Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Expression”

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 1,297 records · Page 72

Atmospheric noise temperature measurements

Radiometric microwave noise temperature measurements were used to estimate atmospheric transmission loss. The following lumped element model expression is used for the noise temperature contribution, T double prime = T sub p (1 - 1/L). This relationship is used to estimate the transmission loss L in terms of T double prime and the atmosphere effective physical temperature T sub p. This report evaluates T sub p in terms of assumed distributed loss and temperature models. Simplified expressions are presented for low loss applications. For these applications L was determined directly and accurately without integration or iteration.

Stelzried, C.↗

Calibration of the Urbana lidar system

A method for calibrating data obtained by the Urban sodium lidar system is presented. First, an expression relating the number of photocounts originating from a specific altitude range to the soodium concentration is developed. This relation is then simplified by normalizing the sodium photocounts with photocounts originating from the Rayleigh region of the atmosphere. To evaluate the calibration expression, the laser linewidth must be known. Therefore, a method for measuring the laser linewidth using a Fabry-Perot interferometer is given. The laser linewidth was found to be 6 + or - 2.5 pm. Problems due to photomultiplier tube overloading are discussed. Finally, calibrated data is presented. The sodium column abundance exhibits something close to a sinusoidal variation throughout the year with the winter months showing an enhancement of a factor of 5 to 7 over the summer months.

Cerny, T.↗

A note on a Lagrangian formulation for motion about the collinear points

A Lagrangian formulation for the three-dimensional motion of a satellite in the vicinity of the collinear points of the circular-restricted problem is reconsidered. It is shown that the influence of the primaries can be expressed in the form of two third-body disturbing functions. By use of this approach, the equations for the Lagrangian and for the motion itself are readily developed into highly compact expressions. All orders of the non-linear developments are shown to be easily obtainable using well-known recursive relationships. The resulting forms for these equations are well suited for use in the initial phase of canonical or non-canonical investigations.

Richardson, D. L.↗

Excited ozone is a possible source of atmospheric N2O

Consideration is given to the possibility that internally excited ozone formed in the three-body recombination reaction between oxygen atoms and molecules may be a potential source of atmospheric N2O through a gas-phase reaction with nitrogen molecules. Determinations of the wavelength dependence of the quantum yield for N2O formation from the photolysis of dilute solutions of O3 in liquid N2 and of the O(1D) quantum yield in the gas-phase photolysis of O3 are interpreted as suggesting the possibility of the excited ozone reaction, and a new expression for N2O quantum yield is derived. An expression for the production rate of N2O through the proposed reaction is then obtained and used to calculate atmospheric concentrations and fluxes of N2O. The theoretical profile obtained is found to agree better with experimental data than that obtained without the excited ozone reaction taken into account and to demonstrate a wide variability in N2O mixing ratios. In addition, the existence of the new N2O source is noted to imply a significantly smaller flux of N2O from surface microbiological activities, and provide a possible physical basis for latitudinal and temporal N2O variations and an additional stability for the ozone layer.

Prasad, S. S.↗

Kramers-Kronig relationship between ultrasonic attenuation and phase velocity

Kramers-Kronig relations linking the attenuation and dispersion are presented for a linear acoustic system. These expressions are used as a starting point to derive approximate, nearly local expressions relating the ultrasonic attenuation at a specific frequency to the local frequency derivative of the phase velocity (i.e., dispersion). The validity of these approximate relationships is demonstrated in several acoustic systems exhibiting substantially different physical properties.

Odonnell, M.↗

Evaluation of a three-processor architecture for a satellite packet switch

The architecture of a microprocessor-based packet switch using three processors for use on-board satellites is presented. The operation of the switch involves three distinct functions, namely, the input, the routing and the output functions. Each of these functions is performed by one of the three microprocessors. The operation of the switch along with those of the corresponding software routines are explained. An expression for the throughput is presented. A queue theoretic model of the switch is developed. Analytical expressions for the overall average response time at the various queues are obtained. A number of graphs showing the average response time as a function of some parameters of the switch are also presented.

Arozullakh, M.↗

Bidirectional reflectance spectroscopy. II - Experiments and observations

Aspects of the theoretical bidirectional reflectance expression derived by Hapke (1981) are studied experimentally, and it is shown that the expression describes satisfactorily the measured angular scattering and spectral properties of a cobalt glass powder in which the two properties vary greatly with wavelength. The theoretical reflectance function also describes measured distributions of intensity across the surfaces of planets, except near the sunlit limb, where the macroscopic roughness influences the brightness.

Hapke, B.↗

A WKB asymptotic analysis of baroclinic instability

A modest extension of conventional WKB methods of solving second-order differential equations asymptotically is developed and applied to the problem of baroclinic instability. Accurate results are obtained for the Charney problem using simple expressions. More important, the present expressions can be used immediately for a wide variety of basic velocity profiles.

Lindzen, R. S.↗

Application of unsteady airfoil theory to rotary wings

A clarification is presented on recent work concerning the application of unsteady airfoil theory to rotary wings. The application of this theory may be seen as consisting of four steps: (1) the selection of an appropriate unsteady airfoil theory; (2) the resolution of that velocity which is the resultant of aerodynamic and dynamic velocities at a point on the elastic axis into radial, tangential and perpendicular components, and the angular velocity of a blade section about the deformed axis; (3) the expression of lift and pitching moments in terms of the three components; and (4) the derivation of explicit expressions for the components in terms of flight velocity, induced flow, rotor rotational speed, blade motion variables, etc.

Kaza, K. R. V.↗

Energy coupling between the solar wind and the magnetosphere

A description is given of the path leading to the first approximation expression for the solar wind-magnetosphere energy coupling function (epsilon), which correlates well with the total energy consumption rate (U sub T) of the magnetosphere. It is shown that epsilon is the primary factor controlling the time development of magnetospheric substorms and storms. The finding of this particular expression epsilon indicates how the solar wind couples its energy to the magnetosphere; the solar wind and the magnetosphere make up a dynamo. In fact, the power generated by the dynamo can be identified as epsilon through the use of a dimensional analysis. In addition, the finding of epsilon suggests that the magnetosphere is closer to a directly driven system than to an unloading system which stores the generated energy before converting it to substorm and storm energies. The finding of epsilon and its implications is considered to have significantly advanced and improved the understanding of magnetospheric processes.

Akasofu, S.-I.↗

Apsidal precession of orbits about an oblate planet

It is noted that expressions for the apsidal precession rates to second order on J2 appear in the literature in at least three apparently mutually contradictory forms. The expressions are reconciled by accounting for subtle differences in the definitions of orbital elements.

Greenberg, R.↗

The structure of short gravity waves on the ocean surface

A brief review is given of the salient properties of short gravity waves and the way in which their structure is modified by longer waves or swell, by variable currents, and by internal waves. It is noted that an underlying swell produces a mottled pattern in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, and an expression is derived giving the fractional modulation in backscattering cross section of the ocean surface in terms of the slope of an underlying swell, the wind direction, and the direction of swell propagation relative to the angle of observation. The expression provides the possibility in appropriate circumstances of estimating the swell slope by remote sensing, in addition to the wavelength and direction of propagation, which can be measured directly from the imagery. An account is also given of the refraction of waves in variable currents and internal waves.

Phillips, O. M.↗

Redistribution of radiation for the wings of Lyman-alpha

Earlier work on redistribution of radiation by collisions for isolated lines is extended to overlapping lines, and an explicit expression for the frequency redistribution is given for Lyman-alpha. This expression is valid, even when the emitted photon is in the (non-impact) line wings. A simple physical explanation of the result is possible.

Yelnik, J.-B.↗

Harmonic and Anharmonic Properties of Diamond Structure Crystals with Application to the Calculation of the Thermal Expansion of Silicon

Silicon has interesting harmonic and anharmonic properties such as the low lying transverse acoustic modes at the X and L points of the Brillouin zone, negative Gruneisen parameters, negative thermal expansion and anomalous acoustic attenuation. In an attempt to understand these properties, a lattice dynamical model employing long range, nonlocal, dipole-dipole interactions was developed. Analytic expression for the Gruneisen parameters of several modes are presented. These expressions explain how the negative Gruneisen parameters arise. This model is applied to the calculation of the thermal expansion of silicon from 5K to 1700K. The thermoelastic contribution to the acoustic attenuation of silicon is computed from 1 to 300 K. Strong attenuation anomalies associated with negative thermal expansion are found in the vicinity of 17K and 125K.

Wanser, K. H.↗

Analytic optical potentials for nucleon-nucleus nucleus-nucleus collisions involving light and medium nuclei

Utilizing an optical model potential approximation to the exact nucleus-nucleus multiple-scattering series, optical potentials for nucleon-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions are analytically derived. These expressions are applicable to light and medium cosmic ray nuclei as their single-particle density distributions are analytically determined, without approximation, from their actual harmonic well charge density distributions. Pauli correlation effects are included through the use of a simple Gaussian function to replace the usual expression obtained in the infinite nuclear matter approximation.

Bidasaria, H. B.↗

Extragalactic gamma radiation: Use of galaxy counts as a galactic tracer

A derivation of the extragalactic diffuse gamma radiation with energies above 35 MeV was carried out using galaxy counts as a tracer of galactic matter. The extragalactic radiation has a differential photon number spectrum which may be expressed as a power law with index 2.35 (+0.4, -0.3) and an intensity above 35 MeV of (5.5 + or - 1.3) 0.00001 photons sq cm/s/ster, consistent with previous derivations. Use of a 1/sin of the absolute value of b expression of the galactic component produces a poorer fit, suggesting that the high-latitude galactic gamma-ray production may be dominated by cosmic ray interactions with matter rather than by Compton interactions of cosmic rays with photon fields.

Thompson, D. J.↗

An analytic solution to the classical two-body problem with drag

The two body problem was analyzed with a specific drag model. The model treats drag as a force proportional to the vector velocity and inversely proportional to the distance to the center of attraction. The solution is expressed in terms of known functions and is of a simple and compact form. The time of flight is expressed as a quadrature in the true anomaly. The results are: (1) development of a vector differential equation which allows analysis of an infinite number of gravitational and drag models; and (2) obtaining the solution of a linear differential equation using the inverse method of laplace transforms.

Mittleman, D.↗

Motion of the angular momentum vector in body coordinates for torque-free dual-spin spacecraft

The motion of the angular momentum vector in body coordinates for torque free, asymmetric dual spin spacecraft without and, for a special case, with energy dissipation on the main spacecraft is investigated. Without energy dissipation, two integrals can be obtained from the Euler equations of motion. Using the classical method of elimination of variable, the motion about the equilibrium points (six for the general case) are derived with these integrals. For small nutation angle, theta, the trajectories about the theta = 0 deg and theta = 180 deg points readily show the requirements for stable motion about these points. Also the conditions needed to eliminate stable motion about the theta = 180 deg point as well as the other undesireable equilibrium points follow directly from these equations. For the special case where the angular momentum vector moves about the principal axis which contains the momentum wheel, the notion of 'free variable' azimuth angle is used. Physically this angle must vary from 0 to 2 pi in a circular periodic fashion. Expressions are thus obtained for the nutation angle in terms of the free variable and other spacecraft parameters. Results show that in general there are two separate trajectory expressions that govern the motion of the angular momentum vector in body coordinates.

Fedor, J. V.↗