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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 541 records · Page 30

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NASA NTRS1979

Effect of misalignment on mechanical behavior of metals in creep

Application of the endochronic theory of viscoplasticity to creep, creep recovery, and stress relaxation at the small strain and short time range produced the following results: (1) The governing constitutive equations for constant-strain-rate stress-strain behavior, creep, creep recovery, and stress relaxation were derived by imposing appropriate constraints on the general constitutive equation of the endochronic theory. (2) A set of material constants was found which correlate strain-hardening, creep, creep recovery, and stress relaxation. (3) The theory predicts with reasonable accuracy the creep and creep recovery behaviors at short time. (4) The initial strain history prior to the creep stage affects the subsequent creep significantly. (5) A critical stress was established for creep recovery. A computer program, written for the misalignment problem is reported.

Wu, H. C.↗

NASA NTRS1981

An introduction to NASA's turbine engine hot section technology (HOST) project

An overview of research to develop and improve the accuracy of current analysis methods so that increased durability can be designed into future engines is presented. Emphasis is placed on improved accuracy in life prediction. Component design, including description of the thermal and aerodynamic environments, the material's mechanical response, the interactions between environmental and structural response, and high temperature instrumentation capable of measuring near-engine environment effects are addressed. Component tests, improved modeling of the physical phenomena, and tests to verify the proved models are also discussed.

Gauntner, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Three-dimensional structures and turbulence closure of the wake developing in a wall shear layer

The turbulent wake interacting with the rotating wall shear layer is investigated analytically and numerically. The turbulent wakes of the rotating blades in a compressor which are interacting with the rotating hub-wall boundary layer are analyzed. A modified version of the closure model of the pressure-strain correlation term in the Reynolds stress transport equation is developed to predict the effect of rotation, which is appreciable for the present flow because the thick hub-wall boundary layer is interacting with the rotor wake. It is noted that the Poisson type equation for the pressure-strain correlation has an extra rotation term when the entire flow field is rotating. This extra rotation term is modeled to accommodate the effect of rotation. In addition, the standard correction for the wall effect is incorporated for the utilized Reynolds stress closure model. The rotation-modified Reynolds stress closure model is used to predict the present flow, and the predictions are compared with the experimental data. The experimental data reveal that the characteristics of the three-dimensional turbulent wake interacting with the wall shear layer are considerably altered by the effects of the wall and the rotation. These features are predicted with good accuracy by the turbulence closure model developed.

Hah, C.↗

NASA NTRS1981

A comparison of head and manual control for a position-control pursuit tracking task

Head control was compared with manual control in a pursuit tracking task involving proportional controlled-element dynamics. An integrated control/display system was used to explore tracking effectiveness in horizontal and vertical axes tracked singly and concurrently. Compared with manual tracking, head tracking resulted in a 50 percent greater rms error score, lower pilot gain, greater high-frequency phase lag and greater low-frequency remnant. These differences were statistically significant, but differences between horizontal- and vertical-axis tracking and between 1- and 2-axis tracking were generally small and not highly significant. Manual tracking results were matched with the optimal control model using pilot-related parameters typical of those found in previous manual control studies. Head tracking performance was predicted with good accuracy using the manual tracking model plus a model for head/neck response dynamics obtained from the literature.

Levison, W. H.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Assessment of radar resolution requirements for soil moisture estimation from simulated satellite imagery

Radar simulations were performed at five-day intervals over a twenty-day period and used to estimate soil moisture from a generalized algorithm requiring only received power and the mean elevation of a test site near Lawrence, Kansas. The results demonstrate that the soil moisture of about 90% of the 20-m by 20-m pixel elements can be predicted with an accuracy of + or - 20% of field capacity within relatively flat agricultural portions of the test site. Radar resolutions of 93 m by 100 m with 23 looks or coarser gave the best results, largely because of the effects of signal fading. For the distribution of land cover categories, soils, and elevation in the test site, very coarse radar resolutions of 1 km by 1 km and 2.6 km by 3.1 km gave the best results for wet moisture conditions while a finer resolution of 93 m by 100 m was found to yield superior results for dry to moist soil conditions.

Ulaby, F. T.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Remote sensing of row crop structure and component temperatures using directional radiometric temperatures and inversion techniques

A physically based sensor response model of a row crop was used as the mathematical framework from which several inversion strategies were tested for extracting row structure information and component temperatures using a series of sensor view angles. The technique was evaluated on ground-based radiometric thermal infrared data of a cotton row crop that covered 48 percent of the ground in the vertical projection. The results showed that the accuracies of the predicted row heights and widths, vegetation temperatures, and soil temperatures of the cotton row crop were on the order of 5 cm, 1 deg, and 2 deg C, respectively. The inversion techniques can be applied to directional sensor data from aircraft platforms and even space platforms if the effects of atmospheric absorption and emission can be corrected. In theory, such inversion techniques can be applied to a wide variety of vegetation types and thus can have significant implications for remote sensing research and applications in disciplines that deal with incomplete vegetation canopies.

Kimes, D. S.↗

NASA NTRS1983

On the feasibility of real-time prediction of aircraft carrier motion at sea

Landing aircraft on board carriers is a most delicate phase of flight operations at sea. The ability to predict the aircraft carrier's motion over an interval of several seconds within reasonable error bounds may allow an improvement in touchdown dispersion and reduce the value of the ramp clearance due to a smoother aircraft trajectory. Also, improved information to the landing signal officer should decrease the number of waveoffs substantially. This paper indicates and shows quantitatively that, based upon the power density spectrum data for pitch and heave measured for various ships and sea conditions, the motion can be predicted well, for up to 15 s. Moreover, the zero crossover times for both pitch and heave motions can be predicted with impressive accuracy. The predictor was designed on the basis of Kalman's optimum filtering theory (the discrete time case), being compatible with real-time digital computer operation.

Sidar, M. M.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Three-Frequency Water-Vapor Radiometer

Measurements increase accuracies of delay predictions. Threefrequency microwave radiometer measures quantity of water vapor in atmosphere, part of effort to determine microwave-signal delays due to water vapor. Delay estimates necessary for accurate determination of distances in geodesy and related applications as very-long-baseline interferometry. Water-vapor data directly useful in weather research.

Janssen, M. A.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Scout trajectory error propagation computer program

Since 1969, flight experience has been used as the basis for predicting Scout orbital accuracy. The data used for calculating the accuracy consists of errors in the trajectory parameters (altitude, velocity, etc.) at stage burnout as observed on Scout flights. Approximately 50 sets of errors are used in Monte Carlo analysis to generate error statistics in the trajectory parameters. A covariance matrix is formed which may be propagated in time. The mechanization of this process resulted in computer program Scout Trajectory Error Propagation (STEP) and is described herein. Computer program STEP may be used in conjunction with the Statistical Orbital Analysis Routine to generate accuracy in the orbit parameters (apogee, perigee, inclination, etc.) based upon flight experience.

Myler, T. R.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Prediction of the structure of fuel sprays in gas turbine combustors

The structure of fuel sprays in a combustion chamber is theoretically investigated using computer models of current interest. Three representative spray models are considered: (1) a locally homogeneous flow (LHF) model, which assumes infinitely fast interphase transport rates; (2) a deterministic separated flow (DSF) model, which considers finite rates of interphase transport but ignores effects of droplet/turbulence interactions; and (3) a stochastic separated flow (SSF) model, which considers droplet/turbulence interactions using random sampling for turbulence properties in conjunction with random-walk computations for droplet motion and transport. Two flow conditions are studied to investigate the influence of swirl on droplet life histories and the effects of droplet/turbulence interactions on flow properties. Comparison of computed results with the experimental data show that general features of the flow structure can be predicted with reasonable accuracy using the two separated flow models. In contrast, the LHF model overpredicts the rate of development of the flow. While the SSF model provides better agreement with measurements than the DSF model, definitive evaluation of the significance of droplet/turbulence interaction is not achieved due to uncertainties in the spray initial conditions.

Shuen, J. S.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Prediction of the structure of fuel sprays in gas turbine combustors

Shuen, J.-S.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Climate changes associated with nuclear war

Nuclear war, featuring explosion of half the world arsenal of nuclear weapons, would cause urban and forest fires that would inject 20-650 megatons of smoke into the atmosphere. The Northern Hemisphere optical depth would increase to between 0.5-14. All models indicate an increase in optical depths, a large net radiation gain in the smoke layer, and an antigreenhouse effect at the surface. Significant global cooling would proceed, transforming the global climate to a large degree toward that of an airless world. Persisting deficiencies in the models are identified, noting research areas which would improve the accuracies of the predictions.

Toon, O. B.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Pulsational analyses of post planetary nebula central stars and degenerate dwarfs

Recent observational and theoretical studies of the ZZ Ceti variabls (DA degenerate dwarfs), the DBV variables (DB degenerate dwarfs), and the GW Vir variables (D0 degenerate dwarfs) have shown them to be pulsating in nonradial g-modes. The pulsation mechanism has been identified for each class of variable star. For the ZZ Ceti and DBV variables it is both the kappa and gamma effects in the partial-ionization regions of either H or He and also a a recently identified pulsation-driving mechanism called 'convection blocking'. For the GW Vir variables, it is the kappa and gamma effects in the partial-ionization region of C and O. The ZZ Ceti variables must have pure H surface layers, the DBV stars must have pure He surface layers, and the GW Vir stars must have C- and O-rich surface layers with only a small amount of He present. The accuracy of the prediction for the GW Vir stars is limited by the lack of observational determinations of their luminosity, effective temperature, and composition.

Starrfield, Sumner↗

NASA NTRS1988

Machine characterization and benchmark performance prediction

From runs of standard benchmarks or benchmark suites, it is not possible to characterize the machine nor to predict the run time of other benchmarks which have not been run. A new approach to benchmarking and machine characterization is reported. The creation and use of a machine analyzer is described, which measures the performance of a given machine on FORTRAN source language constructs. The machine analyzer yields a set of parameters which characterize the machine and spotlight its strong and weak points. Also described is a program analyzer, which analyzes FORTRAN programs and determines the frequency of execution of each of the same set of source language operations. It is then shown that by combining a machine characterization and a program characterization, we are able to predict with good accuracy the run time of a given benchmark on a given machine. Characterizations are provided for the Cray-X-MP/48, Cyber 205, IBM 3090/200, Amdahl 5840, Convex C-1, VAX 8600, VAX 11/785, VAX 11/780, SUN 3/50, and IBM RT-PC/125, and for the following benchmark programs or suites: Los Alamos (BMK8A1), Baskett, Linpack, Livermore Loops, Madelbrot Set, NAS Kernels, Shell Sort, Smith, Whetstone and Sieve of Erathostenes.

Saavedra-Barrera, Rafael H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Regional climate change predictions from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies high resolution GCM

Model simulations of global climate change are seen as an essential component of any program aimed at understanding human impact on the global environment. A major weakness of current general circulation models (GCMs), however, is their inability to predict reliably the regional consequences of a global scale change, and it is these regional scale predictions that are necessary for studies of human/environmental response. This research is directed toward the development of a methodology for the validation of the synoptic scale climatology of GCMs. This is developed with regard to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) GCM Model 2, with the specific objective of using the synoptic circulation form a doubles CO2 simulation to estimate regional climate change over North America, south of Hudson Bay. This progress report is specifically concerned with validating the synoptic climatology of the GISS GCM, and developing the transfer function to derive grid-point temperatures from the synoptic circulation. Principal Components Analysis is used to characterize the primary modes of the spatial and temporal variability in the observed and simulated climate, and the model validation is based on correlations between component loadings, and power spectral analysis of the component scores. The results show that the high resolution GISS model does an excellent job of simulating the synoptic circulation over the U.S., and that grid-point temperatures can be predicted with reasonable accuracy from the circulation patterns.

Crane, Robert G.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Millimeter wave near-field study

The possibility is evaluated of current technology measuring large aperture millimeter wave antennas. Included are a mathematical modeling of system errors, experimental data supporting error model, predictions of system accuracy at millimeter wavelengths, advantage of near-field measurements, and a cost estimate for a facility upgrade. The use is emphasized of software compensation and other inexpensive alternatives to develop a near optimum solution to near-field measurement problems at millimeter wavelengths.

Kefauver, Neill↗

NASA NTRS1990

Single-pass memory system evaluation for multiprogramming workloads

Modern memory systems are composed of levels of cache memories, a virtual memory system, and a backing store. Varying more than a few design parameters and measuring the performance of such systems has traditionally be constrained by the high cost of simulation. Models of cache performance recently introduced reduce the cost simulation but at the expense of accuracy of performance prediction. Stack-based methods predict performance accurately using one pass over the trace for all cache sizes, but these techniques have been limited to fully-associative organizations. This paper presents a stack-based method of evaluating the performance of cache memories using a recurrence/conflict model for the miss ratio. Unlike previous work, the performance of realistic cache designs, such as direct-mapped caches, are predicted by the method. The method also includes a new approach to the problem of the effects of multiprogramming. This new technique separates the characteristics of the individual program from that of the workload. The recurrence/conflict method is shown to be practical, general, and powerful by comparing its performance to that of a popular traditional cache simulator. The authors expect that the availability of such a tool will have a large impact on future architectural studies of memory systems.

Conte, Thomas M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Design and fabrication of an erectable truss for precision segmented reflector application

The design of a first generation, 4-meter-diameter, doubly-curved, tetrahedral support truss for precision parabolic reflector panels, incorporating joints specifically designed for on-orbit astronaut assembly, is presented. Operational and design features of the erectable joint are detailed. Methods used to achieve very accurate strut lengths are described. Initial static and dynamic truss test results are presented which demonstrate linear structural response and predictability. Truss surface accuracy, determined photogrammetrically, is shown to be within 0.003 inch (RMS) of design.

Bush, Harold G.↗