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NASA NTRS2010

World Wide Web Metaphors for Search Mission Data

A software program that searches and browses mission data emulates a Web browser, containing standard meta - phors for Web browsing. By taking advantage of back-end URLs, users may save and share search states. Also, since a Web interface is familiar to users, training time is reduced. Familiar back and forward buttons move through a local search history. A refresh/reload button regenerates a query, and loads in any new data. URLs can be constructed to save search results. Adding context to the current search is also handled through a familiar Web metaphor. The query is constructed by clicking on hyperlinks that represent new components to the search query. The selection of a link appears to the user as a page change; the choice of links changes to represent the updated search and the results are filtered by the new criteria. Selecting a navigation link changes the current query and also the URL that is associated with it. The back button can be used to return to the previous search state. This software is part of the MSLICE release, which was written in Java. It will run on any current Windows, Macintosh, or Linux system.

Norris, Jeffrey S.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Numerical Studies of Phase Transition Phenomena in Microgravity

This work was aimed at developing and applying a new methodology for the efficient and accurate computation of problems involving several phases of matter. In particular, solidification processes typically involve melt/solid and sometimes melt//gas interfaces, whose location and shape is unknown a priori. This class of problems is called the free or moving boundary problem, and the numerical approaches for its solution to date are inaccurate, inefficient, and can not be readily extended to multi-dimensions or to time dependent phenomenon. Ongoing research on crystal growth at NASA and other institutions falls into the category of free boundary problems. It is exactly the accurate determination of the process dynamics and the shape and location of the interface between the phases which is responsible for the ultimate chemical segregation and the mechanical properties in the solid. This work developed the Triad Field Formalism approach for the computation of general multi-dimensional and time dependent free boundary problems. The particular subject addressed is solidification phenomena. All the relevant boundary conditions on the developing interface were exactly resolved. Several computer programs were developed during the course of this research, enabling us to determine for the first time the interplay among the various fields operating in tandem to produce the phenomena observed during solidification processes in weld pools and during crystal growth.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2001

Remobilizing the Interface of Thermocapillary Driven Bubbles Retarded By the Adsorption of a Surfactant Impurity on the Bubble Surface

Thermocapillary migration is a method for moving bubbles in space in the absence of buoyancy. A temperature gradient is the continuous phase in which a bubble is situated, and the applied gradient impressed on the bubble surface causes one pole of the drop to be cooler than the opposite pole. As the surface tension is a decreasing function of temperature, the cooler pole pulls at the warmer pole, creating a flow that propels the bubble in the direction of the warmer fluid. A major impediment to the practical use of thermocapillary to direct the movement of bubbles in space is the fact that surfactant impurities, which are unavoidably present in the continuous phase, can significantly reduce the migration velocity. A surfactant impurity adsorbed onto the bubble interface is swept to the trailing end of the bubble. When bulk concentrations are low (which is the case with an impurity), diffusion of surfactant to the front end is slow relative to convection, and surfactant collects at the back end of the bubble. Collection at the back lowers the surface tension relative to the front end setting up a reverse tension gradient. (This can also be the case if kinetic desorption of surfactant at the back end of the bubble is much slower than convection.) For buoyancy driven bubble motions in the absence of a thermocapillarity, the tension gradient opposes the surface flow, and reduces the surface and terminal velocities (the interface becomes more solid-like and bubbles translate as solid particles). When thermocapillary forces are present, the reverse tension gradient set up by the surfactant accumulation reduces the temperature-induced tension gradient, and can decrease to near zero the bubble's thermocapillary velocity. The objective of our research is to develop a method for enhancing the thermocapillary migration of bubbles which have be retarded by the adsorption onto the bubble surface of a surfactant impurity. Our remobilization theory proposes to use surfactant molecules which kinetically rapidly exchange between the bulk and the surface and are at high bulk concentrations. Because the remobilizing surfactant is present at much higher concentrations than the impurity, it adsorbs to the bubble surface much faster than the impurity when the bubble is formed, and thereby prevents the impurity from adsorbing onto the surface. In addition, the rapid kinetic exchange and high bulk concentration maintain a saturated surface with uniform surface concentrations. This prevents retarding surface tension gradients and keeps the thermocapillary velocity high. In our reports over the first 2 years, we presented numerical simulations of the bubble motion and surfactant transport which verified theoretically the concept of remobilization, and the development of an apparatus to track and measure the velocity of rising bubbles in a glycerol/water surfactant solution. This year, we detail experimental observations of remobilization. Two polyethylene oxide surfactants were studied, C12E6 (CH3(CH2)11(OCH2)6OH) and C10E8 (CH3(CH2)4(OCH2CH2)8OH). Measurements of the kinetic exchange for these surfactants show that the one with the longer hydrophobe chain C12E6 has a lower rate of kinetic exchange. In addition, this surfactant is much less soluble in the glycerol/water mixture because of the shorter ethoxylate chain. As a result, we found that C12E6 had only a very limited ability to remobilize rising bubbles because of the limited kinetic exchange and reduced solubility. However, C10E8, with its higher solubility and more rapid exchange was found to dramatically remobilize rising bubbles. We also compared our theoretical calculations to the experimental measurements of velocity for both the non-remobilizing and remobilizing surfactants and found excellent agreement. We further observed that for C10E8 at high concentrations, which exceeded the critical micelle concentrations, additional remobilization was measured. In this case the rapid exchange of monomer between micelle and surfactant provides an additional mechanism for maintaining a uniform surface concentrations.

Palaparthi, Ravi↗

NASA NTRS2000

Remobilizing the Interfaces of Thermocapillary Driven Bubbles Retarded by the Adsorption of a Surfactant Impurity on the Bubble Surface

Thermocapillary migration is a method for moving bubbles in space in the absence of buoyancy. A temperature gradient is applied to the continuous phase in which a bubble is situated, and the applied gradient impressed on the bubble surface causes one pole of the drop to be cooler than the opposite pole. As the surface tension is a decreasing function of temperature, the cooler pole pulls at the warmer pole, creating a flow which propels the bubble in the direction of the warmer fluid. A major impediment to the practical use of thermocapillarity to direct the movement of bubbles in space is the fact that surfactant impurities which are unavoidably present in the continuous phase can significantly reduce the migration velocity. A surfactant impurity adsorbed onto the bubble interface is swept to the trailing end of the bubble. When bulk concentrations are low (which is the case with an impurity), diffusion of surfactant to the front end is slow relative to convection, and surfactant collects at the back end of the bubble. Collection at the back lowers the surface tension relative to the front end setting up a reverse tension gradient. For buoyancy driven bubble motions in the absence of a thermocapillarity, the tension gradient opposes the surface flow, and reduces the surface and terminal velocities (the interface becomes more solid-like). When thermocapillary forces are present, the reverse tension gradient set up by the surfactant accumulation reduces the temperature tension gradient, and decreases to near zero the thermocapillary velocity. The objective of our research is to develop a method for enhancing the thermocapillary migration of bubbles which have been retarded by the adsorption onto the bubble surface of a surfactant impurity, Our remobilization theory proposes to use surfactant molecules which kinetically rapidly exchange between the bulk and the surface and are at high bulk concentrations. Because the remobilizing surfactant is present at much higher concentrations than the impurity, it adsorbs to the bubble much faster than the impurity when the bubble is formed, and thereby prevents the impurity from adsorbing onto the surface. In addition the rapid kinetic exchange and high bulk concentration maintain a saturated surface with a uniform surface concentrations. This prevents retarding surface tension gradients and keeps the velocity high. In our first report last year, we detailed experimental results which verified the theory of remobilization in ground based experiments in which the steady velocity of rising bubbles was measured in a continuous phase consisting of a glycerol/water mixture containing a polyethylene glycol surfactant C12E6 (CH3(CH2)11(OCH2CH2)6OH). In our report this year, we detail our efforts to describe theoretically the remobilization observed. We construct a model in which a bubble rises steadily by buoyancy in a continuous (Newtonian) viscous fluid containing surfactant with a uniform far field bulk concentration. We account for the effects of inertia as well as viscosity in the flow in the continuous phase caused by the bubble motion (order one Reynolds number), and we assume that the bubble shape remains spherical (viscous and inertial forces are smaller than capillary forces, i e. small Weber and capillary numbers). The surfactant distribution is calculated by solving the mass transfer equations including convection and diffusion in the bulk, and finite kinetic exchange the bulk and the surface. Convective effects dominate diffusive mass transfer in the bulk of the liquid (high Peclet numbers) except in a thin boundary layer near the surface. A finite volume method is used to numerically solve the hydrodynamic and mass transfer equations on a staggered grid which accounts specifically for the thin boundary layer. We present the results of the nondimensional drag as a function of the bulk concentration of surfactant for different rates of kinetic exchange, from which we develop criteria for the concentration necessary to develop a prescribed degree of remobilization. The criteria compare favorably with the experimental results.

Palaparthi, Ravi↗

DOE OSTI2025

Dissolved CO 2 Modulates the Electrochemical Capacitance on Gold Electrodes

The presence of CO 2 at an electrified interface between an aqueous electrolyte and a metal electrode is the prerequisite for many electrochemical CO 2 capture technologies. To understand the behavior of dissolved CO 2 at an aqueous electrified interface, we characterized the electrochemical interface of planar gold electrodes with cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), electrochemical surface plasmon resonance (EC–SPR), and attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy (ATR–SEIRAS). Under all investigated conditions, we observed a decrease in the electrochemical capacitance upon saturation of the electrolyte with CO 2 , as compared to an electrolyte saturated with Ar. EIS and EC–SPR showed that this capacitance reduction was also potential dependent: it reached a minimum near the point of zero charge and became more significant as the applied potential moved further away from the point of zero charge. Hybrid quantum–classical simulations of the gold/aqueous electrolyte interface indicate that bicarbonate decreases the capacitance and modifies the composition of the electric double layer. In addition to the binding of bicarbonate under positive bias, we propose that molecular CO 2 can be induced by applied potential to concentrate in the diffuse layer of the electric double layer, leading to a reduction in the electrochemical capacitance under both negative and positive bias. Furthermore, this work advances the understanding of non-Faradaic effects of dissolved CO 2 at aqueous electrified interfaces of relevance for electrochemical CO 2 capture.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2024

MPI nuts and bolts and more [Slides]

MPI (Message-Passing Interface) is a message-passing library interface specification. All parts of this definition are significant. MPI addresses primarily the message-passing parallel programming model, in which data is moved from the address space of one process to that of another process through cooperative operations on each process. . . MPI is a specification, not an implementation; there are multiple implementations of MPI. This specification is for a library interface; MPI is not a language, and all MPI operations are expressed as functions, subroutines, or methods, according to the appropriate language bindings that, for C and Fortran, are part of the MPI standard. MPI Forum is the organization which is responsible for the MPI Specification.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS1992

XPI: The Xanadu Parameter Interface

XPI is a table driven parameter interface which greatly simplifies both command driven programs such as BROWSE and XIMAGE as well as stand alone single-task programs. It moves all of the syntax and semantic parsing of commands and parameters out of the users code into common code and externally defined tables. This allows the programmer to concentrate on writing the code unique to the application rather than reinventing the user interface and for external graphical interfaces to interface with no changes to the command driven program. XPI also includes a compatibility library which allows programs written using the IRAF host interface (Mandel and Roll) to use XPI in place of the IRAF host interface.

White, N.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Milestone 49 Report: Batched Sparse LA Phase 5 Implementation

Batched sparse linear algebra operations in general, and solvers in particular, have become the major algorithmic development activity and foremost performance engineering effort in the numerical software libraries work on modern hardware with accelerators such as GPUs. Many applications, ECP and non-ECP alike, require simultaneous solutions of many small linear systems of equations that are structurally sparse in one form or another. In order to move towards high hardware utilization levels, it is important to provide these applications with appropriate interface designs to be both functionally efficient and performance portable and give full access to the appropriate batched sparse solvers running on modern hardware accelerators prevalent across DOE supercomputing sites since the inception of ECP. To this end, we present here a summary of recent advances on the interface designs in use by HPC software libraries supporting batched sparse linear algebra and the development of sparse batched kernel codes for solvers and preconditioners. We also address the potential interoperability opportunities to keep the corresponding software portable between the major hardware accelerators from AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA, while maintaining the appropriate disclosure levels conforming to the active NDA agreements. The presented interface specifications include a mix of batched band, sparse iterative, and sparse direct solvers with their accompanying functionality that is already required by the application codes or we anticipated to be needed in the near future. This report summarizes progress in Kokkos Kernels and the xSDK libraries MAGMA, Ginkgo, hypre, PETSc, and SuperLU.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS2000

Experimental Development and Physical Analysis of Jet and Vortex Actuators

The Vortex generator consists of a cavity with a lightweight actuator plate. The actuator plate acts like a piston pumping air out of the cavity on the down-stroke and sucking air into the cavity on the upstroke. The actuator is placed asymmetrically over the cavity opening, forming narrow and wide slots when viewed from the top. The actuator depending on amplitude, frequency, and slot spacing produces several flow fields (free jet, wall jet, vortex flow). Computational simulation of the actuator-generated flows have been developed and applied to several actuator flow modes. The objectives of this paper are to study the physics of the actuator-induced flow and to develop computational simulations of the actuatorgenerated flows. This work should provide an impetus for designing similar active flow control systems suitable for aircraft applications. The computational simulation uses a time-accurate full Navier-Stokes (NS) solver known as FTNS3D (a full NS version of CFL3D solver). A Multi-block moving grid has been developed and used for the computational study of the flow fields produced by the vortex generator. For three-dimensional computations, ten multi-block grids are used and for two-dimensional computations, six multiblock grids are used. The grid blocks adjacent to the actuator plate move with the plate motion, and second-order interpolation is used along the block interfaces. Periodic response of the flow has been observed to develop after three cycles of the plate sinusoidal motion.

Kandil, Osama A.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Shear Stress Sensing using Elastomer Micropillar Arrays

The measurement of shear stress developed as a fluid moves around a solid body is difficult to measure. Stresses at the fluid-solid interface are very small and the nature of the fluid flow is easily disturbed by introducing sensor components to the interface. To address these challenges, an array of direct and indirect techniques have been investigated with various advantages and challenges. Hot wire sensors and other indirect sensors all protrude significantly into the fluid flow. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices, although facilitating very accurate measurements, are not durable, are prone to contamination, and are difficult to implement into existing model geometries. One promising approach is the use of engineered surfaces that interact with fluid flow in a detectable manner. To this end, standard lithographic techniques have been utilized to generate elastomeric micropillar arrays of various lengths and diameters. Micropillars of controlled length and width were generated in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer using a soft-lithography technique. The 3D mold for micropillar replication was fabricated using laser ablative micromachining and contact lithography. Micropillar dimensions and mechanical properties were characterized and compared to shear sensing requirements. The results of this characterization as well as shear stress detection techniques will be discussed.

Wohl, Christopher J.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The behavior of surface tension on steady-state rotating fluids in the low gravity environments

The effect of surface tension on steady-state rotating fluids in a low gravity environment is studied. All the values of the physical parameters used in these calculations, except in the low gravity environments, are based on the measurements carried out by Leslie (1985) in the low gravity environment of a free-falling aircraft. The profile of the interface of two fluids is derived from Laplace's equation relating the pressure drop across an interface to the radii of curvature which has been applied to a low gravity rotating bubble that contacts the container boundary. The interface shape depends on the ratio of gravity to surface tension forces, the ratio of centrifugal to surface tension forces, the contact radius of the interface to the boundary, and the contact angle. The shape of the bubble is symmetric about its equator in a zero-gravity environment. This symmetry disappears and gradually shifts to parabolic profiles as the gravity environment becomes non-zero. The location of the maximum radius of the bubble moves upward from the center of the depth toward the top boundary of the cylinder as gravity increases. The contact radius of interface to the boundary r0 at the top side of cylinder increases and r0 at the bottom side of the cylinder decreases as the gravity environment increases from zero to 1 g.

Hung, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Gesture-Controlled Interfaces for Self-Service Machines

Gesture-controlled interfaces are software- driven systems that facilitate device control by translating visual hand and body signals into commands. Such interfaces could be especially attractive for controlling self-service machines (SSMs) for example, public information kiosks, ticket dispensers, gasoline pumps, and automated teller machines (see figure). A gesture-controlled interface would include a vision subsystem comprising one or more charge-coupled-device video cameras (at least two would be needed to acquire three-dimensional images of gestures). The output of the vision system would be processed by a pure software gesture-recognition subsystem. Then a translator subsystem would convert a sequence of recognized gestures into commands for the SSM to be controlled; these could include, for example, a command to display requested information, change control settings, or actuate a ticket- or cash-dispensing mechanism. Depending on the design and operational requirements of the SSM to be controlled, the gesture-controlled interface could be designed to respond to specific static gestures, dynamic gestures, or both. Static and dynamic gestures can include stationary or moving hand signals, arm poses or motions, and/or whole-body postures or motions. Static gestures would be recognized on the basis of their shapes; dynamic gestures would be recognized on the basis of both their shapes and their motions. Because dynamic gestures include temporal as well as spatial content, this gesture- controlled interface can extract more information from dynamic than it can from static gestures.

Cohen, Charles J.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Voltage-Dependent First-Principles Barriers to Li Transport within Li-Ion Battery Solid Electrolyte Interphases

Charging a Li-ion battery requires Li-ion transport between the cathode and the anode. This Li-ion transport is dependent on (among other factors) the electrostatic environment that the ion encounters within the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), which separates the anode from the surrounding electrolyte. A previous first-principles work has illuminated the reaction barriers through likely atomistic SEI environments but has had difficulty accurately reflecting the larger electrostatic potential landscape that an ion encounters moving through the SEI. In this work, we apply the recently developed quantum continuum approximation (QCA) technique to provide an equilibrium electronic potentiostat for first-principles interface calculations. Using QCA, we calculate the potential barrier for Li-ion transport through LiF, Li 2 O, and Li 2 CO 3 SEIs along with LiF–LiF and LiF–Li 2 O grain boundaries, all paired with Li metal anodes. Here, we demonstrate that the SEI potential barrier is dependent on the electrochemical potentials of the anode in each system. Finally, we use these techniques to estimate the change in the diffusion barrier for a Li ion moving in a LiF SEI as a function of the anode potential. We find that properly accounting for interface and electronic voltage effects significantly lowers reaction barriers compared with previous literature results.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

NASA NTRS1972

Solar cell radiation response near the interface of different atomic number materials

The response of cobalt 60 irradiated N/P silicon solar cells was measured as a function of the atomic number of the medium adjacent to the cell and the direction of the gamma ray beam. The interpositioning of various thicknesses of aluminum between the adjacent material and the cell had the effect of moving the cell to various locations in an approximate monatomic numbered medium. Using this technique the solar cell response was determined at various distances from the interface for gold and beryllium. The results were compared with predictions based upon ionization chamber measurements of dose perturbations in aluminum and found to agree within five percent. Ionization chamber data was then used to estimate the influence of various base contact materials.

Burke, E. A.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Payload/cargo processing at the launch site

Payload processing at Kennedy Space Center is described, with emphasis on payload contamination control. Support requirements are established after documentation of the payload. The processing facilities feature enclosed, environmentally controlled conditions, with account taken of the weather conditions, door openings, accessing the payload, industrial activities, and energy conservation. Apparatus are also available for purges after Orbiter landing. The payloads are divided into horizontal, vertical, mixed, and life sciences and Getaway Special categories, which determines the processing route through the facilities. A canister/transport system features sealed containers for moving payloads from one facility building to another. All payloads are exposed to complete Orbiter bay interface checkouts in a simulator before actually being mounted in the bay.

Ragusa, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Kinematic domain decomposition to simulate flows past moving objects

A new method is developed to solve the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations on a composite grid which consists of subdomain grids moving with respect to each other. These subdomains are structured grids with different topologies. However, their interfaces are unstructured in the sense that they may or may not arbitrarily overlap with each other. This method captures the boundary-motion-induced flow component. The method is demonstrated for a transonic flow past an airfoil which experiences a combined motion of pitching and plunging.

Baysal, Oktay↗

NASA NTRS2001

Time-Dependent Simulations of Incompressible Flow in a Turbopump Using Overset Grid Approach

This viewgraph presentation provides information on mathematical modelling of the SSME (space shuttle main engine). The unsteady SSME-rig1 start-up procedure from the pump at rest has been initiated by using 34.3 million grid points. The computational model for the SSME-rig1 has been completed. Moving boundary capability is obtained by using DCF module in OVERFLOW-D. MPI (Message Passing Interface)/OpenMP hybrid parallel code has been benchmarked.

Kiris, Cetin↗

NASA NTRS2013

Cursor Control Device Test Battery

The test battery was developed to provide a standard procedure for cursor control device evaluation. The software was built in Visual Basic and consists of nine tasks and a main menu that integrates the set-up of the tasks. The tasks can be used individually, or in a series defined in the main menu. Task 1, the Unidirectional Pointing Task, tests the speed and accuracy of clicking on targets. Two rectangles with an adjustable width and adjustable center- to-center distance are presented. The task is to click back and forth between the two rectangles. Clicks outside of the rectangles are recorded as errors. Task 2, Multidirectional Pointing Task, measures speed and accuracy of clicking on targets approached from different angles. Twenty-five numbered squares of adjustable width are arranged around an adjustable diameter circle. The task is to point and click on the numbered squares (placed on opposite sides of the circle) in consecutive order. Clicks outside of the squares are recorded as errors. Task 3, Unidirectional (horizontal) Dragging Task, is similar to dragging a file into a folder on a computer desktop. Task 3 requires dragging a square of adjustable width from one rectangle and dropping it into another. The width of each rectangle is adjustable, as well as the distance between the two rectangles. Dropping the square outside of the rectangles is recorded as an error. Task 4, Unidirectional Path Following, is similar to Task 3. The task is to drag a square through a tunnel consisting of two lines. The size of the square and the width of the tunnel are adjustable. If the square touches any of the lines, it is counted as an error and the task is restarted. Task 5, Text Selection, involves clicking on a Start button, and then moving directly to the underlined portion of the displayed text and highlighting it. The pointing distance to the text is adjustable, as well as the to-be-selected font size and the underlined character length. If the selection does not include all of the underlined characters, or includes non-underlined characters, it is recorded as an error. Task 6, Multi-size and Multi-distance Pointing, presents the participant with 24 consecutively numbered buttons of different sizes (63 to 163 pixels), and at different distances (60 to 80 pixels) from the Start button. The task is to click on the Start button, and then move directly to, and click on, each numbered target button in consecutive order. Clicks outside of the target area are errors. Task 7, Standard Interface Elements Task, involves interacting with standard interface elements as instructed in written procedures, including: drop-down menus, sliders, text boxes, radio buttons, and check boxes. Task completion time is recorded. In Task 8, a circular track is presented with a disc in it at the top. Track width and disc size are adjustable. The task is to move the disc with circular motion within the path without touching the boundaries of the track. Time and errors are recorded. Task 9 is a discrete task that allows evaluation of discrete cursor control devices that tab from target to target, such as a castle switch. The task is to follow a predefined path and to click on the yellow targets along the path.

Kritina Holden↗