Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Agree”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10

Inference of high-latitude ionization and conductivity from AE-C measurements of auroral electron fluxes

Electron fluxes in the kilovolt energy range measured by the AE-C satellite have been used to infer the latitudinal distribution of ionization at high latitudes in the altitude range 90 to 200 km. These distributions are compared with simultaneous measurements of electron density by the Chatanika incoherent scatter radar. The study was based on more than 120 electron density profiles obtained on three different nights at magnetic local times between 0200 and 0400. The calculated distributions agree very well with the altitude and latitude distributions measured by the radar. The only obvious difference was the presence in the radar data of additional ionization produced by solar illumination. A comparison was also conducted of the height-integrated electrical conductivities computed from the measured profiles and those inferred from the satellite measurements. For Hall and Pedersen conductances greater than 5 mhos, the agreement is within 25 percent. The data were also used to deduce the altitude profile of the effective recombination coefficient. This profile agrees well with the results of previous studies.

Vondrak, R.↗

Computation of leading-edge vortex flows

The simulation of the leading edge vortex flow about a series of conical delta wings through solution of the Navier-Stokes and Euler equations is studied. The occurrence, the validity, and the usefulness of separated flow solutions to the Euler equations of particular interest. Central and upwind difference solutions to the governing equations are compared for a series of cross sectional shapes, including both rounded and sharp tip geometries. For the rounded leading edge and the flight condition considered, viscous solutions obtained with either central or upwind difference methods predict the classic structure of vortical flow over a highly swept delta wing. Predicted features include the primary vortex due to leading edge separation and the secondary vortex due to crossflow separation. Central difference solutions to the Euler equations show a marked sensitivity to grid refinement. On a coarse grid, the flow separates due to numerical error and a primary vortex which resembles that of the viscous solution is predicted. In contrast, the upwind difference solutions to the Euler equations predict attached flow even for first-order solutions on coarse grids. On a sufficiently fine grid, both methods agree closely and correctly predict a shock-curvature-induced inviscid separation near the leeward plane of symmetry. Upwind difference solutions to the Navier-Stokes and Euler equations are presented for two sharp leading edge geometries. The viscous solutions are quite similar to the rounded leading edge results with vortices of similar shape and size. The upwind Euler solutions predict attached flow with no separation for both geometries. However, with sufficient grid refinement near the tip or through the use of more accurate spatial differencing, leading edge separation results. Once the leading edge separation is established, the upwind solution agrees with recently published central difference solutions to the Euler equations.

Newsome, R. W.↗

Upwind Navier-Stokes solutions for separated periodic flows

The application of an upwind implicit approximate factorization Navier-Stokes algorithm to highly separated flow is described. Using both the thin-layer and complete forms of the Navier-Stokes equations, the low Reynolds number laminar flow around a circular cylinder with periodic shedding is solved. The effect of grid density, grid extent, and time step on the Strouhal number is shown. Results from both sets of equations agree within the experimental data band. Unsteady, laminar flow computations around inclined plates and separated airfoils are also described. Strouhal numbers agree to within 5 percent of experiments for inclined plates. Differences between the complete equations and the thin-layer approximation for separated periodic flows are discussed. Computations of an impulsively started circular cylinder and airfoil yield time-accurate flowfield shapes in good agreement with experimental flow visualizations. The turbulent computation of an airfoil at a high angle-of-attack is massively separated, but shows no evidence of periodicity.

Rumsey, C. L.↗

Comparison of regional clear-sky albedos inferred from satellite observations and model computations

A comparison of model- and satellite-inferred clear sky top-of-atmosphere (TOA) albedos is presented. The clear sky albedos were inferred from GOES-2 observations for November 1978 over South America and most of North America and adjacent ocean regions. The model albedos were computed on a 1 deg X 1 deg latitude-longitude grid, allowing for variations in surface vegetation type, solar zenith angle, orography, and spectral absorption/scattering. Over the ocean areas, the observed and calculated TOA albedos agree within + or - 1 percent, while the albedos over land mostly agree within + or - 2 percent for the entire range of significant geographical variation of albedo from 13 percent over the Amazon Basin to 24 percent over mountains of western North America. Both the ocean and land agreements lie within the theoretical and observational uncertainties.

Briegleb, B. P.↗

Stresses and deformations in cross-ply composite tubes subjected to a uniform temperature change

This study investigates the effects of a uniform temperature change on the stresses and deformations of composite tubes and determines the accuracy of an approximate solution based on the principle of complementary virtual work. Interest centers on tube response away from the ends and so a planar elasticity approach is used. For the approximate solution a piecewise linear variation of stresses with the radial coordinate is assumed. The results from the approximate solution are compared with the elasticity solution. The stress predictions agree well, particularly peak interlaminar stresses. Surprisingly, the axial deformations also agree well, despite the fact that the deformations predicted by the approximate solution do not satisfy the interface displacement continuity conditions required by the elasticity solution. The study shows that the axial thermal expansion coefficient of tubes with a specific number of axial and circumferential layers depends on the stacking sequence. This is in contrast to classical lamination theory, which predicts that the expansion will be independent of the stacking arrangement. As expected, the sign and magnitude of the peak interlaminar stresses depend on stacking sequence. For tubes with a specific number of axial and circumferential layers, thermally induced interlaminar stresses can be controlled by altering stacking arrangement.

Hyer, M. W.↗

Assimilation of scatterometer winds into surface pressure fields using a variational method

A variational formulation was used to assimilate Seasat-A scatterometer (SASS) surface wind measurements near and during a severe storm in the North Atlantic into conventional National Meteorological Center sea level pressure fields. An estimate of the relative vorticity at every point on a grid was calculated using each of these two data sets. A solution to a modified geostrophic stream function is found subject to the constraints that (1) the relative vorticities calculated from the data agree as closely as possible with the relative vorticities from the variational solution, and that (2) the average kinetic energy is a minimum. Results are obtained which support the idea that averaged satellite data can be treated as synoptic data. Direct substitution rather than a time-weighted insertion made from SASS winds generally resulted in more accurate pressure analyses. In addition, this relatively simple model provides surface pressure fields which agree extremely well with surface truth and the results of other investigators who required additional sources of input data into more complex models. It will be possible to obtain improved wind field maps from future scatterometer pressure fields in mid-latitudes.

Harlan, J., Jr.↗

DC-10 winglet flight evaluation

Results of a flight evaluation of winglets on a DC-10 Series 10 aircraft are presented. For sensitive areas of comparison, effects of winglets were determined back-to-back with and without winglets. Basic and reduced-span winglet configurations were tested. After initial encounter with low-speed buffet, a number of acceptable configurations were developed. For maximum drag reduction at both cruise and low speeds, lower winglets were required, having leading edge devices on upper and lower winglets for the latter regime. The cruise benefits were enhanced by adding outboard aileron droop to the reduced-span winglet aircraft. Winglets had no significant impact on stall speeds, high-speed buffet boundary, and stability and control. Flutter test results agreed with predictions and ground vibration data. Flight loads measurement, provided in a concurrent program, also agreed with predictions. It was estimated that a production version of the aircraft, using the reduced-span winglet and aileron droop, would yield a 3-percent reduction in fuel burned with capacity payload. This range was 2% greater than with winglets. A 5% reduction in takeoff distance at maximum takeoff weight would also result.

Taylor, A. B.↗

On the direct and dissociative excitation of the O(3s 3S0) state by electron impact on atomic and molecular oxygen

The ratio of the cross sections for the direct and dissociative excitation of the OI(3s 3S0-2p 3P; 1304 A wavelength) transition, sigma A/sigma D, are accurately determined, and the sigma A/sigma D ratio is directly normalized to the ratio of the O(+) and O2(+) ionization cross sections using a high-density diffuse gas source, an electrostatically focused electron gun, a vacuum-ultraviolet monochromater, and a quadrupole mass spectrometer for simultaneous optical and composition measurements. Using revised sigma A(1304 A) values calculated with new calibration standards, the shape of the cross section for the excitation of the O(3s 3S0) state agrees well with previous results, though the absolute magnitude of sigma A(1304 A) is smaller than the results of Stone and Zipf (1974) by a factor of 2.8. The revised cross sections agree well with recent quantum calculations when cascade excitation of the 3s 3S0 state is taken into account.

Zipf, E. C.↗

Strake-generated vortex interactions for a fighter-like configuration

A combination of the Euler, and thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations were solved for the flowfield around a wing-strake-fuselage configuration similar to the F-16A aircraft. The flowfield was divided into multiple blocks using a zoning program, and the TNSWF solution program, based on an implicit solution algorithm, updates each subregion of the flowfield sequentially. The total grid contained approximately 300,000 grid points, and clustering was effected normal to all aircraft surfaces. The computed solutions agreed well quantitatively with wind-tunnel pressure distribution data, and they agreed well qualitatively with flow visualization from wind- and water-tunnel tests.

Reznick, Steven G.↗

A full CI treatment of the 1A1, 1B1, and 3B1 states of SiH2

Full CI calculations are presented for the 1A1, 3B1, and 1B1 states of SiH2 at their respective equilibrium geometries and at geometries with the SiH bonds stretched. These results are compared with those obtained from single-reference and multireference CI calculations. The computed Te values agree well with the full CI results, provided that the effects of higher-than-double excitations are accounted for either by the Davidson correction or by a multireference approach. When the SiH bonds are stretched, the single-reference methods are not sufficiently flexible, and only CASSCF/MRCI achieves chemical accuracy (i.e., agrees with the full CI to 1 kcal/mol). Overall, the accuracy of the various approximate methods is very similar to that found for H2O, NH2, and CH2.

Bauschlicher, Charles W., Jr.↗

An assessment of the small-crack effect for 2024-T3 aluminum alloy

Data on small-crack behavior were obtained for a single-edge-notched tensile specimen made of 2024-T3 Al alloy and used to evaluate the capability of a semiempirical crack-growth and closure model to predict the fatigue life of notched specimens. Fatigue tests were conducted under either constant-amplitude loading (with stress ratios of 0.5, 0, -1, and -2) or spectrum loading, using a replication technique to record growth. It was found that small cracks exhibited the 'small-crack' effect in that they grew faster than large cracks when subjected to the same stress intensity factor range. Experimental small-crack growth rates agreed well with the model predictions. For making predictions of fatigue life, an initial surface defect void size of 3 x 12 x 0.4 microns was used in all calculations; predicted fatigue lives agreed well with experimentally determined values obtained in all tests. The crack-closure model indicated that the 'small-crack' effect on fatigue life was greatest in tests involving significant compressive loads.

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗

Effects of forced and free convections on structural temperatures of Space Shuttle Orbiter during reentry flight

Structural performance and resizing (SPAR) finite-element thermal analysis computer program was used in the heat transfer analysis of the Space Shuttle Orbiter wing subjected to reentry aerodynamic heating. With sufficient external forced convective cooling near the end of the heating cycle, the calculated surface temperatures of the thermal protection system (TPS) agree favorably with the flight data for the entire flight profile. However, the effects of this external forced convective cooling on the structural temperatures were found to be negligible. Both free convection and forced convection elements were introduced to model the internal convection effect of the cool air entering the Shuttle interior. The introduction of the internal free convection effect decreased the calculated wing lower skin temperatures by 20 F at most, 1200 sec after touchdown. If the internal convection is treated as forced convection, the calculated wing lower skin temperatures after touchdown can be reduced to match the flight-measured data very closely. By reducing the TPS thicknesses to certain effective thickness to account for the TPs gap heating, the calculated wing lower skin temperatures prior to touchdown can be raised to agree with the flight data perfectly.

Ko, William L.↗

Analyses and assessments of span wise gust gradient data from NASA B-57B aircraft

Analysis of turbulence measured across the airfoil of a Cambera B-57 aircraft is reported. The aircraft is instrumented with probes for measuring wind at both wing tips and at the nose. Statistical properties of the turbulence are reported. These consist of the standard deviations of turbulence measured by each individual probe, standard deviations and probability distribution of differences in turbulence measured between probes and auto- and two-point spatial correlations and spectra. Procedures associated with calculations of two-point spatial correlations and spectra utilizing data were addressed. Methods and correction procedures for assuring the accuracy of aircraft measured winds are also described. Results are found, in general, to agree with correlations existing in the literature. The velocity spatial differences fit a Gaussian/Bessel type probability distribution. The turbulence agrees with the von Karman turbulence correlation and with two-point spatial correlations developed from the von Karman correlation.

Frost, Walter↗

Solar events and their influence on the interplanetary medium

Aspects of a workshop on Solar events and their influence on the interplanetary medium, held in September 1986, are reviewed, the goal of which was to foster interactions among colleagues, leading to an improved understanding of the unified relationship between solar events and interplanetary disturbances. The workshop consisted of three working groups: (1) flares, eruptives, and other near-Sun activity; (2) coronal mass ejections; and (3) interplanetary events. Each group discussed topics distributed in advance. The flares-eruptives group members agreed that pre-event energy is stored in stressed/sheared magnetic fields, but could not agree that flares and other eruptive events (e.g., eruptive solar prominences) are aspects of the same physical phenomenon. In the coronal mass ejection group, general agreement was reached on the presence of prominences in CMEs, and that they have a significant three-dimensional structure. Some topics identified for further research were the aftermath of CMEs (streamer deflections, transient coronal holes, possible disconnections), identification of the leading edge of CMEs, and studies of the range and prevalence of CME mass sizes and energies.

Joselyn, Joann↗

Simultaneous in situ measurements and diurnal variations of NO, NO2, O3, jNO2, CH4, H2O, and CO2 in the 40- to 26-km region using an open path tunable diode laser spectrometer

Simultaneous in situ measurements of temperature, pressure, and the NO, NO2, O3, jNO2, CH4, H2O, and CO2 concentrations were conducted in the 40- to 26-km region of the stratosphere using the JPL Balloon-borne Laser In Situ Sensor, a tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer. The NO, NO2, CH4, H2O, and CO2 concentration measurements generally show good agreement with previous observations, with a tendency for somewhat lower NO2 amounts. Measured O3 concentrations at 38 km agree well with comparable measurements from in situ UV photometers, but at 28 km they are lower by about 10 percent and agree more closely with the solar backscattered UV data. A decline was found in NO2 during the night over a 5-km altitude range, which implies either lower NO2 postsunset profiles, or an NO2 decay rate that is significantly higher than current model predictions that use N2O5 chemistry.

Webster, Christopher R.↗

Asymptotic behavior of a flat plate wake

An experimental study has been conducted to investigate the far-field, self-similar properties of a flat plate wake. A plane turbulent wake was generated at the trailing edge of a smooth splitter plate separating two legs of a Mixing Layer Wind Tunnel, with both initial boundary layers tripped. For the present study, both legs were operated at a free-steam velocity in the test section of 15 m/s, giving a Reynolds number based on wake momentum thickness of about 1750. Single profile measurements were obtained at five streamwise locations using a Pitot probe for the mean velocity measurements and a single cross-wire probe for the turbulence data, which included statistics up to third order. The mean flow data indicated a self-similar behavior beyond a streamwise distance equivalent to about 350 wake momentum thicknesses. However, the turbulence data show better collapse beyond a distance equivalent to about 500 momentum thicknesses, with all the measured peak Reynolds stresses achieving constant, asymptotic levels. The asymptotic mean flow behavior and peak primary stress levels agree well with theoretical predictions based on a constant eddy viscosity model. The present data also agree reasonably well with previous measurements, of which only one set extends into the self-similar region. Detailed comparisons with previous data are presented and discussed in this report.

Weygandt, James H.↗

Three-dimensional finite-element simulation of fatigue crack growth and closure

A three-dimensional elastic-plastic finite-element analysis of crack growth and closure under cyclic loading has been performed in order to investigate the behavior of a crack in a finite-thickness middle-crack tension specimen. The cases of both constant-amplitude loading and a single-spike overload are considered. The calculated crack-opening stresses for the exterior of the specimen agree with previous plane-stress results, and those obtained for the interior of the specimen agree with previous plane-strain results.

Chermahini, R. G.↗

Surface reflectance factor retrieval from Thematic Mapper data

Based on the absolute radiometric calibration of the TM and the use of a radiative transfer program for atmospheric correction, ground reflectances were retrieved for several fields of crops and bare soil in TM bands 1-4 for six TM scenes acquired over a 12-month period. These reflectances were compared to those measured using ground-based and low-altitude, aircraft-mounted radiometers. When, for four TM acquisitions, the comparison was made between areas that had been carefully selected for their high uniformity, the reflectance factors agreed to + or - 0.01 over the reflectance range 0.02-0.55. When the comparison was made for two of the above acquisitions and two others on different dates, for larger areas not carefully selected to be of uniform reflectance, the reflectance factors agreed to + or - 0.02 (1 sigma RMS), over same reflectance range.

Holm, Ronald G.↗