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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

Relaxation to photochemical equilibrium of charged species within displaced air parcels in the D-region

The effects of the relaxation to photochemical equilibrium are investigated for the electrons and NO(+) ions in the upper D-region and for the electrons and several species of positive and negative ions present in the lower D-region. In the upper D-region the photochemical model includes electrons, nitric oxide, and NO(+). A self-consisting model of the equilibrium concentrations is developed for the lower D-region, which includes electrons, nitric oxide, O2(-), heavy negative and positive ions, and the oxygen species O, O3, and O2(1 delta g). At altitudes of 75 and 80 km the time dependence of the oxygen species has a significant effect on the equilibration of the electron and O2(-) concentrations. The relaxation to photochemical equilibrium proceeds by five e-folding time scales in the lower D-region, where the time required for final equilibration due to recombination is very long.

Hill, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Effects of relaxed static longitudinal stability on a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle design

The effects of relaxing longitudinal stability requirements on single stage to orbit space vehicles is studied. A comparison of the mass and performance characteristics of two vehicles, one designed for positive levels of longitudinal stability and the other designed with relaxed stability requirements in a computer aided design process is presented. Both vehicles, required to meet the same mission characteristics are described. Wind tunnel tests, conducted over a Mach number range from 0.3 to 4.63 to verify estimated aerodynamic characteristics, are discussed.

Freeman, D. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Feasibility studies for light scattering experiments to determine the velocity relaxation of small particles in a fluid

An approach for measuring the non-Markoffian component in the relaxation mechanism of a Brownian particle is proposed which combines desirable features of both the shock wave experiment and conventional light scattering experiments. It is suggested that the radiation pressure generated by a C.W. laser be used to guide an individual spherical particle to terminal velocity. At an appropriate time, the beam intensity is suddenly lowered to a value at which the radiation pressure is negligible, and the ensuing velocity relaxation is measured directly.

Acquista, C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Relaxation oscillations in optically pumped molecular lasers

The observation of relaxation oscillations in both the (C-13)H3F and (C-12)H3F optically pumped lasers is reported. Expressions are derived for the oscillation frequency and its temperature and pressure dependences using a four-level rate equation model. Excellent agreement between measured frequencies and the theory presented is observed. Models are considered for using this phenomenon to determine the rotational and vibrational relaxation mechanisms of the laser gases.

Lawandy, N. M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

On the accuracy of pixel relaxation labeling

An analysis of pixel labeling by probabilistic relaxation techniques is presented to demonstrate that these labeling procedures degenerate to weighted averages in the vicinity of fixed points. A consequence of this is that undesired label conversions can occur, leading to a deterioration of labeling accuracy at a stage after an improvement has already been achieved. Means for overcoming the accuracy deterioration are suggested and used as the basis for a possible design strategy for using probabilistic relaxation procedures. The results obtained are illustrated using simple data sets in which labeling on individual pixels can be examined and also using Landsat imagery to show application to data typical of that encountered in remote sensing applications.

Richards, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

An equation for bolt clampup relaxation in transient environments

An equation for bolt clampup relaxation for transient temperature-moisture (T-M) conditions was derived starting with a relaxation equation for steady-state conditions, and then using an incremental time approach that exploits the superposition principle for linear viscoelasticity. The resulting equation uses the initial T-M condition (at the time of clamping), the T-M history after clamping, and elastic clampup coefficients for temperature and moisture changes. For a given material and joint configuration, the clampup coefficients are constants that can be calculated by elastic analyses. The clampup equation was used to calculate the changes in clampup occurring in a T300/5208 graphite/epoxy joint exposed to a one-year history of temperature and moisture. Two cases were considered: one was a dry joint exposed to a relatively humid environment and the other was a nearly saturated joint exposed to an arid environment.

Shivakumar, K. N.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Development of a low risk augmentation system for an energy efficient transport having relaxed static stability

An augmentation system for a 230 passenger, twin engine aircraft designed with a relaxation of conventional longitudinal static stability was developed. The design criteria are established and candidate augmentation system control laws and hardware architectures are formulated and evaluated with respect to reliability, flying qualities, and flight path tracking performance. The selected systems are shown to satisfy the interpreted regulatory safety and reliability requirements while maintaining the present DC 10 (study baseline) level of maintainability and reliability for the total flight control system. The impact of certification of the relaxed static stability augmentation concept is also estimated with regard to affected federal regulations, system validation plan, and typical development/installation costs.

Sizlo, T. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A semi-implicit dynamic relaxation algorithm for static nonlinear structural analysis

A semiimplicit dynamic relaxation technique for solution of the nonlinear structural equlibrium equation is presented. A previously presented basic transient response analysis algorithm is employed, permitting use of one solution method and one software module for both static and dynamic analyses. A theoretical comparison of the method with explicit dynamic relaxation techniques shows that it offers a substantially improved convergence property without additional computational overhead.

Park, K. C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Effect of physical aging on stress relaxation of poly/methyl methacrylate/

A study was made on the stress relaxation behavior at 25 C of poly(methyl methacrylate) in uniaxial tension as a function of physical aging at both room temperature and 60 C. Test specimens were compression molded at 165 C, then quenched to room temperature and allowed to age for up to 30 days prior to testing. Stress relaxation curves measured after different aging times could be superposed to a single master curve for each aging temperature. Superposition was achieved by applying vertical and horizontal shifts. Hence, the shape of the response curves was not changed by aging. This is in accordance with observations made by Struik for tensile creep curves. Volume changes as a function of physical aging were also determined. Simple exponential relationships were observed between volume and both horizontal and vertical shifts. The horizontal shift implies a shift in the effective time scale caused by a change in free volume. The vertical shifts could be correlated with changes in Young's modulus caused by a change in density. For the range of aging studied, the response time scale varied over nearly two decades of log-time. For the same conditions modulus varied by 30 percent.

Cizmecioglu, M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Acoustical measurements of vibrational relaxation in moist N2 at elevated temperatures

Sound absorption measurements are conducted by the resonant tube technique to study vibrational relaxation in moist N2 at 301, 343, and 387 K. Analysis of the data shows that improved measurement accuracy at the higher temperatures establishes vibrational-vibrational energy transfer as the operative relaxation path for the de-excitation of N2 by H2O beyond the uncertainty of experimental error. The best-fitted temperature dependence of the vibrational-vibrational rate constant is given, noting that the expression is consistent with seven independent sets of both acoustical and nonacoustical data.

Zuckerwar, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

On Venus impact basins - Viscous relaxation of topographic relief

The viscous relaxation with time of the topographic relief of impact basins on Venus is calculated under the assumption that the surface temperature of the planet has been at or near its presently high value since the time of basin formation. The effects of a decrease in effective viscosity with depth and of the partial to complete isostatic compensation of initial topography are included in the model. An impact basin several hundred kilometers or greater in diameter and three billion years old or older should have negligible topographic relief at present. On this basis, the hypothesis that quasi-circular features of low radar backscatter but little topographic relief may be relaxed remnants of ancient impact basins cannot be excluded. However, large quasi-circular depressions on Venus, such as Atlanta Planitia, are unlikely to be remnants of impact basins, because of their current relief, and so some other process should be found to account for them.

Solomon, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Improved relaxation schemes for transonic potential calculations

A block relaxation scheme, grouped in a red-black ordering, is applied to transonic airfoil calculations using body fitted coordinates. The scheme is simple and is easily vectorizable. Detailed comparisons with Approximate Factorization Method (AF2) are presented and it is shown that the improved relaxation scheme is competitive in all cases considered. Transonic results, of engineering accuracy, on an 0-type grid of 149 x 30 points, are ususally obtained within two hundred iterations (approximately 40 seconds on Cyber 175).

Hafez, M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Relaxation methods for unfactored implicit upwind schemes

Relaxation methods are presented for unfactored implicit upwind schemes for hyperbolic equations. The theoretical bases are explained using linear and nonlinear scalar equations; construction of the method for the unsteady Euler equations (nonlinear system) is but a natural extension. One of the important advantages of the above methods vis a vis factored implicit schemes is the possibility of faster convergence to steady state, as illustrated by the results. Several classes of relaxation schemes such as pointwise, linewise, Gauss-Seidel, and non-Gauss-Seidel methods are discussed, along with various strategies for convergence.

Chakravarthy, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Relaxation and free modes of a self-gravitating planet

The relaxation and purely radial free modes of a planet subject to a nonhydrostatic prestress caused by gravity and evidenced by the presence of high mountain ranges and deep abyssal plains are studied. It is shown that there is an infinite set of rheological models of the same type for the planet which have the same relaxation time. Additional information on the behavior of the material is needed to better specify the model. The prestress is shown to shift the period of each purely radial free mode of the planet.

Caputo, M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Upwind relaxation algorithms for the Navier Stokes equations

The development of upwind relaxation algorithms for obtaining efficient steady-state solutions to the compressible Navier-Stokes equations is described. The method is second-order accurate spatially and naturally disipative, using third-order flux splitting of the pressure and convective terms and second-order central differencing for shear and heat flux terms. A line Gauss-Seidel relaxation approach, shown to be unconditionally stable for model convection and diffusion equations, is used. The algorithm is demonstrated for several flows using the thin-layer form of the equations, including the problem of shock-induced separation over a flat plate.

Thomas, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A relaxation technique for the parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) equations

A rapidly converging relaxation technique for the parabolized Navier-Stokes equations has been devised. The scheme is applicable in both supersonic and subsonic flows, but it is discussed here in the context of supersonic flows. The upstream propagating acoustic influence in the subsonic part of the flow is introduced semi-implicitly through the streamwise momentum equation applied on the body, and through a forward-differencing on the streamwise pressure gradient term in the interior. This procedure yields a new boundary condition on the energy in the total energy equation. The pressure-velocity system in the subsonic layer is coupled, but the positive time-like marching characteristic of the governing equations is still maintained. The relaxation technique is demontrated to work for a three-dimensional flow over a cone-flare in supersonic flight.

Kaul, Upender K.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Relaxation algorithms for the Euler equations

The alternating direction implicit central-difference scheme algorithms may be replaced by successive-line-relaxation (SLR) procedures that are stable in three dimensions. Several Beamand Warming-type codes are presently modified on the basis of SLR solution procedures in order to compute the flows over a cylinder, a NACA-0012 airfoil, and a shock wave reflecting off a plate. Since the codes are written in a 'delta form', the implementation of relaxation procedures that rely only on the corrections is relatively easy; the steady state residual computation and any artificial viscosity terms may be left unchanged.

Wornom, S. F.↗