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At least 289 records · Page 16
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NASA NTRS1982

Experiments and calculations on the extinction of starlight by iron or magnetite grains

Both iron and magnetite have previously been proposed as constituents of interstellar grains. If either type of magnetic grain exists, it would help to explain the polarization of starlight which is thought to be caused by grains aligned by the interstellar magnetic field. A description is presented of laboratory measurements and computer calculations of the optical properties of small (approximately 25 nm radius) Fe and Fe304 grains. These results are discussed in terms of the effect of such particles on the extinction observed in the interstellar medium or in circumstellar shells. It is found that Fe is probably not responsible for the 220 nm feature in the interstellar extinction curve. Calculations show that if Fe304 is responsible for the very broad structure (VBS) in the interstellar extinction curve, then it would also be a significant contributor to the extinction in the near-UV.

Hecht, J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Fine, nickel-poor Fe-Ni grains in the olivine of unequilibrated ordinary chondrites

Nickel-poor Fe-Ni grains smaller than 2.0 microns are common inclusions in ordinary, unequilibrated chondrites' porphyritic chondrule olivine, where the olivine grains seem to be relicts that survived chondrule formation without melting. This 'dusty' metal, whose most common occurrence is in the core of olivine grains having clear, Fe-poor rims, appears to be the product of the in situ reduction of FeO from the host olivine, with H2 or carbonaceous matter being the most likely reductants. H2 may have been implanted by solar wind or solar flare irradiation, but this requires the dissipation of nebular gas before the end of the chondrule formation process. Carbonaceous matter may have been implanted by shock. The large relict olivine grains may be nebular condensates or fragments broken from earlier chondrule generations.

Rambaldi, E. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The three micron 'ice' band in grain mantles

Attention is given to the influence of different mantle constituents on extinction and polarization due to H2O absorption in grain mantles, particularly the 3250/cm band. With respect to BN, the simultaneous reproduction of the extinction and polarization band shapes occurs by normal size particles containing mixtures of H2O with other molecules. As regards the 3-micron absorption in OH 231.8 plus 4.2, the data can be best fitted with pure amorphous H2O grains which have been heated to (or created at) about 80 K. The variation in grain mantle composition between young stellar objects and late-type stars loosing mass is attributed to a fundamental difference in grain formation and evolution.

Hagen, W.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Characterization of grain boundaries in silicon

Zero-bias conductance and capacitance measurements at various temperatures were used to study trapped charges and potential barrier height at the boundaries. Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) was applied to measure the density of states at the boundary. A study of photoconductivity of grain boundaries in p-type silicon demonstrated the applicability of the technique in the measurement of minority carrier recombination velocity at the grain boundary. Enhanced diffusion of phosphorus at grain boundaries in three cast polycrystalline photovoltaic materials was studied. Enhancements for the three were the same, indicating that the properties of boundaries are similar, although grown by different techniques. Grain boundaries capable of enhancing the diffusion were found always to have strong recombination activities; the phenomena could be related to dangling bonds at the boundaries. Evidence that incoherent second-order twins of (111)/(115) type are diffusion-active is presented.

Cheng, L. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The composition of interstellar grain mantles

The molecular composition of interstellar grain mantles employing gas phase as well as grain surface reactions is studied. The calculated mixtures consist mainly of the molecules H2O, H2CO, N2, CO, O2, CO2, H2O2, NH3, and their deuterated counterparts in varying ratios. The exact compositions depend strongly on the physical conditions in the gas phase. The calculated mixtures are compared to the observations by using laboratory spectra of grain mantle analogs. The two are in reasonable agreement except for the strength of the 6.8-micrometers band. A possible solution for this discrepancy is discussed. Finally, future observations are suggested which may shed further light on the composition of interstellar grain mantles.

Tielens, Alexander G. G. M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Relict and other anomalous grains in chondrules - Implications for chondrule formation

Relict olivine and pyroxene grains have been identified in chondrules from ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites that probably did not crystallize in situ. Some of these olivines are clear, but others contain fine-grained Fe, Ni ('dusty olivines') and resemble previously described occurrences in ordinary chondrites. There are also chondrules in which all olivine is dusty. It is concluded that: (1) not all relict olivines are dusty, (2) not all dusty olivines crystallized outside the chondrule in which they occur, and (3) some dusty olivines were produced during chondrule formation by a reduction process that affected the whole chondrule. The occurrence of dusty olivines and relict pyroxenes and olivines in chondrules from carbonaceous as well as ordinary chondrites supports the argument that chondrules from all chondrites had similar origins and histories. It is proposed that chondrules and mineral fragments were transported across f(O2) gradients in the solar nebula while they were hot, or were reheated in an environment different from the one in which they formed. Partially molten chondrules sometimes incorporated mineral grains or chondrules with different redox states, producing compound chondrules and chondrules containing anomalous grains. Dusty olivines may also have formed when hot chondrules were transported to regions of lower oxygen fugacity.

Kracher, A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Interstellar Grain Mantles

Techniques for determining the composition of small dust grains in interstellar matter are discussed. The best way to study the composition of interstellar grain mantles is by infrared spectroscopy. The absorption features in a complete infrared spectrum from 2 to 15 microns can be used as fingerprints to identify the absorbing molecule. Ground-based observations around 3 microns confirmed the presence of H2O ice in interstellar grain mantles, through the detection of the 3.08 micron OH stretching vibration. The detection of other molecules, in particular the carbon bearing molecules, is however hampered by atmospheric absorption in the 5-8 micron region and the presence of the strong ice and silicate bands, which dominate the 3 and 10 micron region respectively. Kuiper Airborne Observatory observations of the 5-8 micron region of the spectrum are therefore extremely important to determine the composition of interstellar grain mantles. The 5 to 8 micron spectra of molecular cloud sources was obtained using a 24 detector grating spectrometer. An important characteristic of this spectrometer is that the whole spectrum is obtained simultaneously. It is therefore relatively easy to correct for atmospheric transmission.

Witteborn, F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Mechanisms limiting the performance of large grain polycrystalline silicon solar cells

The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of large-grain (1 to 10 mm grain diameter) polycrystalline silicon solar cells is determined by the minority-carrier diffusion length within the bulk of the grains. This was demonstrated by irradiating polycrystalline and single-crystal (Czochralski) silicon solar cells with 1 MeV electrons to reduce their bulk lifetime. The variation of short-circuit current with minority-carrier diffusion length for the polycrystalline solar cells is identical to that of the single-crystal solar cells. The open-circuit voltage versus short-circuit current characteristic of the polycrystalline solar cells for reduced diffusion lengths is also identical to that of the single-crystal solar cells. The open-circuit voltage of the polycrystalline solar cells is a strong function of quasi-neutral (bulk) recombination, and is reduced only slightly, if at all, by grain-boundary recombination.

Culik, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Grain size evolution and fractionation trends in an experimental regolith

The communication of blocky planetary surfaces into fine-grained regoliths was simulated by impacting a fragmental gabbro target 200 times with stainless steel projectiles. It is found that the comminution efficiency of the surfaces changes with time, being highest in the early stages of regolith formation and decreasing gradually. The relationship between mean grain size and cumulative energy is not linear. Individual, fine-grained regolith components can be generated very early from relatively large progenitor fragments without going through intermediate-size fractions. Impact comminution is capable of producing fractionated fines as postulated by Papike et al. (1982). The role of grain-size selective, lateral transport to explain the fractionated nature of lunar regolith fines may have been overestimated in the past.

Horz, F.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Grain refinement of high strength steels to improve cryogenic toughness

Grain-refining techniques using multistep heat treatments to reduce the grain size of five commercial high-strength steels were investigated. The goal of this investigation was to improve the low-temperature toughness as measured by Charpy V-notch impact test without a significant loss in tensile strength. The grain size of four of five alloys investigated was successfully reduced up to 1/10 of original size or smaller with increases in Charpy impact energy of 50 to 180 percent at -320 F. Tensile properties were reduced from 0 to 25 percent for the various alloys tested. An unexpected but highly beneficial side effect from grain refining was improved machinability.

Rush, H. F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Limiting mechanisms in large-grain polycrystalline silicon Spatial homogeneity

An experiment to investigate the spatial homogeneity of large-grain polycrystalline silicon shows a number of performance-loss mechanisms. Arrays of up to 400 small (about 0.2 sq cm in area) photodiodes were fabricated on a selection of 10 cm x 10 cm polycrystalline silicon wafers. Measurements of the illuminated current-voltage (J-V) characteristics were used to generate maps of Voc, Jsc, and FF as a function of position; and dark J-V and LBIC analysis were used to determine the cause of low performance in areas with significantly degraded J-V characteristics. In addition to the presence of inclusions, which act as resistive shunts, the performance of many of the cells is limited by quasineutral recombination current, which may vary by up to an order of magnitude across a wafer. The increase is the result of either electrically-active grain boundaries or numerous subgrain boundaries within the grain bulk. In other isolated instances, the open-circuit voltage is reduced by excess space-charge recombination current that is not correlated with either grain or subgrain boundary activity.

Culik, J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Condensation onto grains in the outflows from mass-losing red giants

In the outflows from red giants, grains are formed which are driven by radiation pressure. For the development of a model of the outflows, a detailed understanding of the interaction between the gas and dust is critical. The present investigation is concerned with condensation processes which occur after the grains nucleate near the stars. A physical process considered results from the cooling of the grains as they flow away from the star. Molecules which initially do not condense onto the grains can do so far from the star. It is shown that for some species this effect can be quite important in determining their gas-phase abundances in the outer circumstellar envelope. One of the major motivations of this investigation was provided by the desire to understand the physical conditions and molecular abundances in the outflows from the considered stars.

Jura, M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The initiation of grain movement by wind

When air blows across the surface of dry, loose sand, a critical shear velocity must be achieved to inititate motion. Since most natural sediments consist of a range of grain sizes, fluid threshold for any sediment cannot really be defined by a finite value but should be viewed as a threshold range which is a function of the mean size, sorting, and packing of the sediment. In order to investigate the initiation of particle movement by wind, a series of wind tunnel tests were carried out on a range of screened sands and commercially available glass beads of differing sizes, sorting, and shape characteristics. In addition, individual samples of the glass beads were mixed to produce rather poorly sorted bimodal distributions. Test results suggest that when velocity is slowly increased over the sediment surface the smaller or more exposed grains are first entrained by the fluid drag of the air either in surface creep or in saltation. As velocity continues to rise, the larger more protected grains may also be moved by fluid drag. The data also indicate that predicted values based on the modified Bagnold equation fall within the range of threshold values defined by the transition section of the grain movement/shear velocity plots. Moreover, the predicted values are very similar to the threshold values derived for the point maximum inflection on the curves.

Nickling, W. G.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Grain dynamics in zero gravity

The dynamics of granular materials has proved difficult to model, primarily because of the complications arising from inelastic losses, friction, packing, and the effect of many grains being in contact simultaneously. The kinetic model of granular systems is similar to the kinetic theory of gases, except that collisional energy losses are always present in the former and must be treated explicity. Few granular materials on Earth are describable by this limiting model, since gravity tends to collapse the grains into a high density state where Coulombic friction effects are dominant. The planned Space Station offers an unusual opportunity to test the kinetic grain model and to explore its predictions. Without gravity, the regime of low interparticle velocities (where an elastic description of the collision is still valid) can be investigated. This will allow for direct interpretation by dynamical computer simulations as well as by the kinetic theory. The dynamics of spherical grains inside a clear box would be examined. Results would be compared with the predictions of the kinetic theory and computer simulations.

Werner, B. T.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Studies of light noble gases in mineral grains from lunar soils: A status report

Among the lunar soil constituents, monomineralic grains deserve special attention. Noble gases of carefully prepared mineral separates from lunar bulk soils were studied. The major results and conclusions of these investigations are summarized, in the context of both the regolith evolution and the history of the solar corpuscular radiation. With regard to the most abundant noble gas component in the regolith samples (the solar gases) the mineral grains have mainly two properties giving these particles among all soil constituents the best characteristics as sensors for solar gases, despite the fact, that the noble gas concentrations in a mineral separate are 10 to 60 times lower that those in a bulk sample of the same grain size. The first of these properties is the mineral dependent retentivity of the light gases He and Ne, the second property concerns the relatively short time during which a mineral grain acquires it solar gases. These two points are briefly discussed.

Wieler, R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Measuring interstellar dust grains from the haloes of binary X-ray sources

A method for determining the location, size distribution, and composition of interstellar dust grains from the haloes of binary X-ray sources is described. The method is based on the time dependence of the halo X-ray emission during an eclipse of the point source. The distance of the dust cloud is inferred directly from observations of the growth of the dark circle around the eclipsed point source. Grain size distribution in the interstellar dust clouds is derived from the halo brightness profile at a given photon energy. The composition of the grains is obtained by observing the spectral features in the total optical depth due to X-ray scattering near the photoionization thresholds of the elements in the grains. The haloes become dim just below the ionization threshold, and sharply increase in function brightness as the photon energy increases beyond the absorption edge of the relevant atom. The method makes it possible to observe and analyze the halo emission during eclipse even without imaging the source. It is suggested that haloes probably account for the soft X-rays observed during eclipses and dips observed in sources including 4U1915-05 and X1755-338.

Xu, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Nature of very small grains - PAH molecules or silicates?

The predictions of the model of Puget et al. (1985) for the emission from Very Small Grains (VSGs) including both graphitic and silicate components are compared with published 8-13-micron observations of astronomical sources. The VSGs are found to be mainly graphitic and an upper limit is placed on the relative mass of silicates based on lack of the 9.7-micron silicate emission feature on M 82 and NGC 2023. This dissymetry in the composition of VSGs supports the suggestion that they are formed in grain-grain collisions where the behaviors of graphite and silicate grains are expected to be quite different.

Desert, F. X.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The effects of grain size on the flow and fracture of long-range ordered alloys

The effects of grain size on the mechanical properties of long-range ordered alloys are examined with reference to the short-term behavior of aluminide intermetallics. It is shown that in those L1(2) alloys which exhibit anomalous thermal strengthening, the grain size affects the magnitude of the strengthening. In some cases it also affects ductility, whereby the tensile elongation and the tensile strength increase as the grain size decreases below a critical point. It is also believed that grain size may affect the partitioning of microalloying elements, such as boron, in Ni3Al.

Schulson, E. M.↗