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At least 109 records · Page 6

Forecasting sea breeze thunderstorms at the Kennedy Space Center using the Prognostic Three-Dimensional Mesoscale Model (P 3DM)

A Prognostic Three-Dimensional Model (P3DM) to produce 1- to 12-hr predictions of sea breeze convective (SBC) storms at KSC is described. The P3DM was developed to account for a scale of about 10 km, interactions between surface heat and moisture fluxes, boundary layer convergence, the movement of moisture into cloud formation zones, and alterations in the convective potential in the lower levels of the atmosphere during the diurnal cycle. Initialized with wind, temperature, specific humidity and local water temperature data, the model allows for the distortion of the boundary layer moisture and thermal fields by sea breeze conditions. The results of three simulations of events leading to the onset of SBC storms are presented to demonstrate the model's capabilities, and techniques which may enhance the accuracy of the predictions are discussed.

Lyons, Walter A.

Digital data registration and differencing compression system

A process is disclosed for x ray registration and differencing which results in more efficient compression. Differencing of registered modeled subject image with a modeled reference image forms a differenced image for compression with conventional compression algorithms. Obtention of a modeled reference image includes modeling a relatively unrelated standard reference image upon a three-dimensional model, which three-dimensional model is also used to model the subject image for obtaining the modeled subject image. The registration process of the modeled subject image and modeled reference image translationally correlates such modeled images for resulting correlation thereof in spatial and spectral dimensions. Prior to compression, a portion of the image falling outside a designated area of interest may be eliminated, for subsequent replenishment with a standard reference image. The compressed differenced image may be subsequently transmitted and/or stored, for subsequent decompression and addition to a standard reference image so as to form a reconstituted or approximated subject image at either a remote location and/or at a later moment in time. Overall effective compression ratios of 100:1 are possible for thoracic x ray digital images.

Ransford, Gary A.

Digital Data Registration and Differencing Compression System

A process for X-ray registration and differencing results in more efficient compression. Differencing of registered modeled subject image with a modeled reference image forms a differenced image for compression with conventional compression algorithms. Obtention of a modeled reference image includes modeling a relatively unrelated standard reference image upon a three-dimensional model, which three-dimensional model is also used to model the subject image for obtaining the modeled subject image. The registration process of the modeled subject image and modeled reference image translationally correlates such modeled images for resulting correlation thereof in spatial and spectral dimensions. Prior to compression, a portion of the image falling outside a designated area of interest may be eliminated, for subsequent replenishment with a standard reference image. The compressed differenced image may be subsequently transmitted and/or stored, for subsequent decompression and addition to a standard reference image so as to form a reconstituted or approximated subject image at either a remote location and/or at a later moment in time. Overall effective compression ratios of 100:1 are possible for thoracic X-ray digital images.

Ransford, Gary A.

An introduction to three-dimensional climate modeling

The development and use of three-dimensional computer models of the earth's climate are discussed. The processes and interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, and sea ice are examined. The basic theory of climate simulation which includes the fundamental equations, models, and numerical techniques for simulating the atmosphere, oceans, and sea ice is described. Simulated wind, temperature, precipitation, ocean current, and sea ice distribution data are presented and compared to observational data. The responses of the climate to various environmental changes, such as variations in solar output or increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, are modeled. Future developments in climate modeling are considered. Information is also provided on the derivation of the energy equation, the finite difference barotropic forecast model, the spectral transform technique, and the finite difference shallow water waved equation model.

Washington, W. M.

Satellite microwave rainfall simulations with a three-dimensional dynamical cloud model

The three-dimensional, multicloud model of Tao and Soong (1986) is used to generate three-dimensional distribution of pertinent microphysical and state parameters which are used as input into a microwave radiative transfer model. The model is used to calculate upwelling radiance (brightness temperature) at microwave frequencies from 10 to 183 GHz with an ocean background. The model is used to study the relationship between simulated upwell brightness temperature and the cloud-model-generated rain rate at the surface. It is suggested that these calculations can be used to simulate satellite observed brightness temperature values and to make area-averaged rain rates.

Adler, Robert F.

A note on two-dimensional asymptotic magnetotail equilibria

In order to understand, on the fluid level, the structure, the time evolution, and the stability of current sheets, such as the magnetotail plasma sheet in Earth's magnetosphere, one has to consider magnetic field configurations that are in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) force equilibrium. Any reasonable MHD current sheet model has to be two-dimensional, at least in an asymptotic sense (B(sub z)/B (sub x)) = epsilon much less than 1. The necessary two-dimensionality is described by a rather arbitrary function f(x). We utilize the free function f(x) to construct two-dimensional magnetotail equilibria are 'equivalent' to current sheets in empirical three-dimensional models. We obtain a class of asymptotic magnetotail equilibria ordered with respect to the magnetic disturbance index Kp. For low Kp values the two-dimensional MHD equilibria reflect some of the realistic, observation-based, aspects of three-dimensional models. For high Kp values the three-dimensional models do not fit the asymptotic MHD equlibria, which is indicative of their inconsistency with the assumed pressure function. This, in turn, implies that high magnetic activity levels of the real magnetosphere might be ruled by thermodynamic conditions different from local thermodynamic equilibrium.

Voigt, Gerd-Hannes

Three-dimensional spherical models of convection in the earth's mantle

Three-dimensional spherical models of mantle convection in the earth reveal that upwelling cylindrical plumes and downwelling planar sheets are the primary features of mantle circulation. Thus subduction zones and descending sheetlike slabs in the mantle are fundamental characteristics of thermal convection in a spherical shell and are not merely the consequences of the rigidity of the slabs, which are cooler than the surrounding mantle. Cylindrical mantle plumes that cause hot spots such as Hawaii are probably the only form of active upwelling and are therefore not just secondary convective currents separate from the large-scale mantle circulation.

Bercovici, Dave

Microwave simulations of a tropical rainfall system with a three-dimensional cloud model

A three-dinensional cloud model-microwave radiative transfer model combination is used to study the relations among the precipitation and other microphysical characteristics of a tropical oceanic squall line and the upwelling radiance at pertinent microwave frequencies. Complex brightness temperature-rain rate relations are evident at the full horizontal resolution (1.5 km) of the models, with spatial averaging producing smoother, shifter relations in most cases. Nonprecipitating cloud water is shown to be important in understanding the resulting distribution of brightness temperature. At the mature stage, convective portions of the cloud system are shown to produce different brightness temperature relations than the stratiform portion, primarily related to the distribution of cloud water. The evolution of the convective system from a small convective complex through its mature stage and the beginning of its dissipation also is shown to result in a variation of brightness temperature-rain relations, related to the distribution of cloud water and the evolution of ice in the precipitating system. The results of the study point to the need to take into account the evolution of nonprecipitating cloud water and precipitation-sized ice in the retrieval of rain from passive microwave space observations. This effect is evident for both the life cycle of individual convective elements and the life cycle of the convective system as a whole.

Adler, Robert A.

Three-dimensional numerical modeling of indium phosphide Point-Contact Solar Cells

The Point-Contact Solar Cell (PCSC) geometry has proven very effective for silicon cells. To date, it has not been implemented in III-V materials. In addition, modeling such a geometry is very difficult because of its three-dimensional nature. We have developed a three-dimensional finite element modeling code (FIESTA ROC). In this paper, we present results from a three-dimensional modeling study of InP point-contact solar cells.

Clark, Ralph O.

Three-dimensional analytical model for the mixed layer depth

A three-dimensional (3D) semianalytical mixed-layer thermal inertia model for the mixed layer depth is developed, which includes the horizontal advection and diffusion processes modeled previously by Yan et al. (1991) in a one-dimensional (1D) model. The 3D model, which is based on the 3D thermal energy conservation equation, can be used as a supplement to the 1D model in the area where advection is important and for a finer resolution grid prediction. The model can be easily forced by remotely sensed data and is much simpler to compute than numerical 3D mixed-layer turbulence closure models. The new model was verified using data from the AVHRR/multichannel sea surface temperature data set and the Cooperative Ocean Atmosphere Data Set for the North Pacific Ocean, showing good agreement.

Yan, Xiao-Hai

A three-dimensional transport model for the middle atmosphere

In this paper we describe fundamental properties of an 'off-line' three-dimensional transport model, that is, a model which uses prescribed rather than predicted winds. The model is currently used primarily for studying problems of the middle atmosphere because we have not (yet) incorporated a formulation for the convective transport of trace species, a prerequisite for many tropospheric problems. The off-line model is simpler and less expensive than a model which predicts the wind and mass evolution (an 'on-line' model), but it is more complex than the two-dimensional (2-D) zonally averaged transport models often used in the study of chemistry and transport in the middle atmosphere. It thus serves as a model of intermediate complexity and can fill a useful niche for the study of transport and chemistry. We compare simulations of four tracers, released in the lower stratosphere, in both the on- and off-line models to document the difference resulting from differences in modeling the same problem with this intermediate model. These differences identify the price to be paid in going to a cheaper and simpler calculation. The off-line model transports a tracer in three dimensions. For this reason, it requires fewer approximations than 2-D transport model, which must parameterize the effects of mixing by transient and zonally asymmetric wind features. We compare simulations of the off-line model with simulations of a 2-D model for two problems. First, we compare 2-D and three-dimensional (3-D) models by simulating the emission of an NO(x)-like tracer by a fleet of high-speed aircraft. The off-line model is then used to simulate the transport of C-14 and to contrast its simulation properties to that of the host of 2-D models which participated in an identical simulation in a recent NASA model intercomparison. The off-line model is shown to be somewhat sensitive to the sampling strategy for off-line winds. Simulations with daily averaged winds are in very good qualitative agreement but are less diffusive than when driven with instantaneous winds sampled at half-hour intervals. Simulations with the off-line and 2-D models are quite similar in the middle and upper stratosphere but behave quite differently in the lower stratosphere, where the 3-D model has a substantially more vigorous circulation. The off-line model is quite realistic in its simulation of C-14. While there are still systematic differences between the 3-D calculation and the observations, the differences seem to be substantially reduced when compared with the body of 2-D simulations documented in the above mentioned NASA intercomparison, particularly at 31 deg N.

Rasch, Philip J.

A three-dimensional numerical model of ionospheric plasma in the magnetosphere

A three-dimensional particle trajectory tracing in empirical models of the geoelectric and geomagnetic fields is used to study the ionospheric contribution to magnetospheric plasma. Various ionospheric outflows are examined and results on ion transport are presented in terms of density, composition, and energy. Results are presented for two opposite magnetospheric configurations, ground state and storm phases. An estimate of the contribution of ionospheric O(+) to the hot plasma sheet is given. The simulation results are compared with observational data.

Delcourt, D. C.

Thermomechanical Response Variability of Stiffened Composite Panels

A significant numerical simulation capability now exists for studying the various phenomena associated with the response, failure, and performance of multilayered composite panels and shells subjected to combined pressure, mechanical, and thermal loads. The phenomena involved cover a wide range of length scales from local to global structural response. The modeling approaches used for multilayered panels include micromechanical models, three-dimensional continuum models, quasi-three-dimensional models, and two-dimensional plate and shell models. Within each category a number of models with several levels of sophistication has evolved. The four categories are described in review papers. Despite the extensive literature cited in the afore-mentioned references, only a few studies have been reported on the effects of stiffness discontinuities, such as those associated with an abrupt stiffener termination or dropped plies, on the response of composite panel. Stiffener termination is often necessary in composite aerospace structures to satisfy detailed design requirements, and therefore an understanding and a prediction of its effect on the response and failure of composite panels are desirable. Such a prediction must take into account the fact that current measurement technology does not allow the accurate determination of the material parameters that are used in the analytical models.

Noor, Ahmed K.

Three-Dimensional Computational Model for Flow in an Over-Expanded Nozzle With Porous Surfaces

A three-Dimensional computational model is used to simulate flow in a non-axisymmetric, convergent-divergent nozzle incorporating porous cavities for shock-boundary layer interaction control. The nozzle has an expansion ratio (exit area/throat area) of 1.797 and a design nozzle pressure ratio of 8.78. Flow fields for the baseline nozzle (no porosity) and for the nozzle with porous surfaces of 10% openness are computed for Nozzle Pressure Ratio (NPR) varying from 1.29 to 9.54. The three dimensional computational results indicate that baseline (no porosity) nozzle performance is dominated by unstable, shock-induced, boundary-layer separation at over-expanded conditions. For NPR less than or equal to 1.8, the separation is three dimensional, somewhat unsteady, and confined to a bubble (with partial reattachment over the nozzle flap). For NPR greater than or equal to 2.0, separation is steady and fully detached, and becomes more two dimensional as NPR increased. Numerical simulation of porous configurations indicates that a porous patch is capable of controlling off design separation in the nozzle by either alleviating separation or by encouraging stable separation of the exhaust flow. In the present paper, computational simulation results, wall centerline pressure, mach contours, and thrust efficiency ratio are presented, discussed and compared with experimental data. Results indicate that comparisons are in good agreement with experimental data. The three-dimensional simulation improves the comparisons for over-expanded flow conditions as compared with two-dimensional assumptions.

Abdol-Hamid, K. S.

A simplified ring-vortex downburst model

Three dimensional incompressible vortex rings are used to model downburst flow field, and modifications are made to express the induced velocities analytically. As a result, this three dimensional downburst model can be used in trajectory optimization, as well as in flight simulations. Two such vortex rings are superposed to match the JAWS AB Corridor wind profiles and the DFW Downburst wind profiles. Model parameters are determined through nonlinear least square fit.

Zhao, Yiyuan