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NASA NTRS1990

Erosive Augmentation of Solid Propellant Burning Rate: Motor Size Scaling Effect

Two different independent variable forms, a difference form and a ratio form, were investigated for correlating the normalized magnitude of the measured erosive burning rate augmentation above the threshold in terms of the amount that the driving parameter (mass flux or Reynolds number) exceeds the threshold value for erosive augmentation at the test condition. The latter was calculated from the previously determined threshold correlation. Either variable form provided a correlation for each of the two motor size data bases individually. However, the data showed a motor size effect, supporting the general observation that the magnitude of erosive burning rate augmentation is reduced for larger rocket motors. For both independent variable forms, the required motor size scaling was attained by including the motor port radius raised to a power in the independent parameter. A boundary layer theory analysis confirmed the experimental finding, but showed that the magnitude of the scale effect is itself dependent upon scale, tending to diminish with increasing motor size.

Strand, L. D.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Non scale-invariant density perturbations from chaotic extended inflation

Chaotic inflation is analyzed in the frame of scalar-tensor theories of gravity. Fluctuations in the energy density arise from quantum fluctuations of the Brans-Dicke field and of the inflation field. The spectrum of perturbations is studied for a class of models: it is non scale-invarient and, for certain values of the parameters, it has a peak. If the peak appears at astrophysically interesting scales, it may help to reconcile the Cold Dark Matter scenario for structure formation with large scale observations.

Mollerach, Silvia↗

NASA NTRS1990

A dynamic subgrid-scale eddy viscosity model

One major drawback of the eddy viscosity subgrid-scale stress models used in large-eddy simulations is their inability to represent correctly with a single universal constant different turbulent field in rotating or sheared flows, near solid walls, or in transitional regimes. In the present work, a new eddy viscosity model is presented which alleviates many of these drawbacks. The model coefficient is computed dynamically as the calculation progresses rather than input a priori. The model is based on an algebraic identity (Germano 1990) between the subgrid-scale stresses at two different filtered levels and the resolved turbulent stresses. The subgrid-scale stresses obtained using the proposed model vanish in laminar flow and at a solid boundary, and have the correct asymptotic behavior in the near-wall region of a turbulent boundary layer. The results of large-eddy simulations of transitional and turbulent channel flow that use the proposed model are in good agreement with the direct simulation data.

Germano, Massimo↗

NASA NTRS1990

Subgrid-scale backscatter in transitional and turbulent flows

Most subgrid-scale (SGS) models for large-eddy simulations are absolutely dissipative (that is, they remove energy from the large scales at each point in the physical space). The actual SGS stresses, however, may transfer energy to the large scales (backscatter) at a given location. Direct numerical simulations of turbulent channel flow and compressible isotropic turbulence are used to study the backscatter phenomena. In all flows considered roughly 50 percent of the grid points were experiencing backscatter when a Fourier cutoff filter was used. The backscatter fraction was less with a Gaussian filter, and intermediate with a box filter in physical space. Moreover, the backscatter and forward scatter contributions to the SGS dissipation were comparable, and each was often much larger than the total SGS dissipation. The SGS dissipation (normalized by total dissipation) increased with filter width almost independently of filter type and Reynolds number. The amount of backscatter showed an increasing trend with Reynolds numbers. In the near-wall region of the channel, events characterized by strong Reynolds shear stress correlated fairly well with areas of high SGS dissipation (both forward and backward). In compressible isotropic turbulence similar results were obtained, independent of fluctuation Mach number.

Piomelli, Ugo↗

NASA NTRS1992

Application of magnitude estimation scaling to the assessment of subjective loudness response to simulated sonic booms

A laboratory study was conducted for the following reasons: (1) to investigate the application of magnitude estimation scaling for evaluating the subjective loudness of sonic booms; and (2) to compare the relative merits of magnitude estimation and numerical category scaling for sonic boom loudness evaluation. The study was conducted in the NASA LeRC's sonic boom simulator and used a total of 80 test subjects (48 for magnitude estimation and 32 for numerical category scaling). Results demonstrated that magnitude estimation was a practical and effective method for quantifying subjective loudness of sonic booms. When using magnitude estimation, the subjects made valid and consistent ratio judgments of sonic boom loudness irrespective of the frequency of presentation of the standard stimulus. Presentation of the standard as every fourth stimulus was preferred by the subjects and is recommended as the standard presentation frequency to be used in future tests.

S McDaniel↗

NASA NTRS1991

Comet P/Halley - Spatial distributions and scale lengths for C2, CN, NH2, and H2O

Long-slit spectroscopic observations of Comet P/Halley on 12 dates between October 1985 and May 1986 were used to extract spatial profiles for C2, CN, NH2, and O I (1D) (which effectively map out the comet's H2O distribution), and Haser model scale lengths were fitted to these data. The preperihelion analysis yielded Haser model scale lengths of sufficient consistency that they could be used for the production rate determinations. It was found that the average parent scale lengths found for NH2 were consistent with photodissociation lifetimes for NH3 and confirm the dissociation chain NH3-NH2-NH.

Fink, Uwe↗

NASA NTRS1990

Bridgman crystal growth in low gravity - A scaling analysis

The results of an order-of-magnitude or scaling analysis are compared with those of numerical simulations of the effects of steady low gravity on compositional nonuniformity in crystals grown by the Bridgman-Stockbarger technique. In particular, the results are examined of numerical simulations of the effect of steady residual acceleration on the transport of solute in a gallium-doped germanium melt during directional solidification under low-gravity conditions. The results are interpreted in terms of the relevant dimensionless groups associated with the process, and scaling techniques are evaluated by comparing their predictions with the numerical results. It is demonstrated that, when convective transport is comparable with diffusive transport, some specific knowledge of the behavior of the system is required before scaling arguments can be used to make reasonable predictions.

Alexander, J. I. D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Void probability as a function of the void's shape and scale-invariant models

The dependence of counts in cells on the shape of the cell for the large scale galaxy distribution is studied. A very concrete prediction can be done concerning the void distribution for scale invariant models. The prediction is tested on a sample of the CfA catalog, and good agreement is found. It is observed that the probability of a cell to be occupied is bigger for some elongated cells. A phenomenological scale invariant model for the observed distribution of the counts in cells, an extension of the negative binomial distribution, is presented in order to illustrate how this dependence can be quantitatively determined. An original, intuitive derivation of this model is presented.

Elizalde, E.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Constraints on the power spectrum of the primordial density field from large-scale data - Microwave background and predictions of inflation

It is shown here that, by using galaxy catalog correlation data as input, measurements of microwave background radiation (MBR) anisotropies should soon be able to test two of the inflationary scenario's most basic predictions: (1) that the primordial density fluctuations produced were scale-invariant and (2) that the universe is flat. They should also be able to detect anisotropies of large-scale structure formed by gravitational evolution of density fluctuations present at the last scattering epoch. Computations of MBR anisotropies corresponding to the minimum of the large-scale variance of the MBR anisotropy are presented which favor an open universe with P(k) significantly different from the Harrison-Zeldovich spectrum predicted by most inflationary models.

Kashlinsky, A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Large-scale velocity fields

The present evaluation of recent observational results bearing on the nature and characteristics of solar rotation gives attention to the status of current understanding on such large-scale velocity-field-associated phenomena as solar supergranulation, mesogranulation, and giant-scale convection. Also noted are theoretical suggestions reconciling theory and observations of giant-scale solar convection. The photosphere's global meridional circulation is suggested by solar rotation models requiring pole-to-equator flows of a few m/sec, as well as by the observed migration of magnetic activity over the solar cycle. The solar rotation exhibits a latitude and cycle dependence which can be understood in terms of a time-dependent convective toroidal roll pattern.

Howard, Robert F.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Large-scale structure in the Southern Sky Redshift Survey

The power spectrum from the Southern Sky Redshift Survey and the CfA samples are measured in order to explore the amplitude of fluctuation in the galaxy density. At lambda of less than or equal to 30/h Mpc the observed power spectrum is quite consistent with the standard CDM model. At larger scales the data indicate an excess of power over the standard CDM model. The observed power spectrum from these optical galaxy samples is in good agreement with that drawn from the sparsely sampled IRAS galaxies. The shape of the power spectrum is also studied by examining the relation between the genus per unit volume and the smoothing length. It is found that, over Gaussian smoothing scales from 6 to 14/h Mpc, the power spectrum has a slope of about -1. The topology of the galaxy density field is studied by measuring the shift of the genus curve from the Gaussian case. Over all smoothing scales studied, the observed genus curves are consistent with a random phase distribution of the galaxy density field, as predicted by the inflationary scenarios.

Park, Changbom↗

NASA NTRS1992

Meso-beta scale numerical simulation studies of terrain-induced jet streak mass/momentum perturbations

Work performed during the report period is summarized. The first numerical experiment which was performed on the North Carolina Supercomputer Center's CRAY-YMP machine during the second half of FY92 involved a 36 hour simulation of the CCOPE case study. This first coarse-mesh simulation employed the GMASS model with a 178 x 108 x 32 matrix of grid points spaced approximately 24 km apart. The initial data was comprised of the global 2.5 x 2.5 degree analyses as well as all available North American rawinsonde data valid at 0000 UTC 11 July 1981. Highly-smoothed LFM-derived terrain data were utilized so as to determine the mesoscale response of the three-dimensional atmosphere to weak terrain forcing prior to including the observed highly complex terrain of the northern Rocky Mountain region. It was felt that the model should be run with a spectrum of terrain geometries, ranging from observed complex terrain to no terrain at all, to determine how crucial the terrain was in forcing the mesoscale phenomena. Both convection and stratiform (stable) precipitation were not allowed in this simulation so that their relative importance could be determined by inclusion in forth-coming simulations. A full suite of planetary boundary layer forcing was allowed in the simulation, including surface sensible and latent heat fluxes employing the Blakadar PBL formulation. The details of this simulation, which in many ways could be considered the control simulation, including the important synoptic-scale, meso-alpha scale, and meso-beta scale circulations is described. These results are compared to the observations diagnosed by Koch and his colleagues as well as hypotheses set forth in the project proposal for terrain-influences upon the jet stream and their role in the generation of mesoscale wave phenomenon. The fundamental goal of the analyses being the discrimination among background geostrophic adjustment, terrain influences, and shearing instability in the initiation and maintainance of mesoscale internal wave phenomena. Based upon these findings, FY93 plans are discussed. A review of linear theory and theoretical modeling of a geostrophic zonal wind anomaly is included.

Lin, Yuh-Lang↗

NASA NTRS1992

Space Shuttle Orbiter Crew Hatch Jettison Test using a 0.0405-scale model (16-0) in the Texas A/M low speed wind tunnel (OA362). Space Shuttle aerothermodynamic data report

This report contains post-test information for the Space Shuttle Orbiter Crew Hatch Jettison Test OA362 which was conducted in the Texas A&M Low Speed Wind Tunnel from 6/15/87 to 6/22/87. The test objective was to verify that the crew hatch, once jettisoned, would clear the orbiter under various simulated flight conditions. Several model hatches were used with the 0.0405-scale orbiter (Model 16-0). The model's angle of attack was set at 10, 15, and 20 degrees while the sideslip had values of minus 5, 0, and plus 5 degrees. The full scale Qbars that were simulated were 105, 128, 160, and 210 psf. In the hatch jettison mechanism itself, the plunger pressure was varied to achieve horizontal velocities of 3, 5, 7, and 20.1 feet per second model scale, and the plunger location was varied to achieve a variety of rotational velocities. The orbiter model was subjected to 122 runs with 13 different hatches. Of these, 60 were good runs.

Mitchell, C. E.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The Enabler: A reevaluation of design concepts and construction of a scaled model

The basic objective of the student's work this quarter was to make an in depth examination of the design concepts used on the lunar vehicle 'The Enabler'. Several changes were made to the vehicle including a redesigned wheel, a more compact boom and a reduced articulation angle. The vehicle's final dimensions were determined through an optimization process by defining mathematical equations for several of the vehicle's defined objectives. These included the ability to scale a one meter object, traverse a one meter crevice, and maintain a wheel-to-wheel clearance of three inches while at maximum articulation. The final dimensions of the vehicle were used to construct an approximate 1/4 scale model of the chassis and wheels. The boom, however, was constructed on a 1/5 scale (from the original design). This was due to the redesign of the boom and the limitations of the constructing material and PVC fittings.

Bess, David↗

NASA NTRS1992

P/Halley: Spatial distribution and scale lengths for C2, CN, NH2, and H2O

From P/Halley, long slit spectroscopic exposures on 12 dates, extending from Oct. 1985 to May 1986, spatial profiles were obtained for emissions by C2, CN, NH2, and OI ((sup 1)D). Examples of our derived spatial profiles are given. The qualitative trend of the scale lengths for the different species is nicely exemplified in this example. C2 has the longest parent scale length followed by CN and NH2. OI which tracks the parent H2O distribution is quite narrow but slightly wider than the continuum profile which has a center essentially indistinguishable from the stellar seeing disk. Comparison of C2 and CN also shows that C2 is falling off faster in the wings so that the daughter scale length of CN must be larger than that of C2.

Fink, Uwe↗

NASA NTRS1993

The large-scale morphology of IRAS galaxies

At present, visual inspection is the only method for comparing the large-scale morphologies in the distribution of galaxies to those in model universes generated by N-body simulations. To remedy the situation, we have developed a set of three structure functions (S1, S2, S3) that quantify the degree of large-scale prolateness, oblateness, and sphericity/uniformity of a 3-D particle distribution and have applied them to a volume-limited (less than = 4000 km/s) sample of 699 IRAS galaxies with f sub 60 greater than 1.2 Jy. To determine the structure functions, we randomly select 500 galaxies as origins of spherical windows of radius R sub w, locate the centroid of the galaxies in the window (assuming all galaxies have equal mass) and then, compute the principal moments of inertia (I sub 1, I sub 2, I sub 3) about the centroid. Each S sub i is a function of (I sub 2)/(I sub 1) and (I sub 3)/I sub 1). S1, S2, and S3 tend to unity for highly prolate, oblate, and uniform distributions, respectively and tend to zero otherwise. The resulting 500 values of S sub i at each scale R sub w are used to construct a histogram.

Babul, Arif↗

NASA NTRS1992

A survey of small-scale extremes in extinction at low Galactic latitudes using IRAS galaxies

Optical CCD and 21 cm H I data are combined here via the Tully-Fisher relation to study the Galactic extinction in the V an I bands over an angular scale of a few arcmin at absolute Galactic latitudes between 2 and 16 deg. Extinctions in V and I bands are found to be linearly correlated with A(I) about 0.58 A(V), with no noticeable environmental dependence and consistent with existing results of Galactic reddening. There is a large scatter in the simple linear relation with csc /b/, confirming the existence of 'holes' and patches at low Galactic latitudes. The mean correlation between Galactic extinction and H I column density over a comparable angular scale is also found to be consistent with those at high latitudes over large angular scales. Correlation is also found between optical extinction and the IRAS 100 micron sky brightness, and this sky brightness is only slightly worse than H I column density as an indicator for optical extinction.

Lu, N. Y.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The role of electron-positron pairs in parsec-scale radio jets

We investigate the hypothesis that the parsec-scale jets observed in extragalactic objects consist of an electron-positron pair plasma outflowing from the compact, X-ray emitting region of the source. Due to annihilation in the innermost regions, there is an upper limit on the number of electron-positron pairs that can reach the parsec-scale jet. On the other hand, there is a lower limit on the density of particles in the jet: their density must be at least equal to that needed to emit the synchrotron radiation we observe. We derive the latter limit by assuming a power-law electron distribution, with a low-energy cut-off. By comparing these two limits, we find that the constituents of parsec-scale jets may be electron-positron pairs produced in the innermost regions only if their minimum energy is greater than approximately 50 MeV. Remarkably, the same limit on the minimum particle energy is found in the case of jets consisting of electrons and protons in order that Faraday depolarization is avoided.

Ghisellini, G.↗