SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “density correlation”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,027 records · Page 57

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1990

Hypervelocity impact testing of Shuttle Orbiter thermal protection system tiles

Results are presented from a series of 22 hypervelocity impact tests carried out on the thermal protection system (TPS) for the Shuttle Orbiter. Both coated and uncoated low-density (0.14 g/cu cm) LI-900 and high-density (0.35 g/cu cm) LI-2200 tiles were tested. The results are used to develop the penetration and damage correlations which can be used in meteoroid and debris hazard analyses for spacecraft with a ceramic tile TPS. It is shown that tile coatings act as a 'bumper' to fragment the impacting projectile, with thicker coating providing increased protection.

Christiansen, Eric L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Multiple Access Trade Study

The Personal Access Satellite System (PASS) strawman design uses a hybrid Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)/Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) implementation. TDMA is used for the forward direction (from Suppliers to Users), and FDMA for the return direction (from Users to Suppliers). An alternative architecture is proposed that will require minimal real time coordination and yet provide a fast access method by using random access Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The CDMA system issues are addressed such as connecting suppliers and users, both of whom may be located anywhere in the CONUS, when the user terminals are constrained in size and weight; and providing efficient traffic routing under highly variable traffic requirements. It is assumed that bandwidth efficiency is not of paramount importance. CDMA or Spread Spectrum Multiple Access (SSMA) communication is a method in which a group of carriers operate at the same nominal center frequency but are separable from each other by the low cross correlation of the spreading codes used. Interference and multipath rejection capability, ease of selective addressing and message screening, low density power spectra for signal hiding and security, and high resolution ranging are among the benefits of spread spectrum communications.

Motamedi, Masoud↗

NASA NTRS1992

The topology of large-scale structure. V - Two-dimensional topology of sky maps

A 2D algorithm is applied to observed sky maps and numerical simulations. It is found that when topology is studied on smoothing scales larger than the correlation length, the topology is approximately in agreement with the random phase formula for the 2D genus-threshold density relation, G2(nu) varies as nu(e) exp-nu-squared/2. Some samples show small 'meatball shifts' similar to those seen in corresponding 3D observational samples and similar to those produced by biasing in cold dark matter simulations. The observational results are thus consistent with the standard model in which the structure in the universe today has grown from small fluctuations caused by random quantum noise in the early universe.

Gott, J. R., III↗

NASA NTRS1994

The coupling between flame surface dynamics and species mass conservation in premixed turbulent combustion

Current flamelot models based on a description of the flame surface dynamics require the closure of two inter-related equations: a transport equation for the mean reaction progress variable, (tilde)c, and a transport equation for the flame surface density, Sigma. The coupling between these two equations is investigated using direct numerical simulations (DNS) with emphasis on the correlation between the turbulent fluxes of (tilde)c, bar(pu''c''), and Sigma, (u'')(sub S)Sigma. Two different DNS databases are used in the present work: a database developed at CTR by A. Trouve and a database developed by C. J. Rutland using a different code. Both databases correspond to statistically one-dimensional premixed flames in isotropic turbulent flow. The run parameters, however, are significantly different, and the two databases correspond to different combustion regimes. It is found that in all simulated flames, the correlation between bar(pu''c'') and (u'')(sub S)Sigma is always strong. The sign, however, of the turbulent flux of (tilde)c or Sigma with respect to the mean gradients, delta(tilde)c/delta(x) or delta(Sigma)/delta(x), is case-dependent. The CTR database is found to exhibit gradient turbulent transport of (tilde)c and Sigma, whereas the Rutland DNS features counter-gradient diffusion. The two databases are analyzed and compared using various tools (a local analysis of the flow field near the flame, a classical analysis of the conservation equation for (tilde)(u''c''), and a thin flame theoretical analysis). A mechanism is then proposed to explain the discrepancies between the two databases and a preliminary simple criterion is derived to predict the occurrence of gradient/counter-gradient turbulent diffusion.

Trouve, A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

A HIRES analysis of the FIR emission of supernova remnants

The high resolution (HiRes) algorithm has been used to analyze the far infrared emission of shocked gas and dust in supernova remnants. In the case of supernova remnant IC 443, we find a very good match between the resolved features in the deconvolved images and the emissions of shocked gas mapped in other wavelengths (lines of H2, CO, HCO+, and HI). Dust emission is also found to be surrounding hot bubbles of supernova remnants which are seen in soft X-ray maps. Optical spectroscopy on the emission of the shocked gas suggests a close correlation between the FIR color and local shock speed, which is a strong function of the ambient (preshock) gas density. These provide a potentially effective way to identify regions of strong shock interaction, and thus facilitate studies of kinematics and energetics in the interstellar medium.

Wang, Zhong↗

NASA NTRS1994

Near-infrared absorption spectroscopy of interstellar hydrocarbon grains

We present new 3600 - 2700/cm (2.8 - 3.7 micrometer) spectra of objects whose extinction is dominated by dust in the diffuse interstellar medium. The observations presented here augment an ongoing study of the organic component of the diffuse interstellar medium. These spectra contain a broad feature centered near 3300/cm (3.0 micrometers) and/or a feature with a more complex profile near 2950/cm (3.4 micrometers), the latter of which is attributed to saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons in interstellar grains and is the primary interest of this paper. As in our earlier work, the similarity of the absorption bands near 2950/cm (3.4 micrometers) along different lines of sight and the correlation of these features with interstellar extinction reveal that the carrier of this band lies in the dust in the diffuse interstellar medium (DISM). At least 2.5% of the cosmic carbon in the local interstellar medium and 4% toward the Galactic center is tied up in the carrier of the 2950/cm (3.4 micrometer) band. The spectral structure of the diffuse dust hydrocarbon C-H stretch absorption features is reasonably similar to UV photolyzed laboratory ice residues and is quite similar to the carbonaceous component of the Murchison meteorite. The similarity between the DISM and the meteoritic spectrum suggests that some of the interstellar material originally incorporated into the solar nebula may have survived relatively untouched in primitive solar system bodies. Comparisons of the DISM spectrum to hydrogenated amorphous carbon and quenched carbonaceous composite are also presented. The A(sub V)/tau ratio for the 2950/cm (3.4 micrometer) feature is lower toward the Galactic center than toward sources in the local solar neighborhood (approximately 150 for the Galactic center sources vs. approximately 250 for the local ISM sources). A similar trend has been observed previously for silicates in the diffuse medium by Roche & Aitken, suggesting that (1) the silicate and carbonaceous materials in the DISM may be physically correlated and (2) there is either dust compositional variation in the galaxy or galactic variation in the grain population density distribution. We also note a possible absorption feature near 3050/cm (3.28 micrometers), a wavelength position that is characteristic of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Pendleton, Y. J.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Synoptic maps of solar wind parameters from in situ spacecraft observations

Solar wind observations from the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-8 (IMP-8) and Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) spacecraft from 1982 until 1988 are combined to construct synoptic maps of solar wind parameters near 1 AU. Each map consists of 6 months of hourly averaged solar wind data, binned by heliographic latitude and Carrington longitude and projected back to the Sun. These maps show the structure and time evolution of solar wind streams near 1 AU in the heliographic latitudes of +/- 7.25 deg and provide and explicit picture of several phenomena, such as gradients, changes in the inclination of the heliospheric current sheet, and the relative positions of various structures in the inner heliosphere, that is difficult to obtain from single-spacecraft observations. The stream structure varied significantly during the last solar cycle. Between 1982 and early 1985, solar wind parameters did not depend strongly on heliographic latitude. During the last solar minimum, the solar wind developed significant latitudinal structure, and high-speed streams were excluded from the vicinity of the solar equator. The interplanetary magnetic field was strongly correlated with the coronal field, and the current sheet tended to coincide with the coronal neutral line. The solar wind speed showed the expected correlations with temperature, interplanetary magnetic field, and distance from the current sheet. The solar wind speed was anticorrelated with density, but the regions of highest density occurred east of the heliospheric current sheet and the regions of lowest solar wind speed. This is consistent with compression at the leading edge of high-speed streams.

Gazis, P. R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Variability in the x-ray emission of H0538+608: An unusual AM Her-type cataclysmic variable

The x-ray emissions of AM Herculis-type object H0538+608 were observed using the ROSAT satellite. Evidence was found for a highly varying soft x-ray component with a much lower intensity than is typical for this class. The spectrum was well fit by a thermal bremsstrahlung model (exponential plus gaunt factor) of 35 +/- 5 KeV plus a 0.05 +/- 0.01 KeV blackbody component, with absorption by interstellar medium with a neutral hydrogen column density of log N(sub H) (atoms/sq cm) = 20.2. No obvious periodic variations were found. There was very little correlation between the hard and soft x-ray bands.

Catelli, Jennifer↗

NASA NTRS1999

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Nozzle Joint 2 Gas Path Study

Each Space Shuttle solid rocket nozzle contains five joints. By design, each nozzle joint utilizes room-temperature vulcanized (RTV) rubber as a thermal barrier to protect the nozzle metal parts and O-rings from heat degradation due to motor combustion gas. Typically, combustion gas does not penetrate through the RTV in nozzle Joints. However, Joint currently experiences gas penetration through the RTV over 90 percent of the time. The occurrence of Joint gas paths is a very complex phenomenon with several known contributors such as the unique geometry of the joint, motor pressure, nozzle vectoring, manufacturing induced RTV voids. RTV material capability, and joint skip (relative radial displacement of joint components). The occurrence of Joint gas paths appears to be a combination of these causes. To better understand the causes of gas paths in Joint, the circumferential locations of gas paths in the RTV were identified and correlated with nozzle vectoring, RTV closeour locations (where the RTV backfill is completed), and X-ray low-density. anomaly (LDA) indications. Results that no specific cause was determined.

Lui, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Computed Tomography and Thermography Increases CMC Material and Process Development Efficiency and Testing Effectiveness

Nondestructive characterization techniques have been used to steer development and testing of CMCs. Computed tomography is used to determine the volumetric integrity of the CMC plates and components. Thermography is used to determine the near surface integrity of the CMC plates and components. For process and material development, information such as density uniformity, part delamination, and dimensional tolerance conformity is generated. The information from the thermography and computed tomography is correlated and then specimen cutting maps are superimposed on the thermography images. This enables for tighter data and potential explanation of off nominal test data. Examples of nondestructive characterization utilization to make decisions in process and material development and testing are presented.

Effinger, Michael↗

NASA NTRS2000

Parallel integrated frame synchronizer chip

A parallel integrated frame synchronizer which implements a sequential pipeline process wherein serial data in the form of telemetry data or weather satellite data enters the synchronizer by means of a front-end subsystem and passes to a parallel correlator subsystem or a weather satellite data processing subsystem. When in a CCSDS mode, data from the parallel correlator subsystem passes through a window subsystem, then to a data alignment subsystem and then to a bit transition density (BTD)/cyclical redundancy check (CRC) decoding subsystem. Data from the BTD/CRC decoding subsystem or data from the weather satellite data processing subsystem is then fed to an output subsystem where it is output from a data output port.

Ghuman, Parminder Singh↗

NASA NTRS2009

Chlorophyll Meters Aid Plant Nutrient Management

On December 7, 1972, roughly 5 hours and 6 minutes after launch, the crew of Apollo 17 took one of history s most famous photographs. The brilliant image of the fully illuminated Earth, the African and Antarctic continents peering out from behind swirling clouds, came to be known as the Blue Marble. Today, Earth still sometimes goes by the Blue Marble nickname, but as the satellites comprising NASA s Earth Observing System (EOS) scan the planet daily in ever greater resolutions, it is often the amount of green on the planet that is a focus of researchers attention. Earth s over 400,000 known plant species play essential roles in the planet s health: They absorb carbon dioxide and release the oxygen we breathe, help manage the Earth s temperature by absorbing and reflecting sunlight, provide food and habitats for animals, and offer building materials, medication, and sustenance for humans. As part of NASA s efforts to study our own planet along with the universe around it, the Agency s EOS satellites have been accumulating years of valuable data about Earth s vegetation (not to mention its land features, oceans, and atmosphere) since the first EOS satellite launched in 1997. Among the powerful sensors used is the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites. MODIS sweeps the entire Earth every few days, beaming back information gathered across 36 bands of visible and infrared light, yielding images that let scientists track how much of Earth is green over the course of seasons and years. Monitoring the density and distribution of vegetation on Earth provides a means of determining everything from the impact of natural and human-induced climate change to the potential outbreak of disease. (Goddard Space Flight Center and U.S. Department of Defense researchers have determined, for example, that vegetation density can be used to pinpoint regions of heavy rainfall in Africa regions ripe for outbreaks of rainfall-correlated diseases like mosquito-borne Rift Valley fever.) While the Space Agency is continually seeking to upgrade the power and scope of its satellite sensors, it is also finding ways to bring that potent information-gathering capacity down to Earth. Scientists at Stennis Space Center developed one such tool that is placing some of those sensor capabilities in the hands of farmers and agricultural researchers on the ground.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2018

Li(+)-ligand Binding Energies and the Effect of Ligand Fluorination on the Binding Energies

The Li(+)-ligand binding energies are computed for seven ligands and their perfluoro analogs using Density Functional Theory. The bonding is mostly electrostatic in origin. Thus the size of the binding energy tends to correlate with the ligand dipole moment, however, the charge-induced dipole contribution can be sufficiently large to affect the dipole-binding energy correlation. The perfluoro species are significantly less strongly bound than their parents, because the electron withdrawing power of the fluorine reduces the ligand dipole moment.

Charles W Bauschlicher↗

NASA NTRS2020

The HOSTS Survey for Exozodiacal Dust: Observational Results from the Complete Survey

The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) enables nulling interferometric observations across the N band (8 to 13 μm) to suppress a star's bright light and probe for faint circumstellar emission. We present and statistically analyze the results from the LBTI/Hunt for Observable Signatures of Terrestrial Systems survey for exozodiacal dust. By comparing our measurements to model predictions based on the solar zodiacal dust in the N band, we estimate a 1σ median sensitivity of 23 zodis times the solar system dust surface density in its habitable zone (HZ; 23 zodis) for early-type stars and 48 zodis for Sun-like stars, where 1 zodi is the surface density of HZ dust in the solar system. Of the 38 stars observed, 10 show significant excess. A clear correlation of our detections with the presence of cold dust in the systems was found, but none with the stellar spectral type or age. The majority of Sun-like stars have relatively low HZ dust levels (best-fit median: 3 zodis, 1σ upper limit: 9 zodis, 95% confidence: 27 zodis based on our N band measurements), while ~20% are significantly more dusty. The solar system's HZ dust content is consistent with being typical. Our median HZ dust level would not be a major limitation to the direct imaging search for Earth-like exoplanets, but more precise constraints are still required, in particular to evaluate the impact of exozodiacal dust for the spectroscopic characterization of imaged exo-Earth candidates.

Exozodiacal dust↗

NASA NTRS1994

The three-point function as a probe of models for large-scale structure

We analyze the consequences of models of structure formation for higher order (n-point) galaxy correlation functions in the mildly nonlinear regime. Several variations of the standard Omega = 1 cold dark matter model with scale-invariant primordial perturbations have recently been introduced to obtain more power on large scales, R(sub p) is approximately 20/h Mpc, e.g., low matter-density (nonzero cosmological constant) models, 'tilted' primordial spectra, and scenarios with a mixture of cold and hot dark matter. They also include models with an effective scale-dependent bias, such as the cooperative galaxy formation scenario of Bower et al. We show that higher-order (n-point) galaxy correlation functions can provide a useful test of such models and can discriminate between models with true large-scale power in the density field and those where the galaxy power arises from scale-dependent bias: a bias with rapid scale dependence leads to a dramatic decrease of the the hierarchical amplitudes Q(sub J) at large scales, r is greater than or approximately R(sub p). Current observational constraints on the three-point amplitudes Q(sub 3) and S(sub 3) can place limits on the bias parameter(s) and appear to disfavor, but not yet rule out, the hypothesis that scale-dependent bias is responsible for the extra power observed on large scales.

Frieman, Joshua A.↗

NASA NTRS2007

A Simple Stochastic Model for Generating Broken Cloud Optical Depth and Top Height Fields

A simple and fast algorithm for generating two correlated stochastic twodimensional (2D) cloud fields is described. The algorithm is illustrated with two broken cumulus cloud fields: cloud optical depth and cloud top height retrieved from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS). Only two 2D fields are required as an input. The algorithm output is statistical realizations of these two fields with approximately the same correlation and joint distribution functions as the original ones. The major assumption of the algorithm is statistical isotropy of the fields. In contrast to fractals and the Fourier filtering methods frequently used for stochastic cloud modeling, the proposed method is based on spectral models of homogeneous random fields. For keeping the same probability density function as the (first) original field, the method of inverse distribution function is used. When the spatial distribution of the first field has been generated, a realization of the correlated second field is simulated using a conditional distribution matrix. This paper is served as a theoretical justification to the publicly available software that has been recently released by the authors and can be freely downloaded from http://i3rc.gsfc.nasa.gov/Public codes clouds.htm. Though 2D rather than full 3D, stochastic realizations of two correlated cloud fields that mimic statistics of given fields have proved to be very useful to study 3D radiative transfer features of broken cumulus clouds for better understanding of shortwave radiation and interpretation of the remote sensing retrievals.

Prigarin, Sergei M.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Optical properties of Morgan's poor clusters

The galaxy density, spiral content, and richness of the 23 poor clusters of galaxies cataloged by Morgan and co-workers are determined and compared with those of Abell clusters. It is found that Morgan's clusters generally represent a smooth continuation of the galaxy clustering spectrum from the rich Abell clusters. This continuity in optical properties implies a corresponding continuity in X-ray properties. The extended X-ray emission recently detected from several of Morgan's clusters is consistent with the amount of thermal bremsstrahlung emission expected on the basis of the present optical observations and previous correlations of X-ray-optical cluster properties. The fraction of cluster galaxies that are spirals is a sensitive function of the galaxy surface density, N(-)0.

Bahcall, N. A.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Central Plasma Sheet Ion Properties as Inferred from Ionospheric Observations

A method of inferring central plasma sheet (CPS) temperature, density, and pressure from ionospheric observations is developed. The advantage of this method over in situ measurements is that the CPS can be studied in its entirely, rather than only in fragments. As a result, for the first time, comprehensive two-dimensional equatorial maps of CPS pressure, density, and temperature within the isotropic plasma sheet are produced. These particle properties are calculated from data taken by the Special Sensor for Precipitating Particles, version 4 (SSJ4) particle instruments onboard DMSP F8, F9, F10, and F11 satellites during the entire year of 1992. Ion spectra occurring in conjunction with electron acceleration events are specifically excluded. Because of the variability of magnetotail stretching, the mapping to the plasma sheet is done using a modified Tsyganenko [1989] magnetic field model (T89) adjusted to agree with the actual magnetotail stretch at observation time. The latter is inferred with a high degree of accuracy (correlation coefficient -0.9) from the latitude of the DMSP b2i boundary (equivalent to the ion isotropy boundary). The results show that temperature, pressure, and density all exhibit dawn-dusk asymmetries unresolved with previous measurements. The ion temperature peaks near the midnight meridian. This peak, which has been associated with bursty bulk flow events, widens in the Y direction with increased activity. The temperature is higher at dusk than at dawn, and this asymmetry increases with decreasing distance from the Earth. In contrast, the density is higher at dawn than at dusk, and there appears to be a density enhancement in the low-latitude boundary layer regions which increases with decreasing magnetic activity. In the near-Earth regions, the pressure is higher at dusk than at dawn, but this asymmetry weakens with increasing distance from the Earth and may even reverse so that at distances X less than approx. 10 to -12 R(sub E), depending on magnetic activity, the dawn sector has slightly higher pressure. The temperature and density asymmetries in the near-Earth region are consistent with the ion westward gradient/curvature drift as the ions ExB convect earthward. When the solar wind dynamic pressure increases, CPS density and pressure appear to increase, but the temperature remains relatively constant. Comparison with previously published work indicates good agreement between the inferred pressure, temperature, and density and those obtained from in situ data. This new method should provide a continuous mechanism to monitor the pressure, temperature, and density in the magnetotail with unprecedented comprehensiveness.

Wing, Simon↗