Drag Reducing and Increasing Mechanism on Triangular Riblet Surface

Drag reducing and increasing mechanism on riblet surface has been studied through computational fluid dynamics(CFD).Drag reduction is achieved through the optimization of riblet geometry which would affect flow structure inside riblet grooves.Force and flow structure on riblet surface are analyzed and compared with those of smooth surface based on the k-εturbulence model.Drag reducing and increasing mechanism is proved to be related to microvortexes induced inside riblets which lead to Reynolds shear stress reduction significantly and is considered to be the dominant factor resulting in wall friction reduction.Simulation results also show that the pressure drag generating from the deviation of static pressure on the front and rear ends of riblets occurs and grows exponentially with Mach number,which can cause drag increasing.Furthermore,near-wall vortical structures,Reynolds shear stress and static pressure on riblet surfaces are also analyzed in detail.     

Vibrations of an elastic guide beam with a missile moving along it

Transverse nonstationary vibrations of a guide beam having the initial flexure are considered. An absolutely rigid missile moves under the propulsive force along this guide beam on two sliding supports. The beam displacements introduced by its vibrations are presented as an expansion with respect to the given functions according to the Ritz method. The equations of nonstationary vibration of the beam with the missile moving along it are obtained in the generalized coordinates, the expansion coefficients being chosen as them. The example is presented. Also studied is the effect of different beam and missile parameters on the beam displacement and transverse and angular velocity of the missile.     

Early analysis of precise orbit and clock offset determination for the satellites of the global BeiDou-3 system

Eight new-generation BeiDou satellites (BeiDou-3) have been launched into Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), allowing for global coverage since March 2018, and they are equipped with new hydrogen atomic clocks and updated rubidium clocks. Firstly, we analyzed the signals for the carrier-to-noise-density ratio (C/N0) and pseudorange multipath (MP) by using international GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Monitoring and Assessment System (iGMAS) station data, and found that B1C has a lower C/N0, and B2a has the same level of C/N0 as the B1I and B3I signals. For pseudorange multipath, compared with the BeiDou-2 satellites, the obvious systematic variation of MP scatters related to the elevation angle is greatly improved for the BeiDou-3 and BeiDou-3e satellites signals. For the signals of the BeiDou-3 satellites, the order of the Root Mean Square (RMS) values of multipath and noise is B3I?<?B1I?<?B2a?<?B1C. Then, the comparison of the precise orbit determination and clock offset determination for the BeiDou-2, BeiDou-3, and BeiDou-3 experimental (BeiDou-3e) satellites was done by using 10 stations from iGMAS. The 3D precision of the 24?h orbit overlap is 24.55, 25.61, and 23.35?cm for the BeiDou-3, BeiDou-3e, and BeiDou-2 satellites, respectively. BeiDou-3 satellite has a comparable precision to that of the BeiDou-2 satellite. For the precision of clock offset estimation, the Standard Deviation (STD) of the BeiDou-3 MEO satellite is 0.350?ns, which is an improvement of 0.042?ns over that of the BeiDou-2 MEO satellite. The stabilities of the BeiDou-3 and BeiDou-3e onboard clocks are better than those of BeiDou-2 by factors of 2.84 and 1.61 at an averaging time of 1000 and 10,000?s, respectively.     

Fault Estimation and Accommodation for a Class of Nonlinear System Based on Neural Network Observer

The problem of fault estimation and accommodation of nonlinear systems with disturbances is studied using adaptive observer and neural network techniques.A robust adaptive learning algorithm based on switchingβsmodification is developed to realize the accurate and fast estimation of unknown actuator faults or component faults.Then a fault tolerant controller is designed to restore system performance.Dynamic error convergence and system stability can be guaranteed by Lyapunov stability theory.Finally,simulation results of quadrotor helicopter attitude systems are presented to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed techniques.     

Electric potential structures of auroral acceleration region border from multi-spacecraft Cluster data

This paper studies an auroral event using data from three spacecraft of the Cluster mission, one inside and two at the poleward edge of the bottom of the Auroral Acceleration Region (AAR). The study reveals the three-dimensional profile of the region’s poleward boundary, showing spatial segmentation of the electric potential structures and their decay in time. It also depicts localized magnetic field variations and field-aligned currents that appear to have remained stable for at least 80?s. Such observations became possible due to the fortuitous motion of the three spacecraft nearly parallel to each other and tangential to the AAR edge, so that the differences and variations can be seen when the spacecraft enter and exit the segmentations, hence revealing their position with respect to the AAR.     

Application of small-size antennas for estimation of angles of arrival of HF signals scattered by ionospheric irregularities

A modification of the Doppler Interferometry Technique is suggested to enable estimating angles of arrival of comparatively broadband HF signals scattered by random irregularities of the ionospheric plasma with the use of small-size weakly directional antennas. The technique is based on the measurements of cross-spectra phases of the probe radiation recorded at least in three spatially separated points. The developed algorithm has been used to investigate the angular and frequency-time characteristics of HF signals propagating at frequencies above the maximum usable one (MUF) for the direct radio path Moscow-Kharkiv. The received signal spectra show presence of three families of spatial components attributed, respectively, to scattering by plasma irregularities near the middle point of the radio path, ground backscatter signals and scattering of the sounding signals by the intense plasma turbulence associated with auroral activations. It has been shown that the regions responsible for the formation of the third family components are located well inside the auroral oval. The drift velocity and direction of the auroral ionosphere plasma have been determined. The obtained estimates are consistent with the classical conception of the ionospheric plasma convection at high latitudes and do not contradict the results of investigations of the auroral ionosphere dynamics using the SuperDARN network.     

Thermal stresses in a multilayer hollow cylinder under thermal shock on its external surface

An exact analytical solution of the thermoelasticity problem is presented for a multilayer shallow cylinder with physical properties of the medium that are constant in the limits of each layer. The effect of thermal shock of different intensity as well as the penetration depth of thermal disturbance on the distribution of radial and circumferential thermal stresses has been studied as applied to the one- and two-layer cylinder. It has been shown that the circumferential compressive stresses appear on the external surface of the cylinder under thermal shock while the tensile stresses appear on the internal surface.     

An Improved Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Method for Altitude and Attitude Control of Nano Quad-Rotors under Persistent Uncertainties

Nonlinear dynamic inversion(NDI)has been applied to the control law design of quad-rotors mainly thanks to its good robustness and simplicity of parameter tuning.However,the weakness of relying on accurate model greatly restrains its application on quad-rotors,especially nano quad-rotors(NQRs).NQRs are easy to be influenced by uncertainties such as model uncertainties(mainly from complicated aerodynamic interferences,strong coupling in roll-pitch-yaw channels and inaccurate aerodynamic prediction of rotors)and external uncertainties(mainly from winds or gusts),particularly persistent ones.Therefore,developing accurate model for altitude and attitude control of NQRs is difficult.To solve this problem,in this paper,an improved nonlinear dynamic inversion(INDI)method is developed,which can reject the above-mentioned uncertainties by estimating them and then counteracting in real time using linear extended state observer(LESO).Comparison with the traditional NDI(TNDI)method was carried out numerically,and the results show that,in coping with persistent uncertainties,the INDI-based method presents significant superiority.     

Investigations of the Mars Upper Atmosphere with ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

Space Science Reviews - Time measured by an ideal clock crucially depends on the gravitational potential and velocity of the clock according to general relativity. Technological advances in...     

Observations of a quasi-90-day oscillation in the MLT winds and tides over an equatorial station using meteor radar winds

An evident signature of a least studied quasi-90-day oscillation is found in the winds and tides in the MLT from an equatorial station, São João do Cariri (7.4°S, 36.5°W). The oscillation is found to appear mainly in certain intervals with small but appreciable seasonal (fourth harmonic of annual oscillation) contribution. The maximum amplitude of the oscillation is found to be around 10 m/s in the zonal wind. The enhancement peak of the oscillation exhibits downward movement indicating a plausible role of upward moving waves/tides in carrying its imprint from below to the MLT. Similar oscillation feature in the tropospheric zonal wind and ozone may imply its lower atmospheric origin as a component of the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) that moves upward by modulating the tides. Subsequently, the propagating tides (mainly semidiurnal) are enhanced by the ozone in the stratosphere through absorption of solar UV radiation and finally manifest the oscillation in the MLT. Consistency of the present findings with the past investigations are observed in some aspects of the oscillation, whereas existing mismatches in others are believed to be due to geophysical variability depending on space and time among various locations on the globe.