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At least 541 records · Page 30

A thermodynamic model of the Hg(0.8)Cd(0.2)Te-iodine transport system. I - Te-saturated source material. II - Source material composition within the homogeneity range

A thermochemical analysis of the Hg(0.8)Cd(0.2)Te-iodine vapor transport system is presented, and theoretical calculations of diffusion-controlled mass transport rates are made. The predicted mass fluxes are compared with experimental data obtained from transport experiments under vertical, stabilizing conditions reported earlier and with results of additional transport experiments conducted during the present study. Experimental mass transport rate studies of the transport system for fixed amount of excess Hg as a function of transport agent pressure are presented. The mass fluxes are determined for the vertical, stabilizing orientation of the density gradient relative to the gravitational vector. In order to compare experimental mass transport rates with computed values, the thermochemical analysis is extended to take the formation of Hg vacancies in the above compound into account along with their effect on the partial pressure of the system.

Chandra, D.↗

Thermal barrier coating life-prediction model development

The primary objective of this program was to develop an operative thermal barrier coating (TBC) design model for life prediction. The objective was successfully accomplished with the development, calibration, and demonstration of a mechanistic thermochemical model which rapidly predicts TBC life as a function of engine, mission, and materials system parameters. This thermochemical design model accounts for the three operative TBC damage modes (bond coating oxidation, zirconia toughness reduction, and molten salt film damage), which all contribute to spalling of the insulating zirconia layer.

Strangman, T. E.↗

Venus volcanism: Rate estimates from laboratory studies of sulfur gas-solid reactions

Thermochemical reactions between sulfur-bearing gases in the atmosphere of Venus and calcium-, iron-, magnesium-, and sulfur-bearing minerals on the surface of Venus are an integral part of a hypothesized cycle of thermochemical and photochemical reactions responsible for the maintenance of the global sulfuric acid cloud cover on Venus. SO2 is continually removed from the Venus atmosphere by reaction with calcium bearing minerals on the planet's surface. The rate of volcanism required to balance SO2 depletion by reactions with calcium bearing minerals on the Venus surface can therefore be deduced from a knowledge of the relevant gas-solid reaction rates combined with reasonable assumptions about the sulfur content of the erupted material (gas + magma). A laboratory program was carried out to measure the rates of reaction between SO2 and possible crustal minerals on Venus. The reaction of CaCO3(calcite) + SO2 yields CaSO4 (anhydrite) + CO was studied. Brief results are given.

Ehlers, K.↗

The applications of chemical thermodynamics and chemical kinetics to planetary atmospheres research

A review of the applications of chemical thermodynamics and chemical kinetics to planetary atmospheres research during the past four decades is presented with an emphasis on chemical equilibrium models and thermochemical kinetics. Several current problems in planetary atmospheres research such as the origin of the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets, atmosphere-surface interactions on Venus and Mars, deep mixing in the atmospheres of the gas giant planets, and the origin of the atmospheres of outer planet satellites all require laboratory data on the kinetics of thermochemical reactions for their solution.

Fegley, Bruce, Jr.↗

Chemical heterogeneity and imperfect mixing in the solar nebula

The 'standard' accretion-disk model of the solar nebula is examined together with its basic equations, which are solved for the steady-state case. It is shown that, for this model of the solar nebula, the efficiency of mixing the products of thermochemical processing from small to large disk radii depends not on the magnitude of the eddy diffusivity but only on the ratio k between the eddy diffusivity and the eddy viscosity. In most cases, this ratio k is probably of order of unity or less, implying that most of the solar nebula was not contaminated by the consequences of thermochemical equilibria that were established at 'small' disk radii. It is noted that, while this condition is almost certainly satisfied if the physical process responsible for viscosity is thermal convection or waves, it has uncertain validity during the early phases of disk evolution where accretion-induced shear instabilities may dominate.

Stevenson, David J.↗

Computational equations for radiating and ablating shock layers

The computational equations governing the shock-layer flowfield over a blunt body dominated by radiation and ablation are derived. The flowfield considered is that expected around the vehicles entering the atmosphere of the planet Mars or the earth on return from Mars on a sprint-type manned mission. To determine the appropriate method of approach, the radiative transfer calculations are made first using the existing computer code RASLE (Nicolet et al., 1978), which uses the assumption of equilibrium and a coarse spectral band model for radiative transfer, and the code NONEQ which accounts for thermochemical nonequilibrium and carries out line-by-line calculation of radiation. By comparing the results, it is concluded that a thermochemical nonequilibrium model and a line-by-line spectral model must be used.

Park, Chul↗

Computational aerothermodynamics

Computational aerothermodynamics concerns the coupling of real gas effects with equations of motion to include thermochemical rate processes for chemical and energy exchange phenomena. These processes concern the creation and destruction of gas species by chemical reactions and the transfer of energy between the various species and between the various energy modes (e.g., translation, rotation, vibration, ionization, dissociation/recombination, etc.) of the species. To gain some insight into when such phenomena occur for current and future aerospace flight vehicles the author shows the flight regimes of some typical vehicles (e.g., Concord, aerospace plane, Space Shuttle, associated space transfer vehicles, Apollo entry vehicle, etc.) in terms of flight altitude and flight speed. Also indicated are regimes where chemical reactions such as dissociation and ionization are important and where nonequilibrium thermochemical phenomena are important.

Deiwert, George S.↗

Review of a code development and calibration program in support of the aeroassist flight experiment

The code development and calibration program for the Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm (LAURA) is reviewed, with emphasis directed toward support of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment (AFE). The flight project is designed to obtain data which will be used in the validation of computational fluid dynamic approximation methods. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical simulation focus on perfect-gas tests over a scale model of the AFE and on flight and ground tests which challenge some aspect of the thermochemical nonequilibrium model. In the first case, the gas model is simple, but the grid-related problems of defining the real vehicle are present. In the second case, the vehicle geometries are simple, but thermochemical processes must be modeled correctly in order to compare with the experimental data. These comparisons are described as calibration runs because they test elements of the numerical simulation, but no single data set adequately simulates the full-scale AFE flight conditions. Comparisons between computation and experiment over a broad range of data sets show generally good agreement, though some aspects of the numerical model require further development.

Gnoffo, Peter A.↗

Development and application of computational aerothermodynamics flowfield computer codes

Presented is a collection of papers on research activities carried out during the funding period of October 1991 to March 1992. Topics covered include: blunt body flows in thermochemical equilibrium; thermochemical relaxation in high enthalpy nozzle flow; single expansion ramp nozzle simulations; lunar return aerobraking; line boundary problem for three dimensional grids; and unsteady shock induced combustion.

Venkatapathy, Ethiraj↗

Analysis of thermo-chemical nonequilibrium models for carbon dioxide flows

The aerothermodynamics of thermochemical nonequilibrium carbon dioxide flows is studied. The chemical kinetics models of McKenzie and Park are implemented in separate three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics codes. The codes incorporate a five-species gas model characterized by a translational-rotational and a vibrational temperature. Solutions are obtained for flow over finite length elliptical and circular cylinders. The computed flowfields are then employed to calculate Mach-Zehnder interferograms for comparison with experimental data. The accuracy of the chemical kinetics models is determined through this comparison. Also, the methodology of the three-dimensional thermochemical nonequilibrium code is verified by the reproduction of the experiments.

Rock, Stacey G.↗

The rate of chemical weathering of pyrite on the surface of Venus

This abstract reports results of an experimental study of the chemical weathering of pyrite (FeS2) under Venus-like conditions. This work, which extends the earlier study by Fegley and Treiman, is part of a long range research program to experimentally measure the rates of thermochemical gas-solid reactions important in the atmospheric-lithospheric sulfur cycle on Venus. The objectives of this research are (1) to measure the kinetics of thermochemical gas-solid reactions responsible for both the production (e.g., anhydrite formation) and destruction (e.g., pyrrhotite oxidation) of sulfur-bearing minerals on the surface of Venus and (2) to incorporate these and other constraints into holistic models of the chemical interactions between the atmosphere and surface of Venus. Experiments were done with single crystal cubes of natural pyrite (Navajun, Logrono, Spain) that were cut and polished into slices of known weight and surface area. The slices were isothermally heated at atmospheric pressure in 99.99 percent CO2 (Coleman Instrument Grade) at either 412 C (685 K) or 465 C (738 K) for time periods up to 10 days. These two isotherms correspond to temperatures at about 6 km and 0 km altitude, respectively, on Venus. The reaction rate was determined by measuring the weight loss of the reacted slices after removal from the furnace. The reaction products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy on the SEM.

Fegley, B., Jr.↗

Development and application of computational aerothermodynamics flowfield computer codes

Research was performed in the area of computational modeling and application of hypersonic, high-enthalpy, thermo-chemical nonequilibrium flow (Aerothermodynamics) problems. A number of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) codes were developed and applied to simulate high altitude rocket-plume, the Aeroassist Flight Experiment (AFE), hypersonic base flow for planetary probes, the single expansion ramp model (SERN) connected with the National Aerospace Plane, hypersonic drag devices, hypersonic ramp flows, ballistic range models, shock tunnel facility nozzles, transient and steady flows in the shock tunnel facility, arc-jet flows, thermochemical nonequilibrium flows around simple and complex bodies, axisymmetric ionized flows of interest to re-entry, unsteady shock induced combustion phenomena, high enthalpy pulsed facility simulations, and unsteady shock boundary layer interactions in shock tunnels. Computational modeling involved developing appropriate numerical schemes for the flows on interest and developing, applying, and validating appropriate thermochemical processes. As part of improving the accuracy of the numerical predictions, adaptive grid algorithms were explored, and a user-friendly, self-adaptive code (SAGE) was developed. Aerothermodynamic flows of interest included energy transfer due to strong radiation, and a significant level of effort was spent in developing computational codes for calculating radiation and radiation modeling. In addition, computational tools were developed and applied to predict the radiative heat flux and spectra that reach the model surface.

Venkatapathy, Ethiraj↗

Chemical models of the deep atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn

New and updated chemical kinetic data, elemental abundances, and thermodynamic data are used for thermochemical equilibrium and, where relevant, thermochemical kinetic calculations of gas abundances and condensate stability in the hot, deep atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. Over 2000 compounds of all naturally occurring elements in the periodic table are considered. The calculations range from 298 to 2000 K and are done for adiabatic models of the two planetary atmospheres. The results predict the abundances of many gases which are potentially observable by the Galileo probe to Jupiter, by the Cassini mission to Saturn, and by Earth-based and Earth-orbital telescopes. In addition, the results also predict many new species which are potentially observable by a new generation of entry probes capable of penetrating deeper into the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn.

Fegley, Bruce, Jr.↗

The stability of hibonite, melilite and other aluminous phases in silicate melts: Implications for the origin of hibonite-bearing inclusions from carbonaceous chondrites

Phase fields in which hibonite and silicate melt coexist with spinel CaAl4O7, gehlenitic melilite, anorthite or corundum at 1 bar in the system CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-TiO2 were determined. The hibonites contain up to 1.7 wt% SiO2. For TiO2, the experimentally determined partition coefficients between hibonite and coexisting melt D(sub i)(sup Hib/L), vary from 0.8 to 2.1 and generally decrease with increasing TiO2 in the liquid. Based on Ti partitioning between hibonite and melt, bulk inclusion compositions and hibonite-saturated liquidus phase diagrams, the hibonite in hibonite-poor fluffy Type A inclusions from Allende and at least some hibonite from hibonite-rich inclusions is relict, although much of the hibonite from hibonite-glass spherules probably crystallized metasably from a melt. Bulk compositions for all of these CAIs are consistent with an origin as melite + hibonite + spinel + perovskite phase assembalges that were partially altered and in some cases partially or completely melted. The duration of the melting event was sufficient to remove any Na introduced by the alteration process but frequently insufficient to dissolve all of the original hibonite. Simple thermochemical models developed for meteoritic melilite and hibonite solid solutions were used to obtain equilibration temperatures of hibonite-bearing phase assemblages with vapor. Referenced to 10(exp -3) atm, hibonite + corundum + vapor equilibrated at approximately 1260 C and hibonite + spinel +/- melilite + vapor at 1215 +/- 10 C. If these temperatures reflect condensation in a cooling gas of solar composition, then hibonite +/- corundum condensed first, followed by spinel and then melilite. The position of perovskite within this sequence is uncertain, but it probably began to condense before spinel. This sequence of phase appearances and relative temperatures is generally consistent with observed textures but differs from expectations based on classical condensation calculations in that equilibration temperatures are generally lower than predicted and melilite initially condenses with or even after spinel. Simple thermochemical modes for the substitution of trace elements into the Ca site of meteoritic hibonites suggest that virtually all Eu is divalent in early condensate hibonites but that Eu(2+)/Eu(#+) decreases by a factor of 20 or more during the course of condensation primarily because the ratio is proportional to the partial pressure of Al, which decreases dramatically as aluminous phase condense. The relative sizes of Eu and Yb anomalies in meteoritic hibonites and inclusions may be partly due to this effect.

Beckett, J. R.↗

Mass spectrometer measurements of test gas composition in a shock tunnel

Shock tunnels afford a means of generating hypersonic flow at high stagnation enthalpies, but they have the disadvantage that thermochemical effects make the composition of the test flow different to that of ambient air. The composition can be predicted by numerical calculations of the nozzle flow expansion, using simplified thermochemical models and, in the absence of experimental measurements, it has been necessary to accept the results given by these calculations. This note reports measurements of test gas composition, at stagnation enthalpies up to 12.5 MJ.kg(exp -1), taken with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Limited results have been obtained in previous measurements. These were taken at higher stagnation enthalpies, and used a quadruple mass spectrometer. The time-of-flight method was preferred here because it enabled a number of complete mass spectra to be obtained in each test, and because it gives good mass resolution over the range of interest with air (up to 50 a.m.a.).

Skinner, K. A.↗

Experimental Studies on Mass Transport of Cadmium-Zinc Telluride by Physical Vapor Transport

Experimental studies on mass transport of ternary compound, Cd(1-x)Zn(x)Te by physical vapor transport (PVT) for source compositions up to X = 0.21 are presented. The effect of thermochemical (temperatures, vapor composition) and other factors (preparation of the source, crystal growth rate, temperature gradient) on composition and composition profiles of the grown crystals were investigated. A steep decrease in the mass flux with an increase in X(crystal) for X less than 0.1, and a difference in composition between the source and the deposited material have been observed. The composition profiles of the crystals were found to depend on the density and pretreatment of the source, and on the temperature gradient in the source zone. The homogeneity of the crystals improves at low undercoolings and/or when an appropriate excess of metal constituents is present in the vapor phase. The experimental results are in good agreement with our thermochemical model of this system.

Palosz, W.↗

Ca-Rich Carbonate Melts: A Regular-Solution Model, with Applications to Carbonatite Magma + Vapor Equilibria and Carbonate Lavas on Venus

A thermochemical model of the activities of species in carbonate-rich melts would be useful in quantifying chemical equilibria between carbonatite magmas and vapors and in extrapolating liquidus equilibria to unexplored PTX. A regular-solution model of Ca-rich carbonate melts is developed here, using the fact that they are ionic liquids, and can be treated (to a first approximation) as interpenetrating regular solutions of cations and of anions. Thermochemical data on systems of alkali metal cations with carbonate and other anions are drawn from the literature; data on systems with alkaline earth (and other) cations and carbonate (and other) anions are derived here from liquidus phase equilibria. The model is validated in that all available data (at 1 kbar) are consistent with single values for the melting temperature and heat of fusion for calcite, and all liquidi are consistent with the liquids acting as regular solutions. At 1 kbar, the metastable congruent melting temperature of calcite (CaCO3) is inferred to be 1596 K, with (Delta)bar-H(sub fus)(calcite) = 31.5 +/- 1 kJ/mol. Regular solution interaction parameters (W) for Ca(2+) and alkali metal cations are in the range -3 to -12 kJ/sq mol; W for Ca(2+)-Ba(2+) is approximately -11 kJ/sq mol; W for Ca(2+)-Mg(2+) is approximately -40 kJ/sq mol, and W for Ca(2+)-La(3+) is approximately +85 kJ/sq mol. Solutions of carbonate and most anions (including OH(-), F(-), and SO4(2-)) are nearly ideal, with W between 0(ideal) and -2.5 kJ/sq mol. The interaction of carbonate and phosphate ions is strongly nonideal, which is consistent with the suggestion of carbonate-phosphate liquid immiscibility. Interaction of carbonate and sulfide ions is also nonideal and suggestive of carbonate-sulfide liquid immiscibility. Solution of H2O, for all but the most H2O-rich compositions, can be modeled as a disproportionation to hydronium (H3O(+)) and hydroxyl (OH(-)) ions with W for Ca(2+)-H3O(+) (approximately) equals 33 kJ/sq mol. The regular-solution model of carbonate melts can be applied to problems of carbonatite magma + vapor equilibria and of extrapolating liquidus equilibria to unstudied systems. Calculations on one carbonatite (the Husereau dike, Oka complex, Quebec, Canada) show that the anion solution of its magma contained an OH mole fraction of (approximately) 0.07, although the vapor in equilibrium with the magma had P(H2O) = 8.5 x P(CO2). F in carbonatite systems is calculated to be strongly partitioned into the magma (as F(-)) relative to coexisting vapor. In the Husereau carbonatite magma, the anion solution contained an F(-) mole fraction of (approximately) 6 x 10(exp -5).

Treiman, Allan H.↗

Kinetics and Thermochemistry of the Cl((sup 2)P(sub J)) + C2Cl4 Association Reaction

A laser flash photolysis-resonance fluorescence technique has been employed to study the kinetics of the Cl(sup 2)P(sub j) + C2Cl4 association reaction as a function of temperature (231-390 K) and pressure (3-700 Torr) in nitrogen buffer gas. The reaction is found to be in the falloff regime between third and second order over the range of conditions investigated, although the second-order limit is approached at the highest pressures and lowest temperatures. At temperatures below 300 K, the association reaction is found to be irreversible on the experimental time scale of approximately 20 m-s. The kinetic data at T is less than 300 K have been employed to obtain falloff parameters in a convenient format for atmospheric modeling. At temperatures above 330 K, reversible addition is observed, thus allowing equilibrium constants for C2Cl5 formation and dissociation to be determined. Second- and third-law analyses of the equilibrium data lead to the following thermochemical parameters for the association reaction: Delta-H(298) = -18.1 +/- 1.3 kcal/mol, Delta-H(0) = -17.6 +/- 1.3 kcal/mol, and Delta-S(298) = -27.7 +/- 3.0 cal/mol.K. In conjunction with the well-known heats of formation of Cl((sup 2)P(sub j)) and C2Cl4 the above Delta-H values lead to the following heats of formation for C2Cl5, at 298 and 0 K: Delta-H(f,298) = 8.0 +/- 1.3 kcal/mol and Delta-H(f,0) = 8.1 +/- 1.5 kcal/mol. The kinetic and thermochemical parameters reported above are compared with other reported values, and the significance of reported association rate coefficients for understanding tropospheric chlorine chemistry is discussed.

Nicovich, J. M.↗