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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 721 records · Page 40
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

Propagation anisotropies of solar flare protons and electrons at low energies in interplanetary space.

Flux anisotropies in interplanetary space were investigated for protons with E greater than 0.66 MeV and electrons with E greater than 400 keV. Data were taken from the University of Chicago charged-particle telescope aboard the deep-space probe Pioneer 7 and from the Goddard Space Flight Center magnetometer aboard the same spacecraft. Flux anisotropies lying to the east of the average interplanetary magnetic field direction were first reported by McCracken et al. (1971), late in a solar particle event, for proton energies greater than 7.5 MeV. This work extends this investigation to much lower proton energies, studies the proton and electron anisotropies during both early and late phases of a particle event, and makes use of detailed magnetic field data. The investigation consists of two parts, a study of many periods taken at random during solar events, for both protons and electrons, and a detailed analysis of one period, early in an event, during which the magnetic field was near the solar direction.

Pyle, K. R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Field size, length, and width distributions based on LACIE ground truth data

The development of agricultural remote sensing systems requires knowledge of agricultural field size distributions so that the sensors, sampling frames, image interpretation schemes, registration systems, and classification systems can be properly designed. Malila et al. (1976) studied the field size distribution for wheat and all other crops in two Kansas LACIE (Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment) intensive test sites using ground observations of the crops and measurements of their field areas based on current year rectified aerial photomaps. The field area and size distributions reported in the present investigation are derived from a representative subset of a stratified random sample of LACIE sample segments. In contrast to previous work, the obtained results indicate that most field-size distributions are not log-normally distributed. The most common field size observed in this study was 10 acres for most crops studied.

Pitts, D. E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Nanoflare Heating Frequency of an X-ray Bright Point Observed by MaGIXS

Nanoflares have been considered to be one of the most likely candidates for heating the solar corona to multi-million kelvin temperatures. Individual nanoflares are difficult to detect with today's instruments, but their presence may be established by comparing simulated nanoflare-heated plasma emissions to observed emissions. We present a simulation of emission from an X-ray Bright Point (XBP) detected by the MaGIXS, as well as simultaneous observations from SDO/AIA and Hinode/XRT. To simulate the XBP loops, we utilize the HYDRAD code. The length and magnetic field strength of these loops are determined using potential field extrapolation of SDO/HMI's observed photospheric magnetogram. Each loop is considered to be heated by random nanoflares, the amplitude and frequency of which are governed by the length of the loop and the strength of the magnetic field. The simulated outputs are used to estimate the intensity of spectrally pure maps of Fe-18, Fe-17, Ne-9, O-8, O-9, Ne-9, and so on, which is then compared to the intensity determined from MaGIXS observations. In addition, we derived the intensity maps obtained by AIA and XRT and compared them to the observed data. The composite distribution of the delay time of the nanoflares for which the simulated loops morphology and intensities match with observation shows a peak at 200s-500s, indicating that most of the nanoflares have a high/intermediate frequency.

coronal heating↗
NASA NTRS1972

On coherent oscillations of a string.

Vibrations of an elastic string when the separation between the ends varies randomly are studied. The emphasis is on the evolution of the coherent, or ordered, oscillations of the string. Using a perturbation technique borrowed from quantum field theory and the modified Kryloff-Bogoliuboff method, the 'multiple scattering' effect of the random separation between the ends on the linear and nonlinear coherent oscillations are investigated. It is found that due to the random interactions the coherent fundamental oscillation as well as the harmonies are damped. Their frequencies are also modified.

Liu, C. H.↗
DOE OSTI2026

A systematic analytical framework for multi-source municipal solid waste characterization for energy recovery

Advancing municipal solid waste (MSW) management from disposal-oriented practices toward circular, value-driven systems requires standardized methodologies capable of identifying material composition and resource recoverable potential at the point of generation. Despite extensive research, MSW characterization remains fragmented due to inconsistences in sampling methodologies, waste sorting categories, and temporal coverage across previous studies which limit cross-site comparability, reproducibility, and constrain the reliable evaluation of potential resource recovery pathways. This lack of consistency has hindered the development of a unified framework for MSW characterization and resource assessment. This study introduces a standardized, field-validated protocol for MSW sampling and composition analysis that ensures consistent, traceable data across diverse waste sources. The protocol integrates randomized spatial sampling, systematic material sorting, and controlled subsampling for multi-site and multi-season field campaigns. Validation included MSW collection from residential, grocery, restaurant, and school MSW streams across five U.S. states, including Maryland, Idaho, Virginia, Ohio, and Mississippi, to demonstrate the protocol’s ability to identify source-based composition patterns relevant to resource recovery applications. Grocery and restaurant streams were dominated by food waste and high-moisture organics, while school waste contained higher paper content and residential waste showed greater heterogeneity. Aggregation into energy-relevant fractions highlighted practical recovery pathways via anaerobic digestion or gasification, supporting data-driven planning, policy, and circular economy strategies for sustainable waste management across waste sources.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS2018

Computational Model Prediction and Biological Validation Using Simplified Mixed Field Exposures for the Development of a GCR Reference Field

The yield of chromosomal aberrations has been shown to increase in the lymphocytes of astronauts after long-duration missions of several months in space. Chromosome exchanges, especially translocations, are positively correlated with many cancers and are therefore a potential biomarker of cancer risk associated with radiation exposure. Although extensive studies have been carried out on the induction of chromosomal aberrations by low- and high-LET radiation in human lymphocytes, fibroblasts, and epithelial cells exposed in vitro, there is a lack of data on chromosome aberrations induced by low dose-rate chronic exposure and mixed field beams such as those expected in space. Chromosome aberration studies at NSRL will provide the biological validation needed to extend the computational models over a broader range of experimental conditions (more complicated mixed fields leading up to the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) simulator), helping to reduce uncertainties in radiation quality effects and dose-rate dependence in cancer risk models. These models can then be used to answer some of the open questions regarding requirements for a full GCR reference field, including particle type and number, energy, dose rate, and delivery order. In this study, we designed a simplified mixed field beam with a combination of proton, helium, oxygen, and iron ions with shielding or proton, helium, oxygen, and titanium without shielding. Human fibroblasts cells were irradiated with these mixed field beam as well as each single beam with acute and chronic dose rate, and chromosome aberrations (CA) were measured with 3-color fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) chromosome painting methods. Frequency and type of CA induced with acute dose rate and chronic dose rates with single and mixed field beam will be discussed. A computational chromosome and radiation-induced DNA damage model, BDSTRACKS (Biological Damage by Stochastic Tracks), was updated to simulate various types of CA induced by acute exposures of the mixed field beams used for the experiments. The chromosomes were simulated by a polymer random walk algorithm with restrictions to their respective domains in the nucleus [1]. The stochastic dose to the nucleus was calculated with the code RITRACKS [2]. Irradiation of a target volume by a mixed field of ions was implemented within RITRACKs, and the fields of ions can be delivered over specific periods of time, allowing the simulation of dose-rate effects. Similarly, particles of various types and energies extracted from a pre-calculated spectra of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) can be used in RITRACKS. The number and spatial location of DSBs (DNA double-strand breaks) were calculated in BDSTRACKS using the simulated chromosomes and local (voxel) dose. Assuming that DSBs led to chromosome breaks, and simulating the rejoining of damaged chromosomes occurring during repair, BDSTRACKS produces the yield of various types of chromosome aberrations as a function of time (only final yields are presented). A comparison between experimental and simulation results will be shown.

Hada, M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Intensity and polarization of light scattered by size distributions of randomly oriented nonspherical particles

Calculations of light scattering by small particles are important in many diverse fields of science and engineering. In many cases of practical interest, scattering particles are nonspherical and are distributed over sizes and orientations. However, accurate light scattering computations for ensembles of nonspherical particles are difficult and time-consuming, and the literature in which such calculations are reported is rather scarce. In this paper, the T-matrix approach, as extended recently to randomly oriented particles, is used to calculate rigorously light scattering by size distributions of randomly oriented axially symmetric particles. To model the variation of particle sizes in real ensembles, we use a power law distribution typical of some terrestrial aerosols. Contour plots of intensity and degree of linear polarization for polydisperse prolate and oblate spheroids of different aspect ratios and effective equivalent-sphere size parameters from 0 to 10 are calculated and compared with calculations for equivalent spheres. The angular scattering behavior of nonspherical polydispersions is found to be greatly different from that of spheres, while the scattering properties of oblate and prolate spheroids of the same aspect ratio are similar. With increasing particle size, both intensity and polarization become more shape-dependent. In general, nonspherical particles are stronger side scatterers and weaker backscatterers than equivalent spheres. With increasing aspect ratio of nonspherical particles polarization tends to be predominantly positive. Possible effects of particle nonsphericity on optical remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols are discussed.

Mishchenko, M. I.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Chiral effective field theory calculation of neutrino reactions in warm neutron-rich matter

Neutrino scattering and absorption rates of relevance to supernovae and neutron star mergers are obtained from nuclear matter dynamical structure functions that encode many-body effects from nuclear mean fields and correlations. In this study, we employ nuclear interactions from chiral effective field theory to calculate the density, spin, isospin, and spin-isospin response functions of warm β-equilibrium nuclear matter. We include corrections to the single-particle energies in the mean field approximation as well as vertex corrections resummed in the random phase approximation (RPA), including both direct and exchange diagrams. We find that correlations included through the RPA redistribute the strength of the response to higher energy for neutrino absorption and lower energy for antineutrino absorption. This tends to suppress the absorption rate of electron neutrinos across all relevant energy scales. In contrast, the inclusion of RPA correlations enhances the electron antineutrino absorption rate at low energy and suppresses the rate at high energy. These effects are especially important at high-density and in the vicinity of the neutrino decoupling region. Implications for heavy element nucleosynthesis, electromagnetic signatures of compact object mergers, supernova dynamics, and neutrino detection from galactic supernovae are discussed briefly.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Binding kinetics of harmonically confined random walkers

Diffusion-mediated binding of molecules under the influence of discrete spatially confining potentials is a commonly encountered scenario in systems subjected to explicit fields or implicit fields arising from tethering restraints. Here, in this work, we derive analytical expressions for the mean binding time of two random walkers geometrically confined by means of two harmonic potentials in one- and two-dimensional systems, which show excellent agreement with Brownian dynamics simulations. As a demonstration of its utility, we use this theory to maximize the communication speed in existing DNA walkers, obtaining quantitative agreement with previously reported experimental findings. The analytical expressions derived in this paper are broadly applicable to diverse systems, providing ways to characterize communication processes and optimize the rate of signal propagation for sensing and computing applications at the nanoscale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Asymmetric Electrode Work Function Customization via Top Electrode Replacement in Ferroelectric and Field–Induced Ferroelectric Hafnium Zirconium Oxide Thin Films

Non-volatile memory device structures such as ferroelectric random-access memory and ferroelectric tunnel junctions employ switchable spontaneous polarization to hold binary states. These devices can potentially benefit from the imposition of spontaneous internal biases and their resulting effect on the polarization properties of the ferroelectric (or field-induced ferroelectric/ antiferroelectric) layer. While HfO 2 -based thin films are ideal candidates for implementation into these devices due to their scalability and silicon compatibility, the phase purity of these oxides is sensitive to the selection of electrode material, preventing incorporation of asymmetric electrode layers into such structures. Within this work, electrode replacement following post-metallization anneal processing is introduced as a route to achieve ferroelectric and field-induced ferroelectric Hf x Zr 1–x O 2 (HZO) thin films with electrode-independent phase constitutions. The effects of this process and the corresponding internal biases imposed across the HZO layers due to asymmetric work functions are investigated. It is shown that internal biases vary in magnitude in accordance with prediction based on the work functions of the replaced electrode layers and affect remanent polarization magnitudes. Accordingly, electrode replacement presents a processing route that can readily produce HZO films with spontaneous internal biases and electrode- independent phase constitutions, facilitating implementation of these ferroelectrics into the next generation device structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1990

Stabilization functions of unforced cumulus clouds - Their nature and components

The nature and the spatial distribution of cumuli within an unforced cumulus cloud field are investigated. The thermodynamic effects of convection are quantified as functions of changes of convective available potential energy (CAPE) induced by the convective overturning, and the time rate of change of CAPE is parameterized in terms of a kernel of influence or stabilization function. A three-dimensional cloud model is used to infer and quantify stabilization functions by performing single-cloud experiments. On the basis of the results obtained, a new hypothesis with respect to the spatial distribution of cumuli is postulated, which states that, under completely homogeneous external conditions and assuming a spatially random distribution of cloud-triggering mechanisms, the spatial distribution of cumuli in the resulting cloud field must be regular, as opposed to either random or clustered, because cumulus clouds tend to reduce the available energy for convection, thereby inhibiting further convection nearby.

Ramirez, Jorge A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Dynamic response of nonuniform structures to classes of pressure fields

A semi-analytical method is developed for the calculation of the response of nonuniform structures to deterministic and random excitation. The method is based on parametric representations of the impulse response and input functions. With these representations, a class of structures of specified geometry and a class of pressure fields of practical concern can be considered simultaneously in a single analytical calculation of structural response. In engineering applications, the parameters in the impulse response function can be fixed once the numerical solution of the associated eigenvalue problem is available; the input function parameters can be specified given a particular input function or pressure field data. This methodology is applied to nonuniform beams and circular cylindrical shells for which parametric response solutions are derived. The computerized version of these solutions is also presented.

Cottis, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Random harmonic analysis program, L221 (TEV156). Volume 1: Engineering and usage

A digital computer program capable of calculating steady state solutions for linear second order differential equations due to sinusoidal forcing functions is described. The field of application of the program, the analysis of airplane response and loads due to continuous random air turbulence, is discussed. Optional capabilities including frequency dependent input matrices, feedback damping, gradual gust penetration, multiple excitation forcing functions, and a static elastic solution are described. Program usage and a description of the analysis used are presented.

Miller, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1995

On the spatial distribution of magnetic fields on the solar surface

Recent measurements of solar surface magnetic fields suggest that the spatial distribution of these fields is fractal. In order to understand the physical basis for such geometric complexity, we study here the advection of magnetic flux tubes relatively simple random motions on the surface of a fluid and investigate the spatial statistics of the resulting surface field. While this study does not directly address the question of why solar surface fields have the observed spatial structure, it is designed to build our intuition about how surface flows lead to complex spatial structuring of magnetic fields. As part of our study, we discuss the various methods by which one can describe the spatial distribution of the surface magnetic flux and relate them mathematically; this turns out to be a crucial point of our work since, as we show, a number of previous analyses have misinterpreted the analysis procedures for determining fractal dimensions. Our principal result is the explicit demonstration that simple random flows lead to magnetic flux spatial distributions with a multifractal dimension spectrum. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this magnetic spatial structure is generic, i.e., is characteristic of a very large class of random flows.

Tao, L.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A mathematical model of turbulence in flows with uniform stationary velocity gradients

Certain cases of turbulence as a postinstability state of a fluid in motion modeled by the introduction of multivalued velocity fields are examined. The turbulence is regarded as occurring in the form of random pulsations which grow until the external energy input in the average flow is balanced by the dissipated energy of pulsations by means of turbulent friction. Closed form analytic solutions are shown to be possible when the considered velocity fields, the pulsation velocity and the fluid velocity, are decoupled.

Zak, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Remanent magnetization of lunar samples.

The remanent magnetization of samples returned from the moon by the Apollo 11 and 12 missions consists, in most cases, of two distinct components. An unstable component is readily removed upon alternating field (AF) demagnetization in fields less than 100 Oe and is considered to be an isothermal remanence acquired during or after return to earth. The second component is unaltered by demagnetization in fields up to 400 Oe. It is probably a thermoremanent magnetization due to cooling from above 800 C in the presence of a field of a few thousand gammas. Chips from individual rocks have the same direction of magnetization after demagnetization, while the directions of different samples are random. This again demonstrates the high stability. Our data imply that the moon experienced a magnetic field that lasted at least from about 3.0 to 3.8 b.y., which is the age of Apollo 11 and 12 samples. One explanation of the origin of this field is that the moon had a liquid core and a self-exciting dynamo early in its history.

Strangway, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

General circulation of the middle atmosphere, part 1.4B

In both the tropical and extratropical regions there are a large number of dynamical problems which can be addressed by mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) radars. The distinct advantage the MST radar has over rocket observations is continuous data acquisition. Without a doubt, the time-space spectrum of the mesospheric flow field is rich in high frequency motions associated with gravity waves rather than turbulent (random) fluctuations, and these events are particularly amenable to analysis with continuous data sets. In addition to the high frequency motions these are longer period fluctuations in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere wind fields which, combined with temperature fields derived from satellite data or lidars, can greatly enhance our knowledge of the upper atmosphere.

Schoeberl, M. R.↗