VLF Loop Antennas for Pulse Reception

This paper describes an approach to the realization of a VLF loop-type antenna system. The theoretical analysis is applied to a four-loop system for Loran-C reception.     

Computer-aided simulation of the AMg6 alloy rolling process with allowance for its anisotropy

Some data obtained in the course of computer-aided simulation of a process of plane AMg6 alloy specimen rolling in the CAE-system MSC.SuperForm are presented. The influence of a real material structure upon the stress-strain state and the flow pattern of layers throughout the specimen height is taken into account. Also determined are the values of total pressure of metal on the rolls and a moment of rolling with the use of the isotropic and anisotropic finite element models (FEM) of specimens.     

Design and numerical investigation of swirl recovery vanes for the Fokker 29 propeller

Swirl recovery vanes（SRVs） are a set of stationary vanes located downstream from a propeller, which may recover some of the residual swirl from the propeller, hoping for an improvement in both thrust and efficiency. The SRV concept design for a scaled version representing the Fokker 29 propeller is performed in this paper, which may give rise to a promotion in propulsive performance of this traditional propeller. Firstly the numerical strategy is validated from two aspects of global quantities and the local flow field of the propeller compared with experimental data, and then the exit flow together with the development of propeller wake is analyzed in detail.Three kinds of SRV are designed with multiple circular airfoils. The numerical results show that the swirl behind the propeller is recovered significantly with Model V3, which is characterized by the highest solidity along spanwise, for various working conditions, and the combination of rotor and vane produced 5.76% extra thrust at the design point. However, a lower efficiency is observed asking for a better vane design and the choice of a working point. The vane position is studied which shows that there is an optimum range for higher thrust and efficiency.     

On the asteroid hazard

The concept of “space patrol” is considered, aimed at discovering and cataloging the majority of celestial bodies that constitute a menace for the Earth [1, 2]. The scheme of “optical barrier” formed by telescopes of the space patrol is analyzed, requirements to the observation system are formulated, and some schemes of sighting the optical barrier region are suggested (for reliable detection of the celestial bodies approaching the Earth and for determination of their orbits). A comparison is made of capabilities of electro-jet engines and traditional chemical engines for arrangement of patrol spacecraft constellation in the Earth’s orbit.     

Motion of three viscoelastic planets in the field of their mutual attraction forces

Translational-rotational motion of three planets modeled by viscoelastic balls in the gravitational field of mutual attraction is studied in this paper. The system of equations of motion for the mechanical system under consideration is deduced from the d’Alembert-Lagrange variational principle. Using the method of separation of motions, an approximate system of ordinary differential equations, describing the translational-rotational motion of the planets, is obtained with taking into account perturbations caused by elasticity and dissipation. The found steady-state motion of the system is an analog to triangular libration points in the classical three-body problem.     

Some features of solar cosmic ray penetration into the Earth’s magnetosphere

We compared fluxes of the 1–100 MeV solar energetic particles (SEP) measured in the interplanetary medium (ACE) and in the magnetosphere (Universitetsky-Tatiana, POES—in polar caps, and GOES-11—at geosynchronous orbit) during several SEP events of 2005–2006. Peak intensities of the SEP fluxes inside and outside the magnetosphere were compared for each event. It is shown that observed inside-outside difference depends mainly on direction of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), on degree of the SEP anisotropy (pitch-angle distribution) in IMF, and on distance of the dayside magnetopause from the Earth.     

Cycle slip detection using multi-frequency GPS carrier phase observations: A simulation study

The detection and repair of the cycle slip or gross error is a key step for high precision global positioning system (GPS) carrier phase navigation and positioning due to interruption or unlocking of GPS signal. A number of methods have been developed to detect and repair cycle slips in the last two decades through cycle slip linear combinations of available GPS observations, but such approaches are subject to the changing GPS sampling and complex algorithms. Furthermore, the small cycle slip and gross error cannot be completely repaired or detected if the sampling is quite longer under some special observation conditions, such as Real Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning. With the development of the GPS modernization or Galileo system with three frequencies signals, it may be able to better detect and repair the cycle slip and gross error in the future. In this paper, the cycle slip and gross error of GPS carrier phase data are detected and repaired by using a new combination of the simulated multi-frequency GPS carrier phase data in different conditions. Results show that various real-time cycle slips are completely repaired with a gross error of up to 0.2 cycles.     

Accommodating controller malfunctions through fault tolerant control architecture

In previous work we have proposed a supervised globalized dual heuristic programming (GDHP) controller as a solution to the fault tolerant control (FTC) problem of nonlinear plants subject to abrupt and incipient faults capable of drastically modifying the system dynamics to maintain stability and performance. The neural network (NN) based adaptive critic controller presented the best choice for the flexibility and power necessary to accomplish the task, however no success guarantees can be made for the online training of neural weights for the unrestricted fault recovery problem. Built on the existing framework, we propose a novel supervisory system capable of detecting controller malfunctions before the stability of the plant is compromised. Furthermore, due to its ability to discern between controller malfunctions and faults within the plant, the proposed supervisor acts in a specific fashion in the event of a controller malfunction to provide new avenues with a greater probability of convergence using information from a dynamic model bank. The classification and distinction of controller malfunctions from the faults in the plant itself is achieved through an advanced decision logic based on three independent quality indexes. Proof-of-the-concept simulations over a nonlinear plant demonstrate the validity of the approach.     

A Clutter Reduction Technique for Random Signal Radars

The performance of certain radars is degraded in environments with significant clutter returns, and since the clutter is signal-generated, increasing the transmitted power does not improve the situation. However, changing the pulse width and pulse period of the transmitted signal can increase the input signal-to-interference ratio. In this correspondence, the transmitted signal is made up of pulses of random waveforms and the receiver is a correlator where the reference signal extends over many pulses. An expression for input signal-to-interference ratio as a function of pulse width and period is obtained for the case of a distributed target. This expression could be maximized by any of several methods, but to further elucidate the clutter reduction technique, contour plots of the input signal-to-interference ratio are presented.