Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Practical Application”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,279 records · Page 71

Theoretical design study of the MSFC wind-wheel turbine

A wind wheel turbine (WWT) is studied. Evaluation of the probable performance, possible practical applications, and economic viability as compared to other conventional wind energy systems is discussed. The WWT apparatus is essentially a bladed wheel which is directly exposed to the wind on the upper half and exposed to wind through multiple ducting on the lower half. The multiple ducts consist of a forward duct (front concentrator) and two side ducts (side concentrators). The forced rotation of the wheel is then converted to power through appropriate subsystems. Test results on two simple models, a paper model and a stainless steel model, are reported. Measured values of power coefficients over wind speeds ranging from 4 to 16 m/s are given. An analytical model of a four bladed wheel is also developed. Overall design features of the wind turbine are evaluated and discussed. Turbine sizing is specified for a 5 and 25 kW machine. Suggested improvements to the original design to increase performance and performance predictions for an improved WWT design are given.

Frost, W.↗

Nonequilibrium material effects on the behavior of polymeric composite matrices and their related composites

The effects of physical aging on the material properties of some linear and network macromolecular glasses are discussed. The free volume concept is used to describe this behavior. The effect of physical aging on properties of some uniaxial graphite/fiber epoxy resin composites is investigated using stress relaxation in both tensile and flexural modes. The matrix polymers used were resins both of which are based on a 4,4-methylenedianiline derivative of epichlorohydrin with diamino diphenyl sulfone (DDS) as the curing agent. The matrix resin, as used in the practical application in composites, not fully cured and the glass transition of the network was dependent on the curing schedule. The physical aging of the bulk crosslinked epoxy was found to depend on the annealing temperature, and the T sub g of the resin. The physical aging of the composite, monitored by the stress relaxation method, was found to be dependent on the testing direction.

Wilkes, G. L.↗

The obstacle block as a device to measure turbulent skin friction in compressible flow

The obstacle block, developed as an alternative to the Preston tube for indirectly measuring skin friction on smooth surfaces in incompressible flows, is examined as a device for compressible flows as well. The block, which is congruent with a surface static pressure orifice, has a geometry which is easily specified and thus has a universal calibration. Data from two independent studies are used to establish such a calibration using 'wall' variables, valid for Mach numbers up to about 3. Various aspects concerning practical application of the device are examined, such as sensitivity to yaw and the minimum permissible axial spacing between blocks. Several examples showing the utility of the device are given.

Elfstrom, G. M.↗

Status and outlook for NASA's Land Remote Sensing Program

Both LANDSAT 2 and LANDSAT 3 are currently in operational status following recovery from technical problems. The LANDSAT D program continues NASA's R&D with the dual objectives of assessing the capabilities of the thematic mapper sensor and evaluating the requirements for an operational land observing system. LANDSAT D' will not be launched until LANDSAT D ceases operation, to provide data continuity through 1988. Future NASA remote sensing programs will continue to emphasize research, technology development, cooperative projects with end users of data and cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on transition to an operational land observing system. Technology development should extend the results of research to practical applications through improved ground data processing and information extraction techniques and development of new sensors such as the solid state multi-spectral linear array.

Weinstein, R. H.↗

Beaufort/Bering 1979 microwave remote sensing data catalog report, 14-24 March 1979

The airborne microwave remote sending measurements obtained by the Langley Research Center in support of the 1979 Sea-Ice Radar Experiment (SIRE) in the Beaufort and Bering Seas are discussed. The remote sensing objective of SIRE was to define correlations between both active and passive microwave signatures and ice phenomena assocated with practical applications in the Arctic. The instruments used by Langley during SIRE include the stepped frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR), the airborne microwave scatterometer (AMSCAT), the precision radiation thermometer (PRT-5), and metric aerial photography. Remote sensing data are inventoried and cataloged in a user-friendly format. The data catalog is presented as time-history plots when and where data were obtained as well as the sensor configuration.

Hirstein, W. S.↗

Radiometric considerations in remote sensing systems

All sensors systems designed to acquire quantitative data undergo radiometric calibration. The types and potential accuracies of calibration are discussed as well as the needs for calibration in the practical application of sensors. The recent and ongoing experience with the shuttle multispectral infrared radiometer is used as a reference.

Goetz, A. F. H.↗

Geometrically derived difference formulae for the numerical integration of trajectory problems

An initial value problem for the autonomous system of ordinary differential equations dy/dt = f(y), where y is a vector, is considered. In a number of practical applications the interest lies in obtaining the curve traced by the solution y. These applications include the computation of trajectories in mechanical problems. The term 'trajectory problem' is employed to refer to these cases. Lambert and McLeod (1979) have introduced a method involving local rotation of the axes in the y-plane for the two-dimensional case. The present investigation continues the study of difference schemes specifically derived for trajectory problems. A simple geometrical way of constructing such methods is presented, and the local accuracy of the schemes is investigated. A circularly exact, fixed-step predictor-corrector algorithm is defined, and a variable-step version of a circularly exact algorithm is presented.

Mcleod, R. J. Y.↗

SC3 - A wing concept for supersonic maneuvering

A supersonic wing design concept that overcomes the problems associated with nonlinear inviscid pressure distribution is presented together with a summary of the supporting theoretical and experimental development program. The key design feature is a conical panel supporting a controlled supercritical conical camber (SC3) crossflow expansion and recompression which permits lift on the upper surface to be obtained without producing an adverse pressure gradient or crossflow shock wave strong enough to separate the boundary layer. The role of aerodynamics in the design implementation is discussed, as are the concept development, the initial design validation on a fabricated and tested SC3 design, and the body and canard interaction effect. The design and testing of an isolated wing with a planform and thickness distribution representative of a practical application are described. Wind-tunnel results show that significant performance gains can be obtained for fighter aircraft using this concept.

Mason, W. H.↗

Charged particle distributions in Jupiter's magnetosphere

In situ data from the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft, supplemented by earth-based observations and theoretical considerations, are used as the basis for the present quantitative, compact model of the 1 eV-several MeV charged particle distribution in the Jovian magnetosphere. The thermal plasma parameters of convection speed, number density, and characteristic energy, are specified as functions of position for electrons and for the ion species H(+), O(+), O(2+), S(+), S(2+), S(3+), and Na(+). Major features of the magnetic field, thermal plasma, and trapped particle distributions, are modeled and results for each plasma region are compared with observed spectra. Comparisons show that the model represents the data to within a factor of 2 + or - 1, except where time variations are significant. Practical applications of the model to spacecraft near Jupiter are given.

Divine, N.↗

Use of column V alkyls in organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE)

The use of the column V-trialkyls trimethylarsenic (TMAs) and trimethylantimony (TMSb) for the organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OM-VPE) of III-V compound semiconductors is reviewed. A general discussion of the interaction chemistry of common Group III and Group V reactants is presented. The practical application of TMSb and TMAs for OM-VPE is demonstrated using the growth of GaSb, GaAs(1-y)Sb(y), Al(x)Ga(1-x)Sb, and Ga(1-x)In(x)As as examples.

Ludowise, M. J.↗

Correlation of flight effects on centerline velocity decay for cold-flow acoustically excited jets

Acoustic excitation can influence the large scale shear layer structure of jet flow, thereby causing the jet centerline velocity to decay more rapidly. this phenomena has numerous practical applications, such as the reduction of jet/flap impingement velocity in order to reduce flap structural loads for under-the-wing STOL aircraft concepts. Cold flow centerline velocity decay data obtained with acoustic excitation of the jet exhaust flow are correlated with and without flight effects. Initially, static data are correlated in terms of an acoustic parameter involving the threshold sound level needed to initiate acoustic excitation of the jet plume. It is shown that for a given flight speed, the same acoustic excitation parameter as that developed for the static condition is valid. Finally, an aerodynamic flight effects parameter is included to correlate the static and flight centerline velocity decay data with and without acoustic excitation.

Vonglahn, U. H.↗

Support of Oil Lubrication by Bonded Coatings

A new generation of lubricating lacquers for treatment of metal surfaces has been developed. These new coatings have proved to be oil-compatible and are used in oil-lubricated systems. The oil lubrication is supported thereby through reduction of friction and increase of load-carrying capacity during boundary conditions. For difficult tribological systems, the problem-solving lubricating concept has proved to be the beneficial combination of lubricating oil and bonded coatings. A number of practical applications are presented.

Ruediger Holinski↗

Magnetic field draping against the dayside magnetopause

Interplanetary magnetic fields observed upstream of Earth's magnetosphere at ISEE 3 form input for a gasdynamic model of magnetic field draping in the dayside magnetosheath. Model results near the magnetopause are compared with appropriately lagged observations at ISEE 1. In 16 to 24 cases, the angle between the transverse component of the model and observed fields is less than 20 deg. The agreement is surprisingly good in view of the uncertainty introduced by the large distances between ISEE 1 and ISEE 3. The results indicate that magnetohydrodynamic and energy transfer processes at the magnetopause do not cause large distortions of the magnetosheath magnetic field. In addition, a comparison between observed and model field magnitudes indicates that immediately outside the magnetopause the observed field behaves like the model field at a distance of approx. 0.5 R sub E from the magnetopause, outside the region where magnetohydrodynamic effects make the gasdynamic model inapplicable. Patterns of model magnetic field orientation at the magnetopause are presented for practical application.

Crooker, N. U.↗

Optimation of cooled shields in insulations

A method to optimize the location, temperature, and heat dissipation rate of each cooled shield inside an insulation layer was developed. The method is based on the minimization of the entropy production rate which is proportional to the heat leak across the insulation. It is shown that the maximum number of shields to be used in most practical applications is three. However, cooled shields are useful only at low values of the overall, cold wall to hot wall absolute temperature ratio. The performance of the insulation system is relatively insensitive to deviations from the optimum values of the temperature and location of the cooling shields. Design curves for rapid estimates of the locations and temperatures of cooling shields in various types of insulations, and an equation for calculating the cooling loads for the shields are presented.

Chato, J. C.↗

On accuracy conditions for the numerical computation of waves

The Helmholtz equation (Delta + K(2)n(2))u = f with a variable index of refraction n, and a suitable radiation condition at infinity serves as a model for a wide variety of wave propagation problems. Such problems can be solved numerically by first truncating the given unbounded domain and imposing a suitable outgoing radiation condition on an artificial boundary and then solving the resulting problem on the bounded domain by direct discretization (for example, using a finite element method). In practical applications, the mesh size h and the wave number K, are not independent but are constrained by the accuracy of the desired computation. It will be shown that the number of points per wavelength, measured by (Kh)(-1), is not sufficient to determine the accuracy of a given discretization. For example, the quantity K(3)h(2) is shown to determine the accuracy in the L(2) norm for a second-order discretization method applied to several propagation models.

Bayliss, A.↗

Measuring the sea ice floe size distribution

The sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean is broken into distinct pieces,called floes. In the summer, these floes, which have diameters ranging up to 100 km, are separated from each other by a region of open water. In the winter, floes still exist, but they are less easily identified. An understanding of the geometry of the ice pack is of interest for a number of practical applications associated with transportation in ice-covered seas and with the design of offshore structures intended to survive in the presence of ice. The present investigation has the objective to clarify ideas about floe sizes and to propose techniques for measuring them. Measurements are presented with the primary aim to illustrate points of technique or approach. A preliminary discussion of the floe size distribution of sea ice is devoted to questions of definition and of measurement.

Rothrock, D. A.↗

Stability of Bromine Intercalated Graphite Fibers

Previous evidence suggested that bromine intercalation compounds of crystalline graphite spontaneously deintercalate when the bromine atmosphere is removed. However, results show that bromine intercalated P-100 graphite fibers are stable for long periods of time. They are stable under vacuum conditions, high humidity, and current densities up to 24,000 A/sq cm. They are thermally stable to 200 C, and at temperatures as high as 400 C still retain 80 percent of the conductivity gained by intercalation. At temperatures greater than 300 C, there is significant oxidative degradation of the fibers. The environmental stability shown by the bromine compound makes it a promising candidate for practical applications in aerospace technology.

Gaier, J. R.↗

Restoration of multichannel microwave radiometric images

A constrained iterative image restoration method is applied to multichannel diffraction-limited imagery. This method is based on the Gerchberg-Papoulis algorithm utilizing incomplete information and partial constraints. The procedure is described using the orthogonal projection operators which project onto two prescribed subspaces iteratively. Some of its properties and limitations are also presented. The selection of appropriate constraints was emphasized in a practical application. Multichannel microwave images, each having different spatial resolution, were restored to a common highest resolution to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. Both noise-free and noisy images were used in this investigation.

Chin, R. T.↗