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At least 523 records · Page 29

Prediction of Turbulence-Generated Noise in Unheated Jets: JeNo Users' Manual (Version 1.0) - Part 2

JeNo (Version 1.0) is a Fortran90 computer code that calculates the far-field sound spectral density produced by axisymmetric, unheated jets at a user specified observer location and frequency range. The user must provide a structured computational grid and a mean flow solution from a Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) code as input. Turbulence kinetic energy and its dissipation rate from a k-epsilon or k-omega turbulence model must also be provided. JeNo is a research code, and as such, its development is ongoing. The goal is to create a code that is able to accurately compute far-field sound pressure levels for jets at all observer angles and all operating conditions. In order to achieve this goal, current theories must be combined with the best practices in numerical modeling, all of which must be validated by experiment. Since the acoustic predictions from JeNo are based on the mean flow solutions from a RANS code, quality predictions depend on accurate aerodynamic input.This is why acoustic source modeling, turbulence modeling, together with the development of advanced measurement systems are the leading areas of research in jet noise research at NASA Glenn Research Center.

Khavaran, Abbas↗

Lunar Dust Simulant Particle Adhesion on Copolyimide Alkyl Ethers

Mitigation of lunar dust contamination is one of the greatest challenges to be overcome to realize a sustained lunar presence. Likely solutions will integrate active mitigation strategies, requiring the input of external energy, and passive materials, exhibiting an intrinsic resistance to lunar dust adhesion. In this work, a series of copolyimide alkyl ethers containing per fluorinated side-chains were generated to evaluate the influence surface modification agents have on surface chemical, topographical, and mechanical properties. An expanded testing protocol to characterize the adhesion interaction between lunar dust simulant and the copolyimide substrate was carried out. The interfacial adhesion strength was in-situ measured by a custom-built particulate adhesion instrument, utilizing a sonic wand. Surface mechanical properties were characterized by nanoindentation, utilizing the continuous stiffness measurement approach. A nominal presence of surface modifying agents, 1 wt%, resulted in a six-fold reduction in adhesion strength of the interface. A strong inverse correlation between the adhesion strength and Young’s modulus of the substrate was identified. The reduction was attributed to a synergistic interaction between the surface energy, surface roughness, and modulus of the copolyimide alkyl ethers film.

Lunar Dust, Particulate Adhesion, Surface Migratio↗

Testing and evaluation of the LES-6 pulsed plasma thruster by means of a torsion pendulum system

Performance characteristics of the LES-6 pulsed plasma thruster over a range of input conditions were investigated by means of a torsion pendulum system. Parameters of particular interest included the impulse bit and time average thrust (and their repeatability), specific impulse, mass ablated per discharge, specific thrust, energy per unit area, efficiency, and variation of performance with ignition command rate. Intermittency of the thruster as affected by input energy and igniter resistance were also investigated. Comparative experimental data correlation with the data presented. The results of these tests indicate that the LES-6 thruster, with some identifiable design improvements, represents an attractive reaction control thruster for attitude contol applications on long-life spacecraft requiring small metered impulse bits for precise pointing control of science instruments.

Hamidian, J. P.↗

Mechanical property of solithane 113

Models to study failure under stress of Solithane 113 and set of equations for stress, strain, and energy responses of linear viscoelastic systems for wide spectrum of load inputs

ENERGY EQUATION↗

Reduced heat input keyhole welding through improved joint design

An improved high energy density welding method for reducing input keyhole welding prepares the weld joint (8) between two edges (10, 14) of at least one member by separating the edges (10, 14) of the member (12, 16) with a controllable gap (22) by a projecting portion (24) selectively positioned on one edge (10, 14) of the member (12, 16). The projecting portion (24) closely abuts the other edge of the member for maintaining the controlled distance (d) of the controllable gap (22) to enhance the welding method.

Sanders, John M.↗

The effects of plasticity in adhesive fracture

An energy-balance analysis is presented for adhesive failure in end loaded cantilever beams. The analysis includes the effects of input work, stored strain energy, dissipated plastic energy, and specific adhesive surface energy. Experimental results obtained with 6061-T6 aluminum are presented as evidence for the validity of the approach.-

Chang, M. D.↗

Application of advanced flywheel technology for energy storage on space station

In space power applications where solar inputs are the primary thermal source, energy storage is necessary to provide a continuous power supply during the eclipse portion of the orbit. Because of their potentially high storage density, flywheels are being considered for use as the storage system on the proposed orbiting space station. During the past several years, graphite fiber technology has advanced, leading to significant gains in flywheel storage density. Use of these improved fibers in experimental flywheel rims has resulted in ultimate storage densities of 878 kJ/kg. With these high strength graphite fibers, operational storage densities for flywheel storage modules applicable to the space station power storage could reach 200 kJ/kg. This module would also be volumetrically efficient occupying only about 1 cu m. Because the size and mass of the flywheel storage module are controlled by the storage density, improvements in fiber strength can have a significant impact on these values. With the improvements anticipated within the next five years, operational storage density on the order of 325 kJ/kg may be possible for the flywheel module.

Olszewski, Mitchell↗

Calculation of Stress Intensity Factors for Interfacial Cracks in Fiber Metal Laminates

Stress intensity factors for interfacial cracks in Fiber Metal Laminates (FML) are computed by using the displacement ratio method recently developed by Sun and Qian (1997, Int. J. Solids. Struct. 34, 2595-2609). Various FML configurations with single and multiple delaminations subjected to different loading conditions are investigated. The displacement ratio method requires the total energy release rate, bimaterial parameters, and relative crack surface displacements as input. Details of generating the energy release rates, defining bimaterial parameters with anisotropic elasticity, and selecting proper crack surface locations for obtaining relative crack surface displacements are discussed in the paper. Even though the individual energy release rates are nonconvergent, mesh-size-independent stress intensity factors can be obtained. This study also finds that the selection of reference length can affect the magnitudes and the mode mixity angles of the stress intensity factors; thus, it is important to report the reference length used with the calculated stress intensity factors.

Wang, John T.↗

Oxygen plant breadboard design, and techniques for improving mission figure-of-merit

A breadboard oxygen plant to process anaerobic carbon dioxide is designed and constructed; the objective is not only to produce a key propellant component extraterrestrially, but also to develop the important technologies that are necessary for a successful operation of in-situ materials utilization hardware. The solid electrolytic cells are supplied to specifications by an established vendor. The cell thermal control, electrical control, and flow control are installed after detailed designs. Extensive data are obtained that characterize the operation of the plant as the input parameters are varied. The initial mass, energy, and volume-needs provide the input to a figure-of-merit software program to calculate the impact of various candidate technologies upon the overall mission. The desirability of studies on storage and high-density propellants is shown. This task dovetails into other tasks that are evaluating alternative cell materials, catalysis for compactness, and smart sensors for effective control.

Ramohalli, Kumar↗

Programmable Synaptic Arrays For Electronic Neural Networks

High resistances prevent hotspots in parallel input and output operation. Nonvolatile computer memory combines ultrahigh storage density with extremely-low power dissipation. Accommodates about 1 billion bits in square centimeter of surface area. Bit written with expenditure of less than 1 nanojoule of energy and read with even lower energy. Developed for parallel input and output operation.

Thakoor, Anilkumar P.↗

Magnetic storm characteristics of the thermosphere

Energy and diffusive mass transport associated with the thermospheric circulation are considered in a self-consistent, though mathematically relatively simple form to describe in a three-dimensional two-constituent model magnetic storm characteristics in composition (N2, O, and He), temperature and mass-density. It is shown that during disturbed conditions the latitudinal variations of composition and gas temperature T sub g reflect the local nature of the magnetic storm heat input assumed to be primarily confined to the auroral zones. Thereby T sub g and N2 increase, He decreases and O remains constant through the auroral zones at exospheric heights (due to the superposition of temperature and diffusion effects) in agreement with OGO-6 mass spectrometer measurements. In contrast, the magnetic storm response in the total mass density is characterized by a strong world-wide component and a relatively insignificant increase toward the poles with the density peak occurring between two (poles) and eight (equator) hours after the maximum energy input, in substantial agreement with satellite drag data.

Mayr, H. G.↗

Analysis of dynamic effects in solar thermal energy conversion systems

The paper examines a study the purpose of which is to assess the performance of solar thermal power systems insofar as it depends on the dynamic character of system components and the solar radiation which drives them. Using a dynamic model, the daily operation of two conceptual solar conversion systems was simulated under varying operating strategies and several different time-dependent radiation intensity functions. These curves ranged from smoothly varying input of several magnitudes to input of constant total energy whose intensity oscillated with periods from 1/4 hour to 6 hours.

Hamilton, C. L.↗

High Power Light Gas Helicon Plasma Source For VASMIR

The VASIMR space propulsion development effort relies on a high power (greater than 10kW) helicon source to produce a dense flowing plasma (H, D and He) target for ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) acceleration of the ions. Subsequent expansion in an expanding magnetic field (magnetic nozzle) converts ion lunetic energy to directed momentum. This plasma source must have critical features to enable an effective propulsion device. First, it must ionize most of the input neutral flux of gas, thus producing a plasma stream with a high degree of ionization for application of ICR power. This avoids propellant waste and potential power losses due to charge exchange. Next, the plasma stream must flow into a region of high magnetic field (approximately 0.5 T) for efficient ICR acceleration. Third, the ratio of input power to plasma flux must be low, providing an energy per ion-electron pair approaching 100 eV. Lastly, the source must be robust and capable of very long life-times (years). In our helicon experiment (VX-10) we have measured a ratio of input gas to plasma flux near 100%. The plasma flows from the helicon region (B approximately 0.1 T) into a region with a peak magnetic field of 0.8 T. The energy input per ion-electron pair has been measured at 300 plus or minus 100 eV. Recent results at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) show an enhanced efficiency mode of operation with a high power density, over 5 kW in a 5 cm diameter tube. Our helicon is presently 9 cm in diameter and operates up to 3.5 kW of input power. An upgrade to a power level of 10 kW is underway. Much of our recent work has been with a Boswell double-saddle antenna design. We are also converting the antenna design to a helical type. With these modifications, we anticipate an improvement in the ionization efficiency. This paper presents the results from scaling the helicon in the VX-10 device from 3.5 to 10 kW. We also compare the operation with a double-saddle to a helical antenna design. Finally, we discuss modeling of these configurations using ORNL's EMIR code.

Squire, J. P.↗

Vibration damping of mechanical seals

Bellows seal filled with spherical powder reacts to vibration inputs by absorbing displacement energy through inertia and friction of the particle masses acting on the inside surface of the cylinders.

Hammond, R. R.↗

The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE)

The three-satellite ERBE will be flown in the mid-1980s and will provide upgraded data on changes in the input and outflow of energy which drives climatic phenomena. The spacecraft will carry radiometers, self-calibration equipment, and be programmed with inversion and averaging algorithms. Radiation will be scanned at 0.2-5 and 5-50 microns. The ACRIM detector, similar to that on the SMM spacecraft, will measure the incoming solar radiation at the 600 km sun-synchronous orbit travelled by the three ERBE spacecraft. Data transmitted to the NASA-Langley Center will be analyzed with algorithms which extract radiant flux data from the measured radiances.

Barkstrom, B. R.↗

Self-amplified optical pattern-recognition technique

A self-amplified optical pattern-recognition technique that utilizes a photorefractive crystal as a real-time volume holographic filter with recording accomplished by means of laser beams of proper polarization and geometric configuration is described. After the holographic filter is recorded, it can be addressed with extremely weak object beams and an even weaker reference beam to obtain a pattern-recognition signal. Because of beam-coupling energy transfer from the input object beam to the diffracted beam, the recognition signal is greatly amplified. Experimental results of this technique using BaTiO3 crystal show that 5 orders of magnitude of amplification of a recognition signal can be obtained.

Liu, Hua-Kuang↗

Response-coefficient method for heat-conduction transients with time-dependent inputs

A theoretical overview of the response coefficient method for heat conduction transients with time-dependent input forcing functions is presented with a number of illustrative applications. The method may be the most convenient and economical if the same problem is to be solved many times with different input-time histories or if the solution time is relatively long. The method is applicable to a wide variety of problems, including irregular geometries, position-dependent boundary conditions, position-dependent physical properties, and nonperiodic irregular input histories. Nonuniform internal energy generation rates within the structure can also be handled by the method. The area of interest is long-time solutions, in which initial condition is unimportant, and not the early transient period. The method can be applied to one dimensional problems in cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical coordinates as well as to two dimensional problems in cartesian and cylindrical coordinates.

Ceylan, Tamer↗

Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Release 2.5 Longwave cloud props 3 hourly Data in Native Format (SRB_REL2.5_LW_CLDPROPS_3HRLY)

The Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) data set contain 47 surface and cloud properties including cloud fraction, cloud visible optical depth, cloud top temperature, cloud top pressure, cloud base pressure, and cloud water and ice content for each of 5 cloud types and in total. In addition to these cloud properties, the parameters also include surface pressure, total column ozone, day/night flag, and precipitable water. All perameters were measured at three hourly intervals for each day for the entire globe between 07/01/1983 and 06/30/2005 and serve as inputs to the Global Energy and Water-Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) longwave algorithm (GLW). [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-06-30] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=1 degree; Longitude_Resolution=Ranges from 1 degree (tropics and subtropics) to 120 degrees (the poles).; Temporal_Resolution=3 hourly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=3 hourly].

CLOUD TOP TEMPERATURE↗