SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “fluctuations response”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1934

Improved Apparatus for the Measurement of Fluctuations of Air Speed in Turbulent Flow

This report describes recent improvements in the design of the equipment associated with the hot-wire anemometer for the measurement of fluctuating air speeds in turbulent air flow, and presents the results of some experimental investigations dealing with the response of the hot wire to speed fluctuations of various frequencies. Attempts at measuring the frequency of the fluctuations encountered in the Bureau of Standards' 54-inch wind tunnel are also reported. In addition, the difficulties encountered in the use of such apparatus and the precautions found helpful in avoiding them are discussed.

Mock, W C , Jr↗

NASA NTRS2004

Critical Climate-Sensitive and Important Grain-Producing Regions: Grain Production/Yield Variations Due to Climate Fluctuations

Ideally, the Crop Country Inventory, CCI, is a methodology for the pre-harvest prediction of large variations in a country s crop production. This is accomplished by monitoring the historical climatic fluctuations, especially during the crop calendar period, in a climate sensitive large crop production region or sub-country, rather than the entire country. The argument can be made that the climatic fluctuations in the climatic sensitive region are responsible for the major annual crop country variations and that the remainder of the country, without major climatic fluctuations for a given year, can be assumed to be a steady-state crop producer. The principal data set that has been used is the Global Climate Mode (GCM) data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), taken over the last half century. As a test of its accuracy, GCM data can and has been correlated with the actual meteorological station data at the station site.

Welker, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Derivation of Aero-Induced Fluctuating Pressure Environments for Ares I-X

A description is given of the external aero-inducted fluctuating pressure model which was fit and anchored to wind tunnel data from the past 40 years. This model is based upon the assumption that the flow around a vehicle can be divided into discrete flow zones with independent fluctuating pressure properties. The model is then used to derive fluctuating pressure environments during ascent for the Ares I-X test vehicle. A sensitivity study of the structural response to the spatial correlation of the fluctuating pressures is also performed.

Yang, Michael Y.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Diurnal temperature fluctuation effects on potatoes grown with 12 hr photoperiods

This study was designed to characterize the growth responses of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) to diurnal temperature fluctuations. Potato plants of two cultivars, Norland and Denali, were grown for 90 days under 12 hr photoperiod in walk-in growth rooms at the University of Wisconsin Biotron. The alternating temperature was 22 C light/14 C dark and compared to a constant 18 C as control. At all temperature regimes vapor pressure deficit was maintained at 0.62 kPa (70% relative humidity [correction of humdidity] at 18 C). Plant height, plant dry weight, tuber dry weight, and harvest index were overall greater under the warm light/cool dark alternating temperatures than under the constant temperature. The differences between temperature treatments were greater for Denali than for Norland. Alternating temperatures increased Denali tuber weights by 25%, but no significant increase was found with Norland. Also the total plant weight was increased over 20% with Denali, but increased with Norland in only one of the two replications of the experiment. This study documents that alternating temperatures are a benefit to some cultivars but may not be of benefit to all cultivars.

NASA Discipline Number 61-10↗

DOE OSTI2021

A snapshot review—Fluctuations in quantum materials: from skyrmions to superconductivity

Abstract By measuring a linear response function directly, such as the dynamic susceptibility, one can understand fundamental material properties. However, a fresh perspective can be offered by studying fluctuations. This can be related back to the dynamic susceptibility through the fluctuation–dissipation theorem, which relates the fluctuations in a system to its response, an alternate route to access the physics of a material. Here, we describe a new X-ray tool for material characterization that will offer an opportunity to uncover new physics in quantum materials using this theorem. We provide details of the method and discuss the requisite analysis techniques in order to capitalize on the potential to explore an uncharted region of phase space. This is followed by recent results on a topological chiral magnet, together with a discussion of current work in progress. We provide a perspective on future measurements planned for work in unconventional superconductivity. Graphical abstract We describe a new X-ray tool for material characterization that will offer an opportunity to uncover new physics in quantum materials using coherent, short-pulsed X-rays. We provide details of the method and discuss the requisite analysis techniques in order to capitalize on the potential to explore an uncharted region of phase space. This is followed by recent results on a topological chiral magnet, together with a discussion of current work in progress. We provide a perspective on future measurements planned for work in unconventional superconductivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Soil microbial legacies differ following drying-rewetting and freezing-thawing cycles

Climate change alters frequencies and intensities of soil drying-rewetting and freezing-thawing cycles. These fluctuations affect soil water availability, a crucial driver of soil microbial activity. While these fluctuations are leaving imprints on soil microbiome structures, the question remains if the legacy of one type of weather fluctuation (e.g., drying-rewetting) affects the community response to the other (e.g., freezing-thawing). As both phenomenons give similar water availability fluctuations, we hypothesized that freezing-thawing and drying-rewetting cycles have similar effects on the soil microbiome. We tested this hypothesis by establishing targeted microcosm experiments. We created a legacy by exposing soil samples to a freezing-thawing or drying-rewetting cycle (phase 1), followed by an additional drying-rewetting or freezing-thawing cycle (phase 2). We measured soil respiration and analyzed soil microbiome structures. Across experiments, larger CO 2 pulses and changes in microbiome structures were observed after rewetting than thawing. Drying-rewetting legacy affected the microbiome and CO 2 emissions upon the following freezing-thawing cycle. Conversely, freezing-thawing legacy did not affect the microbial response to the drying-rewetting cycle. Our results suggest that drying-rewetting cycles have stronger effects on soil microbial communities and CO 2 production than freezing-thawing cycles and that this pattern is mediated by sustained changes in soil microbiome structures.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS1994

Equatorial wave activity derived from fluctuations in observed convection

The spectrum of equatorial wave activity propagating vertically into the stratosphere is calculated from high-resolution imagery of the global convective pattern. Synoptic Global Cloud Imagery (GCI), constructed from six satellites simultaneously observing the earth, is used to diabatically force the linearized primitive equations. Having resolution of 0.5 deg and 3 h, that imagery captures the dominant scales of organized convection, including several harmonics of the diurnal cycle. Its global coverage with high space-time resolution allows the GCI to represent heating variability and dynamical behavior excited by it over a wide range of scales. The dynamical response above the heating is evaluated globally in terms of a space-time spectrum of Hough modes, one which includes planetary-scale Kelvin waves, Rossby waves, and gravity waves down to the resolution of the GCI. The geopotential response, which is indicative of temperature fluctuations observed by satellite, is very red in frequency. Therefore, planetary-scale waves with periods longer than two days dominate the spectrum of geopotential, while high-frequency gravity waves make a comparatively small contribution. Some 80% of the geopotential variance is accounted for by the Kelvin and gravest-symmetric Rossby modes, while the Rossby-gravity mode is comparatively weak. In horizontal eddy motion, the excited wave spectrum is still dominated by planetary-scale components. However, meridional wind fluctuations associated with the Rossby-gravity mode have variance comparable to that of zonal wind fluctuations associated with the Kelvin mode, even though the Rossby-gravity mode is nearly invisible in the geopotential response. Estimates of tropospheric heating lead to amplitudes and propagation characteristics that are broadly consistent with satellite and radiosonde observations of wave activity in the lower stratosphere. The space-time spectrum of EP flux is significantly whiter than the response in either geopotential or motion. Gravity waves of small scale and high frequency carry a large fraction of the upward flux. Although it dominates eastward variance of geopotential and motion, the Kelvin mode carries only about 50% of the eastward EP flux at phase speeds of 20-40 m/s and only 35% of the total eastward flux transmitted to the stratosphere. The remainder is carried by the gravity wave spectrum, which carries nearly all of the westward flux at phase speeds greater than 20 m/s. The gravity wave spectrum also contributes significantly at phase speeds of 10-20 m/s, where only 25% of the flux is accounted for by zonal wavenumbers less than 20. The broad nature of the gravity wave spectrum suggests its absorption at critical levels will be distributed over a deep layer of the middle atmosphere.

Bergman, John W.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Electron-induced massive dynamics of magnetic domain walls

We study the dynamics of domain walls (DWs) in a metallic, ferromagnetic nanowire, focusing on inertial effects on the DW due to interaction with a conduction electron bath. In this work, we develop a Keldysh collective coordinate technique to describe the effect of conduction electrons on rigid magnetic structures. The effective Lagrangian and Langevin equations of motion for a DW are derived microscopically, including the full response kernel which is nonlocal in time. The DW dynamics is described by two collective degrees of freedom: position and tilt angle. The coupled Langevin equations therefore involve two correlated noise sources, leading to a generalized fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT). The DW response kernel due to electrons contains two parts: one related to dissipation via FDT and another reactive part. We prove that the latter term leads to a mass for both degrees of freedom, even though the intrinsic bare mass is zero. The electron-induced mass is present even in a clean system without pinning or specifically engineered potentials. The resulting equations of motion contain rich dynamical solutions and point toward a way to control domain wall motion in metals via the electronic system properties. We discuss two observable consequences of the mass, hysteresis in the DW dynamics, and resonant response to ac current.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2025

Bacterial response to the 2021 Orange County, California, oil spill was episodic but subtle relative to natural fluctuations

ABSTRACT An oil spill began in October 2021 off the coast of Orange County, California, releasing 24,696 gallons of crude oil into coastal environments. Although oil spills, such as this one, are recurrent accidents along the California coast, no prior studies have been performed to examine the severity of the local bacterial response. A coastal 10-year time series of short-read metagenomes located within the impacted area allowed us to quantify the magnitude and duration of the disturbance relative to natural fluctuations. We found that the largest change in bacterial beta-diversity occurred at the end of October. The change in taxonomic beta-diversity corresponded with an increase in the sulfur-oxidizing clade Candidatus Thioglobus, an increase in the total relative abundance of potential hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, and an anomalous decline in the picocyanobacteria Synechococcus . Similarly, changes in function were related to anomalous declines in photosynthetic pathways and anomalous increases in sulfur metabolism pathways as well as aromatic degradation pathways. There was a lagged response in taxonomy and function to peaks in total PAHs. One week after peaks in total PAH concentrations, the largest shifts in taxonomy were observed, and 1 week after the taxonomy shifts were observed, unique functional changes were seen. This response pattern was observed twice during our sampling period, corresponding with the combined effect of resuspended PAHs and increased nutrient concentrations due to physical transport events. Thus, the impact of the spill on bacterial communities was temporally extended and demonstrates the need for continued monitoring for longer than 3 months after initial oil exposure. IMPORTANCE Oil spills are common occurrences in waterways, releasing contaminants into the aquatic environment that persist for long periods of time. Bacterial communities are rapid responders to environmental disturbances, such as oil spills. Within bacterial communities, some members will be susceptible to the disturbance caused by crude oil components and will decline in abundance, whereas others will be opportunistic and will be able to use crude oil components for their metabolism. In many cases, when an oil spill occurs, it is difficult to assess the oil spill’s impact because no samples were collected prior to the accident. Here, we examined the bacterial response to the 2021 Orange County oil spill using a 10-year time series that lies within the impacted area. The results presented here are significant because (i) susceptible and opportunistic taxa to oil spills within the coastal California environment are identified and (ii) the magnitude and duration of the in situ bacterial response is quantified for the first time.

Brock, Melissa L. (ORCID:0000000340329241)↗

DOE OSTI2024

Pressure Transducer Measurement Variability in Deep Wells Screened Across the Water Table

Abstract Automated water level measurements collected using vented pressure transducers in deep wells screened across the water table may exhibit a greater response to barometric pressure changes than the true water level. The cause was hypothesized to be disequilibrium in barometric pressure between the wellbores and land surface due to air exchange with the deep vadose zone. In this study, vented and nonvented pressure transducers were installed and operated simultaneously in two deep wells screened across the water table. A vent tube open to the atmosphere at land surface allowed for barometric compensation of the vented transducers. Two nonvented transducers were installed in each well, one submerged in the water and one above the water surface. The difference in readings allowed for barometric compensation. Manual measurements were also collected. It was confirmed that measurements from the vented transducers exhibited greater variability in response to barometric pressure changes than the nonvented transducers and manual measurements. Comparison of the downhole barometric pressure measurements to values from a nearby meteorology station showed the response in the wells to changes in barometric pressure was time‐lagged and attenuated. Thus, the reference pressure from land surface supplied to the vented transducers was not representative of the air pressure within the wells. This caused fluctuations of the transducer readings in response to barometric pressure changes to be greater than the true water level change. This issue can be resolved by the use of nonvented pressure transducers.

McDonald, John P.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Hot-wire accuracy in supersonic turbulence from comparisons with laser-induced fluorescence

A hot-wire anemometer and a new, nonintrusive, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique are used to survey a turbulent boundary layer in a supersonic channel flow at Mach no. 2.06. The purpose is to test the accuracy of using the hot wire to measure the fluctuation amplitudes of static temperature and density in a compressible turbulent flow by comparing the results with independent and direct LIF measurements. Several methods of hot-wire calibration and analysis are applied. With each method, the hot-wire response can be related primarily to fluctuations of mass flux and total temperature, from which fluctuations of static temperature and density are calculated. However, these calculations are shown to be valid only if the fluctuations in static pressure are negligible. The acquisition and the analysis of the hot-wire data are often simplified further by neglecting the effects of fluctuations in total temperature. Comparisons of the fluctuation amplitudes of temperature and density obtained by hot-wire and LIF measurements demonstrate that such assumptions might not always be warranted, even in apparently simple flows.

Logan, Pamela↗

NASA NTRS2009

Investigating Response from Attached and Separated Flow Excitations on a Real Launch Vehicle using SEA

Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) response has been fairly well anchored to test observations for Diffuse Acoustic Field (DAF) loading by others. Meanwhile, not many examples can be found in the literature anchoring the SEA vehicle panel response results to Turbulent Boundary Layer (TBL) fluctuating pressure excitations. This deficiency is especially true for supersonic trajectories such as those required by this nation s launch vehicles. Response and excitation data from vehicle flight measurements gathered during the development flight era of the Space Shuttle have been used in a trial to assess the sensitivity of response analysis to certain known and unknown parameters of the flight. This assessment compares vibration response predictions for TBL excitations produced by the SEA tool to flight measurements. A secondary, but perhaps more important objective, is to provide more clarity concerning the accuracy and conservatism that can be expected from response estimates to TBL-excited vehicle models in SEA. What range of parameters must be included in such an analysis in order to land on the conservative side in response predictions? What is the variability produced in the results with changes in these parameters? The TBL fluid structure loading model used for this study is provided from the SEA module of the commercial code VA One.

Harrison, Phil↗

NASA NTRS1980

Climate sensitivity from fluctuation dissipation - Some simple model tests

Leith has suggested that climatic response to change in external forcing parameters of the climate system may be estimated via the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT). The method, which uses the natural fluctuations of the atmosphere to probe its dynamics, is tested here using a twenty-variable truncation model of the barotropic vorticity equation. Dissipative terms are added to the equations, so that the model is pushed away from the region where it is expected to satisfy the FDT. It is found that, even though the FDT is no longer satisfied in every detail, the FDT continues to provide an excellent estimate of the climatic sensitivity of the model.

Bell, T. L.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Chain Dynamics in Magnetorheological Suspensions

Magnetorheological (MR) suspensions are composed of colloidal particles which acquire dipole moments when subjected to an external magnetic field. At sufficient field strengths and concentrations, the dipolar particles rapidly aggregate to form long chains. Subsequent lateral cross-linking of the dipolar chains is responsible for a rapid liquid-to-solid-like rheological transition. The unique, magnetically-activated rheological properties of MR suspensions make them ideal for interfacing mechanical systems to electronic controls. Additionally, the ability to experimentally probe colloidal suspensions interacting through tunable anisotropic potentials is of fundamental interest. Our current experimental work has focused on understanding the fluctuations of dipolar chains. It has been proposed by Halsey and Toor (HT) that the strong Landau-Peierls thermal fluctuations of dipolar chains could be responsible for long-range attractions between chains. Such interactions will govern the long-time relaxation of MR suspensions. We have synthesized monodisperse neutrally buoyant MR suspensions by density matching stabilized ferrofluid emulsion droplets with D2O. This allows us to probe the dynamics of the dipolar chains using light scattering without gravitational, interfacial, and polydispersity effects to resolve the short-wavelength dynamics of the dipolar chains. We used diffusing wave spectroscopy to measure these dynamics. The particle displacements at short times that show an independence to the field strength, but at long times exhibit a constrained, sub-diffusive motion that slows as the dipole strength is increased. The experiments are in good qualitative agreement with Brownian dynamics simulations of dipolar chains. Although there have been several important and detailed studies of the structure and interactions in MR suspensions, there has not been conclusive evidence that supports or contradicts the HT model prediction that long-range interactions exist between fluctuating chains of dipolar particles. Resolving this issue would contribute greatly to the understanding of these interesting and important materials. We have begun to test the predictions of the HT model by both examining the dynamics of individual chains and by measuring the forces between dipolar chains directly to accurately and quantitatively assess the interactions that they experience. To do so, we employ optical trapping techniques and video-microscopy to manipulate and observe our samples on the microscopic level. With these techniques, it is possible to observe chains that are fluctuating freely in three-dimensions, independent of interfacial effects. More importantly, we are able to controllably observe the interactions of two chains at various separations to measure the force-distance profile. The techniques also allow us to study the mechanical properties of individual chains and chain clusters. Our work to this point has focused on reversibly-formed dipolar chains due to field induced dipoles where the combination of this chaining, the dipolar forces, and the hydrodynamic interactions that dictate the rheology of the suspensions. One can envision, however, many situations where optical, electronic, or rheological behavior may be optimized with magneto-responsive anisotropic particles. Chains of polarizable particles may have the best properties as they can coil and flex in the absence of a field and stiffen and orient when a field is applied. We have recently demonstrated a synthesis of stable, permanent paramagnetic chains by both covalently and physically linking paramagnetic colloidal particles. The method employed allows us to create monodisperse chains of controlled length. We observed the stability, field-alignment, and rigidity of this new class of materials. The chains may exhibit unique rheological properties in an applied magnetic field over isotropic suspensions of paramagnetic particles. They are also useful rheological models as bead-spring systems. These chains form the basis for our current experiments with optical traps.

Gast, A. P.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Brain serotonin and pituitary-adrenal functions

It had been concluded by Scapagnini et al. (1971) that brain serotonin (5-HT) was involved in the regulation of the diurnal rhythm of the pituitary-adrenal system but not in the stress response. A study was conducted to investigate these findings further by evaluating the effects of altering brain 5-HT levels on the daily fluctuation of plasma corticosterone and on the response of the pituitary-adrenal system to a stressful or noxious stimulus in the rat. In a number of experiments brain 5-HT synthesis was inhibited with parachlorophenylalanine. In other tests it was tried to raise the level of brain 5-HT with precursors.

Vernikos-Danellis, J.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Investigating Response from Turbulent Boundary Layer Excitations on a Real Launch Vehicle using SEA

Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) response has been fairly well anchored to test observations for Diffuse Acoustic Field (DAF) loading by others. Meanwhile, not many examples can be found in the literature anchoring the SEA vehicle panel response results to Turbulent Boundary Layer (TBL) fluctuating pressure excitations. This deficiency is especially true for supersonic trajectories such as those required by this nation s launch vehicles. Space Shuttle response and excitation data recorded from vehicle flight measurements during the development flights were used in a trial to assess the capability of the SEA tool to predict similar responses. Various known/measured inputs were used. These were supplemented with a range of assumed values in order to cover unknown parameters of the flight. This comparison is presented as "Part A" of the study. A secondary, but perhaps more important, objective is to provide more clarity concerning the accuracy and conservatism that can be expected from response estimates of TBL-excited vehicle models in SEA (Part B). What range of parameters must be included in such an analysis in order to land on the conservative side in response predictions? What is the sensitivity of changes in these input parameters on the results? The TBL fluid structure loading model used for this study is provided by the SEA module of the commercial code VA One.

Harrison, Phillip↗

DOE OSTI2022

Optically Induced Anisotropy in Time-Resolved Scattering: Imaging Molecular-Scale Structure and Dynamics in Disordered Media with Experiment and Theory

Time-resolved scattering experiments enable imaging of materials at the molecular scale with femtosecond time resolution. However, in disordered media they provide access to just one radial dimension thus limiting the study of orientational structure and dynamics. Here we introduce a rigorous and practical theoretical framework for predicting and interpreting experiments combining optically induced anisotropy and time-resolved scattering. Using impulsive nuclear Raman and ultrafast x-ray scattering experiments of chloroform and simulations, we demonstrate that this framework can accurately predict and elucidate both the spatial and temporal features of these experiments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2023

Finite-momentum instability of a dynamical axion insulator

Due to the chiral anomaly, Weyl semimetals can exhibit a signature topological magnetoelectric response known as an axion term which is determined by the microscopic band structure. In the presence of strong interactions Weyl fermions may form a chiral condensate, with the intrinsic dynamics and fluctuations of the associated condensate phase producing a dynamical contribution to the axion response. Here we show that an imbalance in the density of right- and left-handed electrons drives an instability of the chiral condensate towards finite momentum and leads to strong fluctuations in the axion response. We derive a long-wavelength theory of Lifschitz type governing the dynamics of the Goldstone mode and use this to characterize its associated spatial fluctuations, which manifest as an inhomogeneous anomalous Hall effect. In conclusion, we show that these fluctuations produce signatures in inelastic light-scattering experiments across a broad spectrum of frequencies, and can be used to determine the structure factor for the axionic collective mode.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗