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

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At least 271 records · Page 15

Acute Total and Chronic Partial Sleep Deprivation: Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions, Waking EEG and Renin-Angiotensin System

Total sleep deprivation leads to decrements in neurobehavioral performance and changes in electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations as well as the incidence of slow eye movements ad detected in the electro-oculogram (EOG) during wakefulness. Although total sleep deprivation is a powerful tool to investigate the association of EEG/EOG and neurobehavioral decrements, sleep loss during space flight is usual only partial. Furthermore exposure to the microgravity environment leads to changes in sodium and volume homeostasis and associated renal and cardio-endocrine responses. Some of these changes can be induced in head down tilt bedrest studies. We integrate research tools and research projects to enhance the fidelity of the simulated conditions of space flight which are characterized by complexity and mutual interactions. The effectiveness of countermeasures and physiologic mechanisms underlying neurobehavioral changes and renal-cardio endocrine changes are investigated in Project 3 of the Human Performance Team and Project 3 of the Cardiovascular Alterations Team respectively. Although the. specific aims of these two projects are very different, they employ very similar research protocols. Thus, both projects investigate the effects of posture/bedrest and sleep deprivation (total or partial) on outcome measures relevant to their specific aims. The main aim of this enhancement grant is to exploit the similarities in research protocols by including the assessment of outcome variables relevant to the Renal-Cardio project in the research protocol of Project 3 of the Human Performance Team and by including the assessment of outcome variables relevant to the Quantitative EEG and Sleep Deprivation Project in the research protocols of Project 3 of the Cardiovascular Alterations team. In particular we will assess Neurobehavioral Function and Waking EEG in the research protocols of the renal-cardio endocrine project and renin-angiotensin and cardiac function in the research protocol of the Quantitative EEG and Waking Neurobehavioral Function project. This will allow us to investigate two additional specific aims: 1) Test the hypothesis that chronic partial sleep deprivation during a 17 day bed rest experiment results in deterioration of neurobehavioral function during waking and increases in EEG power density in the theta frequencies, especially in frontal areas of the brain, as well as the nonREM- REM cycle dependent modulation of heart-rate variability. 2) Test the hypothesis that acute total sleep deprivation modifies the circadian rhythm of the renin-angiotensin system, changes the acute responsiveness of this system to posture beyond what a microgravity environment alone does and affects the nonREM-REM cycle dependent modulation of heart-rate variability.

Dijk, Derk-Jan↗

Large amplitude forcing of a high speed 2-dimensional jet

The effect of large amplitude forcing on the growth of a high speed two dimensional jet was investigated experimentally. Two forcing techniques were utilized: mass flow oscillations and a mechanical system. The mass flow oscillation tests were conducted at Strouhal numbers from 0.00052 to 0.045, and peak to peak amplitudes up to 50 percent of the mean exit velocity. The exit Mach number was varied in the range 0.15 to 0.8. The corresponding Reynolds numbers were 8,400 and 45,000. The results indicate no significant change of the jet growth rate or centerline velocity decay compared to the undisturbed free jet. The mechanical forcing system consists of two counter rotating hexagonal cylinders located parallel to the span of the nozzle. Forcing frequencies up to 1,500 Hz were tested. Both symmetric and antisymmetric forcing can be implemented. The results for antisymmetric forcing showed a significant (75 percent) increase of the jet growth rate at an exit Mach number of 0.25 and a Strouhal number of 0.019. At higher rotational speeds, the jet deflected laterally. A deflection angle of 39 deg with respect to the centerline was measured at the maximum rotational speed.

Bernal, L.↗

Electrochemical Studies Of Aluminum Coated With Primer

Technical paper describes experiments using ac-impedance method of analyzing corrosion of metal surfaces and breakdown of protective coatings. Alternating-current-impedance scans provide more detailed information, indicating changes in corrosion rates, progressive deterioration of coatings, changes in metal surfaces, and reaction mechanisms. Changes in conditions of coatings detected by ac method before dc methods show increase in metal-corrosion current. Measurements of impedance as function of frequency provides sufficient data to enable resistances and capacitances to be determined by performing least-squares fit. Knowledge of dependence of these values on time leads to more detailed understanding of corrosion process.

Danford, Merlin D.↗

Automatic speech recognition research at NASA-Ames Research Center

A trainable acoustic pattern recognizer manufactured by Scope Electronics is presented. The voice command system VCS encodes speech by sampling 16 bandpass filters with center frequencies in the range from 200 to 5000 Hz. Variations in speaking rate are compensated for by a compression algorithm that subdivides each utterance into eight subintervals in such a way that the amount of spectral change within each subinterval is the same. The recorded filter values within each subinterval are then reduced to a 15-bit representation, giving a 120-bit encoding for each utterance. The VCS incorporates a simple recognition algorithm that utilizes five training samples of each word in a vocabulary of up to 24 words. The recognition rate of approximately 85 percent correct for untrained speakers and 94 percent correct for trained speakers was not considered adequate for flight systems use. Therefore, the built-in recognition algorithm was disabled, and the VCS was modified to transmit 120-bit encodings to an external computer for recognition.

Coler, Clayton R.↗

Characterization of Axial Inducer Cavitation Instabilities via High Speed Video Recordings

Sub-scale water tests were undertaken to assess the viability of utilizing high resolution, high frame-rate digital video recordings of a liquid rocket engine turbopump axial inducer to characterize cavitation instabilities. These high speed video (HSV) images of various cavitation phenomena, including higher order cavitation, rotating cavitation, alternating blade cavitation, and asymmetric cavitation, as well as non-cavitating flows for comparison, were recorded from various orientations through an acrylic tunnel using one and two cameras at digital recording rates ranging from 6,000 to 15,700 frames per second. The physical characteristics of these cavitation forms, including the mechanisms that define the cavitation frequency, were identified. Additionally, these images showed how the cavitation forms changed and transitioned from one type (tip vortex) to another (sheet cavitation) as the inducer boundary conditions (inlet pressures) were changed. Image processing techniques were developed which tracked the formation and collapse of cavitating fluid in a specified target area, both in the temporal and frequency domains, in order to characterize the cavitation instability frequency. The accuracy of the analysis techniques was found to be very dependent on target size for higher order cavitation, but much less so for the other phenomena. Tunnel-mounted piezoelectric, dynamic pressure transducers were present throughout these tests and were used as references in correlating the results obtained by image processing. Results showed good agreement between image processing and dynamic pressure spectral data. The test set-up, test program, and test results including H-Q and suction performance, dynamic environment and cavitation characterization, and image processing techniques and results will be discussed.

Arellano, Patrick↗

PSR J2021+4026 in the Gamma Cygni Region: The First Variable Gamma-Ray Pulsar Seen by the Fermi LAT

Long-term monitoring of PSR J2021+4026 in the heart of the Cygnus region with the Fermi Large Area Telescope unveiled a sudden decrease in flux above 100 MeV over a timescale shorter than a week. The "jump" was near MJD 55850 (2011 October 16), with the flux decreasing from (8.33 plus or minus 0.08)×10(exp −10) erg cm(exp −2) s(exp −1) to (6.86 plus or minus 0.13)× 10 (exp −1)0 erg cm (exp −2) s(exp −1). Simultaneously, the frequency spindown rate increased from (7.8 plus or minus 0.1) × 10(exp −13) Hz s(exp −1) to (8.1 plus or minus 0.1) × 10(exp −1)3 Hz s(exp −1). Significant (greater than 5 sigma) changes in the pulse profile and marginal (less than 3 sigma) changes in the emission spectrum occurred at the same time. There is also evidence for a small, steady flux increase over the 3 yr preceding MJD 55850. This is the first observation at gamma-ray energies of mode changes and intermittent behavior, observed at radio wavelengths for other pulsars. We argue that the change in pulsed gamma-ray emission is due to a change in emission beaming and we speculate that it is precipitated by a shift in the magnetic field structure, leading to a change of either effective magnetic inclination or effective current.

pulsars: individual↗

Extreme Water Vapor Transport During the March 2021 Sydney Floods in the Context of Climate Projections

During March 2021, large regions of Eastern Australia experienced prolonged heavy rainfall and extensive flooding. The maximum daily mean column integrated water vapor transport (IVT) over Sydney during this event was within the top 0.3% of all days since 1980, and the 10-day mean IVT was in the top 0.2%. Here, in this study, we have examined the change in frequency of extreme IVT events over Sydney in 16 climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP245 and SSP585). Generalized Extreme Value modeling was used to further analyze the change in frequency of extreme IVT events. We found the probability of long duration high IVT events is projected to increase by 80% at the end of the century, but the future change in IVT is correlated to the rate of global and regional warming in each model.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Fast, Nonspattering Inert-Gas Welding

Proposed welding technique combines best features of metal (other than tungsten)/inert-gas welding, plasma arc welding, and tungsten/inert-gas welding. Advantages include: wire fed to weld joint preheated, therefore fed at high speed without spattering; high-frequency energy does not have to be supplied to workpiece to initiate welding; size of arc gap not critical, power-supply control circuit adjusts voltage across gap to compensate for changes; only low gas-flow rate needed; welding electrode replaced easily as prefabricated assembly; external wire-feeding manipulator not needed; and welding process relatively forgiving of operator error.

Gilbert, Jeffrey L.↗

Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Methane Slosh and Drain Experiments

NASA possesses a wealth of historical cryogenic experiments that provide valuable insights into the design, troubleshooting, and understanding involved in the complex fluid and thermodynamics of managing cryogenic propellants. One approach to leveraging these historical datasets is by simulating these experiments to validate the accuracy of simulation environments and constituent models. This study focused on simulating a selection of the K site test series for both static and sloshing pressurized liquid methane draining experiments conducted at NASA in the 1970’s, utilizing computational fluid dynamics. The simulations were performed in the ANSYS FLUENT environment using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) numerical approach. A k-omega turbulence model was used with interfacial turbulence damping, and accurately predicted the amount of pressurant needed to maintain the required tank pressure throughout the static drain. The static simulation predicted the temperature stratification in the ullage observed at the end of the drain. During the methane expulsion with sloshing test, many features were successfully captured using the k-omega turbulence model with interfacial turbulence damping included. The rate of phase change and liquid temperature was overpredicted compared to the experimental measurements. The overprediction may be attributed to uncertainties in the vessel geometry, methane pressurant temperature and composition, and methodological differences in how the sloshing frequency was adjusted during the expulsion.

Cryogenic Propellants↗

A radionuclide counting technique for measuring wind velocity

A technique for measuring wind velocities of meteorological interest is described. It is based on inverse-square-law variation of the counting rates as the radioactive source-to-counter distance is changed by wind drag on the source ball. Results of a feasibility study using a weak bismuth 207 radiation source and three Geiger-Muller radiation counters are reported. The use of the technique is not restricted to Martian or Mars-like environments. A description of the apparatus, typical results, and frequency response characteristics are included. A discussion of a double-pendulum arrangement is presented. Measurements reported herein indicate that the proposed technique may be suitable for measuring wind speeds up to 100 m/sec, which are either steady or whose rates of fluctuation are less than 1 kHz.

Singh, J. J.↗

Microbial growth under drought is confined to distinct taxa and modified by potential future climate conditions

Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of drought events, affecting soil functions including carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling, which are driven by growing microorganisms. Yet we know little about microbial responses to drought due to methodological limitations. Here, we estimate microbial growth rates in montane grassland soils exposed to ambient conditions, drought, and potential future climate conditions (i.e., soils exposed to 6 years of elevated temperatures and elevated CO 2 levels). For this purpose, we combined 18 O-water vapor equilibration with quantitative stable isotope probing (termed ‘vapor-qSIP’) to measure taxon-specific microbial growth in dry soils. In our experiments, drought caused >90% of bacterial and archaeal taxa to stop dividing and reduced the growth rates of persisting ones. Under drought, growing taxa accounted for only 4% of the total community as compared to 35% in the controls. Drought-tolerant communities were dominated by specialized members of the Actinobacteriota, particularly the genus Streptomyces. Six years of pre-exposure to future climate conditions (3 °C warming and + 300 ppm atmospheric CO 2 ) alleviated drought effects on microbial growth, through more drought-tolerant taxa across major phyla, accounting for 9% of the total community. Our results provide insights into the response of active microbes to drought today and in a future climate, and highlight the importance of studying drought in combination with future climate conditions to capture interactive effects and improve predictions of future soil-climate feedbacks.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Study of the Effects of Ultrasonic Waves on the Reproductive Integrity of Mammalian Cells Cultured in Vitro

The effects of monochromatic ultrasonic waves of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and, 3.3 MHz frequency on the colony-forming ability of mammalian cells (M3-1,V79, Chang's and T-1) cultured in vitro have been studied to determine the nature of the action of ultrasonic energy on biological systems at the cellular level. The combined effect of ultrasound and X-rays has also been studied. It is concluded: (1) Ultrasonic irradiation causes both lethal and sublethal damage. (2) There is a threshold dose rate for lethal effects. (3) The effectiveness of ultrasonic waves in causing cell death probably depends on the frequency and the amplitude of the waves for a given cell line, indicating a possible resonance phenomenon.

Martins, B. I.↗

Toward Statistical Real-Time Power Fault Detection

We propose statistical fault detection methodology based on high-frequency data streams that are becoming available in modern power grids. Our approach can be treated as an online (sequential) change point monitoring methodology. However, due to the mostly unexplored and very nonstandard structure of high-frequency power grid streaming data, substantial new statistical development is required to make this methodology practically applicable. The paper includes development of scalar detectors based on multichannel data streams, determination of data-driven alarm thresholds and investigation of the performance and robustness of the new tools. Due to a reasonably large database of faults, we can calculate frequencies of false and correct fault signals, and recommend implementations that optimize these empirical success rates.

bolted faults↗

Nuclear reactor radiation and temperature effects on piezoelectric surface acoustic wave devices

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators were characterized in-situ in a nuclear reactor environment at high temperature. Devices based on lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ), aluminum nitride (sc-AlN), and thin-film aluminum nitride on sapphire substrate (AlN/sapphire) were tested up to 400 °C temperature and 1.9 × 10 12 n/cm 2 s neutron flux. Shifts in device resonant frequency were detected in response to temperature and neutron flux. Devices undergo a frequency change when exposed to neutron flux. At 300 °C, AlN/sapphire produced the strongest neutron flux response about 1.02 ppm at 1.27 × 10 12 n/cm 2 s neutron flux (5.7 × 10 4 rad-Si/hr neutron dose rate), compared to 0.30 ppm for LiNbO 3 and 0.17 ppm for sc-AlN. While the transient kinetics in response to step change in neutron flux support the defect-accumulation mechanism, the concurrent measurement of device temperature using resistive temperature sensor suggests additional heating caused by absorption of gamma rays can also play a role. These results make SAW devices attractive candidates for sensor applications in extreme environments.

Aluminum nitride↗

Intensifying heat extremes in China attributed to rising greenhouse gases and declining aerosols since the 2010s

Rising temperatures have increased the frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme temperature events over China in recent decades. The upward trends in heat extremes in China in the warm season (May–September) and their relationships with changes in aerosols and greenhouse gases are investigated using observations, reanalysis data and model results. Significant increasing trends in China are observed in daily maximum temperatures (TXx), heatwave frequency, and heatwave mean duration during 2011–2023, with increasing rates of 0.70 °C/decade, 3.77 d/decade and 0.31 d/event/decade, respectively. This study shows that 43 ± 3% of the TXx increases in China are attributed to the rising CO2 concentrations. Aerosol optical depth in China decreased at a rate of 0.054 per decade from 2011 to 2023 due to significant air quality improvements. The weakened aerosol cooling effect due to declining aerosols contributes 27 ± 3% to the observed TXx trend. In eastern China, where aerosol reductions were most significant, aerosol reduction even accounts for 79 ± 10% of the TXx increasing trend. The intensifying heat waves attributed to GHGs and aerosols are in accordance with the increasing extreme high temperatures. The results highlight the significant impacts of rising GHGs and decreasing aerosols on heat extreme events over China in recent years, emphasizing the need of considering both GHGs and aerosols to address the issue of intensification of heat extremes in a warming future.

Zou, Aili↗

Effect of helicopter blade dynamics on blade aerodynamic and structural loads

The effect of rotor blade dynamics on aerodynamic and structural loads is examined for a conventional, main-rotor helicopter using a comprehensive rotorcraft analysis (CAMRAD) and flight-test data. The impact of blade dynamics on blade section lift-coefficient time histories is studied by comparing predictions from a rigid-blade analysis and an elastic-blade analysis with helicopter flight test data. The elastic blade analysis better predicts high-frequency behavior of section lift. In addition, components of the blade angle of attack such as elastic blade twist, blade flap rate, blade slope velocity, and inflow are examined as a function of blade mode. Elastic blade motion changed blade angle of attack by a few tenths of a degree, and up to the sixth rotor harmonic. A similar study of the influence of blade dynamics on bending and torsion moments was also conducted. A correlation study comparing predictions from several elastic-blade analyses with flight-test data revealed that an elastic-blade model consisting of only three elastic bending modes (first and second flap and first lag), and two elastic torsion modes was sufficient for good correlation.

Heffernan, Ruth M.↗

Frequency-Accommodating Manchester Decoder

No adjustment necessary to cover a 10:1 frequency range. Decoding circuit converts biphase-level pulse-code modulation to nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ)-level pulse-code modulation plus clock signal. Circuit accommodates input data rate of 50 to 500 kb/s. Tracks gradual changes in rate automatically, eliminating need for extra circuits and manual switching to adjust to different rates.

Vasquez, Mario J.↗

Phase discriminating capacitive array sensor system

A phase discriminating capacitive sensor array system which provides multiple sensor elements which are maintained at a phase and amplitude based on a frequency reference provided by a single frequency stabilized oscillator. Sensor signals provided by the multiple sensor elements are controlled by multiple phase control units, which correspond to the multiple sensor elements, to adjust the sensor signals from the multiple sensor elements based on the frequency reference. The adjustment made to the sensor signals is indicated by output signals which indicate the proximity of the object. The output signals may also indicate the closing speed of the object based on the rate of change of the adjustment made, and the edges of the object based on a sudden decrease in the adjustment made.

Vranish, John M.↗