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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Lineament analysis and tectonic interpretation for the Tharsis region

The Tharsis region of Mars is critical to any study of Martian tectonics. This region (65 N and 65 S latitude; 45 W to 157.5 W longitude) is characterized by an asymmetrical dome-shaped topographic high approximately 8000 km across. Affecting over 25 percent of the surface area, this region has been the center of most of the major tectonic and volcanic activity that has taken place on the Martian surface. Lineament studies are the primary tool available for studying tectonic processes on terrestrial planets such as Mars. At least three major lineament systems can be delineated in the Tharsis region; north-south and east-west trending lineament systems are superimposed on an older northwest trending lineament system. Four centers of uplift have been identified based on the occurrence of radial fracture patterns. Preliminary results indicate that the formation of the Tharsis Dome may not have resulted from a single uplift event, but may instead have resulted from as many as four uplift events. The northwest trending fracture may represent a pre-existing zone of weakness which contributed to the early formation of the Tharsis Dome. The 1:2,000,000 scale photo mosaic maps of Mars were examined and lineaments were identified. The end points of each lineament were measured and recorded in an X-Y reference coordinate frame.

Anderson, Robert↗
NASA NTRS1993

Variations in the Fe mineralogy of bright Martian soil

Bright regions on Mars are interpreted as 'soil' derived by chemical alteration of crustal rocks, whose main pigmentary component is ferric oxide or oxyhydroxide. The mineralogy and mineralogic variability of ferric iron are important evidence for the evolution of Martian soil: mineralogy of ferric phases is sensitive to chemical conditions in their genetic environments, and the spatial distributions of different ferric phases would record a history of both chemical environments and physical mixing. Reflectance spectroscopic studies provide several types of evidence that discriminate possible pigmentary phases, including the position of a crystal field absorption near 0.9 microns and position and strengths of absorptions in the UV-visible wavelength region. Recent telescopic spectra and laboratory measurements of Mars soil analogs suggest that spectral features of bright soil can be explained based on a single pigmentary phase, hematite (alpha-Fe2O3), occurring in both 'nanophase' and more crystalline forms. Here we report on a systematic investigation of Martian bright regions using ISM imaging spectrometer data, in which we examined spatial variations in the position and shape of the approximately 0.9 microns absorption. We found both local and regional heterogeneities that indicate differences in Fe mineralogy. These results demonstrate that bright soils do not represent a single lithology that has been homogenized by eolian mixing, and suggest that weathering of soils in different geologic settings has followed different physical and chemical pathways.

Murchie, Scott↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Preconditioning Method for Shape Optimization Governed by the Euler Equations

We consider a classical aerodynamic shape optimization problem subject to the compressible Euler flow equations. The gradient of the cost functional with respect to the shape variables is derived with the adjoint method at the continuous level. The Hessian (second order derivative of the cost functional with respect to the shape variables) is approximated also at the continuous level, as first introduced by Arian and Ta'asan (1996). The approximation of the Hessian is used to approximate the Newton step which is essential to accelerate the numerical solution of the optimization problem. The design space is discretized in the maximum dimension, i.e., the location of each point on the intersection of the computational mesh with the airfoil is taken to be an independent design variable. We give numerical examples for 86 design variables in two different flow speeds and achieve an order of magnitude reduction in the cost functional at a computational effort of a full solution of the analysis partial differential equation (PDE).

Arian, Eyal↗
NASA NTRS1998

Three Dimensional Urban Characterization by IFSAR Measurements

In this paper a machine vision approach is applied to Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radars (IFSAR) data to extract the most relevant built structures in a dense urban environment. The algorithm tries to cluster primitives (line segments) into more complex surfaces (planes) to approximate the 3D shape of these objects. Very interesting results starting from TOPSAR data recorded over S, Monica are presented.

Gamba, P.↗
NASA NTRS2001

CFD Sensitivity Analysis of a Modern Civil Transport Near Buffet-Onset Conditions

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) sensitivity analysis is conducted for a modern civil transport at several conditions ranging from mostly attached flow to flow with substantial separation. Two different Navier-Stokes computer codes and four different turbulence models are utilized, and results are compared both to wind tunnel data at flight Reynolds number and flight data. In-depth CFD sensitivities to grid, code, spatial differencing method, aeroelastic shape, and turbulence model are described for conditions near buffet onset (a condition at which significant separation exists). In summary, given a grid of sufficient density for a given aeroelastic wing shape, the combined approximate error band in CFD at conditions near buffet onset due to code, spatial differencing method, and turbulence model is: 6% in lift, 7% in drag, and 16% in moment. The biggest two contributers to this uncertainty are turbulence model and code. Computed results agree well with wind tunnel surface pressure measurements both for an overspeed 'cruise' case as well as a case with small trailing edge separation. At and beyond buffet onset, computed results agree well over the inner half of the wing, but shock location is predicted too far aft at some of the outboard stations. Lift, drag, and moment curves are predicted in good agreement with experimental results from the wind tunnel.

Rumsey, Christopher L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Shell Buckling Design Criteria Based on Manufacturing Imperfection Signatures

An analysis-based approach .for developing shell-buckling design criteria for laminated-composite cylindrical shells that accurately accounts for the effects of initial geometric imperfections is presented. With this approach, measured initial geometric imperfection data from six graphite-epoxy shells are used to determine a manufacturing-process-specific imperfection signature for these shells. This imperfection signature is then used as input into nonlinear finite-element analyses. The imperfection signature represents a "first-approximation" mean imperfection shape that is suitable for developing preliminary-design data. Comparisons of test data and analytical results obtained by using several different imperfection shapes are presented for selected shells. Overall, the results indicate that the analysis-based approach presented for developing reliable preliminary-design criteria has the potential to provide improved, less conservative buckling-load estimates, and to reduce the weight and cost of developing buckling-resistant shell structures.

Hilburger, Mark W.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Bangui Anomaly

Bangui anomaly is the name given to one of the Earth s largest crustal magnetic anomalies and the largest over the African continent. It covers two-thirds of the Central African Republic and therefore the name derives from the capitol city-Bangui that is also near the center of this feature. From surface magnetic survey data Godivier and Le Donche (1962) were the first to describe this anomaly. Subsequently high-altitude world magnetic surveying by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office (Project Magnet) recorded a greater than 1000 nT dipolar, peak-to-trough anomaly with the major portion being negative (figure 1). Satellite observations (Cosmos 49) were first reported in 1964, these revealed a 40nT anomaly at 350 km altitude. Subsequently the higher altitude (417-499km) POGO (Polar Orbiting Geomagnetic Observatory) satellite data recorded peak-to-trough anomalies of 20 nT these data were added to Cosmos 49 measurements by Regan et al. (1975) for a regional satellite altitude map. In October 1979, with the launch of Magsat, a satellite designed to measure crustal magnetic anomalies, a more uniform satellite altitude magnetic map was obtained. These data, computed at 375 km altitude recorded a -22 nT anomaly (figure 2). This elliptically shaped anomaly is approximately 760 by 1000 km and is centered at 6%, 18%. The Bangui anomaly is composed of three segments; there are two positive anomalies lobes north and south of a large central negative field. This displays the classic pattern of a magnetic anomalous body being magnetized by induction in a zero inclination field. This is not surprising since the magnetic equator passes near the center of this body.

Taylor, Patrick T.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Tiperon

A control surface for an air vehicle (e.g., an aircraft, rocket, or missile) is useful for flight control at both subsonic and supersonic speeds. The control surface defines the outboardmost tip of a flight structure (e.g., a wing, tail or other stabilizer) of the air vehicle. Hence, the control surface is referred to as a `tiperon`. The tiperon has an approximately L-shaped configuration, and can be rotated relative to a fixed portion of the flight structure about a control axis. The respective surface areas of the tiperon sections forward and aft of the control axis are proportioned to place the subsonic center of pressure aft of the control axis to enhance aircraft control, and preferably also forward of the centroid of tiperon surface area. Also, the control surface sections forward and aft of the control axis are preferably mass-balanced, or at least nearly so, to enhance aircraft control at supersonic speeds. Either of the tiperon sections forward and aft of the control axis can be tapered to reduce the dependence of the moment exerted by air flow about the control axis, upon the tiperon's angle-of-attack. The tiperon also has enough surface area to control the air vehicle, even at low airspeeds. The invention is also directed to air vehicles incorporating one or more such control surfaces.

Lewis, Carl E.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Automatic Identification of Solar X-Ray Bright Points in Hinode X-Ray Data

We have automated a method that is used to find point sources in Chandra X-ray telescope data, to identify solar bright points in Hinode X-ray data. This tool, called lextrct, first identifies candidate sources that are brighter than the surrounding background. The algorithm also allows selected pixels to be excluded from the source-finding, thus allowing saturated pixels (from flares and/or active regions) to be ignored. We then use lextrct to fit the sources to two-dimensional, elliptical Gaussians. The size and orientation give an approximation of the shape of the bright points. We are in the process of analyzing observations through the Al_poly filter with a four-second exposure time, to obtain a catalogue of bright points, which will include their sizes, lifetimes, intensities, and position on the solar disk

Adams, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Hairlike Percutaneous Photochemical Sensors

Instrumentation systems based on hairlike fiber-optic photochemical sensors have been proposed as minimally invasive means of detecting biochemicals associated with cancer and other diseases. The fiber-optic sensors could be mass-produced as inexpensive, disposable components. The sensory tip of a fiber-optic sensor would be injected through the patient's skin into subcutaneous tissue. A biosensing material on the sensory tip would bind or otherwise react with the biochemical(s) of interest [the analyte(s)] to produce a change in optical properties that would be measured by use of an external photonic analyzer. After use, a fiber-optic sensor could be simply removed by plucking it out with tweezers. A fiber-optic sensor according to the proposal would be of the approximate size and shape of a human hair, and its sensory tip would resemble a follicle. Once inserted into a patient's subcutaneous tissue, the sensor would even more closely resemble a hair growing from a follicle (see Figure 1). The biosensing material on the sensory tip could consist of a chemical and/or cells cultured and modified for the purpose. The biosensing material would be contained within a membrane that would cover the tip. If the membrane were not permeable by an analyte, then it would be necessary to create pores in the membrane that would be large enough to allow analyte molecules to diffuse to the biosensing material, but not so large as to allow cells (if present as part of the biosensing material) to diffuse out. The end of the fiber-optic sensor opposite the sensory tip would be inserted in a fiberoptic socket in the photonic analyzer.

George, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS1995

Partial-Wave Representations of Laser Beams for Use in Light-Scattering Calculations

In the framework of generalized Lorenz-Mie theory, laser beams are described by sets of beam-shape coefficients. The modified localized approximation to evaluate these coefficients for a focused Gaussian beam is presented. A new description of Gaussian beams, called standard beams, is introduced. A comparison is made between the values of the beam-shape coefficients in the framework of the localized approximation and the beam-shape coefficients of standard beams. This comparison leads to new insights concerning the electromagnetic description of laser beams. The relevance of our discussion is enhanced by a demonstration that the localized approximation provides a very satisfactory description of top-hat beams as well.

Gouesbet, Gerard↗
NASA NTRS1990

Differential equation based method for accurate approximations in optimization

A method to efficiently and accurately approximate the effect of design changes on structural response is described. The key to this method is to interpret sensitivity equations as differential equations that may be solved explicitly for closed form approximations, hence, the method is denoted the Differential Equation Based (DEB) method. Approximations were developed for vibration frequencies, mode shapes and static displacements. The DEB approximation method was applied to a cantilever beam and results compared with the commonly-used linear Taylor series approximations and exact solutions. The test calculations involved perturbing the height, width, cross-sectional area, tip mass, and bending inertia of the beam. The DEB method proved to be very accurate, and in most cases, was more accurate than the linear Taylor series approximation. The method is applicable to simultaneous perturbation of several design variables. Also, the approximations may be used to calculate other system response quantities. For example, the approximations for displacements are used to approximate bending stresses.

Pritchard, Jocelyn I.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Differential equation based method for accurate approximations in optimization

This paper describes a method to efficiently and accurately approximate the effect of design changes on structural response. The key to this new method is to interpret sensitivity equations as differential equations that may be solved explicitly for closed form approximations, hence, the method is denoted the Differential Equation Based (DEB) method. Approximations were developed for vibration frequencies, mode shapes and static displacements. The DEB approximation method was applied to a cantilever beam and results compared with the commonly-used linear Taylor series approximations and exact solutions. The test calculations involved perturbing the height, width, cross-sectional area, tip mass, and bending inertia of the beam. The DEB method proved to be very accurate, and in msot cases, was more accurate than the linear Taylor series approximation. The method is applicable to simultaneous perturbation of several design variables. Also, the approximations may be used to calculate other system response quantities. For example, the approximations for displacement are used to approximate bending stresses.

Pritchard, Jocelyn I.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Turbofan Duct Propagation Model

The CDUCT code utilizes a parabolic approximation to the convected Helmholtz equation in order to efficiently model acoustic propagation in acoustically treated, complex shaped ducts. The parabolic approximation solves one-way wave propagation with a marching method which neglects backwards reflected waves. The derivation of the parabolic approximation is presented. Several code validation cases are given. An acoustic lining design process for an example aft fan duct is discussed. It is noted that the method can efficiently model realistic three-dimension effects, acoustic lining, and flow within the computational capabilities of a typical computer workstation.

Lan, Justin H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Microwave and camera sensor fusion for the shape extraction of metallic 3D space objects

The vacuum of space presents special problems for optical image sensors. Metallic objects in this environment can produce intense specular reflections and deep shadows. By combining the polarized RCS with an incomplete camera image, it has become possible to better determine the shape of some simple three-dimensional objects. The radar data are used in an iterative procedure that generates successive approximations to the target shape by minimizing the error between computed scattering cross-sections and the observed radar returns. Favorable results have been obtained for simulations and experiments reconstructing plates, ellipsoids, and arbitrary surfaces.

Shaw, Scott W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Computational analysis of hypersonic flows past elliptic-cone waveriders

A comprehensive study for the inviscid numerical calculation of the hypersonic flow past a class of elliptic-cone derived waveriders is presented. The theoretical background associated with hypersonic small-disturbance theory (HSDT) is reviewed. Several approximation formulas for the waverider compression surface are established. A CFD algorithm is used to calculate flow fields for the on-design case and a variety of off-design cases. The results are compared with HSDT, experiment, and other available CFD results. For the waverider shape used in previous investigations, the bow shock for the on-design condition stands off from the leading-edge tip of the waverider. It was found that this occurs because the tip was too thick according to the approximating shape formula that was used to describe the compression surface. When this was corrected, the bow shock became closer to attached as it should be. At Mach numbers greater than the design condition, a lambda-shock configuration develops near the tip of the compression surface. At negative angles of attack, other complicated shock patterns occur near the leading-edge tip. These heretofore unknown flow patterns show the power and utility of CFD for investigating novel hypersonic configurations such as waveriders.

Yoon, Bok-Hyun↗
NASA NTRS1982

Improved Venus ionopause altitude calculation and comparison with measurement

Improved approximations are incorporated into the inviscid fluid method originated by Spreiter et al (1970) in calculations of the altitude of the Venus ionopause. The altitude calculations are then compared with median altitudes measured by the Pioneer Venus retarding potential analyzer. The calculated ionopause shape is found to closely approximate the measured meridian shape in the solar zenith angle (SZA) range of zero-135 deg. The use of improved ionospheric pressure field ionosheath pressure and Prandtl-Meyer expansion approximations lowers the terminator ionopause altitude to approximately half that obtained with the usual Spreiter approximations. It is also determined that the calculated dawn ionopause is about 300 km higher than the dusk ionopause, and that both ionopauses are close to their respective measured meridian values. It is concluded that median ionopause altitude within the SZA angle range may be calculated without inclusion of a viscous interaction in the theory.

Knudsen, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Development of MLPG and LBIE Methods for Nonlinear Problems of Fracture

The truly meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method holds a great promise in solving boundary value problems, using a local symmetric weak form as a natural approach. In the present paper, in the context of MLPG and the meshless interpolation of a moving least squares (MLS) type, a method which uses primary and secondary nodes in the domain and on the global boundary is introduced, in order to improve the accuracy of solution. The secondary nodes can be placed at any location where one needs to obtain a better resolution. The sub-domains for the shape functions in the MLS approximation are defined only from the primary nodes, and the secondary nodes use the same sub-domains. The shape functions based on the MLS approximation, in an integration domain, have a single type of a rational function, which reduces the difficulty of numerical integration to evaluate the weak form. The present method is very useful in an adaptive calculation, because the secondary nodes can be easily added and/or moved without an additional mesh. The essential boundary conditions can be imposed exactly, and non-convex boundaries can be treated without special techniques. Several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the performance of the present method.

Atluri, Satya N.↗