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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.

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At least 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

The plasma environment, charge state, and currents of Saturn's C and D rings

The charge state and associated currents of Saturn's C an D rings are studied by modeling the flow of ionospheric plasma from the mid- to low-latitude ionosphere to the vicinity of the rings. It is found that the plasma density near the C and D rings, at a given radial location, will experience a one to two order of magnitude diurnal variation. The surface charge density (SCD) of these rings can show significant radial and azimuthal variations due mainly to variation in the plasma density. The SCD also depends on structural features of the rings such as thickness and the nature of the particle size distribution. The associated azimuthal currents carried by these rings also show large diurnal variations resulting in field-aligned currents which close in the ionosphere. The resulting ionospheric electric field will probably not produce a significant amount of plasma convection in the topside ionosphere and inner plasmasphere.

Wilson, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in an Alfven resonant layer of a solar coronal loop

A Kelvin-Helmholtz instability has been identified numerically on an azimuthally symmetric Alfven resonant layer in an axially bounded, straight cylindrical coronal loop. The set of equations is solved numerically as an initial value problem. The linear growth rate of this instability is shown to be approximately proportional to the Alfven driving amplitude and inversely proportional to the width of the Alfven resonant layer. It is also shown that the linear growth rate increases linearly with m - 1 up to a certain m, reaches its maximum value for the mode whose half wavelength is comparable to the Alfven resonant layer width, and decreases at higher azimuthal mode number.

Uchimoto, E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Balloon-Borne System Would Aim Instrument Toward Sun

Proposed system including digital control computer, control sensors, and control actuators aims telescope or other balloon-borne instrument toward Sun. Pointing system and instrument flown on gondola, suspended from balloon. System includes reaction wheel, which applies azimuthal control torques to gondola, and torque motor to apply low-frequency azimuthal torques between gondola and cable. Three single-axis rate gyroscopes measure yaw, pitch, and roll. Inclinometer measures roll angle. Two-axis Sun sensor measures deviation, in yaw and pitch, of attitude of instrument from line to apparent center of Sun. System provides initial coarse pointing, then maintains fine pointing.

Polites, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The turbomachine blading design using S2-S1 approach

The boundary conditions corresponding to the design problem when the blades being simulated by the bound vorticity distribution are presented. The 3D flow is analyzed by the two steps S2 - S1 approach. In the first step, the number of blades is supposed to be infinite, the vortex distribution is transformed into an axisymmetric one, so that the flow field can be analyzed in a meridional plane. The thickness distribution of the blade producing the flow channel striction is taken into account by the modification of metric tensor in the continuity equation. Using the meridional stream function to define the flow field, the mass conservation is satisfied automatically. The governing equation is deduced from the relation between the azimuthal component of the vorticity and the meridional velocity. The value of the azimuthal component of the vorticity is provided by the hub to shroud equilibrium condition. This step leads to the determination of the axisymmetric stream sheets as well as the approximate camber surface of the blade. In the second step, the finite number of blades is taken into account, the inverse problem corresponding to the blade to blade flow confined in each stream sheet is analyzed. The momentum equation implies that the free vortex of the absolute velocity must be tangential to the stream sheet. The governing equation for the blade to blade flow stream function is deduced from this condition. At the beginning, the upper and the lower surfaces of the blades are created from the camber surface obtained from the first step with the assigned thickness distribution. The bound vorticity distribution and the penetrating flux conservation applied on the presumed blade surface constitute the boundary conditions of the inverse problem. The detection of this flux leads to the rectification of the geometry of the blades.

Luu, T. S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Radar measurements of the orbital debris environment

The collection and preliminary processing of the first significant accumulation of orbital debris data collected by the Haystack radar is described. The data are collected in the 'beam park' mode of operation in which the radar stares in a fixed direction and debris randomly passes through the field of view. Haystack's processing system performed automatic real-time processing and threshold detection, and saved only data associated with a possible detection. Approximately 123 hours of data were collected with the radar beam parked at an elevation angle of 10 deg and an azimuth of 180 deg; 3.8 hours were collected at an elevation angle of 30 deg and an azimuth of 180 deg; and 33.9 hours were collected at an elevation angle of 90 deg. A computer model of the response of the Haystack radar while in beam park operation is described. The model calculates the probability of detection and collection area for all sizes and orbital inclinations of debris visible to the radar. At this time, the approximate sizes of the detected objects have not been determined. However, the observed detection rates and cumulative signal to noise ratio distributions agree well with the results of the radar response model using NASA's current orbital debris environment.

Stansbery, Eugene G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Light-heavy ion measurements in CR-39 located on the Earth side of LDEF

The azimuthal angle distribution and the charge and energy spectra of selected light-heavy (3 less than or = Z less than or = 8) stopping particles were measured in a single layer of CR-39 plastic nuclear track detector (PNTD) from the stack of the A0015 experiment located on the Earth-end of the satellite. The directional incidence of the trapped protons is studied by comparing the azimuthal angle distribution of selected recoils, obtained in the LDEF detectors, to that obtained through calibrations of PNTDs with exposure performed with 200 MeV proton beams from different directions. Similar measurements will be performed in a CR-39 sample exposed on the space-end of the LDEF satellite for intercomparison. The experimental results will also be compared to theoretical calculations.

Csige, I.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Symbolic enhancement of perspective displays

Two exocentric azimuth judgment experiments with a perspective display were conducted with 16 subjects. Previous work has shown these judgments to exhibit a bias possibly due to misinterpretation of the viewing parameters used to generate the display. Though geometric compensations may be used to correct for the bias, an alternate technique selected in the following 2 experiments was the introduction of symbolic enhancements in the form of compass roses. It is suggested that a compass rose with 30 deg divisions results in overall optimal azimuth estimation accuracy when accuracy and decision time are both considered. The data also suggest that the added radial lines on the compass roses may interact with normalization processes that influence the judgment errors.

Ellis, Stephen R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Magnetic interchange instability of accretion disks

The nonlinear evolution of the magnetic interchange or buoyancy instability of a differentially rotating disk threaded by an ordered vertical magnetic field is investigated. A 2D ideal fluid in the equatorial plane of a central mass in the corotating frame of reference is considered as a model for the disk. If the rotation rate of the disk is Keplerian, the disk is found to be stable. If the vertical magnetic field is sufficiently strong, and the field strength decreases with distance from the central object, and thus the rotation of the disk deviates from Keplerian, if is found that an instability develops. The magnetic flux and disk matter expand outward in certain ranges of azimuth, while disk matter with less magnetic flux moves inward over the remaining range of azimuth, showing a characteristic development of an interchange instability.

Kaisig, M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Convective instability in differentially rotating disks

A normal mode analysis for nonaxisymmetric perturbations in a thin, differentially rotating disk with a vertical structure that is isothermal and convectively unstable is performed. The vertical gravity is assumed to be external and constant. The perturbation scale is assumed to be much shorter than the radius of the disk but comparable to or less than the thickness. The initial value problem is formulated in shearing coordinates. Dispersion relations are obtained for the three limiting cases of zero shear, axisymmetric perturbations, and small radial wavelengths. The full effects of shear are studied by integrating numerically the initial value problem. Nonaxisymmetric local Fourier modes are found to have a radial wavenumber that increases linearly with time in proportion to the shear times the azimuthal wavenumber. While Coriolis forces exert stabilizing effects on the convective modes, reducing their growth rate and the range of unstable wavelengths, shear has destablizing effects inasmuch as it reduces the epicyclic frequency at a given angular velocity. In a Keplerian disk, perturbations with azimuthal wavelengths about 2 times smaller than vertical wavelengths grow exponentially.

Ryu, Dongsu↗
NASA NTRS1992

Reflectance of broken cloud fields - Simulation and parameterization

The transfer of solar irradiance in plane parallel and broken cloud fields is simulated using a Monte Carlo method. The angular distribution pattern of radiances exiting the cloud layer is studied with varying cloud geometries, optical thicknesses, cloudiness, and solar zenith angles. A rather large anisotropy of the reflected flux is found, usually increasing with solar zenith angle and with patterns that strongly depend on cloud geometry. The main features are (1) a local maximum of reflected intensity in the forward direction for all cases, (2) a limb darkening for the plane parallel case, and (3) a limb brightening and a local maximum of reflected intensity in the backward direction for broken clouds. A parameterization for the azimuth-average reflectance function is developed. It reproduces the Monte Carlo simulation with a reasonable accuracy and illustrates that, when azimuthally averaged, the reflectance function is dominated by side viewing and intercloud shadowing effects.

Breon, Francois-Marie↗
NASA NTRS1993

Flight investigation of the effect of tail boom strakes on helicopter directional control

A joint U.S. Army/NASA flight investigation was conducted utilizing a single-rotor helicopter to determine the effectiveness of horizontally mounted tail boom strakes on directional controllability and tail rotor power during low-speed, crosswind operating conditions. Three configurations were investigated: (1) baseline (strakes off), (2) single strake (strake at upper shoulder on port side of boom), and (3) double strake (upper strake plus a lower strake on same side of boom). The strakes were employed as a means to separate airflow over the tail boom and change fuselage yawing moments in a direction to improve the yaw control margin and reduce tail rotor power. Crosswind data were obtained in 5-knot increments of airspeed from 0 to 35 knots and in 30 deg increments of wind azimuth from 0 deg to 330 deg. At the most critical wind azimuth and airspeed in terms of tail rotor power, the strakes improved the pedal margin by 6 percent of total travel and reduced tail rotor power required by 17 percent. The increase in yaw control and reduction in tail rotor power offered by the strakes can expand the helicopter operating envelope in terms of gross weight and altitude capability. The strakes did not affect the flying qualities of the vehicle at airspeeds between 35 and 100 knots.

Kelly, Henry L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Tsien's method for generating non-Keplerian trajectories. Part 2: The question of thrust to orbit a sphere and the restricted three-body problem

Tsien's method is extended to treat the orbital motion of a body undergoing accelerations and decelerations. A generalized solution is discussed for the generalized case where a body undergoes azimuthal and radial thrust and the problem is further simplified for azimuthal thrust alone. Judicious selection of thrust could generate either an elliptic or hyperbolic trajectory. This is unexpected especially when the body has only enough energy for a lower state trajectory. The methodology is extended treating the problem of vehicle thrust for orbiting a sphere and vehicle thrust within the classical restricted three-body problem. Results for the latter situation can produce hyperbolic trajectories through eigen value decomposition. Since eigen values for no-thrust can be imaginary, thrust can generate real eigen values to describe hyperbolic trajectories. Keplerian dynamics appears to represent but a small subset of a much larger non-Keplerian domain especially when thrust effects are considered. The need for high thrust long duration space-based propulsion systems for changing a trajectory's canonical form is clearly demonstrated.

Murad, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Light-heavy ion measurements in CR-39 located on the Earth side of LDEF

The azimuthal angle distribution and the charge and energy spectra of selected light-heavy (5 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 8) stopping particles were measured in a single layer of CR-39 plastic nuclear track detector (PNTD) from the stack of the A0015 experiment located on the Earth-end of the LDEF satellite. The directional incidence of the trapped protons is studied by comparing the azimuthal angle distribution of selected recoils, obtained in the LDEF detectors, to that obtained through calibrations of PNTD's with exposures performed with 200 MeV proton beams from different directions.

Csige, I.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Field and thermal plasma observations of ULF pulsations during a magnetically disturbed interval

A ULF pulsation event is discussed on the basis of experimental observations of electric and magnetic field measurements as well as particle measurements from the DE 1 spacecraft. The observations were made near the magnetic equator in a space covering a large range of L shells and magnetic latitudes, and comparisons are made to ground observations. Azimuthal oscillations are observed following gradually decaying long-period compressional waves. Weak interaction between magnetic shells indicates that the source is probably weak, and ground data on magnetic pulsations showed strong signals that did not necessarily correspond to the quasisinusoidal pulsations observed in space. Azimuthal pulsations observed by the spacecraft indicate that there was a plasma density gradient beyond the plasmapause. The ULF pulsations were probably affected by changes in the magnetic field and solar-wind dynamic pressure, and their periods are found to be linked to geomagnetic latitude.

Lin, N.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A powerful local shear instability in weakly magnetized disks. III - Long-term evolution in a shearing sheet. IV - Nonaxisymmetric perturbations

The nonlinear evolution of the recently identified accretion disk magnetic shear instability is investigated through a series of numerical simulations. Finite-difference computations of the equations of compressible MHD are carried out on an axisymmetric shearing sheet system with periodic boundary conditions designed to approximate a local region within an accretion disk. Initial field configurations that include some net vertical component evolve into a nonlinear, exponentially growing solution with large poloidal velocities and magnetic fields with energies comparable to the thermal energy density. The stability of a purely azimuthal field configuration is examined, and it is found that nonaxisymmetric instability is present, but with a growth time measured in tens of orbital periods. In general, the most rapid growth occurs for very small radial and azimuthal wavenumbers, leading to coherent magnetic field structure in planes parallel to the disk. It is suggested that this instability is a key ingredient for the generation of magnetic fields in disks.

Hawley, John F.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Fast dynamos, cosmic rays, and the Galactic magnetic field

It is suggested here that the dynamo believed to be responsible for the magnetic field of the Galaxy is a fast dynamo due to the dynamical reconnection of the azimuthal field of the Galaxy as the field is deformed by the instability of the gaseous disk and the rapid inflation of magnetic lobes by the cosmic-ray gas to form the Galactic halo. The reconnection of adjacent lobes carries out both the alpha effect and field dissipation essential for the existence of the Galactic alpha-omega dynamo. The azimuthal field is generated primarily in the gaseous disk, while the alpha effect is carried out in the halo.

Parker, E. N.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Observational study of the IMF spiral north and south of the current sheet

We have analyzed 23 years of spacecraft observations spanning 27 AU. Our analysis reveals both an overwinding of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and a sustained asymmetry between the northern and southern hemispheres of the heliosphere. Nonzero azimuthal field components at the source boundary may account for the observed overwinding. The north-south asymmetry, whereby the IMF spiral north of the current sheet is more tightly wound than the IMF spiral south of the current sheet, persists due to unknown sources. It is also shown that there exist significant, correlated departures from the Parker theory in the azimuthal component of the field.

Smith, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Whistlers and plasmaspheric hiss - Wave directions and three-dimensional propagation

Wave propagation directions are determined on the basis of wave data from the DE 1 satellite showing simultaneously nonducted whistlers and hiss. Hiss wave normal angles are determined as about 70 and 77 deg for f = 3.5 and 2.5 kHz, respectively, with the wave vector being almost perpendicular to the meridional plane. A novel approximate analytical formulation of 3D propagation of whistler waves is developed and used to model the drift of magnetospherically reflected whistlers in azimuth. It is shown that depending on initial parameters, the time of arrival of whistler rays at a fixed observation point can differ by 10-20 s, with signals from different magnetospherically reflected whistlers overlapping to evolve into a hisslike signal. The total azimuthal drift of whistler rays is found to not exceed about 30 deg, so that plasmaspheric hiss may be produced by nonducted whistlers at longitudes correlated with the location of thunderstorm activity.

Draganov, A. B.↗