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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 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Minimal spectrum of long-wave perturbations - Is linear growth correct only in the nonlinear regime?

Very high resolution two-dimensional simulations are used to test the generation and growth of the so-called 'minimal' k exp 4 power spectrum which develops from initial conditions which have power only on small scales, such as might result from some process in the early universe. It is confirmed that the amplitude of minimal long-wave power grows proportionally to a exp 4, not a-squared, where a is the scale factor of the expanding universe. It reverts to a-squared only after the short-wave modes are effectively saturated, and by that time an effective long-wave power law closer to k-cubed is found. Small-scale perturbations may result in much more long-wave power than has been generally assumed.

Shandarin, Sergei F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Precisely measuring the distance to the moon

Continuing improvements in the lasers and the detection electronics over the years which have led to accurate measurements of the distance from the earth to the moon are discussed. The first reflector of laser light pulses, deployed on the moon surface twenty years ago by the Apollo 11 astronauts, consisted of 100 fused silica corner cubes, and reflected a beam of light directly back toward its point of origin. Observatories located in Texas, Hawaii, and France now regularly range the moon with an accuracy of approximately 1 inch. Ranging programs have also been carried out in Australia and the Soviet Union. The ranges are computer-analyzed to determine precisely the positions of the observatories on earth, the positions of the reflectors on the moon, the orbit of the moon around the earth, and the rotation and orientation of the earth and the moon. The most important scientific advances derived from lunar ranging are also reviewed.

Faller, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Current developments in optical engineering and commercial optics; Proceedings of the Meeting, San Diego, CA, Aug. 7-11, 1989

Various papers on current developments in optical engineering and commercial optics are presented. Individual topics addressed include: large optics fabrication technology drivers and new manufacturing techniques, new technology for beryllium mirror production, design examples of hybrid refractive-diffractive lenses, optical sensor designs for detecting cracks in optical materials, retroreflector field-of-view properties for open and solid cube corners, correction of misalignment-dependent aberrations of the HST via phase retrieval, basic radiometry review for seeker test set, radiation effects on visible optical elements, and nonlinear simulation of efficiency for large-orbit nonwiggler FELs.

Fischer, Robert E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

An easily implemented static condensation method for structural sensitivity analysis

A black-box approach to static condensation for sensitivity analysis is presented with illustrative examples of a cube and a car structure. The sensitivity of the structural response with respect to joint stiffness parameter is calculated using the direct method, forward-difference, and central-difference schemes. The efficiency of the various methods for identifying joint stiffness parameters from measured static deflections of these structures is compared. The results indicate that the use of static condensation can reduce computation times significantly and the black-box approach is only slightly less efficient than the standard implementation of static condensation. The ease of implementation of the black-box approach recommends it for use with general-purpose finite element codes that do not have a built-in facility for static condensation.

Gangadharan, S. N.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Simulation of deep one- and two-dimensional redshift surveys

It is shown that slice or pencil-beam redshift surveys of galaxies can be simulated in a box with nonequal sides. This method saves a lot of computer time and memory while providing essentially the same results as from whole-cube simulations. A 2457.6/h Mpc-long rod (out to a redshift z = 0.58 in two opposite directions) is simulated using the standard biased cold dark matter model as an example to mimic the recent deep pencil-beam surveys by Broadhurst et al. (1990). The structures (spikes) seen in these simulated samples occur when the narrow pencil-beam pierces walls, filaments, and clusters appearing randomly along the line-of-sight. A statistical test for goodness of fit to a periodic lattice has been applied to the observations and the simulations. It is found that the statistical significance level (P = 15.4 percent) is not strong enough to reject the null hypothesis that the observations and the simulations were drawn at random from the same set.

Park, Changbom↗
NASA NTRS1991

Evolving starburst galaxies, faint number counts, and the 2 keV background

Blue and 60 micron extragalactic number counts and redshift distributions are modeled using evolutionary models in which galaxies periodically undergo transient starburst events. Support is found for the hypothesis that the same starburst phenomenon is responsible for the excess source counts seen at both wavelengths, though observed at lower mean redshift in the far infrared than in the blue. The soft X-ray emission from these evolving starburst events is not likely to exceed the 2 keV background unless the evolutionary rate is greater than (1 + z)-cubed (luminosity or density evolution) and the redshift of galaxy formation is greater than about five.

Lonsdale, C.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Preferential concentration of particles by turbulence

Direct numerical simulation of isotropic turbulence was used to investigate the effect of turbulence on the concentration fields of heavy particles. The hydrodynamic field was computed using 64-cubed points, and a statistically stationary flow was obtained by forcing the low-wave-number components of the velocity field. The particles used in the simulations were time advanced according to Stokes drag law and were also assumed to be much more dense than the fluid. Properties of the particle cloud were obtained by following the trajectories of 1,000,000 particles through the simulated flow fields. Three values of the ratio of the particle time constant to large-scale turbulence time scale were used in the simulations: 0.075, 0.15, and 0.52. The simulations show that the particles collect preferentially in regions of low vorticity and high strain rate. This preferential collection was most pronounced for particles with the instantaneous number density as much as 25 times the mean value. The fact that dense particles collect in regions of low vorticity and high strain in turn implies that turbulence may actually inhibit rather than enhance mixing of particles.

Squires, Kyle D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Scalar dissipation and mixing in turbulent reacting flows

The mixing term that appears in probability density function-based formulations of the statistical behavior of turbulent reacting flows was studied with the use of direct numerical simulations of an irreversible, second-order, isothermal chemical reaction between initially segregated reactants in decaying, homogeneous turbulence. Three-dimensional, time-dependent pseudospectral calculations with 64-cubed Fourier modes were made as well as were Monte Carlo simulations of the joint concentration pdf equations for coalescence-dispersion (C/D) models. It was found that the development of the scalar microscales depends largely on the initial concentration distributions (both isotropic and nonisotropic distributions were used) and is relatively independent of the reaction rate constant. Joint concentration probability density functions were compared to predictions of D/D models that make use of parameters evaluated from the nonreacting or inert system.

Leonard, Andy D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Enstrophy budget in decaying compressible turbulence

The interaction of vorticity and shock waves in decaying compressible turbulence is investigated by direct numerical simulation of the Navier-Stokes equation using a spectral method with 64-cubed collocation points. The Taylor microscale Reynolds number decreases from 36 to 17 and the rms Mach number from 0.8 to 0.4 during the decay. It is observed that vorticity is created inside curved shocks through baroclinic interaction and intensified by the compression of fluid elements. Vortex stretching is, on the other hand, dominant outside shocks and is responsible for enhancing the strength of vorticity. A dipole of vorticity is typically created at the vertex of curved shocks, the structure of which is explained in terms of jump relations of velocity derivatives across a curved shock.

Kida, Shigeo↗
NASA NTRS1992

Multiple-Axis Crosshairs

Three skewed lines provide alignment when viewed along each of three mutually orthogonal axes. Device viewed in either direction along given axis, provides for viewing from any of six directions perpendicular to faces of cube. Location of common or target point can be "empty"; no part of any crosshair has to pass through target point. Simpler and more compact than previous sets of crosshairs, device also more accurate and reliable because same wire defines same plane from two different directions.

Barns, Chris↗
NASA NTRS1992

Gravity and the geoid in the Nepal Himalaya

Materials within the Himalaya are rising due to convergence between India and Asia. If the rate of erosion is comparable to the rate of uplift, the mean surface elevation will remain constant. Any slight imbalance in these two processes will lead to growth or attrition of the Himalaya. Although buried rocks, minerals and surface control points in the Himalaya are undoubtably rising, the growth or collapse or the Himalaya depends on the erosion rate which is invisible to geodetic measurements. A way to measure erosion rate is to measure the rate of change of gravity in a region of uplift. Essentially gravity should change precisely in accord with a change in elevation of the point in a free air gradient if erosion equals uplift rate. A measurement of absolute gravity was made simultaneously with measurements of GPS height within the Himalaya. Absolute gravity is estimated from the change in velocity per unit distance of a falling corner cube in a vacuum. Time is measured with an atomic clock and the unit distance corresponds to the wavelength of an iodine stabilized laser. An experiment undertaken in the Himalaya in 1991 provide a site description also with a instrument description.

Bilham, Roger↗
NASA NTRS1992

Spacecraft-plasma interaction codes: NASCAP/GEO, NASCAP/LEO, POLAR, DynaPAC, and EPSAT

Development of a computer code to simulate interactions between the surfaces of a geometrically complex spacecraft and the space plasma environment involves: (1) defining the relevant physical phenomena and formulating them in appropriate levels of approximation; (2) defining a representation for the 3-D space external to the spacecraft and a means for defining the spacecraft surface geometry and embedding it in the surrounding space; (3) packaging the code so that it is easy and practical to use, interpret, and present the results; and (4) validating the code by continual comparison with theoretical models, ground test data, and spaceflight experiments. The physical content, geometrical capabilities, and application of five S-CUBED developed spacecraft plasma interaction codes are discussed. The NASA Charging Analyzer Program/geosynchronous earth orbit (NASCAP/GEO) is used to illustrate the role of electrostatic barrier formation in daylight spacecraft charging. NASCAP/low Earth orbit (LEO) applications to the CHARGE-2 and Space Power Experiment Aboard Rockets (SPEAR)-1 rocket payloads are shown. DynaPAC application to the SPEAR-2 rocket payloads is described. Environment Power System Analysis Tool (EPSAT) is illustrated by application to Tethered Satellite System 1 (TSS-1), SPEAR-3, and Sundance. A detailed description and application of the Potentials of Large Objects in the Auroral Region (POLAR) Code are presented.

Mandell, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Modeling 3-D objects with planar surfaces for prediction of electromagnetic scattering

Electromagnetic scattering analysis of objects at resonance is difficult because low frequency techniques are slow and computer intensive, and high frequency techniques may not be reliable. A new technique for predicting the electromagnetic backscatter from electrically conducting objects at resonance is studied. This technique is based on modeling three dimensional objects as a combination of flat plates where some of the plates are blocking the scattering from others. A cube is analyzed as a simple example. The preliminary results compare well with the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction and with measured data.

Koch, M. B.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Mg-perovskite/silicate melt partition coefficients in the CMS system at 2430 C and 226 Kbars

The partitioning of elements among lower mantle phases and silicate melts is of interest in unraveling the early thermal history of the Earth. Because of the technical difficulty in carrying out such measurements, only one direct set of measurements has been reported, and these results as well as interpretations based on them have generated controversy. The first set of direct measurements on a synthetic system in the CaO-MgO-SiO2 (CMS) is reported. An experiment was conducted at Stony Brook, using the USSA-2000 split sphere anvil apparatus. An experiment in the CMS system doped with oxides of Al, Ti, Sc, and Sm and run at a nominal temperature of 2380 C and pressure of 226 kbars is reported. Nominal temperatures were measured with a W 3 percent Re/W 25 percent Re thermocouple. The hot spot temperature, where the liquidus is located, is estimated to be at 2430 C. A 10 mm MgO octahedron was used in concert with 4 mm truncation edge lengths on the WC cubes. The sample was contained in a Re capsule which was inserted into a LaCrO3 furnace. Pressure was calibrated at 2000 C. Run duration was approximately 3 minutes. The charge was mounted in epoxy and analyzed using a CAMECA SX-50 electron microprobe. Standard operating conditions were employed, although counting time for the less abundant elements was increased to improved counting statistics. The melt is unquenchable, and forms a dendritic intergrowth of quench crystals and residual melt. It was analyzed using a 30 micron raster. The structural identity of the Mg-perovskite phase was confirmed using x ray microdiffractometry. The results of the investigation are presented.

Mcfarlane, Elisabeth A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Spectroscopic method for Earth-satellite-Earth laser long-path absorption measurements using Retroreflector In Space (RIS)

The Retroreflector in Space (RIS) is a single element cube-corner retroreflector with a diameter of 0.5 m designed for earth-satellite-earth laser long-path absorption experiments. The RIS is to be loaded on the Advanced Earth Observing System (ADEOS) satellite which is scheduled for launch in Feb. 1996. The orbit for ADEOS is a sun synchronous subrecurrent polar-orbit with an inclination of 98.6 deg. It has a period of 101 minutes and an altitude of approximately 800 km. The local time at descending node is 10:15-10:45, and the recurrent period is 41 days. The velocity relative to the ground is approximately 7 km/s. In the RIS experiment, a laser beam transmitted from a ground station is reflected by RIS and received at the ground station. The absorption of the intervening atmosphere is measured in the round-trip optical path.

Sugimoto, Nobuo↗
NASA NTRS1990

Discrete liquid/vapor detectors for use in liquid helium

Simple devices have been constructed and tested which can discriminate between liquid helium and its vapor. The devices are 0.25-mm doped silicon cubes suspended from 0.05-mm-diameter stainless steel and manganin wires. A small current is passed through the device heating it and lowering its resistance. The degree of self-heating is dependent on whether the device is immersed in liquid or is surrounded by vapor. The voltage across the device then indicates the presence of liquid or vapor. The devices are meant to operate in the milligravity environment of space. Tests simulating thick superfluid films which would be present in this case indicate less than 0.3 milliwatt per detector is sufficient to boil away these thick films. The detector response time under these conditions is less than 50 milliseconds.

Dipirro, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Multifrequency radio observations of Saturn at ring inclination angles between 5 and 26 degrees

In order to investigate hypothesized latitudinal variations in the thermal emission from Saturn, the planet has been imaged at different wavelengths by the VLA and BIMA arrays. A bright band is found at 6 and 20 cm at midnorthern latitudes. The latitudinal brightness variation is suggested to be due to variations in the location of the NH4SH cloud. The extant data base on ring brightness temperatures and optical depths has been expanded by the present efforts. The data obtained are congruent with ice particles of the order of millimeters-meters in size; the number of particles has a power-law distribution that is proportionate to the radius cubed.

De Pater, Imke↗
NASA NTRS1992

Sintering time and atmosphere influences on the microstructure and mechanical properties of tungsten heavy alloys

The present paper traces the microstructure and mechanical property variations vs sintering time under conditions where the atmosphere was adjusted to suppress pore generation. Attention is given to tracing the mechanical property links to the grain size under optimized sintering conditions. The optimal cycle is used to sinter two heavy alloy compositions (88 and 95 wt pct W) for times up to 600 minutes at 1480 C. The 88-pct-W samples slumped, but the 95-pct-W samples were fully densified and suitable for tensile testing. At long sintering times, the tungsten grains flattened and the tungsten contiguity decreased, indicating a transition to low-energy configurations for the solid-liquid interfaces. The cube of the mean grain size varied linearly with the isothermal sintering time. This allowed the determination of grain size effects on mechanical properties, showing a decreasing yield strength with increasing time in agreement with the Hall-Petch behavior. The tensile strength and elongation were highest for sintering times from 30 to 90 min, reflecting a minimum in the residual porosity.

German, R. M.↗