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At least 685 records · Page 38

Aerodynamic Characteristics, Temperature, and Noise Measurements of a Large-Scale External-Flow Jet-Augmented-Flap Model with Turbojet Engines Operating

An investigation has been conducted in the Langley full-scale tunnel on a large-scale model powered by turbojet engines with flattened rectangular nozzles. The wing had 35 deg. sweep of the leading edge, an aspect ratio of 6.5, a taper ratio of 0.31, and NACA 65(1)-412 and 65-408 airfoils at the root and tip. The investigation included measurements of the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of the model with half-span and full-span flaps and measurements of the sound pressure and skin temperature on the portions of the lower surface of the wing immersed in the jet flow. The tests were conducted over a range or angles of attack from -8 to 16 deg. for Reynolds numbers from 1.8 x 10(exp 6) to 4.4 x 10(exp 6) and a range of momentum coefficients from 0 to 2.0. In general, the aerodynamic results of this investigation made with a large-scale hot-jet model verified the results of previous investigations with small models powered by compressed-air jets. Although blowing was only done over the inboard portion of the wing, substantial amounts of induced lift were also obtained over the outboard portion of the wing. Skin temperatures were about 340 F and wing heating could be handled with available materials without cooling. Random acoustic loadings on the wing surface were high enough to indicate that fatigue failure from this source would require special consideration in the design of an external-flow jet flap system for an airplane.

Fink, Marvin P.↗

Graphite fiber polyimide composites for spherical bearings to 340 C (650 F)

Journal bearings with self-alining spherical elements of graphite-fiber-reinforced-polyimide composites were tested from 24 to 340 C (75 to 650 F) at unit loads up to 3.5 times 10 to the 7th power N/sq m (5000 psi). The journal oscillated in the cylindrical bore of the composite element + or - 15 deg at 1 hertz. Outer races and journals were metal hardened of Rockwell C-32 and finished to 10 to the minus 7th power m. A 45 wt. percent graphite-fiber composite gave low friction (0.08 to 0.13), low wear, and almost no plastic deformation under any of the test conditions. Composites with 15 and 25 wt. percent graphite fiber failed by plastic deformation at 315 C (600 F) and 3.5 times 10 to the 7th power N/sq m (5000 psi). A composite with 60 wt. percent graphite fiber failed by brittle fracture under the same conditions, but had very low friction coefficients (0.05 to 0.10) and may be a good bearing material at lighter loads.

Sliney, H. E.↗

NASA technology utilization survey on composite materials

NASA and NASA-funded contractor contributions to the field of composite materials are surveyed. Existing and potential non-aerospace applications of the newer composite materials are emphasized. Economic factors for selection of a composite for a particular application are weight savings, performance (high strength, high elastic modulus, low coefficient of expansion, heat resistance, corrosion resistance,), longer service life, and reduced maintenance. Applications for composites in agriculture, chemical and petrochemical industries, construction, consumer goods, machinery, power generation and distribution, transportation, biomedicine, and safety are presented. With the continuing trend toward further cost reductions, composites warrant consideration in a wide range of non-aerospace applications. Composite materials discussed include filamentary reinforced materials, laminates, multiphase alloys, solid multiphase lubricants, and multiphase ceramics. New processes developed to aid in fabrication of composites are given.

Leeds, M. A.↗

Imperfection surveys on a 10-ft-diameter shell structure

The results of an extensive imperfection survey on a 10-ft-diameter integrally stiffened cylindrical shell are presented. The shape of the measured initial imperfections is clearly influenced by details of the shell construction. The modal components of the measured imperfection surface as a function of the circumferential and of the axial wave numbers are calculated. The discrete axial power spectral density functions and the corresponding root-mean-square values of the imperfections are also determined for given circumferential wave numbers. Using the Fourier coefficients of the measured initial imperfections, buckling loads are calculated by solving the nonlinear Donnell-type imperfect shell equations iteratively. The calculated lowest buckling load compares favorably with the values usually recommended for similar shell structures.

Arbocz, J.↗

Closure of a kinetic model of plasma in strong turbulence by relaxation

A Fokker-Planck kinetic equation for a turbulent plasma is derived by a repeated cascade decomposition. Calculation of the propagator and the kinetic equation determine the transport coefficients (diffusivity and turbulent viscosity) by means of a closure based on a relaxation procedure governing the approach to equilibrium. The k to the minus third power spectral law is obtained, which governs the coupling between the velocity and the electrostatic field fluctuations.

Tchen, C. M.↗

Adaptation and optimization of a line-by-line radiative transfer program for the STAR-100 (STARSMART)

A program to calculate upwelling infrared radiation was modified to operate efficiently on the STAR-100. The modified software processes specific test cases significantly faster than the initial STAR-100 code. For example, a midlatitude summer atmospheric model is executed in less than 2% of the time originally required on the STAR-100. Furthermore, the optimized program performs extra operations to save the calculated absorption coefficients. Some of the advantages and pitfalls of virtual memory and vector processing are discussed along with strategies used to avoid loss of accuracy and computing power. Results from the vectorized code, in terms of speed, cost, and relative error with respect to serial code solutions are encouraging.

Rarig, P. L.↗

Test progress on the electrostatic membrane reflector

NASA is currently developing a low mass antenna which derives its reflector surface quality from the application of electrostatic forces to form a thin membrane into the desired concave reflector surface. The shuttle-deployed antenna would have a diameter of 100 m and an RMS surface smoothness of 10 to 1 mm for operation at 1 to 10 GHz. Surface quality measurements have been made on a highly deformable elastic membrane, pressurized by electrostatic forces. Included are the effects of the perimeter boundary, splicing of the membrane, the long-scale smoothness of commercial membranes, and the spatial controllability of the membrane using voltage adjustments to alter the electrostatic forces. The electrostatic membrane was found to operate well in an open-loop sense, showing a high degree of position stability and negligible power consumption in dry air. Visco-electric creep was not evident, but the polymer membrane did expand and contract considerably due to its hygroscopic expansion coefficient. A residual roughness of about 0.75 mm existed with the polymer used in these tests; this error is attributed to seams and membrane anisotropy where the material is stiffer in one direction.

Goslee, J. W.↗

A new method for flight test determination of propulsive efficiency and drag coefficient

A flight test method is described from which propulsive efficiency as well as parasite and induced drag coefficients can be directly determined using relatively simple instrumentation and analysis techniques. The method uses information contained in the transient response in airspeed for a small power change in level flight in addition to the usual measurement of power required for level flight. Measurements of pitch angle and longitudinal and normal acceleration are eliminated. The theoretical basis for the method, the analytical techniques used, and the results of application of the method to flight test data are presented.

Bull, G.↗

Pressure distributions from high Reynolds number tests of a Boeing BAC 1 airfoil in the Langley 0.3-meter transonic cryogenic tunnel

A wind-tunnel investigation designed to test a Boeing advanced-technology airfoil from low to flight-equivalent Reynolds numbers has been completed in the Langley 0.3-Meter Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel. This investigation represents the first in a series of NASA/U.S. industry two-dimensional airfoil studies to be completed in the Advanced Technology Airfoil Test program. Test temperature was varied from ambient to about 100 K at pressures ranging from about 1.2 to 6.0 atm. Mach number was varied from about 0.40 to 0.80. These variables provided a Reynolds number (based on airfoil chord) range from 4.4 X 10 to the 6th power to 50.0 X 10 to the 6th power. All the test objectives were met. The pressure data are presented without analysis in plotted and tabulated formats for use in conjunction with the aerodynamic coefficient data published as NASA TM-81922. At the time of the test, these pressure data were considered proprietary and have only recently been made available by Boeing for general release. Data are included which demonstrate the effects of fixed transition. Also included are remarks on the model design, the model structural integrity, and the overall test experience.

Johnson, W. G., Jr.↗

Airplane automatic control force trimming device for asymmetric engine failures

The difference in dynamic pressure in the propeller slipstreams as measured by sensors is divided by the freestream dynamic pressure generating a quantity proportional to the differential thrust coefficient. This quantity is used to command an electric trim motor to change the position of trim tab thereby retrimming the airplane to the new asymmetric power condition. The change in position of the trim tab produced by the electric trim motor is summed with the pilot's input to produce the actual trim tab position.

Stewart, Eric C.↗

Space Shuttle Main Engine performance analysis

For a number of years, NASA has relied primarily upon periodically updated versions of Rocketdyne's power balance model (PBM) to provide space shuttle main engine (SSME) steady-state performance prediction. A recent computational study indicated that PBM predictions do not satisfy fundamental energy conservation principles. More recently, SSME test results provided by the Technology Test Bed (TTB) program have indicated significant discrepancies between PBM flow and temperature predictions and TTB observations. Results of these investigations have diminished confidence in the predictions provided by PBM, and motivated the development of new computational tools for supporting SSME performance analysis. A multivariate least squares regression algorithm was developed and implemented during this effort in order to efficiently characterize TTB data. This procedure, called the 'gains model,' was used to approximate the variation of SSME performance parameters such as flow rate, pressure, temperature, speed, and assorted hardware characteristics in terms of six assumed independent influences. These six influences were engine power level, mixture ratio, fuel inlet pressure and temperature, and oxidizer inlet pressure and temperature. A BFGS optimization algorithm provided the base procedure for determining regression coefficients for both linear and full quadratic approximations of parameter variation. Statistical information relative to data deviation from regression derived relations was also computed. A new strategy for integrating test data with theoretical performance prediction was also investigated. The current integration procedure employed by PBM treats test data as pristine and adjusts hardware characteristics in a heuristic manner to achieve engine balance. Within PBM, this integration procedure is called 'data reduction.' By contrast, the new data integration procedure, termed 'reconciliation,' uses mathematical optimization techniques, and requires both measurement and balance uncertainty estimates. The reconciler attempts to select operational parameters that minimize the difference between theoretical prediction and observation. Selected values are further constrained to fall within measurement uncertainty limits and to satisfy fundamental physical relations (mass conservation, energy conservation, pressure drop relations, etc.) within uncertainty estimates for all SSME subsystems. The parameter selection problem described above is a traditional nonlinear programming problem. The reconciler employs a mixed penalty method to determine optimum values of SSME operating parameters associated with this problem formulation.

Santi, L. Michael↗

Testing Cosmic Microwave Background Anomalies in E-mode Polarization with Current and Future Data

In this paper, we explore the power of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization (E-mode) data to corroborate four potential anomalies in CMB temperature data: the lack of large angular-scale correlations, the alignment of the quadrupole and octupole (Q–O), the point-parity asymmetry, and the hemispherical power asymmetry. We use CMB simulations with noise representative of three experiments—the Planck satellite, the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS), and the LiteBIRD satellite—to test how current and future data constrain the anomalies. We find the correlation coefficients ρ between temperature and E-mode estimators to be less than 0.1, except for the point-parity asymmetry (ρ = 0.17 for cosmic-variance-limited simulations), confirming that E-modes provide a check on the anomalies that is largely independent of temperature data. Compared to Planck component-separated CMB data (smica), the putative LiteBIRD survey would reduce errors on E-mode anomaly estimators by factors of ∼3 for hemispherical power asymmetry and point-parity asymmetry, and by ∼26 for lack of large-scale correlation. The improvement in Q–O alignment is not obvious due to large cosmic variance, but we found the ability to pin down the estimator value will be improved by a factor ≳100. Improvements with CLASS are intermediate to these.

Cosmic microwave background radiation↗

Effects of deflected thrust on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of a close-coupled wing-canard configuration

The effects of power on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of a close-coupled wing-canard fighter configuration with partial-span rectangular nozzles at the trailing edge of the wing were investigated. Data were obtained on a basic wing-strake configuration for nozzle and flap deflections from 0 deg to 30 deg and for nominal thrust coefficients from 0 to 0.30. The model was tested over an angle-of-attack range from -2 deg to 40 deg at Mach numbers of 0.15 and 0.18. Results show substantial improvements in lift-curve slope, in maximum lift, and in drag-due-to-lift efficiency when the canard and strakes have been added to the basic wing-fuselage (wing-alone) configuration. Addition of power increased both lift-curve slope and maximum lift, improved longitudinal stability, and reduced drag due to lift on both the wing-canard and wing-canard-strake configurations. These beneficial effects are primarily derived from boundary-layer control due to moderate thrust coefficients which delay flow separation on the nozzle and inboard portion of the wing flaps.

Yip, L. P.↗

Modified Spectral Fatigue Methods for S-N Curves With MIL-HDBK-5J Coefficients

The rainflow method is used for counting fatigue cycles from a stress response time history, where the fatigue cycles are stress-reversals. The rainflow method allows the application of Palmgren-Miner's rule in order to assess the fatigue life of a structure subject to complex loading. The fatigue damage may also be calculated from a stress response power spectral density (PSD) using the semi-empirical Dirlik, Single Moment, Zhao-Baker and other spectral methods. These methods effectively assume that the PSD has a corresponding time history which is stationary with a normal distribution. This paper shows how the probability density function for rainflow stress cycles can be extracted from each of the spectral methods. This extraction allows for the application of the MIL-HDBK-5J fatigue coefficients in the cumulative damage summation. A numerical example is given in this paper for the stress response of a beam undergoing random base excitation, where the excitation is applied separately by a time history and by its corresponding PSD. The fatigue calculation is performed in the time domain, as well as in the frequency domain via the modified spectral methods. The result comparison shows that the modified spectral methods give comparable results to the time domain rainflow counting method.

Irvine, Tom↗

Nickel-Graphite Composite Compliant Interface and/or Hot Shoe Material

Next-generation high-temperature thermoelectric-power-generating devices will employ segmented architectures and will have to reliably withstand thermally induced mechanical stresses produced during component fabrication, device assembly, and operation. Thermoelectric materials have typically poor mechanical strength, exhibit brittle behavior, and possess a wide range of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) values. As a result, the direct bonding at elevated temperatures of these materials to each other to produce segmented leg components is difficult, and often results in localized microcracking at interfaces and mec hanical failure due to the stresses that arise from the CTE mismatch between the various materials. Even in the absence of full mechanical failure, degraded interfaces can lead to increased electrical and thermal resistances, which adversely impact conversion efficiency and power output. The proposed solution is the insertion of a mechanically compliant layer, with high electrical and thermal conductivity, between the low- and high-temperature segments to relieve thermomechanical stresses during device fabrication and operation. This composite material can be used as a stress-relieving layer between the thermoelectric segments and/or between a thermoelectric segment and a hot- or cold-side interconnect material. The material also can be used as a compliant hot shoe. Nickel-coated graphite powders were hot-pressed to form a nickel-graphite composite material. A freestanding thermoelectric segmented leg was fabricated by brazing the compliant pad layer between the high-temperature p- Zintl and low-temperature p-SKD TE segments using Cu-Ag braze foils. The segmented leg stack was heated in vacuum under a compressive load to achieve bonding. The novelty of the innovation is the use of composite material that re duces the thermomechanical stresses en - countered in the construction of high-efficiency, high-temperature therm - o-electric devices. The compliant pad enables the bonding of dissimilar thermoelectric materials while maintaining the desired electrical and thermal properties essential for efficient device operation. The modulus, CTE, electrical, and thermal conductances of the composite can be controlled by varying the ratio of nickel to graphite.

Firdosy, Samad A.↗

Study of excitation transfer in flowing helium afterglow pumped with a tuneable dye laser. 2: Measurement of the rate coefficient for the rotational relaxation of He2(3p (3 Pi g))

The rotational relaxation of the He2(3p(3pi g)) state is examined by optically pumping a flowing helium afterglow with a tuneable dye laser. The population of the J = 8 rotational state is enhanced by optically saturating the R sub 7 component of the transition connecting this state with the metastable He2(2s (3 Sigma u +)) molecular state. From the lifetime and yield of the Q sub 7 component, the rate coefficient for the rotational relaxation via the forbidden delta J = 1 channel is determined to be of the order of 2 x 10 to the minus 11th power cm3/sec. It is found that this represents about half of the total rate of rotational relaxation in this state.

Collins, C. B.↗

Retention of ion-implanted-xenon in olivine: Dependence on implantation dose

The diffusion of Xe in olivine, a major mineral in both meteorites and lunar samples, was studied. Xe ions were implanted at 200 keV into single-crystal synthetic-forsterite targets and the depth profiles were measured by alpha particle backscattering before and after annealing for 1 hour at temperatures up to 1500 C. The fraction of implanted Xe retained following annealing was strongly dependent on the implantation dose. Maximum retention of 100% occurred for an implantion dose of 3 x 10 to the 15th power Xe ions/sq cm. Retention was less at lower doses, with (approximately more than or = 50% loss at one hundred trillion Xe ions/sq cm. Taking the diffusion coefficient at this dose as a lower limit, the minimum activation energy necessary for Xe retention in a 10 micrometer layer for ten million years was calculated as a function of metamorphic temperature.

Melcher, C. L.↗

Analysis of spectra using correlation functions

A novel method is presented for the quantitative analysis of spectra based on the properties of the cross correlation between a real spectrum and either a numerical synthesis or laboratory simulation. A new goodness-of-fit criterion called the heteromorphic coefficient H is proposed that has the property of being zero when a fit is achieved and varying smoothly through zero as the iteration proceeds, providing a powerful tool for automatic or near-automatic analysis. It is also shown that H can be rendered substantially noise-immune, permitting the analysis of very weak spectra well below the apparent noise level and, as a byproduct, providing Doppler shift and radial velocity information with excellent precision. The technique is in regular use in the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) project and operates in an interactive, realtime computing environment with turn-around times of a few seconds or less.

Beer, Reinhard↗