Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “frequency range”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 883 records · Page 49

Optical phonons in PbTe/CdTe multilayer heterostructures

The infrared reflection spectra of PbTe/CdTe multilayer nanostructures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy are measured in the frequency range of 20–5000 cm{sup −1} at room temperature. The thicknesses and high-frequency dielectric constants of the PbTe and CdTe layers and the frequencies of the transverse optical (TO) phonons in these structures are determined from dispersion analysis of the spectra. It is found that the samples under study are characterized by two TO phonon frequencies, equal to 28 and 47 cm{sup −1}. The first frequency is close to that of TO phonons in bulk PbTe, and the second is assigned to the optical mode in structurally distorted interface layers. The Raman-scattering spectra upon excitation with the radiation of an Ar{sup +} laser at 514.5 nm are measured at room and liquid-nitrogen temperatures. The weak line at 106 cm{sup −1} observed in these spectra is attributed to longitudinal optical phonons in the interface layers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Seismicity and fault aseismic deformation caused by fluid injection in decametric in-situ experiments

Seismicity induced by fluid perturbations became an important societal concern since felt earthquakes ( M w up to 6) occurred after anthropogenic activities. In order to mitigate the risks associated with undesired seismicity, as well as to be able to use the micro-seismicity as a probe for in-depth investigation of fluid-driven processes, it is of crucial importance to understand the links between seismicity, fluid pressure and flow. We have developed a series of in-situ, decameter-scale experiments of fault zone reactivation by controlled fluid injection, in order to improve the near-source geophysical and hydromechanical observations. The deployed geophysical monitoring close to the injection allows one to cover the full frequency range of the fault responses from the static deformation to the very high-frequency seismic emissions (up to 4 kHz). Here, we focus on the microseismicity ( M w ~ –4 to –3) recorded during two fluid injection experiments in low-permeable shale and highly-fractured limestone formations. In both experiments, the spatio-temporal distribution of the seismic events, the energy balance, and the seismic velocity changes of the fractured medium show that most of the deformation does not actually emit seismic signals. The induced deformation is mainly aseismic. Based on these high-resolution multiparametric observations in the near-field, we therefore proposed a new model for injection-induced seismicity: the seismicity is not directly induced by the increasing fluid pressure, but it is rather triggered by the stress perturbations transferred from the aseismic motion caused by the injection.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Challenges in the separation and analysis of scattered waves in angle-beam wavefield data

The measurement of ultrasonic signals on a 2-D rectilinear grid resulting from a fixed source, referred to as wavefield imaging, is a powerful tool for visualizing wave propagation and scattering. Wavefield imaging provides a more complete picture of wave propagation than conventional single-point measurements, but creates more challenges for analysis. This work considers the development of wavefield-based methods for analyzing angle-beam wave propagation and scattering in plates. Methods of analysis focus on the separation of scattered waves from the total wavefield with the eventual goal of quantitative scatterer characterization in a laboratory environment. Two methods for wave separation are considered: frequency-wavenumber filtering and wavefield baseline subtraction. Frequency-wavenumber filtering is applied to wavefield data that are finely sampled in both space and time, whereas baseline subtraction is a technique that has typically been applied to individual signals recorded from fixed transducers rather than to full wavefield data. Baseline subtraction of wavefields, particularly for the frequency range considered here, is sensitive to both specimen alignment and temperature variations, whereas frequency-wavenumber methods are limited in their ability to separate waves traveling in the same direction. Results are shown for both methods with a focus on investigating and overcoming the challenges to full wavefield baseline subtraction.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Experimental study of electromagnetic wave scattering from a gyrotropic gaseous plasma column

We experimentally demonstrate the controlled scattering of incident transverse-electric electromagnetic waves from a gyrotropic magnetized plasma cylindrical discharge. Scattered electromagnetic waves can bend left and right by changing the external magnetic field of a plasma rod. Measured scattered wavefronts are in good agreement with electromagnetic simulations. A gyrotropic response is observed for incident wave frequencies ranging from 3.5 to 5.6 GHz for conditions corresponding to a ratio of cyclotron frequency to plasma frequency, ω ce /ω p ≈ 0.16. In conclusion, the observation of a gyrotropic response from cylindrical plasma discharges paves the way for their use as building blocks for future devices such as magnetized plasma photonic crystals, topological insulators, plasma metamaterials, non-reciprocal waveguide structures, and other devices, which require a tunable gyrotropic response from centimeter to meter-scale materials with application-specific geometry.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Irradiation-induced Degradation of Surface Acoustic Wave Devices Fabricated on Bulk AlN

Here, recent work to evaluate the prospects for surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices fabricated on bulk aluminum nitride (AlN) for elevated temperature and radiation environments is reported and discussed. The design and fabrication of an array of SAW devices using commercial wafers is described, including the non-standard fabrication approach taken to overcome the stress-induced warpage of the 50 mm diameter AlN substrates. Radio frequency performance characterization of the SAW devices, with resonance frequencies ranging from 0.5 GHz to 1.5 GHz, is described. The linear temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) near room temperature was measured and is compared to theoretical results from other investigators. Further, the effects of 8 MeV Al ion irradiation at 300°C and 500°C to damage levels of 0.01, 0.1 and 1 displacements per atom (dpa), as a proxy for neutron irradiation, was investigated. The ion irradiation damage was observed to decrease the SAW resonant frequency, and this effect is characterized and discussed. Significant degradation in the conductivity of the Ti/Al electrodes of the SAW devices was also observed and characterized. These experimental results provide a basis for further investigation of the prospects for development of SAW sensor devices in bulk AlN material for application in elevated temperature and radiation environments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A Search for Technosignatures Around 11,680 Stars with the Green Bank Telescope at 1.15–1.73 GHz

We conducted a search for narrowband radio signals over four observing sessions in 2020–2023 with the $L$-band receiver (1.15–1.73 GHz) of the 100 m diameter Green Bank Telescope. We pointed the telescope in the directions of 62 TESS Objects of Interest, capturing radio emissions from a total of ~11,680 stars and planetary systems in the ~9' beam of the telescope. All detections were either automatically rejected or visually inspected and confirmed to be of anthropogenic nature. We also quantified the end-to-end efficiency of radio SETI pipelines with a signal injection and recovery analysis. The UCLA SETI pipeline recovers 94.0% of the injected signals over the usable frequency range of the receiver and 98.7% of the injections when regions of dense radio frequency interference are excluded. In another pipeline that uses incoherent sums of 51 consecutive spectra, the recovery rate is ~15 times smaller at ~6%. The pipeline efficiency affects calculations of transmitter prevalence and SETI search volume. Accordingly, we developed an improved Drake figure of merit and a formalism to place upper limits on transmitter prevalence that take the pipeline efficiency and transmitter duty cycle into account. Based on our observations, we can state at the 95% confidence level that fewer than 6.6% of stars within 100 pc host a transmitter that is continuously transmitting a narrowband signal with an equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) > 10 13 W. For stars within 20,000 ly, the fraction of stars with detectable transmitters (EIRP > 5 × 10 16 W) is at most 3 × 10 -4 . Finally, we showed that the UCLA SETI pipeline natively detects the signals detected with AI techniques by Ma et al.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Improvement of a large-amplitude sinusoidal pressure generator for dynamic calibration of pressure transducers

Results of research on the improvement of a sinusoidal pressure generator are presented. The generator is an inlet-area-modulated, gas-flow-through device (siren type) which was developed to dynamically calibrate pressure transducers and pressure probes. Tests were performed over a frequency range of 100 Hz to 20 kHz at average chamber pressures (bias pressure) between 30 and 50 psia (21 and 35 N/sq cm abs) and between 150 and 300 psia (104 and 207 N/sq cm abs). Significant improvements in oscillation pressure waveform were obtained but with reduction in available generator oscillation pressure amplitude range. Oscillation pressure amplitude, waveform, and waveform spectral content are given as functions of frequency for the two bias pressure conditions. The generator and instrumentation for frequency, amplitude, and spectrum measurements are described.

Robinson, R. E.↗

Direction-finding measurements of type 3 radio bursts out of the ecliptic plane

Direction-finding measurements with the plasma wave experiments on the HAWKEYE 1 and IMP 8 satellites are used to find the source locations of type 3 solar radio bursts in heliocentric latitude and longitude in a frequency range from 31.1 kHz to 500 kHz. Using an empirical model for the emission frequency as a function of radial distance from the sun the three-dimensional trajectory of the type 3 radio source can be determined from direction-finding measurements at different frequencies. Since the electrons which produce these radio emissions follow the magnetic field lines from the sun these measurements provide information on the three-dimensional structure of the magnetic field in the solar wind. The source locations projected into the ecliptic plane follow an Archimedian spiral. Perpendicular to the ecliptic plane the source locations usually follow a constant heliocentric latitude. With direction-finding measurements of this type it is also possible to determine the source size from the modulation factor of the received signals.

Baumback, M. M.↗

Effects of perforated flap surfaces and screens on acoustics of a large externally blown flap model

Various model geometries and combinations of perforated flap surfaces and screens mounted close to the flap surfaces were studied for application to jet-flap noise attenuation for externally blown flap, under-the-wing aircraft. The efforts to reduce jet-flap interaction noise were marginally successful. Maximum attenuations of less than 4 db in overall sound pressure level were obtained in the flyover plane. Noise reductions obtained in the low-to-middle-frequency ranges (up to 7 db) were generally offset by large increases in high-frequency noise (up to 20 db).

Burns, R. J.↗

The importance of plasma effects on electron-cyclotron maser-emission from flaring loops

Electron cyclotron maser instability has been suggested as the cause of the observed short (10-20 msec), intense (an approximate brightness temperature of 10 to the 15th K) and up to 100% polarized microwave solar emission. It is shown that plasma effects and thermal cyclotron damping, ignored in previous theories, play an important role in controlling the frequency range of the emission. The radio emission is suppressed for ratios of the plasma frequency to the cyclotron frequency smaller than 0.4. An examination of the cyclotron damping, reveals that the maser action is suppressed unless a large fraction (i.e., over 10%) of the accelerated electrons participates in the emission process.

Sharma, R. R.↗

Dependence of the spectrum of Pc 3-4 pulsations on the interplanetary magnetic field

Dependence of the power spectrum of Pc 3-4 magnetic pulsations observed at the ATS 6 geosynchronous satellite on the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) has been studied. Pulsation events that were observed near noon and exhibited harmonic structure are chosen for analysis. Further selected are pulsation events with identical fundamental frequency to study dependence of the power of pulsations at different harmonic bands on the IMF. A weak negative correlation is observed between the IMF cone angle theta-XB and the power of pulsations in the frequency range 20-70 mHz. Also, a positive correlation between the intensity of the IMF B(IMF) and the power of pulsations at 50-70 mHz is found. This B(IMF) control is present at all ranges of the cone angle. A comparison is conducted of this observation with the frequency of bow shock associated upstream waves predicted from a model of wave generation by a cyclotron resonance of ions reflected at the bow shock. The predicted frequency depends on the IMF as B(IMF) (cos theta-XB)-squared. Although this relation gives a proportionality between the frequency and B(IMF) qualitatively consistent with the observation, it does not explain the most obvious IMF control of the spectrum of the pulsations.

Takahashi, K.↗

Radio variability of the blazar AO 0235 + 164

The high-redshift blazar A0 0235 + 164 exhibits flux-density variations which are primarily of the less common variety in which low-frequency flux-density variations track the high-frequency variations but are delayed and of smaller amplitude. Observational results based on five years of monitoring are presented which are correlated over at least a factor of 50 frequency range in the sense expected for an expanding synchrotron component: outbursts propagating toward lower frequencies with diminishing amplitudes. A simple, semiempirical jet model is developed which accounts reasonably well for the radio properties of the object. The predictions of the model are compared with observations, examining the radio flux-density histories, the radio spectral evolution, the radio structure, and evidence for relativistic bulk motion.

O'Dell, S. L.↗

Characteristics of intermediate-degree solar p-mode line widths

Measurements of the p-mode linewidths over the frequency range v = 1.87-4.93 mHz and degree range 1 = 1-150 are presented. The linewidth is observed to vary with mode frequency and degree. The variation with frequency is consistent with the observations of Libbrecht although the measurements are systematically narrower. The frequency variation has been explained in terms of radiative and convective damping of the modes. The observed variation with degree resolves previous contradictory results and is shown to exceed the 1/S variation that is expected in theoretical grounds. Here S is the travel time of a mode from its lower turning point in the solar interior, to its reflection at the solar surface. The deviations from a 1/S variation suggest that there are two possible damping mechanisms, in addition to radiative and convective damping, that affect the modes.

Jefferies, S. M.↗

Photoionization of the hydrogen atom in strong magnetic fields

The photoionization of the hydrogen atom in magnetic fields B about 10 exp 11 - 10 exp 13 G typical of the surface layers of neutron stars is investigated analytically and numerically. We consider the photoionization from various tightly bound and hydrogen-like states of the atom for photons with arbitrary polarizations and wave-vector directions. It is shown that the length form of the interaction matrix elements is more appropriate in the adiabatic approximation than the velocity form, at least in the most important frequency range omega much less than omega(B), where omega(B) is the electron cyclotron frequency. Use of the length form yields nonzero cross sections for photon polarizations perpendicular to the magnetic field at omega less than omega(B); these cross sections are the ones that most strongly affect the properties of the radiation escaping from an optically thick medium, e.g., from the atmosphere of a neutron star. The results of the numerical calculations are fitted by simple analytical formulas.

Potekhin, Aleksandr IU.↗

Vibroacoustic Response of the NASA ACTS Spacecraft Antenna to Launch Acoustic Excitation

The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite was an experimental NASA satellite launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery. As part of the ground test program, the satellite s large, parabolic reflector antennas were exposed to a reverberant acoustic loading to simulate the launch acoustics in the Shuttle payload bay. This paper describes the modelling and analysis of the dynamic response of these large, composite spacecraft antenna structure subjected to a diffuse acoustic field excitation. Due to the broad frequency range of the excitation, different models were created to make predictions in the various frequency regimes of interest: a statistical energy analysis (SEA) model to capture the high frequency response and a hybrid finite element-statistical energy (hybrid FE-SEA) model for the low to mid-frequency responses. The strengths and limitations of each of the analytical techniques are discussed. The predictions are then compared to the measured acoustic test data and to a boundary element (BEM) model to evaluate the performance of the hybrid techniques.

Larko, Jeffrey M.↗

Recent progress in opto-electronic oscillator

The optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) is a unique device based on photonics techniques to generate highly spectrally pure microwave signals [1]. The development of the OEO was motivated by the need for high performance oscillators in the frequency range larger than 10 GHz, where conventional electronic oscillators have a number of limitations. These limitations typically stem from the product of fQ, where f is the oscillator frequency and Q is the quality factor of the resonator in the oscillator. In conventional resonators, whether electromagnetic or piezoelectric, this product is usually a constant. Thus, as the oscillator frequency is pushed higher, the quality factor degrades, resulting in degradation of the phase noise of the oscillator. An approach to mitigate the problem is to start with a very high quality signal in the 5 to 100 MHz range generated by a quartz oscillator and multiply the frequency to achieve the desired microwave signal. Here again, frequency multiplication also results in an increase of the phase noise by a factor of 2010gN, where N is the multiplication factor.

opto-electronic oscillators↗

Quasi-Monolithic Structures for Spaceflight Using Hydroxide-Catalysis Bonding

Future space-based missions will take measurements of the universe with unprecedented results. To do this, these missions will require materials and bonding techniques with ever-increasing stability in order to make their measurements. As an example, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will detect and observe gravitational waves in the 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz frequency range with strain sensitivities on the order of 10(exp -21) at its most sensitive frequency. To make these measurements, critical components such as the optical bench or telescope support structure, will need to have path-length stabilities of better than 1 pm/(square root)Hz. The baseline construction method for the LISA optical bench is to affix fused silica optical components to a Zerodur baseplate using hydroxide-catalysis bonding (HCB). HCB is a recently developed technique that allows the bonding of glasses, some metals, and silicon carbide with significant strength and stability with a bond thickness of less than a few micrometers. In addition, a wide range of surface profiles can be bonded using only a small amount of hydroxide solution. These characteristics make HCB ideal for adhering optical components in complex optical systems. In addition to being used to construct the LISA optical bench, the HCB technique shows great promise for constructing other structures such as hollow retroreflectors to be used for lunar laser ranging, or a visible nulling coronograph to be used for exo-planet detection. Here we present construction techniques that could be used to make an optical bench, hollow retroreflector, nulling coronograph, or other quasi-monolithic structures using HCB. In addition, we present dimensional stability results of an optical bench that was made using HCB, as well as HCB strength measurements.

Preston, Alix↗

THE CRAB PULSAR AT CENTIMETER WAVELENGTHS. II. SINGLE PULSES

We have carried out new, high-frequency, high-time-resolution observations of the Crab pulsar. Combining these with our previous data, we characterize bright single pulses associated with the Main Pulse, both the Low-Frequency and High-Frequency Interpulses, and the two High-Frequency Components. Our data include observations at frequencies ranging from 1 to 43 GHz with time resolutions down to a fraction of a nanosecond. We find that at least two types of emission physics are operating in this pulsar. Both Main Pulses and Low-Frequency Interpulses, up to ∼10 GHz, are characterized by nanoshot emission—overlapping clumps of narrowband nanoshots, each with its own polarization signature. High-Frequency Interpulses, between 5 and 30 GHz, are characterized by spectral band emission—linearly polarized emission containing ∼30 proportionately spaced spectral bands. We cannot say whether the longer-duration High-Frequency Components pulses are due to a scattering process, or if they come from yet another type of emission physics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗