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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

The Influence of Solar Proton Events in Solar Cycle 23 on the Neutral Middle Atmosphere

Solar proton events (SPEs) can cause changes in constituents in the Earth's middle atmosphere. The highly energetic protons cause ionizations, excitations, dissociations, and dissociative ionizations of the background constituents, which lead to the production of HO(x) (H, OH, HO2) and NO(y) (N, NO, NO2, NO3, N2O5, HNO3, HO2NO2, ClONO2, BrONO2). The HO(x) increases lead to short-lived ozone decreases in the mesosphere and upper stratosphere due to the short lifetimes of the HO, constituents. The NO(x) increases lead to long-lived stratospheric ozone changes because of the long lifetime of NO(y) constituents in this region. Solar cycle 23 was quite active with SPEs and very large fluxes of high energy protons occurred in July and November 2000, November 200 1, and April 2002. Smaller, but still substantial, proton fluxes impacted the Earth during other months in the 1997-2003 time period. The impact of the very large SPEs on the neutral middle atmosphere during solar cycle 23 will be discussed, including the HO(x), NO(y), ozone variations and induced atmospheric transport changes. Two multi-dimensional models, the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Two-dimensional (2D) Model and the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Electrodynamic General Circulation Model (TIME-GCM), were used in computing the influence of the SPEs. The results of the GSFC 2D Model and the TIME-GCM will be shown along with comparisons to the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet 2 (SBUV/2) instruments.

Jackman, Charles H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The electrodynamic and hydrodynamic phenomena in magnetically-levitated molten droplets. II - Transient behavior and heat transfer considerations

Computed results are presented describing the transient evolution of the velocity and the temperature fields in a levitation-melted, electromagnetically-positioned metallic sample under microgravity, for conditions, when the heating current is switched off. Thus the calculations trace the evolution from one steady state corresponding to the simultaneous operation of both the heating and the positioning coils to that corresponding to the operation of the positioning coils only. The calculations have shown that the velocity field will decay much more rapidly than the temperature field, so that the cooling and subsequent undercooling and recalescence of the samples should take place from an essentially stagnant melt, meeting the original objectives of the experiment. The computed results for the velocity decay appear to agree with asymptotic calculations and also appear to follow the scaling laws.

Zong, Jin-Ho↗
NASA NTRS2003

Active Control of F/A-18 Vertical Tail Buffeting using Piezoelectric Actuators

Vertical tail buffeting is a serious multidisciplinary problem that limits the performance of twin-tail fighter aircraft. The buffet problem occurs at high angles of attack when the vortical flow breaks down ahead of the vertical tails resulting in unsteady and unbalanced pressure loads on the vertical tails. This paper describes a multidisciplinary computational investigation for buffet load alleviation of full F/A-18 aircraft using distributed piezoelectric actuators. The inboard and outboard surfaces of the vertical tail are equipped with piezoelectric actuators to control the buffet responses in the first bending and torsion modes. The electrodynamics of the smart structure are expressed with a three-dimensional finite element model. A single-input-single-output controller is designed to drive the active piezoelectric actuators. High-fidelity multidisciplinary analysis modules for the fluid dynamics, structure dynamics, electrodynamics of the piezoelectric actuators, fluid-structure interfacing, and grid motion are integrated into a multidisciplinary computing environment that controls the temporal synchronization of the analysis modules. Peak values of the power spectral density of tail tip acceleration are reduced by as much as 22% in the first bending mode and by as much as 82% in the first torsion mode. RMS values of tip acceleration are reduced by as much as 12%.

Sheta, Essam F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The cross section for double Compton scattering

Employing elementary methods in nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics, the cross section for gamma sub 0 + e yields e + gamma + gamma is computed for arbitrary energy in the spectrum of the outgoing photons. The final result is given, differential in the energy of one of these photons, for the case where the incident photon is unpolarized and has energy E sub 0 much less than mc-squared, a polarization sum and angular integration being performed for the final-state photons. The cross section has a simple algebraic form resulting from contributions from the sum of squared direct and exchange amplitudes; interference terms from these amplitudes do not contribute to the angular-integrated cross section.

Gould, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The electrodynamic and hydrodynamic phenomena in magnetically-levitated molten droplets. I - Steady state behavior

A mathematical formulation is given and computed results are presented describing the behavior of electromagnetically-levitated metal droplets under the conditions of microgravity. In the formulation the electromagnetic force field is calculated using a modification of the volume integral method and these results are then combined with the FIDAP code to calculate the steady state melt velocities. The specific computational results are presented for the conditions corresponding to the planned IML-2 Space Shuttle experiment, using the TEMPUS device, which has separate 'heating' and 'positioning' coils. While the computed results are necessarily specific to the input conditions, some general conclusions may be drawn from this work. These include the fact that for the planned TEMPUS experiments to positioning coils will produce only a weak melt circulation, while the heating coils are like to produce a mildly turbulent recirculating flow pattern within the samples. The computed results also allow us to assess the effect of sample size, material properties and the applied current on these phenomena.

Zong, Jin-Ho↗
NASA NTRS2018

Formation Timescales of Amosphous Rims on Lunar Grains Derived from ARTEMIS Observations

The weathering of airless bodies exposed to space is a fundamental process in the formation and evolution of planetary surfaces. At the Moon, space weathering induces a variety of physical, chemical, and optical changes including the formation of nanometer-sized amorphous rims on individual lunar grains. These rims are formed by vapor redeposition from micrometeoroid impacts and ion irradiation-induced amorphization of the crystalline matrix. For ion irradiation-induced rims, however, laboratory experiments of the depth and formation timescales of these rims stand in stark disagreement with observations of lunar soil grains. We use observations by the Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) spacecraft in orbit around the Moon to compute the mean ion flux to the lunar surface between 10 eV and 5 MeV and convolve this flux with ion irradiation-induced vacancy production rates as a function of depth calculated using the Stopping Range of Ions in Matter model. By combining these results with laboratory measurements of the critical fluence for charged-particle amorphization in olivine, we can predict the formation timescale of amorphous rims as a function of depth in olivinic grains. This analysis resolves two outstanding issues: (1) the provenance of >100 nm amorphous rims on lunar grains and (2) the nature of the depth-age relationship for amorphous rims on lunar grains.

Amorphous Rims↗
NASA NTRS2003

An Active Smart Material Control System for F/A-18 Buffet Alleviation

The vertical tail buffet problem of fighter aircraft occurs at high angles of attack when the vortical flow breaks down ahead of the vertical tails resulting in unsteady and unbalanced pressure loads on the vertical tails. The buffet loads imposed upon the vertical tails resulted in a premature fatigue failure of the tails, and consequently limits the performance and super maneuverability of twin-tail fighter aircraft. An active smart material control system using distributed piezoelectric actuators has been developed for buffet alleviation and is presented. The inboard and outboard surfaces of the vertical tail are equipped with piezoelectric actuators to control the buffet responses in the first bending and torsion modes. The electrodynamics of the piezoelectric actuators are expressed with a three-dimensional finite-element model. A single-input-single-output controller is designed to drive the active piezoelectric actuators. High-fidelity multidisciplinary analysis modules for the fluid dynamics, structure dynamics, electrodynamics of the piezoelectric actuators, control law, fluid structure interfacing, and grid motion are integrated into a multidisciplinary computing environment that controls the temporal synchronization of the analysis modules. At 30 degree angle of attack, RMS values of tip acceleration are reduced by as much as 12%. The peak values of the power spectral density of tail-tip acceleration are reduced by as much as 22% in the first bending mode and by as much as 82% in the first torsion mode. The actively controlled piezoelectric actuators were also effective in adding damping at wide range of angles of attack.

Sheta, Essam F.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Geomagnetically Induced Currents at Middle Latitudes: 1. Quiet-Time Variability

Geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) at middle latitudes have received increased attention after reported power grid disruptions due to geomagnetic disturbances. However, quantifying the risk to the electric power grid at middle latitudes is difficult without understanding how the GIC sensors respond to geomagnetic activity on a daily basis. Therefore, in this study the question “Do measured GICs have distinguishable and quantifiable long-period and short-period characteristics?” is addressed. The study focuses on the long-term variability of measured GIC, and establishes the extent to which the variability relates to quiet-time geomagnetic activity. GIC quiet-day curves (QDCs) are computed from measured data for each GIC node, covering all four seasons, and then compared with the seasonal variability of thermosphere-ionosphere-electrodynamics general circulation model (TIE- GCM)-simulated neutral wind and height-integrated current density. The results show strong evidence that the middle-latitude nodes routinely respond to the tidal-driven Sq variation, with a local time and seasonal dependence on the direction of the ionospheric currents, which is specific to each node. The strong dependence of GICs on the Sq currents demonstrates that the GIC QDCs may be employed as a robust baseline from which to quantify the significance of GICs during geomagnetically active times and to isolate those variations to study independently. The QDC-based significance score computed in this study provides power utilities with a node-specific measure of the geomagnetic significance of a given GIC observation. Finally, this study shows that the power grid acts as a giant sensor that may detect ionospheric current systems.

Adam C Kellerman↗
NASA NTRS1999

Overview on NASA's Advanced Electric Propulsion Concepts Activities

Advanced electric propulsion research activities are currently underway that seek to addresses feasibility issues of a wide range of advanced concepts, and may result in the development of technologies that will enable exciting new missions within our solar system and beyond. Each research activity is described in terms of the present focus and potential future applications. Topics include micro-electric thrusters, electrodynamic tethers, high power plasma thrusters and related applications in materials processing, variable specific impulse plasma thrusters, pulsed inductive thrusters, computational techniques for thruster modeling, and advanced electric propulsion missions and systems studies.

Frisbee, Robert H.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Neutral-atom electron binding energies from relaxed-orbital relativistic Hartree-Fock-Slater calculations for Z between 2 and 106

Electron binding energies in neutral atoms have been calculated relativistically, with the requirement of complete relaxation. Hartree-Fock-Slater wave functions served as zeroth-order eigenfunctions to compute the expectation of the total Hamiltonian. A first-order correction to the local approximation was thus included. Quantum-electrodynamic corrections were made. For all elements with atomic numbers ranging from 2 to 106, the following quantities are listed: total energies, electron kinetic energies, electron-nucleus potential energies, electron-electron potential energies consisting of electrostatic and Breit interaction (magnetic and retardation) terms, and vacuum polarization energies. Binding energies including relaxation are listed for all electrons in all atoms over the indicated range of atomic numbers. A self-energy correction is included for the 1s, 2s, and 2p(1/2) levels. Results for selected atoms are compared with energies calculated by other methods and with experimental values.

Huang, K.-N.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A meteor-ablation model of the sodium and potassium layers

Recent results on meteor ablation are used as input to a model in which ablation (or evaporation) is the source and deposition on dust particles is the sink. The dust comes from recondensation of the rest of the meteor vapor. An excellent match is found to the observed characteristics of the sodium layer. It is argued that the high-latitude winter maximum of abundance (and layer height) is due to the much lower rate of ionization there and over the polar cap. The computations show the required factor of 4-5 and also match the height variation. To keep the ion density from being too large, downward electrodynamic transport at about 50 cm/sec must be invoked. The different behavior and low abundance of potassium require an additional sink. The one proposed is Penning ionization by metastable excited O2. Inherent in the model is that sodium and its compounds reside almost entirely on dust particles below 80 km. Large abundances in the free form at stratospheric heights are very unlikely and are not a good explanation of observed ambient ions.

Hunten, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The investigation of tethered satellite system dynamics

Tethered satellite system (TSS) dynamics were studied. The dynamic response of the TSS during the entire stationkeeping phase for the first electrodynamic mission was investigated. An out of plane swing amplitude and the tether's bowing were observed. The dynamics of the slack tether was studied and computer code, SLACK2, was improved both in capabilities and computational speed. Speed hazard related to tether breakage or plasma contactor failure was examined. Preliminary values of the potential difference after the failure and of the drop of the electric field along the tether axis have been computed. The update of the satellite rotational dynamics model is initiated.

Lorenzini, E.↗
NASA NTRS2011

C/NOFS Measurements of Magnetic Perturbations in the Low-Latitude Ionosphere During Magnetic Storms

The Vector Electric Field Investigation suite on the C/NOFS satellite includes a fluxgate magnetometer to monitor the Earth s magnetic fields in the low-latitude ionosphere. Measurements yield full magnetic vectors every second over the range of +/-45,000 nT with a one-bit resolution of 1.37 nT (16 bit A/D) in each component. The sensor s primary responsibility is to support calculations of both V x B and E x B with greater accuracy than can be obtained using standard magnetic field models. The data also contain information about large-scale current systems that, when analyzed in conjunction with electric field measurements, promise to significantly expand understanding of equatorial electrodynamics. We first compare in situ measurements with the POMME (Potsdam Magnetic Model of the Earth) model to establish in-flight sensor "calibrations" and to compute magnetic residuals. At low latitudes the residuals are predominately products of the storm time ring current. Since C/NOFS provides a complete coverage of all local times every 97 min, magnetic field data allow studies of the temporal evolution and local time variations of storm time ring current. The analysis demonstrates the feasibility of using instrumented spacecraft in low-inclination orbits to extract a timely proxy for the provisional Dst index and to specify the ring current s evolution.

Le, Guan↗
NASA NTRS2012

C/NOFS Measurements of Stormtime Magnetic Perturbations in the Low-latitude Ionosphere

The Vector Electric Field Investigation suite on the C/NOFS satellite includes a fluxgate magnetometer to monitor the Earth's magnetic fields in the low-latitude ionosphere. Measurements yield full magnetic vectors every second over the range of +/- 45,000 nT with a one-bit resolution of 1.37 nT (16 bit AID) in each component. The sensor's primary responsibility is to support calculations of both VxB and ExB with greater accuracy than can be obtained using standard magnetic field models. The data also contain information about large-scale current systems, that, when analyzed in conjunction with electric field measurements, promise to significantly expand understanding of equatorial electrodynamics. We first compare in situ measurements with the POMME (POtsdam Magnetic Model of the Earth) model to establish in-flight sensor "calibrations" and to compute magnetic residuals. At low latitudes the residuals are predominately products of the stormtime ring current. Since C/NOFS provides a complete coverage of all local times every 97 minutes, magnetic field data allow studies of the temporal evolution and local-time variations of stormtime ring current. The analysis demonstrates the feasibility of using instrumented spacecraft in low-inclination orbits to extract a timely proxy for the provisional Dst index and to specify the ring current's evolution.

Le, Guan↗
NASA NTRS2007

Interferometric Quantum-Nondemolition Single-Photon Detectors

Two interferometric quantum-nondemolition (QND) devices have been proposed: (1) a polarization-independent device and (2) a polarization-preserving device. The prolarization-independent device works on an input state of up to two photons, whereas the polarization-preserving device works on a superposition of vacuum and single- photon states. The overall function of the device would be to probabilistically generate a unique detector output only when its input electromagnetic mode was populated by a single photon, in which case its output mode would also be populated by a single photon. Like other QND devices, the proposed devices are potentially useful for a variety of applications, including such areas of NASA interest as quantum computing, quantum communication, detection of gravity waves, as well as pedagogical demonstrations of the quantum nature of light. Many protocols in quantum computation and quantum communication require the possibility of detecting a photon without destroying it. The only prior single- photon-detecting QND device is based on quantum electrodynamics in a resonant cavity and, as such, it depends on the photon frequency. Moreover, the prior device can distinguish only between one photon and no photon. The proposed interferometric QND devices would not depend on frequency and could distinguish between (a) one photon and (b) zero or two photons. The first proposed device is depicted schematically in Figure 1. The input electromagnetic mode would be a superposition of a zero-, a one-, and a two-photon quantum state. The overall function of the device would be to probabilistically generate a unique detector output only when its input electromagnetic mode was populated by a single photon, in which case its output mode also would be populated by a single photon.

Kok, Peter↗
NASA NTRS2022

Global Driving of Auroral Precipitation: 1. Balance of Sources

The accurate determination of auroral precipitation in global models has remained a daunting and rather inexplicable obstacle. Understanding the calculation and balance of multiple sources that constitute the aurora, and their eventual conversion into ionospheric electrical conductance, is critical for improved prediction of space weather events. In this study, we present a semi-physical global modeling approach that characterizes contributions by four types of precipitation—monoenergetic, broadband, electron, and ion diffuse—to ionospheric electrodynamics. The model uses a combination of adiabatic kinetic theory and loss parameters derived from historical energy flux patterns to estimate auroral precipitation from magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) quantities. It then converts them into ionospheric conductance that is used to compute the ionospheric feedback to the magnetosphere. The model has been employed to simulate the 5–7 April 2010 Galaxy15 space weather event. Comparison of auroral fluxes show good agreement with observational data sets like NOAA-DMSP and OVATION Prime. The study shows a dominant contribution by electron diffuse precipitation, accounting for ∼74% of the auroral energy flux. However, contributions by monoenergetic and broadband sources dominate during times of active upstream solar conditions, providing for up to 61% of the total hemispheric power. The study also finds a greater role played by broadband precipitation in ionospheric electrodynamics which accounts for ∼31% of the Pedersen conductance.

Agnit Mukhopadhyay↗
NASA NTRS1987

The radiation impedance of an electrodynamic tether with end connectors

Electrodynamic tethers are wires deployed across the earth's geomagnetic field through which a current is flowing. The radiation impedance of a tether with end connectors carrying an ac current is computed from classical antenna theory. This simulates the use of a tether on a space structure. It is shown that the current flow pattern at the tether connector is critical to determining the overall radiation impedance. If the tether makes direct electrical contact with the ionosphere then radiation impedances of the order of several thousand Ohms can be expected. If the only electrical contact is through the end connectors then the impedance is only a few Ohms for a dc current rising to several tens of Ohms for an ac current with frequencies in the whistler range.

Hastings, Daniel E.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Electrodynamics of long conducting tethers in the near-earth environment

An analytical approach was developed to evaluate the electrodynamic interactions affecting a thin, bare metallic wire moving in the ionosphere. The wire's diameter was smaller than the Debye length; therefore, the plasma sheath around the wire was taken into account in computing inducing drag force and torque. Computer programs were prepared for the numerical evaluation of mathematical functions that were required to compute the distribution of the potential along the wire and of the current in the wire. Numerical calculations based on this software are shown.

Dobrowolny, M.↗