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The design, analysis, fabrication and testing of a Kevlar-49/HBRF-55A filament wound chamber is reported. The chamber was fabricated and successfully tested to 80% of the design burst pressure. Results of the data reduction and analysis from the hydrotest indicate that the chamber design and fabrication techniques used for the chamber were adequate and the chamber should perform adequately in a static test.
The relative merits of sinusoidal excitation versus random atmospheric turbulence was investigated. The randomdec and autocorrelation methods were used to analyze data from a Learjet flight test. A parameter identification digital program, using least squares approach, was developed to determine the aeroelastic characteristics of a two mode system. The flight test program, computer program, and data reduction procedure is presented. Final results of the two modes of excitation obtained by Randomdec method are discussed.
The field techniques and methods of data reduction for five successive geodimeter surveys in the Ethiopian rift valley are enlarged upon, with the considered conclusion that there is progressive accumulation of upper crustal strain, consonant with on-going rift extension. The extension is restricted to the Quaternary volcanotectonic axis of the rift, namely the Wonji fault belt, and is occurring at rates of 3 to 6 mm/yr in the northern sector of the rift valley. Although this concurs with the predictions of platetectonic analysis of the Afar triple junction, it is considered premature to endorse such a concurrence on the basis of only 5 years of observations. This is underlined by the detection of local tectonic contractions and expansions associated with geothermal and gravity anomalies in the central sector of the rift valley. There is a hint of a component of dextral slip along some of the rift-floor fault zones, both from geological evidence and from the strain patterns detected in the present geodetic surveys.
The stopping distance, brake application velocity, and time of brake application were measured for two modern jet transports, along with the NASA diagonal-braked vehicle and the British Mu-Meter on several runways, which when wetted, cover the range of slipperiness likely to be encountered in the United States. Tests were designed to determine if correlation between the aircraft and friction measuring vehicles exists. The test procedure, data reduction techniques, and preliminary test results obtained with the Boeing 727, the Douglas DC-9, and the ground vehicles are given. Time histories of the aircraft test run parameters are included.
The performance was studied of the 1.6 GHz airborne scatterometer system which is used as one of several Johnson Space Center (JSC) microwave remote sensors to detect moisture content of soil. The system is analyzed with respect to its antenna pattern and coupling, the signal flow in the receiver data channels, and the errors in the signal outputs. The operational principle and the sensitivity of the system, as well as data handling are also described. The finite cross-polarized gains of all four 1.6 GHz scatterometer antennae are found to have profound influence on the cross-polarized backscattered signal returns. If these signals are not analyzed properly, large errors could result in the estimate of the cross-polarized coefficient. It is also found necessary to make corrections to the variations of the aircraft parameters during data reduction in order to minimize the error in the coefficient estimate. Finally, a few recommendations are made to improve the overall performance of the scatterometer system.
An empirical stochastic computer model was developed with the capability of generating random thermodynamic profiles of the atmosphere below an altitude of 99 km which are characteristic of any given season, latitude, and time of day. Samples of temperature, density, and pressure profiles generated by the model are statistically similar to measured profiles in a data base of over 6000 rocket and high-altitude atmospheric soundings; that is, means and standard deviations of modeled profiles and their vertical gradients are in close agreement with data. Model-generated samples can be used for Monte Carlo simulations of aircraft or spacecraft trajectories to predict or account for the effects on a vehicle's performance of atmospheric variability. Other potential uses for the model are in simulating pollutant dispersion patterns, variations in sound propagation, and other phenomena which are dependent on atmospheric properties, and in developing data-reduction software for satellite monitoring systems.
The preliminary system design of a Solar Microwave Spectrograph (SMS) is presented. This design resulted from a study to determine the feasibility of measuring solar polarization and dynamic spectra over the range of two to eight GHz, using broadband radio frequency instrumentation and rapid recording equipment in conjunction with radio telescopes. The scientific value of the proposed SMS instrument is discussed, with remarks concerning data reduction and analysis and a presentation of the engineering plan to implement the SMS system.
An extensive set of measurements of the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in the interstellar medium has been undertaken. The general observing program is described along with the data reduction techniques used to separate the complex deuterium and hydrogen profiles, and the results of the measurements for two stars, Zeta Pup and Gamma Cas. For Gamma Cas, log N(D)/N(H) is found to be approximately -4.8, in agreement with previous measurements. For Zeta Pup, a complicated structure of absorbing clouds in the interstellar medium is inferred. The best value of log N(D)/N(H) is about -4.6 for each of two components. One component is probably more complex than can be demonstrated directly at the resolution employed, and log N(D)N(H) could be -4.0 or larger in this component.
The paper describes a computer-operated image-scanning and data-collection system for the magnetograph at the Mt. Wilson 150-foot Tower telescope. The system is based on a minicomputer with a 32K word core memory and a generalized interface unit for controlling image motion, a keyboard, and an associated television screen. Operation of the solar image guider and the data-collection assembly is outlined along with the observation and data-reduction procedures. Advantages of the system include the ability to move the image in almost any conceivable fashion, a wide choice of integration times, and increased accuracy in magnetic and Doppler calibrations as well as in setting of the magnetic zero level.
The paper shows how the oscillatory apparatus described previously by Orlik-Rueckemann et al. (1974) for determining cross and cross-coupling moment derivatives due to pitching and yawing oscillation is strengthened, extensively modified, and adapted to permit operation in a large continuous-flow wind tunnel. Particular attention is given to an electromagnetic three-degrees-of-freedom calibrating system developed to verify the validity of the experimental method and the various aspects of data reduction procedure. Typical results from calibration tests and from a series of wind tunnel experiments are presented. The only significant limitation is that the apparatus can only be used for models that are relatively small and have a conically-shaped longitudinal cavity.
The paper discusses imaging of Mars at 20 wavelengths in the spectral region from 0.35 to 1.10 microns performed during the 1973 opposition with a photometric imaging system that uses a silicon vidicon tube as the detector. The imaging system and data-reduction procedures are described in detail, and relative reflectance spectra for several small areas in the images are presented along with vidicon images obtained during early phases in the development of the 1973 dust storms. Several anomalous blue brightenings are examined and attributed to ground fog and H2O frost. It is suggested that anomalously large amounts of H2O were pulsed into the atmosphere from the regolith by the storm system. An apparent fading and recession of the north polar hood is noted, surface units revealed in contrast-enhanced ratio images are identified, and the need for higher-spatial-resolution orbital spectroscopy of dark areas is emphasized.
Results of an IR survey program designed to obtain the spatial and brightness distributions of a representative sample of IR-emitting objects in the 3-30 micron range are analyzed. Small cryogenically cooled telescopes carried above the atmosphere on sounding rockets were employed in the research. Minimization of sky noise and photon background, experimental equipment, and data reduction techniques are discussed.
Spectral reflectance measurements of asteroid 4 Vesta were obtained using a silicon vidicon spectrometer with a resolution of 2 to 4 thousandths of a micron. A flow chart illustrating the data reduction procedure is given, and the location, absorptivity, and bandwidth of an absorption band detected in the near infrared region are described. The absorption band has been interpreted as due to electronic absorptions in ferrous iron in sixfold coordination in the pyroxene, pigeonite. The heightened spectral resolution obtained from the silicon vidicon imaging system permits determination of the relative calcium content of the pyroxene (10 to 12%). Furthermore, the symmetry of the absorption band implies an absence of olivine, which is commonly associated with pyroxene in terrestrial and meteoritic mineral samples. Support for these conclusions is found in spectral analyses of pyroxene, as well as in spectral reflectance measurements of 4 Vesta obtained by other observers.
The aerodynamic and acoustic performance of two drive fan configurations (low-speed and high-speed variable pitch design) for a 40 x 80 foot wind tunnel were monitored. A 1/7-scale model was utilized. The necessary aero-acoustic data reduction computer program logic was supplied. Test results were evaluated, and the optimum configuration to be employed in the 40 foot full scale fan was recommended.
Equipment and techniques were evaluated operationally, by the Department of Defense, during the National Geodetic Satellite Program (NGSP). The theory, instrumentation, and data reduction methods used are described. Results obtained during the NGSP are given.
Flight test techniques developed for use in a study of wake turbulence and used recently in flight studies of wake minimization methods are discussed. Flow visualization was developed as a technique for qualitatively assessing minimization methods and is required in flight test procedures for making quantitative measurements. The quantitative techniques are the measurement of the upset dynamics of an aircraft encountering the wake and the measurement of the wake velocity profiles. Descriptions of the instrumentation and the data reduction and correlation methods are given.
RINA is a general post-processor system which performs data reduction, post processing and post analysis of NASTRAN results. RINA can be run in either batch or time-sharing mode. The system, which is an expansion of the NASDAT program, performs the following tasks: (1) scan of extreme values for displacements, forces, stresses and margins of safety, (2) computations of envelopes for displacements, forces, stresses and margins of safety, (3) computations of allowables and margins of safety; and (4) generation of NASTRAN tables needed for reanalysis computations. Usage of all these options provides the analyst with an efficient tool for the study and interpretation of NASTRAN analysis results and their presentation for project documentation.
A review of operational satellite-derived National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Environment Satellite Service oceanographic products is presented and some current applications of these products are noted. Recent improvements to procedures used in deriving sea surface temperature observations and fields are described. Changes to data reduction techniques and products which will be incorporated with the advent of TIROS-N are outlined and some potential future developments are mentioned.