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At least 163 records · Page 9

SOFIA Science Working Group

This grant supported travel to attend meetings of the SOFIA Science Working Group during the two year period above. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a modified Boeing 747 that contains a 2.5 meter infrared optimized telescope. SOFIA's mission is to explore star formation and galaxy formation in the early Universe through far-infrared spectroscopy and photometry. The two years encompassed by this grant were critical to the anticipated first fight with SOFIA in 2002. During this period, the'technical details of the facility were developed and NASA was guided in the release of the SOFIA aircraft development and management RFP. This grant supported travel for the PI during this period both to NASA Ames, and Washington, DC to attend working group meetings. There were no inventions under this grant.

Stacey, Gordon J.↗

Design Oriented Structural Modeling for Airplane Conceptual Design Optimization

The main goal for research conducted with the support of this grant was to develop design oriented structural optimization methods for the conceptual design of airplanes. Traditionally in conceptual design airframe weight is estimated based on statistical equations developed over years of fitting airplane weight data in data bases of similar existing air- planes. Utilization of such regression equations for the design of new airplanes can be justified only if the new air-planes use structural technology similar to the technology on the airplanes in those weight data bases. If any new structural technology is to be pursued or any new unconventional configurations designed the statistical weight equations cannot be used. In such cases any structural weight estimation must be based on rigorous "physics based" structural analysis and optimization of the airframes under consideration. Work under this grant progressed to explore airframe design-oriented structural optimization techniques along two lines of research: methods based on "fast" design oriented finite element technology and methods based on equivalent plate / equivalent shell models of airframes, in which the vehicle is modelled as an assembly of plate and shell components, each simulating a lifting surface or nacelle / fuselage pieces. Since response to changes in geometry are essential in conceptual design of airplanes, as well as the capability to optimize the shape itself, research supported by this grant sought to develop efficient techniques for parametrization of airplane shape and sensitivity analysis with respect to shape design variables. Towards the end of the grant period a prototype automated structural analysis code designed to work with the NASA Aircraft Synthesis conceptual design code ACS= was delivered to NASA Ames.

Livne, Eli↗

Postseismic Deformation after the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake: Collaborative Research with Goddard Space Flight Center

The purpose of this project was to carry out GPS observations on the Kenai Peninsula, southern Alaska, in order to study the postseismic and contemporary deformation following the 1964 Alaska earthquake. All of the research supported in this grant was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Steven Cohen of Goddard Space Flight Center. The research funding from this grant primarily supported GPS fieldwork, along with the acquisition of computer equipment to allow analysis and modeling of the GPS data. A minor amount of salary support was provided by the PI, but the great majority of the salary support was provided by the Geophysical Institute. After the expiration of this grant, additional funding was obtained from the National Science Foundation to continue the work. This grant supported GPS field campaigns in August 1995, June 1996, May-June and September 1997, and May-June 1998. We initially began the work by surveying leveling benchmarks on the Kenai peninsula that had been surveyed after the 1964 earthquake. Changes in height from the 1964 leveling data to the 1995+ GPS data, corrected for the geoid-ellipsoid separation, give the total elevation change since the earthquake. Beginning in 1995, we also identified or established sites that were suitable for long-term surveying using GPS. In the subsequent annual GPS campaigns, we made regular measurements at these GPS marks, and steadily enhanced our set of points for which cumulative postseismic uplift data were available. From 4 years of Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements, we find significant spatial variations in present-day deformation between the eastern and western Kenai peninsula, Alaska. Sites in the eastern Kenai peninsula and Prince William Sound move to the NNW relative to North America, in the direction of Pacific-North America relative plate motion. Velocities decrease in magnitude from nearly the full plate rate in southern Prince William Sound to about 30 mm/yr at Seward and to about 5 mm/yr near Anchorage. In contrast, sites in the western Kenai peninsula move to the SW, in a nearly trenchward direction, with a velocity of about 20 mm/yr. The data are consistent with the shallow plate interface offshore and beneath the eastern Kenai and Prince William Sound being completely locked or nearly so, with elastic strain accumulation resulting in rapid motion in the direction of relative plate motion of sites in the overriding plate. The velocities of sites in the western Kenai, along strike to the southwest, are opposite in sign with those predicted from elastic strain accumulation. These data are incompatible with a significant locked region in this segment of the plate boundary. Trenchward velocities are found also for some sites in the Anchorage area. We interpret the trenchward velocities as being caused by a continuing postseismic transient from the 1964 great Alaska earthquake.

Freymueller, Jeffrey T.↗

Development of Multi-Disciplinary Finite Element Method Analysis Courses at California State University, Los Angeles

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) Partnership Awards Grant to California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) has two primary goals that help to achieve NASA objectives. The overall objectives of the NASA Partnership Awards are to create opportunities for joint University NASA/Government sponsored research and related activities. One of the goals of the grant is to have university faculty researchers participate and contribute to the development of NASA technology that supports NASA goals for research and development (R&D) in Aeronautics and Astronautics. The other goal is technology transfer in the other direction, where NASA developed technology is made available to the general public and more specifically, targeted to industries that can profit from utilization of government developed technology. This years NASA Dryden Partnership Awards grant to CSULA entitled, "Computer Simulation of Multi-Disciplinary Engineering Systems", has two major tasks that satisfy overall NASA objectives. The first task conducts basic and applied research that contributes to technology development at the Dryden Flight Research Center. The second part of the grant provides for dissemination of NASA developed technology, by using the teaching environment created in the CSULA classroom. The second task and how this is accomplished is the topic of this paper. The NASA STARS (Structural Analysis Routines) computer simulation program is used at the Dryden center to support flight testing of high-performance experimental aircraft and to conduct research and development of new and advanced Aerospace technology.

McKinney, John↗

RXTE Observations M87: Investigating the Non-Thermal Continuum

This is the final report for NASA grant NAG5-7329, awarded for the RXTE Cycle 3 Guest Observer Program, "RXTE Observations of M87: Investigating the nonthermal continuum". This grant totaled $8000 and was spent over 3 years (4/1998-4/2001). It supported analysis of RXTE observations of the nearby giant elliptical galaxy M87 with the RXTE satellite. The main aim of these observations was to search for non-thermal emission from the core of M87 and the famous jet. This grant also partially funded supporting theoretical work. The observational campaign was performed in December 1997 and January 1998, and we were given the final data tape in April 1998. Sebastian Heinz (then a graduated student in our group) and I started to work on the data immediately. The results of our detailed analysis were submitted to the Astrophysical Journal in November 1998, and accepted for publication in March 1999. Tile paper was published in August, 1999. The journal reference is: A RXTE study of N187 and the core of the Virgo cluster, Reynolds C.S.,Heinx S., Fabian A.C., Begelman M.C., 1999, ApJ, 102, 1999. During this first year of the project, this grant supported Mr. Heinz's travel to the Paris Texas Symposium in December 1998, as well as providing funds for necessary maintenance of our computer system.

Reynolds, Christopher S.↗

Numerical Simulation of Screech Tones from Supersonic Jets: Physics and Prediction

The objectives of this project are to: (1) perform a numerical simulation of the jet screech phenomenon; and (2) use the data of the simulations to obtain a better understanding of the physics of jet screech. The original grant period was for three years. This was extended at no cost for an extra year to allow the principal investigator time to publish the results. We would like to report that our research work and results (supported by this grant) have fulfilled both objectives of the grant. The following is a summary of the important accomplishments: (1) We have now demonstrated that it is possible to perform accurate numerical simulations of the jet screech phenomenon. Both the axisymmetric case and the fully three-dimensional case were carried out successfully. It is worthwhile to note that this is the first time the screech tone phenomenon has been successfully simulated numerically; (2) All four screech modes were reproduced in the simulation. The computed screech frequencies and intensities were in good agreement with the NASA Langley Research Center data; (3) The staging phenomenon was reproduced in the simulation; (4) The effects of nozzle lip thickness and jet temperature were studied. Simulated tone frequencies at various nozzle lip thickness and jet temperature were found to agree well with experiments; (5) The simulated data were used to explain, for the first time, why there are two axisymmetric screech modes and two helical/flapping screech modes; (6) The simulated data were used to show that when two tones are observed, they co-exist rather than switching from one mode to the other, back and forth, as some previous investigators have suggested; and (7) Some resources of the grant were used to support the development of new computational aeroacoustics (CAA) methodology. (Our screech tone simulations have benefited because of the availability of these improved methods.)

Tam, Christopher K. W.↗

Numerical Simulation of One- and Two-Phase Flows in Propulsion Systems

In this report, we present some results of problems investigated during joint research between the Hampton University Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics Laboratory (HU/FM&AL), NASA GRC, and the LaRC Hyper-X Program. This work is supported by joint research between the NASA GRC and the Institute of Mechanics at Moscow State University (IM/MSU) in Russia under a CRDF grant. The main areas of current scientific interest of the HU/FM&AL include an investigation of the proposed and patented advanced methods for aircraft engine thrust and noise benefits. These methods are based on nontraditional 3D corrugated and composite nozzle, inlet, propeller and screw designs such as a Bluebell and Telescope nozzle, Mobius-shaped screw, etc. This is the main subject of our other projects, of which one is presented at the current conference. Here we analyze additional methods for exhaust jet noise reduction without essential thrust loss and even with thrust augmentation. Such additional approaches are: (1) to add some solid, fluid, or gas mass at discrete locations to the main supersonic gas stream to minimize the negative influence of strong shock waves formed in propulsion systems. This mass addition may be accompanied by heat addition to the main stream as a result of the fuel combustion or by cooling of this stream as a result of the liquid mass evaporation and boiling; (2) Use of porous or permeable nozzles and additional shells at the nozzle exit for preliminary cooling of the hot jet exhaust and pressure compensation for off-design conditions (so-called continuous ejector with small mass flow rate); and (3) to propose and analyze new effective methods of fuel injection into the flow stream in air-breathing engines. The research is focused on a wide regime of problems in the propulsion field as well as in experimental testing and theoretical and numerical simulation analyses for advanced aircraft and rocket engines. The FM&AL Team uses analytical methods, numerical simulations, and experimental tests at the Hampton University campus, NASA, and IM/MSU. The main outcomes during this reporting period are: (1) Publications: The AIAA Paper #01-1893 has been accepted for the AIAA/NAL-NASDA-ISAS 10th International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference, 24-27 April 2001, Kyoto, Japan. The AIAA Paper #01-3204 has been accepted for presentation at the 37th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference being held on 08-11 July, in Salt Lake City, UT; (2) Grants and proposals: The HU/FM&AL was awarded the NASA grant NAG3-2495 in October 2000 and the CRDF award was granted to the NASA GRC-HU FM&AL and IM/MSU (Russia) in July 2000. A solicited proposal was submitted for the NASA NRA-01GRC-02 competition and two unsolicited proposals to NASA are in preparation; (3) Theory and numerical simulations: Analytical theory, numerical simulation, comparison of theoretical with experimental results, and modification of theoretical approaches, models, grids, etc. Such investigations have been conducted for three main problems: (a) Combustion efficiency optimization in the half-duct combustor system; (b) Drag reduction effects for blunt bodies with solid needles; and (c) Solid particle injection from the butt-end against a supersonic flow. The NASA CFL3D, HU/FM&AL, and IM/MSU GODUNOV codes were used and modified for solution of these problems. The codes are based on full Euler and Navier-Stokes solvers with and without nonequilibrium oxygen-nitrogen and air-hydrogen chemical reactions in laminar and turbulent gas flow regimes; (4) Experimental tests: In the IM/MSU supersonic wind tunnel, experimental tests were conducted with different number, location, and geometric parameters of solid needles mounted at the front of the butt-end in supersonic flow. Optimal parameters were determined that provide minimal butt-end drag in the stationary flow regime. Experimental and numerical simulation results are in good agreement; (5) Student Research Activity: Involvement of one graduate and two undergraduate students as research assistants in the current project.

Gilinsky, Mikhail↗

Polar Plasma Wave Investigation Data Analysis in the Extended Mission

This Summary of Research is being submitted to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in fulfillment of the final reporting requirement under Grant NAG5-7943, which terminated on March 31, 2002. The following contains a summary of the significant accomplishments of the Polar Plasma Wave Investigation (PWI) team during the period of the grant, April 1, 1999 through March 31, 2002, and a listing of all of the publications that resulted from work carried out under the grant. Also included below is a listing of the numerous public outreach activities that took place during the period of the grant in which the Polar mission and Polar PWI science were discussed.

Gurnett, Donald A.↗

MO and DA on the SWIE Instrument on the Wind Spacecraft

The construction of the Faraday Cup portion of the SWIE instrument on the Wind spacecraft, participation in Mission Operations, and Data Analysis (MO and DA) of observations of the solar wind has been supported by a sequence of grants. This 'final' Report represents work done on Mission Operations and Data Analysis for the Faraday Cup portion of the SWE. The work reported here was supported under NASA Grant NAG5-7359 (OSP 6701100) from June 1998 to October 2001. It should be noted that this work is continuing under NASA Grant NAG-10915, and therefore this report is 'final' only in the sense that the Grant has changed its number; a future report will cover the entire period of work. We have two types of obligations under these contracts: (1) To provide and assure the validity of "Key Parameters" which describe the basic properties of the solar wind on a daily basis. We have provided our 92 second observations daily via plots and parameters available from our Web site: http://web.mit.edu/space/www/wind/wind.html (2). To carry out scientific studies based on our observations. To document the extent of our research, we are including below a list of publications and presentations related to this project. The observations from Wind have made a major contribution to the study of the solar wind, and have every indication of continuing to do so.

Lazarus, Alan J.↗

Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority

The purpose of this grant was to increase the awareness of students of space sciences and commerce through experimentation. This objective was carried out through the award and administration, by OSIDA, the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority, of eleven smaller grants to fund thirteen projects at schools determined by competitive application. Applications were graded on potential outreach, experimentation objectives and impact on students' awareness of space sciences. We chose projects from elementary, middle and high schools as well as colleges that would encourage students through research and experimentation to consider education and careers in related disciplines. Each organization did not receive an equal share of the grant; instead, OSIDA distributed the money to each project based on the organization's need. A copy of the dispersement record is enclosed with this final grant report. The projects covered topics such as: space colonization, space stations, constellations, model rocketry, and space commerce.

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A Spectral Study of a New Class of Radio Quasars

This document serves as a final technical report for NASA grants NAG5-9995 and NAG5-9533, entitled 'A Spectral Study of a New Class of Radio Quasars.' The purpose of these grants were to support observations made using the BeppoSAX satellite. The observations took place over two years and covered two SAX observing cycles, respectively AO-3 and AO-4. During this time, I was employed both at Johns Hopkins University (NAG5-9995) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (NAG5-9533). As the research on these grants was on the same subject and my employment at JHU and UMBC has been consecutive, this document therefore covers both grants. The targets for these observations were four radio-loud quasars chosen from the first two X-ray selected samples of such objects. These were the brightest examples of the newly found class of X-ray loud flat-spectrum radio quasars, which prior to 1997, had never been seen before. However, my previous work with collaborators Paolo Padovani and Paolo Giommi on the DXRBS survey showed that they make up about 25% of the population of flat-spectrum radio quasars, but had not been seen before because of selection biases (all previous samples of these objects had been compiled in the radio). The purpose of the SAX observations was to investigate the shape of their X-ray spectrum, which would tell us where the peak of their synchrotron emission was located.

Perlman, Eric S.↗

Development of EXITE3, Imaging Detectors and a Long Duration Balloon Gondola

In this Report we summarize the work conducted for the EXITE program under grant NAG5-5103. This grant supported the ongoing EXITE program at Harvard for the development of imaging hard x-ray detectors and telescopes over the 3 year period 1997-2000 with a one year extension to 2001 to transition to the next SR&T grant in this program. Work was conducted in three major parts: analysis of the EXITE2 balloon flight data (from our May 1997 flight); development of pixellated imaging Cd-Zn-Te detector arrays and readout systems for the proposed EXITE3 detector and telescope; and development of systems for a Long Duration Balloon (LDB) gondola. Progress on all three major aspects of this research is summarized for each of the years of this grant.

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The Center for Space Telemetering and Telecommunications Systems

This report comprises the final technical report for the research grant 'Center for Space Telemetering and Telecommunications Systems' sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center. The grant activities are broken down into the following technology areas: (1) Space Protocol Testing; (2) Autonomous Reconfiguration of Ground Station Receivers; (3) Satellite Cluster Communications; and (4) Bandwidth Efficient Modulation. The grant activity produced a number of technical reports and papers that were communicated to NASA as they were generated. This final report contains the final summary papers or final technical report conclusions for each of the project areas. Additionally, the grant supported students who made progress towards their degrees while working on the research.

Horan, S.↗

The Abundance and Isotopic Composition of Hg in Extraterrestrial Materials

During the three year grant period we made excellent progress in our study of the abundances and isotopic compositions of Hg and other volatile trace elements in extraterrestrial materials. At the time the grant started, our collaborating PI, Dante Lauretts, was a postdoctoral research associate working with Peter Buseck at Arizona State University. The work on chondritic Hg was done in collaboration with Dante Lauretta and Peter Buseck and this study was published in Lauretta et a1 (2001a). In July, 2001 Dante Lauretta accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. His funding was transferred and this grant has supported much of his research activities during his first two years at the U of A. Several other papers are in preparation and will be published soon. We presented papers on this topic at Goldschmidt Conferences, the Lunar and Planetary Science Conferences, and the Annual Meetings of the Meteoritical Society. The work done under this grant has spurred several new directions of inquiry, which we are still pursuing. Included in this paper are the studies of bulk abundances and isotopic compositions of metreoritic Mercury, and the development of a thermal analysis ICP-MS technique applied to thermally liable elements.

Blum, J. D.↗

Computational Materials Program for Alloy Design

The research program sponsored by this grant, "Computational Materials Program for Alloy Design", covers a period of time of enormous change in the emerging field of computational materials science. The computational materials program started with the development of the BFS method for alloys, a quantum approximate method for atomistic analysis of alloys specifically tailored to effectively deal with the current challenges in the area of atomistic modeling and to support modern experimental programs. During the grant period, the program benefited from steady growth which, as detailed below, far exceeds its original set of goals and objectives. Not surprisingly, by the end of this grant, the methodology and the computational materials program became an established force in the materials communitiy, with substantial impact in several areas. Major achievements during the duration of the grant include the completion of a Level 1 Milestone for the HITEMP program at NASA Glenn, consisting of the planning, development and organization of an international conference held at the Ohio Aerospace Institute in August of 2002, finalizing a period of rapid insertion of the methodology in the research community worlwide. The conference, attended by citizens of 17 countries representing various fields of the research community, resulted in a special issue of the leading journal in the area of applied surface science. Another element of the Level 1 Milestone was the presentation of the first version of the Alloy Design Workbench software package, currently known as "adwTools". This software package constitutes the first PC-based piece of software for atomistic simulations for both solid alloys and surfaces in the market.Dissemination of results and insertion in the materials community worldwide was a primary focus during this period. As a result, the P.I. was responsible for presenting 37 contributed talks, 19 invited talks, and publishing 71 articles in peer-reviewed journals, as detailed later in this Report.

Bozzolo, Guillermo↗

GSFC Technical Outreach: The Capitol College Model

In February 2005, as part of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) Technical Outreach Program, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) awarded Capitol College of Laurel, Maryland an Educational Grant to establish a Space Operation academic curriculum to meet the future needs of mission operations engineers. This was in part due to the aerospace industry and GSFC concerns that a large number of professional engineers are projected to retire in the near term with evidence showing that current enrollment in engineering schools will not produce sufficient number of space operation trained engineers that will meet industry and government demands. Capitol College, under the agreement of the Educational Grant, established the Space Operations Institute (SOI) with a new curriculum in Space Operations that was approved and certified by the State of Maryland. The SO1 programs focuses on attracting, recruiting, and training a pipeline of highly qualified engineers with experience in mission operations, system engineering and development. The selected students are integrated as members of the engineering support team in any of the missions supported by the institute. The students are mentored by professional engineers from several aerospace companies that support GSFC. Initially, the institute was involved in providing console engineers and mission planning trainees for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) and the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer mission (TOMS). Subsequently, the students were also involved in the technology refresh of the TOMS ground system and other mission operations development. Further mission assignment by GSFC management included participation in the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) mission operations and ground system technology refresh. The SOI program has been very successful. Since October 2005, sixty-four students have been enrolled in the SOI program and twenty-five have already graduated from the program, nineteen of whom are employed by company's supporting GSFC. Due to the success of the program, the initial grant period was extended for another period of two years. This paper presents the process that established the SOI as a viable pipeline of mission operations engineers, the lessons learned in the process of dealing with grants, and experience gained in mentoring engineering students that are responsible for particular areas of expertise and functionality. This paper can also be considered a case study and model for integrating a student team with government and industry professionals in the real world of mission operations.

Marius, Julio L.↗

Expansion of Existing Research and Analysis Programs

Small-grants programs play a vital role in Heliophysics research. They are a modest investment with a huge scientific payoff. Frequently, it is individuals and small research groups funded by small grants that make the high-innovation breakthroughs that have such a transformative impact on a field. Small grants also give most early-career researchers their first experience as principal investigator – experience they need to eventually become leaders in their field. We therefore recommend that existing NASA programs like Heliophysics Supporting Research (HSR), Heliophysics Guest Investigator (HGI), and Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science (HTIDeS) be greatly expanded. We also recommend that funding opportunities be created for mid-size grants, $500-1000K/yr, either as part of existing programs or with new programs dedicated to this size.

James A. Klimchuk↗

Long-Term Dynamics of Small Bodies in the Solar System

As part of the NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics program, Prof. Norm Murray (CITA (Canadian Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics)) and I have been conducting investigations of the long-term dynamics of small bodies in the outer solar system. This grant, and its successor NAG5-10365, supports travel for collaboration by the Investigators and also supports Murray during an annual one month visit to the CfA (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) for further collaboration. In the course of this grant we made a number of advances in solar system dynamics. For example, we developed an analytic model for the origin and consequence of chaos associated with three-body resonances in the asteroid belt. This has been shown to be important for the delivery of near Earth objects (NEO). We later extended this model to three-body resonances among planets. We were able to show that the numerically identified chaos among the outer planets results from a three-body resonance involving Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. The resulting paper was awarded the 1999 Newcomb Cleveland award from the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science). This award singles out one paper published in Science each year for distinction. A list of grant-related publications is presented, with abstracts included.

Holman, Matthew J.↗