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Achievable flatness for the microwave power transmission system antenna array was determined. Two configurations were analyzed in detail and evaluated as to their net potential misalignment. Manufacturing, joint slack, assembly, alignment and environmental aspects were considered. Approaches to each aspect were analyzed to minimize their contributions to distortions.
A premixed flat-flame burner was designed and tested with methane-air mixtures at pressures from 1.1 to 20 atm and equivalence ratios from 0.7 to 1.1. Reactant velocity in the burner mixing chamber was used to characterize the range of stable flames at each pressure-equivalence-ratio condition. Color photographs of the flames were used to determine flame zone thickness and flame height. The results show that this burner can be used for chemical process studies in premixed high pressure methane-air flames up to 20 atm.
Transonic wind-tunnel tests were performed on a flat plate with and without a cube-shaped cavity and antiresonance devices. Measurements were made of the optical propagation and aerodynamic properties of the boundary and shear layers. The model and its velocity profiles and pressures are described.
A method and apparatus for preparing flat conductor cable having a plurality of ribbon-like conductors disposed upon and adhesively bonded to the surface of a substrate is described. The conductors are brought into contact with the substrate surface, and while maintained in axial tension on said substrate, the combination is seated on a yieldably compressible layer to permit the conductor to become embedded into the surface of the substrate film.
An apparatus and technique is described for the coating of the edge surfaces of flat ribbon conductors with an adherent coating of a dielectric insulating material. Means for passing the ribbon conductors between a pair of generally axially aligned rollers is provided. The edge surfaces of the conductor are disposed adjacent to and generally tangentially to the confronting surfaces of the roller so as to form a fillet of dielectric material along the edge surface of the conductor.
A differential equation for the scale tensor in turbulent flow is developed from basic considerations and applied to the flow of a constant-density fluid in the boundary layer on a flat plate. Results from preliminary runs of a computer implementation are discussed.
A nomogram is described which can be used to determine the thermal performance of flat plate solar collectors, resulting in two performance factors: the net absorptance and the net heat loss coefficient. The nomogram takes into account angle of incidence, collector slope, absorber plate design, insulating materials, thicknesses, optical properties of absorbing surfaces and glazing materials, and flow factors. A case example is given to illustrate the use of the nomogram.
Commercially available flat-plate solar cell modules have been subjected to a variety of environmental tests designed to simulate service conditions. Among the tests are those simulating heat and rain, wind-driven rains, humidity and freezing, humidity and heat, humidity with a voltage bias, salt fog, hail impact, and fungus infestation. Tests for optical surface soiling and the combined effects of temperature, humidity and UV irradiation are under development. A correlation has been demonstrated between degradation caused by the qualification tests and such observed field effects as power loss.
In the present study, problems of laminar and turbulent two-dimensional flow of a viscous compressible fluid near the trailing edge of a thin flat plate are considered. The complete set of Navier-Stokes equations is solved by the finite-difference method of MacCormack (MacCormack and Baldwin, 1975). It is an explicit, predictor-corrector, time-splitting method of second order acuracy. The computational mesh employed has sufficient resolution for all the characteristic lengths suggested by theory. In the laminar case, the present results are compared with the triple deck solution of Daniels (1974). This comparison indicates that the asymptotic triple deck theory for supersonic trailing edge flow is accurate within five percent for Reynolds numbers greater than 1000. In the turbulent case, the Prandtl-Van Driest-Clauser algebraic eddy viscosity model is used. The numerical results show that the region of upstream influence is approximately of the order of the boundary layer thickness. The solutions for skin-friction, pressure and wake center-line velocity are presented.
The environmental test requirements that have been developed for flat plate modules purchased through Department of Energy funding are described. Concurrent with the selection of the initial qualification tests from space program experience - temperature cycling and humidity - surveys of existing photovoltaic systems in the field revealed that arrays were experiencing the following failure modes: interconnect breakage, delamination, and electrical termination corrosion. These coupled with application-dependent considerations led to the development of additional qualification tests, such as cyclic pressure loading, warped mounting surface, and hail. Rationale for the selection of tests, their levels and durations is described. Comparisons between field-observed degradation and test-induced degradation show a positive correlation with some of the observed field effects. Also, the tests are proving useful for detecting design, process, and workmanship deficiencies. The status of study efforts for the development of environmental requirements for field-related problems is reviewed.
The Low-Cost Solar Array (LSA) Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has as one objective: the development and implementation of environmental tests for flat plate photovoltaic modules as part of the Department of Energy's terrestrial photovoltaic program. Modules procured under this program have been subjected to a variety of laboratory tests intended to simulate service environments, and the results of these tests have been compared to available data from actual field service. This comparison indicates that certain tests (notably temperature cycling, humidity cycling, and cyclic pressure loading) are effective indicators of some forms of field failures. Other tests have yielded results useful in formulating module design guidelines. Not all effects noted in field service have been successfully reproduced in the laboratory, however, and work is continuing in order to improve the value of the test program as a tool for evaluating module design and workmanship. This paper contains a review of these ongoing efforts and an assessment of significant test results to date.
The aerodynamic forces resulting from winds acting on flat plate photovoltaic arrays were investigated. Local pressure distributions and total aerodynamic forces on the arrays are shown. Design loads are presented to cover the conditions of array angles relative to the ground from 20 deg to 60 deg, variable array spacings, a ground clearance gap up to 1.2 m (4 ft) and array slant heights of 2.4 m (8 ft) and 4.8 m (16 ft). Several means of alleviating the wind loads on the arrays are detailed. The expected reduction of the steady state wind velocity with the use of fences as a load alleviation device are indicated to be in excess of a factor of three for some conditions. This yields steady state wind load reductions as much as a factor of ten compared to the load incurred if no fence is used to protect the arrays. This steady state wind load reduction is offset by the increase in turbulence due to the fence but still an overall load reduction of 2.5 can be realized. Other load alleviation devices suggested are the installation of air gaps in the arrays, blocking the flow under the arrays and rounding the edges of the array. A wind tunnel test plan to supplement the theoretical study and to evaluate the load alleviation devices is outlined.
The heat transfer and fluid mechanics characteristics of full-coverage film cooling were investigated. The results for flat, isothermal plates for three injection geometries (normal, slant, and compound angle) are summarized and data concerning the spanwise distribution of the heat transfer coefficient within the blowing region are presented. Data are also presented for two different numbers of rows of holes (6 and 11). The experimental results summarized can be predicted with a two dimensional boundary layer code, STANCOOL, by providing descriptors of the injection parameters as inputs.
A concept for approximating curved antenna surfaces using flat facets is discussed. A preliminary design technique for determining the size of the reflector surface facets necessary to meet antenna surface accuracy requirements is presented. A proposed large Microwave Radiometer Satellite is selected as an application, and the far field electromagnetic response of a faceted reflector surface is compared with that from a spherical reflector surface.
A finite difference solution to the problem of the interaction between an impinging oblique shock wave and the laminar boundary layer on a flat plate is presented. The boundary layer equations coupled with the Prandtl-Meyer relation for the external flow are used to calculate the flow field. A method for the calculation of the separated flow region is presented and discussed. Comparisons between this theory and the experimental results of other investigators show fairly good agreement. Results are presented for the case of a cooled wall with an oncoming flow at Mach number 2.0 without and with suction. The results show that a small amount of suction greatly reduces the extent of the separated region in the vicinity of the shock impingement location.
Maximum flame temperatures and pollutant emission measurements for NOx, CO, and UHC (unburned hydrocarbons) are reported for premixed methane air flat flames at constant total mass flow rate over the pressure range from 1.9 to 30 atm and for equivalence ratios from 0.84 to 1.12. For any given pressure, maxima typically occur in both the temperature and NOx emissions curves slightly to the lean side of stoichiometric conditions. The UHC emissions show minima at roughly the same equivalence ratios. The CO emissions, however, increase continually with increasing equivalence ratio. Flame temperature and NOx emissions decrease with increasing pressure, while the opposite is true for the CO and UHC emissions. The NOx data correlate reasonably well as a function of flame temperature only. Four flameholders, differing only slightly, were used. In general, the temperature and emissions data from these four flameholders are similar, but some differences also exist. These differences appear to be related to minor variations in the condition of the flameholder surfaces.
Progress in the development of verified design technology for generic advanced-composite structural components loaded in compression is reported. Generic structural configurations material systems and load ranges of interest for a given application were investigated using structural procedures, structural analysis procedures, and laboratory testing of structural specimens. Both flat and curved composite compression panels that are designed either to be buckling resistant or to have postbuckling strength depending on the expected application of the panels were considered.
Multifrequency interferometric and total flux density measurements of the radiation from 0735 plus 178 are discussed. It is shown that it is far more likely that the very flat radio spectrum of this source results from a superposition of incoherent synchrotron radiation from four distinct, homogeneous components, each with a peaked spectrum, than from radiation from a single inhomogeneous component.