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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

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NASA NTRS1992

A model of the galactic tidal interaction with the Oort comet cloud

A model of the in situ Oort cloud which is isotropic with a random distribution of perihelia directions and angular momenta is considered. The energy distribution adopted has a continuous range of values appropriate for long-period (greater than 200 yr) comets. The evolution of 1,000,000 comets are tracked as they are made observable by the galactic tidal torque. Detailed results are obtained for the predicted distribution of new comets. Predictions of observed distributions are presented and compared with the random in situ results as well as with the actual observed distributions of class I comets. The predictions are in reasonable agreement with actual observations and, in many cases, are significantly different from random when perihelia directions are separated into galactic northern and southern hemispheres.

Matese, John J.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Computing Temperatures in Optically Thick Protoplanetary Disks

We worked with a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code to simulate the transfer of energy through protoplanetary disks, where planet formation occurs. The code tracks photons from the star into the disk, through scattering, absorption and re-emission, until they escape to infinity. High optical depths in the disk interior dominate the computation time because it takes the photon packet many interactions to get out of the region. High optical depths also receive few photons and therefore do not have well-estimated temperatures. We applied a modified random walk (MRW) approximation for treating high optical depths and to speed up the Monte Carlo calculations. The MRW is implemented by calculating the average number of interactions the photon packet will undergo in diffusing within a single cell of the spatial grid and then updating the packet position, packet frequencies, and local radiation absorption rate appropriately. The MRW approximation was then tested for accuracy and speed compared to the original code. We determined that MRW provides accurate answers to Monte Carlo Radiative transfer simulations. The speed gained from using MRW is shown to be proportional to the disk mass.

radiative transfer↗

NASA NTRS1982

On-line methods for rotorcraft aeroelastic mode identification

The requirements for the on-line identification of rotorcraft aeroelastic blade modes from random response test data are presented. A recursive maximum likelihood (RML) technique is used in conjunction with a bandpass filter to identify isolated blade mode damping and frequency. The RML technique is demonstrated to have excellent convergence characteristics in random measurement noise and random process noise excitation. The RML identification technique uses an ARMA representation for the aeroelastic stochastic system and requires virtually no user interaction while providing accurate confidence bands on the parameter estimates. Comparisons are made with an off-line Newton type maximum likelihood algorithm which uses a state variable model representation. Results are presented from simulation random response data which quantify the identifed parameter convergence behavior for various levels of random excitation which is typical of wind tunnel turbulence levels. The RML technique is applied to hingless rotor test data from the NASA Langley Research Center Helicopter Hover Facility.

Molusis, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Aeroelastic dynamics of mistuned blade assemblies with closely spaced blade modes

The aeroelastic characteristics of tuned and randomly mistuned blade assemblies which possess two blade-alone natural modes with close frequencies are studied. Modal interactions among the two blade modes are shown to be come extremely significant for small frequency separation. The two distinct loci of the aeroelastic eigenvalues, which characterize an assembly with well separated modes, fully merge into a single root locus as the blade-mode frequency separation vanishes. Also, while in the case of well separated blade modes the introduction of random mistuning into one blade mode affects only the assembly modes which are predominantly of that blade-mode type, mistuning results in the localization of all the assembly modes when the blade-alone natural frequencies are close. Results indicate that in the case of closely-spaced blade modes a single-degree of freedom blade model yields qualitatively erroneous results and that an N-blade assembly with two close blade modes behaves like an equivalent 2Nb-blade assembly with a single blade mode.

Pierre, Christophe↗

NASA NTRS1970

Space transportation system technology symposium. Volume 2 - Dynamics and aeroelasticity

The Space Shuttle, being an hybrid – an airplane and a launch vehicle – represents the greatest challenge that the dynamicist and the aeroelastician have faced. Some specific problem areas related to the Space Shuttle are listed on figure 1. Dynamics and aeroelasticity envelop many disciplines, including aerodynamics, vibration, random processes, structures, fluid flow, mechanics, etc., but, of more importance, they involve the interaction and coupling of many of these various disciplines. Fundamentally, we are concerned with structural integrity and safe flight, i.e., trying to ensure that the vehicle will remain structurally intact as well as function properly in the presence of the many faceted dynamic environment. A new area which may have an impact on our task is the effect of the high temperature environment. In the past, we have been able to successfully decouple the temperature effects from our problem formulation. For the Space Shuttle, this problem must be closely reexamined. As has been pointed out in the opening remarks of the Conference, the Dynamics and Aeroelasticity Technology Group comprises one of several technology groups which are attempting to provide the necessary research to support a successful and safe vehicle. The group has members from most of the NASA Centers as well as from the Air Force groups. We meet periodically to review ongoing work, search for new problem areas; and we are constantly updating and revising our program. The group is organized into three panels as shown on figure 2: a panel on Dynamic Loads and Response, one on Aeroelasticity, and one on Flight Dynamics and Environment. The Conference papers accordingly have been grouped in these same three areas, with each Panel Chairman acting as moderator for his particular session.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1969

Random vibration of interconnected systems.

Random vibration of interconnected systems, analyzing power flow and energy levels in linear oscillator interacting with environments, using Thevenin-Norton representations

Crandall, S. H.↗

NASA NTRS1982

On the interaction of auroral protons with the earth's atmosphere

The interaction of energetic auroral protons with the atmosphere is investigated. The results of a random number algorithm that describes the proton-hydrogen interconversion reactions as the beam loses energy are adopted to construct an energy deposition curve applicable over a wide range of initial proton energies. Ionization rates and production rates of ejected electrons are computed and emission rates of hydrogen Balmer alpha and beta lines are evaluated using recently available low energy cross-sections.

Rees, M. H.↗

NASA NTRS1989

A connectionist model for diagnostic problem solving

A competition-based connectionist model for solving diagnostic problems is described. The problems considered are computationally difficult in that (1) multiple disorders may occur simultaneously and (2) a global optimum in the space exponential to the total number of possible disorders is sought as a solution. The diagnostic problem is treated as a nonlinear optimization problem, and global optimization criteria are decomposed into local criteria governing node activation updating in the connectionist model. Nodes representing disorders compete with each other to account for each individual manifestation, yet complement each other to account for all manifestations through parallel node interactions. When equilibrium is reached, the network settles into a locally optimal state. Three randomly generated examples of diagnostic problems, each of which has 1024 cases, were tested, and the decomposition plus competition plus resettling approach yielded very high accuracy.

Peng, Yun↗

NASA NTRS2013

Comparison of Force and Moment Coefficients for the Same Test Article in Multiple Wind Tunnels

This paper compares the results of force and moment measurements made on the same test article and with the same balance in three transonic wind tunnels. Comparisons are made for the same combination of Reynolds number, Mach number, sideslip angle, control surface configuration, and angle of attack range. Between-tunnel force and moment differences are quantified. An analysis of variance was performed at four unique sites in the design space to assess the statistical significance of between-tunnel variation and any interaction with angle of attack. Tunnel to tunnel differences too large to attribute to random error were detected were observed for all forces and moments. In some cases these differences were independent of angle of attack and in other cases they changed with angle of attack.

Deloach, Richard↗

NASA NTRS1991

Photon interaction cross sections for aggregations of finite-dimensional leaves

The Ross (1981) plate turbid-medium theory, which abstracts the leaf canopy as a gaseous mixture of oriented planar nondimensional plates that are randomly distributed in the configuration space, does not account for the 'hot spot' effect typical of all layered media with finite-dimensional scattering centers. The concept of 'particle distribution functions' is presently used to derive the interaction cross sections. This formalism is statistical-mechanical in nature, since the radiative transfer equation is essentially a linearized form of the Boltzmann equation for N-body systems.

Myneni, Ranga B.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Ultrasonic attenuation of a void-containing medium for very long wavelengths

Ultrasonic longitudinal through-thickness attenuation in an isotropic medium due to scattering by randomly distributed voids is considered analytically. The attenuation is evaluated on the assumption of no interaction between voids. The scattered power is assumed to be entirely lost, thus accounting for the ultrasonic attenuation. The scattered power due to the presence of a void is described in terms of the scattering cross section of the void. An exact solution exists for the scattering cross section of a spherical void. An approximate solution for the scattering cross section of an ellipsoidal void is developed based on the so-called Born approximation commonly used in quantum mechanics. This approximate solution is valid for k sub p a sub i 1, where k sub p is the wave number of the incident longitudinal wave and a sub i is the largest dimension of the void. It is found that the shape of the void has negligible effect on the scattering cross section and that only the volume of the void is important. Thus, it is noted that in cases where k sup p a sub i 1, the exact scattering cross section of a spherical void having the same volume as an arbitrarily shaped void can be used for evaluating ultrasonic attenuation.

Williams, J. H., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Ultrasonic attenuation of a void-containing medium for very long wavelengths

Ultrasonic longitudinal through-thickness attenuation in an isotropic medium due to scattering by randomly distributed voids is considered analytically. The attenuation is evaluated on the assumption of no interaction between voids. The scattered power is assumed to be entirely lost, thus accounting for the ultrasonic attenuation. The scattered power due to the presence of a void is described in terms of the scattering cross section of the void. An exact solution exists for the scattering cross section of a spherical void. An approximate solution for the scattering cross section of an ellipsoidal void is developed based on the so-called Born approximation commonly used in quantum mechanics. This approximate solution is valid for k sub p a sub i much less than 1, where k sub p is the wave number of the incident longitudinal wave and a sub i is the largest dimension of the void. It is found that the shape of the void has negligible effect on the scattering cross section and that only the volume of the void is important. Thus, it is noted that in cases where k sub p a sub i is much less than 1, the exact scattering cross section of a spherical void having the same volume as an arbitrarily shaped void can be used for evaluating ultrasonic attenuation. Previously announced in STAR as N83-28466

Williams, J. H., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Symmetry in polarimetric remote sensing

Relationships among polarimetric backscattering coefficients are derived from the viewpoint of symmetry groups. For both reciprocal and non-reciprocal media, symmetry encountered in remote sensing due to reflection, rotation, azimuthal, and centrical symmetry groups is considered. The derived properties are general and valid to all scattering mechanisms, including volume and surface scatterings and their interactions, in a given symmetrical configuration. The scattering coefficients calculated from theoretical models for layer random media and rough surfaces are shown to obey the symmetry relations. Use of symmetry properties in remote sensing of structural and environmental responses of scattering media is also discussed. Orientations of spheroidal scatterers described by spherical, uniform, planophile, plagiothile, erectophile, and extremophile distributions are considered to derive their polarimetric backscattering characteristics. These distributions can be identified from the observed scattering coefficients by comparison with theoretical symmetry calculations. A new parameter is then defined to study scattering structures in geophysical media. Observations from polarimetric data acquired by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory airborne synthetic aperture radar over forests, sea ice, and sea surface are presented. Experimental evidences of the symmetry relationships are shown and their use in polarimetric remote sensing is illustrated. For forests, the coniferous forest in Mt. Shasta area (California) and mixed forest near Presque Isle (Maine) exhibit characteristics of the centrical symmetry at C-band. For sea ice in the Beaufort Sea, multi-year sea ice has a cross-polarized ratio e close to e(sub 0), calculated from symmetry, due to the randomness in the scattering structure. First-year sea ice has e much smaller than e(sub 0) due to the preferential alignment of the columnar structure of the ice. From polarimetric data of a sea surface in the Bering Sea, it is observed that e and e(sub 0) are increasing with incident angle and e is greater than e(sub 0) at L-band because of the directional feature of sea surface waves. Symmetry properties of geophysical media can also be used to calibrate polarimetric radars.

Nghiem, S. V.↗

NASA NTRS2009

The Invariant Twist of Magnetic Fields in the Relativistic Jets of Active Galactic Nuclei

The origin of cosmic magnetic (B) fields remains an open question. It is generally believed that very weak primordial B fields are amplified by dynamo processes, but it appears unlikely that the amplification proceeds fast enough to account for the fields presently observed in galaxies and galaxy clusters. In an alternative scenario, cosmic B fields are generated near the inner edges of accretion disks in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) by azimuthal electric currents due to the difference between the plasma electron and ion velocities that arises when the electrons are retarded by interactions with photons. While dynamo processes show no preference for the polarity of the (presumably random) seed field that they amplify, this alternative mechanism uniquely relates the polarity of the poloidal B field to the angular velocity of the accretion disk, resulting in a unique direction for the toroidal B field induced by disk rotation. Observations of the toroidal fields of 29 AGN jets revealed by parsec-scale Faraday rotation measurements show a clear asymmetry that is consistent with this model, with the probability that this asymmetry came about by chance being less than 1 %. This lends support to the hypothesis that the Universe is seeded by B fields that are generated in AGN via this mechanism

Contopoulos, Ioannis↗

NASA NTRS2010

On Acoustic Source Specification for Rotor-Stator Interaction Noise Prediction

This paper describes the use of measured source data to assess the effects of acoustic source specification on rotor-stator interaction noise predictions. Specifically, the acoustic propagation and radiation portions of a recently developed coupled computational approach are used to predict tonal rotor-stator interaction noise from a benchmark configuration. In addition to the use of full measured data, randomization of source mode relative phases is also considered for specification of the acoustic source within the computational approach. Comparisons with sideline noise measurements are performed to investigate the effects of various source descriptions on both inlet and exhaust predictions. The inclusion of additional modal source content is shown to have a much greater influence on the inlet results. Reasonable agreement between predicted and measured levels is achieved for the inlet, as well as the exhaust when shear layer effects are taken into account. For the number of trials considered, phase randomized predictions follow statistical distributions similar to those found in previous statistical source investigations. The shape of the predicted directivity pattern relative to measurements also improved with phase randomization, having predicted levels generally within one standard deviation of the measured levels.

Nark, Douglas M.↗

NASA NTRS1972

On the magnon interaction in haematite. I - Magnon energy of optical mode.

The effect of magnon interaction on the magnon energies of haematite was studied by the use of a recently developed random phase approximation. In this study, the spin Hamiltonian and the magnon energy were written in a power series of (1/S), where S denotes the magnitude of spin. It is known that the expression of magnon energy is rigorous up to the second term of this series. It is found that the optic mode energy is small if the free optic mode energy is small, which is contrary to Herbert's (1969) conclusion. This direct proportionality between the optic mode energy and the free optic mode energy was not confirmed in the higher order terms of 1/S.

Nagai, O.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Factors limiting the discrimination and quantification of terrestrial features using remotely sensed radiance

In this paper, factors controlling the radiance incident on a remote-sensing device and the interaction of the sensor with upwelling radiance are considered. Attention is also given to systematic and random radiance variations across an image: while the former may be corrected for (to an extent) the latter may not, so that it is necessary to be aware of the impact of random variations on target identification, discrimination and quantification. Both the optical reflective and the thermal-infrared parts of the spectrum are considered. Equations are presented to concisely illustrate the processes involved.

Duggin, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Rationale for two phase polymer system microgravity separation experiments

The two-phase systems that result when aqueous solutions of dextran and poly(ethylene glycol) are mixed at concentrations above a few percent are discussed. They provide useful media for the partition and isolation of macromolecules and cell subpopulations. By manipulating their composition, separations based on a variety of molecular and surface properties are achieved, including membrane hydrophobic properties, cell surface charge, and membrane antigenicity. Work on the mechanism of cell partition shows there is a randomizing, nonthermal energy present which reduces separation resolution. This stochastic energy is probably associated with hydrodynamic interactions present during separation. Because such factors should be markedly reduced in microgravity, a series of shuttle experiments to indicate approaches to increasing the resolution of the procedure are planned.

Brooks, D. E.↗