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At least 1,585 records · Page 88
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NASA NTRS1991

Low thrust viscous nozzle flow field predictions

The low thrust viscous nozzle flows have been studied numerically by using the steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in conservative form. A new Lower-Upper factorization scheme in the axisymmetric coordinate system has been developed and is analyzed in this paper. This new Navier-Stokes solver has shown that the numerical analog is accurate and stable for the convergent and divergent nozzle flowfield calculation. The range of the chamber pressure is (1.85-29.4)psi with the chamber temperature equal to 600 F. The results are compared with the data collected in the NASA/MSFC vacuum chamber, and they are in very reasonable agreement.

Chou, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Multigrid acceleration and turbulence models for computations of 3D turbulent jets in crossflow

A multigrid method is presented for the calculation of three-dimensional turbulent jets in crossflow. Turbulence closure is achieved with either the standard k-epsilon model or a Reynolds Stress Model (RSM). Multigrid acceleration enables convergence rates which are far superior to that for a single grid method. With the k-epsilon model the rate approaches that for laminar flow, but with RSM it is somewhat slower. The increased stiffness of the system of equations in the latter may be responsible. Computed results with both turbulence models are compared with experimental data for a pair of opposed jets in crossflow. Both models yield reasonable agreement with mean flow velocity but RSM yields better prediction of the Reynolds stresses.

Demuren, A. O.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Thermospheric composition changes seen during a geomagnetic storm

The largest magnitude winds observed using the instruments on board the Dynamics Explorer 2 (DE-2) satellite were measured during the large geomagnetic storm that occurred on November 24, 1982. Neutral temperatures exceeded 2000 K during this storm, and these high temperatures, combined with the very large observed winds and the very full instrumental coverage available in both hemispheres, make it a unique event to study. This paper presents results obtained using these DE-2 data and a time dependent simulation of the event made using the NCAR Thermosphere/Ionosphere General Circulation Model (NCAR-TIGCM). In general, the agreement between model calculations and the data is very good, implying that most of the important physical processes controlling the energetics and dynamics of the thermosphere are reasonably well represented in the model. The modeled summer hemisphere changes in the mass mixing ratio of N2 (Psi(N2)) are in very good agreement with the averaged data in both hemispheres. This paper describes model-experiment comparisons for the November 24, 1982 geomagnetic storm changes.

Burns, A. G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Multigrid acceleration and turbulence models for computations of 3D turbulent jets in crossflow

A multigrid method is presented for the calculation of three-dimensional turbulent jets in crossflow. Turbulence closure is achieved with either the standard k-epsilon model or a Reynolds stress model (RSM). Multigrid acceleration enables convergence rates which are far superior to that for a single grid method to be obtained with both turbulence models. With the k-epsilon model the rate approaches that for laminar flow, but with RSM it is somewhat slower. The increased stiffness of the system of equation in the latter may be responsible. Computed results with both turbulence models are compared to experimental data for a pair of opposed jets in crossflow. Both models yield reasonable agreement for the mean flow velocity, but RSM yields better predictions of the Reynolds stresses.

Demuren, A. O.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Numerical modeling of wall-injected scramjet experiments

A wall-injected, hydrogen-fueled scramjet is modeled numerically using a parabolic Navier-Stokes computer code with a k-epsilon turbulence model and finite-rate chemistry. The numerical results are compared to experimental scramjet data taken in a shock tunnel and are found to be in reasonable agreement. Under the conditions studied, the numerical results show that combustion in the scramjet is mainly mixing limited.

Brescianini, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Collisional and dynamical history of Gaspra

Interpretation of the impact record on Gaspra requires understanding of the effects of collisions on a target body of Gaspra's size and shape, recognition of impact features that may have different morphologies from craters on larger planets, and models of the geological processes that erase and modify impact features. Crater counts on the 140 sq km of Gaspra imaged at highest resolution by the Galileo spacecraft show a steep size-frequency distribution (cumulative power-law index near -3.5) from the smallest resolvable size (150 m diameter) up through the large feature (1.5 km diameter crater) of familiar crater-like morphology. In addition, there appear to be as many as eight roughly circular concavities with diameters greater than 3 km visible on the asteroid. If we restrict our crater counts to features with traditionally recognized crater morphologies, these concavities would not be included. However, if we define craters to include any concave structures that may represent local or regional damage at an impact size, then the larger features on Gaspra are candidates for consideration. Acceptance of the multi-km features as craters has been cautious for several reasons. First, scaling laws (the physically plausible algorithms for extrapolating from experimental data) indicate that Gaspra could not have sustained such large-crater-forming impacts without being disrupted; second, aside from concavity, the larger structures have no other features (e.g. rims) that can be identified with known impact craters; and third, extrapolation of the power-law size distribution for smaller craters predicts no craters larger than 3 km over the entire surface. On the other hand, recent hydrocode modeling of impacts shows that for given impact (albeit into a sphere), the crater size is much larger than given by scaling laws. Gaspra-size bodies can sustain formation of up to 8-km craters without disruption. Besides allowing larger impact craters, this result doubles the lifetime since the last catastrophic fragmentation event up to one billion years. Events that create multi-km craters also globally damage the material structure, such that regolith is produced, whether or not Gaspra 'initially' had a regolith, contrary to other models in which initial regolith is required in order to allow current regolith. Because the globally destructive shock wave precedes basin formation, crater size is closer to the large size extrapolated from gravity-scaling rather than the strength-scaling that had earlier been assumed for such small bodies. This mechanism may also help explain the existence of Stickney on Phobos. Moreover, rejection of the large concavities as craters based on unfamiliar morphology would be premature, because (aside from Stickney) we have no other data on such large impact structures on such a small, irregular body. The eight candidate concavities cover an area greater than that counted for smaller craters, because they are most apparent where small craters cannot be seen: on low resolution images and at the limb on high resolution images. We estimate that there are at least two with diameter greater than 4 km per 140 sq km, which would have to be accounted for in any model that claims these are impact craters.

Greenberg, R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Origin of the Vredefort structure, South Africa: Impact model

A model is presented for the evolution of the Vredefort structure, based on reasoned constraints on the original size of the Vredefort structure from observational data and comparison with other terrestrial impact craters. The models for complex craters (ring and multi-ring basins) of Croft, Grieve, and co-workers, and Schultz and co-workers, were used to reconstruct the Vredefort impact event, using a final crater diameter of 300 km, as estimated by Therriault. The sequence of events (stages 2-5) is illustrated diagramatically. The stages are: initial penetration, excavation and compression, dynamic rebound and uplift, maximum radial growth and collapse, and final crater form.

Therriault, A. M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Portable computing - A fielded interactive scientific application in a small off-the-shelf package

Experience with the design and implementation of a portable computing system for STS crew-conducted science is discussed. Principal-Investigator-in-a-Box (PI) will help the SLS-2 astronauts perform vestibular (human orientation system) experiments in flight. PI is an interactive system that provides data acquisition and analysis, experiment step rescheduling, and various other forms of reasoning to astronaut users. The hardware architecture of PI consists of a computer and an analog interface box. 'Off-the-shelf' equipment is employed in the system wherever possible in an effort to use widely available tools and then to add custom functionality and application codes to them. Other projects which can help prospective teams to learn more about portable computing in space are also discussed.

Groleau, Nicolas↗
NASA NTRS1995

The role and status of Euler solvers in impulsive rotor noise computations

Several recent applications (in the last five years) of Euler solvers in the computation of impulsive noise from rotor blades emphasize their emerging role in complementing other methods and experimental work. In the area of high-speed impulsive noise the use of Euler solvers as research tools has become fairly mature with very favorable comparisons with experimental data, especially in hover. The grid sizes and resulting computational times are reasonable when compared to those required for accurate surface aerodynamics alone. Furthermore, Euler solvers have provided a rich database with the resolution and accuracy needed for input to Kirchhoff and acoustic analogy methods for predicting the far-field noise. On the other hand, the application of Euler solvers to calculate blade-vortex interaction noise is still far from mature. The computational resources required for accurate calculations away from the blade are much larger than for high-speed impulsive noise. Current calculations help improve the basic understanding of the phenomena involved, but to date no comparisons with experiment have been made. Fortunately, the use of coupled Euler solver/Kirchhoff methods seems to offer promise for a robust and efficient technique for predicting both high-speed impulsive noise and blade-vortex interaction noise. Finally, a simple model problem of an isolated vortex interacting with an arbitrarily prescribed pitching airfoil demonstrates the feasibility of using Euler solvers to examine noise reduction techniques. The use of simple aerodynamic quasi-static theory and the computed lift time history as feedback to determine the required pitching motion appears sufficient to significantly dampen the unsteady loading and subsequent acoustics by an order of magnitude within a few blade passages.

Baeder, James D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Mapping Surface Cover Parameters Using Aggregation Rules and Remotely Sensed Cover Classes

A coupled model, which combines the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) with an advanced atmospheric boundary-layer model, was used to validate hypothetical aggregation rules for BATS-specific surface cover parameters. The model was initialized and tested with observations from the Anglo-Brazilian Amazonian Climate Observational Study and used to simulate surface fluxes for rain forest and pasture mixes at a site near Manaus in Brazil. The aggregation rules are shown to estimate parameters which give area-average surface fluxes similar to those calculated with explicit representation of forest and pasture patches for a range of meteorological and surface conditions relevant to this site, but the agreement deteriorates somewhat when there are large patch-to-patch differences in soil moisture. The aggregation rules, validated as above, were then applied to remotely sensed 1 km land cover data set to obtain grid-average values of BATS vegetation parameters for 2.8 deg x 2.8 deg and 1 deg x 1 deg grids within the conterminous United States. There are significant differences in key vegetation parameters (aerodynamic roughness length, albedo, leaf area index, and stomatal resistance) when aggregate parameters are compared to parameters for the single, dominant cover within the grid. However, the surface energy fluxes calculated by stand-alone BATS with the 2-year forcing, data from the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) CDROM were reasonably similar using aggregate-vegetation parameters and dominant-cover parameters, but there were some significant differences, particularly in the western USA.

Arain, Altaf M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Climatic Implications of the Observed Temperature Dependence of the Liquid Water Path of Low Clouds in the Southern Great Plains

Satellite observations of low-level clouds have challenged the assumption that adiabatic liquid water content combined with constant physical thickness will lead to a negative cloud optics feedback in a decadal climate change. We explore the reasons for the satellite results using four years of surface remote sensing data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Cloud and Radiation Testbed site in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. We find that low cloud liquid water path is approximately invariant with temperature in winter but decreases strongly with temperature in summer, consistent with the satellite inferences at this latitude. This behavior occurs because liquid water content shows no detectable temperature dependence while cloud physical thickness decreases with warming. Thinning of clouds with warming is observed on seasonal, synoptic, and diurnal time scales; it is most obvious in the warm sectors of baroclinic waves. Although cloud top is observed to slightly descend with warming, the primary cause of thinning is the ascent of cloud base due to the reduction in surface relative humidity and the concomitant increase in the lifting condensation level of surface air. Low cloud liquid water path is not observed to be a continuous function of temperature. Rather, the behavior we observe is best explained as a transition in the frequency of occurrence of different boundary layer types: At cold temperatures, a mixture of stratified and convective boundary layers is observed, leading to a broad distribution of liquid water path values, while at warm temperatures, only convective boundary layers with small liquid water paths, some of them decoupled, are observed. Our results, combined with the earlier satellite inferences, imply that the commonly quoted 1.50 C lower limit for the equilibrium global climate sensitivity to a doubling of CO2, which is based on models with near-adiabatic liquid water behavior and constant physical thickness, should be revised upward.

DelGenio, Anthony D.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Climatic Implications of the Observed Temperature Dependence of the Liquid Water Path of Low Clouds in the Southern Great Plains

Satellite observations of low-level clouds have challenged the assumption that adiabatic liquid water content combined with constant physical thickness will lead to a negative cloud optics feedback in a decadal climate change. We explore the reasons for the satellite results using four years of surface remote sensing data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Cloud and Radiation Testbed site in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. We find that low cloud liquid water path is approximately invariant with temperature in winter but decreases strongly with temperature in summer, consistent with the satellite inferences at this latitude. This behavior occurs because liquid water content shows no detectable temperature dependence while cloud physical thickness decreases with warming. Thinning of clouds with warming is observed on seasonal, synoptic, and diurnal time scales; it is most obvious in the warm sectors of baroclinic waves. Although cloud top is observed to slightly descend with warming, the primary cause of thinning, is the ascent of cloud base due to the reduction in surface relative humidity and the concomitant increase in the lifting condensation level of surface air. Low cloud liquid water path is not observed to be a continuous function of temperature. Rather, the behavior we observe is best explained as a transition in the frequency of occurrence of different boundary layer types. At cold temperatures, a mixture of stratified and convective boundary layers is observed, leading to a broad distribution of liquid water path values, while at warm temperatures, only convective boundary layers with small liquid water paths, some of them decoupled, are observed. Our results, combined with the earlier satellite inferences, imply that the commonly quoted 1.5C lower limit for the equilibrium global climate sensitivity to a doubling of CO2 which is based on models with near-adiabatic liquid water behavior and constant physical thickness, should be revised upward.

DelGenio, Anthony↗
NASA NTRS2000

Silicon Nitride Creep Under Various Specimen-Loading Configurations

Extensive creep testing of a hot-pressed silicon nitride (NC 132) was performed at 1300 C in air using five different specimen-loading configurations: (1) pure tension, (2) pure compression, (3) four-point uniaxial flexure, (4) ball-on-ring biaxial flexure, and (5) ring-on-ring biaxial flexure. This paper reports experimental results as well as test techniques developed in this work. Nominal creep strain and its rate for a given nominal applied stress were greatest in tension, least in compression, and intermediate in uniaxial and biaxial flexure. Except for the case of compression loading, nominal creep strain generally decreased with time, resulting in a less-defined steady-state condition. Of the four creep formulations-power-law, hyperbolic sine, step, and redistribution--the conventional power-law formulation still provides the most convenient and reasonable estimation of the creep parameters of the NC 132 material. The data base to be obtained will be used to validate the NASA Glenn-developed design code CARES/Creep (ceramics analysis and reliability evaluation of structures and creep).

Choi, Sung R.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Simulation of SEU Cross-sections using MRED under Conditions of Limited Device Information

This viewgraph presentation reviews the simulation of Single Event Upset (SEU) cross sections using the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) resistance and electrode diffusion (MRED) tool using "Best guess" assumptions about the process and geometry, and direct ionization, low-energy beam test results. This work will also simulate SEU cross-sections including angular and high energy responses and compare the simulated results with beam test data for the validation of the model. Using MRED, we produced a reasonably accurate upset response model of a low-critical charge SRAM without detailed information about the circuit, device geometry, or fabrication process

Lauenstein, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Tunable, Highly Stable Lasers for Coherent Lidar

Practical space-based coherent laser radar systems envisioned for global winds measurement must be very efficient and must contend with unique problems associated with the large platform velocities that the instruments experience in orbit. To compensate for these large platform-induced Doppler shifts in space-based applications, agile-frequency offset-locking of two single-frequency Doppler reference lasers was thoroughly investigated. Such techniques involve actively locking a frequency-agile master oscillator (MO) source to a comparatively static local oscillator (LO) laser, and effectively producing an offset between MO (the lidar slave oscillator seed source, typically) and heterodyne signal receiver LO that lowers the bandwidth of the receiver data-collection system and permits use of very high-quantum-efficiency, reasonably- low-bandwidth heterodyne photoreceiver detectors and circuits. Recent work on MO/LO offset locking has focused on increasing the offset locking range, improving the graded-InGaAs photoreceiver performance, and advancing the maturity of the offset locking electronics. A figure provides a schematic diagram of the offset-locking system.

Henderson, Sammy W.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Integrated Formulation of Beacon-Based Exception Analysis for Multimissions

Further work on beacon-based exception analysis for multimissions (BEAM), a method of real-time, automated diagnosis of a complex electromechanical systems, has greatly expanded its capability and suitability of application. This expanded formulation, which fully integrates physical models and symbolic analysis, is described. The new formulation of BEAM expands upon previous advanced techniques for analysis of signal data, utilizing mathematical modeling of the system physics, and expert-system reasoning,

Mackey, Ryan↗
NASA NTRS2013

Computations on Wings With Full-Span Oscillating Control Surfaces Using Navier-Stokes Equations

A dual-level parallel procedure is presented for computing large databases to support aerospace vehicle design. This procedure has been developed as a single Unix script within the Parallel Batch Submission environment utilizing MPIexec and runs MPI based analysis software. It has been developed to provide a process for aerospace designers to generate data for large numbers of cases with the highest possible fidelity and reasonable wall clock time. A single job submission environment has been created to avoid keeping track of multiple jobs and the associated system administration overhead. The process has been demonstrated for computing large databases for the design of typical aerospace configurations, a launch vehicle and a rotorcraft.

Equations↗
NASA NTRS2014

Analyzing Array Manipulating Programs by Program Transformation

We explore a transformational approach to the problem of verifying simple array-manipulating programs. Traditionally, verification of such programs requires intricate analysis machinery to reason with universally quantified statements about symbolic array segments, such as "every data item stored in the segment A[i] to A[j] is equal to the corresponding item stored in the segment B[i] to B[j]." We define a simple abstract machine which allows for set-valued variables and we show how to translate programs with array operations to array-free code for this machine. For the purpose of program analysis, the translated program remains faithful to the semantics of array manipulation. Based on our implementation in LLVM, we evaluate the approach with respect to its ability to extract useful invariants and the cost in terms of code size.

Program Transformation↗