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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 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1961

Forces and Moments on Sphere-Cone Bodies in Newtonian Flow

The static longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of a family of sphere-cone combinations (fineness ratios from 1.0 to 6.0) were computed by means of Newtonian impact theory. The effects of angle of attack, fineness ratio, and center-of-gravity location are shown. The results indicate that, with the center of gravity at or near the center of volume, the sphere-cone combinations are statically stable at trim points that provide low to moderate lift-drag ratios. In general, the lift-drag ratio increased with increasing fineness ratio. As an example, with the center of gravity at the center of volume, the lift-drag ratio at trim was increased from approximately 0.05 to 0.56 by increasing the fineness ratio from 1.2 to 6.0.

Dickey, Robert R.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of astronaut restraints and mobility aids in a weightless shirtsleeve environment

A study, established to produce needed information about manual performance limits in intravehicular weightlessness such as the motions induced by the astronaut's direct application of force against the body of the vehicle or an object to be moved, is presented. Using both conventional and water immersion techniques, it was possible to develop realistic time estimates for astronaut station-to-station translation in Skylab, to simulate and analyze specific Skylab tasks involving force application and motion dynamics, and to evaluate certain thresholds of force application in weightlessness. The study was divided into three tasks. The first related to locomotion and verification or modification of present Skylab translation timelines. In all cases, translation times were less than the Skylab timelines indicated. The second task studied mass handling and transfer. Specifically, this involved measurement of the astronaut's ability to relocate the Skylab food lockers to stowage levels of three different heights and his ability to transfer the M509 PSS bottles between the OWS and the recharge station. The third task helped define the physical limits of man's ability to perform Skylab translation tasks under weightless conditions.

Loats, H. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Preliminary characterization of a one-axis acoustic system

The acoustic fields and levitation forces produced along the axis of a single-axis resonance system were measured. The system consisted of a St. Clair generator and a planar reflector. The levitation force was measured for bodies of various sizes and geometries (i.e., spheres, cylinders, and discs). The force was found to be roughly proportional to the volume of the body until the characteristic body radius reaches approximately 2/k (k = wave number). The acoustic pressures along the axis were modeled using Huygens principle and a method of imaging to approximate multiple reflections. The modeled pressures were found to be in reasonable agreement with those measured with a calibrated microphone.

Oran, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Device for measuring tensile forces

This device is characterized by an elongated body having predetermined elastic properties. An applied tensile force of any magnitude, within a given range, imparts to the body an elongation of a predetermined length. The magnitude of applied tensile force is indicated as a function of the angular motion afforded the threaded sleeve mounted on the body.

Appleberry, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS1961

Theoretical Evaluation of the Pressures, Forces, and Moments at Hypersonic Speeds Acting on Arbitrary Bodies of Revolution Undergoing Separate and Combined Angle-of-attack and Pitching Motions

Equations based on Newtonian impact theory have been derived and a computational procedure developed with the aid of several design-type charts which enable the determination of the aerodynamic forces and moments acting on arbitrary bodies of revolution undergoing either separate or combined angle-of-attack and pitching motions. Bodies with axially increasing and decreasing cross-sectional area distributions are considered; nose shapes may be sharp, blunt, or flat faced. The analysis considers variations in angle of attack from -90 degrees to 90 degrees and allows for both positive and negative pitching rates of arbitrary magnitude. The results are also directly applicable to bodies in either separate or combined sideslip and yawing maneuvers.

Margolis, Kenneth↗
NASA NTRS1951

A Study of Effects of Viscosity on Flow over Slender Inclined Bodies of Revolution

The observed flow field about slender inclined bodies of revolution is compared with the calculated characteristics based upon potential theory. The comparison is instructive in indicating the manner in which the effects of viscosity are manifest. Based on this and other studies, a method is developed to allow for viscous effects on the force and moment characteristics of bodies. The calculated force and moment characteristics of two bodies of high fineness ratio are shown to be in good agreement, for most engineering purposes, with experiment. (author)

Allen, H Julian↗
NASA NTRS2014

Inflight Treadmill Exercise Can Serve as Multi-Disciplinary Countermeasure System

The goals of the Functional Task Test (FTT) study were to determine the effects of space flight on functional tests that are representative of high priority exploration mission tasks and to identify the key underlying physiological factors that contribute to decrements in performance. Ultimately this information will be used to assess performance risks and inform the design of countermeasures for exploration class missions. We have previously shown that for Shuttle, ISS and bed rest subjects, functional tasks requiring a greater demand for dynamic control of postural equilibrium (i.e. fall recovery, seat egress/obstacle avoidance during walking, object translation, jump down) showed the greatest decrement in performance. Functional tests with reduced requirements for postural stability (i.e. hatch opening, ladder climb, manual manipulation of objects and tool use) showed little reduction in performance. These changes in functional performance were paralleled by similar decrements in sensorimotor tests designed to specifically assess postural equilibrium and dynamic gait control. The bed rest analog allows us to investigate the impact of axial body unloading in isolation on both functional tasks and on the underlying physiological factors that lead to decrements in performance and then compare them with the results obtained in our space flight study. These results indicate that body support unloading experienced during space flight plays a central role in postflight alteration of functional task performance. These data also support the concept that space flight may cause central adaptation of converging body-load somatosensory and vestibular input during gravitational transitions [1]. Therefore, we conclude that providing significant body-support loading during inflight treadmill along with balance training is necessary to mitigate decrements in critical mission tasks that require dynamic postural stability and mobility. Data obtained from space flight and bed rest support the notion that in-flight treadmill exercise, in addition to providing aerobic exercise and mechanical stimuli to the bone, also has a number of sensorimotor benefits by providing: 1) A balance challenge during locomotion requiring segmental coordination in response to a downward force. 2) Body-support loading during performance of a full-body active motor task. 3) Oscillatory stimulation of the otoliths and synchronized periodic foot impacts that facilitate the coordination of gait motions and tune the full-body gaze control system. 4) Appropriate sensory input (foot tactile input, muscle and tendon stretch input) to spinal locomotor central pattern generators required for the control of locomotion. Forward work will focus on a follow-up bed rest study that incorporates aerobic and resistance exercise with a treadmill balance and gait training system that can serve as an integrated interdisciplinary countermeasure system for future exploration class missions.

Bloomberg, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Sensory motor coordination in an artificial gravity environment

The authors review and summarize research on the adaptation of limb movement control to Coriolis forces generated by body movements during rotation. They conclude that limb movement control can adapt to rotation rates as high as 10 rpm and that adaptation is rapid regardless of the presence or absence of visual and tactile feedback.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
NASA NTRS1999

Ankle and hip postural strategies defined by joint torques

Previous studies have identified two discrete strategies for the control of posture in the sagittal plane based on EMG activations, body kinematics, and ground reaction forces. The ankle strategy was characterized by body sway resembling a single-segment-inverted pendulum and was elicited on flat support surfaces. In contrast, the hip strategy was characterized by body sway resembling a double-segment inverted pendulum divided at the hip and was elicited on short or compliant support surfaces. However, biomechanical optimization models have suggested that hip strategy should be observed in response to fast translations on a flat surface also, provided the feet are constrained to remain in contact with the floor and the knee is constrained to remain straight. The purpose of this study was to examine the experimental evidence for hip strategy in postural responses to backward translations of a flat support surface and to determine whether analyses of joint torques would provide evidence for two separate postural strategies. Normal subjects standing on a flat support surface were translated backward with a range of velocities from fast (55 cm/s) to slow (5 cm/s). EMG activations and joint kinematics showed pattern changes consistent with previous experimental descriptions of mixed hip and ankle strategy with increasing platform velocity. Joint torque analyses revealed the addition of a hip flexor torque to the ankle plantarflexor torque during fast translations. This finding indicates the addition of hip strategy to ankle strategy to produce a continuum of postural responses. Hip torque without accompanying ankle torque (pure hip strategy) was not observed. Although postural control strategies have previously been defined by how the body moves, we conclude that joint torques, which indicate how body movements are produced, are useful in defining postural control strategies. These results also illustrate how the biomechanics of the body can transform discrete control patterns into a continuum of postural corrections.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2011

A Fully Nonlinear, Dynamically Consistent Numerical Model for Solid-Body Ship Motion. I. Ship Motion with Fixed Heading

In this paper, we describe the details of our numerical model for simulating ship solidbody motion in a given environment. In this model, the fully nonlinear dynamical equations governing the time-varying solid-body ship motion under the forces arising from ship wave interactions are solved with given initial conditions. The net force and moment (torque) on the ship body are directly calculated via integration of the hydrodynamic pressure over the wetted surface and the buoyancy effect from the underwater volume of the actual ship hull with a hybrid finite-difference/finite-element method. Neither empirical nor free parametrization is introduced in this model, i.e. no a priori experimental data are needed for modelling. This model is benchmarked with many experiments of various ship hulls for heave, roll and pitch motion. In addition to the benchmark cases, numerical experiments are also carried out for strongly nonlinear ship motion with a fixed heading. These new cases demonstrate clearly the importance of nonlinearities in ship motion modelling.

Lin, Ray-Quing↗
NASA NTRS1982

The dynamical evolution of the Saturnian ring spokes

It is suggested that the radial spokes observed in rotation across Saturn's B ring are composed of fine, charged dust levitated off the surfaces of larger bodies by electrostatic forces when the latter are sporadically charged to high electrostatic potentials. The time evolution of a spoke is likened to the continuous unfolding of a fan whose vertex is at the synchronous orbit, and whose corotating edge is fixed in the radial direction. According to the present model, the angular velocity of the fan leading edge depends on the age of the spoke, and it is anticipated that the observed scatter of the measured velocities about the Kepler value is real, rather than due to measurement errors, despite their presence inside the expected error bars. It is also shown that the resettling of the grains of dust on the larger bodies in the ring plane, following their initial levitation, results in a differential transport of grains across the ring plane, establishing different multimodal size distributions of dust within the spokes at different planetocentric distances.

Hill, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS2010

High-Speed Solution of Spacecraft Trajectory Problems Using Taylor Series Integration

It has been known for some time that Taylor series (TS) integration is among the most efficient and accurate numerical methods in solving differential equations. However, the full benefit of the method has yet to be realized in calculating spacecraft trajectories, for two main reasons. First, most applications of Taylor series to trajectory propagation have focused on relatively simple problems of orbital motion or on specific problems and have not provided general applicability. Second, applications that have been more general have required use of a preprocessor, which inevitably imposes constraints on computational efficiency. The latter approach includes the work of Berryman et al., who solved the planetary n-body problem with relativistic effects. Their work specifically noted the computational inefficiencies arising from use of a preprocessor and pointed out the potential benefit of manually coding derivative routines. In this Engineering Note, we report on a systematic effort to directly implement Taylor series integration in an operational trajectory propagation code: the Spacecraft N-Body Analysis Program (SNAP). The present Taylor series implementation is unique in that it applies to spacecraft virtually anywhere in the solar system and can be used interchangeably with another integration method. SNAP is a high-fidelity trajectory propagator that includes force models for central body gravitation with N X N harmonics, other body gravitation with N X N harmonics, solar radiation pressure, atmospheric drag (for Earth orbits), and spacecraft thrusting (including shadowing). The governing equations are solved using an eighth-order Runge-Kutta Fehlberg (RKF) single-step method with variable step size control. In the present effort, TS is implemented by way of highly integrated subroutines that can be used interchangeably with RKF. This makes it possible to turn TS on or off during various phases of a mission. Current TS force models include central body gravitation with the J2 spherical harmonic, other body gravitation, thrust, constant atmospheric drag from Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation pressure for a sphere under constant illumination. The purpose of this Engineering Note is to demonstrate the performance of TS integration in an operational trajectory analysis code and to compare it with a standard method, eighth-order RKF. Results show that TS is 16.6 times faster on average and is more accurate in 87.5% of the cases presented.

Scott, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Flexible body dynamic stability for high performance aircraft

Dynamic equations which include the effects of unsteady aerodynamic forces and a flexible body structure were developed for a free flying high performance fighter aircraft. The linear and angular deformations are assumed to be small in the body reference frame, allowing the equations to be linearized in the deformation variables. Equations for total body dynamics and flexible body dynamics are formulated using the hybrid coordinate method and integrated in a state space format. A detailed finite element model of a generic high performance fighter aircraft is used to generate the mass and stiffness matrices. Unsteady aerodynamics are represented by a rational function approximation of the doublet lattice matrices. The equations simplify for the case of constant angular rate of the body reference frame, allowing the effect of roll rate to be studied by computing the eigenvalues of the system. It is found that the rigid body modes of the aircraft are greatly affected by introducing a constant roll rate, while the effect on the flexible modes is minimal for this configuration.

Goforth, E. A.↗