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At least 613 records · Page 34

Effect of atmospheric parameters on silicon cell performance

The effects of changing atmospheric parameters on the performance of a typical silicon solar cell were calculated. The precipitable water vapor content, airmass and turbidity were varied over wide ranges and the normal terrestrial distribution of spectral irradiance was studied. The cell short-circuit current was then computed for each spectral irradiance distribution using the cell spectral response. Data are presented in the form of calibration number (cell current/incident irradiance) vs. water vapor content or turbidity.

Curtis, H. B.↗

The effect of ambient conditions on carbon monoxide emissions from an idling gas turbine combustor

A test program employing a gas turbine combustor is outlined; the results of which quantize the effects of changes in ambient temperature and humidity on carbon monoxide emissions at simulated idle operating conditions. A comparison of the experimental results with analytical results generated by a kinetic model of the combustion process, and reflecting changing ambient conditions, is given. It is demonstrated that for a complete range of possible ambient variations, significant changes do occur in the amount of carbon monoxide emitted by a gas turbine at idle, and that the analytical model is reasonably successful in predicting changes.

Subramanian, A. K.↗

Comparative studies of Lunar, Martian, and Mercurian craters and plains

Lunar features provide a valuable interpretation data base for comparison with features on other planets which are believed to have been formed by the cratering process. The paper adopts the comparative approach by examining the smooth plains of the moon and Mercury, with special emphasis on crater degradation on the moon, Mercury, and Mars. A possible cause for the observed deficiency of craters with diameters no more than 50 km on certain areas of lunar uplands and on the entire uplands of Mercury and Mars is discussed. It is suggested that pertinent differences can be predicted on the basis of new concepts for production population and of effects of changes in planetary conditions on the secondary cratering process. It is concluded that the deficiency of craters with diameters no more than 50 km on parts of the lunar uplands and on the Mercurian and Martian uplands may be evidence for a deficiency in production of primary craters in this size range. Origin of the late heavy bombardment in the inner solar system is examined.

Oberbeck, V. R.↗

Possible origins of time variability in Jupiter's outer magnetosphere. I - Variations in solar wind dynamic pressure. II - Variations in solar wind magnetic field

Attention is given to the effect of changes in the dynamic pressure of the solar wind on the structure of a centrifugally driven planetary wind from Jupiter. It is suggested that dynamic pressure variations can induce a transition between a super-Alfvenic wind and a sub-Alfvenic wind breeze on Jupiter's dayside. This could possibly account for the observed large-scale changes in the structure of Jupiter's outer magnetosphere. An attempt is then made to conceptually merge planetary wind models of Jupiter's outer magnetosphere with reconnection models of Jupiter's outer magnetosphere.

Coroniti, F. V.↗

Effect of flap deflection on the lift coefficient of wings operating in a biplane configuration

Biplane models with a lift flap were tested in a wind tunnel to study the effect of flap deflection on the aerodynamic coefficient of the biplane as well as of the individual wings. Optimization of the position flap was carried out, and the effect of changes in the chord length of the lower wing was determined for the aerodynamic structure of a biplane with a lift flap on the upper wing.

Stasiak, J.↗

Wind-tunnel tests of wide-chord teetering rotors with and without outboard flapping hinges

Wind tunnel tests of aeroelastically designed helicopter rotor models were conducted to obtain rotor aerodynamic performance and dynamic response data pertaining to two-bladed teetering rotors with a wider chord and lower hover tip speed than currently employed on production helicopters. The effects of a flapping hinge at 62 percent radius were also studied. Finally, the effects of changing tip mass on operating characteristics of the rotor with the outboard flapping hinge were examined. The models were tested at several shaft angles of attack for five advance ratios, 0.15, 0.25, 0.35, 0.40, and 0.45. For each combination of shaft angle and advance ratio, the rotor lift was varied over a wide range to include simulated maneuver conditions. At each test condition, rotor aerodynamic performance and dynamic response data were obtained. From these tests, it was found that wide-chord rotors may be subject to large control forces. An outboard flapping hinge may be used to reduce beamwise bending moments over a significant part of the blade radius without significantly affecting the chordwise bending moments.

Weller, W. H.↗

Some effects of acceleration in man and chimpanzees

Early physiologic experiments using dogs and humans in centrifuges are reviewed. Because of the close similarity between the shape and dimensions of the thoraces of chimpanzees and humans, the former were used to obtain roentgenograms and photokymographic recordings of multiple physiologic variables before and during exposure to +5.8 Gy to study the effects of changes in the gravitational-inertial force environment on the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems during long duration space flight. A computer-controlled sciscanning system was used to obtain a two dimensional map of the amount of radiation emanating from the dorsal and ventricle surfaces after insertion of radioactive microspheres in the right ventricle. By using four different batches of microspheres tagged with isotopes of different energies, the spatial distribution of pulmonary blood flow under four conditions was determined.

Wood, E. H.↗

Effect of fuel properties on performance of single aircraft turbojet combustor at simulated idle, cruise, and takeoff conditions

The performance of a single-can JT8D combustor was investigated with a number of fuels exhibiting wide variations in chemical composition and volatility. Performance parameters investigated were combustion efficiency, emissions of CO, unburned hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, as well as liner temperatures and smoke. The most pronounced effects of changes in fuel composition were observed at simulated cruise and takeoff conditions where smoke and liner temperatures increased significantly as the hydrogen content of the fuel decreased. At the simulated idle condition, emissions of CO and unburned hydrocarbons increased slightly and, accordingly, combustion efficiencies decreased slightly as the hydrogen content of the fuels decreased.

Butze, H. F.↗

Acoustical effects of blade tip shape changes on a full scale helicopter rotor in a wind tunnel

Four tip shapes were tested. They were rectangular, swept, tapered, and swept-tapered. The measured data covered a wide range of operating conditions. The range of advancing tip Mach numbers were between 0.72 to 0.96, and the advance ratios were from 0.2 to 0.375. At low and moderate advancing tip Mach number, the data in the dbA scale appear to indicate the swept tip is the quietest, swept tapered the second, tapered third and rectangular the most noisy. Above an advancing tip Mach number of about 0.89, a distinct acoustical pulse can be observed, which dominates the acoustical waveform. The pulse shape is symmetric at moderate tip Mach number, changing to a sawtooth shape at high advancing tip Mach numbers. Based on the amplitude of the impulsive noise, it appears the swept-tapered tip is the quietest, tapered tip the second, swept tip third and square tip the most noisy. The data presented in this report should be useful as data bases for modeling and evaluating helicopter impulsive noise.

Lee, A.↗

Demand modelling of passenger air travel: An analysis and extension. Volume 1: Background and summary

The framework for a model of travel demand which will be useful in predicting the total market for air travel between two cities is discussed. Variables to be used in determining the need for air transportation where none currently exists and the effect of changes in system characteristics on attracting latent demand are identified. Existing models are examined in order to provide insight into their strong points and shortcomings. Much of the existing behavioral research in travel demand is incorporated to allow the inclusion of non-economic factors, such as convenience. The model developed is characterized as a market segmentation model. This is a consequence of the strengths of disaggregation and its natural evolution to a usable aggregate formulation. The need for this approach both pedagogically and mathematically is discussed.

Jacobson, I. D.↗

Vertical lifting of ionization during geomagnetic storms from satellite measurements of ion composition

Magnetic-storm phenomena at low latitudes are discussed based on ion-composition /O(+), H(+), He(+)/ and electron- and ion-temperature measurements from the OGO-4 and Isis-2 satellites. For the moderately severe storms considered, the effects of changes in the neutral composition and in the neutral and plasma temperatures are discussed, and it is shown that these changes would not produce the observed O(+) increase during storms at low latitudes. It is suggested that the observed increase in O(+) in the topside region is a manifestation of the vertical lifting of ionization of the F-layer. The argument in favor of vertical lifting is further substantiated by the observed changes in the F-region critical frequency and the height parameters.

Goel, M. K.↗

Fuel saving potential of Mach 0.8 twin engine prop-fan transports

The fuel saving and economic potentials of the prop-fan high-speed propeller concept have been evaluated for twin-engine commercial transport airplanes designed for 3333.6 km range, 180 passengers, and Mach 0.8 cruise. A fuel saving of 9.7% at the design range was estimated for a prop-fan aircraft having wing-mounted engines, while a 5.8% saving was estimated for a design having the engines mounted on the aft body. The fuel savings and cost were found to be sensitive to the propeller noise level and to aerodynamic drag effects due to wing-slipstream interaction. Uncertainties in these effects could change the fuel savings as much as plus or minus 50%. A modest improvement in direct operating cost was estimated for the wing-mounted prop-fan at current fuel prices.

Davenport, F. J.↗

The correction of Landsat data for the effects of haze, sun angle, and background reflectance

A technique has been developed for simulating the effects of haze, sun angle, and background reflectance in Landsat data and correcting for them. The atmospheric model assumes a two-layer atmosphere: a Rayleigh scattering molecular layer and a Mie scattering haze layer next to the earth's surface. Reflection and transmission matrices describe the reflection and transmission properties of the plane parallel scattering layers. The multispectral scanner response is computed for various values of the parameters under evaluation. This yields expressions for Landsat gray-scale levels used for determining the effect of changes in any parameter. The Atmospheric Correction computer program is used to determine the haze level from the data, to compute the reflectance, and to interpolate in order to find the correction coefficients necessary to make the desired correction.

Potter, J. F.↗

The influence of vehicle aerodynamic and control response characteristics on driver-vehicle performance

The effects of changes in understeer, control sensitivity, and location of the lateral aerodynamic center of pressure (c.p.) of a typical passenger car on the driver's opinion and on the performance of the driver-vehicle system were studied in a moving-base driving simulator. Twelve subjects with no prior experience on the simulator and no special driving skills performed regulation tasks in the presence of both random and step wind gusts.

Alexandridis, A. A.↗

Multipurpose Panel Display Device Investigation

A multipurpose panel was developed to provide a flexible control and a LED display panel with easily changeable nomenclature for use in applications where panel space is limited, but where a number of similar subsystems must be controlled, or where basic panel nomenclature and functions must be changed rapidly, as in the case of between mission changes of space shuttle payloads. In the first application, panel area limitations are overcome by time sharing a central control panel among several subsystems. In the latter case, entire control panel changes are effected by simply replacing a memory module, thereby reducing the extent of installation and checkout procedures between missions. Several types of control technologies (other than LED's) which show potential in meeting criteria for overcoming limitations of the panel are assessed.

Sliwa, R.↗

Liquid hydrogen tankage design

For this, the tankage experienced only minor thermal loadings and flight loads, hence, the predominate loading was the tank pressurization. Since the tanks were basically tension designed, the fatigue and damage tolerance criteria played the most important part in the overall design of the tank. Sensitivity factors were generated for the reference LH2-fueled airplane to provide a basis for evaluation of the effects of changes from the baseline design. For example, the various candidate insulation systems and tank structural concepts offer tradeoffs of the tankage offset distance (distance between exterior surface to tank) and weight. As the offset varies, the aircraft fuselage length must change to provide the required fuel volume within the fixed fuselage cross-section and hence the sensitivity on the aircraft DOC could be assessed.

Davis, G. W.↗

Analysis of visual estimation of system state from arbitrary displays

A method is presented for implementing the state estimator of the manual control model when the system output is a visual display of arbitrary form; that is, the display may be pictorial, including real world, or made up of dials and pointers. The method is used to provide error criteria for a look-point controller that appears to be capable of modeling human scanning behavior. This model, if combined with a model of the control process, should be useful in predicting effects of changes in displays on performance of flight tasks.

Gainer, P. A.↗

Analytic investigation of advancing blade drag reduction by tip modifications

Analytic techniques were applied to study the effect on the performance of the nonlifting advancing blade when the outboard 5% of the blade is modified to reduce drag. The tip modifications studied consisted of reducing airfoil thickness, sweepback, and planform taper. The reductions in instantaneous drag and torque were calculated for tip speed ratios from about 0.19 to 0.30, corresponding to advancing blade tip Mach numbers of 0.855 to 0.936, respectively. Approximations required in the analysis introduce uncertainties into the computed absolute values of drag and torque; however, the differences in the quantities should be a fairly reliable measure of the effect of changing tip geometry. For example, at the highest tip speed, instantaneous drag, and torque were reduced by 20% and 24%, respectively, for tip sweep of 40 deg on a blade using an NACA 0010 airfoil and by comparable amounts for 30-deg sweep on a blade having an NACA 0012 airfoil section. The present method should prove to be a useful, inexpensive technique for identifying promising configurations for additional study and testing.

Tauber, M. E.↗