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Report is announced which studied magnetic properties of candidate materials for use in spacecraft transformers, static inverters, converters, and transformer-rectifier power supplies. Included are material characteristics for available alloy compositions in tabular form, including: trade names, saturated flux density, dc coercive force, loop squareness, material density, and watts per pound at 3 KHz.
The power conversion module of a 2- to 15-kWe Brayton engine was motor started using a three-phase, 400-hertz static inverter as the power source. Motor-static tests were conducted for initial gas loop pressures of 10, 14, and 17 N/sq cm (15, 20, and 25 psia) over a range of initial turbine inlet temperatures from 366 to 550 K (200 to 530 F). The data are presented to show the effects of temperature and pressure on the motor-start characteristics of the rotating unit. Electrical characteristics during motoring are also discussed.
A modular approach for aerospace electrical systems has been developed, using lightweight high efficiency pulse width modulation techniques. With the modular approach, a required system is obtained by paralleling modules. The modular system includes the inverters and converters, a paralleling system, and an automatic control and fault-sensing protection system with a visual annunciator. The output is 150 V dc, or a low distortion three phase sine wave at 120 V, 400 Hz. Input power is unregulated 56 V dc. Each module is rated 2.5 kW or 3.6 kVA at 0.7 power factor.
A control and protection system was developed for use with a paralleled 2.5-kWe-per-module static inverter-converter system. The control and protection system senses internal and external fault parameters such as voltage, frequency, current, and paralleling current unbalance. A logic system controls contactors to isolate defective power conditioners or loads. The system sequences contactor operation to automatically control parallel operation, startup, and fault isolation. Transient overload protection and fault checking sequences are included. The operation and performance of a control and protection system, with detailed circuit descriptions, are presented.
The invention relates to an inverted geometry transistor wherein the emitter is buried within the substrate. The transistor can be fabricated as a part of a monolithic integrated circuit and is particularly suited for use in applications where it is desired to employ low actuating voltages. The transistor may employ the same doping levels in the collector and emitter, so these connections can be reversed.
A program to study magnetic materials is described for use in spacecraft transformers used in static inverters, converters, and transformer-rectifier supplies. Different magnetic alloys best suited for high-frequency and high-efficiency applications were comparatively investigated together with an investigation of each alloy's inherent characteristics. The materials evaluated were the magnetic alloys: (1) 50% Ni, 50% Fe; (2) 79% Ni, 17% Fe, 4% Mo; (3) 48% Ni, 52% Fe; (4) 78% Ni, 17% Fe, 5% Mo; and (5) 3% Si, 97% Fe. Investigations led to the design of a transformer with a very low residual flux. Tests were performed to determine the dc and ac magnetic properties at 2400 Hz using square-wave excitation. These tests were performed on uncut cores, which were then cut for comparison of the gapped and ungapped magnetic properties. When the data of many transformers in many configurations were compiled the optimum transformer was found to be that with the lowest residual flux and a small amount of air gap in the magnetic material. The data obtained from these tests are described, and the potential uses for the materials are discussed.
Addition of an inverted lifting device to a simple balloon probe is shown to make possible low-altitude entry to tornado cores with easier launch conditions than for the simple balloon probe. Balloon-lifter combinations are particularly suitable for penetration of tornadoes with average to strong circulation, but tornadoes of less than average circulation which are inaccessible to simple balloon probes become accessible. The increased launch radius which is needed for access to tornadoes over a wide range of circulation results in entry times of about 3 minutes. For a simple balloon probe the uninflated balloon must be first dropped on, or near, the track of the tornado from a safe distance. The increase in typical launch radius from about 0.75 kilometer to slightly over 1.0 kilometer with a balloon-lifter combination suggests that a direct air launch may be feasible.
A variable frequency inverter was designed for driving an ac induction motor which varies the frequency and voltage to the motor windings in response to varying torque requirements for the motor so that the applied voltage amplitude and frequency are of optimal value for any motor load and speed requirement. The slip frequency of the motor is caused to vary proportionally to the torque and feedback is provided so that the most efficient operating voltage is applied to the motor. Winding current surge is limited and a controlled negative slip causes motor braking and return of load energy to a dc power source.
Intensities of Fe XIV and Fe XIII EUV emission lines obtained at coronal locations beyond the limb by the Goddard spectroheliograph on the OSO 7 satellite have been corrected for the wavelength dependence of the instrument's sensitivity and have been Abel-inverted to provide a valid comparison with theoretical predictions for each ion. Details of the Abel-inversion procedure are given, including explicit formulas for application of Bracewell's (1956) method. The intensity ratios of pairs of lines originating from a common level are compared with expected theoretical transition probability ratios over a range of heliocentric distance; deviations in some cases yield information about adjacent unclassified lines. Comparison of the observations with predictions for Fe XIV and Fe XIII shows generally good agreement, with a few interesting discrepancies that may imply a corresponding need for more accurate collisional excitation cross sections. The same comparison yields the variation of electron density with heliocentric radius for each ion separately; the two density functions are found to agree within a factor of three.
A simple model of a static electric field with a component parallel to the magnetic field is proposed for calculating the electric field and current distributions at various altitudes when the horizontal distribution of the convection electric field is given at a certain altitude above the auroral ionosphere. The model is shown to be compatible with satellite observations of inverted-V electron precipitation structures and associated irregularities in the convection electric field.
Time-optimal-response 'bang-bang' or 'bang-hang' technique, using four feedback control loops, synthesizes static-inverter sinusoidal output waveform by self-oscillatory but yet synchronous pulse-frequency-modulation (SPFM). A single modular power stage per phase of ac output entails the minimum of circuit complexity while providing by feedback synthesis individual phase voltage regulation, phase position control and inherent compensation simultaneously for line and load disturbances. Clipped sinewave performance is described under off-limit load or input voltage conditions. Also, approaches to high power levels, 3-phase arraying and parallel modular connection are given.
An extension of the Chahine relaxation method (1970) for inverting the radiative transfer equation is presented. This method is superior to the original method in that it takes into account in a realistic manner the shape of the kernel function, and its extension to nonlinear systems is much more straightforward. A comparison of the new method with a matrix method due to Twomey (1965), in a problem involving inference of vertical distribution of ozone from spectroscopic measurements in the near ultraviolet, indicates that in this situation this method is stable with errors in the input data up to 4%, whereas the matrix method breaks down at these levels. The problem of non-uniqueness of the solution, which is a property of the system of equations rather than of any particular algorithm for solving them, remains, although it takes on slightly different forms for the two algorithms.
Tests were conducted of inverted velocity profile coannular nozzles and a conical nozzle in an acoustic wind tunnel facility to simulate flight effects on jet noise generation. Coannular model nozzles were tested at fan to core nozzle exit area ratios of .75 and 1.2. Fan stream jet velocity ranged up to 2000 fps at a variety of fan exhaust pressure ratios and temperatures for a core stream of 1000 fps. The wind tunnel airflow was varied from static to 425 fps. The acoustic results indicated that the noise level differences seen previously under static conditions are retained in the flight environment.
An empirical model for predicting the noise from inverted-velocity-profile coaxial or coannular jets is presented and compared with small-scale static and simulated flight data. The model considered the combined contributions of as many as four uncorrelated constituent sources: the premerged-jet/ambient mixing region, the merged-jet/ambient mixing region, outer-stream shock/turbulence interaction, and inner-stream shock/turbulence interaction. The noise from the merged region occurs at relatively low frequency and is modeled as the contribution of a circular jet at merged conditions and total exhaust area, with the high frequencies attenuated. The noise from the premerged region occurs at high frequency and is modeled as the contribution of an equivalent plug nozzle at outer stream conditions, with the low frequencies attenuated.
It is known that the noise generated by inverted-velocity-profile coaxial (without center plug) and coannular (with center plug) nozzles should be modeled as the combined contributions of various source regions and noise generation mechanisms. In this paper, an empirical noise-prediction model is described which considers the noise generated by two jet-mixing regions and two potential regions of shock/turbulence interaction. Results calculated from the empirical model are compared with model-scale experimental data for static and simulated flight conditions. These comparisons are made for cases where both streams are subsonic, where the outer stream is supersonic with the inner stream subsonic, and where both streams are supersonic. The cases considered cover a range of inner-to-outer-stream area ratios and include both coaxial and coannular nozzles. It is shown that the model gives reasonable predictions of absolute noise spectra and even better predictions of incremental changes.
Modifications in inverted Stepanov process improve heat transfer and energy efficiency in growing silicon ribbon crystals. Using system, silicon is directly heated by induction, minimizing heat transfer and contamination problems.
Relationships between the noise generation characteristics and the flow field characteristics for inverted-velocity-profile coaxial jets are discussed. Noise measurements were made at four different sideline distances in order to determine the apparent noise source locations, and flow field characteristics were determined from jet plume pressure/temperature surveys. These relationships are based on a published NASA Lewis prediction model, the basic assumptions of which are shown to be consistent with the experimental data reported herein. Improvements to the noise prediction procedure, on the basis of the present study, are included, which increase the accuracy of the high frequency noise prediction.
Data are correlated for jet mixing noise from coannular jets with inverted flow velocity profiles. The acoustic performance of coannular jets is compared to the performance of a hypothetical single jet with the same total mass flow, thrust, and total enthalpy flow as the coannular jet. The study shows that coannular jets with velocity ratios greater than 1.2 produce less noise than their corresponding equivalent tests and that optimum noise reduction of coannular jets in the data set occurs within a range of equivalent velocities between 500 and 700 meters per second and velocity ratios between 1.6 and 2.3. The maximum sound power reduction is found to be about 4 decibels. Directivity indices and a special set of spectral curves were developed to describe the characteristic double peak spectra of coannular jet noise. The temperature ratio between the inner and outer streams was not found to be important in this acoustic correlation. However, the mean temperature effect was included in the computations of sound pressure levels.