Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Exchange interactions”

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 379 records · Page 21

On Europa's Magnetospheric Interaction: A MHD Simulation of the E4 Flyby

The global three-dimensional interaction of Europa with the Jovian magnetosphere is modeled by using a complete set of ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. The model accounts for exospheric mass loading, ion-neutral charge exchange, recombination, and a possible intrinsic dipole magnetic field of Europa. The single-fluid MHD equations are solved by using a modem, finite volume, higher-order, Godunov-type method on an adoptively refined unstructured grid, which allows detailed modeling of the region near Europa while still resolving both the upstream region and the satellite's wake. The magnetic field and plasma density measured during Galileo's EGA flyby of December 19, 1996, are reproduced reasonably well in the simulation. We find the agreement between the data and our model particularly convincing if we assume that the plasma velocity during the EGA flyby deviated from the nominal corotation direction by approximately 20 deg. Evidence from the Galileo energetic particle detector also supports this assumption. In this case, we can fit the data using a dipole with orientation close to that of an induced dipole arising from the interaction of a hypothetical conducting subsurface layer on Europa with the periodically changing magnetic field of Jupiter. However, the magnitude of the dipole in our model is somewhat smaller (70%) than that suggested by Khurana et al. The total mass loading and ion-neutral charge exchange rates are consistent with the estimates of Europa's atmosphere and ionosphere.

Kabin, K.↗

Physical processes in directed ion beam sputtering

The general operation of a discharge chamber for the production of ions is described. A model is presented for the magnetic containment of both primary and secondary or Maxwellian electrons in the discharge plasma. Cross sections were calculated for energy and momentum transfer in binary collisions between like pairs of Ar, Kr, and Xe atoms in the energy range from about 1 eV to 1000 eV. These calculations were made from available pair interaction potentials using a classical model. Experimental data from the literature were fit to a theoretical expression for the Ar resonance charge exchange cross section over the same energy range. A model was developed that describes the processes of conical texturing of a surface due to simultaneous directed ion beam etching and sputter deposition of an impurity material. This model accurately predicts both a minimum temperature for texturing to take place and the variation of cone density with temperature. It also provides the correct order of magnitude of cone separation. It was predicted from the model, and subsequently verified experimentally, that a high sputter yield material could serve as a seed for coning of a lower sputter yield substrate. Seeding geometries and seed deposition rates were studied to obtain an important input to the theoretical texturing model.

Robinson, R. S.↗

Buoyancy Driven Shear Flows of Bubble Suspensions

In this work the gas volume fraction and the root-mean-squared fluid velocity are measured in buoyancy driven shear flows of bubble suspensions in a tall, inclined, rectangular channel. The experiments are performed under conditions where We << 1a nd Re >> 1, for which comparisons are made with kinetic theory and numerical simulations. Here Re = gamma(a(exp 2)/nu is the Reynolds number and We = rho(gamma(exp 2))a(exp 3)/sigma is the Weber number; gamma is the shear rate, a is the bubble radius, nu is the kinematic viscosity of the liquid, rho is the density of the liquid, and sigma is the surface tension of the gas/liquid interface. Kang et al. calculated the bubble phase pressure and velocity variance of sheared bubble suspensions under conditions where the bubbles are spherical and the liquid phase velocity field can be approximated using potential flow theory, i.e. We= 0 and Re >> 1. Such conditions can be achieved in an experiment using gas bubbles, with a radius of O(0.5mm), in water. The theory requires that there be no average relative motion of the gas and liquid phases, hence the motivation for an experimental program in microgravity. The necessity of performing preliminary, Earth based experiments, however, requires performing experiments where the gas phase rises in the liquid, which significantly complicates the comparison of experiments with theory. Rather than comparing experimental results with theory for a uniform, homogeneous shear flow, experiments can be compared directly with solutions of the averaged equations of motion for bubble suspensions. This requires accounting for the significant lift force acting on the gas phase when the bubbles rise parallel to the average velocity of the sheared suspension. Shear flows can be produced in which the bubble phase pressure gradient, arising from shear induced collisions amongst the bubbles, balances a body force (centrifugal or gravitational) on the gas phase. A steady, non-uniform gas volume fraction can be measured, from which the bubble phase pressure gradient can be obtained and compared to theory and numerical simulations. The presence of bounding walls further complicates the experiments, since the detailed interactions of the bubbles with bounding walls is not well understood, especially in the presence of gravity, where the momentum and energy exchange depends on the inclination of the wall.

Koch, D. L.↗

Upwelling of Arctic pycnocline associated with shear motion of sea ice

High-resolution radar imagery shows that the dynamic response of winter sea ice to gradients in large-scale surface wind stress is often localized along quasi-linear fractures hundreds of kilometers long. Relative shearing motion across these narrow fractures can exceed 10 cm/s. In one event recorded during the drift of the SHEBA ice camp, we observed an intense zone of pycnocline upwelling (approx.14 m) associated with significant shear motion near the camp, while upward turbulent heat flux in the ocean boundary layer reached nearly 400 W/sq m, an order of magnitude greater than at any other time during the year-long drift. We attribute the upwelling to Ekman pumping associated with concentrated ice shear. Over the entire Arctic Ocean sea ice cover, this process could be responsible for significant heat exchange between the cold surface layer and warmer subsurface water at the ubiquitous fractures resulting from large-scale atmosphere-ice interactions.

McPhee, M. G.↗

Realistic Modeling of Interaction of Quiet-Sun Magnetic Fields with the Chromosphere

High­‐resolution observations and 3D MHD simulations reveal intense interaction between the convection zone dynamics and the solar atmosphere on subarcsecond scales. To investigate processes of the dynamical coupling and energy exchange between the subsurface layers and the chromosphere we perform 3D radiative MHD modeling for a computational domain that includes the upper convection zone and the chromosphere, and investigate the structure and dynamics for different intensity of the photospheric magnetic flux. For comparison with observations, the simulation models have been used to calculate synthetic Stokes profiles of various spectral lines. The results show intense energy exchange through small­‐scale magnetized vortex tubes rooted below the photosphere, which provide extra heating of the chromosphere, initiate shock waves, and small­‐scale eruptions.

quiet-sun↗

A finite difference method for predicting supersonic turbulent boundary layer flows with tangential slot injection

An implicit finite difference method has been applied to tangential slot injection into supersonic turbulent boundary layer flows. In addition, the effects induced by the interaction between the boundary layer displacement thickness and the external pressure field are considered. In the present method, three different eddy viscosity models have been used to specify the turbulent momentum exchange. One model depends on the species concentration profile and the species conservation equation has been included in the system of governing partial differential equations. Results are compared with experimental data at stream Mach numbers of 2.4 and 6.0 and with results of another finite difference method. Good agreement was generally obtained for the reduction of wall skin friction with slot injection and with experimental Mach number and pitot pressure profiles. Calculations with the effects of pressure interaction included showed these effects to be smaller than effects of changing eddy viscosity models.

Miner, E. W.↗

In vitro Ca-45/++/ uptake and exchange by otoconial complexes in high and low K/+/Na/+/ fluids

Recently, data have been accumulating to indicate that saccular and utricular otoconial complexes of the gravity receptor organs are dynamic and interact constantly with their environment. This study investigates the possibility that the ionic composition of the surrounding fluid influences calcium ion binding and release, and explores the importance of the K(+)/Na(+) ratio. Two in-vitro methods were developed, the first of which employed artificial endolymph and perilymph while ionically balanced fluids in which only the K(+)/Na(+) was altered were used in the second. The ability of rat complexes to take up Ca-45(++) during incubation with these fluids was assessed using liquid scintillation spectrometry. In vitro uptake of Ca-45(++) was greater in fluids with a high K(+)/Na(+) ratio than in fluids in which the ratio was low. The ability of the complexes to take up Ca-45(++) appeared to decline with age.

Ross, M. D.↗

Laboratory Measurements of Solar-Wind/Comet X-Ray Emission and Charge Exchange Cross Sections

The detection of X-rays from comets such as Hyakutake, Hale-Bopp, d Arrest, and Linear as they approach the Sun has been unexpected and exciting. This phenomenon, moreover, should be quite general, occurring wherever a fast solar or stellar wind interacts with neutrals in a comet, a planetary atmosphere, or a circumstellar cloud. The process is, O(+8) + H2O --> O(+7*) + H2O(+), where the excited O(+7*) ions are the source of the X-ray emissions. Detailed modeling has been carried out of X-ray emissions in charge-transfer collisions of heavy solar-wind Highly Charged Ions (HCIs) and interstellar/interplanetary neutral clouds. In the interplanetary medium the solar wind ions, including protons, can charge exchange with interstellar H and He. This can give rise to a soft X-ray background that could be correlated with the long-term enhancements seen in the low-energy X-ray spectrum of ROSAT. Approximately 40% of the soft X-ray background detected by Exosat, ROSAT, Chandra, etc. is due to Charge Exchange (CXE): our whole heliosphere is glowing in the soft X-ray due to CXE.

Chutjian, A.↗

Differential Gene Expression in A Cross-Feeding Two-Species Model Microbial Community Under Simulated Microgravity and Deep-Space Radiation

A long-term goal of space biology is to understand interspecies microbial interactions in space. Presently, little is known about the combined effect of microgravity and ionizing radiation on bacterial community response when species are interdependent through exchange of metabolites in fluid medium (cross-feeding). Microgravity is expected to slow interspecies mass transfer and growth in cross-feeding communities in the low-shear, diffusion-limited environment, while ionizing radiation may influence stress response to direct (DNA damage) and indirect damage (ROS). Using a well-understood, two-species (Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica) microbial community engineered to be a model for studying cross-feeding, we simulated galactic cosmic rays (GCRsim) and microgravity to test the hypothesis: exposure to ionizing radiation causes cell damage or stress, altering transcriptomic community responses in metabolically interdependent cells, which is exacerbated by microgravity. We expect to see differential gene expression between cross-feeding and non-cross-feeding communities. We measured GCRsim effects on growth and gene expression in well-mixed versus simulated-microgravity conditions and in cross-feeding and non-cross-feeding medium. Microbial cultures were inoculated into liquid medium in rotating wall vessels (RWV) with different rotation rates: 5 RPM (simulated microgravity) and 50 RPM (well-mixed). The E. coli-S. enterica consortium, under simulated microgravity, were exposed to 500 mGy of Simplified 5-ion Galactic Cosmic Ray Simulation for 2 hours at Brookhaven National Lab. We harvested samples 40 minutes after irradiation for extraction and sequencing (NASA GeneLab). Here we present the differential gene expression analysis results, which reveal altered transcriptomic community responses, even where growth rate differences are not observed. Gene expression of these actively metabolizing microbial communities in GCRsim may illuminate molecular mechanisms of microbial interactions in space. Understanding how microbial community gene expression, metabolism, and other cellular processes are influenced by spaceflight stressors can inform the use of microbes in human life support for low Earth orbit missions and beyond.

microgravity↗

Momentum and energy exchange collision terms for interpenetrating bi-Maxwellian gases

For application to aeronomy and space physics problems involving strongly magnetized plasma flows, we derived momentum and energy exchange collision terms for interpenetrating bi-Maxwellian gases. Collision terms were derived for Coulomb, Maxwell molecule, and constant collision cross-section interaction potentials. The collision terms are valid for arbitrary flow velocity differences and temperature differences between the interacting gases as well as for arbitrary temperature anisotropies. The collision terms had to be evaluated numerically and the appropriate coefficients are presented in tables. However, the collision terms were also fitted with simplified expressions, the accuracy of which depends on both the interaction potential and the temperature anisotropy. In addition, we derived the closed set of transport equations that are associated with the momentum and energy collision terms.

Barakat, A. R.↗

Implementing the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB) in a general circulation model: Methodologies and results

The Simple Biosphere MOdel (SiB) of Sellers et al., (1986) was designed to simulate the interactions between the Earth's land surface and the atmosphere by treating the vegetation explicitly and relistically, thereby incorporating biophysical controls on the exchanges of radiation, momentum, sensible and latent heat between the two systems. The steps taken to implement SiB in a modified version of the National Meteorological Center's spectral GCM are described. The coupled model (SiB-GCM) was used with a conventional hydrological model (Ctl-GCM) to produce summer and winter simulations. The same GCM was used with a conventional hydrological model (Ctl-GCM) to produce comparable 'control' summer and winter variations. It was found that SiB-GCM produced a more realistic partitioning of energy at the land surface than Ctl-GCM. Generally, SiB-GCM produced more sensible heat flux and less latent heat flux over vegetated land than did Ctl-GCM and this resulted in the development of a much deeper daytime planetary boundary and reduced precipitation rates over the continents in SiB-GCM. In the summer simulation, the 200 mb jet stream and the wind speed at 850 mb were slightly weakened in the SiB-GCM relative to the Ctl-GCM results and equivalent analyses from observations.

Sato, N.↗

Biological control of surface temperature in the Arabian Sea

In the Arabian Sea, the southwest monsoon promotes seasonal upwelling of deep water, which supplies nutrients to the surface layer and leads to a marked increase in phytoplankton growth. Remotely sensed data on ocean color are used here to show that the resulting distribution of phytoplankton exerts a controlling influence on the seasonal evolution of sea surface temperature. This results in a corresponding modification of ocean-atmosphere heat exchange on regional and seasonal scales. It is shown that this biological mechanism may provide an important regulating influence on ocean-atmosphere interactions.

Sathyendranath, Shubha↗

Numerical Methodology for Coupled Time-Accurate Simulations of Primary and Secondary Flowpaths in Gas Turbines

Detailed information of the flow-fields in the secondary flowpaths and their interaction with the primary flows in gas turbine engines is necessary for successful designs with optimized secondary flow streams. Present work is focused on the development of a simulation methodology for coupled time-accurate solutions of the two flowpaths. The secondary flowstream is treated using SCISEAL, an unstructured adaptive Cartesian grid code developed for secondary flows and seals, while the mainpath flow is solved using TURBO, a density based code with capability of resolving rotor-stator interaction in multi-stage machines. An interface is being tested that links the two codes at the rim seal to allow data exchange between the two codes for parallel, coupled execution. A description of the coupling methodology and the current status of the interface development is presented. Representative steady-state solutions of the secondary flow in the UTRC HP Rig disc cavity are also presented.

Przekwas, A. J.↗

Arctic and Antarctic Analogs for Planetary Surface Traverses

The proposed paper summarizes the workshop presentations and discusses several of the key findings or lessons including: (1) A recognition that NASA s current approach for long duration planetary surface operations has fundamental differences from any of the operational approaches described by the invited speakers. These approaches drive the crew size and skill mix to accomplish basic objectives and, in turn, drive the logistical pyramid needed to support these operations. NASA will review the operational approaches of the organizations represented to understand the differentiating factors. NASA will then decide if it should alter its current approach to surface exploration. (2) There are potential parallels between key characteristics of the systems used for exploration in these environments, such as heated volume as an analog for pressurized volume or energy usage for various activities. NASA will look at these characteristics to identify which could help with preliminary planning and gather raw data from the presenters to model these characteristics. (3) New technologies are being applied and design approaches are being tailored to take advantage of these technologies on both side. Interactions between these two communities has begun or is expanding to understand how these new technologies are being leveraged: NASA habitation designers are exchanging ideas and approaches with the Antarctic station designers; Antarctic support

Hoffman, Stephen J.↗

Computational Studies of Magnetic Nozzle Performance

An extensive literature review of magnetic nozzle research has been performed, examining previous work, as well as a review of fundamental principles. This has allow us to catalog all basic physical mechanisms which we believe underlie the thrust generation process. Energy conversion mechanisms include the approximate conservation of the magnetic moment adiabatic invariant, generalized hall and thermoelectric acceleration, swirl acceleration, thermal energy transformation into directed kinetic energy, and Joule heating. Momentum transfer results from the interaction of the applied magnetic field with currents induced in the plasma plume., while plasma detachment mechanisms include resistive diffusion, recombination and charge exchange collisions, magnetic reconnection, loss of adiabaticity, inertial forces, current closure, and self-field detachment. We have performed a preliminary study of Hall effects on magnetic nozzle jets with weak guiding magnetic fields and weak expansions (p(sub jet) approx. = P(sub background)). The conclusion from this study is that the Hall effect creates an azimuthal rotation of the plasma jet and, more generally, creates helical structures in the induced current, velocity field, and magnetic fields. We have studied plasma jet expansion to near vacuum without a guiding magnetic field, and are presently including a guiding magnetic field using a resistive MHD solver. This research is progressing toward the implementation of a full generalized Ohm's law solver. In our paper, we will summarize the basic principle, as well as the literature survey and briefly review our previous results. Our most recent results at the time of submittal will also be included. Efforts are currently underway to construct an experiment at the University of Michigan Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory (PEPL) to study magnetic nozzle physics for a RF-thruster. Our computational study will work directly with this experiment to validate the numerical model, in order to study magnetic nozzle physics and optimize magnetic nozzle design. Preliminary results from the PEPL experiment will also be presented.

Ebersohn, Frans H.↗

Modeling Whitecaps on Global Scale

Whitecaps play an important role in the surface-atmosphere interactions across the ocean. They are directly linked to the energy dissipation rate during wave breaking and transfer of heat, momentum, and gas/aerosol exchange from the wind to the sea surface. Although the first models of W were dependent only on wind speeds, a large number of diverse models based on wind and sea state which include wave height, wave age, friction velocity, and stability effects have been proposed since then. However, it is recognized that most of the proposed W models have strong systematic (e.g., zonal bias) and random errors when compared against observations. This is partly due to the differences in environmental conditions, measurement techniques, and geographical locations among these studies. But, some of these biases are linked to the inability of the proposed models to capture the variability in W in certain wind/wave regimes. Despite the knowledge of existing biases, W residual relationships from the models with wind and wave fields remain highly uncertain, with residual trends varying between the published studies. Here, we take advantage of the availability of relatively dense observations of W from WindSat microwave satellite retrievals in combination with the University of Miami wave model which was recently incorporated within the NASA GMAO/GEOS system (GEOS-UMWM). We use Windsat W retrievals to assess and constrain the previously published W models and understand the relationships of residuals from models in different wind/wave regimes. We link these unexplained residual variations to additional factors such as swell index, drag coefficient etc and add information to the existing whitecap models. Since Windsat retrievals cover wide range of environmental conditions, it helps to reduce the uncertainties associated with differences in measurement techniques. Regression of wind-wave fields against all Windsat data points (CTL) results in larger residuals for lower wave age and W is overestimated upto ~4% for wave age < 10 and underestimated by upto ~2% as wave age increases. We attest to this bias by considering two approaches. One is to perform regression separately for different stages of wave development such as developing sea, fully developed, and wind sea regimes thereby understanding the sensitivity of regression coefficients to sea state (EXP1). Another is to derive coefficients of W models in EXP1 as a function of additional wind/wave factors such as swell index, drag coefficient, and mean squared slope, deriving more nonlinear W models (EXP2). EXP2 provides reduction in Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) by 0.1-0.3%. Sea surface drag has a stronger relationship with regression coefficients compared to swell index.These additional factors provide improved parameterizations in different wind and wave age regimes, with smaller unexplained/residual variations in W that has been a major concern in the W community.

Raman, Aishwarya↗