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At least 847 records · Page 47

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NASA NTRS1977

A mathematical study of a random process proposed as an atmospheric turbulence model

A random process is formed by the product of a local Gaussian process and a random amplitude process, and the sum of that product with an independent mean value process. The mathematical properties of the resulting process are developed, including the first and second order properties and the characteristic function of general order. An approximate method for the analysis of the response of linear dynamic systems to the process is developed. The transition properties of the process are also examined.

Sidwell, K.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Short arc reduction of radar altimetry computer program

The Air Force Geophysics Laboratory computer program SARRA (Short Arc Reduction of Radar Altimetry) has been used for geoid determination with altimetric observations from the GEOS-3 satellite. An important feature of SARRA is the simultaneous recovery of the orbit parameters and the surface coefficients as defined by covariance function weights. Orbits good to approximately 20 meters are adequate for precise geoid determinations by virtue of the orbital adjustment in the reductions. Altimetric data over a portion of the North Atlantic Ocean have been processed to derive the regional geoid and gravity field. Analyses of altimeter residuals resulting from the short arc adjustment show that the residuals can be used to define the neglected higher order geoidal undulations with high fidelity and continuity.

Hadgigeorge, G.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Analysis and preliminary design of optical sensors for propulsion control

A fiber-optic sensor concept screening study was performed. Twenty sensor subsystems were identified and evaluated. Two concepts selected for further study were the Fabry-Perot fiber-optic temperature sensor and the pulse-width-modulated phosphorescent temperature sensor. Various designs suitable for a Fabry-Perot temperature sensor to be used as a remote fiber-optic transducer were investigated. As a result, a particular design was selected and constructed. Tests on this device show that spectral peaks are produced from visible white light, and the change in wavelength of the spectral peaks produced by a change in temperature is consistent with theory and is 36 nm/C for the first order peak. A literature search to determine a suitable phosphor for implementing the pulse-width-modulated fiber optic temperature sensor was conducted. This search indicated that such a device could be made to function for temperatures up to approximately 200 C. Materials like ZnCdS and ZnSe activated with copper will be particularly applicable to temperature sensing in the cryogenic to room temperature region. While this sensing concept is probably not applicable to jet engines, the simplicity and potential reliability make the concept highly desirable for other applications.

James, K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Dynamic loads analysis system (DYLOFLEX) summary. Volume 1: Engineering formulation

The DYLOFLEX computer program system expands the aeroelastic cycle from that in the FLEXSTAB computer program system to include dynamic loads analyses involving active controls. Two aerodynamic options exist within DYLOFLEX. The analyst can formulate the problem with unsteady aerodynamics calculated using the doublet lattice method or with quasi-steady aerodynamics formulated from either FLEXSTAB or doublet lattice steady state aerodynamics with unsteady effects approximated by indicial lift growth functions. The equations of motion are formulated assuming straight and level flight and small motions. Loads are calculated using the force summation technique. DYLOFLEX consists of nine standalone programs which can be linked with each other by magnetic files used to transmit the required data between programs.

Miller, R. D.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Multi-level adaptive finite element methods. 1: Variation problems

A general numerical strategy for solving partial differential equations and other functional problems by cycling between coarser and finer levels of discretization is described. Optimal discretization schemes are provided together with very fast general solvers. It is described in terms of finite element discretizations of general nonlinear minimization problems. The basic processes (relaxation sweeps, fine-grid-to-coarse-grid transfers of residuals, coarse-to-fine interpolations of corrections) are directly and naturally determined by the objective functional and the sequence of approximation spaces. The natural processes, however, are not always optimal. Concrete examples are given and some new techniques are reviewed. Including the local truncation extrapolation and a multilevel procedure for inexpensively solving chains of many boundary value problems, such as those arising in the solution of time-dependent problems.

Brandt, A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Time-temperature effect in adhesively bonded joints

The viscoelastic analysis of an adhesively bonded lap joint was reconsidered. The adherends are approximated by essentially Reissner plates and the adhesive is linearly viscoelastic. The hereditary integrals are used to model the adhesive. A linear integral differential equations system for the shear and the tensile stress in the adhesive is applied. The equations have constant coefficients and are solved by using Laplace transforms. It is shown that if the temperature variation in time can be approximated by a piecewise constant function, then the method of Laplace transforms can be used to solve the problem. A numerical example is given for a single lap joint under various loading conditions.

Delale, F.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Minimum Bayes risk image correlation

In this paper, the problem of designing a matched filter for image correlation will be treated as a statistical pattern recognition problem. It is shown that, by minimizing a suitable criterion, a matched filter can be estimated which approximates the optimum Bayes discriminant function in a least-squares sense. It is well known that the use of the Bayes discriminant function in target classification minimizes the Bayes risk, which in turn directly minimizes the probability of a false fix. A fast Fourier implementation of the minimum Bayes risk correlation procedure is described.

Minter, T. C., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Realizable feed-element patterns for multibeam reflector antenna analysis

The radiation pattern of a feed element is approximately described by a simple function (cos theta) to the q power. For a given element spacing of the feed array, simple formulas for estimating the practical value of q when the element is an open-ended rectangular waveguide, an open-ended circular waveguide, a pyramidal horn, or a cigar antenna are given.

Rahmat-Samii, Y.↗

NASA NTRS1982

A grid spacing control technique for algebraic grid generation methods

A technique which controls the spacing of grid points in algebraically defined coordinate transformations is described. The technique is based on the generation of control functions which map a uniformly distributed computational grid onto parametric variables defining the physical grid. The control functions are smoothed cubic splines. Sets of control points are input for each coordinate directions to outline the control functions. Smoothed cubic spline functions are then generated to approximate the input data. The technique works best in an interactive graphics environment where control inputs and grid displays are nearly instantaneous. The technique is illustrated with the two-boundary grid generation algorithm.

Smith, R. E.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Low-energy ion distribution functions on a magnetically quiet day at geostationary altitude /L = 7/

Ion energy and pitch angle distribution functions are examined for a magnetically quiet day using averaged data from ATS 6. For both field-aligned and perpendicular fluxes, the populations have a mixture of characteristic energies, and the distribution functions can be fairly well approximated by Maxwellian distributions over three different energy bands in the range 3-600 eV. Pitch angle distributions varying with local time, and energy distributions are used to compute total ion density. Pitch angle scattering mechanisms responsible for the observed transformation of pitch angle distribution are examined, and it is found that a magnetic noise of a certain power spectral density belonging to the electromagnetic ion cyclotron mode near the ion cyclotron frequency can be effective in trapping the field aligned fluxes by pitch angle scattering.

Singh, N.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Analytical study of the twin-jet shielding

The development of the analytical model of twin-jet shielding is summarized. The models consist of a point noise source impinging on a cylinder of heated flow in which the temperature and flow velocity are uniform cross the cross section. In the formulation of the model, the wave equations are written for the regions outside the flow and within the flow cylinder. The solutions to the wave equations are matched at the jet boundary under the conditions of continuity of pressure and continuity of the vortex sheet. The solution reduces to an indefinite integral involving Bessel functions. The integral is solved approximately using a saddle point method.

Gerhold, C. H.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Efficient calculation of optimum design sensitivity

Two methods for obtaining the sensitivity of an optimized design to changes in problem parameters are presented. The first-order method uses gradient information to estimate the required sensitivity. The second-order method uses second derivatives of the design objective and constraint functions to provide a quadratic approximation to the new design which results from changing the specified parameter. It is shown that the sensitivity of the optimized design may be discontinuous with respect to the new parameter. This discontinuity is accounted for in the present methods. These methods are compared to a previous approach based on the Kuhn-Tucker necessary conditions for optimality. It is shown that the present methods provide the appropriate sensitivity information in an efficient manner. The methods are demonstrated by a structural synthesis example.

Vanderplaats, G. N.↗

NASA NTRS1985

On optimal strategies in event-constrained differential games

Combat games are formulated as zero-sum differential games with unilateral event constraints. An interior penalty function approach is employed to approximate optimal strategies for the players. The method is very attractive computationally and possesses suitable approximation and convergence properties.

Heymann, M.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Optical Design and Signal Processing for Edge Detection

Properly combining optical design with 3-by-3 element mask reduces number of required computations by factor of as much as 100. Spatial and spatial-frequency responses obtained in system of combination of optical design and signal-processing algorithm. Closely approximate difference-of-Gaussian-function response.

Huck, Friedrich O.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Multigrid method for stability problems

The problem of calculating the stability of steady state solutions of differential equations is addressed. Leading eigenvalues of large matrices that arise from discretization are calculated, and an efficient multigrid method for solving these problems is presented. The resulting grid functions are used as initial approximations for appropriate eigenvalue problems. The method employs local relaxation on all levels together with a global change on the coarsest level only, which is designed to separate the different eigenfunctions as well as to update their corresponding eigenvalues. Coarsening is done using the FAS formulation in a nonstandard way in which the right-hand side of the coarse grid equations involves unknown parameters to be solved on the coarse grid. This leads to a new multigrid method for calculating the eigenvalues of symmetric problems. Numerical experiments with a model problem are presented which demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.

Ta'asan, Shlomo↗

NASA NTRS1989

Active vibration mitigation of distributed parameter, smart-type structures using Pseudo-Feedback Optimal Control (PFOC)

A new, near-optimal feedback control technique is introduced that is shown to provide excellent vibration attenuation for those distributed parameter systems that are often encountered in the areas of aeroservoelasticity and large space systems. The technique relies on a novel solution methodology for the classical optimal control problem. Specifically, the quadratic regulator control problem for a flexible vibrating structure is first cast in a weak functional form that admits an approximate solution. The necessary conditions (first-order) are then solved via a time finite-element method. The procedure produces a low dimensional, algebraic parameterization of the optimal control problem that provides a rigorous basis for a discrete controller with a first-order like hold output. Simulation has shown that the algorithm can successfully control a wide variety of plant forms including multi-input/multi-output systems and systems exhibiting significant nonlinearities. In order to firmly establish the efficacy of the algorithm, a laboratory control experiment was implemented to provide planar (bending) vibration attenuation of a highly flexible beam (with a first clamped-free mode of approximately 0.5 Hz).

Patten, W. N.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Generation of low-frequency waves at Comet Halley

The extent to which the properties of the waves observed at comet Halley during the Giotto encounter can be understood within the context of linearized Vlasov theory is investigated. In the region that is magnetically connected to the comet, fluctuations in the plasma frame of reference are detected near 4 and 10 mHz, close to the water cyclotron frequency, as well as at 20-60 mHz, which is well above the water cyclotron frequency. Using a variety of approximations for the ion distribution function, it is shown that waves having properties similar to those observed can then be generated with appropriate choices of plasma parameters. In the region that is magnetically disconnected from the comet, distinct peaks are observed in the magnetic power spectrum at 7, 21, 29, and 35 mHz, with a hint of a peak at 14 mHz.

Goldstein, M. L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Damping in coupled bending and torsion - An experiment

Traditional experimental modal testing methods are used to determine the damping properties of a Euler-Bernoulli beam with offset inertial tip mass. Both viscous and strain rate damping models are considered in bending and in torsion. A partial differential equation model of the coupled system is used. Eigenfunctions are derived for the coupled system by using a Green's function approach to derive the approximate uncoupled eigenfunctions. These eigenfunctions are used in a decoupled fashion with experimental modal data to estimate the damping parameters of the coupled system. The experimental modal data were obtained from both free and impulse responses using a combined translational and rotational accelerometer.

Umland, Jeffrey W.↗