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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Multiple strike slip faults sets: A case study from the Dead Sea transform

In many strike slip tectonic settings, large rotations of crust blocks about vertical axes have been inferred from paleomagnetic data. These blocks are bounded by sets of parallel faults which presumably accommodate the relative motion between the blocks as regional deformation progress. A mechanical model by Nur et al., (1986) suggests that rotations greater than phi sub c equals 25 to 45 degrees must be accommodated by more than one set of faults, with angle phi sub c between their direction; consequently the sum of the angles between sets must be roughly equal to the total tectonic material rotation. To test this model, the authors investigated the fault geometry and field relation of fault sets in the Mt. Hermon area in northern Israel, where paleomagnetic declination implies data 69 degrees plus or minus 13 degrees counter-clockwise block rotation. The statistical and field relation analysis of over 315 faults shows that the faulting is predominantly right lateral strike slip consisting of three distinct sets. The oldest set strikes 253 degrees, the second oldest set strikes 293 degrees and the youngest strikes 339 degrees. This last direction is consistent also with the current north-south direction of the maximum principle stress axis. The angle phi sub c between the first and second sets is 39 degrees and between the second and third sets 46 degrees, in good agreement with the phi sub c angle predicted from mechanical considerations. The sum of the two angles is 85 degrees, in good agreement with the 69 degrees plus or minus 13 degrees CCW paleomagnetically derived rotation. The results suggest specifically that the sequential development of multiple intersecting fault sets is responsible for the faulting in the Mt. Hermon area; and generally that the model of block rotation with multiple faults provides very good simple rules for analyzing very complex fault patterns.

Ron, Hagai↗
NASA NTRS2001

A Non-Linear Approach to Spacecraft Formation Control in the Vicinity of a Collinear Libration Point

An expanding interest in mission design strategies that exploit libration point regions, demands the continued development of enhanced, efficient, control algorithms for station-keeping and formation maintenance. Linear control strategies have been developed for station-keeping. However, their region of stability is bounded by the assumptions required for linearizing the governing equations of motion. For example, reference [I] discusses the development of a linear control design for maintaining a halo orbit about the Earth-Moon L2 libration point. Trial runs indicated the trajectory was unstable for starting points exceeding 45,000 km from the L2 point. Also, there was significant growth in the control effort required to maintain the orbit as the nominal radius increased. This result is a consequence of the increased influence of the system non-linearities, as the trajectory deviated from the linearization point, L2. As an alternative, this paper presents the development of a non-linear control strategy, based on a Hamiltonian formulation of the equations of motion. The control strategy is applied to the problem of formation maintenance, rather than simple station

Luquette, Richard J.↗
NASA NTRS2001

A High-Resolution, Three-Dimensional Model of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

The turbulent flow at the periphery of the Great Red Spot (GRS) contains many fine-scale filamentary structures, while the more quiescent core, bounded by a narrow high- velocity ring, exhibits organized, possibly counterrotating, motion. Past studies have neither been able to capture this complexity nor adequately study the effect of vertical stratification L(sub R)(zeta) on the GRS. We present results from a series of high-resolution, three-dimensional simulations that advect the dynamical tracer, potential vorticity. The detailed flow is successfully captured with a characteristic value of L(sub R) approx. equals 2000 km, independent of the precise vertical stratification profile.

Cho, James Y.-K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Implementation of Charged Particle Behavior in Discrete Element Method (DEM) Simulations

Lunar landers will agitate the surface of the Moon with an exhaust plume during descent which will, due to the particulate nature of the lunar regolith, loosen and eject grains from the surface. This ejection is not only coupled with the charged plume gas, but also results in significant particle-particle interactions. Settling of these grains after plume effects have subsided takes much longer than expected in a ballistic trajectory. The prevailing hypothesis attributes this behavior to the accumulated charge on the particles. We are thus developing a discrete element method (DEM) approach to explore these charged particle interactions on the lunar surface. The Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) Improved for General Granular and Granular Heat Transfer Simulations (LIGGGHTS) software package provides a DEM modeling framework for granular interactions. It includes many complexities such as non-spherical particle shapes, cohesion and frictional forces, and heat transfer, but has no provision for inter-particle electrostatic forces and charge transfer that are important to examine in the lunar environment. In this work, a standard Coulomb potential and a Yukawa potential are integrated into the LIGGGHTS framework to provide a basis for particle-particle electrostatic interactions, as well as a gravitational potential to enable inter-grain gravitational interactions. A preliminary approach to charge transfer between grains incorporating properties such as work function and electrical conductivity to the library of available material characteristics will be presented. Several scenarios have been simulated that include charged particle interactions within a diffuse granular gas, settling of charged grains into a regolith bed, sliding of granular material along an incline, and vibration of settled grains to produce a behavior similar to fluidization. There are numerous challenges to incorporate realistic interactions between complex lunar particles. Currently, grains are modeled to behave as if the entirety of the charge acts at the center of mass, such as conductors with spherical symmetry and insulators with homogeneously distributed charge. We are developing improvements that will include the use of non-spherical particle geometries, as well as reasonable approximations of insulating/dielectric materials that have non-uniform charge distributions. The cases simulated thus far will be examined in a relevant environment within a vacuum chamber to validate the simulations. These simulations will be bounded by experiments utilizing high-speed camera observations of the motion for validation. The grains in the experiment will exchange charge during their motion and this can be quantified by collection within a charge measurement device such as a Faraday cup. Such a device may be modeled within the software by defining an integration region and computing the contained charge as a function of simulation time, allowing for side-by-side comparison of simulated and measured bulk charging results. Any differences will be reconciled by updating the mathematical mechanisms described within the simulation suite. Successfully combining results from experiments within a relevant environment into the LIGGGHTS framework will improve modeling of the charged grain dynamics experienced on the Moon to provide insights into dust behavior for future lunar exploration missions.

Electrostatics↗
NASA NTRS1982

Nonlinear modal analysis of penetrative convection

It is pointed out that thermal convection in many astrophysical and geophysical settings occurs in an unstable layer bounded above and below by regions which are stably stratified. The convective motions may extend a substantial distance into the adjacent stable zones. If the motions have little direct effect upon the mean stratification of the stable zone, then they are usually referred to as convective overshooting. The primary objective of the present investigation is to study the dynamics of overshooting at very large Rayleigh numbers, mainly with stellar applications in mind. Numerically this is only feasible if severe simplifications are made in the description of what are likely to be turbulent motions. The approach employed in the investigation utilizes nonlinear modal equations in which the vertical and temporal structure of the convection is described accurately at the expense of the horizontal structure. A summary of the salient properties of penetrative convection is provided on the basis of the results of the conducted studies.

Zahn, J.-P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Effect of magnetospheric convection on thermal plasma in the inner magnetosphere

The effects of E x B convection on the distribution of plasma parameters in the inner magnetosphere have been examined. Analytical solutions describing density distributions along convective trajectories in the equatorial plane have been found. These solutions suggest the following dependence of plasma concentration n on the magnetic field B along convective trajectories: n proportional to B(exp alpha), where the parameter alpha varies between alpha is less than or = between 4/3 and 2. The alpha = 2 case corresponds to disregarding transport parallel to B. The lower bound alpha = 4/3 describes the situation when parallel transport dominates over convective motions perpendicular to B. A solution has also been obtained describing the effect of convection on diffusive equilibrium profiles in the dayside plasmasphere. In addition, ion temperature variations due to adiabatic effects associated with plasma convection have been analyzed in detail. Convective drifts lead to ion temperature anisotropies with the value and sign of the anisotropy contingent on density and temperature variations, local time, and the location of the convective trajectory with respect to the location of the plasmapause. We have also found that convective motions lead to a substantial exchange of energy between the ionosphere and the plasmasphere through electron heat fluxes.

Khazanov, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Block rotations in the Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

Paleomagnetic data from 13 sites of intrusive and extrusive rocks associated with the Oligocene Espinaso Formation around the Ortiz mountains, New Mexico, indicate mean magnetic directions of I = 42.1 deg and D = 337.8 deg, with a corresponding pole position of 67.9 deg N latitude and 142.3 deg E longitude. From comparison with the expected Oligocene direction, 17.8 + or - 11.3 deg of counterclockwise rotation is found, and the similar rotations for Oligocene and Pliocene age rocks suggests that motion has occurred in the past 5 m.y. Data support the previously suggested diamond-shaped crustal block extending from the San Luis basin southward to the Albuquerque basin bounded by well-defined recently active fault zones. The size of the block, the counterclockwise nature of rotation and the timing of motion are supported by geologic and structural data. The counterclockwise rotation of the block has resulted in uplift at the acute ends of the block and subsidence at the obtuse ends, and the driving mechanism may be left slip along the rift.

Brown, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The collision singularity in a perturbed n-body problem.

Collision of all bodies in a perturbed n-body problem is analyzed by an extension of the author's results for a perturbed two-body problem (1969). A procedure is set forth to prove that the absolute value of energy in a perturbed n-body system remains bounded until the moment of collision. It is shown that the characteristics of motion in both perturbed problems are basically the same.

Sperling, H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Large eddy simulation of turbulent channel flow: ILLIAC 5 calculation

The capabilities of large eddy simulation in the prediction and analyses of wall-bounded turbulent shear flows are demonstrated. The dynamical equations for large scale field motions are derived. The computational grid network is described and its relation to the observed physical length scales in the flow are discussed. Some aspects of the mechanics and structure of the flow are examined both in the vicinity of the wall and in regions away from the wall. An attempt is made to correlate numerical results with laboratory observations. Other significant observations and conclusions are presented.

Kim, J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Studying Turbulence Using Numerical Simulation Databases, 2. Proceedings of the 1988 Summer Program

The focus of the program was on the use of direct numerical simulations of turbulent flow for study of turbulence physics and modeling. A special interest was placed on turbulent mixing layers. The required data for these investigations were generated from four newly developed codes for simulation of time and spatially developing incompressible and compressible mixing layers. Also of interest were the structure of wall bounded turbulent and transitional flows, evaluation of diagnostic techniques for detection of organized motions, energy transfer in isotropic turbulence, optical propagation through turbulent media, and detailed analysis of the interaction of vortical structures.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1990

Extended Ly-alpha emission associated with 3C 294

Optical, IR, and radio observations of the powerful radio source 3C 294, which is surrounded by a large cloud of ionized gas, are presented. The galaxy is faint in the rest-frame UV, yet has a near-IR luminosity that is typical of radio galaxies at redshifts of order two. In contrast to the large extent of the ionized gas, the K-band image is quite compact. The emission-line cloud is closely aligned with the radio source axis and has an ionization state indicative of ionization by a nonstellar source. The velocity field of the gas has both large ordered motions and large turbulent components. The total mass required to keep the gas bound to the system is comparable to present-day massive galaxies and their halos. The velocity fields of the high-ionization lines are systematically different from Ly-alpha in a manner that is not easily understood.

Mccarthy, Patrick J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Thermocapillary flow about an evaporating meniscus

The steady motion and thermal behavior of an evaporating superheated liquid in a small cavity bounded by isothermal sidewalls is examined. Scaling analyses and a two-dimensional finite element model are used to investigate the influence of thermocapillarity, buoyancy, and temperature-dependent mass flux on flowfield, interfacial heat transfer, and meniscus morphology. Numerical investigations indicate the existence of two counter-rotating cells symmetric about the cavity center. Results also show that evaporation tends to counteract this circulation by directing flow toward the hotter sidewalls. Although thermocapillarity and evaporation yield different flowfield distributions, both effects tend to increase interfacial temperature and heat transfer.

Schmidt, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1942

The Navier-Stokes Stress Principle for Viscous Fluids

The Navier-Stokes stress principle is checked in the light of Maxwell's mechanism of friction and in connection herewith the possibility of another theorem is indicated. The Navier-Stokes stress principle is in general predicated upon the conception of the plastic body. Hence the process is a purely phenomenological one, which Newton himself followed with his special theorem for one-dimensional flows. It remained for Maxwell to discover the physical mechanism by which the shear inflow direction is developed: According to it, this shear is only 'fictitious' as it merely represents the substitute for a certain transport on macroscopic motion quantity, as conditioned by Brown's moiecular motion and the diffusion, respectively. It is clear that this mechanism is not bound to the special case of the one-dimensioilal flows, but holds for any flow as expression of the diffusion, by which a fluid differs sharply from a plastic body. If it is remembered, on the other hand, that the cause of the stresses on the plastic body lies in a certain cohesion of the molecules, it appears by no means self evident that this difference in the mechanism of friction between fluid and plastic body should not prevail in the stress principle as well, although it certainly is desirable in any case, at least subsequently, to establish the general theorem in the sense of Maxwell. Actually, a different theorem is suggested which, in contrast to that by Navier-Stokes, has the form of an unsymmetrical matrix. Without anticipating a final decision several reasons are advanced by way of a special flow which seem to affirm this new theorem. To make it clear that the problem involved here still awaits its final solution, is the real purpose behind the present article.

Mohr, Ernst↗
NASA NTRS1981

Photospheric flow and stellar winds

The effect of the photospheric outflow on the expansion of the strongly bound coronas of dwarf main-sequence stars is examined. The extended temperatures of the strongly bound coronas cause the stars to expand and form tenuous stellar winds, with a slight mean upward motion of the gas in the photosphere to replenish the mass loss through the coronal expansion. A formal solution of the time-dependent hydrodynamic equations illustrates the effects of the photospheric velocity at large distances, and the effect of blocking the upward flow in the photosphere is calculated using the sun as an example. Results indicate that the expansion of a strongly bound corona is insensitive over historical time scales to the small outflow of gas in the photosphere.

Parker, E. N.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Modeling and Control of Robot-Structure Coupling During In-Space Structure Assembly

This paper considers the problem of robot-structure coupling dynamics during in-space robotic assembly of large flexible structures. A two-legged walking robot is used as a construction agent, whose primary goal is to stably walking on the flexible structure while carrying a substructure component to a designated location. The reaction forces inserted by the structure to the walking robot are treated as bounded disturbance inputs, and a trajectory tracking robotic controller is proposed that combines the standard full state feedback motion controller and an adaptive controller to account for the disturbance inputs. In this study, a reduced-order Euler-Bernoulli beam structure model is adapted, and a finite number of co-located sensors and actuators are distributed along the span of the beam structure. The robot-structure coupling forces are treated as a bounded external forcing function to the structure, and hence an output covariance constraint problem can be formulated, in terms of linear matrix inequality, for optimal structure control by utilizing the direct output feedback controllers. The numerical simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed robot-structure modeling and control methodology.

Swei, Sean↗
NASA NTRS1979

OPS MCC level B/C formulation requirements: Area targets and space volumes processor

The level B/C mathematical specifications for the area targets and space volumes processor (ATSVP) are described. The processor is designed to compute the acquisition-of-signal (AOS) and loss-of-signal (LOS) times for area targets and space volumes. The characteristics of the area targets and space volumes are given. The mathematical equations necessary to determine whether the spacecraft lies within the area target or space volume are given. These equations provide a detailed model of the target geometry. A semianalytical technique for predicting the AOS and LOS time periods is disucssed. This technique was designed to bound the actual visibility period using a simplified target geometry model and unperturbed orbital motion. Functional overview of the ATSVP is presented and it's detailed logic flow is described.

Bishop, M. J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Steady flows at the top of the core from geomagnetic field models - The steady motions theorem

It is demonstrated that the steady tangential velocity at the closed surface of a perfect-fluid conductor bounded by a rigid impenetrable exterior can be uniquely determined from knowledge of the normal component of the time-varying magnetic-flux density on the surface. In the context of a simple earth model consisting of an electrically insulating mantle surrounding a perfectly conducting core, the assumption of steady flow provides enough extra information to eliminate the toroidal ambiguity and to allow derivation of a unique global flow at the top of the core from a model of the geomagnetic field.

Voorhies, C. V.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Extraordinary line-emitting knots in the Crab Nebula

Extraordinary, semistellar, line-emitting knots are apparent in images of the Crab Nebula which were obtained with the Goddard Fabry-Perot imager at the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT Observatory. The knots are most prominent for (O III) lambda 5007 emission through a 5.3 A (Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM)) bandpass centered at 5015.3 A, with representative fluxes of roughly 10(exp -14) ergs/sq cm. They are aligned in arcs, seven to the north and four to the south, from the pulsar. The northern group appears to be in a bounded corridor through the filamentary structure. Measurements over a 2 year baseline yield proper motions of order 0.1 sec/yr, corresponding to transverse velocities of order 900 km/s for a distance of 1830 pc. The knots are characterized by remarkably strong (Ar III) emission, possibly indicating high argon abundances, high gas temperatures, or anomalous physical processes.

Macalpine, Gordon M.↗