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At least 991 records · Page 55

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NASA NTRS1990

A strategy to study regional hydrology and terrestrial ecosystem processes using satellite remote sensing, ground-based data and computer modeling

A strategy is presented for integrating scanning multichannel microwave radiometer data from the Nimbus-7 satellite with meteorological station records and computer simulations of land surface hydrology, terrestrial nutrient cycling, and trace gas emission. Analysis of the observations together with radiative transfer analysis shows that in the tropics the temporal and spatial variations of the polarization difference are determined primarily by the structure and phenology of vegetation and seasonal inundations of major rivers and wetlands. It is concluded that the proposed surface hydrology model, along with climatological records, and, potentially, 37-GHz data for phenology, will provide inputs to a terrestrial ecosystem model that predicts regional net primary production and CO2 gas exchange.

Vorosmarty, C.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Simple atmospheric perturbation models for sonic-boom-signature distortion studies

Sonic-boom propagation from flight level to ground is influenced by wind and speed-of-sound variations resulting from temperature changes in both the mean atmospheric structure and small-scale perturbations. Meteorological behavior generally produces complex combinations of atmospheric perturbations in the form of turbulence, wind shears, up- and down-drafts and various wave behaviors. Differences between the speed of sound at the ground and at flight level will influence the threshold flight Mach number for which the sonic boom first reaches the ground as well as the width of the resulting sonic-boom carpet. Mean atmospheric temperature and wind structure as a function of altitude vary with location and time of year. These average properties of the atmosphere are well-documented and have been used in many sonic-boom propagation assessments. In contrast, smaller scale atmospheric perturbations are also known to modulate the shape and amplitude of sonic-boom signatures reaching the ground, but specific perturbation models have not been established for evaluating their effects on sonic-boom propagation. The purpose of this paper is to present simple examples of atmospheric vertical temperature gradients, wind shears, and wave motions that can guide preliminary assessments of nonturbulent atmospheric perturbation effects on sonic-boom propagation to the ground. The use of simple discrete atmospheric perturbation structures can facilitate the interpretation of the resulting sonic-boom propagation anomalies as well as intercomparisons among varied flight conditions and propagation models.

Ehernberger, L. J.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Magnetic Roots and the Driving of Extended Coronal Heating

We report results from a continuation of a previous study, in which we found large bright coronal loops within active regions and extending from active regions that have one end rooted near an island of included magnetic polarity that is a site of enhanced coronal heating and microflares. This suggested that magnetic activity such as microflaring results in enhanced heating in both the compact core field around the island and in the large loops extending from it. We might expect that the intensity variations due to enhanced heating in the compact and extended structures would be correlated. However, although some ex- tended loops do respond to the largest events taking place in the core fields near their feet, they do not show a clear response to most smaller individual events nor to the overall envelope of coronal heating activity in the core fields at their feet as determined from longer-term observations. Thus, while it is clear that the extended loops' heating is being driven from their ends at the magnetic islands, much of this heating is apparently by some form of footpoint activity that is not strongly coupled to the heating in the footpoint core fields. One possibility is that the remote heating in the extended loops is driven by reconnection at the magnetic null over the island, and that this reconnection is driven mainly by core-field activity that produces little coronal heating within the core field itself, perhaps in the manner of the numerical simulations by Karpen, Antiochos, and DeVore.

Porter, Jason G.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Solid Freeform Fabrication of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Composites for Propulsion Applications

For propulsion related applications, materials must be able to demonstrate excellent ablation and oxidation resistance at temperature approaching 3500'C, adequate load bearing capabilities, non-catastrophic failure modes, and ability to withstand transient thermal shock. A potential list of propulsion-material property requirements includes, low density, high elastic modulus, low thermal-expansion coefficient, high thermal conductivity, excellent erosion and oxidation/corrosion resistance, and flaw-insensitivity. In many cases, they will also need to be able to be joined, survive thermal cycling and multi-axial stress states, and for reusable applications, the materials must maintain the above attributes after prolonged exposure to extremely harsh chemical environments. The final and possibly most important attribute for these materials are the need to be lower cost and readily available in large quantities. Recently, Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc. (ACR) has developed low cost, flexible- manufacturing processes for Zr & Hf-based carbon fiber reinforced composites, materials with good oxidation and ablation resistance up to 3500 C. This process, called Continuous Composite Co-extrusion (C(sup 3)), incorporates carbon fibers to fabricate 'in-situ' carbide and boride-matrix/carbon fiber composites. This is a variation of ACR's manufacturing process for low-cost structural ceramic materials called Fibrous Monoliths With carbon fiber reinforcements. Fibrous Monolithic materials have a distinct fibrous texture, consist of intertwined cells of a primary phase, separated by cell boundaries of a tailored secondary phase and show very high fracture energies, damage tolerance, and graceful failure. Since they are monolithic powder based composites-, they can be manufactured by conventional powder processing techniques using inexpensive raw materials. This combination of high performance and low cost is a breakthrough that could enable wider application of ceramics in high temperature applications. Typical volume fractions of the two phases are 80 to 95% for the cell phase and 5 to 20% for the interpenetrating cell boundary phase. ACR is currently developing an innovative solid freeform form fabrication (SFF) approach to produce Hf and Zr based ceramic composite components reinforced with continuous carbon fiber tows for critical structural components such as tubes and blisks. The process is simple, robust and will be widely applicable to a number of material systems. This technique was originally developed at the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials (UD-CCM) for rapid fabrication of polymer matrix composites by a technique called automated tow placement or ATP. The current process is being developed in collaboration with UD-CCM. The paper will detail the freeform fabrication process to create low-cost ceramic fiber reinforced composites for high-temperature applications. The results of mechanical properties and microstructural characterization will be presented, together with examples of complex shapes and parts. It is believed that the process will be able to create complex shaped parts for propulsion applications at an order of magnitude lower cost than current CVI and PIP process.

Vaidyanathan, R.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Resolving the Wind Structure of Eta Carinae

Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) spectral observations of Eta Carinae have resolved the wind structure of the star(s) from the central point source. These observations were done with a 52 x 0.1" aperture, resolving power of about 5000 and complete spectral coverage from 1640A to 10400A. Various broad stellar Lines are seen to change within the central 0.511 of the nebular region. The Balmer lines, relative to the continuum, drop in strength while some Fe II lines scale with the continuum. Other Fe II lines increase in intensity while still others decrease. The structure to the southeast of the central source shows considerable variation in the stellar line strengths. To the Northwest, the emission is dominated by the very bright nebular knots, Weigelt blobs B and D. Three sets of observations have been done: March 1998, February 1999 and March 2000 to monitor the spectral variations. The stellar, wind and nebular emission changes considerably during this two year period. This work was done under the STIS GTO and HST GO funding.

Gull, T.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Solid Free-Form Fabrication of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Composites for Propulsion Application

For propulsion related applications, materials must be able to demonstrate excellent ablation and oxidation resistance at temperature approaching 3500 C, adequate load bearing capabilities, non-catastrophic failure modes, and ability to withstand transient thermal shock. A potential list of propulsion-material property requirements includes, low density, high elastic modulus, low thermal-expansion coefficient, high thermal conductivity, excellent erosion and oxidation/corrosion resistance, and flaw-insensitivity. In many cases, they will also need to be able to be joined, survive thermal cycling and multi-axial stress states, and for reusable applications, the materials must maintain the above attributes after prolonged exposure to extremely harsh chemical environments. The final and possibly most important attribute for these materials are the need to be lower cost and readily available in large quantities. Recently, Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc. (ACR) has developed low cost, flexible-manufacturing processes for Zr & Hf-based carbon fiber reinforced composites, materials with good oxidation and ablation resistance up to 3500 C. This process, called Continuous Composite Co-extrusion (C(sup 3)), incorporates carbon fibers to fabricate 'in-situ' carbide and boride-matrix/carbon fiber composites. M is a variation of ACR's manufacturing process for low-cost structural ceramic materials called Fibrous Monoliths with carbon fiber reinforcements. Fibrous Monolithic materials have a distinct fibrous texture, consist of intertwined cells of a primary phase, separated by cell boundaries of a tailored secondary phase and show very high fracture energies, damage tolerance, and graceful failure. Since they are monolithic powder based composites; they can be manufactured by conventional powder processing techniques using inexpensive raw materials. This combination of high performance and low cost is a breakthrough that could enable wider application of ceramics in high temperature applications. Typical volume fractions of the two phases are 80 to 95% for the cell phase and 5 to 20% for the interpenetrating cell boundary phase. ACR is currently developing an innovative solid freeform form fabrication (SFF) approach to produce Hf and Zr based ceramic composite components reinforced with continuous carbon fiber tows for critical structural components such as tubes and blisks. The process is simple, robust and will be widely applicable to a number of material systems. This technique was originally developed at the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials (UD-CCM) for rapid fabrication of polymer matrix composites by a technique called automated tow placement or ATP. The current process is being developed in collaboration with UD-CCM. The paper will detail the freeform fabrication process to create low-cost ceramic fiber reinforced composites for high-temperature applications. The results of mechanical properties and microstructural characterization will be presented, together with examples of complex shapes and parts. It is believed that the process will be able to create complex shaped parts for propulsion applications at an order of magnitude lower cost than current CVI and PIP processes.

Vaidyanathan, R.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Gas-Phase Reaction Pathways and Rate Coefficients for the Dichlorosilane-Hydrogen and Trichlorosilane-Hydrogen Systems

As part of NASA Ames Research Center's Integrated Process Team on Device/Process Modeling and Nanotechnology our goal is to create/contribute to a gas-phase chemical database for use in modeling microelectronics devices. In particular, we use ab initio methods to determine chemical reaction pathways and to evaluate reaction rate coefficients. Our initial studies concern reactions involved in the dichlorosilane-hydrogen (SiCl2H2--H2) and trichlorosilane-hydrogen (SiCl2H-H2) systems. Reactant, saddle point (transition state), and product geometries and their vibrational harmonic frequencies are determined using the complete-active-space self-consistent-field (CASSCF) electronic structure method with the correlation consistent polarized valence double-zeta basis set (cc-pVDZ). Reaction pathways are constructed by following the imaginary frequency mode of the saddle point to both the reactant and product. Accurate energetics are determined using the singles and doubles coupled-cluster method that includes a perturbational estimate of the effects of connected triple excitations (CCSD(T)) extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. Using the data from the electronic structure calculations, reaction rate coefficients are obtained using conventional and variational transition state and RRKM theories.

Dateo, Christopher E.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Error-Rate Bounds for Coded PPM on a Poisson Channel

Equations for computing tight bounds on error rates for coded pulse-position modulation (PPM) on a Poisson channel at high signal-to-noise ratio have been derived. These equations and elements of the underlying theory are expected to be especially useful in designing codes for PPM optical communication systems. The equations and the underlying theory apply, more specifically, to a case in which a) At the transmitter, a linear outer code is concatenated with an inner code that includes an accumulator and a bit-to-PPM-symbol mapping (see figure) [this concatenation is known in the art as "accumulate-PPM" (abbreviated "APPM")]; b) The transmitted signal propagates on a memoryless binary-input Poisson channel; and c) At the receiver, near-maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding is effected through an iterative process. Such a coding/modulation/decoding scheme is a variation on the concept of turbo codes, which have complex structures, such that an exact analytical expression for the performance of a particular code is intractable. However, techniques for accurately estimating the performances of turbo codes have been developed. The performance of a typical turbo code includes (1) a "waterfall" region consisting of a steep decrease of error rate with increasing signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at low to moderate SNR, and (2) an "error floor" region with a less steep decrease of error rate with increasing SNR at moderate to high SNR. The techniques used heretofore for estimating performance in the waterfall region have differed from those used for estimating performance in the error-floor region. For coded PPM, prior to the present derivations, equations for accurate prediction of the performance of coded PPM at high SNR did not exist, so that it was necessary to resort to time-consuming simulations in order to make such predictions. The present derivation makes it unnecessary to perform such time-consuming simulations.

Moision, Bruce↗

NASA NTRS1995

Response of Tropical Clouds to the Interannual Variation of Sea Surface Temperature

Connection between the large-scale interannual variations of clouds, deep convection, atmospheric winds and vertical thermodynamic structure and SST over global tropical oceans are examined over the period July 1983Єecember 1990. The SST warming associated with El Ni??ad a significant impact on the global tropical cloud field although the warming itself was confined to the equatorial central and eastern Pacific.

El↗

NASA NTRS2024

Microgravity Effects on Nonequilibrium Melt Processing of Neodymium Titanate: Thermophysical Properties, Atomic Structure, Glass Formation and Crystallization

The relationships between materials processing and structure can vary between terrestrial and reduced gravity environments. As one case study, we compare the nonequilibrium melt processing of a rare-earth titanate, nominally 83TiO 2 -17Nd 2 O 3 , and the structure of its glassy and crystalline products. Density and thermal expansion for the liquid, supercooled liquid, and glass are measured over 300–1850 °C using the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) in microgravity, and two replicate density measurements were reproducible to within 0.4%. Cooling rates in ELF are 40–110 °C s −1 lower than those in a terrestrial aerodynamic levitator due to the absence of forced convection. X-ray/neutron total scattering and Raman spectroscopy indicate that glasses processed on Earth and in microgravity exhibit similar atomic structures, with only subtle differences that are consistent with compositional variations of ~2 mol. % Nd 2 O 3 . The glass atomic network contains a mixture of corner- and edge-sharing Ti-O polyhedra, and the fraction of edge-sharing arrangements decreases with increasing Nd 2 O 3 content. X-ray tomography and electron microscopy of crystalline products reveal substantial differences in microstructure, grain size, and crystalline phases, which arise from differences in the melt processes.

thermophysical properties↗

NASA NTRS1961

Effects of Geometric Variations on Lift Augmentation of Simple-plenum-chamber Ground-effect Models

Considerable interest has been shown during recent years in ground-effect vehicles. Of the various types proposed, the simple-plenum-chamber vehicle has indicated promise because, although the lift augmentation obtainable appears to be less than that of an annular jet, it may be somewhat less complicated structurally. The present investigation was undertaken to study the effects of some geometric variations upon lift augmentation of a simple plenum chamber within ground proximity. The variables included the ratio inlet area to exit area, plenum-chamber depth, and entrance configuration. An optimum plenum-chamber depth appeared to be between 3 and 10 percent of the plenum-chamber diameter with a ratio of inlet diameter to plenum-chamber diameter of 0.15 for the range of plenum-chamber depths investigated. The most important effect of multiple inlets was the elimination of negative lift augmentation, which was experienced with single sharp-edged inlets, at intermediate heights. Installation of a flared inlet and a turning-vane assembly improved lift augmentation of a single-inlet configuration at intermediate heights.

Davenport, Edwin E.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Control System and Flexible Satellite Interaction During Orbit Transfer Maneuver

In this paper the interaction between the attitude control system and the flexible structure of an artificial satellite during orbit transfer maneuver has been investigated. The satellite was modeled by a rigid central body with one or more flexible appendages. The dynamics equations were obtained by Lagrangean approach. The flexible appendages were treated as clamped-free beam and its displacement was discretized by assumed- mode method. In order to transfer the satellite, a typical Hohmann transfer and a burn-coast-burn strategy were used and the attitude was controlled by an on-off controller. During transfer procedure a global analysis of satellite has been done, such as: performance of control system, influence of elastic response in control system, thruster firing frequency, fuel consumption and variation of orbital elements. In order to avoid the interaction with structure motion, a control system with bandwidth of one decade bellow the fundamental frequency was used. In the simulations the firing frequency was evaluated in an approximately way but kept below the fundamental frequency of the structure. The control system has kept the attitude below the specifications. As a result, the orbit transfer maneuvering has been done correctly without excessive excitation of flexible appendage.

Adenilson Roberto da Silva↗

NASA NTRS1985

On the penetration of a hot diapir through a strongly temperature-dependent viscosity medium

The ascent of a hot spherical body through a fluid with a strongly temperature-dependent viscosity has been studied using an axisymmetric finite element method. Numerical solutions range over Peclet numbers of 0.1 - 1000 from constant viscosity up to viscosity variations of 100,000. Both rigid and stress-free boundary conditions were applied at the surface of the sphere. The dependence of drag on viscosity variation was shown to have no dependence on the stress boundary condition except for a Stokes flow scaling factor. A Nusselt number parameterization based on the stress-free constant viscosity functional dependence on the Peclet number scaled by a parameter depending on the viscosity structure fits both stress-free and rigid boundary condition data above viscosity variations of 100. The temperature scale height was determined as a function of sphere radius. For the simple physical model studied in this paper pre-heating is required to reduce the ambient viscosity of the country rock to less than 10 to the 22nd sq cm/s in order for a 10 km diapir to penetrate a distance of several radii.

Daly, S. F.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Recurrent modulation of galactic cosmic rays and the anomalous helium

The observations of 27 day variations in the intensity of low energy cosmic ray protons (29-67 MeV) and anomalous helium (11-20 MeV/nucleon) are reported. These observations were made with instruments on IMP-8 in the earth orbit on Pioneer 11 at heliographic latitudes up to 16 deg and on Pioneer 10 at heliocentric distances of from 4 to 14 AU. 27 day variations are observed at all locations, most strongly in the anomalous helium, and reflect the very large scale structure of the interplanetary medium. Intensity minima are most often associated with high speed solar wind streams, but the physical mechanism producing the variations is not clear.

Bastian, T. S.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Investigation of Tropical Dynamics and Transport with UARS Data

Our research focused on Kelvin waves in the tropical lower stratosphere, and resulted in three papers published or submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research. The first of these, published in 2002, used temperature data from the Microwave Limb Sounder to examine the amplitude, frequency, phase, and spatial structure of leading modes of Kelvin waves. The second and third, submitted late in 2002 and currently in revision, described the response to Kelvin waves of various trace constituents measured by MLS and CLAES (methane, nitrous oxide, CFC-12, and ozone in the second paper; water vapor in the third paper). Water vapor is a special case because the vertical structure induced by Kelvin waves is convolved with water vapor's seasonally varying vertical profile induced by seasonal variations in temperature at the tropical tropopause. Forward modeling indicated that the vertical resolution of MLS was indeed adequate to capture this complicated structure, yet it was not visible in the MLS data, though the Kelvin wave signature was clear on certain UARS levels. The effects of Kelvin waves on the tropical tropopause and on stratosphere- troposphere exchange cannot be quantified from UARS data because of poor vertical resolution and sensitivity in that region. It is recommended that this analysis be repeated using data from the new MLS and HIRDLS instruments aboard Aura, and that priority be given to fine-scale retrievals of temperature, water vapor, and ozone in the tropical tropopause region.

Jackman, Charles↗

NASA NTRS1987

Space Shuttle guidance for multiple main engine failures during first stage

This paper presents contingency abort guidance schemes recently developed for multiple Space Shuttle main engine failures during the first two minutes of flight (first stage). The ascent and entry guidance schemes greatly improve the possibility of the crew and/or the Orbiter surviving a first stage contingency abort. Both guidance schemes were required to meet certain structural and controllability constraints. In addition, the systems were designed with the flexibility to allow for seasonal variations in the atmosphere and wind. The ascent scheme guides the vehicle to a desirable, lofted state at solid rocket booster burnout while reducing the structural loads on the vehicle. After Orbiter separation from the solid rockets and the external tank, the entry scheme guides the Orbiter through one of two possible entries. If the proper altitude/range/velocity conditions have been met, a return-to-launch-site 'Split-S' maneuver may be attempted. Otherwise, a down-range abort to an equilibrium glide and subsequent crew bailout is performed.

Sponaugle, Steven J.↗

NASA NTRS1993

High-resolution seismic reflection survey at the Manson crater, Iowa

Approximately 17.4 km of high-resolution reflection data were acquired along an east-west radius of the Manson Impact Structure (MIS) to delineate the shallow (upper 300 m) subsurface structural configuration. The geometry of the shallow structure is poorly known due to a 30-90 m thick Pleistocene till cover. The resolution of the new seismic data is roughly 5-10 times that of existing Vibroseis data. Data quality varies rapidly along the line from exceptional to poor, due primarily to velocity variations associated with the geological complexity of the area. Preliminary results indicate subsurface structural blocks previously envisioned to be several hundreds of meters in size are actually an order of magnitude smaller and more complex. A seismogram-by-seismogram analysis is necessary to confidently identify intricate stratigraphic and structural relationships seen on preliminary CDP sections, as numerous faults, diffractions, and complicated reflection patterns create potential pitfalls.

Keiswetter, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Wake Structure Induced by Seal Whisker: Effects of Angle of Incidence

Seal whiskers have been found to produce unique wake flow structures that minimize self-induced vibration and reduce drag. The cause of these wake features are due to the peculiar three-dimensional morphology of the whisker surface. The whisker can be defined as an elliptical cross section with variation in the major and minor axis of the ellipse along the length of the whisker as well as rotation of the elliptical plane with respect to the whisker axis, angle of incidence. While the effects of several dominant parameters of the whisker morphology have been studied, the effect of the rotation of the elliptical plane has not been well understood. This paper will examine the influence of the angle of incidence on the wake flow structure through series of water channel studies. Several models of whisker-like geometries will be tested which isolate the rotation angle as the only variation between models. The wake structure behind each seal whisker model will be measured through particle image velocimetry (PIV). The different models’ wake structures will be compared identifying the effect of angle of incidence on the wake structure. Angle of incidence was found to influence the wake structure through reorganization of velocity patterns, reduction of recovery length and modification of magnitude of Tu. These results help provide a more complete understanding of the seal whisker geometry relationship to wake structure and can provide insight into design practices for application of whisker geometery to various engineering problems.

vortex induced vibration↗