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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 1,315 records · Page 73
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

A symmetric modal formulation of fluid-structure interaction, including a static approximation to higher order fluid modes

A method of fluid-structure coupling which provides symmetrical matrix equations of standard form solved by existing finite element computer programs is presented. The method postulates that the uncoupled vibration modes of the fluid or the structure be calculated before the coupled analysis. A numerical solution of vibration modes in an axisymmetric container demonstrated that a static approximation to higher order fluid modes can improve the accuracy of dynamic response computations using modal methods.

Macneal, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1968

Inward pumping in mechanical face seals.

Hydrodynamic characteristics producing inward pumping in mechanical face seals, solving Reynolds equation for hydrodynamic lubrication with short-bearing approximation and numerical iterative methods

Findlay, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Lumped parameter analysis of a stringer reinforced plate excited by band limited noise

The maximum root-mean-square response of a square clamped plate, subjected to a stationary random excitation, was determined both theoretically and empirically. For the tests, a 40 x 40 x 1/4 aluminum sheet was milled out to provide a thin waffle plate with 9 panels. The plate was acoustically excited, with the frequency range limited between 25 Hz and 500 Hz. The root-mean-square power of the random excitations, 149 decibels, was nearly constant for all natural frequencies of the plate system. Strain gage readings at 14 points were plotted as power spectral densities and root-mean-square displacements. A modal damping ratio matrix was determined from the response curves. Damping ratios were found to be a function of frequency, but not of location on the plate. For comparisons with the theoretical response, the plate was subdivided into 14 modes and anlayzed as a damped, lumped parameter system by use of an approximate normal-mode method. This method gave the best predictions of the power spectral densities for the lower frequencies. That prediction errors increased for the higher frequencies is attributed to improper assumptions for mass distribution and the insufficient number of lumped mass points.

Bilyeu, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Spin contamination in unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations.

Several pi-electron doublets are treated by both the unrestricted Hartree-Fock method and the restricted approximation of Longuet-Higgins and Pople. For two of the molecules, which contain oxygen heteroatoms, serious spin contamination occurs in the UHF wavefunctions, and this negates the usefulness of the single annihilation procedure that is often used for spin-density calculations. The restricted approximation provides a convenient alternative, especially because configuration interaction is easily taken into account.

Schug, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Some analytical results for radiative transfer in thick atmospheres

Singular eigenmode expansions are a convenient analytical tool with which to study problems of monochromatic radiative transfer in thick or semi-infinite atmospheres. Some closed-form solutions are presented for anisotropic scattering, with the neglect of polarization effects. A basic ingredient for applications to the semi-infinite medium is Chandrasekhar's H-function, which is best defined through the Wiener-Hopf factorization. The solutions of the Milne and albedo problems are discussed in order that the method of matched asymptotic approximations may be used to describe the solution for a thick atmosphere adjacent to a diffusely reflecting ground. Expressions for the emerging distributions are quoted. A possible extension of the general scheme to problems involving polarization is indicated.

Kuscer, I.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Lectures on the scattering of light

The exact (Mie) theory for the scattering of a plane wave by a dielectric sphere is presented. Since this infinite series solution is computationally impractical for large spheres, another formulation is given in terms of an integral equation valid for a bounded, but otherwise general array of scatterers. This equation is applied to the scattering by a single sphere, and several methods are suggested for approximating the scattering cross section in closed form. A tensor scattering matrix is introduced, in terms of which some general scattering theorems are derived. The application of the formalism to multiple scattering is briefly considered.

Saxon, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Thermionic work function of /Cs/ZnO

The collector electrode of a thermionic converter requires a material having a low thermionic work function and chemical stability in a Cs atmosphere in the 800-K range. This letter reports that ZnO with an adsorbed Cs film meets these requirements. The work function is approximately 1.3 eV. Various methods of preparing the ZnO film are described as well as an experiment in which Cs was replaced by K.

Sommer, A. H.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Alternate approaches to vibration and shock analysis using NASTRAN

A method that derives an approximate equivalent static load to a base excitation shock analysis is described. The transient analysis in the current level of NASTRAN, level 16, does not directly provide for either input acceleration forcing functions or enforced boundary displacement. In the suggested alternate analysis format, equivalent force input functions are applied to the constrained locations by using the artifice of placing a large mass, with respect to the total system mass, at the desired acceleration input points. This shortcut static analysis approach is presented to approximate the expensive and time consuming dynamics analysis approach to the base excitation shock analysis.

Denver, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Electrical properties of /DEPE/ /TCNQ/sub 4

The electrical conductivity of two phases of (DEPE) (TCNQ)sub 4 is evaluated using four probe and Montgomery methods. The highest values (approximately 50 Ohms/cm) were found along the b sub 0 axis of the monoclinic phase (I) crystals at room temperature. The resistivities are described as semiconducting. Thermopower is observed to saturate at high temperatures to 60 microvolts/deg K, characteristic of a quarter-filled correlated band. It is pointed out that a stable metallic state for (DEPE) (TCNQ)sub 4 is theoretically possible, but none has thus far been found.

Somoano, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Steady, Oscillatory, and Unsteady Subsonic and Supersonic Aerodynamics, production version (SOUSSA-P 1.1). Volume 1: Theoretical manual

Recent developments of the Green's function method and the computer program SOUSSA (Steady, Oscillatory, and Unsteady Subsonic and Supersonic Aerodynamics) are reviewed and summarized. Applying the Green's function method to the fully unsteady (transient) potential equation yields an integro-differential-delay equation. With spatial discretization by the finite-element method, this equation is approximated by a set of differential-delay equations in time. Time solution by Laplace transform yields a matrix relating the velocity potential to the normal wash. Premultiplying and postmultiplying by the matrices relating generalized forces to the potential and the normal wash to the generalized coordinates one obtains the matrix of the generalized aerodynamic forces. The frequency and mode-shape dependence of this matrix makes the program SOUSSA useful for multiple frequency and repeated mode-shape evaluations.

Morino, L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Effects of substrate deformation and sip thickness on tile/sip interface stresses for shuttle thermal protection

A nonlinear analysis was used to study the effects of substrate deformation characteristics and strain isolator pad (SIP) thickness on TILE/SIP interface stresses for the space shuttle thermal protection system. The configuration analyzed consisted of a 5.08 cm thick, 15.24 cm square tile with a 12.7 cm square SIP footprint bordered by a 1.27 cm wide filler bar and was subjected to forces and moments representative of a 20.7 kPa aerodynamic shock passing over the tile. The SIP stress deflection curves were obtained after a 69 kPa proof load and 100 cycles conditioning at 55 kPa. The TILE/SIP interface stresses increase over flat substrate values for zero to peak substrate deformation amplitudes up to 0.191 cm by up to a factor of nearly five depending on deformation amplitude, half wave length, and location. Stresses for a 0.23 cm thick SIP found to be up to 60 percent greater than for a 0.41 cm thick SIP for identical loads and substrate deformation characteristics. A simplified method was developed for approximating the substrate location which produces maximum TILE/SIP interface stresses.

Shore, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1981

An analytic technique for statistically modeling random atomic clock errors in estimation

Minimum variance estimation requires that the statistics of random observation errors be modeled properly. If measurements are derived through the use of atomic frequency standards, then one source of error affecting the observable is random fluctuation in frequency. This is the case, for example, with range and integrated Doppler measurements from satellites of the Global Positioning and baseline determination for geodynamic applications. An analytic method is presented which approximates the statistics of this random process. The procedure starts with a model of the Allan variance for a particular oscillator and develops the statistics of range and integrated Doppler measurements. A series of five first order Markov processes is used to approximate the power spectral density obtained from the Allan variance.

Fell, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A Quasi-Parabolic technique for computation of three-dimensional viscous flows

A computational technique is presented for obtaining flowfield solutions to a parabolic form of the Navier-Stokes equations. The point of departure is the General Interpolant Method (GIM) which provides a discretization for partial differential equations on arbitrary three-dimensional geometries. The new scheme, termed Quasi-Parabolic, treats the parabolized equations but with 'time-like' terms appended. Addition of these extra terms, which are relaxed by iteration, avoid many of the singularities inherent in classical parabolic Navier-Stokes methods. Streamwise derivatives are approximated by three-point backward differences and the cross plane operators use an alternating forward-backward sweep. A two-step sequence is used to implement the difference scheme in the spatial dimensions and a time-like relaxation converges the quasi-parabolic procedure at each plane. Solutions are presented for flows in two and three dimensions. Inviscid flows are solved for internal and external applications and viscous flows in boundary layers and free shear layers are also computed with the GIM/Quasi-Parabolic scheme.

Spradley, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

On the geodetic applications of simultaneous range-differencing to LAGEOS

The possibility of improving the accuracy of geodetic results by use of simultaneously observed ranges to Lageos, in a differencing mode, from pairs of stations was studied. Simulation tests show that model errors can be effectively minimized by simultaneous range differencing (SRD) for a rather broad class of network satellite pass configurations. The methods of least squares approximation are compared with monomials and Chebyshev polynomials and the cubic spline interpolation. Analysis of three types of orbital biases (radial, along- and across track) shows that radial biases are the ones most efficiently minimized in the SRC mode. The degree to which the other two can be minimized depends on the type of parameters under estimation and the geometry of the problem. Sensitivity analyses of the SRD observation show that for baseline length estimations the most useful data are those collected in a direction parallel to the baseline and at a low elevation. Estimating individual baseline lengths with respect to an assumed but fixed orbit not only decreases the cost, but it further reduces the effects of model biases on the results as opposed to a network solution. Analogous results and conclusions are obtained for the estimates of the coordinates of the pole.

Pablis, E. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Onion-shell model of cosmic ray acceleration in supernova remnants

A method is devised to approximate the spatially averaged momentum distribution function for the accelerated particles at the end of the active lifetime of a supernova remnant. The analysis is confined to the test particle approximation and adiabatic losses are oversimplified, but unsteady shock motion, evolving shock strength, and non-uniform gas flow effects on the accelerated particle spectrum are included. Monoenergetic protons are injected at the shock front. It is found that the dominant effect on the resultant accelerated particle spectrum is a changing spectral index with shock strength. High energy particles are produced in early phases, and the resultant distribution function is a slowly varying power law over several orders of magnitude, independent of the specific details of the supernova remnant.

Bogdan, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Optimization of Antenna Structure Design

Optimality criteria design is applied for large antenna structures with multiple constraints on microwave performance. The constraints are on accuracy of the structure: restrictions on the microwave pathlength error, and the antenna pointing error. The examples given show convergence to low-weight feasible designs that satisfy the constraints. Truss-member sizes are automatically selected from tables of commercially available structural shapes, and approximations results from the method of selection are found moderate. The multiple constraint design is shown to be more effective in meeting constraints than the old envelop method. For practical structures, the new design method can be performed within reasonable core size and computation time.

Levy, R.↗