33,299 research outputs found
Asteroid selection for mission opportunities
A study to assess the present state of knowledge of asteroids as well as the rate of change of that knowledge to better identify the mission and target priorities for advanced planning of asteroidal flights in the 1980's is presented. Topics discussed include; the present state of asteroid knowledge, the scientific goals and priorities attached to asteroid exploration, the anticipated advances in knowledge over the current decade, asteroid mission consideration, and asteroid selection. Data sheets for 118 asteroids are contained. These are asteroids for which some data is available over and above orbital parameters and magnitude
A low-power photovoltaic system with energy storage for radio communications: Description and design methodology
A low power photovoltaic system was constructed with approximately 500 amp hours of battery energy storage to provide power to an emergency amateur radio communications center. The system can power the communications center for about 72 hours of continuous nonsun operation. Complete construction details and a design methodology algorithm are given with abundant engineering data and adequate theory to allow similar systems to be constructed, scaled up or down, with minimum design effort
Flight and ground tests of a very low density elastomeric ablative material
A very low density ablative material, a silicone-phenolic composite, was flight tested on a recoverable spacecraft launched by a Pacemaker vehicle system; and, in addition, it was tested in an arc heated wind tunnel at three conditions which encompassed most of the reentry heating conditions of the flight tests. The material was composed, by weight, of 71 percent phenolic spheres, 22.8 percent silicone resin, 2.2 percent catalyst, and 4 percent silica fibers. The tests were conducted to evaluate the ablator performance in both arc tunnel and flight tests and to determine the predictability of the albator performance by using computed results from an existing one-dimensional numerical analysis. The flight tested ablator experienced only moderate surface recession and retained a smooth surface except for isolated areas where the char was completely removed, probably following reentry and prior to or during recovery. Analytical results show good agreement between arc tunnel and flight test results. The thermophysical properties used in the analysis are tabulated
Sequence distribution studies of dichloroprotoanemonin-methyl methacrylate copolymers
Chloride elimination and ultraviolet bands in dichloroprotoanemonin/methyl methacrylate copolymer
Asymptotic analysis of a secondary bifurcation of the one-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau equations of superconductivity
The bifurcation of asymmetric superconducting solutions from the normal solution is considered for the one-dimensional Ginzburg--Landau equations by the methods of formal asymptotics. The behavior of the bifurcating branch depends on the parameters d, the size of the superconducting slab, and , the Ginzburg--Landau parameter. The secondary bifurcation in which the asymmetric solution branches reconnect with the symmetric solution branch is studied for values of for which it is close to the primary bifurcation from the normal state. These values of form a curve in the -plane, which is determined. At one point on this curve, called the quintuple point, the primary bifurcations switch from being subcritical to supercritical, requiring a separate analysis. The results answer some of the conjectures of [A. Aftalion and W. C. Troy, Phys. D, 132 (1999), pp. 214--232]
Extreme-value statistics from Lagrangian convex hull analysis for homogeneous turbulent Boussinesq convection and MHD convection
We investigate the utility of the convex hull of many Lagrangian tracers to
analyze transport properties of turbulent flows with different anisotropy. In
direct numerical simulations of statistically homogeneous and stationary
Navier-Stokes turbulence, neutral fluid Boussinesq convection, and MHD
Boussinesq convection a comparison with Lagrangian pair dispersion shows that
convex hull statistics capture the asymptotic dispersive behavior of a large
group of passive tracer particles. Moreover, convex hull analysis provides
additional information on the sub-ensemble of tracers that on average disperse
most efficiently in the form of extreme value statistics and flow anisotropy
via the geometric properties of the convex hulls. We use the convex hull
surface geometry to examine the anisotropy that occurs in turbulent convection.
Applying extreme value theory, we show that the maximal square extensions of
convex hull vertices are well described by a classic extreme value
distribution, the Gumbel distribution. During turbulent convection,
intermittent convective plumes grow and accelerate the dispersion of Lagrangian
tracers. Convex hull analysis yields information that supplements standard
Lagrangian analysis of coherent turbulent structures and their influence on the
global statistics of the flow.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, preprin
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