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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

Metallurgical Mechanisms Controlling Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Alloy 2219 Produced By Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication

The electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3) layer-additive manufacturing process has been developed to directly fabricate complex geometry components. EBF3 introduces metal wire into a molten pool created on the surface of a substrate by a focused electron beam. Part geometry is achieved by translating the substrate with respect to the beam to build the part one layer at a time. Tensile properties have been demonstrated for electron beam deposited aluminum and titanium alloys that are comparable to wrought products, although the microstructures of the deposits exhibit features more typical of cast material. Understanding the metallurgical mechanisms controlling mechanical properties is essential to maximizing application of the EBF3 process. In the current study, mechanical properties and resulting microstructures were examined for aluminum alloy 2219 fabricated over a range of EBF3 process variables. Material performance was evaluated based on tensile properties and results were compared with properties of Al 2219 wrought products. Unique microstructures were observed within the deposited layers and at interlayer boundaries, which varied within the deposit height due to microstructural evolution associated with the complex thermal history experienced during subsequent layer deposition. Microstructures exhibited irregularly shaped grains, typically with interior dendritic structures, which were described based on overall grain size, morphology, distribution, and dendrite spacing, and were correlated with deposition parameters. Fracture features were compared with microstructural elements to define fracture paths and aid in definition of basic processing-microstructure-property correlations.

Domack, Marcia S.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Analysis of Snow Bidirectional Reflectance from ARCTAS Spring-2008 Campaign

The spring 2008 Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) experiment was one of major intensive field campaigns of the International Polar Year aimed at detailed characterization of atmospheric physical and chemical processes in the Arctic region. A part of this campaign was a unique snow bidirectional reflectance experiment on the NASA P-3B aircraft conducted on 7 and 15 April by the Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) jointly with airborne Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS) and ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sunphotometers. The CAR data were atmospherically corrected to derive snow bidirectional reflectance at high 1 degree angular resolution in view zenith and azimuthal angles along with surface albedo. The derived albedo was generally in good agreement with ground albedo measurements collected on 15 April. The CAR snow bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) was used to study the accuracy of analytical Ross-Thick Li-Sparse (RTLS), Modified Rahman-Pinty-Verstraete (MRPV) and Asymptotic Analytical Radiative Transfer (AART) BRF models. Except for the glint region (azimuthal angles phi less than 40 degrees), the best fit MRPV and RTLS models fit snow BRF to within 0.05. The plane-parallel radiative transfer (PPRT) solution was also analyzed with the models of spheres, spheroids, randomly oriented fractal crystals, and with a synthetic phase function. The latter merged the model of spheroids for the forward scattering angles with the fractal model in the backscattering direction. The PPRT solution with synthetic phase function provided the best fit to measured BRF in the full range of angles. Regardless of the snow grain shape, the PPRT model significantly over-/underestimated snow BRF in the glint/backscattering regions, respectively, which agrees with other studies. To improve agreement with experiment, we introduced a model of macroscopic snow surface roughness by averaging the PPRT solution over the slope distribution function and by adding a simple model of shadows. With macroscopic roughness described by two parameters, the AART model achieved an accuracy of about plus or minus 0.05 with a possible bias of plus or minus 0.03 in the spectral range 0.4-2.2 micrometers. This high accuracy holds at view zenith angles below 55-60 degrees covering the practically important range for remote sensing applications, and includes both glint and backscattering directions.

Lyapustin, A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Models Support Energy-Saving Microwave Technologies

During the Apollo Program, astronauts on the Moon encountered a small menace that created big problems: lunar dust. Similar to how tiny bits of Styrofoam behave on Earth adhering to anything they touch lunar dust sticks to spacesuits, spacecraft, tools, and equipment, and is extremely difficult to remove. The clingy nature of the substance is partly due to its electrostatic charge but is also due to its physical characteristics: The sharp, irregularly shaped grains have edges like burrs and feel like abrasive talcum powder to the touch. Not only a nuisance, Moon dust is also a potential health and safety risk. Because it is often laden with ultraviolet radiation and high iron content, it can be detrimental if it gets into the eyes or lungs. In fact, some of the particles are so small that the human body does not even detect them in order to expel them. On the Apollo missions, equipment covered with the dark-colored Moon dust suffered from the absorption of sunlight and tended to overheat. NASA has investigated tools and techniques to manage the sticky stuff, including magnets, vacuums, and shields. In 2009, Kennedy Space Center collaborated with a small business to investigate a method to harden the Moon's surface in a sense, to pave the surface so astronauts and robots could land, drive, and work without disrupting and scattering the material.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2012

Validation of a Crystal Plasticity Model Using High Energy Diffraction Microscopy

High energy diffraction microscopy is used to measure the crystallographic orientation and evolution of lattice strain in an Al Li alloy. The relative spatial arrangement of the several pancake-shaped grains in a tensile sample is determined through in situ and ex situ techniques. A model for crystal plasticity with continuity of lattice spin is posed, where grains are represented by layers in a finite element mesh following the arrangement indicated by experiment. Comparison is drawn between experiment and simulation.

Beaudoin, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Insights into the Martian Regolith from Martian Meteorite Northwest Africa 7034

Everything we know about sedimentary processes on Mars is gleaned from remote sensing observations. Here we report insights from meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, which is a water-rich martian regolith breccia that hosts both igneous and sedimentary clasts. The sedimentary clasts in NWA 7034 are poorly-sorted clastic siltstones that we refer to as protobreccia clasts. These protobreccia clasts record aqueous alteration process that occurred prior to breccia formation. The aqueous alteration appears to have occurred at relatively low Eh, high pH conditions based on the co-precipitation of pyrite and magnetite, and the concomitant loss of SiO2 from the system. To determine the origin of the NWA 7034 breccia, we examined the textures and grain-shape characteristics of NWA 7034 clasts. The shapes of the clasts are consistent with rock fragmentation in the absence of transport. Coupled with the clast size distribution, we interpret the protolith of NWA 7034 to have been deposited by atmospheric rainout resulting from pyroclastic eruptions and/or asteroid impacts. Cross-cutting and inclusion relationships and U-Pb data from zircon, baddelleyite, and apatite indicate NWA 7034 lithification occurred at 1.4-1.5 Ga, during a short-lived hydrothermal event at 600-700 C that was texturally imprinted upon the submicron groundmass. The hydrothermal event caused Pb-loss from apatite and U-rich metamict zircons, and it caused partial transformation of pyrite to submicron mixtures of magnetite and maghemite, indicating the fluid had higher Eh than the fluid that caused pyrite-magnetite precipitation in the protobreccia clasts. NWA 7034 also hosts ancient 4.4 Ga crustal materials in the form of baddelleyites and zircons, providing up to a 2.9 Ga record of martian geologic history. This work demonstrates the incredible value of sedimentary basins as scientific targets for Mars sample return missions, but it also highlights the importance of targeting samples that have not been overprinted by metamorphic processes, which is the case for NWA 7034.

McCubbin, Francis M.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Investigating Relationships Between Geochemistry and Physical Grain Characteristics Along a Glacio-Fluvial-Aeolian Sediment Transport Pathway Using µXRF

Iceland’s basaltic volcanic rocks and glacial, fluvial, and aeolian landscapes resemble those studied on Mars, which makes it an ideal location to study the evolution of basaltic landscapes, the weathering and alteration of basaltic sediments in cold and wet environments, and the generation of a basaltic sedimentary record. The SAND-E: Semi-Autonomous Navigation for Detrital Environments project examines physical and chemical changes in sediments transported through basaltic fluvial and aeolian environments, and tests operational scenarios, which include a drone and a robotic rover instrumented with autonomous terrain analysis software. As part of the SAND-E project, we examined a glacial outwash plain at Skjaldbreiðauhraun, in SW Iceland. This study uses micro X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) to examine the chemical and physical properties of unconsolidated sediment-size fractions from 710 μm to < 63 μm along a downstream transect from a glacial sourced watershed. μXRF is ideally suited for this task because it maps elemental distributions at sub-grain scales thereby allowing a direct correlation between grainsize, grain shape, and chemistry. It is also a good analog technique for the Mars 2020 mission equipped with the PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) that will be deployed at Jezero Crater, Mars.

Champion, E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Effects of grain size and shape in modeling reflectance spectra of mineral mixtures

An 'isograin model' of reflectance from particulate material is presented. The model treats reflectance as a series of grain interactions, incorporating optical constants of each material and two parameters that model the activity of scattering and absorption in the vertical and the horizontal directions, respectively. Mixing ratios of components in mixture are treated as variables and are calculated using least-squares fit. Grain size and shape have a significant effect on the accuracy of predicting mixing ratios but can be modeled by introducing the concept of effective grain size. The model calculates spectra in good agreement with measured spectra and models reflectance within 1 percent and mixing ratios within 5 wt pct.

Hiroi, T.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Evolution of lunar soil grain-size and shape parameters

Substrates at the Apollo 15 and 16 sites were analyzed and showed essentially the same graphic mean, graphic standard deviation, and graphic skewness. The graphic kurtosis of Apollo 16 soils is slightly smaller than that of Apollo 15. In Apollo 15 soil samples, grain size and graphic standard deviation increase with depth, while the trend is reversed in Apollo 16 soil samples. Lower sphericity values for Apollo 15 samples coincide with concentrations of highly irregularly shaped glass particles. Two-dimensional sphericity of Apollo 15 samples is contoured as a function of particle size and depth below lunar surface. The results are consistent with an overall model for soil development in which samples closer to the surface are more mature in response to more prolonged reworking of meteorite impact.

Lindsay, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The role of grain size and shape in the strengthening of dispersion hardened nickel alloys

Thermomechanical processing was used to develop various microsstructures in Ni, Ni-2ThO2, Ni-20Cr, Ni-20CR-2ThO2, Ni-20Cr-10W-and Ni-20Cr-10W-2ThO2. The yield strength at 25 C increased with substructure refinement according to the Hall-Petch relation, and substructure refinement was a much more potent means of strengthening than was dispersion hardening. At elevated temperature (1093 C), the most important microstructural feature affecting strength was the grain aspect ratio (grain length, L, divided by grain width, 1. The yield strength and creep strength increased linearly with increasing L/1.

Wilcox, B. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The role of grain size and shape in strengthening of dispersion hardened nickel alloys.

Thermomechanical processing was used to develop various microstructures in Ni, Ni-2ThO2, Ni-20Cr, Ni-20Cr-2ThO2, Ni-20Cr-10W and Ni-20Cr-10W-2ThO2, and the influence of microstructure on room temperature and elevated temperature strength was investigated. The yield strength at 25 C increased with substructure refinement according to the Hall-Petch relation. It was found that substructure refinement was a much more potent means of strengthening at room temperature than was dispersion hardening. At elevated temperature (1093 C), the most important microstructural feature affecting strength of dispersion hardened nickel alloys was the grain aspect ratio, i.e. grain length, L, divided by grain width,l. The yield strength and creep strength increased linearly with increasing L/l.

Wilcox, B. A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Diffuse band extinction and polarization in core-mantle grains

Diffuse band shapes in both extinction and polarization are calculated for interstellar core-mantle particles for varying size distributions of mantle thickness. It is shown that no matter whether the source of the bands is in the silicate cores or the accreted icy mantles, the polarization shapes are highly asymmetric for all mantle thicknesses. The extinction-band shapes are significantly less asymmetric, although the effect is clearly present. The only apparent possibility for producing symmetric band shapes in the dust grains is in very small bare particles in interstellar space which, if they are aligned and produce the 2200-A band, must exhibit a strong polarization effect in this region.

Greenberg, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Crystallization of plagioclase in mare basalts

A detailed study has been made of the morphology, zoning and major- and minor-element chemistry of plagioclase in mare basalt 12021 and for comparison, in several other mare basalts. Two types of plagioclase can be distinguished based on growth rate as expressed by the formation of hollow as opposed to lath-shaped crystals. The liquidus plagioclase is the most sodic part of the hollow crystals and is more sodic than the lath-shaped crystals. Hollow grains show oscillatory zoning, whereas the lath-shaped grains show normal zoning. The ratios FeO/(FeO + MgO) and K2O/(K2O + Na2O) increased in both types of plagioclase as they grew, and these ratios can be used as a guide to the crystallization history of the plagioclase. The FeO/(FeO + MgO) ratios are similar to those of coprecipitating pyroxene. The data presented here suggest the onset of plagioclase nucleation is primarily controlled by magma composition, and the point at which the magma becomes supersaturated with plagioclase.

Crawford, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Thermalization of starlight by elongated grains - Could the microwave background have been produced by stars

The possibility of the microwave background being produced by stars after the big bang is considered. The critical problem for this hypothesis is the source of the long-wavelength opacity for observed wavelengths greater than 10 cm. It is shown that free-free opacity cannot thermalize the background. Spherical dust grains also fail, but needle-shaped conducting grains can provide sufficient opacity to produce the observed spectrum with a metal abundance Z approximately equal to 10 to the -7th.

Wright, E. L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Special Grain Boundaries in NiTi Shape Memory Alloys as Sites for Preferential Martensite Nucleation

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) exhibit unique thermomechanical properties due to a reversible martensitic transformation which can be controlled via chemical composition and microstructural features. Among the latter, grain boundaries (GBs) are key in determining how the transformation nucleates and propagates. We performed molecular dynamics simulations to examine the roles of a few special GBs in the austenite phase of NiTi. The GBs can act as preferential host sites for martensite nuclei which can substantially lower the nucleation barrier for transformation and thereby result in reduced thermal hysteresis, an important SMA property for cyclic actuation applications. Free energy calculations show that a characteristic of these GBs is a negative entropy which drops sharply close to the transformation temperature, an anomalous behavior for GBs with fixed composition which is a direct result of the martensitic transformation. We discuss implications of these results with respect to SMA processing techniques for achieving improved properties.

Gabriel Plummer↗
NASA NTRS2002

Toward an Improved Single-Particle Model for Large Irregular Grains

To interpret remote spectral observations, scattering and absorption in a particulate surface are simulated via radiative transfer models. The standard model for this purpose among the planetary science community is the Hapke model. This model (like many others) uses two parameters to characterize the optical behavior of individual grains in a particulate surface, the single-scattering albedo omega and phase function p(g). These terms describe, respectively, the quantity and the angular distribution of light scattered by an individual grain. Unfortunately, these parameters are strictly optical. They can be rather difficult to interpret in terms of more interesting particle properties such as grain sizes, shapes, and compositions, that a remote sensing experiment might seek to discover. An equivalent slab approximation is typically used to relate omega to the grain size and optical constants of the material. This approach can mimic the wavelength-dependent absorption behavior of irregular grains, as long as the imaginary index kappa is much less than 1, the shape is equant, and the grain size D is much larger than the wavelength lambda. Unfortunately, the equivalent slab approach provides no information about p(g), which also has a strong dependence on optical constants and particle form.

Grundy, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Long-wavelength absorption by fractal dust grains

The far-infrared and submillimeter absorption properties of random aggregates of conducting spheres have been studied as a possible source for the long-wavelength absorption of interstellar dust grains. The complex shapes of random aggregates have various fractal dimensions, depending on the process that forms them. The long wavelength absorption versus frequency is affected more by the shape of a conducting grain than by its composition.

Wright, Edward L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Metallographic cooling rates of L-group ordinary chondrites

Shock metamorphism appears to be a ubiquitous feature in L-group ordinary chondrites. Brecciation and heterogeneous melting obscure much of the early history of this meteorite group and have caused confusion as to whether L chondrites have undergone thermal metamorphism within onion-shell or rubble-pile parent bodies. Employing the most recent shock criteria, we have examined 55 Antarctic and 24 non-Antarctic L chondrites in order to identify those which have been least affected by post-accretional shock. Six low-shock samples (those with shock grade less than S4) of petrographic types L3-L5 were selected from both populations and metallographic cooling rates were obtained following the technique of Willis and Goldstein. All non-Antarctic L6 chondrites inspected were too heavily shocked to be included in this group. However, 4 shocked L6 chondrites were analyzed in order to determine what effects shock may impose on metallographic cooling rates. Metallographic cooling rates were derived by analyzing the cores of taenite grains and then measuring the distance to the nearest grain edge. Taenites were identified using backscatter imaging on a Cameca SX-50 electron microprobe. Using backscatter we were able to locate homogeneous, rust-free, nearly spherical grains. M-shaped profiles taken from grain traverses were also used to help locate the central portions of selected grains. All points which contained phosphorus above detection limits were discarded. Plots of cooling-rate data are summarized and data from the high-shock samples are presented. The lack of coherency of cooling rates for individual samples is indicative of heterogeneous cooling following shock. The data confirms the statement expressed by numerous workers that extreme care must be taken when selecting samples of L chondrites for cooling-rate studies. Data for the 6 non-Antarctic low-shock samples are also presented. The samples display a general trend in cooling rates. The lowest metamorphic grade yielded the slowest cooling rates and an increase in grade follows an increase in cooling rate. This is the opposite relationship to that predicted by the onion-shell model.

Bennett, Marvin E.↗