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NASA NTRS1984

Neutral Atmosphere Properties Determining D-region Electron Densities

The increasing discoveries of various manifestations of meteorological control of the D region ionization and the growth of techniques for its measurement provide a challenge to meteorologists to test their insight into middle atmosphere processes with the physical interpretation of D layer phenomena. Models for ion production due to photoionization of minor atmospheric nitric oxide by quasi-monochromatic solar Lyman-alpha radiation are presented. A ground based measuring technique using low frequency radio reflection heights is briefly described and an approach to the interpretation of data acquired by this method is discussed. It is shown that D region electron density variations can provide an efficient diagnostic tool for the detection of perturbations of the circulation state of the middle atmosphere.

Taubenheim, J.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Computing with high-resolution upwind schemes for hyperbolic equations

Computational aspects of modern high-resolution upwind finite-difference schemes for hyperbolic systems of conservation laws are examined. An operational unification is demonstrated for constructing a wide class of flux-difference-split and flux-split schemes based on the design principles underlying total variation diminishing (TVD) schemes. Consideration is also given to TVD scheme design by preprocessing, the extension of preprocessing and postprocessing approaches to general control volumes, the removal of expansion shocks and 'glitches', relaxation methods for implicit TVD schemes, and a new family of high-accuracy TVD schemes.

Chakravarthy, S. R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Meteor observation by the Kyoto meteor radar

The Kyoto Meteor Radar is a monostatic coherent pulsed Doppler radar operating on the frequency of 31.57 MH. The system is computer controlled and uses radio interferometry for echo height determination. The antenna, an improvement, can be directed either to the north or the east. The system has been continuously collecting data on winds at meteor heights by radar observation. The meteor echo rate was also measured, the echo rate distribution with height and the daily variation in height integrated echo rate are discussed. Investigations of atmospheric tides are being pursued by cooperative observations. A novel approach to the study of gravity waves was attempted using the meteor radar which is able to detect the horizontal propagation of the waves by observing the changing phase through the region illuminated by the radar.

Kato, Susumu↗

NASA NTRS1987

The atmosphere as a research window - Signal or noise

The interpretation of measurements by instruments with FOV that are large enough to contain pronounced radiometric variations is discussed, focusing on the retrieval of cloud properties from satellite radiance measurements. Examples are presented for three retrieval approaches. The use of a physical principle to establish a relationship between the measurement and the desired parameter is shown for cirrus-cloud optical depth and precipitation from passive microwave measurements. Examples of the use of inherent variability of the atmosphere and the statistical character of this variability are the spatial covariance method and the threshold method. Also, two examples using a hybrid of these two methods are presented. It is shown that the natural variability (noise) within the instrument FOV biases the relationship between the measurement and the parameter of interest which would be predicted by simple one-dimensional radiative-transfer theory. It is suggested that the noise of the measurement also contains signal, forming the basis for hybrid methods.

Stephens, Graeme L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Steady-state heat conduction in multilayered composite plates and shells

A study is made of a predictor-corrector procedure for the accurate determination of the temperature and heat flux distributions in thick multilayered composite plates and shells. A linear through-the-thickness temperature distribution is used in the predictor phase. The functional dependence of temperature on the thickness coordinate is then calculated a posteriori and used in the corrector phase. Extensive numerical results are presented for linear steady-state heat conduction problems, showing the effects of variation in the geometric and lamination parameters on the accuracy of the thermal response predictions of the predictor-corrector approach. Both antisymmetrically laminated anisotropic plates and multilayered orthotropic cylinders are considered. The solutions are assumed to be periodic in the surface coordinates. For each problem the standard of comparison is taken to be the analytic three-dimensional solution based on treating each layer as a homogeneous anisotropic medium. The potential of the predictor-corrector approach for predicting the thermal response of multilayered plates and shells with complicated geometry is discussed.

Noor, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Uncertainty Analysis of Composite Structures

A two-phase approach and a computational procedure are presented for predicting the variability in the nonlinear response of composite structures associated with variations in the geometric and material parameters of the structure. In the first phase, hierarchical sensitivity analysis is used to identify the major parameters, which have the most effect on the response quantities of interest. In the second phase, the major parameters are taken to be fuzzy parameters, and a fuzzy set analysis is used to determine the range of variation of the response, associated with preselected variations in the major parameters. The effectiveness of the procedure is demonstrated by means of a numerical example of a cylindrical panel with four T-shaped stiffeners and a circular cutout.

Noor, Ahmed K.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Nonlinear Thermomechanical Response of Composite Panels with Continuous and Terminated Stiffeners

A two-phase approach and a computational procedure are used for predicting the variability of the response of stiffened composite panels associated with variations in the geometric and material parameters of the structures. In the first phase, hierarchical sensitivity analysis is used to identify the major parameters that have the most effect on the response quantities of interest. In the second phase, the major parameters are taken to be fuzzy parameters, and a fuzzy set analysis is used to determine the range of variation of the response, associated with preselected variations in the major parameters. Numerical results are presented showing the variability of the response of panels with both continuous and terminated stiffeners associated with variations in the micro mechanical and geometric parameters. Both flat and curved panels are considered.

Noor, Ahmed K.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Generalization of Equivalent Crystal Theory to Include Angular Dependence

In the original Equivalent Crystal Theory, each atomic site in the real crystal is assigned an equivalent lattice constant, in general different from the ground state one. This parameter corresponds to a local compression or expansion of the lattice. The basic method considers these volumetric transformations and, in addition, introduces the possibility that the reference lattice is anisotropically distorted. These distortions however, were introduced ad-hoc. In this work, we generalize the original Equivalent Crystal Theory by systematically introducing site-dependent directional distortions of the lattice, whose corresponding distortions account for the dependence of the energy on anisotropic local density variations. This is done in the spirit of the original framework, but including a gradient term in the density. This approach is introduced to correct a deficiency in the original Equivalent Crystal Theory and other semiempirical methods in quantitatively obtaining the correct ratios of the surface energies of low index planes of cubic metals (100), (110), and (111). We develop here the basic framework, and apply it to the calculation of Fe (110) and Fe (111) surface energy formation. The results, compared with first principles calculations, show an improvement over previous semiempirical approaches.

Ferrante, John↗

NASA NTRS1954

Experimental Permeability Measurements on a Strut-Supported Transpiration-Cooled Turbine Blade with Stainless-Steel Shell made by the Federal-Mogul Corporation under Bureau of Aeronautics Contract N0as 51613-C

A turbine blade with a porous stainless-steel shell sintered to a supporting steel strut has been fabricated for tests at the NACA by Federal-Mogul Corporation under contract from the Bureau of Aeronautics, Department of the Navy. The apparent permeability of this blade, on the average, more nearly approaches the values specified by the NAGA than did two strut-supported bronze blades in a previous investigation. Random variations of permeability in the present blade are substantialy greater than those of the bronze blades, but projected improvements in certain phases of the fabrication process are expected to reduce these variations.

Richards, Hadley T.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Global Propagation of Gravity Waves Generated with the Whole Atmosphere Transfer Function Model

A brief review is presented of the Transfer Function Model (TFM) [e.g., Mayr et al., Space Science Reviews, 1990], which describes acoustic gravity waves (AGW) that propagate across the globe in a dissipative and static (no winds) background atmosphere with globally uniform temperature and density variations extending from the ground to 700 km. Unique among existing models, the TFM can be placed between the analytical approach on one end, and the rigorous numerical approach of general circulation models (GCM). The time consuming numerical integration of the conservation equations is restricted to compute the transfer function (TF) for a broad range of frequencies and spherical harmonics. Given TF, the atmospheric response for a chosen source configuration is then obtained in short order. Computationally efficient, the model is well suited to serve as experimental and educational tool for simulating propagating wave patterns across the globe. By design, the TFM is also semi-analytical and therefore well suited to explore the different wave modes that can be generated under different dynamical conditions.

Transfer Function Model↗

NASA NTRS2016

Integrating Flight Dynamics & Control Analysis and Simulation in Rotorcraft Conceptual Design

The development of a toolset, SIMPLI-FLYD ('SIMPLIfied FLight dynamics for conceptual Design') is described. SIMPLI-FLYD is a collection of tools that perform flight dynamics and control modeling and analysis of rotorcraft conceptual designs including a capability to evaluate the designs in an X-Plane-based real-time simulation. The establishment of this framework is now facilitating the exploration of this new capability, in terms of modeling fidelity and data requirements, and the investigation of which stability and control and handling qualities requirements are appropriate for conceptual design. Illustrative design variation studies for single main rotor and tiltrotor vehicle configurations show sensitivity of the stability and control characteristics and an approach to highlight potential weight savings by identifying over-design.

Integrating Flight Dynamics↗

NASA NTRS2017

Solar Activity Across the Scales: From Small-Scale Quiet-Sun Dynamics to Magnetic Activity Cycles

Observations as well as numerical and theoretical models show that solar dynamics is characterized by complicated interactions and energy exchanges among different temporal and spatial scales. It reveals magnetic self-organization processes from the smallest scale magnetized vortex tubes to the global activity variation known as the solar cycle. To understand these multiscale processes and their relationships, we use a two-fold approach: 1) realistic 3D radiative MHD simulations of local dynamics together with high resolution observations by IRIS, Hinode, and SDO; and 2) modeling of solar activity cycles by using simplified MHD dynamo models and mathematical data assimilation techniques. We present recent results of this approach, including the interpretation of observational results from NASA heliophysics missions and predictive capabilities. In particular, we discuss the links between small-scale dynamo processes in the convection zone and atmospheric dynamics, as well as an early prediction of Solar Cycle 25.

Solar↗

NASA NTRS2021

Weekly Mapping of Sea Ice Freeboard in the Ross Sea from ICESat-2

NASA’s ICESat-2 has been providing sea ice freeboard measurements across the polar regions since October 2018. In spite of the outstanding spatial resolution and precision of ICESat-2, the spatial sparsity of the data can be a critical issue for sea ice monitoring. This study employs a geostatistical approach (i.e., ordinary kriging) to characterize the spatial autocorrelation of the ICESat-2 freeboard measurements (ATL10) to estimate weekly freeboard variations in 2019 for the entire Ross Sea area, including where ICESat-2 tracks are not directly available. Three variogram models (exponential, Gaussian, and spherical) are compared in this study. According to the cross-validation results, the kriging-estimated freeboards show correlation coefficients of 0.56–0.57, root mean square error (RMSE) of ~0.12 m, and mean absolute error (MAE) of ~0.07 m with the actual ATL10 freeboard measurements. In addition, the estimated errors of the kriging interpolation are low in autumn and high in winter to spring, and low in southern regions and high in northern regions of the Ross Sea. The effective ranges of the variograms are 5–10 km and the results from the three variogram models do not show significant differences with each other. The southwest (SW) sector of the Ross Sea shows low and consistent freeboard over the entire year because of the frequent opening of wide polynya areas generating new ice in this sector. However, the southeast (SE) sector shows large variations in freeboard, which demonstrates the advection of thick multiyear ice from the Amundsen Sea into the Ross Sea. Thus, this kriging-based interpolation of ICESat-2 freeboard can be used in the future to estimate accurate sea ice production over the Ross Sea by incorporating other remote sensing data.

Satellite altimeter↗

NASA NTRS2022

Computing Sensitivities in Evolutionary Systems: A Real-time Reduced Order Modeling Strategy

We present a new methodology for computing sensitivities in evolutionary systems using a model-driven low-rank approximation. To this end, we formulate a variational principle that seeks to minimize the distance between the time derivative of the reduced approximation and sensitivity dynamics. The first order optimality condition of the variational principle leads to a system of closed form evolution equations for an orthonormal basis and corresponding sensitivity coefficients. This approach allows for the computation of sensitivities with respect to a large number of parameters in an accurate and tractable manner by extracting correlations between different sensitivities on the fly. The presented method requires solving forward evolution equations, sidestepping the restrictions imposed by the forward/backward workflow of adjoint sensitivities. For example, the presented method, unlike the adjoint equation, does not impose any input/output load and can be used in applications in which real-time sensitivities are of interest. We demonstrate the utility of the method for three test cases: (1) computing sensitivity with respect to model parameters in the Rössler system, (2) computing sensitivity with respect to an infinite-dimensional forcing parameter in the chaotic Kuramoto--Sivashinsky equation, and (3) computing sensitivity with respect to reaction parameters for species transport in a turbulent reacting flow.

Reduced order model↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Transition Measurements on the SWiFT Model in the National Transonic Facility

Boundary layer transition locations on the Swept Wing Flow Test (SWiFT) Hybrid Wing Body model were measured in the National Transonic Facility (NTF) at the NASA Langley Research Center using several different methods. These methods include sublimating chemical flow visualization for a limited number of low Reynolds number conditions, as well as mean static pressure and dynamic pressure measurements. Results are presented for a range of conditions in the NTF, demonstrating Mach and Reynolds number effects. The transition front locations obtained from the different techniques agree well. A variation of the static pressure transition detection method is described in which continuous angle of attack polars are performed. This approach enables detection of the transition front at more challenging (high Reynolds number) conditions than is possible with sparser data from pitch-pause angle-of-attack polars. The trip dot effectiveness is also verified using all of the available diagnostics. Additionally, low Reynolds number results are compared with those acquired on the same model at the Aircraft Research Association (ARA) facility, and these results show good agreement overall, suggesting similar freestream flow quality conditions of the two facilities.

National Transonic Facility↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Transition Measurements on the SWiFT Model in the National Transonic Facility

National Transonic Facility↗

NASA NTRS2001

Modeling Modern Methane Emissions from Natural Wetlands: Interannual Variations 1982-1993 - 2

A global run of a process-based methane model [Walter et al., this issue] is performed using high-frequency atmospheric forcing fields from ECMWF reanalyses of the period from 1982 to 1993. We calculate global annual methane emissions to be 260 Tg/ yr. 25% of methane emissions originate from wetlands north of 30 deg. N. Only 60% of the produced methane is emitted, while the rest is re-oxidized. A comparison of zonal integrals of simulated global wetland emissions and results obtained by an inverse modeling approach shows good agreement. In a test with data from two wetlands, the seasonality of simulated and observed methane emissions agrees well. The effects of sub-grid scale variations in model parameters and input data are examined. Modeled methane emissions show high regional, seasonal and interannual variability. Seasonal cycles of methane emissions are dominated by temperature in high latitude wetlands, and by changes in the water table in tropical wetlands. Sensitivity tests show that +/- 1 C changes in temperature lead to +/- 20 % changes in methane emissions from wetlands. Uniform changes of +/- 20% in precipitation alter methane emissions by about +/- 18%. Limitations in the model are analyzed. Simulated interannual variations in methane emissions from wetlands are compared to observed atmospheric growth rate anomalies. Our model simulation results suggest that contributions from other sources than wetlands and/or the sinks are more important in the tropics than north-of 30 deg. N. In higher northern latitudes, it seems that a large part, of the observed interannual variations can be explained by variations in wetland emissions. Our results also suggest that reduced wetland emissions played an important role in the observed negative methane growth rate anomaly in 1992.

Walter, Bernadette P.↗

NASA NTRS1999

A Process-based, Climate-Sensitive Model to Derive Methane Emissions from Natural Wetlands: Application to 5 Wetland Sites, Sensitivity to Model Parameters and Climate

Methane emissions from natural wetlands constitutes the largest methane source at present and depends highly on the climate. In order to investigate the response of methane emissions from natural wetlands to climate variations, a 1-dimensional process-based climate-sensitive model to derive methane emissions from natural wetlands is developed. In the model the processes leading to methane emission are simulated within a 1-dimensional soil column and the three different transport mechanisms diffusion, plant-mediated transport and ebullition are modeled explicitly. The model forcing consists of daily values of soil temperature, water table and Net Primary Productivity, and at permafrost sites the thaw depth is included. The methane model is tested using observational data obtained at 5 wetland sites located in North America, Europe and Central America, representing a large variety of environmental conditions. It can be shown that in most cases seasonal variations in methane emissions can be explained by the combined effect of changes in soil temperature and the position of the water table. Our results also show that a process-based approach is needed, because there is no simple relationship between these controlling factors and methane emissions that applies to a variety of wetland sites. The sensitivity of the model to the choice of key model parameters is tested and further sensitivity tests are performed to demonstrate how methane emissions from wetlands respond to climate variations.

Walter, Bernadette P.↗