Velocity field induced in a liquid by a rotating cone
Flow patterns observed and torque and angular velocity measured to study velocity field induced in Newtonian liquid by rotating cone
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Flow patterns observed and torque and angular velocity measured to study velocity field induced in Newtonian liquid by rotating cone
Robot navigation is a prerequisite to enable many autonomous robotic operations. Propioceptive inertial measurement units (IMUs) are widely used and commonly accepted sensing devices in robotic navigation. An IMU typically consists of two-triaxis sensors: an accelerometer and a gyroscope (gyro), measuring the accelerations (accelerated motion together with gravity) and angular velocities of the sensor, respectively. In addition, some IMUs incorporate a magnetic angular rate sensor, which is a triaxis magnetometer measuring the magnetic field of the Earth. In this work, we focus on these types of IMUs (comprised of accelerometer, gyro and magnetometer).
A novel batch state estimation approach to estimate the translational and angular velocity states of a vehicle using a state-of-the-art velocimeter Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor for use in Terrain and Hazard Relative Navigation (TRN/HRN) applications is presented in this paper. The velocimeter LIDAR is capable of measuring three dimensional position and line-of-sight (LOS) velocity associated with every pixel in the field-of-view (FOV). This new batch state estimation methodology is shown to provide accurate and statistically consistent velocity estimates with no a priori information. In contrast to traditional computer vision approaches for TRN, the proposed technique is not dependent on image features. This feature alleviates the need for accurate feature detection and correspondence to a predefined map making it suitable for unknown operating environments. Following a detailed development of the mathematical details associated with the batch state estimation methodology, the efficacy and utility of the proposed algorithms are evaluated through emulation robotics experiments performed at Texas A&M’s Land, Air, and Space Robotics (LASR) laboratory.
In this paper, consideration is given to the fifth order discrete model of an aircraft (longitudinal) control system which possesses three slow (velocity, pitch angle and altitude) and two fast (angle of attack and pitch angular velocity) modes and exhibits a two-time scale property. Using the recent results of the time scale analysis of discrete control systems, the high-order discrete model is decoupled into low-order slow and fast subsystems. The results of the decoupled system are found to be in excellent agreement with those of the original system.
The astrophysical site of r-process nucleosynthesis is investigated theoretically using two-dimensional expanding-vortex stellar-collapse simulations based on the Eulerian adaptive-mesh MHD code of Symbalisty (1984). The results are presented graphically, and it is found that the classical r-process can be explained as the result of the collapse of the highly rotating iron core of a 15-solar-mass star, in which the angular velocity along the rotation axis reaches a maximum of 1000 rad/s, corresponding to an angular momentum of 3.4 x 10 to the 48th erg/s for the inner 1.5 solar mass. The ejected jets are shown to yield about 0.0004 solar mass per supernova, sufficient to explain the observed abundances of r-process products.
The major arguments for and against the binary fission model of lunar origin are reviewed. Unresolved problems include: (1) how the protoearth acquired sufficient angular velocity to fission, and (2) how the earth-moon system lost its excess angular momentum after fission. Despite these uncertainties, the compositional similarities between the earth's mantle and the bulk moon suggest that the fission model is worth considering. The proposed sequence of events in the formation of the moon by binary fission is given.
A method has been proposed for predicting the effect of a rapid blade-pitch increase on the thrust and induced-velocity response of a helicopter rotor. General equations have been derived for the ensuing motion of the helicopter. These equations yield time histories of thrust, induced velocity, and helicopter vertical velocity for given rates of blade-pitch-angle changes and given rotor-angular-velocity time histories. The results of the method have been compared with experimental results obtained with a rotor mounted on the Langley helicopter test tower. The calculated and experimental results are in good agreement, although, in general, the calculated thrust-coefficient overshoots are about 10 percent greater than those obtained experimentally.
A boundary layer created on an infinite flat plate by a time-dependent freestream velocity vector whose magnitude is independent of time but whose direction changes at a constant angular velocity is theoretically studied using Reynolds-number scaling laws and numerical simulations performed over a range of Reynolds numbers. Results obtained with a higher-order version of existing theories of the Ekman layer are shown to agree well with the numerical results at three Reynolds numbers. The present results can be extrapolated to the case of high Reynolds numbers. The Reynolds-averaged equations reduce to a one-dimensional steady problem, making possible the easy and accurate testing of turbulence models.
The accretion of rotating gas on to a gravitating object is investigated by means of a perturbation to the spherically symmetrical flow. An expression is found for the correction to the accretion rate due to rotation of the gas in terms of the boundary conditions far from the object. In the case of accretion from a cloud with uniform angular velocity, the gas is accreted preferentially from a 'jet' near the axis of rotation. The angular-momentum distribution in the cloud can be altered by the propagation of inertia waves.
A clarification is presented on recent work concerning the application of unsteady airfoil theory to rotary wings. The application of this theory may be seen as consisting of four steps: (1) the selection of an appropriate unsteady airfoil theory; (2) the resolution of that velocity which is the resultant of aerodynamic and dynamic velocities at a point on the elastic axis into radial, tangential and perpendicular components, and the angular velocity of a blade section about the deformed axis; (3) the expression of lift and pitching moments in terms of the three components; and (4) the derivation of explicit expressions for the components in terms of flight velocity, induced flow, rotor rotational speed, blade motion variables, etc.
During locomotion, there is a translation and compensatory rotation of the head in both the vertical and horizontal planes. During moderate to fast walking (100 m/min), vertical head translation occurs at the frequency of stepping (2 Hz) and generates peak linear acceleration of 0.37 g. Lateral head translation occurs at the stride frequency (1 Hz) and generates peak linear acceleration of 0.1 g. Peak head pitch and yaw angular velocities are approximately 17 degrees/s. The frequency and magnitude of these head movements are within the operational range of both the linear and angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (IVOR and aVOR). Vertical eye movements undergo a phase reversal from near to far targets. When viewing a far (>1 m) target, vertical eye velocity is typical of an aVOR response; that is, it is compensatory for head pitch. At close viewing distances (<1 m), vertical eye velocity is in phase with head pitch and is compensatory for vertical head translation, suggesting that the IVOR predominantly generates the eye movement response. Horizontal head movements during locomotion occur at the stride frequency of 1 Hz, where the IVOR gain is low. Horizontal eye movements are compensatory for head yaw at all viewing distances and are likely generated by the aVOR.
An explicit-implicit staggered time-integration procedure is presented for the solution of multibody dynamical equations involving large rotations and constraints. The algorithms adopts a two-stage modification of the central difference algorithm for integrating the translational coordinates and the angular velocity vector, and the midpoint implicit algorithm to solve the kinematical relation in terms of the Euler parameters for updating the angular orientations. The Lagrange multipliers to enforce the system constraints are obtained by implicitly integrating a parabolically regularized differential equation for the multipliers. The performance of the present procedure has been evaluated to applying the procedure to solve several sample problems. The results indicate that the procedure is robust in dealing with a variety of constraints and spatial kinematic motions, hence it is recommended for applications to general multibody dynamics analyses.
Motions of telescopes, satellites, and other flight bodies have been controlled by various means in the past. For example, gimbal mounted devices can use electric motors to produce pointing and scanning motions. Reaction wheels, control moment gyros, and propellant-charged reaction jets are other technologies that have also been used. Each of these methods has its advantages, but all actuator systems used in a flight environment face the challenges of minimizing weight, reducing energy consumption, and maximizing reliability. Recently, Polites invented and patented the Rotating Unbalanced Mass (RUM) device as a means for generation scanning motion on flight experiments. RUM devices have been successfully used to generate various scanning motions. The basic principle: a RUM rotating at constant annular velocity exerts a cyclic centrifugal force on the instrument or main body, thus producing a periodic scanning motion. A system of RUM devices exerts no reaction forces on the main body, requires very little energy, and is very simple to construct and control. These are significant advantages over electric motors, reaction wheels, and control moment gyroscopes. Although the RUM device very easily produces scanning motion, an auxiliary control system may be required to maintain the proper orientation, or pointing of the main body. It has been suggested that RUM devices can be used to control pointing dynamics, as well as generate the desired periodic scanning motion. The idea is that the RUM velocity will not be constant, but will vary over the period of one RUM rotation. The thought is that the changing angular velocity produces a centrifugal force having time-varying magnitude and direction. The scope of the present research project is to further study the pointing control concept, and to implement a microcontroller program to control an experimental hardware system. This report is subdivided into three themes. The basic dynamic modeling and control principles are described first. Then, the controller implementation and preliminary test results are discussed. Finally, suggestions for future work are presented.
If the solar wind is capable of driving magnetospheric convection, then solar-wind flow past any spinning, magnetized planet with a conducting ionosphere must cause the magnetic field lines in the outer part of its magnetospheric tail to be twisted into a helix. Such a magnetic field configuration requires magnetically field-aligned (Birkeland) currents in the tail that flow in and near the magnetopause and close by driving Pedersen currents through the planetary ionosphere. The strength of the Birkeland currents (and, by current continuity, the Pedersen currents) is, to first order, independent of the angle between the planetary-spin vector and the solar-wind velocity vector. Rather, the total current is a function of the magnetic moment of the planet, the radius of the tail, the angular velocity of planetary spin, the conductivity of the ionosphere, and the solar wind speed. For Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and perhaps Neptune, the power these currents deliver to the ionosphere is significant with regard to magnetospheric dynamics, such as the production of aurora and the generation of low-frequency radio emissions. For Mercury, Venus, earth, Mars, and probably Pluto, these currents are relatively small, although observable effects may be marginally detectable for the case of the earth's magnetosphere.
In the overall aim for a better understanding of the vestibular and optokinetic systems and their roles in space motion sickness, the eye movement responses to various dynamic stimuli are measured. The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and the optokinetic response, as the eye movement responses are known, consist of slow phase and fast phase nystagmus. The specific objective is to develop software programs necessary to characterize the vestibulo-ocular and optokinetic responses by distinguishing between the two phases of nystagmus. The overall program is to handle large volumes of highly variable data with minimum operator interaction. The programs include digital filters, differentiation, identification of fast phases, and reconstruction of the slow phase with a least squares fit such that sinusoidal or psuedorandom data may be processed with accurate results. The resultant waveform, slow phase velocity eye movements, serves as input data to the spectral analysis programs previously developed for NASA to analyze nystagmus responses to pseudorandom angular velocity inputs.
This paper addresses the problem of reorienting a rigid spacecraft from arbitrary initial conditions to prescribed final conditions with zero angular velocity. The control law analyzed is based on quaternion feedback and leaves the user to choose two gains as functions of position, angular rate, and time. For arbitrary initial states, conditions on the controller gains are identified that guarantee global asymptotic stability. For the special case of rest-to-rest reorientations, the control law reduces to earlier results involving a principal axis rotation. The paper also addresses slew rate constraints, both, in terms of the two and infinity norms.
In support of NASA s Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project, an extended Kalman filter routine has been developed for estimating the position, velocity, and attitude of a spacecraft during the landing phase of a planetary mission. The proposed filter combines measurements of acceleration and angular velocity from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) with range and Doppler velocity observations from an onboard light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system. These high-precision LIDAR measurements of distance to the ground and approach velocity will enable both robotic and manned vehicles to land safely and precisely at scientifically interesting sites. The filter has been extensively tested using a lunar landing simulation and shown to improve navigation over flat surfaces or rough terrain. Experimental results from a helicopter flight test performed at NASA Dryden in August 2008 demonstrate that LIDAR can be employed to significantly improve navigation based exclusively on IMU integration.
We examine the early angular momentum history of stars in young clusters. We reported based on 197 photometric periods in the Orion Flanking Fields and 83 photometric periods in the NGC 2264, that PMS stars apparently do not conserve stellar angular momentum as they evolve down their connective tracks, but instead evolve at nearly constant angular velocity.