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The breakdown of a vortex flow in a tube is studied for a slightly diverging tube by means of a numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for a quasi-stationary, incompressible, laminar flow. Numerical results are compared to experiments of Faler and Leibovich. The numerical data display features similar to the experimental results concerning breakdown conditions, location, and structure.
A thorough analysis has been made of electron- and proton- damaged GaAs solar cells suitable for use in space. It is found that, although some electrical parametric data and spectral response data are quite similar, the type of damage due to the two types of radiation is different. An I-V analysis model shows that electrons damage the bulk of the cell and its currents relatively more, while protons damage the junction of the cell and its voltages more. It is suggested that multiple defects due to protons in a strong field region such as a p/n junction cause the greater degradation in cell voltage, whereas the individual point defects in the quasi-neutral minority-carrier-diffusion regions due to electrons cause the greater degradation in cell current and spectral response.
The ozone profiles obtained from 24 balloon soundings at Uccle (50 deg 48 min N, 4 deg 21 min E) made with electrochemical ozonesondes were used as correlative data for SAGE II ozone profiles retrieved within a distance of at most 600 km from Uccle. The agreement between the two data sets is in general quite good, especially for profiles nearly coincident in time and space, and during periods of little dynamic activity over the area considered. The percent difference between the ozone column density of the mean balloon and SAGE profile is 4.4 percent (-3.3) percent in the altitude region between 10 and 26 km. From a statistical analysis it appears that there is a small but meaningful difference between the mean profiles at the level of the ozone maximum and around the 30-km level. An error analysis of both data sets give similar results, leading to the conclusion that these differences are instrumentally induced. However, differences between the mean profiles in the lower stratosphere are probably real and due to the high ozone variability in time and space in that altitude region.
Methane fluxes to the troposphere from the three principal habitats of the floodplain of the Amazon River main stem (open waters, emergent macrophyte beds, and flooded forests) were determined along a 1700-km reach of the river during the low-water period of the annual flood cycle (November-December 1988). Overall, emissions averaged 68 mg CH4/sq m per day and were significantly lower than similar emissions determined previously for the high-water period, 184 mg CH4/sq m per day (July-August 1986). This difference was due to significantly lower emissions from floating macrophyte environments. Low-water emissions from open waters and flooded forest areas were not significantly different than at high water. A monthly time series of methane emission from eight lakes located in the central Amazon basis showed similar results. The data were used to calculate a seasonally weighted annual emission to the troposphere from the Amazon River main stem floodplain of 5.1 Tg/yr, which indicates the importance of the area in global atmospheric chemistry.
The capabilities and design approach of the MIDAS (Man-machine Integration Design and Analysis System) computer-aided engineering (CAE) workstation under development by the Army-NASA Aircrew/Aircraft Integration Program is detailed. This workstation uses graphic, symbolic, and numeric prototyping tools and human performance models as part of an integrated design/analysis environment for crewstation human engineering. Developed incrementally, the requirements and design for Phase 3 (Dec. 1987 to Jun. 1989) are described. Software tools/models developed or significantly modified during this phase included: an interactive 3-D graphic cockpit design editor; multiple-perspective graphic views to observe simulation scenarios; symbolic methods to model the mission decomposition, equipment functions, pilot tasking and loading, as well as control the simulation; a 3-D dynamic anthropometric model; an intermachine communications package; and a training assessment component. These components were successfully used during Phase 3 to demonstrate the complex interactions and human engineering findings involved with a proposed cockpit communications design change in a simulated AH-64A Apache helicopter/mission that maps to empirical data from a similar study and AH-1 Cobra flight test.
Both Magellan SAR data acquisition and image processing require the knowledge of both the ephemeris (spacecraft position and velocity) and the radar pointing direction. Error in the knowledge of the radar pointing direction results in a loss of SNR in the image product. An error in the ephemeris data has a similar effect. To facilitate SNR performance analysis, an effective pointing error is defined to characterize the effect of the ephemeris error. A systematic approach to relate the ephemeris error to the effective pointing errors is described. Result of this analysis has led to a formal accuracy requirement levied on the Magellan navigation system.
The unsteady three-dimensional low Reynolds number flow past a tapered cylinder is computed. The spanwise variation in natural shedding frequency results in interesting three-dimensional flow phenomena. The computed hot-wire and spectral data are very similar to experimental results. The computation was done on the Connection Machine, a massively parallel computer; highlights of the capabilities of the Connection Machine for computation and visualization of three-dimensional unsteady flow fields are shown.
Properties of the transitional zone in channel and boundary-layer flow are determined from the results of direct numerical simulations of forced transition. Three channel flow cases produce similar behavior, particularly in the 'transition function' relevant for some algebraic eddy viscosity models of the transitional zone. Moreover, the transitional zone from the computed forced boundary-layer transition is qualitatively similar to experimental data for natural transition and to the computed channel flow transition.
Distortion effects of the following model additions or changes were studied: (1) constant-area mixing lengths at the end of the subsonic diffuser, (2) screens with systematic variations in mesh and flow-area blockage, (3) bleeds slots on the inlet cowl, and (4) a simulated compressor hub. Data at a diffuser-exit Mach number of 0.36 are compared with data of a similar study at Mach 0.20. At the higher Mach number, the same length of constant-area mixing was less effective in reducing total-pressure distortions, while the use of screens was more effective.
The carbon isotopic composition of methane produced in anoxic marine sediment is controlled by four factors: (1) the pathway of methane formation, (2) the isotopic composition of the methanogenic precursors, (3) the isotope fractionation factors for methane production, and (4) the isotope fractionation associated with methane oxidation. The importance of each factor was evaluated by monitoring stable carbon isotope ratios in methane produced by a sediment microcosm. Methane did not accumulate during the initial 42-day period when sediment contained sulfate, indicating little methane production from 'noncompetitive' substrates. Following sulfate depletion, methane accumulation proceeded in three distinct phases. First, CO2 reduction was the dominant methanogenic pathway and the isotopic composition of the methane produced ranged from -80 to -94 per thousand. The acetate concentration increased during this phase, suggesting that acetoclastic methanogenic bacteria were unable to keep pace with acetate production. Second, acetate fermentation became the dominant methanogenic pathway as bacteria responded to elevated acetate concentrations. The methane produced during this phase was progressively enriched in C-13, reaching a maximum delta(C-13) value of -42 per thousand. Third, the acetate pool experienced a precipitous decline from greater than 5 mM to less than 20 micro-M and methane production was again dominated by CO2 reduction. The delta(C-13) of methane produced during this final phase ranged from -46 to -58 per thousand. Methane oxidation concurrent with methane production was detected throughout the period of methane accumulation, at rates equivalent to 1 to 8 percent of the gross methane production rate. Thus methane oxidation was too slow to have significantly modified the isotopic signature of methane. A comparison of microcosm and field data suggests that similar microbial interactions may control seasonal variability in the isotopic composition of methane emitted from undisturbed Cape Lookout Bight sediment.
Global Positioning System (GPS) data were used to estimate Earth rotation variations over an 11-day period during the Epoch '92 campaign in the summer of 1992. Earth orientation was measured simultaneously by several very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) networks. GPS and VLBI estimates of UT1 with 3-hour time resolution were then compared and analyzed. The high frequency behavior of both data sets is similar, although drifts between the two series of approximately 0.1 ms over 2-5 days are evident. The geodetic results were also compared with models for UT1 fluctuations at tidal periods and with estimates of atmospheric angular momentum made at 6-hour intervals. Most of the geodetic signal in the diurnal and semidiurnal frequency bands can be attributed to tidal processes, whereas UT1 variations over a few days are mostly atmospheric in origin.
Ozone vertical profile Umkehr data for layers 3-9 obtained from 12 stations, using both previous and new inversion algorithms, were analyzed for trends. The trends estimated for the Umkehr data from the two algorithms were compared using two data periods, 1968-1991 and 1977-1991. Both nonseasonal and seasonal trend models were fitted. The overall annual trends are found to be significantly negative, of the order of -5% per decade, for layers 7 and 8 using both inversion algorithms. The largest negative trends occur in these layers under the new algorithm, whereas in the previous algorithm the most negative trend occurs in layer 9. The trend estimates, both annual and seasonal, are substantially different between the two algorithms mainly for layers 3, 4, and 9, where trends from the new algorithm data are about 2% per decade less negative, with less appreciable differences in layers 7 and 8. The trend results from the two data periods are similar, except for layer 3 where trends become more negative, by about -2% per decade, for 1977-1991.
We have computed the unsteady three-dimensional low Reynolds number flow past a tapered cylinder. The spanwise variation in natural shedding frequency results in interesting three-dimensional flow phenomena. Our computed hot-wire and spectral data are very similar to experimental results. The computation was done on the Connection Machine, a massively parallel computer, we highlight the capabilities of the Connection Machine, for computation and visualization of three-dimensional unsteady flow fields.
An investigation of the use of ballast at the leading edge of a sweptback wing as a flutter fix has been made. The investigation was conducted in the Langley transonic blowdown tunnel with wing models which had an aspect ratio of 4, sweepback of the quarter-chord line of 450, and a taper ratio of 0.2. Four ballast configurations, which included different amounts of ballast distributed at two different span-wise locations, were investigated. Full-span sting-mounted models were employed. Data were obtained over a Mach number range from 0.65 to 1.32. Comparison of the data for the ballasted wings with data for a similar wing without ballast shows that in the often critical Mach number range between 0.85 and 1.05, the dynamic pressure required for flutter is increased by as much as 100 percent due to the addition of about 6 percent of the wing mass as ballast at the leading edge of the outboard sections. Furthermore, there are indications that similar benefits of leading-edge ballast can be obtained at Mach numbers above M = 1.1. Changing the spanwise location of the ballast and increasing the amount of the ballast by a factor of about 2 had very little additional effect on the dynamic pressure required for flutter. The possibility, therefore, exists that the beneficial effects obtained may be accomplished by using less than the minimum of about 6 percent of the wing mass as ballast as investigated in this paper.
A recent X-ray observation of the cluster 1E 0657-56 (z = 0.296) with ASC,4 implied an unusually high temperature of approx. 17 keV. Such a high temperature would make it the hottest known cluster and severely constrain cosmological models since, in a Universe with critical density (Omega = 1) the probability of observing such a cluster is only approx. 4 x 10(exp -5). Here we test the robustness of this observational result since it has such important implications. We analysed the data using a variety of different data analysis methods and spectral analysis assumptions and find a temperature of approx. 11 - 12 keV in all cases, except for one class of spectral fits. These are fits in which the absorbing column density is fixed at the Galactic value. Using simulated data for a 12 keV cluster, we show that a high temperature of approx. 17 keV is artificially obtained if the true spectrum has a stronger low-energy cut-off than that for Galactic absorption only. The apparent extra absorption may be astrophysical in origin, (either intrinsic or line-of-sight), or it may be a problem with the low-energy CCD efficiency. Although significantly lower than previous measurements, this temperature of kT approx. 11 - 12 keV is still relatively high since only a few clusters have been found to have temperatures higher than 10 keV and the data therefore still present some difficulty for an Omega = 1 Universe. Our results will also be useful to anyone who wants to estimate the systematic errors involved in different methods of background subtraction of ASCA data for sources with similar signal-to-noise to that of the IE 0657-56 data reported here.
A computational investigation of afterbody flow using a passive control method is conducted. The passive control method consists of a porous surface placed over a plenum. The purpose of the passive control method is to exploit the adverse pressure gradient present in afterbody flow in an attempt to reduce boundary layer separation and afterbody drag. Four different porous wall models are used to model the transpiration velocity in the region of passive control. A three-dimensional, time-dependent, Reynolds-averaged, simplified Navier-Stokes solver, PAB3D, is used to simulate afterbody flow with and without passive control. Three afterbody configurations with boat-tail angles of 10, 20, and 30 deg. are used to obtain two-dimensional solutions with a freestream Mach number of 0.6 and nozzle pressure ratio of 6. The region of passive control was initially placed from 20-60% of the nozzle length. The effect of the porous placement and porous extent is also studied. Baseline (no porosity) two-dimensional solutions are qualitatively similar to experimental data but under-predict the magnitude of the pressure recovery. Results for the subsonic solutions show losses in the pressure recovery for some cases with passive control. Three-dimensional effects are also investigated and seen to be very significant. Three-dimensional baseline solutions, for both sub- and super-critical freestream Mach numbers, compare very favorably with the experimental data in comparison to the two-dimensional solution. Future work is required to examine three-dimensional afterbody flows with passive porosity.
The NEAR Mission was launched on February 17, 1996 for a three year cruise to the asteroid 433 Eros. During October, November, and December 1998 cruise measurements with the gamma-ray spectrometer were made at three different escape-window-width settings. These were done in order to understand how the count rate and peak width change as the window width settings change. Analysis of these spectra was completed using the latest version of the spectral analysis program, RobWin. Results as a function of energy were combined with the results from the Schlumberger-Doll Research experiments (described below). Laboratory measurements were needed to confirm efficiency calculations above 6 MeV and to understand the relationship between the full energy peak areas and the areas of the first and second escape peaks as a function of the escape peak widths. A week of measurements was made at Schlumberger-Doll Research using their 14-MeV pulsed neutron generator and large soil samples. Data were collected after adding iron and nickel to the sample to increase the emission of high-energy lines. Approximately 24 hours of data were accumulated at each of three escape peak window widths. These data were analyzed with RobWin. Combining results from the cruise measurements and the laboratory measurements indicated that both data sets had similar energy dependence and that this energy dependence was different from that obtained using standard Monte Carlo calculations. Alternate methods of simulating the response of the detector to changes in the escape window widths are being investigated.
Preliminary radiosonde data are analyzed from a four station observation network that operated during TRMM-LBA. These data, which are undergoing quality control, are used to construct mean vertical profiles and time-height sections of u- and v- wind components, and also filtered time series analyses of layer mean relative humidity. Trends are identified in the humidity data which appear similar at all sites, and correlate well with multi-week changes in wind regime identified by Rickenbach et al. Higher-frequency modes of variation (3-5 day) also occur in the humidity and upper tropospheric winds and are spatially coherent among the four locations. The causes of these variations are explored, including interactions among upper tropospheric synoptic features. Finally, an attempt is made to relate the general morphology of convective systems to the vertical shear structure and thermodynamic changes that accompany contrasting wind regimes.