Engineering topics

Ahrens, T. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Ahrens, T. J..

At least 73 records · Page 4

NASA NTRS1982

Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 13th, Houston, TX, March 15-19, 1982, Proceedings. Part 1

The present conference on planetary and lunar science considers theoretical models for the composition of the Venus crust, the lunar crust, the prediction of phase relationships in planetary mantles, the volumetric analysis of complex lunar craters, grazing impacts on Mars, the determination of lunar structure by means of electrical conductivity and seismic experiments, results of studies on the Apollo 16 site rocks, as well as Apollo 14, 15 and 17 lunar glasses and regoliths, and carbon components and isotopic compositions of chondritic meteorites. Also discussed are iron meteorites, interplanetary dust and tektites, and such theoretical and experimental issues as refractory condensates and chondrules from solar furnace experiments, molecular synthesis through the irradiation of silicates, and the adsorption of excess fission Xe.

Boynton, W. V.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Impact induced dehydration of serpentine and the evolution of planetary atmospheres

Results of shock recovery experiments carried out on antigorite serpentine Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 are reported. The main objective of the present study is the determination of critical shock pressures for partial and complete dehydration of serpentine under shock loading. It is pointed out that serpentine and serpentine-like layer silicates are the major water-bearing phases in carbonaceous chondrites. It appears that these minerals, and a poorly defined cometary contribution, were the most likely water-bearing phases in accreting planetesimals which led to the formation of the terrestrial planets. The obtained results imply that the process of impact induced devolatilization of volatile bearing minerals during accretion is likely to have occurred on earth. The findings lend support to the model of a terrestrial atmosphere/hydrosphere forming during the later stages of accretion of the earth.

Lange, M. A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The interaction of the cretaceous-tertiary extinction bolide with the atmosphere, ocean, and solid earth

A number of investigations, including those reported by Orth et al. (1981), have provided physical evidence for the impact of an extraterrestrial object on earth 65 million years ago. This time corresponds to the end of the cretaceous period. This impact could, therefore, be responsible for the observed extinction of biological species at the end of the Mesozoic era. Among the species becoming extinct are found also flying and walking dinosaurs, which include all land animals that had masses greater than 25 kg. The present investigation is concerned with a study of the possibilities for the collision of earth with 10 km-size object, and the consequences produced by such a collision. It is found that the penetration of the atmosphere by the bolide creates a temporary hole in the atmosphere. The resulting flow fields can inject melt droplets and finely commuted solid particles into the atmosphere. Short-term effects of heating, followed by dust induced worldwide cooling, may provide several mechanisms for the observed extinction of the species.

Okeefe, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Dynamic tensile strength of lunar rock types

The dynamic tensile strength of four rocks are determined. A flat plate impact experiment is employed to generate approximately one-microsecond-duration tensile stress pulses in rock samples by superposing rarefaction waves to induce fracture. It is noted that the effect of chemical weathering and other factors has not been explicitly studied. The given tensile strengths are based on a series of experiments on each rock where determination of incipient spallation is made by terminal microscopic examination. The data are generally consistent with previous determinations, at least one of which was for a significantly chemically altered but physically coherent rock.

Cohn, S. N.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Impact cratering - The effect of crustal strength and planetary gravity

The effect of varying planetary crustal strength and surface gravity on the depth of impact craters is investigated, by coupling the results of compressible flow, finite difference calculations carried out to stress levels below the compressional dynamic yield point, in keeping with the incompressible fluid flow model of Maxwell (1973). The fundamental assumption in this description is that the amplitude of the particle velocity field decreases with time as kinetic energy is converted into heat and gravitational potential energy. By using a Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion, the effect of varying strength on transient crater depth and on crater formation time in the gravity field of the moon is investigated for the case of 5 km/sec impactors having radii in the 10 to 10 to the 7th cm range.

Okeefe, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Carbon dioxide within Venus and the earth

The maximum inventories of CO2 and H2O in the terrestrial and Venus mantles are calculated on the basis of shock wave data for magnesite and dunite to be approximately 1,000 times the observed atmospheric inventories. The CO2 fugacity determined for the buffered reaction MgCO3 plus SiO2 going to MgSiO3 plus CO2 yields values which increase from 0.0001 to 1.0 times the lithostatic pressure, going from 35 to 800 km depths in the earth. The major uncertainties in the fugacity calculations arise from lack of knowledge of effective activities. The calculated fugacity of CO2 and water brought to the surface from hypothetical mantle reservoirs on earth and Venus indicate that, in the case of the earth, the cool and dry atmosphere is strongly depleted in both CO2 and H2O compared to the low velocity zone. In contrast to the earth, on Venus, the 750 K surface temperature and 90 bar CO2 surface pressure are in equilibrium and probably in communication with an assumed upper mantle CO2 reservoir.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Shock-induced effects in calcite from Cactus Crater

The paper discusses shock metamorphism of calcite from coralline limestone samples retrieved from a borehole drilled into rocks beneath Cactus Crater, a nuclear explosion crater at Eniwetok Atoll. The metamorphism was detected and quantified using electron spin resonance (ESR); the ESR spectra of Mn(+) present as a trace constituent in the coral samples, show a consistent decrease in hyperfine peak splitting with decreasing depth of sample. It is suggested that the decrease in hyperfine peak splitting reflects a decrease in crystal field splitting, and therefore, small increases on cation-anion distances produced by mechanical energy input during the shock process. Two alternative crater models suggested by the ESR results are a depiction of a steady decay of the shock wave, and a delineation of a breccia lens with a breccia-bedrock interface at 20 plus or minus 5 m.

Vizgirda, J.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Anorthite - Thermal equation of state to high pressures

New shock-wave data are presented for anorthite from which a full high-temperature, high-pressure equation of state is derived. Whereas anorthite has relatively low values of thermal expansion and Grueneisen parameter at zero pressure, it is found that these attain relatively high values in the high density state corresponding to the high-pressure phase Hugoniot but decrease upon compression as expected. It is noted that higher order anharmonic contributions decrease more rapidly with pressure and that the thermal expansion therefore saturates to a high temperature value at pressures above about 100 GPa. Reduction of the Hugoniot data permits shock temperatures to be calculated; it also yields a principal adiabat for the high pressure branch of the Hugoniot. The initial bulk modulus of this adiabat is essentially identical to that of anorthite, whereas the initial density is about 3.40 Mg/cu m.

Jeanloz, R.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Dynamic properties of mare basalts - Relation of equation of state to petrology

A comparison of shock compression and release adiabat data to 160 GPa for the 12063 low-titanium mare basalt with previous results for the high-titanium, 70215 mare basalt shows that, while the two rocks have very similar zero-pressure densities, the former is much less compressible above 100 GPa. This demonstrates that rocks with complex mineralogies can have significantly different dynamic properties despite a similarity of oxide components. The 10% higher ilmenite content of 70215 is suggested as an explanation for the contrasting dynamic properties of the two rocks. Because the 12063 high-pressure data presented lie midway between the 70215 data and those previously obtained for the anorthosite that is the dominant constituent of the lunar highlands, it is concluded that the behavior of lunar surface material under dynamic compression is terrane-dependent; where this dependence is (1) found to extend to different regions of the maria, and (2) may affect the determination of the relative ages of different rock units from areal crater densities.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Impact-induced water loss from serpentine, nontronite and kernite

Preliminary experiments have been conducted to study shock-release of volatiles from minerals. Impact-induced loss of bound water from hydrous minerals has been observed, using infrared absorption and X-ray powder diffractometer techniques. Serpentine (Mg3Si2O5(OH)4) and nontronite (.5Ca(0.7)Fe4/(Si(7.3)Al(0.7))O20/(OH)4.nH2O) were shocked and recovered from pressures of up to 38 GPa, using one-dimensional shock reverberation techniques. Kernite (Na2B4O7.4H2O) was impacted by a spherical pyrex projectile traveling at 4.89 km/sec, which produced a peak pressure of approximately 33 GPa. The infrared absorption spectra indicate that some of the bound water from these three minerals was released as a result of shock compression and subsequent rarefaction. This evidence is supported by the recovery of small amounts of vapor from the serpentine shocked to 23.5 GPa and the nontronite shocked to 18 GPa. The recovered vapor is inferred to be water from the shocked minerals. X-ray diffraction spectra indicate no major changes in the unit cell dimensions of the two silicates, except for a decrease in the lattice constant in the c-direction of the nontronite, consistent with the loss of interlayer water.

Boslough, M. B.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Low-velocity impact craters in ice and ice-saturated sand with implications for Martian crater count ages

The paper reports on a series of low-velocity impact experiments performed in ice and ice-saturated sand. It is found that crater diameters in ice-saturated sand were about 2 times larger than in the same energy and velocity range in competent blocks of granite, basalt and cement, while craters in ice were 3 times larger. It is shown that if this dependence of crater size on strength persists to large hypervelocity impact craters, then surface of geologic units composed of ice or ice-saturated soil would have greater crater count ages than rocky surfaces with identical influx histories. Among the conclusions are that Martian impact crater energy versus diameter scaling may also be a function of latitude.

Croft, S. K.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Release adiabat measurements on minerals - The effect of viscosity

The paper examines the effect of viscosity in the release adiabat measurements on minerals. The current inversion of pressure-particle velocity data for release from a high-pressure shock state to a pressure-density path usually depends critically upon the assumption that the release process is isentropic. It has been shown that the effective viscosity for geological materials below stresses of 150 GPa must be at least 1000 kg/m/s so that viscous work in the shock state remains small compared to mechanical work recovered upon adiabatic rarefaction. The magnitude of the shear stress in the shock state in minerals and viscosities of engineering materials shocked to pressures below 150 GPa show effective viscosities of about 1000 kg/m/s or less indicating that the conditions for isentropic release of materials from shock states are achieved and that the Riemann integral can be applied to obtain pressure-density states along the release adiabats of minerals.

Jeanloz, R.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Release adiabat measurements on minerals: The effect of viscosity

The current inversion of pressure-particle velocity data for release from a high pressure shock state to a pressure-density path is analyzed. It is assumed that the release process is isentropic. It was shown that for geological materials below stresses of 150 GPa, the effective viscosity must be 1000 kg/m/s in order that the viscous (irreversible) work carried out on the material in the shock state remains small compared to the mechanical work recovered upon adiabatic rarefaction. The available data pertaining to the offset of the Rayleigh line from the Hugoniot for minerals, the magnitude of the shear stress in the high pressure shock state for minerals, and the direct measurements of the viscosities of several engineering materials shocked to pressures below 150 GPa yield effective viscosities of 1000 kg/m/s or less. An inferance that this indicates that the conditions for isentropic release of minerals from shock states are achieved, and a conclusion that the application of the Riemann integral to obtain pressure-density states along the release adiabats of minerals in shock experiments is valid are made.

Jeanloz, R.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Post-shock temperatures in minerals

An experimental technique was developed for measuring post-shock temperatures in a wide variety of materials, including those of geophysical interest such as silicates. The technique uses an infrared radiation detector to determine the brightness temperature of samples shocked to pressures in the range 5 to approximately 30 GPa; in these experiments measurements were made in two wavelength ranges (4.5 to 5.75 microns and 7 to 14 microns). Reproducible results, with the temperatures in the two wavelength bands generally in excellent agreement, were obtained for aluminum-2024 (10.5 to 33 GPa, 125 to 260 C), stainless steel-304 (11.5 to 50 GPa, 80 to 350 C), crystalline quartz (5.0 to 21.5 GPa, 80 to 250 C), forsterite (7.5 to 28.0 GPa, approximately 30 to 160 C) and Bamble bronzite (6.0 to 26.0 GPa, approximately 30 to 225 C). It is concluded that release adiabat data should be used, wherever available, for calculations of residual temperature, and that adequate descriptions of the shock and release processes in minerals are more complex than generally assumed.

Raikes, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Anorthite: Thermal equation of state to high pressures

The shock wave (Hugoniot) data on single crystal and porous anorthite (CaAl2Si208) to pressures of 120 GPa are presented. These data are inverted to yield high pressure values of the Grueneisen parameter, adiabatic bulk modulus, and coefficient of thermal expansion over a broad range of pressures and temperatures which in turn are used to reduce the raw Hugoniot data and construct an experimentally based, high pressure thermal equation of state for anorthite. The hypothesis that higher order anharmonic contributions to the thermal properties decrease more rapidly upon compression than the lowest order anharmonicities is supported. The properties of anorthite corrected to lower mantle conditions show that although the density of anorthite is comparable to that of the lower most mantle, its bulk modulus is considerably less, hence making enrichment in the mantle implausible except perhaps near its base.

Jeanloz, R.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Measurement of post-shock temperatures in aluminum and stainless steel

Until recently experimental measurements of post-impact temperatures have been obtained only for metals at high pressures. Our aim has been to develop a technique for measuring post-shock temperatures in a variety of materials, including metals and silicates, at pressures in the range of 5 to 50 GPa, providing further insight into the shock process in these substances and additional constraints to available equation of state data. This paper describes the method we have developed, and its application to the determination of post-shock temperatures in aluminum-2024 and stainless steel-304.

Raikes, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Post-shock temperatures in minerals

An experimental technique for the measurement of post-shock temperatures in minerals is presented, and silicate post-shock temperature measurements are compared with theoretical calculations. The technique involves the use of infrared detectors to determine the brightness temperatures at 4.5 to 5.75 microns and 7 to 14 microns of samples shocked to between 5 and 30 GPa. Results obtained for aluminum 2024 and stainless steel 304, as well as for Bamble bronzite and synthetic crystal forsterite are found at low pressures to be considerably in excess of the temperatures predicted assuming a hydrodynamic rheology and isentropic release parallel to the Hugoniot. The results are shown to be in better agreement, however, with values calculated assuming elastoplastic behavior, and the post-shock temperatures of crystalline quartz are found to be in good agreement with those calculated by Mashimo et al. (1979) from release adiabat data.

Raikes, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Impact melting early in lunar history

The total amount of impact melt produced during early lunar history is examined in light of theoretically and experimentally determined relations between crater diameter (D) and impact melt volume. The time dependence of the melt production is given by the time dependent impact rate as derived from cratering statistics for two different crater-size classes. Results show that small scale cratering (D less than or equal to 30 km) leads to melt volumes which fit selected observations specifying the amount of impact melt contained in the lunar regolith and in craters with diameters less than 10 km. Larger craters (D greater than 30 km) are capable of forming the abundant impact melt breccias found on the lunar surface. The group of large craters (D greater than 30 km) produces nearly 10 times as much impact melt as all the smaller craters, and thus, the large impacts dominate the modification of the lunar surface. A contradiction between the distribution of radiometric rock ages and a model of exponentially decreasing cratering rate going back to 4.5 b.y. is reflected in uncertainty in the distribution of impact melt as a function of time on the moon.

Lange, M. A.↗