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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

Inventory of forest and rangeland and detection of forest stress

The author has identified the following significant results. At the Atlanta site (226B) it was found that bulk color composites for October 15, 1972, and April 13, 1973, can be interpreted together to disclose the location of the perennial Kudzu vine (Pyeraria lobata). Land managers concerned with Kudzu eradication could use ERTS-1 to inventory locations over 200 meters (660 feet) square. Microdensitometer data collected on ERTS-1 Bulk photographic products for the Manitou test site (226C) have shown that the 15-step gray-scale tablets are not of systematic equal values corresponding to 1/14 the maximum radiant energy incident on the MSS sensor. The gray-scale values present a third-order polynomial function rather than a direct linear relationship. Although data collected on step tablets for precision photographic products appear more discrete, the density variation within blocks in almost as great as variations between blocks. These system errors will cause problems when attempting to analyze radiometric variances among vegetation and land use classes.

Heller, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Coherent substructure of turbulence near the stagnation zone of a bluff body

The evolution of freestream turbulence in crossflow about a circular cylinder was studied in order to identify the existence of a coherent substructure which is the outcome of the amplification of freesteam turbulence by the stretching mechanism in diverging flow about a bluff body. Visualization of the flow events revealed the selective stretching of cross-vortex tubes and the emergence of an organized turbulent flow pattern near the cylinder stagnation zone. Significant amplification of the total turbulent energy of the streamwise fluctuating velocity was consistently monitored. Realization of selective amplification at scales larger than the neutral scale of the stagnation flow was indicated by the variation of the discrete streamwise turbulent energy. A most amplified scale, characteristic of the energy containing eddies within the coherent substructure and commensurate with the boundary-layer thickness, was detected. Penetration of the amplified turbulence into the cylinder boundary layer led to the retardation of separation and to a concurrent decrease in the drag coefficient at subcritical cylinder-diameter Reynolds numbers.

Sadeh, W. Z.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Turbulence amplification in flow about an airfoil

An experimental investigation of the evolution of freestream turbulence in flow about an airfoil was conducted in order to ascertain its selective amplification induced by the stretching mechanism according to the vorticity-amplification theory. Significant amplification of the streamwise turbulent energy transpired even in the limiting flow situation studied of a symmetric airfoil at zero angle of attack where the stretching is the least. Substantiation of the stretching effect was provided by the almost 100 percent amplification of turbulence with respect to its background level in the absence of the airfoil. Realization of preferred amplification at scales larger than the neutral scale of the stagnation flow was clearly indicated by the variation of the discrete streamwise turbulent energy. Particularly important was the detection of a most amplified scale which is characteristic of the coherent substructure near the airfoil stagnation zone and, concurrently, commensurate with the boundary-layer thickness.

Sadeh, W. Z.↗
NASA NTRS1984

On the solution of problems involving impact type loading

The response of beam and plate members to pulse and impact loading is investigated, and numerical methods are analyzed and compared. The equations of motion, the finite difference and finite element methods, the time integration/Runge-Kutta techniques, and material modeling are discussed in detail. It is found that both the finite difference and the finite element methods could be accurately employed to discretize the spatial variation in the displacements. Central differences or a fourth order Runge-Kutta algorithm could be used for the time integration. The total energy of the system would give the stability and accuracy of the solution. Results showed that the finite element method provided better efficiency in obtaining accurate solution than the finite difference method when a scalar processor is used. However, the finite difference method was more efficient on the vector processor. Therefore, the most efficient method of solution depends on the type of computer present for the analysis.

Moyer, E. T., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Stress Recovery and Error Estimation for 3-D Shell Structures

The C1-continuous stress fields obtained from finite element analyses are in general lower- order accurate than are the corresponding displacement fields. Much effort has focussed on increasing their accuracy and/or their continuity, both for improved stress prediction and especially error estimation. A previous project developed a penalized, discrete least squares variational procedure that increases the accuracy and continuity of the stress field. The variational problem is solved by a post-processing, 'finite-element-type' analysis to recover a smooth, more accurate, C1-continuous stress field given the 'raw' finite element stresses. This analysis has been named the SEA/PDLS. The recovered stress field can be used in a posteriori error estimators, such as the Zienkiewicz-Zhu error estimator or equilibrium error estimators. The procedure was well-developed for the two-dimensional (plane) case involving low-order finite elements. It has been demonstrated that, if optimal finite element stresses are used for the post-processing, the recovered stress field is globally superconvergent. Extension of this work to three dimensional solids is straightforward. Attachment: Stress recovery and error estimation for shell structure (abstract only). A 4-node, shear-deformable flat shell element developed via explicit Kirchhoff constraints (abstract only). A novel four-node quadrilateral smoothing element for stress enhancement and error estimation (abstract only).

Riggs, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Novel Four-Node Quadrilateral Smoothing Element for Stress Enhancement and Error Estimation

A four-node, quadrilateral smoothing element is developed based upon a penalized-discrete-least-squares variational formulation. The smoothing methodology recovers C1-continuous stresses, thus enabling effective a posteriori error estimation and automatic adaptive mesh refinement. The element formulation is originated with a five-node macro-element configuration consisting of four triangular anisoparametric smoothing elements in a cross-diagonal pattern. This element pattern enables a convenient closed-form solution for the degrees of freedom of the interior node, resulting from enforcing explicitly a set of natural edge-wise penalty constraints. The degree-of-freedom reduction scheme leads to a very efficient formulation of a four-node quadrilateral smoothing element without any compromise in robustness and accuracy of the smoothing analysis. The application examples include stress recovery and error estimation in adaptive mesh refinement solutions for an elasticity problem and an aerospace structural component.

Tessler, A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Advanced Cogeneration Technology Economic Optimization Study (ACTEOS)

The advanced cogeneration technology economic optimization study (ACTEOS) was undertaken to extend the results of the cogeneration technology alternatives study (CTAS). Cost comparisons were made between designs involving advanced cogeneration technologies and designs involving either conventional cogeneration technologies or not involving cogeneration. For the specific equipment cost and fuel price assumptions made, it was found that: (1) coal based cogeneration systems offered appreciable cost savings over the no cogeneration case, while systems using coal derived liquids offered no costs savings; and (2) the advanced cogeneration systems provided somewhat larger cost savings than the conventional systems. Among the issues considered in the study included: (1) temporal variations in steam and electric demands; (2) requirements for reliability/standby capacity; (3) availability of discrete equipment sizes; (4) regional variations in fuel and electricity prices; (5) off design system performance; and (6) separate demand and energy charges for purchased electricity.

Nanda, P.↗
NASA NTRS1967

Measuring coplanarity of surfaces

Interferometric technique is used to measure the coplanarity and flatness of lapped surfaces on which a high-precision mirror is to be mounted. The measurement of minute height variations of several small discrete surfaces is accomplished simultaneously.

Werner, M. M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Stability of a diffuse linear pinch with axial boundaries

A formulation of the stability behavior of a finite-length pinch is presented. A general initial perturbation is expressed as a uniformly convergent sum over a complete discrete k set. A variational calculation is then performed, based on the energy principle, in which the end-boundary conditions appear as constraints. The requisite Lagrange multipliers mutually couple the elemental periodic excitations. The resulting extended form of delta-W still admits a proper second-variation treatment so that the minimization and stability considerations of Newcomb remain applicable. Comparison theorems are discussed as is the relevance of this end-effect model to the stability of solar coronal loops.

Einaudi, G.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Numerical study of the vortex burst phenomenon for delta wings

A flux-difference splitting scheme is employed to compute low-speed flows over a delta wing for angles of attack from 0 to 40 deg as steady-state solutions to the three-dimensional, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in their thin-layer approximation. The finite-difference scheme is made spatially second-order accurate by applying a total variation diminishing-like discretization to the inviscid fluxes and central differencing to the viscous shear fluxes. Using first-order accurate Euler backward-time differencing, an efficient implicit algorithm is constructed, which combines approximate factorization in cross planes with a symmetric planar Gauss-Seidel relaxation in the remaining third spatial direction. The geometry of the thin (maximum thickness is 0.021), slender (aspect ratio is unity), sharp-edged delta wing is taken from Hummel's (1967, 1978) wind tunnel model. Over the entire angle-of-attack range, the computed values of lift and pitching moment are in good agreement with the experimental data. Also details of the flow-fieldlike spanwise surface pressure distributions compare well with the experiment. Computed flow-field results with a bubble-type vortex burst are analyzed in detail.

Hartwich, PETER-M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A computational procedure for the dynamics of flexible beams within multibody systems

The dynamic analysis of three dimensional elastic beams which experience large rotational and large deformational motions are examined. The beam motion is modeled using an inertial reference for the translational displacements and a body-fixed reference for the rotational quantities. Finite strain rod theories are then defined in conjunction with the beam kinematic description which accounts for the effects of stretching, bending, torsion, and transverse shear deformations. A convected coordinate representation of the Cauchy stress tensor and a conjugate strain definition is introduced to model the beam deformation. To treat the beam dynamics, a two-stage modification of the central difference algorithm is presented to integrate the translational coordinates and the angular velocity vector. The angular orientation is then obtained from the application of an implicit integration algorithm to the Euler parameter/angular velocity kinematical relation. The combined developments of the objective internal force computation with the dynamic solution procedures result in the computational preservation of total energy for undamped systems. The present methodology is also extended to model the dynamics of deployment/retrieval of the flexible members. A moving spatial grid corresponding to the configuration of a deployed rigid beam is employed as a reference for the dynamic variables. A transient integration scheme which accurately accounts for the deforming spatial grid is derived from a space-time finite element discretization of a Hamiltonian variational statement. The computational results of this general deforming finite element beam formulation are compared to reported results for a planar inverse-spaghetti problem.

Downer, Janice Diane↗
NASA NTRS1992

Modeling of video traffic in packet networks, low rate video compression, and the development of a lossy+lossless image compression algorithm

During this reporting period we have worked on three somewhat different problems. These are modeling of video traffic in packet networks, low rate video compression, and the development of a lossy + lossless image compression algorithm, which might have some application in browsing algorithms. The lossy + lossless scheme is an extension of work previously done under this grant. It provides a simple technique for incorporating browsing capability. The low rate coding scheme is also a simple variation on the standard discrete cosine transform (DCT) coding approach. In spite of its simplicity, the approach provides surprisingly high quality reconstructions. The modeling approach is borrowed from the speech recognition literature, and seems to be promising in that it provides a simple way of obtaining an idea about the second order behavior of a particular coding scheme. Details about these are presented.

Sayood, K.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Dynamics of spacecraft with deploying flexible appendages

A computational formulation for the dynamic analysis of spacecraft with deploying appendages is presented. The appendage model is based on a geometrically nonlinear beam formulation which accurately accounts for large rotational and large deformation motions. A moving finite element reference grid is incorporated within the nonlinear beam formulation to model the deployment motion. Hamilton's Law is used to formulate the general equations of motion, and a transient integration solution procedure is derived from a space-time finite element discretization of the Hamiltonian variational statement. Computational results of the methodology are presented for a classical gravity gradient stabilized satellite configuration.

Downer, Janice D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A nonreflecting upper boundary condition for anelastic nonhydrostatic mesoscale gravity-wave models

A sponge layer is formulated to prevent spurious reflection of vertically propagating quasi-stationary gravity waves at the upper boundary of a two-dimensional numerical anelastic nonhydrostatic model. The sponge layer includes damping of both Newtonian-cooling type and Rayleigh-friction type, whose coefficients are determined in such a way that the reflectivity of wave energy at the bottom of the layer is zero. Unlike the formulations in earlier studies, our formulation includes the effects of vertical discretization, vertical mean density variation, and nonhydrostaticity. This sponge formulation is found effective in suppressing false downward reflection of waves for various types of quasi-stationary forcing.

Kim, Young-Joon↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Thin Oil Film Equation

A thin film of oil on a surface responds primarily to the wall shear stress generated on that surface by a three-dimensional flow. The oil film is also subject to wall pressure gradients, surface tension effects and gravity. The partial differential equation governing the oil film flow is shown to be related to Burgers' equation. Analytical and numerical methods for solving the thin oil film equation are presented. A direct numerical solver is developed where the wall shear stress variation on the surface is known and which solves for the oil film thickness spatial and time variation on the surface. An inverse numerical solver is also developed where the oil film thickness spatial variation over the surface at two discrete times is known and which solves for the wall shear stress variation over the test surface. A One-Time-Level inverse solver is also demonstrated. The inverse numerical solver provides a mathematically rigorous basis for an improved form of a wall shear stress instrument suitable for application to complex three-dimensional flows. To demonstrate the complexity of flows for which these oil film methods are now suitable, extensive examination is accomplished for these analytical and numerical methods as applied to a thin oil film in the vicinity of a three-dimensional saddle of separation.

Brown, James L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Measurement of auroral rays from the space shuttle

Videotapes of auroras from two space shuttle missions were analyzed to determine the locations of auroral rays. One hundred and forty auroral ray locations were determined by triangulating from pairs of images taken several seconds (20-100 km) apart. The rays, observed over a range of 18 hours in local magnetic time between 62 deg and 85 deg magnetic latitude, were mostly confined to the Feldstein oval in the evening and midnight sectors but were uniformly scattered well into the polar cap in the morning sector. Plots of ray border altitude versus magnetic time show a steady increase in lower border altitude, suggesting a decrease in energy from near 10 keV in the early evening to near 2 keV by midmorning. This variation for the energy in discrete rayed arcs is opposite to previous reports for the average energy of auroral electrons and suggests that the acceleration mechanism within discrete arcs differs from that pertaining to the auroral oval in general. Comparison of upper and lower border altitudes suggests a nearly monoenergetic electron flux shortly before midnight and a more extended distribution at both earlier and later times. The apparently independent variation in maximum energy and energy spread is difficult to reconcile with models involving acceleration of auroral electrons by parallel electric fields. There was only a slight dependence of border altitudes on magnetic latitude within the auroral oval, while rays in the polar cap (northward B(sub z)) were significantly higher.

Jack, Todd M.↗