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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 1,513 records · Page 84

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NASA NTRS1971

Dynamic responses of railroad car models to vertical and lateral rail inputs

Simplified dynamic models were applied in a study of vibration in a high-speed railroad car. The mathematical models used were a four-degree-of-freedom model for vertical responses to vertical rail inputs and a ten-degree-of-freedom model for lateral response to lateral or rolling (cross-level) inputs from the rails. Elastic properties of the passenger car body were represented by bending and torsion of a uniform beam. Rail-to-car (truck) suspensions were modeled as spring-mass-dashpot oscillators. Lateral spring nonlinearities approximating certain complicated truck mechanisms were introduced. The models were excited by displacement and, in some cases, velocity inputs from the rails by both deterministic (including sinusoidal) and random input functions. Results were obtained both in the frequency and time domains. Solutions in the time domain for the lateral model were obtained for a wide variety of transient and random inputs generated on-line by an analog computer. Variations in one of the damping properties of the lateral car suspension gave large fluctuations in response over a range of car speeds for a given input. This damping coefficient was significant in reducing lateral car responses that were higher for nonlinear springs for three different inputs.

Sewall, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Sequential-strip and sequential-disk filters

Filter senses increasing pressure drop and uses this to compress bellows. Compression of bellows stores energy in spring until predetermined pressure-drop level is reached. At this point, bellows and spring are released. Relaxation of spring is used to move a clean area of screen into position across fluid stream.

Winzen, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Evaluate the application of ERTS-A data for detecting and mapping sea ice

The author has identified the following significant results. The results of the analysis of data collected during the spring and summer demonstrate that ERTS-1 imagery has a high potential for monitoring arctic sea ice conditions during the time for maximum ice extent through ice-breakup season. In the eastern Beaufort Sea area, the combination of ERTS-1 orbital overlap and a high incidence of cloud-free conditions during the spring assures a high frequency of repetitive satellite coverage. In the mid-Beaufort Sea, numerous fractures and leads can be identified, even in the early spring data. Ice features that can be identified include: development of fractures leading to the formation of distinct ice floes; growth and deterioration of leads; evidence of shearing movements of ice masses; formation of new grey ice within leads; distinction between grey, grey-white, and older forms of ice; and the deterioration of the ice surface evidenced by the formation of puddles, thaw holes, and drainage patterns. Ice conditions in the Bering Sea near St. Lawrence Island reported by aircraft observers participating in the Bering Sea Expedition are in close agreement with the ice conditions mapped from the corresponding ERTS-1 imagery. Ice features identified were: boundaries between grey ice and first year ice, shear leads, and occurrence of open water.

Barnes, J. C.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Inventory of forest and rangeland and detection of forest stress

The author has identified the following significant results. Disturbances in a forest environment that cause reductions in forest area, timber volume, and timber growth can be detected on ERTS-1 combined color composites. However, detection depends on comparing a conventional aerial photograph taken at some base year with an ERTS-1 image taken in some subsequent year. In a test made on the Atlanta site, 1:63,360 scale aerial photo index sheets made in 1966 were compared with ERTS-1 image 1264-15445 (April 1973). Five factors were found important to detection reliability: (1) the quality of the imagery; (2) the season of the imagery; (3) the size of the disturbed area; (4) the number of years since the disturbances; and (5) the type of cutting treatment. Of 209 disturbances verified on aerial photography, 165 (or approximately 80%) were detected on the ERTS-1 image by one independent interpreter. Improved training and additional experience in using this low resolution imagery should improve detection. Of the two seasons of data studies (fall and early spring), early spring is the best for detecting land use changes. Generally speaking, winter, early spring, and early summer are the best times of year for detecting forest disturbances.

Heller, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Vacuum-jacketed line spacer

Device has three integral, equally spaced leaf springs. Springs separate outer vacuum jacket from fluid carrying line, yet minimize conductive heat leaks and liquid boiloff. One-piece heat spring has sufficient flexibility to accommodate differential thermal expansion of inner and outer line.

Houte, F. A.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Attempt at correlating Italian long lineaments from LANDSAT-1 satellite images with some geological phenomena. Possible use in geothermal energy research

By utilizing the images from the LANDSAT-1, in the spectral band 0.8-1.1 microns (near infrared), a photomosaic was obtained of Italian territory. From this mosaic the field of long lineaments was drawn, corresponding to fractures of the earth crust more than 100 km long. The relationship between lineaments, hot springs, volcanic areas, and earthquake epicenters is verified. There is a clear connection between long lineaments and hot springs: 78% of the springs are located on one or more lineaments, and the existence of hot lineaments was observed. A slightly weaker, but still significant, connection exists between the Pliocene-Quaternary volcanic areas and long lineaments. The relationship between earthquakes and long lineaments can only be verified in some cases. The lineaments which can be related to earthquakes have little or no connection with the other phenomena.

Barbier, E.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Centaur D-1A nose fairing jettison test

An experimental investigation was conducted to verify the functional and structural capability of the Centaur D-1A nose fairing. A full-scale flight-type nose fairing was jettisoned at the Lewis Research Center Space Power Chamber at simulated altitude. Two complete jettisons of the nose fairing were performed, one without aft helper springs and one with aft helper springs. A ''static'' rotation test was also performed to verify capability of the helper springs and to allow clearance measurements between the nose fairing and spacecraft envelope mock-up at certain discrete nose fairing rotation angles. Nose fairing trajectories, structural deflections, clearances, and hinge forces during jettison are presented. Data from subsequent Centaur D-1A flights, relative to nose fairing jettisons, are compared with the experimental results.

Prati, W. M.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Catheter tip force transducer for cardiovascular research

A force transducer for measuring dynamic force activity within the heart of a subject essentially consists of a U-shaped beam of low elastic compliance material. Two lines extend from the beams's legs and a long coil spring is attached to the beam. A strain gauge is coupled to one of the beam's legs to sense deflections thereof. The beam with the tines and most of the spring are surrounded by a flexible tube, defining a catheter, which is insertable into a subject's heart through an appropriate artery. The tines are extractable from the catheter for implantation into the myocardium by pushing on the end of the spring which extends beyond the external end of the catheter.

Feldstein, C.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Sensitivity of Hingeless Rotor Blade Flap-lag Stability in Hover to Analytical Modelling Assumptions

Prediction of flap-lag stability using a single bending mode for each degree-of-freedom is examined in the case in which the bending modes are assumed to be the same in the flap and lag directions and are independent of pitch angle and stiffness distribution. It is shown that this model gives results analogous to those obtained by Ormiston employing a rigid blade model with the blade and hub stiffness represented by springs in the limiting cases of the elastic coupling parameter R = 0 and 1. For intermediate values of R the results are shown to be quite different. The mode shape assumptions are shown to result in what is referred to as the parallel spring model in contrast to Ormiston's model which is referred to as a series spring model. The similarities and differences between these two models are developed in some details. The differences between these two models are examined for various typical rotor blade characteristics. Other aspects of the sensitivity of this problem are also considered.

Curtiss, H. C., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Considerations for the application of finite element beam modeling to vibration analysis of flight vehicle structures

The manner of representing a flight vehicle structure as an assembly of beam, spring, and rigid-body components for vibration analysis is described. The development is couched in terms of a substructures methodology which is based on the finite-element stiffness method. The particular manner of employing beam, spring, and rigid-body components to model such items as wing structures, external stores, pylons supporting engines or external stores, and sprung masses associated with launch vehicle fuel slosh is described by means of several simple qualitative examples. A detailed numerical example consisting of a tilt-rotor VTOL aircraft is included to provide a unified illustration of the procedure for representing a structure as an equivalent system of beams, springs, and rigid bodies, the manner of forming the substructure mass and stiffness matrices, and the mechanics of writing the equations of constraint which enforce deflection compatibility at the junctions of the substructures. Since many structures, or selected components of structures, can be represented in this manner for vibration analysis, the modeling concepts described and their application in the numerical example shown should prove generally useful to the dynamicist.

Kvaternik, R. G.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Cyclical bi-directional rotary actuator

A thermally powered rotary actuator is disclosed which is used for positioning a shaft in first and second positions which are disposed 180 deg apart. A pair of heat extensible springs are attached to the shaft and to the frame of the rotary actuator for selectively rotating the shaft from one of its two positions to the other position upon the application of heat to one of the heat extensible springs. The heat extensible springs are preferably constructed from the alloy 55-Nitinol. In the preferred embodiment, a detent mechanism is provided for locking the rotatable shaft in its two rotary positions.

Stange, W. C.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Seasonal variations of the microwave scattering properties of deciduous trees as measured in the 1-18 GHz spectral range

The author has identified the following significant results. Employing two FM-CW radar spectrometers, scattering data were acquired from stands of deciduous trees during the spring and autumn. The data suggest that the trees act as a volume scatter target particularly in the 7-18 GHz region. A comparison of data collected in spring and autumn indicates that the radar scattering coefficient, sigma deg, as measured in spring can be substantially larger (as much as 10 dB) than sigma deg as measured in the autumn.

Ulaby, F. T.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Investigations of spectral separability of small grains, early season wheat detection, and multicrop inventory planning

The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT data from seven 5 by 6 segments having crop type information were analyzed to determine the potential for spectral separation of spring wheat from other small grains as an alternative to the primary LACIE procedure for estimating spring wheat acreage. Within segment field-center, classification accuracies for spring wheat vs. barley tended to be best in mid-July when crop color changes were in progress. When correlations were made for differences in atmospheric haze, data from several segments could be aggregated, and results that approached within segment accuracies were obtained for selected dates. LACIE field measurement spectral reflectance data provided information on both wheat development patterns and the importance of various agronomic factors on wheat reflectance, the most important being availability of soil moisture. To investigate early season detection for winter wheat, reflectance of developing wheat patterns was simulated through reflectance modeling and was analyzed along with field measured reflectance from a Kansas site. The green component development of the wheat field was analyzed as a function of data throughout the season. A selected threshold was not crossed by all fields until mid-April. These reflectance data were shown to be consistent actual LANDSAT data.

Nalepka, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Development of a prototype flexible radiator system

The radiator is a roll-up flexible panel with the transport fluid manifolds located at the ends of the 27 foot length. A total of fifty Teflon flow tubes are sandwiched between the layers of silver wire mesh and sealed in the Teflon film. The transport fluid flows from an inlet manifold through 25 panel flow tubes to the end of the radiator panel into a manifold which directs the fluid into the other 25 flow tubes on its return to the base of the radiator. Deployment/retraction of the flexible radiator panel is by low pressure inflation tubes (one along each side of the panel) which incorporate a flat spring. The spring supplies the retraction force to wind the radiator panel on a drum when the pressure in the inflation tubes is relieved. Room ambient deployment tests of the radiator panel were conducted to verify the inflation tube spring deployment, and retraction capability. The panel underwent a thermal vacuum, solar spectrum exposure test. After approximately 100 hours of solar exposure, post-test inspection revealed no structural or optical properties degraded.

Hixon, C. W.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Growth stage estimation

Of the three candidate approaches to adjustment of the crop calendar to account for year-to-year weather differences, the Robertson triquadratic unit, a function of a nonlinear function of maximum and minimum temperature and day length, best described the rate of phenological development of wheat. The adjustable crop calendar (ACC) as implemented for LACIE is used to calculate the daily increment of development through six physiological stages of growth. Topics covered include dormancy modeling, the spring restart model, spring wheat starter model, winter starter model, winter wheat starter model, inclusion of the moisture variable, and display of crop stage estimation results. Assessment of the ACC accuracy over the period of LACIE operation indicates that the adjustable crop calendars used provided more accurate information than would have been available using historical norms. The models performed best under the conditions from which they were derived (Canadian spring wheat) and most poorly for the dwarf varieties and Southern Hemisphere applications.

Whitehead, V. S.↗

NASA NTRS1979

LACIE area, yield, and production estimate characteristics: U.S.S.R.

No estimates were generated for the U.S.S.R. during LACIE phase 1. Phase 2 effort was limited to two indicator regions: winter wheat areas where 385 segments were allocated, and spring wheat areas with 362 allocated segments. The level of activity for phase 3 was extended to the entire country which automatically increased the segment workload from 747 to 1947 segments. Production, area, and yield estimates, and their accuracy are discussed for phases 2 and 3 with emphasis on scope, sampling strategy, data base, LANDSAT data, yield analysis for winter and spring wheat, area and production analysis for winter and spring wheat, and technical issues and problems.

Hickman, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Evaluation of transition year Canadian test sites

The author has identified the following significant results. The spring small grain proportion accuracy in 15 Saskatchewan test sites was found to be comparable to that of the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment Phase 3 and Transition Year results in the U.S. spring wheat states. Spring small grain labeling accuracy was 94%, and the direct wheat labeling accuracy was 89%, despite the low barley separation accuracy of 30%.

Payne, R. W.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The observed ozone flux by transient eddies, 0-30 km

Ozonesonde data are matched with concomitant rawinsonde data to provide a direct determination of horizontal, meridional, flux of ozone by the transient eddies. Data are from 27 stations in 4 regions: eastern and western North America, western Europe, and Japan. Results confirm the existence of significant northward flux near 40 deg N, 10-18 km, in winter and spring, as shown by previous investigators. However, areas of significant equatorward flux are found at high mid-latitudes, 10-16 km, over North America in winter and spring, and at all 3 Japanese stations, 10-18 km, in spring. Trasient eddy fluxes are typically small in summer, and are also small throughout the troposphere and most of the middle stratosphere.

Wilcox, R. W.↗