Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “GROUP CONSTANTS”

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.

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

At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2020

Flexible Polyimide Aerogels Derived From Use of Neopentyl Spacer in Backbone

Polyimide aerogels have gained much attention in the last decade due to their highly porous structure with low density, low dielectric constant, good mechanical properties and thermal stability. They are desirable for many aerospace and commercial applications including lightweight substrates for antennas for aerospace vehicles, due to the low dielectric constant, approaching one as density decreases. However, with only aromatic diamines in the backbone, the aerogels are flexible only as very thin films, nominally 0.5 mm thick. A more flexible aerogel substrate would allow them to be used as conformal antennas, which would reduce drag and also save space in aerospace vehicles. In this research, we demonstrate that the flexibility can be increased by substituting the aromatic diamines typically used in polyimide aerogels with 1,3-bis(4-aminophenoxy)-2, 2-dimethylpropane (BAPN), which contains a flexible neopentyl spacer group. Using the aliphatic diamine, BAPN, leads to aerogels with a high bend radius even when the aerogels are 2-3 mm thick. Twenty different formulations of polyimide aerogels were synthesized from 3,3’,4,4’-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and a combination of BAPN and 2,2’-dimethylbenxidine (DMBZ), and cross-linked with 1,3,5-triaminophenoxybenzene (TAB) to understand the effect of polymer concentration, oligomer chain length and concentration of BAPN on the properties of the aerogels. Aerogels made using 50 mol % BAPN with n of 45 and 7 wt % polymer possessed the best combination of properties conducive to use as a flexible substrate for conformal antennas, including low density, good hydrophobicity, low shrinkage with high surface area, a one-inch bend radius in aerogels up to 3 mm thickness, and a dielectric constant of 1.11.

polyimide aerogels↗
NASA NTRS1994

The correlation function of flux-limited X-ray clusters

We show that the spatial correlation function of a flux-limited sample of X-ray-selected clusters of galaxies will exhibit a correlation scale that is smaller than the correlation scale of a volume-limited, richness-limited sample of comparable apparent spatial density. The flux-limited sample contains clusters of different richnesses at different distances: poor groups are found nearby and rich clusters at greater distances. Since the cluster correlation strength is known to increase with richness, the flux-limited sample averages over the correlations of poor and rich clusters. On the other hand, a volume-limited, richness-limited sample has a minimum richness threshold, and a constant mixture of richnesses with redshift. Using the observed correlation scale for rich (R greater than or equal to 1) clusters, r(sub 0)(R greater than or equal to 1) = 21 +/- 2 Mpc/h, that was determined from previous volume-limited studies, we derive for the Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) flux-limited X-ray cluster sample r(sub 0) (flux-limited) approximately equals 14 Mpc/h, in agreement with the recently observed value of 13.7 +/- 2.3 Mpc/h.

Bahcall, Neta A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Comparison of the Microbial Diversity and Abundance Between the Freshwater Land-Locked Lakes of Schirmacher Oasis and the Perennially Ice-Covered Lake Untersee in East Antarctica

Extreme conditions such as low temperature, dryness, and constant UV-radiation in terrestrial Antarctica are limiting factors of the survival of microbial populations. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial diversity and enumeration between the open water lakes of Schirmacher Oasis and the permanently ice-covered Lake Untersee. The lakes in Schirmacher Oasis possessed abundant and diverse group of microorganisms compared to the Lake Untersee. Furthermore, the microbial diversity between two lakes in Schirmacher Oasis (Lake L27C and L47) was compared by culture-based molecular approach. It was determined that L27Chad a richer microbial diversity representing 5 different phyla and 7 different genera. In contrast L47 consisted of 4 different phyla and 6 different genera. The difference in microbial community could be due to the wide range of pH between L27C (pH 9.1) and L47 (pH 5.7). Most of the microbes isolated from these lakes consisted of adaptive biological pigmentation. Characterization of the microbial community found in the freshwater lakes of East Antarctica is important because it gives a further glimpse into the adaptation and survival strategies found in extreme conditions.

Huang, Jonathan↗
NASA NTRS2019

Discovery of Activities via Statistical Clustering of Fixation Patterns

Human behavior often consists of a series of distinct activities, each characterized by a unique signature of visual behavior. This is true even in a restricted domain, such as piloting an aircraft, where patterns of visual signatures might represent activities like communicating, navigating, and monitoring. We propose a novel analysis method for gaze-tracking data, to perform blind discovery of these activities based on their behavioral signatures. The method is in some respects similar to recurrence analysis, but here we compare not individual fixations, but groups of fixations aggregated over a fixed time interval. The duration of this interval is a parameter that we will refer to as τ. We assume that the environment has been divided into a set of N different areas-of-interest (AOIs). For a given interval of time of duration τ, we compute the proportion of time spent fixating each AOI, resulting in an N-dimensional vector. These proportions can be converted to counts by multiplying by τ divided by the average fixation duration (another parameter that we fix at 280 milliseconds). We compare different intervals by computing the chi-square statistic. The p-value associated with the statistic is the likelihood of observing the data under the hypothesis that the data in the two intervals were generated by a single process with a single set of probabilities governing the fixation of each AOI. We have investigated the method using a set of 10 synthetic "activities," that sample 4 AOIs. Four of these activities visit 3 of the 4 AOIs, with equal probability; as there are four different ways to leave-one- out, there are four such activities. Similarly, there are six different activities that leave-two-out. Sequences of simulated behavior were generated by running each activity for 40 seconds, in sequence, for a total of 6.7 minutes. The figure to the right shows the matrix of chi-square statistics, using a value of 2.8 seconds for τ, corresponding to 10 fixations. Low values (dark) indicate poor evidence for activity differences, while high values (bright) indicate strong evidence. The dark squares along the main diagonal each correspond to the forty second intervals in which the activity was held constant; the 4x4 block at the lower left corresponds to the four leave-one-out activities, while the 6x6 block in the upper right corresponds to the leave-two-out activities. (The anti-diagonal pattern of white squares indicates those activity pairs that share no AOIs.) The chi-square values can be binarized by choosing a particular significance level; we are interested in grouping bins that represent the same activity, effectively accepting the null hypothesis. Therefore, we may adopt a relatively lax criterion; for example, choosing a p-value of 0.2 means that two behaviors that have only a 1-in-5 chance of being produced by a single activity might nevertheless be clustered together. We have explored several methods to perform clustering on the data and solving for the activity probabilities. Greedy methods begin by selecting the time bin that is similar to the most (or least) other bins, and then forming a cluster from it and all other non-discriminable bins. These methods show mediocre performance, as they do not take into account temporal contiguity. Preliminary results indicate that methods that "grow" clusters in time from seed points perform better.

activity analysis↗
NASA NTRS1990

Ubiquitous interstellar diamond and SiC in primitive chondrites - Abundances reflect metamorphism

It is shown here that interstellar diamond and SiC were incorporated into all groups of chondrite meteorites. Abundances rapidly go to zero with increasing metamorphic grade, suggesting that metamorphic destruction is responsible for the apparent absence of these grains in most chondrites. In unmetamorphosed chondrites, abundances normalized to matrix content are similar for different classes. Diamond samples from chondrites of different classes have remarkably similar noble-gas constants and isotropic compositions, although constituent diamonds may have come from many sources. SiC seems to be more diverse, partly because grains are large enough to measure individually, but average characteristics seem to be similar from meteorite to meteorite. These observations suggest that various classes of chondritic meteorites sample the same solar system-wide reservoir of interstellar grains.

Huss, Gary R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Design of a resistive exercise device for use on the Space Shuttle

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration in conjunction with the Universities Space Research Association sponsored the design of a Resistive Exercise Device (RED) for use on the Space Shuttle. The device must enable the astronauts to perform a number of exercises to prevent skeletal muscle atrophy and neuromuscular deconditioning in microgravity environments. The RED must fit the requirements for limited volume and weight and must provide a means of restraint during exercise. The design team divided the functions of the device into three major groups: methods of supplying force, methods of adjusting force, and methods of transmitting the force to the user. After analyzing the three main functions of the RED and developing alternatives for each, the design team used a comparative decision process to choose the most feasible components for the overall design. The design team selected the constant force spring alternative for further embodiment. The device consists of an array of different sized constant force springs which can be pinned in different combinations to produce the required output forces. The force is transmitted by means of a shaft and gear system. The final report is divided into four sections. An introduction section discusses the sponsor background, problem background and requirements of the device. The second section covers the alternative designs for each of the main functions. The design solution and pertinent calculations comprises the third section. The final section contains design conclusions and recommendations including topics of future work.

Carlson, Dennis L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Generalized seismic analysis

There is a constant need to be able to solve for enforced motion of structures. Spacecraft need to be qualified for acceleration inputs. Truck cargoes need to be safeguarded from road mishaps. Office buildings need to withstand earthquake shocks. Marine machinery needs to be able to withstand hull shocks. All of these kinds of enforced motions are being grouped together under the heading of seismic inputs. Attempts have been made to cope with this problem over the years and they usually have ended up with some limiting or compromise conditions. The crudest approach was to limit the problem to acceleration occurring only at a base of a structure, constrained to be rigid. The analyst would assign arbitrarily outsized masses to base points. He would then calculate the magnitude of force to apply to the base mass (or masses) in order to produce the specified acceleration. He would of necessity have to sacrifice the determination of stresses in the vicinity of the base, because of the artificial nature of the input forces. The author followed the lead of John M. Biggs by using relative coordinates for a rigid base in a 1975 paper, and again in a 1981 paper . This method of relative coordinates was extended and made operational as DMAP ALTER packets to rigid formats 9, 10, 11, and 12 under contract N60921-82-C-0128. This method was presented at the twelfth NASTRAN Colloquium. Another analyst in the field developed a method that computed the forces from enforced motion then applied them as a forcing to the remaining unknowns after the knowns were partitioned off. The method was translated into DMAP ALTER's but was never made operational. All of this activity jelled into the current effort. Much thought was invested in working out ways to unshakle the analysis of enforced motions from the limitations that persisted.

Butler, Thomas G.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Transient cardio-respiratory responses to visually induced tilt illusions

Although the orthostatic cardio-respiratory response is primarily mediated by the baroreflex, studies have shown that vestibular cues also contribute in both humans and animals. We have demonstrated a visually mediated response to illusory tilt in some human subjects. Blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, and lung volume were monitored in 16 supine human subjects during two types of visual stimulation, and compared with responses to real passive whole body tilt from supine to head 80 degrees upright. Visual tilt stimuli consisted of either a static scene from an overhead mirror or constant velocity scene motion along different body axes generated by an ultra-wide dome projection system. Visual vertical cues were initially aligned with the longitudinal body axis. Subjective tilt and self-motion were reported verbally. Although significant changes in cardio-respiratory parameters to illusory tilts could not be demonstrated for the entire group, several subjects showed significant transient decreases in mean blood pressure resembling their initial response to passive head-up tilt. Changes in pulse pressure and a slight elevation in heart rate were noted. These transient responses are consistent with the hypothesis that visual-vestibular input contributes to the initial cardiovascular adjustment to a change in posture in humans. On average the static scene elicited perceived tilt without rotation. Dome scene pitch and yaw elicited perceived tilt and rotation, and dome roll motion elicited perceived rotation without tilt. A significant correlation between the magnitude of physiological and subjective reports could not be demonstrated.

NASA Center JSC↗
NASA NTRS1988

A constant-alpha force-free-field analysis of the active region AR 4711 of February, 1986

The theory of Yang et al. (1983) is used to analyze the large active region AR 4711 of Feb. 1986. This region stored between 0.01 x 10 to the 32nd and 5.36 x 10 to the 32nd erg of extractable free magnetic energy, sufficient to supply the energies of the observed flare activities in this region. The region was an energetic quadrupolar sunspot group, occurring during solar minimum; this group was strongly twisted and produced many intense flares.

Yang, Hai-Shou↗
NASA NTRS1977

Help for Crippled Children

Children with cerebral palsy have nervous system defects which lead to muscular spasticity and loss of coordination. Many of these children have great difficulty walking because certain muscles are in a constant state of contraction. Surgical techniques can lengthen muscles or tendons to improve the child's walking pattern, but it is vital to diagnose accurately the particular spasticity problem of each patient; the individual muscles causing the handicap vary greatly from child to child. It is difficult by physical examination alone to determine precisely which muscle groups are most involved. Biotelemetry has provided a solution. For the past two years, the Children's Hospital at Standord, assisted by NASA and the Stanford Biomedical Application Team, has been applying biotelemetry to the cerebral palsy problem.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2016

A Possible Explanation for the Z-R Parameter Inconsistency when Comparing Stratiform and Convective Rainfall

The well-known Z-R power law Z A R(sup b) uses two parameters, A and b, in order to relate rainfall rate R to measured weather radar reflectivity Z. A common method used by researchers is to compute Z and R from disdrometer data and then extract the A-b parameter pair from a log-linear line fit to a scatter plot of Z-R pairs. Even though it may seem far more truthful to extract the parameter pair from a fit of radar Z(sub R) versus gauge rainfall rate R(sub G), the extreme difference in spatial and temporal sampling volumes between radar and rain gauge creates a slew of problems that can generally only be solved by using rain gauge arrays and long sampling averages. Disdrometer derived A-b parameters are easily obtained and can provide information for the study of stratiform versus convective rainfall. However, an inconsistency appears when comparing averaged A-b pairs from various researchers. Values of b range from 1.26 to 1.51 for both stratiform and convective events. Paradoxically the values of A fall into three groups: 150 to 200 for convective; 200 to 400 for stratiform; and 400 to 500 again for convective. This apparent inconsistency can be explained by computing the A-b pair using the gamma DSD coupled with a modified drop terminal velocity model, v(D) alpha D(sup beta) - w, where w is a somewhat artificial constant vertical velocity of the air above the disdrometer. This model predicts three regions of A, corresponding to w less than 0, w = 0, and w greater than 0, which approximately matches observed data.

gamma DSD↗
NASA NTRS1978

Effect of filtration on rolling-element-bearing life in contaminated lubricant environment

Fatigue tests were conducted on groups of 65 millimeter-bore ball bearings under four levels of filtration with and without a contaminated MIL-L-23699 lubricant. The baseline series used noncontaminated oil with 49 micron absolute filtration. In the remaining tests contaminants of the composition found in aircraft engine filters were injected into the filter's supply line at a constant rate of 125 milligrams per bearing-hour. The test filters had absolute particle removal ratings of 3, 30, 49, and 105 microns (0.45, 10, 30, and 70 microns nominal), respectively. Bearings were tested at 15,000 rpm under 4580 newtons radial load. Bearing life and running tract condition generally improved with finer filtration. The 3 and 30 micron filter bearings in a contaminated lubricant had statistically equivalent lives, approaching those from the baseline tests. The experimental lives of 49 micron bearings were approximately half the baseline bearing's lives. Bearings tested with the 105 micron filter experienced wear failures. The degree of surface distress, weight loss, and probable failure mode were found to be dependent on filtration level, with finer filtration being clearly beneficial.

Loewenthal, S. H.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Nanotube Sensors

Under this project, we explored the feasibility of utilizing carbon nanotubes in sensing applications. The grant primarily supported a graduate student, who worked on a number of aspects of the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes in collaboration with other researchers in my group. The two major research accomplishments are described below. The first accomplishment is the demonstration that solution carbon nanotube transistors functioned well in an electrolyte environment. This was important for two reasons. First, it allowed us to explore the ultimate limits of nanotube electronic performance by using the electrolyte as a highly effective gate, with a dielectric constant of approximately 80 and an effective insulator thickness of approximately 1 nm. Second, it showed that nanotubes function well under biologically relevant conditions (salty water) and therefore offer great promise as biological sensors. The second accomplishment was the demonstration that a voltage pulse applied to an AFM tip could be used to electrically cut carbon nanotubes. We also showed that a carefully applied pulse could also 'nick' a nanotube, creating a tunnel barrier without completely breaking the tube. Nicking was employed to make, for example, a quantum dot within a nanotube.

McEuen, Paul L.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Generalizability of Manual Control Skills Between Control Tasks of Varying Difficulty

This paper presents the results of an experiment that was performed at NASA Ames Research Center using 18 participants in two different groups who trained a task for ten days, with the goal of identifying how skill generalization would occur between two similar tasks of varying difficulty. A cybernetic approach was used. The first group was trained in a simple one-dimensional tracking task and transferred to a difficult two-dimensional tracking task. For the second group, this was reversed. Training with a simple task before transferring to the difficult task resulted in a slower convergence to final performance. However, it did allow participants to start with a better initial performance in the difficult task. Furthermore, after training with a simple task, participants controlled with a higher gain and generated lower lead time constants. However, possibly due to the number of participants, this experiment did not find any statistical evidence to support the conclusion that training with a simple task version helps in learning a more complex task.

skill generalizability↗
NASA NTRS2019

Generalizability of Manual Control Skills between Control Tasks of Varying Difficulty

This paper presents the results of an experiment that was performed at NASA Ames Research Center using 18 participants in two different groups who trained a task for ten days, with the goal of identifying how skill generalization would occur between two similar tasks of varying difficulty. A cybernetic approach was used. The first group was trained in a simple one-dimensional tracking task and transferred to a difficult two-dimensional tracking task. For the second group, this was reversed. Training with a simple task before transferring to the difficult task resulted in a slower convergence to final performance. However, it did allow participants to start with a better initial performance in the difficult task. Furthermore, after training with a simple task, participants controlled with a higher gain and generated lower lead time constants. However, possibly due to the number of participants, this experiment did not find any statistical evidence to support the conclusion that training with a simple task version helps in learning a more complex task.

Pieters, Marc A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The mechanism of growth of quartz crystals into fused silica

It is proposed that the growth of quartz crystals into fused silica is effected by a mechanism involving the breaking of an Si-O bond and its association with an OH group, followed by cooperative motion of the nonbridging oxygen and the hydroxyl group which results in the crystallization of a row of several molecules along a crystalline-amorphous interfacial ledge. This mechanism explains, at least qualitatively, all the results of the earlier experimental study of the dependence of quartz crystal growth upon applied pressure: large negative activation volume; single activation enthalpy below Si-O bond energy; growth velocity constant in time, proportional to the hydroxyl and chlorine content, decreasing with increasing degree of reduction, and enhanced by nonhydrostatic stresses; lower pre-exponential for the synthetic than for the natural silica.

Fratello, V. J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Chemisorption and Diffusion of H on a Graphene Sheet and Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Recent experiments on hydrogen storage in single wall nanotubes and nanotube bundles have reported large fractional weight of stored molecular hydrogen which are not in agreement with theoretical estimates based of simulation of hydrogen storage by physisorption mechanisms. Hydrogen storage in catalytically doped nanotube bundles indicate that atomic H might undergo chemisorption changing the basic nature of the storage mechanism under investigation by many groups. Using a generalized tight-binding molecular dynamics (GTBMD) method for reactive C-H dynamics, we investigate chemisorption and diffusion of atomic H on graphene sheet and C nanotubes. Effective potential energy surfaces (EPS) for chemisorption and diffusion are calculated for graphene sheet and nanotubes of different curvatures. Analysis of the activation barriers and quantum rate constants, computed via wave-packet dynamics method, will be discussed in this presentation.

Srivastava, Deepak↗
NASA NTRS2012

Derivation of Apollo 14 High-Al Basalts at Discrete Times: Rb-Sr Isotopic Constraints

Pristine Apollo 14 (A-14) high-Al basalts represent the oldest volcanic deposits returned from the Moon [1,2] and are relatively enriched in Al2O3 (>11 wt%) compared to other mare basalts (7-11 wt%). Literature Rb-Sr isotopic data suggest there are at least three different eruption episodes for the A-14 high-Al basalts spanning the age range approx.4.3 Ga to approx.3.95 Ga [1,3]. Therefore, the high-Al basalts may record lunar mantle evolution between the formation of lunar crust (approx.4.4 Ga) and the main basin-filling mare volcanism (<3.85 Ga) [4]. The high-Al basalts were originally classified into five compositional groups [5,6], and then regrouped into three with a possible fourth comprising 14072 based on the whole-rock incompatible trace element (ITE) ratios and Rb-Sr radiometric ages [7]. However, Rb-Sr ages of these basalts from different laboratories may not be consistent with each other because of the use of different 87Rb decay constants [8] and different isochron derivation methods over the last four decades. This study involved a literature search for Rb-Sr isotopic data previously reported for the high-Al basalts. With the re-calculated Rb-Sr radiometric ages, eruption episodes of A-14 high-Al basalts were determined, and their petrogenesis was investigated in light of the "new" Rb-Sr isotopic data and published trace element abundances of these basalts.

Hui. Hejiu↗