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At least 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Material tradeoffs to minimize flooding reactivity

In the GE 100 KWe SP-100 design, the array of fuel pins in the core was surrounded by a thin neutron barrier made of a mixture of Nb-1 percent Zr and 20 percent B4C. The purpose of this barrier was to prevent the return to the reactor of thermalized neutrons in the event of a reactor flooding accident. Neutronically, the barrier produced a reduction in k sub eff of 15 percent. However, a mixture of Nb-1 percent Zr and B4C is a development item and may not be possible to produce. Several alternatives to this design were investigated. These include the use of W-26 percent Re for the fuel barrier and the introduction of fuel pin ducts made of Ta-8 percent W-2 percent Hf, Hf-10 percent Nb or pure Re. The use of W-26 percent Re for the fuel barrier material in place of W, and the use of T111, Hf-10 percent Nb, or Re duct material in place of Nb-1 percent Zr or Nb-1 percent Zr-20 percent B4C were found to substantially decrease k sub eff in the flooding situation. The best choice neutronically for duct material is Hf-10 percent Nb, because of its small impact on the k sub eff of the normal core.

Protsik, R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Biological Rhythms, Sleep, and Wakefulness in Prolonged Confinement

The dysynchronization of human circadian rhythms during 7 long-term (2 to 6 months) confinement experiments in temporal isolation in caves was studied. Five subjects abandon the circadian period of sleep and wakefulness (S-W) and spontaneously reach a circabidian S-W cycle (34 to 36 hr waking, 14 to 12 hr sleep) they maintain during weeks. Some subjects reach the 48 hr cycle very quickly (8 to 15 days), others after months. Polygraphic analyses of sleep show that rapid eye movement state (REMS) duration is directly proportional to the total duration of sleep and that the ultradian periodicity of REMS remains constant when S-W cycle is circadian or circabidian. When S-W cycle desynchronizes from circadian to circabidian, REMS and S-4 increase at the expense of stages I-2 and remain in constant relationship with the duration of previous wakefulness period.

M Siffre↗
NASA NTRS1987

Tectonics of the Nazca-Antarctic plate boundary

A new bathymetric chart of part of the Chile transform system is constructed, based mainly on an R/V Endeavor survey from 100 deg W to its intersection with the East Ridge of the Juan Fernandez microplate. A generally continuous lineated trend can be followed through the entire region, with the transform valley being relatively narrow and well-defined from 109 deg W to approximately 104 deg 30 min W. The fracture zone then widens to the east, with at least two probable en echelon offsets to the south at 104 deg and 102 deg W. Six new strike-slip mechanisms along the Chile Transform and one normal fault mechanism near the northern end of the Chile Rise, inverted together with other plate-motion data from the eastern portion of the boundary, produce a new best-fit Euler pole for the Nazca-Antarctic plate pair, providing tighter constraints on the relative plate motions.

Anderson-Fontana, Sandra↗
NASA NTRS1988

Deep crustal deformation by sheath folding in the Adirondack Mountains, USA

As described by McLelland and Isachsen, the southern half of the Adirondacks are underlain by major isoclinal (F sub 1) and open-upright (F sub 2) folds whose axes are parallel, trend approximately E-W, and plunge gently about the horizontal. These large structures are themselves folded by open upright folds trending NNE (F sub 3). It is pointed out that elongation lineations in these rocks are parallel to X of the finite strain ellipsoid developed during progressive rotational strain. The parallelism between F sub 1 and F sub 2 fold axes and elongation lineations led to the hypothesis that progressive rotational strain, with a west-directed tectonic transport, rotated earlier F sub 1-folds into parallelism with the evolving elongation lineation. Rotation is accomplished by ductile, passive flow of F sub 1-axes into extremely arcuate, E-W hinges. In order to test these hypotheses a number of large folds were mapped in the eastern Adirondacks. Other evidence supporting the existence of sheath folds in the Adirondacks is the presence, on a map scale, of synforms whose limbs pass through the vertical and into antiforms. This type of outcrop pattern is best explained by intersecting a horizontal plane with the double curvature of sheath folds. It is proposed that sheath folding is a common response of hot, ductile rocks to rotational strain at deep crustal levels. The recognition of sheath folds in the Adirondacks reconciles the E-W orientation of fold axes with an E-W elongation lineation.

Mclelland, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The evolution of low ionization QSO absorption systems

A CCD spectroscopic survey of Mg II and Mg I absorption lines in a C IV selected sample of 35 metal systems, observed toward 12 QSOs between z = 1.1 and z = 2.1, is reported. Six Mg I and 10 Mg II absorption lines are detected in 33 C IV clouds, and some peculiarities are noted. The complex or asymmetric line profiles reveal that multiple components are present and that variations in the C IV/Mg II and Mg II/Mg I ratio may occur often from one component to another with a velocity separation less than the velocity resolution of about 100 km/s. Comparison with the Mg II absorption-line statistics at z-bar = 0.5 implies that, at z-bar = 1.6, there are more strong absorbers per unit z with W(2796) greater than 0.6 A and fewer weak absorbers. The evolutionary parameter gamma appears to depend on W(min): its value drops as W(min) is reduced and is negative at W(min) = 0.15 A. This suggests a different redshift evolution for the population of weak and strong Mg II absorbers.

Caulet, Adeline↗
NASA NTRS1989

Detection of 17.5-day period meridional current oscillations in the equatorial Western Pacific Ocean during 1985

The first long-term, near equatorial, near surface moored current measurements recorded in the Pacific Ocean west of 160 deg W were made at 0 deg, 150 deg E during August 2, 1985 to February 1, 1986. These data revealed 17.5-day period oscillations of the meridional current. Prior to these measurements, these waves had only been observed eastward of about 165 deg W, which also was the westernmost extent of their appearance in ocean general circulation model simulations. The 17.5-day period waves also occurred in simultaneous current measurements at 140 deg W, where the wave amplitude was 3 times greater. At both sites the 17.5-day period wave amplitude was more than 50 percent of the record-length standard deviations of the meridional current component. A wider spectral bandwidth and a smaller tendency towards rectilinear motion occurred at 150 E than at 140 W.

Halpern, David↗
NASA NTRS1989

Angular clustering properties of gamma-ray bursts and quantitative constraints on their distances

Upper limits on the angular correlation function, w(theta), of gamma-ray bursts are obtained which constrain the sources to be very nearby or very distant. The angular clustering properties of the sources in two recent gamma-ray burst catalogs (Golenetskii et al., 1986 and Atteia et al., 1987) have been derived by determining their two-point w(theta) values, and the correlations of both data sets are consistent with w(theta) = 0. It is shown that if the spatial correlation of gamma-ray bursts resembles that of galaxies or galactic clusters, present gamma-ray burst catalogs must be complete to distances in excess of 100 Mpc, while if gamma-ray bursts are associated with a Galactic disk population, then the upper limits on w(theta) constrain the sampling depth to less than two disk scale heights.

Hartmann, Dieter↗
NASA NTRS1990

A comparison of vertical velocity in cirrus obtained from aircraft and lidar divergence measurements during FIRE

Techniques are presented to obtain vertical velocity in cirrus clouds from in situ aircraft lateral wind measurements and from ground-based remote Doppler lidar measurements. The approach used is to calculate w from the integral of the divergence of the horizontal velocity around a closed path. Divergence measurements from both aircraft and Doppler lidar are discussed. The principal errors in the calculation of w from aircraft lateral wind measurements are bias in the lateral wind, ground speed errors, and error due to vertical shear of the horizontal wind. For Doppler lidar measurements the principal errors are in the estimate of mean terminal velocity and the zeroth order coefficients of the Fourier series that is fitted to the data. The technique is applied to a cirrus cloud investigated during the FIRE (First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Regional Experiment) Cirrus Intensive Field Observation Program. The results indicate that the error in w is about + or - 14 cm/s from the aircraft technique; this can be reduced to about + or - 2 to 3 cm/s with technical improvements in both ground speed and lateral velocity measurements. The error in w from Doppler lidar measurements, which is about + or - 8 cm/s, can be reduced to about + or - 5 cm/s by improvements in the Doppler velocity measurements with technology that is currently available.

Gultepe, Ismail↗
NASA NTRS1990

Pressure and current balance conditions during electron beam injections from spacecraft

Electrostatic charging level of a conducting surface in response to injections of electron beams into space plasma is investigated by means of one-dimensional Vlasov code. Injections of Maxwellian beams into a vacuum shows that the surface can charge up to an electric potential phi sub s greater than W sub b, where W sub b is the average electron beam energy. Since Maxwellian beams have extended trails with electrons having energies greater than W sub b, it is difficult to quantify the charging level in terms of the energies of the injected electrons. In order to quantitatively understand the charging in excess of W sub b, simulations were carried out for water-bag types of beam with velocity distribution functions described by f(V) = A for V sub min approx. less than V approx. less than V sub max and f(V) = O otherwise, where A is a constant making the normalized beam density unity. It is found that V sub max does not directly determine the charging level. The pressure distribution in the electron sheath determines the electric field distribution near the surface. The electric field in turn determines the electrostatic potential of the vehicle. The pressure distribution is determined by the beam parameters such as the average beam velocity and the velocity spread of the beam.

Hwang, K. S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Thermal analysis of conceptual designs for GPHS/FPSE power systems of 250 We and 500 We

Thermal analyses were performed for two distinct configurations of a proposed space nuclear power system which combines General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules with the state of the art Free-Piston Stirling Engines (FPSEs). The two configurations correspond to systems with power levels of 250 and 500 W(sub e). The 250 W(sub e) GPHS/FPSE power system utilizes four GPHS modules and one FPSE, and the 500 W(sub e) contains eight GPHS modules and two FPSEs. The configurations of the systems and the bases for selecting the configurations are described. Brief introductory sections are included to describe the GPHS modules and free piston Stirling engines. The primary focus of the thermal analyses is on the temperature of the iridium fuel clad within the GPHS modules. A design goal temperature of 1573 K was selected as the upper limit for the fuel clad during normal operating conditions. The basis for selecting this temperature limit is discussed in detail. Results obtained from thermal analysis of the 250 W(sub e) GPHS/FPSE power system indicate fuel clad temperatures which slightly exceed the design goal temperature of 1573 K. The results are considered favorable due to the numerous conservative assumptions used in developing the thermal model and performing the thermal analysis. To demonstrate the effects of the conservatism, a brief sensitivity analysis is performed in which a few of the key system parameters are varied to determine their effect on the fuel clad temperatures. It is concluded that thermal analysis of a more detailed thermal model would be expected to yield fuel clad temperatures below the design foal temperature limiy 1573 K.

Mccomas, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Plasma etching a ceramic composite

Plasma etching is found to be a superior metallographic technique for evaluating the microstructure of a ceramic matrix composite. The ceramic composite studied is composed of silicon carbide whiskers (SiC(sub W)) in a matrix of silicon nitride (Si3N4), glass, and pores. All four constituents are important in evaluating the microstructure of the composite. Conventionally prepared samples, both as-polished or polished and etched with molten salt, do not allow all four constituents to be observed in one specimen. As-polished specimens allow examination of the glass phase and porosity, while molten salt etching reveals the Si3N4 grain size by removing the glass phase. However, the latter obscures the porosity. Neither technique allows the SiC(sub W) to be distinguished from the Si3N4. Plasma etching with CF4 + 4 percent O2 selectively attacks the Si3N4 grains, leaving SiC(sub W) and glass in relief, while not disturbing the pores. An artifact of the plasma etching reaction is the deposition of a thin layer of carbon on Si3N4, allowing Si3N4 grains to be distinguished from SiC(sub W) by back scattered electron imaging.

Hull, David R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The clear-sky greenhouse effect sensitivity to a sea surface temperature change

The clear-sky greenhouse effect response to a sea surface temperature (SST or Ts) change is studied using outgoing clear-sky longwave radiation measurements from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment. Considering geographical distributions for July 1987, the relation between the SST, the greenhouse effect (defined as the outgoing infrared flux trapped by atmospheric gases), and the precipitable water vapor content (W), estimated by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager, is analyzed first. A fairly linear relation between W and the normalized greenhouse effect g, is found. On the contrary, the SST dependence of both W and g exhibits nonlinearities with, especially, a large increase for SST above 25 C. This enhanced sensitivity of g and W can be interpreted in part by a corresponding large increase of atmospheric water vapor content related to the transition from subtropical dry regions to equatorial moist regions. Using two years of data (1985 and 1986), the normalized greenhouse effect sensitivity to the sea surface temperature is computed from the interannual variation of monthly mean values.

Duvel, J. PH.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The nature of faint emission-line galaxies

One of the results of faint galaxy redshift surveys is the increased fraction of galaxies which have strong emission-line spectra. These faint surveys find that roughly 50 percent of the galaxies have an equivalent width of (OII), W sub 3727, greater than 20 A while this fraction is less than 20 percent in the DARS survey. This has been interpreted as evidence for strong evolution in the galaxy population at redshifts less than 0.5. In order to further investigate the properties of the galaxies in faint redshift surveys, two important factors must be addressed. The first is the observed correlation between color, luminosity, and W sub 3727. There is a correlation between color and the strength of emission lines, bluer galaxies having stronger emission features, as evident for Markarian galaxies and for galaxies in Kennicutt's spectrophotometric atlas. This correlation also applies galaxies in faint redshift surveys. In addition, low luminosity galaxies have a larger average W sub 3727 (and bluer colors) than higher luminosity galaxies. This is illustrated for Kennicutt's low z late-type galaxies, for the Durham Faint Surveys, and for galaxies in SA68. The second factor which must be incorporated into any interpretation of the faint emission galaxies is the different luminosity functions for galaxies depending on color. This is usually modeled by varying M* for different color classes (or morphological types); however, the shape of the luminosity function is different for galaxies with different colors. Low luminosity, blue galaxies have a much larger number density than low luminosity, red galaxies. Furthermore, the low luminosity end of the blue galaxy luminosity function is not well fit by a Schechter function. These two factors have been included in a very simple, no-evolution, model for the galaxy population. This model uses the luminosity functions from Shanks (1990) and spectral energy distributions (SED's) from Bruzual (1988). W sub 3727 is predicted using the correlation (including dispersion) with color.

Smetanka, John J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Effect of vaporization on cryogenic spray dropsize measurement

The fluid mechanics of multi-phase flow breakup of liquid nitrogen, LN2, jets injected into sonic velocity nitrogen gasflow, was experimentally investigated. A scattered-light scanning instrument was used to measure the characteristic dropsize, D(sub v.5), of LN2 sprays and to determine the effect of droplet vaporization on experimental dropsize measurements. Under sonic gas-velocity conditions, liquid-jet breakup occurred in the regime of aerodynamic stripping. As a result, the following correlation of volume-median drop diameter, D(sub v.5), with atomizing gas flowrate, W(sub g), was derived for two-fluid atomizers: (D(sub v.5)) (exp -1) = k(sub c) (W(sub g)) (sup n), where proportionally constant k(sub c) and exponent n are functions of droplet vaporization rate. Partially vaporized sprays were investigated and it was found that n = 1.11, which is considerably less than the value of 1.33 that is predicted by atomization theory. This was attributed to the evaporative loss of very small droplets. As a result, the following expression was obtained experimentally: (D(sub v.5e)) (exp -1) = 301 (W(sub g)) (sub 1.11). Values of D(sub v.5), that existed prior to partial vaporization of the LN2 sprays, were calculated and the following expression was derived for originally unvaporized LN2 sprays: (D(sub v.5)) (exp -1) = 285 (W(sub g)) (sub 1.33). This expression agrees well with atomization theory that predicts n = 1.33, for liquid jet breakup in high-velocity gasflow.

Ingebo, Robert D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The quasar proximity effect in an equivalent-width-limited sample of the Lyman-alpha forest

We have obtained a simple analytical approximation to the relationship between a rest-frame equivalent-width distribution for Ly-alpha forest absorption lines, N(W), and an H I column density distribution of the observed cloud number, N(N). Assuming a simple power-law form for N(N) proportional to N exp (1-beta), it is shown that beta = 1.4 turns out to agree fairly well with the observed form of N(W) in a broad range of column densities. We present a theoretical analysis of how the 'proximity effect' influences a W-limited sample of Ly-alpha forest lines. It is shown that this influence is considerably smaller than has been found before for a N-limited sample, for which an approximate value of beta was assumed rather than derived as has been done, for a W-limited sample, in the present paper. As a result, available observational data appear to be still consistent with the conjecture that the observed population of QSOs is the major source of the UV background at redshifts z about 2-4.

Chernomordik, Viktor V.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Design concepts of high power bipolar rechargeable lithium battery

The present study shows that current bipolar Li/TiS2 batteries using a 0.38 mm thick TiS2 bipolar plate can yield moderate specific power and also high specific energy battery. The computer design studies project that a 100 V, 10 A h bipolar Li/TiS2 battery can achieve 150 W h/kg, 210 W h/l, and 150 W/kg. The unoptimized experimental bipolar Li/TiS2 batteries (3 cells, 90 mA h) exhibited 47 W h/kg, 90 W h/l, and 140 W/kg. Preliminary results on the cycleability of the bipolar batteries are demonstrated. The results also show that enhanced rate capability can be achieved by using pulse discharge and longer rest period between pulses.

Shen, David H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A transport equation for the scalar dissipation in reacting flows with variable density: First results

Although the different regimes of premixed combustion are not well defined, most of the recent developments in turbulent combustion modeling are led in the so-called flamelet regime. The goal of these models is to give a realistic expression to the mean reaction rate (w). Several methods can be used to estimate (w). Bray and coworkers (Libby & Bray 1980, Bray 1985, Bray & Libby 1986) express the instantaneous reaction rate by means of a flamelet library and a frequency which describes the local interaction between the laminar flamelets and the turbulent flowfield. In another way, the mean reaction rate can be directly connected to the flame surface density (Sigma). This quantity can be given by the transport equation of the coherent flame model initially proposed by Marble & Broadwell 1977 and developed elsewhere. The mean reaction rate, (w), can also be estimated thanks to the evolution of an arbitrary scalar field G(x, t) = G(sub O) which represents the flame sheet. G(x, t) is obtained from the G-equation proposed by Williams 1985, Kerstein et al. 1988 and Peters 1993. Another possibility proposed in a recent study by Mantel & Borghi 1991, where a transport equation for the mean dissipation rate (epsilon(sub c)) of the progress variable c is used to determine (w). In their model, Mantel & Borghi 1991 considered a medium with constant density and constant diffusivity in the determination of the transport equation for (epsilon(sub c)). A comparison of different flamelet models made by Duclos et al. 1993 shows the realistic behavior of this model even in the case of constant density. Our objective in this present report is to present preliminary results on the study of this equation in the case of variable density and variable diffusivity. Assumptions of constant pressure and a Lewis number equal to unity allow us to significantly simplify the equation. A systematic order of magnitude analysis based on adequate scale relations is performed on each term of the equation. As in the case of constant density and constant diffusivity, the effects of stretching of the scalar field by the turbulent strain field, of local curvature, and of chemical reactions are predominant. In this preliminary work, we suggest closure models for certain terms, which will be validated after comparisons with DNS data.

Mantel, T.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Stability and stability degree of a cracked flexible rotor supported on journal bearings

This paper investigates the stability and the stability degree of a flexible cracked rotor supported on different kinds of journal bearings. It is found that no matter what kind of bearings is used, the unstable zones caused by rotor crack locate always within the speed ratio (2/N) (1 - Delta K(sub xi)/4) is less than Omega is less than 2/N when gravity parameter W(sub R) is greater than 1.0, and locate always within the speed ratio (2 Omega(sub alpha)/N) (1 - Delta K(sub xi)/4) is less than Omega is less than 2 Omega(sub alpha)/N when W(sub R) is less than 0.1, where Delta K(sub xi) is the crack stiffness ratio, N = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ..., and Omega(sub alpha) = ((1 + 2 alpha)/2 alpha)(exp 1/2). When 0.1 is less than W(sub R) is less than 1.0, there is a region where no unstable zones caused by rotor crack exist. Outside the crack ridge zones, the rotor crack has almost no influence on system's stability and stability degree; while within the crack ridge zones, the stability and stability degree depend both on the crack and system's parameters. In some cases, the system may still be stable even when the crack is very large. For small gravity parameter (W(sub R) is less than 0.1), the mass ratio alpha has large influence on the position of unstable region, but its influence on the stability degree is small. The influence of fixed Sommerfeld number S(sub 0) on the crack stability degree is small although S(sub 0) has large influence on the stability degree of uncracked rotor.

Meng, Guang↗