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At least 649 records · Page 36

Transport processes on the lunar surface - Comparison of model calculations with radionuclides data

Descriptions are given of the experimental methods used in determining Al-26 and Mn-53 activities and of the possible improvements that can be expected in the near future. The results obtained for the seven lunar core sections where both Al-26 and Mn-53 are measured with good depth definition are discussed. It is then shown how meteoritic impacts and the secondary effects they induce modify the Al-26 and Mn-53 activities in a core. Using a Monte Carlo method, 150 possible depositional histories for a core are generated; from these the resulting activity profiles for both Al-26 and Mn-53 are computed, using several possible SCR energy spectra. These model-generated profiles are then compared with the experimental profiles in the seven cores, and plausible scenarios for the depositional history of each of the cores are tentatively inferred.

Langevin, Y.↗

The NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model 3.1: Development, Verification, and Validation

The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has developed the Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) primarily as a tool for spacecraft designers and other users to understand the long-term risk of collisions with orbital debris. The newest version, ORDEM 3.1, incorporates the latest and highest fidelity datasets available to build and validate representative orbital debris populations encompassing low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) altitudes for the years 2016-2050. ORDEM 3.1 models fluxes for object sizes > 10 μm within or transiting LEO and > 10 cm in GEO. The deterministic portion of the populations in ORDEM 3.1 is based on the U.S. Space Surveillance Network (SSN) catalog, which provides coverage down to approximately 10 cm in LEO and 1 m in GEO. Observational datasets from radar, in situ, and optical sources provide a foundation from which the model populations are statistically extrapolated to smaller sizes and orbit regions that are not well-covered by the SSN catalog, yet may pose the greatest threat to operational spacecraft. Objects in LEO ranging from approximately 5 mm to 10 cm are modeled using observational data from ground-based radar, namely the Haystack Ultrawideband Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR – formerly known as Haystack). The LEO population smaller than approximately 3 mm in size is characterized based on a reanalysis of in situ data from impacts to the windows and radiators of the U.S. Space Transportation System orbiter vehicle, i.e., the Space Shuttle. Data from impacts on the Hubble Space Telescope are also used to validate the sub-millimeter model populations in LEO. Debris in GEO with sizes ranging from 10 cm to 1 m is modeled using optical measurement data from the Michigan Orbital DEbris Survey Telescope (MODEST). Specific, major debris-producing events, including the Fengyun-1C, Iridium 33, and Cosmos 2251 debris clouds, and unique populations, such as sodium-potassium droplets, have been re-examined and are modeled and added to the ORDEM environment separately. The debris environment greater than 1 mm is forecast using NASA’s LEO-to- GEO ENvironment Debris model (LEGEND). Future explosions of intact objects and collisions involving objects greater than 10 cm are assessed statistically, and the NASA Standard Satellite Breakup Model is used to generate fragments from these events. Fragments smaller than 10 cm are further differentiated based on material density categories, i.e., high-, medium-, and low-density, to better characterize the potential debris risk posed to spacecraft. The future projection of the sub-millimeter environment is computed using a special small-particle degradation model where small particles are created from intact spacecraft and rocket bodies. This work discusses the development, features, and capabilities of the ORDEM 3.1 model; the ne new data analyses used to build the model populations; and sample verification and validation results.

Matney, M.↗

Analysis of Ice Mass Growth Over Time on the CRM65 Midspan Hybrid Model

The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA is developing and applying tools to enable future technologies towards sustainable flight. Aircraft icing has been identified as a potential barrier to entry into service for innovative designs necessitating improvements to computational ice accretion tools. NASA is developing the Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) to address deficiencies in the computational modeling capabilities of previously developed ice accretion solvers. To benchmark and improve the ability to model highly three-dimensional ice accretion, high quality validation data against experimental data is required. The CRM65 Midspan Hybrid geometry was previously tested at the NASA Icing Research Tunnel to generate experimental data for swept wing geometries typical for commercial transport aircraft. As a part of a 2018 icing test campaign, experimental data characterizing the relationship between ice accretion time and ice mass growth was obtained and can be leveraged for use in validation of computational tools. The desire for computational ice accretion solvers to predict ice shapes profiles accreted experimentally has often overshadowed the comparison to the mass and bulk volume of ice accreted. To address this deficiency, an analysis is presented in which GlennICE is applied to simulations of the CRM65 Midspan Hybrid model tested in the NASA Icing Research Tunnel. Results from the computational fluid dynamics simulations compared favorably to the experimental pressure coefficient data, thus validating the modeling setup. The experimental data showed excellent repeatability for the 15.0 minute accretion time. The comparisons between the experimental and computational ice mass over time showed good agreement up to 10.0 minutes after which the ice mass was underpredicted. The experimental ice mass was largely linear with some nonlinear data. The bulk volume of ice accreted experimentally compared well to GlennICE for the scanned ice shapes and mean combined cross section ice shapes, but was underpredicted for the maximum combined cross section ice shapes at longer accretion times. The experimental minimum combined cross section, mean combined cross section, and maximum combined cross section profiles when compared to GlennICE show good agreement for the mean combined cross section up to 15.0 minutes. The analyses show that with a single-shot method, GlennICE currently underpredicts the ice mass for longer accretion times, is not able to match the bulk volume of the maximum combined cross section due to dominating scallop features, and future work is required to generate a more generalized ice bulk density model.

Icing↗

Analysis of Ice Mass Growth Over Time on the CRM65 Midspan Hybrid Model

The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA is developing and applying tools to enable future technologies towards sustainable flight. Aircraft icing has been identified as a potential barrier to entry into service for innovative designs necessitating improvements to computational ice accretion tools. NASA is developing the Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) to address deficiencies in the computational modeling capabilities of previously developed ice accretion solvers. To benchmark and improve the ability to model highly three-dimensional ice accretion, high quality validation data against experimental data is required. The CRM65 Midspan Hybrid geometry was previously tested at the NASA Icing Research Tunnel to generate experimental data for swept wing geometries typical for commercial transport aircraft. As a part of a 2018 icing test campaign, experimental data characterizing the relationship between ice accretion time and ice mass growth was obtained and can be leveraged for use in validation of computational tools. The desire for computational ice accretion solvers to predict ice shapes profiles accreted experimentally has often overshadowed the comparison to the mass and bulk volume of ice accreted. To address this deficiency, an analysis is presented in which GlennICE is applied to simulations of the CRM65 Midspan Hybrid model tested in the NASA Icing Research Tunnel. Results from the computational fluid dynamics simulations compared favorably to the experimental pressure coefficient data, thus validating the modeling setup. The experimental data showed excellent repeatability for the 15.0 minute accretion time. The comparisons between the experimental and computational ice mass over time showed good agreement up to 10.0 minutes after which the ice mass was underpredicted. The experimental ice mass was largely linear with some nonlinear data. The bulk volume of ice accreted experimentally compared well to GlennICE for the scanned ice shapes and mean combined cross section ice shapes, but was underpredicted for the maximum combined cross section ice shapes at longer accretion times. The experimental minimum combined cross section, mean combined cross section, and maximum combined cross section profiles when compared to GlennICE show good agreement for the mean combined cross section up to 15.0 minutes. The analyses show that with a single-shot method, GlennICE currently underpredicts the ice mass for longer accretion times, is not able to match the bulk volume of the maximum combined cross section due to dominating scallop features, and future work is required to generate a more generalized ice bulk density model.

Icing↗

Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) Flight Evaluation

NASA's Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) is a cockpit decision support tool that has the potential to achieve significant fuel and time savings when it is embedded in the data-rich Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) airspace. To address a key step towards the operational deployment of TAP and the NASA concept of Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR), a system evaluation was conducted in a representative flight environment in November, 2013. Numerous challenges were overcome to achieve this goal, including the porting of the foundational Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP) software from its original simulation-based, avionics-embedded environment to an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) platform. A flight-test aircraft was modified to host the EFB, the TAP application, an Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) processor, and a satellite broadband datalink. Nine Evaluation Pilots conducted 26 hours of TAP assessments using four route profiles in the complex eastern and north-eastern United States airspace. Extensive avionics and video data were collected, supplemented by comprehensive inflight and post-flight questionnaires. TAP was verified to function properly in the live avionics and ADS-B environment, characterized by recorded data dropouts, latency, and ADS-B message fluctuations. Twelve TAP-generated optimization requests were submitted to ATC, of which nine were approved, and all of which resulted in fuel and/or time savings. Analysis of subjective workload data indicated that pilot interaction with TAP during flight operations did not induce additional cognitive loading. Additionally, analyses of post-flight questionnaire data showed that the pilots perceived TAP to be useful, understandable, intuitive, and easy to use. All program objectives were met, and the next phase of TAP development and evaluations with partner airlines is in planning for 2015.

Maris, John M.↗

Impulsive acceleration and scatter-free transport of about 1 MeV per nucleon ions in (He-3)-rich solar particle events

Impulsive solar energetic particle (SEP) events are studied to: (1) describe a distinct class of SEP ion events observed in interplanetary space, and (2) test models of focused transport through detailed comparisons of numerical model prediction with the data. An attempt will also be made to describe the transport and scattering properties of the interplanetary medium during the times these events are observed and to derive source injection profiles in these events. ISEE 3 and Helios 1 magnetic field and plasma data are used to locate the approximate coronal connection points of the spacecraft to organize the particle anisotropy data and to constrain some free parameters in the modeling of flare events.

Mason, G. M.↗

Characterization of Regolith Volatile Transport and Storage Properties by The MECA MSP 2001 Lander Payload

The diffusive and adsorptive properties of the Martian regolith influence the exchange of volatiles between the atmosphere and subsurface. Our quantitative knowledge of these properties is extremely poor -introducing substantial uncertainties in efforts to model long-term evolution of ground ice and diurnal, seasonal, and climatic cycles of CO2 and H20. This situation should significantly improve upon arrival of the 2001 Mars Surveyor Lander in 2002. In support of the Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) enterprise, the 2001 mission will include a suite of instruments to characterize the nature of the Martian environment and assess whether it contains hazards that may threaten future human exploration. A major element of this effort is the Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment (MECA) payload, which consists an optical microscopy system incorporating electrostatic, magnetic, and scratch-hardness materials testing palets, an atomic force microscope with imaging capabilities comparable to an SEM, a wet chemistry laboratory with four independent test cells, an electrometer on the robotic arm, material test patches, a camera also mounted on the arm, and a soil scoop for excavating down to about 50 cm into the soil. Although conceived to address the needs of HEDS, MECA payload is a sophisticated soil science laboratory that should provide a wealth of new data relevant to the volatile transport and storage properties of the regolith. Additional information os contained in the original.

Clifford, S. M.↗

Analysis of opposed jet hydrogen-air counter flow diffusion flame

A computational simulation of the opposed-jet diffusion flame is performed to study its structure and extinction limits. The present analysis concentrates on the nitrogen-diluted hydrogen-air diffusion flame, which provides the basic information for many vehicle designs such as the aerospace plane for which hydrogen is a candidate as the fuel. The computer program uses the time-marching technique to solve the energy and species equations coupled with the momentum equation solved by the collocation method. The procedure is implemented in two stages. In the first stage, a one-step forward overal chemical reaction is chosen with the gas phase chemical reaction rate determined by comparison with experimental data. In the second stage, a complete chemical reaction mechanism is introduced with detailed thermodynamic and transport property calculations. Comparison between experimental extinction data and theoretical predictions is discussed. The effects of thermal diffusion as well as Lewis number and Prandtl number variations on the diffusion flame are also presented.

Ho, Y. H.↗

Analysis of flutter in tape transport systems

Effect of flutter on digital data is recorded by magnetic tape recorders used with instrumentation systems. Major effect for both FM and direct recording techniques is shown to be a perturbation of the signal time base.

Davis, R. C.↗

Mass and momentum turbulent transport experiments with swirling confined coaxial jets. II

An experimental study of mixing downstream of swirling coaxial jets discharging into an expanded duct was conducted to obtain data for the evaluation and improvement of turbulent transport models currently used in a variety of computational procedures throughout the combustion community. A combination of laser velocimeter and laser induced fluorescence techniques was employed to obtain mean and fluctuating velocity and concentration distributions at selected axial and radial locations throughout the flow field. Flow visualization techniques were also employed to determine qualitatively the time dependent characteristics of the flow and the scale of turbulence. Simultaneous two component velocity and concentration/velocity measurements provided data which were used to determine the average momentum and mass transport rates for each of three measurement planes. Mixing for swirling flows occurred in several steps of axial and radial mean convective flow and was completed in one-third the length required for nonswirling flow. Comparison of the mass and momentum transport processes for swirling and nonswirling flows indicated that large differences existed in these processes between the two flows.

Roback, R.↗

Transportable educational programs for scientific and technical professionals: More effective utilization of automated scientific and technical data base systems

This grant final report executive summary documents a major, long-term program addressing innovative educational issues associated with the development, administration, evaluation, and widespread distribution of transportable educational programs for scientists and engineers to increase their knowledge of, and facilitate their utilization of automated scientific and technical information storage and retrieval systems. This educational program is of very broad scope, being targeted at Colleges of Engineering and Colleges of Physical sciences at a large number of colleges and universities throughout the United States. The educational program is designed to incorporate extensive hands-on, interactive usage of the NASA RECON system and is supported by a number of microcomputer-based software systems to facilitate the delivery and usage of the educational course materials developed as part of the program.

Dominick, Wayne D.↗

Multidimensional aspects: Ozone, temperature and transport

The capability for obtaining four-dimensional data on stratospheric structure, dynamics, and zone is discussed. Progress in the development of multidimensional models of the stratosphere is reported. The discussion of multidimensional aspects of the stratosphere is divided into four major sections: observations, analysis and interpretation, modeling, and transport of trace species.

Source record↗

Identifying Chemical Aerosol Signatures Using Optical Suborbital Observations: How Much Can Optical Properties Tell us about Aerosol Composition?

Improvements in air quality and Earth’s climate predictions require improvements of the aerosol speciation in chemical transport models, using observational constraints. Aerosol speciation (e.g., organic aerosols, black carbon, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, dust or sea salt) is typically determined using in situ instrumentation. Continuous, routine surface network aerosol composition measurements are not uniformly widespread over the globe. Satellites, on the other hand, can provide a maximum coverage of the horizontal and vertical atmosphere but observe aerosol optical properties (and not aerosol speciation) based on remote sensing instrumentation. Combinations of satellite-derived aerosol optical properties can inform on air mass aerosol types (AMTs e.g., clean marine, dust, polluted continental). However, these AMTs are subjectively defined, might often be misclassified and are hard to relate to the critical parameters that need to be refined in models. In this paper, we derive AMTs that are more directly related to sources and hence to speciation. They are defined, characterized, and derived using simultaneous in situ gas-phase, chemical and optical instruments on the same aircraft during the Study of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds, and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS, US, summer of 2013). First, we prescribe well-informed AMTs that display distinct aerosol chemical and optical signatures to act as a training AMT dataset. These in situ observations reduce the errors and ambiguities in the selection of the AMT training dataset. We also investigate the relative skill of various combinations of aerosol optical properties to define AMTs and how much these optical properties can capture dominant aerosol speciation. We find distinct optical signatures for biomass burning (from agricultural or wildfires), biogenic and dust-influence AMTs. Useful aerosol optical properties to characterize these signatures are the extinction angstrom exponent (EAE), the single scattering albedo, the difference of single scattering albedo in two wavelengths, the absorption coefficient, the absorption angstrom exponent (AAE), and the real part of the refractive index (RRI). We find that all four AMTs studied when prescribed using mostly airborne in situ gas measurements, can be successfully extracted from at least three combinations of airborne in situ aerosol optical properties (e.g., EAE, AAE and RRI) over the US during SEAC4RS. However, we find that the optically based classifications for BB from agricultural fires and polluted dust include a large percentage of misclassifications that limit the usefulness of results relating to those classes. The technique and results presented in this study are suitable to develop a representative, robust and diverse source-based AMT database. This database could then be used for widespread retrievals of AMTs using existing and future remote sensing suborbital instruments/networks. Ultimately, it has the potential to provide a much broader observational aerosol data set to evaluate chemical transport and air quality models than is currently available by direct in situ measurements. This study illustrates how essential it is to explore existing airborne datasets to bridge chemical and optical signatures of different AMTs, before the implementation of future spaceborne missions (e.g., the next generation of Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites addressing Aerosol, Cloud, Convection and Precipitation (ACCP) designated observables).

Meloe S F Kacenelenbogen↗

An Eulerian transport/transformation/removal model for SO2 and sulfate. I - Model development. II - Model calculation of SO(x) transport in the eastern United States

A three-dimensional, time dependent Eulerian atmospheric SO2 and sulfate transport/transformation/removal model is described and applied to the eastern U.S. The model was developed in anticipation of increased input to the atmospheric sulfur content by coal-burning power plants in the near future and is intended as an aid in identifying sources of SO2. The Eulerian transport model incorporates functions for chemical transformations, dry deposition, spatial topographical variations, spatial and temporal variations of mixing layer heights, the wind field, eddy diffusivities, deposition velocities, and temperature and water concentration profiles. Attention is also given to the SO2 photochemical oxidation mechanism and rates. Results from a 72-hr simulation of SO(x) transport over the eastern U.S., using actual 1974 meteorological data, illustrate the model's capability to depict interactions between emissions, transport, chemistry and removal. Concentration distributions are demonstrated to have significant spatial and temporal variations.

Carmichael, G. R.↗

On Estimating End-to-End Network Path Properties

The more information about current network conditions available to a transport protocol, the more efficiently it can use the network to transfer its data. In networks such as the Internet, the transport protocol must often form its own estimates of network properties based on measurements per-formed by the connection endpoints. We consider two basic transport estimation problems: determining the setting of the retransmission timer (RTO) for are reliable protocol, and estimating the bandwidth available to a connection as it begins. We look at both of these problems in the context of TCP, using a large TCP measurement set [Pax97b] for trace-driven simulations. For RTO estimation, we evaluate a number of different algorithms, finding that the performance of the estimators is dominated by their minimum values, and to a lesser extent, the timer granularity, while being virtually unaffected by how often round-trip time measurements are made or the settings of the parameters in the exponentially-weighted moving average estimators commonly used. For bandwidth estimation, we explore techniques previously sketched in the literature [Hoe96, AD98] and find that in practice they perform less well than anticipated. We then develop a receiver-side algorithm that performs significantly better.

Allman, Mark↗

Laser Remote Sensing From ISS: CATS Cloud and Aerosol Level 2 Data Products (Heritage Edition)

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) instrument was developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and deployed to the International Space Station (ISS) on 10 January 2015. CATS is mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility (JEM_EF) and will provide near-continuous, altitude-resolved measurements of clouds and aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere. The CATS ISS orbit path provides a unique opportunity to capture the full diurnal cycle of cloud and aerosol development and transport, allowing for studies that are not possible with the lidar aboard the CALIPSO platform, which flies in the sun-synchronous A-Train orbit." " One of the primary science objectives of CATS is to continue the CALIPSO aerosol and cloud profile data record to provide continuity of lidar climate observations during the transition from CALIPSO to EarthCARE. To accomplish this, the CATS project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the CALIPSO project at NASA's Langley Research Center (LaRC) are closely collaborating to develop and deliver a full suite of CALIPSO-like level 2 data products that will be produced using the newly acquired CATS level 1B data whenever CATS is operating in science modes 1. The CALIPSO mission is now well into its ninth year of on-orbit operations, and has developed a robust set of mature and well-validated science algorithms to retrieve the spatial and optical properties of clouds and aerosols from multi-wavelength lidar backscatter signals. By leveraging both new and existing NASA technical resources, this joint effort by the CATS and CALIPSO teams will deliver validated lidar data sets to the user community at the earliest possible opportunity. The science community will have access to two sets of CATS Level 2 data products. The "Operational" data products will be produced by the GSFC CATS team utilizing the new instrument capabilities (e.g., multiple FOVs and 1064 nm depolarization), while the "Heritage" data products created using the existing CALIPSO algorithms and the CATS 532 nm channels and the total 1064 nm channel. " Below is the development of the CATS "Heritage" level 2 software and data along with some initial results with operational data."

Rodier, Sharon↗

Takeoff certification considerations for large subsonic and supersonic transport airplanes using the Ames flight simulator for advanced aircraft

Data for use in development of takeoff airworthiness standards for new aircraft designs such as the supersonic transport (SST) and the large wide-body subsonic jet transport are provided. An advanced motion simulator was used to compare the performance and handling characteristics of three representative large jet transports during specific flight certification tasks. Existing regulatory constraints and methods for determining rotation speed were reviewed, and the effects on takeoff performance of variations in rotation speed, pitch attitude, and pitch attitude rate during the rotation maneuver were analyzed. A limited quantity of refused takeoff information was obtained. The aerodynamics, wing loading, and thrust-to-weight ratio of the subject SST resulted in takeoff speeds limited by climb (rather than lift-off) considerations. Take-off speeds based on U.S. subsonic transport requirements were found unacceptable because of the criticality of rotation-abuse effects on one-engine-inoperative climb performance. Adequate safety margin was provided by takeoff speeds based on proposed Anglo-French supersonic transport (TSS) criteria, with the limiting criterion being that takeoff safety speed be at least 1.15 times the one-engine-inoperative zero-rate-of-climb speed. Various observations related to SST certification are presented.

Snyder, C. T.↗

Data acquisition and analysis on a Macintosh

The introduction of inexpensive analog-to-digital boards for the Macintosh opens the way for its use in areas that have previously been filled by either specialized, dedicated or more expensive mainframe based systems. Two such Macintosh-based systems are the Acoustic Laboratory Data Acquisition System (ALDAS) and the Jet Calibration and Hover Test Facility (JCAHT) data acquisition system. ALDAS provides an inexpensive, transportable means to digitize four channels at up to 50,000 samples per second and analyze this data. The ALDAS software package was written for use with rotorcraft acoustics and performs automatic acoustic calibration of channels, data display, and various types of data analysis. The program can use data obtained either from internal analog-to-digital conversion or discrete external data imported in ASCII format. All aspects of ALDAS can be improved as new hardware becomes available and new features are introduced into the code. The JCAHT data acquisition system was built as not only an analysis program but also to act as the online safety monitoring system. This paper will provide an overview of these systems.

Watts, Michael E.↗