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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 NTRS1973

Use of the SRI electronic satellite image analysis console for mapping southern Arizona plant communities from ERTS-1 imagery

Cloud-free imagery covering the Tucson, Ariz., region for the period from August 22 to November 2, 1972, was used to determine the utility of ERTS-1 data for discriminating boundaries between plant communities. The following studies were made from imagery analyzed by use of an Electronic Satellite Image Analysis Console: (1) console-generated color composites from MSS-5 and MSS-6 bands were recorded photographically from the console color monitor. The color photographs were then used to compare with short-term changes in vegetative cover observed on the ground; (2) using the console, microdensitometric traces were made along selected traverses to quantify changes in scene irradiance across the image field; (3) quantitative plant coverage data, collected at ground-truth stations along the traverses, were compared with the densitometric values.

Turner, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Equations of motion of the lunar roving vehicle.

Equations of motion have been formulated for a four-wheel vehicle as it traverses a terrain characterized by slopes, craters, bumps, washboards, or a power spectrum. Independent suspension and electric motor propulsion are considered. These equations were programmed on the UNIVAC 1108 digital computer. Results are given for the steerability of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) which was found to be satisfactory for normal operating speeds and turning radii. The vehicle was also found to be satisfactory against overturning in both the pitch and roll mode, and results are presented for various speeds as the LRV engages a bump on meter in diameter and of varying heights. Speed, power consumption, and load characteristics are presented for the LRV traversing a simulated lunar soil at full throttle. Comparisons are given against data compiled from the Apollo 15 mission.

Kaufman, S.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Automatic vehicle location system

An automatic vehicle detection system is disclosed, in which each vehicle whose location is to be detected carries active means which interact with passive elements at each location to be identified. The passive elements comprise a plurality of passive loops arranged in a sequence along the travel direction. Each of the loops is tuned to a chosen frequency so that the sequence of the frequencies defines the location code. As the vehicle traverses the sequence of the loops as it passes over each loop, signals only at the frequency of the loop being passed over are coupled from a vehicle transmitter to a vehicle receiver. The frequencies of the received signals in the receiver produce outputs which together represent a code of the traversed location. The code location is defined by a painted pattern which reflects light to a vehicle carried detector whose output is used to derive the code defined by the pattern.

Hansen, G. R., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Two-color dual-beam backscatter laser Doppler velocimeter

A laser Doppler velocimeter has been developed that uses two of the colors emitted from an argon-ion laser for the simultaneous measurement of orthogonal velocities. Designed for use in a 2.13- by 3.05-m wind tunnel, it is capable of traversing its focal volume across spatially unstable flows at scan speeds of up to 1.5 m/sec. Its optical layout and principles of operation are discussed, and the data from a typical traversal of a trailing wing-tip vortex are presented.

Grant, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Gas sampling method for determining pollutant concentrations in the flame zone of two swirl-can combustor modules

A gas sampling probe and traversing mechanism were developed to obtain detailed measurements of gaseous pollutant concentrations in the primary and mixing regions of combustors in order to better understand how pollutants are formed. The gas sampling probe was actuated by a three-degree-of-freedom traversing mechanism and the samples obtained were analyzed by an on-line gas analysis system. The pollutants in the flame zone of two different swirl-can combustor modules were measured at an inlet-air temperature of 590 K, pressure of 6 atmospheres, and reference velocities of 23 and 30 meters per second at a fuel-air ratio of 0.02. Typical results show large spatial gradients in the gaseous pollutant concentration close to the swirl-can module. Average concentrations of unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide decrease rapidly in the downstream wake regions of each module. By careful and detailed probing, the effect of various module design features on pollutant formation can be assessed. The techniques presently developed seem adequate to obtain the desired information.

Duerr, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Modeling of turbine blade tip contact

A mathematical model is developed to evaluate a number of physical effects in turbomachine blade tip contact on the basis of a broad brush approach to provide insights without undue complexity. The analysis is restricted to the case of a shoe encountering a moving blade row and pressing against it with a fixed time-average force. Relative displacement components in the contact region are identified and determined. Two key equations are derived, where it is shown that wear rate plays a strong role in determining the traversal speed of the contact patch. The formula for estimating the size of the contact patch shows that the higher the traversal speed is, the wider is the contact patch.

Burton, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

On the occurrence of magnetopause crossings at 6.6 RE

The vector magnetometer data from the ATS-1 spacecraft in synchronous orbit for the period of December 1966 to December 1968 were scanned. Magnetopause crossings were identified by sudden changes in field magnitude accompanied by directional changes and increased noise levels. There was little difficulty in identifying magnetopause traversals near noon at synchronous orbit within 6.6 earth radii. Magnetopause traversals were observed on 5 of the 545 days, ranging in duration from 1 min to over 3 hr. Extrapolating the magnetopause crossing statistics to lower radial distances linearly on a semilog plot suggests that the noon magnetopause is flatter at disturbed times than at quiet times.

Russell, C. T.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Automatic control of a mobile Viking lander on the surface of Mars

A mobile lander system is being considered for use in a possible follow-on mission to the Viking '75 landings on Mars. A mobile Viking lander, which could be launched as early as the 1979 opportunity, would be capable of traversing 100 m to 1 km per day on a commanded heading while sensing hazards and performing avoidance maneuvers. The degree of autonomous control, and consequently the daily traverse range, is still under study. The mobility concept requires the addition of: (1) track-laying or wheel units in place of the Viking Lander footpads, (2) a set of hazard and navigation sensors, and (3) a mobility control computer capability. The technology required to develop these three subsystems is available today. The principal objective of current design studies, as described in this paper, is to define a mobile lander system that will demonstrate high reliability and fail-safe hazard avoidance while achieving range- and terrain-handling capabilities which satisfy the Mars exploration science requirements.

Moore, J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Ionospheric and magnetospheric plasmapauses'

During August 1972, Explorer 45 orbiting near the equatorial plane with an apogee of about 5.2 R sub e traversed magnetic field lines in close proximity to those simultaneously traversed by the topside ionospheric satellite ISIS 2 near dusk in the L range 2-5.4. The locations of the Explorer 45 plasmapause crossings during this month were compared to the latitudinal decreases of the H(+) density observed on ISIS 2 near the same magnetic field lines. The equatorially determined plasmapause field lines typically passed through or poleward of the minimum of the ionospheric light ion trough, with coincident satellite passes occurring for which the L separation between the plasmapause and trough field lines was between 1 and 2. Vertical flows of the H(+) ions in the light ion trough as detected by the magnetic ion mass spectrometer on ISIS were directed upward with velocities between 1 and 2 kilometers/sec near dusk on these passes. These velocities decreased to lower values on the low latitude side of the H(+) trough but did not show any noticeable change across the field lines corresponding to the magnetospheric plasmapause.

Grebowsky, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Magnetic heat pumping

A ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic element is used to control the temperature and applied magnetic field of the element to cause the state of the element as represented on a temperature-magnetic entropy diagram to repeatedly traverse a loop. The loop may have a first portion of concurrent substantially isothermal or constant temperature and increasing applied magnetic field, a second portion of lowering temperature and constant applied magnetic field, a third portion of isothermal and decreasing applied magnetic field, and a fourth portion of increasing temperature and constant applied magnetic field. Other loops may be four-sided, with two isotherms and two adiabats. Preferably, a regenerator is used to enhance desired cooling or heating effects, with varied magnetic fields, or varying temperatures including three-sided figures traversed by the representative point.

Brown, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Implications of very long baseline interferometry measurements on North American intra-plate crustal deformation

Very Long Baseline Interferometry experiments over the last 1-3/4 years between Owens Valley, CA and Haystack, MA Radio Observatories suggest an upper limit of east-west crustal deformation between the two sites of about 1 cm/yr. In view of the fact that the baseline between the two sites traverses most of the major geological provinces of the United States, this low rate of crustal deformation has direct relevance to intra-plate crustal tectonics. The most active region traversed by this baseline is the Basin and Range province, which was estimated by various researchers to be expanding in an east-west direction at rates of .3 to 1.5 cm/yr. The Colorado Plateau and Rocky Mountain system also appear to be expanding, but at a somewhat lower rate, while east of the Rocky Mountains, the predominant stress appears to be compressional, nearly horizontal, and east to northeast trending.

Allenby, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

An axial flow research compressor facility designed for flow measurement in rotor passages

An axial flow research compressor facility, which is designed for relative flow measurement, is described in this paper. The facility has a rotating probe traverse mechanism which is capable of traversing hot wire, pitot and other probes at 0.09 deg intervals across the rotor blade passage. The data transmission system includes rotating transducers, pressure transfer device, ten-channel mercury slip ring unit, scanivalve, etc. The instrumentation includes on-line data processing capability. A brief description of probes used as well as some typical data on the rotor blade static pressure, rotor endwall flow and rotor wake characteristics are given in the paper.

Lakshminarayana, B.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Modeling of growth, evaporation and sedimentation effects on transmission of visible and IR laser beams in artificial fogs

The dense polydisperse aerosol particles in a quiet chamber may spontaneously go through different microphysical processes including gravitational sedimentation, thermal coagulation, and growth or evaporation. In an earlier paper, we presented the results of a parametric study of the combined and separate effects of thermal coagulation and sedimentation on the time dependence of extinction of four visible and IR laser beams traversing an aerosol medium. As a continuation of this series of studies, the separate and combined effects of growth or evaporation and gravitational sedimentation on the time dependence of extinction of the same four visible and IR laser beams traversing in artificial fogs will be reported in this paper. The method of numerically modeling the change of water droplet size distribution with time due to growth/evaporation and the cutoff of larger aerosols due to gravitational sedimentation is described in detail. Factors governing the relative importance of these two processes are discussed. Results of this study show that the relative humidity or ambient temperature is a crucial parameter in determining the optical depth of the water droplet and aerosol media undergoing microphysical processes.

Yue, G. K.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Fresnel zone structure in planetary occultations

The structures of the Fresnel zones of an occulting body with a substantial atmosphere are analyzed. The first Fresnel zone is defined as the set of all contiguous points connected to the transmitter and receiver via paths with a combined length within one half wavelength of the stationary value, and calculated by the application of the Huygens-Fresnel principle to a wave front frozen in time as it traverses the region of interest, taking into account wave front curvature of waves undergoing refraction. Calculations of the Fresnel zones of a planet determined by the meeting of wave fronts represented as tori reveal that the zone along the propagation path traversing the nearest portion of the limb to the transmitter has a shape similar to an ellipse, while that of the far zone resembles the letter X. The phase delay along the farside path is found to be a stationary point rather than a minimum, since delay is distributed in the form of a hyperbolic paraboloid near the ray and in the form of a torus intersection for greater separations. Examples are presented for S band propagation deep in the atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter.

Croft, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Dawn-dusk asymmetry of the tail region of the magnetosphere of Saturn and the interplanetary magnetic field

In connection with the findings of the Voyager 1 mission, it appears that the tail lobe of Saturn is very different from that of earth and Jupiter, in that the latter are devoid of energetic particles, and magnetic field lines in this region are thought to be open and interconnecting with the interplanetary magnetic field at large distances in the antisolar direction. The present investigation is concerned with a possible explanation of these observations, taking into account a model of Saturn's magnetosphere. It is shown that the Voyager 1 spacecraft remained in the closed region of the magnetotail during its entire tail traversal and did not have an opportunity to penetrate into the high latitude lobe. It is concluded that Saturn probably has a tail lobe just like earth and Jupiter. However, this tail lobe was not traversed by Voyager.

Akasofu, S.-I.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The triangle compare method of hidden-line elimination

An original algorithm which solves the classical computer graphics problem of eliminating those lines that should not be visible in a wire-frame model representation of a solid figure is presented. The basis of this Triangle Compare algorithm is that any polygon, regardless of its complexity, can be constructed from a set of triangles. In the Triangle Compare algorithm, once the triangles defining the figure are defined, they are ordered based on the nearness of each triangle to the viewer and stored in a linked list. The nearest triangle are compared to all succeeding triangles. The remaining parts of triangles are synthesized into other triangles and are added in order to the linked list. Subsequent reference triangles are provided by a traversal of the linked list. After the entire list is traversed and each triangle used as a reference, the resulting list is used for a final rendering with hidden lines removed via calligraphic MOVE and DRAW commands.

Price, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Experimental investigation of shock-cell noise reduction for single-stream nozzles in simulated flight, comprehensive data report. Volume 2: Laser velocimeter data

Mean velocity (axial component) and turbulent velocity (axial component) measurements for thirty one selected flow conditions of six models were performed employing the Laser Doppler Velocimeter Aerodynamic conditions which define the test points are given. Tabulations which explain the scope of mean velocity traverses and turbulence histogram measurements are also presented. The actual LV position, the type of traverse, and measured mean and turbulent velocities along copies of the LV mean velocity traces are contained.

Yamamoto, K.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Jakobshavns Glacier drainage basin - A balance assessment

Maximum and minimum estimates are made of the drainage basin feeding the Jakobshavns Glacier by using surface elevation maps derived from Seasat altimetry. Benson's (1962) net balance measurements are used to calculate the balance flow within the basin. Comparisons of the balance flux at the terminus with estimates of actual flux suggest the basin is in overall equilibrium or slightly thickening. This agrees with measurements along the nearby EGIG traverse. Balance velocities accelerate rapidly within 100 km of the coast. Farther upstream, balance velocities are consistent with both measured velocities along the EGIG traverse and calculated deformation velocities. It is estimated that Jakobshavns Glacier discharges between 4.8 and 7.6 percent of the annual net balance over Greenland and drains between 3.7 and 5.8 percent of the ice sheet area.

Bindschadler, R. A.↗