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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

The vertical propagation of waves in the solar atmosphere. II Phase delays in the quiet chromosphere and cell-network distinctions

The differences in the phase of the velocity oscillations between a pair of chromospheric Ca II lines was measured using the Vacuum Tower Telescope at the Sacramento Peak Observatory. The observed phase differences indicate that the acoustic modes are trapped or envanescent, rather than propagating, in the chromosphere. Systematic distinctions are found in the phase delays between quiet network and cell interior regions for both intensity and velocity oscillations in photospheric and chromospheric lines. The theory of linear perturbations in an isothermal atmosphere is invoked to interpret these differences. From this analysis it is found that one or more of the following explanations is possible: (1) the radiative damping is more effective in the network than in the cell interior; (2) the network features exclude oscillations of large horizontal wavenumber; or (3) the scale height of the chromosphere is larger in the network than in the cell interior.

Lites, B. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Delay-Doppler radar observations of Saturn's rings

Delay-Doppler observations at 12.6 cm which have been used to estimate the relative radar reflectivities of Saturn's classical ring sections show that the A and B rings are responsible for most of the radar echo, and that the average radar reflectivity per unit of projected area of the A ring is 90% as large as the B ring. No firm evidence is found for radar backscattering from particles interior to the B ring, exterior to the A ring, of from the planet itself. Unexpectedly large amounts of power at Doppler shifts near the center of the echo spectrum, which had been reported at 3.5 and 12.6 cm for ring plane tilt angles greater than 24.4 deg are not apparent in spectra for those wavelengths obtained at ring plane tilt angles smaller than 21.4 deg.

Ostro, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Near optimum delay-line detection filters for serial detection of MSK signals

A method for designing transversal delay-line filter approximations to the matched filter for the serial detection of minimum-shift keyed (MSK) modulated signals is given. Two configurations are characterized in terms of signal-to-noise ratio degradation at a bit error rate (BER) of 10 to the -6th. One is shown to depart less than 0.3 dB from the ideal matched filter performance when its parameter values are optimized. A lumped-element equivalent is also given and shown to provide a degradation of less than 0.4 dB at a BER of 10 to the -6th

Ziemer, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Internal variability of an energy-balance model with delayed albedo effects

A simple, deterministic energy-balance model with possible relevance to climatic variations on the time scale of glaciation cycles, is presented. The lag between ice-sheet extent and zonally-averaged temperature is modeled as a time delay in the ice-albedo feedback. The model exhibits self-sustained oscillations which are quasi-periodic or aperiodic in character. Fourier spectra of solutions have the features of many paleoclimatic records: peaks of variable height and width superimposed on a continuous, red-noise type background.

Bhattacharya, K.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Effect of Temperature on Fiber-Optic Delay

Fiber/jacket interactions affect performance. Attenuation and phase measurements made to assess effect of temperature on signal delay and attenuation in two fiber-optic cable samples.

Bergman, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Measuring Delay in Lasers

Technique measures delay, i.e., response time of modulated diode laser as function of temperature by comparing excitation signal to laser output signal with vector voltmeter.

Bergman, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Description and overview of an instrument designed to measure line-of-sight delay due to water vapor

Eight dual channel microwave radiometers were constructed as a research and development effort for the Crustal Dynamics Project and the Deep Space Network. These instruments, known as water vapor radiometers, are primarily intended to demonstrate that the variable path delay imposed by atmospheric water vapor can be calibrated in microwave tracking and distance measuring systems but could also be used in other applications involving moist air meteorology and propagation studies. They are being deployed to various stations and observatories that participate in Very Long Baseline Interferometry experiments. The development history of these instruments are reviewed, the theory of operation and overall design considerations are outlined, and the instrumental parameters and performance characteristics are described.

Resch, G. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Delay line and mutual coupling considerations for MST radar antenna arrays

Basic antenna theory which states that the field radiated from an antenna array is equal to the sum of the currents flowing in each element of the array is discussed. The feedline distribution system guarantees the proper amplitude and phase of the current for each element of an array. The difference in electrical lengths of the feedlines to the elements has to equal the desired phase angle. The current for voltage delay in a transmission line is equal to the transmission line electrical length in only a few special cases, when the transmission line is terminated in its characteristic impedance or when the transmission line's electrical length is a multiple of 90 degrees.

Brosnahan, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Tropospheric Delay Effects in Radio Interferometry

A new tropospheric mapping function is derived which is more accurate than previous mapping functions above elevations of 4 degrees. The error due to the given analytic approximation is estimated to be less than 0.02% for elevation angles larger than 6 degrees, (less than 0.4 cm at 6 degrees, and approximately 0.004% or 0.03 cm at 20 degrees). The mathematical expansion used in the derivation is valid for any laterally homogeneous atmospheric model of refractivity. The new mapping function, computer generated ray tracing tables and other mapping functions are compared. The results can be used in correcting for tropospheric delays of radio signals.

Lanyi, G.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Temperature stability of transit time delay for a single-mode fibre in a loose tube cable

The effect of temperature on the transit-time delay of a loose-tube-type single-mode optical-fiber cable is investigated experimentally. A 1058-m length of cable was placed loosely coiled in an oven and used to connect a 820-nm single-mode laser diode to a high-speed avalanche-photodiode detector feeding a vector voltmeter; the signal was provided by a high-stability frequency-synthesized generator. Measurements were made every 2 C from -50 to 60 C and compared to those obtained with a 200-m lacquered bare fiber. The phase change of both fibers varied with temperature at a positive slope of 6-7 ppm/C. This value is significantly better than those reported for other cable types, suggesting the application of loose-fiber cables to long-haul gigabit digital transmissions or precision time-base distribution for VLBI.

Bergman, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A topology for computer networks with good survivability characteristics and low transmission delays between node computers

Various network topologies are developed which have not appeared in the literature before which result in minimum diameter graphs for computer networks having connectivity four. The topologies presented have good survivability characteristics and result in more topologies being available for computer network designers which achieve the minimum diameter resulting in small transmission delays.

Kelly, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A nonlinear filter for compensating for time delays in manual control systems

A nonlinear filter configured to provide phase lead without accompanying gain distortion is analyzed and evaluated. The nonlinear filter is superior to a linear lead/lag compensator in its ability to maintain system stability as open loop crossover frequency is increased. Test subjects subjectively rated the filter as slightly better than a lead/lag compensator in its ability to compensate for delays in a compensatory tracking task. However, the filter does introduce unwanted harmonics. This is particularly noticeable for low frequency pilot inputs. A revised compensation method is proposed which allows such low frequency inputs to bypass the nonlinear filter. A brief analytical and experimental evaluation of the revised filter indicates that further evaluation in more realistic tasks is justified.

Hess, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Long-delayed radio echoes - Mechanisms and observations

Experiments carried out in Alaska with the object of observing long-delayed radio echoes (LDE) are described. The results are subjected to critical sonogram analysis, together with data form previous experiments carried out at Stanford and elsewhere. It is concluded that, although strong supporting evidence for sporadic LDE phenomena has accumulated over the late 50 years, and a variety of plausible mechanisms have been proposed, stringent analysis of records such as those discussed in the paper almost invariably reveal alternative possible explanations for them. Further detailed experimentation is required on mechanisms, for which the phenomenon seems best established, e.g., round-the-world echoes and other forms of guided propagation.

Vidmar, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The application of Legendre-tau approximation to parameter identification for delay and partial differential equations

Approximation schemes based on Legendre-tau approximation are developed for application to parameter identification problem for delay and partial differential equations. The tau method is based on representing the approximate solution as a truncated series of orthonormal functions. The characteristic feature of the Legendre-tau approach is that when the solution to a problem is infinitely differentiable, the rate of convergence is faster than any finite power of 1/N; higher accuracy is thus achieved, making the approach suitable for small N.

Ito, K.↗
NASA NTRS1985

On the use of measured time delays in gravitational lenses to determine the Hubble constant

Gravitational lenses are rare in the known samples of quasars, indicating that the conditions involved in their formation are unusual. In particular, the distribution of matter along the light rays from the observer through the deflector to the quasar may be very different from mean conditions. It is shown that reasonable deviations in the density of matter along the beams can significantly alter the relationship between time delays and the Hubble constant, and it is concluded that gravitational lenses are not promising estimators of this constant. However, should an independent, precise determination of the Hubble constant become available, gravitational lenses could be used to probe long-range density fluctuations.

Alcock, C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Estimating Microwave Delay by Atmospheric Water

Tropospheric path delays for microwave very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) estimated with algorithm that determines and explicitly integrates simple water-vapor distribution based on temperature data from water-vapor radiometer (WVR) and emission model. Although computationally complex, method readily accommodates even dramatic changes in observation conditions, emission model, and WVR equipment. Algorithm accommodates changes in observation conditions, emission model, and radiometer hardware.

Robinson, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Solution of the symmetric eigenproblem AX=lambda BX by delayed division

Delayed division is an iterative method for solving the linear eigenvalue problem AX = lambda BX for a limited number of small eigenvalues and their corresponding eigenvectors. The distinctive feature of the method is the reduction of the problem to an approximate triangular form by systematically dropping quadratic terms in the eigenvalue lambda. The report describes the pivoting strategy in the reduction and the method for preserving symmetry in submatrices at each reduction step. Along with the approximate triangular reduction, the report extends some techniques used in the method of inverse subspace iteration. Examples are included for problems of varying complexity.

Thurston, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A new approach to approximating the linear quadratic optimal control law for hereditary systems with control delays

A factorization approach is presented for deriving approximations to the optimal feedback gain for the linear regulator-quadratic cost problem associated with time-varying functional differential equations with control delays. The approach is based on a discretization of the state penalty which leads to a simple structure for the feedback control law. General properties of the Volterra factors of Hilbert-Schmidt operators are then used to obtain convergence results for the feedback kernels.

Milman, M. H.↗