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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 NTRSDate not supplied

Coupled Aerosol-Chemistry Simulations of the January 2022 Eruptions of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in the NASA GEOS Earth System Model

The January 2022 eruptions of the underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano injected more than 100 Tg of water vapor and approximately 0.5 Tg of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. Injected materials reached as high as ~55 km in altitude, while the main plume from the eruption travelled west over Australia and the Indian Ocean between about 20 – 30 km altitude. We investigate the transport and the impact of the erupted materials in coupled aerosol-chemistry simulations performed with the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Earth system model. A sulfur mechanism introduced into the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) stratospheric-tropospheric chemistry package allows for an interactive simulation of the water vapor-chemistry impacts, and the large water vapor perturbation results in rapid conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfate aerosol in our aerosol mechanism. We report on the results of a multi-year ensemble of simulations performed with this system that include a control ensemble (no eruption), a water vapor-only injection ensemble, and a water vapor and sulfur dioxide injection ensemble. Simulations of the near-field aerosol and chemistry transport are compared to available measurements from OMPS-LP, OMPS-NM, CALIOP, MLS, and other sensors. The extended impact of the volcanic materials on the stratospheric composition and chemistry over the next several years is further investigated in forecast simulations.

Peter Colarco↗
NASA NTRS1987

Measuring Thicknesses of Wastewater Films

Sensor determines when thickness of film of electrically conductive wastewater on rotating evaporator drum exceeds preset value. Sensor simple electrical probe that makes contact with liquid surface. Made of materials resistant to chemicals in liquid. Mounted on shaft in rotating cylinder, liquid-thickness sensor extends toward cylinder wall so tip almost touches. Sensor body accommodates probe measuring temperature of evaporated water in cylinder.

Schubert, F. H.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Non-volatile magnetic random access memory

Improvements are made in a non-volatile magnetic random access memory. Such a memory is comprised of an array of unit cells, each having a Hall-effect sensor and a thin-film magnetic element made of material having an in-plane, uniaxial anisotropy and in-plane, bipolar remanent magnetization states. The Hall-effect sensor is made more sensitive by using a 1 m thick molecular beam epitaxy grown InAs layer on a silicon substrate by employing a GaAs/AlGaAs/InAlAs superlattice buffering layer. One improvement avoids current shunting problems of matrix architecture. Another improvement reduces the required magnetizing current for the micromagnets. Another improvement relates to the use of GaAs technology wherein high electron-mobility GaAs MESFETs provide faster switching times. Still another improvement relates to a method for configuring the invention as a three-dimensional random access memory.

Katti, Romney R.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Color Changing Material for Hydrogen Leak Detection

Kennedy Space Center scientists developed a hydrogen leak sensor utilizing a combination of chemochromic pigment and polymer that can be molded or fiber spun into rigid or flexible shapes such as tape. The sensor turns a dark color when exposed to hydrogen gas. This sensor has proven to be very effective for pinpointing the exact location of leaks in hydrogen gas lines and fittings at launch pads. Kennedy Space Center exclusively licensed this technology to the University of Central Florida (UCF), who also holds patents that are complimentary to KSC's. UCF has bundled the patents and exclusively licensed the portfolio to HySense Technology LLC, a startup company founded by a UCF professor who supports the UCF Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC). HySense has fully developed its product (known as Intellipigment"TM"), and currently has five commercial customers. The company recently won the $100,000 first-place award at the CAT5 innovation competition at the Innovation Concourse of the Southeast: Safety & Manufacturing event in Orlando, FL. Commercial production and sales of this technology by HySense Technology will make this leak sensor widely available for use by NASA, DoD, and industries that utilize hydrogen gas.

Material for Hyrogen↗
NASA NTRS1985

Munsell color analysis of Landsat color-ratio-composite images of limonitic areas in southwest New Mexico

The causes of color variations in the green areas on Landsat 4/5-4/6-6/7 (red-blue-green) color-ratio-composite (CRC) images, defined as limonitic areas, were investigated by analyzing the CRC images of the Lordsburg, New Mexico area. The red-blue-green additive color system was mathematically transformed into the cylindrical Munsell color coordinates (hue, saturation, and value), and selected areas were digitally analyzed for color variation. The obtained precise color characteristics were then correlated with properties of surface material. The amount of limonite (L) visible to the sensor was found to be the primary cause of the observed color differences. The visible L is, is turn, affected by the amount of L on the material's surface and by within-pixel mixing of limonitic and nonlimonitic materials. The secondary cause of variation was vegetation density, which shifted CRC hues towards yellow-green, decreased saturation, and increased value.

Kruse, F. A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Heat Flux Sensor Testing

This viewgraph presentation provides information on the following objectives: Developing secondary calibration capabilities for MSFC's (Marshall Space Flight Center) Hot Gas Facility (HGF), a Mach 4 Aerothermal Wind Tunnel; Evaluating ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) slug/ thinskin calorimeters against current HGF heat flux sensors; Providing verification of baselined AEDC (Arnold Engineering Development Center) / Medtherm gage calibrations; Addressing future calibration issues involving NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) certified radiant gages.

Clark, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

In situ composite cure monitoring using infrared transmitting optical fibers

The development of infrared-transmitting optical fibers as sensors for monitoring the cure of advanced composite materials is reported. Fourier transform infrared spectra are presented which were remotely sensed during the cure of a high performance polyimide resin and a graphite/polyimide matrix prepreg using an 0.1 mm O.D. x 3 m chalcogenide optical fiber. A discussion of the fiber and sensor element, absorption mechanism and potential applications is presented.

Young, Philip R.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Overview of NASA Langley's Piezoelectric Ceramic Packaging Technology and Applications

Over the past decade, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has developed several actuator packaging concepts designed to enhance the performance of commercial electroactive ceramics. NASA LaRC focused on properly designed actuator and sensor packaging for the following reasons, increased durability, protect the working material from the environment, allow for proper mechanical and electrical contact, afford "ready to use" mechanisms that are scalable, and develop fabrication methodology applicable to any active material of the same physical class. It is more cost effective to enhance or tailor the performance of existing systems, through innovative packaging, than to develop, test and manufacture new materials. This approach led to the development of several solid state actuators that include THUNDER, the Macrofiber Composite or (MFC) and the Radial Field Diaphragm or (RFD). All these actuators are fabricated using standard materials and processes derived from earlier concepts. NASA s fabrication and packaging technology as yielded, piezoelectric actuators and sensors that are easy to implement, reliable, consistent in properties, and of lower cost to manufacture in quantity, than their predecessors (as evidenced by their continued commercial availability.) These piezoelectric actuators have helped foster new research and development in areas involving computational modeling, actuator specific refinements, and engineering system redesign which led to new applications for piezo-based devices that replace traditional systems currently in use.

Bryant, Robert G.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Detecting Airborne Mercury by Use of Gold Nanowires

Like the palladium chloride (PdCl2) films described in the immediately preceding article, gold nanowire sensors have been found to be useful for detecting airborne elemental mercury at concentrations on the order of parts per billion (ppb). Also like the PdCl2 films, gold nanowire sensors can be regenerated under conditions much milder than those necessary for regeneration of gold films that have been used as airborne-Hg sensors. The interest in nanowire sensors in general is prompted by the expectation that nanowires of a given material covering a given surface may exhibit greater sensitivity than does a film of the same material because nanowires have a greater surface area. In preparation for experiments to demonstrate this sensor concept, sensors were fabricated by depositing gold nanowires, variously, on microhotplate or microarray sensor substrates. In the experiments, the electrical resistances were measured while the sensors were exposed to air at a temperature of 25 C and relative humidity of about 30 percent containing mercury at various concentrations from 2 to 70 ppb (see figure). The results of this and other experiments have been interpreted as signifying that sensors of this type can detect mercury at ppb concentrations in room-temperature air and can be regenerated by exposure to clean flowing air at temperatures <40 C.

Ryan, Margaret↗
NASA NTRS1975

Wide angle sun sensor

A single-axis sun sensor consists of a cylinder of an insulating material on which at least one pair of detectors is deposited on a circumference of the cylinder, was disclosed. At any time only one-half of the cylinder is illuminated so that the total resistance of the two detectors is a constant. Due to the round surface on which the detectors are deposited, the sensor exhibits a linear wide angle of + or - 50 deg to within an accuracy of about 2%. By depositing several pairs of detectors on adjacent circumferences, sufficient redundancy is realized to provide high reliability. A two-axis sensor is provided by depositing detectors on the surface of a sphere along at least two orthogonal great circles.

Schumacher, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1968

Ablation sensor Patent

Ablation sensor for measuring surface ablation rate of material on vehicles entering earths atmosphere on entry into planetary atmospheres

Russell, J. M., III↗
NASA NTRS1976

Microelectronic components and metallic oxide studies and applications

The project involved work in two basic areas: (1) Evaluation of commercial screen printable thick film conductors, resistors, thermistors and dielectrics as well as alumina substrates used in hybird microelectronics industries. Results of tests made on materials produced by seven companies are presented. (2) Experimental studies on metallic oxides of copper and vanadium, in an effort to determine their electrochemical properties in crystalline, powder mixtures and as screen printable thick films constituted the second phase of the research effort. Oxide investigations were aimed at finding possible applications of these materials as switching devices memory elements and sensors.

Williams, L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Noncontacting Measurement With a Thermocouple

Tentlike covering brings thermocouple to within few degrees of surface temperature. Technique originally developed for measuring surface temperature of quartz fabric under radiant heating requires no direct contact with heated surface. Technique particularly useful when measuring surface temperatures of materials damaged if thermocouple or other temperature sensor attached.

Weatherill, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Imaging spectrometry: Past, present, future

Imaging spectrometry for the remote sensing of the Earth from aircraft and satellites is discussed. Results with an aircraft instrument show that remote, direct identification of surface materials is possible. The airborne and spaceborne sensors can acquire images in 100 to 200 spectral bands. The next generation aircraft scanner (AVIRIS) is expected to be operational in 1987. Plans are underway for a Shuttle instrument (SISEX) to fly in 1991.

Abrams, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Space vehicle glow and its impact on spacecraft systems

Spacecraft glow poses a contamination threat to low orbital altitude optical sensor systems. The complexity of the phenomena entails a multifaceted approach to system design for vehicle glow minimization. In the case of Space Shuttle cloud glow, which involves line and band emission, filtering and careful optical sensor wavelength selection may also prove useful; Space Shuttle thruster glow mitigation entails the limitation of thruster firings during sensor operations. Careful selection of instrument baffle materials and coatings, as well as control of surface temperatures, are recommended as ways of limiting glow impact for instruments directed in the direction of vehicle movement.

Garrett, H. B.↗
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 NTRS1992

Rugged Low-Resistance Contacts To High-Tc Superconductors

Newly developed technique involving use of gold makes possible to fabricate low-resistance contacts with rugged connections to high-Tc superconductors. Gold diffused into specimen of superconducting material by melting gold beads onto surface of specimen, making strong mechanical contacts. Shear strength of gold bead contacts greater than epoxy or silver paste. Practical use in high-current-carrying applications of new high-Tc materials, including superconducting magnets, long-wavelength sensors, electrical ground planes at low temperatures, and efficient transmission of power.

Caton, Randall↗
NASA NTRS2001

Computational Nanotechnology of Molecular Materials, Electronics, and Actuators with Carbon Nanotubes and Fullerenes

The role of computational nanotechnology in developing next generation of multifunctional materials, molecular scale electronic and computing devices, sensors, actuators, and machines is described through a brief review of enabling computational techniques and few recent examples derived from computer simulations of carbon nanotube based molecular nanotechnology.

Srivastava, Deepak↗