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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 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

An adaptive grid method for computing the high speed 3D viscous flow about a re-entry vehicle

An algebraic solution adaptive grid generation method that allows adapting the grid in all three coordinate directions is presented. Techniques are described that maintain the integrity of the original vehicle definition for grid point movement on the vehicle surface and that avoid grid cross over in the boundary layer portion of the grid lying next to the vehicle surface. The adaptive method is tested by computing the Mach 6 hypersonic three dimensional viscous flow about a proposed Martian entry vehicle.

Bockelie, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Silhouettes - An automated three-dimensional plume visualization and tracking system for environmental monitoring

The method of silhouettes proceeds from the premise that the 3D location and shape of an arbitrary object can be approximated via the cross section of a series of conical volumes whose focal points are arranged at sites surrounding the object; the projection of each conical volume onto a picture plane at each focal point is identical to a projection of the outline of the object onto that picture plane. Attention is presently given to the use of the silhouettes method for gas plume dispersion monitoring through the 3D reconstruction of plumes from imagery acquired at strategically located stations in the plumes' path.

Cambridge, Vivien J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

STS-83 Postflight Presentation

The flight crew of the STS-83 mission, Cmdr James D. Halsell, Pilot Susan S. Still, Payload Cmdr. Janice E. Voss, Mission Specialists Donald Thomas and Michael Gernhardt, and Payload Specialists Roger Crouch and Greg Linteris, offer a video and still photo presentation of their journey. Included in the presentation are an introduction of the crew and a short briefing by Cmdr. Halsell, the launch and ascent narrated by Still, Spacelab Module narration by Voss, mission control narrated by Cmdr. Halsell, experiment narration by Thomas and Crouch. Also included are video views of the Baja Peninsula, Sinai Peninsula, pivot-point irrigation circles, Comet Hale-Bopp, and the cross-wind landing. The crew poses outside the shuttle for photos. Crew members discuss still photos taken during the mission, including shots of sunsets, the Grand Bahamas Island, Nile River, Baja Peninsula, Indis River of India, and Guadalupe Island.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1998

Calculations of multiple scattering-induced errors in the GLAS mission

The Geoscience Lidar Altimeter System (GLAS) is a laser altimeter designed to measure temporal changes in the topography and mass balance of the Earth's ice sheets. GLAS is scheduled to be launched as part of the Earth Observing System (EOS) in 2001. Due to the large pulse width of GLAS and the slope (and roughness) of the ice sheets, the mean elevation of the laser's surface spot will be estimated from the centroid of the return pulse. While the accuracy of individual altimetry measurements is expected to be 15 cm, a cross-over technique that averages the elevation differences at selected points on the ice sheets will allow GLAS to detect mean ice elevation changes as small as 2 cm per year. One factor that may degrade the proposed accuracy of the altimeter measurements is the effect of multiple scattering by thin clouds and aerosols over the ice sheets. In the return pulse, some photons from the lidar are slightly deflected by cloud particles but still return to the instrument detector. Since these photons travel a longer path than photons that pass directly to and from the surface, the mean travel time of the pulse is lengthened and the centroid of the return pulse is shifted toward a later time . This study intends to determine the importance of this source of altimetry error in the GLAS measurements. Two methods will be used to estimate path delays in the GLAS lidar for a range of cloud conditions. An analytic expression of a doubly scattered return signal (Eloranta, 1972) will be compared to Monte Carlo simulations that estimate path delays by cloud, aerosol and molecular scattering. The results from both methods will be discussed in relationship to current knowledge of Arctic cloud climatology, and the impact of multiple scattering on GLAS altimeter measurements will be evaluated.

Duda, David P.↗
NASA NTRS1961

Consistent Pl Analysis of Aqueous Uranium-235 Critical Assemblies

The lethargy-dependent equations of the consistent Pl approximation to the Boltzmann transport equation for slowing down neutrons have been used as the basis of an IBM 704 computer program. Some of the effects included are (1) linearly anisotropic center of mass elastic scattering, (2) heavy element inelastic scattering based on the evaporation model of the nucleus, and (3) optional variation of the buckling with lethargy. The microscopic cross-section data developed for this program covered 473 lethargy points from lethargy u = 0 (10 Mev) to u = 19.8 (0.025 ev). The value of the fission neutron age in water calculated here is 26.5 square centimeters; this value is to be compared with the recent experimental value given as 27.86 square centimeters. The Fourier transform of the slowing-down kernel for water to indium resonance energy calculated here compared well with the Fourier transform of the kernel for water as measured by Hill, Roberts, and Fitch. This method of calculation has been applied to uranyl fluoride - water solution critical assemblies. Theoretical results established for both unreflected and fully reflected critical assemblies have been compared with available experimental data. The theoretical buckling curve derived as a function of the hydrogen to uranium-235 atom concentration for an energy-independent extrapolation distance was successful in predicting the critical heights of various unreflected cylindrical assemblies. The critical dimensions of fully water-reflected cylindrical assemblies were reasonably well predicted using the theoretical buckling curve and reflector savings for equivalent spherical assemblies.

Fieno, Daniel↗
NASA NTRS2003

Elasticity and Strength of Biomacromolecular Crystals: Lysozyme

The static Young modulus, E = 0.1 to 0.5 GPa, the crystal critical strength (sigma(sub c)) and its ratio to E,sigma(sub c)/E is approximately 10(exp 3), were measured for the first time for non cross-linked lysozyme crystals in solution. By using a triple point bending apparatus, we also demonstrated that the crystals were purely elastic. Softness of protein crystals built of hard macromolecules (26 GPa for lysozyme) is explained by the large size of the macromolecules as compared to the range of intermolecular forces and by the weakness of intermolecular bonds as compared to the peptide bond strength. The relatively large reported dynamic elastic moduli (approximately 8 GPa) from resonance light scattering should come from averaging over the moduli of intracrystalline water and intra- and intermolecular bonding.

Holmes, A. M.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Time Series Analysis in the Search for Other Worlds Through Transit Photometry

The Kepler Mission launched in June 2009 to commence NASA's first mission to search for potentially habitable, Earth-size planets orbiting Sun-like stars. Kepler discovered explanets via the transit method: searching for minute (100 ppm) drops in brightness lasting 1 - 13 hours corresponding to occasions where the planet crosses the face of its host star from Kepler's point of view. The exquisite precision required to carry out the Kepler mission (20 ppm in 6.5 hours) pushed astronomical time series analysis to the limits, and motivated the development of novel algorithmic approaches. Transit signatures of rocky planets are often dwarfed by the intrinsic stellar variability, which is not white noise, and often is non-stationary, and by instrumental systematic effects, which can include transients and electronic artifacts. Surmounting this challenging regime of weak, temporally compact, periodic signals in observation noise with strong systematics and other sources of variability motivated the development of 1) an overcomplete, non-decimated, wavelet-based matched filter to jointly estimate the properties of the non-stationary, non-white observation noise process, and 2) a multi-scale, maximum a posteriori (msMAP) approach to identifying and removing instrumental systematic effects. After over nine years of observations, the Kepler spacecraft finally ran out of fuel in November 2018, ending its data collection activities. Over 2300 planets were discovered by Kepler in its primary mission, and over 355 have been discovered by K2, the repurposed mission that followed Kepler's primary mission after the loss of a second reaction wheel in May 2013. We have ported the Kepler science pipeline for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Mission, which began science observations in July 2019, and report initial results and performance of the modified science pipeline.The Kepler and TESS Missions are supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

transit surveys↗
NASA NTRS1982

Evaluation of four subcritical response methods for on-line prediction of flutter onset in wind-tunnel tests

Four subcritical response methods were evaluated for on-line use in transonic wind-tunnel tests where the flutter model is excited solely by airstream turbulence. The methods were: randomdec, power-spectral-density, peak-hold, and cross-spectrum. Subcritical response data were obtained during tests in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel of a cantilevered flutter model wing. The test procedure was to maintain a constant Mach number and increase the dynamic pressure (q) in incremental steps. The four methods provided damping trends by which the flutter mode could be tracked and extrapolated to a flutter-onset q. A hard flutter point was obtained at M = 0.82. The peak-mold and cross-spectrum methods gave reliable results and could be most readily used for on-line testing.

Ruhlin, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Measure of Arctic Sea ice characteristics using microwave scatterometry

Results from a radar scatterometer used in the NASA microwave remote sensing experiment off the Alaska north shore are presented. The experiment was performed to determine whether various radars could be used from aircraft to provide definitive measurement of ice parameters such as pressure ridge height and direction, ice age, and ice type. With the aircraft at 300 m altitude, the 13.9 GHz scatterometer measured the normalized radar cross section of the ice using a pencil beam horizontally polarized antenna which pointed at either nadir or 50 deg incidence angle. Simultaneous laser altimeter and stereo photography measurements are presented as the 'surface truth' for comparison with the radar measurements. The results demonstrate that the scatterometer backscattered power is modulated by ice features and that a correlation exists between the radar cross section and the 'surface truth' derived from these ancillary instruments.

Jackson, B. L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Variable Depth Bragg Peak Method for Single Event Effects Testing

Traditionally, accelerator SEE testing is accomplished by removing the tops of packages so that the IC chips are accessible to heavy ions. However, ICs in some advanced packages cannot be de-lidded so a different approach is used that involves grinding and/or chemically etching away part of the package and the chip from the back side. The parts are then tested from the back side with ions having sufficient range to reach the sensitive volume. More recently, the entire silicon substrate in an SOI/SRAM was removed, making it possible to use low-energy ions with shorter ranges. Where removal of part of the package is not possible, facilities at Michigan State, NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, GANIL (France) and GSI (Germany) offer high-energy heavy ions with long ranges so that the ions can reach the devices' sensitive volumes without much change in the LET. Unfortunately, a run will typically involve only one ion species having a single energy and LET due to the long time it takes to tune a new energy. The Variable Depth Bragg Peak (VDBP) method is similar to the above method in that it involves the use of high-energy heavy ions that are able to pass through the packaging material and reach the device, obviating the need to remove the package. However, the method provides a broad range of LETs from a single ion by inserting degraders in the beam that modify the ion energy and, therefore, the LET. The crux of the method involves establishing a fiduciary point for degrader thickness, i.e., where the Bragg peak is located precisely at the sensitive volume in the device, for which the measured SEU cross-section and the ion LET are both also maxima and can be calculated using a Monte-Carlo program, TRIM. Once the fiduciary point has been established, calibrated high density polyethylene (HDPE) degraders are inserted into or removed from the beam to vary the ion LET at the device in a known manner. After each change of degrader thickness, the SEU cross-section is measured and the corresponding LET calculated from the change in degrader thickness. That information is used to generate a plot of cross-section as a function of ion LET. The advantages of this approach are that the part does not have to be de-lidded and a broad range of LETs is available from a single heavy ion without having to go to non-normal angles of incidence to change the "effective" LET. As we will show, it is possible to obtain an entire curve of cross-section versus LET using just two or three ions. Fig. 1 shows curves of cross-section vs LET for a Freescale 4 Mbit SOI/SRAM measured at the 88" Cyclotron at Berkeley and at NSRL. The open symbols are the data obtained from Berkeley for top-side and back-side irradiation. The solid data points are for the data obtained at NSRL using a device for which the package was intact. The data are for Iron and Gold and cover a range of LETs from 4 MeV.cm2/mg to 84 MeV.cm2/mg. The agreement between the data obtained from Berkeley and from NSRL is excellent, demonstrating that the VDBP method is capable of providing accurate values of cross-section versus LET, at least for the 4 Mbit SRAM. Details of the technique will be included in the final presentation.

Buchner, S.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Track Level Compensation Look-up Table Improves Antenna Pointing Precision

The pointing accuracy of the NASA Deep Space Network antennas is significantly impacted by the unevenness of the antenna azimuth track. The track unevenness causes repeatable antenna rotations, and repeatable pointing errors. The paper presents the improvement of the pointing accuracy of the antennas by implementing the track-level-compensation look-up table. The table consists of three axis rotations of the alidade as a function of the azimuth position. The paper presents the development of the table, based on the measurements of the inclinometer tilts, processing the measurement data, and determination of the three-axis alidade rotations from the tilt data. It also presents the determination of the elevation and cross-elevation errors of the antenna as a function of the alidade rotations. The pointing accuracy of the antenna with and without a table was measured using various radio beam pointing techniques. The pointing error decreased when the table was used, from 1.5 mdeg to 1.2 mdeg in elevation, and from 20.4 mdeg to 2.2 mdeg in cross-elevation.

Rotation↗
NASA NTRS2010

Crossed, Small-Deflection Energy Analyzer for Wind/Temperature Spectrometer

Determination of neutral winds and ion drifts in low-Earth-orbit missions requires measurements of the angular and energy distributions of the flux of neutrals and ions entering the satellite from the ram direction. The magnitude and direction of the neutral-wind (or ion-drift) determine the location of the maximum in the angular distribution of the flux. Knowledge of the angle of maximum flux with respect to satellite coordinates (pointing) is essential to determine the wind (or ion-drift) vector. The crossed Small-Deflection Energy Analyzer (SDEA) spectrometer (see Figure 1) occupies minimal volume and consumes minimal power. Designed for upper atmosphere/ionosphere investigations at Earth altitudes above 100 km, the spectrometer operates by detecting the angular and energy distributions of neutral atoms/molecules and ions in two mutually perpendicular planes. In this configuration, the two detection planes actually cross at the spectrometer center. It is possible to merge two SDEAs so they share a common optical axis and alternate measurements between two perpendicular planes, and reduce the number of ion sources from two to one. This minimizes the volume and footprint significantly and reduces the ion source power by a factor of two. The area of the entrance aperture affects the number of ions detected/second and also determines the energy resolution. Thermionic emitters require heater power of about 100 mW to produce 1 mA of electron beam current. Typically, electron energy is about 100 eV and requires a 100-V supply for electron acceleration to supply an additional 100 mW of power. Thus, ion source power is at most 200 mW. If two ion sources were to be used, the ion source power would be, at most, 400 mW. Detector power, deflection voltage power, and microcontroller and other functions require less than 150 mW. A WTS (wind/ temperature spectrometer) with two separate optical axes would consume about 650 mW, while the crossed SDEA described here consumes about 350 mW. The entrance aperture has a diameter of 0.004 in. (0.10 mm) to provide the required energy resolution between 0.05 and 0.15. This design (see Figure 2) provides a WTS occupying a volume less than 40 cm(sup 3), on a footprint of diameter about 1.5 in. (38 mm). The Crossed SDEA offers many advantages in the measurements of neutral wind and ion drifts in the Earth's thermosphere. As such, it will be useful in future commercial satellites dedicated to monitoring the ionosphere with a view to improving the integrity and predictability of GPS operations.

Herrero, Federico A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Sensitivity of N2O, CFCl3, and CF2Cl2 two-dimensional distributions to O2 absorption cross sections

A good test of the transport and ultraviolet radiation treatment for any model can be based on the consideration of the three gases N2O, CFCl3 (F-11), and CF2Cl2 (F-12). Attention is given to a two-dimensional model which makes it possible to study changes in seasonal and latitudinal distributions which result from O2 cross-section changes. A latitude-dependent ozone decrease has already been predicted by two-dimensional models for chlorofluoromethane (CFM) release. For this reason, it is of interest to determine if a strong latitude-dependent change is detectable in the CFM profiles. One-dimensional models have pointed toward a trend of decreased trace gas concentrations in correlation with decreased O2 cross sections. The O2 cross sections between 180 and 230 nm are changed within a range of experimentlly allowed values. It is found that lower O2 absorption cross sections lead to larger photodissociation rates for the trace gases F-11, F-12, and N2O.

Jackman, C. H.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Space shuttle low cost/risk avionics study

All work breakdown structure elements containing any avionics related effort were examined for pricing the life cycle costs. The analytical, testing, and integration efforts are included for the basic onboard avionics and electrical power systems. The design and procurement of special test equipment and maintenance and repair equipment are considered. Program management associated with these efforts is described. Flight test spares and labor and materials associated with the operations and maintenance of the avionics systems throughout the horizontal flight test are examined. It was determined that cost savings can be achieved by using existing hardware, maximizing orbiter-booster commonality, specifying new equipments to MIL quality standards, basing redundancy on cost effective analysis, minimizing software complexity and reducing cross strapping and computer-managed functions, utilizing compilers and floating point computers, and evolving the design as dictated by the horizontal flight test schedules.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1971

Irradiation of linear polyethylene - Partitioning between sol and gel.

Molecular weight fractions of linear polyethylene were irradiated at 133 C, in the completely molten and highly crystalline states, for the purpose of assessing the importance of chain-scission processes and establishing the critical conditions for gelation. The partitioning between sol and gel in either state was found to adhere to the theory for the intermolecular cross-linking of monodisperse species for dosages just beyond the gel point. Deviations from theory occurred as the dosage was increased further. It was concluded that main-chain scission, at these temperatures, is not a significant process. High molecular weight samples in the completely molten state obeyed the Flory-Stockmayer condition for critical gelation.

Rijke, A. M.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Improved high volume air sampler

Sampler permits size separations of particles by directing sampled air through cross-sectional area sufficiently large that air velocity is reduced to point where particles or larger size will settle out. Sampler conducts air downward and through slots around periphery of unit into relatively open interior of house.

King, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Program to stimulate graduate training in the field of aeroacoustics

An experiment is reported to cross correlate the output of hot film probes located at various points in the flow field of a jet-blown flap with the output of microphones in the acoustic far field. Fluid dynamic measurements of the flow fields of the test configuration are reported.

Becker, R. S.↗