SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Linear compressibility assumption incorporated into third order multiple integral representation of nonlinear creep of polyurethane, reducing time independent kernel functions
Electron temperature measurement in electromagnetic shock tube by spectroscopy and ruby laser light scattering in plasma, examining validity of local thermal equilibrium assumption
Prediction of flap-lag stability using a single bending mode for each degree-of-freedom is examined in the case in which the bending modes are assumed to be the same in the flap and lag directions and are independent of pitch angle and stiffness distribution. It is shown that this model gives results analogous to those obtained by Ormiston employing a rigid blade model with the blade and hub stiffness represented by springs in the limiting cases of the elastic coupling parameter R = 0 and 1. For intermediate values of R the results are shown to be quite different. The mode shape assumptions are shown to result in what is referred to as the parallel spring model in contrast to Ormiston's model which is referred to as a series spring model. The similarities and differences between these two models are developed in some details. The differences between these two models are examined for various typical rotor blade characteristics. Other aspects of the sensitivity of this problem are also considered.
The similarity solutions of So and Hwang (1986) for self-preserving incompressible turbulent round jets are used to derive closed-form similarity solutions to the k and epsilon equations, and the effect of the local-equilibrium assumption (LEA) on round-jet computations is evaluated. Numerical results are presented graphically and compared with the experimental data of Wygnanski and Fiedler (1969) and the computational results of Launder et al. (1972) and Vollmers and Rotta (1977). It is found that when the LEA is accounted for, the jet-centerline turbulent kinetic energy k0 decays as 1/x (where x is the axial coordinate), whereas without accounting for LEA it decays as 1/(x squared); 1/x decay is shown to be in better agreement with observations.
The Space Transportation Nodes Assumptions and Requirements task was performed as part of the Advanced Space Transportation Support Contract, a NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) study intended to provide planning for a Lunar Base near the year 2000. The original task statement has been revised to satisfy the following queries: (1) What vehicles are to be processed at the transportation node; (2) What is the flow of activities involved in a vehicle passing through the node; and (3) What node support resources are necessary to support a lunar scenario traffic model composed of a mix of vehicles in an active flight schedule. The Lunar Base Systems Study is concentrating on the initial years of the Phase 2 Lunar Base Scenario. The study will develop the first five years of that phase in order to define the transportation and surface systems (including mass, volumes, power requirements, and designs).
Boundary conditions for fluctuating wall temperature are required for near-wall heat transfer modeling. However, their correct specifications for arbitrary thermal boundary conditions are not clear. The conventional approach is to assume zero fluctuating wall temperature or zero gradient for the temperature variance at the wall. These are idealized specifications and the latter condition could lead to an ill posed problem for fully-developed pipe and channel flows. In this paper, the validity and extent of the zero fluctuating wall temperature condition for heat transfer calculations is examined. The approach taken is to assume a Taylor expansion in the wall normal coordinate for the fluctuating temperature that is general enough to account for both zero and non-zero value at the wall. Turbulent conductivity is calculated from the temperature variance and its dissipation rate. Heat transfer calculations assuming both zero and non-zero fluctuating wall temperature reveal that the zero fluctuating wall temperature assumption is in general valid. The effects of non-zero fluctuating wall temperature are limited only to a very small region near the wall.
The object of this report was to develop the structural method of sheet metal girders and should for that reason be considered solely from this standpoint. The ensuing methods were based on the assumption of the infinitely low stiffness in bending of the metal web. This simplifies the basis of calculations to such an extent that many questions of great practical importance can be examined which otherwise cannot be included in any analysis of the bending stiffness of the buckled plate. This report refers to such points as the safety in buckling of uprights to the effect of bending flexibility of spars, to spars not set parallel, etc.
The following load assumptions shall be taken as the basis of the strength calculations. Certain definite load conditions (e.g. of flight, control, landing and transport) shall be assumed. The loads shall be assumed to be safe loads, constant or only slowly variable, and the inertia forces due to elastic deformation are accordingly disregarded. The external forces, the force of gravity and the inertia forces on the whole airplane shall produce a condition of equilibrium.
The turbine blades in the high-pressure fuel turbopump/alternate turbopump (HPFTP/AT) are subjected to hot gases rapidly flowing around them. This flow excites vibrations in the blades. Naturally, one has to worry about resonance, so a damping device was added to dissipate some energy from the system. The foundation is now laid for a very complex problem. The damper is in contact with the blade, so now there are contact stresses (both normal and tangential) to contend with. Since these stresses can be very high, it is not all that difficult to yield the material. Friction is another non-linearity and the blade is made out of a Nickel-based single-crystal superalloy that is orthotropic. A few approaches exist to solve such a problem and computer models, using contact elements, have been built with friction, plasticity, etc. These models are quite cumbersome and require many hours to solve just one load case and material orientation. A simpler approach is required. Ideally, the model should be simplified so the analysis can be conducted faster. When working with contact problems determining the contact patch and the stresses in the material are the main concerns. Closed-form solutions for non-conforming bodies, developed by Hertz, made out of isotropic materials are readily available. More involved solutions for 3-D cases using different materials are also available. The question is this: can Hertzian1 solutions be applied, or superimposed, to more complicated problems-like those involving anisotropic materials? That is the point of the investigation here. If these results agree with the more complicated computer models, then the analytical solutions can be used in lieu of the numerical solutions that take a very long time to process. As time goes on, the analytical solution will eventually have to include things like friction and plasticity. The models in this report use no contact elements and are essentially an applied load problem using Hertzian assumptions to determine the contact patch dimensions.
The MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and recently the Aqua platform, produces a set of aerosol products over both ocean and land regions. Previous validation efforts have shown that from a global perspective, aerosol optical depth (AOD) is successfully retrieved from MODIS. Even over coastal regions, the over- land and over-ocean retrievals are consistent with each other, and well matched with ground-based sunphotometer measurements (such as AERONET). However, the East Coast of the United States is one region where there is consistently a discrepancy between land and ocean retrievals. Over the ocean, MODIS AODs are consistent with coastal sunphotometer measurements, but over land, AODs are consistently over- estimated. In this study we use field data from the Chesapeake Lighthouse and Aircraft Measurements for Satellites experiment (CLAMS), (held during summer 2001) to determine the aerosol properties at a number of sites. Using the 6-S radiative transfer package, we compute simulated satellite radiances and compare them with observed MODIS radiances. We believe that the AOD over-estimation is not likely due to an incorrect choice of the urban/industrial aerosol models. Using 6-S to do an atmospheric correction for a very low AOD case, we show rather, that the discrepancies are likely a result of incorrect assumptions about the surface reflectance properties. Understanding and improving MODIS retrievals over the East Coast will not only improve the global quality of MODIS, but also would enable the use of MODIS as a tool for monitoring regional aerosol events.
Project M is a mission Johnson Space Center is working on to send an autonomous humanoid robot to the moon (also known as Robonaut 2) in l000 days. The robot will be in a lander, fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid methane, and land on the moon, avoiding any hazardous obstacles. It will perform tasks like maintenance, construction, and simple student experiments. This mission is also being used as inspiration for new advancements in technology. I am considering three of the design assumptions that contribute to determining the mission feasibility: maturity of robotic technology, launch vehicle determination, and the LOX/Methane fueled spacecraft
Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Angstrom exponent (AE) values derived with the MODIS retrieval algorithm over land (Collection 5) are compared with ground based sun photometer measurements at eleven sites spanning the globe. Although, in general, total AOD compares well at these sites (R2 values generally over 0.8), there are cases (from 2 to 67% of the measurements depending on the site) where MODIS clearly retrieves the wrong spectral dependence, and hence, an unrealistic AE value. Some of these poor AE retrievals are due to the aerosol signal being too small (total AOD<0.3) but in other cases the AOD should have been high enough to derive accurate AE. However, in these cases, MODIS indicates AE values close to 0.6 and zero fine model weighting (FMW), i.e. dust model provides the best fitting to the MODIS observed reflectance. Yet, according to evidence from the collocated sun photometer measurements and back-trajectory analyses, there should be no dust present. This indicates that the assumptions about aerosol model and surface properties made by the MODIS algorithm may have been incorrect. Here we focus on problems related to parameterization of the land-surface optical properties in the algorithm, in particular the relationship between the surface reflectance at 660 and 2130 nm.
A simplied framework is presented for assessing the qualitative sensitivities of computed microwave properties, satellite brightness temperatures, and radar reflectivities to assumptions concerning the physical properties of ice-phase hydrometeors. Properties considered included the shape parameter of a gamma size distribution andthe melted-equivalent mass median diameter D0, the particle density, dielectric mixing formula, and the choice of complex index of refraction for ice. We examine these properties at selected radiometer frequencies of 18.7, 36.5, 89.0, and 150.0 GHz; and radar frequencies at 2.8, 13.4, 35.6, and 94.0 GHz consistent with existing and planned remote sensing instruments. Passive and active microwave observables of ice particles arefound to be extremely sensitive to the melted-equivalent mass median diameter D0 ofthe size distribution. Similar large sensitivities are found for variations in the ice vol-ume fraction whenever the geometric mass median diameter exceeds approximately 1/8th of the wavelength. At 94 GHz the two-way path integrated attenuation is potentially large for dense compact particles. The distribution parameter mu has a relatively weak effect on any observable: less than 1-2 K in brightness temperature and up to 2.7 dB difference in the effective radar reflectivity. Reversal of the roles of ice and air in the MaxwellGarnett dielectric mixing formula leads to a signicant change in both microwave brightness temperature (10 K) and radar reflectivity (2 dB). The choice of Warren (1984) or Warren and Brandt (2008) for the complex index of refraction of ice can produce a 3%-4% change in the brightness temperature depression.
The recent Kepler discoveries of Earth-like planets offer the opportunity to focus our attention on detecting signs of life and technology in specific planetary systems, but I feel we need to become more flexible in our assumptions. The reason is that, while it is still reasonable and conservative to assume that life is most likely to have originated in conditions similar to ours, the vast time differences in potential evolutions render the likelihood of "matching" technologies very slim. In light of these challenges I propose a more "aggressive" approach to future SETI exploration in directions that until now have received little consideration.
The theory of thermal radiation as applied to cryogenic surfaces is explored, andvalidation cases are solved in Thermal Desktop. Some results are compared topreviously published research, and new results are published regarding cracks inboth spherical and cylindrical cryogenic insulations with a cold boundary of 90Kto 220K for ten layer blankets under a variety of assumptions and scenarios.It was found that enabling directional emission{as well as specular, mirrorlikereflections have little impact on the results.
NASA is developing Urban Air Mobility (UAM) concepts to (1) create first-generation reference vehicles that can be used for technology, system, and market studies, and (2) hypothesize second-generation UAM aircraft to determine high-payoff technology targets and future research areas that reach far beyond initial UAM vehicle capabilities. This report discusses the vehicle-level technology assumptions for NASA’s UAM reference vehicles, and highlights future research areas for second-generation UAM aircraft that includes deflected slipstream concepts, low-noise rotors for edgewise flight, stacked rotors/propellers, ducted propellers, solid oxide fuel cells with liquefied natural gas, and improved turbo shaft and reciprocating engine technology. The report also highlights a transportation network-scale model that is being developed to understand the impact of these and other technologies on future UAM solutions.
Highly efficient water management and recovery systems will be required to support human missions beyond the low Earth orbit of the International Space Station (ISS).A review of baseline assumptions for the human activities and associated water cycle in surface, partial gravity habitats and orbiting, microgravity habitats is conducted. The paper reviews and updates ersatz formulations and water flow rates for the main liquid water waste streams of urine, humidity condensate, hygiene, and laundry. A framework is provided to coordinate development of water recovery systems for 30-day crew occupancies under partial gravity with longer term, continuous occupancy in orbiting microgravity habitats and the Mars transit habitat.
Accurate fire emissions inventories are crucial to predict the impacts of wildland fires on air quality and atmospheric composition. Two traditional approaches are widely used to calculate fire emissions: a satellite-based top-down approach and a fuels-based bottom-up approach. However, these methods often considerably disagree on the amount of particulate mass emitted from fires. Previously available observational datasets tended to be sparse, and lacked the statistics needed to resolve these methodological discrepancies. Here, we leverage the extensive and comprehensive airborne in situ and remote sensing measurements of smoke plumes from the recent Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) campaign to statistically assess the skill of the two traditional approaches. We use detailed campaign observations to calculate and compare emission rates at an exceptionally high-resolution using three separate approaches: top-down, bottom-up, and a novel approach based entirely on integrated airborne in situ measurements. We then compute the daily average of these high-resolution estimates and compare with estimates from lower resolution, global top-down and bottom-up inventories. We uncover strong, linear relationships between all of the high-resolution emission rate estimates in aggregate, however no single approach is capable of capturing the emission characteristics of every fire. Global inventory emission rate estimates exhibited weaker correlations with the high-resolution approaches and displayed evidence of systematic bias. The disparity between the low resolution global inventories and the high-resolution approaches is likely caused by high levels of uncertainty in essential variables used in bottom-up inventories and imperfect assumptions in top-down inventories. Plain Language Summary Smoke emitted by wildland fires is dangerous to human health and contributes to climate change.To predict and evaluate the impacts of fires, we need to know how much smoke is emitted into the atmosphere. There are two state-of-the-art methods used to estimate the mass of smoke emitted by fires, but they often disagree. In this study, we use unusually detailed measurements collected using an aircraft that flew within wildland fire smoke plumes to calculate the amount ofsmoke emitted from fires in the Western United States. We compare emission rates derived from the exceptionally high spatial and temporal resolution approach to the two traditional, lower resolution approaches to understand why they sometimes diverge