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This simulator is unique in that it is capable of producing intensities up to 16.0 solar constants (25 solar constants without spectral filters) and closely simulates the solar spectrum over a 12 inch diameter area. The simulator is described and the capabilities, calibration, operational experiences, data collection, and safety considerations associated with this simulator are discussed.
The basic theory of CO2 gasdynamic lasers is discussed and related to the design of the Ames laser, which is described in detail. Results of the experimental calibration of the laser are reported and compared with theoretical predictions, and the agreement is excellent. Finally, several applications of the laser as a radiation source for materials testing, both with and without air flow, are described.
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Three systems for the control of acoustic testing are compared: a hybrid digital/analog system, a digital vibration system, and the same digital vibration system modified by a software change. The hybrid system was constructed to control the 1/3-octaves from 50 to 1000 Hz. The vibration system was equipped with programs for sine and random vibration tests, shock analysis and synthesis, and signal analysis. For the modified vibration system, the random-vibration control program of the unmodified unit was changed so that acoustic tests could be performed. The performance of the three systems is compared by conducting probability-density and time-history analyses of the proposed test spectrum for the Mariner Jupiter/Saturn 1977 program. The results of the analyses show that the hybrid and modified vibration systems perform almost equally, but the modified vibration system is easier to use and produces better test documentation.
The paper describes several photovoltaic devices currently under development that can operate under light intensities considerably higher than can silicon solar cells. The technologies discussed include GaAs heteroface solar cells, multi-color systems, thermophotovoltaics, and laser energy conversion. Array costs for the GaAs and multi-color elements are estimated.
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The flow through a 2D experimental diffuser with channel width 2.60 cm and divergence angle (2 theta) 9 or 20 deg is investigated experimentally for inlet Reynolds number 78,300 and velocity 43.9 m/s, with and without vertical rods to generate inlet turbulence in excess of the limits defined by Hoffmann (1981) and Hoffmann and Gonzales (1983). Measurements are obtained using a thermal wall-flow-direction probe and a single hot-wire velocity probe, and the results are presented graphically. Significant increases in the pressure-recovery coefficient of the diffuser (10 percent at 9 deg and 22 percent at 20 deg) are attributed to the action of turbulence to reduce distortion and delay separation, thus creating an altered flow condition with symmetrical velocity profiles.
The magnet configuration for the proposed particle astrophysics magnet facility (ASTROMAG) on the space station includes a cusp magnetic field with an intensity of a few tesla. With these large magnets (or others) located in the outer ionosphere, many quite interesting and unique plasma physics experiments become possible. First there are studies utilizing the magnet alone to examine the supersonic, sub-Alfvenic interaction with the ambient medium; the scale length for the magnet perturbation is approx. 20 m. The magnetic field geometry when combined with the Earth's and their relative motion will give rise to a host of plasma phenomena: ring nulls, x-points, ion-acoustic and lower-hybrid shocks, electron heating (possible shuttle glow without a surface) launching of Alfvenwaves, etc. Second, active experiments are possible for a controlled study of fundamental plasma phenomena. A controlled variable species plasma can be made by using an RF ion source; use of two soft iron rings placed about the line cusp would give an adequate resonance zone (ECH or ICH) and a confining volume suitable for gas efficiency. The emanating plasma can be used to study free expansion of plasma along and across field lines (polar wind), plasma flows around the space platform, turbulent mixing in the wake region, long wavelength spectrum of convecting modes, plasma-dust interactions, etc.
An atomic oxygen exposure facility has been developed for studies of material degradation. The goal of these studies is to provide design criteria and information for the manufacture of long life (20 to 30 years) construction materials for use in LEO. The studies that are being undertaken using the facility will provide: absolute reaction cross sections for use in engineering design problems; formulations of reaction mechanisms; and calibration of flight hardware (mass spectrometers, etc.) in order to directly relate experiments performed in LEO to ground based investigations. The facility consists of: (1) a CW laser sustained discharge source of O atoms having a variable energy up to 5 eV and an intensity between 10(15) and 10(17) O atoms s(-1) cm(-2); (2) an atomic beam formation and diagnostics system consisting of various stages of differential pumping, a mass spectrometer detector, and a time of flight analyzer; (3) a spinning rotor viscometer for absolute O atom flux measurements; and (4) provision for using the system for calibration of actual flight instruments. Surface analysis equipment is available for the characterization of material surfaces before and after exposure to O atoms.
An atomic oxygen exposure facility was developed for studies of material degradation. The goal of these studies is to provide design criteria and information for the manufacture of long life (20 to 30 years) construction materials for use in low Earth orbit. The studies that are being undertaken will provide: (1) absolute reaction cross sections for the engineering design problems, (2) formulations of reaction mechanisms for use in the selection of suitable existing materials and the design of new more resistant ones, and (3) the calibration of flight hardware (mass spectrometers, etc.) in order to directly relate experiments performed in low Earth orbit to ground based investigations. The facility consists of a CW laser sustained discharge source of O-atoms, an atomic beam formation and diagnostics system, a spinning rotor viscometer, and provision for using the system for calibration of actual flight instruments.
Unarmed plastic projectiles can be equipped with small axisymmetric cavities for the generation of intense tones that are useful in training maneuvers. Attention is presently given to the simulation of rainfall in an airstream and the effect of rain droplet impingement on the nose of projectiles, and especially to any penetration or accumulation of water at the base of the cavity that might increase the fundamental cavity frequency and/or reduce the intensity of sound production during rain conditions.
An investigation was conducted in the Thermal Acoustic Fatigue Apparatus at the Langley Research Center to study the acoustically excited random motion of an aluminum plate which is buckled due to thermal stresses. The thermal buckling displacements were measured and compared with theory. The general trends of the changes in resonances frequencies and random responses of the plate agree with previous theoretical prediction and experimental results for a mechanically buckled plate.
The authors calculated the expected performance dependence of near-optimally designed shallow homojunction n+pp+ InP solar cells on incident intensities up to 200 AM0 and temperatures up to 100 deg C (373 K). Both circular and rectangular cells were considered, the former for use in a Cassegrainian concentrator array at 100 AM0, 80-100 deg C and the latter for use in a Slats concentrator array at 20 AM0, 80-100 deg C. With efficiencies near 22 percent at 80 deg C, both the circular and rectangular InP shallow homojunction solar cells compare very favorably to GaAs cells of the same design and may be preferable to the GaAs cells for space applications because of the superior radiation tolerance of the InP cells.
An investigation was conducted in the Thermal Acoustic Fatigue Apparatus at the Langley Research Center to study the acoustically excited random motion of an aluminum plate which is buckled due to thermal stresses. The thermal buckling displacements were measured and compared with theory. The general trends of the changes in resonances frequencies and random responses of the plate agree with previous theoretical prediction and experimental results for a mechanically buckled plate.
Theory and measurement showed that the heat wake downstream from a line source is displaced by a transverse standing sound wave in a manner similar to a flag waving in a harmonic mode. With a 147 db, 104 cps standing wave, time-mean temperatures were reduced by an order of magnitude except near the displacement-pattern nodal points. The theory showed that a 161 db, 520 cps standing wave considerably increased the mixing in both the time-mean and instantaneous senses.
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Nightime illumination is an important part of round-the-clock pre-launch preparations because NASA uses TV and film cameras to monitor each step of the preliminaries and at times to identify the cause of malfunction during countdown. Generating a one billion candlepower beam visible 50 miles away, the lamps developed by Duro-Test Corporation provide daylight quality light that eliminates color distortion in film and TV coverage. The lighting system was first used at Kennedy Space Center in 1968 for the launch of Apollo 8. Modified versions are available in wide range of applications, such as the battery of spotlights with colored filters that light up Niagara Falls, as well as the lamps used in the projectors for the Smithsonian's IMAX Theatre, indoor theatres with supersized screens and outdoor projection systems.
Tests are conducted on a quad-redundant fault tolerant flight control computer to establish upset characteristics of an avionics system in an electromagnetic field. A numerical simulation and statistical model are described in this work to analyze the open loop experiment data collected in the reverberation chamber at NASA LaRC as a part of an effort to examine the effects of electromagnetic interference on fly-by-wire aircraft control systems. By comparing thousands of simulation and model outputs, the models that best describe the data are first identified and then a systematic statistical analysis is performed on the data. All of these efforts are combined which culminate in an extrapolation of values that are in turn used to support previous efforts used in evaluating the data.