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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 NTRS1983

The nitrogen abundance in the cosmic ray source

In this paper, new cosmic ray data on the isotopic and charge abundance of N nuclei are used, along with new cross section data for the fragmentation of O into N, to re-examine the question of the nitrogen abundance in the cosmic ray source. The cosmic ray data come from balloon flights made in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Both the N-15/N-14 ratio and N/O ratio were measured at the same intermediate energies at which the cross sections were measured, and the N/O ratio was also measured up to about 120 GeV/nuc.

Webber, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Low angle injection into a supersonic flow

A study of helium jets injected into a Mach 3 airflow through circular sonic nozzles angled downstream at 15 and 30 deg is presented. An aspirating hot-film probe was employed to measure helium concentrations. The results of Schlieren and nonoshadowgraph photography show the presence of large-scale turbulent structures in the high pressure jets. Concentration data reveal some asymmetries both in the cross section of the jet and in the trajectory of the jet relative to the centerline of the jet. Plotting the decay of maximum concentration with axial distance, it is found that the mixing rate can be increased significantly by increasing the pressure ratio. These low angle jets display good cross-stream penetration.

Mays, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Distribution of E/N and N sub e in a cross-flow electric discharge laser

The spatial distribution of the ratio of electric field to neutral gas density on a flowing gas, multiple pin-to-plane discharge was measured in a high-power, closed loop laser. The laser was operated at a pressure of 140 torr (1:7:20, CO2, N2, He) with typically a 100 meter/second velocity in the 5 x 8 x 135 centimeter discharge volume. E/N ratios ranged from 2.7 x 10 to the minus 16th power to 1.4 x 10 to the minus 16th power volts/cu cm along the discharge while the electron density ranged from 2.8 x 10 to the 10th power to 1.2 x 10 to the 10th power cm/3.

Dunning, J. W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1977

An investigation of techniques for the measurement and interpretation of cosmic ray isotopic abundances

An instrument, the Caltech High Energy Isotope Spectrometer Telescope was developed to measure isotopic abundances of cosmic ray nuclei by employing an energy loss - residual energy technique. A detailed analysis was made of the mass resolution capabilities of this instrument. A formalism, based on the leaky box model of cosmic ray propagation, was developed for obtaining isotopic abundance ratios at the cosmic ray sources from abundances measured in local interstellar space for elements having three or more stable isotopes, one of which is believed to be absent at the cosmic ray sources. It was shown that the dominant sources of uncertainty in the derived source ratios are uncorrelated errors in the fragmentation cross sections and statistical uncertainties in measuring local interstellar abundances. These results were applied to estimate the extent to which uncertainties must be reduced in order to distinguish between cosmic ray production in a solar-like environment and in various environments with greater neutron enrichments.

Wiedenbeck, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Rotor wake characteristics relevant to rotor-stator interaction noise generation

Mean and turbulent wake properties at three axial locations behind the rotor of an aerodynamically loaded 1.2 pressure ratio fan were measured using a stationary cross film anemometer in an anechoic wind tunnel. Wake characteristics at four radial immersions across the duct at four different fan speeds were determined utilizing a signal enhancement technique. The shapes of the waveforms of the mean rotor relative and mean upwash velocities were shown to change significantly across the span of the blades. In addition, an increase in fan rotational speed caused an increase in the maximum wake turbulence intensity levels near the hub and tip. Spectral analysis was used to described the complex nature of the rotor wake.

Shaw, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The abundance of CO in diffuse interstellar clouds - An ultraviolet survey

CO was detected in 17 directions and its upper limits were estimated in 21 directions by a UV survey carried out with the Copernicus satellite in the C-X 1088 A and E-X 1076 A lines toward 48 bright stars. The CO column densities range from 10 to the 12th to 10 to the 17th/sq cm and correlate with C I and H2. The tendency of the C I/CO ratio to be about 10 follows the ratio of particular atomic and molecular cross-sections and the physical parameters of interstellar clouds. Finally, the connection between UV observations in diffuse clouds and radio observations of (C-13)O in dark clouds is discussed.

Federman, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Rotor wake characteristics relevant to rotor-stator interaction noise generation

Mean and turbulence wake properties at three axial locations behind the rotor of an aerodynamically loaded 1.2 pressure ratio fan were measured using a stationary cross film anemometer in an anechoic wind tunnel. Wake characteristics at four radial immersions across the duct at four different fan speeds were determined utilizing a signal enhancement technique. The shapes of the waveforms of the mean rotor relative and mean upwash velocities were shown to change significantly across the span of the blades. In addition, an increase in fan rotational speed caused an increase in the maximum wake turbulence intensity levels near the hub and tip. Spectral analysis was used to describe the complex nature of the rotor wake.

Shaw, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Radiative equilibrium model of Titan's atmosphere

The present global radiative equilibrium model for the Saturn satellite Titan is restricted to the two-stream approximation, is vertically homogeneous in its scattering properties, and is spectrally divided into one thermal and two solar channels. Between 13 and 33% of the total incident solar radiation is absorbed at the planetary surface, and the 30-60 ratio of violet to thermal IR absorption cross sections in the stratosphere leads to the large temperature inversion observed there. The spectrally integrated mass absorption coefficient at thermal wavelengths is approximately constant throughout the stratosphere, and approximately linear with pressure in the troposphere, implying the presence of a uniformly mixed aerosol in the stratosphere. There also appear to be two regions of enhanced opacity near 30 and 500 mbar.

Samuelson, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

AMPTE/CCE observations of shell-like He(2+) and O(6+) distributions in the magnetosheath

Simultaneous observations of solar wind He(2+) and O(6+) shell-like distributions in the magnetosheath were obtained by the AMPTE CCE on November 1, 1984. It is found that the present distributions are centered on the downstream H(+) bulk velocity and have radii proportional to the mass/charge ratio. The results support an electrostatic cross-shock potential model.

Fuselier, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Mixing of Multiple Jets with a Confined Subsonic Crossflow in a Cylindrical Duct

This paper summarizes NASA-supported experimental and computational results on the mixing of a row of jets with a confined subsonic crossflow in a cylindrical duct. The studies from which these results were derived investigated flow and geometric variations typical of the complex 3-D flowfield in the combustion chambers in gas turbine engines. The principal observations were that the momentum-flux ratio and the number of orifices were significant variables. Jet penetration was critical, and jet penetration decreased as either the number of orifices increased or the momentum-flux ratio decreased. It also appeared that jet penetration remained similar with variations in orifice size, shape, spacing, and momentum-flux ratio when the number of orifices was proportional to the square-root of the momentum-flux ratio. In the cylindrical geometry, planar variances are very sensitive to events in the near wall region, so planar averages must be considered in context with the distributions. The mass-flow ratios and orifices investigated were often very large (mass-flow ratio greater than 1 and ratio of orifice area-to-mainstream cross-sectional area up to 0.5), and the axial planes of interest were sometimes near the orifice trailing edge. Three-dimensional flow was a key part of efficient mixing and was observed for all configurations. The results shown also seem to indicate that non-reacting dimensionless scalar profiles can emulate the reacting flow equivalence ratio distribution reasonably well. The results cited suggest that further study may not necessarily lead to a universal 'rule of thumb' for mixer design for lowest emissions, because optimization will likely require an assessment for a specific application.

Holdeman, James D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Mixing of Multiple Jets With a Confined Subsonic Crossflow: Opposed Rows of Orifices in Rectangular Ducts - Part 2

This paper summarizes experimental and computational results on the mixing of opposed rows of jets with a confined subsonic crossflow in rectangular ducts. The studies from which these results were excerpted investigated flow and geometric variations typical of the complex 3-D flowfield in the combustion chambers in gas turbine engines. The principal observation was that the momentum-flux ratio, J, and the orifice spacing, S/H, were the most significant flow and geometric variables. Jet penetration was critical, and penetration decreased as either momentum-flux ratio or orifice spacing decreased. It also appeared that jet penetration remained similar with variations in orifice size, shape, spacing, and momentum-flux ratio when the orifice spacing was inversely proportional to the square-root of the momentum-flux ratio. It was also seen that planar averages must be considered in context with the distributions. Note also that the mass-flow ratios and the offices investigated were often very large (jet-to-mainstream mass-flow ratio greater than 1 and the ratio of orifices-area-to-mainstream-cross-sectional-area up to 0.5 respectively), and the axial planes of interest were often just downstream of the orifice trailing edge. Three-dimensional flow was a key part of efficient mixing and was observed for all configurations.

Holdeman, James D.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Aircraft NO(x) had no Unique Fingerprint on Sonex; Lightning Dominated Fresh NO(x) Sources

Key questions to which SONEX was directed were the following: Can aircraft corridors be detected? Is there a unique tracer for aircraft NO(x)? Can a "background" NO(x) (or NO(y) be defined? What fraction of NO(x) measured during SONEX was from aircraft? How representative was SONEX of the North Atlantic in 1997 and how typical of other years? We attempt to answer these questions through species-species correlations, probability distribution functions (PDFs), and meteorological history. There is not a unique aircraft tracer, largely due to the high variability of air mass origins and tracer ratios, which render "average" quantities meaningless. The greatest NO and NO(y) signals were associated with lightning and convective NO sources. Well-defined background CO, NO(y) and NO(y)/ozone ratio appear in subsets of two cross-track flights with subtropical origins and five flights with predominantly mid-latitude air. Forty percent of the observations on these 7 flights showed NO(y)/ozone to be above background, evidently due to unreacted NO(x). This NO(x) is a combination of aircraft, lightning and surface pollution injected by convection. The strongly subtropical signatures in SONEX observations, confirmed by pv (potential vorticity) values along flight tracks, argues for most of the unreacted NO(x) originating from lightning. Potential vorticity statistics along SONEX flight tracks in 1992-1998, and for the North Atlantic as a whole, show the SONEX meteorological environment to be representative of the North Atlantic flight corridor in the October-November period.

Thompson, A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Radar Observations of Convective Systems from a High-Altitude Aircraft

Reflectivity data collected by the precipitation radar on board the tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, orbiting at 350 km altitude, are compared to reflectivity data collected nearly simultaneously by a doppler radar aboard the NASA ER-2 flying at 19-20 km altitude, i.e. above even the deepest convection. The TRMM precipitation radar is a scanning device with a ground swath width of 215 km, and has a resolution of about a4.4 km in the horizontal and 250 m in the vertical (125 m in the core swath 48 km wide). The TRMM radar has a wavelength of 217 cm (13.8 GHz) and the Nadir mirror echo below the surface is used to correct reflectivity for loss by attenuation. The ER-2 Doppler radar (EDOP) has two antennas, one pointing to the nadir, 34 degrees forward. The forward pointing beam receives both the normal and the cross-polarized echos, so the linear polarization ratio field can be monitored. EDOP has a wavelength of 3.12 cm (9.6 GHz), a vertical resolution of 37.5 m and a horizontal along-track resolution of about 100 m. The 2-D along track airflow field can be synthesized from the radial velocities of both beams, if a reflectivity-based hydrometer fall speed relation can be assumed. It is primarily the superb vertical resolution that distinguishes EDOP from other ground-based or airborne radars. Two experiments were conducted during 1998 into validate TRMM reflectivity data over convection and convectively-generated stratiform precipitation regions. The Teflun-A (TEXAS-Florida Underflight) experiment, was conducted in April and May and focused on mesoscale convective systems mainly in southeast Texas. TEFLUN-B was conducted in August-September in central Florida, in coordination with CAMEX-3 (Convection and Moisture Experiment). The latter was focused on hurricanes, especially during landfall, whereas TEFLUN-B concentrated on central; Florida convection, which is largely driven and organized by surface heating and ensuing sea breeze circulations. Both TEFLUN-A and B were amply supported by surface data, in particular a dense raingauge network, a polarization radar, wind profilers, a mobile radiosonde system, a cloud physics aircraft penetrating the overflown storms, and a network of 10 cm Doppler radars(WSR-88D). This presentation will show some preliminary comparisons between TRMM, EDOP, and WSR-88D reflectivity fields in the case of an MCS, a hurricane, and less organized convection in central Florida. A validation of TRMM reflectivity is important, because TRMM's primary objective is to estimate the rainfall climatology with 35 degrees of the equator. Rainfall is estimated from the radar reflectivity, as well from TRMM's Microwave Imager, which measures at 10.7, 19.4, 21.3, 37, and 85.5 GHz over a broader swath (78 km). While the experiments lasted about three months the cumulative period of near simultaneous observations of storms by ground-based, airborne and space borne radars is only about an hour long. Therefore the comparison is case-study-based, not climatological. We will highlight fundamental differences in the typical reflectivity profiles in stratiform regions of MCS's, Florida convection and hurricanes and will explain why Z-R relationships based on ground-based radar data for convective systems over land should be different from those for hurricanes. These catastrophically intense rainfall from hurricane Georges in Hispaniola and from Mitch in Honduras highlights the importance of accurate Z-R relationships, It will be shown that a Z-R relationship that uses the entire reflectivity profile (rather than just a 1 level) works much better in a variety of cases, making an adjustment of the constants for different precipitation system categories redundant.

Heymsfield, G.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Characteristics of Forests in Western Sayani Mountains, Siberia from SAR Data

This paper investigated the possibility of using spaceborne radar data to map forest types and logging in the mountainous Western Sayani area in Siberia. L and C band HH, HV, and VV polarized images from the Shuttle Imaging Radar-C instrument were used in the study. Techniques to reduce topographic effects in the radar images were investigated. These included radiometric correction using illumination angle inferred from a digital elevation model, and reducing apparent effects of topography through band ratios. Forest classification was performed after terrain correction utilizing typical supervised techniques and principal component analyses. An ancillary data set of local elevations was also used to improve the forest classification. Map accuracy for each technique was estimated for training sites based on Russian forestry maps, satellite imagery and field measurements. The results indicate that it is necessary to correct for topography when attempting to classify forests in mountainous terrain. Radiometric correction based on a DEM (Digital Elevation Model) improved classification results but required reducing the SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) resolution to match the DEM. Using ratios of SAR channels that include cross-polarization improved classification and

Ranson, K. Jon↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Performance of a Subsonic Diffuser Designed for High Speed Turbojet-Propelled Flight

An initial-phase subsonic diffuser has been designed for the turbojet flowpath of the hypersonic x43B flight demonstrator vehicle. The diffuser fit into a proposed mixed-compression supersonic inlet system and featured a cross-sectional shape transitioning flowpath (high aspect ratio rectangular throat-to-circular engine face) and a centerline offset. This subsonic diffuser has been fabricated and tested at the W1B internal flow facility at NASA Glenn Research Center. At an operating throat Mach number of 0.79, baseline Pitot pressure recovery was found to be just under 0.9, and DH distortion intensity was about 0.4 percent. The diffuser internal flow stagnated, but did not separate on the offset surface of this initial-phase subsonic diffuser. Small improvements in recovery (+0.4 percent) and DH distortion (-32 percent) were obtained from using vane vortex generator flow control applied just downstream of the diffuser throat. The optimum vortex generator array patterns produced inflow boundary layer divergence (local downwash) on the offset surface centerline of the diffuser, and an inflow boundary layer convergence (local upwash) on the centerline of the opposite surface.

Biesiadny, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Approach to Shape Parameterization Using Laboratory Hypervelocity Impact Experiments

NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office relies on laboratory-based impact tests to supplement the measurement data of on-orbit events that defines the orbital debris environment. These experiments provide information that is essential to interpreting the radar and optical measurements of orbital fragmentation events into useful metrics, such as characteristic size of the debris, and to providing a better understanding of the distributions of fragment populations in terms of their masses, material constituents, fragment densities, cross-sectional areas, area-to-mass ratios, shapes, etc. The Satellite Orbital Debris Characterization Impact Test (SOCIT) was a notable laboratory impact experiment conducted in 1992 using a surplus U.S. Navy Transit navigation satellite of the 1960s. The data from this ground-based experiment were combined with on-orbit measurements to develop the NASA Standard Satellite Breakup Model (SSBM). To account for advancements in satellite design and construction since, a new impact test series – DebriSat – was conducted in 2014. This test utilized a high-fidelity mock-up spacecraft that better represents the materials and construction techniques used to design and manufacture modern spacecraft. Together, these tests offer valuable data to model an orbital debris environment composed of legacy and modern spacecraft. This paper presents an overview of the two laboratory impact tests, comparing their fragment parameter distributions with each other and with relevant distributions from the NASA SSBM. The categorization and descriptions of fragment shapes are of significant interest for future work, yet there are marked differences in the definitions of shape categories between each dataset. The categorizations of constituent materials, and the measurement techniques employed to populate these two datasets, are also different. New rubrics simplify and equate the categorizations between datasets to aid comparative analyses and to facilitate the potential use of both datasets in tandem with future environmental debris models. A preferred approach to classifying shape across disparate datasets uses the characteristic-length dimensions, and a simplified shape classification based on physical, solid-body dimensions, to mathematically construct an encapsulating right-circular cylinder that represents the fragment. The ratio of cylinder length-to-diameter (L:D) then provides a single continuum value for shape that is strongly correlated with its designated shape and size. This metric can then be used to further assess the distribution of shape with populations of other fragment characteristics within these datasets. The shape parameterization using the L:D ratios of right-circular cylinders is discussed.

John H. Seago↗