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At least 541 records · Page 30

Continuous observations of long-term variations in cosmic X-ray sources

Results are reported for the Charged Particle Measurements Experiment which was conducted on board IMP-7 to detect X-ray fluxes from the sun, the galactic center, Tau X-1, and Sco X-1 over a nine-month period. Autocorrelation analysis of the data indicates a probable 80-day periodicity in the flux from Sco X-1, a 110-day periodicity in the flux from the galactic center, no periodicities in the flux from Tau X-1, and a strong 27-day periodicity in the solar X-ray flux. A transient event detected within the cluster of sources constituting the galactic center is reported which lasted about two months and had a flux roughly equal to the regular flux from this area. It is noted that this was the only transient event detected in the whole area under continuous observation for the duration of the experiment.

Wende, C. D.↗

Smooth plains and continuous deposits of craters and basins

Apollo 16 photographic data are analyzed which suggest that smooth plains are related in origin to large primary cratering events, and that the plains material is mainly the ejecta of local and regional primary impact craters with only minor contributions from distant craters and basins. This material, then, has been emplaced in its present location by secondaries of distant craters and directly by primary craters near the site. Calculations indicate that the material excavated from large primary craters typically excavates much larger amounts of material from local terrain when it impacts in the secondary crater field. There is a correlation between the extent of development of smooth plains inside large high-land craters and the erosional state of the crater rims and walls. It is incorrect to consider the continuous deposits to be solely basin ejecta.

Oberbeck, V. R.↗

A reciprocal theorem for a mixture of interacting continuous media

Using a linearized theory of interacting continuous media composed of linear elastic solid and linear viscous fluid, a reciprocal theorem is derived which relates the solution of one initial-boundary value problem to another. As an illustration of the reciprocal theorem, we obtain the early time displacement and velocity field of a mixture occupying an infinite region and subjected to an impulsively applied moving point load acting on the solid constituent.

Lee, Y. M.↗

Continuous-data FIFO bubble shift register

Simple loop first-in-first-out (FIFO) bubble memory shift register has continuous storage capability. Bubble shift register simplifies chip-control electronics by enabling all control functions to be alined at same bit. FIFO shift register is constructed from passive replicator and annihilator combinations.

Chen, T. T.↗

Continued development of abradable gas path seals

Major program objectives were the continued development of NiCrAlY feltmetal and honeycomb systems for knife edge seal applications in the 1144 to 1366 K temperature range, and to initiate abradable seal material evaluation for blade tip seal applications in the 1366 to 1589 K temperature range. Larger fiber size, higher density feltmetal showed greatly improved erosion resistance with a slight reduction in abradability compared to the baseline feltmetal. Pack aluminide coating of the honeycomb extended the oxidation resistance and slightly improved the abradability of this material. Evaluation through selected abradability, erosion and oxidation testing, and pertinent metallography led to selection of a plasma sprayed yttria stabilized zirconia (ZrO2)/CoCrAlY layered system as the system with the most potential to meet the 1589 K requirement for blade tip seals. This system demonstrated structural integrity, erosion resistance, and some degree of abradability.

Shiembob, L. T.↗

A non-gaussian model of continuous atmospheric turbulence for use in aircraft design

A non-Gaussian model of atmospheric turbulence is presented and analyzed. The model is restricted to the regions of the atmosphere where the turbulence is steady or continuous, and the assumptions of homogeneity and stationarity are justified. Also spatial distribution of turbulence is neglected, so the model consists of three independent, stationary stochastic processes which represent the vertical, lateral, and longitudinal gust components. The non-Gaussian and Gaussian models are compared with experimental data, and it is shown that the Gaussian model underestimates the number of high velocity gusts which occur in the atmosphere, while the non-Gaussian model can be adjusted to match the observed high velocity gusts more satisfactorily. Application of the proposed model to aircraft response is investigated, with particular attention to the response power spectral density, the probability distribution, and the level crossing frequency. A numerical example is presented which illustrates the application of the non-Gaussian model to the study of an aircraft autopilot system. Listings and sample results of a number of computer programs used in working with the model are included.

Reeves, P. M.↗

A FORTRAN program for the analysis of linear continuous and sample-data systems

A FORTRAN digital computer program which performs the general analysis of linearized control systems is described. State variable techniques are used to analyze continuous, discrete, and sampled data systems. Analysis options include the calculation of system eigenvalues, transfer functions, root loci, root contours, frequency responses, power spectra, and transient responses for open- and closed-loop systems. A flexible data input format allows the user to define systems in a variety of representations. Data may be entered by inputing explicit data matrices or matrices constructed in user written subroutines, by specifying transfer function block diagrams, or by using a combination of these methods.

Edwards, J. W.↗

Renal effects of continuous negative pressure breathing

Continuous negative pressure breathing (CNPB) was utilized to simulate the thoracic vascular distension of zero G in 11 anesthetized rats. The animals underwent renal clearance and micropuncture renal nephron studies before, during, and after CNPB. Four rats were pretreated with a high salt diet and I-M desoxycorticosterone (DOCA) in excess. None of these rats diuresed with CNPB. In contrast, five of the seven remaining rats increased the fraction of the filtered sodium excreted and their urinary flow rate. Potassium excretion increased. End proximal tubular fluid specimen's TF/P inulin ratios were unchanged. Whole kidney and single nephron glomerular filtration rates fell 10%. CNPB, a mechanism for atrial distension, appears to cause in the rat a decrease in distal tubular sodium and water reabsorption. Exogenous mineral-corticoid prevents the diuresis, saluresis, and kaluresis. The adequacy of other nonatrial volume control mechanisms in regulating renal salt and water conservation in opposition to the studied atrial-renal (Henry-Gauer) reflex of thoracic vascular distension is confirmed.

Kinney, M. J.↗

Stability predictions for combustors with acoustic absorbers and continuous combustion distributions

The realistic case of a continuous distribution of combustion sources in the axial direction is considered in the investigation. The results obtained are compared with those of an earlier study conducted by Baer et al. (1974) concerning the stability of partially lined combustors with distributed combustion. There is a substantial upward shift of the curves in all cases relative to the curves obtained in the first analysis. The increase in chamber stability indicated is traced to some important damping effects associated with source terms which had been neglected in the previous study.

Mitchell, C. E.↗

Search for continuous X-ray emission from NP 0532

A search for continuous X-ray emission from the pulsar NP 0532 has been performed using lunar occultations and high temporal resolution. No increase in the nonpulsed phase of the flux from the Crab Nebula was observed when NP 0532 was exposed. The result is used to establish an upper limit of 4.7 million K (99% confidence) on the surface temperature of the neutron star.

Wolff, R. S.↗

Discrete estimation of continuous angle-modulated signals over multipath channels for aeronautical communication

The multipath channel for communication between an aerospace vehicle and a ground terminal is modeled by a multiplicative first-order Markov process. The multiplicative process is treated as a component of the message model and the discrete-time demodulation algorithms using the extended Kalman nonlinear estimation technique are developed for continuous-time angle-modulated signals. The equivalent baseband form of the demodulator structure is derived. Two examples of the message process are discussed for an FM system. The simulation results are presented for various values of the bandwidth expansion ratio and the additive SNR. The performance of the baseband algorithms is discussed.

Takhar, G. S.↗

Some estimation formulae for continuous time-invariant linear systems

In this brief paper we examine a Riccati equation decomposition due to Reid and Lainiotis and apply the result to the continuous time-invariant linear filtering problem. Exploitation of the time-invariant structure leads to integration-free covariance recursions which are of use in covariance analyses and in filter implementations. A super-linearly convergent iterative solution to the algebraic Riccati equation (ARE) is developed. The resulting algorithm, arranged in a square-root form, is thought to be numerically stable and competitive with other ARE solution methods. Certain covariance relations that are relevant to the fixed-point and fixed-lag smoothing problems are also discussed.

Bierman, G. J.↗

The fast decoding of Reed-Solomon codes using fermat theoretic transforms and continued fractions

It is shown that Reed-Solomon (RS) codes can be decoded by using a fast Fourier transform algorithm over finite fields GF(F sub n) where F sub n is a Fermat prime, and continued fractions. This new transform decoding method is simpler than the standard method for RS codes. The computing time of this new decoding algorithm in software can be faster than the standard decoding method for RS codes.

Welch, L. R.↗

Continuous-flow electrophoretic separator for biologicals

In the near absence of gravity, a continuous-flow type of electrophoretic separator can be operated with a much thicker separation chamber than is possible under 1 g conditions. This should permit either better resolution or shorter separation time per unit of sample. An apparatus to perform experiments on sounding rockets is under development and will be described. The electrophoresis cell is 5 mm thick by 5 cm wide with 10 cm long electrodes. It is supplied with buffer, sample, and coolant at about 4 C through the use of a passive refrigerant system. UV sample detection and provision for recovery and cold storage of up to 50 sample fractions are now being added to the basic unit. A wide range of operating conditions are electronically programmable into the unit, even up to a short time before flight, and a further range of some parameters can be achieved by exchanging power supplies and by changing gears in the motor drive units of the pump. The preliminary results of some separation studies on various biological products using a commercially available electrophoretic separator are also presented.

Mccreight, L. R.↗

Design, fabrication and test of prototype furnace for continuous growth of wide silicon ribbon

A program having the overall objective of growing wide, thin silicon dendritic web crystals quasi-continuously from a semi-automated facility is discussed. The design considerations and fabrication of the facility as well as the test and operation phase are covered; detailed engineering drawings are included as an appendix. During the test and operation phase of the program, more than eighty growth runs and numerous thermal test runs were performed. At the conclusion of the program, 2.4 cm wide web was being grown at thicknesses of 100 to 300 micrometers. As expected, the thickness and growth rate are closely related. Solar cells made from this material were tested at NASA-Lewis and found to have conversion efficiencies comparable to devices fabricated from Czochralski material.

Duncan, C. S.↗

Mount for continuously orienting a collector dish in a system adapted to perform both diurnal and seasonal solar tracking

A collector dish is continuously oriented toward the sun in a system adapted to perform both diurnal and seasonal solar tracking. The mount is characterized by a rigid, angulated axle having a linear midportion supporting a collector dish, and oppositely extended end portions normally related to the midportion of the axle and received in spaced journals. The longitudinal axis of symmetry for the midportion of the axle is coincident with a seasonal axis while the axes of the journals are coincident with a diurnal axis paralleling the earth's polar axis. Drive means are provided for periodically displacing the axle about the diurnal axis at a substantially constant rate, while other drive means are provided for periodically indexing the dish through 1 deg about the seasonal axis whereby the position of the dish relative to the axle is varied for accommodating seasonal tracking as changes in the angle of inclination of the polar axis occurs.

Brantley, L. W., Jr.↗

Digital controller design: Continuous and discrete describing function analysis of the IPS system

The dynamic equations and the mathematical model of the continuous-data IPS control system are developed. The IPS model considered included one flexible body mode and was hardmounted to the Orbiter/Pallet. The model contains equations describing a torque feed-forward loop (using accelerometers as inputs) which will aid in reducing the pointing errors caused by Orbiter disturbances.

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