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At least 775 records · Page 43

NIR Imaging Spectroscopy of the Inner Few Arcseconds of NGC 4151 with OSIRIS at Keck

We present H- and K-band data from the inner arcsecond of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy NGC 4151 obtained with the adaptive optics assisted near-infrared imaging field spectrograph OSIRIS at the Keck Observatory. The angular resolution is about a few parsecs on-site and thus competes easily with optical images taken previously with the Hubble Space Telescope. We present the morphology and dynamics of most species detected but focus on the morphology and dynamics of the narrow line region (as traced by emission of [FeII]λ1.644 μm), the interplay between plasma ejected from the nucleus (as traced by 21 cm continuum radio data) and hot H2 gas and characterize the detected nuclear HeIλ2.058 μm absorption feature as a narrow absorption line (NAL) phenomenon. Emission from the narrow line region (NLR) as traced by [FeII] reveals a biconical morphology and we compare the measured dynamics in the [FeII] emission line with models proposing acceleration of gas in the NLR and simple ejection of gas into the NLR. In the inner 2.5 arcseconds the acceleration model reveals a better fit to our data than the ejection model.We also see evidence that the jet very locally enhances emission in [FeII] at certain positions in our field-of-view such that we were able to distinct the kinematics of these clouds from clouds generally accelerated in the NLR. Further, the radio jet is aligned with the bicone surface rather than the bicone axis such that we assume that the jet is not the dominant mechanism responsible for driving the kinematics of clouds in the NLR. The hot H2 gas is thermal with a temperature of about 1700 K. We observe a remarkable correlation between individual H2 clouds at systemic velocity with the 21 cm continuum radio jet. We propose that the radio jet is at least partially embedded in the galactic disk of NGC 4151 such that deviations from a linear radio structure are invoked by interactions of jet plasma with H2 clouds that are moving into the path of the jet because of rotation of the galactic disk of NGC 4151. Additionally, we observe a correlation of the jet as traced by the radio data, with gas as traced in Brγ and H2, at velocities between systemic and +/- 200 km/s at several locations along the path of the jet. The HeIλ2.058 μm line in NGC 4151 appears in emission with a blueshifted absorption component from an outflow. The emission (absorption) component has a velocity offset of 10 km/s (-280 km/s) with a Gaussian (Lorentzian) full-width (half-width) at half maximum of 160 km/s (440 km/s). The absorption component remains spatially unresolved and its kinematic measures differ from that of UV resonance absorption lines. From the amount of absorption we derive a lower limit of the HeI 2S column density of 1 × 10(exp 14) cm−2 with a covering factor along the line-of-sight of C(sub los) approximately equal to 0.1.

K-band data↗

Molecular line emission models of Herbig-Haro objects. II - HCO(+) emission

We present time-dependent models of the chemistry and temperature of interstellar molecular gas clumps that are exposed to the radiation from propagating stellar-jet shocks. The X-ray, EUV, and FUV radiation from the shock initiates ion chemistry and also heats the gas in the clumps. Using representative parameters, we show that, on the shock transit time between the clumps, the abundances of the ionized molecular species that are produced in the clumps can exceed the values determined from steady state models by several orders of magnitude. Collisional excitation by the heated gas can lead to measurable line emission from several ionized species; as in previous investigations of X-ray-irradiated molecular gas, we find that electron impacts contribute significantly to this process. We apply these results to the interpretation of the HCO(+) line emission that has already been detected in several Herbig-Haro objects. We demonstrate that this picture provides a natural explanation of the fact that the line intensity typically peaks ahead of the associated shock, as well as of the reported low line-center velocities and narrow line widths. We tabulate several diagnostic line intensities of HCO(+) and other molecular species that may be used to infer the physical conditions in the emitting gas.

Wolfire, Mark G.↗

The simulation of a propulsive jet and force measurement using a magnetically suspended wind tunnel model

Models featuring the simulation of exhaust jets were developed for magnetic levitation in a wind tunnel. The exhaust gas was stored internally producing a discharge of sufficient duration to allow nominal steady state to be reached. The gas was stored in the form of compressed gas or a solid rocket propellant. Testing was performed with the levitated models although deficiencies prevented the detection of jet-induced aerodynamic effects. Difficulties with data reduction led to the development of a new force calibration technique, used in conjunction with an exhaust simulator and also in separate high incidence aerodynamic tests.

Garbutt, K. S.↗

Brewster angle-cavity ringdown spectroscopy for low temperature plasma measurements in multiphases

Here we report on the development of a Brewster angle-cavity ringdown spectroscopy (BA-CRDS) system for low temperature plasma diagnostics. The system can measure gas species in solutions, with a detection limit (minimum detectable absorbance) of 9.1 × 10 -5 , which is equivalent to a detection limit of 0.04 parts per billion for measuring OH radicals in water at 308 nm. With higher reflectivity ringdown mirrors and improved design of a Brewster angle cell, the detection limit can potentially be up to 10 -6 or lower. In this exploratory study, the absorption cross sections of HgBr 2 and H 2 O 2 in the aqueous phase at 256 nm are measured to be (1.8 ± 0.1) × 10 -18 cm 2 and (5.2 ± 0.5) × 10 -20 cm 2 , respectively. Furthermore, temporal profiles of absorbance from distilled water, HgBr 2 , and H 2 O 2 solutions when interacting with a helium atmospheric plasma jet are individually characterized at different plasma powers, gas flow rates, and/or solute concentrations. The observed linear temporal profiles of absorbance from the plasma-interacted water suggest formation of H 2 O 2 from plasma-generated OH radicals, while the nonlinear temporal profiles from the plasma-treated HgBr 2 solutions reveal possible removal of HgBr 2 by OH radicals. Our results demonstrate that the new BA-CRDS system is a powerful tool for quantification of reactive plasma species in multiphases or other complex settings.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Quantification and evaluation of strain reduction from small-bubble gas injection in Spallation Neutron Source target vessels

Small-bubble gas injection has been routinely utilized in the operation of Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) mercury targets since 2017 to mitigate cavitation-induced erosion damage to target vessels. Strain measurements of target vessels collected in-situ during initial operation with gas injection were used to study the gas injection effect on the structural response of targets to proton pulses. A significant strain reduction owing to gas injection was found by comparing the strain measurement data during operation with and without gas injection. The research presented here focuses on quantifying strain reductions in SNS targets and evaluating the effect of small-bubble gas injection by comparing different bubbler types and target designs. The strain measurement results show the gas injection significantly reduced strain in SNS target vessels; strain values decreased by 30% to 80% for targets operating with gas injection. Stress and strain responses of SNS targets were simulated to numerically evaluate the gas injection effect. Based on the predicted stresses with and without gas injection, the fatigue lifetimes of SNS jet-flow design target were estimated using fe-safe fatigue analysis software. The simulations show these reductions should improve the fatigue life of target vessels and allow SNS targets to meet their fatigue design goal.

Fatigue life estimation↗

Aircraft Engine Sump Fire Mitigation

An investigation was performed of the conditions in which fires can result and be controlled within the bearing sump simulating that of a gas turbine engine; Esso 4040 Turbo Oil, Mobil Jet 2, and Monsanto MCS-2931 lubricants were used. Control variables include the oil inlet temperature, bearing temperature, oil inlet and scavenge rates, hot air inlet temperature and flow rate, and internal sump baffling. In addition to attempting spontaneous combustion, an electric spark and a rub (friction) mechanism were employed to ignite fires. Spontaneous combustion was not obtained; however, fires were readily ignited with the electric spark while using each of the three test lubricants. Fires were also ignited using the rub mechanism with the only test lubricant evaluated, Esso 4040. Major parameters controlling ignitions were: Sump configuration; Bearing and oil temperatures, hot air temperature and flow and bearing speed. Rubbing between stationary parts and rotating parts (eg. labyrinth seal and mating rub strip) is a very potent fire source suggesting that observed accidental fires in gas turbine sumps may well arise from this cause.

Rosenlieb, J. W.↗

Weak Hard X-Ray Emission from Two Broad Absorption Line Quasars Observed with NuStar: Compton-Thick Absorption or Intrinsic X-Ray Weakness?

We present Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) hard X-ray observations of two X-ray weak broad absorption line (BAL) quasars, PG 1004+130 (radio loud) and PG 1700+518 (radio quiet). Many BAL quasars appear X-ray weak, probably due to absorption by the shielding gas between the nucleus and the accretion-disk wind. The two targets are among the optically brightest BAL quasars, yet they are known to be significantly X-ray weak at rest-frame 2-10 keV (16-120 times fainter than typical quasars). We would expect to obtain approx. or equal to 400-600 hard X-ray (is greater than or equal to 10 keV) photons with NuSTAR, provided that these photons are not significantly absorbed N(sub H) is less than or equal to 10(exp24) cm(exp-2). However, both BAL quasars are only detected in the softer NuSTAR bands (e.g., 4-20 keV) but not in its harder bands (e.g., 20-30 keV), suggesting that either the shielding gas is highly Compton-thick or the two targets are intrinsically X-ray weak. We constrain the column densities for both to be N(sub H) 7 × 10(exp 24) cm(exp-2) if the weak hard X-ray emission is caused by obscuration from the shielding gas. We discuss a few possibilities for how PG 1004+130 could have Compton-thick shielding gas without strong Fe Kα line emission; dilution from jet-linked X-ray emission is one likely explanation. We also discuss the intrinsic X-ray weakness scenario based on a coronal-quenching model relevant to the shielding gas and disk wind of BAL quasars. Motivated by our NuSTAR results, we perform a Chandra stacking analysis with the Large Bright Quasar Survey BAL quasar sample and place statistical constraints upon the fraction of intrinsically X-ray weak BAL quasars; this fraction is likely 17%-40%.

nuclei↗

Dual Hydrogen Jet Fuel Aircraft – A Path to Low Carbon Emissions

Dual hydrogen-jet fuel aircraft have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and align with U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan goals. However, the use of liquid hydrogen solely as fuel introduces significant challenges such as low energy per unit volume, cryogenic storage, and safety risks. Addressing these challenges will require significant investments in infrastructure and technology. The transition to a low carbon aviation sector to meet the stringent mass, volume, safety, and emission requirements economically will require a mix of sustainable aviation fuels including hydrogen, as well as an abundance of renewable energy. Dual hydrogen-jet fuel aircraft with only 14% green hydrogen by weight would require double the total fuel volume of a conventional aircraft, but it could reduce carbon emissions 30%. With less quantities of green hydrogen required, dual hydrogen-jet fuel aircraft will reduce renewable energy, hydrogen infrastructure, and technology demands. The presentation will include an overview of dual hydrogen-jet fuel concepts and describe key sustainable aviation fuel challenges including availability and costs.

Hydrogen↗

Method for alcohol upgrading to jet, diesel, gasoline, and valuable co-products

A method for converting an alcohol to a jet-diesel hydrocarbon fraction, comprising contacting the alcohol with a pillared two-dimensional zeolite catalyst at a temperature of at least 200° C. and up to 500° C. to convert the alcohol to hydrocarbons comprising: (a) a first mixed olefin fraction containing a mixture of C 2 -C 5 olefins; (b) a first paraffin fraction containing C 3 -C 5 paraffins; and (c) a gasoline fraction containing C 6 + hydrocarbons; and the conversion of the alcohol is energy neutral or exothermic. The first mixed olefin fraction may be subjected to an oligomerization process to result in a second paraffin fraction containing C 3 -C 6 paraffins along with a C 7 + partially unsaturated fraction, and the first and second paraffin fractions combined into a total C 3 -C 6 paraffin fraction, which can in turn be subjected to a dehydrogenation or aromatization process with hydrogen gas as byproduct, and the hydrogen gas recycled for use in producing the jet-diesel fraction.

Li, Zhenglong↗

Determination of the Complex Refractive Indices of Aerosol Analogs Formed at Low Temperatures with the NASA Ames Optical Constants Facility (OCF)

The NASA Ames COsmic SImulation Chamber (COSmIC) [1] is a unique experimental facility that allows: 1) cooling a gas mixture to low temperature (150 K) in a jet expansion before inducing chemistry by plasma; and 2) controlling the extent of the chemical reactions by employing a pulsed plasma discharge. This enables the study of the early stages of aerosol production, as well as specific chemical pathways in planetary environments (e.g. Titan’s and Pluto’s atmospheres). Both the gas and solid products can be studied. For a decade COSmIC has been used to simulate Titan’s atmospheric chemistry at low, Titan-like temperature [2]. New developments on the COSmIC facility are investigating formation of aerosols in tenuous, or transitory, atmospheres of other icy bodies [3-5], as well as cool exoplanets atmospheres having a hydrocarbon component, that results in formation of hazes and/or surface deposits of refractory materials. The new Ames Optical Constants Facility enables determination of the aerosol analogs' complex refractive indices, n and k, from 0.59 to 200 μm [2]. Here we report efforts of determining n and k from ex-situ transmission measurements of solid samples produced from binary N-CH and Ar-CH, and tertiary N-CH-CH and Ar-CH-CHgas mixtures in COSmIC, and deposited onto various substrates. A computational technique [6] that addresses interference fringes observed in the laboratory transmission data, particularly at wavelengths < 3 μm, has been implemented and applied to determine n and k for the samples. At visible and near-infrared wavelengths(0.4-1.6 μm) the deposit thickness, and its variation, as well as n and k were determined by a commercial entity. These data provide the ability to compare results, from independent methods, in the region of overlap between the two approaches.

Ella M Sciamma-O'Brien↗

High-resolution emission-line imaging of Seyfert galaxies. I - Observations. II - Evidence for anisotropic ionizing radiation

A CCD direct imaging survey of 11 Seyfert galaxies with a mean seeing of 1.3 arcsec FWHM is presented. It is found that the major axes and spatial scales of the circumnuclear emission-line gas are very similar to those of the radio continuum sources. In the second part, this close connection between thermal and relativistic gases is examined. A scenario is proposed in which the radio jets and plasmoids shock, accelerate, and compress ambient and entrained gas, with the dominant source of ionization being the nonstellar nuclear UV continuum.

Haniff, Christopher A.↗

An experimental platform for investigating astrophysically relevant magnetized plasma jets on the COBRA facility

A new platform has been developed for the 1-MA COBRA generator to investigate the physical processes affecting the formation, collimation, and stability of high-speed outflows in magnetically driven laboratory plasma jets. Such experiments serve as diagnostically accessible surrogates for astrophysical jets under the assumption that the underlying dynamics are scale invariant. In contrast to previous current driven high energy density laboratory jet experiments that use radial/conical wire arrays or foils, the platform described here uses azimuthally symmetric gas-puff injection. This avoids the ablation phase from a solid target, allowing the jets to develop earlier and be driven longer without depleting their mass source and disrupting. A permanent magnet provides an initial poloidal magnetic field, which links the two concentric electrodes and mimics the boundary conditions of a star-accretion disk system. Extended magnetohydrodynamic effects can be assessed using a polarity convolute, which allows for reversal of the electrode bias. The resulting plasma jets exhibit remarkable stability, persisting for hundreds of nanoseconds and achieving aspect ratios ≳30:1.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Flow and Noise Control in High Speed and High Reynolds Number Jets Using Plasma Actuators

The idea of manipulating flow to change its characteristics is over a century old. Manipulating instabilities of a jet to increase its mixing and to reduce its radiated noise started in the 1970s. While the effort has been successful in low-speed and low Reynolds number jets, available actuators capabilities in terms of their amplitude, bandwidth, and phasing have fallen short in control of high-speed and high Reynolds number jets of practical interest. Localized arc filament plasma actuators have recently been developed and extensively used at Gas Dynamics and Turbulence Laboratory (GDTL) for control of highspeed and high Reynolds number jets. While the technique has been quite successful and is very promising, all the work up to this point had been carried out using small high subsonic and low supersonic jets from a 2.54 cm diameter nozzle exit with a Reynolds number of about a million. The preliminary work reported in this paper is a first attempt to evaluate the scalability of the technique. The power supply/plasma generator was designed and built in-house at GDTL to operate 8 actuators simultaneously over a large frequency range (0 to 200 kHz) with independent control over phase and duty cycle of each actuator. This allowed forcing the small jet at GDTL with azimuthal modes m = 0, 1, 2, 3, plus or minus 1, plus or minus 2, and plus or minus 4 over a large range of frequencies. This power supply was taken to and used, with minor modifications, at the NASA Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig (NATR). At NATR, 32 actuators were distributed around the 7.5 in. nozzle (a linear increase with nozzle exit diameter would require 60 actuators). With this arrangement only 8 actuators could operate simultaneously, thus limiting the forcing of the jet at NATR to only three azimuthal modes m = plus or minus 1, 4, and 8. Very preliminary results at NATR indicate that the trends observed in the larger NASA facility in terms of the effects of actuation frequency and azimuthal modes are similar in both small GDTL and larger NASA jets. However, the actuation authority seems to fall short in the larger jet at higher Mach numbers, resulting in decreased amplitude response compared to the small jet, which is attributed at this point to the lack of sufficient number of actuators. The preliminary results seem also to suggest that amplitude of actuation tones is similar in both the small and larger jets.

Samimy, M.↗

Gaseous sodium sulfate formation in flames and flowing gas environments

Formation of Na2SO4(g) in flames and hot flowing gas systems was studied by high pressure, free-jet expansion, modulated molecular beam mass spectrometric sampling. Fuel-lean CH4-O2 flames doped with SO2, H2O and NaCl yielded the gaseous Na2SO4 molecule in residence times of less than one millisecond. Intermediate species NaSO2(g) and NaSO3(g) were also observed and measured. Composition profiles were obtained for all reaction products. Nonflame flowing gas experiments showed that Na2SO4 and NaSO3 gaseous molecules were formed at 1140 C in mixtures of O2, H2O(g), SO2 and NaCl(g). Experimental results are compared with calculated equilibrium thermodynamic predictions.

Stearns, C. A.↗

The evolution of cocoons surrounding light, extragalactic jets

If the mass density of supersonic, collimated material is less than that of the surrounding medium, a so-called light jet will be enveloped by a cocoon of overpressured shocked gas. Hydrodynamical simulations are used to understand the evolution of the cocoon. The cocoon's evolution is also compared to a simple analytic theory. To reconcile the theory with the simulations, the growth of the jet head must be taken into account. The overpressured cocoon stage exists for a relatively short astronomical time, after which only the region of the cocoon near the jet head remains overpressured. The spatial distribution of the optical emission often observed in distant extragalactic jet systems can be explained with this improved understanding of cocoon evolution.

Cioffi, Denis F.↗

Gaseous sodium sulfate formation in flames and flowing gas environments

Formation of Na2SO4(g) in flames and hot flowing gas systems was studied by high pressure, free-jet expansion, modulated molecular beam mass spectrometric sampling. Fuel-lean CH4-O2 flames doped with SO2, H2O and NaCl yielded the gaseous Na2SO4 molecule in residence times of less than one millisecond. Intermediate species NaSO2(g) and NaSO3(g) were also observed and measured. Composition profiles were obtained for all reaction products. Non-flame flowing gas experiments showed that Na2SO4 and NaSO3 gaseous molecules were formed at 1140 C in mixtures of O2, H2O(g), SO2 and and NaCl(g). Experimental results are compared with calculated equilibrium thermodynamic predictions.

Stearns, C. A.↗

Reformer Fuel Injector

Today's form of jet engine power comes from what is called a gas turbine engine. This engine is on average 14% efficient and emits great quantities of green house gas carbon dioxide and air pollutants, Le. nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. The alternate method being researched involves a reformer and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Reformers are becoming a popular area of research within the industry scale. NASA Glenn Research Center's approach is based on modifying the large aspects of industry reforming processes into a smaller jet fuel reformer. This process must not only be scaled down in size, but also decrease in weight and increase in efficiency. In comparison to today's method, the Jet A fuel reformer will be more efficient as well as reduce the amount of air pollutants discharged. The intent is to develop a 10kW process that can be used to satisfy the needs of commercial jet engines. Presently, commercial jets use Jet-A fuel, which is a kerosene based hydrocarbon fuel. Hydrocarbon fuels cannot be directly fed into a SOFC for the reason that the high temperature causes it to decompose into solid carbon and Hz. A reforming process converts fuel into hydrogen and supplies it to a fuel cell for power, as well as eliminating sulfur compounds. The SOFC produces electricity by converting H2 and CO2. The reformer contains a catalyst which is used to speed up the reaction rate and overall conversion. An outside company will perform a catalyst screening with our baseline Jet-A fuel to determine the most durable catalyst for this application. Our project team is focusing on the overall research of the reforming process. Eventually we will do a component evaluation on the different reformer designs and catalysts. The current status of the project is the completion of buildup in the test rig and check outs on all equipment and electronic signals to our data system. The objective is to test various reformer designs and catalysts in our test rig to determine the most efficient configuration to incorporate into the specific compact jet he1 reformer test rig. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

Suder, Jennifer L.↗

Modelling of jet- and swirl-stabilized reacting flows in axisymmetric combustors

Turbulent nonreactive and reactive flows with and without swirl are analyzed, with particular attention given to the flow fields of a gas-fueled nonpremixed swirl-stabilized combustor and a premixed opposed-jet combustor. Local mean flow properties, including velocity, temperature, and major species concentrations, are calculated by solving numerically the governing partial differential equations with associated submodels for turbulence and combustion. The results of the study indicate that the constant-density k-epsilon turbulence model provides a satisfactory representation of the aerodynamics in most practical combustor flows. The exception is the case of jet-stabilized combustor flow, due to the fact that the k-epsilon model cannot replicate the highly dissipative phenomenon found in such flows.

Nikjooy, M.↗