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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

VSAERO analysis of tip planforms for the free-tip rotor

The results of a numerical analysis of two interacting lifting surfaces separated in the spanwise direction by a narrow gap are presented. The configuration consists of a semispan wing with the last 32 percent of the span structurally separated from the inboard section. The angle of attack of the outboard section is set independently from that of the inboard section. In the present study, the three-dimensional panel code VSAERO is used to perform the analysis. Computed values of tip surface lift and pitching moment coefficients are correlated with experimental data to determine the proper approach to model the gap region between the surfaces. Pitching moment data for various tip planforms are also presented to show how the variation of tip pitching moment with angle of attack may be increased easily in incompressible flow. Calculated three-dimensional characteristics in compressible flow at Mach numbers of 0.5 and 0.7 are presented for new tip planform designs. An analysis of sectional aerodynamic center shift as a function of Mach number is also included for a representative tip planform. It is also shown that the induced drag of the tip surface is reduced for negative incidence angles relative to the inboard section. The results indicate that this local drag reduction overcomes the associated increase in wing induced drag at high wing lift coefficients.

Martin, D. M.↗

Ion flux oscillations associated with a radially polarized transverse Pc 5 magnetic pulsation

The AMPTE CCE spacecraft observed a transverse Pc 5 magnetic pulsation (period of about 200 s) at 2155-2310 UT on November 20, 1985, at a radial distance of 5.7 - 7.0 earth radii, at a magnetic latitude of 1.2 - 19 deg, and near 1300 magnetic local time. The magnetic pulsation exhibits properties consistent with a standing Alfven wave with a second-harmonic standing structure along the ambient magnetic field. The amplitude and the phase of the flux pulsation are found to be a function of the particle detector look direction and the particle energy. The observed energy dependence of the shift is interpreted as the result of a drift-bounce resonance of the ions with the wave. From this interpretation it follows that the wave propagated westward with an azimuthal wave number of approximately 100. Thus the study demonstrates that particle data can be useful for determining the spatial structure of some types of ULF waves.

Takahashi, K.↗

The Challenges of Human-Autonomy Teaming

Machine intelligence is improving rapidly based on advances in big data analytics, deep learning algorithms, networked operations, and continuing exponential growth in computing power (Moores Law). This growth in the power and applicability of increasingly intelligent systems will change the roles humans, shifting them to tasks where adaptive problem solving, reasoning and decision-making is required. This talk will address the challenges involved in engineering autonomous systems that function effectively with humans in aeronautics domains.

artificial intelligence↗

The Challenges of Human-Autonomy Teaming

Machine intelligence is improving rapidly based on advances in big data analytics, deep learning algorithms, networked operations, and continuing exponential growth in computing power (Moores Law). This growth in the power and applicability of increasingly intelligent systems will change the roles humans, shifting them to tasks where adaptive problem solving, reasoning and decision-making is required. This talk will address the challenges involved in engineering autonomous systems that function effectively with humans in aeronautics domains.

Human-Autonomy teaming↗

We Just Want to Pump…You Up! Forecasting Grid-Connected Heat Pump Water Heater Energy Savings and Load Shifting Potential for the Southeast U.S.

Heat pump water heaters (HPWH) can achieve energy savings of 60-70% compared to conventional electric-resistance water heaters. However, even with a favorable simple payback period within the typical product lifetime, HPWHs make up only 1% of all electric water heaters sold in the residential sector. Market adoption is challenged, in part, by the lack of effective energy efficiency programs in the U.S. region with the greatest amount of residential electric water heaters. The recent integration of connected functionality into HPWHs offers the capability to shift load without undue negative impact on customers. This capability can provide value to utilities with peak load constraints, motivating them to promote HPWHs for the first time. This paper will present a methodology to forecast connected HPWH energy use and extrapolate load shifting potential for the Southeast U.S. region. The methodology leverages data from a robust connected HPWH field study conducted in the Pacific Northwest. A coefficient of performance (COP) relationship for HPWHs was developed using ambient and inlet water temperature data to forecast HPWH performance on a month-by-month basis. Using the forecasted COP, HPWH operating hours were calculated for meeting load, which serve as the proxy to extrapolate load shifting potential from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast. As a use case, analytical results are presented for a specific utility. This methodology, in combination with market analysis, facilitates the development of customized energy savings and load shifting forecasts to understand the potential impacts of launching connected HPWH programs in specific utility service territories.

heat pump water heater, energy savings, load shift↗

NASA GPM GV Science Requirements

An important scientific objective of the NASA portion of the GPM Mission is to generate quantitatively-based error characterization information along with the rainrate retrievals emanating from the GPM constellation of satellites. These data must serve four main purposes: (1) they must be of sufficient quality, uniformity, and timeliness to govern the observation weighting schemes used in the data assimilation modules of numerical weather prediction models; (2) they must extend over that portion of the globe accessible by the GPM core satellite to which the NASA GV program is focused - (approx.65 degree inclination); (3) they must have sufficient specificity to enable detection of physically-formulated microphysical and meteorological weaknesses in the standard physical level 2 rainrate algorithms to be used in the GPM Precipitation Processing System (PPS), i.e., algorithms which will have evolved from the TRMM standard physical level 2 algorithms; and (4) they must support the use of physical error modeling as a primary validation tool and as the eventual replacement of the conventional GV approach of statistically intercomparing surface rainrates fiom ground and satellite measurements. This approach to ground validation research represents a paradigm shift vis-&-vis the program developed for the TRMM mission, which conducted ground validation largely as a statistical intercomparison process between raingauge-derived or radar-derived rainrates and the TRMM satellite rainrate retrievals -- long after the original satellite retrievals were archived. This approach has been able to quantify averaged rainrate differences between the satellite algorithms and the ground instruments, but has not been able to explain causes of algorithm failures or produce error information directly compatible with the cost functions of data assimilation schemes. These schemes require periodic and near-realtime bias uncertainty (i.e., global space-time distributed conditional accuracy of the retrieved rainrates) and local error covariance structure (i.e., global space-time distributed error correlation information for the local 4-dimensional space-time domain -- or in simpler terms, the matrix form of precision error). This can only be accomplished by establishing a network of high quality-heavily instrumented supersites selectively distributed at a few oceanic, continental, and coastal sites. Economics and pragmatics dictate that the network must be made up of a relatively small number of sites (6-8) created through international cooperation. This presentation will address some of the details of the methodology behind the error characterization approach, some proposed solutions for expanding site-developed error properties to regional scales, a data processing and communications concept that would enable rapid implementation of algorithm improvement by the algorithm developers, and the likely available options for developing the supersite network.

Smith, E.↗

Integrated Quantum-Classical Protocol for the Realistic Description of Solvated Multinuclear Mixed-Valence Transition-Metal Complexes and Their Solvatochromic Properties

Linear cyanide-bridged polymetallic complexes, which undergo photoinduced metal-to-metal charge transfer, represent prototypical systems for studying long-range electron-transfer reactions and understanding the role played by specific solute–solvent interactions in modulating the excited-state dynamics. Here, to tackle this problem, while achieving a statistically meaningful description of the solvent and of its relaxation, one needs a computational approach capable of handling large polynuclear transition-metal complexes, both in their ground and excited states, as well as the ability to follow their dynamics in several environments up to nanosecond time scales. Here, we present a mixed quantum classical approach, which combines large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on an accurate quantum mechanically derived force field (QMD-FF) and self-consistent QMD polarized point charges, with IR and UV–vis spectral calculations to model the solvation dynamics and optical properties of a cyano-bridged trinuclear mixed-valence compound (trans-[(NC) 5 Fe III (μ-CN)Ru II (pyridine) 4 (μ-NC)Fe III (CN) 5 ] 4– ). We demonstrate the reliability of the QMD-FF/MD approach in sampling the solute conformational space and capturing the local solute–solvent interactions by comparing the results with higher-level quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) MD reference data. The IR spectra calculated along the classical MD trajectories in different solvents correctly predict the red shift of the CN stretching band in the aprotic medium (acetonitrile) and the subtle differences measured in water and methanol, respectively. By explicitly including the solvent molecules around the cyanide ligands and calculating the thermal averaged absorption spectra using time-dependent density functional theory calculations within the Tamm–Dancoff approximation, the experimental solvatochromic shift is quantitatively reproduced going from water to methanol, while it is overestimated for acetonitrile. This discrepancy can likely be traced back to the lack of important dispersion interactions between the solvent cyano groups and the pyridine substituents in our micro solvation model. The proposed protocol is applied to the ground state in water, methanol, and acetonitrile and can be flexibly generalized to study excited-state nonequilibrium solvation dynamics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

CHOICE - Directed Study: Consequences of longterm- Confinement and Hypobaric HypOxia on Immunity in the Antarctic Concordia Environment

Concerning ground-based space physiological research, the choice of analog must carefully match the system of interest. For spaceflight-associated immune dysregulation (SAID), Antarctica winter-over has emerged as potentially the best terrestrial analog. The prolonged mission durations, extreme/dangerous environment, station-based lifestyle, isolation from outside world, disrupted circadian rhythms, and other psychological aspects make this analog extremely high fidelity for exploration-class space missions (long duration lunar, Mars). NASA, ESA and RSA are currently investigating SAID, with NASA currently operating the Integrated Immune flight study. It is desirable to have a ground analog for SAID validated, so that potential countermeasures might be validated terrestrially prior to during flight. For this presentation, NASA data collected on the winterover 2009 crewmembers, baseline through early deployment will be presented. Through early deployment (approximately 2-3 weeks at Concordia), phenotypic alterations included increased levels of memory T cells, shifts among the CD8+ T cell compartment to a more mature phenotype, and increases in constitutively activated T cells. CD8+/IFNg+ T cell percentages, and T cell blastogenesis functional responses were depressed early deployment as compared to healthy controls. In four compatible subjects, secreted T cell Th1/Th2 cytokines were measured following culture stimulation, and a Th2 shift was observed as compared to controls. Post-winter over frozen sample return will be required to determine if this shift persisted during the winter over period. Additionally, circadian rhythms remained altered compared to baseline, as determined through 5x daily cortisol measurements. Latent viral reactivation will not be determined until frozen sample return occurs.

Sams, Clarence↗

Methane-cycling microbial communities from Amazon floodplains and upland forests respond differently to simulated climate change scenarios

Seasonal floodplains in the Amazon basin are important sources of methane (CH 4 ), while upland forests are known for their sink capacity. Climate change effects, including shifts in rainfall patterns and rising temperatures, may alter the functionality of soil microbial communities, leading to uncertain changes in CH 4 cycling dynamics. To investigate the microbial feedback under climate change scenarios, we performed a microcosm experiment using soils from two floodplains (i.e., Amazonas and Tapajós rivers) and one upland forest. We employed a two-factorial experimental design comprising flooding (with non-flooded control) and temperature (at 27 °C and 30 °C, representing a 3 °C increase) as variables. We assessed prokaryotic community dynamics over 30 days using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and qPCR. These data were integrated with chemical properties, CH 4 fluxes, and isotopic values and signatures. In the floodplains, temperature changes did not significantly affect the overall microbial composition and CH 4 fluxes. CH 4 emissions and uptake in response to flooding and non-flooding conditions, respectively, were observed in the floodplain soils. By contrast, in the upland forest, the higher temperature caused a sink-to-source shift under flooding conditions and reduced CH 4 sink capability under dry conditions. The upland soil microbial communities also changed in response to increased temperature, with a higher percentage of specialist microbes observed. Floodplains showed higher total and relative abundances of methanogenic and methanotrophic microbes compared to forest soils. Isotopic data from some flooded samples from the Amazonas river floodplain indicated CH 4 oxidation metabolism. This floodplain also showed a high relative abundance of aerobic and anaerobic CH 4 oxidizing Bacteria and Archaea. Taken together, our data indicate that CH 4 cycle dynamics and microbial communities in Amazonian floodplain and upland forest soils may respond differently to climate change effects. We also highlight the potential role of CH 4 oxidation pathways in mitigating CH 4 emissions in Amazonian floodplains.

16S rRNA sequencing↗

Understanding Novel Lewis Acid Doping Mechanisms in Organic Semiconductors

Recent studies supported by this DOE grant have provided a more detailed understanding of the doping mechanism of organic semiconductors by the Lewis acid, tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (BCF). Our studies have examined the intermolecular semiconductor-dopant interactions as well as the thermodynamic feasibility of different doping mechanisms. Most notably, we found a different proposed doping scheme is much more thermodynamically favoured (exergonic) than our proposed two-step BCF doping mechanism. The state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical techniques of High-Field Multi-Dimensional Solid State NMR spectroscopy and Time-Dependent Density Functional theory (TD-DFT) and DFT were employed in this work. The data obtained helped identify the structural details and intermolecular interactions which impact the organic semiconductor doping efficiency for BCF and how these compare to the case of doping by the standard integer charge transfer dopant molecule F 4 TCNQ. We have, for the first time, assigned specific chemical shift values for the F 4 TCNQ molecules clustered outside of polymer chains as well as those intercalated between the polymer backbones. Further, we provide theoretical support for a novel doping mechanism which combines those proposed in previous literature involving the evolution of hydrogen gas along with a doping species more complex than the simple BCF·H 2 O. While our previously proposed doping mechanism was found to be highly thermodynamically unfavorable, the formation of large anion [BCF(OH)(OH 2 )BCF]- is the key change making the proposed mechanism exergonic while the elimination of gaseous H 2 helps drive the doping reaction.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

System architecture of a gallium arsenide one-gigahertz digital IC tester

The design for a 1-GHz digital integrated circuit tester for the evaluation of custom GaAs chips and subsystems is discussed. Technology-related problems affecting the design of a GaAs computer are discussed, with emphasis on the problems introduced by long printed-circuit-board interconnect. High-speed interface modules provide a link between the low-speed microprocessor and the chip under test. Memory-multiplexer and memory-shift register architectures for the storage of test vectors are described in addition to an architecture for local data storage consisting of a long chain of GaAs shift registers. The tester is constructed around a VME system card cage and backplane, and very little high-speed interconnect exists between boards. The tester has a three part self-test consisting of a CPU board confidence test, a main memory confidence test, and a high-speed interface module functional test.

Fouts, Douglas J.↗

Vacuum Ultraviolet Absorption Measurements of Atomic Oxygen in a Shock Tube

The absorption of vacuum ultraviolet light by atomic oxygen has been measured in the Electric Arc-driven Shock Tube (EAST) Facility at NASA-Ames Research Center. This investigation demonstrates the instrumentation required to determine atomic oxygen concentrations from absorption measurements in impulse facilities. A shock wave dissociates molecular oxygen, producing a high temperature sample of atomic oxygen in the shock tube. A probe beam is generated with a Raman-shifted ArF excimer laser. By suitable tuning of the laser, absorption is measured over a range of wavelengths in the region of the atomic line at 130.49 nm. The line shape function is determined from measurements at atomic oxygen densities of 3x10(exp 17) and 9x10(exp 17) cm(exp -3). The broadening coefficient for resonance interactions is deduced from this data, and this value is in accord with available theoretical models.

Meyer, Scott Andrew↗

Wind Tunnel Test of an RPV with Shape-Change Control Effector and Sensor Arrays

A variety of novel control effector concepts have recently emerged that may enable new approaches to flight control. In particular, the potential exists to shift the composition of the typical aircraft control effector suite from a small number of high authority, specialized devices (rudder, aileron, elevator, flaps), toward larger numbers of smaller, less specialized, distributed device arrays. The concept envisions effector and sensor networks composed of relatively small high-bandwidth devices able to simultaneously perform a variety of control functions using feedback from disparate data sources. To investigate this concept, a remotely piloted flight vehicle has been equipped with an array of 24 trailing edge shape-change effectors and associated pressure measurements. The vehicle, called the Multifunctional Effector and Sensor Array (MESA) testbed, was recently tested in NASA Langley's 12-ft Low Speed wind tunnel to characterize its stability properties, control authorities, and distributed pressure sensitivities for use in a dynamic simulation prior to flight testing. Another objective was to implement and evaluate a scheme for actively controlling the spanwise pressure distribution using the shape-change array. This report describes the MESA testbed, design of the pressure distribution controller, and results of the wind tunnel test.

Raney, David L.↗

CHESS 2025: Spectrometer orthorectified at-sensor radiance from NEON AOP imaging spectroscopy surveys

This dataset provides Level 1 (L1) orthorectified at-sensor radiance derived from measurements collected by the Imaging Spectrometer-1 (NIS-1) onboard the NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) for the 2025 Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS). NIS-1 captures light reflected from the Earth’s surface in 426 discrete wavelength bands as raw digital numbers (DNs; Level 0). These data are then calibrated to physical units (uW/cm²·sr·nm) following the processing steps described in the NEON Imaging Spectrometer Level 1B Calibrated Radiance Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD; Gallery 2022). The data delivered here are the primary inputs for the surface reflectance product in “Custom surface reflectance, shade masks, and equivalent water thickness maps for the Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study” (Carroll et al. 2026). For intertemporal comparison, the radiance data here are most directly relatable to the v2 radiance data in “NEON AOP Imaging Spectroscopy Survey of Upper East River Colorado Watersheds: Raw-Space Radiance and Observational Variable Dataset” (Goulden et al. 2018), to which the same processing methodology was applied. Together, the radiance and reflectance data enable users to exploit the unique reflection signatures of different surface objects for land cover classification, foliar trait mapping, plant vigor assessment, water content estimation, trace-element identification, and other scientific applications. The data were acquired over three study domains in the Upper Gunnison river basin: the upper East River watershed (CRBU); Almont Triangle and Taylor Canyon (ALMO); and Upper Taylor River watershed (UPTA) between 2025-06-13 and 2025-07-15. Within each domain, data are delivered by flightline as orthorectified and calibrated hyperspectral rasters in Hierarchical Data Format version 5 (HDF5) format, with radiance values provided in uW/cm²·sr·nm on a fixed, uniform Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid at 1 meter spatial resolution. The radiance rasters include all 426 NIS-1 spectral bands, along with associated quality-assurance (QA) and diagnostic and ancillary layers needed for atmospheric correction workflows. Orthorectified radiance is produced from pushbroom spectrometer observations by applying NEON’s radiometric calibration (including bad pixel masking, dark subtract, dark pedestal shift correction, electronic panel ghost correction, grating ghost correction, deblur correction and flat-fielding) and spectral calibration (using spectral response function band centers and full-width at half-maximum intensity), followed by geolocation and regridding to the fixed grid. CHESS Project Description: The Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS) comprised a multi-week airborne remote sensing and field observation campaign in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado, conducted in June and July of 2025. Airborne remote sensing was conducted by the National Ecological Observatory Network Airborne Observation Platform (NEON AOP), concurrent with a field campaign run by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Watershed Function Science Focus Area (SFA), and NASA-JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) program. Between June 10 and July 18, 2025, the NEON AOP flight team collected high-resolution aerial imaging spectroscopy and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data over three domains: the Upper East River (CRBU), Almont Triangle (ALMO), and the Upper Taylor Basin (UPTA). In coordination with the flights, a field campaign acquired ground-truth observations, including observations of vegetation composition, foliar traits, forest demography, and subsurface properties in 18 core sampling areas within the domains. Additional surface water observations were taken at over 380 point locations. All CHESS campaign datasets can be found within the CHESS ESS-DIVE data portal: https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/chess. Funding Acknowledgement: Field and remote-sensing data acquisition was performed under a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC24K1005). This work was also supported by the Watershed Function Science Focus Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

2018 NEON and 2025 CHESS Campaigns↗

Droplet Impingement and Ingestion by Supersonic Nose Inlet in Subsonic Tunnel Conditions

The amount of water in cloud droplet form ingested by a full-scale supersonic nose inlet with conical centerbody was measured in the NACA Lewis icing tunnel. Local and total water impingement rates on the cowl and centerbody surfaces were also obtained. All measurements were made with a dye-tracer technique. The range of operating and meteorological conditions studied was: angles of attack of 0 deg and 4.2 deg, volume-median droplet diameters from about 11 to 20 microns, and ratios of inlet to free-stream velocity from about 0.4 to 1.8. Although the inlet was designed for supersonic (Mach 2.0) operation of the aircraft, the tunnel measurements were confined to a free-stream velocity of 156 knots (Mach 0.237). The data are extendable to other subsonic speeds and droplet sizes by dimensionless impingement parameters. Impingement and ingestion efficiencies are functions of the ratio of inlet to free-stream velocity as well as droplet size. For the model and range of conditions studied, progressively increasing the inlet velocity ratio from less than to greater than 1.0 increased the centerbody impingement efficiency and shifted the cowl impingement region from the inner- to outer-cowl surfaces, respectively. The ratio of water ingested by the inlet plane to that contained in a free-stream tube of cross section equal to that at the inlet plane also increased with increasing inlet velocity ratio. Theoretically calculated values of inlet water (or droplet) ingestion are in good agreement with experiment for annular inlet configurations.

Gelder, Thomas F.↗

Radar images of the earth from space

The operational principles and imagery available from microwave SAR radars for earth observations from aircraft, the Shuttle, and Seasat are explored. Using microwave frequencies is noted to offer imagery access in day or night, all-weather conditions. SAR radar functions by obtaining a series of reflected signals over a single path, with data processing combining the echoes into an image corresponding to what may be obtained with a large antenna. A stable, reference signal is added to the incoming signals in order to establish the phase and amplitude of echoes. Because the wavelengths of the images can be precisely controlled, Doppler shifts can be detected, thus allowing point by point scattering analysis in two-dimensions. The Shuttle SIR-A and the Seasat radar feature a ground resolution of 25 m. Applications of the satellite systems to terrain, ice mapping, and for a Venus radar mapper mission are described.

Elachi, C.↗

Exploiting Decorrelations In Synthetic-Aperture Radar

Temporal decorrelation between synthetic-aperture-radar data acquired on subsequent passes along same or nearly same trajectory serves as measure of change in target scene. Based partly on mathematical models of statistics of correlations between first- and second-pass radar echoes. Also based partly on Fourier-transform relations between radar-system impulse response and decorrelation functions particularly those expressing decorrelation effects of rotation and horizontal shift of trajectories between two passes.

Zebker, Howard A.↗

Tropospheric Transmissivity Measurements Using the Raman Nitrogen Lidar Technique

LIDAR measurements in Azusa, California, during October 1972, were made in which the backscattered Raman-shifted nitrogen return was ratioed at different altitudes in order to obtain transmissivity. Rawinsonde data from nearby El Monte were used to determine the temperature and nitrogen number density altitude profiles. These data and other meteorological data are compared to the vertical aerosol and transmissivity structure determined by LIDAR. Also data analysis techniques are shown for obtaining q2 (transmissivity) and beta (attenuation coefficient) as a function of altitude.

McCormick, M. P.↗