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At least 181 records · Page 10

Study of Lateral Misalignment Tolerance of a Symmetric Free-Space Optical Link for Intra International Space Station Communication

This paper describes the study of lateral misalignment tolerance of a symmetric high-rate free-space optical link (FSOL) for use between International Space Station (ISS) payload sites and the main cabin. The link will enable gigabit per second (Gbps) transmission of data, which is up to three orders of magnitude greater than the current capabilities. This application includes 10-20 meter links and requires minimum size, weight, and power (SWaP). The optical power must not present an eye hazard and must be easily integrated into the existing ISS infrastructure. On the ISS, rapid thermal changes and astronaut movement will cause flexure of the structure which will potentially misalign the free space transmit and receive optics 9 cm laterally and 0.2 degrees angularly. If this misalignment is not accounted for, a loss of the link or degradation of link performance will occur. Power measurements were collected to better understand the effect of various system design parameters on lateral misalignment. Parameters that were varied include: the type of small form pluggable (SFP) transceivers, type of fiber, and transmitted power level. A potential solution was identified that can reach the lateral misalignment tolerance (decenter span) required to create an FSOL on the ISS by using 105 m core fibers, a duplex SFP, two channels of light, and two fiber amplifiers.

optical communications↗

Performance Analyses of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Based Parabolic Trough Collectors with Double-Glazed Receivers

Supercritical carbon dioxide is becoming a hot research topic as a potential heat transfer fluid in parabolic trough concentrators since it enables operating the solar system at high temperatures for a higher quality of energy. However, the corresponding inflated thermal losses necessitate alternative receiver designs. This work examines four double-glazed receivers, with each annular space being evacuated or non-evacuated, in terms of the absorber tube's diameter (53-80 mm) and the diameter ratios of the two glass shells (1.2-2.0). An analytical model is developed and validated for this purpose, and the four designs are further examined using ground-level solar and meteorological measurements. The results demonstrate higher performance in the case of fully evacuating the receiver and using the smallest possible diameters of the three concentric cylinders, where the energy and exergy efficiencies reach 65.3 and 40.3%, respectively. Yet, evacuating only the inner annular space is sufficient to achieve virtually the same performance level. This energy efficiency decreases to 62% in case of increasing the tube diameter to 80 mm. As the operating temperature increases from 423 to 850 K, the specific thermal losses increase by 3.98-4.34 folds, depending on the receiver design. Double glazing the receivers is favorable only at high operating temperatures of sCO2, where the reduction in thermal losses overcomes the drop in optical efficiency. For an inlet sCO2 temperature of 850 K, thermal losses are reduced by 33.64 and 53.92%, compared to evacuated and non-evacuated single-glazed receivers, respectively. Throughout the year, the fully evacuated and fully non-evacuated double-glazed receivers have energy efficiencies of 54.96 and 52.39%, exergy efficiencies of 33.64 and 32.06%, and thermal losses of 348.8 and 402.5 W/m, respectively.

analytical model↗

An Efficient 1-D Thermal Stratification Model for Pool-Type Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors

Investigating thermal stratification in the upper plenum of a sodium fast reactor (SFR) is presently a technology gap in SFR safety analysis. Understanding thermal stratification will promote safe operation of the SFR before its commercial deployment. Stratified layers of liquid sodium with a large vertical temperature gradient could be established in the upper plenum of an SFR during a down-power or a loss-of-flow transient. These stratified layers are unstable and could result in uncertainties for the core safety of an SFR. In order to predict the occurrence of the thermal stratification efficiently, we developed a one-dimensional (1-D) transport model to estimate the temperature profile of the ambient fluid in the upper plenum. This model demands much less computational effort than computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes and provides calculations with higher fidelity than historical system-level codes. Two flow conditions were considered separately in the current study depending on if in-vessel components are presented in the upper plenum. For the condition where in-vessel components, specifically the upper internal structure, are presented, we assumed that the impinging sodium was evenly dispersed in the ambient fluid within the distance between the bottom of the in-vessel component and the jet inlet surface. For the condition where no in-vessel components are presented, we assumed that the impinging sodium was evenly dispersed in the ambient fluid within the jet length, which was determined through data-driven trainings. The newly developed 1-D model showed similar performance with the CFD model in both cases. However, due to the assumption of flat profiles of the impinging jet axial dispersion rate, nonnegligible discrepancies between the 1-D prediction and the measured data were observed.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Remote sensing as a tool for watershed-wide estimation of net solar radiation and water loss to the atmosphere

Results are presented for a study intended to develop a general remote sensing-aided cost-effective procedure to estimate watershed-wide water loss to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration and to estimate net solar radiation over the watershed. Evapotranspiration estimation employs a basic two-stage two-phase sample of three information resolution levels. Net solar radiation is taken as one of the variables at each level of evapotranspiration modeling. The input information for models requiring spatial information will be provided by Landsat digital data, environmental satellite data, ground meteorological data, ground sample unit information, and topographic data. The outputs of the sampling-estimation/data bank system will be in-place maps of evapotranspiration on a data resolution element basis, watershed-wide evapotranspiration isopleths, and estimates of watershed and subbasin total evapotranspiration with associated statistical confidence bounds. The methodology developed is being tested primarily on the Spanish Creek Watershed Plumas County, California.

Khorram, S.↗

Design of a vehicle based system to prevent ozone loss

Reduced quantities of ozone in the atmosphere allow greater levels of ultraviolet light (UV) radiation to reach the earth's surface. This is known to cause skin cancer and mutations. Chlorine liberated from Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) and natural sources initiate the destruction of stratospheric ozone through a free radical chain reaction. The project goals are to understand the processes which contribute to stratospheric ozone loss, examine ways to prevent ozone loss, and design a vehicle-based system to carry out the prevention scheme. The 1992/1993 design objectives were to accomplish the first two goals and define the requirements for an implementation vehicle to be designed in detail starting next year. Many different ozone intervention schemes have been proposed though few have been researched and none have been tested. A scheme proposed by R.J. Cicerone, Scott Elliot and R.P.Turco late in 1991 was selected because of its research support and economic feasibility. This scheme uses hydrocarbon injected into the Antarctic ozone hole to form stable compounds with free chlorine, thus reducing ozone depletion. Because most polar ozone depletion takes place during a 3-4 week period each year, the hydrocarbon must be injected during this time window. A study of the hydrocarbon injection requirements determined that 100 aircraft traveling Mach 2.4 at a maximum altitude of 66,000 ft. would provide the most economic approach to preventing ozone loss. Each aircraft would require an 8,000 nm. range and be able to carry 35,000 lbs. of propane. The propane would be stored in a three-tank high pressure system. Missions would be based from airport regions located in South America and Australia. To best provide the requirements of mission analysis, an aircraft with L/D(sub cruise) = 10.5, SFC = 0.65 (the faculty advisor suggested that this number is too low) and a 250,000 lb TOGW was selected as a baseline. Modularity and multi-role functionality were selected to be key design features. Modularity provides ease of turnaround for the down-time critical mission. Multi-role functionality allows the aircraft to be used beyond its design mission, perhaps as an High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) or for high altitude research.

Lynn, Sean R.↗

Shuttle Propulsion System Major Events and the Final 22 Flights

Numerous lessons have been documented from the Space Shuttle Propulsion elements. Major events include loss of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB's) on STS-4 and shutdown of a Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) during ascent on STS-51F. On STS-112 only half the pyrotechnics fired during release of the vehicle from the launch pad, a testament for redundancy. STS-91 exhibited freezing of a main combustion chamber pressure measurement and on STS-93 nozzle tube ruptures necessitated a low liquid level oxygen cut off of the main engines. A number of on pad aborts were experienced during the early program resulting in delays. And the two accidents, STS-51L and STS-107, had unique heritage in history from early program decisions and vehicle configuration. Following STS-51L significant resources were invested in developing fundamental physical understanding of solid rocket motor environments and material system behavior. And following STS-107, the risk of ascent debris was better characterized and controlled. Situational awareness during all mission phases improved, and the management team instituted effective risk assessment practices. The last 22 flights of the Space Shuttle, following the Columbia accident, were characterized by remarkable improvement in safety and reliability. Numerous problems were solved in addition to reduction of the ascent debris hazard. The Shuttle system, though not as operable as envisioned in the 1970's, successfully assembled the International Space Station (ISS). By the end of the program, the remarkable Space Shuttle Propulsion system achieved very high performance, was largely reusable, exhibited high reliability, and was a heavy lift earth to orbit propulsion system. During the program a number of project management and engineering processes were implemented and improved. Technical performance, schedule accountability, cost control, and risk management were effectively managed and implemented. Award fee contracting was implemented to provide performance incentives. The Certification of Flight Readiness and Mission Management processes became very effective. A key to the success of the propulsion element projects was related to relationships between the MSFC project office and support organizations with their counterpart contractor organizations. The teams worked diligently to understand and satisfy requirements and achieve mission success.

Owen, James W.↗

Evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 2000–2300 and beyond: model sensitivity and uncertainty analysis using MPAS-Albany Land Ice

We present a description of the Antarctic Ice Sheet model configuration submitted to the ISMIP6-Antarctica-2300 experiment using the MPAS-Albany Land Ice model, along with three new sets of simulations: (1) a set of extended simulations to 2500 for three forced experiments and to 2775 for the control experiment; (2) a sensitivity analysis of our model configuration to parameters controlling basal sliding and sub-shelf melt, and to model structural choices including the choice of the energy and stress balances; and (3) a 72-member ensemble run on graphics processing units (GPUs) and analysis of variance to determine the primary sources of uncertainty in our ice-sheet model projections. Our extended simulations predict rapid retreat beginning after 2300 for SSP1-2.6 forcing and after 2500 for present-day (control) forcing, primarily in the Amundsen Sea Embayment. We find that varying the sub-shelf melt parameter between the 5th to 95th percentile values for a mean-Antarctic calibration target results in an up to ∼ ± 40 % change in sea-level contribution relative to our baseline simulations that used the median value. Using a linear basal sliding law reduces sea-level contribution by 51 %–73 % relative to our baseline nonlinear sliding law with an exponent of 1/5. When using basal sliding law exponents of 1/3 and 1/10, the overall difference from our baseline simulations at 2300 is on the order of 10 %. The Amundsen Sea Embayment region displays a strongly non-linear dependence of mass loss on the sliding law exponent, with no discernible relationship between the sliding law exponent and the mass loss by 2300, while the sectors feeding the Ross and Filchner-Ronne ice shelves exhibit more mass loss with a more-plastic sliding law. Our model fidelity sensitivity experiments reveal a 9 %–31 % increase in sea-level contribution when using a depth-integrated stress balance approximation relative to our three-dimensional solver, while using a fixed-in-time temperature field increases sea-level contribution by 14 %–88 % relative to two thermomechanically coupled configurations. Our 72-member ensemble and analysis of variance show that the uncertainty in long-term projections is dominated by the choice of Earth system model forcing and the presence or absence of hydrofracture forcing, rather than uncertainty in sliding and sub-shelf melt parameters.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Measurement of tropospheric OH by laser long-path absorption spectroscopy

OH-radicals are measured by laser long-path absorption spectroscopy. A tunable Nd:YAG/dye laser system provides broadbanded light at 308 nm. The beam is expanded to 0.3 m and pointed to an array of retroreflectors placed at a distance of 2800 m. The returning beam is separated from the outgoing beam and focused into a spectrometer of 0.3 pm resolution. A 1024 element diode array is used as a detector. The signal is digitized by a 14 bit analog to digital converter. The ultimate aim is a detection limit of 10(exp 5) molecules cm(exp -3) of OH. However the measurements in 1991 allowed only the recognition of OH absorptions corresponding to 3 x 10(exp 6) OH cm(exp -3) with a signal to noise ratio of two. Improvements of the instrument are under way. The advantages of the DOAS method are: the accuracy of detection is guaranteed because loss of OH radicals within the device is avoided, the rate of OH production by the device is negligible, and absorptions of other trace gases could be corrected for; and the calibration procedure for the device is fast and easy. The disadvantages of the system are: time resolution is about minutes because about ten spectra had to be added to keep the noise level down, the OH concentration is averaged along the whole light path, weight (500 kg) and size (4x4 m) of the device; and approximately 10 l/min of coolant and supply of 8 kW electrical power are necessary.

Kraft, Michael↗

Reconstruction and uncertainty quantification of lattice Hamiltonian model parameters from observations of microscopic degrees of freedom

The emergence of scanning probe and electron beam imaging techniques has allowed quantitative studies of atomic structure and minute details of electronic and vibrational structure on the level of individual atomic units. These microscopic descriptors, in turn, can be associated with local symmetry breaking phenomena, representing the stochastic manifestation of the underpinning generative physical model. In this work, we explore the reconstruction of exchange integrals in the Hamiltonian for a lattice model with two competing interactions from observations of microscopic degrees of freedom and establish the uncertainties and reliability of such analysis in a broad parameter-temperature space. In contrast to other approaches, we specifically specify a loss function inherent to thermodynamic systems and utilize it to estimate uncertainty in simulated realizations of different models. As an ancillary task, we develop a machine learning approach based on histogram clustering to predict phase diagrams efficiently using a reduced descriptor space. We further demonstrate that reconstruction is possible well above the phase transition and in the regions of parameter space when the macroscopic ground state of the system is poorly defined due to frustrated interactions. This suggests that this approach can be applied to the traditionally complex problems of condensed matter physics such as ferroelectric relaxors and morphotropic phase boundary systems, spin and cluster glasses, and quantum systems once the local descriptors linked to the relevant physical behaviors are known.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Rotor windage losses for Lundell alternators

The Lundell alternator is being investigated for power system applications. At the high speeds required, power loss due to windage can become high and result in significant heating of the alternator. This loss must be incorporated in the cooling design. The velocity profiles expected in these alternators are highly turbulent, and the Reynolds numbers are well above the levels previously reported; the available data could only be extrapolated. For this reason, a range of experimental data was generated to permit accurate calculation of the windage power loss for Lundell alternator design. Windage tests were conducted on two concentric rotor-stator configurations in ambient air, producing Reynolds numbers as high as 100,000. Using the data obtained, a method was developed to calculate the windage loss for any Lundell alternator given the geometry and cavity conditions.

Gorland, S. H.↗

Advection from the North Atlantic as the Forcing of Winter Greenhouse Effect Over Europe

In winter, large interannual fluctuations in the surface temperature are observed over central Europe. Comparing warm February 1990 with cold February 1996, a satellite-retrieved surface (skin) temperature difference of 9.8 K is observed for the region 50-60 degrees N; 5-35 degrees E. Previous studies show that advection from the North Atlantic constitutes the forcing to such fluctuations. The advection is quantified by Index I(sub na), the average of the ocean-surface wind speed over the eastern North Atlantic when the direction is from the southwest (when the wind is from another direction, it counts as a zero speed to the average). Average I(sub na) for February 1990 was 10.6 m/s, but for February 1996 I(sub na) was only 2.4 m/s. A large value of I(sub na) means a strong southwesterly flow which brings warm and moist air into central Europe at low level, producing a steeper tropospheric lapse rate. Strong ascending motions at 700 mb are observed in association with the occurrence of enhanced warm, moist advection from the ocean in February 1990 producing clouds and precipitation. Total precipitable water and cloud-cover fraction have larger values in February 1990 than in 1996. The difference in the greenhouse effect between these two scenarios, this reduction in heat loss to space, can be translated into a virtual radiative heating of 2.6 W/square m above the February 1990 surface/atmosphere system, which contributes to a warming of the surface on the order of 2.6 K. Accepting this estimate as quantitatively meaningful, we evaluate the direct effect, the rise in the surface temperature in Europe as a result of maritime-air inflow, as 7.2 K (9.8 K-2.6 K). Thus, fractional reinforcement by the greenhouse effect is 2.6/7.2, or 36%, a substantial positive feedback.

Otterman, J.↗

Traction Drives for Zero Stick-Slip Robots, and Reaction Free, Momentum Balanced Systems

Two differential (dual input, single output) drives (a roller-gear and a pure roller), and a momentum balanced (single input, dual output) drive (pure roller ) were designed, fabricated, and tested. The differential drives are each rated at 295 rad/sec (2800 rpm) input speed, 450 N-m (4,000 in-lbf) output torque. The momentum balanced drive is rated at 302 rad/sec (2880 rpm) input speed, and dual output torques of 434N-m (3840 in-lbf). The Dual Input Differential Roller-Gear Drive (DC-700) has a planetary roller-gear system with a reduction ratio (one input driving the output with the second input fixed) of 29.23: 1. The Dual Input Differential Roller Drive (DC-500) has a planetary roller system with a reduction ratio of approximately 24:1. Each of the differential drives features dual roller-gear or roller arrangements consisting of a sun, four first row planets, four second row planets, and a ring. The Momentum Balanced (Grounded Ring) Drive (DC-400) has a planetary roller system with a reduction ratio of 24:1 with both outputs counterrotating at equal speed. Its single roller cluster consists of a sun, five first and five second row planets, a roller cage or spider and a ring. Outputs are taken from both the roller cage and the ring which counterrotate. Test results reported for all three drives include angular and torque ripple (linearity and cogging), viscous and Coulomb friction, and forward and reverse power efficiency. Of the two differential drives, the Differential Roller Drive had better linearity and less cogging than did the Differential Roller-Gear Drive, but it had higher friction and lower efficiency (particularly at low power throughput levels). Use of full preloading rather than a variable preload system in the Differential Roller Drive assessed a heavy penalty in part load efficiency. Maximum measured efficiency (ratio of power out to power in) was 95% for the Differential Roller-Gear Drive and 86% for the Differential Roller Drive. The Momentum Balanced (Grounded Ring) Drive performed as expected kinematically. Reduction r-atios to the two counterrotating outputs (design nominal=24:1) were measured to be 23.98:1 and 24.12:1 at zero load.. At 25ONm (2200 in-lbf) output torque the ratio changed 2% due to roller creep. This drive was the smoothest of all three as determined from linearity and cogging tests, and maximum measured efficiency (ratio of power out to power in) was 95%. The disadvantages of full preloading as comvared to variable preload were apparent in this drive as in the Differential Roller Drive. Efficiencies at part load were low, but improved dramatically with increases in torque. These were consistent with friction measurements which indicated losses primarily from Coulomb friction. The initial preload level setting was low so roller slip was encountered at higher torques during testing.

Anderson, William J.↗

Mach 6.5 air induction system design for the Beta 2 two-stage-to-orbit booster vehicle

A preliminary, two-dimensional, mixed compression air induction system is designed for the Beta II Two Stage to Orbit booster vehicle to minimize installation losses and efficiently deliver the required airflow. Design concepts, such as an external isentropic compression ramp and a bypass system were developed and evaluated for performance benefits. The design was optimized by maximizing installed propulsion/vehicle system performance. The resulting system design operating characteristics and performance are presented. The air induction system design has significantly lower transonic drag than similar designs and only requires about 1/3 of the bleed extraction. In addition, the design efficiently provides the integrated system required airflow, while maintaining adequate levels of total pressure recovery. The excellent performance of this highly integrated air induction system is essential for the successful completion of the Beta II booster vehicle mission.

Midea, Anthony C.↗

Mach 6.5 air induction system design for the Beta II Two-Stage-to-Orbit booster vehicle

A preliminary, two-dimensional, mixed compression air induction system is designed for the Beta II Two-Stage-to-Orbit booster vehicle to minimize installation losses and efficiently deliver the required airflow. Design concepts, such as an external isentropic compression ramp and a bypass system, are developed and evaluated for performance benefits. The design is optimized by maximizing installed propulsion/vehicle system performance, and the resulting system design operating characteristics and performance are presented. The air induction system design has significantly lower transonic drag than similar designs, and only requires approximately 1/3 of the bleed extraction. In addition, the design efficiently provides the integrated system required airflow, while maintaining adequate levels of total pressure recovery. The excellent performance of this highly integrated air induction system is essential for the successful completion of the Beta II booster vehicle mission.

Midea, Anthony C.↗

Reduced Boil-Off System Sizing

NASA is currently developing cryogenic propellant storage and transfer systems for future space exploration and scientific discovery missions by addressing the need to raise the technology readiness level of cryogenic fluid management technologies. Cryogenic propellants are baselined in many propulsion systems due to their inherently high specific impulse; however, their low boiling points can cause substantial boil-off losses over time. Recent efforts such as the Reduced Boil-off Testing and the Active Thermal Control Scaling Study provide important information on the benefit of an active cooling system applied to LH2 propellant storage. Findings show that zero-boil off technologies can reduce overall mass in LH2 storage systems when low Earth orbit loiter periods extend beyond two months. A significant part of this mass reduction is realized by integrating two stages of cooling: a 20 K stage to intercept heat at the tank surface, and a 90 K stage to reduce the heat entering the less efficient 20 K stage. A missing element in previous studies, which is addressed in this paper, is the development of a direct method for sizing the 90 K cooling stage. Such a method requires calculation of the heat entering both the 90 K and 20 K stages as compared to the overall system masses, and is reliant upon the temperature distribution, performance, and unique design characteristics of the system in question. By utilizing the known conductance of a system without active thermal control, the heat being intercepted by a 90 K stage can be calculated to find the resultant lift and mass of each active thermal control stage. Integral to this is the thermal conductance of the cooling straps and the broad area cooling shield, key parts of the 90 K stage. Additionally, a trade study is performed to show the ability of the 90 K cooling stage to reduce the lift on the 20 K cryocooler stage, which is considerably less developed and efficient than 90 K cryocoolers.

Cryogenic fluid management↗

Accelerating Embedding Potential Optimization by Reconstructing the Pseudo-Valence Electron Density

Density functional embedding theory (DFET) enables use of electronic structure methods with higher accuracy than density functional theory in a local region, with applications thus far ranging from (photo/electro)catalysis to reactions in solution. DFET partitions a large collection of atoms into smaller groups that interact via a shared embedding (interaction) potential V emb , determined via functional optimization. The optimized effective potential (OEP) process used to optimize V emb is time-consuming and becomes a computational bottleneck due to sharp, oscillating features of V emb near nuclei. Here, similar to pseudopotential theory, by reconstructing electron densities used in the OEP process from smoother pseudo-valence-only (PVO) electron densities as proxies for total densities of the full system and subsystems, we can retain accuracy in the embedded electronic structure calculations while potentially reducing the overhead of V emb construction, within the projector augmented-wave (PAW) formalism. We explore three different chemical reactions as exemplars to test PVO–DFET, namely, H 2 dissociative adsorption on a Cu(111) surface, H 2 O adsorption on a Pt(111) surface, and aqueous [Ca 2+ –SO 4 2– ] ion-pair formation. The PVO approximation works well for all three systems with minimal loss of accuracy (∼10–70 meV error relative to the original exact-derivative (ED) approach) while accelerating V emb generation for the Cu and Pt systems respectively by 20× and 5×. Given proper numerical convergence parameters, the spatial distributions of differences between PVO- and ED-based V emb outside the core regions are small, explaining the exceptional agreement between the two approaches. Finally, we anticipate that this more efficient PVO–DFET approximation will be useful whenever computation of V emb is much more expensive than subsequent embedded high-level electron correlation calculations.

approximation↗

Investigation of the tone-burst tube for duct lining attenuation measurement

The tone burst technique makes practical the laboratory evaluation of potential inlet and discharge duct treatments. Tone burst apparatus requires only simple machined parts and standard components. Small, simply made, lining samples are quickly and easily installed in the system. Two small electromagnetric loudspeaker drivers produce peak sound pressure level of over 166 db in the 3-square-inch sample duct. Air pump available in most laboratories can produce air flows of over plus and minus Mach 0.3 in the sample duct. The technique uses short shaped pulses of sound propagated down a progressive wave tube containing the sample duct. The peak pressure level output of the treated duct is compared with the peak pressure level output of a substituted reference duct. The difference between the levels is the attenuation or insertion loss of the treated duct. Evaluations of resonant absorber linings by the tone burst technique check attenuation values predicted by empirical formulas based on full scale ducts.

Soffel, A. R.↗