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Solar proton events (SPEs) represent the single-most significant source of acute radiation exposure during space missions. Historically, an exponential in rigidity (particle momentum) fit has been used to express the SPE energy spectrum using GOES data up to 100 MeV. More recently, researchers have found that a Weibull fit better represents the energy spectrum up to 1000 MeV (1 GeV). In addition, the availability of SPE data extending up to several GeV has been incorporated in analyses to obtain a more complete and accurate energy spectrum representation. In this paper we discuss the major SPEs that have occurred over the past five solar cycles (~50+ years) in detail - in particular, Aug 1972 and Sept & Oct 1989 SPEs. Using a high-energy particle transport/dose code, radiation exposure estimates are presented for various thicknesses of aluminum. The effects on humans and spacecraft systems are also discussed in detail.

This paper presents a simplified orbit analysis program developed to calculate orbital parameters for the thermal analysis of spacecraft and space-flight instruments. The program calculates orbit data for inclined and sunsynchronous earth orbits. Traditional orbit analyses require extensive knowledge of orbital mechanics to produce a simplified set of data for thermal engineers. This program was created to perform orbital analyses with minimal input and provides the necessary output for thermal analysis codes. Engineers will find the program to be a valuable analysis tool for fast and simple orbit calculations. A description of the program inputs and outputs is included. An overview of orbital mechanics for inclined and Sun-synchronous orbits is also presented. Finally, several sample cases are presented to illustrate the thermal analysis applications of the program.

The Aircraft Landing Dynamics Facility (ALDF), formerly called the Landing Loads Track, is described. The paper gives a historical overview of the original NASA Langley Research Center Landing Loads Track and discusses the unique features of this national test facility. Comparisions are made between the original track characteristics and the new capabilities of the Aircraft Landing Dynamics Facility following the recently completed facility update. Details of the new propulsion and arresting gear systems are presented along with the novel features of the new high-speed carriage. The data acquisition system is described and the paper concludes with a review of future test programs.

Fuel costs comprise a major portion of air transport operating costs. Thus, energy efficiency is an essential design goal for future transport aircraft. Advanced composite structures, advanced wing geometries, and active control systems all promise substantial benefits in fuel efficiency and direct operating cost for derivative and new aircraft introduced by 1985. Technology for maintenance of a laminar boundary layer in cruise offers great benefits in fuel efficiency and direct operating cost and may be ready for application to transports introduced in the 1990's. NASA and the air transport industry are cooperating in a comprehensive Aircraft Energy Efficiency Program to expedite the introduction of these advanced technologies into production aircraft.

One of the factors needed to describe the handling characteristics of the Space Shuttle Orbiter during the landing rollout is the response of the vehicle's tires to variations in load and yaw angle. An experimental investigation of the cornering characteristics of the Orbiter main gear tires was conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center Aircraft Landing Dynamics Facility. This investigation compliments earlier work done to define the Orbiter nose tire cornering characteristics. In the investigation, the effects of load and yaw angle were evaluated by measuring parameters such as side load and drag load, and obtaining measurements of aligning torque. Because the tire must operate on an extremely rough runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), tests were also conducted to describe the wear behavior of the tire under various conditions on a simulated KSC runway surface. Mathematical models for both the cornering and the wear behavior are discussed.

The five basic elements affecting runway traction for jet transport aircraft operation are identified and described in terms of pilot, aircraft system, atmospheric, tire, and pavement performance factors or parameters. Runway traction is so affected by the interaction of these elements that it becomes an impossible task to discuss the effects of each element individually. For this reason, this paper discusses runway traction under the general headings of dry, wet and flooded, and snow and ice conditions. Where possible, research results are summarized, and means for restoring or improving runway traction for these different conditions are discussed.

Laminar flow flight experiments conducted over the past fifty years will be reviewed. The emphasis will be on flight testing conducted under the NASA Laminar Flow Control Program which has been directed towards the most challenging technology application- the high subsonic speed transport. The F111/TACT NLF Glove Flight Test, the F-14 Variable Sweep Transition Flight Experiment, the 757 Wing Noise Survey and NLF Glove Flight Test, the NASA Jetstar Leading Edge Flight Test Program, and the recently initiated Hybrid Laminar Flow Control Flight Experiment will be discussed. To place these recent experiences in perspective, earlier important flight tests will first be reviewed to recall the lessons learned at that time.

One of the risks associated with wet runway aircraft operation is the ingestion of water spray produced by an aircraft's tires into its engines. This problem can be especially dangerous at or near rotation speed on the takeoff roll. An experimental investigation was conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center Hydrodynamics Research Facility to measure the flow rate and trajectory of water spray produced by an aircraft nose tire operating on a flooded runway. The effects of various parameters on the spray patterns including distance aft of nosewheel, speed, load, and water depth were evaluated. Variations in the spray pattern caused by the airflow about primary structure such as the fuselage and wing are discussed. A discussion of events in and near the tire footprint concerning spray generation is included.

Over the past three decades, the application of simulation facilities to manned space flight projects has increased chances of successful mission completion by revealing the capabilities and limitations of both man and machine. The Space Station era, which implies on-orbit assembly, heightened system complexity, and great diversity of operations and equipment, will require increased dependence on simulation studies to validate the tools and techniques being proposed. For this reason the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) undertook a survey of both the facilities available for and the research requiring such simulations. This paper was written to provide LaRC input to the SAE survey of simulation needs and resources. The paper provides a brief historial sketch of early Langley Research Center simulators, and the circumstances are described which resulted in a de-emphasis of manned simulation in 1971.

A review is made of NASA aerodynamic research of interest to the designer of business aircraft. The results of wind-tunnel and flight studies of several current aircraft are summarized. The attainment of STOL performance is discussed and the effectiveness of several lift augmentation concepts is examined. Finally, the potentialities and problems of flight at and beyond the speed of sound are discussed.

The ability to personalize air travel through the use of an on-demand, highly distributed air transportation system will provide the degree of freedom and control that Americans enjoy in other aspects of their life. This new capability, of traveling when, where, and how we want with greatly enhanced mobility, accessibility, and speed requires vehicle and airspace technologies to provide the equivalent of an internet PC ubiquity, to an air transportation system that now exists as a centralized hub and spoke mainframe NASA airspace related research in this new category of aviation has been conducted through the Small Aircraft Transportation (SATS) project, while the vehicle technology efforts have been conducted in the Personal Air Vehicle sector of the Vehicle Systems Program.

Current aircraft operating problems that must be alleviated for future high-density terminal areas are safety, dependence on weather, congestion, energy conservation, noise, and atmospheric pollution. The MLS under development by FAA provides increased capabilities over the current ILS. It is, however, necessary and urgent to develop the airborne system's capability to take maximum advantage of the MLS capabilities in order to solve the terminal area problems previously mentioned. A major limiting factor in longitudinal spacing for capacity increase is the trailing vortex hazard. Promising methods for causing early dissipation of the vortices are being explored. Also, flight procedures for avoiding the hazard will be explored.

Not only is the common dream of frequent personal flight travel going unfulfilled, the current generation of General Aviation (GA) is facing tremendous challenges that threaten to relegate the Single Engine Piston (SEP) aircraft market to a footnote in the history of U.S. aviation. A case is made that this crisis stems from a generally low utility coupled to a high cost that makes the SEP aircraft of relatively low transportation value and beyond the means of many. The roots of this low value are examined in a broad sense, and a Next Generation NASA Advanced GA Concept is presented that attacks those elements addressable by synergistic aircraft design.

This paper summarizes the development of an approach to optimizing the locations for arrays of sensors and actuators in active noise control systems. A type of directed combinatorial search, called Tabu Search, is used to select an optimal configuration from a much larger set of candidate locations. The benefit of using an optimized set is demonstrated. The importance of limiting actuator forces to realistic levels when evaluating the cost function is discussed. Results of flight testing an optimized system are presented. Although the technique has been applied primarily to Active Structural Acoustic Control systems, it can be adapted for use in other active noise control implementations.

Noise is a barrier issue for penetration of civil markets by future tiltrotor aircraft. To address this issue, elements of the NASA Short Haul (Civil Tiltrotor) [SH(CT)] program are working in three different areas: noise abatement, noise reduction, and noise prediction. Noise abatement refers to modification of flight procedures to achieve quieter approaches. Noise reduction refers to innovative new rotor designs that would reduce the noise produced by a tiltrotor. Noise prediction activities are developing the tools to guide the design of future quiet tiltrotors. This paper presents an overview of SH(CT) activities in all three areas, including sample results.

Recently, there has been a strong emphasis on aerodynamic and aeroacoustic wind tunnel testing of automobiles. While significant level resources have been spent on investigating aerodynamics, the methodology has not changed appreciably since the beginning of aerodynamics as a science. Over the past decade, a number of global flow diagnostic techniques have been developed that drastically increase the quality and quantity of data from wind tunnel testing. One of these technologies is the use of pressure sensitive luminescent coatings, known as pressure-sensitive paint, a method which has matured considerably since its inception and is now used extensively in aerospace applications with good results. The goal of this research is to implement this technology in the full scale testing of high performance automotive vehicles. This paper discusses the details of a preliminary test, such as technique, paint formulation, camera and lighting hardware, and data reduction and analysis.

High Ice Water Content (HIWC) has been identified as a primary causal factor in numerous engine events over the past two decades. Previous attempts to develop a remote detection process utilizing modern commercial radars have failed to produce reliable results. This paper discusses the reasons for previous failures and describes a new technique that has shown very encouraging accuracy and range performance without the need for any modifications to industry’s current radar design(s). The performance of this new process was evaluated during the joint NASA/FAA HIWC RADAR II Flight Campaign in August of 2018. Results from that evaluation are discussed, along with the potential for commercial application, and development of minimum operational performance standards for future radar products.

The need for highly accurate measurements of velocity, temperature, pressure and density has required the development of new experimental techniques. While the majority of these development efforts at NASA Langley are focused toward applications for aeronautical programs such as the High-Speed Civil Transport, Advanced Subsonic Transport, and the National Aero-Space Plane, a number are applicable to other fields. The intent of this paper is to review recent instrumentation developments and applications at NASA Langley Research Center that may have applications in automotive testing. Five experimental techniques are described along with recent results obtained in NASA facilities.

NASA antiskid braking system research programs are reviewed. These programs include experimental studies of four antiskid systems on the Langley Landing Loads Track, flight tests with a DC-9 airplane, and computer simulation studies. Results from these research efforts include identification of factors contributing to degraded antiskid performance under adverse weather conditions, tire tread temperature measurements during antiskid braking on dry runway surfaces, and an assessment of the accuracy of various brake pressure-torque computer models. This information should lead to the development of better antiskid systems in the future.

Research committed by the Langley Research Center through 1995 resulting in the HZETRN code provides the current basis for shield design methods according to NASA STD-3000 (2005). With this new prominence, the database, basic numerical procedures, and algorithms are being re-examined with new methods of verification and validation being implemented to capture a well defined algorithm for engineering design processes to be used in this early development phase of the Bush initiative. This process provides the methodology to transform the 1995 HZETRN research code into the 2005 HZETRN engineering code to be available for these early design processes. In this paper, we will review the basic derivations including new corrections to the codes to insure improved numerical stability and provide benchmarks for code verification.