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Mechanical testing techniques, electrical and electronics testing techniques, thermal testing techniques, and optical testing techniques are the subject of the compilation which provides technical information and illustrations of advanced testing devices. Patent information is included where applicable.
The features of existing wind tunnels involved in noise studies are discussed. The acoustic characteristics of the MIT low noise open jet wind tunnel are obtained by employing calibration techniques: one technique is to measure the decay of sound pressure with distance in the far field; the other technique is to utilize a speaker, which was calibrated, as a sound source. The sound pressure level versus frequency was obtained in the wind tunnel chamber and compared with the corresponding calibrated values. Fiberglas board-block units were installed on the chamber interior. The free field was increased significantly after this treatment and the chamber cut-off frequency was reduced to 160 Hz from the original designed 250 Hz. The flow field characteristics of the rotor-tunnel configuration were studied by using flow visualization techniques. The influence of open-jet shear layer on the sound transmission was studied by using an Aeolian tone as the sound source. A dynamometer system was designed to measure the steady and low harmonics of the rotor thrust. A theoretical Mach number scaling formula was developed to scale the rotational noise and blade slap noise data of model rotors to full scale helicopter rotors.
Candidate techniques were investigated for digital voice compression to a transmission rate of 8 kbps. Good voice quality, speaker recognition, and robustness in the presence of error bursts were considered. The technique of delayed-decision adaptive predictive coding is described and compared with conventional adaptive predictive coding. Results include a set of experimental simulations recorded on analog tape. The two FM broadcast segments produced show the delayed-decision technique to be virtually undegraded or minimally degraded at .001 and .01 Viterbi decoder bit error rates. Preliminary estimates of the hardware complexity of this technique indicate potential for implementation in space shuttle orbiters.
A compilation, containing articles on a number of analytical techniques for quality control engineers and laboratory workers, is presented. Data cover techniques for testing electronic, mechanical, and optical systems, nondestructive testing techniques, and gas analysis techniques.
A technique for evaluating the construction of spectral reflectance curves from multispectral data obtained with the Viking lander cameras is presented. The multispectral data is limited to 6 channels in the wave-length range 0.4 to 1.1 microns, and several of the channels suffer from appreciable out-of-band response. The technique represents the estimated reflectance curves as a linear combination of known basic functions with coefficients determined to minimize the error in the representation, and it permits all channels, with and without out-of-band response, to contribute equally valid information. The technique is evaluated for known spectral reflectance curves of 8 materials felt likely to be present on the Martian surface. The technique provides an essentially exact fit if the the reflectance curve has no pronounced maxima and minima. Even if the curve has pronounced maxima and minima, the fit is good and reveals the most dominant features. Since only 6 samples are available some short period features are lost. This loss is almost certainly due to undersampling rather than out-of-band channel response.
A technique is described by which laser measurements may be used in an explicit definition of geodetic parameters at the one-meter level of resolution. Observations made by a tracking station at the Goddard Space Flight Center of the Beacon Explorer C satellite are analyzed with this technique to yield highly precise measures of perturbations in the satellite's inclination, including the effect of earth and ocean tides and variations in the station's latitude due to polar motion. The tracking configuration is described, and the basic technique is outlined (analysis of six-hour observations with a weighted least squares orbit determination method). Techniques for analyzing orbital errors and inclination perturbations are described, and it is shown that quarter-day spans of laser data can be employed to monitor the inclination of the satellite to the order of 0.01 arcseconds precision over a period of 17 months.
Transonic flight flutter tests of the XF3H-1 Demon Airplane were conducted utilizing a frequency response technique in which the oscillating rudder provides the means of system excitation. These tests were conducted as a result of a rudder flutter incident in the transonic speed range. The technique employed is presented including a brief theoretical development of basic concepts. Test data obtained during the flight are included and the method of interpretation of these data is indicated. This method is based on an impedance matching technique. It is shown that an artificial stabilizing device, such as a damper, may be incorporated in the system for test purposes without complicating the interpretation of the test results of the normal configuration. Data are presented which define the margin of stability introduced to the originally unstable rudder by design changes which involve higher control system stiffness and external damper. It is concluded that this technique of flight flutter testing is a feasible means of obtaining flutter stability information in flight.
The author has identified the following significant results. Multispectral scanner data gathered over test sites in southeast Michigan were analyzed. This analysis showed the data to be somewhat deficient especially in terms of the limited signal range in most SDOs and also in regard to SDO-SDO misregistration. Further analysis showed that the scan line straightening algorithm increased the misregistration of the data. Data were processed using the conic format. The effects of such misregistration on classification accuracy was analyzed via simulation and found to be significant. Results of employing conventional as well as special, unresolved object, processing techniques were disappointing due, at least in part, to the limited signal range and noise content of the data. Application of a second class of special processing techniques, signature extension techniques, yielded better results. Two of the more basic signature extension techniques seemed to be useful in spite of the difficulties.
Several possible noise simulation techniques were evaluated, including closed circuit wind tunnels, free jets, rocket sleds and high speed trains. The free jet technique was selected for demonstration and verification. The first paper describes the selection and development of the technique and presents results for simulation and in-flight tests of the Learjet, F106, and Bertin Aerotrain. The second presents a theoretical study relating the two sets of noise signatures. It is concluded that the free jet simulation technique provides a satisfactory assessment of in-flight noise.
Nine basic techniques are discussed, ranging from concentration (parts per million) to dosage only (parts per million-seconds) measurement techniques. Data for each technique include lower detection limit, response time, instrument status, and in some cases, specificity. Several techniques discussed can detect ambient hydrogen chloride concentrations below 1 part per million with a response time of seconds.
A flight flutter testing technique is described in which the rotor controls are oscillated by series actuators to excite the rotor and airframe modes of interest, which are then allowed to decay. The moving block technique is then used to determine the damped frequency and damping variation with rotor speed. The method proved useful for tracking the stability of relatively well damped modes. The results of recently completed flight tests of an experimental soft-in-plane rotor are used to illustrate the technique. Included is a discussion of the application of this technique to investigation of the propeller whirl flutter stability characteristics of the NASA/Army XV-15 VTOL tilt rotor research aircraft.
The author has identified the following significant results. Four change detection techniques were designed and implemented for evaluation: (1) post classification comparison change detection, (2) delta data change detection, (3) spectral/temporal change classification, and (4) layered spectral/temporal change classification. The post classification comparison technique reliably identified areas of change and was used as the standard for qualitatively evaluating the other three techniques. The layered spectral/temporal change classification and the delta data change detection results generally agreed with the post classification comparison technique results; however, many small areas of change were not identified. Major discrepancies existed between the post classification comparison and spectral/temporal change detection results.
Three techniques - power spectral analysis, coherency analysis, and wave analysis - for studying ULF waves in the magnetosphere are described. These techniques, while mathematically dissimilar, are all based on the assumption that, at any single frequency, a single plane wave, propagating along the normal to the plane, is present. Wave polarization parameters provided by these techniques are important in the development of models of wave generation. A comparative study of the three techniques was carried out using simulated data involving known wave and noise properties and real ULF event data from ATS 1 and 6.
Development of satisfactory techniques for detecting change in coastal zone environments is required before operational monitoring procedures can be established. In an effort to meet this need a study was directed toward developing and evaluating different types of change detection techniques, based upon computer aided analysis of LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data, to monitor these environments. The Matagorda Bay estuarine system along the Texas coast was selected as the study area. Four change detection techniques were designed and implemented for evaluation: (1) post classification comparison change detection, (2) delta data change detection, (3) spectral/temporal change classification, and (4) layered spectral/temporal change classification. Each of the four techniques was used to analyze a LANDSAT MSS temporal data set to detect areas of change of the Matagorda Bay region.
Five programming techniques used to decrease core and increase program versatility and efficiency are explained. The techniques are: (1) dynamic storage allocation, (2) automatic core-sizing and core-resizing, (3) matrix partitioning, (4) free field alphanumeric reads, and (5) incorporation of a data complex. The advantages of these techniques and the basic methods for employing them are explained and illustrated. Several actual program applications which utilize these techniques are described as examples.
The author has identified the following significant results. The concept of average mutual information in the received spectral random process about the spectral scene was developed. Techniques amenable to implementation on a digital computer were also developed to make the required average mutual information calculations. These techniques required identification of models for the spectral response process of scenes. Stochastic modeling techniques were adapted for use. These techniques were demonstrated on empirical data from wheat and vegetation scenes.
There are several practical problems in using current techniques with five degree of freedom equations to estimate the stability and control derivatives of oblique wing aircraft from flight data. A technique was developed to estimate these derivatives by separating the analysis of the longitudinal and lateral directional motion without neglecting cross coupling effects. Although previously applied to symmetrical aircraft, the technique was not expected to be adequate for oblique wing vehicles. The application of the technique to flight data from a remotely piloted oblique wing aircraft is described. The aircraft instrumentation and data processing were reviewed, with particular emphasis on the digital filtering of the data. A complete set of flight determined stability and control derivative estimates is presented and compared with predictions. The results demonstrated that the relatively simple approach developed was adequate to obtain high quality estimates of the aerodynamic derivatives of such aircraft.
A simple technique for single-scan T1 measurements in solids is proposed and analyzed for single exponential spin-lattice relaxation. In this technique, the direct spin heating caused by the sampling process is significantly reduced in comparison with conventional techniques by utilizing the 'solid echo' to refocus the magnetization. The applicability of this technique to both the solid and liquid phases is demonstrated.