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NASA NTRS1977

A versatile detector system to measure the change states, mass compositions and energy spectra of interplanetary and magnetosphere ions

An instrument is described for measuring the mass and charge state composition as well as the energy spectra and angular distributions of 0.5 to 350 kev/charge ions in interplanetary space and in magnetospheres of planets such as Jupiter and earth. Electrostatic deflection combined with a time-of-flight and energy measurement allows three-parameter analysis of output signals from which the mass, charge states, and energy are determined. Post-acceleration by 30 kV extends the energy range of the detector system into the solar wind and magnetosphere plasma regime. Isotopes of H and He are easily resolved as are individual elements up to Ne and the dominant elements up to and including Fe. This instrument has an extremely large dynamic range in intensity and is sensitive to rare elements even in the presence of high intensity radiation, and is adapted for interplanetary, deep-space, and out-of-the-ecliptic missions, as well as for flights on spacecraft orbiting Jupiter and earth.

Gloeckler, G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Thermal fluctuations from an artificial ion beam injection into the ionosphere

Simulations of argon beam experiments flown on two sounding rocket flights (ARCS 1, 2) reveal two bands of electrostatic wave emissions, one at high frequencies around the upper hybrid mode, the other at low frequencies around the lower hybrid mode. The latter is significantly enhanced by the argon beam in the simulations, and the enhancement was clearly observed on ARCS 2. This enhancement at phase velocities greater than the beam velocity is suggested to be due to an increase in the thermal fluctuation level of the plasma when the argon beam is present. Inclusion of electron dynamics and oblique angles of wave propagation with respect to B allows investigation of electron heating. Electron tail heating is observed parallel to B for k-parallel/k-perpendicular proportional to the square root of m(e)/m(0), while background ions are heated perpendicular to B.

Hudson, M. K.↗

NASA NTRS2001

IEC Research Status at MSFC

This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) research status at Marshall Space Flight Center. Details are given on the experiment setup (hardware characteristics, diagnostic equipment, propellant feed system, and planned pulse mode operation), grid manufacturing (identified manufacturing techniques, such as metal deposition, negative template mold, and machining), and grid for IEC operation (negative template technique and electrochemical technique).

Hrbud, Ivana↗

NASA NTRS2006

Containerless Processing of a Lithium Disilicate Glass

Glasses of Li2O.2SiO2 (LS2) and LS2 doped with 0.001 wt% platinum (LS2 + 0.001 wt% Pt) compositions were melted, cooled and re-heated at controlled rates while levitated (containerless) inside an Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) furnace at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The experiments were conducted in vacuum using spherical 2.5 - 3.0 mm diameter glass samples. The measured critical cooling rate for glass formation, Rc, for the LS2 and LS2 + 0.001 wt% Pt glasses processed at ESL were 14 plus or minus 2 C/min and 130 plus or minus 5 C/min, respectively. The values of Rc for the same LS2 and LS2 + 0.001 wt% Pt glasses processed in a container were 62 plus or minus 3 C/min and 162 plus or minus 5 C/min, respectively. The effective activation energy for crystallization, E, for the LS2 glass processed without a container at ESL was higher than that for an identical glass processed in a container. These results suggest that the glass formation tendency for a containerless LS2 melt is significantly increased compared to an identical melt in contact with a container. The absence of heterogeneous nucleation sites that are inherently present in all melts held in containers is believed to be the reason for the increased glass forming tendency of this containerless melt.

Ranasinghe, K. S.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Anomalies in the Thermophysical Properties of Undercooled Glass-Forming Alloys

The surface tension, viscosity, and density of several bulk metallic glass-forming alloys have been measured using noncontact techniques in the electrostatic levitation facility (ESL) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. All three properties show unexpected behavior in the undercooled regime. Similar deviations were previously observed in titanium-based quasicrystal-forming alloys,but the deviations in the properties of the glass-forming alloys are much more pronounced. New results for anomalous thermophysical properties in undercooled glass-forming alloys will be presented and discussed.

Hyers, Robert W.↗

NASA NTRS2008

High-precision Non-Contact Measurement of Creep of Ultra-High Temperature Materials for Aerospace

For high-temperature applications (greater than 2,000 C) such as solid rocket motors, hypersonic aircraft, nuclear electric/thermal propulsion for spacecraft, and more efficient jet engines, creep becomes one of the most important design factors to be considered. Conventional creep-testing methods, where the specimen and test apparatus are in contact with each other, are limited to temperatures approximately 1,700 C. Development of alloys for higher-temperature applications is limited by the availability of testing methods at temperatures above 2000 C. Development of alloys for applications requiring a long service life at temperatures as low as 1500 C, such as the next generation of jet turbine superalloys, is limited by the difficulty of accelerated testing at temperatures above 1700 C. For these reasons, a new, non-contact creep-measurement technique is needed for higher temperature applications. A new non-contact method for creep measurements of ultra-high-temperature metals and ceramics has been developed and validated. Using the electrostatic levitation (ESL) facility at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, a spherical sample is rotated quickly enough to cause creep deformation due to centrifugal acceleration. Very accurate measurement of the deformed shape through digital image analysis allows the stress exponent n to be determined very precisely from a single test, rather than from numerous conventional tests. Validation tests on single-crystal niobium spheres showed excellent agreement with conventional tests at 1985 C; however the non-contact method provides much greater precision while using only about 40 milligrams of material. This method is being applied to materials including metals and ceramics for non-eroding throats in solid rockets and next-generation superalloys for turbine engines. Recent advances in the method and the current state of these new measurements will be presented.

Rogers, Jan R.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Analysis of International Space Station Materials on MISSE-3 and MISSE-4

For high-temperature applications (> 2,000 C) such as solid rocket motors, hypersonic aircraft, nuclear electric/thermal propulsion for spacecraft, and more efficient jet engines, creep becomes one of the most important design factors to be considered. Conventional creep-testing methods, where the specimen and test apparatus are in contact with each other, are limited to temperatures ~1,700 deg. C. Development of alloys for higher-temperature applications is limited by the availability of testing methods at temperatures above 2000 C. Development of alloys for applications requiring a long service life at temperatures as low as 1500 C, such as the next generation of jet turbine superalloys, is limited by the difficulty of accelerated testing at temperatures above 1700 0c. For these reasons, a new, non-contact creep-measurement technique is needed for higher temperature applications. A new non-contact method for creep measurements of ultra-high-temperature metals and ceramics has been developed and validated. Using the electrostatic levitation (ESL) facility at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, a spherical sample is rotated quickly enough to cause creep deformation due to centrifugal acceleration. Very accurate measurement of the deformed shape through digital image analysis allows the stress exponent n to be determined very precisely from a single test, rather than from numerous conventional tests. Validation tests on single-crystal niobium spheres showed excellent agreement with conventional tests at 1985 C; however the non-contact method provides much greater precision while using only about 40 milligrams of material. This method is being applied to materials including metals and ceramics for noneroding throats in solid rockets and next-generation superalloys for turbine engines. Recent advances in the method and the current state of these new measurements will be presented.

Finckenor, Miria M.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Containerless Processing Studies in the MSFC Electrostatic Levitator

Levitation or containerless processing represents an important tool in materials research. Levitated specimens are free from contact with a container, which permits studies of deeply undercooled melts, and high-temperature, highly reactive materials. Containerless processing provides data for studies of thermophysical properties, phase equilibria, metastable state formation, microstructure formation, undercooling, and nucleation. Levitation techniques include: acoustic, aero-acoustic, electromagnetic, and electrostatic. In microgravity, levitation can be achieved with greatly reduced positioning forces. Microgravity also reduces the effects of buoyancy and sedimentation in melts. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) jointly developed an electromagnetic levitator facility (MSL-EML) for containerless materials processing in space. The MSL-EML will be accommodated in the European Columbus Facility on the International Space Station (ISS). The electrostatic levitator (ESL) facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center provides support for the development of containerless processing studies for the ISS. The capabilities of the facility and recent results will be discussed.

Rogers, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Electrostatic Levitation: A Tool to Support Materials Research in Microgravity

Containerless processing represents an important topic for materials research in microgravity. Levitated specimens are free from contact with a container, which permits studies of deeply undercooled melts, and high-temperature, highly reactive materials. Containerless processing provides data for studies of thermophysical properties, phase equilibria, metastable state formation, microstructure formation, undercooling, and nucleation. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) jointly developed an electromagnetic levitator facility (MSL-EML) for containerless materials processing in space. The electrostatic levitator (ESL) facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center provides support for the development of containerless processing studies for the ISS. Apparatus and techniques have been developed to use the ESL to provide data for phase diagram determination, creep resistance, emissivity, specific heat, density/thermal expansion, viscosity, surface tension and triggered nucleation of melts. The capabilities and results from selected ESL-based characterization studies performed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center will be presented.

Rogers, Jan↗

NASA NTRS2016

Reduced-Gravity Measurements of the Effect of Oxygen on Properties of Zirconium

The influence of oxygen on the thermophysical properties of zirconium is being investigated using MSL-EML (Material Science Laboratory - Electromagnetic Levitator) on ISS (International Space Station) in collaboration with NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and DLR (German Aerospace Center). Zirconium samples with different oxygen concentrations will be put into multiple melt cycles, during which the density, viscosity, surface tension, heat capacity, and electric conductivity will be measured at various undercooled temperatures. The facility check-up of MSL-EML and the first set of melting experiments have been successfully performed in 2015. The first zirconium sample will be tested near the end of 2015. As part of ground support activities, the thermophysical properties of zirconium and ZrO were measured using a ground-based electrostatic levitator located at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The influence of oxygen on the measured surface tension was evaluated. The results of this research will serve as reference data for those measured in ISS.

Zhao, J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Development of an electrostatic propulsion engine using sub-micron powders as the reaction mass

Asteroid sample return missions would benefit from development of an improved rocket engine. Chemical rockets achieve their large thrust with high mass consumption rate (dm/dt) but low exhaust velocity; therefore, a large fraction of their total mass is fuel. Present day ion thrusters are characterized by high exhaust velocity, but low dm/dt; thus, they are inherently low thrust devices. However, their high exhausy velocity is poorly matched to typical mission requirements and therefore, wastes energy. A better match would be intermediate between the two forms of propulsion. This could be achieved by electrostatically accelerating solid powder grains, raising the possibility that interplanetary material could be processed to use as reaction mass. An experiment to study the charging properties of sub-micron sized powder grains is described. If a suitable material can be identified, then it could be used as the reaction mass in an electrostatic propulsion engine. The experiment employs a time of flight measurement to determine the exhaust velocity (v) of various negatively charged powder grains that were charged and accelerated in a simple device. The purpose is to determine the charge to mass ratio that can be sustained for various substances. In order to be competitive with present day ion thrusters, a specific impulse (v/g) of 3000 to 5000 seconds is required. Preliminary results are presented. More speculatively, there are some mission profiles that would benefit from collection of reaction mass at the remote asteroid site. Experiments that examine the generation of sub-micron clusters by electrostatic self-disruption of geologically derived material are planned.

Herbert, F.↗

NASA NTRS1995

A Segmented Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer

The present paper describes the design of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) in which the single flight tube of a conventional TOFMS has been replaced by several cylindrical electrostatic lenses in tandem. By a judicious choice of voltages on these lenses, an improved TOFMS has been realized which has a superior mass and energy resolution, shorter flight lengths, excellent signal-to-noise ratio and less stringent requirements on the bias voltages.

Srivastava, S. K.↗

NASA NTRS1994

A Segmented Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer

A time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) is described in which the single flight tube of a conventional TOFMS has been replaced by several cylindrical electrostatic lenses in tandem. By a judicious choice of voltages on these lenses, an improved TOFMS has been realized which has a superior mass and energy resolution, shorter flight lengths, excellent signal-to-noise ratio, and less stringent requirements on the bias voltages.

time-of-flight↗

NASA NTRS2001

Reducing/Eliminating ESD Hazards During Pyro Operations

Several safety concerns have occurred during pyro operations at 30% or lower RH in the OPF area based on the increase of electrostatic discharge (ESD). These concerns targeted the safety of personnel, flight hardware, and ground support equipment (GSE). Two proposed methods considered to control ESDs during pyro operations at 30% or lower RH are the use of an ionizer blower and to increase the moisture content. In order to demonstrate that the ionizer is effective in neutralizing static charge, a series of experimental runs were conducted in the Electrostatics Laboratory located in the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Building at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The effectiveness of the ionizer blower was evaluated based upon the time lapse of a charged metal plate from initial 1000 to 400 volts. Distance, RH, and angle of attack were studied. A full factorial experiment (2(exp 3) = 8) was conducted. Since we did not have a statistical analysis program, such as SAS, available, calculations were done manually based on the method of ANOVA (Analysis of Variances), but R(exp 2) (fitness of curve) was not obtained. As conjectured, distance was found to be the major influencial variable. Therefore, we concluded that the best possible combination of situations would be to position the ionizer blower as close as possible and facing directly into the charged plate. This scenario resulted in the quickest discharge rate, which would be the most beneficial during pyro operations below 30% RH. The second method of increasing the moisture content in the work environment through a modification of the OPF ECS current configuration appeared to be dependent on budget constraints and currently not planned to be modified. Finally, some recommendations are discussed such as to test the ionizer in an actual field experiment with a mockup pyro connector and a technician with all the NASA KSC Safety-compliant PPE to assess the realistic effectiveness of the ionizer blower.

Soriano, Jose Francisco↗

NASA NTRS1991

High mass resolution, high angular acceptance time-of-flight mass spectroscopy for planetary missions under the Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP)

This final report covers three years and several phases of work in which instrumentation for the Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP) were successfully developed. There were two main thrusts to this research: (1) to develop and test methods for electrostatically scanning detector field-of-views, and (2) to improve the mass resolution of plasma mass spectrometers to M/delta M approximately 25, their field-of-view (FOV) to 360 degrees, and their E-range to cover approximately 1 eV to 50 keV. Prototypes of two different approaches to electrostatic scanning were built and tested. The Isochronous time-of-flight (TOF) and the linear electric field 3D TOF devices were examined.

Young, David T.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE) Electrometer Instrument Development

The Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE) is a joint venture between the University of Central Florida (UCF) Center for Microgravity Research (CMR) and the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) seeking to examine charged dust grain behavior in a microgravity environment. Two separate systems have been combined for this suborbital flight experiment: the COLLisions Into Dust Experiment (COLLIDE) developed by the UCF CMR and the Wheel Electrostatic Spectrometer (WES) developed by the NASA KSC ESPL. This combination will advance the understanding of the natural and induced charged grain behavior on the Moon, asteroids, and other low gravity bodies comprised of charged dust particles. COLLIDE retains granular material under vacuum in a shallow tray behind a metal door, which then opens and releases the particles into a larger open volume when microgravity is achieved. The experiment is observed with a high-speed camera, such that the motions of these particles can then be tracked so the kinematics of each grain may be analyzed. The original application for this apparatus was to study cratering events into granular beds, but electrostatic repulsion was detected in the early frames of the video data returned from completed experiments, so a re-flight with a focus on these events was proposed. Agitation of the grains during launch combined with the frictional charge transfer between the grains and the door as it slides open provides an opportunity to use this setup to observe material tribocharging and charged particle behaviors in microgravity. In this updated version, the charged particles released into the chamber will traverse through an electric field produced by high voltage parallel plates and their resulting trajectories will be determined by their net charges. WES was originally developed to characterize the triboelectric properties of the Martian regolith through the contact of a rover wheel with the surface as it rotates. Improvements were made upon this legacy system to develop a sensor suite that will be installed within the COLLIDE door to measure charge transferred between the granular material and insulating disks protruding through the door. These insulator disks span the triboelectric series so, as they slide across the particulate matter when the door opens, each will accumulate a charge consistent with its relative position to the grains within the series. This charge on each insulator is distributed between two capacitances in series with an electrometer amplifier returning an analog voltage proportional to the charge accumulated. Calibration of this system has been performed using applications of known charge to the inputs and characterization of the frictional charge transfer between various regolith simulants and the sensor insulators is currently being examined in the lab.

Electrostatics↗

NASA NTRS1975

Flight transition data for angles of attack at Mach 22 with correlations of the data

Boundary-layer transition data for angles of attack from 2.5 to 47 deg from a flight experiment with a cone that reentered at angles of attack up to 75 deg were analyzed and their local flow conditions are presented. The transition data were obtained from both acoustic and electrostatic sensors. The data from the acoustic and electrostatic sensors were correlated by use of three different sets of correlating parameters. For each set of correlating parameters, the transitional and turbulent data from the acoustic and electrostatic sensors were plotted separately. Each of the correlations was compared with a linear curve fit of previous cone-flight data at near zero angle of attack. Results indicate that the data from acoustic sensors falls below the linear curve fits to the flight data and indicates the sensitivity of the sensors. It is shown that the transition data from the electrostatic sensors tends to scatter much more than the data from the acoustic sensors. However, the data from the electrostatic sensors tends to scatter about the linear curve fits based on previous flight data.

Johnson, C. B.↗

NASA NTRS1992

STS-40 orbital acceleration research experiment flight results during a typical sleep period

The Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE), an electrostatic accelerometer package with complete on-orbit calibration capabilities was flown aboard Shuttle on STS-40. The instrument is designed to measure and record the Shuttle aerodynamic acceleration environment from the free molecule flow regime through the rarefied flow transition into the hypersonic continuum regime. Because of its sensitivity, the OARE instrument detects aerodynamic behavior of the Shuttle while in low-earth orbit. A 2-h orbital time period on day seven of the mission, when the crew was asleep and other spacecraft activities were at a minimum, was examined. Examination of the model with the flight data shows the instrument to be sensitive to all major expected low-frequency acceleration phenomena; however, some erratic instrument bias behavior persists in two axes. In these axes, the OARE data can be made to match a comprehensive atmospheric-aerodynamic model by making bias adjustments and slight liner corrections for drift.

Blanchard, Robert C.↗