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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Good imaging with very fast paraboloidal primaries - An optical solution and some applications

Attention is given to the imaging performance improvement obtainable in telescopes with fast parabolic primaries by means of two-mirror correctors of the Paul-Baker type. Images with 80 percent of the energy concentrated within 0.2 arcsec are projected for an f/1 primary relaying to an f/2 final focus, over a 1 deg-diameter field. It is noted that the mechanical structure and enclosure of a large telescope built with these fast optics should be significantly smaller and less expensive than those for conventional optics. The application of the Paul-Baker corrector system is explored for such diverse telescope types as those employing six off-axis primary mirrors, UV astronomy telescopes with no chromatic aberration, a low emissivity IR astronomy instrument with an off-axis f/1 parent primary mirror part, and thin rectangular aperture telescopes which are useful for spectroscopy and photometry.

Angel, J. R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Microwave and X-ray observations of delayed brightenings at sites remote from the primary flare locations

Five examples of solar flares observed with the 17-GHz interferometer at Nobeyama in which a secondary microwave burst occurred at a distance of 100,000 km to 1,000,000 km from the primary flare site are presented. The secondary microwave burst in all five cases had a similar time profile to the primary burst with a delay of 2 to 25 s. The velocity of a triggering agent inferred from this delay and spatial separation is 10,000 km to 100,000 km/s. The intensity of the secondary burst was a factor of 3 to 25 smaller than that of the primary burst in all events except for one case in which it was a factor of 2 larger. The polarization degree of the secondary burst at 17 GHz was 35%, significantly higher than the average value for typical impulsive bursts. Two of the events were accompanied by meterwave type III/V bursts located high in the corona between the primary and secondary sites. For two of the other events, X-ray images of he secondary source were obtained with the hard-X-ray imaging spectrometer on the Solar Maximum Mission. These observations strongly suggest that the distant microwave bursts were produced by electrons with energies of 10 keV to 100 keV which were channeled along a huge loop from the main flare site to the remote location.

Nakajima, H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Cosmic-ray antimatter - A primary origin hypothesis

The present investigation is concerned with the possibility that the observed cosmic-ray protons are of primary extragalactic origin, taking into account the significance of the current antiproton data. Attention is given to questions regarding primary antiprotons, antihelium fluxes, and the propagation of extragalactic cosmic rays. It is concluded that the primary origin hypothesis should be considered as a serious alternative explanation for the cosmic-ray antiproton fluxes. Such extragalactic primary origin can be considered in the context of a baryon symmetric domain cosmology. The fluxes and propagation characteristics suggested are found to be in rough agreement with the present antiproton data.

Stecker, F. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Cosmogenic-nuclide production by primary cosmic-ray protons

The production rates of cosmogenic nuclides were calculated for the primary protons in the galactic and solar cosmic rays. At 1 AU, the long-term average fluxes of solar protons usually produce many more atoms of cosmogenic nuclide than the primary protons in the galactic cosmic rays (GCR). Because the particle fluxes inside meteorites and other large objects in space include many secondary neutrons, the production rates and ratios inside large objects are often very different from those by just the primary GCR protons. It is possible to determine if a small object, was small in space or broken from a meteorite. Because heliospherical modulation and other interactions change the GCR particle spectrum, the production of cosmogenic nuclides by the GCR particles outside the heliosphere will be different from that by modulated GCR primaries.

Reedy, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Microwave and X-ray observations of delayed brightenings at sites remote from the primary flare locations

Five examples of solar flares observed with the 17-GHz interferometer at Nobeyama in which a secondary microwave burst occurred at a distance of 100,000 km to 1,000,000 km from the primary flare site are presented. The secondary microwave burst in all five cases had a similar time profile to the primary burst with a delay of 2 to 25 s. The velocity of a triggering agent inferred from this delay and spatial separation is 10,000 km to 100,000 km/s. The intensity of the secondary burst was a factor of 3 to 25 smaller than that of the primary burst in all events except for one case in which it was a factor of 2 larger. The polarization degree of the secondary burst at 17 GHz was 35 percent, significantly higher than the average value for typical impulsive bursts. Two of the events were accompanied by meterwave type III/V bursts located high in the corona between the primary and secondary sites. For two of the other events, X-ray images of the secondary source were obtained with the hard-X-ray imaging spectrometer on the Solar Maximum Mission. These observations strongly suggest that the distant microwave bursts were produced by electrons with energies of 10 keV to 100 keV which were channeled along a huge loop from the main flare site to the remote location.

Nakajima, H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Primary quantum yields of NO2 photodissociation

The quantum yields of formation of NO, O2, and NO2 loss are measured for NO2 vapor at low pressures (0.13-0.30 torr) irradiated at 334-405 nm wavelengths and temperature in the range 273-370 K in order to study the primary quantum efficiencies of NO2 photodecomposition. The temperature and wavelength dependences of the primary quantum efficiencies are examined. It is observed that the primary quantum efficiencies increase rapidly from near zero at 424 nm to near unity for excitation at wavelengths less than 394 nm. The theory of Pitts et al. (1964) that the energy deficiency for photodissociation of NO2 excited at wavelengths greater than 397.9 nm is due to the rotational and vibrational energy of the NO2 molecules is confirmed by the data. Values for the primary quantum yields of NO2 photodecomposition as a function of wavelength are presented.

Gardner, Edward P.↗
NASA NTRS1989

A multi-sensor remote sensing approach for measuring primary production from space

It is proposed to develop a multi-sensor remote sensing method for computing marine primary productivity from space, based on the capability to measure the primary ocean variables which regulate photosynthesis. The three variables and the sensors which measure them are: (1) downwelling photosynthetically available irradiance, measured by the VISSR sensor on the GOES satellite, (2) sea-surface temperature from AVHRR on NOAA series satellites, and (3) chlorophyll-like pigment concentration from the Nimbus-7/CZCS sensor. These and other measured variables would be combined within empirical or analytical models to compute primary productivity. With this proposed capability of mapping primary productivity on a regional scale, we could begin realizing a more precise and accurate global assessment of its magnitude and variability. Applications would include supplementation and expansion on the horizontal scale of ship-acquired biological data, which is more accurate and which supplies the vertical components of the field, monitoring oceanic response to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, correlation with observed sedimentation patterns and processes, and fisheries management.

Gautier, Catherine↗
NASA NTRS1990

Primary arm spacing in directionally solidified Pb-10 wt percent Sn alloys

The dependence of primary arm spacings on growth speed was investigated for cellular and dendritic arrays in Pb-10 wt percent Sn samples directionally solidified under a constant positive thermal gradient in the melt. The gradient of constitutional supercooling was varied from almost zero (near the break-down of the planar liquid-solid interface at small growth speeds, cellular morphology) to near unity (large growth speeds, dendritic morphology). The spatial arrangements of cells and dendrites, as given by their coordination number, are not very different from each other. It appears that primary arm spacing maxima and the cell to dendrite transition are strongly influenced by the magnitude of the solute partition coefficient. The planar to cellular bifurcation is supercritical in Pb-Sn which has a high partition coefficient, as compared to the subcritical behavior reported in Al-Cu and succinonitrile-acetone, both of which have low partition coefficients. The primary arm spacing model due to Hunt agrees with the experimentally observed trend for the whole growth regime. There is a good quantitative agreement at higher gradients of supercooling. However, the model overpredicts the primary arm spacings at low gradients of constitutional supercooling.

Chopra, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Primary zone dynamics in a gas turbine combustor

Fluid mechanical investigations simulating the flow in the primary zone of a gas turbine combustor are presented using three generic test rigs: (1) rotating pipe yielding a swirling jet of air; (2) primary zone model with a single swirler and various primary jet configurations, operated with air; and (3) two rectangular models of a (stretched-out) annular combustor with five swirlers in the backwall and with various primary jet configurations, one operated with air and the other with water. Concentration measurements are obtained using laser sheet imaging techniques and velocity measurements using a laser Doppler velocimeter. The results show recirculation zones, intense mixing, instabilities of the interacting jets and the presence of large random vortical motions. The flowfields are shown to exhibit bimodal behavior, have asymmetries despite symmetrical geometry and inlet conditions and display strong jet/swirler and swirler/swirler interactions.

Sullivan, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Primary arm spacing in directionally solidified Pb-10 wt pct Sn alloys

The dependence of primary arm spacings on growth speed was investigated for cellular and dendritic arrays in Pb-10 wt percent Sn samples directionally solidified under a constant positive thermal gradient in the melt. The gradient of constitutional supercooling was varied from almost zero (near the break-down of the planar liquid-solid interface at small growth speeds, cellular morphology) to near unity (large growth speeds, dendritic morphology). The spatial arrangements of cells and dendrites, as given by their coordination number, are not very different from each other. It appears that primary arm spacing maxima and the cell to dendrite transition are strongly influenced by the magnitude of the solute partition coefficient. The planar to cellular bifurction is supercritical in Pb-Sn which has a high partition coefficient, as compared to the subcritical behavior reported in Al-Cu and succinonitrile-acetone, both of which have low partition coefficients. The primary arm spacing model due to Hunt agrees with the experimentally observed trend for the whole growth regime. There is a good quantitative agreement at higher grdients of supercooling. However, the model overpredicts the primary arm spacings at low gradients of constitutional supercooling.

Chopra, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Basin-scale estimates of oceanic primary production by remote sensing - The North Atlantic

The monthly averaged CZCS data for 1979 are used to estimate annual primary production at ocean basin scales in the North Atlantic. The principal supplementary data used were 873 vertical profiles of chlorophyll and 248 sets of parameters derived from photosynthesis-light experiments. Four different procedures were tested for calculation of primary production. The spectral model with nonuniform biomass was considered as the benchmark for comparison against the other three models. The less complete models gave results that differed by as much as 50 percent from the benchmark. Vertically uniform models tended to underestimate primary production by about 20 percent compared to the nonuniform models. At horizontal scale, the differences between spectral and nonspectral models were negligible. The linear correlation between biomass and estimated production was poor outside the tropics, suggesting caution against the indiscriminate use of biomass as a proxy variable for primary production.

Platt, Trevor↗
NASA NTRS1991

Feasibility of using a knowledge-based system concept for in-flight primary flight display research

A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using knowledge-based systems architectures for inflight research of primary flight display information management issues. The feasibility relied on the ability to integrate knowledge-based systems with existing onboard aircraft systems. And, given the hardware and software platforms available, the feasibility also depended on the ability to use interpreted LISP software with the real time operation of the primary flight display. In addition to evaluating these feasibility issues, the study determined whether the software engineering advantages of knowledge-based systems found for this application in the earlier workstation study extended to the inflight research environment. To study these issues, two integrated knowledge-based systems were designed to control the primary flight display according to pre-existing specifications of an ongoing primary flight display information management research effort. These two systems were implemented to assess the feasibility and software engineering issues listed. Flight test results were successful in showing the feasibility of using knowledge-based systems inflight with actual aircraft data.

Ricks, Wendell R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Comment on 'The remote sensing of ocean primary productivity - Use of a new data compilation to test satellite algorithms' by William Balch et al

Various conclusions by Balch et al. (1992) about the current state of modeling primary production in the sea (lack of improvement in primary production models, since 1957, utility of analytical models, and merits or weaknesses of complex models) are commented on. It is argued that since they are based on a false premise, these conclusions are not robust, and that the approach used by Balch et al. (the model of Platt and Sathyendranath, 1988) was inadequate for the question they set out to address. The present criticism is based mainly on the issue of whether implementation was correct with respect to parameter selection. It is concluded that the findings of Balch et al. with respect to the model of Platt and Sathyendranath is unreliable. Balch replies that satellite-derived estimates of primary production should be compared directly to that measured in situ in as many regions as possible. This will provide a first-order estimate of the magnitude of the error involved in estimating primary production from space.

Platt, Trevor↗
NASA NTRS1994

The effects of temporal variability of mixed layer depth on primary productivity around Bermuda

Temporal variations in primary production and surface chlorophyll concentrations, as measured by ship and satellite around Bermuda, were simulated with a numerical model. In the upper 450 m of the water column, population dynamics of a size-fractionated phytoplankton community were forced by daily changes of wind, light, grazing stress, and nutrient availability. The temporal variations of production and chlorophyll were driven by changes in nutrient introduction to the euphotic zone due to both high- and low-frequency changes of the mixed layer depth within 32 deg-34 deg N, 62 deg-64 deg W between 1979 and 1984. Results from the model derived from high-frequency (case 1) changes in the mixed layer depth showed variations in primary production and peak chlorophyll concentrations when compared with results from the model derived from low-frequency (case 2) mixed layer depth changes. Incorporation of size-fractionated plankton state variables in the model led to greater seasonal resolution of measured primary production and vertical chlorophyll profiles. The findings of this study highlight the possible inadequacy of estimating primary production in the sea from data of low-frequency temporal resolution and oversimplified biological simulations.

Bissett, W. Paul↗
NASA NTRS1994

Factors affecting the estimate of primary production from space

Remote sensing of primary production in the euphotic zone has been based mostly on visible-band and water-leaving radiance measured with the coastal zone color scanner. There are some robust, simple relationships for calculating integral production based on surface measurements, but they also require knowledge for photoadaptive parameters such as maximum photosynthesis which currently cannot be obtained from spave. A 17,000-station data set is used to show that space-based estimates of maximum photosynthesis could improve predictions of psi, the water column light utiliztion index, which is an important term in many primary productivity models. Temperature is also examined as a factor for predicting hydrographic structure and primary production. A simple model is used to relate temperature and maximum photosynthesis; the model incorporates (1) the positive relationship between maximum photosynthesis and temperature and (2) the strongly negative relationship between temperature and nitrate in the ocean (which directly affects maximum growth rates via nitrogen limitation). Since these two factors relate to carbon and nitrogen, 'balanced carbon/nitrogen assimilation' was calculated using the Redfield ratio, It is expected that the relationship between maximum balanced carbon assimilation versus temperature is concave-down, with the peak dependent on nitrate uptake kinetics, temperature-nitrate relationships,a nd the carbon chlorophyll ration. These predictions were compared with the sea truth data. The minimum turnover time for nitrate was also calculated using this approach. Lastly, sea surface temperature gradients were used to predict the slope of isotherms (a proxy for the slope of isopycnals in many waters). Sea truth data show that at size scales of several hundred kilometers, surface temperature gradients can provide information on the slope of isotherms in the top 200 m of the water column. This is directly relevant to the supply of nutrients into the surface mixed layer, which is useful for predicting integral biomass and primary production.

Balch, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1998

SeaWiFS Technical Report Series: Satellite Primary Productivity Data and Algorithm Development: A Science Plan for Mission to Planet Earth - Volume 42

Two issues regarding primary productivity, as it pertains to the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Program and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) are presented in this volume. Chapter 1 describes the development of a science plan for deriving primary production for the world ocean using satellite measurements, by the Ocean Primary Productivity Working Group (OPPWG). Chapter 2 presents discussions by the same group, of algorithm classification, algorithm parameterization and data availability, algorithm testing and validation, and the benefits of a consensus primary productivity algorithm.

Falkowski, Paul G.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Survey of Primary Flow Measurement Parameters at the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel

An assessment of the methods and locations used to measure the primary flow conditions in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel was conducted during calibration activities following the facility conversion from a Freon-12 heavy-gas test medium to R-134a. A survey of stagnation pressure, plenum static pressure, and stagnation temperature was undertaken at many pertinent locations in the settling chamber, plenum, and contraction section of the wind tunnel and these measurements were compared to those of the existing primary flow measurement systems. Local flow velocities were measured in the settling chamber using a pitot probe. Results illustrate that small discrepancies exist between measured primary tunnel flow conditions and the survey measurements. These discrepancies in tunnel stagnation pressure, plenum pressure, and stagnation temperature were found to be approximately +/- 1-3 psf and 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit. The propagation of known instrument errors in measured primary flow conditions and its impact on tunnel Mach number, dynamic pressure, flow velocity, and Reynolds number have been investigated analytically and shown to require careful attention when considering the uncertainty in measured test section conditions.

Piatak, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Spatiotemporal processing of linear acceleration: primary afferent and central vestibular neuron responses

Spatiotemporal convergence and two-dimensional (2-D) neural tuning have been proposed as a major neural mechanism in the signal processing of linear acceleration. To examine this hypothesis, we studied the firing properties of primary otolith afferents and central otolith neurons that respond exclusively to horizontal linear accelerations of the head (0.16-10 Hz) in alert rhesus monkeys. Unlike primary afferents, the majority of central otolith neurons exhibited 2-D spatial tuning to linear acceleration. As a result, central otolith dynamics vary as a function of movement direction. During movement along the maximum sensitivity direction, the dynamics of all central otolith neurons differed significantly from those observed for the primary afferent population. Specifically at low frequencies (</=0.5 Hz), the firing rate of the majority of central otolith neurons peaked in phase with linear velocity, in contrast to primary afferents that peaked in phase with linear acceleration. At least three different groups of central response dynamics were described according to the properties observed for motion along the maximum sensitivity direction. "High-pass" neurons exhibited increasing gains and phase values as a function of frequency. "Flat" neurons were characterized by relatively flat gains and constant phase lags (approximately 20-55 degrees ). A few neurons ("low-pass") were characterized by decreasing gain and phase as a function of frequency. The response dynamics of central otolith neurons suggest that the approximately 90 degrees phase lags observed at low frequencies are not the result of a neural integration but rather the effect of nonminimum phase behavior, which could arise at least partly through spatiotemporal convergence. Neither afferent nor central otolith neurons discriminated between gravitational and inertial components of linear acceleration. Thus response sensitivity was indistinguishable during 0.5-Hz pitch oscillations and fore-aft movements. The fact that otolith-only central neurons with "high-pass" filter properties exhibit semicircular canal-like dynamics during head tilts might have important consequences for the conclusions of previous studies of sensory convergence and sensorimotor transformations in central vestibular neurons.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗