Aerodynamic refinement of turbine cascades

Based on the experimental data, a dependence of the minimal friction losses in cascades was obtained. A turbine stage efficiency gain as a result of cascade improvement over the last three decades of the 20th century was estimated by this dependence.     

Modeling of landing of a helicopter with skid undercarriage with regard for the second landing impact

A technique is suggested for calculating the helicopter spatial motion and the stress-strain state of a skid landing gear in the course of landing with regard for the second landing impact; geometric, material and design nonlinearity of undercarriage springs deformation is taken into account. The comparison between the analysis results and experimental data is presented.     

Horseshoe orbits in the Earth–Moon system

Horseshoe orbits in the restricted three-body problem have been mostly considered in the Sun–Jupiter system and, in recent years, in the Sun–Earth system. Here, these orbits have been used to find asteroids that have orbits of this kind. We have built a planar family of horseshoe orbits in the Earth–Moon system and determined the points of planar and 1/1 vertical resonances on this family. We have presented examples of orbits generated by these spatial families.     

Thermohydraulic calculation of channels with cylindrical grooves

In this paper, a model of heat exchange and resistance in the channels with cylindrical grooves on the walls is presented. We compare the calculated data with the experimental results and give some recommendations for designers of power plants.     

Multicriteria choice of a carrier aircraft and main design parameters of an air launcher decoy

The multicriteria optimization problem on joint choice of a carrier aircraft and main design parameters of an air launcher decoy are considered. The estimation of the design parameter values for the aerial decoy is based on the statistical data processing with the use of the methods for constructing nonlinear regression. The result of solving this problem is a set of Pareto-optimal geometry characteristics of the carrier aircraft and aerial decoy. A person who is responsible for decision-making should choose the most reasonable variant from these characteristics. An example of solving the problem is presented.     

Digisonde observations of TIDs with frequency and angular sounding technique

A technique for studying ionospheric wavelike phenomena, primarily AGW/TID events, is developed based on the solution of the problem of radio wave propagation in ionospheric plasma disturbed by wavelike processes. A perfectly reflecting surface model is used for representing TIDs propagating at ionospheric heights. This technique is a generalization of the Frequency-and-Angular Sounding (FAS) method developed earlier for oblique TID diagnostics using transmitters of opportunity. Trial measurements were made in November 2003 with two DPS-4 systems at Millstone Hill Observatory, providing experimental validation of the developed method by comparing the results of disturbance diagnostics to those simultaneously obtained with the original (oblique) FAS method. The TID parameters recovered during the November 2003 campaign suggest that the observed disturbances predominately propagated equatorward which likely indicates their sources to be in the auroral region. The equatorward propagating AGW/TIDs are typical for disturbed geomagnetic conditions which were observed during the campaign. Implementation of the generalized FAS technique in the DPS sounder allowed development of a dedicated data acquisition system for ionospheric disturbance diagnostics. Routine measurements with the developed technique using the existing world-wide network of Digisondes (GIRO) will make it possible to conduct large-scale studies of the AGW/TID phenomena.     

Thermoelastic problem for a physically orthotropic cylindrical shell at localized temperature

Numerical results obtained based on the equations for the general theory of physically orthotropic shells are presented. These results illustrate the influence of anisotropy for mechanical and physical characteristics of material on stressed state.     

Evaluation and modification of commercial infra-red transducers for leaf temperature measurement.

Accurate measurement of the leaf to air temperature gradient is crucial for the determination of stomatal conductance and other plant responses in both single leaves and in plant canopies. This gradient is often less than 1 degree C, which means that leaf temperature must be known to within about +/- 0.1 degree C. This is a challenging task, but new, miniature infra-red transducers from Exergen Corporation (Newton, MA) and Everest Interscience (Tucson, AZ) can be modified and calibrated to achieve this accuracy. The sensors must be modified to add thermal mass and the Exergen sensor requires a measurement of sensor body temperature. Significant error is caused by the discharge of a capacitor in the standard Exergen sensor, but we tested it without the capacitor. The sensors respond rapidly to changes in target temperature, but require 2 to 10 minutes to respond to changes in sensor body temperature, which is often the largest source of error. A new, sensitive method for measuring field of view indicates substantial peripheral vision for both sensors and a wider field of view than specified by the manufacturers. Here we describe sensor output as a function of target and sensor body temperatures, and provide a generic (sensor independent) equation that can be used to achieve +/- 0.2 C accuracy with Exergen sensors. The equation was developed and verified using two black body calibrators.     

An analysis of magnetic protection of spacecraft against penetrating radiation

Negative effect of cosmic ray particles is a serious danger for astronauts and onboard equipment. When planning interplanetary flights it becomes one of the main obstacles. The aim of this work is to analyze currently available methods of protecting spacecraft against cosmic rays using magnetic fields and to choose the most effective method. Three variants of protection systems were considered, two of which had been described in scientific literature: with azimuth and axial magnetic filed. The third, more general method (with helical magnetic field) is suggested here for the first time. The first two variants are extreme special cases of the third one. The exact solution is obtained for the problem of motion of a charged relativistic particle in the helical magnetic field, and a criterion of particle reflection is determined. A comparative analysis of reflection characteristics of the chosen systems has been performed, and the conclusion about the optimal configuration of the magnetic protection is drawn.     

Investigation of direct integration for nonlinear finite element equations of motion by the modified central difference method

The investigation of stability and precision of the previously proposed implicit scheme of direct integration for the finite element equations of motion is presented. The scheme parameter values that ensure its unconditional stability in the nonlinear problems are determined and comparison with existing procedures is given.