Analysis of cross-polarized components of radar reflection data.
Graphical method for plotting contours of Rice distribution function as rocket-borne radar reflection data, determining leakage factor
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Graphical method for plotting contours of Rice distribution function as rocket-borne radar reflection data, determining leakage factor
Analysis of bulk storage data requirements and methods for visual display of information on space shuttle display devices
The use of interactive graphics is presented as an attractive method for performing multi-parameter data analysis of proton recoil distributions to determine neutron spectra. Interactive graphics allows the user to view results on-line as the program is running and to maintain maximum control over the path along which the calculation will proceed. Other advantages include less time to obtain results and freedom from handling paper tapes and IBM cards.
A method is described which owes its practicality to the capability of Schmidt telescopes to record a number of galaxy images on a single plate and to the existence of high speed computer controlled area-scanning precision microdensitometers such as the Photometric Data Systems model 1010. The method of analysis results in quantitative color-index information which is displayed in a manner that allows any user to effectively study the morphological properties of the distribution of color-index in galaxies.
Analytical methods have been developed for consolidation of fatigue, fatigue-crack propagation, and fracture data for use in design of metallic aerospace structural components. To evaluate these methods, a comprehensive file of data on 2024 and 7075 aluminums, Ti-6A1-4V, and 300M and D6Ac steels was established. Data were obtained from both published literature and unpublished reports furnished by aerospace companies. Fatigue and fatigue-crack-propagation analyses were restricted to information obtained from constant-amplitude load or strain cycling of specimens in air at room temperature. Fracture toughness data were from tests of center-cracked tension panels, part-through crack specimens, and compact-tension specimens.
Wind tunnel tests were conducted to determine the aerodynamic heating created by gaps in the reusable surface insulation (RSI) thermal protection system (TPS) for the space shuttle. The effects of various parameters of the RSI on convective heating characteristics are described. The wind tunnel tests provided a data base for accurate assessment of gap heating. Analysis and correlation of the data provide methods for predicting heating in the RSI gaps on the space shuttle.
The results of a survey of U. S., British and French subcritical aircraft flight flutter testing methods are presented and evaluation of the applicability of these methods to the testing of the space shuttle are discussed. Ten U. S. aircraft programs covering the large civil transport aircraft and a variety of military aircraft are reviewed. In addition, three major French and British programs are covered by the survey. The significant differences between the U. S., French and British practices in the areas of methods of excitation, data acquisition, transmission and analysis are reviewed. The effect of integrating the digital computer into the flight flutter test program is discussed. Significant saving in analysis and flight test time are shown to result from the use of special digital computer routines and digital filters.
Results are presented of extensive testing recently completed on boron-aluminum composites to determine mechanical property data for structural design and analysis. Average property data and associated test methods are given for unidirectional and cross plied laminates at room temperature and 600 F. Results from crippling tests of hat-shaped stringers and mechanical fastener joint tests of laminates containing titanium interleaves are also presented. Compared to aluminum which has approximately same density, tests show that boron-aluminum loaded in compression is 4 1/2 times stronger and 3 1/2 times stiffer. When loaded in tension it is 2 times stronger and 3 times stiffer.
Methods are described for relating the densities in a roll of duplicate imagery to the exposure on the original by generating the system response curve. A four-quadrant tone-reproduction cycle is also described.
The results of a fan noise data analysis and prediction effort using experimental data obtained from tests on the QF-1B research fan are described. Surface pressure measurements were made with flush mounted sensors installed on selected rotor blades and stator vanes and noise measurements were made by microphones located at the far field. Power spectral density analysis, time history studies, and calculation of coherence functions were made. The emphasis of these studies was on the characteristics of tones in the spectra. The amplitude behavior of spectral tones was found to have a large, often predominant, random component, suggesting that turbulent processes play an important role in the generation of tonal as well as broadband noise. Inputs from the data analysis were used in a prediction method which assumes that acoustic dipoles, produced by unsteady blade and van forces, are the important source of fan noise.
Meteorological rocketsonde and satellite radiance data are employed for analyses of a continuing series of high-altitude constant-pressure charts. The automated methods of data processing and the objective analysis procedures are described. Broad-scale analyses of temperature and geopotential height for the Northern Hemisphere 5-, 2-, 1-, and 0.4-mb surfaces are presented for each week of the period July 1976 through June 1977. Brief discussions of the variations of the temperature and height fields throughout the period are also given.
A comprehensive method has been developed to predict the static aerodynamic characteristics of missiles with one or two sets of cruciform fins. The method, utilizing a data base augmented by analysis, is applicable over the Mach number range 0.8 to 3.0 and for angles of attack from 0 to 45 deg. Arbitrary bank angles and control deflections are allowed. Loads are calculated on each component of the missile and include effects of body and fin vortices. Comparison with data shows good agreement over a wide range of flight conditions.
A method of mapping geology at a reconnaissance scale and locating zones of possible hydrothermal alteration has been developed. This method is based on principal component analysis of Landsat digital data and is applied to the desert area of the Chagai Hills, Baluchistan, Pakistan. A method for airborne spectrometric detection of geobotanical anomalies associated with prophyry Cu-Mo mineralization at Heddleston, Montana has also been developed. This method is based on discriminants in the 0.67 micron and 0.79 micron region of the spectrum.
The design and function of an atmospheric analyzer which uses a computer are discussed. Mathematical models which show the method of measurement are presented. The data analysis and recording procedures of the analyzer are discussed.
A proposed total strainrange version of strainrange partitioning (SRP) to enhance the manner in which SRP is applied to life prediction is considered with emphasis on how advanced reliability technology can be applied to perform risk analysis and to derive safety check expressions. Uncertainties existing in the design factors associated with life prediction of a component which experiences the combined effects of creep and fatigue can be identified. Examples illustrate how reliability analyses of such a component can be performed when all design factors in the SRP model are random variables reflecting these uncertainties. The Rackwitz-Fiessler and Wu algorithms are used and estimates of the safety index and the probablity of failure are demonstrated for a SRP problem. Methods of analysis of creep-fatigue data with emphasis on procedures for producing synoptic statistics are presented. An attempt to demonstrate the importance of the contribution of the uncertainties associated with small sample sizes (fatique data) to risk estimates is discussed. The procedure for deriving a safety check expression for possible use in a design criteria document is presented.
A method for interpreting direct strike and nearby strike lightning data on aircraft is discussed. The theoretical basis for the interpretation involves a transmission line model for the aircraft, and is discussed. Results of applying this model to the F-106 aircraft are presented and in the natural resonances are computed for several different electrical representations of the aircraft. The signal processing techniques useful for extracting pole (resonance) information from experimental data are discussed, and the use of these techniques on the measured lightning data is illustrated. Finally, the results of a related ground-based lightning experiment are discussed and data are presented. The purpose of this test was to gain additional understanding of the resonance properties of the F-106 aircraft.
A computer program written to calculate the static pressure position error of airspeed systems contains five separate methods for determining position error, of which the user may select from one to five at a time. The program uses data from both the test aircraft and the ground-based radar to calculate the error. In addition, some of the methods require rawinsonde data or an atmospheric analysis, or both. The program output lists the corrections to Mach number, altitude, and static pressure that are due to position error. Reference values such as angle of attack, angle of sideslip, indicated Mach number, indicated pressure altitude, stagnation pressure, and total temperature are also listed.
Long term radar observations of any meteor shower yield good data for a study of the features of its cross section structure in detail. The hourly rates of meteor echoes represent usually the basic data from which shower characteristics are derived. Unfortunately, the hourly rate does not depend only on the activity of the shower in question but also on the position of the shower radiant, on the mutual radiant antenna position, and on the parameters of the radar system. It is known that the knowledge of the response function of the radar is necessary for good interpretation of the hourly echo counts. A method of long term radar shower data analysis is discussed along with preliminary results.