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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.

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At least 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2021

A Phenomenon-Based Decomposition of Model-Based Estimates of Boreal Winter ENSO Variability

Climate models are now routinely being used to simulate and predict climate variability on time scales ranging from sub-seasonal to seasonal and longer. As such, there are now long histories of such simulations and predictions spanning multiple decades and multiple ensemble members, both of which are crucial for separating climate signal from climate noise. A key focus of such runs has been the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), spurred by recent improvements in our ability to predict such events, though questions remain as to how well climate models do beyond simply always predicting the “canonical” atmospheric response to an ENSO event—something simple statistical models already do reasonably well. This is a critical issue that needs addressing, given the importance of event-to-event differences for predicting regional impacts of ENSO teleconnections, and the need to justify the expense of running sophisticated climate models. Unfortunately, current diagnostic tools are not well suited for quantifying the different sources of variability associated with specific phenomena such as ENSO. More generally, while much effort has focused on addressing model bias, less has been done to address errors in second moment statistics—an issue whose importance is gaining increased attention particularly as we build climate prediction systems capable of taking advantage of forecasts of opportunity—a capability that requires reliable estimates of forecast uncertainty. In this report, we outline a phenomenon-based statistical decomposition of climate variance(in essence a detailed variance budget)that is specifically tailored to address the above questions by separating the variability (both the signal and noise) into that tied to the long-term average impact of a particular phenomenon(the composite mean) and the event-to-event(E2E) variability about the composite mean. In addition, we provide related decompositions of the correlations that allow us to quantify how much of the agreement with observations (the skill) comes from the composite mean as opposed to from the E2Evariability. As an example, we present the results of such a decomposition for ENSO based on simulations with the GEOS atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM), with a focus on the monthly mean impacts over North America during boreal winter(December –March). Here we take advantage of existing GEOS AGCM simulations that were produced as companion simulations to MERRA-2for the period 1980-2016. Comparisons are made throughout with MERRA-2.

ENSO↗
NASA NTRS1972

Experiment and analysis of directional effects on radiant heat transfer.

Critical examination of the validity of the commonly used simplified models for predicting local and overall radiant heat interchange among real surfaces. The spectral local irradiation was measured at wavelengths of 3.08 and 4.51 microns in a configuration consisting of three plane parallel surfaces of finite extent. The test surfaces were gold with mechanical roughness and temperature varying from 0.02 to 7.1 microns and 77 to 760 K, respectively. Comparisons between experimental data and predictions for six different models ranging from the simple diffuse to the most detailed diffuse-plus-specular-directional-property model with specular component calculated according to Beckmann are presented. It is shown that the calculation of the overall irradiation using appropriate constant-property models agrees well with the experimental data to within combined experimental and analytical uncertainty. In general, it is concluded that for accurate prediction of local irradiation the directional characteristics of the surfaces must be considered.

Toor, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Validation of engineering methods for predicting hypersonic vehicle controls forces and moments

This work examines the ability of the aerodynamic analysis methods contained in an industry standard conceptual design code, the Aerodynamic Preliminary Analysis System (APAS II), to estimate the forces and moments generated through control surface deflections from low subsonic to high hypersonic speeds. Predicted control forces and moments generated by various control effectors are compared with previously published wind-tunnel and flight-test data for three vehicles: the North American X-15, a hypersonic research airplane concept, and the Space Shuttle Orbiter. Qualitative summaries of the results are given for each force and moment coefficient and each control derivative in the various speed ranges. Results show that all predictions of longitudinal stability and control derivatives are acceptable for use at the conceptual design stage.

Maughmer, M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Application of supersonic linear theory and hypersonic impact methods to three nonslender hypersonic airplane concepts at Mach numbers from 1.10 to 2.86

Aerodynamic predictions from supersonic linear theory and hypersonic impact theory were compared with experimental data for three hypersonic research airplane concepts over a Mach number range from 1.10 to 2.86. The linear theory gave good lift prediction and fair to good pitching-moment prediction over the Mach number (M) range. The tangent-cone theory predictions were good for lift and fair to good for pitching moment for M more than or equal to 2.0. The combined tangent-cone theory predictions were good for lift and fair to good for pitching moment for M more than or equal to 2.0. The combined tangent-cone/tangent-wedge method gave the least accurate prediction of lift and pitching moment. The zero-lift drag was overestimated, especially for M less than 2.0. The linear theory drag prediction was generally poor, with areas of good agreement only for M less than or equal to 1.2. For M more than or equal to 2.), the tangent-cone method predicted the zero-lift drag most accurately.

Pittman, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Broadband Noise Control Using Predictive Techniques

Predictive controllers have found applications in a wide range of industrial processes. Two types of such controllers are generalized predictive control and deadbeat control. Recently, deadbeat control has been augmented to include an extended horizon. This modification, named deadbeat predictive control, retains the advantage of guaranteed stability and offers a novel way of control weighting. This paper presents an application of both predictive control techniques to vibration suppression of plate modes. Several system identification routines are presented. Both algorithms are outlined and shown to be useful in the suppression of plate vibrations. Experimental results are given and the algorithms are shown to be applicable to non- minimal phase systems.

Eure, Kenneth W.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Parafoveal Target Detectability Reversal Predicted by Local Luminance and Contrast Gain Control

This project is part of a program to develop image discrimination models for the prediction of the detectability of objects in a range of backgrounds. We wanted to see if the models could predict parafoveal object detection as well as they predict detection in foveal vision. We also wanted to make our simplified models more general by local computation of luminance and contrast gain control. A signal image (0.78 x 0.17 deg) was made by subtracting a simulated airport runway scene background image (2.7 deg square) from the same scene containing an obstructing aircraft. Signal visibility contrast thresholds were measured in a fully crossed factorial design with three factors: eccentricity (0 deg or 4 deg), background (uniform or runway scene background), and fixed-pattern white noise contrast (0%, 5%, or 10%). Three experienced observers responded to three repetitions of 60 2IFC trials in each condition and thresholds were estimated by maximum likelihood probit analysis. In the fovea the average detection contrast threshold was 4 dB lower for the runway background than for the uniform background, but in the parafovea, the average threshold was 6 dB higher for the runway background than for the uniform background. This interaction was similar across the different noise levels and for all three observers. A likely reason for the runway background giving a lower threshold in the fovea is the low luminance near the signal in that scene. In our model, the local luminance computation is controlled by a spatial spread parameter. When this parameter and a corresponding parameter for the spatial spread of contrast gain were increased for the parafoveal predictions, the model predicts the interaction of background with eccentricity.

Ahumada, Albert J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Atmospheric effects of stratospheric aircraft - A status report from NASA's High-Speed Research Program

Studies have indicated that, with sufficient technology development, future high-speed civil transport aircraft could be economically competitive with long-haul subsonic aircraft. However, uncertainty about atmospheric pollution, along with community noise and sonic boom, continues to be a major concern which is being addressed in the planned six-year High-Speed Research Program begun in 1990. Building on NASA's research in atmospheric science and emissions reduction, current analytical predictions indicate that an operating range may exist at altitudes below 20 km (i.e., corresponding to a cruise Mach number of approximately 2.4) where the goal level of 5 gm equivalent NO2 emissions/kg fuel will deplete less than one percent of column ozone. Because it will not be possible to directly measure the impact of an aircraft fleet on the atmosphere, the only means of assessment will be prediction. The process of establishing credibility for the predicted effects will likely be complex and involve continued model development and testing against climatological patterns. In particular, laboratory simulation of heterogeneous chemistry and other effects, and direct measurements of well understood tracers in the troposphere and stratosphere are being used to improve the current models.

Wesoky, Howard L.↗
NASA NTRS1975

An investigation of fracture toughness, fatigue-crack growth, sustained-load flaw growth, and impact properties of three pressure vessel steels

The elastic fracture toughness of the three steels is shown to not decrease significantly with decreasing temperature from room temperature to about 244 K (-20 F.). The elastic fracture toughness of the three steels increased with increasing specimen width and thickness. The fatigue-crack-growth data for all three steels fall into relatively narrow scatter bands on plots of rate against stress-intensity range. An equation is shown to predict the upper bounds of the scatter bands reasonably well. Charpy impact energies decreased with decreasing temperature in the nominal temperature range from room temperature to 244 K (-20 F). The nil-ductility temperatures of the steels are discussed.

Hudson, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Measurement and prediction of propeller flow field on the PTA aircraft at speeds of up to Mach 0.85

High speed subsonic transports powered by advanced propellers provide significant fuel savings compared to turbofan powered transports. Unfortunately, however, propfans must operate in aircraft-induced nonuniform flow fields which can lead to high blade cyclic stresses, vibration and noise. To optimize the design and installation of these advanced propellers, therefore, detailed knowledge of the complex flow field is required. As part of the NASA Propfan Test Assessment (PTA) program, a 1/9 scale semispan model of the Gulfstream II propfan test-bed aircraft was tested in the NASA-Lewis 8 x 6 supersonic wind tunnel to obtain propeller flow field data. Detailed radial and azimuthal surveys were made to obtain the total pressure in the flow and the three components of velocity. Data was acquired for Mach numbers ranging from 0.6 to 0.85. Analytical predictions were also made using a subsonic panel method, QUADPAN. Comparison of wind-tunnel measurements and analytical predictions show good agreement throughout the Mach range.

Aljabri, Abdullah S.↗
NASA NTRS2023

A New Model of Dry Firn Densification Constrained By Continuous Strain Measurements Near South Pole

Converting measurements of ice-sheet surface elevation change to mass change requires measurements of accumulation and knowledge of the evolution of the density profile in the firn. Most firn-densification models are tuned using measured depth-density profiles, a method which is based on an assumption that the density profile in the firn is invariant through time. Here we present continuous measurements of firn-compaction rates in 12 boreholes near the South Pole over a two-year period. To our knowledge, these are the first continuous measurements of firn compaction on the Antarctic Plateau. We use the data to derive a new firn-densification algorithm framed as a constitutive relationship. We also compare our measurements to compaction rates predicted by several existing firn densification models. Results indicate that an activation energy of 60 kJ mol (−1), a value within the range used by current models, best predicts the seasonal cycle in compaction rates on the Antarctic Plateau. Our results suggest models can predict firn-compaction rates with at best 7% uncertainty and cumulative firn compaction on a two year timescale with at best 8% uncertainty.

C. Max Stevens↗
NASA NTRS1983

Propagation of sound in highly porous open-cell elastic foams

This work presents both theoretical predictions and experimental measurements of attenuation and progressive phase constants of sound in open-cell, highly porous, elastic polyurethane foams. The foams are available commercially in graded pore sizes for which information about the static flow resistance, thermal time constant, volume porosity, dynamic structure factor, and speed of sound is known. The analysis is specialized to highly porous foams which can be efficient sound absorbers at audio frequencies. Negligible effect of internal wave coupling on attenuation and phase shift for the frequency range 16-6000 Hz was predicted and no experimentally significant effects were observed in the bulk samples studied. The agreement between predictions and measurements in bulk materials is excellent. The analysis is applicable to both the regular and compressed elastic open-cell foams.

Lambert, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Flight Test Techniques Used to Evaluate Performance Benefits During Formation Flight

The Autonomous Formation Flight research project has been implemented at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center to demonstrate the benefits of formation flight and develop advanced technologies to facilitate exploiting these benefits. Two F/A-18 aircraft have been modified to precisely control and monitor relative position, and to determine performance of the trailing airplane. Flight test maneuvers and analysis techniques have been developed to determine the performance advantages, including drag and fuel flow reductions and improvements in range factor. By flying the trailing airplane through a matrix of lateral, longitudinal, and vertical offset positions, a detailed map of the performance benefits has been obtained at two flight conditions. Significant performance benefits have been obtained during this flight test phase. Drag reductions of more than 20 percent and fuel flow reductions of more than 18 percent have been measured at flight conditions of Mach 0.56 and an altitude of 25,000 ft. The results show favorable agreement with published theory and generic predictions. An F/A-18 long-range cruise mission at Mach 0.8 and an altitude of 40,000 ft has been simulated in the optimum formation position and has demonstrated a 14-percent fuel reduction when compared with a controlled chase airplane of similar configuration.

Ray, Ronald J.↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Aeroacoustics of Slowly Diverging Supersonic Jets

This paper is concerned with utilizing the acoustic analogy approach to predict the sound from unheated supersonic jets. Previous attempts have been unsuccessful at making such predictions over the Mach number range of practical interest. The present paper, therefore, focuses on implementing the necessary refinements needed to accomplish this objective. The important effects influencing peak supersonic noise turn out to be source convection, mean flow refraction, mean flow amplification, and source non-compactness. It appears that the last two effects have not been adequately dealt with in the literature. The first of these because the usual parallel flow models produce most of the amplification in the so called critical layer where the solution becomes singular and, therefore, causes the predicted sound field to become infinite as well. We deal with this by introducing a new weakly non parallel flow analysis that eliminates the critical layer singularity. This has a strong effect on the shape of the peak noise spectrum. The last effect places severe demands on the source models at the higher Mach numbers because the retarded time variations significantly increase the sensitivity of the radiated sound to the source structure in this case. A highly refined (non-separable) source model is, therefore, introduced in this paper.

Goldstein, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Improvements to a Response Surface Thermal Model for Orion Mated to the International Space Station

This study is an extension of previous work to evaluate the applicability of Design of Experiments (DOE)/Response Surface Methodology to on-orbit thermal analysis. The goal was to determine if the methodology could produce a Response Surface Equation (RSE) that predicted the thermal model temperature results within +/-10 F. An RSE is a polynomial expression that can then be used to predict temperatures for a defined range of factor combinations. Based on suggestions received from the previous work, this study used a model with simpler geometry, considered polynomials up to fifth order, and evaluated orbital temperature variations to establish a minimum and maximum temperature for each component. A simplified Outer Mold Line (OML) thermal model of the Orion spacecraft was used in this study. The factors chosen were the vehicle's Yaw, Pitch, and Roll (defining the on-orbit attitude), the Beta angle (restricted to positive beta angles from 0 to 75), and the environmental constants (varying from cold to hot). All factors were normalized from their native ranges to a non-dimensional range from -1.0 to 1.0. Twenty-three components from the OML were chosen and the minimum and maximum orbital temperatures were calculated for each to produce forty-six responses for the DOE model. A customized DOE case matrix of 145 analysis cases was developed which used analysis points at the factor corners, mid-points, and center. From this data set, RSE s were developed which consisted of cubic, quartic, and fifth order polynomials. The results presented are for the fifth order RSE. The RSE results were then evaluated for agreement with the analytical model predictions to produce a +/-3(sigma) error band. Forty of the 46 responses had a +/-3(sigma) value of 10 F or less. Encouraged by this initial success, two additional sets of verification cases were selected. One contained 20 cases, the other 50 cases. These cases were evaluated both with the fifth order RSE and with the analytical model. For the maximum temperature predictions, 12 of the 23 components had all predictions within +/-10 F and 17 were within +/-20 F. For the minimum temperature predictions, only 4 of the 23 components (the four radiator temperatures), were within the 10 F goal. The maximum temperature RSEs were then run through 59,049 screening cases. The RSE predictions were then filtered to find 55 cases that produced the hottest temperatures. These 55 cases were then analyzed using the thermal model and the results compared against the RSE predictions. As noted earlier, 12 of the 23 responses were within +/-10 F at 17 within +/-20 F. These results demonstrate that if properly formulated, an RSE can provide a reliable, fast temperature prediction. Despite this progress, additional work is needed to determine why the minimum temperatures responses and 6 of the hot temperature responses did not produce reliable RSEs. Recommend focus areas are the model itself (arithmetic vs. diffusion nodes) and seeking consultations with statistical application experts.

Miller, StephenW.↗
NASA NTRS1992

CFD analysis of the STME nozzle flowfield

The Space Transportation Main Engine (STME) uses a gas generator cycle to cool the nozzle wall by a film-dump of the turbine exhaust. The ability to cool the skirt is a key concern in the design of the STME. CFD calculations were undertaken to predict the film cooling effectiveness and performance sensitivities for various configurations, operating points, and inlet conditions. The results presented here were obtained for the subscale nozzle. The computations were performed using REFLEQS. The computational analysis showed that a chemical equilibrium model was necessary to obtain correct predictions of the specific impulse. The frozen composition model underpredicts the ISP by about 6 percent. It was also observed that the coolant film was successful in maintaining the nozzle wall well below the stagnation temperature of the core flow. The effect of the coolant flow on the performance of the engine was found to be negligible. The computed heat fluxes at the wall were in good agreement with the empirical data obtained by Pratt and Whitney. Further test data from Pratt and Whitney are forthcoming for the subscale nozzle. Calculations will be performed to determine cooling efficiencies and nozzle performance over a range of conditions, and model predictions will be compared with experimental data. Information is given in viewgraph form.

Krishnan, Anantha↗
NASA NTRS1946

Correlation of Mixture Temperature Data Obtained from Bare Intake-manifold Thermocouples

A relatively simple equation has been found to express with fair accuracy, variation in manifold-charge temperature with charge in engine operating conditions. This equation and associated curves have been checked by multi cylinder-engine data, both test stand and flight, over a wide range of operating conditions. Average mixture temperatures, predicted by the equations of this report, agree reasonably well with results within the same range of carburetor-air temperatures from laboratories and test stands other than the NACA.

ENGINES-PRATT & WHITNEY R-1830-75 (AMER )↗
NASA NTRS2008

Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analyses of a Two-Parameter Impedance Prediction Model

This paper presents comparisons of predicted impedance uncertainty limits derived from Monte-Carlo-type simulations with a Two-Parameter (TP) impedance prediction model and measured impedance uncertainty limits based on multiple tests acquired in NASA Langley test rigs. These predicted and measured impedance uncertainty limits are used to evaluate the effects of simultaneous randomization of each input parameter for the impedance prediction and measurement processes. A sensitivity analysis is then used to further evaluate the TP prediction model by varying its input parameters on an individual basis. The variation imposed on the input parameters is based on measurements conducted with multiple tests in the NASA Langley normal incidence and grazing incidence impedance tubes; thus, the input parameters are assigned uncertainties commensurate with those of the measured data. These same measured data are used with the NASA Langley impedance measurement (eduction) processes to determine the corresponding measured impedance uncertainty limits, such that the predicted and measured impedance uncertainty limits (95% confidence intervals) can be compared. The measured reactance 95% confidence intervals encompass the corresponding predicted reactance confidence intervals over the frequency range of interest. The same is true for the confidence intervals of the measured and predicted resistance at near-resonance frequencies, but the predicted resistance confidence intervals are lower than the measured resistance confidence intervals (no overlap) at frequencies away from resonance. A sensitivity analysis indicates the discharge coefficient uncertainty is the major contributor to uncertainty in the predicted impedances for the perforate-over-honeycomb liner used in this study. This insight regarding the relative importance of each input parameter will be used to guide the design of experiments with test rigs currently being brought on-line at NASA Langley.

Jones, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Energy in a Planetary Context

The potential present day habitability of solar system bodies beyond Earth is limited to subsurface environments, where the availability of energy in biologically useful form is a paramount consideration. Energy availability is commonly quantified in terms of molar Gibbs energy changes for metabolisms of interest, but this can provide an incomplete and even misleading picture. A second aspect of life's requirement for energy - the rate of delivery, or power - strongly influences habitability, biomass abundance, growth rates, and, ultimately, rates of evolution. We are developing an approach to quantify metabolic power, using a cell-scale reactive transport model in which physical and chemical environmental parameters are varied. Simultaneously, we evaluate cell-specific energy flux requirements and their dependence on environmental "extremes". Comparison of metabolic power supply and demand provides a constraint on how biomass abundance varies across a range of environmental parameters, and thereby a prediction of the relative habitability of different environments. We are evaluating the predictive capability of this approach through comparison to observed distributions of microbial abundance in a range of subsurface (predominantly serpentinizing) systems.

MARINE GEOMICROBIOLOGY↗