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At least 577 records · Page 32

Methodology for Validation of Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint Measurements using Pressure Transducers

Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) technology provides simultaneously high-frequency and high-spatial resolution surface pressure fluctuation measurements. It has demonstrated value in wind tunnel test facilities to evaluate aerospace vehicle unsteady aerodynamics. The calibration of measurements from digital pixel counts into corresponding physical units relies on both lab-based and in-situ calibration steps, and its validation is both challenging and critical to adoption of the technology. We present a rigorous methodology for direct comparison of uPSP-derived surface pressure measurements to reference pressure transducer data based on a model of the camera-based measurement error, a model of the flow field pressure signal, and their propagation through the uPSP data reduction algorithm. The methodology is demonstrated on data collected in a small-scale, subsonic wind tunnel test as well as data collected from a Space Launch System unsteady aerodynamics characterization test at the NASA Ames Research Center Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Complex.

Pressure-Sensitive Paint↗

Validating uPSP with Transducers

Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) technology provides simultaneously high-frequency and high-spatial resolution surface pressure fluctuation measurements. It has demonstrated value in wind tunnel test facilities to evaluate aerospace vehicle unsteady aerodynamics. The calibration of measurements from digital pixel counts into corresponding physical units relies on both lab-based and in-situ calibration steps, and its validation is both challenging and critical to adoption of the technology. We present a rigorous methodology for direct comparison of uPSP-derived surface pressure measurements to reference pressure transducer data based on a model of the camera-based measurement error, a model of the flow field pressure signal, and their propagation through the uPSP data reduction algorithm. The methodology is demonstrated on data collected in a small-scale, subsonic wind tunnel test as well as data collected from a Space Launch System unsteady aerodynamics characterization test at the NASA Ames Research Center Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Complex.

Pressure-Sensitive Paint↗

Time-History Statistics of Soot Formation in A Model Gas Turbine Combustor

Soot formation is a complex dynamic and intermittent process determined by properties of the fuel, combustor design, and combustor operation. Although the major steps in soot formation (i.e., formation of precursors, inception, growth and evolution) are similar for a variety of carbonaceous fuels, applications, and operating conditions, it remains unclear when the temporal transition between these steps occurs. An engineering prediction tool coupled with computational fluid physics (CFD), therefore needs to accurately model all these complex steps. To develop such a model, we propose the time-history concept for understanding the time dependency of soot formation as a function of local properties (i.e., temperature, velocity, local fuel air ratio, etc.). We continue our previous work with modeling the DLR aero-combustor [1] with our updated in-house CFD code, Open National Combustion Code (OpenNCC), that now includes a Multiple Time-Scale Flamelet Progress Variable approach and a the semi-empirical two-equation soot model. We injected massless tracer particles upstream of the injector region of the combustor to collect time-history statistics of the solution variables. The correlations between the collected statistics with respect to the experimental soot volume fraction data showed that time-history effect of certain flow variables, including turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and multiple species is indeed important for soot formation. We then conducted a time-history based correlation analysis to determine the key species and the concentration ranges critical for soot formation (C6H5-based nucleation, acetylene-based surface growth, and oxidation with OH and O2). Based on the time-history correlation coefficient (THCC) analysis, we propose possible modifications to improve the current two-equation model.

LES↗

Free-Flying Magnetometer Data System

The Free-Flying Magnetometer (FFM) is an autonomous "sensorcraft" developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the Enstrophy sounding rocket mission. This mission was a collaborative project between the University of New Hampshire, Cornell University and JPL. The science goal of the mission was the study of current filamentation phenomena in the northern auroral region through multipoint measurements of magnetic field. The technical objective of the mission was the proof of concept of the JPL FFM design and the demonstration of an in-situ multipoint measurement technique employing many free-flying spacecraft. Four FFMs were successfully deployed from a sounding rocket launched from Poker Flats, Alaska on February 11, 1999. These hockey-puck-sized (80 mm diameter, 38 mm. height, 250 gram mass) free flyers each carry a miniature 3-axis flux-gate magnetometer that output +/- 2 V signals corresponding to a +/- 60,000 nT measurement range for each axis. The FFM uses a synchronized four-channel Sigma(Delta) Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) having a dynamic range of +/- 2.5V and converting at a rate of 279 samples/second/channel. Three channels are used to digitize the magnetometer signals to 17-bit (1.144 nT/bit) resolution. The fourth ADC channel is multiplexed for system monitoring of four temperature sensors and two battery voltages. The FFM also contains two sun sensors, a laser diode which emits a fan-shaped beam, a miniature S-band transmitter for direct communication to the ground station antennas, an ultra-stable Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator (TCXO) clock, an integrated data subsystem implemented in a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a 4 Mbit Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) for data storage and Lithium Thionyl Chloride batteries for power. Communicating commands to the FFM prior to deployment is achieved with an infrared (IR) link. The FFM IR receiver responds to 9-bit pulse coded signals that are generated by an IR Light Emitting Diode (LED) in the payload for turning FFM power on or off and placing the FFM in a test mode or flight mode. The IR links are also used to synchronize (zero) the clocks onboard all the FFMs through a reset pulse originating from the payload GPS receiver that is issued when the FFMs are in flight mode. The FPGA based data subsystem manages continuous data collection from the four ADC channels and sun sensors, formatting and storing the data to SRAM, and controlling downlink transmission. The transmitter is powered only after a 2547 frame SRAM buffer has been filled (approx. 5 minutes of data). The data is Viterbi encoded and sent to the S-band transmitter via a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) buffer who's output is clocked at 100 bits/second. After the 26-second transmission, the transmitter is turned off to reduce noise coupling to the sensitive magnetometer. The data subsystem control consists of a master state machine that performs data flow management and is interfaced through a prioritized interrupt scheme to state machines that service the ADC, sun sensors and transmitter FIFO. Continuous data collection prevents the missing of data during transmission and provides implicit time tagging of the data acquired by the ADC because of synchronization with the TCXO clock.

Blaes, B.↗

AVIRIS onboard data handling and control

The timing and flow of detector and ancillary data for the Airborne Visible/Infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) are controlled within the instrument by its digital electronics assembly. In addition to providing detector and signal chain timing, the digital electronics receives, formats, and rate-buffers digitized science data; collects and formats ancillary (calibration and engineering) data; and merges both into a single tape record. Overall AVIRIS data handling is effected by a combination of dedicated digital electronics to control instrument timing, image data flow, and data rate buffering and a microcomputer programmed to handle real-time control of instrument mechanisms and the coordinated preparation of ancillary data.

Steinkraus, Ronald E.↗

AVIRIS onboard data handling and control

The timing and flow of detector and ancillary data for the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) are controlled within the instrument by its digital electronics assembly. In addition to providing detector and signal chain timing, the digital electronics receives, formats, and rate-buffers digitized science data; collects and formats ancillary (calibration and engineering) data; and merges both into a single tape record. Overall AVIRIS data handling is effected by a combination of dedicated digital electronics to control instrument timing, image data flow, and data rate buffering and a microcomputer programmed to handle real-time control of instrument mechanisms and the coordinated preparation of ancillary data.

Steinkraus, Ronald E.↗

Physical processes associated with current collection by plasma contactors

Recent flight data confirms laboratory observations that the release of neutral gas increases plasma sheath currents. Plasma contactors are devices which release a partially ionized gas in order to enhance the current flow between a spacecraft and the space plasma. Ionization of the expellant gas and the formation of a double layer between the anode plasma and the space plasma are the dominant physical processes. A theory is presented of the interaction between the contactor plasma and the background plasma. The conditions for formation of a double layer between the two plasmas are derived. Double layer formation is shown to be a consequence of the nonlinear response of the plasmas to changes in potential. Numerical calculations based upon this model are compared with laboratory measurements of current collection by hollow cathode-based plasma contactors.

Katz, Ira↗

Impingement of Droplets in 90 deg Elbows with Potential Flow

Trajectories were determined for droplets in air flowing through 90 deg elbows especially designed for two-dimensional potential motion with low pressure losses. The elbows were established by selecting as walls of each elbow two streamlines of the flow field produced by a complex potential function that establishes a two-dimensional flow around a 90 deg bend. An unlimited number of elbows with slightly different shapes can be established by selecting different pairs of streamlines as walls. The elbows produced by the complex potential function selected are suitable for use in aircraft air-intake ducts. The droplet impingement data derived from the trajectories are presented along with equations in such a manner that the collection efficiency, the area, the rate, and the distribution of droplet impingement can be determined for any elbow defined by any pair of streamlines within a portion of the flow field established by the complex potential function. Coordinates for some typical streamlines of the flow field and velocity components for several points along these streamlines are presented in tabular form.

Hacker, Paul T.↗

Atomization of liquid droplets in a convective gas stream.

New experimental results are reported for the atomization of liquid droplets by a high-speed air stream. A series of experiments are described in which water droplets, ranging in diameter from 1000 to 2700 microns, were introduced into the test section of a shock tube and allowed to interact with the convective flow established by the passage of a propagating shock front. A rotating drum camera system was employed to obtain a collection of streak photographs of the atomization process from which the breakup time, the breakup distance, and the ultimate atomized particle size were determined.

Ranger, A. A.↗

Electron-impact excitation of the 3S0 and 5S0 states of atomic oxygen

The conditions of electron-impact excitation in flowing oxygen downstream from a discharge are reinterpreted. It is shown that total oxygen mass flow is not conserved as the discharge is turned on and off, even though the inlet flow rate remains constant. The total amount of gas is diminished when the discharge is turned on, apparently due to collection of atomic oxygen by the system walls. A revised total cross section is reported for the excitation of 1304-A radiation.

Stone, E. J.↗

Remote sensing of snow and ice

This paper reviews remote sensing of snow and ice, techniques for improved monitoring, and incorporation of the new data into forecasting and management systems. The snowcover interpretation of visible and infrared data from satellites, automated digital methods, radiative transfer modeling to calculate the solar reflectance of snow, and models using snowcover input data and elevation zones for calculating snowmelt are discussed. The use of visible and near infrared techniques for inferring snow properties, microwave monitoring of snowpack characteristics, use of Landsat images for collecting glacier data, monitoring of river ice with visible imagery from NOAA satellites, use of sequential imagery for tracking ice flow movement, and microwave studies of sea ice are described. Applications of snow and ice research to commercial use are examined, and it is concluded that a major problem to be solved is characterization of snow and ice in nature, since assigning of the correct properties to a real system to be modeled has been difficult.

Rango, A.↗

The Cancer Cluster - An unbound collection of groups

A surface density contour map of the Cancer Cluster derived from galaxy counts in the Zwicky catalog is presented. The contour map shows that the galaxy distribution is clumpy. When this spatial distribution is combined with nearly complete velocity information, the clumps stand out more clearly; there are significant differences in the mean velocities of the clumps which exceed their internal velocity dispersions. The Cancer Cluster is not a proper 'cluster' but is a collection of discrete groups, each with a velocity dispersion of approximately 300 km/s, separating from one another with the cosmological flow. The mass-to-light ratio for galaxies in the main concentration is approximately 320 solar masses/solar luminosities (H sub 0 = 100 km/s Mpc).

Geller, M. J.↗

Dilution jet mixing

Schematics are given for test section configurations, orifice configurations, and the dilution jet mixing test rig used to collect a data base on mixing a single sided and a two sided row of jets with a confined cross flow. Parameters investigated include momentum ratio; nonuniform cross stream temperature and velocity profiles; cold/hot injection, and cross stream flow area convergence. Graphs show measured theta momentum distributions for: (1) in line and staggered orifice configurations; and (2) the profiled mainstream; and (3) flow area convergence.

Srinivasan, S.↗

Multistage open-tube trap for enrichment of part-per-trillion trace components of low-pressure (below 27-kPa) air samples

A multistage open-tube trap for cryogenic collection of trace components in low-pressure air samples is described. The open-tube design allows higher volumetric flow rates than densely packed glass-bead traps commonly reported and is suitable for air samples at pressures below 27 kPa with liquid nitrogen as the cryogen. Gas blends containing 200 to 2500 parts per trillion by volume each of ethane and ethene were sampled and hydrocarbons were enriched with 100 + or - 4 percent trap efficiency. The multistage design is more efficient than equal-length open-tube traps under the conditions of the measurements.

Ohara, D.↗

Observations of gravity wave scales, fluxes, and saturation during MAP

During the MAP/MAC period, considerable improvements in instrumentation and experimental technique have occurred, and many hitherto unavailable parameters relating to gravity waves have become available. Studies of individual wave events and simultaneous observations made with a variety of techniques have provided insight into wave saturation mechanisms. In addition, long data sets of upper middle atmosphere winds were collected at a number of widely spaced sites, allowing climatological investigations of gravity wave amplitudes, wave number spectra, polarization, mean flow acceleration, and other saturation effects to be undertaken. Observations of gravity wave scales, momentum fluxes, saturation and saturation effects obtained during MAP/MAC, made on both a statistical and case study basis are reviewed.

Reid, I. M.↗

Stokes seeding of a Raman shifting cell for use in RELIEF velocimetry

The seeding of a high pressure oxygen, stimulated vibrational Raman shifting cell with a small amount of first-order Stokes radiation is described. The output radiation from this cell was used to vibrationally excite oxygen in a low-speed air flow, and that vibrationally-excited oxygen was detected using laser-induced fluorescence imaging (the RELIEF technique). Comparison of collected fluorescence signal with and without first-order Stokes seeding showed an enhancement by more than a factor of three when the seed was used.

Diskin, Glenn S.↗

NASA SMART Probe: Breast Cancer Application

There is evidence in breast cancer and other malignancies that the physiologic environment within a tumor correlates with clinical outcome. We are developing a unique percutaneous Smart Probe to be used at the time of needle biopsy of the breast. The Smart Probe will simultaneously measure multiple physiologic parameters within a breast tumor. Direct and indirect measurements of tissue oxygen levels, blood flow, pH, and tissue fluid pressure will be analyzed in real-time. These parameters will be interpreted individually and collectively by innovative neural network techniques using advanced intelligent software. The goals are 1) develop a pecutaneous Smart Probe with multiple sensor modalities and applying advanced Information Technologies to provide real time diagnostic information of the tissue at tip of the probe, 2) test the percutaneous Smart Probe in women with benign and malignant breast masses who will be undergoing surgical biopsy, 3) correlate probe sensor data with benign and malignant status of breast masses, 4) determine whether the probe can detect physiologic differences within a breast tumor, and its margins, and in adjacent normal breast tissue, 5) correlate probe sensor data with known prognostic factors for breast caner, including tumor size, tumor grade, axillary lymph node metastases, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status.

Mah, Robert W.↗