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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 541 records · Page 30

LOX vaporization in high-pressure, hydrogen-rich gas

LOX droplet vaporization in high-pressure hydrogen-rich gas is analyzed, with special attention to thermodynamic effects which compel the surface to heat to the critical state and to supercritical vaporization processes on heating to criticality. Subcritical vaporization is modeled using a quasi-steady diffusion-controlled gas-phase transport formulation coupled to an effective-conductivity internal-energy-transport model accounting for circulation effects. It is demonstrated how the droplet surface might heat to the critical state, for ambient pressures slightly greater than the critical pressure of oxygen, such that the bulk of propellant within the droplet remains substantially below the critical mixing temperature.

Litchford, Ron J.↗

A theoretical study of non-adiabatic surface effects for a model in the NTF cryogenic wind tunnel

A theoretical analysis was made of the severity and effect of nonadiabatic surface conditions for a model in the NTF cryogenic wind tunnel. The nonadiabatic condition arises from heaters that are used to maintain a constant thermal environment for instrumentation internal to the model. The analysis was made for several axi-symmetric representations of a fuselage cavity, using a finite element heat conduction code. Potential flow and boundary layer codes were used to calculate the convection condition for the exterior surface of the model. The results of the steady state analysis show that it is possible to maintain the surface temperature very near the adiabatic value, with the judicious use of insulating material. Even for the most severe nonadiabatic condition studied, the effects on skin friction drag and displacement thickness were only marginally significant. The thermal analysis also provided an estimate of the power required to maintain a specified cavity temperature.

Macha, J. M.↗

Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Electronic Structures of Lanthanide Indium Perovskites LnInO 3

Ternary lanthanide indium oxides LnInO 3 (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm) were synthesized by high-temperature solid-state reaction and characterized by Xray powder diffraction. Rietveld refinement of the powder patterns showed the LnInO 3 materials to be orthorhombic perovskites belonging to the space group Pnma, based on almost-regular InO 6 octahedra and highly distorted LnO 12 polyhedra. Experimental structural data were compared with results from density functional theory (DFT) calculations employing a hybrid Hamiltonian. Valence region X-ray photoelectron and K-shell X-ray emission and absorption spectra of the LnInO 3 compounds were simulated with the aid of the DFT calculations. Photoionization of lanthanide 4f orbitals gives rise to a complex final-state multiplet structure in the valence region for the 4f n compounds PrInO 3 , NdInO 3 , and SmInO 3 , and the overall photoemission spectral profiles were shown to be a superposition of final-state 4f n-1 terms onto the cross-section weighted partial densities of states from the other orbitals. The occupied 4f states are stabilized in moving across the series Pr-Nd-Sm. Band gaps were measured using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. These results demonstrated that the band gap of LaInO 3 is 4.32 eV, in agreement with DFT calculations. This is significantly larger than a band gap of 2.2 eV first proposed in 1967 and based on the idea that In 4d states lie above the top of the O 2p valence band. However, both DFT and X-ray spectroscopy show that In 4d is a shallow core level located well below the bottom of the valence band. Band gaps greater than 4 eV were observed for NdInO 3 and SmInO 3 , but a lower gap of 3.6 eV for PrInO 3 was shown to arise from the occupied Pr 4f states lying above the main O 2p valence band.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Lunar thermal history revisited.

New information is used to demonstrate that better models for the thermal history of the moon are required. As a first step, account is taken of (1) a nonuniform initial composition in terms of fraction of low melting to high melting phase present, and for variation in the uranium, potassium, and thorium contents as a function of depth, (2) partitioning of the radioactive elements between the melt and the solid phases, and (3) a cutoff value of melt which must be exceeded before magma can move to the surface. The results of several attempts to determine whether reasonable conditions, composition, and thermal properties can be expected to give rise to two separate periods of volcanism are discussed. Two models with somewhat different distributions of radioactive heat sources and different conductivities are examined.

Mcconnell, R. K., Jr.↗

Thermal inertia mapping

A thermal model of the earth's surface has been developed and used to determine the thermal inertia of a test site in the Mojave Desert, California. The model, which includes meteorological heating terms as well as radiation and conduction heating terms, is used with remotely sensed surface temperature data to determine thermal inertia of materials. The thermal inertia is displayed in image form, and can aid in the differentiation of the various lithologic materials in the test site.

Kahle, A. B.↗

Thermal inertia imaging - A new geologic mapping tool

A thermal model of the earth's surface has been developed and used to determine the thermal inertia of a test site in the Mojave Desert, California. The model, which includes meteorological heating terms as well as radiation and conduction heating terms, is used with remotely sensed surface temperature and reflectance data to determine the thermal inertia of the surface materials at the test site. The thermal inertia is displayed in image form, and can aid in the differentiation of the various lithologic materials in the test site. Since this thermal property is representative of the upper several cm of the surface, it complements visible and reflected near-IR image data.

Kahle, A. B.↗

Buoyant subduction on Venus: Implications for subduction around coronae

Potentially low lithospheric densities, caused by high Venus surface and perhaps mantle temperatures, could inhibit the development of negative buoyancy-driven subduction and a global system of plate tectonics/crustal recycling on that planet. No evidence for a global plate tectonic system was found so far, however, specific features strongly resembling terrestrial subduction zones in planform and topographic cross-section were described, including trenches around large coronae and chasmata in eastern Aphrodite Terra. The cause for the absence, or an altered expression, of plate tectonics on Venus remains to be found. Slab buoyancy may play a role in this difference, with higher lithospheric temperatures and a tendency toward positive buoyancy acting to oppose the descent of slabs and favoring under thrusting instead. The effect of slab buoyancy on subduction was explored and the conditions which would lead to under thrusting versus those allowing the formation of trenches and self-perpetuating subduction were defined. Applying a finite element code to assess the effects of buoyant forces on slabs subducting into a viscous mantle, it was found that mantle flow induced by horizontal motion of the convergent lithosphere greatly influences subduction angle, while buoyancy forces produce a lesser effect. Induced mantle flow tends to decrease subduction angle to near an under thrusting position when the subducting lithosphere converges on a stationary overriding lithosphere. When the overriding lithosphere is in motion, as in the case of an expanding corona, subduction angles are expected to increase. An initial stage involved estimating the changes in slab buoyancy due to slab healing and pressurization over the course of subduction. Modeling a slab, descending at a fixed angle and heated by conduction, radioactivity, and the heat released in phase changes, slab material density changes due to changing temperature, phase, and pressure were derived.

Burt, J. D.↗

An Integrated Tool for the Coupled Thermal and Mechanical Analysis of Pyrolyzing Heatshield Materials

Materials that pyrolyze at elevated temperature have been commonly used as thermal protection materials in hypersonic flight, and advanced pyrolyzing materials for this purpose continue to be developed. Because of the large temperature gradients that can arise in thermal protection materials, significant thermal stresses can develop. Advanced applications of pyrolytic materials are calling for more complex heatshield configurations, making accurate thermal stress analysis more important, and more challenging. For non-pyrolyzing materials, many finite element codes are available and capable of performing coupled thermal-mechanical analyses. These codes do not, however, have a built-in capability to perform analyses that include pyrolysis effects. When a pyrolyzing material is heated, one or more components of the original virgin material pyrolyze and create a gas. This gas flows away from the pyrolysis zone to the surface, resulting in a reduction in surface heating. A porous residue, referred to as char, remains in place of the virgin material. While the processes involved can be complex, it has been found that a simple physical model in which virgin material reacts to form char and pyrolysis gas, will yield satisfactory analytical results. Specifically, the effects that must be modeled include: (1) Variation of thermal properties (density, specific heat, thermal conductivity) as the material composition changes; (2) Energy released or absorbed by the pyrolysis reactions; (3) Energy convected by the flow of pyrolysis gas from the interior to the surface; (4) The reduction in surface heating due to surface blowing; and (5) Chemical and mass diffusion effects at the surface between the pyrolysis gas and edge gas Computational tools for the one-dimensional thermal analysis these materials exist and have proven to be reliable design tools. The objective of the present work is to extend the analysis capabilities of pyrolyzing materials to axisymmetric configurations, and to couple thermal and mechanical analyses so that thermal stresses may be efficiently and accurately calculated.

Pronchick, Stephen W.↗

Impact of Janssen effect on thermal transport in granular flow

Using a modulated photothermal radiometry (MPR) technique capable of measuring thermal transport in particle beds, we find asymptotically increasing effective thermal conductivity and decreasing near-wall thermal resistance along gravity-driven downward granular flows through a 1-meter-long narrow vertical channel owing to the Janssen effect. The Janssen effect is confirmed by similar asymptotic trends from particle bed apparent mass measurements as well as separate MPR heat transfer measurements on stationary particle beds under compression at different heights of the channel with and without pressure screening. Furthermore, local heat transfer coefficient along the 1-meter-long channel was modeled based on measured spatially resolved thermal conductivity and near-wall thermal resistance due to the Janssen effect. This work reveals for the first time the impact of the over century-old Janssen effect on heat transfer in granular media. Furthermore, the results from this work can lead to a better understanding of heat transfer in granular flow.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

A study of filament transition sheath from radio observations

An H-alpha dark filament has been observed at 8, 15 and 22 GHz, and its radio spectrum derived. It is suggested that the filament may be optically thick at radio frequencies and that the observed spectrum may be due to the presence of a transition sheath surrounding the filament. A model is developed for the transition sheath in which the energy radiated away is balanced by the conduction of heat from the corona; the radio observations indicate that little or no thermal energy is conducted into the main body of the filament. The model is compared with ultraviolet observations of filaments.

Rao, A. P.↗

Modeling of high-latitude currents in a substorm

The currents and electric fields in the area covered by the poleward set of field-aligned currents are computed by means of a quantitative model, in which the high-latitude band considered carries most of the poleward electrojet, and lies poleward of the region covering the inner magnetosphere and corresponding ionosphere. The Birkeland current and aurorally enhanced conductivity are assumed to be uniformly distributed across the band. The time-dependent conductivity model used is based on electron fluxes and mean energies measured from the S3-2 satellite. Joule heating of the upper atmosphere was found to be about 2 x 10 to the 11th W during the substorm period. Model values for the strength of the electrojet and the amount of Joule heating agree to within about 20% with results based on a simple Cowling conductivity band.

Karty, J. L.↗

Restoration of the Apollo Heat Flow Experiments Metadata

Geothermal heat flow probes were deployed on the Apollo 15 and 17 missions as part of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). At each landing site, the astronauts drilled 2 holes, 10-m apart, and installed a probe in each. The holes were 1- and 1.5-m deep at the Apollo 15 site and 2.5-m deep at the Apollo 17 sites. The probes monitored surface temperature and subsurface temperatures at different depths. At the Apollo 15 site, the monitoring continued from July 1971 to January 1977. At the Apollo 17 site, it did from December 1972 to September 1977. Based on the observations made through December 1974, Marcus Langseth, the principal investigator of the heat flow experiments (HFE), determined the thermal conductivity of the lunar regolith by mathematically modeling how the seasonal temperature fluctuation propagated down through the regolith. He also determined the temperature unaffected by diurnal and seasonal thermal waves of the regolith at different depths, which yielded the geothermal gradient. By multiplying the thermal gradient and the thermal conductivity, Langseth obtained the endogenic heat flow of the Moon as 21 mW/m(exp 2) at Site 15 and 16 mW/m(exp 2) at Site 17.

HFE metadata↗

The response of the chromosphere during a stellar flare

A set of chromospheric models was developed, having a coronal loop geometry, energy balance through the entire loop from photosphere to corona, and a rigorous treatment of the radiative transfer in the important, optically thick, chromospheric emission lines. The models show that the soft X-ray emission and thermal conduction from a long lived hot corona are effective heating agents in the lower atmosphere during the gradual phase of stellar flares. The model predictions show the correct order of magnitude for the emission lines produced during the gradual phase of the flare with a reasonable coronal temperature evolution.

Hawley, Suzanne L.↗

Unsteady spot heating of a drop in a microgravity environment

The unsteady localized spot heating of a liquid drop under zero-g conditions is examined theoretically. This pertains to space experiments to measure thermal properties of materials and the purpose here is to predict the thermal behavior of such systems. Spot heating can be achieved by a laser beam focused on a small region of the drop surface. The present theoretical model deals with situations of weak Marangoni flows, whereby the thermal transport is conduction dominated. The heat flow in the drop is treated as unsteady while the surrounding gaseous region is considered to be quasisteady. The ensuing thermally driven flow is analyzed in the Stokes regime.

Sadhal, Satwindar Singh↗

A phenomenological model of solar flares

The energy of solar flares is derived from the magnetic energy of fields convected to the sun's surface and subsequently converted to heat and energetic particles within the chromosphere. The circumstances of this conversion in most current models is magnetic flux annihilation at a neutral sheet. An analysis is conducted of the constraints of flux annihilation. It is shown that the present evidence of solar cosmic rays, X-rays, gamma-rays, and total energy suggests a choice of annihilation not at a neutral point, but by an enhanced dissipation of a field-aligned current. The field configuration is related both to its origin and to the extensive theory and laboratory experiments concerned with this configuration in magnetic fusion. The magnetic field model is applied to the August 4 flare. It is shown how the plasma heating in the annihilation region balanced by thermal conduction leads to a plasma temperature of about 20 million deg K.

Colgate, S. A.↗

A thermal model for the seasonal nitrogen cycle on Triton

The seasonal N2-cycle model presently used to characterize such observed phenomena on Triton as atmospheric pressure and surface albedo features at the time of the Voyager encounter incorporates diurnal and seasonal subsurface heat conduction, and can account for the heat capacity of N2 frost deposits. The results obtained by this model differ from those of previous studies in that they do not predict the seasonal freezing-out of the Triton atmosphere; even for a wide range of input parameters, the bright southern polar cap is seen as rather unlikely to be N2. The results support the microphysical arguments for the presence of either dark or smooth translucent N2 frosts on the Triton surface.

Hansen, Candice J.↗

Leveraging MARVEL and SPHERE to Demonstrate NEAMS Thermal Hydraulics Codes

The Single Primary Heat Extraction and Removal Emulator (SPHERE) and Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) were utilized to demonstrate thermal hydraulics codes of the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program. A recent long-duration test of a sodium heat pipe conducted at the SPHERE facility was utilized for the validation of the heat pipe code Sockeye. The first 10 hours of operation featured a startup of the heat pipe from room temperature; this portion was modeled with Sockeye and compared to the experimental data. Measurements included several thermocouple measurements across the length of the heat pipe surface. Two of Sockeye’s heat pipe models were applied to experiment, as well as several models of the cooling at the condenser end of the heat pipe. Sockeye results gave a decent match to the experimental data, with notable discrepancy in the condenser section, where experimental data indicated a significant inactive length of the heat pipe. The MARVEL microreactor was modeled through a coupled simulation of System Analysis Module (SAM) and SubChannel Module (SCM). This multiscale coupled simulation was performed as an exercise to demonstrate the compatibility and applicability of these codes for thermal-hydraulic analysis of microreactors. The coupling between the SCM and SAM codes for multiscale modeling of MARVEL, was achieved through a domain overlapping approach. In this example a transient SAM simulation provided boundary conditions to SCM, and SCM provided pressure drop to SAM.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces in spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ systems: Model Hamiltonians and experimental consequences

Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces (BFSs) are topologically protected regions of zero energy excitations in a superconductor whose dimension equals that of the underlying normal state Fermi surface. Examples of Hamiltonians exhibiting this “ultranodal” phase are known to preserve charge-conjugation ($\textit{C}$) and parity ($\textit{P}$) but break time-reversal ($\textit{T}$). In this work, we provide examples of model Hamiltonians that do not necessarily preserve this symmetry pattern but have well-defined sign-changing Pfaffians yielding BFSs. While their topological character has not been recognized previously, some of the models we present have been extensively studied in prior literature. Here, we further examine thermodynamic and electronic properties arising from the ultranodal state. In particular, we study the effect of a weak Zeeman field close to the topological transition and propose distinguishing features of BFSs using residual specific heat and tunneling conductance. Our calculation of the superfluid density in a toy multiband model indicates a window of interband pairing strength where BFSs are stable with a positive superfluid density. We also present additional signatures of BFSs in spin-polarized spectral weight and total magnetization measurements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗