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At least 649 records · Page 36

A Fast-Time Study of Aircraft Reordering in Arrival Sequencing and Scheduling

In order to ensure that the safe capacity of the terminal area is not exceeded, Air Traffic Management ATM often places restrictions on arriving flights transitioning from en route airspace to terminal airspace. This restriction of arrival traffic is commonly referred to as arrival flow management, and includes techniques such as metering, vectoring, fix-load balancing, and the imposition of miles-in-trail separations. These restrictions are enacted without regard for the relative priority which airlines may be placing on individual flights based on factors such as crew criticality, passenger connectivity, critical turn times, gate availability, on-time performance, fuel status, or runway preference. The development of new arrival flow management techniques which take into consideration priorities expressed by air carriers will likely reduce the economic impact of ATM restrictions on the airlines and lead to increased airline economic efficiency by allowing airlines to have greater control over their individual arrival banks of aircraft. NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have designed and developed a suite of software decision support tools (DSTs) collectively known as the Center TRACON Automation System (CTAS). One of these tools, the Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) is currently being used at the Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center to perform arrival flow management of traffic into the Dallas/Fort Worth airport (DFW). The TMA is a time-based strategic planning tool that assists Traffic Management Coordinators (TMCs) and En Route Air Traffic Controllers in efficiently balancing arrival demand with airport capacity. The primary algorithm in the TMA is a real-time scheduler which generates efficient landing sequences and landing times for arrivals within about 200 no a. from touchdown. This scheduler will sequence aircraft so that they arrive in a first- come - first-served (FCFS) order. While FCFS sequencing establishes a fair order based on estimated times of arrival, it does not take into account individual airline priorities among incoming flights. NASA is exploring the possibility of allowing airlines to express relative arrival priorities to air traffic management through the development of new CTAS scheduling algorithms which take into consideration airline arrival preferences. The accommodation of airline priorities in arrival sequencing and scheduling would under most circumstances result in a deviation from a "natural" or FCFS arrival order. As a First step toward developing airline influenced sequencing algorithms, an investigation was conducted to determine the feasibility of reordering arrival traffic from a strict FCFS sequence. A fast-time simulation has been developed which allows statistical evaluation of sequencing and scheduling algorithms for arrival traffic at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. In contrast to real-time simulation or field tests, which would require on the order of ninety minutes to examine a single traffic rush period, the fast-time simulation allows examination of multiple rush periods in a matter of seconds.

Carr, Greg↗

Remote sensing of Mississippi River characteristics

A data collection program initiated by the Vicksburg District, to develop a workable knowledge of the principles relating to the transport of water and sediment to gain a better understanding of the Mississippi River characteristics is introduced. Aerial photographs and thermal infrared imagery were collected over two test reaches at low and high water stages. Qualitative interpretation of the data relates to the river characteristics such as flow patterns, relative velocities, sediment concentration distribution, water-depth effects, and effects of man made structures. Ground truth information is correlated with the remotely sensed data.

Ruff, J. F.↗

Remote sensing /Nimbus-7 CZCS/ analysis of phytoplankton distribution in coastal waters of the Gulf of Lions /northwestern Mediterranean/

The distribution of phytoplankton in the northwestern Mediterranean was studied using the experimental satellite Nimbus 7, which is equipped with a coastal zone color scanner (CZCS). The most characteristic boundaries of this biomass and its variations throughout the year of 1979 were also investigated by treating the CZCS data, collected through different channels with defined wavelengths, with a computer. Using specially adapted algorithms, characteristic features such as mesoscale cyclonic eddy, out-flow of freshwater from the Rhone river, and coastal upwelling were revealed. It is confirmed that the biomass of phytoplankton is a good indicator for the mesoscale distribution of water masses, and that the remote sensing in the visible spectrum can permit the study of frontal boundaries in the sea.

Caraux, D.↗

Ancient lakes on Mars?

The valley systems in Mars' ancient cratered terrain provide strong evidence for a warmer and wetter climate very early in planetary history. The valley systems in some instances debouch into closed depressions that could have acted as local ponding basins for the flow. A survey of the Martian equatorial region shows that numerous local depressions at the confluence of valley systems exist. These depressions (approximately 100 km) typically are characterized by many valleys flowing into them and few or none flowing out. If ponding did take place, these basin would have contained lakes for some period during Mars' early warmer epoch. Although the collection basins are numerous, location of ones that have not suffered significant subsequent geologic modification is difficult. Some morphologic features suggest that volcanic lavas may have filled them subsequent to any early fluvial activity. Two detailed maps of valley systems and local ponding basins in USGC 1:2,000,000 subquadrangles were completed and a third is in progress. The completed regions are in Mare Tyrrhenum (MC-22 SW) and Margarifter Sinus (MC-19 SE), and the region in progress is in Iapygia (MC-21 NW). On the maps, the valley systems and interpreted margins of ponding basins are indicated. The depressions are of interest for two reasons. First, the depressions were surely the sites in which the materials eroded from the valleys were deposited. Such sediments could preserve important information about the physical conditions at the time of deposition. Second, the sediments could preserve evidence of water-atmosphere interactions during the early period of the Martian climate. Atmospheric carbon dioxide would dissolve in water, and solid carbonate minerals would tend to precipitate out to form carbonate sedimentary deposits. Formation of carbonates in this manner might account for some of the CO2 lost from the early more dense atmosphere.

Goldspiel, J. M.↗

Development and application of computational aerothermodynamics flowfield computer codes

Presented is a collection of papers on research activities carried out during the funding period of October 1991 to March 1992. Topics covered include: blunt body flows in thermochemical equilibrium; thermochemical relaxation in high enthalpy nozzle flow; single expansion ramp nozzle simulations; lunar return aerobraking; line boundary problem for three dimensional grids; and unsteady shock induced combustion.

Venkatapathy, Ethiraj↗

Design of a Thermal Precipitator for the Characterization of Smoke Particles from Common Spacecraft Materials

A thermal precipitator (TP) was designed to collect smoke aerosol particles for microscopic analysis in fire characterization research. Information on particle morphology, size and agglomerate structure obtained from these tests supplements additional aerosol data collected. Modeling of the thermal precipitator throughout the design process was performed with the COMSOL Multiphysics finite element software package, including the Eulerian flow field and thermal gradients in the fluid. The COMSOL Particle Tracing Module was subsequently used to determine particle deposition. Modeling provided optimized design parameters such as geometry, flow rate and temperatures. The thermal precipitator was built and testing verified the performance of the first iteration of the device. The thermal precipitator was successfully operated and provided quality particle samples for microscopic analysis, which furthered the body of knowledge on smoke particulates. This information is a key element of smoke characterization and will be useful for future spacecraft fire detection research.

Smoke↗

An experimental study of mushroom shaped stall cells

Surface patterns characterized by a pair of counter-rotating swirls have been observed in connection with the conduction of surface flow visualization experiments involving test geometries with separated flows. An example of this phenomenon occurring on a finite wing with trailing edge stall has been referred to by Winkelmann and Barlow (1980) as 'mushroom shaped'. A description is presented of a collection of experimental results which show or suggest the occurrence of mushroom shaped stall cells on a variety of test geometries. Investigations conducted with finite wings, airfoil models, and flat plates are considered, and attention is given to studies involving the use of bluff models, investigations of shock induced boundary layer separation, and mushroom shaped patterns observed in a number of miscellaneous cases. It is concluded that the mushroom shaped stall cell appears commonly in separated flow regions.

Winkelmann, A. E.↗

Trace Oxygen Measurements of Asteroid Sample Storage Desiccators

The Astromaterials Curation facility at the NASA Johnson Space Center is currently curating more than 120 g of carbonaceous asteroid Bennu material as well as over 500 mg of asteroid Ryugu [1 and 2]. These astromaterials are stored in isolating desiccators and gloveboxes under a continuous purge of pure (<1 ppm O 2 ) gaseous nitrogen. The oxygen and moisture concentrations in our OSIRIS-REx sample processing gloveboxes are continuously monitored via integrated sensors; however, our sample storage desiccators lack integrated oxygen and humidity sensors. In previous studies, we used PreSens Fibox 4 trace oxygen meters and optochemical PSt9 spot sensors to measure the oxygen concentrations in candidate asteroid sample containers that had been sealed in nitrogen; we determined that Eagle stainless steel containers inhibit the ingress of external oxygen for several weeks [3]. This optochemical sensor technology allowed us to take precise, contactless measurements within a trace range of 0 to 200 ppmv O 2 . The effectiveness of the trace oxygen sensors in our container experiments inspired us to utilize them to assess the performance of our desiccators that previously lacked trace oxygen monitoring. In this study, our goal was to determine the quality of the nitrogen purge in the isolating desiccator under normal operating conditions by measuring the trace oxygen content. Utilizing optochemical sensor technology, we determined how long the oxygen concentration takes to reach an equilibrium in the desiccator; that is, determine the rate at which the oxygen diffusion into the desiccator equals the rate at which oxygen diffuses out of the desiccator via N2 purge. Additionally, we wanted to determine the oxygen concentration at this equilibrium, the state in which our desiccators are in during normal operating conditions. We tested a custom three chamber desiccator manufactured by Germfree using a PSt9 trace oxygen sensor spot that was mounted into a ¼” National Pipe Tapered (NPT) metal flow-through cell and attached it to the desiccator exhaust. The desiccator consists of top, middle, and bottom isolating chambers. The top chamber door was opened for several minutes to simulate a sample exchange, it was sealed, and then purged ~15 Standard Cubic Feet per Hour (SCFH). Oxygen measurements were automatically recorded via the Fibox 4 trace oxygen meter in 5-minute intervals over the course of a 24-hour period. Our results indicate the desiccator reached an equilibrium value of 10-15 ppm O 2 after ~5 hours (Fig. 1). This data allows us to explore standards for purging and exchange protocols that can be applied to similar types of desiccators in Hayabusa2, OSIRIS-REx, and for sample return collections. The assessment of the internal gaseous compositions of desiccators also allows us to share with the community the N 2 environment in which many of our asteroid samples and hardware are securely curated. Future measurements will include other nitrogen flow rates and measuring the trace oxygen concentration as a function of time for the levels of the previous commercial desiccator in which the Hayabusa2 sample collection was stored. We will also analyze how long the desiccators hold N2 after being disconnected from their N2 source, an extended measurement for sample security reassurance.

Curation↗

Flow Quality Survey of the 9- by 15-Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel (2015 and 2016 Tests) Prior to Acoustic Improvement Modifications

A flow quality survey (FQS) was conducted in December 2015 and January 2016 to characterize the flow quality of the 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (9×15 LSWT) test section prior to the start of significant structural and acoustic modifications. The data from this FQS will be compared with data collected during a replicated FQS after completion of the acoustic improvement modifications. This document contains only the FQS data collected in December 2015 and January 2016 using the 15-ft survey rake and the 18-in. boundary layer rakes in the 9×15 LSWT. The spatial variation at one axial test section station (TSTA), nominally TSTA 198, and five vertical heights of the 15-ft survey rake was computed for Mach number, velocity, total and static pressure, total temperature, and flow angularity (pitch and yaw). Three hot-wire probes mounted to the 15-ft survey rake were used to measure turbulence intensity; however, data from a previous test entry were used as the mean turbulence intensity baseline value, as there were issues with the hot-wire performance. The boundary layer pressure profiles around the perimeter of the test section at TSTA 199 were also measured and the boundary layer heights computed. All calculated results are tabulated for each facility condition set point.

Johnson, Aaron M.↗

Boundary Layer Measurements in a Supersonic Wind Tunnel Using Doppler Global Velocimetry

A modified Doppler Global Velocimeter (DGV) was developed to measure the velocity within the boundary layer above a flat plate in a supersonic flow. Classic laser velocimetry (LV) approaches could not be used since the model surface was composed of a glass-ceramic insulator in support of heat-transfer measurements. Since surface flare limited the use of external LV techniques and windows placed in the model would change the heat transfer characteristics of the flat plate, a novel approach was developed. The input laser beam was divided into nine equal power beams and each transmitted through optical fibers to a small cavity within the model. The beams were then directed through 1.6-mm diameter orifices to form a series of orthogonal beams emitted from the model and aligned with the tunnel centerline to approximate a laser light sheet. Scattered light from 0.1-micron diameter water condensation ice crystals was collected by four 5-mm diameter lenses and transmitted by their respective optical fiber bundles to terminate at the image plane of a standard two-camera DGV receiver. Flow measurements were made over a range from 0.5-mm above the surface to the freestream at Mach 3.51 in steady state and heat pulse injected flows. This technique provides a unique option for measuring boundary layers in supersonic flows where seeding the flow is problematic or where the experimental apparatus does not provide the optical access required by other techniques.

Meyers, James F.↗

Laser velocimeter measurements in a large transonic wind tunnel

A two-component fringe type laser velocimeter operated in the backscatter mode was used to measure the free-stream velocity in an undisturbed flow field in a wind-tunnel test section from Mach 0.2 to Mach 1.0 and to measure the velocity along the stagnating streamline of a hemisphere model from Mach 0.2 to Mach 0.8. Burst signals from the laser velocimeter were processed by high-speed burst counters, and histograms of the number of occurrences of a particular counter output were collected by means of a pulse height analyzer. Arithmetic means of the histograms were calculated, and the results were compared with predicted local gas velocities with allowance for the lag of the scattering particles with respect to the gas flow. The free-stream measurements were accurate to within 2% of the calibration measurements. The stagnation streamline measurements show trends similar to theoretical predictions.

Meyers, J. F.↗

Spacecraft-induced plasma energization and its role in flow phenomena

Plasma instabilities induced by orbiting vehicles can cause many important phenomena ranging from electron and ion heating and suprathermal electron tail energization, to enhanced ionization and optical emissions. We outline the basic collective processes leading to plasma energization near plasma sheaths and in regions of neutral gas streaming through plasma, and discuss the role of the induced collective effects in producing the optical emission spectra.

Papadopoulos, K.↗

Computing Flows Using Chimera and Unstructured Grids

DRAGONFLOW is a computer program that solves the Navier-Stokes equations of flows in complexly shaped three-dimensional regions discretized by use of a direct replacement of arbitrary grid overlapping by nonstructured (DRAGON) grid. A DRAGON grid (see figure) is a combination of a chimera grid (a composite of structured subgrids) and a collection of unstructured subgrids. DRAGONFLOW incorporates modified versions of two prior Navier-Stokes-equation-solving programs: OVERFLOW, which is designed to solve on chimera grids; and USM3D, which is used to solve on unstructured grids. A master module controls the invocation of individual modules in the libraries. At each time step of a simulated flow, DRAGONFLOW is invoked on the chimera portion of the DRAGON grid in alternation with USM3D, which is invoked on the unstructured subgrids of the DRAGON grid. The USM3D and OVERFLOW modules then immediately exchange their solutions and other data. As a result, USM3D and OVERFLOW are coupled seamlessly.

Liou, Meng-Sing↗

Aeropropulsion Technology (APT). Task 23 - Stator Seal Cavity Flow Investigation

The focus of NASA Contract NAS3-25950 Task 23 was to numerically investigate the flow through an axial compressor inner-banded stator seal cavity. The Allison/NASA developed ADPAC code was used to obtain all flow predictions. Flow through a labyrinth stator seal cavity of a high-speed compressor was modeled by coupling the cavity flow path and the main flow path of the compressor. A grid resolution study was performed to guarantee adequate grid spacing was used. Both unsteady rotor-stator-rotor interactions and steady-state isolated blade calculations were performed with and without the seal cavity present. A parameterized seal cavity study of the high-speed stator seal cavity collected a series of solutions for geometric variations. The parameter list included seal tooth gap, cavity depth, wheel speed, radial mismatch of hub flowpath, axial trench gap, hub corner treatments, and land edge treatments. Solution data presented includes radial and pitchwise distributions of flow variables and particle traces describing the flow character.

Heidegger, N. J.↗

Computing three-dimensional incompressible flows with vortex elements

The techniques, capabilities and applicability of numerical models of three-dimensional, unsteady vortical flows with high Re are assessed. Vorticity is calculated only in appropriate regions and the velocity field is derived from the boundary conditions. Vorticity is assumed to take the shape of tubes with uniform core structures in the case of turbulence. The efforts being made to simplify equations for dense collections of vortex filaments in order to make them tractable to computer simulations are described. The effectiveness of vorticity arrow representations for accurately describing vorticity fields near surfaces is discussed, along with Lagrangian vortex elements, which may be of use in modelling the rotational part of flows around bluff bodies, nonuniform density flows and chemically reacting flows.

Leonard, A.↗

Radar target for remotely sensing hydrological phenomena

An apparatus for remotely measuring and accessing water status relative to snow and glacial melt, surface runoff, rainfall, evaporation, flow rate, and soil moisture is described. A radar target located at a selected location on the surface of the Earth is designed to collect water and render its cross sectional area variable as a function of the height of the water level within the target. The target is remotely monitored by an orbiting or airborne synthetic aperature radar. The target appears as a bright spot embedded within the radar image. The target brightness is indicative of the height of the water level within the ground located target.

Sivertson, W. E., Jr.↗

Impingement of Water Droplets on a Sphere

Droplet trajectories about a sphere in ideal fluid flow were calculated. From the calculated droplet trajectories the droplet impingement characteristics of the sphere were determined. Impingement data and equations for determining the collection efficiency, the area, and the distribution of impingement are presented in terms of dimensionless parameters. The range of flight and atmospheric conditions covered in the calculations was extended considerably beyond the range covered by previously reported calculations for the sphere.

Dorsch, Robert G.↗

Relativistic magnetosonic shock waves in synchrotron sources - Shock structure and nonthermal acceleration of positrons

The theoretical properties of relativistic, transverse, magnetosonic collisionless shock waves in electron-positron-heavy ion plasmas of relevance to astrophysical sources of synchrotron radiation are investigated. Both 1D electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations and quasi-linear theory are used to examine the spatial and kinetic structure of these nonlinear flows. A new process of shock acceleration of nonthermal positrons, in which the gyrating reflected heavy ions dissipate their energy in the form of collectively emitted, left-handed magnetosonic waves which are resonantly absorbed by the positrons immediately behind the ion reflection region, is described. Applications of the results to the termination shocks of pulsar winds and to the termination shocks of jets emanating from the AGN are outlined.

Hoshino, Masahiro↗