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NASA NTRS1991

Making High-Pass Filters For Submillimeter Waves

Micromachining-and-electroforming process makes rigid metal meshes with cells ranging in size from 0.002 in. to 0.05 in. square. Series of steps involving cutting, grinding, vapor deposition, and electroforming creates self-supporting, electrically thick mesh. Width of holes typically 1.2 times cutoff wavelength of dominant waveguide mode in hole. To obtain sharp frequency-cutoff characteristic, thickness of mesh made greater than one-half of guide wavelength of mode in hole. Meshes used as high-pass filters (dichroic plates) for submillimeter electromagnetic waves. Process not limited to square silicon wafers. Round wafers also used, with slightly more complication in grinding periphery. Grid in any pattern produced in electroforming mandrel. Any platable metal or alloy used for mesh.

Siegel, Peter H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Numerical investigation of instability and transition in rotating plane Poiseuille flow

Direct numerical simulations with initial small-amplitude random disturbances are used to investigate instability and transition in plane Pouseuille flow with spanwise system rotation, employing a large computational domain to facilitate the selection of the dominant spanwise wavelength of the observed streamwise vortices as well as the streamwise wavelength of the dominant secondary modes due to streamwise vortices. In all cases studied, the unstable primary three-dimensional waves persist in the nonlinear stage. Where there is primary three-dimensional wave decay, the finite-amplitude streamwise vortices can become unstable to two different three-dimensional secondary instability modes, depending on the Reynolds and the rotation numbers.

Yang, Kyung-Soo↗

NASA NTRS1991

Numerical simulation of shock-induced combustion/detonation in a premixed H2-air mixture using Navier-Stokes equations

A numerical study was conducted to address the structural stability of the oblique detonation wave. An attempt was made to isolate the structural instability predicted by Buckmaster's (1990) linear stability analysis. For this study a detailed viscous flowfield with finite-rate chemistry was computed past a 20-deg wedge. The finite-rate chemistry was modeled by using a seven-species and seven-reaction model. Instability modes were isolated by analyzing the Fourier power spectrum of the H2O mass fraction at selected sample stations. No unstable temporal modes with dominant frequency were isolated. It was concluded that the instability which is predicted by the Buckmaster work was a high-frequency low-amplitude phenomenon. For engineering purposes, the oblique detonation wave is a stable phenomenon as long as sufficient levels of overdrive are present.

Singh, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Dynamic delamination crack propagation in a graphite/epoxy laminate

Dynamic delamination crack propagation in a (90/0) 5s Graphite/Epoxy laminate with an embedded interfacial crack was investigated experimentally using high speed photography. The dynamic motion was produced by impacting the beamlike laminate specimen with a silicon rubber ball. The threshold impact velocities required to initiate dynamic crack propagation in laminates with varying initial crack positions were determined. The crack propagation speeds were estimated from the photographs. Results show that the through the thickness position of the embedded crack can significantly affect the dominant mechanism and the threshold impact velocity for the onset of crack movement. If the initial delamination is placed near the top of bottom surface of the laminate, local buckling of the delaminated plies may cause instability of the crack. If the initial delamination lies on the midplane, local buckling does not occur and the initiation of crack propagation appears to be dominated by Mode II fracture. The crack propagation and arrest observed was seen to be affected by wave motion within the delamination region.

Grady, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Structural dynamic interaction with solar tracking control for evolutionary Space Station concepts

The sun tracking control system design of the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) and the interaction of the control system with the flexible structure of Space Station Freedom (SSF) evolutionary concepts are addressed. The significant components of the space station pertaining to the SARJ control are described and the tracking control system design is presented. Finite element models representing two evolutionary concepts, enhanced operations capability (EOC) and extended operations capability (XOC), are employed to evaluate the influence of low frequency flexible structure on the control system design and performance. The design variables of the control system are synthesized using a constrained optimization technique to meet design requirements, to provide a given level of control system stability margin, and to achieve the most responsive tracking performance. The resulting SARJ control system design and performance of the EOC and XOC configurations are presented and compared to those of the SSF configuration. Performance limitations caused by the low frequency of the dominant flexible mode are discussed.

Lim, Tae W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Wear mechanisms found in angular contact ball bearings of the SSME's LOX turbopump

Extensive experimental investigations were carried out on used flight bearings of the Phase 2 high-pressure oxygen turbopump (HPOTP) of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) in order to determine the wear mechanisms, dominant wear modes, and their extent and causes. The report shows methodology, surface analysis techniques used, result, and discussion. The mode largely responsible for heavy bearing wear in LOX was identified as adhesive/shear peeling of the upper layers of bearing balls and rings. The mode relies on the mechanisms of scale formation, breakdown, and removal, all of which are greatly enhanced by the heavy oxidation environment of the HPOTP. Major causes of the high wear in bearings appear to be lubrication and cooling, both inadequate for the imposed conditions of operation. Numerous illustrations and evidence are given.

Chase, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Limit cycle oscillation of a fluttering cantilever plate

A response of a cantilever plate in high supersonic flow to a disturbance is considered. The Rayleigh-Ritz method is used to solve the nonlinear oscillation of a fluttering plate. It is found that the length-to-width ratio for a cantilever plate has a great effect on flutter amplitude of the limit cycle. For small length-to-width ratio, the dominant chordwise modes are translation and rotation. It is suggested that higher bending modes must be included to obtain an accurate prediction of the flutter onset and limit cycle oscillation. For large length-to-width ratio, significant chordwise bending is apparent in the flutter motion, with the trailing edge area having the largest motion.

Dowell, Earl↗

NASA NTRS1991

Characterization and modeling of tensile behavior of ceramic woven fabric composites

This paper examines the tensile behavior of SiC/SiC fabric composites. In the characterization effort, the stress-strain relation and damage evolution are studied with a series of loading and unloading tensile test experiments. The stress-strain relation is linear in response to the initial loading and becomes nonlinear when loading exceeds the proportional limit. Transverse cracking has been observed to be a dominant damage mode governing the nonlinear deformation. The damage is initiated at the inter-tow pores where fiber yarns cross over each other. In the modeling work, the analysis is based upon a fiber bundle model, in which fiber undulation in the warp and fill directions and gaps among fiber yarns have been taken into account. Two limiting cases of fabric stacking arrangements are studied. Closed form solutions are obtained for the composite stiffness and Poisson's ratio. Transverse cracking in the composite is discussed by applying a constant failure strain criterion.

Kuo, Wen-Shyong↗

NASA NTRS1992

Effects of buoyancy-driven flow and thermal boundary conditions on physical vapor transport

A 2D numerical model was developed in order to ascertain if reduced gravity conditions are beneficial to physical vapor transport (PVT) and to determine its tolerance limits to residual accelerations. This was solved using the PHOENICS finite-volume code. Reduction of gravitational accelerations to less than 0.1 g0 was found to be sufficient to suppress buoyancy-driven convection to an extent that diffusion was the dominant transport mode, whence a greater uniformity in the growth rate could be obtained. It is shown that a uniform temperature gradient on the ampoule walls causes the vapor to be supersaturated throughout the ampoule, potentially resulting in undesirable nucleation at the walls. A 'hump' in the wall temperature profile can be used to avoid this. The prevailing transport conditions determine the size of the hump needed.

Nadarajah, Arunan↗

NASA NTRS1991

Mixed convective/dynamic roll vortices and their effects on initial wind and temperature profiles

The onset and development of both dynamically and convectively forced boundary layer rolls are studied with linear and nonlinear analyses of a truncated spectral model of shallow Boussinesq flow. Emphasis is given here on the energetics of the dominant roll modes, on the magnitudes of the roll-induced modifications of the initial basic state wind and temperature profiles, and on the sensitivity of the linear stability results to the use of modified profiles as basic states. It is demonstrated that the roll circulations can produce substantial changes to the cross-roll component of the initial wind profile and that significant changes in orientation angle estimates can result from use of a roll-modified profile in the stability analysis. These results demonstrate that roll contributions must be removed from observed background wind profiles before using them to investigate the mechanisms underlying actual secondary flows in the boundary layer. The model is developed quite generally to accept arbitrary basic state wind profiles as dynamic forcing. An Ekman profile is chosen here merely to provide a means for easy comparison with other theoretical boundary layer studies; the ultimate application of the model is to study observed boundary layer profiles. Results of the analytic stability analysis are validated by comparing them with results from a larger linear model. For an appropriate Ekman depth, a complete set of transition curves is given in forcing parameter space for roll modes driven both thermally and dynamically. Preferred orientation angles, horizontal wavelengths and propagation frequencies, as well as energetics and wind profile modifications, are all shown to agree rather well with results from studies on Ekman layers as well as with studies on near-neutral and convective atmospheric boundary layers.

Haack, Tracy↗

NASA NTRS1993

Internal strain analysis of ceramics using scanning laser acoustic microscopy

Quantitative studies of material behavior characteristics are essential for predicting the functionality of a material under its operating conditions. A nonintrusive methodology for measuring the in situ strain of small dimeter (to 11 microns) ceramic fibers under uniaxial tensile loading and the local internal strains of ceramics and ceramic composites under flexural loading is introduced. The strain measurements and experimentally observed mechanical behavior are analyzed in terms of the microstructural development and fracture behavior of each test specimen evaluated. Measurement and analysis of Nicalon silicon carbide (SiC) fiber (15 microns diameter) indicate that the mean elastic modulus of the individual fiber is 185.3 GPa. Deviations observed in the experimentally determined elastic modulus values between specimens were attributed to microstructural variations which occur during processing. Corresponding variations in the fracture surface morphology were also observed. The observed local mechanical behavior of a lithium alumino-silicate (LAS) glass ceramic, a LAS/SiC monofilament composite, and a calcium alumino-silicate (CAS)/SiC fully reinforced composite exhibits nonlinearities and apparent hysteresis due to the subcritical mechanical loading. Local hysteresis in the LAS matrices coincided with the occurrence of multiple fracture initiation sites, localized microcracking, and secondary cracking. The observed microcracking phenomenon was attributed to stress relaxation of residual stresses developed during processing, and local interaction of the crack front with the microstructure. The relaxation strain and stress predicted on apparent mechanical hysteresis effects were defined and correlated with the magnitude of the measured fracture stress for each specimen studied. This quantitative correlation indicated a repeatable measure of the stress at which matrix microcracking occurred for stress relief of each material system. Stress relaxation occurred prior to the onset of steady state cracking conditions. The relaxation stress occurred at 18.5 percent of the fracture stress in LAS and 11.0 percent of the yield stress in CAS/SiC. The relaxation stress ratio was dependent upon the dominant fracture mode of the LAS/SiC specimens. Relaxation stress ratios greater than 0.30 were observed for specimens which fractured due to shear at the fiber matrix interface; specimens which fracture due to tensile cracking had relaxation stress ratios less than 0.30. The stress relaxation ratio appeared to be a specific characteristic of the glass ceramic material. The measured stress relaxation for LAS indicated a measure of the inherent residual stresses in the material due to processing and suggested localized toughening mechanisms for brittle material structures.

Kent, Renee M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Plans for in-flight measurement of hypersonic crossflow transition on the Pegasus launch vehicle

A flight measurements program is underway to obtain flight data for validating stability theory-based transition estimation techniques for crossflow-induced boundary-layer transition at Mach 6-8. A smooth wing glove, designed to enhance crossflow transition and suppress Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) instabilities, will be mounted on the delta wing of the first stage of the Pegasus booster. The instrumentation package will include 'intelligent' software capable of yielding space and time-correlations obtained through extensive use of fast Fourier transforms (FFTs), 'windowing' and multistage compression as well as a variety of techniques for quality assurance. The flight experiment covers a Mach number range (6 to 8) where low background disturbance data cannot currently be obtained in ground facilities. These flight results will support transition estimation code development for application to supersonic laminar flow control (LFC) and National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) class vehicles in areas where crossflow, rather than T-S waves, is the dominant instability mode.

Bertelrud, Arild↗

NASA NTRS1992

A new mechanism for viscosity in cloudy accretion disks - Anomalous (turbulent) viscosity

We analyze the dynamics of a rotating cloudy gaseous medium relative to 2D perturbations having wavelengths shorter than the disk thickness. The viscosity due to cloud-cloud collisions is confronted with the derived critical viscosity, below which a collective mode of perturbations in the disk is able to grow until going into the saturation regime where fully developed turbulence is established. It is shown that for the assumed parameters of AGN accretion disks consistent with the observational data, the viscosity due to collective modes usually dominates over that due to cloud-cloud collisions.

Fridman, Aleksei↗

NASA NTRS1993

Mars dust-driven tides and their impact on the thermosphere

It has been known since the early Mariner 6, 7, and 9 missions that dust loading of the lower atmosphere and the subsequent aerosol heating during dusty periods impacts the martian middle and upper atmospheres. A quantitative measure of this lower atmosphere forcing was obtained by the Viking 1 and 2 landers, from which observed amplitudes of semidiurnal surface-pressure oscillations were correlated with normal-incidence dust optical depths. It appears that the dominant semidiurnal mode is a good indicator of global dust content or mean dust optical depth, especially during dust storm events. A classical tidal model that reproduces the surface pressure oscillations measured by these Viking landers in 1977 was used to calculate tidal amplitudes and phases up to approximately 43 km. These tidal characteristics were calculated for various dust optical depth conditions ranging from typical dusty periods to global dust storm times. Reasonable extrapolations can be made to higher altitudes if one assumes that the vertically propagating tidal modes continue to grow without dissipation or breaking. It is very likely that gravity waves also play an important role in the structure and dynamics of the middle atmosphere of Mars, since the large topographical relief should produce vigorous gravity wave fluxes. Semidiurnal tidal modes, significantly enhanced by lower atmosphere dust-induced heating, may indeed propagate to the Mars thermosphere (approximately less than 100 km) before breaking and generating turbulence. The preferential enhancement of the semidiurnal tides during dust storm onset is primarily due to the elevation of the tidal heating source in a very dusty atmosphere. The (2,2) semidiurnal tidal tidal mode was shown to have the largest variation with dust optical depth, as measured by Viking lander instruments. Also, the (2,2) mode has the largest vertical wavelength of all the semidiurnal tidal modes, and thus is most likely to penetrate into the thermosphere before breaking and to modify the largely in situ solar-driven behavior otherwise expected. The tides may also be partially responsible for determining the height of the martian homopause (approximately 125 km).

Bougher, Stephen W.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Interaction of Oblique Instability Waves with Weak Streamwise Vortices

This paper is concerned with the effect of a weak spanwise-variable mean-flow distortion on the growth of oblique instability waves in a Blasius boundary layer. The streamwise component of the distortion velocity initially grows linearly with increasing streamwise distance, reaches a maximum, and eventually decays through the action of viscosity. This decay occurs slowly and allows the distortion to destabilize the Blasius flow over a relatively large streamwise region. It is shown that even relatively weak distortions can cause certain oblique Rayleigh instability waves to grow much faster than the usual two-dimensional Tollmien-Schlichting waves that would be the dominant instability modes in the absence of the distortion. The oblique instability waves can then become large enough to interact nonlinearly within a common critical layer. It is shown that the resulting nonlinearity is weak and that the common amplitude of the interacting oblique waves is governed by the amplitude evolution equation derived in Goldstein & Choi (1989). The implications of these results for Klebanoff-type transition are discussed.

Goldstein, M. E.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Mixing by barotropic instability in a nonlinear model

A global, nonlinear, equivalent barotropic model is used to study the isentropic mixing of passive tracers by barotropic instability. Basic states are analytical zonal-mean jets representative of the zonal-mean flow in the upper stratosphere, where the observed 4-day wave is thought to be a result of barotropic, and possibly baroclinic, instability. As is known from previous studies, the phase speed and growth rate of the unstable waves is fairly sensitive to the shape of the zonal-mean jet; and the dominant wave mode at saturation is not necessarily the fastest growing mode; but the unstable modes share many features of the observed 4-day wave. Lagrangian trajectories computed from model winds are used to characterize the mixing by the flow. For profiles with both midlatitude and polar modes, mixing is stronger in midlatitude than inside the vortex; but there is little exchange of air across the vortex boundary. There is a minimum in the Lyapunov exponents of the flow and the particle dispersion at the jet maximum. For profiles with only polar unstable modes, there is weak mixing inside the vortex, no mixing outside the vortex, and no exchange of air across the vortex boundary. These results support the theoretical arguments that, whether wave disturbances are generated by local instability or propagate from other regions, the mixing properties of the total flow are determined by the locations of the wave critical lines and that strong gradients of potential vorticity are very resistant to mixing.

Bowman, Kenneth P.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A case study of the mountain lee wave event of January 6, 1992

A mountain wave event, observed at the southern tip of Greenland on January 6, 1992, was corroborated by three experiments: the Meteorological Measurement System (MMS), the Microwave Temperature Profiler (MTP), and the Reactive Nitrogen Instrument (NO/NO(y)). Gravity wave signatures with classical phase relationship between wind and temperature were observed on both the outbound and inbound legs at different altitudes. The waves showed both vertically propagating and evanescent properties. Characteristics of the dominant wave mode are: wavelength about = 35 km; vertical displacement about = 0.8 km, and peak-to-peak vertical wind about = 6/ms. With the prevailing wind at about = 37/ms, the stratospheric temperature was reduced by 6K to 195.5 K within 8 minutes. The implication and potential impact of mountain lee waves on the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSC's) are discussed.

Chan, K. R.↗

NASA NTRS1995

The mesoscale forcing of a midlatitude upper-tropospheric jet streak by a simulated convective system. 1: Mass circulation and ageostrophic processes

The mutual forcing of a midlatitude upper-tropospheric jet streak by organized mesoscale adiabatic and diabatic processes within a simulated convective system (SCS) is investigated. Using isentropic diagnostics, results from a three-dimensional numerical simulation of an SCS are examined to study the isallobaric flow field, modes of dominant ageostrophic motion, and stability changes in relation to the mutual interdependence of adiabatic processes and latent heat release. Isentropic analysis affords an explicit isolation of a component of isallobaric flow associated with diabatic processes within the SCS. Prior to convective development within the simulations, atmospheric destabilization occurs through adiabatic ageostrophic mass adjustment and low-level convergence in association with the preexisting synoptic-scale upper-tropospheric jet streak. The SCS develops in a baroclinic zone and quickly initiates a vigorous mass circulation. By the mature stage, a pronounced vertical couplet of low-level convergence and upper-level mass divergence is established, linked by intense midtropospoheric diabatic heating. Significant divergence persists aloft for several hours subsequent to SCS decay. The dominant role of ageostrophic motion within which the low-level mass convergence develops is the adiabatic isallobaric component, while the mass divergence aloft develops principally through the diabatic isallobaric component. Both compnents are intrinsically linked to the convectively forced vertical mass transport. The inertial diabatic ageostrophic component is largest near the level of maximum heating and is responsible for the development of inertial instability to the north of SCS, resulting in this quadrant being preferred for outflow. The inertial advective component, the dominant term that produces the new downstream wind maximum, rapidly develops north of the SCS and through mutual adjustment creates the baroclinic support for the new jet streak.

Wolf, Bart J.↗