Advanced prediction technique for the low speed aerodynamics of V/STOL aircraft. Volume 2: User's manual

A computerized prediction method known as the Vought V/STOL Aircraft Propulsive Effects computer program (VAPE) for propulsive induced forces and moments in transition and Short TakeOff and Landing (STOL) flight is improved and evaluated. The VAPE program is capable of evaluating: (1) effects of relative wind about an aircraft, (2) effects of propulsive lift jet entrainment, vorticity and flow blockage, (3) effects of engine inlet flow on the aircraft flow field, (4) engine inlet forces and moments including inlet separation, (5) ground effects in the STOL region of flight, and (6) viscous effects on lifting surfaces

Advanced prediction technique for the low speed aerodynamics of V/STOL aircraft. Volume 1: Technical discussion

The V/STOL Aircraft Propulsive Effects (VAPE) computerized prediction method is evaluated. The program analyzes viscous effects, various jet, inlet, and Short TakeOff and Landing (STOL) models, and examines the aerodynamic configurations of V/STOL aircraft

A theoretical method for the analysis and design of axisymmetric bodies

A theoretical method is presented for the computation of the flow field about an axisymmetric body operating in a viscous, incompressible fluid. A potential flow method was used to determine the inviscid flow field and to yield the boundary conditions for the boundary layer solutions. Boundary layer effects in the forces of displacement thickness and empirically modeled separation streamlines are accounted for in subsequent potential flow solutions. This procedure is repeated until the solutions converge. An empirical method was used to determine base drag allowing configuration drag to be computed

How do Black Bream move through the fish gate on the Vasse Surge Barrier?

This study determined how Black Bream used the fish gate on the Vasse Surge Barrier by tagging them state of the art internal electronic tags. The tags, known as PIT tags, detected fish that passaged upstream and downstream through the fish gate over an 18 month period in 2017 and 2018. The local community helped us tag and release 322 Black Bream. The study revealed that movements through the fish gate were unrelated to spawning activity of this species and supported early work that the Vasse Estuary is not a key breeding site; instead they use the Deadwater to reproduce. Up until May 2018, Bream passaged through the fish gate 440 times (265 downstream and 175 upstream). Black Bream preferred to passage when the water velocity in the fish gate chute were lowest, which occurred when the water levels upstream and downstream of the surge barrier were relatively similar. When the dissolved oxygen upstream of the surge barrier was good, fewer fish passaged downstream to the Wonnerup Inlet although this was a relatively weak effect. However, the dissolved oxygen around the Vasse Suge Barrier during the current analysis period was relatively high compared to other years and therefore we anticipate that the effect of low dissolved oxygen on fish passage would be even stronger in those years. They also preferred to pass downstream through the fish gate during the evening, whereas upstream passages mostly occurred during the dawn and dusk periods. The findings greatly increase our understanding of the conditions that Black Bream require or prefer to use the fish gate on the Vasse Surge Barrier. However, as the PIT tags last for 20 years, additional data analysis is recommended to compare the factors influencing the passage of the species over multiple years of fish gate operation; including those years that experience poor oxygen levels. It is also recommended that additional fish PIT tagging occur, including other species, so that long-term fish passage through the structure may be further quantified

Planning the Future of U.S. Particle Physics (Snowmass 2013): Chapter 4: Cosmic Frontier

These reports present the results of the 2013 Community Summer Study of the APS Division of Particles and Fields ("Snowmass 2013") on the future program of particle physics in the U.S. Chapter 4, on the Cosmic Frontier, discusses the program of research relevant to cosmology and the early universe. This area includes the study of dark matter and the search for its particle nature, the study of dark energy and inflation, and cosmic probes of fundamental symmetries.Comment: 61 page

Observations of Microwave Continuum Emission from Air Shower Plasmas

We investigate a possible new technique for microwave measurements of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) extensive air showers which relies on detection of expected continuum radiation in the microwave range, caused by free-electron collisions with neutrals in the tenuous plasma left after the passage of the shower. We performed an initial experiment at the AWA (Argonne Wakefield Accelerator) laboratory in 2003 and measured broadband microwave emission from air ionized via high energy electrons and photons. A follow-up experiment at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) in summer of 2004 confirmed the major features of the previous AWA observations with better precision and made additional measurements relevant to the calorimetric capabilities of the method. Prompted by these results we built a prototype detector using satellite television technology, and have made measurements indicating possible detection of cosmic ray extensive air showers. The method, if confirmed by experiments now in progress, could provide a high-duty cycle complement to current nitrogen fluorescence observations of UHECR, which are limited to dark, clear nights. By contrast, decimeter microwave observations can be made both night and day, in clear or cloudy weather, or even in the presence of moderate precipitation.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure

The ROTSE-III Robotic Telescope System

The observation of a prompt optical flash from GRB990123 convincingly demonstrated the value of autonomous robotic telescope systems. Pursuing a program of rapid follow-up observations of gamma-ray bursts, the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE) has developed a next-generation instrument, ROTSE-III, that will continue the search for fast optical transients. The entire system was designed as an economical robotic facility to be installed at remote sites throughout the world. There are seven major system components: optics, optical tube assembly, CCD camera, telescope mount, enclosure, environmental sensing & protection and data acquisition. Each is described in turn in the hope that the techniques developed here will be useful in similar contexts elsewhere.Comment: 19 pages, including 4 figures. To be published in PASP in January, 2003. PASP Number IP02-11

The multiple planets transiting Kepler-9 I. Inferring stellar properties and planetary compositions

The discovery of multiple transiting planetary systems offers new possibilities for characterising exoplanets and understanding their formation. The Kepler-9 system contains two Saturn-mass planets, Kepler-9b and 9c. Using evolution models of gas giants that reproduce the sizes of known transiting planets and accounting for all sources of uncertainties, we show that Kepler-9b (respectively 9c) contains $45^{+17}_{-12}$\,\mearth\ (resp. $31^{+13}_{-10}$\,\mearth) of hydrogen and helium and $35^{+10}_{-15}$\,\mearth (resp. $24^{+10}_{-12}$\,\mearth) of heavy elements. More accurate constraints are obtained when comparing planets 9b and 9c: the ratio of the total mass fractions of heavy elements are $Z_{\rm b}/Z_{\rm c}=1.02\pm 0.14$, indicating that, although the masses of the planets differ, their global composition is very similar, an unexpected result for formation models. Using evolution models for super-Earths, we find that Kepler-9d must contain less than 0.1% of its mass in hydrogen and helium and predict a mostly rocky structure with a total mass between 4 and 16\,\mearth.Comment: 5 pages + 7 pages of online material ; revised article submitted to A\&A and accepted on March 3