Engineering topics

Stevenson, D. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Stevenson, D. J..

51 records · Page 3

NASA NTRS1982

Volcanism and igneous processes in small icy satellites

Evidence for the production of endogenic processes of the small Saturnian satellites by igneous activity of low melting point NH3-H2O magma heated radiogenically is presented. An initial state of the inner satellites is modeled as a homogeneous mixture of particulate silicates and ices. Conductive transport is assumed to have either combined with heat capacity in a mixture of crystalline phases, or to have been reduced by the presence of dust, defects, vitreous or amorphous phases, and clathrates. The extent to which a eutectic melt could form is calculated in terms of the volume percentage of melt, with all heating above 175 K going toward overcoming the latent heat of the eutectic mix. Mimas and Enceladus were treated as free from radiogenic heat sources, which were significant for Tethys, Dione, Rhea, and Iapetus. The migrations of inner materials to form surface structures and seal off the interiors of the moons are described.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Reducing the non-axisymmetry of a planetary dynamo and an application to Saturn

A simple model for the tendency toward axisymmetrization observed in planets is developed. The model is presented in general but linear form, assuming that the differentially rotating fluid is thin, which means that Lorentz forces or Ohmic dissipation are neglected. Two cases are considered: uniform shear throughout the shell and shear concentrated within a very thin boundary layer. In each case, explicit expressions are obtained for the spatial attenuation of the non-spin-axisymmetric field components. The substantial nonlinear effects which prevent these results from being directly applicable to planets are discussed, with particular emphasis on the Taylor constraint. The model is applied to Saturn and found to give a satisfactory semiquantitative explanation for the near-axisymmetry of the field. The parameter choices required to reproduce the observed tilt are entirely reasonable and potentially testable. The model explains why Jupiter and Saturn are so different.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Models of the earth's core

Combined inferences from seismology, high-pressure experiment and theory, geomagnetism, fluid dynamics, and current views of terrestrial planetary evolution lead to models of the earth's core with five basic properties. These are that core formation was contemporaneous with earth accretion; the core is not in chemical equilibrium with the mantle; the outer core is a fluid iron alloy containing significant quantities of lighter elements and is probably almost adiabatic and compositionally uniform; the more iron-rich inner solid core is a consequence of partial freezing of the outer core, and the energy release from this process sustains the earth's magnetic field; and the thermodynamic properties of the core are well constrained by the application of liquid-state theory to seismic and labroatory data.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Internal structures of the Galilean satellites

Models for the interior structures of Io, Ganymede and Callisto are proposed based on recent discoveries of volcanism and high heat flow on Io, a primordial, heavily cratered surface on Callisto, and a surface modified by endogenic processes on Ganymede. The model for Io consists of a thin, high-rigidity outer shell overlying a thin, partially molten or molten layer maintained by tidal dissipation in the outer shell, which in turn surrounds a solid interior. Ganymede is modeled as an ice outer layer surrounding a shell of undifferentiated, primordial ice-silicate mixture and a rock core, with accretional heating responsible for melting the ice in an originally homogeneous ice-silicate interior. Finally, the old, heavily cratered surface of Callisto is interpreted as suggesting a primordial ice-silicate mixture with little, if any, ice-rock differentiation in the interior.

Schubert, G.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Lunar asymmetry and palaeomagnetism

A model is proposed for the early lunar evolution which accounts for the compositional asymmetry between the nearside and farside of the moon and the natural remanent magnetism of lunar rocks. According to the model, the preferred gravitational energy state consisted of an asymmetric accumulation of a liquid iron alloy (Fe-Ni and a small amount of sulfur) which displaces upwards the cold primordial undifferentiated core. The resulting depth asymmetry of the outer partially molten zone leads eventually to the subcrustal accumulation of light magnesium-rich pyroxenes and olivine, preferentially in one hemisphere, sufficient to explain the offset and also indirectly providing a possible explanation for the nearside concentration of KREEP and mass basalt. Slow downward migration of iron releases gravitational energy sufficient for convection and dynamo generation in an iron layer for about a billion years.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Applications of liquid state physics to the earth's core

New results derived for application to the earth's outer core using the modern theory of liquids and the hard-sphere model of liquid structure are presented. An expression derived in terms of the incompressibility and pressure is valid for a high-pressure liquid near its melting point, provided that the pressure is derived from a strongly repulsive pair potential; a relation derived between the melting point and density leads to a melting curve law of essentially the same form as Lindemann's law. Finally, it is shown that the 'core paradox' of Higgins and Kennedy (1971) can occur only if the Gruneisen parameter is smaller than 2/3, and this constant is larger than this value in any liquid for which the pair potential is strongly repulsive.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

The phase diagram and transport properties for hydrogen-helium fluid planets

The properties of pure hydrogen and helium are examined, taking into account metallic hydrogen, molecular hydrogen, and the molecular-metallic transition. Metallic hydrogen-helium mixtures are considered along with molecular hydrogen-helium mixtures, the total phase diagram, and minor constituents, including deuterium. The transport properties of the metallic and the molecular phase are also discussed, giving attention to electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, viscosity, self-diffusion, interdiffusion, radiative opacity, and second-order transport coefficients.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

The dynamics and helium distribution in hydrogen-helium fluid planets

The simple case of a homogeneous planet without first-order phase transitions is considered and an investigation is conducted concerning a pure hydrogen planet in which a first-order phase transition takes place from fluid molecular hydrogen to fluid metallic hydrogen. Attention is also given to convection in the presence of a compositional gradient, the effects of helium insolubility in a cooling hydrogen-helium planet, a hydrogen-helium planet in its early evolution, and the case in which influence of phase transition occurs much later in the evolution of the planet.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Heat transport in a stratified two-phase fluid

A self-gravitating fluid, stratified into two phases of appreciably different densities and heated from within is considered. The heat flux, viscosity, and thermal diffusivity are assumed to be small enough so that, away from the interface between the phases, the flux is mainly carried by turbulent convection with a very small superadiabaticity. Different modes are investigated for transporting the heat flux across the interface, and both possible signs of the latent heat L are considered. A thermal boundary layer, distortion of the interface, and the nucleation, growth and motion of droplets and bubbles are included. It is shown that, under a specified range of conditions, the transition region near the interface is thin with a small change in the temperature T across it. The entropy difference between the two phases is then L/T. These considerations probably apply to the interior of Jupiter.

Salpeter, E. E.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Interior models of Jupiter

Understanding the interior of Jupiter depends upon our knowledge of the thermodynamics and transport properties of hydrogen-helium mixtures at high pressures and temperatures. The current status of this knowledge is reviewed, and attention is given to the metallic-molecular hydrogen transition and the limited solubility of helium in hydrogen. Models of Jupiter are constructed which are consistent with all the observations to date, but which make various assumptions about the thermodynamics and composition of the interior. These models typically consist of a rocky core surrounded by a nearly-solar fluid mixture. In contrast to the models of Podolak and Cameron, a large enhancement of water or helium is not found to be essential. It is concluded that further progress in constructing interior models requires a better understanding of the thermodynamics of dense molecular hydrogen.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Does metallic ammonium exist

A description is given of calculations which demonstrate that metallic ammonium, at least in the form envisaged by Ramsey (1951), is unstable at all pressures. On the basis of the computational results it is concluded that monovalent metallic ammonium is never the thermodynamically favored phase for an NH3-1/2H2 mixture.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Dynamo generation in Mercury

Models of the interior and thermal evolution of Mercury calculated by Siegfried and Solomon (1974) using Lewis' (1972) cosmochemical calculations to constrain the composition are tested for four necessary conditions for MHD dynamo generation. It is shown that dynamo generation requires at least a partially fluid interior, an energy source that drives a flow of core fluid relative to the rigidly rotating planet, a magnetic-field diffusion time in excess of the characteristic fluid-flow time scale, and a fluid flow of sufficient complexity to satisfy Cowling's (1934) theorem. It is concluded that a literal interpretation of Lewis' calculations implies that dynamo generation in Mercury is improbable. Generation would be possible only if the metallic core were contaminated with substantial amounts of radioactive material.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Thermodynamics and phase separation of dense fully-ionized hydrogen-helium fluid mixtures

The free energy of a hydrogen-helium fluid mixture is evaluated for the temperatures and densities appropriate to the deep interior of a giant planet such as Jupiter. The electrons are assumed to be fully pressure-ionized and degenerate. In this regime, an appropriate first approximation to the ionic distribution functions can be found by assuming hard sphere interactions. Corrections to this approximation are incorporated by means of the perturbation theory of Anderson and Chandler. Approximations for the three-body interactions and the nonlinear response of the electron gas to the ions are included. It is predicted that a hydrogen-helium mixture, containing 10% by number of helium ions, separates into hydrogen-rich and helium-rich phases below about 8000 K, at the pressures relevant to Jupiter (4-40 Megabars). It is also predicted that the alloy occupies less volume per ion than the separated phases. The equations of state and other thermodynamic derivatives are tabulated. Implications of these results are discussed.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Conduction in fully ionized liquid metals

Electron transport is considered in high-density fully ionized liquid metals. Ionic structure is described in terms of hard-sphere-correlation functions and the scattering is determined from self-consistently screened point ions. Applications to the physical properties of the deep interior of Jupiter are briefly considered.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Conduction in fully ionized liquid metals

Electron transport is considered in high density fully ionized liquid metals. Ionic structure is described in terms of hard-sphere correlation functions and the scattering is determined from self-consistently screened point ions. Applications to the physical properties of the deep interior of Jupiter are briefly considered.

Stevenson, D. J.↗