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At least 307 records · Page 17

Investigating Effects of Controlled Flights through Fast-Time Simulation

Departure flights at major U.S. airports are often subject to Traffic Management Initiatives to mitigate congestion and delay due to demand-capacity imbalances. These controlled flights can lead to inefficiency and delay on the airport surface. The integrated arrival, departure, and surface traffic management capabilities developed by NASA’s Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) sub-project provide enhanced operational efficiency and predictability of flight operations through data exchange and integration, surface metering, and automated coordination of release time of controlled flights for overhead stream insertion. This paper evaluates the impacts of controlled flights on airport performance and assesses the ATD-2 benefits of pushback hold advisories for both controlled and non-controlled flights using fast-time simulation for Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

controlled flight↗

A Primordial Atmospheric Origin of Hydrospheric Deuterium Enrichment on Mars

The deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H or 2H/1H) ratio of Martian atmospheric water (~6× standard mean ocean water, SMOW) is higher than that of known sources, requiring planetary enrichment. A recent measurement by NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity of Hesperian-era (>3 Ga) clays yields a D/H ratio ~3×SMOW, demonstrating that most of the enrichment occurs early in Mars’s history, reinforcing the conclusions of Martian meteorite studies. As on Venus, Mars’s D/H enrichment is widely thought to reflect preferential loss to space of 1H (protium) relative to 2H (deuterium), but both the cause and the global environmental context of large and early hydrogen losses remain to be determined. Here, we apply a recent model of primordial atmosphere evolution to Mars, link the magma ocean of the accretion epoch with a subsequent water-ocean epoch, and calculate the behavior of deuterium for comparison with the observed record. In contrast to earlier works that consider Martian D/H fractionation in atmospheres in which hydrogen reservoirs are present exclusively as H2O or H2, here we consider 2-component (H2O-H2) outgassed atmospheres in which both condensed (H2O) and escaping (H2) components – and their interaction – are explicitly calculated. We find that a a ≈2-3× hydrospheric deuterium-enrichment is produced rapidly if the Martian magma ocean is chemically reducing at last equilibration with the primordial atmosphere, making H2 and CO the initially dominant species, with minor abundances of H2O and CO2. Reducing gases – in particular H2 – can cause substantial greenhouse warming and prevent a water ocean from freezing immediately after the magma ocean epoch. We find that greenhouse warming due to plausible H2 inventories (pH2=1-102 bars) yields surface temperatures high enough (Ts=290-560 K) to stabilize a water ocean and produce an early hydrological cycle through which surface water can be circulated. Moreover, the pressure-temperature conditions are high enough to produce ocean-atmosphere H2O-H2 isotopic equilibrium through gas-phase deuterium exchange such that surface H2O strongly concentrates deuterium relative to H2, which preferentially takes up protium and escapes from the primordial atmosphere. The efficient physical separation of deuterium-rich (H2O) and deuterium-poor (H2) species via condensation permits equilibrium isotopic partitioning and early atmospheric escape to be recorded in modern crustal reservoirs. The proposed scenario of primordial H2-CO-rich outgassing and escape suggests significant durations (>Myr) of chemical conditions on the Martian surface conducive to prebiotic chemistry immediately following magma ocean crystallization.

Mars↗

Development of a Direct Contact Heat Exchanger, Phase 1 Study Report

Electric power generation from geothermal brine requires, first, bringing the hot brine to the surface and then converting the heat to electric power. Binary conversion schemes were proposed, with the heat transfer between the brine and the working organic fluid taking place in a conventional tube and shell heat exchanger. If the brine is heavily laden with dissolved solids, however, solids buildup on the heat exchanger surfaces leads to a considerable degree of fouling and an accompanying drop in performance is experienced. A possible solution to this problem is the use of a direct contact exchanger with the secondary fluid power cycle. The proposed concept involves the formation of fluid sheets and bells as heat angles. Results of a study concerning the fluid mechanics of such surfaces are given.

Manvi, R.↗

Distinguishing surface and bulk electromagnetism via their dynamics in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator

The indirect exchange interaction between local magnetic moments via surface electrons has been long predicted to bolster the surface ferromagnetism in magnetic topological insulators (MTIs), which facilitates the quantum anomalous Hall effect. This unconventional effect is critical to determining the operating temperatures of future topotronic devices. However, the experimental confirmation of this mechanism remains elusive, especially in intrinsic MTIs. Here, we combine time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements to elucidate the unique electromagnetism at the surface of an intrinsic MTI MnBi 2 Te 4 . Theoretical modeling based on 2D Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interactions captures the initial quenching of a surface-rooted exchange gap within a factor of two but overestimates the bulk demagnetization by one order of magnitude. This mechanism directly explains the sizable gap in the quasi-2D electronic state and the nonzero residual magnetization in even-layer MnBi 2 Te 4 . Furthermore, it leads to efficient light-induced demagnetization comparable to state-of-the-art magnetophotonic crystals, promising an effective manipulation of magnetism and topological orders for future topotronics.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Tether System for Exchanging Payloads Between the International Space Station and the Lunar Surface

Systems composed of several rotating and/or hanging tethers may provide a means of exchanging supplies between low Earth orbit facilities and lunar bases without requiring the use of propellant. This work develops methods for designing a tether system capable of repeatedly exchanging payloads between a LEO facility such as the International Space Station or a Space Business Park and a base on the lunar surface. In this system, a hanging tether extended upwards from the LEO facility, places a payload into a slightly elliptical orbit, where it is caught by a rotating tether in a higher elliptical orbit. This rotating tether then tosses the payload to the moon. At the moon, a long rotating "Lunavator" tether catches the payload and deposits it on the surface of the moon. By transporting an equal mass of lunar materials such as oxygen back down to the LEO facility through the tether transport system, the momentum and energy of the system is conserved, allowing frequent traffic between LEO and the lunar surface with minimal propellant requirements.

Robert P. Hoyt↗

Atmospheric effects on the remote determination of thermal inertia on Mars

Measurements of the IR brightness temperature at the Martian surface at many different times of day are presently compared with temperatures predicted by thermal models which allow sunlight to reach the surface unattenuated, in order to determine the thermal inertia of the uppermost 1-10 cm of the Martian surface. The consequences of the assumptions made are assessed in view of results from a different thermal model which invokes radiation-transfer through a dusty CO2 atmosphere, as well as sensible heat-exchange with the surface. Smaller thermal inertias imply smaller particle sizes; the results obtained suggest that low thermal-inertia regions consist of 5-micron, rather than 50-micron, particle sizes.

Haberle, Robert M.↗

Conservative solute transport processes and associated transient storage mechanisms: Comparing streams with contrasting channel morphologies, land use and land cover

Abstract Land use within a watershed impacts stream channel morphology and hydrology and, therefore, in‐stream solute transport processes and associated transient storage mechanisms. This study evaluated transport processes in two contrasting stream sites where channel morphology was influenced by the surrounding land use, land cover, climate and geologic controls: Como Creek, CO, a relatively undisturbed, high gradient, forested stream with a gravel bed and complex channel morphology, and Clear Creek, IA, an incised, low‐gradient stream with low‐permeability substrate draining an agricultural landscape. We performed conservative stream tracer injections at these sites to address the following questions: (1) How does solute transport vary between streams with differing morphologies? and (2) How does solute transport at each stream site change as a function of discharge? We analysed in‐stream tracer time series data and compared results quantifying solute attenuation in surface and subsurface transient storage zones. Significant trends were observed in these metrics with varying discharge conditions at the forested site but not at the agricultural site. There was a broad range of transport mechanisms and evidence of substantial exchange with both surface and hyporheic transient storage in the relatively undisturbed, forested stream. Changing discharge conditions activated or deactivated different solute transport mechanisms in the forested site and greatly impacted advective travel time. Conversely in the simplified agricultural stream, there was a narrow range of solute transport behaviour across flows and predominantly surface transient storage at all measured discharge conditions. These results demonstrate how channel simplification inhibits available solute transport mechanisms across varying discharge conditions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Continuous observations of the surface energy budget and meteorology over the Arctic sea ice during MOSAiC

Abstract The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) was a yearlong expedition supported by the icebreaker R/V Polarstern , following the Transpolar Drift from October 2019 to October 2020. The campaign documented an annual cycle of physical, biological, and chemical processes impacting the atmosphere-ice-ocean system. Of central importance were measurements of the thermodynamic and dynamic evolution of the sea ice. A multi-agency international team led by the University of Colorado/CIRES and NOAA-PSL observed meteorology and surface-atmosphere energy exchanges, including radiation; turbulent momentum flux; turbulent latent and sensible heat flux; and snow conductive flux. There were four stations on the ice, a 10 m micrometeorological tower paired with a 23/30 m mast and radiation station and three autonomous Atmospheric Surface Flux Stations. Collectively, the four stations acquired ~928 days of data. This manuscript documents the acquisition and post-processing of those measurements and provides a guide for researchers to access and use the data products.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Comprehensive study of radon progeny attachment to surfaces

Low energy, low rate experiments, such as searches for neutrinoless double β decay and dark matter, require unprecedentedly low levels of background in order to deliver their full science potential. 210 Po driven, neutron induced background, caused by nuclear (α, n) reactions on low-Z materials, direct background contributions of the 210 Po α radiation and desorption of the 210 Pb progeny 210 Bi from surfaces into the detector medium are of particular of concern. These backgrounds depend on details of the components’ exposure to radon-loaded laboratory air and, thus, their handling history. The attachment rates of airborne radon progeny to surfaces, needed for the estimation of these background rates, are poorly understood. This article reports the results of a campaign comprising of more than 1200 attachment measurements, performed for nine different materials. Correlations of the attachment with environmental parameters such as air exchange rate, electrical surface potential, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity have been studied and found to be significant only in case of the first two. Attachment modeling, using the Jacobi model, is compared to data.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Ion thruster plume effects on spacecraft surfaces

A charge-exchange plasma, generated by an ion thruster, is capable of flowing upstream from the ion thruster and therefore represents a source of contamination to a spacecraft. An analytical model of the charge-exchange plasma density around a spacecraft is used to estimate the contamination which various spacecraft materials may be exposed to. Measurements of plasma density around an ion thruster are compared to this model. Results of experimental studies regarding the effects on various spacecraft materials' properties due to exposure to expected mercury contamination levels are presented.

Carruth, M. R., Jr.↗

Ion thruster plume effects on spacecraft surfaces

A charge-exchange plasma, generated by an ion thruster, is capable of flowing upstream from the ion thruster and therefore represents a source of contamination to a spacecraft. An analytical model of the charge-exchange plasma density around a spacecraft was used to estimate the contamination which various spacecraft materials may be exposed to. Measurements of plasma density around an ion thruster were compared to this model. Results of experimental studied regarding the effects on various spacecraft materials' properties due to exposure to expected mercury contamination levels are presented.

Carruth, M. R., Jr.↗

Heat-Exchange Driven Aircraft for Low Altitude and Surface Exploration of Venus: Phase 1 Study Final Report

Exploration of Venus below its clouds has long been impaired by the planet’s massive CO2 atmosphere, corrosive trace gases, and high opacity. Except for a few narrow spectral windows, the 20 km thick global cloud cover blocks light over the entirety of the ultraviolet through thermal infrared spectrum, impeding orbital studies of the surface and lower portion of the atmosphere. In addition to the cloud opacity, Rayleigh scattering through 80 bars of CO 2 in the lower 40 km of the atmosphere results in a Rayleigh scattering depth between 25 and1 in the visible through near infrared portion of the spectrum. That optically thick scattering, combined with the uniform angular distribution of the illumination provided by the highly diffusing clouds overhead greatly reduces even very large surface albedo contrasts (Crisp, pers. Comm.). To date, the surface has only been mapped via synthetic aperture radar by the Magellan mission at scales of 120 to 300 m/pixel. In addition to contributing to the difficulty of performing studies of the surface from orbit, the extreme temperatures and pressures at the surface also create a challenging environment to utilize a lander for exploration. The longest-lived lander on Venus’ surface survived for 2 hours. Hence, limited access to observe the surface and lower atmosphere of Venus arguably puts the surface and lower atmosphere of Venus as one of the least explored regions of the inner Solar System.

NIAC Phase I↗

Numerical study to predict the effect of surface roughness on the thermal and hydraulic performance of additively manufactured heat exchangers

Heat exchangers are used in many industries to transfer thermal energy between two or more objects with an associated thermal and hydraulic performance indicated by thermal effectiveness and pressure drop respectively. Many investigations have aimed to enhance the thermal effectiveness of heat exchangers by introducing turbulent flow inducers that increase the heat transfer rate at the expense of increasing pressure drop. Flow inducers like surface roughness can be controlled with advanced manufacturing methods like additive manufacturing for heat exchanger production. Selecting and manufacturing an optimal surface roughness for heat exchangers requires a more comprehensive approach that accounts for the surface roughness effect on the thermal and hydraulic performance of a sample. Since fabricating samples with additive manufacturing to a desired surface roughness can be an extensive experimental process, this study will fundamentally investigate the effect of surface roughness on the thermal and velocity boundary layers for various surface roughness profiles with physics-based computational modeling. To accurately model the surface roughness effect on thermohydraulic performance, correlations like roughness ratio, friction factor, and Nusselt number are investigated. This study expects to indicate correlations for different flow regimes which can successfully predict the effect of surface roughness on thermohydraulic performance. Results generated from modeling surface roughness effect with unique correlations are then compared to experimental data obtained from literature for validation. The results of this study will provide insight to understand the thermal fluid physics associated with surface roughness and design guidelines for heat exchangers produced with additive manufacturing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Adsorption and exchange reactions of iodine molecules at the alumina surface: modelling alumina-iodine reaction mechanisms

Harnessing aluminum oxidation energy requires navigating the particle's passivation shell composed of alumina. The shell is a barrier to aluminum oxidation but can also exothermically react with halogenated species and therefore contribute to the overall energy generated during aluminum particle combustion. Fluorination reactions with alumina have been studied because fluorine is abundant in binder formulations that commonly surround aluminum particles in an energetic mixture. However, iodine has emerged as an alternative halogenated-based binder or oxidizer because iodine gas provides ancillary benefits such as chemical neutralization of biological agents or sterilization of contaminated environments. Furthermore, this study used density functional theory (DFT) calculations to evaluate potential reaction pathways for aluminum–iodine combustion. Relative to fluorinated fragments such as HF and F – , the adsorption energies associated with HI and I– are nearly triple the exchange reaction energy available from fluorination reactions with alumina (–189 and –278 kJ mol –1 for HI and I – , respectively). However, exchange reactions between iodinated species and the alumina surface are energetically unfavorable. These results explain that through adsorption, alumina surface exothermic reactions with iodine are more energetic than with fluorine fragments. Experiments performed with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirm the higher magnitude of energy generated for iodination compared with fluorination reactions with alumina. Additionally, strong adsorption energies can promote synthesis of new shell chemistries. Adsorption in solution will promote alumina dissolution and iodine precipitation reactions to produce hydroxyl complexes and iodinated species synthesized on the surface of the particle, thereby replacing alumina with alternative passivation shell chemistry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Tuning Surface Acidity of Mixed Conducting Electrodes: Recovery of Si‐Induced Degradation of Oxygen Exchange Rate and Area Specific Resistance

Abstract Metal oxides are an important class of functional materials, and for many applications, ranging from solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cells, oxygen permeation membranes, and oxygen storage materials to gas sensors (semiconducting and electrolytic) and catalysts, the interaction between the surface and oxygen in the gas phase is central. Ubiquitous Si‐impurities are known to impede this interaction, commonly attributed to the formation of glassy blocking layers on the surface. Here, the surface oxygen exchange coefficient ( k chem ) is examined for Pr 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 2‐δ (PCO), a model mixed ionic electronic conductor, via electrical conductivity relaxation measurements, and the area‐specific resistance (ASR) by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that even low silica levels, introduced by infiltration, depress k chem by a factor 4000, while the ASR increases 40‐fold and we attribute this to its acidity relative to that of PCO. The ability to fully regenerate the poisoned surface by the subsequent addition of basic Ca‐ or Li‐species is further shown. This ability to not only recover Si‐poisoned surfaces by tuning the relative surface acidity of an oxide surface, but subsequently outperform the pre‐poisoned response, promises to extend the operating life of materials and devices for which the catalytic oxygen/solid interface reaction is central.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Surface charging and x-ray emission from insulator surfaces induced by collisions with highly charged ions : relevance to cometary and planetary sp

Characteristic X-ray emission lines are detected from simulants of comet surfaces as they undergo collisions with highly charged ions (HCIs). The HCI projectiles are O+2-O+7. Ion energies are varied in the range (2-7)q keV, where q is the ion charge state. The targets are the insulator minerals olivine, augite, and quartz. It is found that the emission of characteristic K-L, K-M X-rays appears to proceed during positive charging of the surface by the HCI beam. When one uses low-energy, flood-gun electrons to neutralize the surface charge, the X-ray emission is eliminated or greatly reduced, depending on the flood-gun current. Acceleration of background electrons onto the charged surface results in excitation of elemental transitions, including the K-L2 and K-L3 target X-ray emission lines of Mg and Si located spectroscopically at 1253.6 and 1739.4 eV, respectively. Also observed are emission lines from O, Na, Ca, Al, and Fe atoms in the target and charge-exchange lines via surface extraction of electrons by the O+q electric field. Good agreement is found in the ratio of the measured X-ray yields for Mg and Si relative to the ratio of their electron-impact K-shell ionization cross sections. The present study may serve as a guide to astronomers as to specific observing X-ray energies indicative of solar/stellar wind or magnetospheric ion interactions with a comet, planetary surface, or circumstellar dust.

comets↗

Changes in the High-latitude Ocean as Possible Causes of Atmospheric CO2 Variations

Measurements on air enclosed in old polar ice have indicated that the atmospheric CO2 concentration was ca. 50 to 70 ppm lower in late glacial times than during the Holocene. Similar measurements performed on samples from a Greenland ice core, dating ca. 30,000 to 40,000 B.P., and have yielded evidence of several CO2 oscillations with an amplitude of ca. 50 ppm. Each change lasted on the order of a few centuries. A mechanism by which circulation changes in the high-latitude ocean could lead to rapid variations in atmospheric CO2 is proposed. In the Antarctic Ocean a slowing down of the vertical mixing would imply a smaller upward flux of sigma CO2 and nutrients. Assuming constant productivity, sigma CO2 and nutrients would be more completely used which would imply lower CO2 in these high-latitude surface waters. In areas with a warm surface, a slowing down of the circulation would not have a direct impact on CO2 because productivity would automatically decrease by the same factor as the upwelling rate of nutrients. Studies with a simple box model of the ocean-atmosphere system suggest that a suddent decrease by a factor of 2 of the water exchange between the surface and deep sea in high latitudes could lead to a CO2 decrease of ca. 40 to 50 ppm with a time constant of ca. 200 years. Deep-sea sediment studies indicate rapid changes in the high-latitude surface conditions of the North Atlantic and the Antarctic Oceans at the end of the last glaciation. Studies of carbon isotope ratios should help ascertain whether this proposed mechanism was indeed responsible for the CO2 variation.

Siegenthaler, U.↗