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Computer program called TRACK was developed by combining a transient fluid flow computer code and the existing modified TOSS heat conduction code to perform the computation.
Automata and continuous system theories and relationships between convolutional codes and zero state automata and cyclic codes and zero input automata
Automata and continuous system theories and relationships between convolutional codes and zero state automata and cyclic codes and zero input automata
Fast neutron transport characteristics of helical ducts using Monte Carlo code FASTER, computing neutron fluxes and attenuation
Solutions are provided to specific problems arising in the GSFC VHF-PSK and VHF-FSK Command Systems in support of establishment and maintenance of Data Systems Standards. Signal structures which incorporate transmission on the uplink of a clock along with the PSK or FSK data are considered. Strategies are developed for allocating power between the clock and data, and spectral analyses are performed. Bit error probability and other probabilities pertinent to correct transmission of command messages are calculated. Biphase PCM/PM and PCM/FM are considered as candidate modulation techniques on the telemetry downlink, with application to command verification. Comparative performance of PCM/PM and PSK systems is given special attention, including implementation considerations. Gain in bit error performance due to coding is also considered.
A summary of modifications to Aerotherm's Boundary Layer Integral Matrix Procedure (BLIMP) code is presented. These modifications represent a preliminary effort to make BLIMP compatible with other JANNAF codes and to adjust the code for specific application to rocket nozzle flows. Results of the initial verification of the code for prediction of rocket nozzle type flows are discussed. For those cases in which measured free stream flow conditions were used as input to the code, the boundary layer predictions and measurements are in excellent agreement. In two cases, with free stream flow conditions calculated by another JANNAF code (TDK) for use as input to BLIMP, the predictions and the data were in fair agreement for one case and in poor agreement for the other case. The poor agreement is believed to result from failure of the turbulent model in BLIMP to account for laminarization of a turbulent flow. Recommendations for further code modifications and improvements are also presented.
Basic characteristics of digital data transmission systems described include the physical communication links, the notion of bandwidth, FCC regulations, and performance measurements such as bit rates, bit error probabilities, throughputs, and delays. The error probability performance and spectral characteristics of various modulation/demodulation techniques commonly used or proposed for use in radio and satellite communication links are summarized. Forward error correction with block or convolutional codes is also discussed along with the important coding parameter, channel cutoff rate.
Particular attention is given to comparison of the actural response of the SCATHA (Spacecraft Charging AT High Altitudes) P78-2 satellite with theoretical (NASCAP) predictions. Extensive comparisons for a variety of environmental conditions confirm the validity of the NASCAP model. A summary of the capabilities and range of validity of NASCAP is presented, with extensive reference to previously published applications. It is shown that NASCAP is capable of providing quantitatively accurate results when the object and environment are adequately represented and fall within the range of conditions for which NASCAP was intended. Three dimensional electric field affects play an important role in determining the potential of dielectric surfaces and electrically isolated conducting surfaces, particularly in the presence of artificially imposed high voltages. A theory for such phenomena is presented and applied to the active control experiments carried out in SCATHA, as well as other space and laboratory experiments. Finally, some preliminary work toward modeling large spacecraft in polar Earth orbit is presented. An initial physical model is presented including charge emission. A simple code based upon the model is described along with code test results.
Results are presented of an analytical investigation on the dynamic collapse of an elastic periodically supported column. The column has an attached mass at one end and impacts a rigid surface with prescribed velocity and angle of incidence at the other end. A first-order approximate nonlinear analysis is developed in which it is assumed that only first-order nonlinear terms need be retained. Differential equations are derived and solved numerically by explicit time integration in order to determine specific ranges of the basic nondimensional parameters for which the response characteristics are markedly different. To assess modeling sophistication relative to prediction accuracy, a comparison is made of the results from this approximate analysis with those of a finite element computer code based on a convected coordinate formulation.
A review of several modal testing techniques is made, along with brief discussions of their advantages and limitations. A new technique is presented which overcomes many of the previous limitations. Several simulated experiments are included to verify the validity and accuracy of the new method. Conclusions are drawn from the simulation studies and recommendations for further work are presented. The complete computer code configured for the simulation study is presented.
A method for numerically solving the three-dimensional unsteady Euler equations using flux vector splitting is developed. The equations are cast in curvilinear coordinates and a finite volume discretization is used. An explicit upwind second-order predictor-corrector scheme is used to solve the discretized equations. The scheme is stable for a CFL number of 2 and local time stepping is used to accelerate convergence for steady-state problems. Characteristic variable boundary conditions are developed and used in the far-field and at surfaces. No additional dissipation terms are included in the scheme. Numerical results are compared with results from an existing three-dimensional Euler code and experimental data.
An analysis for modeling damping seals for use in Space Shuttle main engine turbomachinery is being produced. Development of a computational fluid mechanics code for turbulent, incompressible flow is required.
Traditionally symmetric, multiple phase-shift-keyed (MPSK) signal constellations, i.e., those with uniformly spaced signal points around the circle, have been used for both uncoded and coded systems. Although symmetric MPSK signal constellations are optimum for systems with no coding, the same is not necessarily true for coded systems. This appears to show that by designing the signal constellations to be asymmetric, one can, in many instances, obtain a significant performance improvement over the traditional symmetric MPSK constellations combined with trellis coding. The joint design of n/(n + 1) trellis codes and asymmetric 2 sup n + 1 - point MPSK is considered, which has a unity bandwidth expansion relative to uncoded 2 sup n-point symmetric MPSK. The asymptotic performance gains due to coding and asymmetry are evaluated in terms of the minimum free Euclidean distance free of the trellis. A comparison of the maximum value of this performance measure with the minimum distance d sub min of the uncoded system is an indication of the maximum reduction in required E sub b/N sub O that can be achieved for arbitrarily small system bit-error rates. It is to be emphasized that the introduction of asymmetry into the signal set does not effect the bandwidth of power requirements of the system; hence, the above-mentioned improvements in performance come at little or no cost. MPSK signal sets in coded systems appear in the work of Divsalar.
The surface integral terms in Green's third identity are often used to solve the Prandtl-Glauert (linear potential-flow) equation with panel methods. This can be done, as in the PAN AIR code, for either subsonic or supersonic flow about complete aircraft. The extension to transonic flow is suggested by the volume integral terms of Green's third identity. The mathematical basis for this extension, without the use of body-fitted grids, is presented. Supercritical transonic results computed from a two-dimensional transonic PAN AIR research code demonstrate the method.
NASCRAC - a computer code for fracture mechanics analysis of crack growth - is described in this paper. The need for such a code is increasing as requirements grow for high reliability and low weight in aerospace components. The code is comprehensive and versatile, as well as user friendly. The major purpose of the code is calculation of fatigue, corrosion fatigue, or stress corrosion crack growth, and a variety of crack growth relations can be selected by the user. Additionally, crack retardation models are included. A very wide variety of stress intensity factor solutions are contained in the code, and extensive use is made of influence functions. This allows complex stress gradients in three-dimensional crack problems to be treated easily and economically. In cases where previous stress intensity factor solutions are not adequate, new influence functions can be calculated by the code. Additional features include incorporation of J-integral solutions from the literature and a capability for estimating elastic-plastic stress redistribution from the results of a corresponding elastic analysis. An example problem is presented which shows typical outputs from the code.
Magnetoplasmadynamics (MPD) arc devices have been operated at power levels from 10 KW to 0.1 MW. When these devices have magnetic fields applied to them, they show marked increases in thrust in direct proportion to the magnitide of the applied field. Electrode erosion may be influenced by applied fields. This proposal will study the application of variable magnetic fields over a range of thruster powers, gas densities, and thruster configurations. It is proposed to examine this behavior with numerical codes and limited but relevant experimental tests.
A technique for the evaluation of aerodynamic drag from flowfield solutions based on the Euler equations is discussed. The technique is limited to steady attached flows around three-dimensional configurations in the absence of active systems such as surface blowing/suction and propulsion. It allows the decomposition of the total drag into induced drag and wave drag and, consequently, it provides more information on the drag sources than the conventional surface-pressure integration technique. The induced drag is obtained from the integration of the kinetic energy (per unit distance) of the trailing vortex system on a wake plane and the wave drag is obtained from the integration of the entropy production on a plane just downstream of the shocks. The drag-evaluation technique is applied to three-dimensional flowfield solutions for the ONERA M6 wing as well as an aspect-ratio-7 wing with an elliptic spanwise chord distribution and an NACA-0012 section shape. Comparisons between the drag obtained with the present technique and the drag based on the integration of surface pressures are presented for two Euler codes.
Recent experience with the HELIX-I code is presented, and its ability to predict the flow and performance of both conventional rotors and the unconventional anhedral parabolic tip rotor utilized on the Super Puma MK2 is described. HELIX-I is a standard full-potential rotor code having the ability to efficiently predict the detailed flow on a rotor blade, including 3D, transonic, and weak viscous effects (using appropriate boundary layer analyses). The resulting code is the first full-potential CFD code with the ability to model free wake convection and the first CFD code of any type to predict hover performance.