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At least 685 records · Page 38
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

Planimetric shapes of lunar rilles, part Q

Selected Apollo 16 photographs of lunar rilles have been analyzed with a new technique that includes a finite Fourier analysis. Preliminary results suggest that it will be possible to classify rilles quantitatively by their planimetric shape. Shapes of possible terrestrial analogs for lunar rilles also can be compared to the shapes of lunar rilles by using this new technique. Preliminary results also suggest that the new technique may be useful for demonstrating structural control of shape of lunar rilles.

Oberbeck, V. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Flexibility effects on the control system performance of large scale robotic manipulators

Structural flexibility of robotic manipulators becomes significant and limits the performance of a control system when manipulators are large structures, manipulating on large payloads, and/or operating at high speeds. The question of when a manipulator can be considered rigid or must be considered flexible is studied as a function of manipulator dynamics and task characteristics. Results are interpreted in simple quantitative forms which can be used as design and analysis tools to decide whether or not the manipulator flexibility will be a significant factor for a given task condition. The limitations imposed by the manipulator flexibility on the joint variable feedback control system performance is determined using linear and nonlinear methods. The closed loop eigenstructure behavior of finite dimensional models under joint variable feedback is studied and results are compared with the previously reported results.

Cetinkunt, Sabri↗
NASA NTRS1995

Ophthalmic Diagnostics Using a New Dynamic Light Scattering Fiber Optic Probe

A new fiber optic probe is developed to study different parts of the eye. The probe positioned in front of an eye, delivers a low power light from a laser diode into the eye and guides the light which is back scattered by different components (aqueous humor, lens, and vitreous humor) of the eye through a receiving optical fiber to a photo detector. The probe provides rapid determination of macromolecular diffusivities and their respective size distributions in the eye lens and the gel-like material in the vitreous humor. We report alpha-crystalline size distributions, as a function of penetration depth, inside the lens and hyaluronic acid molecular size distribution in the vitreous body. In a clinical setting, the probe can be mounted on a slit-lamp apparatus simply by using a H-ruby lens holder. The capability of detecting cataracts, both nuclear and peripheral, in their early stages of formation, in a non invasive and quantitative fashion, has the potential in patient monitoring and in developing and testing new drugs or diet therapies to 'dissolve' or slow down the cataract formation before surgery is necessary. The ability to detect biochemical and macromolecular changes in the vitreous structure can be very useful in identifying certain diseases of the posterior chamber, e.g., posterior vitreous detachment.

Ansari, Rafat R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Mosaic organization of DNA nucleotides

Long-range power-law correlations have been reported recently for DNA sequences containing noncoding regions. We address the question of whether such correlations may be a trivial consequence of the known mosaic structure ("patchiness") of DNA. We analyze two classes of controls consisting of patchy nucleotide sequences generated by different algorithms--one without and one with long-range power-law correlations. Although both types of sequences are highly heterogenous, they are quantitatively distinguishable by an alternative fluctuation analysis method that differentiates local patchiness from long-range correlations. Application of this analysis to selected DNA sequences demonstrates that patchiness is not sufficient to account for long-range correlation properties.

NASA Discipline Number 14-10↗
NASA NTRS2011

The Analysis of the Patterns of Radiation-Induced DNA Damage Foci by a Stochastic Monte Carlo Model of DNA Double Strand Breaks Induction by Heavy Ions and Image Segmentation Software

To create a generalized mechanistic model of DNA damage in human cells that will generate analytical and image data corresponding to experimentally observed DNA damage foci and will help to improve the experimental foci yields by simulating spatial foci patterns and resolving problems with quantitative image analysis. Material and Methods: The analysis of patterns of RIFs (radiation-induced foci) produced by low- and high-LET (linear energy transfer) radiation was conducted by using a Monte Carlo model that combines the heavy ion track structure with characteristics of the human genome on the level of chromosomes. The foci patterns were also simulated in the maximum projection plane for flat nuclei. Some data analysis was done with the help of image segmentation software that identifies individual classes of RIFs and colocolized RIFs, which is of importance to some experimental assays that assign DNA damage a dual phosphorescent signal. Results: The model predicts the spatial and genomic distributions of DNA DSBs (double strand breaks) and associated RIFs in a human cell nucleus for a particular dose of either low- or high-LET radiation. We used the model to do analyses for different irradiation scenarios. In the beam-parallel-to-the-disk-of-a-flattened-nucleus scenario we found that the foci appeared to be merged due to their high density, while, in the perpendicular-beam scenario, the foci appeared as one bright spot per hit. The statistics and spatial distribution of regions of densely arranged foci, termed DNA foci chains, were predicted numerically using this model. Another analysis was done to evaluate the number of ion hits per nucleus, which were visible from streaks of closely located foci. In another analysis, our image segmentaiton software determined foci yields directly from images with single-class or colocolized foci. Conclusions: We showed that DSB clustering needs to be taken into account to determine the true DNA damage foci yield, which helps to determine the DSB yield. Using the model analysis, a researcher can refine the DSB yield per nucleus per particle. We showed that purely geometric artifacts, present in the experimental images, can be analytically resolved with the model, and that the quantization of track hits and DSB yields can be provided to the experimentalists who use enumeration of radiation-induced foci in immunofluorescence experiments using proteins that detect DNA damage. An automated image segmentaiton software can prove useful in a faster and more precise object counting for colocolized foci images.

Ponomarev, Artem↗
NASA NTRS2024

The Isotopic Composition of Molecular Water Formed by Hydrogen Reduction of Iron Oxides: A Proxy for Endogenous Water Formed From Solar Wind Implantation

Many workers have successfully utilized a variety of lunar materials to infer the sources and processing history of volatiles on the Moon. In situ techniques via NanoSIMS have enabled a plethora of hydrogen isotope measurements of isolated grains in regolith and apatite within igneous rocks, revealing an extraordinarily large range of δD values from ~ -900 to +1000‰. The lowest of these δD values are related to the incorporation of solar wind hydrogen, which is pure 1 H. Exposure to solar wind results in structural damage to crystalline phases, forming ubiquitous tens-to-hundreds of nanometer thick amorphous rims on mature regolith grains. Solar wind implantation of H + is also is also thought to result in the formation of nanophase Fe 0 (npFe), a quantitative metric of surface exposure time (e.g., Is/FeO). The formation of npFe can be generally described via the reaction: Fe 2+ O + H 2 = Fe 0 + H 2 O, resulting in the formation of endogenous molecular water reservoirs.

lunar water↗
NASA NTRS2003

Shearography for Non-Destructive Evaluation with Applications to BAT Mask Tile Adhesive Bonding and Specular Surface Honeycomb Panels

In this report we examine the applicability of shearography techniques for nondestructive inspection and evaluation in two unique application areas. In the first application, shearography is used to evaluate the quality of adhesive bonds holding lead tiles to the BAT gamma ray mask for the NASA Swift program. By exciting the mask with a vibration, the more poorly bonded tiles can be distinguished by their greater displacement response, which is readily identifiable in the shearography image. A quantitative analysis is presented that compares the shearography results with a destructive pull test measuring the force at bond failure. Generally speaking, the results show good agreement. Further investigation would be useful to optimize certain test parameters such as vibration frequency and amplitude. The second application is to evaluate the bonding between the skin and core of a honeycomb structure with a specular (mirror-like) surface. In standard shearography techniques, the object under test must have a diffuse surface to generate the speckle patterns in laser light, which are then sheared. A novel configuration using the specular surface as a mirror to image speckles from a diffuser is presented, opening up the use of shearography to a new class of objects that could not have been examined with the traditional approach. This new technique readily identifies large scale bond failures in the panel, demonstrating the validity of this approach. For the particular panel examined here, some scaling issues should be examined further to resolve the measurement scale down to the very small size of the core cells. In addition, further development should be undertaken to determine the general applicability of the new approach and to establish a firm quantitative foundation.

Lysak, Daniel B.↗
NASA NTRS2001

A Prospective Method for Predicting Coronal Mass Ejections From Vector Magnetograms

Two quantitative measures of the global nonpotentiality of predominantly bipolar active regions are explored for their usefulness as indicators of whether an active region is likely to produce coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The two measures, length of strong-field strong-shear main neutral line (Lss) and global net current (IN), are obtained directly from vector magnetograms of the regions. From measurements of Lss and IN in four active regions for which the global nonpotentiality and CME productivity are assessed independently of Lss and IN, it appears that Lss and IN are each a useful indicator of an active region's likely CME productivity. The results also suggest that Lss and IN may be more reliable predictors of the CME productivity of active regions than is the presence or absence of sigmoidal structure in coronal X-ray images of the regions and that there might be threshold values of Lss and IN above which CME production is likely and below which CME production is unlikely. While these results need to be certified by an expansion of this pilot study to more active regions, they show the promise of Lss and IN as quantitative measures of global nonpotentiality for CME prediction.

Falconer, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Mission-oriented requirements for updating MIL-H-8501: Calspan proposed structure and rationale

This report documents the effort by Arvin/Calspan Corporation to formulate a revision of MIL-H-8501A in terms of Mission-Oriented Flying Qualities Requirements for Military Rotorcraft. Emphasis is placed on development of a specification structure which will permit addressing Operational Missions and Flight Phases, Flight Regions, Classification of Required Operational Capability, Categorization of Flight Phases, and Levels of Flying Qualities. A number of definitions is established to permit addressing the rotorcraft state, flight envelopes, environments, and the conditions under which degraded flying qualities are permitted. Tentative requirements are drafted for Required Operational Capability Class 1. Also included is a Background Information and Users Guide for the draft specification structure proposed for the MIL-H-8501A revision. The report also contains a discussion of critical data gaps and attempts to prioritize these data gaps and to suggest experiments that should be performed to generate data needed to support formulation of quantitative design criteria for the additional Operational Capability Classes 2, 3, and 4.

Chalk, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Compact Fiber Optic Eye Diagnostic System

A new fiber optic probe developed for determining transport properties of sub-micron particles in fluid experiments in a microgravity environment has been applied to study different parts of an eye. The probe positioned in front of an eye, delivers a low power (approximately few microW) light from a laser diode into the eye and guides the light which is back scattered by different components (aqueous humor, lens, and vitreous humor) of the eye through a receiving optical fiber to a photo detector. The probe provides rapid determination of macromolecular diffusivities and their respective size distributions in the eye lens and the gel-like materials in the vitreous humor. In a clinical setting, the probe can be mounted on a standard slit-lamp apparatus simply using a Hruby lens holder. The capability of detecting cataracts, both nuclear and cortical, in their early stages of formation, in a non invasive and quantitative fashion, has the potential in patient monitoring and in developing and testing new drugs or diet therapies to 'dissolve' or slow down the cataract formation before the surgery becomes necessary. The ability to detect biochemical and macromolecular changes in the vitreous structure can be very useful in identifying certain diseases of the posterior chamber and their complications, e.g., posterior vitreous detachment and diabetic retinopathy.

Ansari, Rafat R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Compact Fiber Optic Eye Diagnostics System

A new fiber optic probe development for determining transport properties of sub-micron particles in fluids experiments in a microgravity environment has been applied to study different parts of the eye. The probe positioned in front of an eye, delivers a low power (approximately a few mu W) light from a laser diode into the eye and guides the light which is back scattered by different components (aqueous humor, lens, and vitreous humor) of the eye through a receiving optical fiber to a photo detector. The probe provides rapid determination of macromolecular diffusivities and their respective size distributions in the eye lens and the gel-like material in the vitreous humor. For a clinical use, the probe is mounted on a standard slit-lamp apparatus simply using Hruby lens holder. The capability of detecting cataracts, both nuclear and cortical, in their early stages of formation, in a non invasive and quantitative fashion, has the potential in patient monitoring and in developing and testing new drugs or diet therapies to 'dissolve' or slow down the cataract formation before the surgery becomes necessary. The ability to detect biochemical and macromolecular changes in the vitreous structure can be very useful in identifying certain diseases of the posterior chamber and their complications, e.g., posterior vitreous detachment and diabetic retinopathy.

Ansari, Rafat R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

"Genetically Engineered" Nanoelectronics

The quantum mechanical functionality of nanoelectronic devices such as resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs), quantum well infrared-photodetectors (QWIPs), quantum well lasers, and heterostructure field effect transistors (HFETs) is enabled by material variations on an atomic scale. The design and optimization of such devices requires a fundamental understanding of electron transport in such dimensions. The Nanoelectronic Modeling Tool (NEMO) is a general-purpose quantum device design and analysis tool based on a fundamental non-equilibrium electron transport theory. NEW was combined with a parallelized genetic algorithm package (PGAPACK) to evolve structural and material parameters to match a desired set of experimental data. A numerical experiment that evolves structural variations such as layer widths and doping concentrations is performed to analyze an experimental current voltage characteristic. The genetic algorithm is found to drive the NEMO simulation parameters close to the experimentally prescribed layer thicknesses and doping profiles. With such a quantitative agreement between theory and experiment design synthesis can be performed.

Klimeck, Gerhard↗
NASA NTRS2001

Long-Term Durability of a Matrix for High-Temperature Composites Predicted

Polymer matrix composites (PMC's) are being increasingly used in applications where they are exposed for long durations to harsh environments such as elevated temperatures, moisture, oils and solvents, and thermal cycling. The exposure to these environments leads to the degradation of structures made from these materials. This also affects the useful lifetimes of these structures. Some of the more prominent aerospace applications of polymer matrix composites include engine supports and cowlings, reusable launch vehicle parts, radomes, thrust-vectoring flaps, and the thermal insulation of rocket motors. This demand has led to efforts to develop lightweight, high-strength, high-modulus materials that have upper-use temperatures over 316 C. A cooperative program involving two grants to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in-house work at the NASA Glenn Research Center was conducted to identify the mechanisms and the measurement of mechanical and physical properties that are necessary to formulate a mechanism-based model for predicting the lifetime of high-temperature polymer matrix composites. The polymer that was studied was PMR-15 polyimide, a leading matrix resin for use in high-temperature-resistant aerospace composite structures such as propulsion systems. The temperature range that was studied was from 125 to 316 C. The diffusion behavior of PMR-15 neat resin was characterized and modeled. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was also conducted in nitrogen, oxygen, and air to provide quantitative information on thermal and oxidative degradation reactions. A new low-cost technique was developed to collect chemical degradation data for isothermal tests lasting up to 4000 hr in duration. In the temperature range studied, results indicate complex behavior that was not observed by previous TGA tests, including the presence of weight-gain reactions. These were found to be significant in the initial periods of aging from 125 to 225 C. Two types of weight loss reactions dominated at aging temperatures above 225 C. One was concentrated at the surface of the polymer and was very active at temperatures above 225 C. The second was observed to dominate in the latter stages of aging at temperatures below 260 C. This three-reaction model satisfactorily explains past findings that the degradation mechanism of PMR-15 appears to change around 316 C. It also indicates that the second weight gain mechanism is a significant factor at temperatures below 204 C. On the basis of these results, a predictive model was developed for the thermal degradation of PMR-15 at 316 C. A comparison of data generated by this model with actual experimental data is shown in the following figure.

Bowles, Kenneth J.↗
NASA NTRS2010

A Two-Axis Direct Fluid Shear Stress Sensor

This innovation is a miniature or micro sized semiconductor sensor design that provides two axis direct non-intrusive measurement of skin friction or wall shear stress in fluid flow. The sensor is fabricated by micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology, enabling small size and low cost reproductions. The sensors have been fabricated by utilizing MEMS fabrication processes to bond a sensing element wafer to a fluid coupling wafer. This layering technique provides for an out of plane dimension that is on the same order of length as the inplane dimensions. The sensor design has the following characteristics: a shear force collecting plate with dimensions that can be tailored to various application specific requirements such as spatial resolution, temporal resolution and shear force range and resolution. This plate is located coplanar to both the sensor body and flow boundary, and is connected to a dual axis gimbal structure by a connecting column or lever arm. The dual axis gimbal structure has torsional hinges with embedded piezoresistive torsional strain gauges which provide a voltage output that is correlated to the applied shear stress (and excitation current) on force collection plate that is located on the flow boundary surface (hence the transduction method). This combination of design elements create a force concentration and resolution structure that enables the generation of a large stress on the strain gauge from the small shear stress on the flow boundary wall. This design as well as the use of back side electrical contacts establishes a non-intrusive method to quantitatively measure the shear force vector on aerodynamic bodies.

Adcock, Edward E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Observation of anomalous slow-mode shock and reconnection layer in the dayside magnetospause

Plasma and magnetic field data from the International Sun-Earth Explorer ISEE 2 spacecraft recorded during an outbound crossing of the dayside, northern hemisphere magnetopause in October 29, 1979, provide evidence for a slow shock (SS) in the observed reconnection layer. This layer is found to be bounded on the magnetosheath side by the SS; near the magnetospheric side of the layer, a second current sheet is found that may have been rotational discontinuity (RD). The direction of the accelerated plasma flow, the earthward sense of the normal magnetic filed across the SS and RD, and the relative orientation of the SS and the RD all indicate that the reconection site was located south of the spacecraft. Quantitative tests show that, allowing for experiemental uncertanties, data taken upstream and downstream of the SS are consistent with coplanarity and other Rankine-Hugoniot (RH) conditions. Examiniations of the flow parameters indicates two anomalous properties of the SS: the upstream flow, viewed in the deHoffmann-Teller frame, is superalfvenic and the downstream plasma is firehose unstable. In comparison to the long-wavelength slow-mode phase speed, however, the flow in the upstream region is super slow, while in the downstream region it is subslow, as requeired for a slow-mode shock. Further properties of the shock include a large decrease in total enthalpy across it, indicating the escape of a sizable heat flux from the shock structure, and the occurrence of a polarization reversal of the tangential magnetic field within the shock layer, a feature that is predicted by linear double-polytropic Hall-MHD and results from a large increase in pressure anistropy from the upstream region, where p(sub parallel) approximately equal to p(sub perp), to the downstream region, where p(sub parrallel) greater than p(sub perp). Quantitative tests of the RD-like discontinuity show that it satisfies the necessary RH conditions within experimental uncertainties and indicate that the flow across it is earthward, that is, it is the same as for the SS. Thus the RD is propagating behind the SS in the direction away from the Earth. The reversal in the order of the discontinuities is attributed to the reversal of the slow and intermediate phase speeds produced by the pressure anistropy in the region between the RD and the SS. The linear dispersion relation and polarization properties of dispersive MHD waves in an anisotropic plasma are examined in the appendix.

Walthour, D. W↗
NASA NTRS1973

The cometary and asteroidal origins of meteors

A quantitative examination of the gravitational and nongravitational changes of orbits shows that for larger interplanetary bodies the perturbations by Jupiter strongly predominate over all other effects, which include perturbations by other planets, splitting of comet nuclei and jet effects of cometary ejections. The structure of meteor streams, indicates that the mutual compensation of the changes in individual elements entering the Jacobian integral, which is characteristic for the comets, does not work among the meteoroids. It appears that additional forces of a different kind must exert appreciable influence on the motion of interplanetary particles of meteoroid size. Nevertheless, the distribution of the Jacobian constant in various samples of meteor orbits furnishes some information on the type of their parent bodies and on the relative contribution of individual sources.

Kresak, L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Two-component Navier-Stokes computational model of viscous sublayer turbulence

A new computational method is presented for developing a quantitative model of viscous sublayer turbulence in incompressible flow. Appropriate space- and time-dependent boundary conditions are constructed for the three fluctuating velocity components at the outer edge of the viscous sublayer. This construction is formulated so as to model essential coherent structures observed in experiments. Time dependent Navier-Stokes equations are used to compute the characteristics of turbulence in the viscous sublayer.

Chapman, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Satellite stratospheric aerosol measurement validation

The validity of the stratospheric aerosol measurements made by the satellite sensors SAM II and SAGE was tested by comparing their results with each other and with results obtained by other techniques (lider, dustsonde, filter, and impactor). The latter type of comparison required the development of special techniques that convert the quantity measured by the correlative sensor (e.g. particle backscatter, number, or mass) to that measured by the satellite sensor (extinction) and quantitatively estimate the uncertainty in the conversion process. The results of both types of comparisons show agreement within the measurement and conversion uncertainties. Moreover, the satellite uncertainty is small compared to aerosol natural variability (caused by seasonal changes, volcanoes, sudden warmings, and vortex structure). It was concluded that the satellite measurements are valid.

Russell, P. B.↗