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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.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Studies on effects of boundary conditions in confined turbulent flow predictions

The differences in k epsilon model predictions of plane and axisymmetric expansion flows is investigated. The prediction of the coaxial jet for different velocity ratios of the annular to central jet is presented. The effects of inlet kinetic energy and the energy dissipation rate profiles are investigated for swirling and nonswirling flows. The effects of expansion ration and Reynolds number on the reattachment length are also presented. The results show that the inlet k and epsilon profiles have the most significant effect on the reattachment length and flow redevelopment for the case of coaxial jet of high velocity ratio. A comparison of k epsilon model predictions for the pipe expansion flow by the PHOENICS and TEACH codes reveals some discrepancies in the predicted results. TEACH prediction seems to produce unrealistic kinetic energy profiles in some regions of the flow. PHOENICS code produces a long tail in the recirculation region under certain conditions.

Nallasamy, M.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Calculations of the radiative and dynamical state of the Venus atmosphere

Results are reported for accurate multiple-scattering calculations to determine the solar-energy deposition profile in the atmosphere of Venus. It is found that most of the absorbed energy is deposited in the main cloud-layer region, located at altitudes above 35 km, and that the ground receives approximately 3% of the energy absorbed in toto by Venus. Using these results, vertical temperature profiles are computed under conditions of pure radiative equilibrium and radiative-convective equilibrium. Since the latter results satisfactorily match the temperature structure determined from various spacecraft observations, it is inferred that the greenhouse effect can account for the high surface temperature. Aerosols make an important contribution to the infrared opacity in these calculations. Preliminary three-dimensional calculations of the general circulation of the atmosphere are discussed which incorporate the results of the radiative calculations.

Pollack, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The pulse profile of the Crab pulsar in the energy range 45 keV-1.2 MeV

The Crab Nebula pulsar (PSR 0531+21) is the best studied and most intense of the nontransient X-ray pulsars. However, since its spectrum drops rapidly with energy, a well-resolved pulse profile has not previously been obtained above 200 keV. In the hard X-ray and low-energy gamma-ray region, an accurate pulse profile can be obtained with a balloon-borne detector of sufficient area during a single transit of the source. A new measurement of the pulse profile of PSR 0531+21 in the energy range above 45 keV obtained with a large-area scintillation detector array is reported. The detector array was flown on a balloon launched from Palestine, Texas on 1980 October 6, reaching a float altitude 4.5 g/sq cm at 0230 UTC October 7. The primary objective of the experiment was to detect and study weak gamma-ray bursts.

Wilson, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Observations related to the acceleration, injection, and interplanetary propagation of energetic protons during the solar cosmic ray event on February 16, 1984

This paper presents an analysis of data collected by the worldwide network of neutron monitors and from IMP-8 cosmic-ray telescopes, as well as by particle detectors on the GOES 5 and 6 and ICE satellites, on the solar cosmic ray event that took place on February 16, 1984. Using these data, the intensity-time (IT) profiles, the anisotropy-time profiles, the energy spectra, and the pitch angle distributions of the solar protons near earth were deduced. It was found that the solar protons propagated essentially scatter-free from the sun to the earth. The solar protons had easy access to the IMF lines to earth; the time from the onset to maximum intensity and the shape of the IT profiles at earth as a function of energy could be explained by the diffusion of the flare protons near the acceleration region. The energy spectrum of the solar flare protons injected into the undisturbed IMF at the sun was changing with time in both amplitude and shape. The observations suggest a shock acceleration process.

Debrunner, H.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Ion composition of the bulk ring current during a magnetic storm - Observations with the CHEM-instrument on AMPTE-CCE

Ion composition measurements in the entire energy range of the ring current population, obtained with the Charge-, Energy-, Mass-spectrometer instrument on the Charge Composition Explorer in September 1984, are reported. From the energy spectra obtained for all major constituents during the main phase of a magnetic storm, the number densities, energy densities, and mean energies are calculated and displayed as radial profiles. The mean energies of He(2+) are found to be about twice that of H(+) and He(+) throughout this storm, and the time profiles for the mean energies of all major ions are seen to bunch together (when normalizing mean energies by the ionic charge), with the largest variations of the energy densities and mean energies occurring for O(+) ions.

Stuedemann, W.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Efficient Low-Speed Flight in a Wind Field

A new software tool was needed for flight planning of a high altitude, low speed unmanned aerial vehicle which would be flying in winds close to the actual airspeed of the vehicle. An energy modeled NLP (non-linear programming) formulation was used to obtain results for a variety of missions and wind profiles. The energy constraint derived included terms due to the wind field and the performance index was a weighted combination of the amount of fuel used and the final time. With no emphasis on time and with no winds the vehicle was found to fly at maximum lift to drag velocity, V(sub md). When flying in tail winds the velocity was less than V(sub md), while flying in head winds the velocity was higher than V(sub md). A family of solutions was found with varying times of flight and varying fuel amounts consumed which will aid the operator in choosing a flight plan depending on a desired landing time. At certain parts of the flight, the turning terms in the energy constraint equation were found to be significant. An analysis of a simpler vertical plane cruise optimal control problem was used to explain some of the characteristics of the vertical plane NLP results.

Feldman, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Evaluation of Full Reynolds Stress Turbulence Models in FUN3D for Axisymmetric Jet Flow

Two full seven-equation turbulence models available in the FUN3D code are evaluated for their ability to improve the computation of challenging mixing flows encountered in aerospace propulsion. These models are the SSG/LRR and Wilcox full second-moment Reynolds stress models. They solve equations for the six components of the Reynolds stress and a seventh equation for the turbulent length scale. Two standard eddy viscosity models are also evaluated for comparison, the Spalart-Allmaras (SA) one-equation model and the Menter Shear Stress Transport (SST-V) two-equation turbulence model. Flow through an axisymmetric reference nozzle is examined at three flow conditions: subsonic unheated, subsonic heated, and near sonic unheated. Centerline profiles of velocity and turbulent kinetic energy and radial profiles of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent stresses are examined. Results showed that the SA model did well at predicting the jet potential core length, but over-mixed the downstream flow, whereas the SST-V model over-predicted the potential core length. The Wilcox-model significantly over-predicted the potential core length and under-predicted the mixing and was not well-suited for the jet flows evaluated, however the SSG/LRR Reynolds stress model did well at predicting the mixing rate and mean velocity for all cases examined.

mixing layers↗
NASA NTRS2019

Evaluation of Full Reynolds Stress Turbulence Models in FUN3D for Axisymmetric Jet Flow

Two full seven-equation turbulence models have been implemented into the FUN3D code to evaluate their ability to improve the computation of challenging flows encountered in aerospace propulsion, including mixing flows. These models are the SSG/LRR and Wilcox full second-moment Reynolds stress models. They solve equations for the six components of the Reynolds stress and a seventh equation for the mixing length. Two standard eddy viscosity models are also evaluated for comparison, the Spalart-Allmaras (SA) one-equation model and the Menter Shear Stress Transport (SST-V) two-equation turbulence model. Flow through an axisymmetric reference nozzle is examined at three flow conditions: subsonic unheated, subsonic heated, and near sonic unheated. Centerline profiles of velocity and turbulent kinetic energy and radial profiles of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent stresses are examined. characteristics, no significant changes in the downstream flow behavior compared to the baseline case are observed. Furthermore, the total power consumed by the fans for different incoming flow conditions also remain marginally the same. It is hoped that the results, albeit obtained at very low speeds. would serve as a database for this technologically interesting flow field that has not been explored adequately before.

computational fluid dynamics↗
NASA NTRS2019

Using Deep Learning to Automate Inference of Meteoroid Pre-Entry Properties

Properly assessing the asteroid threat depends on the knowledge of asteroid pre-entry parameters, such as size, velocity, mass, density, and strength. Although a vast number of possible bodies to study exist, such characterization of asteroid populations is currently limited by substantial costs associated with space rendezvous missions and rare meteorite findings. As asteroids fragment, ablate, and decelerate in the atmosphere, they emit light detectable by ground-based and space-borne instruments. Earth’s atmosphere, thus, becomes an accessible laboratory that enables impactor risk assessments by facilitating inference of the pre-entry parameters. These asteroid pre-entry conditions are typically deduced by modeling the entry and breakup physics that best reproduce the observed light or energy deposition curve. However, this process requires extensive manual trial-and-error of uncertain modeling parameters. Automating meteor modeling and inference would improve property distributions used in risk assessments and enable population characterization as more light curves become more readily available through the presence of space assets and ground-based camera networks. We previously developed a genetic algorithm to automate meteor modeling by using the fragment-cloud model (FCM) to search for the values of the FCM input parameters (e.g., diameter) that generate energy deposition profiles that match the observed one. Now, we apply deep learning to infer asteroid diameter, velocity, and density from observed energy deposition curves. We trained and tested our neural network models with synthetic energy deposition curves modeled using the FCM rubble pile implementation. We present an application of a 1D convolutional neural network and compare its performance to other attempted regressors and machine learning techniques, such as a fully connected neural network and Random Forest regression, to demonstrate its capabilities. We validate our model weights and approach using the Chelyabinsk, Tagish Lake, Benešov, Košice, and Lost City meteors.

Tarano, Ana Maria↗
NASA NTRS1981

Market assessment of photovoltaic power systems for agricultural applications in the Philippines

The market potential in the Philippines for stand alone photovoltaic (P/V) systems in agriculture was assessed. Applications include: irrigation, postharvest operation, food and fiber processing and storage, and livestock and fisheries operations. Power and energy use profiles for many applications as well as assessments of business, government and financial climate for P/V sales are described. Many characteristics of the Philippine agriculture and energy sector favorably influence the use of P/V systems. However, serious and significant barriers prevent achieving the technically feasible, cost competitive market for P/V systems in the agricultural sector. The reason for the small market is the limited availability capital for financing P/V systems. It is suggested that innovative financing schemes and promotional campaigns should be devised.

Cabraal, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Multiwavelength Emission From Pulsar Slot Gaps

We present results of a 3D model of optical to gamma-ray emission from the slot gap accelerator of a rotation-powered pulsar. Primary electrons accelerating to high altitude in the pulsar magnetosphere at the outer edge of the open field volume, as well as electron-positron pairs on field line interior to the slot gap, radiate curvature, inverse Compton and synchrotron radiation. Both primaries and pairs undergo cyclotron resonant absorption of radio photons, allowing them to maintain significant pitch angles and to produce a broad spectrum of emission from infra-red to GeV energies. Synchrotron radiation from pairs with a power-law energy spectrum dominate the spectrum up to 10 MeV. Synchrotron and curvature radiation of primaries dominates from 10 MeV up to a few GeV. The high-energy pulse profiles are dominated by caustics on trailing field lines. In the case of the Crab pulsar, the radio conal emission may also form caustics in phase with the high-energy peaks. If resonant absorption of radio emission produces high-energy synchroti-on radiation, emission below 200 Mev is expected to exhibit correlations in time and phase with the radio emission.

Harding, Alice K.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Physical parameter profiles of selected X-ray flares

Soft X-ray proportional-counter data for nine X-ray flares of class C1 to M1 occurring during the Skylab mission, have been analyzed to yield temperature, volume emission measure, electron density and thermal energy content. Profiles of these quantities are presented, using 1-min averages of 2.5-s resolution data. The event profiles are discussed and comparisons with previous studies made.

Wilson, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Measurement of photoemission and secondary emission from laboratory dust grains

The overall goal of this project is experimentally determine the emission properties of dust grains in order to provide theorists and modelers with an accurate data base to use in codes that predict the charging of grains in various plasma environments encountered in the magnetospheres of the planets. In general these modelers use values which have been measured on planar, bulk samples of the materials in question. The large enhancements expected due to the small size of grains can have a dramatic impact upon the predictions and the ultimate utility of these predictions. The first experimental measurement of energy resolved profiles of the secondary electron emission coefficient, 6, of sub-micron diameter particles has been accomplished. Bismuth particles in the size range of .022 to .165 micrometers were generated in a moderate pressure vacuum oven (average size is a function of oven temperature and pressure) and introduced into a high vacuum chamber where they interacted with a high energy electron beam (0.4 to 20 keV). Large enhancements in emission were observed with a peak value, delta(sub max) = 4. 5 measured for the ensemble of particles with a mean size of .022 micrometers. This is in contrast to the published value, delta(sub max) = 1.2, for bulk bismuth. The observed profiles are in general agreement with recent theoretical predictions made by Chow et al. at UCSD.

Hazelton, Robert C.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Trajectories and energy transfer of saltating particles onto rock surfaces : application to abrasion and ventifact formation on Earth and Mars

The interaction between saltating sand grains and rock surfaces is assessed to gauge relative abrasion potential as a function of rock shape, wind speed, grain size, and planetary environment. Many kinetic energy height profiles for impacts exhibit a distinctive increase, or kink, a few centimeters above the surface, consistent with previous field, wind tunnel, and theoretical investigations. The height of the kink observed in natural and wind tunnel settings is greater than predictions by a factor of 2 or more, probably because of enhanced bouncing off hard ground surfaces. Rebounded grains increase the effective flux and relative kinetic energy for intermediate slope angles. Whether abrasion occurs, as opposed to simple grain impact with little or no mass lost from the rock, depends on whether the grain kinetic energy (EG) exceeds a critical value (EC), as well as the flux of grains with energies above EC. The magnitude of abrasion and the shape change of the rock over time depends on this flux and the value of EG > EC. Considering the potential range of particle sizes and wind speeds, the predicted kinetic energies of saltating sand hitting rocks overlap on Earth and Mars. However, when limited to the most likely grain sizes and threshold conditions, our results agree with previous work and show that kinetic energies are about an order of magnitude greater on Mars.

planet sufraces↗
NASA NTRS2014

NuSTAR Observations of the Magnetar 1E 2259+586

We report on new broad band spectral and temporal observations of the magnetar 1E 2259+586, which is located in the supernova remnant CTB 109. Our data were obtained simultaneously with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and Swift, and cover the energy range from 0.5-79 keV. We present pulse profiles in various energy bands and compare them to previous RXTE results. The NuSTAR data show pulsations above 20 keV for the first time and we report evidence that one of the pulses in the double-peaked pulse profile shifts position with energy. The pulsed fraction of the magnetar is shown to increase strongly with energy. Our spectral analysis reveals that the soft X-ray spectrum is well characterized by an absorbed double blackbody or blackbody plus power-law model in agreement with previous reports. Our new hard X-ray data, however, suggest that an additional component, such as a power law, is needed to describe the NuSTAR and Swift spectrum. We also fit the data with the recently developed coronal outflow model by Beloborodov for hard X-ray emission from magnetars. The outflow from a ring on the magnetar surface is statistically preferred over outflow from a polar cap.

X-rays: individual↗
NASA NTRS1983

Calibration of a stack of NaI scintillators at the Berkeley Bevalac

An analysis of the carbon and argon data reveals that essentially all of the charge-changing fragmentation reactions within the stack can be identified and removed by imposing the simple criteria relating the observed energy deposition profiles to the expected Bragg curve depositions. It is noted that these criteria are even capable of identifying approximately one-third of the expected neutron-stripping interactions, which in these cases have anomalous deposition profiles. The contribution of mass error from uncertainty in delta E has an upper limit of 0.25 percent for Mn; this produces an associated mass error for the experiment of about 0.14 amu. It is believed that this uncertainty will change little with changing gamma. Residual errors in the mapping produce even smaller mass errors for lighter isotopes, whereas photoelectron fluctuations and delta-ray effects are approximately the same independent of the charge and energy deposition.

Schindler, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS2007

The Roles of Flares and Shocks in determining SEP Abundances

We examine solar energetic particle (SEP) event-averaged abundances of Fe relative to O and intensity versus time profiles at energies above 25 MeV/nucleon using the SIS instrument on ACE. These data are compared with solar wind conditions during each event and with estimates of the strength of the associated shock based on average travel times to 1 AU. We find that the majority of events with an Fe to 0 abundance ratio greater than two times the average 5-12 MeV/nuc value for large SEP events (0.134) occur in the western hemisphere. Furthermore, in most of these Fe-rich events the profiles peak within 12 hours of the associated flare, suggesting that some of the observed interplanetary particles are accelerated in these flares. The vast majority of events with Fe/O below 0.134 are influenced by interplanetary shock acceleration. We suggest that variations in elemental composition in SEP events mainly arise from the combination of flare particles and shock acceleration of these particles and/or the ambient medium.

Cane, H. V.↗