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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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The revision of an existing digital program to analyze the stability of models mounted on a two-cable mount system used in a transonic dynamics wind tunnel is presented. The program revisions and analysis of an active feedback control system to be used for controlling the free-flying models are treated.
The unique finite element based NASTRAN Thermal Analyzer originally developed as a general purpose heat transfer analysis incorporated into the NASTRAN system is described. The current status, experiences from field applications, and new developments are included.
Rocket soundings conducted from high latitude sites in the Arctic mesosphere are described. Temperature and wind profiles and one density profile were observed independently to obtain the thermodynamic structure, the wind structure, and their interdependence in the mesosphere. Temperature profiles from all soundings were averaged, and a smooth curve (or series of smooth curves) drawn through the points. A hydrostatic atmosphere based on the average, measured temperature profile was computed, and deviations from the mean atmosphere were analyzed in terms of gravity wave theory. The vertical wavelengths of the deviations were 10-20 km, and the wave amplitudes slowly increased with height. The experimental data were matched by calculated gravity waves having a period of 15-20 minutes and a horizontal wavelength of 60-80 km. The wind measurements are consistent with the thermodynamic measurements. The results also suggest that gravity waves travel from East to West with a horizontal phase velocity of approximately 60 m sec-1.
The Office for Remote Sensing of Earth Resources (ORSER) of the Space Science and Engineering Laboratory (SSEL) at the Pennsylvania State University has developed an extensive operational system for processing and analyzing ERTS-1 and similar multispectral data. The ORSER system was developed for use by a wide variety of researchers working in remote sensing. Both photointerpretive techniques and automatic computer processing methods have been developed and used, separately and in a combined approach. A Remote Job Entry (RJE) system permits use of an IBM 370/168 computer from any compatible remote terminal, including equipment tied in by long-distance telephone connections. An elementary cost analysis has been prepared for the processing of ERTS data.
A numerical procedure is proposed for analyzing Langmuir probe data in the presence of a two-group plasma containing both primary and Maxwellian electrons. The procedure is known as a least-squares differential-correction technique for determining the unknown coefficients of the governing equation. It is shown that for a given set of input data the results of the analysis are unique and independent of the initial estimate of electron temperature, that convergence is fastest when electron temperature is overestimated, that the results are sensitive to the region of the curve used as input and also to the voltage increment, and that plasma properties determined by the proposed numerical procedure are either consistent with those determined graphically or closer to expected values. With a suitable data acquisition system, the Fortran IV program worked out for this procedure could be used to provide real-time plasma diagnostic information for an operating ion thruster.
Analyzer is software system that possesses capabilities which make it well suited for solving lumped-parameter representations of physical problems governed by diffusion-type equations, such as Fourier, Poisson, or La Place.
A mass spectrometry apparatus for analyzing the composition of moving microscopic particles is introduced. The apparatus includes a capacitor with a front electrode upon which the particles impinge, a back electrode, and a solid dielectric sandwiched between the front and back electrodes. In one embodiment, the electrodes and dielectric are arcuately shaped as concentric peripheral segments of different spheres having a common center and different radii. The front electrode and dielectric together have a thickness such that an impinging particle can penetrate them. In a second embodiment, the capacitor has planar, parallel electrodes, in which case the ejected positive ions are deflected downstream of a planar grid by a pair of spaced, arcuate capacitor plates having a region between them through which the ejected ions travel.
A FORTRAN computer program (COREST) was developed to analyze the high-temperature paralinear oxidation behavior of metals. It is based on a mass-balance approach and uses typical gravimetric input data. COREST was applied to predominantly Cr2O3-forming alloys tested isothermally for long times. These alloys behaved paralinearly above 1100 C as a result of simultaneous scale formation and scale vaporization. Output includes the pertinent formation and vaporization constants and kinetic values of interest. COREST also estimates specific sample weight and specific scale weight as a function of time. Most importantly, from a corrosion standpoint, it estimates specific metal loss.
Iron microparticles were fired onto a capacitor-type microparticle detector which responded to an impact with a spark discharge. Ion currents were extracted from the spark and analyzed in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The mass spectra showed the elements of both detector and particle materials. The total extracted ion current was typically 10 A within a period of 100 nsec, indicating very efficient vaporization of the particle and ionization of the vapor. Potential applications include research on cosmic dust, atmospheric aerosols and cloud droplets, particles ejected by rocket or jet engines, by machining processes or by nuclear bomb explosions.
A Trace Gas Analyzer (TGA) with the ability to detect the presence of toxic contaminants in the Space Shuttle atmosphere within the subparts-per-million range is under development. The design is a modification of the miniaturized Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) developed for the Viking Mars Lander. An ambient air sample is injected onto the GC column from a constant volume sample loop and separated into individual compounds for identification by the MS. The GC-MS interface consists of an effluent divider and a silver-paladium separator, an electrochemical cell which removes more than 99.99% of the hydrogen carrier gas. The hydrogen is reclaimed and repressurized without affecting the separator efficiency, a feature which enables a considerable weight reduction in the carrier gas supply system.
System identifies terrestrial sources of radiofrequency interference and measures their frequency spectra and amplitudes. Designed to protect satellite communication networks, system measures entire noise spectrum over selected frequency band and can raster-scan geographical region to locate noise sources. Once interference is analyzed, realistic interference protection ratios are determined and mathematical models for predicting ratio-frequency noise spectra are established. This enhances signal-detection and locates optimum geographical positions and frequency bands for communication equipment.
The utility of a scanning densitometer for analyzing imagery in the NASA Lewis Research Center's regional remote sensing program was evaluated. Uses studied include: (1) quick-look screening of imagery by means of density slicing, magnification, color coding, and edge enhancement; (2) preliminary category classification of both low- and high-resolution data bases; and (3) quantitative measurement of the extent of features within selected areas. The densitometer was capable of providing fast, convenient, and relatively inexpensive preliminary analysis of aerial and satellite photography and scanner imagery involving land cover, water quality, strip mining, and energy conservation.
An overview of four analysis capabilities, which developed and integrated into the NASTRAN Thermal Analyzer, is given. To broaden the scope of applications, these additions provide the NTA users with the following capabilities: (1) simulating a thermal louver as a means of the passive thermal control, (2) simulating a fluid loop for transporting energy as a means of the active thermal control, (3) condensing a large sized finite element model for an efficient transient thermal analysis, and (4) entering multiple boundary condition sets in a single submission for execution in steady state thermal analyses.
The design, fabrication, and test of a breadboard trace gas analyzer (TGA) is documented. The TGA is a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer system. The gas chromatograph subsystem employs a recirculating hydrogen carrier gas. The recirculation feature minimizes the requirement for transport and storage of large volumes of carrier gas during a mission. The silver-palladium hydrogen separator which permits the removal of the carrier gas and its reuse also decreases vacuum requirements for the mass spectrometer since the mass spectrometer vacuum system need handle only the very low sample pressure, not sample plus carrier. System performance was evaluated with a representative group of compounds.
The NASTRAN Thermal Analyzer Manual describes the fundamental and theoretical treatment of the finite element method, with emphasis on the derivations of the constituent matrices of different elements and solution algorithms. Necessary information and data relating to the practical applications of engineering modeling are included.
A sample problem library containing 20 problems covering most facets of Nastran Thermal Analyzer modeling is presented. Areas discussed include radiative interchange, arbitrary nonlinear loads, transient temperature and steady-state structural plots, temperature-dependent conductivities, simulated multi-layer insulation, and constraint techniques. The use of the major control options and important DMAP alters is demonstrated.
A market survey was conducted to develop findings relative to the commercialization potential and key market factors of the whole blood analyzer which is being developed in conjunction with NASA's Space Shuttle Medical System.
A speech signal is analyzed by applying the signal to formant filters which derive first, second and third signals respectively representing the frequency of the speech waveform in the first, second and third formants. A first pulse train having approximately a pulse rate representing the average frequency of the first formant is derived; second and third pulse trains having pulse rates respectively representing zero crossings of the second and third formants are derived. The first formant pulse train is derived by establishing N signal level bands, where N is an integer at least equal to two. Adjacent ones of the signal bands have common boundaries, each of which is a predetermined percentage of the peak level of a complete cycle of the speech waveform.