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A research program to investigate the aerodynamics of reciprocating aircraft engine cooling installations is discussed. Current results from a flight test program are presented concerning installation flow measurement methods. The influence of different inlet designs on installation cooling effectiveness and efficiency are described.
Flutter testing method based on transfer function measurements is developed. The error statistics of several dynamic stability measurement methods are reviewed. It is shown that the transfer function measurement controls the error level by averaging the data and correlating the input and output. The method also gives a direct estimate of the error in the response measurement. An algorithm is developed for obtaining the natural frequency and damping ratio of low damped modes of the system, using integrals of the transfer function in the vicinity of a resonant peak. Guidelines are given for selecting the parameters in the transfer function measurement. Finally, the dynamic stability measurement technique is applied to data from a wind tunnel test of a proprotor and wing model.
An on-going program to characterize advanced composites for up to 50,000 hours of exposure to simulated supersonic cruise environments is summarized. Results are presented for up to 25,000 hours of thermal exposure and 10,000 hours of flight simulation at temperatures up to 560K (550 F) with emphasis on HTS/710 graphite/polyimide composite material. Results to date indicate that the maximum use temperature for HTS/710 may be reduced to 505K (450 F) for long-time (1000 hours) application such as the supersonic transport. Preliminary thermophysical properties data for HTS/PMR15 graphite/polyimide were generated. These data include thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, and specific heat from 115K (-252 F) to 590K (600 F) and emittance at room temperature and 590K (600 F). The purpose in generating these data was to validate use of state-of-the-art property measurement methods for advanced graphite fiber reinforced resin matrix composites. Based on results to this point, thermal expansion measurements for composites are most difficult to perform. A high degree of caution in conducting thermal expansion tests and analyzing results is required to produce reliable data.
The results of work performed in the development and testing of a yaw measuring device are summarized. A review of the yaw measurement method; and the techniques and hardware needed for its implementation are presented. A description and summary of the tests performed at the U.S. Bureau of Mines Bruceton facility are included. Conclusions are summarized and recommendations for a unit capable of operation in a mine environment are presented.
The performance of large space deployable antenna reflectors to be used for broad-based communications systems is largely dependent on the accuracy with which the surface figure can be constructed and maintained. The paper examines various surface distortion tolerance and measurement requirements for various classes of communication antennas. Several surface measuring methods are described including a self-pulsed laser ranging system.
Gigahertz analog modulation characteristics of broad-area commercially available GaAlAs lasers have been investigated as a function of temperature and current in the vicinity of the upper frequency limit, where the resonance phenomena occur. The optimum temperature for small-signal amplitude modulation was found to be around -15 C for our particular broad-stripe geometry double-heterostructure laser. The Q was found to increase by a factor of 2 and the bandwidth by about 2%; the external quantum efficiency was maximized in this range. The optimum dc current bias was about 2% above the threshold current. Differential delays have also been measured down to a few picosecond accuracy by a unique phase-angle measurement method using a vector voltmeter. Some of the temperature effects observed may be related to mode changes and multimode and superradiance behavior.
A review of grain quality indicators and measurement methods was conducted in order to assess the feasibility of using remote sensing technology to develop a continuous monitoring system for use during grain transfer operations. Most detection methods were found to be too slow or too expensive to be incorporated into the normal inspection procedure of a grain elevator on a continuous basis. Two indicators, moisture content and broken corn and foreign material, show potential for automation and are of an economic value. A microprocessor based system which utilizes commercially available electronic moisture meter was developed and tested. A method for automating BCFM measurement is described. A complete system description is presented along with performance test results.
Measurements of water equivalence using an active FM-CW microwave system were conducted over the past three years at various sites in Colorado, Wyoming, and California. The measurement method is described. Measurements of water equivalence and stratigraphy are compared with ground truth. A comparison of microwave, federal sampler, and snow pillow measurements at three sites in Colorado is described.
Field measurements of methane fluxes from rice paddies, fresh water lakes, and saltwater marshes have been made to infer estimates of the size of these sources of atmospheric methane. The rice-paddy measurements, the first of their kind, show that the principal means of methane escape is through the plants themselves as opposed to transport across the water-air interface via bubbles or molecular diffusion. Nitrogen-fertilized plants release much more methane than unfertilized plants but even these measured rates are only one fourth as large as those inferred earlier by Koyama (1963, 1964) and on which all global extrapolations have been based to date. Measured methane fluxes from lakes and marshes are also compared to similar earlier data and it is found that extant data and flux-measurement methods are insufficient for reliable global extrapolations.
Reflector measurement systems are studied in support of the reshaping of the 34 meter antenna at Goldstone. The requirements for measurement systems are presented. A survey is made of the surface errors of existing antennas. Reflector measurement systems are divided into three categories and representative examples of each category are illustrated and discussed. Parametric error analyses are made of selected optical systems. The existing measurement method using a theodolite at the vertex is retained. A method using a theodolite on the RF cone is a possible variant.
It was found that the Solarex metallization design and process selection should be modified to yield substantially higher output of the 10 cm x 10 cm cells, while the Westinghouse design is extremely close to the optimum. In addition, further attention to the Solarex pn junction and base high/low junction formation processes could be beneficial. For the future efficiency improvement, it was found that refinement of the various minority carrier lifetime measurement methods is needed, as well as considerably increased sophistication in the interpretation of the results of these methods. In addition, it was determined that further experimental investigation of the Auger lifetime is needed, to conclusively determine the Auger coefficients for the direct Auger recombination at high majority carrier concentrations.
Concepts involved in remote sensing from space are reviewed, together with performance requirements of proposed and planned equipment. Attention is focused on measurements of the troposphere, particularly meteorological variables and chemical species. The principles of absorption, using either passive or active sensors, emission detection, fluorescence measurements, and EM radiation scattering are outlined. The proposed NASA Windsat, using a CO2 laser from the Orbiter or from an 800 km orbit spacecraft to measure low-level wind speeds is described, as are the uses of the AMTS atmospheric sounder instrument for IR atmospheric temperature sensing and a 20-channel microwave radiometer to detect moisture profiles in the water vapor bands. Additionally, a microwave pressure sounder to detect backscattered signals at 60 GHz is outlined, along with lidar pressure and wind speed measurement methods.
With the further development of the supercharger, requirements with regard to measuring accuracy increase while at the same time the conditions under which the measurements must be carried out become more difficult. The present paper is a contribution toward the improvement and refinement of the measuring methods. For pressure measurements some suggestions are made with regard to design and location of the measuring stations. The question of temperature measurement in rapid air flow is discussed, new instruments for the direct measurement of the temperature in the rapid airstream are described and the results obtained with the various instruments presented.
The results of pressure distribution measurements that were made on a model wing section of a Fieseler F 5 R type airplane are presented. Comparison of those model tests with the corresponding flight tests indicates the limitations and also the advantages of wind tunnel investigations, the advantages being particularly that through the variety of measuring methods employed the more complicated flow conditions may also be clarified. A fact brought out in these tests is that even in the case of "well rounded" slots it is possible for a vortex to be set up at the slot entrance and this vortex is responsible for certain irregularities in the pressure distribution and in the efficiency of the slot.
In internal combustion engines, steam engines, air compressors, and so forth, the piston ring plays an important role. Especially, the recent development of Diesel engines which require a high compression pressure for their working, makes, nowadays, the packing action of the piston ring far more important than ever. Though a number of papers have been published in regard to researches on the problem of the piston ring, none has yet dealt with an exact measurement of pressure exerted on the cylinder wall at any given point of the ring. The only paper that can be traced on this subject so far is Mr. Nakagawa's report on the determination of the relative distribution of pressure on the cylinder wall, but the measuring method adopted therein appears to need further consideration. No exact idea has yet been obtained as to how the obturation of gas between the piston and cylinder, the frictional resistance of the piston, and the wear of the cylinder wall are affected by the intensity and the distribution of the radial pressure of the piston ring. Consequently, the author has endeavored, by employing an apparatus of his own invention, to get an exact determination of the pressure distribution of the piston ring. By means of a newly devised ring tester, to which piezoelectricity of quartz was applied, the distribution of the radial pressure of many sample rings on the market was accurately determined. Since many famous piston rings show very irregular pressure distribution, the author investigated and achieved a manufacturing process of the piston ring which will exert uniform pressure on the cylinder wall. Temperature effects on the configuration and on the mean spring power have also been studied. Further, the tests were performed to ascertain how the gas tightness of the piston ring may be affected by the number or spring power. The researches as to the frictional resistance between the piston ring and the cylinder wall were carried out, too. The procedure of study, and experiments conducted by the author, on this subject will be fully described in the following paragraphs.
We have been studying laser-Raman radar which can be used as the remote detector of sulfur dioxide concentration in the stack plume of boiler exhaust gas, and some results have been published. In this paper, we report the interference of nitrogen dioxide fluorescence against sulfur dioxide Raman scattering and the measuring method of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide concentration. In a stack plume, high density dust and high concentration carbon dioxide are included, therefore very strong Mie back-scattering and carbon dioxide Raman scattering are observed. The separation of these scattering signals from sulfur dioxide Raman signal was the first problem for the laser-Raman radar. But, this problem was solved by using the filter which have high resolving power. It is well known that nitrogen dioxide can be excited to emit fluorescence of broad spectrum by blue-green light. The light source of the laser-Raman radar is SH of Nd:YAG laser, and boiler exhaust gas includes several tens ppm of nitrogen dioxide, then the interference of nitrogen dioxide fluorescence brings the error to sulfur dioxide measurement. 'rhe rejection of the interference can be achieved by the subtraction of the nitrogen dioxide fluorescence contribution from detected signal at sulfur dioxide Raman scattering wavelength. The nitrogen dioxide fluorescence contribution can be measured by two methods. The first is to convert the nitrogen dioxide fluorescence intensity which is measured at a different wavelength from sulfur dioxide Raman line into the one at sulfur dioxide Raman line. The second is to convert the detected signal intensity, which is obtained when the range gate is set just behind the plume, into the one obtained at the range of the plume using the difference of the time dependence between sulfur dioxide Raman scattering and nitrogen dioxide fluorescence. Nitrogen dioxide fluorescence has lifetime of about 300nS, while Raman scattering has none. By either of the two methods, the contribution of nitrogen dioxide fluorescence is determined. Then, we can measure the nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide concentration.The minimum detectable concentration and the experimental results of the remote sensing of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in stack plume will be discussed in detail.
This work explores peak estimation techniques in Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA), emphasizing both accuracy and efficiency. Euclidean distance measurement method is applied to principal components derived from Brillouin Gain Spectrum data. It offers a major speed advantage being 180 170 times faster than traditional curve fitting methods such as Lorentzian curve fitting, while maintaining similar accuracy. Additionally, a PCA- based neural network model shows significant reduction of peak estimation time compared to Lorentzian fitting. Results show Brillouin frequency shift errors lie under 0.75 MHz in both Euclidean distance-based and neural network-based methods, both of which utilize PCA components. For large data sets and long length fibers, PCA- assisted neural network for peak estimation would be an efficient solution.
This dataset contains identifiers, metadata, and a map of the locations where field measurements have been conducted at the East-Taylor Watershed Community Observatory located in the Upper Colorado River Basin, United States. This is version 3.3 of the dataset and replaces the prior version 3.2 (see below for details on changes between the versions). Dataset description: The East River-Taylor Watershed is the primary field site of the Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (WFSFA) and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Researchers from several institutions generate highly diverse hydrological, biogeochemical, climate, vegetation, geological, remote sensing, and model data at the East-Taylor Watershed in collaboration with the WFSFA. Thus, the purpose of this dataset is to maintain an inventory of the field locations and instrumentation to provide information on the field activities in the East-Taylor Watershed and coordinate data collected across different locations, researchers, and institutions. The dataset contains (1) a README file with information on the various files, (2) three csv files describing the metadata collected for each surface point location, plot and region registered with the WFSFA, (3) csv files with metadata and contact information for each surface point location registered with the WFSFA, (4) a csv file with with metadata and contact information for plots, (5) a csv file with metadata for geographic regions and sub-regions within the watershed, (6) a compiled xlsx file with all the data and metadata which can be opened in Microsoft Excel, (7) a kml map of the locations plotted in the watershed which can be opened in Google Earth, (8) a jpg image of the kml map which can be viewed in any photo viewer, and (9) a zipped file with the registration templates used by the SFA team to collect location metadata. The zipped template file contains two csv files with the blank templates (point and plot), two csv files with instructions for filling out the location templates, and one compiled xlsx file with the instructions and blank templates together. Additionally, the templates in the xlsx include drop down validation for any controlled metadata fields. Persistent location identifiers (Location_ID) are determined by the WFSFA data management team and are used to track data and samples across locations. Dataset uses: This location metadata is used to update the Watershed SFA’s publicly accessible Field Information Portal (an interactive field sampling metadata exploration tool; https://wfsfa-data.lbl.gov/watershed/), the kml map file included in this dataset, and other data management tools internal to the Watershed SFA team. Version Information: The latest version of this dataset publication is version 3.3. This version contains 167 new point locations, 1 new plot, and 2 new geographic regions. Overall, there are a total of 1439 point locations, 75 plots, and 54 geographic regions. Additionally, the kml map of locations and image now includes two boundaries (Upper Ohio Creek (UO) and Carbon Creek (CA)) outside of the East River watershed (USGS HUC-10) and accompanying stream network that represents areas of focus. Refer to methods for further details on the version history. This dataset will be updated on a periodic basis with new measurement location information. Researchers interested in having their East-Taylor Watershed measurement locations added to this list should reach out to the WFSFA data management team at wfsfa-data@googlegroups.com. Acknowledgments: Please cite this dataset if using any of the location metadata in other publications or derived products. If using the location metadata for the 2018 NEON hyperspectral campaign, additionally cite Chadwick et al. (2020). doi:10.15485/1618130. This work was supported by the Watershed Function Science Focus Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Part of this work was performed at SLAC Accelerator Laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515.