Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Accelerator components”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

NPB Cesium Space Experiment

Neutral Particle Beam (NPB) weapons systems are planned to perform the ballistic missile defense functions of nuclear weapon/decoy discrimination and warhead kill at appropriate energy levels and ion currents. Negatively charged ions are produced in a specialized ion source and focused into a high quality particle beam. NPB linear accelerators accelerate and steer the negatively charged ions using electric and magnetic fields. After acceleration and steering the neutralizer system strips away extra electrons from ions to form the electrically neutral particle beam. The neutral beam then travels through space to the target unaffected by the Earth's magnetic fields. Continuing technological advances have greatly reduced the size and weight of NPB accelerator systems. Ion current production has been enhanced by over 100 percent with the intermittent addition of cesium at the NPB ion source device. This increase in current is essential to attain the most light weight, compact NPB platforms and minimize expensive launch costs. Addition of cesium into the ion source has been identified by the NPB community as the highest priority risk reduction space experiment necessary prior to planned NPB accelerator experiments and later weapons systems. The NPB Cesium Space Experiment is planned to successfully demonstrate controlled cesium introduction and vaporization into a simulated ion source chamber. Microgravity effects on the cesium deposition will be studied as will the effects of small amounts of cesium on high voltage accelerator components that might be susceptible to electrical insulator break downs. The experiment design will simulate as closely as possible the environment, physical and operational characteristics of the actual NPB ion source.

Parsons, George M., III↗
NASA NTRS1994

Absolute acceleration measurements on STS-50 from the Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE)

Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE) data on Space Transportation System (STS)-50 have been examined in detail during a 2-day time period. Absolute acceleration levels have been derived at the OARE location, the orbiter center-of-gravity, and at the STS-50 spacelab Crystal Growth Facility. During the interval, the tri-axial OARE raw telemetered acceleration measurements have been filtered using a sliding trimmed mean filter in order to remove large acceleration spikes (e.g., thrusters) and reduce the noise. Twelve OARE measured biases in each acceleration channel during the 2-day interval have been analyzed and applied to the filtered data. Similarly, the in situ measured x-axis scale factors in the sensor's most sensitive range were also analyzed and applied to the data. Due to equipment problem(s) on this flight, both y- and z-axis sensitive range scale factors were determined in a separate process using orbiter maneuvers and subsequently applied to the data. All known significant low-frequency corrections at the OARE location (i.e., both vertical and horizontal gravity-gradient, and rotational effects) were removed from the filtered data in order to produce the acceleration components at the orbiter center-of-gravity, which are the aerodynamic signals along each body axis. Results indicate that there is a force being applied to the Orbiter in addition to the aerodynamic forces. The OARE instrument and all known gravitational and electromagnetic forces have been reexamined, but none produces the observed effect. Thus, it is tentatively concluded that the orbiter is creating the environment observed. At least part of this force is thought to be due to the Flash Evaporator System.

Blanchard, Robert C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The gravitational potential of a homogeneous polyhedron or don't cut corners

A polyhedron can model irregularly shaped objects such as asteroids, comet nuclei, and small planetary satellites. With minor effort, such a model can incorporate important surface features such as large craters. Here we develop closed-form expressions for the exterior gravitational potential and acceleration components due to a constant-density polyhedron. An equipotential surface of Phobos is illustrated.

Werner, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A perturbation calculation of the dynamical effects of cosmic rays and interstellar gas on the solar wind

The modulation of galactic cosmic rays and other energetic particles by the solar wind produces a gradient in their pressure, which in turn influences the wind dynamics. The basic equations describing this interaction are presented in the 'hydrodynamic' approximation. A perturbation solution of the equations is presented for the case in which both the galactic cosmic ray pressure, and the pressure of the anomalous cosmic ray component accelerated at the wind termination shock, are small compared with the wind ram pressure. Analytical expressions for the deceleration of the wind and the modification of the shock and its location are derived in this case. These effects are estimated to have a relative magnitude of several percent in the solar wind. The interstellar neutral gas which penetrates the heliosphere is ionized, predominantly by photoionization and charge exchange with the wind, and may also have a significant dynamical effect on the wind. The basic equations describing this interaction are also presented, A perturbation solution is presented under the assumption that the mass loading and momentum-loading of the wind by the interstellar pickup ions is small compared with the wind ram pressure. Analytical expressions for the deceleration of the wind, the contribution of the pickup ions to the wind pressure, and the modification of the termination shock location are derived. Again, with the exception of pickup ion pressure which is large compared with solar wind thermal pressure, the effects are estimated to be several percent in relative magnitude in the solar wind.

Lee, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Crystal Growth of Solid Solution HgCdTe Alloys

The growth of homogenous crystals of HgCdTe alloys is complicated by the large separation between their liquidus and solidus temperatures. Hg(1-x)Cd(x)Te is representative of several alloys which have electrical and optical properties that can be compositionally tuned for a number of applications. Limitations imposed by gravity during growth and results from growth under reduced conditions are described. The importance of residual accelerations was demonstrated by dramatic differences in compositional distribution observed for different attitudes of the space shuttle that resulted in different steady acceleration components.

Lehoczky, Sandor L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Source Distributions of Substorm Ions Observed in the Near-Earth Magnetotail

This study employs Geotail plasma observations and numerical modeling to determine sources of the ions observed in the near-Earth magnetotail near midnight during a substorm. The growth phase has the low-latitude boundary layer as its most important source of ions at Geotail, but during the expansion phase the plasma mantle is dominant. The mantle distribution shows evidence of two distinct entry mechanisms: entry through a high latitude reconnection region resulting in an accelerated component, and entry through open field lines traditionally identified with the mantle source. The two entry mechanisms are separated in time, with the high-latitude reconnection region disappearing prior to substorm onset.

Ashour-Abdalla, M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Disruption of postural readaptation by inertial stimuli following space flight

Postural instability (relative to pre-flight) has been observed in all shuttle astronauts studied upon return from orbital missions. Postural stability was more closely examined in four shuttle astronaut subjects before and after an 8 day orbital mission. Results of the pre- and post-flight postural stability studies were compared with a larger (n = 34) study of astronauts returning from shuttle missions of similar duration. Results from both studies indicated that inadequate vestibular feedback was the most significant sensory deficit contributing to the postural instability observed post flight. For two of the four IML-1 astronauts, post-flight postural instability and rate of recovery toward their earth-normal performance matched the performance of the larger sample. However, post-flight postural control in one returning astronaut was substantially below mean performance. This individual, who was within normal limits with respect to postural control before the mission, indicated that recovery to pre-flight postural stability was also interrupted by a post-flight pitch plane rotation test. A similar, though less extreme departure from the mean recovery trajectory was present in another astronaut following the same post-flight rotation test. The pitch plane rotation stimuli included otolith stimuli in the form of both transient tangential and constant centripetal linear acceleration components. We inferred from these findings that adaptation on orbit and re-adaptation on earth involved a change in sensorimotor integration of vestibular signals most likely from the otolith organs.

NASA Center JSC↗
NASA NTRS2007

Influence of World and Gravity Model Selection on Surface Interacting Vehicle Simulations

A vehicle simulation is surface-interacting if the state of the vehicle (position, velocity, and acceleration) relative to the surface is important. Surface-interacting simulations perform ascent, entry, descent, landing, surface travel, or atmospheric flight. Modeling of gravity is an influential environmental factor for surface-interacting simulations. Gravity is the free-fall acceleration observed from a world-fixed frame that rotates with the world. Thus, gravity is the sum of gravitation and the centrifugal acceleration due to the world s rotation. In surface-interacting simulations, the fidelity of gravity at heights above the surface is more significant than gravity fidelity at locations in inertial space. A surface-interacting simulation cannot treat the gravity model separately from the world model, which simulates the motion and shape of the world. The world model's simulation of the world's rotation, or lack thereof, produces the centrifugal acceleration component of gravity. The world model s reproduction of the world's shape will produce different positions relative to the world center for a given height above the surface. These differences produce variations in the gravitation component of gravity. This paper examines the actual performance of world and gravity/gravitation pairs in a simulation using the Earth.

Madden, Michael M.↗
NASA NTRS2007

The 'Supercritical Pile' GRB Model: Afterglows and GRB, XRR, XRF Unification

We present the general notions and observational consequences of the "Supercritical Pile" GRB model; the fundamental feature of this model is a detailed process for the conversion of the energy stored in relativistic protons in the GRB Relativistic Blast Waves (RBW) into relativistic electrons and then into radiation. The conversion is effected through the $p \, \gamma \rightarrow p \, e circumflex + e circumflex -$ reaction, whose kinematic threshold is imprinted on the GRB spectra to provide a peak of their emitted luminosity at energy \Ep $\sim 1$ MeV in the lab frame. We extend this model to include, in addition to the (quasi--)thermal relativistic post-shock protons an accelerated component of power law form. This component guarantees the production of $e circumflex +e circumflex- - $pairs even after the RBW has slowed down to the point that its (quasi-) thermal protons cannot fulfill the threshold of the above reaction. We suggest that this last condition marks the transition from the prompt to the afterglow GRB phase. We also discuss conditions under which this transition is accompanied by a significant drop in the flux and could thus account for several puzzling, recent observations. Finally, we indicate that the same mechanism applied to the late stages of the GRB evolution leads to a decrease in \Ep $\propto \Gamma circumflex 2(t)\propto t circumflex {-3/4}$, a feature amenable to future observational tests.

Kazanas, D.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Observations of the Outer Electron Diffusion Region

This paper presents Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) observations of the exhaust region in the vicinity of the central reconnection site in Earth's magnetopause current sheet. High-time-resolution measurements of field and particle distributions enable us to explore the fine structure of the diffusion region near the X line. Ions are decoupled from the magnetic field throughout the entire current sheet crossing. Electron jets flow downstream from the X line at speeds greater than the E by B drift velocity. At or around the magnetospheric separatrix, large-amplitude electric fields containing field-aligned components accelerate electrons along the magnetic field toward the X line. Near the neutral sheet, crescent-shaped electron distributions appear coincident with (1) an out-of-plane electric field whose polarity is opposite to that of the reconnection electric field and (2) the energy transfer from bulk kinetic to field energy. The observations indicate that MMS passed through the edge of an elongated electron diffusion region (EDR) or the outer EDR in the exhaust region.

Hwang, K.-J.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Three Component Velocity and Acceleration Measurement Using FLEET

The femtosecond laser electronic excitation and tagging (FLEET) method has been used to measure three components of velocity and acceleration for the first time. A jet of pure N2 issuing into atmospheric pressure air was probed by the FLEET system. The femtosecond laser was focused down to a point to create a small measurement volume in the flow. The long-lived lifetime of this fluorescence was used to measure the location of the tagged particles at different times. Simultaneous images of the flow were taken from two orthogonal views using a mirror assembly and a single intensified CCD camera, allowing two components of velocity to be measured in each view. These different velocity components were combined to determine three orthogonal velocity components. The differences between subsequent velocity components could be used to measure the acceleration. Velocity accuracy and precision were roughly estimated to be +/-4 m/s and +/-10 m/s respectively. These errors were small compared to the approx. 100 m/s velocity of the subsonic jet studied.

Danehy, Paul M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

GPS-aided gravimetry at 30 km altitude from a balloon-borne platform

A balloon-borne experiment, flown at 30 km altitude over New Mexico, was used to test dynamic differential Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking in support of gravimetry at high-altitudes. The experiment package contained a gravimeter (Vibrating String Accelerometer), a full complement of inertial instruments, a TI-4100 GPS receiver and a radar transponder. The flight was supported by two GPS receivers on the ground near the flight path. From the 8 hour flight, about a forty minute period was selected for analysis. Differential GPS phase measurements were used to estimate changes in position over the sample time interval, or average velocity. In addition to average velocity, differential positions and numerical averages of acceleration were obtained in three components. Gravitational acceleration was estimated by correcting for accelerations due to translational motion, ignoring all rotational effects.

Lazarewicz, Andrew R.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Cosmic ray drift, shock wave acceleration and the anomalous component of cosmic rays

A model of the anomalous component of the quiet-time cosmic ray flux is presented in which ex-interstellar neutral particles are accelerated continuously in the polar regions of the solar-wind termination shock, and then drift into the equatorial regions of the inner heliosphere. The observed solar-cycle variations, radial gradient, and apparent latitude gradient of the anomalous component are a natural consequence of this model.

Pesses, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Cosmic ray drift, shock wave acceleration, and the anomalous component of cosmic rays

A model of the anomalous component of the quiet-time cosmic ray flux is presented in which ex-interstellar neutral particles are accelerated continuously in the polar regions of the solar-wind termination shock and then drift into the equatorial regions of the inner heliosphere. The observed solar-cycle variations, radial gradient, and apparent latitude gradient of the anomalous component are a natural consequence of this model.

Pesses, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Effect of re-acceleration on cosmic ray components

Reacceleration of cosmic rays in interstellar space has been studied in detail in order to examine the behavior of the ratios of secondary to primary nuclei in cosmic radiation. It is found that modest acceleration in a confinement region, where particles escape more freely at high energies, provides a better fit to the observed data. The effect of reacceleration on the spectral shape of proton and helium components of cosmic rays has been studied. The examination of two different models has shown that reacceleration provides a poor fit to the observed proton data.

Stephens, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Maximum likelihood tuning of a vehicle motion filter

This paper describes the use of maximum likelihood parameter estimation unknown parameters appearing in a nonlinear vehicle motion filter. The filter uses the kinematic equations of motion of a rigid body in motion over a spherical earth. The nine states of the filter represent vehicle velocity, attitude, and position. The inputs to the filter are three components of translational acceleration and three components of angular rate. Measurements used to update states include air data, altitude, position, and attitude. Expressions are derived for the elements of filter matrices needed to use air data in a body-fixed frame with filter states expressed in a geographic frame. An expression for the likelihood functions of the data is given, along with accurate approximations for the function's gradient and Hessian with respect to unknown parameters. These are used by a numerical quasi-Newton algorithm for maximizing the likelihood function of the data in order to estimate the unknown parameters. The parameter estimation algorithm is useful for processing data from aircraft flight tests or for tuning inertial navigation systems.

Trankle, Thomas L.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Electrostatic Wave Generation and Transverse Ion Acceleration by Alfvenic Wave Components of BBELF Turbulence

We present results here from 2.5-D particle-in-cell simulations showing that the electrostatic (ES) components of broadband extremely low frequency (BBELF) waves could possibly be generated by cross-field plasma instabilities driven by the relative drifts between the heavy and light ion species in the electromagnetic (EM) Alfvenic component of the BBELF waves in a multi-ion plasma. The ES components consist of ion cyclotron as well as lower hybrid modes. We also demonstrate that the ES wave generation is directly involved in the transverse acceleration of ions (TAI) as commonly measured with the BBELF wave events. The heating is affected by ion cyclotron resonance in the cyclotron modes and Landau resonance in the lower hybrid waves. In the simulation we drive the plasma by the transverse electric field, E(sub y), of the EM waves; the frequency of E(sub y), omega(sub d), is varied from a frequency below the heavy ion cyclotron frequency, OMEGA(sub h), to below the light ion cyclotron frequency, OMEGA(sub i). We have also performed simulations for E(sub y) having a continuous spectrum given by a power law, namely, |Ey| approx. omega(sub d) (exp -alpha), where the exponent alpha = _, 1, and 2 in three different simulations. The driving electric field generates polarization and ExB drifts of the ions and electrons. When the interspecies relative drifts are sufficiently large, they drive electrostatic waves, which cause perpendicular heating of both light and heavy ions. The transverse ion heating found here is discussed in relation to observations from Cluster, FAST and Freja.

Singh, Nagendra↗