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At least 613 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

A Multidisciplinary Modeling Approach of Plant Gas Exchange in Reduced Gravity Environments

In-situ food production is a necessary step for human exploration of the solar system and requires a deep understanding of plant growth in reduced gravity environments. In particular, the lack of buoyancy-driven convection changes the gas exchange at the leaf surface, which decreases photosynthesis and transpiration rates, and ultimately biomass production. To understand the intricate relations between physical, chemical, and biochemical processes, the following methodology combines the development of a mechanistic model of plant growth in reduced gravity environments, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, and experiments in different time frames.The model presented here is a coupled mass and energy balance using the single round leaf assumption, including gravity as an entry parameter, and the leaf surface temperature as an output variable. Measures of the leaf surface temperature using infra-red cameras allow for a computation of the transpiration rate. This approach was followed to design a parabolic flight experiment, which performed 7 flights, and enabled data collection for model validation in different gravity and ventilation settings on a short time frame. Current measures of carbon assimilation and transpiration rate at the leaf and canopy level using an infra-red gas analyzer (Li-6800) in 1g lab conditions on several species will enable a validation on longer time frames and further calibration of the model. CFD studies both on the parabolic flight and on the lab experimental set-up allow the precise assessment of ventilation above the canopy and plants' leaves.Ultimately, this work will provide recommendations for the design of future plant growth hardware, especially on the lowest adequate ventilation for optimal plant growth in reduced gravity environments, as well as assessing biomass and oxygen production rates on planetary surfaces and space stations. This work was funded by CNES, CNRS, Clermont Auvergne Metropole, and NASA Space Biology through NASA postdoctoral program / USRA.

Poulet, Lucie↗
NASA NTRS1986

Photochemical damping of inertio-gravity waves

A simple model is developed for the coupling effect of radiative heating and ozone photochemistry on inertio-gravity waves in the region 16-70 km. It is found that the photochemical damping rate is the weighted sum of the rates caused by two individual processes. One, suggested by Craig and Ohring, involves the temperature dependence of ozone reaction rate coefficients; the other, suggested by Leovy, involves the vertical gradient of the ozone mixing ratio. The relative importance of these two processes depends on the ratio of dynamical and chemical relaxation times. Calculations show that the most important region for coupling is near 48 km where the total relaxation time is 8 days for equinox and 6 days for summer midlatitude.

Zhu, Xun↗
NASA NTRS1992

Numerical simulations of convectively generated stratospheric gravity waves

A 2D model of a mesoscale convective flow is used to simulate the excitation and vertical propagation of gravity waves. Data obtained show that, in the absence of storm-relative mean winds in the stratosphere, the primary mode of excitation of gravity waves is by mechanical forcing owing to oscillatory updrafts. The stratospheric response consists of waves whose periods match the primary periods of the forcing. Due to the tendency of the oscillating updrafts to propagate toward the rear of the storm, gravity wave propagation is limited primarily to the rearward direction. Results suggest that squall-line-generated gravity waves arise from mechanical forcing rather than thermal effects.

Fovell, R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Low gravity reorientation in a scale-model Centaur liquid-hydrogen tank

An experiment was conducted to investigate the process of liquid reorientation from one end of a scale-model Centaur liquid-hydrogen tank to the other end by means of low-level accelerations. Prior to reorientation, the liquid was stabilized at the top of the tank at a Bond number of 15. Tanks both with and without ring baffles and with tank radii of 5.5 and 7.0 centimeters were used in the study. Reorientation acceleration values were varied to obtain Bond numbers of 200 and 450. Liquid fill levels of 20 and 70 percent were used. From the data in this study, relations were developed to estimate reorientation event times in unbaffled tanks through the point of final liquid clearing from the top of the tank. The insertion of ring baffles drastically changed the reorientation flow profiles but resulted in only minor differences in the times of tank-top uncovering and liquid collection.

Salzman, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Gravity anomaly and structure associated with the Lamont region of the moon

Lamont is a unique lunar feature in southwestern Mare Tranquillitatis associated with radial and concentric ridge patterns and a positive free-air gravity anomaly. Best fitting models to high and low altitude gravity data place nearly all of the anomalous mass in the subsurface, consistent with the hypothesis that Lamont is a mascon. Lamont is positioned on the axis of a 1500 m deep north-south topographic trough occupying western Mare Tranquillitatis. It is proposed that this trough is a synclinal fold in the lunar crust and the tectonic fabric of western Tranquillitatis is consistent with the superposition of the stress fields due to synclinal folding and the loading of the lithosphere by the Lamont mascon.

Dvorak, J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The negative gravity field over the 85 deg E ridge

Two north-south ridges in the basement topography of the Bay of Bengal may be observed on an isopach map at 85 and at 90 deg E. Free-air gravity anomaly profiles across the region show a strong gravity low (about -60 mGal) over the 85 deg E ridge, and a gravity high over the other. Using a simple two-stage loading model, the negative gravity anomaly over the 85 deg E ridge is explained as a direct consequence of sediment loading, and the flexural rigidity of the lithosphere when the ridge was formed is estimated to have been about 180 times less than the flexural rigidity during the sediment loading. An approximate relationship between flexural rigidity and crustal age shows that the 85 deg E ridge was formed on relatively young lithosphere, 5-15 million years old, and that it was buried when the lithosphere was 40-80 million years old. The alteration of the gravity field by a thick layer of sediments may occur in other large sedimentary basins or along continental margins.

Liu, C.-S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Gravitational spreading of Danu, Freyja and Maxwell Montes, Venus

The potential energy of elevated terrain tends to drive the collapse of the topography. This process of gravitational spreading is likely to be more important on Venus than on Earth because the higher surface temperature weakens the crust. The highest topography on Venus is Ishtar Terra. The high plateau of Lakshmi Planum has an average elevation of 3 km above mean planetary radius, and is surrounded by mountain belts. Freyja, Danu, and Maxwell Montes rise, on average, an additional 3, 0.5, and 5 km above the plateau, respectively. Recent high resolution Magellan radar images of this area, east of approx. 330 deg E, reveal widespread evidence for gravity spreading. Some observational evidence is described for gravity spreading and the implications are discussed in terms of simple mechanical models. Several simple models predict that gravity spreading should be an important process on Venus. One difficulty in using remote observations to infer interior properties is that the observed features may not have formed in response to stresses which are still active. Several causes of surface topography are briefly examined.

Smrekar, Suzanne E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Estimates of lithospheric thickness on Venus

Magellan altimetry data have revealed many examples of topographic flexure on Venus. Modeling of flexural features is of interest as it provides information on spatial (and for the earth, temporal) variations in lithospheric thickness. Lithospheric thickness may be determined solely from modeling topographic flexure or by combining gravity and topography data. On Venus even the highest resolution gravity is insufficient for modeling all but the very longest wavelength flexural features, so we rely heavily on altimetry data for information about lithospheric thickness. Sandwell and Schubert modeled flexure around four coronae and found lithospheric thicknesses h, in the range 35 - 70 km. Studies of several more flexural features suggests that these are typical of Aphrodite Terra and other chasmata regions on Venus. However lithospheric thicknesses associated with other regions are in the range 15-30 km. McKenzie et al. noted that part of Aphrodite Terra appeared similar in planform and morphology to the subduction zones of the East Indies on Earth. Other flexure studies using Magellan data have looked at smaller coronae (h = 5-30 km) and rifts (h = 8-20 km). It can be seen that the range of thicknesses suggested by studies to date is extremely large, and it is difficult to establish whether their mean is in agreement with that predicted by heat flow scaling arguments (h approximately 18 km). Here we present results from a global study of flexure on Venus, with particular emphasis on the variation in our results with different tectonic settings.

Johnson, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Numerical Modeling for Combustion of Thermoplastic Materials in Microgravity

A time-dependent, three-dimensional model is under development to predict the temperature field, burning rate, and bubble bursting characteristics of burning thermoplastic materials in microgravity. Model results will be compared with experiments performed under microgravity and normal gravity conditions. The model will then be used to study the effects of variations in material properties and combustion conditions on burning rate and combustion behavior.

Butler, Kathryn M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Machine Learning Global Simulation of Nonlocal Gravity Wave Propagation

Global climate models typically operate at a grid resolution of hundreds of kilometers and fail to resolve atmospheric mesoscale processes, e.g., clouds, precipitation, and gravity waves (GWs).Model representation of these processes and their sources is essential to the global circulation and planetary energy budget, but subgrid scale contributions from these processes are often only approximately represented in models using parameterizations. These parameterizations are subject to approximations and idealizations, which limit their capability and accuracy. The most drastic of these approximations is the “single-column approximation” which completely neglects the horizontal evolution of these processes, resulting in key biases in current climate models. With a focus on atmospheric GWs, we present the first-ever global simulation of atmospheric GW fluxes using machine learning (ML) models trained on the WINDSET dataset to emulate global GW emulation in the atmosphere, as an alternative to traditional single-column parameterizations. Using an Attention U-Net-based architecture trained on globally resolved GW momentum fluxes, we illustrate the importance and effectiveness of global nonlocality, when simulating GWs using data-driven schemes.

Aman Gupta↗
NASA NTRS2007

An Improved Model of Cryogenic Propellant Stratification in a Rotating, Reduced Gravity Environment

This paper builds on a series of analytical literature models used to predict thermal stratification within rocket propellant tanks. The primary contribution to the literature is to add the effect of tank rotation and to demonstrate the influence of rotation on stratification times and temperatures. This work also looks levels of thermal stratification for generic propellant tanks (cylindrical shapes) over a parametric range of upper-stage coast times, heating levels, rotation rates, and gravity levels.

Oliveira, Justin↗
NASA NTRS1999

Mars Gravity and Topography Interpretations

New models of the topography of Mars and its gravity field from the Mars Global Surveyor mission are shedding new light on the structure of the planet and the state of isostatic compensation. Gravity field observations over the flat northern hemisphere plains show a number of anomalies at the 100 to 200 mGal level that have no apparent manifestation in the surface topography. We believe that these anomalies are probably the result of ancient impacts and represent regions of denser material buried beneath the outer depositional crust. Similar anomalies are also found in the region of the north polar ice cap even though a gravity anomaly resulting from the 3 km high icecap has not been uniquely identified. This leads us to speculate that the ice cap is largely compensated and is older than the timescale of isostatic compensation, about 10(exp 15) years.

Zuber, Maria T.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Effect of Velocity on the Extinction Behavior of a Diffusion Flame during Transient Depressurization

Current fire suppression plans for the International Space Station include the use of venting (depressurization) as a method for extinguishing a fire. Until recently this process had only been examined as part of a material flammability experiment performed on Skylab in the early 1970's. Due to the low initial pressure (0.35 Atm) and high oxygen concentration (65%), the Skylab experimental results are not applicable for understanding the effects of venting on a fire in a space station environment (21%O2, 1 Atm). Recent research examined the extinction behavior of a diffusion flame over a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) cylinder during a transient depressurization in low-gravity. The numerical model was used to examine extinction limits as a function of depressurization rate, forced flow velocity, and initial solid phase temperature. The experimental and numerically predicted extinction data indicated that as the solid phase temperature increased the pressure required to extinguish the flame decreased. The numerical model was also used to examine conditions not obtainable in the low-gravity experiments. From these simulations, a series of extinction boundaries were generated that showed a region of increased flammability existed at a forced flow of 10 cm/s. Analysis of these extinction boundaries indicated that they were quasi-steady in nature, and that the final extinction conditions were independent of the transient process. The velocity range in the previous study was limited and thus the results did not examine the effects of velocities less than 1 cm/s or greater than 20 cm/s. This study utilized low-gravity experiments performed on NASA's Reduced-gravity Research Aircraft Laboratory and numerical simulations to examine conditions applicable to the Space Station environment. This paper extends the analysis of the previous study to a comprehensive examination of the effect of increased velocity on extinction behavior and extinction limits during a transient depressurization in low-gravity. This is achieved by examining extinction data from buoyant (normal-gravity) and low-buoyant (low-gravity) depressurization. experiments, as well as from numerical predictions of flame behavior during depressurization in a non-buoyant (zero-gravity) environment.

Goldmeer, Jeffrey S.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Orbit Determination for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Using an Extended Kalman Filter

Orbit determination (OD) analysis results are presented for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) using a commercially available Extended Kalman Filter, Analytical Graphics' Orbit Determination Tool Kit (ODTK). Process noise models for lunar gravity and solar radiation pressure (SRP) are described and OD results employing the models are presented. Definitive accuracy using ODTK meets mission requirements and is better than that achieved using the operational LRO OD tool, the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS). Results demonstrate that a Vasicek stochastic model produces better estimates of the coefficient of solar radiation pressure than a Gauss-Markov model, and prediction accuracy using a Vasicek model meets mission requirements over the analysis span. Modeling the effect of antenna motion on range-rate tracking considerably improves residuals and filter-smoother consistency. Inclusion of off-axis SRP process noise and generalized process noise improves filter performance for both definitive and predicted accuracy. Definitive accuracy from the smoother is better than achieved using GTDS and is close to that achieved by precision OD methods used to generate definitive science orbits. Use of a multi-plate dynamic spacecraft area model with ODTK's force model plugin capability provides additional improvements in predicted accuracy.

Orbit Determination↗