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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.

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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

Three-Dimensional Tracer Model Study of Atmospheric CO2 - Response to Seasonal Exchanges with the Terrestrial Biosphere

A three-dimensional tracer transport model is used to investigate the annual cycle of atmospheric CO2 concentration produced by seasonal exchanges with the terrestrial biosphere. The tracer model uses winds generated by a global general circulation model to advect and convect CO2; no explicit diffusion coefficients are employed. A biospheric exchange function constructed from a map of net primary productivity, and Azevedo's (1982) seasonality of CO2 uptake and release closely simulates the annual cycles at coastal stations. The results show that zonal homogeneity in surface CO2 concentrations can never be achieved at mid-latitudes where the time scale for zonal mixing is longer than the time scale for biospheric exchange. Analysis of the zonal mean balance in the lower troposphere reveals that atmospheric transport processes may alter the CO2 response to local biospheric exchanges by 50% or more. Hence year-to-year variation of the annual CO2 cycle may result from the natural variability of the atmospheric circulation as well as from changes in the sources and sinks.

Fung, I.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Non-linear three dimensional spectral model of the Venusian thermosphere with super-rotation. I - Formulation and numerical technique. II - Temperature, composition and winds

A three-dimensional spectral model for the Venusion thermosphere is presented which uses spherical harmonics to represent the horizontal variations in longitude and latitude and which uses Fourier harmonics to represent the LT variations due to atmospheric rotation. A differencing scheme with tridiagonal block elimination is used to perform the height integration. Quadratic nonlinearities are taken into account. In the second part, numerical results obtained with the model are shown to reproduce the observed broad daytime maxima in CO2 and CO and the significantly larger values at dawn than at dusk. It is found that the diurnal variations in He are most sensitive to thermospheric superrotation, and that, given a globally uniform atmosphere as input, larger heating rates yield a larger temperature contrast between day and night.

Stevens-Rayburn, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Three-dimensional computer model for the atmospheric general circulation experiment

An efficient, flexible, three-dimensional, hydrodynamic, computer code has been developed for a spherical cap geometry. The code will be used to simulate NASA's Atmospheric General Circulation Experiment (AGCE). The AGCE is a spherical, baroclinic experiment which will model the large-scale dynamics of our atmosphere; it has been proposed to NASA for future Spacelab flights. In the AGCE a radial dielectric body force will simulate gravity, with hot fluid tending to move outwards. In order that this force be dominant, the AGCE must be operated in a low gravity environment such as Spacelab. The full potential of the AGCE will only be realized by working in conjunction with an accurate computer model. Proposed experimental parameter settings will be checked first using model runs. Then actual experimental results will be compared with the model predictions. This interaction between experiment and theory will be very valuable in determining the nature of the AGCE flows and hence their relationship to analytical theories and actual atmospheric dynamics.

Roberts, G. O.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Three-dimensional vector modeling and restoration of flat finite wave tank radiometric measurements

The three-dimensional vector interaction between a microwave radiometer and a wave tank was modeled. Computer programs for predicting the response of the radiometer to the brightness temperature characteristics of the surroundings were developed along with a computer program that can invert (restore) the radiometer measurements. It is shown that the computer programs can be used to simulate the viewing of large bodies of water, and is applicable to radiometer measurements received from satellites monitoring the ocean. The water temperature, salinity, and wind speed can be determined.

Truman, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Three-dimensional spherical models of layered and whole mantle convection

We present numerical calculations of three-dimensional spherical shell thermal convection for constant viscosity and stratified viscosity models of whole-layer and two-layer mantle convection. These four examples are intended to provide theoretical guidance for determining the style of convection that is occurring in Earth's mantle. An impermeable interface between the upper and lower convecting shells in the two-layer solutions is placed at a depth of 670 km to coincide with the mantle seismic discontinuity that divides the upper and lower mantle. The interface results in an internal thermal boundary layer that raises the mean temperature in the lower shell by about 1400 K compared to the whole-layer solutions. The patterns of convection in the upper part of the whole-layer solutions are dominated by narrow arcuate sheetlike downflows in a background of weak upflow. In contrast, the upper shells of the two-layer solutions have complicated networks of convective rolls with the upflows and downflows having very similar structure. The structure of convection in the lower shells is similar to that in the lower part of the whole-layer solutions. Based on the horizontal structure of subduction zones on Earth's surface and on tomographic images of temperature variations in Earth's mantle, we conclude that the style of convection in Earth's mantle is more like that of the whole-mantle models.

Glatzmaier, Gary A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Orbital navigation, docking and obstacle avoidance as a form of three dimensional model-based image understanding

Range imagery from a laser scanner can be used to provide sufficient information for docking and obstacle avoidance procedures to be performed automatically. Three dimensional model-based computer vision algorithms in development can perform these tasks even with targets which may not be cooperative (that is, objects without special targets or markers to provide unambiguous location points). Roll, pitch and yaw of the vehicle can be taken into account as image scanning takes place, so that these can be corrected when the image is converted from egocentric to world coordinates. Other attributes of the sensor, such as the registered reflectence and texture channels, provide additional data sources for algorithm robustness. Temporal fusion of sensor immages can take place in the work coordinate domain, allowing for the building of complex maps in three dimensional space.

Beyer, J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Orbital navigation, docking and obstacle avoidance as a form of three dimensional model-based image understanding

Range imagery from a laser scanner can be used to provide sufficient information for docking and obstacle avoidance procedures to be performed automatically. Three dimensional model-based computer vision algorithms in development can perform these tasks even with targets which may not be cooperative (that is, objects without special targets or markers to provide unambiguous points). Role, pitch, and yaw of a vehicle can be taken into account as image scanning takes place, so that these can be correlated when the image is converted from egocentric to world coordinated. Other attributes of the sensor, such as the registered reflectance and texture channels, provide additional data sources for algorithm robustness.

Beyer, J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Computational And Experimental Studies Of Three-Dimensional Flame Spread Over Liquid Fuel Pools

Schiller, Ross, and Sirignano (1996) studied ignition and flame spread above liquid fuels initially below the flashpoint temperature by using a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics code that solves the coupled equations of both the gas and the liquid phases. Pulsating flame spread was attributed to the establishment of a gas-phase recirculation cell that forms just ahead of the flame leading edge because of the opposing effect of buoyancy-driven flow in the gas phase and the thermocapillary-driven flow in the liquid phase. Schiller and Sirignano (1996) extended the same study to include flame spread with forced opposed flow in the gas phase. A transitional flow velocity was found above which an originally uniform spreading flame pulsates. The same type of gas-phase recirculation cell caused by the combination of forced opposed flow, buoyancy-driven flow, and thermocapillary-driven concurrent flow was responsible for the pulsating flame spread. Ross and Miller (1998) and Miller and Ross (1998) performed experimental work that corroborates the computational findings of Schiller, Ross, and Sirignano (1996) and Schiller and Sirignano (1996). Cai, Liu, and Sirignano (2002) developed a more comprehensive three-dimensional model and computer code for the flame spread problem. Many improvements in modeling and numerical algorithms were incorporated in the three-dimensional model. Pools of finite width and length were studied in air channels of prescribed height and width. Significant three-dimensional effects around and along the pool edge were observed. The same three-dimensional code is used to study the detailed effects of pool depth, pool width, opposed air flow velocity, and different levels of air oxygen concentration (Cai, Liu, and Sirignano, 2003). Significant three-dimensional effects showing an unsteady wavy flame front for cases of wide pool width are found for the first time in computation, after being noted previously by experimental observers (Ross and Miller, 1999). Regions of uniform and pulsating flame spread are mapped for the flow conditions of pool depth, opposed flow velocity, initial pool temperature, and air oxygen concentration under both normal and microgravity conditions. Details can be found in Cai et al. (2002, 2003). Experimental results recently performed at NASA Glenn of flame spread across a wide, shallow pool as a function of liquid temperature are also presented here.

Ross, Howard D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

An investigation of the origin of the flow turning effect in combustion stability analysis

The concept of a "flow turning" effect in the combustion based on the fact that terms appear in the equations governing the acoustic oscillations in a one dimensional model of combustion in a solid propellant rocket that do not appear in a three dimensional model. A procedure is developed to allow comparison of one and three dimensional models by averaging over the cross section of the motor cavity. Results indicate that the one dimensional equations with mass addition do not contain any physical phenomena that are missing the three dimensional equations with appropriate boundary conditions. This raises significant questions about any procedure that is based on the difference between one and three dimensional results.

Vanmoorhem, W. K.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Surface deformation, gravity and the geoid from a three-dimensional convection model at low Rayleigh numbers

The two-dimensional surface deformation, gravity field, and geoid are calculated from the temperature fields of a number of numerical models of constant-viscosity three-dimensional convective flows, heated from within and from below. The surface deformation and the geoid are insensitive to the short-wavelength features of the temperature variation; the gravity field is less smooth, although it still does not clearly indicate the narrowness of the upwelling and downwelling regions at large Rayleigh numbers. The results indicate that the convective upwelling beneath regions showing positive geoid and residual depth anomalies is more localized than the horizontal extent of these features would suggest. The results are relevant to attempts to understand the behavior of the earth mantle.

Craig, Claire Harvey↗
NASA NTRS1977

Three-dimensional vector modeling and restoration of flat finite wave tank radiometric measurements

In this paper, a three-dimensional Fourier transform inversion method describing the interaction between water surface emitted radiation from a flat finite wave tank and antenna radiation characteristics is reported. The transform technique represents the scanning of the antenna mathematically as a correlation. Computation time is reduced by using the efficient and economical fast Fourier transform algorithm. To verify the inversion method, computations have been made and compared with known data and other available results. The technique has been used to restore data of the finite wave tank system and other available antenna temperature measurements made at the Cape Cod Canal. The restored brightness temperatures serve as better representations of the emitted radiation than the measured antenna temperatures.

Truman, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Three dimensional global modeling of atmospheric CO2

A model was developed to study the prospects of extracting information on carbon dioxide sources and sinks from observed CO2 variations. The approach uses a three dimensional global transport model, based on winds from a 3-D general circulation model (GCM), to advect CO2 noninteractively, i.e., as a tracer, with specified sources and sinks of CO2 at the surface. The 3-D model employed is identified and biosphere, ocean and fossil fuel sources and sinks are discussed. Some preliminary model results are presented.

Fung, I.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A three-dimensional diffusion/convection model of the large scale magnetic field in the Venus ionosphere

A three-dimensinal diffusion/convection model of the dayside Venus ionosphere magnetic field was developed on the basis of previously published one-dimensional diffusion/convection models, and assuming that the field and flow at the upper boundary (in the magnetic barrier) as well as the ionospheric plasma velocity are known. The results indicate that the low-altitude magnetosheath field draping may be distorted by the interaction with the ionosphere in such a manner that there is an apparent 'focusing' of the field toward the subsolar point, caused by the shear in the horizontal velocity between the magnetosheath and ionospheric flows. A comparison of published magnetic-field observations with the present results indicates that the simple nesting of external and internal velocity fields may be a good approximation to global plasma flows near Venus under normal conditions.

Luhmann, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The numerical simulation of the evolution of a Saharan dust outbreak by using a general prognostic aerosol model

A three-dimensional model is developed that explicitly predicts the evolution of the spatial distributions of aerosols utilizing a time-dependent, initial value prognostic aerosol model based on aerosol physicochemical processes, a knowledge of aerosol sinks and sources, and the predicted motions of the atmosphere. These models serve a useful purpose in determining standardized aerosol spectra for utilization in radiative transfer calculations. The first numerical prediction of a Saharan dust outbreak evolution is described. It is shown that the results are in qualitative agreement with measurements despite the fact that in this preliminary simulation the generation of the dust depended upon several empirically based assumptions. IR satellite photographs taken during GATE are being examined in an attempt to determine the sources of the dust.

Westphal, Douglas L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

An improved three-dimensional aerodynamics model for helicopter airloads prediction

The importance of unsteady aerodynamic effects due to rotor blade motion is demonstrated for a helicopter in high-speed forward flight. These unsteady effects are modeled as surface boundary conditions to a three-dimensional, unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code called the Full-Potential Rotor Code (FPR). These boundary conditions cause significant changes in the computed lift and pitching moment at the front and rear of the rotor disk. Airloads from the modified FPR code are then iteratively coupled with the helicopter comprehensive code, CAMRAD/JA. Computed airloads show good agreement with flight-test data when lift values from the FPR code are used in the coupled calculation. However, the computed airloads from CAMRAD/JA along also show good agreement with the experimental data. Thus for this case one cannot demonstrate a significant improvement in computed airloads with the hybrid coupled scheme. The addition of the pitching moment values from the FPR code into the CAMRAD/JA calculation slows down the overall iterative convergence and does not yield any improvement in the final results.

Strawn, Roger C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A study of circumferentially-heated and block-heated heat pipes. I - Experimental analysis and generalized analytical prediction of capillary limits. II - Three-dimensional numerical modeling as a conjugate problem

The wall and centerline vapor temperatures and heat output are determined experimentally for a low-temperature copper-water heat pipe under uniform circumferential heating and block heating. The time required to reach a vapor temperature of 60 C from an initial ambient temperature of 21 C is determined for both modes of heating. The experimental capillary limit of the heat pipe is compared to the generalized capillary limits for block-heated pipes over a range of vapor temperatures. A three-dimensional numerical model is then developed for determining the temperature, pressure, and velocity distributions in the entire domain of a circumferentially heated and a block-heated pipe. The problem is formulated as a conjugate problem, without the assumption of a uniform vapor temperature. The predictions of the model are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.

Schmalhofer, Joseph↗
NASA NTRS1991

Comparison of 2-D and 3-D models of grid erosion in an ion thruster

Numerical results of particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo calculations of accelerator grid erosion in an ion thruster are presented. Specifically, it is shown that a three-dimensional model is required to account for the experimentally observed pitting of the accelerator grid between grid apertures. Some comparisons with earlier two-dimensional, axisymmetric model are made, and it is shown that, for identical operating conditions of the thruster, the wear-through time in the three-dimensional model is about two to three times higher than that obtained previously with the two-dimensional model, namely on the order of 10,000 hours for sample calculation.

Peng, Xiaohang↗