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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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Investigation of the problem of replacing a certain time-varying linear system by a stationary one. Several quadratic criteria are proposed to aid in determining suitable candidate systems. One criterion for choosing the matrix B (in the stationary system) is initial-condition dependent, and another bounds the 'worst case' homogeneous system performance. Both of these criteria produce weighted least square fits.
Mossbauer Fe-57 absorption spectra of superparamagnetic F.C.C. Fe sub .34 Co sub .52 V sub 14 (Vicalloy II) have been analyzed using a cluster model and magnetic resonance relaxation theory. The number and magnetic moment of the clusters were determined from magnetization data. A least squares fit to the spectrum at 4.2 K gives sub Hhyp = 175. kG, substantially greater than the value 55 kG inferred just from the observed broadening of the single line spectrum. From this broadening an estimate of 40 kG is obtained for the width of the distribution in Hhyp at 4.2 K arising from compositional fluctuations sub and small cluster effects.
Quantitative models of the external magnetospheric field were derived by making least-squares fits to magnetic field measurements from four IMP satellites. The data were fit to a power series expansion in the solar magnetic coordinates and the solar wind-dipole tilt angle, and thus the models contain the effects of seasonal north-south asymmetries. The expansions are divergence-free, but unlike the usual scalar potential expansions, the models contain a nonzero curl representing currents distributed within the magnetosphere. Characteristics of four models are presented, representing different degrees of magnetic disturbance as determined by the range of Kp values. The latitude at the earth separating open polar cap field lines from field lines closing on the dayside is about 5 deg lower than that determined by previous theoretically-derived models. At times of high Kp, additional high latitude field lines are drawn back into the tail.
Observations of the distribution of linearly polarized lunar thermal emission were made at a wavelength of 3.1 mm with The University of Texas 4.88 m parabolic reflector (0.042 deg HPBW). A shadow corrected, rough surface, thermal emission model for a homogeneous moon was least-squares-fitted to the polarization data. Results indicate an effective lunar dielectric constant of 1.34 plus or minus 0.04 with surface roughness characterized by a standard deviation of 17 (plus or minus 5) deg for surface slopes with a normal probability density, independent of lunar phase. A comparison of these results with published values at other wavelengths suggests that the effective lunar dielectric constant, as obtained by lunar emission measurements, decreases with decreasing wavelength of observation. This wavelength dependence may be interpreted in terms of an inhomogeneous surface and/or a surface that possesses intermediate scale surface roughness.
Earth-based spacecraft tracking data have historically been processed with classical least squares filtering techniques both for navigation purposes and for physical constant determination. The small, stochastic nongravitational forces acting on the spacecraft are described to motivate the use of sequential estimation as an alternative to the least squares fitting procedures. The stochastic forces are investigated both in terms of their effect on the tracking data and their influence on estimation accuracy. A flexible sequential filter design which leaves the existing trajectory, variational equations, data observable and partial computations undisturbed is described. A detailed filter design is presented that meets the precision demands and flexibility requirements of deep space navigation and of scientific problems.
The eddy-current technique was applied to measuring the thickness of a fused silicide coating on a refractory alloy slab. Phase and magnitude of the test signal were measured at four places in 13 different samples, and thickness of coating was computed on the basis of each of these quantities. These results were then compared with those obtained by conventional metallographic methods. Phase-based measurements were most reliable, and the maximum error between the metallographically determined thickness and the thickness as determined by the least squares fit to the phase measurements was less than 0.01 mm (about 1%). Photomicrography of a typical sample shows that a large source of error resides in the fact that two regions - an outer rough region and an inner uniform region - of the coating layer exist rather than the single region upon which the calculations were based.
A method of determining certain characteristic flexural rigidities and elastic properties of nonlinearly elastic materials is presented. An estimation method utilizing perturbation methods and a least squares fitting technique is used to solve the nonlinear differential equation derived from the moment curvature relation, subject to boundary values representing deflections of the bar at discrete points. Deflection data from numerical simulations of a nonlinearly elastic, prismatic bar are used to demonstrate the estimation method. Numerical experiments relating the accuracy of the identification to the number and accuracy of the boundary values are presented. Conclusions based on the numerical experiments are included.
Arc cast W, CVD, W, CVD Re, and powder metallurgy Re materials were hot isostatically pressure welded to ten different refractory metals and alloys and thermally aged at 10 to the minus 8th power torr at 1200 C, 1500 C, 1630 C, 1800 C, and 2000 C for 100 hours to 2000 hours. Electron beam microprobe analysis was used to characterize the interdiffusion zone width of each couple system as a function of age time and temperature. Each system was least squares fitted to the equation: In (delta X sq/t) = B/T + A, where delta X is net interdiffusion zone width, t is age time, and T is age temperature. Detailed descriptions of experimental and analytical procedures utilized in conducting the experimental program are provided. For Vol. 1, see N74-34046.
A computer program for plotting stress-strain curves obtained from compression and tension tests on rectangular (flat) specimens and circular-cross-section specimens (rods and tubes) and both stress-strain and torque-twist curves obtained from torsion tests on tubes is presented in detail. The program is written in FORTRAN 4 language for the Control Data 6000 series digital computer with the SCOPE 3.0 operating system and requires approximately 110000 octal locations of core storage. The program has the capability of plotting individual strain-gage outputs and/or the average output of several strain gages and the capability of computing the slope of a straight line which provides a least-squares fit to a specified section of the plotted curve. In addition, the program can compute the slope of the stress-strain curve at any point along the curve. The computer program input and output for three sample problems are presented.
The gf values for 265,587 atomic lines selected from the line data used to calculate line-blanketed model atmospheres are tabulated. These data are especially useful for line identification and spectral synthesis in solar and stellar spectra. The gf values are calculated semiempirically by using scaled Thomas-Fermi-Dirac radial wavefunctions and eigenvectors found through least-squares fits to observed energy levels. Included in the calculation are the first five or six stages of ionization for sequences up through nickel. Published gf values are included for elements heavier than nickel. The tabulation is restricted to lines with wavelengths less than 10 micrometers.
The measurements reported were conducted with 30.0 torr CO, 40.0 torr argon, and varying amounts of carbon dioxide from about 20 to 230 torr. Measurements were made at 277, 272, 263, and 257 K. The pseudo-first-order decay rate as a function of carbon dioxide pressure is shown in a graph. An Arrhenius plot for the rate constants obtained from the measurements is also presented. A value for the activation energy was determined on the basis of a linear least-squares fit to the data.
A spark-chamber track-finding program has been written. The accuracy of the location of the track is good, and if the chamber contains many spurious sparks the computation time is much less than the time used by a least-squares fit routine. Multiple tracks can be found and interaction vertices can thereby be determined.
A complete analysis of an interplanetary disturbance of Nov. 19, 1970 using the Apollo 12-SIDE (Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment) is presented. The SIDE detectors were pointing at 26.3 degrees from the normal solar-wind direction during the observations. The data were least-squares fitted (using a parabolic hypersurface approximation) to a convected Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution function. The results of the fit combined with two other experiments showed a drastic change in the wind speed (from an steady 352 km/sec down to 219 km/sec), direction, and temperature. Except for a delta-function increase at the onset, the density remained constant. There was a considerable enhancement in the abundance of He and probably of heavier elements. The interplanetary magnetic field exhibited a jump of 21 gamma with a change in latitude from -56 to -76 degrees in solar ecliptic coordinates. It is concluded that the disturbance was due to the driver gas-tangential discontinuity of a solar flare-induced shock wave. The characteristic of the tangential discontinuity fit well with theoretical prediction.
The model is derived by making least squares fits to magnetic field measurements from four Imp satellites. It includes four sets of coefficients, representing different degrees of magnetic disturbance as determined by the range of Kp values. The data are fit to a power series expansion in the solar magnetic coordinates and the solar wind-dipole tilt angle, and thus the effects of seasonal north-south asymmetries are contained. The expansion is divergence-free, but unlike the usual scalar potential expansion, the model contains a nonzero curl representing currents distributed within the magnetosphere. The latitude at the earth separating open polar cap field lines from field lines closing on the day side is about 5 deg lower than that determined by previous theoretically derived models. At times of high Kp, additional high-latitude field lines extend back into the tail. Near solstice, the separation latitude can be as low as 75 deg in the winter hemisphere. The average northward component of the external field is much smaller than that predicted by theoretical models; this finding indicates the important effects of distributed currents in the magnetosphere.
Physical properties of twenty liquid metals are reported; some of the data on such liquid metal properties as density, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity are summarized in graphical form. Data on laboratory handling and safety procedure are summarized for each metal; heat-transfer-correlations for liquid metals under various conditions of laminar and turbulent flow are included. Where sufficient data were available, temperature equations of properties were obtained by the method of least-squares fit. All values of properties given are valid in the given liquid phase ranges only. Additional tabular data on some 40 metals are reported in the appendix. Included is a brief description of experiments that were performed to investigate diffusion in liquid indium-gallium systems.
A modified form of the wall-wake profile which is applicable to flows with heat transfer is presented. The modified profile takes into account the effect of a turbulent Prandtl number; it was found to provide a good representation of the experimental data from several sources. The C sub f values which are determined by a least squares fit of the profile to the data agree well with values which were measured by the floating element technique.
A form of the wall-wake profile, which is applicable to flows with heat transfer, and for which a variation in y = O at y = delta, was suggested. The modified profile, which takes into account the effect of turbulent Prandtl number, was found to provide a good representation of experimental data for a wide range numbers and heat transfer. The Cf values which are determined by a least squares fit of the profile to the data agree well with values which were measured by the floating element technique. In addition, the values of delta determined by the fit correspond more closely to the outer edge of the viscous flow region than those obtained with earlier versions of the wall-wake profile.
The paper describes a Cerenkov detector system designed to obtain abundances and energy spectra of cosmic ray nuclei above charge 12 and above 350 MeV/nucleon. The detector system consists of three pulse ionization chambers, a Lucite Cerenkov counter and a plastic scintillation-counter hodoscope. The data analysis follows from the standard dE/dx-C technique. It is shown that by using the relativistic ionization rise, the resolution and pulse height corresponding to charged particles of Beta ? 1 in Cerenkov detectors can be determined. Least-squares-fit procedures are used to obtain area and time variations of detector response from flight data and to extract elemental abundances from data with charge resolution of roughly 0.3 charge units.