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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Zonal winds near Venus' cloud top level - An analytic model of the equatorial wind speed

A consequence of the presently hypothesized maintenance of the equatorial wind speed near the cloud top level of Venus by a balance between the semidiurnal tide's pumping and the Hadley circulation's vertical advection (both integrated across the thermal driving region) is that the maximum equatorial zonal wind speed is proportional to the product of the buoyancy frequency and the magnitude of the driving region's thickness. The proportionality constant is characterized as a weakly increasing function of the heating rate, and a decreasing function of the product of an inverse length, expressing the mean zonal wind shear, and the driving region thickness. For the class of solutions thus treated, there is a threshold heating rate value below which no equilibrium satisfies the prescribed balance.

Leovy, Conway B.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The behavior of planetary wave 2 in preconditioned zonal flows

The response of linear planetary wave 2 to changes in the isentropic zonally symmetric distribution of potential vorticity (PV) is investigated numerically. Wave 2 is sensitive to the width and position of a region where the meridional derivative of PV is weak, denoted the 'surf zone', in the middle stratosphere. A narrow surf zone leads to an amplification of wave 2, and confines some of its Eliassen-Palm wave activity in high latitudes. For wider surf zones the wave activity is concentrated near the associated critical surface, and the amplitude of the wave decreases. Large changes in the wave amplitude and in the distribution of its activity are associated with the subtle changes in the zonal winds produced by modest modifications in the distribution of PV. Basic states that include regions of reversed meridional gradients of PV lead to wave overreflection and strong poleward focusing of wave activity. The amplitude of wave 2 is enhanced in the presence of negative gradients, with large responses occurring for eastward traveling waves.

Robinson, Walter A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A zonal method for modeling 3-D aircraft flow fields with jet plume effects

A coupled zonal method has been developed for modeling flows about aircraft with highly integrated advanced nozzle installations in which the exhaust plume interacts with the aircraft flow field to enhance performance. A cost effective flow analysis is achieved by dividing the flow domain into zones and coupling the zonal solutions. PAN AIR is used to model the flow in the inviscid zone which surrounds the aircraft. The plume zone flow field is solved with a PNS code. The flow in the optional internal nozzle zone is modeled using a full Navier-Stokes code. An automated iterative procedure couples the inviscid and plume zones by passing updated boundary conditions between the zones. The coupled analysis provides converged solutions for the overall flow field. The method is demonstrated for a highly integrated nonaxisymmetric vectored nozzle installed on a swept-wing aircraft.

Roberts, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Venus: Cloud level circulation during 1982 as determined from Pioneer cloud photopolarimeter images. I - Time and zonally averaged circulation

Significant mean cloud level circulation changes since 1974, noted in 1982 Venus cloud motion observations, have been validated by independent measurements of cloud motions in nearly-identical sets of images; agreement is obtained not only for the average zonal and meridional components, but for the eddy circulation's meridional transport of momentum. In contrast to 1979 observations, the time latitudinal profile and the longitudinally-averaged zonal component of the cloud motions for 1982 exhibit jets near 45 deg latitude in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

Limaye, Sanjay S.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A new constraint on Saturn's zonal gravity harmonics from Voyager observations of an eccentric ringlet

The results obtained by Porco et al. (1984) from an analysis of the kinematics of an eccentric ringlet in Saturn's inner ring are used to add an additional constraint to the gravity solution of Null et al. (1981) and thus to derive the first experimental estimate of the Saturn's J6 gravitational field. On the assumption that the eccentricity of this ringlet is forced by the satellite Titan, the location of the Titan apsidal resonance is determined to an accuracy of + or - 13 km, which in turn provides a strong constraint on Saturn's zonal gravity harmonics. Combining this constraint with the results of Null et all. and adopting a priori values for J8, J10, and J12 based on interior models, new estimates are obtained for the first three zonal gravity coefficients J2, J4, and J6.

Nicholson, Philip D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Zonal techniques for flowfield simulation about aircraft

A technique for performing conservative flowfield calculations on zonal meshes is described. The underlying flow solver is an implicit, upwind finite volume scheme which can incorporate either a perfect gas or an equilibrium air equation of state. Two different approaches which yield identical results, in terms of performing a conservative flux calculation on a zonal interface, are described and compared in terms of numerical efficiency. The capability of the method to handle relatively complex geometries is demonstrated by considering the flowfield about a model SR71 aircraft.

Walters, Robert W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Separation-bubble flow solution using Euler/Navier-Stokes zonal approach with downstream compatibility conditions

The two-dimensional flow over a blunt leading-edge plate is simulated on the basis of an Euler/Navier-Stokes zonal scheme. The scheme uses an implicit upwind finite-volume scheme, which is based on the van Leer flux-vector splitting. It is shown that the Euler/Navier-Stokes zonal scheme with downstream boundary-layer compatibility conditions is accurate and efficient.

Liu, C. H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Temporal variations in low degree zonal harmonics from Starlette orbit analysis

The dynamical effect of temporal variations in the zonal harmonics of the earth's gravitational potential due to tidal and meteorological mass redistribution has been observed using satellite laser ranging (SLR) measurements to Starlette. The secular variations in the Earth's zonal harmonics and the year-to-year fluctuation of the even degree annual and semi-annual tides, S(a) and S(sa) have been determined from a continuous Starlette orbit spanning from 1983 through 1985. The mean values for S(a) and S(sa) tides are in good agreement with other tide solutions. The year-to-year fluctuations of the even degree S(a), deduced from Starlette node variations, are about 25 percent of the mean value obtained during the three-year Starlette orbit span.

Cheng, M. K.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Development of a two-dimensional zonally averaged statistical-dynamical model. III - The parameterization of the eddy fluxes of heat and moisture

A number of perpetual January simulations are carried out with a two-dimensional zonally averaged model employing various parameterizations of the eddy fluxes of heat (potential temperature) and moisture. The parameterizations are evaluated by comparing these results with the eddy fluxes calculated in a parallel simulation using a three-dimensional general circulation model with zonally symmetric forcing. The three-dimensional model's performance in turn is evaluated by comparing its results using realistic (nonsymmetric) boundary conditions with observations. Branscome's parameterization of the meridional eddy flux of heat and Leovy's parameterization of the meridional eddy flux of moisture simulate the seasonal and latitudinal variations of these fluxes reasonably well, while somewhat underestimating their magnitudes. New parameterizations of the vertical eddy fluxes are developed that take into account the enhancement of the eddy mixing slope in a growing baroclinic wave due to condensation, and also the effect of eddy fluctuations in relative humidity. The new parameterizations, when tested in the two-dimensional model, simulate the seasonal, latitudinal, and vertical variations of the vertical eddy fluxes quite well, when compared with the three-dimensional model, and only underestimate the magnitude of the fluxes by 10 to 20 percent.

Stone, Peter H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Computational analysis of rotor-stator interaction in turbomachinery using zonal techniques

The development of CFD zonal techniques which allow more intensive computational treatment in some regions than in others, in conjunction with robust, high-accuracy algorithms for the numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations, is presently shown to have facilitated the investigation of rotor-stator interactions in turbomachinery. Attention is given to integration schemes with two and three spatial dimensions, the conservative 'patched' and the nonconservative zonal boundary schemes, and such natural boundary conditions as those of the endwall, the stator inlet, the airfoil surface, and the rotor exit. Illustrative three-dimensional rotor-stator interaction calculations are presented.

Madavan, Nateri K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Contribution of zonal harmonics to gravitational moment

It is presently demonstrated that a recursive vector-dyadic expression for the contribution of a zonal harmonic of degree n to the gravitational moment about a small body's center-of-mass is obtainable with a procedure that involves twice differentiating a celestial body's gravitational potential with respect to a vector. The recursive property proceeds from taking advantage of a recursion relation for Legendre polynomials which appear in the gravitational potential. The contribution of the zonal harmonic of degree 2 is consistent with the gravitational moment exerted by an oblate spheroid.

Roithmayr, Carlos M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Predictions of zonal wind and angular momentum by the NMC medium-range forecast model during 1985-89

This paper investigates the quality of weather predictions of the atmosphere's relative angular momentum (M) made by the most recent version of the NMC medium-range forecast model (MRF88) during December 1985-1989. It was found that, compared with older versions of MRF, bias errors in the MRF88 forecasts of M became more prominent, while random errors were not affected. Both types of errors in the M forecasts could be traced to problems with forecasts in the zonal mean zonal wind in the tropics.

Rosen, Richard D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A dynamical explanation for the asymmetry in zonally averaged column abundances of ozone between northern and southern springs

The observed zonally averaged column ozone shows a maximum at 90 deg N during the northern winter and spring and at 60 deg S throughout the southern winter and spring. This asymmetry is explained in the context of a zonally averaged model with coupled radiation, dynamics, and chemistry, together with consistently parameterized planetary wave driving and wave transport. It is shown that in the presence of weak wave driving, the penetration of the tropospheric circulation into the lower stratosphere and the characteristics of ozone chemistry are such that they produce a column ozone maximum at subpolar latitudes. The effect of increased wave driving is to intensify the residual circulation and extend it farther poleward, resulting in an ozone maximum at the pole. The role of the mesospheric drag is to further enhance these column ozone maxima. Model calculations show that the positions of the observed column ozone maxima are consistent with intensities of wave driving in the two hemispheres derived from data.

Hou, Arthur Y.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Temporal variation of the earth's low-degree zonal gravitational field caused by atmospheric mass redistribution - 1980-1988

Temporal variations in the low-degree zonal harmonics of the earth's gravitational field have recently been observed by satellite laser ranging. A host of geophysical processes contribute to these variations. The present paper studies quantitatively a prime contributor, atmospheric mass redistribution, using ECMWF global surface pressure data for the period of 1980-1988. The annual and semiannual amplitudes and phases of the zonal J(l) coefficient with degree l = 2-6 with and without the oceanic inverted-barometer (IB) effect are computed to obtain the predicted effects on the orbit nodal residuals of Lageos and Starlette. These predicted values are then compared with observations. It is found that the atmospheric influence, combined with the hydrological influence agree well with the Lageos observation for the annual term. The corresponding match appears poorer for Starlette.

Chao, B. Fong↗
NASA NTRS1991

Anomalous temperature and zonal wind in the tropical upper stratosphere, 1982/1983

Observed temperature and zonal wind anomalies during 1982-1983 are described in relation to the 20-yr rocketsonde data record. Temperature data from the Nimbus 7 SAMS indicate that in mid-1982, cooling occurred in the upper and middle tropical stratosphere, starting shortly after the eruption of El Chichon (April 1982). Rocketsonde data from Kwajalein gave additional evidence of cooling and revealed that zonal winds in the upper and middle stratosphere were anomalous in 1982 and also in 1983. Rocketsonde observations were consistent with balance winds derived from SAMS. Upper-level cooling was linked to anomalous easterlies near the equator and therefore could not be interpreted as a radiative (nondynamical) response to El Chichon. The structure of an expected 2D dynamical response to aerosol heating is examined with a numerical model and compared to the data. It is suggested that internal sources of atmospheric variability (eg., extratropical forcing and quasi-biennial oscillation) contributed to the equatorial cooling observed in 1982.

Dunkerton, Timothy J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

On the wave forcing of the semi-annual zonal wind oscillation

Observational evidence of rather large period waves (23-60 d) in the troposphere/stratosphere, particularly during the winter months, is presented. Wind data collected on a regular basis employing high-altitude balloons and meteorological rockets over the past few years are used. Maximum entropy methods applied to the time series of zonal wind data indicate the presence of 23-60-waves more prominently than shorter-period waves. The waves have substantial amplitudes in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere, often larger than those noted in the troposphere. The mean zonal wind in the troposphere (5-15 km altitude) during December, January, and February exhibits the presence of strong westerlies at latitudes between 8 and 21 deg N.

Nagpal, O. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

On the normal modes of Laplace's tidal equations for zonal wavenumber zero

The characteristic differences between two different rotational modes of Laplace's tidal equations for wavenumber m = 0, called the K- and the S-modes, are compared in their energy ratio and structures. It is shown that the K-mode representation captures most of the observed zonal energy with a few terms, whereas the S-mode representation requires many terms. For small vertical scale components, the K-mode series converges faster than the S-mode series. Attention is also given to the differences between the energy spectra projected upon the K- and S-modes and the merits of each set as expansion functions for the zonal atmospheric motions.

Tanaka, H. L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Simulation of the zonal mean climatology of the middle atmosphere with a three-dimensional spectral model for solstice and equinox conditions

A 3D spectral model was used to simulate the zonal mean state of the middle atmosphere for solstice and equinox conditions. The model incorporates realistic parameterizations of atmospheric infrared cooling and a gravity wave formulation based on a combination of Lindzen's (1981) and Matsuno's (1982) approaches. The temperature distributions for both seasons and the zonal wind distribution for solstice are found to be in satisfactory agreement with the empirical model of Fleming et al. (1988). Net vertical fluxes of horizontal momentum are in good agreement with systematic observations of gravity waves in the middle atmosphere.

Akmaev, R. A.↗