SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The paper is concerned with the discrete-time H(sub infinity) control problem with measurement feedback. The authors extend previous results by having weaker assumptions on the system parameters. The authors also show explicitly the structure of H(sub infinity) controllers. Finally, they show that it is in certain cases possible, without loss of performance, to reduce the dynamical order of the controllers.
This paper analyzes the use of IIR switched capacitor filters to implement the discrete wavelet transform and the inverse transform, using quadrature mirror filters (QMF) which have the necessary symmetry for reconstruction of the data. This is done by examining the sensitivity of the QMF transforms to the manufacturing variance in the desired capacitances. The performance is evaluated at the outputs of the separate filter stages and the error in the reconstruction of the inverse transform is compared with the desired results.
LinAir is a vortex lattice aerodynamic prediction method similar to Weissinger's extended lifting-line theory, except that the circulation around a wing is represented by discrete horseshoe vortices, not a continuous distribution of vorticity. The program calculates subsonic longitudinal and lateral/directional aerodynamic forces and moments for arbitrary aircraft geometries. It was originally written by Dr. Ilan Kroo of Stanford University, and subsequently modified by the author to simplify modeling of complex configurations. The Polhamus leading-edge suction analogy was added by the author to extend the range of applicability of LinAir to low aspect ratio (i.e., fighter-type) configurations. A brief discussion of the theory of LinAir is presented, and details on how to run the program are given along with some comparisons with experimental data to validate the code. Example input and output files are given in the appendices to aid in understanding the program and its use. This version of LinAir runs in the VAX/VMS, Cray UNICOS, and Silicon Graphics Iris workstation environments at the time of this writing.
This paper solves an 'incremental' form of the sensitivity equations derived by differentiating the discretized thin-layer Navier Stokes equations with respect to certain design variables of interest. The equations are solved with a parallel, preconditioned Generalized Minimal RESidual (GMRES) solver on a distributed-memory architecture. The 'serial' sensitivity analysis code is parallelized by using the Single Program Multiple Data (SPMD) programming model, domain decomposition techniques, and message-passing tools. Sensitivity derivatives are computed for low and high Reynolds number flows over a NACA 1406 airfoil on a 32-processor Intel Hypercube, and found to be identical to those computed on a single-processor Cray Y-MP. It is estimated that the parallel sensitivity analysis code has to be run on 40-50 processors of the Intel Hypercube in order to match the single-processor processing time of a Cray Y-MP.
Ongoing development of an automated system for monitoring the frequency and damping of time varying structural systems is discussed. A spatial filtering technique called the discrete modal filter is used to uncouple multiple response measurements into modal coordinate responses. Since the modal coordinate responses are the responses of single-degree-of-freedom systems, the frequency and damping may be accurately estimated with short data records. An on-line monitoring system is discussed which may be useful in a variety of applications. The focus in this paper is on the application to aircraft flight flutter testing.
An anti-noise problem on a finite time interval is solved by minimization of a quadratic functional on the Hilbert space of square integrable controls. To this end, the one-dimensional wave equation with point sources and pointwise reflecting boundary conditions is decomposed into a system for the two propagating components of waves. Wellposedness of this system is proved for a class of data that includes piecewise linear initial conditions and piecewise constant forcing functions. It is shown that for such data the optimal piecewise constant control is the solution of a sparse linear system. Methods for its computational treatment are presented as well as examples of their applicability. The convergence of discrete approximations to the general optimization problem is demonstrated by finite element methods.
Three transition interpolation schemes for use in h-or r-refinement have been analyzed in terms of accuracy, implementation ease and extendability. They include blending-function interpolation, displacement averaging, and strain matching at discrete points along the transition edge lines. The results suggest that the choice of matching depends strongly on the element formulations, (viz. displacement or assumed strain, etc.) and mesh refinement criteria employed, and to a lesser extent the choice of computer architecture (serial vs. parallel) and the equation solution procedures. A recommended pairing of some of the elements with the choice factors is suggested.
Using data from the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Spectroheliometer on Skylab, we study the empirical characteristics of the variable emission in active regions. These simultaneous multi-wavelength observations clearly confirm that active regions consist of a complex of loops at different temperatures. The variable emission from this complex has very well-defined properties that can be quantitatively summarized as follows: (1) It is localized predominantly around the footpoints where it occurs at discrete locations. (2) The strongest variability does not necessarily coincide with the most intense emission. (3) The fraction of the area of the footpoints, (delta n)/N, that exhibits variable emission, varies by +/- 15% as a function of time, at any of the wavelengths measured. It also varies very little from footpoint to footpoint. (4) This fractional variation is temperature dependent with a maximum around 10(exp 5) K. (5) The ratio of the intensity of the variable to the average background emission, (delta I)/(bar-I), also changes with temperature. In addition, we find that these distinctive characteristics persist even when flares occur within the active region.
We model the evolution of a density shell propagating through the stellar wind of an early-type star, in order to investigate the effects of such shells on UV P Cygni line profiles. Unlike previous treatments, we solve the mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations, using an explicit time-differencing scheme, and present a parametric study of the density, velocity, and temperature response. Under the assumed conditions, relatively large spatial scale, large-amplitude density shells propagate as stable waves through the supersonic portion of the wind. Their dynamical behavior appears to mimic propagating 'solitary waves,' and they are found to accelerate at the same rate as the underlying steady state stellar wind (i.e., the shell rides the wind). These hydrodynamically stable structures quantitatively reproduce the anomalous 'discrete absorption component' (DAC) behavior observed in the winds of luminous early-type stars, as illustrated by comparisons of model predictions to an extensive International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) time series of spectra of zeta Puppis (O4f). From these comparisons, we find no conclusive evidence indicative of DACs accelerating at a significantly slower rate than the underlying stellar wind, contrary to earlier reports. In addition, these density shells are found to be consistent within the constraints set by the IR observations. We conclude that the concept of propagating density shells should be seriously reconsidered as a possible explanation of the DAC phenomenon in early-type stars.
An aerodynamic shape optimization procedure based on discrete sensitivity analysis is extended to treat three-dimensional geometries. The function of sensitivity analysis is to directly couple computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with numerical optimization techniques, which facilitates the construction of efficient direct-design methods. The development of a practical three-dimensional design procedures entails many challenges, such as: (1) the demand for significant efficiency improvements over current design methods; (2) a general and flexible three-dimensional surface representation; and (3) the efficient solution of very large systems of linear algebraic equations. It is demonstrated that each of these challenges is overcome by: (1) employing fully implicit (Newton) methods for the CFD analyses; (2) adopting a Bezier-Bernstein polynomial parameterization of two- and three-dimensional surfaces; and (3) using preconditioned conjugate gradient-like linear system solvers. Whereas each of these extensions independently yields an improvement in computational efficiency, the combined effect of implementing all the extensions simultaneously results in a significant factor of 50 decrease in computational time and a factor of eight reduction in memory over the most efficient design strategies in current use. The new aerodynamic shape optimization procedure is demonstrated in the design of both two- and three-dimensional inviscid aerodynamic problems including a two-dimensional supersonic internal/external nozzle, two-dimensional transonic airfoils (resulting in supercritical shapes), three-dimensional transport wings, and three-dimensional supersonic delta wings. Each design application results in realistic and useful optimized shapes.
This paper describes the implementation of optimization techniques based on control theory for airfoil design. In previous studies it was shown that control theory could be used to devise an effective optimization procedure for two-dimensional profiles in which the shape is determined by a conformal transformation from a unit circle, and the control is the mapping function. The goal of our present work is to develop a method which does not depend on conformal mapping, so that it can be extended to treat three-dimensional problems. Therefore, we have developed a method which can address arbitrary geometric shapes through the use of a finite volume method to discretize the potential flow equation. Here the control law serves to provide computationally inexpensive gradient information to a standard numerical optimization method. Results are presented, where both target speed distributions and minimum drag are used as objective functions.
The use of prefabricated pultruded carbon-epoxy rods has reduced the manufacturing complexity and costs of stiffened composite panels while increasing the damage tolerance of the panels. However, repairability of these highly efficient discrete stiffeners has been a concern. Design, analysis, and test results are presented in this paper for a bolted-joint repair for the pultruded rod concept that is capable of efficiently transferring axial loads in a hat-section stiffener on the upper skin segment of a heavily loaded aircraft wing component. A tension and a compression joint design were evaluated. The tension joint design achieved approximately 1.0% strain in the carbon-epoxy rod-reinforced hat-section and failed in a metal fitting at 166% of the design ultimate load. The compression joint design failed in the carbon-epoxy rod-reinforced hat-section test specimen area at approximately 0.7% strain and at 110% of the design ultimate load. This strain level of 0.7% in compression is similar to the failure strain observed in previously reported carbon-epoxy rod-reinforced hat-section column tests.
The use of pre-fabricated pultruded carbon-epoxy rods has reduced the manufacturing complexity and costs of stiffened composite panels while increasing the damage tolerance of the panels. However, repairability of these highly efficient discrete stiffeners has been a concern. Design, analysis, and test results are presented in this paper for a bolted-joint repair for the pultruded rod concept that is capable of efficiently transferring axial loads in a hat-section stiffener on the upper skin segment of a heavily loaded aircraft wing component. A tension and a compression joint design were evaluated. The tension joint design achieved approximately 1.0 percent strain in the carbon-epoxy rod-reinforced hat-section and failed in a metal fitting at 166 percent of the design ultimate load. The compression joint design failed in the carbon-epoxy rod-reinforced hat-section test specimen area at approximately 0.7 percent strain and at 110 percent of the design ultimate load. This strain level of 0.7 percent in compression is similar to the failure strain observed in previously reported carbon-epoxy rod-reinforced hat-section column tests.
An algebraic multigrid scheme is presented for solving the discrete Navier-Stokes equations to second-order accuracy using the defect-correction method. Solutions have been obtained for problems involving both structured and unstructured meshes, with the resolution and resolution grading controlled by global and local mesh refinements. The solver is efficient and robust to the extent that no underrelaxation of variables has been required to ensure convergence, but rates of convergence can be improved with small amounts of underrelaxation of the velocity-pressure coupling. Provided that the computational mesh can resolve the flow field, convergence characteristics are almost mesh independent. Rates of convergence actually improve with refinement, asymptotically approaching mesh independent values. For extremely coarse meshes where dispersive truncation errors would be expected to prevent convergence (or even induce divergence), solutions can still be obtained by using explicit underrelaxation in the iterative cycle.
A new numerical method is presented for the analysis of combined natural convection and radiation heat transfer with applications in many engineering situations such as materials processing, combustion and fire research. Because of the recent interest in the low gravity environment of space, attention is devoted to both 1-g and low-g applications. The two-dimensional mathematical model is represented by a set of coupled nonlinear integro-partial differential equations. Radiative exchange is formulated using the Discrete Exchange Factor method (DEF). This method considers point to point exchange and provides accurate results over a wide range of radiation parameters. Numerical results show that radiation significantly influences the flow and heat transfer in both low-g and 1-g applications. In the low-g environment, convection is weak, and radiation can easily become the dominant heat transfer mode. It is also shown that volumetric heating by radiation gives rise to an intricate cell pattern in the top heated enclosure.
We examine simultaneous measurements of auroral electron precipitation obtained in-situ by the FAST spacecraft and remotely by Polar Ultraviolet Imagery (UVI) images for activity levels ranging from quiet to storm-time intervals. The incident energy flux measured by FAST and inferred from the UVI images agree well during quiescent periods, particularly in regions of discrete aurora in which the electron precipitation spectra are dominated by the component accelerated by a field-aligned potential. During magnetospheric substorms and active storm periods, such as those following Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) disturbances of the magnetosphere, the energy flux inferred from the UVI images generally exceeds that measured locally by FAST at the same location by as much as an order of magnitude. The auroral electrons during these active periods are dominated by diffuse precipitation which is observed up the to the highest energy channel of FAST (30 keV). These storm-time observations imply that a high energy component above 30 keV not observed by FAST may be contributing significantly to the total energy flux carried by the precipitating electrons. Observations suggest that as magnetospheric activity increases acceleration processes in the magnetosphere and pitch-angle diffusion by wave-particle interactions become more important than the ionospheric acceleration in producing the measured auroral energy fluxes.
This update reports a state-of-the-art discrete ordinate algorithm for monochromatic unpolarized radiative transfer in non-isothermal, vertically inhomogeneous, but horizontally homogeneous media. The physical processes included are Planckian thermal emission, scattering with arbitrary phase function, absorption, and surface bidirectional reflection. The system may be driven by parallel or isotropic diffuse radiation incident at the top boundary, as well as by internal thermal sources and thermal emission from the boundaries. Radiances, fluxes, and mean intensities are returned at user-specified angles and levels. DISORT has enjoyed considerable popularity in the atmospheric science and other communities since its introduction in 1988. Several new DISORT features are described in this update: intensity correction algorithms designed to compensate for the 8-M forward-peak scaling and obtain accurate intensities even in low orders of approximation; a more general surface bidirectional reflection option; and an exponential-linear approximation of the Planck function allowing more accurate solutions in the presence of large temperature gradients. DISORT has been designed to be an exemplar of good scientific software as well as a program of intrinsic utility. An extraordinary effort has been made to make it numerically well-conditioned, error-resistant, and user-friendly, and to take advantage of robust existing software tools. A thorough test suite is provided to verify the program both against published results, and for consistency where there are no published results. This careful attention to software design has been just as important in DISORT's popularity as its powerful algorithmic content.
We recently reported that body weights of suckling rats reared during 1.5-g centrifugation are approximately 10% lower than those of 1.0-g controls. This finding raises the possibility that hypergravity exposed pups ingest less milk than controls due to either impairments in their ability to acquire milk from the nipple, or to decreased availability or palatability of their mother's milk. In the present study, we analyzed body weight gain in suckling rats reared during a discrete nursing episode following rearing at either 1.75-g, 1.5-g or 1.0-g. On Gestational day (G) 10 of the rats' 22-day pregnancy, time-bred SD rat dams were 1:1 matched based on body weight and assigned to either Hypergravity (HG) or Stationary Yoked Control (SYC) conditions and to either 1.75-g or 1.5-g conditions. Beginning on G11, HG dams and litters were exposed to 26 days of continuous centrifugation with brief daily stops for veterinary inspection and animal maintenance. On the day following birth (Postnatal day), litters were pooled within each condition then randomly re-assigned in equivalent proportions to HG and SYC dams. On P15, HG litters were removed from their mother's and placed in an incubator (33 C). Following a 4hr deprivation period, four neonates were tested from each litter, with two pups placed with either their own dam or the SYC dam; two pups from the yoked mother were paired with the HG pups. Pups were individually weighed, permitted to suckle for 75 min, then re-weighed. At the start of the test, the body weights of HG pups were significantly less than those of SYC pups (p less than 0.05). Relative to SYC pups, BG pups showed significantly greater proportional body weight gain (p less than 0.05), possibly due to augmented post-centrifugation feeding. Pup weight gain was independent of maternal hypergravity exposure. Neither impairments in milk acquisition nor milk availability or palatibility of hypergravity-exposed dams cannot account for reduced body mass of hypergravity-reared offspring.