Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “frequency selective surfaces”

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.

At least 91 records · Page 5

Computational Test Cases for a Clipped Delta Wing with Pitching and Trailing-Edge Control Surface Oscillations

Computational test cases have been selected from the data set for a clipped delta wing with a six-percent-thick circular-arc airfoil section that was tested in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. The test cases include parametric variation of static angle of attack, pitching oscillation frequency, trailing-edge control surface oscillation frequency, and Mach numbers from subsonic to low supersonic values. Tables and plots of the measured pressures are presented for each case. This report provides an early release of test cases that have been proposed for a document that supplements the cases presented in AGARD Report 702.

Bennett, Robert M.↗

Landsat Ecosystem Disturbance Adaptive Processing System (LEDAPS)

The Landsat Ecosystem Disturbance Adaptive Processing System (LEDAPS) project is creating a record of forest disturbance and regrowth for North America from the Landsat satellite record, in support of the carbon modeling activities. LEDAPS relies on the decadal Landsat GeoCover data set supplemented by dense image time series for selected locations. Imagery is first atmospherically corrected to surface reflectance, and then change detection algorithms are used to extract disturbance area, type, and frequency. Reuse of the MODIS Land processing system (MODAPS) architecture allows rapid throughput of over 2200 MSS, TM, and ETM+ scenes. Initial ("Beta") surface reflectance products are currently available for testing, and initial continental disturbance products will be available by the middle of 2006.

Masek, Jeffrey G.↗

Damage Detection Response Characteristics of Open Circuit Resonant (SansEC) Sensors

The capability to assess the current or future state of the health of an aircraft to improve safety, availability, and reliability while reducing maintenance costs has been a continuous goal for decades. Many companies, commercial entities, and academic institutions have become interested in Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) and a growing effort of research into "smart" vehicle sensing systems has emerged. Methods to detect damage to aircraft materials and structures have historically relied on visual inspection during pre-flight or post-flight operations by flight and ground crews. More quantitative non-destructive investigations with various instruments and sensors have traditionally been performed when the aircraft is out of operational service during major scheduled maintenance. Through the use of reliable sensors coupled with data monitoring, data mining, and data analysis techniques, the health state of a vehicle can be detected in-situ. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is developing a composite aircraft skin damage detection method and system based on open circuit SansEC (Sans Electric Connection) sensor technology. Composite materials are increasingly used in modern aircraft for reducing weight, improving fuel efficiency, and enhancing the overall design, performance, and manufacturability of airborne vehicles. Materials such as fiberglass reinforced composites (FRC) and carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) are being used to great advantage in airframes, wings, engine nacelles, turbine blades, fairings, fuselage structures, empennage structures, control surfaces and aircraft skins. SansEC sensor technology is a new technical framework for designing, powering, and interrogating sensors to detect various types of damage in composite materials. The source cause of the in-service damage (lightning strike, impact damage, material fatigue, etc.) to the aircraft composite is not relevant. The sensor will detect damage independent of the cause. Damage in composite material is generally associated with a localized change in material permittivity and/or conductivity. These changes are sensed using SansEC. The unique electrical signatures (amplitude, frequency, bandwidth, and phase) are used for damage detection and diagnosis. An operational system and method would incorporate a SansEC sensor array on select areas of the aircraft exterior surfaces to form a "Smart skin" sensing surface. In this paper a new method and system for aircraft in-situ damage detection and diagnosis is presented. Experimental test results on seeded fault damage coupons and computational modeling simulation results are presented. NASA LaRC has demonstrated with individual sensors that SansEC sensors can be effectively used for in-situ composite damage detection of delamination, voids, fractures, and rips. Keywords: Damage Detection, Composites, Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring (IVHM), Aviation Safety, SansEC Sensors

Dudley, Kenneth L.↗

Workshop on Radar Investigations of Planetary and Terrestrial Environments

Contents include the following: Salt Kinematics and InSAR. SAR Interferometry as a Tool for Monitoring Coastal Changes in the Nile River Delta of Egypt. Modem Radar Techniques for Geophysical Applications: Two Examples. WISDOM Experiment on the EXOMARS ESA Mission. An Ice Thickness Study Utilizing Ground Penetrating Radar on the Lower Jamapa. Probing the Martian Subsurface with Synthetic Aperture Radar. Planetary Surface Properties from Radar Polarimetric Observations. Imaging the Sub-surface Reflectors : Results From the RANETA/NETLANDER Field Test on the Antarctic Ice Shelf. Strategy for Selection of Mars Geophysical Analogue Sites. Observations of Low Frequency Low Altitude Plasma Oscillations at Mars and Implications for Electromagnetic Sounding of the Subsurface. Ionospheric Transmission Losses Associated with Mars-orbiting Radar. A Polarimetric Scattering Model for the 2-Layer Problem. Radars for Imaging and Sounding of Polar Ice Sheets. Strata: Ground Penetrating Radar for Mars Rovers. Scattering Limits to Depth of Radar Investigation: Lessons from the Bishop Tuff.

Source record↗

Selected aspects of lunar mare geology from Apollo orbital photography

Crater size-frequency distributions were studied (100-500 m) and are shown to provide significant integrated information concerning mare surface ages, subsurface stratigraphy, and surficial geology. Equilibrium cratering is discussed gradually reducing the relative numbers of craters smaller than 300-400 m in diameter as surfaces age and regolith thickens. Results for surface ages are in good agreement with other published crater ages. The existing correlations of large ring structures among various circular mare basins are shown to be based on criteria that are inconsistent and nonstandardized. A means of comparing equivalent ring structures in the different maria is proposed which takes into account the important characteristics of young unflooded basins (Orientale) as well as the progressive development of tectonic and volcanic features within the older flooded maria. Specific geologic aspects of several of the lunar maria are discussed and especially Mare Smythii, because of its great age and significantly different surface morphology. Lunar photographs and maps are shown.

Young, R. A.↗

Acoustical properties of highly porous fibrous materials

Highly porous, fibrous bulk sound absorbing materials are studied with a view toward understanding their acoustical properties and performance in a wide variety of applications including liners of flow ducts. The basis and criteria for decoupling of acoustic waves in the pores of the frame and compressional waves in the frame structure are established. The equations of motion are recast in a form that elucidates the coupling mechanisms. The normal incidence surface impedance and absorption coefficient of two types of Kevlar 29 and an open celled foam material are studied. Experimental values and theoretical results are brought into agreement when the structure factor is selected to provide a fit to the experimental data. A parametric procedure for achieving that fit is established. Both a bulk material quality factor and a high frequency impedance level are required to characterize the real and imaginary part of the surface impedance and absorption coefficient. A derivation of the concepts of equivalent density and dynamic resistance is presented.

Lambert, R. F.↗

Method of forming silicon structures with selectable optical characteristics

Silicon and metal are coevaporated onto a silicon substrate in a molecular beam epitaxy system with a larger than stoichiometric amount of silicon so as to epitaxially grow particles of metal silicide embedded in a matrix of single crystal epitaxially grown silicon. The particles interact with incident photons by resonant optical absorption at the surface plasmon resonance frequency. Controlling the substrate temperature and deposition rate and time allows the aspect ratio of the particles to be tailored to desired wavelength photons and polarizations. The plasmon energy may decay as excited charge carriers or phonons, either of which can be monitored to indicate the amount of incident radiation at the selected frequency and polarization.

Fathauer, Robert W.↗

The evolution of methods for noise prediction of high speed rotors and propellers in the time domain

Linear wave equation models which have been used over the years at NASA Langley for describing noise emissions from high speed rotating blades are summarized. The noise sources are assumed to lie on a moving surface, and analysis of the situation has been based on the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) equation. Although the equation accounts for two surface and one volume source, the NASA analyses have considered only the surface terms. Several variations on the FW-H model are delineated for various types of applications, noting the computational benefits of removing the frequency dependence of the calculations. Formulations are also provided for compact and noncompact sources, and features of Long's subsonic integral equation and Farassat's high speed integral equation are discussed. The selection of subsonic or high speed models is dependent on the Mach number of the blade surface where the source is located.

Farassat, F.↗

Blown flap noise prediction

Theoretical and experimental developments of flow-surface interaction noise with a particular emphasis on blown-flap noise were reviewed. Several blown-flap noise prediction methods were evaluated by comparing predicted acoustic levels, directivity, and spectra with a recently obtained data base. A prediction method was selected and a detailed step-by-step description of this method was provided to develop a computer module to calculate one-third octave band frequency spectra at any given location in the far-field for under-the-wing and upper surface blown configurations as a function of geometric and operational parameters.

Reddy, N. N.↗

A Qualitative Review of Selected Infrared Flow Visualization Processing Techniques: Contrast Enhancement and Frequency Domain Analysis

The deployment and integration of high-sensitivity infrared cameras in a transonic wind tunnel test environment has resulted in a unique capability to image aerodynamic phenomena in real-time. Multi-camera infrared flow visualization data systems are now routinely utilized at the NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. The small flow-induced temperature gradients on the surface of the wind tunnel test article coupled with the high bit-depth of the infrared camera sensor makes the processing of the image data critically important. An image processing routine must enhance features of interest with minimal artifacts. Additionally, the production wind tunnel test environment demands that these processed images are made available in a real-time, automatic fashion. Therefore, any image processing routine must be computationally economical and enhance the image data with minimal input from a human operator. The following seeks to qualitatively explore selected image processing techniques by assessing their effectiveness to resolve flow features on a wind tunnel test article. A multi-scale contrast enhancement technique is introduced as well as a new implementation of a multi-scale, non-interpolated adaptive histogram equalization. Finally, a novel method is introduced that demonstrates the ability to resolve flow features imaged on bare-steel test articles possessing low emissivity. This method merges frequency domain analysis with contrast enhancement and has the potential to extend the application of infrared flow-visualization within the wind tunnel test environment.

Infrared Imaging↗

Frequency-Range Distribution of Boulders Around Cone Crater: Relevance to Landing Site Hazard Avoidance

Boulders represent a landing hazard that must be addressed in the planning of future landings on the Moon. A boulder under a landing leg can contribute to deck tilt and boulders can damage spacecraft during landing. Using orbital data to characterize boulder populations at locations where landers have safely touched down (Apollo, Luna, Surveyor, and Chang'e-3 sites) is important for determining landing hazard criteria for future missions. Additionally, assessing the distribution of boulders can address broader science issues, e.g., how far craters distribute boulders and how this distribution varies as a function of crater size and age. The availability of new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images [1] enables the use of boulder size- and range frequency distributions for a variety of purposes [2-6]. Boulders degrade over time and primarily occur around young or fresh craters that are large enough to excavate bedrock. Here we use NAC images to analyze boulder distributions around Cone crater (340 m diameter) at the Apollo 14 site. Cone crater (CC) was selected because it is the largest crater where astronaut surface photography is available for a radial traverse to the rim. Cone crater is young (approximately 29 Ma [7]) relative to the time required to break down boulders [3,8], giving us a data point for boulder range-frequency distributions (BRFDs) as a function of crater age.

Clegg-Watkins, R. N.↗

The effects of leading-edge serrations on reducing flow unsteadiness about airfoils, an experimental and analytical investigation

High frequency surface pressure measurements were obtained from wind-tunnel tests over the Reynolds number range 1.2 times one million to 6.2 times one million on a rectangular wing of NACA 63-009 airfoil section. Measurements were also obtained with a wide selection of leading-edge serrations added to the basic airfoil. Under a two-dimensional laminar bubble very close to the leading edge of the basic airfoil there is a large apatial peak in rms pressure. Frequency analysis of the pressure signals in this region show a large, high-frequency energy peak which is interpreted as an oscillation in size and position of the bubble. The serrations divide the bubble into segments and reduce the peak rms pressures. A low Reynolds number flow visualization test on a hydrofoil in water was also conducted. A von Karman vortex street was found trailing from the rear of the foil. Its frequency is at a much lower Strouhal number than in the high Reynolds number experiment, and is related to the trailing-edge and boundary-layer thicknesses.

Schwind, R. G.↗

An examination of the relationships between selected ground properties and Landsat MSS data in an area of complex terrain in southern Italy

The paper deals with the method and results of a study which involved an examination of the statistical relationships between selected ground properties and Landsat MSS data, and whose aim was to assess the applicability of Landsat data to surface cover mapping in areas characterized by high-frequency spatial variations of surface cover type over small areas. The results indicate that by systematic ground data collection it is possible to understand the basic relationships between ground properties and Landsat sensor data in areas of complex surface cover and terrain, and to classify the cover types.

Justice, C. O.↗

A new strategy for efficient solar energy conversion: Parallel-processing with surface plasmons

This paper introduces an advanced concept for direct conversion of sunlight to electricity, which aims at high efficiency by tailoring the conversion process to separate energy bands within the broad solar spectrum. The objective is to obtain a high level of spectrum-splitting without sequential losses or unique materials for each frequency band. In this concept, sunlight excites a spectrum of surface plasma waves which are processed in parallel on the same metal film. The surface plasmons transport energy to an array of metal-barrier-semiconductor diodes, where energy is extracted by inelastic tunneling. Diodes are tuned to different frequency bands by selecting the operating voltage and geometry, but all diodes share the same materials.

Anderson, L. M.↗

Satellite remote sensing of drought conditions

Multitemporal satellite data have application in the detection and quantification of drought through the ability of these data to estimate the photosynthetic capacity of the terrestrial surface and record microwave surface brightness at the 37 GHz frequency. With proper calibration and registration, comparisons can be made between and among years for specific months using the photosynthetic capacity and the 37 GHz microwave surface brightness for selected time periods or growing seasons. This technology has application in identifying and quantifying areas experiencing drought.

Tucker, Compton J.↗

The effects of leading-edge serrations on reducing flow unsteadiness about airfoils.

High frequency surface pressure measurements were obtained from wind-tunnel tests over the Reynolds number range 1.2 x 1,000,000 to 6.2 x 1,000,000 on a rectangular wing of NACA 63-009 airfoil section. A wide selection of leading-edge serrations were also added to the basic airfoil. Under a two-dimensional laminar bubble very close to the leading edge of the basic airfoil there is a large peak in rms pressure, which is interpreted as an oscillation in size and position of the bubble. The serrations divide the bubble into segments and reduce the peak rms pressures. A low Reynolds number flow visualization test on a hydrofoil in water was also conducted. A von Karman vortex street was found trailing from the rear of the foil. Its frequency is at a much lower Strouhal number than in the high Reynolds number experiment, and is related mathematically to the airfoil trailing-edge and boundary-layer thicknesses.

Schwind, R. G.↗

A two step linear statistical technique using leaps and bounds procedure for retrieval of geophysical parameters from microwave radiometric data

A linear statistical technique using a 'leaps and bounds' procedure (Furnival and Wilson, 1974) is developed for retrieving geophysical parameters from remote measurements. It is used for retrieving sea surface temperatures from the Scaning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on Seasat. The technique uses an efficient algorithm to select the best fixed-size subset of the 10 SMMR channels for linearly retrieving a given geophysical parameter. The 5-channel subset (6.6V, 6.6H 10H, 18V, 21H), where V and H refer to, respectively, the vertical and horizontal polarizations and the numbers are the channel frequencies in gigahertz, gives the minimum rms error in estimating the sea surface temperature. A comparison with ground truth indicates that the algorithm infers the temperature with an rms accuracy of better than 1.5 K under most environmental conditions. A quality control procedure which is seen as holding promise for further improving the accuracy is proposed.

Kakar, R. K.↗

Silicon Micromachined Microlens Array for THz Antennas

5 5 silicon microlens array was developed using a silicon micromachining technique for a silicon-based THz antenna array. The feature of the silicon micromachining technique enables one to microfabricate an unlimited number of microlens arrays at one time with good uniformity on a silicon wafer. This technique will resolve one of the key issues in building a THz camera, which is to integrate antennas in a detector array. The conventional approach of building single-pixel receivers and stacking them to form a multi-pixel receiver is not suited at THz because a single-pixel receiver already has difficulty fitting into mass, volume, and power budgets, especially in space applications. In this proposed technique, one has controllability on both diameter and curvature of a silicon microlens. First of all, the diameter of microlens depends on how thick photoresist one could coat and pattern. So far, the diameter of a 6- mm photoresist microlens with 400 m in height has been successfully microfabricated. Based on current researchers experiences, a diameter larger than 1-cm photoresist microlens array would be feasible. In order to control the curvature of the microlens, the following process variables could be used: 1. Amount of photoresist: It determines the curvature of the photoresist microlens. Since the photoresist lens is transferred onto the silicon substrate, it will directly control the curvature of the silicon microlens. 2. Etching selectivity between photoresist and silicon: The photoresist microlens is formed by thermal reflow. In order to transfer the exact photoresist curvature onto silicon, there needs to be etching selectivity of 1:1 between silicon and photoresist. However, by varying the etching selectivity, one could control the curvature of the silicon microlens. The figure shows the microfabricated silicon microlens 5 x5 array. The diameter of the microlens located in the center is about 2.5 mm. The measured 3-D profile of the microlens surface has a smooth curvature. The measured height of the silicon microlens is about 280 microns. In this case, the original height of the photoresist was 210 microns. The change was due to the etching selectivity of 1.33 between photoresist and silicon. The measured surface roughness of the silicon microlens shows the peak-to-peak surface roughness of less than 0.5 microns, which is adequate in THz frequency. For example, the surface roughness should be less than 7 microns at 600 GHz range. The SEM (scanning electron microscope) image of the microlens confirms the smooth surface. The beam pattern at 550 GHz shows good directivity.

Lee, Choonsup↗