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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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At least 415 records · Page 23

Positive ions in the mesosphere.

Positive ions have been measured using the parachute borne blunt probe, a subsonic system launched on meteorological rockets, which measures polar electrical conductivities in the 30 to 80 km altitude range. A central feature of the daytime positive conductivity profiles is a sharp break occurring between 60 and 70 km which indicates the transition from galactic cosmic ray to solar ultraviolet ionization, and, hence provides information about the nitric oxide density. In the 50-60 km region the positive ion conductivity is relatively constant with altitude and correlates well with atmospheric temperature down to 35 km. Using temperature and pressure profiles and a reduced mobility, the conductivity profiles may be converted to density profiles. The average mid-latitude daytime profile at intermediate solar zenith angles showed a minimum at 63.5 km.

Hale, L. C.↗

Behavior near constant solutions of functional differential equations

Techniques have been developed to determine in a systematic way the local behavior near constant solutions. Local integral manifolds play a very important role in this development, as they have also for ordinary differential equations. An attempt is made to indicate a few more applications of these methods to some problems in bifurcation in the spirit of Sotomayor (to appear) and to a growth model of Cooke and Yorke (to appear). It is also shown how to prove a theorem on stability under constantly acting disturbances using these methods.

Hale, J. K.↗

Relations among low ionosphere parameters and A3 radio wave absorption

Charged particle conductivities measured in the very low ionosphere are compared with atmospheric parameters and high-frequency radio wave absorption measurements. Between 33 and 58 km, positive conductivity is well correlated with neutral atmospheric temperature. Good correlations are found also between high-frequency radio wave absorption and negative conductivity at altitudes as low as 53 km, this fact suggesting that day-to-day variations in absorption may be principally due to variations in electron loss rate. These correlations do not apply to some days of very low or very high radio wave absorption, for which the effects of transport on nitric oxide appear to be important.

Cipriano, J. P.↗

Dynamic analysis of the long-term zonal earth energy budget experiment (LZEEBE) spacecraft

The motions of the flexible LZEEBE spacecraft after injection into a circular orbit were analyzed. The spacecraft consists of three spherical balloons connected to a central hub by three long flexible booms which lie in a plane such that the angle between any pair of booms is 120 degrees. The major torques acting on the spacecraft are gravity-gradient torques and torques due to solar radiation pressure acting on the balloons which have different reflective properties. A development of the equations of motion is presented. Computer simulations indicate that the spacecraft will have random motion, provided the injection into orbit does not create conditions favorable to gravity-gradient capture.

Meirovitch, L.↗

Ice particulates in the mesosphere

The observations of noctilucent clouds, the measurements of hydrated and of large immobile ions, and the light-scattering layer detected by the OGO-6 satellite suggest the presence of particulates, probably ice, in the mesosphere. The correlation between temperature and positive ion conductivity where the vapor pressure over ice becomes greater than atmospheric pressure in the stratopause region indicates the presence of ice crystals throughout the mesosphere over a wide range of latitudes during all seasons. Between one and ten billion ice crystals per cubic meter of order 10 nanometers in diameter can dominate ionization loss processes in the mesosphere, and can explain a variety of experimental observations, including observed solar angle dependence and seasonal variability of electron density.

Chesworth, E. T.↗

Structural dynamics, stability, and control of helicopters

The dynamic synthesis of a helicopter is reported. The method of approach is a variation of the component mode synthesis in the sense that it regards the aircraft as an assemblage of interconnected substructures. The equations of motion are derived in general form by means of the Lagrangian formulation in conjunction with an orderly kinematical procedure that takes into account the superposition of motion of various substructures, thus circumventing constraint problems.

Meirovitch, L.↗

Biological and physiological rhythms

Circadian rhythms, particularly that of sleep and wakefulness, are discussed. The sleep-wakefulness experiences of astronauts during several space missions are described, and predictions are made for future space activities, including Mars missions, interstellar flight, and life on permanent space stations.

Strughold, H.↗

Equatorial X-rays and their effect on the lower mesosphere

On the night of May 23/24, 1975, a sequence of rocket and balloon experiments was launched from Chilca Base, Peru (12.5 deg S, 76.8 deg W, magnetic dip = - 0.7 deg). Detailed analysis and comparisons of the data yielded the first direct measurement of lower mesospheric response to a galactic X-ray source. This result could only have been determined at the equator, where cosmic ray background effects are minimal. The objective of the experiments was to seek out the equatorial energetic electron belt, sporadically reported to contain fluxes near auroral levels, measure the bremsstrahlung radiation produced by this particle belt, and determine the influence of this radiation on the middle atmosphere. High altitude rocket payloads (Nike Tomahawk 18.170 and 18.171) were launched to probe the thermosphere during and following the anticipated downward drift period. Each carried an on-axis X-ray scintillation detector and Geiger Mueller energetic electron detectors. Magnetometers and lunar sensors were used to determine payload aspect.

Goldberg, R. A.↗

A Rayleigh-Ritz approach to the synthesis of large structures with rotating flexible components

The equations of motion for large structures with rotating flexible components are derived by regarding the structure as an assemblage of substructures. Based on a stationarity principle for rotating structures, it is shown that each continuous or discrete substructure can be simulated by a suitable set of admissible functions or admissible vectors. This substructure synthesis approach provides a rational basis for truncating the number of degrees of freedom both of each substructure and of the assembled structure.

Meirovitch, L.↗

Best-range flight conditions for cruise-climb flight of a jet aircraft

The Breguet range equation was developed for cruise climb flight of a jet aircraft to include the climb angle and is then maximized with respect to the no wind true airspeed. The expression for the best range airspeed is a function of the specific fuel consumption and minimum drag airspeed and indicates that an operational airspeed equal to the fourth root of three times the minimum-drag airspeed introduces range penalties of the order of one percent.

Hale, F. J.↗

Middle atmosphere ion measurements during January, 1976

Parachute-borne measurements of electrical parameters in the stratosphere and mesosphere are discussed which were made in January 1976 as part of a 'coordinated winter-anomaly program' conducted at Wallops Flight Center, Va. The instruments used included Gerdien condensers, a blunt conductivity probe, and UV lamps for obtaining a measure of atmospheric NO. Measurements of the positive component of electrical conductivity on two 'anomalous' and two 'normal' days are compared, wave-interaction electron densities over the height range from 50 to 90 km are determined for the four days, and the effects of the UV lamps on one 'normal' and one 'anomalous' day are described. The results are shown to support the hypothesis that the enhancements in positive ion conductivity observed on 'anomalous' days are caused by a reduction of the aerosol population that is a 'normal' feature of the stratosphere and mesosphere. A possible scenario for this reduction is considered which involves electric-field transport of aerosol particles out of the upper stratosphere and mesosphere.

Hale, L. C.↗

Fabrication of sea-floor models

Sea-floor models are fabricated simply and inexpensively by utilizing milling machine programmed with data tapes from ocean sounding surveys, and cement vermiculite mixture.

Hale, G. L.↗

NASA DART

A low cost conductivity probe system for use with the Super Loki Dart meteorological sounding rocket is described. Miniaturization of the Super Arcas blunt probe, operation of the blunt probe experiment, flight tests, and development of a Lyman-alpha probe are among the topics discussed.

Hale, L. C.↗

Structural Dynamics, Stability, and Control of Helicopters

The dynamic synthesis of gyroscopic structures consisting of point-connected substructures is investigated. The objective is to develop a mathematical model capable of an adequate simulation of the modal characteristics of a helicopter using a minimum number of degrees of freedom. The basic approach is to regard the helicopter structure as an assemblage of flexible substructures. The variational equations for the perturbed motion about certain equilibrium solutions are derived. The discretized variational equations can be conveniently exhibited in matrix form, and a great deal of information about the system modal characteristics can be extracted from the coefficient matrices. The derivation of the variational equations requires a monumental amount of algebraic operations. To automate this task a symbolic manipulation program on a digital computer is developed.

Meirovitch, L.↗

A special purpose symbolic manipulation program for the derivation of the equations of motion for large flexible structures

This paper outlines a computer program especially tailored to the task of deriving explicit equations of motion for structures with point-connected substructures. The special purpose program is written in FORTRAN and is designed for performing the specific algebraic operations encountered in the derivation of explicit equations of motion. The derivation is by the Lagrangian approach. Using an orderly kinematical procedure and a discretization and/or truncation scheme, it is possible to write the kinetic and potential energy of each substructure in a compact vector-matrix form. Then, if each element of the matrices and vectors encountered in the kinetic and potential energy is a known algebraic expression, the computer program performs the necessary operations to evaluate the kinetic and potential energy of the system explicitly. Lagrange's equations for small motions about equilibrium can be deduced directly from the explicit form of the system kinetic and potential energy.

Hale, A. L.↗

Results of ionization measurements in the middle atmosphere

Positive-ion electrical-conductivity measurements, which are now performed with 4-cm diameter meteorological rocket payloads, provide a simple means of monitoring the NO concentration in the mesosphere, as well as the ionization variability. A wavelike dynamical structure is observed at low latitudes. Parachute-borne Gerdien mobility analyzers show, in addition, ion mobility spectra which spread from much greater to much less than that expected for simple gas-phase ions in the mesosphere and also indicate an ion clustering chain in the stratosphere. Large particulate ions apparently form in the daytime and grow very large at night. An instrument combining the mobility analyzer with a flashing source of ionizing radiation could be used as an NO(x) spectrometer.

Croskey, C. L.↗

Equatorial X-rays and their effect on the lower mesosphere

Equatorial regions are well suited for studies of lower mesospheric response to X-rays because cosmic ray background effects are low there. In a sequence of rocket and balloon-borne observations conducted in Peru (12.5 S, 76.8 W), a direct measurement of a galactic X-ray source was made at an altitude of 65 km. Although no unusual X-ray activity was found above and below the region studied, the 65 km observations were consistent with known data for Sco X-1, i.e., its position and energy spectrum. In addition to showing that stellar X-rays do indeed affect the lower mesosphere, their transient nature leads also to the conclusion that the equatorial energetic electron belt is not a permanent feature of that region.

Goldberg, R. A.↗