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At least 739 records · Page 41

Turbulent Inflow Measurements

In the present research, tilt rotor aeroacoustics have been studied experimentally and computationally. Experimental measurements were made on a 1/12.5 scale model. A dimensional analysis showed that the model was a good aeroacoustic approximation to the full-scale aircraft, and scale factors were derived to extrapolate the model measurements to the full-scale XV-15. The experimental measurements included helium bubble flow visualization, silk tuft flow visualization, 2-component hot wire anemometry, 7-hole pressure probe measurements, vorticity measurements, and outdoor far field acoustic measurements. The hot wire measurements were used to estimate the turbulence statistics of the flow field into the rotors, such as length scales, velocity scales, dissipation, and turbulence intermittency. To date, these flow measurements are the only ones in existence for a hovering tilt rotor. Several different configurations of the model were tested: (1) standard configurations (single isolated rotor, two rotors without the aircraft, standard tilt rotor configuration); (2) flow control devices (the 'plate', the 'diagonal fences'); (3) basic configuration changes (increasing the rotor/rotor spacing, reducing the rotor plane/wing clearance, operating the rotors out of phase). Also, an approximation to Sikorsky's Variable Diameter Tilt Rotor (VDTR) configuration was tested, and some flow measurements were made on a semi-span configuration of the model. Acoustic predictions were made using LOWSON.M, a Mathematica code. This hover prediction code, from HOVER.FOR, used blade element theory for the aerodynamics, and Prandtl's Vortex theory to model the wake, along with empirical formulas for the effects of Reynolds number, Mach number, and stall. Aerodynamic models were developed from 7-hole pressure probe measurements of the mean velocity into the model rotors. LOWSON.M modeled a rotor blade as a single force and source/sink combination separated in the chordwise direction, at an effective blade radius. Spanwise, Mach-weighted integrals were used to find the equivalent forces and equivalent source strengths.

George, Albert R.↗

Effect of Air Swirler Configuration on Lean Direct Injector Flow Structure and Combustion Performance with a 7-Point Lean Direct Injector Array

Studies of various injector configurations in a 7-point Lean Direct Injector (LDI) array are reported for both non-reacting (cold) flow and for Jet-A/air reacting flows. For cold flow, central recirculation zone (CRZ) formation is investigated and for reacting flows, combustor operability and dynamics are of interest. 2D Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements are described for the cold flow experiments and flame chemiluminescence imaging and dynamic pressure results are discussed for the reacting flow cases. PIV results indicate that for this configuration the close spacing between swirler elements leads to strong interaction that affects whether a CRZ forms, and pilot recess and counter-swirl helps to isolate swirlers from one another. Dynamics results focus on features identified near 500-Hz.

aircraft combustors↗

Gas dynamics of semidetached binaries. II - The vertical structure of the stream

The letter considers the three-dimensional dynamics of the stream in semidetached binaries undergoing Roche-lobe overflow. Results of an earlier communication are generalized to include the dynamic effects in the direction perpendicular to the orbital plane. It is found that the scale height of the stream characteristically exceeds its corresponding hydrostatic value by a significant factor because the inertia of the gas prevents it from responding instantaneously to the changing gravitational field. This effect is important for the interpretation of observations relating to stream-disk impacts in cataclysmic variables and in binary X-ray sources of low total mass.

Lubow, S. H.↗

A Sensitivity Study on the Effects of Particle Chemistry, Asphericity and Size on the Mass Extinction Efficiency of Mineral Dust in the Earth's Atmosphere: From the Near to Thermal IR

To determine a plausible range of mass extinction efficiencies (MEE) of terrestrial atmospheric dust from the near to thermal IR, sensitivity analyses are performed over an extended range of dust microphysical and chemistry perturbations. The IR values are subsequently compared to those in the near-IR, to evaluate spectral relationships in their optical properties. Synthesized size distributions consistent with measurements, model particle size, while composition is defined by the refractive indices of minerals routinely observed in dust, including the widely used OPAC/Hess parameterization. Single-scattering properties of representative dust particle shapes are calculated using the T-matrix, Discrete Dipole Approximation and Lorenz-Mie light-scattering codes. For the parameterizations examined, MEE ranges from nearly zero to 1.2 square meters per gram, with the higher values associated with non-spheres composed of quartz and gypsum. At near-IR wavelengths, MEE for non-spheres generally exceeds those for spheres, while in the thermal IR, shape-induced changes in MEE strongly depend on volume median diameter (VMD) and wavelength, particularly for MEE evaluated at the mineral resonant frequencies. MEE spectral distributions appear to follow particle geometry and are evidence for shape dependency in the optical properties. It is also shown that non-spheres best reproduce the positions of prominent absorption peaks found in silicates. Generally, angular particles exhibit wider and more symmetric MEE spectral distribution patterns from 8-10 micrometers than those with smooth surfaces, likely due to their edge-effects. Lastly, MEE ratios allow for inferring dust optical properties across the visible-IR spectrum. We conclude the MEE of dust aerosol are significant for the parameter space investigated, and are a key component for remote sensing applications and the study of direct aerosol radiative effects.

Hansell, R. A., Jr.↗

Volcanic effects on climate

Volcanic eruptions which inject large amounts of sulfur-rich gas into the stratosphere produce dust veils which last years and cool the earth's surface. At the same time, these dust veils absorb enough solar radiation to warm the stratosphere. Since these temperature changes at the earth's surface and in the stratosphere are both in the opposite direction of hypothesized effects from greenhouse gases, they act to delay and mask the detection of greenhouse effects on the climate system. Tantalizing recent research results have suggested regional effects of volcanic eruptions, including effects on El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In addition, a large portion of the global climate change of the past 100 years may be due to the effects of volcanoes, but a definite answer is not yet clear. While effects of several years were demonstrated with both data studies and numerical models, long-term effects, while found in climate model calculations, await confirmation with more realistic models. Extremely large explosive prehistoric eruptions may have produced severe weather and climate effects, sometimes called a 'volcanic winter'. Complete understanding of the above effects of volcanoes is hampered by inadequacies of data sets on volcanic dust veils and on climate change. Space observations can play an increasingly important role in an observing program in the future. The effects of volcanoes are not adequately separated from ENSO events, and climate modeling of the effects of volcanoes is in its infancy. Specific suggestions are made for future work to improve the knowledge of this important component of the climate system.

Robock, Alan↗

The measurement of atmospheric water vapor - Radiometer comparison and spatial variations

Two water vapor radiometer (WVR) experiments were conducted to evaluate whether such instruments are both suitable and necessary to correct for propagation effects that are induced by precipitable water vapor (PWV) on signals from GPS and VLBI. WVRs are suitable for these corrections if they provide wet path delays to better than 0.5 cm. They are needed if spatial variations of PWV result in complicated, direction-dependent propagation effects that are too complex to be parametrized in the GPS or VLBI geodetic solution. The suitability of radiometers was first addressed by comparing six airport WVRs for two weeks. While two WVRs showed an average wet path delay bias of only 0.1 cm, others were biased by 1-3 cm relative to each other and relative to radiosondes. The second experiment addressed the question whether radiometers are needed for the detection of inhomogeneities in the wet delay. Three JPL D-series radiometers were operated at three sites 50 km apart. The WVRs simultaneously sampled PWV at different azimuths and elevations in search of spatial variations of PWV. On one day of this second experiment evidence was found for spatial variations of the wet path delay as high as 20 percent of the total wet path delay.

Rocken, C.↗

Weak dynamical effects in the Uranian ring system

Published data on the orbits of the rings and satellites of Uranus are analyzed in terms of their dynamic interaction, in an attempt to explain discrepancies between current kinematic models of the ring system and recent, very accurate occultation observations. Apse precession, short-term perturbations, satellite resonance, and the movement of the planet and rings with respect to the barycenter of the planet-satellite system are investigated. It is found that the five known satellites could cause the observed ring residuals by shifting the barycenter, but not by direct or resonance effects. Hypothetical interring shepherd satellites of limited mass (such as about 10 to the 19th g for a shepherd between rings 4 and 5), possibly affected by known-satellite resonances, could influence the rings directly.

Freedman, A. P.↗

Radiogenic cell transformation and carcinogenesis

Radiation carcinogenesis is one of the major biological effects considered important in the risk assessment for space travel. Various biological model systems, including both cultured cells and animals, have been found useful for studying the carcinogenic effects of space radiations, which consist of energetic electrons, protons and heavy ions. The development of techniques for studying neoplastic cell transformation in culture has made it possible to examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms of radiation carcinogenesis. Cultured cell systems are thus complementary to animal models. Many investigators have determined the oncogenic effects of ionizing and nonionizing radiation in cultured mammalian cells. One of the cell systems used most often for radiation transformation studies is mouse embryonic cells (C3H10T1/2), which are easy to culture and give good quantitative dose-response curves. Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for heavy ions with various energies and linear energy transfer (LET) have been obtained with this cell system. Similar RBE and LET relationship was observed by investigators for other cell systems. In addition to RBE measurements, fundamental questions on repair of sub- and potential oncogenic lesions, direct and indirect effect, primary target and lesion, the importance of cell-cell interaction and the role of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in radiogenic carcinogenesis have been studied, and interesting results have been found. Recently several human epithelial cell systems have been developed, and ionizing radiation have been shown to transform these cells. Oncogenic transformation of these cells, however, requires a long expression time and/or multiple radiation exposures. Limited experimental data indicate high-LET heavy ions can be more effective than low-LET radiation in inducing cell transformation. Cytogenetic and molecular analyses can be performed with cloned transformants to provide insights into basic genetic mechanism(s) of radiogenic transformation of human epithelial cells.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗

Space travel directly induces skeletal muscle atrophy

Space travel causes rapid and pronounced skeletal muscle wasting in humans that reduces their long-term flight capabilities. To develop effective countermeasures, the basis of this atrophy needs to be better understood. Space travel may cause muscle atrophy indirectly by altering circulating levels of factors such as growth hormone, glucocorticoids, and anabolic steroids and/or by a direct effect on the muscle fibers themselves. To determine whether skeletal muscle cells are directly affected by space travel, tissue-cultured avian skeletal muscle cells were tissue engineered into bioartificial muscles and flown in perfusion bioreactors for 9 to 10 days aboard the Space Transportation System (STS, i.e., Space Shuttle). Significant muscle fiber atrophy occurred due to a decrease in protein synthesis rates without alterations in protein degradation. Return of the muscle cells to Earth stimulated protein synthesis rates of both muscle-specific and extracellular matrix proteins relative to ground controls. These results show for the first time that skeletal muscle fibers are directly responsive to space travel and should be a target for countermeasure development.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗

Recent Advances in Visualizing 3D Flow with LIC

Line Integral Convolution (LIC), introduced by Cabral and Leedom in 1993, is an elegant and versatile technique for representing directional information via patterns of correlation in a texture. Although most commonly used to depict 2D flow, or flow over a surface in 3D, LIC methods can equivalently be used to portray 3D flow through a volume. However, the popularity of LIC as a device for illustrating 3D flow has historically been limited both by the computational expense of generating and rendering such a 3D texture and by the difficulties inherent in clearly and effectively conveying the directional information embodied in the volumetric output textures that are produced. In an earlier paper, we briefly discussed some of the factors that may underlie the perceptual difficulties that we can encounter with dense 3D displays and outlined several strategies for more effectively visualizing 3D flow with volume LIC. In this article, we review in more detail techniques for selectively emphasizing critical regions of interest in a flow and for facilitating the accurate perception of the 3D depth and orientation of overlapping streamlines, and we demonstrate new methods for efficiently incorporating an indication of orientation into a flow representation and for conveying additional information about related scalar quantities such as temperature or vorticity over a flow via subtle, continuous line width and color variations.

Interrante, Victoria↗

EcAMSat and BioSentinel: Autonomous Bio Nanosatellites Addressing Strategic Knowledge Gaps for Manned Spaceflight Beyond LEO

Manned missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) require that several strategic knowledge gaps about the effects of space travel on the human body be addressed. NASA Ames Research Center has been the leader in developing autonomous bio nanosatellites, including past successful missions for GeneSat, PharmaSat, and O/OREOS, that tackled some of these issues. These nanosatellites provide in situ measurements, which deliver insight into the dynamic changes in cell behavior in microgravity. In this talk, two upcoming bio nanosatellites developed at Ames, the E. coli Antimicrobial Satellite (EcAMSat) and BioSentinel, will be discussed. Both satellites contain microfluidic systems that precisely deliver nutrients to the microorganisms stored within wells of fluidic cards. Each well, in turn, has its own 3-color LED and detector system which is used to monitor changes in metabolic activity with alamarBlue, a redox indicator, and the optical density of the cells. EcAMSat investigates the effects of microgravity on bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs, vital knowledge for understanding how to maintain the health of astronauts in long-term and beyond LEO spaceflight. The behavior of wild type and mutant uropathic E. coli will be compared in microgravity and with ground data to help understand the molecular mechanisms behind antibiotic resistance and how these phenotypes might change in space. BioSentinel seeks to directly measure the effects of space radiation on budding yeast S. cerevisiae, particularly double strand breaks (DSB). While hitching a ride on the SLS EM-1 mission (Orion's first unmanned mission to the moon) in 2018, BioSentinel will be kicked off and enter into a heliocentric orbit, becoming the first study of the effects of radiation on living organisms outside LEO since the Apollo program. The yeast are stored in eighteen independent 16-well microfluidic cards, which will be individually activated over the 12 month mission duration. In addition to the wild type and radiation-sensitive mutant strains, a BioSentinel strain of yeast has been developed, which requires a DSB to reactivate growth, thereby allowing for a direct measurement of DSBs caused by radiation. These two missions demonstrate the utility of using autonomous nanosatellites to address strategic knowledge gaps in the push to once again extend manned spaceflight beyond LEO.

Padgen, Michael R.↗

EcAMSat and BioSentinel: Autonomous Bio Nanosatellites Addressing Strategic Knowledge Gaps for Manned Spaceflight Beyond LEO

Manned missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) require that several strategic knowledge gaps about the effects of space travel on the human body be addressed. NASA Ames Research Center has been the leader in developing autonomous bio nanosatellites, including past successful missions for GeneSat, PharmaSat, and OOREOS, that tackled some of these issues. These nanosatellites provide in situ measurements, which deliver insight into the dynamic changes in cell behavior in microgravity. In this talk, two upcoming bio nanosatellites developed at Ames, the E. coli Antimicrobial Satellite (EcAMSat) and BioSentinel, will be discussed. Both satellites contain microfluidic systems that precisely deliver nutrients to the microorganisms stored within wells of fluidic cards. Each well, in turn, has its own 3-color LED and detector system which is used to monitor changes in metabolic activity with alamarBlue, a redox indicator, and the optical density of the cells. EcAMSat investigates the effects of microgravity on bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs, vital knowledge for understanding how to maintain the health of astronauts in long-term and beyond LEO spaceflight. The behavior of wild type and mutant uropathic E. coli will be compared in microgravity and with ground data to help understand the molecular mechanisms behind antibiotic resistance and how these phenotypes might change in space. BioSentinel seeks to directly measure the effects of space radiation on budding yeast S. cerevisiae, particularly double strand breaks (DSB). While hitching a ride on the SLS EM-1 mission (Orions first unmanned mission to the moon) in 2018, BioSentinel will be kicked off and enter into a heliocentric orbit, becoming the first study of the effects of radiation on living organisms outside LEO since the Apollo program. The yeast are stored in eighteen independent 16-well microfluidic cards, which will be individually activated over the 12 month mission duration. In addition to the wild type and radiation-sensitive mutant strains, a BioSentinel strain of yeast has been developed, which requires a DSB to reactivate growth, thereby allowing for a direct measurement of DSBs caused by radiation. These two missions demonstrate the utility of using autonomous nanosatellites to address strategic knowledge gaps in the push to once again extend manned spaceflight beyond LEO.

Padgen, Mike↗

Effects of Space Environment on Flow and Concentration During Directional Solidification

A study of directional solidification of a weak binary alloy (specifically, Bi - 1 at% Sn) based on the fixed grid single domain approach is being undertaken. The enthalpy method is used to solve for the temperature field over the computational domain including both the solid and liquid phases; latent heat evolution is treated with the aid of an effective specific heat coefficient. A source term accounting for the release of solute into the liquid during solidification has been incorporated into the solute transport equation. The vorticity-stream function formulation is used to describe thermosolutal convection in the liquid region. In this paper we numerically investigate the effects of g-jitter on directional solidification. A background gravity of 1 micro-g has been assumed, and new results for the effects of periodic disturbances over a range of amplitudes and frequencies on solute field and segregation have been presented.

Benjapiyaporn, C.↗

Development of Computational Aeroacoustics Code for Jet Noise and Flow Prediction

Accurate prediction of jet fan and exhaust plume flow and noise generation and propagation is very important in developing advanced aircraft engines that will pass current and future noise regulations. In jet fan flows as well as exhaust plumes, two major sources of noise are present: large-scale, coherent instabilities and small-scale turbulent eddies. In previous work for the NASA Glenn Research Center, three strategies have been explored in an effort to computationally predict the noise radiation from supersonic jet exhaust plumes. In order from the least expensive computationally to the most expensive computationally, these are: 1) Linearized Euler equations (LEE). 2) Very Large Eddy Simulations (VLES). 3) Large Eddy Simulations (LES). The first method solves the linearized Euler equations (LEE). These equations are obtained by linearizing about a given mean flow and the neglecting viscous effects. In this way, the noise from large-scale instabilities can be found for a given mean flow. The linearized Euler equations are computationally inexpensive, and have produced good noise results for supersonic jets where the large-scale instability noise dominates, as well as for the tone noise from a jet engine blade row. However, these linear equations do not predict the absolute magnitude of the noise; instead, only the relative magnitude is predicted. Also, the predicted disturbances do not modify the mean flow, removing a physical mechanism by which the amplitude of the disturbance may be controlled. Recent research for isolated airfoils' indicates that this may not affect the solution greatly at low frequencies. The second method addresses some of the concerns raised by the LEE method. In this approach, called Very Large Eddy Simulation (VLES), the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved directly using a high-accuracy computational aeroacoustics numerical scheme. With the addition of a two-equation turbulence model and the use of a relatively coarse grid, the numerical solution is effectively filtered into a directly calculated mean flow with the small-scale turbulence being modeled, and an unsteady large-scale component that is also being directly calculated. In this way, the unsteady disturbances are calculated in a nonlinear way, with a direct effect on the mean flow. This method is not as fast as the LEE approach, but does have many advantages to recommend it; however, like the LEE approach, only the effect of the largest unsteady structures will be captured. An initial calculation was performed on a supersonic jet exhaust plume, with promising results, but the calculation was hampered by the explicit time marching scheme that was employed. This explicit scheme required a very small time step to resolve the nozzle boundary layer, which caused a long run time. Current work is focused on testing a lower-order implicit time marching method to combat this problem.

Keith, Theo G., Jr.↗