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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.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

Vortex development on slender missiles at supersonic speeds

A theoretical and experimental effort has been made to develop a vortex-prediction capability on circular and noncircular missiles at supersonic speeds. Predicted vortex patterns are computed by two linear-theory computer codes. One calculates the strengths and initial locations of the vortices, and the other calculates their trajectories. A short color motion picture has been produced from the calculations to illustrate the predicted vortex patterns on a typical missile. Experimental vapor-screen photographs are presented to show the longitudinal development of the vortices on a fin-control missile. Comparisons are made between these data and the predicted vortices to assess the accuracy of the theory. The theory appears to be fairly accurate in predicting the number, locations, and relative strengths of individual vortices which develop over the missile, but cannot predict vortex sheets or diffuse vorticity whenever they occur.

Allen, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Ground test of a large scale 'D' vented thrust deflecting nozzle

Future V/STOL aircraft will require efficient techniques for changing the thrust vector from the vertical direction for VTOL operation to the horizontal direction for conventional flight. Most V/STOL concepts utilize thrust vectoring nozzles to provide this variation in the thrust vector direction. An experimental test program was initiated to demonstrate the capabilities of a large scale 'D' vented thrust deflecting system coupled with a high bypass ratio turbofan engine. Data were obtained for a 'D' vented nozzle mounted behind a YTF-34-F5 turbofan engine. Preliminary data are presented for a variety of test conditions. Attention is given to aspects of 'D' vented nozzle design, the test apparatus, engine-nozzle compatibility, exit area variation, longitudinal vectoring performance, nozzle temperature distribution, and large scale - small scale comparisons.

Rosenberg, E. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Supplement to the Shuttle aerodynamic database using Discovery flight tests

The Discovery vehicle was found to have longitudinal and lateral aerodynamic characteristics similar to those of the Columbia and Challenger vehicles. The lateral aerodynamic characteristics of the Columbia and Challenger vehicles are reiterated and the results from the Discovery flight test are added to this database. The longitudinal aerodynamics resulting from the analysis of flight data from all three vehicles is also shown. The values of the lateral and longitudinal parameters are compared with the preflight data book and this comparison is discussed.

Suit, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Subsonic aerodynamic characteristics of a circular body earth-to-orbit transport

To reduce the weight and improve the performance of future earth-to-orbit transports, the use of circular cross sections in the fuselage bodies of these vehicles is being considered at the Langley Research Center. Structurally, circular cross sections are stronger and lighter than other shapes. A study has been made applying the circular body concept to a vertical-takeoff, delta-winged, single-stage-to-orbit transport. A 52 in., 0.022-scale model of the circular body vehicle was tested at a Mach number of 0.3 in the 7 x 10 ft High Speed Wind Tunnel at the Langley Research Center to obtain aerodynamic forces and moments. Oil-flow photographs were taken at several angles of attack to aid in the aerodynamic analysis. Model control surfaces included elevons and ailerons for the evaluation of pitch and roll characteristics and either wing-tip fins, a nose mounted dorsal fin, or a conventional vertical tail for the evaluation of yaw characteristics. Other deflecting surfaces included speedbrakes and body flaps. Basic data on longitudinal flight characteristics are shown, including lift, drag, and pitching moments. Comparisons of the directional stability and control effectiveness of the three directional control devices are also shown.

Lepsch, R. A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Magnetic Characteristics of Active Region Heating Observed with TRACE, SOHO/EIT, and Yohkoh/SXT

Over the past several years, we have reported results from studies that have compared the magnetic structure and heating of the transition region and corona (both in active regions and in the quiet Sun) by combining X-ray and EUV images from Yohkoh and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) with photospheric magnetograms from ground-based observatories. Our findings have led us to the hypothesis that most heating throughout the corona is driven from near and below the base of the corona by eruptive microflares occurring in compact low-lying "core magnetic fields (i.e., fields rooted along and closely enveloping polarity inversion lines in the photospheric magnetic flux). We now extend these studies, comparing sequences of UV images from Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) with longitudinal magnetograms from Kitt Peak and vector magnetograms from MUSIC. These comparisons confirm the previous results regarding the importance of core-field activity to active region heating. Activity in fields associated with satellite polarity inclusions and/or magnetically sheared configurations is especially prominent. This work is funded by NASA's Office of Space Science through the Sun-Earth Connection Guest Investigator Program and the Solar Physics Supporting Research and Technology Program.

Porter, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Tension Strength, Failure Prediction and Damage Mechanisms in 2D Triaxial Braided Composites with Notch

The unnotched and notched (open hole) tensile strength and failure mechanisms of two-dimensional (2D) triaxial braided composites were examined. The effect of notch size and notch position were investigated. Damage initiation and propagation in notched and unnotched coupons were also examined. Theory developed to predict the normal stress distribution near an open hole and failure for tape laminated composites was evaluated for its applicability to 2D triaxial braided textile composite materials. Four different fiber architectures were considered; braid angle, yarn and braider size, percentage of longitudinal yarns and braider angle varied. Tape laminates equivalent to textile composites were also constructed for comparison. Unnotched tape equivalents were stronger than braided textiles but exhibited greater notch sensitivity. Notched textiles and tape equivalents have roughly the same strength at large notch sizes. Two common damage mechanisms were found: braider yarn cracking and near notch longitudinal yarn splitting. Cracking was found to initiate in braider yarns in unnotched and notched coupons, and propagate in the direction of the braider yarns until failure. Damage initiation stress decreased with increasing braid angle. No significant differences in prediction of near notch strain between textile and tape equivalents could be detected for small braid angle, but the correlations were weak for textiles with large braid angle. Notch strength could not be predicted using existing anisotropic theory for braided textiles due to their insensitivity to notch.

Norman, Timothy L.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Incremental Aerodynamic Coefficient Database for the USA2

In March through May of 2016, a wind tunnel test was conducted by the Aerosciences Branch (EV33) to visually study the unsteady aerodynamic behavior over multiple transition geometries for the Universal Stage Adapter 2 (USA2) in the MSFC Aerodynamic Research Facility's Trisonic Wind Tunnel (TWT). The purpose of the test was to make a qualitative comparison of the transonic flow field in order to provide a recommended minimum transition radius for manufacturing. Additionally, 6 Degree of Freedom force and moment data for each configuration tested was acquired in order to determine the geometric effects on the longitudinal aerodynamic coefficients (Normal Force, Axial Force, and Pitching Moment). In order to make a quantitative comparison of the aerodynamic effects of the USA2 transition geometry, the aerodynamic coefficient data collected during the test was parsed and incorporated into a database for each USA2 configuration tested. An incremental aerodynamic coefficient database was then developed using the generated databases for each USA2 geometry as a function of Mach number and angle of attack. The final USA2 coefficient increments will be applied to the aerodynamic coefficients of the baseline geometry to adjust the Space Launch System (SLS) integrated launch vehicle force and moment database based on the transition geometry of the USA2.

Richardson, Annie Catherine↗
NASA NTRS1975

Status of input design for aircraft parameter identification

Results are presented on the design of aircraft inputs (i.e. elevator, rudder and aeleron deflection time histories) to identify aircraft stability and control derivatives from flight test data. The problem is first reduced to an optimization problem with differential and integral constraints. The criteria used are either expressed in terms of the Cramer-Rao lower bound on the covariance matrix of the parameter estimates or in terms of the maximum prediction error variance. Both time-domain longitudinal and lateral dynamics of C-8 and Jet Star aircrafts and comparison with doublet type inputs are made.

Mehra, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A study of the interaction of a normal shock wave with a turbulent boundary layer at transonic speeds

An asymptotic description is derived for the interaction of a weak normal shock wave and a turbulent boundary layer along a plane wall. In the case studied the nondimensional friction velocity is small in comparison with the nondimensional shock strength, and the shock wave extends well into the boundary layer. Analytical results are described for the local pressure distribution and wall shear, and a criterion for incipient separation is proposed. A comparison of predicted pressures with available experimental data includes the effect of longitudinal wall curvature.

Messiter, A. F.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Interaction between a normal shock wave and a turbulent boundary layer at high transonic speeds. I - Pressure distribution

Asymptotic solutions are derived for the pressure distribution in the interaction of a weak normal shock wave with a turbulent boundary layer. The undisturbed boundary layer is characterized by the law of the wall and the law of the wake for compressible flow. In the limiting case considered, for 'high' transonic speeds, the sonic line is very close to the wall. Comparisons with experiment are shown, with corrections included for the effect of longitudinal wall curvature and for the boundary-layer displacement effect in a circular pipe.

Messiter, A. F.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Visible spectral reflectance measurements /0.33-1.1 microns/ of the Galilean satellites at many orbital phase angles

One hundred eighty-seven reflectance spectra (0.33-1.10 microns) of the Galilean satellites have been obtained. Solar phase angle color correction coefficients were derived and the spectra corrected to a solar phase of 6 deg. Solar phase angle coefficients beyond 0.55 micron are presented for the first time. The spectra as a function of orbital phase angle are presented in the form of images to display hemispheric spectral variations. Io and Europa are redder on their trailing hemispheres while Callisto is redder on its leading hemisphere. Ganymede shows small longitudinal color variations despite the complex albedo structure visible in Voyager images. Comparisons of these data with previous measurements reveal that most differences can be attributed to the solar calibration. Reflectance measurements of Io at 0.73 micron observed 8.5 years apart show a 6% global reflectance decrease. However, it is difficult to unambiguously attribute this particular decrease in reflectance to a change in Io's surface composition.

Mcfadden, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Sulfur dioxide on Io - Spatial distribution and physical state

Observations of the 4-micron SO2 band on Jupiter's satellite Io and laboratory measurements of SO2 frost are presented. The observations confirm the existence of a large longitudinal variation in band strength, but show no evidence of temporal changes. Comparison of the band position and shape in Io's spectrum with those in the laboratory frost's suggests that the bulk of the absorption on Io is due to frost, not adsorbed gas. The derived SO2 coverage is large enough to require that SO2 be present in most terrain types on Io and not just in the white plains unit. To reconcile the infrared observations that indicate large amoutns of SO2 with the ultraviolet observations of Voyager and IUE that show little, the SO2 must be mixed intimately with the sulfur (or other material) so that at each wavelength the darker component dominates the spectrum.

Fanale, F. P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Postbuckling of long thick plates in compression including higher order transverse shearing effects

Aluminum plates of various length/width ratios loaded in compression are examined analytically in terms of buckling and postbuckling for comparison with classical theory. The plates are considered to be subjected to longitudinal compressive displacement with no edge stress and are assumed to be simply supported at the side edges. The average longitudinal direct stresses are computed to plot characteristic curves by means of the following theories: 3D flexibility, higher-order shear deformation, first-order shear deformation, and classical von Karman. The 3D flexibility approach yields the lowest results with more unknowns than the higher-order shear-deformation method. The 3D flexibility approach is considered to be the most accurate, and it is shown that the calculated resultants and displacements tend to vary when consideration is given to the effects of transverse shear.

Stein, Manuel↗
NASA NTRS1961

Effect of Ground Proximity on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of Aspect-Ratio-1 Airfoils With and Without End Plates

An investigation has been made to determine the effect of ground proximity on the aerodynamic characteristics of aspect-ratio-1 airfoils. The investigation was made with the model moving over the water in a towing tank in order to eliminate the effects of wind-tunnel walls and of boundary layer on ground boards at small ground clearances. The results indicated that, as the ground was approached, the airfoils experienced an increase in lift-curve slope and a reduction in induced drag; thus, lift-drag ratio was increased. As the ground was approached, the profile drag remained essentially constant for each airfoil. Near the ground, the addition of end plates to the airfoil resulted in a large increase in lift-drag ratio. The lift characteristics of the airfoils indicated stability of height at positive angles of attack and instability of height at negative angles; therefore, the operating range of angles of attack would be limited to positive values. At positive angles of attack, the static longitudinal stability was increased as the height above the ground was reduced. Comparison of the experimental data with Wieselsberger's ground-effect theory (NACA Technical Memorandum 77) indicated generally good agreement between experiment and theory for the airfoils without end plates.

Carter, Arthur W.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Navier-Stokes Simulation of Several High-Lift Reference H Configurations

The subsonic flow field was numerically simulated around several High Speed Research Reference H configurations at various pitch and yaw angles. A sequence of structured-viscous grids were generated; the first grid modeled the wing-body high-lift geometry, and the second grid incorporated the nacelles and the horizontal tail. The third grid modeled the full-span geometry for sideslip calculations, and was obtained by mirroring a coarser version of the second grid. The CFL3D code, a Reynolds averaged, thin-layer Navier-Stokes flow solver for structural grids, was used for the flow solver and modeled the free-air Reference H high-lift configuration at wind tunnel conditions of Mach number 0.24 and Reynolds number of 1.4 x 10(exp 5) per in. Pitch sweeps were performed at angles of attack from 6 deg to 15 deg. Sideslip angle sweeps at 0 deg <= Beta <= +18 deg were performed at an angle of attack of 8 deg. The lateral and longitudinal performance characteristics were well predicted and very good force and moment comparisons were obtained. A very complex multiple vortical system develops at the higher angles of attack, and detailed postprocessing of the solutions provided a comprehensive three-dimensional understanding of the flow which helps to correlate and interpret the wind tunnel data.

Lessard, Wendy B.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Large Amplitude Whistler Waves and Electron Acceleration in the Earth's Radiation Belts: A Review of STEREO and Wind Observations

One of the critical problems for understanding the dynamics of Earth's radiation belts is determining the physical processes that energize and scatter relativistic electrons. We review measurements from the Wind/Waves and STEREO S/Waves waveform capture instruments of large amplitude whistler-mode waves. These observations have provided strong evidence that large amplitude (100s mV/m) whistler-mode waves are common during magnetically active periods. The large amplitude whistlers have characteristics that are different from typical chorus. They are usually nondispersive and obliquely propagating, with a large longitudinal electric field and significant parallel electric field. We will also review comparisons of STEREO and Wind wave observations with SAMPEX observations of electron microbursts. Simulations show that the waves can result in energization by many MeV and/or scattering by large angles during a single wave packet encounter due to coherent, nonlinear processes including trapping. The experimental observations combined with simulations suggest that quasilinear theoretical models of electron energization and scattering via small-amplitude waves, with timescales of hours to days, may be inadequate for understanding radiation belt dynamics.

Cattell, Cynthia↗
NASA NTRS2018

Spitzer Secondary Eclipses of Qatar-1b

Aims: Previous secondary eclipse observations of the hot Jupiter Qatar-1B in the Ks band suggest that it may have an unusually high day-side temperature, indicative of minimal heat redistribution. There have also been indications that the orbit may be slightly eccentric, possibly forced by another planet in the system. We investigate the day-side temperature and orbital eccentricity using secondary eclipse observations with Spitzer. Methods: We observed the secondary eclipse with Spitzer/IRAC (Infrared Array Camera) in subarray mode, in both 3.6 and 4.5 micron wavelengths. We used pixel-level de-correlation to correct for Spitzer's intra-pixel sensitivity variations and thereby obtain accurate eclipse depths and central phases. Results: Our 3.6 micron eclipse depth is 0.149 plus or minus 0.051 percent and the 4.5 micron depth is 0.273 plus or minus 0.049 percent. Fitting a blackbody planet to our data and two recent Ks band eclipse depths indicates a brightness temperature of 1506 plus or minus 71 degrees Kelvin. Comparison to model atmospheres for the planet indicates that its degree of longitudinal heat redistribution is intermediate between fully uniform and day-side only. The day-side temperature of the planet is unlikely to be as high (1885 degrees Kelvin) as indicated by the ground-based eclipses in the Ks band, unless the planet's emergent spectrum deviates strongly from model atmosphere predictions. The average central phase for our Spitzer eclipses is 0.4984 plus or minus 0.0017, yielding [a model parameter] e cos omega equal to minus 0.0028 plus or minus 0.0027. Our results are consistent with a circular orbit, and we constrain e cos omega much more strongly than has been possible with previous observations.

Garhart, Emily↗
NASA NTRS1982

Space Shuttle flying qualities and flight control system assessment

This paper reviews issues, data, and analyses relevant to the longitudinal flying qualities of the Space Shuttle in approach and landing. The manual control of attitude and path are first examined theoretically to demonstrate the unconventional nature of the Shuttle's augmented pitch and path response characteristics. The time domain pitch rate transient response criterion used for design of the Shuttle flight control system is examined in context with data from recent flying qualities experiments and operational aircraft. Questions arising from this examination are addressed through comparisons with MIL-F-8785C and other proposed flying qualities criteria which indicate potential longitudinal flying qualities problems. However, it is shown that these criteria, based largely on data from conventional aircraft, may be inappropriate for assessing the Shuttle.

Myers, T. T.↗