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NASA NTRS2006

Use, Assessment, and Improvement of the Loci-CHEM CFD Code for Simulation of Combustion in a Single Element GO2/GH2 Injector and Chamber

This document is a viewgraph presentation of a paper that documents a continuing effort at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to use, assess, and continually improve CFD codes to the point of material utility in the design of rocket engine combustion devices. This paper describes how the code is presently being used to simulate combustion in a single element combustion chamber with shear coaxial injectors using gaseous oxygen and gaseous hydrogen propellants. The ultimate purpose of the efforts documented is to assess and further improve the Loci-CHEM code and the implementation of it. Single element shear coaxial injectors were tested as part of the Staged Combustion Injector Technology (SCIT) program, where detailed chamber wall heat fluxes were measured. Data was taken over a range of chamber pressures for propellants injected at both ambient and elevated temperatures. Several test cases are simulated as part of the effort to demonstrate use of the Loci-CHEM CFD code and to enable us to make improvements in the code as needed. The simulations presented also include a grid independence study on hybrid grids. Several two-equation eddy viscosity low Reynolds number turbulence models are also evaluated as part of the study. All calculations are presented with a comparison to the experimental data. Weaknesses of the code relative to test data are discussed and continuing efforts to improve the code are presented.

Westra, Douglas G.↗

NASA NTRS2006

The Application of Satellite-Derived, High-Resolution Land Use/Land Cover Data to Improve Urban Air Quality Model Forecasts

Local and state agencies are responsible for developing state implementation plans to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Numerical models used for this purpose simulate the transport and transformation of criteria pollutants and their precursors. The specification of land use/land cover (LULC) plays an important role in controlling modeled surface meteorology and emissions. NASA researchers have worked with partners and Atlanta stakeholders to incorporate an improved high-resolution LULC dataset for the Atlanta area within their modeling system and to assess meteorological and air quality impacts of Urban Heat Island (UHI) mitigation strategies. The new LULC dataset provides a more accurate representation of land use, has the potential to improve model accuracy, and facilitates prediction of LULC changes. Use of the new LULC dataset for two summertime episodes improved meteorological forecasts, with an existing daytime cold bias of approx. equal to 3 C reduced by 30%. Model performance for ozone prediction did not show improvement. In addition, LULC changes due to Atlanta area urbanization were predicted through 2030, for which model simulations predict higher urban air temperatures. The incorporation of UHI mitigation strategies partially offset this warming trend. The data and modeling methods used are generally applicable to other U.S. cities.

Quattrochi, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Extravehicular Mobility Unit Penetration Probability from Micrometeoroids and Orbital Debris: Revised Analytical Model and Potential Space Suit Improvements

The NASA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) micrometeoroid and orbital debris protection ability has recently been assessed against an updated, higher threat space environment model. The new environment was analyzed in conjunction with a revised EMU solid model using a NASA computer code. Results showed that the EMU exceeds the required mathematical Probability of having No Penetrations (PNP) of any suit pressure bladder over the remaining life of the program (2,700 projected hours of 2 person spacewalks). The success probability was calculated to be 0.94, versus a requirement of >0.91, for the current spacesuit s outer protective garment. In parallel to the probability assessment, potential improvements to the current spacesuit s outer protective garment were built and impact tested. A NASA light gas gun was used to launch projectiles at test items, at speeds of approximately 7 km per second. Test results showed that substantial garment improvements could be made, with mild material enhancements and moderate assembly development. The spacesuit s PNP would improve marginally with the tested enhancements, if they were available for immediate incorporation. This paper discusses the results of the model assessment process and test program. These findings add confidence to the continued use of the existing NASA EMU during International Space Station (ISS) assembly and Shuttle Operations. They provide a viable avenue for improved hypervelocity impact protection for the EMU, or for future space suits.

Chase, Thomas D.↗

NASA NTRS2005

An Improved Thermal Conductivity Polyurethane Composite for a Space Borne 20KV Power Supply

This effort was designed to find a way to reduce the temperature rise of critical components of a 20KV High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS) by improving the overall thermal conductivity of the encapsulated modules. Three strategies were evaluated by developing complete procedures, preparing samples, and performing tests. The three strategies were: 1. Improve the thermal conductivity of the polyurethane encapsulant through the addition of thermally conductive powder while minimizing impact on other characteristics of the encapsulant. 2. Improve the thermal conductivity of the polyurethane encapsulated assembly by the addition of a slab of thermally conductive, electrically insulating material, which is to act as a heat spreader. 3. Employ a more thermally conductive substrate (Al203) with the existing encapsulation scheme. The materials were chosen based on the following criteria: high dielectric breakdown strength; high thermal conductivity, ease of manufacturing, high compliance, and other standard space qualified materials properties (low out-gassing, etc.). An optimized cure was determined by a statistical design of experiments for both filled and unfilled materials. The materials were characterized for the desired properties and a complete process was developed and tested. The thermal performance was substantially improved and the strategies may be used for space flight.

Pb free↗

NASA NTRS2006

Recent Improvements in Semi-Span Testing at the National Transonic Facility (Invited)

Three wind tunnel investigations of a commercial transport, high-lift, semi-span configuration have recently been conducted in the National Transonic Facility at the NASA Langley Research Center. Throughout the course of these investigations multiple improvements have been developed in the facility semi-span test capability. The primary purpose of the investigations was to assess Reynolds number scale effects on a modern commercial transport configuration up to full-scale flight test conditions (Reynolds numbers on the order of 27 million). The tests included longitudinal aerodynamic studies at subsonic takeoff and landing conditions across a range of Reynolds numbers from that available in conventional wind tunnels up to flight conditions. The purpose of this paper is to discuss lessons learned and improvements incorporated into the semi-span testing process. Topics addressed include enhanced thermal stabilization and moisture reduction procedures, assessments and improvements in model sealing techniques, compensation of model reference dimensions due to test temperature, significantly improved semi-span model access capability, and assessments of data repeatability.

Gatlin, G. M.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Improved Atmospheric Soundings and Error Estimates from Analysis of AIRS/AMSU Data

The AIRS Science Team Version 5.0 retrieval algorithm became operational at the Goddard DAAC in July 2007 generating near real-time products from analysis of AIRS/AMSU sounding data. This algorithm contains many significant theoretical advances over the AIRS Science Team Version 4.0 retrieval algorithm used previously. Three very significant developments of Version 5 are: 1) the development and implementation of an improved Radiative Transfer Algorithm (RTA) which allows for accurate treatment of non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (non-LTE) effects on shortwave sounding channels; 2) the development of methodology to obtain very accurate case by case product error estimates which are in turn used for quality control; and 3) development of an accurate AIRS only cloud clearing and retrieval system. These theoretical improvements taken together enabled a new methodology to be developed which further improves soundings in partially cloudy conditions, without the need for microwave observations in the cloud clearing step as has been done previously. In this methodology, longwave C02 channel observations in the spectral region 700 cm-' to 750 cm-' are used exclusively for cloud clearing purposes, while shortwave C02 channels in the spectral region 2195 cm-' to 2395 cm-' are used for temperature sounding purposes. The new methodology for improved error estimates and their use in quality control is described briefly and results are shown indicative of their accuracy. Results are also shown of forecast impact experiments assimilating AIRS Version 5.0 retrieval products in the Goddard GEOS 5 Data Assimilation System using different quality control thresholds.

Susskind, Joel↗

NASA NTRS2008

Second Harmonic Imaging improves Echocardiograph Quality on board the International Space Station

Ultrasound (US) capabilities have been part of the Human Research Facility (HRF) on board the International Space Station (ISS) since 2001. The US equipment on board the ISS includes a first-generation Tissue Harmonic Imaging (THI) option. Harmonic imaging (HI) is the second harmonic response of the tissue to the ultrasound beam and produces robust tissue detail and signal. Since this is a first-generation THI, there are inherent limitations in tissue penetration. As a breakthrough technology, HI extensively advanced the field of ultrasound. In cardiac applications, it drastically improves endocardial border detection and has become a common imaging modality. U.S. images were captured and stored as JPEG stills from the ISS video downlink. US images with and without harmonic imaging option were randomized and provided to volunteers without medical education or US skills for identification of endocardial border. The results were processed and analyzed using applicable statistical calculations. The measurements in US images using HI improved measurement consistency and reproducibility among observers when compared to fundamental imaging. HI has been embraced by the imaging community at large as it improves the quality and data validity of US studies, especially in difficult-to-image cases. Even with the limitations of the first generation THI, HI improved the quality and measurability of many of the downlinked images from the ISS and should be an option utilized with cardiac imaging on board the ISS in all future space missions.

Garcia, Kathleen↗

NASA NTRS2008

A New, Highly Improved Two-Cycle Engine

The figure presents a cross-sectional view of a supercharged, variable-compression, two-cycle, internal-combustion engine that offers significant advantages over prior such engines. The improvements are embodied in a combination of design changes that contribute synergistically to improvements in performance and economy. Although the combination of design changes and the principles underlying them are complex, one of the main effects of the changes on the overall engine design is reduced (relative to prior two-cycle designs) mechanical complexity, which translates directly to reduced manufacturing cost and increased reliability. Other benefits include increases in the efficiency of both scavenging and supercharging. The improvements retain the simplicity and other advantages of two-cycle engines while affording increases in volumetric efficiency and performance across a wide range of operating conditions that, heretofore have been accessible to four-cycle engines but not to conventionally scavenged two-cycle ones, thereby increasing the range of usefulness of the two-cycle engine into all areas now dominated by the four-cycle engine. The design changes and benefits are too numerous to describe here in detail, but it is possible to summarize the major improvements: Reciprocating Shuttle Inlet Valve The entire reciprocating shuttle inlet valve and its operating gear is constructed as a single member. The shuttle valve is actuated in a lost-motion arrangement in which, at the ends of its stroke, projections on the shuttle valve come to rest against abutments at the ends of grooves in a piston skirt. This shuttle-valve design obviates the customary complex valve mechanism, actuated from an engine crankshaft or camshaft, yet it is effective with every type of two-cycle engine, from small high-speed single cylinder model engines, to large low-speed multiple cylinder engines.

Wiesen, Bernard↗

NASA NTRS2008

Identifying Optimal Temporal Scale for the Correlation of AOD and Ground Measurements of PM2.5 to Improve the Modeling Performance in a Real-Time Air Quality Estimation System

Aerosol optical depth (AOD), derived from satellite measurements using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS), offers indirect estimates of particle matter. Research shows a significant positive correlation between satellite-based measurements of AOD and ground-based measurements of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). In addition, satellite observations have also shown great promise in improving estimates of PM2.5 air quality surface. Research shows that correlations between AOD and ground PM2.5 are affected by a combination of many factors such as inherent characteristics of satellite observations, terrain, cloud cover, height of the mixing layer, and weather conditions, and thus might vary widely in different regions, different seasons, and even different days in a same location. Analysis of correlating AOD with ground measured PM2.5 on a day-to-day basis suggests the temporal scale, a number of immediate latest days for a given run's day, for their correlations needs to be considered to improve air quality surface estimates, especially when satellite observations are used in a real-time pollution system. The second reason is that correlation coefficients between AOD and ground PM2.5 cannot be predetermined and needs to be calculated for each day's run for a real-time system because the coefficients can vary over space and time. Few studies have been conducted to explore the optimal way to apply AOD data to improve model accuracies of PM2.5 surface estimation in a real-time air quality system. This paper discusses the best temporal scale to calculate the correlation of AOD and ground particle matter data to improve the results of pollution models in real-time system.

Li,Hui↗

NASA NTRS2008

Progress in Development of Improved Ion-Channel Biosensors

Further improvements have recently been made in the development of the devices described in Improved Ion-Channel Biosensors (NPO-30710), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 10 (October 2004), page 30. As discussed in more detail in that article, these sensors offer advantages of greater stability, greater lifetime, and individual electrical addressability, relative to prior ion-channel biosensors. In order to give meaning to a brief description of the recent improvements, it is necessary to recapitulate a substantial portion of the text of the cited previous article. The figure depicts one sensor that incorporates the recent improvements, and can be helpful in understanding the recapitulated text, which follows: These sensors are microfabricated from silicon and other materials compatible with silicon. Typically, the sensors are fabricated in arrays in silicon wafers on glass plates. Each sensor in the array can be individually electrically addressed, without interference with its neighbors. Each sensor includes a well covered by a thin layer of silicon nitride, in which is made a pinhole for the formation of a lipid bilayer membrane. In one stage of fabrication, the lower half of the well is filled with agarose, which is allowed to harden. Then the upper half of the well is filled with a liquid electrolyte (which thereafter remains liquid) and a lipid bilayer is painted over the pinhole. The liquid contains a protein that forms an ion channel on top of the hardened agarose. The combination of enclosure in the well and support by the hardened agarose provides the stability needed to keep the membrane functional for times as long as days or even weeks. An electrode above the well, another electrode below the well, and all the materials between the electrodes together constitute a capacitor. What is measured is the capacitive transient current in response to an applied voltage pulse. One notable feature of this sensor, in comparison with prior such sensors, is a relatively thick dielectric layer between the top of the well and the top electrode. This layer greatly reduces the capacitance of an aperture across which the ion channels are formed, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio. The use of a relatively large aperture with agarose support makes it possible to form many ion channels instead of only one, thereby further increasing the signal-to-noise ratio and effectively increasing the size of the available ionic reservoir. The relatively large reservoir makes it possible to measure AC rather than DC. This concludes the recapitulation from the cited previous article.

Nadeau, Jay L.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Improving Forecast Skill by Assimilation of Quality Controlled AIRS Version 5 Temperature Soundings

The AIRS Science Team Version 5 retrieval algorithm has been finalized and is now operational at the Goddard DAAC in the processing (and reprocessing) of all AIRS data. The AIRS Science Team Version 5 retrieval algorithm contains two significant improvements over Version 4: 1) Improved physics allows for use of AIRS observations in the entire 4.3 micron CO2 absorption band in the retrieval of temperature profile T(p) during both day and night. Tropospheric sounding 15 micron CO2 observations are now used primarily in the generation of cloud cleared radiances R(sub i). This approach allows for the generation of accurate values of R(sub i) and T(p) under most cloud conditions. 2) Another very significant improvement in Version 5 is the ability to generate accurate case-by-case, level-by-level error estimates for the atmospheric temperature profile, as well as for channel-by-channel error estimates for R(sub i). These error estimates are used for Quality Control of the retrieved products. We have conducted forecast impact experiments assimilating AIRS temperature profiles with different levels of Quality Control using the NASA GEOS-5 data assimilation system. Assimilation of Quality Controlled T(p) resulted in significantly improved forecast skill compared to that obtained from analyses obtained when all data used operationally by NCEP, except for AIRS data, is assimilated. We also conducted an experiment assimilating AIRS radiances uncontaminated by clouds, as done operationally by ECMWF and NCEP. Forecast resulting from assimilated AIRS radiances were of poorer quality than those obtained assimilating AIRS temperatures.

Susskind, Joel↗

NASA NTRS2009

Improving Our Odds: Success through Continuous Risk Management

Launching a rocket, running a business, driving to work and even day-to-day living all involve some degree of risk. Risk is ever present yet not always recognized, adequately assessed and appropriately mitigated. Identification, assessment and mitigation of risk are elements of the risk management component of the "continuous improvement" way of life that has become a hallmark of successful and progressive enterprises. While the application of risk management techniques to provide continuous improvement may be detailed and extensive, the philosophy, ideals and tools can be beneficially applied to all situations. Experiences with the use of risk identification, assessment and mitigation techniques for complex systems and processes are described. System safety efforts and tools used to examine potential risks of the Ares I First Stage of NASA s new Constellation Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) presently being designed are noted as examples. Recommendations from lessons learned are provided for the application of risk management during the development of new systems as well as for the improvement of existing systems. Lessons learned and suggestions given are also examined for applicability to simple systems, uncomplicated processes and routine personal daily tasks. This paper informs the reader of varied uses of risk management efforts and techniques to identify, assess and mitigate risk for improvement of products, success of business, protection of people and enhancement of personal life.

Greenhalgh, Phillip O.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Multispectral Imager With Improved Filter Wheel and Optics

Figure 1 schematically depicts an improved multispectral imaging system of the type that utilizes a filter wheel that contains multiple discrete narrow-band-pass filters and that is rotated at a constant high speed to acquire images in rapid succession in the corresponding spectral bands. The improvement, relative to prior systems of this type, consists of the measures taken to prevent the exposure of a focal-plane array (FPA) of photodetectors to light in more than one spectral band at any given time and to prevent exposure of the array to any light during readout. In prior systems, these measures have included, variously the use of mechanical shutters or the incorporation of wide opaque sectors (equivalent to mechanical shutters) into filter wheels. These measures introduce substantial dead times into each operating cycle intervals during which image information cannot be collected and thus incoming light is wasted. In contrast, the present improved design does not involve shutters or wide opaque sectors, and it reduces dead times substantially. The improved multispectral imaging system is preceded by an afocal telescope and includes a filter wheel positioned so that its rotation brings each filter, in its turn, into the exit pupil of the telescope. The filter wheel contains an even number of narrow-band-pass filters separated by narrow, spoke-like opaque sectors. The geometric width of each filter exceeds the cross-sectional width of the light beam coming out of the telescope. The light transmitted by the sequence of narrow-band filters is incident on a dichroic beam splitter that reflects in a broad shorter-wavelength spectral band that contains half of the narrow bands and transmits in a broad longer-wavelength spectral band that contains the other half of the narrow spectral bands. The filters are arranged on the wheel so that if the pass band of a given filter is in the reflection band of the dichroic beam splitter, then the pass band of the adjacent filter is in the longer-wavelength transmission band of the dichroic beam splitter (see Figure 2). Each of the two optical paths downstream of the dichroic beam splitter contains an additional broad-band-pass filter: The filter in the path of the light transmitted by the dichroic beam splitter transmits and attenuates in the same bands that are transmitted and reflected, respectively, by the beam splitter; the filter in the path of the light reflected by the dichroic beam splitter transmits and attenuates in the same bands that are reflected and transmitted, respectively, by the dichroic beam splitter. In each of these paths, the filtered light is focused onto an FPA. As the filter wheel rotates at a constant angular speed, its shaft angle is monitored, and the shaft-angle signal is used to synchronize the exposure times of the two FPAs. When a single narrowband-pass filter on the wheel occupies the entire cross section of the beam of light coming out of the telescope, the spectrum of light that reaches the dichroic beam splitter lies entirely within the pass band of that filter. Therefore, the beam in its entirety is either transmitted by the dichroic beam splitter and imaged on the longer-wavelength FPA or reflected by the beam splitter and imaged onto the shorter-wavelength FPA.

Bremer, James C.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Biosensors for EVA: Improved Instrumentation for Ground-based Studies

During lunar excursions in the EVA suit, real-time measurement of metabolic rate is required to manage consumables and guide activities to ensure safe return to the base. Metabolic rate, or oxygen consumption (VO2), is normally measured from pulmonary parameters but cannot be determined with standard techniques in the oxygen-rich environment of a spacesuit. Our group has developed novel near infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) methods to calculate muscle oxygen saturation (SmO 2), hematocrit, and pH, and we recently demonstrated that we can use our NIRS sensor to measure VO 2 on the leg during cycling. Our NSBRI project has 4 objectives: (1) increase the accuracy of the metabolic rate calculation through improved prediction of stroke volume; (2) investigate the relative contributions of calf and thigh oxygen consumption to metabolic rate calculation for walking and running; (3) demonstrate that the NIRS-based noninvasive metabolic rate methodology is sensitive enough to detect decrement in VO 2 in a space analog; and (4) improve instrumentation to allow testing within a spacesuit. Over the past year we have made progress on all four objectives, but the most significant progress was made in improving the instrumentation. The NIRS system currently in use at JSC is based on fiber optics technology. Optical fiber bundles are used to deliver light from a light source in the monitor to the patient, and light reflected back from the patient s muscle to the monitor for spectroscopic analysis. The fiber optic cables are large and fragile, and there is no way to get them in and out of the test spacesuit used for ground-based studies. With complimentary funding from the US Army, we undertook a complete redesign of the sensor and control electronics to build a novel system small enough to be used within the spacesuit and portable enough to be used by a combat medic. In the new system the filament lamp used in the fiber optic system was replaced with a novel broadband near infrared LED light source. The compact grating spectrometer was replaced with a chip-scale spectrometer. With this new design, the sensor is 4 in 2 in 0.5 in, weighs 60 g, and no fiber optic cables are needed. The sensor, which contains the light source and the spectrometer, is adhered directly to the skin with medical grade adhesive. The sensor can be powered via the USB port of the laptop computer that controls the sensor operation. Alternatively, for studies in the spacesuit, the sensor can be powered by a small battery pack and operated by an ultra-portable hand-held computer. Both the handheld computer and battery pack will easily fit within the PLSS of the test spacesuit. System automation was significantly improved, to add features suggested by our colleagues in the Cardiovascular Laboratory and the NASA JSC Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Project. The functionality and portability of this system were demonstrated in our UMass laboratory.

Soller, B.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Vestibular Stochastic Resonance as a Method to Improve Balance Function: Optimization of Stimulus Characteristics

Stochastic resonance (SR) is a mechanism by which noise can assist and enhance the response of neural systems to relevant sensory signals. Application of imperceptible SR noise coupled with sensory input through the proprioceptive, visual, or vestibular sensory systems has been shown to improve motor function. Specifically, studies have shown that that vestibular electrical stimulation by imperceptible stochastic noise, when applied to normal young and elderly subjects, significantly improved their ocular stabilization reflexes in response to whole-body tilt as well as balance performance during postural disturbances. The goal of this study was to optimize the characteristics of the stochastic vestibular signals for balance performance during standing on an unstable surface. Subjects performed a standardized balance task of standing on a block of 10 cm thick medium density foam with their eyes closed for a total of 40 seconds. Stochastic electrical stimulation was applied to the vestibular system through electrodes placed over the mastoid process behind the ears during the last 20 seconds of the test period. A custom built constant current stimulator with subject isolation delivered the stimulus. Stimulation signals were generated with frequencies in the bandwidth of 1-2 Hz and 0.01-30 Hz. Amplitude of the signals were varied in the range of 0- +/-700 micro amperes with the RMS of the signal increased by 30 micro amperes for each 100 micro amperes increase in the current range. Balance performance was measured using a force plate under the foam block and inertial motion sensors placed on the torso and head segments. Preliminary results indicate that balance performance is improved in the range of 10-25% compared to no stimulation conditions. Subjects improved their performance consistently across the blocks of stimulation. Further the signal amplitude at which the performance was maximized was different in the two frequency ranges. Optimization of the frequency and amplitude of the signal characteristics of the stochastic noise signals on maximizing balance performance will have a significant impact in its development as a unique system to aid recovery of function in astronauts after long duration space flight or for people with balance disorders.

Mulavara, Ajitkumar↗

NASA NTRS2010

Improving a Spectral Bin Microphysical Scheme Using TRMM Satellite Observations

Comparisons between cloud model simulations and observations are crucial in validating model performance and improving physical processes represented in the mod Tel.hese modeled physical processes are idealized representations and almost always have large rooms for improvements. In this study, we use data from two different sensors onboard TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) satellite to improve the microphysical scheme in the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model. TRMM observed mature-stage squall lines during late spring, early summer in central US over a 9-year period are compiled and compared with a case simulation by GCE model. A unique aspect of the GCE model is that it has a state-of-the-art spectral bin microphysical scheme, which uses 33 different bins to represent particle size distribution of each of the seven hydrometeor species. A forward radiative transfer model calculates TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) reflectivity and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) 85 GHz brightness temperatures from simulated particle size distributions. Comparisons between model outputs and observations reveal that the model overestimates sizes of snow/aggregates in the stratiform region of the squall line. After adjusting temperature-dependent collection coefficients among ice-phase particles, PR comparisons become good while TMI comparisons worsen. Further investigations show that the partitioning between graupel (a high-density form of aggregate), and snow (a low-density form of aggregate) needs to be adjusted in order to have good comparisons in both PR reflectivity and TMI brightness temperature. This study shows that long-term satellite observations, especially those with multiple sensors, can be very useful in constraining model microphysics. It is also the first study in validating and improving a sophisticated spectral bin microphysical scheme according to long-term satellite observations.

Li, Xiaowen↗

NASA NTRS2006

Improved Oxygen-Beam Texturing of Glucose-Monitoring Optics

An improved method has been devised for using directed, hyperthermal beams of oxygen atoms and ions to impart desired textures to the tips of polymethylmethacrylate [PMMA] optical fibers to be used in monitoring the glucose content of blood. The improved method incorporates, but goes beyond, the method described in Texturing Blood-Glucose- Monitoring Optics Using Oxygen Beams (LEW-17642-1), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 29, No. 4 (April 2005), page 11a. The basic principle of operation of such a glucose-monitoring sensor is as follows: The textured surface of the optical fiber is coated with chemicals that interact with glucose in such a manner as to change the reflectance of the surface. Light is sent down the optical fiber and is reflected from, the textured surface. The resulting change in reflectance of the light is measured as an indication of the concentration of glucose. The required texture on the ends of the optical fibers is a landscape of microscopic cones or pillars having high aspect ratios (microscopic structures being taller than they are wide). The average distance between hills must be no more than about 5 mso that blood cells (which are wider) cannot enter the valleys between the hills, where they would interfere with optical sensing of glucose in the blood plasma. On the other hand, the plasma is required to enter the valleys, and high aspect ratio structures are needed to maximize the surface area in contact with the plasma, thereby making it possible to obtain a given level of optical glucose-measurement sensitivity with a relatively small volume of blood. There is an additional requirement that the hills be wide enough that a sufficient amount of light can propagate into them and, after reflection, can propagate out of them. The method described in the cited prior article produces a texture comprising cones and pillars that conform to the average-distance and aspect-ratio requirements. However, a significant fraction of the cones and pillars are so narrow that not enough light can propagate along them. The improved method makes it possible to form wider cones and pillars while still satisfying the average-distance and aspect-ratio requirements. In the improved method, as in the previously reported method, multiple optical fibers are first bundled together for simultaneous texturing of their distal tips. However, prior to texturing by exposure to an oxygen beam, the tips are first coated by vapor deposition of a thin, sparse layer of aluminum: The exposure to the aluminum vapor must be short enough (typically of the order of seconds) so that the aluminum nucleates into islands separated by uncoated areas. The coated tips are textured by exposure to a directed beam of hyperthermal (kinetic energy >1 eV) oxygen atoms and/or ions in a vacuum chamber, as in the previously reported method. The aluminum islands partially shield the underlying PMMA from oxidation and erosion by the beam, so that the cones or pillars remaining after texturing are wider than they would otherwise be. To some extent, the dimensions of the hills and the distances between them can be tailored through choice of the thickness of the aluminum coat and/or the oxygen-beam fluence. The figure illustrates an example of texturing of the tip of a PMMA optical fiber without and with prior aluminum coating.

Banks, Bruce A.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Improved Cryostat for Cooling a Wide Panel

An improved cryostat has been developed for cooling a wide panel evenly over its surface to a temperature of -423 F (approximately equal to -253 C) by use of liquid helium. Originally, the cryostat was to be used in measuring apparent strains in wide aluminum/lithium panels as functions of temperature in order to develop data for temperature compensation of the readings of strain gauges on a tank containing liquid hydrogen. Relative to the cryostat used previously for this purpose, the improved cryostat can be prepared for a test in less time, and it loses less helium during each test. Each wide panel to be tested is instrumented with thermocouples in preparation for a test. The previous cryostat was made of two aluminum halves that, for each test, were sandwiched together and sealed around the instrumented wide panel to be tested. The panel was thus enclosed in a plenum. The cryostat and adjacent panel areas protruding from the cryostat were then coated with a thermally insulating foam. During a test, liquid helium was made to flow into the plenum through a port on the bottom. The helium vaporized and expanded, filling the plenum with cold helium gas, which eventually flowed out of the plenum through a port on the top. The nature of the flow was such that a significant portion of the helium did not come into contact with the wide panel; hence, cooling was less efficient than it might otherwise have been. After completion of each test, the foam and the cryostat were separated from the panel. The cryostat was cleaned and prepared for installation on another instrumented wide panel for the next test. It took 28 hours to install the cryostat onto the instrumented panel, apply the foam, and perform ancillary operations in preparation for a test. The volume of liquid helium consumed during each test was 750 liters. The improved cryostat (see figure) includes an upper section and a lower section, both of which include permanent housings made of a thermally insulating foam 2-in. (approximately equal to 5-cm) thick. A liquid-helium- injection manifold is attached to the inside of the top section. The bottom section includes an outlet for helium gas. The manifold contains slots that, when the cryostat is installed on the panel, are located approximately 1 in. (approximately equal to 2.5 cm) from the wide panel. The array of slots spans a substantial portion of the area of the panel. The top and bottom sections of the cryostat are sealed to the panel by use of polytetrafluoroethylene cord and aluminum tape. Liquid helium is fed into the manifold from the top. The helium leaves the manifold through the slots and thus impinges directly on the panel. Hence, all the helium entering the cryostat must come into contact with the panel before leaving the cryostat. After a test, the cryostat is removed from the panel and reinstalled onto another panel for the next test. Installation of the cryostat on an instrumented panel takes a negligible amount of time, in comparison with the 28 hours associated with the previous cryostat. The amount of liquid helium consumed during a test in the improved cryostat is 500 liters - 250 liters less than before.

Clifton, W. B.↗