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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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NASA NTRS1975

An infrared heterodyne radiometer for high-resolution measurements of solar radiation and atmospheric transmission

A tunable, Dicke-switched, infrared heterodyne radiometer (IHR) has been designed, fabricated, tested, and used to observe solar radiation and determine the atmospheric transmissivity in the 9-11-micron spectral band. The IHR provides a spectral resolution of 0.0067 reciprocal cm, a minimum detectable power level of 2.9 times ten to the minus twenty-third power W/Hz, and a temperature resolution of less than 1 K for a source temperature of 1000 K, an IF predetection bandwidth of 100 MHz, and an integration time of 30 s. Detailed design equations and measured IHR performance are presented. The IHR was used to make solar and atmospheric transmission measurements, and a vertical-path atmospheric attenuation of 2.3 dB has been established under favorable weather conditions. The attenuation of solar radiation due to cloud cover and haze has also been investigated.

Peyton, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Passive imaging through the turbulent atmosphere - Fundamental limits on the spatial frequency resolution of a rotational shearing interferometer

The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio to be expected when a 180 deg rotationally shearing interferometer is used for image recovery at the diffraction limit of a large telescope is computed. The variance and covariance of the irradiance fluctuations at the detector array are shown to yield measures of the high-frequency spatial spectrum of the source. Four fundamental sources of noise are considered: temporal fluctuations of the source, space-time fluctuations of the atmosphere, shot noise in the detected photocurrents, and the effects of finite sampling. S/N is found to be directly proportional to the angular resolution of the telescope, the single-frame integration time, the square root of the number of frames, the cube of the operating wavelength, the quantum efficiency of the detector, and the average spectral irradiance from the source on the pupil. It is inversely proportional to the cube of the field angle subtended by the source (or part thereof) under study.

Burke, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Euler solutions for high-speed flow about complex three-dimensional configurations

A numerical algorithm based on a finite-volume explicit scheme with Runge-Kutta time integration of the Euler equations is presented for calculating high-speed three-dimensional flow about complex aerospace configurations. The use of enhancing factors such as artificial dissipative terms, enthalpy damping and local time-stepping are described. An algebraic method for generating quasi-three-dimensional computational grids for realistic aerospace configurations is presented. Computed results for various three-dimensional bodies at different Mach numbers and angles of attack have been obtained using the methods for grid-generation and flow simulation. Comparison of computed and experimental data for an advanced tactical aircraft-like configuration is presented, and a reasonable agreement of the data is noticed.

Moitra, A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Status of direct detector and array development

Programs are now underway to develop and demonstrate the detector/array technology needed for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), Large Deployable Reflector (LDR), and other future NASA missions. The development goal is to achieve focal plane sensitivities, at extended integration times over the 2 to 700 microns range, limited only by the low astrophysical backgrounds encountered in cryogenic telescopes such as SIRTF. Dramatic progress has been made in the last 2 to 3 years in integrated array and detector systems for low background astronomical applications. With the broadly based developments and lab characterizations now underway for SIRTF and similar space applications, coupled with the rapidly expanding art and science of ground based astronomical imagery with arrays, the potential for effective utilization of arrays with LDR appears to be very good.

Mccreight, Craig R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Computational modeling of nonlinear electromagnetic phenomena

A new algorithm has been developed that permits, for the first time, the direct time integration of the full-vector nonlinear Maxwell's equations. This new capability permits the modeling of linear and nonlinear, instantaneous and dispersive effects in the electric polarization material media. Results are presented of first-time calculations in 1D of the propagation and collision of femtosecond electromagnetic solitons that retain the optical carrier.

Goorjian, Peter M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A transient FETI methodology for large-scale parallel implicit computations in structural mechanics, part 2

Explicit codes are often used to simulate the nonlinear dynamics of large-scale structural systems, even for low frequency response, because the storage and CPU requirements entailed by the repeated factorizations traditionally found in implicit codes rapidly overwhelm the available computing resources. With the advent of parallel processing, this trend is accelerating because explicit schemes are also easier to parallellize than implicit ones. However, the time step restriction imposed by the Courant stability condition on all explicit schemes cannot yet and perhaps will never be offset by the speed of parallel hardware. Therefore, it is essential to develop efficient and robust alternatives to direct methods that are also amenable to massively parallel processing because implicit codes using unconditionally stable time-integration algorithms are computationally more efficient than explicit codes when simulating low-frequency dynamics. Here we present a domain decomposition method for implicit schemes that requires significantly less storage than factorization algorithms, that is several times faster than other popular direct and iterative methods, that can be easily implemented on both shared and local memory parallel processors, and that is both computationally and communication-wise efficient. The proposed transient domain decomposition method is an extension of the method of Finite Element Tearing and Interconnecting (FETI) developed by Farhat and Roux for the solution of static problems. Serial and parallel performance results on the CRAY Y-MP/8 and the iPSC-860/128 systems are reported and analyzed for realistic structural dynamics problems. These results establish the superiority of the FETI method over both the serial/parallel conjugate gradient algorithm with diagonal scaling and the serial/parallel direct method, and contrast the computational power of the iPSC-860/128 parallel processor with that of the CRAY Y-MP/8 system.

Farhat, Charbel↗
NASA NTRS1985

Rain volume estimation over areas using satellite and radar data

The feasibility of rain volume estimation over fixed and floating areas was investigated using rapid scan satellite data following a technique recently developed with radar data, called the Area Time Integral (ATI) technique. The radar and rapid scan GOES satellite data were collected during the Cooperative Convective Precipitation Experiment (CCOPE) and North Dakota Cloud Modification Project (NDCMP). Six multicell clusters and cells were analyzed to the present time. A two-cycle oscillation emphasizing the multicell character of the clusters is demonstrated. Three clusters were selected on each day, 12 June and 2 July. The 12 June clusters occurred during the daytime, while the 2 July clusters during the nighttime. A total of 86 time steps of radar and 79 time steps of satellite images were analyzed. There were approximately 12-min time intervals between radar scans on the average.

Doneaud, A. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Canonical fluid thermodynamics

The space-time integral of the thermodynamic pressure plays the role of the thermodynamic potential for compressible, adiabatic flow in the sense that the pressure integral for stable flow is less than for all slightly different flows. This stability criterion can be converted into a variational minimum principle by requiring the molar free-enthalpy and the temperature, which are the arguments of the pressure function, to be generalized velocities, that is, the proper-time derivatives of scalar spare-time functions which are generalized coordinates in the canonical formalism. In a fluid context, proper-time differentiation must be expressed in terms of three independent quantities that specify the fluid velocity. This can be done in several ways, all of which lead to different variants (canonical transformations) of the same constraint-free action integral whose Euler-Lagrange equations are just the well-known equations of motion for adiabatic compressible flow.

Schmid, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Software Modules for the Proximity-1 Space Link Interleaved Time Synchronization (PITS) Protocol

The Proximity-1 Space Link Interleaved Time Synchronization (PITS) protocol provides time distribution and synchronization services for space systems. A software prototype implementation of the PITS algorithm has been developed that also provides the test harness to evaluate the key functionalities of PITS with simulated data source and sink. PITS integrates time synchronization functionality into the link layer of the CCSDS Proximity-1 Space Link Protocol. The software prototype implements the network packet format, data structures, and transmit- and receive-timestamp function for a time server and a client. The software also simulates the transmit and receive-time stamp exchanges via UDP (User Datagram Protocol) socket between a time server and a time client, and produces relative time offsets and delay estimates.

Woo, Simon S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

On the prediction of magnetospheric configuration

A simple model of magnetic flux transfer is reviewed along with empirical expressions for flux transfer rates based upon the auroral AL index and the eastward component of the interplanetary electric field. It is shown that the magnitude of the time integral of the AL index over isolated intervals of geomagnetic disturbance can be predicted from the the observed flux of southward interplanetary magnetic field lines incident on the front of the magnetosphere. Difficulties in the quantitative prediction of substorm onset time and intensity are discussed and magnetospheric stress index on both solar wind and ground based observations is proposed for this purpose. Finally, caveats concerning the use of both the AL index and interplanetary medium data in predicting the response of the magnetosphere to solar wind conditions are considered.

Slavin, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

UV laser long-path absorption spectroscopy

Long path Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) using a picosecond UV laser as a light source was developed in our institute. Tropospheric OH radicals are measured by their rotational absorption lines around 308 nm. The spectra are obtained using a high resolution spectrograph. The detection system has been improved over the formerly used optomechanical scanning device by application of a photodiode array which increased the observed spectral range by a factor of 6 and which utilizes the light much more effectively leading to a considerable reduction of the measurement time. This technique provides direct measurements of OH because the signal is given by the product of the absorption coefficient and the OH concentration along the light path according to Lambert-Beers law. No calibration is needed. Since the integrated absorption coefficient is well known the accuracy of the measurement essentially depends on the extent to which the OH absorption pattern can be detected in the spectra. No interference by self generated OH radicals in the detection lightpath has been observed. The large bandwidth (greater than 0.15 nm) and the high spectral resolution (1.5 pm) allows absolute determination of interferences by other trace gas absorptions. The measurement error is directly accessible from the absorption-signal to baseline-noise ratio in the spectra. The applicability of the method strongly depends on visibility. Elevated concentrations of aerosols lead to considerable attenuation of the laser light which reduces the S/N-ratio. In the moderately polluted air of Julich, where we performed a number of OH measurement spectra. In addition absorption features of unidentified species were frequently detected. A quantitative deconvolution even of the known species is not easy to achieve and can leave residual structures in the spectra. Thus interferences usually increase the noise and deteriorate the OH detection sensitivity. Using diode arrays for sensitive absorption measurements some specific problems of those detectors have to be solved experimentally (i.e. fixed pattern noise, dark signal noise, nonuniform efficiency of individual elements, spatial sensitivity variations). In order to improve the low spatial resolution we performed laboratory studies using a multiple reflection cell to convert the long path technique to a real in situ point measurement. Under the conditions of field experiments in Julich residual absorbance signals at present are about 1.5x10(exp -4) corresponding to an OH detection sensitivity of 2x10(exp 6) OH/cm(exp 3) using a light path of 5.8 km. Total integration times for one measurement point vary between a few minutes and an hour.

Dorn, Hans-Peter↗
NASA NTRS1984

A new multifunction acousto-optic signal processor

An acousto-optic architecture for simultaneously obtaining time integration correlation and high-speed power spectrum analysis was constructed using commercially available TeO2 modulators and photodiode detector-arrays. The correlator section of the processor uses coherent interferometry to attain maximum bandwidth and dynamic range while achieving a time-bandwidth product of 1 million. Two correllator outputs are achieved in this system configuration. One is optically filtered and magnified 2 : 1 to decrease the spatial frequency to a level where a 25-MHz bandwidth may be sampled by a 62-mm array with elements on 25-micro centers. The other output is magnified by a factor of 10 such that the center 4 microseconds of information is available for estimation of time-difference-of-arrival to within 10 ns. The Bragg cell spectrum-analyzer section, which also has two outputs, resolves a 25-MHz instantaneous bandwidth to 25 kHz and can determine discrete-frequency reception time to within 15 microseconds. A microprocessor combines spectrum analysis information with that obtained from the correlator.

Berg, N. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

High-resolution turbulent simulations using the Connection Machine-2

The spectral method provides an efficient algorithm for solving the 3D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in periodic boundaries. Most people, so far, have used vectorized machines, such as the CRAY-2, to implement fast Fourier transformations and time integrations in the spectral calculations. In this paper, new results are presented using the spectral calculations on the Connection Machine-2 with a parallel algorithm. The large memory of the Connection Machine-2 and the parallel algorithm allows, of the first time, to implement a 512-cubed mesh resolution for high Reynolds number flows. The computational speed of the present code is about 30 percent faster than the fastest CRAY-2 simulations with four processors. Parallel machines, such as the Connection Machine-2, will possibly provide new computational power for understanding the intermittency and cascade mechanism in fluid turbulence.

Chen, Shiyi↗
NASA NTRS1993

Integrated CFD modeling of gas turbine combustors

3D, curvilinear, multi-domain CFD analysis is becoming a valuable tool in gas turbine combustor design. Used as a supplement to experimental testing. CFD analysis can provide improved understanding of combustor aerodynamics and used to qualitatively assess new combustor designs. This paper discusses recent advancements in CFD combustor methodology, including the timely integration of the design (i.e. CAD) and analysis (i.e. CFD) processes. Allied Signal's F124 combustor was analyzed at maximum power conditions. The assumption of turbulence levels at the nozzle/swirler inlet was shown to be very important in the prediction of combustor exit temperatures. Predicted exit temperatures were compared to experimental rake data, and good overall agreement was seen. Exit radial temperature profiles were well predicted, while the predicted pattern factor was 25 percent higher than the harmonic-averaged experimental pattern factor.

Fuller, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS2011

GPM Mission Overview

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational sensors to provide "next-generation" precipitation products. Relative to current global rainfall products, GPM data products will be characterized by: (1) more accurate instantaneous precipitation measurements (especially for light rain and cold-season solid/snow precipitation), (2) more frequent sampling by an expanded constellation of microwave radiometers that include operational humidity sounders over land, (3) inter-calibrated microwave brightness temperatures from constellation radiometers within a unified framework, and (4) physical-based precipitation retrievals from constellation radiometers using a common a priori cloud hydrometeor database derived from GPM Core sensor measurements. The cornerstone of the GPM mission is the deployment of a Core Observatory in a unique 65 degree non-Sun-synchronous orbit to serve as a physics observatory and a calibration reference to improve precipitation measurements by a constellation of dedicated and operational passive microwave sensors. The Core Observatory will carry a KulKa-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a multi-channel (10-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). The combined use ofDPR and GMI measurements will place greater constraints on possible solutions to radiometer retrievals to improve the accuracy and consistency of precipitation retrievals from all constellation radiometers. As a science mission with integrated application goals, GPM is designed to (1) advance precipitation measurement capability from space through combined use of active and passive microwave sensors, (2) advance the knowledge of the global water/energy cycle and freshwater availability through better description of the space-time variability of global precipitation, and (3) improve weather, climate, and hydrological prediction capabilities through more accurate and frequent measurements of instantaneous precipitation rates and time-integrated rainfall accumulation. An overview of the GPM mission concept and science activities in the United States, together with an update on international collaborations in radiometer intercalibration and ground validation, will be presented.

Hou, Arthur Y.↗
NASA NTRS1980

TAP 2: A finite element program for thermal analysis of convectively cooled structures

A finite element computer program (TAP 2) for steady-state and transient thermal analyses of convectively cooled structures is presented. The program has a finite element library of six elements: two conduction/convection elements to model heat transfer in a solid, two convection elements to model heat transfer in a fluid, and two integrated conduction/convection elements to represent combined heat transfer in tubular and plate/fin fluid passages. Nonlinear thermal analysis due to temperature-dependent thermal parameters is performed using the Newton-Raphson iteration method. Transient analyses are performed using an implicit Crank-Nicolson time integration scheme with consistent or lumped capacitance matrices as an option. Program output includes nodal temperatures and element heat fluxes. Pressure drops in fluid passages may be computed as an option. User instructions and sample problems are presented in appendixes.

Thornton, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Trajectory optimization for an asymmetric launch vehicle

A numerical optimization technique is used to fully automate the trajectory design process for an symmetric configuration of the proposed Advanced Launch System (ALS). The objective of the ALS trajectory design process is the maximization of the vehicle mass when it reaches the desired orbit. The trajectories used were based on a simple shape that could be described by a small set of parameters. The use of a simple trajectory model can significantly reduce the computation time required for trajectory optimization. A predictive simulation was developed to determine the on-orbit mass given an initial vehicle state, wind information, and a set of trajectory parameters. This simulation utilizes an idealized control system to speed computation by increasing the integration time step. The conjugate gradient method is used for the numerical optimization of on-orbit mass. The method requires only the evaluation of the on-orbit mass function using the predictive simulation, and the gradient of the on-orbit mass function with respect to the trajectory parameters. The gradient is approximated with finite differencing. Prelaunch trajectory designs were carried out using the optimization procedure. The predictive simulation is used in flight to redesign the trajectory to account for trajectory deviations produced by off-nominal conditions, e.g., stronger than expected head winds.

Sullivan, Jeanne Marie↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Energetic Importance of Accelerated Electrons in Solar Flares

It has been claimed that a large fraction of the total energy released in a solar flare goes initially into accelerated electrons. These electrons generate the observed hard X-ray bremsstrahlung emission as they lose most of their energy by coulomb collisions in the lower corona and chromosphere to heat the plasma seen in soft X-rays. From several recent studies of the Neupert Effect - the empirical result that for many flares the time integral of the hard X-ray emission closely matches the temporal variation of the soft X-ray emission - it appears that the fraction of the released energy going into accelerated electrons is lower, on average, for smaller flares. Also, from relative timing differences, about 25% of all flares are inconsistent with the Neupert Effect. The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) is uniquely capable of investigating the Neupert Effect since it covers soft X-rays down to 3 keV (when both attenuators are out of the field of view) and hard X-rays with keV energy resolution. It has arcsecond-class angular resolution and sub-second time resolution. Several M-class flares have already been detected by RHESSI and I will present their detailed time histories for different energy ranges. I will also present hard and soft X-ray images that reveal the spatial relation between the hot plasma and the accelerated electrons. The results are in general agreement with the Neupert Effect, but they also suggest that there must be other heating mechanisms besides the thermalization of accelerated electrons, even during the impulsive phase.

Dennis, Brian R.↗