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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Spectral scanning method for determining temperature profile of jet- or rocket-engine exhaust stream by gas radiation and transmittance measurements, discussing radiometric errors effects
The experimental and theoretical investigations conducted during the period from September 1969 through September 1972 are reported which were directed toward obtaining information necessary to determine the feasibility of the full-scale nuclear light bulb engine, and of small-scale nuclear tests involving fissioning uranium plasmas in a unit cell installed in a driver reactor, such as the Nuclear Furnace. Emphasis was placed on development of RF simulations of conditions expected in nuclear tests in the Nuclear Furnace. The work included investigations of the following: (1) the fluid mechanics and containment characteristics of one-component and two-component vortex flows, both unheated and RF-induction heated; (2) heating of particle-seeded streams by thermal radiation from a dc arc to simulate propellant heating; (3) condensation and separation phenomena for metal-vapor/heated-gas mixtures to provide information for conceptual designs of components of fuel exhaust and recycle systems; (4) the characteristics of the radiant energy spectrum emitted from the fuel region, with emphasis on definition of fuel and buffer-gas region seed systems to reduce the ultraviolet radiation emitted from the nuclear fuel; and (5) the effects of nuclear radiation on the optical transmission characteristics of transparent materials.
The properties of the reflection, transmission, and absorption of the cirrus cloud layers are calculated under the assumption that the ice crystals in cirrus clouds may be approximated long circular cylinders randomly oriented in space. The phase function, the single scattering albedo, and the extinction cross section are obtained on the basis of Liou's (1972) calculations of light scattering by ice clouds in the visible and infrared. A modified two-stream approximation for radiative transfer is developed and is used to evaluate the radiative properties of the cirrus cloud layers.
The solution of the simultaneous set of differential equations representing conservation of number density, momentum, and energy, together with solar radiation transfer in streams that are responsible for major photolytic processes and nucleus heating, yields a self-consistent multifluid solution for the thermal and dynamical structure of an H2O-dominated, two-phase dusty gas cometary atmosphere, whose validity is restricted to the collision-dominated region where ions and neutrals are assumed to achieve a common temperature and velocity. The model is transonic, due to the dust in the inner coma, and involves the subsonic expansion of the ions and neutrals from the nucleus until, in the outermost part of the collision-dominated coma, temperatures of 300-400 K are reached due to UV pyrolytic heating.
An attempt is made to diagnose the annual-average mean meridional residual Jovian large-scale stratospheric circulation from observations of the temperature and reflected sunlight that reveal the morphology of the aerosol heating. The annual mean solar heating, total radiative flux divergence, mass stream function, and Eliassen-Palm flux divergence are shown. The stratospheric radiative flux divergence is dominated the high latitudes by aerosol absorption. Between the 270 and 100 mbar pressure levels, where there is no aerosol heating in the model, the structure of the circulation at low- to midlatitudes is governed by the meridional variation of infrared cooling in association with the variation of zonal mean temperatures observed by IRIS. The principal features of the vertical velocity profile found by Gierasch et al. (1986) are recovered in the present calculation.
This paper examines a supersonic multi jet interaction problem that we believe is likely to be important for mixing enhancement and noise reduction in supersonic mixer-ejector nozzles. We demonstrate that it is possible to synchronize the screech instability of four rectangular jets by precisely adjusting the inter jet spacing. Our experimental data agrees with a theory that assumes that the phase-locking of adjacent jets occurs through a coupling at the jet lip. Although the synchronization does not change the frequency of the screech tone, its amplitude is augmented by 10 dB. The synchronized multi jets exhibit higher spreading than the unsynchronized jets, with the single jet spreading the least. We compare the nearfield noise of the four jets with synchronized screech to the noise of the sum of four jets operated individually. Our noise measurements reveal that the more rapid mixing of the synchronized multi jets causes the peak jet noise source to move up stream and to radiate noise at larger angles to the flow direction. Based on our results, we believe that screech synchronization is advantageous for noise reduction internal to a mixer-ejector nozzle, since the noise can now be suppressed by a shorter acoustically lined ejector.
Spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) are subject to numerous environmental hazards. Here I'll briefly discuss three environment factors that pose acute threats to the survival of spacecraft systems and crew: atmospheric drag, impacts by meteoroids and orbital debris, and ionizing radiation. Atmospheric drag continuously opposes the orbital motion of a satellite, causing the orbit to decay. This decay will lead to reentry if not countered by reboost maneuvers. Orbital debris is a by-product of man's activities in space, and consists of objects ranging in size from miniscule paint chips to spent rocket stages and dead satellites. Ionizing radiation experienced in LEO has several components: geomagnetically trapped protons and electrons (Van Allen belts); energetic solar particles; galactic cosmic rays; and albedo neutrons. These particles can have several types of prompt harmful effects on equipment and crew, from single-event upsets, latchup, and burnout of electronics, to lethal doses to crew.All three types of prompt threat show some dependence on the solar activity cycle. Atmospheric drag mitigation and large debris avoidance require propulsive maneuvers. M/OD and ionizing radiation require some form of shielding for crew and sensitive equipment. Limiting exposure time is a mitigation technique for ionizing radiation and meteor streams.
The NASA Sun-Earth Connection theme roadmap calls for comparative study of how the planets, comets, and local interstellar medium (LISM) interact with the Sun and respond to solar variability. Through such a study we advance our understanding of basic physical plasma and gas dynamic processes, thus increasing our predictive capabilities for the terrestrial, planetary, and interplanetary environments where future remote and human exploration will occur. Because the other planets have lacked study initiatives comparable to the terrestrial ITM, LWS, and EOS programs, our understanding of the upper atmospheres and near space environments on these worlds is far less detailed than our knowledge of the Earth. To close this gap we propose a mission to study {\it all) of the solar interacting bodies in our planetary system out to the heliopause with a single remote sensing space observatory, the Solar Connections Observatory for Planetary Environments (SCOPE). SCOPE consists of a binocular EUV/FUV telescope operating from a remote, driftaway orbit that provides sub-arcsecond imaging and broadband medium resolution spectro-imaging over the 55-290 nm bandpass, and high (R>10$^{5}$ resolution H Ly-$\alpha$ emission line profile measurements of small scale planetary and wide field diffuse solar system structures. A key to the SCOPE approach is to include Earth as a primary science target. From its remote vantage point SCOPE will be able to observe auroral emission to and beyond the rotational pole. The other planets and comets will be monitored in long duration campaigns centered when possible on solar opposition when interleaved terrestrial-planet observations can be used to directly compare the response of both worlds to the same solar wind stream and UV radiation field. Using a combination of observations and MHD models, SCOPE will isolate the different controlling parameters in each planet system and gain insight into the underlying physical processes that define the solar connection.
A previous theoretical result on the subject of the acoustic radiation force on a heated sphere (Lee and Wang, 1984) is reexamined. For a more complete understanding, effects of heat transfer and acoustic streaming are taken into consideration. Essentially, it was found that, at high sound-pressure levels in a steady situation, the force is not affected significantly by the temperature profile, consistent with the result of an experimental work (Leung and Wang, 1985). This resolves the earlier apparent contradiction between the theory and the experiment. If excessive hot air is accumulated around the sphere, which can happen in transient situations, the force can be weakened or reversed in sign. A heat transfer model due to acoustic streaming was also found.
This report describes a method for measuring the drop in static pressure of air flowing through a radiator and shows (1) a reason for the discrepancy noted by various observers between head resistance and drop in pressure; (2) a difference in degree of contraction of the jet in entering a circular cell and a square cell; (3) the ratio of internal frictional resistance to total head resistance for two representative types; (4) the effect of smoothness of surface on pressure gradient; and (5) the effects of supplying heat to the radiator on pressure gradient. The fact that the pressure gradients are found to be approximately proportional to the square of the rate of flow of air appears to indicate turbulent flow, even in the short tubes of the radiator. It was found that the drop in the static pressure in the air stream through a cellular radiator and the pressure gradient in the air tubes are practically proportional to the square of the air flow in a given air density; that the difference between the head resistance per unit area and the fall of static pressure through the air tubes in radiators is apparent rather than real; and that radiators of different types differ widely in the amount of contraction of the jet at entrance. The frictional resistance was found to vary considerably, and in one case to be two-thirds of the head resistance in the type using circular cells and one-half of the head resistance of the radiator type using square cells of approximately the same dimensions.
Using the coupled ablation and radiation capability recently included in the LAURA flowfield solver, this paper investigates the influence of ablation on the shock-layer radiative heating for Earth entry. The extension of the HARA radiation model, which provides the radiation predictions in LAURA, to treat a gas consisting of the elements C, H, O, and N is discussed. It is shown that the absorption coefficient of air is increased with the introduction of the C and H elements. A simplified shock layer model is studied to show the impact of temperature, as well as the abundance of C and H, on the net absorption or emission from an ablation contaminated boundary layer. It is found that the ablation species reduce the radiative flux in the vacuum ultraviolet, through increased absorption, for all temperatures. However, in the infrared region of the spectrum, the ablation species increase the radiative flux, through strong emission, for temperatures above 3,000 K. Thus, depending on the temperature and abundance of ablation species, the contaminated boundary layer may either provide a net increase or decrease in the radiative flux reaching the wall. To assess the validity of the coupled ablation and radiation LAURA analysis, a previously analyzed Mars-return case (15.24 km/s), which contains significant ablation and radiation coupling, is studied. Exceptional agreement with previous viscous shock-layer results is obtained. A 40% decrease in the radiative flux is predicted for ablation rates equal to 20% of the free-stream mass flux. The Apollo 4 peak-heating case (10.24 km/s) is also studied. For ablation rates up to 3.4% of the free-stream mass flux, the radiative heating is reduced by up to 19%, while the convective heating is reduced by up to 87%. Good agreement with the Apollo 4 radiometer data is obtained by considering absorption in the radiometer cavity. For both the Mars return and the Apollo 4 cases, coupled radiation alone is found to reduce the radiative heating by 30 60% and the convective heating by less than 5%.
Energy coupling between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere can affect the electron population in the outer radiation belt. However, the precise role of different internal and external mechanisms that leads to changes of the relativistic electron population is not entirely known. This paper describes how ultralow frequency (ULF) wave activity during the passage of Alfvenic solar wind streams contributes to the global recovery of the relativistic electron population in the outer radiation belt. To investigate the contribution of the ULF waves, we searched the Van Allen Probes data for a period in which we can clearly distinguish the enhancement of electron fluxes from the background. We found that the global recovery that started on 22 September 2014, which coincides with the corotating interaction region preceding a high‐speed stream and the occurrence of persistent substorm activity, provides an excellent scenario to explore the contribution of ULF waves. To support our analyses, we employed ground‐ and space‐based observational data and global magnetohydrodynamic simulations and calculated the ULF wave radial diffusion coefficients employing an empirical model. Observations show a gradual increase of electron fluxes in the outer radiation belt and a concomitant enhancement of ULF activity that spreads from higher to lower L‐shells. Magnetohydrodynamic simulation results agree with observed ULF wave activity in the magnetotail, which leads to both fast and Alfven modes in the magnetospheric nightside sector. The observations agree with the empirical model and are confirmed by phase space density calculations for this global recovery period.
A two-stream approximation to the radiative-transfer equation is used to calculate the vegetation indices (simple ratio and normalized difference), the fraction of incident photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by the canopy, and the daily mean canopy net photosynthesis under clear-sky conditions. The model calculations are tested against field observations over wheat, cotton, corn, and soybean. The relationships between the vegetation indices and radiation absorption or net photosynthesis are generally found to be curvilinear, and changes in the soil reflectance affected these relationships. The curvilinearity of the relationship between normalized differences and PAR absorption decreases as the magnitude of soil reflectance increases. The vegetation indices might provide the fractional radiation absorption with some a priori knowledge about soil reflectance. The relationship between the vegetation indices and net photosynthesis must be distinguished for C3 and C4 crops. Effects of spatial heterogeneity are discussed.
Impurities enter a snowpack as a result of fallout of scavenging by falling snow crystals. Albedo and flux extinction coefficient of soot contaminated snowcovers were studied using a two stream approximation of the radiative transfer equation. The effect of soot was calculated by two methods: independent scattering by ice grains and impurities and average refractive index for ice grains. Both methods predict a qualitatively similar effect of soot; the albedo is decreased and the extinction coefficient is increased compared to that for pure snow in the visible region; the infrared properties are largely unaffected. Quantitatively, however, the effect of soot is more pronounced in the average refractive index method. Soot contamination provides a qualitative explanation for several snow observations.
The parameterization of solar radiation in the Goddard Laboratory for atmospheric sciences (GLAS) general circulation model (GCM) is described. It explicitly considers the directional nature of the direct solar beam in treating radiative transfer within clouds, and in treating the effect of surface reflection. This is accomplished using delta Eddington and delta 2 stream models for the radiative transfer within isolated atmospheric layers, and by coupling the individual layers together by efficiently repeated applications of the interaction principle.
A radiator for heat rejection in space is described which utilizes a stream of liquid droplets to radiate waste heat. The large surface area per mass makes the liquid droplet radiator at least an order of magnitude lighter than tube and fin radiators. Generation and collection of the droplets, as well as heat transfer to the liquid, can be achieved with modest extensions of conventional technology. Low vapor pressure liquids are available which cover a radiating temperature range 250-1000 K with negligible evaporation losses. The droplet radiator may be employed for a wide range of heat rejection applications in space. Three applications - heat rejection for a high temperature Rankine cycle, cooling of photovoltaic cells, and low temperature heat rejection for refrigeration in space illustrate the versatility of the radiator.
A self-consistent solution of the thermodynamic structure of an H2O-dominated multispecies cometary atmosphere at 1 AU is obtained by solving the simultaneous set of differential equations representing conservation of number density, momentum, energy, and the flux of solar UV radiation in the three streams responsible for the major photolytic processes. The relative efficiency of the expansion and infrared cooling by H2O over the photolytic heating by the UV radiation in the inner coma brings about a rapid decrease in the temperature there, reaching a minimum of only about 5.4 K at a nuclear distance of approximately 54 km. Thereafter, the temperature is found to increase to about 810 K at a nuclear distance of 25,000 km, owing to higher efficiency of the photolytic heating over the cooling process. The expansion in the inner coma is seen to be highly supersonic, attaining a maximum Mach number of about 15 at the distance of temperature minimum. After that, the Mach number steadily decreases, reaching a value of about 2.3 at a nuclear distance of 25,000 km.
A discussion of the geomagnetic effects of streams of electromagnetic and particular radiation from the sun. The interplay of forces between the geomagnetic field and solar streams is outlined; and the theoretical relationship between these, the solar storms, the trapped Van Allen radiations, the polar aurora, and geomagnetic field distortion are presented.