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NASA NTRS1991

Computer codes for the evaluation of thermodynamic and transport properties for equilibrium air to 30000 K

The computer codes developed here provide self-consistent thermodynamic and transport properties for equilibrium air for temperatures from 500 to 30000 K over a temperature range of 10 (exp -4) to 10 (exp -2) atm. These properties are computed through the use of temperature dependent curve fits for discrete values of pressure. Interpolation is employed for intermediate values of pressure. The curve fits are based on mixture values calculated from an 11-species air model. Individual species properties used in the mixture relations are obtained from a recent study by the present authors. A review and discussion of the sources and accuracy of the curve fitted data used herein are given in NASA RP 1260.

Thompson, Richard A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Effects of location uncertainties on the observed distribution of gamma-ray bursts detected by BATSE

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory has shown that the sources of gamma-ray bursts have an angular distribution consistent with isotropy, yet the bursts are spatially inhomogeneous. Detection of a statistically significant deviation from isotropy in the burst distribution would provide a clue to the distance of the burst sources. BATSE's ability to detect slight deviations of the angular distribution from isotropy is, in part, dependent on the accuracy of the computed burst locations. Using bursts whose locations have been determined accurately and independently, we estimate BATSE's location uncertainties and incorporate them into 3D Monte Carlo simulations of the burst distributions to show that, despite individual burst location uncertainties of about 5 deg, the ability of BATSE to place stringent limits on the anisotropy present in the angular distribution of the gamma-ray bursts is not significantly degraded. Observational effects of possible galactic halo distributions of the burst sources are noted.

Horack, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Aliasing as noise - A quantitative and qualitative assessment

We present a model-based argument that, for the purposes of system design and digital image processing, aliasing should be treated as signal-dependent additive noise. By using a computational simulation based on this model, we process (high resolution images of) natural scenes in a way which enables the 'aliased component' of the reconstructed image to be isolated unambiguously. We demonstrate that our model-based argument leads naturally to system design metrics which quantify the extent of aliasing. And, by illustrating several aliased component images, we provide a qualitative assessment of aliasing as noise.

Park, Stephen K.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Spatial simulation of secondary instability in plane channel flow - Comparison of K- and H-type disturbances

This study involves a numerical simulation of spatially evolving secondary instability in plane channel flow. The computational algorithm integrates the time-dependent, 3D, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations by a mixed finite-difference/spectral technique. In particular, we are interested in the differences between instabilities instigated by Klebanoff (K-) type and Herbert (H-) type inflow conditions, and in comparing the present spatial results with previous temporal models. It is found that for the present inflow conditions, H-type instability is biased towards one of the channel walls, while K-type instability evolves on both walls. For low initial perturbation amplitudes, H-type instability exhibits higher growth rates than K-type instability, while higher initial amplitudes lead to comparable growth rates of both H- and K-type instability. In H-type instability, spectral analysis reveals the presence of the subharmonic 2D mode which promotes the growth of the 3D spanwise and fundamental modes through nonlinear interactions. An intermodal energy transfer study demonstrates that there is a net energy transfer from the 3D modes to the 2D mode. This analysis also indicates that the mean mode transfers net energy to the 2D subharmonic mode and to the 3D modes.

Saiki, E. M.↗

NASA NTRS1988

A new technology perspective and engineering tools approach for large, complex and distributed mission and safety critical systems components

Rapidly emerging technology and methodologies have out-paced the systems development processes' ability to use them effectively, if at all. At the same time, the tools used to build systems are becoming obsolescent themselves as a consequence of the same technology lag that plagues systems development. The net result is that systems development activities have not been able to take advantage of available technology and have become equally dependent on aging and ineffective computer-aided engineering tools. New methods and tools approaches are essential if the demands of non-stop and Mission and Safety Critical (MASC) components are to be met.

Carrio, Miguel A., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Bending and stretching finite element analysis of anisotropic viscoelastic composite plates

Finite element algorithms have been developed to analyze linear anisotropic viscoelastic plates, with or without holes, subjected to mechanical (bending, tension), temperature, and hygrothermal loadings. The analysis is based on Laplace transforms rather than direct time integrations in order to improve the accuracy of the results and save on extensive computational time and storage. The time dependent displacement fields in the transverse direction for the cross ply and angle ply laminates are calculated and the stacking sequence effects of the laminates are discussed in detail. Creep responses for the plates with or without a circular hole are also studied. The numerical results compare favorably with analytical solutions, i.e. within 1.8 percent for bending and 10(exp -3) 3 percent for tension. The tension results of the present method are compared with those using the direct time integration scheme.

Hilton, Harry H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

LSENS: A General Chemical Kinetics and Sensitivity Analysis Code for homogeneous gas-phase reactions. Part 1: Theory and numerical solution procedures

LSENS, the Lewis General Chemical Kinetics and Sensitivity Analysis Code, has been developed for solving complex, homogeneous, gas-phase chemical kinetics problems and contains sensitivity analysis for a variety of problems, including nonisothermal situations. This report is part 1 of a series of three reference publications that describe LENS, provide a detailed guide to its usage, and present many example problems. Part 1 derives the governing equations and describes the numerical solution procedures for the types of problems that can be solved. The accuracy and efficiency of LSENS are examined by means of various test problems, and comparisons with other methods and codes are presented. LSENS is a flexible, convenient, accurate, and efficient solver for chemical reaction problems such as static system; steady, one-dimensional, inviscid flow; reaction behind incident shock wave, including boundary layer correction; and perfectly stirred (highly backmixed) reactor. In addition, the chemical equilibrium state can be computed for the following assigned states: temperature and pressure, enthalpy and pressure, temperature and volume, and internal energy and volume. For static problems the code computes the sensitivity coefficients of the dependent variables and their temporal derivatives with respect to the initial values of the dependent variables and/or the three rate coefficient parameters of the chemical reactions.

Radhakrishnan, Krishnan↗

NASA NTRS1994

LSENS: A General Chemical Kinetics and Sensitivity Analysis Code for homogeneous gas-phase reactions. Part 3: Illustrative test problems

LSENS, the Lewis General Chemical Kinetics and Sensitivity Analysis Code, has been developed for solving complex, homogeneous, gas-phase chemical kinetics problems and contains sensitivity analysis for a variety of problems, including nonisothermal situations. This report is part 3 of a series of three reference publications that describe LSENS, provide a detailed guide to its usage, and present many example problems. Part 3 explains the kinetics and kinetics-plus-sensitivity analysis problems supplied with LSENS and presents sample results. These problems illustrate the various capabilities of, and reaction models that can be solved by, the code and may provide a convenient starting point for the user to construct the problem data file required to execute LSENS. LSENS is a flexible, convenient, accurate, and efficient solver for chemical reaction problems such as static system; steady, one-dimensional, inviscid flow; reaction behind incident shock wave, including boundary layer correction; and perfectly stirred (highly backmixed) reactor. In addition, the chemical equilibrium state can be computed for the following assigned states: temperature and pressure, enthalpy and pressure, temperature and volume, and internal energy and volume. For static problems the code computes the sensitivity coefficients of the dependent variables and their temporal derivatives with respect to the initial values of the dependent variables and/or the three rate coefficient parameters of the chemical reactions.

Bittker, David A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

LSENS, a general chemical kinetics and sensitivity analysis code for homogeneous gas-phase reactions. 2: Code description and usage

LSENS, the Lewis General Chemical Kinetics Analysis Code, has been developed for solving complex, homogeneous, gas-phase chemical kinetics problems and contains sensitivity analysis for a variety of problems, including nonisothermal situations. This report is part 2 of a series of three reference publications that describe LSENS, provide a detailed guide to its usage, and present many example problems. Part 2 describes the code, how to modify it, and its usage, including preparation of the problem data file required to execute LSENS. Code usage is illustrated by several example problems, which further explain preparation of the problem data file and show how to obtain desired accuracy in the computed results. LSENS is a flexible, convenient, accurate, and efficient solver for chemical reaction problems such as static system; steady, one-dimensional, inviscid flow; reaction behind incident shock wave, including boundary layer correction; and perfectly stirred (highly backmixed) reactor. In addition, the chemical equilibrium state can be computed for the following assigned states: temperature and pressure, enthalpy and pressure, temperature and volume, and internal energy and volume. For static problems the code computes the sensitivity coefficients of the dependent variables and their temporal derivatives with respect to the initial values of the dependent variables and/or the three rate coefficient parameters of the chemical reactions. Part 1 (NASA RP-1328) derives the governing equations describes the numerical solution procedures for the types of problems that can be solved by lSENS. Part 3 (NASA RP-1330) explains the kinetics and kinetics-plus-sensitivity-analysis problems supplied with LSENS and presents sample results.

Radhakrishnan, Krishnan↗

NASA NTRS1995

Disruption of a helmet streamer by photospheric shear

Helmet streamers on the Sun have been observed to be the site of coronal mass ejections, dynamic events that eject coronal plasma and magnetic fields into the solar wind. We develop a two-dimensional (azimuthally symmetric) helmet streamer configuration by computing solutions of the time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, and we investigate the evolution of the configuration when photospheric shearing motions are imposed. We find that the configuration disrupts when a critical shear is exceeded, ejecting a plasmoid into the solar wind. The results are similar to the case of a sheared dipole magnetic field in a hydrostatic atmosphere (Mikic & Linker 1994). However, the presence of the outflowing solar wind makes the disruption significantly more energetic when a helmet streamer is sheared. Our resutls suggest that shearing of helmet streamers may initiate coronal mass ejections.

Linker, Jon A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Visualization Techniques in Space and Atmospheric Sciences

Unprecedented volumes of data will be generated by research programs that investigate the Earth as a system and the origin of the universe, which will in turn require analysis and interpretation that will lead to meaningful scientific insight. Providing a widely distributed research community with the ability to access, manipulate, analyze, and visualize these complex, multidimensional data sets depends on a wide range of computer science and technology topics. Data storage and compression, data base management, computational methods and algorithms, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and high-resolution display are just a few of the topics addressed. A unifying theme throughout the papers with regards to advanced data handling and visualization is the need for interactivity, speed, user-friendliness, and extensibility.

Szuszczewicz, E. P.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Solwnd: A 3D Compressible MHD Code for Solar Wind Studies. Version 1.0: Cartesian Coordinates

Solwnd 1.0 is a three-dimensional compressible MHD code written in Fortran for studying the solar wind. Time-dependent boundary conditions are available. The computational algorithm is based on Flux Corrected Transport and the code is based on the existing code of Zalesak and Spicer. The flow considered is that of shear flow with incoming flow that perturbs this base flow. Several test cases corresponding to pressure balanced magnetic structures with velocity shear flow and various inflows including Alfven waves are presented. Version 1.0 of solwnd considers a rectangular Cartesian geometry. Future versions of solwnd will consider a spherical geometry. Some discussions of this issue is presented.

Deane, Anil E.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Plasma Properties and Magnetic Field Structure of the Solar Corona, Based on Coordinated Max '91 Observations from SERTS, the VLA, and Magnetographs

The plasma properties and magnetic field structure of the solar corona were determined using coordinated observations obtained with NASA/GSFC's Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS), the Very Large Array (VLA), and Kitt Peak photospheric longitudinal magnetograms. A problem was identified with the SERTS calibration as determined from laboratory measurements. A revised calibration curve was derived by requiring that the numerous available measured line intensity ratios agreed with their respective theoretical values. Densities were derived from line intensity ratios, and active region densities were found to typically exceed quiet Sun densities by factors of only about 2. The active region density was found to remain constant across the SERTS slit, despite the fact that the emission line intensities vary significantly. This indicates that the product of the path length and the volume filling factor must vary significantly from the active region outskirts to the central core. Filling factors were derived and found to range from much less than one to nearly unity. Wavelength shifts were examined along the SERTS slit in the spatially resolved spectra, but no evidence was found for significant Doppler shifts in active region 7563 or in the quiet Sun. The numerical procedure developed by Monsignori-Fossi and Landini was used to derive the active region and quiet sun differential emission measure (DEM) from the spatially averaged spectra. A DEM was estimated for each spatial pixel in the two dimensional active region images by scaling the averaged active region DEM based upon corresponding pixel intensities of SERTS Mg IX, Fe XV, and Fe XVI images. These results, along with density measurements, were used in an IDL computer code which calculated the temperature dependence of the coronal magnetic field in each spatial pixel by minimizing the difference between the observed and calculated 20 and 6 cm microwave brightness temperatures.

Brosius, Jeffrey W.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Diffusion, Viscosity and Crystal Growth in Microgravity

The diffusivity of TriGlycine Sulfate (TGS), Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP), Ammonium Dihydrogen Phosphate (ADF) and other compounds of interest to microgravity crystal growth, in supersaturated solutions as a function of solution concentration, 'age' and 'history was studied experimentally. The factors that affect the growth of crystals from water solutions in microgravity have been examined. Three non-linear optical materials have been studied, potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP), ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) and triglycine sulfate (TGC). The diffusion coefficient and viscosity of supersaturated water solutions were measured. Also theoretical model of diffusivity and viscosity in a metastable state, model of crystal growth from solution including non-linear time dependent diffusivity and viscosity effect and computer simulation of the crystal growth process which allows simulation of the microgravity crystal growth were developed.

Myerson, Allan S.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Brief Communication: A Simplified Approach to Transient Convective Droplet Evaporation and Burning

Empirical correlations for evaporation rates from single fuel droplets have existed since the 1930s. These correlations, which will be referred to in this article as Froessling/Ranz-Marshall types of correlations, are appropriate to the special cases of steady-state evaporation in the absence of chemical reaction. In a previous article by the authors, the quasi-steady evaporation and burning processes associated with a fuel drop in a convective environment are examined through a droplet model based on the boundary layer approach. For droplet Reynolds numbers of practical interest, this model produces very reasonable steady state as well as quasi-time-dependent droplet simulations, requiring relatively short computational times and yielding good agreement with the above-mentioned empirical correlations. The steady-state case, however, is usually relevant to practical combustor situations only when the drop has reached a nearly uniform temperature since the heating process of the drop cannot be considered to be quasi-steady. In the present study, the transient heating process of the droplet interior during evaporation and/or burning is taken into account, and thus calculations pertaining to the entire life-time of the droplet are carried out. It is of particular interest here to obtain simplified correlations to describe the transient behavior of evaporating and burning droplets; these may be incorporated with greater ease into spray calculations. Accordingly, we have chosen to use stagnation conditions in the present model in a modification of the Froessling/Ranz-Marshall correlations. These modified correlations, incorporating an effective transfer number, produce a fairly accurate representation of droplet evaporation and burning, while requiring only one tenth the computational effort used in a full boundary layer solution.

Madooglu, K.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Microscale Effects from Global Hot Plasma Imagery

We have used a three-dimensional model of recovery phase storm hot plasmas to explore the signatures of pitch angle distributions (PADS) in global fast atom imagery of the magnetosphere. The model computes mass, energy, and position-dependent PADs based on drift effects, charge exchange losses, and Coulomb drag. The hot plasma PAD strongly influences both the storm current system carried by the hot plasma and its time evolution. In turn, the PAD is strongly influenced by plasma waves through pitch angle diffusion, a microscale effect. We report the first simulated neutral atom images that account for anisotropic PADs within the hot plasma. They exhibit spatial distribution features that correspond directly to the PADs along the lines of sight. We investigate the use of image brightness distributions along tangent-shell field lines to infer equatorial PADS. In tangent-shell regions with minimal spatial gradients, reasonably accurate PADs are inferred from simulated images. They demonstrate the importance of modeling PADs for image inversion and show that comparisons of models with real storm plasma images will reveal the global effects of these microscale processes.

Moore, T. E.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Studying Earth's Environment From Space: Classroom and Laboratory Activities with Instructor Resources

Standard, text-book based learning for earth, ocean, and atmospheric sciences has been limited by the unavailability of quantitative teaching materials. While a descriptive presentation, in a lecture format, of discrete satellite images is often adequate for high school classrooms, this is seldom the case at the undergraduate level. In order to address these concerns, a series of numerical exercises for the Macintosh was developed for use with satellite-derived Sea Surface Temperature, pigment and sea ice concentration data. Using a modified version of NIH Image, to analyze actual satellite data, students are able to better understand ocean processes, such as circulation, upwelling, primary production, and ocean/atmosphere coupling. Graphical plots, image math, and numerical comparisons are utilized to substantiate temporal and spatial trends in sea surface temperature and ocean color. Particularly for institutions that do not offer a program in remote sensing, the subject matter is presented as modular units, each of which can be readily incorporated into existing curricula. These materials have been produced in both CD-ROM and WWW format, making them useful for classroom or lab setting. Depending upon the level of available computer support, graphics can be displayed directly from the CD-ROM, or as a series of color view graphs for standard overhead projection.

Smith, Elizabeth A.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Analysis of the Performance Characteristics of the Five-Channel Microtops II Sun Photometer for Measuring Aerosol Optical Thickness and Precipitable Water Vapor

Five Microtops II sun photometers were studied in detail at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to determine their performance in measuring aerosol optical thickness (AOT or Tau(sub alphalambda) and precipitable column water vapor (W). Each derives Tau(sub alphalambda) from measured signals at four wavelengths lambda (340, 440, 675, and 870 nm), and W from the 936 nm signal measurements. Accuracy of Tau(sub alphalambda) and W determination depends on the reliability of the relevant channel calibration coefficient (V(sub 0)). Relative calibration by transfer of parameters from a more accurate sun photometer (such as the Mauna-Loa-calibrated AERONET master sun photometer at GSFC) is more reliable than Langley calibration performed at GSFC. It was found that the factory-determined value of the instrument constant for the 936 nm filter (k= 0.7847) used in the Microtops' internal algorithm is unrealistic, causing large errors in V(sub 0(936)), Tau(sub alpha936), and W. Thus, when applied for transfer calibration at GSFC, whereas the random variation of V(aub 0) at 340 to 870 nm is quite small, with coefficients of variation (CV) in the range of 0 to 2.4%, at 936 nm the CV goes up to 19%. Also, the systematic temporal variation of V(sub 0) at 340 to 870 nm is very slow, while at 936 nm it is large and exhibits a very high dependence on W. The algorithm also computes Tau(sub alpha936) as 0.91Tau(sub alpha870), which is highly simplistic. Therefore, it is recommended to determine Tau(sub alpha936) by logarithmic extrapolation from Tau(sub alpha675) and Tau(sub alpha 870. From the operational standpoint of the Microtops, apart from errors that may result from unperceived cloud contamination, the main sources of error include inaccurate pointing to the Sun, neglecting to clean the front quartz window, and neglecting to calibrate correctly. If these three issues are adequately taken care of, the Microtops can be quite accurate and stable, with root mean square (rms) differences between corresponding retrievals from clean calibrated Microtops and the AERONET sun photometer being about +/-0.02 at 340 nm, decreasing down to about +/-0.01 at 870 nm.

Ichoku, Charles↗