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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 145 records · Page 8

Determination of near-surface plastic deformation in sliding contacts

It is pointed out that substantial plastic deformation occurs on and near the contact surfaces, when two solid bodies slide against each other without lubrication. It has been found that this deformation plays an important role in the tribological behavior of the sliding contact. The present investigation has the objective to develop an analytical model to predict the near-surface plastic deformation resulting from a single pass of one metallic surface over another. A finite element viscoplasticity program was written relating velocities to forces in a two-dimensional domain. The program was employed in the study of plastic deformation during a single pass of a hardened tool steel slider over a copper rub specimen. It was found that essentially the only material set in motion by the slider was directly under the contact zone. The agreement between values obtained in the analysis and experimental data is reasonably good.

Kennedy, F. E., Jr.↗

The calibration of photographic and spectroscopic films: A densitometric analysis of IIaO film flown aboard the Space Shuttle 3

Three canisters of IIaO film were prepared along with packets of color film from the National Geographic Society, which were placed on the Space Shuttle. The ultimate aim was to obtain reasonably accurate data concerning the background fogging effects as related to the total environment experience of the film including the groundbased packing and loading of the film from Goddard Space Flight Center to Cape Kennedy. The affects of solar wind, humidity, cosmic rays, the Van Allen Belt radiation exposure, various thermal effects, and reentry and off-loading of the film during takeoff and 8 days, 3 hour 15 minute orbit are of particular interest.

Hammond, E. C., Jr.↗

Air fluorescence detection of large air showers below the horizon

In the interest of exploring the cosmic ray spectrum at energies greater than 10 to the 18th power eV, where flux rates at the Earth's surface drop below 100 yr(-1) km(-2) sr(-1), cosmic ray physicists have been forced to construct ever larger detectors in order to collect useful amounts of data in reasonable lengths of time. At present, the ultimate example of this trend is the Fly's Eye system in Utah, which uses the atmosphere around an array of skyward-looking photomultiplier tubes. The air acts as a scintillator to give detecting areas as large as 5000 square kilometers sr (for highest energy events). This experiment has revealed structure (and a possible cutoff) in the ultra-high energy region above 10 o the 19th power eV. The success of the Fly's Eye experiment provides impetus for continuing the development of larger detectors to make accessible even higher energies. However, due to the rapidly falling flux, a tenfold increase in observable energy would call for a hundredfold increase in the detecting area. But, the cost of expanding the Fly's Eye detecting area will approximately scale linearly with area. It is for these reasons that the authors have proposed a new approach to using the atmosphere as a scintillator; one which will require fewer photomultipliers, less hardware (thus being less extensive), yet will provide position and shower size information.

Halverson, P.↗

AIS Investigation of Agricultural Monocultures

Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) data were acquired over an agricultural area in eastern San Joaquin County, California in July, 1984. Cover type information was subsequently collected for all fields along this flight line. The lack of detailed ground data on individual fields, however, limited AIS data analysis to a qualitative comparison of the spectral reflectance curves for a total of nine cover types. Based on this analysis, it appears that cover types with a positive slope in the 1550 to 1700 nm region have a higher spectral response in the 1200 to 1300 nm region compared to those cover types with a negative slope in the 1550 to 1700 nm region. Within cover type, spectral variability was also found to be greater than that between cover types. Given the lack of additional field data, the reason for these differences is a matter of speculation.

Wood, B. L.↗

A study of Kapton degradation under simulated shuttle environment

A system was developed which employs a source of low energy oxygen ion to simulate the shuttle low Earth orbit environment. This source, together with diagnostic tools including surface analysis ans mass spectroscopic capability, was used to measure the dependence of ion energy of the oxygen induced CO signals from pyrolytic graphite and Kapton. For graphite the CO signal was examined at energies ranging form 4.5 to 465 eV and for Kapton from 4.5 to 188 eV. While the relative quantum yields inferred from the data are reasonably precise, there are large uncertainties in the absolute yields because of the assumptions necessary to covert the measured signal strengths to quantum yields. These assumptions are discussed in detail.

Eck, T. G.↗

A densitometric analysis of IIaO film flown aboard the space shuttle transportation system STS-3, STS-8, and STS-7

Three canisters of IIaO film were prepared along with packets of color film from the National Geographic Society, which were then placed on the Space Shuttle #3. The ultimate goal was to obtain reasonably accurate data concerning the background fogging effects on IIaO film as it relates to the film's total environmental experience. This includes: the ground based packing, and loading of the film from Goddard Space Flight Center to Cape Kennedy; the effects of the solar wind, humidity, and cosmic rays; the Van Allen Belt radiation exposure; various thermal effect; reentry and off-loading of the film during take off, and 8 day, 3 hour 15 minutes orbits. The total densitometric change caused by all of the above factors were examined. The results of these studies have implications for the utilization of IIaO spectroscopic film on the future shuttle and space lab missions. These responses to standard photonic energy sources will have immediate application for the uneven responses of the film photographing a star field in a terrestrial or extraterrestrial environment with associated digital imaging equipment.

Hammond, E. C., Jr.↗

An analysis of sound absorbing linings for the interior of the NASA Ames 80 x 120-foot wind tunnel

It is desirable to achieve low frequency sound absorption in the tests section of the NASA Ames 80X120-ft wind tunnel. However, it is difficult to obtain information regarding sound absorption characteristics of potential treatments because of the restrictions placed on the dimensions of the test chambers. In the present case measurements were made in a large enclosure for aircraft ground run-up tests. The normal impedance of the acoustic treatment was measured using two microphones located close to the surface of the treatment. The data showed reasonably good agreement with analytical methods which were then used to design treatments for the wind tunnel test section. A sound-absorbing lining is proposed for the 80X120-ft wind tunnel.

Wilby, J. F.↗

Optical measurements pertaining to Space Station solar dynamic power systems

The Space Station solar dynamic power system is a hybrid of solar photovoltaic and solar dynamic systems, the latter of which uses a parabolic reflector to collect solar energy. This paper describes analytical results of an off-axis solar illumination on the intensity distribution in arbitrary target planes perpendicular to the axis of a parabolic reflector. Such computational capability would make it possible to predict optical intensity distributions resulting from off-axis angles of incident radiation on such target planes. To validate the computer code, experimental optical measurements were performed on the multifaceted paraboloidal collecor at the Solar Dynamic Test Facility at Rockedyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The experimental data compared reasonably well with the calculated values.

Holly, S.↗

Status of fusion research and implications for D/He-3 systems

World wide programs in both magnetic confinement and inertial confinement fusion research have made steady progress towards the experimental demonstration of energy breakeven. However, after breakeven is achieved, considerable time and effort must still be expended to develop a usable power plant. The main program described is focused on Deuterium-Tritium devices. In magnetic confinement, three of the most promising high beta approaches with a reasonable experimental data base are the Field Reversed Configuration, the high field tokamak, and the dense Z-pinch. The situation is less clear in inertial confinement where the first step requires an experimental demonstration of D/T spark ignition. It appears that fusion research has reached a point in time where an R and D plan to develop a D/He-3 fusion reactor can be laid out with some confidence of success.

Miley, George H.↗

Compression behavior of delaminated composite plates

The response of delaminated composite plates to compressive in-plane loads was investigated. The delaminated region may be either circular or elliptical, and may be located between any two plies of the laminate. For elliptical delaminations, the axes of the ellipse may be arbitrarily oriented with respect to the applied loads. A model was developed that describes the stresses, strains, and deformation of the sublaminate created by the delamination. The mathematical model is based on a two dimensional nonlinear plate theory that includes the effects of transverse shear deformation. The model takes into account thermal and moisture induced strains, transverse pressures acting on the sublaminate, and contact between the sublaminate and plate. The solution technique used is the Ritz method. A computationally efficient computer implementation of the model was developed. The code can be used to predict the nonlinear-load-strain behavior of the sublaminate including the buckling load, postbuckling behavior, and the onset of delamination growth. The accuracy of the code was evaluated by comparing the model results to benchmark analytical solutions. A series of experiments was conducted on Fiberite T300/976 graphite/epoxy laminates bonded to an aluminum honeycomb core forming a sandwich panel. Either circles or ellipses made from Teflon film were embedded in the laminates, simulating the presence of a delamination. Each specimen was loaded in compression and the strain history of the sublaminate was recorded far into the postbuckling regime. The extent of delamination growth was evaluated by C-scan examination of each specimen. The experimental data were compared to code predictions. The code was found to describe the data with reasonable accuracy. A sensitivity study examined the relative importance of various material properties, the delamination dimensions, the contact model, the transverse pressure differential, the critical strain energy release rate, and the relative growth direction on the buckling load, the postbuckling behavior, and the growth load of the sublaminate.

Peck, Scott O.↗

Viscous/inviscid interaction procedure for high-amplitude oscillating airfoils

A coupling procedure between an inviscid potential theoretical panel method and an unsteady interactive boundary layer calculation procedure has been developed for calculating unsteady airloads on oscillating airfoils in the high-incidence regime. A coordinate transformation into a time-dependent surface coordinate has been incorporated into the boundary layer code to avoid a quasi-steady treatment of the viscous flow equations in the leading edge region. The upper and lower sides of the airfoil are calculated with the complete set of unsteady equations. The interactive region of the boundary layer calculation can be straightforwardly extended over the complete upper surface of the airfoil while accounting for interaction areas in the region of strong adverse pressure gradients with incipient separation. Comparisons of sample calculations with experimental data show reasonably good agreement even for unsteady drag coefficients.

Geissler, W.↗

Equilibrium radiative heating tables for Earth entry

The recent resurgence of interest in blunt-body atmospheric entry for applications such as aeroassisted orbital transfer and planetary return has engendered a corresponding revival of interest in radiative heating. Radiative heating may be of importance in these blunt-body flows because of the highly energetic shock layer around the blunt nose. Sutton developed an inviscid, stagnation point, radiation coupled flow field code for investigating blunt-body atmospheric entry. The method has been compared with ground-based and flight data, and reasonable agreement has been found. To provide information for entry body studies in support of lunar and Mars return scenarios of interest in the 1970's, the code was exercised over a matrix of Earth entry conditions. Recently, this matrix was extended slightly to reflect entry vehicle designs of current interest. Complete results are presented.

Sutton, Kenneth↗

Shock interference studies on a circular cylinder at Mach 16

This paper presents the results of a computational study on the shock interference problems on a cylindrical body typical of an engine inlet cowl leading edge at a nominal Mach number of 16. The two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved assuming the flow to be in chemical and thermal equilibrium and using a finite element method. The algorithm employs a cell-centered fully implicit upwind scheme. Adaptively generated unstructured meshes of triangles and quadrilaterals are employed. Under certain conditions the finite element code resulted in oscillatory solutions for shock interference at Mach 16. Some of the causes of the unsteady behavior are identified, and to the extent possible, such situations are avoided in the present application. Two shock interference conditions involving a Type IV (supersonic jet) and a Type III (attaching shear layer) are solved. The results are compared with available experimental data and reasonable agreement is observed. A semi-empirical method is also used to estimate the maximum surface heat flux and static pressure.

Prabhu, Ramadas K.↗

Cloud parameters derived from GOES during the 1987 marine stratocumulus FIRE Intensive Field Observation (IFO) period

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) is well suited for observations of the variations of clouds over many temporal and spatial scales. For this reason, GOES data taken during the Marine Stratocumulus Intensive Field Observations (IFO) (June 29 to July 19, 1987, Kloessel et al.) serve several purposes. One facet of the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) is improvement of the understanding of cloud parameter retrievals from satellite-observed radiances. This involves comparisons of coincident satellite cloud parameters and high resolution data taken by various instruments on other platforms during the IFO periods. Another aspect of FIRE is the improvement of both large- and small-scale models of stratocumulus used in general circulation models (GCMs). This may involve, among other studies, linking the small-scale processes observed during the IFO to the variations in large-scale cloud fields observed with the satellites during the IFO and Extended Time Observation (ETO) periods. Preliminary results are presented of an analysis of GOES data covering most of the IFO period. The large scale cloud-field characteristics are derived, then related to a longer period of measurements. Finally, some point measurements taken from the surface are compared to regional scale cloud parameters derived from satellite radiances.

Young, David F.↗

Airborne CW lidar measurements of atmospheric backscatter at 9.1 and 10.6 microns

Atmospheric backscatter data collected during the Global Backscatter Experiment (GLOBE) 1 and GLOBE 2 Survey Missions were partially analyzed. These data were collected using the MSFC's 9.1 and 10.6 micron focused continuous wave CO2 coherent detection lidars. In general, both data sets have shown reasonably good agreement with data collected by the JPL's pulsed nadir and zenith viewing CO2 system and with the ground-based, pulsed CO2 system operated by NOAA's Wave Propagation Laboratory. Generally good agreement was also noted with IR backscatter estimates produced by Mie calculations using aerosol size and composition data obtained during the GLOBE 1 and GLOBE 2 missions. The focus of current research and plans for future research are presented.

Jones, William D.↗

Temperature dependence of the elastic moduli and damping for polycrystalline LiF-22 pct CaF2 eutectic salt

Young's and shear moduli and damping were measured for as-cast polycrystalline LiF-(22 mol pct)CaF2 eutectic specimens as a function of temperature using the piezoelectric ultrasonic composite oscillator technique. The shear modulus decreased with increasing temperature from about 40 GPa at 295 K to about 30 GPa at 1000 K, while the Young modulus decreased from about 115 GPa at 295 K to about 35 GPa at 900 K. These values are compared with those derived from the rule of mixtures using elastic moduli data for LiF and CaF2 single crystals. It is shown that, while the shear modulus data agree reasonably well with the predicted trend, there is a large discrepancy between the theoretical calculations and the Young modulus values, where this disagreement increases with increasing temperature.

Wolfenden, A.↗

Satellite/rocket ozone comparisons at Natal, Brazil

Comparisons are presented of satellite, rocket, and balloon ozone profiles near Natal, Brazil (5.9 deg S, 35.2 deg W). The low variability of stratospheric ozone at Natal during March and April of 1985 has allowed intercomparisons of reasonably large data sets, rather than a small number of paired satellite/in situ comparisons. There are sharp differences between the profile from the SBUV instrument on Nimbus 7 and the in situ measurements. These results support the conclusions of the NASA Ozone Trends Panel that there is an instrumental cause for the very large changes in upper stratospheric ozone seen by SBUV. Along with other comparisons, these results are being used in a reassessment of the SBUV instrument and its data reduction procedures. The agreement between the ozone profiles from the SAGE II instrument on the ERBS satellite and the rocket values is excellent over the full range of comparisons. Both SAGE II and ROCOZ-A must convert from altitude to pressure for intercomparisons with SME and with SBUV-type instruments. The conversion between pressure and altitude is as important as the ozone measurements, especially in the upper stratosphere where the scale height for ozone is approximately half that for pressure.

Barnes, Robert A.↗

Modeling solar coronal streamers

Coronal streamer models must now make the transition from research projects to applications tools. SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) will be making measurements on plasma parameters in and around streamers and a quantitative model will be required for interpreting the data. The reason for this is that a streamer is inherently a magnetohydrodynamic phenomenon; its properties are determined both by the magnetic field and the dynamics of the plasma. The purpose of the model will be to analyze the energetics of the streamer and place the results into the context of the magnetic field. Current streamer modeling, and why it has taken so long for these models to develop into useful tools, is described and indications on where further development is needed, are given.

Suess, Steven T.↗