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NASA NTRS1987

Orbital changes during hypersonic aerocruise

A novel mathematical approach that allows the analysis of orbital changes occurring during an aerocruise maneuver to be conducted in two distinct stages is presented. In the first stage, the aerodynamic turn is determined using a nondimensional form of the equations of motion that is free of singularities, and the way in which speed, altitude, angle of attack, and thrust direction should be chosen to maximize the aerodynamic turn for a given propellant expenditure is demonstrated. In the second analysis stage, the aerodynamic turn is translated into changes in the orbital elements with respect to the equatorial plane; analytic solutions for the initial arguments of latitude that maximize the change in inclination and in the longitude of the ascending node are given. As the initial inclination decreases toward zero, the optimal location moves from the apex toward the node.

Mease, Kenneth D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Theoretical modelling of the fine structures in sunspots

Until a decade ago most solar physicists thought of a sunspot as the upper end of a giant flux tube floating vertically. The existence of umbral dots and penumbral grains has been known for several decades. On the basis of available observations, they seem to be regions of photospheric intensity with upflowing gas motion and magnetic fields much weaker than in the surrounding sunspot surface. It has also been suggested that the differences in the appearances of umbral dots and granular cells are caused by the highly nonlinear nature of the convection problem in the presense of strong magnetic fields. The main ideas are presented here without any equations. It can be shown that a pocket of field free gas surrounded by a vertical magnetic field in the presence of gravity takes up the shape of a tapering column ending at a vertex at the top. Some convection is expected to take place in the trapped field free gas, whereas the magnetic field around it makes those regions stable against convection. Eventually the apex of the tapering column reaches the photospheric surface where the bulging of the magnetic field makes the field no longer able to close on the field free gas and trap it underneath.

Choudhuri, Arnab Rai↗

NASA NTRS1987

A conceptual framework for intelligent real-time information processing

By combining artificial intelligence concepts with the human information processing model of Rasmussen, a conceptual framework was developed for real time artificial intelligence systems which provides a foundation for system organization, control and validation. The approach is based on the description of system processing terms of an abstraction hierarchy of states of knowledge. The states of knowledge are organized along one dimension which corresponds to the extent to which the concepts are expressed in terms of the system inouts or in terms of the system response. Thus organized, the useful states form a generally triangular shape with the sensors and effectors forming the lower two vertices and the full evaluated set of courses of action the apex. Within the triangle boundaries are numerous processing paths which shortcut the detailed processing, by connecting incomplete levels of analysis to partially defined responses. Shortcuts at different levels of abstraction include reflexes, sensory motor control, rule based behavior, and satisficing. This approach was used in the design of a real time tactical decision aiding system, and in defining an intelligent aiding system for transport pilots.

Schudy, Robert↗

NASA NTRS1988

An improved version of NCOREL: A computer program for 3-D nonlinear supersonic potential flow computations

A computer code called NCOREL (for Nonconical Relaxation) has been developed to solve for supersonic full potential flows over complex geometries. The method first solves for the conical at the apex and then marches downstream in a spherical coordinate system. Implicit relaxation techniques are used to numerically solve the full potential equation at each subsequent crossflow plane. Many improvements have been made to the original code including more reliable numerics for computing wing-body flows with multiple embedded shocks, inlet flow through simulation, wake model and entropy corrections. Line relaxation or approximate factorization schemes are optionally available. Improved internal grid generation using analytic conformal mappings, supported by a simple geometric Harris wave drag input that was originally developed for panel methods and internal geometry package are some of the new features.

Siclari, Michael J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Effects of surface perturbations on the asymmetric vortex flow over a slender body

An experimental investigation of the effects of surface perturbations on the asymmetric flow past a slender body has been conducted for laminar flow conditions. Beads with diameters ranging from 3/32 to 12/32 in. were attached near the apex of a cone/cylinder model having a base diameter of 3.5 in. and a cone semiapex angle of 9 deg at an angle of attack of 40 deg in an attempt to alter the sense of the asymmetric vortex flow pattern. Circumferential position as well as longitudinal location were varied to determine the most effective bead position. Whether or not the beads were effective in controlling the magnitude and direction of the vortex asymmetries was determined by 3 circumferential rows of pressure taps and by a helium-bubble flow visualization technique. The most effective circumferential position was found to be approximately 140 deg from the windward ray. While holding this circumferential position constant, the effect of bead size at three stations further along the body was also investigated. It was found that the size of the bead necessary to reverse the asymmetry increased more rapidly than the growth in cylinder radius. In general, these results indicate that discrete geometric imperfections on a body's surface can force asymmetry in a given direction if they are sufficiently large relative to the local radius.

Moskovitz, Cary A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Control of leading edge vortex breakdown by blowing

An investigation into the effects of using a jet of air to control the vortex breakdown position on a 70 degree delta wing is presented. The specific objectives focused on optimizing the blowing positions in terms of maximum lift increments obtained for minimum blowing rates. The tests were conducted at chord Reynolds numbers of 150,000, 200,000, and 250,000 at angles of incidence of 30 and 35 degrees. Visualization and force data is presented to show the effect of the jet on the wing aerodynamic characteristics. The results indicate a jet position located at and aligned parallel to the leading edge to be the optimum. Nearness to the apex and tangency to the upper surface were also crucial factors. The influence of the jet on the leading edge vortex structure was examined using laser Doppler anemometry. Velocity surveys through the vortex showed that at high blowing rates the parallel velocity in the outer swirling region of the vortex increased and the normal velocity decreased. This resulted in a decrease in the swirling angle in the outer region. The peak core velocity was reduced and the vortex breakdown was delayed.

Visser, K. D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Calculated nighttime eastward plasma drift velocities at low latitudes and their solar cycle dependence

After calculating ambient electron densities as a function of altitude, latitude and local time, a simplified expression is used to calculate F-region eastward plasma drifts given a zonal neutral wind model. The derived eastward plasma drift on a magnetic flux tube is examined as a function of the flux tube apex height. If the neutral wind is assumed to be independent of latitude the plasma drift maximizes along the flux tube which intercepts the F-region peak concentration at the Appleton anomaly. Above this altitude the velocity decreases to reflect a decrease in the flux tube integrated F-region Pedersen conductivity. For a latitude dependent wind the plasma drift tends to maximize along the flux tube which intercepts the F-peak at the dip equator. Above this altitude the drift decreases to reflect the latitude distribution of the wind.

Anderson, D. N.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Flow solution on a dual-block grid around an airplane

The compressible flow around a complex fighter-aircraft configuration (fuselage, cranked delta wing, canard, and inlet) is simulated numerically using a novel grid scheme and a finite-volume Euler solver. The patched dual-block grid is generated by an algebraic procedure based on transfinite interpolation, and the explicit Runge-Kutta time-stepping Euler solver is implemented with a high degree of vectorization on a Cyber 205 processor. Results are presented in extensive graphs and diagrams and characterized in detail. The concentration of grid points near the wing apex in the present scheme is shown to facilitate capture of the vortex generated by the leading edge at high angles of attack and modeling of its interaction with the canard wake.

Eriksson, Lars-Erik↗

NASA NTRS1987

Diffraction of sound by a smooth ridge

The propagation of sound over uneven terrain and irregular topography is considered. Laboratory scale experiments were conducted on a 4.88 x 2.44 m plywood bench top with a cylindrical ridge whose radius of curvature is about 2.5 m. Experimental results include the insertion loss on the diffracting surface, and in the penumbra region, at several distances from the apex of the ridge.

Berthelot, Yves H.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Leading edge vortex dynamics on a pitching delta wing

A study of the dynamic behavior of the leading edge vortices on a delta wing undergoing oscillatory pitching motion is presented. A sharp edge, flat plate, delta wing having a sweep angle of 70 deg was used in this investigation. The wing was sinusoidally pitched about its 1/2 chord position at reduced frequencies ranging from k = 2(pi)fc/u = 0.05 to 0.30 at chord Reynolds numbers between 90,000 and 350,000, for angle of attack ranges of 29 to 39 deg and 0 to 45 deg. During these dynamic motions, visualization of the leading edge vortices was obtained by marking the vortices with TiCl4 introduced through ports located near the model apex. The location of vortex breakdown was recorded using high speed motion picture photography. The motion picture records were analyzed to determine vortex trajectory and breakdown position as a function of angle of attack. When the wing was sinusoidally pitched, a hysteresis was observed in the location of breakdown position. This hysteresis increased with reduced frequency. The velocity of breakdown propagation along the wing, and the phase lag between model motion and breakdown location were also determined. Detailed information was also obtained on the oscillation of breakdown position in both static and dynamic cases.

Lemay, S. P.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Studies of ionospheric plasma and electrodynamics and their application to ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling

The contribution of the Dynamics Explorer (DE) program to the study of small-scale structure in the equatorial ionospheric number density and the bulk motion of the plasma in the equatorial ionosphere is considered. DE results have helped elucidate the role of E region and F region winds in decreasing the magnitude of variations in the east-west plasma drift at night, as a function of magnetic flux tube apex height, with increasing height above the altitude of the peak F region concentration. Other results concern the ionospheric convection pattern at high latitudes during periods of southward IMF, the magnetosphere/solar-wind interaction that may be involved in the production of the convection pattern, and the characteristics of the high-latitude ionospheric plasma motion during periods of northward IMF.

Heelis, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Analysis of Voyager images of Europa - Plasma bombardment

Voyager-derived data on the albedos of Europa are presently photometrically corrected and converted into average, single-scattering form, in order to analyze them as a function of angular distance from the apex of orbital motion. A hypothesized magnetospheric modification of the Europa surface is confirmed by the UV absorption found in the 0.35-micron filter data; this absorption directly correlates with the longitudinal ion implantation distribution in both terrain types. A 'red' spectrum is found in both terrain types as well, and is found to be constant across the surface. A uniform increase is noted in the 'dark' terrain absorption over that in the 'bright' terrain.

Johnson, R. E.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Modelling a C-type flare observed in microwaves and hard X-rays

Using the very large array (VLA) at 6 and 20 cm wavelength and the hard X-ray burst spectrometer on the Solar Maximum Mission, a two-ribbon flare was observed from the onset phase through the maximum and decline on November 14, 1981. Because of the extensive size of the microwave source and the gradual variations in hard X-rays whose spectrum becomes progressively flatter with time, the flare is classified as a C-type flare. Considering the hardening of the X-ray spectrum and its non-impulsive nature, a coronal trap model was invoked for the energetic electrons. The microwave emission is easily accounted for by gyrosynchronous radiation from mildly relativistic electrons. It was found that the source must be optically thick at 20 cm during the maximum phase, but as the source evolved toward an optically thin regime, the intensity decreased while the degree of circular polarization increased. In an initial homogeneous model, we found that the computed microwave spectrum was too narrow to match the patrol spectrum from 606 to 15400 MHz. In the model, the magnetic field consists of a dipolar arcade bridging the H alpha ribbons, and extending to heights of order 40,000 to 50,000 km. The variation of the magnetic field strength from footpoints to apex causes the gyrosynchrotron spectrum to be broader. Preliminary conclusions regarding the electron distributions producing the hard X-rays and the microwaves, and the suitability of this model for C-type flares is presented.

Schmahl, E. J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Knowledge-based graphical interfaces for presenting technical information

Designing effective presentations of technical information is extremely difficult and time-consuming. Moreover, the combination of increasing task complexity and declining job skills makes the need for high-quality technical presentations especially urgent. We believe that this need can ultimately be met through the development of knowledge-based graphical interfaces that can design and present technical information. Since much material is most naturally communicated through pictures, our work has stressed the importance of well-designed graphics, concentrating on generating pictures and laying out displays containing them. We describe APEX, a testbed picture generation system that creates sequences of pictures that depict the performance of simple actions in a world of 3D objects. Our system supports rules for determining automatically the objects to be shown in a picture, the style and level of detail with which they should be rendered, the method by which the action itself should be indicated, and the picture's camera specification. We then describe work on GRIDS, an experimental display layout system that addresses some of the problems in designing displays containing these pictures, determining the position and size of the material to be presented.

Feiner, Steven↗

NASA NTRS1988

Active spacecraft potential control: An ion emitter experiment

The cluster spacecraft are instrumented with ion emitters for charge neutralization. The emitters produce indium ions at 6 keV. The ion current is adjusted in a feedback loop with instruments measuring the spacecraft potential. The system is based on the evaporation of indium in the apex field of a needle. The design of the active spacecraft potential control instruments, and the ion emitters is presented.

Riedler, W.↗

NASA NTRS1988

The debate over the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary

Large-body impact on the Earth is a rare but indisputable geologic process. The impact rate is approximately known from objects discovered in Earth-crossing orbits and from the statistics of craters on the Earth's surface. Tektite and microtektite strewn fields constitute unmistakable ejecta deposits that can be due only to large-body impacts. The Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary coincides with an unusually severe biological trauma, and this stratigraphic horizon is marked on a worldwide basis by anomalous concentrations of noble metals in chondritic proportions, mineral spherules with relict quench-crystallization textures, and mineral and rock grains showing shock deformation. These features are precisely compatible with an impact origin. Although only impact explains all the types of K-T boundary evidence, the story may not be as simple as once thought. The original hypothesis envisioned one large impact, triggering one great extinction. Newer evidence hints at various complications. Different challenges are faced by the occupants of each apex of a three-cornered argument over the K-T event. Proponents of a non-impact explanation must show that the evidence fits their preferred model better than it fits the impact scenario. Proponents of the single impact-single extinction view must explain away the complications. Proponents of a more complex impact crisis must develop a reasonable scenario which honors the new evidence.

Alvarez, W.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Shatter cones: Diagnostic impact signatures

Uniquely fractured target rocks known as shatter cones are associated with more than one half the world's 120 or so presently known impact structures. Shatter cones are a form of tensile rock failure in which a positive conical plug separates from a negative outer cup or mold and delicate ornaments radiating from an apex are preserved on surfaces of both portions. Although distinct, shatter cones are sometimes confused with other striated geologic features such as ventifacts, stylolites, cone-in-cone, slickensides, and artificial blast plumes. Complete cones or solitary cones are rare, occurrences are usually as swarms in thoroughly fractured rock. Shatter cones may form in a zone where an expanding shock wave propagating through a target decays to form an elastic wave. Near this transition zone, the expanding primary wave may strike a pebble or other inhomogeneity whose contrasting transmission properties produce a scattered secondary wave. Interference between primary and secondary scattered waves produce conical stress fields with axes perpendicular to the plane of an advancing shock front. This model supports mechanism capable of producing such shatter cone properties as orientation, apical clasts, lithic dependence, and shock pressure zonation. Although formational mechanics are still poorly understood, shatter cones have become the simplest geologic field criterion for recognizing astroblemes (ancient terrestrial impact structures).

Mchone, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1989

A flow visualization and aerodynamic force data evaluation of spanwise blowing on full and half span delta wings

A wind-tunnel investigation has been performed to quantify the effects of a jet on the leading-edge vortices generated by a 70-deg-sweep sharp-edged delta wing at low Reynolds numbers. Efforts were made ot optimize the jet nozzle position with respect to maximum lift increments. Both half-span force-balance testing and half- and full-span flow visualization tests were conducted. Two angles of attack were investigated, 30 and 35 deg, at Reynolds numbers of 150,000 and 200,000. Aerodynamic enhancement, including lift and drag gains of about 20 and 17 percent respectively, were measured. Results indicate an optimum jet nozzle location to be close to the leading edge, tangent to the upper wing surface, and in a direction aligned parallel to the leading edge. Nozzle interference effects, especially near the apex, were not negligible.

Visser, K. D.↗