Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “RuN”

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 1,477 records · Page 82

Ditching Investigation of a 1/24-Scale Model of the Boeing B-47 Airplane

An investigation of a 1/24-scale dynamically similar model of the Boeing B-47 airplane was made to determine the ditching characteristics and proper ditching technique for the airplane. Various conditions of damage, landing attitude, flap setting, and speed were investigated. The behavior of the model was determined from visual observations, motion-picture records, and time-history deceleration records. The results of the investigation are presented in table form, photographs, and curves. The airplane should be ditched at the lowest speed and highest attitude consistent with adequate control; the flaps should be full down. The airplane will probably make a deep but fairly smooth run. The fuselage bottom will be damaged and partially filled with water; consequently, crew members should be assigned ditching stations near an exit in the upper or forward part of the fuselage. The nacelles may be expected to be torn away from the wing. In calm water the maximum decelerations will be about 3g and the landing run will be about 6 fuselage lengths.

Fisher, Lloyd J.↗

Ditching Investigation of a 1/24-Scale Model of the Douglas C-124 Airplane

An investigation of a 1/24- scale dynamically similar model of the Douglas C-124 airplane was made to determine the ditching characteristics and proper technique for ditching the airplane. Various conditions of damage, landing attitude, flap setting, and speed were investigated. The behavior of the model was determined from visual observations, motion- picture records, and time-history deceleration records. The results of the investigation are presented in table form, photographs, and curves. It was concluded on the basis of results from model tests with scale-strength bottoms (equivalent to 1150 pounds per square foot, full scale) that the airplane should be ditched at a medium nose-high landing attitude (near 7deg) with flaps full down. The airplane will probably make a smooth run with considerable damage resulting to the fuselage bottom just forward of the wing, but it is not likely that the water inflow will be overwhelming to personnel provided they are not in the belly compartment. Longitudinal decelerations in calm water will be about 2 1/2g and the landing run will be about four fuselage lengths.

Fisher, Lloyd J.↗

Ditching Investigation of a 1/11-Scale Model of the Chance Vought F7U-3 Airplane, TED NO. NACA DE 360

An investigation was made of a 1/11-scale dynamically similar model of the Chance Vought F7U-3 airplane to study its behavior when ditched. The model was landed in calm water at the Langley tank no. 2 monorail. Various landing attitudes, speeds, and configurations were investigated. The behavior of the model was determined from visual observations, acceleration records, and motion-picture records of the ditchings. Data are presented in tabular form, sequence photographs, time-history acceleration curves, and plots of attitude change against time after contact. From the results of the investigation, it was concluded that the airplane should be ditched at the lowest speed and highest attitude consistent with adequate control. The aft part of the fuselage and the main landing-gear doors will probably be damaged. In a calm-water ditching under these conditions the airplane will probably skip slightly and then porpoise for the remainder of the run. Maximum longitudinal decelerations will be about 3 1/2g and maximum normal accelerations will be about 7g in a landing run of about 500 feet.

Fisher, Lloyd J.↗

Supplementary Ditching Investigation of a 1/18-Scale Model of the North American B-45 Airplane

A supplementary investigation of a 1/18-scale dynamically similar model of the North American B-45 airplane was made in calm water to observe the ditching behavior and to determine the effect of further conditions of simulated damage. The behavior of the model was determined from motion-picture records, time-history deceleration records, and visual observations. It was concluded that, during a ditching, the nose-wheel doors, bomb-bay doors, under surface of the aft fuselage and lower part of the bomb-bay aft bulkhead will be torn away. When such damage occurs, the diving found in the previous tests will not occur and the airplane will porpoise during the first third of the landing run and then run smoothly. Because of the extensive damage which occurs, the fuselage aft of the pilots' compartment will fill with water very rapidly and is, therefore, an undesirable ditching station. No change in the previously recommended ditching attitude and flap setting (6 deg attitude, flaps down) is indicated by these supplementary tests.

Fisher, Lloyd J.↗

Ditching Investigation of a 1/20-Scale Model of the Boeing Stratocruiser Airplane (C-97)

An investigation of a 1/20-scale dynamically similar model of the Boeing Stratocruiser airplane (C-97) was made to determine the ditching characteristics and proper technique for ditching the airplane. Scale-strength bottoms were used to determine probable damage to the fuselage and the effect of damage on behavior. The behavior of the model was determined from visual observations, motion-picture records, and time-history deceleration records. Data are presented in a table, photographs, and curves. It was concluded that the airplane should be ditched at a medium nose-high landing attitude (near 6 deg) with landing flaps full down. The airplane will probably make a smooth run of medium depth with light spray and may even trim up slightly in the water. The fuselage will probably be damaged and the lower compartment filled with water. In calm water, the maximum longitudinal deceleration will be about 4g and the landing run will be about four fuselage lengths.

Fisher, Lloyd J.↗

Conceptual Design and Dynamics Testing and Modeling of a Mars Tumbleweed Rover

The NASA Langley Research Center has been developing a novel concept for a Mars planetary rover called the Mars Tumbleweed. This concept utilizes the wind to propel the rover along the Mars surface, bringing it the potential to cover vast distances not possible with current Mars rover technology. This vehicle, in its deployed configuration, must be large and lightweight to provide the ratio of drag force to rolling resistance necessary to initiate motion from rest on the Mars surface. One Tumbleweed design concept that satisfies these considerations is called the Eggbeater-Dandelion. This paper describes the basic design considerations and a proposed dynamics model of the concept for use in simulation studies. It includes a summary of rolling/bouncing dynamics tests that used videogrammetry to better understand, characterize, and validate the dynamics model assumptions, especially the effective rolling resistance in bouncing/rolling dynamic conditions. The dynamics test used cameras to capture the motion of 32 targets affixed to a test article s outer structure. Proper placement of the cameras and alignment of their respective fields of view provided adequate image resolution of multiple targets along the trajectory as the test article proceeded down the ramp. Image processing of the frames from multiple cameras was used to determine the target positions. Position data from a set of these test runs was compared with results of a three dimensional, flexible dynamics model. Model input parameters were adjusted to match the test data for runs conducted. This process presented herein provided the means to characterize the dynamics and validate the simulation of the Eggbeater-Dandelion concept. The simulation model was used to demonstrate full scale Tumbleweed motion from a stationary condition on a flat-sloped terrain using representative Mars environment parameters.

Calhoun Philip C.↗

Landing Characteristics in Waves of Three Dynamic Models of Flying Boats

Powered models of three different flying boats were landed in oncoming wave of various heights and lengths. The resulting motions and acceleration were recorded to survey the effects of varying the trim at landing, the deceleration after landing, and the size of the waves. One of the models had an unusually long afterbody. The data for landing with normal rates of deceleration indicated that the most severe motions and accelerations were likely to occur at some period of the landing run subsequent to the initial impact. Landings made at abnormally low trims led to unusually severe bounces during the runout. The least severe landing occurred after a small lending when the model was rapidly decelerated at about 0.4 g in a simulation of the proposed use of braking devices. The severity of the landings increased with wave height and was at a maximum when the wave length was of the order of from one and one-half to twice the over-all length of the model. The models with afterbodies of moderate length frequently bounced clear of the water into a stalled attitude at speeds below flying speed. The model with the long afterbody had less tendency to bounce from the waves and consequently showed less severe accelerations during the landing run than the models with moderate lengths of afterbody.

Benson, James M.↗

An experimental study of the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in microgravity

Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instability occurs when a planar interface separating two fluids of different density is impulsively accelerated in the direction of its normal. It is one of the most fundamental fluid instabilities and is of importance to the fields of astrophysics and inertial confinement fusion. Because RM instability experiments are normally carried out in shock tubes, where the generation of a sharp, well-controlled interface between gases is difficult, there is a scarcity of good experimental results. The experiments presented here use a novel technique that circumvents many of the experimental difficulties that have previously limited the study of RM instability in shock tubes. In these experiments, the instability is generated incompressibly, by bouncing a rectangular tank containing two liquids off of a fixed spring. These experiments, which utilize PLIF flow visualization, yield time-motion image sequences of the nonlinear development and transition to turbulence of the instability that are of a quality unattainable in shock tube experiments. Measurements obtained from these images, therefore, provide benchmark data for the evaluation of nonlinear models for the late-time growth of the instability. Because the run time in these experiments is limited, new experiments in the NASA Glenn 2.2 second drop tower, capable of achieving longer run times, are currently under way.

Rheology/methods↗

Drive Motor Improved for 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel/9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Complex

An operational change made recently in the drive motor system for the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel (8x6 SWT)/9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (9x15 LSWT) complex resulted in dramatic power savings and expanded operating range. The 8x6 SWT/9x15 LSWT complex offers a unique combination of wind tunnel conditions for both high- and low-speed testing. Prior to the work discussed in this article, the 8- by 6-ft test section offered airflows ranging from Mach 0.36 to 2.0. Subsonic testing was done in the 9-ft high, 15-ft wide test area in the return leg of the facility. The air speed in this test section can range from 0 to 175 mph (Mach 0.23). In the past, we varied the air speed by using a combination of the compressor speed and the position of the tunnel flow-control doors. When very slow speeds were required in the 9x15 LSWT, these large tunnel flow control doors might be very nearly full open, bleeding off large quantities of air, even with the drive system operating at its previous minimum speed of about 510 rpm. Power drawn during this mode of operation varied between 15 and 18 MW/hr, but clearly much of this power was not being used to provide air that would be used for testing in the test section. The air exiting these large doors represented wasted power. Early this year, the facility's tunnel drive system was run on one motor instead of three to see if lower drive speeds could be achieved that would, in turn, result in large power savings because unnecessary air would not be blown out of the flow-control doors unnecessarily. In addition, if the drive could be run slower, then slower speeds would also be possible in the 8x6 SWT test section as an added benefit. Results of the first tests performed early last year showed that in fact the drive, when operating on only one motor, actually reached a steady-state speed of only 337 rpm and drew an amazingly small 6 MW/hr of electrical power. During daytime operation of the drive, this meant that it would be possible to save as much as 10 MW/hr, or nearly $600 per hour of operation, for many of the 9x15 LSWT's testing regimes. An added benefit of this power-saving venture was that since the 8x6 SWT and 9x15 LSWT are indeed on a common loop, if the compressor is slowed down to benefit the 9x15 LSWT, then the air moving through the 8x6 SWT is also moving slower than ever before. In fact, testing has proven that the 8x6 SWT can now achieve Mach 0.25, whereas its previous lower limit was Mach 0.36. This added benefit has attracted additional customers

Source record↗

Offshore Breaking of Impact Tsunami: Van Dorn was Right

Tsunami generated by the impacts of asteroids and comets into the Earth s oceans are widely recognized as a potentially catastrophic hazard to the Earth s population (e.g. Chapman and Morrison 1994, Nature, 367, 33; Hills et al. 1994, in Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids, (ed. T. Gehrels), 779; Atkinson et al. 2000, Report of the UK Task Force on Potentially Hazardous NEOs; Ward and Asphaug 2000, Icarus, 145, 64). A peculiarity of ocean impacts is the potential global effects of an impact that would otherwise be of only regional or local importance should it occur on land. This is, of course, due to the ability of waves to propagate globally, as seen by the terrible effects of the recent earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. The overall process of an impact tsunami is complex and falls into several distinct phases: 1) initial impact of the bolide into the ocean and formation of a transient cavity in the water, 2) collapse of the cavity and propagation of large waves from the impact center outward over deep water (typically several km in depth), 3) initial effects on wave amplitude as shallower water of the continental slope is reached ("wave shoaling"), possible breaking of waves in relatively shallow water (less than 100 m depth), on continental shelves, and 5) final contact of waves with the shore and their progression onto dry land ("run-up" and "run-in"). Here we report on numerical calculations (and semi-analytic theory) covering phases 3 and 4.

Korycansky, D. G.↗

The Variation of Hydrocarbon Abundances with Latitude and Season in Saturn's Stratosphere

We have developed a realistic, time-variable, one-dimensional, seasonal model for stratospheric photochemistry on Saturn using the Caltech/ JPL KINETICS code [1,2,3]. The model accounts for variations in ultraviolet flux due to orbital position, solar-cycle variations, and ring-shadowing effects. The results for two Saturnian years, starting at Ls = 0 in 1950 and running until the upcoming northern vernal equinox in 2009, are presented for numerous latitudes. The same two model years are run over and over again until the model convergences to make sure that high-altitude effects have had a chance to propagate down through the atmosphere. We use the SOLAR2000 model [4,5], in combination with the spectra presented in [6], to predict the ultraviolet flux at any wavelength and any point in time during the simulation. Saturn's orbital position during the simulation was taken from the ephemeris calculator at http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.html [7]. The photochemical model is derived from "Model C" of [8] and uses a hydrocarbon reaction list that has been extensively updated from that presented in [3].

Moses, J. I.↗

Supersonic Wind Tunnel Capabilities Expanded Into Subsonic Region

The operating envelope of the Abe Silverstein 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel (10x10 SWT) at the NASA Lewis Research Center was recently expanded to include operation at subsonic test section speeds. This new capability generates test section air speeds ranging from Mach 0.05 to 0.35 (32 to 240 kn). Most of the expansion in air speed range was obtained by running the tunnel's main compressor at much lower speeds than ever before. The compressor drive system, consisting of four large electric motors, was run with only one or two motors energized to obtain the lower compressor speed range. This new capability makes the 10x10 SWT more versatile and gives U.S. researchers an enhanced ability to perform subsonic propulsion and aerodynamic testing.

Roeder, James W., Jr.↗

Gas Wave Bearings: A Stable Alternative to Journal Bearings for High-Speed Oil-Free Machines

To run both smoothly and efficiently, high-speed machines need stable, low-friction bearings to support their rotors. In addition, an oil-free bearing system is a common requirement in today's designs. Therefore, self-acting gas film bearings are becoming the bearing of choice in high-performance rotating machinery, including that used in the machine tool industry. Although plain journal bearings carry more load and have superior lift and land characteristics, they suffer from instability problems. Since 1992, a new type of fluid film bearing, the wave bearing, has been under development at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, by Dr. Florin Dimofte, a Senior Research Associate of the University of Toledo. One unique characteristic of the waved journal bearing that gives it improved capabilities over conventional journal bearings is the low-amplitude waves of its inner diameter surface. The radial clearance is on the order of one thousandth of the shaft radius, and the wave amplitude is nominally up to one-half the clearance. This bearing concept offers a load capacity which is very close to that of a plain journal bearing, but it runs more stably at nominal speeds.

Dimofte, Florin↗

Parallel Performance Characterization of Columbia

Using a collection of benchmark problems of increasing levels of realism and computational effort, we will characterize the strengths and limitations of the 10,240 processor Columbia system to deliver supercomputing value to application scientists. Scientists need to be able to determine if and how they can utilize Columbia to carry extreme workloads, either in terms of ultra-large applications that cannot be run otherwise (capability), or in terms of very large ensembles of medium-scale applications to populate response matrices (capacity). We select existing application benchmarks that scale from a small number of processors to the entire machine, and that highlight different issues in running supercomputing-calss applicaions, such as the various types of memory access, file I/O, inter- and intra-node communications and parallelization paradigms. http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Software/NPB/

Biswas, Rupak↗

Two Dimensional Viscoelastic Stress Analysis of a Prototypical JIMO Turbine Wheel

The designers of the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) are investigating the potential of nuclear powered-electric propulsion technology to provide deep space propulsion. In one design scenario a closed-Brayton-cycle power converter is used to convert thermal energy from a nuclear reactor to electrical power for the spacecraft utilizing an inert gas as the working fluid to run a turboalternator as described in L.S. Mason, "A Power Conversion for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter," Journal of Propulsion and Power, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 902-910. A key component in the turboalternator is the radial flow turbine wheel which may be fabricated from a cast superalloy. This turbine wheel is envisioned to run continuously over the life of the mission, which is anticipated to be about ten years. This scenario places unusual material requirements on the turbine wheel. Unlike the case of terrestrial turbine engines, fatigue, associated with start-up and shut-down of the engine, foreign-object damage, and corrosion issues are insignificant and thus creep issues become dominate. The purpose of this paper is to present estimates for creep growth of a prototypical JIMO turbine wheel over a ten year life. Since an actual design and bill of materials does not exist, the results presented in this paper are based on preliminary concepts which are likely to evolve over time. For this reason, as well as computational efficiency, a simplified 2-D, in lieu of a 3-D, viscoelastic, finite element model of a prototypical turbine wheel will be utilized employing material properties for the cast superalloy MAR-M247. The creep data employed in this analysis are based on preliminary data being generated at NASA Glenn Research Center.

Gayda, John↗

Work Done For the Safety and Assurance Directorate

The Safety and Assurance Directorate (SAAD) has a vision. The vision is to be an essential part of NASA Glenn's journey to excellence. SAAD is in charge of leading safety, security, and quality and is important to our customers. When it comes to programmatic and technical decision making and implementation, SAAD provides clear safety, reliability, maintainable, quality assurance and security. I worked on a couple different things during my internship with Sandra Hardy. I did a lot of logistics for meeting and trips. I helped run the budget for the SAAD directorate. I also worked with Rich Miller for one week and we took water samples and ran tests. We also calibrated the different equipment. There is a lot more to meetings than people see. I did one for a retirement party. I had to get work orders and set up the facilities where the event is going to take place. I also set up a trip to Plum Brook Station. I had to order vans and talk with the people up there to see when a good time was. I also had to make invitations and coordinate everything. I also help Sandy run the numbers in the budget. We use excel to do this, which makes it a lot easier. things. He is in the environmental safety office. I learned how to collaborate the equipment using alpha and beta sources. I went out with him and we took water samples and tested them for conductivity and chlorine. I have learned a lot in the short time I've been here. It has been a great experience and I have has the pleasure of meeting and working with great people.

Struhar, Paul T., Jr.↗

Analysis of Droplet Size during the Ice Accumulation Phase Of Flight Testing

There are numerous hazards associated with air travel. One of the most serious dangers to the pilot and passengers safety is the result of flying into conditions which are conducive to the formation of ice on the surface of an aircraft. Being a pilot myself I am very aware of the dangers that Icing can pose and the effects it can have on an airplane. A couple of the missions of the Icing branch is to make flying safer with more research to increase our knowledge of how ice effects the aerodynamics of an airfoil, and to increase are knowledge of the weather for better forecasting. The Icing Branch uses three different tools to determine the aerodynamic affects that icing has on a wing. The Icing research tunnel is an efficient way to test various airfoils in a controlled setting. To make sure the data received from the wind tunnel is accurate the Icing branch conducts real flight tests with the DHC-6 Twin Otter. This makes sure that the methods used in the wind tunnel accurately model what happens on the actual aircraft. These two tools are also compared to the LEWICE code which is a program that models the ice shape that would be formed on an airfoil in the particular weather conditions that are input by the user. One benefit of LEWICE is that it is a lot cheaper to run than the wind tunnel or flight tests which make it a nice tool for engineers designing aircraft that don t have the money to spend on icing research. Using all three of these tools is a way to cross check the data received from one and check it against the other two. industries, but it is also looked at by weather analysts who are trying to improve forecasting methods. The best way to avoid the troubles of icing encounters is to not go into it in the first place. By looking over the flight data the analyst can determine which conditions will most likely lead to an icing encounter and then this information will aid forecasters when briefing the pilots on the weather conditions. am looking at the weather data from certain flights and analyzing the type of precipitation that the plane is flying through. During flight tests there is a probe on the bottom of the aircraft that gathers information on the size and shape of the particles that it is flying through. The data can then be viewed on a computer. After grouping the weather into certain groups we can then pick certain groups which we think should be analyzed farther. The goal is to remove all the ice particles because they do not contribute to the icing on an aircraft. We use a 2D analyzer which measures the droplet size and categorizes the drops into bins of certain sizes. We can then look at what the characteristics of the weather that we were flying through such as the temperature and dew point and compare this with the size of the drops that the 2D analyzer measured. We can then look at what type and shape of ice that formed on the wing during this time period. Having this data will help us to reproduce these conditions using LEWICE and the wind tunnel. Having consistency among the tests will make things more accurate. With respect to weather forecasting we will be able to learn which conditions can lead to icing. Better accuracy in weather reporting will lead to fewer run-ins with icing which will also lead to fewer accidents.

Miller, Eric James↗

Graphical User Interface Development for Representing Air Flow Patterns

In the Turbine Branch, scientists carry out experimental and computational work to advance the efficiency and diminish the noise production of jet engine turbines. One way to do this is by decreasing the heat that the turbine blades receive. Most of the experimental work is carried out by taking a single turbine blade and analyzing the air flow patterns around it, because this data indicates the sections of the turbine blade that are getting too hot. Since the cost of doing turbine blade air flow experiments is very high, researchers try to do computational work that fits the experimental data. The goal of computational fluid dynamics is for scientists to find a numerical way to predict the complex flow patterns around different turbine blades without physically having to perform tests or costly experiments. When visualizing flow patterns, scientists need a way to represent the flow conditions around a turbine blade. A researcher will assign specific zones that surround the turbine blade. In a two-dimensional view, the zones are usually quadrilaterals. The next step is to assign boundary conditions which define how the flow enters or exits one side of a zone. way of setting up computational zones and grids, visualizing flow patterns, and storing all the flow conditions in a file on the computer for future computation. Such a program is necessary because the only method for creating flow pattern graphs is by hand, which is tedious and time-consuming. By using a computer program to create the zones and grids, the graph would be faster to make and easier to edit. Basically, the user would run a program that is an editable graph. The user could click and drag with the mouse to form various zones and grids, then edit the locations of these grids, add flow and boundary conditions, and finally save the graph for future use and analysis. My goal this summer is to create a graphical user interface (GUI) that incorporates all of these elements. I am writing the program in Java, a language that is portable among platforms, because it can run on different operating systems such as Windows and Unix without having to be rewritten. I had no prior experience of programming in Java at the start of my internship; I am continuously learning as I create the program. I have written the part of the program that enables a user to draw several zones, edit them, and store their locations. The next phase of my project is to allow the user to click on the side of a zone and create a boundary condition for it. A previous intern wrote a program that allows the user to input boundary conditions. I can integrate the two programs to create a larger, more usable program. After that, I will develop a way for the user to save the graph for future reference. Another eventual goal is to make the GUI capable of creating three-dimensional zones as well. Researchers such as my mentor, Dr. David Ashpis, need a quick, user-friendly

Chaudhary, Nilika↗