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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 1,171 records · Page 65
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NASA NTRS1992

Time-dependent three dimensional compressible convection with depth-dependent properties

Using a spectral code, we have studied the time-dependent regime of three-dimensional anelastic compressible convection with depth-dependent thermal expansivity, viscosity and thermal conductivity in a wide box of size 5 x 5 x 1. Surface Rayleigh numbers up to 5 x 10 exp 6 have been considered. Very few cylindrical plumes are developed at the bottom but they join up collectively to form strong upwellings, which pulsate chaotically. Major descending flows occur in sheets which form rectangular planform at the top. The thermal and flow fields are dominated by large-scale features. The bottom 20 percent of the convecting layer is found to be superadiabatic.

Balachandar, S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The effect of a turbulent wake on the stagnation point. II - Heat transfer results

A phenomenological model is proposed which relates the effects of freestream turbulence to the increase in stagnation point heat transfer. The model requires both turbulence intensity and energy spectra as inputs to the unsteady velocity at the edge of the boundary layer. The form of the edge velocity contains both a pulsation of the incoming flow and an oscillation of the streamlines. The incompressible unsteady and time-averaged boundary layer response is determined by solving the momentum and energy equations. The model allows for arbitary two-dimensional geometry, however, results are given only for a circular cylinder. The time-averaged Nusselt number is determined theoretically and compared to existing experimental data.

Hanford, Anthony J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Absorption-line profiles in a companion spectrum of a mass-losing cool supergiant

Cool star winds can best be observed in resonance absorption lines seen in the spectrum of a hot companion, due to the wind passing in front of the blue star. We calculated absorption line profiles that would be seen in the ultraviolet part of the blue companion spectrum. Line profiles are derived for different radial dependences of the cool star wind and for different orbital phases of the binary. Bowen and Wilson find theoretically that stellar pulsations drive mass loss. We therefore apply our calculations to the Cepheid binary S Muscae which has a B5V companion. We find an upper limit for the Cepheid mass loss of M less than or equal to 7 x 10 (exp -10) solar mass per year provided that the stellar wind of the companion does not influence the Cepheid wind at large distances.

Rodrigues, Liliya L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The variable stars of the young LMC cluster NGC 2164

The present search of the LMC cluster NGC 2164 for variable stars has uncovered one new member classical Cepheid variable with 3.772-day period; attention is also given to photometry for a previously unknown field overtone Cepheid variable with 3.4626-day period, and the 10.6878-day period HV 12078, which may be a member of the young NGC 2156 cluster. The clear separation of fundamental and overtone pulsators in the period-luminosity-color relation of known LMC cluster Cepheids establishes that the NGC 2164 member is a true overtone.

Welch, Douglas L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Equatorward and poleward expansion of the auroras during auroral substorms

The formation of the auroral bulge is investigated on the basis of all-sky TV auroral data with high spatial and temporal resolution. Ways in which the discrete auroral structures within the poleward expanding bulge develop systematically toward the west, the east, and also equatorward from a localized breakup region are shown. Auroral structure at the western end of the bulge (a surge) develops with clockwise rotation as viewed along the magnetic field direction. At the eastern part of the bulge, thin auroral features propagate eastward from the breakup region. Around the central meridian of the bulge, auroral features expand equatorward and become north-south aligned (the N-S aurora). The N-S aurora and the eastward propagating aurora develop into diffuse and pulsating aurora after the expansion. It is suggested that these discrete auroral structures in the bulge develop along the plasma streamlines in a localized distorted two-cell equipotential distribution.

Nakamura, Rumi↗
NASA NTRS1993

Luminosities for two yellow supergiants - Nonvariables and the instability strip

The luminosities for two yellow supergiants HD 183864 and Psi And = HD 223047 are determined from the IUE spectra of their hot companions. The absolute magnitudes of HD 183864 and HD 223047 are -2.3 and -2.1 mag, respectively, and their companions have spectral types of A0.0 V and B8.8 V. The companion of Psi And is compatible with the orbital motion tentatively detected by speckle interferometric observations. The supergiant luminosities are combined with the Cepheid luminosities determined in the same way, and also the variables and nonvariables from Schmidt's studies of open clusters. As found by Schmidt, the variable and nonvariable supergiants have almost no overlap in the HR diagram. The combined sample defines the locus of the helium burning blue loops of evolutionary tracks. Because no nonvariables are found to the blue of fainter Cepheids, the observed blue edge of the Cepheid region may be partly determined by the blue loops rather than by the region of pulsational instability.

Evans, Nancy R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Line profile variations in M giants - Clues to mass-loss and chromospheric heating mechanisms

Analysis is presented of time-series, high dispersion spectra of the Mg II, k, Ca II H, and K lines of the semiregular giants Rho Per (M4 II-III, periodicity of about 50 days), R Lyr (M5 III, period of about 46 days), and g Her (M6 III, period of about 90 days). The fine error sensor on the IUE satellite and ground based UBV photometry was used to relate line profile variations to photospheric variations. The above mentioned stars were selected to study the relative importance of convective motions and global stellar pulsations in determining the structure of the outer atmospheres. Small amplitude changes, but substantial changes in the profiles of Mg II and Ca II lines were detected. It is contended that the observed variability is due to changes in chromospheric conditions and not variations within the circumstellar shell. The picture of a steady state chromosphere, which is modulated on long time scales, is corroborated by these observations. Localized heating is found in g Her.

Judge, P. G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Kinematic and precipitation structure of a small, long-lived mesoscale convective system

A comprehensive analysis using conventional single Doppler radar analyses, analysis of multiparameter (CP-2) data, network sounding and surface data, and GOES satellite data is presented to characterize the internal kinematic and precipitation structure of a small, long-lived mesoscale convective system. The data pertain to the Cooperative Huntsville Meteorological experiment conducted over northern Alabama and central Tennessee during June and July of 1986. The mesoscale convective system pulsations visible in the IR patterns were associated with the development of closely interacting aggregates of convective elements. The aggregates were about 20 km in diameter, attained echo tops of about 13 km, and were dominated by a single relatively intense convective element. The measured difference in radial velocity across the upper portion of these elements was about 20 m/s over a distance of about 10 km.

Knupp, Kevin R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Two-dimensional viscous accretion disk models. II - On viscous overstability

Accretion disks have been shown to be susceptible to pulsational overstability when the viscosity coefficient increases upon compression. In this study, the stability of an axisymmetric accretion disk with vertical structure is considered. 2D axisymmetric calculations were performed by solving the set of fully nonlinear hydrodynamic equations, including radiation transport. The time evolution of a representative section (ring) of a thin radiative accretion disk is studied. The existence of the overstability in 2D is confirmed. It is found that the presence of periodic oscillations near the outer boundary of a real disk might account for some of the low-amplitude flickering observed in dwarf novae.

Kley, W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Chromospheric heating by acoustic shocks - A confrontation of GHRS observations of Alpha Tauri (K5 III) with ab initio calculations

We compare ab initio calculations of semiforbidden C II line profiles near 2325 A with recently published observations of the inactive red giant Alpha Tau (K5 III) obtained using the GHRS on board the Hubble Space Telescope. Our one-dimensional, time-dependent calculations assume that the chromosphere is heated by stochastic acoustic shocks generated by photospheric convection. We calculate various models using results from traditional (mixing length) convection zone calculations as input to hydrodynamical models. The semiforbidden C II line profiles and ratios provide sensitive diagnostics of chromospheric velocity fields, electron densities, and temperatures. We identify major differences between observed and computed line profiles which are related to basic gas dynamics and which are probably not due to technical modeling restrictions. If the GHRS observations are representative of chromospheric conditions at all epochs, then one (or more) of our model assumptions must be incorrect. Several possibilities are examined. We predict time variability of semiforbidden C II lines for comparison with observations. Based upon data from the IUE archives, we argue that photospheric motions associated with supergranulation or global pulsation modes are unimportant in heating the chromosphere of Alpha Tau.

Judge, P. G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The RR Lyrae variables in the globular cluster M68

New observations, made with the Helen Sawyer Hogg telescope at Las Campanas, have been analyzed in a search for double-mode pulsators (RRd stars) in the metal-poor globular cluster, Messier 68. Of the 30 stars studied, nine have been identified as RRd stars; V33, which exhibited the characteristics of an RRd star in 1950, now appears to be an RRc star. Reliable periods and period ratios have been determined for six of the RRd stars. Masses for these RRd stars, calculated from fitting formulas given by Kovacs et al. (1991), range from 0.75 to 0.90 solar mass, depending on the assumed luminosity and metal abundance. These masses are in the same range as those for the RRd stars in M 15, whose RRd sample resembles that of M68 very closely. Fourier parameters determined for the light curves of the M68 variables show that the RRc stars in the two clusters are also very similar. In particular, on the plot of phase parameter phi sub 31 with period, the M15 and M68 RRc samples are virtually indistinguishable. A comparison of the new M68 observations with observations made 40 yr ago shows that the periods of some of the stars have changed, but the 40 yr interval is too short for detecting period changes caused by evolutionary effects.

Clement, Christine M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Leading-edge effects on boundary-layer receptivity

Numerical calculations are presented for the incompressible flow over a parabolic cylinder. The computational domain extends from a region upstream of the body downstream to the region where the Blasius boundary-layer solution holds. A steady mean flow solution is computed and the results for the scaled surface vorticity, surface pressure and displacement thickness are compared to previous studies. The unsteady problem is then formulated as a perturbation solution starting with and evolving from the mean flow. The response to irrotational time harmonic pulsation of the free-stream is examined. Results for the initial development of the velocity profile and displacement thickness are presented. These calculations will be extended to later times to investigate the initiation of instability waves within the boundary-layer.

Gatski, Thomas B.↗
NASA NTRS1993

ROSAT observations of pulsed soft X-ray emission from PSR 1055-52

Utilizing the position-sensitive proportional counter and the high-resolution imager aboard the orbiting X-ray observatory ROSAT, we have detected pulsations at the radio period from the pulsar PSR 1055-52. The pulse shapes are energy-dependent and show a transition at about 0.5 keV where the phase angle of the pulse peak changes by about -120 deg and the pulsed fraction increases from 11 percent to 63 percent toward larger energies. Simple spectral models are found to be unsatisfactory, while multicomponent models, such as a soft blackbody and hard power-law tail, yield better fits to the pulse-height data. The hard power-law tail is consistent with the extension of the recently reported EGRET results and may indicate a common emission mechanism for the X-ray through GeV gamma-ray regime. The soft blackbody component with T(infinity) = (7.5 +/- 0.6) x 10 exp 5 K, if interpreted as the initial cooling of a neutron star, is consistent with standard cooling models and does not require the presence of exotic components.

Oegelman, Hakki↗
NASA NTRS1993

On Cepheids at maximum and minimum light

It has been known for many decades that the spectral type of Cepheids at light maximum is constant with period. We use hydrodynamic pulsation models to explain this result in terms of the outward reach of the hydrogen ionization front. On the other hand, we show that, at minimum light, the Cepheid photospheric temperature is mainly a function of amplitude. A number of observed Cepheids have published temperatures that seem too hot at both maximum and minimum. We attribute this to an overestimation of the reddening for these stars. A list is given.

Simon, Norman R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Major episodes of geologic change - Correlations, time structure and possible causes

Published data sets of major geologic events of the past about 250 Myr (extinction events, sea-level lows, continental flood-basalt eruptions, mountain-building events, abrupt changes in sea-floor spreading, ocean-anoxic and blackshale events and the largest evaporite deposits) have been synthesized (with estimated errors). These events show evidence for a statistically significant periodic component with an underlying periodicity, formally equal to 26.6 Myr, and a recent maximum, close to the present time. The cycle may not be strictly periodic, but a periodicity of about 30 Myr is robust to probable errors in dating of the geologic events. The intervals of geologic change seem to involve jumps in sea-floor spreading associated with episodic continental rifting, volcanism, enhanced orogeny, global sea-level changes and fluctuations in climate. The period may represent a purely internal earth-pulsation, but evidence of planetesimal impacts at several extinction boundaries, and a possible underlying cycle of 28-36 Myr in crater ages, suggests that highly energetic impacts may be affecting global tectonics. A cyclic increase in the flux of planetesimals might result from the passage of the Solar System through the central plane of the Milky Way Galaxy - an event with a periodicity and mean phasing similar to that detected in the geologic changes.

Rampino, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS1952

Calculation of aerodynamic forces on a propeller in pitch or yaw

An analysis was made to determine the applicability of existing propeller theory and the theory of oscillating airfoils to the problem of determining the magnitude of the forces on propellers in pitch or yaw. Strip calculations using compressible airfoil characteristics were first made as though steady-state conditions existed successively at several blade positions of the propeller blades during one revolution. A theory of oscillating airfoils in pulsating incompressible potential flow was then considered from which it was possible to determine factors which would modify the steady-state forces.

PROPELLERS - PITCH AND YAW↗
NASA NTRS1954

Smoke Study of Nozzle Secondary Flows in a Low-speed Turbine

Still and motion pictures were made of boundary-layer and wake secondary-flow phenomena visualized by smoke. Two annular cascades of turbine nozzles were used, both designed for constant discharge angle but differing in blade shape and suction-surface velocity distribution. Flows were similar to those obtained with pressure and angle measurements at near-sonic airspeeds. Boundary-layer cross-channel and trailing-edge radial flows caused vortices and an accumulation of low-momentum air at the hub, which may affect flow in following blade rows. Motion of a downstream rotor blade row produced pulsations in trailing-edge radial flow. The motion-picture supplement may be obtained on loan from NACA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Kofskey, Milton G↗
NASA NTRS1929

An investigation of the use of discharge valves and an intake control for improving the performance of N.A.C.A. Roots type supercharger

This report presents the results of an analytical investigation on the practicability of using mechanically operated discharge valves in conjunction with a manually operated intake control for improving the performance of N. A. C. A. Roots type superchargers. These valves, which may be either of the oscillating or rotating type, are placed in the discharge opening of the supercharger and are so shaped and synchronized with the supercharger impellers that they do not open until the air has been compressed to the delivery pressure. The intake control limits the quantity of air compressed to engine requirements by permitting the excess air to escape from the compression chamber before compression begins. The percentage power saving and the actual horsepower saved were computed for altitudes from 0 to 20,000 feet. These computations are based on the pressure-volume cards for the conventional and the modified roots type superchargers and on the results of laboratory tests of the conventional type. The use of discharge valves shows a power saving of approximately 26 per cent at a critical altitude of 20,000 feet. In addition, these valves reduce the amplitude of the discharge pulsations and increase the volumetric efficiency. With slow-speed roots blowers operating at high-pressure differences even better results would be expected. For aircraft engine superchargers operating at high speeds these discharge valves increase the performance as above, but have the disadvantages of increasing the weight and of adding a high-speed mechanism to a simple machine. (author)

Schey, Oscar W↗