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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

The wedge hot-film anemometer in supersonic flow

A commercial wedge hot-film probe is studied to determine its heat transfer response in transonic to low supersonic flows of high unit Reynolds number. The results of this study show that its response in this flow regime differs from the response of cylindrical type sensors. Whereas the cylindrical sensor has the same sensitivity to velocity as to density for free-stream Mach numbers exceeding 1.3, the wedge probe sensitivity to velocity is always greater than its sensitivity to density over the entire flow regime. This property requires determination of three fluctuation components due to density, velocity, and temperature, in a transonic or supersonic turbulent flow. Sensitivity equations are derived based on the observed behavior of the wedge probe. Both the durability and the frequency response of the probe are excellent, the square wave insertion test indicating frequency response near 130 kHz. The directional response of the probe at sonic speed is poor and requires further examination before Reynolds stress measurements are attempted with dual sensor probes.

Seiner, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Shock tube study of the fuel structure effects on the chemical kinetic mechanisms responsible for soot formation

Soot formation in toluene-, benzene-, and acetylene-oxygen-argon mixtures was investigated to study soot formation in a combustion environment. High concentrations of oxygen completely suppress soot formation. The addition of oxygen at relatively low concentrations uniformly suppresses soot formation at high pressures, while at relatively lower pressures it suppresses soot formation at higher temperatures while promoting soot production at lower temperatures. The observed behavior indicates that oxidation reactions compete with ring fragmentation. The main conclusion to be drawn from the results is that the soot formation mechanism is probably the same for the pyrolysis and oxidation of hydrocarbons. That is, the addition of oxygen does not alter the soot route but rather promotes or inhibits this route by means of competitive reactions. An approach to empirical modeling of soot formation during pyrolysis of aromatic hydrocarbons is also presented.

Frenklach, M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Control of Thermal Stress in Dendritic Web Growth

The temperature distributions which are present during the growth of ribbon crystals generate stresses which can adversely affect the growth or perfection of the material. Several different effects occur which depend on the magnitude and distribution of these stresses. In most cases, the observed phenomena are the result of complex interactions of a number of mechanisms. In many instances, however, one mechanism predominates to such an extent that a simplified distinction between the various effects can be made. Definitions based on observed behavior in dendritic web growth are outlined.

Seidensticker, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Transient nucleation in condensed systems

Using classical nucleation theory we consider transient nucleation occurring in a one-component, condensed system under isothermal conditions. We obtain an exact closed-form expression for the time dependent cluster populations. In addition, a more versatile approach is developed: a numerical simulation technique which models directly the reactions by which clusters are produced. This simulation demonstrates the evolution of cluster populations and nucleation rate in the transient regime. Results from the simulation are verified by comparison with exact analytical solutions for the steady state. Experimental methods for measuring transient nucleation are assessed, and it is demonstrated that the observed behavior depends on the method used. The effect of preexisting cluster distributions is studied. Previous analytical and numerical treatments of transient nucleation are compared to the solutions obtained from the simulation. The simple expressions of Kashchiev are shown to give good descriptions of the nucleation behavior.

Kelton, K. F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Modification of the strato-mesospheric temperature and wind structure resulting from the 26 February 1979 solar eclipse

Temperature and wind behavior observed during the February 1979 solar eclipse shows significant change immediately following and up to one hour after totality. Stratospheric and mesospheric data obtained from Fort Churchill, Manitoba, indicate quite clearly a cooling trend between 50-60 kilometers with the maximum temperature decrease of approximately 10 C evident above 52 kilometers. This temperature perturbation was accompanied by an amplification of the meridional wind speed of 20-30 mps near 60 kilometers. These results are essentially in agreement with those obtained at Wallops Island during the March 1970 solar eclipse. Although the stratosphere was under the large-scale influence of a stratospheric warming, the short-term perturbations caused by radiative changes as a result of the solar eclipse did not appear to be masked.

Schmidlin, F. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Study of the structure of turbulent shear flows at supersonic speeds and high Reynolds number

A major effort to improve the accuracies of turbulence measurement techniques is described including the development and testing of constant temperature hot-wire anemometers which automatically compensate for frequency responses. Calibration and data acquisition techniques for normal and inclined wires operated in the constant temperature mode, flow geometries, and physical models to explain the observed behavior of flows are discussed, as well as cooperation with computational groups in the calculation of compression corner flows.

Smits, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Theory Tested by Means of the Stars

The viability of the solar alpha-omega dynamo model was studied through examination of extreme stellar cases expected to show specific types of deviation from solar behavior. Observational data was taken from studies of main sequence stars with shallow convective zones, fully convective M-dwarfs, and a Pleiades X-ray survey.

Golub, L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Chiral solidification of a phospholipid monolayer

The formation of chiral solidlike domains observed by Weiss and McConnell (1984) in monolayers of depalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) floating on an air-water interface is investigated theoretically. It is proposed that the diffusion tensor for the two-dimensional fluidlike phase of the DPPC molecules has a chiral component acting perpendicular to the concentration gradient and coupled to the rotational motion of a pinwheellike molecule by the viscous forces. Diagrams are provided, and numerical estimates of the forces involved are shown to be in agreement with the observed behavior of the structures.

Langer, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Influence of load interactions on crack growth as related to state of stress and crack closure

Fatigue crack propagation (FCP) after an application of a low-high loading sequence was investigated as a function of specimen thickness and crack closure. No load interaction effects were detected for specimens in a predominant plane strain state. However, for the plane stress specimens, initially high FCP rates after transition to a higher stress intensity range were observed. The difference in observed behavior was explained by examining the effect of the resulting closure stress intensity values on the effective stress intensity range.

Telesman, J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Workshop on Water on Mars

The opening session of the Workshop focused on one of the most debated areas of Mars volatiles research-the size of the planet's past and present bulk water content. Current estimates of the inventory of H2O on Mars range from an equivalent layer of liquid 10-1000 meters deep averaged over the planet's surface. The most recent of these estimates, presented at the Workshop, is based on the now popular belief that the SNC class of meteorites represent actual samples of the Martian crust. From a model of planetary accretion and degassing founded on this assumption, it was determined that the present inventory of H2O on Mars is equivalent to a global layer no more than 50 meters deep. During the discussion generated by this estimate, several investigators expressed reservations about an H2O inventory as small as a few tens of meters, for it appears to directly contradict the seemingly abundant morphologic evidence that Mars is (or has been) water rich. Others, however, argued that the interpretation of much of this morphologic evidence is at best equivocal and that the case for a wet Mars is far from established. Atmospheric water vapor measurements, compiled by Earth based telescopes and the Viking Orbiter Mars Atmospheric Water Detectors (MAWD), now span a period of over six Martian years. Analysis of this data suggests that the seasonal cycle is governed by both the sublimation and condensation of H2O at the poles and by its adsorption/desorption within the regolith. So far, efforts to simulate the seasonal vapor cycle have failed to reproduce the observed behavior.

Clifford, S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Microwave Dielectric and Propagation Properties of Vegetation Canopies

A vegetation canopy is a highly inhomogeneous medium at microwave frequencies, and because the scattering elements (leaves, stalks, fruits, and branches) have a nonuniform distribution in orientation, the canopy is likely to exhibit nonisotropic attenuation properties. In some canopies, the stalk may contain the overwhelming majority of the plant's biomass, which suggests that an incident radar wave would be differentially attenuated by the canopy depending on the direction of the incident electric field relative to the stalks' orientation. The propagation properties of a vegetation canopy play a central role in modeling both the backscattering behavior observed by an imaging radar and the emission observed by a radiometer. These propagation properties are in turn governed by the dielectric properties and the size, shape, and slope distributions of the scatteres. In spite of the critical need for canopy propagation models and experimental data, very few investigations had been conducted (prior to this study) to determine the extinction properties of vegetation canopies, either by constituent type (leaves, stalks, etc.) or as a whole.

Ulaby, F. T.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Strange attractors in weakly turbulent Couette-Taylor flow

An experiment is conducted on the transition from quasi-periodic to weakly turbulent flow of a fluid contained between concentric cylinders with the inner cylinder rotating and the outer cylinder at rest. Power spectra, phase-space portraits, and circle maps obtained from velocity time-series data indicate that the nonperiodic behavior observed is deterministic, that is, it is described by strange attractors. Various problems that arise in computing the dimension of strange attractors constructed from experimental data are discussed and it is shown that these problems impose severe requirements on the quantity and accuracy of data necessary for determining dimensions greater than about 5. In the present experiment the attractor dimension increases from 2 at the onset of turbulence to about 4 at a Reynolds number 50-percent above the onset of turbulence.

Brandstater, A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Stellar winds and magnetic fields in the helium peculiar stars

This note discusses the consequences of the interaction of radiatively driven mass loss with magnetic fields in upper-main-sequence helium-peculiar stars. The field constrains mass loss to occur in narrow cones above the magnetic poles. These jets can explain the observed behavior of UV resonance lines in the helium-peculiar stars, especially the sn and helium-rich stars. Suppression of mass outflow at the magnetic equator produces a region in which radiatively driven diffusive mass transport can levitate helium in the hottest stars, producing helium enrichment of the atmosphere. In the cooler stars, the surface becomes progressively more helium poor.

Shore, Steven N.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Dendrite characteristics in directionally solidified Pb-8 pct Au and Pb-3 pct Pd alloys

An investigation of Pb-8 pct Au and Pb-3 pct Pd alloy specimens which have been partially directionally solidified and then quenched is performed in order to characterize their dendritic microstructural details and solute composition profiles. A controlled sectioning technique is employed to measure dendrite tip radii. It is found that most of the observed behavior is predicted quite well by a modification of the Burden and Hunt (1974) model proposed by Laxmanan (1984), in addition to the models based on the marginal stability approach. Results indicate that quantitative comparison of the primary arm spacing measurements can not form the basis of distinguishing among the various dendrite growth models in a positive temperature gradient.

Tewari, S. N.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Chemical analysis of charged Li/SO(sub)2 cells

The initial focus of the program was to confirm that charging can indeed result in explosions and constitute a significant safety problem. Results of this initial effort clearly demonstrated that cells do indeed explode on charge and that charging does indeed constitute a real and severe safety problem. The results of the effort to identify the chemical reactions involved in and responsible for the observed behavior are described.

Subbarao, S.↗
NASA NTRS1988

An analytical study of the hydrogen-air reaction mechanism with application to scramjet combustion

A chemical kinetic mechanism for the combustion of hydrogen has been assembled and optimized by comparing the observed behavior as determined in shock tube and flame studies with that predicted by the mechanism. The reactions contained in the mechanism reflect the current state of knowledge of the chemistry of the hydrogen/air system, and the assigned rate coefficients are consistent with accepted values. It was determined that the mechanism is capable of satisfactorily reproducing the experimental results for a range of conditions relevant to scramjet combustion. Calculations made with the reaction mechanism for representative scramjet combustor conditions at Mach 8, 16, and 25 showed that chemical kinetic effects can be important and that combustor models which use nonequilibrium chemistry should be used in preference to models that assume equilibrium chemistry. For the conditions examined the results also showed the importance of including the HO2 chemistry in the mechanism. For Mach numbers less than 16, the studies suggest that an ignition source will most likely be required to overcome slow ignition chemistry. At Mach 25, the initial temperature and pressure was high enough that ignition was rapid and the presence of an ignition source did not significantly affect reaction rates.

Jachimowski, Casimir J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Cure study of soluble aromatic polyimide films

Several soluble aromatic poly(amic acid) films were staged at intervals to 325 C and characterized by IR spectroscopy and various solution property techniques. A series of films in which the polymer had been endcapped in an effort to control chain extension was also examined. Much of the behavior observed is consistent with an interpretation that a reduction in molecular weight occurred during cure before the ultimate molecular weight was achieved as a polyimide.

Young, Philip R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Flight performance of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter solar array

The Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) solar panel power output capability has degraded much more severely than has the power output capability of solar panels that have operated in earth-orbiting spacecraft for comparable periods of time. The incidence of solar proton events recorded by the spacecraft's scientific instruments accounts for this phenomenon only in part. It cannot explain two specific forms of anomalous behavior observed: 1) a variation of output per spin with roll angle, and 2) a gradual degradation of the maximum output. Analysis indicates that the most probable cause of the first anomaly is that the solar cells underneath the spacecraft's magnetometer boom have been damaged by a reverse biasing of the cells that occurs during pulsed shadowing of the cells by the boom as the spacecraft rotates. The second anomaly might be caused by the effects on the solar array of substances from the upper atmosphere of Venus.

Goldhammer, L. J.↗