Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Collision Rates”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 631 records · Page 35
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

On the stability of robotic systems with random communication rates

Control problems of sampled data systems which are subject to random sample rate variations and delays are studied. Due to the rapid growth of the use of computers more and more systems are controlled digitally. Complex systems such as space telerobotic systems require the integration of a number of subsystems at different hierarchical levels. While many subsystems may run on a single processor, some subsystems require their own processor or processors. The subsystems are integrated into functioning systems through communications. Communications between processes sharing a single processor are also subject to random delays due to memory management and interrupt latency. Communications between processors involve random delays due to network access and to data collisions. Furthermore, all control processes involve delays due to casual factors in measuring devices and to signal processing. Traditionally, sampling rates are chosen to meet the worst case communication delay. Such a strategy is wasteful as the processors are then idle a great proportion of the time; sample rates are not as high as possible resulting in poor performance or in the over specification of control processors; there is the possibility of missing data no matter how low the sample rate is picked. Asymptotical stability with probability one for randomly sampled multi-dimensional linear systems is studied. A sufficient condition for the stability is obtained. This condition is so simple that it can be applied to practical systems. A design procedure is also shown.

Kobayashi, H.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Variable Dynamic Testbed Vehicle: Dynamics Analysis

The Variable Dynamic Testbed Vehicle (VDTV) concept has been proposed as a tool to evaluate collision avoidance systems and to perform driving-related human factors research. The goal of this study is to analytically investigate to what extent a VDTV with adjustable front and rear anti-roll bar stiffnesses, programmable damping rates, and four-wheel-steering can emulate the lateral dynamics of a broad range of passenger vehicles.

Variable Dynamic Testbed Vehicle VDTV collision av↗
NASA NTRS1990

Inelastic collision processes in ozone and their relation to atmospheric pressure broadening

The research task employs infrared double-resonance to determine rotational energy transfer rates and pathways, in both the ground and vibrationally excited states of ozone. The resulting data base will then be employed to test inelastic scattering theories and to assess intermolecular potential models, both of which are necessary for the systematization and prediction of infrared pressure-broadening coefficients, which are in turn required by atmospheric ozone monitoring techniques based on infrared remote sensing. In addition, observation of excited-state absorption transitions will permit us to improve the determination of the 2 nu(sub 3), nu(sub 1) + nu(sub 2), and 2 nu(sub 1) rotational constants and to derive band strengths for hot-band transitions involving these levels.

Steinfeld, J. I.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electron recombination of rotationally cold D 2 H + ions

Dissociative recombination (DR) of electrons with small molecular ions is a fundamental process for the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium and planetary atmospheres. In previous DR studies, detailed analysis of the experimental rate coefficients has been hindered by the difficulty of preparing the ions in well-defined quantum states. For polyatomic ions in particular, truly state-selective measurements have been elusive, allowing only qualitative benchmarks of theory. Here, we present DR studies of the deuterated triatomic hydrogen ion D 2 H + , where the molecular ions were stored for up to 1000 seconds inside the Cryogenic Storage Ring (CSR) prior to the DR measurements. Our experiments with rotationally cold D 2 H + ions allow for detailed comparison to state-of-the-art theoretical calculations. We obtain very good agreement between experiment and theory even in the important collision energy range from 1 meV to 0.5 eV, where a multitude of Rydberg resonances reveal their imprint on the rate coefficient.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Inclusive jet and hadron suppression in a multistage approach

We present a new study of jet interactions in the quark-gluon plasma created in high-energy heavy-ion collisions, using a multistage event generator within the jetscape framework. We focus on medium-induced modifications in the rate of inclusive jets and high transverse momentum (high-p T ) hadrons. Scattering-induced jet energy loss is calculated in two stages: a high virtuality stage based on the matter model, in which scattering of highly virtual partons modifies the vacuum radiation pattern, and a second stage at lower jet virtuality based on the LBT model, in which leading partons gain and lose virtuality by scattering and radiation. Coherence effects that reduce the medium-induced emission rate in the matter phase are also included. The TRENTO model is used for initial conditions, and the (2 + 1)dimensional VISHNU model is used for viscous hydrodynamic evolution. Jet interactions with the medium are modeled via 2-to-2 scattering with Debye screened potentials, in which the recoiling partons are tracked, hadronized, and included in the jet clustering. Holes left in the medium are also tracked and subtracted to conserve transverse momentum. Calculations of the nuclear modification factor (R AA ) for inclusive jets and high-p T hadrons are compared to experimental measurements at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Within this framework, we find that with one extra parameter which codifies the transition between stages of jet modification—along with the typical parameters such as the coupling in the medium, the start and stop criteria, etc.—we can describe these data at all energies for central and semicentral collisions without a rescaling of the jet transport coefficient q.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Freeze-in, glaciation, and UV sensitivity from light mediators

Dark matter (DM) freeze-in through a light mediator is an appealing model with excellent detection prospects at current and future experiments. Light mediator freeze-in is UV-insensitive insofar as most DM is produced at late times, and thus the DM abundance does not depend on the unknown early evolution of our universe. However the final DM yield retains a dependence on the initial DM population, which is usually assumed to be exactly zero. We point out that in models with light mediators, the final DM yield will also depend on the initial conditions assumed for the light mediator population. We describe a class of scenarios we call “glaciation” where DM freezing in from the SM encounters a pre-existing thermal bath of mediators, and study the dependence of the final DM yield on the initial temperature of this dark radiation bath. To compute DM scattering rates in this cosmology, we derive for the first time an exact integral expression for the Boltzmann collision term describing interactions between two species at different temperatures. We quantify the dependence of the DM yield on the initial dark temperature and find that it can be sizeable in regions near the traditional (zero initial abundance) freeze-in curve. We generalize the freeze-in curve to a glaciation band, which can extend as much as an order of magnitude below the traditional freeze-in direct detection target, and point out that the DM phase space distribution as well as the yield can be strongly dependent on initial conditions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Effects of artificial collisions, filtering, and nonlocal closure approaches on Hermite-based Vlasov–Poisson simulations

Kinetic simulations of collisionless plasmas are computationally challenging due to phase-space mixing and filamentation, resulting in fine-scale velocity structures. This study compares three methods developed to reduce artifacts related to limited velocity resolution in Hermite-based Vlasov–Poisson simulations: artificial collisions, filtering, and nonlocal closure approaches. We evaluate each method's performance in approximating the linear kinetic response function and suppressing recurrence in linear and nonlinear regimes. Numerical simulations of Landau damping demonstrate that artificial collisions, particularly higher orders of the Lenard-Bernstein collisional operator, most effectively recover the correct damping rate across a range of wavenumbers. Moreover, Hou-Li filtering and nonlocal closures underdamp high wavenumber modes in linear simulations, and the Lenard-Bernstein collisional operator overdamps low wavenumber modes in both linear and nonlinear simulations. This study demonstrates that hypercollisions offer a robust approach to kinetic simulations, accurately capturing collisionless dynamics with limited velocity resolution.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Radiative processes on a quantum computer

Radiative processes, where a photon/neutrino is emitted as a result of a collision or decay of a particle, play a central role in atomic, nuclear, and particle physics. Their rate is determined by certain off-diagonal matrix elements between different initial and final states. We propose a method to compute them using quantum computers. It relies on a single extra qubit that, in a certain sense, represents the photon/neutrino. The generic formula relating this matrix element to the amplitude and frequency of oscillations of the extra qubit is derived for the near-resonance case. Furthermore, we demonstrate the feasibility of the method by using it in actual quantum computations and simulations of simple systems.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1986

What have we learned about galaxies through large computations?

Numerical models permit modelling processes within galaxies that are seemingly beyond the reach of physical contact or close-up viewing from different angles. N-body equations permit simple computations of the interactions of individual stars within galaxies, but the motions of these objects feature nonlinear characteristics because of the forces exerted by the complex as a whole which are not amenable to examination with Newtonian laws of force. The models have, however, revealed that thin disk galactic are not stable forms, that barlike structures rotating end-over-end are more stable structures, and that galactic contraction occurs during collisions between galaxies. Internal effects have been successfully predicted for galaxies which are part of clusters, growth rate disturbances due to the expansion of the Universe have been quantified as 2-3 percent and dynamical friction has been shown to damage galaxies which are sliding into background material.

Miller, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Modeling Electric Field Influences on Plasmaspheric Refilling

We have a new model of ion transport that we have applied to the problem of plasmaspheric flux tube refilling after a geomagnetic disturbance. This model solves the Fokker-Planck kinetic equation by applying discrete difference numerical schemes to the various operators. Features of the model include a time-varying ionospheric source, self-consistent Coulomb collisions, field-aligned electric field, hot plasma interactions, and ion cyclotron wave heating. We see refilling rates similar to those of earlier observations and models, except when the electric field is included. In this case, the refilling rates can be quite different that previously predicted. Depending on the populations included and the values of relevant parameters, trap zone densities can increase or decrease. In particular, the inclusion of hot populations near the equatorial region (specifically warm pancake distributions and ring current ions) can dramatically alter the refilling rate. Results are compared with observations as well as previous hydrodynamic and kinetic particle model simulations.

Liemohn, M. W.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Development, Implementation, and Verification of Partially-Ionized Collisional Multifluid Plasma Models in Drekar

We consider the development of multifluid models for partially ionized multispecies plasmas. The models are composed of a standard set of five-moment fluid equations for each species plus a description of electromagnetics. The most general model considered utilizes a full set of fluid equations for each charge state of each atomic species, plus a set of fluid equations for electrons. The fluid equations are coupled through source terms describing electromagnetic coupling, ionization, recombination, charge exchange, and elastic scattering collisions in the low-density coronal limit. The form of each of these source terms is described in detail, and references for required rate coefficients are identified for a diverse range of atomic species. Initial efforts have been made to extend these models to incorporate some higher-density collisional effects, including ionization potential depression and three- body recombination. Some reductions of the general multifluid model are considered. First, a reduced multifluid model is derived which averages over all of the charge states (including neutrals) of each atomic species in the general multifluid model. The resulting model maintains full consistency with the general multifluid model from which it is derived by leveraging a quasi-steady-state collisional ionization equilibrium assumption to recover the ionization fractions required to make use of the general collision models. Further reductions are briefly considered to derive certain components of a single-fluid magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model. In this case, a generalized Ohm's law is obtained, and the standard MHD resistivity is expressed in terms of the collisional models used in the general multifluid model. A number of numerical considerations required to obtain robust implementations of these multifluid models are discussed. First, an algebraic flux correction (AFC) stabilization approach for a continuous Galerkin finite element discretization of the multifluid system is described in which the characteristic speeds used in the stabilization of the fluid systems are synchronized across all species in the model. It is demonstrated that this synchronization is crucial in order to obtain a robust discretization of the multifluid system. Additionally, several different formulations are considered for describing the electromagnetics portion of the multifluid system using nodal continuous Galerkin finite element discretizations. The formulations considered include a parabolic divergence cleaning method and an implicit projection method for the traditional curl formulation of Maxwell's equations, a purely- hyperbolic potential-based formulation of Maxwell's equations, and a mixed hyperbolic-elliptic potential-based formulation of Maxwell's equations. Some advantages and disadvantages of each formulation are explored to compare solution robustness and the ease of use of each formulation. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of various components of our implementation. Analytic solutions for a spatially homogeneous damped plasma oscillation are derived in order to verify the implementation of the source terms for electromagnetic coupling and elastic collisions between fluid species. Ionization balance as a function of electron temperature is evaluated for several atomic species of interest by comparing to steady-state calculations using various sets of ionization and recombination rate coefficients. Several test problems in one and two spatial dimensions are used to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the discretization and stabilization approach for the fluid components of the multifluid system. This includes standard test problems for electrostatic and electromagnetic shock tubes in the two-fluid and ideal shock-MHD limits, a cylindrical diocotron instability, and the GEM challenge magnetic reconnection problem. A one-dimensional simplified prototype of an argon gas puff configuration as deployed on Sandia's Z-machine is used as a demonstration to exercise the full range of capabilities associated with the general multifluid model.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1989

Dynamics of a class of vortex rings

The contour dynamics method is extended to vortex rings with vorticity varying linearly from the symmetry axis. An elliptic core model is also developed to explain some of the basic physics. Passage and collisions of two identical rings are studied focusing on core deformation, sound generation and stirring of fluid elements. With respect to core deformation, not only the strain rate but how rapidly it varies is important and accounts for greater susceptibility to vortex tearing than in two dimensions. For slow strain, as a passage interaction is completed and the strain relaxes, the cores return to their original shape while permanent deformations remain for rapidly varying strain. For collisions, if the strain changes slowly the core shapes migrate through a known family of two-dimensional steady vortex pairs up to the limiting member of the family. Thereafter energy conservation does not allow the cores to maintain a constant shape. For rapidly varying strain, core deformation is severe and a head-tail structure in good agreement with experiments is formed. With respect to sound generation, good agreement with the measured acoustic signal for colliding rings is obtained and a feature previously thought to be due to viscous effects is shown to be an effect of inviscid core deformation alone. For passage interactions, a component of high frequency is present. Evidence for the importance of this noise source in jet noise spectra is provided. Finally, processes of fluid engulfment and rejection for an unsteady vortex ring are studied using the stable and unstable manifolds. The unstable manifold shows excellent agreement with flow visualization experiments for leapfrogging rings suggesting that it may be a good tool for numerical flow visualization in other time periodic flows.

Shariff, Karim↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ulysses dust measurements near Jupiter

Submicrometer- to micrometer-sized particles were recorded by the Ulysses dust detector within 40 days of the Jupiter flyby. Nine impacts were recorded within 50 Jupiter radii with most of them recorded after closest approach. Three of these impacts are consistent with particles on prograde orbits around Jupiter and the rest are believed to have resulted from gravitationally focused interplanetary dust. From the ratio of the impact rate before the Jupiter flyby to the impact rate after the Jupiter flyby it is concluded that interplanetary dust particles at the distance of Jupiter move on mostly retrograde orbits. On 10 March 1992, Ulysses passed through an intense dust stream. The dust detector recorded 126 impacts within 26 hours. The stream particles were moving on highly inclined and apparently hyperbolic orbits with perihelion distances of greater than 5 astronomical units. Interplanetary dust is lost rather quickly from the solar system through collisions and other mechanisms and must be almost continuously replenished to maintain observed abundances. Dust flux measurements, therefore, give evidence of the recent rates of production from sources such as comets, asteroids, and moons, as well as the possible presence of interstellar grains.

Gruen, Eberhard↗
NASA NTRS1990

Determination of molecular spectroscopic parameters and energy-transfer rates by double-resonance spectroscopy

The spectroscopy of small to medium-size polyatomic molecules can be extremely complex, especially in higher-lying overtone and combination vibrational levels. The high density of levels also complicates the understanding of inelastic collision processes, which is required to model energy transfer and collision broadening of spectral lines. Both of these problems can be addressed by double-resonance spectroscopy, i.e., time-resolved pump-probe measurements using microwave, infrared, near-infrared, and visible-wavelength sources. Information on excited-state spectroscopy, transition moments, inelastic energy transfer rates and propensity rules, and pressure-broadening parameters may be obtained from such experiments. Examples are given for several species of importance in planetary atmospheres, including ozone, silane, ethane, and ammonia.

Steinfeld, J. I.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Collision cross sections and diffusion parameters for H and D in atomic oxygen

Modeling the behavior of H and D in planetary exospheres requires detailed knowledge of the differential scattering cross sections for all of the important neutral-neutral and ion-neutral collision processes affecting these species over their entire ranges of interaction energies. In the upper atmospheres of Earth, Venus, and other planets as well, the interactions of H and D with atomic oxygen determine the rates of diffusion of escaping hydrogen isotopes through the thermosphere, the velocity distributions of exospheric atoms that encounter the upper thermosphere, the lifetimes of exospheric orbiters with periapsides near the exobase, and the transfer of momentum in collisions with hot O. The nature of H-O and D-O collisions and the derivation of a data base consisting of phase shifts and the differential, total, and momentum transfer cross sections for these interactions in the energy range 0.001 - 10 eV are discussed. Coefficients of mutual diffusion and thermal diffusion factors are calculated for temperatures of planetary interest.

Hodges, R. R., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Sandstorms and eolian erosion on Mars.

Erosion rates are calculated for Mars from first principles and calibrated from wind tunnel experiments. The deduced abrasion rates are higher than eolian erosion rates on the earth because of the higher threshold velocities on Mars but lower than the total erosion rates on the earth because of the absence of aqueous erosion processes on contemporary Mars. The high erosion rates imply that, for scale lengths of less than a few hundred kilometers, Mars may be viewed only part way back to its ancient history. Because the meteorology of Mars is position-dependent, erosion rates may vary greatly from place to place. Martian sandstorms may be characterized by frequent grain-grain collisions, and the grain velocities and cloud height may approach values implied by the Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution.

Sagan, C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

H theorem and kinetic equations for a reacting gas

A previously developed set of kinetic model equations for a chemically-reacting gas is modified. By examining closely the H theorem, a new set of constraints is obtained. These conditions are then used to determine the inelastic collision parameters proposed in the model. The kinetic equations so obtained are able to produce exactly the same rate equations as prescribed by the actual chemical reactions.

Fang, T.-M.↗