SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
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.
A surface sampler subsystem for the Viking Lander has been designed, fabricated, cleaned, and successfully tested. Testing has included component level tests to qualification environment and subsystem level tests. This development hardware has also been integrated into a System Test Bed (STB) for the lander system. In addition to the normal dynamic and thermal environments the surface sampler hardware has been tested in an aircraft to simulate the effects of the reduced Martian gravity. Although problems have been encountered with the first-build and integration, the basic design appears to be sound and hardware qualification is scheduled for late 1973.
A portable wind sensitive directional air sampler was developed as part of an air pollution source identification system. The system is designed to identify sources of air pollution based on the directional collection of field air samples and their analysis for TSP and trace element characteristics. Sources can be identified by analyzing the data on the basis of pattern recognition concepts. The unit, designated Air Scout, receives wind direction signals from an associated wind vane. Air samples are collected on filter slides using a standard high volume air sampler drawing air through a porting arrangement which tracks the wind direction and permits collection of discrete samples. A preset timer controls the length of time each filter is in the sampling position. At the conclusion of the sampling period a new filter is automatically moved into sampling position displacing the previous filter to a storage compartment. Thus the Air Scout may be set up at a field location, loaded with up to 12 filter slides, and left to acquire air samples automatically, according to the wind, at any timer interval desired from 1 to 30 hours.
A portable wind-sensitive directional air sampler has been developed as part of an air pollution source identification system. The system is designed to identify sources of air pollution based on the directional collection of field air samples and their analysis for TSP and trace element characteristics. Sources can be identified by analyzing the data on the basis of pattern recognition concepts. Functional testing of a prototype sampler is described; all items exhibited performance and life sufficient to carry out field performance test operations. Life testing of the wind direction sensor and the directional porting valves, which are critical to reliable operation, was emphasized with successful results.
Vehicle-mounted sampler gathers specimens along highways and in tunnels. In contrast to fixed air-collection installations, mobile sampler requires no official approval for use on highways.
Portable unit takes eight 24-hour samples. Volatile organic compounds in air collected for analysis by portable, self-contained sampling apparatus. Sampled air drawn through sorbent material, commercial porous polymer of 2, 3-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide. High-boiling-point organic compounds adsorbed onto polymer, while low-boiling-point organics pass through and returned to atmosphere. Sampler includes eight sample tubes filled with polymeric sorbent. Organic compounds in atmosphere absorbed when air pumped through sorbent. Designed for checking air in spacecraft, sampler adaptable to other applications as leak detection, gas-mixture analysis, and ambient-air monitoring.
Integrated circuit called timing sampler used to measure delays in complementary metal oxide/silicon logic gates. Circuit chip contains chains of inverters and metal traces having minimum parasitic delays (delay chains), circuits to compare pulse timings, and output multiplexer. Timing sampler enables delay measurements for both positive and negative logic-level transitions by use of variety of circuit geometries representing tentative practical designs.
The pneumatic soil sampler concept was successfully demonstrated by penetrating a Martian simulant soil to a depth of 2 meters. Working gas pressure, composition, and pulsing were evaluated with the objective of minimizing gas usage. Also, the probe penetration force was investigated with the objective of minimizing probe weight. Gas and probe penetration force, while not yet optimized, are within the range which make the soil sampler concept feasible. While the tests described in this report did not answer all the questions and address all the variables associated with pneumatic soil sampling, valuable data experience and knowledge were gained which can be used to further develop the concept.
The stack sampler described in this paper has been developed to overcome the difficulties of particulate sampling with presently available equipment. Its use on emissions from hog fuel fired boilers, back-fired incinerators, wigwam burners, asphalt plants, and seed cleaning cyclones is reported. The results indicate that the sampler is rapid and reliable in its use. It is relatively simple and inexpensive to operate. For most sources it should be considered over the more complicated and expensive sampling trains being used and specified.
The Touch and Go Surface Sampler (TGSS) is a new class of planetary and small body sample acquisition tool that can be used for the surface exploration of Europa, Titan and comets. TGSS in its basic configuration consists of a high speed sampling head attached to the end of a flexible shaft. The sampling head consists of counter rotating cutters that rotates at speeds of 3000 to 15000 RPM. The attractive feature of this if touch and go type sampler is that there are no requirements for a lander type spacecraft. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
An apparatus is being developed for sampling water for signs of microbial life in an ocean hydrothermal vent at a depth of as much as 6.5 km. Heretofore, evidence of microbial life in deep-sea hydrothermal vents has been elusive and difficult to validate. Because of the extreme conditions in these environments (high pressures and temperatures often in excess of 300 C), deep-sea hydrothermal- vent samplers must be robust. Because of the presumed low density of biomass of these environments, samplers must be capable of collecting water samples of significant volume. It is also essential to prevent contamination of samples by microbes entrained from surrounding waters. Prior to the development of the present apparatus, no sampling device was capable of satisfying these requirements. The apparatus (see figure) includes an intake equipped with a temperature probe, plus several other temperature probes located away from the intake. The readings from the temperature probes are utilized in conjunction with readings from flowmeters to determine the position of the intake relative to the hydrothermal plume and, thereby, to position the intake to sample directly from the plume. Because it is necessary to collect large samples of water in order to obtain sufficient microbial biomass but it is not practical to retain all the water from the samples, four filter arrays are used to concentrate the microbial biomass (which is assumed to consist of particles larger than 0.2 m) into smaller volumes. The apparatus can collect multiple samples per dive and is designed to process a total volume of 10 L of vent fluid, of which most passes through the filters, leaving a total possibly-microbe-containing sample volume of 200 mL remaining in filters. A rigid titanium nose at the intake is used for cooling the sample water before it enters a flexible inlet hose connected to a pump. As the water passes through the titanium nose, it must be cooled to a temperature that is above a mineral-precipitation temperature of 100 C but below the upper working temperature (230 C) of switching valves and tubes in the apparatus. The sample water then passes into a manifold tube, from whence the switching valves can direct the water through either a bypass tube or any one of the filter arrays, without contamination from a previous sample. Each filter array consists of series of filters having pore sizes decreasing in the direction of flow: 90-, 60-, 15-, and 7-micron prefilters and a large-surface-area 0.2-micron collection filter. All the filter taps are located between the intake and the bypass tube so that each time the bypass tube is used, the entire manifold tube is flushed as well.
A new sampler is similar to a common snow blower, but is robust and effective in sample collection. The brush wheels are arranged in a triangle shape, each driven by a brushless DC motor and planetary gearhead embedded in the wheel shaft. Its speed can be varied from 800 - 2,000 rpm, depending on the surface regolith resistance. The sample-collecting flow path, and internal features, are designed based on flow dynamics, and the sample-collecting rates have consistently exceeded the requirement under various conditions that span the range of expected surface properties. The brush-wheel sampler (BWS) is designed so that the flow channel is the main body of the apparatus, and links the brush-wheel assembly to the sample canister. The combination of the three brush wheels, the sample flow path, and the canister location make sample collection, storage, and transfer an easier task.
A BiBlade sampler may include a first blade and a second blade in a retracted position. The BiBlade sampler may also include a gripper, which is driven by an actuator. The gripper may include a plurality of fingers to force the first blade and the second blade to remain in a retracted position. When the fingers are unhooked, the first blade and the second blade penetrate a surface of an object.
The following package 2020-09-28 Microbial Air Sampler folders consist of a prototype design of a microbial air sample payload to fit in the bays of Astrobee free-flyer. There are several CAD designs prototypes and documentation about the concept and the current air sampler device.
ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) - Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Filter Sampler
Underground nuclear explosions release noble gases into the atmosphere that can be detected to support international monitoring efforts. Atmospheric transport models help predict the movement of these gases over long distances, but struggle to predict the movement in the atmosphere local to the release. A field experiment was designed to monitor the movement of 127 Xe within a 5-km radius. Four gas samplers were deployed as part of this experiment to collect atmospheric samples at various distances from the release point. In conclusion, these samples were then analyzed in a near-field lab using a NaI detector and in an off-site lab using gamma-gamma coincidence and beta-gamma coincidence counting.
As part of a scientific research and development project, the radionuclide fingerprint of an operating advanced gas-cooled reactor 25 (AGR) has been studied across several facets (Goodwin et al., 2024). One part of this project was to deploy an array of 26 radioxenon samplers to the region for a period of around 1 year, to measure any radioxenon emissions from the reactors of the 27 Hartlepool nuclear power station at a range of tens of kilometres away. The array of 3 sensors was operational for around 12 28 months from March 2022 and detected many occurrences of isotopes of radioxenon. Here we provide a detailed analysis and 29 interpretation of the data and where possible, attribution of detections to a source or region. Whilst a key part of this work is to 30 measure any emissions of radioxenon from Hartlepool, this work presents one of the most comprehensive efforts to determine the 31 source of a great number of (mostly) 133Xe detections. A combination of different types of atmospheric dispersion modelling 32 techniques, including the use of stack monitoring data from nearby civil radioxenon-emitting nuclear facilities has enabled the 33 majority of detections to be attributed to one or more possible sources. Whilst emissions from Hartlepool have been detected on 34 the systems, the majority of detections are associated with a medical isotope production facility in Fleurus, Belgium (IRE).
Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler useful for a variety of problems for optimization, numerical integration, and generating draws from a probability distribution. They are often used in physical and mathematical problems, especially when it is difficult or impossible to use other approaches. This disclosure is for new bug fixes and enhancements to an existing open source library that is already in the public domain under the MIT license. https://github.com/jellis18/PTMCMCSampler