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At least 1,027 records · Page 57

Trace elements in 59 mostly highland moon rocks

New chemical analyses for up to 26 trace elements, including seldom-determined highly siderophile elements Ir, Os, Re, Au, Pd, and Ge, for 59 lunar samples are reported. Most of these samples are polymict breccias from Apollo 16. Remarkably few have Group 7 (extremely low Au/Ir) meteoritic components. Several samples have uncommonly high Au/(Ir + Re) ratios, even higher than group 1L. Volatile-element enrichments are found in several fragments from rusty rock 66095. A matrix sample from fragmental breccia 60639 shows Cd and In enrichments, also observed previously in samples of anorthosite and mare basalt from the same breccia. Evidently, for these highly labile elements, chemical exchange has affected clasts that for most other elements are pristine.

Ebihara, Mitsuru↗

A new finite element method for solving compressible Navier-Stokes equations based on an operator splitting method and h-p adaptivity

A new finite element method solving compressible Navier-Stokes equations is proposed. The method is based on a version of Strang's operator splitting and an h-p adaptive finite element approximation in space. This paper contains the formulation of the method with a detailed discussion of boundary conditions, a sample adaptive strategy and numerical examples involving compressible viscous flow over a flat plate with Reynolds number Re = 1000 and Re = 10,000.

Demkowicz, L.↗

System diagnostic builder

The System Diagnostic Builder (SDB) is an automated software verification and validation tool using state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. The SDB is used extensively by project BURKE at NASA-JSC as one component of a software re-engineering toolkit. The SDB is applicable to any government or commercial organization which performs verification and validation tasks. The SDB has an X-window interface, which allows the user to 'train' a set of rules for use in a rule-based evaluator. The interface has a window that allows the user to plot up to five data parameters (attributes) at a time. Using these plots and a mouse, the user can identify and classify a particular behavior of the subject software. Once the user has identified the general behavior patterns of the software, he can train a set of rules to represent his knowledge of that behavior. The training process builds rules and fuzzy sets to use in the evaluator. The fuzzy sets classify those data points not clearly identified as a particular classification. Once an initial set of rules is trained, each additional data set given to the SDB will be used by a machine learning mechanism to refine the rules and fuzzy sets. This is a passive process and, therefore, it does not require any additional operator time. The evaluation component of the SDB can be used to validate a single software system using some number of different data sets, such as a simulator. Moreover, it can be used to validate software systems which have been re-engineered from one language and design methodology to a totally new implementation.

Nieten, Joseph L.↗

Reusable Reentry Satellite (RRS) system design study. Phase B, appendix E: Attitude control system study

A study which consisted of a series of design analyses for an Attitude Control System (ACS) to be incorporated into the Re-usable Re-entry Satellite (RRS) was performed. The main thrust of the study was associated with defining the control laws and estimating the mass and power requirements of the ACS needed to meet the specified performance goals. The analyses concentrated on the different on-orbit control modes which start immediately after the separation of the RRS from the launch vehicle. The three distinct on-orbit modes considered for these analyses are as follows: (1) Mode 1 - A Gravity Gradient (GG) three-axis stabilized spacecraft with active magnetic control; (2) Mode 2 - A GG stabilized mode with a controlled yaw rotation rate ('rotisserie') using three-axis magnetic control and also incorporating a 10 N-m-s momentum wheel along the (Z) yaw axis; and (3) Mode 3 - A spin stabilized mode of operation with the spin about the pitch (Y) axis, incorporating a 20 N-m-s momentum wheel along the pitch (Y) axis and attitude control via thrusters. To investigate the capabilities of the different controllers in these various operational modes, a series of computer simulations and trade-off analyses have been made to evaluate the achievable performance levels, and the necessary mass and power requirements.

Source record↗

The morphology of and locations of star formation in impact induced ring galaxies

Observed ring galaxies appear to fall into two major types. The first tends to consist of isolated galaxies which display a smooth, apparently circular ring and a central nucleus. These have been variously classified as R(S) by de Vaucouleurs (1959) and as type O by Few and Madore (1986). The second class of ring galaxy nearly always has a close companion of comparable size (no less than about one tenth that of the ring galaxy). In these objects the ring is knotty in appearance, is usually elliptical, even when deprojected on the sky, and is often open on one side, having a 'horse shoe' or 'banana' shape. The nucleus does not usually appear at the center of the ring and is sometimes apparently absent, giving rise to an 'empty ring' galaxy. deVaucouleurs et al. (1976) designated this second type as RING, while Few and Madore (1986) have classified similar galaxies as P type. These galaxies have elevated far IR emission, bright HII regions, and blue spectral colors. The different environments of the two types or ring galaxy, together with their overall morphological and spectral differences suggest that the R(S)/O type are most probably the result of an instability that occurs in isolated galaxies, whereas the RING/P type appears to be the result of a recent collision between two roughly equal mass objects, at least one of which is a disk galaxy. Theys and Spiegel (1976) studied a sample of this latter type and identified three subclasses: RE: galaxies with crisp, empty rings; RN: galaxies like those of RE but with off-center nuclei; RK: galaxies having single dominant knots or condensations in the rings. A presentation of a preliminary understanding of the connections between these different observed forms in terms of parameters which are intrinsic to the galaxy system, such as time since collision and impact parameter, and in terms of our line of sight view is the purpose of this paper. Here we report results we have obtained from three dimensional computer simulations of collisions between equal mass galaxies, one of which is a rotating, disk galaxy containing both gas and stars and the other is an elliptical containing stars only. We have used a combined n-body/SPH program (see Balsara, 1990) to model fully self consistent models in which the halo mass is 2.5 times that of the disk and gas comprises ten percent of the disk mass.

Lamb, Susan A.↗

Investigation of forced unsteady separated flows using velocity-vorticity form of Navier-Stokes equations

The phenomenon of forced unsteady separation and eruption of boundary-layer vorticity is a highly-complex, high-Reynolds number flow phenomenon, which abruptly leads to the formation of a dynamic stall vortex as demonstrated earlier by the authors for a NACA 0015 airfoil undergoing constant rate pitch-up motion. This, as well as the results of other researchers, have convincingly demonstrated a complex vortical structure within the state of unsteady separation prior to the evolution of dynamic stall. This phenomenon of vortex eruption, although observed in studying dynamic stall phenomena, is also associated with transition from laminar to turbulence flow and its generic nature has been stressed by many researchers including the present investigators. An unsteady Navier-Stokes (NS) analysis is developed for arbitrarily maneuvering bodies using velocity-vorticity variables; this formulation is nearly form-invariant under a generalized non-inertial coordinate transformation. A fully-implicit uniformly second-order accurate method is used, with the nonlinear convective terms approximated using a biased third-order upwind differencing scheme to be able to simulate higher-Re flows. No explicit artificial dissipation is added. The numerical method is fully vectorized and currently achieves a computational index of 7 micro-seconds per time step per mesh point, using a single processor on a CRAY Y-MP. The simulation results show that the energetic free shear from the leading edge is responsible for the wall viscous layer to abruptly erupt near the center of the counterclockwise rotating eddy in the unsteady boundary layer. Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary vortices have been observed before the dynamic stall vortex evolves and gathers its maximum strength. This study will discuss the simulation results of Reynolds number up to Re = 45,000 and will also discuss the efforts of initial acceleration in a specific maneuver, on the evolution of the stall vortex.

Ghia, K. N.↗

Non-linear properties of metallic cellular materials with a negative Poisson's ratio

Negative Poisson's ratio copper foam was prepared and characterized experimentally. The transformation into re-entrant foam was accomplished by applying sequential permanent compressions above the yield point to achieve a triaxial compression. The Poisson's ratio of the re-entrant foam depended on strain and attained a relative minimum at strains near zero. Poisson's ratio as small as -0.8 was achieved. The strain dependence of properties occurred over a narrower range of strain than in the polymer foams studied earlier. Annealing of the foam resulted in a slightly greater magnitude of negative Poisson's ratio and greater toughness at the expense of a decrease in the Young's modulus.

Choi, J. B.↗

Grain size control of rhenium strip

Ensuring the desired grain size in the pure Re strip employed by the SP-100 space nuclear reactor design entails the establishment of an initial grain size in the as-received strip and the avoidance of excessive grain growth during subsequent fabrication. Pure Re tapered tensile specimens have been fabricated and tested in order to quantify the effects of grain-boundary migration. Grain size could be rendered fine and uniform by means of a rolling procedure that uses rather large reductions between short intermediate anneals. The critical strain regime varies inversely with annealing temperature.

Schuster, Gary B.↗

Non-parallel effects in the instability of Long's vortex

Asymptotic results obtained by Foster and Smith (1989) for inviscid instability modes of the Type-II Long's vortex is extended to account for the effects of finite Reynolds number. It is shown that the nonparallelism of the flow is more important than the viscous terms in determining the finite-Re behavior due to the radial velocity scales with Re exp -1 M. A critical layer of the three-layer structrue of the parallel-flow instability modes is considerably modified by radial velocity. It is found that for azimuthal wavenumber n greater than 1, the nonparallelism stabilizes the unstable inertial modes, leading to determination of neutral curves. For n less than -1, the nonparallel effects always destabilize the vortex to these helical modes.

Foster, M. R.↗

A least-squares finite element method for 3D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

The least-squares finite element method (LSFEM) based on the velocity-pressure-vorticity formulation is applied to three-dimensional steady incompressible Navier-Stokes problems. This method can accommodate equal-order interpolations, and results in symmetric, positive definite algebraic system. An additional compatibility equation, i.e., the divergence of vorticity vector should be zero, is included to make the first-order system elliptic. The Newton's method is employed to linearize the partial differential equations, the LSFEM is used to obtain discretized equations, and the system of algebraic equations is solved using the Jacobi preconditioned conjugate gradient method which avoids formation of either element or global matrices (matrix-free) to achieve high efficiency. The flow in a half of 3D cubic cavity is calculated at Re = 100, 400, and 1,000 with 50 x 52 x 25 trilinear elements. The Taylor-Gortler-like vortices are observed at Re = 1,000.

Jiang, Bo-Nan↗

Heat transfer in oscillating flows with sudden change in cross section

Oscillating fluid flow (zero mean) with heat transfer, between two parallel plates with a sudden change in cross section, was examined computationally. Over 30 different cases were examined; these cases cover wide ranges of Re sub max (187.5 to 30,000), Va (1 to 350), expansion ratio (1:2, 1:4, 1:8, and 1:12) and A sub r (0.68 to 4). Three different geometric cases were considered (asymmetric expansion and/or contraction, symmetric expansion/contraction, and symmetric blunt body). The heat transfer cases were based on constant wall temperature at higher (heating) or lower (cooling) value than the inflow fluid temperature. As a result of the oscillating flow, the fluid undergoes sudden expansion in one half of the cycle and sudden contraction in the other half. Instantaneous friction factors and heat transfer coefficients, for some ranges of Re sub max and Va, deviated substantially from those predicted with steady state correlations.

Ibrahim, Mounir↗

SiC lightweight telescopes for advanced space applications. II - Structures technology

A critical technology area for lightweight SiC-based telescope systems is the structural integrity and thermal stability over spaceborne environmental launch and thermal operating conditions. Note, it is highly desirable to have an inherently athermal design of both SiC mirrors and structure. SSG has developed an 8 inch diameter SiC telescope system for brassboard level optical and thermal testing. The brassboard telescope has demonstrated less than 0.2 waves P-V in the visible wavefront change over +50 C to -200 C temperature range. SSG has also fabricated a SiC truss structural assembly and successfully qualified this hardware at environmental levels greater than 3 times higher than normal Delta, Titan, and ARIES launch loads. SSG is currently developing two SiC telescopes; an 20 cm diameter off-axis 3 mirror re-imaging and a 60 cm aperture on-axis 3 mirror re-imager. Both hardware developments will be tested to flight level environmental, optical, and thermal specifications.

Anapol, Michael I.↗

Large-amplitude auroral electric fields measured with DE 1

A large fraction of the available electric field data from the plasma wave instrument (PWI) on the Dynamics Explorer (DE) 1 satellite has recently been searched for events with large-amplitude electric fields. The magnitude and distribution of these peak events as functions of altitude have been determined. The largest amplitudes were found between 1.4 and 2.5 RE and the probability of finding large electric fields was greatest in the range of 1.5 to 1.7 RE. However, when the measured electric field values are 'mapped' to the Earth's surface in order to account for the geometry of the geomagnetic field lines, then the mapped values always increase with increasing altitude. This radial dependence is considered to be evidence for magnetic field-aligned electric fields. The largest electric field that was detected with the DE 1 instrument had a magnitude exceeding 840 mV/m and was found at 1.45 R(E). This field appears to be associated with a low-frequency wave. At subauroral latitudes the average mapped electric field is nearly constant with altitude, as it should be where there are no magnetic field-aligned potential drops. Within auroral latitudes the average value of the mapped electric field increases as altitude increases. The largest gradients are found between 1.3 and 2 R(E).

Weimer, D. R.↗

Pressure and frictional resistance of a cylinder at Reynolds numbers 5,000 to 40,000

This report presents the results of a series of free-jet measurements to determine the pure frictional resistance of a cylinder from the difference between total resistance and pressure at Reynolds Numbers 5,000 to 40,700. The skin friction is 5 percent of the total resistance at Re = 5,000, and had dropped to 2 percent at Re = 40,000, which supports Thom's theory.

Schiller, L↗

The three-dimensional flow past a rapidly rotating circular cylinder

The high Reynolds number (Re) flow past a rapidly rotating circular cylinder is investigated. The rotation rate of the cylinder is allowed to vary (slightly) along the axis of the cylinder, thereby provoking three-dimensional flow disturbances, which are shown to involve relatively massive (O(Re)) velocity perturbations to the flow away from the cylinder surface. Additionally, three integral conditions, analogous to the single condition determined in two dimensions by Batchelor, are derived, based on the condition of periodicity in the azimuthal direction.

Denier, James P.↗

Suppression of dynamic stall with a leading-edge slat on a VR-7 airfoil

The VR-7 airfoil was experimentally studied with and without a leading-edge slat at fixed angles of attack from 0 deg to 30 deg at Re = 200,000 and for unsteady pitching motions described by alpha equals alpha(sub m) + 10 deg(sin(wt)). The models were two dimensional, and the test was performed in a water tunnel at Ames Research Center. The unsteady conditions ranged over Re equals 100,000 to 250,000, k equals 0.001 to 0.2, and alpha(sub m) = 10 deg to 20 deg. Unsteady lift, drag, and pitching-moment measurements were obtained along with fluorescent-dye flow visualizations. The addition of the slat was found to delay the static-drag and static-moment stall by about 5 degrees and to eliminate completely the development of a dynamic-stall vortex during unsteady motions that reached angles as high as 25 degrees. In all of the unsteady cases studied, the slat caused a significant reduction in the force and moment hysteresis amplitudes. The reduced frequency was found to have the greatest effect on the results, whereas the Reynolds number had little effect on the behavior of either the basic or the slatted airfoil. The slat caused a slight drag penalty at low angles of attack, but generally increased the lift/drag ratio when averaged over the full cycle of oscillation.

Mcalister, K. W.↗

Geology and deposits of the Serenitatis basin

The Serenitatis basin is prominent on the near side of the Moon, just east of Mare Imbrium. Originally thought to be one of the oldest lunar basins, re-interpretation of both geological relations and Apollo 17 isotopic data suggest instead that Serenitatis is one of the youngest basins, having formed in the Nectarian Period about 3.87 Ga ago. As part of our continuing effort to understand the geology of multi-ring basins on the Moon and to use basins as probes of the deep lunar crust, we here report results for the Serenitatis basin. Our examination of Serenitatis was stimulated in part by a new effort to re-examine the geology of the Apollo 17 landing site.

Spudis, Paul D.↗

Intelligent systems and advanced user interfaces for design, operation, and maintenance of command management systems

Historically, command management systems (CMS) have been large and expensive spacecraft-specific software systems that were costly to build, operate, and maintain. Current and emerging hardware, software, and user interface technologies may offer an opportunity to facilitate the initial formulation and design of a spacecraft-specific CMS as well as to develop a more generic CMS system. New technologies, in addition to a core CMS common to a range of spacecraft, may facilitate the training and enhance the efficiency of CMS operations. Current mission operations center (MOC) hardware and software include Unix workstations, the C/C++ programming languages, and an X window interface. This configuration provides the power and flexibility to support sophisticated and intelligent user interfaces that exploit state-of-the-art technologies in human-machine interaction, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. One of the goals of this research is to explore the extent to which technologies developed in the research laboratory can be productively applied in a complex system such as spacecraft command management. Initial examination of some of these issues in CMS design and operation suggests that application of technologies such as intelligent planning, case-based reasoning, human-machine systems design and analysis tools (e.g., operator and designer models), and human-computer interaction tools (e.g., graphics, visualization, and animation) may provide significant savings in the design, operation, and maintenance of the CMS for a specific spacecraft as well as continuity for CMS design and development across spacecraft. The first six months of this research saw a broad investigation by Georgia Tech researchers into the function, design, and operation of current and planned command management systems at Goddard Space Flight Center. As the first step, the researchers attempted to understand the current and anticipated horizons of command management systems at Goddard. Preliminary results are given on CMS commonalities and causes of low re-use, and methods are proposed to facilitate increased re-use.

Potter, William J.↗