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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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Study provides specific design criteria in sealing applications for continuous duty pumps used in bulk liquid transfer. A basic sealing equation predicts visco seal performance in the turbulent regime.
Equations describing the friction forces generated during landing operations on ships at sea were formulated. These forces depend on the platform reaction and the coefficient of friction. The platform reaction depends on the relative sink rate and the shock absorbing capability of the landing gear. The friction coefficient varies with the surface condition of the landing platform and the angle of yaw of the aircraft relative to the landing platform. Landings by VTOL aircraft, equipped with conventional oleopneumatic landing gears are discussed. Simplifications are introduced to reduce the complexity of the mathematical description of the tire and shock strut characteristics. Approximating the actual complicated force deflection characteristic of the tire by linear relationship is adequate. The internal friction forces in the shock strut are included in the landing gear model. A set of relatively simple equations was obtained by including only those tire and shock strut characteristics that contribute significantly to the generation of landing gear forces.
Paper reviews mathematical models of polarimetric radar backscattering characteristics of various types of terrain; forests, grasslands, and lava fields. Represents approach to imaging radar polarimetry in which one accumulates models predicting realistic polarization signatures and represent distinct scattering processes, without attempting full vector solutions of Maxwell's equations in all cases. Idea to develop ability to invert models to identify unknown terrain depicted in polarimetric radar images. Describes models, major scattering characteristics predicted by models, and interpretation of characteristics in terms of dominant scattering mechanisms. Models predict realistic polarization signatures.
A method is presented for improving the numerical prediction of bypass transition heat transfer on a flat plate in a high-disturbance environment with zero or favorable pressure gradient. The method utilizes low Reynolds number k-epsilon turbulence models in combination with the characteristic parameters of the transition region. The parameters representing the characteristics of the transition region used are the intermittency, transition length and turbulent spot properties. An analysis is made of the transition length in terms of turbulent spot variables. The nondimensional spot formation rate, required for the prediction of the transition length, is shown by the analysis to be a function of the spot spreading angle, the dimensionless spot velocity ratio and the dimensionless spot area ratio. The intermittency form of the k-epsilon equations were derived from conditionally averaged equations which have been shown to be an improvement over global-time-averaged equations for the numerical calculation of the transition region. The numerical predictions are in general good agreement with the experimental data and indicate the potential use of the method in accelerating flows. Turbulence models of the k-epsilon type are known to underpredict the transition length. The present work demonstrates how incorporating transition region characteristics improves the ability of two-equation turbulence models to simulate bypass transition for flat plates with potential application to turbine vanes and blades.
Direct current characteristic of cesium plasma diode - calculation method using computer program for computation of space charge equation
Description of the electric field noise phenomena observed by the S3-A spacecraft near the plasmapause during the magnetic storm of Dec. 16, 17, 1971. The most striking and unusual feature of these storm time electric field observations is the occurrence of a region of intense low-frequency (20 to 500 Hz) electrostatic noise bursts just outside the plasmapause boundary. These noise bursts occurred concurrently with the rapid decrease in low-energy (E ranging from 20 to 50 keV) ring current protons mirroring near the equator during this storm and may be responsible for the loss of these particles. The characteristics of other phenomena, such as whistlers, ELF hiss, and banded chorus, observed near the plasmapause during this period are also discussed.
This paper presents the general solution for the optimal three dimensional aerodynamic control of a lifting vehicle entering a planetary atmosphere. A set of dimensionless variables is introduced, and the resulting exact equations of motion have the distinctive advantage that they are completely free of the physical characteristics of the vehicle. Furthermore, a general lift-drag polar is used to define the aerodynamic control. Hence, the results obtained apply to any type of vehicle of arbitrary weight, dimensions and shape, having an arbitrary polar and entering any planetary atmosphere.
A simple barotropic vorticity equation model was developed to study some of the various modeling factors that affect the characteristics of strong western boundary currents like the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio. Successful prediction of sea surface temperature, both in the climatological mean and over periods as short as 1 month requires that the heating tendency, due to horizontal advection of heat by these currents, be accurately modeled. Conventional, coarse resolution ocean models do not satisfactorily reproduce the dominant features of these currents. It is concluded that it is important to understand why they do not and what must be done to do so in the future.
An analytical study, under a NASA contract, is performed on an advanced flight research rotor (four-bladed, 54 ft in diameter, with bearingless rotor retention characteristics) to determine the sensitivity of total rotor characteristics such as vibratory hub loads, rotor horsepower, and blade loads, to parametric variability of the rotor configuration. The sensitivity of the rotor to various combinations of blade planform taper, percent of blade span that is tapered, tip sweep angle, built-in-twist, and torsional frequency is determined for specific configurations by randomly selecting combinations of these parameters. Characteristics of other intermediate rotor configurations are determined by a regression analysis. The results show that a wide range of rotor total performance characteristics can be obtained for a rotor trimmed to the same flight conditions. The regression equations predict total performance of the rotor very well and appear to be a useful analytical tool for rotor design optimization. Figures showing the results of the various tests are given along with a table of the regression coefficients.
A procedure for the estimation of airplane model structure and parameters is applied to data from a modern fighter airplane operating within an angle of attack range of 5 to 60 deg. The paper briefly describes the airplane, flight and wind tunnel data available, and the estimation method. The results presented contain basic longitudinal characteristics of the airplane and the estimates of aerodynamic parameters in the yawing-moment equations. These estimates are obtained from small and large amplitude maneuvers. Because the latter set of data was not suitable for airplane identification, some of the large amplitude maneuvers were joined together and then partitioned into subsets according to the values of angle of attack. Each subset was then analyzed as a separate data set. Most of the estimated parameters and functions are in good agreement with the wind tunnel measurements. The estimated lateral parameters in the model equations also demonstrate good prediction capabilities.
PLANETSYS simulates thermomechanical performance of multistage planetary performance of multistage planetary power transmission. Two versions of code developed, SKF version and NASA version. Major function of program: compute performance characteristics of planet bearing for any of six kinematic inversions. PLANETSYS solves heat-balance equations for either steadystate or transient thermal conditions, and produces temperature maps for mechanical system.
The response of elastic continua to high-frequency excitations is decomposed in two parts: 'slow' motion which practically remains unchanged during a vanishingly small period of time, and 'fast' motions whose mean value during this period is negligible but whose energy contribution is essential. After such a decomposition the 'slow' and 'fast' motions become non-linearly coupled by the corresponding governing equations. This coupling leads to an additional 'effective' potential energy which changes the 'mean' stiffness characteristics. The results can be used for dynamical stiffening of flexible structural elements, for a temporary increase of their stiffness in the course of occasional loads to prevent buckling or wrinkling.
The process by which the solar wind assimilates newly ionized atoms is important for understanding the presence of planetary or interstellar helium in the solar wind, the dynamics of the Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE) lithium releases in front of the earth's bow shock, and the formation of cometary tails. In this paper is examined how newborn ions can be coupled to the solar wind in the direction parallel to the magnetic field by means of electromagnetic instabilities driven by the distribution of newborn ions. The linear properties of three instabilities are analyzed and compared with numerical solutions of the linear dispersion equation, while their nonlinear behavior is followed by means of computer simulation to obtain the characteristic time for the pickup process. With a primary emphasis on the AMPTE lithiuim releases, various degrees of realism are introduced into the calculations to model the upstream conditions and the intersection of the lithium with the bow shock. It is shown that a time-dependent shock model is needed to correctly reproduce the amount of lithium which is transmitted through the shock and that the resulting lithium ion distribution is still likely to be subject to the same type of instabilities in the magnetosheath. Applications of these results to comets, in particular the artificial comet expected to be generated by the AMPTE barium release in the magnetosheath, is also briefly discussed.
A self-consistent numerical model is developed for the tidal disruption of a solid planetesimal. The planetesimal is treated as a highly viscous, slightly compressible fluid whose disturbed parts are an inviscid, pressureless fluid undergoing distortion and disruption. The distortions were constrained to being symmetrical above and below the equatorial plane. The tidal potential is expanded in terms of Legendre polynomials, which eliminates the center of mass acceleration effects, permitting definition of equations of motion in a noninertial frame. Consideration is given to viscous dissipation and to characteristics of the solid-atmosphere boundary. The model is applied to sample cases in one, two and three dimensions.
The dynamic characteristics of spiral-grooved seals are theoretically obtained by using the Navier-Stokes equation. First, with the inertia term of the fluid considered, the flow and pressure in the steady state are obtained for the directions parallel to and perpendicular to the groove. Next, the dynamic character is obtained by analyzing the steady state and by analyzing the labyrinth seal. As a result, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) As the land width becomes shorter or the helix angle decreases, the cross-coupling stiffness, direct and cross-coupling damping, and add mass coefficients decrease; (2) As the axial Reynolds number increases, the stiffness and damping coefficients increase. But the add mass coefficient is not influenced by the axial Reynolds number; (3) The rotational Reynolds number influences greatly the direct and cross-coupling stiffness and direct damping coefficients; and (4) As the journal rotating frequency increases, the leakage flow decreases. Therefore zero net leakage flow is possible at a particular rotating frequency.
The experiment of Bauer, et al. (1982) is analyzed by considering wall ablation and viscous drag in the plasma. Plasma characteristics are evaluated through a simple fluid-mechanical analysis considering only wall ablation. By equating the energy dissipated in the plasma with the radiation heat loss, the average properties of the plasma are determined as a function of time.
The properties and advantages of remote sensing lasers are discussed. The theory of nonresonant techniques, which is based on the lidar equation and elastic backscatter, and their applications to aerosol and meteorological parameters are examined. The characteristics and applications of the differential absorption lidar technique, the fluorescence technique, and Raman scattering are described. The use of a laser heterodyne radiometer and fiber optics for remote sensing is studied. Future developments in the field of remote sensing, in particular the improvement of laser sources, the fabrication of compact remote sensing instruments, and space-borne applications for lidar, are considered.
The relationship between the optical properties of glass and temperature measurements in it by radiation pyrometry are described. Equations for the calculation of emissivity are presented and the transmittance, surface reflection and absorption characteristics of glass are defined. Recommendations are given regarding the selection of pyrometer wavelength sensitivity and the use of a blackbody radiator.