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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

CRTM Microwave Cloud Scattering Lookup Tables and Radar Simulator

Microwave observations play a very important role in improving the weather forecasts. Although these observations are routinely assimilated into NWP models in clear-sky conditions, assimilation of all-sky microwave observations is very limited. Two main factors contributing to this limitation are inaccuracy in the input cloud and hydrometeor profiles used as input to the radiative transfer model and also error in scattering calculations performed by the radiative transfer model itself. The Mie theory is used by many fast RT models to estimate the optical properties of single particles. The Mie theory assumes spherical shapes for ice or snow particles with mixture of air and ice. However, hydrometeors scattering radiation at microwave frequencies have different shapes, sizes, and orientations. Therefore, using Mie theory to determine their optical properties leads to large uncertainties in all-sky radiative transfer calculations. The discrete dipole approximation (DDA) which approximates the optical properties of large objects in terms of discrete dipoles has shown promise in calculating the scattering properties of particles with different shapes in the microwave frequencies. This presentation focuses on recent advancements in the CRTM scattering calculations for frozen hydrometeors in the microwave frequencies using the DDA technique. In addition to using stand-alone CRTM calculations using collocated ATMS and reanalysis profiles, the data assimilation experiments conducted using the NOAA FV3GFS forecast system are used to evaluate the scattering improvements. Additionally, the backscattering information from the DDA database was used to implement a radar simulator into CRTM. The radar operator takes advantage of CRTM different modules to calculate clouds absorption and scattering properties. In addition to the forward model both adjoint and tangent linear of the radar simulator are implemented and evaluated as well. The radar simulator is currently being tested within the JEDI/GEOS data assimilation framework to facilitate the assimilation of radar measurements such as CloudSat CPR and GPM DPR into the NASA GEOS model.

Isaac Moradi↗
NASA NTRS1983

Nonlinear effects of elastic coupling in unsymmetric laminates

Classical lamination theory predicts the room-temperature shape of all unsymmetrically laminated, elevated-temperature cure composites to be a saddle shape. Experimental observation indicates, however, that in many cases the room-temperature shape is cylindrical. In addition, a second cylindrical shape can often be obtained from the first by a simple snap-through action. It is the elastic couplings between inplane and out-of-plane deformations which are inherent in unsymmetric laminates that are responsible for the room-temperature shape. However, the couplings are so strong that geometrically nonlinear effects are produced. These are not accounted for in the classical theory. This paper reviews a theory developed to explain the effects of the coupling on laminate shape. The theory is based on a minimization of the laminate's total potential energy. The theory accounts for geometric nonlinearities. Because the problem is nonlinear, approximate solutions are sought by using a Rayleigh-Ritz procedure. Because of the observed snap-through of some laminates, stability of the predicted shapes is examined. Numerical results and some limited experimental data are presented for several laminates.

Hyer, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1995

On the breakup of viscous liquid threads

A one-dimensional model evolution equation is used to describe the nonlinear dynamics that can lead to the breakup of a cylindrical thread of Newtonian fluid when capillary forces drive the motion. The model is derived from the Stokes equations by use of rational asymptotic expansions and under a slender jet approximation. The equations are solved numerically and the jet radius is found to vanish after a finite time yielding breakup. The slender jet approximation is valid throughout the evolution leading to pinching. The model admits self-similar pinching solutions which yield symmetric shapes at breakup. These solutions are shown to be the ones selected by the initial boundary value problem, for general initial conditions. Further more, the terminal state of the model equation is shown to be identical to that predicted by a theory which looks for singular pinching solutions directly from the Stokes equations without invoking the slender jet approximation throughout the evolution. It is shown quantitatively, therefore, that the one-dimensional model gives a consistent terminal state with the jet shape being locally symmetric at breakup. The asymptotic expansion scheme is also extended to include unsteady and inerticial forces in the momentum equations to derive an evolution system modelling the breakup of Navier-Stokes jets. The model is employed in extensive simulations to compute breakup times for different initial conditions; satellite drop formation is also supported by the model and the dependence of satellite drop volumes on initial conditions is studied.

Papageorgiou, Demetrios T.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

4pPA1 - Turbulence Effects on Shaped Booms: Central Composite Design of Modeled Atmospheric Turbulence Parameters for Sonic Boom Propagation

Propagation of sonic booms through turbulence reduces mean sonic boom perception metric levels and also causes considerable variability. NASA’s PCBoom suite of sonic boom acoustic propagation modules includes an approximate method for accounting for the effects of turbulence on traditional N-wave sonic booms. The current implementation is ineffective for shaped sonic booms or low-booms, and it also has limited values for turbulence and ambient input parameters. NASA’s future X-59 low-boom community noise surveys require an accurate estimate of the effects of turbulence in regions across the USA, so the module must be improved. This work presents the methods of selecting which ambient and turbulence parameters should be included in an improved PCBoom turbulence module. Turbulence and ambient data were collected from two atmospheric model databases, the Climate Forecast System Version 2 and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast Reanalysis Version 5 (ERA5), hourly from 7 AM to 7 PM local time for 10 years at 19 locations across the USA. A fully-factorial propagation analysis using these parameters would be exceedingly computationally expensive. Instead, a central composite design was chosen resulting in 45 combinations of ambient and turbulence parameters. These 45 cases effectively sample the space balancing computational burden.

turbulence↗
NASA NTRS1987

A theory for turbulent curved wall jets

An attempt is made to formulate the simplest possible model for the flow of a wall jet emanating from a two dimensional source into quiescent surroundings in the presence of a wall of arbitrary shape. The method used self similar profiles for the mean velocity together with a simple eddy viscosity model. The streamwise and radial momentum equations are integrated across the wall jet flow to give an expression for the momentum balance including the effect of the pressure gradient induced by the rate of change of surface curvature. The streamwise momentum equation is also evaluated at the point of maximum velocity to provide a second equation and thereby permit a solution for the two unknown quantities, the jet half width and the maximum velocity. This approach provides approximate closed form solutions for the flow of the wall jet over surfaces of various shapes, and in particular permits a direct comparison with the available experimental results for plane, cylindrical or logarithmic spiral surfaces.

Roberts, Leonard↗
NASA NTRS1992

Design of a wing shape for study of hypersonic crossflow transition in flight

Computational fluid dynamics methods were used in the design of a wing shape for study of hypersonic crossflow transition in flight. The flight experiment is to be performed on the delta wing of the first stage of a Pegasus launch vehicle as a piggy-back experiment to support boundary-layer stability code development and validation. The design goal is to obtain crossflow-induced transition at 20-40 percent of the chord for a flight Mach number of approximately six. The present paper describes the design and analysis process utilized to obtain desired glove shape. A variety of schemes were used in the design, ranging from simple empirical crossflow correlations to three-dimensional Navier-Stokes codes in conjunction with linear stability/N-factor computations. The sensitivity to various parameters, such as trajectory variations, allowable wing thickness, leading-edge radius and surface temperature, is also discussed.

Godil, A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Characteristics of random inlet pressure fluctuations during flights of F-111A airplane

Compressor face dynamic total pressures from four F-111 flights were analyzed. Statistics of the nonstationary data were investigated by analyzing the data in a quasi-stationary manner. Changes in the character of the dynamic signal are investigated as functions of flight conditions, time in flight, and location at the compressor face. The results, which are presented in the form of rms values, histograms, and power spectrum plots, show that the shape of the power spectra remains relatively flat while the histograms have an approximate normal distribution.

Costakis, W. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Aperture amplitude and phase control of offset dual reflectors

An approximate synthesis method is presented for solving the problem of offset dual-shaped reflectors. It is shown that the equations obtained by this method are partial differential equations that can be integrated numerically, except that these equations are generally not total and therefore do not have a 'smooth' solution. However, it is demonstrated that these equations form a nearly total differential that enables one to generate a smooth subreflector by integrating the differential equations and then synthesizing a main reflector which gives an exact solution for the specified aperture phase distribution. Several important illustrative examples are treated, which validate the adequacy of the proposed method.

Galindo-Israel, V.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Characterization of deliberately nickel-doped silicon wafers and solar cells

Microstructural and electrical evaluation tests were performed on nickel-doped p-type silicon wafers before and after solar cell fabrication. The concentration levels of nickel in silicon were 5 x 10 to the 14th power, 4 x 10 to the 15th power, and 8 x 10 to the 15th power atoms/cu cm. It was found that nickel precipitated out during the growth process in all three ingots. Clumps of precipitates, some of which exhibited star shape, were present at different depths. If the clumps are distributed at depths approximately 20 micron apart and if they are larger than 10 micron in diameter, degradation occurs in solar cell electrical properties and cell conversion efficiency. The larger the size of the precipitate clump, the greater the degradation in solar cell efficiency. A large grain boundary around the cell effective area acted as a gettering center for the precipitates and impurities and caused improvement in solar cell efficiency. Details of the evaluation test results are given.

Salama, A. M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A Von Karman integral approach to a two phase boundary layer problem

A Von Karman integral approximation of a two phase boundary layer is developed for bodies of arbitrary shape. The flow field considered is that of the injection of water through a porous airfoil. A solution for the special case of a flat plate is presented. The equations for the airfoil solution are developed and possible effects on airflow separation are discussed.

Henry, R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Rotating reactor studies

Undesired gravitational effects such as convection or sedimentation in a fluid can sometimes be avoided or decreased by the use of a closed chamber uniformly rotated about a horizontal axis. In a previous study, the spiral orbits of a heavy or buoyant particle in a uniformly rotating fluid were determined. The particles move in circles, and spiral in or out under the combined effects of the centrifugal force and centrifugal buoyancy. A optimization problem for the rotation rate of a cylindrical reactor rotated about its axis and containing distributed particles was formulated and solved. Related studies in several areas are addressed. A computer program based on the analysis was upgraded by correcting some minor errors, adding a sophisticated screen-and-printer graphics capability and other output options, and by improving the automation. The design, performance, and analysis of a series of experiments with monodisperse polystyrene latex microspheres in water were supported to test the theory and its limitations. The theory was amply confirmed at high rotation rates. However, at low rotation rates (1 rpm or less) the assumption of uniform solid-body rotation of the fluid became invalid, and there were increasingly strong secondary motions driven by variations in the mean fluid density due to variations in the particle concentration. In these tests the increase in the mean fluid density due to the particles was of order 0.015 percent. To a first approximation, these flows are driven by the buoyancy in a thin crescent-shaped depleted layer on the descending side of the rotating reactor. This buoyancy distribution is balanced by viscosity near the walls, and by the Coriolis force in the interior. A full analysis is beyond the scope of this study. Secondary flows are likely to be stronger for buoyant particles, which spiral in towards the neutral point near the rotation axis under the influence of their centrifugal buoyancy. This is because the depleted layer is thicker and extends all the way around the reactor.

Roberts, Glyn O.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A partial list of southern clusters of galaxies

An inspection of 34 SRC/ESO J southern sky fields is the basis of the present list of clusters of galaxies and their approximate classifications in terms of cluster concentration, defined independently of richness and shape-symmetry. Where possible, an estimate of the cluster morphological population is provided. The Bautz-Morgan classification was applied using a strict comparison with clusters on the Palomar Sky Survey. Magnitudes were estimated on the basis of galaxies with photoelectric or photographic magnitudes.

Quintana, H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The Great Wall in the CfA survey - Its origin and imprint on the microwave background radiation

The paper models the evolution of the Great Wall (GW) after recombination and the influence of its time-dependent gravitational potential on the MBR. It is shown that within the framework of the Zel'dovich approximation the (pre)GW region can be treated as an ellipsoid. The GW is approximated as an oblate ellipsoid that started at recombination with an almost spherical shape, but with initial density contrast, delta-i, much smaller than it had to be in the spherical model in order to reach the observed density contrast of beta-f of 5. The resultant delta-i is compatible with the rms value of delta-rho/rho on the GW scale at recombination for models with the n less than 0 power spectrum of the primordial density field. It is shown that the time-dependent potential of the GW will induce a detectable fluctuation in MBR. The possibility of similar structures located at higher redshifts producing measurable and perhaps dominant statistical MBR anisotropies by this effect is also discussed.

Atrio-Barandela, F.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The mass function of clusters of galaxies

The mass function of clusters of galaxies is derived separately from optical and X-ray observations of their respective properties. The mass function was extended to the faint end, to lower masses than the rich clusters, using small groups of galaxies. The derived mass function is within the mass range from approximately 10 exp 12 to not less than 10 exp 15/h solar masses. The deduced density range n is approximately 10 exp -2 to 10 exp -8 cubic h/cubic Mpc. The observed shape of the mass function exhibits a shallow power-law decrease with mass at the faint end, and a steep exponential decrease with mass at the massive end. A summary of some constraints placed by the observed mass function on current cosmological models is presented.

Bahcall, Neta A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

High performance zinc anode for battery applications

An improved zinc anode for use in a high density rechargeable alkaline battery is disclosed. A process for making the zinc electrode comprises electrolytic loading of the zinc active material from a slightly acidic zinc nitrate solution into a substrate of nickel, copper or silver. The substrate comprises a sintered plaque having very fine pores, a high surface area, and 80-85 percent total initial porosity. The residual porosity after zinc loading is approximately 25-30%. The electrode of the present invention exhibits reduced zinc mobility, shape change and distortion, and demonstrates reduced dendrite buildup cycling of the battery. The disclosed battery is useful for applications requiring high energy density and multiple charge capability.

Casey, John E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Gamma-Ray Spectra and Variability of Cygnus Z-1 Observed by BATSE

We present new BATSE earth occultation observations of the 25 keV-1.8 MeV spectrum and variability of Cygnus X-1 made between August 1993 and May 1994. We observed that the normal soft gamma ray spectrum (gamma2) of Cygnus X-1 has two components: a Comptonized part seen below 300 keV, and a high-energy tail in the 0.3 - 2 MeV range. We interpret it in terms of a two-layer region, consisting of a high-energy core (with an equivalent electron temperature of approximately 210-250 keV) near the event horizon, embedded in an about 50 keV corona. In this scenario, the observed 25-300 keV photons were produced by Compton scattering of soft photons (about 0.5 keV) by the hot electrons in the outer corona. These same hard x rays were further up-scattered by a population of energetic electrons in the inner core, producing the spectral tail above 300 keV. Cygnus X-1 went through an extended sequence of transitions between August 1993 and May 1994, when the 45-140 keV flux first decreased steadily from approximately gamma2 to roughly one-quarter of its intensity over a period of about 140 days. The flux remained at this low level for about 40 days before returning, swiftly (approximately 20 days) to approximately the initial gamma2 level. During the transition, the spectrum evolved to a shape consistent with either a power law with photon index of about 2.6 or a single temperature Compton model with electron temperature kT = 110 +/- 11 keV, and optical depth t = 0.40 +/- 0.06, and then returned essentially to the original gamma2 spectrum at the end of the active period. The overall cooling of the system during the low flux period may be due to an increase in the soft photon population which effectively quenched the hot electrons in these regions through Compton scattering.

Ling, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Chemical Abundances of the Planetary Nebula IC 4634 and Its Central Star

We have measured the spectral line intensities of the metal poor planetary nebula IC 4634. Using a photo-ionization model calculation, we try to fit the the optical and UV region spectra, i.e., Hamilton Echelle and IUE observations. From direct images, one expects complicated density variations, but the model predicts a range in densities that may be smaller than actually exist. We find N(sub epsilon) approximates 5000 /cubic meter. In spite of the geometrical complexity of the S shaped double-lobed structure, the simple photoionization model with a spherical symmetry can fit most emission lines, fairly well. The derived chemical composition has been compared with previous estimates and also with the Sun - The metallicity in IC 4634 appears to be lower than in the Sun or the average planetary nebula. The most likely temperature of the central ionizing source of IC 4634 appears to be about 55,000 K. We find a central star mass of about 0.55 Solar Mass from comparison with theoretical evolutionary tracks.

Hyung, S.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Growth and Characterization of Silicon-Carbide Hetero-Polytype Structures

Films discussed in this repok were deposited at NASA Glenn Research Center on on- orientation 4H-Sic substrates. Substrates were patterned in order to form mesa structures of different shapes and sizes. The nominal thickness of the 3C-Sic film was approximately 10 microns although the thickness could change considerably between defect-free and defected mesa structures. The primary objective was to identify defect structures in defect-free mesas and in particular determine the degree and mode of strain relaxation in 3C films with thickness exceeding critical thickness.

Skowronski, Marek↗