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At least 775 records · Page 43

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1991

Aerothermal test results from the first flight of the Pegasus air-launched space booster

A survey of temperature measurements at speeds through Mach 8.0 on the first flight of the Pegasus air-launched booster system is discussed. In addition, heating rates were derived from the temperature data obtained on the fuselage in the vicinity of the wing shock interaction. Sensors were distributed on the wing surfaces, leading edge, and on the wing-body fairing or fillet. Side-by-side evaluations were obtained for a variety of sensor installations. Details of the trajectory reconstruction through first-stage separation are provided. Given here are indepth descriptions of the sensor installations, temperature measurements, and derived heating rates along with interpretations of the results.

Noffz, Gregory K.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Directional Solidification of Bi-Sn on USMP-4

The experiments used MEPHISTO hardware to study the solidification and melting behavior of bismuth alloyed with 1 at% tin. Three samples, each approximately 900 mm long and 6mm in diameter, were used. A portion of each sample also included a 2 mm diameter growth capillary, to assist in the formation of a single grain. One sample provided the Seebeck voltage generated during melting and freezing processes. Another provided temperature data and Peltier pulsed demarcation of the interface shape for post flight analysis. The third sample provided resistance and growth velocity measurements, as well as additional thermal data. The third sample was also quenched at the end of the mission to preserve the composition of the liquid near the interface for post flight determination. A total of 450mm of directionally solidified samples were preserved for post mission structural and compositional characterization. Substantial differences were observed in the Seebeck signal between the ground-based experiments and the space-based experiments. The temperature gradient in the liquid for the ground-based experiments was significantly lower than the temperature gradient in the liquid for the space-based experiments.

Abbaschian, Reza↗

NASA NTRS1981

Optical observations of thermospheric dynamics at Arecibo

A description is given of wind and temperature data obtained with a 15-cm Fabry-Perot interferometer. The observations were made between February and August 1980 and confirm the details of the conceptual model of Herrero and Meriwether (1980). Attention is given to the method used to analyze the neutral wind field, the zonal winds, the meridional wind, the horizontal wind gradient, the vertical wind velocity, the full wind field, and the neutral temperature. The most regular feature of the neutral wind at Arecibo is the zonal component, which has a peak velocity in the eastward direction near sunset, and decreases in velocity as the night progresses. Both the wind and temperature measurements reported provide ample confirmation of the importance of the equatorial midnight pressure bulge in modifying the dynamic behavior of the nighttime thermosphere at Arecibo.

Burnside, R. G.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Tropical Convection's Roles in Tropical Tropopause Cirrus

Remote sensing observations reveal the frequent occurrence of tropopause cirrus, thin cirrus layers located near the tropical cold-point tropopause. Here, we present a theory in which tropical convection plays several important roles in tropopause cirrus formation. First, tropical convection is the primary means by which the moisture required for tropopause cirrus formation is transported into the upper troposphere. However, previous studies suggest that this convection rarely penetrates to the altitudes at which tropopause cirrus layers are observed, suggesting that additional vertical moisture transport is required to explain tropopause cirrus formation. We propose a mechanism for explaining this transport in which tropical convection plays the key role. According to this hypothesis, the transport is accomplished by meridional circulations that develop within the tropopause transition layer (TTL) in response to momentum transport by Rossby waves generated by tropical convection. Results of a series of global scale model runs designed to test this hypothesis will be presented. In addition, reanalyses vertical velocity data will be examined for evidence of the expected correlation between large-scale rising motion within the TTL and tropical convection. Once moisture is present near the cold-point tropopause, large-scale cooling is required to initiate tropopause cirrus formation. One source of this cooling is stratospheric tropical waves induced by tropical convection, as we will show using a time series of radiosonde temperature data superimposed with data on cloud occurrence from the DOE ARM Nauru99 field experiment. Observations of the global characteristics of these waves from a longer time series of reanalysis data will also be presented.

Boehm, Matthew T.↗

NASA NTRS2012

James Webb Space Telescope Integrated Science Instrument Module Calibration and Verification of High-Accuracy Instrumentation to Measure Heat Flow in Cryogenic Testing

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an upcoming flagship observatory mission scheduled to be launched in 2018. Three of the four science instruments are passively cooled to their operational temperature range of 36K to 40K, and the fourth instrument is actively cooled to its operational temperature of approximately 6K. The requirement for multiple thermal zoned results in the instruments being thermally connected to five external radiators via individual high purity aluminum heat straps. Thermal-vacuum and thermal balance testing of the flight instruments at the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) element level will take place within a newly constructed shroud cooled by gaseous helium inside Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Space environment Simulator (SES). The flight external radiators are not available during ISIM-level thermal vacuum/thermal testing, so they will be replaced in test with stable and adjustable thermal boundaries with identical physical interfaces to the flight radiators. Those boundaries are provided by specially designed test hardware which also measures the heat flow within each of the five heat straps to an accuracy of less than 2 mW, which is less than 5% of the minimum predicted heat flow values. Measurement of the heat loads to this accuracy is essential to ISIM thermal model correlation, since thermal models are more accurately correlated when temperature data is supplemented by accurate knowledge of heat flows. It also provides direct verification by test of several high-level thermal requirements. Devices that measure heat flow in this manner have historically been referred to a "Q-meters". Perhaps the most important feature of the design of the JWST Q-meters is that it does not depend on the absolute accuracy of its temperature sensors, but rather on knowledge of precise heater power required to maintain a constant temperature difference between sensors on two stages, for which a table is empirically developed during a calibration campaign in a small chamber at GSFC. This paper provides a brief review of Q-meter design, and discusses the Q-meter calibration procedure including calibration chamber modifications and accommodations, handling of differing conditions between calibration and usage, the calibration process itself, and the results of the tests used to determine if the calibration is successful.

Comber, Brian↗

NASA NTRS1995

Cloud Masking and Surface Temperature Distribution in the Polar Regions Using AVHRR and other Satellite Data

Surface temperature is one of the key variables associated with weather and climate. Accurate measurements of surface air temperatures are routinely made in meteorological stations around the world. Also, satellite data have been used to produce synoptic global temperature distributions. However, not much attention has been paid on temperature distributions in the polar regions. In the polar regions, the number of stations is very sparse. Because of adverse weather conditions and general inaccessibility, surface field measurements are also limited. Furthermore, accurate retrievals from satellite data in the region have been difficult to make because of persistent cloudiness and ambiguities in the discrimination of clouds from snow or ice. Surface temperature observations are required in the polar regions for air-sea-ice interaction studies, especially in the calculation of heat, salinity, and humidity fluxes. They are also useful in identifying areas of melt or meltponding within the sea ice pack and the ice sheets and in the calculation of emissivities of these surfaces. Moreover, the polar regions are unique in that they are the sites of temperature extremes, the location of which is difficult to identify without a global monitoring system. Furthermore, the regions may provide an early signal to a potential climate change because such signal is expected to be amplified in the region due to feedback effects. In cloud free areas, the thermal channels from infrared systems provide surface temperatures at relatively good accuracies. Previous capabilities include the use of the Temperature Humidity Infrared Radiometer (THIR) onboard the Nimbus-7 satellite which was launched in 1978. Current capabilities include the use of the Advance Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) aboard NOAA satellites. Together, these two systems cover a span of 16 years of thermal infrared data. Techniques for retrieving surface temperatures with these sensors in the polar regions have been developed. Errors have been estimated to range from 1K to 5K mainly due to cloud masking problems. With many additional channels available, it is expected that the EOS-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) will provide an improved characterization of clouds and a good discrimination of clouds from snow or ice surfaces.

Comiso, Joey C.↗

DOE OSTI2014

Detecting Gravitational Lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background by Galaxy Clusters

Clusters of galaxies gravitationally lens the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) leading to a distinct signal in the CMB on arcminute scales. Measurement of the cluster lensing effect offers the exciting possibility of constraining the masses of galaxy clusters using CMB data alone. Improved constraints on cluster masses are in turn essential to the use of clusters as cosmological probes: uncertainties in cluster masses are currently the dominant systematic affecting cluster abundance constraints on cosmology. To date, however, the CMB cluster lensing signal remains undetected because of its small magnitude and angular size. In this thesis, we develop a maximum likelihood approach to extracting the signal from CMB temperature data. We validate the technique by applying it to mock data designed to replicate as closely as possible real data from the South Pole Telescope’s (SPT) Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) survey: the effects of the SPT beam, transfer function, instrumental noise and cluster selection are incorporated. We consider the effects of foreground emission on the analysis and show that uncertainty in amount of foreground lensing results in a small systematic error on the lensing constraints. Additionally, we show that if unaccounted for, the SZ effect leads to unacceptably large biases on the lensing constraints and develop an approach for removing SZ contamination. The results of the mock analysis presented here suggest that a 4σ first detection of the cluster lensing effect can be achieved with current SPT-SZ data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

CROSS-CORRELATIONS AS A COSMOLOGICAL CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR

We present a new procedure to measure the large-scale carbon monoxide (CO) emissions across cosmic history. As a tracer of large-scale structure (LSS), the CO gas content as a function of redshift can be quantified by its three-dimensional fluctuation power spectra. Furthermore, cross-correlating CO emission with other LSS tracers offers a way to measure the emission as a function of scale and redshift. Here we introduce the model relevant for such a cross-correlation measurement between CO and other LSS tracers, and between different CO rotational lines. We propose a novel use of cosmic microwave background (CMB) data and attempt to extract redshifted CO emissions embedded in the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data set. We cross-correlate the all-sky WMAP7 data with LSS data sets, namely, the photometric quasar sample and the luminous red galaxy sample from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Releases 6 and 7, respectively. We are unable to detect a cross-correlation signal with either CO(1-0) or CO(2-1) lines, mainly due to the instrumental noise in the WMAP data. However, we are able to rule out models more than three times greater than our more optimistic model. We discuss the cross-correlation signal from the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect and dust as potential contaminants, and quantify their impact for our CO measurements. We discuss forecasts for current CMB experiments and a hypothetical future CO-focused experiment, and propose to cross-correlate CO temperature data with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment Ly{alpha}-emitter sample, for which a signal-to-noise ratio of 58 is possible.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2001

Thermal Characterization of a NASA 30-cm Ion Thruster Operated up to 5 kW

A preliminary thermal characterization of a newly-fabricated NSTAR-derived test-bed thruster has recently been performed. The temperature behavior of the rare-earth magnets are reported because of their critical impact on thruster operation. The results obtained to date showed that the magnet temperatures did not exceed the stabilization Emit during thruster operation up to 4.6 kW. Magnet temperature data were also obtained for two earlier NSTAR Engineering Model Thrusters and are discussed in this report. Comparison between these thrusters suggests that the test-bed engine in its present condition is able to operate safely at higher power because of the lower discharge losses over the entire operating power range of this engine. However, because of the 'burn-in' behavior of the NSTAR thruster, magnet temperatures are expected to increase as discharge losses increase with accumulated thruster operation. Consequently, a new engineering solution may be required to achieve 5-kW operation with acceptable margin.

SarverVerhey, Timothy R.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Long-Term Global Morphology of Gravity Wave Activity Using UARS Data

Gravity waves in satellite data from CRISTA and MLS are studied in depth this quarter. Results this quarter are somewhat limited due to the PI'S heavy involvement throughout this reporting period in on-site forecasting of mountain wave-induced turbulence for the NASA's ER-2 research aircraft at Kiruna, Sweden during the SAGE Ill Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE). Results reported concentrate on further mesoscale modeling studies of mountain waves over the southern Andes, evident in CRISTA and MLS data. Two-dimensional mesoscale model simulations are extended through generalization of model equations to include both rotation and a first-order turbulence closure scheme. Results of three experiments are analyzed in depth and submitted for publication. We also commence simulations with a three-dimensional mesoscale model (MM5) and present preliminary results for the CRISTA 1 period near southern South America. Combination of ground-based temperature data at 87 km from two sites with global HRDl data was continued this quarter, showing stationary planetary wave structures. This work was also submitted for publication.

Eckermann, Stephen D.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Technoeconomic assessment of distillation heat transfer intensification using aeroelastically fluttering reeds

Dry cooling, where forced air is the heat transfer medium, is a preferable cooling method in arid locations lacking readily available process water. However, such locations often experience high ambient temperatures that limit the effectiveness of air cooling. The objective of this study is to quantify the economic and energetic benefits of heat transfer intensification via the implementation of aeroelastically fluttering reeds to the air-cooled condenser of a methanol distillation column. Condenser size and performance, regarding recovered methanol and required fan power, is evaluated across condenser operating temperatures (T cond ) from 60 to 62°C and heat transfer coefficients (U) U base –2U base for a range of inlet air temperatures based on ambient temperature data from Yuma, Arizona. Under typical design sizing, condenser capital cost was reduced by 6%–35% (1.3U base –2U base ) and nominal methanol recovery was increased from 0.26% to 0.38% (T cond = 62–60°C). At optimized condenser size, all enhanced U and T cond pairs increase methanol recovery and reduce fan power costs compared to the optimal Ubase reference. Overall, using enhanced heat transfer to maintain condenser temperature under a wider range of inlet conditions, rather than to reduce operation temperature, produces more favorable performance. Methanol price is not a determining factor in which pairs are profitable. Analysis was repeated for a global warming scenario, revealing more valuable improvements under elevated temperatures. Energy savings from condenser improvement to a methanol production system are not significant with respect to an optimized conventional system. Furthermore, unit economic and energetic incentives suggest implementation of fluttering reeds may be justified in other applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2015

Preliminary Results from Electric Arc Furnace Off-Gas Enthalpy Modeling

This article describes electric arc furnace (EAF) off-gas enthalpy models developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to calculate overall heat availability (sensible and chemical enthalpy) and recoverable heat values (steam or power generation potential) for existing EAF operations and to test ORNL s new EAF waste heat recovery (WHR) concepts. ORNL s new EAF WHR concepts are: Regenerative Drop-out Box System and Fluidized Bed System. The two EAF off-gas enthalpy models described in this paper are: 1.Overall Waste Heat Recovery Model that calculates total heat availability in off-gases of existing EAF operations 2.Regenerative Drop-out Box System Model in which hot EAF off-gases alternately pass through one of two refractory heat sinks that store heat and then transfer it to another gaseous medium These models calculate the sensible and chemical enthalpy of EAF off-gases based on the off-gas chemical composition, temperature, and mass flow rate during tap to tap time, and variations in those parameters in terms of actual values over time. The models provide heat transfer analysis for the aforementioned concepts to confirm the overall system and major component sizing (preliminary) to assess the practicality of the systems. Real-time EAF off-gas composition (e.g., CO, CO2, H2, and H2O), volume flow, and temperature data from one EAF operation was used to test the validity and accuracy of the modeling work. The EAF off-gas data was used to calculate the sensible and chemical enthalpy of the EAF off-gases to generate steam and power. The article provides detailed results from the modeling work that are important to the success of ORNL s EAF WHR project. The EAF WHR project aims to develop and test new concepts and materials that allow cost-effective recovery of sensible and chemical heat from high-temperature gases discharged from EAFs.

Electric Arc Furnace↗

NASA NTRS1987

SAGE aerosol measurements. Volume 3: January 1, 1981 to November 18, 1981

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) satellite system, launched February 18, 1979, obtained profiles of aerosol extinction at 1.00 micron and 0.45 micron ozone concentration, and nitrogen dioxide concentration. Data taken during sunset events are presented in the form of zonal and seasonal averages of aerosol extinction of 1.00 micron and 0.45 micron, ratios of aerosol extinction to molecular extinction at 1.00 micron and ratios of aerosol extinction at 0.45 micron to aerosol extinction at 1.00 micron. Averages for 1981 are shown in tables, and in profile and contour plots (as a function of altitude and latitude). In addition, temperature data provided by NOAA for the time and location of each SAGE measurement are averaged and shown in a similar format. The stratospheric aerosol distribution for 1981 shows effects of volcanically injected material from eruptions of Ulawun, Alaid, and Pagan. Peak values of aerosol extinction at 0.45 micron and 1.00 micron were 2 to 4 times higher than typical peak values observed during near background conditions. Stratospheric aerosol optical depth values at 1.00 microns increased by a factor of about 2 from near background levels in regions of volcanic activity. During the year, these values ranged from between 0.001 and 0.006. The largest were near the location of a recent eruption. The distribution of the ratio of aerosol to molecular extinction at 1.00 microns also showed that maximum values are found in the vicinity of an eruption. These maximums varied in altitude, but remained below a height of about 25 km. No attempt has been made to give detailed explanations or interpretations of these data. The intent is to provide, in a ready-to-use visual format, representative zonal and seasonal averages of aerosol extinction data for the third calendar year of the SAGE data set to facilitate atmospheric and climatic studies.

Mccormick, M. Patrick↗

DOE OSTI2021

Studying the effect of the upper internal structure design on thermal stratification in sodium fast reactors

Thermal stratification and mixing in large reactor pools can pose significant issues with regard to operation and safety of nuclear plants. While significant work has been done in this area on light water reactors it is more critical for sodium reactors and there is far less data with regard to low Prandtl number fluids. Here this paper focuses on the effect of the upper internal structure on the formation of thermal stratification in a scaled sodium fast reactor upper plenum. Six different upper internal structure configurations were tested to observe the effect on thermal stratification. The degree of stratification was quantified using the stratification number. Each configuration was tested from low to high flow rates at a temperature difference of 50 and 100 °C. Over this broad array of testing, it was observed that higher flow rates, more porosity in the upper internal structure design, and a smaller temperature difference yielded a lower degree of stratification. This information can be used to aid in the design of the upper internal structure in a sodium fast reactor. Furthermore, this high resolved temperature data can be used to verify models under prototypic low Prandtl numbers.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2018

A Solar Time-based Analog Ensemble Method for Regional Solar Power Forecasting

This paper presents a new analog ensemble method for day-ahead regional photovoltaic (PV) power forecasting with hourly resolution. By utilizing open weather forecast and power measurement data, this prediction method is processed within a set of historical data with similar meteorological data (temperature and irradiance), and astronomical date (solar time and earth declination angle). Further, clustering and blending strategies are applied to improve its accuracy in regional PV forecasting. The robustness of the proposed method is demonstrated with three different numerical weather prediction models, the North American Mesoscale Forecast System, the Global Forecast System, and the Short-Range Ensemble Forecast, for both region level and single site level PV forecasts. Using real measured data, the new forecasting approach is applied to the load zone in Southeastern Massachusetts as a case study. In conclusion, the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) has been reduced by 13.80%-61.21% when compared with three tested baselines.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2017

Developing Lathing Parameters for PBX 9501

This thesis presents the work performed on lathing PBX 9501 to gather and analyze cutting force and temperature data during the machining process. This data will be used to decrease federal-regulation-constrained machining time of the high explosive PBX 9501. The effects of machining parameters depth of cut, surface feet per minute, and inches per revolution on cutting force and cutting interface were evaluated. Cutting tools of tip radius 0.005 -inches and 0.05 -inches were tested to determine what effect the tool shape had on the machining process as well. A consistently repeatable relationship of temperature to changing depth of cut and surface feet per minute is found, while only a weak dependence was found to changing inches per revolution. Results also show the relation of cutting force to depth of cut and inches per revolution, while weak dependence on SFM is found. Conclusions suggest rapid, shallow cuts optimize machining time for a billet of PBX 9501, while minimizing temperature increase and cutting force.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS2020

Bhutan Water Resources Tech Paper: Comparing Precipitation, Temperature, and Phenology Data Trends in Bhutan to Assist the Himalayan Environmental Rhythm Observation and Evaluation System (HEROES) Project

Himalayan countries, including Bhutan, have become vulnerable to warming trends which result in increasing temperature and variable rainfall and snowfall. By combining phenological and meteorological data, Earth observation platforms and sensors were used to assess trends in precipitation, temperature, and vegetation phenology in Bhutan from 1996 through 2017. This project studied precipitation using Climate Hazards Center Infrared Precipitation with Station data, analyzed temperature using the Famine Early Warning System Network Land Data Assimilation System, incorporated elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, and assessed vegetation phenology using Aqua and Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to evaluate climate variability and its effects on Bhutan. In situ temperature and precipitation data were also collected from the Himalayan Environmental Rhythm Observation and Evaluation System (HEROES) project and Bhutan’s National Center for Hydrology and Meterology. Modeled and in situ data showed similar trends in precipitation and temperature for the Thimpu, Chhukha, and Gasa regions. Aqua and Terra MODIS phenology data were variable from year to year. However, the data suggested a late onset of spring green up. Partners at the Bhutan Foundation and locally in Bhutan can use this information to better understand and monitor climate variability and replicate these methods for future analysis.

Kinley Dorji↗

NASA NTRS2020

Bhutan Water Resources Project Summary - Comparing Precipitation, Temperature, and Phenology Data Trends in Bhutan to Assist the Himalayan Environmental Rhythm Observation and Evaluation System (HEROES) Project

DEVELOP Project Summary↗