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At least 685 records · Page 38
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thermal Model of Ice Growth in Vacuum for Lunar Water Production

To support NASA’s goal of sustained lunar presence, the use of in-situ resource utilization will reduce launch weight and frequency of resupply missions. With the discovery of water in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon, the prospect of harvesting water has generated particular interest. A more fundamental understanding of water storage and capture in lunar conditions is necessary for effective and efficient water capture and transport. The present study derives a thermal model for ice height, heat flux, chamber pressure, and mass flow rate in sub-atmospheric pressures below the triple point. The thermal model compares ice layer height against the results of the experiment at two pressures (300 Pa and 500 Pa) and temperatures from -18°C to -3°C. The thermal model predicts the trends seen experimentally with an overall root mean square error of 0.1135 cm and coefficient of efficiency of 0.994, indicating the model predicts the experimental results. The thermal model can be utilized to examine the impacts of varying pressure, temperature, and cold plate area to determine the most effective ice growth conditions for efficient capture of water on the lunar surface. The thermal model will provide a useful tool for NASA in the design of the lunar ice tanker and shows the promise of effective capture water on the lunar surface.

Ice growth↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thermal Model of Ice Growth in Vacuum for Lunar Water Production

To support NASA’s goal of sustained lunar presence, the use of in-situ resource utilization will reduce launch weight and frequency of resupply missions. With the discovery of water in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon, the prospect of harvesting water has generated particular interest. A more fundamental understanding of water storage and capture in lunar conditions is necessary for effective and efficient water capture and transport. The present study derives a thermal model for ice height, heat flux, chamber pressure, and mass flow rate in sub-atmospheric pressures below the triple point. The thermal model compares ice layer height against the results of the experiment at two pressures (300 Pa and 500 Pa) and temperatures from -18°C to -3°C. The thermal model predicts the trends seen experimentally with an overall root mean square error of 0.1135 cm and coefficient of efficiency of 0.994, indicating the model predicts the experimental results. The thermal model can be utilized to examine the impacts of varying pressure, temperature, and cold plate area to determine the most effective ice growth conditions for efficient capture of water on the lunar surface. The thermal model will provide a useful tool for NASA in the design of the lunar ice tanker and shows the promise of effective capture water on the lunar surface.

Ice growth↗
NASA NTRS1989

Experimental results for labyrinth gas seals with honeycomb stators - Comparisons to smooth-stator seals and theoretical predictions

Experimental measurements are presented for the rotordynamic stiffness and damping coefficients of a teeth-on-rotor labyrinth seal with a honeycomb stator. Inlet circumferential velocity, inlet pressure, rotor speed, and seal clearance are primary variables. Results are compared to data for teeth-on-rotor labyrinth seals with smooth stators and to analytical predictions from a two-control-volume compressible flow model. The experimental results show that the honeycomb-stator configuration is more stable than the smooth-stator configuration at low rator speeds. At high rotor speeds, the stator surface does not affect stability. The theoretical model predicts the cross-coupled stiffness of the honeycomb-stator seal correctly within 25 percent of measured values. The model provides accurate predictions of direct damping for large clearance seals; however, the model predictions and test results diverge with increasing running speed. Overall, the model does not perform as well for low clearance seals as for high clearance seals.

Hawkins, Larry↗
NASA NTRS1989

A physical model for predicting bidirectional reflectances over bare soil

While most previous attempts to retrieve soil surface optical property characteristics have proceeded through a fitting of empirical functions to the data, an optimization technique is presently applied to a physically-based surface reflectance model developed for the study of planetary surfaces. This inversion procedure is shown to allow the direct estimation of the single-scattering coefficient, two parameters describing the 'hot spot' phenomenon, and two parameters describing the scattering phase function. A comparison of inversion technique results with both synthetic data and actual observations shows the model to be capable of predicting the observed bidirectional reflectances as well as directional-hemispherical reflectances; it can also build the complete radiance field over the upward hemisphere.

Pinty, Bernard↗
NASA NTRS1981

A crack-closure model for predicting fatigue crack growth under aircraft spectrum loading

The present paper is concerned with the development and application of an analytical model of cyclic crack growth that includes the effects of crack closure. The model was based on a concept like the Dugdale model, but was modified to leave plastically deformed material in the wake of the advancing crack tip. The model was used to correlate crack growth rates under constant-amplitude loading and to predict crack growth under aircraft spectrum loading on 2219-T851 aluminum alloy plate material. The predicted crack growth lives agreed well with experimental data. The ratio of predicted-to-experimental lives ranged from 0.66 to 1.48.

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A model for predicting the wearout lifetime of the LeRC/Hughes 30-cm mercury ion thruster

An investigation of parameters that affect the erosion rates of 30-cm-diameter mercury-ion-thruster components is described. A sputter-erosion model is formulated in terms of the design, operational, and material characteristics of the thruster. The erosion model is applied to the screen electrode, which is assumed to be the life-limiting component of the 30-cm thruster, resulting in a model of wearout lifetime. Results of short-term erosion-rate tests are presented that illustrate the dependence of component wear rates on variables such as discharge voltage, accelerator-grid open-area fraction, ion energy, electrode material, and the partial pressure of facility residual gases such as nitrogen. Test results are compared with wearout rates predicted by the sputter-erosion model.

Beattie, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A comparative study of turbulence models in predicting hypersonic inlet flows

A computational study has been conducted to evaluate the performance of various turbulence models. The NASA P8 inlet, which represents cruise condition of a typical hypersonic air-breathing vehicle, was selected as a test case for the study; the PARC2D code, which solves the full two dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, was used. Results are presented for a total of six versions of zero- and two-equation turbulence models. Zero-equation models tested are the Baldwin-Lomax model, the Thomas model, and a combination of the two. Two-equation models tested are low-Reynolds number models (the Chien model and the Speziale model) and a high-Reynolds number model (the Launder and Spalding model).

Kapoor, Kamlesh↗
NASA NTRS1973

Composition and physics of the lunar atmosphere.

The existence in the lunar atmosphere of helium, neon, argon, and possibly molecular hydrogen has been confirmed by the Apollo 17 mass spectrometer. The observed helium concentrations and distribution agree closely with model predictions for a non-condensable gas based on a solar wind source, thermal escape and a Monte Carlo random walk calculated longitudinal distribution. Heavier gases are lost by photoionization and subsequent sweeping away by the solar wind electric field. The observed nighttime neon concentration of 80,000 molecules per cu cm is consistent with expected amounts. Argon, however, is adsorbed on the lunar surface late at night when the surface temperature is lowest. It shows the expected predawn enhancement exhibited by condensable gases released into the atmosphere at the sunrise terminator. Hydrogen appears to exist in the molecular rather than atomic state. Its observed concentration is less than a factor of 3 higher than that predicted by a model similar to that used for helium.

Hoffman, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Investigation of interplanetary dust from out-of-ecliptic space probes

Measurements of interplanetary dust via zodiacal light observations and direct detection are discussed for an out-of-ecliptic space probe. Particle fluxes and zodiacal light brightnesses were predicted for three models of the dust distribution. These models predict that most of the information will be obtained at space probe distances less than 1 A.U. from the ecliptic plane. Joint interpretation of the direct particle measurements and the zodiacal light data can yield the best knowledge of the three-dimensional particle dynamics, spatial distribution, and physical characteristics of the interplanetary dust. Such measurements are important for an understanding of the origin and role of the dust in relation to meteoroids, asteroids, and comets, as well as the interaction of the dust with solar forces.

Fechtig, H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

OAO 2 observations of the Alpha Persei cluster

UV photometry of the Alpha Persei cluster obtained with the OAO 2 satellite is analyzed. The data are used together with ground-based coude spectra to examine 20 stars ranging in spectral type from B3 to A3 for rotation effects as predicted by the models of Collins (1974) and of Collins and Sonneborn (1977). Values of v sin i are estimated on the recalibrated system of Slettebak et al. (1975), and an H-R diagram is plotted for the program stars. The distribution of the stars on the diagram is compared with the ZAMS for a chemical composition of X = 0.7 and Y = 0.02 as well as with two isochrones for logarithmic nuclear ages (in years) of 7.5 and 7.7. It is found that there is a seemingly narrow band of early-type stars lying a magnitude or so above the ZAMS on the plot, while the later types form a looser collection straddling the ZAMS. The data for Alpha Persei itself yield an upper limit of 7.4 to the logarithmic age. The analysis for rotation effects reveals one late-type star that does not conform to the model predictions and one 'weak helium' star. Evidence is discussed that these stars are not pole-on rapid rotators. It is concluded that there is a photometric effect for stars earlier than about B6 whereby these stars are displaced redward in color-magnitude diagrams.

Molnar, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The washout of combustion-generated hydrogen chloride

The coefficient for the washout from a rocket exhaust cloud of HCl generated by the combustion of an ammonium perchlorate-based solid rocket propellant such as that to be used for the Space Shuttle Booster is determined. A mathematical model of HCl scavenging by rain is developed taking into account rain droplet size, fall velocity and concentration under various rain conditions, partitioning of exhaust HCl between liquid and gaseous phases, the tendency of HCl to promote water vapor condensation and the concentration and size of droplets within the exhaust cloud. The washout coefficient is calculated as a function of total cloud water content, total HCl content at 100% relative humidity, condensation nuclei concentration and rain intensity. The model predictions are compared with experimental results obtained in scavenging tests with solid rocket exhaust and raindrops of different sizes, and the large reduction in washout coefficient at high relative humidities predicted by the model is not observed. A washout coefficient equal to 0.0000512 times the -0.176 power of the mass concentration of HCl times the 0.773 power of the rainfall intensity is obtained from the experimental data.

Fenton, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Lidar measurements of the post-fuego stratospheric aerosol

Fifteen lidar observations of the stratospheric aerosol were made between February and November 1975. All observations revealed the greatly increased particulate backscattering that followed the eruption of the volcano Fuego in October 1974. Vertical structure consisted initially of multiple layers, which later merged to form a single, broader peak. Essentially all of the increased scattering was confined to altitudes below 20 km. Hence, aerosol layer centroids in 1975 were typically several km below their altitude prior to the eruption. Radiative and thermal consequences of the measured post-Fuego layer were computed using several recently published models. The models predict a temperature increase of several K at the altitude of the layer, caused by the infrared absorption bands of the sulfuric acid particles. The surface temperature decrease predicted by the models is considerably smaller than 1 K, partly because of the small optical thickness of the volcanic layer, and partly because of its short residence time relative to the earth-ocean thermal response time.

Russell, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Trail of the Crab progenitor star

It is proposed that the jet which has been observed protruding from the northern rim of the Crab Nebula is a tubular trail of material lost by the presupernova star during its red giant phase. The movement of the red giant's stellar wind is analyzed to show that the mass profile downstream should be concentrated within a narrow cylinder. The parameters of the tube predicted by this model are presented and an observational test of the model based on the hydrogen-to-helium abundance ratio in the jet and in the Nebula as a whole is suggested; the model predicts that the ratio in the jet should be larger.

Blandford, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Fracture behavior of unidirectional boron/aluminum composite laminates

An experimental investigation of the fracture behavior of unidirectional boron/aluminum composite laminates was conducted in order to verify the results of mathematical models. These models predict the fiber stresses and displacements and the amount of damage growth in a center-notched lamina as a function of the applied remote stress and the matrix and fiber material properties. A brittle lacquer coating was used to detect the yielding in the matrix while X-ray techniques were used to determine the number of broken fibers in the laminate. The notched strengths and the amounts of damage found in the specimens agreed well with those predicted by the models. It was shown that for thin laminates the amount of damage and the fiber displacements do not depend strongly on the number of plies for a given notch width.

Jones, F. W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Computation of three-dimensional flow about aerobrake configurations

Ellipsoid, cone and cylinder aerobrake configurations are analyzed to provide comparison data between experimental and model predictions. An analytical model was devised to account for the shock layer ahead of the body and in the near-wake region in terms of the Navier-Stokes equations expressed in conformal polar and azimuthal-angle coordinates. Using polar coordinates simplified the equations by mapping the body onto a sphere, a procedure which also reduced the magnitude of the discretization errors. The equations are then solved using an alternating direction implicit (ADI) factorization technique. Computations were carried out for Mach 3-10 at various grid resolutions and compared with available wind tunnel data. The model generated pressure distributions, heat transfer coefficients and velocity profile data that agreed relatively well with experimental data at a reduced computational cost. Further work is necessary to identify the location of shocks and to model flows about asymmetric configurations.

Li, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Use of the 4D-Global Reference Atmosphere Model (GRAM) for space shuttle descent design

The method of using the Global Reference Atmosphere Model (GRAM) mean and dispersed atmospheres to study skipout/overshoot requirements, to characterize mean and worst case vehicle temperatures, study control requirements, and verify design was discussed. Landing sites in these analyses range from 65 N to 30 S, while orbit inclinations vary from 20 deg to 98 deg. The primary concern was that they cannot use as small vertical steps in the reentry calculation as desired because the model predicts anomalously large density shear rates for very small vertical step sizes. The winds predicted by the model are not satisfactory. This is probably because they are geostrophic winds and because the model has an error in the computation of winds in the equatorial regions.

Mccarty, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

New dimension analyses with error analysis for quaking aspen and black spruce

Dimension analysis for black spruce in wetland stands and trembling aspen are reported, including new approaches in error analysis. Biomass estimates for sacrificed trees have standard errors of 1 to 3%; standard errors for leaf areas are 10 to 20%. Bole biomass estimation accounts for most of the error for biomass, while estimation of branch characteristics and area/weight ratios accounts for the leaf area error. Error analysis provides insight for cost effective design of future analyses. Predictive equations for biomass and leaf area, with empirically derived estimators of prediction error, are given. Systematic prediction errors for small aspen trees and for leaf area of spruce from different site-types suggest a need for different predictive models within species. Predictive equations are compared with published equations; significant differences may be due to species responses to regional or site differences. Proportional contributions of component biomass in aspen change in ways related to tree size and stand development. Spruce maintains comparatively constant proportions with size, but shows changes corresponding to site. This suggests greater morphological plasticity of aspen and significance for spruce of nutrient conditions.

Woods, K. D.↗