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At least 307 records · Page 17

Distributed structural control using multilayered piezoelectric actuators

A method of segmenting piezoelectric sensors and actuators is proposed which can preclude the currently experienced cancelation of sensor signals, or the reduction of actuator effectiveness, due to the integration of the property undergoing measurement or control. The segmentation method is demonstrated by a model developed for beam structures, to which multiple layers of piezoelectric materials are attached. A numerical study is undertaken of increasing active and passive damping of a beam using the segmented sensors and actuators over unsegmented sensors and actuators.

Cudney, Harley H.↗

Status of F16XL SSLFC numerical design validation

The viewgraphs and discussion of the status of the F-16XL SSLFC numerical design validation are provided. The F-16XL Supersonic Laminar Flow Control Program (SSLFC) is a joint effort involving Rockwell's North American Aircraft Division, NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, and NASA Langley Research Center. The objectives of the program are to demonstrate that laminar flow can be obtained on a highly swept wing at supersonic speeds, validate the capabilities of a numerical methodology designed to predict boundary layer transition, and validate the capabilities of the methodology in the design of active and passive laminar flow control (LFC) concepts. The F-16XL SSLFC Program consists of the design, fabrication, installation, and flight test of an active laminar flow control glove for the F-16XL. The glove design emphasized the active (suction) control of attachment line and crossflow boundary condition instabilities. The glove design envelop was constrained by the existing geometry, safety of flight considerations, and space requirements for the suction mechanism. The leading edge extension of the glove was limited to 10 inches for consideration of asymmetric flying qualities and the glove height above the existing surface restricted to two inches. The active (suction) portion of the wing extends to nominally 25 percent chord. The glove was constructed of a micro-perforated titanium sheet (hole diameter = 0.025 inches, spacing ratio = 1/8, and sheet thickness = 0.0025 inches). The glove design includes 22 separate chambers to allow suction variation in the chordwise direction. The F-16XL SSLFC program is currently in the flight test phase.

George, Mike↗

Atmospheric Science Measurements by the EOS Geoscience Laser Altimeter System

Scheduled for Launch in July 2001, the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is to be the first satellite instrument to provide full global lidar profiling of clouds and aerosol in the earth's atmosphere. GLAS is an EOS program instrument that is on its own satellite, now called the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite. The instrument is both a surface laser ranging system and an atmospheric profiling lidar. A most important surface measurement for the instrument is to study the change in the mass balance of the polar ice sheets by measuring the change in regional altitudes to an accuracy of 1.5 cm per year. The strategy to combine the surface measurement with a Cloud and aerosol lidar profiling mission is based on the compatibility of the altimetry instrument requirements with those for the required lidar measurements. The primary atmospheric science goal of the GLAS cloud and aerosol measurement is to determine the radiative forcing and vertically resolved atmospheric heating rate due to cloud and aerosol by directly observing the vertical structure and magnitude of cloud and aerosol parameters that are important for the radiative balance of the earth-atmosphere system, but which are ambiguous or impossible to obtain from existing or planned passive remote sensors. A further goal is to directly measure the height of atmospheric transition layers (inversions) which are important for dynamics and mixing, the planetary boundary layer and lifting condensation level.

Spinhirne, James↗

Aerodynamic Design Optimization for Natural Laminar Flow Airfoils

Natural laminar flow technology is a passive laminar flow control (LFC) strategy that seeks to delay the onset of boundary-layer transition (BLT) through shape optimization to reduce the drag of the aerodynamic vehicle. Adjoint-based design optimization for LFC is proposed in an integrated multidisciplinary framework, which includes the computational fluid dynamics (CFD), geometry and grid deformation, and linear stability analysis (LSA) for transition prediction. In particular, the BLT location is predicted using the dual N-factor method that is based on a linear stability theory (LST) eigenvalue problem. The dual N-factor criterion accounts for the amplification of planar Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) and stationary crossflow (CF) boundary-layer instabilities to predict the transition location in three-dimensional boundary-layer flows. The adjoint-based shape optimization procedure is based on an iteratively coupled CFD and LSA methodology to converge the transition location and flow solutions, as well as to calculate the sensitivities of the aerodynamic metrics of interest with respect to the flow and shape design parameters. The RAE 2822 airfoil at 0 and 30 degrees yaw angles, an angle of attack of 0.72 degrees, and subsonic conditions (M∞ = 0.19, Rec = 5.6 × 106 ) are used as baseline configurations for design optimization. The angle of attack and the vertical displacement of free-form-deformation control points are used as design variables to reduce the drag coefficient while reaching a specified lift coefficient. The optimized unswept airfoil designs achieve a 30% drag reduction accompanied by a downstream shift of the transition locations over both suction and pressure sides of the airfoil. The initial design iterations for the swept case also show a favorable trend in the drag reduction with transition delay over both sides.

Transition↗

Differential absorption lidar (DIAL) for water vapor and aerosol profiling from airborne and space-based platforms

Many current challenges in weather and climate prediction involve cloud and aerosol processes, which are intimately linked to processes that initiate or take place within the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The current space-based observing system provides a wealth of information on the spatial distribution of key atmospheric variables such as profiles of water vapor (WV) and temperature, but lacks the sensitivity, accuracy, and vertical resolution in the PBL to overcome the observational gaps that inhibit the parametrization and advancement of current climate and weather models. To overcome some of these observational gaps and improve understanding and monitoring of these key processes, mature remote sensing techniques like Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) can be employed from various platforms to capture processes on a wide range of spatial scales. This presentation will provide an overview of NASA’s water vapor DIAL capabilities, present the strengths, weaknesses, and synergies of the DIAL technique relative to traditional methods, and provide representative data examples from the HALO airborne water vapor DIAL which was designed as a technology testbed for future space-based DIAL missions as well as a workhorse instrument in support of suborbital process studies. HALO is an airborne multifunction lidar system, simultaneously profiling WV with the DIAL technique and aerosol and cloud optical properties and PBL heights via the high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) technique. HALO has a compact design that allows it to fly on most research aircraft, enabling nadir profiling from the lower stratosphere down through the PBL, which is critical for studying processes such as convection and cloud formation that can link the PBL and free troposphere. We will end with an outlook on the benefits and challenges of transitioning the mature DIAL technique to space to compliment other active and passive sounders and enable new PBL observations for the future Earth Observing System. The Atmospheric Boundary layer Lidar pathfindEr (ABLE), a program aimed at advancing technologies to enable the first demonstration of DIAL from space with cross-cutting observables of PBL heights, aerosol and cloud profiling, and methane columns from space will also be presented.

Brian J. Carroll↗

CAT altitude avoidance system

A method and apparatus are provided for indicating the altitude of the tropopause or of an inversion layer wherein clear air turbulence (CAT) may occur, and the likely severity of any such CAT, includes directing a passive microwave radiometer on the aircraft at different angles with respect to the horizon. The microwave radiation measured at a frequency of about 55 GHz represents the temperature of the air at an ""average'' range of about 3 kilometers, so that the sine of the angle of the radiometer times 3 kilometers equals the approximate altitude of the air whose temperature is measured. A plot of altitude (with respect to the aircraft) versus temperature of the air at that altitude, can indicate when an inversion layer is present and can indicate the altitude of the tropopause or of such an inversion layer. The plot can also indicate the severity of any CAT in an inversion layer. If CAT has been detected in the general area, then the aircraft can be flown at an altitude to avoid the tropopause or inversion layer.

Gary, B. L.↗

Passive, Direct-Read Monitoring System for Selective Detection and Quantification of Hydrogen Chloride

Monitoring the exposure of an employee to hydrogen chloride or hydrochloric acid in the presence of other acids has been a challenge to the industrial hygiene community. The capability of a device to differentiate the levels of acid vapors would allow for more accurate determinations of exposure and therefore improved occupational health. In this work, a selective direct-read colorimetric badge system was validated for Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) monitoring of hydrogen chloride. The passive colorimetric badge system consists of a direct reading badge and a color scale. The badge has a coated indicator layer with a diffusive resistance in the shape of an exclamation mark. An exclamation mark will appear if hydrogen chloride is present in the atmosphere at concentrations at or above 2.0 ppm. By using the color scale, the intensity of the color formed on the badge can be further quantified up to 25 ppm. The system was validated according to a protocol based on the NIOSH Protocol for the Evaluation of Passive Monitors. The badge was exposed to relative humidities ranging from 11% to 92%, temperatures ranging from 7 C to 400 C and air velocities ranging from 5 cm/sec to 170 cm/sec. All experiments were conducted in a laboratory vapor generation system. Hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide and organic acids showed no effect on the performance of the hydrogen chloride monitoring system. The passive badge and color scale system exceeded the accuracy requirements as defined by NIOSH. At ambient conditions, the mean coefficient of variation was 10.86 and the mean bias was 1.3%. This data was presented previously at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition in Toronto, Canada in June 1999.

Chapman, K. B.↗

Spectroscopic ellipsometry studies of HF treated Si (100) surfaces

Both ex situ and in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) measurements were employed to investigate the effect of HF cleaning on Si surfaces. The hydrogen-terminated (H-terminated) Si surface was modeled as an equivalent dielectric layer, and monitored in real time by SE measurements. The SE analyses indicate that, after a 20-sec 9:1 HF dip without rinse, the Si (100) surface was passivated by the hydrogen termination and remained chemically stable. Roughness of the HF-etched bare Si (100) surface was observed, in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber (UHV), and analyzed by the in situ SE. Evidence for desorption of the H-terminated Si surface layer, after being heated to about 550 C in the UHV chamber, is presented and discussed. This is the first use of an ex situ and in situ real-time, nondestructive technique capable of showing state of passivation, the rate of reoxidation, and the surface roughness of the H-terminated Si surfaces.

Yao, Huade↗

Spectroscopic ellipsometry studies of HF treated Si (100) surfaces

Both ex situ and in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) measurements were employed to investigate the effects of HF cleaning on Si surfaces. The hydrogen-terminated (H-terminated) Si surface was modeled as an equivalent dielectric layer, and monitored in real time by SE measurements. The SE analyses indicate that after a 20-s 9:1 HF dip without rinse, the Si(100) surface was passivated by the hydrogen termination and remained chemically stable. Roughness of the HF-etched bare Si(100) surface was observed, in an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chamber, and analyzed by the in situ SE. Evidence for desorption of the H-terminated Si surface-layer, after being heated to approximately 550 C in the UHV chamber, is presented and discussed. This is the first use of an ex situ and in situ real-time, nondestructive technique capable of showing state of passivation, the rate of reoxidation, and the surface roughness of the H-terminated Si surfaces.

Yao, Huade↗

Clear air turbulence avoidance using an airborne microwave radiometer

The avoidance of Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) is theoretically possible by selecting flight levels that are a safe distance from the tropopause and inversion layers. These favored sites for CAT generation can be located by an 'airborne microwave radiometer' (AMR) passive sensor system that measures altitude temperature profiles. A flight evaluation of the AMR sensor shows that most CAT could be avoided by following sensor-based advisories. Some limitations still exist for any hypothetical use of the sensor. The principal need is to augment the sensor's 'where' advisories to include useful 'when' forecasts.

Gary, B. L.↗

Magnetopause Transects

A novel method is described for reconstruction of two-dimensional current-layer structures from measurements taken by a single spacecraft traversing the layer. In its present form, the method is applicable only to 2D magnetohydrostatic structures that are passively convected past the observing spacecraft. It is tested on a magnetopause crossing of the tangential-discontinuity type by the spacecraft AMPTE/IRM. The magnetic structures recovered include a magnetic island located between two X-type nulls as well as a magnetic 'worm hole' through which a bundle of weak magnetic flux appears to connect the magnetosphere and the magnetosheath.

Sonnerup, B. U. O↗

Active Flow Control For Inlets

This presentation describes the progress to date of the Small-Scale Demonstration for the Active Flow Control element of the Propulsion Airframe Integration Project. The goal of this work package is to demonstrate at small scale the ability to improve pressure recovery and distortion in an S-inlet with boundary layer ingestion representative of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) configuration. The effectiveness of several active and passive devices to control flow in an adverse pressure gradient with secondary flows present was evaluated in the Langley 15-Inch Low-Turbulence Tunnel. In this study, passive microvanes, microbumps, and piezoelectric synthetic jets were evaluated for their flow control characteristics using surface static pressures, flow visualization, and 3D Stereo Digital Particle Image Velocimetry. The microvanes imparted a higher level of vorticity to the flow than any of the other devices tested. Alternative actuator concepts are being pursued to support the Small-Scale Demonstration Level 1 milestone in FY03.

Gorton, Susan A.↗

TPSAS-NF1676L-32105-DND

NASA Langley Research Center is developing the High-Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) system to address the observational needs of NASA’s weather, climate, carbon cycle, and atmospheric composition focus areas. HALO is a multi-function airborne lidar being developed to measure atmospheric H2O and CH4 mixing ratios and aerosol/cloud/ocean optical properties using the Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) and High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) techniques, respectively. To respond to a wide range of airborne process studies, HALO can be rapidly reconfigured to provide either CH4 DIAL+HSRL, H2O DIAL+HSRL, or CH4 DIAL+H2O DIAL measurements using three different laser transmitters. During spring 2018 NASA Langley demonstrated the world’s first combined airborne CH4 DIAL and HSRL measurements from the Langley King Air aircraft during four test flights. The HALO methane configuration also participated in the Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study (LISTOS) air quality field campaign on the NASA B200 aircraft. The flown instrument configuration employed the DIAL technique at 1645 nm for column and multi-layer range resolved measurements of CH4 concentrations, and the HSRL technique at 532 nm to make independent, unambiguous retrievals of aerosol extinction and backscatter. It also employed the standard backscatter technique at 1064 nm and is polarization-sensitive at the 1064/532 nm wavelengths. The addition of the HSRL channels provides context to the airborne CH4 DIAL measurements such as source attribution, transport, and vertical mixing through mixed layer height retrievals, as well as providing the critical capability to validate aerosol induced biases from passive space-borne measurements of column CH4. In this presentation we focus on the instrument capabilities, initial CH4 measurements over oil and gas production sites in coordination with the ACT-America campaign, CH4 signatures over the Long Island Sound domain during the LISTOS campaign, and prospects for future airborne campaigns with cohosted payloads consisting of active and passive sensors.

Rory Barton-Grimley↗

Scalar Dissipation Modeling for Passive and Active Scalars: a priori Study Using Direct Numerical Simulation

Transitional databases from Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of three-dimensional mixing layers for single-phase flows and two-phase flows with evaporation are analyzed and used to examine the typical hypothesis that the scalar dissipation Probability Distribution Function (PDF) may be modeled as a Gaussian. The databases encompass a single-component fuel and four multicomponent fuels, two initial Reynolds numbers (Re), two mass loadings for two-phase flows and two free-stream gas temperatures. Using the DNS calculated moments of the scalar-dissipation PDF, it is shown, consistent with existing experimental information on single-phase flows, that the Gaussian is a modest approximation of the DNS-extracted PDF, particularly poor in the range of the high scalar-dissipation values, which are significant for turbulent reaction rate modeling in non-premixed flows using flamelet models. With the same DNS calculated moments of the scalar-dissipation PDF and making a change of variables, a model of this PDF is proposed in the form of the (beta)-PDF which is shown to approximate much better the DNS-extracted PDF, particularly in the regime of the high scalar-dissipation values. Several types of statistical measures are calculated over the ensemble of the fourteen databases. For each statistical measure, the proposed (beta)-PDF model is shown to be much superior to the Gaussian in approximating the DNS-extracted PDF. Additionally, the agreement between the DNS-extracted PDF and the (beta)-PDF even improves when the comparison is performed for higher initial Re layers, whereas the comparison with the Gaussian is independent of the initial Re values. For two-phase flows, the comparison between the DNS-extracted PDF and the (beta)-PDF also improves with increasing free-stream gas temperature and mass loading. The higher fidelity approximation of the DNS-extracted PDF by the (beta)-PDF with increasing Re, gas temperature and mass loading bodes well for turbulent reaction rate modeling.

scalar dissipation modeling↗

A Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Flow Separation Control over a Wall-Mounted Hump Model

Numerical simulations and wind tunnel experiments were performed to investigate flow separation and its control over a wall-mounted hump model. Three-dimensional, unsteady fluid dynamic simulations were used to capture the relevant flow physics of unsteady flow separation and its control via active and passive flow control methods. Surface pressure measurements and surface oilflow visualization were obtained in the experiments. Current measurements documented a considerably thinner incoming boundary layer, but similar pressure distribution, compared to the reference data reported in the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) Validation (CFDVAL 2004) Experiments. Consistent with the data available in the literature, numerical simulations predicted a longer separation bubble, which manifested itself as a shift in the pressure distributions. Streamwise vortices generated by passive vortex generators increased the suction pressure and provided substantial pressure recovery. Numerical simulations of vortex generators qualitatively predicted the effects of control, and revealed patterns of attached/separated flow regions. On the other hand, active flow control using steady discrete jets reduced, but was not able to eliminate, flow separation for the tested configuration. Although the major disagreement between the numerical and experimental results was in the pressure recovery region due to the inaccurate prediction of separation bubbles, the relative pressure recoveries from the baselines were comparable. Surface oilflow visualization and simulated surface streamlines were qualitatively in good agreement revealing the key flow features.

Koklu, Mehti↗

Weather from the Stratosphere?

Is the stratosphere, the atmospheric layer between about 10 and 50 km, important for predicting changes in weather and climate? The traditional view is that the stratosphere is a passive recipient of energy and waves from weather systems in the underlying troposphere, but recent evidence suggests otherwise. At a workshop in Whistler, British Columbia (1), scientists met to discuss how the stratosphere responds to forcing from below, initiating feedback processes that in turn alter weather patterns in the troposphere. The lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere, is highly dynamic and rich in water vapor, clouds, and weather. The stratosphere above it is less dense and less turbulent (see the figure). Variability in the stratosphere is dominated by hemispheric-scale changes in airflow on time scales of a week to several months. Occasionally, however, stratospheric air flow changes dramatically within just a day or two, with large-scale jumps in temperature of 20 K or more. The troposphere influences the stratosphere mainly through atmospheric waves that propagate upward. Recent evidence shows that the stratosphere organizes this chaotic wave forcing from below to create long-lived changes in the stratospheric circulation. These stratospheric changes can feed back to affect weather and climate in the troposphere.

Baldwin, Mark P.↗

Cloud Coverage and Height Distribution from the GLAS Polar Orbiting Lidar: Comparison to Passive Cloud Retrievals

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) began full on orbit operations in September 2003. A main application of the two-wavelength GLAS lidar is highly accurate detection and profiling of global cloud cover. Initial analysis indicates that cloud and aerosol layers are consistently detected on a global basis to cross-sections down to 10(exp -6) per meter. Images of the lidar data dramatically and accurately show the vertical structure of cloud and aerosol to the limit of signal attenuation. The GLAS lidar has made the most accurate measurement of global cloud coverage and height to date. In addition to the calibrated lidar signal, GLAS data products include multi level boundaries and optical depth of all transmissive layers. Processing includes a multi-variable separation of cloud and aerosol layers. An initial application of the data results is to compare monthly cloud means from several months of GLAS observations in 2003 to existing cloud climatologies from other satellite measurement. In some cases direct comparison to passive cloud retrievals is possible. A limitation of the lidar measurements is nadir only sampling. However monthly means exhibit reasonably good global statistics and coverage results, at other than polar regions, compare well with other measurements but show significant differences in height distribution. For polar regions where passive cloud retrievals are problematic and where orbit track density is greatest, the GLAS results are particularly an advance in cloud cover information. Direct comparison to MODIS retrievals show a better than 90% agreement in cloud detection for daytime, but less than 60% at night. Height retrievals are in much less agreement. GLAS is a part of the NASA EOS project and data products are thus openly available to the science community (see http://glo.gsfc.nasa.gov).

Spinhime, J. D.↗

Composite passive damping struts for large precision structures

In the field of viscoelastic dampers, a new strut design comprises a viscoelastic material sandwiched between multiple layers, some of which layers bear and dampen load force. In one embodiment, the layers are composite plies of opposing orientation. In another embodiment, the strut utilizes a viscoelastic layer sandwiched between V-shaped composite plies. In a third embodiment, a viscoelastic layer is sandwiched between sine-shaped plies. Strut strength is equal to or greater than conventional aluminum struts due to the unique high interlaminar shear ply design.

Dolgin, Benjamin P.↗