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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 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1995

Sloshing dynamics modulated fluid angular momentum and moment fluctuations driven by orbital gravity gradient and jitter accelerations in microgravity

The dynamical behavior of spacecraft propellant affected by the asymmetric combined gravity gradient and jitter accelerations, in particular the effect of surface tension on partially-filled rotating fluids applicable to a full-scale Gravity Probe-B Spacecraft dewar tank has been investigated. Three different cases of orbital accelerations: (1) gravity gradient-dominated, (2) equally weighted between gravity gradient and jitter, and (3) gravity jitter-dominated accelerations are studied. The results of slosh wave excitation along the liquid-vapor interface induced by gravity gradient-dominated accelerations provide a torsional moment with tidal motion of bubble oscillations in the rotating dewar. The results are clearly seen from the twisting shape of the bubble oscillations driven by gravity gradient-dominated acceleration. The results of slosh wave excitation along the liquid-vapor interface induced by gravity jitter-dominated acceleration indicate the results of bubble motion in a manner of down-and-up and leftward-and-rightward movement of oscillation when the bubble is rotating with respect to rotating dewar axis. Fluctuations of angular momentum, fluid moment and bubble mass center caused by slosh wave excitations driven by gravity gradient acceleration or gravity jitter acceleration are also investigated.

Hung, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The YF-12 Gust Velocity Measuring System

A true gust velocity measuring system designed to alleviate complications resulting from airframe flexibility and from the high-speed, high-temperature environment of supersonic cruise aircraft was evaluated on a YF-12 airplane. The system uses fixed vanes on which airflow direction changes produce differential pressure variations that are measured. Airframe motions, obtained by postflight integration of recorded angular rate and linear acceleration data, are removed from the flow angle data. An example of turbulence data obtained at high-altitude, supersonic flight conditions is presented and compared with previous high-altitude turbulence measurements obtained with subsonic aircraft and with turbulence criteria contained in both military and civil design specifications for supersonic cruise vehicles. Results of these comparisons indicate that the YF-12 turbulence sample is representative of turbulence present in the supersonic cruise environment.

Ehernberger, J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Analysis of the Rim Inertial Measuring System (RIMS)

Nonlinear equations of motion are derived for the rim inertial measuring system, which is mounted in a strapped down configuration on a carrier vehicle. The measurement and equations derived from angular rates and linear accelerations were interfaced with the dynamic model of a user defined carried vehicle. Two methods are presented for rate measurement, and the results of the nonlinear computer simulation are presented.

Joshi, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Analytical techniques for the analysis of stall/spin flight test data

Analytical techniques for the analysis of stall/spin flight test data are reviewed by discussing (1) certain special flight instrumentation issues, (2) the mathematical modeling techniques, and (3) the analysis of post stall and spinning flight of general aviation airplanes. The angles of attack, sideslip, roll, pitch, and yaw are derived from measurements of angular velocity and linear acceleration. The key to the success of this approach is to simultaneously estimate both the biases in the instrumentation and the initial conditions. Techniques for determining stability derivatives from flight data are applied to angles of attack too high for stabilized flight. This practice greatly expands the range over which aerodynamic characteristics can be determined from flight test. Nonlinear terms in certain aerodynamic functions are shown to be valid by comparing them with the trends of results at different angles of attack. A very old technique of studying spins is extended and applied to some modern light airplanes. Airplanes for which the wing provides the dominant moments during spins, offer the possibility of linking spin characteristics to longitudinal data.

Taylor, L. W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Fighter agility metrics

Fighter flying qualities and combat capabilities are currently measured and compared in terms relating to vehicle energy, angular rates and sustained acceleration. Criteria based on these measurable quantities have evolved over the past several decades and are routinely used to design aircraft structures, aerodynamics, propulsion and control systems. While these criteria, or metrics, have the advantage of being well understood, easily verified and repeatable during test, they tend to measure the steady state capability of the aircraft and not its ability to transition quickly from one state to another. Proposed new metrics to assess fighter aircraft agility are collected and analyzed. A framework for classification of these new agility metrics is developed and applied. A complete set of transient agility metrics is evaluated with a high fidelity, nonlinear F-18 simulation. Test techniques and data reduction methods are proposed. A method of providing cuing information to the pilot during flight test is discussed. The sensitivity of longitudinal and lateral agility metrics to deviations from the pilot cues is studied in detail. The metrics are shown to be largely insensitive to reasonable deviations from the nominal test pilot commands. Instrumentation required to quantify agility via flight test is also considered. With one exception, each of the proposed new metrics may be measured with instrumentation currently available.

Liefer, Randall K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Attitude profile design program

The Attitude Profile Design (APD) Program was designed to be used as a stand-alone addition to the Simplex Computation of Optimum Orbital Trajectories (SCOOT). The program uses information from a SCOOT output file and the user defined attitude profile to produce time histories of attitude, angular body rates, and accelerations. The APD program is written in standard FORTRAN77 and should be portable to any machine that has an appropriate compiler. The input and output are through formatted files. The program reads the basic flight data, such as the states of the vehicles, acceleration profiles, and burn information, from the SCOOT output file. The user inputs information about the desired attitude profile during coasts in a high level manner. The program then takes these high level commands and executes the maneuvers, outputting the desired information.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1990

The magnetic field in the dust ring at the center of the Galaxy

Measurements of the polarization of the far-infrared thermal emission from six points in the dust ring at Sgr A are presented. The position angles are approximately perpendicular to the long axis of the ring as projected on the sky. The inferred magnetic field is therefore approximately in the plane of the ring. The pattern traced by the polarization vectors resembles that expected for a magnetic accretion disk. The measurements indicate a field in which the outward radial component is much greater than the axial component at the surface of the disk. The field thus appears to satisfy the condition proposed by Blandford and Payne (1982) for removing energy and angular momentum through centrifugal acceleration of surface material moving along the field lines.

Hildebrand, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Analytic redundancy management for large flexible structures

An analytic redundancy management approach for on-line component failure detection is described and illustrated using a simulation of the NASA Langley Spacecaft Control Laboratory Experiment (SCOLE) research facility. The SCOLE experimental apparatus simulated is a functional model of the Space Shuttle with a large, flexible, offset-feed antenna cantilevered from the payload bay. This approach uses a single, active, Kalman filter selected from a bank of filters, each element of which was previously designed to accommodate a specific failure condition. The residuals of this active filter are processed through a sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) filter to identify the failure state of the system and, hence, closing the failure accommodation loop, to select the active filter. Results are presented that illustrate the ability of the system to detect and recover from failures introduced in the angular rate and linear acceleration sensors on the SCOLE facility.

Shenhar, J.↗
NASA NTRS1934

Maneuverability Investigation of an O3U-1 Observation Airplane

This report presents the results of maneuverability tests of an O3U-1 observation airplane. This investigation is the third in a series of similar investigations requested by the Bureau of Aeronautics (Navy) for the purpose of comparing the maneuverability of different airplane types and to provide quantitative data for use in establishing a criterion or method for rating the maneuverability of an airplane. The two former investigations were conducted with the fighter types designated F6C-3 and F6C-4 and have been reported previously. Measurement of the air speed, the angular velocity, the linear acceleration, and positions of the controls were made during abrupt single-control maneuvers with three stop positions for each control, during steady horizontal turns for the determination of minimum radius, and during 180 degree turns by various methods. Flight-path coordinates in two dimensions were determined for the 180 degree turns by means of a special camera obscura designed for the previous investigation of the F6C-4 airplane. All maneuvers were performed at an altitude of approximately 3,000 feet.

Thompson, F L↗
NASA NTRS1931

A study of curvilinear flight

When an airplane describes a curve it takes a certain time for it to turn from level to inclined position and then back to level again. In the following, we express the motion about the horizontal axis as "roll" or "bank" and the motion perpendicular to the vertical axis, i.e., the actual curve, as "turn." Equations and tables provide results on various aspects of turns, control settings, acceleration, inertia moments, and angular velocity.

Kruse, Helmuth↗
NASA NTRS1994

A trajectory preprocessor for antenna pointing

A trajectory-preprocessing algorithm has been devised which matches antenna angular position, velocity, and acceleration to those of a target. This eliminates vibrations of the antenna structure caused by discontinuities in velocity and acceleration commands, and improves antenna-pointing performance by constraining antenna motion to a linear regime. The algorithm permits faster acquisition times and preserves antenna-tracking capability in situations where there would otherwise be an unacceptably sudden change in antenna velocity or acceleration. A simulation of DSS 13 shows that this preprocessor would reduce servo error to 1 mdeg during acquisition of a low-Earth-orbiting satellite.

Tyler, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Flight-testing and frequency-domain analysis for rotorcraft handling qualities

A demonstration of frequency-domain flight-testing techniques and analysis was performed on a U.S. Army OH-58D helicopter in support of the OH-58D Airworthiness and Flight Characteristics Evaluation and of the Army's development and ongoing review of Aeronautical Design Standard 33C, Handling Qualities Requirements for Military Rotorcraft. Hover and forward flight (60 kn) tests were conducted in 1 flight hour by Army experimental test pilots. Further processing of the hover data generated a complete database of velocity, angular-rate, and acceleration-frequency responses to control inputs. A joint effort was then undertaken by the Airworthiness Qualification Test Dirtectorate and the U.S. Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate to derive handling-quality information from the frequency-domain database using a variety of approaches. This report documents numerous results that have been obtained from the simple frequency-domain tests; in many areas, these results provide more insight into the aircraft dynmamics that affect handling qualities than do traditional flight tests. The handling-quality results include ADS-33C bandwidth and phase-delay calculations, vibration spectral determinations, transfer-function models to examine single-axis results, and a six-degree-of-freedom fully coupled state-space model. The ability of this model to accurately predict responses was verified using data from pulse inputs. This report also documents the frequency-sweep flight-test technique and data analysis used to support the tests.

Ham, Johnnie A.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Dynamic Beam Solutions for Real-Time Simulation and Control Development of Flexible Rockets

In this study, flexible rockets are structurally represented by linear beams. Both direct and indirect solutions of beam dynamic equations are sought to facilitate real-time simulation and control development for flexible rockets. The direct solution is completed by numerically integrate the beam structural dynamic equation using an explicit Newmark-based scheme, which allows for stable and fast transient solutions to the dynamics of flexile rockets. Furthermore, in the real-time operation, the bending strain of the beam is measured by fiber optical sensors (FOS) at intermittent locations along the span, while both angular velocity and translational acceleration are measured at a single point by the inertial measurement unit (IMU). Another study in this paper is to find the analytical and numerical solutions of the beam dynamics based on the limited measurement data to facilitate the real-time control development. Numerical studies demonstrate the accuracy of these real-time solutions to the beam dynamics. Such analytical and numerical solutions, when integrated with data processing and control algorithms and mechanisms, have the potential to increase launch availability by processing flight data into the flexible launch vehicle's control system.

flexible body dyanmics fiber optic strain sensor p↗
DOE OSTI2020

Characterizing extreme laser intensities by ponderomotive acceleration of protons from rarified gas

Abstract A new method to diagnose extreme laser intensities through measurement of angular and spectral distributions of protons directly accelerated by the laser focused into a rarefied gas is proposed. We simulated a laser pulse focused by an off-axis parabolic mirror by Stratton–Chu integrals, that enables description of laser pulse with different spatial-temporal profiles focusing in a focal spot down to the diffraction limit, that makes our theoretical predictions be a basis for experimental realization. The relationship between characteristics of the proton distributions and parameters of the laser pulse have been analyzed. The analytical and numerical results obtained justify the new method of laser diagnostics. The proposed scheme should be valuable for the commissioning of new extreme intensity laser facilities.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1999

Horizontal vestibuloocular reflex evoked by high-acceleration rotations in the squirrel monkey. I. Normal responses

The horizontal angular vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) evoked by high-frequency, high-acceleration rotations was studied in five squirrel monkeys with intact vestibular function. The VOR evoked by steps of acceleration in darkness (3,000 degrees /s(2) reaching a velocity of 150 degrees /s) began after a latency of 7.3 +/- 1.5 ms (mean +/- SD). Gain of the reflex during the acceleration was 14.2 +/- 5.2% greater than that measured once the plateau head velocity had been reached. A polynomial regression was used to analyze the trajectory of the responses to steps of acceleration. A better representation of the data was obtained from a polynomial that included a cubic term in contrast to an exclusively linear fit. For sinusoidal rotations of 0.5-15 Hz with a peak velocity of 20 degrees /s, the VOR gain measured 0.83 +/- 0.06 and did not vary across frequencies or animals. The phase of these responses was close to compensatory except at 15 Hz where a lag of 5.0 +/- 0.9 degrees was noted. The VOR gain did not vary with head velocity at 0.5 Hz but increased with velocity for rotations at frequencies of >/=4 Hz (0. 85 +/- 0.04 at 4 Hz, 20 degrees /s; 1.01 +/- 0.05 at 100 degrees /s, P < 0.0001). No responses to these rotations were noted in two animals that had undergone bilateral labyrinthectomy indicating that inertia of the eye had a negligible effect for these stimuli. We developed a mathematical model of VOR dynamics to account for these findings. The inputs to the reflex come from linear and nonlinear pathways. The linear pathway is responsible for the constant gain across frequencies at peak head velocity of 20 degrees /s and also for the phase lag at higher frequencies being less than that expected based on the reflex delay. The frequency- and velocity-dependent nonlinearity in VOR gain is accounted for by the dynamics of the nonlinear pathway. A transfer function that increases the gain of this pathway with frequency and a term related to the third power of head velocity are used to represent the dynamics of this pathway. This model accounts for the experimental findings and provides a method for interpreting responses to these stimuli after vestibular lesions.

NASA Program Biomedical Research and Countermeasur↗
NASA NTRS2000

Horizontal vestibuloocular reflex evoked by high-acceleration rotations in the squirrel monkey. III. Responses after labyrinthectomy

The horizontal angular vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) evoked by high-frequency, high-acceleration rotations was studied in four squirrel monkeys after unilateral labyrinthectomy. Spontaneous nystagmus was measured at the beginning and end of each testing session. During the period that animals were kept in darkness (4 days), the nystagmus at each of these times measured approximately 20 degrees /s. Within 18-24 h after return to the light, the nystagmus (measured in darkness) decreased to 2.8 +/- 1.5 degrees /s (mean +/- SD) when recorded at the beginning but was 20.3 +/- 3.9 degrees /s at the end of the testing session. The latency of the VOR measured from responses to steps of acceleration (3,000 degrees /s(2) reaching a velocity of 150 degrees /s) was 8.4 +/- 0.3 ms for responses to ipsilesional rotations and 7.7 +/- 0.4 ms for contralesional rotations. During the period that animals were kept in darkness after the labyrinthectomy, the gain of the VOR measured during the steps of acceleration was 0.67 +/- 0.12 for contralesional rotations and 0.39 +/- 0.04 for ipsilesional rotations. Within 18-24 h after return to light, the VOR gain for contralesional rotations increased to 0.87 +/- 0.08, whereas there was only a slight increase for ipsilesional rotations to 0.41 +/- 0. 06. A symmetrical increase in the gain measured at the plateau of head velocity was noted after the animals were returned to light. The VOR evoked by sinusoidal rotations of 2-15 Hz, +/-20 degrees /s, showed a better recovery of gain at lower (2-4 Hz) than at higher (6-15 Hz) frequencies. At 0.5 Hz, gain decreased symmetrically when the peak amplitude was increased from 20 to 100 degrees /s. At 10 Hz, gain was decreased for ipsilesional half-cycles and increased for contralesional half-cycles when velocity was raised from 20 to 50 degrees /s. A model incorporating linear and nonlinear pathways was used to simulate the data. Selective increases in the gain for the linear pathway accounted for the recovery in VOR gain for responses at the velocity plateau of the steps of acceleration and for the sinusoidal rotations at lower peak velocities. The increase in gain for contralesional responses to steps of acceleration and sinusoidal rotations at higher frequencies and velocities was due to an increase in the contribution of the nonlinear pathway. This pathway was driven into cutoff and therefore did not affect responses for rotations toward the lesioned side.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
NASA NTRS2006

Semiautonomous Avionics-and-Sensors System for a UAV

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) autonomous or remotely controlled pilotless aircraft have been recently thrust into the spotlight for military applications, for homeland security, and as test beds for research. In addition to these functions, there are many space applications in which lightweight, inexpensive, small UAVS can be used e.g., to determine the chemical composition and other qualities of the atmospheres of remote planets. Moreover, on Earth, such UAVs can be used to obtain information about weather in various regions; in particular, they can be used to analyze wide-band acoustic signals to aid in determining the complex dynamics of movement of hurricanes. The Advanced Sensors and Electronics group at Langley Research Center has developed an inexpensive, small, integrated avionics-and-sensors system to be installed in a UAV that serves two purposes. The first purpose is to provide flight data to an AI (Artificial Intelligence) controller as part of an autonomous flight-control system. The second purpose is to store data from a subsystem of distributed MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) sensors. Examples of these MEMS sensors include humidity, temperature, and acoustic sensors, plus chemical sensors for detecting various vapors and other gases in the environment. The critical sensors used for flight control are a differential- pressure sensor that is part of an apparatus for determining airspeed, an absolute-pressure sensor for determining altitude, three orthogonal accelerometers for determining tilt and acceleration, and three orthogonal angular-rate detectors (gyroscopes). By using these eight sensors, it is possible to determine the orientation, height, speed, and rates of roll, pitch, and yaw of the UAV. This avionics-and-sensors system is shown in the figure. During the last few years, there has been rapid growth and advancement in the technological disciplines of MEMS, of onboard artificial-intelligence systems, and of smaller, faster, and smarter wireless telemetry systems. The major attraction of MEMS lies in orders-of-magnitude reductions of power requirements relative to traditional electronic components that perform equivalent functions. In addition, the compactness of MEMS, relative to functionally equivalent traditional electronics systems, makes MEMS attractive for UAV applications. Recent advances in MEMS have made it possible to produce pressure, acceleration, humidity, and temperature sensors having masses in subgram range and possessing sensitivities and accuracies comparable to those of larger devices.

Shams, Qamar↗
NASA NTRS1986

The Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment

The hardware and software of NASA's proposed Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE) are described. The OARE is to provide aerodynamic acceleration measurements along the Orbiter's principal axis in the free-molecular flow-flight regime at orbital attitude and in the transition regime during reentry. Models considering the effects of electromagnetic effects, solar radiation pressure, orbiter mass attraction, gravity gradient, orbital centripetal acceleration, out-of-orbital-plane effects, orbiter angular velocity, structural noise, mass expulsion signal sources, crew motion, and bias on acceleration are examined. The experiment contains an electrostatically balanced cylindrical proofmass accelerometer sensor with three orthogonal sensing axis outputs. The components and functions of the experimental calibration system and signal processor and control subsystem are analyzed. The development of the OARE software is discussed. The experimental equipment will be enclosed in a cover assembly that will be mounted in the Orbiter close to the center of gravity.

Blanchard, R. C.↗