changes consistent with thermal metamorphism occurring after accretion into the parent-body.

V E Burnette↗

Whistler Waves Driven by Anisotropic Strahl Velocity Distributions: Cluster Observations

Observed properties of the strahl using high resolution 3D electron velocity distribution data obtained from the Cluster/PEACE experiment are used to investigate its linear stability. An automated method to isolate the strahl is used to allow its moments to be computed independent of the solar wind core+halo. Results show that the strahl can have a high temperature anisotropy (T(perpindicular)/T(parallell) approximately > 2). This anisotropy is shown to be an important free energy source for the excitation of high frequency whistler waves. The analysis suggests that the resultant whistler waves are strong enough to regulate the electron velocity distributions in the solar wind through pitch-angle scattering

Vinas, A.F.↗

The continuum spectral characteristics of gamma ray bursts observed by BATSE

Distributions of the continuum spectral characteristics of 260 bursts in the first Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) catalog are presented. The data are derived from flux ratios calculated from the BATSE Large Area Detector (LAD) four channel discriminator data. The data are converted from counts to photons using a direct spectral inversion technique to remove the effects of atmospheric scattering and the energy dependence of the detector angular response. Although there are intriguing clusterings of bursts in the spectral hardness ratio distributions, no evidence for the presence of distinct burst classes based on spectral hardness ratios alone is found. All subsets of bursts selected for their spectral characteristics in this analysis exhibit spatial distributions consistent with isotropy. The spectral diversity of the burst population appears to be caused largely by the highly variable nature of the burst production mechanisms themselves.

Pendleton, Geoffrey N.↗

The continuum spectral characteristics of gamma-ray bursts observed by BATSE

Distributions of the continuum spectral characteristics of 260 bursts in the first Burst And Transient Source Experiement (BATSE) catalog are presented. The data are derived from flux calculated from BATSE Large Area Detector (LAD) four-channel discriminator data. The data are converted from counts to protons using a direct spectral inversion technique to remove the effects of atmospheric scattering and the energy dependence of the detector angular response. Although there are intriguing clusters of bursts in the spectral hardness ratio distributions, no evidence for the presence of distinct burst classes based in spectral hardness ratios alone is found. All subsets of bursts selected for their spectral characteristics in this analysis exhibit spatial distributions consistent with isotropy. The spectral diversity of the burst population appears to be caused largely by the highly variable nature of the burst production mechanisms themselves.

Pendleton, Geoffrey N.↗

Numerical Study of Base Pressure Characteristic Curve for a Four-Engine Clustered Nozzle Configuration

Excessive base heating has been a problem for many launch vehicles. For certain designs such as the direct dump of turbine exhaust in the nozzle section and at the nozzle lip of the Space Transportation Systems Engine (STME), the potential burning of the turbine exhaust in the base region has caused tremendous concern. Two conventional approaches have been considered for predicting the base environment: (1) empirical approach, and (2) experimental approach. The empirical approach uses a combination of data correlations and semi-theoretical calculations. It works best for linear problems, simple physics and geometry. However, it is highly suspicious when complex geometry and flow physics are involved, especially when the subject is out of historical database. The experimental approach is often used to establish database for engineering analysis. However, it is qualitative at best for base flow problems. Other criticisms include the inability to simulate forebody boundary layer correctly, the interference effect from tunnel walls, and the inability to scale all pertinent parameters. Furthermore, there is a contention that the information extrapolated from subscale tests with combustion is not conservative. One potential alternative to the conventional methods is computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which has none of the above restrictions and is becoming more feasible due to maturing algorithms and advancing computer technology. It provides more details of the flowfield and is only limited by computer resources. However, it has its share of criticisms as a predictive tool for base environment. One major concern is that CFD has not been extensively tested for base flow problems. It is therefore imperative that CFD be assessed and benchmarked satisfactorily for base flows. In this study, the turbulent base flowfield of a experimental investigation for a four-engine clustered nozzle is numerically benchmarked using a pressure based CFD method. Since the cold air was the medium, accurate prediction of the base pressure distributions at high altitudes is the primary goal. Other factors which may influence the numerical results such as the effects of grid density, turbulence model, differencing scheme, and boundary conditions are also being addressed. Preliminary results of the computed base pressure agreed reasonably well with that of the measurement. Basic base flow features such as the reverse jet, wall jet, recompression shock, and static pressure field in plane of impingement have been captured.

Wang, Ten-See↗