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At least 829 records · Page 46
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NASA NTRS1981

Supersonic Stall Flutter of High Speed Fans

An analytical model is developed for predicting the onset of supersonic stall bending flutter in axial flow compressors. The analysis is based on a modified two dimensional, compressible, unsteady actuator disk theory. It is applied to a rotor blade row by considering a cascade of airfoils whose geometry and dynamic response coincide with those of a rotor blade element at 85 percent of the span height (measured from the hub). The rotor blades are assumed to be unshrouded (i.e., free standing) and to vibrate in their first flexural mode. The effects of shock waves and flow separation are included in the model through quasi-steady, empirical, rotor total-pressure-loss and deviation-angle correlations. The actuator disk model predicts the unsteady aerodynamic force acting on the cascade blading as a function of the steady flow field entering the cascade and the geometry and dynamic response of the cascade. Calculations show that the present model predicts the existence of a bending flutter mode at supersonic inlet Mach numbers. This flutter mode is suppressed by increasing the reduced frequency of the system or by reducing the steady state aerodynamic loading on the cascade. The validity of the model for predicting flutter is demonstrated by correlating the measured flutter boundary of a high speed fan stage with its predicted boundary. This correlation uses a level of damping for the blade row (i.e., the log decrement of the rotor system) that is estimated from the experimental flutter data. The predicted flutter boundary is shown to be in good agreement with the measured boundary.

Adamczyk, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Correlated Spatio-temporal Evolution of Extreme-Ultraviolet Ribbons and Hard X-Rays in a Solar Flare

We analyze the structure and evolution of ribbons from the M7.3 SOL2014-04-18T13 flare using ultraviolet images from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), magnetic data from the SDO/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, hard X-ray (HXR) images from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, and light curves from the Fermi/Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, in order to infer properties of coronal magnetic reconnection. As the event progresses, two flare ribbons spread away from the magnetic polarity inversion line. The width of the newly brightened front along the extension of the ribbon is highly intermittent in both space and time, presumably reflecting nonuniformities in the structure and/or dynamics of the flare current sheet. Furthermore, the ribbon width grows most rapidly in regions exhibiting concentrated nonthermal HXR emission, with sharp increases slightly preceding the HXR bursts. The light curve of the ultraviolet emission matches the HXR light curve at photon energies above 25 keV. In other regions the ribbon-width evolution and light curves do not temporally correlate with the HXR emission. This indicates that the production of nonthermal electrons is highly nonuniform within the flare current sheet. Our results suggest a strong connection between the production of nonthermal electrons and the locally enhanced perpendicular extent of flare ribbon fronts, which in turn reflects the inhomogeneous structure and/or reconnection dynamics of the current sheet. Despite this variability, the ribbon fronts remain nearly continuous, quasi-one-dimensional features. Thus, although the reconnecting coronal current sheets are highly structured, they remain quasi-two-dimensional and the magnetic energy release occurs systematically, rather than stochastically, through the volume of the reconnecting magnetic flux.

S. J. Naus↗
NASA NTRS2013

Colors of Jupiter's large anticyclones and the interaction of a Tropical Red Oval with the Great Red Spot in 2008

The nature and mechanisms producing the chromophore agents that provide color to the upper clouds and hazes of the atmospheres of the giant planets are largely unknown. In recent times, the changes in red coloration that have occurred in large- and medium-scale Jovian anticyclones have been particularly interesting. In late June and early July 2008, a particularly color-intense red tropical oval interacted with the Great Red Spot (GRS) leading to the destruction of the red tropical oval and cloud dispersion. We present a detailed study of the tropical vortices, usually white but sometimes red, and a characterization of their color spectral signatures and dynamics. From the spectral reflectivity in methane bands we study their vertical cloud structure compared to that of the GRS and BA. Using two spectral indices we found a near-correlation between anticyclones cloud top altitudes and red color. We present detailed observations of the interaction of the red oval with the GRS and model simulations of the phenomena that allow us to constrain the relative vertical extent of the vortices. We conclude that the vertical cloud structure, vertical extent and dynamics of Jovian anticyclones are not the causes of their coloration. We propose that the red chromophore forms when background material (a compound or particles) is entrained by the vortex, transforming into red once inside the vortex due to internal conditions, exposure to ultraviolet radiation or to the mixing of two chemical compounds that react inside the vortex, confined by a potential vorticity ring barrier.

red color↗
NASA NTRS2020

Convolutional Neural Network for Transition Modeling Based on Linear Stability Theory

Transition prediction is an important aspect of aerodynamic design because of its impact on skin friction and potential coupling with flow separation characteristics. Traditionally, the modeling of transition has relied on correlation-based empirical formulas based on integral quantities such as the shape factor of the boundary layer. However, in many applications of computational fluid dynamics, the shape factor is not straightforwardly available or not well-defined. We propose using the complete velocity profile along with other quantities (e.g., frequency, Reynolds number) to predict the perturbation amplification factor. While this can be achieved with regression models based on a classical fully connected neural network, such a model can be computationally more demanding. We propose a novel convolutional neural network inspired by the underlying physics as described by the stability equations. Specifically, convolutional layers are first used to extract integral quantities from the velocity profiles, and then fully connected layers are used to map the extracted integral quantities, along with frequency and Reynolds number, to the output (amplification ratio). Numerical tests on classical boundary layers clearly demonstrate the merits of the proposed method. More importantly, we demonstrate that, for Tollmien-Schlichting instabilities in two-dimensional, low-speed boundary layers, the proposed network encodes information in the boundary layer profiles into an integral quantity that is strongly correlated to a well-known, physically defined parameter – the shape factor.

Laminar-turbulent transition↗
NASA NTRS1982

What has happened in the cores of globular clusters

It is found that some aspects of the observed data for globular cluster cores cannot be easily explained in terms of the existing theory of dynamical evolution. It is noted that globular clusters span only a factor of 40 in core mass, while ranging over a factor of 10 to the 6th in central density, an observation that cannot be explained as a selection effect. A strong correlation is found between the central density and the distance of a cluster from the galactic center. In addition, when cluster cores are evolved backward in time in their initial conditions, using the available theory of dynamical evolution, evidence emerges that many clusters have already undergone core collapse, for which no evolutionary theory exists. It is concluded that these results indicate the incompleteness of the theory of dynamical evolution.

Lightman, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Effect of Cross-Correlation on Geomagnetic Forecast Accuracies

Surface geomagnetic observation can determine up to degree L = 14 time-varying spherical harmonic coefficients of the poloidal magnetic field. Assimilation of these coefficients to numerical dynamo simulation could help us understand better the dynamical processes in the Earth's outer core, and to provide more accurate forecast of geomagnetic secular variations (SV). In our previous assimilation studies, only the poloidal magnetic field in the core is corrected by the observations in the analysis. Unobservable core state variables (the toroidal magnetic field and the core velocity field) are corrected via the dynamical equations of the geodynamo. Our assimilation experiments show that the assimilated core state converges near the CMB, implying that the dynamo state is strongly constrained by surface geomagnetic observations, and is pulled closer to the truth by the data. We are now carrying out an ensemble of assimilation runs with 1000 years of geomagnetic and archeo/paleo magnetic record. In these runs the cross correlation between the toroidal and the poloidal magnetic fields is incorporated into the analysis. This correlation is derived from the physical boundary conditions of the toroidal field at the core-mantle boundary (CMB). The assimilation results are then compared with those of the ensemble runs without the cross-correlation, aiming at understanding two fundamental issues: the effect of the crosscorrelation on (1) the convergence of the core state, and (2) the SV prediction accuracies. The constrained dynamo solutions will provide valuable insights on interpreting the observed SV, e.g. the near-equator magnetic flux patches, the core-mantle interactions, and possibly other geodynamic observables.

Kuang, Weijia↗
NASA NTRS2017

Characteristic of a Digital Correlation Radiometer Back End with Finite Wordlength

The performance characteristic of a digital correlation radiometer signal processing back end (DBE) is analyzed using a simulator. The particular design studied here corresponds to the airborne Hurricane Imaging radiometer which was jointly developed by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, University of Michigan, University of Central Florida and NOAA. Laboratory and flight test data is found to be in accord with the simulation results. Overall design seems to be optimum for the typical input signal dynamic range. It was found that the performance of the digital kurtosis could be improved by lowering the DBE input power level. An unusual scaling between digital correlation channels observed in the instrument data is confirmed to be a DBE characteristic.

digital correlation radiometer↗
NASA NTRS1990

Potential vorticity index

Using standard data analysis techniques, researchers explore the links between disturbance growth and quasi-geostrophic potential vorticity (PV) gradients; appearance and disappearance of cutoff lows and blocking highs and their relation to a zonal index (properly defined in terms of PV); and teleconnections between different flow patterns and their relation to the zonal index. It was found that the PV index and the eddy index correlate better than a zonal index (defined by zonal wind) and the eddy index. In the frequency domain there are three frequencies (.03, .07 and .17 cpd (cycle per day) corresponding to periods of 33, 14 and 6 days) at which PV index and the eddy index exhibit local maxima. The high correlation found at periods of 33 days is mainly due to eddy activity at high latitudes while the local correlation maxima found at the shorter periods are mainly due mid-latitude eddy activity. The correlation between the PV index and the geopotential height anomaly at 500 mb, at each grid point in the Northern Hemisphere, shows the existence of most of the teleconnection patterns summarized by Wallace and Gutzler (1981): the North Atlantic Oscillation, the North Pacific Oscillation, and the Pacific/North American patterns. Results show that the Isentropic Potential Vorticity (IPV) analysis can be a very useful and powerful tool when used to understand the dynamics of several large scale atmospheric systems. Although the data are limited to only one winter, and it is difficult to assess the statistical significance of the correlation coefficients presented here, the results are encouraging from physical viewpoint.

Barcilon, Albert↗
NASA NTRS1976

Analysis of structural dynamic data from Skylab. Volume 2: Skylab analytical and test modal data

A compendium is presented of orbital configuration test modal data, analytical test modal data, analytical test correlation modal data and analytical flight configuration 1.2 modal data. Section A presents tables showing the generalized mass contributions for each of the thirty test modes. Section B presents the two dimensional mode shape plots for the thirty test modes. Tables of GMC's for the test correlated analytical modes are presented in Section C. These analytical modes were generated from a model that was adjusted to match test results by use of the methodology discussed in Sections 2.3 and 5.4 of Volume I of this report. Section D presents the two dimensional mode shape plots for the analytical modes. Sections E and F contain the uncoupled and coupled modes of the orbital flight configuration 1.2 at three development phases of the model.

Demchak, L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Orbiter Landing Loads Math Model Description and Correlation with ALT Flight Data

Results of the space shuttle approach and landing test are examined in order to assess landing gear characteristics and performance and verify landing dynamic analyses. The landing gears were instrumented with load-calibrated strain gages, a wheel-speed sensor, and strut stroke measurement devices. The mathematical procedure used in predicting the shuttle touchdown loads and dynamics is presented together with the comparisons between measured flight data and the analytical predictions. Conclusions from these data are also presented.

Hamilton, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Fan Blade Deflection Measurement and Analyses Correlation

Steady deflection measurements were taken of two identical NASA/Pratt & Whitney-designed fan blades while they were rotating in a vacuum in NASA Lewis Research Center's Dynamic Spin Facility. The one-fifth-scale fan blades, which have a tip diameter of 22 in. and a pinroot retention, are of sparshell construction and were unducted for this test. The purpose of the test was to measure the change of the radial deflection of the blade tip and blade angle at selected radial stations along the blade span with respect to rotational speed. The procedure for radial deflection measurement had no precedent and was newly developed for this test. Radial deflection measurements were made to assure adequate tip clearance existed between the fan blades and the duct for a follow-on wind tunnel test. Also, blade angle deflection measurements were desired before pitchsetting parts for the wind tunnel test were finish machined. During the test, laser beams were aimed across the blade path into photodiodes to give signals that were used to determine blade angle change or tip radial deflection. These laser beams were set parallel to the spin axis at selected radial stations.

Mehmed, Oral↗
NASA NTRS2013

Airloads Correlation of the UH-60A Rotor Inside the 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel

The presented research validates the capability of a loosely-coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and comprehensive rotorcraft analysis (CRA) code to calculate the flowfield around a rotor and test stand mounted inside a wind tunnel. The CFD/CRA predictions for the full-scale UH-60A Airloads Rotor inside the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center are compared with the latest measured airloads and performance data. The studied conditions include a speed sweep at constant lift up to an advance ratio of 0.4 and a thrust sweep at constant speed up to and including stall. For the speed sweep, wind tunnel modeling becomes important at advance ratios greater than 0.37 and test stand modeling becomes increasingly important as the advance ratio increases. For the thrust sweep, both the wind tunnel and test stand modeling become important as the rotor approaches stall. Despite the beneficial effects of modeling the wind tunnel and test stand, the new models do not completely resolve the current airload discrepancies between prediction and experiment.

Chang, I-Chung↗
NASA NTRS2015

Investigation of North American Vegetation Variability under Recent Climate: A Study Using the SSiB4/TRIFFID Biophysical/Dynamic Vegetation Model

Recent studies have shown that current dynamic vegetation models have serious weaknesses in reproducing the observed vegetation dynamics and contribute to bias in climate simulations. This study intends to identify the major factors that underlie the connections between vegetation dynamics and climate variability and investigates vegetation spatial distribution and temporal variability at seasonal to decadal scales over North America (NA) to assess a 2-D biophysical model/dynamic vegetation model's (Simplified Simple Biosphere Model version 4, coupled with the Top-down Representation of Interactive Foliage and Flora Including Dynamics Model (SSiB4/TRIFFID)) ability to simulate these characteristics for the past 60 years (1948 through 2008). Satellite data are employed as constraints for the study and to compare the relationships between vegetation and climate from the observational and the simulation data sets. Trends in NA vegetation over this period are examined. The optimum temperature for photosynthesis, leaf drop threshold temperatures, and competition coefficients in the Lotka-Volterra equation, which describes the population dynamics of species competing for some common resource, have been identified as having major impacts on vegetation spatial distribution and obtaining proper initial vegetation conditions in SSiB4/TRIFFID. The finding that vegetation competition coefficients significantly affect vegetation distribution suggests the importance of including biotic effects in dynamical vegetation modeling. The improved SSiB4/TRIFFID can reproduce the main features of the NA distributions of dominant vegetation types, the vegetation fraction, and leaf area index (LAI), including its seasonal, interannual, and decadal variabilities. The simulated NA LAI also shows a general increasing trend after the 1970s in responding to warming. Both simulation and satellite observations reveal that LAI increased substantially in the southeastern U.S. starting from the 1980s. The effects of the severe drought during 1987-1992 and the last decade in the southwestern U.S. on vegetation are also evident from decreases in the simulated and satellite-derived LAIs. Both simulated and satellite-derived LAIs have the strongest correlations with air temperature at northern middle to high latitudes in spring reflecting the effect of these climatic variables on photosynthesis and phenological processes. Meanwhile, in southwestern dry lands, negative correlations appear due to the heat and moisture stress there during the summer. Furthermore, there are also positive correlations between soil wetness and LAI, which increases from spring to summer. The present study shows both the current improvements and remaining weaknesses in dynamical vegetation models. It also highlights large continental-scale variations that have occurred in NA vegetation over the past six decades and their potential relations to climate. With more observational data availability, more studies with differentmodels and focusing on different regions will be possible and are necessary to achieve comprehensive understanding of the vegetation dynamics and climate interactions.

climate variability↗
NASA NTRS2013

Dynamic Black-Level Correction and Artifact Flagging in the Kepler Data Pipeline

Instrument-induced artifacts in the raw Kepler pixel data include time-varying crosstalk from the fine guidance sensor (FGS) clock signals, manifestations of drifting moiré pattern as locally correlated nonstationary noise and rolling bands in the images which find their way into the calibrated pixel time series and ultimately into the calibrated target flux time series. Using a combination of raw science pixel data, full frame images, reverse-clocked pixel data and ancillary temperature data the Keplerpipeline models and removes the FGS crosstalk artifacts by dynamically adjusting the black level correction. By examining the residuals to the model fits, the pipeline detects and flags spatial regions and time intervals of strong time-varying blacklevel (rolling bands ) on a per row per cadence basis. These flags are made available to downstream users of the data since the uncorrected rolling band artifacts could complicate processing or lead to misinterpretation of instrument behavior as stellar. This model fitting and artifact flagging is performed within the new stand-alone pipeline model called Dynablack. We discuss the implementation of Dynablack in the Kepler data pipeline and present results regarding the improvement in calibrated pixels and the expected improvement in cotrending performances as a result of including FGS corrections in the calibration. We also discuss the effectiveness of the rolling band flagging for downstream users and illustrate with some affected light curves.

Clarke, B. D.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Updated Stagnation-Point Aeroheating Correlations for Mars Entry

The objective of this work was to develop new stagnation-point aeroheating engineering correlations for Mars entry vehicles. New convective and radiative heating relations were formulated over a wide range of entry conditions. These relations were based on computational fluid dynamics simulations informed by recent experimental testing and modeling enhancements. For convective heating, a relation similar to the Sutton-Graves relation was developed that is accurate to within ±25% across the domain of relevant Mars entry conditions. For radiative heating, two different functional forms were developed: exponential and polynomial relations. Each of these relation, which represents two different levels of complexity for implementation, were able to predict the radiative heating within about ±25%. The correlations were tested by applying them to the Mars Pathfinder entry trajectory to demonstrate their applicability. These new correlations are significant improvement over existing relations in terms of the accuracy, domain of applicability, and the captured physics, including CO2 inferred radiation and thermochemical nonequilibrium.

Thomas K West, IV↗
NASA NTRS1988

Correlations between solar activity and operationally determined satellite drag variation parameters

Operational orbit determination of the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) and the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) spacecraft using the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS) in the Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF) of the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has yielded an orbit solution data base of 3 years for ERBS and 8 years for SMM. One of the parameters in each data base is the drag variation parameter used in the GTDS atmospheric drag model; this parameter is solved routinely to accommodate the different atmospheric densities as they are encountered solution to solution. These two data bases of the drag variation parameter solutions are analyzed to evaluate correlations in the variations of the parameter with changes in the 10.7-cm wavelength solar flux, F10.7, and the geomagnetic index. The data for SMM span a wider range of solar flux values and show a stronger correlation. The data for ERBS, which is at a higher altitude and inclination than SMM, show a significant degree of scatter. For both satellites, the data indicate that changes in the drag variation parameter are more strongly correlated with the F10.7 solar flux than with the geomagnetic index. Correlations with the geomagnetic index are apparent only for severe geomagnetic storm conditions. Results from this analysis enhance the understanding of the drag model and the accommodation density variations in operational orbit determination support.

Smith, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Crash Simulation of a Vertical Drop Test of a Commuter-Class Aircraft

A finite element model of an ATR42-300 commuter-class aircraft was developed and a crash simulation was executed. Analytical predictions were correlated with data obtained from a 30-ft/s (9.14-m/s) vertical drop test of the aircraft. The purpose of the test was to evaluate the structural response of the aircraft when subjected to a severe, but survivable, impact. The aircraft was configured with seats, dummies, luggage, and other ballast. The wings were filled with 8,700 lb. (3,946 kg) of water to represent the fuel. The finite element model, which consisted of 57,643 nodes and 62,979 elements, was developed from direct measurements of the airframe geometry. The seats, dummies, luggage, fuel, and other ballast were represented using concentrated masses. The model was executed in LS-DYNA, a commercial code for performing explicit transient dynamic simulations. Predictions of structural deformation and selected time-history responses were generated. The simulation was successfully validated through extensive test-analysis correlation.

Jackson, Karen E.↗
NASA NTRS1976

An equivalent potential vorticity theory applied to the analysis and prediction of severe storm dynamics

Potential vorticity theory is developed in a description of an equivalent potential temperature topography, and a new theory suited to the description of scale interaction is elaborated. Macroscale triggering of ageostrophic flow fields at the mesoscale, in turn leading to release of convective instability along narrow zones at the microscale, is examined. Correlation of appreciable decrease in potential vorticity with such phenomena as cumulonimbi, tornados, and duststorms is examined. The relevance of a multiscale energy-momentum cascade in numerical prediction of severe mesoscale and microscale phenomena from radiosonde data is reviewed. Hypotheses for mesoscale dynamics are constructed.

Paine, D. A.↗