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At least 1,621 records · Page 90

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NASA NTRS1986

Comparison of solar hard X-ray and UV line and continuum bursts with high time resolution

A comparison of data sets from the UV Spectrometer and Polarimeter and Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer instruments on SMM has established the close relationship of the impulsive phase hard X-ray and UV continuum and OV line emissions, lending support to the notion that they have a similar origin low in the solar atmosphere. These results severely constrain models that attempt to explain impulsive phase hard X-rays and UV emission; alternative processes of impulsive-phase UV continuum production should accordingly be considered. Attention is given to an electron beam 'hole boring' mechanism and a photoionization radiation transport mechanism.

Orwig, L. E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A photometric and spectroscopic comparison of the cataclysmic variables on the 2 sides of the period gap and at a specific orbital period

New and previously existing photometric colors and spectroscopic H and He line strengths are used to compare CV disk systems below the period gap (P=80-130 min) with those directly above (P=190-240 min). Significant differences are found in the mean U-B, V-J colors and in the H-beta equivalent widths on the two sides of the gap. A detailed comparison from UV-IR of 3 high inclination novalike systems with periods near 3.3 hr (PG1012-029, PG1030 + 590 and V1315 Aql) shows similar continuum distributions (and implied mass accretion rates) but large differences in high excitation lines (He III 640 A and 4686 A; C IV 1550 A).

Szkody, P.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A comparison of active vibration control techniques - Output feedback vs optimal control

The paper presents analytical and experimental comparison of two control laws for a laboratory structure designed to simulate large space structures. The first control law is the standard linear quadratic law, which is optimal but requires model reduction for practical implementation. The second control law is a new simple direct feedback control law designed to minimize control forces while guaranteeing stability. The optimal control law was found to be only slightly better than the direct feedback law even in terms of the quadratic performance index. Moreover, the optimal control law provided almost no margin of stability for the unmodeled modes while the direct feedback law provided significant stability margins to all modes. The above results were verified experimentally using a digital implementation of the control laws. Excellent agreement between the analytical prediction and experimental measurements was observed.

Martinovic, Zoran N.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A comparison of numerical flux formulas for the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations

Numerical flux formulas for the convection terms in the Euler or Navier-Stokes equations are analyzed with regard to their accuracy in representing steady nonlinear and linear waves (shocks and entropy/shear waves, respectively). Numerical results are obtained for a one-dimensional conical Navier-Stokes flow including both a shock and a boundary layer. Analysis and experiments indicate that for an accurate representation of both layers the flux formula must include information about all different waves by which neighboring cells interact, as in Roe's flux-difference splitting. In comparison, Van Leer's flux-vector splitting, which ignores the linear waves, badly diffuses the boundary layer. The results of MacCormack's scheme, if properly tuned, are significantly better. The use of a sufficiently detailed flux formula appears to reduce the number of cells required to resolve a boundary layer by a factor 1/2 to 1/4 and thus pays off.

Van Leer, Bram↗

NASA NTRS1987

Comparison of solutions to bi-Maxwellian and Maxwellian transport equations for subsonic flows

Conditions corresponding to the steady state subsonic flow of a fully ionized electron-proton plasma in the terrestrial ionosphere are presently characterized by systematically comparing the solutions to the bi-Maxwellian-based 16-moment and Maxwellian-based 13-moment transport equations. The former can account for large temperature anisotropies and the flow of both parallel and perpendicular thermal energy, while the latter account for small temperature anisotropies and only a total heat flow. The comparison is conducted for 2000-10,000 K lower boundary temperatures and 1-4-K/km temperature gradients, over the 1500-13,000-km altitude range.

Demars, H. G.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Analysis and comparison of ozone maps obtained by TOMS and TOVS during the MAP/GLOBUS 1983 campaign

The Nimbus 7 TOMS (UV) and NOAA 7 and NOAA 8 TOVS (IR) data have been specially processed for the MAP/GLOBUS campaign (September 1983, over Europe). Comparison of the ozone results shows a general agreement but also some discrepancies due to clouds, emissivity of the surface, and latitude effects. The variability of the ozone field, closely linked to geopotential height field, may have induced a great change in total ozone along the balloon flights, but fortunately trajectories tend to lie parallel to the total ozone contours, so that the total ozone during each flight is nearly constant.

Muller, S.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Comparison of in situ stratospheric ozone measurements obtained during the MAP/GLOBUS 1983 campaign

Data from five types of in situ ozone sensors flown aboard ballons during the MAP/GLOBUS 1983 campaign were found to agree to within 5 percent uncertainty throughout the middle atmosphere. A description of the individual techniques and the error budget is given in addition to explanations for the discrepancies found at higher and lower altitudes. In comparison to UV photometry values, results from two electrochemical techniques were found to be greater in the lower atmosphere and to be lower in the upper atmosphere. In general, olefin chemiluminescence results were within 8 percent of the UV photometry results. Ozone column contents measured by the indigo colorization technique for two altitude regions of about 6 km height were greater than measurements from other techniques by 52 and 17 percent, respectively.

Aimedieu, P.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Comparison of generalized Reynolds and Navier Stokes equations for flow of a power law fluid

This paper compares a finite element solution of a modified Reynolds equation with a finite difference solution of the Navier-Stokes equation for a power law fluid. Both the finite element and finite difference formulation are reviewed. Solutions to spiral flow in parallel and conical geometries are compared. Comparison with experimental results are also given. The effects of the assumptions used in the Reynolds equation are discussed.

Mullen, R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Diffusive shock acceleration - Comparison of a unified shock model to bow shock observations

A comparison is made between recent AMPTE/IRM observations of diffuse ions detected upstream of the earth's bow shock when the interplanetary magnetic field was nearly parallel to the solar wind direction and a known collisionless quasi-parallel shock model. These observations, which provide the proton spectrum for all of velocity space, give a direct measure of the shock acceleration efficiency and show how thermal solar winds are injected into the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism. The model accurately describes the proton spectrum; moreover, it predicts the shock structure, the complete particle spectrum, the relative velocity distributions of different ion species in the down stream region, and the enhancement of heavy ions over protons relative to the unshocked solar wind.

Ellison, Donald C.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Stellar occultation probes of the Uranian rings at 0.1 and 2.2 microns - A comparison of Voyager UVS and earth-based results

A comparison between Voyager 2 UV spectrometer data for stellar occultations of the Uranian ring system obtained at 0.11 microns and 2.2-micron earth-based occultation data reveals the anticipated factor-of-two reduction in observed optical depths relative to those observed from earth. This is due to Voyager's proximity to the rings, which allows light diffracted out of the direct beam by ring particles to be replaced by light diffracted into the direct beam light from other particles, and further permits the placing of firm lower limits on typical particle sizes of 0.3 and 1 cm for the epsilon and delta rings, respectively. As a function of true anomaly, the epsilon ring profile is noted to remain very similar in shape and essentially constant in equivalent depth, even very near periapse.

Holberg, J. B.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Multisensor comparison of ice concentration estimates in the marginal ice zone

Aircraft remote sensing data collected during the 1984 summer Marginal Ice Zone Experiment in the Fram Strait are used to compare ice concentration estimates derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, passive microwave imagery at several frequencies, aerial photography, and spectral photometer data. The comparison is carried out not only to evaluate SAR performance against more established techniques but also to investigate how ice surface conditions, imaging geometry, and choice of algorithm parameters affect estimates made by each sensor.Active and passive microwave sensor estimates of ice concentration derived using similar algorithms show an rms difference of 13 percent. Agreement between each microwave sensor and near-simultaneous aerial photography is approximately the same (14 percent). The availability of high-resolution microwave imagery makes it possible to ascribe the discrepancies in the concentration estimates to variations in ice surface signatures in the scene.

Burns, B. A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Shuttle Imaging Radar B (SIR-B) Weddell Sea ice observations - A comparison of SIR-B and scanning multichannel microwave radiometer ice concentrations

Ice concentrations over the Weddell Sea were studied using SIR-B data obtained during the October 1984 mission, with special attention given to the effect of ocean waves on the radar return at the ice edge. Sea ice concentrations were derived from the SIR-B data using two image processing methods: the classification scheme at JPL and the manual classification method at Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), England. The SIR ice concentrations were compared with coincident concentrations from the Nimbus-7 SMMR. For concentrations greater than 40 percent, which was the smallest concentration observed jointly by SIR-B and the SMMR, the mean difference between the two data sets for 12 points was 2 percent. A comparison between the JPL and the SPRI SIR-B algorithms showed that the algorithms agree to within 1 percent in the interior ice pack, but the JPL algorithm gives slightly greater concentrations at the ice edge (due to the fact that the algorithm is affected by the wind waves in these areas).

Martin, Seelye↗

NASA NTRS1987

The Martian Hadley circulation - Comparison of 'viscous' model predictions to observations

A comparison is conducted between the results of an analytical, steady, thermally-forced viscous model for the Martian atmosphere's zonally-averaged global circulation and observations of aeolian feature directions and atmospheric temperatures. While the observed northeasterly surface winds at high northern latitudes could be produced by possible CO2 fluxes from the northern polar cap, and southern latitudes' thermal structure during this storm is well reproduced, a major discrepancy is noted between predictions and observations of the middle northern latitudes' temperature structure.

Magalhaes, Julio A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Comparison of the compositions of Venusian surface rocks with those of the terrestrial ocean floor

A statistical comparison of data on the composition of the Venusian surface obtained with Venera and Vega lander X-ray fluorescence spectrometers and data on the composition of the terrestrial ocean floor indicates that the Venera 14 data correspond to certain thoeiitic basalts of the Kane fracture zone in the Middle-Atlantic ridge (22-25 deg N). It is suggested that deep magma storage regions exist on Venus and that the separation of tholeiitic and alkali magmas from a single primitive parent magma is an important process on Venus.

Garvin, J. B.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Comparison of MHD simulation for the February 1986 events with interplanetary observations by the spacecraft Sakigake

During the period 3-10 February 1986 a series of major solar flares occurred on the Sun and several intense geomagnetic storms took place on the Earth. To examine the causality between the solar activity and the geomagnetic activity in this period, a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation was performed using a 2 1/2 -D numerical code. In that period of February 1986, the Japanese spacecraft Sakigake was at 0.84 AU, 57 deg west of the Earth. Besides the in-situ measurements of the interplanetary plasma, Sakigake also provided Doppler scintillation observations. Comparisons between the results of the MHD simulation and the measurements made by the spacecraft Sakigake are presented.

Smith, Z.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Comparison of wind tunnel and flight test afterbody and nozzle pressures for a twin-jet fighter aircraft at transonic speeds

Afterbody and nozzle pressures measured on a 1/12-scale model and in flight on a twin-jet fighter aircraft were compared as Mach number varied from 0.6 to 1.2, Reynolds number from 17.5 million to 302.5 million, and angle of attack from 1 to 7 deg. At Mach 0.6 and 0.8, nozzle pressure coefficient distributions and nozzle axial force coefficients agreed and showed good recompression. At Mach 0.9 and 1.2, flow complexity caused a loss in recompression for both flight and wind tunnel nozzle data. The flight data exhibited less negative values of pressure coefficient and lower axial force coefficients than did the wind tunnel data. Reynolds number effects were noted only at these Mach numbers. Jet temperature and mass flux ratio did not affect the comparisons of nozzle axial flow coefficient. At subsonic speeds, the levels of pressure coefficient distributions on the upper fuselage and lower nacelle surfaces for flight were less negative than those for the model. The model boundary layer thickness at the aft rake station exceeded that for the forward rake station and increased with increasing angle of attack. The flight boundary layer thickness at the aft rake station was less than that for the forward rake station and decreased with increasing angle of attack.

Nugent, Jack↗

NASA NTRS1987

Comparison of flight-measured and calculated temperatures on the space shuttle orbiter

Structural temperatures and thermal protection system surface temperatures were measured on the space shuttle during the flight of STS 5. The measured data are compared with values calculated at wing stations 134, 240, and 328 and at fuselage station 877. The theoretical temperatures were calculated using the structural performance and resizing finite element thermal analysis program. The comparisons show that the calculated temperatures are, generally, in good agreement with the measured data.

Gong, Leslie↗

NASA NTRS1987

An aerodynamic comparison of blown and mechanical high lift airfoils

Short takeoff and landing (STOL) performance utilizing a circulation control airfoil was successfully demonstrated on the A-6 CCW (circulation control wing). Controlled flight at speeds as slow as 67 knots was demonstrated. Takeoff ground run and liftoff speed reductions in excess of 40 and 20 percent respectively were achieved. Landing ground roll and approach speeds were similarly reduced. The technology demonstrated was intended to be useable on modern high performance aircraft. STOL performance would be achieved through the combination of a 2-D vectored nozzle and a circulation control type of high lift system. The primary objective of this demonstration was to attain A-6 CCW magnitude reductions in takeoff and landing flight speed and ground distance requirements using practical bleed flow rates from a modern turbofan engine for the blown flap system. Also, cruise performance could not be reduced by the wing high lift system. The A-6 was again selected as the optimum demonstration vehicle. The procedure and findings of the study to select the optimum high lift wing design are documented. Some findings of a supercritical airfoil and a comparison of 2-D and 3-D results are also described.

Carr, John E.↗