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At least 451 records · Page 25

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NASA NTRS1988

Thermal measurements for jets in disturbed and undisturbed crosswind conditions

A direct comparison is made of the thermal field properties for a low-disturbance and a high-disturbance level condition affecting the low-temperature air jets introduced into gas turbine combustor aft sections in order both to cool the high-temperature gases and quench the combustion reactions. Sixty-four fast-response thermocouples were simultaneously sampled and corrected for their time constant effect at a downstream plane close to the jet exit. Histograms formed from independent samples were sufficiently smooth to approximate a pdf.

Wark, Candace E.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Minimization of spacecraft disturbances in space-robotic systems

Virtual manipulators for an arbitrary point of a real open chain space manipulator are presented. These virtual manipulators can be used to generate a disturbance map which can be used to select paths that reduce spacecraft disturbances. The present technique is applied to a simple two-link manipulator mounted on a free-floating spacecraft.

Vafa, Zia↗

NASA NTRS1989

Boundary-layer receptivity to long-wave free-stream disturbances

The present treatment of the early stages of boundary layer-transition phenomena, where the unsteady motion is of small amplitude and can be accordingly treated as a small perturbation of an appropriate mean flow, elaborates the Heinrich et al. (1988) discussion of the role played by this 'receptivity' stage: in which the unsteady flow exhibits the same harmonic time-dependence as the externally-imposed forcing. Freestream disturbance wavelengths are noted to often be much longer than the Tollmien-Schlichting wavelength. Attention is given to the variety of wavelength-reduction mechanisms able to couple the long-wavelength, freestream disturbances to the comparatively short Tollmien-Schlichting waves.

Goldstein, M. E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

A climatology of gravity waves and other coherent disturbances at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory during March-April 1984

Gravity waves and other coherent disturbances observed at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) during the period between mid-March and mid-April 1984 were studied using data collected by an array of microbarographs located around the 300-m meteorological tower, together with data from the tower. Five passbands were considered in the period range 1-20 min; it was found that, for most of the time, the atmospheric state at these passbands displayed highly coherent structure. For disturbances of up to 5-min periods, a relationship was found between the turbulent kinetic energy measured on the tower and the amplitude of the rms pressure field at the ground, but, for longer periods, no such relationship was found.

Einaudi, F.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Simulation and measurement of disturbance propagation in a single tether system

One of the missions of the Getaway Tether Experiment (GATE) is to investigate disturbance propagation and control in a tethered system. In order to understand the nature of the propagation, simulation of the tether response is vital. A single finite duration pulse is the source of the disturbance. A bead model is used to predict the motion of the tether and the end masses (modeled as point masses). System response is checked for different magnitudes of force and for different points of impact on the tether. Along with simulation, hardware development is needed, especially in the area of tension measurement. At this time, hardware is being developed to measure the tension in the tether, so that the tethered system can be controlled via tension feedback. The hardware will then be tested in conjunction with the Dynamics and Control Mission of the GATE project.

Greene, Michael↗

NASA NTRS1989

A search for the solar roots of the most disturbed interplanetary field intervals of solar cycle 21

During the course of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter mission, fairly continuous interplanetary plasma and magnetic field data were obtained which span the interval from prior to the last solar maximum to the current solar minimum recovery. Within this nearly complete solar cycle interval, several periods of exceptional disturbance of the interplanetary field stand out. The available solar data have been examined to determine what features, if any, distinguish these periods. Neither flare nor coronal mass ejection reports show particularly unusual behavior. However, these periods appear to occur in conjunction with marked changes in the interplanetary sector structure. This suggests that heliospheric current sheet reconfiguration is an indicator of the level of interplanetary disturbance distinct from the more traditional solar activity data.

Luhmann, J. G.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control of the Space Station for asymptotic momentum management

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control is investigated for asymptotic momentum management of control moment gyros used as primary actuating devices for the Space Station. The proposed controller utilizes the concepts of quaternion feedback control and periodic-disturbance accommodation to achieve oscillations about the constant torque equilibrium attitude, while minimizing the control effort required. Three-axis coupled equations of motion, written in terms of quaternions, are derived for roll/yaw controller design and stability analysis. The quaternion feedback controller designed using the linear-quadratic regulator synthesis technique is shown to be robust for a wide range of pitch angles. It is also shown that the proposed controller tunes the open-loop unstable vehicle to a stable oscillatory motion which minimizes the control effort needed for steady-state operations.

Warren, Wayne↗

NASA NTRS1989

An algorithm for the systematic disturbance of optimal rotational solutions

An algorithm for introducing a systematic rotational disturbance into an optimal (i.e., single axis) rotational trajectory is described. This disturbance introduces a motion vector orthogonal to the quaternion-defined optimal rotation axis. By altering the magnitude of this vector, the degree of non-optimality can be controlled. The metric properties of the distortion parameter are described, with analogies to two-dimensional translational motion. This algorithm was implemented in a motion-control program on a three-dimensional graphic workstation. It supports a series of human performance studies on the detectability of rotational trajectory optimality by naive observers.

Grunwald, Arthur J.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control of the space station for asymptotic momentum management

Warren, Wayne↗

NASA NTRS1990

Two-dimensional caustics in disturbed galaxy disks

Interacting galaxies show a variety of exotic morphologies besides the well-known rings, spirals, and bars. It is proposed that many of these can be identified with nonlinear, caustic structures that are known from singularity theory to be generic in collisionless dynamics. A simple kinematical model for stellar orbits is used to study the development of caustic waveforms in galaxy disks following impulsive, nonaxially symmetric (collisional) disturbances. It appears that all of the caustics known from singularity theory to be generic in two dimensions develop as transient forms in at least some moderately off-center collisions. The more complex, higher-order caustics appear most prominently in the more off-center and larger amplitude disturbances. It is further suggested that the highly nonlinear caustic waves may play an important role in interaction-induced star formation.

Struck-Marcell, Curtis↗

NASA NTRS1989

Computational results for the effects of external disturbances on transition location of bodies of revolution from subsonic to supersonic speeds and comparisons with experimental data

Computational experiments have been performed for a few configurations in order to investigate the effects of external flow disturbances on the extent of laminar flow and wake drag. Theoretical results have been compared with experimental data for the AEDC cone, for Mach numbers from subsonic to supersonic, and for both free flight and wind tunnel environments. The comparisons have been found to be very satisfactory, thus establishing the utility of the present method for the design and development of laminar flow configurations and for the assessment of wind tunnel data. In addition, results of calculations concerning the effects of unit Reynolds numbers on transition are presented. In addition to the AEDC cone, computations have been performed for an ogive body of revolution at zero angle of attack and supersonic Mach numbers. Results are presented for transition Reynolds number and wake drag for external disturbances corresponding to free air and the test section of the AEDC-VKF tunnel. These results have been found to compare quite well with wind tunnel data for cases when surface suction is applied as well as when suction is absent.

Goradia, S. H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Active rejection of persistent disturbances in flexible space structures

A dynamic compensator for active rejection of persistent disturbances in flexible space structures is designed on the principle of the H(infinity)-optimization of the sensitivity transfer function matrix. A general state space solution is formulated to the multiinput multioutput H(infinity)-optimal control problem, allowing the use of the H(infinity)-optimal synthesis algorithm for the state-space models of space structures that result from model order reduction. Disturbances encountered in flexible space structures, such as shuttle docking, are investigated using the high-mode and the reduced-order models of a cantilevered two-bay truss, demonstrating the applicability of the H(infinity)-optimal approach.

Hwang, Cheng-Neng↗

NASA NTRS1990

Latitudinal variation of perturbation electric fields during magnetically disturbed periods - 1986 Sundial observations and model results

F-region incoherent scatter radar drift observations from Millstone Hill and Jicamarca, h-prime F observations from Huancayo, and high latitude ground-magnetometer measurements taken during the Sundial 1986 campaign are used to study the relationship between plasmaspheric electric field perturbations and high latitude currents during disturbed periods. The observations are in good agreement with numerical results from a Rice Covection Model run that involved a sharp increase in the polar cap potential drop followed by a subsequent decrease. The zonal disturbance electric field pattern is latitude independent, and the corresponding amplitudes change approximately as L exp n (where n is about 1.5). The meridional electric field patterns and amplitudes have larger latitudinal variations. The mid-, low, and equatorial electric fields from the Rice Convection Model are in good agreement with previous results from the semianalytic, Senior-Blanc (1987) model. Also discussed are three physical mechanisms (over-shielding, fossil winds, and magnetic reconfiguration) that contribute to the long lasting (1-2 h) equatorial zonal electric field perturbations associated with a sudden northward turning of the IMF. It is predicted that the penetration of high latitude electric fields to low latitudes should, in general, be closely related to the rate of motion of the shielding layer and the equatorward edge of the diffuse aurora.

Fejer, B. G.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Disturbances of three cometary magnetospheres as explained by an MHD simulation

Outstanding disturbances of the plasma tails were observed in 1989 in three comets, Brorsen-Metcalf, Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko, and Aarseth-Brewington. Time variations of the tails were obtained from photographs provided by many astronomers. A 2-D MHD simulation was performed varying the speed and the direction of the solar wind flow. The simulation agreed quite well with the observations. Solar flares were identified as the sources of these disturbances. It was found that the sudden change in direction of the plasma tail axis occurs when the comet crosses a discontinuity surface of the solar wind structure accompanied by solar flares.

Kozuka, Y.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Compressible flows with periodic vortical disturbances around lifting airfoils

A numerical method is developed for solving periodic, three-dimensional, vortical flows around lifting airfoils in subsonic flow. The first-order method that is presented fully accounts for the distortion effects of the nonuniform mean flow on the convected upstream vortical disturbances. The unsteady velocity is split into a vortical component which is a known function of the upstream flow conditions and the Lagrangian coordinates of the mean flow, and an irrotational field whose potential satisfies a nonconstant-coefficient, inhomogeneous, convective wave equation. Using an elliptic coordinate transformation, the unsteady boundary value problem is solved in the frequency domain on grids which are determined as a function of the Mach number and reduced frequency. The numerical scheme is validated through extensive comparisons with known solutions to unsteady vortical flow problems. In general, it is seen that the agreement between the numerical and analytical results is very good for reduced frequencies ranging from 0 to 4, and for Mach numbers ranging from .1 to .8. Numerical results are also presented for a wide variety of flow configurations for the purpose of determining the effects of airfoil thickness, angle of attack, camber, and Mach number on the unsteady lift and moment of airfoils subjected to periodic vortical gusts. It is seen that each of these parameters can have a significant effect on the unsteady airfoil response to the incident disturbances, and that the effect depends strongly upon the reduced frequency and the dimensionality of the gust. For a one-dimensional (transverse) or two-dimensional (transverse and longitudinal) gust, the results indicate that airfoil thickness increases the unsteady lift and moment at the low reduced frequencies but decreases it at the high reduced frequencies. The results show that an increase in airfoil Mach number leads to a significant increase in the unsteady lift and moment for the low reduced frequencies, but a significant decrease for the high reduced frequencies.

Scott, James R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Flow Visualization Study of a 1/48-Scale AFTI/F111 Model to Investigate Horizontal Tail Flow Disturbances

During flight testing of the AFTI/F111 aircraft, horizontal tail buffet was observed. Flutter analysis ruled out any aeroelastic instability, so a water-tunnel flow visualization study was conducted to investigate possible flow disturbances on the horizontal tail which might cause buffet. For this study, a 1/48-scale model was used. Four different wing cambers and one horizontal tail setting were tested between 0 and 20 deg angle of attack. These wing cambers corresponded to the following leading training edge deflections: 0/2, 10/10, 10/2, and 0/10. Flow visualization results in the form of still photographs are presented for each of the four wing cambers between 8 and 12 deg angle of attack. In general, the horizontal tail experiences flow disturbances which become more pronounced with angle of attack or wing trailing-edge deflection.

Bjarke, Lisa J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Control strategy for cooperating disparate manipulators: Non-colocated control of disturbances of a flexible arm

The long term objectives for this research are to use a small robot arm to compliment a large robot arm. Disturbances generated by robot tasks were studied. Available equipment made it convenient to study disturbances generated by an abrasive cut off saw mounted on the tip of a large armed robot, and used to cut through rods and pipes in the range of 0.5 in. to 1.5 in. The abrasive process was modeled as a friction operation. The operation of the cut off saw was performed autonomously and under teleoperated control. The behavior was stable in both cases for a P-D joint control algorithm. It was found that broad band excitation during the cutting operation is capable of exciting arm natural frequencies to above the third natural frequency of the arm. The direction of cut changed the modes excited due to the change in coupling coefficients.

Lew, Jae Y.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Transition research in low-disturbance high-speed wind tunnels

The technical requirements and test data from the Mach 3.5 Pilot Low-Disturbance Tunnel are presented. This unique facility provides a test region with essentially zero-acoustic noise and simulates, for the first time, the low-disturbance conditions of atmospheric flight. Applications to the test results of linear stability theory with the e exp N method indicate that transition locations for both simple and complex flows are well predicted by using N of about 9 to 11.

Beckwith, I. E.↗