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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 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Application of fuel/time minimization techniques to route planning and trajectory optimization

Rising fuel costs combined with other economic pressures have resulted in industry requirements for more efficient air traffic control and airborne operations. NASA has responded with an on-going research program to investigate the requirements and benefits of using new airborne guidance and pilot procedures that are compatible with advanced air traffic control systems and that will result in more fuel efficient flight. The results of flight testing an airborne computer algorithm designed to provide either open-loop or closed-loop guidance for fuel efficient descents while satisfying time constraints imposed by the air traffic control system is summarized. Some of the potential cost and fuel savings that are obtained with sophisticated vertical path optimization capabilities are described.

Knox, C. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Feedback laws for fuel minimization for transport aircraft

The Theoretical Mechanics Branch has as one of its long-range goals to work toward solving real-time trajectory optimization problems on board an aircraft. This is a generic problem that has application to all aspects of aviation from general aviation through commercial to military. Overall interest is in the generic problem, but specific problems to achieve concrete results are examined. The problem is to develop control laws that generate approximately optimal trajectories with respect to some criteria such as minimum time, minimum fuel, or some combination of the two. These laws must be simple enough to be implemented on a computer that is flown on board an aircraft, which implies a major simplification from the two point boundary value problem generated by a standard trajectory optimization problem. In addition, the control laws allow for changes in end conditions during the flight, and changes in weather along a planned flight path. Therefore, a feedback control law that generates commands based on the current state rather than a precomputed open-loop control law is desired. This requirement, along with the need for order reduction, argues for the application of singular perturbation techniques.

Price, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Computer program documentation for a subcritical wing design code using higher order far-field drag minimization

A subsonic, linearized aerodynamic theory, wing design program for one or two planforms was developed which uses a vortex lattice near field model and a higher order panel method in the far field. The theoretical development of the wake model and its implementation in the vortex lattice design code are summarized and sample results are given. Detailed program usage instructions, sample input and output data, and a program listing are presented in the Appendixes. The far field wake model assumes a wake vortex sheet whose strength varies piecewise linearly in the spanwise direction. From this model analytical expressions for lift coefficient, induced drag coefficient, pitching moment coefficient, and bending moment coefficient were developed. From these relationships a direct optimization scheme is used to determine the optimum wake vorticity distribution for minimum induced drag, subject to constraints on lift, and pitching or bending moment. Integration spanwise yields the bound circulation, which is interpolated in the near field vortex lattice to obtain the design camber surface(s).

Kuhlman, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Pharmacologic counter measures minimizing post-space flight orthostatic intolerance

The effect of bed rest on drug disposition and physiological function was investigated as part of a project to determine the cardiovascular effects of space flight. One group of subjects was given doses of lidocane, penicillin-G, and ICG during a control period and following seven days of bed rest. Cardiac function was evaluated by echo-cardiography. Renal function was evaluated in a second group before and after several days of bed rest. Inulin, para-aminohippurate, and dextran clearances were studied. In the first group, the post-bed rest parameters were not statistically different from the pre-bed rest valves. In the second study, renal function did not change significantly after seven days of bed rest. Plans for future research are reviewed.

Harrison, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Minimal upper mantle temperature variations consistent with observed heat flow and plate velocities

Heat-flow and plate-velocity measurements are used to model upper-mantle temperature variations; the results are intended to form the basis for a gravity-field-variation model and are also applicable to the interpretation of petrological and seismological data. A 5-deg grid is used, a depth of 280 km is chosen as the fully convecting level, and it is assumed that 85 percent of the global heat production (4.0 x 10 to the 13th W) comes from below this level. The velocity field is calculated by integrating the momentum equations down to 280 km (assuming laterally homogeneous viscosity and density) and then used to determine the temperature fields. The results are presented in graphs, tables, and maps. The largest lateral temperature differences are about 1500 C and occur in the top 20 km, where the largest (about 200 C/Myr) nonlinear terms of the energy equation are also found. Below 50 km, heat transfer becomes more convective than conductive, and the most significant temperature variation appears in the form of negative 'tongues' as cold as -825 C at about 100 km. Temperature variations of at least + or - 180 C are calculated at the fully convecting level.

Kaula, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

An emulator for minimizing computer resources for finite element analysis

A computer code, SCOPE, has been developed for predicting the computer resources required for a given analysis code, computer hardware, and structural problem. The cost of running the code is a small fraction (about 3 percent) of the cost of performing the actual analysis. However, its accuracy in predicting the CPU and I/O resources depends intrinsically on the accuracy of calibration data that must be developed once for the computer hardware and the finite element analysis code of interest. Testing of the SCOPE code on the AMDAHL 470 V/8 computer and the ELAS finite element analysis program indicated small I/O errors (3.2 percent), larger CPU errors (17.8 percent), and negligible total errors (1.5 percent).

Melosh, R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Vertical ascending electrophoresis of cells with a minimal stabilizing medium

Vertical fractionation of a mixture of fixed horse and human red blood cells layered over a stabilizing support medium was done to give a valid comparison with proposed space experiments. In particular, the effects of sample thickness and concentration on zone migration rate were investigated. Electrophoretic mobilities of horse and human cells calculated from zone migration rates were compatible with those obtained by microelectrophoresis. Complete cell separation was observed when low power and effective cooling were employed.

Omenyi, S. N.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The role of airfoil geometry in minimizing the effect of insect contamination of laminar flow sections

A method has been developed to predict the contamination of an airfoil by insects and the resultant performance penalty. Insect aerodynamics have been modeled and the impingement of insects on an airfoil are solved by calculating their trajectories. Upon impact, insect rupture and the resulting height of the debris is determined based on experimental data. A boundary layer analysis is performed to determine which insects cause boundary layer transition and the resultant drag penalty. A contaminated airfoil figure of merit is presented to be used to compare airfoil susceptibility. Results show that the insect contamination effects depend on accretion conditions, airfoil angle of attack and Reynolds number. The importance of the stagnation region to designing airfoils for minimum drag penalties is discussed.

Maresh, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A two-step scheme for the advection equation with minimized dissipation and dispersion errors

A two-step advection scheme of the Lax-Wendroff type is derived which has accuracy and phase characteristics similar to that of a third-order scheme. The scheme is exactly third-order accurate in time and space for uniform flow. The new scheme is compared with other currently used methods, and is shown to simulate well the advection of localized disturbances with steep gradients. The scheme is derived for constant flow and generalized to two-dimensional nonuniform flow.

Takacs, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

On minimizing the number of calculations in design-by-analysis codes

A method is presented for aerodynamic design for a specified pressure distribution, using analysis codes only. The method requires a very conservative number of analysis runs, and therefore is appropriate when the analysis code is a large code in terms of storage and/or running time. Three model problems illustrate some capabilities and limitations of the method.

Barger, Raymond L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Profile modification to minimize spur gear dynamic loading

An analytical computer simulation program for dynamic modeling of low-contact-ratio spur gear systems is presented. The procedure computes the static transmission error of the gears operating under load and uses a fast Fourier transform to generate the frequency spectrum of the static transmission error at various tooth profile modifications. The dynamic loading response of an unmodified (perfect involute) gear pair was compared with that of gears with various profile modifications. Correlations were found between various profile modifications and the resulting dynamic loads. An effective error, obtained from frequency domain analysis of the static transmission error of the gears, gave a very good indication of the optimum profile modification to reduce gear dynamic loading. Design curves generated by dynamic simulation at various profile modifications are given for gear systems operated at various loads. Optimum profile modifications can be determined from these design curves for improved gear design.

Lin, Hsiang Hsi↗
NASA NTRS1986

Ground-based experiments on the minimization of convection during the growth of crystals from solution

Crystals were grown from solution in the earth's gravitational field with the substantial absence of convection by (1) downward unidirectional growth in an isothermally cooled solution and (2) upward unidirectional growth in a positive vertical thermal gradient. Growth rates were 1.3 to 1.8 times the predictions for convectionless growth, and an order of magnitude less than for growth with vigorous convection. Crystals grown in the isothermal configuration were of comparable or superior quality to those grown with substantial convection. The imposition of a 0.5 to 0.8 C/mm gradient greatly stabilized the growth interface so that flat (001) surfaces could be grown on KDP. Crystals grown in a thermal gradient, however, were filled with far more fluid inclusions than crystals grown isothermally.

Nerad, B. A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Thermal stress minimized, two component, turbine shroud seal

In a turbine machine, a two-component shroud seal which maximizes insulation and sealing around the rotating turbine blades, and is made by independently fabricating each of the two components then joining them together, is disclosed. The two components may be joined together at room temperature. The resulting shroud seal provides greater engine efficiency and thrust.

Handschuh, Robert F.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Minimal parameter solution of the orthogonal matrix differential equation

As demonstrated in this work, all orthogonal matrices solve a first order differential equation. The straightforward solution of this equation requires n sup 2 integrations to obtain the element of the nth order matrix. There are, however, only n(n-1)/2 independent parameters which determine an orthogonal matrix. The questions of choosing them, finding their differential equation and expressing the orthogonal matrix in terms of these parameters are considered. Several possibilities which are based on attitude determination in three dimensions are examined. It is shown that not all 3-D methods have useful extensions to higher dimensions. It is also shown why the rate of change of the matrix elements, which are the elements of the angular rate vector in 3-D, are the elements of a tensor of the second rank (dyadic) in spaces other than three dimensional. It is proven that the 3-D Gibbs vector (or Cayley Parameters) are extendable to other dimensions. An algorithm is developed employing the resulting parameters, which are termed Extended Rodrigues Parameters, and numerical results are presented of the application of the algorithm to a fourth order matrix.

Bar-Itzhack, Itzhack Y.↗