What Are Special About Ground-Level Events?

Ground level events (GLEs) occupy the high-energy end of gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events. They are associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares, but we still do not clearly understand the special conditions that produce these rare events. During Solar Cycle 23, a total of 16 GLEs were registered, by ground-based neutron monitors. We first ask if these GLEs are clearly distinguishable from other SEP events observed from space. Setting aside possible difficulties in identifying all GLEs consistently, we then try to find observables which may unmistakably isolate these GLEs by studying the basic properties of the associated eruptions and the active regions (ARs) that produced them. It is found that neither the magnitudes of the CMEs and flares nor the complexities of the ARs give sufficient conditions for GLEs. It is possible to find CMEs, flares or ARs that are not associated with GLEs but that have more extreme properties than those associated with GLEs. We also try to evaluate the importance of magnetic field connection of the AR with Earth on the detection of GLEs and their onset times. Using the potential field source surface (PFSS) model, a half of the GLEs are found to be well-connected. However, the GLE onset time with respect to the onset of the associated flare and CME does not strongly depend on how well-connected the AR is. The GLE onset behavior may be largely determined by when and where the CME-driven shock develops. We could not relate the shocks responsible for the onsets of past GLEs with features in solar images, but the combined data from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have the potential to change this for GLEs that may occur in the rising phase of Solar Cycle 24.     

RF band high resolution sounding of building structures and works

A subsurface radar using a multi-frequency signal has been developed. It is designated for surveying building structures and works. The characteristic feature of this device is the possibility of obtaining sounding plane radio images featuring a high resolution attaining 1…2 cm. The main applications of this device includes the survey of building structures to reveal their heterogeneities and defects and the investigation of premises to detect bugging devices     

Evaporation and ignition of droplets in combustion chambers modeling and simulation

Computer simulation of liquid fuel jet injection into heated atmosphere of combustion chamber, mixture formation, ignition and combustion need adequate modeling of evaporation, which is extremely important for the curved surfaces in the presence of strong heat and mass diffusion fluxes. Combustion of most widely spread hydrocarbon fuels takes place in a gas-phase regime. Thus, evaporation of fuel from the surface of droplets turns to be one of the limiting factors of the process as well. The problems of fuel droplets atomization, evaporation being the key factors for heterogeneous reacting mixtures, the non-equilibrium effects in droplets atomization and phase transitions will be taken into account in describing thermal and mechanical interaction of droplets with streaming flows. In the present paper processes of non-equilibrium evaporation of small droplets will be discussed. As it was shown before, accounting for non-equilibrium effects in evaporation for many types of widely used liquids is crucial for droplet diameters less than 100 μm, while the surface tension effects essentially manifest only for droplets below 0.1 μm. Investigating the behavior of individual droplets in a heated air flow allowed to distinguish two scenarios for droplet heating and evaporation. Small droplets undergo successively heating, then cooling due to heat losses for evaporation, and then rapid heating till the end of their lifetime. Larger droplets could directly be heated up to a critical temperature and then evaporate rapidly. Droplet atomization interferes the heating, evaporation and combustion scenario. The scenario of fuel spray injection and self-ignition in a heated air inside combustion chamber has three characteristic stages. At first stage of jet injection droplets evaporate very rapidly thus cooling the gas at injection point, the liquid jet is very short and changes for a vapor jet. At second stage liquid jet is becoming longer, because evaporation rate decreases due to decrease of temperature. But combustion of fuel vapor begins which brings to increase of heat flux to droplets and accelerates evaporation. The length of the liquid jet decreases again and remains constant slightly oscillating.     

Bandwidth maximization for satellite laser communication

Free space optical communication between satellites networked together can make possible high speed communication between different places on Earth. The basic free space optical communication network includes at least two satellites. In order to communicate between them, the transmitter satellite must track the beacon of the receiver satellite and point the information optical beam in its direction. The pointing systems for laser satellite communication suffer during tracking from vibration due to electronic noise, background radiation from interstellar objects such as Sun, Moon, Earth, and Stars in the tracking field of view, and mechanical impact from satellite internal and external sources. Due to vibrations the receiver receives less power. This effect limits the system bandwidth for given bit error rate (BER). In this research we derive an algorithm to maximize the communication system bandwidth using the transmitter telescope gain as a free variable based on the vibration statistics model and the system parameters. Our model makes it possible to adapt the bandwidth and transmitter gain to change of vibration amplitude. We also present an example of a practical satellite network which includes a direct detection receiver with an optical amplifier. A bandwidth improvement of three orders of magnitude is achieved in this example for certain conditions, as compared with an unoptimized system     

Detection of interference/jamming and spoofing in a DGPS-aidedinertial system

Previous research at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has resulted in the design of a differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) aided INS-based (inertial navigation system) precision landing system (PLS) capable of meeting the FAA precision requirements for instrument landings. The susceptibility of DGPS transmissions to both intentional and nonintentional interference/jamming and spoofing must be addressed before DGPS may be safely used as a major component of such a critical navigational device. This research applies multiple model adaptive estimation (MMAE) techniques to the problem of detecting and identifying interference/jamming and spoofing in the DGPS signal. Such an MMAE is composed of a bank of parallel filters, each hypothesizing a different failure status, along with an evaluation of the current probability of each hypothesis being correct, to form a probability-weighted average state estimate as an output. For interference/jamming degradation represented as increased measurement noise variance, simulation results show that, because of the good failure detection and isolation (FDI) performance using MMAE, the blended navigation performance is essentially that of a single extended Kalman filter (EKF) artificially informed of the actual interference noise variance. However, a standard MMAE is completely unable to detect spoofing failures (modeled as a bias or ramp offset signal directly added to the measurement). This work describes a moving-bank pseudoresidual MMAE (PRMMAE) to detect and identify such spoofing. Using the PRMMAE algorithm, spoofing is very effectively detected and isolated; the resulting navigation performance is equivalent to that of an EKF operating in an environment without spoofing     

Numerical simulation of formation of cyclone vortex flows in the intratropical zone of convergence and their early detection

Mechanisms of formation of cyclonic vortices in the tropical atmosphere of the Earth are investigated in the intratropical zone of convergence using numerical simulation made with the complete system of equations of gas dynamics taking into account transport of infrared radiation, phase transitions of water vapor into microdrops of water and ice particles, and sedimentation of these drops and ice particles in the field of gravity force. Observational data on the structure of dominant air streams, which are formed in the intratropical zone of convergence over the North Atlantic in the periods of its highest thermodynamic intensity and instability, are used in the initial and boundary conditions of the model. Formation of cyclonic vortex flows is obtained numerically at sufficiently strong bending of the intratropical zone of convergence. The results of numerical modeling are compared with the data of satellite microwave monitoring: global radio thermal fields of the Earth from the electronic collection GLOBAL-Field allowing one to study the structure of atmospheric motions in a wide range of space-time scales.     

Effect of surface blowing on aerodynamic characteristics of tubercled straight wing

Recent research proves that wings with leading-edge tubercles have the ability to perform efficiently in post-stall region over the conventional straight wing. Moreover, the conventional straight wing outperforms the tubercled wing at a pre-stall region which is quintessential. Even though tubercled wing offers great performance enhancement, because of the complexity of the flow, the trough region of the tubercled wing is more prone to flow separation. Henceforth, the present paper aims at surface blowing – an active flow control technique over the tubercled wing to enhance the aerodynamic efficiency by positively influencing its lift characteristics without causing any additional drag penalty. Flow parameters like blowing velocity ratios and the location of blowing were chosen to find the optimised configuration keeping the amplitude and frequency of the leading-edge tubercles constant as 0.12 c and 0.25 c respectively. Numerical investigations were carried out over the baseline tubercled wing and tubercled wing with surface blowing at various blowing jet velocity ratios 0.5, 1 and 2 over four different chordwise locations ranging from 0.3 c to 0.8 c.The results confirm that blowing at various x/c with different blowing velocity ratios performs better than the conventional tubercled wing. Comparatively, blowing velocity ratio 2 at 0.3 c shows peak performance of about 28% enhancement in the lift characteristics relative to the baseline model. Particularly, in the pre-stall region, 25–50% increase in aerodynamic efficiency is evident over the tubercled wing with surface blowing compared with the baseline case. Additionally,attempts were made to delineate the physical significance of the flow separation mechanism due to blowing by visualizing the streamline pattern.     

Algebra and statistics of the solar wind

Statistical studies of properties of the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field, based on an extended database for the period 1963–2007 including four solar cycles, show that the Gaussian approximation well suites for some parameters as the probability distribution of their numerical values, while for others the lognormal law is preferred. This paper gives an interpretation of these results as associated with predominance of linear or nonlinear processes in composition and interaction of various disturbances and irregularities propagating and originating in the interior of the Sun and its atmosphere, including the solar corona and the solar wind running away from it. Summation of independent random components of disturbances leads, according to the central limit theorem of the probability theory, to the normal (Gaussian) distributions of quantities proper, while their multiplication leads to the normal distributions of logarithms. Thus, one can discuss the algebra of events and associate observed statistical distinctions with one or another process of formation of irregularities in the solar wind. Among them there are impossible events (having null probability) and reliable events (occurring with 100% probability). For better understanding of the relationship between algebra and statistics of events in the solar wind further investigations are necessary.     

Static torsional otolith–cervical–ocular reflex after prolonged exposure to weightlessness and a 7-day immersion

To determine the role of the support-proprioceptive factor in the functioning of the vestibular system, in particular the static torsional otolith–cervical–ocular reflex (OCOR), comparative OCOR studies with videooculography recording were performed after a 7-day “dry” horizontal immersion (16 subjects) and after a prolonged (126–195 days) exposure to weightlessness (13 cosmonauts). For the first time, it was demonstrated that minimization of the support and proprioceptive afferentation may result in an inversion or absence of the static torsional OCOR and the development of a positional nystagmus with an inverted reflex. A comparative OCOR data analysis of cosmonauts and immersion subjects has revealed similarity of responses. However, changes in OCOR after immersion were noted in only 60% of the subjects, while after space flight, 90% of cosmonauts showed them. Post-flight changes were more frequent, marked and long-lasting. Statistical analysis has shown that there were significant differences between pre- and post-flight data according to both parametric and non-parametric methods of multiple comparisons, whereas only parametric methods have found significant differences within immersion data.