ALBERT

Description: The threshold method for estimation of area-average rain rate relies on determination of the fractional area where rain rate exceeds a preset level of intensity. Previous studies have shown that the optimal threshold level depends on the climatological rain-rate distribution (RRD). It has also been noted, however, that the climatological RRD may be composed of an aggregate of distributions, one for each of several distinctly different synoptic conditions, each having its own optimal threshold. In this study, the impact of RRD variations on the threshold method is shown in an analysis of 1-min rainrate data from a network of tipping-bucket gauges in Darwin, Australia. Data are analyzed for two distinct regimes: the premonsoon environment, having isolated intense thunderstorms, and the active monsoon rains, having organized convective cell clusters that generate large areas of stratiform rain. It is found that a threshold of 10 mm/h results in the same threshold coefficient for both regimes, suggesting an alternative definition of optimal threshold as that which is least sensitive to distribution variations. The observed behavior of the threshold coefficient is well simulated by assumption of lognormal distributions with different scale parameters and same shape parameters.

Description: Unsteady flow behavior and load characteristics of a 2D VR-7 airfoil with and without a leading-edge slat were studied in the water tunnel of the Aeroflightdynamics Directorate, NASA Ames Research Center. Both airfoils were oscillated sinusoidally between 5 and 25 deg at Re = 200,000 to obtain the unsteady lift, drag, and pitching moment data. A fluorescent dye was released from an orifice located at the leading edge of the airfoil for the purpose of visualizing the boundary layer and wake flow. The flowfield and load predictions of an incompressible Navier-Stokes code based on a velocity-vorticity formulation were compared with the test data. The test and predictions both confirm that the slatted VR-7 airfoil delays both static and dynamic stall as compared to the VR-7 airfoil alone.

Description: The vicinity of KSC, where the primary ground truth site of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) program is located, was the focal point of the Convection and Precipitation/Electrification (CaPE) experiment in July and Aug. 1991. In addition to several specialized radars, local coverage was provided by the C-band (5 cm) radar at Patrick AFB. Point measurements of rain rate were provided by tipping bucket rain gage networks. Besides these ground-based activities, airborne radar measurements with X- and Ka-band nadir-looking radars on board an aircraft were also recorded. A unique combination data set of airborne radar observations with ground-based observations was obtained in the summer convective rain regime of central Florida. We present a comparison of these data intending a preliminary validation. A convective rain event was observed simultaneously by all three instrument types on the evening of 27 July 1991. The high resolution aircraft radar was flown over convective cells with tops exceeding 10 km and observed reflectivities of 40 to 50 dBZ at 4 to 5 km altitude, while the low resolution surface radar observed 35 to 55 dBZ echoes and a rain gage indicated maximum surface rain rates exceeding 100 mm/hr. The height profile of reflectivity measured with the airborne radar show an attenuation of 6.5 dB/km (two way) for X-band, corresponding to a rainfall rate of 95 mm/hr.

Description: The Space Shuttle provides a unique perspective for cloud observation. From it, an observer can simulataneously view the grand scale and individual microscale components. An observer can differentiate between the exceptional and the routine and rapidly identify the phenomenon of interest. The capabilities include multiple aspect viewing, vision enhancement, instant data transmission, and the intelligence and decision-making ability required for meaningful selective observations. When these observations are used with other information, an improved understanding of the processes follows. Examples of these data and their application with other information sources are given along with suggestions for research.

Description: Flash rates measured from the Space Shuttle range from 27.8 flashes per minute to 77 flashes per minute. The cloud is an optically thick medium which effectively scatters the energy from a lightning discharge and thereby broadens the risetime and duration of each lightning pulse. Because of the small size, spacecraft sensors with resolutions of 1 km or more are unlikely to detect the individual lightning channels. Instead, the energy from the lightning channel is scattered within the cloud, thereby broadening the apparent area. All of these measurements of lightning flash area and flash rate have involved manual manipulation and analysis of the video or film data. Only a small percentage of the Space Shuttle lightning video has been analyzed. An attempt is made to combine the use of real-time digital disk system and an automated analysis routine in order to overcome this limitation and make processing of a sequence of video frames a much less labor-intensive task.

Description: A millimeter-wave imaging radiometer (MIR) developed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is described. The MIR is a nine-channel total power radiometer developed for atmospheric research. Three dual-pass band channels are centered about the strongly opaque 183-GHz water vapor absorption line; the frequencies are 183 +/- 1, +/- 3, and +/- 7 GHz. Another channel is located on the wing of this band at 150 GHz. These four channels have varying degrees of opacity from which the water vapor profile can be inferred. The design and salient characteristics of this instrument are discussed, together with its expected benefits.

Description: A new generation of automatic sunphotometers is used to systematically monitor clear sky total column aerosol concentration and optical properties, precipitable water and total column ozone diurnally and annually in West Africa and South America. The instruments are designed to measure direct beam sun, solar aureole and sky radiances in nine narrow spectral bands from the UV to the near infrared on an hourly basis. The instrumentation and the algorithms required to reduce the data for subsequent analysis are described.

Description: The problem of the hypersonic double ellipse in rarefied flow is treated by a particle method using the collision model first described by McDonald (1988). In the approach used here, the computational overhead is reduced by using simple cubic cells. The problem of the definition of complex geometries is addressed by developing an algorithm to define the relation of a body surface to the network of cells.

Description: Program LAURA (Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm) is an upwind-biased, point-implicit relaxation algorithm for obtaining the numerical solution to the governing equations for 3D viscous hypersonic flows in chemical and thermal nonequilibrium. The algorithm is derived using a finite-volume formulation in which the inviscid components of flux across cell walls are described with a modified Roe's averaging and with second-order corrections based on Yee's Symmetric Total Variation Diminishing scheme. The code has been applied to Problem 8.2 of this workshop for the case of thermochemical nonequilibrium flow through a nozzle. Chemical reaction rates are defined with the model of Park (1987). Thermal nonequilibrium is modeled using a two-temperature approximation in which the vibrational energies of all molecules are assumed to be in equilibrium at a single temperature which is generally different from the translational-rotational temperature. Two grids were used to define the flow for the original problem, with a stagnation temperature of 6500 K. A third case with a stagnation temperature of 10,000 K is also presented. The solution domain includes the converging nozzle, subsonic flow domain in which the gas is substantially in thermochemical equilibrium and the diverging nozzle, hypersonic flow domain in which the gas is substantially in thermochemical nonequilibrium.

Description: Solutions have been computed and results are presented for Problem 1, the case of Mach 9 transitional flow past a 7 deg half-angle cone at zero incidence. The solutions were computed using a code developed for the integration of the parabolized Navier-Stokes equations. The algorithm employed in the code is based on a Roe-type flux-difference-splitting scheme applied following a finite-volume approach. The basic algorithm has been modified to make it implicit and second-order accurate in the crossflow directions. Results are presented in terms of surface pressure and heat transfer as well as boundary layer profiles of pitot pressure, Mach number, and tangential velocity. The case was recalculated several times in an effort to determine sensitivities to such parameters as grid density, wall temperature, turbulence model parameters, as well as freestream expansion. Comparisons with the experimental data are presented and discussed.

Description: A development status evaluation is presented for the theoretical understanding and design conceptualization of boundary layer control (BLC) systems applicable to supersonic transports, such as the currently envisioned NASA High Speed Civil Transport. By reducing fuel burned, supersonic BLC techniques could expand ranges to Pacific-crossing scales, while lowering sonic boom effects and upper-atmosphere pollution and even reducing skin friction temperature. The critical consideration for supersonic BLC is the presence of wave effects.

Description: Attention is drawn to the influence of preexisting finite-amplitude instabilities on the growth of other disturbances; current design tools for LFC take no notice of this kind of interaction. When a rational accounting is accomplished for the evolution of incoming disturbances in finite-amplitude solutions of the equations of motion, future transition-prediction methods will need to take these wave interactions into account. Attention is given here to interactions in the presence of crossflow vortices and interactions involving Goertler vortices.

Description: A development history and a development-trends evaluation are presented for laminar flow controlled airfoil technologies and design concepts, including the search for 'natural' laminar flow and actively controlled flow via suction through small pores on the airfoil surface. While most NASA activities in this field have been concerned with subsonic aircraft, it has been projected that the control of boundary layer turbulence may be even more critical to the aerodynamic efficiency of supersonic aircraft. Developmental programs for these techniques have been conducted with several modified conventional aircraft.

Description: An account is given of the development history of natural laminar-flow (NLF) airfoil profiles under guidance of an experimentally well-verified theoretical method for the design of airfoils suited to virtually all subcritical applications. This method, the Eppler Airfoil Design and Analysis Program, contains a conformal-mapping method for airfoils having prescribed velocity-distribution characteristics, as well as a panel method for the analysis of potential flow about given airfoils and a boundary-layer method. Several of the NLF airfoils thus obtained are discussed.

Description: During the tropical experiment of NASA's Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange Program (STEP), in situ radon and other trace constituent measurements were made aboard a NASA ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft to investigate the mechanisms of irreversible transfers from the troposphere into the tropical stratosphere. Observations made in and downwind of the cirrus shields of three large tropical cyclones and downwind of the cirrus anvil of a large cumulonimbus cloud cluster showed several clear instances of elevated radon activity occurring simultaneously with low total water mixing ratios. These observations are unambiguous evidence of an effective dehydration process, capable of reducing total water vapor mixing ratios to less than 2.5 ppmv, occurring in conjunction with troposphere-to-stratosphere transport and indicate that rapid localized convection, rather than slow regional mean motions, was responsible for the observed transports and associated with the accompanying dehydration. Radon activities measured in regions of active or recent troposphere-to-stratosphere transport were consistent with the 17 pCi/scm mean value needed to support the observed abundance of stratospheric 210 Pb.

Description: Measurements of stratospheric and upper tropospheric cloud water plus water vapor (total water) and water vapor were made with two Lyman alpha hygrometers as part of the STEP tropical experiment. The in situ measurements were made in the Darwin, Australia, area in January and February of 1987 on an ER-2 aircraft. Average stratospheric water vapor at a potential temperature of 375 K (the average value of Theta at the tropopause) was 2.4 parts per million by volume (ppmv). This water mixing ratio is below the 3.0 to 4.0 ppmv necessary to be consistent with the observed upper stratospheric dryness. Saturation with respect to ice and the potential for dehydration was observed up to Theta = 402 K.

Description: The STEP tropical objectives were successfully met during the flight experiments conducted from Darwin, Australia, January 16 to February 16, 1987. Necessary and sufficient measurements were made in, above, and downwind from very cold cirrus clouds, produced by three convective cloud types, to demonstrate irreversible mass transports into and dehydration in the lower tropical stratosphere. The three types are defined and described in terms of the physical processes that produce them and illustrated by examples derived from in situ and remote measurements. Intense solar heating is shown to produce, in addition to the usual vertical, sea breeze circulations normal to the coastline, an unusual pair of continental spanning, horizontal circulations. An upper tropospheric-lower stratospheric anticyclonic circulation, inclined upward toward the tropics, contributes to the dehydration of dissipating cirrus anvils and intensifies the upper level, tropical easterlies. The lower tropospheric cyclonic circulation with tropical westerlies and extratropical easterlies is in direct conflict with the normal tropical easterlies and extratropical westerlies. Impulsive switches between these two opposing lower-level wind systems create conditions favorable for each of these cloud types and explain the summer season's aperiodic variability.

Description: Overflights of a tropical cyclone during the Australian winter monsoon field experiment of the Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange Project (STEP) show the presence of two mesoscale phenomena: a vertically propagating gravity wave with a horizontal wavelength of about 110 km and a feature with a horizontal scale comparable to that of the cyclone's entire cloud shield. The larger feature is fairly steady, though its physical interpretation is ambiguous. The 110-km gravity wave is transient, having maximum amplitude early in the flight and decreasing in amplitude thereafter. Its scale is comparable to that of 100-to 150-km-diameter cells of low satellite brightness temperatures within the overall cyclone cloud shield; these cells have lifetimes of 4.5 to 6 hrs. These cells correspond to regions of enhanced convection, higher cloud altitude, and upwardly displaced potential temperature surfaces. The temporal and spatial distribution of meteorological variables associated with the 110-km gravity wave can be simulated by a slowly moving transient forcing at the anvil top having an amplitude of 400-600 m, a lifetime of 4.5-6 hrs, and a size comparable to the cells of low brightness temperature.

Description: An overview is presented of the tropical component of STEP. The STEP cooperative experiments are described and summaries are presented of the STEP tropical ER-2 aircraft flights. STEP tropical results on dehydration and transfer and the mechanisms of upward transfer are summarized. Illustrations show flight paths for each sortie on satellite images and on 100 hPa synoptic flow charts, as well as the timing of flights with respect to overall cloudiness in the Australian region.

Description: The relationship between deep convection and tropopause cold trap conditions is examined for the tropical northern Australia region during the 1986-87 summer monsoon season, emphasizing the Australia Monsoon Experiment (AMEX) period when the NASA Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange Project (STEP) was being conducted. The factors related to the spatial and temporal variability of the cold point potential temperature (CPPT) are investigated. A framework is developed for describing the relationships among surface average equivalent potential temperature in the surface layer (AEPTSL) the height of deep convection, and stratosphere-troposphere exchange. The time-mean pattern of convection, large-scale circulation, and surface AEPTSL in the Australian monsoon and the evolution of the convective environment during the monsoon period and the extended transition season which preceded it are described. The time-mean fields of cold point level variables are examined and the statistical relationships between mean CPPT, surface AEPTSL, and deep convection are described. Day-to-day variations of CPPT are examined in terms of these time mean relationships.

Description: The study presents a methodology developed to apply a parameterization of radiative transfer calculations to satellite analyses of cirrus clouds. Cloud heights and optical depths are derived from visible and IR window measurements taken during FIRE when cirrus clouds were present. Geostationary satellite retrievals are compared to lidar-derived cloud heights and retrievals from a polar-orbiting satellite taken at different angles to determine which theoretical models of scattering phase function and single-scattering albedo best represent actual cirrus clouds. Models using small scattering phase function and single-scattering albedo best represent actual cirrus clouds. It is concluded that interpretation of cirrus reflectance with water-droplet models leads to biased results. The cloud-height and optical depth biases can be minimized with the aid of the C20 or cirrostratus models.

Description: Outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data from Nimbus-7 ERB wide field-of-view instruments are compared with results from the ERBE instruments aboard the NOAA-9 and NOAA-10 satellites. Over most regions of the globe, the agreement between the two sets of OLR results is generally to within 8 W/sq m. There are larger differences at higher latitudes and regions concentrated over land and desert. Results of daytime and nighttime differences suggest that the shortwave channels may be at fault due to their different design for Nimbus-7 and NOAA-9. Some of the differences may also be related to different viewing geometry of the two satellites.

Description: Two simple techniques (Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio, CIBR, and Narrow/Wide ratio, N/W) to retrieve path precipitable water from AVIRIS high spectral resolution radiance data using the 940 nm water absorption band are compared. A sensitivity analysis was performed using the radiative transfer code LOWTRAN 7 to determine which one of these two approaches will provide a better estimate over land and water areas. The CIBR proved to be the technique less sensitive to perturbing effects, except for errors in visibility estimate. Both techniques were applied to AVIRIS radiance data acquired over Salton Sea, California. Resulting images confirmed that the use of a constant gray reflectance in the model led to a higher overestimation of the amount of water retrieved for N/W over vegetated areas. Validation was performed through comparison between an independent estimate of water vapor from concurrent Reagan sunphotometer measurements and AVIRIS estimates. Amounts retrieved using the N/W approach match more closely in situ measurements, even after adjusting model parameters for background reflectance, viewing geometry, and type of aerosol at the site.

Description: The viscous interfacial-sublayer model of Liu et al. (1979) is used to derive four bulk schemes (LKB, FG, D, and DB), with the flux-profile relationships of Lie et al., Francey and Garratt (1981), Dyer (1974), and Dyer and Bradley (1982). These schemes, with stability-dependent transfer coefficients, are tested against the eddy-correlation fluxes measured at the 50-m flight level above the western Atlantic Ocean during cold-air outbreaks. The bulk fluxes of momentum (tau), sensible heat (H), and latent heat (E) are found to increase with various von Karman constants. The dependence of transfer coefficients on wind speeds and roughness lengths is discussed. The transfer coefficients for tau and E agree excellently between LKB and FG. The ratio of the coefficent for H of LKB to that of FG, increasing with decreasing stability, is very sensitive to stability at low winds, but approaches the neutral value of 1.25 at high winds.

Description: The NOAA's Spaceflight Meteorology Group has used the point forecast output from the Global Profile Archive and Global Profile Archive since 1990, and found this product to allow forecasters to examine the MRF model in a vertical profile, and thereby determine how different model parameters behave over time. Attention is presently given to the use of these resources in the illustrative case of the STS-40 mission, over northwestern Spain.

Description: A method to estimate raindrop size distribution (DSD) parameters from a combined Zm profile and path-integrated attenuation is shown, and a test result of the method using the data from an aircraft experiment is presented. The 'semi' dual-parameter (SDP) measurement is employed to estimate DSD parameters using the data obtained from an aircraft experiment conducted by Communications Research Laboratory, Tokyo, in conjunction with NASA. The validity of estimated DSD parameters is examined using measured Ka-band radar reflectivities. The estimated path-averaged N(0) is consistent with the Ka/X Ze ratio, and the use of estimated DSD shows excellent agreement between the rain rates estimated from the X-band and K-band Zes. The feasibility of estimating DSD parameters from space is confirmed.

Description: Passive microwave data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) were used to estimate the amount of rainfall in the June-August season for the regions of the southwest U.S. and Mexico, and the results are compared to rain-gauge observations and to IR climatologies of Maddox et al. (1992), using both the hourly IR data and IR data sampled at the time of the overpass of the SSM/I. A comparison of the microwave climatology with monthly rainfall measured by the climatological gage network over several states of western Mexico resulted in a 0.63 correlation and a large (482 mm) bias, due to sampling and the incongruity of rain gages and satellite estimates. A comparison between the IR and microwave data showed that the IR tended toward higher percentages along the coast compared to the microwave.

Description: The paper evaluates the meteorological quality and operational utility of the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) in forecasting tropical cyclones. It is shown that the model can provide useful predictions of motion and formation on a real-time basis in the western North Pacific. The meterological characteristics of the NOGAPS tropical cyclone predictions are evaluated by examining the formation of low-level cyclone systems in the tropics and vortex structure in the NOGAPS analysis and verifying 72-h forecasts. The adjusted NOGAPS track forecasts showed equitable skill to the baseline aid and the dynamical model. NOGAPS successfully predicted unusual equatorward turns for several straight-running cyclones.

Description: A 2D time-dependent and nonhydrostatic numerical cloud model is presently used to estimate the heating, moisture, and water budgets in the convective and stratiform regions for both a tropical and a midlatitude squall line. The model encompasses a parameterized, three-class ice phase microphysical scheme and longwave radiative transfer process. It is noted that the convective region plays an important role in the generation of stratiform rainfall for both cases. While a midlevel minimum in the moisture profile for the tropical case is due to vertical eddy transport in the convective region, the contribution to the heating budget by the cloud-scale fluxes is minor; by contrast, the vertical eddy heat-flux is relatively important for the midlatitude case due to the stronger vertical velocities present in the convective cells.

Description: The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II has one channel at 940 nm related to water vapor. Two inversion procedures were developed independently in order to obtain the water vapor profile: the Chahine method by the Langley Research Center, and the Mill method by the Laboratoire d'Optique Atmospherique. Comparisons were made between these two algorithms and some results are presented at midlatitudes (about 45 deg N) and tropical latitudes (12-25 deg S). They are compared with in situ frost point hygrometer data provided by balloon experiments from the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique. At +/- 0.5 ppmv, agreement between the inversion results and the experimental results was obtained in the altitude range from 18-19 to 26-27 km. Below 18-19 km and above 26-27 km the error is larger (sometimes 1 ppmv and more).

Description: Data collected by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II are presented, showing annual variations of water vapor in the stratosphere and the upper troposphere. The altitude-time cross sections of water vapor were found to exhibit annually repeatable patterns in both hemispheres, with a yearly minimum in water vapor appearing in both hemispheres at about the same time, supporting the concept of a common source for stratospheric dry air. A linear regression analysis was applied to the three-year data set to elucidate global values and variations of water vapor ratio.

Description: The annual mean and the annual amplitude of ozone have been derived from ozone measurements from the SBUV and SBUV/2 spectrometers on board the Nimbus-7 and NOAA-11 satellites. These values differ significantly from values calculated using a two-dimensional model of stratospheric photochemistry and dynamics with standard chemistry. We have found that the differences between the calculated and data-derived values are considerably improved by changing the partitioning in the Cly family to create a larger reservoir of HCl and reducing ClO. This is accomplished by including a channel for the products HCl + O2 from the reaction ClO + OH in addition to the products Cl + HO2. This partitioning also improves the agreement between the calculated and measured values of ClO/HCl ratio.

Description: Errors have been analyzed for monthly-average downward and net longwave surface fluxes derived on a 5-deg equal-area grid over the globe, using a satellite technique. Meteorological data used in this technique are available from the TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) system flown aboard NOAA's operational sun-synchronous satellites. The data used are for February 1982 from NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 satellites. The errors in the parametrized equations were estimated by comparing their results with those from a detailed radiative transfer model. The errors in the TOVS-derived surface temperature, water vapor burden, and cloud cover were estimated by comparing these meteorological parameters with independent measurements obtained from other satellite sources. Analysis of the overall errors shows that the present technique could lead to underestimation of downward fluxes by 5 to 15 W/sq m and net fluxes by 4 to 12 W/sq m.

Description: Airloads measured on a two-bladed helicopter rotor in flight, from the Tip Aerodynamic and Acoustic Test, are compared with calculations from a comprehensive helicopter analysis (CAMRAD/JA), and the pressures compared with calculations from a full-potential rotor code (FPR). The flight test results cover an advance ratio range from 0.19 to 0.38. The lowest speed case is characterized by the presence of significant blade-vortex interactions. Good correlation of peak-to-peak vortex-induced loads and the corresponding pressures is obtained. The results of the correlation for this two-bladed rotor are substantially similar to the results for three- and four-bladed rotors, concerning the tip vortex core size for best correlation, calculation of the peak-to-peak loads on the retreating side, and calculation of vortex-induced loads on inboard radial stations.

Description: A new CFD potential code, FPX (eXtended Full-Potential), has been developed for application to both helicopters and tilt-rotors. The code solves the unsteady, three-dimensional full potential equation and is an extension of the rotor code, FPR. Both entropy and viscosity corrections are included to enhance the physical modeling capabilities. A number of efficiency related modifications have yielded a factor of two speed-up in the code. An axial flow capability has been added to treat tilt-rotor in forward flight (cruise mode). In order to employ streamwise periodicity and accurately solve for the propagation of acoustic signals in the tip region, an H-H topology has been added to the basic O-H grid system. Computations are performed for the XV-15 Standard and ATB blades at high-speed conditions. Comparisons are made for the blade aerodynamics and the induced fuselage cabin pressure for a range of Mach numbers. Grid generation, wake treatment, and far-field wall treatment are identified as problem areas with recommendations for future research.

Description: A preliminary test/theory correlation evaluation is conducted for wake measurement test results obtained by LDV for a B360 helicopter rotor, at conditions critical to the understanding of wake-rollup and blade-vortex interaction phenomena. The LDV data were complemented by acoustic, blade pressure, rotor performance, and blade/control load measurements.

Description: Analytic expressions have been derived for estimating the nonablating laminar and turbulent boundary-layer convective heating rates on inclined flat surfaces for the Martian atmosphere in thermochemical equilibrium. The equations are valid in the speed and altitude regime where aerobraking would occur at Mars. Comparisons with limited experimental measurements and calculations for CO2 (the Martian atmosphere is 95.6 percent CO2) yielded reasonably good agreement, especially for the ratios of heating rates in CO2 to those in air at the same conditions. In the aerobraking speed regime, the laminar flat surface boundary layer heating rates are 15-25 percent greater at Mars than in air. The differences between the turbulent heating rates are even more pronounced. The turbulent heating rates can be over 50 percent greater at Mars than in air at the same flight conditions.

Description: This code was developed to aid design engineers in the selection and evaluation of aerodynamically efficient wing-canard and wing-horizontal-tail configurations that may employ simple hinged-flap systems. Rapid estimates of the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of conceptual airplane lifting surface arrangements are provided. The method is particularly well suited to configurations which, because of high speed flight requirements, must employ thin wings with highly swept leading edges. The code is applicable to wings with either sharp or rounded leading edges. The code provides theoretical pressure distributions over the wing, the canard or horizontal tail, and the deflected flap surfaces as well as estimates of the wing lift, drag, and pitching moments which account for attainable leading edge thrust and leading edge separation vortex forces. The wing planform information is specified by a series of leading edge and trailing edge breakpoints for a right hand wing panel. Up to 21 pairs of coordinates may be used to describe both the leading edge and the trailing edge. The code has been written to accommodate 2000 right hand panel elements, but can easily be modified to accommodate a larger or smaller number of elements depending on the capacity of the target computer platform. The code provides solutions for wing surfaces composed of all possible combinations of leading edge and trailing edge flap settings provided by the original deflection multipliers and by the flap deflection multipliers. Up to 25 pairs of leading edge and trailing edge flap deflection schedules may thus be treated simultaneously. The code also provides for an improved accounting of hinge-line singularities in determination of wing forces and moments. To determine lifting surface perturbation velocity distributions, the code provides for a maximum of 70 iterations. The program is constructed so that successive runs may be made with a given code entry. To make additional runs, it is necessary only to add an identification record and the namelist data that are to be changed from the previous run. This code was originally developed in 1989 in FORTRAN V on a CDC 6000 computer system, and was later ported to an MS-DOS environment. Both versions are available from COSMIC. There are only a few differences between the PC version (LAR-14458) and CDC version (LAR-14178) of AERO2S distributed by COSMIC. The CDC version has one main source code file while the PC version has two files which are easier to edit and compile on a PC. The PC version does not require a FORTRAN compiler which supports NAMELIST because a special INPUT subroutine has been added. The CDC version includes two MODIFY decks which can be used to improve the code and prevent the possibility of some infrequently occurring errors while PC-version users will have to make these code changes manually. The PC version includes an executable which was generated with the Ryan McFarland/FORTRAN compiler and requires 253K RAM and an 80x87 math co-processor. Using this executable, the sample case requires about four hours to execute on an 8MHz AT-class microcomputer with a co-processor. The source code conforms to the FORTRAN 77 standard except that it uses variables longer than six characters. With two minor modifications, the PC version should be portable to any computer with a FORTRAN compiler and sufficient memory. The CDC version of AERO2S is available in CDC NOS Internal format on a 9-track 1600 BPI magnetic tape. The PC version is available on a set of two 5.25 inch 360K MS-DOS format diskettes. IBM AT is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. CDC is a registered trademark of Control Data Corporation. NOS is a trademark of Control Data Corporation.

Description: Since its early beginnings, NASA has been actively involved in the design and testing of airfoil sections for a wide variety of applications. Recently a set of programs has been developed to smooth and scale arbitrary airfoil coordinates. The smoothing program, AFSMO, utilizes both least-squares polynomial and least-squares cubic-spline techniques to iteratively smooth the second derivatives of the y-axis airfoil coordinates with respect to a transformed x-axis system which unwraps the airfoil and stretches the nose and trailing-edge regions. The corresponding smooth airfoil coordinates are then determined by solving a tridiagonal matrix of simultaneous cubic-spline equations relating the y-axis coordinates and their corresponding second derivatives. The camber and thickness distribution of the smooth airfoil are also computed. The scaling program, AFSCL, may then be used to scale the thickness distribution generated by the smoothing program to a specified maximum thickness. Once the thickness distribution has been scaled, it is combined with the camber distribution to obtain the final scaled airfoil contour. The airfoil smoothing and scaling programs are written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution and have been implemented on a CDC CYBER 170 series computer with a central memory requirement of approximately 70K (octal) of 60 bit words. Both programs generate plotted output via CALCOMP type plotting calls. These programs were developed in 1983.

Description: The Supersonic Wing Nonlinear Aerodynamics computer program, LTSTAR, was developed to provide for the estimation of the nonlinear aerodynamic characteristics of a wing at supersonic speeds. This corrected linearized-theory method accounts for nonlinearities in the variation of basic pressure loadings with local surface slopes, predicts the degree of attainment of theoretical leading-edge thrust forces, and provides an estimate of detached leading-edge vortex loadings that result when the theoretical thrust forces are not fully realized. Comparisons of LTSTAR computations with experimental results show significant improvements in detailed wing pressure distributions, particularly for large angles of attack and for regions of the wing where the flow is highly three-dimensional. The program provides generally improved predictions of the wing overall force and moment coefficients. LTSTAR could be useful in design studies aimed at aerodynamic performance optimization and for providing more realistic trade-off information for selection of wing planform geometry and airfoil section parameters. Input to the LTSTAR program includes wing planform data, freestream conditions, wing camber, wing thickness, scaling options, and output options. Output includes pressure coefficients along each chord, section normal and axial force coefficients, and the spanwise distribution of section force coefficients. With the chordwise distributions and section coefficients at each angle of attack, three sets of polars are output. The first set is for linearized theory with and without full leading-edge thrust, the second set includes nonlinear corrections, and the third includes estimates of attainable leading-edge thrust and vortex increments along with the nonlinear corrections. The LTSTAR program is written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution and has been implemented on a CDC 6000 series computer with a central memory requirement of approximately 150K (octal) of 60 bit words. The LTSTAR program was developed in 1980.

Description: The nozzle afterbody is one of the main drag-producing components of an aircraft propulsion system. Thus, considerable effort has been devoted to developing techniques for predicting the afterbody flow field and drag. The RAXJET computer program was developed to predict the transonic, axisymmetric flow over nozzle afterbodies with supersonic jet exhausts and includes the effects of boundary-layer displacement, separation, jet entrainment, and inviscid jet plume blockage. RAXJET iteratively combines the South-Jameson relaxation procedure, the Reshotko-Tucker boundary-layer solution, the Presz separation model, the Dash-Pergament mixing model, and the Dash-Thorpe inviscid plume model into a single, comprehensive model. The approach taken in the RAXJET program requires considerably less computational time than the Navier-Stokes solutions and generally yields results of comparable accuracy. In RAXJET, the viscous-inviscid interaction model is constructed by dividing the afterbody flow field into six separate computational regions: (1) The inviscid external flow solution is based on the relaxation procedure of South and Jameson for solving the exact nonlinear potential flow equation in nonconservative form. (2) The flow field in the inviscid jet exhaust is solved by explicit spatial marching of the conservative finite-difference form of the inviscid flow equations for a uniform composition gas mixture. (3) The properties in the attached boundary-layer region are solved by a modified version of the Reshotko-Tucker integral method for turbulent flows. (4) The analysis of the separated flow region consists of predicting the separation location and calculating the discriminating streamline shape. (5) The jet wake region is determined by either a simple extrapolation model or by an integral method that accounts for entrainment effects. (6) The displacement-thickness distribution arising from entrainment into the jet mixing layer is calculated by the overlaid mixing model. The inviscid external flow solution and inviscid jet exhaust solution provide the necessary flow conditions to calculate the flow in the viscous regions. The viscous and inviscid flow fields are iteratively solved until a final solution is obtained. Input to the RAXJET program consists of body geometry data, free-stream conditions, main logic control parameters, and condition and control parameters for each of the six computational flow regions. Output from RAXJET includes detailed flow results and aerodynamic coefficients. The RAXJET program is written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution and has been implemented on a CDC CYBER 170 series computer with a central memory requirement of approximately 60K(octal) of 60 bit words. The RAXJET program was developed in 1982.

Description: The computer program SALLY was developed to compute the incompressible linear stability characteristics and integrate the amplification rates of boundary layer disturbances on swept and tapered wings. For some wing designs, boundary layer disturbance can significantly alter the wing performance characteristics. This is particularly true for swept and tapered laminar flow control wings which incorporate suction to prevent boundary layer separation. SALLY should prove to be a useful tool in the analysis of these wing performance characteristics. The first step in calculating the disturbance amplification rates is to numerically solve the compressible laminar boundary-layer equation with suction for the swept and tapered wing. A two-point finite-difference method is used to solve the governing continuity, momentum, and energy equations. A similarity transformation is used to remove the wall normal velocity as a boundary condition and place it into the governing equations as a parameter. Thus the awkward nonlinear boundary condition is avoided. The resulting compressible boundary layer data is used by SALLY to compute the incompressible linear stability characteristics. The local disturbance growth is obtained from temporal stability theory and converted into a local growth rate for integration. The direction of the local group velocity is taken as the direction of integration. The amplification rate, or logarithmic disturbance amplitude ratio, is obtained by integration of the local disturbance growth over distance. The amplification rate serves as a measure of the growth of linear disturbances within the boundary layer and can serve as a guide in transition prediction. This program is written in FORTRAN IV and ASSEMBLER for batch execution and has been implemented on a CDC CYBER 70 series computer with a central memory requirement of approximately 67K (octal) of 60 bit words. SALLY was developed in 1979.

Description: Sulfur dioxide-derived cloud condensation nuclei are expected to enhance the planetary albedo, thereby cooling the planet. This effect might counteract the global warming expected from enhanced greenhouse gases. A detailed treatment of the relationship between fossil fuel burning and the SO2 effect on cloud albedo is implemented in a two-dimensional model for assessing the climate impact. Using a conservative approach, results show that the cooling induced by the SO2 emission can presently counteract 50 percent of the CO2 greenhouse warming. Since 1980, a strong warming trend has been predicted by the model: 0.15 C during the 1980-1990 period alone. The model predicts that by the year 2060 the SO2 cooling reduces climate warming by 0.5 C or 25 percent for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) business as usual (BAU) scenario and 0.2 C or 20 percent for scenario D (for a slow pace of fossil fuel burning). The hypothesis is examined that the different responses between the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere can be used to validate the presence of the SO2-induced cooling.

Description: Fast and accurate parameterizations have been developed for the transmission functions of the CO2 9.4- and 10.4-micron bands, as well as the CFC-11, CFC-12, and CFC-22 bands located in the 8-12-micron region. The parameterizations are based on line-by-line calculations of transmission functions for the CO2 bands and on high spectral resolution laboratory measurements of the absorption coefficients for the CFC bands. Also developed are the parameterizations for the H2O transmission functions for the corresponding spectral bands. Compared to the high-resolution calculations, fluxes at the tropopause computed with the parameterizations are accurate to within 10 percent when overlapping of gas absorptions within a band is taken into account. For individual gas absorption, the accuracy is of order 0-2 percent. The climatic effects of these trace gases have been studied using a zonally averaged multilayer energy balance model, which includes seasonal cycles and a simplified deep ocean. With the trace gas abundances taken to follow the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Low Emissions 'B' scenario, the transient response of the surface temperature is simulated for the period 1900-2060.

Description: From 1979 through 1987, it is believed that variability in the incoming solar energy played a significant role in changing the Earth's climate. Using high-precision spacecraft radiometric measurements, the incoming total solar irradiance (total amount of solar power per unit area) and the Earth's mean, global atmospheric temperatures were found to vary in phase with each other. The observed irradiance and temperature changes appeared to be correlated with the 11-year cycle of solar magnetic activity. During the period from 1979 through 1985, both the irradiance and temperature decreased. From 1985 to 1987, they increased. The irradiance changed approximately 0.1 percent, while the temperature varied as much as 0.6 C. During the 1979-1987 period, the temperatures were forecasted to rise linearly because of the anthropogenic build-up of carbon dioxide and the hypothesized 'global warming', 'greenhouse effect', scenarios. Contrary to these scenarios, the temperatures were found to vary in a periodic manner in phase with the solar irradiance changes. The observed correlations between irradiance and temperature variabilily suggest that the mean, global temperature of the Earth may decline between 1990 and 1997 as solar magnetic activity decreases.

Description: An incompressible three-dimensional laminar boundary-layer flow over a swept wing is used as a model to study both the wall-curvature and streamline-curvature effects on the stationary crossflow instability. The basic state is obtained by solving the full Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations numerically. The linear disturbance equations are cast on a fixed, body-intrinsic, curvilinear coordinate system. Those nonparallel terms which contribute mainly to the streamline-curvature effect are retained in the formulation of the disturbance equations and approximated by their local finite difference values. The resulting eigenvalue problem is solved by a Chebyshev collocation method. The present results indicate that the convex wall curvature has a stabilizing effect, whereas the streamline curvature has a destabilizing effect. A validation of these effects with an N-S solution for the linear disturbance flow is provided.

Description: The paper presents a general approach to constructing mean velocity profiles for compressible turbulent boundary layers with isothermal or adiabatic walls. The theory is based on a density-weighted transformation that allows the extension of the incompressible similarity laws of the wall to the compressible regions. The velocity profile family is compared to a range of experimental data, and excellent agreement is obtained. A self-consistent skin friction law, which satisfies the proposed velocity profile family, is derived and compared with the well-known Van Driest II theory for boundary layers in zero pressure gradient. The results are found to be at least as good as those obtained by using the Van Driest II transformation.

Description: The relation between the distribution of equivalent reflectivity, Z(sub e), measured by an airborne C-band radar and that for rain rate, R, measured concurrently by a disdrometer on the same aircraft in the eyewall and outer bands of Hurricane Anita (1977) was investigated using the probability-matching method (PMM). It was found that the pdf of R is much narrower in the outer rainbands of Hurricane Anita than in the eyewall, and that the mean rain rates are also much smaller. It is shown that the use of PMM provides more realistic relations than the conventional power-law Z-R regression relations based upon scatter-plots of disdrometer measurements, showing higher eyewall reflectivities for the same rain rates at rates in excess of 6.3 mm/h.

Description: A number of chemical-kinetic problems related to phenomena occurring behind a shock wave surrounding an object flying in the earth atmosphere are discussed, including the nonequilibrium thermochemical relaxation phenomena occurring behind a shock wave surrounding the flying object, problems related to aerobraking maneuver, the radiation phenomena for shock velocities of up to 12 km/sec, and the determination of rate coefficients for ionization reactions and associated electron-impact ionization reactions. Results of experiments are presented in form of graphs and tables, giving data on the reaction rate coefficients for air, the ionization distances, thermodynamic properties behind a shock wave, radiative heat flux calculations, Damkoehler numbers for the ablation-product layer, together with conclusions.

Description: Computations were made for those test cases of Problem 3 which were designated as laminar flows, viz., test cases 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, and 3.5. These test cases corresponded to flows over a flat plate and a compression ramp at high Mach number and at high Reynolds number. The computations over the compression ramps indicate a substantial streamwise extent of separation. Based on previous experience with separated laminar flows at high Mach numbers which indicated a substantial effect with spatial grid refinement, a series of computations with different grid sizes were performed. Also, for the flat plate, comparisons of the results for two different algorithms were made.

Description: A development status evaluation is presented for CFD methods applicable to fuselage-integrated scramjet powerplant incorporating hypersonic vehicles; these methods are critically important due to the unavailability of experimental facilities for such elevated Mach number/high-enthalphy conditions. Advancements are required in algorithm robustness and speed, geometric flexibility, and the inclusion of more complete flow physics. The most serious deficiencies lie in turbulence modeling, the lack of complete transition-prediction methods, and combustion modeling.

Description: An overview is given of research activity on the application of computational fluid dynamics (CDF) for hypersonic propulsion systems. After the initial consideration of the highly integrated nature of air-breathing hypersonic engines and airframe, attention is directed toward computations carried out for the components of the engine. A generic inlet configuration is considered in order to demonstrate the highly three dimensional viscous flow behavior occurring within rectangular inlets. Reacting flow computations for simple jet injection as well as for more complex combustion chambers are then discussed in order to show the capability of viscous finite rate chemical reaction computer simulations. Finally, the nozzle flow fields are demonstrated, showing the existence of complex shear layers and shock structure in the exhaust plume. The general issues associated with code validation as well as the specific issue associated with the use of CFD for design are discussed. A prognosis for the success of CFD in the design of future propulsion systems is offered.

Description: Procedures are described for normalizing the radiometric calibration of image radiances obtained from geostationary weather satellites that contributed data to the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project. The key step is comparison of coincident and collocated measurements made by each satellite and the concurrent AVHRR on the 'afternoon' NOAA polar-orbiting weather satellite at the same viewing geometry. The results of this comparison allow transfer of the AVHRR absolute calibration, which has been established over the whole series, to the radiometers on the geostationary satellites. Results are given for Meteosat-2, 3, and 4, for GOES-5, 6, and 7, for GMS-2, 3, and 4 and for Insat-1B. The relative stability of the calibrations of these radiance data is estimated to be within +/- 3 percent; the uncertainty of the absolute calibrations is estimated to be less than 10 percent. The remaining uncertainties are at least two times smaller than for the original radiance data.

Description: Surface areas, bulk densities, and porosities of ices formed at 85 or 200 K are measured to study the morphology of the vapor-deposited ices that have been used to simulate ice clouds in the laboratory. Surface areas are measured from the Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) analysis of absorption isotherms obtained at 72.2 K. Bulk densities and porosities are determined photogrammetrically. Results show that water ice and HNO3-H2O ice films deposited from the vapor at temperatures below 200 K exhibit large BET surface areas and are highly porous. For the ices annealed at temperatures above 200 K, external surface areas calculated from the observed particle sizes agree reasonably well with the BET areas, which indicates that the annealed ices are composed of nonporous particles and that the porosity of these ices is due to interstices among the particles.

Description: In order to investigate the role of the drop size distribution (DSD) from a dual-wavelength airborne radar and to recover profiled rain rates, a procedure is described for the purpose of estimating the DSD. The method differs from previous approaches in that it provides 2n + 1 parameters of the profiled DSD (where n is the number of range gates) and it uses a recursive procedure beginning at the range gate near the surface progressing backwards toward the storm top. The method is argued to be useful both as a diagnostic tool and as a means by which more detailed information on the vertical structure of the precipitation can be obtained.

Description: Meteorological approaches to verification of space measurements of rainfall are examined; validation of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observations is expected to depend significantly on ground-based radars. Two methods of comparison are initially contemplated. TRMM rainfall data over time periods of a month for large areas (500 x 500 km) are averaged and compared with similarly averaged ground truth measurements. Both the rainfall and height distribution data from TRMM are compared with the instantaneous values observed at one or more 'ground truth' stations and from airborne radar and radiometers as available.

Description: The eddy flux convergence of relative angular momentum (EFC) at 200 mb was calculated for the named tropical cyclones during the 1989-1991 Atlantic hurricane seasons. A period of enhanced EFC within 1500 km of the storm center occurred about every five days due to the interaction with upper-level troughs in the midlatitude westerlies or upper-level, cold lows in low latitudes. Twenty-six of the 32 storms had at least one period of enhanced EFC. In about one-third of the cases, the storm intensified just after the period of enhanced EFC. In most of the cases in which the storm did not intensify the vertical shear increased, the storm moved over cold water, or the storm became extratropical just after the period of enhanced EFC. A statistically significant relationship was found between the EFC within 600 km of the storm center and the intensity change during the next 48 h. The EFC was also examined for the ten storms from the 1989-1991 sample that had the largest intensification rates. Six of the ten periods of rapid intensification were associated with enhanced EFC. In the remaining four cases the storms were intensifying rapidly in a low shear environment without any obvious interaction with upper-level troughs.

Description: A 3D cloud model is used to simulate the storm structure, and the results are linked to microwave and infrared radiative transfer models for simulation of aircraft observations. Spaceborne radar data are also simulated along the aircraft flight track. The cloud and radiative model simulations are studied and compared with aircraft observations. The initial results indicate that the 3D cloud model is capable of simulating the major features of observed storm systems when given a representative atmospheric sounding to initialize the convective systems. The simulations of infrared and microwave radiances provide reasonably good comparisons with the observations.

Description: The outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data from ERBE wide-field-of-view (WFOV) and scanning sensor are compared with Nimbus-7 WFOV results. Monthly averaged OLR data from the ERBE WFOV instruments aboard the NOAA-9 and NOAA-10 polar orbiting satellites during the 3-year overlap period with Nimbus-7 are deconvolved using spherical harmonics. Results of a comparison of the data sets are presented on regional, zonal, and global scales in the spatial domain and on a monthly scale in the time domain.

Description: An effort is made to determine, on the basis of satellite imagery associated with a thunderstorm event: (1) the extent to which time-compositing would increase areal coverage and potential temperature and moisture profile measurements, as a function of time, and (2) the number of times that a given clear area could be sampled during a measurement sequence. This information would be of great value in more effectively using current data from the operational GOES satellites, and will assist in the planning of future operational and research geosynchronous missions.

Description: The NOAA has been preprocessing the TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) IR and microwave channels to correct for cloud amount, spot size, and viewing angle. An examination is now being conducted of the 6-7 micron water vapor band; a preliminary evaluation is here presented of the regional and global features of this large data base on daily, monthly, annual, and decadal time scales. The TOVS archives allow large-scale climatological features to be established.

Description: The region of the IR spectrum that is ideally suited for detecting optically thin cirrus clouds is in the window between 10 and 13 microns. Here relatively weak absorption due to the water vapor lines and continuum is present and hence the extinction characteristic of the cloud particles is readily discernible. In order to demonstrate these properties, two IR spectra are presented, one with clear skies and one with an optically thin cirrus. As a result of the cloud particle extinction, an appreciable increase in the brightness temperature from 10 to 13 microns is observed. This decrease is found to be nearly linear in the case of the tropical thin cirrus, which is also geometrically thin. On the basis of radiative transfer simulations, it is inferred that the cloud particle size that can produce this spectral character has an effective diameter of about 12 microns, which is comparable to the wavelength of the radiation.

Description: The effect of smoke aerosol particles on the properties of low cumulus and stratocumulus clouds is studied on the basis of NOAA AVHRR images taken over the Brazilian Amazon Basin during the biomass burning season of 1987. The reflectance at a wavelength of 0.64 micron and the drop size, derived from the cloud reflectance at 3.75 microns, is studied for tens of thousands of clouds. It is shown that the presence of dense smoke can reduce the remotely sensed drop size of continental cloud drops from 15 to 9 microns. Due to both the high initial reflectance of clouds in the visible part of the spectrum and the presence of graphitic carbon, the average cloud reflectance at 0.6 micron is reduced from 0.71 to 0.68 for an increase in smoke optical thickness from 0.1 to 2.0. High concentration of aerosol particles is shown to cause a decrease in the cloud-drop size, and smoke is found to darken the bright Amazonian clouds.

Description: This is an effort aimed at validating recent hover prediction methods. The experimental basis for this validation work is an extensive set of loads, wake and performance data, which were obtained from a pressure instrumented model UH-60 rotor tested at the Sikorsky hover test facility and at Duits-Nederlandse Windtunnel (DNW). This model was equipped with replaceable tips - including a tapered and a BERP-type tip - which permitted studies of the effects of rotor geometry. The central prediction method studied is a free-wake, vortex embedded, full-potential CFD method - called HELIX-I. It is found that the HELIX-I code produces very good comparisons with the data including wake, surface pressure and performance. Comparisons with the measured radial load distributions have permitted an improved understanding of the wake resolution modelling requirements of CFD methods. Since HELIX-I is a combined Eulerian/Lagrangian method, limited comparisons are also made with a Lagrangian boundary element code (called EHPIC) and an Eulerian Navier-Stokes code (called TURNS). In most cases all methods produce good comparisons with the data. It is found that the HELIX-I code provides a good compromise between the speed of boundary integral methods and the comprehensive nature of Navier-Stokes methods.

Description: Shadowgraph flow visualization images were acquired from a 0.184-scale tiltrotor and wing in hover. Measurements and details of the vortex core structure were examined as a function of thrust condition and wake age. Experimental data for the isolated rotor wake geometry and rotor wake interactions with a semi-span wing and image plane were acquired. Quantitative measurements and comparisons of wake geometry and distortion were made for three configurations: the isolated rotor, rotor/wing, and rotor/wing/image plane. Comparisons between tiltrotor and helicopter rotor wake geometry measurements were made. Experimental wake geometry data were also compared with two wake models. Suggestions for improvements to existing prescribed-wake and free-wake models are proposed.

Description: An experimental investigation was conducted in the 14 by 22 ft subsonic tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center to quantify the rotor wake behind a scale model helicopter rotor in forward flight (mu = 0.15 and 0.23) at one thrust level (C sub T = 0.0064). The rotor system used in the present test consisted of a four-bladed, fully articulated hub and utilized blades of rectangular planform with a NACA-0012 airfoil section. A laser light sheet, seeded with propylene glycol smoke, was used to visualize the flow in planes parallel and perpendicular to the freestream flow. Quantitative measurements of vortex location, vertical skew angle, and vortex particle void radius were obtained for vortices in the flow; convective velocities were obtained for blade tip vortices. Comparisons were made between the experimental results and the wake geometry generated by computational predictions. The results of these comparisons show that the interaction between wake vortex structures is an important consideration for correctly predicting the wake geometry.

Description: The flow field for a rotor blade in hover was computed by numerically solving the compressible thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations on embedded grids. In this work, three embedded grids were used to discretize the flow field - one for the rotor blade and two to convect the rotor wake. The computations were performed at two hovering test conditions, for a two-bladed rectangular rotor of aspect ratio six. The results compare fairly with experiment and illustrates the use of embedded grids in solving helicopter type flow fields.

Description: An unstructured-grid solver for the unsteady Euler equations has been developed for predicting the aerodynamics of helicopter rotor blades. This flow solver is a finite-volume scheme that computes flow quantities at the vertices of the mesh. Special treatments are used for the flux differencing and boundary conditions in order to compute rotary-wing flowfields, and these are detailed in the paper. The unstructured-grid solver permits adaptive grid refinement in order to improve the resolution of flow features such as shocks, rotor wakes and acoustic waves. These capabilities are demonstrated in the paper. Example calculations are presented for two hovering rotors. In both cases, adaptive-grid refinement is used to resolve high gradients near the rotor surface and also to capture the vortical regions in the rotor wake. The computed results show good agreement with experimental results for surface airloads and wake geometry.

Description: The development of implicit upwind algorithms for the solution of the three-dimensional, time-dependent Euler equations on unstructured tetrahedral meshes is described. The implicit temporal discretization involves either a two-sweep Gauss-Seide relaxation procedure, a two-sweep Point-Jacobi relaxation procedure, or a single-sweep Point-Implicit procedure; the upwind spatial discretization is based on the flux-difference splitting of Roe. Detailed descriptions of the three implicit solution algorithms are given, and calculations for the Boeing 747 transport configuration are presented to demonstrate the algorithms. Advantages and disadvantages of the implicit algorithms are discussed. A steady-state solution for the 747 configuration, obtained at transonic flow conditions using a mesh of over 100,000 cells, required less than one hour of CPU time on a Cray-2 computer, thus demonstrating the speed and robustness of the general capability.

Description: A global, 7-year satellite-based record of ocean surface solar irradiance (SSI) is used to assess the realism of ocean SSI simulated by the nine-layer Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres (GLA) General Circulation Model (GCM). January and July climatologies of net SSI produced by the model are compared with corresponding satellite climatologies for the world oceans between 54 deg N and 54 deg S. This comparison of climatologies indicates areas of strengths and weaknesses in the GCM treatment of cloud-radiation interactions, the major source of model uncertainty. Realism of ocean SSI is also important for applications such as incorporating the GLA GCM into a coupled ocean-atmosphere GCM. The results show that the GLA GCM simulates too much SSI in the extratropics and too little in the tropics, especially in the summer hemisphere. These discrepancies reach magnitudes of 60 W/sq m and more. The discrepancies are particularly large in the July case off the western coast of North America. Positive and negative discrepancies in SSI are shown to be consistent with discrepancies in planetary albedo.

Description: Two-dimensional CFD analyses are presented related to the ground testing of hypersonic, air-breathing models which feature scramjet exhaust flow simulation. CFD analysis indicates that it is possible to test aftbody powered hypersonic airbreather configurations in a static, pumped-down environment to obtain aftbody aerodynamic performance data.

Description: Recent analyses of wind speed measurements by the Geosat altimeter showed that the radar cross section is affected by oceanographic factors, particularly by the degree of sea development, which are not directly accounted for in the geophysical model functions (GMF). In the present work, two new GMFs which account for the effects of the actual degree of sea development are proposed. Along with the radar cross section, these models use significant wave height information. One particular version is recommended for applications in oceanographic and climate studies where wind speed (or wind stress) data have to be binned (i.e., averaged over time and/or space intervals). The accuracy of this GMF (overall bias of 0.1 m/s and rms error of about 1.6 m/s) is higher than the accuracy of commonly employed GMFs, while the wave-age-related trend is reduced to a geophysically insignificant level. Finally, the wind speed histograms for the collocated data set are derived and compared with the ground truth data as well as with the histograms yielded by presently known GMFs. It is also shown that the accuracy of altimeter measurements could be increased even further if some additional information on the wave field were available from independent sources (e.g., the dominant wavelength from synthetic aperture radar images).

Description: The diurnal variation of the Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) and its annual variation were studied using scanner products from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). Data from the combination of sun synchronous polar orbiter NOAA-9 and mid-inclined precessing orbit Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), which provide the best diurnal global coverage, were used for the period of March 1985 to February 1986. Harmonic analysis was performed on monthly mean hourly OLR for both average sky and clear sky conditions in order to obtain the amplitude and phase of the OLR diurnal cycle. Large diurnal amplitudes are noticed mostly over desert regions. Over oceans, convectively active regions like the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) show noticeable diurnal variation compared to the rest of the regions. Annual variation of the OLR diurnal amplitude was compared with annual variation of the various earth radiation budget parameters. A good relationship was found between the OLR diurnal amplitude and the monthly mean net radiation and incoming solar radiation.

Description: Preliminary results are presented from multiparameter airborne radar measurements of tropical storms. The experiment was conducted in the western Pacific in September 1990 with the NASA DC-8 aircraft that was equipped with a dual-wavelength radar at X and Ka bands and several microwave radiometers. The modification to dual-polarization at X-band radar enabled measurements of the linear depolarization ratio (LDR). Vertical profiles of dual-polarization and dual-frequency observables for an example of stratiform rain and three examples of convective rain cells are examined. It is shown that at nadir incidence the LDR measurement often can be used to distinguish the phase states of the hydrometeors and to identify the melting layer. In addition to the information concerning particle shape and orientation from LDR, the ratio of the radar reflectivity factors in two frequency bands (X and Ka bands) provides insight into particle size. The capabilities of dual-wavelength and dual-polarization radar in the identification of particle size and phase will be important considerations in the design of future spaceborne weather radars.

Description: The probability matching method (PMM) is used as a basis for estimating attenuation in tropical rains near Darwin, Australia. PMM provides a climatological relationship between measured radar reflectivity and rain rate, which includes the effects of rain and cloud attenuation. When the radar sample is representative, PMM estimates the rainfall without bias. When the data are stratified for greater than average rates, the method no longer compensates for the higher attenuation and the radar rainfall estimates are biased low. The uncompensated attenuation is used to estimate the climatological attenuation coefficient. The two-way attenuation coefficient was found to be 0.0085 dB/km ( mm/h) exp -1.08 for the tropical rains and associated clouds in Darwin for the first two months of the year for horizontally polarized radiation at 5.63 GHz. This unusually large value is discussed. The risks of making real-time corrections for attenuation are also treated.

Description: Estimates of rain rate derived from a spaceborne weather radar will be most reliable over an intermediate range of values. In forming an area average of the rain rate, an alternative to the averaging of the high-resolution estimates, irrespective of their individual accuracies, is a multiple threshold approach. The method is based on the fact that the fractional area above a particular rain-rate threshold R(j) is related to the cumulative distribution of rain rates evaluated at R(j). Varying the threshold over the effective dynamic range of the radar yields the cumulative distribution function over this range. To obtain the distribution at all rain rates, a lognormal or gamma test function is selected such that the mean-square error between the test function and the measured values is minimized. Once the unknown parameters are determined, the first-order statistics of the areawide rain-rate distribution can be found. Tests of the method with data from the SPANDAR radar provide comparisons between it and the single threshold and the direct averaging approaches.

Description: Three satellite infrared techniques of increasing complexity for the estimation of rainfall are compared: (1) the GOES precipitation index (Arkin, 1979, 1983), (2) the Negri-Adler-Wetzel (Negri et al., 1984) technique, and (3) the convective-stratiform technique (CST), described by Adler and Negri (1988). It is shown that all three techniques performed poorly in estimating the rain maxima over southeastern Japan associated with shallow orographic warm rain systems. However, when the data set was limited to the ocean-only points, the CST method performed best, with the lowest bias, the lowest rms, and the highest correlation. Daily rainfall estimates had rms errors of almost 200 percent of the mean, and negative biases of about 50 percent of the mean.

Description: A method is described for estimating the mean monthly rainfall data for climate studies by combining the geosynchronous IR and low-orbit microwave data. The microwave technique uses the brightness temperature at 37 and 86 GHz from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager instrument on board the DMSP satellite to define raining areas over water and land, and the 86-GHz scattering signal to assign rain rate based on cloud model-microwave calculations. The IR estimates are initially computed separately, using hourly data from the Japanese Geostationary Meteorological Satellite. Results show that, in areas where the microwave technique performs well, the combined microwave-IR monthly total estimates have better error statistics than either the microwave of the IR techniques individually.

Description: Three years of monthly rain rates over 5 deg x 5 deg latitude-longitude boxes have been calculated for oceanic regions 50 deg N-50 deg S from measurements taken by the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites using the technique developed by Wilheit et al. (1987, 1991). The annual and seasonal zonal-mean rain rates are larger than Jaeger's (1983) climatological estimates but are smaller than those estimated from the GOES precipitation index (GPI) for the same period. Regional comparison with the GPI showed that these rain rates are smaller in the north Indian Ocean and in the southern extratropics where the GPI is known to overestimate. The differences are also dominated by a jump at 170 deg W in the GPI rain rates across the mid-Pacific Ocean. This jump is attributed to the fusion of different satellite measurements in producing the GPI.

Description: The diurnal cycle in rainfall varies considerably from region to region in the tropics. Determining this variability is important both for comparing predictions of atmospheric models to real atmospheric behavior and for making sure that estimates of total rainfall from low-altitude satellites are not biased because of their infrequent observations of a given region of the earth. Although there are no data from the proposed Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite to work with yet, we can ask how well the diurnal cycle in rainfall will be detected when the satellite is eventually collecting data, given the satellite's proposed sampling characteristics. Data analyses for the diurnal cycle are discussed, taking into account the fact that the satellite visits will be irregularly spaced in time. The amplitudes of the first few harmonics will be determined by least-squares fits to the satellite observations, and the tests needed to establish the statistical significance of the fitted amplitudes are discussed. The accuracy with which the first few harmonics of the diurnal cycle can be detected is estimated from several months of satellite data using rainfall statistics observed during the GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program) Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE).