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At least 1,603 records · Page 89

Wind Tunnel Tests on Autorotation and the "Flat Spin."

This report deals with the autorotational characteristics of certain differing wing systems as determined from wind tunnel tests made at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. The investigation was confined to autorotation about a fixed axis in the plane of symmetry and parallel to the wind direction. Analysis of the tests leads to the following conclusions: autorotation below 30 degree angle of attack is governed chiefly by wing profile, and above that angle by wing arrangement. The strip method of autorotation analysis gives uncertain results between maximum C subscript L and 35 degrees. The polar curve of a wing system, and to a lower degree of accuracy the polar of a complete airplane model are sufficient for direct determination of the limits of rotary instability, subject to strip method limitations. The results of the investigation indicate that in free flight a monoplane is incapable of flat spinning, whereas an unstaggered biplane has inherent flat-spinning tendencies. The difficulty of maintaining equilibrium in stalled flight is due primarily to rotary instability, a rapid change from stability to instability occurring as the angle of maximum lift is exceeded. (author)

Knight, Montgomery↗

A method for determining the camber and twist of a surface to support a given distribution of lift, with applications to the load over a sweptback wing

A graphical method is described for finding the shape (camber and twist) of an airfoil having an arbitrary distribution of lift. The method consists in replacing the lifting surface and its wake with an equivalent arrangement of vortices and in finding the associated vertical velocities. By division of the vortex pattern into circular strips concentric about the downwash point instead of into the usual rectangular strips, the lifting surface is reduced for each downwash point to an equivalent loaded line for which the induced velocity is readily computed. The ratio of the vertical velocity to the stream velocity is the slope of the surface in the free-stream direction.

Cohen, Doris↗

Hook-And-Loop Metal Fastener

Proposed fastener includes metal loops and hooks repeatedly put together and pulled apart like Velcro (or equivalent) plastic fastener. Strip of hooks stamped from sheet of metal, and tip of each hook bent at right angle to root. Many such strips arrayed in parallel to form hook half of fastener. Each hook twists and bends as loop pulled away.

Sawaf, Bernard↗

Transition prediction and control in subsonic flow over a hump

The influence of a surface roughness element in the form of a two-dimensional hump on the transition location in a two-dimensional subsonic flow with a free-stream Mach number up to 0.8 is evaluated. Linear stability theory, coupled with the N-factor transition criterion, is used in the evaluation. The mean flow over the hump is calculated by solving the interacting boundary-layer equations; the viscous-inviscid coupling is taken into consideration, and the flow is solved within the separation bubble. The effects of hump height, length, location, and shape; unit Reynolds number; free-stream Mach number, continuous suction level; location of a suction strip; continuous cooling level; and location of a heating strip on the transition location are evaluated. The N-factor criterion predictions agree well with the experimental correlation of Fage; in addition, the N-factor criterion is more general and powerful than experimental correlations. The theoretically predicted effects of the hump's parameters and flow conditions on transition location are consistent and in agreement with both wind-tunnel and flight observations.

Masad, Jamal A.↗

Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen feedline passive recirculation analysis

The primary goal of the National Launch System (NLS) program was to design an operationally efficient, highly reliable vehicle with minimal recurring launch costs. To achieve this goal, trade studies of key main propulsion subsystems were performed to specify vehicle design requirements. These requirements include the use of passive recirculation to thermally condition the liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) propellant feed systems and Space Transportation Main Engine (STME) fuel pumps. Rockwell International (RI) proposed a joint independent research and development (JIRAD) program with Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to study the LH2 feed system passive recirculation concept. The testing was started in July 1992 and completed in November 1992. Vertical and sloped feedline designs were used. An engine simulator was attached at the bottom of the feedline. This simulator had strip heaters that were set to equal the corresponding heat input from different engines. A computer program is currently being used to analyze the passive recirculation concept in the LH2 vertical feedline tests. Four tests, where the heater setting is the independent variable, were chosen. While the JIRAD with RI was underway, General Dynamics Space Systems (GDSS) proposed a JIRAD with MSFC to explore passive recirculation in the LO2 feed system. Liquid nitrogen (LN2) is being used instead of LO2 for safety and economic concerns. To date, three sets of calibration tests have been completed on the sloped LN2 test article. The environmental heat was calculated from the calibration tests in which the strip heaters were turned off. During the LH2 testing, the environmental heat was assumed to be constant. Therefore, the total heat was equal to the environmental heat flux plus the heater input. However, the first two sets of LN2 calibration tests have shown that the environmental heat flux varies with heater input. A Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer and Fluid Integrator (SINDA/FLUINT) model is currently being built to determine if this variation in environmental heat is due to a change in the wall temperature. During the third set of calibration tests, a faulty reference junction was found. Based on this anomaly with the reference junction, the heat flux calculations from the first two calibration sets are now considered questionable.

Holt, Kimberly Ann↗

Bladder operated robotic joint

This invention is a robotic joint which is operated by inflatable bladders and which can be used in applications where it is desired to move or hold an object. A support block supports an elongated plate to which is pivotally attached a finger. A tension strip passes over a lever attached to the finger and is attached at its ends to the support block on opposite sides of the plate. Bladders positioned between the plate and the tension strip on opposite sides of the plate can be inflated by pumps to pivot the finger, with one of the bladders being inflated while the other is being deflated.

Robertson, Glen A.↗

High-angle-of-attack yawing moment asymmetry of the X-31 aircraft from flight test

Significant yawing moment asymmetries were encountered during the high-angle-of-attack envelope expansion of the two X-31 aircraft. These asymmetries led to position saturations of the thrust vector vanes and trailing-edge flaps during some of the dynamic stability axis rolling maneuvers at high angles of attack. This slowed the high-angle-of-attack envelope expansion and resulted in maneuver restrictions. Several aerodynamic modifications were made to the X-31 forebody with the goal of minimizing the asymmetry. A method for determining the yawing moment asymmetry from flight data was developed and an analysis of the various configuration changes completed. The baseline aircraft were found to have significant asymmetries above 45 deg angle of attack with the largest asymmetry typically occurring around 60 deg angle of attack. Applying symmetrical boundary layer transition strips along the forebody sides increased the magnitude of the asymmetry and widened the angle-of-attack range over which the largest asymmetry acted. Installing longitudinal forebody strakes and rounding the sharp nose of the aircraft caused the yawing moment asymmetry magnitude to be reduced. The transition strips and strakes made the asymmetry characteristic of the aircraft more repeatable than the clean forebody configuration. Although no geometric differences between the aircraft were known, ship 2 consistently had larger yawing moment asymmetries than ship 1.

Cobleigh, Brent R.↗

Design of high pressure waterjet nozzles

The Hydroblast Research Cell at Marshall Space Flight Center is used to investigate the use of high pressure waterjets to strip paint, grease, adhesive and thermal spray coatings from various substrates. Current methods of cleaning often use ozone depleting chemicals (ODC) such as chlorinated solvents. High pressure waterjet cleaning has proven to be a viable alternative to the use of solvents. A popular method of waterjet cleaning involves the use of a rotating, multijet, high pressure water nozzle which is robotically controlled. This method enables rapid cleaning of a large area, but problems such as incomplete coverage and damage to the substrate from the waterjet have been observed. This report summarizes research consisting of identifying and investigating the basic properties of rotating, multijet, high pressure water nozzles, and how particular designs and modes of operation affect such things as stripping rate, standoff distance and completeness of coverage. The study involved computer simulations, an extensive literature review, and experimental studies of different nozzle designs.

Mazzoleni, Andre P.↗

Differential rotation in the solar corona

The soft X-ray telescope (SXT) instrument on board the Yohkoh satellite was designed to observe the solar corona for over three years. It was shown in previous works that different tracers of solar rotation, each sensitive to a different part of the solar atmosphere, yield varying results for the latitude dependence of the rotation rate; the differential rotation measured using photospheric structures is markedly different from that obtained using coronal tracers. The long term observations of the solar corona by the SXT make it ideal for the investigation of coronal differential rotation. The soft X-ray emission of the solar corona is used to trace out the rotation rate at different latitudes. This is done by dividing the solar disk into a number of latitude strips and carrying out a power-spectrum analysis of the total soft X-ray intensity in each strip over a twelve week period of the Yohkoh observations. The results are compared with the differential rotation rates obtained from other coronal tracers.

Weber, Mark↗

Optical imaging and high spatial resolution 21 cm H I observations of the peculiar galaxy NGC 2782 (Arp 215)

We have used the Very Large Array (VLA) B and C Arrays to make 21 cm H I observations of the peculiar galaxy NGC 2782 (Arp 215). These observations are complementary to previously published D Array VLA data, which revealed the presence of a long (5 min to 54 kpc) H I plume near the western side of this galaxy. We have also obtained BVRI H alpha images of the main body of this galaxy using the McDonald Observatory 30 inch telescope. The optical images of this galaxy show a strong stellar tail extending to the east, opposite the H I plume. Within the disk of NGC 2782, unsharp masking of the optical images at all 4 broadband wavelengths reveals three bright 'ripples', separated by approximately 15 sec. The light profiles across these ripples are symmetric, without a sharp outer edge. H alpha is strong at the starburst nucleus and along the northern and western sections of the inner ripple. The new higher resolution H I data show that the atomic gas is very clumpy. We have identified ten H I clumps in the long western plume, with H I masses of approximately 10(exp 8) solar mass, similar to those of dwarf galaxies, and column densities of approximately 10(exp 21) cm(exp -2) over surface areas of approximately 10 kpc(exp 2). No CO (1-0) emission has been detected from this plume, suggesting that it is material stripped from the outer edge of a disk galaxy. The H alpha peaks, in contrast, are generally not coincident with H I peaks. No H I is seen at the tip of the eastern extension. The H I distribution near this structure is ring-like rather than tail-like as in the optical data. We have detected redshifted H I absorption toward the central continuum source, indicating gas infall into the nuclear region. Using a restricted 3-body dynamical model, we have successfully reproduced the basic properties of NGC 2782 with an off-center collision between two galaxies, where a lower mass disk companion (M(sub 2)/M(sub 1) approximately 0.25) collides almost head-on with a larger disk galaxy. In this scenario, the companion becomes the eastern extension, and the long western tail is material pulled out from the larger galaxy. The lack of H I at the tip of the eastern tail may be due to stripping during the collision. Alternative formation scenarios include a merger or interaction between two disk galaxies, where the ripples may be due to a disturbed spiral density wave or galactic winds due to the central starburst.

Smith, Beverly J.↗

Competition of supermassive black holes and galactic spheroids in the destruction of globular clusters

The globular clusters that we observe in galaxies may be only a fraction of the initial population. Among the evolutionary influences on the population is the destruction of globular clusters by tidal forces as the cluster moves through the field of influence of a disk, a bulge, and/or a putative nuclear component (black hole). We have conducted a series of N-body simulations of globular clusters on bound and marginally bound orbits through poetentials that include black hole and speroidal components. The degree of concentration of the spheroidal component can have a considerable impact on the extent to which a globular cluster is disrupted. If half the mass of a 10(exp 10) solar mass spheroid is concentrated within 800 pc, then only black holes with masses greater than 10(exp 9) solar mass can have a significant tidal influence over that already exerted by the bulge. However, if the matter in the spheroidal component is not so strongly concentrated toward the center of the galaxy, a more modest central black hole (down to 10(exp 8) solar mass) could have a dominant influence on the globular cluster distribution, particularly if many of the clusters were initially on highly radial orbits. Our simulations show that the stars that are stripped from a globular cluster follow orbits with roughly the same eccentricity as the initial cluster orbit, spreading out along the orbit like a 'string of pearls.' Since only clusters on close to radial orbits will suffer substantial disruption, the population of stripped stars will be on orbits of high eccentricity.

Charlton, Jane C.↗

The CCD/Transit Instrument (CTI) data-analysis system

The automated software system for archiving, analyzing, and interrogating data from the CCD/Transit Instrument (CTI) is described. The CTI collects up to 450 Mbytes of image-data each clear night in the form of a narrow strip of sky observed in two colors. The large data-volumes and the scientific aims of the project make it imperative that the data are analyzed within the 24-hour period following the observations. To this end a fully automatic and self evaluating software system has been developed. The data are collected from the telescope in real-time and then transported to Tucson for analysis. Verification is performed by visual inspection of random subsets of the data and obvious cosmic rays are detected and removed before permanent archival is made to the optical disc. The analysis phase is performed by a pair of linked algorithms, one operating on the absolute pixel-values and the other on the spatial derivative of the data. In this way both isolated and merged images are reliably detected in a single pass. In order to isolate the latter algorithm from the effects of noise spikes a 3x3 Hanning filter is applied to the raw data before the analysis is run. The algorithms reduce the input pixel-data to a database of measured parameters for each image which has been found. A contrast filter is applied in order to assign a detection-probability to each image and then x-y calibration and intensity calibration are performed using known reference stars in the strip. These are added to as necessary by secondary standards boot-strapped from the CTI data itself. The final stages involve merging the new data into the CTI Master-list and History-list and the automatic comparison of each new detection with a set of pre-defined templates in parameter-space to find interesting objects such as supernovae, quasars and variable stars. Each stage of the processing from verification to interesting image selection is performed under a data-logging system which both controls the pipe-lining of data through the system and records key performance monitor parameters which are built into the software. Furthermore, the data from each stage are stored in databases to facilitate evaluation, and all stages offer the facility to enter keyword-indexed free-format text into the data-logging system. In this way a large measure of certification is built into the system to provide the necessary confidence in the end results.

Cawson, M. G. M.↗

Analysis, design and testing of high pressure waterjet nozzles

The Hydroblast Research Cell at MSFC is both a research and a processing facility. The cell is used to investigate fundamental phenomena associated with waterjets as well as to clean hardware for various NASA and contractor projects. In the area of research, investigations are made regarding the use of high pressure waterjets to strip paint, grease, adhesive and thermal spray coatings from various substrates. Current industrial methods of cleaning often use ozone depleting chemicals (ODC) such as chlorinated solvents, and high pressure waterjet cleaning has proven to be a viable alternative. Standard methods of waterjet cleaning use hand held or robotically controlled nozzles. The nozzles used can be single-stream or multijet nozzles, and the multijet nozzles may be mounted in a rotating head or arranged in a fan-type shape. We consider in this paper the use of a rotating, multijet, high pressure water nozzle which is robotically controlled. This method enables rapid cleaning of a large area, but problems such as incomplete coverage (e.g. the formation of 'islands' of material not cleaned) and damage to the substrate from the waterjet have been observed. In addition, current stripping operations require the nozzle to be placed at a standoff distance of approximately 2 inches in order to achieve adequate performance. This close proximity of the nozzle to the target to be cleaned poses risks to the nozzle and the target in the event of robot error or the striking of unanticipated extrusions on the target surface as the nozzle sweeps past. Two key motivations of this research are to eliminate the formation of 'coating islands' and to increase the allowable standoff distance of the nozzle.

Mazzoleni, Andre P.↗

A Concept for the Use and Integration of Super-Conducting Magnets in Structural Systems in General and Maglev Guideway Mega-Structures in Particular

Recent breakthroughs in several different fields now make it possible to incorporate the use of superconducting magnets in structures in ways which enhance the performance of structural members or components of structural systems in general and Maglev guideway mega-structures in particular. The building of structural systems which connect appropriately scaled superconducting magnets with the post-tensioned tensile components of beams, girders, or columns would, if coupled with 'state of the art' structure monitoring, feedback and control systems, and advanced computer software, constitute a distinct new generation of structures that would possess the unique characteristic of being heuristic and demand or live-load responsive. The holistic integration of powerful superconducting magnets in structures so that they do actual structural work, creates a class of 'technologically endowed' structures that, in part - literally substitute superconductive electric power and magnetism for concrete and steel. The research and development engineering, and architectural design issues associated with such 'technologically endowed' structural system can now be conceptualized, designed, computer simulates built and tested. The Maglev guideway mega-structure delineated herein incorporates these concepts, and is designed for operation in the median strip of U.S. Interstate Highway 5 from San Diego to Seattle an Vancouver, and possibly on to Fairbanks, Alaska. This system also fits in the median strip of U.S. Interstate Highway 55 and 95 North-South, and 80 and 10, East-West. As a Western Region 'Peace Dividend' project, it could become a National or Bi-National research, design and build, super turnkey project that would create thousands of jobs by applying superconducting, material science, electronic aerospace and other defense industry technologies to a multi-vehicle, multi-use Maglev guideway megastructure that integrates urban mass transit Lower Speed (0-100 mph), High Speed (100-200 mph), Super Speed (200-400 mph), and Hypersonic evacuated tube (400-10,000 mph) Maglev systems.

Ussery, Wilfred T.↗

Photodetector Development for the Wheel Abrasion Experiment on the Sojourner Microrover of the Mars Pathfinder Mission

On-board the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, launched in December of 1996, is a small roving vehicle named Sojourner. On Sojourner is an experiment to determine the abrasive characteristics of the Martian surface, called the Wheel Abrasion Experiment (WAE). The experiment works as follows: one of the wheels of the rover has a strip of black anodized aluminum bonded to the tread. The aluminum strip has thin coatings of aluminum, nickel and platinum deposited in patches. There are five (5) patches or samples of each metal, and the patches range in thickness from 200 A to 1000 A. The different metals were chosen for their differing hardness and their environmental stability. As the wheel is spun in the Martian soil, the thin patches of metal are abraded away, exposing the black anodization. The abrasion is monitored by measuring the amount of light reflected off of the samples. A photodetector was developed for this purpose, and that is the subject of this paper.

Wilt, David M.↗

Prediction of Unsteady Transitional Layers in Turbomachinery Using Navier Stokes Equations

The objective of the research reported in this presentation is to develop computational techniques for the prediction of unsteady transitional flows associated with the rotor stator interaction in turbomachinery. Three low-Reynolds number turbulence models are incorporated in two unsteady Navier-Stokes codes (one is pressure based and the other is time marching with Runge-Kutta time stepping) and evaluated for accuracy in predicting the onset and the end of unsteady transitional patches due to wake passing. The best model is then used for modification and improvement for the leading edge effect. An existing steady Navier-Stokes code was modified to include pseudo-time stepping, which provided acceleration from 5 to 25 times that of the original code. A systematic validation procedure was implemented to assess the effects of the grid, artificial dissipation, physical, and the pseudo-time step for an accurate prediction of transitional flows resulting from the rotor-stator interaction. The ability of the Navier-Stokes code to predict the unsteady transitional flow on a turbomachinery blade is demonstrated. The unsteady pressure and velocity fields are in good agreement with the experimental data and the prediction from the Euler/boundary layer approach. The numerical solver was able to capture all zones (wake induced transitional strip, wake induced turbulent strip, calmed region, etc.) associated with wake induced transition in a compressor cascade. Another significant step is the assessment of k-epsilon turbulence models, including the leading edge modifications. Best results were obtained from the FLB model. The LB model predicted earlier inception of the transition and shorter transition length. Modification of the k-epsilon model was found to be essential for an accurate prediction of the unsteady transitional flow in a compressor cascade. The CH model failed to predict the unsteady transitional flow. Predicted boundary layer was turbulent from the leading edge, even with the modification of the k-epsilon model near the stagnation point. A comparison of the instantaneous shape factor, the skin friction coefficient, and the momentum thickness indicates that the Navier-Stokes predictions are reasonably good. Interaction between the upstream wake and stator wake results in shedding of unsteady vortices from the trailing edge and increased dissipation in the stator wake and, as a consequence, increased rate of decay of the stator wake. The procedure developed at Penn State should aid the designers of turbomachinery in allowing for the unsteady transitional flows due to rotor-stator interaction.

Lakshminarayana, B.↗

Boundary-Layer Transition on a Group of Blunt Nose Shapes at a Mach Number of 2.20

An investigation has been made to study boundary-layer transition on six axisymmetrical blunt bodies of revolution. Model shapes were selected with respect to the degree of favorable pressure gradient over the model surface. Tests were conducted at a Mach number of 2.20 and over a range of free-stream Reynolds number per foot of about 1.4 x 10(exp 6) to 6.5 x 10(exp 6). The tests were made at an angle of attack of 0 deg. with zero heat transfer. For the hemisphere, the flow remained essentially laminar over the model surface length for the entire pressure range of the tests. For a strong favorable pressure gradient followed by any weak favorable, neutral, or adverse gradient, the tendency was for transition to occur at or immediately behind the shoulder. A single strip of three-dimensional roughness in the region of strong favorable pressure gradient did not fix transition on the models at the roughness location except at the maximum test pressures, whereas a second roughness strip added in a region of neutral or adverse pressure gradient did fix transition. Experimental pressure coefficients agreed closely with modified Newtonian theory except in the shoulder region.

Jackson, Mary W.↗

MAMA Detector

Work carried out under this grant led to fundamental discoveries and over one hundred publications in the scientific literature. Fundamental developments in instrumentation were made including all the instrumentation on the EUVE satellite, the invention of a whole new type of grazing instrument spectrometer and the development of fundamentally new photon counting detectors including the Wedge and Strip used on EUVE and many other missions and the Time Delay detector used on OREFUS and FUSE. The Wedge and Strip and Time Delay detectors were developed under this grant for less than two million dollars and have been used in numerous missions most recently for the FUSE mission. In addition, a fundamentally new type of diffuse spectrometer has been developed under this grant which has been used in instrumentation on the MMSAT spacecraft and the Lewis spacecraft. Plans are underway to use this instrumentation on several other missions as well.

Bowyer, Stuart↗