123 research outputs found
Study of the integration of wind tunnel and computational methods for aerodynamic configurations
A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using a low-order panel code to estimate wind tunnel wall corrections. The corrections were found by two computations. The first computation included the test model and the surrounding wind tunnel walls, while in the second computation the wind tunnel walls were removed. The difference between the force and moment coefficients obtained by comparing these two cases allowed the determination of the wall corrections. The technique was verified by matching the test-section, wall-pressure signature from a wind tunnel test with the signature predicted by the panel code. To prove the viability of the technique, two cases were considered. The first was a two-dimensional high-lift wing with a flap that was tested in the 7- by 10-foot wind tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center. The second was a 1/32-scale model of the F/A-18 aircraft which was tested in the low-speed wind tunnel at San Diego State University. The panel code used was PMARC (Panel Method Ames Research Center). Results of this study indicate that the proposed wind tunnel wall correction method is comparable to other methods and that it also inherently includes the corrections due to model blockage and wing lift
Development and validation of an advanced low-order panel method
A low-order potential-flow panel code, PMARC, for modeling complex three-dimensional geometries, is currently being developed at NASA Ames Research Center. The PMARC code was derived from a code named VSAERO that was developed for Ames Research Center by Analytical Methods, Inc. In addition to modeling potential flow over three-dimensional geometries, the present version of PMARC includes several advanced features such as an internal flow model, a simple jet wake model, and a time-stepping wake model. Data management within the code was optimized by the use of adjustable size arrays for rapidly changing the size capability of the code, reorganization of the output file and adopting a new plot file format. Preliminary versions of a geometry preprocessor and a geometry/aerodynamic data postprocessor are also available for use with PMARC. Several test cases are discussed to highlight the capabilities of the internal flow model, the jet wake model, and the time-stepping wake model
Computation of wind tunnel wall effects for complex models using a low-order panel method
A technique for determining wind tunnel wall effects for complex models using the low-order, three dimensional panel method PMARC (Panel Method Ames Research Center) has been developed. Initial validation of the technique was performed using lift-coefficient data in the linear lift range from tests of a large-scale STOVL fighter model in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) facility. The data from these tests served as an ideal database for validating the technique because the same model was tested in two wind tunnel test sections with widely different dimensions. The lift-coefficient data obtained for the same model configuration in the two test sections were different, indicating a significant influence of the presence of the tunnel walls and mounting hardware on the lift coefficient in at least one of the two test sections. The wind tunnel wall effects were computed using PMARC and then subtracted from the measured data to yield corrected lift-coefficient versus angle-of-attack curves. The corrected lift-coefficient curves from the two wind tunnel test sections matched very well. Detailed pressure distributions computed by PMARC on the wing lower surface helped identify the source of large strut interference effects in one of the wind tunnel test sections. Extension of the technique to analysis of wind tunnel wall effects on the lift coefficient in the nonlinear lift range and on drag coefficient will require the addition of boundary-layer and separated-flow models to PMARC
Potential flow theory and operation guide for the panel code PMARC
The theoretical basis for PMARC, a low-order potential-flow panel code for modeling complex three-dimensional geometries, is outlined. Several of the advanced features currently included in the code, such as internal flow modeling, a simple jet model, and a time-stepping wake model, are discussed in some detail. The code is written using adjustable size arrays so that it can be easily redimensioned for the size problem being solved and the computer hardware being used. An overview of the program input is presented, with a detailed description of the input available in the appendices. Finally, PMARC results for a generic wing/body configuration are compared with experimental data to demonstrate the accuracy of the code. The input file for this test case is given in the appendices
Infrared Properties of a Complete Sample of Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxies
We present a study of a large, statistically complete sample of star-forming
dwarf galaxies using mid-infrared observations from the {\it Spitzer Space
Telescope}. The relationships between metallicity, star formation rate (SFR)
and mid-infrared color in these systems show that the galaxies span a wide
range of properties. However, the galaxies do show a deficit of 8.0 \um\
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission as is apparent from the median 8.0
\um\ luminosity which is only 0.004 \lstarf\ while the median -band
luminosity is 0.05 \lstarb. Despite many of the galaxies being 8.0 \um\
deficient, there is about a factor of 4 more extremely red galaxies in the
[3.6] [8.0] color than for a sample of normal galaxies with similar optical
colors. We show correlations between the [3.6] [8.0] color and luminosity,
metallicity, and to a lesser extent SFRs that were not evident in the original,
smaller sample studied previously. The luminosity--metallicity relation has a
flatter slope for dwarf galaxies as has been indicated by previous work. We
also show a relationship between the 8.0 \um\ luminosity and the metallicity of
the galaxy which is not expected given the competing effects (stellar mass,
stellar population age, and the hardness of the radiation field) that influence
the 8.0 \um\ emission. This larger sample plus a well-defined selection
function also allows us to compute the 8.0 \um\ luminosity function and compare
it with the one for the local galaxy population. Our results show that below
10 \solar, nearly all the 8.0 \um\ luminosity density of the local
universe arises from dwarf galaxies that exhibit strong \ha\ emission -- i.e.,
8.0 \um\ and \ha\ selection identify similar galaxy populations despite the
deficit of 8.0 \um\ emission observed in these dwarfs.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, Published in Ap
The mass evolution of the first galaxies: stellar mass functions and star formation rates at in the CANDELS GOODS-South field
We measure new estimates for the galaxy stellar mass function and star
formation rates for samples of galaxies at using data in
the CANDELS GOODS South field. The deep near-infrared observations allow us to
construct the stellar mass function at directly for the first time.
We estimate stellar masses for our sample by fitting the observed spectral
energy distributions with synthetic stellar populations, including nebular line
and continuum emission. The observed UV luminosity functions for the samples
are consistent with previous observations, however we find that the observed
- M relation has a shallow slope more consistent with a constant
mass to light ratio and a normalisation which evolves with redshift. Our
stellar mass functions have steep low-mass slopes (),
steeper than previously observed at these redshifts and closer to that of the
UV luminosity function. Integrating our new mass functions, we find the
observed stellar mass density evolves from at to at . Finally, combining the measured UV continuum
slopes () with their rest-frame UV luminosities, we calculate dust
corrected star-formation rates (SFR) for our sample. We find the specific
star-formation rate for a fixed stellar mass increases with redshift whilst the
global SFR density falls rapidly over this period. Our new SFR density
estimates are higher than previously observed at this redshift.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figures, 2 appendices. Accepted for publication in
MNRAS, August 7 201
Galaxy Clusters in the IRAC Dark Field II: Mid-IR Sources
We present infrared luminosities, star formation rates, colors, morphologies,
locations, and AGN properties of 24 micron-detected sources in photometrically
detected high-redshift clusters in order to understand the impact of
environment on star formation and AGN evolution in cluster galaxies. We use
three newly-identified z=1 clusters selected from the IRAC dark field; the
deepest ever mid-IR survey with accompanying, 14 band multiwavelength data
including deep HST imaging and deep wide-area Spitzer MIPS 24 micron imaging.
We find 90 cluster members with MIPS detections within two virial radii of the
cluster centers, of which 17 appear to have spectral energy distributions
dominated by AGN and the rest dominated by star formation. We find that 43 of
the star forming are luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs). The majority of
sources (81%) are spirals or irregulars. A large fraction (at least 25%) show
obvious signs of interactions. The MIPS -detected member galaxies have varied
spatial distributions as compared to the MIPS-undetected members with one of
the three clusters showing SF galaxies being preferentially located on the
cluster outskirts, while the other 2 clusters show no such trend. Both the AGN
fraction and the summed SFR of cluster galaxies increases from z=0 to 1, at a
rate that is a few times faster in clusters than over the same redshift range
in the field. Cluster environment does have an effect on the evolution of both
AGN fraction and SFR from redshift one to the present, but does not effect the
infrared luminosities or morphologies of the MIPS sample. Star formation
happens in the same way regardless of environment making MIPS sources look the
same in the cluster and field, however the cluster environment does encourage a
more rapid evolution with time as compared to the field.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, ApJ accepte
Census of Self-Obscured Massive Stars in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer: Implications for Understanding the Progenitors of SN 2008S-Like Transients
A new link in the causal mapping between massive stars and potentially fatal
explosive transients opened with the 2008 discovery of the dust-obscured
progenitors of the luminous outbursts in NGC 6946 and NGC 300. Here we carry
out a systematic mid-IR photometric search for massive, luminous, self-obscured
stars in four nearby galaxies: M33, NGC 300, M81, and NGC 6946. For detection,
we use only the 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron IRAC bands, as these can still be
used for multi-epoch Spitzer surveys of nearby galaxies (=<10 Mpc). We combine
familiar PSF and aperture-photometry with an innovative application of image
subtraction to catalog the self-obscured massive stars in these galaxies. In
particular, we verify that stars analogous to the progenitors of the NGC 6946
(SN 2008S) and NGC 300 transients are truly rare in all four galaxies: their
number may be as low as ~1 per galaxy at any given moment. This result
empirically supports the idea that the dust-enshrouded phase is a very
short-lived phenomenon in the lives of many massive stars and that these
objects constitute a natural extension of the AGB sequence. We also provide
mid-IR catalogs of sources in NGC 300, M81, and NGC 6946.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, 11 tables. Accepted by ApJ on April 12, 2010.
High resolution figures and full length versions of tables 6, 8 and 10 can be
accessed at http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~khan/redstars
Warm Molecular Hydrogen Emission in Normal Edge-On Galaxies NGC 4565 and NGC 5907
We have observed warm molecular hydrogen in two nearby edge-on disk galaxies,
NGC 4565 and NGC 5907, using the Spitzer high-resolution infrared spectrograph.
The 0-0 S(0) 28.2 micron and 0-0 S(1) 17.0 micron pure rotational lines were
detected out to 10 kpc from the center of each galaxy on both sides of the
major axis, and in NGC 4565 the S(0) line was detected at r = 15 kpc on one
side. This location lies beyond a steep drop in the radio continuum emission
from cosmic rays in the disk. Despite indications that star formation activity
decreases with radius, the H2 excitation temperature and the ratio of the H2
line and the far-IR luminosity surface densities, Sigma_L(H2}/Sigma_L(TIR},
change very little as a function of radius, even into the diffuse outer region
of the disk of NGC 4565. This suggests that the source of excitation of the H2
operates over a large range of radii, and is broadly independent of the
strength and relative location of UV emission from young stars. Although
excitation in photodissociation regions is the most common explanation for the
widespread H2 emission, cosmic ray heating or shocks cannot be ruled out. The
inferred mass surface densities of warm molecular hydrogen in both edge-on
galaxies differ substantially, being 4(-60) M_solar/pc^2 and 3(-50)
M_solar/pc^2 at r = 10 kpc for NGC 4565 and NGC 5907, respectively. The higher
values represent very unlikely point-source upper limits. The point source case
is not supported by the observed emission distribution in the spectral slits.
These mass surface densities cannot support the observed rotation velocities in
excess of 200 km/s. Therefore, warm molecular hydrogen cannot account for dark
matter in these disk galaxies, contrary to what was implied by a previous ISO
study of the nearby edge-on galaxy NGC 891.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (20 pages, 17
figures, 7 tables
IRAC Observations of M81
IRAC images of M81 show three distinct morphological constituents: a smooth
distribution of evolved stars with bulge, disk, and spiral arm components; a
clumpy distribution of dust emission tracing the spiral arms; and a pointlike
nuclear source. The bulge stellar colors are consistent with M-type giants, and
the disk colors are consistent with a slightly younger population. The dust
emission generally follows the blue and ultraviolet emission, but there are
large areas that have dust emission without ultraviolet and smaller areas with
ultraviolet but little dust emission. The former are presumably caused by
extinction, and the latter may be due to cavities in the gas and dust created
by supernova explosions. The nucleus appears fainter at 8 um than expected from
ground-based 10 um observations made four years ago.Comment: ApJS in press (Spitzer special issue); 15 pages, 3 figures. Changes:
unused references removed, numbers and labels in Table 1 change
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