ALBERT

Description: The purpose of the chemistry component of the model comparison is to assess to what extent differences in the formulation of chemical processes explain the variance between model results. Observed concentrations of chemical compounds are used to estimate to what degree the various models represent realistic situations. For readability, the materials for the chemistry experiment are reported in three separate sections. This section discussed the data used to evaluate the models in their simulation of the source gases and the Nitrogen compounds (NO(y)) and Chlorine compounds (Cl(y)) species.

Description: Space-based and airborne coherent Doppler lidars designed for measuring global tropospheric wind profiles in cloud-free air rely on backscatter, beta from aerosols acting as passive wind tracers. Aerosol beta distribution in the vertical can vary over as much as 5-6 orders of magnitude. Thus, the design of a wave length-specific, space-borne or airborne lidar must account for the magnitude of 8 in the region or features of interest. The SPAce Readiness Coherent Lidar Experiment under development by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and scheduled for launch on the Space Shuttle in 2001, will demonstrate wind measurements from space using a solid-state 2 micrometer coherent Doppler lidar. Consequently, there is a critical need to understand variability of aerosol beta at 2.1 micrometers, to evaluate signal detection under varying aerosol loading conditions. Although few direct measurements of beta at 2.1 micrometers exist, extensive datasets, including climatologies in widely-separated locations, do exist for other wavelengths based on CO2 and Nd:YAG lidars. Datasets also exist for the associated microphysical and chemical properties. An example of a multi-parametric dataset is that of the NASA GLObal Backscatter Experiment (GLOBE) in 1990 in which aerosol chemistry and size distributions were measured concurrently with multi-wavelength lidar backscatter observations. More recently, continuous-wave (CW) lidar backscatter measurements at mid-infrared wavelengths have been made during the Multicenter Airborne Coherent Atmospheric Wind Sensor (MACAWS) experiment in 1995. Using Lorenz-Mie theory, these datasets have been used to develop a method to convert lidar backscatter to the 2.1 micrometer wavelength. This paper presents comparison of modeled backscatter at wavelengths for which backscatter measurements exist including converted beta (sub 2.1).

Description: The typical fair weather electric field at the ground is between -100 and -300 V/m. At the NASA Kennedy Space Center and US Air Force Cape Canaveral Air Station (KSC) the electric field at the ground sometimes reaches -400 to -1200 V/m within an hour or two after sunrise on days that otherwise seem to be fair weather. We refer to the enhanced negative electric fields as the "sunrise enhancement." To investigate the sunrise enhancement at KSC we measured the electric field (E) in the first few hundred meters above the ground before and during several sunrise enhancements. From these E soundings we can infer the presence of charge layers and determine their thickness and charge density.

Description: Digital Particle Imaging Velocimetry (DPIV) is a powerful measurement technique, which can be used as an alternative or complementary approach to Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) in a wide range of research applications. The instantaneous planar velocity measurements obtained with PIV make it an attractive technique for use in the study of the complex flow fields encountered in turbomachinery. Many of the same issues encountered in the application of LDV to rotating machinery apply in the application of PIV. Techniques for optical access, light sheet delivery, CCD camera technology and particulate seeding are discussed. Results from the successful application of the PIV technique to both the blade passage region of a transonic axial compressor and the diffuser region of a high speed centrifugal compressor are presented. Both instantaneous and time-averaged flow fields were obtained. The 95% confidence intervals for the time-averaged velocity estimates were also determined. Results from the use of PIV to study surge in a centrifugal compressor are discussed. In addition, combined correlation/particle tracking results yielding super-resolution velocity measurements are presented.

Description: Thermal analysis in both simple and complex models can require calculating the propagation of radiant energy to and from multiple surfaces. This can be accomplished through simple estimation techniques or complex computationally intense computer modeling simulations. Currently there are a variety of computer analysis techniques used to simulate the propagation of radiant energy, each having advantages and disadvantages. The major objective of this effort was to compare two ray tracing radiation propagation analysis programs (NEVADA and TSS) Net Energy Verification and Determination Analyzer and Thermal Synthesizer System with experimental data. Results from a non-flowing, electrically heated test rig was used to verify the calculated radiant energy propagation from a nozzle geometry that represents an aircraft propulsion nozzle system. In general the programs produced comparable overall results, and results slightly higher then the experimental data. Upon inspection of individual radiation interchange factors, differences were evident and would have been magnified if a more radical model temperature profile was analyzed. Bidirectional reflectivity data (BRDF) was not used do to modeling limitations in TSS. For code comparison purposes, this nozzle geometry represents only one case for one set of analysis conditions. Since each computer code has advantages and disadvantages bases on scope, requirements, and desired accuracy, the usefulness of this single case study may be limiting.

Description: Through the NASA/Industry Cooperative Effort (NICE) agreement, NASA Lewis and industry partners are developing a new engine simulation, called the National Cycle Program (NCP), which is the initial framework of NPSS. NCP is the first phase toward achieving the goal of NPSS. This new software supports the aerothermodynamic system simulation process for the full life cycle of an engine. The National Cycle Program (NCP) was written following the Object Oriented Paradigm (C++, CORBA). The software development process used was also based on the Object Oriented paradigm. Software reviews, configuration management, test plans, requirements, design were all apart of the process used in developing NCP. Due to the many contributors to NCP, the stated software process was mandatory for building a common tool intended for use by so many organizations. The U.S. aircraft and airframe companies recognize NCP as the future industry standard for propulsion system modeling.

Description: This section contains a number of special diagnostics that are designed to examine certain mechanisms. Section 1 reports on the method used to test the photochemical partitioning in the models. Sections 2 and 3 represent efforts to examine the model calculated production and removal rates for ozone and how the values are combined with transport rates in the models to produce the simulated ozone distributions. Sections 4 and 5 concentrate on polar processes including the dynamics aspect of vortex confinement and the chemical aspects of chlorine activation.

Description: MM II defined a series of experiments to better understand and characterize model transport and to assess the realism of this transport by comparison to observations. Measurements from aircraft, balloon, and satellite, not yet available at the time of MM I [Prather and Remsberg, 1993], provide new and stringent constraints on model transport, and address the limits of our transport modeling abilities. Simulations of the idealized tracers the age spectrum, and propagating boundary conditions, and conserved HSCT-like emissions probe the relative roles of different model transport mechanisms, while simulations of SF6 and C02 make the connection to observations. Some of the tracers are related, and transport diagnostics such as the mean age can be derived from more than one of the experiments for comparison to observations. The goals of the transport experiments are: (1) To isolate the effects of transport in models from other processes; (2) To assess model transport for realistic tracers (such as SF6 and C02) for comparison to observations; (3) To use certain idealized tracers to isolate model mechanisms and relationships to atmospheric chemical perturbations; (4) To identify strengths and weaknesses of the treatment of transport processes in the models; (5) To relate evaluated shortcomings to aspects of model formulation. The following section are included:Executive Summary, Introduction, Age Spectrum, Observation, Tropical Transport in Models, Global Mean Age in Models, Source-Transport Covariance, HSCT "ANOY" Tracer Distributions, and Summary and Conclusions.

Description: The crack propagation life of tested specimens has been repeatedly shown to strongly depend on the loading history. Overloads and extended stress holds at temperature can either retard or accelerate the crack growth rate. Therefore, to accurately predict the crack propagation life of an actual component, it is essential to approximate the true loading history. In military rotorcraft engine applications, the loading profile (stress amplitudes, temperature, and number of excursions) can vary significantly depending on the type of mission flown. To accurately assess the durability of a fleet of engines, the crack propagation life distribution of a specific component should account for the variability in the missions performed (proportion of missions flown and sequence). In this report, analytical and experimental studies are described that calibrate/validate the crack propagation prediction capability for a disk alloy under variable amplitude loading. A crack closure based model was adopted to analytically predict the load interaction effects. Furthermore, a methodology has been developed to realistically simulate the actual mission mix loading on a fleet of engines over their lifetime. A sequence of missions is randomly selected and the number of repeats of each mission in the sequence is determined assuming a Poisson distributed random variable with a given mean occurrence rate. Multiple realizations of random mission histories are generated in this manner and are used to produce stress, temperature, and time points for fracture mechanics calculations. The result is a cumulative distribution of crack propagation lives for a given, life limiting, component location. This information can be used to determine a safe retirement life or inspection interval for the given location.

Description: A global lightning model that includes diurnal and annual lightning variation, and total flash density versus latitude for each major land and ocean, has been used as the basis for simulating the global electric circuit charging rate. A particular objective has been to reconcile the difference in amplitude ratios [AR=(max-min)/mean] between global lightning diurnal variation (AR approx. = 0.8) and the diurnal variation of typical atmospheric potential gradient curves (AR approx. = 0.35). A constraint on the simulation is that the annual mean charging current should be about 1000 A. The global lightning model shows that negative ground flashes can contribute, at most, about 10-15% of the required current. For the purpose of the charging rate simulation, it was assumed that each ground flash contributes 5 C to the charging process. It was necessary to assume that all electrified clouds contribute to charging by means other than lightning, that the total flash rate can serve as an indirect indicator of the rate of charge transfer, and that oceanic electrified clouds contribute to charging even though they are relatively inefficient in producing lightning. It was also found necessary to add a diurnally invariant charging current component. By trial and error it was found that charging rate diurnal variation curves in Universal time (UT) could be produced with amplitude ratios and general shapes similar to those of the potential gradient diurnal variation curves measured over ocean and arctic regions during voyages of the Carnegie Institute research vessels.

Description: Unsteady blade row interactions in turbomachines generate discrete-frequency tones at blade pass frequency and its harmonics. Specific circumferential acoustic modes are generated. However, only certain of these modes propagate upstream and downstream to the far field, with these the discrete frequency noise received by an observer. This paper is directed at experimentally demonstrating the viability of active noise control utilizing active airfoils to generate propagating spatial modes that interact with and simultaneously cancel the upstream and downstream propagating acoustic modes. This is accomplished by means of fundamental experiments performed in the Purdue Annular Cascade Research Facility configured with 16 rotor blades and 18 stator vanes. At blade pass frequency, only the k(sub 0) = -2 spatial mode propagates. Significant simultaneous noise reductions are achieved for these upstream and downstream propagating spatial modes over a wide range of operating conditions.

Description: A comprehensive assessment is made of the predictive capability of the average passage flow model as applied to multi-stage axial flow compressors. The average passage flow model describes the time average flow field within a typical passage of a blade row embedded in a multi-stage configuration. In this work data taken within a four and one-half stage large low speed compressor will be used to assess the weakness and strengths of the predictive capabilities of the average passage flow model. The low speed compressor blading is of modern design and employs stators with end-bends. Measurements were made with slow and high response instrumentation. The high response measurements revealed the velocity components of both the rotor and stator wakes. Based on the measured wake profiles it will be argued that blade boundary layer transition is playing an important role in setting compressor performance. A model which mimics the effects of blade boundary layer transition within the frame work of the average passage model will be presented. Simulations which incorporated this model showed a dramatic improvement in agreement with data.

Description: Cycle studies have shown the benefits of increasing engine pressure ratios and cycle temperatures to decrease engine weight and improve performance in next generation turbine engines. Advanced seals have been identified as critical in meeting engine goals for specific fuel consumption, thrust-to-weight, emissions, durability and operating costs. NASA and the industry are identifying and developing engine and sealing technologies that will result in dramatic improvements and address the goals for engines entering service in the 2005-2007 time frame. This paper provides an overview of advanced seal technology requirements and highlights the results of a preliminary design effort to implement advanced seals into a regional aircraft turbine engine. This study examines in great detail the benefits of applying advanced seals in the high pressure turbine region of the engine. Low leakage film-riding seals can cut in half the estimated 4% cycle air currently used to purge the high pressure turbine cavities. These savings can be applied in one of several ways. Holding rotor inlet temperature (RIT) constant the engine specific fuel consumption can be reduced 0.9%, or thrust could be increased 2.5%, or mission fuel burn could be reduced 1.3%. Alternatively, RIT could be lowered 20 'F resulting in a 50% increase in turbine blade life reducing overall regional aircraft maintenance and fuel bum direct operating costs by nearly 1%. Thermal, structural, secondary-air systems, safety (seal failure and effect), and emissions analyses have shown the proposed design is feasible.

Description: This paper presents a coupled analysis of the interaction between mainpath and secondary flowpaths in gas turbines using transient simulations. Some of the topics include: 1) Need for Coupled Analysis; 2) Primary-Secondary Coupling Schematic; 3) Secondary Flow Requirement; 4) Objectives of Present Methodology; 5) Current Methodologies Recap; 6) Proposed Coupled Code Methodology; 7) Description of SCISEAL Code; 8) Description of Turbo Code; 9) Code Coupling/Interface Issues; and 10) Current Interface Strategy. This paper is presented in viewgraph form.

Description: NASA's General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) program is a cooperative program between government and industry. NASA's strategic direction is described by the "Three Pillars" and their Objectives as set forth by NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin. NASA's Three Pillars are: 1) Global Civil Aviation, 2) Revolutionary Technology Leaps, and 3) Access To Space.

Description: A formal method is described to quantify structural damage tolerance and reliability in the presence of multitude of uncertainties in turbine engine components. The method is based at the materials behaviour level where primitive variables with their respective scatters are used to describe the behavior. Computational simulation is then used to propagate those uncertainties to the structural scale where damage tolerance and reliability are usually specified. Several sample cases are described to illustrate the effectiveness, versatility, and maturity of the method. Typical results from these methods demonstrate that the methods are mature and that they can be used for future strategic projections and planning to assure better, cheaper, faster, products for competitive advantages in world markets. These results also indicate that the methods are suitable for predicting remaining life in aging or deteriorating structures.

Description: Estimates of the effect of pulse stretching on satellite laser altimetry in particular the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), by cloud multiple scattering were made from an analytical method and from Monte Carlo calculations. The path delay of the return pulse was found to be largest for low-level clouds with particle radii (3-20 microns). The magnitude of the path delay was affected by several factors including cloud height, cloud optical depth, cloud particle size, particle shape, and receiver field of view. Polar aerosol and Rayleigh scattering usually added less than 1 cm to the overall path delay. Path delay estimates for all cloud conditions would be less if a simple Gaussian fit of the return pulse peak were used to measure the pulse's centroid. However, care must be taken in determining the centroid as factors such as pulse width, surface slope and the fitting method used will affect the estimate. A planned application for laser altimetry is high precision monitoring of the height change of polar ice sheets. In the absence of a correction algorithm, the required GLAS altimetry accuracies will not be achieved unless atmospheric channel information is used to remove profiles that are likely to be heavily contaminated by multiple scattering.

Description: The zonal mean eddy heat flux is directly proportional to the wave activity that propagates from the troposphere into the stratosphere. This quantity is a simple eddy diagnostic which is easily calculated from conventional meteorological analyses. Because this "wave driving" of the stratosphere has a strong impact on the stratospheric temperature, it is necessary to compare the impact of the flux with respect to stratospheric radiative changes caused by greenhouse gas changes. Hence, we must understand the precision and accuracy of the heat flux derived from our global meteorological analyses. Herein, we quantify the stratospheric heat flux using five different meteorological analyses, and show that there are 30% differences between these analyses during the disturbed conditions of the northern hemisphere winter. Such large differences result from the planetary differences in the stationary temperature and meridional wind fields. In contrast, planetary transient waves show excellent agreement amongst these five analyses, and this transient heat flux appears to have a long term downward trend.

Description: We examine concurrent upper tropospheric measurements of CN (diameter greater than 4 nm). NO, and NO(Y) during the SONEX Experiment over the North Atlantic (Oct.-Nov., 1997). Elevated CN and NO(Y) concentrations observed in the upper troposphere are attributed largely to enhancements in convective outflows. We estimate that less than 7% of observed high-CN plumes (greater than 10000 /cc) may be attributed to aircraft emissions. Dilution of high-CN convective and aircraft plumes appears to be much more rapid than losses of NO(X) and CN by oxidation and coagulation, respectively, and accounts for much of observed CN concentrations. When taking into account of different time scales against dilution for observable aircraft and convective high-CN plumes (estimated to be 1:4), the contribution by aircraft emissions to CN concentrations is significant, about 20% of the convective source. We find no evidence that particle formation in convective plumes is limited by OH oxidation of SO2.

Description: This study examines a unique data set returned by IMP8 and Geotail on January 29, 1995 during a substorm which resulted in the ejection of a plasmoid. The two spacecraft (s/c) were situated in the north lobe of the tail and both observed a traveling compression region (TCR). From single s/c observations only the length of the plasmoid in X and an estimate of its height in Z can be determined. However, we show that dual s/c measurements of TCRs can be used to model all three dimensions of the underlying plasmoid and to estimate of its rate of expansion or contraction. For this event plasmoid dimensions of Delta(X) approximates 18, Delta(Y) approximates 30, and Delta(Z) approximates 10 R(sub e) are inferred from the IMP8 and Geotail lobe magnetic field measurements. The earthward end of the plasmoid was inferred to be near the mean location of the near-earth neutral line, X approximates -26 R(sub e). Its center was underneath IMP 8 at X approximates -34 R(sub e) and its tailward end appeared to be near X approximates -44 R(sub e). Furthermore, a factor of approximately 2 increase in the amplitude of the TCR occurred in the 1.5 min it took to move from IMP 8 to Geotail. Modeled using conservation of the magnetic flux, this increase in lobe compression implies that the underlying plasmoid was expanding at a rate of approximately 140 km/s. Such an expansion is comparable to recently reported V(sub y) speeds in "young" plasmoids in this region of the tail. Finally, the Geotail measurements indicate that a reconfiguration of the lobe magnetic field closely followed the ejection of the plasmoid which moved magnetic flux tubes into the wake behind the plasmoid where they would convect into the near-earth neutral line and reconnect.

Description: Prior to 1991, major warmings (defined by increasing zonal mean temperatures and zonal mean easterly winds from 60degN to the pole at 10 hPa) typically occurred approximately once every two Arctic winters; a major warming in mid-Dec. 1998 was the first since Feb. 1991. The Dec. 1998 warming was also the second earliest on record. The earliest, and the only other major warming on record before the end of Dec. was in early Dec 1987; prior to that, the earliest was in late Dec./early Jan. 1984-85. The 1984-85 and 1987 warmings resulted in the warmest and weakest lower stratospheric polar vortices in the 20 years before 1998-99. Fig. 1 compares temperatures and vortex strength in 1998-99 with those in the previous 20 years, using the US National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) record; 1987-88 and 1984-85 are also highlighted. The Dec. 1998 warming had a more pronounced effect on mid-stratospheric temperatures than the Dec. 1987 warming (Fig. 1a), although smaller than that of warmings later in winter (e.g., 1984-85). 10-hPa temperatures fell well below average again in late Jan. 1999 and remained unusually low until an early final warming began in late Feb. 840 K PV gradients (Fig. 1c) set a record minimum in Jan. 1999, but were near average in Feb before the final warming. The effect of the Dec. 1998 warming on lower stratospheric temperatures was comparable to that of other major warmings; there was a brief period of record-high minimum 46-hPa temperatures in early Jan 1999 (Fig. 1b), and temperatures then fell to near average for a short period in mid-Feb. Lower stratospheric PV gradients were the weakest on record during the 1998-99 winter (Fig. 1d). The evolution of the vortex and minimum temperatures during 1998-99 was remarkably similar to that during 1987-88, the only previous year when a major warming was observed before the end of Dec.

Description: This presentation highlights the activities that researchers at the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) have been and will be involved in to assess integrated nozzle performance. Three different test activities are discussed. First, the results of the Propulsion Airframe Integration for High Speed Research 1 (PAIHSR1) study are presented. The PAIHSR1 experiment was conducted in the LeRC 9 ft x l5 ft wind tunnel from December 1991 to January 1992. Second, an overview of the proposed Mixer/ejector Inlet Distortion Study (MIDIS-E) is presented. The objective of MIDIS-E is to assess the effects of applying discrete disturbances to the ejector inlet flow on the acoustic and aero-performance of a mixer/ejector nozzle. Finally, an overview of the High-Lift Engine Aero-acoustic Technology (HEAT) test is presented. The HEAT test is a cooperative effort between the propulsion system and high-lift device research communities to assess wing/nozzle integration effects. The experiment is scheduled for FY94 in the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) 40 ft x 80 ft Low Speed Wind Tunnel (LSWT).

Description: Interest in developing a new generation supersonic transport has increased in the past several years. Current projections indicate this aircraft would cruise at approximately Mach 2.4, have a range of 5000 nautical miles and carry at least 250 passengers. A large market for such an aircraft will exist in the next century due to a predicted doubling of the demand for long range air transportation by the end of the century and the growing influence of the Pacific Rim nations. Such a proposed aircraft could more than halve the flying time from Los Angeles to Tokyo. However, before a new economically feasible supersonic transport can be built, many key technologies must be developed. Among these technologies is noise suppression. Propulsion systems for a supersonic transport using current technology would exceed acceptable noise levels. All new aircraft must satisfy FAR 36 Stage III noise regulations. The largest area of concern is the noise generated during takeoff. A concerted effort under NASA's High Speed Research (HSR) program has begun to address the problem of noise suppression. One of the most promising concepts being studied in the area of noise suppression is the mixer/ejector nozzle. This study analyzes a typical noise suppressing mixer ejector nozzle at take off conditions, using a Full Navier-Stokes (FNS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code.

Description: Outline of presentation are: (1) Review of experimental apparatus. (2) Effect of natural screech of jet mixing; converging nozzle, underexpanded jet and converging-diverging nozzle, design pressure.(3) Effect of induced screech on jet mixing: produced by paddles in shear layers, similar to edge tones, and converging-diverging nozzle, design pressure. (4) Effect of paddles on near-field jet noise. and (5) Concluding remarks.

Description: The motivation of the testing was to reduce noise generated by eddy Mach wave emission via enhanced mixing in the jet plume. This was to be accomplished through the use of an ejector shroud, which would bring in cooler ambient fluid to mix with the hotter jet flow. In addition, the contour of the mixer, with its chutes and lobes, would accentuate the merging of the outer and inner flows. The objective of the focused schlieren work was to characterize the mixing performance inside of the ejector. Using flow visualization allowed this to be accomplished in a non-intrusive manner.

Description: Only recently has computational fluid dynamics (CFD) been relied upon to predict the flow details of advanced nozzle concepts. Computer hardware technology and flow solving techniques are advancing rapidly and CFD is now being used to analyze such complex flows. Validation studies are needed to assess the accuracy, reliability, and cost of such CFD analyses. At NASA Lewis, the PARC2D/3D full Navier-Stokes (FNS) codes are being applied to HSR-type nozzles. This report presents the results of two such PARC FNS analyses. The first is an analysis of the Pratt and Whitney 2D mixer-ejector nozzle, conducted by Dr. Yunho Choi (formerly of Sverdrup Technology-NASA Lewis Group). The second is an analysis of NASA-Langley's axisymmetric single flow plug nozzle, conducted by the author.

Description: The investigation includes carry out fundamental experiments studying mechanisms of effect: (1) experiments on subsonic and supersonic jets to assess influence of compressibility, (2) parametric study on tab geometry to optimize effect for given flow blockage (this effort led to "delta-tab"), (3) quantify mixing enhancement in the jet, and (4) analyze mechanism of streamwise vorticity generation.

Description: The theory of mixer-ejectors for noise suppression is illustrated in this cartoon. Since jet noise SPL scales as velocity to the eighth power and diameter squared, increasing the jet diameter while lowering its velocity and keeping thrust constant decreases the noise. However, in supersonic craft, the drag penalty for increasing diameter at supersonic cruise makes this option very expensive. One would like to have a large engine during takeoff which could be shrunk during cruise. The retractable ejector is such an expandable engine. If the mixer flow can be expanded to the size of the ejector exit, the noise generated downstream of the ejector will be much less than the small diameter mixer nozzle alone. Of course, this also requires that the noise created in expanding the flow to fill the ejector be absorbed by a liner in the ejector walls so that none of this noise is heard. Since this mixing of internal hot gas and external cold air must take place in as short a distance as possible, the mixer must be very effective and therefore probably much noisier than a simple nozzle.

Description: Two different methods for retrieving Upper Tropospheric Humidities (UTH) from the TOVS (TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder) instruments aboard NOAA polar orbiting satellites are presented and compared. The first one, from the Environmental Technology Laboratory, computed by J. Bates and D. Jackson (hereafter BJ method), estimates UTH from a simplified radiative transfer analysis of the upper tropospheric infrared water vapor channel at wavelength measured by HIRS (6.3 micrometer). The second one results from a neural network analysis of the TOVS (HIRS and MSU) data developed at, the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (hereafter the 3I (Improved Initialization Inversion) method). Although the two methods give very similar retrievals in temperate regions (30-60 N and S), an absolute bias up to 16% appears in the convective zone of the tropics. The two datasets have also been compared with UTH retrievals from infrared radiance measurements in the 6.3 micrometer channel from the geostationary satellite METEOSAT (hereafter MET method). The METEOSAT retrievals are systematically drier than the TOVS-based results by an absolute bias between 5 and 25%. Despite the biases, the spatial and temporal correlations are very good. The purpose of this study is to explain the deviations observed between the three datasets. The sensitivity of UTH to air temperature and humidity profiles is analysed as are the clouds effects. Overall, the comparison of the three retrievals gives an assessment of the current uncertainties in water vapor amounts in the upper troposphere as determined from NOAA and METEOSAT satellites.

Description: Carbonados are porous polycrystalline (with crystal sizes up to 100 micrometer) diamonds. Carbonado is found only in alluvial deposits in Bahia, Brazil and in the Central African Republic (CAR). Alluvial deposit host is 1.5 Ga while the carbonados are between 2.6 - 3.8 Ga. The process of fusing the carbonado microcrystals together is not fully understood, partly due to fact that the origin of these carbonado, is not known. Several modes of origins are proposed for carbonado. First, a crustal origin. Carbonados have a light carbon and helium isotopic signature. They contain an enrichment of the rare-earth elements (REE). Carbonados have tightly trapped atmospheric noble gases and contain an evidence of high He content despite the carbonado expected depletion of He at mantle temperatures. Carbonados have high porosity incompatible with high pressure mantle conditions. Second, a mantle origin is proposed based on similar REE pattern to kimberlites. The presence of nitrogen platelet (by IR spectra) indicates high temperature origin and syngenetic inclusions of rutile, ilmenite, and magnetite indicates high pressure and high temperature conditions consistent with mantle origin as well. Third, it is proposed that carbonado diamonds are a result of early impacts into crustal rocks. This is indicated by the rare and controversial occurrence of high pressure diamond polymorph, londsdaleite, frequently found in diamonds from meteorite impact sites, and by observation of planar deformation features, possibly indicating shock events. Finally, it is suggested that carbonados have an extraterrestrial origin, as indicated by a long term annealing based on observation of a zero-phonon line, attributed to paired nitrogen atoms in association with a vacancy.

Description: Established analyses of conventional ramjet/scramjet performance characteristics indicate that a considerable decrease in efficiency can be expected at off-design flight conditions. This can be explained, in large part, by the deterioration of intake mass flow and limited inlet compression at low flight speeds and by the onset of thrust degradation effects associated with increased burner entry temperature at high flight speeds. In combination, these effects tend to impose lower and upper Mach number limits for practical flight. It has been noted, however, that Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) energy management techniques represent a possible means for extending the flight Mach number envelope of conventional engines. By transferring enthalpy between different stages of the engine cycle, it appears that the onset of thrust degradation may be delayed to higher flight speeds. Obviously, the introduction of additional process inefficiencies is inevitable with this approach, but it is believed that these losses are more than compensated through optimization of the combustion process. The fundamental idea is to use MHD energy conversion processes to extract and bypass a portion of the intake kinetic energy around the burner. We refer to this general class of propulsion system as an MHD-bypass engine. In this paper, we quantitatively assess the performance potential and scientific feasibility of MHD-bypass airbreathing hypersonic engines using ideal gasdynamics and fundamental thermodynamic principles.

Description: Vertical electron-density (N (sub e)) profiles, deduced from newly-available ISIS-II digital ionospheric topside-sounder data, are used to investigate the "polar-hole" region within the winter, nighttime polar cap ionosphere during solar minimum. The hole region is located around 0200 MLT near the poleward side of the auroral oval. Earlier investigations had revealed very low N (sub e) values in this region (down to 200/cu cm near 300 km). In the present study, such low N, values (approx. 100/cu cm) were only found near the ISIS (International Satellite for Ionospheric Study)-II altitude of 1400 km. The peak ionospheric concentration below the spacecraft remained fairly constant (approx. 10 (exp 5)/cu cm across the hole region but the altitude of the peak dropped dramatically. This peak dropped, surprisingly, to the vicinity of 100 km. These observations suggest that the earlier satellite in situ measurements, interpreted as deep holes in the ionospheric F-region concentration, could have been made during conditions of an extreme decrease in the altitude of the ionospheric N (sub e) peak. The observations, in combination with other data, indicate that the absence of an F-layer peak may be a frequent occurrence at high latitudes.

Description: We have examined the sea level height tide records at seven tide gauge sites in the region of southcentral Alaska that were affected by the 1964 Prince William Sound earthquake to determine the history of crustal uplift subsequent to the earthquake. There is considerable variation in the behavior depending on the location of the site relative to the 1964 rupture. At Seward, on the eastern side of the Kenai Peninsula we find a slow uplift that is consistent with elastic strain accumulation while at Seldovia and Nikiski on the western side of the Kenai we find a persistent rapid uplift of about 1 cm/yr that most likely represents a long term transient response to the earthquake, but which cannot be sustained over the expected recurrence interval for a great earthquake of several hundred years. Further to the southwest, at Kodiak, we find evidence that the rate of uplift, which is still several mm/yr, has slowed significantly over the past three and a half decades. To the east of the Kenai Peninsula we find subsidence at Cordova and an uncertain behavior at Valdez. At both of these sites there is a mathematically significant time-dependence to the uplift behavior, but the data confirming this time dependence are not as convincing as at Kodiak. At Anchorage, to the north there is little evidence of vertical motion since the earthquake. We compare these long term tide gauge records to recent GPS observations. In general there is reasonable consistency except at Anchorage and Cordova where the GPS measurement indicate somewhat more rapid uplift and subsidence, respectively.

Description: The geographic limits of the South Atlantic Anomaly, as defined by radiation damage, are compared to contours of geomagnetic total field intensity, as defined by the 1995 IGRF, for the present and recent past. The most likely secular variation of the geomagnetic field is estimated and used to extrapolate the geomagnetic field to the year 2100. This indicates that radiation damage to spacecraft and humans in space will likely increase and to cover a much larger geographic area.

Description: We have adopted the transport scenarios used in Part 1 to examine the sensitivity of stratospheric aircraft perturbations to transport changes in our 2-D model. Changes to the strength of the residual circulation in the upper troposphere and stratosphere and changes to the lower stratospheric K(sub zz) had similar effects in that increasing the transport rates decreased the overall stratospheric residence time and reduced the magnitude of the negative perturbation response in total ozone. Increasing the stratospheric K(sub yy) increased the residence time and enhanced the global scale negative total ozone response. However, increasing K(sub yy) along with self-consistent increases in the corresponding planetary wave drive, which leads to a stronger residual circulation, more than compensates for the K(sub yy)-effect, and results in a significantly weaker perturbation response, relative to the base case, throughout the stratosphere. We found a relatively minor model perturbation response sensitivity to the magnitude of K(sub yy) in the tropical stratosphere, and only a very small sensitivity to the magnitude of the horizontal mixing across the tropopause and to the strength of the mesospheric gravity wave drag and diffusion. These transport simulations also revealed a generally strong correlation between passive NO(sub y) accumulation and age of air throughout the stratosphere, such that faster transport rates resulted in a younger mean age and a smaller NO(y) mass accumulation. However, specific variations in K(sub yy) and mesospheric gravity wave strength exhibited very little NO(sub y)-age correlation in the lower stratosphere, similar to 3-D model simulations performed in the recent NASA "Models and Measurements" II analysis. The base model transport, which gives the most favorable overall comparison with inert tracer observations, simulated a global/annual mean total ozone response of -0.59%, with only a slightly larger response in the northern compared to the southern hemisphere. For transport scenarios which gave tracer simulations within some agreement with measurements, the annual/globally averaged total ozone response ranged from -0.45% to -0.70%. Our previous 1995 model exhibited overly fast transport rates, resulting in a global/annually averaged perturbation total ozone response of -0.25%, which is significantly weaker compared to the 1999 model. This illustrates how transport deficiencies can bias model simulations of stratospheric aircraft.

Description: According to the slip partitioning concept, the trench parallel component of relative plate motion in regions of oblique convergence is accommodated by strike-slip faulting in the overriding continental lithosphere. The pattern of postseismic surface deformation due to viscoelastic flow in the lower crust and asthenosphere following a major earthquake on such a fault is modified from that predicted from the conventual elastic layer over viscoelastic halfspace model by the presence of the subducting slab. The predicted effects, such as a partial suppression of the postseismic velocities by 1 cm/yr or more immediately following a moderate to great earthquake, are potentially detectable using contemporary geodetic techniques.

Description: The subject of neotectonics, covering the structures and structural activity of the last 5 million years (i.e., post-Miocene) is a well-recognized field, including "active tectonics," focussed on the last 500,000 years in a 1986 National Research Council report of that title. However, there is a cartographic gap between tectonic maps, generally showing all features regardless of age, and maps of current seismic or volcanic activity. We have compiled a map intended to bridge this gap, using modern data bases and computer-aided cartographic techniques. The maps presented here are conceptually descended from an earlier map showing tectonic and volcanic activity of the last one million years. Drawn by hand with the National Geographic Society's 1975 "The Physical World" map as a base, the 1981 map in various revisions has been widely reproduced in textbooks and various technical publications. However, two decades of progress call for a completely new map that can take advantage of new knowledge and cartographic techniques. The digital tectonic activity map (DTM), presented in shaded relief (Fig. 1) and schematic (Fig. 2) versions, is the result. The DTM is intended to show tectonism and volcanism of the last one million years, a period long enough to be representative of global activity, but short enough that features such as fault scarps and volcanos are still geomorphically recognizable. Data Sources and Cartographic Methods The DTM is based on a wide range of sources, summarized in Table 1. The most important is the digital elevation model, used to construct a shaded relief map. The bathymetry is largely from satellite altimetry, specifically the marine gravity compilations by Smith and Sandwell (1996). The shaded relief map was designed to match the new National Geographic Society world physical map (1992), although drawn independently, from the digital elevation model. The Robinson Projection is used instead of the earlier Van der Grinten one. Although neither conformal nor equal-area, the Robinson Projection provides a reasonable compromise and retains useful detail at high latitudes.

Description: Experimental data have shown that combustor temperature non-uniformities can lead to the excessive heating of first-stage rotor blades in turbines. This heating of the rotor blades can lead to thermal fatigue and degrade turbine performance. The results of recent studies have shown that variations in the circumferential location (clocking) of the hot streak relative to the first-stage vane airfoils can be used to minimize the adverse effects of the hot streak. The effects of the hot streak/airfoil count ratio on the heating patterns of turbine airfoils have also been evaluated. In the present investigation, three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes simulations have been performed for a single-stage high-pressure turbine operating in high subsonic flow. In addition to a simulation of the baseline turbine, simulations have been performed for circular and elliptical hot streaks of varying sizes in an effort to represent different combustor designs. The predicted results for the baseline simulation show good agreement with the available experimental data. The results of the hot streak simulations indicate: that a) elliptical hot streaks mix more rapidly than circular hot streaks, b) for small hot streak surface area the average rotor temperature is not a strong function of hot streak temperature ratio or shape, and c) hot streaks with larger surface area interact with the secondary flows at the rotor hub endwall, generating an additional high temperature region.

Description: There are procedures and methods for verification of coding algebra and for validations of models and calculations that are in use in the aerospace computational fluid dynamics (CFD) community. These methods would be efficacious if used by the glacier dynamics modelling community. This paper is a presentation of some of those methods, and how they might be applied to uncertainty management supporting code verification and model validation for glacier dynamics. The similarities and differences between their use in CFD analysis and the proposed application of these methods to glacier modelling are discussed. After establishing sources of uncertainty and methods for code verification, the paper looks at a representative sampling of verification and validation efforts that are underway in the glacier modelling community, and establishes a context for these within overall solution quality assessment. Finally, an information architecture and interactive interface is introduced and advocated. This Integrated Cryospheric Exploration (ICE) Environment is proposed for exploring and managing sources of uncertainty in glacier modelling codes and methods, and for supporting scientific numerical exploration and verification. The details and functionality of this Environment are described based on modifications of a system already developed for CFD modelling and analysis.

Description: The behavior of mesospheric odd nitrogen species during and following relativistic and diffuse auroral precipitation events is simulated, Below 75 km nitric oxide is enhanced in proportion to the ion pair production function associated with the electron precipitation and the length of the event. Nitrogen dioxide and nitric acid are also enhanced. At 65 km the percentage of odd nitrogen for N is 0.1%, HNO3 is 1.6%, NO2 is 15%, and NO is 83.3%. Between 75 and 85 km NO is depleted during particle events due to the faster destruction of NO by N relative to the production of NO by N reacting with O2. Recovery of NO depends on transport from the lower thermosphere, where NO is produced in abundant amounts during particle events.

Description: Long-lived tropospheric source gases, such as nitrous oxide, enter the stratosphere through the tropical tropopause, are transported throughout the stratosphere by the Brewer-Dobson circulation, and are photochemically destroyed in the upper stratosphere. These chemical constituents, or "tracers" can be used to track mixing and transport by the stratospheric winds. Much of our understanding about the stratospheric circulation is based on large scale gradients and other spatial features in tracer fields constructed from satellite measurements. The point of view presented in this paper is different, but complementary, in that transport is described in terms of tracer probability distribution functions (PDFs). The PDF is computed from the measurements, and is proportional to the area occupied by tracer values in a given range. The flavor of this paper is tutorial, and the ideas are illustrated with several examples of transport-related phenomena, annotated with remarks that summarize the main point or suggest new directions. One example shows how the multimodal shape of the PDF gives information about the different branches of the circulation. Another example shows how the statistics of fluctuations from the most probable tracer value give insight into mixing between different regions of the atmosphere. Also included is an analysis of the time-dependence of the PDF during the onset and decline of the winter circulation, and a study of how "bursts" in the circulation are reflected in transient periods of rapid evolution of the PDF. The dependence of the statistics on location and time are also shown to be important for practical problems related to statistical robustness and satellite sampling. The examples illustrate how physically-based statistical analysis can shed some light on aspects of stratospheric transport that may not be obvious or quantifiable with other types of analyses. An important motivation for the work presented here is the need for synthesis of the large and growing database of observations of the atmosphere and the vast quantities of output generated by atmospheric models.

Description: Magnetic remanence of crustal rocks can reside in three common rock-forming magnetic minerals: magnetite, pyrrhotite, and hematite. Thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) of magnetite and pyrrhotite is carried mostly by single domain (SD) grains. The TRM of hematite grains, however, is carried mostly by multidomain (NM) grains. This characteristic is illustrated by TRM acquisition curves for hematite of variable grainsizes. The transition between truly NM behavior and tendency towards SD behavior his been established between hematite grainsizes of 0. 1 and 0.05 mm. Coarse grainsize of lower crustal rocks and the large sensitivity of MD hematite grains to acquire TRM indicates that hematite could be a significant contributor to long-wavelength magnetic anomalies.

Description: We present an extension for the 2D (zonal mean) version of our Numerical Spectral Mode (NSM) that incorporates Hines' Doppler spread parameterization (DSP) for small scale gravity waves (GW). This model is applied to describe the seasonal variations and the semi-annual and quasi-biennial oscillations (SAO and QBO). Our earlier model reproduced the salient features of the mean zonal circulation in the middle atmosphere, including the QBO extension into the upper mesosphere inferred from UARS measurements. In the present model we incorporate also tropospheric heating to reproduce the upwelling at equatorial latitudes associated with the Brewer-Dobson circulation that affects significantly the dynamics of the stratosphere as Dunkerton had pointed out. Upward vertical winds increase the period of the QBO observed from the ground. To compensate for that, one needs to increase the eddy diffusivity and the GW momentum flux, bringing the latter closer to values recommended in the DSP. The QBO period in the model is 30 months (mo), which is conducive to synchronize this oscillation with the seasonal cycle of solar forcing. Multi-year interannual oscillations are generated through wave filtering by the solar driven annual oscillation in the zonal circulation. Quadratic non-linearities generate interseasonal variations to produce a complicated pattern of variability associated with the QBO. The computed temperature amplitudes for the SAO and QBO are in substantial agreement with observations at equatorial and extratropical latitudes. At high latitudes, however, the observed QBO amplitudes are significantly larger, which may be a signature of propagating planetary waves not included in the present model. The assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium not being imposed, we find that the effects from the vertical Coriolis force associated with the equatorial oscillations are large for the vertical winds and significant for the temperature variations even outside the tropics but are relatively small for the zonal winds.

Description: This paper reviews observations of stratospheric temperatures that have been made over a period of several decades. Those observed temperatures have been used to assess variations and trends in stratospheric temperatures. A wide range of observation datasets have been used, comprising measurements by radiosonde (1940s to the present), satellite (1979 - present), lidar (1979 - present) and rocketsonde (periods varying with location, but most terminating by about the mid-1990s). In addition, trends have also been assessed from meteorological analyses, based on radiosonde and/or satellite data, and products based on assimilating observations into a general circulation model. Radiosonde and satellite data indicate a cooling trend of the annual-mean lower stratosphere since about 1980. Over the period 1979-1994, the trend is 0.6K/decade. For the period prior to 1980, the radiosonde data exhibit a substantially weaker long-term cooling trend. In the northern hemisphere, the cooling trend is about 0.75K/decade in the lower stratosphere, with a reduction in the cooling in mid-stratosphere (near 35 km), and increased cooling in the upper stratosphere (approximately 2 K per decade at 50 km). Model simulations indicate that the depletion of lower stratospheric ozone is the dominant factor in the observed lower stratospheric cooling. In the middle and upper stratosphere both the well-mixed greenhouse gases (such as CO) and ozone changes contribute in an important manner to the cooling.

Description: This paper presents a detailed characterization of seasonal and interannual variability in tropical tropospheric column ozone (TCO). TCO time series are derived from 20 years (1979-1998) of total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) data using the convective cloud differential (CCD) method. Our study identifies three regions in the tropics with distinctly different zonal characteristics related to seasonal and interannual variability. These three regions are the eastern Pacific, Atlantic, and western Pacific. Results show that in both the eastern and western Pacific seasonal-cycle variability of northern hemisphere (NH) TCO exhibits maximum amount during NH spring whereas largest amount in southern hemisphere (SH) TCO occurs during SH spring. In the Atlantic, maximum TCO in both hemispheres occurs in SH spring. These seasonal cycles are shown to be comparable to seasonal cycles present in ground-based ozonesonde measurements. Interannual variability in the Atlantic region indicates a quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) signal that is out of phase with the QBO present in stratospheric column ozone (SCO). This is consistent with high pollution and high concentrations of mid-to-upper tropospheric O3-producing precursors in this region. The out of phase relation suggests a UV modulation of tropospheric photochemistry caused by the QBO in stratospheric O3. During El Nino events there is anomalously low TCO in the eastern Pacific and high values in the western Pacific, indicating the effects of convectively-driven transport of low-value boundary layer O3 (reducing TCO) and O3 precursors including H2O and OH. A simplified technique is proposed to derive high-resolution maps of TCO in the tropics even in the absence of tropopause-level clouds. This promising approach requires only total ozone gridded measurements and utilizes the small variability observed in TCO near the dateline. This technique has an advantage compared to the CCD method because the latter requires high-resolution footprint measurements of both reflectivity and total ozone in the presence of tropopause-level cloud tops.

Description: Tropospheric column ozone (TCO) and stratospheric column ozone (SCO) gridded data in the tropics for 1979-present are now available from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via either direct ftp, world-NN,ide-NN,eb, or electronic mail. This note provides a brief overview of the method used to derive the data set including validation and adjustments.

Description: In this study, we examine the sensitivity of long lived tracers to changes in the base transport components in our 2-D model. Changes to the strength of the residual circulation in the upper troposphere and stratosphere and changes to the lower stratospheric K(sub zz) had similar effects in that increasing the transport rates decreased the overall stratospheric mean age, and increased the rate of removal of material from the stratosphere. Increasing the stratospheric K(sub yy) increased the mean age due to the greater recycling of air parcels through the middle atmosphere, via the residual circulation, before returning to the troposphere. However, increasing K(sub yy) along with self-consistent increases in the corresponding planetary wave drive, which leads to a stronger residual circulation, more than compensates for the K(sub yy)-effect, and produces significantly younger ages throughout the stratosphere. Simulations with very small tropical stratospheric K(sub yy) decreased the globally averaged age of air by as much as 25% in the middle and upper stratosphere, and resulted in substantially weaker vertical age gradients above 20 km in the extratropics. We found only very small stratospheric tracer sensitivity to the magnitude of the horizontal mixing across the tropopause, and to the strength of the mesospheric gravity wave drag and diffusion used in the model. We also investigated the transport influence on chemically active tracers and found a strong age-tracer correlation, both in concentration and calculated lifetimes. The base model transport gives the most favorable overall comparison with a variety of inert tracer observations, and provides a significant improvement over our previous 1995 model transport. Moderate changes to the base transport were found to provide modest agreement with some of the measurements. Transport scenarios with residence times ranging from moderately shorter to slightly longer relative to the base case simulated N2O lifetimes that were within the observational estimates of Volk et al. [1997]. However, only scenarios with rather fast transport rates were comparable with the Volk et al. estimates of CFCl3 lifetimes. This is inconsistent with model-measurement comparisons of mean age in which the base model or slightly slower transport rates compared the most favorably with balloon SF6 data. For all comparisons shown, large transport changes away from the base case resulted in simulations that were outside the range of measurements, and in many cases, far outside this range.

Description: An intensive field campaign involving measurement of various aerosol physical, chemical, and radiative properties was conducted at Sde Boker in the Negev Desert of Israel, from 18 February to 15 March 1997. Nephelometer measurements gave average background scattering coefficient values of about 25 M/m at 550 nm wavelength, but strong dust events caused the value of this parameter to rise up to about 800 M/m Backscattering fractions did not depend on aerosol loading, and generally fell in the range of 0.1 to 0.25, comparable to values reported for marine and Arctic environments. Chemical analysis of the aerosol revealed that, in the coarse size range (2 - 10 micrometer equivalent aerodynamic diameter (EAD)), calcium (Ca) was by far the most abundant element followed by silicon (Si), both of which are indicators for mineral dust. In the fine size fraction (〈 2 micrometers EAD), sulfur (S) generally was the dominant element, except during high dust episodes when Ca and Si were again the most abundant. Furthermore, fine black carbon (BC) correlates with S, suggesting that they may have originated from the same sources or source regions. An indication of the short-term effect of aerosol loading on radiative forcing was provided by measurements of global and diffuse solar radiation, which showed that during high turbidity periods (strong dust events) almost all of the solar radiation reaching the area is scattered or absorbed.

Description: This presentation provides a brief overview of the scientific activities of the International GPS Service (IGS). This was an approved activity of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) with official start of service on 1 Jan 1994. The mission of the IGS is "To provide a service to support geodetic and geophysical research activities, through GPS data and data products." The presentation explains the concept of the IGS working group, and pilot projects, and reviews the current working groups and pilot projects.

Description: The United States has embarked on a national effort to develop the technology necessary to produce a Mach 2.4 High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) for entry into service by the year 2005. The viability of this aircraft is contingent upon its meeting both economic and environmental requirements. Two engine components have been identified as critical to the environmental acceptability of the HSCT. These include a combustor with significantly lower emissions than are feasible with current technology, and a lightweight exhaust nozzle that meets community noise standards. The Enabling Propulsion Materials (EPM) program will develop the advanced structural materials, materials fabrication processes, structural analysis and life prediction tools for the HSCT combustor and low noise exhaust nozzle. This is being accomplished through the coordinated efforts of the NASA Lewis Research Center, General Electric Aircraft Engines and Pratt & Whitney. The mission of the EPM Exhaust Nozzle Team is to develop and demonstrate this technology by the year 1999 to enable its timely incorporation into HSCT propulsion systems.

Description: This paper describes work currently in progress at Langley on liner concepts that employ structures that may be suitable for broadband exhaust noise attenuation in high speed flow environments and at elevated temperatures characteristic of HSCT applications. Because such liners will need to provide about 10 dB suppression over a 2 to 3 octave frequency range, conventional single-degree-of-freedom resonant structures will not suffice. Bulk absorbers have the needed broadband absorption characteristic; however, at lower frequencies they tend to be inefficient.

Description: Based on extensive work performed by Dr. Thomas H. Sobota (Advanced Projects Research Incorporated (APRI)) on swirling flows in circular-to-rectangular transition sections, a model assembly was designed and fabricated in support of a Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research Contract between the NASA-Langley Research Center and APRI. This assembly was acoustically tested as part of this Phase 1 effort, the goal being to determine whether the controlled introduction of axial vorticity could affect the various noise generation mechanisms present in an underexpanded supersonic rectangular jet.

Description: This paper discusses a test that was conducted jointly by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines and NASA Lewis Research Center. The test was conducted in NASA's 9- by 15-Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel (9x15 LSWT). The test setup, methods, and aerodynamic results of this test are discussed. Acoustical results are discussed in a separate paper by J. Bridges and J. Marino.

Description: Ground-based solar absorption spectra were measured from Fairbanks, Alaska (65 degrees North, 148 degrees West) and from Ny Alesund, Spitsbergen, (79 degrees North, 12 degrees East) from March to September 1997 by Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectrometers.

Description: Remote sensing of chlorine monoxide (CIO) by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) experiment aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) has provided global measurements of variations in stratospheric free chlorine (for 1991 to 1997).

Description: There has been a question on whether it is possible to measure the surface wind speeds of tropical cyclones with a spaceborne Ku-band scatterometer.

Description: We examine energetic particle transport at or near Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs).

Description: In global geodetic solutions vertical rates of site motion are usually estimated relative to the geocenter (center of figure) of the solid earth. The velocity of the geocenter is estimated assuming that the plates are rigid, that the velocities of the plates equal those in NUVEL-1A (DeMets et al. 1990, 1994) and that the uplift, subsidence, and intraplate deformation due to glacial isostatic adjustment is negligible.

Description: With aircraft-mounted in-situ and remote sensing instruments for dynamical, thermal, and chemical measurements, we studied two cases of tropopause folding.

Description: Current passive-microwave rain-retrieval methods are largely based on databases built off-line using cloud models.

Description: Geodetic measurements using the Global Positioning System and other techniques show north-south shortening near Los Angeles to be fastest across the northern part of the metropolitan area, where an ESE-striking, 5- to 40-km-wide belt lying to the south of San Gabriel Mountains and to the north of downtown and West Los Angeles is shortening at 5 mm/yr.

Description: Data from terrestrial GPS receivers are being used in growing numbers of applications requiring precise tropospheric sensing. One emerging application is the calibration of water vapor measurements from spaceborne microwave radiometers.

Description: Trace gases measured by the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument during the Mar/Apr 1992(AT-1), Apr 1993(AT-2), and Nov 1994(AT-3) space-shuttle missions have been mapped into equivalent latitude/potential temperature (EqL/0) coordinates.

Description: The late Holocene glacial moraine chronology in the southernmost South American Andes includes four (sup 14)C dated Neoglacial advances and retreats.

Description: Airborne measurements of NO, total reactive nitrogen(NO(sub y)), O(sub 3), and condensation nuclei (CN) were made, together with other tracers such as CO and H(sub 2)O, within air traffic corridors over the U.S. and North Atlantic regions in October and November 1997.

Description: We use WIND solar wind data and POLAR UV imaging data to study magnetospheric responses and substorm triggering mechanisms during and after interplanetary (IP) shock events.

Description: The M7.1 Hector Mine earthquake ruptured the Lavic Lake fault near Twentynine Palms, CA at 09:46 UTC October 16, 1999.

Description: During the 1998-1999 Antarctic field season, we installed three autonomous GPS stations in Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica to measure glacio-isostatic rebound and rates of spreading across the West Antartic Rift System.

Description: Because of questions regarding the validity of proposed accreted terranes, the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the southern margin of North America plate in Mexico remains controversial.

Description: Sea surface height anomaly signals from satellite altimeter data are used to estimate heat storage. Since variability in sea surface height is mostly due to expansion and contraction of the water column it can be correlated with variations in the heat and salt content.

Description: We present box model calculations of ozone loss rates corresponding to the results of the Match experiment 1991/92.

Description: Many long-lived trace gas profiles observed by the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument around the developing polar vortex (the proto-vortex) during early November 1994 show distinctive minimum/maximum pairs (laminae).

Description: The NASA Lewis Research Center is capitalizing on breakthroughs in foil air bearing performance, tribological coatings, and computer analyses to formulate the Oil-free Turbomachinery Program. The program s long-term goal is to develop an innovative, yet practical, oil-free aeropropulsion gas turbine engine that floats on advanced air bearings. This type of engine would operate at higher speeds and temperatures with lower weight and friction than conventional oil-lubricated engines. During startup and shutdown, solid lubricant coatings are required to prevent wear in such engines before the self-generating air-lubrication film develops. NASA s Tribology Branch has created PS304, a chrome-oxide-based plasma spray coating specifically tailored for shafts run against foil bearings. PS304 contains silver and barium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic (BaF2/CaF2) lubricant additives that, together, provide lubrication from cold start temperatures to over 650 C, the maximum use temperature for foil bearings. Recent lab tests show that bearings lubricated with PS304 survive over 100 000 start-stop cycles without experiencing any degradation in performance due to wear. The accompanying photograph shows a test bearing after it was run at 650 C. The rubbing process created a "polished" surface that enhances bearing load capacity.

Description: Measurements of ocean, sea-ice and terrain geophysical parameters can be remotely sensed using an active microwave sensor known as the microwave scatterometer. Satellite scatterometers are spaceborne radars that measure the absolute backscattered power from the earth's surface; and from this measurement, the normalized radar cross-section (sigma(sup 0)) of that surface is determined. Scatterometers calculate sigma(sup 0) of a measurement cell by inverting the radar equation [1]: where: R is range to the cell center, P(sub t) is transmitted power, lambda is transmitted wavelength, L is total path loss, G(sub A) is peak antenna gain, A(sub c) is cell area, and c is a pre-computed factor due to the approximation of the radar equation for extended area targets.

Description: Field measurement of noise radiated from flight vehicles is an important element of aircraft noise research programs. At NASA Langley, a dedicated effort that spans over two decades was devoted to the development of acoustic measurement systems to support the NASA noise research programs. The new challenge for vehicle operational noise reduction through varying glide slope and flight path require noise measurement to be made over a very large area under the vehicle flight path. Such a challenge can be met through the digital remote system currently under final development at NASA Langley.

Description: The earth s surface radiative budget in the solar wavelengths (i.e., shortwave) and thermal infrared wavelengths (i.e., longwave) is an important component of Earth s global energy balance and climate. As such, it was identified as a priority need by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and thus a program was instituted at NASA to estimate the radiative flux quantities at the surface from space observations. The Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Project was created and later included as a component of the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) under the auspices of the WCRP.

Description: The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) and the National Academy of Science (NAS) established that the uncertainty in the data and models associated with the high-altitude radiation environment could and should be reduced. In response, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Measurements Laboratory (EML) created the Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation (AIR) Project under the auspices of the High Speed Research (HSR) Program Office at the Langley Research Center. NASA's HSR Program was developed to address the potential of a second-generation supersonic transport. A critical element focussed on the environmental issues, including the threat to crew and passengers posed by atmospheric radiation. Various international investigators were solicited to contribute instruments to fly on an ER-2 aircraft at altitudes similar to those proposed for the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). A list of participating investigators, their institutions, and instruments with quantities measured is presented. The flight series took place at solar minimum (radiation maximum) with northern, southern, and east/west flights. The investigators analyzed their data and presented preliminary results at the AIR Workshop in March, 1998. A review of these results are included.

Description: The spread of a flame over solid fuel is not only a fundamental textbook combustion phenomenon, but also the central element of destructive fires that cause tragic loss of life and property each year. Throughout history, practical measures to prevent and fight fires have been developed, but these have often been based on lessons learned in a costly fire. Since the 1960 s, scientists and engineers have employed powerful tools of scientific research to understand the details of flame spread and how a material can be rendered nonflammable. High-speed computers have enabled complex flame simulations, whereasand lasers have provided measurements of the chemical composition, temperature, and air velocities inside flames. The microgravity environment has emerged as the third great tool for these studies. Spreading flames are complex combinations of chemical reactions and several physical processes including the transport of oxygen and fuel vapor to the flame and the transfer of heat from the flame to fresh fuel and to the surroundings. Depending on its speed, air motion in the vicinity of the flame can affect the flame in substantially different ways. For example, consider the difference between blowing on a campfire and blowing out a match. On Earth, gravity induces air motion because of buoyancy (the familiar rising hot gases); this process cannot be controlled experimentally. For theoreticians, buoyant air motion complicates the problem modeling of flame spread beyond the capacity of modern computers to simulate. The microgravity environment provides experimental control of air motion near spreading flames, with results that can be compared with detailed theory. The Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) was designed to obtain benchmark flame spreading data in quiescent test atmospheres--the limiting case of flames spreading. Professor Robert Altenkirch, Vice President for Research at Mississippi State University, proposed the experiment concept, and the NASA Lewis Research Center designed, built, and tested the SSCE hardware. It was the first microgravity science experiment built by Lewis for the space shuttle and the first combustion science experiment flown in space.

Description: With the advent of new, more stringent noise regulations in the next century, aircraft engine manufacturers are investigating new technologies to make the current generation of aircraft engines as well as the next generation of advanced engines quieter without sacrificing operating performance. A current NASA initiative called the Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) Program has set as a goal a 6-EPNdB (effective perceived noise) reduction in aircraft engine noise relative to 1992 technology levels by the year 2000. As part of this noise program, and in cooperation with the Allison Engine Company, an advanced, low-noise, high-bypass-ratio fan stage design and several advanced technology stator vane designs were recently tested in NASA Lewis Research Center's 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (an anechoic facility). The project was called the NASA/Allison Low Noise Fan.

Description: A Two-Dimensional Bifurcated (2DB) Inlet was successfully tested in NASA Lewis Research Center s 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. These tests were the culmination of a collaborative effort between the Boeing Company, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Lewis. Extensive support in-house at Lewis contributed significantly to the progress and accomplishment of this test. The results, which met or exceeded many of the High-Speed Research (HSR) Program goals, were used to revise system studies within the HSR Program. The HSR Program is focused on developing low-noise, low-polluting, high-efficiency supersonic commercial aircraft. A supersonic inlet is an important component of an efficient, low-noise vehicle.

Description: NASA s Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) Program seeks to develop new technologies to increase the fuel efficiency of commercial aircraft engines, improve the safety of engine operation, and reduce emissions and engine noise. For new designs of ducted fans, compressors, and turbines to achieve these goals, a basic aeroelastic requirement is that there should be no flutter or high resonant blade stresses in the operating regime. For verifying the aeroelastic soundness of the design, an accurate prediction/analysis code is required. Such a three-dimensional viscous propulsion aeroelastic code, named TURBO-AE, is being developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The development and verification of the flutter version of the TURBO-AE code (version 4) has been completed. Validation of the code is partially complete.

Description: The NASA Lewis Research Center is developing an environment for analyzing and designing aircraft engines-the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS). NPSS will integrate multiple disciplines, such as aerodynamics, structure, and heat transfer, and will make use of numerical "zooming" on component codes. Zooming is the coupling of analyses at various levels of detail. NPSS uses the latest computing and communication technologies to capture complex physical processes in a timely, cost-effective manner. The vision of NPSS is to create a "numerical test cell" enabling full engine simulations overnight on cost-effective computing platforms. Through the NASA/Industry Cooperative Effort agreement, NASA Lewis and industry partners are developing a new engine simulation called the National Cycle Program (NCP). NCP, which is the first step toward NPSS and is its initial framework, supports the aerothermodynamic system simulation process for the full life cycle of an engine. U.S. aircraft and airframe companies recognize NCP as the future industry standard common analysis tool for aeropropulsion system modeling. The estimated potential payoff for NCP is a $50 million/yr savings to industry through improved engineering productivity.

Description: Efforts to improve the performance of modern gas turbine engines have imposed increasing service temperature demands on structural materials. Through active cooling, the useful temperature range of nickel-base superalloys in current gas turbine engines has been extended, but the margin for further improvement appears modest. Because of their low density, high-temperature strength, and high thermal conductivity, in situ toughened silicon nitride ceramics have received a great deal of attention for cooled structures. However, high processing costs have proven to be a major obstacle to their widespread application. Advanced rapid prototyping technology, which is developing rapidly, offers the possibility of an affordable manufacturing approach.